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That very night the sacred papers were delivered in person by Mr. Adams to Minister Jay, and he then went to sleep with great satisfaction, at the "Virginia Coffee-house." In this country, at the present time, this name would hardly indicate a suitable place for lodgings for a minister to Holland, whatever it might have been for a minister from Holland to England at that day. Still, in spite of its name, it appears to have been a proper place, and was satisfactory to Mr. Adams, who tells in his Diary that, after returning from Mr. Jay's, he met there his old Harvard friend, Tom Crofts, and that he retired to rest, "where the pleasing reflection of having so far accomplished my voyage, and of having happily steered clear of so many perils, continued revolving in my mind until I fell asleep."

Mr. Adams now spent some time in London with visiting and dinners, holding a very good hand at winedrinking. And the following quotation would indicate that he did not wholly escape the ravages of the "tender sentiment:" "There is something so fascinating in the women I meet with in this country, that it is well for me I am obliged immediately to leave it."

He occupied some time with Mr. Jay, who was negotiating a new treaty of commerce with England, and with Thomas Pinckney, the regular Minister to England. He read with them the proposed treaty, and pronounced himself dissatisfied with it, although he seemed to think it the best that could be obtained, while it would really be of little benefit to the country, even in preventing war. He greatly respected Mr. Jay, and freely and frankly consulted him as to the course he should pursue in Holland in his personal

conduct and outside of his instructions from "Government."

In writing of the Jay Treaty Mr. Adams said :

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"The treaty is far from being satisfactory to either Mr. Jay or Mr. Pinckney. It is far below the standard which would be advantageous to the country. The delivery of the posts is protracted to a more distant day than is desirable. But I think the compensation made for the present and future detention of them will be a sufficient equivalent. The article

which provides against the future confiscation of debts, and of property in the funds, is useful because it is honest. If its operation should turn out more advantageous to them, it will be more honorable to us; and I never can object to entering formally into an obligation to do that which, upon every virtuous principle, ought to be done without it. As a treaty of commerce it will be, indeed, of little use to us, and we shall never obtain any thing more favorable so long as the principles of the navigation act are obstinately adhered to by Great Britain."

Mr. Adams now proceeded to Amsterdam, and finally, in January, 1795, reached The Hague. Here he was soon engaged in a round of dinners and theater-going, neither of which did he often miss, notwithstanding the revolutionary and excited condition of the country. But, amidst all this, he never neglected the duties of his office, systematic work on his Diary, and the writing of letters to his friends. Every step in his official course was marked by that farreaching conduct which characterized his entire diplomatic service, never, at any time, losing sight of the interests of his country.

His Diary now records not only his own acts and doings, discusses the politics of the day, and comments on every subject before him, but also gives the opinions and sayings of those around him whose opinions. were worthy of note. Both persons and opinions

were criticised with freedom, and, at times; the Diary was little else than unmitigated gossip. It may, however, be claimed that the greater part of Mr. Adams's gossip was of the more elevated and useful kind.

He had barely become established in his mission until the French revolutionists took possession of Holland, establishing the short-lived "Batavian Republic." Through this crisis of affairs he conducted himself with great caution and satisfaction to his "Government." While exercising his right of keeping free from involving himself, he maintained such terms of friendship as to render no subsequent explanation necessary. In giving his reasons for refusing to unite with any of the revolutionary societies, he wisely wrote:

"It was unnecessary for me to look out for motives to justify my refusal. I have an aversion to political popular societies in general. To destroy an established power, they are, undoubtedly, an efficacious instrument, but in their nature they are fit for nothing else. The reign of Robespierre has shown what use they make of power when they obtain it."

Mr. Pinckney, Minister to London, having been sent on a special errand to Spain, Mr. Adams was notified by the American Secretary of State in the fall of 1795, to proceed at once to London, to carry out the final adjustments of the Jay Treaty, which had been ratified at Washington. He set off on the unpleasant service immediately, but owing to the weather, did not reach London until the 11th of November, to find that Mr. William Allen Deas, the American Chargé d'Affaires, had conducted the matters for which he had been unnecessarily called to make the trip from The Hague. This left him without business according to his instructions, but did not relieve him of British

intrigue. An effort was made by "Lord" Grenville and others in the British Government to induce Mr. Adams to consider himself as Minister to England, and be publicly announced as such; but, with great credit to himself and his country, he succeeded in maintaining his position as understood and meant by his "Government," late in January, 1796, being relieved of further embarrassment by the return of Mr. Pinckney to his post. The annoyances of the situation seemed, however, very slightly to disturb his usual theater-going and social dissipation. As a specimen of the way in which great diplomatic people and literati spent their evenings, the following description from his Diary, made shortly before starting on his return to The Hague, may not be uninteresting at this point

"Unintelligible billet received from Mr. Schloten, on returning from my usual walk. Refused. Spent the evening, however, according to his invitation, at his house. Company nearly the same as at Baron Schubart's. Played quadrille. Madame Nederburgh lovely, poetical, and pleasant as before. It was decided after supper that every person who began to speak on a political subject should pay a pawn. The offense and the punishment went round the table; excepting Mr. Euler, who escaped, and Mr. Schloten, who made a principle of refusing to pay. He never plays at pawns. In the course of the conversation he affirmed something. His wife asked him to say so upon honor. No, he never pledges his honor on common occasions. In both instances there was some reason, but more character. The amusement of playing pawns is puerile, insipid, and cheerless. Nor is it necessary to pledge one's honor to trivial circumstances. But neither is it necessary, or (nor) calculated to produce individual or social enjoyment, in the ordinary intercourse of convivial society, upon the most trivial occasions, and in cases where virtue and vice are equally out of the question, to meet every effort to promote mirth, or at least pastime, with the quills of a principle."

After some delay, he finally had his position rightly recognized, and in that condition was introduced to King George, with an experience not greatly different from his father's, eleven years before. He says in his Diary

"After the levee was over, I was introduced into the private closet of the King by Lord Grenville, and presenting my credential letter, said: 'Sir, to testify to your Majesty the sincerity of the United States of America in their negotiations, their President has directed me to take the necessary measures connected with the Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, concluded between your Majesty and the United States. He has authorized me to deliver to your Majesty this letter, and I ask your Majesty's permission to add, on their part, the assurance of the sincerity of their intentions." He then said, 'To give you my answer, Sir, I am very happy to have the assurances of their sincerity, for without that, you know, there would (could) be no such thing as dealings among men.' He afterward asked to which of the States I belonged, and on my answering, Massachusetts, he turned to Lord Grenville and said, 'All the Adamses belong to Massachusetts? To which Lord Grenville answered, they did. He inquired whether my father was now governor of Massachusetts. I answered, 'No, Sir; he is Vice-President of the United States.' 'Ay,' said he, and he can not hold both offices at the same time?' 'No, Sir.' He asked where my father is now. 'At Philadelphia, Sir, I presume, the Congress being now in session.' 'When do they meet?' The first week in December, Sir.' 'And where did you come from last?' From Holland, Sir.'

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You have been employed there?' 'Yes, Sir, about a year.' 'Have you been employed before, and anywhere else?' 'No, Sir."

At the end of this pithy scene, Mr. Adams retired, and after some meetings with Lord Grenville, the result of which he conveyed with great accuracy to the Administration, and having little success he wrote frankly in his Diary:—

"I am in hopes of Mr. Pinckney's return within a few days; by Christmas, at least. I expect it with anxiety, being ardently

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