country and party when right, and against them when wrong—who was bold enough to be honest, and honest enough to be bold. This feeling in the community soon displayed itself. The year after his trial, he tra^'elled from Boston to Cincinnati, and his journey was a trium- phal progress. Even in the slave states, the tide had turned, and being expected " at Wheeling, a crowd assem- * The following extract from a Pittsburgh paper. of 1843, affords a striking illustration of this remark: _" As a token of respect for Mr. Adams, all the works in the city were closed yesterday, that the working men might have a chance to bid him welcome. The silence of the engines, the machinery, and the workman's tools was a mightier tribute to Mr. Adams, than the roar of cannon, the strains of music, or the eloquent address.** bled, not to insub, but to do him honor. The brave, frank, honest opponent was regarded with a respect never felt by the slaveholder for the fawning mercenary of the North. Mr. Adams had become the man of the people, and was revered and beloved by them as their champion, the advocate of their rights. His great and acknowledged popularity, at length secured for him respectful treatment on the floor of Congress ; and when the whole nation de- plored his death, politicians of every name, and from every section of the country, deemed it advisable to unite in building his tomb.
The facts which have now been stated respecting Mr. Adams, however interesting in themselves, would have found no place in these pages, did they not illustrate some great truths, having a direct and important bearing on many of the sentiments advanced in the present work. They reiterate the lesson long since taught, of the utter worthlessness of public opinion 'as a standard of right and wrong. The demoniac cries, " Crucify him, crucify him !"
were preceded by " Hosannas to the Son of David ;" and the revulsion of feeling we have been considering shows that human nature is the same now as in the first century.