He would undoubtedly have taken a very high place in the public and official life of his generation if he had found himself in accord with either of the great political parties.
I do not think anybody, except the very intimate friends of Charles Francis Adams, was aware of his great abilities until he manifested them amid the difficulties of the English Mission.

They were known, however, to a few men who were intimate with him.

I was quite astonished one day when I called on Dr.Palfrey, at his house in Cambridge in 1852, and he told me Mr.Adams was entirely competent for the office of President of the United States.
Mr.Adams was rather dull as a public speaker.

He was apt to announce commonplaces slowly and deliberately, as if they were something he thought his audience was listening to for the first time.

But the influence of his historic name was very great.