But in his sixty-fifth year, when the public life of the most favored draws to a close, the noble and shining career of Mr.Adams began.

He entered the House of Representatives in 1831, and for the remainder of his life, a period of seventeen years, he was the one grand figure in that assembly.
His warfare against those who would suppress free speech, his heroic contest in favor of the right of the humblest to petition for redress of grievances, are among the memorable events in the parliamentary history of the United States.

The amplitude of his knowledge, his industry, his unflagging zeal, his biting sarcasm, his power to sting and destroy without himself showing passion, made a combination of qualities as rare as it was formidable.

His previous career had been one of eminent respectability, to be coldly admired and forgotten.

His service in the House gave him a name as enduring as the Republic whose history he adorned.
In breadth and thoroughness of learning, Mr.Adams surpassed all his contemporaries in public life.