Perleys Reminiscences, v. 1-2 | Page 5

of
Virginia, was appointed to the same service at the other table. The
votes of most of the States were matters of confident calculation, but
those of others were in some degree doubtful, and there was intense
interest manifested as their votes were counted. At last, when the
twenty-four States had voted, Mr. Webster announced, in his deep
voice, that thirteen States had voted for John Quincy Adams, seven
States had voted for Andrew Jackson, and four States had voted for
William H. Crawford. Mr. Speaker Clay then announced, in sonorous
tones: "John Quincy Adams, having received a majority of the votes
cast, is duly elected President of the United States for four years, from
the 4th of March next ensuing."
A shout arose from the occupants of the galleries, which Mr. McDuffie
promptly asked might be cleared. The vote was carried, and a young
man, who was Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms, mounting to the broad stone
cornice, which ran around the hall outside of the floor of the galleries,
but on a level with them, exclaimed, as he walked along: "The Speaker
orders the galleries to be cleared; all must retire. Clear the galleries!"
The command was obeyed, to the astonishment of some of the foreign
ministers present, who had been accustomed to see armed guards at
such assemblages, and often to witness their unsuccessful attempts to

move the populace. The House soon afterward adjourned.
That evening President Monroe gave a public reception at the White
House, which had just been rebuilt after having been burned by the
British army--in 1814. The two candidates, Mr. Adams, the elect, and
General Jackson, the defeated, accidentally met in the East Room.
General Jackson, who was escorting a lady, promptly extended his
hand, saying pleasantly: "How do you do, Mr. Adams? I give you my
left hand, for the right, as you see, is devoted to the fair. I hope you are
very well, sir." All this was gallantly and heartily said and done. Mr.
Adams took the General's hand, and said, with chilling coldness: "Very
well, sir; I hope General Jackson is well!" The military hero was genial
and gracious, while the unamiable diplomat was as cold as an iceberg.
The inauguration of Mr. Adams, on the 4th of March, 1825, was the
most imposing demonstration ever witnessed at Washington up to that
time. President Monroe called for his successor and they rode together
to the Capitol, escorted by the District uniformed militia and by a
cavalcade of citizens marshaled by Daniel Carroll, of Duddington,
General John Mason, General Walter Smith, and General Walter Jones,
four prominent residents. On reaching the Capitol the President-elect
was received with military honors by a battalion of the Marine Corps.
He was then escorted by a committee of Senators to the Senate
Chamber, where the oath of office was administered to the
Vice-President-elect, John C. Calhoun. The dignitaries present then
moved in procession to the hall of the House of Representatives, on the
floor of which were the Senators and Representatives, the Supreme
Court, the diplomatic corps, officers of the army and navy, and many
prominent officials, while the galleries were filled with handsomely
dressed ladies and gentlemen. Mr. Adams read his inaugural address
from the Speaker's desk, after which the oath of office was
administered to him by Chief Justice Marshall. Salutes were fired from
the Navy Yard and the Arsenal, and the new President was escorted to
his house, on F Street, where he that evening received his friends, for
whom generous supplies of punch and wines were hospitably provided.
President Adams, although at heart instigated by a Puritan intolerance

of those who had failed to conform with himself, was a true patriot, and
as a public man was moved by the highest moral motives. He was a
great statesman in so far as the comprehension of the principles of
government and a mastery of a wide field of information were
concerned, but he could not practically apply his knowledge. Instead of
harmoning the personal feuds between the friends of those who had
been candidates with him, he antagonized each one with his
Administration at the earliest possible moment, and before the
expiration of his first year in the White House he had wrecked the
Republican party left by Monroe, as completely as his father had
wrecked the Federal party established by Washington.
The President, when in London, had married Miss Louisa Catherine
Johnson. Her father was an American by birth, but just before the
Revolution he went to England, where he resided until after the
independence of the Colonies had been recognized. Mrs. Adams was
well educated, highly accomplished, and well qualified to preside over
the domestic affairs at the White House. She had four children --three
sons and one daughter--of whom one only, Mr. Charles