he was joined in March, 1815, by his family, after a long and perilous
journey from St. Petersburg.

On the 25th of May, Mr. Adams arrived in London and joined Messrs.
Gallatin and Clay, who had already entered upon the preliminaries of the
proposed commercial convention with Great Britain. In the mean time, Mr.
Adams had received official notice of his appointment as Minister to the
Court of St. James. On the 3d of July, 1815, the convention for regulating
the commercial intercourse between the United States and Great Britain was
concluded, and duly signed. It was afterwards ratified by both
Governments, and has formed the basis of commerce and trade between the
two countries, to the present time. At the conclusion of these
negotiations, Messrs. Gallatin and Clay returned to the United States, and
Mr. Adams remained in London, in his capacity as resident Minister.

Thus had the prediction of Washington been fulfilled. In "as short a time
as could well be expected," John Quincy Adams, as the well-merited reward
of faithful services, had attained to the head of the Diplomatic Corps of
the United States. His career had been singularly successful; and his
elevation to the highest foreign stations received the general approbation
of his countrymen. His simple habits, his plain appearance, his untiring
industry, his richly stored mind, his unbending integrity, his general
intercourse and correspondence with foreign courts and diplomatists of the
greatest distinction, all tended to elevate, in a high degree, the
American character, in the estimation of European nations.

The impression he made in the most eminent circles during his residence in
London, as a statesman of unsurpassed general information, and critical
knowledge of the politics of the world, was retained for years afterwards.
Mr. Rush, who was subsequently Minister to Great Britain, in an account of