I should to-morrow hear that they have failed--that
their last phalanx had sunk beneath the Turkish cimetar, that the flames
of their last city had sunk in its ashes, and that nought remained but
the wide, melancholy waste where Greece once was--I should still reflect,
with the most heartfelt satisfaction, that I have asked you, in the name
of seven millions of freemen, that you would give them, at least, the
cheering of one friendly voice."

The committee having in charge the raising of a fund for the assistance of
the Greeks, in New York, addressed a circular to the venerable
ex-President John Adams, to which they received the following reply:--

"Quincy, Dec. 29, 1823.
"GENTLEMEN:--I have received your circular of the 12th inst., and I thank
you for the honor you have done me in addressing it to me. Be assured my
heart beats in unison with yours, and with those of your constituents, and
I presume with all the really civilized part of mankind, in sympathy with
the Greeks, suffering, as they are, in the great cause of liberty and
humanity. The gentlemen of Boston have taken measures to procure a general
subscription in their favor, through the State, and I shall contribute my
mite with great pleasure. In the meantime I wish you, and all other
gentlemen engaged in the virtuous work, all the success you or they can
wish; for I believe no effort in favor of virtue will be ultimately lost.

"I have the honor to be, Gentlemen, your very humble Servant,
"JOHN ADAMS."

The sympathies of John Quincy Adams were ardently enlisted in behalf of
the Greek Revolution. But with a prudence and wisdom which characterized
all his acts, he threw his influence against any direct interference on
the part of the Government of the United States. It would have been a
departure from that neutral policy, in regard to European conflicts, on
which the country had acted from the commencement of our national
existence, alike injurious and dangerous. He knew if we once entered into
these wars, on any pretext whatever, a door would be opened for foreign
entanglements and endless conflicts, which would result in standing
armies, immense national debts, and the long trail of evils of which they
are the prolific source.

When an application was made to Mr. Adams, as Secretary of State, through
Mr. Rush, our Minister at London, by an Agent of Greece, for ai