other liberal bequests, had left a large legacy
to aid in the erection of a new Unitarian church in Quincy. The edifice
was completed, and ex-President J. Q. Adams caused the monument to his
father and mother to be erected within the walls. It was a plain and
simple design, consisting of a tablet, having recessed pilasters at the
sides, with a base moulding and cornice; the whole supported by trusses
at the base. The material of which it was made was Italian marble; and the
whole was surmounted by a fine bust of John Adams, from the chisel of
Greenough, the American artist, then at Rome. The inscription, one of the
most feeling, appropriate, and classical specimens extant, was as
follows:--

"LIBERTATEM AMICITTAM FIDEM RETINEBIS.
D. O. M.[Footnote: Deo, Optimo, Maximo--to God, the Best and Greatest.]
Beneath these Walls
Are deposited the Mortal Remains of
JOHN ADAMS,
Son of John and Susanna (Boyalston) Adams,
Second President of the United States.
Born 19-30 October, 1735.
On the fourth of July, 1776,
He pledged his Life, Fortune, and Sacred Honor
To the INDEPENDENCE OF HIS COUNTRY.
On the third of September, 1783,
Be affixed his Seal to the definitive Treaty with Great Britain
Which acknowledged that Independence,
And consummated the redemption of his pledge.
On the fourth of July, 1826,
He was summoned
To the Independence of Immortality
And to the JUDGEMENT OF HIS GOD
This House will bear witness to his Piety.
This Town, his Birth-place, to his Munificence:
History to his Patriotism;
Posterity to the Depth and Compass of his Mind.
At his side
Sleeps till the Trump shall sound,
ABIGAIL,
His beloved and only Wife,
Daughter of William and Elizabeth (Quincy) Smith.
In every relation of Life, a pattern
Of Filial, Conjugal, Maternal, and Social Virtue.
Born 11-22 November, 1744.
Deceased 28 October, 1818,