VOYAGE.--ARRIVAL AT ST. PETERSBURG.--PRESENTATION TO THE EMPEROR.--
RESIDENCE AT THE IMPERIAL COURT.--DIPLOMATIC INTERVIEWS.--PRIVATE
STUDIES.--APPOINTED ONE OF THE COMMISSIONERS TO TREAT FOR PEACE
WITH GREAT BRITAIN.--LEAVES RUSSIA.
After resigning his professorship at Harvard University, Mr. Adams
embarked from Boston, with Mrs. Adams and his youngest son, on the 5th
of August, 1809, in a merchant ship, bound to St. Petersburg. During a
boisterous and tedious voyage his classical and diplomatic studies
were pursued with characteristic assiduity. The English were then at
war with Denmark; and, as they entered the Baltic, a British cruiser
sent an officer to examine their papers. The same day they were
boarded by a Danish officer, who ordered the ship to Christiansand.
The captain thought it prudent to refuse, and to seek shelter from an
equinoctial gale in the harbor of Flecknoe. The papers of the ship and
Mr. Adams' commission were examined, and he afterwards went up to
Christiansand, where he found thirty-eight American vessels, which had
been brought in by privateers between the months of May and August,
and were detained for adjudication. Sixteen had been condemned, and
had appealed to the higher tribunals of the country. The Americans
thus detained presented a memorial to Mr. Adams, to be forwarded to
the President of the United States. The sight of so many of his
countrymen in distress was extremely painful, and he determined to
make an effort for their relief, without waiting for express authority
from his government.
On resuming their voyage, their course was again impeded by a British
squadron. An officer was sent on board by Captain Dundas, of the
Stately, a sixty-four gun ship, to examine their papers. He compared
the personal appearance of each of the seamen with his protection,
threatening to take a native of Charlestown because his person did not
correspond with the description, and finally ordered the ship to
return through the Cattegat.
Mr. Adams immediately went on board the Stately, showed his
commission, and remonstrated with Captain Dundas, who referred him to
Admiral Bertie, the commander of the squadron, who was in his
stateroom on the quarter-deck. After a protracted opposition, the
admiral acknowledged the usage of nations, and, as an ambassador,
permitted him to pursue his voyage by the usual course through the
sound. From these and similar difficulties, Mr. Adams did not land at
St. Petersburg until the 23d of October.
The Chancellor of the empire, Count Romanzoff, received Mr. Adams in
courtly state, and requested a copy of his credential letter, with an
assurance of the pleasure his appointment had given him personally.
His presentation was postponed, from the temporary indisposition of
the emperor; but he was immediately invited, by Count Romanzoff, to a
diplomatic dinner, in a style of the highest splendor. Among the
company was the French ambassador, M. de Caulaincourt, Duke de
Vicence, the foreign ministers then at the Russian Court, and many of
the nobility. In the mansion of the Chancellor Mr. Adams had dined in
1781, as secretary of Mr. Dana, in the same splendid style, with the
Marquis de Verac, at that time French minister at the Russian Court.
His mind was more impressed with the recollection of the magnificence
he had then witnessed on the same spot, and with reflections on the
mutability of human fortune, than with the gorgeous scene around him.
The Emperor Alexander received Mr. Adams alone, in his cabinet, and
expressed his pleasure at seeing him at St. Petersburg. Mr. Adams, on
presenting his credentials, said that the President of the United
States had desired him to express the hope that his mission would be
considered as a proof of respect for the person and character of his
majesty, as an acknowledgment of the many testimonies of good-will he
had already given to the United States, and of a desire to strengthen
commercial relations between them and his provinces. The emperor
replied, that, in everything depending on him, he should be happy to
contribute to the increase of their friendly relations; that it was
his wish to establish a just system of maritime rights, and that he
should adhere invariably to those he had declared. He then entered
into a confidential exposition of the obstacles then existing to a
general pacification, and of the policy of the different European
powers, and said that he considered the system of the United States
towards them as wise and just. Mr. Adams replied, that the United
States, being a great commercial and pacific nation, were deeply
interested in a system which would give security to commerce in time
of war. It was hoped this great blessing to humanity would be
accomplished by his imperial majesty himself; and that the United
States, by all means consistent with their peace, and their separation
from the political system of Europe, would contribute to the support
of the liberal principles to which his majesty had expressed so strong
and just an attachment. The emperor replied, that between Russia and
the United States there could be no interference of interests, no
cause for dissension; but that, by means of commerce, the two states
might be greatly useful to each other; and his desire was to give the
greatest extension and facility to these means of mutual interest.
Passing to other topics, he made many inquiries relative to the cities
of the United States.
The empress and the empress mother each gave Mr. Adams a private
audience; and, after Mrs. Adams had also been presented to the
imperial family, they were invited to a succession of splendid
entertainments. "The formalities of these court presentations," Mr.
Adams remarked, "are so trifling and insignificant in themselves, and
so important in the eyes of princes and courtiers, that they are much
more embarrassing to an American than business of greater importance.
It is not safe or prudent to despise them, nor practicable for a
person of rational understanding to value them."
As the balls and parties given by the emperor, the foreign ministers,
and the nobility, did not usually terminate until four o'clock in the
morning, they so essentially interfered with the studies and official
engagements of Mr. Adams, that he determined, as far as his station
permitted, to relinquish attending them.
In December he requested the Chancellor to solicit the emperor to
interpose his good offices with the Danish government for the
restoration of American property sequestrated in the ports of
Holstein. Count Romanzoff, in reply, stated that the emperor took
great pleasure in complying with that request, and was gratified by
this opportunity to show his friendly disposition towards the United
States, and immediately ordered the Chancellor to represent to the
Danish government the wish of the emperor that the American property
might be examined and restored as soon as possible. The Danish
government acceded at once to the emperor's desire; and the effect of
his interposition was gratefully acknowledged by the Americans whose
property was liberated.
The residence of Mr. Adams in Russia was during an eventful period.
The Emperor Alexander was at first endeavoring to avoid a collision
with Bonaparte, by yielding to his policy; and afterwards, on his
invasion, was engaged in driving him out of Russia, bereft of his army
and continental influence. During these years the release or relief of
American vessels and seamen from the effects of the French emperor's
Berlin and Milan decrees, and from other seizures and sequestrations,
were the chief objects to which Mr. Adams directed his attention.
His subsequent attempts to establish permanent commercial relations
between the United States and Russia were favorably received by that
government. The chancellor of the empire, Count Romanzoff,
acknowledged the importance of a treaty between Russia and the United
States, and intimated that the only obstacle was the convulsed state
of opinion at that period throughout the commercial world, which was
such that "it hardly seemed possible to agree to anything which had
common sense in it." Count Romanzoff conducted towards Mr. Adams not
only with official respect, but with cordiality. On one occasion he
transmitted to him by his private secretary a work relative to an
armed neutrality, which was preparing under his auspices for
publication, requesting the American minister to make such
observations upon it as he thought proper.
The courteous manners of the Emperor Alexander, his apparent desire to
conciliate the United States, and the personal intercourse to which he
admitted its representative, were frequently acknowledged by Mr.
Adams. In the midst of the splendor of the Russian Court, and the
magnificent entertainments of its ministers and of resident
plenipotentiaries, some of whom expended fifty thousand roubles a
year, and the ambassador from the French emperor over four hundred
thousand, he maintained the simplicity of style suited at once to his
salary and to the character of the country he represented. Loans to an
indefinite amount were proffered to him by mercantile houses. These he
uniformly declined, though under circumstances of great temptation to
accept them. "The opportunities," he wrote, "of thus anticipating my
regular income, it is difficult to resist. But I am determined to do
it. The whole of my life has been one continued experience of the
difficulty of a man's adhering to the principle of living within his
income; the first and most important principle of private economy. In
this country beyond all others, and in my situation more than any
other, the temptations to expense amount almost to compulsion. I have
withstood them hitherto, and hope for firmness of character to
withstand them in future."
In connection with this topic, the following anecdote was related by
Mr. Adams: "As I was walking, this morning (in May, 1811), I was met
by the emperor, who was also walking. As he approached he said,
'Monsieur Adams, il y a cent ans que je ne vous ai vu,' and took me
cordially by the hand. After some common observations, he asked me
whether I intended to take a house in the country this summer. I said
'No; that I had for some time that intention, but I had given it
up,'--'And why?' said he. I was hesitating upon an answer, when he
relieved me from my embarrassment by saying, 'Peut-être sont-ce des
considerations de finance.' As he said it in perfect good humor, and
with a smile, I replied, in the same manner, 'Mais, Sire, elles y sont
pour une bonne partie.'--'Fort bien,' said he, 'vous avez raison. Il
faut toujours proportionner la depense à la recette;' a maxim,"
remarks Mr. Adams, "worthy of an emperor, though few emperors practise
upon it."
The customs, manners, and habits, of the nobility and the people;
their public institutions, edifices, monuments, and collections in the
fine arts; the overweening influence of the clergy, their power and
political subserviency; the character of the foreign ministers, and
the policy of the courts they represented, were carefully observed and
noted down for future thought and illustration.
Nor were his researches restricted to subjects of diplomatic duty, or
to objects immediately connected with his foreign relations. He studied
the language and history of Russia, the course and usages of its trade,
especially in relation to China, and made laborious inquiries into the
proportions of Russian, English, and French weights, measures, and
coins. In obtaining a minute accuracy in these proportions, he employed
many hours; on which he observed, "I fear I shall never attain them,
and the usefulness of which is at least problematical;[1] but '_Trahit
sua quemque ipsa voluntas_;' my studies generally command me--I seldom
control them."
[1] The Report of Mr. Adams, when Secretary of State, on weights
and measures, at the call of Congress, sufficiently evidences
the ultimate usefulness of these researches.
The progress of the seasons in Russia, the rising and the setting of
the sun, were daily noted, as also the variation of the climate, by
the thermometer. His thirst for knowledge, and his desire of
investigating causes and effects, were never satiated.
Astronomy was with him a subject of early and intense interest. He
studied the works of Schubert, Lalande, Biot, and Lacroix, and
constantly observed the heavens, and noticed their phenomena, according
to the calendar. By Langlet's and Dufresnoy's tables he attempted to
ascertain with precision the Arabian and Turkish computations of time,
comparing them with those of Christian nations. From astronomy and
chronology he was drawn into the study of mathematics, and the
logarithms in the tables of Collet.
Neither were the works of the ancient philosophers and orators omitted
in the sphere of his studies. The works of Plato, the orations of
Demosthenes, Isocrates, Æschines, and Cicero, were not only read, but
made the subject of critical analysis, comparison, and reflection.
Religion was also in his mind a predominating element. A practice,
which he prescribed to himself, and never omitted, of reading daily
five chapters in the Bible, familiarized his mind with its pages. In
connection with these studies he read habitually the works of Butler,
Bossuet, Tillotson, Massillon, Atterbury, and Watts. With such an ardor
for knowledge, and universality in its pursuit, it is not surprising
that he should say, as on one occasion he did, "I feel nothing like the
tediousness of time. I suffer nothing like _ennui_. Time is too short
for me, rather than too long. If the day was forty-eight hours, instead
of twenty-four, I could employ them all, if I had but eyes and hands to
read and write."
In 1810, citizens of the United States, who had formed a settlement on
the north-west coast of North America, were embarrassed in their
intercourse with China, by the Chinese mistaking American for Russian
vessels. In a conversation with Mr. Adams on the means of avoiding
this difficulty, Count Romanzoff described the obstacles the Russians
had experienced in their commerce with China. He stated that in the
reign of Catharine II. the Emperor of China complained of a governor
of a province bordering on Russia, as "a bad man;" in consequence of
which, the empress caused him to be removed. This concession did not
satisfy the Chinese emperor, who declared the punishment insufficient,
and demanded that "_the offender should be impaled alive by way of
atonement_." This demand so shocked Catharine that she issued an
edict prohibiting her subjects from all commercial relations with
China. This edict continued in force until the Chinese themselves
sought for a renewal of their former intercourse, when the empress
yielded her resentment to policy.
The loss of time from the civilities and visits of his numerous
diplomatic associates was annoying to Mr. Adams. "I have been
engaged," he wrote, "the whole forenoon; and though I rise at six
o'clock, I am sometimes unable to find time to write only part of a
private letter in the course of the day. These visits take up so much
of my time, that I sometimes think of taking a resolution not to
receive them; but, on the other hand, so much information important to
be possessed, and particularly relative to current political events,
is to be collected from them, that they are rather to be encouraged
than discountenanced."
"The French ambassador," writes Mr. Adams, "assured me that he hoped
the difference between his country and mine would soon be settled, and
requested me to inform my government that it was the desire of the
Emperor of France, and of his ministers, to come to the best terms
with the United States; that they knew our interests were the same,
but he was perfectly persuaded that, if any other person but Gen.
Armstrong was there, our business might be settled entirely to our
satisfaction. I told him that, as I was as desirous that we should
come to a good understanding, I regretted very much that anything
personal to General Armstrong should be considered by his government
as offensive; that I was sure the government of the United States
would regret it also, and would wish, on learning it, to be informed
what were the occasions of displeasure which he had given. 'C'est
d'abord un très galant homme,' said the ambassador; 'but he never
shows himself, and upon every little occasion, when by a verbal
explanation with the minister General Armstrong might obtain anything,
he writes peevish notes.' This appears to me," observes Mr. Adams, "an
intriguing manoeuvre, of which the minister thinks I might be made
the dupe."
On one occasion, Count Romanzoff requested an interview with Mr.
Adams, and, among other inquiries, asked what could be done to restore
freedom and security to commerce. He replied, that, "setting aside all
official character and responsibility, and speaking as an individual
upon public affairs," as Count Romanzoff had requested, he thought the
best course towards peace was for his excellency to convince the
French government that the continental system, as they called it, and
as they managed it, was promoting to the utmost extent the views of
England, and, instead of impairing her commerce, was securing to her
that of the whole world, and was pouring into her lap the means of
continuing the war just as long as her ministers should consider it
expedient. He could hardly conceive that the Emperor Napoleon was so
blind as not to have made that discovery already. Three years'
experience, with the effects of it becoming every day more flagrant,
had made the inference too clear and unquestionable. The Emperor
Napoleon, with all his power, could neither control the elements nor
the passions of mankind. He had found his own brother could not or
would not carry his system into execution, and had finally cast at his
feet the crown he had given him, rather than continue to be his
instrument any longer. Count Romanzoff gravely questioned the
statement of Mr. Adams respecting the commercial prosperity of
England, but admitted his views in general to be correct, saying that,
as long as a system was agreed upon, he thought exceptions from it
ought not to be allowed. Mr. Adams then asked him how that was
possible, when the Emperor Napoleon himself was the first to make such
exceptions, and to give licenses for a direct trade with England?
Count Romanzoff replied, that he thought all such licenses wrong, and
he believed that there were not so many of them as was pretended.
There was indeed one case of a vessel coming to St. Petersburg both
with an English license and a license from the Emperor Napoleon. He
was of opinion that she ought to be confiscated for having the English
license. But the French commercial and diplomatic agents were very
desirous that she might go free, on account of her French license; and
perhaps the Emperor, in consideration of his ally, might so determine.
Romanzoff complained bitterly that all the ancient established
principles, both of commercial and political rectitude, had, in a
manner, vanished from the world; and observed that, with all her
faults, England had the advantage over her neighbors, of having
hitherto most successfully resisted all the innovations upon ancient
principles and establishments. For his own part, since he had been at
the head of affairs, he could sincerely protest one wish had been at
the bottom of all his policy, and the aim of all his labors,--and that
was universal peace.
In 1811 Mr. Adams received from the Secretary of State a commission of
an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; an
appointment which he immediately declined.
In 1812 the emperor directed Count Romanzoff to inquire whether, if he
should offer his mediation to effect a pacification between the United
States and Great Britain, Mr. Adams was aware of any objection on the
part of his government. He replied, that, speaking only from a general
knowledge of its sentiments, the proposal of the emperor would be
considered a new evidence of his regard and friendship for the United
States, whatever determination might be formed. Under this assurance,
the offer was made, transmitted, and immediately accepted. In July,
1813, Mr. Gallatin and Mr. Bayard, being associated with Mr. Adams on
this mission, arrived at St. Petersburg, bringing credentials, for the
purpose of commencing a negotiation, under the mediation of the
emperor.
On communicating these credentials to Count Romanzoff, Mr. Adams
informed him that he had received instructions from the American
government to remain at St. Petersburg under the commission he had
heretofore held; and that he had been mistaken in supposing that his
colleagues had other destination, independent of this mission. His
conjecture had been founded on the doubt whether the President would
have appointed this mission solely upon the supposition that the
mediation would be accepted by the British government; but he was now
instructed that the President, considering the acceptance of the
British government as probable, though aware that if they should
reject it this measure might wear the appearance of precipitation,
thought it more advisable to incur that risk than the danger of
prolonging unnecessarily the war for six or nine months, as might
happen if the British should immediately have accepted the mediation,
and he should have delayed this step until he was informed of it. It
was with the President a great object to manifest, not only a cheerful
acceptance on the part of the United States, but in a signal manner
his sentiments of consideration and respect for the emperor, and to do
honor to the motives on which he offered his mediation. After hearing
these statements of Mr. Adams, the emperor directed Count Romanzoff to
express his particular gratification with the honorable notice the
American government had taken of his offer to effect a pacification
between Great Britain and the United States.
In September Lord Cathcart delivered to the emperor a memoir from the
British government, stating at length their reasons for declining any
mediation in their contest with the United States. But, although the
British government did not choose that a third power should interfere
in this controversy, it had offered to treat directly with the
American envoys at Gottenburg, or in London.
This proposition having been accepted by the United States, Mr. Adams
was associated with Bayard, Clay, and Russell, in the negotiation.
After taking leave of the empress and Count Romanzoff,--the emperor
being then before Paris with the allied armies,--he quitted St.
Petersburg on the 28th of April, 1814. His family remained in that
city, and he travelled alone to Revel. There he received the news of
the taking of Paris, and the abdication of Napoleon. From thence he
embarked for Stockholm.