(THE STAMP OF FRAUD FIRST TRIUMPHANT IN AMERICAN HISTORY)
"BOSTON, _5th March, 1877_.
"MY DEAR SIR,--On this day when you _ought_ to have been
the President of these United States, I seize the opportunity to
bear my testimony to the calm and dignified manner in which you have
passed through this great trial.
"It is many years since I ceased to be a party man. Hence I have
endeavored to judge of public affairs and men rather by their merits
than by the names they take. It is a source of gratification to me
to think that I made the right choice in the late election. I could
never have been reconciled to the elevation by the smallest aid of
mine of a person, however respectable in private life, who must
forever carry upon his brow the stamp of fraud first triumphant in
American history.
"No subsequent action, however meritorious, can wash away the
letters of that record.
"Very respectfully yours,
"CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS."