that pleased the Puritans and caused one of them to remark, "He is surely
coming over to the Lord's side!"

But in politics, Samuel Adams was a liberal of the liberals. In
statecraft, the heresy of change had no terrors for him, and with Hamlet,
he might have said, "Oh, reform it altogether!"

The limitations set in every character seem to prevent a man from being
generous in more than one direction; the bigot in religion is often a
liberal in politics, and vice versa. For instance, physicians are almost
invariably liberal in religious matters, but are prone to call a man
"Mister" who does not belong to their school; while orthodox clergymen, I
have noticed, usually employ a homeopathist.

In that most valuable and interesting work, "The Diary of John Adams," the
author refers repeatedly to Samuel Adams as "Adams"! This simple way of
using the word "Adams" shows a world of appreciation for the man who
blazed the path that others of this illustrious name might follow. And so
with the high precedent in mind, I, too, will drop prefix and call my
subject simply "Adams."

On the authority of King George, General Gage made an offer of pardon to
all save two who had figured in the Boston uprising.

The two men thus honored were John Hancock (whose signature the King could
read without spectacles), and the other was "one, S. Adams."

Adams, however, was the real offender, and the plea might have been made
for John Hancock that, if it had not been for accident and Adams, Hancock
would probably have remained loyal to the mother country.