Von Sheinhuyer presented as a toast—­“The Pacificators of the States—­May their union contribute to the happiness of the Department which is confided to my government; and may their Excellencies communicate to their Governments the lively interest which those under me take in their reconciliation.”  Mr. Adams and Lord Gambier both begged the Intendant to certify to the city of Ghent the gratitude of the Ministers, for the attention which the inhabitants had shown them during their residence in their midst.

Having concluded their labors at Ghent by signing the treaty of peace, Mr. Adams, together with Messrs. Albert Gallatin and Henry Clay, was directed to proceed to London, for the purpose of entering into negotiations for a treaty of commerce with Great Britain.  Before leaving the continent, Mr. Adams visited Paris, where he witnessed the return of Napoleon from Elbe, and his meteoric career during the Hundred Days.  Here he was joined in March, 1815, by his family, after a long and perilous journey from St. Petersburg.

On the 25th of May, Mr. Adams arrived in London and joined Messrs. Gallatin and Clay, who had already entered upon the preliminaries of the proposed commercial convention with Great Britain.  In the mean time, Mr. Adams had received official notice of his appointment as Minister to the Court of St. James.  On the 3d of July, 1815, the convention for regulating the commercial intercourse between the United States and Great Britain was concluded, and duly signed.  It was afterwards ratified by both Governments, and has formed the basis of commerce and trade between the two countries, to the present time.  At the conclusion of these negotiations, Messrs. Gallatin and Clay returned to the United States, and Mr. Adams remained in London, in his capacity as resident Minister.

Thus had the prediction of Washington been fulfilled.  In “as short a time as could well be expected,” John Quincy Adams, as the well-merited reward of faithful services, had attained to the head of the Diplomatic Corps of the United States.  His career had been singularly successful; and his elevation to the highest foreign stations received the general approbation of his countrymen.  His simple habits, his plain appearance, his untiring industry, his richly stored mind, his unbending integrity, his general intercourse and correspondence with foreign courts and diplomatists of the greatest distinction, all tended to elevate, in a high degree, the American character, in the estimation of European nations.

The impression he made in the most eminent circles during his residence in London, as a statesman of unsurpassed general information, and critical knowledge of the politics of the world, was retained for years afterwards.  Mr. Rush, who was subsequently Minister to Great Britain, in an account of a dinner party at Lord Castlereagh’s, notes a corroborating incident:  “At table, I had on my left the Saxon Minister, Baron Just. * * * * * * He inquired of me for Mr. Adams, whom he had known well, and of whom he spoke highly.  He said that he knew the politics of all Europe.” [Footnote:  Rush’s Residence at the Court of London.]