HON. CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS TO TILDEN
(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."