Original subtitles

Four generations of one family.

Their lives and causes reveal 150 years of American history.

During the Civil War, Charles Francis Adams II, grandson and great -grandson

presidents, fought as an officer in the Union Cavalry.

His brother Henry served in London as secretary to their father, the American

minister to Great Britain.

In 1870, Charles is at home in the rapidly changing United States.

He is committed to the new dynamism, big business, and is determined it can be

controlled by Adam's rules.

To Henry...

Those rules appear to have been bypassed.

Damn it, Henry, you are giving up.

You can't seriously consider this offer from Harvard.

There's an historical tradition in our family, Charles. Our grandfather was a

Harvard professor early in his career.

Well, you can't leave Washington, not now.

I shall miss it.

Did you know that one of the newspapers called me the third best dancer in the

city? Now, that's fame, Charles.

I was only pleased they didn't embarrass me by naming me first.

There's a fine line between fame and notoriety.

Yes, yes, back to your old tricks, that sovereign rule of yours. Serious things

must be discussed lightly, and light things seriously.

Henry, you know how important your articles are.

Oh, very. They were all printed in obscure magazines. Even the typesetters

didn't bother to read them.

Typesetters? You were exposing faults in our system that needed to be exposed.

You tried to.

You tacked Jay Gould on what he was doing with the railroads, and with what

result?

Henry, have you forgotten our letters to each other during the war?

We had dreams then.

We cared.

We saw ourselves as the beginning cadre of intelligent, honest men who would do

something to heal the country. Well, it's more important now than then.

You have a right to be discouraged, God knows, but this country has exploded

since the war.

Explosion causes debris. We're living in it. Well, do something about it then.

Don't go up and hide in some ivory tower.

Don't spend the rest of your life teaching medieval history and being

faculty teas.

If that's my fate, I'm fortunate to have a brother in the battle.

You're damned right I'm in the battle.

The railroads have opened up this entire continent.

Here, you take Kansas City.

Now, five years ago, it was a river village, Westport Landing.

Nothing but a few planters' houses, warehouses, Negro shacks. Today, it's a

city.

I own real estate there.

Stockyards. I'm proud of you, Charles.

Finance is the new frontier, Henry. I'm not going to turn my back on it.

You should be pleased I'm leaving Washington. If I stayed, I might have to

expose you.

Oh, no. Oh, no.

Why do you think I kept insisting all these years on a railroad commission

in Massachusetts to regulate one of the most lawless industries in America?

I believe I can change what is wrong, Henry.

No one in the system can change it.

That's pure cynicism. A cheap attempt to avoid responsibility.

My God, Henry.

With Grant in power, there's more fault in Washington now than ever before. Dig

into it.

At least give it a month.

Decide about Harvard then.

I do wish Henry and Charles had finished talking. Henry would so enjoy hearing

you play, competition.

Oh, he's very nice, Mr. Henry Adams.

So intelligent.

I expected him to be quite different, more like Cousin Charles.

They may seem to be different, but they have many similarities.

Not the important ones.

I could never feel at ease with a gentleman who... Who what, Letitia?

Who hates Boston and refuses to be quiet about it.

You need to be at the pulse of it. Washington is your city. You've said so

yourself. Aging whores lose their appeal, Charles.

Oh, Henry is sulking, that's all.

No, I'm just being realistic.

I went there, eager to be carried and triumph on my followers' shoulders. No

noticed me.

Despite my brilliant articles, there's still no civil service.

My efforts did not prevent Mr. Fisk and Mr.

Gould from cornering all of gold in America. My essay on the Senate and the

executive changed nothing.

I've been running after the Adams go -kart.

Now I've stopped.

For God's sakes, Charles, let's go our separate ways.

I'll be teaching at Harvard this fall.

Miss Hooper.

Good morning, Mr. Adams.

You look surprised.

At the sight of a woman in Harvard Library, yes, but I certainly don't

Plato. In the original.

Well, I don't like translations.

How wise of you.

So Dr. Gurney is going to teach me to read the language.

Are you enjoying your professorship?

More than I ever thought possible. It's incredible what the students are

teaching me.

Do you always deprecate yourself, Mr. Adams?

I beg your pardon?

Well, you did when we met at dinner last week.

Is it a habit of yours or an affectation?

I never thought about it.

A habit, undoubtedly.

A subtle warning to strangers not to expect too much.

You're shy.

What a pleasant surprise.

My first impression was wrong.

Good morning, Mr. Adams.

Have a pleasant day, Miss Hooper.

Perhaps Miss Marion and Mr. Adams found it difficult to get away from the ball.

Oh, Miss Marion won't let nothing stop her. She'll be here at midnight to start

the new year with you, Dr.

Hooper. Unless that Mr.

Adams... I beg your pardon, sir, but those Adamses. Sure, they could have

the Fainians back in the time of the trouble.

Did Mr.

Adams' father do it? No.

Well, Mr. Adams' father was minister to England and Kathleen.

Ireland was not his concern.

You say.

No, no.

Good evening, Mr.

Adams.

Fanny, Ned.

Father, happy New Year. I've disrupted your whole evening. Nonsense.

Now, we couldn't begin a new year without you.

It's a pleasure to be here, sir. We left the dance of the dead. Mr. Adams.

Boston hostesses dread entertaining for a simple reason. They've no one to

invite except the friends they've loathed since childhood.

You're too hard on us, Mr. Adams.

We're nearly 12.

Kathleen, will you join us? Oh, no, thank you, Miss Marion. Spirits of the

of me race.

If Irishmen drink too much, it's undoubtedly because of their women.

An interesting historical thesis, Henry.

Well, to my family and to Mr. Adams, Happy New Year.

Your health, Father.

Thank you, Clover.

Now the new year has begun as it should.

Why did you come back to Boston, Mr. Adams?

Harvard students.

What do they need more than a comprehensive knowledge of the years 800

Now don't joke with me.

I wouldn't.

It's a fascinating period, particularly for me.

None of my esteemed forebears had struggled to prominence.

All those presidents have prejudiced you, Mr. Adams.

Indeed, I try not to let them.

My mother adored her family.

Perhaps if I had known her, I would have too.

You still have not told me why you came back.

You are too persistent.

Yes, I am.

I've been reading as many of your articles as I can find.

You could be a very important man.

You insult me, Miss Hooper. I think I am.

You're important in a different way than you are.

We're starting for home, Clover.

Can we take you home? That would be kind.

Good. I want to talk with you.

I ran into your brother, John Quincy, yesterday.

He asked my support in his race for governor. Next.

This year.

John's turning a willingness to run into an eccentricity.

But then all the Adams have their peculiarities.

Just as the Hoopers do.

Good night.

Shall I see you soon?

Whenever you like, Henry.

Mr. Adams, the latest count.

Ward 8.

300 less than last year.

Ward 16.

Irish town.

Perhaps when the returns from the Western counties come in. They knew how

it. They waited till they were asked.

Now you have the Irish.

You want a favor done, you go to the Irish forces of their ward healers.

Damn it, I should have made a good governor.

Good evening, John, Henry, Father, Charles, Brooks.

Well, son, you did your best.

I can't imagine why you want to be in politics anyway.

Brooks, please.

Well, if there is one consolation, Father, you'll rescue the family name

year. Yes, Father, stop being such an ostrich.

You are the logical Republican reform candidate for president.

And if you're nominated, you'll win.

I must astonish the two of you.

We shall talk of this no further.

All right, you will be president.

And in his official portrait, he'll be smiling.

For three years, you've been ringing the fire bell, trying to get Washington to

admit there must be federal control of the railroads, and you haven't

And you still insist that I leave the ivory tower, climb back into combat.

been a bloody gladiator, Charles. Once is enough.

Charles, aren't you enjoying the orchestra?

Oh, of course he is. I'm sure one of our honorable ancestors is responsible for

its very existence.

It's the intermission that's irritating him.

Come along, Minnie.

My brother has appointed himself minister of my conscience.

Perhaps he feels it's his duty.

I'd rather you would.

In short, sir, I'm in love. I don't know why.

She respects me.

She has the taste to admire my opinions, my skills, such as they are.

I don't think until recently she's thought about marrying, but perhaps

she didn't expect to find anyone who appreciates her as much as her own

does. But I do, you see.

I think she will consider my proposal.

Can you support her, Henry?

My salary plus my income comes to 6 ,000 a year.

She's used to more than that.

Like any woman with sense.

She has money of her own.

You still haven't given me your consent, sir. Your approval.

Henry.

We want you to marry.

If you're sure about it.

Quite sure.

As sure as I will be of anything in my life.

How do you feel about him, Marion?

He's a brilliant man, Father.

Dr. Gurney says he's brought revolutionary methods to teaching

How do you feel about him, Marion?

I think about him, Father.

He could be the most notable Adams of them all.

He doesn't see that.

Then he needs you.

If he proposes, if he does, will you accept?

You and I need each other too, Father.

Less today than when you were young.

And that's as it should be.

I hoped you'd be alone.

Charles was in the library.

He wants me to read your article on socialist labor.

I'm glad the university had the good sense to make you editor of that review.

I'm not so sure I am. Between the classroom and the editing, I'm a little

pressed for time, just as I am now.

Father, Marion wants to tell her father first.

But I want you to know.

She has accepted me.

I'm so pleased.

And if you are happy, Henry, you know that your mother and I are too.

Father, this is exactly the reason for the railway strike in Fall River. Ah,

Henry. Good evening, Charles. I'm glad you published this. Good.

The radical labor movement is socialistic. Now, fortunately, when

to Washington next year, Father will not give in to those ridiculous demands.

Me? You're not anointing me the new president again, are you?

Even in my ivory tower, we hear the rumor you'll be nominated.

My critics suggest that I'm merely a statue from our glorious past.

A statue waiting for its pedestal.

Well, sir, if you would only accept a few well -chosen speaking engagements.

You're not suggesting that I run for the nomination, are you? Yes, sir, I am.

And once nominated, you'll have to run again to beat Grant.

Horace Greeley hasn't your scruples, Father. He's politicking now with

who will listen. It's the times.

Well, fortunately, when the convention meets, I shall be in Geneva for the

claims arbitrations.

Well, sir, may we speak for you, then? You may not speak as if I were

campaigning. And you may not commit me to any men or any causes.

But you're making it impossible.

Don't you want to be president, Father?

What man would, Henry?

Then what man would turn the chance down?

No one in our family ever did.

You'll be comfortable in here, I believe, sir.

That's out of the dampness, at least. Thank you.

What about the man from the embassy, Father?

Oh, he'll find us.

Well, how does it feel to be back in England, Brooks?

At least this time, I shan't be sentenced to their public schools.

England may prize them.

I don't, and never will.

Mr. Adams, sir, welcome to Great Britain.

I'm Spofford from the embassy.

Thank you, Mr. Spofford. This is my son, Brooks Adams.

How do you do?

If you'll be kind enough to give me your passports, I'll arrange for you to

bypass customs.

Very kind of you.

Oh, I have a cable for you. It's been waiting several days.

Thank you.

I shan't be long, sir.

What is it, Father?

The convention has chosen Horace Greeley as its candidate.

Father?

Would you find out where we could send a message of congratulations to him?

I must say, it's the last time. In fact, this will be the last time ever.

Good night, December.

Good night, Mr. Adams.

Oh, there's one thing.

Yes?

I think you should know it. In fact, you must.

There's nothing I can do about it.

What?

I shall be fine in Germany and even in Egypt once we get there.

Henry, please tell me.

Our honeymoon.

The boat.

What about the boat?

From the moment we get on board, I shall be seasick.

Good night, Clover.

My last night in this house.

But I shall be very cheerful about it, for after tomorrow I shall have both

Henry and you.

And while we're away, I shall write you every Sunday at six.

And you must write me then, too.

Long, long letters.

Every Sunday at six.

We'll be our time together wherever we are.

Oh, and Father, you must keep after Kathleen and Cook. They'll nap all day

you let them.

Oh, and the gardener does tend to drink on saint days.

Didn't you know that?

You told me.

Well, good night.

Thank you.

I'm leaving Harvard, sir.

What? Are you Hotchkiss?

In the middle of the term?

If you have financial problems, I'll speak to the bursar.

No, sir, it's not that.

Even if I get my degree, what can I do with all I've learned?

Nothing besides... teaching.

I want to get into business.

Industry. There are a lot of opportunities just now.

Yes, I'm sure there are.

Well, if you've decided.

Yes.

I'm truly sorry.

And thank you.

For what?

For making 800 A .D. to 1453 so damn interesting.

Henry, what's the matter?

Ghosts.

I didn't know you believed in them.

Just my family's.

Here, I just started this.

My dear Mr. Gallatin, knowing the deep respect my grandfather had for Albert

Gallatin, I am most flattered at your suggestion that I come to Washington.

And edit your father's papers.

Are you going to do it?

Can't they have the papers sent here?

Let's leave Boston.

Henry! Break away. Move. Smell the asphalt of Washington again.

We can sit on a balcony and look down contemptuously at people in high places.

Oh, I know you're serious.

Yes, I mean it. I've been thinking about it for a long time without realizing

it. You'll love living in Washington, Clover.

Why are you hesitating?

I'm not sure.

It's just been the worst year of my life.

I know.

I know, Fanny.

Charles and I still miss our Louisa.

She at least was a grown woman when she died.

Mother Adams.

To lose two young ones so quickly.

I still keep thinking I'm going to see Fanny.

Toddling toward the lemonade.

John Quincy teasing Mary.

John Quincy. Fanny, please.

John Quincy Adams never teased anyone.

Yes, we were talking of John Quincy III, Charles.

Oh. Mama! Papa! We're coming, Charles.

I must have been dreaming.

About John Quincy Adams?

I don't remember dreams, usually.

I know.

But there was this ship out in the bay, Abigail.

And old John Adams and young John Quincy were leaving this house at night to

board her.

And I was watching them.

Only it was during the Revolution.

And old John knew that if he could get to France, he might negotiate a treaty

that could end the war.

If only that waiting ship out there could set sail and escape the blockade.

I was dreaming history, Abigail.

I guess my own imagination's all run out.

But in those days...

The fate of one man could be the fate of a country.

Look at us all.

Whatever our hope, here we are.

John Quincy.

A gentleman farmer, city planner, former politician.

Brooks.

He has a brilliant mind without a scrap of sense in it.

He expects to become a successful lawyer by turning down the very cases that

would make his reputation.

That's his way of keeping his integrity. You should approve.

You can become successful and still keep your integrity?

You don't believe me?

My God, Henry.

After the war...

In 66, I found myself married without a life.

I was a colonel one day and office boy the next. I hated the law.

No one was begging me to practice it.

I saw another chance and I took it. I'm not ashamed of the money I've made.

Neither am I.

Aren't you?

I have juggled too many lives.

Official, literary, business.

They've all been successful.

A successful man is right three times out of five. An unsuccessful man is

in the same proportion.

Why are you always defending your life to me?

We were close once. Maybe now I want you to understand me.

We're getting older, Henry.

I don't see it when I look in the mirror, but I do when I see father and

I used to think of you, me, Brooks, and Minnie as the future.

Now they are.

You and Marion should have children.

It's not possible.

I'm sorry.

Well, you have your students. They'll keep you young.

Yes, they will.

Till summer, at least.

Henry wants to leave Harvard.

Bost.

When he first mentioned it, I thought it was a mood.

But it's not.

When will you be leaving?

I haven't really agreed yet, Father.

Why not, Mary?

Isn't it your duty?

Is your father enjoying the afternoon?

I think so.

Does he look well to you?

I don't know why, but everyone seems so much older.

I guess it's the children's fault.

Will we leave for Washington as soon as classes end, Henry?

Yes, we will.

We will.

I still don't believe it.

Gallatin's finished.

Clover, it's so good to talk to you without part of my mind being back in

or 1815.

But now I have to read four volumes.

I shall only be very hurt if you don't. Well, I must.

How will I know the reviews are fair unless I've read the books?

Well, ignore the reviews.

We'll simply hurl the four volumes at the head of an unconscious public and go

on from there.

Perhaps a study of John Randolph, Aaron Burr.

No, Henry.

You must finish your novel.

Democracy? Oh, no one reads satire. Oh, Henry, I've just reread what you've

written, and it's brilliant.

All the characters are so recognizable.

I even think I recognized a bit of myself when, um, Madeline couldn't

whether she had real ambition or was just restless.

Madeline is a completely fictitious character.

Oh, Henry. I don't mind.

I'm flattered.

You're a writer.

You must use who and what you know.

Finish the book for me.

Get it to a publisher before we leave for Europe in September.

Well, it would have to be published anonymously, of course.

No. I wouldn't want that kind of notoriety.

The cover must read Democracy by Henry Adams.

Half the town would recognize themselves, Senator Blaine, Cameron.

know what we feel about them. We've said it often enough.

Frequently to their faces.

There's another consideration.

My serious work.

This is serious work, Henry.

The historians won't think so.

Besides, think of the fun we'll have sitting there.

laughing to ourselves while the whole town tries to find out who the author

truly is.

Another game, Henry?

But an amusing one, at least. What does it matter whose name is on the cover?

Oh, don't be angry, please.

I need your help to finish it.

You need me in very curious ways, Henry.

Henry's always late.

Historical research is no excuse.

He should stop writing history.

Tell him to follow my example and beget a few novels.

At least they can be researched in the drawing room and written in the privacy

of one's study. I wonder what a novel by Henry would be like.

Filled with momentous events.

He'd probably attempt to turn that shanty village of his into a great city,

Washington.

You must come back to America soon, Mr. James.

You'll be surprised how the capital has changed.

I would still see the village.

Oh, excuse me. Of course.

Dear Mrs. Howard, what kind of you to come?

Mr. James, I just finished your volumes.

I can't let go of them.

I have the same difficulty.

I do adore everything American.

Such an endlessly fascinating people.

I have a treat for you, then.

An authentic American who's escaped the provincialism of my country.

Mrs. Howard, Mrs. Adams.

John, how do you do?

How I envy you being here, discovering our country.

I understand you have no cathedrals at all.

Describe what you do have to Mrs. Howard, my dear.

Excuse me.

They don't stop to greet your wife.

Their grace is the Duke and Duchess of Exeter are here to meet you. They never

go out. This is a rare privilege.

Yes, your father and I spent many an afternoon together in the early 60s. And

after a few meetings, one completely forgot that he wasn't English.

Who is?

Where?

It's all right, my dear.

Doesn't hear a word, but won't let it interfere with her life.

Of course...

It was an impossible mission that your father had.

He succeeded, Your Grace.

Your country never sided with the Confederacy. I was his secretary then.

Of course, I remember.

Oh, I barely remember myself.

I suppose you have followed in the family tradition and are in the

No, sir.

What? None of my brothers has.

Has what?

Nothing, my dear, nothing at all.

Pity.

We don't let that kind of thing happen here.

Henry becomes more English every year.

He should be stuffed and placed in Westminster Abbey, a monument to his

country. Well, that's unkind.

He should come home, though.

Well, I asked him. He refused.

Return to America, my dear Adams? To do what?

Watch the laborers fighting in the street.

I didn't mention it might give his novels added reality.

Well, I would have.

We could never live long in Europe, Henry.

I've been thinking about home all day.

Have you finished reading Henry's books yet?

Yes, I have.

Well, I thought we might take a walk over to the old house and see father.

Oh, you aren't going to write Henry tonight, are you? No.

I'm reviewing Mr. Henry Adams' life of Albert Gallatin for the nation.

Charles, do you think that's wise? After what you've said, I don't... My

critique will be published anonymously.

Charles, I... Henry once told me that he would be pleased to have me kick his

tail whenever it was necessary. It is necessary.

It has no life at all.

You Adamses.

You have so high a standard born into you. I wonder how any of you ever get

anything done.

These volumes fall a little short of being an outrage.

Both on Albert Gallatin and on everyone who wishes to know anything about him.

You must not let one review... That's the nation. It's important.

Whoever wrote this misread the whole book. They're in the drawing room, sir.

That must be John Hay. He promised he'd come by. He'll make you forget the

nation.

John.

Well, I have something for the two of you.

Democracy, a new novel.

Author unknown.

Oh, I know about that.

Is it really as marvelous as everyone says?

It is.

I had to send to New York for this copy.

It's sold out here.

The man who wrote it's making a fortune.

I doubt he needs it. He's obviously so well -connected, so a part of the scene.

Everybody's wondering who... Oh, my God.

What's the matter, John?

I shan't go on thinking what I'm thinking unless... Oh,

no.

We'll start all over here. Henry, you know about this? All about it?

Henry.

Quote, the senator talked about virtue and vice as a man whose colorblind talks

about red and green, unquote.

Chapter 12, I've forgotten the page.

I am.

I shan't tell even Clara.

Oh, Henry, how I wish I had written it.

Congratulations.

Both of you must be so pleased.

You look so pained, Father.

I wanted to pose you in the drawing room, but Henry knew I wouldn't be

before the guests arrived.

Really, I shall get the hang of all this equipment.

Christmas presents should not be so much work. Oh, you're enjoying it. I'm going

to be good at it. That's the way I raised you.

Quite right.

You know, Henry thought I needed some creative outlet.

Let me just do this.

Well, he may regret it.

You ready, Margaret?

Yes, ma 'am. Harriet?

Now, you must hold very still for what may seem an endless amount of time.

You ready?

Now, on the count of three.

One.

Two.

Father!

Father, are you all right? Yes, yes, of course, my dear.

Excuse me.

No, no, do let's proceed.

Are you sure? Yes, yes. Go ahead, my dear, go ahead.

One. Two.

Three.

Mr. Adams. Hotchkiss.

I was curious to see you.

I see I'm the first.

That gives us a chance to chat.

Your notes said nothing except you're living here now. Tell me, what are you

doing in our city?

Actually, I'm working for Mr. Jay Gould. Oh, your history studies won't be

wasted then.

You've done thorough groundwork in both despots and criminals, this time

combined into one man. Excuse me.

Elizabeth. Henry.

Senator. Henry.

Where's Marion?

Photographing. I'm afraid I have a rival now for my time and affection.

I know you don't believe that.

Oh, I'm so sorry.

Mr. Hotchkiss, I'd like you to meet a dear friend of ours, Mrs. Cameron.

Mr. Hotchkiss, Senator Cameron.

Mr. Hotchkiss. I'm a great admirer of yours, Senator.

Well, thank you, sir. I read that piece you wrote. Isn't it fortunate your

husband has at least one? No, Henry.

I'm an admirer of my husband, too. Oh, but Marion and I love you, nevertheless.

This time last year, the White House was quite dark.

Mrs. Hayes' teetotaling had turned it into a desert.

As her husband did his office.

When we returned from Europe, I was fully prepared to bumble along with

for eight years.

Guiteau and his pistol have spared us that. I have no thanks to him.

Our electoral college is supposed to provide us with presidents, not

And now we have Chester Arthur, man of the people.

most of whom turn out to be General Grant's needy followers.

I think the time has come, King, to talk seriously about organizing a free trade

party.

Will you give your time to that?

More importantly, I'll give my money.

I'd like to have a man in the White House whose dinner invitation I care to

accept.

That young man from Harvard is a lobbyist, Henry, with Mr. Jay Gould's

He's been refilling the senator's glass while he talks about Mr.

Gould's governmental problems.

Hotchkiss. Yes.

I won't have it.

He can do his bribery in the bar rooms of the streets for not a mile.

Excuse me, Mrs. Evans.

I've always wished that you would write a book in the medieval period.

Oh, I have so many other books planned.

I'm glad to hear that. What will the next one be?

Ah, a history of lobbying in this country. A detailed expose about how

congressional votes are bought.

It will be an unscrupulous book about an equally unscrupulous profession, Mr...

Hotchkiss.

You're at your incorrigible best.

Midnight. Is that it? Happy New Year.

This year you came to me.

Dear Father, Happy New Year.

Happy New Year.

Dear Father, our new house

will be so grand, Henry swears it will be perfect except for one uncorrectable

thing. The front windows face the White House.

John and Clara Hay think they will get in their house next door before we do.

But Henry and I are determined to spend the holidays in residence.

I long to see the house through your eyes.

Clover and I just started to build a simple little box.

It's become a castle.

Yes.

Perhaps if you added a turret or two, it might become quite as grand as my next

door. Oh, no turrets. I am wondering about putting on a balcony, though.

Hmm. Overlooking the White House.

I once promised Clover we'd have a balcony to sit on.

Yes, Henry. A telegram, sir. Oh, thank you. Thank you.

Tom. Yes.

Is father going to be all right?

Is there a chance?

A chance?

Yesterday's was evidently...

Not the first attack.

Not the first?

Father wouldn't keep that from me. He wouldn't. He did, Clover.

I don't believe it.

I won't. I must be... Marion.

He's asleep, Mrs. Adams.

I'll call you when he's awake.

I'll stay with you. Mrs. Adams. I'm going to take care of him myself.

You're going to wake him. No, I won't. You need his... Nurse, I know that.

Please, leave us alone.

I'm going to take care of him.

Dearest Henry, every day he seems weaker, though when he is awake his mind

alert, so cheerful.

I know that as long as I am here, he will be all right.

I miss you dreadfully, of course, but I really feel Father will revive and be

with us in our new house New Year's Eve.

All my love, Clover.

A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to

that profound secret and mystery to every other.

A solemn consideration when I enter a great city by night, that every one of

those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret.

That every room in every one of them encloses its own secret.

Don't stop reading.

I thought you were asleep.

You should go back to Washington.

That every beating heart and the hundreds of thousands of breaths there

some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart itself.

Something of the awfulness... Even if death itself is referable to this.

No more can I turn the leaves of this dear book that I loved and vainly hope

time to read it all.

A fireplace in every room will bankrupt us, but Henry insists.

As a child I froze in Quincy, as a young man in London, and now in soggy, humid

Washington, I will have my fires.

Henry, wait till you see the marble I found for this lantern.

You didn't tell me. She's been a demon. She's found shops I didn't even know

existed. Well, you have your work and I have mine.

Let me show you the sample. It's in my bag.

So much better than when she first came back.

Well, this house is saved and not me.

She was very bad in Quincy. I wasn't able to help her.

Well, she didn't collapse, but... I knew her despair.

There was nothing I could do. I hated the feeling so.

If you don't like it, I... What have you two been talking about?

How wonderful this house is for you both.

I've always wanted a perfect house.

A house in which every room is exactly right.

You've just got to like it, Henry.

You certainly won't the price, but what does that matter? We aren't going to

live forever.

Do you like it?

Oh, yes, it's very unusual.

I want it as much as you do.

Good. What do you think, Elizabeth?

It has a marvelous texture.

The carving is going to take some time, but I'll keep after them.

The walls are going to have to be painted first.

I've taken the color from the Reynolds painting we bought in London.

Everything we own is going to look beautiful here.

You're finally going to live as we've always wanted.

Yes, finally.

I do have one request, though.

May I have one wall of this room as I want?

Of course, Henry.

That one.

Perfect. I'll choose them myself.

Choose what?

The best of your photographs?

Oh, yes.

We'll have them properly framed. There will be no photographs, Henry.

What?

I don't want any photographs in this house.

But they would be beautiful here. They're such a part of you, Clover. I

other plans for that wall.

A tapestry.

Now, come. You must see the pantry, Elizabeth.

I'm finally forcing myself to be practical.

We'll have no trouble with servants once we move in.

Father?

Just one moment, Henry.

I'm glad to see you're working again.

How's it coming?

Well enough.

The first proofs came in on the Thomas Jefferson book. I thought you might like

to go over them with me.

I'm sorry. I... I have a headache.

The fumes from the chemicals.

Come out of there, then. No.

We always read the galleys together.

I think the book is a mistake.

Clover.

That's wrong. I didn't mean to say that. You obviously did.

I only meant... What is the book about, Henry?

Jefferson? No, it's about John Adams.

What are you trying to prove?

What am I doing?

I'm so tired. I don't sleep well at night. You know that.

I don't mean to hurt you.

These days, there are so many things we just can't talk about.

Henry, forgive me.

It's my mood.

I don't want to be like this.

I won't be like this anymore.

I promise.

I won't be needing you now.

Will you be having tea in the studio this afternoon, madam?

Not this afternoon.

Sunday is her worst day.

I wanted her to come to the new house with me, and she was reading and

When we're living there, perhaps.

Of course, that'll help.

Let me go find her. She'll want to see you before you leave.

Marion? I was just starting a letter.

To whom?

Ned.

John's downstairs.

Why don't you write it later?

He's catching a night train to New York. If you don't come now, you'll miss him.

Oh, John will understand.

It is to Ned.

John will be back next week. Give him my love.

Slova, you're all right, aren't you?

Henry, you worry about me too much. You must stop.

I simply don't like to be interrupted once I've decided what I must do. You

that.

Please, madam, he does not want to be disturbed.

But I must see him. But, madam... I'm going to see him.

Henry.

Oh, Henry.

Why didn't you send word?

I read it in the stock.

Heart failure, they said.

For once the press is willing to save the pride of an Adams.

Marion, what... Please.

It will be so much easier for me if you do not mention her name.

Here, now, I begin my posthumous life.

You could never have moved into this place.

You've always accused me of living in the past. Moving here, I've stepped into

the future.

What are you going to do now?

We planned a trip to Japan in June.

You're not going.

Henry, you'll be miserable if you'll be thinking about everything the two of

you... Why are you doing this?

I want to understand.

What?

Our lives.

There's so much work planned.

I'll leave the work to you, Charles.

You're 50 now. You told me once that when you were, and you had everything

wanted, you'd retire to President's Hill and become an historian yourself.

I haven't everything I want yet.

Will either of us ever have what we really want?

Remember when we were very small.

In the long room at Quincy, there was this portrait of old John Adams.

His great somber face always seemed to be staring down at me. It terrified me.

And I would wonder in my innocence what he thought of me.

And then I knew the answer.

He was disappointed in me.

I felt that way too.

I wonder now if we were right.

We're each looking for new frontiers in our own way.

Our times simply do not call for heroes.

Good afternoon, Charles.

Thank you for coming by.