The messages contained in this book, coming from the immortal spirit of John Quincy Adams, were written out in manuscripts, at various times, at my house in Quincy, Mass., and at the house of my son-in-law, C. F. Baxter, Boston, during the last four years, through the hand of Joseph D. Stiles, medium, when in an entranced state, and who, at the time of writing them, was unconscious of what was being written. The whole was written in an almost perfect facsimile of that peculiar, tremulous handwriting of Mr. Adams in the last years of his earthly life,—a handwriting which probably no man living could, in his natural state of mind, so perfectly imitate, and which is wholly unlike the usual handwriting of the medium. The writing of these messages in manuscript was commenced in August, 1854, and closed in March, 1857. The medium (in trance) commenced copying and revising them for publication about the first of April following, and finished in June, 1858, making some additions and some omissions.

When influenced to write, he would usually be controlled from one to three hours at a sitting, and write generally from one and a half to three pages in a day when he did write. He was quite irregular as to the time of writing. Sometimes he would be absent for several days; sometimes a week; sometimes three or four weeks.

During the time these messages were in progress the medium was doing a good deal of other writing, and was accustomed to hold private circles frequently at my house and at the houses of other friends in Quincy, and also in Boston, Waltham, Hingham and other neighboring towns; and, in consequence of these various engagements, the completion of the work has been delayed.

After the work was revised and copied by the medium, and before it was carried to the printer, I was desired to place it in the hands of Mr. Allen Putnam, of Roxbury, to review.

Mr. Stiles is a respectable, unassuming young man, of only common-school education, with no pretensions to more than common capabilities. He is a printer by trade, and worked at that business until he perceived he possessed mediumistic powers. His organization is such that he is very susceptible to spirit-influence, and is one of the best writing-mediums in the country.

The thoughts and sentiments contained in these messages are of a high order, and evidently come from some very intelligent source, far above the power or capacity of the medium to originate or produce. There is considerable poetry inwoven in the work, and it is proper here to state that the medium is no poet; that, in his natural state of mind, he never wrote a verse of poetry in his life. This being the fact, I would ask whence originate all these high and ennobling thoughts, and sentiments, and poetry, if they do not emanate from the source whence they purport to come?

My first acquaintance with Mr. Stiles was in June of 1854. He came to my house to hold a circle in the evening, and a number of personal friends were present by invitation. On seating ourselves around the table, the medium was soon influenced to make a prayer, and, immediately after the prayer, was influenced to write, and the very first communication written out by him there was one purporting to be from a brother of mine, who died in 1818, which commenced as follows:

"Dear brother Josiah: I am very glad, after the lapse of many years, to be able to communicate to you. I am glad that you feel an interest in the cause of Spiritualism, for it is a beautiful theory, which, when you can believe with sincerity, cannot but help to smooth the declivity of life. It is doubly sweet to me to communicate to you, because I do it under the roof where my spirit took its flight from the things of earth.

 "Winslow Brigham."