“His many excellent qualities of heart and head were encased in a rough exterior. ‘I remember,’ says a daughter of Captain Adams, ‘when I was a little girl at Sharon Springs, being impressed by a singular directness of purpose in the man. I used to like to watch him go into the crowded drawing-room. He would stand at the door, survey the tangled scene, find his objective point, and march straight to it over and through the confusion of ladies, children and furniture, never stopping till he reached there. He was a man of great personal bravery, as were all the Perrys, of undoubted courage and gallantry, bluff in his manners, but most hearty and warm in feelings, and with that genuine kindness which impresses at the moment and leaves its mark on the memory. Children instinctively liked the big and bluff hero. As a friend he was most true and constant, and his friendship was always to be relied on.’” “Such was the vein and character of the man, that the impression he made on my mind and affections was such as to make me desirous of following him to the cannon’s mouth, or wherever the fortunes of peace or war should appoint our steps.”[45] “He was an intense navy man, always had the honor of the navy at heart, and lost no opportunity to impress this feeling upon the officers of his command.”[46] “I have no unfavorable recollections of Commodore Perry. On the contrary, I think he was one of the greatest of our naval commanders. He had brains, courage, industry and rare powers of judging character, and I believe he would not have spared his own son had he been a delinquent. He seemed to have no favorites but those who did their duty.”[47] “I consider that Commodore Matthew C. Perry was one of the finest officers we ever had in our navy—far superior to his brother Oliver. He had not much ideality about him, but he had a solid matter-of-fact way of doing things which pleased me mightily. He was one of the last links connecting the old navy with the new.”[48] He seemed never idle for one moment of his life. When abroad, off duty he was remembering those at home. He brought back birds, monkeys, pets and curiosities for the children. He collected shells in great quantities, and was especially careful to get rare and characteristic specimens. With these, on his return home, he would enrich the museums at Newport, Brooklyn, New York and other places. As he never knew when to stop work, there were, of course, some under his command who did not like him or his ways.