, 1874-04-25

Of successive schools 1t Quincy, North Le1-
ington, Concord, and WaItham. The day before
he had completed his Goth year, he obtained
cave Of absence from home from morning until
night, and went away, no one knew whittier.
On his return at evening, he astonlshed his
father with the intelligence that he had walked
| to Cambridge and entered as
STUDENT OF HARVARD COLLEGE,
| s'But. Theodore, cannot afford it, remon-
strated bis father. II It shah cost you nothing,
replied Theodore. II will stay 1t homo and
| keep up with my class )" and 80 he did. At the
| end Of the year he had distanced his clses, but
could not pay for = degree. It WAS conferred
| upon him, in 1870, as mark OF honor which
! Harvard was proud to bestoW upon mind 30
| spacious and weu-futnished-
| All these years Of his minority, in Which his
fathers house was his home, were years Of severe
toll on the farm. Sometimes In the last OF them,
he had worked twenty hours out Of the tweu-
ty-four for several days together. Always, from
his childhood, be had voluntarily labored beyond
his strength, thereby impAiring his constitution,
and inducing future disease and premature
death. But he was born worker, with goad-
ing impulse to do whatever he undertook, cost
to himself Whist it might. In 1831,-fiye months
before ho attained his matority,-he engaged as
an assistant in q private school in Boston. He
was set to teach more than he knew. yet his de-
fciency was never suspected. By Incredible toll
he swiftly acquired the knowledge he must i'm
part, and vast deal besides. He studied ten or
twelve hours q day, and taught ak or eeven.
Nature reEolted ut last against such demands,
and, at the end OF tho year, with reduced health,
he left Boston and opened private school in
Watertown.
Life there wns moro wholesome, and, though
work and study were still unremitting, the con-
ditions were more tolerable. His achool was
dourishin6, and the two years he gaya to u were
fruitful in pleasure and profit.
Having resolved to
ENTER THE MINISTRY,
Mr. Parker vent to Cambridge Divinity School
April, 1884, few months before the close OF
the Junior year. He had saved from teaching
about $50; the beneficiary fund gave him about
as much more and the remaining sum needed
to meet his light e1penses-for he had well
learned the art Of economy-was gained by les
sons to private pupils. To his claas, numbering
eight. belonged John 8. Dwight, the wal1-known
musical CRITIC and G. P. Crouch. .ths poet-arrst.
At this time be WAS marked by restless ambi-
tion to excel, an e1uberance Of life, an ingeuu-
GUS modesty, and an honesty that knew not hoT
to lie.
His reading was enormouB. He literally de-
voured books, rapidly going through with hugo
and venerable tones which mona saye the
bibliomaniD SO much as knew the namea OF.
The titles are given OF si1ty-6ve volumes, in
German, English, Danish, Latin, and Greek
which he read within two months. His studies
in above twenty different languages, ancient and
modern, were pushed 30 far that he made moro
or less complete acquaintance with their utera-
lures. Throughout his life, his achievements in
scholarship wo1o equally amazing. His invesi-
cation of every subject presented to his mind
was the most thorough possible; no stone was
left untu1ned which might conceal fact.
Whatever WAS the task before him,-sermon,
lecture, esssy.-he prepared himself for it by
research ovor the entire ground it covered On
one OCCASION, he WAS to read an essay upon No.
hammed, before the Oriental Society," CON-
pany Of eight or ten persons, meeting annually
in Boston. As preliminary work, he refreshed
his acquaintance with the Arabic and 6panish
languages, and then proceeded to read Though
series Of volumes relating to Mohannaed,
which, standing on end, aide by side, covered
length Of eleven feot in his library After ex-
tracting the pith from each one OF them, he felt
qualified to attempt the essay. It Waa after thlg
manner that he worked invariably.
HIS MEMORY WAS As ExTRAoRD1N1Br
as his faculty Of acquisition. It grasped with
hooks Of steel all that was committed to It.
Thirteen years after his first visit to Europe, he
wrote to friend in Venice, "Please look at the
'yiaggi di Giovanni Gabota' Tor Gabotti, or
Gabbotd). in the Ducal Library, and give me the
exact title. It used to be the corner book in the
corner Of the library next the Canale Grande.
on the lowest shell. The book is in no catalogue
in America, and men say there Is no such-' 4
friend once asked him "where Dr. Lord found
the fact that the black Africans we're descended
from tho Canaanites." "He got it." said Par
ker, ''from Grotius' DE Veritate;'" and
went to the shelf to venfy the statement. Tho
book was not there, but Dar1ow empty space !
where it usually stood "hliss Stevenson must |
have lent the book have not. The statement
you refer to occurs IN that volume" Then he
proceeded to say how far along in the book it
was, how far down the page, and on which page
it Was printed. "Have you read the book late
Typ" asked the friend. "No, not for many
years. mover read it but once" SIS the pas
sage in question associated with any incidars in
your experience that you recall it so readily
''No I recollect it simply rs part Of the con-
tents Of the book" The passage was Afterwards
found exactly where he had located it.
On leaving Divinity Hail. in 1886, he passed
through the trying experience Of + ministerial
candidate, preaching, few Sundays each, in
Portland. Lowell. and Bilerica- Hs
VAS invited to the paatorate in Wa1tham, Con-
cord, and Leominster, but finally decided to ac-
cept call to West Roxbury, and Was installed in
May and ordained in June. His congregation
consisted Of from 70 to 15o persons, and his |
salary Of 5000. In the prospect OF this psrma-
nent location,
HE HAD MARRIED, |
in the month OF April preceding, Miss Lydia D.
Cabot, only daughter Of John Cabot, Of New /
ton, with whom he had plghted t1oth five years |
previous, On his first removal to Watertonn.
The following resolutions, entered in his journal
on his wedding-day, exhibit ths conscientious
feeling With which he assumed tho conjugL re-
lation: |
l. Never. e1cept for the bast Of causss to oppose
my wife'B viii.
2 To discharge I'll sez71csa, for hsr saks fssaly.
g Never q 4cc1d