The Press., 1893-10-26

American Review in 1817 It was hero that he met the celebrated Dr. Charming, who had great influence over his life, l and it was while here that Dr. J. G. Pal frey, the FUTURE HISTORIAN OF NEW ENGLAND, as-well as Charles Folsom, became his in- timate friends
 When he next left Harvard he went to l Bolton to take charge of a school in which I he had 30 scholars. Here he continued his discursive readings and made faith I ful use of his time. In his senior year he was again at Bolton, and during the spring vacation he went to Lancaster and engag- ed Q school so that he might have some- thing to do after graduation from college. While in Lancaster he turned his atten- tion to theological studies, and this old and beautiful town made permanent inn pression upon his mind and life.
 In the year 1877, at the ago of 28, after he had been out of the college for two years, he was called back to Harvard as tutor in geometry, astronomy and natural philosophy. It was while engaged in this position that he became the working edi- tor of the North American Review. He now continued at Cambridge the theolog- ical studies he had begun at Lancaster under Dr. Thayer, and began to prepare himself for the Unitarian ministry. Dr. Charming at this time had great influ- ence upon young Sparks, and it was through him that he gave up the North American and determined to become a Unitarian preacher. In 1919 he was in- stalled in the new Unitarian parish in Bal timore, where there were gathered around him large number of it's foremost fam lilies and many influential people. It was here that he undertook the Unitarian propaganda and entered into controversy with the bishop and clergy of the Episcc- pal church in Maryland. The old prestige of this body was somewhat disturbed by the new parish, and Bishop Whittingham and Dr. Wyatt attempted, without suc- cess, to crush the new congregation. The Boston Unitarians took great interest in Mir. Sparks work in Baltimore, and Dr. | Charming encouraged him as much as he I could, but he had no intellectual help in maintaining the Unitarian cause. There were two opinions as to tho efficiency of his defence of the Unitarian position. In 1891 he became the chaplain of congress, and this led to the beginnings of Unita- rian society in Washington. His stay in Baltimore was not long one. He work cd so hard that he undermined his health, and in 1893 he again took up his residence in Boston, and succeeded MT. Everett in the editorship of the North American Re- view. -..s -~This was very congenial occupation to him, and it led to changes in his work and career which were important and radical. l He remained in charge of the North Amer can Review until 1880, and while holding l this position was brought into contact with all the leading literary men of our own time. The number of strong men in those days in Boston was great. A large number of the leaders were Unitarian clergymen, but they constituted charm | ed circle for literary cultivation.
 | Among them were George Ticknor. w. H. Prescott, F. W. P. Greenwood, Theo- philus Parsons and Dr. J. G. Palfrey. MT. Sparks undertook at once to make the North American Review a repre- sentative organ of American letters, pa- l triotic and national in it's character, and open to all the questions which could come up on the American continent. Un- doubtedly, the North American Review was more brilliant during the editorship 1 of MT. Everett than during that of earlier or later editors, until one comes down to the joint editorship of MT. Lowell and Prof. Norton; but MT. Sparks widened it's sphere and made it more thoroughly a repl esentative organ than it had been be- ! fore.
 It is singular how great flame may be kindled from little fire. When Sparks was teaching school in Lancaster, he the author of ''Annals of the American Pulpit" in 1916, for a scrap of Gen. Wash tngton's handwriting, and it was this scrap which was the beginning of MT. Spark s I famous collection of the writings of Wash l ington. It was first proposed to MT. Sparks by his friend Folsom, then con- nected with the Cambridge press in 1894, and this led to the consent of Judge Washington to the use of Washington's manuscript for the publication of an edi- l tion of his writings. The result was not easily accomplished, and great difficulty al ose from the fact that most of Wash ington's letters were widely scattered, but the personal inquiry for manuscript materials and the personal examination of original documents gave MT. Sparks ab- solute command of the
 PAPERS OF WASHINGTON AT MT. VERNON, and he was able to render him service which, with all the fault that has been found with it, is abiding and of value even at the present time. Mr.. Ford's edition of Washington's writings is by no means so valuable as that undertaken by Dr. I Sparks, and when a full and exhaustive edition of the writings of Washington was l ordered by congress, it will be the work of Dr. Sparks that will have to be fol- lowed in this effort.
 In the year 1926 he took journey through the southern states, of which he has left extensive notes of travel and ob- servation. Prof. Adams compares them with Dr. Timothy Dwight's celebrated travels throughout New England, and de- l clares them to be some of the best records of the situation of the country in those days that are now in existence. He also made extensive researches in New York and in different parts of New England at this time for the purpose of Investigating the materials for American history that were then preserved In state archives, in the libraries of historical societies, and in private hands. His great work at this time and for three or four years was in the shape of researches for American his- torical documents in England and France. He not only wished to secure all the l Washington letters and manuscripts, both at home and abroad, but felt that it was necessary to visit the libraries abroad and and find out what might exist in the pub- lie archives and in private hands in differ ent parts of Europe.
 l When he had finished editing the writ ings of Washington, another task was presented to him, that of editing the s'Di- plomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution This work comprised the ! letters of Benjamin Franklin, Silas Dean,