THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 
 
 x/
 
 THE 
 
 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 OF 
 
 REV. WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D., 
 
 LATE PROFESSOR OF SYSTEMATIC DIVINITY AND EVIDENCES, IN THE EPISCOPAL 
 THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 BY 
 
 REV. CORNELIUS WALKER, D. D., 
 
 PROFESSOR OF CHURCH HISTORY AND CANON LAW. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 JAMES HAMMOND, No. 1224 CHESTNUT STREET 
 
 1876.
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 PREFACE vii 
 
 CHAPTER I 17-30 
 
 Autobiographical fragment. Birth in America, and return of his parents 
 to Ireland. Ancestry and Parentage. Residence at his Grandfather's. 
 Boarding School, and his estimate of different kinds of education. 
 His teacher. Remembrances of Ireland, and interest in its people. 
 Irish beggars, and remedy for Irish troubles. Early religious impres- 
 sions. Confirmation. Teacher of Mathematics. Death of his Grand- 
 father, and return of his parents to America. Letter of Dr. McElroy. 
 
 (A CHAPTER II 31-38 
 
 Utica. Takes charge of the Academy. Success. Prayer of Presbyte- 
 rian clergymen in his behalf. Columbia College. Attendance upon 
 lectures of Dr. Milnor. Death of his mother, and return to Ohio. 
 First connection with Bishop Chase at Worthington. Cincinnati Col- 
 lege. Miami University. Return to Worthington. Proposed Semi- 
 nary and College. Candidate for the Ministry. Prospects at Worth- 
 ington, and actual work. Delegate in Diocesan Convention. Ordina- 
 
 ^ tion as Deacon and as Presbyter. Report of ministerial labors for the 
 
 first year. 
 
 CM 
 
 o CHAPTER III 39-71 
 
 First years at Worthington and Gambier. Extract from letter of Dr. 
 Burr. Marriage. Extracts from letters of Dr. Preston, Dr. McElroy, 
 and Dr. Fitch. Nature of Mr. Sparrow's work at Gambier, and his 
 
 . relations with Bishop Chase. Original design of the College. Bishop's 
 
 theological examination. His appearance. George Montgomery West. 
 Mr. Sparrow's preaching tours. Journeys on horseback, and incidents. 
 Preparation of sermons. Delicate health. College difficulties. Ex- 
 tract from letter of Dr. Preston. Controversy with the Bishop. Ex- 
 uj tracts from diary. Subsequent reconciliation. Extracts from diary. 
 
 First letters to Professor Wing. 
 
 ^ CHAPTER IV 72-10 
 
 College and Seminary between departure of Bishop Chase and coming of 
 Bishop Mcllvaine. Duties of Professor Sparrow. General Conven- 
 tion of 1832. First visit to Ohio of Bishop Mcllvaine. Extracts from 
 diary. Anticipations of Cholera. Sickness, and recovery. Extracts 
 from diary, and criticisms. Letters to Professor Wing. Extracts from 
 diary. Death of infant. Work in connection with Gambier " Observer." 
 Doctorate. Letter on ministerial duties and discouragements. Visit 
 to Europe. Letter of Rev. Mr. Kinsolving in reference to the last 
 years at Gambier, Conclusion of address- to Literary Societies of Ken* 
 
 448339
 
 IV TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 yon College. Action of Convention in 1839. Resignation of Dr. 
 Sparrow, in 1840, and determination to remove to Virginia. Letter to 
 Dr. Milnor. 
 
 CHAPTER V 101-186 
 
 Departure from Gambier, and arrival at Alexandria. Faculty of Semi- 
 nary, and work of Dr. Sparrow. Letters to Dr. Wing and Mr. Syle. 
 Recitations at the High School. Failure of Dr. Keith's health. Res- 
 ignation of Professor Lippit, and election of Dr. May. Suggestions of 
 Dr. Sparrow as to course of study. Faculty meetings. Extempo- 
 raneous preaching and speaking, and difficulties connected with them. 
 Sermons, and their peculiar characteristics. Attendance upon Associa- 
 tions. Course of study, and manner of teaching. Disinclination to 
 Authorship. Call to Gambier, and letter to Dr. Wing. General Con- 
 vention of 1844 and Oxford Controversy. Reminiscences of Dr. 
 Slaughter, and letter of Dr. Sparrow, of Rev. C. E. Ambler. Corres- 
 pondence. Publications. Tour to Europe. Letters to Rev. E.W. Syle. 
 
 CHAPTER. VI 187-245 
 
 General statement of work during this period. Visit to Europe. 
 Extract from letter of Miss Smith. Invitations to Richmond, to Gam- 
 bier, and to Boston. Term following the General Convention of 1850, 
 incidents and letters. Staunton Convention. Correspondence Rev. 
 J. A. Jerome, Rev. E. W. Syle. Visit to New York, and Annual Ser- 
 mon before the Directors of Evangelical Knowledge Society. Visit to 
 Charlestown, and Convention Sermon. Proposition for removal, and let- 
 ters in connection with it. Correspondence. Sermon at Diocesan Con- 
 vention. Marriage of eldest daughter to Rev. J. A. Jerome. Changes 
 in the household. Sermon at Wheeling. Sensuous religion. Letters 
 to Dr. Canfield and Mrs. Grammer. Correspondence. Marriage and 
 departure of Mrs. Smith to China. Extract from sermon. Letter. 
 Call to Baltimore. Sermons at Convention and day of thanksgiving. 
 Intimations of the coming conflict. Departure of Northern students. 
 Close of the Seminary. Interval before his departure. Letters to Rev. 
 E. W. Syle. Departure. Seminary taken possession of by Federal 
 authorities. 
 
 CHAPTER VII 246-264 
 
 Sojourn at Staunton and Stribling's Springs. Death of Mrs. Dashiell. 
 Letter to C. F. Lee, Esq. Conference in Richmond as to re-establishment 
 of the Seminary, and conclusion. Council at Columbia. Spirit of Dr. 
 Sparrow during his visit to Richmond. Resumption of work at Staun- 
 ton, and removal to Halifax. Death of Mrs. Smith, and letter of Bishop 
 Boone. Extracts from letters of Rev. P. Powers, and Rev. W. H. 
 Meade. Death of Bishop Meade, and visit to his grave at Hollywood. 
 Life in Staunton. Extracts from letters of Mrs. Jones, Col. Skinner, 
 Mrs. Sheffey, and Rev. H. E. Hayden. Return to Seminary, and let- 
 ter to Dr. Canfield. Preparations for reorganizing. Invitation to Gam- 
 bier, and reply. Letter to C. F. Lee, Esq. Spirit in prospect of his 
 work. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 265-315 
 
 Effort of restoration, 1865-66. Discouraging circumstances in the condi- 
 tion of the buildings and grounds, as also of finances. Arrangement
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. V 
 
 of classes and studies. Letter to Dr. Canfield. Letters from Rev. David 
 Barr, and from Rev. H. E. Hayden. Action of Board of Trustees with 
 reference to an appeal in behalf of the Seminary, and agency of Dr. 
 Sparrow. Letters to C. F. Lee, Esq., and Rev. R. H. McKim. In- 
 creased numbers of second session. Letter to a friend in affliction. 
 Vacation of 1867, and visit to the West. Ritualism, and its opposite 
 extreme of Skepticism. General Convention of 1868. Difficulties with 
 students from the North, and in regard to Preparatory Department. 
 Dodge donation. Commencement Address of 1869. Letters to Dr. 
 Grammer, and Rev. T. U. Dudley, Jr. Case of Cheney, and view of 
 the same. Diocesan Council of 1871. Preparations for voyage across 
 the Atlantic. Letter to a student at the University, of acknowledg- 
 ment to the students of a present, on his seventieth birthday. Letter 
 to Rev. J. P. Hubbard. 
 
 CHAPTER IX 316-365 
 
 Time and direction of tour. Letters while in Europe to friends there and 
 on this side of the Atlantic. Letters, after his return home, to relatives 
 in Ireland. Death of Hon. Thomas Sparrow. General Convention of 
 1871, and view as to the Declaration. Prayer-book difficulties, and 
 mode of treating them. Letter on doctrine of tactual succession. Let- 
 ter to Rev. J. A. Jerome. Sickness and that of Mrs. Sparrow. Com- 
 mencement Address of 1872. State of health. Letter to Rev. J. P. 
 Hubbard. Anticipations of departure, and feelings with which they 
 were entertained. Sickness and death of Mrs. Sparrow. Sickness of 
 the Doctor. Letters. Resumption of duties. Suffering from deafness. 
 Proposal of semi-centennial, and scheme of exercises. Vacation. Let- 
 ter on the prayer-test, to Rev. R. H. McKim, and one to Rev. J. A. 
 Jerome. Letter to a gentleman, after an alarming attack of illness. 
 Exercises of semi-centennial. Visit to New York, at a meeting of the 
 Evangelical Alliance, and letter in regard to it. Bishop Cummins' move- 
 ment, and views in regard to different modes of treating it. Letter to 
 Rev. H. Suter. Visit to New York for the purpose of collecting funds 
 for the Seminary. Letter to Rev. Phillips Brooks. Sermon on Sun- 
 day, January llth. Dr. Riley's Lecture. Faculty meeting. Satur- 
 day morning. Miss B.'s account of the ride to Alexandria. Sudden 
 attack and death. Dr. B.'s account. Services on Sunday, and on the 
 day of funeral. Conclusion. 
 
 ADDRESS 366-387 
 
 REMINISCENCES OF REV. MR. SYLE 388-409 
 
 FRAGMENTS ,,.,,. 410-433
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 In the preparation of the following Memoir, regard has been 
 had more especially to the desires and wishes of one class, the 
 largest among those who will give it a perusal, the pupils of Dr. 
 Sparrow, the survivors of the different generations of students 
 who, for nearly half a century, in Ohio and in Virginia, were under 
 his instruction. Details, perhaps of little interest to others, but of 
 much to these, have thus been introduced, portions of correspond- 
 ence inserted that might have been otherwise omitted, and points^ 
 amplified which might have been more briefly treated. As 
 belonging to this brotherhood, the writer has had no difficulty in 
 deciding what he would have desired from any one else engaged in 
 his undertaking. What, therefore, he would have wished for him- 
 self, he has endeavored to provide for his fellow-pupils. 
 
 And yet the features of most interest to this class are those that 
 will be apt to prove of interest to others. The hope may not 
 unreasonably be indulged that outside of this peculiar circle, and 
 among acquaintances of other classes, as among those who know 
 of its subject only by name, this memoir may be productive of 
 instruction and benefit. It only needed contact to make mani- 
 fest Dr. Sparrow's intellectual greatness. His moral greatness, 
 however, his simplicity, his integrity, his unfeigned and earnest 
 piety, his devotion to the will of God, and to the real welfare of his 
 fellow-men, these, not so immediately noted, nor so much estimated, 
 have their higher value in the way of influence, and can scarcely 
 fail, in a record of this kind, to be recognized. Such record cannot 
 be studied without benefit. The individual, to use the thought of 
 another, constitutes, while living, a demonstration of the power and 
 truth of Christianity ; and being dead, he yet speaks, proclaiming 
 
 vii
 
 viii PREFACE. 
 
 that God is faithful, that the promises of His grace have had their 
 personal verification. 
 
 It remains that acknowledgment be made to the kind friends, 
 and brethren in the ministry, by whom material, in the way of 
 correspondence and otherwise, has been furnished. Where there 
 are so many, it is difficult to specify; and the writer would, therefore, 
 make his general, but no less grateful, acknowledgment for the 
 essential aid thus afforded. As to the correspondence, the largest, 
 and perhaps the most important, is that with Professor Wing, 
 with Rev. E. W. Syle, Rev. E. H. Canfield, D. D., and Rev. J. A. 
 Jerome. Single letters, however, to other correspondents, will be 
 found of deep interest, and full of practical instruction. 
 
 The Reminiscences of Rev. Mr. Syle, containing some of the 
 choicest material of the volume, were received only after the book 
 was in the hands of the printer. Perhaps it is better that they 
 should be in their present form, rather than arranged in the order 
 of time, in the narrative, as might have been the case if received 
 at an earlier period. 
 
 The Address, at the Commencement following the death of Dr. 
 Sparrow, has, at the suggestion of brethren present at its delivery, 
 been inserted. Its subject makes it supplemental to the Memoir. 
 
 The Fragments are selections from brief sketches, many of which, 
 of a similar character, are found among the Doctor's papers. Some 
 of taem were manifestly intended for Faculty meeting addresses, 
 some for sermons, others for articles, and some, doubtless, as 
 analytical of subjects with which his mind at the time was 
 interested. 
 
 It was in prospect to have included several of the most striking 
 of his Commencement addresses ; but this, in view of the size of the 
 volume, was found to be not practicable.
 
 MEMOIR 
 
 OF 
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D.D. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EARLY LIFE IN IRELAND. 
 
 " The generations of men succeed one another, like the waves of 
 the sea. They have no permanence. They are here for a little 
 time, and then gone forever. The most that one generation can 
 do for another must have reference to the eternity which lies 
 beyond the grave." 
 
 These sentences were written by the subject of this memoir, 
 during a voyage across the Atlantic, more than a quarter of a 
 century ago. Their opening comparison was doubtless suggested 
 by what was daily before his eyes, and, perhaps, at the moment he 
 was writing " the waves of the sea," over which he was returning 
 to the home of his childhood. Their closing thought gives us the 
 key-note as to the proper object of our undertaking, and, indeed, 
 of all religious biography that of spiritual benefit to survivors and 
 readers. It should have " reference to the eternity which lies be- 
 yond," and so influence the present life as to fit it for the higher life 
 of Heavenly existence. Other and subordinate objects, connected 
 with such undertaking, may, of course, be sought and attained. But 
 this should never be forgotten. While we gratefully recall the traits 
 of personal character which gave charm to the intercourse of friend- 
 ship and daily life, and draw our hearts to the departed in affectionate 
 regard and veneration ; while we thank God in every remembrance 
 of the privilege of such association, yet there is this higher object, 
 to which all these others should have regard. It is as the 
 life, in its particulars, and in its general result, bears upon 
 2 17
 
 18 M E M I R F 
 
 other lives, "with reference to the eternity beyond;" in other 
 words, as it constitutes an illustration of the grace of God, bring- 
 ing honor to Him and blessing to His creatures, that it specially 
 claims our regard and imitation. We thus trace the Divine 
 lineaments of the Master in the life of His follower ; find induce- 
 ments, for ourselves, to greater spiritual earnestness and activity. 
 If in any degree we shall succeed in accomplishing what was the 
 habitual desire of him of whom we are writing, it will be in 
 making this record subservient to these great purposes. 
 
 William, the first son of Samuel Sparrow and Mary Roe, was 
 born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, March 12th, 1801. His 
 father, a native of Ireland, had been residing in this country only 
 a few years, at this time. He had left Ireland in consequence of 
 implication in the Rebellion of 1793, coming to America, where 
 he remained until the year 1805. In that year he returned to 
 Ireland, and remained until 1817, when he again came to America, 
 making it his permanent home until his death, in Ohio, in 1838. 
 
 His father, the grandfather of the subject of this memoir, 
 William Sparrow, of the town of Gorey, Wexford County, Ireland, 
 was the descendant of a family of English stock, who settled in 
 Wexford during the Protectorate of Cromwell. Quite a number 
 of the name, mostly of the Society of Friends, were to be 
 found in that neighborhood, as also in the town of Ennis- 
 corthy, about the beginning of the present century. William. 
 Sparrow was what was termed a middle man ; that is, he was the 
 holder of long leases on large tracts of land, which, on the 
 system of tenantry then prevailing, he rented out in smaller 
 parcels to the actual tenants. He was also, at various times, 
 engaged in mercantile pursuits. Soon after the return of his son 
 to Ireland, in 1805, his grandson and namesake, the subject of our 
 memoir, became an inmate in his household, and there remained 
 during the most of his boyhood. Dr. McElroy, who was acquainted 
 with Dr. Sparrow and his father in Ohio, states that the intention 
 of his grandfather was to have made him his heir, and at the time 
 of his death had prepared him for entrance into Trinity College, 
 Dublin. Whether change of determination, or sudden death without 
 specific provision in his will to that effect, prevented the carrying 
 out of this design, is not known. It probably secured the primary 
 training and habits of study which stood him in such good stead 
 during his subsequent life. It was here that he obtained his
 
 WILLIAM SPARRO W, D. D. 19 
 
 impressions of Irish character, and gathered up that stock of 
 incident, in referring to which, in after life, he found so much 
 pleasure. Those who have heard him allude to these incidents will 
 deeply regret that an undertaking upon which he once entered 
 was not carried out to its completion, that of an autobiography, for 
 the benefit and instruction of his children. The fragment, com- 
 menced in 1848, during his voyage from this country to Europe, 
 has already been alluded to, and a portion used as introducing our 
 narrative. The rest of it may here be most appropriately inserted : 
 
 " I have often thought, dear children, that it might be profitable 
 to both you and me, that I should address some thoughts, and 
 narrate some facts to you, not to be read till after my decease. 
 And now, here, in the midst of the Atlantic, on this third day of 
 July, 1848, I begin my task. 
 
 " The generations of men succeed one another, like the waves of 
 the sea. They have no permanence. They are seen for a time, 
 and then gone forever. The most that one generation can do for 
 another must have reference to the eternity which lies beyond 
 the grave. The mutual services which we may render, which are 
 limited to their influence in this life, are comparatively of small 
 account. What I write, therefore, is designed chiefly to bear upon 
 that other world in which we must all, however old I may be and 
 however young you, soon be assembled. If, through God's mercy 
 in Christ, anything can be made instrumental in bringing us 
 together in a happy immortality, our songs of praise shall never 
 cease. But while the heavenly inheritance is the chief thing to 
 be sought after, it is pleasing to reflect that the pursuit of it in no 
 way interferes with present happiness; nay, that God has so 
 ordered things that the earnest pursuit of heaven will cause a man, 
 as the Saviour has it, ' to inherit the earth.' In reference to your 
 temporal interests I should have no manner of apprehension, if I 
 were sure your spiritual interests would be duly attended to. 
 The nature of true religion is such that it gives a man those 
 qualities which, according to the laws that obtain in society and 
 human life, naturally result in earthly prosperity. But besides 
 this, God, who is above nature, has promised that they that seek 
 Him shall never lack. 
 
 " Let me make, first, a few statements about my family. Family 
 pride, like purse pride, pride of office, pride of talent, and all other 
 kinds of pride, is a weakness. However the world may look upon
 
 20 MEMOIR OF 
 
 it, the spirit of Christianity condemns it ; it is inconsistent in a 
 Christian. Even philosophy has pointed out its imsoundness. But 
 family affection is a different thing. It is the best of all our natural 
 affections ; less low and selfish than any other, and prepares the 
 way for higher and better things. With a view, therefore, to lay 
 a foundation for this, let me say a few words about your ancestry 
 a couple of generations back, first making the general remark, as 
 I do with some satisfaction, that I know nothing discreditable of 
 any of them. As far as my information goes they were persons of 
 respectability and morality, and many of them lived and died in 
 the faith, and hope, and charity of the Gospel. 
 
 " Both of my grandfathers, and one of my grandmothers, I saw 
 and knew, to my fifteenth year. My grandfather Sparrow I lived 
 with, from my fifth year. His wife was named Harrison, and died 
 in the prime of life. My grandfather continued a widower to the 
 end of his life, which lasted for thirty years after. He was a man 
 of deep affections, too much reserve, and high iotegrity. He lived 
 in a small house in Gorey, county Wexford, he and I and two 
 servants making up the family. He was of very retired habits when 
 I knew him. Probably he was of a different disposition. He was 
 charitable to the poor, and read his Bible and Prayer-book ; but, 
 by a singular and gross inconsistency, he never went to the Parish 
 Church, in my day. This arose out of a dispute with a former 
 rector, a very unworthy man ; and when another man was brought 
 in his place, the habit of non-attendance was so fixed, that my 
 grandfather never broke through it. His sin in this particular 
 he confessed, and deeply lamented, to my mother, on his death-bed. 
 It is a fearful sin to forsake the house of God, so conveying to the 
 world the impression that we do, and can, and think it fit to, live 
 'without God in the world.' 
 
 ( ':In early 'life my grandfather Sparrow had been a man of busi- 
 ness:; .when :I knew him, he was living on an income of fifteen or 
 twenty hundred dollars, from a life interest which he held in some 
 land i belonging to T Lord Fitznorris. While in trade, and ever 
 after, he bore a high character for uprightness and honor. My 
 grandmother Sparrow I never saw. She was most highly spoken 
 of, as a most excellent woman, wife and mother. Her family name 
 was Harrison. After her my sister Susan was called Susan Har- 
 .rison Sparrow. 
 " My grandfathers Spar/row andJJoe were originally from the same
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 21 
 
 county, Wexford, and the same town, 'Gorey; though the latter 
 spent the last twenty years of his life in Dublin. Both families 
 were large in the county of Wexford. The Sparrows are said to 
 have removed to it, from England, in the time of Cromwell. Most 
 of them are Quakers, and quite a thrifty people. When the Eoes 
 removed from England, to the Pale, I have not learned. They were a 
 numerous and respectable family about Gorey and its neighborhood. 
 In the Eebellion, my grandfather, Henry Eoe, removed his family, 
 for security, to Dublin ; and when the Rebellion was over and peace 
 restored, found such prospects opening before him in the capital, 
 that he was induced to settle there for life. My grandmother's 
 maiden name was Woodrofe, also of a family in Gorey, respectable 
 in themselves, and respectably connected, though, like most of the 
 gentry in Ireland, of that day, they had too high a style of living 
 for their means. 
 
 " The families of both my grandfathers were large. That of my 
 grandfather Sparrow was cut off as soon as they reached maturity, 
 all but " his son Samuel, we may add, to fill up the sentence, who 
 married Mary Roe, daughter of Dr. Henry Roe, and whose rela- 
 tions to our subject have already been indicated. 
 
 " About my own history," to quote from another fragment, 
 written, perhaps, some ten or fifteen years later, " it may be well to 
 speak this much. My father came over from Ireland to this 
 country soon after the Rebellion of '98, and settled in Massachusetts, 
 near Boston. There two sisters, older than myself, and I, were 
 born. About 1805 my father returned, with his family, to Ireland, 
 at the request of my grandfather, and remained there until after 
 his death. In about a year al'ter that event we returned to the 
 United States, settling first in Utica, New York, and ultimately in 
 Ohio. The family then consisted of my father and mother, my 
 sister Susan, myself, and my brother Edward. Three had been 
 buried in Ireland. Two more were afterward added, Anna Maria, 
 born in Utica, and Thomas, born in Ohio. 
 
 "Let me now confine myself to my own history. I might speak 
 of my school-boy days in Ireland. I was a boarder, for three years 
 or so, in the best boarding school in our section. It was near 
 Arklow, at the opening of the vale of Avoca, in which the scholars 
 often rambled. When I call to mind the evil influences I was 
 exposed to, I at once thank God that I escaped with no greater 
 detriment from the bad example and principles of my companions ;
 
 22 MEMOIROF 
 
 and it saddens me to think that youths from moral and pious 
 families have to pass through such an ordeal to get an education. 
 The school, I am persuaded, was no worse than the generality, 
 whether in Ireland or in this country. But a public school is, at 
 best, a necessary evil. If I could, I would have a private tutor 
 instead ; though even that method of preparing youth for the 
 university is attended with its disadvantages ; but they are not, in 
 my judgment, so serious or difficult of prevention. The instruction 
 was good, but the text books were naught ; far inferior to those 
 now used. The discipline was rigid but not despotic. The head 
 of the school was a clergyman, a scholar, and a gentleman ; but 
 too much sought after by the neighboring gentry, on account of 
 his social qualities, to leave him as devoted as he should have been 
 to the interests of the school. He always treated me with kind- 
 ness, and his influence upon my course in life proved salutary." 
 
 Thus, at his grandfather's as his home, but with the interval already 
 mentioned, of the boarding school, it would seem, he continued until 
 near the time of the departure of his father and the family to this 
 country, in 1817, say until the neighborhood of his sixteenth year ; 
 the period of life to which he always recurred with unfailing interest 
 and affection. His love of Ireland was that of one whose freshest 
 years of life had been spent there, and under circumstances and 
 associations pleasant, in after times, to be remembered. He was 
 old enough to acquire the tastes and feelings of a native, and in all 
 his subsequent career they were clearly distinguishable. One of 
 these was very strikingly exhibited in his admiration of the then 
 poet of Ireland. Some of Moore's melodies, doubtless read as they 
 came out, with all the enthusiasm of youth and of national predilec- 
 tion, he was able to repeat late in life, and with a pathos and beauty 
 which showed that they were thoroughly appreciated. Among these 
 there was one, descriptive of the localities over which he had rambled 
 in boyhood, connected with a later experience of a deeply interest- 
 ing character. Twenty-one years after leaving Ireland, in the 
 year 1838, he revisited the home of his childhood, as also the place 
 of his early education. " I was," said he, speaking of it many 
 years afterward, "a good part of a day traveling in the stage up the 
 vale of Avoca, returning, after a long interval, to my old home. 
 More than once I found myself thinking of those lines of Moore, 
 so descriptive of my feelings under the circumstances. Many of 
 those of whom I thus thought, and whom I expected to see at the
 
 W I L L I A M S P A R R W, D. D. 23 
 
 end of my journey, I found were gone." The opening and closing 
 stanzas of the passage, thus associated with that day's travel, with 
 the anticipations and the failure to realize them at its close, will 
 show their singular appropriateness to the circumstances under 
 which they were thus recalled : 
 
 " ' There is not in the wide world a valley so sweet 
 As that vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet ; 
 Oh ! the last ray of feeling and life must depart 
 Ere the bloom of that valley shall fade from my heart. 
 
 " ' Sweet vale of Avoca ! how calm would I rest 
 In thy bosom of shade, with the friends I love best; 
 When the storms that we feel in this cold world should cease, 
 And our souls, like thy waters, be mingled, with peace.' " 
 
 It was in such feelings and associations that the subject of this 
 memoir, although American born, was so largely Irish in his 
 sympathies and character. The impressions of those early days 
 were fresh and pleasant with him to the end. A considerable 
 portion of his last visit to the Old World, in 1871, was made to 
 the neighborhood in which he had spent his days of boyhood, and 
 on the very last day of his life, but with no intimation that the 
 end was so near, he made a playful allusion to some of his early 
 experiences, as illustrative of a matter of which he was conversing. 
 
 Among the reminiscences of this early period, so pleasant as 
 they manifestly were to the narrator, and so genial in their narra- 
 tion to the listener, a few may be recalled in this connection. One 
 of the earliest was connected with a visit made to himself by his 
 parents, after he had gone to live at his grandfather's. It was 
 mentioned to illustrate the carefulness of the system, then preva- 
 lent, for guarding children against the danger of taking cold. " I 
 slept," said he, "in a feather bed, with close curtains and an abund- 
 ance of covering, and was, besides, protected with flannel. Once, 
 when my father and rhother arrived after night, 'the boy,' with a 
 woolen comforter wrapped around his neck and shoulders, was set 
 up in the bed to receive them ; and after being duly admired and 
 caressed, was again covered up and curtained in safety." 
 
 "Nobody," said he again, in speaking of another topic, "nobody 
 could understand the beggary of Ireland except by living in the 
 country. At our house each member of the family had his or her 
 particular beggar to be remembered; and when he came he looked
 
 24 MEMOIROF 
 
 to his patron for relief." This was bringing in the principle of 
 patronage, as also that of the division of labor and responsibility. 
 " I had my beggar," said he, " and when he made his appearance I 
 tried to have something for him." In this respect the old feeling 
 exerted its influence in after life. An Irish beggar who knocked 
 at the door of the Doctor's study, at the Seminary, was allowed to 
 have his talk, sometimes was asked some questions about his home 
 over the sea, and never sent away empty. Irish workmen, if 
 engaged upon repairs of the buildings, or otherwise, were apt to be 
 found out; and delineations of Irish character, such, for instance, 
 as those of Charles Lever, were keenly appreciated. "Trench's 
 Sketches of the Irish Peasantry" was one of the books which 
 helped to relieve the tedium of confinement after his severe sick- 
 ness, in the spring of 1873. It was a topic ever fresh and full 
 of interest, and bringing up to his mind and heart grateful memo- 
 ries of the people and home of his childhood. 
 
 There was not in this interest, however, that kind of influence 
 which affected his judgment as to the real troubles under which 
 Ireland was suffering. His remedy, and the only one in which he 
 had any confidence, for the troubles there, as for those of Spain, and 
 Italy, and Mexico, was a Christianity based upon Scriptural intelli- 
 gence, in other words, genuine Protestantism. His hopes for the 
 population with which his early life had brought him in contact, 
 rested not upon any proposed or possible change in the relations of 
 that population to its rulers at home or in England, but in a change 
 of their relations to their religious teachers. Most strikingly was 
 his sagacity exhibited in an opinion called forth in recitation, 
 during the year 1844, when the Temperance movement, under 
 Father Matthew, was making such wonderful progress. The 
 question was asked in class, " whether this great movement, which 
 promised so much of moral amelioration, carried on by a Catholic 
 Priest, would not tend to the still greater advancement of that 
 system." The prompt reply was, "no; that everything which 
 had the effect of enlightening and elevating a population would 
 have the additional effect of weakening the influence of the Eom- 
 ish and increasing that of the Protestant system." The wonderful 
 movement in that country during the next fifteen years fully 
 justified the opinion thus expressed. 
 
 Very little has been mentioned specially, as to his earlier reli-
 
 WILLIAM SPARRO W, D. D. 25 
 
 gious life. His allusion to his grandfather's relations to the Church 
 is a very brief one, and throws no light upon his own feelings at 
 that time, or as to any peculiar influences that were brought to 
 bear upon him in the formation of his religious character. He 
 was confirmed in Ireland, of course, before his sixteenth year, but 
 the year is unknown ; and there is no evidence as to how soon the 
 question of entering the ministry became one of personal interest 
 and definite consideration. He once incidentally mentioned, in a 
 Thursday evening meeting, that early in life he had been led to 
 regard the position of an English Eector as, perhaps, one of the most 
 desirable that could be thought of, so far as regarded mere earthly 
 comfort and happiness. But whether the thought went beyond 
 this at the time, or further shaped itself into personal desire and 
 anticipation for the higher work of the ministry, and with refer- 
 ence to its spiritual objects and results, he gave no intimation. 
 The probabilities, however, are, that at a very early period he came 
 under decided religious influence, and that to this there was an 
 early response of sanctified impression. His uncle, the Rev. Peter 
 Roe, was one of the most earnest of the Irish clergy of that day, 
 of decided Evangelical views and sympathies, and largely instru- 
 mental in giving start and direction to a powerful religious awaken- 
 ing, the fruits of which have since been abundantly enjoyed. It 
 is hardly probable that such a man would have failed to exercise 
 some religious influence upon a sister's child at the time of Con- 
 firmation. We find the uncle and nephew in communication after 
 the arrival of the latter in this country, and on matters connected 
 with religion. The deep tenderness, too, with which he always 
 spoke of his mother, and of her influence in the formation of his 
 character, and the devoted affection with which he cherished her 
 memory, would indicate that the sister and brother were of like 
 mind and heart upon this subject. In all probability, her love and 
 prayers first consecrated him to the Lord, and sought those spiritual 
 blessings which he afterwards so richly enjoyed. During a season 
 of special religious interest in one of the Dissenting churches, he was 
 taken by some of the servants, without his grandfather's knowledge, 
 to attend the services, and subsequently described himself as having 
 been deeply impressed by what he saw and heard. Whether at this 
 or at some other time, is not known, but during some portion of 
 his boyhood his mind and heart were so impressed, that, as the
 
 26 MEMOIROF 
 
 i 
 
 prayers of the Liturgy were read, during service, on Sunday 
 morning, lie found it impossible to restrain his feelings would 
 sometimes be in tears, during the whole of the prayers. " I re- 
 member," said he, speaking of this same period, "that there was a 
 man in the neighborhood whose mind had lost its balance, espe- 
 cially on religious subjects. Among other things, he endeavored 
 to live, in various outward respects, like our Lord and His Apos- 
 tles. I was very much impressed by his earnestness. In spite of 
 his mental unsoundness, there was much in his bearing that re- 
 buked the Christianity of many who looked upon him with com- 
 passion." 
 
 These are but fragments, but they show, even in boyhood, cer- 
 tain traits of character which were fully developed and exhibited 
 in his subsequent career : deep thoughtfulness, going to the realities 
 of things ; religious susceptibility, and that peculiar power of sympa- 
 thy which rendered him so thoroughly appreciative as to the 
 feelings of his fellow creatures. 
 
 This portion of his life, as we have seen, terminates with the 
 departure of his father and his family to America. His grand- 
 father died in 1816, and the grandson returned to his father's home 
 at Enniscorthy. Before this, and during the subsequent interval 
 between his grandfather's death and the removal to this country, 
 he seems to have been at the school mentioned in the autobio- 
 graphical fragment already quoted. His preparation was sufficient 
 to enable him to take charge of an Academy in Utica, within the 
 first eighteen months after his arrival in America, and to enter 
 Columbia College the year after, 1819. No particulars are accessi- 
 ble as to the instructions of this early period, beyond those given 
 by himself, in the extract just quoted. Among those to whom 
 his thoughts recurred during the day's journey in the vale of Avoca, 
 he mentioned especially his old teacher, and spoke of his sad- 
 ness, at its termination, to find that he was no longer living. To 
 this unknown teacher, a "scholar and a gentleman," was, in all 
 probability, due the first intellectual awakening and the habits 
 of accurate mastery by which, in after life, he was characterized. 
 Very considerable progress must have been made, both in 
 training and acquisition, to enable him to take the position which 
 he did a year or two afterwards, and to sustain himself in it suc- 
 cessfully. "My teacher," said he, on a certain occasion, insisting
 
 WILLIAM SPARRO W, D. D. 27 
 
 upon the importance of mathematics in intellectual culture, and 
 of the necessity of thoroughness, to secure its benefits, "my teacher 
 would never accept an imperfect recitation. 'Sit down honey/ 
 ' sit down honey,' was his standing order, at anything like hesita- 
 tion, confusion, or haziness, in the demonstration, and there was 
 no appeal." The lessons were thus thoroughly mastered. And the 
 pupil, in this particular instance, regarded it as the most important 
 part of his early training. Whether the teacher thus alluded to 
 was the one in Ireland, or one of a later date, is uncertain. It 
 is more probable that it was the former. 
 
 We are thus brought to the close of his life in Ireland. In 1817 
 his father's family, consisting of the parents and three children, 
 one sister and two brothers, removed to this country, and settled 
 at Utica, Western New York. 
 
 The following communication from Rev. Dr. McElroy, while 
 repeating some of the facts already mentioned and partly derived 
 from it, contains also other matter which will be of interest in 
 connection with this portion of our narrative. 
 
 " SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, 
 
 " August 28, 1874. 
 " REV. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 " In reply to yours of the 19th, I communicate, with great 
 pleasure, what information I possess of the late Rev. Dr. Sparrow's 
 boyhood, and of his parents. He was a native of Massachusetts, 
 and three years old when .taken to Ireland by his parents, on their 
 return to their native land. He was for several years at school in 
 Ireland, but whether as a day scholar or boarder I cannot say. 
 He often, in his conversations with me, reverted to the thorough 
 drill in Latin, Greek, history and mathematics, in the school which 
 he attended, and to the ability and accurate scholarship of his 
 teachers. The school was, I think, at Enniscorthy. When his 
 parents returned to America, he had mastered the extensive 
 preparatory courses of Latin and Greek, for entrance at Trinity 
 College, Dublin. Either immediately on their return to America, 
 or very soon after, the family settled at Utica, New York ; he, 
 advised and encouraged by his mother, became, youthful stranger 
 as he was, a candidate at a competitive examination for the position 
 of classical teacher in the principal academy of the city. He more 
 than once dwelt with graphic interest upon that incident in his
 
 28 MEMOIR OF 
 
 life, and the happiness which his success and appointment yielded 
 to his mother. 
 
 " During the whole of his boyhood in Ireland the Irish Episco- 
 pal Church was in a fervid glow of revived spiritual life and 
 activity ; and doubtless he received, from infancy, faithful and 
 discriminating Evangelical instruction. But by what means and 
 instrumentalities he was brought to our Lord, and led openly to 
 confirm his baptismal vows, or from what bishop he received the 
 ordinance of Confirmation, I cannot with certainty say. My 
 impression, however, as to the bishop, although not very satisfactory 
 and distinct, is that Bishop Burke, the father of a Captain Burke, 
 who in his day was a noted and efficient Evangelical layman, was 
 the bishop to whose diocese Enniscorthy belonged in Dr. Sparrow's 
 boyhood. An anecdote, emanating from a highly respectable 
 source, was told of this bishop, which sheds some light upon the 
 condition of the Irish Episcopal Church during the school-boy 
 days of William Sparrow, at Enniscorthy. The bishop and his 
 son were in Dublin during the anniversary week of the Irish great 
 Evangelical societies. As Captain Burke passed the Rotunda of 
 Sackville street, he noticed in front of it a long row of carriages, 
 and on his return home inquired of his father what it meant. The 
 bishop replied that it was a meeting of religiously frenzied and 
 fanatical people. The son said that it must be a respectable 
 assemblage, for he noticed some coronets upon the carriages, and 
 that he would go and see what it was. The Rev. Dr. Singer, a 
 senior fellow of Trinity College, who has since died Bishop of 
 Meath, was speaking when the Captain entered the Rotunda. The 
 latter was struck with the respectability of the assembly ; but his 
 attention was arrested and riveted by the speaker. He returned 
 to his home with new views, under deep convictions of sin, deeply 
 depressed and thoroughly wretched. The case was entirely new 
 to the father. He became alarmed for his son, feared madness 
 in his case, and sent hurriedly for his family physician. The 
 physician represented to the father that nothing but religious 
 anxiety was the matter with his son, and advised that Rev. Dr. 
 Singer should be sent for. This the bishop, after great opposition, 
 was prevailed upon to do. The son soon found peace in believing, 
 and became known as an active, winning, and effective co-worker 
 in the revival of the spiritual life of the Church. The conversion
 
 WILLIAM SPARRO W, D. D. 29 
 
 of such men, and of whole families, was a common event in all the 
 Irish dioceses, in Dr. Sparrow's boyhood. The reading and 
 preaching of the truth as it is in Jesus, in the Irish pulpit, was 
 attended, at the time, with a mighty power, and it could hardly be 
 otherwise but that William Sparrow, in his mature boyhood, 
 became a subject of gracious and heavenly influence, and with 
 renewed heart received the laying on of hands in Confirmation. I 
 will simply add of Bishop Burke, that he became reconciled to the 
 new views of his son. A secretary of the Irish Church Missionary 
 Society informed me that the bishop had invited him to preach in 
 the Cathedral, in behalf of the Society, an evidence of the happy 
 influence of the bishop's son. 
 
 " That Doctor Sparrow's early religious instruction was particu- 
 larly Evangelical and discriminating, and that his sympathies in 
 youthful manhood were ardently with those known in his day as 
 the Evangelical clergy, is very evident from the fact, upon which he 
 often dwelt in conversation, of his enjoyment of the services at St. 
 George's, in New York, and particularly of Dr. Milnor's Wednes- 
 day evening lectures and services, while he was a student of 
 Columbia College, although he was personally unknown to the 
 Doctor, and a stranger to every one present. When I last lectured 
 for Doctor Milnor, at the lecture room of old St. George's, I 
 thought of the youthful stranger and student, who had there, a few 
 years before, without any human sympathy, enjoyed the holy 
 influences for which that sacred room had so often been remarkable. 
 
 " As to Dr. Sparrow's parents, I knew his father quite intimately, 
 but I never saw his mother. His father belonged to the class 
 styled gentry, in Ireland, and was very respectably connected. He 
 was a gentleman of vigorous intellect, of extensive reading, 
 particularly in the department of human rights, popular and 
 national interests, and political economy ; and he impressed me as 
 one well qualified to advise and direct in the education of his 
 children. In my earlier and later preaching tours in the diocese 
 of Ohio, I occasionally spent a Sunday in the neighborhood where 
 Mr. Sparrow (the father) and family settled ; and I occasionally met 
 with ladies who had known the family intimately. They remem- 
 bered Mrs. Sparrow with great interest and affection ; spoke of 
 her as a lady of great refinement, of exquisite grace and polish, 
 and of most lovely and winning character ; that, at first, she
 
 30 MEMOIR OF 
 
 endured, with great fortitude and resignation, the deprivations of 
 the wilderness and the pioneer life, but at last her health failed 
 under its hardships, and she died, beloved and lamented by the 
 whole community. But whether, equally with her sister and 
 eminently useful brother, the Rev. Peter Hoe, whom I had known, 
 she inherited the mental energy and capacity of her family, I have 
 had no satisfactory opportunity of learning. And yet I have 
 never doubted, from what I did learn of the mother, that her 
 distinguished son owed, under God, his early piety and subsequent 
 greatness to her influence. 
 
 " Very affectionately, yours in Christ, 
 
 "JAMES MCELROY."
 
 WILLIAMSPARROW, D. D. 31 
 
 CHAPTEB II. 
 
 FROM ARRIVAL IN AMERICA TO TIME OF ORDINATION. 
 
 The information of this portion of our narrative, that extending 
 from the arrival in America until the ordination to the ministry 
 of its subject, from 1817 to 1826, is more scant than any other with 
 which we shall be occupied. Soon after this arrival, we find his 
 father's family at Utica, "Western New York. In this city, 
 or more properly town, at that time, William, then only in his 
 seventeenth year, as mentioned by Dr. McElroy, under some 
 peculiar stress of circumstances in the affairs of the institution, 
 was placed in charge of an academy of some considerable size, 
 and carried it on successfully; at first alone, and afterward 
 aided by an associate. The special vocation of his life was 
 thus entered upon at a very early period. And it would 
 seem to have been the only one, in some of its forms, either from 
 the professorial chair or from the pulpit, in which he was ever 
 engaged that of a teacher. Some of the facts mentioned above 
 were incidentally imparted by himself, and as illustrative of a 
 point upon which at the moment he was insisting, that if students, 
 of any kind, were not interested in their studies, the defect must 
 be largely in the instructor. He evidently regarded himself as 
 having succeeded, in this difficult post, not only in securing the 
 interest, but the orderly obedience of his pupils. Probably an 
 extract from a letter of one of his oldest living pupils, not in Utica, 
 but in Ohio, a few years afterward, Rev. Erastus Burr, D.D., will 
 help, not only to explain his success in this first essay as an 
 instructor, but also to show that there was little deviation, in his 
 subsequent life, from the course then adopted. " I commenced my 
 studies of Latin, Greek and mathematics under him, and have 
 always been thankful that I had this privilege. He laid well the 
 best foundations. He was very exacting, and yet it was easier to 
 prepare, and I felt happier in preparing, for his recitation, than for 
 those of any other. There was no let off, no chance of shirking, 
 and the good hard work he demanded brought its reward." 
 
 One incident, of some interest, connected with his first position
 
 32 MEMOIKOF 
 
 in the academy at Utica, lie alluded to in after life. There was 
 doubtless anxiety and solicitude with some of the patrons, whether 
 there was not risk with such a youthful teacher, whether the 
 effort would be successful. One form in which such feeling 
 found expression, was in the prayer of the Presbyterian clergyman 
 of the place, on the first Sunday following, for divine aid and sup- 
 port in behalf of the youthful instructor. Whatever its effect upon 
 the minds of others, it made a profound impression, when told of 
 it, upon the mind of him for whom the prayer was offered. 
 Looking over the course thus begun, and thinking of it, as it went 
 on for the fifty-five or six years following, of the Divine blessing 
 and success connected with it, was ever prayer more abundantly 
 answered ? 
 
 The work of this position, however, was only temporary, not 
 more than a session and a half, perhaps only one session. In the 
 year 1819 he entered Columbia College, where' he seems to have 
 remained during the sessions 1819-20, and 1820-21. During this 
 time, his father, in the year 1820, with his family, consisting now 
 of four children, including William, moved from Utica to Huron 
 county, Ohio. William continued at college until 1821 or 1822, 
 when he rejoined the family in Ohio. During this interval, and 
 it would seem, in his absence, the home circle was broken, by the 
 death of his mother, in Ohio, in 1821. Whether this event had 
 any connection with the close of his college life, does not appear. 
 Very soon after it he joined the rest of the family, and we may 
 easily imagine, under the circumstances, the sadness and tender- 
 ness of their meeting. 
 
 At Columbia College, as indicative of the doctrinal and ecclesias- 
 tical preferences of the young student, we have seen that he was 
 an attendant upon the ministry of the Kev. Dr. Milnor. He would, 
 from him, hear the same Evangelical truths which gave power and 
 unction to the preaching of his uncle, Mr. Koe, in Ireland. He 
 was thus unconsciously systematizing, and confirming in his own 
 mind the doctrinal truths and principles which, in after life, con- 
 trolled his own thinking and action. Of the ministry of Dr. Milnor 
 he had, in subsequent life, the highest estimate, looking back 
 gratefully to his youthful attendance upon it, especially that 
 portion of it constituting his weekly lectures. 
 
 The intellectual portion of this period was, doubtless, faithfully 
 improved. The experience of the previous year in Utica had mani-
 
 W I L L I A M S P A R R W, D. D. 33 
 
 fested the power of knowledge, had, doubtless, at the same time, 
 revealed many deficiencies, the importance of more extensive and 
 thorough attainment, of broader and deeper cultivation. Of one of 
 his instructors, Dr. Charles Anthon, he was accustomed to speak 
 in terms of grateful appreciation. The interest increased, if not 
 excited, through his instructions in the Greek language and litera- 
 ture became a permanent one, and to the close of life a source of 
 pleasure. Only a few years before his death, the tutor in the pre- 
 paratory department of the Seminary was, from sickness, unable ^to 
 meet his classes, and for several weeks Dr. Sparrow took the class 
 in Greek, greatly to the delight of the students, some of whom 
 spoke of the peculiar interest which his instruction had excited in 
 their studies. In this department, as in that of mathematics, his 
 anxiety and effort was more with reference to the quality than the 
 quantity demanded from the student ; on the principle that if the 
 quality were properly insisted upon, in its proper place, the quantity 
 would not be deficient. The allusion to his mathematical training, 
 in the previous chapter, will be remembered ; and his effort was to 
 carry out, as far as possible, the same kind of instruction in 
 languages. To use a distinction made by him elsewhere, the 
 student, under this severe yet bracing discipline, found out the 
 difference between merely understanding and thoroughly possessing 
 the material of his information. 
 
 What terminated his college life, whether, indeed, it went beyond 
 the close of the second session, no materials are attainable for 
 ascertaining. In 1822 he rejoined his father's family in Ohio, and 
 after remaining there a few months went with his younger brother, 
 Edward, to Worthington, where Bishop Chase was then living. 
 The bishop, at this time, in addition to his Episcopal duties, had 
 pastoral charge of the church at Worthington, having connection 
 also with a classical school, carried on by his son, Rev. Philander 
 Chase, Jr. Mr. Sparrow became a teacher, for a short time, in 
 this school, and an inmate in the bishop's family. About the same 
 time, also, we find the name of his father, Samuel Sparrow, as a 
 lay delegate in the diocesan convention. One of Mr. Sparrow's 
 pupils, the Rev. Dr. Erastus Burr, of Portsmouth, Ohio, still 
 survives ; and his language has already been quoted, as exhibiting 
 his youthful teacher's mode of instruction. His reputation as a 
 teacher and manager of a school, based upon his success at Utica, 
 it seems, had preceded him, and his pupil tells us that he was the 
 3
 
 34 MEMOIROP 
 
 same unassuming yet dignified gentleman then, that he was ever 
 afterward. " It was," says he, " a matter of talk with us boys, 
 that so young a man could be capable of teaching and managing in 
 an academy. I was too young to have much knowledge of his 
 religious life. He seemed to me to be a man of uncommon 
 sobriety of mind and manners. I cannot remember him as different, 
 in this respect, at twenty-one, from what he was at thirty or forty. 
 He seemed the same dignified, serious, Christian gentleman that 
 he appeared in later life. I think," says he, " that Dr. Sparrow 
 was more cheerful and hopeful in early life than he seemed 
 afterward. Perhaps this " want of cheerfulness latterly " was 
 owing, in good part, to ill health, and the near prospect in which 
 he lived, of being soon called away. Perhaps, also, to a habit of 
 self depreciation, to which he gave way. He always put a low 
 price on himself and his work." An extract from a letter, written 
 many years afterward, to this his old friend and pupil, will not 
 only throw light upon his feelings and expectations at an earlier 
 period, but also upon the spirit in which those feelings and expecta- 
 tions were remembered : " You hint at old times. It struck a 
 chord deep down in my heart. Your letter just came as I was 
 entering upon my seventieth year. Oh how long a life, and how 
 little to show as the result ! How long a life, too, for one so feeble 
 and frail ! For twenty years after you and I first met I never 
 dreamed it possible I should attain such an age. And yet how 
 many of my contemporaries have I seen pass away ! I begin to 
 feel quite lonely in the world, in that regard. In Ohio, where I 
 was familiar with and to so many, I am unknowing and unknown. 
 Even here, two of those who were my colleagues in this Institu- 
 tion have been taken, whilst I have been left; and of other 
 acquaintances, multitudes. Thanks be to God, Christ is always 
 with us, the same yesterday, to-day, and forever." 
 
 It is to be observed, in passing, as will appear more fully 
 hereafter, that the twenty years thus alluded to, including the life 
 in Ohio, were years of overwork, largely of perplexing work, at 
 times a work of strife; and that feeble health and occasional 
 depression of spirits, were the natural consequences. Whether 
 from change of climate, work, or circumstances, there was a 
 gradual change in health for the better, after his arrival in 
 Virginia, and with this, increased cheerfulness and geniality. The 
 Ohio headaches eventually passed away, and there were fewer
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 35 
 
 recitations lost by slight ailments, during the last than during the 
 first five years of his residence at the Virginia Seminary. 
 
 Within the year of his arrival at "Worthington, Mr. Sparrow 
 left for Cincinnati College, of which Bishop Chase had been elected 
 President. In this Institution he was a teacher until soon after 
 the bishop, in the autumn of 1823, went to England, to solicit aid 
 for his contemplated theological seminary and college. This latter 
 event seems to have terminated Mr. Sparrow's connection with the 
 institution at Cincinnati, and we find him, not long after, a tutor at 
 Miami University. His attention, meantime, had been drawn to 
 the work of the ministry; the following record is contained 
 in the report of Bishop Chase, in 1824, to the Convention : " There 
 are, at present, two candidates for Holy Orders in this diocese. 
 Mr. William Sparrow,* admitted last year, and Mr. George Roe, 
 admitted at the present Convention. Several others, cheered with 
 the prospects before us, are prepared to enter our seminary when 
 established." This was the seminary in prospect, for which the 
 means of erection had just been secured, in which the interests of 
 one of the candidates thus mentioned would be so largely 
 connected, and for the advancement of which his energies would 
 be so largely devoted. At this same Convention, in Chillicothe, 
 1824, and in that of the next year, 1825, at Zanesville, Mr. William 
 Sparrow appears as lay delegate, from St. Matthew's Church, 
 Hamilton. No connection of his name with committees, or with 
 action having reference to the proposed seminary, is found in the 
 journal. In the appendix of the journal of 1825, he appears as 
 Secretary of the Diocesan Missionary Society. 
 
 During this time, that is, the interval between his departure from 
 Cincinnati and his second residence at Worthington, he was 
 occupied, first as teacher of Latin and Greek at Miami University, 
 and subsequently, at the close of his first six months' residence 
 there, was elected full professor. The argument used with him, by 
 Bishop Chase, for leaving this position and taking the less desirable 
 one at Worthington, at nearly one-third less salary, was that of 
 duty to the Church ; that " no young man could then be found in 
 
 * One little incident, occurring during the candidateship of Mr. Sparrow, he more 
 than once alluded to afterwards, as illustrative of a certain mode of dealing with 
 doctrinal difficulties. It seems that he was perplexed with portions of the Baptismal 
 Service, and went to a clergyman, a Doctor of Divinity, for relief. " O, Mr. Sparrow," 
 was the reply, " you will get rid of all these difficulties when you get into the Min- 
 istry!"
 
 36 MEMOIROF 
 
 Ohio, in the Episcopal Church, to fill the station, and that the 
 Institution was too poor to call one from the East." To this 
 argument he yielded, at the sacrifice, as we have seen, of income, 
 and also of comfort. It was passing from a well-founded institu- 
 tion, with comparatively light duty, to the drudgery of seven or 
 eight hours of daily teaching, in what was little more than a 
 grammar school. The position was accepted, and the following note 
 of entrance upon its duties, appears in the report of Bishop Chase, 
 in the journal : " Authorized by the Board of Trustees, which met 
 immediately after the Convention of last year, in Zanesville, I 
 appointed Mr. William Sparrow, late Professor in the Miami 
 University, Professor of the languages in this Institution, and 
 also to the duty', for the present, of Professor of mathematics ; and 
 Mr. Gideon McMillan a teacher of the grammar school. Two 
 small buildings, very temporary in their nature, were erected, at 
 my own expense, which, together with my own dwelling and farm 
 house, we thought would accommodate all the students that would 
 offer this year. But we have found it otherwise. Our present 
 number is thirty, and had we buildings and other means to enlarge 
 our establishment, that number would be doubled many times." 
 
 From the statement thus made, some conception may be obtained 
 of the nature of the undertaking thus entered upon at Worthing- 
 ton. It was, in prospect, essentially and primarily a theological 
 seminary. Incidentally and secondarily to this, and also like it, in 
 prospect, was a college, in which the usual course of classical and 
 scientific studies could be pursued, but still, in some mode, included 
 in the seminary, or subordinate to it. As a beginning, however, to 
 these contemplated results, and as an actual fact, there was a 
 classical school, in which pupils of all kinds, candidates for the 
 ministry included, could receive instruction, and where the 
 latter, as they might increase, and need it, could be aided in their 
 theological studies. The predominant idea, however, with Bishop 
 Chase, and his friends and contributors, as of the diocesan conven- 
 tion, with reference to the new institution, was that of a theological 
 seminary ; an institution to provide for a supply, in the opening 
 West, of a properly prepared ministry. With the subsequent 
 difficulties in the working out of this theory we are not here or 
 elsewhere concerned, except so far as they come directly in connec- 
 tion with our object. But it is important, just here, to have a 
 definite view of the nature of the undertaking entered upon ; of
 
 WILLIAM SPARRO W, D. D. 37 
 
 what seems to have been the peculiar interest, both of Bishop 
 Chase and of Mr. Sparrow, in that undertaking. As the latter 
 himself distinctly stated, at a later period, it was a matter, with 
 him, not of interest, but of pecuniary sacrifice ; not of comfort or 
 ease, but of increased and unpleasant labor ; not of inclination, but 
 of a sense of duty, to meet an existing want, and to make 
 provision for its removal. 
 
 Included within this plan already described, and one in which 
 Mr. Sparrow felt the deepest interest, as appears from portions of 
 his subsequent correspondence, was that of providing a collegiate 
 education for the sons of farmers and settlers, at a moderate rate; 
 one which would enable these classes to avail themselves of the 
 benefits of the Institution. We shall find, at a later date, that he 
 resisted a new and moue expensive style of living and doing, as 
 tending to defeat the original design with which the Institution 
 was established. It was but one of many instances of that practi- 
 cal wisdom, in which he was so pre-eminent, to look for and insist 
 upon tangible beneficial results, rather than appearances. 
 
 When Mr. Sparrow entered upon his duties at Worthington he 
 was still a candidate for the ministry. His ordination took place 
 the year following, at the Convention in Columbus, Wednesday, 
 June 7th, 1826, when he was ordained Deacon; and on Sunday, 
 the llth of the same month, four days afterward, at Worthington, 
 he was ordained Presbyter. The record in each case is as follows : 
 "At the time and place, agreeable to Constitution and adjourn- 
 ment, the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the 
 Diocese of Ohio, assembled. Morning Service was performed by 
 the Eev. Intrepid Morse, and after an address, the ordination to 
 the Holy Order of Deacons, of Messrs. C. P. Bronson and William 
 Sparrow, who were presented by the Kev. Samuel Johnston, and 
 the administration of the Communion by the bishop, the following 
 clergy took their seats. On Sunday, June llth, in Worthington, 
 Mr. Gideon McMillan was admitted, by Kev. P. Chase, to the Holy 
 Order of Deacons, and the Eev. William Sparrow, Deacon, to that 
 of Priests ; the former presented by the Eev. J. Hall, the latter by 
 the Eev. Intrepid Morse." 
 
 Of this Convention, Mr. Sparrow was elected Secretary, as he 
 was, also, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Institution 
 with which he was connected. 
 
 His ministerial work, additional to that in the Institution, for 
 
 448339
 
 38 MEMOIR OF 
 
 this first year, is thus reported: "The Kev. William Sparrow 
 reports, that from the time of his ordination, last Convention, till 
 Christmas, he continued to preach every Sabbath, devoting one- third 
 of that period to Columbus, another to Worthington, and dividing 
 the remainder between Delaware and Berkshire, excepting one 
 Sunday spent, by invitation, in Eushville. Since Christmas he has 
 been prevented, by his official duties in the Literary Institution 
 of the Diocese, and rather infirm health, from officiating more than 
 seven weeks this summer. In Kushville he baptized one child ; 
 in Columbus two; in Worthington six; and administered the Com- 
 munion three times. Of the spiritual condition of the parishes in 
 which he has preached he cannot speak from personal knowledge, 
 not having had time for parochial visitations ; but if kindness and 
 liberality to himself be any proof of their receiving the truth in 
 the love thereof, that proof has been abundantly afforded. The 
 people in Berkshire are contemplating to erect a church as soon 
 as possible; and they in Worthington are actually engaged in the 
 pious undertaking. Heaven smile upon the effort, and grant that 
 while thus occupied in building the house of the Lord, they may 
 themselves l be builded together for a habitation of God, through 
 the Spirit.'" 
 
 His more especial work in the Institution, during this and the 
 few years following, will form the material of the next chapter.
 
 WILLIAM SPARRO W, D. D. 39 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 FIRST YEARS AT WORTHINGTON AND GAMBIER. 
 
 The nature of that work, to some degree, has already been 
 indicated in the description of the character of the Institution. 
 It was, first, to bring an existing grammar-school up to the position 
 of a college; at the same time, during this intermediate stage, 
 and subsequently, to make provision for candidates for the minis- 
 try; alike for their preparatory, classical, and scientific, as for their 
 subsequent and more specific theological training. This undertak- 
 ing, begun at "Worthington, was eventually transferred, in 1823, 
 to Gambier, when the founding of Kenyon College was fairly 
 commenced. For the first four years, however, the work in both 
 localities was substantially the same, and it was only as material 
 was prepared in the training of the school, that there could be any- 
 thing like arrangement of college classes. For the first session or 
 two, therefore, say 1826-1827, and 1827-1828, this preparatory 
 process was going on. Mr. Sparrow, during this period, if not an 
 actual inmate in the family of Bishop Chase, formed part of the 
 large household included in the boarding establishment for the 
 school, conducted by Mrs. Chase. Of the first of those years we 
 have no specific information, beyond the brief statement of Dr. 
 Burr, who was at Worthington when Mr. Sparrow arrived. " I 
 was," says he, " a pupil of his, the whole time of his occupancy of 
 the Seminary," that is of his position at Worthington, both before 
 and after his residence at Cincinnati, "and before his return from 
 Miami University. I was one of a few pupils gathered by Bishop 
 Chase, and taught by him until Mr. Sparrow came. I commenced 
 my study of Latin, Greek and mathematics under Mr. Sparrow ; 
 and have always been thankful that I had this privilege. I recol- 
 lect with great pleasure a kind of Bible class which he established 
 for a Sunday morning exercise. He furnished us with objections, 
 written, of the most popular objectors, to the truths of the Christian 
 Scriptures, and expected us to answer them in the best manner we 
 could, helping us, to some extent, to authorities, but leaving much to 
 our own research. I cannot estimate how much benefit this was to 
 me. He led, also, a class in history. This was aside from regular
 
 40 MEMOIR OF 
 
 lessons, and entirely voluntary. At Gambler he established a Bible 
 class for the many artisans and other workmen there employed. 
 I have heard some of them, some old men, speak with enthusiasm 
 of the pleasure and profit of those exercises." 
 
 One event of special interest, in its bearing upon the whole tenor 
 of his subsequent life, demands record at this point. This was his 
 marriage to Miss Frances Ingraham, on the 13th of February, 
 1827 ; the beginning of that life companionship of confiding affec- 
 tion, of common trial, and sorrow, and joy, which lasted for nearly 
 half a century. Of one who was so much to the subject of our 
 biography, and for his whole subsequent career, it would not be 
 proper to speak in only a passing notice. In the labors and painful 
 responsibilities of his position she proved a true helpmeet, and her 
 life of unselfish devotion to her husband and their children found 
 its desired reward in their comfort and welfare, as in their affection 
 and veneration. It was her effort to take from him the burden of 
 other things household cares, pecuniary expenditures so as to 
 enable him, without distraction, to go forward successfully in his 
 own peculiar work and duties. How efficiently and cheerfully this 
 was done was best known in her own peculiar circle that sacred 
 inner circle where her retiring and diffident nature could only be 
 fully appreciated. " God loveth a cheerful giver," was her remark, 
 as expressive of the spirit in which she herself, and her household, 
 should consecrate a beloved daughter to Christ's work among the 
 heathen. The spirit of this remark ran through her whole life of 
 loving and cheerful exertion. At the same time, while thus taking 
 the burden in these respects, she was his adviser and sympathizing 
 companion in matters of his more peculiar walk, those more purely 
 literary and intellectual. No proper estimate of Dr. Sparrow's 
 life and work, beginning at Worthington and closing in Virginia, 
 can be made without taking into account that of this his companion, 
 whom God gave to be with him during nearly the whole of its per- 
 formance. " Mrs. Sparrow," to use the language of one who knew 
 her intimately in Ohio, " was a very unselfish woman. By reliev- 
 ing the doctor of every possible care, she enabled him to devote his 
 time to his literary labors, while her judgment was so sound, and 
 her intellect so cultivated, that she was his counsellor on all 
 matters. As a wife and mother, she had few equals ; and I feel 
 safe in saying, that not one woman in ten thousand possessed such 
 a variety of intelligence as she did."
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 41 
 
 * 
 
 Miss Ingraham was closely related to Mrs. Chase, and it was 
 probably in the bishop's family that the acquaintanceship was 
 made, and the subsequent engagement with Mr. Sparrow took 
 place. Only one little incident, in the course of the acquaintance- 
 ship, related by the doctor, in Mrs. Sparrow's presence, many years 
 afterward, is at our disposal. "We were traveling," said he, 
 " Mrs. Chase, Miss Ingraham, and myself, in a carriage, to one of 
 the towns in Ohio, when we encountered a stream, which seemed to 
 be too much swollen for fording. Leaving my companions in the 
 carriage, I went over to a man who was working in a field near by, 
 and asked him, ' can I ford ?' ' Yes,' said he, looking at me, and I 
 was thinner then, and looked taller than I do now, ' yes, I reckon 
 you can !' " 
 
 During the year after his marriage, 1828, he was joined in his 
 work by Mr. Preston, and at a later date, by Mr. McElroy. Their 
 communications, which follow, will enable us more fully to under- 
 stand the circumstances and peculiar duties of Mr. Sparrow at this 
 time. " I went," says Mr. Preston, " to Worthington, early in 
 1828, to teach mathematics, where I found brothers Sparrow and 
 ' Wing, and fifty or sixty students, about half of them in college 
 classes. There were no theological students, so Mr. Sparrow 
 taught the classics in the college. He was a very warm friend and 
 supporter of the bishop, and stood very high as a preacher. I 
 found him one of the best friends I have ever had, alike in his 
 capacity as a scholar and adviser, and also in the warmth and 
 cordiality of his friendship. He was one of the most faultless men 
 I ever knew ; ever seemed to feel the deepest interest in the success 
 of the bishop and the welfare of the college. I graduated at Yale, 
 and I confidently say that I found no officer there whom I thought 
 his equal, in his capacity to teach and govern young men, and in 
 the good influence he acquired over them." 
 
 " On a Sunday morning in September, 1828," says Dr. McElroy, 
 speaking of this period, " I reached Mount Vernon, from Sandusky, 
 and having taken a room at the principal tavern of the pleasant 
 village and nascent city in the woods, I soon learned that Professor 
 Sparrow, from Gambier, would, that afternoon, at three o'clock, 
 officiate and preach in the Court Koom. The information was 
 particularly grateful, for I had a letter to him, from the Eector of 
 St. Mary's, Kilkenny, Ireland, the Rev. Peter Eoe, his mother's 
 brother, with whom I had become acquainted at my home, a few
 
 42 MEMOIROF 
 
 
 
 miles distant from his residence, and through whose instrumentality 
 I had come to cast my lot with Bishop Chase in his great work. I 
 was very anxious to see Professor Sparrow. His uncle, just 
 mentioned, who was a leading man in the Church of Ireland, and 
 very decidedly of the school of Venn and Simeon, had shown me 
 Professor Sparrow's last letter to him, and impressed me with his 
 very exalted views of the capacity and excellence of his nephew. I 
 expected, therefore, to meet with no ordinary man. When I 
 entered the Court Eoom the service had already commenced. I 
 was somewhat distracted by the novelty of appearances. The 
 room was dingy, the clergyman was in his plain citizen's dress, the 
 congregation, with a few exceptions, wore a very unkempt look ; 
 few had prayer-books, and the responses were feebly rendered. But 
 the earnestness of the clergyman soon arrested my attention, and 
 brought me under the influence of his fervor, making me at home 
 amidst the strange scene. From the moment the text was 
 announced, to the close of the sermon, the attention of the audience 
 was breathless and riveted. I had seldom or ever heard, before, 
 such a sermon; so able, so full of truth, so clear, transparent, 
 beautiful and impressive. At this long distance of time the whole 
 scene is vividly before me ; the preacher, with his sweet and distinct 
 voice, his modest yet commanding mien, his soft yet brilliant and 
 penetrating eye, his gleaming and expressive features, and his 
 whole countenance, betimes, one brilliant blaze of light. . The 
 congregation were enchained, enrapt; and I cannot describe my 
 own delight, surprise, astonishment, and gratitude to the Great 
 Head of the Church, that among the pioneers in the wilderness, for 
 Christ and His work, there was one so profound, eloquent and 
 Evangelical. 
 
 " Professor Sparrow, was at this time, I imagine, about twenty- 
 eight years of age ; and in my work of instruction in the grammar 
 school, in the college, and to a class in the theological department, 
 I had an early opportunity of judging of his scholarship. His 
 learning was very accurate, and, at his age, I think, unusually 
 extensive. He was a highly respectable general scholar, specially 
 able, even at that early age, in the mental and moral philosophies. He 
 had thoroughly mastered every able book on those subjects that 
 had, at the time, been published ; and my impression was that he 
 was fully equal to write, on either, a better book than any on the 
 subject then extant. His health was always feeble, and he seldom
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 43 
 
 preached ; but when it was by some means noised abroad that he 
 was to occupy the chapel pulpit on Sunday morning, there was 
 always, from Mount Vernon and the' adjacent neighborhood, a 
 large and overcrowded attendance. Even the common people heard 
 him gladly. Gambier, at that time, was a delightful residence for a 
 Churchman who loved Christ in spirit and in truth. The intel- 
 lectual atmosphere o the college was pervaded by an air of sweet 
 and warm devotion ; and the communion of saints was realized there 
 more generally, and to a higher extent, than it is usually enjoyed 
 among us. While I was there personally resident, there were one 
 or two years of extraordinary religious attention and fervor, during 
 which a large number of the students were hopefully born of God, 
 making large accessions to our ministry. Professor Sparrow always 
 tenderly sympathized with all such revived attention to religion. 
 He never doubted that it was a most gracious evidence of God's 
 blessing upon the devout services of our Church, and upon the 
 Word preached from the college pulpit ; and he, therefore, always 
 prayed fervently and labored earnestly for a return of such a 
 blessed season. On a certain occasion, one of our college preachers 
 repeated, extemporaneously, in the afternoon, to his forest congre- 
 gation, the sermon which he had preached from the manuscript at 
 the college chapel in the morning, from the text, ' Search the 
 Scriptures.' He had usually lively attention from these forest 
 people, but upon this occasion they listened with restless indiffer- 
 ence. The preacher suddenly stopped and inquired of each person 
 present if he could read, and had a Bible. There were sixty 
 married people present, and fifty-nine reported themselves without 
 Bibles or Testaments. Professor Sparrow took great interest in 
 the organization of a college Bible Society, auxiliary to the American 
 Bible Society, to supply this destitution. In this good work no 
 one was more deeply interested than Bishop Chase. He and 
 Professor Sparrow devoted themselves, with unflagging interest, to 
 the supply ; and I often noticed the Professor's eyes suffused with 
 tears, as our college colporteurs reported the touching instances of 
 gratitude and piety which they met in the cabins in the forest. 
 While I was associated with him his relations with his brother-in- 
 law, Bishop Chase, were cordial and intimate. He always held of 
 the American bishops, as Eyle does of the English, that they have 
 too much power ; and when Bishop Chase claimed, as Bishop, a veto 
 upon the acts of the college Faculty, it produced painful estrange-
 
 44 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ment. Professor Sparrow was ready to grant to the bishop, for his 
 own life, all that was demanded, if it could be arranged that his 
 successor should not inherit the veto power ; but the bishop was 
 honest in his convictions, and the alienation continued. 
 
 " Bishop Chase had the valuable faculty of an unerring judgment 
 as to whom he could use with the best effect, in laying the founda- 
 tions of the Church and promoting her healthful growth ; and 
 when he commenced his school and college at Worthington, Mr. 
 Sparrow had to yield to his urgency, and accept the Head Master- 
 ship of the whole Institution. He had spent some time," at an 
 earlier period, " at Cincinnati College, during the presidency of 
 Bishop Chase; was a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal 
 Church, and looking forward to the ministry. He was," when 
 appointed to the mastership at Worthington, " Professor of Latin 
 and Greek in Miami University, admired and beloved by all his 
 associates, a great favorite as I subsequently learned from the 
 President, the late Dr. Bishop. with the students and the inhabit- 
 ants of the village, and had a very competent salary. Bishop 
 Chase could offer him but little pecuniary inducement, but insisted 
 that it was his duty to the Church that he should resign his 
 Professorship at Miami, and join him. Mr. Sparrow yielded, and 
 never, so far as I know, regretted the financial sacrifice which, in 
 the interests of the Church, he thus made. The community at 
 Worthington was originally an Episcopal colony from Connecticut. 
 They had erected, a spacious church, of brick, and an academy, two 
 stories high, of the same material, and endowed it with one 
 hundred and fifty or two hundred acres of good land, conveniently 
 and very favorably situated. The situation was pleasant, but the 
 bishop changed his views of the desirableness of the locality for 
 the college and theological seminary, and, with the advice of the 
 Convention, purchased a large tract of wild lands ; and on a bold 
 promontory, jutting into the narrow and picturesque valley of the 
 Kokosing, within five miles of Mount Vernon, the capital of Knox 
 county, decided to build Kenyon College. He erected temporary 
 buildings for his family, teachers, and scholars, and moved all to 
 the new site, three or four months before I joined them. I found 
 the bishop and Professor Sparrow, with their families, occupying a 
 double one-story log cabin, and the appearance of everything as 
 simple and primitive as can well be imagined. 
 
 " The bishop," says Dr. Fitch, speaking of a period only a few
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 45 
 
 months later, " confined himself to the financial interests of the 
 college, soliciting funds, clearing grounds, and putting up buildings. 
 Mrs. Chase kept the books, and attended to the college commons, 
 and the personal wants and comforts of the younger students. Dr. 
 Sparrow had been Professor of languages, the Rev. William 
 Preston tutor of mathematics. When I came I took the depart- 
 ment of languages, and Dr. Sparrow devoted himself assiduously 
 to the duties of the theological seminary. His great mind was 
 devoted to the intellectual and moral culture of the young men. 
 In this he was so successful that he won the hearts and the admira- 
 tion of all ; not only of the students but of multitudes who visited 
 the college and heard him preach. His preaching was not limited 
 to the college but was extended to Mount Vernon, Newark, 
 Zanesville, and the wide circle around. Till Bishop Mcllvaine 
 came, no one could hold the breathless attention of an audience for 
 a whole hour or more, but Dr. Sparrow. By the students he was 
 held in the same estimation at Kenyon as he has been since at 
 Alexandria. All who came under his training believed him the 
 most competent of professors, having a giant intellect, and richly 
 stored mind, and a pure heart. Bishop Chase," while at Gambier, 
 " was absolutely head, but took no part nor seeming interest in the 
 college as an institution of learning, did not know what students 
 were taught, nor definitely who taught them. He presided at 
 commencements. Dr. Sparrow, as senior professor, presided in 
 Faculty meetings, and was to the students what they looked for in 
 the head of the college. They had confidence in him and revered 
 him." 
 
 These brief quotations give some idea of the nature of Mr. 
 Sparrow's work, and of the peculiarity of his relations to the 
 seminary and college during the period of his connection with 
 them, under the Episcopate of Bishop Chase. This was from June, 
 1825, until September, 1831, when the bishop resigned, left the 
 diocese, and transferred his labors to what was then the missionary 
 territory of Illinois. That resignation grew out of certain issues 
 connected with the management and government of the college and 
 seminary. Deferring all notice of these for the present, we would 
 desire to gather up everything of interest connected with the 
 subject of our memoir during this time, and in this his first position 
 of importance. That position, as we have seen, was one of great 
 labor and responsibility; and in self-defence, on one occasion, he
 
 46 MEMOIKOF 
 
 mentions the inducements urged to enter upon it in the beginning. 
 The mere labor of teaching, at first, was very heavy, and the sort 
 of material with which the work began was anything but attractive, 
 that of youths to be prepared for the classes of the, as yet pros- 
 pective, college. As the mere drudgery, in this respect, was 
 lessened by the addition of other teachers, and the college began 
 to assume shape and proportion, so the additional responsibility of 
 administration and government went on to increase. He had to do 
 the actual work, and assume the responsibilities of the head of an 
 Institution, whose nominal head was elsewhere and otherwise 
 employed making Episcopal visitations, building saw-mills, putting 
 up college buildings, or soliciting funds for these and similar 
 purposes. The peculiarity of this arrangement, in its very nature, 
 risked complication and collision from the beginning; conflict of 
 authority between the actual and the universal governing power. 
 There were other difficulties, also, connected with the position, as 
 mediate between the bishop and the other professors, and the 
 students of the Institution. These difficulties, in the course of 
 time, made their actual appearance; and were, no doubt, 
 eventually, a source of great regret to all the parties concerned. 
 But prior to any such difficulty of a serious character, there was 
 an important work, in which Bishop Chase and Mr. Sparrow 
 cordially and harmoniously co-operated. That work was the 
 foundation of Kenyon college, and the theological seminary. These 
 Institutions, if they have not fulfilled the promise of their 
 incipiency, say from 1825 to 1841, the first sixteen years of their 
 existence, under the administration of their first vice president, 
 certainly had such promise then, to a degree most flattering. The 
 manner and full explanation of failure in the fulfillment of that 
 promise do not lie within the track of our undertaking. "We may, 
 however, express the hope in passing, of a brighter and more 
 successful future, upon the efforts and labors of their present 
 guardians. Our object now, is to look at the undertaking as it 
 was, during those earlier years of which we have been speaking, 
 and with which our task is now occupied, when the old bishop, and 
 his youthful colleague, in their respective spheres, wrought together 
 for the great common object which they had before them the 
 building up of an Institution of theological and secular learning, 
 under a strong religious influence, in the newly opening territory 
 of the West, and for the benefit of Western population. " Our
 
 W I L L I A M S P A R R W, D. D. 47 
 
 design," says Bishop Chase, in 1829, "is to cherish an Institution 
 of Christian education, at a rate of unexampled cheapness, bringing 
 science, with all its blessings, within the reach of thousands and 
 tens of thousands of persons who, by reason of their straightened 
 circumstances, must forever remain in comparative ignorance. It 
 is to teach the children of the poor to become school masters, to 
 instruct our common schools throughout the vast valley of the 
 Mississippi. It is to teach the children of the poor to rise, by their 
 wisdom, and to merit the stations hitherto occupied by the rich; to 
 fill our pulpits, to sit in our Senate chambers, and in our seats of 
 justice, and to secure, in the best possible way, the liberties of our 
 country. This is the object of the institution of Kenyon college. 
 This is the reason of our unremitting exertions to make our plan 
 as extensive and permanent in its operation, as it is pure in its 
 design." 
 
 To these common objects, in the establishment of the seminary 
 and college, the energies of these two chief laborers were devoted; 
 and to no small degree, with marked success, during the period 
 with which we are now engaged. At the close of this period, 1831, 
 the school at Worthington, changed, both as to locality and 
 character, had become the college at Gambier. A college Faculty, 
 with classes in college studies, and a grammar school, were organized 
 and in full operation, with provision, at the same time, for theo- 
 logical education to any candidate applying. Bishop Chase, in his 
 report to the Convention, from which the above quotation is made, 
 speaks of "the number of students as ninety, six of whom, at the 
 Commencement ensuing, would receive their degrees of A. B., 
 besides several who, in the intermediate time, have been qualified 
 as teachers, now so much wanted in our common schools." 
 
 Of Mr. Sparrow's particular part of this work, brief intimations, 
 in the extracts of Messrs. Preston, Fitch and McElroy, have 
 already been afforded. His work of teaching and government, as 
 thus intimated, was connected with that of preaching, and to these 
 were added, after a few years, the labor of editing a diocesan 
 weekly, "The Gambier Observer." During this same period, we 
 find his name among the members of the Standing Committee, as 
 delegate to the General Convention, and as secretary to the Con- 
 vention of the diocese. His relations to Bishop Chase, as also, 
 doubtless, his recognized practical wisdom and integrity, made him, 
 in many cases, the bishop's confidential adviser. And, in after life,
 
 48 MEMOIROF 
 
 lie would sometimes speak of the peculiar cases which thus came 
 under his observation. Some of his pupils of those later years 
 will, perhaps, remember his account of a theological examination 
 at which he was present, and of the mode in which a candidate 
 was relieved of his difficulty. " Mr.," was the question of the bishop, 
 "by what are we justified ; by works or by faith?" The poor man 
 hesitated, but at last ventured to say, "by faith," but, as he looked 
 at the bishop, and looked at me, his heart misgave him, and he 
 corrected himself, and said "by works." "By neither," thundered 
 the bishop, "but by both!" The Doctor's account of the peculiar 
 episode, at this time, of a certain George Montgomery West, who, 
 as we shall see further on, gained the bishop's confidence, and was 
 sent to England to make collections, and came back claiming the 
 right to succeed the bishop as diocesan of Ohio, was no less 
 amusing. "He was," said he, speaking of West, "a man of the 
 most consummate vanity, as to his pulpit performances. 'That 
 passage, sir,' he would say, 'that passage in my sermon, when I 
 delivered it, the whole congregation were melted to tears they 
 could not help it, sir; they could not help it.' " Not unfrequently, 
 also, in alluding to this period, was he in the habit of speaking of 
 the impression made upon persons by the appearance of Bishop 
 Chase. He, himself, in his first introduction to the bishop, had 
 been greatly impressed by this appearance. " He was not in at the 
 time of my arrival ; and as, waiting for him in his study, I turned, 
 hearing his approach, I thought, as my eye fell upon him, he was 
 the most majestic looking man I had ever seen. He filled the whole 
 door!" In connection with this, he mentioned a little incident 
 which took place during one of the bishop's visits to England. It 
 seems that in making collections for the seminary and college, the 
 bishop had received a donation from a noble lady, who, in some 
 manner, had received the impression that Bishop Chase was a 
 person of very diminutive proportions. Not very long after, as it 
 happened to be made convenient to do so, the bishop, in person, 
 made his acknowledgments of the donation. So favorable was the 
 impression, both of presence and manner, and, perhaps, of a fuller 
 presentation of the object, that the donation was very largely 
 increased. 
 
 Something has been said, already, in regard to Mr. Sparrow's 
 work, in the way of preaching, during this time, and a report 
 given of his efforts, in this respect, during the first year of his
 
 WILLIAM SPAR RO W, D. D. 49 
 
 ministry. Similar reports are made to the Conventions of 1829, 
 '30, and '31. These labors, missionary in their character, extended 
 over a large surface, but seem mainly to have been within one or 
 two days' ride of the college. The places specified in the report 
 following include most of those to which he ministered, although 
 others, Berkshire, Chillicothe, and Perry, in earlier reports, are 
 mentioned. This, of 1831, the last made under the administra- 
 tion of Bishop Chase, is of interest. It contains, also, an intimation 
 that these labors, in at least one locality, had not been in vain. 
 
 "Rev. William Sparrow reports to the bishop, that since the last 
 Convention, he has preached in Gambier thirteen times, in Mount 
 Vernon eight times, in Newark, nine times, in Delaware six times, in 
 Worthington thrice, in Hanover, Licking county, and Boardman, 
 twice each, in Zanesville and Canfield once each. He has admin- 
 istered the communion once, attended two funerals, and baptized 
 thirteen children. 
 
 "The Parish of St. Paul's Church, Mount Vernon, has gone on 
 most vigorously, in the erection of their Church, since last Conven- 
 tion. The building, which is forty-five by sixty-five feet, with a 
 tower ten by eighteen feet, and a basement story, is expected to be 
 ready for consecration by Sunday next. Considering the peculiar 
 situation of this parish, that their number is so small, that they 
 have been so recently organized, and that the members have had 
 the privilege of attending the services of our Church but once a 
 fortnight, and then at a very unseasonable hour of the day, the 
 erection of a church like this is to them a most creditable circum- 
 stance, and must be to Episcopalians generally a source of 
 gratification." 
 
 It was in meeting these engagements that the long horseback 
 rides were taken, of which he often spoke in after life. He was 
 thus, too, brought in contact with the people, and came to under- 
 stand their character. One of the greatest charms of intercourse 
 with Dr. Sparrow, was his rare colloquial power, the variety of 
 illustrative incident always at his command, and this very largely 
 drawn from his own experience or observation. Much, doubtless, 
 of this was gathered during these preaching tours in Ohio. One 
 of those rides, for a whole day, was with the author of a work 
 which has had a large circulation, " The Philosophy of the Plan of 
 Salvation." During this ride the argument was stated, and portions 
 of it discussed and criticised. Years after, when objection was 
 4
 
 50 MEMOIR OF 
 
 taken, in his presence, against a certain part of the argument, 
 "that objection," says he, "I made to it, before the book was 
 written." Whether it was a mere roadside acquaintanceship which 
 elicited this discussion, or one of longer standing, we are unable to 
 say; more probably, however, the latter. The incident is not 
 without its interest, both literary and personal. 
 
 Two or three other little incidents of this period, pleasantly related 
 by himself, will not be without their interest. " I was traveling to 
 one of my appointments, when I came, about sunrise, on a cool, 
 frosty morning, to quite a considerable stream, where I found 
 a man waiting for an opportunity of crossing. He begged to 
 be allowed to get up behind on my horse, and I, after some 
 hesitation, consented. On we started. But before we got over, he 
 became alarmed, and in his fright and struggles, we were both pulled 
 off into the water. The poor man was very penitent; but I had 
 to go on in my wet clothing." "It was my lot," said he, on 
 another occasion, "to be present at a wedding, where the parties 
 were my personal friends, and would have preferred for me to 
 perform the ceremony. The laws of Ohio, however, at that time, 
 granted licenses to clergymen only for the counties in which they 
 lived, not, as in Virginia, for the whole State. So a Methodist local 
 preacher had to be sent for. He came; but knowing, as he did, 
 why he was called in, .seemed to feel that I ought not to be slighted, 
 and, as he finished the ceremony, he added, turning to me, ' brother 
 Sparrow, if you have any word of exhortation to say, say on ! ' 
 On another occasion, I was requested by the bridegroom, before the 
 performance of the ceremony, 'to say something that would touch 
 the feelings."' 
 
 "Brother Sparrow," says an old friend and brother in the minis- 
 try, speaking of this period, " came to see me, and preach for me. 
 Sunday morning he had a chill, and could not go out. What 
 should I do! So new in the ministry and no preparation. He' 
 said, 'take two of my sermons, and preach them; you are entirely 
 justified, under the circumstances.' I did so. After church, a 
 distinguished lawyer said to me, Mr. P., you never preached so 
 good a sermon in your life ! which was very true, for it was not 
 mine; but I mention it to show what was then his standing as a 
 preacher." 
 
 This portion of Mr. Sparrow's ministry is of interest, as that in 
 which, perhaps, the largest number of his sermons were prepared.
 
 WILLIAM SPARRO W, D.D. 51 
 
 His sermonizing, indeed, continued until the close of- life. But it 
 was very largely, in later years, in the way of reconstruction and 
 re-writing of earlier sermons. The bulk of them seem to have 
 been written in Ohio; and a very considerable part during the 
 first four or five years of his ministry. His time for such prepara- 
 tion was on Saturday, after the labor of the week's teaching was 
 finished ; and it was not unfrequently that the manuscript, with the 
 ink hardly dry, had to be taken to the place of preaching. There 
 seems to be little doubt that the great body of his sermons, 
 thoroughly elaborated as they are, in manner and matter, were 
 prepared in this way. Under any circumstances prepared, they 
 are, many of them, wonderful productions. Specially wonderful are 
 they, in view of the facts of their actual preparation. They show 
 marvelous capacity of intellectual concentration and continuity. 
 But, with the labor of the week's teaching preceding, and the 
 expenditure of nervous energy of the next day's delivery from the 
 pulpit, there must have been a terrible strain upon his physical 
 constitution. We are not surprised to be told that while he was 
 at Gambier he was in such delicate health -that he never came to 
 the door without a red bandana handkerchief on his head; "that 
 his nervous sensibility," at one time, "was so great, that he could 
 not trust himself with the government of the students." "He 
 was," says one of his friends of that period, "so genial, so inter- 
 esting, so perfect in mind and in heart all but his poor, suffer- 
 ing body; that was never well." "Not lazy, but constitutionally 
 tired," as he himself, once playfully quoted a friend's description 
 of his physical condition. In some respects, there was an improve- 
 ment of health after his removal to Virginia, his nervous head- 
 aches, from which he had been a great sufferer, almost entirely dis- 
 appearing. But it is not at all improbable that the delicate health 
 of after life finds a great deal of its explanation in the overwork of 
 the first ten years of his ministry. His power and popularity as a 
 preacher, at this time, are largely attested by his Ohio contempora- 
 ries, Drs. Fitch, McElroy, Preston, Allen, and Dyer. The sketch 
 quoted from Dr. McElroy, would very well describe him, after he 
 came to Virginia. The extemporaneous power which he increased 
 greatly after leaving Ohio, gave him advantages not then possessed. 
 But with this exception, an exception rarely exhibited anywhere 
 but in the Seminary chapel and prayer hall, there was but 
 little change. It is remarkable, that a capacity so thoroughly
 
 52 MEMOIR OF 
 
 acquired and mastered in the lecture room that of exact extempo- 
 raneous expression should have been so little used in the pulpit. 
 When thus used, however, it was always to the delight and gratifi- 
 cation of his hearers. Weary listeners, especially uncultivated 
 ones, were sometimes to be found under the delivery of his manu- 
 script sermons. But rarely, if ever, was this the case with any 
 class, under his extemporaneous addresses. 
 
 During the year 1829 his duties were varied by a visit to the 
 North, probably, from a hint in one of his letters, with reference to 
 the interests of the College and Seminary. This seems to have 
 been a pleasant episode, and successful, to a certain degree, in the 
 attainment of the object had in view. It was not to him wholly 
 satisfactory, and he speaks of a plan of his own, rather than that 
 of the bishop which was actually tried, and the preference of 
 which to his own he regrets. The allusion to this visit is con- 
 tained in a letter to his beloved friend, and for many years intimate 
 associate and colleague, Dr. Wing. This constitutes the beginning, 
 so far as remains, of a long correspondence, upon which we shall 
 draw for important material in our undertaking. This, written 
 very soon after reaching home, December 8th, 1829, is here inserted. 
 Three others, written to the same correspondent, and within the 
 next six months, are added. They help to throw light upon the 
 period with which we are now occupied, as also they help to exhibit 
 the spirit and work of the writer. 
 
 "GAMBIER, December 8th, 1829. 
 " DEAR BROTHER 
 
 " So, then, you felt just as I did. I don't know when my heart was 
 filled with such mingled feelings of surprise, and joy, and regret, as 
 at the moment I grasped your hand between this and Wooster. 
 The sight of you was cheering to my heart; but then the sight of 
 my eyes was so soon taken from me ! I can assure you we spent 
 the remainder of our way home in idle regrets that we had met 
 only to part. We blamed you, we blamed ourselves, and we blamed 
 every one who had any control over our movements after we had 
 started from New York, when, in truth and reason, perhaps, nobody 
 was to blame. But all the blame I may have heaped upon you 
 did not prevent my heart from yearning over you, and my spirit 
 from going with you, and my thoughts from often, since, turning to 
 the dearest friend I have ever made in Christ. Here let me assure
 
 WILLIAM SPARRO W, D. D. 53 
 
 you, dear brother, we have remembered you at the throne of grace, 
 and expect, in time to come, that you will often be in our hearts 
 and tongues, when kneeling before our little family altar. And 
 having said this, may I ask that you will remember us, especially 
 that you will pray the Lord in my behalf, that I may be made 
 equal to the new and momentous duties now devolving on me. 
 Yesterday morning, for the first time, I fully realized the awful 
 responsibility of my station ; and when I compared the duties to be 
 performed, with my feebleness as a Christian, my deficiencies as a 
 scholar, my inferiority in point of talent, the corruptions of my own 
 heart, the wiles of Satan (a subject I have lately preached upon), 
 and the sophistries of talented but irreligious men to be unraveled, 
 my soul seemed sick for very fear. You, I doubt not, can judge 
 pretty correctly of the state of my mind. You have your own 
 overwhelming cares and anxieties, and like Moses when sent to 
 warn Pharaoh, and to deliver God's people from bondage, you are 
 ready to say, who am I that I should go? Perhaps you are ready 
 to adopt these words of his, especially, "0 my Lord, I am not 
 eloquent, neither heretofore nor since thou hast spoken unto thy 
 servant, but I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue." But you 
 remember the answer also. God grant you may be enabled to 
 exercise faith upon it ; and what I ask for you I would entreat for 
 myself. One thing is certain to my mind, faith is needed more than 
 anything else; not faith in this particular promise merely, but 
 universal faith, which will bring the realities of eternity close to 
 our minds, and make us duly feel the preciousness of immortal souls. 
 Of this truth I have been more fully convinced than ever. Oh, let 
 us pray, dearest brother, each for the other, that we may have faith, 
 and every other grace sufficient to our day and duties. 
 
 " I doubt not you have many here to remember you. On my 
 arrival, I heard much said about your departure, indicative of no 
 ordinary feeling. My father, amongst the rest, though you did not 
 bid him good bye, joined in the general expression of regret that 
 you had left us. And none, I believe, have such selfish regrets as 
 myself, for amongst other things, I have to lament that I have now 
 no friend at hand to whom I may run when my head or heart is 
 full, and pour out their contents, trifling or otherwise, with confiding 
 frankness. But I must stop this. I did not mean to waste my 
 paper thus. Immediately after my arrival here, I wrote the Bishop, 
 proposing that Mr. Kendrick should fill my place, and that I should
 
 54 MEMOIROF 
 
 employ the year to come in preparation to teach theology, the first 
 half of the time to be spent here, and the second wherever I please ; 
 and that while here, I should give religious instruction to the 
 college classes and Grammar school students. He has acceded to 
 the plan, and yesterday I sat myself down to study, grappling 
 mightily with Hebrew grammar. Oh that you were here to hear 
 me recite ! 
 
 "Mrs. Chase has just had letters from England. Mr. West is 
 coming out in April, with Mr. Bates, the giver of the 100 per 
 annum, for ten years. Until April he preaches in a parish in 
 England. Lord Kenyon also thinks of coming soon. His trip to 
 France, to see, I suppose, how he would like the Catholics there, 
 has put him in a traveling mood. Mr. Bates is going to purchase 
 the north section, and, oh sad ! to fetch out settlers with him. Our 
 wandering star, S., has just paid us a visit, through the mud, for 
 the purpose of seeing and being seen. Several students have 
 come on since my arrival, and all things seem to be going on well. 
 
 "About my trip I have many things to say, and if you were 
 here, I think I could keep you awake with talk noise I mean till 
 twelve o'clock to-night. I labored under many disadvantages 
 while in New York, yet, on the whole, the trip was very pleasant, 
 and, I hope, profitable. Oh, that the bishop had acceded to my 
 first plan but 'what is said can't be mended.' 
 
 "The Bishop has had an interview with Bishop Brownell, at Cin- 
 cinnati. From Cincinnati he was to visit Piqua, and then take his 
 shortest route to Washington. From Chillicothe to Portsmouth, 
 guess how he traveled in a skiff! a new Episcopal conveyance; 
 but I am mistaken, perhaps. If the apostles were bishops, don't 
 you think Episcopal visitation has often been performed in a similar 
 way? By the way, S. has written and published two verses of bad 
 poetry, on a card, with the author's name attached, to be used at 
 
 'week-day service,' in the Episcopal Church, at . There is 
 
 no choice to the worshipers, though the General Convention has 
 furnished new hymns; they must use these eight lines, if for no other 
 reason, out of compliment to their pastor ! ' Oh my country/ said 
 the despairing patriot! Mrs. S. joins me in hearty remembrances. 
 " Your affectionate friend and brother, 
 
 "W. SPARROW. 
 
 " P. S. You see I have written a large sheet full ; do you the 
 same, and tell me everything about yourself. You know me too
 
 WILLIAM SPARRO W, D. D. 55 
 
 well to expect I would correct my letters. In place of wrong words 
 you must substitute right ones. " W. S." 
 
 "GAMBIER, March 12th, 1830. 
 "DEAR BROTHER 
 
 "As my paper is short, I will hurry 'in medias res.' A fort- 
 night after I received yours, I was induced to take an excursion, 
 and set out in company with D., intending to visit Chillicothe, 
 but owing to frequent dyspeptic headaches, we got no further than 
 Columbus. P., whom I saw in my journey, seems to be getting on 
 well in his parish. He is raising up a few of like mind with him- 
 self, who afford him some comfort, and refresh his spirit when 
 dejected at the character and disposition of the old stock. If he 
 were not a diligent man and good preacher, and if, withal, gospel 
 truth had not a power, which, even while repelling to a certain dis- 
 tance the formal and irreligious, at the same time attracts them, 
 and, like the centripetal force in astronomy, keeps them from going 
 off in a tangent, he could not maintain himself in his position. They 
 hate his Low-Churchmanship, though they respect the man. 
 
 " But I must be more brief, or I cannot give you the items of 
 news. Brannan and Samuel Chase have undertaken to teach a 
 High School at Newark. The people in Mount Vernon are about 
 building a church. I am to preach upon the duty of so doing next 
 Sunday week ; and then the subscription is to be circulated. They 
 are also going to build in Columbus. Lyster is to leave Cleveland 
 in May, and visit Ireland, to return, however, to Ohio. Potter, 
 Caswell, and Tillotson Bronson propose to go as missionaries to the 
 heathen, if any society will send them. By their request, I have 
 been corresponding with B. B. Smith, Dr. Milnor and the Bishop, 
 on the subject. Dr. Milnor is going to England, to attend the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society. Since I wrote the last sentence, 
 a Mr. M., a Scotch clergyman, has arrived, with letters to the 
 Bishop. He has been a Presbyterian minister, and wants to enter 
 the Church. I will, perhaps, have more to say of him in the next 
 letter. Just now I have to take him over the college, to introduce 
 him. 
 
 " I lately preached a sermon on Luke ix, 49, 50, a copy of which 
 the students requested for publication ; of course, I declined. From 
 the text* you may judge of the subject, and, from my principles, 
 
 * " But John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy 
 name ; and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto 
 him, forbid him not ; for he that is not against us is for us."
 
 56 MEMOIR OP 
 
 you may guess how I handled it. I go to Chillicothe on the 25th, 
 to attend an association. If I should feel like traveling, on my 
 return, I may visit Boardman. But whether so or no, I shall not 
 cease to remember and pray for my dear brother who lives there. 
 
 "W. SPARROW." 
 
 "GAMBIER, May 14th, 1830. 
 
 "REV. AND VERY DEAR BROTHER 
 
 " To be sure, my last letter was written on half a sheet, but if I 
 recollect aright, the characters were small and the lines close; you 
 had multum in parvo. However, I believe I should have sent 
 another after it very soon, had I not set out, about that time, to 
 attend Bausman's association. Brother Preston and I were the 
 only clergymen there; we had quite an interesting time, and some 
 good was done, I trust. Since that time I have attended another, 
 in Delaware, more interesting yet. The weather being much 
 better, the congregations were very large. We had service on 
 Friday evening; on Saturday, at ten o'clock, a meeting of the 
 communicants in the church ; at two o'clock in the afternoon, an 
 anniversary meeting of the Sunday school. Service again in the 
 evening. Sunday morning a meeting of the communicants at Mr. 
 L.'s house, and then the regular forenoon and afternoon services, 
 with communion and baptisms. On Monday evening we had service 
 in Berkshire, and on Tuesday, Preston, Hein, Dennison, and myself, 
 returned to Gambier. 
 
 "The Bishop, you know, has returned, and is up to his eyes in 
 business, as usual. His health, however, is still poor ; I am afraid 
 will long continue so. He cannot rest at night. He brought 
 along with him a physician, Dr. Farnum, who is also to act as 
 Professor of Chemistry. He is highly recommended, and is, no 
 doubt, very able in the branches he professes. We have now 120 
 students, and they are coming in every day. Two of the houses 
 in Gambier have been remodeled and finished for their accom- 
 modation, and the carpenters and plasterers are about to take hold 
 of a third. A large addition has also been made to the store, and 
 the frame next your old abode has been finished off for a hotel ; 
 for you must know we have a daily mail stage running to and from 
 Mount Vernon, William Sparrow, Stage Proprietor! Our 
 periodical will, probably, be issued in two weeks. Could you not 
 send us something local to insert in the first number; something, I
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 57 
 
 mean, connected with your parish. Anything relating to this 
 diocese will be peculiarly acceptable at all times. Sanford has got 
 us a good many subscribers. You must increase your list by 
 and by. 
 
 "I was pleased and thankful you had a refreshing time at Easter. 
 If you could muster courage, I should think it would be a most 
 judicious plan to call the communicants together, as was done at 
 Delaware, the morning of communion day, and pray and sing with 
 them, and give them an exhortation. It would, undoubtedly, be 
 most edifying to them, and refreshing to yourself. 
 
 "I have lately had a letter from E. He is in Natchez, earning 
 ninety dollars per month, as clerk to a court. How great must be 
 the risk of life, where he could promptly procure such a lucrative 
 situation. He says that in the sickly months clerks are often found 
 dead in the stores in the morning, having been seized so violently 
 during the night as not to be able to call for help. This surely 
 must be the plague. 
 
 " I would be glad to know how your folks like the ' Gambier Obser- 
 ver,' and much more, how you like it yourself. Any suggestion you 
 may make upon the subject of our paper will be most thankfully 
 received and maturely weighed. But will you not send us some 
 communications. Oh, do send us short articles, or anything you 
 please, especially local matter. I know your excuses; but they 
 will not be taken. 
 
 " Poor Keene, who had been sick so long, died Saturday. My 
 belief is, he is gone to heaven. The Providence will, I trust, be 
 blessed to some of the students. Mr. Taylor, on Sunday evening, 
 at their prayer meeting, spoke with great effect upon the subject. 
 At our last communion two of them joined the church, and two 
 others were put upon probation till another season. We have now 
 about one hundred and thirty in good health, and, I think, doing 
 well. The bishop is very feeble. He was not able to fulfill the 
 appointments made in the ' Observer,' owing to another injury re- 
 ceived in his leg from a fall. Though he is going about continually, 
 it is still in a bad state. 
 
 " The corner-stone of a church was laid in Mount Vernon last 
 Thursday week. They have raised twenty-five hundred dollars, 
 and have contracted with Mr. A. to build it for $3650, he having 
 a lien upon the unsold pews for the surplus of the latter over 
 the former sum. Bronson laid the corner-stone. None of us
 
 58 MEMOIR OF 
 
 attended. S. is getting up very fast. He preached a sermon on 
 Episcopacy the other day, which, however, Judge P. thought 
 exceptionable. But it is no more than I long ago anticipated. 
 In the present state of the Church, with all the influence on one 
 side, it requires both a spiritual mind and a sound judgment to 
 persevere in a steady course. Mrs. S. is not very well. She is 
 now sitting at my elbow, and desires, in all sincerity of Christian 
 friendship, to be remembered to you. I must be excused for this 
 scrawl. I write in haste, in languor and in fever. 
 
 " Your brother in Christ, 
 
 "W. SPARROW." 
 
 Within the next few months, there came up two disturbing 
 issues, which, for a time, were productive, to Professor Sparrow, of 
 great anxiety and trial, ending in a controversy with the bishop, 
 of a most painful character. The first of these was the West diffi- 
 culty. This individual has already been alluded to, in his exhibitions 
 of inordinate vanity. It would seem, however, that the bishop re- 
 garded him more favorably than did his youthful colleague; and 
 was eventually induced, upon his representations of his influence 
 and associations on the other side of the Atlantic, to send him, as a 
 special agent, to obtain contributions for the College and Seminary. 
 What the transaction definitively meant to the bishop, was never 
 very clear, as the subsequent career of his protege rendered it 
 a subject upon which he was indisposed to enlarge. But so it was. 
 When West started, it was with the episcopal blessing, received in 
 the last interview, and with the laying on of hands. The bishop, 
 like Mr. Wesley, when he parted from Dr. Coke, in all probabil- 
 ity, only meant to commend his agent in his work, and in the 
 most solemn manner possible, to the Divine blessing. But to West, 
 as to Coke, it meant, or it was construed to mean, a great deal 
 more even the assured succession to the episcopate of Ohio. 
 That made him the King of the Romans; and in due time, if he 
 lived long enough, he would be Emperor ! Big with these hopes, 
 West took his departure, and, for some time after his arrival in 
 England, most cheering accounts were received of his success. At 
 one time there came a report of 50,000 secured for the two 
 Institutions, from English noblemen contributors, who were coming 
 over to visit Gambier. Some of these, after a while, were found 
 to need modification; and when he actually returned, it was
 
 W I L L I A M S P A R R W, D. D. 59 
 
 ascertained that the proceeds of his three years' mission, so far 
 from reaching fifty, did not exceed one thousand pounds. This, 
 however, in his own estimation, did not invalidate his semi-con- 
 secration to the episcopate, and this, his expectation, in due time, 
 he took occasion to make known. The allusion, in one of the 
 letters which we give, to the scene following, of which the writer 
 seems to have been a witness, is irresistibly amusing; although the 
 consequences to the writer, as to the Institution, for some time 
 following, were anything but amusing were exceedingly serious 
 and annoying. West, after remaining for a few days, posted back 
 to New York and Philadelphia, and so succeeded, in the former 
 place, in exciting suspicion and prejudice against the bishop and 
 his management of the Institutions, that some of his best friends 
 became alienated, and the fund of the Milnor professorship, that 
 of Professor Sparrow, was temporarily endangered. The noble 
 promptness of Dr. Milnor in this emergency, and the gradual 
 revelation of the real character of West to those whom he had 
 led astray, eventually obviated these difficulties. But they were 
 very serious, as they were experienced, and the whole episode is a 
 most singular one. West afterward attempted to start a church 
 of his own, perhaps, to enable him to exercise the episcopal gifts 
 which had once seemed to be within his reach ; and one of the curi- 
 osities of liturgical literature is a Prayer-book prepared for its use. 
 The other issues of this period, complicated, for a while, with 
 this of West, was that of the prerogatives of the bishop, in the 
 government of the College. Postponing the fuller notice of the 
 difficulties in this, and their results, we give the two letters more 
 particularly connected with the case of West. The characteristics 
 of the writer, as familiar to his friends in later years, will be 
 immediately recognized. 
 
 "GAMBIEE, Aug. 3d, 1830. 
 "DEAR BROTHER 
 
 "According to your request I write you promptly, and having 
 thus complied with yours, I hope you will comply with mine, 
 which, following the advice of Horace, "in medias res," I make 
 without further preface. When I was far away last fall, and it 
 was out of my power to say yea or nay, the bishop, I find, appointed 
 you and me to preach the Convention sermon. When I saw it I 
 was startled and grieved. Having been appointed not very long
 
 60 MEMOIROF 
 
 before, and living here on the spot, and the appointment coming 
 from my own connection, I had and have insuperable objections 
 against discharging the duty. I write to let you know it will 
 devolve upon you alone, so without any demurring, set yourself 
 patiently down to do your duty. Give us a close, spiritual sermon, 
 and let us see that ' the Kingdom of God consisteth not in meats and 
 drinks, but in righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy 
 Ghost.' 
 
 "And now for other subjects. As to Mr. West's 50,000 it is all 
 a farce. The bishop says he has not collected, during his three 
 years' mission, exclusive of the 500 given as a legacy, from Lord 
 Kenyon's daughter, and a few other sums given while he was in 
 England, but not through his agency, over, I think it is, $4000 ! ! 
 How,' then, is this report to be accounted for? Why, thus. He 
 professes to have, from a gentleman in England, a promise of a 
 legacy to that amount, but he says the laws of Great Britain 
 preclude his giving the individual's name to those concerned, as by 
 so doing they would forfeit the legacy. All this and much more 
 you can see in a printed pamphlet which he published and brought 
 with him, scattering some copies on the way. But this is not all 
 tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon he 
 modestly asked the bishop if he might hope to succeed him in the 
 episcopate, and whether he would have his influence to that effect ! 
 You may judge of the scene; my pen fails me. ' Steterunt comce, 
 vox faudbus haesit.' The conclusion is, Mr. West is gone, most 
 probably, never to return. He stayed here but three or four days, 
 but in that short time, gave pretty good evidence that he is a 
 Universalist in doctrine, and anything but a Christian in practice. 
 His vanity, self-conceit and ambition, have disgusted every one of 
 any discernment. The poor bishop often thinks, no doubt, of the 
 Apostolic precept, 'lay hands suddenly on no man.' 
 
 "The 'Observer' will be out to-morrow. Oh, do write for it 
 articles I mean. As to the signatures I cannot give you any certain 
 guide. They are changed, and most probably will be, every week. 
 When they become fixed I will let you know. 
 
 "The bishop and Mr. McElroy went to Berkshire, and had 
 Confirmation there last Saturday, and in Delaware on Sunday, and 
 were back by one o'clock yesterday, Monday. Was not that an 
 episcopal visit ? 
 
 "S. has recently been thrown from his horse as he was riding
 
 WILL I AM SPARROW, D. D. 61 
 
 him, without saddle or bridle, round an orchard, for amusement, and 
 had his shoulder injured. Mrs. Sparrow desires, as always, to be 
 affectionately remembered to you. 
 
 " I am, dear brother, yours most sincerely, 
 
 "WM. SPAEROW. 
 
 "P. S. If you cannot read this, why, I cannot help it. I 
 cannot read it over and correct it." 
 
 "GAMBIER, Nov. 26th, 1830. 
 "KEV. AND DEAR BROTHER 
 
 "I supposed you would have written me long ago, without 
 waiting for a letter to answer; for, however busy you may be, I am 
 confident you have not half as much to do as I have. Never was 
 I so burdened as I now am. Between my new duties in the way 
 of instruction, and the care of the paper, I have not a moment left 
 me to breathe. I had, yesterday, to tell C., the Irish gentleman 
 you saw here last Convention, that I really had no time to converse 
 with any one, except when walking out or at my meals. The Irish 
 require broad hints. Since my return home the bishop has brought 
 up the old question between him and the teachers; and notwith- 
 standing the vote of the trustees, insisted on having an absolute 
 negative upon all our proceedings. We have conceded it, till the 
 trustees meet and settle it finally, it being understood as a conces- 
 sion. For the part I have taken in the business, he is so offended, 
 that he avoids all communication with me, except by letter, through 
 the post-office ! I never was more cut down by the way he acted, 
 and the way I have been treated, especially as I have no direct 
 interest in the question. I have the satisfaction, however, of 
 knowing that I have endeavored, in this business, to do my duty. 
 The bishop sets off, in January, for the Mississippi country, a 
 begging. 
 
 "In consequence of my trip North I did not go to the Chillicothe 
 Association, and Bausman is anything but pleased. What made it 
 worse, Preston, who set out to go, was driven back by the rain and 
 rheumatism. So Stem formed the Association. 
 
 "Our number of students is 150. There has been some 
 considerable seriousness among them, and a few have come out 
 decidedly pious. 
 
 " Mr. , remaining on the hill for some time longer, died 
 
 lately, from mania-a-potu. I was called to preach the funeral
 
 62 MEMOIROF 
 
 sermon, and never discharged a more unpleasant duty. B. has 
 purchased the 'Western Aurora/ and is about commencing the 
 printing and bookbinding business. My theological students are C., 
 who, you know, is married, also S. and H. The last has been told 
 that we all think he has mistaken his calling. He took it very 
 kindly and said he had long suspected it himself; that his preference 
 and tastes were decidedly for the law, and that if he could get rid 
 of the sense of duty which has been urging him on he would give 
 up the idea altogether ! Curious man. He now studies merely for 
 the sake of information. His classes are engaged in Hebrew and 
 Homer. Do you prosecute your Hebrew? Have you commenced 
 a system of study? Let me know. Dear brother, I can't help 
 thinking God has a good portion in store for you somewhere. In 
 this I am joined by my dear wife, who often talks with me about 
 you, and who desires to be remembered to you. Write me soon. 
 "Your affectionate brother in Christ, W. SPARROW." 
 
 In one of these letters the nature of the difficulty with the Bishop 
 is foreshadowed. This went on for some time, and it was finally 
 terminated by the resignation of the Bishop of the Episcopate of 
 Ohio, and his departure to Illinois. The peculiarity of this move- 
 ment gave rise to a great many new questions, to much exciting dis- 
 cussion ; and in the General Convention following, which had to act 
 with reference to the resignation of the Bishop, and the consecration 
 of his successor, serious doubts were entertained as to the conse- 
 quences of failure in making a satisfactory adj ustment. In the j udg- 
 ment of one who was largely in the Bishop's confidence at the time, 
 and not implicated with any of the controversies preceding, this de- 
 termination was very sudden, and in its final result, a surprise, per- 
 haps, to all. It had been preceded by difficulties in the conduct and 
 government of the Institutions, of a varied character. Some of these 
 originated with the pupils, in the form of complaints as to the fare, 
 and their mode of treatment. Others, from the professors and 
 faculty, in the form of complaints against indefinite episcopal in- 
 terference, to the weakening of all proper collegiate discipline and 
 authority. And, others, again, from the Bishop, in the form of com- 
 plaints against plots and schemes that were going on, as he believed, 
 to deprive him of his proper influence. It would be worse than 
 useless, at this time, to be reviving the particulars of this extinct con- 
 troversy. One feature in it, however, is of permanent interest, and
 
 WILLIAM SPARED W, D. D. 63 
 
 this is one which may be discussed without personal bearing in any 
 direction, that is, the question which was practically at issue when 
 Bishop Chase resigned the episcopate of Ohio, which was again raised 
 under the episcopate of Bishop Mcllvaine, and which, in some form 
 or other, will be apt to present itself in every Diocesan Institution. 
 That question is, what are the relations of the episcopate to any 
 such Institution ? Are they academical or episcopal, created and 
 regulated by academical law, or inherent in the episcopal office? 
 In Ohio, the charter of the Institutions really seems to have given 
 the power to the bishop, of indefinite interference. And, so far, 
 Bishop Chase had the law on his side. But it was found to be a 
 power which, in its exercise, proved intolerable. Of course, upon 
 the theory that it is inherent, back of law and above law, its exer- 
 cise became still more intolerable. Underneath all the other 
 difficulties and troubles at Gambier, at this time, this, doubtless, was 
 the fundamental one, and it amounted to this : shall the Faculty 
 have the whole duty and responsibility of their position, but divide 
 its powers ? Shall they so divide those powers that what duty and 
 responsibility indicate may immediately be reversed by some one 
 else ? Mr. Sparrow, as the head of the Faculty, had to bear the 
 brunt of this conflict. His original position was that of mediator, 
 especially in the matter of difficulties of the boarding and manage- 
 ment. His relations to the Bishop in" one direction, and those to 
 the pupils and other members of the Faculty, in another, placed 
 him in this position ; and, for some time, he was enabled to relieve 
 many of the troubles and sources of complaint. " At one time," says 
 Dr. Preston, " Professor W., the most amiable of men, and myself, 
 and the students, were on the point of rebellion, when Mr. Sparrow 
 calmed the troubled waters, by saying we must bear all things, for 
 the sake of the Bishop and the noble Institution." It was impossi- 
 ble, however, under these and similar circumstances, to avoid having 
 an opinion of his own in regard to the matters of issue. And the 
 Bishop reached the conclusion that he was working against him, an 
 impression which it was found impossible to remove. " I once told 
 him," says Dr. Preston, "that Mr. Sparrow was one of his best 
 friends, and that his influence was all for good." "I know," the 
 Bishop answered, "you cannot tell me anything about William 
 Sparrow. Why sir, he has such an influence that he could at any 
 time raise a mob of students, who would drive the old Bishop off 
 the hill, only they know they could not get their dinner the next
 
 64 MEMOIR OF 
 
 day." From Mr. Sparrow's own subsequently published statements, 
 and references to rebutting facts and circumstances, as from the 
 testimony of common friends, who were in communication with both 
 parties, it is manifest that the Bishop was entirely mistaken in this 
 impression ; that he was opposed not personally, but as a matter of 
 principle, and as one of policy, for the object of common interest to 
 both the benefit of the college. But, with this impression, right or 
 wrong, it was impossible for matters to go on comfortably. And. 
 when the distinct issue was made, of a claim, by the Bishop, of a 
 veto upon the action of the Faculty, the matter came to a head, in 
 the Diocesan Convention. Here effort was made to settle, by 
 compromise, some of the difficulties, but without success ; and the 
 final result was the Bishop's resignation. During the progress of 
 these troubles, or rather, as they were drawing to a close, Mr. 
 Sparrow, in personal vindication, made a reply to certain publica- 
 tions by the Bishop, of an earlier date. Without going into the 
 particulars, we give the close, as indicative of the spirit in which it 
 was prepared. "What I have written has been written in self- 
 defence, and with a view to the interests of the Diocese. If the 
 call had not been imperative, I never should have put pen to paper. 
 Unwillingly did I commence this answer ; at every step I have pro- 
 ceeded with reluctance, and now rejoice that the task is ended. It 
 is the first controversy I have ever been engaged in; it is my 
 sincere prayer that it may be the last." It is a grateful fact that 
 this prayer was answered. With the exception of a brief reply to 
 a most unwarrantable attack made on the character of his teaching, 
 and admitted into the diocesan paper (during the last ten years of 
 his life), he was spared from this form of trial, the work of contro- 
 versy.* 
 
 During this contest we have two letters to the same correspondent, 
 Professor Wing, which enable us to see some of the difficulties and 
 perplexities with which the writer was struggling. The West affair, 
 it will be seen, very much complicated these others; and at one 
 time, it seemed as if they would compel him to seek a field of labor, 
 and support for his family elsewhere. The trial of spirit involved, 
 under these experiences, may well be imagined. The system of 
 non-intercourse, except through the post office, odd and whimsical 
 
 * Rev. Mr. Syle mentions as a fact, characteristic of its author, that this pamphlet, 
 after being prepared and published, was very partially distributed, that the larger 
 portion of the edition was held back, and eventually used as waste paper.
 
 WILLIAM SPARED W, D. D. 65 
 
 as it appears, must have been very embarrassing. But the letters 
 best tell their own story. 
 
 "GAMBIER, January 20th, 1831. 
 "BEV. AND DEAR BROTHER 
 
 "I have been confined to the house the last few days, by a violent 
 influenza, the same disease which has carried off one of our students, 
 and, therefore, have a little time to spare. If you should not be 
 able to understand the improvement which I make of this leisure, 
 in the following epistle, you need not wonder. My head is so full 
 of disease that there is no room for ideas. I go to work, however. 
 A., about whom you inquire, is settled at Dayton, they say with good 
 prospects of success. The people in Piqua want to have F. He 
 spent the vacation with them, and took mightily. He tells comical 
 stories of M. ; as for instance, that after his dismission from the 
 charge of the parish, Mr. J. having been invited to preach and 
 administer the communion, when the time came to ascend the 
 pulpit, M., being present, he stepped up and did the duty himself, 
 leaving J. and his manuscript to enjoy their leisure. You may 
 well suppose that J., and also the congregation, were somewhat 
 confounded. 
 
 " You have heard of the revival in brother Bausman's Church. 
 K. and S. have made a profession of religion. Is not this marvel- 
 ous? It is, it must be the Lord's doing. Brother B. and brother 
 S. were to be in Columbus last Sunday, I presume, holding an 
 Association. When I returned, last fall, from Boardman, I found it 
 impossible to go, according to promise, to Chillicothe; and as 
 brother P. also was prevented, no Association was held. Great 
 censure has fallen upon me for this. I spent Christmas in Newark ; 
 I hope not in vain. B. has made dreadful havoc there. It is not 
 too much to say that, although he may not have intended it, he 
 has, in effect, been as a wolf in sheep's clothing, and he has sucked 
 the life-blood of almost the whole flock. However, it is but right 
 to say, that he seems to have been, at first, eminently successful. 
 
 "Affairs with me are in rather a critical situation. I know not 
 but I shall be in a parish very soon. T., and the rest of them, in 
 New York, have been all set on fire by West, and, as would seem, 
 cannot easily be quenched. The Bishop is about to publish a series 
 of pamphlets, giving a full history of the college, and an explanation 
 of all difficulties. This I have indirectly. I have had no inter- 
 5
 
 66 MEMOIR OF 
 
 course with him for several months. The last time we met in 
 private, when I begged him to agree to differ, in order that we 
 might live in peace and Christian love : his reply was " peace, but 
 no intimacy, no intimacy." He has kept his word. He has been 
 lately circulating on the hill a certificate contradicting West's 
 slanders. When it was presented to me, I declined, on the ground of 
 my connection with him. This has led him to demand explana- 
 tions, till I am wearied with the system of diplomacy, which, con- 
 sidering that we are but a few rods apart, is perfectly ridiculous. 
 I ought to tell you, I had other reasons besides the one mentioned 
 above, one of which I gave Mr. P. when he handed me the paper, 
 and these additional reasons I gave to the Bishop when required, 
 but in a manner which he could not well find fault with. They 
 related to the things asserted in the certificate; some of them I 
 could not, in conscience, subscribe. 
 
 " Now, the difficulties which this certificate is intended to remove 
 threaten the overthrow of the Milnor Professorship fund, and if 
 that goes, I go with it. After the stand I have been constrained 
 to take, the Bishop would not likely give me employment in the 
 college. While I was in Boardman, P. went on, for goods, to New 
 York, and T. then told him no more money should be paid till 
 everything was cleared up, and they have been as good as his 
 word. I have received nothing, and so far as I see, am likely to 
 be left in the lurch long enough yet, if not altogether. I begin, 
 inter nos, to think of Zanesville and Newark. There is field enough 
 there to cultivate, though it would require more muscular arms 
 than mine to do the work thoroughly. 
 
 "You may well suppose, from the above incoherent statement, 
 that I am not very comfortably situated, and but ill at ease. It is 
 even so. The Bishop is dealing strangely with me, and in a 
 manner that I neither deserve nor expected. May Heaven direct 
 me, and at all events, keep me from everything unworthy of a 
 Christian. I find myself exposed continually to the same errors 
 into which I conceive him falling. Even since I commenced this, 
 something most trying to patience, has occurred. The worst of it 
 is, for me, that it breaks down my spirits. I have no courage to go 
 about my work. Mrs. S. desires to be kindly remembered to you. 
 She wishes you were President of Kenyon College, and thinks I 
 would then have peace. 
 
 " Pray for your affectionate brother, in Christ our Lord. 
 
 "WILLIAM SPARROW."
 
 W I L L I A M S P A R R W, D. D. 67 
 
 "GAMBIER, April 13th, 1831. 
 "DEAR BROTHER 
 
 "I returned a few days ago, from an excursion to Worthington 
 and Columbus, and found your letter waiting for me. I should 
 like right well to purchase the 'Observer;' but if I can get bread 
 for my children these times, it is as much as I can do. I never was 
 so situated as I am at present. Unless I leave the college I can 
 do nothing but live in hope till the trustees meet, when something 
 may be done for me. To leave the college would, undoubtedly, 
 humanly speaking, benefit my health, and, I have reason to 
 believe, not circumscribe my means of living. But who comes into 
 my place? This is the question. And where could I do as much 
 good as here? this is another. The last session, I have reason to 
 believe, I have been more blessed in my endeavors than ever 
 before. And though the infirmities of my flesh were peculiarly 
 painful at the time, I look back upon them now with thankful- 
 ness, and shall commence the next session with some little 
 encouragement. This, together with the advice of a few friends, 
 is what keeps me here now. My wife is sick of war, and so am I, 
 most heartily. But if I go, there is good reason to fear that a man 
 of different views may be brought into my place; and then all the 
 glorious prospects with which we have comforted ourselves will be 
 at once blasted; the Institution, as it regards religion, losing all its 
 life and feeling. 
 
 " I went down to Columbus, to try and find out what was best to 
 be done. Everything that occurred there was consoling; as also 
 what I learned from Chillicothe, from brother P., who went down 
 there for me, I tarrying in his parishes. A proposition was made 
 to me in Columbus, which would have relieved me if acceded to; 
 to go as a missionary through the State, till Convention. I thought 
 strongly of the scheme for a time, but have pretty much given it 
 up. One motive for wishing to go, though subordinate, of course, 
 was that I might pay you a visit. I should long to have a long 
 tete-a-tete with you; and while I derived benefit from your counsel, 
 and comfort, and sympathy, in return astonish you not a little. I 
 could assure you, and so could P., that strange things have befallen 
 me. I desire to have your prayers, that I may do my duty, and leave 
 events to God. Oh, what would I not give to be able to say, as 
 some have said, 'the Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice'! It is
 
 68 MEMOIROF 
 
 something, however, to know that the feeling which it expresses is 
 proper and desirable. This conviction has, of late, been forced upon 
 my mind with more than common power. I wish to leave all 
 things in God's hands, believing that He does all things well; but 
 oh, my unbelief! I catch myself continuously laying plans and 
 supposing cases which are, in fact, an impeachment of Divine 
 Providence. Pray for me, I repeat, dear brother, that I may have 
 the path of duty made plain before me, and may have grace and 
 strength to walk therein. If I leave the college I shall seek some 
 large town. I know I could do nothing in the country. Most 
 probably I shall leave the State, the causes which drive me from 
 the college naturally driving me further. But I must stop. Mrs. 
 S. desires her Christian regards and hearty wishes for you, that 
 you may find a bird for your cage. As ever, 
 
 "Your brother in Christ, WILLIAM SPARROW." 
 
 In a fragment of a diary, the two following brief records have 
 their interest in connection with this subject. The first is December 
 20th, soon after the bishop's resignation ; the second, May 6th, of 
 the year following. 
 
 " Since my last record strange and unexpected events have taken 
 place, in which I have taken part. Though I have great reason to 
 be humbled before God, for the feelings which, at different times, 
 have arisen in my heart, and been allowed to harbor there, yet I 
 can say, thank God, ' I have wronged no man ' in this thing. I 
 pray God overrule all for the good of His Church." 
 
 "I have just sent forth my reply. In writing it I have been 
 unhappy. Thank God, it has afforded me no delight to engage in 
 this controversy ; but the reverse. Lord, overrule all for good, and 
 in all my trials be my stronghold and consolation. Help me to with- 
 draw myself from dependence upon any creature, even my dearest 
 friends. In this thing Thou knowest I have erred. Help me, also, 
 to banish from my heart everything of hatred and malice. Lord, 
 give me the spirit of Him who prayed for His enemies, even upon 
 the cross. Grant that I may abide in love, avoiding every 
 expression and thought which may spring from bad feeling, or have 
 a tendency to excite it. Help me to conduct myself as becomes thy 
 servant, in my intercourse with the world, especially my associates. 
 Lord, pity my weakness, and give me wisdom and strength." 
 
 The alienation of this controversy, to Mr. Sparrow, was, in many
 
 WILLIAM SPARRO W, D. D. 69 
 
 respects, exceedingly painful, deepened, in view of the disruption it 
 involved of old friendship and long confidential intimacy. It did 
 not, however, prove irreconcilable. The old bishop, some years 
 after, whether recognizing his mistake, or waiving the question 
 altogether, of the merits of the controversy, determined to have a 
 reconciliation. And his movement met with a prompt and cordial 
 response. The manner of that movement was characteristic. 
 Passing along the street, in Cincinnati, with one or two in company, 
 he recognized his old friend on the other side. Calling him over 
 to him, they met as Christian brethren, and the controversy and 
 its painful alienation were terminated. Whether any of their 
 unpleasantness remained with one of the parties, we have no means 
 of knowing. But with the other there seems to have been a 
 complete obliteration. The writer of this memoir was not aware 
 of the particulars of this controversy, or that reconciliation had 
 been effected, until after the death of Dr. Sparrow. That there 
 had been some conflict, he knew; but supposing that the subject 
 would be a painful one, no inquiries, nor direct allusions were ever 
 made, which would have elicited an explanation. At the same 
 time he is persuaded that Dr. Sparrow supposed that he knew all 
 about it. But the point of special interest just here is, the mode 
 in which he always spoke of Bishop Chase, the kindly and pleasant 
 feelings with which he recurred to their early intimacy and labors 
 together, and the large allowance with which he spoke of the bishop's 
 mistakes and errors, as he regarded them, both of doctrine and ad- 
 ministration. No one could have known, from these allusions, or 
 would have suspected, that the parties had ever been in conflict. 
 The fact is one that is honorable to both. We can now gratefully 
 think of them in that higher sphere of effort and of service for a 
 common Master to which they have been exalted, where all misap- 
 prehension and alienation are impossible are at an end forever. 
 
 We close this chapter with extracts from the fragment of diary 
 already mentioned. Some of these come earlier than the two already 
 given. They all occur within the last two years of the period 
 included by this chapter. 
 
 "January 1st, 1830. Another year is commenced. God grant 
 that it may end well ! Oh how much have I to do, and how little 
 ability of body, mind, or spirit. Lord, be thou my helper ! Make 
 my purposes pure and single, that I may be enabled to go on with 
 good courage, hoping for thy favor and assistance.
 
 70 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " 2d. Indulged in too much levity. Lord, help me to set a watch 
 over my lips and thoughts. 
 
 "4th. Purpose not to talk, hereafter, so much and frequently 
 about the parties in our Church. Many lose their religion in 
 arguing and disputing about it. 
 
 " 12th. Buried Mrs. F. to-day. May the prayer of my heart be 
 granted and fulfilled in my case : ' Teach me to number my days, 
 that I may apply my heart unto wisdom.' 
 
 " 15th. Bead Watson's answer to Paine. No Christian disput- 
 ant should content himself with standing upon the defensive and 
 answering impertinent cavils; he should draw forth the powers 
 of his religion, and make a direct attack, not only upon the false 
 theory of Deists, but also upon the evil heart of unbelief which has 
 led them astray. 
 
 " March 2d. Finished Miller, on the Sonship of Christ. Plain, 
 conclusive, conciliating. 
 
 "May 10th. My visit to Delaware has been instructive and 
 agreeable. Meetings of professors on Sabbath morning, before 
 communion, must be very beneficial. They make professors feel 
 themselves a ' separate and peculiar people ; ' unite them more 
 closely in the bonds of love; and afford the pastor opportunity for 
 esoteric instruction and strong appeals founded on the nature of a 
 religious profession. 
 
 " September 12th. Convention is over. I hope I have learned 
 something. 
 
 29th. My trip to Boardman has been pleasant and profitable in 
 some degree. But, oh, how unlike a true missionary do I feel, in 
 these little excursions. 
 
 "October 2d. It is my purpose, from this day forward, to read 
 nothing but what relates directly to a knowledge of the Bible and 
 ecclesiastical history, except what may be necessary in editing the 
 'Observer,' or in preparing to preach. 
 
 "April 30th, 1831. Since my last record was made, some 
 few pleasant things, and very many unpleasant things have taken 
 place. May all work together for good. My recent trips to Dela- 
 ware and Columbus ought to make me wise ; but how am I to learn ! 
 One thing is very clear, that if do not take care, life will have 
 slipped away while I am preparing to live. Lord help me to do 
 what thou hast given me to do, and to lay all else aside. Pity my 
 weakness, and help me in the discharge of my duty."
 
 WILLIAM SPARED W, D. D. 71 
 
 The forty-two years of successful labors that followed this 
 petition r-of influence as teacher, as preacher, and as a personal 
 example constitute its abundant answer. It was under peculiar 
 pressure that it was offered; and we are now enabled to recognize 
 in what manner it was heard and answered. 
 
 With the departure of Bishop Chase, and the changes therein 
 involved, new questions, of course, as to the seminary and college, 
 and diocese, naturally came up for decision; new modifications as 
 to duty and responsibility were rendered necessary. With these 
 we shall be occupied in the next chapter,
 
 72 MEMOIROF 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 LAST YEARS IN OHIO. 
 
 The next eight or nine years were spent, in many respects, very 
 much as those of the four or five preceding. The Institutions, both 
 literary and theological, after their recovery from the temporary 
 shock of the difficulties to which allusion has already been made, 
 were increased as to their numbers, and enjoyed a good degree of 
 prosperity. The College gave promise of meeting the expectation 
 of its founders, and the Seminary had its distinct organization, with 
 a respectable number of candidates preparing for the work of the 
 ministry. The position of Mr. Sparrow was that of Vice-President, 
 as under Bishop Chase, but as then, and from the nature of the 
 case, with almost the full responsibility of the head of the Institu- 
 tions. This relation was sustained alike to the college students, 
 and to those in the theological seminary. At the same time, he 
 gave instructions, as Milnor Professor, in the seminary, first in 
 ecclesiastical history, subsequently in systematic divinity, also as 
 Professor of moral philosophy in the college. In addition to these 
 duties, were his editorial labors of conducting the diocesan paper, 
 the "Gambier Observer." From reports made to Convention, we 
 find that his practice of preaching in the neighboring parishes, 
 was kept up, taking his part also in the chapel of the Institu- 
 tion. As delegate to the General Convention, he was absent from 
 these duties once or twice for brief intervals. Similar absences are 
 occasionally alluded to, as rendered necessary, on the score of 
 physical debility. But with such brief exceptions, the time seems 
 to have been spent in the routine of duty thus indicated. These 
 duties were brought to a close by his resignation, in the close of 
 the year 1840, and his removal to Virginia. This change consti- 
 tutes a definite point of transition ; and we, therefore, with the inter- 
 val which it includes, occupy the present chapter his connection 
 with Kenyon College and the Theological Seminary at Gambier, 
 under the episcopate of Bishop Mcllvaine. 
 
 During the interval between the departure of Bishop Chase, and
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 73 
 
 the coming in of his successor, from September, 1831, until October, 
 1832, the government and conduct of the seminary and college 
 were, of course, with the Trustees and the Faculty. Soon after the 
 consecration of Bishop Mcllvaine, he paid them a visit, staying a 
 few days, this being followed by a longer one, just before the close 
 of the session. "I arrived," says he, in his first report to the Con- 
 vention, "in Gambier, November 28th, where I remained till 
 December 4th, inspecting the condition of the college. During this 
 time, I held a private meeting of such students as were professors 
 of religion, for the purpose of prayer and exhortation; preached 
 thrice in the college chapel, and ordained Eev. C. W. Fitch, Pro- 
 fessor of Greek, to the order of the priesthood. On Sunday night, 
 preached in St. Paul's Church, Mount Vernon, a new Church 
 recently finished at the cost of no little sacrifice and effort, and in 
 which a congregation is fast rising to such a measure of strength 
 as, it is hoped, will enable them before long to support their minister. 
 On the following Tuesday, left Gambier, accompanied by the Rev. 
 Mr. Sparrow and the Rev. Mr. McElroy, and rode to Berkshire. 
 Next day arrived at Delaware, and preached at night at St. Peter's 
 Church. I was particularly pleased with the appearance of the 
 congregations last named. I have seldom seen a more animated 
 and unanimous participation in public worship, or a more earnest 
 attention to the preaching of the word." 
 
 This extract has been given, not only for its bearing upon the 
 condition of the college, but as incidentally containing an exhibition 
 of some of the results of Mr. Sparrow's preaching during the seven 
 or eight years preceding. Two of the congregations mentioned, 
 those of Mount Vernon and Delaware, and one in the next para- 
 graph, that of Worthington, one of these with a rector, and the 
 others almost ready to receive and support one, had been the object 
 of his exertions. To those exertions, under God, were they indebted 
 for much of their subsequent prosperity. 
 
 "I arrived at Gambier," is another and later statement in this 
 same report of the Bishop, " on Wednesday, June 24th, and took up 
 my residence here, having experienced the kind care of Divine Provi- 
 dence over my family and self during a very fatiguing and trying 
 journey. My time since my arrival here has been principally 
 devoted to such changes in the organization and discipline of the 
 college as would naturally be required, after its having been so 
 long without a head, and almost without hope. I am happy to
 
 74 MEMOIBOF 
 
 state, that I found its internal condition more healthy and efficient 
 than could reasonably be expected from the trying circumstances it 
 had had to contend with, and that its present prospects are such as 
 to inspire the most confident belief that, with the Divine blessing, 
 it will soon exert a most salutary influence on the cause of sound 
 learning and enlightened piety in the West." 
 
 Prior, however, to this, there had been events of deep interest, 
 both to the college and the diocese, transpiring elsewhere. The 
 resignation of Bishop Chase took the diocese and the whole Church 
 by surprise. A minority of the Convention made another effort to 
 bring about a settlement of the difficulties, so as to have the resig- 
 nation withdrawn. And when this failed, it was doubtful whether 
 the coming General Convention, that of 1832, would consent to the 
 severance of the bishop and his diocese in this way, and sanction the 
 action of the Convention in its choice of a successor. Mr. Sparrow 
 was one of the delegates to the General Convention, and in view of 
 his relations to the diocese and college, felt the deepest interest in 
 the success of their application. During the last few months of his 
 life he was led to allude to this Convention, and to speak of the 
 anxiety and uncertainty of the earlier part of it, especially of their 
 obligations to Dr. Wainwright, for his unanticipated but powerful 
 advocacy of their cause, and of the gratification with which the 
 result was hailed, both as settling diocesan difficulties and giving 
 an impulse to the Evangelical interest, with which Dr. Mcllvaine 
 was so thoroughly identified. In this connection, Dr. Sparrow 
 mentioned an incident, not without its interest, taking place during 
 this Convention. On the day of the consecration of Bishop Mcll- 
 vaine, there was quite a number of the clergy perhaps all, for 
 all were not many of those sympathizing with the bishop elect, 
 to dine at Dr. Milnor's. After dinner, at the suggestion of some 
 one present, the company became an impromptu prayer meet- 
 ing, for a Divine blessing upon the events transpiring. "While 
 upon their knees, some one was heard to enter, and, when the 
 prayer was ended, it was found that the unanticipated visitor was 
 the distinguished advocate just mentioned, who had rendered such 
 essential aid in the discussion of the Convention. His presence just 
 then seems to have been purely accidental, but it was none the 
 less a grateful surprise to those who composed the meeting. 
 
 During the same year, 1832, we find in the diary one or two 
 entries of importance; one of these immediately precedes his
 
 WILLIAM SPARKOW, D. D. 75 
 
 departure from Lome to the Convention. The others are upon 
 points then of peculiar interest. 
 
 "June 29th. Every day brings news of the nearer approach of 
 the dread cholera. Lord, enable me to leave myself, and wife, and 
 little ones, in thy hands, to spare or not to spare, as in thine infinite 
 wisdom and mercy shall seem best. If any of us perish, Lord, into 
 thy hands I would commend our spirits. If we are spared, let us 
 hereafter be wholly thine, and let this brief note stand as a memento 
 of my obligations and my duty."* 
 
 "August 2. To-day I went to church, as a hearer and an invalid. 
 Through the mercy of God, raised up from a fever, after an absence 
 of four weeks, I have gone once again to the house of prayer. I 
 might now be mouldering in the grave, yet it is not so, and why? 
 0, my God, I would adore Thy goodness. 
 
 " By my sickness I trust I have learned some things which I 
 really needed to be taught. One is, that during sickness is not the 
 time to attend to religion, for the purpose of acquiring a knowledge 
 of the truth ; but rather a season for falling back upon and using 
 religion acquired before. In many forms of disease the mind is 
 unfitted to do anything but feed upon the promises. God grant 
 that when my last sickness comes I may be enabled and entitled to 
 appropriate them all, so that, casting myself entirely on the Divine 
 mercy, I may fall asleep in Jesus. 
 
 " A second particular I have learned is, that attention to health 
 is, especially in my present condition, a bounden duty. 0, may I 
 be enabled to perform it. 
 
 "A third, that I ought to provide, in some way, for my family, 
 
 * The present generation, even those who are old enough to know of the apprehen- 
 sions connected with the progress of this disease in its subsequent visitations, can 
 have no conception of the feelings, on this side of the Atlantic, with which, in 1832, 
 its first approach was contemplated. Its progress from Asia to Europe, from interior 
 Europe to the sea coast, until it reached France and England, had been watched with 
 curiosity, not altogether unmixed with anxiety. As its fearful ravages in those last 
 named countries went on, the question was anxiously asked, will it cross the Atlantic ? 
 And when the answer came, with its appearance in Quebec and Montreal, and soon 
 after in New York, communities and individuals were made to feel, as they had never 
 felt before, that there was but a step between them and death, that they must set their 
 houses in order, as the destroyer at any moment might be at hand. The above extract 
 was written while the pestilence was prevailing in the two chief cities of Canada, and 
 only two or three days before it made its appearance in the city of New York. This 
 was the most painfully exciting period of popular apprehension. Reaction, after a 
 time, came on, and men passed through the storm with more composure than they had 
 contemplated it in the distance.
 
 76 MEMOIR OF 
 
 so that, should I be taken off before them, they may not be entirely 
 destitute. 
 
 "A fourth, that as a preacher, I have not been sufficiently 
 practical. I have indulged too much in metaphysical refinement. 
 
 "A fifth the root of the preceding that I have not lived near 
 enough to God. A feeble Christian makes a feeble preacher, and I 
 am both. God, help me to study Thy Word devotionally, to 
 think of Thee and Thy ways and works, devotionally, that I may 
 grow in grace as well as in knowledge, so that my knowledge may 
 be sanctified, and made instrumental to holy ends. Lord, Thou 
 knowest my weakness, and that I feel it in part. For Jesus' sake 
 pity and lend me the assistance of Thy Almighty Spirit. 
 
 " Sunday, Sept. 23d. In two days I purpose setting out for New 
 York; a long, and, at the present time, a somewhat dangerous 
 journey. 0, my God, I desire to commit myself, my wife and little 
 ones, to Thy covenant care. Let Thy hand be extended over me, 
 and Thy grace accompany me. 0, Thou merciful God, whatever 
 betide me, let me have the consolations of Thy grace. If it be 
 Thy righteous will restore me to my family, and let me find them 
 in health and happiness. If my days are drawing to a close, and 
 my next parting is destined to be the last parting with them, 
 Thou, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, watch over, protect, 
 sustain, and save them. Be the friend of my widow, and of my 
 orphan children. They are in Thy hand. For Christ's sake 
 preserve them and me, that, however our external lot may be cast, 
 we may all rejoice, 'no wanderers lost, a family in heaven.' Amen. 
 
 "Dec. 20. Restored to my family and home, Lord what do I not 
 owe Thee. Thy dealings toward me have been faithfulness, and 
 truth, and much mercy. Thou hast saved me from sickness and 
 harm; Thou hast crowned mine errand with success; Thou hast 
 relieved me of long-standing trials, and hast brought me back to 
 my wife and children with improved prospect of happiness. Lord 
 teach me gratitude for Thy great and unnumbered mercies." 
 
 One or two more extracts will bring us to the close of the 
 session 1832-3, contemporaneous with the date of the last extract 
 given from Bishop Mcllvaine's report to the Convention. They 
 are, as those already given, of special interest, as showing the 
 peculiar spirit with which Mr. Sparrow entered upon the responsi- 
 bilities of his work under the new state of things. That spirit 
 was one of profound gratitude for Divine mercies and blessings of
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 77 
 
 the past, deep humility in view of imperfection, and failure of 
 improvement ; earnest resolve to be more in earnest and faithful 
 for the future. The first of these extracts is with the opening of 
 the year. 
 
 " January 1st, 1833. Another year has' begun. Through God's 
 mercy I am still in the land of the living. May I feel that the 
 lengthening of my days is the enlarging of my obligations ; and 
 may this year be the most profitable to myself, my family, and the 
 Church of God, of any that I have lived. 
 
 "January 3d. As I seem to make little progress in my studies, 
 I shall, hereafter, note frequently what I read, that I may see the 
 exact amount. I will also try and observe the following division of 
 time and labor, except when preparation is to be made for the 
 pulpit. The forenoon shall be devoted to Hebrew, French, Greek, 
 and Latin ; the afternoon to Theology ; and the evening to miscella- 
 neous reading. I shall, also, when I begin a work, endeavor to 
 persevere to the end without engaging in any other, if it is worthy 
 of a complete perusal, and when the task is done, record my feelings 
 and thoughts in relation to it." 
 
 The next extract, some two or three weeks afterward, contains 
 a fulfillment of one of the resolutions here recorded. But with a 
 brief notation of two other books read at a later date, this is the 
 only criticism of the nature indicated. 
 
 "January 22d. Since my last record I have read, 'Stuart on 
 Romans,' but I must read it again. The writer judges according to 
 evidence, and without regard to system, as much as any that I have 
 ever met. I pray God to give me the same spirit of independence 
 of mind; and while I allow no human authority to interfere with 
 my conscience, may I feel my own great liability to err, and ever 
 submit myself to the Divine authority. 
 
 "July 8. To-morrow, I again leave my dear family, in pursuit of 
 health, and again would I commend them to the care of my cove- 
 nant God. Lord, Thou knowest all my wants and weaknesses, and 
 all my desires. I leave them before Thy mercy seat. Should I be 
 taken from my family soon, and never permitted to see them again 
 this side of eternity, Father of mercies, let me, for Jesus' sake, see 
 them see them in eternity, and before Thy throne, praising 
 redeeming love. Should it be Thy good and indulgent pleasure 
 that I be restored to my wife and babes, Lord, make me thankful. 
 Whatever be Thy will, take them and Thy servant under Thy care,
 
 78 MEMOIR OF 
 
 for time and for eternity. Thou knowest, Lord, I look only to 
 Thee for real happiness, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 " February, 1833. Kead the introduction to ' Edwards on the Will. ' 
 The writer, Isaac Taylor, is a man of great power, capable of close 
 analysis and extensive generalization, and endowed, withal, with an 
 imagination capable of illustrating every subject, possessed of a 
 range of knowledge, affording his imagination abundance of mate- 
 rial. He is so splendid one fears to trust him. This work goes to 
 confirm an old opinion, that man is to grow in wisdom by 
 receding from positions occupied rather than in taking new ones. 
 I have long thought that man regards himself as capable of much 
 more than he is, and that as he advances in true knowledge he will 
 relinquish many things which he now holds as undoubted truths. 
 Man is yet very ignorant of the real length of his plummet. The 
 work of this writer clears the way for the free interpretation of the 
 Scriptures, by showing the small practical importance of those 
 principles according to which men have hitherto endeavored to 
 square them. The author, therefore, will undoubtedly aid to 
 prepare men's minds for the more unbiased study of the sacred 
 volume. He is evidently a candid man, and cannot fail to influence 
 the candid. 
 
 " ' Tittman, on Greek Prepositions in Composition,' is an interesting 
 article. It is a pity he has not given us more examples. 
 
 '"Life of Kobert Hall,' contains many valuable hints, but does 
 not afford much spiritual improvement. The reader is too much 
 taken up with the gigantic intellect. ' Foster's View ' contains some 
 important suggestions, 
 
 "'Clement's Epistle to the Corinthians.' Is it prejudice that 
 blinds me, that I cannot see the much talked-of excellence of the 
 apostolical fathers? This Epistle is considered the best of their 
 production; deutero-canonical, if not absolutely canonical in the 
 opinion of some; yet what excellence has it, beyond simplicity? 
 The writer was a simple and sincere Christian ; having said this 
 you say all. He displays no depth, either of intellect or piety, and 
 he betrays a credulous spirit, and a want of soundness in Scripture 
 interpretation. The story of the phoenix of Arabia is told as 
 undoubted truth, and he finds bishops and deacons in Isaiah, Ix, 
 17. It is its date which gives this work its value. In section 47, 
 it is intimated that the dissensions at Corinth, in the Apostle Paul's 
 time, originated mainly from one man. The fifty-fourth chapter
 
 W I L L I A M S P A R R W, D. D. 79 
 
 was adduced in our General Convention of 1832, in New York, on 
 the subject of episcopal resignations." 
 
 During the year in which this last extract was written, he took 
 advantage of the leisure afforded by the vacation, to visit the 
 Atlantic coast, being, for a time, in New York, but for a longer 
 interval in New England. The main object of this trip, as appears 
 from his correspondence, was the benefit to his health from the 
 change and relaxation. He speaks, indeed, of the question of his 
 remaining in Ohio being doubtful, on this score, as to its answer. 
 And he felicitates himself with the assurance that, if he should find 
 it impossible to retain his position, facilities have been opened for a 
 change. The tour, in its effect upon his health, seems to have ren- 
 dered the raising of such questions unnecessary. Certain changes 
 in the college were taking place, as it appears, during his absence ; 
 some also preceding his departure. By one of these he was 
 relieved from connection with the college, and the responsibility 
 therein involved. This, however, was only for a short time; as 
 we find him, later, in his old position, which he retained until just 
 before his removal to Virginia. A couple of letters to his friend and 
 colleague, Professor Wing, written during this Northern tour, may, 
 at this point, be properly inserted. 
 
 NEW BEDFORD, MASS., September 3d, 1833. 
 "BEV. AND DEAR BROTHER: 
 
 " I have not received any letter from you yet, except that which 
 contained Mr. Otey's testimonials, but I have just learned by a 
 letter of Mrs. S.'s that you have written two others, and I, there- 
 fore, sit down to answer them, by way of anticipation. If they 
 were directed to Saratoga, they probably arrived after I left it, and 
 will be found forwarded to New York by the time I reach that city. 
 
 " My last letter to Mrs. S. was from Boston. The day after I 
 wrote, I returned with 0. to Andover, and tarried till Saturday, 
 hearing Dr. Woods lecture once in the meantime. On Saturday 
 I went over to Lowell, and spent the Sunday with brother Edson, 
 preaching for him, sorely against my will, but he was so hospitable 
 and kind, and withal, so urgent, that I held forth morning and 
 afternoon. The only ill effect was the usual languor on Monday, 
 and an increase of the pain in my side. In the evening of Sunday, 
 a black brother preached in the same pulpit, wearing a pair of 
 silver spectacles, and a gown and bands like myself; indeed, the
 
 80 MEMOIR OF 
 
 likeness was very complete, except the color of the skin, which, you 
 know, is nothing, and the circumstance that, whereas, I have a 
 superabundance of nose, he has a remarkable deficiency. His 
 name is L., from Baltimore. He was begging for means to pay off 
 a debt hanging over his church, and an African school which he 
 teaches. He got between forty and fifty dollars. His sermon was 
 sound, being strictly scriptural, that is to say, composed almost 
 entirely of Scripture. On Monday I returned to Boston, and saw 
 S. ; also attended a monthly missionary meeting which he conducted, 
 assisted by Rev. Mr. M., from Virginia. Yesterday morning (Tues- 
 day) I started for this place. Tell Mrs. S. I have, as yet, seen only 
 Mrs. P. and family. They have sent the chaise for Mrs. P., and 
 before I finish, she may be here. I expect to leave this on Friday, 
 for New York, whence I shall write again. 
 
 " I suppose you would like to hear something of my travels, and 
 the persons and incidents I met with, but my budget is so large, 
 that I have not a tithe of the room, in this small sheet, to display 
 my wares on. When we meet, and I get into a story-telling 
 vein, I shall be able to do something towards gratifying your 
 Yankee curiosity. The time I spent in Andover, was not unprofit- 
 ably spent, only it was too short. In some things I was disap- 
 pointed, and in some pleased. C. is preparing himself to go as a 
 translator, to some foreign missionary station, thinking that his 
 deafness, which appears to have increased, will stand in his way in 
 other respects. 
 
 "The day after to-morrow, there is to be a convocation of the 
 clergy of Massachusetts in Lowell. You have seen the notice of 
 it in the 'Churchman.' The Bishop is to attend it, and it is to be 
 continued monthly, from parish to parish, where the ministers and 
 people are in favor of it. Fourteen or fifteen parishes have given in 
 their adhesion to the plan, but several of the High-Church clergy 
 and congregations stand aloof. Brother Wing, this Socinianism is a 
 fearful thing. Where it does not corrupt the theory, it eats out the 
 spirit of religion, and worse than all the rest, many who hold it in 
 theory and practice, continue in our congregations. It is said that 
 * * * Church contains a great many Unitarians. Does not this 
 show that it is not the doctrine of the Trinity which gives offence ; 
 that this is only the pretext that they are offended mainly by the 
 everlasting cry of the Evangelical orthodox, 'ye must be born 
 again/ But I must break off this strain till we meet, if God
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 81 
 
 should so far bless me. You are now in the midst of Convention 
 business ; how my heart aches that I cannot be with you ; but I 
 have done right. My only chance of a permanent abode in Ohio 
 is in a complete restoration this fall. So fully am I persuaded of 
 this, that much as I long to see home again, I would tarry till 
 November, if means permitted. Should it please God that my 
 health be not restored in Ohio, this journey has, at least, prepared 
 the way for my settlement elsewhere. I suppose that you are putting 
 up the front of my house and building the new one. As to this new 
 building, my views have been often expressed before. I do not wish 
 it to fall below the average of things in Gambier, as I perceive that 
 the standard in such matters is likely to be much raised. ^ You are, 
 by this time, in my study. I pray you may find it a place of plea- 
 santer toil and better health, than I have found it. 
 
 I trust in God you are all still preserved from the cholera. My 
 mind grows easier on this head than it was. At first it made me 
 wretched, and with difficulty could I restrain myself from an imme- 
 diate return; but the silence of the papers, and Mrs. S.'s letter to 
 Mrs. P., have set me at rest, comparatively. My kind regards to 
 all friends. 
 
 "Your friend and brother, "W. SPARROW." 
 
 "NEW YORK, September 10, 18-33. 
 "DEAR BROTHER 
 
 " I arrived here this morning, in the steamboat from Newport, 
 and found two letters from you awaiting my arrival, and three from 
 Mrs. S. Of course I have been much comforted on the whole, 
 though they contain some things not very pleasant. I hope that 
 you are not suffering from the fever. I understand it has appeared 
 among you, and a stranger told me in the boat, yesterday, that the 
 fall fevers had begun, in the western part of New York, with 
 considerable severity. 
 
 " I wish I could have received your letters, to answer them in 
 time, before the meeting of Convention. If you wished for my 
 mind I also would wish to give it, on one or two points. Cheapness 
 has always appeared a most important feature in the college; and 
 no slang of 'cheap shop,' or anything else of the kind, can make me 
 waver on the point. Why increase the expenses, and put the 
 benefits of a collegiate education beyond the reach of our farmers' 
 sons? Surely, it is desirable that the' thing be as common as 
 6
 
 82 MEMOIR OF 
 
 possible. Are we about to increase our style of living, so as to 
 make an increase of revenue necessary ! Then the glory is departed 
 from us. Once the pride of life gets in, Kenyon becomes like any 
 other Institution. Its irreligious tendency may be abated and 
 checked, for a time, by the faithful ministrations of our President. 
 But when we substitute style for simplicity, we introduce a system 
 of means hostile to the influences of the pulpit and the prayer meet- 
 ing, and subversive of their effect. I have been in New England, 
 and am more and more enamored of simplicity and godly sincerity, 
 and hope that we have men among us ready to exert themselves in 
 pursuing the course recommended by Bishop Meade. I presume 
 you will remember it. But the die is now cast, and I can only hope 
 all has been directed and overruled by infinite wisdom. 
 
 "Tell Mrs. S. that I shall write to-morrow or next day, and will 
 say something about my health. It would not be wise to touch that 
 subject now, as I slept, or rather lay, on a narrow settee, with a 
 sheet and a blanket, and no pillow, and in the midst of two hundred 
 people, in the steamboat, last night. You may judge I do not feel 
 over well. Remember me affectionately to all friends, and believe 
 me, under every change, in truth and feeling, 
 
 " Your brother in Christ, W. SPARROW. 
 
 Eecords in the fragment of diary already quoted from, at long 
 intervals, continue during the next three years. It will be seen, as 
 they proceed, that the writer does not spare himself, or take self- 
 complacent views, either of his intellectual or spiritual progress. 
 At times, indeed, there is a tone of despondency that is almost 
 morbid; not improbably connected with the infirm condition of 
 health to which he was liable. They afford illustrations of a state- 
 ment, already quoted from one of his friends, when he speaks of a 
 "habit of self-depreciation, to which he gave way," and of his "al- 
 ways putting too low a price upon himself and his work." 
 
 " January 28, 1834. $t is surely time to make some note. How 
 much has God blessed me- since the period of my last record ! I 
 have been brought home again in safety and in improved health, 
 and up to this time have not, materially, failed ; but have been able 
 to accomplish more than usual. Lord, I thank Thee for Thy mercy, 
 and. pray Thee to give me strength to prove my gratitude by a life 
 of more engagedness in Thy service. 
 
 ( ' \ have entered upon the important duty of teaching a theological
 
 WILLIAM SPAKRO W, D. D. 83 
 
 class. How unequal am I to the task ! How imperfect my furni- 
 ture of talent, strength, knowledge, heart, and spirit. Lord, pity 
 and guide, enlighten and direct me, for the sake of Christianity, 
 and of those committed to my care, and of those who shall be 
 committed to their care. My station is at the fountain of truth, 
 whence flow streams watering many a distant region. May these 
 waters never be adulterated, or in any way polluted by my means." 
 
 This last record will be better understood, in the light of an 
 extract from the bishop's report, for this year, to the Convention. 
 It will thus be seen to have reference, not so much to instruction 
 given by Mr. Sparrow, as theological professor, as to the more sys- 
 tematic arrangement of the classes, in a regular course, with a theo- 
 logical faculty. " During the last year," says this report, " a regular 
 course of study under three professors, one of church government, 
 and the duties of the pastoral office ; a second, of systematic theology 
 and church history; and a third, of the literature and interpretation 
 of the sacred Scriptures, has been diligently pursued ; and a number 
 of students, quite as great as could be expected in the first year of 
 the arrangement of a theological course, have been in attendance." 
 The number of candidates for the ministry, in the diocese, mentioned 
 in the same report, is fifteen. In view of these encouraging pros- 
 pects of increased influence and usefulness, the above record seems 
 to have been made. 
 
 " March 12. Another birthday has come, but there is little to 
 cheer me in the recurrence. My whole life seems to be nothing 
 more than a blot. Nothing has been done for Christ, or His Church, 
 or the world. Time has been frittered away in idle purposes. I 
 have planned badly and executed worse ; and the great source of 
 the evil is not my want of health, however great, or anything of 
 an external nature, but my want of a right spirit. I read Presi- 
 dent Edwards' Resolves last night; how exactly are my deficiencies 
 in many cases there pointed out ! Lord pardon and help me. I 
 would cast out of my mind extraneous things, and do my proper 
 work. I would cease to be troubled about many things, attending 
 to the one thing needful. I would repress that impatience which, 
 because it cannot effect everything, does nothing. When my next 
 birthday comes, if it ever comes to me, may I be enabled to look 
 back and see that the year has accomplished something. The past 
 has accomplished nothing. May God pardon and help, for Jesus' 
 sake."
 
 84 MEMOIR OF 
 
 "May 25, Sunday. Have I any reason to believe that I am 
 advancing in the Divine life, if indeed I live in the Lord? When I 
 look back upon seasons past, when I was young in the profession of 
 religion, I seem like one in the infirmities and pains of age looking 
 back upon the vigor and happiness of youth. My religion is seated 
 too much in my head, too little in my heart. Now and again I 
 attain very imperfect glimpses of what my affections and habit of 
 mind ought to be, but that is all. The causes and occasions of my 
 present coldness are various. One is, I study religion too much 
 as a science, and having to do this in poor health, with little 
 vigor of mind and body, it leaves me little time or ability for pri- 
 vate religious exercises. It is very doubtful if I am justified in 
 retaining my present position, in which professional duties so much 
 interfere with private and personal. The world engrosses too 
 much of my heart. I see its vanity. I have no schemes reaching 
 far into the future. I am sometimes most deeply impressed with 
 the truth that few and evil are the days of my life, and yet I seem 
 to be engrossed with little matters more than is justifiable. And, 
 again, I have got my mind into a trifling unsteady state, so that I 
 read and think to little effect. I have a greedy and abortive kind 
 of curiosity, which must be corrected for the sake of my mind and 
 heart. It is utterly opposed to that calm and self-collected spirit 
 which religion produces. I am, also, infirm of purpose, so that if, 
 in the midst of this mental dissipation, I see and resolve upon the 
 right, it is of no avail ; my memory loses sight of the vow, or my 
 will is too weak to put it in execution. Moreover, I allow unim- 
 portant matters to take the place of duty. I have no ardor in the 
 discharge of my proper duties. My ardor is spent on trifles, and duty 
 is a task. The main reason seems to be that duty is continuous, 
 and requires perseverance, whereas I am desultory and unsteady. 
 I drift a little into this and that, get here half an idea, and there a 
 quarter, without reflection and the exercise of judgment, and this 
 is easy and pleasant, requiring no effort and indulging sloth. 
 Impatience seems, in a measure, at the bottom of all this, but be 
 that as it may, I am in a wretched state. I ' am ever learning and 
 never issuing to a knowledge of the truth.' Seeking to know all 
 things, I really know nothing. I have dealt most unwisely and 
 unfaithfully with the endowments, both of body and of mind, which 
 I have received at God's hand, and with the advantages which, in 
 His providence, I have enjoyed. God, in mercy, forgive me."
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 85 
 
 Over against these bitter things, thus written against himself, 
 there follows, a few months afterward, but manifestly with no ex- 
 tenuating object, a record of work and duty which shows that his 
 time, with their performance, must have been very largely filled ; 
 that, perhaps, what he really needed was not additional and more 
 faithful work, but relaxation physical and mental. This would 
 have enabled him to work with more satisfaction, and to have looked 
 back upon the results with less self-accusation. 
 
 "October 4. If I am ever going to improve, the time seems fairly 
 to have arrived. I am comfortably settled in my dwelling, I have 
 a competence, and my daily duty is plainly set before me. God 
 grant me both will and ability to discharge my stewardship." 
 
 " My duties are those of the Vice Presidency, those of the Milnor 
 professorship, those of the editorship, and those of the moral phil- 
 osophy professorship. But am I to do nothing in preaching the 
 gospel the gospel of my Lord and Saviour ? What is my excuse ? 
 How can I answer for this neglect? I excuse myself, I hope God 
 excuses me, on the ground of my feeble health, and small talents, 
 and my doing something in that way through the lecture room and 
 the Gambier "Observer." But I must take heed that my heart 
 does not grow cold, in this long absence from the pulpit." 
 
 The closing sentences of this extract have their natural connec- 
 tion with a fact occurring within the few months preceding that of 
 Mr. Sparrow's resignation from his charge of the congregation of 
 Mount Vernon. This charge had been in connection with his duties 
 in the college and seminary, but, in view of his delicate health, had 
 been discontinued. 
 
 " 1835. Christmas Day. Another of these memorial days has 
 rolled around, and what has it brought? The recollections of the 
 year are full of interest; but so many are those of regret and 
 self-reproach, that I can take little pleasure in them. I have 
 received many lessons, and have learned little from them. Still I 
 trust I have learned something. God forbid that it should be 
 altogether in vain that I have been warned so often by my own 
 sickness, and above all, that death should be allowed to take away 
 my precious little Maria. Lord, give me entire resignation to Thy 
 will, by convincing me more and more of Thy wisdom and mercy, 
 and enabling me to realize that my deceased babe will live again, 
 nay, does already live, through atoning blood, in the fullness of joy 
 at Thy right hand; and that I also, and my dear partner, and my
 
 86 MEMOIROP 
 
 other precious children, may, after being scattered from their 
 earthly home, be gathered again into a heavenly one. Lord our 
 God, prepare our hearts for this, and give us assurance of it. 
 Then shall every tear be dried, and every sigh be hushed." 
 
 The event thus alluded to, the first death in his household, that 
 of a darling child, is thus described by an intimate friend, who 
 aided in nursing during its sickness. The whole account, with the 
 statements following, bring out the peculiar features of Mrs. 
 Sparrow's character already mentioned. 
 
 " I think the little child was about two years old. The night 
 she died I wished to sit up with Mrs. Sparrow. But when she 
 saw, what I did not, that the child was dying, she insisted so 
 strongly that I should leave her, that I did ; and when she came to 
 my room, and I asked her how she was, ' she is at rest,' was the 
 answer. They were both, the Doctor and Mrs. Sparrow, very 
 submissive to the trial, which to them was very great." 
 
 "1836. Sunday, January 24. Life will have soon slipped 
 through my hands, if I do not take heed; and what account shall 
 I have to give? 'I have resolved, and re-resolved, and die the 
 same.' This will be my whole history. Lord pity, and forgive, 
 and help. 
 
 " I have recently read Todd's ' Student ' and Edwards' ' Eesolves,' 
 but how little am I of what the one describes or the other 
 practiced? Wherein am I wrong ? 1. 1 do not value and improve 
 time. 2. What I do I do slothfully, and not with all my might. 
 3. I indulge in reverie to no profit. 4. I dissipate my attention 
 upon a variety of objects. 5. I want perseverance in everything. 
 
 6. I am governed by impulse, not regulated by a sense of duty. 
 
 7. I do not control my appetite so as will best promote sana mens 
 in sano corpore. 8. I am not sufficiently studious of the original 
 Scriptures. 9. I do not pray without ceasing. 10. I procrastinate 
 irksome duties. 11. I am perplexed and cast down from not 
 laying more steady hold of divine comforts. 12. I do not exercise 
 sufficiently for health. 13. I do not devote time enough to my 
 children. 
 
 "But, alas, there is no end to the catalogue. Can I not amend, 
 even for the week to come, or must I give up in despair ? Great 
 things must not be attempted ; what little things can I do ? With 
 God's grace I will do this much.
 
 WILLIAM SPARRO W, D. D. 87 
 
 " 1. Read twelve verses of Hebrew and review, per diem. 
 
 "2. Bide to town and back at noon. 
 
 " 3. Deny myself at table. My allowance such as will leave me 
 with an appetite. 
 
 "4. I will get my recitations ready, and write all my letters." 
 
 Here the record closes, probably, from its abruptness, by an 
 interruption, and there is no resumption. 
 
 Returning from these extracts, we are reminded of a particular 
 work, to which allusion, more than once, has already been made, 
 that of the editorship of the diocesan paper, the Grambier ' Ob- 
 server.' This paper was started in 1830, under the editorship of 
 Professor Sparrow, and we find his name connected with it in 1834, 
 in company with that of Professor Wing. In 1831, 2 and 3, Pro- 
 fessor Wing appears as sole editor. It appears that during this 
 whole time Professor Sparrow was working, to the extent of his 
 power, and even after the last of these dates, for the benefit of this 
 publication. The object in view was not so much controversy as 
 that of giving religious information, of advancing practical Chris- 
 tianity. "The articles," says the opening prospectus, "which may 
 be expected to occupy the columns of this work, will be of the fol- 
 lowing kind : Essays on the doctrines and duties of religion ; 
 sketches from ecclesiastical history; religious biography; corres- 
 pondence of persons eminent for their piety and talents ; missionary 
 intelligence; proceedings of Bible, tract, Sunday-school, and tem- 
 perance societies, and other moral and benevolent institutions; 
 notices and reviews of new publications; poetry, selected and 
 original; summaries of news, literary, political, and miscellaneous." 
 "It is with unfeigned diffidence," says the opening editorial, "the 
 present publication is commenced. Entire inexperience in matters 
 of this kind, and the heavy pressure of other duties, prior in obli- 
 gation, and paramount in importance, make us feel a real distrust 
 of our competency to the undertaking. Why, then, it may be 
 asked, is the thing attempted ? In answering the question we can 
 truly say it is not with the expectation of personal emolument ; for 
 should any profits arise from the work, they are pledged to charit- 
 able purposes. Nothing can accrue to us but trouble and expense. 
 We engage in this enterprise only with the hope of promoting, in 
 some small degree, with the blessing of the Spirit, the reign of 
 righteousness and peace in the earth. The ' set time to favor Zion ' 
 seems to have arrived; and we, amid the crowd of His more efficient
 
 88 MEMOIROF 
 
 servants, would offer ourselves as feeble but willing instruments in 
 accomplishing God's purposes of mercy." 
 
 It is, of course, impossible, now, to identify contributions, except 
 those which are strictly editorial. The reference of these latter 
 were generally to passing events and circumstances, and do not, 
 therefore, afford material for extracts bearing upon our specific 
 object. Professor Sparrow's connection with the paper is mainly 
 of interest, as showing one of the many modes in which, at this 
 time, he made his influence felt, and exerted it for good. It also 
 constitutes an indication as to the amount and variety of labor which 
 was actually going on while he was charging himself, in his diary, 
 with failure and inefficiency. These self-condemning accusations 
 show that his standard of excellence was high. But the estimate of 
 those with whom and upon whom he was working shows that this 
 work was not only effective and abundant, but fully appreciated. 
 Such was the case with his students, whether those in the seminary 
 or under his government in the college. It was no less the case 
 with his associates and fellow-professors. The real wonder is that 
 in such condition of health he should have been able to attend to so 
 great a variety of duty and employment. 
 
 In the year 1838 he received the honorary degree of Doctor of 
 Divinity. His estimate of such titles is given in a very amusing 
 letter, written some thirty years later, to a pupil who had just been 
 doctored. In one written only a year or two after his reception 
 of the title, it will be seen that he was rather embarrassed by it than 
 otherwise. This last has its interest with regard to other points, 
 especially as throwing light upon his feelings and state of mind as 
 a seeker of truth and knowledge, and as endeavoring, by his ser- 
 mons, to bring it to bear upon the minds of others. How strangely 
 different his own opinion and that of his hearers as to the merits of 
 his sermons. One who did not know him thoroughly, would hardly 
 know how to take such language. Undoubtedly it came from the 
 very bottom of his heart. 
 
 " GAMBIER, March 28th, 1838. 
 " REV. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 " Your letter arrived last night, and was most welcome to both 
 myself and Mrs. Sparrow. I had long been wishing to hear from 
 you, as I am endeavoring to prove by a prompt reply. 
 
 "I am much pleased to hear that you are so delightfully situated.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 89 
 
 The scenery with which you are surrounded must be to you an 
 exhaustless source of pleasure, and the society of the family in 
 which you live a continual feast. There seems nothing in your 
 account of yourself which does not cheer your old friend, except 
 your despondency in regard to your performances and prospects of 
 usefulness. With such feelings I can deeply sympathize, for 
 though, on account of my Irish peculiarities, of an external kind, it 
 might seem as if I had a very comfortable opinion of myself and 
 my doings, my poor fagged and jaded heart knows full well all 
 about the depression which you now experience. If I am ever 
 sanguine or self-confident, it is only for a moment; the settled 
 habit of my mind is a deep consciousness of my own deficiencies of 
 mind and heart a consciousness that they are infinitely greater 
 than any creature besides myself is at all aware of, and which is, 
 therefore, accompanied with a feeling that I am acting a part, 
 appearing, if not professing to be, what in truth I am not. My 
 office as professor and vice president, let me say, and my very title 
 of D.D., ever since I have borne them, have in this way been sources 
 of permanent annoyance. The fable of the ass in the lion's skin is 
 constantly before me. What you say about your possessing ' little 
 talent/ or even 'no talent,' my own feelings tell me I ought to take 
 and apply to myself. Think not, therefore, that ' some strange 
 thing hath happened unto you ;' your lot, in this respect, is not 
 peculiar. 
 
 "But you will tell me, though 'misery loves company,' it is not 
 much alleviated thereby. Well, then, let us both remember that the 
 Creator and Ruler of the world has ordained that there should be 
 men of all grades of talent in the world and in the Church, and 
 that he can find work for all, and that all may be happy in his 
 employment. This is my chief consolation ; let it be yours also. 
 One of the evils incident to a desire for improvement, is that it 
 may be carried so far as to issue in discontentedness with what we 
 are and have, in an intellectual way. This is a 'sore evil/ as 
 Solomon would say. It is a great source of present uneasiness, and, 
 as I know by sad experience, it actually stands in the way of future 
 progress. Let us, then, try to unite contented acquiescence in 
 the measure of attainment allowed us now, with a steady and 
 moderate effort after excellence in the time to come. 
 
 " A word on sermonizing. Who that ever wrote a sermon did 
 not loathe it after it was finished ? Certainly I never did. To say
 
 90 MEMOIR OF 
 
 nothing of more substantial reasons, does it not naturally arise 
 from the close scrutiny with which, in the course of composition, 
 we have examined all its parts ? A plate of polished steel, seen 
 through a microscope, is like a plowed field : how much more 
 will this apply, even in the case of a good sermon! Another point. 
 I have spoken above of an incidental evil ; another such evil con- 
 nected with such study as you have gone through, however imper- 
 fect, is a straining after new ideas. An uneducated man is content 
 with common-places ; an educated man looks for something more ; 
 and let him look; but let him also remember that nineteen- 
 twentieths of the staple instruction of a people, from the pulpit, 
 must be 'things old.' The body is fed and nourished by substan- 
 tially the same food throughout the year, and it is only now and then 
 that a new dish is or can be indulged in. Only let the cooking and 
 serving up be our own, and let that be done carefully and neatly, and 
 our chief duty is performed. That you can do all this, I believe, 
 in spite of your desponding fears. 
 
 "But I see that I am wasting my paper in prosing, when I ought 
 to be about other matters. Do you know I am going to be absent 
 from the Institution all the summer ? I have got a furlough from 
 the Trustees till November 1st. At present I think of going 
 to Europe, and am trying to raise funds, but I fear it will prove 
 one of the impossible things. If I should not go to Europe, I shall 
 travel across the mountains, and perhaps, in my wanderings, stop 
 to see you in Honeywood. Would you not be surprised to learn 
 that Mr. Sparrow was at the door, inquiring for his old pupil ? If 
 I go to Europe, I leave home soon, say in a fortnight ; if not, I 
 shall remain here until the summer is pretty well advanced. You 
 understand that the furlough was asked and obtained on account 
 of my health, which has been miserable the past winter. 
 
 " And now, my dear Mr. B., I must close. Mrs. S. desires to be 
 remembered to you. Please present my best respects to Col. C. 
 Write when you can, and believe me, whether at home or abroad, 
 at sea or on land, sick or well, 
 
 " I am your sincere friend and brother, 
 
 Rev. Alfred Blake. " WM. SPARROW." 
 
 During the fall and winter following this letter, that of 1838-9, Dr. 
 Sparrow made a visit to Europe. This was twenty-one years from 
 the time of his departure, in 1817, for America, and we may easily
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 91 
 
 imagine the feelings with which he revisited the home and scenes 
 of his boyhood. Twenty-one years had doubtless wrought great 
 changes, but many of the old friends, and acquaintances, and rela- 
 tives whom he had known in early life still remained, and he was 
 fond of telling, in years afterwards, of the mode in which one of his 
 aunts received him very much as in his boyhood, by asking him 
 what she should prepare to gratify his appetite. At the same time 
 there were associations and changes that would naturally be pro- 
 ductive of mournful feeling. This, probably, was the time of his 
 day's travel in the vale of Avoca, with its remembrances and anti- 
 cipations, so many of the latter to be clouded with sadness, when he 
 found, at its close, his old teacher and so many of his fellow-pupils 
 no longer in place to welcome him. 
 
 None of his correspondence during this visit remains, and we are 
 unable, consequently, to trace his course. He was undoubtedly on 
 the continent, and during this visit, or that of 1848, ten years later, 
 visited Geneva. But what other portions of the continent were 
 visited we have no means of ascertaining. He returned in the 
 spring of 1839, and resumed his duties at the College. We there 
 meet him, by means of a communication from one of his pupils, at 
 that time in the College, and as it gives definiteness to certain 
 impressions of his work, we here present it to our readers. 
 
 " I formed my acquaintance with our dear old Professor, to 
 whom we owe so much, and whose memory we shall always love 
 and cherish, during my college life in 1839, when I was a boy of 
 fifteen, and he in the full prime of life. My impressions of him, 
 therefore, at that time, must be taken for what they are worth, as 
 those of a mere youth. 
 
 "There is an incident connected with my introduction to him, 
 which I may mention at my own expense, and which may serve to 
 illustrate, as well as anything that I can remember, the difiicult 
 position which the Doctor then occupied, the wrong impressions 
 which young men often associated with such positions, and the 
 ready way in which he disabused the minds of all who had an 
 opportunity of knowing him in his true character. When I went 
 to Kenyon, the college and seminary were united under one admin- 
 istration, having the same board of trustees, and the same Faculty 
 of instructors. This had been the case, I believe, from the 
 commencement of the Institution, when Bishop Chase had charge 
 of it, and Dr. Sparrow, who was nearly connected with him by
 
 92 MEMOIR OP 
 
 marriage, was associated with him as one of the earliest professors. 
 At that early period in the history of the college, no doubt the 
 students had quite a rough time, and were kept under a more rigid 
 discipline than generally prevailed in such institutions. The tradi- 
 tions which had come down to the students of my day, through 
 much less than a score of years, gave very exaggerated ideas of 
 the tyranny and oppression that had prevailed under the regime of 
 the old pioneer bishop and his coadjutors at Gambier. These 
 ideas were duly instilled into the minds of most of the new comers, 
 from session to session, and as a matter of course when I entered 
 college, I fell heir to my full share of these traditional impressions. 
 During the winter of 1838-9 Dr. Sparrow was absent in Europe, 
 and I had no opportunity of knowing him until the following spring. 
 My first interview with him was brought about in the following 
 manner: I was then a thoughtless youth, not much inclined to 
 stand in awe of those in authority over me, and very jealous of 
 certain imaginary rights. Among other things, I had heard that 
 Dr. Sparrow required every student, on meeting him or coming 
 into his presence, to take off his hat, and assume a very humble and 
 obsequious manner, and I had been told how he had dealt roughly 
 with some offenders in these particulars. I had remarked, in a 
 rather boasting or defiant spirit, that I could not yield to such a 
 requirement, and would only return such tokens of politeness as 
 were shown by the other party. One morning the tutor came to 
 my room, and informed me that Dr. Sparrow wished to see me in a 
 certain lecture room. I was somewhat startled by the announce- 
 ment, for I took it for granted that he could only wish to see me to 
 remind me of some misdemeanor, or to enforce some necessary 
 discipline. So I left my room in a high state of excitement, declar- 
 ing in strong terms, greatly to the amusement of my room-mate, 
 how I intended to resist aggression, and to maintain my own 
 dignity and rights. With this very erroneous and absurd state 
 of feeling, I tapped at the Doctor's door. Opening the door, I saw, 
 for the first time, that delicate but majestic form, sitting in his 
 Professor's chair behind the table, leaning back in an almost 
 reclining attitude, to rest after dismissing his class, with his gold 
 spectacles upon his brow. As soon as his eye met mine, he asked 
 
 if I were M ? And being answered in the affirmative, he 
 
 arose and approached me in the kindest and most agreeable 
 manner, and before his hand had time to reach mine, my hat was
 
 WILLIAM SPARRO W, D. D. 93 
 
 off, and I felt that I could not make any suitable acknowledgment 
 of such kindness and courtesy from a man in his position toward a 
 schoolboy. He asked me to have a seat near him, and then opened 
 the conversation, as he only could do, with words of wise counsel 
 and tender interest, such as I can never forget. He told me that 
 on his return from Europe, to his duties of Vice President of the 
 college, he had inquired in regard to the students, and had learned 
 of me as an only son, and that my father's letter evinced so much 
 interest and anxiety on my account, that his own sympathies were 
 touched ; that he was glad to hear of improvement in my depart- 
 ment, and he wished to do what he could to encourage me. -His 
 words and manner were so kind and fatherly, that when I left the 
 room I felt that it had been good for me to be there. Never were 
 false impressions and wrong resolutions more speedily reversed. 
 From that moment I entertained the greatest love and reverence 
 for Doctor Sparrow, which grew the more I knew of him, in our 
 subsequent relations of teacher and pupil, both at Kenyon, and at 
 the Virginia Seminary.* 
 
 " Within three months of the above date I was a candidate for 
 confirmation, and, of course, sought advice and instruction from 
 Doctor Sparrow, in my preparation for that step. It was cheerfully 
 and faithfully given, and was such as might have been expected 
 from one of his character and attainments. It was a rare 
 privilege, at that important crisis of one's life, to have received 
 counsel from such a source. It pleased God, just at that time, to 
 vouchsafe such blessings to the members of that Institution as 
 have not been often realized. It was not like what is generally 
 known as a 'revival/ and yet it vxis a revival, of the true 
 Scriptural type a season of heartfelt interest in spiritual things 
 pervading the very atmosphere, and communicating itself from one 
 to another, until every one seemed to be under its influence, and to 
 
 * As illustrative of the sort of influence exerted by Dr. Sparrow in this way, while 
 in charge of the college, was the case of an eminent public man, who, many years 
 afterward, while upon his deathbed, received baptism at his hands. The account 
 may be given as derived from himself. " As I was passing," said he, " along Penn- 
 sylvania avenue, I was stopped by a gentleman calling to me by name, and who to 
 me was a perfect stranger. When he came up he introduced himself, and reminded 
 me that he had been a student at Kenyon, and that I had once sent for him to my 
 study (an incident which the Doctor did not recall), to remonstrate with him in 
 regard to his course. He regarded that remonstrance as the turning point in his life, 
 and thus took the opportunity of making it known, as also of offering his grateful 
 acknowledgments."
 
 94 MEMOIROF 
 
 be in sympathy with the surrounding scene. Doctor Sparrow 
 rejoiced in this season, and entered into it with intense interest. 
 His sermons, which always abounded with rich views of religious 
 thought, such as few minds could either discover or pursue, were 
 at that time surpassingly fine. He was then in the very vigor of 
 manhood, and in the maturity of his mental development. In a 
 diary kept at that time, I have a memorandum of his texts, together 
 with a brief outline of his sermons, which show how wisely they 
 were selected, and with what masterly power the subjects were 
 handled. In the course of the session a large number of the 
 students devoted themselves to the service of Christ, and many of 
 them became useful and prominent men in the Church, both as 
 clergymen and laymen. This result was due, in a great measure, 
 to the influence of Dr. Sparrow, although he modestly disclaimed 
 it, with many earnest regrets that he could not do more to promote 
 the spiritual welfare of the students. 
 
 "Within a year from this time he received the appointment of 
 professor in the Theological Seminary of Virginia. It so happened 
 that I then had an opportunity of seeing Dr. Sparrow, and talking 
 with him frequently while he was preparing to take this important 
 step. The idea of making that change was a great trial to him, for up 
 to that time all the tenderest associations of his life were clustered 
 around that spot. He came there in his youth; and for many 
 years had presided over that institution, and had conducted its 
 affairs with marked ability and success. His name was identified 
 with its entire history the bishop of the diocese being the Presi- 
 dent ex-officio, while he was the Vice President and acting President 
 of the college Faculty. The grave of his father was there, and 
 everything combined to make the spot very dear to his heart. On 
 one occasion he said, ' It is very easy to take up a young scion and 
 transplant it in another place, but if you dig up a full grown tree, 
 and try to remove it, there will be so many roots broken and so 
 many bruises inflicted, that the chances are against its taking root 
 and flourishing in a new soil.' At length, when he had decided to 
 go, the members of the two literary societies appointed a committee 
 to invite him to deliver a valedictory address at the close of the 
 session. Being a member of the committee, I well remember 
 how gratified he was to receive that expression of regard on the 
 part of the students. The request was communicated to him, not 
 as a piece of ceremony or token of respect due to his official posi-
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 95 
 
 tion, but as a mark of true appreciation and deep regret at parting 
 with such a valuable member of the Faculty. After some hesitation, 
 he consented to the request, and at the appointed time delivered 
 an address -on 'Truth,' which was, as might have been expected, a 
 masterly production. Some years afterward, while a member of 
 the seminary at Alexandria, I was permitted to read that manu- 
 script, and often regretted that it was never published." 
 
 The closing address thus alluded to is one well worthy of 
 perusal, and in any future publication of the doctor's addresses 
 may properly find its place. Its conclusion is here inserted. 
 
 "And now, young gentlemen, let me speak a parting word to 
 you, and through you to all the students of the Institution. It is 
 a matter of no little gratification to my feelings that you should 
 take so much interest in my removal from this place, as unanimously 
 to request me to address you on this occasion. But if it is a matter 
 of interest to you, how much more to me ! My local attachments 
 are, constitutionally, of the very strongest kind ; and they have here 
 had long time and much seclusion to give them permanence and 
 strength. But they must now be broken up, and I must enter, by 
 personal experience, into the meaning of that expression which I 
 have often used, but never so fully realized before, 'the place that 
 now knows me shall know me no more.' And if, in such an hour, 
 the very stones in the street and the trees in the wood around, and 
 the most familiar and common objects, the moment the thought of 
 separation comes up, seem to speak mournfully of years of inter- 
 course which never can return, how much more painful to think 
 of parting from persons who have known and held communion with 
 me since the days of my manhood. Attachments, moreover, partly 
 professional and partly personal, have bound me to the students of 
 Kenyon College, by association with them from the time it was a 
 grammar school in the lowest forms to the close of the last college 
 year. Standing before you, therefore, as one formerly an officer of 
 the college, I see represented in you the classes I have been con- 
 nected with some fifteen years, and bidding farewell to you, I seem 
 to bid farewell to all. In thinking over the anxiety and comfort, 
 the joys and the sorrows which I have experienced, during so large 
 a portion of my life, it would be strange indeed, if my heart did 
 not go forth in all those feelings, one-half parental, which a profes- 
 sional teacher seeks to exercise and cherish toward those committed 
 to his care. Amidst much infirmity of every kind, which no man
 
 96 MEMOIROF 
 
 knows so well by observation of me, as I do myself, by painful con- 
 sciousness, I hope I can say, my first desire has not been to earn a 
 morsel of bread, but rather to be useful to you and to those who 
 have gone before you. It would, perhaps, be unreasonable to 
 expect that students generally should make allowance for the diffi- 
 culties, and fully appreciate the true desires and endeavors of those 
 who conduct their government and discipline. But it soothes and 
 delights my heart to say that I have nothing to complain of in this 
 regard ; quite the reverse ; I have almost uniformly met as much 
 good will on their part as I could possibly desire. In the few cases 
 in which it has been withheld by single individuals, it has been 
 only for a time; in after life, out in the broad world, it has been 
 fully repaid. While, therefore, as in every situation in life I have 
 had my trials, in this respect I have been spared ; and I can look 
 back upon my years of labor, in connection with the students of 
 Kenyon College, with but one feeling of regret that they are 
 ended. But their memory need not end. And when, in a few 
 days, I remove from the objects all around so familiar that they 
 seem parts of myself; when I part from friends even longer 
 acquainted and dear to me as brothers ; when I separate from the 
 ashes of my children and my father slumbering in this graveyard ; 
 and break up the associations of a life never again to take root so 
 deeply, I will carry with me and cherish throughout my days the 
 pleasing reflection that I have a place in the heart of the earlier 
 students of Kenyon College. 
 
 " But there is and shall be no selfishness in the feeling. My 
 removal does not destroy my interest in the Institution, or any of 
 its branches. My desire and prayer shall be, as for years they 
 daily have been, that it may more and more promote those great 
 interests of the human kind which are paramount to all considera- 
 tions of persons and places, and of personal and local feelings. May 
 the smiles of Heaven rest upon it ! May the officers and students 
 be a mutual blessing and satisfaction ! And, when I meet any who 
 have gone forth from these walls, may I hear of tenfold more pros- 
 perity than it has been my lot to witness. Kenyon College is, and 
 ever shall be to me not my alma mater, but something far, far 
 more dear. Gentlemen, farewell." 
 
 But this address, as indicated in these extracts, and in the letter 
 preceding them, was called forth in view of a matter of much 
 deeper interest, that of a change in his residence and sphere of ope-
 
 WILLIAM SPABRO W, D.D. 97 
 
 ration. The determination had been reached to leave Gambier and 
 to remove to Alexandria. The causes of this determination it would 
 be difficult, in all respects, fully to explain. Without undertaking 
 to do this, it may be said that there were several which made 
 the position of Dr. Sparrow an embarrassing one. The old diffi- 
 culty as to the limits of prerogative between the nominal, that is 
 the Episcopal, and the actual, that is the Academical, head, had 
 not been perfectly adjusted. The action of the Diocesan Convention 
 of 1839 was rather in favor of the former. Its further, and specific 
 action, by which the President and Professors were deprived of the 
 power of holding trusteeships in the institution, had its bearing in 
 the same direction. And when, still further, the election of a Pre- 
 sident to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of the Bishop 
 took place, the acting President, who, for twelve or fifteen years 
 had been performing its duties, was passed over, and the office 
 given to another. This, in view of the relations of Dr. Sparrow 
 to the College, could scarcely be agreeable. The question, more- 
 over, of salary, with his large, dependent family, was one which he 
 was obliged to consider. Some of the reminiscences of Mr. Syle, 
 towards the close of this volume, bear upon this subject, and are of 
 value as showing Dr. Sparrow's feelings under the circumstances. 
 The invitation, within the next twelve months, to Virginia, relieved 
 him from an embarrassing position. That a very great mistake had 
 been made in letting him leave Ohio, that a still greater mistake had 
 been made in putting him in a position in which the invitation so to 
 do would be favorably considered, very soon, but too late, became 
 manifest. The repeated and flattering invitations to return were 
 alike honorable to him and to those by whom they were given. 
 Some of these will be noticed in their proper place. It was no doubt 
 a severe trial to make up his mind to leave this work, to which he 
 had grown, this his peculiar field of ministerial and professional duty 
 and labor, the Institutions which he had so largely contributed to 
 found, and to which nearly fifteen of the most laborious years of his 
 life had been devoted. He seemed, indeed, almost to feel as if the 
 main part of his work of life had been accomplished ; that it would 
 be difficult if not impossible elsewhere to occupy a sphere of influence 
 and usefulness equal to that which he had been filling. These feel- 
 ings doubtless took their hue from what then seems to have been a 
 very strong conviction, that, from the state of his general health, 
 his term of usefulness or of labor would be but a short one. In 
 7
 
 98 MEMOIROF 
 
 reality, however, it was only to transfer himself to a new field of 
 usefulness. And the fifteen years of influence and work in Ohio 
 were to be followed by thirty-three more, no less beneficial and 
 gratifying, in these respects, in Virginia. The change, moreover, 
 had one most desirable effect. It relieved him from one class of 
 duties, those connected with college work and administration, 
 and thus enabled him to devote himself entirely to the more con- 
 genial work of the Theological Professorship. This, indeed, con- 
 stitutes one great difference between Dr. Sparrow's recognized 
 position and influence in Ohio and in Virginia. In Ohio he was 
 known as a preacher and theological professor, but mainly and 
 more prominently as at the head of Kenyon College, as the suc- 
 cessful governor of a literary institution. In Virginia, on the 
 other hand, while known by his previous reputation in these other 
 positions and spheres of influence, he was peculiarly known as the 
 Theological Professor, as having concentrated his energies upon 
 the work of teaching and training men for the ministry. During 
 this latter period he occupied other positions of great importance ; 
 was member of Standing Committee for many years, delegate to 
 the General Convention, confidential adviser of clerical pupils and 
 brethren in all directions. But these were incidental. His main 
 and special work, as already indicated, was Theological teaching, 
 the preparation and training of Theological candidates for the 
 great work to which they were looking forward. In this, as we 
 have seen, he was permitted for a third of a century longer to be 
 engaged, and with him in this peculiar sphere of effort, saving a 
 brief interruption during the war, will the remainder of our nar- 
 rative be occupied. 
 
 The full determination to make the change from Ohio to Vir- 
 ginia was reached towards the close of the year 1840. The fol- 
 lowing letter to Dr. Milnor, in reference to the Milnor Professor- 
 ship, vacated by this change, brings the account of this period to 
 its termination. 
 
 " GAMBIER, December 17, 1840. 
 " REV. AND DEAR SIR : 
 
 " Having concluded to remove from this diocese to that of 
 Virginia, and accept a situation offered me in their Seminary, it 
 seems proper that I should apprise you of my intention.
 
 WILLIAM SPARRO W, D. D. 99 
 
 " Years ago, when I was much younger in age, and much younger 
 still in health and strength, you, very unexpectedly, nominated me 
 to the Mil nor Professorship. That so much confidence should be 
 reposed in one so young, and so little known, was a wonder to me ; 
 and I can truly say, helped, with higher considerations, to make me 
 solicitous to discharge my duty faithfully. The value of truth, 
 pure truth, ' the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 
 truth/ in matters of religion, even more than in the affairs of the 
 judgment hall, I have always felt to be important; and the inci- 
 dent referred to was a stimulus additional to every other, to ' give 
 heed to my doctrine.' How far I have succeeded is certainly 
 known to none but the infallible Judge in Heaven. This, however, 
 I think I may say to you, that during eleven years in this station 
 I have never seen occasion to depart, in the least, from the spirit 
 of those instructions which, when a lonely student in New York, I 
 used to seek in the lecture-room of St. George's, on week-day 
 evenings. May they as certainly carry me, through infinite grace 
 and mercy, to the inheritance which I seek above, as I have 
 endeavored to inculcate them on the minds committed to my care. 
 
 " I regret exceedingly, that when I was last in New York I was 
 not able to enjoy more of your society, and have some free conver- 
 sation with you about the state of religion in our Church. Your 
 long and careful study of events as they have arisen among us, 
 would naturally give weight to your judgment upon such matters, 
 and not least with me. How you interpret some of the signs of the 
 times I cannot conjecture. In reference to some things, there is more 
 obscurity, vacillancy, and ambiguity, about the doings of some 
 portions of our Church, than I like to see. I think the declaration 
 
 of the , whose ability and honesty I respect, that the only 
 
 difference between the High and Low Church portion of our 
 Communion is one of feeling a question simply of more or less 
 zeal one of the severest satires ever inflicted on a respected 
 and intelligent body of ecclesiastics. "Were I near' you, I should 
 like to canvass with you in person, the truth of this assertion. 
 But you will excuse all this irrelevancy. My only object in 
 writing, was to announce to you, as the person who nominated me, 
 and will have the nomination of my successor to the Milnor 
 professorship, that I expect to retire from my present position 
 about the end of next spring vacation ; that is, about the first of
 
 100 MEMOIR OF 
 
 May. Present my respects to Mrs. Milnor, and believe me to be, 
 reverend and dear sir, most truly 
 
 " Your obliged friend and servant, WILLIAM SPARROW. 
 " The Rev. James Milnor, D. D., New York." 
 
 -- 
 
 Within the next four months the movement was accomplished, 
 
 and Dr. Sparrow and his family reached Alexandria in April, 
 1841, just in time to enable him to be present at the diocesan 
 Convention held in that place, and to meet there with his subse- 
 quent colleague, Dr. May, with whom, for eighteen years and more, 
 he was afterwards affectionately associated, Dr. May being a visitor 
 to the Convention.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 101 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 FIRST SEVEN YEARS IN VIRGINIA. 
 
 Dr. Sparrow's resignation at Gambier took effect with the close of 
 the half session, in the spring of 1841. He removed to Virginia 
 very soon afterward, arriving there, as we have seen, in the month 
 of April of the same year. The Faculty of the Virginia Seminary 
 then consisted of Rev. Dr. Keith, and Professors Lippitt and Pack- 
 ard. During the remainder of this session, that of '40 and '41, Dr. 
 Sparrow gave instruction to the classes in Church History. At 
 the same time, he had classes in Mental and Moral Science, and 
 Political Economy, in the neighboring Institution, the Episcopal 
 High School. The death of Mrs. Keith had taken place not long 
 before Dr. Sparrow's arrival, in December, 1840; and before the 
 close of the next session Dr. Keith's health became so seriously 
 impaired, that he was obliged to give up his work, so as to seek, by 
 change and travel, a restoration, and Dr. Sparrow took his position, 
 the Professorship of Systematic Divinity and Christian Evidences. 
 This position he occupied to the close of his life; most of that time, 
 also, as Chairman, or Dean, of the Faculty, and the Head of the 
 Institution. The classes at the High-school were given up before, 
 or, at the furthest, by the end of the second session, and his whole 
 time devoted to his theological classes. We thus enter upon the 
 work of the last thirty-three years of his life. That third of a cen- 
 tury, in its even tenor of ordinary duty, presents very little of 
 striking incident for biographical narration. While full of interest 
 to the successive generations of students brought in contact with 
 him, and coming under his quickening influence, it is difficult to 
 specialize that interest in tangible form, and present it to the minds 
 of others. The whole period, indeed, in certain respects, is so much 
 alike in its parts, that there seems to be a difficulty in breaking it 
 up into shorter intervale. There are, however, certain points of 
 time which may be made use of for this purpose ; and for the sake 
 of clearness, four are here indicated. The first, from his entrance 
 upon his duties at the Virginia Seminary, to the time of his visit to 
 Europe, from 1841 to 1848. The second, from this latter date to
 
 102 MEMOIR OF 
 
 the breaking out of the war, and the closing of the Seminary, 1848 
 to 1861. The third, from this closing of the Seminary to its reopen- 
 ing, 1861 to 1865 ; and the last, his work from this time until his 
 death, from July, 1865, to January, 1874. In the present chapter 
 we are occupied with the period, between 1841 and 1848, his first 
 seven years' work in Virginia. This was between the fortieth and 
 forty-seventh year of his age, the very prime of his intellectual 
 power, as of his vigor in his pulpit ministrations. At the time of 
 his arrival, April, 1841, no residence had been provided, and he, 
 therefore, with his family, for a few months, remained in Alexan- 
 dria, and subsequently, during vacation, occupied a portion of the 
 Seminary. The journey, as was necessary in those days, had been 
 in stages, over the Alleghany, from Wheeling to Cumberland, and 
 for the rest of the way by rail, to Washington. Coming up King 
 street, Alexandria, for the first time, Dr. Sparrow met his future 
 colleague, Dr. Keith, whose place he would be so soon called to 
 supply, and received his welcome. Dr. Keith, it seems, at the mo- 
 ment was depressed and abstracted ; and the effect of this upon the 
 new comer, as described by him years after, was to depress him also. 
 In a very little time, however, he was made to feel that he was at 
 home, in the cordial welcome of his Virginia friends ; and in a letter 
 to his old friend and colleague, as also to one of his former pupils 
 at Gambier, we have his first impressions. 
 
 "ALEXANDRIA, April 19th, 1841. 
 "REV. AND DEAR BROTHER: 
 
 "You were the man, of all those in Gambier, whom it was most 
 painful for me to part with, and to you, therefore, I write my first 
 letter. It is the request of Mrs. Sparrow, also, that I should lose 
 no time in communicating with you. 
 
 " We arrived here on Saturday last, sick and sore beyond de- 
 scription ; and we have by no means yet recovered. Mrs. Sparrow 
 has a violent cold, and all the children are still sick. As to myself, 
 I am no better. Per contra, however, we have been received with 
 inexpressible cordiality. We stopped at the house of Mr. L., and 
 remained there till Wednesday, when we moved into lodgings. A 
 kinder couple we have never met than our entertainers. They 
 both have all the cordiality and hospitality of Virginia, purified 
 and regulated by Christian principle. We have already been over- 
 whelmed with more visits than we shall be able to return in a long
 
 WILLIAM SPAR BOW, D. D. 103 
 
 time. I am pleased with the society, so far as I have met it. Last 
 night Mr. L. gave a party, out of compliment to us. I went ; Mrs. 
 Sparrow was unable. I do not know when I saw so large a party 
 so perfectly free. From beginning to end, it was one perpetual 
 clatter of conversation, in which form was as much cast aside, and 
 there was as much real enjoyment, as one would see among so many 
 children. The gentlemen seemed very intelligent, and the ladies 
 were, of course. 
 
 " I have been twice out to the Seminary, and there, also, have 
 been received with open arms. Their kindness, I confess, is a 
 trouble to me, as it indicates that they expect much of me. I have 
 done nothing, as yet, in the way of teaching, and, I presume, will 
 not do much this term. Three times a week are all I shall be 
 under the necessity of going out to the Seminary ; and a lesson 
 each of these days in the Seminary and High-school will be all 
 my duty. 
 
 " Bishop Meade called to see me yesterday morning, having 
 arrived the night before. He went on immediately to attend to 
 the publication of his consecration sermon,* which, after the 
 fashion of the times, is to have notes appended, on Tradition, and 
 other points connected with Oxford Tractism. 
 
 " I have been visited by the Rev. Messrs. Dana and Johnston 
 (the resident rectors of the churches in Alexandria), and am to 
 preach for them both on Sunday, The latter is very polished, 
 and the former very affectionate, especially for an old bachelor. 
 Dr. Keith I heard preach last Sunday, in Mr. Dana's church, with 
 great effect. He is a very holy man, and very solemn in the 
 pulpit. I suspect he brings the strong meat of Calvinism, in huge 
 joints and sirloins, on the table. It is not with him, as at Gambier, 
 employed as sugar, to sweeten the tea. 
 
 " I have allowed my thoughts to wander back to Gambier as little 
 as possible. Ever since I left there I have found it my wisdom to 
 keep them directed forward as exclusively as possible, though my 
 prospects of happiness are very good, indeed, if Heaven should 
 bless me in my family, and enable me to do my duty as Professor 
 adequately ; yet one thing is manifest I cannot spend here, as I 
 have there, the prime of my life, or form the same strong attach- 
 ments. I thank God that I was able to leave Gambier with such 
 kind feelings towards all there, and possessing such a large and 
 
 * At the consecration of Bishop Elliott, of Georgia.
 
 104 MEMOIR OF 
 
 undeserved portion of their good will. Especially am I thankful 
 that the Bishop felt so kindly towards me. "When I went to bid 
 him farewell, his affection was evinced in the most unequivocal 
 manner, and I can truly say that every such feeling was more than 
 reciprocated. Do not fail, on the receipt of this, to present to him 
 my most respectful and affectionate regards. I shall write him 
 before long. I wish you, also, to say to Major Douglass that I 
 regret I did not see him at the time of parting. I went to see him 
 and the Bishop ; but, in truth, the Bishop so occupied my thoughts 
 that I forgot to inquire for the Major. 
 
 " Remember me most kindly to all my friends ; the officers of 
 the Institution, including my old friends, Blake and Badger, the 
 students who were especially intimate with me, and those outside 
 of the Institution. To many of them I shall write, though I cannot 
 say how soon. It will be a considerable time before I have settled 
 down into that quiet frame of mind which is most favorable to 
 writing letters of friendship. To you I shall write, in season and 
 out of season ; and shall hope that you will prove as good a corres- 
 pondent as in days of yore. I have just had a letter from H. He 
 saw his mother, and so satisfied, as she said, her last earthly wish. 
 She died the Monday after his arrival at home. Amongst the 
 persons I shall write to is Mr. S. Tell him, however, that I shall 
 be glad to hear from him in the meantime. In his bachelor lone- 
 liness he may, perhaps, feel disposed to write me first. 
 
 " My best regards and good wishes to Mrs. Wing. We are 
 anxious to hear about her health. On this head, therefore, you 
 will be particular when you write. I need not say Mrs. Sparrow 
 joins with me in best regards and heartiest good wishes. 
 " Your old friend and brother, 
 
 "W. SPARROW. 
 
 " P. S. In excuse for this scrawl, I plead my confined condition, 
 a bad cold, and part of the time Thomas on my lap, a la mode 
 Hooker. W. S." 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA. 
 " MY DEAR MR. SYLE : 
 
 " I have written Mr. M. and Mr. W., and the bishop being now 
 absent from Gambier, I feel as if I ought to write to you next. It 
 is fairly a duty, and my duty here is my pleasure. My family also
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 105 
 
 urge it. They all agree with me that your claim is one of the first. 
 They often speak of you, and, I doubt not, think oftener than they 
 speak. 
 
 " Through great mercy we got here (I mean Alexandria, though 
 I date my letter from the Seminary, and wish all letters for us 
 directed thither), without any serious accident, but perfectly worn 
 out. We have not yet recovered, by any means. Cold and bruises 
 still continue. I am very thankful, however, that my little Eliza- 
 beth has begun to walk again, and I trust will soon be restored to 
 health. 
 
 " We are boarding, but shall get out of it as soon as possible. 
 It is not the thing for children. After so much latitude and range 
 as my little ones have enjoyed, their life will soon appear to them 
 as that of prisoners ; as yet they are pleased with the novelty of the 
 sights which the city and river present. 
 
 "We have found the people here exceedingly attentive, and I 
 think we shall like them much. Amongst the better class of 
 people there seems a good share of religious feeling. 
 
 " In the Seminary, things are in better condition than I expected 
 to find them. I should think the students are contented and happy, 
 and doing well ; the spirit which prevails amongst them is good, 
 whilst there is no irregularity that I can see; their main atten- 
 tion is directed, not to the external, but the internal. I have done 
 one week's duty amongst them, and could I feel myself qualified 
 for the office which I fill, I should be satisfied with the result. 
 If they will have patience with me, however, and not seize me by 
 the throat prematurely, in due time I hope I shall be able to teach 
 the dry details of Mosheim's chaff, and mingle a little of Milner's 
 farina, putting the whole through the bolting cloth of Christian 
 philosophy (am I not quite imaginary in my comparison ?). The 
 study of abstract subjects so long, has unfitted me for the concrete, 
 but if I can recover an ordinary ability to handle the latter class of 
 ideas, to remember and recall with facility, incidents, persons and 
 dates, the possession of the former will prove in the end helpful to 
 me, and especially, serve me when I attempt written lectures. 
 
 " I have walked out to the Seminary four days this week, and 
 back again. The distance is about two miles and a half, by the foot 
 path. It agrees with me right well. How I can bear it in the hot 
 weather is to be tried, but I hope by that time to be residing ' on 
 the hill.' My house is begun; they waited for me to fix the site,
 
 106 MEMOIR OF 
 
 which has thrown the work back, though it was very kind in them. 
 Before it is done, I hope to move to another house, near the Semi- 
 nary, for two or three months. The walk out is all up hill, but it 
 is rendered less laborious by the beautiful prospect all the way. 
 
 "The season here is very backward six weeks or more behind 
 time. It has rained much since we arrived, and the children have 
 been the more like caged birds. 
 
 " Thus far I see no cause to regret the move I have made, if I 
 could only abate my strong personal and local attachments. I love 
 Ohio much, and Gambier more; and I thank God I can look back 
 and think of all my acquaintances there with unmingled feelings of 
 affection. I never have been retentive of unkind feelings. The 
 least exhibition of regard on the part of others has always drowned 
 them, and I am sure there was quite enough of such feeling mani- 
 fested at my departure. The bishop parted with me in the most 
 affectionate and brotherly manner. 
 
 " Your friend and brother in Christ, W. SPARROW." 
 
 The two following letters, to the same correspondent, the one on 
 his departure for England, and the other soon after hearing of his 
 arrival, have their place at this point. The latter of the two 
 touches upon certain questions of controversy at that time under 
 discussion. 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, NEAR ALEXANDRIA, VA., 
 
 "September 17th, 1842. 
 "MY DEAR MR. SYLE: 
 
 " I have been prevented from answering you sooner, partly by 
 absence from home, and partly by a painful reluctance which I 
 have felt and now feel to sit down to write you a final letter before 
 your departure. It is truly painful to me to bid you farewell, 
 never expecting to see you again this side of eternity. At the 
 same time, I am free to say that if you think a longer residence in 
 this country would interfere with the main object of your life, I 
 would not throw the smallest obstacle in your way. God forbid I 
 should. Were you my brother, with a heart set on a foreign 
 mission, I would cheerfully part with you, however trying to flesh 
 and blood. If, then, you think duty calls, Heaven speed you. My 
 prayers accompany you, and shall follow you to my latest breath. 
 
 "Have I told you how I was pleased with my visit to the interior
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 107 
 
 of Virginia ? But I cannot tell you. The hospitality of the people 
 surpassed anything I had ever seen. I was at two associations, 
 with four other clergymen, and the attendance upon the meetings 
 was most excellent. I trust good was done. One of the associa- 
 tions was held at a church in the woods. There were fifty carriages, 
 and I can't tell how many horses fastened under the trees all 
 around. 
 
 " After morning service, they all went to their carriages, as to 
 their homes, let down the steps, brought forth their cold dinners, 
 put one dish on one step and another on another, took their food in 
 their fingers, sitting in the carriages or standing about them, and 
 so 'eat bread/ with as much of an accustomed air as if they had 
 been seated at their tables. These were the first people in the 
 land. After refreshment they went back to the church, quietly 
 took their seats, and without any ringing of bells, were ready to 
 hear as soon as the pastors were ready to speak. Virginia Chris- 
 tians are much more in earnest than any we have in the West. The 
 line between them and the world is more distinctly drawn. You 
 will be surprised to find me saying, that I have known but one man 
 in the West who comes near my idea of a thorough Christian (I 
 speak of the laity), and that is W. I wish I could show you two 
 letters he has recently written me, spontaneously. He tells me, by 
 the way, that T. is married to a lady of decided piety, in Colum- 
 bus, who is likely to exert a salutary influence over him. But let 
 me draw to a close. 
 
 "Am I, then, to see you no more in this world! The Lord's will 
 be done. But let me hear from you. You have promised to 
 remember me, and I have no doubt you will, but also write to me. 
 A letter from you will always be deemed a privilege by me and 
 mine. As long as I live I shall take a deep interest in you, and 
 not least when you get into your missionary field. When there, 
 remember that a letter from you will not only be a refreshment to 
 Mrs. S. and myself, in the weary pilgrimage of life, but also may 
 be made a blessing to the young men here preparing for the 
 ministry. Above all, let me have your prayers, as you shall have 
 mine. Lastly, should anything unforeseen prevent your sailing this 
 autumn, fail not to remember that there are here persons ready to 
 receive you with open arms, and to make your situation as com- 
 fortable as their power will permit. Of course I will expect to 
 hear from you again. Mrs. S. and all the children send their love.
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 That the presence and blessing of a covenant God may be with 
 you, by land and by sea, now and forever, is the prayer of your 
 friend and brother, WILLIAM SPARROW. 
 
 ".Rev. E. W. Syle." 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, NEAR ALEXANDRIA, D. 0., . 
 
 "December, 1842. 
 "My DEAR MR. SYLE: 
 
 " Your letter caused us heartfelt joy and gratitude to God, that 
 he had brought you in safety to your native land, that ' glory of 
 all lands,' and it proved also an occasion of pleasure, as an evidence 
 that you had thoughts of us, even amid the chaos of delightful 
 associations which an arrival at home after so long and distant an 
 absence must necessarily occasion. 
 
 " The account you gave of your voyage was quite interesting to 
 us all. Your story, under the head of ' unprovableness,' went to 
 prove what I have long been persuaded of, that in reference to the 
 low, the outcast and neglected portions of society, we are too apt to 
 say, with the Pharisees, ' this people, who knoweth not the law, are 
 cursed.' Our Saviour has not been sufficiently imitated in his 
 hopefulness, in regard to the most vile, and especially in His direct 
 efforts to restore them to virtue and happiness. 
 
 " I should have written upon the very heels of your letter's recep- 
 tion, but that we were then expecting, in a few days, a visit from 
 
 your friend, Mr. H . He came, in due time, and stopped with 
 
 his old West Point friend, Mr. P , but was several times at my 
 
 house. He preached for us, at night, on the subject of his agency. 
 I liked the man, more for your sake, than on any other account. 
 His sermon, though good as a composition, and full of statistics, 
 seemed more stiff and straight-laced than my notions of the 
 Gospel could approve. In conversation, I found that, on many points 
 of great moment, I could not accord with him. One topic of conversa- 
 tion was the Christian priesthood (sacerdotium, noipresbyteriwri), 
 which is now in everybody's mouth, in consequence of a couple of 
 sermons of the Bishop of Maryland, just published. The Bishop's 
 notion is, that we have a priesthood as much under the New as 
 under the Old Dispensation, and as really a sacrifice and altar (the 
 bread and wine, and the Lord's table). The fundamental idea of 
 the priesthood he defines to be ministerial intervention for the 
 forgiveness of sins. Now this may be readily admitted, on the
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 109 
 
 principle of 'how shall they believe in Him of whom they have 
 not heard,' etc. (understanding ' such ' as referring to the tidings 
 furnished, rather than the authority to carry them) ; but if it is 
 carried so far as to suppose that justification is tied to the sacra- 
 ments, and that they are anything more than generally necessary 
 to salvation, I think Scripture and reason violated thereby, and 
 the door opened for some of the worst errors of Popery. Talking 
 
 with Mr. H , I told him that it was enough for me that I was, 
 
 by my ministerial office, made a preacher of the ' good tidings of 
 great joy,' and also a ruler in the house of God. Snapping his 
 fingers, he said, ' if that was all that was in the Christian ministry, 
 he would not give a fig for it; desiring us to look at the different 
 sects around. When Mr. P told him to look at the conse- 
 quences of the opposite doctrines, and see how much more 
 
 pernicious they were, 'he did not think so.' That Mr. H is a 
 
 good and laborious man, and that in private life he is very 
 agreeable, I doubt not; but I see that though he aims to be a 
 ' tertium quid ' man, he is all on one side. These remarks I would 
 not make upon your friend, if I thought you would misunderstand 
 me. The occasion of speaking, is the excitement caused by the 
 publication of the sermons just mentioned, and the motive is to let 
 you know where I stand in relation to such points. The time has 
 come when every man in public must take his stand somewhere ; 
 and I, after many an hour's, many a year's anxious thought, have 
 taken mine; it is natural that we speak freely to particular friends 
 about what most interests us. 
 
 " I believe there is nothing new in Alexandria to communicate. 
 Neither is there much here. You learned, I believe, before you 
 left, that we had a junior class of twenty. Dr. May is here, and 
 exceedingly acceptable. I think you would like him very miich, if 
 you were acquainted with him. He is a sweet man, of good sense, 
 of Evangelical principles, and moderate in his church views. He 
 is very successful on Thursday nights, and is much liked as a 
 preacher. He is a little more Calvinistic than you or I would like, 
 perhaps, but it is not brought out offensively. Mr. Lippitt will be 
 glad to hear from you. Your other friends in Alexandria speak of 
 you in the kindest terms. I believe all there, as well as here, were 
 
 sad at parting with you, except , and he only because of 
 
 your most unchristian enthusiasm ! ! You know Dr. Eastburn is 
 going to be consecrated Bishop of Massachusetts, assistant to
 
 110 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Bishop Griswold. This is an acquisition to our Church. He is a 
 man of right views, and one-half a countryman of yours. 
 
 " I ought to have mentioned that one of Bishop Whittingham's 
 sermons was preached at the institution of H. V. D. Johns, as 
 Bishop Johns' successor. As it contradicted some views which 
 Bishop Johns had exhibited in ,his farewell discourse, and as it 
 professed to teach the people in what light they should regard 
 their new pastor, Henry Johns thought that this placed him in a 
 false attitude and character before his charge, and he thus felt 
 constrained to define his own position at night. The discourse was, 
 consequently, extemporaneous, for the most part, but he afterward 
 wrote it down, and published it. To a person who merely knew 
 that he preached, at night, against what the bishop had preached 
 in the morning, it might seem as if he had been rash. But when 
 we consider that the bishop had expressly contradicted Bishop Johns' 
 exposition of his preaching in that Church for years, that this con- 
 tradiction was made as the connection was forming between the 
 new rector and the parish, and that Henry Johns is of a mild, not a 
 harsh, a cautious, not a hasty temper, it will appear, I think, that 
 he was actuated by a constraining sense of duty. His sermon I 
 have read, and like it much, making allowance for its extempora- 
 neous character. 
 
 "In regard to the subject* on which you ask for 'hints,' I can 
 say nothing. You may judge, from the previous scribbling, that I 
 am not in a condition to touch a theological question. Indeed, I 
 am only fit to do just what I am doing pouring out thoughts, as 
 they arise, to a friend who will not ask what their value, but whence 
 they come. Order and system are important, there can be no 
 doubt; and the benefits of concentrated action, by the way, have 
 been exhibited, not only by Episcopalians, but by the Methodists, 
 Presbyterians, and Baptists ; witness their missionary feats. The 
 only question is, whether we shall leave this concert and co-opera- 
 tion to be sustained by 'the elective affinities,' and voluntary 
 energies of vital Christianity, or force them into existence, and 
 maintain them by principles which trench on individual rights, and, 
 in their final result, on the spirit and power of religion. Order, 
 consolidation, and strength, are easily secured, for they have been 
 secured under all systems, political and religious. Christianity 
 
 * This subject appears to have been that of the organization of the Foreign and 
 Domestic Missionary Boards, under the General Convention.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. Ill 
 
 consents to seek them only in one way that which leaves 
 individual responsibility untouched, and spiritual religion para- 
 mount. Luther, you remember, was not hasty to remove the 
 symbols of superstition ; he would first remove the spirit of it from 
 the minds of the people. So, in reverse order, the spirit of unity, 
 in the love of Evangelical truths, it seems to me, ought to precede 
 the outward form of it. To press the latter unduly, is not only to 
 prevent the introduction of the former, but positively to depredate 
 it. Much is said in the New Testament about the one; very little 
 about the other. The greatest feats of Christian enterprise were 
 done, when, in the nature of things, much external unity was 
 impossible, in Apostolic times. Authority and order may be 
 carried to the degree of destroying that individuality which is 
 specially fostered by Christianity. 
 
 " Mrs. Sparrow and the children unite with me in sincerest love. 
 A standing petition at our daily devotions, is 'for friends, far and 
 near;' you are very often distinctly included. I am kept very 
 busy. I have not yet got release from my entire duties, and go 
 every Sunday to Georgetown, to preach for Mr. Hoff. This will 
 probably continue a month or two longer. I am hardly able to 
 bear the labor and exposure, but circumstances make it expedient. 
 Do write me soon. I prescribe two topics first, of yourself, 
 secondly, of the state and prospects of true religion. 
 
 "Your brother in Christ, WILLIAM SPARROW. 
 
 "P. S. I have not strength to read this over." 
 
 In the course of the next six or eight months a residence was 
 erected for him on the Seminary grounds. Into this he was able 
 to move at the beginning of the session 1841-42, and he continued 
 to occupy it until after the resignation of Dr. Keith. This last 
 event left a dwelling unoccupied, more commodious and nearer to 
 the Seminary ; and into this Dr. Sparrow moved, and, with his 
 family, found their home, until the day of his death. His family 
 at this time was quite large, two sons and five daughters. And we 
 find, during the period with which we are now engaged, that the 
 solicitudes of a parent, realizing that he might be taken from them 
 at any moment, entered largely into his experiences and feelings. 
 No man, perhaps, ever more thoroughly appreciated or gratefully en- 
 joyed the blessings of domestic and social life. The dependence, both 
 of the individual and of the community, for moral health and safety
 
 112 MEMOIR OF 
 
 upon the family, was a truth of which he was never forgetful, and, 
 as his ideal of the family was that of the well regulated Christian 
 household the best type on earth of heaven, the elevating and 
 purifying power to individuals, the conserving and restraining in- 
 fluence upon communities so his effort was to secure these highest 
 benefits to his own family, the objects of his warmest affection. 
 Extracts, already given, from his diary, of an earlier date, when 
 about to leave home, contain indications of his feelings in this 
 respect his thorough appreciation of his home blessings, his deep 
 affection and interest for the dependent members of that home, his 
 parental solicitude and anxiety for their comfort and welfare. 
 
 As already remarked, Dr. Sparrow's work, as Professor at the 
 Seminary, began with the classes in Church History. Distinct 
 from this, for two sessions, were his classes at the High-school, in 
 Mental Philosophy. In these latter recitations the writer first 
 made his acquaintance. Very distinct are the recollections of the 
 first one of those recitations, of the anxiety preceding it, of its 
 almost immediate removal as the kindly, genial questioning and 
 explanation went on, of the pleasurable conviction following, " he 
 knows all about it, and yet he is not out of sympathy with those 
 who are still ignorant, but who are trying to know." For weeks, 
 and even months before, Dr. Sparrow's arrival had been antici- 
 pated. His great reputation as a Teacher and Preacher, his 
 former position as President of Kenyon College and head of the 
 Theological Seminary, had produced the impression that there 
 would be great difficulty in meeting his requisitions. With the 
 studious the first trial was sufficient to dissipate all such unpleasant 
 impressions. The assurance was almost immediate, that the In- 
 structor was not only capable himself, but appreciative of a pupil's 
 difficulties ; that while rigidly exacting in his demands as to what 
 was attainable, he was ever ready with such assistance as was really 
 needed. Four of the class on that occasion, Bishop Whittle, Dr. 
 Perkins, of Louisville, Eev. Wm. M. Nelson, of Kentucky, and the 
 writer, are now among our clergy* most, if not all, of them, com- 
 ing subsequently under his instructions at the Seminary. 
 
 The course of this instruction at the Seminary has already 
 been briefly indicated. The change from Dr. Sparrow's work 
 
 * Rev. John A. Harrison, Rev. A. F. Freeman and Rev. E. B. Jones were probably 
 members of the same class. But there is not distinct remembrance to justify a positive 
 statement to that effect.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 113 
 
 as Professor of Ecclesiastical History began during Dr. Keith's 
 sickness, and was fully made when it became manifest that the 
 latter would be unable to resume his duties. Dr. Sparrow was 
 then appointed to the Professorship of Systematic Divinity and Evi- 
 dences. About the same time, or a little later, Professor Lippitt 
 resigned the Professorship of Church History, taking charge of the 
 diocesan paper, the " Southern Churchman," and Dr. May was ap- 
 pointed to supply his place. The Faculty thus constituted con- 
 tinued together until the breaking out of the war, in 1861, Dr. 
 Sparrow, for the larger portion of the time, occupying the position 
 of Dean. Among his papers is one which seems to have been pre- 
 pared at this time, having in view the more effective working of the 
 Institution, and, as most of the particulars there mentioned have 
 been adopted, the paper itself will not be without interest. It is 
 entitled, " Suggestions in relation to the Theological Seminary of 
 the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Virginia." 
 
 1. The literary qualifications for entering the Seminary ought, 
 perhaps, to be made more definite. The catalogue speaks only of 
 "literary and scientific attainments." With the High-school at 
 hand, to furnish education in all the preparatory studies, something 
 more specific might be required. Candidates, on their entrance, 
 should be examined. 
 
 2. The Senior Class, like any other, ought to be examined at the 
 end of the year. The final examination, before the Bishop, by no 
 means renders the Seminary examination superfluous. 
 
 3. Those who take a regular three years' course ought to have a 
 certificate or diploma, as evidence of the same, from the Trustees or 
 Faculty none others to receive it. 
 
 4. No one ought to be advanced to a higher class without a 
 regular examination on the studies of the lower. Their proficiency 
 should not be presumed. 
 
 5. Whatever a class studies, in conformity with the course laid 
 down in the catalogue, ought to be a matter of public examination 
 at the end of the year ; otherwise there will be remissness on the 
 part of the students or teachers, or both. 
 
 6. The Faculty should keep a full and faithful record of all their 
 official proceedings. Its influence is salutary, alike on the governors 
 and the governed. 
 
 7. As there is a strong inclination amongst students to leave the 
 Seminary at the end of the second year, could not something be 
 
 8
 
 114 MEMOIR OF 
 
 done to counteract it if not by the Trustees, yet by the Edu- 
 cation Society ? 
 
 8. So much attention is necessarily bestowed on the Greek and 
 Hebrew Scriptures, that the English Bible is liable to be neglected ; 
 to obviate this evil, and secure such familiarity with its language 
 as will make quotation easy, ought not the Trustees require that 
 portions of it be weekly committed to memory ? 
 
 Most of these suggestions seem to have been adopted. The last 
 one of them, that of committing portions of the English version, 
 was acted upon by himself, with some of his classes, for several 
 years, though it is believed that he eventually discontinued it. The 
 portions selected were usually the Apostolical Epistles. There was 
 some little fear, for a while, with some of the old friends and 
 Alumni, that the Seminary might become too predominantly col- 
 legiate in its character a place for the enlightening of the head at 
 the expense of the warmth of the heart. These dangers it was 
 found, however, were imaginary. The very effort to encourage 
 study, to make it more extensive, and thorough, and systematic; 
 was so conducted as at the same time to encourage and to aid a 
 more thorough cultivation of the religious affections. 
 
 With reference to the latter of these objects, the proper cultiva- 
 tion of the heart, the moral and spiritual preparation for efficient 
 work, for spiritual influence and results in the ministry, Dr. 
 Sparrow recognized not only its transcending importance, but the 
 accountability of himself and his colleagues to encourage and fur- 
 ther it in every manner possible. One form of instrumentality to 
 the attainment of this desired result he found in operation, the 
 Faculty meeting, the weekly prayer meeting, on Thursday evening, 
 of the professors and students. Into the spirit and purpose of 
 this he immediately entered, and largely used it during his whole 
 subsequent career. It may, indeed, be said that this constituted 
 his favorite and most effective mode of impressing himself upon 
 the minds and hearts of his pupils; of impressing upon them the 
 spirituality of their work, the need of personal spirituality to 
 give them efficiency and success in its performance. While in 
 his personal intercourse, as in his sermons delivered on Sundays in 
 the chapel, this matter occupied its full place, and, indeed, was 
 never entirely out of sight, yet it was in these informal weekly 
 meetings that it received its most specific consideration. These 
 meetings, beginning under the administration of Dr. Keith, and
 
 WILLIAM S P A R R W, D. D. 115 
 
 tested as to their beneficial influence by him and his colleagues, at 
 once commended themselves to the regard of his successor. He 
 was in the habit of making thorough preparation for them, as was, 
 indeed, necessary, at first, through his want of experience in 
 extemporaneous speaking, such experience, prior to his residence 
 in Virginia, being largely confined to the recitation room. This 
 specific preparation continued, however, even after the sort of 
 necessity just alluded to had ceased to exist, when it had become 
 as natural to him to clothe his thoughts in words in the Faculty 
 meeting, as at recitation. He expected and prayed for fruit, 
 results of spiritual benefit, from these occasions, and he conscien- 
 tiously used the means, and made the effort to obtain them. Some 
 of the subjects we subjoin in the Appendix, with a sketch of their 
 treatment. His colleague, Dr. May, who became a member of the 
 Faculty within the first eighteen months after his arrival, Septem- 
 ber, 1842, like himself, took the deepest interest in these 
 occasions, and was peculiarly happy in his presentation of topics 
 of an edifying character. But there was a great difference, at that 
 time, between the two, in one respect the comfort with which the 
 duty was performed. With Dr. May it seemed to involve as little 
 of effort to extemporize as it did to converse ; and whatever his 
 preparation, in specific cases, he could, upon very brief notice, and 
 without appearance of anxiety, be exceedingly profitable. It had, 
 indeed, been with great effort, as his pupils afterwards ascertained 
 from him, that he had attained this freedom ; in such freedom having 
 greatly the advantage of Dr. Sparrow. To the latter, while the 
 Faculty meeting was a recognized means of grace to himself and 
 his pupils, and therefore conscientiously used, it was yet, for a very 
 considerable time, a severe task and duty ; one looked forward to, 
 week after week, with anxious solicitude, and to which he had to 
 nerve himself up for its performance. There was, to the hearer, 
 very little indication of anything of the sort, saving the fact of a 
 little more excitement of manner in the beginning very little 
 difference between the exhortations and addresses of 1842 and those 
 of 1872. In fact, one of the happiest efforts that he ever made, to 
 be spoken of further on, was the year after the earliest of these 
 dates. And others of the same period might be specified. But, 
 for all, there was the difficulty and reluctance, never entirely over- 
 come, to trust himself, beyond the recitation room, and, later, the 
 Faculty meeting, in this manner of speaking. " It was," said he,
 
 116 MEMOIR OF 
 
 alluding to it subsequently, and after the trial in these respects 
 had passed away, " it was to me a source of anxious anticipation 
 and solicitude for a good part of the week before, especially when 
 I had to open the meeting. On Thursday night, after it was over, 
 I would feel relieved. But it was not long before I began to dread 
 the next one." His earlier pupils may thus more gratefully esti- 
 mate the instructions and suggestions of those meetings ; not only 
 in view of their intrinsic value, but of their cost the expenditure 
 of heart involved in their preparation and delivery. No less may 
 those of a later date, who received similar pleasure and benefit, 
 gratefully congratulate themselves that he thus persevered, in spite 
 of his reluctance and his difficulties, until what had been irksome 
 became pleasurable ; and he thus became ready to pour out, week 
 after week, those counsels of wisdom, of love, of warning, and of 
 encouragement, by which so many were incited and strengthened 
 to the work of ministerial duty. This result proved, moreover, 
 what he might have done, had he undertaken to preach his more 
 elaborate discourses with the same kind of preparation, that is, the 
 material thoroughly mastered, as to its digestion and arrangement, 
 and the language extemporaneous. But, however it may have been 
 with such undertaking, or with efforts of similar kind elsewhere, 
 certainly there was no doubt as to his success and efficiency in the 
 Faculty meeting. Here, during the later years of his life, he was 
 perfectly at home, as much so as in the recitation room. And 
 there are few of the listeners during those last years, say, after the 
 restoration of the Seminary in 1865, who will not bear them in 
 grateful remembrance. It was pre-eminently " the old man elo- 
 quent," especially when the topic, started by some other member of 
 the Faculty, would strike upon some great truth in which he was 
 particularly interested. The last one of those addresses who that 
 heard it can ever forget it, so suggestive to the hearers, so full of 
 wisdom and of love, unconsciously yet so beautifully descriptive of 
 his own career, just about to close ! 
 
 Perhaps, as illustrative of the character of these addresses as any 
 other, was one delivered in the spring of 1846, under circumstances 
 peculiarly solemn, both to himself and his hearers : that on the 
 Thursday night following the reception of intelligence of the death 
 of a member of the class graduating the year before, and, therefore, 
 personally known to most of the hearers. There were, moreover, 
 additional features in the case which made the event specially
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 117 
 
 impressive. The death had been very sudden. This sudden death 
 was that of one who had enjoyed unbroken vigorous health ; who 
 was looking forward to a career of activity ; and who was expected, 
 by his teachers, and his fellow-students, to take a commanding 
 position, and to wield a mighty influence. The language said to 
 have been used by Sir Isaac Newton in regard to one who was 
 taken in the dew of his youth, perhaps expressed the feelings of 
 Dr. Sparrow in thinking of the death of Albert Duy, " if that 
 young man had lived, we should have known something." As late 
 as 1870 or 1871, he gave a striking expression to these feelings. 
 Some of the students of this later period will remember his allusion 
 to one who, in his expectations, would prove a " malleus heretico- 
 rum," but whose sudden and early departure showed the vanity of 
 all earthly expectations. It was, therefore, with deeply solemnized 
 feeling that he first heard of this event, and endeavored to make 
 use of it for practical improvement. The sketch which follows is, 
 of course, only an outline. It will, however, afford some exhibition 
 of his own feelings, as also of the mode in which he endeavored to 
 render similar feelings in others productive of profitable reflection. 
 
 "A DEPARTED FRIEND. 
 
 " A few words appropriate to the topic of the moment : but that 
 topic itself needs no interpreter. It needs none to the stranger 
 who reads the fact in the newspaper. It is more than an ordinary 
 passing bell, announcing the general fact of mortality. Especially is 
 it more to us. Next to his family we stand. The intimacy of three 
 years and the same calling constituted a bond of communion. 
 After his departure he kept up, by correspondence, his connection 
 with this place. On Saturday last, perhaps the last letter he wrote 
 reached here. Death was standing by, bidding him finish and 
 prepare. The next morning he was gone ! 
 
 " The result of all this intercourse has been to give us all a high 
 opinion of our departed brother. 
 
 " He came to us with a high reputation for so young a man, was 
 possessed of natural talent, had enjoyed opportunities of improve- 
 ment, and was blessed with permanent health. To these, under a 
 faithful pastor, Eev. Dr. Clark, he had added a Christian profes- 
 sion. The promises involved in these he had fulfilled. What 
 pleased us most, and the value of the consideration now plainly
 
 118 MEMOIR OF 
 
 occurs, was his growth in Christian character. The ripening of his 
 mind was apparent ; so was that of his graces. When he left us we 
 had great hopes. He was found to be a useful man, and the 
 people wished him to continue in his position. He visited his home, 
 in Philadelphia, to consult, and wrote to me, in part, about that. 
 This was on Wednesday. He was seized on Thursday, and died 
 on Sunday ; and now he is in the grave, and we are mourning his 
 loss. Lord, what is man ! Lord, what is human life what human 
 expectations ! 
 
 " These lessons are apt to be forgotten. As the track of a ship in 
 the waters, of a bird in the air, or as the changing of a summer's 
 cloud, they leave no permanent impression. Let us not be ' for- 
 getful hearers of the word ' of such dispensations. 
 
 " 1. It teaches us the sovereignty of God. We are apt to forget 
 this, through our worldliness. If all things flowed on in an equa- 
 ble current, we should forget God. 'All things continue as they 
 were from the beginning of creation,' is the language of mocking 
 unbelief. God breaks in upon this equable course, plants seed, 
 but lets not the harvest ripen; lays a foundation, but raises no 
 superstructure. This He did with our friend. ' The Lord gave, 
 the Lord hath taken away.' 
 
 " 2. Again, we are taught the insignificance of man. 0, that we 
 should ever be proud or think highly of ourselves ! What have we 
 that we have not received? Every gift, every opportunity of cul- 
 tivating them, every sphere for exercising them, every hour allowed 
 us in the vineyard, is of the Lord. Last Sunday I had occasion to 
 remark, 'how readily the Lord can dispense with us; and that He 
 employs us not for His, but for our sakes. He has made us, and 
 He would make us happy by employing our energies ; and this can 
 be done only in His service. Therefore it is that he uses us.' But 
 little did I think what a sad verification my words were receiving ; 
 that he was refusing to employ an instrument that seemed eminently 
 fit and meet for the Master's use. ' I have no use for thee, go at 
 once to thy rest in Heaven!' 
 
 "3. It should repress ambition. How inconsistent in the followers 
 of Jesus ! He promises not crowns, but a cross. How absurd in 
 itself! See where it must end. God only knows how soon. 
 
 " It should teach us to prepare and to be prepared for our great 
 change. Youth and its anticipations, youth and its preparations, 
 youth and its comparisons with old age, make us forget our mor-
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 119 
 
 tality and sudden liability to death. Our friend being dead, in 
 all these respects, speaketh. We should, also, love to weep with 
 them that weep; as we feel our need of sympathy, should extend it 
 to others." 
 
 Connected with these two forms of effort and of influence, was 
 another, already alluded to, which just here may receive more 
 specific notice, that of his Sunday's work in the chapel. The pro- 
 fessors, in turn, officiated on these occasions, each thus becoming 
 due on one Sunday in three. Dr. Sparrow was, perhaps, at his 
 highest capacity, as a preacher, at this time. His reputation had 
 preceded him, but it was soon recognized to be fully deserved. The 
 most striking characteristic of his sermons was that of systematic 
 thoroughness. The subject, whatever it might be, was carefully 
 and naturally approached, very frequently through an elaborate 
 introduction, which, however, was often made use of to tell in the 
 subsequent discussion, or to dispose of subordinate issues. When 
 thus reached, the subject, or truth, or principle to be enforced, 
 was fairly and vigorously grasped, analytically extricated from all 
 irrelevancy and sources of confusion in thought or in language, 
 put in its relations to other and corroborative truths, and pressed, 
 with these its accumulations, to his anticipated result. Along with 
 this argumentative power, was that of a chastened yet vigorous 
 imagination, peculiar felicity of illustration, especially of Scriptural 
 quotation, whether as sustaining the point at issue, or as more 
 clearly exhibiting its meaning. The language and style of discus- 
 sion were simple and unpretentious, always dignified and earnest, 
 often exceedingly impressive, sometimes startlingly so, at times 
 rising to the highest degree of impassioned earnestness. The 
 description of Dr. McElroy, as he heard him twelve or fourteen 
 years before, in Ohio, already given, brings to view the main char- 
 acteristics of delivery which continued during his whole course. 
 The felicity of the expression used by Dr. McElroy, that of "his 
 whole countenance as a blaze of light," will be recognized by some 
 of his hearers of this period. There were, of course, at different 
 stages of his ministry, different degrees of physical power, of neryous 
 energy, having their natural influence upon his effectiveness in 
 delivery. This was more sensibly felt by his old pupils, who heard 
 him after a long interval. There were times, indeed, happy 
 moments, even to the last, occasionally through the whole sermon, 
 and during passages in almost every sermon, when he was all in
 
 120 MEMOIR OF 
 
 delivery that he had ever been. The closing address of the session 
 of 1869, and that of 1872, will occur to some of our readers as illus- 
 trations of this remark. So far as regarded capacity and vigor of 
 thought, there was, to the close, no trace of abatement. His intel- 
 lect was untouched. There was no manifestation of failure or 
 decay, not even in what is usually their first intimation, that of a 
 failing and defective memory. The changes alluded to, of effective- 
 ness in delivery, were owing mainly to physical causes, the approach 
 of age, diminished capacity of sustained exertion, and the interest 
 corresponding. They were partly due, also, in certain cases, to 
 causes of a different character. The impossibility of entirely repro- 
 ducing the freshness of feeling and of interest with which sermons 
 of an earlier date had been prepared and preached, when they were 
 subsequently repeated, was one of these. The habit, again, of .later 
 years, of omitting parts of the discourse, particularly of leaving out 
 the introduction, for the purpose of shortening, was another. This 
 latter practice always had the manifest effect, and one easily 
 recognized by the watchful hearer, of dampening the interest of the 
 speaker, disturbing his flow of feeling, and interfering with his 
 thorough absorption in the subject matter of discussion. These 
 omissions were more connected with his later years. When he first 
 came to Virginia, they were much less frequent. The introduction 
 enabled him to approach his subject in such a manner as to put 
 himself in thorough sympathy with its material as it was reached ; 
 to give him impetus and increase of interest, so as to carry his 
 hearers with him, successfully, to the close ; the peculiar charm, 
 indeed, of his preaching, consisted very largely in this last peculiar- 
 ity thorough identification of intellect and of feeling, alike with 
 the truths and ideas presented, the emotion, the voice, and the 
 whole personality so kindling with the thought, and expressing it, 
 that its full power was conveyed to the hearer. No reproduction 
 of these sermons upon the printed page can give any conception of 
 their power as preached, say, during the first half of his ministry in 
 Virginia. The same remark may be made as to many portions of 
 those discourses as delivered from the pulpit during the later years 
 of his life. It was a rich treat to his pupils to hear him at the 
 Diocesan Convention, where he usually preached during some part 
 of the services ; no less so in the meetings of associations and con- 
 vocations, which, during the vacations, he was sometimes in the 
 habit of attending.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 121 
 
 As already intimated, these discourses were delivered, or rather 
 read from the manuscript, the reading bringing out the feeling and 
 thought, sometimes in a very impassioned manner ; but still it was 
 reading, no attempt at anything else. As to extemporaneous 
 preaching, the difficulties already alluded to, in connection with 
 the Thursday night services, were felt in connection with the 
 pulpit, and with increased force. Occasionally, however, at this 
 time, during the Lent services particularly, he would make short 
 addresses from the chancel. One, of a very striking character, the 
 writer remembers, made to the pupils of the High-school, soon 
 after the death of one of their number, and another to the students, 
 during the first visit of Dr., afterward Bishop Boone, to the 
 Seminary, in 1843. But with these exceptions, his sermons were 
 delivered from the manuscript. At the same time, while there was 
 such distrust and low estimate of his own extemporaneous powers, 
 he had great admiration of it as exhibited by others. Indeed, it 
 was almost amusing, sometimes, to hear his expressions of admira- 
 tion for what was very little more than the power of verbal 
 continuance. The wonderful thing to him was, that a man, without 
 flurry or discomposure, could stand before an audience, and 
 discourse with the same ease and connection as under ordinary 
 circumstances. Especially was this feeling expressed in connection 
 with the power of amplification. " When," said he, speaking of 
 his own difficulties, "when I state my proposition, I have nothing 
 more to* say. How to expand, to enlarge, to amplify, this is my 
 trouble;" and yet, in the recitation room, he was doing it daily, 
 without embarrassment or hesitation. As some of these difficulties 
 diminished, by practicing in the Faculty meetings, and otherwise, 
 there was a corresponding diminution of his admiration of mere 
 fluency. But he never lost his estimate indeed, it was rather 
 increased and heightened of the importance of the extemporaneous 
 capacity. 
 
 One of the efforts of that kind, already alluded to, will be 
 recalled by this allusion to the sermons of that period; that which 
 took place at the closing meeting, in the old prayer hall, of the 
 professors and students, with Bishop Boone, towards the close of 
 the session of 1842-3. During the week previous, Bishop, then 
 Dr. Boone, in his first visit to this country, after the opening of the 
 four Chinese ports, and with all the expectations suggested by that 
 event, had been holding a series of meetings with the students,
 
 122 MEMOIR OF 
 
 and conferences with individuals, in reference to the great work 
 opening in that country to successful missionary exertion. A most 
 remarkable degree of interest had been called forth, and a large 
 number of the students were occupied with the inquiry as to their 
 own course of duty. The day of his departure, July 4th, there 
 being no regular exercises on that day, there was a closing 
 meeting of final appeal and reiteration, in reference to the topics of' 
 previous occasions. Dr. Packard and Dr. May followed Dr. Boone, 
 with remarks corroborative of what had been urged, and expressive 
 of their interest in the subject of which they had been specially 
 reminded; and, for the first time during the series of services, 
 they were followed by Dr. Sparrow. His object, as he remarked, 
 in his opening sentences, was " to remove any wrong impression that 
 might be created by his silence, as to his want of sympathy in 
 what had been said, or of interest in the great work of which his 
 brethren had been speaking. Such impression he could not 
 consent should exist. No language could fully describe his interest 
 in this great work of extending to the heathen the blessings of the 
 Gospel. That work in itself, in its results to the missionary, to his 
 pupils, and to the world, when successful, passed all possibility of 
 human estimation. It was one, moreover, which, entered upon in 
 a proper spirit, could not know of utter failure, would be productive 
 of beneficial consequences. Even supposing what, in the world's 
 view, would be regarded as failure that any such effort to carry 
 the Gospel to the heathen should end in catastrophe; that the 
 little band of missionaries, after having bidden farewell to Christian 
 friends and relatives, should never reach their point of destination ; 
 that ' He who has gathered the winds in His fists ' should send after 
 them the overwhelming tempest, and that, with all their sanctified 
 aspirations and plans, they should go down in mid-ocean ! even in 
 such case, the example and self-sacrifice would not be lost. This 
 sacrifice and effort would be endless blessing to those making it. 
 Even as undertaken, although the undertaking should be a failure, 
 it would incite others to similar exertions to take up the work which 
 had fallen from their hands, and carry it on to a successful conclu- 
 sion !" The brief indication thus given of the line of thought in 
 the address can, of course, afford no adequate conception of those 
 thoughts as clothed in words at the time, and finding their highest 
 expression in the fervid emotion of the speaker. Taken altogether, 
 it was one of the most stirring and eloquent appeals to which the
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 123 
 
 writer has ever listened, paralleled, perhaps, by expository dis- 
 courses on the Temptation, and one on 1 John, i, 9, during the 
 Lent services of 1871-2, but not exceeded by these or any others 
 of later periods. 
 
 During this earlier portion of his residence in Virginia, also, 
 when there was greater capacity of meeting it, there was very 
 considerable demand for his services in the neighborhood. He 
 preached very frequently in Alexandria, Georgetown, Washington, 
 and Baltimore. But it was with more special enjoyment, that he 
 attended and took part in the associations for preaching, held in 
 the country parishes. The con vocational system, at that time, was 
 unknown in Virginia. But a great deal of the work which is now 
 done through the convocations, was then done through the associa- 
 tions, so far as the matter of preaching was concerned, perhaps more 
 effectively. 
 
 It now remains that we speak more particularly of his work in 
 the department of instruction, his special duties as Professor. 
 During the first year, as we have seen, he taught Church History ; 
 and this again was added to his duties at a subsequent period, 
 during the partial disorganization occasioned by the war, from 
 1861 to 1866. His notes and questions show a very pains-taking 
 and thorough mastery of the materials. It was a part of the 
 course, however, for which he had no special inclination; and he 
 speaks, in a letter of 1841, of the eifort with which he entered 
 upon his duties. The work by which he was better known to the 
 ten or eleven generations of students who were with him in 
 Virginia, was that in the departments of Christian Evidences, and 
 Systematic Divinity. And of these it will be proper to give more 
 specific notice. The former of these, Christian Evidences, including 
 Butler's "Analogy," occupied the latter part of the junior and the 
 earlier portion of the middle year. During the first ten years, 
 perhaps, in Virginia, the Evidence course was one which he himself 
 had worked out. It consisted of written questions, with references. 
 The recitation was accompanied by a full discussion and exposi- 
 tion of the topics presented; and there was opportunity afforded 
 to the student to correct or fill out imperfect answers. Opportu- 
 nity was thus given of thorough preparation for review. At a 
 later period this was changed, and text-books were used. At the 
 time spoken of the practice was as described. The peculiar 
 interest was in the exposition and the discussion. And the effort
 
 124 MEMOIR OF 
 
 of looking up the material for the answers, as also the previous 
 study of the questions, constituted an admirable preparation for 
 these, and enabled the student fully to understand and appreciate 
 them. But for Dr. Sparrow's habitual self-depreciation, he would 
 probably have continued this mode of instruction. Such course, 
 from year to year, with additions, bringing up the arguments and 
 replies to new objections and difficulties from time to time urged, 
 would have been a valuable contribution to the department of 
 Apologetics. The hope, indeed, was indulged, even to the last, by 
 some of his friends and pupils, that among his papers something 
 like this would have been found. His high standard, and his sense 
 of deficiency, constituted to such effort an insuperable difficulty. 
 Whether, on the whole, with his physique, and daily duties, 
 demanding a certain amount of daily exertion, he did not accom- 
 plish more, going on as he did, and refusing to be implicated in the 
 labors and vexations of literary life, is a question not easily 
 answered. But without deciding this point, there need to be no 
 hesitation in saying that such self-depreciation was carried too far; 
 and that inferior men, as they always will, if superior ones stand 
 aside, or are backward, had to do work that he might and could 
 have done very much better. This was particularly felt during the 
 existence of the "Evangelical Quarterly," from 1852-61; when 
 effort was frequently made, but in vain, to enlist him among the 
 contributors. One of the most admirable articles of that Review 
 was written by a clergyman, not one of his pupils, who, after 
 drawing him out conversationally, on a certain subject, and getting 
 him to state his views, put them upon paper, and thus brought 
 them before the world. Not less was it a source of regret, with 
 reference to works of a more permanent character. " Doctor," 
 said one of his pupils to him, in 1844, in reply to a remark which 
 he had made, in regard to Burnet's exposition, " Doctor, why do 
 not you prepare a book on the Articles ? You have the material, 
 why not write it down." "Bishop Mcllvaine," was the reply, 
 "urged me to do so ten years ago." But the wish of bishop and 
 student alike failed to bring the desired result. One of Dr. 
 Sparrow's pupils particularly, the early-called and lamented Henry 
 Dennison, was especially pertinacious with reference to this matter, 
 and from year to year recurred to it. But the objections and 
 difficulties were always insuperable. Apart from sermons and 
 addresses, published by special request, his nearest approaches to
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 125 
 
 authorship were in this system of questions on Evidences, as also in 
 a similar one on Systematic Divinity. 
 
 Following his course on specific evidence, was his instruction 
 based upon Butler's "Analogy." Dr. Sparrow made a great deal 
 of this part of his course. It was not only an exposition and de- 
 velopment of the great argument of that work, but also of its prin- 
 ciples, in their manifold application. The work itself he had 
 thoroughly mastered. With its line of thought, as its details and 
 illustrations, he was perfectly familiar. His own thinking was 
 greatly in accordance with its principles, and his effort was to 
 imbue with it the minds of his pupils : to teach them, with Butler, 
 to assert and positively decide no further than real knowledge 
 would justify; to discriminate carefully between what was really 
 known and what was not known; and in all doubtful cases to judge 
 of the unknown by the known, so far as they had anything in com- 
 mon, and not to judge of the known by the unknown. It may be 
 said of him, that he Butlerized in all his teaching, as in all his 
 thinking and argumentation. The " Analogy " stood in about the 
 same relation to his theological course as Hooker seems to have 
 intended that the first book on law should stand to his subsequent 
 argument on polity. What, however, Hooker failed to do with 
 the principles of the book on law, Dr. Sparrow succeeded in doing 
 with those of the Analogy. He consistently applied them, and 
 never seemed to lose sight of them. And it was usually in this 
 part of his course that the question with any particular pupil was 
 decided, whether or not he would diverge from, or travel on, sym- 
 pathizingly and lovingly, with his instructor. This decision was, 
 no doubt, in many cases unconsciously made. The beginning of 
 the divergence was not at the time, perhaps, suspected. But 
 events made it manifest, as the application of Butler's principles, 
 at a later period, came in conflict with some cherished opinion. 
 Apart, moreover, from such application of these principles, or their 
 controlling influence in his subsequent teaching, the intellectual 
 training involved in his mode of mastering and applying the argu- 
 ment to the specific purpose of Butler, was highly quickening and 
 beneficial. In this, as with the Evidences, there were written 
 questions. But these were used only in review. The work was 
 first gone over, studied, recited, and its principles fully discussed, 
 the questions coming in and giving distinctness and form to the 
 whole preceding process. These recitations on Butler were some-
 
 126 MEMOIR OF 
 
 times anticipated with special anxiety. But they were rarely 
 remembered with any other feelings than those of gratification. In 
 more cases than one, his pupils at the Seminary had studied and 
 graduated upon the book elsewhere. But never in such manner, 
 or to such degree of perfection, as to prevent their finding new light 
 in it from their new teacher applications and meanings hitherto 
 unrecognized and even unsuspected. 
 
 The study of this work was followed by that of Systematic 
 Divinity. Prior to his residence in Virginia, Dr. Sparrow seems 
 to have used other works, at the same time very largely a system 
 of his own, like that on Evidences, with questions and references. 
 He found in use a text-book, Knapp's Theology, introduced by Dr. 
 Keith, and adopting this, continued to use it until the close of his 
 life. A large portion of the Middle year was occupied with this 
 work, in the examination and discussion of topics of General The- 
 ology, while the Senior year following was more particularly given 
 to the theological standards of the Church of England, the Articles, 
 and Homilies, and Prayer-book. The characteristics of teaching 
 already alluded to, in connection with Butler, were exhibited in 
 these later portions of the course. The object in Systematic 
 Divinity was to settle it upon a Scriptural basis, to establish cor- 
 rect principles of interpretation, throwing out everything irrelevant 
 and doubtful, and thus giving prominence to what was clear the 
 meaning of which was undoubted. With this there was the con- 
 stant recurrence to certain great established principles, the truth 
 and the light, wherever clear, being fearlessly followed. At 
 the same time, while indicating the region of doubtful specu- 
 lation, there was a refusal, while within that region, to indulge in 
 anything like dogmatism. Among his qualifications as a theological 
 teacher this was not the least important the capacity of ascertain- 
 in gand distinctly recognizing the real limits of human knowledge 
 in historical fact and statement, as of human attainment in theo- 
 logical and philosophical speculation. He recognized and pre- 
 sented to his pupils, in these latter departments, the real nature of 
 the issues involved in certain problems of speculation; and thus 
 showed the incapacity of finite powers to comprehend, much less to 
 solve them. His constant effort was to quicken thought, to stimu- 
 late a spirit of investigation, not only as to facts, but their causes 
 and relations; and in such effort he was pre-eminently successful. 
 But, in thought which was not definite, and in investigation which
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 127 
 
 had no practically specific object, he had little interest or sympathy. 
 Consciously living himself in a world of realities, he impressed his 
 pupils with the same conviction a conviction transforming alike 
 the highest results of legitimate speculation and the simplest mate- 
 rials of revealed precept into those of practical affection and per- 
 sonal action. 
 
 Nor was it merely in the recitation room, in the Thursday night 
 meeting, or in the chapel, that his peculiar gift of impartation was 
 exercised. He was a teacher everywhere, without intending it, 
 unconsciously fulfilling his vocation. Men who met with him in social 
 life found that they were learning from him, that his conversation 
 was bringing to them new ideas, new facts altogether, or old facts 
 under new aspects and in new relations. This was peculiarly the 
 case in his intercourse with his pupils. His study was always 
 accessible, visits from students were always cordially welcomed, 
 and he was ever ready for conversation. Especially did he seem 
 to welcome and enjoy such visits when not well enough, from his 
 headaches, to study, but able to enjoy conversation, and even partially 
 to forget his discomfort. Never was the power of mind over matter 
 more clearly exhibited than on some of these occasions, in the 
 change from languor and weakness to apparent strength and health, 
 as his countenance would lighten and glow with the interest of 
 conversation and discussion. A visit and a talk, in many cases, 
 seemed to act as a restorative. 
 
 Of course, there were some students who enjoyed such opportu- 
 nities more largely than others. But it was simply because they 
 more sought and appreciated them. And some, perhaps, of the 
 most pleasant reminiscences of students of those days have their con- 
 nection with such occasions in the Doctor's study, or as they might 
 fall in with him in his walks to Alexandria. The account of one 
 of these latter, from the recollections of a pupil, will not be, just 
 here, without its interest. " It was my first talk with the dear old 
 Doctor, and it comes back to me with a freshness and feeling of 
 pleasure which it is impossible for me to describe. I was in the 
 early part of the Junior year, and had not as yet met him in recita- 
 tion, when I overtook him, one afternoon, about half way between 
 the Seminary and Alexandria. I had one or two bundles, and my 
 wood saw, which I was taking to town to have sharpened." The 
 students of the present generation may here be reminded, that in 
 those days of primitive simplicity wood was the only fuel known on
 
 128 MEMOIR OF 
 
 the Hill,* and, with a few rare exceptions, the students, each one, did 
 his own sawing. Cumberland had not, as yet, appeared. The Post- 
 office for the Seminary was in Alexandria, the students taking it 
 by turns, alphabetically, to go in, each afternoon, for the mail ; and 
 bundles of all kinds, to and fro, came and went in the hands of 
 their owners. But, leaving this digression, we resume the ac- 
 count. " The Doctor, as I came up, noticed the number of my bun- 
 dles, and insisted upon relieving me, which he did, by taking the 
 saw, and carrying it to the edge of town, where the sharpener lived. 
 We were soon in conversation, the most interesting part of it 
 started by a question about the Oxford Tracts, but going on from 
 this to other topics. Especially do I remember an opinion about 
 Coleridge, expressive of a high appreciation of his genius, but at 
 the same time objecting to some of his principles, as transcending 
 those of the Baconian and Butlerian systems. How the conversa- 
 tion passed from these topics to that of poetry, I have no recol- 
 lection. But I well remember that portion of it ; and his expressions 
 of admiration in regard to some of the lyrics of Thomas Moore, as 
 also the manner in which he repeated a couple of stanzas from one 
 of them. Certainly the lines were very beautiful, especially as he 
 repeated them. But there can be, I think, as little doubt that 
 their association with Ireland, and the circumstances under which 
 they were first heard, in early youth or childhood, added to his 
 impression of their beauty. The pleasure of that afternoon's walk 
 and conversation I shall never cease to remember. And I hope its 
 imperfect reproduction may recall as pleasant ones to others of his 
 pupils who have enjoyed the same opportunities." 
 
 It will thus be seen that Dr. Sparrow was finding his full sphere 
 of influence, as of grateful occupation, in his new field of duty. It 
 was not very long, however, before there was presented a disturb- 
 ing question, inducements to a change, which required deliberation 
 and a struggle, enabling him to decide as to what constituted his 
 course of duty. In the year 1844 there came an invitation and 
 earnest request that he would return to Gambier, and resume the 
 duties of his old position. Subsequent invitations, of a most flat- 
 tering character, as we shall see, were given him to the same 
 position. But this first one came so soon, and it brought back so 
 
 * Dr. May, who had lived in the coal region, first introduced Anthracite to the com- 
 munity on the Hill, and soft coal followed, a few years later, when the canal from 
 Cumberland reached Alexandria.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 129 
 
 many of the associations and schemes of 'usefulness in his early 
 field of labor, recalling as it did his deep interest and early efforts 
 for the success of the College and Seminary, that he was greatly 
 moved by it, and found some difficulty in reaching his decision. 
 As will be seen from his correspondence, his work in Virginia, and 
 his official connections, were all agreeable. The only difficulty 
 which had its weight, was that connected with the use of slave 
 labor, in the domestics of his household, to which he had not been 
 accustomed, and to which he felt reluctance. His general views of 
 that subject will come out incidentally, in the course of our narra- 
 tive. It is here alluded to simply as indicating one of the ele- 
 ments to be regarded in reaching his conclusion. This, however, 
 and all others, were fully and carefully considered, and the result 
 of that consideration was that he ought not to make the proposed 
 change. The following letter to his old friend, Dr. Wing, written 
 immediately after reaching the conclusion thus indicated, will have 
 its interest in connection with this subject: 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA. ; 
 
 " September 26th, 1844. 
 " DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 " I write with a heavy heart, in part because I know my letter 
 will give heaviness to yours. After a most painful and protracted 
 consideration of the question of removal to Ohio, I am brought to 
 the conclusion that I ought not to leave my present post. I have 
 weighed the matter, day and night, ever since it has been placed 
 before me. Whether reading, or talking, or dreaming I might 
 almost say, there has been an under current of thought upon this 
 subject, which has never for a moment ceased to flow. The various 
 considerations that have presented themselves, it would be impossi- 
 ble for me to give or even hint at. Indeed, it would answer no 
 purpose. I may say, however, that amongst the influences which 
 have swayed me, has not been anything like indifference toward the 
 persons who have been any way connected with the giving of the 
 call. The bishop's happiness I should deem it my happiness to 
 promote, to the utmost of my ability; and you know that in the 
 welfare of the college I take the deepest interest. For the Faculty, 
 also, I have great personal regard. As to yourself, I feel con- 
 strained to say, the occasion is so very special, that there is not a 
 man of all my acquaintance in close neighborhood to whom I would
 
 130 MEMOIR OF 
 
 rather live and die; and my family partakes fully of the same feel- 
 ing toward yourself and Mrs. Wing. But after a careful and 
 prayerful consideration of what my friends on both sides of the 
 Alleghanies have said, I cannot see it my duty to leave this Insti- 
 tution. 
 
 "I can scarcely refrain from going into the reasons of my deter- 
 mination; but I feel it would be an unsatisfactory and abortive 
 attempt, in the narrow space of a letter, and, therefore, I forbear. 
 I wish, however, that it may be distinctly understood that I con- 
 sider the post so unanimously offered me by Bishop Mcllvaine and 
 the Trustees as one highly honorable, responsible and important, 
 and requiring to fill it adequately, a man of higher attainments and 
 greater ability than I pretend to possess. 
 
 "I rejoice that you did not come to see me, under the circum- 
 stances. Under any others, it would rejoice my heart to see you. 
 I go next Monday to the General Convention at Philadelphia. I 
 wish you were a delegate, that I might talk over old times with 
 you. 
 
 " I have written to Mr. Bronson, as Chairman of the Committee. 
 The bishop I shall see in Philadelphia. I wish he could know of 
 my determination before we meet. 
 
 "This is the seventh letter I have written, 'hand running,' and I 
 am tired. Mrs. Sparrow and the children join in affectionate re- 
 membrances to Mrs. Wing. Your affectionate brother, 
 
 " WILLIAM SPARROW." 
 
 The General Convention thus alluded to was the first in which 
 Dr. Sparrow appeared as a delegate from Virginia. For many 
 succeeding sessions he occupied a similar position. From his 
 repugnance to the effort of extemporaneous speaking, as from all 
 want of practice in parliamentary discussion, he was one of the 
 silent members of the body. One, however, of the most effective 
 of his fellow delegates, in debate, as in all other respects, Mr. Philip 
 Williams, always spoke of him as pre-eminently wise in council, 
 and, therefore, a most valuable member of the delegation. 
 
 It will be remembered that this earlier portion of Dr. Sparrow's 
 labors in Virginia, from 1841 to 1848, was contemporaneous with 
 the most earnest part of the Oxford Tract controversy. The first 
 Diocesan Convention which he attended, soon after his arrival, 
 in May, 1841, in Alexandria, witnessed a struggle in reference
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 131 
 
 to that subject. The chairman of the Committee on the State 
 of the Church, Dr. Empie, having, in his report, alluded to the 
 Tracts, and warned against them, objection was offered, and the 
 effort made to prevent its acceptance, and, of course, endorse- 
 ment by the Convention. One of the objections, most pertinaciously 
 urged, was that of the incompetency of the Convention to an 
 opinion upon the merits of certain publications which the majority 
 had not read. This objection was neutralized, to a great degree, 
 by the closing speech of the author of the report, in the shape of 
 abundant quotations, the meaning and drift of which could scarcely 
 be misunderstood; and the report was accepted. It was a 
 gratifying indication to Dr. Sparrow, as to the nature of his new 
 ecclesiastical associations, and of the sympathy and assistance 
 upon which he might depend, in the performance of his official 
 duties. His own position, as to the leaders and principles of this 
 movement, was clearly denned and distinctly understood. From 
 the first, to his mind, their real character and tendency were 
 manifest. He, therefore, made it his special work, recognized it as 
 the work to which, in his peculiar position, he had been providen- 
 tially called, to counteract and neutralize their influence. It was, 
 in his estimation, an effort, under the forms of sacerdotalism and 
 sacramentalism, to materialize Christianity, to pervert it as a 
 religion of inward spirit and life, to one of outward form and 
 ceremony. The excuse itself, which was made for this movement, 
 and which doubtless actuated some of its leaders, that of expelling 
 the demon of German Rationalism by Patristic authority, was, in 
 his view, a dishonor done to God's word, and only calculated to 
 increase the evil which it undertook to remedy. With these views, 
 there could be little doubt or hesitation as to the character of his 
 teaching. As the questions specifically raised in this controversy 
 came up, they were subjected to thorough examination, and this 
 with reference to a twofold object. First, to show that the 
 novelties with which so many were fascinated, and which, from this 
 feature of their novelty, had a charm to a certain class of mind 
 among his students, were old errors. Secondly, that they were not 
 only errors tested in the light of Scripture, but distinctly repudiated 
 by the English and Continental Reformers; not capable of adjust- 
 ment to the system of those Reformers, but belonging, in logic and 
 in spirit alike, to the system from which they had separated. The 
 trumpet, upon these points, gave no uncertain sound. His own
 
 132 MEMOIR OF 
 
 convictions were clear, as to the nature of the issues involved, as to 
 their fundamental character, as to the impossibility of compromise, 
 especially of the favorite one of that period, the via media, except 
 by a betrayal of essential Christian doctrine. As these con- 
 victions were clear to his own mind, he attempted to place them 
 clearly before the minds of others. His pupils, whether they 
 adopted his views or not, were in no doubt as to his meaning. 
 When failing to produce conviction, he never failed in the impression 
 of thorough earnestness and truthfulness of intent, as of trans- 
 cendent ability. This impression, that of the sacredness of truth, 
 and of all convictions attained in its reception, reached all classes 
 of his pupils, even those who differed from him most widely. 
 While to a special class, those who were in sympathy, or who, in 
 the attitude of learners, were seeking to know the truth, to clear 
 and systematize their views, to be able to see and to give a reason 
 for the hope that was in them, these instructions were recognized 
 as of the highest interest and importance. The effective Teacher, 
 of course, who forms the sound and spiritual theologian, is the 
 Holy Ghost. Where His teaching has not preceded, and does not 
 accompany that of the theological professor, the result must and 
 will be a failure. It is not, therefore, properly a matter of surprise, 
 that a portion of the pupils of Dr. Sparrow, or of any other 
 teacher, should eventually be enlisted among his opponents. Even 
 with these, however, a powerfully modifying influence is often 
 exerted. Their sacerdotalism, or sacramentalism, or ecclesiasti- 
 cism, is of a very different character from what it would have 
 been, formed under other influences. These elements, in many 
 cases, precede the teacher's instructions, survive, in spite of them, 
 but are greatly modified by them. At the same time, there is a 
 different class; and Dr. Sparrow had the joy of knowing that there 
 was a good proportion of it among his pupils ; those who thoroughly 
 sympathized with and appreciated their teacher, fully received his 
 instructions and principles, and then carried them out in lives of 
 ministerial activity and usefulness. The great contest to which 
 allusion has been made, and to which his teaching of that period 
 necessarily had large reference, was reaching its climax at the time 
 of the General Convention in which Dr. Sparrow first appeared as 
 a Delegate from Virginia. The fullest discussion of its merits, of 
 any in that body, took place on that occasion. This discussion 
 only preceded, by a few months, the first decided exode of the
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 133 
 
 leaders of that movement from the Church of England to that of 
 Rome. One prominent individual took part in this discussion, 
 scouting all notion of Homeward tendencies in the Oxford 'leaders 
 or their objects, who, in a very short time, followed them. These 
 latter developments, perhaps, had more effect than any discussion, 
 in arresting this movement, and bringing discredit upon its 
 advocates. But its elements remained, as the seed of a later 
 harvest of error and annoyance; elements of unscriptural error, 
 palliated and toyed with on one side, and resisted on the other, 
 until they reached their development in full-blown Ritualism. Dr. 
 Sparrow's work, therefore, all along, during the lull between, as 
 during the hottest contest of the Tractarian and Eitualistic contro- 
 versies, was to expose and to refute error as it appeared, and to 
 guard his pupils against the reception of germinal principles in 
 which the worst errors of these movements found their origin. In 
 this respect, his whole professorial career was a contest; a contest 
 in which many who agreed with him doctrinally did not sympathize, 
 and, indeed, regarded as unnecessary. But "wisdom is justified of 
 her children." Certainly, the evolution of the last ten or fifteen 
 years justifies every effort in the way of Scriptural teaching to 
 anticipate and prevent it. Had no such effort been made, no 
 warning preceded, how much more hopeless would have been the 
 present effort and prospect of resistance.* 
 
 The following communication, from one of the Virginia clergy, 
 Dr. Slaughter, who, during this period, was brought into association 
 with Dr. Sparrow, will be read with interest, not only in view of the 
 criticism expressed, but as exhibiting the views of the Doctor him- 
 self upon a topic, at that time, of exciting interest and importance. 
 As already mentioned, Dr. Sparrow found great pleasure in attend- 
 ing the religious meetings carried on for several days by associated 
 clergymen from neighboring parishes. We find, from his corres- 
 pondence, that such was his habit in Ohio ; and when he came to 
 his new home, in Virginia, this habit was continued. His part of 
 the work, however, owing to the peculiarity alluded to already, and 
 by this correspondent, was that of preaching from the pulpit. The 
 
 * " For forty years ever since the first Oxford Tract was issued Dr. Sparrow has 
 stemmed this current of error which has been coming in like a flood upon our Church. 
 To him, under God, we owe it, more than to any other man, living or dead, that we 
 still have a body of Evangelical clergy, or that there is still hope that Achan shall be 
 cast out as one that troubleth Israel." Dr. McKim's Sermon on the Sunday after 
 Dr. Sparrow's Funeral.
 
 134 MEMOIR OF 
 
 exhortations following the sermons, or of the informal prayer meet- 
 ings, he left for others. In some few exceptional cases, under 
 pressure, he departed from his usual rule, but always at the 
 sacrifice of feeling preceding, and with annoyance following. The 
 criticism, therefore, is very largely correct, as to the Doctor's pecu- 
 liarities, of that time. But, it will read very strangely to some of 
 his pupils of later years. These will remember not so much the 
 intellectual power, wonderful as that sometimes was, but the close, 
 searching, startling, practical appeals to the heart and conscience. 
 But we let the writer speak for himself. 
 
 " I cannot lay a just claim to any special intimacy with Dr. 
 Sparrow. He always seemed to be 'so above me/ that I was 
 content to look up to him with admiration, as we do at the stars, 
 and silently rejoice in the light which he shed all around him a 
 light which will long stream above the horizon which hides him 
 from our view, as does that of the sun after he has gone down to 
 our eyes. I have never come in contact with the man who com- 
 bined the like breadth of comprehension and luminous insight into 
 the heart of a subject, and who marshaled his thoughts in such 
 logical phalanx, and made them march in such lucid order, as this 
 great master of sentences. It was one of the purest joys I have 
 ever known, to have him, in private converse or in public discourse, 
 unfold a dark, intricate topic, until it was transfigured into an illu- 
 minated transparency. 
 
 " And yet, with all his wondrous powers, our friend had a serious 
 defect as a preacher ; a defect of which he was painfully conscious, 
 and which I have heard him bitterly lament. I mean in practical, 
 in moral capacity, to come down from the purely intellectual sphere in 
 which he habitually moved, and adapt himself to the average hearer. 
 He had power to convince the understanding, and that was the object- 
 ive point at which he aimed. He had less skill in awakening the con- 
 science and moving the heart. What are called thinking men, 
 moving in literary circles, and, necessarily, educated hearers, too 
 often forget that it is not by pure reason that people in general are 
 made better not by any rational process, so much as by the mag- 
 netism which streams from highly charged emotional natures, and 
 by ' those touches of nature which make the whole world kin.' Dr. 
 Sparrow saw this truth clearly ; and he has often come unexpect- 
 edly to associations where he heard there was an awakening,
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 135 
 
 declining to preach, and averring that he came to try and detect the 
 secret of other men's success on such occasions, and endeavor to go 
 and do likewise. I remember that he spent a week or more with me 
 when I was pastor in Petersburg, and holding daily services for many 
 weeks continuously. He professed the greatest longing for the 
 gift of successful preaching ; and often said he would sacrifice all 
 he possessed for the power of adaptation the wisdom to win souls. 
 
 " This defect was not of the intelligence, for all things to him, 
 humanly speaking, were possible in that sphere. It was probably 
 the result of his life in the chair of the professor, making it incum- 
 bent upon him to be armed at all points, and equipped for all 
 emergencies in a high and peculiar sense, a defender of the faith. 
 Hence the habit of sounding everything to the bottom, measuring 
 its length and breadth, weighing it in the balances, and finding 
 precisely what it was worth. This habit of treating every subject 
 thoroughly, and guarding his front, flanks and rear, like a trained 
 tactician, made it morally impossible for him to condescend to that 
 guerrilla warfare, in which a sharp eye, and a ready hand, and 
 celerity of movement will often be more effective than the heaviest 
 artillery wielded according to the art of war. 
 
 " To change the figure, if he saw a man struggling in the water, 
 while he would sympathize as tenderly and heartily with him as 
 others, perhaps more so, the habit of his mind would be to call for 
 a life-boat and save him according to the rules of art, rather than 
 instinctively plunge and swim for his life, dragging the drowning 
 man, by his locks, to the land. 
 
 "There was one subject on which Dr. Sparrow and I were in per- 
 fect accord the subject of African colonization. He believed that 
 America in Africa was the true solution of Africa in America. 
 Knowing his interest in this question, I always nominated him as a 
 delegate to the annual meeting in Washington, and he always 
 attended punctually. In handling this subject, I always felt the 
 need of a satisfactory basis for the institution of slavery, as it 
 existed among us ; and I sought it from Dr. Sparrow. This led to 
 frequent conversations between us, and to a correspondence, of 
 which I have preserved one of his letters. Although he was born 
 in the North, and educated in Ireland, he had no sympathy with 
 immediate abolitionists. The following extract from his letter 
 will, I think, be of interest. It seems to me ' like apples of gold in 
 pictures of silver.'
 
 136 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " ' When Christ came into the world it was full of kingdoms. That 
 these should be held together was indispensable to the existence 
 and progress of society. Society cannot advance^er saltum; it 
 must advance by degrees. So also it must be improved, for the 
 most part, from within. External ameliorations, which outrun the 
 internal, do no good; witness the South American Bepublics and 
 the history of France. To improve society, we must implant the 
 principle within it, and let it leisurely and without violence work 
 itself out to the surface, amending, last of all, the municipal 
 arrangements. This is the general rule. Now Christ came to set 
 up a kingdom not of this world. It was not of the same class with 
 existing kingdoms; it was not to be their rival nor their fellow. 
 It was to be comprehensive of them all, taking possession of them, 
 and having them use their external features and peculiarities, 
 except as these might be gradually and silently modified by its 
 permeating and all pervading influence. Among these external 
 relations, I set down war, the political relations of men, domestic 
 slavery, and, in a certain sense, divorce. Now, in regard to these, 
 there is a certain ideal state which all would call perfection, and 
 which may be realized, perhaps, in the Millennial times, and in the 
 meantime to be approximated. This state we would call absolute 
 right, and it consists in the total removal of some of the things 
 named, and in the modification of others. To bring about this 
 state of things, so far as the present time is concerned, was the 
 object of setting up Christ's kingdom. And that object will not 
 fail. It may tarry, but it will come at last. But how is Christi- 
 anity to realize in the actual this beautiful and infinitely desirable 
 ideal? It must not precipitate matters; that would prove disas- 
 trous. It would be like plucking up the tares before the proper 
 time. As the defects and abuses of society referred to are govern- 
 mental, to assail them directly would bring the kingdom of Christ 
 in direct collision with the kingdoms of this world ; which would be 
 most pernicious several ways. Humanly speaking, it would exter- 
 minate the Church of Christ ; for men would fight against it without 
 restraint of conscience, looking at it as a mere earthly interest. 
 Aside from this, the effect upon the world itself would be most 
 blinding. Christ's kingdom is not wealth, nor political sagacity, 
 nor military prowess ; ' but righteousness, peace and joy in the 
 Holy Ghost.' Above all, it would set aside those positive precepts 
 which Christ has given in regard to the powers that may be over
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 137 
 
 us. In all this Christianity is regarding the expedient. Just as 
 divorce was allowed to the Jews, though the true idea, the right in 
 regard to marriage, was otherwise ; so Christianity forbears to press 
 things which it hopes to see realized hereafter in the world. In 
 fixing her eye upon the right, she makes provision for progress. 
 In regulating the pursuit of that object by the expedient, she has 
 a wise reference to the nature of man, and the condition of the 
 world as fallen, and takes care that the progress shall not be 
 checked. Eight gives an onward motion to the car, expediency 
 keeps it from running off the track. Each is indispensable in its 
 place; neither can be omitted, nor can their order and mutual 
 relations be interfered with, without consequences which self love, 
 benevolence and conscience must recoil from. To present the sub- 
 ject properly, would require much expansion and explanation ; and if 
 I was writing to one who would read what I have written in a 
 captious spirit, I would add many limitations, checks and illustra- 
 tions.' 
 
 " The last sentence is a good example of what I said above, of the 
 Doctor's aversion to touch a subject which he could not exhaust 
 and put beyond all cavil and misconstruction." 
 
 In reference to the closing topic alluded to in this communica- 
 tion, a remark was once made in Dr. Sparrow's presence, as to the 
 mode of teaching and action pursued toward it by the Apostles and 
 inspired writers of the New Testament. His reply, in substance, 
 was, that the way in which the New Testament writers dealt with 
 it, in the light of what was going on around him, constituted, to his 
 mind, high evidence of their inspiration. It was not, under their 
 outward circumstances, the wisdom of man. 
 
 The following reminiscences of a student of the latter portion of 
 this period, Eev. Charles E. Ambler, while referring to one or two 
 points already mentioned, contain others, which will have their 
 interest in this connection. Of special interest is the last inci- 
 dent related, illustrative of Dr. Sparrow's feelings in regard to 
 everything which would bring reproach upon the Seminary, or 
 suspicion upon the Christian character and consistency of his 
 pupils. He had a high standard of ministerial and lay consist- 
 ency. With this, he had a clear perception of the opinions and 
 judgments of worldly men, in reference to open improprieties of 
 Christian professors. And thus, in view both of their spiritual 
 benefit, as for the avoidance of reproach upon their Christian and
 
 138 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ministerial calling, he endeavored to impress his convictions upon 
 those under his instruction. Herein, too, he was eminently suc- 
 cessful. There were pupils, as already mentioned, who did not 
 adopt his theological system. But rarely, if ever, was it the case 
 that one could be found who did not bow in reverence to his high 
 demand for Christ-like excellence and holiness; for single-hearted 
 devotion, in a life unspotted from the world, to the Master's service. 
 
 " It was in the year 1842 that I saw Dr. Sparrow for the first 
 time. He had then but recently come from Gambier, in Ohio, to 
 take the chair of Systematic Divinity in the Virginia Seminary, 
 and was attending the Virginia Convention, which that year met 
 in the town of Staunton. His reputation as a learned man and 
 profound theologian was already very great ; and, though but a boy 
 at the time, I can well remember how, as he sat in the Convention, 
 with folded arms and down-turned countenance, saying nothing, but 
 apparently noting everything said by others, he seemed to come up 
 fully to my ideal of a great divine. 
 
 " When, a year or two after this, I went to the High-school, near 
 the Seminary, in the chapel of the latter, for the first time, I heard 
 the Doctor preach. I had been told by my schoolmates that, 
 though no doubt a great preacher, he was quite too deep to be 
 understood by boys ; and that, therefore, there was no use to listen 
 to him. So fully did I become impressed with this idea, that, for 
 several times when he preached, I would not pretend to follow his 
 train of thought, but would sit, enduring as patiently as possible 
 what I believed it impossible for me to enjoy. But, even then, 
 while taking little account of what he said, I remember watching, 
 with delight, the play of his fine countenance, reflecting, as it did, 
 with the most pleasing variety, the sentiments he was uttering. His 
 high, expansive forehead, his mild, yet piercing eyes, so radiant 
 with thought, as he looked up from his manuscript ; the smile that 
 would play on his countenance, as some truth of the Gospel would 
 come up before him with new fullness and beauty all these seem 
 still before me, as I recall the image which he left upon my mind 
 in those early days. 
 
 " At length, becoming more and more dissatisfied with being a 
 mere looker-on at the Doctor's preaching, I determined, at least, to 
 make an effort to understand him, and so, if possible, get some of 
 that pleasure and profit which others seemed to draw so largely 
 from his discourses. Accordingly, one Sunday, as I seated myself,
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 139 
 
 after the Morning Service, I made up my mind that I would give 
 him all the attention of which I was capable, from the beginning of 
 his sermon to its close, and thus fairly test the question whether I 
 could understand him or not. To my great surprise and delight, 
 he opened his subject in a manner perfectly clear and simple, and 
 and at the same time highly interesting, riveting my attention from 
 the start, and carrying me along with him, with increasing interest, 
 to the close of his argument. As he concluded, with some practical 
 lessons from the subject, my mind seemed to be left in a state of 
 perfect satisfaction and acquiescence in what he had said. And 
 such was ever afterwards the effect of his preaching upon me when 
 I was privileged to hear him. 
 
 " In the year 1845 I became a student of the Seminary, entering 
 the junior class, which, at that time, was 'taught by Dr. Sparrow, 
 as well as my memory serves me, only in the Evidences of Chris- 
 tianity. The subject, in itself one of deep and absorbing interest to 
 every intelligent and earnest-minded Christian, seemed peculiarly 
 adapted to bring into play the finest powers of Dr. Sparrow's mind. 
 While his questions stimulated to the utmost the spirit of inquiry 
 as to the foundations of our faith, his lucid expositions left no room 
 for doubt as to the broad and solid basis of historical evidence on 
 which it rests. No difficulty was blinked, no objection left unan- 
 swered, while the positive evidences of our holy religion were set 
 forth with a clearness and force of logic perfectly overwhelming, 
 the whole effect being incalculably heightened by the enthusiasm of 
 personal conviction with which all his arguments seemed to glow. 
 
 "Having referred to Dr. Sparrow as a teacher, it would be 
 improper to leave the subject without mention of that trait which, 
 more than any other, characterized him as such his absolute 
 deference to the Bible, and the Bible alone, as the infallible author- 
 ity on religious questions. He fully appreciated the value of the 
 ancient creeds and modern confessions of faith, and of much that 
 has come down to us from the fathers and reformers, as valuable 
 testimonies to the fundamental truths of our religion, and gave them, 
 as such, a prominent place in his teaching. But he ever taught 
 that our faith does not rest in these as ultimate authorities, but 
 only as they are supported by the Word. The creed of the Church, 
 according to a favorite illustration of his, is a convenience, like the 
 weights and measures used in commerce, and like them, in its 
 proper place, is indispensable. Yet like them, also, it is not an ulti-
 
 140 MEMOIR OF 
 
 mate authority, but in case of any dispute, is itself to be referred 
 to an ulterior standard, fixed by law. It is, he would say, not a 
 mensura mensurans but a mensura mensurata. His very distinct 
 views on this subject, leading him, as they did, to question and reject 
 certain so-called Church doctrines, which rest, as he conceived, 
 rather on ecclesiastical tradition than on Scripture, and which are 
 not in the creeds, gave occasion to some, to whom these things seem 
 to be of the very essence of the faith, to call him a rationalist. But 
 no charge could be more unjust and misplaced. A rationalist, in 
 the proper sense of the word, is one who subjects Scripture to the 
 test of his own reason, rejecting freely its acknowledged teachings 
 when not in accordance with what he calls the light that is in him. 
 But while Dr. Sparrow recognized it as within the province of 
 reason, enlightened by the grace of God, to determine what is, and 
 what is not the teaching of Scripture ; this once ascertained, no one 
 bowed with more absolute submission to its deepest mysteries than 
 he. And such was the childlike spirit of his faith in the pure word 
 of God, that I do not believe he would have hesitated to have 
 abandoned the most cherished convictions of his life, had their 
 incompatibility with the word of God been made to appear to him. 
 Surely there was nothing in common with the rationalism of the 
 day in such a spirit as this. 
 
 "Shortly after I entered the Seminary, there occurred an incident 
 which may be worth mentioning, as illustrating a point in the 
 Doctor's character, and the type of personal religion which he 
 exemplified. 
 
 "A number of the students of the Seminary were invited to an 
 evening entertainment, given by a family in the neighborhood, well 
 reported of for religious consistency. Quite unexpectedly, so far 
 as the students were concerned, shortly after the assembling of the 
 company, music struck up, and the young people began to dance. 
 The dancing did not last very long, and none of the students took part 
 in it. But the incident was the subject of deep regret to Dr. 
 Sparrow. Possibly, he did not know how entirely innocent these 
 young men were of the intention of being at a dancing party. 
 But whether he knew this or not, it pained him to think what might 
 be the effect of the reports going abroad, probably without explana- 
 tion, that these young candidates for sacred orders had mingled in 
 the frivolous scenes of the ball room. He made the incident the 
 occasion for preaching a sermon on Christian consistency, appealing
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 141 
 
 especially to those who were to be standard bearers in the Lord's 
 host to keep themselves pure, and without reproach, as regards 
 such things, which, if not sinful, were at least doubtful in their 
 character. 
 
 "To some, this incident may seem to imply a narrowness of 
 mind, quite out of keeping with his reputation as a great theolo- 
 gian. It may be said, however, in defence of him on this point, if 
 he needs any, that at that time the Church had not come to so 
 entire an agreement with the world as to the innocence of such 
 amusements, as it seems to have done in these days, and even a 
 great man may be excused for taking up, to some extent, with the 
 prejudices of his day. And then, perhaps, after all, there is room 
 to doubt whether the ideas which rule on these points in modern 
 days are truer and better than the old; whether those who look 
 with jealousy upon the influence of fashionable amusements upon 
 the young, or those who take it for a settled maxim that the 
 amusements of young people must needs be innocent, or at any 
 rate, are not the proper subject for the interference of the Church, 
 take the broader view the view which, in the long run, will prove 
 the truer the one most for the glory of God, and the good of men. 
 At all events, it is certain, that if this jealousy of the influence of 
 such amusements is narrowness, it is a narrowness fully shared in 
 by the primitive Church, as shown by the numerous and stringent 
 canons enacted in those days against dancing, theatrical shows, and 
 the like. But whatever may be thought of the judgment displayed 
 by Dr. Sparrow in this incident, there can be no doubt that the 
 spirit by which he was actuated was that of Elijah, when it was 
 said of him that he was very jealous for the Lord God of Hosts. 
 
 " And I may here remark, as a suitable close to this sketch that, 
 after all, the crowning glory of Dr. Sparrow's character was his 
 deep and ardent piety. Those who only saw him at a distance, and 
 only knew him in his public character, may have been most 
 impressed by his intellectual power ; but what most impressed those 
 who came in close contact with him, was the deep-toned spirituality 
 of his mind. This was the secret of the almost magic power by 
 which he used to hold us all spell-bound, in his Thursday night 
 talks at the Faculty meetings. These were the simple outpourings 
 of his heart before his fellow Christians of the Seminary, in 
 personal religion. Without reserve, and without egotism, the rich 
 results of the Lord's dealings with his own soul would be laid
 
 142 MEMOIK OF 
 
 before us, for our profit, and his must indeed have been a cold 
 nature whose heart would not often burn within him, while he 
 talked of these things. Many would retire after these wonderful 
 discourses to their rooms, to meditate and pray, and to form new 
 purposes to live more for the glory of God, and the good of men, 
 and eternity alone will disclose the full results of the good impulses, 
 by God's grace imparted to so many candidates for the ministry, 
 on these blessed occasions." 
 
 The correspondence following, included in this period, will throw 
 light upon parts of it not brought out in the narrative. The larger 
 portion consists of letters to Dr. Wing. The rest are to other 
 friends, and with one exception, to pupils in the ministry. It is to 
 be regretted that more of these could not be obtained. His corres- 
 pondence with Bishop Meade, for instance, would have been specially 
 valuable, but was, in all probability, destroyed during the war. As 
 illustrative of many features of his character, both as to mind and 
 heart, those here given will well repay perusal. That peculiar 
 charm of his intercourse in social life, which lighted up everything 
 by his presence, his geniality, ever full of cheerful suggestion, but 
 never giving pain or producing bitterness, will be recognized on 
 every page. His deep interest in certain great issues in the Church 
 then pending, as also in the ministerial success of his pupils, will be 
 no less clearly manifest. These letters also contain an indication 
 as to the mode in which influence exerted upon his pupils during 
 their Theological course, was perpetuated in their subsequent career 
 of ministerial exertion. 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA., 
 
 "July 15th, 1841. 
 "DEAR BROTHER: 
 
 "I should have written you by Mr. E., but that you possess the 
 privilege of a Congressman, and it was, withal, very inconvenient to 
 me at the time of his departure. Examination was coming on, and 
 my heart was in my mouth ; it is now over, however, and my heart 
 has got back to its proper place, and, therefore, as a matter of 
 course, I write to you. But I am urged, also, by Mrs. Sparrow, 
 who wishes the enclosed letter sent to Mrs. Wing. She would 
 have sent it directly had she known where to direct it. That Mrs. 
 Sparrow should write her at all, these times, I regard pretty good 
 evidence of a strong friendship. She suffers excessively from the
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 143 
 
 heat here, and that, together with her domestic cares and other 
 things, makes it hard for her to get through her necessary duties. 
 She talks much of Mrs. Wing, and will be much disappointed if 
 she does not see her here. 
 
 "We have just got through the examination, and though Dr. 
 Keith was absent, on account of health, and it, therefore, lost much 
 of its interest, so far as it went, it passed off very well. As to your 
 humble servant's part of the performance, I can't say much. I 
 hated Mosheim and all his tribe, at the outset, and do not love him 
 now. But after a severe struggle against it, my mind has con- 
 sented to try and master him. I began modestly, when I took 
 charge of the class, confessing my sins of omission and disqualifica- 
 tion, and that made them moderate their expectations. The conse- 
 quence has been, I hope, that when the session closed they were 
 not dissatisfied. I say this to you, because I know (as I suppose), 
 that you sympathized with me in my anxieties on this head. Alto- 
 gether, I think I have been appreciated far above my deserts since 
 I came here. I think it does not puff me up. I hope it will make 
 me thankful to God that He has turned away my fears in some 
 measure. My duties thus far have been very light but four reci- 
 tations per week, two in the Seminary and two in the High-school. 
 I shall propose to do more, even if they do not put more on me, the 
 next term. 
 
 "The Convention in Alexandria was a glorious thing. Although 
 not as much religious feeling as usual, there was a good deal of 
 seriousness, and the very best spirit prevailed. It detracted, how- 
 ever, very much from our examination. Having been here so 
 recently, the clergy and laity, who usually attend the Convention in 
 great numbers, were unwilling to come again. 
 
 "We have now at the Seminary two foreign missionaries, Hill 
 and Payne. Mr. Payne delivered an address yesterday. Mr. Hill 
 will do the same this afternoon. To-morrow I go on to Fredericks- 
 burg, to preach on next Sunday at the ordination of several deacons 
 and some priests. I regret my consenting to go, but it is now too 
 late. My regret is chiefly that I have not been able to write for 
 the occasion. 
 
 " While I am away, Mrs. Sparrow and the children are going to 
 take charge of the Seminary buildings, for the vacation. This is a 
 delightful arrangement. There will be no limit, of course, to our 
 room, or rather our rooms ; and we shall board at the Seminary
 
 144 MEMOIR OF 
 
 table, the trustees and the matron, a most excellent lady, consenting 
 to the arrangement. Our house is now plastering, and will be 
 finished in a few weeks; but we think it safest not to go into it till 
 October. In truth, I should be perfectly willing to remain an 
 indefinite time at the Seminary, if we could have it all to ourselves, 
 and Miss M. to superintend for us, or her servants to take care 
 of us. They have adopted my plan of the house, or rather yours, 
 just as it was furnished. My only regret is that we did not furnish 
 a larger plan. They were quite ready to make it larger; have 
 already taken down the end of the kitchen, and enlarged it several 
 feet. In short, they have done all, and more than all, I expected. 
 I mention these things to you, because, if you were in my situation, 
 and I in yours, I should be glad to hear them. 
 
 " I was rather thrown aback by your declaration of readiness to 
 receive, and reluctance to answer my letters. If you have a 
 disinclination for such work, I hope you will overcome it in the 
 present instance, and especially while Mrs. W. is absent. It will 
 beguile a lonely hour. But however remiss you are determined to 
 be in time to come, write me on the receipt of this, and let me know 
 all about yourself, your family, and Gambier. Eemember me 
 kindly to old friends. Often do I think of them, and always with 
 affection and sadness. I shall write several of them on my return 
 from Fredericksburg. Mrs. S. joins me in best wishes. 
 
 "Your true friend and brother, WILLIAM SPAEEOW. 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINAEY, FAIEFAX COUNTY, VA. 
 
 " September 1st, 1841. 
 " KEV. AND DEAE SIE : 
 
 "Last evening I went into Alexandria, spent the night at a 
 friend's house, went thence by the nine o'clock boat to Washington, 
 and spent the day in the Senate chamber, listening to Berrien, 
 Hives, Clay, etc., till about three. By the four o'clock boat I 
 returned to Alexandria, came out in Mr. L.'s carriage to the 
 Seminary, about seven and what then? Why, to my surprise 
 and delight, I found Mrs. W. had been here nearly all day. She 
 had had rather a troublesome time in getting here, and is rather 
 tired to-night; not so much, however, as to prevent her sitting and 
 talking with Mrs. S. But about her health she will write you in a 
 few days. In the meanwhile, I write to let you know she is here, 
 and that we mean to keep her here over next week.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 145 
 
 " I thank you for your last letter, though rather too brief. It 
 seems to me you make too much of a business of writing a letter. If 
 you would scribble anything that comes uppermost, it would be 
 very acceptable to your old, and now distant, friend, and far better 
 than your hypercritical and over nice taste would suppose. Don't 
 expect of me, I pray you, nicely rounded periods and terse and 
 pregnant thoughts (though I do listen, now and again, to the 
 magnates of the land, in high debate), and do not suppose, there- 
 fore, that I expect them of you. But I do expect that, with all 
 your cares, you will not forget your old, and one of your truest 
 and most cordial, friends, almost a brother. 
 
 " I have had a letter from P., full of tenderness and Christian 
 submission. He says, in his strong way, that ' he is crushed like 
 a worm' strong, yet no stronger, I am persuaded, than he feels. 
 Every time his eyes rest upon his children, I have no doubt, he 
 feels an anguish which tries both his Christian fortitude and resig- 
 nation. Since I heard from him I have had a letter from A. He 
 says P. is doing exceedingly well, and that his labors are much 
 blessed. From A. I have not heard. Have you ? I hope he is 
 doing well. He is a true man. The news here I shall not attempt 
 to give you ; the papers will do it much better. There are great 
 searchings of heart, and many surmises what the President will do 
 with this second bill. Should it be vetoed, it is confidently asserted 
 the Cabinet will resign, and Hives and Gushing, etc., be appointed 
 in their places. So much for politics, and that quantum suff. 
 
 11 Our vacation will close this week, and then I begin again, after 
 a long respite. I have been very busy preaching, however ; this 
 whole vacation not a Sunday has passed that I have not been in 
 the pulpit, at least once quite enough for health, this warm, 
 weather, I assure you. 
 
 " My house is now painting. They have been quite expeditious. 
 I have but one regret that I was so modest in my demands. I 
 have always regretted that there was not more brass in my consti- 
 tution. As to you, your regret should be that there is none at all 
 in yours. No bell ever sounded well, and afar off, without it. 
 
 " Write me soon, and tell me all the news. Do you know any- 
 thing of T., and his prospects ? I have just had a very good letter 
 from him, but he has none of my egotism, and, therefore, tells me 
 but little. My best regards to all my Gambier friends. My friend 
 10
 
 146 MEMOIE OP 
 
 B. I must especially name at this time. Wish him much joy for 
 me, and, what in this world is more stable, much happiness. 
 
 " Hoping this will find you and your little ones in good health, I 
 remain, dear sir, 
 
 " Most truly, your friend and brother, 
 
 "WILLIAM SPARROW." 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, FAIRFAX Co., VA. 
 " REV. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 "Most welcome was your letter by Mr. E., and most pleasing 
 the intelligence of your marriage. Conscious that in a single life 
 I would have been most miserable, I have always been a. strong 
 advocate of matrimony, and consequently rejoice when my friends 
 are found entering into that state; especially when there is such a 
 good prospect of happiness as in your case. I have little personal 
 
 knowledge, indeed, of Mrs. , but I know under what training 
 
 and maternal influence she was brought up, and I have heard 
 others speak of her, who do know her; and I feel myself author- 
 ized to wish you much joy, as I do, with all my heart. 
 
 " It must have been exceedingly pleasant to you to have the 
 presence of Mrs. F. on the occasion of your marriage. I wish I 
 had been there to see her, as well as on many other accounts. I 
 hope that she and her husband enjoy good health. How does 
 Bishop McCoskry come on in Detroit. I have heard some say 
 that he is not so acceptable as he used to be, but I can hardly think 
 it. His open, cordial manner cannot fail to please the people of 
 the West. 
 
 "Your account of the improvements in Milnor Hall, and else- 
 where on the Hill, is quite pleasing. I doubt not, if I should ever 
 see the place again, it will be so improved I shall hardly know it. 
 Nature, at the deluge, if not at the foundation of the world, did 
 her part toward making it a beautiful place ; art must now do its 
 part; and Major Douglass, every one knows, is just the man to exe- 
 cute her will. 
 
 "What news from Cincinnati? How come on our common 
 friends there, and the city mission? How, also, is friend G.? I 
 have often thought it had been well for him, if not for the Church 
 in Cincinnati, that he had been continued in the office of city 
 missionary. If I had my will, and could bring it about, every 
 student, after going through a regular course in a theological semi-
 
 WILLIAM SPARED W, D. D. . 147 
 
 nary, should go, first of all, and preach to the poor, and preach, 
 not only from his pulpit, but from house to house. Thus only can 
 the unpractical and abstract habits of a theological seminary be 
 broken up, and the best style of preaching the Gospel be learned. 
 But I forget myself. 
 
 "I have seen but very few of your Virginia friends here, and 
 those few in such a transient way, at the Convention, that I do not 
 remember their names. All that I can recollect is, that one or two 
 inquired most kindly about you. Col. C. was not at the Conven- 
 tion, or I presume I should have more to say to you about such 
 matters. 
 
 "As to my position here, it is much more agreeable, in every 
 respect, than I anticipated; though that is not saying much. I 
 left Ohio with a heavy heart. I pray God never to put me, unless 
 He sees it necessary to paramount interest, to such a trial again. 
 From the earthquake of feeling in my heart I know not what else 
 to call it which my removal occasioned, I never expect to recover; 
 as long as I live, there will be deep and ruinous traces of the con- 
 vulsion in my nature. It was impossible, therefore, to have bright 
 anticipations in removing to this place. I left Ohio because I 
 thought I must. To say, therefore, that my lot exceeds my expecta- 
 tions, would be to say but little. Thank God I can say more. If 
 my health, and that of my family, is preserved, and I find myself 
 useful and acceptable, I think I shall have no reason to regret the 
 change, so far as external things are concerned. But though I 
 have been overwhelmed with kindness on every hand here, I cannot 
 forget the old and true maxim about old books, old wine, and old 
 friends, and shall be anxious to cultivate the kind remembrance of 
 Ohio friends, among whom you are reckoned, let me say, one of the 
 oldest and dearest. The thought of being forgotten by them would 
 be most painful, for they can never be forgotten by me. 
 
 "Present me kindly to Mrs. . You must not fail to write 
 
 me occasionally, and when your cares will not allow it, ask Mr. B. 
 to be your substitute. Most gladly would I hear from him at any 
 time. How is our common friend 0. coming on; a good man, and 
 true. 
 
 " With earnest prayers for a blessing on you and yours, and on 
 all your undertakings, I remain, most truly, 
 
 " Your friend and brother, WILLIAM SPARROW."
 
 148 MEMOIR OF 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, FAIRFAX Co., VA., 
 
 "March 5, 1842. 
 " EEV. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 " Knowing that I might as well wait for the Mississippi to run 
 by, in order to cross over, as to wait for an unprovoked epistle 
 from you, though you have the franking privilege, and plenty of 
 time to spare, I have concluded to try if even a challenge will draw 
 a letter from you. Pray, how are you? Much more, how is Mrs. 
 Wing, and the little ones? Mrs. S. is constantly saying 'I wish 
 I knew how is Mrs. W.' From the fact that none of our recent 
 letters from Ohio say anything unfavorable about her health, we 
 have been led to hope that it is good. As to my family, they are, 
 just now, better than they have been since our arrival here; though 
 we have had a great deal of sickness during the winter. M., F., 
 and E., have all been quite unwell. The boys are all well and 
 hearty, especially the youngest. My own health has been as good 
 as usual that is not saying much, you will think and I have, 
 though under many disadvantages, enjoyed myself better than for 
 many winters past. 
 
 "Dr. Keith, you are aware, is in very bad health! so that there 
 is much reason to fear he will never return to duty here again. I 
 have, therefore, to do his duty and my own, for the present. This 
 has, necessarily, brought with it much labor and more anxiety. I 
 have been in continual apprehension that the students would be 
 dissatisfied ; but thus far, thank God, my fears have been turned 
 away from me ; and though they are fully conscious that Dr. Keith 
 was a man not to be matched in his peculiar department, they have 
 borne with me, and shown a kindness, and forbearance, and confi- 
 dence, which I did not expect. The Seminary here seems to be in 
 a prosperous condition, and if we only had a proper man in Dr. 
 Keith's place, or the Lord would restore him to us, I think it 
 would grow and prosper much more. Personally, I think they are 
 a fine body of young men who make up our classes. Their talents, 
 and attainments, and manners, and spirit, are, for the most part, 
 very good. Some of them are very superior young men. The 
 notions which have prevailed about the irregularity of things here, 
 is certainly a mistake. If there was want of order in times past, 
 there is not now. The true want, according to the feelings of those 
 who complain, is want of Oxford-Tractism in doctrine and disci- 
 pline, against both of which Bishop Meade sets his face, and is not
 
 WILLIAM SPARED W, D. D. 149 
 
 ashamed to avow it. His trip to England, of the effects of which 
 I was fearful, has only confirmed him more fully in his old opinions 
 of Evangelical doctrine, and moderate, or Low-Churchmanship. 
 But I must stop this, before my paper is used up. 
 
 " The winter here has been very delightful, and the spring is 
 very forward. We have put out all fires, except in the kitchen, 
 man being, at all seasons, a cooking animal. Do write me soon, 
 and fully. If you knew as much of this place, in common with 
 me, as I do of Ohio, in common with you, I should fill my paper 
 with gossip. Tell me all about Gambier, Mount Vernon, Colum- 
 bus, etc., etc. Especially about you and yours. What are you at! 
 How do you fill up your time ! Ah, I wish you were here. This 
 is the place to keep a man alive. Since I began this letter I have 
 been visited by Mr. S., from Washington, and he has been telling 
 me of the Temperance doings, till my blood has fairly coursed 
 through my veins for joy and sympathy. The reformation of the 
 drunkards, and the influence upon the whole of- society there, is very 
 great indeed. Kemember me, affectionately, to your family, to the 
 Bishop, and Messrs. Blake, Badger, and Sandels. Also to other 
 friends. 
 
 "Truly, your friend and brother, WM. SPARROW." 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, NEAR ALEXANDRIA, D. C., 
 
 "September 7, 1842. 
 "KEY. AND DEAR SIR: 
 
 " It is customary with those who leave their creditors unsatisfied, 
 when compelled, by the force of circumstances, to pay their debts, 
 to carry a high head, as though they had done some great thing ; 
 they mistake a discharge of obligation for a pure gratuity. In 
 this way I explain the loftiness of the beginning and ending of 
 your last epistle. Perhaps, however, it may be accounted for, in 
 part, by that paternal pride which is so very natural and excus- 
 able, on announcing the birth of a little daughter. Be that as it 
 may, and whatever we may think of the weakness of the father, 
 we cannot but rejoice at the arrival of the new comer and the 
 health of the mother. 
 
 " In regard to the farm, I confess I know not what to say. I am 
 sorely perplexed, and all my faith is put to the trial, when I think 
 of the situation of my family, and my precarious health. My hope 
 had been, that T. and Mr. M. would have so arranged matters that
 
 150 MEMOIR OF 
 
 the lot on which my father lived would have been mine, and 
 formed an asylum for my wife and children, at my death. How- 
 ever, as this plan seems to be frustrated, I can only say, for the 
 present, I will consider the matter. Your letter has been lying 
 on my table, you must know, for a couple of weeks, during my 
 absence at two Virginia associations. This fact, with the deep 
 feeling of responsibility to my family which presses upon me, will 
 account for the postponement of a categorical answer. I feel 
 verily guilty in relation to my family. I have allowed the busi- 
 ness of my personal life, teaching and preaching, so to engross my 
 thoughts, that I have not been provident for them. Whether 
 the evil can be in any measure repaired, God only knows; but 
 when I reflect how destitute they must be, if I should be this 
 moment taken from them, a perfect horror comes over my mind, 
 not only at the idea of their sinking into poverty, but also, because 
 I cannot acquit myself of being, in some measure, passively, if not 
 actively, the cause 'of their misfortune. Had I bestowed upon 
 them some of the thoughts which my classes have occupied, it 
 would have been better for me and mine. But enough of this. 
 
 " I have seen Mr. B. Mr. U. is teaching in this neighborhood. 
 M. dined with me yesterday. Yes, even our friend ! He is to be 
 
 married on Saturday, to a Miss , the sister of his first wife, 
 
 I suppose. I did not like to ask the question, having the fear of 
 the General Assembly before my eyes. I see, from the papers, the 
 Bishop is going to Cincinnati; and I perceive the Doctor has 
 resumed the 'Observer/ and 'fears no man.' In regard to An- 
 drews, his letters from Europe pleased me better than any I have 
 read from clerical pens. He is a sound theologian. All the family 
 join with me in kind remembrance to yours. 
 
 "Yours most truly, W. SPARROW." 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, January 25, 1843. 
 " KEV. AND DEAR SIR : 
 
 " I have been diligently seeking a moment of leisure from press- 
 ing duties, to write you. I do not know that I ever was more 
 occupied than at the present time. I am acting as temporary sup- 
 ply at Christ Church, Georgetown, and that occupies a part of 
 Saturday and Monday, as well as Sunday; and the rest of the 
 week I am kept in the full jump, to fulfill all my duties to my
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 151 
 
 family, the Seminary, and myself. I know not that I should be 
 writing you just now, but I am impelled by the sad news which I 
 have just heard, of the burning of your house; and also, by a 
 desire to make an inquiry of you. I hope it is true, as I hear, that 
 your house is insured, and that to the full value of it. Should 
 such be the case, the affliction, I should suppose, will rather fall 
 upon the company than upon yourself. Is it true that Mr. L. has 
 lost all his furniture? Were they keeping a boarding house? How 
 did it happen? 
 
 " It seems the Bishop is sent a begging. I think it the wisest 
 course they could possibly pursue, not only because I trust he 
 will succeed, but because, even if he do not, it will take away 
 objections that were made against him at his election. Will he 
 come this way? If he should, how ought I to carry myself? I 
 am disposed to meet him with all cordiality. Certainly, I feel 
 most kindly towards him; and had I been left under the impression 
 produced by our parting, I should never have had one more unpleas- 
 ant thought in regard to him. But several little matters have 
 reached here since, which make me doubt whether he would not 
 repulse me, in a manner which I would neither like nor deserve. 
 As to his object, I feel truly interested in it. Neither toward him 
 nor Kenyon can I ever have a cold heart. 
 
 "As to yourself, I trust that the gloom under which you last 
 wrote was only temporary, and that by this time you see things in 
 a more cheerful light. Alas, dear brother, how vain are the 
 expectations of youth ! How certain that man is born to trouble ! 
 May the Lord sanctify to us every sad feeling, and prepare us, for 
 our change. 0, what a glorious thought is that, there is, indeed, 
 a land where there is no more sorrow, or sickness, or death. 
 that we could have a full assurance of our inheritance therein ! 
 
 " As to myself, I am as happy as I ever expect to be in this 
 world. There is, indeed, nothing very special to trouble me, but the 
 largeness and helplessness of my family. When seated at our large 
 family table, with four children on each side, and Mrs. Sparrow at 
 the end, and I think that my death must plunge them into poverty, 
 I feel a pang which nothing but the promises of God can, in the 
 smallest degree, abate; and these are comparatively ineffectual, by 
 reason of my little faith. With this exception (enough of itself, 
 you will think), my situation is pleasant. There has been no 
 change for the worse since I came. More than all my expectations
 
 152 MEMOIR, OF 
 
 have been realized. Friends continue friends, and as yet, I believe, 
 I have no. enemies, except the enemy to my peace, which haunted me 
 in Gambier, and everywhere else where I have been, and will, doubt- 
 less, follow me to the grave. If I could see a prospect of the con- 
 tinuance of their present lot to my wife and children, I should have 
 so many blessings, that it would almost be wicked to ask for more. 
 "What do you think, and what does the Bishop think of the 
 signs of the times in the Ecclesiastical world? I am charmed with 
 
 Bishop 's last movement. He goes so beautifully ' in a gang 
 
 by himself,' with so much Low-Church facing to his coat lappels, 
 collar, and cuffs ! What sort is your Chillicothe editor ? Remem- 
 ber me most affectionately to Gambier friends. 
 
 "Your old, true friend, WILLIAM SPARROW." 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA., 
 
 "July 14, 1843. 
 "REV. AND DEAR BROTHER: 
 
 " I received your letter the day before yesterday, when hard at 
 work at our examination ; yesterday I was occupied every moment, 
 with sundry urgent matters, among the rest, delivering an address, 
 of an hour and a quarter in length, before two Bishops, one Bishop 
 elect, and I do not know how many clergy and laity; of course, I 
 could not condescend to think of a far-off Ohio friend ; to-day, how- 
 ever, as the bells are ringing half-past six, A.M., at the Seminary 
 and High-School, I sit down to answer you. 
 
 " I was right glad to hear from you, though it was after your 
 own brief fashion. It really does seem to me that you forget that 
 I know all the persons and things about Gambier, and therefore 
 must needs expect you to enter into particulars, which I, when 
 addressing you, cannot. If you were acquainted here, as I am 
 there, I think I should write to you, not only as I think, but as I 
 talk, too freely, minutely, and frequently. 
 
 "As to your paper, if the effect of it is to keep out the 'Banner,' 
 I wish it God-speed. That paper is doing the good cause much 
 harm, especially in driving out the 'Episcopal Recorder.' The 
 'Recorder,' it is, that has fought the battle; and however it may 
 fare with other papers, that ought to be sustained. As to your's, 
 I wish to be put down as a subscriber, and, if you desire it, as an 
 agent at this place. Lathbury's ' Episcopacy ' I have not read,
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 153 
 
 and, therefore, can give no advice. I will ask Dr. May if he has 
 read it, and if I have anything, will add it before I send this letter. 
 I hope it is not High-Church. I think Evangelical men must see, 
 from the experience of the last ten years, that Evangelical and 
 High-Church principles do not agree; and that, though 'paired,' 
 sometimes, they are never 'matched.' 
 
 " Bishop Mcllvaine is expected to be here to-day. I have twice 
 asked you what kind of greeting I might expect of him, but you 
 have never answered me; and, therefore, I infer it will be exceed- 
 ingly cold and icy. However, I shall meet him in another spirit, and 
 if he does not reciprocate, I cannot help it. I wish he had been 
 here yesterday, at the delivery of my address, that I might have 
 his judgment upon it. Immediately after I delivered it, they had 
 a meeting, subscribed and paid down the money to print, and 
 requested of me a copy. What to do I know not, and my per- 
 plexity is most painful. You know my repugnance to publishing; 
 and there is the additional consideration, that the New York 
 'Churchman,' the 'Banner,' and our neighbor, the 'True Catholic/ 
 will come upon me, like the Harpies on the Trojan viands, and that 
 is something which I have not nerves to endure. On the other 
 hand, the Bishop and other friends here say, it is out of the ques- 
 tion, I must print; and, besides, the money has been paid down for 
 the expense, and the givers are all dispersed. It is, of course, 
 gratifying to my self-love, and tempting to my vanity, to be thus 
 solicited; all the circumstances, indeed, were most gratifying; but, 
 after all, my heart falters, as if I were going to the stake. The 
 pleasure is so balanced by the pain, that I think if I could know 
 really what is my duty in reference to myself, and the cause of 
 truth, I would be able to decide ; but there I am perplexed. I do 
 not feel that the production has the strength necessary in one 
 which would promote the cause of truth, in these troublous times. 
 
 "To Ohio I cannot goat this time, or I should, with great pleas- 
 ure. Where are you going to visit this vacation ? S., it is said, 
 may be here with Bishop Mcllvaine. You have heard that his 
 pocket was robbed of a hundred dollars, received for his Church, 
 as he was witnessing the great doings in Boston. 
 
 " Doctor is a queer man ; that is all, just now. I hope F. will 
 prove a thorough, Evangelical, Low-Churchman. As to yourself, 
 pray, where do you stand now ? How many rounds of the ladder ? 
 At the top, and feeling out for more ? These inquiries should recur
 
 154 MEMOIR Of 
 
 often in these days of change. If you are in statu quo ante bel- 
 lum, I hope you will not fail to exert your influence in the Semi- 
 nary. Do speak out. You need not involve yourself in controversy, 
 but do speak out, clearly and plainly. See how things are going 
 in New York. 
 
 "We have all enjoyed usual health this summer, thank God, not 
 excepting myself. I suffer much, as usual, in my head; less, 
 indeed, in the way of pain, but a good deal in the way of pressure 
 on the brain, and, of course, great stupor. If you knew how I 
 feel at this moment, you would give me credit for writing you. 
 Since Monday morning we have been busy at examination, and the 
 doings were wound up by my long-winded speech yesterday; and 
 this morning, Friday, I am utterly collapsed. In such a state you 
 cannot possibly expect me to promise a contribution for your 
 paper. What, indeed, could I write about, and if I did, where 
 would you find room for it ? Lathbury's ' Episcopacy,' and Episco- 
 pal appointments and acts, will leave no room for even a Tom 
 Thumb essay. All my family join in affectionate regards to Mrs. 
 W., and your family. Do not let my god-son forget me. 
 "Your friend and brother, most truly, 
 
 "WILLIAM SPAEEOW." 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINAEY, FAIEFAX Co., VA., 
 
 "December 4, 1843. 
 " REV. AND DEAE BEOTHEE : 
 
 "I have just received your letter, and as it is more like a friendly 
 communication than any I have been favored with for a long while, 
 I will overlook the severe reproof with which it begins, and in the 
 spirit of charity, answer you at once. 
 
 " In regard to your paper, let me say, I am glad to hear so much 
 of the editorial has been written by yourself; for, to speak the 
 truth, without fear or favor, I have been, generally, very much 
 pleased. I did not give you credit for so much. I knew, from old 
 experience, that nothing you wrote would be worthless or common- 
 place, but I did not suppose that you could muster resolution to be 
 so busy in such work ; your old dislike to writing, I supposed, you 
 could not so far overcome. I say this in truth; and in the same 
 spirit, let me express the hope that you will not be swift to speak 
 to others for help in the editorial columns. Unless driven by the
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D., D. 155 
 
 heavy pressure of other duties, you had better stand in your lot, 
 and play the editor all out. These are times when the helm should 
 be only in the safest hands. Let me add, that one principal object 
 of an editor, these times, should be to recognize silently, and by 
 implication, is the best way, perhaps, in most cases the existence 
 of the Protestant churches besides our own, and so habituate the 
 minds of readers to liberal views. The prevailing attraction for 
 Eome, and repulsion from Protestants who are non-episcopal, needs 
 to be checked, and as Providence has put it into your hands to do 
 something in that way, do not let the opportunity slip. 
 
 " I take it for granted that you stand where you did when we 
 used to hold daily converse upon Church matters. As to myself, I 
 have not varied a hair's breadth, that I am aware of, except it be 
 that I am more 'established, strengthened, and settled,' in the 
 godly ways of Low-Churchism. On the subject of the Apostolical 
 Succession I am clearer than ever; and I do not think that a man 
 can, logically, and consistently, hold to that as an essential of a 
 valid ministry, and maintain true Protestant principles. That was 
 the xou ffrca on which the Tractarians planted their lever, in the 
 first numbers of their series, and by which they have been enabled 
 to move the Church, as with an earthquake. And so long as a 
 man, or a Church, holds to it, he is liable, or it is liable, to go off 
 in a Komish tangent, further and further, till met by the secant of 
 Romish infallibility. 
 
 " What you tell me of the college and its affairs is no news. I 
 have heard from several of its dwindled condition, of the unpopu- 
 larity of its president, of his opposition to the Bishop, and his 
 leanings toward Tractarianism. These things have surprised me 
 much, for I did not see how, under the new order of things, any 
 other than personal difficulties could arise. I believe it will be 
 found, that the less bishops have to do with any other than purely 
 ministerial) or purely Episcopal matters, the better for the Church. 
 Bishop White seems to have seen this. The truth is, the bishops are 
 so peerless in the Church, that when they pass over into the world 
 for the transactions of business, they, from mere habit, if from 
 nothing else, are disposed to carry this characteristic with them, 
 and some are disposed, from feelings correlate, to accede to them at 
 once, and without the exercise of judgment; but though some, not 
 all, and these last create the difficulty, often with reason, often
 
 156 MEMO IB OP 
 
 without it. Had my situation been that of the present incumbent, 
 I should have been there still. 
 
 " I have but one great anxiety about Gambier, and that centres in 
 my theological successor. I have no doubt that he is a good man, 
 and orthodox. Is he so decidedly Evangelical, and Low-Church you 
 see I do not mince matters that the clergy he will send forth from 
 the Seminary will choose a worthy successor to Bishop Mcllvaine ? 
 That is the question. When you can assure me of that, you will 
 relieve me much. The other side of our Church direct all their 
 energies toward providing for the succession. The Bishop is de 
 facto, the Church ; for he can make it what he pleases, always ex- 
 cepting what the world, the flesh, and the Devil may do to prevent 
 it. In some cases, I fear, these conspiring principles are not called 
 upon to prevent; all they have to do is to aid. Witness much in the 
 history of our Church during the last few years. 
 
 "You ask my opinion about Ohio affairs. But the subject is 
 long, and my paper is short; and I really am not sure whether or 
 not I have a matured opinion upon the subject. 
 
 " We are here getting along, through the Divine blessing, pretty 
 well. My labor is lighter than it ever has been elsewhere. I have 
 but seven recitations a week. But they are enough for my feeble- 
 ness, especially as a class of twenty, some of them quondam 
 lawyers, doctors, merchants, etc., tax a man much more severely, 
 than our little Gambier tete-a-tetes. For a nervous man, it is 
 pretty hard to sit up in a chair and be shot at by such marksmen, 
 for an hour or so. Besides teaching, I preach about once a Sunday, 
 in the Seminary chapel, or elsewhere. These things, with my cor- 
 respondence, and study, and sermon writing, and the care of my 
 family, occupy my whole time. These last, thank God, are now 
 pretty well. While I was North last summer, Mrs. Sparrow was 
 dangerously ill, but I did not know of it till the danger was over. 
 Mr. Syle, who has returned from England, is teaching the three 
 oldest children, and Miss S., who lives in the family, the rest. They 
 are all growing up so fast, that I feel myself an old man. I am 
 glad to hear that C. is coming on with his studies, and hope that 
 my namesake, when he recovers from his sore eyes, will follow his 
 example. Mrs. W. has made our girls quite happy by her epistle. 
 Give my very best regards to her and the children, and remember 
 me to all my Gambier friends. 
 
 "Most truly, your affectionate friend, WM. SPAKKOW."
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 157 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, FAIRFAX Co., VA., 
 
 "April5, 1844. 
 " REV. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 " It is rather hard that such changes should be taking place in 
 Kenyon, and that the man who first taught in it should not hear 
 from the second employed, though friendly relations subsist between, 
 so much as a hint upon the subject, not even a petty catalogue. Do 
 tell me something about matters and things, the doings of the board, 
 the resignation of the president, and the plans for the future. 
 
 "I have just received a letter from brother Dennison, saying 
 that Bishop Chase, being about to publish the Kenyon College part of 
 his reminiscences, has addressed him an epistle, to know if he 
 repents of the part he took with Sparrow, etc., and is willing, by 
 acknowledgment of his sin, to save himself from disgrace in this 
 world, and from punishment in the world to come. So, you see, I 
 have to be put through another ordeal. I have made up my mind 
 what to do, namely, either to observe a profound silence, or just to 
 say, in some, public print, that I have seen his publication, but that, 
 as the subject was thoroughly discussed at the time, and in oneway 
 or another acted on and decided by the Trustees, by the Ohio Con- 
 vention, and afterward by the General Convention ; and, as many 
 years have since passed away, and with them all the controversial 
 feeling which the difficulty occasioned, I shall let the matter rest, 
 being willing to abide the judgment of the world and the Church, 
 and the final Arbiter of all things. This, it strikes me, will be the 
 most Christian and expedient mode of dealing; and certainly, it is 
 the course which my feelings would dictate. The older I grow the 
 less I love controversy, and I never loved it much. 
 
 " I saw Judge M. a few weeks ago, for a few minutes, in Wash- 
 ington. It was most pleasing to me to see the face of an old Ohio 
 man. I could have wished to know more of Ohio affairs. When 
 are you coming this way ? At the next General Convention ? 0, 
 do come, and let us see one another's faces in the flesh once more. 
 Mine my face I mean you will find care-worn, and marked with 
 the multiplying hieroglyphics of age. As to your's, I suppose it 
 is smooth, and sleek, and plump, an index of the equability of your 
 temper and of your life. Mrs. Sparrow, also, would be right glad 
 to see you, though, I suppose I may say, without offence, not so 
 glad as to see your better half. As to my seeing you in Ohio, there 
 is nothing in the way but the expense, but that ia a serious obstacle.
 
 158 MEMOIR OF 
 
 "How is your family? How are my god-sons, especially my 
 namesake? As to mine, thank God, we are all alive, but have a 
 great deal of sickness, chiefly occasioned by cold, during the last 
 three months. My own health has been, during the winter, quite 
 as good as usual, and, perhaps, better, until within a fortnight or 
 three weeks since, when I have been suffering from such an influ- 
 enza as I have never had before. 
 
 " Of our Seminary, you have learned something from our cata- 
 logue. We are prospered more than I expected, but our prosperity 
 gives great uneasiness to some. I really believe they would think 
 it well if we could be all sunk in the Potomac. But that matters 
 little, if we are only found faithful before God. 
 
 " Do tell me something about your Seminary and professors. My 
 family send true love to yours. 
 
 "Ever yours, WM. SPARROW." 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, FAIRFAX Co., VA., 
 
 "January 2, 1845. 
 " REV. AND DEAR SIR : 
 
 " I am truly pleased to have heard from you, and especially to 
 have received from you such a well-filled letter. I should have 
 answered it ere this, if I had not been prevented by an unusual 
 amount of work and headache. 
 
 " When I talk of the amount of my work, I do not judge by 
 your standard. What would be a grasshopper to you, would be a 
 burden, a mountain to me. The man that can prepare three written 
 sermons a week, and two Christmas sermons, as extras, attending, 
 at the same time, to the sundries of parochial duty, can hardly 
 understand what work is. He may do it, as the man who talked 
 prose, but like him, be as ignorant all the time what it is ; the word 
 might as well be stricken out of his vocabulary, at least when he is 
 talking of himself. 
 
 "One pleasing feature of your letter was the mention in it of so 
 many old friends. In Delaware, as you know, I preached my 
 second and third sermon, and many more afterward, and as I 
 always met kindness from the inhabitants, of course I feel no slight 
 attachment to them. 
 
 "So you are going to have a $12,000 church ! The Lord enable 
 you to pay for it, and fill it with spiritual worshipers. I sympa- 
 thize with you most fully in your feeling in your new position, and
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 
 
 your anxiety to see fruit from your labors. What is life worth to 
 a minister of Christ, unless he is enabled to be useful, and is made 
 the instrument of saving souls alive? To the worldling it has 
 another value. We profess to see no utility in it except as a means 
 of saving ourselves, and those who hear us. Dear brother, let me 
 urge one thing upon you. I do it with a deep consciousness of my 
 own deficiency therein, but it is multum in parvo, and when faith- 
 fully attended to brings every other good with it ' all other things 
 are added unto it.' I refer to private prayer for blessing on your 
 labors. The man that does good, and will appear at the last day 
 with a great company saved through his instrumentality, is the 
 man of prayer. The philosophy of the thing, as theologians would 
 say, is familiar to you ; but there is a Divine philosophy applicable 
 to this matter which it is far better to rely on. I mean the philoso- 
 phy of faith. God has said that He Himself gives the increase, 
 and that he gives it in answer to prayer. That is enough. If 
 more were needed, without going into deeper speculation, induction 
 proves the same ; all eminent ministers of Christ have been earnest 
 in private prayer. These remarks are no novelty to you, or me, or 
 any other Christian, yet I make them. It is by such obvious truths, 
 coming from every quarter, and through every medium, that we 
 daily live and grow as ministers of Christ. 
 
 " We are pretty prosperous here. I believe there are fifty-two 
 students on the ground. Satan, and Alexander the Coppersmith, 
 and Demas, are to be looked for everywhere; but, perhaps, we are 
 as little troubled by such visitors as any community to be found. 
 
 " You have not yet heard of the regular conspiracy in the Gene- 
 ral Seminary to Romanize the Church. The students had formed 
 a society, secret, with the watchword ' C. IT.,' Catholic Unity, and 
 have been in communication with the Romish Bishop. They 
 meant to colonize here, that the work might go on simultaneously 
 everywhere. I wonder whether there be now any of the revolu- 
 tionists among us already! ! The subject is now before the Faculty 
 in New York, and a committee of three Bishops, Lee, Henshaw, 
 and DeLancy, have been appointed to investigate the matter. It 
 is curious enough that this should come out after they had, by 
 resolution, just whitewashed the Seminary. 
 
 " Bishop Onderdonk is probably pronounced upon this day. The 
 whole will be published, testimony and all. One of the female wit- 
 nesses was under examination six hours ! It was designed, they
 
 160 MEMOIR OF 
 
 say, to intimidate others by the rough handling given her, and it 
 had, in part, its effect. But she and some others carried themselves 
 well through it all. If the man is guilty, may the Lord, for the 
 Church's sake, reward him according to his deeds, so far as human 
 censure is concerned; and may it have the effect of leading him to 
 true repentance. 0, what mischief he must have done to true 
 religion! How many serious thoughts, in young and old, must 
 have been dissipated ; how many infidel and blasphemous remarks 
 must his known misconduct have occasioned. 
 
 " My family, thank God, are all well. The two oldest children 
 went, yesterday, with Dr. May and Miss S., the Doctor's niece, to 
 the Levee. The day was most lovely, as is this. So was Christ- 
 mas Day, and so was our chapel, being decorated with evergreens. 
 Remember me to all my friends, and believe me, 
 
 " Most truly, your friend, WM. SPARED w. 
 
 "Rw. KH. Canfield" 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, FAIRFAX Co., VA., 
 
 " January, 3, 1846. 
 " REV. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 " You have, doubtless, wondered that I have not written before 
 this; but you know my 'often infirmities,' both of body and of 
 mind, and will bear with my neglect. 
 
 " I returned, a few days ago, from Baltimore, where I spent two 
 Sundays with my daughter Mary. Had I not been unwell, the visit 
 would have been an exceedingly pleasant one. Mr. Thompson went 
 on the day after me, and spent the first Sunday there, on his way 
 to Philadelphia. I preached in the morning, and he at night. He 
 was taken (so much honor do gray hairs secure), for old Dr. Spar- 
 row, and I for young Mr. T. He preached with as much ease and 
 freedom as if he had been in the pulpit for the last twenty-five 
 years. His elocution was very fine, and pleased the people very 
 much. He has been offered the assistantship at Christ Church. 
 Whether he will accept is not yet known. W. had been in the 
 post for some time, but had just resigned it, with Dr. J.'s approba- 
 tion, for a country parish. The Doctor, of course, was willing to 
 see another parish under good influence. W., who always promised 
 well, has come out a very sound man, and I rejoice to add his 
 health is most wonderfully improved. It gave me great pleasure
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 161 
 
 to see him recovered in spirits from his heavy affliction, and re- 
 stored to soundness of body. 
 
 " Of course, I saw Mr. P. Mary stopped at his house, and is 
 there yet. He is doing well. His school is prosperous. He is 
 most fiercely set against the new-fangled Protestant notions of the 
 day. You know how I love P., and this last intercourse with him 
 has only enhanced my esteem for him. He is one of Nature's no- 
 blemen. 
 
 "Dr. J. is very prosperous. He, of course, stands in the fore- 
 front of the battle, and has, therefore, to endure a great many hard 
 knocks; but he bears up manfully against it, and the Lord seems 
 to be blessing him in his Church. I preached there twice last 
 Sunday, and never saw nobler congregations. 
 
 " Newman, you know, has gone the way of all consistent Pusey - 
 ites, and has published a book. It is called 'An Essay on the 
 Development of Christian Doctrine.' I am now reading it, the 
 first work of his which I have read, except a few of the Tracts. It 
 shows great ingenuity and learning. Certainly he must be a pow- 
 erful man. Pusey, by his side, is a driveler. The book, I would 
 think, must bring many halting minds in England to a decision. 
 Aa for American Pusey ites, they are not sufficiently in earnest to 
 cut off the right hand, and pluck out the right eye, in the service 
 of what they deem the truth. Would that they were. It would 
 be better for them as men, and it would be better for us as a 
 Church. Our being able to slough off this dead matter of our sys- 
 tem will depend, I think, much on this. If those who are not of 
 us go not out from us, the leaven will still be left at work in our 
 midst. People will not believe that it exists, or else they will 
 fancy it is innocuous. As, therefore, the American Puseyites are 
 not so self-sacrificing as the British, I expect to find our Church 
 laboring under this disease, long after that of England has been 
 restored to health. 
 
 "Things are getting on here about as usual. The High-school 
 has fifteen pupils for the start. Mr. D. has taken hold with pro- 
 digious energy, and is getting his school into perfect discipline. 
 West Point cannot surpass it. I have no doubt that if he perse- 
 veres in his present course, in one year he will have as many pupils 
 as is expedient. 
 
 " I was much interested in your account of yourself. You seem, 
 indeed, to have taken charge of an unpromising field; but I trust 
 11
 
 162 MEMOIR OF 
 
 things begin to look more cheerful. Though I have been so dila- 
 tory in writing, I am unreasonable enough to wish to hear from 
 you again soon, that I may know how the Lord prospers you in 
 the good work. I have had letters from Dr. R., Dr. B., and D., of 
 your class. Dr. R. has been over-persuaded to settle in his native 
 county, where the field is very unpromising. Dr. B. was hardly 
 under way yet. D. is well, and pleased with his post. 
 
 " Thus I have given you all the items of news I could think of. 
 I am a poor hand at such work, but you will be glad of anything 
 in your out of the world condition. 
 
 ''The prospect of war has saddened me much, but thank God, 
 the clouds are breaking away. ' The Lord reigneth,' in Church 
 and State; that is our security and comfort. Remember me in 
 your prayers, especially the Seminary. My family desire their 
 kind regards. 
 
 " Your friend and brother in Christ, WM. SPARROW. 
 
 " Rev. C. Walker." 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, FAIRFAX Co., VA., 
 
 "July 16, 1846. 
 " REV. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 "As to your examination for Priest's orders, you need have no 
 apprehension. Bishop Meade will take no exception to your views. 
 Though the Bishop eschews everything that sounds or looks meta- 
 physical, he would, I am persuaded, practically approve your 
 position. 
 
 " I wish you had been with me at the examination. We had 
 Bishop Lee, and Dr. Tyng, and sundry others, especially Mr. 
 Fowle. He is famous, perhaps, as you already know, as a Calvin- 
 ist. He is much more systematic and open than any of his 
 brethren. He is not content, as John Newton said, that Calvinism 
 should be like sugar in his tea dissolved and diffused through it ; 
 he will have it in lump. I had a little talk with him on these nice 
 points, but though I thought him exceedingly extravagant in some 
 of his positions, I was much pleased with the man. He has a 
 pretty strong, plain mind, and of a sweet disposition, I should 
 judge. Dr. Tyng preached the Alumni sermon (though not an 
 Alumnus), and the ordination sermon. He is a wonderful man. 
 As a preacher, especially in the extemporaneous way, I know no 
 man like him. Bishop Lee preached, they say, an excellent sermon
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 163 
 
 for the Missionary Society. His recent charge on the Bule of 
 Faith is as 'sound as a bell.' 
 
 "Our classes did so-so. They went off in good spirits, and pur- 
 posing all to return again, except the graduating class, which 
 seemed to leave with true regret. Norton preached for Mr. John- 
 ston, Dr. Stearns for Mr. Dana, Weed for Mr. Bean, Tyng for Mr. 
 Shiras, and Woodward at Falls Church last Sunday. The people 
 were, in general, highly pleased with the performances of these 
 young men. The class contains a fair share of piety and talent. 
 May the Lord increase them tenfold, and bless them in the conver- 
 sion of souls. 
 
 "I do not wonder you feel as you express yourself about Buy. 
 I never felt, from a death out of my own family, such a blow. I 
 had flattered myself that he was destined to great usefulness ; but 
 God's thoughts are not as ours. I hoped to see him an able advo- 
 cate of the truth with his pen ; and the rather, as he seemed to be 
 maturing and settling down, every day, more firmly on what I 
 deem the true foundation. The last letter I received from him, 
 written four days before his death, was, in this view, most charm- 
 ing in its character. But regrets are vain; nay, they are wrong, 
 when the object is an ordering of the all- wise providence of God. 
 
 " Our Hill is nearly deserted. Dr. Bache, Superintendent of the 
 Coast Survey, has made the Seminary Cupola one of his 'stations,' 
 and will soon be here with his family, mathematical and otherwise. 
 This may give a little variety to our life. Hoping you may be 
 able to visit us at the time you speak of, I remain, 
 
 "Very truly, your friend and brother, W. S. 
 
 " Rev. C. Walker r 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, FAIRFAX Co., VA., 
 
 "December 12, 1846. 
 " DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 " It pains me to think that I should be left so long in profound 
 ignorance about the health and happiness of my most intimate, 
 and almost, my oldest Ohio friend; and what my feelings are 
 toward you, are Mrs. Sparrow's toward you and your wife. Often, 
 during the last months, have we talked together about you both, 
 and felt a true desire to know how you and your family are. I 
 have written you, and she has written Mrs. Wing, but neither of us 
 has yet got an answer. I write this to see if I cannot elicit some-
 
 164 MEMOIR OF 
 
 thing. I know you may be pressed hard with duty, and especially, 
 perhaps, have much writing to do. In that line I have much 
 experience myself, as much, perhaps, as has ever fallen to my lot 
 before. But still, I think, we both ought to continue, by an occa- 
 sional letter, to keep the chain of an old friendship bright, or, at 
 least, not to let it be eaten up of rust. 
 
 " I was sorry to hear, through Canfield, that you had been sick 
 in Delaware, during the Convention, and that fact has disposed me 
 not to judge you too hastily for your silence. I trust, however, 
 that sickness did not last long. We have all enjoyed tolerable 
 health, during the past summer and fall, except that about one-half 
 of our number have had slight attacks of what troubled you, chills 
 and fever. I was confined to my bed for a week, and thought it 
 was going to be a severe attack, such as I once had in Ohio. But 
 it passed away, through the goodness of God, and did not return. 
 The children and Mrs. S. had slight attacks, but in the case of the 
 children they returned frequently. We are all well now, thank 
 God. There has been much sickness of that kind, all through this 
 country, the past summer, even in the most unlikely localities. 
 
 " Do tell me, also, about the College. Truly, I long to hear of 
 its prosperity. If it had been at all possible, I would have gone 
 on when so kindly invited by the Bishop, especially to attend the 
 Commencement and the Convention. My hope now is that I may 
 be able to do so next summer; though all such hopes are, with me, 
 much more languid than they used to be, partly because I am 
 older, and have a deeper feeling of the uncertainty of life, and 
 partly because I find it not so easy now to bear the expenses of 
 traveling. Remember me kindly to President B., and any other 
 of the Professors who would be pleased to hear from me. 
 
 " Do you often see brother D. now ? Remember me affectionately 
 to him when you have an opportunity. Many years ago I selected, 
 in my mind, yourself, and Dennison and Preston, as a trio of pecu- 
 liar friends. And though, owing to peculiar circumstances, I have 
 never troubled D. with my letters, I have ever held him in the 
 same estimation I did, especially, as I see that, in religious and 
 ecclesiastical matters, he has, in this changing age, remained un- 
 changed. 
 
 "Speaking of Preston, I have, through him and otherwise, re- 
 ceived some private overtures about Trinity Church, Columbus, but 
 have not felt at liberty to give them any encouragement. If I ever
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 165 
 
 go into a parish, it must be one where things are settled and fixed 
 on the firmest foundation. I might preach, and do pastoral duty in 
 an established congregation, with, perhaps, some little efficiency, 
 but trouble would break me down at once. I had my share of that 
 in former years, and I do not mean to seek any more, though it 
 may be the Lord's will to send it to me. 
 
 "What is the condition of Ohio ecclesiastically? I am often 
 asked this question. Help me to answer it. How does the Bishop 
 like his new residence ? What use do you make of his old house ? 
 When I think what a nice place it is, I almost wish you could pro- 
 vide some sinecure in connection with the College or Seminary, and 
 give me that house to live in. What are your duties now in con- 
 nection with the Institution? Are you secularized in any way 
 besides, as I am in the Post-office ? By the way, I give the per- 
 quisites of my office to my assistant, and during the past year 
 have had even to pay him for my letters, though I shall do so no 
 more. How is Mr. W. and family? Remember us all to them. 
 And now, what shall I say more, except it be that Mrs. S. and 
 myself will grieve much if we do not soon get an answer to this, 
 and to assure you that, in silence on your part or otherwise, I am 
 ever, still, 
 
 "Your friend and brother, WM. SPARROW." 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, November 20, 1847. 
 "REV. AND DEAR BROTHER: 
 
 " It would be hard to say how often the thought of writing you 
 has come into my mind without attaining to objective reality. That 
 the thought should come is proof of my friendship ; that the letter 
 did not go was proof of my laziness, procrastination, and general 
 inefficiency. There are some extenuating circumstances, partly 
 permanent, and partly accidental. Of the first is my often infirmi- 
 ties; of the second, my absence during the summer, and unusual 
 press of business since I got home. Immediately after vacation 
 I went up into the Valley with two of my children, and spent five 
 weeks most agreeably. I was at home but a few days, when I set 
 off again for Pittsburg and Ohio. I attended the Ohio Convention, 
 and saw many friends. I also visited my old residence, and went 
 up to Lake Erie, and wet my hand once more in its waters. It 
 was very grateful to my feelings to see old and kind friends, and
 
 166 MEMOIR OF 
 
 to visit the scene of former years' labor, and pleasure, and pain. I 
 did. not get back till the second week of the term. 
 
 "Soon after my return your letter was handed me by Mr. B,., 
 but I have not seen him since, except en passant, though I formally 
 invited him to tea on one occasion. He seems a fine young man, 
 and I shall endeavor to get acquainted with him. My reputation 
 is so bad, for my Low-Churchmanship, that, perhaps, he is afraid 
 of me. 
 
 " I am pleased to hear that you are getting along so well ; though 
 that phrase is so indefinite that any sense may be put upon it. It 
 may or may not have a spiritual reference; it may include only 
 popularity, and not, also, usefulness to the souls of men. Of this, 
 dear brother, I doubt not that you are aware; and that you look 
 for fruit as well as blossoms, though the people generally do not. 
 I often think how different the estimate the world (and the Church) 
 makes of clergymen, and that which Paul, or our Divine Master 
 would make. By the way, this has been very much pressed upon 
 my mind of late, by reading the life of Simeon. Though not a 
 well compiled work, it is most instructive in a spiritual way. 
 Simeon was a man of no extraordinary abilities, by any means, and 
 yet, by rightly understanding his proper work, and devoting him- 
 self singly and unreservedly to that, he did more good, as I 
 believe, than any of his contemporaries. His operations were, to 
 a great extent, silent and secret, but they were very effective, and 
 extended far and wide. Another book of a similar character I am 
 now reading, which has pleased me much, 'The Life and Remains 
 of McCheyne,' a young, Scotch Presbyterian Minister. And, 
 since I am talking of books, let me mention Mrs. Nicholson's 
 'Stranger's Welcome to Ireland,' the only book that contains a true 
 idea of the poor, potato-eating Irish. She is a perfect original of 
 a traveler, a female Borrow, and though there are several things 
 about her I do not like, she is a perfect heroine, and deserves well 
 for her benevolence to a most afflicted people. Unlike most trav- 
 elers, she sought out the poor, not the rich, and so cast in her lot 
 with them during her sojourn, in a village or a cabin, so as to have 
 a full view of their lives and characters. 
 
 "Of Hill's 'Divinity,' I think as you do. It is many years since 
 I read it in the English edition, but I thought its author the most 
 philosophical divine in the language who had attempted a system of 
 Theology.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 167 
 
 "By this time, I suppose you have been called to fill R.'s place, 
 and I surmise you will accept. Notwithstanding your acceptability 
 in your present position, I cannot say I wish to see you continue 
 there. I feel persuaded that for your ultimate ministerial charac- 
 ter and usefulness, a place of different cast, for a few years, is 
 desirable. When you have made up your mind, do write and let 
 me know. My interest in your welfare is the only cause of my 
 request. At the same time, do let me know of B. and his family. 
 Pray visit them, and present them my best respects. I saw them 
 all last summer, at the Springs, but have heard nothing since. I 
 know not when I have been more struck than by the prudence, 
 firmness, and Christian resignation of Mrs. B., in her great afflict- 
 ive trial. 
 
 " As you failed, last examination, to be with me, I hope you will 
 not fail the next. It is a great encouragement to us to have the 
 countenance of old friends on these occasions. As to my address, 
 I have not been able to satisfy myself about the expediency of 
 publication, though I have been pressed beyond measure by Bishop 
 Meade. You might like it, but others would not. With sincere 
 prayers for your personal and ministerial welfare, I am, most truly, 
 " Your friend and brother, W. S. 
 
 " Rev. C. Walker." 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, FAIRFAX Co., VA., 
 
 "January 4, 1848. 
 "REV. AND DEAR SIR: 
 
 "The arrival of your letter, a few days ago, afforded me much 
 pleasure. Why apologize for what you call your egotism ! If you 
 were writing to a stranger, or an acquaintance who was indifferent 
 to you and yours, such thoughts would not be unnatural, but they 
 are quite out of place in the present instance. Notwithstanding 
 the marvelous powers of the telegraph, it does not inform us about 
 absent friends, neither do the newspapers, and I suppose, as long as 
 the world stands, we shall have to depend on the letters we receive 
 for such information. 
 
 " The account you give me of sickness and death is very sadden- 
 ing to the flesh, though the spirit may rejoice in the reflection that 
 'the Lord reigneth,' and doeth all things well. In Mrs. L.'s afflic- 
 tion I most tenderly sympathize. In Delaware, I was for a long 
 while received as a guest of Mr. L. He and Mrs. L. had then been
 
 168 MEMOIR OF 
 
 married about two or three years. It is a long time now since I 
 became acquainted with them, and how intimate, in that space of 
 time, the union that has subsisted between them, and how necessary 
 they must have become to each other. After an affectionate union 
 of twenty-five or thirty years, man and wife grow almost into one 
 personality ; and how bitter, therefore, must be the separation. No 
 doubt this cementing of unions and dissolving of unions is 
 designed of God, to prepare us for our great change, by making us 
 see the vanity of all earthly things, even the tenderest and most 
 beloved. I hope Mrs. L. has been enabled to go to the true source 
 of all consolation in this great emergency, and has found peace in 
 the assurance that it is designed for good, and is in the experience 
 of the peaceable fruits of righteousness which it is already produc- 
 ing. Please remember me most affectionately to her, and assure 
 hr she has the feeble prayers of myself and Mrs. S. Remember 
 me, also, to her children, and tell the boys, especially my namesake, 
 that I hope they feel the importance of the position in which Provi- 
 dence has placed them, by calling them to stand in their father's 
 place, and be the stay and comfort of their mother. 
 
 " The account you give of Mr. F. is truly painful. 'How sad to 
 see a man resort to broken cisterns, when he might go to an 
 exhaustless fountain. In his case it is the more sad, as I believe 
 that in early life he had the best instruction. Please remember 
 me to him, as an old friend, and say that my hope is that all the 
 vicissitudes of life to which he and I may be subjected may have 
 the happy effect of drawing us to that Divine Saviour who can 
 alone comfort and sanctify. 
 
 "All here are as usual. The number of students is small; 
 smaller than ever since I have been in the Institution, but the pre- 
 vailing spirit is good. My own family, thank God, has enjoyed 
 usual health. They are all hard at their studies, Latin, German, 
 French, and English. With God's help, I mean to make them 
 scholars. An education is all a poor parson can usually leave his 
 children, especially one so little endowed with Yankee thrift as I. 
 Of my voyage to Europe I say nothing, for manifest reasons. 
 
 " If we are spared to next fall twelve months, and you are still 
 in Delaware, I may visit you with some of my children. 
 
 "Truly yours, W. S. 
 
 " fiev. E. H. Canfield"
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 169 
 
 The publications of Dr. Sparrow during this interval were, the 
 commencement address, of 1843, on the right conduct of Theologi- 
 cal Seminaries; a sermon, preached at the Convention, at Fred- 
 ericksburg, entitled, "Love among Christians Urged," and the 
 annual sermon in 1844, before the Board of Missions. The former 
 was an elaborate exposition of the subject which it proposes, with 
 its special bearing upon the controversies at that time pending. 
 Assuming that there must and will be such Institutions, the ques- 
 tion is proposed, how they can be conducted so as to escape their 
 perversions, and secure their highest benefits. To secure this, it 
 is insisted that knowledge shall be imparted, that this shall be 
 knowledge of God's truth, God's revealed truth being the ulti- 
 mate and only standard. For this it is further insisted there 
 must be right principles hermeneutical, logical, practical, and 
 moral ; and for the consistent Episcopalian, a certain system that 
 in the Articles, Prayer-book, and Homilies; and that the effect 
 desired, a successful Gospel ministry, can only be reasonably antici- 
 pated when, with all these other qualifications, is combined that of 
 spiritual character, personal piety, personal experience of the reality 
 and power of the truths studied and to be preached to others. The 
 most striking portion of the address, perhaps, is that which exhibits 
 the great cardinal doctrine of the Reformation, its position in the 
 system of the Gospel, as of our standards, and its relations in these 
 systems to other doctrines. 
 
 The second of these publications was a sermon, first preached in 
 the ordinary course of chapel ministry, and mainly of interest as an 
 appeal for the cultivation of a spirit of love, of positive Christian 
 affection for all true followers of the Lord Jesus, whether found in 
 our own or in other Christian Churches. The text, " Grace be with 
 all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity," was shown 
 to have its application to all such, and wherever found; and the 
 failure cordially to recognize such application was traced to a defect 
 or an absence of that love in which so largely consists the Christian 
 character. Objection was made at the time, not to the doctrine of 
 the sermon, but to its illustrations. Sad it is, now as then, that 
 those illustrations are to be found in such abundance. 
 
 This brings us to the close of our chapter. In the Spring of 
 1848, the offer of a trip across the Atlantic, free of expense, was 
 made to Dr. Sparrow, and accepted. With the close of the session 
 he began his preparations, and starting from Savannah, spent the
 
 170 MEMOIR OF 
 
 summer in Europe. It was during this journey, while outward 
 bound, that the autobiographical fragment, as to his childhood, 
 already given, was composed. 
 
 The following letters, all to the same correspondent, were written 
 during the interval with which this chapter is occupied. They will 
 help to throw light upon some of the facts and incidents to which 
 allusion is made in the narrative. At the same time they bring to 
 view others of no little importance. To use an expression of the 
 correspondent to whom these letters were written, we have in .them 
 " material for that unconscious autobiography which is to be found 
 in the correspondence of one who writes as Dr. Sparrow did, fully, 
 and correctly, and ingenuously. Indeed, it is this gift or habit 
 with him it was both of conscientious letter writing, as a part of 
 his ministry, which may be fixed upon as one of his valuable char- 
 acteristics." The feelings and views, moreover, here and further 
 on expressed, as to the great work in which his correspondent was 
 engaged, and the spirit in which it should go on, are peculiarly 
 valuable. 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, FAIRFAX Co., VA., 
 
 "May 14, 1841. 
 " MY VERY DEAR MR. SYLE : 
 
 "I received your letter this morning, by a student from the 
 Seminary, as I was stepping out of the house to go and preach a 
 Fast sermon in Christ Church, in this place (Alexandria), and 
 though, of course, my head was full of other matters, I could not 
 resist the temptation of reading it as I walked through the streets, 
 and by the time I reached the vestry room I felt disappointed and 
 sad. Why did you not 'come ? I was not only willing to do all 
 that I said, but desirous to do it. I wanted to see you here on 
 many accounts, some of them selfish, if, in strictness, I could be 
 selfish where you are concerned. I would have valued the instruc- 
 tions you would have given the children much more than the 
 trifling expense, which so frightens you. On a mere quid pro quo 
 principle I wished you here, and that without taking up one 
 moment more of your time than you spent with them in Gambier. 
 Rev. Mr. S. would have been glad to have his little daughter recite 
 along with them, to your profit.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 171 
 
 "May 24,1841. 
 
 " I was interrupted by a visitor when I had written the above, 
 and not being allowed soon to return to the pleasant work of 
 writing you, I concluded to wait till after our Convention. I now 
 write in a state of collapse, almost. During the last eight or nine 
 days our town has been crowded with people clergymen, laymen, 
 and lay women, from all parts of the State, and from other States. 
 Doctor Milnor, from New York, Doctors May and Clarke, from 
 Philadelphia, and Drs. Johns and Henshaw, from Baltimore, with 
 sundry others who are not Doctors, and, therefore, not to be par- 
 ticularly named ! Bishop Meade, and, above all, Bishop Moore, was 
 here. The latter is a most venerable old man, and though, of 
 course, very infirm, being upward of eighty, preaches with consid- 
 erable spirit, and no little pathos. The preaching throughout was 
 excellent. I had the privilege of hearing Johns, Clarke, May, 
 and my old friend and pastor, Doctor Milnor. I cannot say that 
 much good was done in the way of serious impression on individual 
 minds, but time, I trust, will bring such cases to light. Some have 
 already appeared. We had a Missionary meeting on Sunday after- 
 noon, with addresses from Doctor Vaughan, Doctor May, Doctor 
 Milnor, and Bishop Meade. Seven hundred and forty dollars were 
 collected for foreign missions. Between three and four hundred 
 had been collected before, for another purpose. The scene presented 
 by the whole Convention meeting was enlivening in the extreme. 
 The cordial recognitions and greetings on every hand were truly 
 pleasing. Virginia cordiality and hospitality were exhibited to 
 great advantage. The Convention business was quite a subordinate 
 matter, with one exception. Prayer, and the hearing of the 
 Word, occupied nearly all the time. Our six o'clock morning 
 meetings were well attended. The body of the Church was always 
 full. The exception I referred to, was the discussion on the Ox- 
 ford Tracts. The Convention passed a strong vote of censure upon 
 them. Doctor Campbell, the future Missionary to Mesopotamia, 
 was here, with Doctor Vaughan, but he did not speak. He is, as 
 yet, a layman. 
 
 " Remember me most kindly to all my Gambier friends, and tell 
 Mr. Keller I shall be most happy to hear from him. Fail not, at 
 least, to write me soon.
 
 172 MEMOIR OF 
 
 "With best wishes and prayers for your happiness, in every 
 way, I remain, dear Mr. Syle, 
 
 "Your friend, WILLIAM SPARROW. 
 
 "Mr. E. W. Syle, Gambler, 0." 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, FAIRFAX Co., VA., 
 
 " September 16, 1841. 
 "MY DEAR SIR: 
 
 " On Saturday night I got your very acceptable letter ; L. having 
 gone to Alexandria, and brought out the mail, which would other- 
 wise have been there till this morning. I was glad to learn that 
 you are so pleasantly situated ; but Philadelphia is not a place to 
 be despised. 
 
 "The freshest news is that E. has got back, and that Mrs. 
 Wing is with us, and will probably remain over this week. She 
 has been quite disappointed in not seeing you. Her health is but 
 little improved. Nothing from Dr. Keith, and little from Bishop 
 Meade, except that when last heard from he was in Inverness, in 
 Scotland. E. was some weeks on his way home, so that his news 
 had grown stale. He brought me a note from B., on the eve of 
 his marriage. 
 
 "The bell is now ringing for morning prayers, and I must stop 
 for awhile. Up from breakfast again, with a letter .from Bishop 
 Meade. He writes from London ; had been in Ireland and Scot- 
 land, and was on the wing for Paris. He hopes to sail from 
 Liverpool on the 19th inst He has everywhere met with the great- 
 est kindness. The Irish clergy are the least infected with Oxford- 
 ism of any that he met. In Scotland, as we might expect, from 
 their history, and as I know from observation, so far as that could 
 extend, they have their faces more set toward Rome. Much of the 
 same evil the Bishop met in England, but he says, with the excep- 
 tion of the Tractarians, the Establishment is much improved. 
 
 "I have, with the Bishop's, got a sweet letter from a sweet 
 cousin in Ireland. It is odorous with the grace of the Gospel. 
 Written by a superior mind, highly cultivated, and under the 
 pressure of a heavy affliction, though sustained by the promises of 
 Christ, it goes at once to my heart. What a comforting reflection 
 that the presence of our covenant God is all pervading, when we
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 173 
 
 find ourselves unable to go and minister consolation, .personally, to 
 those we love. 
 
 " Most truly, your friend and brother in Christ, 
 
 "WILLIAM SPARROW. 
 "Mr. Edward W. Syle." 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, NEAR ALEXANDRIA, D. C., 
 
 "May 28, 1842. 
 " MY DEAR SIR: 
 
 " I returned last night from Staunton, and feeling fit for nothing 
 else (how complimentary), I purpose writing you a few lines. I 
 went to the Convention with Mr. Cassius Lee, in a private carriage, 
 and spent the previous Sunday in Winchester. I was unwell when 
 I left home, and though we had a pleasant drive, and through a 
 delightful country, I was not better when I reached Winchester. 
 Thence we proceeded on Monday, and by Tuesday night, when I 
 got to Staunton, I was as sick a man as could well travel. I went 
 to bed immediately, at the hotel, but next morning was removed to 
 private quarters, and there, by advice of two physicians, I was 
 bled, and blistered, and so forth, and confined to the house during 
 the whole Convention term. On the last day, for an hour, I was 
 taken to the house, that I might give in my vote for an Assistant 
 Bishop, but immediately returned, no better for the trip. Such is 
 the history of my visit to Staunton, to attend the Convention. I 
 ought to say, however, that I went to church, and preached my 
 ordination sermon on Sunday. I regretted my inability to attend 
 the Convention, and the religious exercises connected with it, for it 
 was the unanimous opinion that it was altogether more profitable 
 and pleasant than the one held in Alexandria. The religious 
 exercises were everything, and gave tone and character to the 
 occasion. The preaching was spoken of as very good, and the 
 spirit of brotherly love that prevailed was highly gratifying. 
 Bishop Meade shone. 
 
 " He certainly is no common man. He possesses wonderful influ- 
 ence over others, and has great control over himself. There is a 
 mixture of moderation and firmness in him that is very unusual. 
 His confirmation and farewell addresses were excellent. The 
 Trustees have authorized me to offer the Professorship to Doctor 
 May. I shall not write him for a few days yet, and if you should
 
 174 MEMOIR OF 
 
 learn anything, or know anything, which it would be well to com- 
 municate, pray write me promptly. 
 
 " My family, from the greatest to the least, even Leonard, by 
 sympathetic imitation, desire to be most kindly remembered to you. 
 They all look with strong desire for your return. In regard to a 
 governess, the great obstacle is the expense. Anything you might 
 learn, without official inquiry, I would be glad to hear. 
 
 " Ever truly, your friend, WILLIAM SPARROW. 
 
 "Mr.JE. W.Syle" 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, July 2, 1842. 
 "MY DEAR MR. SYLE : 
 
 "I have just learned, from the 'Episcopal Recorder,' that Mr. H. 
 has been elected Secretary of the Missionary Society; and as a 
 king may arise that may not know Joseph, I have thought it expe- 
 dient to take up my pen, and suggest that there is no necessity of 
 tarrying longer in Egypt, that the way is clear, back to Canaan, 
 and that many are there to receive, with all gladness of heart, 
 'him that was separated from his brethren.' This unexpected 
 election will cause us to expect you much sooner. 
 
 " For your letters I am under many obligations to you. Some of 
 them have given me a hearty laugh, especially that about Thomas 
 Jefferson, and the one that speaks of Mar Yohannan; and all have 
 pleased and cheered me. Since I have got back from Convention, 
 I have scarce had a headache till to-day; so you may judge I have 
 enjoyed myself not a little, corporally. In other respects, also, I 
 have had, perhaps, more than my usual share of comfort, far more, 
 at all events, than I had reason to expect. The only anxiety I have 
 just now is, that Dr. May should not accept. We have offered him 
 the department of Ecclesiastical History ; he balks at it, though he 
 has not given a final negative. If the offer had been Systematic 
 Theology, I doubt not he would have accepted at once. Ought I 
 to give that up, and let him take what he desires ? (I say desires, 
 though he has not expressed any such wish.) The settling of this 
 question gives me trouble. I hardly know what is duty. Mrs. 
 Sparrow says no. She thinks I ought to retain what I like best, 
 and incur no burdens by trying to qualify myself for my new office. 
 The Lord direct me. 
 
 "They think of starting a theological seminary in Massachusetts, 
 in the neighborhood of Boston, and overtures have been made to
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 175 
 
 me on the subject, but I do not think seriously of the matter. The 
 plan is peculiar, and has some plausibilities in theory, but in prac- 
 tice will not be found, I think, to work well. 
 
 " The prospect here, if we can only get the right kind of a man, 
 is improving, I think. They say we shall have a large class next 
 year. The revivals in Virginia are likely to turn out many candi- 
 dates for holy orders. Our students seem to feel that they have 
 done a good year's work, and some of them certainly have, in the 
 middle ~ class. Had White, Hiester, and Richmond, been able to 
 stay with us, I should have made a decent exhibition on Mosheim 
 and Knapp. Even as it is, I hope they will do well at the approach- 
 ing examination. The seniors, I fear, will not appear, by any 
 means, so well. There are but four to stand examination. In all 
 this, about the students and Dr. May, I am thinking (not audibly), 
 but legibly, and for your eye only. 
 
 "Supposing Dr. May should not accept, have you anything to 
 suggest? Do you suppose Dr. Clarke could be induced to come 
 here. 
 
 "A piece has lately appeared in the ' Witness and Advocate,' 
 against our retention of an Assistant Bishop, maintaining that 
 Bishop Meade is not as infirm as the case requires to entitle him 
 to an assistant. I have attempted to answer him, in the ' Southern 
 Churchman.' If you should find that the piece referred to is pub- 
 lished in the City of Brotherly Love, and is thought to have any 
 weight, I wish, without revealing the authorship, you would have 
 the reply published, first correcting the tremendous mistakes of the 
 printer, who talks of the ' permanent instability ' of Bishop Meade 
 (inability); of our Standing Committees as 'influential people,' 
 instead of ' bodies,' and of my disposition to argue with my oppo- 
 nent, when I said agree. Above all, correct a sentence thus: 
 ' Canons may be violated as well by interpreting them too strictly, 
 as too laxly. In the matter of the Assistant Bishop, the latter 
 course would multiply them when they were not needed; the former 
 would preclude them where the Church was suffering for want of 
 their services.' All this trouble is imposed upon you only if you 
 find that the subject is brought into the Philadelphia papers. The 
 Standing Committee of New York has signed the testimonials of 
 our Assistant Bishop. Do you know what they are doing in 
 Philadelphia ? 
 
 "Ever yours, most truly, W. SPARROW."
 
 176 MEMOIR OF 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, FAIRFAX Co., VA., 
 
 "July 25,1842. 
 "MY DEAR MR. S.: 
 
 " I should have written to you long ago, but that I have been 
 borne down, crushed into the dust, crushed like the moth, by my 
 Seminary duties. For some weeks before examination I was at the 
 top of my speed all the time, and, of course, when I got to the 
 goal, I was completely out of wind, and exhausted of my strength. 
 Ever since then I have been in a state of collapse; and when the 
 reaction will take place I do not know. It is a labor to me now 
 to hold the pen. Yesterday I could not crawl to church. 
 
 "My chief comfort under all this exhaustion, occasioned by 
 Seminary labors, is that they have not been quite in vain. I have 
 heard little or nothing, but I judge, from looks, that the examina- 
 tion was satisfactory. The middle class, I thought myself, did 
 well. I ought to say there is another thing to cheer me : Dr. May 
 has accepted. I cannot tell how much I was relieved by this intelli- 
 gence, received last Friday. I have no doubt it will prove a great 
 blessing to the Institution. And then, again, it will be the means, I 
 trust, of securing your return to us. 
 
 "Considerable seriousness prevails in Alexandria. Mr. Dana 
 baptized four young ladies, Friends, a fortnight ago, and for some 
 time before, and ever since then, there has been a deep attention to 
 religion. While the Bishop was here he held several morning 
 prayer meetings, one at five o'clock, and the attendance was very 
 good. Last Friday I went in and took part at the evening lecture. 
 The house was crowded. 
 
 "But I must stop. I am really weary of writing, just as though 
 it were hoeing corn or chopping logs. My family all desire to be 
 affectionately remembered to you. 
 
 "As ever, your affectionate friend, WILLIAM SPARROW." 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY P. 0., FAIRFAX Co., VA., 
 
 "March 24, 1843. 
 " MY DEAR MR. SYLE : . 
 
 "I have just received your welcome letter, in a sick room, and 
 begin in the same place to answer it; you may expect, therefore, 
 that the reply will have many ailments, and hobble feebly along. 
 But what of that : a friend on crutches is still a friend. 
 
 " Let me see if there is not some news. Rev. Mr. Johnston has
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 177 
 
 been elected Bishop of Alabama, and declined! Dr. x Fairfax told 
 him his health would not endure the climate. You will have heard 
 of the death of Bishop Griswold. He went out to visit his Assist- 
 ant Bishop, Dr. Eastburn, fell at the door, as was supposed, from 
 an affection of the heart, and died in a few minutes. He had just 
 finished a series of papers on the Reformation, adapted to the times. 
 They constitute his dying testimony, which, by the by, is becoming 
 every 'day more and more needed. 
 
 "I should judge, also, from what I learn, that Bishop Mcllvaine 
 is not up on matters of discipline; not going up the ladder, but 
 rather coming down. The world has yet to learn that doctrine and 
 discipline are not mechanically, but chemically combined, and that 
 to be truly sound on the one, a man must be sound on the other 
 also. 
 
 "The Oxford men are making prodigious efforts. Newman's 
 sermons are publishing, recommended by Bishops Onderdonk, of 
 New York ; Doane, of New Jersey ; Whittingham, of Maryland ; 
 Ives, of North Carolina ; and Dr. Seabury. Bishop Whittingham 
 is about to publish a monthly theological. 
 
 "Your statement about the Church of Scotland interested me. 
 If the Scotch Establishment goes the English will soon follow. But 
 you know it is my opinion that the knell of all establishments is 
 rung, though if I were to consult mere flesh and blood, I would 
 rather have a rectory in a rural district in England, than be Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury, or Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
 in the United States. Should you return, I wish you would bring 
 me some three or four pounds' (sterling) worth of pamphlets on the 
 Oxford movement, especially those touching fundamental points of 
 Church government, and of such points, especially the ' Apostolical 
 Succession,' excepting 'Palmer' and 'Percival/ which I have. 
 Even if you should remain, and visit London, I will contrive to 
 send you some money for this purpose. Pamphlets from first-rate 
 men usually contain the cream of long controversies. Among the 
 many publications commenced in this country I have often won- 
 dered a ' pamphleteer ' has not been one of them. 
 
 " But I must draw to a close. My family, thank God, have en- 
 joyed pretty good health this winter (the latter part of which, to the 
 present time, has been very severe). I write this, Richard Hooker 
 fashion, in the midst of them. I hope, dear man, that his tempera- 
 12
 
 178 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ment was not as nervous as mine. If it was he never could have 
 written the 'Ecclesiastical Polity' in the nursery, at all events. 
 My health has suffered by my exertions in going to Georgetown, 
 but I faintly hope it will improve as warm weather comes on. The 
 sight of you would do as much to renew it as any medical prescrip- 
 tion, and I think rather more; for, in truth, I have pretty much 
 given up the physicians, in my case. Time is my only physician, 
 which will kill, and, as I hope, in infinite mercy, cure at the same 
 moment. Our Seminary seems to be doing well. Dr. May is a 
 man you would like, whatever you might think of him as a theolo- 
 gian. His wife is to come on after Easter. I hope for some 
 improvement to our society therefrom. The Doctor has read por- 
 tions of her letters to me, and I should judge her to be a most 
 intelligent and Christian woman. I hope you will have written 
 again before this reaches you ; if not, that you will immediately 
 after. In the meantime accept the regards of my most affectionate 
 family, and let us have your remembrance in your prayers, as you 
 always have in those of your ever faithful friend and brother, 
 
 "W. SPARROW." 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, FAIRFAX Co., VA., 
 "April 27th, 1846. 
 
 "REV. AND VERY DEAR BROTHER: 
 
 " On the receipt of your welcome and long looked for letter, my 
 first impulse was to sit down immediately, and pour out my heart 
 on paper, thanking God for His preserving care of you and yours, 
 congratulating you on your arrival in the scene of your labors, and 
 telling you everything which I supposed would be interesting to you 
 or Mrs. Syle. But I was checked by the reflection that for this lat- 
 ter work there would be no place that your relations and our 
 common friends in Alexandria would tell you all, and more than I 
 could possibly communicate, in the way of news. Added to this, 
 Dr. May's letter from you promised me a second one speedily, and 
 so I have been induced to postpone writing until the present 
 moment. I trust that, coming after the flood of friendly communi- 
 cations which your first letters to this country must have brought 
 upon you, it will not be the less acceptable. 
 
 "But, with what, in the way of news, shall I begin? I begin 
 with the last, and the most painful I have to communicate, and 
 that which furnished me a subject in the pulpit yesterday, and in
 
 WILLIAM SPARKOW, D. D. 179 
 
 the Faculty meeting Thursday night I mean tha death of my 
 dear young friend, Albert Duy. He was ordained, you know, last 
 summer, and then, on my representation, called as assistant to 
 Dr. Cutler. All the expectations of the Brooklyn Church were 
 more than realized, and they were about to give him a permanent call 
 as Assistant Rector, when he visited Philadelphia, to consult with 
 his friends upon the matter, at the same time writing to me on the 
 subject. He wrote from Philadelphia to me on Wednesday; I got 
 the- letter on Saturday; I wanted to consult with Bishop Meade, 
 who came here on Monday, for his lectures; next morning, as I 
 was drawing up to the table to take my pen to give him the result 
 of my conference, in walked the Bishop, with the startling intel- 
 ligence, 'Duy is dead.' He had been taken sick the Friday pre- 
 vious, and died on Sunday morning, at six o'clock, at his father's 
 house, where you have often been. I cannot express my own grief 
 at the event, for I had a high opinion of the talents and general char- 
 acter of Mr. Duy, and looked forward to his great usefulness in the 
 Church, especially as an able advocate of sound views of doctrine 
 and of discipline. But the Lord had need of him elsewhere, where 
 it is better, far better for him to be; and we should, therefore, 
 meekly acquiesce. I hope his death will be blessed to us here. 
 
 "As to Church affairs in general, the newspapers will tell 
 you more than I can communicate. The perversions of Hewitt 
 and Hoyt to Rome have made quite a noise/ 0, that a few more 
 who are Romanists in heart would follow them. This would be a 
 blessed thing for them and us. We shall never be at peace till we 
 have gotten rid of this popish leaven. There are very many now, 
 in our Church, who, though they may approve of the effects of the 
 Reformation in curtailing priestly tyranny, checking open traffic in 
 souls, putting down gross superstitions, etc., do not cordially receive 
 the fundamental principles of the Reformation. The supremacy of 
 the Scriptures, the unfettered right of private judgment, the 
 powers of the Church, as distinguished from the Clergy these are 
 things which their souls hate, though some of them do not know it. 
 But never will the inherent power of Christianity, as the power of 
 God, appear, till these principles are acknowledged and men are 
 ready to meet their consequences. Troublesome consequences fol- 
 low, you know, from all principles. We cannot even go to Heaven 
 without 'much'tribulation.' 
 
 " Things in New York are very quiet, and likely to be, till the
 
 180 MEMOIR OF 
 
 next General Convention. In the meantime Bishop 0. will proba- 
 bly have been abandoned by his partisans. Though the man be 
 abandoned, not so his principles. Dr. Seabury has come out 
 openly in favor of the principles of Tract No. 90, as those on 
 which alone the Church can stand. Bishop Hopkins has, in conse- 
 quence, published an address to the Bishops and other members of 
 the Church, in the United States, warning them of the danger. 
 I have not yet seen the work. Happy the man who has not, in 
 these days, yet to make up his opinions, and who knows, and feels 
 the power of first principles, else he must be driven fearfully about 
 by the varying winds of doctrine. My conviction is that the 
 instability which our Church has displayed in these latter days 
 has arisen from a want of moral and intellectual courage, which 
 would lead, directly, to a trust in God, and His word and govern- 
 ment, and from a consequent leaning on human authority and human 
 expedients. ' But the Lord reigneth,' and he who is established in 
 grace need not be anxious about the result. 
 
 " I have had great apprehensions of a war with England. Our 
 Western members of Congress are desirous of war, and many 
 others, under party influence, join with them in the clamor. 
 They believe that they can 'whip England,' and they would love to 
 do it. As to title, I believe our pretensions are quite as good as 
 those of England, and that, of course, is enough for the Hotspurs. 
 But what a calamity to the world a war would be. The Lord in 
 mercy avert it. I believe that if our Union held together, England 
 would be eventually worried out, but, in the meantime, what 
 havoc of life, property, morals, religion, and everything which we 
 call good. Last summer I stayed at home, except a trip to Nor- 
 folk, and I am going to do the same thing this year. My health 
 has been quite as good as it has ever been since you and I 
 met rather better. My duty in the Seminary is not so irksome, 
 in consequence. I have reason to thank God, also, that my family 
 nave enjoyed pretty good health. I teach Bessie and William Ger- 
 man, orally. I find I take more and more pleasure in intercourse 
 with the children, as they grow up and I grow older. On my last 
 birthday I was saluted with three rhyming epistles from the child- 
 ren, and others in prose. One of them was from Kate, written, of 
 course, by the mother, and if I had room, I believe I would tran- 
 scribe it, for the amusement of yourself and Mrs. Syle. Perhaps I 
 may do it in my answer to her letter, with the understanding that
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 
 
 no allusion be made to it afterward. Of course, it is a trifle, but it 
 is domestic, and that gives it value in my eyes, and, perhaps, will 
 in yours also. 
 
 "Thus, my dear Brother, I have endeavored to filf my sheet with 
 news. Such a gossiping epistle I have never written in my life before, 
 but I have supposed it would be more acceptable than what it would 
 be easier to write disquisitions on matters and things in general. 
 This I reserve for a future communication. In the meantime, let 
 me assure you that the arrival of your letters on this hill have 
 given me and my family intense delight ; and when we have gone 
 to town, we have had another feast of friendship in mere sympathy 
 with the joy of your friends there; I rejoice that you are now in 
 the field of your life's labor. Though I shall not give up the hope 
 of seeing you again in this world, I shall look upon China as the 
 scene of labors and usefulness for a much loved friend, to the end 
 of his days ; and often shall my prayers ascend to Heaven, that he 
 and his precious wife may enjoy constant tokens of the Divine 
 favor, and be eminently blessed in their work. That Heaven may 
 bless and prosper you both, is ever the prayer of 
 
 " Your friend and brother in Christ, WILLIAM SPARROW." 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, FAIRFAX Co., VA., 
 
 " December 12, 1846. 
 " KEY. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 " Yours of June 28 reached me a short time ago, and I sit down 
 to answer it, regretting that you have seemed to be so much 
 neglected by your friends, and hoping that this letter will reach its 
 destination. I have written to Mr. Irving, on the subject of our 
 letters, and will write again. But to business ; and first, about the 
 Mission. What are the feelings of our students in reference to 
 China just now, I cannot say. I think, however, there are some 
 searchings of heart amongst them. Last night we had a mission- 
 ary address from one of the students, which was calculated to 
 awaken the conscience. In our prayers we remembered all mission- 
 aries, and especially those who had gone from this institution, and 
 entreated the Lord to send forth more from the same place. Ex- 
 perience has taught, I think, that we should leave the matter much 
 in the Lord's hands. If the person is not self-moved, i. e. by the 
 Spirit of God in the person, the soul's very centre, only evil can 
 come of his mission. A question. I have a horrible idea of the
 
 182 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Chinese language, and your letters and your wife's, and all others, 
 confirm the impression. Such being the case, can I urge those to 
 follow you who have not more than an average gift in the linguistic 
 line ? Please tell me how those of small abilities in that way get 
 along, and to what extent they are likely to be useful. I think 
 the language is a serious objection in many minds. You speak of 
 
 Drs. , and . If Dr. were not encumbered with a 
 
 large family, I think he would go to China. I fear he is not doing 
 well in his missionary church in Kichmond. Suppose you write to 
 
 him. E was supposed to have become disengaged a short 
 
 time ago, but I understand the engagement has been renewed. If 
 it had not been, I should have written to him. You cannot spend 
 your spare time better than in writing to individuals who you 
 think have qualifications for the work, taking good heed to set forth 
 the hardships before them, as did the Saviour when he called his 
 disciples, and emphasizing the proper missionary Spirit. Some 
 may be touched by a direct appeal who would not feel if addressed 
 
 as in a crowd. S would make a noble missionary, unless I'm 
 
 much mistaken. I thank you for the extract from ; but do 
 
 tell me, how a people using an instrument calculated to make and 
 keep them ignorant, should retain so much learning (such as it is), and 
 such a fondness for it. The Arabs, having good horses, are famous 
 equestrians ; the French, having a light and tripping language, are 
 conversational ; the Germans, a deep and expressive one, are meta- 
 physical ; why, with a language which is a hindrance rather than 
 a help, are the, Chinese so learned ? Was it that, being, by the force 
 of accidental circumstances, started in that way, the language, by 
 its fixedness, kept them to it ? I hope your miscellaneous budget 
 will enlighten me on this and many other topics. At all events, I 
 shall look for it with extreme interest. 
 
 " As to the great controversy in our Church, I can't say much 
 now. There is a lull of the storm, and will probably be until the 
 meeting of the next General Convention, when Bishop Onderdonk's 
 case, and that of the General Seminary, will come up for decision. 
 In the meantime, some four of our clergy have gone to Rome, and 
 some have published their reasons for so doing. In consequence, 
 there is much condemnation of Puseyism in certain quarters, but 
 alas, many that 'judge do the same things.' The leaven is work- 
 ing in the mass, and in my opinion there are to be yet great convul- 
 sions in our Church before it is eradicated. Dr. Seabury goes on as
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 183 
 
 ever. He and his correspondents are rabid in their language, and 
 yet men will have it so, as they show by the support of their sub- 
 scriptions. Our troubles, of course, have their chief root in sin ; 
 but after that, in error and misapprehension. What / deem the 
 master error, you well know ; it is, in one word, a sacerdotal char- 
 acter in the clergy. Till we are rid of that we shall never have 
 peace. 
 
 "Bessie and William are studying German with me. He is 
 decidedly a bright boy, but, like myself, is indolent. Frances stud- 
 ies French with me, and has made considerable progress. I have 
 never in my life done so much in my family. My labors in the 
 Seminary are also more abundant, and thus far I have written 
 a good deal, this term, for the pulpit. I was strongly tempted 
 to answer Dr. M.'s review of my sermon, but did not.* Dear 
 Brother, you wish to see me in the press ; alas, you know not how 
 I would be oppressed. With my poor health, it would be madness 
 to assume the burden and responsibility of publication. Discour- 
 agement would absolutely paralyze my mind, and that I must 
 expect if I step down into the arena of authorship. The most I 
 ever expect to do is to write some lectures for my classes. They 
 lately sent a deputation to me to that effect, and though it was 
 meant to be complimentary, it has alarmed me, lest I may have been 
 neglecting duty. I endeavor to make my sermons lectures; at 
 least, ' sermons to the students.' 
 
 "Let me turn the tables. If you should have leisure, would it 
 not be well to plan some publication about China, its language, 
 institutions, etc. It would have a happy effect in calling attention 
 to the mission, and literary men might be benefited and pleased. 
 For the sake of this and every other good work in which you may 
 be engaged, I rejoice that your sight is so much improved, and 
 pray that it may continue to improve; and, now, a word to your 
 better half. Tell her we are all delighted to learn that she has 
 gone to housekeeping, arid that I trust she has not a captious 
 overseer to complain when the butter is not fresh, etc. Tell her, 
 also, that I was gratified with the perusal of her letter to the bishop, 
 and that there is a presbyter in Virginia, who, with his family, 
 would be rejoiced to receive a letter whenever it might not interfere 
 with important matters. I put this exception because I conceive 
 
 * That on " Love Among Christians," preached at the Convention, in Fredericks-
 
 184 MEMOIR OF 
 
 that she is already overburdened with letter writing. For this 
 reason, though I might, I do not plead her promise to write me 
 once. It was extorted at a moment when no promise but one 
 could with propriety be considered binding, that one absorbing all 
 the rest! I have been up stairs to announce that I am writing, and 
 have come down loaded with messages to Mrs. S. and yourself. 
 Truly our heart's desire and prayer is that grace, mercy and peace 
 may ever rest upon you both. 
 
 " Ever your friend and brother in Christ, 
 
 "WILLIAM SPARROW." 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA., 
 
 "August 31st, 1847. 
 "VERY DEAR BROTHER: 
 
 " For your kind remembrances of us, and prompt correspondence, 
 accept the hearty acknowledgments of a large and affectionate 
 family. We never cease to think of you and Mrs. S., and since 
 you have become parents, of your little one, and not only to think 
 but also to pray that Heaven's choicest blessing may ever abund- 
 antly rest on you all. We have received not only your letters, but 
 also your presents. They have been very highly prized, as a 
 memorial of true friendship, and as a means of instruction. I have 
 often exhibited them and talked about them, so that I could almost 
 deliver a lecture on the Chinese language and customs. 
 
 "In regard to the mission, it does, indeed, seem to be sorely 
 tried. About the bishop, we are all extremely anxious, and pray 
 that it may be the Lord's will to spare him. Whatever be the 
 result, it is delightful to know that, however weak in body, he 
 is strong in spirit. I pray that Mr. S., of whom I know nothing, 
 may be a man after the Bishop's own heart, and ready and able to 
 co-operate with you in every good work. We have in the Semi- 
 nary, of one year's standing, a son of Dr. Keith, his younger son, 
 who proposes joining you when he has completed his studies. He 
 has spoken of it only to me, I believe, and does not wish it to be 
 generally known. He is a young man of real ability and great 
 application in study. His forte is language. And should the Lord 
 mature, sanctify, and consummate his present purpose, doubtless, he 
 will be an able assistant, as a translator, at least. We have one 
 young man in the Seminary, Hoffman, whom I should like to see 
 go to China. Though not college bred, he has a good education,
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 185 
 
 is a hard student, has good talents, is most systematic, energetic 
 and persevering, and for sweetness of character and untiring bene- 
 ficence surpasses anything I have ever known. He thinks of 
 Africa. He will be in the senior class, coming term. 
 
 "The Seminary goes on about as usual. Last year I taught 
 more than at any previous period, and perhaps with less deficiency. 
 I teach in the family, and that consumes time and strength. In 
 looking forward to the next year, my heart fails. The students, 
 through a committee, not meaning it for a censure, just before our 
 commencement, made a request that I would deliver some formal 
 lectures. Though they did not intend it, it oppressed me much, as 
 the same request was made the previous year. I have neither 
 time, nor strength, nor confidence for the task. 
 
 "At our commencement I delivered an address on the difficult 
 topic of subscription to the Thirty-nine Articles, and the trustees 
 requested its publication, especially Bishop Meade. But I cannot 
 be satisfied that it is wise to comply. Thus, you see, I am tortured, 
 as of old. 
 
 "Dr. Brooke has left Cincinnati, and, in an informal way, I have 
 been invited to his place, but shall not go. A year ago, when the 
 Doctor threatened the same step, brother Wing gave me to under- 
 stand that the Bishop and the Cincinnatians all wished it, and 
 asked my assent to the proposition, but then, also, I declined. I 
 begin to think I am too old to transplant, though I do long for a 
 place which may be the home of my family when I am taken away. 
 
 "I have spent five weeks with W. and S., in the Valley of Vir- 
 ginia. It was a most delightful time. One half of it, we were 
 under the direction of Bishop Meade, who laid himself out to make 
 our trip agreeable. I attended three Associations, and in thirty- 
 four days preached sixteen times. We saw a great many good 
 people. I am thinking of starting off, in a few days, for Ohio, my 
 first visit since my removal. Mrs. Sparrow is the mover, and what 
 she sets herself to do with me she usually effects. I had not the most 
 distant thought of it two days ago. If I go I shall hope to be at 
 the Convention at Louisville. The General Convention will be an 
 exciting scene ; the Lord grant not a disgraceful one. Dr. Seabury 
 and his men are bent on the restoration of Bishop Onderdonk. 
 But they cannot succeed. 
 
 " This letter would have been addressed to Mrs. Syle, if your last 
 had not stepped in between. Tell her how gratified I am that she
 
 186 MEMOIR OF 
 
 did not forget her promise of writing, and that I shall not forget 
 mine, of replying. You may, also, assure her that I shall not 
 gibbet her letter before the public. At the same time it is well for 
 the wife of a Missionary to be as callous in reference to all such 
 matters as possible. When deep interest is taken in the Mis- 
 sion, and great pleasure felt in receiving communications from the 
 Missionaries, persons will feel an instinctive temptation to let others 
 participate in the joy. The judgment, also, may suggest that it 
 may prove edifying as well as pleasant to others. I cannot but 
 rejoice that you both are where you are. I feel great confidence 
 that it is the Lord who sent you to China, and think He has a great 
 work for you to do. May the Lord preserve your lives, and give 
 you a hand and heart for all good enterprises and labors. All here, 
 thank God, are in pretty good health, and join in earnest good 
 wishes to you and Mrs. S. Your remembrance of me on my birth- 
 day touched my heart. May the Lord ever remember, for good, 
 you and yours. 
 
 "Ever your friend and brother, W. SPARROW."
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW. D. D. 187 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 VISIT TO EUROPE, AND WORK OF NEXT TWELVE YEARS. 
 
 The period of the present chapter, from the close of session, 
 June, 1848, till the beginning of the war, and the temporary sus- 
 pension of the Seminary, May, 1861, is one but little diversified as 
 to incident of special character. The previous seven years of resi- 
 dence in Virginia, and the intimate relations into which, during 
 this time, Dr. Sparrow had been brought with the clergy and laity 
 of the Diocese, had enabled him to identify himself with its inter- 
 ests and affairs, as he had formerly with those of Ohio. His 
 pupils, year after year, were filling the parishes, and thus strengthen- 
 ing his connections, and increasing his influence in every movement 
 of Diocesan effort and advancement. Most grateful were his 
 reunions with those pupils, both to them and to himself, sometimes 
 in his occasional coveted visits to their field of labor, but more 
 ordinarily at the Annual Conventions, and at the Commencements 
 at the Seminary. The position which he had occupied from Ohio, 
 as delegate to the General Convention, was soon again assigned 
 him by the Convention of Virginia, and retained until the General 
 Convention of 1868. His affection for his old friends, and his 
 interest in old associations, did not, indeed, pass away ; and we find 
 that there was a strong response of feeling, on his part, to another 
 call, given during this period, to return to Gambier, and resume 
 the duties of his former position. That question settled, he turned 
 to his peculiar task, and session after session employed himself in 
 training his pupils for their work. The vacation with which this 
 period begins, 1848, was spent mostly in Europe. It had been ten 
 years since he had last visited his friends and relatives in the locali- 
 ties of childhood and youth, on the other side of the Atlantic, and 
 it would seem to have been to him an occasion of great enjoyment. 
 As mentioned in the close of the last chapter, the brief autobio- 
 graphical sketch given in the opening of our narrative was written 
 at sea, during this trip, on his way to Europe, to the scenes of the 
 events which he was describing. It was thirty-one years since his 
 first departure, as a youth of sixteen, from Ireland, and we may
 
 188 MEMOIR OF 
 
 easily understand the emotion which the changes of the present, 
 and the remembered incidents and associations of the past, would 
 naturally produce. It is greatly to be regretted that more of his 
 correspondence during that journey, and of the one ten years be- 
 fore, has not been preserved. We are not able to read the account 
 as he alone could have given it, and as he doubtless did give it, of 
 those summers' tours of 1838 and 1848, especially the portions of 
 them devoted to the scenes and associations of early boyhood. " I 
 remember," says one of his children, " my extravagant joy at his 
 return ; my being allowed to sit up till eleven o'clock to see him (as 
 he came from Washington in our carriage, which was sent for him). 
 But I was too young for any definite memory of that period." 
 
 "I remember perfectly," is the communication from one who was 
 then an inmate in the Doctor's family, Miss Smith, " his second 
 visit to Europe, but nothing of the minutiae of it. The greatest 
 pleasure he seemed to have had was during the time passed in Ire- 
 land, among his relations. He spoke most enthusiastically of the 
 cordial reception they gave him, particularly his three aunts, 
 sisters to his mother. He appeared to think himself quite spoiled 
 by them for ordinary civility; for they went back -to his boyhood, 
 appearing to forget the years that had intervened, and petted and 
 caressed him as they had been used to do. It was in summer, and 
 they were at their country home, where he had passed so many 
 happy hours from his fifth to his sixteenth years. His whole face 
 was lit up when he spoke of his rambles over familiar ground, and 
 how, in memory, he lived his boyhood over again. Those who knew 
 him but slightly would have been surprised to find the depth and 
 warmth of feeling evinced in speaking of this visit to Ireland. He 
 had the most tender regard for his mother, and being with her rela- 
 tives seemed to have revived pleasant memories of her. 
 
 " He went to the Continent, but, as far as I can remember, did 
 not go to Italy on that trip. He was in France, in Germany, and 
 I think went to Switzerland. Want of time, I suppose, prevented 
 a more protracted journey, as he went to be absent only the vaca- 
 tion. The larger part of the time was passed in Great- Britain. 
 He took letters from clergymen to prominent persons, many of 
 whom were acquainted with his brother-in-law, Bishop Chase, who 
 was favorably known in England. In this way he procured a 
 ticket to the Queen's Chapel. Not very long after his return he 
 attended a Convocation in one of the Counties near the Seminary,
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 189 
 
 and in quite a large company spoke of this privilege, for such he 
 considered it. There was quite a number of young ladies present, 
 many of whom were very gaily attired. ' Young ladies,' said he, 
 addressing himself te that part of the company ,J I was most favor- 
 ably impressed with the Queen, who was seated beside her mother, 
 the Duchess of Kent, and the contrast in their deportment was 
 striking. The mother talked and behaved most irreverently, while 
 Victoria's manner was most exemplary.' He then went on to say, 
 that when the Queen came out and knelt on a cushion while the 
 special prayer for herself was read, he was struck with the plain 
 simplicity of her dress. Knowing him so well, I was amused at 
 the way he brought this in ; as usual, I was plainly attired, so did 
 not take the reproof. 'The Queen had on a simple white muslin, 
 without an ornament, except the crown, which she was called upon 
 to wear on that occasion.' He made no remark on the preacher or 
 his performance, that I remember." 
 
 Within the next four years there were several efforts made to 
 induce him to change his field of labor. One of these was an invita- 
 tion to the rectorship of St. Paul's, Eichmond. " We were all alarmed," 
 writes Dr. May, in February, 1850, "some time ago, at the prospect 
 of Dr. Sparrow's going to Eichmond, as successor to Mr. Norwood. 
 He seemed much inclined to go; the question with him being nar- 
 rowed down to one of justice to his family, and, indeed, as he said, 
 to his creditors. But he yielded to the representations of his 
 friends." "At one time," says Dr. May again, a year later, April 
 17, 1851, "we feared lest Dr. Sparrow might be taken from us. 
 He was importuned to return to Kenyon. Mrs. Sparrow, who 
 feared for his health, was on our side, and we prevailed. He ought 
 never to think of leaving us." Not very long after, again, during 
 the next year, 1852, the question of the Assistantship of Trinity 
 Church, Boston, with Bishop Eastburn, was pressed upon his con- 
 sideration. These propositions were made in the most flattering 
 manner, and there were pressing reasons why they should be care- 
 fully considered. Some of those reasons will appear in the corres- 
 pondence which follows. The invitation to return to Gambier seems 
 to have been extended to hifti during a visit made by him to Ohio. 
 During this visit, the second since he had left Gambier, in 1841, he 
 was present at the Diocesan Convention, meeting there with many 
 of his old friends, and visiting different localities, the scenes of his 
 early Missionary labors. The General Convention, of which he was
 
 190 MEMOIR OF 
 
 a member, met that year, 1850, in Cincinnati. After its adjourn- 
 ment, he made a visit to New Orleans, going from thence to Mobile, 
 and taking the route by Charleston and Richmond home. This 
 trip, particularly the portion of it on the Mississippi, was one of 
 which he had vivid recollections, and in after life it was quite 
 amusing to hear his descriptions of some of his fellow passengers. 
 Once, during the trip, there was an alarm, in the middle of the 
 night, of fire or collision, and he was roused by a fellow passenger 
 rushing to the upper deck for safety, whom he speedily followed. 
 His decided impression, more than once expressed, was, that the 
 danger of crossing the Atlantic and that of going down the Mis- 
 sissippi were not to be thought of in comparison, so much greater 
 were the risks of the latter. During a part of the journey, Dr. 
 Sparrow was brought into closer acquaintanceship with Bishop 
 Otey, of Tennessee, than at any former period. And he loved to 
 speak of the conversations on subjects of practical religion which 
 they held together, and from which he received edification and 
 enjoyment. With some other members of the house of Bishops, as 
 the letters following will show, he did not find the same enjoyment; 
 especially with one whose peculiar gift seemed to be that of know- 
 ing, and expatiating upon, the ages, and varieties, and qualities, of 
 the different kinds of wine imported into, and used in, this country ! 
 There were some others, also, whose views upon certain questions 
 he found, upon comparison, to correspond with those of Romish 
 Bishops, traveling with them on the same boat. The letters fol- 
 lowing, descriptive of this tour, and the events in Ohio preceding, 
 are here given, with others, written before and after, to the same 
 and other correspondents. Portions of this correspondence will 
 throw light upon the biography of this period, not afforded by the 
 narrative. Several will be recognized as to pupils of an earlier 
 date. There is scarcely a page which does not exhibit the charac- 
 teristics of the writer ; especially that one which constituted the 
 peculiar charm of his society, his geniality, the kindly spirit which 
 ever delighted to make others cheerful and happy. 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINAKY, FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA., 
 
 "February 8, 1849. 
 " REV. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 ^ " I am reminded of my duty to you and your letter, by the receipt 
 of one by Dr. B. As I cannot, Caesar or Napoleon-like, answer
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 191 
 
 both together, I must take them on what Johnson or Parr would 
 call, the 'molar principle,' of 'first come first served.' 
 
 "In regard to , I say this much. He is in an important 
 
 position, to which he is admirably adapted, and it would be wrong 
 to disturb him. His talents, though so admirably adapted to his 
 present post, might not suit so well at the head of a college. He 
 never took a regular degree, though he is worthy of one. Lastly, I 
 am persuaded he would not, and could not, accept. 
 
 "To venture the suggestion of any other name, is almost too 
 much for my nerves. So many, as Jefferson Davis said to Whiting, 
 have been weighed in the balances of Kenyon College, and found 
 wanting (myself almost included, for it would seem that I escaped 
 only with the skin of my teeth), that I am afraid to risk a judg- 
 ment, or jeopardize a friend. To lessen my risk by multiplying my 
 number out of which you must select, let me name three, any one 
 of whom, I do not say would but may succeed. Kenyon might 
 
 prosper in the hands of either of these gentlemen. is a 
 
 man of very superior ability, of great self-control, of a warm heart, 
 
 and a soul as big as the universe.. is a man of scholarship 
 
 and tact, and an attractiveness that acts like a charm. is 
 
 a man of sense, a great deal of information, and great loveliness of 
 character. Every one of them would strive for the spiritual as 
 well as the intellectual improvement of the young men committed to 
 their charge. The second, I suppose, would be the best preacher. 
 Further your deponent saith not. 
 
 "The spirit which Mr. B. has manifested is truly admirable. If 
 he leaves Kenyon, I hope he may find .an agreeable position in its 
 stead. Truly, it would be a windfall if you can get a gratuitous 
 professor of languages. How my heart rejoices that brother Den- 
 nison is back again, and that he is giving so much satisfaction. 
 Remember me most affectionately to him, and tell him, if Provi- 
 dence did not order it otherwise, it would afford me real delight to 
 find myself once more planted between you and him, two of my 
 oldest, truest, and most cherished friends. I often remember Ken- 
 yon in my prayers, on its own account; now I may do it 'for my 
 brethren and companions' sake,' with new emphasis. 
 
 "So you are returned to town. Alas, it has always been my lot 
 to live in the country, though vastly preferring the city. Happily, 
 I have a city in view, or rather, two or three of them. I have the 
 sight of them with my eyes every day ; and what is a little better,
 
 192 MEMOIR OF 
 
 any day, in two hours, I may tread their streets. But to me, at 
 my stage of progress in life, after all, these things are small things, 
 mere bagatelles. The great thing is, not to live here or there, but to 
 have God's gracious presence, and so to be doing good, and getting 
 good good that will last forever. 
 
 " My family desire to be remembered to Mrs. W. Can't you 
 bring her on to see us next summer? I have straitened myself by 
 my trip to Europe, so that I shall have to stay at home for some 
 time. 
 
 " Your friend and brother, WILLIAM SPARROW, 
 
 "Rev. Mr. T. C. Wing." 
 
 To THE SAME. 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, FAIRFAX Co., VA., 
 
 "June 2, 1849. 
 " KEY. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 " I ought to have written you long ago, and therefore send an 
 apology ' with these presents.' I was the less prompt to write 
 because I supposed that my mere silence would show you how I 
 stand in relation to the business part of your letter. In ordinary 
 cases, silence is supposed to give consent ; but in the present one, 
 in which your old friendship and partiality shine out in such per- 
 severing lustre, and in which nothing could, with propriety, be 
 done till I had spoken, it was enough for me simply to say nothing. 
 
 " There are many reasons why I should like to return to the West; 
 but I cannot stir till it is made my indubitable duty so to do, 
 ' Whatsoever is not of faith ' with me, in this matter, would be 
 emphatically sin. I have so many dependent on me, my health is 
 so frail, and the experience of life has so much dampened my ardor, 
 that I am afraid to stir an inch except at the dear call of duty, 
 and I cannot perceive that I have that in the present instance. 
 
 "I hope that by this time you begin to see your way clearer in. 
 regard to Kenyon. I hope Alexander, the coppersmith, will do you 
 no harm. If the College could get along without the sale of the 
 lands, I should be sorry to see them sold. But when it is sale or 
 ruin, I cannot see how any one can throw obstacles in the way. 
 Who are the lawyers advising? Is their legal opinion respected by 
 judges? 
 
 " Mrs. Sparrow is at this time enjoying herself much ; Mrs. Kip 
 is with her. Since I began this letter, I have thought that I should
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 193 
 
 be exceedingly pleased to have two or three days' talk with you. 
 But if we should meet, we could not talk as Mrs. Sparrow and her 
 sister do, or as Mrs. Sparrow and Mrs. Wing would, if they should 
 have an interview. The gift of speech is much more enjoyed by 
 women than by men. Tell Mrs. "W. this is not meant as a sarcasm, 
 but as a compliment. We are all, thank God, in usual health, 
 which, however, with some of us, is not very good. Mrs. S. and 
 the children send love to Mrs. W. and her flock. We were remark- 
 ing this morning, that everybody here sends love to everybody ; and 
 therefore, Mrs. S. has added to me in giving this commission : ' it 
 is real love here.' Do be forgiving, and write me soon about your 
 family and the College. Most truly, 
 
 " Your friend and brother in Christ, WILLIAM SPARROW." 
 
 " To KEY. E. H. CANFIELD : 
 
 " I suppose, in New York, you find your hands full of work. In 
 your city, the great Babylon of the Western Hemisphere, there is 
 enough to do, in all reason, for every one of God's people and min- 
 isters, and that right at the door. At first, I suppose you will be 
 pretty much confined to your parish until it is well built up, and 
 you have established yourself firmly in the confidence and affection 
 of your people; and then you will have to lend a hand in more 
 general operations, in committees, on platforms, etc. Wherever you 
 labor, and whatever you undertake, may the Lord be with you and 
 sustain you. 
 
 " As to matters here, I do not think of anything new to communi- 
 cate. We are a statu quo people, anti-movement conservatives. 
 The secular Alexandria is showing great signs of life, in consequence 
 of the commencement of a railroad, and the prospect of the com- 
 pletion of the canal to Cumberland. But they have not yet paved 
 King Street! 
 
 " We are expecting Bishop Meade here, to deliver his annual 
 lectures, next Wednesday. What a useful man he is ! If all our 
 Bishops were like him, how would the Episcopal Church prosper. 
 He will remain until next month, when the Convention meets in 
 Alexandria. 
 
 " April 17, 1850." 
 
 To THE SAME. 
 
 "I promised to write you during my journey. 0, that I had 
 your gift of gathering up the news. But we must be contented 
 13
 
 194 MEMOIR OP 
 
 with our lot, and be thankful for what is given, and not envious for 
 what is withheld. 
 
 " Delaware I have not been able to visit, though I have seen 
 some Delaware friends, Mr. H. and Mrs. L., at Dayton; but I did 
 little more than see them, because of an attack of sickness, which 
 kept me most of the time in my room. In Springfield, however, I 
 saw Mr. P., and had half an hour's talk with him, and told all 
 about you, and learned what I could about him and his wife. Her, 
 to my disappointment, I did not see. Many friends inquired about 
 you and yours most kindly. 
 
 "The Convention was peaceful and pleasant. On Tuesday I 
 returned to this place, not caring to be present at the rare show of 
 the opening of the General Convention. Besides, I wanted to spend 
 a little more time with my friends here. I return to-day, South, 
 and hope to reach Cincinnati by nine o'clock to-night. 
 
 " When at Dayton, I received a formal invitation from the Trus- 
 tees, by unanimous vote, to the Presidency of Kenyon College, $1200 
 per annum, and the expense of removal. Besides this, the clerical 
 members of the association drew up a paper expressive of their feel- 
 ings, and pledging themselves to support me in the position thus 
 offered me. I have not yet responded, but soon shall. Never was 
 I in greater perplexity, for everybody I meet, except my own 
 kindred, expresses himself in the same way. The great argument 
 is, that to secure my services, folk are ready to help the college, 
 but of strangers they are distrustful. May the Lord in mercy 
 guide to a right decision. Their conduct toward me is very natter- 
 ing, and calculated to make me think of myself more highly than 
 I ought to think; but, in truth, I am rather oppressed than elevated 
 by it. It is a vital matter to me and to my family, if to nobody 
 else. 
 
 " If you should feel at leisure to repay this meagre note with one 
 of your robust epistles, telling me all about you and yours, and 
 matters and things in general, New York ecclesiastical politics and 
 measures, I will feel much obliged to you. I still think I shall go 
 down the Mississippi. 
 
 " Columbus, Oct. 3, 1850." 
 
 To THE SAME. 
 
 "After the Convention adjourned, I went down the Ohio and 
 Mississippi rivers to New Orleans, and thence to Mobile, Augusta,
 
 WILLIAM SPARKOW, D. D. 195 
 
 Charleston, Wilmington, and Richmond, home. I spent one 
 Sunday in Louisville, another on the river, a third at Natchez, a 
 fourth at Vicksburg, a fifth at Memphis, a sixth at Oxford, a 
 seventh at Natchez again, an eighth at New Orleans, a ninth in 
 Augusta, and by Saturday, here. I have preached every Sunday 
 since I left home, except one of the two Sundays at the General 
 Convention, when I wished to be a hearer. I have mingled with 
 all sorts, and sizes, and descriptions of men, clerical and lay, and 
 that, too, not from our own Church only. Two days I spent on 
 board a boat, with Archbishop Purcell, and Bishops Spaulding and 
 Lanzy, of the Romish Church ! I have had with them all much 
 intercourse, and if I have learned nothing else, have learned some- 
 thing of that 'mystery of iniquity' which, in the Apostles' day, 
 had begun already to work. The close blood relationship between 
 Romanism and Puseyism, yes, and High-Churchism, too, was made 
 manifest to my eyes. The doctrine of the Apostolical Succession, 
 as commonly taught, is the back bone of both systems. Both alike 
 resolve the being of a Church into it. Those that have it, no mat- 
 ter how heretical (I had the statement alike from a Catholic and a 
 Protestant Bishop), are a Church; those who have it not, no matter 
 how orthodox, and pious, and outwardly regular, are no Church. 
 Good Lord deliver me from such a caricature of the simple and 
 spiritual Gospel of Christ. 
 
 "You know of the action of the Ohio Convention at Dayton. 
 There were so many peculiarities in the case, too tedious to men- 
 tion, that I was afraid I should be neglecting a call of duty. How- 
 ever, here I am, and the Lord grant I may never repent of my 
 determination. 
 
 "Ohio is wonderfully improved since I left it, and the next five 
 years will improve it yet more. I think the set time for the pros- 
 perity of Kenyon College has come. Episcopalians are tired and 
 ashamed of neglecting it, and they have grown strong enough to 
 maintain it handsomely. If only sure of health, I feel that I could 
 build it up; and it would be a good work, something to look back 
 upon with pleasure ! Then again, it would be a fine place for the 
 education of my boys, and for settling them in business when their 
 education was completed. The salary they offered me, too, was 
 really better than I get here. But why do I speak thus? I had 
 already quit the topic. 
 
 " I thank you for the information about your Convention. Truly,
 
 196 MEMOIR OF 
 
 you are in a chaotic state. May the Spirit of God brood upon the 
 face of the deep, and bring order out of it. I have been traveling 
 so constantly, and so attracted by strange company and events, and 
 sights, that I have not yet read the journal of your doings. Dr. 
 Wainwright, I suppose, is of the Hobart School, but that school 
 teaches Puseyism in the germ. However, I suppose you had a 
 choice of two evils. The Pastoral Aid Society may help to turn the 
 scale more decidedly. But, alas, where are the men? May the 
 Lord send men into the harvest. 
 
 "I had a secret purpose, during my last visit to New York, of 
 renewing it next Easter. But I have been traveling so much of 
 late, that I shall have to stay at home for a year or two to make 
 up leeway. When I can I will see the great City of Gotham again. 
 
 "W. S." 
 
 To E. W. SYLE. 
 
 " I was in Ohio last fall. They made a great effort to bring me 
 back to Kenyon, and I could hardly resist it. Even now I have 
 my fears lest I should have gone. I was a delegate to the General 
 Convention, and went thence down to New Orleans, stopping at all 
 the chief towns. It was a most interesting though perilous trip. 
 The danger of a trip down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, to New 
 Orleans, is greater than of one to Shanghai. Accidents were con- 
 tinually occurring before and behind me; and I had one most 
 merciful escape. 
 
 "April 19, 1851." 
 
 A sentence in one of these letters indicates communication, at 
 least, if not discussion, with some of the heterogeneous elements, 
 ecclesiastical and theological, found among his fellow-travelers. It 
 seems, however, that those already alluded to were not all. There 
 were not only High and Low-Church Episcopalians and Romanists, 
 but a Methodist, and perhaps a Presbyterian ; all, in the eye of 
 the captain, and in view of the payment of their fare, enjoying full 
 toleration. As the time wore on, and the parties began to find 
 each other out, a controversy sprang up between the Methodist 
 preacher and one of the Romish priests, as to the great issues be- 
 tween Protestantism and Romanism. 
 
 The Doctor, of course, was greatly interested, and, doubtless, as 
 the discussion went on, showed such interest, in the expression of
 
 WILLIAM SPARHOW, D. D. 197 
 
 his countenance. This led to rather an abrupt, if not rude remark, 
 from one of the Priests, in the shape of a question, as to what he 
 thought of it? His reply was a rebuke to the impertinence of the 
 question, but, at the same time, an expression of opinion as to what 
 had been urged, thus becoming one of the parties in the discussion. 
 In a little while he found that he was bearing the brunt of it on the 
 Protestant side; and that he must answer the two Bishops, and 
 their Priests as he best could, as their arguments were presented. 
 Eventually it was narrowed down to a discussion between him and 
 Bishop Spaulding, who showed more ability and promptness than 
 any of his party, and this, upon the issue of the dealing of the 
 Church of Rome with the Scriptures. An assertion of the Doctor 
 that they were not made accessible to the people, that they were 
 practically withheld, was promptly denied. " This," said the Doc- 
 tor, taking his Bible from his pocket, " this is my Bible, that I carry 
 and read in my own language. In what language is yours? Let 
 us see it?" Effort was made to evade this demand. But it was 
 pressed, had to be yielded to, and as the Doctor anticipated, the 
 Bible was a Latin one, not, of course, accessible to the masses. 
 
 Bishop Spaulding, in the Doctor's estimation, was the ablest mem- 
 ber of his party, acute and clever, rather than profound. " His 
 way," said the Doctor, " of putting things, was very telling ; and 
 he very often, to the lookers on and listeners, gave the impression 
 that he had the best of the argument, when such was not really 
 the case." 
 
 "Among our company," said he, once describing his companions, 
 " we had a play actor, who, as the folk call it, was a star, on his way 
 to New Orleans. I noticed him with a good deal of interest. He 
 had a good many trunks and boxes, which I suppose contained his 
 wardrobe, marked with his name and title, ' John Jones,' or what- 
 ever his name was, 'Tragedian!' 
 
 Another little incident of this tour he was accustomed to relate, 
 as showing the extent, as well as the limit, of his deference to 
 ecclesiastical authority. During a Sunday spent on shore, he was 
 requested to take part in the services, to read service in the morn- 
 ing, and preach in the afternoon. There was no vestry-room to 
 the Church, and the hotel was a half or three-quarters of a mile 
 distant, most of the way being the street, or rather road, of a 
 straggling village. When it was time to start, the Bishop put on 
 his robes, and motioned to the Doctor to put on his surplice. After
 
 198 MEMOIR OP 
 
 some hesitation it was donned, and the march was taken up to the 
 place of worship ; we walked back, of course, after the service was 
 over. But," said he, "in the afternoon, when the Bishop robed 
 himself, I refused, and preached in my citizens' dress. The Bishop, 
 however, made his procession forth and back through the village, 
 as in the morning. Poor man ! he seemed to regard it as his cross, 
 that ought to be borne." 
 
 The next year, in accordance with the determination expressed 
 in one of these letters, seems to have been spent mostly at home. 
 None of his correspondence for that year has been obtained, saving 
 the following brief note in the possession of the writer. 
 
 AND DEAR BROTHER: 
 "At the suggestion of Mr. L., now at my elbow, I write to in- 
 quire what will be the expense in the stage from Winchester to 
 Staunton. We think of going up by private conveyance, and 
 spending the Sabbath previous to convention with you. W. S." 
 
 This Convention, while an interesting one, as to the religious ser- 
 vices, was not of special importance beyond the community in 
 which it was held. Dr. Sparrow does not seem to have preached, 
 as was usually the case. The writer recalls with pleasure a delight- 
 ful stroll, and conversation with him, over the grounds of the 
 Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, and one or two of the topics inci- 
 dentally coming up for discussion. One of these was in reference 
 to preaching, and the mode in which truth could be commended to 
 the minds of men. He had lately heard a young clergyman of 
 much promise, in view both of his personal character and of his 
 high cultivation. But it was with a feeling of disappointment at 
 the bareness with which the material was presented, the want of 
 illustrative exhibition, through which it would have been com- 
 mended to the comprehension of ordinary hearers, and to the higher 
 interest of the more cultivated. The other topic, upon which he 
 seemed to feel more deeply, was the perverting influence of Epis- 
 copal expectations, both of a moral and theological character, and, in 
 too many cases, upon men who all along previously had been in 
 sympathy with Evangelical views and practice. The occasion of this 
 expression of feeling was the substance of another sermon, to which 
 he had lately listened, from a clergyman who had been spoken of
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 199 
 
 for the Episcopate of a vacant Diocese. There was an elevation 
 of ecclesiastical tone, corresponding to the new expectations, clearly 
 apparent, to which he had listened with painful interest, as affording 
 an intimation of what might be the speaker's future career. It is 
 to be said, that the temptation to the person spoken of was never 
 actually presented; and the theological and ecclesiastical change 
 never went to the degree anticipated. 
 
 It was during this trip to or from Staunton, probably, that a little 
 incident occurred, to which the Doctor made allusion, some years 
 afterwards, as bearing upon the interpretation of the language in 
 Genesis, in reference to the enmity between the literal seed of the 
 woman and the seed of the serpent. Mention was made, to him, of 
 one of his acquaintances who did not believe in the fact of any such 
 antipathy, but who had clearly exhibited it on a certain occasion, by 
 his eagerness to kill a snake which he had accidentally encountered. 
 "I have no theory," said he, "but I know the fact. As Mr. L. 
 and I were traveling along, a large snake bolted from under the car- 
 riage, and ran up into a tree, near the side of the road. Immedi- 
 ately we were seized with fury against the poor animal, and leaping 
 from our vehicle, we pelted him with stones and clods, until, at last, 
 one of them struck and killed him. It was strange how much we 
 were excited. "When it was over, and I thought of it, I felt quite 
 condemned." 
 
 Since writing the above, remains of the correspondence of this 
 year have been obtained, two of the letters, or portions of them, 
 being of special interest. The first is one of a class, of which seve- 
 ral will follow in the subsequent narrative, to a relative and younger 
 brother in the ministry, replying to questions, and making sug- 
 gestions in reference to preaching, pastoral intercourse, etc. The 
 other portions of the letters, extracted from the Syle correspondence, 
 refer to Mrs. Smith, his beloved daughter Susan, in her prepara- 
 tion for the work of love and self-sacrifice, to which her life was 
 afterwards devoted. They are of deep interest as indications, not 
 only of her spirit, but of her remarkable capacity for this great 
 undertaking. And as we think of her brief career, in a field where 
 so much was to be done, and in a work to which her heart was de- 
 voted, we can but remember the thought of her beloved father, in 
 regard to the gifted but early taken Duy, a few years before. 
 " The Lord had need of her elsewhere, where it is better, far better 
 for her to be ; and we should therefore meekly acquiesce."
 
 200 MEMOIR OF 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA., 
 
 "June 25th, 1851. 
 " MY DEAR MR. JEROME : 
 
 " Your letter, written about three weeks ago, was received in due 
 time, and would have been answered before, but for the various 
 impediments which hinder my progress from one day's duty to 
 another, at all times, and not least just now. My Georgetown 
 engagement takes me from home the large part of three days, and, 
 of course, does not lessen the amount of headache at those times. 
 These, with some other things, make me very good-for-nothing, 
 and, of course, for correspondence. I am pleased with the account 
 you have given of your examination. It illustrates the strong 
 disposition there is, and has long been, in the minds of theo- 
 logians, to be wise above what is written, and to rush in where 
 angels dare not tread. I hold to development, but not in every 
 direction, nor upon every topic. I believe it also a very slow pro- 
 cess. It is slow in nature; it is much more slow in revelation. 
 How long has it taken to build up science? how much longer ought 
 it to take to build up theology beyond ipsissima verba of the divine 
 Scriptures ? The dogmatism of men upon the condition and neces- 
 sities of infants, as such, has always amazed me in an especial man- 
 ner. When we would build up an inductive, namely, a safe system 
 of mental philosophy, where do we go ? Of course to the adult 
 mind. And why the adult mind? Because we there have phe- 
 nomena. And why not to the infant mind? Because there we 
 have only substance (which is a mystery and secret), and not phe- 
 nomena. And yet, when the subject of theology is up, we presume 
 to apply its every statement to the new-born babe, as to the man in 
 the maturity of his powers, and to do so without regard to the laws 
 of proportion, or the reservations which sound logic insists on, and 
 uses, in such expressions as 'mutatis mutandis.' And all this, too, 
 with the utmost dogmatism and confidence. But why, why this 
 confidence? Is the thing so clear in itself? No, not that, per 
 se, it is certain ; but because it is necessary to make some system 
 'totus teres atque rotundas;' which system itself, perhaps, began 
 in the very same disposition to carry out human knowledge hastily, 
 beyond the limits of the express inspired word. As to the question, 
 what God can do or not do by his Spirit, without the truth, as in the 
 case of infants, for the reasons just virtually mentioned, it may be 
 equally presumptuous, specifically to decide either way. We may
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 201 
 
 safely say, in general, that God can do, and will do, all that is 
 necessary for it; but what he can actually do, according to his own 
 laws, laid down to himself, and by himself, in the very creation of 
 that being, we do not know, because we do not know that being. It 
 is, as yet, in the thick darkness ; it has not yet come out into the 
 light. When it has, we may know and decide, but not till then. And 
 while ignorant, specific dogmatism, as I have called it, is reprehen- 
 sible on either side, God cannot treat brutes as men; this we 
 know, because we are acquainted with both rational and irrational 
 animals. But suppose we know only about men? What then? 
 Or suppose we take brutes and angels; we, knowing all we do of 
 the former, and of the latter only that they were a different order of 
 creatures from brutes. What then? I need not, of course, reply 
 to the cavil, that God is omnipotent, and can, therefore, treat brutes 
 as men. What can treat mean in such a case ? Transubstantiate ? 
 That sense would not answer the objector. A manifest absurdity! 
 and, of course, if an absurdity, a contradiction, and if a contradic- 
 tion, a nonentity ; the impossibility of it derogates not from the 
 Omnipotence of God. 
 
 "But I did not mean to indulge in such a metaphysical descrip- 
 tion. As regards the Sacraments, I rejoice you answered just as 
 you did. You see the importance of maintaining that the officers 
 of the Church only should administer them, or at least persons vir- 
 tually authorized by the Church to do so. Whilst it is in manifest 
 harmony with all the Scripture intimations on the subject, it is not 
 in accordance with high and exclusive views of the ministry, or 
 sacraments, or Church. I am glad to hear what you have said 
 about Mr. S. It is only sad there should be a dead fly in such 
 precious ointment. 
 
 "I can appreciate what you say about the little trials which 
 beginning your ministry, ' a prophet in your own country,' necessa- 
 rily involved. Having been carried safely through them there, they 
 will eventually, by God's blessing, result in good. It may be an ad- 
 vantage to you thus to have begun your ministry. There is nothing 
 very new here, except it be what has just been brought to my ears 
 that B., of the Junior Class, exhibits some signs of derangement. 
 I hope it is not so, but very much fear it is too true. His derange- 
 ment takes a religious turn, if indeed he is deranged, and this, to 
 me, is a pleasant feature in an otherwise painful fact. One of the 
 most impressive lessons I ever received, when a boy, was from ob-
 
 202 MEMOIR OF 
 
 serving the conduct of a pious clergyman piously deranged. The 
 students have formed a society for improving the Seminary grounds. 
 Nearly $300 have been subscribed ; they expect to do much. The 
 money is not to be touched until it amounts to $500. They have 
 also collected a couple of hundred for the Shanghai Church. Mor- 
 rison has contributed a hundred to each of these objects. Mr. 
 Hubbard is to be ordained with his class. Mrs. May has been 
 unwell, but is now recovered. The general health is good. 
 
 "All my household, if at my side, would unite with me in affec- 
 tionate remembrances. 
 
 " Most truly yours, WILLIAM SPARROW. 
 
 " Eeo. J. A. Jerome." 
 
 To REV. E. W. SYLE. 
 
 "April 19th, 1851. 
 
 " Susan (afterwards Mrs. D. D. Smith) is in the State of Missis- 
 sippi, acting as governess to the children of our old friend Bledsoe, 
 and Prof. Waddell, both professors in the University of that State. 
 She is very much respected and beloved, to the great comfort, of 
 course, of her parents. She has been studying mathematics with Prof. 
 Bledsoe, and he solemnly declares to me he never has taught any 
 one, with the same native talent for the subject ! Allowing for the 
 partiality of friendship, this is saying a great deal. I know that 
 she has great powers of concentration. She once read Rauch's 
 Psychology with me, and mastered it far better than any student in 
 the Seminary; but I did not suppose her talent went as far as 
 Bledsoe says. 
 
 " I have sometimes thought (this is entirely between us and not 
 to be mentioned in any letter) that in the course of a few years 
 Susan may turn her thoughts to China. She would make, I feel 
 confident, a first-rate missionary. But I have never hinted it to her, 
 and wish to have her mind entirely self-moved in the matter, if 
 things should take that turn." 
 
 To THE SAME. 
 
 "July 4th, 1852. 
 
 " This letter will be carried by Miss Jones, who will be a great 
 acquisition to your Mission. I shall send by her a few sermons 
 from the pen of your humble servant. I send them not from a 
 high sense of their worth, but from the hope that, as the produc- 
 tion of an old friend, they may occupy a few moments not unpleas-
 
 WILLIAM SPARROWjD. D. 203 
 
 antly. I have one, preached at our last Convention, now in the 
 press, and I hope I may be able to send a copy of that also. I have 
 ventured somewhat in the expression of my opinions in it, and 
 should like to know how they appear to you. Indeed, I have often 
 thought I should like to have a free conversation with you (or a 
 free letter from you) on many theological topics, with a view to 
 learn how looking at them from the stand-point of a missionary 
 among the heathen has affected them. Please bear this in mind. 
 
 " I have told you, I believe, of my call to Boston, and of my 
 strong inclination to go. I yearn for pastoral duty. My heart 
 has not room, in its present position. But the 'stars in their 
 .courses seem to fight against me/ and I am not likely to get away; 
 except it be to Kenyon, where, I am told, they think again of 
 calling me. I care not for myself. The Lord direct me in refer- 
 ence to my children's welfare. 
 
 " I do not think it unlikely she (Susan) will be a missionary yet. 
 She certainly would make a good one, and neither father nor mother 
 would say nay, if circumstances favored it. 
 
 " Mrs. Sparrow is now in Western New York, to see Mary. She 
 will be absent a month or six weeks. It is the second time she has 
 left home without me, since we were married. The house seems as 
 though half the roof were off." 
 
 Towards the close of this year, in the month of November, 
 1851, the Doctor was absent from home, for a short time, in New 
 York, where he preached the Annual Sermon before the Directors of 
 the Evangelical Knowledge Society, entitled the "One Mediator;" 
 being an exhibition of the peculiar character of Christ's mediator- 
 ship, and made to bear upon the Sacerdotalism against which the 
 efforts of the Society were directed. This was published, contains 
 the most elaborate exhibition, perhaps, of his views on the subject 
 that he ever presented, and is well worthy of a place in the con- 
 templated volume of his select sermons. 
 
 Soon after his return from New York, he was again for a little 
 while absent from home, for a short visit to Charlestown, Jefferson 
 County, Virginia, where the Valley Convocation at that time was 
 holding its meeting. The occasion was one of peculiar interest. 
 The old church, for many years occupied during the pastorate of 
 the Rev. Dr. Jones, had been thoroughly repaired, enlarged and 
 beautified, in the year 1848. In a very few weeks after its reoccu-
 
 204 MEMOIR OF 
 
 pation it was destroyed by fire. A new building was immediately 
 planned and commenced under Dr. Jones. But its completion was 
 left to his successor, the lamented Dudley A. Tyng, who became pas- 
 tor in the Spring of 1850. This was nearly accomplished in the 
 fall of 1851, and the time of Convocation was selected as that for 
 the consecration of the new building. Bishop Meade officiated, and 
 Dr. Sparrow, by appointment, preached the Consecration Sermon. 
 This, in some respects, was one of his most remarkable discourses. 
 Its exhibition of the proper purposes of such a house was exceed- 
 ingly clear, forcible, and thoroughly Protestant. While its pathos, 
 in speaking of the hopes of those who had labored for that build- 
 ing, and who had been taken away before the work was successfully 
 ended, and of the classes who, in after times, would come to it as a 
 house of prayer, burdened with their various wants and necessities, 
 was exceedingly touching. 'Doctor,' said a strange clergyman, 
 who was present as a visitor, ' Doctor, you have made me do what 
 I have never done before, shed tears under a sermon !' Nor was 
 he alone in that respect. Few, perhaps, were altogether unmoved 
 at certain portions of its delivery, and none could have failed in re- 
 cognizing its peculiar appropriateness to the occasion.* 
 
 Not long after this visit to Charlestown, he was called upon to 
 consider the question of a change of position, already mentioned. 
 In this instance, moreover, as in that of 1850, the decision to be 
 made was one with reference not only to a change of position, but 
 to one of work, the assumption of parochial duty. Bishop Eastburn, 
 at that time holding the Eectorship of Trinity Church, Boston, 
 was exceedingly anxious to obtain Dr. Sparrow as his assistant, 
 and made a special visit to the Seminary to urge upon him its ac- 
 ceptance. It was not deemed advisable that a call should be ex- 
 tended, or even his name proposed, until there was some probability 
 that he would be induced to accept, and the matter, therefore, at 
 the time was confined to the persons most concerned. The pro- 
 position took him by surprise, and his first impulse was to put 
 it aside, or rather, to regard it as one not to be seriously consid- 
 ered. He consented, however, at the request of the Bishop, not 
 to decide unfavorably until he should hear from him again. Some 
 of the reasons for not deciding at once come to view in the cor- 
 respondence of this period. It will be seen in this case, as in every 
 
 * This sermon was afterwards published in connection with the consecration of a 
 Church in Smyrna, Delaware.
 
 WILLIAM S P A R R W, D. D. 205 
 
 other in which he was urged to leave the Seminary, that it would 
 have been to his pecuniary advantage to have made the change, 
 and that this, in his circumstances, with his large family, and the 
 necessity of providing for their education, made it a matter of duty 
 to give this item its due and painful consideration. 
 
 It has been with a good deal of hesitation that the letter follow- 
 ing, and one or two preceding, touching the same topic, have been 
 inserted. But the story would not have been a true story without 
 them. That which, like the atmosphere, constitutes the daily pres- 
 sure of a man's life, which he is scarcely for a day allowed to for- 
 get, cannot be left out in any proper estimate of his character and 
 work. The pressure under which the character is formed and fully 
 matured, under which work is done, and influence is exerted, en- 
 hances their value in our estimation. The moral significance of 
 action, in such cases, is often more clearly seen. Especially is this 
 the case when a decision is made to remain in the clear line of duty 
 rather than seek relief in a movement where the call of duty is less 
 undoubted. Such was the decision in the instance before us. It 
 will not be uninteresting to note the spirit in which the whole mat- 
 ter was considered. 
 
 To KEY. E. H. CANFIELD, D. D. 
 
 " January 23d, 1852. 
 
 " I suppose it is too late to wish you a Happy New Year, and 
 to wish you a Happy Old Year is to wish the wheel of time to roll 
 back again, which, I believe, never has been, and never will be ; all 
 I can do, therefore, is to wish you and yours a Happy New Year ; 
 and that, accordingly, I do with all my heart. I think it probable I 
 should have been more in season, if I had not been unwell for the 
 last three weeks, confined, indeed, to my house and to my room. 
 However, thank God, I am now better, and I have some faint hope 
 of riding to Alexandria to-morrow, if the weather will allow, which 
 I have not done for nearly four weeks. 
 
 " Apropos of weather : Are you not frozen up in New York ? 
 The thermometer has stood, on this hill, within a week, 10 below 
 zero ; the mercury must have disappeared from the bulb altogether 
 in your frigid zone. The Potomac has been long frozen over, and 
 even the ice-boat has been driven off the mail route several times, 
 and latterly, has taken nearly 24 hours to work its way to Acquia 
 Creek. I do not know that it is running at all now. The ice is so
 
 206 MEMOIR OF 
 
 much accumulated above Georgetown, that they are in great fear 
 of the destruction of their shipping and mills when it breaks up. 
 They are removing the machinery from the latter. 
 
 " I wonder whether the cold has had any influence on Kossuth's 
 projects and prospects. It was not sufficiently cold when he was 
 amongst you New Yorkers. However, I did not perceive my Bro- 
 ther C.'s name among the clergy, and conclude, from that, he did 
 not catch the fever. 
 
 " I suppose, however, the Church Clergy were more moved by 
 Dr. Creighton's letter than by Kossuth's speeches. So you are back 
 again in limbo. The Lord grant you all a safe deliverance out of it. 
 I was really desirous to have Dr. C. retain his appointment, lest a 
 
 worse thing come upon you. I do not wish to see Bishop, 
 
 much less , and yet I am afraid one of them will be. One 
 
 of our students, who corresponds with one of those in the General 
 
 Seminary, says that they are thinking of rallying on again. 
 
 One of our High Church Bishops said to me, that could never 
 
 be consecrated, that he had broached errors, and had not retracted 
 them, and that the Bishops could not overlook. 
 
 "I had a letter from T., not a fortnight ago. He tells me that 
 E. is going to join the Church of Rome, and perhaps its ministry. 
 R. confesses that he has been a Papist for three years. T. thinks 
 that he has been greatly wronged by him ; for he has been defend- 
 ing his Protestantism for some long time back, whenever it was 
 assailed, and R never dropped a word till the other day, from which 
 he could gather the true state of his mind. T. is indignant to 
 have been thus left in a false position. I hope it will do him good, 
 and the parish too. 
 
 " I had a letter from Dr. W., about the same time, and am glad 
 to learn that Kenyon is beginning to look up. Dr. W., at the in- 
 stance of an old, and ardent, and partial friendship, expresses the 
 hope that I may, one day, yet return to my old beat. My heart 
 often turns in that direction, but at this present time my thoughts, 
 at least, are flying Northward; and as a friend to be trusted, I wish 
 to ask your advice, in confidence, upon the subject. I do not wish 
 a word to be said to anybody, till I bring it before the public by my 
 own act, if ever I do. You know my circumstances here. Now, 
 then, supposing I could get a situation in Boston, worth $3000 a 
 year, with very easy duty, ought I not accept it? You probably 
 know what I refer to, but I am bound to be reserved on the subject,
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 207 
 
 and yet I feel I ought to have the advice of friends. Friends here 
 I cannot advise with above all, with the man to whom I am 
 bound to defer most, and whom my heart inclines me to respect 
 more than any other. In this emergency I turn to you, and would 
 be thankful, with all your knowledge of me, and of the situation 
 referred to, if you would honestly give me your opinion. Let me 
 hear from you, if possible, by return of mail ; and let me beg you 
 not to mention the subject to any one, unless, as I said, I have the 
 situation offered me and / accept it. I owe this privacy to another, 
 of course, not to myself. 
 
 " Nothing new here, except old Robin's death. Since I saw you, 
 I have been with Dudley Tyng, who is a growing and most success- 
 ful minister, much valued by his people. I have also been in Lees- 
 burg. Dennison is here, on his Bible agency, in good health and 
 spirits." 
 
 To THE SAME. 
 
 " January 31st, 1852. 
 
 " The great motive I had for considering the proposition," that 
 of a call from Boston, " was the increased salary which it seemed 
 to hold out to me. Not that I would be considered, or I think I 
 ought to be considered, grasping and avaricious. But I have been 
 anxious for some change which would relieve me from embarrass- 
 ments that have beset me most of the time that I have been resid- 
 ing at this place. These anxieties are mainly about the future. If 
 I can keep my debts down to their present point, I shall not be 
 apprehensive that my death will be a signal of distress to my family ; 
 and to make this sure was the only reason that the call from Boston 
 had any special attractions for me. But like causes are apt to pro- 
 duce like effects ; and it is not easy for a man of a large family, with 
 little skill in management, and no ability to do anything to lessen 
 expenses, to rub along and keep the accounts squared. And it is 
 not debt that I wish to guard against, but that dependence which 
 such embarrassment occasions. 
 
 " Again, let me say, that I have no fault to find with the Institu- 
 tion which I serve. They have dealt liberally by me, according to 
 their standard and their means. I should be ungrateful in making 
 any other statement. I have thought it proper to obtrude my 
 affairs upon you in this way, to disabuse your mind in reference to 
 the precise motives which have led me to entertain the proposition
 
 208 MEMOIR OP 
 
 in question. The personal interest you have expressed in me has 
 gone to my heart; and while I am thankful there is no occasion 
 for my friends to tax themselves on my account, I can appreciate, to 
 the utmost, the willing mind which you, as one of them, evince. 
 If our relations were reversed, I hope I should feel as you do. 
 
 "Your statements about Drs. Wilson's, Turner's, and Tyng's 
 opinion of my sermon are truly gratifying. It was a trial to 
 preach it, but much more did I dread the ordeal of publication. 
 When they come to read, thought I, they will change their opinions. 
 In view of what has occurred, what can I .say, but that even wise 
 men can sometimes make mistakes. 
 
 " Do you think I could have some twenty of the remaining copies 
 of the sermon kept for me till next Easter, when I shall send for 
 them? W. S." 
 
 Other letters of this year, 1852, are interesting, as connected 
 with one or two sermons prepared and preached on public occa- 
 sions. Some of the discussions of theological and practical ques- 
 tions, moreover, contained in these letters, are of permanent value. 
 
 To THE SAME. 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, May, 1852. 
 "B.EV. AND DEAR BROTHER: 
 
 " It seems high time that a messenger should pass between us. 
 How are you, and how doth the Lord prosper you ? Since I last 
 wrote to you, we here have been visited from the North, but I 
 could not gather anything particular such particulars as friendship 
 is ever curious about. Do write me soon, and let me know all 
 about you. 
 
 "But what shall I say to you? Events come so quick that I 
 cannot post them up, or even record them in my day-book. Of 
 our Convention you have heard. It was a very pleasant one ; 
 nothing to mar our pleasant intercourse. I cannot say, from hear- 
 ing or seeing, that much good was done ; but we may hope there 
 was. The religious services were very frequent and very well 
 attended. I hope in a few weeks to send you a copy of my sermon 
 preached at its opening, and hope you will approve it. 
 
 " I was in Baltimore the other day, just after the Diocesan Con- 
 vention, and was pleased to learn that our friends came off quite 
 as well as such an insignificant minority could expect, and better 
 than they ever did before.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 209 
 
 "While I was there, the Democratic Convention was in session, 
 and I went to it with the chaplain, a clergyman of our Church, and 
 so sat upon the platform, beside the 'wheel-horse of Democracy,' 
 and so forth ! While there, I thought of you, and remembered 
 you once throwing by your text-books to see the Whigs at similar 
 work in the same place ! By the way, I see from the papers that 
 my brother Edward has been appointed a delegate from Louisiana, 
 to the Whig Convention in Baltimore, next week. Whether he is 
 coming I know not. I only hope. 
 
 "Will you not be with us in July? We are improving our 
 grounds so that you will hardly know them. Do get a substitute 
 for a couple of Sundays, and revisit your old haunts. You know, I 
 trust, what pleasure it would give me to entertain you. Where is 
 W., and what is he doing? Do try and get him into a place. He 
 is a man of too much talents and worth to be allowed to rust out. 
 When you see him remember me to him. Tyng, Dudley, I mean, 
 has been called to your city; but I think it must be a mistake. I 
 thought he was going to Cincinnati. McElroy, you know, is back 
 in Delaware. I have heard that they have telegraphed Mr. Hubbard 
 to hasten North, and sail for China. I hope to hear more about it 
 by mail this evening. I wish to write him a farewell line before he 
 leaves. He is, to me, a dear friend. Should you see him, and I not 
 be able to reach him by mail before he sails, please remember me 
 affectionately to him. 
 
 " My family are about as well as usual, except S. Mrs. Sparrow 
 is going, in a fortnight or so, to Western New York, to visit M., and 
 will be absent for four or five weeks, the second time of her absence in 
 eleven years ! You have seen notice of the death of Mrs. H., and 
 Mrs. T. These have been heavy blows to the family. 
 
 "Bemember me most kindly to Mrs. C., also to Miss H.; also to 
 your junior self, and believe me truly, 
 
 " Your friend and brother, WILLIAM SPARROW. 
 
 " To Hev. E. H. Canfield." 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, January, 19th, 1852. 
 " MY DEAR J. : 
 
 " I have just received your letter, and before my class comes to 
 recite in my study, for I am afraid to venture out yet, I am disposed 
 to spend a few moments in replying to it. 
 
 "Do not trouble yourself about answering my letters. Your 
 14
 
 210 MEMOIR OF 
 
 silence will make no difference in my writing, and may make a dif- 
 ference in your sermons or your health. You should tell your 
 friends generally to take the same view of the matter, at least 
 while you are under the whip and spur of so much pulpit prepara- 
 tion, as at present. 
 
 " By the way, I am not sorry that you have been driven to ex- 
 temporize a little before the great congregation. Let me make a 
 suggestion in regard to any such efforts. Try and get into a way of 
 making short sentences. The only time I heard you extemporize I 
 thought your fault was that your 'train was too long.' (You may 
 take it in the railroad or the wardrobe sense: it is all one!) It is 
 .the fault of those most conversant with books. It is my own fault, 
 .and was so much more than it is. The evil of the habit is that it 
 interferes so much with amplification, which is the very life of all 
 ,-such efforts. With long sentences a man may repeat, but he cannot 
 .amplify; and repetition kills the patience of an audience; cutting 
 ;such sentences up into several, the speaker will seem to be adding 
 ;a new idea each time. The style, moreover, will be more lively 
 : and more agreeable to most persons. It will tax the attention less ; 
 ;and last, but not least, it will not burden the mind of the speaker too 
 -much. The construction of long sentences, the mere framing of 
 'them, and putting them together, and the retention of the begin- 
 ming firmly in the mind until the end has been reached, of itself calls 
 ^for a great expenditure of mental energy. This saved, the mind 
 ;is n more at liberty to attend to other matters. 
 
 " In regard to bowing, in the Creed, I do not advise it. Had the 
 3 matter been suggested before you went to N. at all, I might have 
 Lgiven other advice; but now, I think a change would be unwise. 
 It would encourage the people in that regard for little things which 
 'is already a besetting sin among them; and it would give them more 
 'Confidence in that system with which the usage is now unhappily 
 < connected in many minds. Besides, being 'much ado about 
 i nothing,"' it would foster in some the notion that you are beginning 
 to feel iihe pressure of their influence, and that having gained an 
 iinch they may go on and ask an ell. This I would not, on any ac- 
 t count, have. I am a great stickler for deference to the wishes of the 
 people, where they have, by canon, a right to interfere their author- 
 "ity; and in private life and personal matters, as I think a clergy- 
 man cannot be too kind and conciliating. But in matters of this 
 nature, which ;have religious relations, and yet are not subject to
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 211 
 
 canonical regulations, nor falling, in any sense, under congrega- 
 tional control, they should be taught that the minister has a path 
 of his own, a conscience of his own, and a liberty of his own. 
 Suppose that, through the grace of God, you should be able to walk 
 before them, in all your private conversation, circumspect and un- 
 blamably; and, at the same time, to preach the Gospel of Christ 
 substantially as Christ would have it preached ; do you think that 
 a matter of this kind is going to stand in the way of your spiritual 
 usefulness ? Nay, will not a steady, mild, and silent adherence to 
 your own convictions, in this particular, be rather helpful to you, 
 showing the people that you act on principle, that you have firm- 
 ness as well as gentleness, and that they ought to know what this 
 meaneth: 'let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.' 
 
 "In your peculiar and rather trying situation, you may be 
 tempted to some anxiety about the future, as regards your accept- 
 ability among the people. Do not, for a moment, yield to it. God 
 forbid that you should be indifferent to their good will, or should 
 cease to be deeply and constantly desirous to go in and out before 
 them in such a manner, as shall make them honor and love the 
 Master whom you serve. But beyond this, take no thought for the 
 morrow. I am persuaded, if God has a work for you to do in N. 
 He will give you favor in the eyes of the people; and if he has not, 
 then, I trust, He has elsewhere; and there are plenty of openings 
 everywhere, as I can see, where you may, with His blessing, be 
 useful and happy. Be not, then, for a moment cast down by your 
 labors, or by any want of strict agreement and sympathy between 
 you and the people. You are the servant of a faithful and tender 
 Master. ' Cast your care upon Him, for He carethfor you. 1 Yes, 
 my dear J., this is my exceeding joy, that I believe 'He careth for 
 you.' Go on, then, in peace. 'Be strong in the Lord.' ' In every- 
 thing, by prayer, and supplication, make your requests known unto 
 Him,' and ' His peace will keep your heart and mind.' 
 
 " On Saturday evening I received a letter from Bishop Eastburn, say- 
 ing that he was going to propose me to the vestry of Trinity Church, 
 Boston, as the Assistant Minister, with every assurance that I 
 would be unanimously elected. He says that I can do as much 
 parochial visiting as I choose, and that I shall have f 3000 per 
 annum salary. He offers sundry other considerations, and seems 
 very anxious that I should accept. If I could see that I would be
 
 MEMOIR OP 
 
 in the way of duty in leaving my present position, I should accept it. 
 The proposition has many features to recommend it. 
 
 " I have seen nothing yet about my sermon, except commendatory 
 notices ; no doubt, after the sweet will come the bitter, and plenty 
 of it. But, for the truth's sake, I care but little. The critics are 
 not likely to shake my faith in the sentiments of the discourse, and 
 that is the main thing. I had a long letter from Bishop Meade 
 about it, which was very comforting, although accompanied with 
 some severe rebukes for not exercising my talents more. By the 
 way, I have another sermon which may soon see the light, by the re- 
 quest of the students. Should it do so, I will, of course, send you 
 a copy. I have sermonizing enough upon my hands. The Bishop 
 has appointed me to preach our next Convention sermon, in May, 
 in Richmond; and in July I have to deliver an address at Com- 
 mencement. Besides this, I have promised to write a sermon on 
 the American Sunday School Union, and preach it in the District 
 Episcopal Church, next month. This, with my other sermonizing, 
 my letter-writing, my daily duties in teaching, and my "often in- 
 firmities," which wine, much or little, will not cure, will keep me 
 busy enough. Whatever I do, may the Lord, in mercy, turn it to 
 account for the advancement of the truth. 
 
 " But I must close, else my writing to you will interfere with your 
 pulpit preparations as much as your writing to me. Remember me 
 very kindly to Judge E., to Mrs. A. My love and blessing to M. 
 and yourself. 
 
 "Affectionately, WM. SPARROW." 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, August 9, 1852. 
 " MY DEAR MR. JEROME : 
 
 " About your parish affairs, I do not feel able to say more than I 
 have said in my letters to Mrs. S. I would devoutly commit 
 your ways to the Lord, and pray Him to do with you and your 
 dear household, as may best conduce to His glory and the good 
 of souls. As long as you can keep your eye single for these 
 objects, I shall have no anxiety about you. I do most firmly be- 
 lieve that all things work together for good to them that thus love 
 God. My trouble about you in your present situation has not been 
 that you have been cramped in your support, though that is painful, 
 but that you were working too hard, and have had too much writ- 
 ing to allow of regular study, of a fundamental kind. In writing
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 213 
 
 an address for our Commencement, on "Post-Ordination Study," 
 you were much in my thoughts in relation to the matter. I suppose 
 nearly all your reading is with immediate reference to writing. This 
 has its advantages, but it cannot supply the place of other study. 
 Besides, I fear you may get into a careless way of writing. By 
 long composition under the whip and spur of weekly study, a man 
 may lose the ability of elaborating anything. Do the best you can 
 to guard against this. 
 
 "Your affectionate father and friend, "W. SPARROW." 
 
 The sermon thus alluded to as preached before the Diocesan 
 Convention, was entitled the "First Council of Jerusalem," and was 
 largely a discussion of the great question of the relations of human 
 authority to Divine truth. Its topics were: First, the occasion 
 of this Council the difficulties and dissensions of Jewish and Gen- 
 tile believers as to the principles of Gospel truth. This leads to 
 the topic of its authority, which is recognized as Divine, in view of 
 the presence of the inspired element, and of the specific assertion of 
 such element in its final decision. Then, the material of the Coun- 
 cil is noted not simply the Apostles, not merely the ministry, 
 but also the brethren, the laity. This leads to the inquiry as to its 
 Ecumenical character, and the position argued is, that it was not ; 
 that strictly speaking, such Council never has been held, and never, 
 in all probability, will be; that even the work of such councils 
 as those which were called general is better done, in the present 
 condition of the Church and the world, by other agencies ; that if 
 resorted to, under the present condition of things, as superfluous, 
 they would probably be mischievous. The sermon closes with call- 
 ing attention to features of this Conference to be noted and followed. 
 First, its spirit of forbearing toleration in regard to existing differ- 
 ences the spirit of Christian breadth and geniality, as opposed to 
 that of Jewish bigotry and exclusiveness; secondly, its practical- 
 ness; thirdly, its missionary element; in these respects a model to 
 the body before whom the sermon was delivered. The whole closing 
 with the important suggestion that the main work of the Convention 
 ought to have reference to that characteristic of the Church which 
 is internal. At this same Convention, Dr. Sparrow, as Chairman 
 of the Committee on the State of the Church, made the report, 
 perhaps one of the most striking and interesting presented to that 
 body.
 
 214 MEMOIR OP 
 
 Allusions in these letters, to Mr. Jerome, indicate a change 
 which had taken place one, to the Doctor, of deep and tender 
 interest the first break in his household circle, in the marriage 
 of his eldest daughter to the Eev. J. A. Jerome, whose field of 
 labor, in Western New York, of course, necessitated a distant 
 separation. Dr. Sparrow lived to see his large family reduced to 
 himself and Mrs. S. and one remaining child. " For long years," 
 to use the language of one who for a considerable time was an 
 inmate, "for long years his was an unbroken family. But, oh, how 
 short a time it took to scatter it. Mrs. Sparrow once, and only 
 once, referred to the sad change in this respect. Writing, a few 
 days after Christmas, about two years before she was called away, 
 she said, ' I felt as if I could not bear it ; the absence of my children, 
 with the stillness, was more than I could bear. But I hope that 
 feeling has passed away, never to return again.' " The feelings of 
 which this language is an expression were also fully shared by the 
 father of this separated household, and with his large forethought 
 and paternal tenderness, the first separation, in its deep significance, 
 was fully recognized. 
 
 For the next year, 1853, we have a letter of April 9th, of some 
 interest. At the Convention of the Diocese for that year, held at 
 Wheeling, he was unexpectedly called upon to preach the opening 
 sermon, the appointed preacher not being able to be present. The 
 sermon was one of a simple, practical character, upon the text: 
 " For me to live is Christ, to die is gain," exhibiting the spirit of 
 Paul desiring to be with Christ, and at the same time willing and 
 desiring to remain on earth to do Christ's work; in other words, to 
 glorify Christ, whether by life or by death as peculiarly the spirit 
 of the Christian believer and the Christian ministry. This same 
 sermon was preached in the Seminary Chapel, only a few months 
 before his death, and constitutes a beautiful delineation of the 
 genuine Christian character; a remarkable contrast, as to its style 
 of excellence, to that preached the year before, at the opening of 
 the Convention at Kichmond. 
 
 The letter to which allusion has been already made, written to 
 -one of his old pupils, and preceding the Convention in point of time 
 a few weeks, comes in properly at this point. Portions of it are 
 more severe than was his usual mode of expression. But it was 
 with reference to points upon which he felt deeply, and to errors 
 and assertions which he regarded as compromising alike the spirit
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 215 
 
 and substance of Protestant Christianity. Men who feel, as Dr. 
 Sparrow did, that the conflict between the two great parties in 
 our Church was one, not of incidentals, but of essentials, going 
 down to the very foundations of Christian life and Christian doc- 
 trine, will make allowance, if it be needed, for such language. 
 
 To EEV. E. H. CANFIELD. 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, April 9, 1853. 
 " REV. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 " I have long desired to drop you a line by way of remembrance, 
 but have been prevented by various obstacles. I now write in the 
 midst of a sick family, though, I trust in God, convalescent. You 
 have learned from our friend, Dr. D., perhaps, of the condition in 
 which he found us. But I would speak of him rather than ourselves. 
 His kindness has at once been very great and very unexpected. It 
 really seemed most providential that he should visit us when he did. 
 He came on, in the abundance of his benevolence, to see B., and he 
 found the whole family just taken down of the scarlet fever; at least, 
 all but one were then, or have been since. His visit itself was better 
 than medicine. Those for whom he prescribed in New York last 
 summer, all, had learned to put unbounded confidence in his skill, 
 and his coming so opportunely increased that confidence. Hie pre- 
 scriptions, too, have all had, so far as we can see, a happy effect. From 
 my observation of Dr. D. when here, I look upon him as destined 
 to be one of the first men of his profession, and I have had some 
 experience as well as observation to guide me. I have been much 
 benefited by his advice, and you know / am ' a hard case.' 
 
 "But enough of domestic egotism. I received a pamphlet by 
 'one Veritas.' Don't be offended. An author of Charles the 
 Second's day speaks of one John Milton, 'a writer of dull verse.' 
 I expect I am indebted to you as the sender and the author? In 
 any view, you have my thanks. The work is an effectual exposure 
 of that movement which, in horticultural phrase, would raise public 
 opinion in our Church, as a man raises in a hot-house exotics from a 
 tropical region, and of those who now say, with all the ostentation 
 and tyranny of Louis xiv, but without his reason and truth, ' I am 
 the State, I am the Church.' My only regret, when I read such, 
 blistering and excoriating productions, is that those at whom they 
 are directed have the hide of a rhinoceros; still, it is well to*
 
 216 MEMOIR OF 
 
 keep at work. Even the buffalo and the alligator, though well 
 cased, are not invulnerable. 
 
 "Our friends in Baltimore realize this fact just now. The per- 
 version of Baker must be producing a great sensation. He was 
 the most popular man they ever had as assistant at St. Paul's. He 
 was a pupil and favorite of the Bishop, and had been talked of by 
 some as his assistant. Mr. H., an eminent merchant, who left 
 Christ Church on account of Dr. John's dispute with the Bishop, 
 used to go a long way, with his family, to Baker's church, thinking 
 him the model minister of our communion, and has scouted all 
 intimations made by a friend of mine that he was inclining Rome- 
 ward. In addition to all this, he is a respectable man in character, 
 above the common standard in talent. It cannot be said of him 
 that he is weak or crazy. Yet he is gone ! Will their eyes never 
 be opened ? 
 
 "I have lately been to Princeton, and wished that I could go on 
 to New York, and see how you get along. From all I can learn, 
 the transplantation has taken place without retarding the growth 
 and flourishing condition of the tree and its capacity to bear fruit. 
 But how comes on the old parish ? Who is likely to get it ? I 
 
 see my friend is casting a wistful eye in that direction. They 
 
 need a peculiar sort of man, on account of the contiguity of the 
 Seminary. May the Lord send them such. 
 
 "You have seen what trouble R. has got up in his church in 
 Louisville. Mr. Fowles, with great simplicity, remarked the other 
 day, he did not know why it was that so many of the men who 
 preach the doctrines of grace have bad tempers. He is, himself, 
 although dogmatical, not ill-natured, far from it. All here is in 
 statu quo. If you should not be in Europe, I hope to see you as 
 I go to Boston this summer. Believe me, as ever, 
 
 " Your friend and brother, WM. SPAREOW." 
 
 It was on his return from the Convention at Wheeling that the 
 writer visited, with Dr. Sparrow and others, the church at Cumber- 
 land, where, for several hours, they were detained. It was just 
 as the afternoon service was closing, the congregation being small, 
 the choristers, in fact, constituting the main portion. Among other 
 objects of interest, was a chancel window, with the figure of the 
 Saviour, larger than life, with various subordinate scriptural accom-
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 217 
 
 paniments. "What do you think of it, Doctor?" was the question 
 of one of the party. " It must tend," was the reply, in substance, 
 "to a sensuous religion. If people, in worship, surround them- 
 selves with such objects, to aid devotional feeling, they will depend 
 upon them. After a while, they cannot worship without them, and 
 then worship, especially that of the masses, does not go beyond 
 them." 
 
 To A DAUGHTER. 
 
 "OAKWOOD, March 16, 1853. 
 " MY DEAR B.: 
 
 '"Better late than never.' Your congratulations on my reach- 
 ing another birthday, received four days ago, would have been 
 responded to more promptly but for my great indisposition of body 
 of body, not of mind ; for as it is pleasant to receive such com- 
 munications, knowing, as I do, that they are not empty compliments, 
 so is it pleasant to reply to them. I am pleased to find that you 
 have got hold of a work in German at once pleasant and profitable 
 to read. I have frequently thought of trying to find some one in 
 New York who was acquainted with German literature, and to put 
 a sum of money into his hands that he might select some suit- 
 able works for your study, but have been prevented by my 
 straitened means. I rejoice that the Seminary library has fur- 
 nished you a copy of Gellert, and I trust it contains other treasures 
 of a similar sort. During the next vacation you might make search 
 in person. It is hard to find exactly what you need. Since the 
 last century, the second quarter of it, there has been a subtle poison 
 diffused through nearly all the classical literature of that gifted 
 land, which operates at once secretly and powerfully on the reader's 
 mind. Schiller is far from being an exception; and, although I 
 trust your mind and heart are too well grounded in the truth as it 
 is in Jesus ever to be removed from that firm, that only founda- 
 tion of human hope and comfort, yet we know that it is a universal 
 maxim, ' Evil communications corrupt good manners,' in a greater 
 or less degree, and that, unless on constant and prayerful guard, 
 intercourse with dead authors of unsound sentiments, like inter- 
 course with living persons of similar views, is liable to prove 
 injurious, even to those of advanced years and mature minds. This 
 is an evil, however, which we have to encounter everywhere, not 
 excepting even our own language. In English literature you are
 
 218 MEMOIR OP 
 
 continually met in your studies by things offensive to a Christian 
 taste, and repugnant to a Christian judgment. In the literature of 
 our own country, if it is not premature to use such an expression, 
 there is less that is objectionable than in that of any other land, 
 thanks to the strong religious influence which pervades society, 
 handed down from the first settlers of these colonies, and kept alive 
 by our free Bible and free political institutions. But even we have 
 not a morally faultless literature, and I think there are some symp- 
 toms of the growth amongst us of a literature, not, indeed, positively 
 irreligious public opinion will not tolerate that but at least nega- 
 tively so. Perhaps, indeed, until Christianity leavens the whole 
 mass of society, so long as there is leisure and education among us, 
 we may look upon such a godless literature as one of the offences 
 which must needs come, and which belongs to the evils of this pro- 
 bationary state. 
 
 " Perhaps our part is, while we deplore the evil and strive to abate 
 it, not to flee from it altogether, but, in the strength of the Lord, 
 meet it and vanquish it, and improve the victory to God's glory. 
 Perhaps it belongs to us to borrow some of the riches of unsanctified 
 talent, as the Israelites did of the wealth of Egypt, and so, spoiling 
 the enemy, restore the perverted treasures to their proper use. 
 
 " In the spirit of these remarks, I would advise that, in connection 
 with Milner, you read Gibbon. Civil history is, of course, the sub- 
 stratum of sacred and ecclesiastical history, as natural life is the 
 basis of spiritual; and there are none of the older histories by 
 Englishmen, perhaps, if any by other hands, comparable, in point of 
 learning and ability, to that of Gibbon ; nor do I think he is very dan- 
 gerous to one at all grounded in the Christian faith. His spirit is 
 so bad that it arouses the indignation of the Christian ; and if he is 
 only set right in regard to a few facts, on which by sophistry or 
 misstatement Gibbon might mislead him, I should think he would 
 be rather established than shaken in the faith by his sneers, and 
 cynicism, and indelicacy. I did not know that Bowdler had pub- 
 lished an expurgated edition of the Decline and Fall, as he published 
 a Family Shakspeare. Be that as it may, Milman has published 
 an edition in full, with corrective notes, partly original, and partly 
 selected from Guizot, who did the same thing in French. A copy 
 of this, I doubt not, could be borrowed of some one in the Seminary. 
 When you come to the chapter where Gibbon attempts to account
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 219 
 
 for the wonderful propagation of Christianity through moral means, 
 against the physical force of the world, you ought to stop and read 
 some one of the many triumphant answers to his miserable and 
 transparent sophistries. It will form an agreeable episode. So, 
 when you reach the frustrated attempt of Julian to rebuild the 
 temple, you should pause and peruse what Warburton has written 
 on the subject; though this last topic is not at all, like the former, 
 a vital one. If, however, I ought to add, Bowdler has done as you 
 say, I would prefer that you get that. It is not well, if it can be 
 avoided, to bring the mind in contact with anything impure, even 
 where there is an antidote at hand; a cure seldom restores the mind 
 to the original health. 
 
 "You judge wisely in seeking to perfect your education in all 
 substantial things. If I were present at the Woman's Bights 
 Society meetings, there is one of their rights which I would be 
 quite ready to advocate and support, and that is, the right of self- 
 support. Until a young woman has the means of maintaining her- 
 self, by her property or industry, she cannot be independent, or be 
 in a situation to preserve, under all circumstances, her self-respect 
 and true dignity. I desire, more than I can express, that you and 
 your sisters be qualified, by your heads or by your hands, to earn 
 your own livelihood, no thanks to anybody or anything, except that 
 constitution of society which gives rise to the wants by supplying 
 which industry lives, and that Power above, which has established 
 such a constitution. When taken away from you, if I should leave 
 you all thus qualified, though penniless, I should feel that I left you 
 rich. But there is an education more precious still than that of 
 the head or hands, the education of the heart ; let us take heed 
 that that be not neglected, nay, that it have our paramount regard. 
 This education is for eternity, and eternity is very near at hand. 
 
 " But I must close. The Lord bless you, my daughter, and give 
 you health of body, mind and heart. 
 
 " Ever your affectionate father, WM. SPARROW. 
 
 "Miss E. R. Sparrow, Oakwood." 
 
 From this time until the close of the period included in this 
 chapter, there is little of a specific nature to fill up the interval. 
 Those of the deepest interest to himself were, doubtless, the changes 
 taking place in his family, the beginning of which, the marriage of
 
 220 MEMOIR OF 
 
 his eldest daughter, has been already noticed. Three others, of 
 the same character, the marriage of Mrs. Dashiel, Mrs. Grammer 
 and Mrs. Smith, took place during this same interval. The absence 
 of his sons at the University during the latter part of this time 
 had also its effect in reducing the number of his household. After 
 the departure of Mrs. Smith, in 1859, with the exception of vaca- 
 tion times, the large household of eleven or twelve was brought 
 down to four. "He often," says a correspondent, alluding to this 
 time, "spoke of this change, and it was evidently a painful one to 
 him." After a time, doubtless, the visits of his children and grand- 
 children helped to alleviate the change, and to present new objects 
 of interest and affection. It doubtless, too, had its compensating 
 result, in its removal of the painful forebodings of anxiety in 
 reference to the welfare of so many dependent ones in case of his 
 own departure. 
 
 The correspondence of this interval at command is more full than 
 that of any other ; this, with the reminiscences of one or two of his 
 pupils, will occupy most of the remaining portion of this chapter. 
 The letters are, many of them, to former pupils in their various 
 fields of labor. 
 
 ' " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, January, 16, 1854. 
 " DEAR BROTHER SYLE : 
 
 " Your letter, with the parcels, was brought to me from town on 
 Saturday, as I was lying sick in my bed. It was a cordial to me. 
 I had been longing to hear from you, and had I not had, during 
 the last two months, an unusual share of sickness, keeping me 
 behindhand in my duties, I should have endeavored to find out your 
 whereabouts, and write you. It was pleasant to be remembered 
 by you, and to receive such a token of your friendship. 
 
 " I do not wonder that you have been ' sobered.' Wave has followed 
 wave; 'the clouds have returned after the rain,' and you may be 
 tempted sometimes, I can readily believe, to say, that 'All these 
 things are against me.' But it is a temptation, indeed, and should 
 be treated as such. The waves are controlled by our covenant God ; 
 the clouds are moved at his command; and He does nothing arbi- 
 trarily nor heedlessly. There is a reason, wise, and good, and 
 gracious, for it all. Kemember that the Lord has set you in a very 
 important position in His Church. Every Christian is a city set 
 upon a hill; every minister more so; and every missionary most
 
 WILLIAM SPARED W, D. D. 221 
 
 of all. For great work, great preparation is necessary ; and in all 
 the trials to which you are subjected (and your friends, those under 
 this roof at least, know and feel them to be great), you are only 
 acquiring meetness for your work. That work how great it is ! 
 Who can estimate it rightly? Who can adequately span it? The 
 mission to Athens has its importance, and much more that to 
 Africa, for it relates to this country as much as that; two conti- 
 nents are implicated in it. But the mission to China transcends 
 them all. Providence says so; it is not the mere inference of man. 
 All the indications seem to promise that Chinese idolatry, which in 
 extent so far exceeds every other, is destined to fall as Jericho fell. 
 There is not to be a mere breach in the wall, the whole circuit of 
 that wall is to be prostrated at once. Now, then, the man that is 
 vouchsafed a part in this, the most sudden and extensive moral 
 revolution which ever took place in the world, should expect that 
 the Lord would deal with him not exactly like other men, but in a 
 manner corresponding with the magnitude and extent of the work 
 to which he is called. Let this, then, be your consolation, and 
 endeavor to learn from the providences to which you are subjected 
 the lessons which it is God's design to teach you. 9 
 
 "You speak of the intercourse you have had in Hartford, New 
 York, and elsewhere. Doubtless you have met many men, and 
 many minds. After you have completed your tour, you will be 
 able to give a tolerable idea of the state of the Church if any- 
 body can. I add this condition, for there is such an endless variety 
 of sentiment, and doctrine, and character among us, that I am not 
 certain any very important and clear general conclusion can be 
 arrived at. We are in a very chaotic state. 
 
 "In regard to the 'Epistle Congratulatory/ I should think it 
 might be well, if a second edition is contemplated, to wait till the 
 following explanation, to which you refer, has appeared. It might 
 then be well for the author to republish, with a preface, in plain, 
 didactic language, explaining why he adopted the Socratic Ecpwveta 
 in the epistle; how such a style of composition should be inter- 
 preted; and that the whole transaction which gave occasion to it 
 was of such a character as required to be deeply impressed on the 
 mind of the Church, otherwise the same thing might be repeated 
 again, to the great detriment of her character, and of the reputa- 
 tion of our holy religion. It might be shown that some very 
 impressive method of instruction was needful, because the Bishops
 
 222 MEMOIR OF 
 
 had proved themselves, in previous cases, by no means apt scholars. 
 Bishop Smith's trial was a most bungled affair. Bishop B. T. 
 Onderdonk's was decidedly worse; and Bishop Doane's first non- 
 trial, though it had been so long discussed in the papers, in every 
 Church coterie, and at every fireside, and though it had led to such 
 discussion that one would think every Bishop was in full possession 
 of all the facts and principles necessary to give steadiness to their 
 action, and wisdom to their judgment, was more glaringly incon- 
 sistent than any that preceded. Now, if after all this training, if 
 they could be trained by experience at all, the Bishops came to the 
 last meeting at Camden no better prepared than the event showed, 
 it was plain their conduct called for full and unsparing exposure. 
 They needed to be taught a lesson which they could not soon forget. 
 They needed to be shown that they were subject to the same rules 
 of propriety, and judgment, and respect for the opinions of man- 
 kind, that other men are, and that no figment of ' inherent rights ' 
 was able to secure them impunity when they transgressed against 
 them. 
 
 "'I understood your letter was brought to Alexandria by Mr. D. 
 Had I been able, I should have gone to see him. Please remember 
 me to*him most kindly. I pray the Lord to bless him, and make 
 him eminently useful in His Church. The laity seem specially 
 called on, in these times, to make themselves felt in ecclesiastical 
 affairs. By keeping themselves so far in sympathy with the clergy 
 that they shall be able to understand them, and know how they are 
 affected by arguments presented, and by maintaining in their own 
 hearts a lively sympathy with the holy themes, and the devotional 
 spirit of the Gospel, they can, in my humble opinion, do more for 
 the true furtherance of the truth as it is in Jesus, than many who 
 are exclusively set apart for His work of the ministry. This holds 
 especially of lawyers. Do you know W ? He is one of those men ; 
 a lawyer of considerable standing, a man of fine education, and of 
 most lovely character. I hope you will get acquainted with him. 
 Hoping to hear from you soon again, I remain, my dear Mr. S., 
 "Ever most truly yours, W. SPARROW." 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, November 18, 1854. 
 " MY DEAR J: 
 
 " Your account of your parish is very pleasing. I pray you 
 may continue to be encouraged, and be given to see the Lord's
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 223 
 
 work prosper in your hands. It must be unpleasant to have such 
 an overseer; but, by decency and order in all things ecclesiastical, 
 you can make the evil merely negative. Who is he that will harm 
 you, if you be a follower of that which is good, especially canoni- 
 cal and rubrical? You ask in regard to certain Universalists, 
 heads of families, in your congregation. So far as the pulpit is 
 concerned, I would not know the fact that they are such, except 
 carefully to avoid giving the impression that you are preaching at 
 them. In my sermons I would imply the doctrine they reject, 
 rather than formally discuss it. In most cases, indeed, this method 
 is best everywhere. The doctrine is not systematically discussed 
 anywhere in Scripture, though it is by implication taught every- 
 where. In my intercourse with them and their families, pretty 
 much the same course should be pursued. Controversy should at 
 least be avoided. You will remember that the family is more than 
 the head of the family to a faithful pastor. What you want is to 
 get a religious influence over the whole family, especially the young. 
 
 " I like your notion of studying some philosophy. Reid's ' Intel- 
 lectual Powers/ the edition by Walker, would be a good book. 
 Walker has also edited some of Stewart, which I have not seen, 
 but which would be good, if you cannot get Reid. Walker's notes 
 on Reid are chiefly taken from Sir William Hamilton, the most 
 learned metaphysician that Great Britain has ever had. 
 
 " I am pleased, also, that you have taken hold of writing with 
 vigor. Diligently and laboriously pursued, it is profitable every 
 way. Extemporaneous writing is not of much benefit. But when 
 we labor to have matter, suitable matter, to arrange it rightly, and 
 to bring it forth with true art, which, of course, is art concealed, 
 there is not only the immediate effect of profiting the hearer, but 
 the further effect of disciplining one's own mind. Most of my 
 education came in this way. I owed nothing to my teachers. 
 
 " Last Sunday I was with W. I preached once on Saturday, 
 and twice on Sunday. They say that he has become a high Cal- 
 vinist, and hardly thinks it right to exhort sinners ! It may be he 
 did not like my sermon. But he is to be pitied. His affliction 
 has been great; and he always will have peculiarities of manner, 
 not always perfectly 'agreeable. The Seminary has exactly forty 
 students, promising young men. The utmost love to W. and W. 
 "Affectionately, WILLIAM SPAEROW."
 
 224 MEMOIR OF 
 
 "October 6, 1854. 
 
 . E. W. SYLE: 
 
 " Much that you say about ' Evangelical party-men ' sounds 
 strange to me. They are but men, and no doubt very imperfect, 
 and not exempt from party spirit. Of two things I cannot have a 
 doubt : that Evangelical principles, so-called, are the principles of 
 the Bible, and of the Church, mother and daughter; and that 
 these principles have been the life-blood of the Missionary cause, 
 both foreign and domestic, in this country, especially the foreign. 
 I say this, for the fact is undoubted, that Evangelical principles do 
 avowedly advocate the cultivation of the whole Missionary field, 
 while the opposing principles are, to say the least, comparatively 
 indifferent to a portion of it. Besides, however imperfectly Evan- 
 gelical men have carried out their principles, they have done nearly 
 all that has been done in that way ; and if I know anything about 
 the secret workings of their minds and hearts in this matter, the 
 great absorbing motive with them, in what they do, is a regard to 
 Christ's command, a love for His name, a jealousy for His honor, a 
 desire to see all men blessed with the Gospel. I am persuaded the 
 Searcher of hearts knows that, at least, it is not party spirit which 
 elicits money from their pockets. But I feel myself at strange 
 work in thus writing to you. 
 
 "As to avoiding a misconstruction of our conduct on the part of 
 others, I regard it, within certain limits, as our interest and 
 bounden duty. We owe it to the Master whom we serve, as well as 
 our own family and friends. I am conscious of having erred, in that 
 particular, in times past." 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, September 13, 1855. 
 "BEV. AND DEAR BROTHER: 
 
 " I have an itching curiosity, and I write to ease it. I am told 
 that you are going to Kenyon; as you love me, tell me, is it so, and 
 also, anything else in regard to yourself and the Church which you 
 think proper, and can find leisure to communicate. Ohio seems to 
 be feathering her nest from Virginia. I hope she will not reduce 
 our nest to the bare sticks. I do not like the idea of your leaving 
 us, but if Providence so directs, what am I, that I should object, 
 especially as next to Virginia I love Ohio. 
 
 "I have not been able to make you a visit this vacation, partly 
 because I have been engaged to fill the pulpit of St. Paul's, Alex-
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 225 
 
 andria. Perhaps I may be able to visit you if you remain with us 
 during the term. By an arrangement with my brother Professors, 
 I can make a short trip in term time as well as any other. 
 
 " With kind remembrances to Mrs. , I am, truly, 
 
 " Your friend and brother, WM. SPARROW. 
 
 " Rev. C. Walker." 
 
 REV. E. W. SYLE. 
 
 "October 26, 1854. 
 "DEAR BROTHER: 
 
 "I am most happy to answer your letter of the 20th thus 
 promptly, if it can in the least cheer you and your dear wife, as 
 you are about to set out on another stage in the pilgrimage of life. 
 The roving state of life which belongs to a missionary, and the 
 frequent breaking up of associations connected with it, have one 
 great advantage; they leave fewer ties to be rent asunder by the 
 last great separation. This, I have no doubt, is, in part, the secret 
 of the peaceful, and even joyous, end which has closed the career 
 of so many missionaries. Their previous discipline had weaned 
 them well from all mere earthly attachments to persons, places and 
 things." 
 
 To THE SAME. 
 
 "February 18, 1855. 
 
 " Dr. Van Kleek was here about a fortnight ago. I was sick, 
 and only saw him for a few moments. He addressed the students 
 for a quarter of an hour, in an appeal in behalf of Oregon and 
 Bishop Scott. It was the fittest possible way of spending the few 
 moments he had to spare. No field of labor on which our Church 
 has entered, not excepting China, Africa, Greece, or even California, 
 can compete with it in some respects. It is the least attractive of 
 all, and the least likely to be thought of. If any one happens to 
 turn his thoughts to the Pacific board, before he can reach that 
 sterner and colder region of the coast, he is attracted by ' the gold 
 region/ a place harder for the navigator to pass than Circe in 'the 
 days of Ulysses. 
 
 "I thank you for the two copies of the 'Oriental.' The editor 
 of it (the Rev. Mr. Speer) is an old Kenyon student. When you 
 see him, remember me to him. He seems to be setting himself for 
 the defence of the Chinese against the power and oppression of the 
 Anglo-American. We have dealt hardly with the poor Indian and 
 15
 
 226 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Negro; I hope we shall not push the poor Chinese to the wall in the 
 same way. Some restrictions on their political, if not their civil 
 and social interests, may, for aught I know, be indispensable for a 
 little time, but I hope nothing of that kind will be permanent, or 
 in the slightest degree interfere with the general progress and im- 
 provement of the race. A semi-civilized people ought to be so 
 dealt with that they will soon become a wholly civilized people. 
 But I may be talking in the dark, and at random. 
 
 " Pray, what is your decision in the present diversity of opinions 
 about the movements of the 'rebels' in China? I cannot give up 
 the idea that good is designed, in the providence of God, by this 
 movement. The fact that the leader is said to claim divine honors, 
 does not stumble me. Hero-worship is better than worship of wood 
 and stone. Besides, it is a change, just what the immovable 
 Chinese need. And again, the adoption of the Decalogue as their 
 moral code must be a great moral advance with them ; and, unless 
 they deal with it as do the Romanists, must be a great check upon 
 all forms of idolatry. But there, too, I may be groping in the dark. 
 
 " Mr. told me, at dinner, that twenty years ago, when he 
 
 took charge, the congregation was not one-half as large, nor one- 
 quarter as rich as it is now, yet it then gave more, and more 
 cheerfully, to religious objects than it does now! There was 
 genuine naivete in that!" 
 
 To THE SAME. "July 7, 1855. 
 
 "I have lately had an experience of the Alexandria people that 
 has pleased me. I have collected $1200 there towards the enlarge- 
 ment of our chapel. I have found them very ready to give in most 
 cases. Ten of the subscriptions were for $ 100 each. I am not 
 yet done with them. Elsewhere, that is, in our neighborhood, I 
 have got about as much more. The accommodation of the chapel 
 is to be doubled, and its appearance improved, and comfort in- 
 creased. 
 
 "Our examination passed off very well. There was a goodly 
 attendance of the clergy. The alumni have been very successful 
 in their efforts to endow the professorships. You know we are 
 building a library, which is to cost $8000, all contributed from 
 abroad, $4000 from one person in Philadelphia. Our neighborhood 
 is building up quite fast. Twenty years from now it will probably 
 be very thickly settled.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 227 
 
 " Since I last wrote, there has been a most sad event among us. 
 Dear little Blanche has been taken from us. I have not received 
 such a wound for many long years. The recurrence of the subject 
 is still a dagger to my heart. We had forgotten she was not of 
 our own blood. Ma, the girls, the boys, all loved her as a child or 
 sister. And she was a most lovely and promising child. Such a 
 corpse I never beheld. No sculptor's chisel ever produced any- 
 thing so lovely. The image will haunt my brain as long as I live. 
 The death occurred while Mrs. Sparrow was away in New York. 
 She got home before the funeral, but that was all. Mr. Henning, 
 also, was absent, and we deeply deplored it, though he has since 
 said he does not. Of course, the chief burden fell on Susan, and 
 nobly she bore it. 0, she is a heroine, a Christian heroine, strong, 
 collected, tender, and quiet to the last degree. I love and admire 
 her more than ever. You will forgive this." 
 
 The allusion here is to a motherless child of the Missionary to 
 Africa, Eev. E. W. Henning. This little one, finding a home in 
 the family of Doctor Sparrow, had become endeared to him as one 
 of his own children; and when taken by an early death, her 
 departure was thought of with feelings of peculiar tenderness. 
 One of the students of that date mentions the expression of thank- 
 fulness to him by the Doctor for some little acts of attention in 
 connection with her funeral. It was the first stroke of bereave- 
 ment upon his household after a long interval, and it came in a 
 form calling forth his tenderest sympathies. 
 
 "May 12, 1856. 
 
 " How unlike the common estimate of human life which we find in 
 the world ! How similar in spirit to that of Him who came not to 
 be ministered unto, but to minister, and give his life a ransom for 
 many the humbling honor of living for the same general purpose 
 with Christ Himself." 
 
 "May 29th. 
 
 " We returned on Monday, from the Fredericksburg Convention, 
 one of the most delightful that I ever attended. Eighty clergy 
 present. 
 
 " I thank you very sincerely for the papers you sent me from 
 San Francisco. They disclosed a singular state of society. It is
 
 228 MEMOIR OF 
 
 beautiful to see how rapidly such a turbid and fermenting liquid 
 can clarify itself in a Protestant country. In a Komish country it 
 could not. The cauldron has been seething and bubbling for a long 
 time in South America, but the lees will not settle to the bottom. 
 
 " We are in great confusion, at this time, in Congress, and per- 
 sonal violence has been offered, in two or three cases. Slavery the 
 cause. The Lord, in mercy, save the ship of state from that rock !" 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, April 23, 1856. 
 "My DEAR JOHN: 
 
 " I am sick with a headache, and have been since Monday, but 
 I must say a word in answer to your letter received that evening. 
 I had just got home from St. Paul's, Culpeper, where I spent the 
 Sunday, when it arrived. It afforded us all true pleasure to learn 
 that your prospects are fair, and your spirit hopeful. The last is 
 as important as the first; even more so, for it is our duty. I trust 
 that, hoping in God, you will hope on, and hope ever. The Lord 
 has put none of us in vain into this world ; he has something for 
 us to do; let us endeavor to do it, and be happy in it. I like your 
 determination to visit every family in the parish or village. Done 
 in a religious way, it cannot fail to result in good. Let me warn 
 you against lengthening unduly any religious services you may 
 hold in the village. It is the rock on which I have split. Where 
 the exercise is extemporaneous, the danger is special. Were I in 
 a parish, I should study that point. I would write prayers to 
 exercise myself in the language of supplication, and strive to have 
 them pointed, applicable and solemn; especially would I guard 
 against long sentences, and many connective particles. Separate 
 and brief petitions should abound in all addresses to the throne of 
 Grace. Long and complex sentences do for addressing men, not 
 God. 
 
 "St. George's Hall will not be acted on till Convention. I must 
 stop. Much love to Mary, and a kiss and blessing for Willie and 
 Carrie. 
 
 "Your affectionate father, WILLIAM SPARROW." 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, September 2, 1856. 
 "KEV. AND DEAR BROTHER: 
 
 " In regard to the argument in Butler I can only say a word or 
 two.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 229 
 
 " First, he argues on the grounds of the Materialist. 
 
 "Secondly, in conformity with these views of the Materialist, he 
 makes a hypothesis, i. e., that the motion of a particle of matter is 
 so indivisible that it involves a contradiction to suppose one part 
 to exist, and another not; in which case the particle must be one. 
 
 "Thirdly, he then assumes that the motion of a particle of mat- 
 ter is, to that matter, analogously, as consciousness to the living 
 being. 
 
 "Fourth, and lastly, assuming consciousness to be absolutely 
 one, he thinks himself entitled thence to infer that the soul, or 
 living being, is one also, and, like the supposed particle of matter, 
 indiscerptible. 
 
 "The infinite divisibility of matter cannot be pleaded, because 
 the hypothesis with which he starts precludes it; and he makes 
 that hypothesis to furnish an analogy, or parallel case of the known 
 and admitted fact of the unity of consciousness. 
 
 " The argument seems to me a fair and good one, as a probable 
 argument, and to the Materialist very confounding. If he admits 
 the soul to have bulk, and at the same time that consciousness is 
 one and indiscerptible, he must admit, in every fair view, that, 
 despite of infinite divisibility, the former is, somehow or other, 
 indivisible, and therefore indiscerptible. If he admits it has not 
 bulk, then he is not consistent; and, at all events, there is no 
 ground, in reason, to suppose it will ever be destroyed; there is 
 nothing to warrant the presumption, for Nature knows of no 
 destruction but disintegration. 
 
 " I have tried to be brief, without time, and you will say of me, 
 'brevis esse laborat obscurus fit.' I have not a copy of Duke, and 
 have not time to look into Dr. Hanna, if I could find Dr. C.'s view 
 in his four volumes. 
 
 "If you understand me, and think me wrong, please let me 
 know. In great haste, but 
 
 " Most truly yours, W. SPARROW. 
 
 " P. S. My daughter S. is compelled to take a voyage across the 
 Atlantic, for her health. 'The doctor insists upon it. This, of 
 course, fills my heart and head, just at this moment. W. S. 
 
 "Eev. C. Walker."
 
 230 MEMOIR OF 
 
 "PHILADELPHIA, October 9, 1856. 
 "My DEAR J.: 
 
 "I cannot give you Convention news; the paper reports would 
 put to shame my meagre statements. I may say, however, that an 
 excellent temper prevails, and that thus far all things have gone 
 on well. Do not be surprised if you should receive liberty to read 
 Morning service alone in the morning, and in the afternoon the 
 Litany, or ante-communion service ; and at night, the Evening ser~ 
 vice; when there is Communion in the morning, the Communion 
 service alone being used. What emancipation this will be ! What 
 relief .to feeble throats ! What an impediment out of the way of 
 effective ministrations of the Gospel! The Bishops are less con-- 
 servative, as the phrase is, than the lower house. 
 
 " Ever your affectionate father, WILLIAM SPARROW." 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, November 13, 1856. 
 " REV. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 " We are much tormented in our chapel pulpit for want of a good 
 light, and it has occurred to me you might be able and willing to 
 help us. You may remember I was struck with the fixture in your 
 pulpit. It seems to me just what we want. You have gas, and we 
 have not; but I should think that would make no difference. The 
 contrivance might be arranged so as to suit the use of etherial oil, 
 or even common oil, if thought best. Now then, can we not get, 
 through you, a similar fixture to yours, made, and forwarded by 
 express to this place? If you can get any liberal friend of the 
 Seminary to bear the expense, I will be thankful, but if not, I will 
 pay the bill myself, as soon as it is forwarded. Some layman might 
 be amused with the idea of illuminating ' theologicals,' and shed- 
 ding light upon the pulpit of the Theological Seminary of Virginia. 
 Even a High-Churchman might think it worth boasting of. One 
 thing I must make a condition, that you do not ask good Mr. Dun- 
 ham. I should feel ashamed that a favor should be asked of one 
 to whom I am already so deeply indebted. No one shall ever cast 
 up to me the proverb, ' Give an inch, ahd take an ell.' 
 
 " Mr. Wharton is here, delivering a course of three lectures, on 
 the 'Religious Elements connected with the Colonization of the 
 United States.' I have had a letter from Paris, from Mr. Morri- 
 son. The travelers were improving in health.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 231 
 
 " Please act as decisively as possible in regard to the lamp busi- 
 ness. For one does not like to dwell in darkness. 
 
 " Affectionately yours, WM. SPARROW. 
 
 " JRev. E. H. Canfield." 
 
 To THE SAME. 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, February 11, 1857. 
 "BEV. AND DEAR BROTHER: 
 
 " You remember N. He was a Seminary man of your day, and 
 he is no common man. I hardly know the clergyman in Virginia 
 of longer head, or sounder mind. He is, also, though not remark- 
 able for his manner, an earnest, impressive, and instructive 
 preacher. As a pastor, he is judicious and kind. As a man, he is 
 genial and polite. Now ; this your old friend I want to see in a 
 wider sphere than his present. Cannot you help to find one for 
 him? His people love him dearly, and will be loth to part with 
 him ; lately, they increased his salary, to prevent him from accept- 
 ing a call. But he is not in his place. He needs more room to 
 develop in, and a better salary than such a fold can give him. I 
 ask again, cannot you help him to such a place? I am exceed- 
 ingly unwilling to see him leave Virginia, but I am more 
 unwilling that such talents and traits of character should not have 
 an adequate sphere. Do turn this matter over in your mind, and, 
 if possible, act. 
 
 " I wish you could snatch a moment to write me a line. I know 
 your many duties, but I know, also, your powers of despatch. If, 
 besides touching the above matter, you could give me one of your 
 old-fashioned budgets, with your views of men and things, it would, 
 of course, be doubly welcome. 
 
 "There is no news here there never was, you know. It all 
 comes from the North, and there it is pretty much frozen up at 
 this time. I hope your health is better than it was the last time I 
 heard of you. It is natural that I should be feeble, confined to 
 the house for three weeks, as I have been of late ; but your time 
 for infirmities has not yet come. However, it is something above 
 time which regulates that matter. May we be submissive to the 
 regulation, whatever it be. 
 
 " Your affectionate friend and brother, 
 
 "WILLIAM SPARROW."
 
 232 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, April 20, 1857. 
 " MY DEAR J.: 
 
 " In regard to John xv, 2, 1 would say this much. The language 
 of our Saviour and His Apostles is generally complex, concrete, 
 and synthetical, because it is briefer, simpler, and better adapted 
 to practical use. So here. We are not told whether real or pro- 
 fessed Christians are meant, and there was no occasion for the 
 distinction. The object of the Saviour was to intimate the 
 necessity of bearing fruit, and that it could be borne only in con- 
 nection with Him. I suppose He did not mean to give forth a 
 decision on the defectibility or indefectibility of grace; and if any 
 man attempts to connect such questions with this text, it is not 
 because they belong there, but because he has brought them there. 
 Our Lord could teach the two great practical truths referred to 
 without touching these knotty points. As to the most natural of 
 the meanings of 'in Christ,' or 'in me,' in this case, profession is 
 so, because it is applicable, with equal ease, in both clauses you 
 quote. In this sense a man may be 'in Christ ' whether he bear 
 fruit or not. This sense, therefore, does not do violence, in any 
 way, to the passage. I have only dropped a hint or two. Your 
 account of your parish is cheering. The Lord, in mercy, bless 
 your labors. It is a great thing to be the instrument to a fellow- 
 creature of a good which abides and increases in value, just at the 
 time when all other good fades away and vanishes. Let me warn 
 you, however, against excessive exertion. It is not pious, any 
 more than laziness is. I have been afraid, ever since I knew of 
 your visiting that Sunday-school house, that you might do work 
 there which might interfere with permanent engagements else- 
 where, subtracting from your study time, and impairing your health. 
 It belongs to a good steward not only to lend, but to put out on 
 usury. He must not throw away health, any more than life, or be 
 a suicide, by degrees, any more than at once. I hope your neigh- 
 bor, in Carbondale, will prove a pleasant one. If he is a true 
 Moravian, he must. Moravians are the denomination which best 
 exhibit the graces of love and self-denial. What are the charac- 
 teristics of the other denominations? Let the question furnish an 
 hour's talk to you and M. 
 
 "Have you come across Stevens' 'History of Methodism?' Bor- 
 row and read it if you can. I have been much refreshed by it this 
 week. It is calculated to do great good among ' all classes and
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 233 
 
 conditions of men ' and Churches ; it brings before us so distinctly 
 the original design of the Wesleys and Whitefield, viz., not to erect 
 a new Church, but to revive and spiritualize the old ones, eschew- 
 ing all dogmatic questions, and ecclesiastical questions, and all 
 other questions that might call attention from that one thing ! 0, 
 for the concentration of our hearts, and all our powers, upon the 
 conversion of sinners, and the sanctification of saints ! Alas, also, 
 how are our minds distracted with the lust of other things, and 
 how are our energies exhausted on vastly inferior objects! If the 
 Churches, and individual ministers, would lay aside their denomi- 
 national rivalries and controversies, and pursue, simply and solely, 
 this one end, how soon would the world be subdued to Christ, and 
 the 'kingdom be established to God, even the Father!' And ques- 
 tions of abstract truth, and of ecclesiastical arrangement, and the 
 relations of Church and State, so far from faring for the worse, 
 would, as I believe, fare infinitely better, being left under the direc- 
 tion of the Word in its simplest meaning, and its leading principles 
 to the instinctive impulses of the renewed and highly sanctified 
 heart. But enough of this. 
 
 "Bishop Meade is here, lecturing, and seems in tolerable health. 
 I think, however, that he declines in vigor. He is hard at work 
 bringing out his ' Old Churches, Families, and Ministers of Virginia.' 
 He says he sets them in the order of their work ! the ministers 
 last ! The work will be in two volumes. 
 
 " Give my tenderest love to M. and the children. Be assured of 
 our continual prayers for you all, and let us not fail to be remem- 
 bered by you. Separated in body, we may meet there, and be com- 
 forted, and edified, and strengthened there. Mrs. S. desires me to 
 say to M., that the letter sent was just the kind she likes to receive. 
 " Yours, ever affectionately, WM. SPARROW." 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, December 23, 1857. 
 " DEAR BROTHER SYLE : 
 
 " I cannot tell you how much pleasure your letter, received a 
 few weeks ago, afforded me and my family. It ' carried me back/ 
 not to 'Old Virginia,' but to old times, and revived many pleasant 
 recollections. We rejoice that the vine branches are so thriving 
 about you, and that those who have the charge of them are doing 
 so well, though troubled that they cannot do better. It must, 
 indeed, be a trial to an active, spirited man, to find that he can do
 
 234 MEMOIR OF 
 
 
 
 BO little of what needs to be done. But there are many apologues 
 to comfort us, among the rest that of the mouse and the netted 
 lion. Missionaries, who lay the foundations of the Gospel, can 
 seldom or never appear to do much, but, in reality, they do most, 
 as the unerring judgments of another world will show. We may 
 apply to them the maxim, 'dimidium facti, qui ccepit habet.' 
 Your statements about the new recruits surprised me. But I sus- 
 pect you must have bound them too much to the letter. The 
 spirit, the substance of the doctrine of human depravity, I am 
 persuaded they hold. Their character as Missionaries is almost 
 proof of that. I have never heard of but one man (a Unitarian) 
 that ever went to the heathen to preach the Gospel to them who 
 denied it, and he quickly repented of his enterprise. I am rather 
 surprised, also, at their seclusive and monastic habits. I cannot 
 but hope that when the work of the ship-house is done, and the 
 launch takes place, they will prove themselves good sailors, 
 Heaven granting propitious gales. You Missionaries in China are, 
 indeed, in prominent positions. The East generally seems to be 
 the part of the world to which the thoughts of the thoughtful are 
 directed. Europe may well forget herself in the distraction of her 
 attention both East and West. She is like Issachar, ' the strong 
 ass crouching down between two burdens. 1 I have been deeply 
 engrossed with the Indian insurrection. It haunted me for several 
 weeks. I trust now that great good will grow out of it, though 
 purchased at a fearful cost. As to your field, with its teeming 
 population, for it, as for India, it seems evident that great things 
 are in store and at hand. The time was when I felt bound to wait, 
 and have long patience; but now we seem to be authorized to 
 believe that Providence means to move more expeditiously than of 
 old. If not, why so many new agencies, and why such a general 
 making up of mind, and breaking up of organizations ? The signs 
 of the times, in themselves considered, and the language of 
 prophecy, alike call upon us to look up with expectation. Not, as one 
 says, that with Isaiah, David, and St. John before me, I would write 
 the newspapers ten years in advance. But while I disclaim all 
 thought of particular modes, I feel confident about the general result. 
 And I do not confine my view to Asia; every Continent is implicated. 
 Among ourselves, great and good things, I trust, are in speedy 
 preparation. Also in Europe. California is not out of the pale of 
 my cheerful anticipation. The condition there is bad enough; New
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 235 
 
 
 
 Orleans was once as bad, or nearly so, but it is improving every 
 year." 
 
 To A YOUNG FEIEND IN EXTREME SICKNESS. 
 
 "KicHMOND, July 19, 1858. 
 "My DEAR WILLIE: 
 
 " Ever since I parted with you on Friday, you have been much 
 upon my mind. I was reluctant to leave home while you were in 
 such feeble health ; and I have ever since felt apprehensive that in 
 my last interview I did not use that faithful explicitness, in regard 
 to my view of your case, which was needed. One so young as you, 
 and who suffers more from weakness than from positive pain, finds 
 it hard to realize his situation, no matter how critical it may be. 
 Being anxious to repair any neglect I may have been guilty of, and 
 to apprise you fully of the general opinion in regard to your case, 
 I write you these few lines by the way. 
 
 " My dear Willie, let me tell you plainly, that your condition, in 
 the opinion of all your friends, professional and unprofessional, is 
 such that you ought, without a moment's delay, address yourself 
 to the work of preparing to meet the will of Providence, whatever 
 it may be. The Lord gave, why should not the Lord take away ? 
 He causes many to die in the cradle ; why should he not call away 
 others in early manhood? His is the right, and His is the power. 
 Shall He not do what He will with His own ? It is plain that 
 there is no peace, and no security for man, but in resigning himself 
 into the hands of God; but how can that be done? God is holy, 
 and we are sinful ; God is good, and we have been ungrateful ; God 
 has been forbearing, and we have been presumptuous; under such 
 circumstances, how can we appear before Him in peace ? 0, how 
 guilty we are, after years of transgression and sin ! How polluted 
 in our nature, in our hearts, and our lives, after living estranged 
 from Him so long! How can such creatures as we ever escape 
 His wrath, or learn to love His holy presence? Dear Willie, I 
 know but one way : God Himself declares there is but one way. 
 That way is Christ crucified. Christ came by His atoning blood 
 to reconcile God to us, and by His Spirit to reconcile us to God. 
 Let me beseech you, then, in this your hour of greatest need, to 
 lay hold of this provision of mercy, found in the Gospel of Christ, 
 and nowhere else. Stir up your heart to believe that, as you are 
 going into God's presence, so there is no way of access to Him
 
 236 MEMOIR OF 
 
 t 
 
 which will not fill the soul with dismay, but the Gospel. Call on 
 God to help you to realize that you are fast fading away ; that you 
 must soon appear before Him; that He is a holy God and just, a 
 merciful God and truthful, and that His grace flows to us through 
 but one channel : that blessed Saviour who died upon the cross for 
 our sins. In Him is pardon for the guilty, and sanctification for 
 the polluted. 0, look to Him, call mightily on Him, cling to Him. 
 He can save unto the uttermost. The chief of sinners is not beyond 
 the compass of His mercy. Though our sins be as scarlet, they 
 may be made white as snow. In conclusion, let me beseech you 
 not to let the hope of a prolonged life prevent your .immediate, and 
 earnest, and persevering attention to this one thing. It is your 
 salvation, your all! Dear Willie, your case is hopeless for this 
 world, but Christ is more than sufficient for you. Farewell; the 
 Lord in mercy keep you, through Jesus Christ. 
 
 " Your true friend, W. SPARROW." 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, November 7, 1859. 
 "Mr DEAR J.: 
 
 "I went to the General Convention, and enjoyed it as long as 
 health permitted. But I lost the last week from sickness, and all 
 the session I was suffering from neuralgia in my face. I think the 
 spirit of the Convention was, on the whole, an improved edition of 
 what we have previously had; owing, I doubt not, to the religious 
 interest which pervades the country. Last Thursday night I 
 returned to address the students upon the subject, and, a strange 
 thing for me, talked for an hour ! I was always, as you know, 
 prolix on paper; there is, you see, danger now of garrulity. So do 
 extremes meet in the same person ! 
 
 " I have not written you since my call to Baltimore. But that 
 topic is worn out. Suffice it to say, that while it cost me a painful 
 struggle for a fortnight, I am well content with my decision. My 
 brother Edward was very anxious for me to go ; but my brother 
 Thomas was opposed. The only thing that prevented was the fear 
 that I should have to reproach myself for leaving a manifest post 
 of duty for an uncertain one. 
 
 "On my return from Convention I spent a Sunday with the 
 boys at the University. I preached in the morning in Charlottes- 
 ville, and at night at the University, which is a mile from Char-
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 237 
 
 lottesville, where I had a Congregation of five hundred young men. 
 The three boys are well, and doing, I trust, fairly. I wish you 
 would write them occasionally. I believe family feeling and affec- 
 tion to be a great aid to everything that is good in youth, and a 
 great preservative against evil. You have heard of our prosperity 
 here in brick and mortar, and also in students. Things are, exter- 
 nally, looking up; the Lord grant that things spiritual may keep 
 pace with them. 
 
 " I am glad to hear that your congregations grow. I wish I 
 could pay you a visit. I am engaged to go to Wilmington next 
 month, to preach an ordination sermon, and should like to extend 
 my trip to P. The only objection is that the time would be so 
 short, it would not be worth while, or, as it is expressed in Latin, 
 ' operse pretium.' However, if the Lord will, I shall make you a 
 long visit next summer. When is the next Association ? 
 
 " My dear J., I feel the time is short. The night is, indeed, far 
 spent, and the day is at hand. 0, let us be ready for the dawn ! 
 To this end let us labor, and watch, and pray, and let much of our 
 own prayer be intercession for one another, that we may live use- 
 fully, and die in peace. With tenderest love to M. and the child- 
 ren, 
 
 "Ever affectionately yours, W. SPARROW." 
 
 It was not very long before the date of the last of these letters, 
 that the Doctor was called on to pass through one of his severest 
 trials of natural feeling, that of separation, with little hope of 
 reunion, from his third daughter, for the missionary work in China. 
 Her marriage took place in June, 1859, and in the course of the 
 summer she set sail with her husband for her chosen field of duty. 
 "This," said he, speaking of her going, "this was the hardest 
 wrench yet." And yet, when the question of parting had become 
 a settled one, his whole behavior, although, evidently, it was a 
 great trial, was as cheerful and buoyant as though he was receiving, 
 not giving away a daughter. He afterwards said in a letter, 
 " When I parted from her I feared it was for life ; and it came to 
 pass." 
 
 What his feelings and convictions were, under the circumstances, 
 are beautifully exhibited in an extract from his sermon delivered 
 at St. George's, New York, a few weeks after his daughter's mar- 
 riage, on the occasion of the ordination to Deacons' orders of her
 
 238 MEMOIR OF 
 
 husband, and only a few days before their departure for China. 
 "Have we children? I will not say we shall not withhold them; 
 that would be a tame expression, indeed. How could a Christian 
 parent assume such a -perilous responsibility? We will rather, I 
 should say, offer them freely, desiring only that the Lord would fit 
 them for the work, and bless them in it. Patriotism has often 
 made fathers and mothers, with their own hands, gird armor on 
 their sons to go and do battle in their country's cause. Shall not 
 the love of Christ, the love of souls, the love of truth, holiness, and 
 heaven constrain Christian parents to do as much with their child- 
 ren, offering them willingly, and rejoicing that they themselves 
 should be so connected, through their sons and daughters, with the 
 cause of humanity, and the interests of that kingdom which shall 
 have no end ? Yes, I will hope and believe that, through the good 
 Spirit of God moving in our hearts, such will be the effect of this 
 day's doing in our future homes. When we return from the ship 
 in which they sail to expatriate themselves for seven long years, 
 unless some afflictive providence should shorten their term of exile, 
 be our part, the Lord being our helper, to help them in our prayers, 
 and to keep back nothing of those things by which this sacred and 
 loving enterprise will be advanced." 
 
 This was not the language of stoicism, knowing nothing by per- 
 sonal experience of the nature of the sacrifice to which it made 
 allusion. It was that of deep, loving, and painful appreciation of 
 all that such sacrifice involved to natural affection, and yet freely 
 making it, gratefully recognizing the privilege and honor of being 
 allowed so to do. A brief note, very soon after, in reference to 
 certain changes proposed in the Seminary course, has its connec- 
 tion with what has been mentioned. 
 
 " REV. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 " Your letter would have been answered before, but that I re- 
 turned from New York, last Monday week, to take to my bed. The 
 excitement connected with the departure of the Missionaries, fol- 
 lowing so closely upon commencement and other events, was too 
 much for me. Besides, I have been troubled with a local affection 
 which has cost me much pain. This or yesterday was the first 
 moment I could possibly have replied to you. 
 
 "First, let me say, I am ready for anything, within the limits of
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 239 
 
 my strength, which the Trustees may think proper to determine. 
 And when I cannot bear my burden, I shall quickly say No, and 
 there leave it. I am too old, and have learned too much of myself 
 and of the world, to pursue any other course. 
 
 " In the next place, let me say, I am not disposed to be very 
 active in any changes. I prefer to be passive. The time was when 
 it was otherwise. There are a great many points in which I 
 believe important suggestions might be made, but I must wait till 
 I see you. If able, I am bound to preach next Sunday in Balti- 
 more. After my return from there, or in the week following, I 
 may make you a visit. An hour's talk will be worth four hours' 
 writing. Please let me know when the committee will meet, that 
 
 I may arrange accordingly. With kindest regards to Mrs. , 
 
 I am truly, 
 
 " Your friend and brother, WILLIAM SPARROW. 
 
 ".Rev. C. Walker." 
 
 The results of the meeting thus alluded to were not at all 
 agreeable to Dr. Sparrow, and when, within the next few months, 
 he was invited to the rectorship of Emanuel Church, Baltimore, it 
 was feared, by some of his friends and pupils, that he would be 
 lost to the Seminary. Had mere natural feeling been allowed to 
 control his movements, he would undoubtedly have gone. But 
 earnest persuasions, from different sources, were addressed to him not 
 to make the proposed change. And these, with his own careful delib- 
 eration as to his course of duty, and what seemed his most effective 
 work in the Church, caused him to decline the invitation. This was 
 the last effort made to induce him to leave the Seminary during 
 this period. What might have been the result of his acceptance 
 of any of these invitations, especially those to assume the pastorate, 
 can, of course, be only a matter of conjecture. The judgment of 
 some of his friends and brethren at the time, that this result 
 would not have been favorable or successful, that any such move- 
 ment would undoubtedly have been a great mistake, tested in the 
 light of his missionary work, and reputation as a preacher in Ohio, 
 was, to say the least, rather premature. The greatest of all quali- 
 fications for the pastorate, practical judgment, sympathetic earnest- 
 ness, faithfulness in reproof, etc., he pre-eminently possessed. The 
 greatest difficulty would have been in his sermons. But the same 
 capacity which adapted those sermons to the peculiar material to
 
 240 MEMOIR OF 
 
 which they were addressed, might have been quite as successfully 
 exerted in endeavoring to meet the wants of other and different 
 material. The writer has no hesitation in the expression of the 
 conviction that, had Dr. Sparrow's life been given to the pastoral, 
 rather than the professorial work, his peculiar gift of teaching 
 from the pulpit, and from house to house, would have rendered 
 him as successful in one of these spheres as he undoubtedly was in 
 the other. The expediency of turning from one of these spheres 
 of labor to the other, or the prospect of so doing successfully, after 
 a man has passed middle life, is another and very different question. 
 For the sake of the Seminary, and his pupils, during the next 
 fifteen years, we may well rejoice that the experiment was not 
 made, and that he continued in his old position. 
 
 The only item of interest for the closing year of this period, 1860, 
 the writer finds in a couple of notations of his own ; one as to the 
 Diocesan Convention, and the other as to a later date : " Heard Dr. 
 Sparrow, on Sunday morning, preach a sermon in regard to the 
 reign of the Saints on earth, and enjoyed it very much." "Was 
 out at the Seminary, November 30th, at the Thanksgiving services, 
 spending the day with Dr. Sparrow, and hearing him preach a ser- 
 mon for the occasion." Both of these sermons, in their general 
 subject, as in the specific material, stood in sad contrast with the 
 experiences of trial and trouble so near at hand to himself and 
 hearers. 
 
 The last one of these sermons, while it looked back, had doubt- 
 less, also, its forward glance; for the elements of coming trouble 
 were beginning to make themselves manifest. In the meantime, 
 however, everything seemed to be going in its usual course at the 
 Seminary. The number of students was seventy; was as large, 
 if not larger, than at any former period. And while the excited 
 feelings outside, doubtless, had their influence with its members 
 from different sections, it did not interfere with regular perform- 
 ances of duty. Northern and Southern students, while disputing, 
 at times, in reference to the great questions at issue, were still 
 co-operative in their studies, and in their practical Christian efforts 
 for the welfare of the neighborhood. It was only as the prospect 
 of actual military movements became probable, that any serious 
 interference with Seminary work was experienced. The definite 
 form in which disorganization began, and the evils to come were 
 foreshadowed, was in that of the departure of the Northern stu-
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 241 
 
 dents, early in the Spring of 1861. This, it is gratifying to record, 
 took place in a spirit, on both sides, of regret and brotherly affec- 
 tion. It was a sad day to all ; to one side, to feel that it seemed 
 necessary to leave the sacred studies and associations in which they 
 were occupied ; to the other, to feel that such departure could not 
 be avoided. Peculiarly was this a day of sadness to Dr. Sparrow, 
 and recognized as an omen of others still more sad in the future. 
 The earliest impressions of his childhood were connected with the 
 evils of civil war. His father's house, during the rebellion in Ire- 
 land, was, at one time, occupied by the rebels, and subsequently by 
 the royal troops. The enforced removal of the family took place 
 while his mother was suffering from sickness, and the refugeeism 
 which followed, and still later the exile to this country after the 
 contest terminated, all these things together, as family traditions, 
 impressed upon his mind in childhood, produced an effect which went 
 with him through all his after-life. These facts of early impression 
 were mentioned by him in conversation, about the time of which 
 we are speaking; and they help to explain the clearness of antici- 
 pation with which he foresaw and described what so many, in a 
 little time, knew by experience. This horror of what was coming 
 seemed almost to absorb every other feeling. In addition, more- 
 over, to these general anticipations of evil to the whole country, 
 from a state of warfare, was there a clear perception of the imme- 
 diate prospect of it in the locality of the Seminary, within a few 
 miles of the Federal metropolis. "If," said he on one occasion, "if 
 Washington were up in the mountains of Pennsylvania. But for 
 us now there is no escape." He thus clearly foresaw that the work 
 of the Seminary, the work of his life, could not continue to go on 
 in that locality, if, indeed, anywhere. And this retirement of the 
 Northern students became a sad premonition of what must soon 
 follow. 
 
 For some weeks longer the exercises of the Seminary went on. 
 The work, moreover, of completing the new buildings, a part of 
 Meade Hall, went on very nearly to the close, to be resumed and 
 finished years after, when the impending conflict had ended. It 
 had become manifest, however, by the first of May, that it would 
 be impossible to go on. The funds of the Institution upon which 
 its support depended were invested in Virginia; and if it went on 
 at all, it must be where material in the shape of students and 
 funds for support were to be found. The locality, also, of the 
 16
 
 242 MEMOIR OP 
 
 Seminary, apart from these considerations, was just in the track of 
 military movements, and no place for academic or theological 
 study. Such movements were anticipated daily; and yielding to 
 what seemed inevitable, it was decided to close the exercises. Very 
 sad was the occasion, and, as an item in the history of the Institu- 
 tion, it has its peculiar interest. The exercises closed on the seventh 
 of May, with the examination of two of the members of the senior 
 class, and their ordination on the same day, in the chapel. The 
 congregation was made up of the professors and remaining stu- 
 dents, and a couple of clergymen from Alexandria. No sermon 
 was preached. And before the afternoon was over the process of 
 dispersion had begun. As it was doubtful whether any reorgani- 
 zation during hostilities would be possible, Dr. May, whose connec- 
 tions were north of the Potomac, returned to Philadelphia; the 
 death of Mrs. May had taken place only a few months before. Dr. 
 Packard and his family moved into the interior of Virginia, as did, 
 also, the family of Dr. Sparrow. The Doctor himself, and seven 
 or eight students, remained at the Seminary. And, with the excep- 
 tion of an absence of part of a week in Richmond, at the Diocesan 
 Convention, he remained at the Seminary until military move- 
 ments actually began with the occupation of Alexandria by the 
 Federal forces. This event closed communications with the inte- 
 rior; and to avoid separation from his family he rejoined them a 
 few days afterward. It would seem that he left the Seminary with 
 the hope of being able to return. But this was soon recognized 
 as impracticable. 
 
 These closing days, between the seventh of May and the mili- 
 tary movements some three weeks later, constituted a very peculiar 
 chapter in Dr. Sparrow's experience. He spoke of it afterward, as 
 a period, perhaps, the most trying to him of any through which, 
 during the war, he was called to pass. The strangeness of all the 
 surroundings, the absence of his household, the stoppage in mid- 
 session of all exercises, the empty buildings, the disturbed and 
 anxious condition of all with whom he came in contact, the certainty 
 of evils coming, and the uncertainty as to their degrees and forms, 
 the rumors of movements, and sometimes, in the boom of distant 
 artillery, the actual hearing of them all these seem to have had 
 their full influence upon his feelings and imagination. And this 
 influence, however realized during the day, when there was some 
 relief in communication with the students and neighbors remaining,
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 243 
 
 was still more oppressive when daylight closed, at night, in the 
 silence of his lonely dwelling, unoccupied except by himself. 
 
 Two letters to Rev. Mr. Syle properly come in at this point. 
 The one is an extract written the year before, on reception of intel- 
 ligence of the death of Mrs. Syle, and the other, during this stay of 
 Dr. Sparrow at the Seminary, after the departure of the students, 
 in May, 1861. It was from a real sympathy with sorrow in the 
 one instance, and a heavy experience of trouble in the other, that 
 he thus gave expression to his feelings. 
 
 "April 17, 1860. 
 
 " We both have run through the greater part of life, and I trust 
 understand something of its nature and design, and are enabled 
 through grace to interpret rightly the details of life in its trials 
 and triumphs, its losses and crosses, its joys and sorrows, its tempt- 
 ations and escapes. Dear brother, how imperfectly do those 
 understand the philosophy of life who have not learned it at the 
 feet of Jesus ; and to those who have, how vain and unsatisfactory 
 it is, aside from the end thereof, which is everlasting life. This 
 truth has been, of late, very much pressed upon my own heart. I 
 feel eternity to be very near, so that I can see, whether I do it or 
 not, that I ought to count all things but loss for the excellency of 
 the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, through whom alone I 
 can be prepared to meet it joyously. While I pray the Lord to 
 comfort you, therefore, let me ask, my dear brother, your prayers 
 for me, that I may be ever ready for any affliction, especially the 
 last.". 
 
 " TUESDAY, May 14, 1861. 
 " REV. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 " I am all alone in my house, having sent off my family to Staun- 
 ton ten days ago. I go to our Convention to-morrow, in Richmond, 
 and return on Monday, to take charge of the premises, as I have 
 been doing since the Seminary was prematurely closed. 
 
 " I had a letter last night from Susan. It seems that unless help 
 is sent to them immediately, they will have to come home. The 
 thought seems almost death to her and her husband. To be driven 
 home for want of a bare support, just when ready to be useful, is 
 dreadful to them. Cannot something be done ? She says they are 
 going to sell all that they have, and keep along till it is made evi- 
 dent that the Church will not sustain them. If I had the means,
 
 244 MEMOIR OP 
 
 how happy should I be to sustain them myself in a work so good 
 in itself, and so near their hearts. Cannot some good, generous 
 person lady, if you please be found to furnish them a few hun- 
 dred dollars, to live along there till better times. Had Sue's true 
 spirit been known among the rich ladies of our communion, as it 
 is known to you and me, I think there would not be any doubt of 
 her finding prompt relief. 
 
 "But why do I write? All is known to you; and, doubtless, 
 you have been contriving some relief. The mail that brought the 
 letters to me brought them to you, also, and all concerned in the 
 cause in New York. I leave the matter in God's hands. S. says 
 that the first announcement that they would soon have to leave was a 
 most astounding and stunning blow to her and D. But they soon 
 felt more calm, and were able to leave the matter at the Divine dis- 
 posal, determined to trust though He should slay them ; for next to 
 slaying would a return be before they had gathered in any harvest. 
 
 "I have no heart to speak about things here. I feel really 
 broken-hearted. Is there on record the case of a nation holding to 
 its lips a cup so fall of blessing, and so wantonly and wickedly dash- 
 ing it to the ground ? My own individual trials in this matter are 
 most peculiar and painful ; but oh, my country, it is for thee I feel ! 
 
 " Let me hear from you at your leisure, and believe me ever your 
 friend and brother, W. SPARROW." 
 
 Dr. Sparrow rejoined his family about the first of June. A few 
 lines will terminate the narrative in regard to the little community 
 which he left behind, and of the Seminary until it came into mili- 
 tary occupation. Six or seven students, most of them from locali- 
 ties not very remote, were placed in occupation and charge of the 
 buildings, to save them and the property in them, as far as possible, 
 from depredation and destruction. 
 
 Within a few weeks following the occupation of Alexandria, 
 squads, sometimes of stragglers from the army, sometimes of 
 vicious persons from the neighborhood, began to make depredations 
 upon unprotected property. Particularly was this the case with 
 unoccupied houses. One of the outer buildings of the Seminary 
 had been broken open during the night, and a request was made to 
 the officer commanding in the neighborhood to furnish a guard for 
 the protection of the property and its inmates. The writer, as an 
 eye witness, can describe the close.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 245 
 
 I went out with Mr. Lee to the Seminary, to meet the guard 
 that Col. Heintzelman had promised for its protection. It was a 
 bright afternoon in June, and everything was looking very fresh 
 and beautiful. But for the closed houses of the professors, it might 
 have been taken for the time of vacation. We found the six or 
 seven students in possession, apparently anxious in regard to the 
 protection which had been requested, and we endeavored to reassure 
 them. In less than twenty minutes the guard made its appear- 
 ance, too large, as I thought, for the purpose some twenty or 
 twenty-five men, under the command of a lieutenant. We received 
 them at the front door, and, after a few words, they marched into 
 the prayer hall and stacked their muskets. I mentioned to the 
 lieutenant that this was the place of prayer for the students, morn- 
 ing and evening, and that arrangements would be made for the 
 accommodation of his command in other parts of the building, 
 and we soon took our departure. We had hardly got back to 
 Mr. Lee's house before we received a message from the students 
 that a line of sentinels had been drawn around the buildings, and 
 that no one was allowed to pass through it. On our return to re- 
 monstrate, we found that Dr. May's and Dr. Sparrow's residences 
 had been broken open, so as to be searched, that the rooms of the 
 Seminary not already opened had been subjected to the same ope- 
 ration, and that the guard, which had been asked for protection, 
 had actually taken possession. The inmates, of course, got away 
 as soon as they could ; and within the next four months the build- 
 ings were appropriated to hospital purposes. Providentially for 
 Dr. Sparrow, the Rev. Mr. Jerome was chaplain for a time at the 
 station, and thus his papers, a considerable portion of his books, 
 and some little of his furniture were saved. 
 
 These particulars are mentioned because there is a common im- 
 pression that the Seminary was abandoned, and without inmates, or 
 proper representatives of its owners. This is a mistake. The offi- 
 cial guardian of the property at all other times was, at that time, 
 at hand, and acting. It was a merciful overruling of Divine 
 providence for the Institution that its buildings were eventually 
 appropriated to hospital purposes ; in all probability this was the 
 means of saving them from complete destruction. 
 
 We may now return to the subject of this memoir the refugee- 
 life of the head of the Seminary, in his new and trying sphere of 
 experience: This will form the subject of the next chapter.
 
 246 MEMOIR OF 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 REFUGEE LIFE IN STAUNTON AND HALIFAX. 
 
 Our last chapter closed, so far as Dr. Sparrow was personally 
 concerned, with his departure from the Seminary, soon after the 
 occupation by the Federal army of Alexandria and the adjacent 
 neighborhood. The occupation, with the establishment of a line 
 of pickets beyond the Seminary, closed communication with the 
 interior, and thus presented the alternative of departure or of 
 indefinite separation from his family. Other reasons for such de- 
 parture, connected with the resources of the Institution, and the 
 prospect, in any degree, of doing its work in such a time, have 
 already been mentioned. He, therefore, during the last week in 
 May, obtained a passport from the commanding officer, and rejoined 
 his family at Staunton, where they remained for a short time. From 
 thence, after a brief sojourn, they went to the Stribling Springs, a 
 watering-place not far distant, and there spent a part of the sum- 
 mer. His family at this time with him consisted of Mrs. Sparrow 
 and two of his daughters. From the other members of his house- 
 hold he was, by the events of the period, immediately and pain- 
 fully separated. Two of his daughters, Mrs. Grammer and Mrs. 
 Jerome, were north of the Potomac, with but little opportunity of 
 communication, the difficulties, in this respect, being increased in 
 the case of Mrs. Smith, who was in China. Two of his sons were 
 in the Confederate army, a third in the Confederate service in an- 
 other department ; one of his brothers was in the Federal and the 
 other in the Confederate Congress. These simple facts will be suf- 
 ficient to show the painful interest with which, from the start, he 
 could not but regard the whole struggle. And, just as all these 
 elements of trial were making themselves manifest, there came an- 
 other a trial at all times, but as deeply and tenderly felt in seasons 
 of general calamity and distress as at any other, perhaps by these 
 latter increased and deepened the loss of a beloved child, Mrs. 
 Dashiell, who died very suddenly, in Richmond. When little 
 Blanche Henning died, in 1853, the Doctor gratefully recognized
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 247 
 
 the mercy of God which, for twenty years, had spared his house- 
 hold from bereavement. This bereavement, when it came in the 
 death of the adopted one, like that of his own child twenty years be- 
 fore, was that which was involved in the loss of an infant. But this 
 of 1861 was different and much severer, to be followed, at no long 
 interval, by two others of the same nature. 
 
 A letter to his friend, Cassius F. Lee, Esq., written during the 
 summer of this year, contains some of the facts above stated, and 
 may properly come in at this point. It is to be borne in mind that 
 this, like all the communications of that date passing through the 
 lines, only went by private hands, and was, therefore, probably 
 subject to long delay in its reception. It will be seen from it that, 
 with the burden of his own troubles as a refugee, he had room for 
 sympathy with the troubles of others. 
 
 " STRIBLING SPRINGS, AUGUSTA COUNTY, VA., 
 
 " July 13, 1861. 
 " MY DEAR FRIEND : 
 
 " I received your letter of the 4th last night, and hasten to an- 
 swer it. It made me glad and made me sorry. It is ever a plea- 
 sure to hear from you ; but it deeply saddens my heart that you 
 are placed in such trying circumstances. But my faith is strong 
 that our Lord will carry you safely through. In Him have you 
 trusted, and He will deliver you. Would that I could be with you, 
 to interchange thoughts and feelings, and, by mutual Christian 
 communion, receive and impart comfort. When I left the Semi- 
 nary, it was my intention to return, and, therefore, I took nothing 
 with me, not even my manuscripts. But as soon as that affray at 
 the Court-house occurred, I could not persuade my family to let me 
 go. Indeed, it seemed to me that I had no right to subject their 
 feelings, and especially F.'s health, to the trial of nerve which 
 would be incident to a departure from them under the circum- 
 stances. But I have been restless and uncomfortable ever since, 
 as though my proper place were at the Seminary, to do what in me 
 lay to protect it, and my own property, and that of others. 
 
 " In regard to yourself, I can only say that I have written letters 
 and held conversations, in several instances, all exhibiting the 
 views of your letter just received. I thought I understood your 
 sentiments on this greatest of calamities perfectly, and have not 
 failed, where I could, to enforce them. My dear friend, the Lord
 
 248 MEMOIR OF 
 
 is a strong tower to them that trust in Him ; and I earnestly pray 
 that you may abundantly realize the truth, not only in security to 
 you and your dear family, but in the peace, quietness and assurance 
 of your own mind. Myself and family daily remember you in our 
 prayers. Do write me as often as you can, and let me know how 
 things are getting on. 
 
 " I came here from Staunton a few days ago, and will remain a 
 month. My situation in Staunton was not favorable, and Mrs. S.'s 
 and my daughter's health suffered. The evil was, no doubt, aggra- 
 vated by the sudden death of my daughter in Richmond. My son 
 Leonard is in an artillery company on Aquia Creek, my son 
 Thomas has gone to the West, as one of the University volunteers, 
 and my son William is employed as an assistant engineer on the 
 railroad west of Staunton. We have heard of Mrs. Grammer, in 
 Columbus, Bishop Mcllvaine having brought the letter to Wash- 
 ington, but not from Mrs. Jerome, in Pennsylvania, nor Mrs. 
 Smith, in China. It is altogether probable, nay, certain, that there 
 are letters for me at the Seminary, at Alexandria, or at Washing- 
 ton. I am told there is a way of having them forwarded, but I 
 know not how it is. Should you know, you will render a great 
 service by having it done, and any expense incurred will be cheer- 
 fully paid. I am told that it is through the Express Company, and 
 that it pertains only to foreign letters the most desirable to us. 
 
 " Mrs. S. and my daughters desire to be kindly remembered to 
 Mrs. L. and family. 
 
 " Ever your affectionate friend, W. SPARROW." 
 
 Nothing, during the summer, was done, in the way of specific 
 effort, toward reorganizing the Seminary. In the month of 
 October, however, there was a meeting of the Bishops, and some of 
 the Trustees and clergy, in Richmond, with reference to an effort 
 for such purpose. Dr. Packard being kept away by sickness, Dr. 
 Sparrow was the only one of the Faculty present, and took part in 
 the deliberations. Various plans were proposed and considered, 
 but there was great difficulty in deciding upon any. The difficulty 
 of communication was so great, and so little was known, at the 
 beginning of this conference, of the condition of the Seminary 
 buildings and grounds, so much doubt was felt as to whether the 
 buildings were not destroyed, or damaged irreparably, that with 
 some there was a decided inclination to find a new locality more in
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 249 
 
 the interior, and there organize for future operations. Information 
 was communicated that the buildings and grounds of the Hugonot 
 Springs, in Powhatan county, some sixteen miles above Richmond, 
 could be obtained for a comparatively small sum, $10,000, and it 
 was proposed that this should be the locality. A committee was 
 appointed to visit the premises, examine them, and make a report. 
 Some, indeed, were in favor of the purchase, only for temporary 
 purposes, and having in view a return to the old locality, as it 
 would be a desirable investment of funds which, in all probability, 
 through the contingencies of war, would become worthless, a result 
 which was actually realized. As/ moreover, the buildings were 
 extensive, the plan included the restoration of the High-School at 
 the same locality, and a temporary continuation, so far as the 
 boarding department was concerned, of the two Institutions. The 
 complications of such arrangement, and the anticipation of financial 
 and other difficulties in carrying it out, led to its abandonment. 
 Just at this point, moreover, reliable intelligence, from one who had 
 come through the lines, was received, that the Seminary and its 
 buildings, as he had seen them within the few days previous, were 
 uninjured, and presented very much their old appearance. The effect 
 of this announcement was very cheering, and it was eventually 
 decided to give up the effort in regard to the High-School, and to 
 make trial of the Seminary at Staunton. It is a noticeable fact, 
 that the proposed new locality, near as it was to Richmond, was 
 one of the few in Virginia untouched by military movement or 
 occupation, and that its purchase would probably have saved its 
 value in funds of the Seminary, those especially in bank stock, 
 which at the close of the war were of no value. Dr. Sparrow 
 evidently regarded the proposed scheme of reorganization, particu- 
 larly that feature combining the two Institutions, as visionary and 
 impracticable; and in this opinion, Mr. McGuire, the Principal of 
 the High-School, fully concurred. It is a leaf in the history of the 
 Seminary, as in the biography of Dr. Sparrow, which will not be 
 without its interest to some of our readers. 
 
 The actual carrying out of the plan thus decided upon was un- 
 avoidably postponed for a few months. It was entered upon by 
 Dr. Sparrow and Dr. Packard in December. In the interval the 
 former was called as a delegate from the Diocese of Virginia, to 
 attend a special council of the Southern Dioceses, at Columbia, 
 South Carolina, to consider the question and manner of distinct
 
 250 MEMOIR OF 
 
 organization. The result of this meeting was the proposal of a 
 constitution to be submitted to the dioceses, and, upon their accept- 
 ance, to be the basis of a general council of the dioceses consent- 
 ing. On his way to this meeting, he spent several days in Rich- 
 mond, where the writer met -him, and was particularly struck, in 
 conversation with him, by the absence of two states of feeling 
 which, at that time, with others, seemed so prevalent, those of 
 bitterness and despondency wrath against men, and want of 
 faith in God. His invariable tone was one of forbearance and 
 cheerfulness. The latter was most remarkable. Indeed, with the 
 exception of the season of perplexity incident to the condition of 
 things during the spring of this year, and before hostilities actually 
 commenced, this peculiarity of his disposition remained unaffected. 
 It was encouraging to one's spirit to be with him, to witness his 
 repose of spirit, his cheerful trust in the overruling wisdom and 
 goodness of God, his ready sympathy and prompt aid wherever 
 they could be afforded. One little incident remains, coming up in 
 conversation, and bearing upon the conflict then going on. He 
 was speaking of the facility with which efficient soldiers could be 
 created out of our population. "When," said he, "I was at Strib- 
 ling Springs, I was walking with one of the boys, some ten or 
 twelve years of age, who had been out with his gun in search of 
 game. 'Look there, Doctor/ said he, pointing to a small bird up a 
 tree some distance off, ' look there, I am going to shoot that bird's 
 head off.' And sure enough, the bird fell, and his head was gone. 
 Small chance for an object the size of a man if that boy should 
 ever be a soldier." 
 
 The conference at Columbia terminated toward the close of 
 November, and soon after the Doctor returned to Staunton. In 
 December the effort was made to resume, with such students as 
 could be obtained, the exercises of the Seminary. The number 
 was small, and this was made smaller by the conscription of the 
 next spring. Dr. Packard, at this time, rejoined him, and for five 
 months they gave instruction to the students under their charge. 
 In the spring of 1862 it was thought advisable, in view of military 
 movements feared or contemplated, to make a change of locality. 
 Dr. Packard, therefore, returned to his family, in Fauquier, and 
 was prevented by sickness and other providences from taking part 
 in the effort to keep the Seminary going, until after the close of the 
 war. Dr. Sparrow, at the same time, moved to Halifax county, in
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 251 
 
 the southern interior of Virginia, where, after awhile, he was re- 
 joined by the students, and for five months, that is, until the winter 
 of 1862, gave them instruction. During this time he found a home 
 at the house of the Rev. John T. Clark, and, as mentioned by his 
 host, was not only engaged in his teaching during the week, but 
 nearly every Sunday, at one point or another, preached for his 
 brethren in the neighborhood. " He was about four miles from my 
 house," says the Kev. Mr. Powers. " I had known him before, and 
 he frequently visited us during his sojourn in Halifax, walking 
 the four miles, and sometimes spending a day and night with us. 
 His unfailing cheerfulness, the charm of his conversation, his 
 familiarity with every topic, at home in the simplest as well as in 
 the most abstruse, and enjoying the one as much as the other, his 
 unostentatious simplicity, his power of adapting himself to every 
 one, so that all, children as well as grown people, felt at home with 
 him, and delighted to be in his company, were traits that made 
 us look forward to his visits with delight and expectation that 
 we shall never forget." "Our little band," says one of the stu- 
 dents of that time, Rev. William H. Meade, " was scattered from 
 Staunton, whence Dr. Sparrow proceeded with his family, to Rev. 
 John T. Clark's, in Halifax. Late in the following summer, some 
 five students, P. D. Thompson, Davies, N. H. Lewis, E. H. Ingle, 
 and W. H. Meade, collected around the Doctor, all except E. H. 
 Ingle boarding in Mr. Clark's family. We were thus thrown into 
 very intimate relations with him. A little later, two others joined 
 us, Burke, and J. A. Mitchell, of Maryland. In the following 
 winter we went back to Staunton again. 
 
 " The general result of this intercourse, while I do not recall any- 
 thing special to relate in connection with it, was to deepen in us 
 love and admiration for the man. There could be no question as 
 to the Christian and the scholar. We found him genial and gush- 
 ing as a boy ; ready to take part in the homely sports of our coun- 
 try home. In social intercourse he took strong hold of the hospi- 
 table community in which he was sojourning. He was virtually, so 
 far as the pulpit was concerned, the minister of the parish, preach- 
 ing, as he did, almost every Sunday while I stayed in Halifax. He 
 seemed specially to delight in the religious exercises Mr. Clark was 
 accustomed to hold upon his premises for colored folks ; often would 
 Dr. Sparrow conduct them himself, while he was largely influential 
 in getting us at similar work about the neighborhood. In a word,
 
 252 MEMOIR OF 
 
 toe were all drawn to him as teacher, counsellor, friend almost 
 companion and to me his memory is precious." 
 
 One little circumstance, mentioned by the doctor himself, in con- 
 nection with his sojourn in Halifax, just here has its place : " I 
 was," said he, " one afternoon standing on the porch, and saw a 
 wretched-looking man a soldier approaching, who, I supposed, 
 was seeking assistance, and it was only after he came up and spoke 
 to me that I recognized him. I did not know," said he, his face 
 flushing and his eyes filling, " I did not know my own son !" 
 
 It was just before the removal to Halifax that an event took 
 place of mournful significance to Dr. Sparrow, to the Diocese of 
 Virginia, and the whole Church the death of Bishop Meade. 
 The Bishop's relations to the Seminary, as one of its founders, if, 
 indeed, he may not be regarded as its founder, and, as President of 
 the Board of Trustees, had brought him into close relations with 
 Dr. Sparrow in his work. Their thorough accord upon the great 
 questions at issue in the Church brought them still more closely 
 together. It is deeply to be regretted that their correspondence, 
 which seems to have been full and frequent, should have entirely 
 disappeared. And it was with no ordinary emotion that intelli- 
 gence of this mournful event was received by the survivor. His 
 feelings found expression in the sermon affixed to the biography of 
 the Bishop, preached originally, and soon after the event, at Staun- 
 ton, but afterwards incorporated by Bishop Johns in his volume. 
 
 But the sadness of this loss to himself, in common with the whole 
 Church, was followed by another of a personal, private nature 
 that of another beloved child, Mrs. Smith, in her distant home of 
 missionary labor. It will be remembered that in the spring of 
 1861 he was greatly perplexed and grieved at the prospect of the 
 abandonment of the mission, and the return homeward of herself 
 and husband. Arrangements, however, had been effected by which 
 the mission could be sustained. Scarcely, however, had he re- 
 ceived the announcement of this fact, before it was followed by that 
 of her departure. The following letter of Bishop Boone tells the 
 mournful story : 
 
 "SHANGHAI, July 30, 1862. 
 "My DEAR BROTHER: 
 
 " It grieves me to communicate the melancholy tidings we have 
 received from the North. Your precious daughter Susan, our
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 253 
 
 beloved sister, has been taken away from us. She was carried off 
 by cholera, as in a moment. I will give the particulars in the 
 words of Mr. and Mrs. McCartie, who, by a kind Providence, were 
 with our brother and sister in the hour of their trial. 
 
 " Mrs. McCartie writes, under date of July 14th, 1862 : ' Mr. 
 Smith begs me to write a few lines to tell you of the unexpected 
 and severe bereavement which has befallen him. Dear Mrs. 
 Smith 'sleeps in Jesus.' She died of cholera, this morning. Dr. 
 McCartie was providentially here, and it is a comfort to feel that 
 everything was done for her that could be, although God has taken 
 her to Himself. Mrs. Smith had been two weeks in Yentai (Chi- 
 foo), and was expecting to come home Friday, but was prevented. 
 However, she sent her little Fannie and Johnnie, hoping to come 
 the next day, but the very heavy rains prevented. Sabbath p. M. 
 Mr. Smith went for her ; she was delighted to reach home once 
 more, but had suffered from headache all day, and after tea and 
 prayers retired early. About nine o'clock she asked for some medi- 
 cine for diarrhoea, as she feared she might disturb us in the night. 
 About midnight Dr. McCartie was called, as she had cramps in her 
 limbs ; and from that time Dr. McCartie and Mr. Smith carefully 
 watched and nursed her till six this morning. I find my husband 
 has already written you a note, so I will not add more.' 
 
 " Dr. McCartie writes under the same date, Monday, the 14th 
 July. He writes from Mr. Smith's house: 'My dear Bishop 
 Boone : Mrs. McCartie and I accepted Mr. and Mrs. Smith's kind 
 invitation to come out here on Friday P. M., although Mrs. Smith 
 was obliged to remain in Yentai, in attendance on Mrs. Holmes, 
 who had been sick for some ten or twelve days previously. The 
 rains and the /Sabbath kept us from starting from Larry-chow, and 
 last evening Mrs. Smith was enabled to get out here, much worn 
 out and ailing, owing to fatigue and care in nursing, which was too 
 much for her in her state of health. Last night, about eleven p. 
 M., she was taken with cholera, and, in her weak and exhausted 
 state, a few hours have been sumcient to loose the silver cord, and 
 while I am now writing (in hope to catch the mail) her spirit is 
 just leaving the earthly house of her tabernacle, we trust to be 
 clothed upon with her house which is from heaven. 
 
 " ' Six A. M. She is gone. Poor brother Smith is heart-broken, 
 but leans on Jesus. It is a comfort to us all that Mrs. McCartie 
 and I are with him, although we have been able to do but little
 
 254 MEMOIR OF 
 
 for our departed sister. Mrs. Smith said but little, but her 
 answers to my questions indicated a calm reliance upon Christ, and 
 a willing and cheerful submission to God's holy will. I said, 'You 
 are willing to leave the issue with him?' She said, 'Yes.' 'Are 
 you able to rely peacefully upon him?' 'Yes, I think so.' Mr. 
 S. wishes her buried at Larry-chow. As soon as the friends can 
 get here from Yentai we will determine upon the plans to be 
 pursued. As the mail is expected in an hour or two, I have been 
 obliged to write in great haste.' 
 
 "This is all the information we have received, and I have copied 
 it for you, my dear brother, as I know every line will have a deep 
 interest for you. We have not yet heard from Mr. Smith, and do 
 not know if any news went home to you by the last mail. 
 
 " Mrs. Boone has written to Mr. Smith, begging him to send little 
 Fanny to us, as we can perhaps take better care of her than any of 
 his other friends. Jane, our Irish nurse, promises to do her best 
 for her, and our little Robbie pleads very hard for a little com- 
 panion. It will benefit both the children to be together, and I 
 have no doubt Mr. S. will send her to us if he can make up his 
 mind to the separation. I will write to him and advise him to 
 come down himself, as it is too much for him to undertake a mission 
 by himself. We may probably get a line from him before the mail 
 leaves, and I will keep this letter open to communicate any further 
 information we may receive. We are an afilicted mission, and we 
 mourn deeply the loss of your dear daughter ; but we know that 
 ' He doeth all things well ' who has taken her away from us, and 
 we say to Him, 'Thy will be done.' It is infinite wisdom and love 
 that have ordered this dispensation, and we want to be under just 
 these two infinite attributes. 
 
 "August 2. We have just received news from Mr. S. as late 
 as the 27th of July. He and the baby were both well. There 
 has been sad mortality at Chi-foo. A Mr. Hall and child, Mrs. 
 Bonheur, and the last remaining child of the Mills' have died. It 
 is sad, sad; enough to make us all weep. God in mercy sanctify it 
 to us all. You must all live under a dreadful tension, with so many 
 dear ones daily exposed to a violent death. God in mercy grant us 
 peace, on those terms He sees to be best for all. Mrs. Boone joins 
 me in kind regards to Mrs. Sparrow and all your family. 
 " With much sympathy, 
 
 " Affectionately yours, WM. J. BOONE. 
 
 "Rev, Dr. Sparrow"
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 255 
 
 In the spring of 1863, the year after, during the Diocesan Coun- 
 cil, the writer visited, with the Doctor, the Bishop's grave, in 
 Hollywood Cemetery, near Richmond. In the course of the walk 
 he spoke of his daughter who was resting in the same locality, and 
 of the other who soon followed her, and when he came to the grave 
 of the Bishop, it was with deep emotion that he contemplated and 
 spoke of it. His feelings toward the Bishop were very peculiar; 
 those not only of high admiration and regard, but of obligation 
 and deep affection. And when, some four or five years afterward, 
 he was assailed as a teacher of false doctrine, one part of his reply 
 was, that so far as two independent minds, seeking the truth, could 
 be said to have the same opinions, the Bishop's and his were the 
 same; that between them there was no substantial difference. 
 
 The return to Staunton took place, as we have seen, in the fall 
 or winter of 1862-3. And with the exception of brief visits in the 
 neighborhood, to preach, and the annual call to the Diocesan Coun- 
 cil, in Richmond, his residence there continued until the summer of 
 1865, when he returned to the Seminary. His own memorandum, 
 in the Record Book of the proceedings of the Faculty, made in 
 1865, gives us the material for this period: 
 
 "In the month of May, 1861, the officers and students of the 
 Theological Seminary were interrupted in their duties by the 
 national calamities which fell upon them. The students dispersed 
 to their homes, North and South ; the Rev. Dr. May went to his 
 relations in Philadelphia; the Rev. Dr. Packard to his, in Fauquier 
 County, Virginia; and the Rev. Dr. Sparrow to Staunton, Augusta 
 County. In Staunton, with the sanction of the Board of Trustees, 
 was made the temporary location of the Seminary; some students 
 assembled for instruction, and for five months Dr. Sparrow and 
 Dr. Packard taught them in conjunction. This was during the 
 months of December, 1861, and January, February, March, and 
 April, 1862. After that, the former returned to his family, in 
 Fauquier, and the latter retired, to avoid the dangers and excite- 
 ments of war, to Halifax County, and there taught for five months. 
 After that he returned to Staunton again, and there remained with 
 the students which conscription left him, to the close of the war." 
 
 The life in Staunton would naturally be one of little striking 
 incident. Reports of raiding parties, and military movements, 
 especially toward the close, would, at times, abound, and be pro- 
 ductive of their due excitement. With these exceptions, and mak-
 
 256 MEMOIR OP 
 
 ing allowance for the common burden which rested upon all hearts, 
 the little theological circle of professors and students went on with- 
 out disturbance in their peculiar duties. Dr. Packard was not 
 able to rejoin them after the return to Staunton, and Dr. Sparrow, 
 therefore, in the work of instruction, went on alone. The recita- 
 tions, part of the time, were held in the vestry-room of the church, 
 sometimes in the Doctor's study ; at times, when he was feeble, with 
 the teacher on a lounge, in a reclining position his " clinical lec- 
 tures," as he himself humorously called them. As the number of 
 students, for a large portion of the time, was very small, he took 
 one or two pupils in the classics. With these were varied, as we 
 have seen, his occasional duties in the pulpit. He always bore in 
 warm and grateful remembrance the kindness and hospitality with 
 which he was treated by this community ; spoke of their thought- 
 ful attention and aid, during a portion of his residence among them. 
 And the impression made by him upon them was most salutary. 
 To a degree shared by very few, he appreciated the great ca- 
 lamity which had fallen alike upon the country and upon him- 
 self. The length, and breadth, and depth, and height of that 
 calamity, in all its consequences, material, social, moral, and espe- 
 cially spiritual, were painfully recognized. As a refugee, the pecu- 
 liarities of this season of trial were especially wrought into his 
 own experience. He was thus thoroughly sympathetic with those 
 around him, but not overcome by despondency. He endeavored to 
 be cheerful, and others were sustained and cheered by his presence 
 and influence. "I saw a great deal," is the language of a corres- 
 pondent, "of our departed friend during the war, and greatly 
 enjoyed intercourse with him. He bore his trials, that of pecu- 
 niary pressure included, with Christian fortitude. Indeed, his 
 cheerfulness was truly to be admired. I never heard him express 
 himself at all as regarded the causes of the war; but only felt that 
 it was a privilege to hear him converse, and that it was well to 
 have been with him." "I saw Dr. Sparrow," says Col. Skinner, 
 " during the last year of the war, very frequently, and I need not 
 say I enjoyed greatly his kind visits. He wrote me a letter from 
 the Seminary, shortly after his return there, expressive of his sense 
 of obligation, arid full of warm utterances toward the people of 
 Staunton for their many kindnesses to him. I wish, very much, 
 now, that I had preserved it." " The war, as you no doubt know, 
 was a great trial to him ; and the secular papers of the day, I think I
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 257 
 
 heard him say, he never read. His heart was full of the tenderest sym- 
 pathy for the people of the South in their sufferings. But, as a fol- 
 lower of the Prince of Peace, he deprecated all war ; and my impres- 
 sion is I would not like to speak with entire positiveness about this 
 that his opinion was, so far as our struggle involved and turned 
 upon the maintenance of slavery, that we were hopelessly contending 
 with the spirit of the age. He rather shrank from conversation on 
 these subjects. I think it always greatly pained him; but I shall 
 never forget his deep emotion one summer afternoon, as he paced 
 my front porch, in full view of woods, and waving fields, and serene 
 mountains in the distance, and poured forth his soul in holy regrets 
 at the internecine strife in which our country was involved ; so that 
 even when, perhaps, I did not altogether coincide with him, I did 
 not hesitate to admire his Christian earnestness, nor could I fail to 
 discern that his spirit dwelt in the beauty of holiness. Could one 
 but be favored with a record of his inner life during those years of 
 trial, there are but few of us, I imagine, who would not derive 
 spiritual benefit therefrom." 
 
 "He occupied," says another, Mrs. Shefiey, "a portion of the 
 house of Mrs. K., but kept a separate establishment, furniture 
 being provided for himself and family, and, as was, doubtless, 
 always the case, he greatly enjoyed his domestic life. He endured 
 some of the privations incident to . the war. It was, however, the 
 pleasure of the people to remember him in many acts of kindness 
 and loving consideration. And it is a sweet pleasure to those 
 whose privilege it was to share with him what God had bestowed on 
 them, to recur to those troubled times, and to recall the memory of 
 his grateful appreciation of the goodness of God in opening the 
 people's hearts toward him. He was much beloved in the congre- 
 gation, among whom he frequently ministered in holy things, in 
 the pulpit and otherwise. He visited many families frequently, 
 and systematically; and in some of them he was a household favor- 
 ite. He was everywhere a welcome guest. His sympathy, his 
 interest, and tender oneness with many of us in our sorrows, in 
 connection with the trials of the times, can never be forgotten. 
 His heart overflowed with tender feeling and grief as he witnessed 
 the afflictions of our people; and to the sorrowing and anxious he 
 always brought the precious balm of Christian consolation. 
 
 " His health was not robust ; he suffered much from languor ; 
 but he abated not his work. He was afflicted with sleeplessness; 
 17
 
 258 MEMOIR OP 
 
 the noise on the streets, and the barkings of dogs at night, affect- 
 ing his delicate nervous temperament, so as to drive away refresh- 
 ing slumber. Indeed, to the writer of this he once remarked that 
 he scarcely ever became fully unconscious in sleep. His favorite 
 theme in religious conversation was, 'The Heavenly Rest.' On 
 one occasion, "he started from his seat, walked the floor hurriedly, 
 and exclaimed : ' 0, think what it will be to serve Him unclogged 
 by these bodies!' 
 
 " He frequently spoke of death, and expressed the desire that 
 he might not have to endure a long and wasting sickness, but that, if 
 it were God's will, he might go quickly to his eternal home ! And 
 his Heavenly Father heard him, and 'so He gave His beloved rest.' 
 
 " Unselfishness and self-sacrifice were traits of character promi- 
 nently brought forward during his stay with us. He was an exile 
 from his once pleasant and congenial home, and exposed to many 
 trials; but no murmur or complaint ever escaped his lips. He 
 found God everywhere, and realized fully that for him all that was 
 was full of blessing. He was calm and trustful in the midst of the 
 most exciting events, greatly wise as a counsellor, and brotherly as 
 a comforter. On one occasion he left his own place of abode, and, 
 with his family, spent a week in a friend's household, to comfort 
 and protect its inmates, who were deprived of the protection of the 
 exiled head of the family. 
 
 "There were no busy, startling incidents connected with his stay 
 in Staunton. But there was left behind him, when he went from 
 our midst, profound sorrow at his departure, and the sweet influ- 
 ence of a thousand remembered acts of kindness and of love which 
 make the sum of a good man's life. And among none will his 
 memory be kept green and fresh longer than among his loving 
 friends of old Trinity." 
 
 The following letter to Dr. Packard, who, at this time, was in 
 Alexandria, belongs here. It contains a beautiful tribute to their 
 departed colleague, Dr. May; and it affords, incidentally, evidence 
 of the difficulties of communication between friends across the lines 
 of the opposing armies. 
 
 " STAUNTON, March 25, 1864. 
 
 " BEY. AND VERY DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 " I do not know when I have been more agreeably surprised than 
 by a visit, this morning, from Dr. P.; and I gladly embrace the
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 259 
 
 opportunity of writing. I have written you several times during 
 the last twelve months, but know not that you have got any of my 
 letters. The last from you was November the fifth, and for many 
 a month before I had heard nothing. I am thankful to learn that 
 your health is decidedly improving, and that you are getting on 
 pretty comfortably. 
 
 "I am in my old place, 'room-keeping/ as the phrase is. I have, 
 at the present, Mr. Gardner, whom you know, Mr. McKim and 
 Mr. Mitchell, from Maryland, and Mr. Hutchinson, who was in 
 the preparatory department when we broke up. Between them all, 
 I have a hard time. Ingle has been ordained, and is gone; 
 Mitchell has, also, been ordained, and will, probably, soon go ; and 
 Gardner and McKim expect to be ordained in seven weeks. Others 
 are talking of joining the Seminary. 
 
 " All your old friends here are as usual. Bishop Johns is going, 
 in a fortnight, to Halifax, to keep house, at least for the summer. 
 Do you know anything about my son William, or my daughter 
 Mary? I have got but one letter from W., and I wonder at his 
 silence. 
 
 " Your last letter did not reach me for two months after its date. 
 Before it arrived I had been shocked and grieved, more than I can 
 express, by the news of Dr. May's death. Few such Christians 
 have gone to heaven of late years. It was specially sad to me that 
 in his sickness his mind was unhinged by disease most of the time. 
 I should like to have heard of his last moments if lucid. 
 
 " My family are, in point of health, about as usual. L., who 
 made us a visit of a fortnight, the first in a year and a half, is quite 
 well. T. is in Petersburg, but not at all well; and as to W., you 
 know more of him than I do, most probably. 
 
 " My family here desire to be most affectionately remembered to 
 Mrs. P. Write as soon as you can, and believe me, truly, 
 
 " Your affectionate brother, W. SPARROW." 
 
 "On the first day of January, 1865," writes Kev. Mr. Hayden, 
 describing the last four months in Staunton, " I went to Staunton 
 to enter the theological Seminary. I found a seminary in name, 
 but hardly in fact, since it consisted of only one professor, Rev. 
 Dr. Sparrow, and one student, Mr. Thomas C. Hutchinson, of 
 Canada, a discharged soldier. Mr. H. was a man of considerable 
 promise and great earnestness. He had entered in the fall of
 
 260 MEMOIR OF 
 
 1864, and died, I think, of typhoid pneumonia, on the 12th of 
 March, 1865, leaving the Seminary once more with the one profes- 
 sor, and one student, myself. Dr. Sparrow was then living at Mrs. 
 Porterfield Kenney's, and Mr. Hutchinson and myself boarded our- 
 selves, at the house of Mrs. Wm. Kinney. Of the life of Dr. Spar- 
 row during this time and the following months, until he removed 
 to Alexandria, I suppose little could be learned from any one. Mr. 
 Hutchinson and myself were in different classes, and, therefore, 
 recited separately. I am sure Dr. Sparrow took the same interest 
 in our studies, and lectured to us as earnestly, and with the same 
 faithful devotion to his duties, as he manifested afterward when the 
 Seminary was fuller and his classes more interesting. Excepting 
 in the lecture, we saw but little of the Doctor; enough, however, to 
 be deeply impressed with the saintly character of the man, and to 
 learn to love him. His sons were all in the army, and one in a 
 United States prison. As I knew them, he frequently spoke of 
 them and of the war, but studiously kept himself in ignorance of 
 much that occurred, hardly ever reading a secular paper. His 
 purpose, doubtless, was to keep his mind free from the anxieties 
 and excitements which such reading would produce. 
 
 " I remember, as a little incident, on one occasion taking him a 
 plate of butter, I having learned that he had none ; it was then 
 worth $8.00 a pound. After thanking me warmly, he asked, ' How 
 did you bring it in a basket?' I replied, 'No, Doctor, I carried 
 the plate in my hand.' Opening his eyes, as he was accustomed to 
 do at anything peculiar, he said, ' I must congratulate you, sir, upon 
 the absence of that false pride that would make many a man 
 ashamed to carry a plate through the street.' As the thought of 
 shame had not entered my mind, his manner and words I have 
 not been able to forget. The Doctor had warm ties to bind 
 him to the North, yet that his deep sympathies were with our 
 people in their severe struggle, no one could fail to know from 
 his spirit and conversation. My impression of such fact was 
 deepened by everything he said on the subject. He had, how- 
 ever, peculiar views about wars. He seemed to think that no 
 man should use weapons of carnal warfare, even in his own 
 defence, and was accustomed to say that if his life were in danger 
 he would not strike a blow. This sentiment the Doctor acted out, as 
 he several times told us, even in respect to his property ; that he 
 had lost it rather than sue for his rights."
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 261 
 
 With the close of the war was the almost immediate pre- 
 sentation of the question of the restoration of the Seminary. 
 The buildings had escaped destruction, but were still in use as 
 hospitals, and in the hands of the military authorities. Even if 
 turned over to their original owners, the expenses involved in 
 necessary repairs and refurnishing constituted a serious obstacle. 
 The buildings were a good deal injured, the furniture of the 
 rooms entirely gone, the enclosures and out-houses had disappeared, 
 and large portions of the grounds were covered with temporary 
 structures for the accommodation of the sick and wounded. Still, 
 it was deemed advisable to make a beginning ; and this was entered 
 upon in the effort to obtain possession. Success crowned this 
 effort; and when, after a few months' delay, the Seminary buildings 
 and grounds were turned over to the representatives of the Board 
 of Trustees, it was resolved to attempt reorganization. In antici- 
 pation of this, Dr. Sparrow left Staunton soon after the close of 
 hostilities. It was with feelings of affectionate interest in a com- 
 munity with which he had passed through the trials of a common 
 calamity, as of grateful regard for kindnesses of which he had 
 been a recipient, that he was prepared to take his departure. That 
 departure was characterized by an act of thoughtful attention on 
 one side, and of grateful appreciation on the other, which may 
 well find place in this record; a closing token and evidence of 
 friendship and regard, in a present, most delicately tendered, of 
 the means to meet the expenses of his journey and removal. 
 Dr. Sparrow would have been deeply affected by such an ex- 
 pression of kindness at any time, and under any circumstances; 
 but, as coming from that community, in their circumstances of 
 the spring of 1865, it was recognized as an abounding "of their 
 liberality out of the depth of their poverty," and was, therefore, 
 still more cordially appreciated. 
 
 After leaving ' Staunton, he stopped for a short time in Rich- 
 mond, and from thence went to Baltimore and the Seminary. From 
 Baltimore we have a brief letter to one of his former pupils, to 
 whom we are indebted for portions of correspondence in the chap- 
 ters preceding. 
 
 " BALTIMORE, July 8, 1865. 
 " REV. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 " I lately saw, for a few moments, a pamphlet by you, and what
 
 262 MEMOIR OF 
 
 I saw I was much pleased with. It has put me in the notion of 
 scribbling these lines, though with a rheumatic hand, for 'auld 
 lang syne ;' though I confess I stand in doubt how such as I will 
 be regarded, even by old friends at the North. If you can exer- 
 cise no more flattering feeling toward us, I trust that, in your 
 magnanimity, you will, at least, pity us! Do tell us how the 
 Bishop's pastoral is going to affect you all. Should there be any 
 ' Alexander-the-coppersmith ' in your city, you may have trouble, 
 and the next thing may be an ecclesiastical secession / hope with 
 a successful issue. 
 
 " I am here with Mrs. S. and my daughter Frances, and two 
 sons, the latter looking for something to do. As soon as the Semi- 
 nary is vacated, I return to it, and begin life anew, furnishing my 
 house afresh with everything but a cradle ! It seems strange 
 to find myseif so situated, but it does not dishearten me. If my 
 strength were equal to my spirits, I should not mind it. If I can, 
 I shall visit New York before the autumn, and shall take real 
 pleasure in talking over old times, and being posted up for the past 
 four years. You may judge how ignorant I am, from the fact that I 
 never read the papers during the war. But in the meanwhile, 
 steal a half hour, and write me at this place, telling all about your- 
 self, and directing the letter to the care of Rev. Julius E. Gram- 
 mer, St. Peter's Church, Baltimore. 
 
 " Ever yours, affectionately, W. SPARROW. 
 
 "Rev. Dr. Canfield" 
 
 The event contemplated in this letter, the evacuation of the 
 Seminary by its military occupants, took place very soon after it 
 was written; and within the next six weeks the Doctor and his 
 family were in their old residence. Dr. Packard was also present, 
 having reached there before him. The prospect, indeed, was not at 
 all assuring. Of the endowment of the Seminary, 'at least half had 
 become worthless, and of that remaining a considerable portion 
 was bearing no interest. The Seminary had to be refurnished, as 
 also the houses of the professors; and for all, repairs, expensive 
 and thorough, were urgently needed. It was all doubtful as to 
 what might be anticipated in the material of men for the classes, 
 and quite as much so as to the capacity of the Education Society 
 to afford such pecuniaiy aid as might be needed. Still, the effort 
 had to be made, and it was determined to begin at the usual time.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 263 
 
 Providentially, there came relief just when it was most needed, 
 in the shape of a legacy, made to the Institution not long before 
 the war, and this secured temporary provision for the under- 
 taking. Things were righted up as far as possible. Some few 
 rooms were furnished in the Seminary; furniture enough, of the 
 simplest kind, to enable them to live, was obtained by the pro- 
 fessors; temporary buildings connected with previous occupants 
 were removed, a rough enclosure for the grounds was put up, and 
 the anticipated opening anxiously awaited. During a part of this 
 interval, in the month of September, Dr. Sparrow was in Richmond, 
 at the special Diocesan Council, called, in view of the condition of 
 things which had prevented its meeting at the usual time, in the 
 month of May. He was exceedingly anxious, in view of the inter- 
 ests of the Seminary, as of those of peace and love, that initiatory 
 movements should be made for reunion with the General Conven- 
 tion. But to this, with the large majority of the Council, there 
 were decided objections; and the whole subject was postponed 
 until the next Council. With the termination of this Council came 
 the time of commencement for the exercises at the Seminary. 
 
 During the preparations for this, or rather, just as they were 
 beginning, and before the Seminary had been restored to its author- 
 ities, an issue, of very serious interest, both for himself and the 
 Institution, was presented to Dr. Sparrow for decision: another 
 invitation to Gambier. The authorities there, probably regarding 
 the prospect of the restoration of the Virginia Seminary as a hope- 
 less one, extended to him an invitation to a professorship in 
 that Institution, and outwardly there were very considerable 
 inducements in favor of the change. His account of its reception, 
 and of his decision and reply, are contained in the following note 
 to his old friend, Mr. Cassius F. Lee, who was then working with 
 him for restoration at Alexandria. 
 
 "BALTIMORE, June 26, 1865. 
 " MY DEAR SIR: 
 
 "I have just received your letter. I got here yesterday morn- 
 ing, by steamer from Richmond, after a most fatiguing journey from 
 Staunton. But though wearied in body, Mrs. S., F. and myself 
 have been refreshed in spirit by seeing our children. 
 
 "Immediately on the receipt of the proposition from Ohio, I de- 
 clined it. I have no disposition to leave Virginia while she thinks
 
 264 MEMOIE OF 
 
 my services worth having. Her being in distress is a reason with 
 me, if I can live at all, to abide with her, and share her lot. 
 
 " Truly and affectionately yours, W. SPAREOW. 
 
 " C. F. Lee, Esq., Alexandria, Va." 
 
 With this determination, and with the feeling expressed a week 
 or two after, in the letter to Dr. Canfield " It seems strange to find 
 myself so situated, but it does not dishearten me. If my strength 
 were equal to my spirits, I should not mind it " he was prepared to 
 take his part in rebuilding what had been thrown down. The 
 degree of success connected with that effort will form one of the 
 subjects of the chapter following.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 265 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE WORK OF RESTORATION. 
 
 It was, as already hinted, under very discouraging circumstances 
 that the session of 1865-6 was begun. Apart from unallayed 
 excitement in one portion of the country, and hopeless depression 
 in the other, the consequent feeling of uncertainty as to the politi- 
 cal, social, and ecclesiastical future, there were, in the peculiar 
 circumstances of the Seminary itself, certain features well calcu- 
 lated to produce discouragement. The loss of so large a part of 
 the endowment, already mentioned, had its necessary influence. 
 This, under the most favorable circumstances, would have been a 
 serious calamity. It was, of course, greatly aggravated by those 
 of the time. In the Diocese of Virginia, from which contributions 
 might have seemed due, individuals and congregations, hitherto 
 most liberal friends of the Seminary, were struggling with pov- 
 erty. The diocese, moreover, had not, as yet, adjusted her relations 
 to the General Convention ; and there was, manifestly, a difficulty 
 in seeking aid in that direction. In the other Southern dioceses 
 there were the same difficulties, pecuniary and ecclesiastical; and, 
 with the exception of Kentucky and South Carolina, but little 
 sympathy, theological or ecclesiastical, with the Seminary of Vir- 
 ginia. The Johns legacy, which had come in opportunely for the 
 special emergency of making the start, could last but for a short 
 time. Contrasted with these prospects were the most pressing 
 necessities, mentioned in the close of the last chapter, arising from 
 the dilapidation and emptiness of the buildings, and want of enclo- 
 sures for the grounds. As, however, the beginnings were expected 
 to be small, provision was made to the extent possible for necessi- 
 ties as they might arise. The Prayer Hall was furnished, to be 
 used for morning and evening worship, as also for Sunday services 
 during the first four or five months of the session. It served, also, 
 during the week, as a recitation room for Dr. Packard. Dr. Spar- 
 row's classes were provided for in his study, the recitation rooms 
 not being, as yet, furnished. The chapel having been used for 
 religious services during the military occupation, was in somewhat
 
 266 MEMOIK OP 
 
 better condition than the other buildings. In view, however, of 
 the difficulty and expense of heating it, as also of the small congre- 
 gation, it was not used until the following spring. 
 
 From the necessities of the case, and the material at hand, there 
 were but two theological classes, a junior and middle class, and one 
 of preparatories. Some of those who had been in Staunton, with 
 one or two additions, formed the middle class, and the other two 
 classes were made up of new material. Dr. Sparrow taught Church 
 History, in addition to his usual course, and gave instruction, also, 
 to some of the students in the Preparatory Department. Dr. Pack- 
 ard, also, had extra classes ; and toward the close of the session 
 one of the students, Mr. Dudley, now assistant Bishop of Ken- 
 tucky, rendered very efficient aid in teaching preparatory classes. 
 The number was quite as large, if not larger than had been antici- 
 pated ; and the effect of getting under way was to give encourage- 
 ment to all concerned. We have but a few letters of Dr. Spar- 
 row's during this session. Accounts from some of his pupils give 
 interesting particulars. The writer visited the Seminary twice 
 during this session. During the first visit the Doctor was absent, 
 called away by the illness, terminating in the death of his eldest 
 daughter, Mrs. Jerome. At this time, the first of April, 1866, the 
 appearance of things, especially of the grounds, was peculiarly 
 discouraging. The very grass had, in many places, in the succes- 
 sion of camps, been killed to the roots, leaving the fields full of bare 
 places. This, indeed7 was very much the appearance of things in 
 the country between the Seminary and Alexandria, as there had 
 been no cultivation, except in small garden-patches, since the spring 
 of 1861, and the ground occupied by the camps had been thus 
 cleared of vegetation. The writer remembers, during this visit, 
 standing in Dr. Packard's porch, on the bright April Sunday 
 morning, and as he looked over the grounds and neighborhood in 
 sight, it was with the involuntary question, can there be a restora- 
 tion ? Can any one hereafter have an idea as to how this place 
 looked in former times? Wonderful it was how soon that restora- 
 tion came. The very causes of the evil ministered to its removal. 
 As soon as the camps were gone, the residue of those camps, the 
 scattered seed of their forage, the enriching influence of human and 
 animal occupation, hastened restoration. Grass, in an unusual 
 amount, covered the country, and very soon the bareness had dis- 
 appeared.
 
 WILLIAM SPAKKOW, D. D. 267 
 
 The second of these visits was immediately after the Council in 
 Alexandria, nearly two months later, when he walked out with Dr. 
 Sparrow on Sunday afternoon, and shared with him in the hopeful 
 anticipation of restored prosperity to the Institution. The Council 
 had just settled the question of the relations of the diocese to the 
 General Convention. The board of Trustees had elected an addi- 
 tional professor, to take the duties of the lamented Dr. May, and 
 there were favorable intimations that the number of students, for 
 the next session, would be considerably increased. During this 
 Council, the Doctor was still wearing a suit of Confederate home- 
 spun, one of the memorials of the season of trial through which 
 he had been passing. 
 
 A brief extract from one of his letters of this session will show 
 that, while hastily engaged in his work at the Seminary, his inter- 
 est in the general affairs of the Church was undiminished. " I 
 regretted," says he to Dr. Canfield, " that you were not in New 
 York when I passed through. I should have liked much to have 
 talked about old times, and got posted up for the years that I have 
 lost in exile. There is one thing I exceedingly want to know in 
 regard to the present, and that is the effect of the controversy 
 between Bishop P. and his presbyters, in which you were magna 
 pars. If you should have ten minutes' leisure at any time, do 
 write me, and let me know. Why have not trials come ? What 
 is the influence of the whole affair on Presbyterial liberty? Have 
 we secured by the movement anything in time to come? Do you 
 ever come to the Capital? If so, do not fail to visit us here." 
 
 To REV. J. A. JEROME. 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINAET, October 2, 1865. 
 " MY DEAR J.: 
 
 " Having nothing very special to do to-night, I am disposed to 
 drop you a line. Day after to-morrow my work begins. Two 
 students are on the ground, and there is a fair prospect of several 
 more. It would be absurd in us to look for any but the humblest 
 beginnings. You have heard how we have all been sick, of the 
 intermittent; but I doubt not we are all through the worst of it. 
 I hope, therefore, that neither that, nor anything else, will call you 
 back till your errand is accomplished. We shall take good care of 
 M. and the children. I suppose you will want to be at the Gene- 
 ral Convention. J. has just written me; he will be there if possi-
 
 268 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ble. I wish I could be there, chiefly, however, to see the brethren 
 from whom I have been cut off for five years. As to the Conven- 
 tion, the most expressive and efficient course they can pursue in 
 regard to reunion is to be silent. Any one who really knows the 
 South, must be aware that there is no separatist, schismatical 
 spirit in the Episcopal Church thereof; all want to re-establish their 
 old ecclesiastical relations. It is already done in spirit, and soon 
 will be done in form, if loquacious political Churchmen throw no ob- 
 stacle in the way. But why talk thus? The Lord liveth. Let 
 me hear from you. Love to all the brethren you meet that will 
 accept it. 
 
 " Your affectionate father, WM. SPAEROW." 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, October 25, 1865. 
 "DEAR J.: 
 
 " Though I have so recently written to you, I am disposed to 
 write again. I thank Mr. B. for his suggestion, and may, here- 
 after, turn it to account. I am glad to hear Mr. G. P. spoke about 
 us before the Church Missionary Society, and was listened to favor- 
 ably. It grieves me, however, to think that the liberality of so 
 good a man as Mr. W. should be turned away from us by what 
 occurred in the Convention. Be they right or wrong, we are not 
 the Convention ; and while we are not the Convention, we are our- 
 selves, i. e., the Seminary, the same we ever were. As long as I 
 am connected with it, the Seminary shall always be what it was 
 when dear Dr. May was of our number. 
 
 "Between him and me, and, so far as I know, between him and 
 others who controlled the Seminary and determined its character, 
 there never was the slightest difference of opinion. He supposed our 
 calling was to teach theology, and not politics, and from the latter 
 we all kept aloof. As regards war, oh, how earnestly did we depre- 
 cate it ! He would gladly have given, I believe, all he was worth 
 in this world to avert it, and so would I. As to slavery, while he 
 and we all deprecated its sudden abolition as productive of mischief 
 all round, we never regarded it as anything else than an evil, sooner 
 or later, in the providence of God, to be removed. If the Semi- 
 nary ever did work which was acceptable to God, and beneficial to 
 the Church, there is no reason now, so far as its tone and principles 
 are concerned, why it should not continue so to do. And for the 
 .same reason, therefore, the class of men who befriended us in
 
 WILLIAM SPARKOW, D. D. 269 
 
 former years may very consistently aid us in our present great 
 necessity. When the Seminary ceases to sustain Evangelical 
 principles, or presumes directly or indirectly to encourage dis- 
 loyalty to the government under which we live, I shall consider it 
 to have departed from its calling and original design, and I am done 
 with it. 
 
 " The doings of the Convention, which you say produced such 
 excitement, admit, on all sides, of a better and fairer interpretation 
 than passion can at present give them. As you say, there was no 
 ' dictation ' in the conduct of Bishops Atkinson and Lay. Whatever 
 their own private opinions on the subject in its political relations, they 
 might very well wish that the thanksgiving should be confined to 
 the restoration of peace. Under that word every man might surely 
 be allowed to comprehend more or less, according to his own pri- 
 vate opinions. If thankful for peace, especially under the circum- 
 stances, they must be opposed to war, and set against a return of 
 it. They must, also, have acquiesced in the decision of Providence 
 as seen in the finale of that war. In the present sore state of 
 their feelings, then, why insist on more ? What spiritual good can 
 come of it ? It is not for legislation of this kind to set the heart 
 right, if it is wrong. And should it be thought that every mem- 
 ber should adopt certain political principles under pain of virtual 
 excommunication, let it be remembered that, so far as the theologi- 
 cal enunciation of these principles is concerned, all parties are 
 already agreed. It is only in the practical application of them 
 they differ; and to insist that they practically agree in this regard, 
 is to identify church and state, religion and politics. But I did 
 not mean to say so much. I only add, that ten years hence many 
 among us will wonder how we could be so biased by feeling. Thank 
 God, it is very much precluded in my case by my position. 
 
 " Do you hear anything of the New York troubles ? As I said 
 in my last, that, in my view, is vastly more important to us as a 
 Church than much that is now exciting them in Philadelphia. I 
 am curious to see how the missionary bishops will come out, and 
 whether they will give us one out of the batch; I hope C. is a sound 
 man, for a High- Churchman. 
 
 "I have done as you directed with the bond, and returned it to 
 the company. Return my kind regards to the brethren that wished 
 to be remembered to me. I know nothing of D. By the way, 
 late as it is in the year, if the E. K. S. has an almanac for this
 
 270 MEMOIR OF 
 
 year or the next, or both, send or bring them with you. Mrs. S. 
 made us a visit to-day, with her children, and all were well enough 
 to receive them. Love to Dudley. 
 
 " Your affectionate father, WM. SPARROW. 
 
 " Rev. J. A. Jerome" 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, November 27, 1865. 
 " REV. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 " Your letter was a great cordial to my heart. The older I grow 
 the more I value my friends; and now that my own proper con- 
 temporaries are passing away so fast, I must cultivate the good will 
 of the next generation, else I shall be left a friendless man in the 
 world. 
 
 "Since I came here I have been as busy as my health would 
 allow. Seminary duties, some of them extra; domestic duties, 
 specially pressing; and the duties of beggar-general for the Institu- 
 tion, something new to my experience, all put together, have tried 
 me not a little. Had it all come upon me in warm weather, I 
 should have broken down. As things are, I get along as well as I 
 could expect. The last three months in the year have always been 
 the best of the twelve for me. 
 
 " We have seven students, and expect before New Year's Day 
 to have three more. We have two classes in theology, and a 
 class in preparatory studies. They take as much time, as you 
 know, as if each class numbered thirty; while they do not afford 
 the healthful and invigorating stimulus which relieves and sus- 
 tains the teacher. Our great difficulty, however, is to find means 
 to support them, and to furnish them rooms, for the rooms were 
 left empty when the buildings were vacated. Should you come 
 across any moneyed and liberal soul who would be, probably, will- 
 ing to help a young man in preparation for the ministry by a 
 scholarship of $200 at his pleasure, you will render a great service 
 to that needy young man, and our so needy Seminary. Owing to the 
 unhappy position of our diocese, we have to do whatever we do in 
 this ma'ter in a private way, that is, by private application. Mr. 
 A. sent us $500, for which we were most thankful. Except this, 
 we have received nothing from north of Baltimore, which is fairly 
 overrun with Southern beggars ! But I did not mean to run on in 
 this way. Dear F. was very sensible of your kind remembrance 
 of her, sent by D. ; and we feel it vastly more than if we were the
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 271 
 
 objects of it. Please remember me most kindly to Mrs. H., whom 
 I hope to know better than I yet do, if we both are spared so long. 
 
 " Ever affectionately yours, W. SPARROW. 
 
 "Rev. John P. Hubbard" 
 
 As this first session was one, in many respects, very peculiar, 
 both in its circumstances and prospects, and the manner in which 
 it went on, the account of it from some of those who were present 
 will not be without its interest, especially in its bearing upon the 
 subject of our narrative. 
 
 "It would be difficult," is the language of one of these, the Rev. 
 David Barr, "to find a much more desolate-looking place than the 
 Seminary and its surroundings on the chilly and bleak November 
 evening of my first acquaintance with it. It stood in the centre of a 
 desolate region, in which a fence could not be seen for miles, except- 
 ing around a house here and there, and upon which the sod had not 
 been turned, seemingly, for years, saving, now and-then, a small patch 
 or garden. In striking contrast with this was the cordial greeting 
 given me by the good Doctor upon my arrival. He had re-established 
 himself in his long-deserted home, and was then working and pray- 
 ing for the bright days soon to come for his beloved Seminary. 
 
 " I found five students present, viz., Horace E. Hay den, now in 
 the diocese of Pittsburg ; James H. Williams, now rector of Grace 
 Memorial Church, Lynchburg, Virginia; Benjamin E. Reed, now 
 rector of a church in St. Louis, Missouri; Edward W. Hubbard, 
 now rector of Brandon parish, Virginia ; and Nicholas H. Lewis, 
 who labored in the ministry but a few months in Matthews county, 
 Virginia, and then rested from his labors forever. Dear Lewis ! 
 so gentle, so earnestly pious, and so pure ! 
 
 " I was the sixth arrival. In a few weeks William H. Laird, 
 now rector of Leeds parish, Fauquier, arrived; and before many 
 weeks had passed came the lamented Bruce Davis, son of the late 
 blind Bishop of South Carolina, a young man of singular sweet- 
 ness and meekness of temper. Next came, I think, George H. 
 Fitzhugh, now of the diocese of Easton ; then young Davidson, of 
 Missouri, who remained but a few weeks ; then Thomas U. Dudley, 
 Jr., now Assistant Bishop of Kentucky ; then Walter Q. Hullihen, 
 now rector of Trinity Church, Staunton; and lastly, a Mr. 
 Phelps, who professed to have been, at one time, a Baptist minister, 
 and had renounced that persuasion for our ministry. Mr. Phelps
 
 272 MEMOIR OP 
 
 remained but a few weeks. I never heard what became of either 
 him or Mr. Davidson. 
 
 " It would be impossible to describe the spirit of the little flock 
 gathered there from different quarters, and in connection with 
 them the few returned inhabitants of the Hill, during that first 
 never-to-be-forgotten year after the resuscitation of the Seminary. 
 What prayerful diligence on the part of the students ! What 
 unity, what love, what sweet Christian fellowship among all ! What 
 joy such a state of things must have afforded to our teachers, espe- 
 cially to the Doctor, who had, as it were, therein, an earnest of the 
 future glory of the Seminary, the object not only of his affections, 
 but of his most ardent wishes and single-minded exertions. And, 
 considering his health and age, what exertions he made. During 
 that first winter we had no means of riding into Alexandria, but 
 had to walk the distance of three miles, and at that time over a 
 very rough road. Mr. Sparrow walked to Alexandria and back, 
 nearly every day, for several weeks, if not months, and generally 
 alone. Frequently he would be so long detained in town as to be 
 in the night getting home ; and it was during these night trips, 
 through the mud, and water, and snow, finding his way alone, that, 
 as he once told me, he underwent no little suffering. On one occa- 
 sion he said he was detained in Alexandria till about dark, and the 
 weather was extremely cold, so cold, indeed, as to render it neces- 
 sary to guard against freezing. When within a mile of the Semi- 
 nary, his attention was attracted by groans, he could not tell 
 whence. After listening awhile, he called, and was answered by 
 some one near him. With some difficulty he found the sufferer, 
 who proved to be a poor old negro man, so nearly frozen as to be 
 unable to walk. The Doctor immediately determined to get him 
 home, or sheltered elsewhere, if possible; and soon had the happi- 
 ness of hailing a passing wagon, upon which the old man was 
 placed, and taken home. When, with difficulty, the Doctor himself 
 reached home, he found his own eyelids frozen together. He had, 
 in a great measure, actually felt his way home. 
 
 " It was my privilege, on one of those cold evenings, to accom- 
 pany him from Alexandria to the Seminary. He made the tune 
 pass rapidly by his conversation, mingled with anecdote, always 
 pointed and appropriate. As we walked up the avenue in the 
 front of the Seminary, he turned to me and said, in his genial 
 manner, ' Well, Mr. B., I am reminded of an anecdote I once heard
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 273 
 
 of a couple of Irishmen. The first of them, arriving in America, 
 settled down near some great natural curiosity. When his friend 
 arrived, he proposed that they should make this curiosity a visit. 
 'How far is it, thin?' 'Twinty miles!' was the answer. 'Och, 
 mon, it's too far.' ' No,' said Pat, ' there are two of us, and 
 we'll make it tin apiece!' 'Now,' continued the Doctor, 'your 
 young eyes have enabled us, as it were, to shorten the distance 
 from town, and make it one and a half apiece.' On another oc- 
 casion, he, one of our clergy and myself, came over the same road 
 together. Among other topics was that of exercise, the Doctor 
 remarking upon the difficulty of taking just enough, neither too 
 much nor too little. 'This subject we are upon/ said he, ' reminds 
 me of an anecdote that Bishop Chase used to tell with great gusto. 
 Some years ago, the Legislature of Vermont had under discus- 
 sion the charter of a railroad. Some wanted it to run through 
 one township, and some through another. Finally, a green Irish- 
 man, from one of the back counties, jumped to his feet, and cried, 
 'Misther Prisident, when I studied Vargil, I was taught to go 
 through nather Cyrus nor Carabozus, but between the two. So I 
 now say, sir, let the road go nather through this nor that town- 
 ship, but between the two.' Take the middle extreme !' 
 
 " As to the work of the Seminary, the theological classes, at his 
 lectures, recited, at first, if I rightly remember, in either Dr. Spar- 
 row's study or in one of the students' rooms. Perhaps they did 
 so the whole of the session. Dr. Packard's classes recited either 
 in his study or in the Prayer Hall. The preparatory classes in 
 Greek and the sciences recited to Dr. Sparrow in his study. Hia 
 fondness for Greek made him a pains-taking teacher in it, and he 
 was so instructive a teacher, that things which others might con- 
 sider dry were invested by him with interest and freshness. I 
 think of those ' Greek days ' with Dr. Sparrow in his study as 
 among the most pleasant and instructive spent at the Seminary. 
 It was after one of those hours that a fellow-student remarked that 
 Dr. Sparrow went more naturally to prayer than any one he ever 
 knew. He seemed so completely lost, in a moment, to all around 
 him, and in such close, childlike and loving communion with God as 
 his Father. 
 
 "The Faculty meetings were not restored at once; not, indeed, I 
 think, until toward the end of the session. Lewis had been there 
 before the Seminary closed in 1861, and retained sweetest imprea- 
 18
 
 274 MEMOIR OF 
 
 siona of the Faculty meetings in which the lowly-minded Dr. May 
 participated, and he aroused my desires for their speedy beginning. 
 Upon their revival I found that the half had not been told me 
 concerning them. The remembrance of them is refreshing and 
 edifying. In them Dr. Sparrow was a spiritual and intellectual 
 power; so that the heart was indifferent that was not then roused 
 and made more earnest by his appeals and exhortations. His 
 closing prayers were as sweetest manna, for he seemed to carry us 
 with him, and besiege the mercy-seat for grace and blessing. 
 
 " During the first half of the session we used one of the second- 
 story rooms in Aspinwall Hall as our dining-room, our number 
 being too small and our arrangements too simple to require 
 so large a room as the dining-room under Bohlen Hall. We 
 messed, as it is called, each man paying about twelve dollars and a 
 half a month, and had one of our number as caterer. In the early 
 spring of 1866 we were favored with the services of Miss Jones as 
 our matron, a change for the better decidedly, in many respects ; 
 and this change was followed by our removal to the dining-room 
 under Bohlen Hall. 
 
 "We were scattered, as regarded our accommodations, in 
 the three principal halls, Aspinwall, Meade, and Bohlen, 
 one or more sleeping in each. Aspinwall was principally 
 occupied, however, as affording better rooms and rendering 
 things more cheerful and home-like. Prayer Hall was used 
 for public services till the early spring of 1866, I think, the chapel 
 being out of repairs, perhaps, and certainly very cold and without 
 stoves. And as those were days of poverty, we used what we had. 
 
 "I never heard the Doctor allude to his affliction in the loss of 
 Mrs. Jerome. But I know that the God whom he served in his 
 heart of hearts caused His consolation to abound toward His servant, 
 yes, even over all his sorrow. Yes ! A man of heavy afflictions, 
 he was, also, one of much consolation." 
 
 "Never," says another student of this session, "never before I 
 heard Dr. Sparrow was I able to listen to a discourse so attentively 
 as to remember the entire substance of it. But some of his 
 Faculty-meeting lectures have so burned themselves into my brain, 
 that I have gone to my room and have written them down from 
 my notes, without, I am sure, losing a word. Poor P., whom I 
 knew well, said to me, shortly before his death, that he had gone to 
 the Seminary to enter the ministry simply as a profession in which
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 275 
 
 he thought he could excel ; but that Dr. Sparrow, in the Faculty 
 meeting, had spoken words that revealed to him his condition as a 
 sinner, and that to these lectures he owed, under God, his conversion. 
 After that I know he entered the ministry to win souls, and it was 
 in doing this he met his death. 
 
 "One little note of the Doctor, as a memento of that session, is by 
 me. It is connected with the boarding establishment. Fortunately 
 for us, while messing, during the first few months of the session, all 
 had been in the army and knew how to endure hardness. Our fare 
 for some weeks was very little better than the rations we had 
 received in the field. We discovered, after a time, that the cook 
 boiled the potatoes in the coffee-pot, and made the coffee afterward. 
 The peculiar flavor thus imparted to the coffee led to the discovery, 
 and caused a change in our household arrangements. The 
 butcher failed one day to bring out our supply, and we sent to 
 borrow from the Doctor. The answer was as follows : ' Dear Mr. 
 H. It just now occurred to me to ask Mrs. S. if she had any fresh 
 beef. Her reply was, 'Yes, but it is in the oven for to-morrow.' 
 She sends some of it ' with the smell of fire on its skirts/ hoping it 
 may, nevertheless, answer.' 
 
 " He once told me of his advice to a young friend, in whom he felt 
 a deep interest, on the eve of her marriage. 'Doctor/ was her 
 request, ' you know that I am soon to be married ; won't you give 
 me some good advice about my new life ? ' 'I replied, I have only 
 one piece of advice to give you, and that is, keep alive the spiritu- 
 ality of your husband ; and I believe she did so/ he added." 
 
 At the Council, a short time before the close of this first session, 
 it was determined by the Board of Trustees that an appeal should 
 be made to the friends of the Seminary, to enable it to go on, espe- 
 cially in view of the needed support for the new professorship. Dr. 
 Sparrow was appointed and requested to make this appeal, and, in 
 accordance with this action, visited Baltimore, Philadelphia, and 
 New York, on his mission. His effort to raise $5000, for five 
 years, to be paid in annual installments, proved successful, and he 
 returned home greatly cheered. A second short visit perfected his 
 work, and he began to prepare for the work of the ensuing session. 
 A couple of letters, one written while upon his errand, and another 
 very soon after his return home, describe, among other things, a part 
 of his experience while his work was going on, and show his gratifi- 
 cation in view of the manner in which his appeal met reception.
 
 276 MEMOIR OF 
 
 "No. 3 BIBLE HOUSE, NEW YORK, August, 1866. 
 " MY DEAR MR. LEE : 
 
 "I have longed to write you, because I know you were anxious 
 to hear from me, sympathizing with me and my errand. I have 
 been silent only because I feared to say anything, lest there be 
 utter disappointment, but I now write in good hope. A more un- 
 fortunate time I could not have chosen for my trip. Everybody is 
 from home. In addition to the bareness of the field, comes the 
 pressing demand occasioned by the Portland fire. Lastly, and 
 chief, there stood up before me the Council speeches.* Still, I am 
 confident I can raise the salary. Indeed, I am determined to try 
 for $2000, instead of $1500. Yesterday I met Mr. , and be- 
 fore we parted he pledged $250 per annum for five years. It may 
 be that I shall get as much from a couple of other gentlemen of 
 this city. Besides the necessary annual subscriptions to make up 
 the salary, it may be that I shall get a little something for the 
 endowment. Some may give out and out who will not pledge them- 
 selves ahead. You see I speak cautiously, because I am nervously 
 timid. Still, I can say to you with confidence, the salary will be 
 made up. It takes time, and it is very trying to the patience, but 
 I am prepared for anything that will secure the end. 
 
 " I am confident I can get $350 a year in Baltimore, as much in 
 Philadelphia, more here, with subscriptions of $100 in scattered 
 parishes. Dr. Dyer has taken a great interest in our affairs. We 
 are under great obligations to him. 
 
 "I find I have to move very slowly, or I am made sick. I was 
 very unwell in Baltimore, from over exertion, but am determined 
 to be more moderate in my movements in future. The very noise 
 and confusion of this city break me down. It is well called ' Babel.' 
 
 " I ought to say that Mr. received me very kindly, but 
 
 seemed fixed in his purpose of lending us no further aid. However, 
 he said, as warden of -his congregation, he would favor an annual 
 subscription of $100 for five years. Perhaps it may be increased. 
 Before parish pledges can be secured, the rector and wardens, if 
 not the vestry, must come together, but such meetings are now 
 impossible. I can meet the one or the other, but not both together. 
 
 Dr. was manifestly ready, but he must first talk with his 
 
 wardens. So others. 
 
 * In the discussion as to whether the Diocese of Virginia should resunxe its former 
 relations to the General Convention.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 277 
 
 " Excuse this scrawl. I am so nervous I can hardly hold my 
 pen, and my head is as unsteady not with strong drink as my hand. 
 But these are small matters, if the Lord will be pleased to prosper 
 us, and put the Seminary on its feet again, and in a sphere- of use- 
 fulness. 
 
 "Please remember me kindly to Mrs. L., and believe me 
 
 "Ever yours, WM. SPARROW. 
 
 " C. F. L." 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, P. O. r September 2, 1866. 
 " MY DEAR BROTHER: 
 
 "Last night I got your letter. Let me assure you it afforded me 
 great pleasure. I am thankful to God that you are so blessed in 
 your work, and that amidst all your health has been preserved to 
 you. May the same Divine blessing rest upon your person and your 
 labors, even to the end. 
 
 " Doubtless, nominally, there ought to be more sponsors than one, 
 and these sponsors ought to be communicants. The former regula- 
 tion seems to have sprung ex abundante cautela ; and the latter out 
 of the manifest propriety of the case, and the spirit of the service 
 in regard to the sponsorial feature. But neither is of Divine 
 prescription, and the time was, I think until the eighth century, 
 when no more than one was required, and that might be a woman, 
 in the case of a male or female child alike. But, doubtless, in 
 all ages, the norm of the case had to yield to necessity; that, in a 
 matter of this kind, has no law. The Bishops of our Church have 
 never called the clergy to account for accommodating themselves to 
 a necessity which is real. To my mind, it is a great deal better to 
 acknowledge the necessity, and yield to it, than resort to private 
 baptism. That would be violating the spirit of the one service, that 
 we may not violate the other. For though the word expedient is 
 used about bringing the child privately baptized to the church, so 
 is the word exigence, some other than a want of proper sponsors, 
 used as the proper ground of private baptism in any case. I have 
 spoken of our Bishops. The English Bishops also openly sanction 
 such views. Archbishop Whateley, I remember, in one of his very 
 last charges, when he had become an authority in the British 
 Church, says, 'Ministers are bound to do the best they can toward 
 complying with the prescriptions of the Church, in every way 
 guarding against the thoughtless carelessness and the irregularities
 
 278 MEMOIR OF 
 
 which are apt to find their way into the administration of this holy 
 ordinance.' As to the case you propose, of the pious, professing 
 mother who wishes to bring her child to baptism, / should have 
 no difficulty about it. If she can get a second sponsor, well ; if not, 
 in the name of Him who ' suffers little children to come ' (children 
 brought each one by its mother), let her child be dedicated to God 
 in that sacred rite. The main point is, where necessity compels us 
 to depart from the usual order of procedure, to take care to show, 
 as you are prepared to do, that the departure does not grow out of 
 any superstitious opere operate notions of the ordinance, but that 
 we deem it profitless unless accompanied with religious training. 
 
 " Let me correct a mistake. You draw an inference from the 
 words, 'wilt thou be baptized in this faith/ as to what the sponsor 
 may be. It strikes me these questions indicate nothing in regard 
 to the religious condition of the sponsor, one way or the other. He 
 merely answers for the child because it cannot answer for itself. It 
 is a kind of legal fiction. He thereby indicates no character, 
 assumes no responsibility; that is done by his standing and receiv- 
 ing the charge that he see the little one religiously brought up. 
 Though it should afterward turn infidel, he is clear if he has seen 
 that it was brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. 
 
 "You ask after some book on the subject. Libraries have been 
 written, chiefly controversial, each writer looking at it in one or 
 two points of view ; hence no one, or two, or three books, do it full 
 justice. I suppose you can learn more of the subject from Goode 
 than any one author. You can get it almost anywhere. You 
 inquire about my 'Rationale.' Are you not confounding 
 two things that are very different; a bishop and a presbyter; 
 a man of the Seventeenth century and a man of the Nine- 
 teenth; a High-Churchman and a thorough-paced Low-Church- 
 man? The 'Rationale' which I suppose you refer to was on 
 the whole Prayer-book, a small work by Bishop Sparrow, who 
 was concerned in the last revision of the English Liturgy, in 
 Charles n's time. Is it possible you have so poor an opinion of my 
 discretion as to suppose I ever published a book ? I have been so 
 far guilty of folly as to publish a pamphlet or two ; this I confess, 
 and can only plead human infirmity ; but a book ! 
 
 " You ask after my success at the North. The time was most 
 unpropitious ; nobody was at home, and I left my task unfinished. 
 But still I had such success, that on the strength of it Dr. Walker
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 279 
 
 is coming. I go North again this month or the next. I was 
 treated most kindly. The alumni of the Institution have shown 
 the very best feelings. I was received by them with open arms. 
 But one, in a situation to help, declined. There may be much 
 Christian character under the repulsive disguise of political and 
 military hostility both North and South. A man may be a Chris- 
 tian, yea, a lovely Christian, though a Monarchist, an Oligarchist, 
 or a Democrat, and though ready to go to the extreme of blood 
 for the maintenance of his principles. This the world's history 
 shows. It comes of our fallen state that there should be such 
 anomalies and contradictions among us. What is the part and 
 duty of one who belongs to the kingdom which is not of this world, 
 is a nice question in some respects. One point is certain, it is not 
 for the followers of the Prince of peace, at least after the sword is 
 laid down, to throw oil upon the fire, but rather water. 
 
 " Assuring you I shall always be glad to hear from you, I am, 
 " Most affectionately yours, W. S. 
 
 11 Rev. Randolph H. McKim." 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, October 4, 1866. 
 " MY DEAR J. : 
 
 " It was my purpose, when I left home the last time, to make you 
 a visit before my return; but circumstances compelled me to 
 change my plans, and to be back at the opening of the term. It 
 has just begun, with twenty-one students, all theologicals but four. 
 This, you will say, is doing well. I have been busy all the summer 
 in raising money to support the professors. It is not the new Pro- 
 fessor only that has to be maintained. The Trustees, at present, 
 have enough only to support one. I have done nothing in Phila- 
 delphia yet, but hope for something from Brooks, Parven, and Mat- 
 lack, and the gentlemen whom they control. Of course it won't be 
 much. Besides salaries for the professors, we need means to repair 
 roofs, etc., and to support indigent young men. But I trust the 
 Lord will provide. 
 
 " My trips North have increased my anxiety for the prosperity 
 of this, and of every other Evangelical Institution. Ritualism 
 seems to be sweeping over the Church. Not that I care so much 
 about forms, and gestures, and garments, etc.; it is the principles 
 out of which these things grow, and which are, under their cover, 
 gradually introduced, that trouble me. The Bishop is in i
 
 280 MEMOIR OF 
 
 York now, helping in the consecration and election. I am curious 
 to know how things will strike him. 
 
 " Do write soon, and tell me all about yourself, and the children, 
 and your parish. Be assured of the tenderest love of all under 
 this roof. 
 
 "Affectionately, W. SPARROW. 
 
 "Rev. J. A. Jerome." 
 
 As had been anticipated, the number of students at the opening 
 of the session, 1866-7, was found to have increased upon that of 
 the previous year, and before the close of the session ran up to 
 twenty-five. One of the recitation rooms was furnished, and from 
 this time the classes met in that, and in the Prayer Hall. The 
 arrangement of studies, as in the time of Dr. May before the war, 
 was resumed ; Dr. Sparrow taking his former course of Evidences, 
 Systematic Divinity, and Creeds and Confessions. Monthly mis- 
 sionary meetings were re-established, and the students vigorously 
 resumed operations at the various mission stations in the country 
 around ; and as most of the chapels had been destroyed or burned, 
 their first effort was to rebuild them. The extra work of the 
 preparatory classes, for the first third of the session, was divided 
 among the professors; after this other arrangements were made. 
 The material of this session was remarkably homogeneous, socially 
 and ecclesiastically, and there was very little of a stirring charac- 
 ter in the way of ecclesiastical discussion. In truth, the angry 
 waves of another and more fearful controversy had not yet entirely 
 subsided; and the feelings of anxiety and uncertainty as to many 
 of its results, kept out of sight issues which in other parts of the 
 Church were more earnestly contested. The Ritualistic controversy, 
 for instance, becoming of interest and importance elsewhere, was 
 only, in the diocese and Seminary of Virginia, looked at as from a 
 distance. The session, therefore, partaking, in many respects, of the 
 characteristics of the one preceding, was passed in great harmony 
 and satisfaction. 
 
 One portion of Dr. Sparrow's work for this session, and, indeed, 
 for the next four or five years, needs here distinctly to be presented, 
 that of keeping up pecuniary supplies for the Seminary. Under 
 God its continued existence depended very largely upon those 
 efforts. These were twofold : first, to keep himself in communica- 
 tion with the contributors to the $5000 fund for five years, remind-
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 281 
 
 ing them of the time when installments were needed ; secondly, in 
 any case where these failed, through death of the contributor, or 
 from other causes, to find a supply to the deficiency, and then, fur- 
 ther, to seek new contributions. How much depended upon him 
 in these respects will be made manifest by a single fact. The first 
 contribution of the $5000 was all paid for the five years, and there 
 was an overplus. A second contribution of the same nature, to 
 the extent of $7000 or $8000, pledged during the last few weeks of 
 his life, has not, to more than about one-fourth of its amount, been 
 realized. Other reasons, and good ones, may be given for this dif- 
 ference. But one, and a most important reason for that difference, 
 was the fact of his lamented departure. His relations to the two 
 classes of sectional feeling were unique and peculiar, and as they 
 bear upon his work for the Seminary, a work which no other man, 
 at that time, could have performed, it will not be out of place to 
 exhibit them. His sympathies and affections were deeply enlisted 
 for the community in which his lot was cast. He had, also, affec- 
 tionate relations with many of those with whom they were in con- 
 flict. He believed, moreover, that both of them were largely 
 blamable; one for making no effort, by prospective legislation or 
 otherwise, to get rid of a social and moral evil, the irritating cause 
 of much of the trouble ; the other, for the resort to violence when 
 the moral influences of truth and reason were the only proper 
 weapons. But these views were held without sectional feeling, 
 and without bitterness ; because, although born in this country, he 
 was not an American. He never knew, and could not be made to 
 understand, how an American, on either side, say like Bishop 
 Meade in one section and Bishop Mcllvaine in the other, felt in 
 this great contest. The associations, and impressions, and agencies, 
 and influences of his life, up to his seventeenth year, would seem 
 to have rendered this impossible. As to the question which of the 
 two parties was more in the right or the wrong, he put it aside, 
 refused to entertain it. Whether, under the circumstances, that 
 issue ought not have been resolutely faced and decided, is another 
 question ; which would, probably, by both parties in the case, be 
 answered in the affirmative. Without going into any such ques- 
 tion, it is sufficient, for our purpose, to recognize how, from this his 
 peculiar position, he was able to exercise the influence which he 
 did in both directions. He loved both parties ; was beloved and 
 respected by both in return. His whole effort and desire, there-
 
 282 MEMOIR OP 
 
 fore, when the war ended, was to reconcile them fully; to work 
 through such reconciliation for the great objects to which his life 
 was devoted. 
 
 Returning to this work, in its specific form, as it went on in the 
 duties of the Seminary, it, of course, found but little' variation from 
 that of previous sessions. There would necessarily be the adapta- 
 tion of the material of his instruction to the peculiar aspects of 
 contending truth and error, as established in the prevalent current 
 of theological or ecclesiastical opinion. As already hinted, the 
 pressure from other sources had kept from view some of the forms 
 of controversy elsewhere becoming very prominent. With one 
 feature of the existing state of religious controversy he at that 
 time expressed great gratification, the manifest fact that Christian- 
 ity, whether as defended or attacked, perhaps most clearly shown 
 as attacked, occupied so large a share of the thought and heart 
 of cultivated men. This opinion was especially called forth in 
 connection with his perusal of Ecce Homo, and in it he saw an 
 augury of good. He was persuaded that if men could be induced 
 seriously and earnestly to discuss the problems of Scripture, and 
 of Christian truth, their discussions would eventually be productive 
 of benefit. And as a favorable indication, he gratefully recognized 
 the improvement in the tone of infidel writers upon those of an 
 earlier period. 
 
 Very soon after this session opened, the following letter was 
 written. It was called forth by the sudden death, by violence, of a 
 friend, with whom, as a fellow-refugee, he had passed through the 
 trials of the war, at Staunton, and was addressed to his sorrowing 
 companion : 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, NEAR ALEXANDRIA, VA., 
 
 " October 13, 1866. 
 " MY DEAR FRIEND : 
 
 "It is with a distress I cannot express that I have just heard of 
 the terrible calamity which has fallen upon you. My first impulse 
 was to take my pen. But wherefore? Why intrude upon the 
 sacredness of your grief, while your heart is bleeding so profusely ? 
 This is not the time for the ordinary attentions of friendship, nor 
 for ordinary sympathy of merely human kind. Such things seem 
 only to mock a sorrow so deep as yours. Even though I might 
 be well incited to write, by the recollection of our intercourse
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 283 
 
 in Staunton, and of the substantial kindness of your departed hus- 
 band to me and my family, from the day he came to Augusta 
 County till the very day he left it, still it is only as a Christian 
 friend I presume to send these lines. In God's name, as a minister 
 of Christ, I would fain offer consolation, not by speaking of my 
 feelings of friendship and sympathy, but by turning your thoughts 
 to Him whose friendship was tested unto death, and whose sympa- 
 thy is not, as that of mortals, inefficient, however sincere, but is 
 mighty through God. With Him is strong consolation. Let His 
 word be implicitly taken, when He says : ' Come unto me all ye 
 that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest' He is 
 the Great, the Infallible Physician of the Spirit, and can staunch 
 and heal every wound, however deep. His word is with power. 
 His grace is sufficient for every emergency, even yours. 'Cast 
 your care upon Him; He careth for you.' We are already assured 
 of His interest in us ; only He would have us make trial of His 
 love. Take occasion from this dark and mysterious Providence to 
 go to your Saviour as you never went before; submitting every- 
 thing into His hands, and desiring to know no law of life, or pur- 
 pose, or feeling, but His gracious will, and you will prove, in your 
 own personal experience, that all His promises are yea and amen, 
 and that 
 
 ' Behind a frowning Providence 
 He hides a smiling face.' 
 
 It may tax our faith to believe this ; but ' Lord, we believe ; 
 help Thou our unbelief.' 
 
 "My dear Madam, it might, perhaps, almost seem as if I could 
 not talk thus if I really felt the greatness of your calamity. But 
 the more I think upon it, the more it grows upon me. My heart 
 sinks within me when I think of the widow and the orphan child- 
 ren, the cause that made them such, and the consequences which 
 may follow the bereavement. And it is because of my thorough 
 conviction that this affliction is, in many respects, above the com- 
 mon lot, that I thus forego all earthly considerations, and would 
 turn your heart heavenward. Mortals cannot help you, but God 
 can, and God will. Was He not in Christ, and did not Christ go 
 about doing good, delighting especially to visit the house of mourn- 
 ing ? May His presence be with you and your family ; ' and dark
 
 MEMOIR OP 
 
 as this dispensation is, may the time soon come when you will see 
 it all in the clear light of His everlasting love. 
 
 " Of course I expect no response to this. It would be wrong in 
 me to do so. I write that you may gather from my letter that 
 there are many Christian friends, afar off, who are thinking of you, 
 and praying for you. 
 
 " Affectionately your servant in Christ,. 
 
 "WILLIAM SPARROW." 
 
 During the spring of 1867, and toward the close of the session, 
 Dr. Sparrow had an opportunity of again, visiting Staunton, and 
 taking part in the election of the Assistant Bishop, held at the 
 Council in that place. In this election he felt the deepest interest ; 
 and while recognizing the qualifications of the other candidates, 
 especially those of that eminent man who was elected by the clergy, 
 and who has just passed away from us, Dr. Andrews, his judg- 
 ment and his preferences were decidedly in favor of the candidate 
 actually elected. One little incident of this election may be noted ; 
 it was the last appearance and the last ecclesiastical action of Dr. 
 Sparrow's old colleague in the Seminary, Professor Lippitt. As 
 one of the oldest clergy of the diocese r he made one of the first 
 nominations, that which eventually received the vote of the ma- 
 jority. 
 
 " ' Has it occurred to you,' said the Doctor, leaning back, with a 
 comical expression, and in a half whisper," writes a lay delegate, 
 who sat behind him as the election was going on, " ' has it occurred 
 to you how many here are speaking, and will vote presently, for only 
 their second choice?' Seeing my slowness in taking, he added, 
 with a twinkle, ' modesty forbids their bringing forward their 
 first.' " 
 
 At the close of the previous session there had been no graduating 
 class, and, of course, very little in the way of exercises of com- 
 mencement. With this of 1866-7, the old order was resumed. 
 The essays were read by the senior class;, the ordinary address by 
 one of the Faculty; and the address and delivery of diplomas by 
 the Bishop. A catalogue of the Seminary,, the first since 1860-1, 
 had been gotten out during the session,, and the prospect, in various 
 respects, was exceedingly favorable,, that, in due time, the Semi- 
 nary would be going forward in full and successful operation. 
 
 Part of- the vacation was spent in a visit to the West, in a visit,
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 285 
 
 among others, to his old friend and colleague, then residing in 
 Pittsburg, Dr. Preston. This friendship went back to those early 
 days at Worthington and Gambier, when they worked and coun- 
 seled together, and it only terminated, or was, rather, for a short 
 time suspended, by the death of Dr. Sparrow. In the earlier part 
 of this volume extracts from letters of Dr. Preston, as to his departed 
 friend and associate, will be found. In a very little time, however, 
 his own departure came; and we may now think of the sanctified 
 friendship of almost half a century, as blessed with endless renewal. 
 With the next two sessions, those of 1867-8 and 1868-9, the 
 agitation of the Ritualistic controversy went on, and, of course, 
 made itself felt in the theological community of the Seminary. 
 This controversy demanded and received from Dr. Sparrow his 
 deepest attention. He felt himself, and he felt that the Institution 
 with which he was connected was, pledged to the principles and 
 views of evangelical truth for the support of which it had been 
 originally established. A departure from these principles he re- 
 garded as not only a departure from the truth, and a sacrifice of 
 that truth, but as a departure from the object for which the Semi- 
 nary had been established and supported ; as, therefore, involving 
 a fraudulent misappropriation of sacred funds from the specific pur- 
 pose for which they were given. "Our flag," said he, in speaking 
 of the possibility of the extensive prevalence of a different class of 
 views not as extreme as those of the Ritualists, but those in oppo- 
 sition to which the Seminary was founded, of the school of Sea- 
 bury and Hobart "our flag is nailed to the mast; and if it goes 
 down, we must go down with it." With these convictions he 
 watched this new movement, or rather this new form of the old 
 Tractarian movement, with the deepest interest. From the be- 
 ginning he recognized its real character. Knowing, moreover, as 
 he did, how the same errors, essentially, had been toyed with by a 
 large party, perhaps the ruling majority of our Church, he was 
 anxious to see whether in this new aspect they would have the 
 same reception. He was therefore highly gratified with the first 
 declaration of the Bishops in regard to Ritualism, and with what 
 seemed a very extensive indisposition to accept the views put forth 
 in the little volume of Bishop Hopkins. It was not so much with 
 Dr. Sparrow a question of aesthetics, as of doctrinal teaching ; not of 
 flowers, or crosses, or dresses, or processions, but of truths obscured 
 or falsehoods symbolized ; -of one system of doctrine pat aside and
 
 286 MEMOIR OF 
 
 another elevated. In itself, therefore, and in its doctrinal results, 
 the controversy was to him of the deepest importance. 
 
 But this controversy was watched by Dr. Sparrow with peculiar 
 interest, as to its bearing upon another practical question, that of the 
 real toleration of men of Evangelical views, in what they had always 
 claimed as an exercise of their lawful liberty. Supposing, without 
 admitting, that some of these things were irregularities, would or 
 could the dominant party allow and tolerate greater irregularities 
 to those engaged in the new movement, and go on in their former 
 intolerant course toward Evangelicals? The result of the Tyng 
 trial, of the Cheney case, and the loud condemnation of Episcopal 
 clergymen who communed with other Protestant clergymen during 
 the meeting of the Evangelical Alliance indeed, the general drift of 
 ecclesiastical legislation, to the time of his death impressed him 
 painfully as to what might be the final result. His conviction was 
 that there ought to be greater freedom of action and of ritual, to all 
 classes, or greater stringency in demand as to doctrine. The former 
 would secure peace, in the way of dissentients agreeing to differ, 
 the latter in the real unity of inward agreement. That the latter 
 mode of settling the difficulty would be adopted he had very little 
 hope; and events seemed to show that the former, for one class, 
 was as far off as ever. As to the doctrinal views involved in the 
 new movement, Dr. Sparrow was too profound a theologian not to 
 recognize that it was the old enemy in a new uniform, a material- 
 ized Christianity, against which his whole life and teaching had 
 been directed. Its specific importance was that it was more open. 
 There was less effort to hide its essential character. And it had 
 associated with itself additional elements which, to certain classes, 
 were making it more attractive. 
 
 But while thus deeply interested with this form of development, 
 and its anticipated results, he was not wanting in like interest as 
 to others. Allusion has been made as to his estimate of the moral 
 and religious significance of such works as Ecce Homo, and its 
 various replies and defences ; to the evidence which he gratefully 
 recognized, even in semi-Christian and positively anti-Christian 
 works, of the hold which revealed truth and its issues had upon 
 the mind and heart of the age, and upon men of certain classes, 
 and of a certain kind of culture, beyond anything of the kind in 
 previous experience. Of course such evidence was heightened in 
 the appearance of works decidedly defensive of the great principles
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 287 
 
 of revealed truth, such, for instance, as the Duke of Argyle's "reign 
 of law." The more outspoken forms of unbelief, those especially 
 connected with investigations in the department of material nature, 
 had not assumed the prominence with which they have since come 
 before the world. There were, however, clear indications of their 
 approach; that the materialized Christianity which was vexing 
 the Church would find its support in a materialized philosophy 
 which was seeking to debauch the intellect of the world. The 
 former, as more directly affecting the life and doctrine of the Church^ 
 as coming in conflict with principles of Christian truth, more natu- 
 rally became, with him, the object of attention. 
 
 With these feelings it was that he attended, as a delegate, 
 the General Convention of 1868. It was scarcely with the hope, 
 but still with the question as a possibility, will anything, in the 
 way of legislation, take place through which the existing and 
 increasing evils of symbolized Romanism in our midst can be 
 reached and arrested ? As a member of the Convention, he took 
 no part beyond his vote, and conference with his friends and col- 
 leagues. With the results he was not encouraged; indeed, he 
 regarded the change in the Canon, as to those who could minister 
 in congregations, as not only unnecessary, but as positively 
 damaging to the Protestant spirit and cause in our Church. 
 Fully appreciating the reasons presented by some of his ecclesias- 
 tical friends and leaders in favor of the change, he still believed 
 that it had injured the great cause to which he and they were alike 
 devoted. It was, in his estimation, another onward step in the pro- 
 cess of dissociating the Protestant Episcopal Church from sympa- 
 thy, feeling, and interest with the non-Episcopal Churches of 
 Christendom in other words, from Protestantism; and that it 
 would be accepted by them, and by a large portion of the Episco- 
 pal Church, as meaning that they had no right to exist, had, in 
 truth, no proper ecclesiastical existence. To this last dogma, that 
 of excluding communities from the very name of Christian Churches, 
 not on moral, religious or theological grounds, but upon those of 
 mere outward order and arrangement, he stood in the most uncom- 
 promising antagonism. His theological nature repudiated it as a 
 monstrous absurdity ; his moral nature, as a great moral and reli- 
 gious outrage. The progress of this dogma, the implicit form in 
 which it was accepted and acted upon, were facts which gave him 
 pain, not merely in view of the error involved, but of its dwarfing
 
 288 MEMOIR OF 
 
 arid debilitating influence upon ecclesiastical and religious life. His 
 most unsparing attack upon it, the Commencement address of 1869, 
 was, not improbably, suggested by the results of this Convention. 
 
 Before leaving these few opening sessions, we may touch upon 
 two points of interest which, at the time, were productive to Dr. 
 Sparrow of some considerable anxiety, requiring tact and good 
 feeling to deal with them successfully. The number of students 
 for the session 1867-8 doubled that of the year previous, ran up 
 from twenty-five to fifty. With this increase, in a little time were 
 developed two sources of anxiety, of which a large portion fell 
 to his share, as presiding official of the Institution. One of these 
 was the feeling or suspicion of a portion, not of all, of the stu- 
 dents from the North, that there was a strong prejudice and ani- 
 mosity against them in the Seminary, and in the community 
 around. In some cases the impression was removed. In others it 
 proved ineradicable, and those entertaining it finally left the In- 
 stitution ; although in no single instance could there be ascertained 
 by the Faculty, through personal inquiry of the complainants, a 
 specific case of positive incivility. The most hopeless form in 
 which these impressions existed, hopeless as to the prospect of their 
 removal, was that which took the direction of alarm, fear of per- 
 sonal violence from imagined lawless combinations investing the 
 Seminary grounds, or lying in ambush for students on their way to 
 Alexandria. This, at the time, by those resident at the Seminary, 
 was seen to be utterly absurd and without foundation. Never, 
 perhaps, was its quiet neighborhood more free from elements of 
 disturbance. 
 
 But these impressions, however absurd in themselves, were any- 
 thing but absurd as to be dealt with and disposed of anything 
 but absurd in their consequences. Some of them were commu- 
 nicated to friends of the Seminary at a distance, and at this sea- 
 son of her peculiar need closed their hearts to her appeals, or 
 led them to contribute to her aid with the feeling that in all 
 probability it was to the promotion of sectional animosity. The 
 whole matter, to Dr. Sparrow in particular, was a source of 
 the deepest annoyance and anxiety. The kindness and courteous 
 liberality with which he had been met in his appeal for aid in 
 Northern cities, he felt, had placed him and the Institution under 
 great obligations. He was anxious to express his sense of such 
 obligation. The arrival of every student from the North was wel-
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 289 
 
 corned, therefore, not only as an indication of returning confidence 
 and good feeling, but as affording opportunity for such expression, 
 as also of making returns, in some form, for benefits received. 
 Everything of the kind indicated in these difficulties interfered 
 with the attainment of his desires ; and he was ever on the alert to 
 explain differences, and remove apprehensions. In most cases he 
 was successful; and it is due to the students from both sections to 
 say that their admirable spirit sustained and aided him in his en- 
 deavors. So much so, that within the course of two or three ses- 
 sions this element of anxiety entirely disappeared ; may be said, 
 at the present time, to be unknown. 
 
 Connected with this source of anxiety, in the increase of the 
 number of the students, was another, having to do with a portion 
 of them, those constituting the Preparatory Department. The 
 peculiar object and idea of that department was to provide instruc- 
 tion for a certain class desiring to enter the Seminary, candidates 
 for the ministry not sufficiently advanced in knowledge to enter 
 a college class, and yet too far advanced in years to be classed 
 with boys in an ordinary school. As, however, the instructors 
 provided for these could, without additional labor or expense, in- 
 struct others, the department was enlarged so as to take any 
 who were preparing for the ministry, above the age of eighteen, that 
 at which students were admitted to the theological classes. But it 
 was never intended as a grammar school for college classes, or as a 
 place of preparation for other Institutions. Misapprehension upon 
 both of these points seemed to find place with pupils of this earlier 
 period, some of whom went to other seminaries, and others to secu- 
 lar institutions. The distinct manifestation of this abuse soon 
 wrought its own remedy. But it had its effect in another direction ; 
 increased existing fears and doubts of some of the friends and gover- 
 nors of the Institution, as to the expediency or propriety of such 
 department in connection with the Seminary. By some the objec- 
 tion was urged that the two years in the Preparatory Department, 
 and the three in the theological, was too long a period to be at any 
 one institution, though it was admitted that at the University, or 
 any other secular institution, such prolonged residence would be emi- 
 nently desirable. Then, again, it was objected that such arrange- 
 ment would secularize the members of the theological classes ; though 
 it was admitted that in all other institutions class influences were 
 from above upon those below, rather than from below upon those 
 19
 
 290 MEMOIR OF 
 
 above. In reference to this whole subject, Dr. Sparrow took a most 
 decided position. Most of the plans proposed by the objectors and 
 doubters he had himself tried, or seen tried by others. Most of 
 the difficulties he had carefully considered. And, while distinctly 
 recognizing that there were cases in which this initial preparation 
 could go on more advantageously elsewhere, he, at the same time, 
 felt assured that there were many others, the majority, for whom 
 the Preparatory Department constituted the best, and, indeed, the 
 only effective provision that could be made. His appeal always 
 was to its successful operation ; that, since originated in the Vir- 
 .ginia Seminary, it had been adopted in other institutions, and that 
 the real question was, not whether the authorities could dictate, to 
 -material with which they were in no relation, other and better courses 
 elsewhere, but whether, if it came, should it be provided for? 
 The continued effectiveness of this department, and the gradual 
 recognition of its real character and work, eventually disposed of 
 most, if not all, of these objections. Dr. Sparrow was permitted 
 to see its successful operation. Its material at the time of his 
 death was equal, if not superior, to that of any former period ; and 
 he had the gratification of knowing that, of the graduates of the 
 three or four preceding years, some of the most promising, as to 
 efficiency, were among those who had received their preliminary 
 training in the Preparatory Department. 
 
 His last performance of duty in this department, in the way of 
 active instruction, was during the spring of 1869, through the sick- 
 ness of the regular tutor. This necessitated a division of his 
 work among the professors; and for three months Dr. Sparrow 
 taught the class in Greek, very greatly to the delight of his pupils. 
 Subsequent to this, as Dean of the Faculty, he (occasionally) was 
 present at recitations of the classes, and made it a point to show 
 his deep interest in their advancement, as in the thoroughness of 
 the process by which it was made. 
 
 These duties and labors were pleasantly relieved toward the 
 close of this session, by an event of a most gratifying nature, and one 
 which for a time removed from him a source of anxiety. This was 
 the munificent donation of $100,000, from A. G. P. Dodge, Esq., to 
 the endowment of the Seminary, relieving it very largely from 
 its pecuniary embarrassments. Mention has already been made 
 of the five years' subscription secured by Dr. Sparrow, in 1866, 
 and of the task falling upon him in the way of its collection.
 
 WILLIAM SPARED W, D. D. 291 
 
 As the active medium between the trustees and the subscribers, 
 it was a matter constantly upon his mind, involving continuous 
 correspondence. At the same time, he was making effort for an 
 increase of the permanent endowment. Three of the five years 
 over which the subscription extended had passed. The question as 
 to what would supply its place with the close of the remaining two, 
 naturally presented itself, and these efforts had in view its practical 
 solution. All these anxious questions seemed, in this donation, to 
 be satisfactorily answered, and the Doctor was thus enabled to 
 rejoice in the assurance to the Seminary of relief from its embar- 
 rassments. The writer well remembers his beaming countenance 
 as he walked in and announced the unanticipated but agreeable 
 intelligence ; how, as he walked to and fro, he gave expression to 
 his feelings of relief, gratification, and of gratitude to his God for 
 its bestowal. Those bright anticipations, in all respects, were not 
 fully realized. They were, however, in many. 
 
 The Board of Trustees were thus enabled, at once, to put in 
 repair the buildings of the Seminary and the residences of the 
 Professors, as also to make provision for a fourth Professorship. 
 The benefit of the donation in these forms was immediately realized ; 
 and although it did not go to the extent and desires of its donor, 
 yet, in its actual reception and use, to the amount of nearly $30,000, 
 before the reverses of 1872, it constituted by far the largest con- 
 tribution which the Seminary has ever received from any one 
 individual. It may thus properly constitute a ground of obligation 
 and of grateful acknowledgment to its recipients, as it may of 
 gratification to its donor. 
 
 Mention has been made of the Commencement Address of this 
 session 1868-69. It is one of the most striking of Dr. Spar- 
 row's productions, a tract for the times, the earnest outpouring of 
 the author's heart in reference to evils which he recognized as injur- 
 ing and destroying the real life of the Church, and against which 
 he would desire to warn his brethren. It was listened to with deep 
 interest by the Alumni and clergy present, and the delivery was 
 followed by a request for its publication. As this will probably 
 be given in full in the present volume, or in a volume of the Doc- 
 tor's sermons, no further account of it just here is given. There 
 are several letters to pupils, on matters of interest at the time, 
 which may at this point be inserted. One of them will very naturally 
 constitute the introduction to a topic by which they are followed.
 
 292 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ON A MINISTER'S RECEIVING THE TITLE OF " D. D." 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, July 9, 1867. 
 
 "My DEAR : 
 
 " My pen has been laid by for nearly a fortnight, in consequence 
 of sickness. I now resume it to say that I have lately heard of 
 your great titular distinction. And so you are one of the great 
 fraternity of doctors doctors of law, and t medicine, and farriery, 
 and rain, and witchcraft, and theology! I hardly know how to 
 treat you in the premises; to rejoice or sympathize with you; to act 
 as the bridegroom's friend, or as one of Job's comforters ! On the 
 whole, I am disposed to regard it as a calamity. So it was to me 
 when it befell me; so at the time I regarded it. That it should 
 mean nothing I did not like, for I loathe all humbugs ; and if it 
 meant something, and that something was anything, I felt I could 
 not fill it out; and so, instead of serving, it would do a disservice, 
 raising expectations only to disappoint them, and make my deficien- 
 cies the more apparent. Thus, you see, I am, in view of my own 
 experience, quite at a loss how to address you on this ' interesting 
 occasion.' However, to come down from these heights and take a 
 common sense view of the subject, I would fain hope it is a matter 
 of small account every way. Doctorates, after all, it should be 
 remembered, are as numerous and cheap as blackberries, and are 
 thought no more of than the title of professor; and professors we 
 have of dancing, and the extraction of corns. While this is the 
 fact, I do not think you need be much elated or depressed by the 
 action of your alma mater. The only tangible and available idea 
 I can gather from the whole affair is the suggestion that, as it comes 
 from a learned institution, and has reference to the highest of all 
 sciences, it may well set us striving after solid information and 
 well-considered opinions. 
 
 " Yours affectionately, WM. SPARROW." 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, October 19, 1867. 
 " REV. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 "I am sorry to learn your fears about the godlessness of your 
 town, though there are so many churches in it. It is a sad fact 
 that there seems so great a disproportion between the means of 
 grace and the effects of grace; between the light enjoyed and the
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 293 
 
 resulting holiness. The perception of this enters into the motives 
 of some in favoring ritualism, and multiplying ceremonies, emblems, 
 forms, postures, processions, colors, paintings, statuary and music. 
 But the yellow fever, or the plague, is not to be cured by pepper- 
 mint. It is not by such might or power that the work is to be 
 done, but by 'my Spirit, saith the Lord.' And the Spirit does not 
 call for such means and appliances, such channels through which 
 to reach the human heart; there are enough of these already. 
 What was the instrumentality through which, in Apostolic times, 
 such moral wonders were effected ? It was not the Church, as a 
 great and well-organized and perfected system of ingeniously con- 
 trived means, brought to bear in a very complex way upon society. 
 Religion was a simple thing, and it came, of course, to society; but 
 much more to the individual, and took hold of him with power, 
 and made him, consciously to himself and manifestly to others, 'a 
 new man.' And the medium through which the Spirit of the Gos- 
 pel thus reached him, and transformed him, I believe, was the 
 highly spiritual character of the first preachers themselves. That 
 is the instrumentality which God has always chiefly employed for 
 introducing a new dispensation of religion into the world, or for 
 reforming an old one, or for any way 'reviving His work' in the 
 world. We have, I was going to say, churches enough, and minis- 
 ters enough, in point of numbers ; but ah ! the quality is by no 
 means what it ought to be. Till that is improved, I despair of 
 much progress in the number of Christian disciples. When the 
 ' head ' of supply is high, the waters will flow further and stand 
 deeper. When it is low, they will be both circumscribed and 
 shallow ; the latter, I will venture to assert, is the case in your 
 town. Not that the ministers who are and have been there are 
 not able and educated men. So we think of our ministers, of 
 course, and as to others, we can hardly say their ' pulpit ' is more 
 ' imbecile ' than ours. What we all want, to advance the cause of 
 Christ, and convert ' godless ' villages into pious communities, is 
 more of the simple 'truth as it is in Jesus,' putting itself forth 
 through a living ministry, thoroughly imbued and informed by it. 
 This, and this alone, will restore to us Pentecostal blessing and 
 prosperity. 
 
 " Dear brother, you will say ' this is the old thing over again ; 
 the old man is garrulous with his pen as with his tongue.' I plead 
 guilty. I had no thought of filling my sheet of paper in this way
 
 294 MEMOIR OF 
 
 when I began. You will forgive me. I speak from the abundance 
 of my heart. It is all the time, more and more, as I watch the 
 state and progress of things in the Christian world, overflowing 
 with these convictions and sentiments. 
 
 "You have heard that Mr. McKim has accepted Christ Church, 
 Alexandria. It is a great satisfaction to me to know that he will 
 soon be in our midst. 
 
 "We have forty students on the Seminary Hill, and look confi- 
 dently for two or three more. When I see them thus multiplying, 
 I am sometimes ready to wish the vigor of former years were 
 restored to me, that I might better discharge my duty. But He 
 who put me here knew the imperfection of His instrument, and 
 decreed its gradual failure and decay, and that should be enough 
 for me. Oh, that we could lose ourselves always in His sovereign 
 authority and infinite glory ! 
 
 "Rev. T. U.Dudley, Jr." 
 
 To THE SAME. 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, November 14, 1868. 
 " DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 " I received your letter, and thank you heartily for it. You 
 were not mistaken in the interest I took in regard to your deter- 
 mination about going South. It had been much in my mind from 
 the hour you mentioned it in New York. I feel persuaded you 
 have done wisely, and that God will bless you in what you have 
 done. As you hint, the mere effort, by prayer and self-examina- 
 tion, to find out the will of God, cannot fail to benefit. The fur- 
 ther we can get into that temper of mind in which all is referred 
 to God, and nothing reserved for ourselves in independence of Him, 
 the happier, the more spiritually powerful, and the more useful 
 shall we be. As to anything other than you have got in your 
 present position, it will come in due season. Only wait the Lord's 
 leisure; the Lord's, I say, not the world's, or the Church's, or 
 man's leisure, but the Lord's. 
 
 " I do hope I shall be able some time to write that letter about 
 Baptism I heard you speak of. I firmly believe the subject admits 
 of being clearly and satisfactorily set forth. The main requisite 
 to a right and easy understanding of it is, that we approach it in 
 the proper attitude of mind, and from the right direction. Method 
 is everything in such matters. For instance, we ought to begin
 
 WILLIAM SPARED W, D. D. 295 
 
 our examination of the subject with the true normal case, the case 
 of adult baptism, the only case that is undoubtedly mentioned and 
 clearly exemplified in the New Testament. Then, again, we should 
 descend from the general to the particular, not inversely. By 
 this I mean, we ought first to settle in our minds, on grounds of 
 reason, the teaching of the Old Testament, and the spirit of the 
 New as compared with the Old. What is the relation of things 
 external in general, in the Church of Christ, to things internal, and 
 what, consequently, is the design and use of sacraments in particu- 
 lar. Thirdly, we ought to familiarize our minds with the strong 
 Oriental way, throughout the Bible, of representing all spiritual ex- 
 ercises and subjects in material language. Occidentals have blun- 
 dered because they have forgotten the first law of all sound inter- 
 pretation, namely, to place themselves in the mental and ethical 
 attitude of the authors; and so, having started wrong, have landed, 
 at last, it may be most logically, in the grossest superstition and 
 the rankest absurdity. 
 
 " Yours affectionately, WILLIAM SPARROW. 
 
 "To Bev. T. U. Dudley, Jr." 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, January 16, 1869. 
 " KEV. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 "When I look at the date of your letter, I am ashamed. And 
 yet I can safely say, my silence has not sprung from indifference. 
 On the contrary, I feel a thrill of interest passing over me when I 
 reflect that to-morrow you enter on your duties in Christ Church. 
 Absent in body, I will be with you in spirit on the occasion. My 
 heart goes forth in most earnest prayer that God may abundantly 
 bless you in that new and important enterprise. 
 
 "Dear brother, God has given you talents, educational culture, 
 qualities of temperament, providential discipline in the way of 
 trial and occupation, which, as means and instrumentalities, au- 
 thorize us to hope that you may do much for the glory of God and 
 the good of man. And if your life is long spared, I shall look con- 
 fidently for it, provided all these gifts and facilities are sanctified 
 of the Holy Ghost. In saying this I am not enunciating an 
 abstract dogma. There is no vital doctrine of the Gospel so con- 
 stantly in words expressed, and yet, practically, which is so habitu- 
 ally shelved, as that of the presence and power of the Spirit. Men
 
 296 MEMOIR OF 
 
 labor and toil to realize the very body and blood of Jesus Christ 
 as present in the elements of the Lord's Supper, and they contend 
 for, and never lose sight of, the supposed power of the priesthood 
 to forgive sin ! But, alas ! the presence about which, theoretically, 
 there is no dispute, and the power to which, in words, it is con- 
 fessed all efficiency in the things of God properly belongs, are not 
 sought, and counted, and involved, and habitually leaned upon, as 
 they should be. In saying what I have said above, therefore, I 
 am expressing a deep, practical conviction, which I want to see 
 deepened more and more every day in myself, and those whom I 
 love, and to whom I look as fitted to be useful in my Master's ser- 
 vice. Most clearly do I see, in my own case and history, that if 
 I have ever done anything for my Saviour's cause, it was just so 
 far as and so long as I lived in His Spirit as my element, listened 
 to His Spirit as my prompter, leaned upon His Spirit as my 
 strength, and prayed in His Spirit as the unfailing procurement of 
 needed, real good. And wherein I have failed and my life has 
 been, to a sad extent, a grievous failure how clearly do I also see 
 it has come of self-dependence, and self-seeking, and self-sufficiency. 
 In ourselves we are weak ; out of ourselves, strong. As the Apos- 
 tle has it, 'when I am weak (in feeling) then am I strong' (in fact). 
 But when the Apostle said this, he was living very nigh to God. 
 One who did not so live, could not in truth speak thus. It would 
 not be truth to him in fact or feeling. It might be in some sense his 
 creed, but it would not be his life. Let us, dear brother, live nigh 
 to God, and carefully drive away anything that would put itself be- 
 tween us and Him. How much there is thus to interpose between 
 us and Him ! The world in its various forms of fashion, and beauty, 
 and eclat, and popularity, and prominence, and high life, and luxu- 
 ry, and pride, will push between us. Even the Church may exer- 
 cise an intervention of hindrance rather than help, and by its 
 organizations, and offices and forms, hinder that ultimate and 
 loving intercourse of the soul with God which constitutes the char- 
 acter of the Christian and the power of the Christian minister. 
 
 " I did not mean to run to the end of my paper before I had 
 begun to answer your letter. Yet so have I done. I hope you 
 will pardon the error, as it was one of weakness, not intention. In 
 reply to yours, I had many things to say, but I cannot say them 
 now. Indeed, Weldon has just come to take letters to the office, 
 and I must close. I may write my answer at another time, either
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 297 
 
 on paper or viva voce. In the meanwhile, accept this random out- 
 pouring of my heart, from 
 
 "Your affectionate friend, WM. SPARROW. 
 
 "Rev. T. U. Dudley, Jr.' 1 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, July 26, 1869. 
 " REV. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 " I have been on the point of writing you every day for a week, 
 but have put it off, partly because I have been expecting to hear 
 from you, and partly because I have thought you might be in Nor- 
 folk. My business is that redoubtable address, or discourse, or 
 discourses, or sermon, or homily, or baccalaureate exhortation, or 
 whatever else you may choose to call it (?). You may think it much 
 ado about nothing ; but a hen that lays an egg, however small, 
 once in ten years, may be allowed to cackle over it. Have you 
 got the manuscript for Mr. Pridham, and have you sent it to New 
 York? That is all. 
 
 " I suppose Cheney's trial is nearly over. However it is deter- 
 mined it will prove important. If he is acquitted, it will help to 
 deliver us from that rubrical martinetism which has of late been in 
 a course of imposition on our Church, while latitudinarianism is 
 allowed in the infinitely more important matter of doctrine. If 
 he is condemned, it will lead to the establishment of a number of 
 independent Episcopal Churches, till at length they get a Bishop at 
 their head, and so we shall have another Episcopal Church in these 
 United States! We already have the Romish, the Moravian, the 
 Greek, perhaps the Swedish, and the Protestant Episcopal; why 
 not the Reformed Protestant Episcopal ? Oh, when will Churches 
 learn wisdom? The world is wiser in its generation than they. 
 The one great defect in our leading men is, they do not enlarge 
 their ideas enough. They are using the microscope, when they 
 ought to be employing the telescope. 
 
 " Ever yours, WILLIAM SPARROW. 
 
 " Rev. T. U. Dudley, Jr." 
 
 EXTRACT FROM LETTER DATED JULY 7, 1869, IN REFERENCE TO 
 ADDRESS ALLUDED TO IN LAST LETTER. 
 
 " After writing, delivering, and then reading in print, a man's 
 own productions oh, how he loathes them ! To go through the
 
 298 MEMOIR OF 
 
 correcting of the proof has been like taking nauseous medicine. I 
 have felt at every turn ready to 'throw up, 1 in every sense of the 
 expression. 
 
 " Ever since you told me about that little piece of poetry which 
 has touched so many people's hearts on this and the other side of 
 the Atlantic, I have felt a desire to see it, and have inquired for it 
 in vain. What is its title, and where is it to be had? My heart 
 is frozen, even in this hot weather, and I want to thaw it. 
 
 " Affectionately yours, W. SPARROW." 
 
 "July 28, 1869. 
 " REV. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 "Our correspondence, or at least mine, is becoming quite active. 
 It can hardly be necessary to send another title page. On the one 
 you sent did you put the authority by which the thing was pub- 
 lished? On no account can I be responsible for exposing such a 
 bantling to the public gaze ! I am more than willing to father it, 
 but I can't vaunt it. Publication looks a good deal like vaunting. 
 In yesterday's letter I inquired, at the printer's request, about the 
 number of copies to be published. You will please answer the 
 question to him. 
 
 " I have been amused at the requests already received for copies 
 of the Address. That I have spoken out on the notion of the value 
 of tactual succession, seems to be the point of interest. Perhaps 
 it would have been well if I had made that the sole topic of 
 discourse, instead of crowding in so many others. 
 
 "Affectionately yours, W. S. 
 
 "Rev. T. U. Dudley, Jr." 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, FAIRFAX Co., 
 
 "November 22, 1867. 
 " REV. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 "I received your letter and the inclosure last night, but regret 
 to say I can do nothing for your friend in the matter about which 
 he writes. No one of our young men is prepared to enter on the 
 field indicated. This is to me especially sad, seeing the people 
 crave ministrations of an evangelical stamp. 
 
 "I was not a little pleased to receive your letter; it brought up 
 many old recollections which were very pleasant, among the rest 
 the trip I made with you long years ago to your sister's in Detroit. 
 I was then young, and, though sickly, vigorous; now I am old, and
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 299 
 
 though I still work, my energy is not as exhaustless as it was. My 
 hope is, if I live, to visit Ganabier next summer. I should have 
 done it this year, but the res angusta domi prevented. Should I 
 accomplish my purpose, I shall hope to have a long chat with you. 
 Our Seminary, thank God, is prospering beyond our expectations ; 
 we have upward of forty students; but though numerically we 
 prosper, nummularily pecuniarily, we are very much straitened. 
 Still, we are very hopeful. 
 
 " Mrs. S. desires to reciprocate your kind remembrance. My 
 family is now small. Out of nine children but one is with me, and 
 she an invalid Frances. These changes forewarn us that the last 
 change is near. 
 
 " With kind regards to all who remember me, I am, very truly, 
 " Your friend and brother, WILLIAM SPARROW. 
 
 "Rev. Mr. Blake, Gambier, Ohio." 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, November 11, 1868. 
 " MY DEAR J.: 
 
 "On the whole, the Convention, if it did little good, also did 
 little harm. The Bishop's Pastoral is as outspoken as the famous 
 Declaration. 
 
 "Dr. B. spent last Sunday with us, and preached two most 
 excellent sermons. I think he is somewhat liberalized in his 
 theological views, though perhaps morbidly sensitive about 'the 
 germs.' Large bodies move slowly, and we are a specially slow, if 
 not large coach. In due time, by patience and kindly discussion, 
 and, above all, diligence in the preaching of the Gospel to sinners 
 and saints, our wishes in regard to the Prayer-book must be 
 gratified. The prospect at this time is better than it ever was. I 
 am only anxious about the temper of the brethren. This point 
 must be carried by love and good works, not by polemic bitterness 
 and party tactics. Do write me soon. All send their love. With 
 love to the children, 
 
 " Your affectionate father, W. SPARROW. 
 
 "Rev. J. A. Jerome." 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, December 17, 1868. 
 " MY DEAR J.: 
 
 " What startling and distressing events we have been called to 
 experience recently. The removal of Parven and Rising is certainly
 
 300 MEMOIR OF 
 
 a mysterious event. It would seem as if they were the very two 
 men whom we could not spare. I look upon it as a call to Evan- 
 gelical men to cultivate personal religion more. It is by this only 
 the Evangelical party can flourish. It began in this, and in this 
 must continue. What a blessed thing if such should be the result 
 of this trying dispensation. Two taken to heaven, and the rest 
 left upon the earth advanced in their preparation for heaven. 
 
 " Your affectionate father, WILLIAM SPARROW. 
 
 "Rev. John A. Jerome" 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, February 24, 1869. 
 "KEY. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 " Ten days ago, Mrs. Sparrow said to me : ' You never hear from 
 Mr. H. now; why is it?' Before this, I had purposed, from the 
 time of the ' verdict,' to write to you, and soon after she thus spoke 
 your parochial pamphlet arrived. Ever since, I have been waiting 
 a moment's disengagement to take pen in hand. You know, dear 
 brother, how deeply I sympathized with you and watched the 
 progress of your troubles. When I came to have an interview 
 with you in New York (too brief, by the way), and saw how sleek, 
 and fat and flourishing you had come out of your trials, I was 
 almost ready to say to myself that I had fallen into the error of a 
 needless waste of feeling ! But, on second thoughts, I looked at it as 
 a matter of thankfulness that you were kept in such peace, and 
 especially that matters were likely to reach such an issue as they 
 have since reached. Your pamphlet makes me further grateful to 
 our heavenly Father that He has borne such testimony, by the 
 fruits of your labors, to the soundness of your principles and the 
 singleness of your views. His name be praised ! 
 
 " Do write me at some leisure moments about you and yours. I 
 want to learn about each one of the family. I have been grieved 
 to hear that Mrs. H's health is not good. I had a letter not long 
 since from dear Mr. S., sending money for the Seminary, but 
 he told me nothing about M. He invited our Bishops on to Boston, 
 kindly promising that he would do what he could, but not other- 
 wise speaking encouragingly. They did not go, and I regret it. 
 Finding that, personally, they could do so little in New York, 
 perhaps they thought it a wild-goose chase to go further North. 
 They were treated with much personal kindness in the great city; 
 but because Virginia is still unreconstructed, I fear there is a want
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 301 
 
 of confidence in us. Our Northern friends ought to distinguish 
 between three classes the Faculty and the Bishops, the Students, 
 and Society at large in these parts. The first class confess them- 
 selves bound by every obligation, as men and Christians, to cultivate 
 kindly feeling toward those from whom they were separated by the 
 war, and to do so not only in form, but in deed and in truth. As 
 to the students from the two sections of the country, they are 
 living in wonderful harmony and brotherly love. The questions 
 growing out of the war are tabooed universally. Now and again, 
 I suppose, a word may be uttered on one side which the other may 
 not like to hear, but it must be a very rare thing indeed, otherwise 
 they could not live so fraternally as they do, and the good feeling 
 is increasing every day. Even in reference to the third class, 
 outsiders, this last remark is true. Feeling in society is generally 
 softened, and I trust, before long, we shall be as we once were, and 
 in even a far healthier condition. 
 
 " To hasten on the day there is but one way, the way of forbear- 
 ance and love. Evil is to be overcome by good. But why do I 
 thus prose ? Forgive the impertinence. With much love to Mrs. 
 H. and all the family, I am ever truly, 
 
 " Your affectionate brother, W. SPARROW. 
 
 "Rev. J. P. Hubbard" 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, July 1, 1869. 
 " MY DEAR J.: 
 
 " Though I have nothing very special to communicate, yet, as it 
 is vacation, I am disposed to spend a few moments in writing you a 
 brief epistle. 
 
 "Our commencement week passed off very pleasantly, exami- 
 nations, sermons, essays, and all. Dr. Potter, from Grace Church, 
 preached before the Missionary Society very acceptably, the essays 
 of the students pleased, and my address, though terribly Low- 
 Church, so commended itself to the judgment of the forty clergy- 
 men present, that they requested a copy for publication. You 
 shall have a copy. To tell the truth, I feared it would not go down ; 
 but I wanted to deliver my conscience by a testimony against 
 Apostolical, tactual succession, and I am thankful it was so well 
 received. 
 
 " The Hill is as still as the wilderness. Nothing to be heard 
 but the song of birds, or the low of a cow. I go to-day to Wash-
 
 302 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ington, and to-morrow to Baltimore, to spend Sunday there and 
 preach. That, and a trip to Fauquier, are all the expeditions I 
 have planned for the summer. 
 
 "H. was with us about three weeks, to our great delight, and 
 to his own also. He preached once for us. When leaving he 
 expressed himself as very thankful that he had come. He was 
 cordially received everywhere. He is a dear, good man. Religion 
 is an all-pervading reality with him. 
 
 ""Write me soon. With much love, 
 
 "Ever yours, affectionately, WM. SPAEEOW." 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, July 26, 1869. 
 "BEV. AND DEAE BEOTHEE: 
 
 "Accept my thanks for your two most welcome letters. It 
 afforded me real pleasure to know that you were pleased with your 
 visit here. I hope it will lead to many a similar visit in time to 
 come. 
 
 " In regard to Church matters, what shall I say ? There is so 
 much to be said, and every day brings up such new considerations, 
 that it is perfectly vain to attempt anything by pen. In regard to 
 yourself, one idea was continually occurring as I read your two 
 letters, the fear that you might be disposed to hurry too much. 
 You are naturally impatient ! But that is not the main point. 
 The main point is that 'large bodies move slow,' and of all, large 
 bodies Episcopal ! Now, to get them to move at all, you must not 
 be in a hurry; you must be patient, be willing to apply force, 
 moral force, argument, for a length of time. It is thus only that 
 the desired effect can be produced. No matter what is in the 
 future, whether such a revision as will satisfy, or, which God fore- 
 fend, result in a secession, it is best accomplished by letting 
 patience have its perfect work. Whatever is done, to be well done, 
 the people must be instructed ; they must be so aroused as to be at 
 the pains to learn. When the clergy and laity who are sound 
 thoroughly understand the issue, then we shall move with power, 
 whatever the direction. Until then, it will only precipitate matters 
 to a disastrous result to take any revolutionary steps. 
 
 "Cheney's trial is going on, I suppose. Whilst I am deeply 
 pained that he should be subjected to such anxiety and mortifica- 
 tion, I think it will result in good. If he is condemned, it will 
 wake up slumbering Low-Churchmen; and if he is acquitted, it
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 303 
 
 will be one step toward delivering us from that ecclesiastical mar- 
 tinetism which would make a man answerable with his life for a 
 verbal departure from a formulary prescribed, while, at the same 
 time, there is the utmost latitude allowed in regard to postures, 
 gestures, and costumes, and all kinds of ceremonies, and greater 
 still, if possible, in regard to the doctrines of the Gospel to be 
 preached. 
 
 " I am glad you did not rise and rebuke the preacher that held 
 forth on altars, priests, and sacrifices. Anything of the kind just 
 now would not add to the strength of the good cause, and would 
 have confirmed men in an utterly false estimate of your spiritual 
 character. You have, I trust, a good work yet to do in the 
 Church the Church ! and I am unwilling to see you, by anything 
 that is not clear duty, disqualify yourself for it. 
 
 " With affectionate regards to Mrs. H., and the girls and the boys, 
 I am ever, 
 
 " Truly yours, "W. SPARROW. 
 
 " Rev. J. P. Hubbard." 
 
 The allusion in one of these letters to a matter now too well 
 known and remembered, the trial then going on in Illinois, has, in 
 many respects, its importance. The anticipation as to the ultimate 
 consequences, in view of what then seemed as an immediate prob- 
 able result, has been strikingly realized, even to the name of the 
 new organization. It shows, too, with whom the writer of that 
 letter regarded the responsibility of these troubles as ultimately 
 resting. His own relations to this whole matter, as to the different 
 parties, have, in some respects, been misunderstood. These rela- 
 tions were simply those of sympathy with a brother in the minis- 
 try, formerly a pupil, and holding the same views as himself, in 
 trouble, upon a question of conscience. This trouble, to his view, 
 was caused through a straining of the law and of legal principle, 
 against the tenor of ordinary practice and allowed official discre- 
 tion, not in the direction of mercy and forbearance, but in that of 
 harshness and oppression. In other words, he looked upon the 
 prosecution as a persecution. The harshness of this, moreover, 
 was heightened in view of the fact that it was thus carried on 
 against clergymen of one school of theology and Church views, 
 upon the slightest allegations of irregularity in rubric and ritual, 
 while, at the same time, the most startling irregularities of a dif-
 
 304 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ferent school, both of ritual and of doctrine, were allowed to go on 
 without rebuke. Dr. Sparrow has left on record the opinion that 
 the act in question was not properly a subject of discipline, that it 
 was really within the limits of official discretion. This opinion, writ- 
 ten at the time, at the request of Dr. Andrews, whose views in regard 
 to the merits of the case were somewhat different, is here given. 
 It was, of course, not prepared for the press; and the thoughts, 
 rather than their form, were his object in its preparation. Whether 
 assented to or not, it will make manifest his position with reference 
 to the whole subject. 
 
 " When Dr. Cheney was tried, condemned, and deposed, because 
 he could not conscientiously use the word ' regenerate ' in one par- 
 ticular place in the Baptismal service for Infants, though he had 
 used it everywhere else in that service, and did not otherwise de- 
 part from the prescribed form ; though the omission no way affected 
 the validity of the rite; and though he was acknowledged on all 
 hands personally sound in the faith, irreproachable in morals, suc- 
 cessful as a minister, and much beloved by his people ; when all 
 this took place, and all this appeared, every impartial person in 
 our Church, and persons that were not impartial, but opposed in 
 their opinions to Dr. 0., felt that the whole affair looked very much 
 like a piece of ecclesiastical persecution, and in their hearts de- 
 spised the instigators of the proceeding. But while the movers in 
 this matter were so generally condemned, inside and outside of our 
 Church, the employees, on the other hand, were approved, or at 
 least apologized for. 
 
 "It was said that the man ought not to have been tried, treated 
 as an offender, for such a trifle; but that once brought into court as 
 a reus, on the charge of omitting habitually any jot or tittle in the 
 service of the Prayer-book, he must be condemned. Is it so f 
 
 "When we become ministers of religion we bind ourselves by 
 subscription to render loyal obedience and service to the Protestant 
 Episcopal Church. This practice of subscription we derived from 
 our Mother-Church of England. 
 
 "There, at ordination, ministers used to make three distinct 
 subscriptions, viz.: to the king's supremacy; to all and singular the 
 Thirty-nine Articles, as agreeable to the Word of God ; and to the 
 Book of Common Prayer, as not contrary thereto. But in the 
 progress of time, and the development of thought, these subscrip- 
 tions came to mean much more than they did at first, and couse-
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 305 
 
 quently began to gall, in some respects, the conscience of men, even 
 of those who were and felt themselves to be the true doctrinal 
 descendants of the framers of the subscription forms, and of the 
 documents subscribed. To ease the consciences of such men, there- 
 fore, it was felt for a long time, and by many persons, that something 
 must be done. At length, accordingly, in the reign of William 
 and Mary, it was proposed, in what was called the ' Comprehension 
 Bill,' to substitute for the old threefold subscription a simpler form 
 of words, viz.: 'I do approve the doctrine, and worship, and gov- 
 ernment of the Church of England as by law established.' Had 
 this bill been carried through there is no knowing what good it 
 might have effected, preventing the State Church from becoming 
 so reduced as to hold, as it now does, only a ' divided empire ' over 
 the nation. We American Episcopalians, at least, are constrained 
 to think it would have been a wise and beneficial measure, judging 
 from subsequent events, for, as soon as we in these American 
 colonies were called on by the Revolution to organize ourselves as 
 an independent Church, we at once adopted the liberal and conserva- 
 tive subscription which the authorities of the English Church had 
 rejected. This was done very much at the instance of Bishop 
 White. We do not mean by his personal influence, overbearing 
 private opinion, for it was only in harmony with the prevalent 
 sentiment among the Episcopal colonists of that day. He was 
 only the leader of a willing and hearty following. In the Consti- 
 tution of our Church, where the requirement and form of clerical 
 subscription may be found, the person about to be ordained is made 
 to put his hands to these words : ' I do solemnly engage to conform 
 to the doctrines and worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
 in the United States.' 
 
 "Thus we see that the style of subscription which was rejected 
 by the authorities of the English Church in the Seventeenth cen- 
 tury, was adopted by us at the beginning of our history, as right 
 and expedient, though it ought to be added that that Church has, 
 within the present decade of years, revised and corrected her own 
 action on the subject, encouraged, perhaps, in some measure, by 
 our example. But what now is the nature or import of this change 
 in the form of subscription, for we cannot suppose it nugatory. In 
 one word, it was relaxation. It was meant to abate stringency, to 
 enlarge liberty, to lessen compulsion, to widen the sphere of choice. 
 It was felt the world had made some progress in the previous two 
 20
 
 306 MEMOIR OF 
 
 hundred years, and might be treated as a little further advanced 
 
 toward its majority, especially the Christian part of it, and of the 
 
 Christian, especially the ministerial part. 
 
 ' " Such was virtually the view of those who changed the form of 
 subscription. Bishop White, when asked if our subscription is as 
 stringent as that of the English clergy used to be, answered, with 
 a vehemence quite unusual with him, 'God forbid.' He clearly 
 intimates that we have more liberty than they had. But we need 
 no man's opinion here; the charge, in the language, speaks for itself. 
 " Now the relaxation thus granted pertains to two things, doc- 
 trine and worship, and to both of these alike. To separate them 
 is most unwarrantable. The same language is used in reference to 
 both. Both stand in the same construction. That the old strin- 
 gency in regard to doctrine is abated, no one will deny. If it be 
 not abated, then the whole change of form in the subscription is 
 idle and unmeaning, yea deceptive. 
 
 . " Bishop White is very clear on the point. He says we subscribe 
 only 'for substance of doctrine;' and distinctly intimates that 
 Church of England ministers did not formerly enjoy the same 
 liberty. If, then, there is relaxation in regard to doctrine, is there 
 none in regard to worship ? Is the old stringency removed in the 
 one case, and not removed in the other? Thus to separate them is 
 an unwarrantable piece of arbitrariness, which would not be tole- 
 rated a moment in legal hermeneutics. No mere exegete, looking 
 at the language, would say that any distinction could be justly 
 made. If there is relaxation in regard to 'doctrine,' there must 
 be also in regard to 'worship.' Besides this parallelism between 
 the two things in the prescribed form, it may be worth while to 
 notice that one manner characterizes the process of the change in 
 both cases, from the old to the new form. In regard to both, the 
 change is from particulars to generals. In the one ' doctrine ' is 
 substituted for the 'Thirty-nine Articles;' in the other ' worship ' 
 for the offices of the Prayer-book. By this altered phraseology we 
 are not by any means left at liberty to depart from the doctrine of 
 our Articles or from the worship of our Liturgical forms; we are 
 still held to the 'substance,' in each case, but, nevertheless, most 
 indubitably, a liberty is conceded to the consciences of individuals, 
 which was not accorded under the old form ; unless, indeed, we can 
 suppose the Church to be 'keeping the word of promise to the ear,' 
 while 'breaking it to our hope.' We say, be it observed, ' the con-
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 307 
 
 sciences of individuals.' The relaxation was never designed, we 
 maintain, to sanction wanton, frivolous and light-minded departures 
 from things established, or a capricious and crotchety disposition 
 in sacred things. It was designed to relieve the conscience, when 
 solemnly pleaded by men of unimpeachable character, in the less 
 important points of doctrine, and in the minutiae of forms. It was 
 not to give unlimited range to the judgment, as to what is expedi- 
 ent, or to the taste, as to what is most fitting. That ' doctrine ' 
 and 'worship' are under the same law of relaxation, is further 
 manifest from the relation of one to the other. One cannot be 
 without the other. How shall men be able to exercise the liberty 
 wherewith the Church, so far as she is concerned, has set them free 
 in their opinions, if they are compelled in every jot and tittle to 
 use the same language, however their opinions vary? We cannot 
 believe the Church would have a man in words say one thing, 
 while in thought he is saying another. She does not require her 
 servants thus to falter. Nay, she must desire, above all things, to 
 have those who minister at her altars stand fair with their own 
 consciences before God and before men. She must desire, above all 
 things, to see in them 'simplicity and Godly sincerity,' not fleshly 
 wisdom, or worldly policy, or ecclesiastical craft. But surely her 
 wishes cannot be realized, if there is one rule for the man's think- 
 ing and another for the official's saying* We conclude, therefore, 
 that there is liberty in both cases. 
 
 " Moreover, is it not passing strange that liberty should be ac- 
 corded so freely in 'doctrine,' and that it should be practically 
 exercised to such an extent, that men may believe any opinion 
 almost, if only the Trinity is, retained; and yet that they should be 
 bound so strictly, have their feet bound so* fast in the stocks, in 
 regard to every word used in the offices of the Church? Is doc- 
 trine of so little importance as this? Did not Christianity begin 
 with doctrine? Did not the Master say, 'To this end was I born, 
 and for this cause came I into the world, that I might bear witness 
 to the truth' ? Did not Christianity appear- among men first of all 
 as truth preached ; and is not its realization, in individual souls be- 
 gun and continued to the end in the reception of the ' truth in the 
 love thereof? Other things may be dispensed with, but this may 
 not. There may be truth where Christianity is not, but there can 
 be no Christianity without truth ; the truth) as it is in Jesus. 
 
 " Being, then, thus vitally important, why should there be such
 
 308 MEMOIR OF 
 
 laxness in regard to the language of truth, and at the same time 
 such extreme martinetism in regard to the language of forms? 
 
 " This disproportion in the caution exercised in the two cases is 
 a striking phenomenon ; and mischievous withal ; for it misdirects 
 the mind, and is itself a great untruth. How such a temper and 
 state of opinion could come to exist is a question which might lead 
 to curious conclusions, if it were worth while to pursue it. But 
 this by the way. 
 
 "After all, however, it is said if you allow the omission of a 
 word, or the misplacing of a point in the use of a liturgy, on the 
 plea of conscience, to one man, you must allow the change of two 
 words to another, and ten to a third, and a hundred to a fourth, 
 and so on; whole systems of forms would be broken down. This 
 plea, doubtless, influences many, and is with them a sufficient 
 apology for the most Draconian spirit and conduct, on the part 
 of ecclesiastical prosecutors and courts. Yet it is utterly delusive 
 and dangerous. 
 
 " In the first place, it should be distinctly understood that its 
 purpose is unconstitutional ; it aims to take from us a liberty which 
 the fundamental law of the Church concedes to her ministers, when 
 they subscribe with a view to ordination. In the next place this 
 plea, in the spirit of it, is the ostensible motive for all the despotism 
 ever practiced in the world, whether in politics or religion. No 
 tyrant ever yet curtailed the liberties of the people, except on the 
 pretext that it was necessary, to prevent anarchy. But there is 
 that in man, as a few have long known, and the world is now at 
 length discovering, by which, when duly developed by education, 
 he may be governed, without being enslaved. And, a fortiori, 
 there is that in the Christian, at least the Christian in a Church 
 which makes the Scripture its rule of faith and practice, and which 
 consequently must have attained some considerable development, 
 which will justify such Church in allowing the clergy some little 
 liberty, as in doctrine so in forms, for the relief of individual 
 minds when harassed by conscientious scruples; for, be it observed, 
 it is for conscience only we plead, not for mere taste, not for mere 
 expediency, not for whimsical idiosyncrasy. 
 
 " In the third place, does it not almost look like an affectation in 
 us, when, feeling so perfectly secure, as we seem to do, against the 
 greater peril of false doctrine, we show ourselves so terribly appre- 
 hensive that if a man is left silently ; to omit, for the relief of his
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 309 
 
 conscience, one word, in one place, in one formulary, the result will 
 be that the whole liturgical fabric will tumble about our ears; and 
 therefore, to prevent such disastrous consequences, the offender 
 must be at once seized and ecclesiastically put to death. For 
 surely, if there is anything in their whole system which has made 
 a lodgment in the affections of Protestant Episcopalians, it is their 
 Prayer-book. If there is an attachment of our people that may 
 be relied on without suspicion or fear, it is their attachment to the 
 Liturgy ; first as a liturgy, and next as our liturgy, originated by 
 the reformers under Edward vi, used from time to time after- 
 ward, and so transmitted to us by our fathers for many generations. 
 Standing on its own merits, and used in its own spirit, the Book of 
 Common Prayer has never occupied a tottering position in the 
 hearts of English or American Episcopalians. A liturgy will 
 always be found to commend itself to the Christian world at large, 
 and of all liturgies, among English-speaking Protestants, ours is 
 confessedly the best. In times of peace there has been no lack of 
 love and reverence for it ; on the contrary, there has been some- 
 times an excessive devotion and deference to it. Tractarians and 
 Eitualists have charged Protestants with Bibliolatry; liturgeolatry 
 is a far greater and more probable sin. Of this liability we all 
 partake, and, if self-observant, must be quite conscious. Things 
 being so, how comes it to pass that we cannot, in the smallest 
 degree, confide in its intrinsic merits to protect it, but put it into 
 the hands of the clergy, as adults would put a delicate and pre- 
 cious vase of exquisitely wrought glass into the hands of little 
 children, watching over them at every step, and chiding them lest 
 they let it fall and break ? 
 
 " Made use of by us, as the Prayer-book is, from week to week, 
 and oftener ; transmitted to us, as it has been, by our ancestors for 
 many generations back ; surrounded with associations, ecclesiasti- 
 cal, domestic, and personal, of deepest interest; familiar to our 
 tongues and ears, as ministers and people, from early childhood, 
 and incomparably excellent in matter and manner, as we maintain, 
 fitting into all the demands of religious human life with wondrous 
 judgment and good taste, and commending itself to all as a vehicle 
 for the expression of devout affection, never yet surpassed by 
 man ; surely we might practically trust it a little to the keeping of 
 its own merits, and not act as though we supposed -it could not
 
 310 MEMOIR OF 
 
 stand a moment on its own foundation, unless propped and shored 
 up at every point by the terrible sanctions of penal law. 
 
 "But still the old objection comes back upon us, 'if you give an 
 inch they will take an ell.' 
 
 "Be the danger even so. This argument has been already met 
 in part. To guard against possible evil, shall we introduce the 
 spirit and practices of despotism ? But further and more directly : 
 the liability to evil is legislatively allowed to exist in other things 
 in which men claim liberty of conscience, and speech, and action. 
 For example, to allow us any liberty of speech about our neighbor, 
 is to expose his character to defamation, yet it is thought best it 
 should be so. Some men will, indeed, in such case take advantage 
 of this liberty, and will say many things in idle gossip which they 
 ought not. Yet it is not thought wise to seal up men's lips alto- 
 gether. It is deemed best to let the danger continue, and provide 
 against it in another way. When the resulting evil in any case 
 becomes serious, the matter may be referred to the courts. Let 
 the judge and jury between them determine not whether the 
 accused is a discreet man, or whether he spoke rashly with his 
 lips, but whether he was guilty of the malicious uttering of false- 
 hood, with a view to destroy the good name of his neighbor. 
 Beyond such an appeal and such a verdict there is no legitimate 
 resort in this world, and as it is the last resort of the individual, 
 so is it the highest protection of civil society. To seek any higher 
 or more effective, is to forfeit that which gives to society all its 
 sweetness liberty. 
 
 "The application of this to the liberty accorded us by the form of 
 our clerical subscription, in 'doctrine and worship/ is obvious. 
 If any man is found to violate the measured and generalized vow 
 involved therein, let him be called solemnly to account, and made 
 to take all the consequences of his offence ; but let him not be tried 
 by the court so assembled upon some principle totally opposed to 
 the terms and spirit of that vow. Let it not be said that they are 
 bound to bring him in guilty, if he be found deviating from the 
 forms a hair's breadth; that they must adhere, in their judgment, 
 to the minutest letter, though it be a letter that killeth, and that 
 unreasonably and cruelly. Let it rather be maintained, and that 
 firmly, that there is a liberty secured us by the terms of our sub- 
 scription ; that, say what partisans may, conscience, after all, is a 
 reality with some men; that it is as sacred and deserving of respect
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 
 
 as it is real ; yea, the most sacred thing about man, because by it 
 he comes into closest communion with God ; and that it should be 
 presumed to exist where it is solemnly asserted, unless the general 
 character of the man is suspicious, his general conduct alien from 
 the spirit of a liturgical Church, and the liberties taken by him 
 reckless and not for self-relief, but manifestly capricious, disre- 
 spectful to our ecclesiastical peculiarities, and revolutionary. 
 
 "Had the present writer been a member of the court which tried 
 Dr. Cheney, he would have unhesitatingly voted for his acquittal, 
 not because of any doubt of the solitary fact laid to his charge, or 
 because, admitting the fact, he chose to lean to mercy's side, or 
 because, however guilty, it was inexpedient, under the circum- 
 stances ; but because he had violated no law of the Church, and 
 was entitled, by the terms of the subscription which he had made at 
 his ordination, to the verdict 'Not Guilty.'" 
 
 The views thus indicated he freely expressed, and, as opportunity 
 presented, used such means as he possessed to remedy the evils 
 already produced, and to avert others which were seen to be in 
 prospect. To one or two petitions to the General Convention, 
 having these objects in view, he appended his signature, and to Dr. 
 Cheney himself gave expression of his sympathy. Nor were these 
 views, as to the wrong and outrage of the first proceedings on the 
 part of the prosecution, at all changed by the subsequent and 
 peculiar course of the defendant. These two issues he refused 
 to confound. Whether the defendant, in this case, had been harshly 
 and cruelly treated, was one question. Whether his course subse- 
 quent to such treatment was to be defended or imitated, was 
 another. The latter of these questions was one comparatively of 
 very slight importance. The former, as constituting a precedent, 
 which might work infinite trouble and mischief, was that which 
 specially claimed his regard and attention. And it was to him a 
 matter of amazement, the perfect apathy with which this, the 
 main and absorbing issue, by the great body of the clergy, was met 
 and put aside; the disposition to forget and lose sight of it entirely 
 in the other and subordinate issue, which had to do with only one 
 of its consequences, and that not the most important. It will be 
 seen from the above letter that he anticipated such consequences, 
 and others, which have since made their appearance. How strongly 
 that letter of 1869 reads in the light of events now in 1875 ! And
 
 312 MEMOIR OF 
 
 yet, human nature being as it is, how could anything very different 
 be anticipated ? 
 
 But we turn to another and a more grateful topic. Juat after the 
 close of the Council of 1871, and while the session of the Seminary 
 was still going on, a movement, under, it is believed, the suggestion of 
 Cassius F. Lee, Esq., was made among the pupils of Dr. Sparrow, 
 having in view provision for another voyage across the Atlantic. 
 This was successful; and with a grateful appreciation of the feelings 
 by which it was dictated, he began to make his preparations for 
 departure. The change and relaxation involved were of a kind 
 especially likely to prove beneficial, and he thankfully availed 
 himself of the opportunity for them which had been afforded. 
 
 With a few characteristic letters of this period we bring 
 this chapter to its close. The titles and contents of these letters 
 contain their own explanation. One of them, to the students of the 
 classes of 1871, we are sure will be read with interest and pleasure, 
 not only by those to whom it was originally addressed, but by many 
 others of his pupils. It constitutes an exhibition of the feelings of 
 interest and affection with which he regarded those who came 
 under his instruction, and it helps to explain the warmth of affection 
 with which those feelings were reciprocated. 
 
 To A CANDIDATE FOR THE MINISTRY AT THE UNIVERSITY. 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, January 29, 1870. 
 " MY DEAR F.: 
 
 " You may well think it strange I have not written you ere this, 
 especially as I asked you to write me, and I think promised a reply. 
 My excuse is, much work, little strength, and of late rather serious 
 sickness. 
 
 "The account you have given of yourself is very interesting to 
 me. I have felt some little anxiety lest you should attempt too 
 much. Whilst there are some who will do nothing, the fault of 
 our times, amongst those who are really disposed to do, is that they 
 often overburden themselves and are in too great a hurry. We 
 should not 'haste' to be learned, any more than 'to be rich.' It 
 comes of evil and leads to evil. It is really injurious to the discipline 
 of the mind, for which the knowledge acquired is no compensation ; 
 and then it is likely to interfere with the paramount interest of life, 
 the care of the soul. This with the Christian is first, is last, is 
 everything, whether at home or abroad, in business or at college.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 313 
 
 Some pleasing and instructive illustrations of this idea are found in 
 John Newton's correspondence with Dr. Buchanan, while the latter 
 was pursuing his studies at Cambridge. 
 
 "I am pleased to learn you have joined the Young Men's Chris- 
 tian Association at the University, and pray you may be strength- 
 ened and helped along in the divine life by such intercourse. If 
 it should help you to sanctify wholly the Lord's day, that alone 
 will be an immense blessing to body, mind, and spirit. A holy Sab- 
 bath is quite as necessary to the student as the mechanic, while the 
 obligation to observe it is far greater, seeing the student may be 
 presumed to have more knowledge of God's will in the matter. 
 
 "Since I am in the way of giving hints just now, let me further 
 suggest that you do not study for the. diploma. The world seldom 
 asks to see the "sheepskin; " but they expect to see in the minister 
 discipline of mind and an adequate store of knowledge, and finding 
 these they are content, as they may well be! This thought is in 
 harmony with the suggestion about haste. It helps to make us 
 value the present, to improve the present, to enjoy the present. 
 The exercise is sweet and the acquisition precious in and of them- 
 selves, and for that reason have a more beneficial and more 
 permanent effect upon the mind. But enough. All things remain 
 here, I believe, pretty much as you used to see them, or if there 
 have been any changes, doubtless you have been apprized of them. 
 My dear F., let me say, I take a deep interest in you, as my dearest 
 friend's son, as a Christian youth, and as a Christian youth looking 
 forward to the ministry as the business of your life; and that the 
 Lord may have you in his holy keeping and sanctify all your 
 attainments, and prepare you in body, soul, and spirit for this high 
 calling, is and shall be the prayer of, 
 
 " Yours affectionately, W. SPARROW." 
 
 To KEY. J. P. HUBBARD. 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, March 28, 1871. 
 "REV. AND DEAR BROTHER: 
 
 "Ever since you sent your last contribution to the Seminary, 
 there has been lying on my portfolio a half-finished letter to you. 
 Being interrupted in the writing, I have left it unfinished to this 
 hour, and now replace it by a letter de novo. Even this ought to 
 have been written and sent off long ago, or, at least, since the 
 arrival of Mr. E. I ought to add, that even before your money-
 
 314 MEMOIR OF 
 
 letter arrived I had been ineffectually purposing to write to you. 
 I had begun to feel a strong desire to know how the Lord was 
 dealing with you and yours. For, silent or not, be assured I ever 
 think of you all with true affection. 
 
 "Mr. E. has taken hold of study, and, so far as I can learn, is 
 quite contented in his new position. To one who has lived always 
 at the North, a residence down here must be a great change. But 
 all the more beneficial ; it must help to cure narrow-mindedness, to 
 which we are all so prone. 
 
 " We were all pleased to find you remembered the old Seminary, 
 and felt a disposition to send us men as well as send us money. 
 Would that the tide which once set in this direction from the North 
 might so set again ! Our number has been less this year than last ; 
 but we have got along, with a fair share of the Divine presence 
 and blessing among us. I think that there has been much search- 
 ing of heart among many of our students, which I trust will result 
 in making many of them able ministers of the New Testament. Of 
 course, we feel the influence of the prevailing sentiment in our 
 Church. It is like a malarious atmosphere, and all have to breathe, 
 and some are affected by it, but they are only a few, and I trust 
 that some of these will have such principles lodged in them as will 
 lead them hereafter to slough off the evil influence. 
 
 " Cheney's case has troubled me much. It is terrible to be made 
 an offender for a word, to the degree of forfeiting a man's clerical 
 standing, and that a word which is in no way essential to the rite, 
 which comes after the rite is performed, which is omitted for con- 
 science sake, which was omitted quietly, without any bravado or 
 desire for notoriety. May God in infinite mercy bring good out of 
 this evil ! 
 
 " I deeply regretted I did not visit you last summer. I wasted 
 my vacation in heat and inactivity at home. If I am spared till 
 next summer, I shall, Deo volente, make you a visit; and if I can 
 induce you to accompany me, I may be disposed to go to Canada, 
 and visit Quebec and Montreal, which places I have never seen. 
 
 " I have entered on my seventy-first year, and it behooves me 
 not to calculate far ahead, nor count with any confidence on the 
 accomplishment of such little plans. There is another journey 
 before me which must soon be taken ; may the Saviour be my com- 
 panion to help and cheer. 
 
 "With kindest regards to Mrs. H. and all the family, 
 
 " Your affectionate brother, W. SPARROW."
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D.D. 
 
 Acknowledgment of present of a study-lamp from the students, 
 as a token of their esteem and affection, on his seventieth birthday : 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINAKY, March 12, 1871. 
 " MY VERY DEAR BRETHREN : 
 
 " This evening, as I returned from tea to my study, I found a 
 student's lamp burning brilliantly upon my table. I was bewil- 
 dered. Old men, as you know, are given to 'waking dreams,' 
 'brown studies,' 'hallucinations/ and all manner of absences of 
 mind; and I, therefore, began to question, asking, ' Am I awake?' 
 I had left my study a short time before, and nothing of the kind 
 was to be seen. In my confusion I overlooked the card which was 
 fixed to the lamp, and hurried back to the tea-room to get an ex- 
 planation. I saw at once they were all in the secret, and as much 
 delighted as I was bewildered. I was taken back to the study and 
 shown the card which I had overlooked: 'From the students.' 
 
 " Dear brethren, from none on earth could such a token of good- 
 will have come so acceptably as from you. I accept it with an 
 overflowing heart, and with thankfulness to you and our common 
 Father in heaven. Your kind wishes cheer me at this important 
 crisis of my life. May your gift be to me a token of what I ought, 
 above all things, seek as a man, and as a functionary, namely, 
 LIGHT, especially as it comes from Him who is the light of the 
 soul, and 'the light of the world.' Ever, affectionately, 
 
 " Your friend and servant, WM. SPARROW." 
 
 Within a week or two after the close of the session, the Doctor 
 sailed for Europe, spending the vacation in Ireland and England, 
 with a brief visit to Paris. With some of the particulars of this 
 journey we shall be occupied in the next chapter.
 
 316 MEMOIR OF 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 TOUR TO EUROPE DEATH CONCLUSION. 
 
 The tour across the Atlantic, extending through vacation and into 
 a few weeks of October, was confined to Ireland and England, with a 
 short visit to Paris. The first part of the visit was to Dr. Sparrow's 
 relations in Ireland, where he found an aunt, one of the sisters of 
 his mother, more than fourscore, still living, but whose death took 
 place within the next two years. After remaining with these a few 
 weeks, he went over to London and Paris, and returned to Ireland, 
 on his way homeward. He seems to have failed in finding suitable 
 companions for a more extended tour in Europe, the state of his 
 health, moreover, making it undesirable that he should be sub- 
 jected to special exertion. One or two letters to friends on this side 
 the Atlantic, as also a few written from this country on his return, 
 and within the next two years, to his relatives in Ireland, are here 
 inserted. They afford information as to his movements, as also in 
 regard to the feelings with which he revisited the scenes of early 
 life, and contemplated some of the localities coming under his 
 observation. The last of these letters, that to Ireland in 1873, 
 taken in connection with the circumstances which called it forth, 
 as of those at that time of the writer himself, is exceedingly touch- 
 ing and beautiful. The "home feelings" of which he speaks, for 
 that home above to which he was so very near, were manifestly 
 strong and increasing. 
 
 Preceding these is a brief letter from Ireland, written in 1874, 
 by one of his relatives, descriptive of his arrival and intercourse 
 with them: 
 
 "On the 26th of July, 1871, at an early hour, we were surprised 
 by a visit from your father. He was stopping at the Shelborne 
 Hotel, in Stephen's Green, having arrived there the day before from 
 Cork, where he had landed from New York. We induced him to 
 leave the hotel and come and stay with us. This he accordingly 
 did in the course of the day, and remained with us till the eleventh 
 of August, when he started for London. He remained there some
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 317 
 
 time, and then visited Paris in company with a friend he met in 
 London. He returned to us on the twenty-first of September, to 
 Sandymount, a pretty locality about two miles from Dublin, facing 
 the sea, where we had taken lodgings for the benefit of my mother's 
 health. But his sojourn with us was but short, as on the twenty- 
 seventh he left by rail for Killarney, which he wished to see. From 
 there he went to Cork, where he embarked for New York. 
 
 " During his visit to us your father went by rail to visit Gorey, 
 in hopes of meeting some acquaintances of early days and reviving 
 the memory of old localities. The localities were there, but most 
 of the acquaintances were gone." 
 
 "DUBLIN, July 31, 1871. 
 " MY DEAR ME. LEE: 
 
 "After having communicated with my family, my first debt in 
 letter- writing is due to you. I arrived in Cork on the 15th, after a 
 pleasant enough voyage, if any voyage can be pleasant. It was ten 
 days long, nearly, almost entirely by steam, the winds being light 
 and not favorable. It was a very uneventful passage. We were 
 two Sundays on board, and had the morning service of the Church 
 of England, by the Captain. Such is the law of the Cunard line. 
 He manifestly knew more of navigation than Liturgies! From 
 Cork I came directly here; and from here I have been to Gorey, 
 the scene of my boyhood, and walked the streets unknowing and 
 unknown. Of course the visit was sad and even solemn, but I 
 hope it has proved salutary. At least it ought. It was comfort- 
 ing to see, there, and in all the country I passed through by rail 
 from Cork to Dublin, a manifest and great improvement in the con- 
 dition of the people. Of course every inch of land is cultivated, 
 and, what I did not look for, they are introducing our agricultural 
 implements. The tenements of the poor are much improved ; they 
 are better clad, and mendicancy, which used to sadden every bene- 
 volent heart, and disgrace the land, is very much diminished. I 
 speak only of the parts I have been in. I include Dublin, where I 
 am. Dublin, you know, has no commerce or manufactures worth 
 speaking of. After the Union in 1801, when it lost its Parliament, 
 of course it declined ; but they say it is reviving. It. is a beautiful 
 city, and where not beautiful, solid and substantial. It was greatly 
 moved yesterday by a visit from the Prince of Wales, and other mem- 
 bers of the Eoyal family, including the Marquis of Lome and his
 
 318 MEMOIR OF 
 
 royal wife. There was a fair show of Irish enthusiasm. As they 
 passed by the College Green (where I stood), moving at a trot, pre- 
 ceded by a squadron of cavalry, and sitting in open barouches, they 
 received a most enthusiastic cheering. How much heart was in it 
 would be difficult to say. I fear there is a growing desire, even 
 among Protestants, for a restoration of their lost legislative powers, 
 and what that would lead to it is hard to say. 
 
 " I have formed no very definite plans of travel yet. My only 
 desire in that line was to visit Rome and Naples, but I fear that 
 cannot be accomplished. I shall go this week or next to London ; 
 and from there may go on the Continent. I hope my health is 
 improving. I certainly am not oppressed with heat. Except yes- 
 terday, it has rained every day since I came on the coast. It is, 
 indeed, a land of rains and showers, alternating rapidly with 
 gleams of sunshine. If we had so much rain, our roads would be 
 impassable, but the roads here are all macadamized with the finest, 
 i.e., the smallest stone, and hard and smooth, and, therefore, only 
 washed by the showers. The perfection of the roads is the best 
 feature of Ireland. 
 
 " Though only three weeks since I left my home, it really seems 
 a very long time. Constant change, great distance, and novelty of 
 appearance, all unknown to Seminary life, make me feel as if it 
 were a year since I left the ' Hill.' However much further I may 
 go, or whatever I may see, I expect to experience nothing so much 
 to my mind as what our country, and especially our Seminary life, 
 furnishes. We see and complain of the defects of our government 
 and country, and they are not a few, but really, if they would only 
 not grow and increase, but remain as they are, nothing to be seen 
 this side the water is to be compared to what we have at home. 
 There is an independence and individuality in society among us 
 which seems infinitely precious, in view of the air of courtly senti- 
 ment and dependence which you see in the papers, and notice in 
 the tone of conversation. Spokes in a wheel do not look more and 
 more incessantly to the hub, than do thought, and language, and 
 expectation, among the people, to the government and the Court. 
 
 "I am staying with my aunt, an old lady of eighty-four, or 
 rather with my cousin, her son, who, on a moderate income, lives 
 here. They were overwhelmed with surprise when I came in upon 
 them. My aged aunt, the last remnant of a large family, could 
 not, for some time, recover herself from the flood of feeling occa-
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 319 
 
 sioned by my arrival. My mother, her sister, died more than 
 fifty years ago. My presence brought back her image, and 
 revived other recollections buried for long years. If you should 
 feel disposed to write me, please direct to care of Jay Cooke, 
 McCulloch & Co., 41 Lombard street, London. 
 
 "Remember me most affectionately to Mrs. Lee, and all the 
 'boys and girls.' It grieves me I could not go and bid them good 
 bye. I would rather have omitted any other visit. 
 
 " Ever your affectionate friend, W. SPARROW." 
 
 "DUBLIN, August 2, 1871. 
 " MY DEAR J.: 
 
 " I received your letter before I sailed, and thinking you would 
 be glad to hear of my safe arrival, I drop you a few lines. I left 
 New York on the 15th ult., and reached Cork and Dublin on the 
 25th. I am staying with an aged aunt, eighty-four years old, or 
 rather with her son, who keeps house, and with whom she lives. 
 He studied law, but, having enough to live on decently without 
 labor, does nothing. He has an English wife, and a boy about 
 nine; an only child. 
 
 " Ireland is wondrously improved since I left it. There is much 
 less poverty. An air of comfort and of neatness prevails, not seen 
 formerly. The roads are admirable everywhere. You see none 
 such with us, except in the suburbs of large cities. One conse- 
 quence is, that the poor can make use of donkeys. Small as they 
 are, looking like rats, they carry huge loads. In our roads they 
 could not drag them a foot. But how rainy the climate ! It is 
 shower and sunshine, alternately, all the time. When here before 
 I used to joke my relatives, saying I was satisfied it rained every 
 day in the year here. This time, it has rained every day since I 
 arrived. A compensation is, perpetual verdure and a temperate 
 climate. It is, however, too temperate, so to say, for me. This 
 city is at this time greatly moved by the visit of the Prince of 
 Wales, Prince Arthur, and the Marquis of Lome and his royal 
 or princely wife. Like everybody else, I have seen them as they 
 rode along the street; but that, of course, is all. The Marchioness 
 is the favorite. The Irish hope the Queen may marry another of 
 her daughters to an Irish lord some of these days. 
 
 " I was at church at the Cathedral here on Sunday. It has been 
 renovated at the expense of Guinness, the brewer, whose porter
 
 320 MEMOIR OF 
 
 and ale are imported among us. It is an old firm, and the present 
 head of it has a baronetcy. The cost of the improvements was 
 nearly a half million of dollars. It is a noble building, full of 
 ancient monuments. A modern one of Archbishop Whateley, of 
 course, arrested my attention. The music magnificent, of course, 
 far beyond me. Not so in the church which I attended in the 
 morning. All was plain and proper, with an extemporary dis- 
 course of an expository nature. Except, of course, in the Cathe- 
 dral, the singing in the Church is far more congregational than 
 with us. At night I attended lay preaching in Merion Hall. A 
 Mr. Dewly built and sustains the house for religious and benevo- 
 lent purposes. It has three galleries all round. The preacher on 
 this occasion was not an Irishman. 
 
 "Let me say, I met Mr. D. in New York for a moment. I was 
 pleased with the account which he gave of the boys. At first I did 
 not know it was Mr. D. the teacher. I supposed it was his brother. 
 
 " I must conclude, simply adding, I shall probably go to London 
 in two days. Give my love to the four boys. Let me have your 
 prayers. I am, my dear John, ever, affectionately, 
 
 "Your father, W. SPARROW. 
 
 " Rev. J. A. Jerome." 
 
 "LONDON, August 14, 1871. 
 " MY DEAR COUSIN : 
 
 " Have I or have I not written you since my arrival here ? It 
 may seem a strange question, but it is a sincere one. You and 
 your dear family have been so much in my thoughts since I left 
 you, and I have been writing home so much since, mentioning 
 things pertaining to you and yours, and have so firmly resolved to 
 write promptly to you, and I have thought of it so often in my 
 wakeful hours at night, that when you add to all this the oblivion 
 which is coming over me by reason of age, you need hardly wonder 
 that I stand in doubt whether this will not prove a 'crambe 
 repetita.' Still, it can do no harm. 
 
 " My passage across was smooth, for the Channel was as a mill- 
 pond. I was recognized on board by a clergyman of New York, 
 who had, when young, been to my house with a common friend, 
 with whom he was traveling. To my grief we parted at Chester. 
 I am now lodging in 2 Euston Square. I was recognized through 
 the window by another New Yorker before the door was opened !
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 321 
 
 This, also, was an agreeable surprise. I am pleased with my abode, 
 only the company is so intensely worldly. It is a terrible thing 
 for men to live only to themselves, and to make number one the 
 object of all they think, and say, and do, eating, drinking, sleeping; 
 excesses of all kinds and the uses of remedies for these excesses ; 
 excitement and ennui rapidly alternating; no high thoughts; no 
 benevolent plans and doings; what a condition for an immortal 
 creature ! And how inane the conversation of such people ; con- 
 certs, plays, and the news of the day, these constitute the pabulum 
 by which their souls are fed. Oh, how I long for the quiet, 
 rational, Christian converse I enjoyed under your roof! But all 
 this is vain. 
 
 " Yesterday I went to St. Alban's and the Tabernaole. What a 
 contrast ! The one all form, and show, and superstition ; the other, 
 life, power, truth, practicalness. I hoped to hear Maconochie, but 
 was disappointed. I heard a Mr. Angel. Is he the angel, one 
 is tempted to ask, who ' preached another gospel ' ? It was extem- 
 poraneous, and he tried to be animated; but what a jumble of 
 doctrine, not only inconsistent with the New Testament, but with 
 himself. As to Spurgeon, do not let folk delude you into the idea 
 that he is a common man, or that his preaching is vulgar clap-trap. 
 I venture to say that there is not another man in this city that 
 could hold so intelligent an audience as he had yesterday, spell- 
 bound as we were, for so long a time. From my heart I thank 
 God that He has raised up such a man to do His work. Spurgeon 
 is a great blessing to this city; such a city needs such a man. Do 
 sublime cathedrals, with their sublime worship, make religion, to . 
 say the least, respectable in the world? Much more does such a 
 man make it respected. People carry home from such preaching 
 impressions and ideas which are remembered in daily duty, at the 
 fireside and in the shop. But I can say no more. If I were with 
 you, I should delight to make verbally a full report of that won- 
 derful man's performance. I shall expect a line in answer, telling 
 me of your country trip. Give my love to my cousin, and tell her, 
 though our acquaintance was so short, it is very precious and ever 
 to be remembered. Let S. have a full share of my regard ; and 
 for his sake I even send a greeting to Midge.* Name me with true 
 affection to all at Molesworth Street. 
 
 "Ever your affectionate cousin, WM. SPARROW." 
 
 * The pet dog of S., the little son of Mr. Q. 
 21
 
 322 MEMOIR OF 
 
 "2 EUSTON SQUARE, LONDON, August 19, 1871. 
 "My DEAR AUNT MINA: 
 
 "I have just received a very welcome letter from John Henry, 
 and feel disposed to answer it by a line to you. I have, indeed, 
 nothing special to communicate. Though professedly a traveler, I 
 have no adventures to record. I came here a week ago last night, 
 but there has been little to distinguish one day from another. 
 Still, it is pleasant for me to write, if I can only thereby convey to 
 you the profound satisfaction with which I made my visit to Dub- 
 lin, and talked with the sister of my dear mother, whose memory, 
 after fifty years, is still fresh and precious. If ever youth loved 
 his mother, I did ; and though I was not permitted to spend the 
 last two years of her life with her, nor to be present at her death, 
 yet that affection lived on, and endeared to me every one connected 
 with her ; so that now in my old age I still cling to my Irish kin- 
 dred. Among them all, of course, you stand first. My remem- 
 brance of you, as a young lady in Gorey, is still distinct and vivid ; 
 I saw you in the Isle of Man, in 1838, in Dublin, in 1848, and now 
 again I have been permitted another interview, when both of us 
 are well advanced in years, and can never expect to meet again in 
 this world. Well, dear Aunt, what a blessed thing there is another 
 world, where the friends of Jesus will meet again after the separa- 
 tion of death, a world where all tears will be wiped from all eyes. 
 Oh, why is it that we do not more thoroughly comfort ourselves 
 with this reflection ; and rest in faith, and hope, and love, and joy, 
 on the rich promises given us through grace in the Word of God ! 
 . " It is a great pleasure to me to reflect that you are so pleasantly 
 situated in the evening of your days, and that you have a sou and 
 daughter so gratified to minister to your comfort ; and a grandson, 
 by his mercurial temper, to keep you and his parents constantly on 
 the 'qui vive!' . 
 
 " When I get home, if it pleases God to restore me to my own 
 family, I shall write John Henry, and tell him how I have fared. 
 At present, I stand in doubt whether I shall go on the Continent or 
 not. Having been there before, not feeling strong and enterpris- 
 ing, and finding no companion, I am indisposed to go further than 
 through the British Islands, or even through them fully. 
 
 "And now, my dear Aunt, I must bid you farewell. Let me 
 have your prayers that I may finish my course with joy. That 
 the Lord may bless you, and keep you; that He may make His
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 323 
 
 face to shine upon you, and be gracious with you ; that He may lift 
 up the light of His countenance upon you and give you peace, now 
 and forever, is the prayer of 
 
 " Your affectionate nephew, W. SPARROW. 
 
 " P. S. Love to all under your roof, and at Molesworth Street. 
 
 "W. S." 
 
 " LONDON, September 12, 1871. 
 "MY DEAR MR. LEE: 
 
 " As my trip is drawing to a close, I feel disposed to drop you a 
 line. I received your letter in due time, and cordially thank you 
 for it. The news it conveyed was very acceptable. Since the 
 receipt of it I have been over to Paris, just to see the havoc made 
 by Prussian invasion and Communal insurrection, the last inex- 
 pressibly the worst. It was sad indeed to see the ruins ; but far 
 sadder still to see the moral condition of the people. I was there 
 on a Sunday. The calendar told me it was Sunday, but little else 
 besides. I went to the American Episcopal Chapel in the morning, 
 heard a good sermon from some Englishman, and partook of the 
 Lord's supper. Thence I went to Notre Dame, where they keep 
 up the celebration of the Mass, one celebration after the other, on 
 Sundays. It was painful to see Christianity so caricatured. The 
 marchings and counter-marchings by boys and men, in gorgeous 
 dresses, and carrying lights, were endless. But St.. Alban's, in this 
 city, is, on a small scale, a close imitation. I also went, in Paris, 
 to the Madelaine, a famous chapel of the Roman Catholics, and 
 heard a French priest hold forth in a sermon. In all these churches 
 the chief worshipers were the women. I tried to get into the 
 Greek church, but failed. But in reference to the great mass of 
 the people, it is a godless city. It is painful to think it should 
 boast itself (and all the world should virtually sanction the boast) 
 of being the most civilized spot in the world. Polished it is, but 
 oh, how much rottenness beneath ! There is but one object of pur- 
 suit, that is, pleasure; and one object of worship, that is, man. 
 You have seen the confession of Favre, I suppose ; counted one of 
 the best of their public men. But I only took my pen to let you 
 know about my return. I do not expect to leave before the 28th. 
 I shall then, Deo volente, sail in the Atlantic, from Liverpool. I. 
 may cross over to Dublin again, and see once more in the world ray 
 Irish relatives, and thence proceed to Queenstown, and embark
 
 324 MEMOIR OF 
 
 there. I hope nobody will censure me for extending my time 
 of absence so far. I am anxious to get the benefit of this climate 
 as long as possible. It has certainly been a service, to spend the 
 last two months where there has been no sun to oppress me with 
 its heat. Providence has hung a very thick awning between the 
 English and Irish people and that luminary. As to sight-seeing, I 
 have had enough of it long ago. I have sent you a few news- 
 papers; I hope you have got them. I send you The Times to-day. 
 Please remember me affectionately to Mrs. Lee and all the family, 
 to Drs. Packard and Walker, and theirs, and to the three brethren 
 in Alexandria. I am, dear sir, 
 
 " Ever truly yours, W. SPARROW. 
 
 "To C. F. Lee, Esq., Akxandria, Fa., U. S. A." 
 
 "LONDON, September 16, 1871. 
 " REV. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 "I confess this is very much pro forma. I cannot, however, 
 permit it to be said that I have never written to yourself or Dr. P. 
 during my whole absence. I write to save appearances, nothing 
 more. I have had for pretext that you both were absent from 
 home, especially Dr. P. ; and for reason, my good-for-nothingness, 
 and the fact that I have had no startling adventures by flood or 
 field, and no interesting incidents of social life to record. I came 
 for health alone, and I soon saw that it was by no means conducive 
 to that end to be traveling much and far without some one to bear 
 the burden of a ' commissioner ' for me. I spent a fortnight in 
 Ireland, and am going back to spend a last week there, meeting 
 the steamer at Queenstown on the way to the United States. The 
 few incidents of these periods and the interval we shall talk of 
 when we meet. 
 
 "I have just written a letter to go with this to Dr. P., expressing 
 my regret that I could not be with you at the beginning of the 
 term, and also my hope that you will be strict at the examinations. 
 Few things, in my humble judgment, tend more to sustain the 
 reputation of the Seminary, and to make the students patient for a 
 long term of study and submission to rules of all kinds, than to 
 show them their ignorance and make them feel it. It is especially 
 important in regard to our preparatories. 
 
 "The Atlantic steamer is to sail from Liverpool on the 28th
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 325 
 
 instant, and I expect to join her at Queenstown on the day following. 
 Let me have your prayers for a propitious voyage. 
 
 " With kind regards to all your family, 
 
 " Your friend and brother, "W. S. 
 
 "Eev. C. Walker, D. D" 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, FAIRFAX Co., VA., 
 
 "October 18, 1871. 
 " MY DEAR COUSIN : 
 
 " It is time that I let you know how a kind Providence has 
 dealt with me since we parted. We parted Wednesday, 27th ult. 
 That day I got to Killarney, in company with the very pleasant gen- 
 tleman whom I found in the coach at the station, a Mr. M., I think 
 a lawyer of that city, and one- of the commissioners with Master 
 Brooke and others on Church affairs. The next day I viewed the 
 Lakes, and in the evening reached Queenstown about midnight, 
 not finding a resting-place for the sole (or soal) of my foot in Cork, 
 by reason of the races. So, Friday I embarked on board of the 
 Atlantic, about two o'clock, and found my young friend Roper, and 
 four Episcopal clergymen and two Presbyterians ! That day we 
 had a fine run, but after that, for two days and a night, we had a 
 heavy gale, in which two of our ten boats were driven from their 
 fastenings, and five of our sailors disabled, one by the fracture of 
 his skull, another of his thigh, another of his arm, and so on. It 
 was an anxious time ; but the Lord delivered us from all our fears. 
 The anxiety of the passengers was increased by the extreme length 
 of the vessel, by her having a flat bottom, by the new construction 
 of her engine, and by the fact that she had never experienced bad 
 weather before. Our winds were ahead almost all the time, so 
 that we did not reach New York till Tuesday, the 10th inst., about 
 the same hour I sailed from Queenstown. To my delight, dear 
 Dudley D. Smith was on the wharf to receive me and help me 
 through the Custom House. The next day I spent in New York, 
 and the day after set out for home, not stopping in Baltimore, 
 though the General Convention was sitting, and though I had 
 children and grandchildren in the city. I was in my perihelion 
 and could not; the centripetal force was too strong. I arrived at 
 home, in the evening ; one of my married daughters had left in the 
 morning of that day. However, Ma and Frances were at home, 
 and quite ready to make me welcome.
 
 326 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " I preached last Sunday. It was very pleasant after a silence 
 of three months. (I declined preaching on ship-board.) It was 
 pleasant, too, to be greeted by so many pleasant faces, and warm 
 hand-grasps. I am now engaged in my daily routine of duty. I 
 will scarcely have finished this before the bell will summon me to 
 two hours' duty. 
 
 "And now, my dear cousin, having indulged in these egotistical 
 details, let me hope that they will reach you in good health. You 
 have long since returned to Harcourt Terrace. I trust my dear 
 aunt has recruited her strength, and that you all feel prepared to 
 .enjoy the blessings and discharge the duties of life. I feel truly 
 thankful that I have been permitted to see you in the flesh once 
 .more. The recollection of my visits to Dublin will brighten many 
 an hour, and furnish many a topic of conversation at the fireside. 
 My heart overflows with love to you all, and prayers for God's 
 blessing on you. Write me soon. 
 
 "Your affectionate cousin, W. SPARROW. 
 
 "J. H. Going, Esq., Dublin" 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, July 8, 1873. 
 "MY DEAR COUSIN: 
 
 " The first glance of your letter told its tale to me. Every let- 
 ter received from you since I left Ireland, I conceived might bring 
 tidings of my dear aunt's departure. Well, the mystery of life 
 is ended for her. She has reached a world of light and peace. 
 Oh, how dark a thing death would be, but for the good hope which 
 Christ imparts, both in reference to ourselves and those we love. 
 Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory over this fear, through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord! One of the advantages I find, connected 
 with the removal of those we love, is that it helps to create a home 
 feeling in regard to the other world, and to wean us from this. 
 Our home is wherever those we love abide. This land has been a 
 home to me, and Ireland has been a home to me, and often so 
 called, because it has been the residence of dear relations; but, as 
 these relations have been steadily passing, for the last sixty years 
 of my remembrance, from both continents to a yet ' better country ' 
 than either, why should not our hearts find a home with them 
 there also? There is nothing to prevent it but that fear of death 
 from which Christ came to relieve us, that lack of spirituality 
 which He gives His Spirit to supply. Let us pray for one another,
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 327 
 
 dear cousin, that when our hour comes we may feel we are going 
 home. 
 
 " I am glad to hear you and M. J. and S. are in good health. 
 Should the death of my dear aunt make any change in the mode 
 of your life, I hope you will inform me. I am rejoiced to learn 
 that Mr. M. is going to be relieved of the Post Office. I hope it 
 will not be attended with any unpleasant straitening of his circum- 
 stances. Kemember me affectionately to him and all the family. 
 
 " I got the papers you sent me, and read them with much inter- 
 est. With you, I was annoyed at the position taken by some who 
 were deemed pillars among you. I thought very considerable 
 ability was displayed in the discussions, and that the laity displayed 
 more zeal and knowledge in these matters than the same class 
 would have done among us. But that fundamental regulation of a 
 two-thirds vote of both orders, as necessary to the carrying of any 
 important point, was suicidal. You are organizing as an independ- 
 ent, disestablished church, but the spell of the Establishment is 
 upon you. Hinc illse lacrymae. 
 
 " You speak of my work. I have lectured, since my sickness, 
 but three times a week, for five or six weeks. It is now vacation 
 with us, and will be till the 24th of September. The Board that 
 rules this Institution have been very kind in lightening my bur- 
 dens, and providing for my lack of service. My family consists of 
 myself, dear invalid F., a housekeeper, and a maid and man-ser- 
 vant, with occasional visits from my distant children. The duties 
 of those who live far off do not allow their visiting us often or 
 long. If I could be in the midst of my children, it would lessen 
 the loneliness of my feeling. But, thank God, I can in some com- 
 forting measure believe it is all for the best. 
 
 " With much love to M. J. and S., and hoping to hear from you 
 in due time, I am truly, 
 
 " Your affectionate cousin, W. SPARROW. 
 
 " John Henry Going, Esq., 10 Harcourt Terrace, Dublin." 
 
 During this tour, the death of the Hon. Thomas Sparrow, the 
 youngest brother of the Doctor, took place in Ohio. It was very 
 sudden, and its occurrence formed an element of sadness connected 
 with his absence from home. In all other respects his journey 
 appears to have given him great gratification. Soon after his 
 return home, if not, in fact, just as he was returning, he ascer-
 
 328 MEMOIR OP 
 
 tained that pleasant arrangements might have been made by which 
 he could have had a more extended visit to the Continent. Per- 
 haps it was better that this was not known earlier, and his visit 
 thus confined to more familiar localities, those connected with early 
 and affectionate association. 
 
 The return home was during the session of the General Conven- 
 tion, that year held in Baltimore. He did not, however, stop, pass- 
 ing through on his way home from New York. The session of the 
 Seminary had already opened, and he was anxious to get under 
 way with his work. If present at the Convention at all, therefore, 
 it was only for a few days toward its close. Basing his expecta- 
 tions upon the action and the material of the preceding Convention 
 of 1868, he did not anticipate a great deal from this of 1871. He 
 was not, therefore, greatly surprised or disappointed at the failure 
 to pass a canon against ritualism, and he was not at all hopeful as 
 to the effects of the Declaration in regard to the Baptismal service. 
 To the writer, as to others who were expressing their gratification 
 and their hope that something had been gained by it to the cause 
 of truth and sound doctrine, he expressed himself to the effect, 
 that so far as regarded the peace of the Church and the relief of 
 perplexed and tender consciences, it left the difficulties just where 
 they were, and that after a momentary lull these difficulties would 
 again be making their appearance. The practice, moreover, of 
 settling questions of doctrine and ritual by an authority extra- 
 legal, not by the whole Church in its representative action through 
 all its orders, but by the act of one of those orders, the Episcopate, 
 he deprecated as wrong in principle, and, as a precedent, full of mis- 
 chief. His views, in regard to the difficulties involved in the use 
 of certain forms of expression in the Prayer-book, had been given 
 not long before, in connection with a tract on " Komanizing Germs/' 
 which, in its publication had been productive of angry controversy. 
 The paper in which those views were presented it has been impos- 
 sible to recover. Indeed, it is not at all improbable that it was 
 destroyed, at the time of the sudden death of the lamented author of 
 the tract, to whom it was sent. But as those views were expressed 
 at the time, in other words, they may here be briefly indicated. 
 
 " The Prayer-book, as a whole, and interpreted, as to its par- 
 ticulars, by its leading principles, is thoroughly Protestant. It 
 contains and exhibits a certain system of doctrinal truth; a sys- 
 tem which, whatever may be said of exceptional inconsistencies,
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 329 
 
 apparent or real, is that of the leading English Reformers of Ed- 
 ward and Elizabeth, of those in the Lutheran and Reformed 
 Churches on the Continent, as of the Evangelical portion of the 
 Church of England and of our Church in this country at the present 
 time. But, like all the works of man, the Prayer-book is not per- 
 fect. It bears upon its face, to the intelligent reader, traces of the 
 process through which it reached its present form. And while, as 
 a whole, and in its controlling principles, it is Protestant and Evan- 
 gelical, it has expressions, particularly some put in by later re- 
 visers, not thoroughly in sympathy with the first Reformers of 
 Edward and Elizabeth, which are not perfectly in accord with this 
 general system of the book, and which, if taken by themselves, 
 would only lead astray. Some of these admit of explanations 
 which make them congruous with the whole book. Others, at the 
 time of their first usage, were harmless, and had not the significance 
 which they have acquired under the light of subsequent discussion. 
 And others, again, as familiar expressions in forms of devotion, and 
 upon the principle of making no unnecessary changes (as capable 
 of a Protestant meaning), were allowed to remain. But there they 
 are, whatever the explanation of their presence.' And this is their 
 relation to the whole book, to its general tenor, its Protestant, 
 Evangelical, organic structure. 
 
 " Indicated in these facts, we have, first, a principle of interpreta- 
 tion; secondly, a practical and consistent course of action. The 
 principle of interpretation is that the homogeneous general tenor 
 must control the exceptional and heterogeneous particular. The 
 course of action is frankly to admit the existence of any such incon- 
 sistency, whether real or apparent, and make effort to get rid of it. 
 In the meantime, and until such effort prove successful, the book 
 is ours. We are the true representatives of the men who drew it 
 up, and may, therefore, consistently use it, even when seeking, by 
 all lawful means, to remove from it everything that is or seems 
 like an inconsistency. As one mode of securing these results, we 
 should insist upon alternate forms, such as may relieve perplexed 
 and weak consciences, consciences offended and disturbed, not by 
 the general tenor of the book, but by these, its exceptional parti- 
 culars." 
 
 The substance of the opinion thus given was stated by Dr. 
 Sparrow to the writer, immediately after its preparation, with the 
 further statement of the circumstances calling it forth, and his
 
 330 MEMOIR OF 
 
 object. in writing it. The above, of course, is only an outline. As 
 it was communicated with an unusual degree of particularity, and 
 portions of it discussed at the time, the account of it is believed to 
 be substantially correct. It will thus be seen that his object, with 
 one class of Evangelical men, was to show that, without any sacri- 
 fice of principle, they could continue the use of the Prayer-book. 
 Affectionately sympathizing with this class, and fully realizing their 
 difficulties, those especially connected with known perversions of 
 certain portions of the Prayer-book, he did not recognize in those 
 difficulties a sufficient cause to stop any one in his work. At the 
 same time, in opposition to another class, of the same school of 
 theology and Church sentiment, he was not content to abide in this 
 condition ; to remain satisfied with the continued existence of these 
 offences and causes of stumbling. Truth and principle, in his 
 view of it, required that the real facts of the case should be hon- 
 estly recognized, and frankly admitted; and that unintermitting 
 effort should be made, until, in some mode or other, relief in the 
 matters complained of could be obtained. The mode, in all respects, 
 of such effort he did not undertake to point out. But he had a 
 strong assurance that if those with whom he sympathized in theo- 
 logical and ecclesiastical opinion proved true to their principles, 
 that is, to those embodied and set forth in the general tenor of the 
 Prayer-book, there could be but little doubt of their ultimate success. 
 
 Cognate in subject with the above is a letter to one of his pupils, 
 here appended, and written about the same time. His views of the 
 perverting influences of the doctrine alluded to are brought out 
 more fully in the Commencement Address of 1869. 
 
 Apart, moreover, from its sacerdotal connections, this opinion was 
 one to which he was repugnant upon other accounts ; especially in 
 view of its tendency to foster a spirit of narrow denominationalism, to 
 tempt men, even of Protestant and Evangelical views, in our 
 Church, to indulge in feelings of alienation and contempt toward 
 ministers and members of non-Episcopal Churches. The great 
 principle of his sermon to the Virginia Convention in 1845, " Grace 
 be with all that love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity," was one 
 in regard to which he felt very deeply. Everything seeming to 
 limit or oppose that principle he regarded with suspicion; and 
 when such opposition became clearly manifest, he strenuously op- 
 posed it. The letter which follows will indicate his position in 
 reference to this particular form of erroneous doctrine.
 
 WILLIAM SPAR ROW, D. D. 331 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, January 9, 1872. 
 " MY DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 " In reply to your welcome letter, I hardly know what to say that 
 will quite meet your wants. I know of no work written by an 
 Episcopalian against the figment of 'tactual succession;' as, indeed, 
 I know of none but Haddan's, a recent publication in England, in 
 favor of it. Besides these, Powell and Boardman, non-Episcopa- 
 lians, have, I think, written about the ' Apostolical Succession,' so 
 called, and against it. Most of the matter on the subject, both pro 
 and con, is to be found scattered up and down in larger works, on 
 other, and it may be larger topics. Thus you will find in Goode's 
 Rule of Faith and Practice a very excellent discussion of Apostol- 
 ical Succession, as far as it goes. It is quite enough to convince 
 any one that unbroken tactual succession cannot be shown to be 
 essential ; and that it was not so regarded in primitive times ; was 
 practically disregarded and so far condemned in the very promi- 
 nent Church of Alexandria, from the time of St. Mark till the 
 Nicene Council. It will be found in Goode's eighth chapter. Tur- 
 retin's Theology contains, also, something -upon it. 
 
 " The whole theory is an assumption, for which the general mind 
 has been prepared by centuries of Sacerdotalism and priestly domi- 
 nation, and which, being once approved, the general mind, from a 
 mistaken conservatism, is afraid to give up ; especially as it seems 
 to be countenanced by 'as my Father hath sent me.' Just as 
 Transubstantiation is favored by 'This is my body.' People do not 
 stop to consider the consequences of their doctrine ; nor how incon- 
 sistent it is with some of the first principles of the Gospel ; nor 
 how subversive of the whole Reform movement ; nor what rigidly 
 precise doctrines they are building on expressions of the most gen- 
 eral character, like those of our Lord here quoted. 
 
 " Neither do men consider how superfluous this theory, except 
 upon the principle that the ministry is the conduit the personal 
 conduit through which grace flows to guilty man. If we are ap- 
 pointed simply to teach and rule in the house of God, unbroken 
 digital succession is like a wind-mill in a cave, or a water-mill in an 
 arid desert, as a necessary thing. Succession is everywhere in hu- 
 man affairs, and everywhere valued in one form and another. In 
 the monarchs of England and the Presidents of the United States, 
 succession is valued as a conservative expedient, but not as an 
 essential element of social order and real government. The sue-
 
 832 MEMOIR OF 
 
 cession has been changed in the land of our fathers, but it did not 
 cease, therefore, to be a nation, nor its rulers a government. And 
 so unbroken continuity is not necessary in the Church of Christ; 
 though it ought not causelessly be broken. In telegraph wires 
 there must be no break; but grace is not electricity; and as to 
 authority and instruction, they can, for they have been, used and 
 maintained in other ways. 
 
 " But I must stop. I am glad to see that you are aware of the 
 danger of this doctrine. Many Evangelical men are weak, and 
 wavering, and inconstant, from not perceiving it. I would encour- 
 age no man to enter the ministry of our Church with such notions 
 in his head. His proper home is some ecclesiastical enclosure into 
 whose title the term Protestant does not enter. 
 
 "Affectionately your friend and servant, W. S. 
 
 11 Rev. C. C. Penick" 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, December 23, 1871. 
 "My DEAR J.: 
 
 "I regretted much I did not see you on my return home, and 
 have a talk with you about the boys, and your parish, and your 
 diocese, and your church at large. I rejoice that you did not get 
 
 Dr. for your Bishop. As to the effect of the Convention, I 
 
 could not give you my thoughts in the space of a letter. No 
 denomination in Christendom is so anomalously situated as ours. 
 But there is no wood from which there is no issue. What the 
 finale here is to be, it is hard to conjecture. But the state of things 
 is such that our manifest duty is, leaving events in God's hands, 
 and doing, also, ecclesiastically, whatever our hand findeth to do, 
 to give ourselves to the proper work of the ministry, preaching 
 Christ, and making prayer and supplication for all men. Labor of 
 this kind can never be lost. 
 
 " I am, my dear J., ever, 
 
 "Your affectionate father, WM. SPARROW." 
 
 As already mentioned, the studies of the session of 1871-2 were 
 so arranged that Dr. Sparrow had only one recitation daily, and 
 for the first five months he was enabled to go on in his work effi- 
 ciently and comfortably. About the middle of February he was 
 taken with a deep-seated cold, and confined to his chamber for 
 several weeks. As the months of spring drew on he slowly recov-
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 333 
 
 ered ; but had scarcely gotten into his study and at his recitations, 
 when he received a terrible shock in the sickness of Mrs. Spar- 
 row, and the development of its character, as disease of the heart. 
 She had been a sufferer for years, but no serious disease was sus- 
 pected, and the announcement of the nature of her attack was 
 very greatly a surprise. Soon after this announcement the attack 
 became very severe, for several days so alarmingly serious that the 
 Doctor was afraid to leave the house long enough for service or 
 recitation, and on one occasion, after having ventured to meet a class, 
 was called home by a sudden change which threatened a fatal ter- 
 mination. It is with feelings of peculiar interest and gratification 
 that the writer can look back to his visits to the Doctor's study during 
 this hour of his trial; that he can recall the deeply solemnized yet 
 acquiescent spirit with which he awaited the Divine dealings. Be- 
 yond his expectations, he was for a time spared from the impending 
 trial. After some five or six weeks Mrs. Sparrow again rallied, 
 and, although still very much an invalid, was enabled to resume 
 many of her household duties. Of course, there was always, after 
 this, the knowledge and depressing conviction, from the nature of 
 her disease, that it might at any moment reach its termination. Of 
 this, however, for the next eight or ten months, there was no imme- 
 diate threatening. 
 
 These two things together, the sickness of Mrs. Sparrow and his 
 debility from his own attack, prevented his attendance upon the 
 Diocesan Council, held this year in Norfolk. The Board of Trus- 
 tees, at their meeting during this Council, added another professor, 
 the Rev. Dr. McElhinney, to the Faculty. This made the tempo- 
 rary arrangement, by which Dr. Sparrow had been relieved in the 
 department of Evidences, a permanent one. At the same time, it 
 took a weight of anxiety from his mind, as to the going on of the 
 work of the Seminary in case of his own sickness or departure. 
 By the first of June he seemed to be restored to his usual condition 
 of health, and was thus enabled to prepare and deliver the address 
 at the Commencement. This address, entitled "Our Times and 
 Our Duties," like that of 1869, was immediately asked for publica- 
 tion by alumni and clergy present. Its closing sentences, the last 
 in which their author came before the Church and the world, are 
 peculiarly characteristic : 
 
 " I have done. I have said what I have said, first, of course, 
 because I believe it true ; secondly, because, as I think, it is not
 
 334 MEMOIR OF 
 
 untimely on an occasion like this; thirdly, because, if true, it is im- 
 portant truth; and lastly, because it is not proclaimed by those 
 who hold it as often as it should be. If I am not mistaken on 
 these points, then I would humbly ask God to add His blessing to 
 what has been said, for Christ's sake. Amen." 
 
 Most of the vacation following this address was spent at home. 
 A visit of a few days, soon after the next session, 1872-3, com- 
 menced, was made to New York, to the meeting of the Evangelical 
 Societies. It involved but a few days' deviation from the ordinary 
 round of Seminary life and duty. This was characterized by very 
 little change of any kind for the first six months of the session. 
 With the arrangement of studies already mentioned, the Doctor 
 was enabled to go on quite comfortably, taking his time for preach- 
 ing in the ordinary course, as, also, in the Thursday evening 
 meetings. His health seemed to be very much as it had been for 
 several years previous ; in one most important respect it was better 
 than at an earlier period. He was very little troubled with the 
 dyspeptic headaches from which at Gambier, and during his early 
 residence in Virginia, he had been so great a sufferer. He was 
 disturbed during these later years more through want of comfort- 
 able sleep, the sleep of natural and refreshing rest. His usual 
 complaint was as to his head, and he often expressed the wish, 
 after a night of disturbed or uncomfortable sleep, that he could 
 have the professional knowledge which would enable him to under- 
 stand the exact nature of his ailment. This, however, did not seem 
 to affect his general spirits, or his efficiency. These remained the 
 same, and the promise of work at the beginning of the session was 
 quite as favorable as at any time since the close of the war. Indeed, 
 the relief afforded by the addition to the Faculty seemed to give 
 more life and vigor to his exertions. 
 
 A letter, at this point, properly comes in, which has its interest, 
 in connection with an exciting issue presented within the next 
 twelve months, by the movement of Bishop Cummins. Postponing 
 the subject of Dr. Sparrow's relations to that movement until it 
 comes up in the order of time for its consideration, the letter is 
 here inserted, as showing the feelings and views with which a 
 question of this serious character was regarded, as also the sym- 
 pathy with which he could enter into difficulties of his pupils and 
 brethren in the ministry.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 335 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, November 8, 1872. > 
 " EEV. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 " You have wondered at my silence. It has not been indifference. 
 I do not think a day has passed since we met in Boston that I have 
 not thought of you, and that, I may venture to say, with the affec- 
 tion and anxiety of true friendship. 
 
 " I cannot attempt a response to the many things in your letter that 
 have touched my heart. Indeed, I am almost unfit, from a violent 
 cold, to write at all. The one point upon which I can only speak, 
 and that but a word, is, your leaving our Church. Such a step 
 would be fraught with so many consequences, to your usefulness in 
 life, to your personal comfort, to the comfort and future of your 
 family, and to a great many other interests that might be named, 
 that it ought not to be taken without long, as well as earnest, delib- 
 eration and prayer. A man of your temperament is liable to 
 impatience. You are intensely active in your turn, and cannot 
 well brook being laid by for a time. But you know it is sometimes 
 the Lord's will, and is only designed to increase our usefulness 
 afterward; and it is eventually found that the time supposed to be 
 lost was so much placed in usury at a high interest. Moses was 
 forty years in Midian, and was thereby prepared for the forty years 
 spent in leading Israel into the land of promise. 
 
 " It was a real grief to me that we could not shake hands in 
 Boston. I went the other day to New York, to attend the Evan- 
 gelical anniversaries, and hoped to meet you there, but was 
 disappointed. I went by night and returned by night, so, you may 
 judge, saw none but members of the Societies, and we were in 
 session most of the time, but not seeing you there, the next best 
 thing is to see you here. You spoke a word about a trip to the 
 South when we met at the funeral; can't you make us a visit? I 
 need not say how delighted I should be to see you under my unpre- 
 tentious roof. Does not your care of your Virginia lands call for a 
 visit in this direction ? 
 
 " I wish now with all my heart I had not wasted my past vacation 
 on this Hill, but had gone North early enough to allow me to visit 
 your family. They are now pretty well grown up, and I want to 
 see what sort of men and women time is making of them. It 
 would also have been a great gratification to me to have seen Mrs. 
 H. and talk to her about sundry matters. If I am spared to 
 another summer, I think I shall be more wise. But summers and
 
 336 MEMOIR OF 
 
 winters many cannot be for me. Time flies, and my end must 
 soon come. Thank God, I can contemplate it as in early life I 
 did not. 
 
 "Last night I received Dr. O.'s annual report of the Home for 
 Consumptives, and saw your name (with some remarks) among the 
 speakers at the dedication. Work on irregularly till something 
 permanent offers. 
 
 " With true Christian love for you and yours, 
 
 "Your old friend and brother, W. SPARROW." 
 
 One or two sentences in this letter claim notice, as connected with 
 a topic to which they allude, the changed feelings with which his 
 approach to the world of realities was contemplated. " Summers 
 and winters many cannot be for me. Time flies, and my end must 
 soon come. Thank God, I can contemplate it as in early life I did 
 not." The change thus alluded to was very remarkable, very no- 
 ticeable in the change of tone, the language and manner, in which 
 during these last years, especially the last five or six, with which 
 he spoke of his departure, from what it was at an earlier period. 
 The intensity of awe, not fear, for of this there was no manifest- 
 ation, but the deep solemnity of a spirit thoroughly awed in its 
 contemplation of a world of eternal realities, and of the great 
 change by which the soul was introduced into that world, was 
 almost painful as it became a subject of conversation. Distinct 
 remembrances come to the mind of the writer, of allusions by the 
 Doctor to this subject many years ago ; of the manner of such allu- 
 sion at the time of the death of Albert Duy ; when, again, in 1862, 
 he visited the grave of Bishop Meade, and even as late as the year 
 after the restoration of the Seminary, in 1865. Not long after 
 this last date, it was, that he noticed a difference. And then on, 
 and to the end, every allusion showed, and they were not unfre- 
 quently made, that the awe of contemplation as to the great change 
 had lost its oppressiveness; that in childlike, acquiescence, and with- 
 out anxiety, he was waiting the summons of a reconciled Father 
 and Saviour; ready to depart and be with Christ, as far better. 
 
 Thus the session was wearing on in its usual round of study and 
 duty, when the writer received a message, about sunrise on Fri- 
 day, February 14th, requesting him to come over to Dr. Sparrow's 
 study. Mrs. Sparrow had been taken suddenly ill in the course of 
 the night, and the indications were very alarming. The day pre-
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 337 
 
 vious had been the anniversary of her marriage, forty-six years 
 before, and although not well, she had made a special effort to recog- 
 nize its recurrence. " During the day," said the Doctor, " she came 
 into my study, and sat there," pointing to a chair, " but she told 
 me that she did not anticipate that we should be together again 
 on a like occasion." As the day wore on, she became too sick 
 to keep up with the family, and between bedtime and sunrise 
 became desperately ill. In this condition she continued until the 
 time of her death, the Tuesday afterward. The first few days 
 the Doctor was able to be with her, and share in the sad privi- 
 lege of endeavoring to alleviate her suffering. His strength, how- 
 ever, was soon exhausted, and he was compelled to seek rest. 
 From some inadvertence, in the confusion occasioned by Mrs. Spar- 
 row's sickness, he went to sleep in a room in which there had been 
 no fire for several days, and thus took a severe cold, by which he 
 was confined to his bed for more than a month following. This, 
 although serious, was not regarded at first as alarming. He was 
 unable, however, to leave his room, to take any further part in 
 attendance upon his dying wife, or even to see her after his attack 
 commenced. Her departure was announced to the writer while con- 
 ducting a recitation in the Seminary; dismissing the class, he went 
 immediately to the chamber of the Doctor. The sad announce- 
 ment had already been made to him; and he was staying himself 
 upon that consolation which is to be found in the Divine promises, 
 the Divine assurances of blessing to the departed children of God. 
 " Death," said he, in his impressive manner, in reply to a question 
 intended to ascertain whether he knew what had taken place, "death 
 has been here. But she is in Heaven certainly she is in Heaven." 
 The bereavement, mournful and severe under any circumstances, 
 was peculiarly so under those actually existing. The most bereaved 
 of all could not be present at the hour of departure, the chief mourner 
 compelled to be absent from the last rites of friendship and affection. 
 A couple of letters, to sympathizing pupils, written not long 
 after, are here inserted. They show the spirit in which this dispen- 
 sation was received, his grateful appreciation of the affection and 
 sympathy which had been expressed for him in his affliction. 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, March 31, 1873. 
 "KEY. AND DEAR BROTHER: 
 
 " Your kind and comforting letter would not have remained so 
 22
 
 338 MEMOIR OF 
 
 long unanswered but for the debility which still hangs upon me. 
 I have not yet got out of doors; and my nerves have been so 
 weakened that it costs an effort to hold a pen steadily five minutes. 
 
 "You speak of your nearness to your silver wedding. Mrs. 
 Sparrow and myself had come within four years of our golden. 
 We had been in the habit of celebrating, in a simple way, the day 
 of our wedding, which was the thirteenth of February. As the last 
 wedding day was approaching, conversing together alone, she 
 solemnly remarked, 'We shall never celebrate another.' When 
 the day came, she appeared at the breakfast-table, but could not 
 come down to dinner, though some guests had been invited. Oh, 
 that I could have known how near the end was ! I cannot help 
 giving utterance to the thought, though I know that it is not one 
 which should be indulged. Another vain regret, which has caused 
 great bitterness of grief, is, that I was taken down sick myself some 
 days before the end, and I never saw her afterward, either dying 
 or dead. My heart bleeds at the thought, and I might almost say 
 refuses to be comforted. But I know it is wrong, and I bow my 
 head to Sovereign wisdom and love. But I stop. You will forgive 
 all this, dear brother. If my weakness is great, so is my loss. I 
 say nothing of her many traits of character which made her the 
 best of wives and mothers, kinswoman and neighbor; truthful, 
 unselfish, wise and benevolent to a remarkable degree ; but truly I 
 can say I know not what I would have been as a Christian and 
 Christian minister but for her devout example, and wise and faith- 
 ful counsels. Being dead, may the remembrance of her spirit, and 
 life, and wise suggestions, still speak to me. But I forbear. It is 
 with very few that I could be so obtrusive of myself and my 
 sorrows. 
 
 " F. , thank God, has stood her trial wonderfully. Last fall my dear 
 wife was so feeble we had to get a housekeeper; but she has left us. 
 We have got another, who promises well; by which I mean that 
 dear F. seems to be much pleased with the arrangement. 
 
 "As to myself, my sickness has left me very feeble, and to how 
 much work, or whether to any, it will please the Lord to restore 
 me, is not yet clear. I await His good pleasure, sometimes with 
 submission, but also sometimes with anxious heart. Pray for me, 
 and let my dear friend M. pray for me, that I may be able to leave 
 myself and mine with peaceful confidence in the hands of my 
 heavenly Father.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 339 
 
 " With much love to your precious wife, and many thanks for 
 your kind letter, I am ever, 
 
 "Your affectionate friend and brother, W. SPARROW." 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, April 21, 1873. 
 " MY DEAR : 
 
 "Sickness and sorrow must account for my long silence in 
 regard to your letter. Some days before Mrs. Sparrow was taken 
 from us I was seized with a violent attack of sickness myself, so 
 that I was not permitted to be present at her departure, nor to see 
 her afterward. From that sickness, through God's goodness, I am 
 now convalescing, but I have not yet been able to resume my 
 duties. It has, moreover, left me with a deafness so severe that I 
 hope to go to-morrow with Dr. M., our resident physician, to con- 
 sult an aurist. Yesterday was the first day that I have been at 
 church since our affliction; but it was profitless, so far as the 
 hearing of the sermon was concerned. Be assured, therefore, that 
 your letter and those of many others have not remained unnoticed 
 from indifference, but from necessity. I was truly thankful for 
 your words of kindness and Christian sympathy. Such condolence 
 helps one to realize more fully the meaning of the ' communion of 
 saints/ which, as a mere outward association, is a small matter; but 
 as a thing of the Spirit, built on divine truths, and entering into 
 the precious and glorious things of eternity, is most elevating, as 
 well as soothing, and aids us in entering more fully into that 
 fellowship with the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ, which is the 
 basis of all Christian association. 
 
 "I wish you had told me something about yourself, and your 
 situation. My heart's desire and prayer is that you may be 
 abundantly blessed in your person, your family, and your works, 
 and that whenever it may please God to send affliction upon you, 
 you may be sustained and cheered by the consolation wherewith 
 you have sought to comfort me. 
 
 "Faithfully and affectionately yours, WILLIAM SPARROW." 
 
 "Such a bereavement," is his language in another letter on the 
 same topic, "is the severest, I suppose, that an old man can be 
 called on to endure. Thanks be to God, I have every consolation 
 which a surviving Christian can have in reference to one departed. 
 Forty-six years of intercourse disclosed to me a character such as
 
 340 MEMOIR OF 
 
 the Church of God seldom sees this side of the grave; a precious 
 legacy to her husband and to her children." 
 
 This eulogy, from him who had known her worth, precludes the 
 necessity, and almost the propriety, of anything of the same kind 
 from any one else. Her characteristic remark, as she gave up a 
 beloved child to the work of a missionary among the heathen, and 
 as expressive of her own, and what ought to be the feelings of her 
 household, " God loveth a cheerful giver," constitutes one illustra- 
 tion of the language of these letters. " There is," says Dr. Gram- 
 mer, "one thing tq be remembered in Dr. Sparrow's estimate of 
 his wife, which I doubt not is familiar to you. It is his frequent 
 mention of the fact that he intended to put a monument or stone 
 over her grave, and on it inscribe these words, 'Sic vos, non vobis.' 
 You recollect the allusion. In the life of Virgil the whole story is 
 given: 'The bees make their honey, but not for themselves. The 
 sheep have their wool, but not for themselves. The oxen plow, 
 but not for themselves. The birds build their nests, but not for 
 themselves.' I have often heard the Doctor recite the words in 
 Latin, as applicable to the self-denying character of Mrs. Sparrow." 
 During the continuance of his sickness, after her death, there were 
 times when the indications became very serious of a fatal termina- 
 tion. His objections to the use of stimulants were very great, 
 and it was only upon the assurance that it was absolutely neces- 
 sary that he was induced to yield them. For a considerable 
 portion of the time it was necessary that he should have attend- 
 ance through the night, and this was rendered by the students, 
 who arranged among themselves for the purpose, the attendance of 
 the day being in the hands of the family. It was a source of 
 gratification to be able in this way to express their affection and 
 regard, the difficulty being not to get attendants, but to select 
 those of most experience in nursing. After some weeks, as men- 
 tioned in one of the letters above, it became manifest that the 
 sickness had very seriously affected his hearing. The degree of 
 this would vary from time to time, but at the best it was quite 
 serious, and a source of annoyance and depression. His classes, 
 after the first few weeks, were divided among his colleagues, so as 
 in that respect to relieve his mind of anxiety. 
 
 About the first of May, however, he was enabled to resume his 
 duties, and to the close of the session, saving the trouble of his 
 deafness, was almost restored to his ordinary condition. "His
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 341 
 
 enforced inactivity," says Miss B., " during his lengthened conva- 
 lescence, was extremely irksome to his active spirit. At times, to a 
 casual observer, he might have seemed rebellious. But those who 
 knew him most, felt that his restlessness was rather the dissatisfac- 
 tion of a disabled soldier than the petulance of suffering. He was 
 a worker, and there was work to do. He was fond of his special 
 work, and it was waiting for him. His deafness was a constant 
 source of annoyance, and from his description of his sensations, it 
 must at times have been painful. It distressed him to know that 
 people were obliged to make an effort to be heard by him. Some- 
 times, he said, he believed he would cease trying to talk to us, 
 because we were spoiling our voices raising them so high to reply 
 to him. He was very fond of the clerical and other society with 
 which it was his privilege to associate. One of his dearest pleasures 
 was the receipt of letters, and during his season of trial and 
 mourning they were doubly precious. They had accumulated 
 greatly when I came; but afterward scarcely a day passed that he 
 did not congratulate himself upon having answered one or two more 
 of them. He always seemed pleased when able to spend a portion 
 of each day in letter- writing." 
 
 He did not venture to attend the Diocesan Council held in Win- 
 chester. The Trustees having, in their meeting at this Council, 
 decided to have a semi-centennial celebration of the founding of the 
 Seminary, it became his duty to co-operate with them in carrying 
 their purpose into execution. The occasion was one in which he 
 felt deep interest, and he roused himself for the consultations and 
 efforts preparatory. As a member of the committee he took part in 
 framing the plan of commemoration and aiding to its completion 
 before the session terminated. A new interest in the Semi-Centen- 
 nial was called forth in view of the loss, at this time, of the 
 $100,000 donation already mentioned. It was hoped that in the 
 gathering of the Alumni and friends of the Institution some plan 
 could be devised and some effort originated by which the deficiency 
 thus made might be remedied. 
 
 The vacation was spent largely at home. The effects of his sick- 
 ness in the spring had not entirely passed away, and he was there- 
 fore little disposed to the exertion of travel, or to encounter the 
 bustle incident to change of location. One brief visit to Fauquier, 
 where he met with several clerical brethren, formed an exception, 
 as also a longer one in New York, during the last weeks of the
 
 342 MEMOIR OF 
 
 vacation. The beginning of the session was one of unusual interest, 
 as connected with the Semi-Centennial, and found him in his place, 
 prepared to welcome his brethren from a distance, and rejoice with 
 them in the event which had called them together. It is peculiarly 
 grateful to feel that he was spared to be present, to enjoy the ser- 
 vices of the meeting, and to afford to so many of his former pupils 
 the opportunity of again meeting him amid the associations of the 
 place and occasion. The various incidents of the jubilee, its ser- 
 vices, and addresses, and discussions, were exceedingly pleasant. 
 The attendance was most gratifyingly large, the weather favorable, 
 and the spirit pervading most delightful. It was a season to be 
 remembered with feelings of gratitude. And among all those who 
 were present, no one more appreciated and enjoyed what was going 
 on than Dr. Sparrow. More than once afterwards he alluded to it, 
 expressing his gratification, especially in view of its bearing upon 
 the future welfare and interests of the Seminary, with its great 
 work of furthering the cause of sound theological education. It 
 was a grateful recompense, in many respects, for years of labor and 
 responsibility. 
 
 The letters here inserted were written during this year, the one 
 in January, and the other in August, 1873. The first contains 
 its own explanation, and is valuable as a partial ^discussion of a 
 subject which has been lately occupying the public mind. The 
 second was to a gentleman eminent in his profession, and as a pub- 
 lic man, but not a communicant, in whose welfare the Doctor felt a 
 very deep . interest. That interest, as thus expressed, it is grateful 
 to know, was thankfully appreciated. 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, January 20, 1873. 
 " Should you attempt the revision, you will doubtless see many 
 things which you will want to introduce, but cannot, for lack of 
 space. Let me suggest that if among these you select any, one 
 might be the inconsistency of scientists among themselves, and with 
 their own declarations on former occasions, in proposing this test 
 of prayer. As scientists, they deal with matter, while Divines 
 (and Metaphysicians) deal with spirit. The former employ the 
 senses; the latter, consciousness and reason only. The former are 
 questioning nature; the latter are humbly inquiring after the will 
 of God. The sphere of the one is the laboratory, where the experi- 
 mentalist is the god of the place; the sphere of the other is the 
 temple of the moral universe, where the true and living God pre-
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 
 
 sides to give light and peace, all others being worshipers. The 
 object of the one is to discover some quality by the help of 
 furnaces and retorts; the object of the other, to learn the will of 
 God as ruler, as God over all, blessed forever. In fine, the one is 
 torturing a piece of inert matter, a passive creature of God, as un- 
 conscious as it is passive, with a view to some material interest, and 
 nothing beyond; whilst the other is inquiring (if in the right spirit) 
 most reverently what are the laws of the Supreme, as they concern 
 all creatures, conscious and unconscious, in their mutual relations, 
 and that not only in reference to time, but much more in reference 
 to eternity; laying the chief stress on the moral relations of the 
 intelligent creature to his Creator, knowing if they are properly 
 adjusted all else will come right, seeing that matter is ancillary to 
 mind. Thus are scientists on the one side, and theologians and 
 philosophers on the other. The contrast is complete. A great gulf 
 is fixed between. 
 
 " Now it is said that these antithetical parties have, at different 
 times, interfered with one another; and, doubtless, it has been so. 
 It is said, especially by scientists, that theologians have all through 
 the ages acted the part of 'busy-bodies' in other men's matters; 
 attempting to settle scientific questions by theological principles, 
 carrying out the principles and rules of judgment which belong to 
 the one, and applying them to the other; committing the same kind 
 of blunder as learned men when they determine points in physiology 
 by mathematics. The stock example here is, of course, the case of 
 Galileo and his contemporaries. But now all that is changed. We 
 may say to Tyndall and his friend, 'De te fabula narratur.' They 
 call on Christians to leave the sphere in whioh, as such, they live, and 
 move, and have their being, and come down into the arena of physi- 
 cal nature, and there test their views of God and immortality, of all 
 moral affections, of faith, of hope, of love, and manipulate them as 
 if they were earths or metals, acids or alkalies, and constituted ac- 
 cording to some law of 'definite proportions/ and subject to measure- 
 ment of weight and volume. Surely this is a mixing of things which 
 ought not to be so confounded. It is an intrusion of the physical 
 into the moral department, which ought to be rebuked, not only as 
 dry, hard, harsh, unfeeling, and irreverent, but as utterly unphilo- 
 sophieal. We say to those who betray such lack of self-knowledge, 
 stick to your last, gentlemen ; ne sutor ultra crepidam. Abstract 
 science is one thing, and concrete quite another. Much more is
 
 344 MEMOIR OF 
 
 physical science one thing, and moral science quite another. And 
 if you do not use the same process to look for the same results in 
 the one case, why should you in the other? There is no common 
 measure that applies to mind and matter, and he who subjects mind, 
 the finite and the infinite, to the same laws of calculation and judg- 
 ment which he recognizes in matter, virtually annihilates that 
 mind, leaving us a physical world, and nothing beside. 
 
 "All this leads to the conclusion that it is not really a scientific 
 result that is sought, but an atheistic argument. And if this be 
 so, what are we to think of the way in which Christians are treated 
 in the proposing of this test of prayer? Christians believe in a 
 God who controls all things, material laws included, and, therefore, 
 that he can answer prayer, and does answer prayer, without let or 
 hindrance, whenever he pleases. On this their whole moral being 
 is based. This is not a theory with them, it is their life. Think 
 otherwise, and their life and character are instantly and necessarily 
 changed. The Christian is not a headful of notions bare notions, 
 right or wrong, taken in connection with a decently regulated con- 
 duct. In him right notions and proper conduct must be connected 
 by and with a body of emotions, sentiments, ethical tendencies, de- 
 vout affections, volitions and will, which make him what he is ; and, 
 therefore, to suppose no such connections thus formed, is to sup- 
 pose no Christian in the case. Yet these men have the audacity to 
 propose to us that we put off this character, that we become other 
 than ourselves, that we place ourselves in the condition of those 
 who doubt whether there is a God, a God that can control all things, 
 such a God as can alone satisfy the convictions and cravings of the 
 Christian mind and heart; and then in this state of profane doubt 
 offer the prayer of faith, i. e., such prayer as the Christian believes 
 to be alone acceptable to God through Christ ! Was there ever 
 such a jumble of seeming reverence and real profanity? such a 
 contradiction in terms and in ideas as is thus presented ! Surely 
 the animus of such a proposition, coming from men of understand- 
 ing and education, cannot be considered ingenuous, frank, kindly, 
 or respectful. 
 
 " But the apology for all this is, that it is impossible God should 
 answer prayer when the laws of physical nature are concerned, for 
 that they are immutable in their very being and must flow on in 
 their resistless course far beyond and above any impediment or 
 control from mind or will. God may be asked to do other things,
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 345 
 
 with the hope of success, perhaps; but nature is beyond his reach, 
 and prayer, therefore, is unavailing. If this be so, then there is no 
 God ! First of all, if miracles are impossible, there is no consola- 
 tion for us; we are given over to hopeless atheism, for they are 
 entirely possible on the supposition of a personal God, and an im- 
 personal nature, and that the latter is the work of His hands. 
 Perhaps this is the view of these gentlemen; and in that case can- 
 dor required their statement of it, and fairness also. 
 
 " But, in the second place, if the being of God as personal be ad- 
 mitted, and it is also admitted that as he set the machine of nature 
 agoing, so he can also stop it when he pleases, and that visible mira- 
 cles are possible to him ; what forbids us to believe that the wisdom 
 and power which made the machine, and can suspend its operation 
 in the sight of all men, at will, can also, with an unseen hand, make 
 it work out his purposes just as effectually? Whether we call a 
 miracle a suspension, or violation, or interruption of the laws of 
 nature, surely, if he can thus break in upon the orderly agencies 
 of the physical world, he can, in a more quiet and gradual way, 
 modify the working of these laws, so that in any given case the 
 result will be according to his will, acting in compliance with some 
 suppliant's prayer. The laws of nature are instrumentalities which 
 God made and ordinarily uses. They are His servants, not His 
 masters. They exist because He wills it, and as He wills it. Their 
 working, and the results thereof, are equally His, and of His ap- 
 pointment. If God be God, He can create agents, laws, operations, 
 and results. If He be God, He can work thus the natural laws He 
 has created, or He can suspend them openly, or modify their effi- 
 ciency secretly, all in answer to prayer. It is one of the glories of 
 God thus to coneeal a matter. But why run on in this random way? 
 Excuse my garrulity. I ought to have read your sermon over 
 again, and then I would have been more brief, not repeating what 
 you have already said, and that better. 
 
 "Yours, affectionately, W. SPARROW. 
 
 "Rev. Mr. McKim." 
 
 " THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, July 31, 1873. 
 "MY DEAR J.: * 
 
 " The Hill is almost entirely deserted. So we have a very quiet 
 time, indeed. Except one short trip for three days into an adjoin- 
 ing county, I have not been abroad anywhere, and I am not likely
 
 346 MEMOIR OF 
 
 to be during the vacation. I have not enterprise enough to leave 
 home. 
 
 "F.'s health is as good as usual. Our housekeeper, Miss B., is 
 getting on very well. You have received the postal card inviting 
 you to the jubilee. I hope you will be able to be with us. The 
 loss of our donation has thrown us into much anxiety. Perhaps the 
 jubilee may prove a gathering providentially ordered to meet this 
 exigency. 
 
 " I hope the boys are still diligent and prosperous in their 
 studies. Anything you can tell about them, or they will tell about 
 themselves, will always be acceptable. 
 
 "I lately had a letter from Ireland, announcing the death of my 
 aunt, my mother's youngest sister. The last of a large family. 
 My connection with Ireland is nearly severed. But so also is my 
 connection with the world ! Yet I love the one and enjoy the other, 
 in ways for which I ought to be thankful. With love and blessing 
 to the boys, 
 
 " I am your affectionate father, W. SPARROW. 
 
 "Rev. J.A. Jerome." 
 
 The following letter contains its own explanation. It was 
 addressed to an eminent public man, with whom the Doctor, during 
 the war, if not. earlier, had formed an acquaintance: 
 
 "THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, FAIRFAX Co., VA., 
 
 "August 31, 1873. 
 " MY DEAR : 
 
 " Just returned home from a fortnight's trip, I learn by private hand 
 of your severe indisposition, and cannot refrain from dropping this line 
 in expression of true sympathy. Our personal intercourse has not been 
 great; nevertheless it has been such as to give me an affectionate 
 interest in your welfare. Your public services to the State and 
 community at large, though I highly appreciated them in the time 
 of our war troubles, and know how they are appreciated by all 
 competent judges now, I do not speak of. At the present time I 
 am specially moved by the recollection of your prompt attention 
 to a recast or two on my part of a personal nature, and also your 
 civility and kindness to my son. He has often spoken of it. 
 
 " I hope, my dear sir, that this will find you rapidly convalescing, 
 or, if such be not the will of our heavenly Father, that you are
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 347 
 
 enjoying that higher order of 'health and spirits' which flows 
 from the assurance of God's love in Christ. I understand your 
 attack came upon you in the house of God. I take it as a good 
 augury, so to say, of a beneficent result, whatever may be the out- 
 ward form of that result. 
 
 "I write this, not expecting an answer. It is done only to 
 satisfy a feeling of respect and earnest good wishes. 
 
 "I am, dear sir, truly your friend and servant, 
 
 " WILLIAM SPARROW." 
 
 Immediately following upon the jubilee was the work of the 
 session. The Evangelical Alliance, within a few weeks, commenced 
 its sessions in New York, and Dr. Sparrow went on for a few days, 
 to be present at the opening services. His anticipations as to the 
 pleasure and interest connected with the presence and conferences 
 of the members of this body were very high, and they were not at 
 all disappointed. He enjoyed them intensely, and his heart was 
 overflowing, when he returned, with varied emotion ; with gratitude 
 to God that Christendom afforded such material as was there con- 
 gregated ; that he had been permitted to witness such an exhibition 
 (amid so many unessential diversities) of essential Christian unity. 
 While, to use his own strong expression, in one of the Faculty 
 meetings, soon after, he "was not such a fool as to imagine that 
 the enthusiasm called forth by those meetings would do away with 
 all the evils of denominationalism or exclusiveness;" that while 
 it might, as on former occasions, evoke peculiar exhibitions of 
 such evils in the way of antagonism, yet still it promised to do a 
 great work; that it had indeed already accomplished a great 
 work; and that, whatever might be the fears of timid sym- 
 pathizers, or the abuse of angry opposers, it was a practical 
 exhibition of Christian unity, of moral and intellectual power for 
 Christian truth and work, unique and unexampled. The antagonism 
 which he thus predicted was not long in making itself manifest ; 
 and as it had been anticipated, so it made no change of estimation with 
 him as to the object against which it was directed. That such move- 
 ment could affect the highest interests of the Episcopal Church in any 
 other than a beneficial manner, he never believed. Fully convinced 
 of the essential unity of the great Protestant churches of modern 
 Christendom, and consequently of their reciprocal action upon each 
 other, whether legislatively connected together or not; that any ex-
 
 348 MEMOIR OF 
 
 tensive outpouring of Divine grace upon any one of such Christian 
 communities must be productive of blessing to the other, he 
 rejoiced in every real manifestation of Christian unity and affection. 
 
 " I am glad," is his language in a letter to a friend, " you begin to 
 relish the New York " Observer." I hope your father gets it on 
 Saturday, for I almost always mail it on Friday. From its pages 
 you may gather something of the Evangelical Alliance ; but nothing 
 but personal presence, ocular observation, and the hearing of the 
 ear, can convey anything like an adequate conception of the great 
 reality. It is no exaggeration to say, there has never been such a 
 gathering of religious men in this world ! No council of old ever 
 compared with it in numbers, in interest, in talent, in learning, in 
 religious character, in spirit and living power, and in immediate 
 influence upon the Church of Christ, and upon the world. Wicked, 
 secular and money-making New York was moved as one man. 
 Day after day were assembled in its halls and churches thousands 
 of men, in disregard of the panic and all such things, who showed 
 by their whole air, appearance, and conduct, that they were at once 
 highly cultivated and profoundly in earnest on the subject of 
 religion. Their zeal never flagged for a moment. Indeed, I see 
 not how it could. Some of the very first minds in Christendom 
 were there, with their wondrous gifts of speech, their vast learning, 
 and their big hearts ; and how could they put forth their strength, 
 and the great mass of mind within their reach not be powerfully 
 moved? Dr. Norton, who did not go there, from reading the 
 reports was led to preach last Sunday afternoon about the Alliance; 
 and Mr. McKim, who was at the meeting two days, could not 
 satisfy himself by one sermon only, but took the same subject at 
 night also ! " 
 
 This subject has its connection with an event soon following, the 
 excitement of which has not yet entirely passed away ; the conse- 
 quences of which, as yet, are but partially exhibited : the secession 
 of Bishop Cummins. Dr. Sparrow, as may be seen from his letter, in 
 1869, to Mr. Dudley, had seriously and thoughtfully contemplated 
 the probability of such movement. As will be seen, also, from his 
 letters to Rev. Messrs. Jerome and Hubbard, (pages 299, 302) it 
 was a movement the necessity of which he earnestly deprecated. 
 And yet he believed that if a certain policy should be pressed by 
 the ruling majority in the Church, it could not be avoided. At the 
 same time, it will be seen that this was to be thought of as the ex-
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 349 
 
 treme resort, and when conscientious conviction was disregarded 
 and outraged. The decision as to when this point was reached, he 
 earnestly insisted, must and could only be properly made by the 
 conscientious action of the individual, deciding for himself, and for 
 no one else. What was Bishop Cummins' duty, or that of any act- 
 ing with him, he did not pretend to decide; he refused, indeed, to 
 entertain the question. What was his own duty was very clear, and 
 the course indicated he conscientiously followed. His views on the 
 subject were quite fully expressed, soon after his visit to New York 
 in December of 1874, and in connection with his account of an 
 accidental meeting with Bishop Cummins in the study of a com- 
 mon friend and brother in the ministry. "I had been told," said 
 he, " that Bishop Cummins had expressed surprise that he had not 
 heard from me since his movement. When, therefore, he came in 
 where I was sitting, I remembering this, and he also probably 
 thinking of something of the kind, there was a little embarrassment 
 in our meeting. Our host, however, Dr. S. H. Tyng, Jr., was in 
 fine spirits, and with considerable talk, and we were soon, all three 
 of us, engaged in conversation, largely on ordinary topics." "I 
 was often asked," said he again, speaking of this visit to the North, 
 "what we intended doing with reference to the new movement, and 
 further, what would be its probable effect upon the future of the 
 Episcopal Church." His answer, in substance, to the first of 
 these questions was, that he could only undertake to speak for him- 
 self; that he could not take part in the movement save under the 
 contingency of legislation which would compel violation of con- 
 science, a contingency not probable to one, like himself, in almost 
 daily expectation of departure. His view in regard to the second 
 of these inquiries was very hopeful, his language very strong : that 
 "the prospect for the Episcopal Church, so far as regarded its real 
 spiritual interests and work, was more hopeful than he had known 
 it for fifty years." His feeling and hope seemed to be, that in some 
 mode this movement would be providentially overruled to the 
 breaking of a power against which, during his whole life, he had 
 been struggling. The evils of Ritualism, as symbolical of false 
 doctrine, and as an agency to its dissemination, he fully recog- 
 nized. But those evils, great as they were, in his estimation, were 
 greatly aggravated by the course of the ruling majority, in two 
 respects. First, in the too common misrepresentation, which, ad- 
 mitting the existence and character of the radical extreme of
 
 350 MEMOIR, OP 
 
 Ritualism, immediately offsetted this admission, and took away all 
 the grace of it, in the assertion that Evangelical men, such men, 
 for instance, as Bishop Eastburn, Dr. Andrews, and Dr. Sparrow 
 himself, constituted an extreme of equal radicalism in a different 
 direction, and deserved the same kind of treatment. Secondly, 
 that unjust as was this misrepresentation, the practice under it 
 was more unjust still; that there was a freedom to the offending 
 Ritualist, and a stringency of canon and rubric to the offending 
 Evangelical, which were wholly inexcusable ; that while such men 
 as Ewer and Curtis were allowed to add or take away in their 
 services with perfect freedom, others, like Tyng and Cheney, upon 
 a slight indiscretion, or for the omission of a word, were imme- 
 diately under the Episcopal maul, for discipline or for destruction. 
 It was the prospect of seeing a power thus wielded broken that he 
 regarded as an omen of good. 
 
 Connected with this, was his deprecation of the language of many 
 Evangelical men, in regard to the seceders, the harsh judgments, 
 the unloving words, in which the motives of these latter were ques- 
 tioned, and the impropriety of their course asserted. Such judg- 
 ments, on the part of others, he would not allow in reference to his 
 own course of conscientious conviction. And as he would not be 
 judged by others in such matters, so he would not venture to 
 judge others, left them to their own Master, and was deeply grieved 
 to find so many of those with whom he agreed in other respects 
 forgetting this law, alike of Christian love and Christian conscience. 
 Questions as to the expediency, the wisdom, the opportuneness of 
 such movement, he was ready enough to consider. But the ques- 
 tion which touched the principle of the Christian liberty of his 
 brethren, or more properly that of their Christian subjection to 
 clear convictions of duty, this was one with which he refused to 
 have concern. There, every one must be fully persuaded, as to his 
 own course, "in his own mind." 
 
 No less strongly did he object to the course of some of his 
 Evangelical brethren in another respect, as inconsistent alike with 
 their principles, and with those upon which the Reformation itself 
 can alone be justified: that of committing themselves, in the ex- 
 citement of recoil from a movement which they feared, to a course 
 which they might be compelled to abandon. The' public declaration 
 of certain Evangelical clergymen, that the movement was one in 
 which they had no sympathy, he regarded, under the circumstances,
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 351 
 
 as gratuitous, as, indeed, seeming to involve the confession that they 
 were properly suspected, and needed such a purge to take away 
 the suspicion. The declarations, again, of others, by which they 
 substantially pledged themselves, unconditionally, for the future, to 
 passive obedience to all possible legislation of the General Conven- 
 tion, he regarded as not only unwise and inconsistent, but as calcu- 
 lated to increase the evils out of which this movement originated. 
 Those evils, to his mind, were palpable, and by no means trifling. 
 And while no one had a right to say what course another ought to 
 pursue, in view of them, at the same time it was wrong and unwise 
 for any one to speak and act as if those evils had no real existence. 
 This was the last conversation of any length had with Dr. Spar- 
 row upon subjects of this character. He had just written a let- 
 ter upon the subject, to a brother in the ministry, touching, these 
 same topics, and it was in speaking of them that he was led to en- 
 large in the manner above indicated. 
 
 Since writing the preceding sketch of the conversation in ques- 
 tion, a couple of letters upon the subject, one of them two or three 
 weeks earlier in date, and the other a few days before his death, have 
 been received. It will be seen that they touch some of the points that 
 have been mentioned. A portion of one of these letters has been 
 already published, and at the time was followed by a brief discus- 
 sion in one of our Church papers as to the meaning of one of its 
 paragraphs. The entire letter, especially taken in connection with 
 others (see pages 299, 302,) will best exhibit the correct interpreta- 
 tion of that paragraph, or of any other. It will be seen that it was 
 written in great hurry, and confidentially; and it is only in view 
 of the fact that a portion of it has been already published, that it 
 is here inserted. 
 
 "December 12, 1873. 
 "REV.. AND DEAR BROTHER: 
 
 " I am not sure what volume of Whateley's you saw upon my 
 shelves, to which you refer. Besides his text-books, and Cautions 
 for the times, there are, you know, two or three series of Essays ; 
 these I had, but lost during the war ; also a volume of miscellane- 
 ous Lectures, which you may have noticed in my library, and a 
 volume made up of his Bampton Lectures, Archbishop King's 
 discourse on Predestination and an Appendix, and Five University 
 Sermons. This must have been the volume you inquire about.
 
 352 MEMOIR OP 
 
 There has never been a complete collection of Archbishop Whate- 
 ley's works published. According to Allibone, he issued, during 
 his life, about ninety distinct publications ! He was a wondrously 
 active man, and as accurate and lucid as he was prolific. Any I 
 have I shall be happy to loan you. 
 
 " I agree with you in your sentiments about Bishop Cummins. 
 I am, of course, often questioned, ' Well, Doctor, what do you think 
 of the Bishop Cummins movement?' My uniform answer is the 
 counsel of Gamaliel. It is painful to me to see how Evangelical 
 men, so-called, join in the hue and cry against him, just as if there 
 never had been any agreement between him and them. That decla- 
 ration ! The life, for long years, of its signers, proves the reverse 
 of that disclaimer. All Evangelical Episcopalians have had and 
 professed the same grievances, and have contemplated the possi- 
 bility of a secession in consequence. How, then, when one of their 
 number makes the possibility actual, can they, in a moment, reverse 
 the engine and move backward? They might think Cummins' 
 mode of procedure unwise, but the procedure itself is only what 
 their hearts have been craving for a quarter of a century. I had 
 a letter from New York, this evening, saying this movement is 
 likely to spread. If it should, it will certainly ease the yoke from 
 our neck. Some fear that the next General Convention will tighten 
 the screws yet further. I hold the very opposite. Who knows but 
 God means to use Bishop Cummins as an instrument for our release 
 from the bondage imposed by a heartless majority, who will not 
 believe in the scruples of tender consciences'? His success might 
 liberalize us, and bring him and us together again, and put an end 
 to the schism. If, on the other hand, our General Convention 
 should become more stringent toward Low-Churchmen, and more 
 indulgent toward High-Churchmen, then the Eeformed Episcopal 
 Church would be a city of refuge, and soon overshadow its rival. 
 The Protestant Episcopal Church needs only to be liberalized, and 
 rid of Romish germs, to overspread this Continent, at least in the 
 upper and middle state of society. 
 
 " The false and exaggerated notions about schism do us much 
 harm. There are already at least four Episcopal Churches in the 
 United States. Where is the great harm if a fifth should be added, 
 especially when it would give peace where there is now war, and 
 where the Gospel would be better suited to the varied wants of 
 society thereby? But I stop. I have written in a great hurry,
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 353 
 
 and for you alone. In my hurry I have written on two sheets as 
 one. 
 
 "Affectionately, WILLIAM SPARROW." 
 
 " I suppose," is his language to another of his pupils in a differ- 
 ent direction, " I suppose you Bostonians are not moved by Bishop 
 Cummins' movement as are the New Yorkers. Massachusetts, like 
 Virginia, is far away from the vortex of the whirlpool. Still, to 
 all Episcopalians, it is a matter of no little interest whether it 
 prove a success or a failure. For myself, I am disposed to regard 
 the prospects of our Church brighter now than they have ever 
 been in my day. If this schism is a good (as schisms may be), 
 it is a good; if it is an evil, I am sanguine that God will bring good 
 out of it. At least, so ought we to pray." 
 
 Thus trustingly and hopefully he left this movement and all the 
 complications connected with it to the Divine disposal. The letter 
 containing this extract was written on the fourteenth of January, 
 only three days before his death. As respects our undertaking, it 
 closes his correspondence ; the last expression of his spirit of faith 
 and hopeful prayer, that in the movements and troubles spoken of, 
 as in all others, God would overrule them for goo'd, and to the 
 advancement of His kingdom. 
 
 At the Semi-Centennial a plan had been proposed by which 
 $100,000 could be collected, so as to place the funds of the Semi- 
 nary in the same condition as before their loss during the earlier 
 portion of the year. The peculiar depression in the financial state 
 of the country seemed to render it inexpedient to carry out this 
 plan at the time, and there was, therefore, a necessity for some 
 provisional effort until this could be done. At the request of the 
 Board of Trustees, Dr. Sparrow undertook this by seeking subscrip- 
 tions, for the next three years, to the extent of the deficiency. This 
 work he began in Washington and Georgetown, prosecuted after- 
 ward in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York, successfully 
 ending it with a subscription between $7000 and $8000 more, 
 indeed, than he had expected. The writer remembers with pecu- 
 liar interest the Doctor's farewell call, before starting, a little after 
 sunrise, on the nineteenth of December. He was in fine spirits, 
 telling of the omens of success already received, and of his expecta- 
 tions through certain agencies and in certain localities ; and while 
 23
 
 354 MEMOIR OP 
 
 not at all liking the kind of work upon which he was going, was 
 very hopeful as to the final result. During his tour, which extended 
 through the next three weeks, terminating on the seventh of Janu- 
 ary, letters were received which created some uneasiness, lest he 
 might be over-exerting himself; and this was increased by reports 
 of his appearance from persons who had seen him in New York. 
 His own letters were cheerful, although speaking of his weakness ; 
 and just before his return he wrote, announcing the successful re- 
 sult. The special danger feared by friends at home was that he 
 might contract a cold like that of the spring of 1872, and 1873, 
 which would trouble him for the remainder of the winter. But 
 when he got back, suffering, apparently, only the effects of travel 
 and exertion, the expectation was that in a few days he would be 
 able to resume his duties. This was on Thursday, the eighth of 
 January. The writer saw him the next day, jaded by his travel, 
 but up at his desk upon a letter, and very cheerful in view of his 
 success. His account of some of the incidents of his trip was full 
 of interest, as were some of his descriptions of the different moods 
 in which he was met by different contributors. All, however, re- 
 ceived him pleasantly; from none had he met a rebuff. "When," 
 said he, speaking, during the next few days, to some of the ladies 
 on the Hill, of his going on his rounds in New York, " when I 
 walked up the marble steps of some of those private palaces, I 
 used sometimes to think of the lines in the beggar's petition : 
 
 " Pity the sorrows of a poor old man, 
 Whose trembling limbs have borne him to your door." 
 
 "Why, Doctor," said one of his listeners, "did not Dr. M. go with 
 you?" "Oh, he was begging for himself," was the reply; "beggars 
 never travel in company." 
 
 On Saturday afternoon, January 10th, I called to see whether 
 he would not prefer that I should take his place in the pulpit of 
 the chapel next day, it being his Sunday in regular course, so as 
 to allow him fully to recruit, and preach on my day, the Sunday 
 following. He was lying upon a lounge in his study, but only for 
 temporary change of position ; and decided that, as he had been 
 away so long, he would undertake the morning sermon, but ex- 
 change for the night. My visit was very brief, as there was a call 
 in a different direction. 
 
 His sermon on Sunday morning, his last, was from the text,
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 355 
 
 "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that 
 Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners." Portions of it 
 were delivered apparently with comfort and freedom. There was 
 one part in which there was something of hesitation, and one or 
 two of his hearers supposed it was from failing to recognize the 
 contents of the manuscript, or from passing over portions, as he 
 was often in the habit of doing. His own explanation, after finish- 
 ing, was that of his weakness ; that he had not entirely recovered 
 from the fatigue of his journey. He did not venture out any more 
 during the day. 
 
 On Monday he went to Alexandria, to meet some visitors from 
 a distance, as also Dr. Riley, from Mexico, who had promised to 
 address the students in regard to the mission in that country. 
 Filling his carriage with his visitors, he started homeward on foot, 
 but was taken up very soon by a neighbor. He was apparently 
 well, and in good spirits, during Dr. Riley 's lecture, and, at 
 the request of Bishop Johns, closed the meeting with prayer. 
 He had made arrangements, in view of his fatigue, that 
 this should be done by another member of the Faculty, 
 and when the Bishop called upon him was taken by surprise, 
 and showed greater evidence of languor than at any time during 
 the evening. It was indeed the first and only time, in thirty-four 
 years' acquaintanceship, that the writer had witnessed anything 
 like it, in which the effort of prayer did not seem to elevate the 
 spirit above the conditions of bodily infirmity. Looking at it now, 
 it can be recognized as a reason for alarm. But the explanation 
 afforded in the fatigues of the day seemed perfectly satisfactory. 
 
 The next afternoon, after the recitation of the day, he went to 
 Alexandria to hear a second lecture from Dr. Riley, in one of the 
 churches; and on Thursday night, at the Faculty meeting, he 
 opened, after prayer, with remarks upon the passage : " Not sloth- 
 ful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." This, like the 
 sermon of the Sunday preceding, was most appropriate, as termi- 
 nating a course so beautifully described in this passage ; the sermon 
 exhibiting the mode of salvation to lost sinners; the address, the 
 work of these sinners redeemed from death, in a state of gracious 
 life and salvation. After the prayer-meeting, there was a brief, 
 informal conference of the Faculty, in regard to excusing a mem- 
 ber of the Seminary from a part of the course. This he opposed, 
 in view of the interests of the petitioner, as of those of the Seminary,
 
 356 MEMOIR OF 
 
 and the excuse was not granted. On Friday, the recitation was as 
 usual ; the subject of an essay on the bearing of Titus, chapter ii, 
 verse 13, on the Deity of Christ,, given out, in course, to a mem- 
 ber of the class for the next recitation ; and the week's work, the 
 life's work, of teaching the last recitation had ended ! 
 
 During the evening of that day Mr. Cassius Lee called on him, 
 and had a long conversation, finding him cheerful and apparently 
 well. He received by the mail of this evening a letter from Kev. 
 D. D. Smith, describing his settlement in a new and pleasant parish, 
 with which he was greatly pleased. The Doctor had advised the 
 move; hence his delight in that, as in other things connected. 
 
 On Saturday morning, January 17th, he determined to go to 
 Alexandria. Mr. Nelson, a member of the senior class, having a 
 matter of business, saw him just before he started, his spirits buoy- 
 ant, and illustrating in his conversation, as was often his wont, some 
 of the matters spoken of, by incidents of his boyhood in Ireland. 
 The morning was very bright and clear, but extremely cold. It 
 was, indeed, a part of the coldest season of that winter; and as the 
 ground was covered with snow, there was a very peculiar sharp- 
 ness in the atmosphere. ''The Doctor," says Miss B., "rose that 
 morning as well, apparently, as usual. He said that he had slept 
 better than he usually did. During breakfast he was led to speak 
 of Dr. Muhlenburg's hymn, ' I would not live alway,' and remarked 
 that it had made the name of Dr. M. immortal, aside from Saint 
 Luke's Hospital and his other great works. After eating quite a 
 hearty breakfast, he held family prayer. The morning was cold. As 
 was his frequent custom, he prayed especially for the poor, asking 
 God's care and comfort for them according to their need. He prayed 
 for the heathen world, and thanked God, with more than usual fervor, 
 for the unparalleled blessings of our own favored country, resulting 
 from the light of Christianity, asking for aid to work faithfully in 
 that light to the end. Then he prayed for his scattered family, 
 and for their spiritual interest. We joined, as ever, in the Lord's 
 prayer, and he ended with the benediction, which he never omitted. 
 I feel that the prayer and benediction abide with us. 
 
 "About nine o'clock we started for Alexandria. It was his fre- 
 quent custom to go in to town with me when I went to market on 
 Saturday morning. We chatted all the way. During the ride, in 
 speaking of a clergyman of Philadelphia, Dr. M., he remarked that, 
 as a class, .the clergy were, of .all men, the most hard-worked.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 357 
 
 'Others/ said he, 'work from a more tangible motive, some desire 
 or ambition that will not let the laboring powers rest. A minister 
 of the gospel must often labor when these are against him.' I ven- 
 tured to reply that ' he ought to remember that his work is the great- 
 est of all works.' 'And yet/ said he, 'this, his best incentive to the 
 particular kind of work, is often the chief cause of his depression. 
 The incomparable magnitude and importance of the work, and the 
 weakness of the instrument, is, to say the least, rather humbling 
 when reflected upon. But the humble instrument is in the hands 
 of the great Master Workman.' He seemed less abstracted and 
 more talkative than he usually was, and I rather exerted myself to 
 keep up the flow, with the news and gossip of the neighborhood, 
 and this and that that had accumulated during his absence at the 
 North, and the following busy week. He appeared interested, and 
 told me some of his traveling experiences. I remember nothing 
 remarkable in them, or in his conversation, except that just men- 
 tioned, about the work of the clergy. 
 
 "Before I left him," after getting to Alexandria, "at Mr. En- 
 twisle's, he spoke of a pain in his chest. I feared he had taken 
 cold; he thought not." After Miss B. left him, he attempted to 
 warm himself at the stove, and became apparently more comfort- 
 able. Leaving the store, with a pleasant remark to Mr. E. that he 
 had no money to pay him a little account due, but would have some 
 when he got back, he pursued his way to the bank, with the intent 
 of getting cashed a check in his possession. On his way there he 
 became very much indisposed, and making his condition known to 
 his friend Mr. H., the cashier, he was aided by him to an apart- 
 ment in the building, and a physician sent for immediately. " When 
 I arrived," said Dr. B., "I found him perfectly intelligent, but with 
 little or no warmth upon the surface of the skin, and almost pulse- 
 less. He remarked that he supposed, from the description of it in 
 the books, his attack must be angina pectoris; and upon my pre- 
 scribing stimulant, made some objection, but yielded and took it. 
 I sent immediately for other remedies, to produce reaction, but a 
 spasm came on, and in a few moments he was gone." To use his 
 own language, applied to the sudden departure of a brother in the 
 ministry, a few years before, "it was like an apotheosis." Saving 
 the fulfillment of one desire he had been known to express, that "he 
 might be permitted to go to Heaven from his home on the Seminary 
 Hill," his departure was just what he would have chosen.
 
 358 MEMOIR OP 
 
 Dr. B. was ratter disposed to acquiesce in the opinion of the 
 patient as to the nature of his attack. No suspicion of such dis- 
 ease had previously existed. The specific knowledge of its symp- 
 toms was probably acquired within the year or two previous, and 
 in connection with Mrs. Sparrow's sickness. Whatever the nature 
 of the attack, whether this or something else, it is not improbable 
 that the extreme cold of the morning had its share in bringing it 
 on. Most merciful it was, in the manner of his departure, as in its 
 attendant circumstances. 
 
 The whole progress of the attack was so rapid and brief that 
 there was no opportunity of summoning the only member of his 
 family at the Seminary, three miles off, his fellow Professors or 
 brethren of the ministry, residing in Alexandria. Rev. Dr. Sprigg 
 got to the house a short time after death; others soon followed, 
 and in a little while the sad intelligence spread through the com- 
 munity. 
 
 "When," says Miss B., "we parted at Mr. Entwisle's, I asked 
 him if I should find him there when ready to return home. He 
 answered rather absently in the affirmative; and I parted from 
 him never to see him alive again in this world. When my busi- 
 ness was finished, and I stopped for him at the appointed place, two 
 of the students met me. I soon gathered from their pale faces and 
 rather incoherent words that the Doctor was very ill at the bank. 
 I alighted from the laden carriage, and walked down there as rapidly 
 as possible. The friends that were with him were just closing his 
 eyes." 
 
 The sad intelligence reached the Seminary between eleven and 
 twelve o'clock, and in the course of the next few hours his remains 
 were brought out and deposited in the parlor of his residence. A 
 change meantime had taken place in the atmosphere. The sharp- 
 ness of the morning had passed away, and it had become one of 
 those bright, mild, spring days in winter, so beautiful, but so inex- 
 pressibly sad, in the shadow of the great grief which had fallen 
 upon us. That Saturday of surprise, and bereavement, and diffi- 
 culty of realization as to what had taken place, and the following 
 Sunday of sorrowful assurance of loss, may better be imagined 
 than described; will scarcely, by those who were present, ever 
 be forgotten. It was felt to be a sorrow common to all, and yet 
 personal to each one; to his family, and colleagues, and students, 
 to his aged Diocesan, as to his brethren and pupils in the min-
 
 WILLIAM SPAR, ROW, D. D. 359 
 
 istry, to the neighborhood, including the youths of the neighbor- 
 ing Institution, and the young of all classes, among his acquaint- 
 ance. Very peculiar feelings of reverence and affection, in his 
 intercourse with all these, he had called forth. And the sudden- 
 ness of his departure only seemed to deepen the feelings with which 
 it was connected. Those feelings were not, indeed, entirely sor- 
 rowful. There were others of gratitude to God, and to him, for 
 all that he had been in the past, as a teacher, and friend, and coun- 
 sellor; of solemn joy in the assurance that the endless future 
 would be even better with him than the past ; that the few mysteri- 
 ous moments of pain to him, and of shock and surprise to those 
 who remained, had been really a blessed translation ; a translation 
 to a higher sphere of excellence, and of employment in the service 
 of a Heavenly Master. "Absent from the body, at home with 
 Christ the Lord." 
 
 Appropriate tributes to his memory were rendered in the 
 churches of Alexandria and elsewhere, on Sunday and the Sunday 
 following. In the Seminary chapel, which had been draped by the 
 students, there was no regular sermon ; but the Bishop, after the 
 reading of the service in the morning, made an address, appropriate 
 to the time and occasion. The Psalter for the day, the eighteenth 
 of the month, began with the ninetieth Psalm, and the Epistle for the 
 day, the second Sunday after Epiphany, contained the passage upon 
 which the Doctor had remarked on the Thursday night preceding. 
 The tears were near the surface, and even flowing more than once, 
 with many, as the whole service went on. It was only, indeed, 
 with effort that those officiating, as those listening, were able, 
 at times, to restrain them. But in the surprise of the passage 
 from the Epistle, and the rush of feeling which it produced, it 
 seemed, for a few seconds, as if it would be difficult to go on. The 
 Bishop, however, who was reading, recovered himself, and the 
 service proceeded. There was again service at night, and sermon 
 on the translation of Enoch. 
 
 The funeral took place on Tuesday morning. Opportunity had 
 thus been given for the arrival of distant members of the family, 
 as also of many of the Alumni from neighboring cities and parishes. 
 The services were conducted and addresses made by the Bishop 
 and by Dr. Andrews, so soon himself to follow, and the mournful 
 procession, consisting of the students of the Seminary and the pupils 
 of the High School, the clergy from a distance, and friends from
 
 360 MEMOIR OP 
 
 Alexandria and the neighborhood, took its way to the place 
 appointed for all living. Temporarily only, we trust, his remains 
 were deposited in one of the cemeteries of Alexandria, to be 
 removed to the grounds of that Seminary which he loved so well, 
 and for which, during more than the third of a century, he so 
 successfully and abundantly labored. 
 
 Our task has reached its close. A few words, in the way of 
 summary, will not be out of place, especially as calling attention 
 to traits of character, incidentally brought to view in the preced- 
 ing narrative, but not, in any one of such incidents, fully exhibited. 
 The portraiture of individual character is, of course, most apt to 
 be reflected from the faithful record of individual action and feel- 
 ing. Peculiarly is this the case where such record is made in the 
 form of correspondence, the spontaneous outflow of heart and charac- 
 ter in the unreserve of friendly communication. Such record, with 
 the material at command, we have attempted to give. One or two 
 features, not contained in such material, or brought out but imper- 
 fectly, may, for a brief space, and as closing our undertaking, be 
 dwelt upon. And, here, as in previous portions of our undertak- 
 ing, we gladly use the language and impressions of others. 
 
 Among these, and, perhaps, one of the first recognized, and ever 
 afterward felt, was his genuine humanity, his genial and cordial inter- 
 est in his fellow-creatures, of all classes, with whom he was brought 
 in contact. "Dr. Sparrow," to use the language of Dr. McKim ; 
 "loved his kind as truly as any man I ever knew. Notwithstand- 
 ing his elevation of mind, and his reach and compass of thought, 
 he was truly a man among men. He could, and did, descend from 
 the lofty region of reflection and speculation in which he dwelt, 
 easily and cheerfully, to mingle with the humblest, to converse 
 with the most unlearned, and all with a simplicity of heart and 
 genuine human sympathy which charmed all who met him." 
 "What a difference," was his remark once to a friend, as they were 
 riding together in a funeral procession, and some children were 
 seen hurrying by to the place of burial, "what a difference in their 
 views of life and ours." In a few moments afterward he was 
 helping some of them into the vehicle, and with pleasant words 
 making room for their accommodation. Different as might have 
 been his views of life from many of those around him, there were 
 always points of sympathetic contact and pleasant feeling, which
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 361 
 
 he immediately recognized. In this there was no condescension 
 none actually none in the appearance. It was the expression 
 of his real feelings, a cordial interest in his fellow-creatures, really 
 entering into their objects and interests, and, so far as they could be 
 approved, desiring their advancement. This constituted very 
 largely the charm of intercourse with his pupils. Few of these 
 pupils will forget their first interview, and the impressions then 
 received, those impressions as confirmed and deepened by subse- 
 quent acquaintance. He was ever ready to hear of their difficulties, 
 intellectual, spiritual, pecuniary ; prompt to plan for them, and aid 
 them to the extent of his ability. And, when no such difficulty 
 had existence, he was at all times ready to be in communication 
 with them, to listen to their views and questions, whether as to 
 facts or opinions, and to respond freely with his own. So, too, 
 outside of the circle of Seminary association. There was a warmth 
 of sunshine in his presence that made itself felt alike in his social 
 intercourse and with his brethren of the ministry everywhere. 
 " Which of the humblest or youngest of these latter ever carried to 
 him his perplexities, or doubts, or anxieties, or disappointments, 
 and failed to find a ready, responsive sympathy? What appeal 
 for the relief of the poor or the suffering ever met a rebuff from 
 that kind heart? When did that liberal hand, poor though it was, 
 close against the call of a sister or brother in distress? The 
 stranger from a foreign land, the missionary babe whose mother 
 had found a grave beneath the burning sands of Africa, found a 
 home beneath that humble but hospitable roof, and shared the 
 best that a meagre purse could give. No wonder that strong men 
 stood by his lifeless clay and wept as little children weep when 
 their father is taken away from them ! No wonder that they who 
 sat at his feet in the class-room, who leaned on his arm in their 
 earliest trembling steps in the work of the ministry, and took sweet 
 counsel in a time of subsequent need, felt that, for this world, the 
 loss was irreparable ! Mere intellectual power, capacity of suggest- 
 ing thought or imparting knowledge, skill in teaching, would never 
 have called forth such feelings. They constituted the heart-felt 
 response to a heart-felt kindliness and cordiality." 
 
 The same may be said, in many respects, as to his teaching. 
 The same spirit of perfect naturalness might ever be recognized. 
 To use the language of one of his pupils already quoted, "he 
 placed himself abreast of those whom he taught. He did not
 
 362 MEMOIR OP 
 
 stand on the heights of truth and say, ' Come up hither to this lofty 
 eminence I have reached,' but he came down into the valley where 
 we stood, and helped us to climb. And he was able to do this, 
 partly by reason of his childlike humility, partly by reason of his 
 genuine sympathy with the young, and partly by reason of the 
 fact that truth never became trite to him, but, however often 
 repeated, continued fresh and living, the desire and rejoicing of 
 his heart." " As I look back," says Rev. Phillips Brooks, " upon 
 our Seminary days, I am much impressed with the way in which 
 Dr. Sparrow led us naturally and easily into a study which was so 
 unfamiliar to most of us when we went there. It was not any- 
 thing peculiar in his way of teaching. It was no professor's skill- 
 ful trick. It must have been something very human about the 
 man, which made his scholars feel that in studying theology they 
 were doing reasonable work, and finding the highest use for their 
 best faculties. In Dr. Sparrow's class-room no serious question 
 was ever left unanswered. No student was ever silenced in an 
 earnest inquiry by a charge of irreverence. Every man was bidden 
 to use his powers. The result was that the whole field of theology 
 at once had an open and real look to us. It was not a region of 
 technicalities, where we were to use a set of faculties unknown in 
 ordinary life. The same powers which we had employed as stu- 
 dents elsewhere to study lower things, were to be used here with 
 deeper solemnity and purity, but the same powers still to learn the 
 things of God. All his influence led us to a rational theology, and 
 his daily spirit taught us that such a theology was beautifully con- 
 sistent with a deep and tender piety." 
 
 " Dr. Sparrow was a timid man about some things. In social and 
 political matters he let the circumstances in which he found himself 
 direct his action, even when they did not convince his judgment. 
 But when he felt himself on his own ground, there was nothing at 
 all of this. There was not a particle of cant or the saying of 
 other people's words in his religion. Everything he said was real 
 to him, and whether we accepted and held it permanently as true 
 or not, the reality with which he said and believed it did us good. 
 The best of all things which he did for his students, was to teach 
 them, so far as one man can teach another, to think naturally and 
 earnestly, and never, out of fear or fancied piety, to say a thing 
 they did not mean. The degree to which we learned this lesson of 
 him, or rather the sense of how earnestly he tried to teach it to us,
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 363 
 
 constitutes the deep indebtedness that many of us will always feel 
 to Dr. Sparrow." 
 
 " I might speak of other traits which were very delightful in him ; 
 his kindliness, his self-forgetfulness, his cordial enjoyment of any 
 good thing that any student did, his humor, and simplicity, and 
 child-likeness. All his students remember these ; but what gave the 
 charm to them all, and makes the Seminary always a place of sacred 
 associations, is the genuineness and thorough truthfulness of him 
 under whom it was our privilege to begin the study of theology." 
 "He sought," says another, "to lead men to the investigation of 
 Scripture, as far as prescribed, unbiased by prejudice, unshackled 
 by a previously adopted set of opinions. For himself, he was as 
 far from latitudinarianism as from vacillation of mind in theologi- 
 cal opinion. He saw clearly the danger of attempting .to be wise 
 above what is written upon many points; and these, therefore, 
 whatever his speculations concerning them, he held in suspense, 
 sub judice, as he himself would express it. He saw also the 
 temptation to which the adherents of a system were exposed, of 
 straining the sense of Scripture to make it square with their sys- 
 tem, and thus making human philosophizings the measure of Di- 
 vine verities." And we may add, that he knew nothing in his 
 investigations, and in the suggestions of his teaching, for purposes 
 of mere speculation. Truths and principles were exhibited and 
 handled with reference to their practical bearing. They were liv- 
 ing truths, life-giving principles, pressing upon the minds and 
 hearts, and through these, pervading and controlling, the life and 
 conduct. 
 
 One other trait, having its place in the thorough development of 
 his own character, as in the influence of that character upon others, 
 may be briefly indicated : his carefulness in reference to what are 
 often regarded as little matters. " He lived and labored," as has 
 been said of him, "in the light of great principles. These were, to 
 him, ever the solvents of every difficulty and perplexity, whether 
 in philosophy or in theology." And the power and thoroughly 
 pervading influence of these principles were seen in the minutest 
 details to which they were properly applicable. It was the sub- 
 stance of a part of his annual matriculating address to the students, 
 that they should give conscience its full place and power in all 
 matters of Seminary arrangement. But the most effective mode 
 in which that exhortation was presented was in his own constant
 
 364 MEMOIR OP 
 
 example. No class ever found him unprepared for the particular 
 matter, in its details as in the general, which were properly the 
 subject of recitation. The conscientious and careful mastery of 
 the details in their place and order had given him his mastery of 
 those details as a whole. 
 
 Incidents illustrative of the same spirit and habit will recur to 
 the memory of his pupils. We may mention, for instance, his sin- 
 gular retentiveness of memory in pecuniary matters, as to any- 
 thing, the smallest trifle, due from him to others, and this, too, 
 while often forgetful of what was due from others to him. Not less 
 illustrative of the same trait, may be mentioned his anxiety in his 
 estimate of his household property for taxation, lest he might make 
 it below the proper value; his solicitude as to the influence upon 
 the students of certain associations, not positively evil, but still 
 tending to worldliness and levity ; his carefulness as to the observ- 
 ance of the Lord's day, and to the discouragement of everything 
 interfering with the idea of its sacredness. These are but illustra- 
 tions. The spirit which dictated them was to be seen everywhere. 
 Duty, like truth, was recognized as a sacred thing. His constant 
 and manifest effort was so to discharge that duty that every obli- 
 gation, and in all its details, should be fully met and honored. He 
 was emphatically a man of principle, high moral principle, sancti- 
 fied and elevated by a spirit of genuine devotion. " Fifty years 
 ago," says Dr. McKim, "he had put away earthly ambition, and 
 ever since, with single eye and steadfast purpose, had sought those 
 things which are above. He had committ 3d his ways to the Lord, 
 and left the direction of his steps in His hands, cheerfully and 
 trustfully following wheresoever His providence led. He once told 
 me that it was a source of unspeakable satisfaction, in the review 
 of his life, to be able to say that he had never sought a position 
 which he had occupied." It is not possible to over-estimate the influ- 
 ence of this upon those with whom he came in contact, particularly 
 those who were under his instruction and government. This gave 
 direction and consistency to other features of his character already 
 mentioned. His power of intellect, his geniality, his naturalness, 
 so attractive in themselves, were thus steadied and directed to the 
 exercise of the highest form of beneficial influence. That, after 
 all, which was of most value to his pupils, and through them, in 
 their varied spheres of labor, to the Church, was the impress, not 
 of his intellect, of his theology, or of his social nature, but of his
 
 WILLIAM SPAR BOW, D. D. 365 
 
 character, the pervading and controlling spirit of duty, of sacred 
 principle, by which he was ever manifestly actuated. If, to any 
 degree, we have succeeded in exhibiting that character, and thus 
 extending its influence, our object will have been accomplished. 
 " The path of the just, as a shining light, shining more and more 
 to the perfect day," may thus become a light to the footsteps of 
 others, leading them to a world of heavenly blessedness.
 
 366 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ADDRESS." 
 
 To those of us who, during the last thirty years or more, on 
 occasions like the present, have been preparing to leave this place 
 for their first fields of ministerial trial, as to those who, temporarily 
 coming back from those fields, have renewed, for a few days, the 
 associations of Seminary life, there comes up spontaneously one 
 revered and familiar form, as almost a necessary accompaniment, 
 as, indeed, that of the presiding genius of our Commencement 
 exercises. Here, it may be, as on special occasions, when it became 
 his duty to enunciate and enforce some of those great principles 
 which controlled his own thinking and action. There, at that 
 chancel, presenting some of his pupils for their reception of the 
 ministerial commission. Or there, in that neighboring study, with 
 genial welcome for former pupils and friends, with pleasant remi- 
 niscence of previous Seminary intercourse, or with profitable 
 converse, and wise suggestion as to future ministerial labor. With 
 many, indeed, it was the distinct anticipation of such converse that 
 helped to bring them here; sometimes to seek advice and counsel 
 for pastoral work, sometimes as needed for issues of personal 
 duty. It was felt that his sympathy was ever ready and cordial, 
 that his advice was not apt to lead astray, and that personal com- 
 munion with him was not only pleasant, but full of improvement 
 and elevation. As we passed from this brief intercourse to our 
 respective homes, we had something more to think about. Old 
 truths were seen in a new light, and with new applications, or new 
 truths and duties were recognized, to quicken our sense of obliga- 
 tion, to enliven our hearts, and to call into more vigorous exercise 
 our practical activities. "As iron brighteneth iron," so were our 
 countenances brightened by that of our teacher and friend. 
 
 That revered and familiar form we no longer see. Very sud- 
 denly was he taken from our midst. So suddenly was it with him, 
 
 * At the Annual Commencement of the Seminary, June 25, 1874.|
 
 WILLIAM SPARRO W, D. D. 3 >7 
 
 that in all probability he had passed through the dark valley before 
 he was distinctly aware that he was in it. So suddenly was it with 
 us, that before danger was known, or apprehension felt, our calam- 
 ity was overpassed, his translation and our bereavement had been 
 accomplished. Without any break of work, the week's recitations 
 had closed the day before ; he had fulfilled his appointment in the 
 pulpit the previous Sunday, and opened the Faculty meeting on 
 Thursday evening; on his day of weekly relaxation, "a time to 
 die," the summons came for speedy departure. Like Elisha and 
 the sons of the Prophets, we found that our teacher had been taken 
 from us, had himself passed into the higher school of heavenly 
 acquisition. I need not speak of the shadow of that day, and of 
 the days following, which rested upon our hearts and in our homes ; 
 of that bright Sunday morning, the darkest that was ever known 
 on this Hill, when, as a bereaved community, we first met for wor- 
 ship in this building; of the sadness in view of our loss, and yet 
 of the solemn joy in view of the legacy of his example, &s of his 
 endless gain, with which, a few days afterward, we followed his 
 remains to the place appointed for all living. Of these things we 
 do not now need to speak. Our task is rather with the present 
 moment. We stand to-day, as we did on that day of his departure, 
 mindful, indeed, of our loss, but at the same time grateful to the 
 Giver of all good for what permanently remains; for what, through 
 him who has gone, many of us have received; those "truths," 
 awakened in us through his instrumentality, "to perish never;" 
 that example of Christian simplicity, of godly sincerity, of diligent 
 effort, of cheerful exertion, in its influence so powerful and quick- 
 ening. It is as introductory to the contemplation of that example, 
 and of some of the features of character thus exhibited, that these 
 remarks have been made. The portion of time ordinarily devoted 
 to the present exercise may be made use of for this purpose. And 
 I feel that in thus using it I am consulting not only my own 
 inclinations, but those of my hearers. It will not, moreover, be 
 unprofitable, nor alien from the usual purpose of these occasions, to 
 give our attention to this topic; to look at some of those features, 
 and to contemplate some of those elements, intellectual and moral, 
 which made our departed preceptor what he was, which enabled 
 him to impress himself so powerfully upon the men of his day and 
 generation, especially upon those under his instruction. When "a 
 great man falls in Israel," it is well for Israel to pause, and ask,
 
 868 MEMOIR OP 
 
 and try to find out, what constitutes his greatness; wherein was 
 the secret of his power, of his influence, so widely and beneficially 
 exerted. The answer to these and similar questions will usually be 
 found in such investigation as has been suggested. The man did 
 what he did because he was what he was. If we would know the 
 secret of his power, we must know the secret of his character, the 
 peculiar elements of his moral personality. 
 
 We thus naturally have our topic, the Theological Instructor, 
 the elements which give success to him in his work of teaching 
 those who are themselves to be teachers, enabling him successfully 
 to train and fit men for the gospel ministry. This topic, in the 
 circumstances of the present moment, we can look at in the concrete. 
 We can thus recognize the correctness of certain general principles, 
 can verify those principles in their personal illustration. 
 
 First, then, as essential to the highest success in this high voca- 
 tion, the theological teacher, as the teacher of science, of art, or 
 literature, must have, in a most important sense of the word, a call 
 to his work; not that Divine call which comes through the special 
 influence of the Holy Ghost upon the heart and life, but that Divine 
 call which comes through the natural, that is, the Divine endowment 
 of special tastes and capacities. In other words, he must be a born 
 teacher, must have a natural aptness and capacity for his calling. 
 It is just as true, the maxim of Horace, with reference to the 
 teacher as it is to the poet, the artist, or the orator. If the Divine 
 gift be not in him, you cannot by any amount of cultivation evolve 
 it out of him, or by any process of impartation put it in him. 
 This, of course, does not by itself constitute the effective teacher. 
 It may, as with the gift of natural eloquence, tempt its possessor 
 to neglect requisite cultivation ; and if we were obliged to choose 
 between the instruction of untrained genius and that of carefully 
 and conscientiously cultivated average talent, we should, without 
 hesitation, take the latter. The question just now, however, is not 
 of the better between two instruments, both of them defective, but 
 as to what constitutes the best instrument, the highest element 
 of efficiency. All other things being equal, the man naturally apt 
 to teach is the man for his work. The desirable basis of all train- 
 ing and preparation for this work is this natural fitness and talent 
 for it. This may not, either to the individual himself or to any 
 one else, be immediately manifest. It may require the appropriate 
 stimuli of circumstances to call it forth and give it exercise. It
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 369 
 
 does not dispense with cultivation, but carefully takes it on, makes 
 diligent and conscientious use of it, recognizes its importance, its 
 absolute necessity. Its own previous existence, however, gives to 
 such cultivation its highest value. Here in this natural aptitude 
 and capacity we have the proper beginning. When we have this, 
 we may, in the use of the proper means, anticipate a successful 
 continuation. When we are led to contemplate the past career of 
 an eminently successful man, we may look, and we shall find that 
 this was one of his qualifications. 
 
 Need I remind you of the personal illustration of this portion of 
 our subject? Need I describe to those who so well have known, 
 that rare power of impartation, that aptness not only to teach but 
 to quicken thought in the recipient, to set men to thinking and in- 
 vestigating, so as to enable them to reach conclusions really their 
 own, and, therefore, of permanent value ! Whatever may be said 
 of William Sparrow in other respects, this was peculiarly his gift, 
 pre-eminently his power. It was not merely that he was endowed 
 by nature with the regal prerogative of a superb intellect, an im- 
 agination adequate to all the demands of that intellect for illustra- 
 tive and embodying power to vivify its conceptions to others, an 
 emotional structure promptly and thoroughly responsive. With 
 all this, there was something more, the power of living communica- 
 tion, of stimulating thought, of quickening intellectual activity. 
 He was a teacher! Teaching was his work. It was natural to 
 him; and whenever and wherever he was brought in converse with 
 his fellow-men, it was to impart to them information : either to tell 
 them something which they had not previously known, or to freshen 
 their impression of truths already familiar. It was thus in the 
 pulpit, in the Faculty meeting, in social converse, in epistolary cor- 
 respondence. Many of his pupils have received almost as much 
 from his letters as from his regular instructions. Teaching with 
 him was not only the spontaneous outgoing of his personality, but 
 it was the definitely selected work to which his highest energies 
 were sacredly consecrated, and with which, during the larger por- 
 tion of his career, he was diligently occupied. In his eighteenth 
 year, he began life as an instructor of youth, with a considerable 
 share of governing the Academy in which he was employed; and 
 from the start his career was a successful one. That brief and 
 successful essay was followed by a course of additional study, and 
 the work of life was then fairly entered upon : first as tutor at Wor- 
 24
 
 370 MEMOIR OF 
 
 thington, at Cincinnati, and Miami University; then as full Pro- 
 fessor at the last of these institutions; then as Senior Literary and 
 Theological Professor at Worthington and Gambier; then strictly 
 Theological at the latter place; and finally, in the same capacity, 
 for nearly one-third of a century, in this institution. During most 
 of the time, moreover, of his professional life, both literary and 
 theological, the government of the institutions with which he was 
 connected was placed in his hands. Confining our attention, for 
 the present, simply to his power as a teacher, I need only remind 
 some of those before me what that power was ; what some of us, in 
 those fresh days of student enthusiasm, have witnessed of its 
 exhibitions. Some, doubtless, came under those instructions incapa- 
 ble of appreciating them. Others, again, fearful of being changed 
 in their theological and ecclesiastical views, kept themselves in such 
 habitual attitude of self-defence and non-receptivity as but par- 
 tially to understand them. Others, again, wanting in moral and 
 spiritual sympathy, met them, so far as understood, with positive 
 aversion. But even with these imperfectly receptive classes, there 
 was always the impression of power, of transcendent skill in the 
 mode of handling the material of thought and information, of plac- 
 ing it before the minds of others, and quickening their activity, 
 even though it might be in the way of opposition. While to an- 
 other class, the pupil-minded, the real learners, 'those anxious to 
 know, those willing to test and try everything in the light of that 
 Divine truth to which he constantly appealed, his quickening influ- 
 ence cannot be described. It was recognized and felt to be that of 
 a master. "I had just graduated at Yale," is the language of 
 one of his associates in Ohio, describing him as he was in those 
 first, almost youthful, days at Worthington, "and I knew of no one 
 there whom I regarded as his equal." The same remark, in sub- 
 stance, was made to me some years later by a fellow-student, a 
 graduate of Pennsylvania University. And I have since heard it 
 from another, in reference to a still different institution. Men who 
 had graduated upon Butler elsewhere, came to him and found out 
 that they had yet to learn the full meaning of his argument. And 
 as in Butler, so in other things. Whether in Divinity, in Evi- 
 dences, in Mental and Moral Science, or in Language, there was 
 the same peculiarity of power: the aptness of suggestion, the ease, 
 and freedom, and promptitude of movement, the fertility of re- 
 source and of illustration, the distinctness of contemplation as to
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 371 
 
 facts and -principles presented or illustrated, the clearness of out- 
 line in such presentation. These, to the real student, constituted 
 the removal of his worst difficulties. At the same time, they 
 quickened his energies, increased his information, made clear and 
 definite his previous knowledge, revealing its defects and opening 
 the way for their removal. In the recitation room, whatever he 
 was elsewhere, he was on his throne ! His sovereignty was indis- 
 putable, a sovereignty exercised in its most beneficial form, and in 
 such exercise full of delight and benefit to the subject. I do not 
 know, brethren, how it was, in all respects, with you or with others, 
 on those occasions, and as sitting in the seat of the learner. I may, 
 however, judge from expressions, at different times, and from differ- 
 ent sources, that your experience was not altogether unlike my 
 own; and that, by comparison, may be very briefly stated. In 
 looking back upon my experiences of intellectual satisfaction and 
 enjoyment, I recognize none such, in kind or in degree, as I derived 
 from those recitations, unless it was in the reception of the same 
 truths and illustrations, in a more practical form, from the pulpit, 
 and brought to bear upon the heart and conscience. Well do I re- 
 member a walk with Albert Duy and Owen Thackara, one pleas- 
 ant June evening, to Alexandria, during our middle year, when 
 our conversation turned upon the recitations and discussions of the 
 few days preceding, and the glowing language in which the former 
 described his enjoyment of them. No less distinctly do I remem- 
 ber the numberless and curious questions, on such occasions, of 
 another classmate, fresh from a German university, full of dis- 
 tinctions and queries as to entities and quiddities, the aut^a, the 
 (fo'/^i and the nveufia, but never finding his instructor embarrassed, 
 the clearness of the reply often lighting up the obscurity of the 
 question. " How often," to use the language of one of his pupils 
 of later years, "how often have we seen his eyes dilate, and his 
 countenance shine, and his whole mien take on a certain majesty, 
 as the very oracle of truth, as he sat in the class-room and spoke 
 to us of the things of God. By what a subtle, irresistible mag- 
 netism have we sometimes felt ourselves drawn, while listening to 
 his fervent words." These are but illustrations. They serve to 
 make manifest the peculiar gift now under discussion, its place and 
 importance, with the theological as with the scientific or the literary 
 teacher, that of the natural, the Divinely conferred capacity of 
 conveying the contents of our own minds into the minds of others.
 
 372 MEMOIR OF 
 
 But this is merely the beginning, the foundation ; and it must 
 be carefully and diligently built upon. This capacity of commu- 
 nication, this power of conveyance and of quickening exerted by one 
 mind upon another, to be exerted beneficially, must be in connection 
 with something else, material to be communicated. The teacher 
 must himself be taught, must consent to be a learner, and this, too, 
 not merely as introductory to the beginning of his work, but all 
 along, and to the end of his course. If he ever reaches a point in 
 which he stops learning, it will be time for him to stop teaching. 
 The freshness which comes, and comes only in the process of con- 
 stant reception, is always needed, as giving vitality and interest to 
 that of impartation. The subject-matter, of course, is exhaustless. 
 The language of poetry here is not at all that of exaggeration : 
 
 " Were man to live coeval with the sun, 
 The patriarch-pupil would be learning still, 
 And dying, leave his lessons half unlearned." 
 
 The pupil spirit is ever the proper spirit of the teacher, which 
 recognizes how much is still to be known, and is, therefore, ever 
 ready with the confession of imperfect knowledge. Most strik- 
 ingly, and in each of these respects, was the spirit exhibited by our 
 departed instructor. While ever learning, he was ever ready to 
 confess his want of learning; not in such a manner as to extort the 
 compliment from others that such was the case, but manifestly as 
 expressive of his real convictions, an entire absence of all preten- 
 sion, of everything like assumption of intellectual superiority. 
 More than once, as I have heard him speak of his want of knowl- 
 edge, or of his imperfect knowledge upon certain subjects, have I 
 been reminded of Dr. Johnson's disclaimer as to Greek scholarship, 
 and the explanation of an intelligent friend as to how far this 
 disclaimer, a thoroughly honest one, gave a correct view of the 
 case: "He does not possess that mastery of it which, in his esti- 
 mation, would justify him in claiming to be a Greek scholar; but 
 he knows more of it than do most of those who are called so. Any 
 one else who had his knowledge would not hesitate to claim 
 the title which he declines." But whether thus intelligent or not 
 in certain cognate departments of knowledge and there were some 
 in which he distinctly recognized that there must be a division of 
 abor in his own proper sphere, the constant process went on of 
 fresh acquisition, of systematic adjustment of every such new acqui-
 
 WILLIAM SPARED W, D. D. 3T3 
 
 sition, in its relation to material already in possession. And while 
 upon this topic, let me direct attention to two characteristics in his 
 efforts for self-culture, and in his mode of intellectual acquisition. 
 One of these was the thorough mastery of the subject under inves- 
 tigation. During the latter years of his life he spoke of his special 
 obligations, in the way of intellectual training, to a mathematical 
 teacher who would never accept a hazy or halting demonstration ; 
 of the habit of study acquired under this strict regimen. " Too 
 many students," was another of his remarks which some of us 
 have heard, " too many students are satisfied merely to understand 
 a thing; they do not possess it." The difference thus indicated, 
 between understanding and possessing, may be said to have con- 
 stituted the difference between his mode of cultivation and that 
 of the great majority. First of all, by thorough discriminative 
 analysis, to distinguish and separate the subject-matter of investi- 
 gation from all others, to look at it, and to know it in all its various 
 portions and particulars; then, by the process of synthetic recon- 
 struction, fully to possess it, to know it as a whole, each part in 
 itself and in relation to others, and all in its relations to other 
 things. Whatever the direction of his study, this seems to have 
 been his effort and habit. And the result was seen in the thorough- 
 ness and definiteness of his information. What he undertook to 
 impart he was careful to know. Where his knowledge was not 
 definite and satisfactory he refused to speak, or he spoke in such a 
 manner as to give no wrong impression; as to involve no preten- 
 sions to a knowledge of which he was not in actual possession. 
 
 The other of these characteristics was that of the order in which 
 these acquisitions were made, the relation in this process of self- 
 culture of various studies to each other. Just as we shall find, 
 when we come to his theological course in the task of imparting, 
 that there was a natural order, the various parts adapted to each 
 other, and sustaining each other as they were severally mastered, 
 so do we find the same feature in the course of acquisition. Among 
 these departments of acquisition was one which, if we would esti- 
 mate his peculiar power, must never be forgotten, his metaphysical 
 studies. By this, too, we mean not merely the psychological investi- 
 gation of the various powers and faculties of the human mind, their 
 laws and modes of operation, intellectual, emotional, and volitional, 
 but the problems with which they come in contact, the great prob- 
 lems of ontological speculation, of existence, of God, of duty, and of
 
 374 MEMOIR OF 
 
 .- 
 
 immortality, over which the human mind, with imperfect knowledge 
 and imperfect capacity, has so long wrestled in the dark, but which 
 it cannot consent to leave without attempting some kind of solution. 
 In this field it was, so barren to ordinary cultivators, so empty in 
 ordinary estimation, that he gathered some of his richest intellec- 
 tual treasures, that he made one of his most important acquisitions, 
 for the special work of teaching theology that of ascertaining 
 how far, or rather how short a distance, the human mind is really 
 able to go in certain directions. He became thus able himself 
 to say to others, a most important qualification to the instructor, 
 " Thus far, and no further ! " Here is knowledge, science, the 
 material of their construction! There is speculation, imagination, 
 fancy, nonsense! If Dr. Sparrow had not been something 
 greater and better, he would have been a great metaphysician. 
 As it was, his metaphysical power made his greatness manifest in 
 other respects. If not among the first, it was at a very early 
 period that his cultivation in these studies began. And his peculiar 
 capacity, as also his mastery of material, were very soon recognized. 
 " He was," says Dr. McElroy, describing him at Gambier, in his 
 twenty-seventh or eighth year, "he was specially able, even at that 
 early age, in the mental and moral philosophies. He had thoroughly 
 mastered every able book on those subjects that had at that time 
 been published; and my impression was, that he was fully able to 
 write, on either, a better book than any on the subject extant." Nor 
 can this portion of his attainments be over-estimated either as to its 
 influence upon his general training, or upon his efficiency as a 
 teacher of divinity. " It used to be a common remark," says the 
 biographer of another eminent teacher of this country, Dr. Archi- 
 bald Alexander, "it used to be a common remark, in the days of 
 Church controversy, that students who had been imbued with Dr. 
 Alexander's metaphysics were sure to swallow his entire theological 
 system." "Perhaps," continues the biographer, "perhaps the 
 same is true of every theological instructor who deduces a concate- 
 nated system from any clearly defined principles." The prevalent 
 tendency, just now, is to despise and underrate this class of studies; 
 to a materialized religion, to a materialized science. There is a 
 disposition to get rid, in science and religion alike, of everything 
 which does not come under the cognizance of the senses, which 
 cannot be referred to sensible verification. Even where this 
 tendency does not manifest itself in the grosser forms of a Panthe-
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 375 
 
 istic science or a materialized religion, it sometimes does in depreci- 
 ative statements as to the uselessness of intellectual science, of philo- 
 sophical investigation. This, too, by a wonderful inconsistency in 
 connection with statements as to the importance of intellectual 
 cultivation. Intellectual cultivation! The cultivation of a field, 
 the size of which and the capacities and properties of the soil of 
 which you are profoundly ignorant! The effective and skillful 
 employment of a tool which you have never handled, the adapta- 
 tions of which you know nothing! He who would instruct other 
 minds, and control them for good, must first know something of his 
 own, of the facts and laws common to all minds; must carefully 
 observe his own intellectual operations, and test these by the 
 experiences of others. A large share of the material of human 
 knowledge, as also the capacity of using it, is only to be gotten in 
 this way. It was the training here, in metaphysics, in mental and 
 moral science, which, so far as mere intellect was concerned, pre- 
 pared the way for all that followed. The habits thus formed, of 
 discrimination in thought and expression, were carried into all 
 other studies, those of language, of political economy, of history, 
 of his chosen vocation and work, theology. In all the departments 
 of this latter he at different times gave instruction. But for most 
 of his time in Ohio, and for the whole of it, saving a few months, 
 in this Institution, it was in the chair of Systematic Divinity and 
 Christian Evidences, including in the latter the Analogy of Butler. 
 His mastery of this last work, and his development of many of its prin- 
 ciples, have already been alluded to. But the same mastery was 
 seen elsewhere, the same result exhibited of careful and thorough 
 acquisition. He was a learner to the last. The first volumes of 
 Dr. Hodge's great work were read in the unbound sheets on his 
 journey to Europe. Dorner's work on the Protestant Reformation, 
 almost immediately upon its appearance, was subjected to like 
 examination. And I have little doubt that on that last Saturday 
 morning, before his ride to Alexandria, and while many of us were 
 in the arms of sleep, a portion of the Greek text of the New 
 Testament, with the latest critical aids and appliances, received his 
 careful and devout examination. How grateful the thought, how 
 precious to us the assurance, of that blessed transition, so near at 
 hand; a transition which was a translation, when all human aids, 
 no longer needed, would be forever laid aside. That which had
 
 376 MEMOIR OF 
 
 been seen as in a mirror, obscurely reflected, being now perfectly 
 seen with open face, in the very presence of his Lord ! 
 
 And here, before leaving this sphere, the almost purely intel- 
 lectual, let me indicate the order, not only of his acquisition, but of 
 his impartation, the relations of the several portions of his course 
 to each other. The stages of that course were fourfold, the first 
 opening the way to that which followed, those subsequent depend- 
 ent upon this, and adding to it, all forming one complete and sys- 
 tematic whole. The first of these was that of simple fact, the 
 historic facts and evidences connected with the coming into the 
 world, under certain circumstances, of the Divine Author of Christi- 
 anity, the origin of the books in which are contained the truths of 
 the Christian system, with the removal of difiiculties and the replies 
 to objections. The second was that of the general philosophy of 
 this revealed system, the tracing out of the essential resemblance 
 between this supernatural revelation and that which is natural, the 
 analogy of nature and religion. The third was occupie'd with the 
 particular examination of the contents of inspired revelation, the 
 dictates of the Divine Word, Biblical Theology. And the fourth, 
 and last, had reference to creeds and confessions, Christian doc- 
 trines formulated by human agency, expressive of the position of 
 the whole Church, or of portions of it, at different stages of its 
 existence, especially those of our own Church, and all these in 
 their relation to the Supreme authority of Scripture. Putting 
 aside the two former, the course adopted in reference to the others 
 is well worthy of note; may for a few moments, be considered. 
 This was to make Scripture not only supreme, but alone; not only 
 ultimate, but all-suflicient. Adopting the motto, " Bonus textuarius 
 est bonus theologus," he was willing to rest everything in Christian 
 theology proper upon the simple teaching of the inspired Word. 
 Upon the foundation and with the material of this word was his 
 structure ; and then, by the results of that word he tested all mere 
 human systems and confessions. The questions, what is the teach- 
 ing of the early Church, of the Augsburg Confession, of the Council 
 of Trent, of the Prayer-book and Thirty-nine Articles had, indeed, 
 their proper time and place in his instruction. But they were 
 touched only incidentally in the study of Divinity proper. It was 
 his constant effort to keep before the minds of others, and to act 
 for himself upon the great principle, not to allow any of these, or 
 anything else human, to be a measure and circumscribing limit in
 
 WILLIAM S PAH ROW, D. D. 377 
 
 the process of theological investigation. He refused to know any- 
 thing as authority, to hear of anything in theology, until, in a 
 spirit of childlike reliance upon its Divine Author, he had patiently 
 and carefully sought His own revealed meaning. This, as most of 
 us are aware, is one of the characteristics of the text-book in that 
 department, introduced by Dr. Keith, but adopted by his successor ; 
 and in this its main principle cordially accepted. Not, of course, 
 slavishly to adopt any man's textual analysis or exegesis, any more 
 than his theory of doctrine. But, still, to recognize the funda- 
 mental principle of a Scriptural theology, preceding all other the- 
 ologies, and by which all others must be tested. There was, as 
 already hinted, a later part of his course, and with different text- 
 books, when this question of human standards, and their uses, was 
 distinctly raised; when the question of our own standards, those in 
 England and of our own country, as related to the teaching of Scrip- 
 ture, was carefully investigated. Creeds and confessions, in his 
 estimation, had their place, and that by no means an unimportant 
 one. He had no sympathy with the loose, wild talk of which we 
 now hear so much, that dogma is the source of all the evils of 
 Christendom. The men who babble this nonsense have their dogma, 
 which they are all the time preaching: "That nothing particular 
 ought to be insisted upon ! " To use his own striking illustration, 
 "a Church without a creed or confession is like a ship on the high 
 seas without a flag an ecclesiastical pirate." But while all this, 
 in its place, was thus insisted upon, the great Protestant principle, 
 already mentioned, was never lost sight of, was firmly grasped 
 and unshrinkingly adhered to ; in the study of Scriptural theology, 
 Scripture itself and alone must decide all issues. The striking 
 thought of Coleridge, in reference to truth in general, was recog- 
 nized as specially applicable in the domain of theological inquiry. 
 He who begins by studying the word of God by the measure of 
 this or that human standard, will soon bring it into accord with 
 that standard ; and it will not be very long before he brings that 
 standard and the word of God alike into accord with himself, to 
 the measure of his own individual ideas of truth and duty. It is 
 the man loving his Church better than the truth, and loving him- 
 self better than either. There is a constant tendency to this, even 
 in Protestant communities, or rather in human nature itself. But 
 no pupil of Dr. Sparrow ever failed to receive his warning against it. 
 But these intellectual prerequisites, however important to the
 
 378 MEMOIR OF 
 
 theological teacher, must be connected with others which are 
 needed as rendering him apt and fit for the work which he 
 has undertaken. When, as in the instance before us, you find 
 the peculiar gift for the peculiar task, the teacher born, not made 
 for his office; when, moreover, you find, superadded upon this, care- 
 ful and systematic cultivation; when, still further, you have a love 
 for the work, a pleasure in the doing it, and a clear perception of 
 what is to be done; even with all this, you need something more 
 for this high vocation. Thus far we have seen the furnishment 
 mainly, if not entirely, of the teacher's head, his provision for the 
 furnishment of the heads of his pupils. That which gives direction, 
 and steadiness, and elevation, to each of these, alike to the teacher 
 and the taught, i* a high moral purpose, the regulative influence 
 of a high moral principle in the reception and in the dispensation 
 of knowledge, whatever its character or applications. If, for the 
 attainment of the highest object of his calling, "the orator must 
 be a good man," much more must the teacher, much more the 
 teacher of theology. There must be in him that upon which his 
 pupils can rely, which they will profoundly respect, or the full bene- 
 fit of his instruction cannot be enjoyed, if, indeed, there be not 
 positive mischief and injury. Illustrations of the power of this 
 moral element, and the weakness incident to its absence, in indi- 
 vidual cases, might be easily adduced. I mention only a few. 
 Take, for instance, the celebrated Hebraist, the benefit of whose text 
 books we have some of us enjoyed but for whom we have no re- 
 spect as, in his lecture-room, with frivolity and sneer, he under- 
 mined, or endeavored to undermine, the faith to which his position 
 and office were pledged, and by which he got his bread. Is it pos- 
 sible for such a man properly to instruct students of theology, or, 
 indeed, students of any kind? Take, again, the case of any man 
 who fails to recognize the responsibilities of his position; who does 
 not deal with truth as a sacred thing, and impress it with the same 
 spirit upon those who come under his influence; who indulges in a 
 spirit of levity or indifference in reference to those great moral 
 issues which are constantly presenting themselves, and which must 
 have a decision ; who suggests the impression that these are mat- 
 ters in which he feels but little or a subordinate interest; who thus 
 shows that he himself, morally, is a bending reed, shivering and 
 shaking in every passing wind of incidental circumstance, and you 
 have a man who is wanting in the main element of human power to
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, I). D. 379 
 
 beneficial purposes. I care not what may be his intellectual 
 capacity, his stores of acquisition, his gifts of impartation. He is 
 still wanting in one of the highest qualifications for his work. 
 That qualification being absent, the teacher will, as to the highest 
 culture of his pupils, prove a failure. "He," says Bishop Berkeley, 
 " who has not meditated much upon God, upon the human soul, 
 and upon man's ultimate good, may possibly make a thriving earth- 
 worm; but he will be a blundering patriot, and a sorry states- 
 man." The statement, with a change in terms, is quite as applicable 
 to the office of which we are speaking. A large portion of its 
 power is a moral one, the power of character, of thorough, high- 
 toned integrity. It was the presence of this, the felt presence of 
 this, immediately felt and constantly recognized, which added so 
 much to the qualities already described in the subject of our dis- 
 cussion; its distinct and abundant manifestation, which gave him 
 such hold upon his pupils. He was admired and respected for his 
 intellectual power. He was revered for his moral power. His 
 appeal to men's conscientious convictions, to the supremacy of con- 
 science in their studies, as in their intercourse with each other and 
 the world around them, came with the power of his own example 
 and spirit to sustain them. Nothing that was mean, or little, or 
 crooked, or sidewise, could live in his presence; was instantly 
 withered and consumed in the glance of his indignation. Every- 
 thing pure, and noble, and elevating, dwelt within and before him, 
 a source of delight wherever and whenever exhibited. Putting 
 aside, for the present, the high motive power of religious principle, 
 and thinking of him only as he would be thought of by those who 
 know nothing of the influence of such principle, these two unmis- 
 takable features of character were ever manifest: moral integrity 
 in all things, high moral elevation in thought and precept, as in 
 personal example. In these, to a great degree, was the secret of 
 his power, that power which he so pre-eminently possessed, not 
 only as a teacher, but as an administrator, as a man! His 
 course was felt by himself, and seen by others, to be a thoroughly 
 conscientious one. He was thus enabled to go forward without 
 faltering; and others felt that they ought not, dare not, refuse to 
 follow him. 
 
 And as there was this influence of high moral integrity, and 
 this clear exhibition of pure moral principle in teaching and in 
 life, so was all this, in turn, quickened, and purified, and elevated
 
 380 MEMOIR OF 
 
 by a profoundly religious spirit, by the constant recognition and 
 application of the great principle that all duty and obligation must 
 be viewed in the light of Divine truth, that all truth and all duty 
 must have reference to God. It was a morality, as a theology, 
 baptized with the Holy Ghost. Christianity to him was a great 
 moral and spiritual system to work upon the minds and hearts 
 of men. Its various institutions, its ministry, its sacraments, its 
 instructions, were recognized of value only as they attained spirit- 
 ual results. They were but as scaffolding for the building, not 
 something for which that building was erected. "Religion," to 
 use almost his very words, " religion of some kind or other men 
 must and will have. There is no trouble nor difficulty about 
 that. The trouble, the difficulty is, not to make them have a 
 religion, or to make them religious, but to make them have the 
 right kind of religion; to make them religious in the right way; to 
 make them have spiritual religion." This was the one word which 
 expressed his idea of the essential nature of Christianity; as to 
 what this right kind of religion was ; which described the predomi- 
 nant element of his own personal religion, as it made itself mani- 
 fest to others; spirituality, the Gospel dispensation, a dispensation 
 of the spirit of Christ, for the moral and spiritual regeneration of 
 man's whole nature. It was not, to his view, a dispensation of 
 the Incarnate Christ by His bodily presence in the sacramental 
 emblems, in His visibly organized Church, or in His outwardly 
 consecrated ministry. It was one of the risen Christ, in the per- 
 fection of His divinity, as of His humanity, by His Spirit, the 
 Comforter, the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of spiritual life, 
 making use of these various outward agencies for the sanctification 
 of human spirits, for their transformation into Christ's divine 
 image, for their fitting and preparation for the service of Christ's 
 heavenly sanctuary. If there was any one truth which, more 
 than others, may be said to have shaped his thinking and teaching, 
 it was this : Christianity a spiritual religion, a dispensation of 
 the Spirit. All, in some form or other, admit this. He fully be- 
 lieved it, realize^ it, and permanently rested in it. This it was 
 which gave character and tone to his theology, which shaped his 
 ecclesiastical system, which gave directness, force, and symmetry to 
 his personal religion. To the test of this everything else was sub- 
 jected; as it stood that test, was it cast aside as worthless, or cor- 
 dially accepted. This at once explains his position to many of the
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 381 
 
 issues of the last half century, to many of the tendencies now pre- 
 vailing. All of those developments of materialized Christianity, of 
 spiritualized materialism of the past and of the present, which 
 have so much interfered with, and are so much interfering with 
 spiritual religion, in the Church and in the world, were thus sum- 
 marily and indignantly rejected. Those deeper views, as they are 
 qlaimed to be, of the sacraments, circumscribing and localizing the 
 omnipresent Spirit in the waters of baptism, the ascended Christ in 
 the elements of the Supper, were thus recognized as anything but 
 deep ; as essentially degrading alike to the sacraments, their admin- 
 istrators, and their recipients. Those higher views, again, as they 
 are claimed to be, of the Church or of the ministry, which make 
 the validity of their action and their very existence depend upon 
 the outward, the visible, and the tangible, were thus seen to be 
 low, earthly, groveling. All these tendencies of unregenerate or 
 partially regenerate human nature to get rid of the dispensation of 
 the Spirit, and to have one of sense and of sight in its place, to 
 bring back the visibilities and externalities of Judaism, or even 
 worse, the fetich elements of a dead and putrescent Paganism; to 
 all this he set himself in steady opposition. His whole teaching 
 with reference to such matters might have been expressed in the 
 language of the Master: "Take these things hence." Or in the 
 reproachful question of the Apostle: "Are ye so foolish; having be- 
 gun in the Spirit, are ye made perfect in the flesh ? " Against 
 everything of this nature he set his face as a flint. It was an issue 
 of essential Christianity, and there could be no compromise. The 
 conflict must be to the death. For other differences he made large 
 allowance, in reference to other issues was disposed to much toler- 
 ance. But here, the faith, its very kernel and life, must be ear- 
 nestly contended for. To make spirit flesh, and flesh spirit, to ma- 
 terialize Christianity, was to change its nature, was to betray 
 Christianity, was to betray Christ Himself, and misrepresent Him 
 and His cause before the world. This was the theology of the 
 recitation-room. It was the burden of the Thursday evening 
 exhortation. And it rang out from this place in tones clear and 
 distinct, and that could not be misunderstood : Christianity a sys- 
 tem of spiritual truth, seeking spiritual results depending upon 
 spiritual instrumentalities ! 
 
 And this, his high spirituality, let it be distinctly noted, 
 rested upon certain well-defined objective truths, out of those truths
 
 382 MEMOIR OP 
 
 derived its power and vitality. His teaching, and thinking, and 
 living were distinctively Evangelical. He cordially accepted the 
 system known by that name, and as represented by such men as Leigh 
 Richmond and Charles Simeon, in England, Alexander Griswold 
 and William Meade, in this country. Probably the first decidedly 
 theological influence brought to bear upon his mind was that of a 
 relative, the Rev. Peter Roe, of Ireland, a clergyman of this school.- 
 He listened to the same truths, drank in the same influences, as a 
 lonely student, in his weekly attendance upon the lectures of Dr. 
 Milnor. The principles thus brought before him became those of 
 his life, more philosophically arranged, better expressed than by 
 some with whom he sympathized, more elaborated than by others, 
 more carefully guarded in certain points, especially those involving the 
 issues of Divine agency and human accountability, but still essentially 
 in thorough accord with the system thus described, and the leaders 
 just mentioned, by whom it was represented. He candidly accepted 
 that view of Christianity which humbles man, which abases the 
 sinner and exalts Christ; which finds that " Christ is all " in all 
 the spiritual wants of men as lost and ruined creatures; which, 
 therefore, brings every imagination and every capacity in captivity 
 to the will of Christ, in humble dependence upon His grace, in 
 loving obedience to His will. These were the great truths in 
 which he himself lived, and moved, and had his spiritual being, 
 and which, therefore, constituted the staple of his instruction. For, 
 while accepting heartily the maxim of one great theologian, already 
 quoted, that thorough scriptural knowledge is the basis of all real 
 theological knowledge, he no less heartily, as a moral correlate, 
 accepted that of another, that such knowledge, to be of any value, 
 must be examined and received in a certain state of the heart. It 
 was not merely, therefore, natural talent, culture, high moral tone, 
 spirituality. All these were increased as to their value by Evangel- 
 ical truth. Some of them found their value, and even their source, 
 in that truth. In these respects, Dr. Sparrow, like another great 
 thinker and preacher of this century, Robert Hall, was a remark- 
 able exemplification of the fact that this Evangelical system is 
 entirely consistent not only with the most thorough training and 
 culture, but with the highest order of metaphysical acumen, of 
 philosophical intellect, and that, in these as in other classes, it was 
 combined with high spirituality. These two things, Evangelical 
 truth and spirituality, are naturally connected. The whole history
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 383 
 
 of the Church shows that the amount of either one, in any age or 
 country, constitutes an indication of the presence and a measure of 
 the amount of the other. I do not mean by this to say that there . 
 is no spirituality outside of and beyond the limits of the Evangelical 
 portion of our Church, or those of the same views in other churches. 
 A great many men are better than their creed, and a great many 
 are not as good. Professedly Evangelical men are sometimes for- 
 malists and legalists, narrow in themselves and harsh in their 
 thoughts and judgments of others, even worse than this, Antino- 
 mians. There are others, again, who repudiate this name, are 
 ashamed of it, or who positively hate and revile it; but, by a 
 blessed inconsistency, as individuals, are in the cordial reception of 
 Evangelical truth and in the diligent cultivation of Evangelical 
 graces. In all such cases we would rejoice that so much of the 
 substance is in possession, whatever may be done or said as to the 
 name. The issue now is not between individuals, but systems ; 
 those systems intelligently accepted and consistently worked ; indi- 
 viduals only to be thought of as they consistently represent those 
 systems. We cannot venture to say of any individual who is identi- 
 fying himself with the materialistic or legalistic movements of our day, 
 with the Sacramental or Sacerdotal systems, now so industriously ad- 
 vocated, we cannot venture to say of any such individual that he is 
 not one of Christ's people. But this we must and ought to say, that 
 the system which he is working and the doctrine which he is advo- 
 cating is not Christianity, is not that of the Gospel of salvation. It 
 does behoove us at this time, those who are set for the defence of 
 the truth, especially, in view of the tremendous odds against it, an 
 ecclesiastical atmosphere reeking with the contagion of its opposite, 
 it is incumbent upon us to be open and square as to this our posi- 
 tion ; meekly and lovingly, but firmly and decidedly, retaining not 
 only the thing, but the name by which that thing is known among 
 men. Names are often things, and he who wishes to get rid of the 
 name by which certain principles have been described, and recog- 
 nized, and known, is in a fair way to get rid of the principles 
 themselves. There is an Evangelical system, that of the leading 
 Eeformers in England and on the Continent; that of the first two 
 or three generations of theological leaders in the English Church ; 
 that of Venn, and Eichmond, and Wilberforce; that of Meade, and 
 Milnor, and Mcllvaine. And there is another system : you may 
 call it the Church system, or the Legal system, or the Sacramental
 
 384 MEMOIR OP 
 
 system, -or the Tractarian system, or the Ritualistic system, just as 
 it modifies itself at different times to these distinct forms of mani- 
 festation. But in all these modifications it has one unifying 
 principle: it ever fronts and opposes the Evangelical. Between 
 them there can be no real cordiality. It is, to use the striking 
 thought of another, the wrestle of Luther and Cyprian in the womb 
 of the same ecclesiastical mother. Eventually one must overcome 
 and cast out the other; not, necessarily, by force, by ecclesiastical 
 legislation, or by outward machinery of any kind, but by argument 
 and by truth. I have no doubt as to where the argument and 
 truth are, and therefore none as to the final result. We may 
 properly fear for individuals, and even for generations. Certainly, 
 there are just grounds of fear for many of the men of this genera- 
 tion. But there need be no such fear whatever as to the final 
 triumph of Evangelical truth. In the meantime, however, and 
 while the struggle is going on and the great issue pending, it 
 behooves us to stand in our lot, to recognize our position, and to do 
 what we may for the accomplishment of the great result. And 
 here, in the example of our departed preceptor and leader, we 
 have an indication as to our proper duty. It was ever his wish to 
 be understood as identified with these Evangelical principles, as an 
 upholder of the Evangelical system. While it was his effort to 
 impress upon those under his tuition the responsibility for them- 
 selves to "prove all things," to "hold only that which was true 
 and" good, there could be no doubt what he regarded as good, 
 what he had proved, to his own satisfaction, to be true. His main 
 interest in this Institution, which he served so long and which he 
 loved so well, was as it was identified with the principles of its .origi- 
 nal founders. It was his effort to keep it and to leave it in these 
 respects as he found it, a place in which men might learn Evangeli- 
 cal truth and be brought under its responsibilities, whatever use or 
 perversion they might make of it afterward. "Our flag," said he, 
 some eight years ago r while the Institution was struggling with the 
 difficulties of its fresh start, after the calamities through which it had 
 been passing, and in speaking of its anticipated future work, " our 
 flag of Evangelical principles is nailed to the mast ; and if it goes 
 down, we had better go down with it." How grateful the thought 
 that those efforts were successful ; that he was permitted to survive 
 and to witness so much of that success; that he was able to wel- 
 come on our Semi-Centennial so many of his old friends and pupils, 

 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 385 
 
 and to rejoice with them in the assurance that his labors had not 
 been in vain. It was this, coupled with the additional assurance 
 that the Institution was to go on more vigorously than ever in 
 its old work, resting upon its old foundations and witnessing for 
 the same old precious truths, which constituted the special grounds 
 of his rejoicing. For this he had labored. In these assurances he 
 was already receiving the fruit of his labors. 
 
 And as there was this hope and assurance to him, so does it con- 
 tain an important practical suggestion to us: our duty and work 
 for this Institution, with which he was so closely identified and 
 which so long enjoyed the benefit of his labors. Is it not our part 
 to actualize his anticipations, to see that his hopes receive fulfill- 
 ment? And when I say "our," I do not mean those only who are 
 engaged in the work of instruction, or in that of control and ad- 
 ministration. They act efficiently and successfully only as sus- 
 tained and encouraged by others. Our Alumni, those here present 
 with us, those elsewhere, who are interested in our work, those of 
 our members who are just leaving us, those who expect for a brief 
 period to return, all these have their work for its advancement and 
 welfare. In these, our respective positions, we are now especially 
 reminded of our duty to fill up, so far as we can, the gap that has 
 been made, to supply the place of what has been taken away. In- 
 dividuals die, but principles, and institutions representing princi- 
 ples, live. When an individual, identified with such an institution 
 and its principles, who has occupied a large sphere of effort and of 
 usefulness, is taken from it by death, or otherwise, the providential 
 call to those who remain is not to despond, but to be up and doing 
 more actively, to be more determined and more abundant than 
 ever in their labors and exertions. The dying words of one of 
 our Alumni, on the coast of Africa, in regard to the work to 
 which he had given his life, are expressive of what ought to be 
 our feelings under our present circumstances: "Let the Mission," 
 our work, "go forward; let it go forward more than ever." Such, 
 I am persuaded, would be the exhortation of our departed teacher, 
 if he could now appear in our midst. Such is the providential 
 appeal and charge to us under the circumstances of the present 
 moment. Let our Seminary go forward. Let it go forward, not 
 for its own sake, but for its work's sake, and for the Master's 
 sake ; let it go forward more than ever. If we would effectively 
 respond to this appeal, we must remember that it can be done 
 25
 
 386 MEMOIR OP 
 
 only through definite and earnest exertion. We want, brethren, 
 a great many things. But I put aside, for the present, men- 
 tion of all but three, that are almost indispensable, that ought to 
 be distinctly placed before us, as claiming our exertions. We 
 want, first, the material of men, to be ready to take hold of and to 
 carry on the work of the Institution when those now engaged in 
 it follow their departed colleague, are laid aside, or in their graves. 
 Our younger clergy, especially, ought to see to this, that they are 
 fully abreast of the culture of our age, so that, if necessary, they 
 can fill the teacher's place. We want, again, the material, in the 
 way of full endowment, to work the Institution comfortably, ef- 
 ficiently, thoroughly, and without embarrassment. And, last of 
 all, and most important of all, we need material for our classes, 
 that there should be a full supply of men, and of the right kind 
 of men, to be enjoying the benefit of such provision. In this last 
 item there is great deficiency, deficiency which involves great cul- 
 pability. There are congregations in this Diocese, and elsewhere, 
 large congregations, which have been going on for years, which 
 have used up and worn out two or three generations of ministerial 
 laborers, and yet have not themselves sent a single laborer into the 
 field. This ought not so to be. It would not if there were distinct, 
 specific, and earnest pastoral effort and prayer, not only to save 
 souls, but to find, and call out, and develop men who will conse- 
 crate themselves to the same great undertaking. I would leave 
 these three points, especially the last, for your reflection, and as 
 suggesting some of the modes in which you may aid our Institution ; 
 in which you may take up and carry on the work to which the life 
 and energies of our departed teacher were so long and faithfully 
 devoted. 
 
 I have thus endeavored, very imperfectly, to recall some of those 
 features which we delighted to contemplate; amid the associa- 
 tions of this hour, to dwell for a little time longer, mournfully, 
 reverently, and lovingly, upon those traits of character, intellect- 
 ual, moral, and spiritual, which, through the force of example, 
 have impressed themselves upon so many others, have so greatly 
 shaped and moulded the character and ministerial work of so many, 
 during the last half century. Let us remember that these traits, 
 while those of the successful theological teacher, are also those of 
 the teacher everywhere: in the pulpit, in the Bible-class, in the 
 sphere of pastoral life, in the intercourse of ministerial contact
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 
 
 with our fellow-men. There are not many men who possess the com- 
 bination of rare qualities with which he was endowed. Few, indeed, 
 possess any one of those qualities in the same degree. But to some 
 degree, all have most of them. They can all be cultivated, and, 
 in our work, they all have their proper place. We honor him 
 most highly, so far as in these traits we closely imitate his example ; 
 his diligent, and careful, and thorough cultivation, his high moral 
 tone, his deep and all-pervading spirituality, his thorough appreci- 
 ation, and love, and zeal for the essential truths of the Gospel. 
 All these constitute elements of power in the ministerial work, ele- 
 ments which may well become to us objects of earnest attainment. 
 "Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.'* 
 That was his last message, the last pouring out of that heart and 
 intellect for our benefit and welfare, as for the honor of the Master. 
 Let us take that precept as illustrated in his personal example; 
 follow him, as he would have had us do, only "as he followed 
 Christ."
 
 388 MEMOIR OP 
 
 REMINISCENCES OF DR. SPARROW. 
 
 BY EEV. E. W. SYLE. 
 
 "YEDO, JAPAN, July 13, 1875. 
 " REV. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 " From your own experience you can understand that the time 
 of entering on a new professorship is not one of literary leisure; 
 and you may imagine that in adapting one's lecture to the mental 
 status of a class of young Japanese students, on such subjects as 
 History and Moral Philosophy, I have had, if not a difficult, yet an 
 absorbing task, during the past few months. 
 
 " Now, however, the examinations are over, and after one day of 
 mental relaxation I set myself to use my leisure in complying with 
 your request for some reminiscences of Dr. Sparrow. 
 
 " I have already sent you a few pages, and have referred you to 
 my son for letters, which he was authorized to put at your service, 
 so that you might have the material for that 'unconscious auto- 
 biography ' which is to be found in the correspondence of one who 
 writes, as Dr. Sparrow did, fully, and earnestly, and ingenuously. 
 Indeed, it was this gift, or habit (with him it was both), of 
 conscientious letter- writing, as a part of his ministry, which I should 
 fix upon as one of the most marked and valuable of his character- 
 istics. I never knew of his writing a foolish letter, although he 
 sometimes, not often, however, indulged in pleasantry ; while he 
 was far from despising wit, or regarding it as wickedness. He 
 was, however, conscientious about it; and I remember one occasion, 
 when, in a company of friends, I had myself said something which 
 failed to be as pleasant as was intended, and as pleasantries should 
 be, to deserve the name, he volunteered the remark afterward, 
 when we were alone : ' I know nothing more difficult or delicate 
 than the right use of wit, a sanctified wit. It is a talent, but a 
 very rare one.' 
 
 "Let me return, however, to his letters, of which I have a few
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 389 
 
 with me, the last of a long series, extending from 1840, when I 
 left Ohio, after having been under his instruction for five years at 
 Gambier (part of that time acting as private tutor in his family), 
 down to the date of October, 1873, when he wrote the most touching 
 of all, some short time after Mrs. Sparrow's death. 
 
 " I find it difficult to make extracts without bringing myself more 
 prominently into notice than I could wish ; but as you particularly 
 request me to send you 'personal' traits, I can only do so by giving 
 what he wrote and did, as I personally was connected with him. 
 
 " The first extract is from a letter dated January 3, 1868, and 
 refers to a claim I had against a certain parish for balance of salary. 
 
 " ' I had declined, not very long ago, to act as a referee at the 
 request of a clerical brother ; and yet I would have made your 
 case an exception to my rule, if I felt myself competent to such 
 duty, or standing in a state of indifference to both the parties. 
 But that is not the case, and therefore I have been compelled to 
 decline.' 
 
 " This calls to mind his characteristic delicacy and sensitiveness 
 as to money-matters. His mind recoiled from rough contact, of any 
 kind, with others, and especially from an assertion of his own rights. 
 I feel sure he never could have written such a passage as 2 Cor. 
 xi, 12 ; he would have shrunk from saying so much about himself. 
 
 " For this reason he was apt to be a disappointing I might as 
 well say it, for I am sure he would have said it himself a disap- 
 pointing and an ineffective member of conventions, boards, etc., in 
 cases where it might be necessary ' earnestly to contend ' for some 
 plan or principle; so that even a good cause in his hands was apt 
 to suffer, because he hated anything like strife among brethren. 
 
 "The idea of soliciting any position of honor or emolument was 
 entirely at variance with his feelings and principles, however much 
 he might know that he deserved the honor and needed the emolu- 
 ment. 
 
 "After a suggestion that he might very properly do something of 
 this kind in regard to the presidency of Kenyon College, then va- 
 cant, his answer was, 'No, sir, no; I could never do so.' And 
 then, after a pause, ' I might do it for my children's sake, but never 
 for my own.' 
 
 " In speaking of that Institution, he once said : ' I have stood by 
 it through all its struggles, from the time it was commenced at 
 Worthington till now, when Bexley Hall is being built. In this
 
 390 MEMOIR OF 
 
 place my best years of labor have been spent, and here my children 
 have been born. Mr. Syle, / love the very stones upon the road ! ' 
 
 "Just at that juncture, when he had determined to leave Kenyon, 
 the rectorship of St. Andrew's, Pittsburg, was pressed upon him, 
 and he was well minded to accept it; but he doubted his ability to do 
 pastoral work with satisfaction to himself; and he dreaded the task 
 of clearing off a $10,000 debt which was then weighing on the con- 
 gregation. 
 
 " In the wear and tear of the struggling work of the first days 
 of the College, none took a heavier share than Dr. Sparrow. He 
 and Professor Wing were the veterans of those early battles which 
 were fought against obloquy, poverty, and, as the trustees were 
 apt to think, Episcopal encroachment. 
 
 " Many were the contests on this latter point, in Bishop Chase's 
 time, and Dr. Sparrow was, in most cases, I believe, the spokesman 
 of the trustees, though greatly against his wishes. It is thor- 
 oughly characteristic of him that, on one occasion, he wrote a very 
 powerful pamphlet, and had it printed; and then, having relieved 
 his mind by this advocacy of what he felt to be right and true, his 
 aversion to strife returned, like a tide, and his heart failed him as 
 soon as a few copies were put in circulation. The greater part 
 were, as he told me himself, bundled up and stowed away in the 
 garret of his house at Gambier ; to be brought out, I doubt not, at 
 the time, of his removal, to be treated as waste paper. 
 
 " He had always, as you know, an extreme jealousy of the unde- 
 fined prerogatives of the Episcopal office, maintaining that these 
 were limited strictly by the written laws of the Church; and his 
 view of the ' Divine Bight ' was, that it stood in the category of 
 all governments, as such; not exclusive, as to any one form, but 
 binding, like the injunction, 'Honor the king,' as an obedience 
 due on the part of Christians to the ' powers that be/ general, not 
 restricted in its application. 
 
 "I cannot say that his arguments of this subject were satisfactory 
 to my own mind; my feeling was that they fell short of the mark; 
 but in those college days I had not been led to study the matter 
 very fully, and I do not think I am competent to state fairly what 
 he really held, or even what he declined to hold, though I am sure 
 he demurred, after the manner of Archbishop Whately, to ex- 
 treme High-Church claims, and had a most hearty contempt for 
 the man-millinery of Ritualism, while he relished greatly Sidney
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 391 
 
 Smith's description of the Oxford movement, as consisting of ' Pos- 
 ture and Imposture;' as also that epithet of 'The Times,' which 
 stigmatized the whole system as 'Pernicious Nonsense.' 
 
 "Before leaving Gambier and its associations, I must mention 
 one or two of Dr. Sparrow's characteristic engagements there. I 
 call them characteristic, because, though they were things which 
 other men might do, yet his way of doing them had an air of fresh- 
 ness, and a flavor of originality about it which makes the memory 
 of them as distinct as the experience of them was enjoyable. 
 
 "For instance: When giving us undergraduates, as his custom 
 was, a Bible Lecture, on Thursday evenings, on one occasion he 
 dwelt upon what he called the ' invaluable tenth chapter of Genesis/ 
 in such a manner as to make us feel that wonderful collection of 
 unaccustomed names was one of the most interesting passages of 
 history that had ever been written ; and when he dwelt on the ex- 
 pression 'before the Lord,' as added to the designation of 'Nimrod, 
 the mighty hunter,' we were made to feel that it was the searching 
 something of God's sight which made things to appear what they 
 really are. What power of vivid portraiture he had will be well 
 known to all who attended the 'Faculty' prayer-meetings at 
 Alexandria. 
 
 "At Kenyon, toward the end of his residence, he introduced the 
 custom of holding a recitation in the Greek New Testament, on 
 Monday mornings, for the Junior and Senior classes. These were 
 remarkably instructive and impressive. I shall never forget the 
 amount of emotion he evoked when dwelling on Acts v, 41, and 
 showing, first, what a powerful feeling shame was, and then, how 
 great must have been the grace which enabled the Apostles not 
 only to bear the shame, but to rejoice in it ! 
 
 "A connecting link in my mind, between his work at Gambier 
 and at Alexandria, was his exceptional kindness in permitting me 
 to make a copy of his manuscripts : Questions and Notes on But- 
 ler's Analogy, Christian Evidences, and Systematic Divinity. This 
 favor was accorded to me on the ground that I was going abroad 
 as a Missionary, and it might be especially helpful to me in my 
 far-off field of labor, removed from all libraries and from inter- 
 course with studious and scholarly minds. And greatly helpful 
 have I found them ; for on missionary ground we find the heresies 
 of old springing up almost in their original order, Arianism first, 
 and Sabellianism not long after; Corinthian confusion and ascetic
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 self-righteousness filling up the intervals of serious doctrinal de- 
 partures. 
 
 "As to the Questions themselves, the very process of copying 
 them (which occupied me about two months, the whole of a long 
 vacation), brought its own benediction; for they were so suggestive, 
 and the notes and extracts appended to them were so full of the 
 choicest matter, that I doubt if any other method of dwelling on 
 the several topics which passed under review could have been more 
 advantageous to a student. It made me understand that in the 
 days when books were fewer, and copying more common, thorough- 
 ness in scholarship might be looked for rather than in these times 
 when the book-trade has so much to do with common-school educa- 
 tion. At all events, this experience of mine has had its effect in 
 moulding the method I pursue in carrying my students at the Im- 
 perial College through the lessons of Moral Philosophy which I 
 myself learned under Dr. Sparrow. Our text-book at Gambier 
 was Wayland, and we found it satisfactory, as amplified by our 
 admired Professor. 
 
 " The Questions above referred to were re-cast at about the time 
 when he removed to Alexandria ; reduced in amount, and expressed 
 with more terseness perhaps with more accuracy; but not, as I 
 thought, improved upon the whole; especially as he omitted many 
 of the extracts and references to current literature, as well as to 
 unusual authorities, which are so invaluable to a young student, 
 who has not yet learned where to find what he wants. 
 
 "And now farewell to Gambier, a place where there was a 
 strange blending of the old and new ; of refined ideas and primi- 
 tive manners; of literary life and country customs. Some of the 
 contrasts and transitions were bordering on the ludicrous; and of 
 this there was no lack of appreciation on the part of our good Doc- 
 tor. Those very preaching excursions, to which I have referred 
 as so full of impressiveness and profit, were sometimes preceded 
 by endeavors to borrow a horse for the occasion, which were any- 
 thing but propitious and promotive of 'a quiet mind.' Hiding up 
 to his house one day, for the purpose of escorting him out into the 
 wilderness for such it was his description of what he had just 
 gone through was of the most graphic kind, concluding with, 
 ' You see, Mr. Syle, that when one has borrowed a horse from one 
 neighbor, and a saddle from another, and then goes out, bridle in 
 hand, to catch the "critter," who dodges about in every fence-cor-
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 393 
 
 ner in the field; then, when you have led him up to the door and 
 saddled him, you have had about enough of the ride ! ' Most cer- 
 tainly, in his case; for his feeble, attenuated physique was an un- 
 ceasing source of distress to him, and his constant tendency to 
 headache a veritable thorn in the flesh ; though he was accustomed 
 to work on, and work through all such ailments, very seldom giving 
 up except from sheer exhaustion and actual inability. Once, I 
 remember, myself, bringing him unintentionally, of course to 
 the breaking-down point, by making him a visit to inquire what 
 his views were as to how far a man might differ from the Articles, 
 to which he made a general subscription. His answer I well re- 
 member, perhaps all the better for its having been given at the 
 moment of exhaustion : ' As far,' he said, ' as his own conscience 
 will permit, and the existing authorities of the Church, duly in- 
 formed, will tolerate.' 
 
 "This answer was a specimen of many we used to receive to 
 questions we were in the habit of putting to him. He would gen- 
 erally close his eyes while listening to a question (sometimes quot- 
 ing the Arabic proverb, ' Shut the windows that there may be light 
 in the house'), and never answering until he had made the ques- 
 tioner state the precise point of his inquiry; and then his answer 
 would be simple, and careful, and generally rather disappointing at 
 the moment; but the more you thought over it, the more you appre- 
 ciated its judiciousness and adequacy. In this matter of answer- 
 ing his student's questions, he would seem to have been in marked 
 contrast to his predecessor at the Seminary, Dr. Keith, who had 
 the faculty of replying to questions, pertinent or otherwise, in a 
 manner which made the young man 'wish he had not spoken.' 
 With Dr. Sparrow, however, it was otherwise. I never remember, 
 but once, his reproving a student in class, and that he did by 
 pointing and looking at the offender in silence, until he felt as if he 
 wished the earth would open and swallow him up. But, as a gen- 
 eral thing, he was eminently patient with the difficulties of young 
 inquiring minds, and would take much pains to put them on the 
 right track when he found them wandering. 
 
 "As to those frightful headaches, from which he suffered so 
 much, and which were induced by such slight causes (I have heard 
 him say that three grains of black pepper would suffice to put him 
 in misery), they were induced, he told me, by his inordinate and 
 irregular habits of study when he was an undergraduate at Colum-
 
 394 MEMOIR OF 
 
 bia College, where, after the occupations of the day, he would 
 read far into the night, under the stimulus of strong coffee. For 
 this imprudence he paid a heavy, life-long penalty. I should rank 
 him among the many men of note, such as Baxter and Leighton, 
 who have accomplished much work, and done much good in the 
 world, in spite of permanent bodily suffering and infirmity. 
 
 "Sometimes the students would apply to him more formally, and 
 in writing. As an instance, I remember my dear friend and fel- 
 low-student, Stephen Gassaway, who had been brought under deep 
 convictions during a revival which was experienced at Kenyon in 
 the year 1838-39. 
 
 "The question Mr. Gassaway submitted was as to whether or 
 not he ought to seek the ministry; and the answer of Dr. Spar- 
 row, if it is extant, will be found to be one of the most judicious 
 and most thorough that was ever written on the subject. In a word, 
 he was always accessible to his students, patient and pains-taking 
 in considering their difficulties, and eminently wise and satisfactory 
 in his answers and practical advice. 
 
 " In connection with Gambier, I may mention one more of the 
 occasions when Dr. Sparrow's willingness to be ' about his Master's 
 work' showed itself in an interesting manner, and brought out 
 traits of character which are not often found in combination with 
 the learning and acumen, the meditative mood and studious habit, 
 which he undoubtedly possessed. 
 
 " It was the custom of the religious students at Gambier to set 
 off early on Sunday mornings and distribute themselves among the 
 numerous school-houses, generally log cabins, which were scattered 
 through all the country round about; and when circumstances 
 permitted, they made preaching appointments for the several pro- 
 fessors who might be disengaged. I had two such schools under 
 my care, and succeeded in frequently securing Dr. Sparrow to 
 preach in one or other of them. 
 
 " Those were the days of very primitive arrangements : rough 
 slabs for benches ; a tin bucket of water and a dipper, near the door, 
 for thirsty children ; babies in arms, or (when asleep) laid on the 
 floor; candles, when it was an 'early candle-light preaching/ 
 stuck on hoops hung up, or on blocks of wood, set on the preach- 
 ing-desk; men in summer costume of new vest and shirt-sleeves; 
 women in an indescribable variety of home-made linsey-woolsey 
 and store-bought dry goods ; occasionally a hunter with the accus-
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 395 
 
 tomed long, heavy rifle in his hand, or a traveler who would hitch 
 his horse to a bough outside, and 'come in for a spell, to hear 
 preaching.' 
 
 " It was in such circumstances as these, winter and summer, that 
 our good Doctor would preach with a simplicity and directness, 
 and at the same time with a wisdom and depth, that made his 
 sermons a study and a model. Often have I myself reproduced to 
 heathen congregations in China, as well as to Christian audiences 
 in Brooklyn, Newark, Washington, Pelham, Shanghai, and Yoko- 
 hama, the very thoughts and turns of expression which I have 
 heard drop from him in ' Schenk's school-house/ or by 'Jones' Bun,' 
 in Ohio. 
 
 " Once, I remember his dwelling with much earnestness on the 
 way in which many persons delude themselves by saying : ' I'm 
 not a professor of religion, and therefore I'm not responsible for 
 doing religious things.' His text, I think, was, ' Men ought always 
 to pray,' and he was emphasizing the first word, as showing that 
 prayer was the duty of men, all men, not of those only who pro- 
 fessed themselves Christians. 'We must not,' he urged, 'get our 
 convictions of duty only by going round through the door of a 
 Christian profession.' 
 
 " On another occasion, when discussing the question, What is the 
 right course to pursue when convinced of its being our duty to 
 perform a certain act, but at the same time our state of mind is 
 anything but suitable for its performance? ' Do the thing,' he said, 
 ' and humble yourselves before God for being in such an unfit state 
 of mind.' 
 
 "These are but specimens, and I give them as indicating that 
 discriminating habit of thought which was so sure to appear in 
 dealing with minds under all circumstances ; and in mentioning, 
 above, the several places to which I, as one of his hearers, have 
 carried the seeds of thought he dropped, I wished to show how 
 widespread his influence was. Moreover, I am satisfied that a 
 large proportion of his students have done the same thing; and 
 that not only China and Japan, but Africa and Greece, with many 
 a parish and mission-station in the United States, have been en- 
 riched intellectually and theologically by the clear and forcible 
 ideas which he had the peculiar faculty of impressing on his 
 students, and which .they, in turn, have imparted to others also. 
 Not that all his thoughts were original, as being exclusively his own ;
 
 896 MEMOIR OP 
 
 and yet original they were, as coming fresh from a mind which 
 had made them completely its own, and reproduced them with all 
 the freshness and force of vivid and sincere conviction. 
 
 "Perhaps the most exciting (and I am afraid I must add enjoy- 
 able) occasions on which the college students looked for a ' treat/ 
 was when his gaunt form was seen walking up to the reading-desk 
 at the time of evening prayers, and his air was that of one filled 
 with gentlemanly indignation, and trying to repress it. Then every 
 one knew that ' something was coming ' in the way of castigation 
 for some unhappy collegian who had been misbehaving himself. 
 The little lectures that he gave on these occasions ranged over the 
 whole field of college discipline, and I might say of active life ; and 
 very memorable were some of his sayings at such times, not always 
 from their unusualness, but from the simple earnestness with which 
 they were uttered. As, for instance, when, at the beginning of a 
 term, he urged us to be good and diligent workers, he added, in his 
 quiet, solemn tones, 'Young gentlemen, six months is a consid- 
 erable portion of a lifetime.' 
 
 "So of his sermons in the college chapel; they were always looked 
 forward to with the greatest interest, and no one dreamed of making 
 the silly complaint of their being ' long ; ' we could have listened 
 for an hour longer, and been thankful for it. 
 
 " When he preached the baccalaureate sermon at the time of 
 our graduation, in 1840, he left an ineffaceable impression on our 
 minds by the remark : ' It is the responsibility of educated men 
 that they must think not only for themselves, but also for others.' 
 
 " Among extracts from letters, one of . the first is from a letter 
 dated December 7, 1867, and refers to my (then) approaching de- 
 parture for China, on what I am accustomed to call my third mis- 
 sionary campaign : 
 
 " ' Your letter startled me, and on reflection gave me pleasure. 
 Though I feel an old man's weakness in not liking to see early 
 friends locally separated from me, yet, as I know it is according to 
 your mind, and will give you a field of usefulness for which you 
 are eminently qualified, I rejoice. I hope, too, if you should be so 
 inclined, you may be put back into your old, and, as I suppose, your 
 proper sphere of labor.' 
 
 "This last remark had reference to my being reappointed as a
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 397 
 
 missionary of our Board. I was going out to Shanghai for two 
 years, as seamen's chaplain. 
 
 " ' It is a real satisfaction to me, that I shall once more have the 
 opportunity of shaking hands with you, and that I shall be per- 
 mitted to bid .you and your dear wife " God speed," as you set out 
 for that land which is full of profoundest interest to me as a field 
 of Christian beneficence, and the depository of the remains of my 
 dear Susan. 1 
 
 " No one knows better than myself, perhaps none now living so 
 well, what an amount of fatherly love and Christian resignation 
 lay hidden in this reference to his 'dear Susan.' She was his 
 very dear, I might almost say his favorite daughter; though it 
 was not easy for him to distinguish between those, all of whom he 
 loved so well. 
 
 "He had strong views of the value of home education, and a great 
 horror of the evils to which all schools are liable ; and certainly no 
 family ever grew up more 'ignorant of evil ' than his. Susan was 
 eminently a 'child of nature,' and from the time when she was my 
 pupil, at the age of nine, up to the day when she came out to 
 China, as the wife of Eev. Dudley D. Smith, and took charge (for 
 a season) of my motherless children, she showed herself one of the 
 most devoted, cheerful, unselfish Christians I ever met with ; per- 
 haps the very most. 
 
 " This was a result (so far as education can produce such results) 
 of the pure, unsophisticated home-training which she and her 
 sisters had received, and of the impressions made by the character 
 of mother as well as father. Mrs. Sparrow was absorbingly devo- 
 ted to her children ; to such a degree, indeed, as to make it difficult 
 for any but the most intimate friends to attain to a due appreciation 
 of her influence and attainments. Her reading was thorough and 
 extensive, so that she sympathized intelligently in her husband's 
 intellectual pursuits ; and could (as I had occasion to know; co-ope- 
 rate earnestly in her children's advancement in all that goes under 
 the name of ' schooling.' She had, also, the reputation of being 
 a great Shakspearean, although, as before remarked, she mixed so 
 little in general society that this fact could only be known to those 
 who constituted the home circle. 
 
 " I lost the opportunity of seeing them all more intimately, by
 
 398 MEMOIR OP 
 
 hot accompanying the family when they ' took up their carriages ' 
 and migrated in a body from Gambier to Alexandria. Two ' stages ' 
 were chartered for the purpose, and it was more like the setting out 
 of a caravan than anything one could witness now in the same re- 
 gion. Wheeling was to be a stopping-place, and I well remember 
 the hearty letter of welcome and invitation received -from good Dr. 
 Armstrong on the occasion. It said : ' Come one, come all ; we can 
 easily put you up. You have but seven children, and I have only 
 three, which altogether makes two less than the canonical number!' 
 Which last remark caused Dr. Sparrow a hearty laugh. ' I never 
 knew before,' he said, 'what the canonical number was!' He 
 needed something to cheer him up at that time, for this moving 
 was a painful trial. 
 
 "To return to his letter. I had suggested that a relative (one of 
 his sons-in-law) might like to take the pleasant parish I was vacat- 
 ing, and to this Dr. Sparrow's answer was : 
 
 " ' I sent your letter to , but I have no idea he will accept. 
 
 To say all in a word, there would not be enough of stirring work 
 for him. If his father-in-law were offered it, he would be in much 
 more of a temper to accept it than he. 
 
 " ' With the very best wishes to Mrs. Syle, I am, dear brother, 
 "'Affectionately yours, W. SPARROW.' 
 
 "And when he said 'affectionately yours,' he meant it all. 
 
 " The next letter is without date of month or year; but it must 
 have been when our good Doctor 'came North,' on an errand which 
 must have been a martyrdom to him, an errand connected with the 
 collection of money for restoring the Seminary property after the 
 damage it had sustained during the war. I presume it was the 
 knowledge of how repulsive to him was the office of money-gath- 
 erer that led to the considerate course of action to which he 
 refers. 
 
 "'PHILADELPHIA, Wednesday Morning, 6 o'clock A. M. 
 "*EEV. AND DEAR BROTHER: 
 
 " 'Here I am at Dudley's, having arrived in this city last night. 
 It is almost the first leisure moment I have had since I left your 
 pleasant abode, or I should have written you before. The breth-
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 399 
 
 ren have printed a circular asking $5000 for the repair and fitting 
 up of our tenements and grounds. They are to send this circular 
 themselves, and receive the avails, and so relieve me of further 
 trouble. It is signed by Dr. Dyer, Dr. Smith, and Messrs. Sabine, 
 Tyng, Jr., and J. H. Smith. If they succeed, oh, what a relief it 
 will be ! 
 
 " * I enclose a dollar to pay for what I borrowed of you. It falls 
 short of what I owe you, but I know not how much. We can 
 adjust the matter when we meet; if it should be the Lord's will, 
 we shall. ' If the Lord will ' seems to be most appropriate every- 
 where now. I go back to my winter's work feeling very doubtful 
 if I shall ever return North again. What a dream, a brief dream, 
 life is ! How long, and yet short, the time since you and I first 
 met ! The Lord prepare us for our change, be it far off or near. 
 
 " ' Please present me most kindly to Mrs. Syle. I wish I could 
 have had a quiet day's talk with her. Kemember me to the child- 
 ren, and believe me, as ever, 
 
 " ' Your friend and brother, WILLIAM SPARROW. 
 
 " 'Rev. K W. Syle, Pelham Priory, N. Y.' 
 
 " I give this letter entire, in spite of or, rather, because of its 
 tone of domesticity, for this was one of his leading characteristics; 
 love of home, and a profound sense of the importance of the Fam- 
 ily, as distinguished from all other forms of human association. I 
 remember his finding fault with some of my letters from China, 
 because they were too exclusively occupied with public matters, and 
 did not give the details of family life, what the Chinese ate and 
 drank, and how the women and children occupied themselves, etc. 
 Also, what was the daily, domestic life of the missionary and his 
 wife : how they fared, and what intercourse they had with other 
 families. He was much struck and pleased with a remark which I 
 related to him as having heard fall from Archbishop Whately, in 
 a conversation which turned on Macaulay's History of England, 
 then recently published. The Archbishop said: 'Macaulay is 
 right; we want to know the daily life of the common people. No 
 one can prize Thucydides more than I do; yet I would give all 
 Thucydides ever wrote for the diary of an Athenian fish-woman 
 for one day: what she ate; what was the price of her fish; what 
 orator she heard speak in the agora, etc.' Perhaps he was the more 
 alive to these points, at that particular time, because they were
 
 400 MEMOIR OP 
 
 then thinking of the dear daughter Susan, who was about to enter, 
 herself, on the experiences of missionary life. Her early death was 
 a very severe blow, and all the home-circle felt it keenly ; but when 
 I asked the tender-hearted father whether, all things considered, he 
 had not regretted her going abroad, 'No,' he said, ' never; her's 
 was a holy calling, and she fulfilled it. Neither myself nor Mrs. 
 Sparrow ever regretted giving our consent.' This, to me, was a 
 great satisfaction, for I knew that Susan's coming out to China had 
 been partly through my influence. 
 
 "Reverting to the subject of family life, and its importance. On 
 one occasion we were at Arlington together, and were looking over 
 Mr. Custis' library, when Dr. Sparrow's eye fell on a copy of Bowd- 
 ler's Expurgated edition of Shakspeare, the idea of which he 
 praised warmly, as enabling us to read the great poet freely in our 
 families, without the risk of encountering passages marred by ob- 
 scenity and profaneness. 
 
 " It was his high esteem of the family, and his deep conviction of 
 the advantages resulting to all parties concerned from the existence 
 of a married, rather than a celibate ministry, that gave an extra 
 edge to his severity against Rome; indeed, he hardly seemed to 
 know which his heart and conscience most revolted against, Mo- 
 nasticism or Sacerdotalism. On one occasion we were engaged 
 together in an examination of pupils in Virgil, and the teacher 
 who had been a Roman Catholic while putting questions about 
 the history and character of Dido, took occasion to make some dis- 
 paraging remarks about women in general, especially married 
 women. After the examination, and when we were alone, Dr. 
 
 Sparrow remarked : 'Did you observe 's sneer about Dido? 
 
 You see how the vice of Romanism disparagement of the mar- 
 riage state clings to him, though he has come over to our Church; 
 that miserable delusion and fallacy that the single life is something 
 better, purer, holier than the married state; which is an idea de- 
 rogatory to the wisdom and goodness of the Creator.' 
 
 " In thorough antagonism to all things which are rightly called 
 Romish, as distinguished from Catholic, I believe Dr. Sparrow and 
 myself were in perfect accord; even more than in regard to Mis- 
 sions, as the supreme work of the Christian Church. As a Mis- 
 sionary man he was not showy, or even ardent, but very thorough 
 and reliable ; witness the unregretted giving up to the work of his 
 dearly-loved daughter.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 401 
 
 " These remarks seemed necessary, as an introduction to the next 
 letter, which was addressed to me after I had arrived in China : 
 
 " ' THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, August 19, 1868. 
 " 'REV. AND DEAR BROTHER : 
 
 "'I am ashamed that your letter should have remained without 
 an answer so long. I read it with much interest, and, in most 
 respects, I take the same view of the condition of the world and 
 of the cause of Missions, especially in our Church, that you do. I 
 think, however, that your views are rather more sombre than they 
 ought to be. Not only do I believe, on the Divine testimony, that 
 all things are working steadily onward for good, but I fancy, amid 
 the actual confusion, the abounding iniquity, and the seeming fail- 
 ure of well-meant effort, the beginnings of a better state of things. 
 It is a long and laborious task to draw the seine around ; but once 
 done, then comes the great 'draught of fishes.' The one single 
 thing that troubles me is the low state of religion among profess- 
 ing Christians. With Rome, it cannot improve; the system will 
 not bear it; but among. us it is not so; we are far, far below our 
 system. " The Lord amend this blindness," and this hardness ! 
 
 " 'What you say about Hoffman's memoir is too true. So thinks 
 the public. It does not sell. The preface is nothing. The author's 
 name, however, may have helped it in England; but here, it expe- 
 riences no aid from that particular. As a composition, the memoir 
 may be lacking in skill, the biographer's comments in enlargement, 
 and the work, as a whole, in condensation ; and yet, to pious minds, 
 that read for spiritual edification and exercise, it must be profitable. 
 Hoffman's death was remarkable, and the style of his religious life 
 truly evangelical. Few men " rejoiced in the Lord " more fully 
 than he, or rose more uniformly above carnal despondency ; and 
 yet his elation was not of the kind that brings on reaction. In 
 that view it was healthier, perhaps, than the religion of Martyn, of 
 whom you speak. 
 
 " ' Dear brother, I rejoice to think that you are now fairly engaged 
 on heathen ground ; and though your direct duty is to Christians, 
 so called, yet that the heathen will also profit by your labors. 
 
 " ' I have often heard D speak of your fitness for Chinese 
 
 labor, and longed to see you returned to it. The cause of Foreign 
 Missions seems at a low ebb among us. The Hartford paper pro- 
 26
 
 402 MEMOIR OP 
 
 nounced Domestic Missions tenfold more important. But at pres- 
 ent our Church is so taken up with little things the millinery of 
 religion, matters of color, and form, and sound, and gesture, and 
 posture, and movement, with rubrics and canons that no time, or 
 space, or heart, is left for large ideas. But we pray, and look to 
 see "this calamity overpast." How it is to be brought about, to 
 be sure, we do not see, but we walk by faith. Individuals may go 
 back and bury themselves in Romish superstition ; but surely this 
 Protestant Church is not going to eat its own words, condemn its 
 own history, and bring back the Middle Ages as the Ages of Light, 
 as Dr. Dix calls them. It is not to be believed ; and yet the cur- 
 rent is so strong in the direction of Rome, that it does not at all 
 appear how it can be stayed. 
 
 " ' Our mother Church of England has a twofold trouble, within 
 and without. The Establishment is doomed. It is only a question 
 of time, as with the Reform Bill, Catholic Emancipation, and the 
 like. Oh, that English Episcopalians might know the day of their 
 visitation ! But they never have done so, and why should they 
 now ? To me there seems to be a singular want of ability among 
 them to see themselves as others see them. They appear unable to 
 grasp big ideas, and stand to them. Propriety and red-tape, and 
 prescription and caste, are their dependence! Forgive me if I am 
 treading on the toes of your opinions. [He could hardly have ex- 
 pressed them more exactly. E. W. S.] 
 
 "'Just here things go their old way. We closed a happy term 
 :in June, with fifty students, and hope, with God's blessing, to do 
 as well next year. 
 
 " 'I have just come from Ohio. Saw my brother and sister and 
 the graves of my parents. Kenyon is in difficulty again. Presi- 
 dent Stone preached ritualism, and retired to Hobart College, 
 Geneva, where he was more at home. When your next letter comes 
 it shall be answered more promptly. The family all join me in 
 best wishes to you and Mrs. Syle. 
 
 " ' Ever affectionately yours, WILLIAM SPARROW. 
 
 " 'Rev. Mr. Syle, Shanghai.' 
 
 " Of the many suggestive topics in the foregoing letter, I will only 
 remark on one, the position of the English Church and its clergy. 
 On his return from a visit to England and Ireland, I remember 
 asking Dr. Sparrow what things most struck him in the aspect of
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 403 
 
 affairs, and among those he mentioned were the infatuated inability 
 (above mentioned) to read the 'signs of the times ' as regards the 
 coming disestablishment, and also the remarkable clinging, on the 
 part of the 'Evangelical' clergy, to the union of Church and State, 
 for which Dr. Sparrow found it difficult to account. ' In consist- 
 ency with their principles,' he said, 'they ought to sit loose from 
 any such arrangement, but, on the contrary, they seem to be 
 especially fond of it. Perhaps,' he added, 'they find themselves 
 obliged to protest against so many things in the life and principles 
 of their friends and patrons, that they are glad to have one point 
 on which they find it possible to pull together, and this predisposes 
 them to Establishmentarianism.' 
 
 " I leave the explanation for what it may be worth, and only men- 
 tion one little matter connected with this home visit, which is an 
 illustration of the childlike tenderness of his feelings : 
 
 " ' Nothing seems to me so perfectly beautiful as the scenery in 
 North Wales. Early one morning I went out to walk by the hill- 
 side, and there I saw a daisy, the first one I had seen for many, 
 many years. I must confess, Mr. Syle, that then I made a fool of 
 myself; I shed tears, just from the instinct of emotion.' 
 
 " His relatives, the Roes, of Dublin, were spoken of by him with 
 the greatest regard and admiration, as having refreshed his spirit 
 to an especial degree during this visit to his native land. He 
 seemed to think the Christian family life he saw among them to be 
 the loveliest and holiest he had ever met with ; a little Paradise 
 Regained, a heaven upon earth. 
 
 " Far otherwise was the impression made upon him by his short 
 sojourn in France ; ' there/ he said, ' the moral atmosphere oppressed 
 and stifled ' him. Yet he was charmed with the peasantry, and so 
 much interested in their Evangelization, that he suggested my 
 going to labor among them, thinking my characteristics suited for 
 that field.* 
 
 "France and Italy are certainly now more accessible to true 
 Christian influences than they have been in many centuries ; nay, 
 
 * His daughter Susan was similarly affected by her sojourn in Italy. They both 
 seemed to be persuaded that these fields were fast ripening for a great harvest. And 
 is this not the case ?
 
 404 MEMOIR OP 
 
 we almost see the 'beginning of the end/ when the man of sin is 
 dethroned, and those who have pre-eminently 'given their power 
 and strength unto the beast ' are humbled and made weak. 
 
 " The school to which reference is made in the next extract, writ- 
 ten in 1870, is one still in operation at Shanghai, established for 
 the benefit of Chinese children, and supported by local contribu- 
 tions. It is now under the fostering care and charge of two of our 
 own missionaries, and stands as a ' memorial ' of Mrs. Bridgman, 
 a lady who first went out to China in 1844, as a teacher under 
 Bishop Boone. 
 
 '"I can truly say your letter afforded me real pleasure ; partly 
 because I am always glad to hear from you, and partly because you 
 seem so happy in your work. The school enterprise strikes me as 
 important for its own sake, and because it enlists the interests, and 
 energies, and means of those on the spot, foreigners and natives. 
 I was struck with the contributions of the latter. 
 
 " 'It is delightful to think that, amid the confusions now prevail- 
 ing in Christendom, and the cries we are hearing every day, " Lo> 
 here, and lo, there," we know where we can find, and have, and 
 hold, and enjoy the Divine Master even in laboring for the indi- 
 vidual men for whom He died in ministering to the saints, and 
 plucking brands from the burning. 
 
 " ' Everything in the Church (universal) indicates to me great and 
 beneficent changes. In the Sixteenth century the Reformation 
 took place ; but it was not to be expected that at one stroke, and 
 in one generation, the then inveterate and multitudinous errors 
 that had crept into Christianity could be abolished. The Reform- 
 ers did much, but not all that was to be done. The residuum is 
 about to be cared for and disposed of. They escaped out of the 
 furnace, but they carried with them the smell of fire on their skirts. 
 That foul odor is to be removed. The disestablishment of all 
 churches is a great means to this end. I am glad the Church of 
 Ireland is gone; it ought to have gone long ago. I pray that 
 English Episcopalians may have wisdom to see the change coming 
 on themselves, and, instead of striving to ward it off, try to prepare 
 for it. They have not hitherto exhibited such wisdom. The 
 Bishops, are too far removed from the people to catch the true spirit 
 .of the times, and so to understand themselves and their duties. So 
 long as Bishops think the Church was made for them (and by them),
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 405 
 
 and not they for the Church, so long we may expect to see them 
 act as infatuated, " demented " men. However, they have oppor- 
 tunities of learning, in this Nineteenth century, which their 
 predecessors had not. 
 
 " ' You English are a fine people when you get started in the right 
 way ; but when in the wrong oh, you are terribly wrong-headed. 
 
 " ' As to our own Church, we think and feel very much as does 
 the Church of England through our Bishops. "We import annu- 
 ally a large measure of the sacerdotal, prelatical, and "Established" 
 sentiment, through our traveling clergy, especially of the highest 
 order. It is not only silk aprons and shorts, and shoe-buckles and 
 shovel -hats they bring back. These are only the deck freight ; the 
 hold is full of high notions of spiritual power, utterly incompatible 
 with the principles and spirit of the Gospel. Our Church will never 
 be what she ought to be till these foreign notions are exorcised from 
 our Bishops, and that large class which exists among us aspirants 
 to the Episcopate ! 
 
 " ' The Seminary is very much blessed, all things considered. 
 Though my close approximation to threescore and ten makes me 
 slow and increases my labor, yet, thus far, perhaps, I do my duty 
 with very little diminution of my ordinary amount of efficiency. 
 But it can't last long. 
 
 " ' Bishop Johns continues to labor as much as could be expected 
 for his years. Bishop Whittle is a most valuable assistant. Oh, 
 that all our bishops were like him ! Virginia has been much 
 blessed in all her bishops except the first. 
 
 " ' The next time I go to New York I will endeavor to see Henry. 
 I shall always take an interest in him for your sake and his mother's. 
 
 " ' If Mrs. Sparrow and Frances were at my elbow, they would 
 send their warmest regards to you and Mrs. Syle. You can never 
 be forgotten in my family, nor thought of but with an affectionate 
 interest. Ever truly, 
 
 " ' Your friend and brother. 
 
 '"P. S. With this I send a copy of my last Commencement 
 Address. You will think me outspoken.' 
 
 "I take occasion, by the allusion to Bishops being 'far removed 
 from the people,' to record Dr. Sparrow's extreme jealousy of 
 everything that tended to set off the clergy by themselves, as a
 
 406 MEMOIR OP 
 
 sacerdotal class. On one occasion, we were admiring a new church- 
 building, I forget where, but I remember that it had an unusual 
 number of 'steps to the altar,' and that all its chancel arrange- 
 ments were elaborate and spacious, and deeply 'recessed.' 
 
 "'All this,' he said, 'tends in the wrong direction; it separates 
 the minister from the congregation, and isolates him, so that he 
 does not feel one with them. These architectural peculiarities all 
 help to foster the sacerdotal temper, and are, therefore, not matters 
 of indifference.' 
 
 '"THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, July 26, 1872. 
 
 " ' I am growing old very fast, but I do not find that it makes me 
 forget old friends. It may unfit me for writing to them, but it does 
 not indispose or disable my mind from recalling the years when, 
 however far apart now, we were associated together. 
 
 " 'Since I last wrote to you, many things have occurred to me. 
 My friends, last summer, sent me for my health to Europe. I was 
 absent about three months, chiefly in England and Ireland. Last 
 spring, I had an attack of pneumonia, which tried me much. 
 
 "'As I was convalescing, Mrs. S. was taken down with heart- 
 disease and rheumatism ; and waiting upon us brought a severe 
 attack upon dear Frances. She is now as usual, but Mrs. S. is 
 very feeble, so that I have been compelled to employ a lady to take 
 the burden of housekeeping off her shoulders. Thus continue we 
 
 to this hour.' 
 
 ****** 
 
 [More domestic details, showing his tender interest in children 
 
 and grandchildren.] 
 
 * * * * * * 
 
 ' ' I have written all this, first, because it may be news to you ; and, 
 secondly, because I want to provoke you to make a return in kind. 
 I very much desire to know "all about you." I hope the Lord has 
 prospered you in your work, though you are not permitted to see 
 the fruit of your labor as are pastors with settled congregations. 
 But work that tells on eternity, for the present visible or invisible, 
 is the work which we love to contemplate, the older we grow. 
 
 " ' You see from the papers the state of this Church. Not very 
 satisfactory ! The ship has drifted from her course, according to 
 the observation of the heavenly bodies, and yet we insist on sailing 
 by the uncorrected log ! Oh, that Providence would raise up a few
 
 WILLIAM SPAR-ROW, D. D. 407 
 
 great minds, spiritually taught and of large influence, to bring us 
 out of this fog and darkness ! 
 
 " 'Do write me soon. Mrs. S. and Frances send their love. 
 " ' Your old and unchanged friend. 1 
 
 " And now I come to his last letter, the saddest and most touch- 
 ing of all I had ever received from him, as well it might be, for it 
 tells of his great bereavement ! 
 
 " I had written in ignorance of Mrs. Sparrow's death, yet fear- 
 ing, from an allusion in one of the papers, that it might be the 
 sorrow referred to, and this was his reply : 
 
 "'October 14, 1873. 
 " ' DEAR BROTHER SYLE : 
 
 " ' Your letter, 20th of August, reached me a few weeks ago. All 
 that you inferred from the allusion in the "Southern Churchman" 
 is true. Here I am alone, with dear Frances (who is about as she 
 has been), and a housekeeper and two servants. Though poor 
 Frances, with most touching diligence, takes care of me, the charge 
 of the household was altogether beyond her strength. Though I 
 have had eight months' sad experience, the feeling of loneliness is 
 extreme. My mind almost recoils from the thought of winter, 
 when I know the feeling must be tenfold. But of that enough. 
 
 " ' My dear wife, who always took great interest in your letters 
 and yourself, and always valued, more than you imagined, your 
 wise and faithful instruction in our family, was unwell long before 
 she was taken from us. The latter part of last year she was very 
 sick, but partially recovered. In the beginning of this, as our 
 wedding day was approaching, she told me we should never cele- 
 brate another. She hardly celebrated that one. She was down to 
 breakfast, but could not appear at dinner, though a few friends had 
 been invited to dine with us. After she had been most seriously 
 sick for a fortnight, I was myself taken down, from exhaustion and 
 anxiety, which brought on a fever. The bitter reflection in that 
 retrospect is, that I never saw her again. My sickness was so 
 severe and nigh unto death, that I was not permitted, in truth was 
 not able, to go to her bedside. I only heard the feet that carried 
 her to the hearse. When I last saw her, her consciousness was 
 nearly gone. She knew nobody but myself; though she lingered 
 several days. As to her spiritual state, thank God, there is no
 
 408 MEM-OIR OP 
 
 bitterness, but joy and full assurance. For forty-six years she 
 lived before me, in matters great and small, such an example of 
 intelligent conscientiousness, of true religious devotion, of self- 
 control and self-denial, of laborious love, of delicate consideration, 
 of truthfulness, fairness, and honesty, and, above all, of entire unself- 
 ishness, as I never saw anywhere else, and never expect to see in 
 this world ! Oh, how my soul blushes to think what a life I lived" 
 in her presence, and what a contrast it formed to her Christ-like 
 character and conduct ! I am humbled and ashamed before God 
 that I learned so little from her marvelous character. I often ask 
 myself, What sort of a man, Christian and minister, would I have 
 proved if I had fallen into other hands, seeing, as things were, what 
 I am? I am almost ready to use St. Paul's language and say, 
 Surely I would have been a "castaway." But I must stop this. 
 Excuse what I have written. I know it is unnecessary for you; 
 but the moment I touch this subject the floodgates fly open. 
 Many things which you have said have gone very near my heart, 
 especially your reference to Sue, and the meeting of the mother 
 and daughter in heaven. But here again I must stop. During all 
 my trial of sickness and death, and protracted sickness in my own 
 person afterward, my own children have been a great comfort to me. 
 This, too, I owe to the departed ! 
 
 " 'The Seminary prospers very fairly. We have just celebrated 
 our first jubilee, with much success. Our students are nearly fifty. 
 We have four Professors, the addition being Dr. McElhinney, from 
 Gambier. I have now but one lecture a day. That much I can 
 do, perhaps, as well as ever. During my long trial and sickness, 
 all, especially the Trustees, were very, very kind to me, for which 
 I thank God. 
 
 " ' I have been to New York within a week, to attend the Evan- 
 gelical Alliance. It was the greatest, and most successful, and 
 most extraordinary gathering of Christians ever held, I am not 
 afraid to say, in the history of the Church of Christ. This country, 
 the Church, and the world, has been moved by it. But you must 
 see the papers and judge for yourself. New York surpassed all 
 previous example in hospitality. Our European brethren have 
 gone back to their homes amazed alike at the extent and progress 
 of this country, and the largeness of its hospitality. So they said, 
 again and again. 
 
 " ' But I must close. Dear Mr. Syle, I thank you for your letter.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 
 
 For the little while I can hope to remain in this world, do, now and 
 again, cheer me with a letter. Long have we been friends. Let 
 us keep the chain bright unto the end. My thanks and kindest 
 regards to Mrs. Syle. Frances desires her truest love. 
 
 " ' Your affectionate friend and brother, W. SPARROW.' 
 
 "There are no comments to be made on such a farewell letter as 
 this. It forms a fitting close to my reminiscences of the most 
 learned and most childlike, the wisest and the kindliest, the most 
 high-minded and tender-hearted friend I have ever known. 
 
 "-EDWARD W. SYLE."
 
 MEMOIR OP 
 
 FRAGMENTS 
 
 DOCTRINAL PURITY. 
 
 " I have been inclined to think, for many years past, in looking 
 at the condition of our Church, that we have been, and still are, 
 entirely too lax on the subject of sound doctrine. I am well aware 
 that it is possible to err in the opposite extreme, as I think I could 
 name brethren of other denominations who have been faulty in this 
 respect, enlarging their creeds and confessions to a voluminous 
 extent, and, in the details of doctrine, running out into the nicest 
 and most subtle metaphysical distinctions. If one of another de- 
 nomination may be allowed to say it without offence, this is, in my 
 judgment, the case with the Old and New School of the Presbyterian 
 Church. They have indulged in the splitting of hairs too much ; 
 and, as a natural consequence, are now divided into two independent 
 religious societies, for discrepancies of doctrinal opinion not one- 
 tenth part as great as those existing in some denominations which 
 still hold together. This of the Presbyterians is one extreme ; 
 may not ours be the opposite ? We ought not always to assume 
 that we, of course, travel the 'via media,' nor even that the 'via 
 media ' is the ' via recta.' 
 
 "The controversy now going on in the English Church and our 
 own, and likely for some time to continue, confirms my apprehension 
 that we have not sufficiently valued sound doctrine. No people 
 can be more strict than we in regard to external arrangements ; and 
 nothing endangers a man's reputation amongst us more than a 
 slight difference, on such points, from the majority. But I fear 
 there is great supineness among many in regard to those truths 
 which bear immediately upon the heart and life, and pertain to the 
 office and work of our Divine Redeemer. If it were not so, could 
 a people holding to the Bible, ' as containing all things necessary 
 to salvation/ and believing it to be so perfect, as its Author declared, 
 that we ' must not add thereto nor diminish from it/ and receiving also
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 411 
 
 the Thirty-nine Articles as a true explanation and exhibition of 
 Scriptural Divinity, receive so frequently and extensively the Oxford 
 un-Protestant novelties, and speak about them as they do? It seems 
 to me that many who subscribed the Articles, as a preliminary to 
 orders, must have forgotten that solemn act, or else the doctrines 
 to which their assent was given and their sign-manual affixed. 
 That these new notions imported from Oxford do not, in general 
 spirit or in particulars, agree with the Articles, it is not necessary 
 to prove by specific quotations. Particulars have been adduced in 
 sad abundance by writers on the Scriptural side of this controversy. 
 But let any one observe how the Oxford Tractarians feel and speak 
 in regard to the glorious Reformation, and it is enough. One of 
 the very first of them (notwithstanding all his superstitions, I trust 
 now a saint in heaven, and I fear a subject of prayer to his sur- 
 vivors of the same school) speaks in the most unmeasured language 
 of the disastrousness of that event, and his brethren love to have 
 it so. It is plain they look upon the Church of England as having 
 reformed too much. The body of the Prayer-book is too much 
 filled with the Reformation spirit ; for they would prefer the one 
 which preceded it, when the Reformation was as yet inchoate. Of 
 course, the Articles, which go deeper into doctrine and the differ- 
 ences between us and Rome, must be more offensive. Now, is it 
 not strange that a Church calling itself Protestant should listen so 
 patiently to a condemnation of the Reformation, and not only so, 
 but also back the censure, to a great extent, even with applause ! " 
 
 THE MORAL CHARACTER OF EMULATION. 
 
 " The sources of proof are twofold, Scripture and analysis : 
 " 1. Scripture, except in Galatians, c. v, v. 20, where emulations 
 fylot are condemned, does not directly speak upon this subject. 
 It exhorts us indeed to pursue ' those things which are lovely and of 
 good report ; ' but the question arises, on what ground ? Manifestly 
 that the Christian may adorn his profession, and glorify Him that 
 called him, not that he may . have the unworthy gratification of 
 looking down upon inferiors. Scripture may be said to consider 
 emulation indirectly, perhaps. What is the spirit which, from the 
 beginning to the end, it inculcates ? Humility and contentment. 
 These have reference one-half to our fellow-men. So far as these 
 virtues have such reference to our fellow-men they are impeded by
 
 412 MEMOIR OF 
 
 the spirit of emulation. The disciples once disputed who should be 
 superior, 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' and 
 Jesus set a little child in the midst of them to reprove their emula- 
 tion. Their work was to ' provoke to love and good works.' 
 
 " 2. All moral writers, nearly, especially since the days of Butler, 
 set down emulation as one of our native and allowable desires. 
 Plato seems to have thought otherwise, as he made Emulation the 
 daughter of Envy ; and, if language is any index to the mind, we 
 may suppose the Latins thought so too, as they derived aemulatio, 
 through semulus, from dfitUto. They define it, the love of superi- 
 ority. Now, is this allowable ? It is the love of superiority as 
 such, not the love of power, or knowledge, or virtue, or usefulness, 
 but the desire to be in a condition which will enable us to regard 
 our fellow-creatures as inferiors. Now, if the same desire exist in 
 them also, is there not direct collision ? Is there not a want of 
 harmony in the organization of the human mind and human 
 society ? Here one man's gain is another's loss, and that in the 
 exercise of allowable feelings. Surely, we are not at liberty to 
 seek that which is a good to us by being an evil to others. 
 
 "Admitting, for a moment, that emulation is innocent, per se, 
 it seems to be so intimately connected with the selfish feelings that 
 it is dangerous to excite it. They seem to run into one another, as 
 the organs of taste and smell. It is prudent to seek some other 
 mode of approaching the mind than one which leads so directly to 
 the principle of selfishness. 
 
 "In determining what are the original desires, it is important 
 to bear in mind that man is fallen, and that his heart is full of idols, 
 otherwise we may be setting down as allowable what is actually 
 sinful. 
 
 "Payne says that the desire of superiority is like the desire of 
 knowledge, society, etc., having nothing moral in itself; and as we 
 appeal to fear and shame, so we may appeal to emulation ; that if 
 we give up one, we must give up all. But it should be first shown 
 that these emotions interfere with the desires of others, as does 
 emulation. 
 
 " It is said that, like the desire of power, per se, emulation has 
 no moral character. How, then, does it acquire it? By exciting 
 it in view of motives? But would we feel justified in exciting it 
 by an explicit description of itself? Would it not be better to use 
 the many better arguments?"
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 413 
 
 TRANSUBSTANTIATION. 
 
 "When good men get into bad habits, we are loth to expose the 
 latter, lest we weaken the authority of the former. When, again, 
 systems of truth become corrupted with error, we are afraid to 
 touch the latter, lest the former be overthrown. The ivy on the 
 wall is eating out the cement and displacing the stones, yet we are 
 afraid to pluck up and tear it away, lest the wall should totter. We 
 think of the tares and the wheat in the field, like truth and error 
 in systems. In France there must have been good men who 
 lamented the corruptions of Christianity, and mourned the con- 
 tempt which they occasioned, and feared the consequences. But 
 they feared much more to disabuse the public mind by exposing the 
 delusions : Christianity must fall with priestcraft. 
 
 " This feeling is natural, and should be regarded. But it has its 
 limits; and these limits are not always the same. The dishonest 
 world sets no limits at all. Eash truthfulness would disregard them 
 altogether. Prudence would observe a medium. The limits are not 
 the same among an ignorant, and among a thinking people; in 
 Protestant and in Popish countries ; at the beginning or the end of a 
 Reformation ; among the friends and the enemies of religion. The 
 error has usually been rather on the side of secrecy, than that of 
 extensive exposure. Human nature is on that side. 
 
 "But the danger is less than is imagined. When the exposure 
 comes from those who are true friends of the cause with which the 
 error is connected, and is made in the proper spirit ; not in hatred, 
 but in love ; not to indulge idle curiosity, but for instruction's sake ; 
 and when the truth is put where the error stood, and offered as a 
 substitute for it, Protestantism and the Scriptures gain thereby. 
 This is the characteristic of Protestantism, arising out of putting 
 Scripture above the Church. When there is confidence in truth 
 there will be boldness in this matter boldness, not rashness. 
 
 "All this is apologetical for exposing a doctrine once considered 
 an essential of Christianity, and still so considered by many. This 
 doctrine is the glory and trust of the priesthood; the object of 
 awe and reverence to the multitude; the test of faith, the task- 
 master of reason. It is held to with tenacity by the greatest 
 power the world ever saw. This doctrine I consider the greatest 
 absurdity ever palmed on creatures called rational; especially 
 because it is held by those who pretend to argue the matter.
 
 414 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Gnosticism had its errors and absurdities, but they were of the 
 imagination. This doctrine is of men who pretend to reason and 
 philosophy. Let us, then, take the language of this absurdity. 
 
 " First, we have a complete change of the whole substance of the 
 bread into the substance of the body of Christ, that of the wine 
 into that of the blood transubstantiation. 
 
 "This substance thus changed into another substance, ceases to 
 have the attributes or accidents of material substances. 
 
 "These attributes or accidents which remain, and which, to the 
 senses, are, apparently, as they were before the change, are accidents 
 inhering in no substance.* 
 
 "Here, then, we have annihilation substitution. Nothing 
 more or less. Individual existences are what are. 
 
 " What is annihilated seems to continue, and what is substituted 
 does not appear. So all the senses testify. 
 
 "The explanation of this by substance and accidents is incon- 
 ceivable. 
 
 " If the bread moulds, there is reverse action, and yet no evi- 
 dence of this. "What is it that moulds, accidents or substances? 
 So of the wine. So, if before this the elements be consumed by a 
 dumb animal, the body and blood of Christ are eaten ! And all 
 this in the face of the record of the first Institution. He held the 
 bread and cup, the whole substance of His body and blood, in His 
 hands." 
 
 AEE MEN EESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OPINIONS ? 
 
 " The human mind a pendulum, would swing into the boundless 
 void unchecked by the gravitating power of the good providence 
 of God. This power acts by laws which attach evil consequences 
 to extremes. These revolt the mind. True wisdom usually 
 consists in discovering and settling in the centre. ' Medio tu- 
 tissimus ibis.' God hedges up our way. 
 
 " This propensity to extremes is manifest in the history of our 
 subject. One extreme in the Romish Church not only considered 
 certain opinions as criminal, but punished them as overt acts. This 
 latter was the consequence which led to the reaction. Two things 
 were confounded. Intolerance acquired a being and a name, and 
 that an infamous one. Intolerance is an intolerable evil. How 
 
 *See Catechism of Trent, 39, 42, 43, Questions.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 415 
 
 shall it be avoided ? It came into being with the doctrine that we 
 are responsible for our opinions. Banish the latter, and the former 
 will expatriate itself. 
 
 " We find this latter doctrine largely sanctioned at the present 
 day. Lord Brougham, Sir J. Macintosh, passim. 'The great truth, 
 so pregnant with charity toward our fellow-men, that belief is inde- 
 pendent of the will, was not, in those times, dreamt of (the times 
 of Cranmer; Sir T. More, etc). 
 
 " But, first, such a doctrine is not necessary to accomplish this 
 object. It is not necessary to prove that opinions are not moral, in 
 order to show that man should not punish his fellow for them. How 
 is it with regard to character (not put forth in action) ? Do we, to 
 prevent men visiting one another with pains and penalties for evil 
 tempers, impure passions, etc., maintain that they have no moral cha- 
 racter ? There is another way of preventing persecution in both eases. 
 This idea, moreover, is inconsistent with the relations between 
 the several functions of the mind. It is inconsistent with the rela- 
 tion of opinions to actions. On what do we act if not on opinion? 
 Brutes do not act on opinion, and therefore are not responsible. 
 But men do act on opinion, and therefore are. Unless carried away 
 by a whirlwind of passion (a case not contemplated here) man 
 always acts on opinion. It may be good or bad, right or wrong, 
 still it is opinion, and the ground of action. 
 
 "This doctrine, again, is contrary to the common sentiment of men. 
 They say our belief is according to our wishes. Now, are these 
 wishes or desires moral? If so, they involve accountability. If 
 not, what does? Desires are especially moral when the will is 
 determined by them; and is it not then that opinion is formed? 
 To be sure, 'video meliora/ etc. But what does this prove? If 
 he had not this opinion, if he did not see, then ' had he been without 
 sin.' But he does see, has this opinion, and therefore purely in his 
 relations to it acts rightly or wrongly. Suppose a man to see and 
 approve the worse, this is only an aggravation of his guilt." 
 
 "PROBABILITIES AN AID TO FAITH." 
 
 " In this borrowed heading, we understand by faith that act and 
 state of mind, as the intelligent principle, in which it apprehends 
 the truths pertaining to the unseen world. So using the term, why 
 should we not speak of probabilities as an aid thereto ? Is there
 
 416 MEMOIR OF 
 
 any incompatibility between them ? May not the latter conduce to 
 the former ? May they not constitute its very groundwork and 
 root? Suppose nothing but probabilities in the case, but that 
 they preponderate strongly on one side; then, if forced by the 
 .exigencies with which we were surrounded to come to a conclusion 
 in regard to things unseen and spiritual, would not that conclusion 
 justly be called faith? Might it not be a religious act? Might it 
 not be a strong persuasion ? Might it not move us like a voice 
 from heaven ? 
 
 " But why ask these questions ? "We do not ask them because 
 we believe there is any ground to doubt about the answer, but be- 
 cause we find some, in the new school, which has lately risen up 
 among us, seeking to plant faith on some other than a rational 
 foundation. One of the wisest philosophical divines has pronounced 
 ' probability the very guide of life,' and argues that as it guides us 
 in relation to this life, so ought it in relation to the next. And he, 
 and almost all others who have attempted anything in logical 
 science, have divided all the evidence which comes to man, of truths 
 not intuitively seen, into demonstrative and probable; by demon- 
 strative understanding that proof which belongs to the abstractions 
 of mathematics, and by probable understanding that which 
 establishes all facts not naturally known to man by original sugges- 
 tion, such as the phenomena of the physical world, the events of 
 secular history, and the miracles of inspired revelation. These all 
 are alike supported by probable evidence, meaning by the term 
 probable, it is hardly necessary to say, not any uncertainty in point 
 of fact or deficiency in the amount of proof, but only that it is not 
 what is conventionally and technically called demonstrative. 
 
 " Now, this almost universally received view of the matter is, by 
 some, sought to be set aside. They would substitute a blind sub- 
 mission to human authority, or acquiescence in the doctrines of 
 some official personage* They think it dangerous to encourage the 
 common view, as it may foster self-sufficiency in man. If man is 
 left to look for evidence aside from known authority, and to exer- 
 cise his own private judgment upon the subjects for which his cre- 
 dence is challenged, 'he will become/ it has been said, 'arrogant 
 and vain. His foolish heart will become darkened by pride, and 
 he will adopt error just to show his independence of evidence, rea- 
 son, and truth.' In the same spirit, those who take this view 
 judge it wise to encourage the people to submit entirely for instruction
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 417 
 
 to him whose lips keep knowledge professionally, dissuade them 
 from searching the Scriptures to see if the things which they hear 
 from their teachers be so. Instead of being desirous for the wider 
 diffusion of knowledge, they are half disposed to think with the 
 poet that ' a little learning is a dangerous thing.' On the whole, they 
 manifestly feel that, as we have lawyers and physicians to take 
 care of our health and property, so have we clergymen to take 
 care of our souls; and that, as their callings are all three alike 
 'arts and mysteries,' our wisest course is to conduct ourselves, in 
 regard to them, pretty much in the same way to lie passively in 
 their hands, afraid that, in attempting to mend, we may only mar." 
 
 DAILY SERVICE. 
 
 "In the Book of Common Prayer there are several days set 
 apart for the commemoration, not only of the prominent events in 
 the work of man's redemption, but also of the holy lives and glo- 
 rious deaths of many of the more eminent saints mentioned in the 
 New Testament. For each of these days, also, there is appointed 
 a service adapted, in the matter or the spirit of it, to the history or 
 character of the Apostle or Evangelist after whom the day is 
 called. It would seem that this part of our Prayer-book was espe- 
 cially designed for the cathedrals, where provision is made for 
 daily service. At all events, no general and long-continued attempt 
 has ever been made to observe all these days, much less to have the 
 Morning and Evening Prayer read in all the churches. When 
 there is any special event calling for a week-day service, respect 
 is had to the Collect, Gospel, and Epistle for the occasion, if there 
 be such; but beyond this, our own Church, or the mother Church 
 of England, has never gone. 
 
 "At the present day, however, a great effort is making to intro- 
 duce a daily public service, and especially the observance of saints' 
 days, into some of the churches here and in England. 
 
 " Now, God forbid that we should check any disposition in any 
 one to resort to the house of God morning and evening, if it is 
 open to him, and his circumstances are such as to allow him to 
 attend. But it ought to be borne in mind that there is an ' Eccle- 
 siastical ' as well as a ' Political Economy,' and that as industry, to 
 produce its proper effects,, must be rightly directed, so must reli- 
 27
 
 418 MEMOIR OF 
 
 gious zeal. The question is not whether it is right or wrong to go 
 to the house of God to worship, but whether, under the existing 
 circumstances of the Church and the world, it is expedient for the 
 minister to take upon him this peculiar mode and amount of duty, 
 and for the people to be called on to worship, not so often, but so 
 often in that particular place. We confess we have no confidence 
 in the measures now proposed by some, who are so zealous for daily 
 services in the Church, or for honoring the saints by signalizing 
 every day called after their names by public worship. It is in 
 vain that the ordinary mode of dating the advertisement of a 
 printed sermon, or a communication to a daily journal, or the pre- 
 face of a book, is abandoned, and that the work is consummated 
 and put under the patronage of some saint, by being brought out 
 on the day devoted to his memory, or on its eve or vigil. In vain, 
 too, is the 'sacramental character' of sacred vestments and conse- 
 crated edifices urged as a reason why men should worship God in 
 the church, rather than the closet, or at the family altar, every 
 morning and evening. It will be found impracticable in the issue, 
 and injurious in the attempt. Several reasons might be assigned 
 for thinking it an injudicious and pernicious measure. "We men- 
 tion one or two : 
 
 " 1. In the first place, it is an arrangement for the benefit of the 
 few, not the many. Those in more comfortable circumstances, with 
 time at their command, and every other means necessary for appear- 
 ing in public twice a day, may take advantage of these frequent ser- 
 vices in the church ; but the more limited in their living and their 
 leisure, especially servants, must ordinarily stay at home. As 
 society is now constituted, therefore, the advantage is for the advan- 
 tage of the rich, not the poor ; for the few, not the many. 
 
 " 2. Besides, must it not be a positive loss to poor employees to 
 be separated from their masters and mistresses in their religious 
 exercises ? Are not the latter less likely, in consequence, to take 
 a spiritual interest in them, and to feel their obligation to attend 
 to their religious instruction under such circumstances ? 
 
 " 3. Is not the direct tendency of the practice, so far as it may 
 prevail, to interfere with family worship and religion, and with the 
 religious training of the rising generation ? At family prayer, 
 scarce any one need be absent ; not only the servants, but every 
 child over twenty months old, may, at all seasons of the year, 
 attend ; but at public prayers, not only must servants be separated
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 419 
 
 from their masters, but parents must also be separated from their 
 children. The little ones cannot generally attend. 
 
 "4. Again, must not the introduction of daily public worship 
 interfere, especially in the cases of persons who have to ' labor to get 
 their own living/ with family worship altogether? The prayer of 
 the closet stands first in the obligation ; next, except on the days 
 in which inspiration has required that we assemble ourselves 
 together in the great congregation, conies family worship; and 
 last stands the proposed daily morning and evening prayer." 
 
 EFFECT OF EXTKAVAGANT NOTIONS OF BAPTISM 
 UPON THEOLOGICAL OPINION GENEEALLY. 
 
 "1. If it is regeneration in any other than an external sense, it 
 is made necessary to salvation, even in regard to infants ; and, if so 
 regarded, why should any one balk at the imputation of Adam's 
 sin, and 1 he condemnation of men for it alone ? 
 
 " 2. These extravagant notions caused it, at one time, to be post- 
 poned till late in life. 
 
 " 3. It also led to Lay Baptism. 
 
 "4. It also occasioned the hypothesis of a limbus infantum. 
 
 "5. Also the doctrine of the damnation of the most virtuous 
 heathen, or else that they are baptized in another world, in order 
 to salvation. 
 
 "6. Though designed to make the sacraments very sacred, it 
 leads to their profanation. 
 
 "7. The Jews magnified circumcision unduly, and the effects 
 were seen, not in their view of one another, for it was a national 
 rite, but of the neighboring nations." 
 
 CONVERSATION. 
 
 " 1. Talk of things and events, rather than of persons, and of the 
 departed rather than the living. 
 
 "2. Make others talk rather than talk yourself. 
 
 " 3. If you talk, let it be conversation or colloquy, rather than 
 discourse. Be sure your neighbor has his full share. 
 
 "4. Talk with others to get knowledge rather than to show it. 
 
 " 5. If you are compelled to talk of little matters, do not dwell
 
 420 MEMOIR OP 
 
 upon them. The bee's visit to each flower is short, though it might 
 tarry long at a plate of honey. 
 
 "6. Avoid a habit of objecting. To assent to everything is in- 
 sincere ; to dispute everything is offensive. In most cases, neither 
 is at all necessary. We can almost always find some point of agree- 
 ment ; we are seldom under the necessity of disputation. We may 
 let most things to which we do not assent pass in silence ; and this 
 silence will often have more effect than refutation. 
 
 " 7. Before you speak be sure you have something to say. This 
 precept holds good even in little things. In little things, folks get 
 into a way of talking at random, which, indulged in, must detract 
 from their reputation for judgment, and even for strict truthfulness. 
 Nervous persons are liable to this, and may aggravate it by indulg- 
 ence, till it becomes a mental disease, called light-headedness. 
 
 " 8. We may avoid dogmatism and controversy, often, by simply 
 asking questions, and seeking for the opinions of others, which 
 opinions may be received in silence. It is not necessary to give 
 an opinion upon every other opinion. 
 
 " 9. Remember you are not under obligation to know everything. 
 You may expect to be ignorant of many, very many things, of 
 which others are not so ignorant ; and you need not attempt to 
 hide your ignorance, or to make a show of knowledge where you 
 have none filling your library, as it were, with ' wooden Elzevirs.' " 
 
 "CONTRAST BETWEEN UNITARIANISM AND 
 ROMANISM." 
 
 " Unitarianism for the learned; Romanism for the ignorant. 
 Unitarianism, minimi fidian, rejecting mysteries ; Romanism, max- 
 imi fidian, believing contradictions. Unitarianism is moral in 
 its aims and efforts; Romanism is ceremonious and devout. 
 Unitarianism is skeptical; Romanism is superstitious. Unitarian- 
 ism exalts the people; Romanism, the clergy. Unitarianism rejects 
 all authority, and would make a little child suspicious and jealous 
 of the power and influence of its parent ; Romanism makes human 
 authority divine, and would teach kings it was a fitting employ- 
 ment to be broidering petticoats for images of the Virgin Mary. 
 Unitarianism would make man over-confident, and induce him to 
 feel self-sufficient in securing his soul's salvation; Romanism 
 would not only refer man to a Saviour, but to his fellow-men in the
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 421 
 
 character of priests, and make him not so much the humble 
 servant of God as the abject slave of His creature. Unitarianism 
 seeks the promotion of education and the enlightenment of society, 
 so ever committing suicide ; Komanism would exclude knowledge, 
 and so build up its own authority, till that becomes so grinding 
 and intolerable as to occasion a revolt in human nature. All evil 
 and error in society is ultimately suicidal ; that of Unitarianism 
 more immediately so than Komanism." 
 
 "OUT OF THE CHURCH NO SALVATION." 
 
 "This maxim is a potent weapon for good or evil. Eightly 
 understood, it embodies a truth which, the more explicitly it is 
 promulgated and enforced, advances the more the glory of Christ 
 and the salvation of men. So interpreted, it turns men from the 
 shadow to the substance, from the judging of others to the exami- 
 nation of themselves, from reliance upon man to trust, exclusive 
 trust, in God, through Christ. It enlarges rather than contracts, 
 elevates rather than degrades. It enables a man to feel that he 
 breathes the spirit of that religion which is from above, which is 
 comprehensive, which is internal, which is real ; that he serves that 
 God, who, by revelation, more than by the wonders of nature or the 
 gifts of Providence, proves that His mercy is over all His works, 
 and that ' in every nation he that feareth God and worketh right- 
 eousness is accepted of Him.' With such views one can rejoice 
 before God, through Christ, on his own account and on account of 
 his fellow-creatures. They bring him and them directly to God, 
 and make communion with God dependent directly and indispensa- 
 bly upon nothing created or which a creature can control. It 
 supposes God's laws to be administered by men, but not as the civil 
 laws are administered. So far as the office holder is concerned, 
 nothing is absolute and definitive. They may acquit where the 
 Supreme Power condemns; they may condemn where the Supreme 
 Power acquits; their authority may be recognized, and yet no 
 favor come from the source of that authority ; and their authority 
 may be mistakingly resisted, and yet the condemnation of God not 
 finally follow. It supposes human agencies to be very needful, and 
 particular forms of them very desirable ; but that God reserves to 
 Himself the power and privilege of recognizing souls, everywhere 
 and under all circumstances, that truly look to Him. It teaches
 
 422 MEMOIR OP 
 
 men to inquire, not whether they are children of Abraham by lineal 
 descent, but whether they have the faith of Abraham, and to 
 regard this first, and look upon everything else only as the out- 
 ward exhibition of this inward principle. It teaches us, in short, 
 in the arrangement of our principles, and in our judgment of men 
 and things, to observe the great law of Proportion. All this comes 
 of understanding the maxim, 'Extra ecclesiam nulla salus,' as 
 having reference to that body which Christ controls by His Spirit, 
 and which is, consequently, composed of 'all who love our Lord 
 Jesus Christ in sincerity.' 
 
 "But, to suppose it has reference to some particular Ecclesiastical 
 organization ; and to repeat that article in the Creed, the ' Holy 
 Catholic Church,' on every Sabbath-day, and to teach it to our 
 children with that understanding!. Oh, what a sad perversion; 
 how opposed to the genius of our holy religion, how belittling to 
 the soul, how hardening to the heart, how calculated to exalt man 
 and degrade Christ the Saviour! It must pervert the judgment in 
 reference to ourselves and to others. It must lead us to estimate 
 others by their ecclesiastical connection rather than the soundness 
 of their doctrine and the holiness of their lives ; and must cause us 
 to suppose that God has suspended the eternal destinies of man 
 upon things positive and contingent, rather than things essential, 
 and moral, and spiritual. And in reference to ourselves, it must 
 foster one of the worst forms of self-righteousness. On each repe- 
 tition of the Creed we virtually congratulate ourselves that we are 
 of the corporation to which salvation exclusively belongs; so 
 exclusively, that all without which wears the appearance of heaven- 
 inspired virtue is to be considered suspicious, if not positively 
 mischievous." 
 
 "CLOSE OF THE TERM." 
 
 "SADNESS CONNECTED WITH THE THOUGHT OF SEPARATION." 
 
 " Two travelers when they part. Two ships when they part after 
 sailing in company. Two ships when they speak and part. 
 
 "We have been together one, two, three years. Some shall 
 never meet in the same relation. This is a time of sad feelings, of 
 serious reflection. Life is a journey. 
 
 " 1. So to all. All men live, and ' It is appointed unto all men
 
 WILLIAM SPAR BOW, D. D. 423 
 
 to die.' Cradle and grave. Short, long, cheerful, afflicted, conspicu- 
 ous, obscure, but to all a journey. 
 
 "2. Difference between men of the world and Christians this: 
 they are journeying unconsciously, Christians consciously. 
 
 "a. The world floats on a tide of which they are heedless. They 
 are occupied with the present only. Dum vivimus vivamus ? 
 They are as men that dream. They are as men out of their right 
 mind. When the journey is ended they come to themselves, they 
 awake. 
 
 " b. Christians have so done. But they now realize what life is ; 
 ' What shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue.' This influ- 
 ences their whole nature. They see and feel this to be a transition 
 state. 
 
 "3. This moderates all minor considerations. By fixing the 
 mind intently on the end, the things by the way please but moder- 
 ately. ' Let your moderation be known unto all men.' ' Be careful 
 for nothing.' 
 
 " a. It moderates expectations of happiness. Such a state cannot 
 be expected to afford more than foretastes, slight antepasts. 
 Enjoyment, even in ministerial work, should not be counted on too 
 sanguinely. The principle of happiness there is the principle of 
 happiness everywhere. If not happy as Christian students, why 
 happy as Christian ministers? 
 
 "b. Moderates fears, also, in regard to trials and afflictions. 
 They are only disagreeable incidents by the way. They will soon 
 be over, and only a subject of recollection as perils escaped. So a 
 foil to happiness hereafter. More than that, they may be used 
 somewhat in that way even here. If we are pilgrims, our afflictions 
 are marks of sonship and adoption. Nay, more, they may ' work 
 out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.' 
 How? 'Tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, 
 and experience hope.' If we find difficulty in viewing things thus, 
 it only shows that we still linger, in heart, in Egypt. 
 
 "4. I began with sadness, let us end with cheerfulness." 
 
 "PEOBATION AND SPEECH." 
 
 " Candidates were at first promptly admitted to the Church. 
 
 " Afterward they had a long probation. 
 
 " The reasons of the change various. Chief one, that the candi-
 
 424 MEMOIR OF 
 
 date might know himself and be known of others, so that the 
 Church should not suffer. 
 
 "The Church has suffered from indiscriminate admissions. 
 
 "This example in regard to candidates for baptism too often 
 followed in regard to those for the ministry. 
 
 "Probation with these even more needful. Less so, perhaps, in 
 former times; more so now. Private Christians escaped when min- 
 isters were slain. The sharpshooters of persecution picked out the 
 leaders. Now, the leaders have as little danger and more honor. 
 
 "Accordingly, the Church has appointed candidateship of three 
 years. 
 
 "1. She would know those to whom she confides so much. 
 
 " 2. She would let them know themselves. 
 
 "3. She would give them time to mature. 
 
 " This last view not sufficiently considered. The impatience of 
 youth causes it to be overlooked. It is regarded as a curriculum 
 to be passed through indeed, but as soon as possible. Kather a 
 season of the year, not Autumn or Winter, but Spring and Summer, 
 the growing season; season, if not improved for growing purposes, 
 leaves an irreparable loss behind. 
 
 " It is our business to see that we are maturing. Oh, what 
 maturity necessary here ! Who sufficient for these things ? Let 
 raw recruits go into battle ; if through the want of experience they 
 perish, they shall revive again. The valley of dry bones shall be 
 quickened. The whited battle-field shall give up its dead. Let 
 the young physician, if it must be, tamper with the health and lives 
 of men. Neither health nor life can last forever. Though one be 
 cut down before his time, he will revive again, and may revive in im- 
 mortal youth. Oh, what a solemn and delicate thing to minister to 
 souls diseased ! What thorough understanding of the heavenly science, 
 and what skill in its application. What experimental knowledge 
 of its power. If we had due sense of the importance of the work 
 and our deficiency, how slow should we be in entering on its responsi- 
 bilities. How anxious to improve every moment. And when we 
 come to the end of our novitiate, we should proceed only constrained 
 by the love of Christ, and the authority of Christian friends. Nolo 
 Episcopari would not be a piece of affectation. 
 
 "Brethren, are we maturing? 
 
 " Different ways of answering this question : 
 
 " 1. Look directly in our hearts.
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 425 
 
 "2. Look at our actions. 
 
 " 3. Look at our words. This, of outward means, the most im- 
 portant. Out of the abundance of the heart we act, much more 
 speak. Speech the drapery of thought. Easier to speak as we 
 think than otherwise. Hypocrisy is constraint. Speaking or 
 forbearing, from mere duty, or regard to appearances, is constraint. 
 What we say spontaneously, a clear indication. ' By thy words 
 ahalt thou be justified.' Once I thought this strange." 
 
 "SHOULD A MINISTER PREACH BEYOND HIS EXPE- 
 RIENCE?" 
 
 "The Bible, remarkable for its truthfulness, says more about it, 
 and makes more of it, than any other book. It calls religion truth ; 
 God, the God of truth; Christ, the Truth; the Spirit, the Spirit of 
 truth; disciples, children of truth. It condemns all falsehood and 
 lying ; makes the confession of truth a duty. Men must lay down 
 their lives for it. It has actually had more witnesses, under trying 
 circumstances, to truth, martyrs, than any other book or religion. 
 In contrast to all this, too, and making it stronger from such con- 
 trast, Satan is the father of lies. 
 
 " It sets high value on truth objective. Calls on men to seek it, 
 to buy it, to take heed they fail not of it ; not to turn from it, to 
 love it, not to fail to follow after it. 
 
 "Much more does it set a value upon subjective truth, that is, 
 an honest search of it and use of it. Truth in the head is 
 immensely valuable, and it has a very important connection with 
 truth in the heart; still, they are not always equal or parallel, and, 
 of the two, decidedly the most important is truth in the heart. A 
 truthful purpose is better than the best arranged system ; an honest 
 desire to know the truth, than an actual knowledge. Yes, it puts 
 the highest value on true, honest persuasion, in one's own mind ; 
 not professing more than we do believe for any motive whatsoever, 
 not withholding our own sincere conviction. Both are alike in 
 divergence from that straight line, truth in heart and conduct, 
 which, in the sight of God, is of great price. It is not enough that 
 we speak the truth; we must speak it in truthfulness of soul, even 
 as we must speak it in love. 
 
 " When I think of the vast deal to be found in the Bible in this 
 strain, and reflect how much want of truth, objective and sub-
 
 426 MEMOIR OF 
 
 jective, there is among Christians who adopt the Bible, I am led to 
 ask how must it have been and be when this book does not pre- 
 vail and preside over the mental operations of men. If there is 
 anything the Book is emphatic about, it is this ; and if there is any 
 sin to which human nature, owing to its extreme facility, is given, 
 more than another, it is this of its opposite. 
 
 "As an evidence of the power of the Bible to foster a truthful 
 spirit, I would mention a question which Christian ministers have 
 been led to make : Whether they should preach beyond their indi- 
 vidual experience? This question would never be mooted where 
 men did not feel that God required truth in the inward parts ; that 
 we have to do with God, and that He looketh on the heart, and 
 will require of us the strictest and most transparent honesty." 
 
 TEMPTATION OP CHRIST. 
 
 " Our relations to God are twofold, personal and mundane. 
 
 " The first is through our individual unity. This personality the 
 most perfect unity. How perfect? So that one may ascend to 
 heaven, another go down to hell. How fearful. Though human, 
 compatriotic, of the same family, yet this also may be. More than a 
 distinction, a separation, as complete as between light and darkness, 
 holiness and sin, and made by that gulf which lies between. 
 
 " This, then, the prime relation invariably found in moral agents, 
 has reference to eternity, and involves eternal responsibility. 
 
 "The second is that which belongs to us in common with the 
 race. This through Adam. It is not, like the other, connected 
 with acts ; is prior to all deeds done in the body, is involuntary, 
 unconditional. We are born in the consequences of this relation, 
 those of mortality and corruption. 
 
 " In this last we differ from angels. They were each one made, 
 as Adam, in innocence and freedom. Each one bore his own 
 burden only. Our Father ate sour grapes and our teeth are set 
 on edge. It might seem as if mankind had a less share of God's 
 mercy than angels. If it were so, God might do what He vr ill with 
 His own. But is it so? One thing is very observable: if we have 
 a first, so we have a second Adam. If sin hath abounded, grace hath 
 much more abounded. But our connection with the first is prior 
 to our own act, with the second through it, and that act is faith. 
 
 "Moreover, this connection is proportioned to the intelligence
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 427 
 
 and heartiness of faith. And the central object of faith is Christ, 
 from birth to death, advent, incarnation to ascension; yea, from the 
 fall to the end of all things. 
 
 "Temptation one part of His course, and an interesting subject of 
 inquiry. We confine ourselves to the question why it was. Various 
 answers made, displaying the wisdom and goodness of God. 
 
 " 1. General answer. Why did Christ come in the flesh ? As 
 He was born, and grew, and labored, and hungered and thirsted, 
 and felt weariness and pain, so was He tempted. It belongs to 
 humanity. He suffered for men as they do for one another. Why 
 not for evil spirits? 'It behooved Him in all things to be made 
 like unto His brethren.' This, then, might suffice. This is part of 
 a scheme; and if we ask the why of that scheme, we answer, 
 'Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight.' Not 
 sovereignty alone: mercy and goodness. In such a scheme, not 
 every tittle intelligible ; enough that it is so as a whole. 
 
 "2. More particularly. We have here an example of holiness, 
 hatred of sin, and resistance to it. The importance of this example 
 not realized, because we have always had it, and we have others 
 also. But others are only the sequel of this, and would not have 
 been without it. This is the significant figure, these are the 
 cyphers. Eeligious biography is a library. These worthies shine 
 with a borrowed light. So of living saints. If we profit by them, 
 it is because they profit by Him. Suppose that this primary exam- 
 ple, and all these secondary examples, were withdrawn, and we 
 were left to abstract truths. Our moral atmosphere might be 
 clear, but it would be cold. We should feel that our helps were 
 fewer and less effectual. But here we have a peculiar advantage, 
 the perfection of God in the form of humanity. God manifest in 
 the flesh, in fallen humanity. The best example in the best form. 
 How different the verbal descriptions of science from reality. So 
 here. 
 
 " 3. Example which assures us of sympathy in our temptations. 
 'He was in all points tempted like as we are.' 'Having suffered, 
 being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted.' 
 Though God, and as such impassible, though in heaven, and not 
 likely to sympathize with earth, we have a feeling High Priest. 
 On earth He showed this. The command to watch, the apology 
 'the spirit is willing;' 'Satan hath desired to have thee, but I have
 
 428 MEMOIR OP 
 
 prayed for thee;' the assurance of this, or sympathy like this, every 
 one has who resists the devil. 
 
 "4. Eedounds to the glory of God, and comfort of men, as a 
 triumph over Satan. In making free agents He made it possible 
 for evil men to obtain an apparent temporary triumph. So with 
 Satan first parents every sinner. ' Tush, God doth not regard.' 
 ' Where is the promise of His coming ? ' But such triumph and 
 exemption are only temporary. God owes it to Himself not to 
 grant final impunity. Men's sins do find them out. Angels' also. 
 The reprisals fearful. This defeat a signal one. Ever after the 
 spirits stood in terror. 'Art thou come hither to torment us before 
 our time?' And, though they attempted to renew the conflict, 
 Jesus saw Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Here Satan 
 was foiled. He felt it. It was known to him and his legions, and 
 to the angels who kept them in check. If he once triumphed 
 over man, man now triumphs over him. 
 
 "5. He shows, too, that man need not have fallen, and that when 
 he fell, it was because he let go his hold of God. 
 
 "6. Meant to prove the perfect sinlessness of Christ. He came 
 in personal conflict : in a desert place no human countenance 
 suffering from hunger and lassitude. Satan had tempted Adam 
 successfully. Perhaps angels also. The odds fearful But though 
 Satan thus came, he found nothing in Him. He must have gone 
 away acknowledging, like Pilate, ' I find no fault in Him.' Yea, 
 like the centurion at the cross, 'truly this is the Son of God.' It 
 was a proof, then, that Christ was fit to be a lamb of sacrifice; and, 
 like all resisted temptation, it confirmed Him in holiness. 
 
 "7. Meant to make Him perfect through suffering. 'He was 
 wounded for our transgressions;' but not on Calvary alone, or 
 Gethsemane, or the Judgment Hall. He bore His cross every- 
 where. His life one of vicarious suffering. And what His great- 
 est suffering? His temptation. He had to taste of every cup. 
 This the bitterest. We may not feel it. One who is but little jeal- 
 ous of God's honor, and has but a slight loathing of sin, will not 
 understand this. Like everything else pertaining to Christ and 
 His religion, it is unintelligible when religion is low in our hearts. 
 So far as temptation dishonors God, cannot we understand it? We 
 feel when we ourselves are dishonored. How much more when 
 a friend is insulted? It is a dagger to one's own heart. On this 
 account, and because of the intrinsic nature of sin, good men have
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 429 
 
 always been made miserable by temptation in themselves and 
 transgressions in others. 'Rivers of water/ says David, 'run down 
 mine eyes, because men do not obey Thy law.' 'Who/ exclaims 
 St. Paul, in the character of a Christian, or anxious inquirer, 
 ' who shall deliver me from the body of this death ? ' Halybur- 
 ton seems to have suffered a long martyrdom from that cause. 
 Legh Richmond's last days were visited by a peculiar temptation. 
 So Thomas Scott's. When Christ said, ' Get thee behind me/ it may 
 be considered an expression of holy indignation and shuddering 
 abhorrence. How must He have been shocked at the temptation ! 
 How would we feel, standing in the temple of Juggernaut, and see- 
 ing fellow-mortals, rational creatures, fall down before the idol, and 
 to be tempted to unite with them ! We, owing to our dim appre- 
 hensions and slight emotions, may only see it to be unreasonable ; 
 but it revolted His feelings, lacerated His heart. To such suffering 
 He was exposed all through life, but on this occasion, and at the 
 last, it was specially severe. It suggested, in part, that mournful 
 confession : ' My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.' " 
 
 THE TEMPTATION. 
 
 " ' Christ tempted of the devil.' This is a great truth not suffi- 
 ciently considered. It might have been kept back, and yet the busi- 
 ness of life, temporal and spiritual, be carried on. The temptations 
 of Satan do not interfere with the laws of nature, any more than do 
 the temptations of men. His agency is like the miasma which pro- 
 duces death. It is unseen, yet real ; not miraculous, yet fatal. So, 
 again, we might have been armed against him without knowing of 
 his existence, even as the power of God might shield us against nat- 
 ural disease without any agency of our own, leaving us alike ignorant 
 of our danger and of our deliverance. God has not so acted. He 
 has been pleased to let us know of this danger, that with His aid 
 we might guard ourselves against it. 'With the temptation/ He 
 has ' made a way of escape, so that we may be able to bear it.' 
 
 " This knowledge widens our view, enlarges our conception, ele- 
 vates the whole man. We understand nature better ourselves 
 the purpose of this life, its importance, the value of the stake. It 
 is well to know that ' we wrestle with principalities and powers ; ' 
 'with the powers of darkness/ Not being ignorant of Satan's de- 
 vices, we can the better resist them. We are more ready to under-
 
 430 MEMOIR OF 
 
 stand that the evil in the world is a spirit. The evil one is a person, 
 and the evil person is a spirit, not acting palpably, but subtilely and 
 secretly, like poison in a cup, or infection in the air. It makes the 
 people of God more spiritual. As to its effect on others, it is the 
 savor of life unto life with one class, of death unto death with 
 another. 
 
 " This truth, it is to be observed, seems to have been revealed 
 more fully as the dispensations of God advanced, if not in the fact, 
 at least in its relations and peculiar meaning. Possessed by men, 
 out of this proportion it only breeds superstition. Hence devil 
 worship. To us the fact is much in place, and very needful. 
 
 "2. He was led up of the Spirit. There is something peculiar 
 here, because He acted officially, and yet something common with 
 all men under temptation. God has put us in this world to be 
 tempted. He is pleased to see us act, in such circumstances, as 
 "Secomes us. It was so with the Angels, so with Adam and Eve, 
 30 with all men, not excepting Christians. He takes them not 
 out of the world, but promises to be with them in the world. So 
 of all men, with the temptation He will make a way of escape. 
 Let us, then, submit to our lot, and fight manfully under God's eye. 
 " 3. After His Baptism. Christ's baptism had special reference 
 to His work. Also an example 'fulfilling all righteousness.' These 
 things called attention to Him, and made Satan more active against 
 Him. Satan is always active, but finite ; and, therefore, he hus- 
 bands his resources, and displays what may be called skill in the 
 use of the means of assault. He chooses his time, places, and per- 
 sons. By baptism, and the visible tokens of the Divine favor which 
 accompanied it, it was made manifest that Christ was some way 
 largely connected with the kingdom of God. As Herod was jeal- 
 ous at Christ's birth, so was Satan at His baptism. Both feared 
 for their kingdom. ' We are come to worship the king of the Jews/ 
 troubled Herod. So the voice which said, ' This is my beloved Son, 
 hear ye Him,' troubled Satan. 
 
 "From this we infer that Christians, professors of religion, if 
 they are in earnest, are the chief objects of Satan's enmity. 
 Worldly persons, without God, are all that he could desire. It is 
 when they break away from him and turn to God that his wrath 
 is roused. It was natural that he should make his assault at an 
 early stage, and being defeated, should afterward wait for other 
 opportunities. Nominal Christians are not troubled. That is not
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 431 
 
 his policy. 'This arch-pirate,' says Leighton, 'lets the empty ship 
 pass, but lays wait for them when they return richest laden.' 
 
 "A faithful minister not exempt, especially on his entrance into 
 public life. He finds himself in a novel situation, perhaps one flat- 
 tering to the vanity of the natural heart. All office is, when first 
 assumed. This of the ministry especially. For Christ's sake good 
 people show regard which, though well intentioned, is most per- 
 nicious. Worldly people, at the instance of different feelings, do 
 the same thing. Hence a spirit of self-seeking and self-dependence. 
 And when in such a frame, then is the hour of Satan's power. If 
 he does not cause a fall before men, he causes a decline before God, 
 which, perhaps, answers as well his malicious purpose. 
 
 "4. The temptations themselves. Christ was forty days in the 
 wilderness. All that time we may suppose He was tempted. The 
 particular solicitations recorded are but samples. It is not easy 
 to classify these satisfactorily. At all events, He was called to re- 
 sist 'the world, the flesh, and the devil.' Through the natural and 
 allowable appetite of hunger, which we feel merely in virtue of 
 possessing bodies, He was tempted in the first instance. Besides 
 this, by the panoramic shows of this world He was further tempted 
 to forsake God's allegiance. Once more, He was tempted to mag- 
 nify Himself; was solicited to an act which would have its root 
 chiefly in pride and self-sufficiency. All these temptations were 
 plied and pressed by Satan. This last would seem more especially 
 his own. It provoked to what we call spiritual sin, and may, with 
 propriety, be fathered especially on the great evil Spirit. It did 
 not come from the flesh, nor from the world ; therefore, we must 
 refer it, so far as it had an outward cause, to Satan himself. 
 
 " But the best way is to look at the temptation in the root of it. 
 Satan would lead Christ to unbelief. The unbelief of supposing that 
 His sufferings were not all right, and that His Father would not 
 deliver Him out of them that he was overlooked in them. The 
 unbelief of thinking the world could make Him happy without 
 God. Our Saviour says, ' What shall it profit a man if he gain the 
 whole world, and lose his own soul? ' The soul without God is lost. 
 Satan would tempt to the belief that being without God in the 
 world we may still be happy. The unbelief of thinking there can 
 be any evidence better than God's word, or that when He has 
 spoken from heaven any natural appearances can outweigh such 
 testimony.
 
 432 MEMOIR OF 
 
 "5. The weapons with which Christ resisted Satan. Most 
 striking. Who was He ? With whom were the treasures of wis- 
 dom and knowledge ? Even at twelve years of age what under- 
 standing! Yet He made the Scriptures the man of His counsel. 
 At every call its language came. When encouraging to the search 
 of truth, He says, 'Search the Scriptures.' When reproving error, 
 'Ye do err, not understanding the Scriptures.' He not only urged 
 its use on others. He used it Himself. Every temptation was 
 met by a text of Scripture. 
 
 " What honor on Holy Writ ! How entirely adequate must He 
 have deemed it, interpreted with the aid of the Holy Spirit ! What 
 a lesson to us, 'to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest' its 
 blessed truths. To have it in our memory ready for use. To be 
 familiar with Scripture is to secure the presence of a friend at our 
 side in the hour of temptation ; whether we need consolation, 
 doctrine, reproof, or instruction, to impart them. This friend is 
 not Omnipotent (none that but God), but most helpful. Besides, 
 what friend more suitable to direct us to this Higher Friend? A 
 precept of man is comparatively of the earth, earthy. The Word 
 of God, from Heaven, leads to Heaven directly ; yea, to God. Let 
 all honor, then, be put on God's Word. Not that which will lead 
 us to pay it a nominal respect, but to use it. It is said, none so 
 difficult to cope with in argument as a man of one book. What- 
 ever the truth of the saying, or the philosophy of it, if true, the 
 most successful man in resisting Satan is a man of one book, the 
 Bible. 
 
 "6. 'The devil left Him, and angels came and ministered unto 
 Him.' How pleasant this. So always under God's administration. 
 Though heaviness may endure for a night, joy cometh in the morn- 
 ing. The Apostle says, ' Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.' 
 How exhibited here. 'Christ was made like His brethren.' No 
 final deliverance until death ; yet respite. More than that, strength 
 increased. 'Angels came to minister.' 'Well done, good and 
 faithful servant.' This is not to foster pride, but to inculcate hu- 
 mility; therein lies all spiritual victory, and the congratulation 
 fosters this. ' Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself, but in Me is 
 thy help.' 'Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not 
 on thine own understanding.' 'Angels sent forth to minister to 
 Him.' This intimated that we should know the extent of creation 
 the sympathy of other good beings with a soul struggling against
 
 WILLIAM SPARROW, D. D. 433 
 
 temptation, not to call off our thoughts or dependence from God. 
 In their exigencies they look to Him. At all times we move in 
 Him. They ministered to Christ in the wilderness, in the garden, 
 at the tomb, at the ascension. So, if we follow Jesus, ' in the regen- 
 eration' we shall be in all these things as He was." 
 
 WATER.* 
 
 " A favorite emblem of Gospel Truth. Because, 1st. It is neces- 
 sary to human physical life ; so the other to intellectual and moral 
 life. They are alike cheap. 
 
 "2. An emblem of truth, as snow is. Who has seen the gush of 
 pure water from some of the great springs of the Valley of Vir- 
 ginia. It seems to us stainless as the white covering of the highest 
 Himalayas. 
 
 " 3. Not only an emblem, but an agent. It is the great purifier 
 of society. As it is necessary to slake man's thirst, so to cleanse 
 his person, and all other things. 
 
 "4. Water, again, is refreshing, and so is truth. The universe 
 was made on a principle of truth, and mind was made for it ; it 
 thirsts for it, often when it is in many respects condemnatory. 
 When in a normal state, 'as the hart desireth the water-brooks,' 
 so the human mind the truth of God. 
 
 "Truth may be death ; but legitimately it is life, and health, and 
 peace, and joy. 
 
 "Accordingly, the Prophets make much use of water to represent 
 truth : ' Ho ! every one that thirsteth.' So our Lord represents 
 Himself as a fountain of living waters. In the last book of the 
 New Testament the image is beautifully used." 
 
 * Found, in pencil, on the fly-leaf of his Life of Kruraraacher, and probably one of 
 his last sketches.
 
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