ather
reticent among strangers, with friends, he was always cheerful and
hearty. He was never dogmatic, patronizing or repulsive, by that
self-assertion into which superior men are too often petted by the
subservient deference of society. He had large social resources, but,
withal, was modest without being shy. His character was, indeed, a
perfect balance of charming qualities. Though moderate in the
announcement of opinions, and too patriotic to degenerate into a
partizan, he gave no timid, lukewarm support to the nation in its hour
of trial. His knowledge of the world was ample; but that excellent lore
did not always save him from the overreaching, so that, at one time, he
lost much of the hard-earned avails of his labors, and though not
impoverished, was uncomfortably straitened. Yet, he loved to be
trustful and serviceable; and, what he knew, he gave cordially to
friends, correspondents, and respectful strangers who approached him
properly. He desired to stimulate the young by truthful approbation,
and, from his recognized eminence, to bestow the "nutritious praise of
veteran talent." He was never spoken of lightly. Large and active as
was his mind, "his heart," unlike Fontenelle's, was not "made of his
brains." He was as pure, affectionate, and charitable a man in all his
relations, as he was eminent in the literature he created and
consecrated to his country.

An author's life is commonly a catalogue of his works. The career of a
scholar is generally uneventful, seldom possessing those stirring
traits which give dramatic interest to public characters of less quiet
pursuits. Mr. Sparks was not an exception to this rule. His life is in
his works; for, as long as he could work _well_ he was a worker for his
country.

The few and simple facts I have told of this gentle student's struggles
and success, show that his labors were mostly in the field of History.
But, the field of History is large and sub-divided. It comprehends
Annals, Chronicles, Memoirs, Biography; and these--the essence of the
past--become the elements from which an artist endowed with disciplined
judgment and combining imagination, shapes the master-pieces which are
properly called by the generic name, History.

It has been usual to associate the name of Mr. Sparks with those of
Bancroft, Prescott, Motley, and Irving; yet, the qualities of these
writers, as well as the tasks they set themselves, seem to me quite
different from those of our late as