56 FISTTKR— MYTfl-AIAKING PROCESS IN [April i8, 



cution inflicted on the legalists and their large numbers. So they 

 described a Revolution that never happened and never could happen. 

 A whoop and hurrah boys! All spontaneous, all united; merciful 

 noble, perfect ; all virtue and grand ideas on one side, all vice, wick- 

 edness, effeteness and degeneration on the other. 



That feeling, the boasting and the exaggeration were proper 

 enough in one sense. It was certainly right to strive to build up the 

 nation, and protect and dignify it. But one of the most curious 

 instances of the way the feeling worked was Jared Sparks' edition 

 of the letters of Washington. Sparks was the President of Har- 

 vard College, a man of intellect and learning, the author of an 

 interesting collection of biographies of American worthies. He 

 felt that he must exalt Washington, and so he rewrote quite a num- 

 ber of the Washington letters, struck out such expressions as such 

 and such a thing would " not amount to a flea bite," altered some 

 statements about religion and God, left out whole passages, espe- 

 cially those in which Washington told of cashiering officers for 

 cowardice. Sparks was an interesting instance of the myth-making 

 process used for pious purposes, for by magnifying Washington in 

 this way he, no doubt, sincerely believed that he was helping reli- 

 gion and the youth of the country by setting up an example of per- 

 fection. Even Washington Irving, as Mr. Adams points out 

 ("Studies Military and Diplomatic," pp. 166-168), was not a. little 

 inclined to myth-making. Irving gave us some excellent historical 

 work, for which we should be grateful; but he could not altogether 

 escape the taint of his time. 



Jared Sparks was unquestionably a man of integrity; but he v.-as 

 carried away by the feeling of making a good showing by manufac- 

 turing Washington into theoretical perfection. I do not suppose 

 that he for one moment realized that he was doing what very closely 

 resembled some things for which persons in lower walks of life 

 are sent to jail. He had a rude awakening when W. B. Reed dis- 

 covered the whole imposture and published the original letters with 

 the S])arks improvements side by side. But the exposure did little 

 good; for similar methods, and evidence-ignoring on a much larger 

 scale, were used through whole volumes of so-called history. 



