Francis Parkman 253 



near me. I shall never forget the sudden start 

 which he gave, and the heightened colour of his 

 noble face, with its curious look of surprise and 

 pleasure, an expression as honest and simple as 

 one might witness in a rather shy schoolboy sud- 

 denly singled out for praise. I was so glad that 

 I had said what I did without thinking of his 

 hearing me. 



In May, 1850, while at work upon this great 

 book, Mr. Parkman married Catherine, daughter 

 of Jacob Bigelow, an eminent physician of Boston. 

 Of this marriage there were three children, a 

 son, who died while an infant, and two daughters, 

 who still survive. Mrs. Parkman died in 1858, 

 and her husband never married again. 



During these years, when his complicated ail- 

 ments for a time made historical work impossible 

 even to this man of Titanic will, he assuaged his 

 cravings for spiritual creation by writing a novel, 

 " Vassall Morton." Of his books it is the only 

 one that I have never seen, and I can speak of it 

 only from hearsay. It is said to be not without 

 signal merits, but it did not find a great many 

 readers, and its author seems not to have cared 

 much for it. The main current of his interest in 

 life was too strong to allow of much diversion into 

 side channels. 



