230  Minutes  of  the  College,  {k"u™iXm"m 
not  yet  recovered  from  the  severe  shock  it  had  received  by  the  sudden  death 
of  his  wife,  and  probably  contributed  to  his  approaching  end. 
In  the  following  month  (August,  1872),  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 
desiring  to  settle  some  difficulties  with  certain  Indian  tribes,  in  the  direction  of 
peace,  appointed  Prof.  Parrish  and  Captain  Alvord  as  Commissioners.  In 
entering  upon  this  last  act  of  his  life  he  was  advised  by  his  family,  who  believed 
his  health,  then  below  its  ordinary  status,  would  be  benefitted  by  the  journey. 
But  the  unforeseen  exposure  incident  to  a  long  and  rough  stage  ride  through 
the  wilderness  proving  too  heavy  a  tax  on  his  impaired  vitality,  offered  him  a 
prey  to  the  malarial  fever  of  the  country,  and  before  he  could  fully  accomplish 
his  mission  of  peace  he  fell  a  victim  to  the  climate,  in  the  51st  year  of  his  age. 
Edward  Parrish  possessed  social  qualities  of  a  high  order  :  his  conversational 
powers  were  good,  his  information  on  ordinary  subjects  general,  his  interest  in 
modern  progressive  ideas  considerable,  and  h©  was  never  happier  than  when 
his  friends  were  around  him  in  the  family  circle  interchanging  ideas. 
His  home  instincts  were  strong  :  his  wife  and  children  ever  occupied  a  prom- 
inent place  in  his  plans  and  arrangements  ;  for  them  no  sacrifice  was  too  great, 
no  pleasure  too  rich,  no  necessity  too  expensive,  and  whether  fortune  smiled  on 
him  or  frowned  he  was  the  same  kind  and  liberal  husband  and  father,  the  same 
sympathetic  brother  and  friend.  There  was  nothing  mean  or  contracted  in  his 
nature,  and  in  business  his  competition  was  unmarked  by  bitterness  or  person- 
ality. 
Prof.  Parrish  was  by  nature  ambitious  of  distinction  among  his  fellows,  yet 
his  yearnings  after  power  or  place  were  influenced  by  a  spirit  at  once  mild, 
benevolent  and  lovable.  His  intellect,  which  was  clear  and  forcible,  he  had 
cultivated  by  reading  and  conversation.  Had  it  been  steadily  concentrated  in 
the  line  of  his  profession,  it  would  have  led  him  to  honors  far  higher  than  those 
to  which  he  attained  ;  but,  by  directing  his  attention  to  too  many  objects,  his 
efforts  lost  in  power  and  thoroughness  what  they  gained  in  variety  and  popu- 
larity. 
Although  originality  was  not  a  prominent  trait  among  his  mental  character- 
istics, his  mind  was  active  and  ready  ;  he  was  quick  to  catch  ideas  when  pre- 
sented, manifested  much  excellence  of  judgment  in  adapting  them  to  his  pur- 
poses, and  it  was  generally  with  graceful  acknowledgments  that  he  rendered 
tribute  to  others  when  occasion  required.  It  was  in  his  manner  of  grouping 
and  classifying  facts,  and  of  lucidly  presenting  subjects  to  his  readers,  that  his 
personality  was  most  deeply  impressed  on  his  literary  labors  in  pharmacy. 
Nature  had  endowed  him  with  a  gift  of  speech  well  adapted  to  the  platform, 
and  some  of  his  ablest  efforts  have  been  introductory  and  valedictory  addresses. 
As  a  teacher  of  pharmacy  in  the  lecture-room,  he  loved  to  array  the  leading 
facts  in  generic  groupings  on  the  blackboard,  using  the  more  prominent  individ- 
ual substances  for  special  comment  on  the  table,  often  bringing  in  anecdote  to 
enliven  his  subject.  Less  happy  as  a  manipulator  than  as  a  speaker,  Professor 
Parrish  trusted  more  to  his  ability  to  convey  his  meaning  by  figures  of  speech 
than  to  annoying  and  often  troublesome  demonstrations  by  practical  expe- 
riments; nevertheless  he  was  conscious  of  the  important  and  valuable  aid 
derived  from  object-teaching  and  the  exhibition  of  actual  processes,  and  in  his 
