"And more than this I cannot say. Time has effaced from my memory details and especial circumstances; nor can I therefore, by their help, illustrate this slight sketch of Mr. Wheaton's character and position, during those pleasant months which he helped so much to make pleasant. Of these particulars, my recollection is dim enough. But no lapse of time will efface from my mind the clear and distinct recollection of the high excellence of his character, or the charms of his conversation and manners; nor shall I ever lose any portion of the affection and respect with which I regard his memory. "I am, very sincerely, "Your friend and obedient servant, "THEOPHILUS PARSONS." CAMBRIDGE, May 23, 1853. In 1821, Mr. Wheaton was elected a member of the Convention for revising the Constitution of the State of New-York, which having been formed amid the tumults and perils of war, seemed defective and insufficient to the wants of a richer, more enlightened, and more numerous society. In his sittings he turned his attention more particularly to the organization of the tribunals. In 1824, he was appointed by the New-York Legislature a member of the commission appointed to draw up the civil and criminal code of the State, a work in which he continued to be engaged until 1827. It has been remarked that this was the first effort made by any State possessing the common law, to reduce its disconnected and diffusive legislation to the unity of a code; so that his name is thus connected with one of the most important landmarks in the history of American law. It may easily be imagined, that a person of so serious and thoughtful a disposition could not have failed at some period of his life, to turn his attention to the important subject of religion. While in college, and during the ensuing years, he had studied deeply the works of the great English theologians, and when the Unitarian Church was established in New-York, he united himself with it.