“The pulpit was vacant, and the young Irishman was invited to preach in the meeting house on the Sunday after he reached Bristol. Mr. M^cSparran possessed, in an unusual degree, the remarkable eloquence with which so many of the children of Ireland have been endowed, and his wonderful oratory made such a deep impression upon the minds of his hearers that at a church meeting held on the 16th of December, 1718, he was invited to settle in the town as its pastor. On the 22d of December the town concurred in the church’s choice, 73 votes being cast for Mr. M^cSparran and but three against him.” It was voted that his salary be £100 per year, and £100 was appropriated toward the expense of his settlement. Thus far matters had gone along smoothly. Trouble now arose, however. A date had been fixed for his ordination, but the ministers who were expected to officiate refused to do so. MacSparran[7] being desirous of a settlement, offered to submit to lay ordination. In the meantime, Rev. Dr. Mather of Massachusetts had instituted charges against him. One of these was “Unguarded conversation.” The matter came before a town-meeting in May, 1719, and MacSparran was exonerated. Angered by their defeat, his opponents then questioned the genuineness of his credentials. In order to give him an opportunity to establish his standing, the town: “Voted, That leave be granted to Mr. James MacSparran, our present minister, to take a voyage to Ireland, in order to procure a confirmation of his credentials, the truth of which being by some questioned; and that he return to us again some time in June next ensuing and proceed in the work of the ministry with us, if he procure the confirmation of the aforesaid credentials.” MacSparran departed, but never returned to that church or denomination. The harsh and illiberal treatment he had received from Mather and other zealots displeased him, and soon after he entered the Church of England, in which he remained until his death. MacSparran came to these parts again in 1721, this time as a Church of England missionary. He began his ministerial labors at St. Paul’s church in Narragansett (Kingstown, R. I.), and had charge of that colonial parish until his death in 1757. The settlers in that neighborhood had been visited by two ministers previous to Dr. MacSparran’s coming, but, as he declares, “they lacked resolution to grapple with the difficulties of the mission above a year apiece.” MacSparran married Miss Hannah Gardiner, daughter of William Gardiner, on May 22, 1722. The ceremony was performed in St. Paul’s church, Narragansett, by Rev. Samuel Honeyman, who had gone from Newport for the purpose. Dr. MacSparran was proud to be known as an Irishman. He could write and speak the Irish language, and always had a great affection for his native land. He was a kindly, noble-hearted man, and could, when occasion required, eloquently defend his Roman Catholic fellow-countrymen.