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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/14964-8.txt b/14964-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ac24be9 --- /dev/null +++ b/14964-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7470 @@ +Project Gutenberg's From Canal Boy to President, by Horatio Alger, Jr. + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: From Canal Boy to President + Or The Boyhood and Manhood of James A. Garfield + +Author: Horatio Alger, Jr. + +Release Date: February 7, 2005 [EBook #14964] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FROM CANAL BOY TO PRESIDENT *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Josephine Paolucci, Joshua Hutchinson +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + + +[Illustration: JAMES A. GARFIELD, +AT THE AGE OF 16. +_Copied by permission of_ J.F. RYDER, _Cleveland, G._] + + + + +FROM + +CANAL BOY TO PRESIDENT, + +OR THE + +BOYHOOD AND MANHOOD + +OF + +JAMES A. GARFIELD. + +BY + +HORATIO ALGER, JR., + +AUTHOR OF RAGGED DICK; LUCK AND PLUCK; TATTERED TOM, ETC. + +_ILLUSTRATED_. + +NEW YORK + +AMERICAN PUBLISHERS CORPORATION + +310-318 SIXTH AVENUE + +1881 + + + + +TO + +HARRY AND JAMES GARFIELD + +WHOSE PRIVATE SORROW + +IS THE PUBLIC GRIEF, + +THIS MEMORIAL OF THEIR ILLUSTRIOUS FATHER + +Is inscribed + +WITH THE WARMEST SYMPATHY. + + + + +GENERAL PREFACE. + + +The present series of volumes has been undertaken with the view of +supplying the want of a class of books for children, of a vigorous, +manly tone, combined with a plain and concise mode of narration. The +writings of Charles Dickens have been selected as the basis of the +scheme, on account of the well-known excellence of his portrayal of +children, and the interests connected with children--qualities which +have given his volumes their strongest hold on the hearts of parents. +These delineations having thus received the approval of readers of +mature age, it seemed a worthy effort to make the young also +participants in the enjoyment of these classic fictions, to introduce +the children of real life to these beautiful children of the +imagination. + +With this view, the career of Little Nell and her Grandfather, Oliver, +Little Paul, Florence Dombey, Smike, and the Child-Wife, have been +detached from the large mass of matter with which they were originally +connected, and presented, in the author's own language, to a new class +of readers, to whom the little volumes will we doubt not, be as +attractive as the larger originals have so long proved to the general +public. We have brought down these famous stories from the library to +the nursery--the parlor table to the child's hands--having a precedent +for the proceeding, if one be needed, in the somewhat similar work, the +Tales from Shakespeare, by one of the choicest of English authors and +most reverential of scholars, Charles Lamb. + +Newtonville, Mass. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +If I am asked why I add one to the numerous Lives of our dead President, +I answer, in the words of Hon. Chauncey M. Depew, because "our annals +afford no such incentive to youth as does his life, and it will become +one of the Republic's household stories." + +I have conceived, therefore, that a biography, written with a view to +interest young people in the facts of his great career, would be a +praiseworthy undertaking. The biography of General Garfield, however +imperfectly executed, can not but be profitable to the reader. In this +story, which I have made as attractive as I am able, I make no claim to +originality. I have made free use of such materials as came within my +reach, including incidents and reminiscences made public during the last +summer, and I trust I have succeeded, in a measure, in conveying a +correct idea of a character whose nobility we have only learned to +appreciate since death has snatched our leader from us. + +I take pleasure in acknowledging my obligations to two Lives of +Garfield, one by Edmund Kirke, the other by Major J.M. Bundy. Such of my +readers as desire a more extended account of the later life of Gen. +Garfield, I refer to these well-written and instructive works. + +HORATIO ALGER, JR. + +New York, _Oct_. 8, 1881. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +I.--THE FIRST PAIR OF SHOES + +II.--GROWING IN WISDOM AND STATURE + +III.--IN QUEST OF FORTUNE + +IV.--ON THE TOW-PATH + +V.--AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION + +VI.--JAMES LEAVES THE CANAL + +VII.--THE CHOICE OF A VOCATION + +VIII.--GEAUGA SEMINARY + +IX.--WAYS AND MEANS + +X.--A COUSIN'S REMINISCENCES + +XI.--LEDGE HILL SCHOOL + +XII.--WHO SHALL BE MASTER? + +XIII.--JAMES LEAVES GEAUGA SEMINARY + +XIV.--AT HIRAM INSTITUTE + +XV.--THREE BUSY YEARS + +XVI.--ENTERING WILLIAMS COLLEGE + +XVII.--LIFE IN COLLEGE + +XVIII.--THE CANAL-BOY BECOMES A COLLEGE PRESIDENT + +XIX.--GARFIELD AS A COLLEGE PRESIDENT + +XX.--GARFIELD BECOMES A STATE SENATOR + +XXI.--A DIFFICULT DUTY + +XXII.--JOHN JORDAN'S DANGEROUS JOURNEY + +XXIII.--GARFIELD'S BOLD STRATEGY + +XXIV.--THE BATTLE OF MIDDLE CREEK + +XXV.--THE PERILOUS TRIP UP THE BIG SANDY + +XXVI.--THE CANAL-BOY BECOMES A CONGRESSMAN + +XXVII.--GARFIELD'S COURSE IN CONGRESS + +XXVIII.--THE MAN FOR THE HOUR + +XXIX.--GARFIELD AS A LAWYER + +XXX.--THE SCHOLAR IN POLITICS + +XXXI.--THE TRIBUTES OF FRIENDS + +XXXII.--FROM CANAL-BOY TO PRESIDENT + +XXXIII.--THE NEW ADMINISTRATION + +XXXIV.--THE TRAGIC END + +XXXV.--MR. DEPEW'S ESTIMATE OF GARFIELD + +XXXVI.--THE LESSONS OF HIS LIFE + + + + +THE + +BOYHOOD AND MANHOOD + +OF + +JAMES A. GARFIELD. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE FIRST PAIR OF SHOES. + + +From a small and rudely-built log-cabin a sturdy boy of four years +issued, and looked earnestly across the clearing to the pathway that led +through the surrounding forest. His bare feet pressed the soft grass, +which spread like a carpet before the door. + +"What are you looking for, Jimmy?" asked his mother from within the +humble dwelling. + +"I'm looking for Thomas," said Jimmy. + +"It's hardly time for him yet. He won't be through work till after +sunset." + +"Then I wish the sun would set quick," said Jimmy. + +"That is something we can not hasten, my son. God makes the sun to rise +and to set in its due season." + +This idea was probably too advanced for Jimmy's comprehension, for he +was but four years of age, and the youngest of a family of four +children. His father had died two years before, leaving a young widow, +and four children, the eldest but nine, in sore straits. A long and +severe winter lay before the little family, and they had but little corn +garnered to carry them through till the next harvest. But the young +widow was a brave woman and a devoted mother. + +"God will provide for us," she said, but sometimes it seemed a mystery +how that provision was to come. More than once, when the corn was low in +the bin, she went to bed without her own supper, that her four children, +who were blessed with hearty appetites, might be satisfied. But when +twelve months had gone by, and the new harvest came in, the fields which +she and her oldest boy had planted yielded enough to place them beyond +the fear of want. God did help them, but it was because they helped +themselves. + +But beyond the barest necessaries the little family neither expected +nor obtained much. Clothing cost money, and there was very little money +in the log-cabin, or indeed in the whole settlement, if settlement it +can be called. There was no house within a mile, and the village a mile +and a half away contained only a school-house, a grist-mill, and a +little log store and dwelling. + +Two weeks before my story opens, a farmer living not far away called at +the log-cabin. Thomas, the oldest boy, was at work in a field near the +house. + +"Do you want to see mother?" he asked. + +"No, I want to see you." + +"All right, sir! Here I am," said Thomas, smiling pleasantly. + +"How old are you?" asked the farmer. + +"Eleven years old, sir." + +The farmer surveyed approvingly the sturdy frame, broad shoulders, and +muscular arms of the boy, and said, after a pause, "You look pretty +strong of your age." + +"Oh, yes, sir," answered Thomas, complacently "I am strong." + +"And you are used to farm work?" + +"Yes, sir. I do about all the outdoor work at home, being the only boy. +Of course, there is Jimmy, but he is only four, and that's too young to +work on the farm." + +"What does he want?" thought Thomas. + +He soon learned. + +"I need help on my farm, and I guess you will suit me," said Mr. Conrad, +though that was not his name. In fact, I don't know his name, but that +will do as well as any other. + +"I don't know whether mother can spare me, but I can ask her," said +Thomas. "What are you willing to pay?" + +"I'll give you twelve dollars a month, but you'll have to make long +days." + +Twelve dollars a month! Tom's eyes sparkled with joy, for to him it +seemed an immense sum--and it would go very far in the little family. + +"I am quite sure mother will let me go," he said. "I'll go in and ask +her." + +"Do so, sonny, and I'll wait for you here." + +Thomas swung open the plank door, and entered the cabin. + +It was about twenty feet one way by thirty the other. It had three small +windows, a deal floor, and the spaces between the logs of which it was +built were filled in with clay. It was certainly an humble dwelling, and +the chances are that not one of my young readers is so poor as not to +afford a better. Yet, it was not uncomfortable. It afforded fair +protection from the heat of summer, and the cold of winter, and was +after all far more desirable as a home than the crowded tenements of our +larger cities, for those who occupied it had but to open the door and +windows to breathe the pure air of heaven, uncontaminated by foul odors +or the taint of miasma. + +"Mother," said Thomas, "Mr. Conrad wants to hire me to work on his farm, +and he is willing to pay me twelve dollars a month. May I go?" + +"Ask Mr. Conrad to come in, Thomas." + +The farmer entered, and repeated his request. + +Mrs. Garfield, for this was the widow's name, was but little over +thirty. She had a strong, thoughtful face, and a firm mouth, that spoke +a decided character. She was just the woman to grapple with adversity, +and turning her unwearied hands to any work, to rear up her children in +the fear of the Lord, and provide for their necessities as well as +circumstances would admit. + +She didn't like to spare Thomas, for much of his work would be thrown +upon her, but there was great lack of ready money and the twelve dollars +were a powerful temptation. + +"I need Thomas at home," she said slowly, "but I need the money more. He +may go, if he likes." + +"I will go," said Thomas promptly. + +"How often can you let him come home?" was the next question. + +"Every fortnight, on Saturday night. He shall bring his wages then." + +This was satisfactory, and Thomas, not stopping to change his clothes, +for he had but one suit, went off with his employer. + +His absence naturally increased his mother's work, and was felt as a +sore loss by Jimmy, who was in the habit of following him about, and +watching him when he was at work. Sometimes his brother gave the little +fellow a trifle to do, and Jimmy was always pleased to help, for he was +fond of work, and when he grew older and stronger he was himself a +sturdy and indefatigable worker in ways not dreamed of then. + +The first fortnight was up, and Thomas was expected home. No one was +more anxious to see him than his little brother, and that was why Jimmy +had come out from his humble home, and was looking so earnestly across +the clearing. + +At last he saw him, and ran as fast as short legs could carry him to +meet his brother. + +"Oh, Tommy, how I've missed you!" he said. + +"Have you, Jimmy?" asked Thomas, passing his arm around his little +brother's neck. "I have missed you too, and all the family. Are all +well?" + +"Oh, yes." + +"That is good." + +As they neared the cabin Mrs. Garfield came out, and welcomed her oldest +boy home. + +"We are all glad to see you, Thomas," she said. "How have you got +along?" + +"Very well, mother." + +"Was the work hard?" + +"The hours were pretty long. I had to work fourteen hours a day." + +"That is too long for a boy of your age to work," said his mother +anxiously. + +"Oh, it hasn't hurt me, mother," said Thomas, laughing. "Besides, you +must remember I have been well paid. What do you say to that?" + +He drew from his pocket twelve silver half-dollars, and laid them on +the table, a glittering heap. + +"Is it all yours, Tommy?" asked his little brother wonderingly. + +"No, it belongs to mother. I give it to her." + +"Thank you, Thomas," said Mrs. Garfield, "but at least you ought to be +consulted about how it shall be spent. Is there anything you need for +yourself?" + +"Oh, never mind me! I want Jimmy to have a pair of shoes." + +Jimmy looked with interest at his little bare feet, and thought he would +like some shoes. In fact they would be his first, for thus far in life +he had been a barefooted boy. + +"Jimmy shall have his shoes," said Mrs. Garfield; "when you see the +shoemaker ask him to come here as soon as he can make it convenient." + +So, a few days later the shoemaker, who may possibly have had no shop of +his own, called at the log-cabin, measured Jimmy for a pair of shoes, +and made them on the spot, boarding out a part of his pay. + +The first pair of shoes made an important epoch in Jimmy Garfield's +life, for it was decided that he could now go to school. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +GROWING IN WISDOM AND STATURE. + + +The school was in the village a mile and a half away. It was a long walk +for a little boy of four, but sometimes his sister Mehetabel, now +thirteen years old, carried him on her back. When in winter the snow lay +deep on the ground Jimmy's books were brought home, and he recited his +lessons to his mother. + +This may be a good time to say something of the family whose name in +after years was to become a household word throughout the republic. They +had been long in the country. They were literally one of the first +families, for in 1636, only sixteen years after the Pilgrims landed on +Plymouth rock, and the same year that Harvard College was founded, +Edward Garfield, who had come from the edge of Wales, settled in +Watertown, Massachusetts, less than four miles from the infant college, +and there for more than a century was the family home, as several +moss-grown headstones in the ancient graveyard still testify. + +They did their part in the Revolutionary war, and it was not till the +war was over that Solomon Garfield, the great grandfather of the future +President, removed to the town of Worcester, Otsego County, N.Y. Here +lived the Garfields for two generations. Then Abram Garfield, the father +of James, moved to Northeastern Ohio, and bought a tract of eighty +acres, on which stood the log-cabin, built by himself, in which our +story opens. His wife belonged to a distinguished family of New +England--the Ballous--and possessed the strong traits of her kindred. + +But the little farm of eighty acres was smaller now. Abram Garfield died +in debt, and his wife sold off fifty acres to pay his creditors, leaving +thirty, which with her own industry and that of her oldest son served to +maintain her little family. + +The school-house was so far away that Mrs. Garfield, who appreciated the +importance of education for her children, offered her neighbors a site +for a new school-house on her own land, and one was built. Here winter +after winter came teachers, some of limited qualifications, to instruct +the children of the neighborhood, and here Jimmy enlarged his stock of +book-learning by slow degrees. + +The years passed, and still they lived in the humble log-cabin, till at +the age of twenty-one Thomas came home from Michigan, where he had been +engaged in clearing land for a farmer, bringing seventy-five dollars in +gold. + +"Now, mother," he said, "you shall have a framed house." + +Seventy-five dollars would not pay for a framed house, but he cut timber +himself, got out the boards, and added his own labor, and that of Jimmy, +now fourteen years old, and so the house was built, and the log-cabin +became a thing of the past. But it had been their home for a long time, +and doubtless many happy days had been spent beneath its humble roof. + +While the house was being built, Jimmy learned one thing--that he was +handy with tools, and was well fitted to become a carpenter. When the +joiner told him that he was born to be a carpenter, he thought with joy +that this unexpected talent would enable him to help his mother, and +earn something toward the family expenses. So, for the next two years +he worked at this new business when opportunity offered, and if my +reader should go to Chagrin Falls, Ohio, he could probably find upon +inquiry several barns in the vicinity which Jimmy helped to build. + +He still went to school, however, and obtained such knowledge of the +mysteries of grammar, arithmetic, and geography as could be obtained in +the common schools of that day. + +But Jimmy Garfield was not born to be a carpenter, and I believe never +got so far along as to assist in building a house. + +He was employed to build a wood-shed for a black-salter, ten miles away +from his mother's house, and when the job was finished his employer fell +into conversation with him, and being a man of limited acquirements +himself, was impressed by the boy's surprising stock of knowledge. + +"You kin read, you kin write, and you are death on figgers," he said to +him one day. "If you'll stay with me, keep my 'counts, and 'tend to the +saltery, I'll find you, and give you fourteen dollars a month." + +Jimmy was dazzled by this brilliant offer. He felt that to accept it +would be to enter upon the high-road to riches, and he resolved to do +so if his mother would consent. Ten miles he trudged through the woods +to ask his mother's consent, which with some difficulty he obtained, for +she did not know to what influences he might be subjected, and so he got +started in a new business. + +Whether he would have fulfilled his employer's prediction, and some day +been at the head of a saltery of his own, we can not tell; but in time +he became dissatisfied with his situation, and returning home, waited +for Providence to indicate some new path on which to enter. + +One thing, however, was certain: he would not be content to remain long +without employment. He had an active temperament, and would have been +happiest when busy, even if he had not known that his mother needed the +fruits of his labor. + +He had one source of enjoyment while employed by the black-salter, which +he fully appreciated. Strange to say, his employer had a library, that +is, he had a small collection of books, gathered by his daughter, +prominent among which were Marryatt's novels, and "Sinbad the Sailor." +They opened a new world to his young accountant, and gave him an +intense desire to see the world, and especially to cross the great sea, +even in the capacity of a sailor. At home there was no library, not from +the lack of literary taste, but because there was no money to spend for +anything but necessaries. + +He had not been long at home when a neighbor, entering one day, said, +"James, do you want a job?" + +"Yes," answered James, eagerly. + +"There's a farmer in Newburg wants some wood chopped." + +"I can do it," said James, quietly. + +"Then you'd better go and see him." + +Newburg is within the present limits of Cleveland, and thither James +betook himself the next day. + +He was a stout boy, with the broad shoulders and sturdy frame of his +former ancestors, and he was sure he could give satisfaction. + +The farmer, dressed in homespun, looked up as the boy approached. + +"Are you Mr. ----?" asked James. + +"Yes." + +"I heard that you wanted some wood chopped." + +"Yes, but I am not sure if you can do it," answered the farmer, +surveying the boy critically. + +"I can do it," said James, confidently. + +"Very well, you can try. I'll give you seven dollars for the job." + +The price was probably satisfactory, for James engaged to do the work. +There proved to be twenty-five cords, and no one, I think, will consider +that he was overpaid for his labor. + +He was fortunate, at least, in the scene of his labor, for it was on the +shore of Lake Erie, and as he lifted his eyes from his work they rested +on the broad bosom of the beautiful lake, almost broad enough as it +appeared to be the ocean itself, which he had a strange desire to +traverse in search of the unknown lands of which he had read or dreamed. + +I suppose there are few boys who have not at some time fancied that they +should like "a life on the ocean wave, and a home on the rolling deep." +I have in mind a friend, now a physician, who at the age of fifteen left +a luxurious home, with the reluctant permission of his parents, for a +voyage before the mast to Liverpool, beguiled by one of the fascinating +narratives of Herman Melville. But the romance very soon wore off, and +by the time the boy reached Halifax, where the ship put in, he was so +seasick, and so sick of the sea, that he begged to be left on shore to +return home as he might. The captain had received secret instructions +from the parents to accede to such a wish, and the boy was landed, and +in due time returned home as a passenger. So it is said that George +Washington had an early passion for the sea, and would have become a +sailor but for the pain he knew it would give his mother. + +James kept his longings to himself for the present, and returned home +with the seven dollars he had so hardly earned. + +There was more work for him to do. A Mr. Treat wanted help during the +haying and harvesting season, and offered employment to the boy, who was +already strong enough to do almost as much as a man; for James already +had a good reputation as a faithful worker. "Whatever his hands found to +do, he did it with his might," and he was by no means fastidious as to +the kind of work, provided it was honest and honorable. + +When the harvest work was over James made known his passion for the +sea. + +Going to his mother, he said: "Mother, I want above all things to go to +sea." + +"Go to sea!" replied his mother in dismay. "What has put such an idea +into your head?" + +"It has been in my head for a long time," answered the boy quietly. "I +have thought of nothing else for the last year." + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +IN QUEST OF FORTUNE. + + +James had so persuaded himself that the sea was his vocation, and was so +convinced of the pleasures and advantages it would bring, that it had +not occurred to him that his mother would object. + +"What made you think of the sea, James?" his mother asked with a +troubled face. + +"It was the books I read last year, at the black salter's. Oh, mother, +did you ever read Marryatt's novels, and 'Sinbad the Sailor'?" + +"I have read 'Sinbad the Sailor,' but you know that is a fairy story, my +son." + +"It may be, but Marryatt's stories are not. It must be splendid to +travel across the mighty ocean, and see foreign countries." + +"A sailor doesn't have the chance to see much. You have no idea of the +hardships of his life." + +"I am used to hardships, and I am not afraid of hard work. But you seem +disappointed, mother. What have you thought of for me?" + +"I have hoped, James, that you might become a learned man, perhaps a +college professor. Surely that would be better than to be a common +sailor." + +"But I wouldn't stay a common sailor, mother. I would be a captain some +time." + +I suppose there is no doubt that, had James followed the sea, he would +have risen to the command of a ship, but the idea did not seem to dazzle +his mother. + +"If you go to sea I shall lose you," said his mother. "A sailor can +spend very little time with his family. Think carefully, my son. I +believe your present fancy will be short-lived, and you will some day +wonder that you ever entertained it." + +Such, however, was not the boy's idea at the time. His mother might have +reason on her side, but it takes more than reason to dissipate a boy's +passion for the sea. + +"You speak of my becoming a scholar, mother," he said, "but there +doesn't seem much chance of it. I see nothing but work as a carpenter, +or on the farm." + +"You don't know what God may have in store for you, my son. As you say, +there seems no way open at present for you to become a scholar; but if +you entertain the desire the way will be open. Success comes to him who +is in earnest." + +"What, then, do you want me to do, mother! Do you wish me to stay at +home?" + +"No, for there seems little for you to do here. Go to Cleveland, if you +like, and seek some respectable employment. If, after a time, you find +your longing for the sea unconquered, it will be time to look out for a +berth on board ship." + +James, in spite of his earnest longing to go to sea, was a reasonable +boy, and he did not object to his mother's plan. The next morning he +tied his slender stock of clothing in a small bundle, bade a tearful +good-bye to his mother, whose loving glances followed him far along his +road, and with hope and enthusiasm trudged over a hard road to +Cleveland, that beautiful city, whither, nearly forty years afterward, +he was to be carried in funereal state, amid the tears of countless +thousands. In that city where his active life began, it was to finish. + +A long walk was before him, for Cleveland was seventeen miles away. He +stopped to rest at intervals, and it was not until the sun had set and +darkness enveloped the town that he entered it with weary feet. + +He betook himself to a cheap boarding-place whither he had been +directed, and soon retired to bed. His fatigue brought him a good +night's sleep, and he woke refreshed and cheered to look about him and +decide upon his future plans. + +Cleveland does not compare in size with New York, Philadelphia, or +Boston, and thirty-five years ago it was much smaller than now. But +compared with James' native place, and the villages near him, it was an +impressive place. There were large business blocks, and handsome +churches, and paved streets, and a general city-like appearance which +interested James greatly. On the whole, even if he had to give up going +to sea, he thought he might enjoy himself in such a lively place as +this. But of course he must find employment. + +So he went into a store and inquired if they wanted a boy. + +"What can you do?" asked the storekeeper, looking at the boy with his +countrified air and rustic suit. + +"I can read, write, and cipher," answered James. + +"Indeed!" said the storekeeper smiling. "All our boys can do that. Is +that all you can do?" + +James might have answered that he could chop wood, work at carpentering, +plant and harvest, but he knew very well that these accomplishments +would be but little service to him here. Indeed, he was rather puzzled +to know what he could do that would earn him a living in a smart town +life Cleveland. However, he didn't much expect to find his first +application successful, so he entered another store and preferred his +request. + +"You won't suit us," was the brusque reply. "You come from the country, +don't you?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"You look like it. Well, I will give you a piece of advice." + +"What is that, sir?" + +"Go back there. You are better suited to country than the city. I +daresay you would make a very good hand on a farm. We need different +sort of boys here." + +This was discouraging. James didn't know why he would not do for a city +store or office. He was strong enough, and he thought he knew enough, +for he had not at present much idea of what was taught at seminaries of +a higher grade than the district schools he had been accustomed to +attend. + +"Well," he said to himself, "I've done what mother asked me to do. I've +tried to get a place here, and there doesn't seem to be a place for me. +After all, I don't know but I'd better go to Ohio." + +Cleveland was not of course a sea-port, but it had considerable lake +trade, and had a line of piers. + +James found his way to the wharves, and his eye lighted up as he saw the +sloops and schooners which were engaged in inland trade. He had never +seen a real ship, or those schooners and sloops would have had less +attraction for him. + +In particular his attention was drawn to one schooner, not over-clean or +attractive, but with a sea-faring look, as if it had been storm-tossed +and buffeted. Half a dozen sailors were on board, but they were grimed +and dirty, and looked like habitual drinkers--probably James would not +have fancied becoming like one of these, but he gave little thought to +their appearance. He only thought how delightful it would be to have +such a floating home. + +"Is the captain on board?" the boy ventured to ask. + +"He's down below," growled the sailor whom he addressed. + +"Will he soon come up?" + +He was answered in the affirmative. + +So James lingered until the man he inquired for came up. + +He was a brutal-looking man, as common in appearance as any of the +sailors whom he commanded, and the boy was amazed at his bearing. Surely +that man was not his ideal of a ship-captain. He thought of him as a +sort of prince, but there was nothing princely about the miserable, +bloated wretch before him. + +Still he preferred his application. + +"Do you want a new hand?" asked James. + +His answer was a volley of oaths and curses that made James turn pale, +for he had never uttered an oath in his life, and had never listened to +anything so disgusting as the tirade to which he was forced to listen. + +[Illustration: THE CANAL BOY] + +He sensibly concluded that nothing was to be gained by continuing the +conversation with such a man. He left the schooner's deck with a feeling +of discomfiture. He had never suspected that sailors talked or acted +like the men he saw. + +Still he clung to the idea that all sailors were not like this captain. +Perhaps again the rebuff he received was in consequence of his rustic +appearance. The captain might be prejudiced against him, just as the +shop-keepers had been, though the latter certainly had not expressed +themselves in such rude and profane language. He might not be fit for a +sailor yet, but he could prepare himself. + +He bethought himself of a cousin of his, by name Amos Letcher, who had +not indeed arrived at the exalted position of captain of a schooner, but +was content with the humbler position of captain of a canal-boat on the +Ohio and Pennsylvania Canal. + +This seemed to James a lucky thought. + +"I will go to Amos Letcher," he said to himself. "Perhaps he can find me +a situation on a canal-boat, and that will be the next thing to being on +board a ship." + +This thought put fresh courage into the boy, and he straightway +inquired for the _Evening Star_, which was the name of the boat +commanded by his cousin. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +ON THE TOW-PATH. + + +Captain Letcher regarded his young cousin in surprise. + +"Well, Jimmy, what brings you to Cleveland?" he asked. + +"I came here to ship on the lake," the boy answered. "I tried first to +get a place in a store, as I promised mother, but I found no opening. I +would rather be a sailor." + +"I am afraid your choice is not a good one; a good place on land is much +better than going to sea. Have you tried to get a berth?" + +"Yes, I applied to the captain of a schooner, but he swore at me and +called me a land-lubber." + +"So you are," returned his cousin smiling "Well, what are your plans +now?" + +"Can't you give me a place?" + +"What, on the canal?" + +"Yes cousin." + +"I suppose you think that would be the next thing to going to sea?" + +"It might prepare me for it." + +"Well," said Captain Letcher, good-naturedly, "I will see what I can do +for you. Can you drive a pair of horses?" + +"Oh, yes." + +"Then I will engage you. The pay is not very large, but you will live on +the boat." + +"How much do you pay?" asked James, who was naturally interested in the +answer to this question. + +"We pay from eight to ten dollars a month, according to length of +service and fidelity. Of course, as a new hand, you can not expect ten +dollars." + +"I shall be satisfied with eight, cousin." + +"Now, as to your duties. You will work six hours on and six hours off. +That's what we call a trick--the six hours on, I mean. So you will have +every other six hours to rest, or do anything you like; that is, after +you have attended to the horses." + +"Horses!" repeated James, puzzled; for the animals attached to the boat +at that moment were mules. + +"Some of our horses are mules," said Captain Letcher, smiling. +"However, it makes no difference. You will have to feed and rub them +down, and then you can lie down in your bunk, or do anything else you +like." + +"That won't be very hard work," said James, cheerfully. + +"Oh, I forgot to say that you can ride or walk, as you choose. You can +rest yourself by changing from one to the other." + +James thought he should like to ride on horseback, as most boys do. It +was not, however, so good fun as he anticipated. A canal-boat horse is +by no means a fiery or spirited creature. His usual gait is from two to +two and a half miles an hour, and to a boy of quick, active temperament +the slowness must be rather exasperating. Yet, in the course of a day a +boat went a considerable distance. It usually made fifty, and sometimes +sixty miles a day. The rate depended on the number of locks it had to +pass through. + +Probably most of my young readers understand the nature of a lock. As +all water seeks a level, there would be danger in an uneven country that +some parts of the canal would be left entirely dry, and in others the +water would overflow. For this reason at intervals locks are +constructed, composed of brief sections of the canal barricaded at each +end by gates. When a boat is going down, the near gates are thrown open +and the boat enters the lock, the water rushing in till a level is +secured; then the upper gates are closed, fastening the boat in the +lock. Next the lower gates are opened, the water in the lock seeks the +lower level of the other section of the canal, and the boat moves out of +the lock, the water subsiding gradually beneath it. Next, the lower +gates are closed, and the boat proceeds on its way. It will easily be +understood, when the case is reversed, and the boat is going up, how +after being admitted into the lock it will be lifted up to the higher +level when the upper gates are thrown open. + +If any of my young readers find it difficult to understand my +explanation, I advise them to read Jacob Abbot's excellent book, "Rollo +on the Erie Canal," where the whole matter is lucidly explained. + +Railroads were not at that time as common as now, and the canal was of +much more importance and value as a means of conveying freight. +Sometimes passengers traveled that way, when they were in not much of a +hurry, but there were no express canal-boats, and a man who chose to +travel in that way must have abundant leisure on his hands. There is +some difference between traveling from two to two and a half miles an +hour, and between thirty and forty, as most of our railroad express +trains do. + +James did not have to wait long after his engagement before he was put +on duty. With boyish pride he mounted one of the mules and led the +other. A line connected the mules with the boat, which was drawn slowly +and steadily through the water. James felt the responsibility of his +situation. It was like going to sea on a small scale, though the sea was +but a canal. At all events, he felt that he had more important work to +do than if he were employed as a boy on one of the lake schooners. + +James was at this time fifteen; a strong, sturdy boy, with a mass of +auburn hair, partly covered by a loose-fitting hat. He had a bright, +intelligent face, and an earnest look that attracted general attention. +Yet, to one who saw the boy guiding the patient mule along the +tow-path, it would have seemed a most improbable prediction, that one +day the same hand would guide the ship of State, a vessel of much more +consequence than the humble canal-boat. + +There was one comfort, at any rate. Though in his rustic garb he was not +well enough dressed to act as clerk in a Cleveland store, no one +complained that he was not well enough attired for a canal-boy. + +It will occur to my young reader that, though the work was rather +monotonous, there was not much difficulty or danger connected with it. +But even the guidance of a canal-boat has its perplexities, and James +was not long in his new position before he realized it. + +It often happened that a canal-boat going up encountered another going +down, and _vice versa_. Then care has to be exercised by the respective +drivers lest their lines get entangled. + +All had been going on smoothly till James saw another boat coming. It +might have been his inexperience, or it might have been the carelessness +of the other driver, but at any rate the lines got entangled. Meanwhile +the boat, under the impetus that had been given it, kept on its way +until it was even with the horses, and seemed likely to tow them along. + +"Whip up your team, Jim, or your line will ketch on the bridge!" called +out the steersman. + +The bridge was built over a waste-way which occurred just ahead, and it +was necessary for James to drive over it. + +The caution was heeded, but too late. James whipped up his mules, but +when he had reached the middle of the bridge the rope tightened, and +before the young driver fairly understood what awaited him, he and his +team were jerked into the canal. Of course he was thrown off the animal +he was riding, and found himself struggling in the water side by side +with the astonished mules. The situation was a ludicrous one, but it was +also attended with some danger. Even if he did not drown, and the canal +was probably deep enough for that, he stood in some danger of being +kicked by the terrified mules. + +The boy, however, preserved his presence of mind, and managed, with +help, to get out himself and to get his team out. + +Then Captain Letcher asked him, jocosely, "What were you doing in the +canal, Jim?" + +"I was just taking my morning bath," answered the boy, in the same +vein. + +"You'll do," said the captain, struck by the boy's coolness. + +Six hours passed, and James' "trick" was over. He and his mules were +both relieved from duty. Both were allowed to come on board the boat and +rest for a like period, while the other driver took his place on the +tow-path. + +"Well, Jim, how do you like it as far as you've got?" asked the captain. + +"I like it," answered the boy. + +"Shall you be ready to take another bath to-morrow morning?" asked his +cousin, slyly. + +"I think one bath a week will be sufficient," was the answer. + +Feeling a natural interest in his young cousin, Amos Letcher thought he +would examine him a little, to see how far his education had advanced. +Respecting his own ability as an examiner he had little doubt, for he +had filled the proud position of teacher in Steuben County, Indiana, for +three successive winters. + +"I suppose you have been to school more or less, Jim?" he said. + +"Oh, yes," answered the boy. + +"What have you studied?" + +James enumerated the ordinary school branches. They were not many, for +his acquirements were not extensive; but he had worked well, and was +pretty well grounded as far as he had gone. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION. + + +"I've taught school myself," said Captain Letcher, complacently. "I +taught for three winters in Indiana." + +James, who, even then, had a high opinion of learning, regarded the +canal-boat captain with increased respect. + +"I didn't know that," he answered, duly impressed. + +"Yes, I've had experience as a teacher. Now, if you don't mind, I'll ask +you a few questions, and find out how much you know. We've got plenty of +time, for it's a long way to Pancake Lock." + +[Illustration: CONFERENCE WITH DR. ROBINSON] + +"Don't ask me too hard questions," said the boy. "I'll answer the best I +know." + +Upon this Captain Letcher, taking a little time to think, began to +question his young cousin in the different branches he had enumerated. +The questions were not very hard, for the good captain, though he had +taught school in Indiana, was not a profound scholar. + +James answered every question promptly and accurately, to the increasing +surprise of his employer. + +The latter paused. + +"Haven't you any more questions?" asked James. + +"No, I don't think of any." + +"Then may I ask you some?" + +"Yes, if you want to," answered the captain, rather surprised. + +"Very well," said James. "A man went to a shoemaker and bought a pair of +boots, for which he was to pay five dollars. He offered a fifty-dollar +bill, which the shoemaker sent out and had changed. He paid his customer +forty-five dollars in change, and the latter walked off with the boots. +An hour later he ascertained that the bill was a counterfeit, and he was +obliged to pay back fifty dollars in good money to the man who had +changed the bill for him. Now, how much did he lose?" + +"That's easy enough. He lost fifty dollars and the boots." + +"I don't think that's quite right," said James, smiling. + +"Of course it is. Didn't he have to pay back fifty dollars in good +money, and didn't the man walk off with the boots?" + +"That's true; but he neither lost nor made by changing the bill. He +received fifty dollars in good money and paid back the same, didn't he?" + +"Yes." + +"Whatever he lost his customer made, didn't he?" + +"Yes." + +"Well, the man walked off with forty-five dollars and a pair of boots. +The other five dollars the shoemaker kept himself." + +"That's so, Jim. I see it now, but it's rather puzzling at first. Did +you make that out yourself?" + +"Yes." + +"Then you've got a good head--better than I expected. Have you got any +more questions?" + +"Just a few." + +So the boy continued to ask questions, and the captain was more than +once obliged to confess that he could not answer. He began to form a +new opinion of his young cousin, who, though he filled the humble +position of a canal-boy, appeared to be well equipped with knowledge. + +"I guess that'll do, Jim," he said after a while. "You've got ahead of +me, though I didn't expect it. A boy with such a head as you've got +ought not to be on the tow-path." + +"What ought I to be doing, cousin?" + +"You ought to keep school. You're better qualified than I am to-day, and +yet I taught for three winters in Indiana." + +James was pleased with this tribute to his acquirements, especially from +a former schoolmaster. + +"I never thought of that," he said. "I'm too young to keep school. I'm +only fifteen." + +"That is rather young. You know enough; but I aint sure that you could +tackle some of the big boys that would be coming to school. You know +enough, but you need more muscle. I'll tell you what I advise. Stay with +me this summer--it won't do you any hurt, and you'll be earning +something--then go to school a term or two, and by that time you'll be +qualified to teach a district school." + +"I'll think of what you say, cousin," said James, thoughtfully. "I +don't know but your advice is good." + +It is not always easy to say what circumstances have most influence in +shaping the destiny of a boy, but it seems probable that the +conversation which has just been detailed, and the discovery that he was +quite equal in knowledge to a man who had been a schoolmaster, may have +put new ideas into the boy's head, destined to bear fruit later. + +For the present, however, his duties as a canal-boy must be attended to, +and they were soon to be resumed. + +About ten o'clock that night, when James was on duty, the boat +approached the town of Akron, where there were twenty-one locks to be +successively passed through. + +The night was dark, and, though the bowman of the _Evening Star_ did not +see it, another boat had reached the same lock from the opposite +direction. Now in such cases the old rule, "first come, first served," +properly prevailed. + +The bowman had directed the gates to be thrown open, in order that the +boat might enter the lock, when a voice was heard through the darkness, +"Hold on, there! Our boat is just round the bend, ready to enter." + +"We have as much right as you," said the bowman. + +As he spoke he commenced turning the gate. + +My young reader will understand from the description already given that +it will not do to have both lower and upper gates open at the same time. +Of course, one or the other boat must wait. + +Both bowmen were determined to be first, and neither was willing to +yield. Both boats were near the lock, their head-lights shining as +bright as day, and the spirit of antagonism reached and affected the +crews of both. + +Captain Letcher felt called upon to interfere lest there should be +serious trouble. + +He beckoned to his bowman. + +"Were you here first?" he asked. + +"It is hard to tell," answered the bowman, "but I'm bound to have the +lock, anyhow." + +The captain was not wholly unaffected by the spirit of antagonism which +his bowman displayed. + +"All right; just as you say," he answered, and it seemed likely that +conflict was inevitable. + +James Garfield had been an attentive observer, and an attentive +listener to what had been said. He had formed his own ideas of what was +right to be done. + +"Look here, captain," he said, tapping Captain Letcher on the arm, "does +this lock belong to us?" + +"I really suppose, according to law, it does not; but we will have it, +anyhow." + +"No, we will not," replied the boy. + +"And why not?" asked the captain, naturally surprised at such a speech +from his young driver. + +"Because it does not belong to us." + +The captain was privately of opinion that the boy was right, yet but for +his remonstrance he would have stood out against the claims of the rival +boat. He took but brief time for considerations, and announced his +decision. + +"Boys," he said to his men, "Jim is right. Let them have the lock." + +Of course there was no more trouble, but the bowman, and the others +connected with the _Evening Star_, were angry. It irritated them to be +obliged to give up the point, and wait humbly till the other boat had +passed through the lock. + +The steersman was George Lee. When breakfast was called, he sat down by +James. + +"What is the matter with you, Jim?" he asked. + +"Nothing at all." + +"What made you so for giving up the lock last night?" + +"Because it wasn't ours. The other boat had it by right." + +"Jim, you are a coward," said Lee contemptuously. "You aint fit for a +boatman. You'd better go back to the farm and chop wood or milk cows, +for a man or boy isn't fit for this business that isn't ready to fight +for his rights." + +James did not answer. Probably he saw that it would be of no use. George +Lee was for his own boat, right or wrong; but James had already begun to +reflect upon the immutable principles of right or wrong, and he did not +suffer his reason to be influenced by any considerations touching his +own interests or his own pride. + +As to the charge of cowardice it did not trouble him much. On a suitable +occasion later on (we shall tell the story in due season) he showed that +he was willing to contend for his rights, when he was satisfied that the +right was on his side. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +JAMES LEAVES THE CANAL. + + +James was not long to fill the humble position of driver. Before the +close of the first trip he was promoted to the more responsible office +of bowman. Whether his wages were increased we are not informed. + +It may be well in this place to mention that a canal boat required, +besides the captain, two drivers, two steersmen, a bowman, and a cook, +the last perhaps not the least important of the seven. "The bowman's +business was to stop the boat as it entered the lock, by throwing the +bowline that was attached to the bow of the boat around the snubbing +post." It was to this position that James was promoted, though I have +some doubt whether the place of driver, with the opportunities it +afforded of riding on horse or mule-back, did not suit him better. +Still, promotion is always pleasant, and in this case it showed that +the boy had discharged his humbler duties satisfactorily. + +I have said that the time came when James showed that he was not a +coward. Edmund Kirke, in his admirable life of Garfield, has condensed +the captain's account of the occurrence, and I quote it here as likely +to prove interesting to my boy readers: + +"The _Evening Star_ was at Beaver, and a steamboat was ready to tow her +up to Pittsburg. The boy was standing on deck with the selting-pole +against his shoulders, and some feet away stood Murphy, one of the boat +hands, a big, burly fellow of thirty-five, when the steamboat threw the +line, and, owing to a sudden lurch of the boat, it whirled over the +boy's head, and flew in the direction of the boatman. 'Look out, +Murphy!' cried the boy; but the rope had anticipated him, and knocked +Murphy's hat off into the river. The boy expressed his regret, but it +was of no avail. In a towering rage the man rushed upon him, with his +head down, like a maddened animal; but, stepping nimbly aside, the boy +dealt him a powerful blow behind the ear, and he tumbled to the bottom +of the boat among the copper ore. Before he could rise the boy was upon +him, one hand upon his throat, the other raised for another blow upon +his frontispiece. + +"'Pound the cussed fool, Jim!' cried Captain Letcher, who was looking on +appreciatingly. 'If he haint no more sense'n to get mad at accidents, +giv it ter him! Why don't you strike?' + +"But the boy did not strike, for the man was down and in his power. +Murphy expressed regret for his rage, and then Garfield gave him his +hand, and they became better friends than ever before. This victory of a +boy of sixteen over a man of thirty-five obliterated the notion of young +Garfield's character for cowardice, and gave him a great reputation +among his associates. The incident is still well remembered among the +boatmen of the Ohio and Pennsylvania Canal." + +The boy's speedy reconciliation to the man who had made so unprovoked an +assault upon him was characteristic of his nature. He never could +cherish malice, and it was very hard work for him to remain angry with +any one, however great the provocation. + +Both as a boy and as a man he possessed great physical strength, as may +be inferred from an incident told by the Boston _Journal_ of his life +when he was no longer the humble canal-boy, but a brigadier-general in +the army: + +"At Pittsburg Landing one night in 1862 there was a rush for rations by +some newly-arrived troops. One strong, fine-looking soldier presented a +requisition for a barrel of flour, _and, shouldering it, walked off with +ease_. When the wagon was loaded, this same man stepped up to Colonel +Morton, commanding the commissary steamers there, and remarked, 'I +suppose you require a receipt for these supplies?' 'Yes,' said the +Colonel, as he handed over the usual blank; 'just take this provision +return, and have it signed by your commanding officer.' 'Can't I sign +it?' was the reply. 'Oh, no,' said the affable Colonel Morton; 'it +requires the signature of a commissioned officer.' Then came the remark, +that still remains fresh in the Colonel's memory: 'I am a commissioned +officer--I'm a brigadier-general, and my name is Garfield, of Ohio.'" + +For four months James remained connected with the canal-boat. To show +that traveling by canal is not so free from danger as it is supposed to +be, it may be stated that in this short time he fell into the water +fourteen times. Usually he scrambled out without further harm than a +good wetting. One night, however, he was in serious pain. + +It was midnight, and rainy, when he was called up to take his turn at +the bow. The boat was leaving one of those long reaches of slack-water +which abound in the Ohio and Pennsylvania Canal. He tumbled out of bed +in a hurry, but half awake, and, taking his stand on the narrow platform +below the bow-deck, he began uncoiling a rope to steady the boat through +a lock it was approaching. Finally it knotted, and caught in a narrow +cleft on the edge of the deck. He gave it a strong pull, then another, +till it gave way, sending him over the bow into the water. Down he went +in the dark river, and, rising, was bewildered amid the intense +darkness. It seemed as if the boy's brief career was at its close. But +he was saved as by a miracle. Reaching out his hand in the darkness, it +came in contact with the rope. Holding firmly to it as it tightened in +his grasp, he used his strong arms to draw himself up hand over hand. +His deliverance was due to a knot in the rope catching in a crevice, +thus, as it tightened, sustaining him and enabling him to climb on +deck. + +It was a narrow escape, and he felt it to be so. He was a thoughtful +boy, and it impressed him. The chances had been strongly against him, +yet he had been saved. + +"God did it," thought James reverently, "He has saved my life against +large odds, and He must have saved it for some purpose. He has some work +for me to do." + +Few boys at his age would have taken the matter so seriously, yet in the +light of after events shall we not say that James was right, and that +God did have some work for him to perform? + +This work, the boy decided, was not likely to be the one he was at +present engaged in. The work of a driver or a bowman on a canal is +doubtless useful in its way, but James doubted whether he would be +providentially set apart for any such business. + +It might have been this deliverance that turned his attention to +religious matters. At any rate, hearing that at Bedford there was a +series of protracted meetings conducted by the Disciples, as they were +called, he made a trip there, and became seriously impressed. There, +too, he met a gentleman who was destined to exert an important influence +over his destiny. + +This gentleman was Dr. J.P. Robinson, who may be still living. Dr. +Robinson took a great liking to the boy, and sought to be of service to +him. He employed him, though it may have been at a later period, to chop +wood, and take care of his garden, and do chores about the house, and +years afterward, as we shall see, it was he that enabled James to enter +Williams College, and pursue his studies there until he graduated, and +was ready to do the work of an educated man in the world. But we must +not anticipate. + +Though James was strong and healthy he was not proof against the disease +that lurked in the low lands bordering on the canal. He was attacked by +fever and ague, and lay for some months sick at home. It was probably +the only long sickness he had till the fatal wound which laid him on his +bed when in the fullness of his fame he had taken his place among kings +and rulers. It is needless to say that he had every attention that a +tender mother could bestow, and in time he was restored to health. + +During his sickness he had many talks with his mother upon his future +prospects, and the course of life upon which it was best for him to +enter. He had not yet given up all thoughts of the sea, he had not +forgotten the charms with which a sailor's life is invested in +Marryatt's fascinating novels. His mother listened anxiously to his +dreams of happiness on the sea, and strove to fix his mind upon higher +things--to inspire him with a nobler ambition. + +"What would you have me do, mother?" he asked. + +"If you go back to the canal, my son, with the seeds of this disease +lurking in your system, I fear you will be taken down again. I have +thought it over. It seems to me you had better go to school this spring, +and then, with a term in the fall, you may be able to teach in the +winter. If you teach winters, and work on the canal or lake summers, you +will have employment the year round." + +Nevertheless Mrs. Garfield was probably not in favor of his spending his +summers in the way indicated. She felt, however, that her son, who was a +boy like other boys, must be gradually weaned from the dreams that had +bewitched his fancy. + +Then his mother proposed a practical plan. + +"You have been obliged to spend all your money," she said, "but your +brother Thomas and I will be able to raise seventeen dollars for you to +start to school on, and when that is gone perhaps you will be able to +get along on your own resources." + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE CHOICE OF A VOCATION + + +James Garfield's experience on the canal was over. The position was such +an humble one that it did not seem likely to be of any service in the +larger career which one day was to open before him. But years afterward, +when as a brigadier-general of volunteers he made an expedition into +Eastern Kentucky, he realized advantage from his four months' experience +on the canal. His command had run short of provisions, and a boat had +been sent for supplies, but the river beside which the men were encamped +had risen so high that the boat dared not attempt to go up the river. +Then General Garfield, calling to his aid the skill with which he had +guided the _Evening Star_ at the age of fifteen, took command of the +craft, stood at the wheel forty-four hours out of the forty-eight, and +brought the supplies to his men at a time when they were eating their +last crackers. + +"Seek all knowledge, however trifling," says an eminent author, "and +there will come a time when you can make use of it." + +James may never have read this remark, but he was continually acting +upon it, and the spare moments which others devoted to recreation he +used in adding to his stock of general knowledge. + +The last chapter closes with Mrs. Garfield's advice to James to give up +his plan of going to sea, and to commence and carry forward a course of +education which should qualify him for a college professor, or a +professional career. Her words made some impression upon his mind, but +it is not always easy to displace cherished dreams. While she was +talking, a knock was heard at the door and Mrs. Garfield, leaving her +place at her son's bedside, rose and opened it. + +"I am glad to see you, Mr. Bates," she said with a welcoming smile. + +Samuel D. Bates was the teacher of the school near by, an earnest young +man, of exemplary habits, who was looking to the ministry as his chosen +vocation. + +"And how is James to-day?" asked the teacher, glancing toward the bed. + +"So well that he is already beginning to make plans for the future," +answered his mother. + +"What are your plans, James?" asked the young man. + +"I should like best to go to sea," said James, "but mother doesn't +approve of it." + +"She is wise," said Bates, promptly. "You would find it a great +disappointment." + +"But, it must be delightful to skim over the waters, and visit countries +far away," said the boy, his cheeks flushing, and his eyes glowing with +enthusiasm. + +"You think so now; but remember, you would be a poor, ignorant sailor, +and would have to stay by the ship instead of exploring the wonderful +cities at which the ship touched. Of course, you would have an +occasional run on shore, but you could not shake off the degrading +associations with which your life on shipboard would surround you." + +"Why should a sailor's life be degrading?" asked James. + +"It need not be necessarily, but as a matter of fact most sailors have +low aims and are addicted to bad habits. Better wait till you can go to +sea as a passenger, and enjoy to the full the benefits of foreign +travel." + +"There is something in that," said James, thoughtfully. "If I could only +be sure of going some day." + +"Wouldn't it be pleasant to go as a man of culture, as a college +professor, as a minister, or as a lawyer, able to meet on equal terms +foreign scholars and gentlemen?" + +This was a new way of putting it, and produced a favorable impression on +the boy's mind. Still, the boy had doubts, and expressed them freely. + +"That sounds well," he said; "but how am I to know that I have brain +enough to make a college professor, or a minister, or a lawyer?" + +"I don't think there is much doubt on that point," said Bates, noting +the bright, expressive face, and luminous eyes of the sick boy. "I +should be willing to guarantee your capacity. Don't you think yourself +fit for anything better than a common sailor?" + +"Yes," answered James. "I think I could make a good carpenter, for I +know something about that trade already, and I daresay I could make a +good trader if I could find an opening to learn the business; but it +takes a superior man to succeed in the positions you mention." + +"There are plenty of men with only average ability who get along very +creditably; but I advise you, if you make up your mind to enter the +lists, to try for a high place." + +The boy's eyes sparkled with new ambition. It was a favorite idea with +him afterward, that every man ought to feel an honorable ambition to +succeed as well as possible in his chosen path. + +"One thing more," added Bates. "I don't think you have any right to +become a sailor." + +"No right? Oh, you mean because mother objects." + +"That, certainly, ought to weigh with you as a good son; but I referred +to something else." + +"What then?" + +"Do you remember the parable of the talents?" + +James had been brought up by his mother, who was a devoted religious +woman, to read the Bible, and he answered in the affirmative. + +"It seems to me that you are responsible for the talents which God has +bestowed upon you. If you have the ability or the brain, as you call +it, to insure success in a literary career, don't you think you would +throw yourself away if you became a sailor?" + +Mrs. Garfield, who had listened with deep interest to the remarks of the +young man, regarded James anxiously, to see what effect these arguments +were having upon him. She did not fear disobedience. She knew that if +she should make it a personal request, James was dutiful enough to +follow her wishes; but she respected the personal independence of her +children, and wanted to convince, rather than to coerce, them. + +"If I knew positively that you were right in your estimate of me, Mr. +Bates, I would go in for a course of study." + +"Consult some one in whose judgment you have confidence, James," said +the teacher, promptly. + +"Can you suggest any one?" asked the boy. + +"Yes, Dr. J.P. Robinson, of Bedford, is visiting at the house of +President Hayden, of Hiram College. You have heard of him?" + +"Yes." + +"He is a man of ripe judgment, and you can rely implicitly on what he +says." + +"As soon as I am well enough I will do as you advise," said James. + +"Then I am satisfied. I am sure the doctor will confirm my advice." + +"Mr. Bates," said Mrs. Garfield, as she followed out the young teacher, +"I am much indebted to you for your advice to James. It is in accordance +with my wishes. If he should decide to obtain an education, where would +you advise him to go?" + +"To the seminary where I have obtained all the education I possess," +answered the young man. + +"Where is it?" + +"It is called the 'Geauga Seminary,' and is located in Chester, in the +next county. For a time it will be sufficient to meet all James' needs. +When he is further advanced he can go to Hiram College." + +"Is it expensive?" asked Mrs. Garfield. "James has no money except the +few dollars his brother and I can spare him." + +"He will have plenty of company. Most of the students are poor, but +there are chances of finding work in the neighborhood, and so earning a +little money. James knows something of the carpenter's trade?" + +"Yes, he helped build the house we live in, and he has been employed on +several barns." + +My readers will remember that the Garfields no longer lived in the +humble log-cabin in which we first found them. The money Thomas brought +home from Michigan, supplemented by the labor of James and himself, had +replaced it by a neat frame house, which was much more comfortable and +sightly. + +"That will do. I think I know a man who will give him employment." + +"He is a boy of energy. If he gets fairly started at school, I think he +will maintain himself there," said Mrs. Garfield. + +The teacher took his leave. + +When Mrs. Garfield re-entered the room she found James looking very +thoughtful. + +"Mother," he said, abruptly, "I want to get well as quick as I can. I am +sixteen years old, and it is time I decided what to do with myself." + +"You will think of what Mr. Bates has said, will you not?" + +"Yes, mother; as soon as I am well enough I will call on Dr. Robinson +and ask his candid opinion. I will be guided by what he says." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +GEAUGA SEMINARY. + + +I have stated in a previous chapter that James became acquainted with +Dr. Robinson while still employed on the canal. This statement was made +on the authority of Mr. Philo Chamberlain, of Cleveland, who was part +proprietor of the line of canal-boats on which the boy was employed. +Edmund Kirke, however, conveys the impression that James was a stranger +to the doctor at the time he called upon him after his sickness. Mr. +Kirke's information having been derived chiefly from General Garfield +himself, I shall adopt his version, as confirmed by Dr. Robinson. + +When James walked up to the residence of President Hayden, and inquired +for Dr. Robinson, he was decidedly homespun in appearance. He probably +was dressed in his best, but his best was shabby enough. His trousers +were of coarse satinet, and might have fitted him a season or two +before, but now were far outgrown, reaching only half-way down from the +tops of his cowhide boots. His waistcoat also was much too short, and +his coat was threadbare, the sleeves being so short as to display a +considerable portion of his arms. Add to these a coarse slouched hat, +much the worse for wear, and a heavy mass of yellow hair much too long, +and we can easily understand what the good doctor said of him: "He was +wonderfully awkward, but had a sort of independent, go-as-you-please +manner that impressed me favorably." + +"Who are you?" asked the doctor. + +"My name is James Garfield, from Solon." + +"Oh, I know your mother, and knew you when you were a babe, but you have +outgrown my knowledge. I am glad to see you." + +"I should like to see you alone," said James. + +The doctor led the way to a secluded spot in the neighborhood of the +house, and then, sitting down on a log, the youth, after a little +hesitation, opened his business. + +"You are a physician," he said, "and know the fiber that is in men. +Examine me and tell me with the utmost frankness whether I had better +take a course of liberal study. I am contemplating doing so, as my +desire is in that direction. But if I am to make a failure of it, or +practically so, I do not desire to begin. If you advise me not to do so +I shall be content." + +In speaking of this incident the doctor has remarked recently: "I felt +that I was on my sacred honor, and the young man looked as though he +felt himself on trial. I had had considerable experience as a physician, +but here was a case much different from any I had ever had. I felt that +it must be handled with great care. I examined his head and saw that +there was a magnificent brain there. I sounded his lungs, and found that +they were strong, and capable of making good blood. I felt his pulse, +and felt that there was an engine capable of sending the blood up to the +head to feed the brain. I had seen many strong physical systems with +warm feet and cold, sluggish brain; and those who possessed such systems +would simply sit round and doze. Therefore I was anxious to know about +the kind of an engine to run that delicate machine, the brain. At the +end of a fifteen minutes' careful examination of this kind, we rose, and +I said: + +"Go on, follow the leadings of your ambition, and ever after I am your +friend. You have the brain of a Webster, and you have the physical +proportions that will back you in the most herculean efforts. All you +need to do is to work; work hard, do not be afraid of over-working and +you will make your mark." + +It will be easily understood that these words from a man whom he held in +high respect were enough to fix the resolution of James. If he were +really so well fitted for the work and the career which his mother +desired him to follow, it was surely his duty to make use of the talents +which he had just discovered were his. + +After that there was no more question about going to sea. He +deliberately decided to become a scholar, and then follow where +Providence led the way. + +He would have liked a new suit of clothes, but this was out of the +question. All the money he had at command was the seventeen dollars +which his mother had offered him. He must get along with this sum, and +so with hopeful heart he set out for Geauga Seminary. + +He did not go alone. On hearing of his determination, two boys, one a +cousin, made up their minds to accompany him. + +Possibly my young readers may imagine the scene of leave-taking, as the +stage drove up to the door, and the boys with their trunks or valises +were taken on board, but if so, imagination would picture a scene far +different from the reality. Their outfit was of quite a different kind. + +For the sake of economy the boys were to board themselves, and Mrs. +Garfield with provident heart supplied James with a frying-pan, and a +few necessary dishes, so that his body might not suffer while his mind +was being fed. Such was the luxury that awaited James in his new home. I +am afraid that the hearts of many of my young readers would sink within +them if they thought that they must buy an education at such a cost as +that. But let them not forget that this homespun boy, with his poor +array of frying-pan and dishes, was years after to strive in legislative +halls, and win the highest post in the gift of his fellow-citizens. And +none of these things would have been his, in all likelihood, but for his +early struggle with poverty. + +So far as I know, neither of his companions was any better off than +James. All three were young adventurers traveling into the domains of +science with hopeful hearts and fresh courage, not altogether ignorant +of the hardships that awaited them, but prepared to work hard for the +prizes of knowledge. + +Arrived at Geauga Seminary, they called upon the principal and announced +for what purpose they had come. + +"Well, young men, I hope you mean to work?" he said. + +"Yes, sir," answered James promptly. "I am poor, and I want to get an +education as quick as I can." + +"I like your sentiments, and I will help you as far as I can." + +The boys succeeded in hiring a room in an old unpainted building near +the academy for a small weekly sum. It was unfurnished, but they +succeeded in borrowing a few dilapidated chairs from a neighbor who did +not require them, and some straw ticks, which they spread upon the floor +for sleeping purposes. In one corner they stowe their frying-pans, +kettles, and dishes, and then they set up housekeeping in humble style. + +The Geauga Seminary was a Freewill Baptist institution, and was attended +by a considerable number of students, to whom it did not, indeed, +furnish what is called "the higher education," but it was a considerable +advance upon any school that James had hitherto attended. English +grammar, natural philosophy, arithmetic, and algebra--these were the +principal studies to which James devoted himself, and they opened to him +new fields of thought. Probably it was at this humble seminary that he +first acquired the thirst for learning that ever afterward characterized +him. + +Let us look in upon the three boys a night or two after they have +commenced housekeeping. + +They take turns in cooking, and this time it is the turn of the one in +whom we feel the strongest interest. + +"What have we got for supper, boys?" he asks, for the procuring of +supplies has fallen to them. + +"Here are a dozen eggs," said Henry Bounton, his cousin. + +"And here is a loaf of bread, which I got at the baker's," said his +friend. + +"That's good! We'll have bread and fried eggs. There is nothing better +than that." + +"Eggs have gone up a cent a dozen," remarks Henry, gravely. + +This news is received seriously, for a cent means something to them. +Probably even then the price was not greater than six to eight cents a +dozen, for prices were low in the West at that time. + +"Then we can't have them so often," said James, philosophically, "unless +we get something to do." + +"There's a carpenter's-shop a little way down the street," said Henry. +"I guess you can find employment there." + +"I'll go round there after supper." + +Meanwhile he attended to his duty as cook, and in due time each of the +boys was supplied with four fried eggs and as much bread as he cared +for. Probably butter was dispensed with, as too costly a luxury, until +more prosperous times. + +When supper was over the boys took a walk, and then, returning to their +humble room, spent the evening in preparing their next morning's +lessons. + +In them James soon took leading rank, for his brain was larger, and his +powers of application and intuition great, as Dr. Robinson had implied. +From the time he entered Geauga Seminary probably he never seriously +doubted that he had entered upon the right path. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +WAYS AND MEANS. + + +James called on the carpenter after supper and inquired if he could +supply him with work. + +"I may be able to if you are competent," was the reply. "Have you ever +worked at the business?" + +"Yes." + +"Where?" + +"At Orange, where my home is." + +"How long did you work at it?" + +"Perhaps I had better tell you what I have done," said James. + +He then gave an account of the barns he had been employed upon, and the +frame house which he had assisted to build for his mother. + +"I don't set up for a first-class workman," he added, with a smile, "but +I think I can be of some use to you." + +"I will try you, for I am rather pressed with work just now." + +So, in a day or two James was set to work. + +The carpenter found that it was as he had represented. He was not a +first-class workman. Indeed, he had only a rudimentary knowledge of the +trade, but he was quick to learn, and in a short time he was able to +help in many ways. His wages were not very large, but they were +satisfactory, since they enabled him to pay his expenses and keep his +head above water. Before the seventeen dollars were exhausted, he had +earned quite a sum by his labor in the carpenter's-shop. + +About this time he received a letter from his brother. + +"Dear James," he wrote, "I shall be glad to hear how you are getting +along. You took so little money with you that you may need more. If so, +let me know, and I will try to send you some." + +James answered promptly: "Don't feel anxious about me, Thomas. I have +been fortunate enough to secure work at a carpenter's-shop, and my +expenses of living are very small. I intend not to call upon you or +mother again, but to pay my own way, if I keep my health." + +He kept his word, and from that time did not find it necessary to call +either upon his mother or his good brother, who was prepared to make +personal sacrifices, as he had been doing all his life, that his younger +brother might enjoy advantages which he had to do without. + +At length the summer vacation came. James had worked hard and won high +rank in his respective studies. He had a robust frame, and he seemed +never to get tired. No doubt he took especial interest in composition +and the exercises of the debating society which flourished at Geauga, as +at most seminaries of advanced education. In after-life he was so ready +and powerful in debate, that we can readily understand that he must have +begun early to try his powers. Many a trained speaker has first come to +a consciousness of his strength in a lyceum of boys, pitted against some +school-fellow of equal attainments. No doubt many crude and some +ludicrous speeches are made by boys in their teens, but at least they +learn to think on their feet, and acquire the ability to stand the gaze +of an audience without discomposure. A certain easy facility of +expression also is gained, which enables them to acquit themselves +creditably on a more important stage. + +James early learned that the best preparation for a good speech is a +thorough familiarity with the subject, and in his after-life he always +carefully prepared himself, so that he was a forcible debater, whom it +was not easy to meet and conquer. + +"He once told me how he prepared his speeches," said Representative +Williams, of Wisconsin, since his death. "First he filled himself with +the subject, massing all the facts and principles involved, so far as he +could; then he took pen and paper and wrote down the salient points in +what he regarded their logical order. Then he scanned these critically, +and fixed them in his memory. 'And then,' said he, 'I leave the paper in +my room and trust to the emergency.'" + +When the vacation came James began to look about for work. He could not +afford to be idle. Moreover, he hoped to be able to earn enough that he +might not go back empty-handed in the fall. + +Generally work comes to him who earnestly seeks it, and James heard of +a man who wanted some wood cut. + +He waited upon this man and questioned him about it. + +"Yes," he answered, "I want the wood cut. What will you charge to do +it?" + +"How much is there?" + +"About a hundred cords." + +James thought of the time when he cut twenty-five cords for seven +dollars, and he named a price to correspond. + +"I'll give you twenty-five dollars," said the proprietor of the wood. + +It was a low price for the labor involved, but, on the other hand, it +would be of essential service to the struggling student. + +"I will undertake it," he said. + +"When will you go to work?" + +"Now!" answered James promptly. + +How long it took him to do the work we have no record, but he doubtless +worked steadfastly till it was accomplished. We can imagine the +satisfaction he felt when the money was put into his hands, and he felt +that he would not need to be quite so economical in the coming term. + +Accordingly, when the vacation was over and James went back to the +seminary, he did not re-engage the room which he and his two friends had +rented the term before. He realized that to be in a condition to study +well he must feed his body well, and he was in favor of a more generous +system of diet. Besides, the labor required for cooking was so much time +taken from his study hours. + +He heard that a widow--Mrs. Stiles--mother of the present sheriff of +Ashtabula County, was prepared to receive boarders, and, accordingly, he +called upon her to ascertain if she would receive him. + +She knew something of him already, for she learned that he had obtained +the reputation of a steady and orderly student, and was disposed to +favor his application. + +The next question was an important one to young Garfield. + +"How much do you expect me to pay?" + +He waited with some anxiety for the answer, for though he had +twenty-five dollars in his pocket, the term was a long one, and tuition +was to be paid also. + +"A dollar and six cents will be about right," said Mrs. Stiles, "for +board, washing, and lodging." + +"That will be satisfactory," said James, with a sigh of relief, for he +saw his way clear to pay this sum for a time, at least, and for the +whole term if he could again procure employment at his old trade. + +A dollar and six cents! It was rather an odd sum, and we should consider +it nowadays as very low for any sort of board in any village, however +obscure or humble. But in those days it was not so exceptional, and +provisions were so much lower that the widow probably lost nothing by +her boarder, though she certainly could not have made much. + +James had no money to spare for another purpose, though there was need +enough of it. He needed some new clothes badly. He had neither +underclothing nor overcoat, and but one outside suit, of cheap Kentucky +jean. No doubt he was subjected to mortification on account of his +slender supply of clothing. At any rate he was once placed in +embarrassing circumstances. + +Toward the close of the term, as Mrs. Stiles says, his trowsers became +exceedingly thin at the knees, and one unlucky day, when he was +incautiously bending forward, they tore half-way round the leg, exposing +his bare knee. + +James was very much mortified, and repaired damages as well as he could +with a pin. + +"I need a new suit of clothes badly," he said in the evening, "but I +can't afford to buy one. See how I have torn my trowsers." + +"Oh, that is easy enough to mend," said Mrs. Stiles, cheerfully. + +"But I have no other pair to wear while they are being mended," said +James, with a blush. + +"Then you must go to bed early, and send them down by one of the boys. I +will darn the hole so that you will never know it. You won't mind such +trifles when you become President." + +It was a jocose remark, and the good lady little dreamed that, in after +years, the young man with but one pair of pantaloons, and those more +than half worn, would occupy the proud position she referred to. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +A COUSIN'S REMINISCENCES. + + +During his school-life at Geauga Seminary James enjoyed the +companionship of a cousin, Henry B. Boynton, who still lives on the farm +adjoining the one on which our hero was born. The relationship between +the two boys was much closer than is common between cousins; for while +their mothers were sisters, their fathers were half-brothers. Henry was +two years older than James, and they were more like brothers than +cousins. I am sure my young readers will be glad to read what Henry has +to say of their joint school-life. I quote from the account of an +interview held with a correspondent of the Boston _Herald_, bearing the +date of September 23, 1881: + +When General Garfield was nominated to the Presidency his old neighbors +in Orange erected a flag-staff where the house stood which Garfield and +his brother erected for their mother and sisters with their own hands, +after the log hut, a little farther out in the field nearer the wood, +had become unfit for habitation. Thomas Garfield, the uncle of the +President, who not long since was killed by a railroad accident, +directed the manual labor of rearing the shaft, and was proud of his +work. + +There is nothing except this hole left to mark his birth-place, and the +old well, not two rods off, which he and his brother dug to furnish +water for the family. In the little maple grove to the left, children +played about the school-house where the dead President first gathered +the rudiments upon which he built to such purpose. The old orchard in +its sere and yellow leaf, the dying grass, and the turning maple leaves +seemed to join in the great mourning. + +Adjoining the field where the flag floats is an unpretentious home, +almost as much identified with Gen. Garfield's early history as the one +he helped to clear of the forest timber while he was yet but a child. It +is the home of Henry B. Boynton, cousin of the dead President, and a +brother of Dr. Boynton, whose name has become so well known from recent +events. + +"While rambling over this place the correspondent came upon this near +relative of Garfield, smaller in stature than he was, but in features +bearing a striking resemblance to him. + +"General Garfield and I were like brothers," he said, as he turned from +giving some directions to his farm hands, now sowing the fall grain upon +ground which his cousin had first helped to break. "His father died +yonder, within a stone's throw of us, when the son was but a year and a +half old. He knew no other father than mine, who watched over the family +as if it had been his own. This very house in which I live was as much +his home as it was mine. + +"Over there," said he, pointing to the brick school-house in the grove +of maples, around which the happy children were playing, "is where he +and I both started for school. I have read a statement that he could not +read or write until he was nineteen. He could do both before he was +nine, and before he was twelve, so familiar was he with the Indian +history of the country, that he had named every tree in the orchard, +which his father planted as he was born, with the name of some Indian +chief, and even debated in societies, religion, and other topics with +men. One favorite tree of his he named Tecumseh, and the branches of +many of these old trees have been cut since his promotion to the +Presidency by relic-hunters, and carried away. + +"Gen. Garfield was a remarkable boy as well as man. It is not possible +to tell you the fight he made amid poverty for a place in life, and how +gradually he obtained it. When he was a boy he would rather read than +work. But he became a great student. He had to work after he was twelve +years of age. In those days we were all poor, and it took hard knocks to +get on. He worked clearing the fields yonder with his brother, and then +cut cord-wood, and did other farm labor to get the necessities of life +for his mother and sisters. + +"I remember when he was fourteen years of age, he went away to work at +Daniel Morse's, not four miles down the road from here, and after the +labors of the day he sat down to listen to the conversation of a teacher +in one of the schools of Cleveland, when it was yet a village, who had +called. The talk of the educated man pleased the boy, and, while intent +upon his story, a daughter of the man for whom he was working informed +the future President with great dignity that it was time that _servants_ +were in bed, and that she preferred his absence to his presence. + +"Nothing that ever happened to him so severely stung him as this +affront. In his youth he could never refer to it without indignation, +and almost immediately he left Mr. Morse's employ and went on the canal. +He said to me then that those people should live to see the day when +they would not care to insult him. + +"His experience on the canal was a severe one, but perhaps useful. I can +remember the winter when he came home after the summer's service there. +He had the chills all that fall and winter, yet he would shake and get +his lessons at home; go over to the school and recite, and thus keep up +with his class. The next spring found him weak from constant ague. Yet +he intended to return to the canal. + +"Here came the turning-point in his life. Mr. Bates, who taught the +school, pleaded with him not to do so, and said that if he would +continue in school till the next fall he could get a certificate. I +received a certificate about the same time The next year we went to the +seminary at Chester, only twelve miles distant. Here our books were +furnished us, and we cooked our own victuals. We lived upon a dollar a +week each. Our diet was strong, but very plain; mush and molasses, pork +and potatoes. Saturdays we took our axes, and went into the woods and +cut cord-wood. During vacations we labored in the harvest-field, or +taught a district school, as we could. + +"Yonder," said he, pointing to a beautiful valley, about two miles +distant, "stands the school-house where Garfield first taught school. He +got twelve dollars a month, and boarded round. I also taught school in a +neighboring town. We both went back to Chester to college, and would +probably have finished our education there, but it was a Baptist school, +and they were constantly making flings at the children of the Disciples, +and teaching sectarianism. As the Disciples grew stronger they +determined their children should not be subjected to such influence; the +college of our own Church was established at Hiram, and there Garfield +and I went." + +Though the remainder of the reminiscences somewhat anticipate the +course of our story, it is perhaps as well to insert it here. + +"We lodged in the basement most of the time, and boarded at the present +Mrs. Garfield's father's house. During our school-days here I nursed the +late President through an attack of the measles which nearly ended his +life. He has often said, that, were it not for my attention, he could +not have lived. So you see that the General and myself were very close +to one another from the time either of us could lisp until he became +President. Here is a picture we had taken together," showing an old +daguerreotype. "It does not resemble either of us much now. And yet they +do say that we bore in our childhood, and still bear, a striking +resemblance. I am still a farmer, while he grew great and powerful. He +never permitted a suggestion, however, to be made in, my presence as to +the difference in our paths of life. He visited me here before election, +and looked with gratification upon that pole yonder, and its flag, +erected by his neighbors and kinsmen. He wandered over the fields he had +himself helped clear and pointed out to me trees from the limbs of which +he had shot squirrel after squirrel, and beneath the branches of which +he had played and worked in the years of his infancy and boyhood. + +"I forgot to say that one of Gen. Garfield's striking characteristics +while he was growing up, was, that when he saw a boy in the class excel +him in anything, he never gave up till he reached the same standard, and +even went beyond it. It got to be known that no scholar could be ahead +of him. Our association as men has been almost as close as that of our +boyhood, though not as constant. The General never forgot his neighbors +or less fortunate kinsmen, and often visited us as we did him." + +More vivid than any picture I could draw is this description, by the +most intimate friend of his boyhood, of James Garfield's way of life, +his struggles for an education, his constant desire to excel, and his +devotion to duty. We have already pictured the rustic boy in his humble +room, cooking his own food, and living, as his cousin testifies, on a +dollar a week. Is there any other country where such humble beginnings +could lead to such influence and power? Is there any other land where +such a lad could make such rapid strides toward the goal which crowns +the highest ambition? It is the career of such men that most commends +our Government and institutions, proving as it does that by the humblest +and poorest the highest dignities may be attained. James was content to +live on mush and molasses, pork and potatoes, since they came within his +narrow means, and gave him sufficient strength to pursue his cherished +studies. Nor is his an exceptional case. I have myself known college and +professional students who have lived on sixty cents a week (how, it is +difficult to tell), while their minds were busy with the loftiest +problems that have ever engaged the human intellect. Such boys and young +men are the promise of the republic. They toil upwards while others +sleep, and many such have written their names high on the tablets in the +Temple of Fame. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +LEDGE HILL SCHOOL + + +Ever since he began to study at Geauga Seminary James had looked forward +to earning a little money by keeping school himself; not an advanced +school, of course, but an ordinary school, such as was kept in the +country districts in the winter. He felt no hesitation as to his +competence. The qualifications required by the school committees were by +no means large, and so far there was no difficulty. + +There was one obstacle, however: James was still a boy himself--a large +boy, to be sure, but he had a youthful face, and the chances were that +he would have a number of pupils older than himself. Could he keep +order? Would the rough country boys submit to the authority of one like +themselves, whatever might be his reputation as a scholar? This was a +point to consider anxiously. However, James had pluck, and he was ready +to try the experiment. + +He would have been glad to secure a school so far away that he could go +there as a stranger, and be received as a young man. But no such +opportunity offered. There was another opening nearer home. + +A teacher was wanted for the Ledge Hill district in Orange, and the +committee-man bethought himself of James Garfield. + +So one day he knocked at Mrs. Garfield's door. + +"Is James at home?" he asked. + +James heard the question, and came forward to meet his visitor. + +"Good-morning," he said, pleasantly; "did you want to see me?" + +"Are you calculating to keep school this winter" asked his visitor. + +"If I can get a school to keep," was the reply. + +"That's the business I came about. We want a schoolmaster for the Ledge +Hill School. How would you like to try it?" + +"The Ledge Hill School!" repeated James, in some dismay. "Why, all the +boys know me there." + +"Of course they do. Then they won't need to be introduced." + +"Will they obey me? That's what I was thinking of. There are some +pretty hard cases in that school." + +"That's where you are right." + +"I wouldn't like to try it and fail," said James, doubtfully. + +"You won't if you'll follow my advice," said the committee-man. + +"What's that?" + +"Thrash the first boy that gives you any trouble. Don't half do it; but +give him a sound flogging, so that he will understand who's master. +You're strong enough; you can do it." + +James extended his muscular arm with a smile. He knew he was strong. He +was a large boy, and his training had been such as to develop his +muscles. + +"You know the boys that will go to school. Is there any one that can +master you?" asked his visitor. + +"No, I don't think there is," answered James, with a smile. + +"Then you'll do. Let 'em know you are not afraid of them the first day. +That's the best advice I can give you." + +"I shouldn't like to get into a fight with a pupil," said James, +slowly. + +"You'll have to run the risk of it unless you teach a girls' school. I +guess you wouldn't have any trouble there." + +"Not of that kind, probably. What wages do you pay?" + +"Twelve dollars a month and board. Of course, you'll board round." + +Twelve dollars a month would not be considered very high wages now, but +to James it was a consideration. He had earned as much in other ways, +but he was quite anxious to try his luck as a teacher. That might be his +future vocation, not teaching a district school, of course, but this +would be the first round of the ladder that might lead to a college +professorship. The first step is the most difficult, but it must be +taken, and the Ledge Hill School, difficult as it probably would be, was +to be the first step for the future President of Hiram College. + +All these considerations James rapidly revolved in his mind, and then he +came to a decision. + +"When does the school commence?" he asked. + +"Next Monday." + +"I accept your offer. I'll be on hand in time." + + * * * * * + +The news quickly reached the Ledge Hill district that "Jim Garfield," as +he was popularly called, was to be their next teacher. + +"Have you heard about the new master?" asked Tom Bassett, one of the +hard cases, of a friend. + +"No. Who is it?" + +"Jim Garfield." + +The other whistled. + +"You don't mean it?" + +"Yes, I do." + +"How did you hear?" + +"Mr. ----," naming the committee-man, "told me." + +"Then it must be so. We'll have a high old time if that's so." + +"So we will," chuckled the other. "I'm anxious for school to begin." + +"He's only a boy like us." + +"That's so." + +"He knows enough for a teacher; but knowing isn't everything." + +"You're right. We can't be expected to mind a boy like ourselves that +we've known all our lives." + +"Of course not." + +"I like Jim well enough. He's a tip-top feller; but, all the same, he +aint goin' to boss me round." + +"Nor me, either." + +This conversation between Tom Bassett and Bill Stackpole (for obvious +reasons I use assumed names) augured ill for the success of the young +teacher. They determined to make it hot for him, and have all the fun +they wanted. + +They thought they knew James Garfield, but they made a mistake. They +knew that he was of a peaceable disposition and not fond of quarreling, +and although they also knew that he was strong and athletic, they +decided that he would not long be able to maintain his position. If they +had been able to read the doubts and fears that agitated the mind of +their future preceptor, they would have felt confirmed in their belief. + +The fact was, James shrank from the ordeal that awaited him. + +"If I were only going among strangers," he said to his mother, "I +wouldn't mind it so much; but all these boys and girls have known me +ever since I was a small boy and went barefoot." + +"Does your heart fail you, my son?" asked his mother, who sympathized +with him, yet saw that it was a trial which must come. + +"I can't exactly say that, but I dread to begin." + +"We must expect to encounter difficulties and perplexities, James. None +of our lives run all smoothly. Shall we conquer them or let them conquer +us?" + +The boy's spirit was aroused. + +"Say no more, mother," he replied. "I will undertake the school, and if +success is any way possible, I will succeed. I have been shrinking from +it, but I won't shrink any longer." + +"That is the spirit that succeeds, James." + +James laughed, and in answer quoted Campbell's stirring lines with +proper emphasis: + + "I will victor exult, or in death be laid low, + With my face to the field and my feet to the foe." + +So the time passed till the eventful day dawned on which James was to +assume charge of his first school. He was examined, and adjudged to be +qualified to teach; but that he anticipated in advance. + +The building is still standing in which James taught his first school. +It is used for quite another purpose now, being occupied as a +carriage-house by the thrifty farmer who owns the ground upon which it +stands. The place where the teacher's desk stood, behind which the boy +stood as preceptor, is now occupied by two stalls for carriage-horses. +The benches which once contained the children he taught have been +removed to make room for the family carriage, and the play-ground is now +a barnyard. The building sits upon a commanding eminence known as Ledge +Hill, and overlooks a long valley winding between two lines of hills. + +This description is furnished by the same correspondent of the Boston +_Herald_ to whom I am already indebted for Henry Boynton's reminiscences +contained in the last chapter. + +When James came in sight, and slowly ascended the hill in sight of the +motley crew of boys and girls who were assembled in front of the +school-house on the first morning of the term, it was one of the most +trying moments of his life. He knew instinctively that the boys were +anticipating the fun in store for them in the inevitable conflict which +awaited him, and he felt constrained and nervous. He managed, however, +to pass through the crowd, wearing a pleasant smile and greeting his +scholars with a bow. There was trouble coming, he was convinced, but he +did not choose to betray any apprehension. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +WHO SHALL BE MASTER? + + +With as much dignity as was possible under the circumstances, James +stepped to the teacher's desk and rang the bell. + +This was hardly necessary, for out of curiosity all the scholars had +promptly followed the young teacher into the school-room and taken their +seats. + +After the introductory exercises, James made a brief address to the +scholars: + +"I don't need any introduction to you," he said, "for you all know me. I +see before me many who have been my playfellows and associates, but +to-day a new relation is established between us. I am here as your +teacher, regularly appointed by the committee, and it is my duty to +assist you as far as I can to increase your knowledge. I should hardly +feel competent to do so if I had not lately attended Geauga Seminary, +and thus improved my own education. I hope you will consider me a +friend, not only as I have been, but as one who is interested in +promoting your best interests. One thing more," he added, "it is not +only my duty to teach you, but to maintain good order, and this I mean +to do. In school I wish you to look upon me as your teacher, but outside +I shall join you in your sports, and be as much a boy as any of you. We +will now proceed to our daily lessons." + +This speech was delivered with self-possession, and favorably impressed +all who heard it, even the boys who meant to make trouble, but they +could not give up their contemplated fun. Nevertheless, by tacit +agreement, they preserved perfect propriety for the present. They were +not ready for the explosion. + +The boy teacher was encouraged by the unexpected quiet. + +"After all," he thought, "everything is likely to go smoothly. I need +not have troubled myself so much." + +He knew the usual routine at the opening of a school term. The names of +the children were to be taken, they were to be divided into classes, and +lessons were to be assigned. Feeling more confidence in himself, James +went about this work in business fashion, and when recess came, the +comments made by the pupils in the playground were generally favorable. + +"He's going to make a good teacher," said one of the girls, "as good as +any we've had, and he's so young too." + +"He goes to work as if he knew how," said another. "I didn't think Jimmy +Garfield had so much in him." + +"Oh, he's smart!" said another. "Just think of brother Ben trying to +keep school, and he's just as old as James." + +Meanwhile Tom Bassett and Bill Stackpole had a private conference +together. + +"What do you think of Jim's speech, Bill?" asked Tom. + +"Oh, it sounded well enough, but I'll bet he was trembling in his boots +all the while he was talkin'." + +"Maybe so, but he seemed cool enough." + +"Oh, that was all put on. Did you hear what he said about keepin' +order?" + +"Yes, he kinder looked at you an' me when he was talkin'." + +"I guess he heard about our turnin' out the last teacher." + +"Of course. I tell you, it took some cheek to come here and order 'round +us boys that has known him all his life." + +"That's so. Do you think he's goin' to maintain order, as he calls it?" + +"You just wait till afternoon. He'll know better then." + +James did not go out to recess the first day. He had some things to do +affecting the organization of the school, and so he remained at his +desk. Several of the pupils came up to consult him on one point or +another, and he received them all with that pleasant manner which +throughout his life was characteristic of him. To one and another he +gave a hint or a suggestion, based upon his knowledge of their character +and abilities. One of the boys said: "Do you think I'd better study +grammar, Jimmy--I mean Mr. Garfield?" + +James smiled. He knew the slip was unintentional. Of course it would not +do for him to allow himself to be addressed in school by a pupil as +Jimmy. + +"Yes," he answered, "unless you think you know all about it already." + +"I don't know the first thing about it." + +"Then, of course, you ought to study it. Why shouldn't you?" + +"But I can't make nothin' out of it. I can't understand it nohow." + +"Then you need somebody to explain it to you." + +"It's awful stupid." + +"I don't think you will find it so when you come to know more about it. +I shall be ready to explain it. I think I can make you understand it." + +Another had a sum he could not do. So James found the recess pass +quickly away, and again the horde of scholars poured into the +school-room. + +It was not till afternoon that the conflict came. + +Tom Bassett belonged to the first class in geography. + +James called out the class. + +All came out except Tom, who lounged carelessly in his seat. + +"Thomas, don't you belong to this class?" asked the young teacher. + +"I reckon I do." + +"Then why don't you come out to recite?" + +"Oh, I feel lazy," answered Tom, with a significant smile, as if to +inquire, "What are you goin' to do about it?" + +James thought to himself with a thrill of unpleasant excitement, "It's +coming. In ten minutes I shall know whether Tom Bassett or I is to rule +this school." + +His manner was calm, however, as he said, "That is no excuse. I can't +accept it. As your teacher I order you to join your class." + +"Can't you wait till to-morrow?" asked Tom, with a grin, which was +reflected on the faces of several other pupils. + +"I think I understand you," said James, with outward calmness. "You defy +my authority." + +"You're only a boy like me," said Tom; "I don't see why I should obey +you." + +"If you were teacher, and I pupil, I should obey you," said James, "and +I expect the same of you." + +"Oh, go on with the recitation!" said Tom, lazily. "Never mind me!" + +James felt that he could afford to wait no longer Turning to the class, +he said, "I shall have to delay you for a minute." + +He walked deliberately up to the seat where Tom Bassett was sitting. + +Tom squared off in the expectation of an assault; but, with the speed of +lightning, the young teacher grasped him by the collar, and, with a +strength that surprised himself, dragged him from his seat, in spite of +his struggles, till he reached the place where the class was standing. + +By this time Bill Stackpole felt called upon to help his partner in +rebellion. + +"You let him alone!" he said, menacingly, stepping forward. + +"One at a time!" said James, coolly. "I will be ready for you in a +minute." + +He saw that there was only one thing to do. + +He dragged Tom to the door, and forcibly ejected him, saying, "When you +get ready to obey me you can come back." + +He had scarcely turned when Bill Stackpole was upon him. + +With a quick motion of the foot James tripped him up, and, still +retaining his grasp on his collar, said, "Will you go or stay?" + +Bill was less resolute than Tom. + +"I guess I'll stay," he said; then picked himself up and resumed his +place in the class. + +Apparently calm, James returned to his desk, and commenced hearing the +class recite. + +The next morning, on his way to school, James overtook Tom Bassett, who +eyed him with evident embarrassment. Tom's father had sent him back to +school, and Tom did not dare disobey. + +"Good morning, Tom," said James, pleasantly. + +"Mornin'!" muttered Tom. + +"I hope you are going to school?" + +"Father says I must." + +"I am glad of that, too. By the way, Tom, I think I shall have to get +some of the scholars to help me with some of the smaller pupils. I +should like to get you to hear the lowest class in arithmetic to-day." + +"You want me to help you teach?" exclaimed Tom, in amazement. + +"Yes; it will give me more time for the higher classes." + +"And you don't bear no malice on account of yesterday?" + +"Oh, no; we are too good friends to mind such a trifle." + +"Then," said Tom, impulsively, "you won't have no more trouble with me. +I'll help you all I can." + +There was general surprise felt when the young teacher and his +rebellious scholar were seen approaching the school-house, evidently on +the most friendly terms. There was still greater surprise when, during +the forenoon, James requested Tom to hear the class already mentioned. +At recess Tom proclaimed his intention to lick any boy that was impudent +to the teacher, and the new Garfield administration seemed to be +established on a firm basis. + +This incident, which is based upon an actual resort to war measures on +the part of the young teacher, is given to illustrate the strength as +well as the amiability of Garfield's character. It was absolutely +necessary that he should show his ability to govern. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +AMES LEAVES GEAUGA SEMINARY + + +While teaching his first school James "boarded round" among the families +who sent pupils to his school. It was not so pleasant as having a +permanent home, but it afforded him opportunities of reaching and +influencing his scholars which otherwise he could not have enjoyed. With +his cheerful temperament and genial manners, he could hardly fail to be +an acquisition to any family with whom he found a home. He was ready +enough to join in making the evenings pass pleasantly, and doubtless he +had ways of giving instruction indirectly, and inspiring a love of +learning similar to that which he himself possessed. + +He returned to school with a small sum of money in his pocket, which was +of essential service to him in his economical way of living. But he +brought also an experience in imparting knowledge to others which was +still greater value. + +An eminent teacher has said that we never fully know anything till we +have tried to impart it to others. + +James remained at the Geauga Seminary for three years. Every winter he +taught school, and with success. In one of these winter sessions, we are +told by Rev. William M. Thayer, in his biography of Garfield, that he +was applied to by an ambitious student to instruct him in geometry. +There was one difficulty in the way, and that a formidable one. He was +entirely unacquainted with geometry himself. But, he reflected, here is +an excellent opportunity for me to acquire a new branch of knowledge. +Accordingly he procured a text-book, studied it faithfully at night, +keeping sufficiently far ahead of his pupil to qualify him to be his +guide and instructor, and the pupil never dreamed that his teacher, like +himself, was traversing unfamiliar ground. + +It was early in his course at Geauga that he made the acquaintance of +one who was to prove his closest and dearest friend--the young lady who +in after years was to become his wife. Lucretia Rudolph was the daughter +of a farmer in the neighborhood--"a quiet, thoughtful girl, of +singularly sweet and refined disposition, fond of study and reading, +and possessing a warm heart, and a mind capable of steady growth." +Probably James was first attracted to her by intellectual sympathy and a +community of tastes; but as time passed he discerned in her something +higher and better than mere intellectual aspiration; and who shall say +in the light that has been thrown by recent events on the character of +Lucretia Garfield, that he was not wholly right? + +Though we are anticipating the record, it may be in place to say here +that the acquaintance formed here was renewed and ripened at Hiram +College, to which in time both transferred themselves. There as +pupil-teacher James Garfield became in one branch the instructor of his +future wife, and it was while there that the two became engaged. It was +a long engagement. James had to wait the traditional "seven years" for +his wife, but the world knows how well he was repaid for his long +waiting. + +"Did you know Mrs. Garfield?" asked a reporter of the Chicago +_Inter-Ocean_ of Mr. Philo Chamberlain, of Cleveland. + +"Yes, indeed," was the reply. "My wife knows her intimately. They used +to teach school together in Cleveland. Mrs. Garfield is a splendid lady. +She wasn't what you would call a brilliant teacher, but she was an +unusually good one, very industrious, and the children made rapid +progress in their studies under her. And then she was studious, too. +Why, she acquired three languages while she was in school, both as a +student and a teacher, and she spoke them well, I am told. They were +married shortly after he came back from Williams, and I forgot to tell +you a nice little thing about the time when he paid Dr. Robinson back +the money he had spent on him. When Dr. Robinson refused to take the +interest, which amounted to a snug little sum, Garfield said: 'Well, +Doctor, that is one big point in my favor, as now I can get married.' It +seems that they had been engaged for a long time, but had to wait till +he could get something to marry on. And I tell you it isn't every young +man that will let the payment of a self-imposed debt stand between him +and getting married to the girl he loves." + +Without anticipating too far events we have not yet reached, it may be +said that Lucretia Garfield's education and culture made her not the +wife only, but the sympathetic friend and intellectual helper of her +husband. Her early studies were of service to her in enabling her +partially to prepare for college her two oldest boys. She assisted her +husband also in his literary plans, without losing the domestic +character of a good wife, and the refining graces of a true woman. + +But let us not forget that James is still a boy in his teens. He had +many hardships to encounter, and many experiences to go through before +he could set up a home of his own. He had studied three years, but his +education had only begun. The Geauga Seminary was only an academy, and +hardly the equal of the best academies to be found at the East. + +He began to feel that he had about exhausted its facilities, and to look +higher. He had not far to look. + +During the year 1851 the Disciples, the religious body to which young +Garfield had attached himself, opened a collegiate school at Hiram, in +Portage County, which they called an eclectic school. Now it ranks as a +college, but at the time James entered it, it had not assumed so +ambitious a title. + +It was not far away, and James' attention was naturally drawn to it. +There was an advantage also in its location. Hiram was a small country +village, where the expenses of living were small, and, as we know, our +young student's purse was but scantily filled. Nevertheless, so limited +were his means that it was a perplexing problem how he would be able to +pay his way. + +He consulted his mother, and, as was always the case, found that she +sympathized fully in his purpose of obtaining a higher education. +Pecuniary help, however, she could not give, nor had he at this time any +rich friends upon whom he could call for the pittance he required. + +But James was not easily daunted. He had gone to Geauga Seminary with +but seventeen dollars in his pocket; he had remained there three years, +maintaining himself by work at his old trade of carpenter and teaching, +and had graduated owing nothing. He had become self-reliant, and felt +that what he had done at Chester he could do at Hiram. + +So one fine morning he set out, with a light heart and a pocket equally +light, for the infant institution from which he hoped so much. + +The Board of Trustees were in session, as we learn from the account +given by one of their number, when James arrived and sought an audience. + +After a little delay, the doorkeeper was instructed to bring him in. + +James was nineteen at this time. He was no longer as homespun in +appearance as when he sat upon a log with Dr. Robinson, in the seclusion +of the woods, and asked his advice about a career. Nevertheless, he was +still awkward. He had grown rapidly, was of slender build, and had no +advantages of dress to recommend him. One who saw him in after-life, +with his noble, imposing presence, would hardly recognize any similarity +between him and the raw country youth who stood awkwardly before the +Board of Trustees, to plead his cause. It happens not unfrequently that +a lanky youth develops into a fine-looking man. Charles Sumner, at the +age of twenty, stood six feet two inches in his stockings, and weighed +but one hundred and twenty pounds! Yet in after-life he was a man of +noble presence. + +But all this while we are leaving James in suspense before the men whose +decision is to affect his life so powerfully. + +"Well, young man," asked the Principal, "what can we do for you?" + +"Gentlemen," said James, earnestly, "I want an education, and would like +the privilege of making the fires and sweeping the floors of the +building to pay part of my expenses." + +There was in his bearing and countenance an earnestness and an +intelligence which impressed the members of the board. + +"Gentlemen," said Mr. Frederic Williams, one of the trustees, "I think +we had better try this young man." + +Another member, turning to Garfield, said: "How do we know, young man, +that the work will be done as we may desire?" + +"Try me," was the answer; "try me two weeks, and if it is not done to +your entire satisfaction, I will retire without a word." + +"That seems satisfactory," said the member who had asked the question. + +"What studies do you wish to pursue?" asked one gentleman. + +"I want to prepare for college. I shall wish to study Latin, Greek, +mathematics, and anything else that may be needed." + +"Have you studied any of these already?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Where?" + +"At the Geauga Seminary. I can refer you to the teachers there. I have +studied under them for three years, and they know all about me." + +"What is your name?" + +"James A. Garfield." + +"There is something in that young man," said one of the trustees to Mr. +Williams. "He seems thoroughly in earnest, and I believe will be a hard +worker." + +"I agree with you," was the reply. + +James was informed that his petition was granted, and he at once made +arrangements for his residence at Hiram. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +AT HIRAM INSTITUTE. + + +Hiram, the seat of the Eclectic Institute, was not a place of any +pretension. It was scarcely a village, but rather a hamlet. Yet the +advantages which the infant institution offered drew together a +considerable number of pupils of both sexes, sons and daughters of the +Western Reserve farmers, inspired with a genuine love of learning, and +too sensible to waste their time on mere amusement. + +This is the account given of it by President B.A. Hinsdale, who for +fifteen years has ably presided over its affairs: "The institute +building, a plain but substantially built brick structure, was put on +the top of a windy hill, in the middle of a cornfield. One of the cannon +that General Scott's soldiers dragged to the City of Mexico in 1847, +planted on the roof of the new structure, would not have commanded a +score of farm houses. + +"Here the school opened at the time Garfield was closing his studies at +Chester. It had been in operation two terms when he offered himself for +enrollment. Hiram furnished a location, the Board of Trustees a building +and the first teacher, the surrounding country students, but the +spiritual Hiram made itself. Everything was new. Society, traditions, +the genius of the school, had to be evolved from the forces of the +teachers and pupils, limited by the general and local environment. Let +no one be surprised when I say that such a school as this was the best +of all places for young Garfield. There was freedom, opportunity, a +large society of rapidly and eagerly opening young minds, instructors +who were learned enough to instruct him, and abundant scope for ability +and force of character, of which he had a superabundance. + +"Few of the students who came to Hiram in that day had more than a +district-school education, though some had attended the high schools and +academies scattered over the country; so that Garfield, though he had +made but slight progress in the classics and the higher mathematics +previous to his arrival, ranked well up with the first scholars. In +ability, all acknowledged that he was the peer of any; soon his +superiority to all others was generally conceded." + +So James entered upon his duties as janitor and bell-ringer. It was a +humble position for the future President of the United States; but no +work is humiliating which is undertaken with a right aim and a useful +object. Of one thing my boy-reader may be sure--the duties of the +offices were satisfactorily performed. The school-rooms were well cared +for, and the bell was rung punctually. This is shown by the fact that, +after the two weeks of probation, he was still continued in office, +though doubtless in the large number of students of limited means in the +institute there was more than one that would have been glad to relieve +him of his office. + +It will hardly be supposed, however, that the position of janitor and +bell-ringer could pay all his expenses. He had two other resources. In +term-time he worked at his trade of carpenter as opportunity offered, +and in the winter, as at Chester, he sought some country town where he +could find employment as a teacher. + +The names of the places where he taught are not known to me, though +doubtless there is many an Ohio farmer, or mechanic, or, perchance, +professional man, who is able to boast that he was partially educated by +a President of the United States. + +As characteristic of his coolness and firmness, I am tempted to record +an incident which happened to him in one of his winter schools. + +There were some scholars about as large as himself, to whom obedience to +the rules of the school was not quite easy--who thought, in +consideration of their age and size, that they might venture upon acts +which would not be tolerated in younger pupils. + +The school had commenced one morning, when the young teacher heard angry +words and the noise of a struggle in the school-yard, which chanced to +be inclosed. The noise attracted the attention of the scholars, and +interfered with the attention which the recitation required. + +James Garfield stepped quietly outside of the door, and saw two of his +oldest and largest pupils engaged in a wrestling match. For convenience +we will call them Brown and Jones. + +"What are you about, boys?" asked the teacher The two were so earnestly +engaged in their conflict that neither returned an answer. + +"This must be stopped immediately," said James, decisively. "It is +disrespectful to me, and disturbs the recitations." + +He might as well have spoken to the wind. They heard, but they continued +their fight. + +"This must stop, or I will stop it myself," said the teacher. + +The boys were not afraid. Each was about as large as the teacher, and +they felt that if he interfered he was likely to get hurt. + +James thought he had given sufficient warning. The time had come to act. +He stepped quickly forward, seized one of the combatants, and with a +sudden exertion of strength, threw him over the fence. Before he had +time to recover from his surprise his companion was lifted over in the +same manner. + +"Now, go on with your fighting if you wish," said the young teacher; +"though I advise you to shake hands and make up. When you get through +come in and report." + +The two young men regarded each other foolishly. Somehow all desire to +fight had been taken away. + +"I guess we'll go in now," said Brown. + +"I'm with you," said Jones, and Garfield entered the school-room, meekly +followed by the two refractory pupils. There was not much use in +resisting the authority of a teacher who could handle them with such +ease. + +James did not trouble them with any moral lecture. He was too sensible. +He felt that all had been said and done that was required. + +But how did he spend his time at the new seminary, and how was he +regarded? Fortunately we have the testimony of a lady, now residing in +Illinois, who was one of the first students at Hiram. + +"When he first entered the school," she writes, "he paid for his +schooling by doing janitor's work, sweeping the floor and ringing the +bell. I can see him even now standing in the morning with his hand on +the bell-rope, ready to give the signal, calling teachers and scholars +to engage in the duties of the day. As we passed by, entering the +school-room, he had a cheerful word for every one. He was probably the +most popular person in the institution. He was always good-natured, fond +of conversation, and very entertaining. He was witty and quick at +repartee, but his jokes, though brilliant and sparkling, were always +harmless, and he never would willingly hurt another's feelings. + +"Afterward he became an assistant teacher, and while pursuing his +classical studies, preparatory to his college course, he taught the +English branches. He was a most entertaining teacher--ready with +illustrations, and possessing in a marked degree the power of exciting +the interest of the scholars, and afterward making clear to them the +lessons. In the arithmetic class there were ninety pupils, and I can not +remember a time when there was any flagging in the interest. There were +never any cases of unruly conduct, or a disposition to shirk. With +scholars who were slow of comprehension, or to whom recitations were a +burden, on account of their modest or retiring dispositions, he was +specially attentive, and by encouraging words and gentle assistance +would manage to put all at their ease, and awaken in them a confidence +in themselves. He was not much given to amusements or the sports of the +playground. He was too industrious, and too anxious to make the utmost +of his opportunities to study. + +"He was a constant attendant at the regular meetings for prayer, and +his vigorous exhortations and apt remarks upon the Bible lessons were +impressive and interesting. There was a cordiality in his disposition +which won quickly the favor and esteem of others. He had a happy habit +of shaking hands, and would give a hearty grip which betokened a +kind-hearted feeling for all. He was always ready to turn his mind and +hands in any direction whereby he might add to his meagre store of +money. + +"One of his gifts was that of mezzotint drawing, and he gave instruction +in this branch. I was one of his pupils in this, and have now the +picture of a cross upon which he did some shading and put on the +finishing touches. Upon the margin is written, in the name of the noted +teacher, his own name and his pupil's. There are also two other +drawings, one of a large European bird on the bough of a tree, and the +other a church yard scene in winter, done by him at that time. In those +days the faculty and pupils were wont to call him 'the second Webster,' +and the remark was common, 'He will fill the White House yet.' In the +Lyceum he early took rank far above the others as a speaker and debater. + +"During the month of June the entire school went in carriages to their +annual grove meeting at Randolph, some twenty-five miles away. On this +trip he was the life of the party, occasionally bursting out in an +eloquent strain at the sight of a bird or a trailing vine, or a +venerable giant of the forest. He would repeat poetry by the hour, +having a very retentive memory. + +"At the Institute the members were like a band of brothers and sisters, +all struggling to advance in knowledge. Then all dressed plainly, and +there was no attempt or pretence at dressing fashionably or stylishly. +Hiram was a little country place, with no fascinations or worldly +attractions to draw off the minds of the students from their work." + +Such is an inside view--more graphic than any description I can give--of +the life of James Garfield at Hiram Institute. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THREE BUSY YEARS. + + +Among the readers of this volume there may be boys who are preparing for +college. They will be interested to learn the extent of James Garfield's +scholarship, when he left the Geauga Academy, and transferred himself to +the Institute at Hiram. Though, in his own language, he remembers with +great satisfaction the work which was accomplished for him at Chester, +that satisfaction does not spring from the amount that he had acquired, +but rather that while there he had formed a definite purpose and plan to +complete a college course. For, as the young scholar truly remarks, "It +is a great point gained when a young man makes up his mind to devote +several years to the accomplishment of a definite work." + +When James entered at Hiram, he had studied Latin only six weeks, and +just begun Greek. He was therefore merely on the threshold of his +preparatory course for college. To anticipate a little, he completed +this course, and fitted himself to enter the Junior class at Williams +College in the space of three years. How much labor this required many +of my readers are qualified to understand. It required him to do nearly +six years' work in three, though interrupted by work of various kinds +necessary for his support. + +He was not yet able to live luxuriously, or even, as we suppose, +comfortably. He occupied a room with four other students, which could +hardly have been favorable for study. Yet, in the first term he +completed six books of Caesar's commentaries, and made good progress in +Greek. During the first winter he taught a school at Warrensville, +receiving the highest salary he had yet been paid, eighteen dollars a +month--of course in addition to board. + +At the commencement of the second year the president sent for him. + +James obeyed the summons, wondering whether he was to receive any +reprimand for duty unfulfilled. + +President Hayden received him cordially, thus dissipating his +apprehensions. + +"Garfield," he said, "Mr. ----, tutor in English and ancient languages, +is sick, and it is doubtful whether he will be able to resume his +duties. Do you think you can fill his place, besides carrying on your +own work as student?" + +Young Garfield's face flushed with pleasure. The compliment was +unexpected, but in every way the prospect it opened was an agreeable +one. His only doubt was as to his qualifications. + +"I should like it very much," he said, "if you think I am qualified." + +"I have no doubt on that point. You will teach only what is familiar to +you, and I believe you have a special faculty for imparting knowledge." + +"Thank you very much, Mr. Hayden," said Garfield. "I will accept with +gratitude, and I will do my best to give satisfaction." + +How well he discharged his office may be inferred from the testimony +given in the last chapter. + +Though a part of his time was taken up in teaching others, he did not +allow it to delay his own progress. Still before him he kept the bright +beacon of a college education. He had put his hand to the plow, and he +was not one to turn back or loiter on the way. That term he began +Xenophon's Anabasis, and was fortunate enough to find a home in the +president's family. + +But he was not content with working in term-time. When the summer +brought a vacation, he felt that it was too long a time to be lost. He +induced ten students to join him, and hired Professor Dunshee to give +them lessons for one month. During that time he read the Eclogues and +Georgics of Virgil entire, and the first six books of Homer's Iliad, +accompanied by a thorough drill in the Latin and Greek grammar. He must +have "toiled terribly," and could have had few moments for recreation. +When the fall term commenced, in company with Miss Almeda Booth, a +mature young lady of remarkable intellect, and some other students, he +formed a Translation society, which occupied itself with the Book of +Romans, of course in the Greek version. During the succeeding winter he +read the whole of "Demosthenes on the Crown." + +The mental activity of the young man (he was now twenty) seems +exhaustless. All this time he took an active part in a literary society +composed of some of his fellow-students. He had already become an easy, +fluent, and forcible speaker--a very necessary qualification for the +great work of his life. + +"Oh, I suppose he had a talent for it," some of my young readers may +say. + +Probably he had; indeed, it is certain that he had, but it may encourage +them to learn that he found difficulties at the start. When a student at +Geauga, he made his first public speech. It was a six minutes' oration +at the annual exhibition, delivered in connection with a literary +society to which he belonged. He records in a diary kept at the time +that he "was very much scared," and "very glad of a short curtain across +the platform that hid my shaking legs from the audience." Such +experiences are not uncommon in the career of men afterward noted for +their ease in public speaking. I can recall such, and so doubtless can +any man of academic or college training. I wish to impress upon my young +reader that Garfield was indebted for what he became to earnest work. + +While upon the subject of public speaking I am naturally led to speak of +young Garfield's religious associations. His mind has already been +impressed with the importance of the religious element, and he felt +that no life would be complete without it. He had joined the Church of +the Disciples, the same to which his uncle belonged, and was baptized in +a little stream that runs into the Chagrin River. The creed of this +class of religious believers is one likely to commend itself in most +respects to the general company of Christians; but as this volume is +designed to steer clear of sect or party, I do not hold any further +reference to it necessary. What concerns us more is, that young +Garfield, in accordance with the liberal usages of the Disciples, was +invited on frequent occasions to officiate as a lay preacher in the +absence of the regular pastor of the Church of the Disciples at Hiram. + +Though often officiating as a preacher, I do not find that young +Garfield ever had the ministry in view. On the other hand, he early +formed the design of studying for the legal profession, as he gradually +did, being admitted to the bar of Cuyahoga County, in 1860, when himself +president of Hiram College. + +So passed three busy and happy years. Young Garfield had but few idle +moments. In teaching others, in pursuing his own education, in taking +part in the work of the literary society, and in Sunday exhortations, +his time was well filled up. But neither his religion nor his love of +study made him less companionable. He was wonderfully popular. His +hearty grasp of the hand, his genial manner, his entire freedom from +conceit, his readiness to help others, made him a general favorite. Some +young men, calling themselves religious, assume a sanctimonious manner, +that repels, but James Garfield never was troubled in this way. He +believed that + + "Religion never was designed + To make our pleasures less," + +and was always ready to take part in social pleasures, provided they did +not interfere with his work. + +And all this while, with all his homely surroundings, he had high +thoughts for company. He wrote to a student, afterward his own successor +to the presidency, words that truly describe his own aspirations and +habits of mind. "Tell me, Burke, do you not feel a spirit stirring +within you that longs _to know, to do, and to dare_, to hold converse +with the great world of thought, and hold before you some high and noble +object to which the vigor of your mind and the strength of your arm may +be given? Do you not have longings like these which you breathe to no +one, and which you feel must be heeded, or you will pass through life +unsatisfied and regretful? I am sure you have them, and they will +forever cling round your heart till you obey their mandate." + +The time had come when James was ready to take another step upward. The +district school had been succeeded by Geauga Seminary, that by Hiram +Institute, and now he looked Eastward for still higher educational +privileges. There was a college of his own sect at Bethany, not far +away, but the young man was not so blinded by this consideration as not +to understand that it was not equal to some of the best known colleges +at the East. + +Which should he select? + +He wrote to the presidents of Brown University, Yale, and Williams, +stating how far he had advanced, and inquiring how long it would take to +complete their course. + +From all he received answers, but the one from President Hopkins, of +Williams College, ended with the sentence, "If you come here, we shall +be glad to do what we can for you." This sentence, so friendly and +cordial, decided the young man who otherwise would have found it hard to +choose between the three institutions. + +"My mind is made up," he said. "I shall start for Williams College next +week." + +He was influenced also by what he already knew of Dr. Hopkins. He was +not a stranger to the high character of his intellect, and his +theological reputation. He felt that here was a man of high rank in +letters who was prepared to be not only his teacher and guide, but his +personal friend, and for this, if for no other reason, he decided in +favor of Williams College. To a young man circumstanced as he was, a +word of friendly sympathy meant much. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +ENTERING WILLIAMS COLLEGE. + + +James Garfield had reached the mature age of twenty-two years when he +made his first entrance into Williamstown. He did not come quite +empty-handed. He had paid his expenses while at Hiram, and earned three +hundred and fifty dollars besides, which he estimated would carry him +through the Junior year. He was tall and slender, with a great shock of +light hair, rising nearly erect from a broad, high forehead. His face +was open, kindly, and thoughtful, and it did not require keen perception +of character to discern something above the common in the awkward +Western youth, in his decidedly shabby raiment. + +Young Garfield would probably have enjoyed the novel sensation of being +well dressed, but he had never had the opportunity of knowing how it +seemed. That ease and polish of manner which come from mingling in +society he entirely lacked. He was as yet a rough diamond, but a diamond +for all that. + +Among his classmates were men from the cities, who stared in undisguised +amazement at the tall, lanky young man who knocked at the doors of the +college for admission. + +"Who is that rough-looking fellow?" asked a member of a lower class, +pointing out Garfield, as he was crossing the college campus. + +"Oh, that is Garfield; he comes from the Western Reserve." + +"I suppose his clothes were made by a Western Reserve tailor." + +"Probably," answered his classmate, smiling. + +"He looks like a confirmed rustic." + +"That is true, but there is something in him. I am in his division, and +I can tell you that he has plenty of talent." + +"His head is big enough." + +"Yes, he has a large brain--a sort of Websterian intellect. He is bound +to be heard of." + +"It is a pity he is so awkward." + +"Oh, that will wear off. He has a hearty, cordial way with him, and +though at first we were disposed to laugh at him, we begin to like +him." + +"He's as old as the hills. At any rate, he looks so." + +"How old are you?" + +"Seventeen." + +"Compared with you he is, for he is nearly twenty-three. However, it is +never too late to learn. He is not only a good scholar, but he is very +athletic, and there are few in college who can equal him in athletic +sports." + +"Why didn't he come to college before? What made him wait till he was an +old man?" + +"I understand that he has had a hard struggle with poverty. All the +money he has he earned by hard labor. Dr. Hopkins seems to have taken a +liking to him. I saw him walking with the doctor the other day." + +This conversation describes pretty accurately the impression made by +Garfield upon his classmates, and by those in other classes who became +acquainted with him. At first they were disposed to laugh at the tall, +awkward young man and his manners, but soon his real ability, and his +cordial, social ways won upon all, and he was installed as a favorite. +The boys began to call him Old Gar, and regarded him with friendship and +increasing respect, as he grew and developed intellectually, and they +began to see what manner of man he was. + +Perhaps the readiest way for a collegian to make an impression upon his +associates is to show a decided talent for oratory. They soon discovered +at Williams that Garfield had peculiar gifts in this way. His speaking +at clubs, and before the church of his communion in Hiram, had been for +him a valuable training. He joined a society, and soon had an +opportunity of showing that he was a ready and forcible speaker. + +One day there came startling news to the college. Charles Sumner had +been struck down in the Senate chamber by Preston S. Brooks, of South +Carolina, for words spoken in debate. The hearts of the students +throbbed with indignation--none more fiercely than young Garfield's. At +an indignation meeting convened by the students he rose and delivered, +so says one who heard him, "one of the most impassioned and eloquent +speeches ever delivered in old Williams." + +It made a sensation. + +"Did you hear Old Gar's speech at the meeting?" asked one of another. + +"No, I did not get in in time." + +"It was great. I never heard him speak better. Do you know what I +think?" + +"Well?" + +"Gar will be in Congress some day himself. He has rare powers of debate, +and is a born orator." + +"I shouldn't wonder myself if you were right. If he ever reaches +Congress he will do credit to old Williams." + +James had given up his trade as a carpenter. He was no longer obliged to +resort to it, or, at any rate, he preferred to earn money in a different +way. So one winter he taught penmanship at North Pownal, in Vermont, a +post for which he was qualified, for he had a strong, bold, handsome +hand. + +"Did you know Mr. Arthur, who taught school here last winter?" asked one +of his writing pupils of young Garfield. + +"No; he was not a student of Williams." + +"He graduated at Union College, I believe." + +"Was he a good teacher?" + +"Yes, he was very successful, keeping order without any trouble, though +the school is considered a hard one." + +This was Chester A. Arthur, whose name in after years was to be +associated with that of the writing-teacher, who was occupying the same +room as his Presidential successor. But to James Garfield, at that time, +the name meant nothing, and it never occurred to him what high plans +Providence had for them both. It was one of those remarkable cases in +which the paths of two men who are joined in destiny traverse each +other. Was it not strange that two future occupants of the Presidential +chair should be found teaching in the same school-room, in an obscure +Vermont village, two successive winters? + +As the reader, though this is the biography of Garfield, may feel a +curiosity to learn what sort of a teacher Arthur was, I shall, without +apology, conclude this chapter with the story of a pupil of his who, in +the year 1853, attended the district school at Cohoes, then taught by +Chester A. Arthur. I find it in the Troy _Times_: + +"In the year 1853 the writer attended the district school at Cohoes. The +high department did not enjoy a very enviable reputation for being +possessed of that respect due from the pupils to teacher. During the +year there had been at least four teachers in that department, the last +one only remaining one week. The Board of Education had found it +difficult to obtain a pedagogue to take charge of the school, until a +young man, slender as a May-pole and six feet high in his stockings, +applied for the place. He was engaged at once, although he was +previously informed of the kind of timber he would be obliged to hew. + +"Promptly at nine o'clock A.M. every scholar was on hand to welcome the +man who had said that he would 'conquer the school or forfeit his +reputation.' Having called the morning session to order, he said that he +had been engaged to take charge of the school. He came with his mind +prejudiced against the place. He had heard of the treatment of the +former teachers by the pupils, yet he was not at all embarrassed, for he +felt that, with the proper recognition of each other's rights, teacher +and scholars could live together in harmony. He did not intend to +threaten, but he intended to make the scholars obey him, and would try +and win the good-will of all present. He had been engaged to take +charge of that room, and he wished the co-operation of every pupil in so +doing. He had no club, ruler, or whip, but appealed directly to the +hearts of every young man and young lady in the room. Whatever he should +do, he would at least show to the people of this place that this school +could be governed. He spoke thus and feelingly at times, yet with +perfect dignity he displayed that executive ability which in after years +made him such a prominent man. Of course the people, especially the +boys, had heard fine words spoken before, and at once a little smile +seemed to flit across the faces of the leading spirits in past +rebellions. + +"The work of the forenoon began, when a lad of sixteen placed a marble +between his thumb and finger, and, with a snap, sent it rolling across +the floor. As the tall and handsome teacher saw this act, he arose from +his seat, and, without a word, walked toward the lad. + +"'Get up, sir,' he said. + +"The lad looked at him to see if he was in earnest; then he cast his +eyes toward the large boys to see if they were not going to take up his +defense. + +"'Get up, sir,' said the teacher a second time, and he took him by the +collar of his jacket as if to raise him. The lad saw he had no common +man to deal with, and he rose from his seat. + +"'Follow me, sir,' calmly spoke the teacher, and he led the way toward +the hall, while the boy began to tremble, wondering if the new teacher +was going to take him out and kill him. The primary department was +presided over by a sister of the new teacher, and into this room he led +the young transgressor. + +"Turning to his sister he said: 'I have a pupil for you; select a seat +for him, and let him remain here. If he makes any disturbance whatever, +inform me.' Turning to the boy he said: 'Young man, mind your teacher, +and do not leave your seat until I give permission,' and he was gone. + +"The lad sat there, feeling very sheepish, and as misery loves company, +it was not long before he was gratified to see the door open and observe +his seat-mate enter with the new teacher, who repeated the previous +orders, when he quietly and with dignity withdrew. + +"The number was subsequently increased to three, the teacher returning +each time without a word to the other scholars concerning the +disposition made of the refractory lads. The effect upon the rest of the +school was remarkable. As no intimation of the disposition of the boys +was given, not a shade of anger displayed on the countenance of the new +teacher, nor any appearances of blood were noticeable upon his hands, +speculation was rife as to what he had done with the three chaps. He +spoke kindly to all, smiled upon the scholars who did well in their +classes, and seemed to inspire all present with the truth of his remarks +uttered at the opening of the session. + +"At recess the mystery that had enveloped the school was cleared away, +for the three lads in the primary department were seen as the rest of +the scholars filed by the door. While all the rest enjoyed the recess, +the three lads were obliged to remain in their seats, and when school +was dismissed for the forenoon, the new teacher entered the +primary-room, and was alone with the young offenders. He sat down by +them, and like a father talked kindly and gave good advice. No parent +ever used more fitting words nor more impressed his offspring with the +fitness thereof than did the new teacher. Dismissing them, he told them +to go home, and when they returned to school to be good boys. + +"That afternoon the boys were in their seats, and in two weeks' time +there was not a scholar in the room who would not do anything the +teacher asked. He was beloved by all, and his quiet manner and cool, +dignified ways made him a great favorite. He only taught two terms, and +every reasonable inducement was offered to prevail upon him to remain, +but without avail. His reply was: "I have accomplished all I intended, +namely, conquered what you thought was a wild lot of boys, and received +the discipline that I required. I regret leaving my charge, for I have +learned to love them, but I am to enter a law office at once." + +"That teacher was Chester A. Arthur, now President of the United States; +the teacher of the primary department was his sister, now Mrs. +Haynesworth, and the first of the three refractory boys was the writer. +When it was announced that our beloved teacher was to leave us, many +tears were shed by his scholars, and as a slight token of our love, we +presented him with an elegant volume of poems." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +LIFE IN COLLEGE. + + +Probably young Garfield never passed two happier or more profitable +years than at Williams College. The Seminaries he had hitherto attended +were respectable, but in the nature of things they could not afford the +facilities which he now enjoyed. Despite his years of study and struggle +there were many things in which he was wholly deficient. He had studied +Latin, Greek, and mathematics, but of English literature he knew but +little. He had never had time to read for recreation, or for that higher +culture which is not to be learned in the class-room. + +In the library of Williams College he made his first acquaintance with +Shakespeare, and we can understand what a revelation his works must have +been to the aspiring youth. He had abstained from reading fiction, +doubting whether it was profitable, since the early days when with a +thrill of boyish excitement he read "Sinbad the Sailor" and Marryatt's +novels. After a while his views as to the utility of fiction changed. He +found that his mind was suffering from the solid food to which it was +restricted, and he began to make incursions into the realm of poetry and +fiction with excellent results. He usually limited this kind of reading, +and did not neglect for the fascination of romance those more solid +works which should form the staple of a young man's reading. + +It is well known that among poets Tennyson was his favorite, so that in +after years, when at fifteen minutes' notice, on the first anniversary +of Lincoln's assassination, he was called upon to move an adjournment of +the House, as a mark of respect to the martyred President, he was able +from memory to quote in his brief speech, as applicable to Lincoln, the +poet's description of some + + "Divinely gifted man, + Whose life in low estate began, + And on a simple village green, + Who breaks his birth's invidious bars, + And grasped the skirts of happy chance, + And breasts the blows of circumstance, + And grapples with his evil stars; + Who makes by force his merit known, + And lives to clutch the golden keys + To mould a mighty state's decrees, + And shape the whisper of the throne; + And moving up from high to higher, + Becomes on Fortune's crowning slope + The pillar of a people's hope, + The center of a world's desire." + +I am only repeating the remark made by many when I call attention to the +fitness of this description to Garfield himself. + +Our young student was fortunate in possessing a most retentive memory. +What he liked, especially in the works of his favorite poet, was so +impressed upon his memory that he could recite extracts by the hour. +This will enable the reader to understand how thoroughly he studied, and +how readily he mastered, those branches of knowledge to which his +attention was drawn. When in after years in Congress some great public +question came up, which required hard study, it was the custom of his +party friends to leave Garfield to study it, with the knowledge that in +due time he would be ready with a luminous exposition which would supply +to them the place of individual study. + +Young Garfield was anxious to learn the language of Goethe and +Schiller, and embraced the opportunity afforded at college to enter upon +the study of German. He was not content with a mere smattering, but +learned it well enough to converse in it as well as to read it. + +So most profitably the Junior year was spent, but unhappily James had +spent all the money which he had brought with him. Should he leave +college to earn more? Fortunately, this was not necessary. Thomas +Garfield, always unselfishly devoted to the family, hoped to supply his +younger brother with the necessary sum, in installments; but proving +unable, his old friend, Dr. Robinson, came to his assistance. + +"You can pay me when you are able, James," he said. + +"If I live I will pay you, doctor. If I do not--" + +He paused, for an idea struck him. + +"I will insure my life for eight hundred dollars," he continued, "and +place the policy in your hands. Then, whether I live or die, you will be +secure." + +"I do not require this, James," said the doctor kindly. + +"Then I feel all the more under obligations to secure you in return for +your generous confidence." + +It was a sensible and business-like proposal, and the doctor assented. +The strong, vigorous young man had no difficulty in securing a policy +from a reputable company, and went back to college at the commencement +of the Senior year. I wish to add that the young man scrupulously repaid +the good doctor's timely loan, for had he failed to do so, I could not +have held him up to my young readers as in all respects a model. + +There was published at Williams College, in Garfield's time, a magazine +called the _Williams Quarterly_. To this the young man became a frequent +contributor. In Gen. James S. Brisbin's campaign Life of Garfield, I +find three of his poetic contributions quoted, two of which I will also +transfer to my pages, as likely to possess some interest for my young +reader. The first is called + +"THE CHARGE OF THE TIGHT BRIGADE," + +and commences thus: + + "Bottles to right of them, + Bottles to left of them, + Bottles in front of them, + Fizzled and sundered; + Ent'ring with shout and yell, + Boldly they drank and well, + They caught the Tartar then; + _Oh, what a perfect sell!_ + Sold--the half hundred! + Grinned all the dentals bare, + Swung all their caps in air, + Uncorking bottles there, + Watching the Freshmen, while + Every one wondered; + Plunged in tobacco smoke, + With many a desperate stroke, + Dozens of bottles broke; + Then they came back, but not, + Not the half hundred!" + +Lest from this merry squib, which doubtless celebrated some college +prank, wrong conclusions should be drawn, I hasten to say that in +college James Garfield neither drank nor smoked. + +The next poem is rather long, but it possesses interest as a serious +production of one whose name has become a household word. It is entitled + +"MEMORY. + + "'Tis beauteous night; the stars look brightly down + Upon the earth, decked in her robe of snow. + No light gleams at the window save my own, + Which gives its cheer to midnight and to me. + And now with noiseless step sweet Memory comes, + And leads me gently through her twilight realms. + What poet's tuneful lyre has ever sung, + Or delicatest pencil e'er portrayed + The enchanted, shadowy land where Memory dwells? + It has its valleys, cheerless, lone, and drear, + Dark-shaded by the lonely cypress tree. + And yet its sunlit mountain tops are bathed + In heaven's own blue. Upon its craggy cliffs, + Robed in the dreamy light of distant years, + Are clustered joys serene of other days; + Upon its gently sloping hillside's bank + The weeping-willows o'er the sacred dust + Of dear departed ones; and yet in that land, + Where'er our footsteps fall upon the shore, + They that were sleeping rise from out the dust + Of death's long, silent years, and round us stand, + As erst they did before the prison tomb + Received their clay within its voiceless halls. + + "The heavens that bend above that land are hung + With clouds of various hues; some dark and chill, + Surcharged with sorrow, cast their sombre shade + Upon the sunny, joyous land below; + Others are floating through the dreamy air, + White as the falling snow, their margins tinged + With gold and crimson hues; their shadows fall + Upon the flowery meads and sunny slopes, + Soft as the shadows of an angel's wing. + When the rough battle of the day is done, + And evening's peace falls gently on the heart, + I bound away across the noisy years, + Unto the utmost verge of Memory's land, + Where earth and sky in dreamy distance meet, + And Memory dim with dark oblivion joins; + Where woke the first remembered sounds that fell + Upon the ear in childhood's early morn; + And wandering thence along the rolling years, + I see the shadow of my former self + Gliding from childhood up to man's estate. + The path of youth winds down through many a vale, + And on the brink of many a dread abyss, + From out whose darkness comes no ray of light, + Save that a phantom dances o'er the gulf, + And beckons toward the verge. Again, the path + Leads o'er a summit where the sunbeams fall; + And thus, in light and shade, sunshine and gloom, + Sorrow and joy, this life-path leads along." + +During the year 1856 young Garfield was one of the editors of the +college magazine, from which the above extracts are made. The hours +spent upon his contributions to its pages were doubtless well spent. +Here, to use his own words, he learned "to hurl the lance and wield the +sword and thus prepare for the conflict of life." More than one whose +names have since become conspicuous contributed to it while under his +charge. Among these were Professor Chadbourne, S.G.W. Benjamin, Horace +E. Scudder, W.R. Dimmock, and John Savary. The last-named, now resident +in Washington, has printed, since his old friend's death, a series of +sonnets, from which I quote one: + + "How many and how great concerns of state + Lie at the mercy of the meanest things! + This man, the peer of presidents and kings; + Nay, first among them, passed through dangers gate + In war unscathed, and perils out of date, + To meet a fool whose pistol-shot yet rings + Around the world, and at mere greatness flings + The cruel sneer of destiny or fate! + Yet hath he made the fool fanatic foil + To valor, patience, nobleness, and wit! + Nor had the world known, but because of it, + What virtues grow in suffering's sacred soil. + The shot which opened like a crack of hell, + Made all hearts stream with sacred pity's well + And showed that unity in which we dwell." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +THE CANAL-BOY BECOMES A COLLEGE PRESIDENT. + + +During his second winter vacation a great temptation assailed James. It +was not a temptation to do wrong. That he could easily have resisted. + +I must explain. + +At Prestenkill, a country village six miles from Troy, N.Y., the young +student organized a writing school, to help defray his expenses. Having +occasion to visit Troy, his interest in education led him to form an +acquaintance with some of the teachers and directors of the public +schools. + +One of these gentlemen, while walking with him over the sloping sides of +a hill overlooking the city, said: "Mr. Garfield, I have a proposition +to make to you." + +The student listened with interest. + +"There is a vacancy in one of our public schools. We want an experienced +teacher, and I am sure you will suit us. I offer you the place, with a +salary of twelve hundred dollars a year. What do you say?" + +The young man's heart beat for a moment with repressible excitement. It +was a strong temptation. He was offered, deducting vacations, about one +hundred and twenty-five dollars a month, while heretofore his highest +wages had been but eighteen dollars per month and board. Moreover, he +could marry at once the young lady to whom he had been for years +engaged. + +He considered the offer a moment, and this was his answer: + +"You are not Satan and I am not Jesus, but we are upon the mountain, and +you have tempted me powerfully. I think I must say, 'Get thee behind +me!' I am poor, and the salary would soon pay my debts and place me in a +position of independence; but there are two objections. I could not +accomplish my resolution to complete a college course, and should be +crippled intellectually for life. Then, my roots are all fixed in Ohio, +where people know me and I know them, and this transplanting might not +succeed as well in the long run as to go back home and work for smaller +pay." + +So the young man decided adversely, and it looks as if his decision was +a wise one. It is interesting to conjecture what would have been his +future position had he left college and accepted the school then offered +him. He might still have been a teacher, well known and of high repute, +but of fame merely local, and without a thought of the brilliant destiny +he had foregone. + +So he went back to college, and in the summer of 1856 he graduated, +carrying off the highest honor--the metaphysical oration. His class was +a brilliant one. Three became general officers during the +rebellion--Garfield, Daviess, and Thompson. Rockwell's name is well +known in official circles; Gilfillan is Treasurer of the United States. +There are others who fill prominent positions. In the class above him +was the late Hon. Phineas W. Hitchcock, who for six years represented +Nebraska in the United States Senate--like Garfield, the architect of +his own fortunes. + +"What are your plans, Garfield?" asked a classmate but a short time +before graduation. + +"I am going back to Ohio, to teach in the school where I prepared for +college." + +"What is the name of the school?" + +"Hiram Institute." + +"I never heard of it." + +"It has only a local reputation." + +"Will you get a high salary?" + +"No; the institute is poor, and can pay me but little." + +"I think you are making a mistake." + +"Why so?" + +"You are our best scholar, and no one can rival you in speaking in the +societies. You should study law, and then go to one of our large cities +and build up a reputation, instead of burying yourself in an +out-of-the-way Ohio town, where you may live and die without the world +hearing of you." + +"Thank you for your good opinion of me. I am not sure whether I deserve +it, but if I do, I shall come to the surface some day. Meanwhile, to +this humble school (it was not yet a college) I owe a large debt of +gratitude. I am under a promise to go back and do what I can to pay that +debt." + +"In doing so you may sacrifice your own prospects." + +"I hope not. At any rate, my mind is made up." + +"Oh, well, in that case I will say no more. I know that if your mind is +made up, you are bound to go. Only, years hence you will think of my +warning." + +"At any rate," said Garfield, cordially, "I shall bear in mind the +interest you have shown in me. You may be right--I admit that--but I +feel that it is my duty to go." + +I doubt whether any man of great powers can permanently bury himself, no +matter how obscure the position which he chooses. Sooner or later the +world will find him out, and he will be lifted to his rightful place. +When General Grant occupied a desk in the office of a lawyer in St. +Louis, and made a precarious living by collecting bills, it didn't look +as if Fame had a niche for him; but occasion came, and lifted him to +distinction. So I must confess that the young graduate seemed to be +making a mistake when, turning his back upon Williams College, he sought +the humble institution where he had taught, as a pupil-teacher, two +years before, and occupied a place as instructor, with an humble salary. +But even here there was promotion for him. A year later, at the age of +twenty-six, he was made president of the institution. It was not, +perhaps, a lofty position, for though Hiram Institute now became Hiram +College, it was not a college in the New England sense, but rather a +superior academy. + +Let us pause a minute and see what changes have taken place in ten +years. + +At the age of sixteen Jimmy Garfield was glad to get a chance to drive a +couple of mules on the tow-path of the Ohio and Pennsylvania Canal. The +ragged, homespun boy had disappeared. In his place we find James A. +Garfield, A.B., president of a Western college--a man of education and +culture. And how has this change been brought about! By energy, +perseverance, and a resolute purpose--a soul that poverty could not +daunt, an ambition which shrank from no hardship, and no amount of +labor. They have been years of toil, for it takes time to transform a +raw and ignorant country lad into a college president; but the toil has +not harmed him--the poverty has not cramped him, nor crippled his +energies. "Poverty is very inconvenient," he said on one occasion, in +speaking of those early years, "but it is a fine spur to activity, and +may be made a rich blessing." + +The young man now had an assured income; not a large one, but Hiram was +but an humble village. No fashionable people lived there. The people +were plain in their tastes, and he could live as well as the best +without difficulty. He was employed in a way that interested and pleased +him, and but one thing seemed wanting. His heart had never swerved from +the young lady with whom he first became acquainted at Geauga, to whom +he was more closely drawn at Hiram, and to whom now for some years he +had been betrothed. He felt that he could now afford to be married; and +so Lucretia Rudolph became Mrs. Garfield--a name loved and honored, for +her sake as well as his, throughout the length and breadth of our land. +She, too, had been busily and usefully employed in these intervening +years. As Mr. Philo Chamberlain, of Cleveland, has told us elsewhere, +she has been a useful and efficient teacher in one of the public schools +of that city. She has not been content with instructing others, but in +her hours of leisure has pursued a private course of study, by which her +mind has been broadened and deepened. If some prophetic instinct had +acquainted her with the high position which the future had in store for +her, she could have taken no fitter course to prepare herself to fulfil +with credit the duties which, twenty years after, were to devolve upon +her as the wife of the Chief Magistrate of the Union. + +This was the wife that Garfield selected, and he found her indeed a +helper and a sympathizer in all his sorrows and joys. She has proved +equal to any position to which the rising fame of her husband lifted +her. Less than a year ago her husband said of her: "I have been +wonderfully blessed in the discretion of my wife. She is one of the +coolest and best-balanced women I ever saw. She is unstampedable. There +has not been one solitary instance in my public career when I suffered +in the smallest degree for any remark she ever made. It would have been +perfectly natural for a woman often to say something that could be +misinterpreted; but, without any design, and with the intelligence and +coolness of her character, she has never made the slightest mistake that +I ever heard of. With the competition that has been against me, such +discretion has been a real blessing." + +Public men who have risen from humble beginnings often suffer from the +mistakes of wives who have remained stationary, and are unfitted to +sympathize with them in the larger life of their husbands. But as James +A. Garfield grew in the public esteem, and honors crowded upon him, step +by step his wife kept pace with him, and was at all times a fitting and +sympathetic companion and helpmeet. + +They commenced housekeeping in a neat little cottage fronting the +college campus; and so their wedded life began. It was a modest home, +but a happy one, and doubtless both enjoyed more happy hours than in the +White House, even had the last sorrowful tragedy never been enacted. As +President, James A. Garfield belonged to the nation; as the head of +Hiram College, to his family. Greatness has its penalties, and a low +estate its compensations. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +GARFIELD AS A COLLEGE PRESIDENT. + + +When James Garfield presented himself at Hiram, an awkward, overgrown +boy of nineteen, in his rustic garb, and humbly asked for the position +of janitor and bell-ringer, suppose the trustees had been told, "In +seven years your institute will have developed into a college, and that +boy will be the president," we can imagine their amazement. + +Yet it had all come true. Nowhere, perhaps, but in America could such a +thing have happened, and even here it seldom happens that such an upward +stride is made in so short a time. + +After all, however, the important question to consider is, "What sort of +a college president did this humble canal-boy, who counted it promotion +when he was elected a janitor and bell-ringer, become?" + +For information upon this point, we go to one of his pupils, Rev. I.L. +Darsie, of Danbury, Conn., who writes as follows: + +"I attended the Western Reserve Institute when Garfield was principal, +and I recall vividly his method of teaching. He took very kindly to me, +and assisted me in various ways, because I was poor, and was janitor of +the buildings, and swept them out in the morning and built the fires, as +he had done only six years before, when he was a pupil in the same +college. He was full of animal spirits, and used to run out on the green +every day and play cricket with his scholars. He was a tall, strong man, +but dreadfully awkward. Every now and then he would get a hit, and he +muffed his ball and lost his hat as a regular thing.[A] He was +left-handed, too, and that made him seem all the clumsier. But he was +most powerful and very quick, and it was easy for us to understand how +it was that he had acquired the reputation of whipping all the other +mule-drivers on the canal, and of making himself the hero of that +thoroughfare, when he followed its tow-path, only ten years earlier. + +[Footnote A: I have seen it somewhere stated that when a Congressman at +Washington he retained his interest in the game of base-ball, and always +was in attendance when it was possible, at a game between two +professional clubs.] + +"No matter how old the pupils were, Garfield always called us by our +first names, and kept himself on the most intimate terms with all. He +played with us freely, and we treated him out of the class-room just +about as we did one another. Yet he was a most strict disciplinarian, +and enforced the rules like a martinet. He combined an affectionate and +confiding manner with respect for order in a most successful manner. If +he wanted to speak to a pupil, either for reproof or approbation, he +would generally manage to get one arm around him, and draw him close up +to him. He had a peculiar way of shaking hands, too, giving a twist to +your arm, and drawing you right up to him. This sympathetic manner has +helped him to advancement. When I was janitor, he used sometimes to stop +me, and ask my opinion about this and that, as if seriously advising +with me. I can see now that my opinion could not have been of any value, +and that he probably asked me partly to increase my self-respect and +partly to show that he felt an interest in me. I certainly was his +friend all the firmer for it. + +"I remember once asking him what was the best way to pursue a certain +study. + +"'Use several text-books,' he answered. 'Get the views of different +authors as you advance. In that way you can plow a deeper furrow. I +always study in that way.' + +"He tried hard to teach us to observe carefully and accurately. He broke +out one day in the midst of a lesson with, 'Henry, how many posts are +there under the building down-stairs?' Henry expressed his opinion, and +the question went around the class, hardly any one getting it right. +Then it was, 'How many boot-scrapers are there at the door?' 'How many +windows in the building?' 'How many trees in the field?' He was the +keenest observer I ever saw. I think he noticed and numbered every +button on our coats. A friend of mine was walking with him through +Cleveland one day, when Garfield stopped and darted down a cellar-way, +asking his companion to follow, and briefly pausing to explain himself. +The sign, 'Saws and Files,' was over the door, and in the depths was +heard a regular clicking sound. 'I think this fellow is cutting files,' +said he, 'and I have never seen a file cut. + +"Down they went, and, sure enough, there was a man recutting an old +file; and they stayed ten minutes, and found out all about the process. +Garfield would never go by anything without understanding it. + +"Mr. Garfield was very fond of lecturing in the school. He spoke two or +three times a week, on all manner of topics, generally scientific, +though sometimes literary or historical. He spoke with great freedom, +never writing out what he had to say, and I now think that his lectures +were a rapid compilation of his current reading, and that he threw it +into this form partly for the purpose of impressing it upon his own +mind. + +"His facility of speech was learned when he was a pupil at Hiram. The +societies had a rule that every student should take his stand on the +platform and speak for five minutes on any topic suggested at the moment +by the audience. It was a very trying ordeal. Garfield broke down badly +the first two times he tried to speak, but persisted, and was at last, +when he went to Williams, one of the best of the five-minute speakers. +When he returned as principal, his readiness was striking and +remarkable." + +Henry James says: "Garfield taught me more than any other man, living +or dead, and, proud as I am of his record as a soldier and a statesman, +I can hardly forgive him for abandoning the academy and the forum." + +So President Hinsdale, one of Garfield's pupils, and his successor as +president, testifies: "My real acquaintance with Garfield did not begin +till the fall of 1856, when he returned from Williams College. He then +found me out, drew near to me, and entered into all my troubles and +difficulties pertaining to questions of the future. In a greater or less +degree this was true of his relations to his pupils generally. There are +hundreds of these men and women scattered over the world to-day, who can +not find language strong enough to express their feeling in +contemplating Garfield as their old instructor, adviser, and friend. + +"Since 1856 my relations with him have been as close and confidential as +they could be with any man, and much closer and more confidential than +they have been with any other man. I do not say that it would be +possible for me to know anybody better than I know him, and I know that +he possesses all the great elements of character in an extraordinary +degree. His interest in humanity has always been as broad as humanity +itself, while his lively interest in young men and women, especially if +they were struggling in narrow circumstances to obtain an education, is +a characteristic known as widely over the world as the footsteps of +Hiram boys and girls have wandered. + +"The help that he furnished hundreds in the way of suggestions, +teaching, encouragement, inspiration, and stimulus was most valuable. +His power over students was not so much that of a drill-master, or +disciplinarian, as that of one who was able to inspire and energize +young people by his own intellectual and moral force." + +An illustration of the interest he felt in his pupils may be given. + +A student came to the president's study at the close of a college term +to bid him good-bye. After the good-bye was said, he lingered, and +Garfield said: "I suppose you will be back again in the fall, Henry?" + +"No," he stammered, "I am not coming back to Hiram any more. Father says +I have got education enough, and that he needs me to work on the farm; +that education doesn't help a farmer along any." + +He was a bright boy--not a prodigy, by any means, but one of those +strong, awkward, large-headed fellows, such as James Garfield had +himself been. + +"Is your father here?" asked the young president, affected by the boy's +evident sorrow. + +"Yes, father is here, and is taking my things home for good." + +"Well, don't feel badly. Please tell him Mr. Garfield would like to see +him at his study before he leaves the college." + +"Yes, sir, I will." + +In half an hour the father, a sturdy farmer, entered the study and +awkwardly sat down. + +"So you have come to take Henry home, have you?" asked the president. + +"Yes," answered the farmer. + +"I sent for you because I wanted to have a little talk with you about +Henry's future. He is coming back again in the fall, I hope?" + +"Wal, I think not. I don't reckon I can afford to send him any more. +He's got eddication enough for a farmer already, and I notice that when +they git too much, they sorter git lazy. Yer eddicated farmers are +humbugs. Henry's got so far 'long now that he'd rather have his head in +a book than be workin'. He don't take no interest in the stock, nor in +the farm improvements. Everybody else is dependent in this world on the +farmer, and I think that we've got too many eddicated fellows settin' +'round now for the farmers to support." + +To this Garfield answered that he was sorry for the father's decision, +since his son, if permitted to come the next term, would be far enough +advanced to teach school, and so begin to help himself along. Teaching +would pay better than working on the farm in the winter. + +"Do you really think Henry can teach next winter?" asked the father, to +whom the idea was a new one. + +"I should think so, certainly," answered Garfield. "But if he can not do +so then, he can in a short time." + +"Wal, I will think on it. He wants to come back bad enough, and I guess +I'll have to let him. I never thought of it that way afore." + +The victory was won. Henry came back the next term, and after finishing +at Hiram, graduated at an Eastern college. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +GARFIELD BECOMES A STATE SENATOR. + + +Probably Garfield considered now that he was settled in life. He had +married the woman of his choice, set up a pleasant home, and was fully +occupied with a class of duties that suited him. Living frugally, he was +able to lay by a portion of his salary annually, and saw the way open, +if life and health continued, to a moderate prosperity. He seemed to be +a born teacher, and his life seemed likely to be passed in that pleasant +and tranquil office. + +Many years before, while still unmarried, his mother had been a teacher, +and one of her experiences when so occupied was so remarkable that I can +not forbear quoting it: + +"About the year 1820 she and her sister were left alone in the world, +without provision, so far as the inheritance or possession of property +was concerned. Preferring to live among relatives, one went to reside +with an uncle in Northern Ohio, and the other, Eliza, afterward Mrs. +Garfield, came to another uncle, the father of Samuel Arnold, who then +lived on a farm near Norwich, Muskingum County, Ohio. There Eliza Ballou +made her home, cheerfully helping at the house or in the field, as was +then sometimes the custom in a pioneer country. Having something more +than what at that day was an ordinary education, Eliza procured about +twenty pupils, and taught a summer school. + +"The school-house was one of the most primitive kind, and stood in the +edge of dense and heavily-timbered woods. One day there came up a +fearful storm of wind and rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning. +The woods were badly wrecked, but the wind left the old log-house +uninjured. Not so the lightning. A bolt struck a tree that projected +closely over the roof, and then the roof itself. Some of the pupils were +greatly alarmed, and no doubt thought it the crack of doom, or the day +of judgment. The teacher, as calm and collected as possible, tried to +quiet her pupils and keep them in their places. A man who was one of the +pupils, in speaking of the occurrence, says that for a little while he +remembered nothing, and then he looked around, and saw, as he thought, +the teacher and pupils lying dead on the, floor. Presently the teacher +began to move a little. Then, one by one, the pupils got up, with a +single exception. Help, medical and otherwise, was obtained as soon as +possible for this one, but, though life was saved for a time, reason had +forever fled." + +This was certainly a fearful experience for a young teacher. + +It was while on a visit to her sister, already married, in Northern +Ohio, that Eliza made the acquaintance of Abram Garfield, the father of +the future President. In this neighborhood, while on a visit to his +relatives, at the age of seventeen, James obtained a school and taught +for a single term. + +Having retraced our steps to record this early experience of James' +mother, we take the opportunity to mention an incident in the life of +her son, which was omitted in the proper place. The story was told by +Garfield himself during his last sickness to Mr. Crump, steward of the +White House. + +"When I was a youngster," said the President, "and started for college +at Hiram, I had just fifteen dollars--a ten-dollar bill in an old, +black-leather pocketbook, which was in the breast pocket of my coat, and +the other five dollars was in my trowsers' pocket. I was walking along +the road, and, as the day was hot, I took off my coat and carried it on +my arm, taking good care to feel every moment or two of the pocketbook, +for the hard-earned fifteen dollars was to pay my entrance at the +college. + +"After a while I got to thinking over what college life would be like, +and forgot all about the pocketbook for some time, and when I looked +again it was gone! I went back mournfully along the road, hunting on +both sides for the pocketbook. Presently I came to a house where a young +man was leaning over a gate, and he asked me when I came up what I was +hunting for. Upon my explaining my loss, and describing the pocketbook, +the young man handed it over. That young man," the President added, +turning to his devoted physician, "was Dr. Bliss. He saved me for +college." + +"Yes," said the doctor, "and if I hadn't found your ten dollars you +wouldn't have become President of the United States." + +Many a true word is spoken in jest. It might have happened that the boy +would have been so depressed by the loss of his money that he would have +given up his plan of going to Hiram and returned home to fill an humbler +place in the world. + +But it is time to return from this digression and resume our narrative. + +Devoted to his profession, young Garfield had given but little attention +to politics. But in the political campaign of 1857 and 1858 he became +interested in the exciting political questions which agitated the +community, and, taking the stump, he soon acquired the reputation of a +forcible and logical stump orator. This drew the attention of the voters +to him, and in 1859 he was tendered a nomination to the Ohio Senate from +the counties of Portage and Summit. His speeches during the campaign of +that year are said to have been warm, fresh, and impassioned, and he was +elected by a handsome majority. + +This was the first entrance of the future President upon public life. +The session was not long, and the absence of a few weeks at Columbus +did not seriously interfere with his college duties. + +In the Senate he at once took high rank. He was always ready to speak, +his past experience having made this easy. He took care to inform +himself upon the subjects which came up for legislation, and for this +reason he was always listened to with respectful attention. Moreover, +his genial manners and warmth of heart made him a general favorite among +all his fellow legislators, whether they belonged to his party or to the +opposition. + +Again, in the session of 1860-61, being also a member of the Senate, he +took a prominent part in such measures as were proposed to uphold the +National Government, menaced by the representative men of the South. He +was among the foremost in declaring that the integrity of the Union must +be protected at all hazards, and declared that it was the right and duty +of the Government to coerce the seceded States. + +When the President's call for seventy-five thousand men was made public, +and announcement was made to the Ohio Senate, Senator Garfield sprang to +his feet, and amid loud applause moved that "twenty thousand troops and +three millions of money" should be at once voted as Ohio's quota! He +closed his speech by offering his services to Governor Dennison in any +capacity. + +This offer the Governor bore in mind, and on the 14th of August, 1861, +Garfield was offered the Lieutenant-Colonelcy of the Forty-second Ohio +regiment, which he had been instrumental in forming. + +It was a serious moment for Garfield. The acceptance of this commission +would derange all his cherished plans. It would separate him from his +wife and child, and from the loved institution of which he was the head. +He must bid farewell to the calm, studious life, which he so much +enjoyed, and spend days and months in the camp, liable at any moment to +fall the victim of an enemy's bullet. + +Suppose he should be killed? His wife would have no provision but the +small sum of three thousand dollars, which he had been able by great +economy to save from his modest salary. + +He hesitated, but it was not for long. He was not a man to shrink from +the call of duty. Before moving he wrote to a friend: + +"I regard my life as given to the country. I am only anxious to make as +much of it as possible before the mortgage on it is foreclosed." + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +A DIFFICULT DUTY. + + +Having made up his mind to serve his country in the field, Garfield +immediately wrote to the Governor accepting the appointment. + +The regiment to which he was assigned was recruited from the same +counties which he represented in the State Senate. A large number of the +officers and privates had been connected as students with Hiram College, +and were personally known to Garfield. + +His first step was to qualify himself for his new position. Of the art +and mystery of war the young scholar knew little, but he was no worse +off than many another whom the exigencies of his country summoned from +peaceful pursuits to the tented field and the toilsome march. It was +probably the only office which he ever assumed without suitable +qualifications. But it was not in his nature to undertake any duties +without endeavoring to fit himself for their discharge. + +His method of studying the art of war was curious and original. Falling +back on his old trade of carpenter, he brought "his saw and jack-plane +again into play, fashioned companies, officers and non-commissioned +officers out of maple blocks, and with these wooden-headed troops he +thoroughly mastered the infantry tactics in his quarters." There was +this advantage in his method, that his toy troops were thoroughly +manageable. + +The next step was to organize a school for the officers of his regiment, +requiring thorough recitation in the tactics, while their teacher +illustrated the maneuvers by the blocks he had prepared for his own +instruction. He was obliged to begin with the officers, that they might +be qualified to assist him in instructing the men under their command. +He was then able to institute regimental, squad, skirmish, and bayonet +drill, and kept his men at these exercises from six to eight hours daily +till the Forty-second won the reputation of being the best drilled +regiment to be found in Ohio. + +My boy readers will be reminded of the way in which he taught geometry +in one of his winter schools, preparing himself at night for the lesson +of the next day. I would like to call their attention also to the +thoroughness with which he did everything. Though previously ignorant of +military tactics he instructed his regiment in them thoroughly, +believing that whatever was worth doing at all was worth doing well. + +He was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel, but by the time his organization +was completed he was promoted to the Colonelcy. + +At last the preliminary work was completed. His men, an undisciplined +body when he took them in hand, had become trained soldiers, but as yet +they had not received what Napoleon III. called the "baptism of fire." +It is all very well to march and countermarch, and practice the ordinary +evolutions like militia-men at a muster, but how was the regiment, how +was its scholarly commander likely to act in the field? + +On the 14th of December orders for the field were received by Colonel +Garfield's command, stationed at Camp Chase. + +Then came the trial of parting with wife and mother and going forth to +battle and danger. To his mother, whose highest ambition had been that +her son should be a scholar, it was doubtless a keen disappointment that +his settled prospects should be so broken up; but she, too, was +patriotic, and she quietly said: "Go, my son, your life belongs to your +country." + +Colonel Garfield's orders were to report to General Buell at Louisville. +He moved his regiment by way of Cincinnati to Catlettsburg, Kentucky, a +town at the junction of the Big Sandy and the Ohio, and was enabled to +report to his commander on the 19th of December. + +Then, for the first time, he learned what was the nature of the duty +that was assigned to him. It was no less than to save Kentucky to the +Union. A border State, with an interest in slavery, public opinion was +divided, and it was uncertain to which side it would incline. The +Confederates understood the value of the prize, and they had taken +measures, which promised to be successful, to wrest it from the Union. +The task had been committed to Gen. Humphrey Marshall, who had invaded +Eastern Kentucky from the Virginia border, and had already advanced as +far north as Prestonburg. + +Gen. Marshall fortified a strong natural position near Paintville, and +overran the whole Piedmont region. This region contained few slaves--but +one in twenty-five of the whole population. It was inhabited by a brave +rural population, more closely resembling their Northern than their +Southern neighbors. Among these people Marshall sent stump orators to +fire them with enthusiasm for the Confederate cause. Such men would make +valuable soldiers and must be won over if possible. + +So all that portion of the State was in a ferment. It looked as if it +would be lost to the Union. Marshall was daily increasing the number of +his forces, preparing either to intercept Buell, and prevent his advance +into Tennessee, or, cutting off his communications, with the assistance +of Beauregard, to crush him between them. + +To Colonel Garfield, an inexperienced civilian, who had only studied +military tactics by the aid of wooden blocks, and who had never been +under fire, it was proposed to meet Marshall, a trained soldier, to +check his advance, and drive him from the State. This would have been +formidable enough if he had been provided with an equal number of +soldiers; but this was far from being the case. He had but twenty-five +hundred men to aid him in his difficult work, and of these eleven +hundred, under Colonel Craven, were a hundred miles away, at Paris, +Kentucky, and this hundred miles was no level plain, but a rough, +mountainous country, infested with guerrillas and occupied by a disloyal +people. + +Of course, the first thing to be done was to connect with Colonel +Craven, but, considering the distance and the nature of the country to +be traversed, it was a most difficult problem. The chances were that +Gen. Marshall, with his vastly superior force, would attack the two +bodies of soldiers separately, and crush them before a union could be +effected. + +Gen. Buell explained how matters stood to the young colonel of +volunteers, and ended thus: + +"That is what you have to do, Colonel Garfield--drive Marshall from +Kentucky, and you see how much depends on your action. Now go to your +quarters, think of it overnight, and come here in the morning and tell +me how you will do it." + +In college Garfield had been called upon to solve many difficult +problems in the higher mathematics, but it is doubtful whether he ever +encountered a more knotty problem than this one. + +He and Colonel Craven represented two little boys of feeble strength, +unable to combine their efforts, who were called upon to oppose and +capture a big boy of twice their size, who knew a good deal more about +fighting than they did. + +No wonder the young colonel felt perplexed. But he did not give up. It +was not his way. He resolved to consider whether anything could be done, +and what. + +My chief object in writing this volume being to commend its subject as +an example for boys, I think it right to call attention to this trait +which he possessed in a conspicuous degree. Brought face to face with +difficulty--with what might almost be called the impossible, he did not +say, "Oh, I can't do it. It is impossible." He went home to devise a +plan. + +First of all, it was important that he should know something of the +intervening country--its conformation, its rivers and streams, if there +were any. So, on his way to his room he sought a book-store and bought +a rude map of Kentucky, and then, shutting himself up in his room, while +others were asleep, he devoted himself to a lesson in geography. With +more care than he had ever used in school, he familiarized himself with +the geography of the country in which he was to operate, and then set +himself to devise some feasible plan of campaign. + +It was a hard problem, and required still more anxious thought, because +the general to whom he was to report it, was, unlike himself, a man +thoroughly trained in the art of war. + +The next morning, according to orders, he sought again his commanding +officer. + +Gen. Buell was a man of great reticence and severe military habits, and +if the plan were weak or foolish, as might well be from the utter lack +of experience of the young officer who was to make it, he would +unhesitatingly say so. + +As Garfield laid his rude map and roughly outlined plan on the table, +and explained his conception of the campaign, he watched anxiously to +see how Gen. Buell was impressed by it. But the general was a man who +knew how to veil his thoughts. He waited in silence till Garfield had +finished, only asking a brief question now and then, and at the end, +without expressing his opinion one way or the other, merely said: +"Colonel Garfield, your orders will be sent you at six o'clock this +evening." + +Garfield was not compelled to wait beyond that hour. + +Promptly the order came, organizing the Eighteenth Brigade of the Army +of the Ohio, under the command of Colonel Garfield, with a letter of +instructions, embodying essentially the plan submitted by the young +officer in the morning. + +When Garfield set out with his command the next morning, Gen. Buell said +to him at parting: + +"Colonel, you will be at so great a distance from me, and communication +will be so difficult, that I must commit all matters of detail and much +of the fate of the campaign to your discretion. I shall hope to hear a +good account of you." + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +JOHN JORDAN'S DANGEROUS JOURNEY. + + +Col. Garfield had already sent on his regiment in advance to Louisa, +twenty-eight miles up the Big Sandy. + +There he joined them on the 24th, having waited at Catlettsburg only +long enough to forward to them necessary supplies. + +The arrival of the regiment was opportune, for the district was +thoroughly alarmed. A regiment had been stationed there--the Fourteenth +Kentucky--but had hastily retreated to the mouth of the river during the +night of the 19th, under the impression that Marshall was advancing with +his forces to drive them into the Ohio. It was a false alarm, but the +Union citizens were very much alarmed, and were preparing with their +families to cross the river for safety. With the appearance of +Garfield's regiment a feeling of security returned. + +I am anxious to make plain to my boy readers the manner in which the +young colonel managed his campaign. I think they will have no difficulty +in understanding that Garfield had two very difficult things to +accomplish. Colonel Craven knew nothing of Garfield's advance, nor of +his plans. It was necessary to inform him. Again, if possible, a +junction must be effected. The first was difficult, because the +intervening country was infested with roving bands of guerrillas, and a +messenger must take his life in his hands. How, again, could a junction +be effected in the face of a superior enemy, liable to fall upon either +column and crush it? + +Obviously the first thing was to find a messenger. + +Garfield applied to Col. Moore of the Fourteenth Kentucky, and made +known his need. + +"Have you a man," he asked, "who will die rather than fail or betray +us?" + +"Yes," answered the Kentuckian, after a pause, "I think I have. His name +is John Jordan, and he comes from the head of the Blaine." + +This was a small stream which entered the Big Sandy, a short distance +from the town. + +At the request of Garfield, Jordan was sent for. In a short time he +entered the tent of the Union commander. + +This John Jordan was a remarkable man, and well known in all that +region. He was of Scotch descent, and possessed some of the best traits +of his Scotch ancestry. He was a born actor, a man of undoubted courage, +fertile in expedients, and devoted to the Union cause. + +Garfield was a judge of men, and he was impressed in the man's favor at +first sight. He describes Jordan as a tall, gaunt, sallow man, about +thirty years of age, with gray eyes, a fine falsetto voice, and a face +of wonderful expressiveness. To the young colonel he was a new type of +man, but withal a man whom he was convinced that he could trust. + +"Why did you come into this war?" he asked, with some curiosity. + +"To do my share, colonel, and I've made a bargain with the Lord. I gave +Him my life to start with, and if He has a mind to take it, it's His. +I've nothing to say agin it." + +"You mean you have come into the war, not expecting to get out of it +alive?" + +"Yes, colonel." + +"You know what I want you to do. Will you die rather than let this +dispatch be taken?" + +"I will." + +Garfield looked into the man's face, and he read unmistakable sincerity. + +He felt that the man could be trusted, and he said so. + +The dispatch was written upon tissue paper. It was then rolled into the +form of a bullet, coated with warm lead, and given into the hands of the +messenger. He was provided with a carbine and a brace of revolvers, and +when the moon was down, he mounted his horse in the darkness and set out +on his perilous journey. + +It would not do to ride in the daytime, for inevitably he would be +stopped, or shot down. By day he must hide in the woods, and travel only +at night. + +His danger was increased by the treachery of one of his own comrades of +the Fourteenth Kentucky, and he was followed by a band of guerrillas in +the Confederate interest. Of this, however, Jordan was not apprised, and +supposing himself secure he sought shelter and concealment at the house +of a man whom he knew to be loyal. Near enough to see, but not to be +seen, the guerrillas waited till the tired messenger was sleeping, and +then coming boldly out of the woods, surrounded the house. + +In a fright the good housewife ran up to his chamber, and shook the +sleeping man. + +"Wake for your life!" she said. "The guerrillas are outside, clamoring +for you. I have locked the doors, but I can not keep them out long." + +Jordan had thrown himself on the bed with his clothes on. He knew that +he was liable to be surprised, and in such an event time was most +valuable. Though awakened from a sound sleep, he had all his wits about +him. + +"Thank you," said he. "I have a favor to ask in the name of our cause." + +"Be quick, then," said the woman. "They are bursting open the door." + +"Take this bullet. It contains a secret dispatch, which, if I am killed, +I enjoin upon you to convey to Colonel Craven, at Paris. Will you do +it?" + +"If I can." + +"Then I am off." + +The door burst open, but he made a sudden dash, and escaped capture. He +headed for the woods, amid a volley of bullets, but none of them reached +him. Once he turned round, and fired an answering shot. He did not stop +to see if it took effect, but it was the messenger of Death. One of the +guerrillas reeled, and measured his length upon the ground, dead in a +moment. + +Fleet as a deer the brave scout pushed on till he got within the +protecting shadows of the friendly woods. There they lost the trail, and +though he saw them from his place of concealment, he was himself unseen. + +"Curse him!" said the disappointed leader. "He must have sunk into the +earth, or vanished into the air." + +"If he's sunk into the earth, that is where we want him," answered +another, with grim humor. + +"You will find I am not dead yet!" said the hidden scout to himself. "I +shall live to trouble you yet." + +He passed the remainder of the day in the woods, fearing that his +pursuers might still be lingering about. + +"If there were only two or three, I'd come out and face 'em," he said, +"but the odds are too great. I must skulk back in the darkness, and get +back the bullet." + +Night came on, and the woman who had saved him, heard a low tapping at +the door. It might be an enemy, and she advanced, and opened it with +caution. A figure, seen indistinctly in the darkness, stood before her. + +"Who are you?" she asked doubtfully. + +"Don't be afraid, ma'am, it's only me." + +"And you--" + +"Are the man you saved this morning!" + +"God be thanked! Then you were not killed?" + +"Do I look like a dead man? No, my time hasn't come yet. I foiled 'em in +the wood, and there I have spent all day. Have you any victuals, for I +am famished?" + +"Yes, come in." + +"I can not stay. I will take what you have and leave at once, for the +villains may be lurkin' round here somewhere. But first, the bullet! +have you that safe?" + +"Here it is." + +The scout put it in his pocket, and taking in his hand a paper box of +bread and meat which his loyal hostess brought him, resumed his +hazardous journey. + +He knew that there were other perils to encounter, unless he was +particularly fortunate, but he had a heart prepared for any fate. The +perils came, but he escaped them with adroitness, and at midnight of the +following day he was admitted into the presence of Colonel Craven. + +Surely this was no common man, and his feat was no common one. + +In forty-eight hours, traveling only by night, he had traversed one +hundred miles with a rope round his neck, and without the prospect of +special reward. For he was but a private, and received but a private's +pay--thirteen dollars a month, a shoddy uniform, and hard-tack, when he +could get it. + +Colonel Craven opened the bullet, and read the dispatch. + +It was dated "Louisa, Kentucky, December 24, midnight"; and directed him +to move at once with his regiment (the Fortieth Ohio, eight hundred +strong) by way of Mount Sterling and McCormick's Gap, to Prestonburg. He +was to encumber his men with as few rations as possible, since the +safety of his command depended on his celerity. He was also requested to +notify Lieutenant-Colonel Woodford, at Stamford, and direct him to join +the march with his three hundred cavalry. + +On the following morning Col. Craven's column began to move. The scout +waited till night, and then set out on his return. The reader will be +glad to learn that the brave man rejoined his regiment. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +GARFIELD'S BOLD STRATEGY. + + +Garfield didn't wait for the scout's return. He felt that no time was to +be lost. The expedition which he had planned was fraught with peril, but +it was no time for timid counsels. + +On the morning following Jordan's departure he set out up the river, +halting at George's Creek, only twenty miles from Marshall's intrenched +position. As the roads along the Big Sandy were impassable for trains, +and unsafe on account of the nearness of the enemy, he decided to depend +mainly upon water navigation for the transportation of his supplies. + +The Big Sandy finds its way to the Ohio through the roughest and wildest +spurs of the Cumberland Mountains, and is a narrow, fickle stream. At +low-water it is not navigable above Louisa, except for small flat-boats +pushed by hand. At high-water small steamers can reach Piketon, one +hundred and twenty miles from the mouth; but when there are heavy +freshets the swift current, filled with floating timber, and the +overhanging trees which almost touch one another from the opposite +banks, render navigation almost impracticable. This was enough to +intimidate a man less in earnest than Garfield. He did not hesitate, but +gathering together ten days' rations, he chartered two small steamers, +and seizing all the flat-boats he could lay hands on, took his army +wagons apart, and loaded them, with his forage and provisions, upon the +flat-boats. + +Just as he was ready to start he received an unexpected reinforcement. +Captain Bent, of the Fourteenth Kentucky, entering Garfield's tent, said +to him, "Colonel, there's a man outside who says he knows you. Bradley +Brown, a rebel thief and scoundrel." + +"Bradley Brown," repeated Garfield, puzzled. "I don't remember any such +name." + +"He has lived near the head of the Blaine, and been a boatman on the +river. He says he knew you on the canal in Ohio." + +"Oh, yes, I remember him now; bring him in." + +Brown was ushered into the general's tent. He was clad in homespun, and +spattered from head to foot with mud, but he saw in Garfield only the +friend of earlier days, and hurrying up to him, gave him a hearty grasp +of the hand, exclaiming, "Jim, old feller, how are yer?" + +Garfield received him cordially, but added, "What is this I hear, Brown? +Are you a rebel?" + +"Yes," answered the new-comer, "I belong to Marshall's force, and I've +come straight from his camp to spy out your army." + +"Well, you go about it queerly," said Garfield, puzzled. + +"Wait till you are alone, colonel. Then I'll tell you about it." + +Col. Bent said in an undertone to Garfield, as he left the tent, "Don't +trust him, colonel; I know him as a thief and a rebel." + +This was the substance of Brown's communication. As soon as he heard +that James A. Garfield was in command of the Union forces, it instantly +struck him that it must be his old comrade of the canal, for whom he +still cherished a strong attachment. He was in the rebel camp, but in +reality cared little which side was successful, and determined out of +old friendship to help Garfield if he could. + +Concealing his design, he sought Marshall, and proposed to visit the +Union camp as a spy, mentioning his former intimacy with Garfield. Gen. +Marshall readily acceded to his plan, not suspecting that it was his +real purpose to tell Garfield all he knew about the rebel force. He +proceeded to give the colonel valuable information on this subject. + +When he had finished, Garfield said, "I advise you to go back to +Marshall." + +"Go back to him, colonel? Why, he would hang me to the first tree." + +"Not if you tell him all about my strength and intended movements." + +"But how kin I? I don't know a thing. I was brought into the camp +blindfolded." + +"Still you can guess. Suppose you tell him that I shall march to-morrow +straight for his camp, and in ten days be upon him." + +"You'd be a fool, colonel, to do that, and he 'trenched so strongly, +unless you had twenty thousand men." + +"I haven't got that number. Guess again." + +"Well, ten thousand." + +"That will do for a guess. Now to-day I shall keep you locked up, and +to-morrow you can go back to Marshall." + +At nightfall Brown went back to the rebel camp, and his report was made +in accordance with Garfield's suggestions. + +The fact was, that deducting those sick and on garrison duty, Garfield's +little army amounted to but fourteen hundred in place of the ten +thousand reported to the rebel commander. This little army was set in +motion the next day. It was a toilsome and discouraging march, over +roads knee-deep in mire, and the troops necessarily made but slow +progress, being frequently obliged to halt. Some days they succeeded in +making but five or six miles. On the 6th of January, however, they +arrived within seven miles of Paintville. Here while Garfield was trying +to catch a few hours' sleep, in a wretched log hut, he was roused by +Jordan, the scout, who had just managed to reach the camp. + +"Have you seen Craven?" asked Garfield eagerly. + +"Yes; he can't be more'n two days behind me, nohow." + +"God bless you, Jordan! You have done us great service," said Garfield, +warmly, feeling deeply relieved by this important news. + +"Thank ye, colonel. That's more pay 'n I expected." + +In the morning another horseman rode up to the Union camp. He was a +messenger direct from Gen. Buell. He brought with him an intercepted +letter from Marshall to his wife, revealing the important fact that the +Confederate general had five thousand men--forty-four hundred infantry +and six hundred cavalry--with twelve pieces of artillery, and that he +was daily expecting an attack from a Union force of ten thousand. + +It was clear that Brown had been true, and that it was from him Gen. +Marshall had received this trustworthy intelligence of the strength of +the Union army. + +Garfield decided not to communicate the contents of this letter, lest +his officers should be alarmed at the prospect of attacking a force so +much superior. He called a council, however, and put this question: + +"Shall we march at once, or wait the coming of Craven?" + +All but one were in favor of waiting, but Garfield adopted the judgment +of this one. + +"Forward it is!" he said. "Give the order." + +I will only state the plan of Garfield's attack in a general way. There +were three roads that led to Marshall's position--one to the east, one +to the west, and one between the two. These three roads were held by +strong Confederate pickets. + +Now, it was Garfield's policy to keep Marshall deceived as to his +strength. For this reason, he sent a small body to drive in the enemy's +pickets, as if to attack Paintville. Two hours after, a similar force, +with the same orders, were sent on the road to the westward, and two +hours later still, a small force was sent on the middle road. The first +pickets, retreating in confusion, fled to the camp, with the +intelligence that a large body of Union troops were on their way to make +an attack. Similar tidings were brought by the two other bodies of +pickets, and Marshall, in dismay, was led to believe that he was menaced +by superior numbers, and hastily abandoned Paintville, and Garfield, +moving his men rapidly over the central route, occupied the town. + +Gen. Marshall would have been intensely mortified had he known that this +large Union army was little more than one-fourth the size of his own. + +But his alarm was soon increased. On the evening of the 8th of January, +a spy entered his camp, and reported that Craven, with _thirty-three +hundred men_, was within twelve hours' march at the westward. + +The big general (he weighed three hundred pounds) was panic-stricken. +Believing Garfield's force to number ten thousand, this reinforcement +would carry his strength up to over thirteen thousand. Ruin and defeat, +as he fancied, stared him in the face, for how could his five thousand +men encounter nearly three times their number? They would, of course, be +overwhelmed. There was safety only in flight. + +So the demoralized commander gave orders to break camp, and retreated +precipitately, abandoning or burning a large portion of his supplies. + +Garfield saw the fires, and guessed what had happened, being in the +secret of Marshall's delusion. He mounted his horse, and, with a +thousand men, entered the deserted camp at nine in the evening. The +stores that were yet unconsumed he rescued from destruction for the use +of his own army. + +In order to keep up the delusion, he sent off a detachment to harass the +retreat of his ponderous adversary and fill his mind with continued +disquiet. + +The whole thing was a huge practical joke, but not one that the rebels +were likely to enjoy. Fancy a big boy of eighteen fleeing in dismay from +a small urchin of eight, and we have a parallel to this flight of Gen. +Marshall from an intrenched position, with five thousand troops, when +his opponent could muster but fourteen hundred men in the open field. + +Thus far, I think, it will be agreed that Colonel Garfield was a +strategist of the first order. His plan required a boldness and dash +which, under the circumstances, did him the greatest credit. + +The next morning Colonel Craven arrived, and found, to his amazement, +that Garfield, single-handed, had forced his formidable enemy from his +strong position, and was in triumphant possession of the deserted rebel +camp. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +THE BATTLE OF MIDDLE CREEK. + + +Col. Garfield has gained a great advantage, but he knows that it must be +followed up. His ambition is not satisfied. He means to force a fight +with Marshall, despite the odds. + +He has been reinforced, but Craven's men are completely exhausted by +their long and toilsome march. They are hardly able to drag one foot +after the other. Garfield knows this, but he explains to his men what he +proposes to do. He orders those who have strength to come forward. Of +the men under his immediate command seven hundred obey the summons. Of +Craven's weary followers four hundred heroic men volunteer to accompany +him. + +So at noon of the 9th, with eleven hundred men, Garfield sets out for +Prestonburg, sending all his available cavalry to follow the line of the +enemy's retreat. At nine o'clock that night, after a march of eighteen +miles, he reaches the mouth of Abbott's Creek with his eleven hundred +men. He hears that his opponent is encamped three miles higher up on the +same stream. He sends an order back to Lieutenant-Colonel Sheldon, who +is left in command at Paintville, to bring up every available man with +all possible dispatch, for he intends to force a battle in the morning. + +He requires to know the disposition of Marshall's forces, and here the +gallant scout, John Jordan, again is of service to him. While a dozen +Confederates were grinding at a mill, they were surprised by as many +Union men, who, taking them by surprise, captured their corn, and made +them prisoners. Jordan eyed the miller with a critical eye, and a plan +was instantly formed. The miller was a tall, gaunt man, and his clothes +would fit the scout. He takes a fancy to exchange raiment with the +miller. Then, smearing his face with meal, he goes back to the +Confederate camp in a new character. Even if he is surprised he will +escape suspicion, for the miller is a pronounced disunionist, and he +looks his very image. + +His midnight ramble enabled him to learn precisely what it was +important for Garfield to know. He found out their exact position, and +that they had laid an ambuscade for the Union commander. They were +waiting for him, strongly posted on a semicircular hill at the forks of +Middle Creek, on both sides of the road, with cannon commanding its +whole length, hidden by the trees and underbrush. + +"They think they've got you, general," said Jordan. "They're waitin' for +you as a cat waits for a mouse." + +Upon a steep ridge called Abbott's Hill, the Union soldiers, tired and +sleepy, had thrown themselves upon the wet ground. There was a dense +fog, shutting out the moon and stars, and shrouding the lonely mountain +in darkness. The rain was driven in blinding gusts into the faces of the +shivering men, and tired as they were they hailed with joy the coming of +morning. For more than one brave man it was destined to be his last day +upon earth. + +At four o'clock they started on their march. About daybreak, while +rounding a hill, their advance guard was charged upon by a body of +Confederate horsemen. In return Garfield gave the Confederates a +volley, that sent them reeling up the valley. + +[Illustration: TURNING THE TIDE OF BATTLE AT CHICKAMAUGA] + +It was clear that the main body of the enemy was not far away. To +determine this Garfield sent forward a body of skirmishers to draw the +fire of the enemy. He succeeded, for a twelve-pound shell whistled above +the trees, then plowed up the hill, and buried itself in the ground at +the feet of the little band of skirmishers. + +Noon came, and Garfield made the necessary preparations for battle. He +could not have been without apprehension, for he knew, though the enemy +did not, that their force was far superior to his. He sent forward his +mounted escort of twelve men to make a charge and draw the enemy's fire. +His plan succeeded. Another shell whistled over their heads, and the +long roll of five thousand muskets was heard. + +It was certainly a remarkable battle, when we consider that a small band +of eleven hundred men without cannon had undertaken to attack a force of +five thousand, supported by twelve pieces of artillery, charging up a +rocky hill, over stumps, over stones, over fallen trees, and over high +intrenchments. + +"The battle was fought on the margin of Middle Creek, a narrow, rapid +stream, and three miles from where it finds its way into the Big Sandy, +through the sharp spurs of the Cumberland Mountain. A rocky road, not +ten feet in width, winds along this stream, and on its two banks abrupt +ridges, with steep and rocky sides, overgrown with trees and underbrush, +shut closely down upon the road and the little streamlet. At twelve +o'clock Garfield had gained the crest of the ridge at the right of the +road, and the charge of his handful of horsemen had drawn Marshall's +fire, and disclosed his actual position. + +"The main force of the Confederates occupied the crests of the two +ridges at the left of the stream, but a strong detachment was posted on +the right, and a battery of twelve pieces held the forks of the creek, +and commanded the approach of the Union army. It was Marshall's plan to +drive Garfield along the road, and then, taking him between two +enfilading fires, to surround and utterly destroy him. But his hasty +fire betrayed his design, and unmasked his entire position. + +"Garfield acted with promptness and decision. A hundred undergraduates, +recruited from his own college, were ordered to cross the stream climb +the ridge whence the fire had been hottest, and bring on the battle. +Boldly the little band plunged into the creek, the icy water up to their +waists, and clinging to the trees and underbrush, climbed the rocky +ascent. Half-way up the ridge the fire of at least two thousand rifles +opens upon them; but, springing from tree to tree, they press on, and at +last reach the summit. Then suddenly the hill is gray with Confederates, +who, rising from ambush, pour their deadly volleys into the little band +of only one hundred. In a moment they waver, but their leader calls out, +'Every man to a tree! Give them as good as they send, my boys!' + +"The Confederates, behind rocks and a rude intrenchment, are obliged to +expose their heads to take aim at the advancing column; but the Union +troops, posted behind the huge oaks and maples, can stand erect, and +load and fire, fully protected. Though they are outnumbered ten to one, +the contest is therefore, for a time, not so very unequal. + +"But soon the Confederates, exhausted with the obstinate resistance, +rush from cover, and charge upon the little handful with the bayonet. +Slowly they are driven down the hill, and two of them fall to the ground +wounded. One never rises; the other, a lad of only eighteen, is shot +through the thigh, and one of his comrades turns back to bear him to a +place of safety. The advancing Confederates are within thirty feet, when +one of them fires, and his bullet strikes a tree directly above the head +of the Union soldier. He turns, levels his musket, and the Confederate +is in eternity. Then the rest are upon him; but, zigzagging from tree to +tree, he is soon with his driven column. But not far are the brave boys +driven. A few rods lower down they hear the voice of the brave Captain +Williams, their leader. + +"'To the trees again, my boys!' he cries. 'We may as well die here as in +Ohio!' + +"To the trees they go, and in a moment the advancing horde is checked, +and then rolled backward. Up the hill they turn, firing as they go, and +the little band follows. Soon the Confederates reach the spot where the +Hiram boy lies wounded, and one of them says: 'Boy, give me your +musket.' + +"'Not the gun, but its contents,' cries the boy, and the Confederate +falls mortally wounded. Another raises his weapon to brain the prostrate +lad, but he too falls, killed with his comrade's own rifle. And all this +is done while the hero-boy is on the ground, bleeding. An hour afterward +his comrades bear the boy to a sheltered spot on the other side of the +streamlet, and then the first word of complaint escapes him. As they are +taking off his leg, he says, in his agony, 'Oh, what will mother do?'" + +Poor boy! At that terrible moment, in the throes of his fierce agony, he +thought not of himself, but of the mother at home, who was dependent on +his exertions for a livelihood. For in war it is not alone the men in +the field who are called upon to suffer, but the mothers, the wives, and +the children, left at home, whose hearts are rent with anxiety--to whom, +at any moment, may come the tidings of the death of their loved one. + +On a rocky height, commanding the field, Garfield watched the tide of +battle. He saw that it was unequal, and that there was danger that his +troops would be overmatched. He saw that they were being driven, and +that they would lose the hill if not supported. + +Instantly he ordered to the rescue five hundred of the Ohio Fortieth and +Forty-second, under Major Pardee and Colonel Craven. They dashed boldly +into the stream, holding their cartridge-boxes above their heads, and +plunged into the fight, shouting: + +"Hurrah for Williams and the Hiram boys!" + +But their position was most critical, for shot, and shell, and canister, +and the fire of four thousand muskets are now concentrated upon them. + +"This will never do!" cries Garfield. "Who will volunteer to carry the +other mountain?" + +Colonel Munroe, of the Twenty-second Kentucky, responded quickly, "We +will. We know every inch of the ground." + +"Go in, then," cries Garfield, "and give them Columbia!" + +I have not space to record the varying fortunes of the day. For five +hours the contest rages. By turns the Union forces are driven back, and +then, with a brave charge, they regain their lost ground, and from +behind rocks and trees pour in their murderous volleys. The battle began +at noon, and when the sun sets on the brief winter day it is still +unfinished. + +Posted on a projecting rock, in full sight of both armies, stands the +Union commander--his head uncovered, his hair streaming in the wind, and +his heart full of alternate hopes and fears. It looks as if the day were +lost--as if the gallant eleven hundred were conquered at last, when, at +a critical moment, the starry banner is seen waving over an advancing +host. It is Sheldon and reinforcements--long and anxiously expected! +Their shouts are taken up by the eleven hundred! The enemy see them and +are panic-stricken. + +The day is won! + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +THE PERILOUS TRIP UP THE BIG SANDY. + + +I have followed Col. Garfield through the Kentucky campaign, not because +it compared in importance with many other military operations of the +war, but because in its conduct he displayed in a remarkable degree some +of the traits by which he was distinguished. From a military point of +view it may be criticised. His attack upon an enemy far his superior in +numbers, and in a more favorable position, would scarcely have been +undertaken by an officer of more military experience. Yet, once +undertaken, it was carried through with remarkable dash and brilliancy, +and the strategy displayed was of a high order. + +I must find room for the address issued to his little army on the day +succeeding the battle, for it tells, in brief, the story of the +campaign: + +"SOLDIERS OF THE EIGHTEENTH BRIGADE: I am proud of you all! In four +weeks you have marched, some eighty and some a hundred miles, over +almost impassable roads. One night in four you have slept, often in the +storm, with only a wintry sky above your heads. You have marched in the +face of a foe of more than double your number--led on by chiefs who have +won a national reputation under the old flag--intrenched in hills of his +own choosing, and strengthened by all the appliances of military art. +With no experience but the consciousness of your own manhood, you have +driven him from his strongholds, pursued his inglorious flight, and +compelled him to meet you in battle. When forced to fight, he sought the +shelter of rocks and hills. You drove him from his position, leaving +scores of his bloody dead unburied. His artillery thundered against you, +but you compelled him to flee by the light of his burning stores, and to +leave even the banner of his rebellion behind him. I greet you as brave +men. Our common country will not forget you. She will not forget the +sacred dead who fell beside you, nor those of your comrades who won +scars of honor on the field. + +"I have recalled you from the pursuit that you may regain vigor for +still greater exertions. Let no one tarnish his well-earned honor by any +act unworthy an American soldier. Remember your duties as American +citizens, and sacredly respect the rights and property of those with +whom you have come in contact. Let it not be said that good men dread +the approach of an American army. + +"Officers and soldiers, your duty has been nobly done. For this I thank +you." + +The battle had been won, but the victorious army was in jeopardy. They +had less than three days' rations, and there were great difficulties in +the way of procuring a further supply. The rainy season had made the +roads impassable for all but horsemen. + +Still there was the river. But the Big Sandy was now swollen beyond its +banks, and the rapid current was filled with floating logs and uptorn +trees. The oldest and most experienced boatmen shook their heads, and +would not attempt the perilous voyage. + +What was to be done? + +Col. Garfield had with him Brown, the scout and ex-canal-boatman, who +had returned from reconnoitering Marshall's camp, with a bullet through +his hat. Garfield asked his advice. + +"It's which and t'other, General Jim," he answered, "starvin' or +drownin'. I'd rather drown nur starve. So gin the word, and, dead or +alive, I'll git down the river!" + +Garfield gave the word, but he did not let the brave scout go alone. +Together in a small skiff they "got down the river." It was no light +task. The Big Sandy was now a raging torrent, sixty feet in depth, and, +in many places, above the tops of the tall trees which grew along its +margin. In some deep and narrow gorges, where the steep banks shut down +upon the stream, these trees had been undermined at the roots, and, +falling inward, had locked their arms together, forming a net-work that +well-nigh prevented the passage of the small skiff and its two +navigators. Where a small skiff could scarcely pass, could they run a +large steamboat loaded with provisions? + +"Other men might ask that question, but not the backwoods boy who had +learned navigation on the waters of the Ohio and Pennsylvania Canal. He +pushed to the mouth of the river, and there took possession of the +_Sandy Valley_, a small steamer in the quartermaster's service. Loading +her with supplies, he set about starting up the river, but the captain +of the boat declared the thing was impossible. Not stopping to argue the +point, Garfield ordered him and his crew on board, and _himself taking +the helm_, set out up the river. + +"Brown he stationed at the bow, where, with a long fending-pole in his +hand, he was to keep one eye on the floating logs and uprooted trees, +the other on the chicken-hearted captain. + +"The river surged and boiled and whirled against the boat, tossing her +about as if she were a cockle-shell. With every turn of her wheel she +trembled from stem to stern, and with a full head of steam could only +stagger along at the rate of three miles an hour. When night came the +captain begged to tie up till morning, for breasting that flood in the +dark was sheer madness; but Brown cried out, 'Put her ahead, Gineral +Jim,' and Garfield clutched the helm and drove her on through the +darkness. + +"Soon they came to a sudden bend in the stream, where the swift current +formed a furious whirlpool, and this catching the laboring boat, +whirled her suddenly round, and drove her, head on, into the +quicksands. Mattocks were plied, and excavations made round the imbedded +bow, and the bowman uttered oaths loud enough to have raised a small +earthquake; but still the boat was immovable. She was stuck fast in the +mud, and every effort to move her was fruitless. Garfield ordered a +small boat to be lowered, and take a line to the other bank, by which to +warp the steamer free; but the captain and now the crew protested it was +certain death to attempt to cross that foaming torrent at midnight. + +"They might as well have repeated to him the Creed and the Ten +Commandments, for Garfield himself sprang into the boat and called to +Brown to follow. He took the helm and laid her bow across the stream, +but the swift current swept them downward. After incredible labor they +made the opposite bank, but far below the steamboat. Closely hugging the +shore, they now crept up the stream, and fastening the line to a tree, +rigged a windlass, and finally warped the vessel again into deep water. + +"All that night, and all the next day, and all the following night they +struggled with the furious river, Garfield never but once leaving the +helm, and then for only a few hours' sleep, which he snatched in his +clothes in the day-time. At last they rounded to at the Union camp, and +then went up a cheer that might have been heard all over Kentucky. His +waiting men, frantic with joy, seized their glorious commander, and were +with difficulty prevented from bearing him on their shoulders to his +quarters." + +The little army was saved from starvation by the canal-boy, who had not +forgotten his old trade. He had risked his life a dozen times over in +making the perilous trip, which has been so graphically described in the +passages I have quoted. But for his early and humble experience, he +never would have been able to bring the little steamer up the foaming +river. Little did he dream in the days when, as a boy, he guided the +_Evening Star_, that fifteen years hence, an officer holding an +important command he would use the knowledge then acquired to save a +famishing army. We can not wonder that his men should have been +devotedly attached to such a commander. + +I have said that the Kentucky campaign was not one of the most +important operations of the civil war, but its successful issue was most +welcome, coming at the time it did. It came after a series of disasters, +which had produced wide-spread despondency, and even dimmed the courage +of President Lincoln. It kindled hope in the despondent, and nerved +patriotic arms to new and vigorous efforts. + +"Why did Garfield, in two weeks, do what it would have taken one of you +Regular folks two months to accomplish?" asked the President, of a +distinguished army officer. + +"Because he was not educated at West Point," answered the officer, +laughing. + +"No," replied Mr. Lincoln; "that wasn't the reason. It was because, when +a boy, he had to work for a living." + +This was literally true. To his struggling boyhood and early manhood, +and the valuable experience it brought him, Garfield was indebted for +the strength and practical knowledge which brought him safely through a +campaign conducted against fearful odds. + +His country was not ungrateful. He received the thanks of the commanding +general for services which "called into action the highest qualities of +a soldier--fortitude, perseverance, courage," and a few weeks later a +commission as brigadier-general of volunteers, to date from the battle +of Middle Creek. + +So Jim Garfield, the canal-boy, has become a general. It is an important +step upward, but where are others to come? + +If this were designed to be a complete biography of General Garfield, I +should feel it my duty to chronicle the important part he took in the +battle of Chickamauga, where he acted as chief of staff to General +Rosecranz, aiding his superior officer at a most critical point in the +battle by advice which had an important influence in saving the day. I +should like to describe the wonderful and perilous ride of three miles +which he took, exposing his life at every moment, to warn General Thomas +that he is out-flanked, and that at least seventy thousand men are +closing down upon his right wing, to crush his twenty-five thousand to +fragments. Sometimes I hope a poet, of fitting inspiration, will sing of +that ride, and how, escaping from shot and shell, he plunged down the +hill through the fiery storm, reaching Thomas in safety, though his +noble horse at that moment fell dead at his feet. I can not spare time +for the record, but must refer my young reader to the pages of Edmund +Kirke, or General James S. Brisbin. + +Other duties, and another important field of action, await Garfield, and +we must hurry on. But, before doing so, I must not fail to record that +the War Department, recognizing his important services at the battle of +Chickamauga, sent him a fortnight later the commission of a +major-general. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +THE CANAL-BOY BECOMES A CONGRESSMAN. + + +While Garfield was serving his country to the utmost of his ability in +the field, the voters of the Nineteenth District of Ohio, in which he +had his home, were called upon to select a man to represent them in +Congress. It perhaps exceeds any other portion of the State in its +devotion to the cause of education and the general intelligence of its +inhabitants. The people were mostly of New England origin, and in +selecting a representative they wanted a man who was fitted by +education, as well as fidelity, to do them credit. + +Their choice fell upon Garfield, who was known to them at home as the +head of one of their chief institutions of learning, and whose +reputation had not suffered in the field. They did not even consult him, +but put him in nomination, and elected him by an overwhelming majority. + +It was a gratifying compliment, for in our country an election to +Congress is regarded as a high honor, which no one need be reluctant to +accept. We have on record one of our most distinguished statesmen--John +Quincy Adams--who, after filling the Presidential chair, was content to +go back to Washington as a member of the House of Representatives from +his district in Massachusetts. It was undoubtedly more in harmony with +the desires and tastes of the young man--for he was still a young +man--than service in the field. But he felt that that was not the +question. Where was he more needed? The war was not over. Indeed, it +seemed doubtful when it would be finished; and Garfield was now in a +position to serve his country well as a military commander. + +When on the march to Chattanooga, Garfield consulted Gen. Rosecranz, +owning that he was perplexed in attempting to decide. + +Rosecranz said: "The war is not yet over, nor will it be for some time +to come. Many questions will arise in Congress which will require not +only statesman-like treatment, but the advice of men having an +acquaintance with military affairs. For that reason you will, I think, +do as good service to the country in Congress as in the field. I not +only think that you can accept the position with honor, but that it is +your duty to do it." + +He added, and we may be sure that his advice accorded with the personal +judgment of the man whom he was addressing, "Be true to yourself, and +you will make your mark before your country." + +Some months were to elapse before he would require to go to Washington, +for Congress was not to meet till December. + +He went to Washington, undecided even yet whether to remain as a +legislator, or to return to his old comrades in the army. He only wished +to know where he could be of most service to his country, and he finally +decided to lay the matter before President Lincoln. + +Lincoln gave substantially the same advice as Rosecranz: "We need men +who will help us carry the necessary war measures; and, besides, we are +greatly lacking in men of military experience in the House to promote +legislation about the army. It is your duty, therefore, to enter +Congress." + +When, on the 5th of December, 1863, Garfield took his seat in the House +of Representatives, he was the youngest member of that body. The +Military Committee was the most important committee of Congress, and he +was put upon that, on account of his practical experience in the field. +This, of course, brought him, though a new and young member, into +immediate prominence, and his familiarity with the wants of the army +enabled him to be of great service. + +I do not propose to detail at tiresome length the legislative +achievements of Gen. Garfield in the new position which he was destined +to fill for eighteen years. I shall only refer to such as illustrate his +characteristic devotion to duty without special regard to his own +interests. He never hesitated to array himself in opposition to the +popular will, if he thought the people were wrong. It was not long +before an occasion came up which enabled him to assert his independence. + +The country needed soldiers, and had inaugurated a system of bounties +which should tempt men to join the ranks of the country's defenders. It +was only a partial success. Some men, good and true, were led to join by +the offer of a sum which made them more at ease about the comfort of +their families, but many joined the service from mercenary +considerations only, who seized the first opportunity to desert, and +turning up in another locality, enlisted again and obtained a second +bounty. These men obtained the name of bounty-jumpers, and there was a +host of them. Yet the measure was popular with soldiers, and Congress +was unanimously in favor of it. Great was the amazement of his +fellow-members when the young member from the Nineteenth Ohio district +rose in his seat and earnestly opposed it. He objected that the policy +was ruinous, involving immense expense, while effecting little good. He +claimed that the country had a right to the service of every one of its +children at such a crisis, without hire and without reward. + +But one man stood with him, so unpopular was the stand he had taken; but +it was not long before the bounty system broke down, and Garfield's +views were adopted. + +Later on he had another chance to show his independence. President +Lincoln, foreseeing that at a certain date not far ahead the time of +enlistment of nearly half the army would expire, came before Congress +and asked for power to draft men into service. It met with great +opposition. "What! force men into the field! Why, we might as well live +under a despotism!" exclaimed many; and the members of Congress, who +knew how unpopular the measure would be among their constituents, +defeated it by a two-thirds vote. + +It was a critical juncture. As Lincoln had said in substance, all +military operations would be checked. Not only could not the war be +pushed, but the Government could not stand where it did. Sherman would +have to come back from Atlanta, Grant from the Peninsula. + +The voting was over, and the Government was despondent. Then it was that +Garfield rose, and moving a reconsideration, made a speech full of fire +and earnestness, and the House, carried by storm, passed the bill, and +President Lincoln made a draft for half a million men. + +Garfield knew that this action would be unpopular in his district. It +might defeat his re-election; but that mattered not. The President had +been assailed by the same argument, and had answered, "Gentlemen, it is +not necessary that I should be reëlected, but it is necessary that I +should put down this rebellion." With this declaration the young +Congressman heartily sympathized. + +Remonstrances did come from his district. Several of his prominent +supporters addressed him a letter, demanding his resignation. He wrote +them that he had acted according to his views of the needs of the +country; that he was sorry his judgment did not agree with theirs, but +that he must follow his own. He expected to live long enough to have +them all confess that he was right. + +It was about this time that he made his celebrated reply to Mr. +Alexander Long, of Ohio, a fellow Congressman, who proposed to yield +everything and to recognize the Southern Confederacy. + +The excitement was intense. In the midst of it Garfield rose and made +the following speech: + +"MR. CHAIRMAN," he said, "I am reminded by the occurrences of this +afternoon of two characters in the war of the Revolution as compared +with two others in the war of to-day. + +"The first was Lord Fairfax, who dwelt near the Potomac, a few miles +from us. When the great contest was opened between the mother country +and the colonies, Lord Fairfax, after a protracted struggle with his own +heart, decided he must go with the mother country. He gathered his +mantle about him and went over grandly and solemnly. + +"There was another man, who cast in his lot with the struggling +colonists, and continued with them till the war was well-nigh ended. In +an hour of darkness that just preceded the glory of the morning, he +hatched the treason to surrender forever all that had been gained to the +enemies of his country. Benedict Arnold was that man! + +"Fairfax and Arnold find their parallels of to-day. + +"When this war began many good men stood hesitating and doubting what +they ought to do. Robert E. Lee sat in his house across the river here, +doubting and delaying, and going off at last almost tearfully to join +the army of his State. He reminds one in some respects of Lord Fairfax, +the stately Royalist of the Revolution. + +"But now when tens of thousands of brave souls have gone up to God under +the shadow of the flag; when thousands more, maimed and shattered in +the contest, are sadly awaiting the deliverance of death; now, when +three years of terrific warfare have raged over us; when our armies have +pushed the Rebellion back over mountains and rivers, and crowded it into +narrow limits, until a wall of fire girds it; now when the uplifted hand +of a majestic people is about to hurl the bolts of its conquering power +upon the Rebellion; now, in the quiet of this hall, hatched in the +lowest depths of a similar dark treason, there rises a Benedict Arnold, +and proposes to surrender all up, body and spirit, the nation and the +flag, its genius and its honor, now and forever, to the accursed +traitors to our country! And that proposition comes--God forgive and +pity our beloved State--it comes from a citizen of the time-honored and +loyal commonwealth of Ohio! + +"I implore you, brethren in this House, to believe that not many births +ever gave pangs to my mother State such as she suffered when that +traitor was born! I beg you not to believe that on the soil of that +State another such a growth has ever deformed the face of nature, and +darkened the light of God's day!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +GARFIELD'S COURSE IN CONGRESS. + + +If Garfield at once took a prominent place in the House of +Representatives, it was by no means because it was composed of inferior +men. On the other hand, there has seldom been a time when it contained a +larger number of men either prominent, or destined in after days to be +prominent. I avail myself of the detailed account given of its members +by Major Bundy, in his excellent Life of Garfield. There are some names +which will be familiar to most of my young readers: + +"Its then most fortunate and promising member was Schuyler Colfax, the +popular Speaker. But there were three young members who were destined to +a more lasting prominence. The senior of these who had enjoyed previous +service in he House, was Roscoe Conkling, already recognized by Congress +and the country as a magnificent and convincing speaker. The other two +were James G. Blaine and James A. Garfield. Only a year the senior of +Garfield, Blaine was about to begin a career as brilliant as that of +Henry Clay, and the acquisition of a popularity unique in our political +history. But in this Congress there were many members whose power was +far greater than that of either of the trio, who may yet be as much +compared as Clay, Webster, and Calhoun were in former days. + +"In the first place, there was Elihu B. Washburne, 'the watch-dog of the +treasury,' the 'father of the House,' courageous, practical, direct, and +aggressive. Then there was Thaddeus Stevens, who was one of the very few +men capable of driving his party associates--a character as unique as, +and far stronger than, John Randolph; General Robert C. Schenck, fresh +from the army, but a veteran in Congress, one of the ablest of practical +statesmen; ex-Governor Boutwell, of Massachusetts; ex-Governor Fenton, +of New York, a very influential member, especially on financial +questions; Henry Winter Davis, the brilliant orator, of Maryland; +William B. Allison, since one of the soundest and most useful of Iowa's +Senators; Henry L. Dawes, who fairly earned his promotion to the +Senate, but who accomplished so much in the House that his best friends +regret the transfer; John A. Bingham, one of the most famous speakers of +his time; James E. English, of Connecticut, who did valiant and +patriotic service as a War Democrat; George H. Pendleton, now Senator +from Ohio, and a most accomplished statesman, even in his early service +in the House; Henry G. Stebbins, who was to make a speech sustaining Mr. +Chase's financial policy that was unequaled for its salutary effect on +public opinion; Samuel J. Randall, now Speaker; John A. Griswold, of New +York; William Windom, one of the silent members, who has grown steadily +in power; James F. Wilson, who was destined to decline three successive +offers of Cabinet positions by President Grant; Daniel W. Voorhies, of +Indiana, now Senator; John A. Kasson, of Iowa, now our Minister to +Austria; Theodore M. Pomeroy, of New York, afterward Acting Speaker for +a brief period; William R. Morrison, of Illinois, since a Democratic +candidate for the Presidency; William S. Holman and George W. Julian, of +Indiana, both able men; and Fernando Wood--these were all prominent +members of the House. It will be seen that the House was a more trying +arena for a young member like Garfield than the Senate would have been; +for the contests of the former--unsubdued and unmitigated by 'the +courtesy of the Senate'--were conducted by as ready and able a corps of +debaters as ever sat in that body." + +This was surely a formidable array of men, and a man of ordinary powers +would have found it prudent to remain silent during the first session, +lest he should be overwhelmed by some one of the ready speakers and +experienced legislators with whom he was associated. But the canal-boy, +who had so swiftly risen from his humble position to the post of college +president and major-general, till at the age of thirty-two he sat in the +national council the youngest member, was not daunted. His term of +service as State Senator was now of use to him, for it had given him a +knowledge of parliamentary law, and the practice in speaking which he +gained long ago in the boys' debating societies, and extended in +college, rendered him easy and master of himself. + +Indeed he could not remain silent, for he represented the "boys at the +front," and whenever a measure was proposed affecting their interests, +he was expected to take part in the debate. It was not long before the +House found that its new member was a man of grace and power, with whom +it was not always safe to measure weapons. He was inclined to be +peaceful, but he was not willing to permit any one to domineer over him, +and the same member did not often attempt it a second time. + +My young readers are sure to admire pluck, and they will, therefore, +read with interest of one such occasion, when Garfield effectually +quelled such an attempt. I find it in a chapter of reminiscences +contributed to the Boston _Journal_, by Ben Perley Poore, the well-known +correspondent: + +"When the Jenckes Bankrupt Bill came before the House, Gen. Garfield +objected to it, because in his opinion it did not provide that the +estates of rebels in arms should escape the operations of the law. He +also showed that money was being raised to secure the enactment of the +bill, and Mr. Spalding, of the Cleveland district, was prompted by Mr. +Jenckes to 'sit down on him.' But Gen. Garfield was not to be silenced +easily and quite a scene ensued. The next day Garfield rose to a +personal explanation, and said: + +"'I made no personal reference whatever; I assailed no gentleman; I +called no man's honor in question. My colleague from the Cleveland +district (Mr. Spalding) rose and asked if I had read the bill. I +answered him, I believe, in courteous language and manner, that I had +read it, and immediately on my statement to that effect he said in his +place in the House, and it has gone on the record, that he did not +believe I had read it; in other words, that he believed I had lied, in +the presence of my peers in this House. I felt, under such +circumstances, that it would not be becoming my self-respect, or the +respect I owe to the House, to continue a colloquy with any gentleman +who had thus impeached my veracity and I said so. + +"'It pains me very much that a gentleman of venerable age, who was in +full maturity of life when I was a child, and whom I have respected +since my childhood, should have taken occasion here in this place to use +language so uncalled for, so ungenerous, so unjust to me, and +disgraceful to himself. I have borne with the ill-nature and bad blood +of that gentleman, as many others in this House have, out of respect for +his years; but no importunity of age shall shield him, or any man, from +my denunciation, who is so lacking in the proprieties of this place as +to be guilty of such parliamentary and personal indecency as the House +has witnessed on his part. I had hoped that before this time he would +have acknowledged to me the impropriety and unjustifiableness of his +conduct and apologized for the insult. But he has not seen fit to take +this course. I leave him to his own reflections, and his conduct to the +judgment of the House.'" + +Those who listened to these spirited rebukes saw that the young member +from Ohio would not allow himself to be snubbed or insulted with +impunity, and the few who were accustomed to descend to such discourtesy +took warning accordingly. They were satisfied that Garfield, to quote a +common phrase, would give them as good as they sent, and perhaps a +little better. The boy, who at sixteen, when employed on the tow-path, +thrashed the bully of thirty-five for insulting him, was not likely in +his manhood to submit to the insults of a Congressional bully. He was a +man to compel respect, and had that resolute and persistent character +which was likely ere long to make him a leader. So Disraeli, coughed +down in his first attempt to speak before the English House of Commons, +accepted the situation, but recorded the prediction that one day they +would hear him. He, too, mounted step by step till he reached the +highest position in the English Government outside of royalty. A man who +is destined to be great is only strengthened by opposition, and rises in +the end victorious over circumstances. + +Garfield soon made it manifest that he had come to Washington to work. +He was not one to lie back and enjoy in idleness the personal +consequence which his position gave him. All his life he had been a +worker, and a hard worker, from the time when he cut one hundred cords +of wood, at twenty-five cents a cord, all through his experience as a +canal-boy, a carpenter, a farm-worker, a janitor, a school teacher, a +student, and a military commander, and now that he had taken his place +in the grand council of the nation, he was not going to begin a life of +self-indulgent idleness. + +In consideration of his military record he was, at his entrance into +Congress, put upon the Military Committee; but a session or two later, +at his own request, he was assigned a place on the Committee of Ways and +Means. His reason for this request was, that he might have an +opportunity of studying the question of finance, which he had sufficient +foresight to perceive would one day be a great question, overshadowing +all others. He instantly set himself to a systematic and exhaustive +study of this subject, and attained so thorough a knowledge of it that +he was universally recognized as a high authority--perhaps the highest +in the department. He made speech after speech on the finance question, +and was a pronounced advocate of "Honest Money," setting his face like a +flint against those who advocated any measures calculated to lower the +national credit or tarnish the national reputation for good faith. + +"I am aware," said he one day in debate, "that financial measures are +dull and uninviting in comparison with those heroic themes which have +absorbed the attention of Congress for the last five years. To turn from +the consideration of armies and navies, victories and defeats, to the +array of figures which exhibits the debt, expenditure, taxation, and +industry of the nation requires no little courage and self-denial; but +to these questions we must come, and to their solution Congress and all +thoughtful citizens must give their best efforts for many years to +come." + +It was not only a wise but a bold thing to do, for among the members of +his own party, in Ohio, financial heresies had crept in, and a party +platform was adopted in 1867, looking to the payment of the bonds of the +Government in greenbacks. He was advised to say nothing on the subject +lest it should cost him the nomination in the election just at hand; but +he met the question boldly, and declared that the district could only +have his services "on the ground of the honest payment of this debt, and +these bonds in coin, according to the letter and spirit of the +contract." + +Nevertheless he was renominated by acclamation. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +THE MAN FOR THE HOUR. + + +On the 15th day of April, 1865, the country was thrilled from end to end +by the almost incredible report that President Lincoln had been +assassinated the evening previous while witnessing a performance at +Ford's Theatre, in Washington. + +The war was not yet over, but peace seemed close at hand. All were +anticipating its return with joy. The immense sacrifices of loyal men +seemed about to be rewarded when, like a clap of thunder in a clear sky, +came the terrible tidings, which were flashed at once over the +telegraphic wires to the remotest parts of the country. + +The people at first were shocked and silent. Then a mighty wave of wrath +swept over the country--a wrath that demanded victims, and seemed likely +in the principal city of the country to precipitate scenes not unlike +those witnessed in the "Reign of Terror" in France. + +The boys who read this story can not understand the excitement of that +day. It was unlike the deep sorrow that came upon us all on the second +of July, for Lincoln died a martyr, at a time when men's passions had +been stirred by sectional strife, and his murder was felt to be an +outgrowth of the passions which it engendered; but Garfield fell, slain +by the hand of a worthless wretch, acting upon his own responsibility. + +I shall venture, for the information of young readers, to whom it may be +new, to quote the graphic description of an eye-witness, contributed to +General Brisbin's interesting life of our subject: + +"I shall never forget the first time I saw General Garfield. It was the +morning after President Lincoln's assassination. The country was excited +to its utmost tension.... The newspaper head lines of the transaction +were set up in the largest type, and the high crime was on every one's +tongue. Fear took possession of men's minds as to the fate of the +Government, for in a few hours the news came on that Seward's throat was +cut, and that attempts had been made on the lives of others of the +Government officers. Posters were stuck up everywhere, in great black +letters, calling upon the loyal citizens of New York, Brooklyn, Jersey +City, and neighboring places, to meet around the Wall Street Exchange +and give expression to their sentiments. + +"It was a dark and terrible hour. What might come next no one could +tell, and men spoke with bated breath. The wrath of the workingmen was +simply uncontrollable, and revolvers and knives were in the hands of +thousands of Lincoln's friends, ready, at the first opportunity, to take +the law into their own hands, and avenge the death of their martyred +President upon any and all who dared to utter a word against him. + +"Eleven o'clock A.M. was the hour set for the rendezvous. Fifty thousand +people crowded around the Exchange building, cramming and jamming the +streets, and wedged in as tight as men could stand together. With a few +to whom special favor was extended, I went over from Brooklyn at nine +A.M., and even then, with the utmost difficulty, found my way to the +reception room for the speakers in the front of the Exchange building, +and looking out on the high and massive balcony, whose front was +protected by a massive iron railing. + +"We sat in solemnity and silence, waiting for General Butler, who, it +was announced, had started from Washington, and was either already in +the city or expected every moment. Nearly a hundred generals, judges, +statesmen, lawyers, editors, clergymen, and others were in that room +waiting for Butler's arrival. + +"We stepped out to the balcony to watch the fearfully solemn and swaying +mass of people. Not a hurrah was heard, but for the most part a dead +silence, or a deep, ominous muttering ran like a rising wave up the +street toward Broadway, and again down toward the river on the right. At +length the batons of the police were seen swinging in the air, far up on +the left, parting the crowd, and pressing it back to make way for a +carriage that moved slowly, and with difficult jags through the compact +multitude, and the cry of 'Butler!' 'Butler!' rang out with tremendous +and thrilling effect, and was taken up by the people. + +"But not a hurrah! Not one! It was the cry of a great people asking to +know how their President died. The blood bounced in our veins, and the +tears ran like streams down our faces. How it was done I forget, but +Butler was pulled through, and pulled up, and entered the room where we +had just walked back to meet him. A broad crape, a yard long, hung from +his left arm--terrible contrast with the countless flags that were +waving the nation's victory in the breeze. We first realized then the +sad news that Lincoln was dead. When Butler entered the room we shook +hands. Some spoke, some could not; all were in tears. The only word +Butler had for us all, at the first break of the silence was, +'_Gentleman, he died in the fullness of his fame_!' and as he spoke it +his lips quivered, and the tears ran fast down his cheeks. + +"Then, after a few moments, came the speaking. And you can imagine the +effect, as the crape fluttered in the wind while his arm was uplifted. +Dickinson, of New York State, was fairly wild. The old man leaped over +the iron railing of the balcony and stood on the very edge, overhanging +the crowd, gesticulating in the most vehement manner, and almost bidding +the crowd 'burn up the rebel, seed, root, and branch,' while a bystander +held on to his coat-tail to keep him from falling over. + +"By this time the wave of popular indignation had swelled to its crest. +Two men lay bleeding on one of the side streets, the one dead, the other +next to dying; one on the pavement, the other in the gutter. They had +said a moment before that 'Lincoln ought to have been shot long ago!' +They were not allowed to say it again. Soon two long pieces of scantling +stood out above the heads of the crowd, crossed at the top like the +letter X, and a looped halter pendant from the junction, a dozen men +following its slow motion through the masses, while 'Vengeance' was the +cry. + +"On the right suddenly the shout arose, '_The World!_' '_The World_!' +and a movement of perhaps eight thousand to ten thousand turning their +faces in the direction of that building began to be executed. + +"It was a critical moment. What might come no one could tell, did that +crowd get in front of that office; police and military would have +availed little, or been too late. A telegram had just been read from +Washington, 'Seward is dying!' Just then, at that juncture, a man +stepped forward with a small flag in his hand and beckoned to the +crowd. + +"'Another telegram from Washington!' + +"And then, in the awful stillness of the crisis, taking advantage of the +hesitation of the crowd, whose steps had been arrested a moment, a right +arm was lifted skyward, and a voice, clear and steady, loud and +distinct, spoke out: + +"'Fellow-citizens! Clouds and darkness are round about Him! His pavilion +is dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies! Justice and judgment are +the establishment of His throne! Mercy and truth shall go before His +face! Fellow-citizens! God reigns and the Government at Washington still +lives!' + +"The effect was tremendous. The-crowd stood rooted to the ground with +awe, gazing at the motionless orator, and thinking of God and the +security of the Government in that hour. As the boiling waters subside +and settle to the sea, when some strong wind beats it down, so the +tumult of the people sank and became still. All took it as a divine +omen. It was a triumph of eloquence, inspired by the moment, such as +falls to but one man's lot, and that but once in a century. The genius +of Webster, Choate, Everett, Seward, never reached it. What might have +happened had the surging and maddened mob been let loose, none can +tell. The man for the crisis was on the spot, more potent than +Napoleon's guns at Paris. I inquired what was his name. + +"The answer came in a low whisper, 'It is General Garfield, of Ohio.'" + +It was a most dramatic scene, and a wonderful exhibition of the power of +one man of intellect over a furious mob. + +How, would the thrilling intensity of the moment have been increased, +had some prophet, standing beside the inspired speaker, predicted that a +little more than sixteen years later he who had calmed the crowd would +himself fall a victim to violence, while filling the same high post as +the martyred Lincoln. Well has it been said that the wildest dream of +the romancer pales beside the solemn surprise of the Actual. Not one +among the thousands there assembled, not the speaker himself, would have +considered such a statement within the range of credibility. Alas, that +it should have been!--that the monstrous murder of the good Lincoln +should have been repeated in these latter days, and the nation have come +a second time a mourner! + +Will it be believed that Garfield's arrival and his speech had been +quite accidental, though we must also count it as Providential, since it +stayed the wild excesses of an infuriated mob. He had only arrived from +Washington that morning, and after breakfast had strolled through the +crowded streets, in entire ignorance of the great gathering at the +Exchange building. + +He turned down Broadway, and when he saw the great concourse of people, +he kept on, to learn what had brought them together. Butler was speaking +when he arrived, and a friend who recognized him beckoned him to come up +there, above the heads of the multitude. + +When he heard the wild cries for "Vengeance!" and noticed the swaying, +impassioned movements of the crowd, he saw the danger that menaced the +public order, and in a moment of inspiration he rose, and with a gesture +challenged the attention of the crowd. What he said he could not have +told five minutes afterward. "I only know," he said afterward, "that I +drew the lightning from that crowd, and brought it back to reason." + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +GARFIELD AS A LAWYER. + + +In the crowded activities of Garfield's life, my readers may possibly +have forgotten that he was a lawyer, having, after a course of private +study during his presidency of Hiram College, been admitted to the bar, +in 1861, by the Supreme Court of Ohio. When the war broke out he was +about to withdraw from his position as teacher, and go into practice in +Cleveland; but, as a Roman writer has expressed it, "Inter arma silent +leges." So law gave way to arms, and the incipient lawyer became a +general. + +When the soldier put off his armor it was to enter Congress, and instead +of practicing law, Garfield helped to frame laws. + +But in 1865 there came an extraordinary occasion, which led to the Ohio +Congressman entering upon his long delayed profession. And here I quote +from the work of Major Bundy, already referred to: "About that time +that great lawyer, Judge Jeremiah S. Black, as the attorney of the Ohio +Democrats who had been opposing the war, came to his friend Garfield, +and said that there were some men imprisoned in Indiana for conspiracy +against the Government in trying to prevent enlistments and to encourage +desertion. They had been tried in 1864, while the war was going on, and +by a military commission sitting in Indiana, where there was no war, +they had been sentenced to death. Mr. Lincoln commuted the sentence to +imprisonment for life, and they were put into State's prison in +accordance with the commutation. They then took out a writ of _habeas +corpus_, to test the constitutionality and legality of their trial, and +the judges in the Circuit Court had disagreed, there being two of them, +and had certified their disagreement to the Supreme Court of the United +States. Judge Black said to Garfield that he had seen what Garfield had +said in Congress, and asked him if he was willing to say in an argument +in the Supreme Court what he had advocated in Congress. + +"To which Garfield replied: 'It depends on your case altogether.' + +"Judge Black sent him the facts in the case--the record. + +"Garfield read it over, and said: 'I believe in that doctrine.' + +"To which Judge Black replied: 'Young man, you know it is a perilous +thing for a young Republican in Congress to say that, and I don't want +you to injure yourself.' + +"Said Garfield: 'It does not make any difference. I believe in English +liberty, and English law. But, Judge Black, I am not a practitioner in +the Supreme Court, and I never tried a case in my life anywhere.' + +"'How long ago were you admitted to the bar?' asked Judge Black. + +"'Just about six years age.' + +"'That will do,' Black replied, and he took Garfield thereupon over to +the Supreme Court and moved his admission. + +"He immediately entered upon the consideration of this important case. +On the side of the Government was arrayed a formidable amount of legal +talent. The Attorney-General was aided by Gen. Butler, who was called in +on account of his military knowledge, and by Henry Stanbury. Associated +with Gen. Garfield as counsel for the petitioners were two of the +greatest lawyers in the country--Judge Black and Hon. David Dudley +Field, and the Hon. John E. McDonald, now Senator from Indiana. The +argument submitted by Gen. Garfield was one of the most remarkable ever +made before the Supreme Court of the United States, and was made under +circumstances peculiarly creditable to Garfield's courage, independence, +and resolute devotion to the cause of constitutional liberty--a devotion +not inspired by wild dreams of political promotion, for at that time it +was dangerous for any young Republican Congressman to defend the +constitutional rights of men known to be disloyal, and rightly despised +and hated for their disloyal practices." + +I refer any of my maturer readers who may desire an abstract of the +young lawyer's masterly and convincing argument, to Major Bundy's +valuable work, which necessarily goes more deeply into such matters than +the scope of my slighter work will admit. His argument was listened to +with high approval by his distinguished associate counsel, and the +decision of the Supreme Court was given unanimously in favor of his +clients. + +Surely this was a most valuable _début_, and Garfield is probably the +first lawyer that ever tried his first case before that august tribunal. +It was a triumph, and gave him an immediate reputation and insured him a +series of important cases before the same court. I have seen it stated +that he was employed in seventeen cases before the Supreme Court, some +of large importance, and bringing him in large fees. But for his first +case he never received a cent. His clients were poor and in prison, and +he was even obliged to pay for printing his own brief. His future +earnings from this source, however, added materially to his income, and +enabled him to install his family in that cherished home at Mentor, +which has become, so familiar by name to the American people. + +I can not dwell upon Garfield's experience as a lawyer. I content myself +with quoting, from a letter addressed by Garfield to his close friend, +President Hinsdale, of Hiram College, the account of a case tried in +Mobile, which illustrates his wonderful industry and remarkable +resources. + +Under date of June 18, 1877, Garfield writes "You know that my life has +abounded in crises and difficult situations. This trip has been, +perhaps, not a crisis, but certainly has placed me in a position of +extreme difficulty. Two or three months ago, W.B. Duncan, a prominent +business man in New York, retained me as his lawyer in a suit to be +heard in the United States Court in Mobile, and sent me the papers in +the case. I studied them, and found that they involved an important and +somewhat difficult question of law, and I made myself sufficiently +familiar with it, so that when Duncan telegraphed me to be in Mobile on +the first Monday in June, I went with a pretty comfortable sense of my +readiness to meet anybody who should be employed on the other side. But +when I reached Mobile, I found there were two other suits connected, +with this, and involving the ownership, sale, and complicated rights of +several parties to the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. + +"After two days' skirmishing, the court ordered the three suits to be +consolidated. The question I had prepared myself on passed wholly out of +sight, and the whole entanglement of an insolvent railroad, twenty-five +years old, and lying across four States, and costing $20,000,000, came +upon us at once. There were seven lawyers in the case besides me. On one +side were John A. Campbell, of New Orleans, late member of the Supreme +Bench of the United States; a leading New York and a Mobile lawyer. +Against us were Judge Hoadley, of Cincinnati, and several Southern men. +I was assigned the duty of summing up the case for our side, and +answering the final argument of the opposition. I have never felt myself +in such danger of failure before, all had so much better knowledge of +the facts than I, and all had more experience with that class of +litigation? but I am very sure no one of them did so much hard work, in +the five nights and six days of the trial, as I did. I am glad to tell +you that I have received a dispatch from Mobile, that the court adopted +my view of the case, and gave us a verdict on all points." + +Who can doubt, after reading of these two cases, that had Garfield +devoted himself to the practice of the law exclusively, he would have +made one of the most successful members of the profession in the +country, perhaps risen to the highest rank? As it was, he was only able +to devote the time he could spare from his legislative labors. + +These increased as years sped. On the retirement of James G. Blaine from +the lower House of Congress, the leadership of his party devolved upon +Garfield. It was a post of honor, but it imposed upon him a vast amount +of labor. He must qualify himself to speak, not superficially, but from +adequate knowledge upon all points of legislation, and to defend the +party with which he was allied from all attacks of political opponents. + +On this subject he writes, April 21, 1880: "The position I hold in the +House requires an enormous amount of surplus work. I am compelled to +look ahead at questions likely to be sprung upon us for action, and the +fact is, I prepare for debate on ten subjects where I actually take part +in but one. For example, it seemed certain that the Fitz John Porter +case would be discussed in the House, and I devoted the best of two +weeks to a careful 're-examination' of the old material, and a study of +the new. + +"There is now lying on top of my book-case a pile of books, revisions, +and manuscripts, three feet long by a foot and a half high, which I +accumulated and examined for debate, which certainly will not come off +this session, perhaps not at all. I must stand in the breach to meet +whatever comes. + +"I look forward to the Senate as at least a temporary relief from this +heavy work. I am just now in antagonism with my own party on legislation +in reference to the election law, and here also I have prepared for two +discussions, and as yet have not spoken on either." + +My young readers will see that Garfield thoroughly believed in hard +work, and appreciated its necessity. It was the only way in which he +could hold his commanding position. If he attained large success, and +reached the highest dignity in the power of his countrymen to bestow, it +is clear that he earned it richly. Upon some, accident bestows rank; but +not so with him. From his earliest years he was growing, rounding out, +and developing, till he became the man he was. And had his life been +spared to the usual span, it is not likely that he would have desisted, +but ripened with years into perhaps the most profound and scholarly +statesman the world has seen. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +THE SCHOLAR IN POLITICS. + + +In the midst of his political and professional activity, Garfield never +forgot his days of tranquil enjoyment at Hiram College, when he was +devoted solely to the cultivation of his mind, and the extension of his +knowledge. He still cherished the same tastes, and so far as his +leisure--he had no leisure, save time snatched from the engrossing +claims of politics--so far, at any rate, as he could manage the time, he +employed it for new acquisitions, or for the review of his earlier +studies. + +In January, 1874, he made a metrical version of the third ode of +Horace's first book. I quote four stanzas: + + "Guide thee, O ship, on thy journey, that owest + To Africa's shores Virgil trusted to thee. + I pray thee restore him, in safety restore him, + And saving him, save me the half of my soul. + + "Stout oak and brass triple surrounded his bosom + Who first to the waves of the merciless sea + Committed his frail bark. He feared not Africa's + Fierce battling the gales of the furious North. + + "Nor feared he the gloom of the rain-bearing Hyads + Nor the rage of fierce Notus, a tyrant than whom + No storm-god that rules o'er the broad Adriatic + Is mightier its billows to rouse or to calm. + + "What form, or what pathway of death him affrighted + Who faced with dry eyes monsters swimming the deep, + Who gazed without fear on the storm-swollen billows, + And the lightning-scarred rocks, grim with death on the shore?" + +In reviewing the work of the year 1874, he writes: "So far as individual +work is concerned, I have done something to keep alive my tastes and +habits. For example, since I left you I have made a somewhat thorough +study of Goethe and his epoch, and have sought to build up in my mind a +picture of the state of literature and art in Europe, at the period when +Goethe began to work, and the state when he died. I have grouped the +various poets into order, so as to preserve memoirs of the impression +made upon my mind by the whole. The sketch covers nearly sixty pages of +manuscript. I think some work of this kind, outside the track of one's +every-day work, is necessary to keep up real growth." + +In July, 1875, he gives a list of works that he had read recently. Among +these are several plays of Shakespeare, seven volumes of Froude's +England, and a portion of Green's "History of the English People." He +did not limit himself to English studies, but entered the realms of +French and German literature, having made himself acquainted with both +these languages. He made large and constant use of the Library of +Congress. Probably none of his political associates made as much, with +the exception of Charles Sumner. + +Major Bundy gives some interesting details as to his method of work, +which I quote: "In all his official, professional, and literary work, +Garfield has pursued a system that has enabled him to accumulate, on a +vast range and variety of subjects, an amount of easily available +information such as no one else has shown the possession of by its use. +His house at Washington is a workshop, in which the tools are always +kept within immediate reach. Although books overrun his house from top +to bottom, his library contains the working material on which he mainly +depends. And the amount of material is enormous. Large numbers of +scrap-books that have been accumulating for over twenty years, in number +and in value--made up with an eye to what either is, or may become, +useful, which would render the collection of priceless value to the +library of any first-class newspaper establishment--are so perfectly +arranged and indexed, that their owner with his all-retentive memory, +can turn in a moment to the facts that may be needed for almost any +conceivable emergency in debate. + +"These are supplemented by diaries that preserve Garfield's multifarous +political, scientific, literary, and religious inquiries, studies, and +readings. And, to make the machinery of rapid work complete, he has a +large box containing sixty-three different drawers, each properly +labeled, in which he places newspaper cuttings, documents, and slips of +paper, and from which he can pull out what he wants as easily as an +organist can play on the stops of his instrument. In other words, the +hardest and most masterful worker in Congress has had the largest and +most scientifically arranged of workshops." + +It was a pleasant house, this, which Garfield had made for himself in +Washington. With a devoted wife, who sympathized with him in his +literary tastes, and aided him in his preparation for his literary work, +with five children (two boys now at Williams College, one daughter, and +two younger sons), all bright and promising, with a happy and joyous +temperament that drew around him warmly-attached friends, with a mind +continually broadening and expanding in every direction, respected and +appreciated by his countrymen, and loved even by his political +opponents, Garfield's lot seemed and was a rarely happy one. He worked +hard, but he had always enjoyed work. Higher honors seemed hovering in +the air, but he did not make himself anxious about them. He enjoyed +life, and did his duty as he went along, ready to undertake new +responsibilities whenever they came, but by no means impatient for +higher honors. + +Filling an honored place in the household is the white-haired mother, +who, with justifiable pride, has followed the fortunes of her son from +his destitute boyhood, along the years in which he gained strength by +battling with poverty and adverse circumstances, to the time when he +fills the leading place in the councils of the nation. So steadily has +he gone on, step by step, that she is justified in hoping for him higher +honors. + +The time came, and he was elected to the United States Senate in place +of Judge Thurman, who had ably represented the State in the same body, +and had been long regarded as one of the foremost leaders of the +Democratic party. But his mantle fell upon no unworthy successor. Ohio +was fortunate in possessing two such men to represent her in the highest +legislative body of the nation. + +Doubtless this honor would have come sooner to Garfield, for in 1877 he +was the candidate to whom all eyes were directed, but he could not be +spared from the lower House, there being no one to take his place as +leader. He yielded to the expressed wishes of President Hayes, who, in +the exceptional position in which he found himself, felt the need of a +strong and able man in the House, to sustain his administration and help +carry out the policy of the Government. Accustomed to yield his own +interest to what he regarded as the needs of his country, Garfield +quietly acquiesced in what to most men would have been a severe +disappointment. + +But when, after the delay of four years, he was elected to the Senate, +he accepted with a feeling of satisfaction--not so much because he was +promoted as because, in his new sphere of usefulness, he would have more +time for the gratification of his literary tastes. + +In a speech thanking the members of the General Assembly for their +support, he said: + +"And now, gentlemen of the General Assembly, without distinction of +party, I recognize this tribute and compliment paid to me to-night. +Whatever my own course may be in the future, a large share of the +inspiration of my future public life will be drawn from this occasion +and from these surroundings, and I shall feel anew the sense of +obligation that I feel to the State of Ohio. Let me venture to point a +single sentence in regard to that work. During the twenty years that I +have been in public life, almost eighteen of it in the Congress of the +United States, I have tried to do one thing. Whether I was mistaken or +otherwise, it has been the plan of my life to follow my conviction at +whatever cost to myself. + +"I have represented for many years a district in Congress whose +approbation I greatly desired; but, though it may seem, perhaps, a +little egotistical to say it, I yet desired still more the approbation +of one person, and his name was Garfield. [Laughter and applause]. He is +the only man that I am compelled to sleep with, and eat with, and live +with, and die with; and, if I could not have his approbation, I should +have had companionship. [Renewed laughter and applause]. And in this +larger constituency which has called me to represent them now, I can +only do what is true to my best self, following the same rule. And if I +should be so unfortunate as to lose the confidence of this larger +constituency, I must do what every other fair-minded man has to +do--carry his political life in his hand and take the consequences. But +I must follow what seems to me to be the only safe rule of my life; and +with that view of the case, and with that much personal reference, I +leave that subject." + +This speech gives the key-note of Garfield's political action. More than +once he endangered his re-election and hazarded his political future by +running counter to what he knew to be the wishes of his constituents and +his party; but he would never allow himself to be a slave to party, or +wear the yoke of political expediency. He sought, first of all, to win +the approval of his own conscience and his own sense of right, and then +he was willing to "take the consequences," even if they were serious +enough to cut short the brilliant career which he so much enjoyed. + +I conceive that in this respect he was a model whom I may safely hold up +for the imitation of my readers, young or old. Such men do credit to the +country, and if Garfield's rule of life could be universally adopted, +the country would never be in peril. A conscientious man may make +mistakes of judgment but he can never go far astray. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + +THE TRIBUTES OF FRIENDS. + + +Before going farther, in order that my young readers may be better +qualified to understand what manner of man Garfield was, I will quote +the remarks made by two of his friends, one a prominent member of the +party opposed to him in politics. In the Milwaukee _Sentinel_ of Sept. +22d, I find this tribute by Congressman Williams, of that State: + +"Happening to sit within one seat of him for four years in the House, I, +with others, perhaps had a better opportunity to see him in all of his +moods than those more removed. In action he was a giant; off duty he was +a great, noble boy. He never knew what austerity of manner or +ceremonious dignity meant. After some of his greatest efforts in the +House, such as will live in history, he would turn to me, or any one +else, and say: 'Well, old boy, how was that?' Every man was his +confidant and friend, so far as the interchange of every-day good +feeling was concerned. + +"He once told me how he prepared his speeches; that first he filled +himself with the subject, massing all the facts and principles involved, +so far as he could; then he took pen and paper and wrote down the +salient points in what he regarded their logical order. Then he scanned +them critically, and fixed them in his memory. 'And then,' said he, 'I +leave the paper in my room and trust to the emergency.' He told me that +when he spoke at the serenade in New York a year ago, he was so pressed +by callers that the only opportunity he had for preparation was, to lock +the door and walk three times around the table, when he was called out +to the balcony to begin. All the world knows what that speech was. + +"He was wrapped up in his family. His two boys would come up to the +House just before adjournment, and loiter about his desk with their +books in their hands. After the House adjourned, other members would go +off in cars or carriages, or walk down the avenue in groups. But +Garfield, with a boy on each side of him, would walk down Capitol Hill, +as we would say in the country 'cross-lots,' all three chatting +together on equal terms. + +"He said to me one day during the canvass, while the tears came to his +eyes, 'I have done no more in coming up from poverty than hundreds and +thousands of others, but I am thankful that I have been able to keep my +family by my side, and educate my children.' + +"He was a man with whom anybody could differ with impunity. I have said +repeatedly, that were Garfield alive and fully recovered, and a dozen of +his intimate friends were to go to him, and advise that Guiteau be let +off, he would say, 'Yes, let him go.' The man positively knew no malice. +And for such a man to be shot and tortured like a dog, and by a dog! + +"He was extremely sensitive. I have seen him come into the House in the +morning, when some guerrilla of the press had stabbed him deeper in his +feelings than Guiteau's bullet did in the body, and when he looked +pallid from suffering, and the evident loss of sleep; but he would utter +no murmur, and in some short time his great exuberance of spirits would +surmount it all, and he would be a boy again. + +"He never went to lunch without a troop of friends with him. He loved +to talk at table, and there is no gush in saying he talked a God +socially and intellectually. Some of his off-hand expressions were like +a burst of inspiration. Like all truly great men, he did not seem to +realize his greatness. And, as I have said, he would talk as cordially +and confidentially with a child as with a monarch. And I only refer to +his conversations with me because you ask me to, and because I think his +off-hand conversations with any one reveal his real traits best. + +"Coming on the train from Washington, after his nomination, he said: +'Only think of this! I am yet a young man? if elected and I serve my +term I shall still be a young man. Then what am I going to do? There +seems to be no place in America for an ex-President.' + +"And then came in what I thought the extreme simplicity and real +nobility of the man. 'Why,' said he, 'I had no thought of being +nominated. I had bought me some new books, and was getting ready for the +Senate.' + +"I laughed at the idea of his buying books, like a boy going to college, +and remembered that during his Congressional career he had furnished +materials for a few books himself. And then, with that peculiar roll of +the body and slap on the shoulder with the left hand, which all will +recognize, he said: 'Why! do you know that up to 1856 I never saw a +_Congressional Globe_, nor knew what one was!' And he then explained how +he stumbled upon one in the hands of an opponent in his first public +anti-slavery debate. + +"A friend remarked the other day that Garfield would get as enthusiastic +in digging a six-foot ditch with his own hands, as when making a speech +in Congress. Such was my observation. Going down the lane, he seemed to +forget for the time that there was any Presidential canvass pending. He +would refer, first to one thing, then another, with that off-hand +originality which was his great characteristic. Suddenly picking up a +smooth, round pebble, he said, 'Look at that! Every stone here sings of +the sea.' + +"Asking why he bought his farm, he said he had been reading about +metals, how you could draw them to a certain point a million times and +not impair their strength, but if you passed that point once, you could +never get them back. 'So,' said he, 'I bought this farm to rest the +muscles of my mind!' Coming to two small wooden structures in the field, +he talked rapidly of how his neighbors guessed he would do in Congress, +but would not make much of a fist at farming, and then called my +attention to his corn and buckwheat and other crops, and said that was a +marsh, but he underdrained it with tile, and found spring-water flowing +out of the bluff, and found he could get a five-foot fall, and with +pumps of a given dimension, a water-dam could throw water back eighty +rods to his house, and eighty feet above it. 'But,' said he, in his +jocularly, impressive manner, 'I did my surveying before I did my +work.'" + +This is certainly a pleasant picture of a great man, who has not lost +his simplicity of manner, and who seems unconscious of his greatness--in +whom the love of humanity is so strong that he reaches out a cordial +hand to all of his kind, no matter how humble, and shows the warmest +interest in all. + +Senator Voorhees, of Indiana, was among the speakers at the memorial +meeting in Terre Haute, and in the course of his remarks, said: "I knew +James A. Garfield well, and, except on the political field, we had +strong sympathies together. It is nearly eighteen years since we first +met, and during that period I had the honor to serve seven years in the +House of Representatives with him. + +"The kindness of his nature and his mental activity were his leading +traits. In all his intercourse with men, women, and children, no kinder +heart ever beat in human breast than that which struggled on till 10.30 +o'clock Monday night, and then forever stood still. There was a light in +his face, a chord in his voice, and a pressure in his hand, which were +full of love for his fellow-beings. His manners were ardent and +demonstrative with those to whom he was attached, and he filled the +private circle with sunshine and magnetic currents. He had the joyous +spirits of boyhood and the robust intellectuality of manhood more +perfectly combined than any other I ever knew. Such a character was +necessarily almost irresistible with those who knew him personally, and +it accounts for that undying hold which, under all circumstances, bound +his immediate constituents to him as with hooks of steel. Such a nature, +however, always has its dangers as well as its strength and its +blessings. The kind heart and the open hand never accompany a +suspicious, distrustful mind. Designing men mark such a character for +their own selfishness, and Gen. Garfield's faults--for he had faults, as +he was human--sprang more from this circumstance than from all others +combined. He was prompt and eager to respond to the wishes of those he +esteemed his friends, whether inside or outside of his own political +party. That he made some mistakes in his long, busy career is but +repeating the history of every generous and obliging man who has lived +and died in public life. They are not such, however, as are recorded in +heaven, nor will they mar or weaken the love of his countrymen. + +"The poor, laboring boy, the self-made man, the hopeful, buoyant soul in +the face of all difficulties and odds, _constitute an example for the +American youth, which will never be lost nor grow dim_. + +"The estimate to be placed on the intellectual abilities of Gen. +Garfield must be a very high one. Nature was bountiful to him, and his +acquirements were extensive and solid. If I might make a comparison, I +would say that, with the exception of Jefferson and John Quincy Adams, +he was the most learned President in what is written in books in the +whole range of American history. + +"The Christian character of Gen. Garfield can not, with propriety, be +omitted in a glance, however brief, at his remarkable career. Those who +knew him best in the midst of his ambition and his worldly hopes will +not fail now at his tomb to bear their testimony to his faith in God and +his love for the teachings of the blessed Nazarene. + +"It seems but yesterday that I saw him last, and parted from him in all +the glory of his physical and mental manhood. His eye was full of light, +his tread elastic and strong, and the world lay bright before him. He +talked freely of public men and public affairs. His resentments were +like sparks from the flint. He cherished them not for a moment. Speaking +of one who, he thought, had wronged him, he said to me, that, sooner or +later, he intended to pour coals of fire on his head by acts of kindness +to some of his kindred. He did not live to do so, but the purpose of his +heart has been placed to his credit in the book of eternal life" + +A correspondent of the New York _Tribune_ suggests that the following +lines, from Pollok's "Course of Time," apply with remarkable fitness to +his glorious career: + + "Illustrious, too, that morning stood the man + Exalted by the people to the throne + Of government, established on the base + Of justice, liberty, and equal right; + Who, in his countenance sublime, expressed + A nation's majesty, and yet was meek + And humble; and in royal palace gave + Example to the meanest, of the fear + Of God, and all integrity of life + And manners; who, august, yet lowly; who + Severe, yet gracious; in his very heart + Detesting all oppression, all intent + Of private aggrandizement; and the first + In every public duty--held the scales + Of justice, and as law, which reigned in him, + Commanded, gave rewards; or with the edge + Vindictive smote--now light, now heavily, + According to the stature of the crime. + Conspicuous, like an oak of healthiest bough, + Deep-rooted in his country's love, he stood." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + +FROM CANAL-BOY TO PRESIDENT. + + +James A Garfield had been elected to the United States Senate, but he +was never a member of that body. Before the time came for him to take +his seat he had been invested with a higher dignity. Never before in our +history has the same man been an actual member of the House of +Representatives, a Senator-elect, and President-elect. + +On the 8th of June, 1880, the Republican Convention at Chicago selected +Garfield as their standard-bearer on the thirty-sixth ballot. No one, +probably, was more surprised or bewildered than Garfield himself, who +was a member of the Convention, when State after State declared in his +favor. In his loyalty to John Sherman, of his own State, whom he had set +in nomination in an eloquent speech, he tried to avert the result, but +in vain. He was known by the friends of other candidates to be +thoroughly equipped for the highest office in the people's gift, and he +was the second choice of the majority. + +[Illustration: INAUGURATION AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.] + +Mary Clemmer, the brilliant Washington correspondent, writes of the +scene thus: "For days before, many that would not confess it felt that +he was the coming man, because of the acclaim of the people whenever +Garfield appeared. The culminating moment came. Other names seemed to +sail out of sight like thistledown on the wind, till one (how glowing +and living it was) was caught by the galleries, and shout on shout arose +with the accumulative force of ascending breakers, till the vast +amphitheater was deluged with sounding and resounding acclaim, such as a +man could hope would envelope and uplift his name but once in a +life-time. And he? There he stood, strong, Saxon, fair, debonair, yet +white as new snow, and trembling like an aspen. It seemed too much, this +sudden storm of applause and enthusiasm for him, the new idol, the +coming President; yet who may say that through his exultant, yet +trembling heart, that moment shot the presaging pang of distant, yet +sure-coming woe?" + +Senator Hoar of Massachusetts, who was the President of the Convention, +in a speech made not long afterward, paid the following just tribute to +Garfield's character and qualifications: + +"Think of the qualifications for the office which that man combines. Do +you want a statesman in the broadest sense? Do you demand a successful +soldier? Do you want a man of more experience in civil affairs? No +President of the United States since John Quincy Adams has begun to +bring to the Presidential office, when he entered, anything like the +experience in statesmanship of Gen. Garfield. As you look over the list, +Grant, Jackson, and Taylor have brought to the position great fame as +soldiers, but who since John Quincy Adams has had such a civil career to +look back upon as Gen. Garfield? Since 1864 I can not think of one +important question debated in Congress or discussed before the great +tribunal of the American people in which you can not find the issue +stated more clearly and better than by any one else in the speeches in +the House of Representatives or on the hustings of Gen. Garfield--firm +and resolute, constant in his adherence to what he thinks is right, +regardless of popular delusions or the fear that he will become less +popular, or be disappointed in his ambitions. + +"Just remember when Republicans and Democrats alike of Ohio fairly went +crazy over the financial heresy, this man stood as with his feet on a +rock, demanding honesty in government. About six years ago I sat by the +side of an Ohio Representative, who had an elaborately prepared table, +showing how the West was being cheated; that Ohio had not as many bank +bills to the square mile as the East, and that the Southwest was even +worse off than Ohio. + +"In regard to the great questions of human rights he has stood +inflexible. The successor of Joshua R. Giddings, he is the man on whom +his mantle may be said to have descended. Still he is no blind partisan. +The best arguments in favor of civil service reform are found in the +speeches of Gen. Garfield. He is liberal and generous in the treatment +of the South, one of the foremost advocates of educational institutions +in the South at the national expense. Do you wish for that highest +type--the volunteer citizen soldier? Here is a man who enlisted at the +beginning of the war; from a subordinate officer he became a +major-general, trusted by those best of commanders, Thomas and +Rosecranz, always in the thickest of the fight, the commander of +dangerous and always successful expeditions, and returning home crowned +with the laurels of victory. Do you wish for an honored career, which in +itself is a vindication of the system of the American Republic? Without +the attributes of rank or wealth, he has risen from the humblest to the +loftiest position." + +When the nominee of the convention had leisure to reflect upon his new +position, and then cast his eye back along his past life, beginning with +his rustic home in the Ohio wilderness, and traced step by step his +progress from canal-boy to Presidential candidate, it must have seemed +to him almost a dream. It was indeed a wonderful illustration of what we +claim for our Republican institutions, the absolute right of the poorest +and humblest, provided he has the requisite talent and industry to +aspire to the chief place and the supreme power. "It was the most +perfect instance of the resistless strength of a man developed by all +the best and purest impulses, forces, and influences of American +institutions into becoming their most thorough and ablest embodiment in +organic and personal activity, aspiration, and character." + +The response to the nomination throughout the country was most hearty. +It was felt that the poor Ohio canal-boy had fitted himself, after an +arduous struggle with poverty, for the high post to which he was likely +to be called. The _N.Y. Tribune_, whose first choice had been the +brilliant son of Maine, James G. Blaine, welcomed the result of the +convention thus: + +"From one end of the nation to the other, from distant Oregon to Texas, +from Maine to Arizona, lightning has informed the country of the +nomination yesterday of James A. Garfield, as the Republican candidate +for the Presidency. + +"Never was a nomination made which has been received by friend and foe +with such evidence of hearty respect, admiration, and confidence. The +applause is universal. Even the Democratic House of Representatives +suspended its business that it might congratulate the country upon the +nomination of the distinguished leader of the Republicans. + +"James Abram Garfield is, in the popular mind, one of the foremost +statesmen of the nation. He is comparatively a young man, but in his +service he commands the confidence and admiration of his countrymen of +all parties. His ability, his thorough study, and his long practical +experience in political matters gives an assurance to the country that +he will carry to the Presidential office a mind superior, because of its +natural qualifications and training, to any that has preceded him for +many years. He will be a President worthy in every sense to fill the +office in a way that the country will like to see it filled--with +ability, learning, experience, and integrity. That Gen. Garfield will be +elected we have no question. He is a candidate worthy of election, and +will command not only every Republican vote in the country, but the +support of tens of thousands of non-partisans who want to see a +President combining intellectual ability with learning, experience, and +ripe statesmanship." + +The prediction recorded above was fulfilled. On the second of November, +1880, James A. Garfield was elected President of the United States. + +Had this been a story of the imagination, such as I have often written, +I should not have dared to crown it with such an ending. In view of my +hero's humble beginnings, I should expect to have it severely +criticised as utterly incredible, but reality is oftentimes stranger +than romance, and this is notably illustrated in Garfield's wonderful +career. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + +THE NEW ADMINISTRATION. + + +On the evening of March 3d, preceding the inauguration, the +President-elect met twenty of his college classmates at supper at +Wormley's Hotel, in Washington, and mutual congratulations were +exchanged. He was the first President of the United States selected from +among the graduates of Williams College, and all the alumni, but more +especially the class of 1856, were full of pride and rejoicing. From +none probably were congratulations more welcome to the new President +than from his old academic associates. If I transcribe the speech which +Gen. Garfield made upon that occasion it is because it throws a light +upon his character and interprets the feelings with which he entered +upon the high office to which his countrymen had called him: + +"CLASSMATES: To me there is something exceedingly pathetic in this +reunion. In every eye before me I see the light of friendship and love, +and I am sure it is reflected back to each one of you from my inmost +heart. For twenty-two years, with the exception of the last few days, I +have been in the public service. To-night I am a private citizen. +To-morrow I shall be called to assume new responsibilities, and on the +day after, the broadside of the world's wrath will strike. It will +strike hard. I know it, and you will know it. Whatever may happen to me +in the future, I shall feel that I can always fall back upon the +shoulders and hearts of the class of '56 for their approval of that +which is right, and for their charitable judgment wherein I may come +short in the discharge of my public duties. You may write down in your +books now the largest percentage of blunders which you think I will be +likely to make, and you will be sure to find in the end that I have made +more than you have calculated--many more. + +"This honor comes to me unsought. I have never had the Presidential +fever--not even for a day; nor have I it to-night. I have no feeling of +elation in view of the position I am called upon to fill. I would thank +God were I to-day a free lance in the House or the Senate. But it is +not to be, and I will go forward to meet the responsibilities and +discharge the duties that are before me with all the firmness and +ability I can command. I hope you will be able conscientiously to +approve my conduct; and when I return to private life, I wish you to +give me another class-meeting." + +This brief address exhibits the modesty with which Gen. Garfield viewed +his own qualifications for the high office for which twenty years of +public life had been gradually preparing him. While all are liable to +mistakes, it is hardly to be supposed that a man so prepared, and +inspired by a conscientious devotion to what he deemed to be right, +would have made many serious blunders. During his brief administration +he made, as the country knows, an admirable beginning in reforming +abuses and exacting the most rigid economy in the public service. There +was every probability of his being his own successor had his life been +spared. + +The inaugural ceremonies were very imposing. Washington was thronged as +it had never been before on any similar occasion. Private citizens, +civic bodies, and military companies were present from every part of +the country. Prominent among the eminent citizens present was the +stately and imposing figure of Gen. Hancock, who had been the nominee of +the opposing party, and who, with admirable good feeling and good taste, +had accepted an invitation to be present at the inauguration of his +successful rival. + +And there were others present whom we have met before. The wife and +mother of the new President, with flushed cheeks and proud hearts, +witnessed the ceremonies that made the one they loved the head of the +State. To him they were more than all the rest. When he had taken the +oath of office in the presence of the assembled tens of thousands, +Garfield turned to his aged mother and imprinted a kiss upon her cheek, +and afterward upon that of his wife. It was a touch of nature that +appealed to the hearts of all present. + +In the White House, one of the best rooms was reserved for his aged +mother, for whom he cherished the same fond love and reverence as in his +boyish days. It was a change, and a great one, from the humble log-cabin +in which our story opens; it was a change, too, from the backwoods boy, +in his suit of homespun, to the statesman of noble and commanding +figure, upon whom the eyes of the nation were turned. The boy who had +guided the canal-boat was now at the helm of the national vessel, and +there was no fear that he would run her aground. Even had storms come, +we might safely trust in him who had steered the little steamboat up the +Big Sandy River, in darkness and storm and floating obstructions, to the +camp where his famished soldiers were waiting for supplies. For, as is +the case with every great man, it was difficulty and danger that nerved +Garfield to heroic efforts, and no emergency found him lacking. + +His life must now be changed, and the change was not altogether +agreeable. With his cordial off-hand manners, and Western freedom, he, +no doubt, felt cramped and hampered by the requirements of his new +position. When he expressed his preference for the position of a +freelance in the House or Senate, he was sincere. It was more in +accordance with his private tastes. But a public man can not always +choose the place or the manner in which he will serve his country. +Often she says to him, "Go up higher!" when he is content with an humble +place, and more frequently, perhaps, he has to be satisfied with an +humble place when he considers himself fitted for a higher. + +So far as he could, Gen. Garfield tried to preserve in the Executive +Mansion the domestic life which he so highly prized. He had his children +around him. He made wise arrangements for their continued education, for +he felt that whatever other legacy he might be able to leave them, this +would be the most valuable. Still, as of old, he could count on the +assistance of his wife in fulfilling the duties, social and otherwise, +required by his exalted position. + +Nor was he less fortunate in his political family. He had selected as +his Premier a friend and political associate of many years' standing, +whose brilliant talent and wide-spread reputation brought strength to +his administration. In accepting the tender of the post of Secretary of +State, Mr. Blaine said: "In our new relation I shall give all that I am, +and all that I can hope to be, freely and joyfully to your service. You +need no pledge of my loyalty in heart and in act. I should be false to +myself did I not prove true both to the great trust you confide to me, +and to your own personal and political fortunes in the present and in +the future. Your administration must be made brilliantly successful, and +strong in the confidence and pride of the people, not at all directing +its energies for re-election, and yet compelling that result by the +logic of events and by the imperious necessities of the situation. + +"I accept it as one of the happiest circumstances connected with this +affair, that in allying my political fortunes with yours--or rather, for +the time merging mine in yours--my heart goes with my head, and that I +carry to you not only political support, but personal and devoted +friendship. I can but regard it as somewhat remarkable that two men of +the same age, entering Congress at the same time, influenced by the same +aims, and cherishing the same ambitions, should never, for a single +moment, in eighteen years of close intimacy, have had a misunderstanding +or a coolness, and that our friendship has steadily grown with our +growth, and strengthened with our strength. + +"It is this fact which has led me to the conclusion embodied in this +letter; for, however much, my dear Garfield, I might admire you as a +statesman, I would not enter your Cabinet if I did not believe in you as +a man and love you as a friend." + +When it is remembered that Mr. Blaine before the meeting of the +convention was looked upon as the probable recipient of the honor that +fell to Garfield, the generous warmth of this letter will be accounted +most creditable to both of the two friends, whose strong friendship +rivalry could not weaken or diminish. + +So the new Administration entered upon what promised to be a successful +course. I can not help recording, as a singular circumstance, that the +three highest officers were ex-teachers. Of Garfield's extended services +as teacher, beginning with the charge of a district school in the +wilderness, and ending with the presidency of a college, we already +know. Reference has also been made to the early experience of the +Vice-President, Chester A. Arthur, in managing a country school. To this +it may be added that Mr. Blaine, too, early in life was a teacher in an +academy, and, as may readily be supposed, a successful one. It is seldom +in other countries that similar honors crown educational workers. It +may be mentioned, however, that Louis Philippe, afterward King of the +French, while an exile in this country, gave instruction in his native +language. It is not, however, every ruler of boys that is qualified to +become a ruler of men. Yet, in our own country, probably a majority of +our public men have served in this capacity. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. + +THE TRAGIC END. + + +I should like to end my story here, and feel that it was complete. I +should like with my countrymen to be still looking forward with interest +to the successful results of an administration, guided by the +experienced statesman whose career we have followed step by step from +its humble beginnings. But it can not be. + +On the second of July, in the present year, a startling rumor was borne +on the wings of the lightning to the remotest parts of the land: + +"President Garfield has been assassinated!" + +The excitement was only paralleled by that which prevailed in 1865, when +Abraham Lincoln was treacherously killed by an assassin. But in this +later case the astonishment was greater, and all men asked, "What can it +mean?" + +We were in a state of profound peace. No wars nor rumors of war +disturbed the humble mind, and the blow was utterly unexpected and +inexplicable. + +The explanation came soon enough. It was the work of a wretched +political adventurer, who, inflated by an overweening estimate of his +own abilities and importance, had made a preposterous claim to two high +political offices--the post of Minister to Austria, and Consul to +Paris--and receiving no encouragement in either direction, had +deliberately made up his mind to "remove" the President, as he termed +it, in the foolish hope that his chances of gaining office would be +better under another administration. + +My youngest readers will remember the sad excitement of that eventful +day. They will remember, also, how the public hopes strengthened or +weakened with the varying bulletins of each day during the protracted +sickness of the nation's head. They will not need to be reminded how +intense was the anxiety everywhere manifested, without regard to party +or section, for the recovery of the suffering ruler. And they will +surely remember the imposing demonstrations of sorrow when the end was +announced. Some of the warmest expressions of grief came from the +South, who in this time of national calamity were at one with their +brothers of the North. And when, on the 26th of September, the last +funeral rites were celebrated, and the body of the dead President was +consigned to its last resting-place in the beautiful Lake View Cemetery, +in sight of the pleasant lake on which his eyes rested as a boy, never +before had there been such imposing demonstrations of grief in our +cities and towns. + +These were not confined to public buildings, and to the houses and +warehouses of the rich, but the poorest families displayed their bit of +crape. Outside of a miserable shanty in Brooklyn was displayed a cheap +print of the President, framed in black, with these words written below, +"We mourn our loss." Even as I write, the insignia of grief are still to +be seen in the tenement-house districts on the East Side of New York, +and there seems a reluctance to remove them. + +But not alone to our own country were confined the exhibitions of +sympathy, and the anxious alternations of hope and fear. There was +scarcely a portion of the globe in which the hearts of the people were +not deeply stirred by the daily bulletins that came from the sick couch +of the patient sufferer. Of the profound impression made in England I +shall give a description, contributed to the New York _Tribune_ by its +London correspondent, Mr. G.W. Smalley, only premising that the sympathy +and grief were universal: from the Queen, whose messages of tender, +womanly sympathy will not soon be forgotten, to the humblest +day-laborers in the country districts. Never in England has such grief +been exhibited at the sickness and death of a foreign ruler, and the +remembrance of it will draw yet closer together, for all time to come, +the two great sections of the English-speaking tongue. Were it not a +subject of such general interest, I should apologize for the space I +propose to give to England's mourning: + +"It happened that some of the humbler classes were among the most eager +to signify their feelings. The omnibus-drivers had each a knot of crape +on his whip. Many of the cabmen had the same thing, and so had the +draymen. In the city, properly so called, and along the water-side, it +was the poorer shops and the smaller craft that most frequently +exhibited tokens of public grief. Of the people one met in mourning the +same thing was true. Between mourning put on for the day and that which +was worn for private affliction it was not possible to distinguish. But +in many cases it was plain enough that the black coat on the +workingman's shoulders, or the bonnet or bit of crape which a shop-girl +wore, was no part of their daily attire. They had done as much as they +could to mark themselves as mourners for the President. It was not much, +but it was enough. It had cost them some thought, a little pains, +sometimes a little money, and they were people whose lives brought a +burden to every hour, who had no superfluity of strength or means, and +on whom even a slight effort imposed a distinct sacrifice. They are not +of the class to whom the Queen's command for Court mourning was +addressed. Few of that class are now in London. St. James' Street and +Pall Mall, Belgravia and May Fair are depopulated. The compliance with +the Queen's behest has been, I am sure, general and hearty, but +evidences of it were to be sought elsewhere than in London. + +"Of other demonstrations it can hardly be necessary to repeat or enlarge +upon the description you have already had. The drawn blinds of the +Mansion House and of Buckingham Palace, the flags at half-mast in the +Thames on ships of every nationality, the Stock and Metal Exchanges +closed, the royal standard at half-mast on the steeple of the royal +church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; the darkened windows of great +numbers of banking houses and other places of business in the city +itself--of all these you have heard. + +"At the West End, the shops were not, as a rule, draped with black. Some +of them had the Union Jack at half-mast; a few the Stars and Stripes in +black with white and black hangings on the shop fronts. The greater +number of shop-keepers testified to their association with the general +feeling by shutters overhanging the tops of the windows, or by +perpendicular slabs at intervals down the glass. Some had nothing; but +in Regent Street, Bond Street, St. James' Street, and Piccadilly, which +are the fashionable business streets of the West End, those which had +nothing were the exception. The American Legation in Victoria Street, +and the American Consulate in Old Broad Street, both of which were +closed, were in deep mourning. The American Dispatch Agency, occupying +part of a conspicuous building in Trafalgar Square, had nothing to +indicate its connection with America or any share in the general +sorrow. + +"In many private houses--I should say the majority in such streets as I +passed through during the day--the blinds were down as they would have +been for a death in the family. The same is true of some of the clubs, +and some of the hotels. The Reform Club, of which Garfield is said to +have been an honorary member, had a draped American flag over the door. + +"To-day, as on every previous day since the President's death, the +London papers print many columns of accounts, each account very brief, +of what has been done and said in the so-called provincial towns. One +journal prefaces its copious record by the impressive statement that +from nearly every town and village telegraphic messages have been sent +by its correspondents describing the respect paid to General Garfield on +the day of his funeral. These tributes are necessarily in many places of +a similar character, yet the variety of sources from which they proceed +is wide enough to include almost every form of municipal, +ecclesiastical, political, or individual activity. Everywhere bells are +tolled, churches thrown open for service, flags drooping, business is +interrupted, resolutions are passed. Liverpool, as is natural for the +multiplicity and closeness of her relations with the United States, may +perhaps be said to have taken the lead. She closed, either in whole or +in part, her Cotton Market, her Produce Markets, her Provision Market, +her Stock Exchange. Her papers came out in mourning. The bells tolled +all day long. + +"Few merchants, one reads, came to their places of business, and most of +those who came were in black. The Mayor and members of the Corporation, +in their robes, attended a memorial service at St. Peter's, and the +cathedral overflowed with its sorrowing congregation. Manchester, +Newcastle, Birmingham, Glasgow, Bradford, Edinburgh were not much behind +Liverpool in demonstrations, and not at all behind it in spirit. It is +an evidence of the community of feeling between the two countries that +so much of the action is official. What makes these official acts so +striking, also, is the evident feeling at the bottom of this, that +between England and America there is some kind of a relation which +brings the loss of the President into the same category with the loss of +an English ruler. + +"At Edinburgh it is the Lord Provost who orders the bells to be tolled +till two. At Glasgow the Town Council adjourns. At Stratford-on-Avon the +Mayor orders the flag to be hoisted at half-mast over the Town Hall, and +the blinds to be drawn, and invites the citizens to follow his example, +which they do; the bell at the Chapel of the Holy Cion tolling every +minute while the funeral is solemnized at Cleveland. At Leeds the bell +in the Town Hall is muffled and tolled, and the public meeting which the +United States Consul, Mr. Dockery, addresses, is under the presidency of +the acting Mayor. Mr. Dockery remarked that as compared with other great +towns, so few were the American residents in Leeds, that the great +exhibition of sympathy had utterly amazed him. The remark is natural, +but Mr. Dockery need not have been amazed. The whole population of Leeds +was American yesterday; and of all England. At Oxford the Town Council +voted an address to Mrs. Garfield. At the Plymouth Guildhall the maces, +the emblems of municipal authority, were covered with black At Dublin +the Lord Mayor proposed, and the Aldermen adopted, a resolution of +sympathy. + +"In all the cathedral towns the cathedral authorities prescribed +services for the occasion. I omit, because I have no room for them, +scores of other accounts, not less significant and not less affecting. +They are all in one tone and one spirit. Wherever in England, yesterday, +two or three were gathered together, President Garfield's name was +heard. Privately and publicly, simply as between man and man, or +formally with the decorous solemnity and stately observance befitting +bodies which bear a relation to the Government, a tribute of honest +grief was offered to the President and his family, and of honest +sympathy to his country. Steeple spoke to steeple, distant cities +clasped hands. The State, the Church, the people of England were at one +together in their sorrow, and in their earnest wish to offer some sort +of comfort to their mourning brothers beyond the sea. You heard in every +mouth the old cry, 'Blood is thicker than water.' And the voice which is +perhaps best entitled to speak for the whole nation added, 'Yes, though +the water be a whole Atlantic Ocean.'" + +In addition to these impressive demonstrations, the Archbishop of +Canterbury held a service and delivered an address in the church of St. +Martin-in-the-Fields, on Monday. Mr. Lowell had been invited, of +course, by the church wardens, and a pew reserved for him, but when he +reached the church with his party half his pew was occupied. + +"The Archbishop, who wore deep crape over his Episcopal robes, avoided +calling his discourse a sermon, and avoided, likewise, through the +larger portion of it, the purely professional tone common in the pulpit +on such occasions. During a great part of his excellent address he +spoke, as anybody else might have done, of the manly side of the +President's character. He gave, moreover, his own view of the reason why +all England has been so strangely moved. 'During the long period of the +President's suffering,' said the Archbishop, 'we had time to think what +manner of man this was over whom so great a nation was mourning day by +day. We learned what a noble history his was, and we were taught to +trace a career such as England before knew nothing of.' + +"Among the innumerable testimonies to the purity and beauty of +Garfield's character," says Mr. Smalley, "this address of the Primate of +the English Church surely is one which all Americans may acknowledge +with grateful pride." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV. + +MR. DEPEW'S ESTIMATE OF GARFIELD. + + +My task is drawing near a close. I have, in different parts of this +volume, expressed my own estimate of our lamented President. No +character in our history, as it seems to me, furnishes a brighter or +more inspiring example to boys and young men. It is for this reason that +I have been induced to write the story of his life especially for +American boys, conceiving that in no way can I do them a greater +service. + +But I am glad, in confirmation of my own estimate, to quote at length +the eloquent words of Hon. Chauncey M. Depew, in his address before the +Grand Army of the Republic. He says of Garfield: + +"In America and Europe he is recognized as an illustrious example of the +results of free institutions. His career shows what can be accomplished +where all avenues are open and exertion is untrammeled. Our annals +afford no such incentive to youth as does his life, and it will become +one of the republic's household stories. No boy in poverty almost +hopeless, thirsting for knowledge, meets an obstacle which Garfield did +not experience and overcome. No youth despairing in darkness feels a +gloom which he did not dispel. No young man filled with honorable +ambition can encounter a difficulty which he did not meet and surmount. +For centuries to come great men will trace their rise from humble +origins to the inspirations of that lad who learned to read by the light +of a pine-knot in a log-cabin; who, ragged and barefooted, trudged along +the tow-path of the canal, and without money or affluent relations, +without friends or assistance, by faith in himself and in God, became +the most scholarly and best equipped statesman of his time, one of the +foremost soldiers of his country, the best debater in the strongest of +deliberative bodies, the leader of his party, and the Chief Magistrate +of fifty millions of people before he was fifty years of age. + +"We are not here to question the ways of Providence. Our prayers were +not answered as we desired, though the volume and fervor of our +importunity seemed resistless; but already, behind the partially lifted +veil, we see the fruits of the sacrifice. Old wounds are healed and +fierce feuds forgotten. Vengeance and passion which have survived the +best statesmanship of twenty years are dispelled by a common sorrow. +Love follows sympathy. Over this open grave the cypress and willow are +indissolubly united, and into it are buried all sectional differences +and hatreds. The North and the South rise from bended knees to embrace +in the brotherhood of a common people and reunited country. Not this +alone, but the humanity of the civilized world has been quickened and +elevated, and the English-speaking people are nearer to-day in peace and +unity than ever before. There is no language in which petitions have not +arisen for Garfield's life, and no clime where tears have not fallen for +his death. The Queen of the proudest of nations, for the first time in +our recollections, brushes aside the formalities of diplomacy, and, +descending from the throne, speaks for her own and the hearts of all her +people, in the cable, to the afflicted wife, which says: 'Myself and my +children mourn with you.' + +"It was my privilege to talk for hours with Gen. Garfield during his +famous trip to the New York conference in the late canvass, and jet it +was not conversation or discussion. He fastened upon me all the powers +of inquisitiveness and acquisitiveness, and absorbed all I had learned +in twenty years of the politics of this State. Under this restless and +resistless craving for information, he drew upon all the resources of +the libraries, gathered all the contents of the newspapers, and sought +and sounded the opinions of all around him, and in his broad, clear mind +the vast mass was so assimilated and tested that when he spoke or acted, +it was accepted as true and wise. And yet it was by the gush and warmth +of old college-chum ways, and not by the arts of the inquisitor, that +when he had gained he never lost a friend. His strength was in +ascertaining and expressing the average sense of his audience. I saw him +at the Chicago Convention, and whenever that popular assemblage seemed +drifting into hopeless confusion, his tall form commanded attention, and +his clear voice and clear utterances instantly gave the accepted +solution. + +"I arrived at his house at Mentor in the early morning following the +disaster in Maine. While all about him were in panic, he saw only a +damage which must and could be repaired. 'It is no use bemoaning the +past,' he said; 'the past has no uses except for its lessons.' Business +disposed of, he threw aside all restraint, and for hours his +speculations and theories upon philosophy, government, education, +eloquence; his criticism of books, his reminiscences of men and events, +made that one of the white-letter days of my life. At Chickamauga he won +his major-general's commission. On the anniversary of the battle he +died. I shall never forget his description of the fight--so modest, yet +graphic. It is imprinted on my memory as the most glorious +battle-picture words ever painted. He thought the greatest calamity +which could befall a man was to lose ambition. I said to him, 'General, +did you never in your earlier struggle have that feeling I have so often +met with, when you would have compromised your future for a certainty, +and if so, what?' 'Yes,' said he, 'I remember well when I would have +been willing to exchange all the possibilities of my life for the +certainty of a position as a successful teacher.' Though he died +neither a school principal nor college professor, and they seem humble +achievements compared with what he did, his memory will instruct while +time endures. + +"His long and dreadful sickness lifted the roof from his house and +family circle, and his relations as son, husband, and father stood +revealed in the broadest sunlight of publicity. The picture endeared him +wherever is understood the full significance of that matchless word +'Home.' When he stood by the capitol just pronounced the President of +the greatest and most powerful of republics, the exultation of the hour +found its expression in a kiss upon the lips of his mother. For weeks, +in distant Ohio, she sat by the gate watching for the hurrying feet of +the messenger bearing the telegrams of hope or despair. His last +conscious act was to write a letter of cheer and encouragement to that +mother, and when the blow fell she illustrated the spirit she had +instilled in him. There were no rebellious murmurings against the Divine +dispensation, only in utter agony: 'I have no wish to live longer; I +will join him soon; the Lord's will be done.' When Dr. Bliss told him he +had a bare chance of recovery, 'Then,' said he, 'we will take that +chance, doctor.' When asked if he suffered pain, he answered: 'If you +can imagine a trip-hammer crashing on your body, or cramps such as you +have in the water a thousand times intensified, you can have some idea +of what I suffer.' And yet, during those eighty-one days was heard +neither groan nor complaint. Always brave and cheerful, he answered the +fear of the surgeons with the remark: 'I have faced death before; I am +not afraid to meet him now.' And again, 'I have strength enough left to +fight him yet'--and he could whisper to the Secretary of the Treasury an +inquiry about the success of the funding scheme, and ask the +Postmaster-General how much public money he had saved. + +"As he lay in the cottage by the sea, looking out upon the ocean, whose +broad expanse was in harmony with his own grand nature, and heard the +beating of the waves upon the shore, and felt the pulsations of millions +of hearts against his chamber door, there was no posing for history and +no preparation of last words for dramatic effect. With simple +naturalness he gave the military salute to the sentinel gazing at his +window, and that soldier, returning it in tears, will probably carry +its memory to his dying day and transmit it to his children. The voice +of his faithful wife came from her devotions in another room, singing, +'Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah.' 'Listen,' he cries, 'is not that +glorious?' and in a few hours heaven's portals opened and upborne upon +prayers as never before wafted spirit above he entered the presence of +God. It is the alleviation of all sorrow, public or private, that close +upon it press the duties of and to the living. + +"The tolling bells, the minute-guns upon land and sea, the muffled drums +and funeral hymns fill the air while our chief is borne to his last +resting-place. The busy world is stilled for the hour when loving hands +are preparing his grave. A stately shaft will rise, overlooking the lake +and commemorating his deeds. But his fame will not live alone in marble +or brass. His story will be treasured and kept warm in the hearts of +millions for generations to come, and boys hearing it from their mothers +will be fired with nobler ambitions. To his countrymen he will always be +a typical American, soldier, and statesman. A year ago and not a +thousand people of the old world had ever heard his name, and now there +is scarcely a thousand who do not mourn his loss. The peasant loves him +because from the same humble lot he became one of the mighty of earth, +and sovereigns respect him because in his royal gifts and kingly nature +God made him their equal." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI. + +THE LESSONS OF HIS LIFE. + + +Probably the nearest and closest friend of Garfield, intellectually +speaking, was his successor in the presidency of Hiram College, B.A. +Hinsdale. If any one understood the dead President it was he. For many +years they corresponded regularly, exchanging views upon all topics that +interested either. They would not always agree, but this necessarily +followed from the mental independence of each. To Mr. Hinsdale we turn +for a trustworthy analysis of the character and intellectual greatness +of his friend, and this he gives us in an article published in the N.Y. +_Independent_ of Sept. 29, 1881: + +"First of all, James A. Garfield had greatness of nature. Were I limited +to one sentence of description, it would be: He was a great-natured man. +He was a man of strong and massive body. A strong frame, broad +shoulders, powerful vital apparatus, and a massive head furnished the +physical basis of his life. He was capable of an indefinite amount of +work, both physical and mental. His intellectual status was equally +strong and massive. He excelled almost all men both in the patient +accumulation of facts and in bold generalization. He had great power of +logical analysis, and stood with the first in rhetorical exposition. He +had the best instincts and habits of the scholar. He loved to roam in +every field of knowledge. He delighted in the creations of the +imagination--poetry, fiction, and art. He loved the deep things of +philosophy. He took a keen interest in scientific research. He gathered +into his storehouse the facts of history and politics, and threw over +the whole the life and power of his own originality. + +"The vast labors that he crowded into those thirty years--labors rarely +equaled in the history of men--are the fittest gauge of his physical and +intellectual power. His moral character was on a scale equally large and +generous. His feelings were delicate, his sympathies most responsive, +his sense of justice keen. He was alive to delicate points of honor. No +other man whom I have known had such heart. He had great faith in human +nature and was wholly free from jealousy and suspicion. He was one of +the most helpful and appreciative of men. His largeness of views and +generosity of spirit were such that he seemed incapable of personal +resentment. He was once exhorted to visit moral indignation upon some +men who had wronged him deeply. Fully appreciating the baseness of their +conduct, he said he would try, but added: 'I am afraid some one will +have to help me.' + +"What is more, General Garfield was religious, both by nature and by +habit. His mind was strong in the religious element. His near relatives +received the Gospel as it was proclaimed fifty years ago by Thomas and +Alexander Campbell. He made public profession of religion before he +reached his twentieth year and became a member of the same church, and +such he remained until his death. Like all men of his thought and +reading, he understood the hard questions that modern science and +criticism have brought into the field of religion. Whether he ever +wrought these out to his own full satisfaction I can not say. However +that may be, his native piety, his early training, and his sober +convictions held him fast to the great truths of revealed religion. +Withal, he was a man of great simplicity of character. No one could be +more approachable. He drew men to him as the magnet the iron filings. +This he did naturally and without conscious plan or effort. At times, +when the burden of work was heavy and his strength overdrawn, intimate +friends would urge him to withdraw himself somewhat from the crowds that +flocked to him; but almost always the advice was vain. His sympathy with +the people was immediate and quick. He seemed almost intuitively to read +the public thought and feeling. No matter what was his station, he +always remembered the rock from which he had himself been hewn. +Naturally he inspired confidence in all men who came into contact with +him. When a young man, and even a boy, he ranked in judgment and in +counsel with those much his seniors. + +"It is not remarkable, therefore, that he should have led a great +career. He was always with the foremost or in the lead, no matter what +the work in hand. He was a good wood-chopper and a good canal hand; he +was a good school janitor; and, upon the whole, ranked all competitors, +both in Hiram and in Williamstown, as a student. He was an excellent +teacher. He was the youngest man in the Ohio Senate. When made +brigadier-general, he was the youngest man of that rank in the army. +When he entered it, he was the youngest man on the floor of the House of +Representatives. His great ability and signal usefulness as teacher, +legislator, popular orator, and President must be passed with a single +reference. + +"He retained his simplicity and purity of character to the end. Neither +place nor power corrupted his honest fiber. Advancement in public favor +and position gave him pleasure, but brought him no feeling of elation. +For many years President Garfield and the writer exchanged letters at +the opening of each new year. January 5th, last, he wrote: + +"'For myself, the year has been full of surprises, and has brought more +sadness than joy. I am conscious of two things: first, that I have never +had, and do not think I shall take, the Presidential fever. Second, that +I am not elated with the election to that office. On the contrary, while +appreciating the honor and the opportunities which the place brings, I +feel heavily the loss of liberty which accompanies it, and especially +that it will in a great measure stop my growth.' + +"March 26, 1881, in the midst of the political tempest following his +inauguration, he wrote: 'I throw you a line across the storm, to let you +know that I think, when I have a moment between breaths, of the dear old +quiet and peace of Hiram and Mentor.' How he longed for 'the dear old +quiet and peace of Hiram and Mentor' in the weary days following the +assassin's shot all readers of the newspapers know already. + +"Such are some main lines in the character of this great-natured and +richly-cultured man. The outline is but poor and meager. Well do I +remember the days following the Chicago Convention, when the biographers +flocked to Mentor. How hard they found it to compress within the limits +both of their time and their pages the life, services, and character of +their great subject. One of these discouraged historians one day wearily +said: 'General, how much there is of you!' + +"Space fails to speak of President Garfield's short administration. +Fortunately, it is not necessary. Nor can I give the history of the +assassination or sketch the gallant fight for life. His courage and +fortitude, faith and hope, patience and tenderness are a part of his +country's history. Dying, as well as living, he maintained his great +position with appropriate power and dignity. His waving his white hand +to the inmates of the White House, the morning he was borne sick out of +it, reminds one of dying Sidney's motioning the cup of water to the lips +of the wounded soldier. No man's life was ever prayed for by so many +people. The name of no living man has been upon so many lips. No +sick-bed was ever the subject of so much tender solicitude. That one so +strong in faculties, so rich in knowledge, so ripe in experience, so +noble in character, so needful to the nation, and so dear to his friends +should be taken in a way so foul almost taxes faith in the Divine love +and wisdom. Perhaps, however, in the noble lessons of those eighty days +from July 2d to September 19th, and in the moral unification of the +country, history will find full compensation for our great loss. + +"Finally, the little white-haired mother and the constant wife must not +be passed unnoticed. How the old mother prayed and waited, and the +brave wife wrought and hoped, will live forever, both in history and in +legend. It is not impiety to say that wheresoever President Garfield's +story shall be told in the whole world there shall also this, that these +women have done, be told for a memorial of them." + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's From Canal Boy to President, by Horatio Alger, Jr. + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FROM CANAL BOY TO PRESIDENT *** + +***** This file should be named 14964-8.txt or 14964-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/9/6/14964/ + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Josephine Paolucci, Joshua Hutchinson +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: From Canal Boy to President + Or The Boyhood and Manhood of James A. Garfield + +Author: Horatio Alger, Jr. + +Release Date: February 7, 2005 [EBook #14964] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FROM CANAL BOY TO PRESIDENT *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Josephine Paolucci, Joshua Hutchinson +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + +</pre> + + + +<div class="text"> +<div class="front"> + +<div> +<h2>From Canal Boy to President</h2> +<h2 class="sub">or the Boyhood and Manhood of James A. Garfield</h2> + +<p>by Horatio Alger, Jr.</p> + +<p>Author Of Ragged Dick; Luck And Pluck; Tattered Tom, Etc.</p> + +<p><span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">ILLUSTRATED</span>.</p> + +<p>NEW YORK</p> + +<p>AMERICAN PUBLISHERS CORPORATION</p> + +<p>310-318 SIXTH AVENUE</p> + +<p>1881</p> + +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> + +<p style="text-align: center"><img src="images/image1.png" alt="James A Garfield, at the Age of 16."></p> +<p style="text-align: center">James A Garfield, at the Age of 16. +<span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Copied by permission of</span> J.F. RYDER, <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Cleveland, G.</span></p> + +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> + +<p>TO</p> + +<p>Harry And James Garfield</p> + +<p>Whose Private Sorrow Is The Public Grief, This Memorial Of Their +Illustrious Father Is Inscribed With The Warmest Sympathy.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> + +<h2>General Preface.</h2> + +<p>The present series of volumes has been undertaken +with the view of supplying the want of a +class of books for children, of a vigorous, manly +tone, combined with a plain and concise mode of +narration. The writings of Charles Dickens have +been selected as the basis of the scheme, on +account of the well-known excellence of his portrayal +of children, and the interests connected +with children—qualities which have given his +volumes their strongest hold on the hearts of +parents. These delineations having thus received +the approval of readers of mature age, it seemed +a worthy effort to make the young also participants +in the enjoyment of these classic fictions, to +introduce the children of real life to these beautiful +children of the imagination.</p> + +<p>With this view, the career of Little Nell and +her Grandfather, Oliver, Little Paul, Florence + +Dombey, Smike, and the Child-Wife, have been +detached from the large mass of matter with +which they were originally connected, and presented, +in the author's own language, to a new +class of readers, to whom the little volumes will +we doubt not, be as attractive as the larger originals +have so long proved to the general public. +We have brought down these famous stories from +the library to the nursery—the parlor table to the +child's hands—having a precedent for the proceeding, +if one be needed, in the somewhat similar +work, the Tales from Shakespeare, by one of +the choicest of English authors and most reverential +of scholars, Charles Lamb.</p> + +<p>Newtonville, Mass.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> + +<h2>Preface.</h2> + + +<p>If I am asked why I add one to the numerous +Lives of our dead President, I answer, in the words +of Hon. Chauncey M. Depew, because "our annals +afford no such incentive to youth as does his life, +and it will become one of the Republic's household +stories."</p> + +<p>I have conceived, therefore, that a biography, +written with a view to interest young people in +the facts of his great career, would be a praiseworthy +undertaking. The biography of General +Garfield, however imperfectly executed, can not +but be profitable to the reader. In this story, +which I have made as attractive as I am able, I +make no claim to originality. I have made free +use of such materials as came within my reach, including +incidents and reminiscences made public +during the last summer, and I trust I have succeeded, + +in a measure, in conveying a correct idea +of a character whose nobility we have only +learned to appreciate since death has snatched our +leader from us.</p> + +<p>I take pleasure in acknowledging my obligations +to two Lives of Garfield, one by Edmund Kirke, +the other by Major J.M. Bundy. Such of my +readers as desire a more extended account of the +later life of Gen. Garfield, I refer to these well-written +and instructive works.</p> + +<p style="text-align: right"><span class="hi" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Horatio Alger, Jr.</span></p> + +<p>New York, <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Oct</span>. 8, 1881.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div class="div" id="toc"><a name="toc_1"></a><h2>Contents</h2><ul class="toc"> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_1">Contents</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_2">Chapter I.—The First Pair Of Shoes.</a></li> + +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_3">Chapter II—Growing In Wisdom And Stature.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_4">Chapter III—In Quest Of Fortune.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_5">Chapter IV—On The Tow-Path.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_6">Chapter V—An Important Conversation.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_7">Chapter VI—James Leaves The Canal.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_8">Chapter VII—The Choice Of A Vocation</a></li> + +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_9">Chapter VIII—Geauga Seminary.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_10">Chapter IX—Ways And Means.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_11">Chapter X—A Cousin's Reminiscences.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_12">Chapter XI—Ledge Hill School</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_13">Chapter XII—Who Shall Be Master?</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_14">Chapter XIII—Ames Leaves Geauga Seminary</a></li> + +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_15">Chapter XIV—At Hiram Institute.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_16">Chapter XV—Three Busy Years.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_17">Chapter XVI—Entering Williams College.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_18">Chapter XVII—Life In College.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_19">Chapter XVIII—The Canal-Boy Becomes A College President.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_20">Chapter XIX—Garfield As A College President.</a></li> + +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_21">Chapter XX—Garfield Becomes A State Senator.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_22">Chapter XXI—A Difficult Duty.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_23">Chapter XXII—John Jordan's Dangerous Journey.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_24">Chapter XXIII—Garfield's Bold Strategy.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_25">Chapter XXIV—The Battle Of Middle Creek.</a></li> + +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_26">Chapter XXV—The Perilous Trip Up The Big Sandy.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_27">Chapter XXVI—The Canal-Boy Becomes A Congressman.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_28">Chapter XXVII—Garfield's Course In Congress.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_29">Chapter XXVIII—The Man For The Hour.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_30">Chapter XXIX—Garfield As A Lawyer.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_31">Chapter XXX—The Scholar In Politics.</a></li> + +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_32">Chapter XXXI—The Tributes Of Friends.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_33">Chapter XXXII—From Canal-Boy To President.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_34">Chapter XXXIII—The New Administration.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_35">Chapter XXXIV—The Tragic End.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_36">Chapter XXXV—Mr. Depew's Estimate Of Garfield.</a></li> +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_37">Chapter XXXVI—The Lessons Of His Life.</a></li> + +<li style="margin: 0em 0em;"><a href="#toc_38">Notes</a></li> +</ul></div> +</div> + +<div class="body"> +<hr class="page"> + +<div> + + +<h2>The Boyhood And Manhood Of James A. Garfield.</h2> +<p></p> +</div> + +<div> + +<a name="toc_2"></a> +<h2>Chapter I.—The First Pair Of Shoes.</h2> + + +<p>From a small and rudely-built log-cabin a +sturdy boy of four years issued, and looked earnestly +across the clearing to the pathway that led +through the surrounding forest. His bare feet +pressed the soft grass, which spread like a carpet +before the door.</p> + +<p>"What are you looking for, Jimmy?" asked +his mother from within the humble dwelling.</p> + +<p>"I'm looking for Thomas," said Jimmy.</p> + +<p>"It's hardly time for him yet. He won't be +through work till after sunset."</p> + +<p>"Then I wish the sun would set quick," said +Jimmy.</p> + + +<p>"That is something we can not hasten, my son. +God makes the sun to rise and to set in its due +season."</p> + +<p>This idea was probably too advanced for Jimmy's +comprehension, for he was but four years of +age, and the youngest of a family of four children. +His father had died two years before, +leaving a young widow, and four children, the +eldest but nine, in sore straits. A long and +severe winter lay before the little family, and +they had but little corn garnered to carry them +through till the next harvest. But the young +widow was a brave woman and a devoted mother.</p> + +<p>"God will provide for us," she said, but sometimes +it seemed a mystery how that provision was +to come. More than once, when the corn was +low in the bin, she went to bed without her own +supper, that her four children, who were blessed +with hearty appetites, might be satisfied. But +when twelve months had gone by, and the new +harvest came in, the fields which she and her oldest +boy had planted yielded enough to place them +beyond the fear of want. God did help them, +but it was because they helped themselves.</p> + +<p>But beyond the barest necessaries the little + +family neither expected nor obtained much. +Clothing cost money, and there was very little +money in the log-cabin, or indeed in the whole +settlement, if settlement it can be called. There +was no house within a mile, and the village a +mile and a half away contained only a school-house, +a grist-mill, and a little log store and dwelling.</p> + +<p>Two weeks before my story opens, a farmer +living not far away called at the log-cabin. +Thomas, the oldest boy, was at work in a field +near the house.</p> + +<p>"Do you want to see mother?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"No, I want to see you."</p> + +<p>"All right, sir! Here I am," said Thomas, +smiling pleasantly.</p> + +<p>"How old are you?" asked the farmer.</p> + +<p>"Eleven years old, sir."</p> + +<p>The farmer surveyed approvingly the sturdy +frame, broad shoulders, and muscular arms of the +boy, and said, after a pause, "You look pretty +strong of your age."</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, sir," answered Thomas, complacently +"I am strong."</p> + +<p>"And you are used to farm work?"</p> + + +<p>"Yes, sir. I do about all the outdoor work +at home, being the only boy. Of course, there +is Jimmy, but he is only four, and that's too +young to work on the farm."</p> + +<p>"What does he want?" thought Thomas.</p> + +<p>He soon learned.</p> + +<p>"I need help on my farm, and I guess you will +suit me," said Mr. Conrad, though that was not +his name. In fact, I don't know his name, but +that will do as well as any other.</p> + +<p>"I don't know whether mother can spare me, +but I can ask her," said Thomas. "What are you +willing to pay?"</p> + +<p>"I'll give you twelve dollars a month, but +you'll have to make long days."</p> + +<p>Twelve dollars a month! Tom's eyes sparkled +with joy, for to him it seemed an immense sum—and +it would go very far in the little family.</p> + +<p>"I am quite sure mother will let me go," he +said. "I'll go in and ask her."</p> + +<p>"Do so, sonny, and I'll wait for you here."</p> + +<p>Thomas swung open the plank door, and entered +the cabin.</p> + +<p>It was about twenty feet one way by thirty +the other. It had three small windows, a deal + +floor, and the spaces between the logs of which it +was built were filled in with clay. It was certainly +an humble dwelling, and the chances are +that not one of my young readers is so poor as +not to afford a better. Yet, it was not uncomfortable. +It afforded fair protection from the +heat of summer, and the cold of winter, and was +after all far more desirable as a home than the +crowded tenements of our larger cities, for those +who occupied it had but to open the door and +windows to breathe the pure air of heaven, uncontaminated +by foul odors or the taint of miasma.</p> + +<p>"Mother," said Thomas, "Mr. Conrad wants +to hire me to work on his farm, and he is willing +to pay me twelve dollars a month. May I go?"</p> + +<p>"Ask Mr. Conrad to come in, Thomas."</p> + +<p>The farmer entered, and repeated his request.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Garfield, for this was the widow's name, +was but little over thirty. She had a strong, +thoughtful face, and a firm mouth, that spoke a +decided character. She was just the woman to +grapple with adversity, and turning her unwearied +hands to any work, to rear up her children in +the fear of the Lord, and provide for their necessities +as well as circumstances would admit.</p> + + +<p>She didn't like to spare Thomas, for much of +his work would be thrown upon her, but there +was great lack of ready money and the twelve +dollars were a powerful temptation.</p> + +<p>"I need Thomas at home," she said slowly, +"but I need the money more. He may go, if +he likes."</p> + +<p>"I will go," said Thomas promptly.</p> + +<p>"How often can you let him come home?" +was the next question.</p> + +<p>"Every fortnight, on Saturday night. He shall +bring his wages then."</p> + +<p>This was satisfactory, and Thomas, not stopping +to change his clothes, for he had but one +suit, went off with his employer.</p> + +<p>His absence naturally increased his mother's +work, and was felt as a sore loss by Jimmy, who was +in the habit of following him about, and watching +him when he was at work. Sometimes his brother +gave the little fellow a trifle to do, and Jimmy +was always pleased to help, for he was fond of +work, and when he grew older and stronger he +was himself a sturdy and indefatigable worker in +ways not dreamed of then.</p> + +<p>The first fortnight was up, and Thomas was + +expected home. No one was more anxious to +see him than his little brother, and that was why +Jimmy had come out from his humble home, and +was looking so earnestly across the clearing.</p> + +<p>At last he saw him, and ran as fast as short legs +could carry him to meet his brother.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Tommy, how I've missed you!" he said.</p> + +<p>"Have you, Jimmy?" asked Thomas, passing +his arm around his little brother's neck. "I have +missed you too, and all the family. Are all well?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes."</p> + +<p>"That is good."</p> + +<p>As they neared the cabin Mrs. Garfield came +out, and welcomed her oldest boy home.</p> + +<p>"We are all glad to see you, Thomas," she said. +"How have you got along?"</p> + +<p>"Very well, mother."</p> + +<p>"Was the work hard?"</p> + +<p>"The hours were pretty long. I had to work +fourteen hours a day."</p> + +<p>"That is too long for a boy of your age to +work," said his mother anxiously.</p> + +<p>"Oh, it hasn't hurt me, mother," said Thomas, +laughing. "Besides, you must remember I have +been well paid. What do you say to that?"</p> + + +<p>He drew from his pocket twelve silver half-dollars, +and laid them on the table, a glittering heap.</p> + +<p>"Is it all yours, Tommy?" asked his little +brother wonderingly.</p> + +<p>"No, it belongs to mother. I give it to her."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, Thomas," said Mrs. Garfield, "but +at least you ought to be consulted about how it +shall be spent. Is there anything you need for +yourself?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, never mind me! I want Jimmy to have +a pair of shoes."</p> + +<p>Jimmy looked with interest at his little bare +feet, and thought he would like some shoes. In +fact they would be his first, for thus far in life he +had been a barefooted boy.</p> + +<p>"Jimmy shall have his shoes," said Mrs. Garfield; +"when you see the shoemaker ask him to +come here as soon as he can make it convenient."</p> + +<p>So, a few days later the shoemaker, who may +possibly have had no shop of his own, called at +the log-cabin, measured Jimmy for a pair of +shoes, and made them on the spot, boarding out +a part of his pay.</p> + +<p>The first pair of shoes made an important +epoch in Jimmy Garfield's life, for it was decided +that he could now go to school.</p> + +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> + +<a name="toc_3"></a> +<h2>Chapter II—Growing In Wisdom And Stature.</h2> + + +<p>The school was in the village a mile and a half +away. It was a long walk for a little boy of four, +but sometimes his sister Mehetabel, now thirteen +years old, carried him on her back. When in +winter the snow lay deep on the ground Jimmy's +books were brought home, and he recited his lessons +to his mother.</p> + +<p>This may be a good time to say something of the +family whose name in after years was to become a +household word throughout the republic. They had +been long in the country. They were literally +one of the first families, for in 1636, only sixteen +years after the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth rock, +and the same year that Harvard College was +founded, Edward Garfield, who had come from +the edge of Wales, settled in Watertown, Massachusetts, +less than four miles from the infant college, +and there for more than a century was the + +family home, as several moss-grown headstones in +the ancient graveyard still testify.</p> + +<p>They did their part in the Revolutionary war, +and it was not till the war was over that Solomon +Garfield, the great grandfather of the future President, +removed to the town of Worcester, Otsego +County, N.Y. Here lived the Garfields for +two generations. Then Abram Garfield, the +father of James, moved to Northeastern Ohio, and +bought a tract of eighty acres, on which stood the +log-cabin, built by himself, in which our story +opens. His wife belonged to a distinguished family +of New England—the Ballous—and possessed +the strong traits of her kindred.</p> + +<p>But the little farm of eighty acres was smaller +now. Abram Garfield died in debt, and his wife +sold off fifty acres to pay his creditors, leaving +thirty, which with her own industry and that of +her oldest son served to maintain her little family.</p> + +<p>The school-house was so far away that Mrs. Garfield, +who appreciated the importance of education +for her children, offered her neighbors a site +for a new school-house on her own land, and one +was built. Here winter after winter came teachers, +some of limited qualifications, to instruct the + +children of the neighborhood, and here Jimmy +enlarged his stock of book-learning by slow degrees.</p> + +<p>The years passed, and still they lived in the +humble log-cabin, till at the age of twenty-one +Thomas came home from Michigan, where he had +been engaged in clearing land for a farmer, bringing +seventy-five dollars in gold.</p> + +<p>"Now, mother," he said, "you shall have a +framed house."</p> + +<p>Seventy-five dollars would not pay for a framed +house, but he cut timber himself, got out the +boards, and added his own labor, and that of Jimmy, +now fourteen years old, and so the house was +built, and the log-cabin became a thing of the +past. But it had been their home for a long time, +and doubtless many happy days had been spent +beneath its humble roof.</p> + +<p>While the house was being built, Jimmy learned +one thing—that he was handy with tools, and was +well fitted to become a carpenter. When the +joiner told him that he was born to be a carpenter, +he thought with joy that this unexpected talent +would enable him to help his mother, and earn +something toward the family expenses. So, for + +the next two years he worked at this new business +when opportunity offered, and if my reader +should go to Chagrin Falls, Ohio, he could probably +find upon inquiry several barns in the vicinity +which Jimmy helped to build.</p> + +<p>He still went to school, however, and obtained +such knowledge of the mysteries of grammar, +arithmetic, and geography as could be obtained +in the common schools of that day.</p> + +<p>But Jimmy Garfield was not born to be a carpenter, +and I believe never got so far along as to +assist in building a house.</p> + +<p>He was employed to build a wood-shed for a +black-salter, ten miles away from his mother's +house, and when the job was finished his employer +fell into conversation with him, and being a man +of limited acquirements himself, was impressed +by the boy's surprising stock of knowledge.</p> + +<p>"You kin read, you kin write, and you are +death on figgers," he said to him one day. "If +you'll stay with me, keep my 'counts, and 'tend to +the saltery, I'll find you, and give you fourteen +dollars a month."</p> + +<p>Jimmy was dazzled by this brilliant offer. He +felt that to accept it would be to enter upon the + +high-road to riches, and he resolved to do so if +his mother would consent. Ten miles he trudged +through the woods to ask his mother's consent, +which with some difficulty he obtained, for she +did not know to what influences he might be subjected, +and so he got started in a new business.</p> + +<p>Whether he would have fulfilled his employer's +prediction, and some day been at the head of a +saltery of his own, we can not tell; but in time +he became dissatisfied with his situation, and +returning home, waited for Providence to indicate +some new path on which to enter.</p> + +<p>One thing, however, was certain: he would not +be content to remain long without employment. +He had an active temperament, and would have +been happiest when busy, even if he had not +known that his mother needed the fruits of his +labor.</p> + +<p>He had one source of enjoyment while employed +by the black-salter, which he fully appreciated. +Strange to say, his employer had a library, +that is, he had a small collection of books, +gathered by his daughter, prominent among which +were Marryatt's novels, and "Sinbad the Sailor." +They opened a new world to his young accountant, + +and gave him an intense desire to see the +world, and especially to cross the great sea, even +in the capacity of a sailor. At home there was +no library, not from the lack of literary taste, but +because there was no money to spend for anything +but necessaries.</p> + +<p>He had not been long at home when a neighbor, +entering one day, said, "James, do you want +a job?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," answered James, eagerly.</p> + +<p>"There's a farmer in Newburg wants some +wood chopped."</p> + +<p>"I can do it," said James, quietly.</p> + +<p>"Then you'd better go and see him."</p> + +<p>Newburg is within the present limits of Cleveland, +and thither James betook himself the next +day.</p> + +<p>He was a stout boy, with the broad shoulders +and sturdy frame of his former ancestors, and he +was sure he could give satisfaction.</p> + +<p>The farmer, dressed in homespun, looked up +as the boy approached.</p> + +<p>"Are you Mr. ——?" asked James.</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"I heard that you wanted some wood chopped."</p> + + +<p>"Yes, but I am not sure if you can do it," answered +the farmer, surveying the boy critically.</p> + +<p>"I can do it," said James, confidently.</p> + +<p>"Very well, you can try. I'll give you seven +dollars for the job."</p> + +<p>The price was probably satisfactory, for James +engaged to do the work. There proved to be +twenty-five cords, and no one, I think, will consider +that he was overpaid for his labor.</p> + +<p>He was fortunate, at least, in the scene of his +labor, for it was on the shore of Lake Erie, and +as he lifted his eyes from his work they rested +on the broad bosom of the beautiful lake, almost +broad enough as it appeared to be the ocean itself, +which he had a strange desire to traverse in search +of the unknown lands of which he had read or +dreamed.</p> + +<p>I suppose there are few boys who have not at +some time fancied that they should like "a life +on the ocean wave, and a home on the rolling +deep." I have in mind a friend, now a physician, +who at the age of fifteen left a luxurious home, +with the reluctant permission of his parents, for +a voyage before the mast to Liverpool, beguiled +by one of the fascinating narratives of Herman + +Melville. But the romance very soon wore off, +and by the time the boy reached Halifax, where +the ship put in, he was so seasick, and so sick of +the sea, that he begged to be left on shore to return +home as he might. The captain had received +secret instructions from the parents to accede +to such a wish, and the boy was landed, and +in due time returned home as a passenger. So it +is said that George Washington had an early passion +for the sea, and would have become a sailor +but for the pain he knew it would give his mother.</p> + +<p>James kept his longings to himself for the +present, and returned home with the seven dollars +he had so hardly earned.</p> + +<p>There was more work for him to do. A Mr. +Treat wanted help during the haying and harvesting +season, and offered employment to the boy, +who was already strong enough to do almost as +much as a man; for James already had a good +reputation as a faithful worker. "Whatever his +hands found to do, he did it with his might," and +he was by no means fastidious as to the kind of +work, provided it was honest and honorable.</p> + +<p>When the harvest work was over James made +known his passion for the sea.</p> + + +<p>Going to his mother, he said: "Mother, I want +above all things to go to sea."</p> + +<p>"Go to sea!" replied his mother in dismay. +"What has put such an idea into your head?"</p> + +<p>"It has been in my head for a long time," answered +the boy quietly. "I have thought of nothing +else for the last year."</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> + +<a name="toc_4"></a> + +<h2>Chapter III—In Quest Of Fortune.</h2> + + +<p>James had so persuaded himself that the sea +was his vocation, and was so convinced of the +pleasures and advantages it would bring, that it +had not occurred to him that his mother would +object.</p> + +<p>"What made you think of the sea, James?" +his mother asked with a troubled face.</p> + +<p>"It was the books I read last year, at the black +salter's. Oh, mother, did you ever read Marryatt's +novels, and 'Sinbad the Sailor'?"</p> + +<p>"I have read 'Sinbad the Sailor,' but you know +that is a fairy story, my son."</p> + +<p>"It may be, but Marryatt's stories are not. It +must be splendid to travel across the mighty +ocean, and see foreign countries."</p> + +<p>"A sailor doesn't have the chance to see much. +You have no idea of the hardships of his life."</p> + +<p>"I am used to hardships, and I am not afraid + +of hard work. But you seem disappointed, +mother. What have you thought of for me?"</p> + +<p>"I have hoped, James, that you might become +a learned man, perhaps a college professor. Surely +that would be better than to be a common sailor."</p> + +<p>"But I wouldn't stay a common sailor, mother. +I would be a captain some time."</p> + +<p>I suppose there is no doubt that, had James +followed the sea, he would have risen to the command +of a ship, but the idea did not seem to +dazzle his mother.</p> + +<p>"If you go to sea I shall lose you," said his +mother. "A sailor can spend very little time +with his family. Think carefully, my son. I +believe your present fancy will be short-lived, +and you will some day wonder that you ever entertained +it."</p> + +<p>Such, however, was not the boy's idea at the +time. His mother might have reason on her side, +but it takes more than reason to dissipate a boy's +passion for the sea.</p> + +<p>"You speak of my becoming a scholar, +mother," he said, "but there doesn't seem much +chance of it. I see nothing but work as a carpenter, +or on the farm."</p> + + +<p>"You don't know what God may have in store +for you, my son. As you say, there seems no +way open at present for you to become a scholar; +but if you entertain the desire the way will be +open. Success comes to him who is in earnest."</p> + +<p>"What, then, do you want me to do, mother! +Do you wish me to stay at home?"</p> + +<p>"No, for there seems little for you to do here. +Go to Cleveland, if you like, and seek some +respectable employment. If, after a time, you +find your longing for the sea unconquered, it will +be time to look out for a berth on board ship."</p> + +<p>James, in spite of his earnest longing to go to +sea, was a reasonable boy, and he did not object +to his mother's plan. The next morning he tied +his slender stock of clothing in a small bundle, +bade a tearful good-bye to his mother, whose +loving glances followed him far along his road, +and with hope and enthusiasm trudged over a +hard road to Cleveland, that beautiful city, +whither, nearly forty years afterward, he was to +be carried in funereal state, amid the tears of +countless thousands. In that city where his active +life began, it was to finish.</p> + +<p>A long walk was before him, for Cleveland + +was seventeen miles away. He stopped to rest +at intervals, and it was not until the sun had set +and darkness enveloped the town that he entered +it with weary feet.</p> + +<p>He betook himself to a cheap boarding-place +whither he had been directed, and soon retired to +bed. His fatigue brought him a good night's +sleep, and he woke refreshed and cheered to look +about him and decide upon his future plans.</p> + +<p>Cleveland does not compare in size with New +York, Philadelphia, or Boston, and thirty-five +years ago it was much smaller than now. But +compared with James' native place, and the villages +near him, it was an impressive place. There +were large business blocks, and handsome churches, +and paved streets, and a general city-like appearance +which interested James greatly. On the whole, +even if he had to give up going to sea, he thought +he might enjoy himself in such a lively place as +this. But of course he must find employment.</p> + +<p>So he went into a store and inquired if they +wanted a boy.</p> + +<p>"What can you do?" asked the storekeeper, +looking at the boy with his countrified air and +rustic suit.</p> + + +<p>"I can read, write, and cipher," answered +James.</p> + +<p>"Indeed!" said the storekeeper smiling. "All +our boys can do that. Is that all you can do?"</p> + +<p>James might have answered that he could chop +wood, work at carpentering, plant and harvest, +but he knew very well that these accomplishments +would be but little service to him here. Indeed, +he was rather puzzled to know what he could do +that would earn him a living in a smart town life +Cleveland. However, he didn't much expect to +find his first application successful, so he entered +another store and preferred his request.</p> + +<p>"You won't suit us," was the brusque reply. +"You come from the country, don't you?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir."</p> + +<p>"You look like it. Well, I will give you a +piece of advice."</p> + +<p>"What is that, sir?"</p> + +<p>"Go back there. You are better suited to +country than the city. I daresay you would +make a very good hand on a farm. We need +different sort of boys here."</p> + +<p>This was discouraging. James didn't know +why he would not do for a city store or office. + +He was strong enough, and he thought he knew +enough, for he had not at present much idea of +what was taught at seminaries of a higher grade +than the district schools he had been accustomed +to attend.</p> + +<p>"Well," he said to himself, "I've done what +mother asked me to do. I've tried to get a place +here, and there doesn't seem to be a place for +me. After all, I don't know but I'd better go to +Ohio."</p> + +<p>Cleveland was not of course a sea-port, but it +had considerable lake trade, and had a line of +piers.</p> + +<p>James found his way to the wharves, and his eye +lighted up as he saw the sloops and schooners +which were engaged in inland trade. He had +never seen a real ship, or those schooners and +sloops would have had less attraction for him.</p> + +<p>In particular his attention was drawn to one +schooner, not over-clean or attractive, but with a +sea-faring look, as if it had been storm-tossed and +buffeted. Half a dozen sailors were on board, but +they were grimed and dirty, and looked like habitual +drinkers—probably James would not have +fancied becoming like one of these, but he gave + +little thought to their appearance. He only +thought how delightful it would be to have such +a floating home.</p> + +<p>"Is the captain on board?" the boy ventured +to ask.</p> + +<p>"He's down below," growled the sailor whom +he addressed.</p> + +<p>"Will he soon come up?"</p> + +<p>He was answered in the affirmative.</p> + +<p>So James lingered until the man he inquired +for came up.</p> + +<p>He was a brutal-looking man, as common in +appearance as any of the sailors whom he commanded, +and the boy was amazed at his bearing. +Surely that man was not his ideal of a ship-captain. +He thought of him as a sort of prince, but +there was nothing princely about the miserable, +bloated wretch before him.</p> + +<p>Still he preferred his application.</p> + +<p>"Do you want a new hand?" asked James.</p> + +<p>His answer was a volley of oaths and curses +that made James turn pale, for he had never uttered +an oath in his life, and had never listened +to anything so disgusting as the tirade to which +he was forced to listen.</p> + +<p style="text-align: center"><img src="images/image2.png" alt="The Canal Boy"></p> +<p style="text-align: center">The Canal Boy</p> + + + +<p>He sensibly concluded that nothing was to be +gained by continuing the conversation with such +a man. He left the schooner's deck with a feeling +of discomfiture. He had never suspected that +sailors talked or acted like the men he saw.</p> + +<p>Still he clung to the idea that all sailors were +not like this captain. Perhaps again the rebuff +he received was in consequence of his rustic appearance. +The captain might be prejudiced +against him, just as the shop-keepers had been, +though the latter certainly had not expressed +themselves in such rude and profane language. +He might not be fit for a sailor yet, but he could +prepare himself.</p> + +<p>He bethought himself of a cousin of his, by +name Amos Letcher, who had not indeed arrived +at the exalted position of captain of a schooner, +but was content with the humbler position of +captain of a canal-boat on the Ohio and Pennsylvania +Canal.</p> + +<p>This seemed to James a lucky thought.</p> + +<p>"I will go to Amos Letcher," he said to himself. +"Perhaps he can find me a situation on a +canal-boat, and that will be the next thing to being +on board a ship."</p> + + +<p>This thought put fresh courage into the boy, +and he straightway inquired for the <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Evening +Star</span>, which was the name of the boat commanded +by his cousin.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> + +<a name="toc_5"></a> + +<h2>Chapter IV—On The Tow-Path.</h2> + + +<p>Captain Letcher regarded his young cousin in +surprise.</p> + +<p>"Well, Jimmy, what brings you to Cleveland?" +he asked.</p> + +<p>"I came here to ship on the lake," the boy answered. +"I tried first to get a place in a store, as +I promised mother, but I found no opening. I +would rather be a sailor."</p> + +<p>"I am afraid your choice is not a good one; a +good place on land is much better than going to +sea. Have you tried to get a berth?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I applied to the captain of a schooner, +but he swore at me and called me a land-lubber."</p> + +<p>"So you are," returned his cousin smiling +"Well, what are your plans now?"</p> + +<p>"Can't you give me a place?"</p> + +<p>"What, on the canal?"</p> + +<p>"Yes cousin."</p> + + +<p>"I suppose you think that would be the next +thing to going to sea?"</p> + +<p>"It might prepare me for it."</p> + +<p>"Well," said Captain Letcher, good-naturedly, +"I will see what I can do for you. Can you +drive a pair of horses?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes."</p> + +<p>"Then I will engage you. The pay is not very +large, but you will live on the boat."</p> + +<p>"How much do you pay?" asked James, who was +naturally interested in the answer to this question.</p> + +<p>"We pay from eight to ten dollars a month, +according to length of service and fidelity. Of +course, as a new hand, you can not expect ten +dollars."</p> + +<p>"I shall be satisfied with eight, cousin."</p> + +<p>"Now, as to your duties. You will work six +hours on and six hours off. That's what we call +a trick—the six hours on, I mean. So you will +have every other six hours to rest, or do anything +you like; that is, after you have attended to the +horses."</p> + +<p>"Horses!" repeated James, puzzled; for the +animals attached to the boat at that moment were +mules.</p> + + +<p>"Some of our horses are mules," said Captain +Letcher, smiling. "However, it makes no difference. +You will have to feed and rub them down, +and then you can lie down in your bunk, or do +anything else you like."</p> + +<p>"That won't be very hard work," said James, +cheerfully.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I forgot to say that you can ride or walk, +as you choose. You can rest yourself by changing +from one to the other."</p> + +<p>James thought he should like to ride on horseback, +as most boys do. It was not, however, so +good fun as he anticipated. A canal-boat horse +is by no means a fiery or spirited creature. His +usual gait is from two to two and a half miles an +hour, and to a boy of quick, active temperament +the slowness must be rather exasperating. Yet, +in the course of a day a boat went a considerable +distance. It usually made fifty, and sometimes +sixty miles a day. The rate depended on the +number of locks it had to pass through.</p> + +<p>Probably most of my young readers understand +the nature of a lock. As all water seeks a level, +there would be danger in an uneven country that +some parts of the canal would be left entirely + +dry, and in others the water would overflow. +For this reason at intervals locks are constructed, +composed of brief sections of the canal barricaded +at each end by gates. When a boat is going +down, the near gates are thrown open and the +boat enters the lock, the water rushing in till a +level is secured; then the upper gates are closed, +fastening the boat in the lock. Next the lower +gates are opened, the water in the lock seeks the +lower level of the other section of the canal, and +the boat moves out of the lock, the water subsiding +gradually beneath it. Next, the lower gates +are closed, and the boat proceeds on its way. It +will easily be understood, when the case is reversed, +and the boat is going up, how after being +admitted into the lock it will be lifted up to the +higher level when the upper gates are thrown +open.</p> + +<p>If any of my young readers find it difficult to +understand my explanation, I advise them to read +Jacob Abbot's excellent book, "Rollo on the +Erie Canal," where the whole matter is lucidly +explained.</p> + +<p>Railroads were not at that time as common as +now, and the canal was of much more importance + +and value as a means of conveying freight. +Sometimes passengers traveled that way, when +they were in not much of a hurry, but there were +no express canal-boats, and a man who chose to +travel in that way must have abundant leisure on +his hands. There is some difference between +traveling from two to two and a half miles an +hour, and between thirty and forty, as most of our +railroad express trains do.</p> + +<p>James did not have to wait long after his engagement +before he was put on duty. With boyish +pride he mounted one of the mules and led +the other. A line connected the mules with the +boat, which was drawn slowly and steadily through +the water. James felt the responsibility of his +situation. It was like going to sea on a small +scale, though the sea was but a canal. At all +events, he felt that he had more important work +to do than if he were employed as a boy on one +of the lake schooners.</p> + +<p>James was at this time fifteen; a strong, sturdy +boy, with a mass of auburn hair, partly covered +by a loose-fitting hat. He had a bright, intelligent +face, and an earnest look that attracted general +attention. Yet, to one who saw the boy + +guiding the patient mule along the tow-path, it +would have seemed a most improbable prediction, +that one day the same hand would guide the ship +of State, a vessel of much more consequence +than the humble canal-boat.</p> + +<p>There was one comfort, at any rate. Though +in his rustic garb he was not well enough dressed +to act as clerk in a Cleveland store, no one complained +that he was not well enough attired for a +canal-boy.</p> + +<p>It will occur to my young reader that, though +the work was rather monotonous, there was not +much difficulty or danger connected with it. But +even the guidance of a canal-boat has its perplexities, +and James was not long in his new +position before he realized it.</p> + +<p>It often happened that a canal-boat going up +encountered another going down, and <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">vice versa</span>. +Then care has to be exercised by the respective +drivers lest their lines get entangled.</p> + +<p>All had been going on smoothly till James saw +another boat coming. It might have been his +inexperience, or it might have been the carelessness +of the other driver, but at any rate the lines +got entangled. Meanwhile the boat, under the + +impetus that had been given it, kept on its way +until it was even with the horses, and seemed +likely to tow them along.</p> + +<p>"Whip up your team, Jim, or your line will +ketch on the bridge!" called out the steersman.</p> + +<p>The bridge was built over a waste-way which +occurred just ahead, and it was necessary for +James to drive over it.</p> + +<p>The caution was heeded, but too late. James +whipped up his mules, but when he had reached +the middle of the bridge the rope tightened, and +before the young driver fairly understood what +awaited him, he and his team were jerked into the +canal. Of course he was thrown off the animal +he was riding, and found himself struggling in +the water side by side with the astonished mules. +The situation was a ludicrous one, but it was also +attended with some danger. Even if he did not +drown, and the canal was probably deep enough +for that, he stood in some danger of being kicked +by the terrified mules.</p> + +<p>The boy, however, preserved his presence of +mind, and managed, with help, to get out himself +and to get his team out.</p> + +<p>Then Captain Letcher asked him, jocosely, +"What were you doing in the canal, Jim?"</p> + + +<p>"I was just taking my morning bath," answered +the boy, in the same vein.</p> + +<p>"You'll do," said the captain, struck by the +boy's coolness.</p> + +<p>Six hours passed, and James' "trick" was +over. He and his mules were both relieved from +duty. Both were allowed to come on board the +boat and rest for a like period, while the other +driver took his place on the tow-path.</p> + +<p>"Well, Jim, how do you like it as far as you've +got?" asked the captain.</p> + +<p>"I like it," answered the boy.</p> + +<p>"Shall you be ready to take another bath to-morrow +morning?" asked his cousin, slyly.</p> + +<p>"I think one bath a week will be sufficient," +was the answer.</p> + +<p>Feeling a natural interest in his young cousin, +Amos Letcher thought he would examine him a +little, to see how far his education had advanced. +Respecting his own ability as an examiner he had +little doubt, for he had filled the proud position +of teacher in Steuben County, Indiana, for three +successive winters.</p> + +<p>"I suppose you have been to school more or +less, Jim?" he said.</p> + + +<p>"Oh, yes," answered the boy.</p> + +<p>"What have you studied?"</p> + +<p>James enumerated the ordinary school branches. +They were not many, for his acquirements were +not extensive; but he had worked well, and was +pretty well grounded as far as he had gone.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> + +<a name="toc_6"></a> + +<h2>Chapter V—An Important Conversation.</h2> + + +<p>"I've taught school myself," said Captain +Letcher, complacently. "I taught for three +winters in Indiana."</p> + +<p>James, who, even then, had a high opinion of +learning, regarded the canal-boat captain with +increased respect.</p> + +<p>"I didn't know that," he answered, duly +impressed.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I've had experience as a teacher. Now, +if you don't mind, I'll ask you a few questions, +and find out how much you know. We've got +plenty of time, for it's a long way to Pancake +Lock."</p> + +<p style="text-align: center"><img src="images/image3.png" alt="Conference With Dr. Robinson"></p> +<p style="text-align: center">Conference With Dr. Robinson</p> + +<p>"Don't ask me too hard questions," said the +boy. "I'll answer the best I know."</p> + +<p>Upon this Captain Letcher, taking a little time +to think, began to question his young cousin in +the different branches he had enumerated. The + +questions were not very hard, for the good captain, +though he had taught school in Indiana, was +not a profound scholar.</p> + +<p>James answered every question promptly and +accurately, to the increasing surprise of his +employer.</p> + +<p>The latter paused.</p> + +<p>"Haven't you any more questions?" asked +James.</p> + +<p>"No, I don't think of any."</p> + +<p>"Then may I ask you some?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, if you want to," answered the captain, +rather surprised.</p> + +<p>"Very well," said James. "A man went to +a shoemaker and bought a pair of boots, for which +he was to pay five dollars. He offered a fifty-dollar +bill, which the shoemaker sent out and had +changed. He paid his customer forty-five dollars +in change, and the latter walked off with the boots. +An hour later he ascertained that the bill was a +counterfeit, and he was obliged to pay back fifty +dollars in good money to the man who had changed +the bill for him. Now, how much did he lose?"</p> + +<p>"That's easy enough. He lost fifty dollars and +the boots."</p> + + +<p>"I don't think that's quite right," said James, +smiling.</p> + +<p>"Of course it is. Didn't he have to pay back +fifty dollars in good money, and didn't the man +walk off with the boots?"</p> + +<p>"That's true; but he neither lost nor made by +changing the bill. He received fifty dollars in +good money and paid back the same, didn't he?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Whatever he lost his customer made, didn't +he?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Well, the man walked off with forty-five +dollars and a pair of boots. The other five dollars +the shoemaker kept himself."</p> + +<p>"That's so, Jim. I see it now, but it's rather +puzzling at first. Did you make that out yourself?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Then you've got a good head—better than I +expected. Have you got any more questions?"</p> + +<p>"Just a few."</p> + +<p>So the boy continued to ask questions, and the +captain was more than once obliged to confess +that he could not answer. He began to form a + +new opinion of his young cousin, who, though +he filled the humble position of a canal-boy, appeared +to be well equipped with knowledge.</p> + +<p>"I guess that'll do, Jim," he said after a while. +"You've got ahead of me, though I didn't expect +it. A boy with such a head as you've got ought +not to be on the tow-path."</p> + +<p>"What ought I to be doing, cousin?"</p> + +<p>"You ought to keep school. You're better +qualified than I am to-day, and yet I taught for +three winters in Indiana."</p> + +<p>James was pleased with this tribute to his acquirements, +especially from a former schoolmaster.</p> + +<p>"I never thought of that," he said. "I'm too +young to keep school. I'm only fifteen."</p> + +<p>"That is rather young. You know enough; +but I aint sure that you could tackle some of the +big boys that would be coming to school. You +know enough, but you need more muscle. I'll +tell you what I advise. Stay with me this summer—it +won't do you any hurt, and you'll be +earning something—then go to school a term or +two, and by that time you'll be qualified to teach +a district school."</p> + + +<p>"I'll think of what you say, cousin," said +James, thoughtfully. "I don't know but your +advice is good."</p> + +<p>It is not always easy to say what circumstances +have most influence in shaping the destiny of a +boy, but it seems probable that the conversation +which has just been detailed, and the discovery +that he was quite equal in knowledge to a man +who had been a schoolmaster, may have put new +ideas into the boy's head, destined to bear fruit +later.</p> + +<p>For the present, however, his duties as a canal-boy +must be attended to, and they were soon to +be resumed.</p> + +<p>About ten o'clock that night, when James was +on duty, the boat approached the town of Akron, +where there were twenty-one locks to be successively +passed through.</p> + +<p>The night was dark, and, though the bowman of +the <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Evening Star</span> did not see it, another boat had +reached the same lock from the opposite direction. +Now in such cases the old rule, "first come, first +served," properly prevailed.</p> + +<p>The bowman had directed the gates to be +thrown open, in order that the boat might enter + +the lock, when a voice was heard through the +darkness, "Hold on, there! Our boat is just +round the bend, ready to enter."</p> + +<p>"We have as much right as you," said the +bowman.</p> + +<p>As he spoke he commenced turning the gate.</p> + +<p>My young reader will understand from the description +already given that it will not do to have +both lower and upper gates open at the same +time. Of course, one or the other boat must wait.</p> + +<p>Both bowmen were determined to be first, and +neither was willing to yield. Both boats were +near the lock, their head-lights shining as bright +as day, and the spirit of antagonism reached and +affected the crews of both.</p> + +<p>Captain Letcher felt called upon to interfere +lest there should be serious trouble.</p> + +<p>He beckoned to his bowman.</p> + +<p>"Were you here first?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"It is hard to tell," answered the bowman, +"but I'm bound to have the lock, anyhow."</p> + +<p>The captain was not wholly unaffected by the +spirit of antagonism which his bowman displayed.</p> + +<p>"All right; just as you say," he answered, and +it seemed likely that conflict was inevitable.</p> + + +<p>James Garfield had been an attentive observer, +and an attentive listener to what had been said. +He had formed his own ideas of what was right +to be done.</p> + +<p>"Look here, captain," he said, tapping Captain +Letcher on the arm, "does this lock belong to us?"</p> + +<p>"I really suppose, according to law, it does not; +but we will have it, anyhow."</p> + +<p>"No, we will not," replied the boy.</p> + +<p>"And why not?" asked the captain, naturally +surprised at such a speech from his young driver.</p> + +<p>"Because it does not belong to us."</p> + +<p>The captain was privately of opinion that the +boy was right, yet but for his remonstrance he +would have stood out against the claims of the +rival boat. He took but brief time for considerations, +and announced his decision.</p> + +<p>"Boys," he said to his men, "Jim is right. Let +them have the lock."</p> + +<p>Of course there was no more trouble, but the +bowman, and the others connected with the <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Evening +Star</span>, were angry. It irritated them to be +obliged to give up the point, and wait humbly +till the other boat had passed through the lock.</p> + + +<p>The steersman was George Lee. When breakfast +was called, he sat down by James.</p> + +<p>"What is the matter with you, Jim?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Nothing at all."</p> + +<p>"What made you so for giving up the lock last +night?"</p> + +<p>"Because it wasn't ours. The other boat had +it by right."</p> + +<p>"Jim, you are a coward," said Lee contemptuously. +"You aint fit for a boatman. You'd +better go back to the farm and chop wood or milk +cows, for a man or boy isn't fit for this business +that isn't ready to fight for his rights."</p> + +<p>James did not answer. Probably he saw that +it would be of no use. George Lee was for his +own boat, right or wrong; but James had already +begun to reflect upon the immutable principles of +right or wrong, and he did not suffer his reason +to be influenced by any considerations touching +his own interests or his own pride.</p> + +<p>As to the charge of cowardice it did not trouble +him much. On a suitable occasion later on (we +shall tell the story in due season) he showed that he +was willing to contend for his rights, when he +was satisfied that the right was on his side.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> + +<a name="toc_7"></a> + +<h2>Chapter VI—James Leaves The Canal.</h2> + + +<p>James was not long to fill the humble position +of driver. Before the close of the first trip he +was promoted to the more responsible office of +bowman. Whether his wages were increased we +are not informed.</p> + +<p>It may be well in this place to mention that a +canal boat required, besides the captain, two +drivers, two steersmen, a bowman, and a cook, +the last perhaps not the least important of the +seven. "The bowman's business was to stop the +boat as it entered the lock, by throwing the bowline +that was attached to the bow of the boat +around the snubbing post." It was to this position +that James was promoted, though I have +some doubt whether the place of driver, with the +opportunities it afforded of riding on horse or +mule-back, did not suit him better. Still, promotion +is always pleasant, and in this case it showed + +that the boy had discharged his humbler duties +satisfactorily.</p> + +<p>I have said that the time came when James +showed that he was not a coward. Edmund +Kirke, in his admirable life of Garfield, has condensed +the captain's account of the occurrence, +and I quote it here as likely to prove interesting +to my boy readers:</p> + +<p>"The <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Evening Star</span> was at Beaver, and a steamboat +was ready to tow her up to Pittsburg. The +boy was standing on deck with the selting-pole +against his shoulders, and some feet away stood +Murphy, one of the boat hands, a big, burly fellow +of thirty-five, when the steamboat threw the line, +and, owing to a sudden lurch of the boat, it +whirled over the boy's head, and flew in the +direction of the boatman. 'Look out, Murphy!' +cried the boy; but the rope had anticipated him, +and knocked Murphy's hat off into the river. +The boy expressed his regret, but it was of no +avail. In a towering rage the man rushed upon +him, with his head down, like a maddened animal; +but, stepping nimbly aside, the boy dealt him a +powerful blow behind the ear, and he tumbled to +the bottom of the boat among the copper ore. + +Before he could rise the boy was upon him, one +hand upon his throat, the other raised for another +blow upon his frontispiece.</p> + +<p>"'Pound the cussed fool, Jim!' cried Captain +Letcher, who was looking on appreciatingly. 'If +he haint no more sense'n to get mad at accidents, +giv it ter him! Why don't you strike?'</p> + +<p>"But the boy did not strike, for the man was +down and in his power. Murphy expressed regret +for his rage, and then Garfield gave him his hand, +and they became better friends than ever before. +This victory of a boy of sixteen over a man of +thirty-five obliterated the notion of young Garfield's +character for cowardice, and gave him a +great reputation among his associates. The incident +is still well remembered among the boatmen +of the Ohio and Pennsylvania Canal."</p> + +<p>The boy's speedy reconciliation to the man who +had made so unprovoked an assault upon him was +characteristic of his nature. He never could +cherish malice, and it was very hard work for him +to remain angry with any one, however great the +provocation.</p> + +<p>Both as a boy and as a man he possessed great +physical strength, as may be inferred from an + +incident told by the Boston <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Journal</span> of his life +when he was no longer the humble canal-boy, but +a brigadier-general in the army:</p> + +<p>"At Pittsburg Landing one night in 1862 +there was a rush for rations by some newly-arrived +troops. One strong, fine-looking soldier +presented a requisition for a barrel of flour, <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">and, +shouldering it, walked off with ease</span>. When the +wagon was loaded, this same man stepped up to +Colonel Morton, commanding the commissary +steamers there, and remarked, 'I suppose you +require a receipt for these supplies?' 'Yes,' said +the Colonel, as he handed over the usual blank; + +'just take this provision return, and have it +signed by your commanding officer.' 'Can't I +sign it?' was the reply. 'Oh, no,' said the affable +Colonel Morton; 'it requires the signature of +a commissioned officer.' Then came the remark, +that still remains fresh in the Colonel's memory: +'I am a commissioned officer—I'm a brigadier-general, +and my name is Garfield, of Ohio.'"</p> + +<p>For four months James remained connected +with the canal-boat. To show that traveling by +canal is not so free from danger as it is supposed +to be, it may be stated that in this short time he + +fell into the water fourteen times. Usually he +scrambled out without further harm than a good +wetting. One night, however, he was in serious +pain.</p> + +<p>It was midnight, and rainy, when he was called +up to take his turn at the bow. The boat was +leaving one of those long reaches of slack-water +which abound in the Ohio and Pennsylvania +Canal. He tumbled out of bed in a hurry, but +half awake, and, taking his stand on the narrow +platform below the bow-deck, he began uncoiling +a rope to steady the boat through a lock it was approaching. +Finally it knotted, and caught in a +narrow cleft on the edge of the deck. He gave +it a strong pull, then another, till it gave way, +sending him over the bow into the water. Down +he went in the dark river, and, rising, was bewildered +amid the intense darkness. It seemed +as if the boy's brief career was at its close. But +he was saved as by a miracle. Reaching out his +hand in the darkness, it came in contact with the +rope. Holding firmly to it as it tightened in his +grasp, he used his strong arms to draw himself +up hand over hand. His deliverance was due to +a knot in the rope catching in a crevice, thus, as + +it tightened, sustaining him and enabling him to +climb on deck.</p> + +<p>It was a narrow escape, and he felt it to be so. +He was a thoughtful boy, and it impressed him. +The chances had been strongly against him, yet +he had been saved.</p> + +<p>"God did it," thought James reverently, "He +has saved my life against large odds, and He must +have saved it for some purpose. He has some +work for me to do."</p> + +<p>Few boys at his age would have taken the matter +so seriously, yet in the light of after events +shall we not say that James was right, and that +God did have some work for him to perform?</p> + +<p>This work, the boy decided, was not likely to +be the one he was at present engaged in. The +work of a driver or a bowman on a canal is doubtless +useful in its way, but James doubted whether +he would be providentially set apart for any such +business.</p> + +<p>It might have been this deliverance that turned +his attention to religious matters. At any rate, +hearing that at Bedford there was a series of protracted +meetings conducted by the Disciples, as +they were called, he made a trip there, and became + +seriously impressed. There, too, he met a +gentleman who was destined to exert an important +influence over his destiny.</p> + +<p>This gentleman was Dr. J.P. Robinson, who +may be still living. Dr. Robinson took a great +liking to the boy, and sought to be of service to +him. He employed him, though it may have +been at a later period, to chop wood, and take +care of his garden, and do chores about the +house, and years afterward, as we shall see, it was +he that enabled James to enter Williams College, +and pursue his studies there until he graduated, +and was ready to do the work of an educated +man in the world. But we must not anticipate.</p> + +<p>Though James was strong and healthy he was +not proof against the disease that lurked in the +low lands bordering on the canal. He was attacked +by fever and ague, and lay for some +months sick at home. It was probably the only +long sickness he had till the fatal wound which +laid him on his bed when in the fullness of his +fame he had taken his place among kings and +rulers. It is needless to say that he had every attention +that a tender mother could bestow, and in +time he was restored to health.</p> + + +<p>During his sickness he had many talks with his +mother upon his future prospects, and the course +of life upon which it was best for him to enter. +He had not yet given up all thoughts of the sea, he had +not forgotten the charms with which a sailor's +life is invested in Marryatt's fascinating novels. +His mother listened anxiously to his dreams of +happiness on the sea, and strove to fix his mind +upon higher things—to inspire him with a nobler +ambition.</p> + +<p>"What would you have me do, mother?" he +asked.</p> + +<p>"If you go back to the canal, my son, with the +seeds of this disease lurking in your system, I +fear you will be taken down again. I have +thought it over. It seems to me you had better +go to school this spring, and then, with a term in +the fall, you may be able to teach in the winter. +If you teach winters, and work on the canal or +lake summers, you will have employment the year +round."</p> + +<p>Nevertheless Mrs. Garfield was probably not in +favor of his spending his summers in the way indicated. +She felt, however, that her son, who +was a boy like other boys, must be gradually + +weaned from the dreams that had bewitched his +fancy.</p> + +<p>Then his mother proposed a practical plan.</p> + +<p>"You have been obliged to spend all your +money," she said, "but your brother Thomas and +I will be able to raise seventeen dollars for you to +start to school on, and when that is gone perhaps +you will be able to get along on your own resources."</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> + +<a name="toc_8"></a> + +<h2>Chapter VII—The Choice Of A Vocation</h2> + + +<p>James Garfield's experience on the canal was +over. The position was such an humble one that +it did not seem likely to be of any service in the +larger career which one day was to open before +him. But years afterward, when as a brigadier-general +of volunteers he made an expedition into +Eastern Kentucky, he realized advantage from +his four months' experience on the canal. His +command had run short of provisions, and a boat +had been sent for supplies, but the river beside +which the men were encamped had risen so high +that the boat dared not attempt to go up the river. +Then General Garfield, calling to his aid the skill +with which he had guided the <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Evening Star</span> at +the age of fifteen, took command of the craft, +stood at the wheel forty-four hours out of the +forty-eight, and brought the supplies to his men at +a time when they were eating their last crackers.</p> + + +<p>"Seek all knowledge, however trifling," says +an eminent author, "and there will come a time +when you can make use of it."</p> + +<p>James may never have read this remark, but +he was continually acting upon it, and the spare +moments which others devoted to recreation he +used in adding to his stock of general knowledge.</p> + +<p>The last chapter closes with Mrs. Garfield's advice +to James to give up his plan of going to sea, +and to commence and carry forward a course of +education which should qualify him for a college +professor, or a professional career. Her words +made some impression upon his mind, but it is not +always easy to displace cherished dreams. While +she was talking, a knock was heard at the door +and Mrs. Garfield, leaving her place at her son's +bedside, rose and opened it.</p> + +<p>"I am glad to see you, Mr. Bates," she said +with a welcoming smile.</p> + +<p>Samuel D. Bates was the teacher of the school +near by, an earnest young man, of exemplary +habits, who was looking to the ministry as his +chosen vocation.</p> + +<p>"And how is James to-day?" asked the +teacher, glancing toward the bed.</p> + + +<p>"So well that he is already beginning to make +plans for the future," answered his mother.</p> + +<p>"What are your plans, James?" asked the +young man.</p> + +<p>"I should like best to go to sea," said James, +"but mother doesn't approve of it."</p> + +<p>"She is wise," said Bates, promptly. "You +would find it a great disappointment."</p> + +<p>"But, it must be delightful to skim over the +waters, and visit countries far away," said the +boy, his cheeks flushing, and his eyes glowing +with enthusiasm.</p> + +<p>"You think so now; but remember, you would +be a poor, ignorant sailor, and would have to stay +by the ship instead of exploring the wonderful +cities at which the ship touched. Of course, you +would have an occasional run on shore, but you +could not shake off the degrading associations +with which your life on shipboard would surround +you."</p> + +<p>"Why should a sailor's life be degrading?" +asked James.</p> + +<p>"It need not be necessarily, but as a matter of +fact most sailors have low aims and are addicted +to bad habits. Better wait till you can go to sea + +as a passenger, and enjoy to the full the benefits +of foreign travel."</p> + +<p>"There is something in that," said James, +thoughtfully. "If I could only be sure of going +some day."</p> + +<p>"Wouldn't it be pleasant to go as a man of +culture, as a college professor, as a minister, or as +a lawyer, able to meet on equal terms foreign +scholars and gentlemen?"</p> + +<p>This was a new way of putting it, and produced +a favorable impression on the boy's mind. +Still, the boy had doubts, and expressed them +freely.</p> + +<p>"That sounds well," he said; "but how am I +to know that I have brain enough to make a college +professor, or a minister, or a lawyer?"</p> + +<p>"I don't think there is much doubt on that +point," said Bates, noting the bright, expressive +face, and luminous eyes of the sick boy. "I +should be willing to guarantee your capacity. +Don't you think yourself fit for anything better +than a common sailor?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," answered James. "I think I could +make a good carpenter, for I know something +about that trade already, and I daresay I could + +make a good trader if I could find an opening to +learn the business; but it takes a superior man to +succeed in the positions you mention."</p> + +<p>"There are plenty of men with only average +ability who get along very creditably; but I advise +you, if you make up your mind to enter the +lists, to try for a high place."</p> + +<p>The boy's eyes sparkled with new ambition. +It was a favorite idea with him afterward, that +every man ought to feel an honorable ambition +to succeed as well as possible in his chosen path.</p> + +<p>"One thing more," added Bates. "I don't +think you have any right to become a sailor."</p> + +<p>"No right? Oh, you mean because mother +objects."</p> + +<p>"That, certainly, ought to weigh with you as a +good son; but I referred to something else."</p> + +<p>"What then?"</p> + +<p>"Do you remember the parable of the talents?"</p> + +<p>James had been brought up by his mother, +who was a devoted religious woman, to read the +Bible, and he answered in the affirmative.</p> + +<p>"It seems to me that you are responsible for +the talents which God has bestowed upon you. + +If you have the ability or the brain, as you call it, +to insure success in a literary career, don't you +think you would throw yourself away if you became +a sailor?"</p> + +<p>Mrs. Garfield, who had listened with deep +interest to the remarks of the young man, regarded +James anxiously, to see what effect these +arguments were having upon him. She did not +fear disobedience. She knew that if she should +make it a personal request, James was dutiful +enough to follow her wishes; but she respected +the personal independence of her children, and +wanted to convince, rather than to coerce, +them.</p> + +<p>"If I knew positively that you were right in +your estimate of me, Mr. Bates, I would go in for +a course of study."</p> + +<p>"Consult some one in whose judgment you +have confidence, James," said the teacher, +promptly.</p> + +<p>"Can you suggest any one?" asked the boy.</p> + +<p>"Yes, Dr. J.P. Robinson, of Bedford, is +visiting at the house of President Hayden, of +Hiram College. You have heard of him?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + + +<p>"He is a man of ripe judgment, and you can +rely implicitly on what he says."</p> + +<p>"As soon as I am well enough I will do as you +advise," said James.</p> + +<p>"Then I am satisfied. I am sure the doctor +will confirm my advice."</p> + +<p>"Mr. Bates," said Mrs. Garfield, as she followed +out the young teacher, "I am much +indebted to you for your advice to James. It is +in accordance with my wishes. If he should +decide to obtain an education, where would you +advise him to go?"</p> + +<p>"To the seminary where I have obtained all +the education I possess," answered the young +man.</p> + +<p>"Where is it?"</p> + +<p>"It is called the 'Geauga Seminary,' and is +located in Chester, in the next county. For a +time it will be sufficient to meet all James' needs. +When he is further advanced he can go to Hiram +College."</p> + +<p>"Is it expensive?" asked Mrs. Garfield. +"James has no money except the few dollars his +brother and I can spare him."</p> + +<p>"He will have plenty of company. Most of + +the students are poor, but there are chances of +finding work in the neighborhood, and so earning +a little money. James knows something of the +carpenter's trade?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, he helped build the house we live in, and +he has been employed on several barns."</p> + +<p>My readers will remember that the Garfields +no longer lived in the humble log-cabin in which +we first found them. The money Thomas +brought home from Michigan, supplemented by +the labor of James and himself, had replaced it +by a neat frame house, which was much more +comfortable and sightly.</p> + +<p>"That will do. I think I know a man who +will give him employment."</p> + +<p>"He is a boy of energy. If he gets fairly +started at school, I think he will maintain himself +there," said Mrs. Garfield.</p> + +<p>The teacher took his leave.</p> + +<p>When Mrs. Garfield re-entered the room she +found James looking very thoughtful.</p> + +<p>"Mother," he said, abruptly, "I want to get +well as quick as I can. I am sixteen years old, +and it is time I decided what to do with myself."</p> + + +<p>"You will think of what Mr. Bates has said, +will you not?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, mother; as soon as I am well enough I +will call on Dr. Robinson and ask his candid +opinion. I will be guided by what he says."</p> + +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> + +<a name="toc_9"></a> +<h2>Chapter VIII—Geauga Seminary.</h2> + + +<p>I have stated in a previous chapter that James +became acquainted with Dr. Robinson while still +employed on the canal. This statement was made +on the authority of Mr. Philo Chamberlain, of +Cleveland, who was part proprietor of the line of +canal-boats on which the boy was employed. Edmund +Kirke, however, conveys the impression +that James was a stranger to the doctor at the +time he called upon him after his sickness. Mr. +Kirke's information having been derived chiefly +from General Garfield himself, I shall adopt his +version, as confirmed by Dr. Robinson.</p> + +<p>When James walked up to the residence of +President Hayden, and inquired for Dr. Robinson, +he was decidedly homespun in appearance. +He probably was dressed in his best, but his best +was shabby enough. His trousers were of coarse +satinet, and might have fitted him a season or two + +before, but now were far outgrown, reaching only +half-way down from the tops of his cowhide boots. +His waistcoat also was much too short, and his coat +was threadbare, the sleeves being so short as to +display a considerable portion of his arms. Add +to these a coarse slouched hat, much the worse for +wear, and a heavy mass of yellow hair much too +long, and we can easily understand what the good +doctor said of him: "He was wonderfully awkward, +but had a sort of independent, go-as-you-please +manner that impressed me favorably."</p> + +<p>"Who are you?" asked the doctor.</p> + +<p>"My name is James Garfield, from Solon."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I know your mother, and knew you when +you were a babe, but you have outgrown my +knowledge. I am glad to see you."</p> + +<p>"I should like to see you alone," said James.</p> + +<p>The doctor led the way to a secluded spot in +the neighborhood of the house, and then, sitting +down on a log, the youth, after a little hesitation, +opened his business.</p> + +<p>"You are a physician," he said, "and know the +fiber that is in men. Examine me and tell me +with the utmost frankness whether I had better +take a course of liberal study. I am contemplating + +doing so, as my desire is in that direction. +But if I am to make a failure of it, or practically +so, I do not desire to begin. If you advise me +not to do so I shall be content."</p> + +<p>In speaking of this incident the doctor has remarked +recently: "I felt that I was on my sacred +honor, and the young man looked as though he felt +himself on trial. I had had considerable experience +as a physician, but here was a case much different +from any I had ever had. I felt that it +must be handled with great care. I examined +his head and saw that there was a magnificent +brain there. I sounded his lungs, and found that +they were strong, and capable of making good +blood. I felt his pulse, and felt that there was an +engine capable of sending the blood up to the +head to feed the brain. I had seen many strong +physical systems with warm feet and cold, sluggish +brain; and those who possessed such systems +would simply sit round and doze. Therefore I +was anxious to know about the kind of an engine to +run that delicate machine, the brain. At the end +of a fifteen minutes' careful examination of this +kind, we rose, and I said:</p> + +<p>"Go on, follow the leadings of your ambition, + +and ever after I am your friend. You have the +brain of a Webster, and you have the physical +proportions that will back you in the most herculean +efforts. All you need to do is to work; work +hard, do not be afraid of over-working and you +will make your mark."</p> + +<p>It will be easily understood that these words +from a man whom he held in high respect were +enough to fix the resolution of James. If he were +really so well fitted for the work and the career +which his mother desired him to follow, it was +surely his duty to make use of the talents which +he had just discovered were his.</p> + +<p>After that there was no more question about +going to sea. He deliberately decided to become +a scholar, and then follow where Providence led +the way.</p> + +<p>He would have liked a new suit of clothes, but +this was out of the question. All the money he +had at command was the seventeen dollars which +his mother had offered him. He must get along +with this sum, and so with hopeful heart he set +out for Geauga Seminary.</p> + +<p>He did not go alone. On hearing of his determination, +two boys, one a cousin, made up their +minds to accompany him.</p> + + +<p>Possibly my young readers may imagine the +scene of leave-taking, as the stage drove up to the +door, and the boys with their trunks or valises +were taken on board, but if so, imagination would +picture a scene far different from the reality. +Their outfit was of quite a different kind.</p> + +<p>For the sake of economy the boys were to +board themselves, and Mrs. Garfield with provident +heart supplied James with a frying-pan, and +a few necessary dishes, so that his body might not +suffer while his mind was being fed. Such was +the luxury that awaited James in his new home. +I am afraid that the hearts of many of my young +readers would sink within them if they thought +that they must buy an education at such a cost as +that. But let them not forget that this homespun +boy, with his poor array of frying-pan and dishes, +was years after to strive in legislative halls, and +win the highest post in the gift of his fellow-citizens. +And none of these things would have been +his, in all likelihood, but for his early struggle +with poverty.</p> + +<p>So far as I know, neither of his companions +was any better off than James. All three were +young adventurers traveling into the domains of + +science with hopeful hearts and fresh courage, not +altogether ignorant of the hardships that awaited +them, but prepared to work hard for the prizes +of knowledge.</p> + +<p>Arrived at Geauga Seminary, they called upon +the principal and announced for what purpose +they had come.</p> + +<p>"Well, young men, I hope you mean to work?" +he said.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," answered James promptly. "I am +poor, and I want to get an education as quick as +I can."</p> + +<p>"I like your sentiments, and I will help you as +far as I can."</p> + +<p>The boys succeeded in hiring a room in an old +unpainted building near the academy for a small +weekly sum. It was unfurnished, but they succeeded +in borrowing a few dilapidated chairs from +a neighbor who did not require them, and some +straw ticks, which they spread upon the floor for +sleeping purposes. In one corner they stowe +their frying-pans, kettles, and dishes, and then +they set up housekeeping in humble style.</p> + +<p>The Geauga Seminary was a Freewill Baptist +institution, and was attended by a considerable + +number of students, to whom it did not, indeed, +furnish what is called "the higher education," +but it was a considerable advance upon any school +that James had hitherto attended. English +grammar, natural philosophy, arithmetic, and +algebra—these were the principal studies to +which James devoted himself, and they opened +to him new fields of thought. Probably it was at +this humble seminary that he first acquired the +thirst for learning that ever afterward characterized +him.</p> + +<p>Let us look in upon the three boys a night or +two after they have commenced housekeeping.</p> + +<p>They take turns in cooking, and this time it is +the turn of the one in whom we feel the strongest +interest.</p> + +<p>"What have we got for supper, boys?" he +asks, for the procuring of supplies has fallen to +them.</p> + +<p>"Here are a dozen eggs," said Henry Bounton, +his cousin.</p> + +<p>"And here is a loaf of bread, which I got at +the baker's," said his friend.</p> + +<p>"That's good! We'll have bread and fried +eggs. There is nothing better than that."</p> + + +<p>"Eggs have gone up a cent a dozen," remarks +Henry, gravely.</p> + +<p>This news is received seriously, for a cent +means something to them. Probably even then +the price was not greater than six to eight cents +a dozen, for prices were low in the West at that +time.</p> + +<p>"Then we can't have them so often," said +James, philosophically, "unless we get something +to do."</p> + +<p>"There's a carpenter's-shop a little way down +the street," said Henry. "I guess you can find +employment there."</p> + +<p>"I'll go round there after supper."</p> + +<p>Meanwhile he attended to his duty as cook, and +in due time each of the boys was supplied with +four fried eggs and as much bread as he cared for. +Probably butter was dispensed with, as too costly +a luxury, until more prosperous times.</p> + +<p>When supper was over the boys took a walk, +and then, returning to their humble room, spent +the evening in preparing their next morning's +lessons.</p> + +<p>In them James soon took leading rank, for his +brain was larger, and his powers of application + +and intuition great, as Dr. Robinson had implied. +From the time he entered Geauga Seminary +probably he never seriously doubted that he had +entered upon the right path.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> + +<a name="toc_10"></a> + +<h2>Chapter IX—Ways And Means.</h2> + + +<p>James called on the carpenter after supper and +inquired if he could supply him with work.</p> + +<p>"I may be able to if you are competent," +was the reply. "Have you ever worked at the +business?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Where?"</p> + +<p>"At Orange, where my home is."</p> + +<p>"How long did you work at it?"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps I had better tell you what I have +done," said James.</p> + +<p>He then gave an account of the barns he had +been employed upon, and the frame house +which he had assisted to build for his mother.</p> + +<p>"I don't set up for a first-class workman," he +added, with a smile, "but I think I can be of +some use to you."</p> + +<p>"I will try you, for I am rather pressed with +work just now."</p> + + +<p>So, in a day or two James was set to work.</p> + +<p>The carpenter found that it was as he had +represented. He was not a first-class workman. +Indeed, he had only a rudimentary knowledge of +the trade, but he was quick to learn, and in a +short time he was able to help in many ways. +His wages were not very large, but they were +satisfactory, since they enabled him to pay his +expenses and keep his head above water. Before +the seventeen dollars were exhausted, he had +earned quite a sum by his labor in the carpenter's-shop.</p> + +<p>About this time he received a letter from his +brother.</p> + +<p>"Dear James," he wrote, "I shall be glad to +hear how you are getting along. You took so +little money with you that you may need more. +If so, let me know, and I will try to send you +some."</p> + +<p>James answered promptly: "Don't feel +anxious about me, Thomas. I have been fortunate +enough to secure work at a carpenter's-shop, +and my expenses of living are very small. +I intend not to call upon you or mother again, +but to pay my own way, if I keep my health."</p> + + +<p>He kept his word, and from that time did not +find it necessary to call either upon his mother or +his good brother, who was prepared to make personal +sacrifices, as he had been doing all his life, +that his younger brother might enjoy advantages +which he had to do without.</p> + +<p>At length the summer vacation came. James +had worked hard and won high rank in his respective +studies. He had a robust frame, and he +seemed never to get tired. No doubt he took +especial interest in composition and the exercises +of the debating society which flourished at +Geauga, as at most seminaries of advanced education. +In after-life he was so ready and powerful +in debate, that we can readily understand that he +must have begun early to try his powers. Many +a trained speaker has first come to a consciousness +of his strength in a lyceum of boys, pitted against +some school-fellow of equal attainments. No +doubt many crude and some ludicrous speeches +are made by boys in their teens, but at least they +learn to think on their feet, and acquire the +ability to stand the gaze of an audience without +discomposure. A certain easy facility of expression +also is gained, which enables them to + +acquit themselves creditably on a more important +stage.</p> + +<p>James early learned that the best preparation +for a good speech is a thorough familiarity with +the subject, and in his after-life he always carefully +prepared himself, so that he was a forcible +debater, whom it was not easy to meet and +conquer.</p> + +<p>"He once told me how he prepared his +speeches," said Representative Williams, of Wisconsin, +since his death. "First he filled himself +with the subject, massing all the facts and +principles involved, so far as he could; then he +took pen and paper and wrote down the salient +points in what he regarded their logical order. +Then he scanned these critically, and fixed them +in his memory. 'And then,' said he, 'I leave +the paper in my room and trust to the emergency.'"</p> + +<p>When the vacation came James began to look +about for work. He could not afford to be idle. +Moreover, he hoped to be able to earn enough +that he might not go back empty-handed in the +fall.</p> + +<p>Generally work comes to him who earnestly + +seeks it, and James heard of a man who wanted +some wood cut.</p> + +<p>He waited upon this man and questioned him +about it.</p> + +<p>"Yes," he answered, "I want the wood cut. +What will you charge to do it?"</p> + +<p>"How much is there?"</p> + +<p>"About a hundred cords."</p> + +<p>James thought of the time when he cut twenty-five +cords for seven dollars, and he named a price +to correspond.</p> + +<p>"I'll give you twenty-five dollars," said the +proprietor of the wood.</p> + +<p>It was a low price for the labor involved, but, +on the other hand, it would be of essential service +to the struggling student.</p> + +<p>"I will undertake it," he said.</p> + +<p>"When will you go to work?"</p> + +<p>"Now!" answered James promptly.</p> + +<p>How long it took him to do the work we have +no record, but he doubtless worked steadfastly +till it was accomplished. We can imagine the +satisfaction he felt when the money was put into +his hands, and he felt that he would not need to +be quite so economical in the coming term.</p> + + +<p>Accordingly, when the vacation was over and +James went back to the seminary, he did not +re-engage the room which he and his two friends +had rented the term before. He realized that to +be in a condition to study well he must feed his +body well, and he was in favor of a more generous +system of diet. Besides, the labor required +for cooking was so much time taken from his +study hours.</p> + +<p>He heard that a widow—Mrs. Stiles—mother +of the present sheriff of Ashtabula County, was +prepared to receive boarders, and, accordingly, +he called upon her to ascertain if she would receive +him.</p> + +<p>She knew something of him already, for she +learned that he had obtained the reputation of a +steady and orderly student, and was disposed to +favor his application.</p> + +<p>The next question was an important one to +young Garfield.</p> + +<p>"How much do you expect me to pay?"</p> + +<p>He waited with some anxiety for the answer, +for though he had twenty-five dollars in his +pocket, the term was a long one, and tuition was +to be paid also.</p> + + +<p>"A dollar and six cents will be about right," +said Mrs. Stiles, "for board, washing, and lodging."</p> + +<p>"That will be satisfactory," said James, with a +sigh of relief, for he saw his way clear to pay +this sum for a time, at least, and for the whole +term if he could again procure employment at his +old trade.</p> + +<p>A dollar and six cents! It was rather an odd +sum, and we should consider it nowadays as very +low for any sort of board in any village, however +obscure or humble. But in those days it was not +so exceptional, and provisions were so much lower +that the widow probably lost nothing by her +boarder, though she certainly could not have made +much.</p> + +<p>James had no money to spare for another purpose, +though there was need enough of it. He +needed some new clothes badly. He had neither +underclothing nor overcoat, and but one outside +suit, of cheap Kentucky jean. No doubt he was +subjected to mortification on account of his slender +supply of clothing. At any rate he was once +placed in embarrassing circumstances.</p> + +<p>Toward the close of the term, as Mrs. Stiles + +says, his trowsers became exceedingly thin at the +knees, and one unlucky day, when he was incautiously +bending forward, they tore half-way round +the leg, exposing his bare knee.</p> + +<p>James was very much mortified, and repaired +damages as well as he could with a pin.</p> + +<p>"I need a new suit of clothes badly," he said +in the evening, "but I can't afford to buy one. +See how I have torn my trowsers."</p> + +<p>"Oh, that is easy enough to mend," said Mrs. +Stiles, cheerfully.</p> + +<p>"But I have no other pair to wear while they +are being mended," said James, with a blush.</p> + +<p>"Then you must go to bed early, and send +them down by one of the boys. I will darn the +hole so that you will never know it. You won't +mind such trifles when you become President."</p> + +<p>It was a jocose remark, and the good lady little +dreamed that, in after years, the young man with +but one pair of pantaloons, and those more than +half worn, would occupy the proud position she +referred to.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> + +<a name="toc_11"></a> + +<h2>Chapter X—A Cousin's Reminiscences.</h2> + + +<p>During his school-life at Geauga Seminary +James enjoyed the companionship of a cousin, +Henry B. Boynton, who still lives on the farm +adjoining the one on which our hero was born. +The relationship between the two boys was much +closer than is common between cousins; for while +their mothers were sisters, their fathers were half-brothers. +Henry was two years older than James, +and they were more like brothers than cousins. +I am sure my young readers will be glad to read +what Henry has to say of their joint school-life. I +quote from the account of an interview held with +a correspondent of the Boston <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Herald</span>, bearing +the date of September 23, 1881:</p> + +<p>When General Garfield was nominated to the +Presidency his old neighbors in Orange erected a +flag-staff where the house stood which Garfield +and his brother erected for their mother and sisters + +with their own hands, after the log hut, a +little farther out in the field nearer the wood, had +become unfit for habitation. Thomas Garfield, +the uncle of the President, who not long since +was killed by a railroad accident, directed the +manual labor of rearing the shaft, and was proud +of his work.</p> + +<p>There is nothing except this hole left to mark +his birth-place, and the old well, not two rods off, +which he and his brother dug to furnish water +for the family. In the little maple grove to the +left, children played about the school-house where +the dead President first gathered the rudiments +upon which he built to such purpose. The old +orchard in its sere and yellow leaf, the dying +grass, and the turning maple leaves seemed to +join in the great mourning.</p> + +<p>Adjoining the field where the flag floats is an +unpretentious home, almost as much identified +with Gen. Garfield's early history as the one he +helped to clear of the forest timber while he was +yet but a child. It is the home of Henry B. +Boynton, cousin of the dead President, and a +brother of Dr. Boynton, whose name has become +so well known from recent events.</p> + + +<p>"While rambling over this place the correspondent +came upon this near relative of Garfield, +smaller in stature than he was, but in features +bearing a striking resemblance to him.</p> + +<p>"General Garfield and I were like brothers," +he said, as he turned from giving some directions +to his farm hands, now sowing the fall grain upon +ground which his cousin had first helped to break. +"His father died yonder, within a stone's throw +of us, when the son was but a year and a half +old. He knew no other father than mine, who +watched over the family as if it had been his +own. This very house in which I live was as +much his home as it was mine.</p> + +<p>"Over there," said he, pointing to the brick +school-house in the grove of maples, around which +the happy children were playing, "is where he +and I both started for school. I have read a +statement that he could not read or write until +he was nineteen. He could do both before he +was nine, and before he was twelve, so familiar +was he with the Indian history of the country, +that he had named every tree in the orchard, +which his father planted as he was born, with the +name of some Indian chief, and even debated in + +societies, religion, and other topics with men. +One favorite tree of his he named Tecumseh, and +the branches of many of these old trees have +been cut since his promotion to the Presidency +by relic-hunters, and carried away.</p> + +<p>"Gen. Garfield was a remarkable boy as well +as man. It is not possible to tell you the fight +he made amid poverty for a place in life, and +how gradually he obtained it. When he was a +boy he would rather read than work. But he +became a great student. He had to work after +he was twelve years of age. In those days we +were all poor, and it took hard knocks to get on. +He worked clearing the fields yonder with his +brother, and then cut cord-wood, and did other +farm labor to get the necessities of life for his +mother and sisters.</p> + +<p>"I remember when he was fourteen years of +age, he went away to work at Daniel Morse's, +not four miles down the road from here, and +after the labors of the day he sat down to listen +to the conversation of a teacher in one of the +schools of Cleveland, when it was yet a village, +who had called. The talk of the educated man +pleased the boy, and, while intent upon his story, + +a daughter of the man for whom he was working +informed the future President with great dignity +that it was time that <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">servants</span> were in bed, and +that she preferred his absence to his presence.</p> + +<p>"Nothing that ever happened to him so severely +stung him as this affront. In his youth he +could never refer to it without indignation, and +almost immediately he left Mr. Morse's employ +and went on the canal. He said to me then that +those people should live to see the day when they +would not care to insult him.</p> + +<p>"His experience on the canal was a severe one, +but perhaps useful. I can remember the winter +when he came home after the summer's service +there. He had the chills all that fall and winter, +yet he would shake and get his lessons at home; +go over to the school and recite, and thus keep +up with his class. The next spring found him +weak from constant ague. Yet he intended to +return to the canal.</p> + +<p>"Here came the turning-point in his life. Mr. +Bates, who taught the school, pleaded with him +not to do so, and said that if he would continue +in school till the next fall he could get a certificate. +I received a certificate about the same time + +The next year we went to the seminary at +Chester, only twelve miles distant. Here our +books were furnished us, and we cooked our own +victuals. We lived upon a dollar a week each. +Our diet was strong, but very plain; mush and +molasses, pork and potatoes. Saturdays we took +our axes, and went into the woods and cut cord-wood. +During vacations we labored in the harvest-field, +or taught a district school, as we +could.</p> + +<p>"Yonder," said he, pointing to a beautiful valley, +about two miles distant, "stands the school-house +where Garfield first taught school. He got +twelve dollars a month, and boarded round. I +also taught school in a neighboring town. We +both went back to Chester to college, and would +probably have finished our education there, but +it was a Baptist school, and they were constantly +making flings at the children of the Disciples, +and teaching sectarianism. As the Disciples +grew stronger they determined their children +should not be subjected to such influence; the +college of our own Church was established at +Hiram, and there Garfield and I went."</p> + +<p>Though the remainder of the reminiscences + +somewhat anticipate the course of our story, it is +perhaps as well to insert it here.</p> + +<p>"We lodged in the basement most of the time, +and boarded at the present Mrs. Garfield's father's +house. During our school-days here I nursed the +late President through an attack of the measles +which nearly ended his life. He has often said, +that, were it not for my attention, he could not +have lived. So you see that the General and myself +were very close to one another from the time +either of us could lisp until he became President. +Here is a picture we had taken together," showing +an old daguerreotype. "It does not resemble +either of us much now. And yet they do say +that we bore in our childhood, and still bear, a +striking resemblance. I am still a farmer, while +he grew great and powerful. He never permitted +a suggestion, however, to be made in, my presence +as to the difference in our paths of life. He visited +me here before election, and looked with +gratification upon that pole yonder, and its flag, +erected by his neighbors and kinsmen. He wandered +over the fields he had himself helped clear +and pointed out to me trees from the limbs of +which he had shot squirrel after squirrel, and beneath + +the branches of which he had played and +worked in the years of his infancy and boyhood.</p> + +<p>"I forgot to say that one of Gen. Garfield's +striking characteristics while he was growing up, +was, that when he saw a boy in the class excel him +in anything, he never gave up till he reached the +same standard, and even went beyond it. It got +to be known that no scholar could be ahead of +him. Our association as men has been almost as +close as that of our boyhood, though not as constant. +The General never forgot his neighbors +or less fortunate kinsmen, and often visited us as +we did him."</p> + +<p>More vivid than any picture I could draw is +this description, by the most intimate friend of his +boyhood, of James Garfield's way of life, his struggles +for an education, his constant desire to excel, +and his devotion to duty. We have already pictured +the rustic boy in his humble room, cooking +his own food, and living, as his cousin testifies, on +a dollar a week. Is there any other country +where such humble beginnings could lead to such +influence and power? Is there any other land +where such a lad could make such rapid strides +toward the goal which crowns the highest ambition? + +It is the career of such men that most +commends our Government and institutions, proving +as it does that by the humblest and poorest +the highest dignities may be attained. James was +content to live on mush and molasses, pork and +potatoes, since they came within his narrow +means, and gave him sufficient strength to pursue +his cherished studies. Nor is his an exceptional +case. I have myself known college and professional +students who have lived on sixty cents a +week (how, it is difficult to tell), while their minds +were busy with the loftiest problems that have +ever engaged the human intellect. Such boys +and young men are the promise of the republic. +They toil upwards while others sleep, and many +such have written their names high on the tablets +in the Temple of Fame.</p> + +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> + +<a name="toc_12"></a> + +<h2>Chapter XI—Ledge Hill School</h2> + + +<p>Ever since he began to study at Geauga Seminary +James had looked forward to earning a little +money by keeping school himself; not an advanced +school, of course, but an ordinary school, +such as was kept in the country districts in the +winter. He felt no hesitation as to his competence. +The qualifications required by the school +committees were by no means large, and so far +there was no difficulty.</p> + +<p>There was one obstacle, however: James was +still a boy himself—a large boy, to be sure, but he +had a youthful face, and the chances were that he +would have a number of pupils older than himself. +Could he keep order? Would the rough +country boys submit to the authority of one like +themselves, whatever might be his reputation as +a scholar? This was a point to consider anxiously. +However, James had pluck, and he was ready to +try the experiment.</p> + + +<p>He would have been glad to secure a school so +far away that he could go there as a stranger, and +be received as a young man. But no such opportunity +offered. There was another opening nearer +home.</p> + +<p>A teacher was wanted for the Ledge Hill district +in Orange, and the committee-man bethought +himself of James Garfield.</p> + +<p>So one day he knocked at Mrs. Garfield's door.</p> + +<p>"Is James at home?" he asked.</p> + +<p>James heard the question, and came forward +to meet his visitor.</p> + +<p>"Good-morning," he said, pleasantly; "did you +want to see me?"</p> + +<p>"Are you calculating to keep school this winter" +asked his visitor.</p> + +<p>"If I can get a school to keep," was the reply.</p> + +<p>"That's the business I came about. We want +a schoolmaster for the Ledge Hill School. How +would you like to try it?"</p> + +<p>"The Ledge Hill School!" repeated James, in +some dismay. "Why, all the boys know me +there."</p> + +<p>"Of course they do. Then they won't need to +be introduced."</p> + + +<p>"Will they obey me? That's what I was +thinking of. There are some pretty hard cases +in that school."</p> + +<p>"That's where you are right."</p> + +<p>"I wouldn't like to try it and fail," said James, +doubtfully.</p> + +<p>"You won't if you'll follow my advice," said +the committee-man.</p> + +<p>"What's that?"</p> + +<p>"Thrash the first boy that gives you any +trouble. Don't half do it; but give him a sound +flogging, so that he will understand who's master. +You're strong enough; you can do it."</p> + +<p>James extended his muscular arm with a smile. +He knew he was strong. He was a large boy, +and his training had been such as to develop his +muscles.</p> + +<p>"You know the boys that will go to school. +Is there any one that can master you?" asked his +visitor.</p> + +<p>"No, I don't think there is," answered James, +with a smile.</p> + +<p>"Then you'll do. Let 'em know you are not +afraid of them the first day. That's the best advice +I can give you."</p> + + +<p>"I shouldn't like to get into a fight with a +pupil," said James, slowly.</p> + +<p>"You'll have to run the risk of it unless you +teach a girls' school. I guess you wouldn't have +any trouble there."</p> + +<p>"Not of that kind, probably. What wages do +you pay?"</p> + +<p>"Twelve dollars a month and board. Of course, +you'll board round."</p> + +<p>Twelve dollars a month would not be considered +very high wages now, but to James it was a consideration. +He had earned as much in other +ways, but he was quite anxious to try his luck as +a teacher. That might be his future vocation, +not teaching a district school, of course, but this +would be the first round of the ladder that might +lead to a college professorship. The first step is +the most difficult, but it must be taken, and the +Ledge Hill School, difficult as it probably would +be, was to be the first step for the future President +of Hiram College.</p> + +<p>All these considerations James rapidly revolved +in his mind, and then he came to a decision.</p> + +<p>"When does the school commence?" he +asked.</p> + + +<p>"Next Monday."</p> + +<p>"I accept your offer. I'll be on hand in time."</p> + +<br> + +<p>The news quickly reached the Ledge Hill district +that "Jim Garfield," as he was popularly +called, was to be their next teacher.</p> + +<p>"Have you heard about the new master?" +asked Tom Bassett, one of the hard cases, of a +friend.</p> + +<p>"No. Who is it?"</p> + +<p>"Jim Garfield."</p> + +<p>The other whistled.</p> + +<p>"You don't mean it?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I do."</p> + +<p>"How did you hear?"</p> + +<p>"Mr. ——," naming the committee-man, "told +me."</p> + +<p>"Then it must be so. We'll have a high old +time if that's so."</p> + +<p>"So we will," chuckled the other. "I'm anxious +for school to begin."</p> + +<p>"He's only a boy like us."</p> + +<p>"That's so."</p> + +<p>"He knows enough for a teacher; but knowing +isn't everything."</p> + + +<p>"You're right. We can't be expected to mind +a boy like ourselves that we've known all our +lives."</p> + +<p>"Of course not."</p> + +<p>"I like Jim well enough. He's a tip-top feller; +but, all the same, he aint goin' to boss me round."</p> + +<p>"Nor me, either."</p> + +<p>This conversation between Tom Bassett and +Bill Stackpole (for obvious reasons I use assumed +names) augured ill for the success of the young +teacher. They determined to make it hot for +him, and have all the fun they wanted.</p> + +<p>They thought they knew James Garfield, but +they made a mistake. They knew that he was +of a peaceable disposition and not fond of quarreling, +and although they also knew that he was +strong and athletic, they decided that he would +not long be able to maintain his position. If they +had been able to read the doubts and fears that +agitated the mind of their future preceptor, they +would have felt confirmed in their belief.</p> + +<p>The fact was, James shrank from the ordeal +that awaited him.</p> + +<p>"If I were only going among strangers," he +said to his mother, "I wouldn't mind it so much; + +but all these boys and girls have known me ever +since I was a small boy and went barefoot."</p> + +<p>"Does your heart fail you, my son?" asked his +mother, who sympathized with him, yet saw that +it was a trial which must come.</p> + +<p>"I can't exactly say that, but I dread to +begin."</p> + +<p>"We must expect to encounter difficulties and +perplexities, James. None of our lives run all +smoothly. Shall we conquer them or let them +conquer us?"</p> + +<p>The boy's spirit was aroused.</p> + +<p>"Say no more, mother," he replied. "I will +undertake the school, and if success is any way +possible, I will succeed. I have been shrinking +from it, but I won't shrink any longer."</p> + +<p>"That is the spirit that succeeds, James."</p> + +<p>James laughed, and in answer quoted Campbell's +stirring lines with proper emphasis:</p> + +<div class="lg"> + +<p class="l">"I will victor exult, or in death be laid low,</p> +<p class="l">With my face to the field and my feet to the foe."</p> +</div> + +<p>So the time passed till the eventful day dawned +on which James was to assume charge of his first +school. He was examined, and adjudged to be + +qualified to teach; but that he anticipated in +advance.</p> + +<p>The building is still standing in which James +taught his first school. It is used for quite +another purpose now, being occupied as a carriage-house +by the thrifty farmer who owns the ground +upon which it stands. The place where the +teacher's desk stood, behind which the boy stood +as preceptor, is now occupied by two stalls for +carriage-horses. The benches which once contained +the children he taught have been removed +to make room for the family carriage, and the +play-ground is now a barnyard. The building +sits upon a commanding eminence known as +Ledge Hill, and overlooks a long valley winding +between two lines of hills.</p> + +<p>This description is furnished by the same correspondent +of the Boston <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Herald</span> to whom I am +already indebted for Henry Boynton's reminiscences +contained in the last chapter.</p> + +<p>When James came in sight, and slowly +ascended the hill in sight of the motley crew of +boys and girls who were assembled in front of +the school-house on the first morning of the term, +it was one of the most trying moments of his + +life. He knew instinctively that the boys were +anticipating the fun in store for them in the inevitable +conflict which awaited him, and he felt +constrained and nervous. He managed, however, +to pass through the crowd, wearing a pleasant +smile and greeting his scholars with a bow. +There was trouble coming, he was convinced, but +he did not choose to betray any apprehension.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> + +<a name="toc_13"></a> + +<h2>Chapter XII—Who Shall Be Master?</h2> + + +<p>With as much dignity as was possible under +the circumstances, James stepped to the teacher's +desk and rang the bell.</p> + +<p>This was hardly necessary, for out of curiosity +all the scholars had promptly followed the young +teacher into the school-room and taken their +seats.</p> + +<p>After the introductory exercises, James made +a brief address to the scholars:</p> + +<p>"I don't need any introduction to you," he said, +"for you all know me. I see before me many +who have been my playfellows and associates, but +to-day a new relation is established between us. +I am here as your teacher, regularly appointed by +the committee, and it is my duty to assist you as +far as I can to increase your knowledge. I should +hardly feel competent to do so if I had not lately +attended Geauga Seminary, and thus improved +my own education. I hope you will consider me + +a friend, not only as I have been, but as one who +is interested in promoting your best interests. +One thing more," he added, "it is not only my +duty to teach you, but to maintain good order, +and this I mean to do. In school I wish you to +look upon me as your teacher, but outside I shall +join you in your sports, and be as much a boy as +any of you. We will now proceed to our daily +lessons."</p> + +<p>This speech was delivered with self-possession, +and favorably impressed all who heard it, even +the boys who meant to make trouble, but they +could not give up their contemplated fun. Nevertheless, +by tacit agreement, they preserved perfect +propriety for the present. They were not +ready for the explosion.</p> + +<p>The boy teacher was encouraged by the unexpected +quiet.</p> + +<p>"After all," he thought, "everything is likely +to go smoothly. I need not have troubled myself +so much."</p> + +<p>He knew the usual routine at the opening of +a school term. The names of the children were +to be taken, they were to be divided into classes, +and lessons were to be assigned. Feeling more + +confidence in himself, James went about this +work in business fashion, and when recess came, +the comments made by the pupils in the playground +were generally favorable.</p> + +<p>"He's going to make a good teacher," said one +of the girls, "as good as any we've had, and he's +so young too."</p> + +<p>"He goes to work as if he knew how," said +another. "I didn't think Jimmy Garfield had +so much in him."</p> + +<p>"Oh, he's smart!" said another. "Just think +of brother Ben trying to keep school, and he's +just as old as James."</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Tom Bassett and Bill Stackpole +had a private conference together.</p> + +<p>"What do you think of Jim's speech, Bill?" +asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"Oh, it sounded well enough, but I'll bet he +was trembling in his boots all the while he was +talkin'."</p> + +<p>"Maybe so, but he seemed cool enough."</p> + +<p>"Oh, that was all put on. Did you hear what +he said about keepin' order?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, he kinder looked at you an' me when +he was talkin'."</p> + + +<p>"I guess he heard about our turnin' out the +last teacher."</p> + +<p>"Of course. I tell you, it took some cheek to +come here and order 'round us boys that has +known him all his life."</p> + +<p>"That's so. Do you think he's goin' to maintain +order, as he calls it?"</p> + +<p>"You just wait till afternoon. He'll know +better then."</p> + +<p>James did not go out to recess the first day. +He had some things to do affecting the organization +of the school, and so he remained at his +desk. Several of the pupils came up to consult +him on one point or another, and he received +them all with that pleasant manner which throughout +his life was characteristic of him. To one +and another he gave a hint or a suggestion, based +upon his knowledge of their character and abilities. +One of the boys said: "Do you think I'd +better study grammar, Jimmy—I mean Mr. Garfield?"</p> + +<p>James smiled. He knew the slip was unintentional. +Of course it would not do for him to +allow himself to be addressed in school by a pupil +as Jimmy.</p> + + +<p>"Yes," he answered, "unless you think you +know all about it already."</p> + +<p>"I don't know the first thing about it."</p> + +<p>"Then, of course, you ought to study it. Why +shouldn't you?"</p> + +<p>"But I can't make nothin' out of it. I can't +understand it nohow."</p> + +<p>"Then you need somebody to explain it to +you."</p> + +<p>"It's awful stupid."</p> + +<p>"I don't think you will find it so when you +come to know more about it. I shall be ready to +explain it. I think I can make you understand +it."</p> + +<p>Another had a sum he could not do. So James +found the recess pass quickly away, and again +the horde of scholars poured into the school-room.</p> + +<p>It was not till afternoon that the conflict came.</p> + +<p>Tom Bassett belonged to the first class in geography.</p> + +<p>James called out the class.</p> + +<p>All came out except Tom, who lounged carelessly +in his seat.</p> + +<p>"Thomas, don't you belong to this class?" +asked the young teacher.</p> + + +<p>"I reckon I do."</p> + +<p>"Then why don't you come out to recite?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, I feel lazy," answered Tom, with a significant +smile, as if to inquire, "What are you +goin' to do about it?"</p> + +<p>James thought to himself with a thrill of unpleasant +excitement, "It's coming. In ten minutes +I shall know whether Tom Bassett or I is to +rule this school."</p> + +<p>His manner was calm, however, as he said, +"That is no excuse. I can't accept it. As your +teacher I order you to join your class."</p> + +<p>"Can't you wait till to-morrow?" asked Tom, +with a grin, which was reflected on the faces of +several other pupils.</p> + +<p>"I think I understand you," said James, with +outward calmness. "You defy my authority."</p> + +<p>"You're only a boy like me," said Tom; "I +don't see why I should obey you."</p> + +<p>"If you were teacher, and I pupil, I should +obey you," said James, "and I expect the same +of you."</p> + +<p>"Oh, go on with the recitation!" said Tom, +lazily. "Never mind me!"</p> + +<p>James felt that he could afford to wait no longer</p> + + +<p>Turning to the class, he said, "I shall have to +delay you for a minute."</p> + +<p>He walked deliberately up to the seat where +Tom Bassett was sitting.</p> + +<p>Tom squared off in the expectation of an assault; +but, with the speed of lightning, the young +teacher grasped him by the collar, and, with a +strength that surprised himself, dragged him from +his seat, in spite of his struggles, till he reached +the place where the class was standing.</p> + +<p>By this time Bill Stackpole felt called upon to +help his partner in rebellion.</p> + +<p>"You let him alone!" he said, menacingly, +stepping forward.</p> + +<p>"One at a time!" said James, coolly. "I will +be ready for you in a minute."</p> + +<p>He saw that there was only one thing to do.</p> + +<p>He dragged Tom to the door, and forcibly +ejected him, saying, "When you get ready to +obey me you can come back."</p> + +<p>He had scarcely turned when Bill Stackpole +was upon him.</p> + +<p>With a quick motion of the foot James tripped +him up, and, still retaining his grasp on his collar, +said, "Will you go or stay?"</p> + + +<p>Bill was less resolute than Tom.</p> + +<p>"I guess I'll stay," he said; then picked himself +up and resumed his place in the class.</p> + +<p>Apparently calm, James returned to his desk, +and commenced hearing the class recite.</p> + +<p>The next morning, on his way to school, James +overtook Tom Bassett, who eyed him with evident +embarrassment. Tom's father had sent him back +to school, and Tom did not dare disobey.</p> + +<p>"Good morning, Tom," said James, pleasantly.</p> + +<p>"Mornin'!" muttered Tom.</p> + +<p>"I hope you are going to school?"</p> + +<p>"Father says I must."</p> + +<p>"I am glad of that, too. By the way, Tom, I +think I shall have to get some of the scholars to +help me with some of the smaller pupils. I should +like to get you to hear the lowest class in arithmetic +to-day."</p> + +<p>"You want me to help you teach?" exclaimed +Tom, in amazement.</p> + +<p>"Yes; it will give me more time for the +higher classes."</p> + +<p>"And you don't bear no malice on account of +yesterday?"</p> + + +<p>"Oh, no; we are too good friends to mind +such a trifle."</p> + +<p>"Then," said Tom, impulsively, "you won't +have no more trouble with me. I'll help you all +I can."</p> + +<p>There was general surprise felt when the young +teacher and his rebellious scholar were seen approaching +the school-house, evidently on the most +friendly terms. There was still greater surprise +when, during the forenoon, James requested Tom +to hear the class already mentioned. At recess +Tom proclaimed his intention to lick any boy that +was impudent to the teacher, and the new Garfield +administration seemed to be established on a +firm basis.</p> + +<p>This incident, which is based upon an actual +resort to war measures on the part of the young +teacher, is given to illustrate the strength as well +as the amiability of Garfield's character. It was +absolutely necessary that he should show his +ability to govern.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> + +<a name="toc_14"></a> + +<h2>Chapter XIII—Ames Leaves Geauga Seminary</h2> + + +<p>While teaching his first school James "boarded +round" among the families who sent pupils to his +school. It was not so pleasant as having a permanent +home, but it afforded him opportunities of +reaching and influencing his scholars which otherwise +he could not have enjoyed. With his cheerful +temperament and genial manners, he could +hardly fail to be an acquisition to any family with +whom he found a home. He was ready enough +to join in making the evenings pass pleasantly, +and doubtless he had ways of giving instruction +indirectly, and inspiring a love of learning similar +to that which he himself possessed.</p> + +<p>He returned to school with a small sum of money +in his pocket, which was of essential service +to him in his economical way of living. But +he brought also an experience in imparting knowledge +to others which was still greater value.</p> + + +<p>An eminent teacher has said that we never fully +know anything till we have tried to impart it to +others.</p> + +<p>James remained at the Geauga Seminary for +three years. Every winter he taught school, and +with success. In one of these winter sessions, we +are told by Rev. William M. Thayer, in his biography +of Garfield, that he was applied to by an +ambitious student to instruct him in geometry. +There was one difficulty in the way, and that a +formidable one. He was entirely unacquainted +with geometry himself. But, he reflected, here +is an excellent opportunity for me to acquire a +new branch of knowledge. Accordingly he procured +a text-book, studied it faithfully at night, +keeping sufficiently far ahead of his pupil to +qualify him to be his guide and instructor, and the +pupil never dreamed that his teacher, like himself, +was traversing unfamiliar ground.</p> + +<p>It was early in his course at Geauga that he +made the acquaintance of one who was to prove +his closest and dearest friend—the young lady +who in after years was to become his wife. Lucretia +Rudolph was the daughter of a farmer in +the neighborhood—"a quiet, thoughtful girl, of + +singularly sweet and refined disposition, fond of +study and reading, and possessing a warm heart, +and a mind capable of steady growth." Probably +James was first attracted to her by intellectual +sympathy and a community of tastes; but as time +passed he discerned in her something higher and +better than mere intellectual aspiration; and who +shall say in the light that has been thrown by recent +events on the character of Lucretia Garfield, +that he was not wholly right?</p> + +<p>Though we are anticipating the record, it may +be in place to say here that the acquaintance +formed here was renewed and ripened at Hiram +College, to which in time both transferred themselves. +There as pupil-teacher James Garfield became +in one branch the instructor of his future +wife, and it was while there that the two became +engaged. It was a long engagement. James had +to wait the traditional "seven years" for his wife, +but the world knows how well he was repaid for +his long waiting.</p> + +<p>"Did you know Mrs. Garfield?" asked a reporter +of the Chicago <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Inter-Ocean</span> of Mr. Philo +Chamberlain, of Cleveland.</p> + +<p>"Yes, indeed," was the reply. "My wife knows + +her intimately. They used to teach school together +in Cleveland. Mrs. Garfield is a splendid +lady. She wasn't what you would call a brilliant +teacher, but she was an unusually good one, very +industrious, and the children made rapid progress +in their studies under her. And then she was +studious, too. Why, she acquired three languages +while she was in school, both as a student and a +teacher, and she spoke them well, I am told. They +were married shortly after he came back from +Williams, and I forgot to tell you a nice little +thing about the time when he paid Dr. Robinson +back the money he had spent on him. When +Dr. Robinson refused to take the interest, which +amounted to a snug little sum, Garfield said: +'Well, Doctor, that is one big point in my favor, +as now I can get married.' It seems that they +had been engaged for a long time, but had to wait +till he could get something to marry on. And I +tell you it isn't every young man that will let the +payment of a self-imposed debt stand between +him and getting married to the girl he loves."</p> + +<p>Without anticipating too far events we have not +yet reached, it may be said that Lucretia Garfield's +education and culture made her not the + +wife only, but the sympathetic friend and intellectual +helper of her husband. Her early studies +were of service to her in enabling her partially to +prepare for college her two oldest boys. She assisted +her husband also in his literary plans, without +losing the domestic character of a good wife, +and the refining graces of a true woman.</p> + +<p>But let us not forget that James is still a boy +in his teens. He had many hardships to encounter, +and many experiences to go through before +he could set up a home of his own. He had studied +three years, but his education had only begun. +The Geauga Seminary was only an academy, and +hardly the equal of the best academies to be found +at the East.</p> + +<p>He began to feel that he had about exhausted +its facilities, and to look higher. He had not far +to look.</p> + +<p>During the year 1851 the Disciples, the religious +body to which young Garfield had attached +himself, opened a collegiate school at Hiram, in +Portage County, which they called an eclectic +school. Now it ranks as a college, but at the time +James entered it, it had not assumed so ambitious +a title.</p> + + +<p>It was not far away, and James' attention was +naturally drawn to it. There was an advantage +also in its location. Hiram was a small country +village, where the expenses of living were small, +and, as we know, our young student's purse was +but scantily filled. Nevertheless, so limited were +his means that it was a perplexing problem how +he would be able to pay his way.</p> + +<p>He consulted his mother, and, as was always +the case, found that she sympathized fully in his +purpose of obtaining a higher education. Pecuniary +help, however, she could not give, nor had +he at this time any rich friends upon whom he +could call for the pittance he required.</p> + +<p>But James was not easily daunted. He had +gone to Geauga Seminary with but seventeen +dollars in his pocket; he had remained there three +years, maintaining himself by work at his old +trade of carpenter and teaching, and had graduated +owing nothing. He had become self-reliant, +and felt that what he had done at Chester +he could do at Hiram.</p> + +<p>So one fine morning he set out, with a light +heart and a pocket equally light, for the infant +institution from which he hoped so much.</p> + + +<p>The Board of Trustees were in session, as we +learn from the account given by one of their number, +when James arrived and sought an audience.</p> + +<p>After a little delay, the doorkeeper was instructed +to bring him in.</p> + +<p>James was nineteen at this time. He was no +longer as homespun in appearance as when he sat +upon a log with Dr. Robinson, in the seclusion of +the woods, and asked his advice about a career. +Nevertheless, he was still awkward. He had +grown rapidly, was of slender build, and had no +advantages of dress to recommend him. One who +saw him in after-life, with his noble, imposing +presence, would hardly recognize any similarity +between him and the raw country youth who +stood awkwardly before the Board of Trustees, to +plead his cause. It happens not unfrequently +that a lanky youth develops into a fine-looking +man. Charles Sumner, at the age of twenty, +stood six feet two inches in his stockings, and +weighed but one hundred and twenty pounds! +Yet in after-life he was a man of noble presence.</p> + +<p>But all this while we are leaving James in suspense +before the men whose decision is to affect +his life so powerfully.</p> + + +<p>"Well, young man," asked the Principal, +"what can we do for you?"</p> + +<p>"Gentlemen," said James, earnestly, "I want +an education, and would like the privilege of +making the fires and sweeping the floors of the +building to pay part of my expenses."</p> + +<p>There was in his bearing and countenance an +earnestness and an intelligence which impressed +the members of the board.</p> + +<p>"Gentlemen," said Mr. Frederic Williams, one +of the trustees, "I think we had better try this +young man."</p> + +<p>Another member, turning to Garfield, said: +"How do we know, young man, that the work +will be done as we may desire?"</p> + +<p>"Try me," was the answer; "try me two +weeks, and if it is not done to your entire satisfaction, +I will retire without a word."</p> + +<p>"That seems satisfactory," said the member +who had asked the question.</p> + +<p>"What studies do you wish to pursue?" asked +one gentleman.</p> + +<p>"I want to prepare for college. I shall wish to +study Latin, Greek, mathematics, and anything +else that may be needed."</p> + + +<p>"Have you studied any of these already?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir."</p> + +<p>"Where?"</p> + +<p>"At the Geauga Seminary. I can refer you to +the teachers there. I have studied under them +for three years, and they know all about me."</p> + +<p>"What is your name?"</p> + +<p>"James A. Garfield."</p> + +<p>"There is something in that young man," said +one of the trustees to Mr. Williams. "He +seems thoroughly in earnest, and I believe will +be a hard worker."</p> + +<p>"I agree with you," was the reply.</p> + +<p>James was informed that his petition was +granted, and he at once made arrangements for +his residence at Hiram.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> + +<a name="toc_15"></a> + +<h2>Chapter XIV—At Hiram Institute.</h2> + + +<p>Hiram, the seat of the Eclectic Institute, was +not a place of any pretension. It was scarcely a +village, but rather a hamlet. Yet the advantages +which the infant institution offered drew together +a considerable number of pupils of both sexes, +sons and daughters of the Western Reserve +farmers, inspired with a genuine love of learning, +and too sensible to waste their time on mere +amusement.</p> + +<p>This is the account given of it by President B.A. +Hinsdale, who for fifteen years has ably +presided over its affairs: "The institute building, +a plain but substantially built brick structure, was +put on the top of a windy hill, in the middle of a +cornfield. One of the cannon that General +Scott's soldiers dragged to the City of Mexico in +1847, planted on the roof of the new structure, +would not have commanded a score of farm houses.</p> + + +<p>"Here the school opened at the time Garfield +was closing his studies at Chester. It had been in +operation two terms when he offered himself for +enrollment. Hiram furnished a location, the +Board of Trustees a building and the first +teacher, the surrounding country students, but +the spiritual Hiram made itself. Everything was +new. Society, traditions, the genius of the +school, had to be evolved from the forces of the +teachers and pupils, limited by the general and +local environment. Let no one be surprised when +I say that such a school as this was the best of all +places for young Garfield. There was freedom, +opportunity, a large society of rapidly and +eagerly opening young minds, instructors who +were learned enough to instruct him, and abundant +scope for ability and force of character, of +which he had a superabundance.</p> + +<p>"Few of the students who came to Hiram in +that day had more than a district-school education, +though some had attended the high schools +and academies scattered over the country; so that +Garfield, though he had made but slight progress +in the classics and the higher mathematics previous +to his arrival, ranked well up with the first + +scholars. In ability, all acknowledged that he +was the peer of any; soon his superiority to all +others was generally conceded."</p> + +<p>So James entered upon his duties as janitor and +bell-ringer. It was a humble position for the +future President of the United States; but no +work is humiliating which is undertaken with a +right aim and a useful object. Of one thing my +boy-reader may be sure—the duties of the offices +were satisfactorily performed. The school-rooms +were well cared for, and the bell was rung +punctually. This is shown by the fact that, after +the two weeks of probation, he was still continued +in office, though doubtless in the large number of +students of limited means in the institute there +was more than one that would have been glad to +relieve him of his office.</p> + +<p>It will hardly be supposed, however, that the +position of janitor and bell-ringer could pay all +his expenses. He had two other resources. In +term-time he worked at his trade of carpenter as +opportunity offered, and in the winter, as at +Chester, he sought some country town where he +could find employment as a teacher.</p> + +<p>The names of the places where he taught are + +not known to me, though doubtless there is many +an Ohio farmer, or mechanic, or, perchance, professional +man, who is able to boast that he was +partially educated by a President of the United +States.</p> + +<p>As characteristic of his coolness and firmness, I +am tempted to record an incident which happened +to him in one of his winter schools.</p> + +<p>There were some scholars about as large as +himself, to whom obedience to the rules of the +school was not quite easy—who thought, in consideration +of their age and size, that they might +venture upon acts which would not be tolerated +in younger pupils.</p> + +<p>The school had commenced one morning, when +the young teacher heard angry words and the +noise of a struggle in the school-yard, which +chanced to be inclosed. The noise attracted the +attention of the scholars, and interfered with the +attention which the recitation required.</p> + +<p>James Garfield stepped quietly outside of the +door, and saw two of his oldest and largest pupils +engaged in a wrestling match. For convenience +we will call them Brown and Jones.</p> + +<p>"What are you about, boys?" asked the teacher</p> + + +<p>The two were so earnestly engaged in their +conflict that neither returned an answer.</p> + +<p>"This must be stopped immediately," said +James, decisively. "It is disrespectful to me, +and disturbs the recitations."</p> + +<p>He might as well have spoken to the wind. +They heard, but they continued their fight.</p> + +<p>"This must stop, or I will stop it myself," said +the teacher.</p> + +<p>The boys were not afraid. Each was about as +large as the teacher, and they felt that if he interfered +he was likely to get hurt.</p> + +<p>James thought he had given sufficient warning. +The time had come to act. He stepped +quickly forward, seized one of the combatants, +and with a sudden exertion of strength, threw +him over the fence. Before he had time to recover +from his surprise his companion was lifted +over in the same manner.</p> + +<p>"Now, go on with your fighting if you wish," +said the young teacher; "though I advise you to +shake hands and make up. When you get through +come in and report."</p> + +<p>The two young men regarded each other foolishly. +Somehow all desire to fight had been +taken away.</p> + + +<p>"I guess we'll go in now," said Brown.</p> + +<p>"I'm with you," said Jones, and Garfield entered +the school-room, meekly followed by the +two refractory pupils. There was not much use +in resisting the authority of a teacher who could +handle them with such ease.</p> + +<p>James did not trouble them with any moral +lecture. He was too sensible. He felt that all +had been said and done that was required.</p> + +<p>But how did he spend his time at the new +seminary, and how was he regarded? Fortunately +we have the testimony of a lady, now residing +in Illinois, who was one of the first students +at Hiram.</p> + +<p>"When he first entered the school," she writes, +"he paid for his schooling by doing janitor's +work, sweeping the floor and ringing the bell. I +can see him even now standing in the morning +with his hand on the bell-rope, ready to give the +signal, calling teachers and scholars to engage in +the duties of the day. As we passed by, entering +the school-room, he had a cheerful word for +every one. He was probably the most popular +person in the institution. He was always good-natured, +fond of conversation, and very entertaining. + +He was witty and quick at repartee, but +his jokes, though brilliant and sparkling, were +always harmless, and he never would willingly +hurt another's feelings.</p> + +<p>"Afterward he became an assistant teacher, +and while pursuing his classical studies, preparatory +to his college course, he taught the English +branches. He was a most entertaining teacher—ready +with illustrations, and possessing in a +marked degree the power of exciting the interest +of the scholars, and afterward making clear to +them the lessons. In the arithmetic class there +were ninety pupils, and I can not remember a +time when there was any flagging in the interest. +There were never any cases of unruly conduct, +or a disposition to shirk. With scholars who +were slow of comprehension, or to whom recitations +were a burden, on account of their modest +or retiring dispositions, he was specially attentive, +and by encouraging words and gentle assistance +would manage to put all at their ease, and +awaken in them a confidence in themselves. He +was not much given to amusements or the sports +of the playground. He was too industrious, and +too anxious to make the utmost of his opportunities +to study.</p> + + +<p>"He was a constant attendant at the regular +meetings for prayer, and his vigorous exhortations +and apt remarks upon the Bible lessons were +impressive and interesting. There was a cordiality +in his disposition which won quickly the favor +and esteem of others. He had a happy habit of +shaking hands, and would give a hearty grip +which betokened a kind-hearted feeling for all. +He was always ready to turn his mind and hands +in any direction whereby he might add to his +meagre store of money.</p> + +<p>"One of his gifts was that of mezzotint drawing, +and he gave instruction in this branch. I +was one of his pupils in this, and have now the +picture of a cross upon which he did some shading +and put on the finishing touches. Upon the +margin is written, in the name of the noted +teacher, his own name and his pupil's. There are +also two other drawings, one of a large European +bird on the bough of a tree, and the other a +church yard scene in winter, done by him at that +time. In those days the faculty and pupils were +wont to call him 'the second Webster,' and the +remark was common, 'He will fill the White +House yet.' In the Lyceum he early took rank +far above the others as a speaker and debater.</p> + + +<p>"During the month of June the entire school +went in carriages to their annual grove meeting +at Randolph, some twenty-five miles away. On +this trip he was the life of the party, occasionally +bursting out in an eloquent strain at the sight of +a bird or a trailing vine, or a venerable giant of +the forest. He would repeat poetry by the hour, +having a very retentive memory.</p> + +<p>"At the Institute the members were like a +band of brothers and sisters, all struggling to advance +in knowledge. Then all dressed plainly, +and there was no attempt or pretence at dressing +fashionably or stylishly. Hiram was a little country +place, with no fascinations or worldly attractions +to draw off the minds of the students from +their work."</p> + +<p>Such is an inside view—more graphic than any +description I can give—of the life of James Garfield +at Hiram Institute.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> + +<a name="toc_16"></a> + +<h2>Chapter XV—Three Busy Years.</h2> + + +<p>Among the readers of this volume there may be +boys who are preparing for college. They will +be interested to learn the extent of James Garfield's +scholarship, when he left the Geauga Academy, +and transferred himself to the Institute at +Hiram. Though, in his own language, he remembers +with great satisfaction the work which was +accomplished for him at Chester, that satisfaction +does not spring from the amount that he had acquired, +but rather that while there he had formed +a definite purpose and plan to complete a college +course. For, as the young scholar truly remarks, +"It is a great point gained when a young man +makes up his mind to devote several years to the +accomplishment of a definite work."</p> + +<p>When James entered at Hiram, he had studied +Latin only six weeks, and just begun Greek. +He was therefore merely on the threshold of his + +preparatory course for college. To anticipate a +little, he completed this course, and fitted himself +to enter the Junior class at Williams College in +the space of three years. How much labor this +required many of my readers are qualified to understand. +It required him to do nearly six years' +work in three, though interrupted by work of +various kinds necessary for his support.</p> + +<p>He was not yet able to live luxuriously, or +even, as we suppose, comfortably. He occupied a +room with four other students, which could hardly +have been favorable for study. Yet, in the first +term he completed six books of Caesar's commentaries, +and made good progress in Greek. During +the first winter he taught a school at Warrensville, +receiving the highest salary he had yet been paid, +eighteen dollars a month—of course in addition to +board.</p> + +<p>At the commencement of the second year the +president sent for him.</p> + +<p>James obeyed the summons, wondering whether +he was to receive any reprimand for duty unfulfilled.</p> + +<p>President Hayden received him cordially, thus +dissipating his apprehensions.</p> + + +<p>"Garfield," he said, "Mr. ——, tutor in English +and ancient languages, is sick, and it is doubtful +whether he will be able to resume his duties. +Do you think you can fill his place, besides carrying +on your own work as student?"</p> + +<p>Young Garfield's face flushed with pleasure. +The compliment was unexpected, but in every +way the prospect it opened was an agreeable one. +His only doubt was as to his qualifications.</p> + +<p>"I should like it very much," he said, "if you +think I am qualified."</p> + +<p>"I have no doubt on that point. You will +teach only what is familiar to you, and I believe +you have a special faculty for imparting knowledge."</p> + +<p>"Thank you very much, Mr. Hayden," said +Garfield. "I will accept with gratitude, and I will +do my best to give satisfaction."</p> + +<p>How well he discharged his office may be inferred +from the testimony given in the last chapter.</p> + +<p>Though a part of his time was taken up in +teaching others, he did not allow it to delay his +own progress. Still before him he kept the bright +beacon of a college education. He had put his + +hand to the plow, and he was not one to turn +back or loiter on the way. That term he began +Xenophon's Anabasis, and was fortunate enough +to find a home in the president's family.</p> + +<p>But he was not content with working in term-time. +When the summer brought a vacation, he +felt that it was too long a time to be lost. He induced +ten students to join him, and hired Professor +Dunshee to give them lessons for one +month. During that time he read the Eclogues +and Georgics of Virgil entire, and the first six +books of Homer's Iliad, accompanied by a thorough +drill in the Latin and Greek grammar. He +must have "toiled terribly," and could have had +few moments for recreation. When the fall term +commenced, in company with Miss Almeda +Booth, a mature young lady of remarkable intellect, +and some other students, he formed a Translation +society, which occupied itself with the Book +of Romans, of course in the Greek version. During +the succeeding winter he read the whole of "Demosthenes +on the Crown."</p> + +<p>The mental activity of the young man (he was +now twenty) seems exhaustless. All this time he +took an active part in a literary society composed + +of some of his fellow-students. He had already +become an easy, fluent, and forcible speaker—a +very necessary qualification for the great work of +his life.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I suppose he had a talent for it," some of +my young readers may say.</p> + +<p>Probably he had; indeed, it is certain that he +had, but it may encourage them to learn that he +found difficulties at the start. When a student +at Geauga, he made his first public speech. It +was a six minutes' oration at the annual exhibition, +delivered in connection with a literary society to +which he belonged. He records in a diary kept +at the time that he "was very much scared," and +"very glad of a short curtain across the platform +that hid my shaking legs from the audience." +Such experiences are not uncommon in the career +of men afterward noted for their ease in public +speaking. I can recall such, and so doubtless can +any man of academic or college training. I wish +to impress upon my young reader that Garfield +was indebted for what he became to earnest work.</p> + +<p>While upon the subject of public speaking I am +naturally led to speak of young Garfield's religious +associations. His mind has already been impressed + +with the importance of the religious element, +and he felt that no life would be complete +without it. He had joined the Church of the Disciples, +the same to which his uncle belonged, and +was baptized in a little stream that runs into the +Chagrin River. The creed of this class of religious +believers is one likely to commend itself in +most respects to the general company of Christians; +but as this volume is designed to steer +clear of sect or party, I do not hold any further +reference to it necessary. What concerns us more +is, that young Garfield, in accordance with the +liberal usages of the Disciples, was invited on frequent +occasions to officiate as a lay preacher in the +absence of the regular pastor of the Church of the +Disciples at Hiram.</p> + +<p>Though often officiating as a preacher, I do not +find that young Garfield ever had the ministry +in view. On the other hand, he early formed the +design of studying for the legal profession, as he +gradually did, being admitted to the bar of Cuyahoga +County, in 1860, when himself president of +Hiram College.</p> + +<p>So passed three busy and happy years. Young +Garfield had but few idle moments. In teaching + +others, in pursuing his own education, in taking +part in the work of the literary society, and in +Sunday exhortations, his time was well filled up. +But neither his religion nor his love of study made +him less companionable. He was wonderfully +popular. His hearty grasp of the hand, his genial +manner, his entire freedom from conceit, his readiness +to help others, made him a general favorite. +Some young men, calling themselves religious, +assume a sanctimonious manner, that repels, but +James Garfield never was troubled in this way. +He believed that</p> + +<div class="lg"> +<p class="l">"Religion never was designed</p> +<p class="l">To make our pleasures less,"</p> +</div> + +<p>and was always ready to take part in social pleasures, +provided they did not interfere with his +work.</p> + +<p>And all this while, with all his homely surroundings, +he had high thoughts for company. +He wrote to a student, afterward his own successor +to the presidency, words that truly describe +his own aspirations and habits of mind. "Tell +me, Burke, do you not feel a spirit stirring within +you that longs <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">to know, to do, and to dare</span>, to hold + +converse with the great world of thought, and +hold before you some high and noble object to +which the vigor of your mind and the strength +of your arm may be given? Do you not have +longings like these which you breathe to no one, +and which you feel must be heeded, or you will +pass through life unsatisfied and regretful? I am +sure you have them, and they will forever cling +round your heart till you obey their mandate."</p> + +<p>The time had come when James was ready to +take another step upward. The district school +had been succeeded by Geauga Seminary, that by +Hiram Institute, and now he looked Eastward for +still higher educational privileges. There was a +college of his own sect at Bethany, not far away, +but the young man was not so blinded by this +consideration as not to understand that it was not +equal to some of the best known colleges at the +East.</p> + +<p>Which should he select?</p> + +<p>He wrote to the presidents of Brown University, +Yale, and Williams, stating how far he had +advanced, and inquiring how long it would take +to complete their course.</p> + +<p>From all he received answers, but the one from + +President Hopkins, of Williams College, ended +with the sentence, "If you come here, we shall be +glad to do what we can for you." This sentence, +so friendly and cordial, decided the young man +who otherwise would have found it hard to choose +between the three institutions.</p> + +<p>"My mind is made up," he said. "I shall start +for Williams College next week."</p> + +<p>He was influenced also by what he already +knew of Dr. Hopkins. He was not a stranger to +the high character of his intellect, and his theological +reputation. He felt that here was a man +of high rank in letters who was prepared to be not +only his teacher and guide, but his personal friend, +and for this, if for no other reason, he decided in +favor of Williams College. To a young man circumstanced +as he was, a word of friendly sympathy +meant much.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> + +<a name="toc_17"></a> + +<h2>Chapter XVI—Entering Williams College.</h2> + + +<p>James Garfield had reached the mature age +of twenty-two years when he made his first entrance +into Williamstown. He did not come +quite empty-handed. He had paid his expenses +while at Hiram, and earned three hundred and +fifty dollars besides, which he estimated would +carry him through the Junior year. He was tall +and slender, with a great shock of light hair, +rising nearly erect from a broad, high forehead. +His face was open, kindly, and thoughtful, and it +did not require keen perception of character to +discern something above the common in the +awkward Western youth, in his decidedly shabby +raiment.</p> + +<p>Young Garfield would probably have enjoyed +the novel sensation of being well dressed, but he +had never had the opportunity of knowing how it +seemed. That ease and polish of manner which + +come from mingling in society he entirely lacked. +He was as yet a rough diamond, but a diamond +for all that.</p> + +<p>Among his classmates were men from the cities, +who stared in undisguised amazement at the tall, +lanky young man who knocked at the doors of +the college for admission.</p> + +<p>"Who is that rough-looking fellow?" asked a +member of a lower class, pointing out Garfield, as +he was crossing the college campus.</p> + +<p>"Oh, that is Garfield; he comes from the +Western Reserve."</p> + +<p>"I suppose his clothes were made by a Western +Reserve tailor."</p> + +<p>"Probably," answered his classmate, smiling.</p> + +<p>"He looks like a confirmed rustic."</p> + +<p>"That is true, but there is something in him. +I am in his division, and I can tell you that he +has plenty of talent."</p> + +<p>"His head is big enough."</p> + +<p>"Yes, he has a large brain—a sort of Websterian +intellect. He is bound to be heard of."</p> + +<p>"It is a pity he is so awkward."</p> + +<p>"Oh, that will wear off. He has a hearty, +cordial way with him, and though at first we + +were disposed to laugh at him, we begin to like +him."</p> + +<p>"He's as old as the hills. At any rate, he +looks so."</p> + +<p>"How old are you?"</p> + +<p>"Seventeen."</p> + +<p>"Compared with you he is, for he is nearly +twenty-three. However, it is never too late to +learn. He is not only a good scholar, but he is +very athletic, and there are few in college who +can equal him in athletic sports."</p> + +<p>"Why didn't he come to college before? What +made him wait till he was an old man?"</p> + +<p>"I understand that he has had a hard struggle +with poverty. All the money he has he earned +by hard labor. Dr. Hopkins seems to have taken +a liking to him. I saw him walking with the +doctor the other day."</p> + +<p>This conversation describes pretty accurately +the impression made by Garfield upon his classmates, +and by those in other classes who became +acquainted with him. At first they were disposed +to laugh at the tall, awkward young man +and his manners, but soon his real ability, and his +cordial, social ways won upon all, and he was installed + +as a favorite. The boys began to call him +Old Gar, and regarded him with friendship and +increasing respect, as he grew and developed +intellectually, and they began to see what manner +of man he was.</p> + +<p>Perhaps the readiest way for a collegian to +make an impression upon his associates is to show +a decided talent for oratory. They soon discovered +at Williams that Garfield had peculiar gifts +in this way. His speaking at clubs, and before +the church of his communion in Hiram, had been +for him a valuable training. He joined a society, +and soon had an opportunity of showing that he +was a ready and forcible speaker.</p> + +<p>One day there came startling news to the +college. Charles Sumner had been struck down +in the Senate chamber by Preston S. Brooks, of +South Carolina, for words spoken in debate. The +hearts of the students throbbed with indignation—none +more fiercely than young Garfield's. At an +indignation meeting convened by the students he +rose and delivered, so says one who heard him, +"one of the most impassioned and eloquent +speeches ever delivered in old Williams."</p> + +<p>It made a sensation.</p> + + +<p>"Did you hear Old Gar's speech at the meeting?" +asked one of another.</p> + +<p>"No, I did not get in in time."</p> + +<p>"It was great. I never heard him speak better. +Do you know what I think?"</p> + +<p>"Well?"</p> + +<p>"Gar will be in Congress some day himself. +He has rare powers of debate, and is a born +orator."</p> + +<p>"I shouldn't wonder myself if you were right. +If he ever reaches Congress he will do credit to +old Williams."</p> + +<p>James had given up his trade as a carpenter. +He was no longer obliged to resort to it, or, at +any rate, he preferred to earn money in a different +way. So one winter he taught penmanship +at North Pownal, in Vermont, a post for which +he was qualified, for he had a strong, bold, handsome +hand.</p> + +<p>"Did you know Mr. Arthur, who taught school +here last winter?" asked one of his writing pupils +of young Garfield.</p> + +<p>"No; he was not a student of Williams."</p> + +<p>"He graduated at Union College, I believe."</p> + +<p>"Was he a good teacher?"</p> + + +<p>"Yes, he was very successful, keeping order +without any trouble, though the school is considered +a hard one."</p> + +<p>This was Chester A. Arthur, whose name in +after years was to be associated with that of the +writing-teacher, who was occupying the same +room as his Presidential successor. But to +James Garfield, at that time, the name meant +nothing, and it never occurred to him what high +plans Providence had for them both. It was one +of those remarkable cases in which the paths of +two men who are joined in destiny traverse each +other. Was it not strange that two future occupants +of the Presidential chair should be found +teaching in the same school-room, in an obscure +Vermont village, two successive winters?</p> + +<p>As the reader, though this is the biography of +Garfield, may feel a curiosity to learn what sort +of a teacher Arthur was, I shall, without apology, +conclude this chapter with the story of a pupil of +his who, in the year 1853, attended the district +school at Cohoes, then taught by Chester A. +Arthur. I find it in the Troy <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Times</span>:</p> + +<p>"In the year 1853 the writer attended the +district school at Cohoes. The high department + +did not enjoy a very enviable reputation for being +possessed of that respect due from the pupils to +teacher. During the year there had been at least +four teachers in that department, the last one only +remaining one week. The Board of Education +had found it difficult to obtain a pedagogue to +take charge of the school, until a young man, +slender as a May-pole and six feet high in his +stockings, applied for the place. He was engaged +at once, although he was previously informed of +the kind of timber he would be obliged to hew.</p> + +<p>"Promptly at nine o'clock A.M. every scholar +was on hand to welcome the man who had said +that he would 'conquer the school or forfeit his +reputation.' Having called the morning session +to order, he said that he had been engaged to take +charge of the school. He came with his mind +prejudiced against the place. He had heard of +the treatment of the former teachers by the +pupils, yet he was not at all embarrassed, for he +felt that, with the proper recognition of each +other's rights, teacher and scholars could live +together in harmony. He did not intend to +threaten, but he intended to make the scholars +obey him, and would try and win the good-will of + +all present. He had been engaged to take charge +of that room, and he wished the co-operation of +every pupil in so doing. He had no club, +ruler, or whip, but appealed directly to the hearts +of every young man and young lady in the room. +Whatever he should do, he would at least show +to the people of this place that this school could +be governed. He spoke thus and feelingly at +times, yet with perfect dignity he displayed that +executive ability which in after years made him +such a prominent man. Of course the people, +especially the boys, had heard fine words spoken +before, and at once a little smile seemed to flit +across the faces of the leading spirits in past rebellions.</p> + +<p>"The work of the forenoon began, when a lad +of sixteen placed a marble between his thumb and +finger, and, with a snap, sent it rolling across the +floor. As the tall and handsome teacher saw this +act, he arose from his seat, and, without a word, +walked toward the lad.</p> + +<p>"'Get up, sir,' he said.</p> + +<p>"The lad looked at him to see if he was in +earnest; then he cast his eyes toward the large boys +to see if they were not going to take up his defense.</p> + + +<p>"'Get up, sir,' said the teacher a second time, +and he took him by the collar of his jacket as if +to raise him. The lad saw he had no common +man to deal with, and he rose from his seat.</p> + +<p>"'Follow me, sir,' calmly spoke the teacher, +and he led the way toward the hall, while the +boy began to tremble, wondering if the new +teacher was going to take him out and kill him. +The primary department was presided over by a +sister of the new teacher, and into this room he +led the young transgressor.</p> + +<p>"Turning to his sister he said: 'I have a pupil +for you; select a seat for him, and let him remain +here. If he makes any disturbance whatever, +inform me.' Turning to the boy he said: 'Young +man, mind your teacher, and do not leave your +seat until I give permission,' and he was gone.</p> + +<p>"The lad sat there, feeling very sheepish, and +as misery loves company, it was not long before +he was gratified to see the door open and observe +his seat-mate enter with the new teacher, who repeated +the previous orders, when he quietly and +with dignity withdrew.</p> + +<p>"The number was subsequently increased to +three, the teacher returning each time without a + +word to the other scholars concerning the disposition +made of the refractory lads. The effect upon +the rest of the school was remarkable. As no +intimation of the disposition of the boys was +given, not a shade of anger displayed on the +countenance of the new teacher, nor any appearances +of blood were noticeable upon his hands, +speculation was rife as to what he had done with +the three chaps. He spoke kindly to all, smiled +upon the scholars who did well in their classes, +and seemed to inspire all present with the truth +of his remarks uttered at the opening of the +session.</p> + +<p>"At recess the mystery that had enveloped the +school was cleared away, for the three lads in the +primary department were seen as the rest of the +scholars filed by the door. While all the rest enjoyed +the recess, the three lads were obliged to +remain in their seats, and when school was dismissed +for the forenoon, the new teacher entered +the primary-room, and was alone with the young +offenders. He sat down by them, and like a +father talked kindly and gave good advice. No +parent ever used more fitting words nor more impressed +his offspring with the fitness thereof than + +did the new teacher. Dismissing them, he told +them to go home, and when they returned to +school to be good boys.</p> + +<p>"That afternoon the boys were in their seats, +and in two weeks' time there was not a scholar in +the room who would not do anything the teacher +asked. He was beloved by all, and his quiet +manner and cool, dignified ways made him a great +favorite. He only taught two terms, and every +reasonable inducement was offered to prevail +upon him to remain, but without avail. His +reply was: "I have accomplished all I intended, +namely, conquered what you thought was a wild +lot of boys, and received the discipline that I required. +I regret leaving my charge, for I have +learned to love them, but I am to enter a law +office at once."</p> + +<p>"That teacher was Chester A. Arthur, now +President of the United States; the teacher of +the primary department was his sister, now Mrs. +Haynesworth, and the first of the three refractory +boys was the writer. When it was announced +that our beloved teacher was to leave us, many +tears were shed by his scholars, and as a slight +token of our love, we presented him with an +elegant volume of poems."</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> + +<a name="toc_18"></a> + +<h2>Chapter XVII—Life In College.</h2> + + +<p>Probably young Garfield never passed two +happier or more profitable years than at Williams +College. The Seminaries he had hitherto attended +were respectable, but in the nature of +things they could not afford the facilities which +he now enjoyed. Despite his years of study and +struggle there were many things in which he was +wholly deficient. He had studied Latin, Greek, +and mathematics, but of English literature he knew +but little. He had never had time to read for +recreation, or for that higher culture which is not +to be learned in the class-room.</p> + +<p>In the library of Williams College he made +his first acquaintance with Shakespeare, and we +can understand what a revelation his works must +have been to the aspiring youth. He had abstained +from reading fiction, doubting whether it +was profitable, since the early days when with a + +thrill of boyish excitement he read "Sinbad the +Sailor" and Marryatt's novels. After a while his +views as to the utility of fiction changed. He +found that his mind was suffering from the solid +food to which it was restricted, and he began to +make incursions into the realm of poetry and +fiction with excellent results. He usually limited +this kind of reading, and did not neglect for the +fascination of romance those more solid works +which should form the staple of a young man's +reading.</p> + +<p>It is well known that among poets Tennyson +was his favorite, so that in after years, when at +fifteen minutes' notice, on the first anniversary of +Lincoln's assassination, he was called upon to +move an adjournment of the House, as a mark +of respect to the martyred President, he was able +from memory to quote in his brief speech, as +applicable to Lincoln, the poet's description of +some</p> + +<div class="lg"> +<p class="l">"Divinely gifted man,</p> +<p class="l">Whose life in low estate began,</p> +<p class="l">And on a simple village green,</p> +<p class="l">Who breaks his birth's invidious bars,</p> + +<p class="l">And grasped the skirts of happy chance,</p> +<p class="l">And breasts the blows of circumstance,</p> +<p class="l">And grapples with his evil stars;</p> + +<p class="l">Who makes by force his merit known,</p> +<p class="l">And lives to clutch the golden keys</p> +<p class="l">To mould a mighty state's decrees,</p> +<p class="l">And shape the whisper of the throne;</p> +<p class="l">And moving up from high to higher,</p> + +<p class="l">Becomes on Fortune's crowning slope</p> +<p class="l">The pillar of a people's hope,</p> +<p class="l">The center of a world's desire."</p> +</div> + +<p>I am only repeating the remark made by many +when I call attention to the fitness of this description +to Garfield himself.</p> + +<p>Our young student was fortunate in possessing +a most retentive memory. What he liked, especially +in the works of his favorite poet, was so +impressed upon his memory that he could recite +extracts by the hour. This will enable the reader +to understand how thoroughly he studied, and +how readily he mastered, those branches of knowledge +to which his attention was drawn. When +in after years in Congress some great public question +came up, which required hard study, it was +the custom of his party friends to leave Garfield +to study it, with the knowledge that in due time +he would be ready with a luminous exposition +which would supply to them the place of individual +study.</p> + +<p>Young Garfield was anxious to learn the language + +of Goethe and Schiller, and embraced the +opportunity afforded at college to enter upon the +study of German. He was not content with a +mere smattering, but learned it well enough to +converse in it as well as to read it.</p> + +<p>So most profitably the Junior year was spent, +but unhappily James had spent all the money +which he had brought with him. Should he leave +college to earn more? Fortunately, this was not +necessary. Thomas Garfield, always unselfishly +devoted to the family, hoped to supply his +younger brother with the necessary sum, in installments; +but proving unable, his old friend, +Dr. Robinson, came to his assistance.</p> + +<p>"You can pay me when you are able, James," +he said.</p> + +<p>"If I live I will pay you, doctor. If I do +not—"</p> + +<p>He paused, for an idea struck him.</p> + +<p>"I will insure my life for eight hundred +dollars," he continued, "and place the policy in +your hands. Then, whether I live or die, you +will be secure."</p> + +<p>"I do not require this, James," said the doctor +kindly.</p> + + +<p>"Then I feel all the more under obligations to +secure you in return for your generous confidence."</p> + +<p>It was a sensible and business-like proposal, +and the doctor assented. The strong, vigorous +young man had no difficulty in securing a policy +from a reputable company, and went back to +college at the commencement of the Senior year. +I wish to add that the young man scrupulously +repaid the good doctor's timely loan, for had he +failed to do so, I could not have held him up to +my young readers as in all respects a model.</p> + +<p>There was published at Williams College, in +Garfield's time, a magazine called the <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Williams +Quarterly</span>. To this the young man became a +frequent contributor. In Gen. James S. Brisbin's +campaign Life of Garfield, I find three of his +poetic contributions quoted, two of which I will +also transfer to my pages, as likely to possess +some interest for my young reader. The first is +called</p> + +<p>"THE CHARGE OF THE TIGHT BRIGADE,"</p> + +<p>and commences thus:</p> + +<div class="lg"> +<p class="l">"Bottles to right of them,</p> +<p class="l">Bottles to left of them,</p> + +<p class="l">Bottles in front of them,</p> +<p class="l">Fizzled and sundered;</p> + +<p class="l">Ent'ring with shout and yell,</p> +<p class="l">Boldly they drank and well,</p> +<p class="l">They caught the Tartar then;</p> +<p class="l"><span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Oh, what a perfect sell!</span></p> +<p class="l">Sold—the half hundred!</p> +<p class="l">Grinned all the dentals bare,</p> +<p class="l">Swung all their caps in air,</p> +<p class="l">Uncorking bottles there,</p> + +<p class="l">Watching the Freshmen, while</p> +<p class="l">Every one wondered;</p> +<p class="l">Plunged in tobacco smoke,</p> +<p class="l">With many a desperate stroke,</p> +<p class="l">Dozens of bottles broke;</p> +<p class="l">Then they came back, but not,</p> +<p class="l">Not the half hundred!"</p> +</div> + +<p>Lest from this merry squib, which doubtless +celebrated some college prank, wrong conclusions +should be drawn, I hasten to say that in college +James Garfield neither drank nor smoked.</p> + +<p>The next poem is rather long, but it possesses +interest as a serious production of one whose +name has become a household word. It is +entitled</p> + +<p>"MEMORY.</p> + +<div class="lg"> +<p class="l">"'Tis beauteous night; the stars look brightly down</p> +<p class="l">Upon the earth, decked in her robe of snow.</p> +<p class="l">No light gleams at the window save my own,</p> +<p class="l">Which gives its cheer to midnight and to me.</p> + +<p class="l">And now with noiseless step sweet Memory comes,</p> +<p class="l">And leads me gently through her twilight realms.</p> +<p class="l">What poet's tuneful lyre has ever sung,</p> +<p class="l">Or delicatest pencil e'er portrayed</p> +<p class="l">The enchanted, shadowy land where Memory dwells?</p> +<p class="l">It has its valleys, cheerless, lone, and drear,</p> +<p class="l">Dark-shaded by the lonely cypress tree.</p> + +<p class="l">And yet its sunlit mountain tops are bathed</p> +<p class="l">In heaven's own blue. Upon its craggy cliffs,</p> +<p class="l">Robed in the dreamy light of distant years,</p> +<p class="l">Are clustered joys serene of other days;</p> +<p class="l">Upon its gently sloping hillside's bank</p> +<p class="l">The weeping-willows o'er the sacred dust</p> +<p class="l">Of dear departed ones; and yet in that land,</p> + +<p class="l">Where'er our footsteps fall upon the shore,</p> +<p class="l">They that were sleeping rise from out the dust</p> +<p class="l">Of death's long, silent years, and round us stand,</p> +<p class="l">As erst they did before the prison tomb</p> +<p class="l">Received their clay within its voiceless halls.</p> +</div> + +<div class="lg"> +<p class="l">"The heavens that bend above that land are hung</p> +<p class="l">With clouds of various hues; some dark and chill,</p> + +<p class="l">Surcharged with sorrow, cast their sombre shade</p> +<p class="l">Upon the sunny, joyous land below;</p> +<p class="l">Others are floating through the dreamy air,</p> +<p class="l">White as the falling snow, their margins tinged</p> +<p class="l">With gold and crimson hues; their shadows fall</p> +<p class="l">Upon the flowery meads and sunny slopes,</p> +<p class="l">Soft as the shadows of an angel's wing.</p> +<p class="l">When the rough battle of the day is done,</p> + +<p class="l">And evening's peace falls gently on the heart,</p> +<p class="l">I bound away across the noisy years,</p> +<p class="l">Unto the utmost verge of Memory's land,</p> + +<p class="l">Where earth and sky in dreamy distance meet,</p> +<p class="l">And Memory dim with dark oblivion joins;</p> +<p class="l">Where woke the first remembered sounds that fell</p> +<p class="l">Upon the ear in childhood's early morn;</p> + +<p class="l">And wandering thence along the rolling years,</p> +<p class="l">I see the shadow of my former self</p> +<p class="l">Gliding from childhood up to man's estate.</p> +<p class="l">The path of youth winds down through many a vale,</p> +<p class="l">And on the brink of many a dread abyss,</p> +<p class="l">From out whose darkness comes no ray of light,</p> +<p class="l">Save that a phantom dances o'er the gulf,</p> +<p class="l">And beckons toward the verge. Again, the path</p> + +<p class="l">Leads o'er a summit where the sunbeams fall;</p> +<p class="l">And thus, in light and shade, sunshine and gloom,</p> +<p class="l">Sorrow and joy, this life-path leads along."</p> +</div> + +<p>During the year 1856 young Garfield was one +of the editors of the college magazine, from which +the above extracts are made. The hours spent +upon his contributions to its pages were doubtless +well spent. Here, to use his own words, he +learned "to hurl the lance and wield the sword +and thus prepare for the conflict of life." More +than one whose names have since become conspicuous +contributed to it while under his charge. +Among these were Professor Chadbourne, S.G.W. +Benjamin, Horace E. Scudder, W.R. Dimmock, +and John Savary. The last-named, now +resident in Washington, has printed, since his + +old friend's death, a series of sonnets, from which +I quote one:</p> + +<div class="lg"> +<p class="l">"How many and how great concerns of state</p> +<p class="l">Lie at the mercy of the meanest things!</p> + +<p class="l">This man, the peer of presidents and kings;</p> +<p class="l">Nay, first among them, passed through dangers gate</p> +<p class="l">In war unscathed, and perils out of date,</p> +<p class="l">To meet a fool whose pistol-shot yet rings</p> +<p class="l">Around the world, and at mere greatness flings</p> +<p class="l">The cruel sneer of destiny or fate!</p> +<p class="l">Yet hath he made the fool fanatic foil</p> +<p class="l">To valor, patience, nobleness, and wit!</p> +<p class="l">Nor had the world known, but because of it,</p> + +<p class="l">What virtues grow in suffering's sacred soil.</p> +<p class="l">The shot which opened like a crack of hell,</p> +<p class="l">Made all hearts stream with sacred pity's well</p> +<p class="l">And showed that unity in which we dwell."</p> +</div> + +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> + +<a name="toc_19"></a> +<h2>Chapter XVIII—The Canal-Boy Becomes A College President.</h2> + + +<p>During his second winter vacation a great +temptation assailed James. It was not a temptation +to do wrong. That he could easily have +resisted.</p> + +<p>I must explain.</p> + +<p>At Prestenkill, a country village six miles from +Troy, N.Y., the young student organized +a writing school, to help defray his expenses. +Having occasion to visit Troy, his interest in education +led him to form an acquaintance with some +of the teachers and directors of the public schools.</p> + +<p>One of these gentlemen, while walking with +him over the sloping sides of a hill overlooking +the city, said: "Mr. Garfield, I have a proposition +to make to you."</p> + +<p>The student listened with interest.</p> + +<p>"There is a vacancy in one of our public +schools. We want an experienced teacher, and I + +am sure you will suit us. I offer you the place, +with a salary of twelve hundred dollars a year. +What do you say?"</p> + +<p>The young man's heart beat for a moment with +repressible excitement. It was a strong temptation. +He was offered, deducting vacations, about +one hundred and twenty-five dollars a month, +while heretofore his highest wages had been but +eighteen dollars per month and board. Moreover, +he could marry at once the young lady to whom +he had been for years engaged.</p> + +<p>He considered the offer a moment, and this was +his answer:</p> + +<p>"You are not Satan and I am not Jesus, but we +are upon the mountain, and you have tempted me +powerfully. I think I must say, 'Get thee behind +me!' I am poor, and the salary would soon +pay my debts and place me in a position of independence; +but there are two objections. I could +not accomplish my resolution to complete a +college course, and should be crippled intellectually +for life. Then, my roots are all fixed in +Ohio, where people know me and I know them, +and this transplanting might not succeed as well +in the long run as to go back home and work for +smaller pay."</p> + + +<p>So the young man decided adversely, and it +looks as if his decision was a wise one. It is +interesting to conjecture what would have been +his future position had he left college and accepted +the school then offered him. He might still have +been a teacher, well known and of high repute, +but of fame merely local, and without a thought +of the brilliant destiny he had foregone.</p> + +<p>So he went back to college, and in the summer +of 1856 he graduated, carrying off the highest +honor—the metaphysical oration. His class was +a brilliant one. Three became general officers +during the rebellion—Garfield, Daviess, and +Thompson. Rockwell's name is well known in +official circles; Gilfillan is Treasurer of the United +States. There are others who fill prominent +positions. In the class above him was the late +Hon. Phineas W. Hitchcock, who for six years +represented Nebraska in the United States +Senate—like Garfield, the architect of his own +fortunes.</p> + +<p>"What are your plans, Garfield?" asked a classmate +but a short time before graduation.</p> + +<p>"I am going back to Ohio, to teach in the +school where I prepared for college."</p> + + +<p>"What is the name of the school?"</p> + +<p>"Hiram Institute."</p> + +<p>"I never heard of it."</p> + +<p>"It has only a local reputation."</p> + +<p>"Will you get a high salary?"</p> + +<p>"No; the institute is poor, and can pay me but +little."</p> + +<p>"I think you are making a mistake."</p> + +<p>"Why so?"</p> + +<p>"You are our best scholar, and no one can +rival you in speaking in the societies. You +should study law, and then go to one of our large +cities and build up a reputation, instead of burying +yourself in an out-of-the-way Ohio town, +where you may live and die without the world +hearing of you."</p> + +<p>"Thank you for your good opinion of me. I +am not sure whether I deserve it, but if I do, I +shall come to the surface some day. Meanwhile, +to this humble school (it was not yet a college) I +owe a large debt of gratitude. I am under a +promise to go back and do what I can to pay that +debt."</p> + +<p>"In doing so you may sacrifice your own +prospects."</p> + + +<p>"I hope not. At any rate, my mind is made +up."</p> + +<p>"Oh, well, in that case I will say no more. I +know that if your mind is made up, you are +bound to go. Only, years hence you will think of +my warning."</p> + +<p>"At any rate," said Garfield, cordially, "I +shall bear in mind the interest you have shown in +me. You may be right—I admit that—but I +feel that it is my duty to go."</p> + +<p>I doubt whether any man of great powers can +permanently bury himself, no matter how obscure +the position which he chooses. Sooner or later +the world will find him out, and he will be lifted +to his rightful place. When General Grant occupied +a desk in the office of a lawyer in St. Louis, +and made a precarious living by collecting bills, it +didn't look as if Fame had a niche for him; but +occasion came, and lifted him to distinction. So +I must confess that the young graduate seemed +to be making a mistake when, turning his back +upon Williams College, he sought the humble +institution where he had taught, as a pupil-teacher, +two years before, and occupied a place as instructor, +with an humble salary. But even here + +there was promotion for him. A year later, at +the age of twenty-six, he was made president of +the institution. It was not, perhaps, a lofty position, +for though Hiram Institute now became +Hiram College, it was not a college in the New +England sense, but rather a superior academy.</p> + +<p>Let us pause a minute and see what changes +have taken place in ten years.</p> + +<p>At the age of sixteen Jimmy Garfield was glad +to get a chance to drive a couple of mules on the +tow-path of the Ohio and Pennsylvania Canal. +The ragged, homespun boy had disappeared. In +his place we find James A. Garfield, A.B., president +of a Western college—a man of education +and culture. And how has this change been +brought about! By energy, perseverance, and a +resolute purpose—a soul that poverty could not +daunt, an ambition which shrank from no hardship, +and no amount of labor. They have been +years of toil, for it takes time to transform a raw +and ignorant country lad into a college president; +but the toil has not harmed him—the poverty has +not cramped him, nor crippled his energies. +"Poverty is very inconvenient," he said on one +occasion, in speaking of those early years, "but it + +is a fine spur to activity, and may be made a rich +blessing."</p> + +<p>The young man now had an assured income; +not a large one, but Hiram was but an humble +village. No fashionable people lived there. +The people were plain in their tastes, and he +could live as well as the best without difficulty. +He was employed in a way that interested and +pleased him, and but one thing seemed wanting. +His heart had never swerved from the young lady +with whom he first became acquainted at Geauga, +to whom he was more closely drawn at Hiram, +and to whom now for some years he had been betrothed. +He felt that he could now afford to be +married; and so Lucretia Rudolph became Mrs. +Garfield—a name loved and honored, for her sake +as well as his, throughout the length and breadth +of our land. She, too, had been busily and usefully +employed in these intervening years. As +Mr. Philo Chamberlain, of Cleveland, has told us +elsewhere, she has been a useful and efficient +teacher in one of the public schools of that city. +She has not been content with instructing others, +but in her hours of leisure has pursued a private +course of study, by which her mind has been + +broadened and deepened. If some prophetic +instinct had acquainted her with the high position +which the future had in store for her, she could +have taken no fitter course to prepare herself to +fulfil with credit the duties which, twenty years +after, were to devolve upon her as the wife of the +Chief Magistrate of the Union.</p> + +<p>This was the wife that Garfield selected, and +he found her indeed a helper and a sympathizer +in all his sorrows and joys. She has proved +equal to any position to which the rising fame of +her husband lifted her. Less than a year ago her +husband said of her: "I have been wonderfully +blessed in the discretion of my wife. She is one +of the coolest and best-balanced women I ever +saw. She is unstampedable. There has not been +one solitary instance in my public career when I +suffered in the smallest degree for any remark +she ever made. It would have been perfectly +natural for a woman often to say something that +could be misinterpreted; but, without any design, +and with the intelligence and coolness of her +character, she has never made the slightest mistake +that I ever heard of. With the competition + +that has been against me, such discretion has been +a real blessing."</p> + +<p>Public men who have risen from humble beginnings +often suffer from the mistakes of wives +who have remained stationary, and are unfitted +to sympathize with them in the larger life of their +husbands. But as James A. Garfield grew in the +public esteem, and honors crowded upon him, +step by step his wife kept pace with him, and +was at all times a fitting and sympathetic companion +and helpmeet.</p> + +<p>They commenced housekeeping in a neat little +cottage fronting the college campus; and so their +wedded life began. It was a modest home, but a +happy one, and doubtless both enjoyed more +happy hours than in the White House, even had +the last sorrowful tragedy never been enacted. +As President, James A. Garfield belonged to the +nation; as the head of Hiram College, to his +family. Greatness has its penalties, and a low +estate its compensations.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> +<a name="toc_20"></a> + +<h2>Chapter XIX—Garfield As A College President.</h2> + + +<p>When James Garfield presented himself at +Hiram, an awkward, overgrown boy of nineteen, +in his rustic garb, and humbly asked for the position +of janitor and bell-ringer, suppose the trustees +had been told, "In seven years your institute +will have developed into a college, and that boy +will be the president," we can imagine their +amazement.</p> + +<p>Yet it had all come true. Nowhere, perhaps, +but in America could such a thing have happened, +and even here it seldom happens that such an upward +stride is made in so short a time.</p> + +<p>After all, however, the important question to +consider is, "What sort of a college president did +this humble canal-boy, who counted it promotion +when he was elected a janitor and bell-ringer, +become?"</p> + +<p>For information upon this point, we go to one + +of his pupils, Rev. I.L. Darsie, of Danbury, +Conn., who writes as follows:</p> + +<p>"I attended the Western Reserve Institute +when Garfield was principal, and I recall vividly +his method of teaching. He took very kindly to +me, and assisted me in various ways, because I +was poor, and was janitor of the buildings, and +swept them out in the morning and built the +fires, as he had done only six years before, when +he was a pupil in the same college. He was full +of animal spirits, and used to run out on the green +every day and play cricket with his scholars. He +was a tall, strong man, but dreadfully awkward. +Every now and then he would get a hit, and he +muffed his ball and lost his hat as a regular +thing.<a href="#note_1"><span class="footnoteref">1</span></a> He was left-handed, too, and that made +him seem all the clumsier. But he was most +powerful and very quick, and it was easy for us +to understand how it was that he had acquired the +reputation of whipping all the other mule-drivers +on the canal, and of making himself the hero of +that thoroughfare, when he followed its tow-path, +only ten years earlier.</p> + +<p>"No matter how old the pupils were, Garfield +always called us by our first names, and kept himself +on the most intimate terms with all. He +played with us freely, and we treated him out of +the class-room just about as we did one another. +Yet he was a most strict disciplinarian, and enforced +the rules like a martinet. He combined +an affectionate and confiding manner with respect +for order in a most successful manner. If he +wanted to speak to a pupil, either for reproof or +approbation, he would generally manage to get +one arm around him, and draw him close up to +him. He had a peculiar way of shaking hands, +too, giving a twist to your arm, and drawing you +right up to him. This sympathetic manner has +helped him to advancement. When I was janitor, +he used sometimes to stop me, and ask my opinion +about this and that, as if seriously advising with +me. I can see now that my opinion could not +have been of any value, and that he probably +asked me partly to increase my self-respect and +partly to show that he felt an interest in me. I +certainly was his friend all the firmer for it.</p> + + +<p>"I remember once asking him what was the +best way to pursue a certain study.</p> + +<p>"'Use several text-books,' he answered. 'Get +the views of different authors as you advance. In +that way you can plow a deeper furrow. I always +study in that way.'</p> + +<p>"He tried hard to teach us to observe carefully +and accurately. He broke out one day in the +midst of a lesson with, 'Henry, how many posts +are there under the building down-stairs?' +Henry expressed his opinion, and the question +went around the class, hardly any one getting it +right. Then it was, 'How many boot-scrapers +are there at the door?' 'How many windows +in the building?' 'How many trees in the field?' + +He was the keenest observer I ever saw. I think +he noticed and numbered every button on our +coats. A friend of mine was walking with him +through Cleveland one day, when Garfield stopped +and darted down a cellar-way, asking his companion +to follow, and briefly pausing to explain +himself. The sign, 'Saws and Files,' was over +the door, and in the depths was heard a regular +clicking sound. 'I think this fellow is cutting +files,' said he, 'and I have never seen a file cut.</p> + + +<p>"Down they went, and, sure enough, there was +a man recutting an old file; and they stayed ten +minutes, and found out all about the process. +Garfield would never go by anything without +understanding it.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Garfield was very fond of lecturing in +the school. He spoke two or three times a week, +on all manner of topics, generally scientific, +though sometimes literary or historical. He +spoke with great freedom, never writing out what +he had to say, and I now think that his lectures +were a rapid compilation of his current reading, +and that he threw it into this form partly for the +purpose of impressing it upon his own mind.</p> + +<p>"His facility of speech was learned when he +was a pupil at Hiram. The societies had a rule +that every student should take his stand on the +platform and speak for five minutes on any topic +suggested at the moment by the audience. It was +a very trying ordeal. Garfield broke down badly +the first two times he tried to speak, but persisted, +and was at last, when he went to Williams, +one of the best of the five-minute speakers. When +he returned as principal, his readiness was striking +and remarkable."</p> + + +<p>Henry James says: "Garfield taught me more +than any other man, living or dead, and, proud as +I am of his record as a soldier and a statesman, I +can hardly forgive him for abandoning the +academy and the forum."</p> + +<p>So President Hinsdale, one of Garfield's pupils, +and his successor as president, testifies: "My real +acquaintance with Garfield did not begin till the +fall of 1856, when he returned from Williams +College. He then found me out, drew near to +me, and entered into all my troubles and difficulties +pertaining to questions of the future. In a +greater or less degree this was true of his relations +to his pupils generally. There are hundreds of +these men and women scattered over the world +to-day, who can not find language strong enough +to express their feeling in contemplating Garfield +as their old instructor, adviser, and friend.</p> + +<p>"Since 1856 my relations with him have been +as close and confidential as they could be with any +man, and much closer and more confidential than +they have been with any other man. I do not +say that it would be possible for me to know +anybody better than I know him, and I know that +he possesses all the great elements of character in + +an extraordinary degree. His interest in humanity +has always been as broad as humanity +itself, while his lively interest in young men and +women, especially if they were struggling in narrow +circumstances to obtain an education, is a +characteristic known as widely over the world as +the footsteps of Hiram boys and girls have +wandered.</p> + +<p>"The help that he furnished hundreds in the +way of suggestions, teaching, encouragement, inspiration, +and stimulus was most valuable. His +power over students was not so much that of a +drill-master, or disciplinarian, as that of one +who was able to inspire and energize young +people by his own intellectual and moral force."</p> + +<p>An illustration of the interest he felt in his +pupils may be given.</p> + +<p>A student came to the president's study at the +close of a college term to bid him good-bye. After +the good-bye was said, he lingered, and Garfield +said: "I suppose you will be back again in the +fall, Henry?"</p> + +<p>"No," he stammered, "I am not coming back +to Hiram any more. Father says I have got education +enough, and that he needs me to work on + +the farm; that education doesn't help a farmer +along any."</p> + +<p>He was a bright boy—not a prodigy, by any +means, but one of those strong, awkward, large-headed +fellows, such as James Garfield had himself +been.</p> + +<p>"Is your father here?" asked the young president, +affected by the boy's evident sorrow.</p> + +<p>"Yes, father is here, and is taking my things +home for good."</p> + +<p>"Well, don't feel badly. Please tell him Mr. +Garfield would like to see him at his study before +he leaves the college."</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir, I will."</p> + +<p>In half an hour the father, a sturdy farmer, +entered the study and awkwardly sat down.</p> + +<p>"So you have come to take Henry home, have +you?" asked the president.</p> + +<p>"Yes," answered the farmer.</p> + +<p>"I sent for you because I wanted to have a +little talk with you about Henry's future. He is +coming back again in the fall, I hope?"</p> + +<p>"Wal, I think not. I don't reckon I can afford +to send him any more. He's got eddication +enough for a farmer already, and I notice that +when they git too much, they sorter git lazy. + +Yer eddicated farmers are humbugs. Henry's +got so far 'long now that he'd rather have his head +in a book than be workin'. He don't take no interest +in the stock, nor in the farm improvements. +Everybody else is dependent in this world on the +farmer, and I think that we've got too many eddicated +fellows settin' 'round now for the farmers +to support."</p> + +<p>To this Garfield answered that he was sorry for +the father's decision, since his son, if permitted to +come the next term, would be far enough advanced +to teach school, and so begin to help himself +along. Teaching would pay better than working +on the farm in the winter.</p> + +<p>"Do you really think Henry can teach next +winter?" asked the father, to whom the idea was +a new one.</p> + +<p>"I should think so, certainly," answered Garfield. +"But if he can not do so then, he can in a +short time."</p> + +<p>"Wal, I will think on it. He wants to come +back bad enough, and I guess I'll have to let him. +I never thought of it that way afore."</p> + +<p>The victory was won. Henry came back the +next term, and after finishing at Hiram, graduated +at an Eastern college.</p> + +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> +<a name="toc_21"></a> + +<h2>Chapter XX—Garfield Becomes A State Senator.</h2> + + +<p>Probably Garfield considered now that he was +settled in life. He had married the woman of +his choice, set up a pleasant home, and was fully +occupied with a class of duties that suited him. +Living frugally, he was able to lay by a portion +of his salary annually, and saw the way open, if +life and health continued, to a moderate prosperity. +He seemed to be a born teacher, and his +life seemed likely to be passed in that pleasant +and tranquil office.</p> + +<p>Many years before, while still unmarried, his +mother had been a teacher, and one of her experiences +when so occupied was so remarkable that +I can not forbear quoting it:</p> + +<p>"About the year 1820 she and her sister were +left alone in the world, without provision, so +far as the inheritance or possession of property +was concerned. Preferring to live among relatives, + +one went to reside with an uncle in +Northern Ohio, and the other, Eliza, afterward +Mrs. Garfield, came to another uncle, the father +of Samuel Arnold, who then lived on a farm near +Norwich, Muskingum County, Ohio. There +Eliza Ballou made her home, cheerfully helping +at the house or in the field, as was then sometimes +the custom in a pioneer country. Having something +more than what at that day was an ordinary +education, Eliza procured about twenty pupils, +and taught a summer school.</p> + +<p>"The school-house was one of the most primitive +kind, and stood in the edge of dense and +heavily-timbered woods. One day there came up +a fearful storm of wind and rain, accompanied by +thunder and lightning. The woods were badly +wrecked, but the wind left the old log-house uninjured. +Not so the lightning. A bolt struck a +tree that projected closely over the roof, and then +the roof itself. Some of the pupils were greatly +alarmed, and no doubt thought it the crack of +doom, or the day of judgment. The teacher, as +calm and collected as possible, tried to quiet her +pupils and keep them in their places. A man +who was one of the pupils, in speaking of the + +occurrence, says that for a little while he remembered +nothing, and then he looked around, and +saw, as he thought, the teacher and pupils lying +dead on the, floor. Presently the teacher began +to move a little. Then, one by one, the pupils +got up, with a single exception. Help, medical +and otherwise, was obtained as soon as possible +for this one, but, though life was saved for a time, +reason had forever fled."</p> + +<p>This was certainly a fearful experience for a +young teacher.</p> + +<p>It was while on a visit to her sister, already +married, in Northern Ohio, that Eliza made the +acquaintance of Abram Garfield, the father of the +future President. In this neighborhood, while +on a visit to his relatives, at the age of seventeen, +James obtained a school and taught for a single +term.</p> + +<p>Having retraced our steps to record this early +experience of James' mother, we take the opportunity +to mention an incident in the life of her +son, which was omitted in the proper place. +The story was told by Garfield himself during +his last sickness to Mr. Crump, steward of the +White House.</p> + + +<p>"When I was a youngster," said the President, +"and started for college at Hiram, I had just fifteen +dollars—a ten-dollar bill in an old, black-leather +pocketbook, which was in the breast +pocket of my coat, and the other five dollars was +in my trowsers' pocket. I was walking along the +road, and, as the day was hot, I took off my coat +and carried it on my arm, taking good care to +feel every moment or two of the pocketbook, for +the hard-earned fifteen dollars was to pay my entrance +at the college.</p> + +<p>"After a while I got to thinking over what +college life would be like, and forgot all about the +pocketbook for some time, and when I looked +again it was gone! I went back mournfully +along the road, hunting on both sides for the +pocketbook. Presently I came to a house where +a young man was leaning over a gate, and he +asked me when I came up what I was hunting +for. Upon my explaining my loss, and describing +the pocketbook, the young man handed it over. +That young man," the President added, turning +to his devoted physician, "was Dr. Bliss. He +saved me for college."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said the doctor, "and if I hadn't found + +your ten dollars you wouldn't have become President +of the United States."</p> + +<p>Many a true word is spoken in jest. It might +have happened that the boy would have been so +depressed by the loss of his money that he would +have given up his plan of going to Hiram and +returned home to fill an humbler place in the +world.</p> + +<p>But it is time to return from this digression +and resume our narrative.</p> + +<p>Devoted to his profession, young Garfield had +given but little attention to politics. But in the +political campaign of 1857 and 1858 he became +interested in the exciting political questions which +agitated the community, and, taking the stump, +he soon acquired the reputation of a forcible and +logical stump orator. This drew the attention of +the voters to him, and in 1859 he was tendered +a nomination to the Ohio Senate from the counties +of Portage and Summit. His speeches during +the campaign of that year are said to have been +warm, fresh, and impassioned, and he was elected +by a handsome majority.</p> + +<p>This was the first entrance of the future President +upon public life. The session was not long, + +and the absence of a few weeks at Columbus did +not seriously interfere with his college duties.</p> + +<p>In the Senate he at once took high rank. He +was always ready to speak, his past experience +having made this easy. He took care to inform +himself upon the subjects which came up for +legislation, and for this reason he was always +listened to with respectful attention. Moreover, +his genial manners and warmth of heart made +him a general favorite among all his fellow legislators, +whether they belonged to his party or to +the opposition.</p> + +<p>Again, in the session of 1860-61, being also a +member of the Senate, he took a prominent part +in such measures as were proposed to uphold the +National Government, menaced by the representative +men of the South. He was among the foremost +in declaring that the integrity of the Union +must be protected at all hazards, and declared +that it was the right and duty of the Government +to coerce the seceded States.</p> + +<p>When the President's call for seventy-five +thousand men was made public, and announcement +was made to the Ohio Senate, Senator Garfield +sprang to his feet, and amid loud applause + +moved that "twenty thousand troops and three +millions of money" should be at once voted as +Ohio's quota! He closed his speech by offering +his services to Governor Dennison in any capacity.</p> + +<p>This offer the Governor bore in mind, and on +the 14th of August, 1861, Garfield was offered +the Lieutenant-Colonelcy of the Forty-second +Ohio regiment, which he had been instrumental +in forming.</p> + +<p>It was a serious moment for Garfield. The +acceptance of this commission would derange all +his cherished plans. It would separate him from +his wife and child, and from the loved institution +of which he was the head. He must bid farewell +to the calm, studious life, which he so much +enjoyed, and spend days and months in the camp, +liable at any moment to fall the victim of an +enemy's bullet.</p> + +<p>Suppose he should be killed? His wife would +have no provision but the small sum of three +thousand dollars, which he had been able by +great economy to save from his modest salary.</p> + +<p>He hesitated, but it was not for long. He was + +not a man to shrink from the call of duty. Before +moving he wrote to a friend:</p> + +<p>"I regard my life as given to the country. I +am only anxious to make as much of it as possible +before the mortgage on it is foreclosed."</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> +<a name="toc_22"></a> + +<h2>Chapter XXI—A Difficult Duty.</h2> + + +<p>Having made up his mind to serve his country +in the field, Garfield immediately wrote to the +Governor accepting the appointment.</p> + +<p>The regiment to which he was assigned was +recruited from the same counties which he represented +in the State Senate. A large number of +the officers and privates had been connected as +students with Hiram College, and were personally +known to Garfield.</p> + +<p>His first step was to qualify himself for his +new position. Of the art and mystery of war +the young scholar knew little, but he was no +worse off than many another whom the exigencies +of his country summoned from peaceful pursuits +to the tented field and the toilsome march. +It was probably the only office which he ever +assumed without suitable qualifications. But it +was not in his nature to undertake any duties + +without endeavoring to fit himself for their discharge.</p> + +<p>His method of studying the art of war was +curious and original. Falling back on his old +trade of carpenter, he brought "his saw and jack-plane +again into play, fashioned companies, officers +and non-commissioned officers out of maple +blocks, and with these wooden-headed troops he +thoroughly mastered the infantry tactics in his +quarters." There was this advantage in his +method, that his toy troops were thoroughly +manageable.</p> + +<p>The next step was to organize a school for the +officers of his regiment, requiring thorough recitation +in the tactics, while their teacher illustrated +the maneuvers by the blocks he had prepared +for his own instruction. He was obliged to begin +with the officers, that they might be qualified to +assist him in instructing the men under their +command. He was then able to institute regimental, +squad, skirmish, and bayonet drill, and +kept his men at these exercises from six to eight +hours daily till the Forty-second won the reputation +of being the best drilled regiment to be +found in Ohio.</p> + + +<p>My boy readers will be reminded of the way +in which he taught geometry in one of his winter +schools, preparing himself at night for the lesson +of the next day. I would like to call their attention +also to the thoroughness with which he +did everything. Though previously ignorant of +military tactics he instructed his regiment in them +thoroughly, believing that whatever was worth +doing at all was worth doing well.</p> + +<p>He was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel, but by +the time his organization was completed he was +promoted to the Colonelcy.</p> + +<p>At last the preliminary work was completed. +His men, an undisciplined body when he took +them in hand, had become trained soldiers, but +as yet they had not received what Napoleon III. +called the "baptism of fire." It is all very well +to march and countermarch, and practice the ordinary +evolutions like militia-men at a muster, +but how was the regiment, how was its scholarly +commander likely to act in the field?</p> + +<p>On the 14th of December orders for the field +were received by Colonel Garfield's command, +stationed at Camp Chase.</p> + +<p>Then came the trial of parting with wife and + +mother and going forth to battle and danger. To +his mother, whose highest ambition had been that +her son should be a scholar, it was doubtless a +keen disappointment that his settled prospects +should be so broken up; but she, too, was patriotic, +and she quietly said: "Go, my son, your life belongs +to your country."</p> + +<p>Colonel Garfield's orders were to report to +General Buell at Louisville. He moved his regiment +by way of Cincinnati to Catlettsburg, Kentucky, +a town at the junction of the Big Sandy +and the Ohio, and was enabled to report to his +commander on the 19th of December.</p> + +<p>Then, for the first time, he learned what was +the nature of the duty that was assigned to him. +It was no less than to save Kentucky to the Union. +A border State, with an interest in slavery, public +opinion was divided, and it was uncertain to +which side it would incline. The Confederates +understood the value of the prize, and they had +taken measures, which promised to be successful, +to wrest it from the Union. The task had been +committed to Gen. Humphrey Marshall, who had +invaded Eastern Kentucky from the Virginia +border, and had already advanced as far north as +Prestonburg.</p> + + +<p>Gen. Marshall fortified a strong natural position +near Paintville, and overran the whole +Piedmont region. This region contained few +slaves—but one in twenty-five of the whole population. +It was inhabited by a brave rural +population, more closely resembling their Northern +than their Southern neighbors. Among these +people Marshall sent stump orators to fire them +with enthusiasm for the Confederate cause. Such +men would make valuable soldiers and must be +won over if possible.</p> + +<p>So all that portion of the State was in a ferment. +It looked as if it would be lost to the +Union. Marshall was daily increasing the number +of his forces, preparing either to intercept +Buell, and prevent his advance into Tennessee, +or, cutting off his communications, with the +assistance of Beauregard, to crush him between +them.</p> + +<p>To Colonel Garfield, an inexperienced civilian, +who had only studied military tactics by the aid +of wooden blocks, and who had never been under +fire, it was proposed to meet Marshall, a trained +soldier, to check his advance, and drive him from +the State. This would have been formidable + +enough if he had been provided with an equal +number of soldiers; but this was far from being +the case. He had but twenty-five hundred men +to aid him in his difficult work, and of these +eleven hundred, under Colonel Craven, were a +hundred miles away, at Paris, Kentucky, and this +hundred miles was no level plain, but a rough, +mountainous country, infested with guerrillas and +occupied by a disloyal people.</p> + +<p>Of course, the first thing to be done was to +connect with Colonel Craven, but, considering +the distance and the nature of the country to be +traversed, it was a most difficult problem. The +chances were that Gen. Marshall, with his vastly +superior force, would attack the two bodies of +soldiers separately, and crush them before a union +could be effected.</p> + +<p>Gen. Buell explained how matters stood to the +young colonel of volunteers, and ended thus:</p> + +<p>"That is what you have to do, Colonel Garfield—drive +Marshall from Kentucky, and you +see how much depends on your action. Now go +to your quarters, think of it overnight, and come +here in the morning and tell me how you will +do it."</p> + +<p>In college Garfield had been called upon to +solve many difficult problems in the higher mathematics, +but it is doubtful whether he ever +encountered a more knotty problem than this one.</p> + +<p>He and Colonel Craven represented two little +boys of feeble strength, unable to combine their +efforts, who were called upon to oppose and capture +a big boy of twice their size, who knew a +good deal more about fighting than they did.</p> + +<p>No wonder the young colonel felt perplexed. +But he did not give up. It was not his way. +He resolved to consider whether anything could +be done, and what.</p> + +<p>My chief object in writing this volume being +to commend its subject as an example for boys, I +think it right to call attention to this trait which +he possessed in a conspicuous degree. Brought +face to face with difficulty—with what might +almost be called the impossible, he did not say, +"Oh, I can't do it. It is impossible." He went +home to devise a plan.</p> + +<p>First of all, it was important that he should +know something of the intervening country—its +conformation, its rivers and streams, if there were +any. So, on his way to his room he sought a + +book-store and bought a rude map of Kentucky, +and then, shutting himself up in his room, while +others were asleep, he devoted himself to a lesson +in geography. With more care than he had ever +used in school, he familiarized himself with the +geography of the country in which he was to +operate, and then set himself to devise some +feasible plan of campaign.</p> + +<p>It was a hard problem, and required still more +anxious thought, because the general to whom he +was to report it, was, unlike himself, a man thoroughly +trained in the art of war.</p> + +<p>The next morning, according to orders, he +sought again his commanding officer.</p> + +<p>Gen. Buell was a man of great reticence and +severe military habits, and if the plan were weak +or foolish, as might well be from the utter lack of +experience of the young officer who was to make +it, he would unhesitatingly say so.</p> + +<p>As Garfield laid his rude map and roughly +outlined plan on the table, and explained his conception +of the campaign, he watched anxiously to +see how Gen. Buell was impressed by it. But +the general was a man who knew how to veil his +thoughts. He waited in silence till Garfield had + +finished, only asking a brief question now and +then, and at the end, without expressing his +opinion one way or the other, merely said: +"Colonel Garfield, your orders will be sent you +at six o'clock this evening."</p> + +<p>Garfield was not compelled to wait beyond that +hour.</p> + +<p>Promptly the order came, organizing the +Eighteenth Brigade of the Army of the Ohio, +under the command of Colonel Garfield, with a +letter of instructions, embodying essentially the +plan submitted by the young officer in the +morning.</p> + +<p>When Garfield set out with his command the +next morning, Gen. Buell said to him at parting:</p> + +<p>"Colonel, you will be at so great a distance +from me, and communication will be so difficult, +that I must commit all matters of detail and +much of the fate of the campaign to your discretion. +I shall hope to hear a good account of +you."</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> +<a name="toc_23"></a> + + +<h2>Chapter XXII—John Jordan's Dangerous Journey.</h2> + + +<p>Col. Garfield had already sent on his regiment +in advance to Louisa, twenty-eight miles up +the Big Sandy.</p> + +<p>There he joined them on the 24th, having +waited at Catlettsburg only long enough to forward +to them necessary supplies.</p> + +<p>The arrival of the regiment was opportune, for +the district was thoroughly alarmed. A regiment +had been stationed there—the Fourteenth Kentucky—but +had hastily retreated to the mouth of +the river during the night of the 19th, under the +impression that Marshall was advancing with his +forces to drive them into the Ohio. It was a false +alarm, but the Union citizens were very much +alarmed, and were preparing with their families +to cross the river for safety. With the appearance +of Garfield's regiment a feeling of security +returned.</p> + + +<p>I am anxious to make plain to my boy readers +the manner in which the young colonel managed +his campaign. I think they will have no difficulty +in understanding that Garfield had two very +difficult things to accomplish. Colonel Craven +knew nothing of Garfield's advance, nor of his +plans. It was necessary to inform him. Again, +if possible, a junction must be effected. The first +was difficult, because the intervening country was +infested with roving bands of guerrillas, and a +messenger must take his life in his hands. How, +again, could a junction be effected in the face of +a superior enemy, liable to fall upon either column +and crush it?</p> + +<p>Obviously the first thing was to find a messenger.</p> + +<p>Garfield applied to Col. Moore of the Fourteenth +Kentucky, and made known his need.</p> + +<p>"Have you a man," he asked, "who will die +rather than fail or betray us?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," answered the Kentuckian, after a pause, +"I think I have. His name is John Jordan, and +he comes from the head of the Blaine."</p> + +<p>This was a small stream which entered the Big +Sandy, a short distance from the town.</p> + + +<p>At the request of Garfield, Jordan was sent for. +In a short time he entered the tent of the Union +commander.</p> + +<p>This John Jordan was a remarkable man, and +well known in all that region. He was of Scotch +descent, and possessed some of the best traits of +his Scotch ancestry. He was a born actor, a man +of undoubted courage, fertile in expedients, and +devoted to the Union cause.</p> + +<p>Garfield was a judge of men, and he was impressed +in the man's favor at first sight. He describes +Jordan as a tall, gaunt, sallow man, about +thirty years of age, with gray eyes, a fine falsetto +voice, and a face of wonderful expressiveness. +To the young colonel he was a new type of man, +but withal a man whom he was convinced that +he could trust.</p> + +<p>"Why did you come into this war?" he asked, +with some curiosity.</p> + +<p>"To do my share, colonel, and I've made a +bargain with the Lord. I gave Him my life to +start with, and if He has a mind to take it, it's +His. I've nothing to say agin it."</p> + +<p>"You mean you have come into the war, not +expecting to get out of it alive?"</p> + + +<p>"Yes, colonel."</p> + +<p>"You know what I want you to do. Will you +die rather than let this dispatch be taken?"</p> + +<p>"I will."</p> + +<p>Garfield looked into the man's face, and he +read unmistakable sincerity.</p> + +<p>He felt that the man could be trusted, and he +said so.</p> + +<p>The dispatch was written upon tissue paper. It +was then rolled into the form of a bullet, coated +with warm lead, and given into the hands of the +messenger. He was provided with a carbine and +a brace of revolvers, and when the moon was +down, he mounted his horse in the darkness and +set out on his perilous journey.</p> + +<p>It would not do to ride in the daytime, for inevitably +he would be stopped, or shot down. By +day he must hide in the woods, and travel only +at night.</p> + +<p>His danger was increased by the treachery of +one of his own comrades of the Fourteenth Kentucky, +and he was followed by a band of guerrillas +in the Confederate interest. Of this, however, +Jordan was not apprised, and supposing himself +secure he sought shelter and concealment at the + +house of a man whom he knew to be loyal. Near +enough to see, but not to be seen, the guerrillas +waited till the tired messenger was sleeping, and +then coming boldly out of the woods, surrounded +the house.</p> + +<p>In a fright the good housewife ran up to his +chamber, and shook the sleeping man.</p> + +<p>"Wake for your life!" she said. "The guerrillas +are outside, clamoring for you. I have locked +the doors, but I can not keep them out long."</p> + +<p>Jordan had thrown himself on the bed with +his clothes on. He knew that he was liable to be +surprised, and in such an event time was most +valuable. Though awakened from a sound sleep, +he had all his wits about him.</p> + +<p>"Thank you," said he. "I have a favor to ask +in the name of our cause."</p> + +<p>"Be quick, then," said the woman. "They +are bursting open the door."</p> + +<p>"Take this bullet. It contains a secret dispatch, +which, if I am killed, I enjoin upon you +to convey to Colonel Craven, at Paris. Will you +do it?"</p> + +<p>"If I can."</p> + +<p>"Then I am off."</p> + + +<p>The door burst open, but he made a sudden +dash, and escaped capture. He headed for the +woods, amid a volley of bullets, but none of them +reached him. Once he turned round, and fired +an answering shot. He did not stop to see if it +took effect, but it was the messenger of Death. +One of the guerrillas reeled, and measured his +length upon the ground, dead in a moment.</p> + +<p>Fleet as a deer the brave scout pushed on till +he got within the protecting shadows of the +friendly woods. There they lost the trail, and +though he saw them from his place of concealment, +he was himself unseen.</p> + +<p>"Curse him!" said the disappointed leader. +"He must have sunk into the earth, or vanished +into the air."</p> + +<p>"If he's sunk into the earth, that is where we +want him," answered another, with grim humor.</p> + +<p>"You will find I am not dead yet!" said the +hidden scout to himself. "I shall live to trouble +you yet."</p> + +<p>He passed the remainder of the day in the +woods, fearing that his pursuers might still be +lingering about.</p> + +<p>"If there were only two or three, I'd come out + +and face 'em," he said, "but the odds are too +great. I must skulk back in the darkness, and +get back the bullet."</p> + +<p>Night came on, and the woman who had saved +him, heard a low tapping at the door. It might +be an enemy, and she advanced, and opened it +with caution. A figure, seen indistinctly in the +darkness, stood before her.</p> + +<p>"Who are you?" she asked doubtfully.</p> + +<p>"Don't be afraid, ma'am, it's only me."</p> + +<p>"And you—"</p> + +<p>"Are the man you saved this morning!"</p> + +<p>"God be thanked! Then you were not +killed?"</p> + +<p>"Do I look like a dead man? No, my time +hasn't come yet. I foiled 'em in the wood, and +there I have spent all day. Have you any victuals, +for I am famished?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, come in."</p> + +<p>"I can not stay. I will take what you have +and leave at once, for the villains may be lurkin' +round here somewhere. But first, the bullet! +have you that safe?"</p> + +<p>"Here it is."</p> + +<p>The scout put it in his pocket, and taking in + +his hand a paper box of bread and meat which +his loyal hostess brought him, resumed his hazardous +journey.</p> + +<p>He knew that there were other perils to encounter, +unless he was particularly fortunate, but +he had a heart prepared for any fate. The perils +came, but he escaped them with adroitness, and +at midnight of the following day he was admitted +into the presence of Colonel Craven.</p> + +<p>Surely this was no common man, and his feat +was no common one.</p> + +<p>In forty-eight hours, traveling only by night, +he had traversed one hundred miles with a rope +round his neck, and without the prospect of +special reward. For he was but a private, and +received but a private's pay—thirteen dollars a +month, a shoddy uniform, and hard-tack, when he +could get it.</p> + +<p>Colonel Craven opened the bullet, and read the +dispatch.</p> + +<p>It was dated "Louisa, Kentucky, December +24, midnight"; and directed him to move at once +with his regiment (the Fortieth Ohio, eight hundred +strong) by way of Mount Sterling and +McCormick's Gap, to Prestonburg. He was to + +encumber his men with as few rations as possible, +since the safety of his command depended on his +celerity. He was also requested to notify Lieutenant-Colonel +Woodford, at Stamford, and direct +him to join the march with his three hundred +cavalry.</p> + +<p>On the following morning Col. Craven's column +began to move. The scout waited till night, and +then set out on his return. The reader will be +glad to learn that the brave man rejoined his +regiment.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> +<a name="toc_24"></a> + +<h2>Chapter XXIII—Garfield's Bold Strategy.</h2> + + +<p>Garfield didn't wait for the scout's return. +He felt that no time was to be lost. The expedition +which he had planned was fraught with peril, +but it was no time for timid counsels.</p> + +<p>On the morning following Jordan's departure +he set out up the river, halting at George's Creek, +only twenty miles from Marshall's intrenched position. +As the roads along the Big Sandy were +impassable for trains, and unsafe on account of +the nearness of the enemy, he decided to depend +mainly upon water navigation for the transportation +of his supplies.</p> + +<p>The Big Sandy finds its way to the Ohio +through the roughest and wildest spurs of the +Cumberland Mountains, and is a narrow, fickle +stream. At low-water it is not navigable above +Louisa, except for small flat-boats pushed by hand. +At high-water small steamers can reach Piketon, + +one hundred and twenty miles from the mouth; +but when there are heavy freshets the swift current, +filled with floating timber, and the overhanging +trees which almost touch one another +from the opposite banks, render navigation almost +impracticable. This was enough to intimidate +a man less in earnest than Garfield. He did not +hesitate, but gathering together ten days' rations, +he chartered two small steamers, and seizing all +the flat-boats he could lay hands on, took his +army wagons apart, and loaded them, with his +forage and provisions, upon the flat-boats.</p> + +<p>Just as he was ready to start he received an +unexpected reinforcement. Captain Bent, of the +Fourteenth Kentucky, entering Garfield's tent, +said to him, "Colonel, there's a man outside who +says he knows you. Bradley Brown, a rebel +thief and scoundrel."</p> + +<p>"Bradley Brown," repeated Garfield, puzzled. +"I don't remember any such name."</p> + +<p>"He has lived near the head of the Blaine, and +been a boatman on the river. He says he knew +you on the canal in Ohio."</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, I remember him now; bring him +in."</p> + + +<p>Brown was ushered into the general's tent. +He was clad in homespun, and spattered from +head to foot with mud, but he saw in Garfield +only the friend of earlier days, and hurrying up +to him, gave him a hearty grasp of the hand, exclaiming, +"Jim, old feller, how are yer?"</p> + +<p>Garfield received him cordially, but added, +"What is this I hear, Brown? Are you a +rebel?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," answered the new-comer, "I belong to +Marshall's force, and I've come straight from his +camp to spy out your army."</p> + +<p>"Well, you go about it queerly," said Garfield, +puzzled.</p> + +<p>"Wait till you are alone, colonel. Then I'll +tell you about it."</p> + +<p>Col. Bent said in an undertone to Garfield, as +he left the tent, "Don't trust him, colonel; I +know him as a thief and a rebel."</p> + +<p>This was the substance of Brown's communication. +As soon as he heard that James A. Garfield +was in command of the Union forces, it instantly +struck him that it must be his old comrade +of the canal, for whom he still cherished a +strong attachment. He was in the rebel camp, + +but in reality cared little which side was successful, +and determined out of old friendship to help +Garfield if he could.</p> + +<p>Concealing his design, he sought Marshall, and +proposed to visit the Union camp as a spy, mentioning +his former intimacy with Garfield. Gen. +Marshall readily acceded to his plan, not suspecting +that it was his real purpose to tell Garfield +all he knew about the rebel force. He proceeded +to give the colonel valuable information +on this subject.</p> + +<p>When he had finished, Garfield said, "I advise +you to go back to Marshall."</p> + +<p>"Go back to him, colonel? Why, he would +hang me to the first tree."</p> + +<p>"Not if you tell him all about my strength and +intended movements."</p> + +<p>"But how kin I? I don't know a thing. I +was brought into the camp blindfolded."</p> + +<p>"Still you can guess. Suppose you tell him +that I shall march to-morrow straight for his camp, +and in ten days be upon him."</p> + +<p>"You'd be a fool, colonel, to do that, and he +'trenched so strongly, unless you had twenty thousand +men."</p> + + +<p>"I haven't got that number. Guess again."</p> + +<p>"Well, ten thousand."</p> + +<p>"That will do for a guess. Now to-day I shall +keep you locked up, and to-morrow you can go +back to Marshall."</p> + +<p>At nightfall Brown went back to the rebel +camp, and his report was made in accordance with +Garfield's suggestions.</p> + +<p>The fact was, that deducting those sick and on +garrison duty, Garfield's little army amounted to +but fourteen hundred in place of the ten thousand +reported to the rebel commander. This little +army was set in motion the next day. It was +a toilsome and discouraging march, over roads +knee-deep in mire, and the troops necessarily +made but slow progress, being frequently obliged +to halt. Some days they succeeded in making but +five or six miles. On the 6th of January, however, +they arrived within seven miles of Paintville. +Here while Garfield was trying to catch a +few hours' sleep, in a wretched log hut, he was +roused by Jordan, the scout, who had just managed +to reach the camp.</p> + +<p>"Have you seen Craven?" asked Garfield +eagerly.</p> + + +<p>"Yes; he can't be more'n two days behind me, +nohow."</p> + +<p>"God bless you, Jordan! You have done us +great service," said Garfield, warmly, feeling +deeply relieved by this important news.</p> + +<p>"Thank ye, colonel. That's more pay 'n I expected."</p> + +<p>In the morning another horseman rode up to +the Union camp. He was a messenger direct +from Gen. Buell. He brought with him an intercepted +letter from Marshall to his wife, revealing +the important fact that the Confederate general +had five thousand men—forty-four hundred infantry +and six hundred cavalry—with twelve +pieces of artillery, and that he was daily expecting +an attack from a Union force of ten thousand.</p> + +<p>It was clear that Brown had been true, and +that it was from him Gen. Marshall had received +this trustworthy intelligence of the strength of +the Union army.</p> + +<p>Garfield decided not to communicate the contents +of this letter, lest his officers should be +alarmed at the prospect of attacking a force so +much superior. He called a council, however, +and put this question:</p> + +<p>"Shall we march at once, or wait the coming +of Craven?"</p> + +<p>All but one were in favor of waiting, but Garfield +adopted the judgment of this one.</p> + +<p>"Forward it is!" he said. "Give the order."</p> + +<p>I will only state the plan of Garfield's attack +in a general way. There were three roads that +led to Marshall's position—one to the east, one to +the west, and one between the two. These +three roads were held by strong Confederate +pickets.</p> + +<p>Now, it was Garfield's policy to keep Marshall +deceived as to his strength. For this reason, he +sent a small body to drive in the enemy's pickets, +as if to attack Paintville. Two hours after, a +similar force, with the same orders, were sent on +the road to the westward, and two hours later +still, a small force was sent on the middle road. +The first pickets, retreating in confusion, fled to +the camp, with the intelligence that a large body +of Union troops were on their way to make an +attack. Similar tidings were brought by the two +other bodies of pickets, and Marshall, in dismay, +was led to believe that he was menaced by superior +numbers, and hastily abandoned Paintville, + +and Garfield, moving his men rapidly over the +central route, occupied the town.</p> + +<p>Gen. Marshall would have been intensely +mortified had he known that this large Union +army was little more than one-fourth the size of +his own.</p> + +<p>But his alarm was soon increased. On the +evening of the 8th of January, a spy entered his +camp, and reported that Craven, with <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">thirty-three +hundred men</span>, was within twelve hours' +march at the westward.</p> + +<p>The big general (he weighed three hundred +pounds) was panic-stricken. Believing Garfield's +force to number ten thousand, this reinforcement +would carry his strength up to over thirteen +thousand. Ruin and defeat, as he fancied, stared +him in the face, for how could his five thousand +men encounter nearly three times their number? +They would, of course, be overwhelmed. There +was safety only in flight.</p> + +<p>So the demoralized commander gave orders to +break camp, and retreated precipitately, abandoning +or burning a large portion of his supplies.</p> + +<p>Garfield saw the fires, and guessed what had +happened, being in the secret of Marshall's delusion. + +He mounted his horse, and, with a thousand +men, entered the deserted camp at nine in the +evening. The stores that were yet unconsumed +he rescued from destruction for the use of his own +army.</p> + +<p>In order to keep up the delusion, he sent off a +detachment to harass the retreat of his ponderous +adversary and fill his mind with continued disquiet.</p> + +<p>The whole thing was a huge practical joke, but +not one that the rebels were likely to enjoy. +Fancy a big boy of eighteen fleeing in dismay +from a small urchin of eight, and we have a parallel +to this flight of Gen. Marshall from an intrenched +position, with five thousand troops, +when his opponent could muster but fourteen +hundred men in the open field.</p> + +<p>Thus far, I think, it will be agreed that Colonel +Garfield was a strategist of the first order. His +plan required a boldness and dash which, under +the circumstances, did him the greatest credit.</p> + +<p>The next morning Colonel Craven arrived, and +found, to his amazement, that Garfield, single-handed, +had forced his formidable enemy from his +strong position, and was in triumphant possession +of the deserted rebel camp.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> +<a name="toc_25"></a> +<h2>Chapter XXIV—The Battle Of Middle Creek.</h2> + + +<p>Col. Garfield has gained a great advantage, +but he knows that it must be followed up. His +ambition is not satisfied. He means to force a +fight with Marshall, despite the odds.</p> + +<p>He has been reinforced, but Craven's men are +completely exhausted by their long and toilsome +march. They are hardly able to drag one foot +after the other. Garfield knows this, but he explains +to his men what he proposes to do. He +orders those who have strength to come forward. +Of the men under his immediate command seven +hundred obey the summons. Of Craven's weary +followers four hundred heroic men volunteer to +accompany him.</p> + +<p>So at noon of the 9th, with eleven hundred +men, Garfield sets out for Prestonburg, sending +all his available cavalry to follow the line of the + +enemy's retreat. At nine o'clock that night, after +a march of eighteen miles, he reaches the mouth +of Abbott's Creek with his eleven hundred men. +He hears that his opponent is encamped three +miles higher up on the same stream. He sends +an order back to Lieutenant-Colonel Sheldon, +who is left in command at Paintville, to bring up +every available man with all possible dispatch, +for he intends to force a battle in the morning.</p> + +<p>He requires to know the disposition of Marshall's +forces, and here the gallant scout, John +Jordan, again is of service to him. While a dozen +Confederates were grinding at a mill, they were +surprised by as many Union men, who, taking +them by surprise, captured their corn, and made +them prisoners. Jordan eyed the miller with a +critical eye, and a plan was instantly formed. +The miller was a tall, gaunt man, and his clothes +would fit the scout. He takes a fancy to exchange +raiment with the miller. Then, smearing his face +with meal, he goes back to the Confederate camp +in a new character. Even if he is surprised he +will escape suspicion, for the miller is a pronounced +disunionist, and he looks his very image.</p> + +<p>His midnight ramble enabled him to learn precisely + +what it was important for Garfield to know. +He found out their exact position, and that they +had laid an ambuscade for the Union commander. +They were waiting for him, strongly posted on a +semicircular hill at the forks of Middle Creek, on +both sides of the road, with cannon commanding +its whole length, hidden by the trees and +underbrush.</p> + +<p>"They think they've got you, general," said +Jordan. "They're waitin' for you as a cat waits +for a mouse."</p> + +<p>Upon a steep ridge called Abbott's Hill, the +Union soldiers, tired and sleepy, had thrown themselves +upon the wet ground. There was a dense +fog, shutting out the moon and stars, and shrouding +the lonely mountain in darkness. The rain +was driven in blinding gusts into the faces of the +shivering men, and tired as they were they hailed +with joy the coming of morning. For more than +one brave man it was destined to be his last day +upon earth.</p> + +<p>At four o'clock they started on their march. +About daybreak, while rounding a hill, their advance +guard was charged upon by a body of Confederate +horsemen. In return Garfield gave the + +Confederates a volley, that sent them reeling up +the valley.</p> + +<p style="text-align: center"><img src="images/image4.png" alt="Turning The Tide Of Battle At Chickamauga"></p> +<p style="text-align: center">Turning The Tide Of Battle At Chickamauga</p> + +<p>It was clear that the main body of the enemy +was not far away. To determine this Garfield +sent forward a body of skirmishers to draw the +fire of the enemy. He succeeded, for a twelve-pound +shell whistled above the trees, then plowed +up the hill, and buried itself in the ground at the +feet of the little band of skirmishers.</p> + +<p>Noon came, and Garfield made the necessary +preparations for battle. He could not have been +without apprehension, for he knew, though the +enemy did not, that their force was far superior +to his. He sent forward his mounted escort of +twelve men to make a charge and draw the +enemy's fire. His plan succeeded. Another shell +whistled over their heads, and the long roll of +five thousand muskets was heard.</p> + +<p>It was certainly a remarkable battle, when we +consider that a small band of eleven hundred men +without cannon had undertaken to attack a force +of five thousand, supported by twelve pieces of +artillery, charging up a rocky hill, over stumps, +over stones, over fallen trees, and over high intrenchments.</p> + + +<p>"The battle was fought on the margin of Middle +Creek, a narrow, rapid stream, and three +miles from where it finds its way into the Big +Sandy, through the sharp spurs of the Cumberland +Mountain. A rocky road, not ten feet in +width, winds along this stream, and on its two +banks abrupt ridges, with steep and rocky sides, +overgrown with trees and underbrush, shut closely +down upon the road and the little streamlet. At +twelve o'clock Garfield had gained the crest of +the ridge at the right of the road, and the charge +of his handful of horsemen had drawn Marshall's +fire, and disclosed his actual position.</p> + +<p>"The main force of the Confederates occupied +the crests of the two ridges at the left of the +stream, but a strong detachment was posted on +the right, and a battery of twelve pieces held the +forks of the creek, and commanded the approach +of the Union army. It was Marshall's plan to +drive Garfield along the road, and then, taking +him between two enfilading fires, to surround and +utterly destroy him. But his hasty fire betrayed +his design, and unmasked his entire position.</p> + +<p>"Garfield acted with promptness and decision. +A hundred undergraduates, recruited from his + +own college, were ordered to cross the stream +climb the ridge whence the fire had been hottest, +and bring on the battle. Boldly the little band +plunged into the creek, the icy water up to their +waists, and clinging to the trees and underbrush, +climbed the rocky ascent. Half-way up the ridge +the fire of at least two thousand rifles opens upon +them; but, springing from tree to tree, they press +on, and at last reach the summit. Then suddenly +the hill is gray with Confederates, who, rising +from ambush, pour their deadly volleys into the +little band of only one hundred. In a moment +they waver, but their leader calls out, 'Every +man to a tree! Give them as good as they send, +my boys!'</p> + +<p>"The Confederates, behind rocks and a rude +intrenchment, are obliged to expose their heads to +take aim at the advancing column; but the Union +troops, posted behind the huge oaks and maples, +can stand erect, and load and fire, fully protected. +Though they are outnumbered ten to one, the +contest is therefore, for a time, not so very unequal.</p> + +<p>"But soon the Confederates, exhausted with +the obstinate resistance, rush from cover, and + +charge upon the little handful with the bayonet. +Slowly they are driven down the hill, and two of +them fall to the ground wounded. One never +rises; the other, a lad of only eighteen, is shot +through the thigh, and one of his comrades turns +back to bear him to a place of safety. The advancing +Confederates are within thirty feet, when +one of them fires, and his bullet strikes a tree +directly above the head of the Union soldier. He +turns, levels his musket, and the Confederate is +in eternity. Then the rest are upon him; but, +zigzagging from tree to tree, he is soon with his +driven column. But not far are the brave boys +driven. A few rods lower down they hear the +voice of the brave Captain Williams, their leader.</p> + +<p>"'To the trees again, my boys!' he cries. 'We +may as well die here as in Ohio!'</p> + +<p>"To the trees they go, and in a moment the +advancing horde is checked, and then rolled backward. +Up the hill they turn, firing as they go, +and the little band follows. Soon the Confederates +reach the spot where the Hiram boy lies +wounded, and one of them says: 'Boy, give me +your musket.'</p> + +<p>"'Not the gun, but its contents,' cries the boy, + +and the Confederate falls mortally wounded. +Another raises his weapon to brain the prostrate +lad, but he too falls, killed with his comrade's own +rifle. And all this is done while the hero-boy is +on the ground, bleeding. An hour afterward +his comrades bear the boy to a sheltered spot on +the other side of the streamlet, and then the first +word of complaint escapes him. As they are +taking off his leg, he says, in his agony, 'Oh, +what will mother do?'"</p> + +<p>Poor boy! At that terrible moment, in the +throes of his fierce agony, he thought not of himself, +but of the mother at home, who was dependent +on his exertions for a livelihood. For in +war it is not alone the men in the field who are +called upon to suffer, but the mothers, the wives, +and the children, left at home, whose hearts are +rent with anxiety—to whom, at any moment, may +come the tidings of the death of their loved one.</p> + +<p>On a rocky height, commanding the field, Garfield +watched the tide of battle. He saw that it +was unequal, and that there was danger that his +troops would be overmatched. He saw that they +were being driven, and that they would lose the +hill if not supported.</p> + +<p>Instantly he ordered to the rescue five hundred +of the Ohio Fortieth and Forty-second, under +Major Pardee and Colonel Craven. They dashed +boldly into the stream, holding their cartridge-boxes +above their heads, and plunged into the +fight, shouting:</p> + +<p>"Hurrah for Williams and the Hiram boys!"</p> + +<p>But their position was most critical, for shot, +and shell, and canister, and the fire of four thousand +muskets are now concentrated upon them.</p> + +<p>"This will never do!" cries Garfield. "Who +will volunteer to carry the other mountain?"</p> + +<p>Colonel Munroe, of the Twenty-second Kentucky, +responded quickly, "We will. We know +every inch of the ground."</p> + +<p>"Go in, then," cries Garfield, "and give them +Columbia!"</p> + +<p>I have not space to record the varying fortunes +of the day. For five hours the contest rages. By +turns the Union forces are driven back, and then, +with a brave charge, they regain their lost +ground, and from behind rocks and trees pour in +their murderous volleys. The battle began at +noon, and when the sun sets on the brief winter +day it is still unfinished.</p> + + +<p>Posted on a projecting rock, in full sight of +both armies, stands the Union commander—his +head uncovered, his hair streaming in the wind, +and his heart full of alternate hopes and fears. It +looks as if the day were lost—as if the gallant +eleven hundred were conquered at last, when, at +a critical moment, the starry banner is seen +waving over an advancing host. It is Sheldon +and reinforcements—long and anxiously expected! +Their shouts are taken up by the +eleven hundred! The enemy see them and are +panic-stricken.</p> + +<p>The day is won!</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> +<a name="toc_26"></a> + +<h2>Chapter XXV—The Perilous Trip Up The Big Sandy.</h2> + + +<p>I have followed Col. Garfield through the +Kentucky campaign, not because it compared in +importance with many other military operations +of the war, but because in its conduct he displayed +in a remarkable degree some of the traits by +which he was distinguished. From a military +point of view it may be criticised. His attack +upon an enemy far his superior in numbers, and in +a more favorable position, would scarcely have +been undertaken by an officer of more military +experience. Yet, once undertaken, it was carried +through with remarkable dash and brilliancy, and +the strategy displayed was of a high order.</p> + +<p>I must find room for the address issued to his +little army on the day succeeding the battle, for +it tells, in brief, the story of the campaign:</p> + +<p>"SOLDIERS OF THE EIGHTEENTH BRIGADE: I am + +proud of you all! In four weeks you have +marched, some eighty and some a hundred miles, +over almost impassable roads. One night in four +you have slept, often in the storm, with only a +wintry sky above your heads. You have marched +in the face of a foe of more than double your +number—led on by chiefs who have won a national +reputation under the old flag—intrenched +in hills of his own choosing, and strengthened by +all the appliances of military art. With no experience +but the consciousness of your own manhood, +you have driven him from his strongholds, +pursued his inglorious flight, and compelled him +to meet you in battle. When forced to fight, he +sought the shelter of rocks and hills. You drove +him from his position, leaving scores of his bloody +dead unburied. His artillery thundered against +you, but you compelled him to flee by the light +of his burning stores, and to leave even the banner +of his rebellion behind him. I greet you as +brave men. Our common country will not forget +you. She will not forget the sacred dead +who fell beside you, nor those of your comrades +who won scars of honor on the field.</p> + +<p>"I have recalled you from the pursuit that you + +may regain vigor for still greater exertions. Let +no one tarnish his well-earned honor by any act +unworthy an American soldier. Remember your +duties as American citizens, and sacredly respect +the rights and property of those with whom you +have come in contact. Let it not be said that +good men dread the approach of an American +army.</p> + +<p>"Officers and soldiers, your duty has been nobly +done. For this I thank you."</p> + +<p>The battle had been won, but the victorious +army was in jeopardy. They had less than three +days' rations, and there were great difficulties in +the way of procuring a further supply. The rainy +season had made the roads impassable for all but +horsemen.</p> + +<p>Still there was the river. But the Big Sandy +was now swollen beyond its banks, and the rapid +current was filled with floating logs and uptorn +trees. The oldest and most experienced boatmen +shook their heads, and would not attempt the +perilous voyage.</p> + +<p>What was to be done?</p> + +<p>Col. Garfield had with him Brown, the scout +and ex-canal-boatman, who had returned from + +reconnoitering Marshall's camp, with a bullet +through his hat. Garfield asked his advice.</p> + +<p>"It's which and t'other, General Jim," he answered, +"starvin' or drownin'. I'd rather drown +nur starve. So gin the word, and, dead or alive, +I'll git down the river!"</p> + +<p>Garfield gave the word, but he did not let the +brave scout go alone. Together in a small skiff +they "got down the river." It was no light task. +The Big Sandy was now a raging torrent, sixty +feet in depth, and, in many places, above the tops +of the tall trees which grew along its margin. In +some deep and narrow gorges, where the steep +banks shut down upon the stream, these trees +had been undermined at the roots, and, falling inward, +had locked their arms together, forming a +net-work that well-nigh prevented the passage of +the small skiff and its two navigators. Where a +small skiff could scarcely pass, could they run a +large steamboat loaded with provisions?</p> + +<p>"Other men might ask that question, but not +the backwoods boy who had learned navigation on +the waters of the Ohio and Pennsylvania Canal. +He pushed to the mouth of the river, and there +took possession of the <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Sandy Valley</span>, a small + +steamer in the quartermaster's service. Loading +her with supplies, he set about starting up the +river, but the captain of the boat declared the +thing was impossible. Not stopping to argue +the point, Garfield ordered him and his crew on +board, and <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">himself taking the helm</span>, set out up +the river.</p> + +<p>"Brown he stationed at the bow, where, with +a long fending-pole in his hand, he was to keep +one eye on the floating logs and uprooted trees, +the other on the chicken-hearted captain.</p> + +<p>"The river surged and boiled and whirled +against the boat, tossing her about as if she were +a cockle-shell. With every turn of her wheel she +trembled from stem to stern, and with a full head +of steam could only stagger along at the rate of +three miles an hour. When night came the captain +begged to tie up till morning, for breasting +that flood in the dark was sheer madness; but +Brown cried out, 'Put her ahead, Gineral Jim,' +and Garfield clutched the helm and drove her on +through the darkness.</p> + +<p>"Soon they came to a sudden bend in the +stream, where the swift current formed a furious +whirlpool, and this catching the laboring boat, + +whirled her suddenly round, and drove her, head +on, into the quicksands. Mattocks were plied, +and excavations made round the imbedded bow, +and the bowman uttered oaths loud enough to +have raised a small earthquake; but still the boat +was immovable. She was stuck fast in the mud, +and every effort to move her was fruitless. Garfield +ordered a small boat to be lowered, and take +a line to the other bank, by which to warp the +steamer free; but the captain and now the crew +protested it was certain death to attempt to cross +that foaming torrent at midnight.</p> + +<p>"They might as well have repeated to him +the Creed and the Ten Commandments, for Garfield +himself sprang into the boat and called to +Brown to follow. He took the helm and laid +her bow across the stream, but the swift current +swept them downward. After incredible labor +they made the opposite bank, but far below the +steamboat. Closely hugging the shore, they now +crept up the stream, and fastening the line to a +tree, rigged a windlass, and finally warped the +vessel again into deep water.</p> + +<p>"All that night, and all the next day, and all +the following night they struggled with the furious + +river, Garfield never but once leaving the +helm, and then for only a few hours' sleep, which +he snatched in his clothes in the day-time. At +last they rounded to at the Union camp, and then +went up a cheer that might have been heard all +over Kentucky. His waiting men, frantic with +joy, seized their glorious commander, and were +with difficulty prevented from bearing him on +their shoulders to his quarters."</p> + +<p>The little army was saved from starvation by +the canal-boy, who had not forgotten his old +trade. He had risked his life a dozen times over +in making the perilous trip, which has been so +graphically described in the passages I have +quoted. But for his early and humble experience, +he never would have been able to bring the +little steamer up the foaming river. Little did he +dream in the days when, as a boy, he guided the +<span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Evening Star</span>, that fifteen years hence, an officer +holding an important command he would use the +knowledge then acquired to save a famishing +army. We can not wonder that his men should +have been devotedly attached to such a commander.</p> + +<p>I have said that the Kentucky campaign was + +not one of the most important operations of the +civil war, but its successful issue was most welcome, +coming at the time it did. It came after +a series of disasters, which had produced wide-spread +despondency, and even dimmed the courage +of President Lincoln. It kindled hope in +the despondent, and nerved patriotic arms to new +and vigorous efforts.</p> + +<p>"Why did Garfield, in two weeks, do what it +would have taken one of you Regular folks two +months to accomplish?" asked the President, of +a distinguished army officer.</p> + +<p>"Because he was not educated at West Point," +answered the officer, laughing.</p> + +<p>"No," replied Mr. Lincoln; "that wasn't the +reason. It was because, when a boy, he had to +work for a living."</p> + +<p>This was literally true. To his struggling boyhood +and early manhood, and the valuable experience +it brought him, Garfield was indebted for +the strength and practical knowledge which +brought him safely through a campaign conducted +against fearful odds.</p> + +<p>His country was not ungrateful. He received +the thanks of the commanding general for services + +which "called into action the highest qualities +of a soldier—fortitude, perseverance, courage," +and a few weeks later a commission as +brigadier-general of volunteers, to date from the +battle of Middle Creek.</p> + +<p>So Jim Garfield, the canal-boy, has become a +general. It is an important step upward, but +where are others to come?</p> + +<p>If this were designed to be a complete biography +of General Garfield, I should feel it my +duty to chronicle the important part he took in +the battle of Chickamauga, where he acted as +chief of staff to General Rosecranz, aiding his +superior officer at a most critical point in the battle +by advice which had an important influence +in saving the day. I should like to describe the +wonderful and perilous ride of three miles which +he took, exposing his life at every moment, to +warn General Thomas that he is out-flanked, and +that at least seventy thousand men are closing +down upon his right wing, to crush his twenty-five +thousand to fragments. Sometimes I hope a +poet, of fitting inspiration, will sing of that ride, +and how, escaping from shot and shell, he plunged +down the hill through the fiery storm, reaching + +Thomas in safety, though his noble horse at that +moment fell dead at his feet. I can not spare +time for the record, but must refer my young +reader to the pages of Edmund Kirke, or General +James S. Brisbin.</p> + +<p>Other duties, and another important field of +action, await Garfield, and we must hurry on. +But, before doing so, I must not fail to record +that the War Department, recognizing his important +services at the battle of Chickamauga, sent +him a fortnight later the commission of a major-general.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> +<a name="toc_27"></a> + +<h2>Chapter XXVI—The Canal-Boy Becomes A Congressman.</h2> + + +<p>While Garfield was serving his country to the +utmost of his ability in the field, the voters of the +Nineteenth District of Ohio, in which he had his +home, were called upon to select a man to represent +them in Congress. It perhaps exceeds any +other portion of the State in its devotion to the +cause of education and the general intelligence of +its inhabitants. The people were mostly of New +England origin, and in selecting a representative +they wanted a man who was fitted by education, +as well as fidelity, to do them credit.</p> + +<p>Their choice fell upon Garfield, who was known +to them at home as the head of one of their chief +institutions of learning, and whose reputation had +not suffered in the field. They did not even consult +him, but put him in nomination, and elected +him by an overwhelming majority.</p> + +<p>It was a gratifying compliment, for in our + +country an election to Congress is regarded as a +high honor, which no one need be reluctant to +accept. We have on record one of our most distinguished +statesmen—John Quincy Adams—who, +after filling the Presidential chair, was content to +go back to Washington as a member of the House +of Representatives from his district in Massachusetts. +It was undoubtedly more in harmony +with the desires and tastes of the young man—for +he was still a young man—than service in the +field. But he felt that that was not the question. +Where was he more needed? The war was not +over. Indeed, it seemed doubtful when it would +be finished; and Garfield was now in a position +to serve his country well as a military commander.</p> + +<p>When on the march to Chattanooga, Garfield +consulted Gen. Rosecranz, owning that he was +perplexed in attempting to decide.</p> + +<p>Rosecranz said: "The war is not yet over, nor +will it be for some time to come. Many questions +will arise in Congress which will require not +only statesman-like treatment, but the advice of +men having an acquaintance with military affairs. +For that reason you will, I think, do as good + +service to the country in Congress as in the field. +I not only think that you can accept the position +with honor, but that it is your duty to do it."</p> + +<p>He added, and we may be sure that his advice +accorded with the personal judgment of the man +whom he was addressing, "Be true to yourself, +and you will make your mark before your +country."</p> + +<p>Some months were to elapse before he would +require to go to Washington, for Congress was +not to meet till December.</p> + +<p>He went to Washington, undecided even yet +whether to remain as a legislator, or to return to +his old comrades in the army. He only wished +to know where he could be of most service to his +country, and he finally decided to lay the matter +before President Lincoln.</p> + +<p>Lincoln gave substantially the same advice as +Rosecranz: "We need men who will help us +carry the necessary war measures; and, besides, +we are greatly lacking in men of military experience +in the House to promote legislation about +the army. It is your duty, therefore, to enter +Congress."</p> + +<p>When, on the 5th of December, 1863, Garfield + +took his seat in the House of Representatives, he +was the youngest member of that body. The +Military Committee was the most important committee +of Congress, and he was put upon that, on +account of his practical experience in the field. +This, of course, brought him, though a new and +young member, into immediate prominence, and +his familiarity with the wants of the army enabled +him to be of great service.</p> + +<p>I do not propose to detail at tiresome length +the legislative achievements of Gen. Garfield in +the new position which he was destined to fill for +eighteen years. I shall only refer to such as +illustrate his characteristic devotion to duty without +special regard to his own interests. He never +hesitated to array himself in opposition to the +popular will, if he thought the people were +wrong. It was not long before an occasion +came up which enabled him to assert his independence.</p> + +<p>The country needed soldiers, and had inaugurated +a system of bounties which should +tempt men to join the ranks of the country's defenders. +It was only a partial success. Some +men, good and true, were led to join by the offer + +of a sum which made them more at ease about +the comfort of their families, but many joined +the service from mercenary considerations only, +who seized the first opportunity to desert, and +turning up in another locality, enlisted again and +obtained a second bounty. These men obtained +the name of bounty-jumpers, and there was a host +of them. Yet the measure was popular with soldiers, +and Congress was unanimously in favor of +it. Great was the amazement of his fellow-members +when the young member from the +Nineteenth Ohio district rose in his seat and +earnestly opposed it. He objected that the policy +was ruinous, involving immense expense, while +effecting little good. He claimed that the country +had a right to the service of every one of its children +at such a crisis, without hire and without +reward.</p> + +<p>But one man stood with him, so unpopular +was the stand he had taken; but it was not long +before the bounty system broke down, and Garfield's +views were adopted.</p> + +<p>Later on he had another chance to show his +independence. President Lincoln, foreseeing that +at a certain date not far ahead the time of enlistment + +of nearly half the army would expire, came +before Congress and asked for power to draft +men into service. It met with great opposition. +"What! force men into the field! Why, we +might as well live under a despotism!" exclaimed +many; and the members of Congress, who knew +how unpopular the measure would be among their +constituents, defeated it by a two-thirds vote.</p> + +<p>It was a critical juncture. As Lincoln had +said in substance, all military operations would +be checked. Not only could not the war be +pushed, but the Government could not stand +where it did. Sherman would have to come back +from Atlanta, Grant from the Peninsula.</p> + +<p>The voting was over, and the Government was +despondent. Then it was that Garfield rose, and +moving a reconsideration, made a speech full of +fire and earnestness, and the House, carried by +storm, passed the bill, and President Lincoln +made a draft for half a million men.</p> + +<p>Garfield knew that this action would be unpopular +in his district. It might defeat his re-election; +but that mattered not. The President +had been assailed by the same argument, and had +answered, "Gentlemen, it is not necessary that I + +should be reëlected, but it is necessary that I should +put down this rebellion." With this declaration +the young Congressman heartily sympathized.</p> + +<p>Remonstrances did come from his district. +Several of his prominent supporters addressed +him a letter, demanding his resignation. He +wrote them that he had acted according to his +views of the needs of the country; that he was +sorry his judgment did not agree with theirs, but +that he must follow his own. He expected to +live long enough to have them all confess that he +was right.</p> + +<p>It was about this time that he made his celebrated +reply to Mr. Alexander Long, of Ohio, +a fellow Congressman, who proposed to yield +everything and to recognize the Southern Confederacy.</p> + +<p>The excitement was intense. In the midst of +it Garfield rose and made the following speech:</p> + +<p>"MR. CHAIRMAN," he said, "I am reminded by +the occurrences of this afternoon of two characters +in the war of the Revolution as compared with +two others in the war of to-day.</p> + +<p>"The first was Lord Fairfax, who dwelt near +the Potomac, a few miles from us. When the + +great contest was opened between the mother +country and the colonies, Lord Fairfax, after a +protracted struggle with his own heart, decided +he must go with the mother country. He gathered +his mantle about him and went over grandly +and solemnly.</p> + +<p>"There was another man, who cast in his lot +with the struggling colonists, and continued with +them till the war was well-nigh ended. In an +hour of darkness that just preceded the glory of +the morning, he hatched the treason to surrender +forever all that had been gained to the enemies +of his country. Benedict Arnold was that man!</p> + +<p>"Fairfax and Arnold find their parallels of to-day.</p> + +<p>"When this war began many good men stood +hesitating and doubting what they ought to do. +Robert E. Lee sat in his house across the river +here, doubting and delaying, and going off at last +almost tearfully to join the army of his State. +He reminds one in some respects of Lord Fairfax, +the stately Royalist of the Revolution.</p> + +<p>"But now when tens of thousands of brave +souls have gone up to God under the shadow of +the flag; when thousands more, maimed and shattered + +in the contest, are sadly awaiting the deliverance +of death; now, when three years of terrific +warfare have raged over us; when our armies +have pushed the Rebellion back over mountains +and rivers, and crowded it into narrow limits, until +a wall of fire girds it; now when the uplifted +hand of a majestic people is about to hurl the +bolts of its conquering power upon the Rebellion; +now, in the quiet of this hall, hatched in the lowest +depths of a similar dark treason, there rises a +Benedict Arnold, and proposes to surrender all +up, body and spirit, the nation and the flag, its +genius and its honor, now and forever, to the accursed +traitors to our country! And that proposition +comes—God forgive and pity our beloved +State—it comes from a citizen of the time-honored +and loyal commonwealth of Ohio!</p> + +<p>"I implore you, brethren in this House, to believe +that not many births ever gave pangs to my +mother State such as she suffered when that traitor +was born! I beg you not to believe that on the +soil of that State another such a growth has ever +deformed the face of nature, and darkened the +light of God's day!"</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> +<a name="toc_28"></a> +<h2>Chapter XXVII—Garfield's Course In Congress.</h2> + + +<p>If Garfield at once took a prominent place in +the House of Representatives, it was by no means +because it was composed of inferior men. On the +other hand, there has seldom been a time when it +contained a larger number of men either prominent, +or destined in after days to be prominent. +I avail myself of the detailed account given of its +members by Major Bundy, in his excellent Life +of Garfield. There are some names which will +be familiar to most of my young readers:</p> + +<p>"Its then most fortunate and promising member +was Schuyler Colfax, the popular Speaker. +But there were three young members who were +destined to a more lasting prominence. The senior +of these who had enjoyed previous service in +he House, was Roscoe Conkling, already recognized +by Congress and the country as a magnificent +and convincing speaker. The other two + +were James G. Blaine and James A. Garfield. +Only a year the senior of Garfield, Blaine was +about to begin a career as brilliant as that of +Henry Clay, and the acquisition of a popularity +unique in our political history. But in this Congress +there were many members whose power +was far greater than that of either of the trio, who +may yet be as much compared as Clay, Webster, +and Calhoun were in former days.</p> + +<p>"In the first place, there was Elihu B. Washburne, +'the watch-dog of the treasury,' the 'father +of the House,' courageous, practical, direct, and +aggressive. Then there was Thaddeus Stevens, +who was one of the very few men capable of +driving his party associates—a character as +unique as, and far stronger than, John Randolph; +General Robert C. Schenck, fresh from the army, +but a veteran in Congress, one of the ablest of +practical statesmen; ex-Governor Boutwell, of +Massachusetts; ex-Governor Fenton, of New +York, a very influential member, especially on +financial questions; Henry Winter Davis, the +brilliant orator, of Maryland; William B. Allison, +since one of the soundest and most useful of +Iowa's Senators; Henry L. Dawes, who fairly + +earned his promotion to the Senate, but who accomplished +so much in the House that his best +friends regret the transfer; John A. Bingham, +one of the most famous speakers of his time; +James E. English, of Connecticut, who did valiant +and patriotic service as a War Democrat; +George H. Pendleton, now Senator from Ohio, +and a most accomplished statesman, even in his +early service in the House; Henry G. Stebbins, +who was to make a speech sustaining Mr. Chase's +financial policy that was unequaled for its salutary +effect on public opinion; Samuel J. Randall, +now Speaker; John A. Griswold, of New York; +William Windom, one of the silent members, who +has grown steadily in power; James F. Wilson, +who was destined to decline three successive offers +of Cabinet positions by President Grant; Daniel +W. Voorhies, of Indiana, now Senator; John A. +Kasson, of Iowa, now our Minister to Austria; +Theodore M. Pomeroy, of New York, afterward +Acting Speaker for a brief period; William R. +Morrison, of Illinois, since a Democratic candidate +for the Presidency; William S. Holman and +George W. Julian, of Indiana, both able men; +and Fernando Wood—these were all prominent + +members of the House. It will be seen that the +House was a more trying arena for a young member +like Garfield than the Senate would have +been; for the contests of the former—unsubdued +and unmitigated by 'the courtesy of the Senate'—were +conducted by as ready and able a corps of +debaters as ever sat in that body."</p> + +<p>This was surely a formidable array of men, and +a man of ordinary powers would have found it +prudent to remain silent during the first session, +lest he should be overwhelmed by some one of +the ready speakers and experienced legislators +with whom he was associated. But the canal-boy, +who had so swiftly risen from his humble +position to the post of college president and major-general, +till at the age of thirty-two he sat in +the national council the youngest member, was +not daunted. His term of service as State Senator +was now of use to him, for it had given him +a knowledge of parliamentary law, and the practice +in speaking which he gained long ago in the +boys' debating societies, and extended in college, +rendered him easy and master of himself.</p> + +<p>Indeed he could not remain silent, for he represented +the "boys at the front," and whenever a + +measure was proposed affecting their interests, he +was expected to take part in the debate. It was +not long before the House found that its new +member was a man of grace and power, with +whom it was not always safe to measure weapons. +He was inclined to be peaceful, but he was not +willing to permit any one to domineer over him, +and the same member did not often attempt it a +second time.</p> + +<p>My young readers are sure to admire pluck, +and they will, therefore, read with interest of one +such occasion, when Garfield effectually quelled +such an attempt. I find it in a chapter of reminiscences +contributed to the Boston <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Journal</span>, by +Ben Perley Poore, the well-known correspondent:</p> + +<p>"When the Jenckes Bankrupt Bill came before +the House, Gen. Garfield objected to it, because +in his opinion it did not provide that the estates +of rebels in arms should escape the operations of +the law. He also showed that money was being +raised to secure the enactment of the bill, and +Mr. Spalding, of the Cleveland district, was +prompted by Mr. Jenckes to 'sit down on him.' + +But Gen. Garfield was not to be silenced easily + +and quite a scene ensued. The next day Garfield +rose to a personal explanation, and said:</p> + +<p>"'I made no personal reference whatever; I +assailed no gentleman; I called no man's honor +in question. My colleague from the Cleveland +district (Mr. Spalding) rose and asked if I had +read the bill. I answered him, I believe, in courteous +language and manner, that I had read it, +and immediately on my statement to that effect +he said in his place in the House, and it has gone +on the record, that he did not believe I had read +it; in other words, that he believed I had lied, in +the presence of my peers in this House. I felt, +under such circumstances, that it would not be +becoming my self-respect, or the respect I owe to +the House, to continue a colloquy with any gentleman +who had thus impeached my veracity +and I said so.</p> + +<p>"'It pains me very much that a gentleman of +venerable age, who was in full maturity of life +when I was a child, and whom I have respected +since my childhood, should have taken occasion +here in this place to use language so uncalled for, +so ungenerous, so unjust to me, and disgraceful +to himself. I have borne with the ill-nature and + +bad blood of that gentleman, as many others in +this House have, out of respect for his years; but +no importunity of age shall shield him, or any +man, from my denunciation, who is so lacking in +the proprieties of this place as to be guilty of +such parliamentary and personal indecency as the +House has witnessed on his part. I had hoped +that before this time he would have acknowledged +to me the impropriety and unjustifiableness of his +conduct and apologized for the insult. But he +has not seen fit to take this course. I leave him +to his own reflections, and his conduct to the +judgment of the House.'"</p> + +<p>Those who listened to these spirited rebukes +saw that the young member from Ohio would not +allow himself to be snubbed or insulted with impunity, +and the few who were accustomed to descend +to such discourtesy took warning accordingly. +They were satisfied that Garfield, to quote a common +phrase, would give them as good as they +sent, and perhaps a little better. The boy, who +at sixteen, when employed on the tow-path, +thrashed the bully of thirty-five for insulting him, +was not likely in his manhood to submit to the +insults of a Congressional bully. He was a man + +to compel respect, and had that resolute and persistent +character which was likely ere long to make +him a leader. So Disraeli, coughed down in his +first attempt to speak before the English House of +Commons, accepted the situation, but recorded +the prediction that one day they would hear him. +He, too, mounted step by step till he reached the +highest position in the English Government outside +of royalty. A man who is destined to be +great is only strengthened by opposition, and +rises in the end victorious over circumstances.</p> + +<p>Garfield soon made it manifest that he had +come to Washington to work. He was not one +to lie back and enjoy in idleness the personal consequence +which his position gave him. All his +life he had been a worker, and a hard worker, +from the time when he cut one hundred cords of +wood, at twenty-five cents a cord, all through his +experience as a canal-boy, a carpenter, a farm-worker, +a janitor, a school teacher, a student, and +a military commander, and now that he had taken +his place in the grand council of the nation, he +was not going to begin a life of self-indulgent +idleness.</p> + +<p>In consideration of his military record he was, + +at his entrance into Congress, put upon the Military +Committee; but a session or two later, at his +own request, he was assigned a place on the Committee +of Ways and Means. His reason for this +request was, that he might have an opportunity +of studying the question of finance, which he had +sufficient foresight to perceive would one day be a +great question, overshadowing all others. He instantly +set himself to a systematic and exhaustive +study of this subject, and attained so thorough a +knowledge of it that he was universally recognized +as a high authority—perhaps the highest in the +department. He made speech after speech on the +finance question, and was a pronounced advocate +of "Honest Money," setting his face like a flint +against those who advocated any measures calculated +to lower the national credit or tarnish the +national reputation for good faith.</p> + +<p>"I am aware," said he one day in debate, "that +financial measures are dull and uninviting in comparison +with those heroic themes which have absorbed +the attention of Congress for the last five +years. To turn from the consideration of armies +and navies, victories and defeats, to the array of +figures which exhibits the debt, expenditure, taxation, + +and industry of the nation requires no little +courage and self-denial; but to these questions +we must come, and to their solution Congress and +all thoughtful citizens must give their best efforts +for many years to come."</p> + +<p>It was not only a wise but a bold thing to do, +for among the members of his own party, in Ohio, +financial heresies had crept in, and a party platform +was adopted in 1867, looking to the payment +of the bonds of the Government in greenbacks. +He was advised to say nothing on the +subject lest it should cost him the nomination in +the election just at hand; but he met the question +boldly, and declared that the district could only +have his services "on the ground of the honest +payment of this debt, and these bonds in coin, +according to the letter and spirit of the contract."</p> + +<p>Nevertheless he was renominated by acclamation.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> +<a name="toc_29"></a> + +<h2>Chapter XXVIII—The Man For The Hour.</h2> + + +<p>On the 15th day of April, 1865, the country +was thrilled from end to end by the almost incredible +report that President Lincoln had been +assassinated the evening previous while witnessing +a performance at Ford's Theatre, in Washington.</p> + +<p>The war was not yet over, but peace seemed +close at hand. All were anticipating its return +with joy. The immense sacrifices of loyal men +seemed about to be rewarded when, like a clap of +thunder in a clear sky, came the terrible tidings, +which were flashed at once over the telegraphic +wires to the remotest parts of the country.</p> + +<p>The people at first were shocked and silent. +Then a mighty wave of wrath swept over the +country—a wrath that demanded victims, and +seemed likely in the principal city of the country +to precipitate scenes not unlike those witnessed +in the "Reign of Terror" in France.</p> + + +<p>The boys who read this story can not understand +the excitement of that day. It was unlike +the deep sorrow that came upon us all on the +second of July, for Lincoln died a martyr, at a +time when men's passions had been stirred by +sectional strife, and his murder was felt to be an +outgrowth of the passions which it engendered; +but Garfield fell, slain by the hand of a worthless +wretch, acting upon his own responsibility.</p> + +<p>I shall venture, for the information of young +readers, to whom it may be new, to quote the +graphic description of an eye-witness, contributed +to General Brisbin's interesting life of our subject:</p> + +<p>"I shall never forget the first time I saw General +Garfield. It was the morning after President +Lincoln's assassination. The country was excited +to its utmost tension.... The newspaper +head lines of the transaction were set up in the +largest type, and the high crime was on every +one's tongue. Fear took possession of men's +minds as to the fate of the Government, for in a +few hours the news came on that Seward's throat +was cut, and that attempts had been made on the +lives of others of the Government officers. Posters + +were stuck up everywhere, in great black letters, +calling upon the loyal citizens of New York, +Brooklyn, Jersey City, and neighboring places, +to meet around the Wall Street Exchange and +give expression to their sentiments.</p> + +<p>"It was a dark and terrible hour. What might +come next no one could tell, and men spoke with +bated breath. The wrath of the workingmen +was simply uncontrollable, and revolvers and +knives were in the hands of thousands of Lincoln's +friends, ready, at the first opportunity, to +take the law into their own hands, and avenge +the death of their martyred President upon any +and all who dared to utter a word against him.</p> + +<p>"Eleven o'clock A.M. was the hour set for the +rendezvous. Fifty thousand people crowded +around the Exchange building, cramming and jamming +the streets, and wedged in as tight as men +could stand together. With a few to whom special +favor was extended, I went over from Brooklyn +at nine A.M., and even then, with the utmost +difficulty, found my way to the reception room for +the speakers in the front of the Exchange building, +and looking out on the high and massive balcony, +whose front was protected by a massive iron railing.</p> + + +<p>"We sat in solemnity and silence, waiting for +General Butler, who, it was announced, had started +from Washington, and was either already in the +city or expected every moment. Nearly a hundred +generals, judges, statesmen, lawyers, editors, +clergymen, and others were in that room waiting +for Butler's arrival.</p> + +<p>"We stepped out to the balcony to watch the +fearfully solemn and swaying mass of people. +Not a hurrah was heard, but for the most part a +dead silence, or a deep, ominous muttering ran +like a rising wave up the street toward Broadway, +and again down toward the river on the right. +At length the batons of the police were seen +swinging in the air, far up on the left, parting +the crowd, and pressing it back to make way for +a carriage that moved slowly, and with difficult +jags through the compact multitude, and the cry +of 'Butler!' 'Butler!' rang out with tremendous +and thrilling effect, and was taken up by the +people.</p> + +<p>"But not a hurrah! Not one! It was the cry +of a great people asking to know how their +President died. The blood bounced in our veins, +and the tears ran like streams down our faces. + +How it was done I forget, but Butler was pulled +through, and pulled up, and entered the room +where we had just walked back to meet him. A +broad crape, a yard long, hung from his left arm—terrible +contrast with the countless flags that +were waving the nation's victory in the breeze. +We first realized then the sad news that Lincoln +was dead. When Butler entered the room we +shook hands. Some spoke, some could not; all +were in tears. The only word Butler had for us +all, at the first break of the silence was, '<span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Gentleman, +he died in the fullness of his fame</span>!' and as +he spoke it his lips quivered, and the tears ran +fast down his cheeks.</p> + +<p>"Then, after a few moments, came the speaking. +And you can imagine the effect, as the +crape fluttered in the wind while his arm was uplifted. +Dickinson, of New York State, was fairly +wild. The old man leaped over the iron railing +of the balcony and stood on the very edge, overhanging +the crowd, gesticulating in the most vehement +manner, and almost bidding the crowd +'burn up the rebel, seed, root, and branch,' while +a bystander held on to his coat-tail to keep him +from falling over.</p> + + +<p>"By this time the wave of popular indignation +had swelled to its crest. Two men lay bleeding +on one of the side streets, the one dead, the other +next to dying; one on the pavement, the other in +the gutter. They had said a moment before that +'Lincoln ought to have been shot long ago!' +They were not allowed to say it again. Soon two +long pieces of scantling stood out above the heads +of the crowd, crossed at the top like the letter X, +and a looped halter pendant from the junction, a +dozen men following its slow motion through the +masses, while 'Vengeance' was the cry.</p> + +<p>"On the right suddenly the shout arose, '<span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">The +World!</span>' '<span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">The World</span>!' and a movement of perhaps +eight thousand to ten thousand turning their +faces in the direction of that building began to +be executed.</p> + +<p>"It was a critical moment. What might come +no one could tell, did that crowd get in front of +that office; police and military would have availed +little, or been too late. A telegram had just been +read from Washington, 'Seward is dying!' Just +then, at that juncture, a man stepped forward +with a small flag in his hand and beckoned to the +crowd.</p> + + +<p>"'Another telegram from Washington!'</p> + +<p>"And then, in the awful stillness of the crisis, +taking advantage of the hesitation of the crowd, +whose steps had been arrested a moment, a right +arm was lifted skyward, and a voice, clear and +steady, loud and distinct, spoke out:</p> + +<p>"'Fellow-citizens! Clouds and darkness are +round about Him! His pavilion is dark waters, +and thick clouds of the skies! Justice and judgment +are the establishment of His throne! Mercy +and truth shall go before His face! Fellow-citizens! +God reigns and the Government at Washington +still lives!'</p> + +<p>"The effect was tremendous. The-crowd stood +rooted to the ground with awe, gazing at the +motionless orator, and thinking of God and the +security of the Government in that hour. As the +boiling waters subside and settle to the sea, when +some strong wind beats it down, so the tumult of +the people sank and became still. All took it as +a divine omen. It was a triumph of eloquence, +inspired by the moment, such as falls to but one +man's lot, and that but once in a century. The +genius of Webster, Choate, Everett, Seward, +never reached it. What might have happened + +had the surging and maddened mob been let +loose, none can tell. The man for the crisis was +on the spot, more potent than Napoleon's guns at +Paris. I inquired what was his name.</p> + +<p>"The answer came in a low whisper, 'It is +General Garfield, of Ohio.'"</p> + +<p>It was a most dramatic scene, and a wonderful +exhibition of the power of one man of intellect +over a furious mob.</p> + +<p>How, would the thrilling intensity of the moment +have been increased, had some prophet, +standing beside the inspired speaker, predicted +that a little more than sixteen years later he who +had calmed the crowd would himself fall a victim +to violence, while filling the same high post as +the martyred Lincoln. Well has it been said that +the wildest dream of the romancer pales beside +the solemn surprise of the Actual. Not one among +the thousands there assembled, not the speaker +himself, would have considered such a statement +within the range of credibility. Alas, that it +should have been!—that the monstrous murder of +the good Lincoln should have been repeated in +these latter days, and the nation have come a +second time a mourner!</p> + + +<p>Will it be believed that Garfield's arrival and +his speech had been quite accidental, though we +must also count it as Providential, since it stayed +the wild excesses of an infuriated mob. He had +only arrived from Washington that morning, and +after breakfast had strolled through the crowded +streets, in entire ignorance of the great gathering +at the Exchange building.</p> + +<p>He turned down Broadway, and when he saw +the great concourse of people, he kept on, to learn +what had brought them together. Butler was +speaking when he arrived, and a friend who +recognized him beckoned him to come up there, +above the heads of the multitude.</p> + +<p>When he heard the wild cries for "Vengeance!" +and noticed the swaying, impassioned movements +of the crowd, he saw the danger that menaced the +public order, and in a moment of inspiration he +rose, and with a gesture challenged the attention +of the crowd. What he said he could not have +told five minutes afterward. "I only know," he +said afterward, "that I drew the lightning from +that crowd, and brought it back to reason."</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> +<a name="toc_30"></a> + +<h2>Chapter XXIX—Garfield As A Lawyer.</h2> + + +<p>In the crowded activities of Garfield's life, my +readers may possibly have forgotten that he was +a lawyer, having, after a course of private study +during his presidency of Hiram College, been admitted +to the bar, in 1861, by the Supreme Court +of Ohio. When the war broke out he was about +to withdraw from his position as teacher, and go +into practice in Cleveland; but, as a Roman +writer has expressed it, "Inter arma silent +leges." So law gave way to arms, and the incipient +lawyer became a general.</p> + +<p>When the soldier put off his armor it was to +enter Congress, and instead of practicing law, +Garfield helped to frame laws.</p> + +<p>But in 1865 there came an extraordinary occasion, +which led to the Ohio Congressman entering +upon his long delayed profession. And here I +quote from the work of Major Bundy, already + +referred to: "About that time that great lawyer, +Judge Jeremiah S. Black, as the attorney of the +Ohio Democrats who had been opposing the war, +came to his friend Garfield, and said that there +were some men imprisoned in Indiana for conspiracy +against the Government in trying to prevent +enlistments and to encourage desertion. +They had been tried in 1864, while the war was +going on, and by a military commission sitting in +Indiana, where there was no war, they had been +sentenced to death. Mr. Lincoln commuted the +sentence to imprisonment for life, and they were +put into State's prison in accordance with the +commutation. They then took out a writ of +<span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">habeas corpus</span>, to test the constitutionality and +legality of their trial, and the judges in the Circuit +Court had disagreed, there being two of them, +and had certified their disagreement to the Supreme +Court of the United States. Judge Black +said to Garfield that he had seen what Garfield had +said in Congress, and asked him if he was willing +to say in an argument in the Supreme Court what +he had advocated in Congress.</p> + +<p>"To which Garfield replied: 'It depends on +your case altogether.'</p> + + +<p>"Judge Black sent him the facts in the case—the +record.</p> + +<p>"Garfield read it over, and said: 'I believe in +that doctrine.'</p> + +<p>"To which Judge Black replied: 'Young man, +you know it is a perilous thing for a young Republican +in Congress to say that, and I don't want +you to injure yourself.'</p> + +<p>"Said Garfield: 'It does not make any difference. +I believe in English liberty, and English +law. But, Judge Black, I am not a practitioner +in the Supreme Court, and I never tried a case in +my life anywhere.'</p> + +<p>"'How long ago were you admitted to the +bar?' asked Judge Black.</p> + +<p>"'Just about six years age.'</p> + +<p>"'That will do,' Black replied, and he took +Garfield thereupon over to the Supreme Court +and moved his admission.</p> + +<p>"He immediately entered upon the consideration +of this important case. On the side of the +Government was arrayed a formidable amount of +legal talent. The Attorney-General was aided +by Gen. Butler, who was called in on account of +his military knowledge, and by Henry Stanbury. + +Associated with Gen. Garfield as counsel for the +petitioners were two of the greatest lawyers in +the country—Judge Black and Hon. David +Dudley Field, and the Hon. John E. McDonald, +now Senator from Indiana. The argument submitted +by Gen. Garfield was one of the most remarkable +ever made before the Supreme Court of +the United States, and was made under circumstances +peculiarly creditable to Garfield's courage, +independence, and resolute devotion to the cause +of constitutional liberty—a devotion not inspired +by wild dreams of political promotion, for at that +time it was dangerous for any young Republican +Congressman to defend the constitutional rights +of men known to be disloyal, and rightly despised +and hated for their disloyal practices."</p> + +<p>I refer any of my maturer readers who may +desire an abstract of the young lawyer's masterly +and convincing argument, to Major Bundy's valuable +work, which necessarily goes more deeply +into such matters than the scope of my slighter +work will admit. His argument was listened to +with high approval by his distinguished associate +counsel, and the decision of the Supreme Court +was given unanimously in favor of his clients.</p> + + +<p>Surely this was a most valuable <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">début</span>, and +Garfield is probably the first lawyer that ever +tried his first case before that august tribunal. +It was a triumph, and gave him an immediate +reputation and insured him a series of important +cases before the same court. I have seen it stated +that he was employed in seventeen cases before +the Supreme Court, some of large importance, +and bringing him in large fees. But for his first +case he never received a cent. His clients were +poor and in prison, and he was even obliged to +pay for printing his own brief. His future +earnings from this source, however, added materially +to his income, and enabled him to install +his family in that cherished home at Mentor, +which has become, so familiar by name to the +American people.</p> + +<p>I can not dwell upon Garfield's experience as a +lawyer. I content myself with quoting, from a +letter addressed by Garfield to his close friend, +President Hinsdale, of Hiram College, the account +of a case tried in Mobile, which illustrates +his wonderful industry and remarkable +resources.</p> + +<p>Under date of June 18, 1877, Garfield writes</p> + + +<p>"You know that my life has abounded in crises +and difficult situations. This trip has been, perhaps, +not a crisis, but certainly has placed me in +a position of extreme difficulty. Two or three +months ago, W.B. Duncan, a prominent business +man in New York, retained me as his lawyer in +a suit to be heard in the United States Court in +Mobile, and sent me the papers in the case. I +studied them, and found that they involved an +important and somewhat difficult question of law, +and I made myself sufficiently familiar with it, +so that when Duncan telegraphed me to be in +Mobile on the first Monday in June, I went with +a pretty comfortable sense of my readiness to +meet anybody who should be employed on the +other side. But when I reached Mobile, I found +there were two other suits connected, with this, +and involving the ownership, sale, and complicated +rights of several parties to the Mobile and Ohio +Railroad.</p> + +<p>"After two days' skirmishing, the court ordered +the three suits to be consolidated. The +question I had prepared myself on passed wholly +out of sight, and the whole entanglement of an +insolvent railroad, twenty-five years old, and + +lying across four States, and costing $20,000,000, +came upon us at once. There were seven lawyers +in the case besides me. On one side were John +A. Campbell, of New Orleans, late member of +the Supreme Bench of the United States; a leading +New York and a Mobile lawyer. Against us +were Judge Hoadley, of Cincinnati, and several +Southern men. I was assigned the duty of summing +up the case for our side, and answering the +final argument of the opposition. I have never +felt myself in such danger of failure before, all +had so much better knowledge of the facts than +I, and all had more experience with that class of +litigation? but I am very sure no one of them +did so much hard work, in the five nights and six +days of the trial, as I did. I am glad to tell you +that I have received a dispatch from Mobile, that +the court adopted my view of the case, and gave +us a verdict on all points."</p> + +<p>Who can doubt, after reading of these two +cases, that had Garfield devoted himself to the +practice of the law exclusively, he would have +made one of the most successful members of the +profession in the country, perhaps risen to the +highest rank? As it was, he was only able to devote + +the time he could spare from his legislative +labors.</p> + +<p>These increased as years sped. On the retirement +of James G. Blaine from the lower House +of Congress, the leadership of his party devolved +upon Garfield. It was a post of honor, but it +imposed upon him a vast amount of labor. He +must qualify himself to speak, not superficially, +but from adequate knowledge upon all points of +legislation, and to defend the party with which +he was allied from all attacks of political opponents.</p> + +<p>On this subject he writes, April 21, 1880: +"The position I hold in the House requires an +enormous amount of surplus work. I am compelled +to look ahead at questions likely to be +sprung upon us for action, and the fact is, I prepare +for debate on ten subjects where I actually +take part in but one. For example, it seemed +certain that the Fitz John Porter case would be +discussed in the House, and I devoted the best of +two weeks to a careful 're-examination' of the +old material, and a study of the new.</p> + +<p>"There is now lying on top of my book-case a +pile of books, revisions, and manuscripts, three + +feet long by a foot and a half high, which I accumulated +and examined for debate, which certainly +will not come off this session, perhaps not +at all. I must stand in the breach to meet whatever +comes.</p> + +<p>"I look forward to the Senate as at least a +temporary relief from this heavy work. I am +just now in antagonism with my own party on +legislation in reference to the election law, and +here also I have prepared for two discussions, and +as yet have not spoken on either."</p> + +<p>My young readers will see that Garfield thoroughly +believed in hard work, and appreciated its +necessity. It was the only way in which he could +hold his commanding position. If he attained +large success, and reached the highest dignity in +the power of his countrymen to bestow, it is +clear that he earned it richly. Upon some, accident +bestows rank; but not so with him. From +his earliest years he was growing, rounding out, +and developing, till he became the man he was. +And had his life been spared to the usual span, it +is not likely that he would have desisted, but +ripened with years into perhaps the most profound +and scholarly statesman the world has seen.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> +<a name="toc_31"></a> +<h2>Chapter XXX—The Scholar In Politics.</h2> + + +<p>In the midst of his political and professional +activity, Garfield never forgot his days of tranquil +enjoyment at Hiram College, when he was +devoted solely to the cultivation of his mind, and +the extension of his knowledge. He still cherished +the same tastes, and so far as his leisure—he had +no leisure, save time snatched from the engrossing +claims of politics—so far, at any rate, as he could +manage the time, he employed it for new acquisitions, +or for the review of his earlier studies.</p> + +<p>In January, 1874, he made a metrical version +of the third ode of Horace's first book. I quote +four stanzas:</p> + +<div class="lg"> +<p class="l">"Guide thee, O ship, on thy journey, that owest</p> +<p class="l">To Africa's shores Virgil trusted to thee.</p> +<p class="l">I pray thee restore him, in safety restore him,</p> +<p class="l">And saving him, save me the half of my soul.</p> +</div> + +<div class="lg"> + +<p class="l">"Stout oak and brass triple surrounded his bosom</p> +<p class="l">Who first to the waves of the merciless sea</p> + +<p class="l">Committed his frail bark. He feared not Africa's</p> +<p class="l">Fierce battling the gales of the furious North.</p> +</div> + +<div class="lg"> +<p class="l">"Nor feared he the gloom of the rain-bearing Hyads</p> +<p class="l">Nor the rage of fierce Notus, a tyrant than whom</p> +<p class="l">No storm-god that rules o'er the broad Adriatic</p> + +<p class="l">Is mightier its billows to rouse or to calm.</p> +</div> + +<div class="lg"> +<p class="l">"What form, or what pathway of death him affrighted</p> +<p class="l">Who faced with dry eyes monsters swimming the deep,</p> +<p class="l">Who gazed without fear on the storm-swollen billows,</p> +<p class="l">And the lightning-scarred rocks, grim with death on the shore?"</p> +</div> + +<p>In reviewing the work of the year 1874, he +writes: "So far as individual work is concerned, +I have done something to keep alive my tastes +and habits. For example, since I left you I have +made a somewhat thorough study of Goethe and +his epoch, and have sought to build up in my +mind a picture of the state of literature and art +in Europe, at the period when Goethe began to +work, and the state when he died. I have +grouped the various poets into order, so as to preserve +memoirs of the impression made upon my +mind by the whole. The sketch covers nearly +sixty pages of manuscript. I think some work of + +this kind, outside the track of one's every-day +work, is necessary to keep up real growth."</p> + +<p>In July, 1875, he gives a list of works that he +had read recently. Among these are several plays +of Shakespeare, seven volumes of Froude's England, +and a portion of Green's "History of the +English People." He did not limit himself to +English studies, but entered the realms of French +and German literature, having made himself acquainted +with both these languages. He made +large and constant use of the Library of Congress. +Probably none of his political associates made as +much, with the exception of Charles Sumner.</p> + +<p>Major Bundy gives some interesting details as +to his method of work, which I quote: "In all +his official, professional, and literary work, Garfield +has pursued a system that has enabled him to accumulate, +on a vast range and variety of subjects, +an amount of easily available information +such as no one else has shown the possession of +by its use. His house at Washington is a workshop, +in which the tools are always kept within +immediate reach. Although books overrun his +house from top to bottom, his library contains the +working material on which he mainly depends. + +And the amount of material is enormous. Large +numbers of scrap-books that have been accumulating +for over twenty years, in number and in +value—made up with an eye to what either is, or +may become, useful, which would render the collection +of priceless value to the library of any +first-class newspaper establishment—are so perfectly +arranged and indexed, that their owner +with his all-retentive memory, can turn in a moment +to the facts that may be needed for almost +any conceivable emergency in debate.</p> + +<p>"These are supplemented by diaries that preserve +Garfield's multifarous political, scientific, +literary, and religious inquiries, studies, and readings. +And, to make the machinery of rapid work +complete, he has a large box containing sixty-three +different drawers, each properly labeled, in +which he places newspaper cuttings, documents, +and slips of paper, and from which he can pull +out what he wants as easily as an organist can play +on the stops of his instrument. In other words, +the hardest and most masterful worker in Congress +has had the largest and most scientifically +arranged of workshops."</p> + +<p>It was a pleasant house, this, which Garfield + +had made for himself in Washington. With a +devoted wife, who sympathized with him in his +literary tastes, and aided him in his preparation +for his literary work, with five children (two +boys now at Williams College, one daughter, and +two younger sons), all bright and promising, with +a happy and joyous temperament that drew around +him warmly-attached friends, with a mind continually +broadening and expanding in every direction, +respected and appreciated by his countrymen, +and loved even by his political opponents, Garfield's +lot seemed and was a rarely happy one. +He worked hard, but he had always enjoyed work. +Higher honors seemed hovering in the air, but he +did not make himself anxious about them. He +enjoyed life, and did his duty as he went along, +ready to undertake new responsibilities whenever +they came, but by no means impatient for higher +honors.</p> + +<p>Filling an honored place in the household is +the white-haired mother, who, with justifiable +pride, has followed the fortunes of her son from +his destitute boyhood, along the years in which +he gained strength by battling with poverty and +adverse circumstances, to the time when he fills + +the leading place in the councils of the nation. +So steadily has he gone on, step by step, that she +is justified in hoping for him higher honors.</p> + +<p>The time came, and he was elected to the +United States Senate in place of Judge Thurman, +who had ably represented the State in the same +body, and had been long regarded as one of the +foremost leaders of the Democratic party. But his +mantle fell upon no unworthy successor. Ohio was +fortunate in possessing two such men to represent +her in the highest legislative body of the nation.</p> + +<p>Doubtless this honor would have come sooner +to Garfield, for in 1877 he was the candidate to +whom all eyes were directed, but he could not be +spared from the lower House, there being no one +to take his place as leader. He yielded to the +expressed wishes of President Hayes, who, in the +exceptional position in which he found himself, +felt the need of a strong and able man in the +House, to sustain his administration and help +carry out the policy of the Government. Accustomed +to yield his own interest to what he regarded +as the needs of his country, Garfield quietly acquiesced +in what to most men would have been a +severe disappointment.</p> + + +<p>But when, after the delay of four years, he was +elected to the Senate, he accepted with a feeling +of satisfaction—not so much because he was promoted +as because, in his new sphere of usefulness, +he would have more time for the gratification of +his literary tastes.</p> + +<p>In a speech thanking the members of the +General Assembly for their support, he said:</p> + +<p>"And now, gentlemen of the General Assembly, +without distinction of party, I recognize +this tribute and compliment paid to me to-night. +Whatever my own course may be in the future, +a large share of the inspiration of my future public +life will be drawn from this occasion and from +these surroundings, and I shall feel anew the +sense of obligation that I feel to the State of +Ohio. Let me venture to point a single sentence +in regard to that work. During the twenty years +that I have been in public life, almost eighteen +of it in the Congress of the United States, I have +tried to do one thing. Whether I was mistaken +or otherwise, it has been the plan of my life to +follow my conviction at whatever cost to myself.</p> + +<p>"I have represented for many years a district +in Congress whose approbation I greatly desired; + +but, though it may seem, perhaps, a little +egotistical to say it, I yet desired still more the +approbation of one person, and his name was +Garfield. [Laughter and applause]. He is the +only man that I am compelled to sleep with, and +eat with, and live with, and die with; and, if I +could not have his approbation, I should have had +companionship. [Renewed laughter and applause]. +And in this larger constituency which +has called me to represent them now, I can only +do what is true to my best self, following the +same rule. And if I should be so unfortunate as +to lose the confidence of this larger constituency, +I must do what every other fair-minded man has +to do—carry his political life in his hand and take +the consequences. But I must follow what seems +to me to be the only safe rule of my life; and +with that view of the case, and with that much +personal reference, I leave that subject."</p> + +<p>This speech gives the key-note of Garfield's +political action. More than once he endangered +his re-election and hazarded his political future by +running counter to what he knew to be the wishes +of his constituents and his party; but he would +never allow himself to be a slave to party, or wear + +the yoke of political expediency. He sought, +first of all, to win the approval of his own conscience +and his own sense of right, and then he +was willing to "take the consequences," even if +they were serious enough to cut short the brilliant +career which he so much enjoyed.</p> + +<p>I conceive that in this respect he was a model +whom I may safely hold up for the imitation of +my readers, young or old. Such men do credit +to the country, and if Garfield's rule of life could +be universally adopted, the country would never +be in peril. A conscientious man may make +mistakes of judgment but he can never go far +astray.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> +<a name="toc_32"></a> + +<h2>Chapter XXXI—The Tributes Of Friends.</h2> + + +<p>Before going farther, in order that my young +readers may be better qualified to understand +what manner of man Garfield was, I will quote +the remarks made by two of his friends, one a +prominent member of the party opposed to him +in politics. In the Milwaukee <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Sentinel</span> of Sept. +22d, I find this tribute by Congressman Williams, +of that State:</p> + +<p>"Happening to sit within one seat of him for +four years in the House, I, with others, perhaps +had a better opportunity to see him in all of his +moods than those more removed. In action he +was a giant; off duty he was a great, noble boy. +He never knew what austerity of manner or ceremonious +dignity meant. After some of his greatest +efforts in the House, such as will live in history, +he would turn to me, or any one else, and +say: 'Well, old boy, how was that?' Every + +man was his confidant and friend, so far as the interchange +of every-day good feeling was concerned.</p> + +<p>"He once told me how he prepared his speeches; +that first he filled himself with the subject, massing +all the facts and principles involved, so far as +he could; then he took pen and paper and wrote +down the salient points in what he regarded their +logical order. Then he scanned them critically, +and fixed them in his memory. 'And then,' said +he, 'I leave the paper in my room and trust to +the emergency.' He told me that when he spoke +at the serenade in New York a year ago, he was +so pressed by callers that the only opportunity he +had for preparation was, to lock the door and walk +three times around the table, when he was called +out to the balcony to begin. All the world knows +what that speech was.</p> + +<p>"He was wrapped up in his family. His two +boys would come up to the House just before adjournment, +and loiter about his desk with their +books in their hands. After the House adjourned, +other members would go off in cars or carriages, +or walk down the avenue in groups. But +Garfield, with a boy on each side of him, would +walk down Capitol Hill, as we would say in the + +country 'cross-lots,' all three chatting together on +equal terms.</p> + +<p>"He said to me one day during the canvass, +while the tears came to his eyes, 'I have done no +more in coming up from poverty than hundreds +and thousands of others, but I am thankful that I +have been able to keep my family by my side, and +educate my children.'</p> + +<p>"He was a man with whom anybody could differ +with impunity. I have said repeatedly, that +were Garfield alive and fully recovered, and a +dozen of his intimate friends were to go to him, +and advise that Guiteau be let off, he would say, +'Yes, let him go.' The man positively knew no +malice. And for such a man to be shot and tortured +like a dog, and by a dog!</p> + +<p>"He was extremely sensitive. I have seen him +come into the House in the morning, when some +guerrilla of the press had stabbed him deeper in +his feelings than Guiteau's bullet did in the body, +and when he looked pallid from suffering, and the +evident loss of sleep; but he would utter no murmur, +and in some short time his great exuberance +of spirits would surmount it all, and he would +be a boy again.</p> + + +<p>"He never went to lunch without a troop of +friends with him. He loved to talk at table, and +there is no gush in saying he talked a God socially +and intellectually. Some of his off-hand expressions +were like a burst of inspiration. Like +all truly great men, he did not seem to realize his +greatness. And, as I have said, he would talk as +cordially and confidentially with a child as with a +monarch. And I only refer to his conversations +with me because you ask me to, and because I +think his off-hand conversations with any one reveal +his real traits best.</p> + +<p>"Coming on the train from Washington, after +his nomination, he said: 'Only think of this! I +am yet a young man? if elected and I serve my +term I shall still be a young man. Then what am +I going to do? There seems to be no place in +America for an ex-President.'</p> + +<p>"And then came in what I thought the extreme +simplicity and real nobility of the man. +'Why,' said he, 'I had no thought of being nominated. +I had bought me some new books, and +was getting ready for the Senate.'</p> + +<p>"I laughed at the idea of his buying books, like +a boy going to college, and remembered that during + +his Congressional career he had furnished materials +for a few books himself. And then, with +that peculiar roll of the body and slap on the +shoulder with the left hand, which all will recognize, +he said: 'Why! do you know that up to 1856 +I never saw a <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Congressional Globe</span>, nor knew +what one was!' And he then explained how he +stumbled upon one in the hands of an opponent +in his first public anti-slavery debate.</p> + +<p>"A friend remarked the other day that Garfield +would get as enthusiastic in digging a six-foot +ditch with his own hands, as when making a +speech in Congress. Such was my observation. +Going down the lane, he seemed to forget for the +time that there was any Presidential canvass +pending. He would refer, first to one thing, +then another, with that off-hand originality which +was his great characteristic. Suddenly picking up +a smooth, round pebble, he said, 'Look at that! +Every stone here sings of the sea.'</p> + +<p>"Asking why he bought his farm, he said he +had been reading about metals, how you could +draw them to a certain point a million times and +not impair their strength, but if you passed that +point once, you could never get them back. 'So,' + +said he, 'I bought this farm to rest the muscles of +my mind!' Coming to two small wooden structures +in the field, he talked rapidly of how his +neighbors guessed he would do in Congress, but +would not make much of a fist at farming, and +then called my attention to his corn and buckwheat +and other crops, and said that was a marsh, +but he underdrained it with tile, and found spring-water +flowing out of the bluff, and found he could +get a five-foot fall, and with pumps of a given +dimension, a water-dam could throw water back +eighty rods to his house, and eighty feet above it. +'But,' said he, in his jocularly, impressive manner, +'I did my surveying before I did my work.'"</p> + +<p>This is certainly a pleasant picture of a great +man, who has not lost his simplicity of manner, +and who seems unconscious of his greatness—in +whom the love of humanity is so strong that he +reaches out a cordial hand to all of his kind, no +matter how humble, and shows the warmest +interest in all.</p> + +<p>Senator Voorhees, of Indiana, was among the +speakers at the memorial meeting in Terre Haute, +and in the course of his remarks, said: "I knew +James A. Garfield well, and, except on the political + +field, we had strong sympathies together. It +is nearly eighteen years since we first met, and +during that period I had the honor to serve seven +years in the House of Representatives with him.</p> + +<p>"The kindness of his nature and his mental +activity were his leading traits. In all his intercourse +with men, women, and children, no kinder +heart ever beat in human breast than that which +struggled on till 10.30 o'clock Monday night, and +then forever stood still. There was a light in +his face, a chord in his voice, and a pressure in +his hand, which were full of love for his fellow-beings. +His manners were ardent and demonstrative +with those to whom he was attached, and he +filled the private circle with sunshine and magnetic +currents. He had the joyous spirits of boyhood +and the robust intellectuality of manhood +more perfectly combined than any other I ever +knew. Such a character was necessarily almost +irresistible with those who knew him personally, +and it accounts for that undying hold which, +under all circumstances, bound his immediate +constituents to him as with hooks of steel. Such +a nature, however, always has its dangers as well +as its strength and its blessings. The kind heart + +and the open hand never accompany a suspicious, +distrustful mind. Designing men mark such a +character for their own selfishness, and Gen. Garfield's +faults—for he had faults, as he was human—sprang +more from this circumstance than from +all others combined. He was prompt and eager +to respond to the wishes of those he esteemed his +friends, whether inside or outside of his own political +party. That he made some mistakes in his +long, busy career is but repeating the history of +every generous and obliging man who has lived +and died in public life. They are not such, however, +as are recorded in heaven, nor will they +mar or weaken the love of his countrymen.</p> + +<p>"The poor, laboring boy, the self-made man, +the hopeful, buoyant soul in the face of all difficulties +and odds, <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">constitute an example for the +American youth, which will never be lost nor +grow dim</span>.</p> + +<p>"The estimate to be placed on the intellectual +abilities of Gen. Garfield must be a very high +one. Nature was bountiful to him, and his +acquirements were extensive and solid. If I +might make a comparison, I would say that, with +the exception of Jefferson and John Quincy + +Adams, he was the most learned President in +what is written in books in the whole range of +American history.</p> + +<p>"The Christian character of Gen. Garfield can +not, with propriety, be omitted in a glance, however +brief, at his remarkable career. Those who +knew him best in the midst of his ambition and +his worldly hopes will not fail now at his tomb to +bear their testimony to his faith in God and his +love for the teachings of the blessed Nazarene.</p> + +<p>"It seems but yesterday that I saw him last, +and parted from him in all the glory of his physical +and mental manhood. His eye was full of +light, his tread elastic and strong, and the world +lay bright before him. He talked freely of public +men and public affairs. His resentments were +like sparks from the flint. He cherished them +not for a moment. Speaking of one who, he +thought, had wronged him, he said to me, that, +sooner or later, he intended to pour coals of fire +on his head by acts of kindness to some of his +kindred. He did not live to do so, but the purpose +of his heart has been placed to his credit in +the book of eternal life"</p> + +<p>A correspondent of the New York <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Tribune</span> + +suggests that the following lines, from Pollok's +"Course of Time," apply with remarkable fitness +to his glorious career:</p> + +<div class="lg"> + +<p class="l">"Illustrious, too, that morning stood the man</p> +<p class="l">Exalted by the people to the throne</p> +<p class="l">Of government, established on the base</p> +<p class="l">Of justice, liberty, and equal right;</p> +<p class="l">Who, in his countenance sublime, expressed</p> +<p class="l">A nation's majesty, and yet was meek</p> +<p class="l">And humble; and in royal palace gave</p> +<p class="l">Example to the meanest, of the fear</p> + +<p class="l">Of God, and all integrity of life</p> +<p class="l">And manners; who, august, yet lowly; who</p> +<p class="l">Severe, yet gracious; in his very heart</p> +<p class="l">Detesting all oppression, all intent</p> +<p class="l">Of private aggrandizement; and the first</p> +<p class="l">In every public duty—held the scales</p> +<p class="l">Of justice, and as law, which reigned in him,</p> +<p class="l">Commanded, gave rewards; or with the edge</p> + +<p class="l">Vindictive smote—now light, now heavily,</p> +<p class="l">According to the stature of the crime.</p> +<p class="l">Conspicuous, like an oak of healthiest bough,</p> +<p class="l">Deep-rooted in his country's love, he stood."</p> +</div> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> +<a name="toc_33"></a> + +<h2>Chapter XXXII—From Canal-Boy To President.</h2> + + +<p>James A Garfield had been elected to the +United States Senate, but he was never a member +of that body. Before the time came for him to +take his seat he had been invested with a higher +dignity. Never before in our history has the +same man been an actual member of the House +of Representatives, a Senator-elect, and President-elect.</p> + +<p>On the 8th of June, 1880, the Republican Convention +at Chicago selected Garfield as their +standard-bearer on the thirty-sixth ballot. No +one, probably, was more surprised or bewildered +than Garfield himself, who was a member of the +Convention, when State after State declared in +his favor. In his loyalty to John Sherman, of his +own State, whom he had set in nomination in an +eloquent speech, he tried to avert the result, but +in vain. He was known by the friends of other + +candidates to be thoroughly equipped for the +highest office in the people's gift, and he was the +second choice of the majority.</p> + +<p style="text-align: center"><img src="images/image5.png" alt="Inauguration As President Of The United States."></p> +<p style="text-align: center">Inauguration As President Of The United States.</p> + +<p>Mary Clemmer, the brilliant Washington correspondent, +writes of the scene thus: "For days +before, many that would not confess it felt that +he was the coming man, because of the acclaim +of the people whenever Garfield appeared. The +culminating moment came. Other names seemed +to sail out of sight like thistledown on the wind, +till one (how glowing and living it was) was +caught by the galleries, and shout on shout arose +with the accumulative force of ascending breakers, +till the vast amphitheater was deluged with sounding +and resounding acclaim, such as a man could +hope would envelope and uplift his name but once +in a life-time. And he? There he stood, strong, +Saxon, fair, debonair, yet white as new snow, and +trembling like an aspen. It seemed too much, +this sudden storm of applause and enthusiasm for +him, the new idol, the coming President; yet +who may say that through his exultant, yet trembling +heart, that moment shot the presaging pang +of distant, yet sure-coming woe?"</p> + +<p>Senator Hoar of Massachusetts, who was the + +President of the Convention, in a speech made +not long afterward, paid the following just tribute +to Garfield's character and qualifications:</p> + +<p>"Think of the qualifications for the office which +that man combines. Do you want a statesman in +the broadest sense? Do you demand a successful +soldier? Do you want a man of more experience +in civil affairs? No President of the United +States since John Quincy Adams has begun to +bring to the Presidential office, when he entered, +anything like the experience in statesmanship of +Gen. Garfield. As you look over the list, Grant, +Jackson, and Taylor have brought to the position +great fame as soldiers, but who since John Quincy +Adams has had such a civil career to look back +upon as Gen. Garfield? Since 1864 I can not +think of one important question debated in Congress +or discussed before the great tribunal of +the American people in which you can not +find the issue stated more clearly and better than +by any one else in the speeches in the House of +Representatives or on the hustings of Gen. Garfield—firm +and resolute, constant in his adherence +to what he thinks is right, regardless of popular +delusions or the fear that he will become less popular, +or be disappointed in his ambitions.</p> + + +<p>"Just remember when Republicans and +Democrats alike of Ohio fairly went crazy over +the financial heresy, this man stood as with his +feet on a rock, demanding honesty in government. +About six years ago I sat by the side of +an Ohio Representative, who had an elaborately +prepared table, showing how the West was being +cheated; that Ohio had not as many bank bills +to the square mile as the East, and that the Southwest +was even worse off than Ohio.</p> + +<p>"In regard to the great questions of human +rights he has stood inflexible. The successor of +Joshua R. Giddings, he is the man on whom his +mantle may be said to have descended. Still he +is no blind partisan. The best arguments in favor +of civil service reform are found in the speeches +of Gen. Garfield. He is liberal and generous in +the treatment of the South, one of the foremost +advocates of educational institutions in the South +at the national expense. Do you wish for that +highest type—the volunteer citizen soldier? Here +is a man who enlisted at the beginning of the +war; from a subordinate officer he became a +major-general, trusted by those best of commanders, +Thomas and Rosecranz, always in the + +thickest of the fight, the commander of dangerous +and always successful expeditions, and returning +home crowned with the laurels of victory. Do +you wish for an honored career, which in itself is +a vindication of the system of the American Republic? +Without the attributes of rank or +wealth, he has risen from the humblest to the +loftiest position."</p> + +<p>When the nominee of the convention had leisure +to reflect upon his new position, and then +cast his eye back along his past life, beginning +with his rustic home in the Ohio wilderness, and +traced step by step his progress from canal-boy to +Presidential candidate, it must have seemed to +him almost a dream. It was indeed a wonderful +illustration of what we claim for our Republican +institutions, the absolute right of the poorest and +humblest, provided he has the requisite talent and +industry to aspire to the chief place and the supreme +power. "It was the most perfect instance +of the resistless strength of a man developed by +all the best and purest impulses, forces, and influences +of American institutions into becoming their +most thorough and ablest embodiment in organic +and personal activity, aspiration, and character."</p> + + +<p>The response to the nomination throughout +the country was most hearty. It was felt that +the poor Ohio canal-boy had fitted himself, after +an arduous struggle with poverty, for the high +post to which he was likely to be called. The +<span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">N.Y. Tribune</span>, whose first choice had been the +brilliant son of Maine, James G. Blaine, welcomed +the result of the convention thus:</p> + +<p>"From one end of the nation to the other, from +distant Oregon to Texas, from Maine to Arizona, +lightning has informed the country of the nomination +yesterday of James A. Garfield, as the Republican +candidate for the Presidency.</p> + +<p>"Never was a nomination made which has +been received by friend and foe with such evidence +of hearty respect, admiration, and confidence. +The applause is universal. Even the +Democratic House of Representatives suspended +its business that it might congratulate the country +upon the nomination of the distinguished leader +of the Republicans.</p> + +<p>"James Abram Garfield is, in the popular +mind, one of the foremost statesmen of the nation. +He is comparatively a young man, but in +his service he commands the confidence and admiration + +of his countrymen of all parties. His +ability, his thorough study, and his long practical +experience in political matters gives an assurance +to the country that he will carry to the Presidential +office a mind superior, because of its natural +qualifications and training, to any that has preceded +him for many years. He will be a President +worthy in every sense to fill the office in a +way that the country will like to see it filled—with +ability, learning, experience, and integrity. +That Gen. Garfield will be elected we have no +question. He is a candidate worthy of election, +and will command not only every Republican +vote in the country, but the support of tens of +thousands of non-partisans who want to see a +President combining intellectual ability with +learning, experience, and ripe statesmanship."</p> + +<p>The prediction recorded above was fulfilled. +On the second of November, 1880, James A. +Garfield was elected President of the United +States.</p> + +<p>Had this been a story of the imagination, such +as I have often written, I should not have dared +to crown it with such an ending. In view of my + +hero's humble beginnings, I should expect to have +it severely criticised as utterly incredible, but reality +is oftentimes stranger than romance, and +this is notably illustrated in Garfield's wonderful +career.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> +<a name="toc_34"></a> + +<h2>Chapter XXXIII—The New Administration.</h2> + + +<p>On the evening of March 3d, preceding the inauguration, +the President-elect met twenty of his +college classmates at supper at Wormley's Hotel, +in Washington, and mutual congratulations were +exchanged. He was the first President of the +United States selected from among the graduates +of Williams College, and all the alumni, but more +especially the class of 1856, were full of pride and +rejoicing. From none probably were congratulations +more welcome to the new President than +from his old academic associates. If I transcribe +the speech which Gen. Garfield made upon that +occasion it is because it throws a light upon his +character and interprets the feelings with which +he entered upon the high office to which his +countrymen had called him:</p> + +<p>"CLASSMATES: To me there is something exceedingly +pathetic in this reunion. In every eye + +before me I see the light of friendship and love, +and I am sure it is reflected back to each one of +you from my inmost heart. For twenty-two +years, with the exception of the last few days, I +have been in the public service. To-night I am +a private citizen. To-morrow I shall be called to +assume new responsibilities, and on the day after, +the broadside of the world's wrath will strike. +It will strike hard. I know it, and you will know +it. Whatever may happen to me in the future, I +shall feel that I can always fall back upon the +shoulders and hearts of the class of '56 for their +approval of that which is right, and for their +charitable judgment wherein I may come short +in the discharge of my public duties. You may +write down in your books now the largest percentage +of blunders which you think I will be +likely to make, and you will be sure to find in +the end that I have made more than you have +calculated—many more.</p> + +<p>"This honor comes to me unsought. I have +never had the Presidential fever—not even for a +day; nor have I it to-night. I have no feeling +of elation in view of the position I am called upon +to fill. I would thank God were I to-day a free + +lance in the House or the Senate. But it is not +to be, and I will go forward to meet the responsibilities +and discharge the duties that are +before me with all the firmness and ability I can +command. I hope you will be able conscientiously +to approve my conduct; and when I +return to private life, I wish you to give me +another class-meeting."</p> + +<p>This brief address exhibits the modesty with +which Gen. Garfield viewed his own qualifications +for the high office for which twenty years of public +life had been gradually preparing him. While +all are liable to mistakes, it is hardly to be supposed +that a man so prepared, and inspired by a +conscientious devotion to what he deemed to be +right, would have made many serious blunders. +During his brief administration he made, as the +country knows, an admirable beginning in reforming +abuses and exacting the most rigid economy +in the public service. There was every +probability of his being his own successor had his +life been spared.</p> + +<p>The inaugural ceremonies were very imposing. +Washington was thronged as it had never been +before on any similar occasion. Private citizens, + +civic bodies, and military companies were present +from every part of the country. Prominent +among the eminent citizens present was the +stately and imposing figure of Gen. Hancock, +who had been the nominee of the opposing party, +and who, with admirable good feeling and good +taste, had accepted an invitation to be present at +the inauguration of his successful rival.</p> + +<p>And there were others present whom we have +met before. The wife and mother of the new +President, with flushed cheeks and proud hearts, +witnessed the ceremonies that made the one they +loved the head of the State. To him they were +more than all the rest. When he had taken the +oath of office in the presence of the assembled +tens of thousands, Garfield turned to his aged +mother and imprinted a kiss upon her cheek, +and afterward upon that of his wife. It was a +touch of nature that appealed to the hearts of all +present.</p> + +<p>In the White House, one of the best rooms was +reserved for his aged mother, for whom he cherished +the same fond love and reverence as in his +boyish days. It was a change, and a great one, +from the humble log-cabin in which our story + +opens; it was a change, too, from the backwoods +boy, in his suit of homespun, to the statesman of +noble and commanding figure, upon whom the +eyes of the nation were turned. The boy who +had guided the canal-boat was now at the helm of +the national vessel, and there was no fear that he +would run her aground. Even had storms come, +we might safely trust in him who had steered the +little steamboat up the Big Sandy River, in darkness +and storm and floating obstructions, to the +camp where his famished soldiers were waiting +for supplies. For, as is the case with every great +man, it was difficulty and danger that nerved Garfield +to heroic efforts, and no emergency found +him lacking.</p> + +<p>His life must now be changed, and the change +was not altogether agreeable. With his cordial +off-hand manners, and Western freedom, he, no +doubt, felt cramped and hampered by the requirements +of his new position. When he expressed +his preference for the position of a freelance +in the House or Senate, he was sincere. +It was more in accordance with his private tastes. +But a public man can not always choose the place +or the manner in which he will serve his country. + +Often she says to him, "Go up higher!" when +he is content with an humble place, and more +frequently, perhaps, he has to be satisfied with +an humble place when he considers himself fitted +for a higher.</p> + +<p>So far as he could, Gen. Garfield tried to preserve +in the Executive Mansion the domestic life +which he so highly prized. He had his children +around him. He made wise arrangements for +their continued education, for he felt that whatever +other legacy he might be able to leave them, +this would be the most valuable. Still, as of old, +he could count on the assistance of his wife in +fulfilling the duties, social and otherwise, required +by his exalted position.</p> + +<p>Nor was he less fortunate in his political family. +He had selected as his Premier a friend and political +associate of many years' standing, whose +brilliant talent and wide-spread reputation brought +strength to his administration. In accepting the +tender of the post of Secretary of State, Mr. +Blaine said: "In our new relation I shall give +all that I am, and all that I can hope to be, freely +and joyfully to your service. You need no pledge +of my loyalty in heart and in act. I should be + +false to myself did I not prove true both to the +great trust you confide to me, and to your own +personal and political fortunes in the present and +in the future. Your administration must be made +brilliantly successful, and strong in the confidence +and pride of the people, not at all directing its +energies for re-election, and yet compelling that +result by the logic of events and by the imperious +necessities of the situation.</p> + +<p>"I accept it as one of the happiest circumstances +connected with this affair, that in allying my +political fortunes with yours—or rather, for the +time merging mine in yours—my heart goes +with my head, and that I carry to you not only +political support, but personal and devoted friendship. +I can but regard it as somewhat remarkable +that two men of the same age, entering Congress +at the same time, influenced by the same aims, +and cherishing the same ambitions, should never, +for a single moment, in eighteen years of close +intimacy, have had a misunderstanding or a coolness, +and that our friendship has steadily grown +with our growth, and strengthened with our +strength.</p> + +<p>"It is this fact which has led me to the conclusion + +embodied in this letter; for, however much, +my dear Garfield, I might admire you as a statesman, +I would not enter your Cabinet if I did not +believe in you as a man and love you as a friend."</p> + +<p>When it is remembered that Mr. Blaine before +the meeting of the convention was looked upon +as the probable recipient of the honor that fell to +Garfield, the generous warmth of this letter will +be accounted most creditable to both of the two +friends, whose strong friendship rivalry could not +weaken or diminish.</p> + +<p>So the new Administration entered upon what +promised to be a successful course. I can not +help recording, as a singular circumstance, that +the three highest officers were ex-teachers. Of +Garfield's extended services as teacher, beginning +with the charge of a district school in the wilderness, +and ending with the presidency of a college, +we already know. Reference has also been made +to the early experience of the Vice-President, +Chester A. Arthur, in managing a country school. +To this it may be added that Mr. Blaine, too, +early in life was a teacher in an academy, and, as +may readily be supposed, a successful one. It is +seldom in other countries that similar honors + +crown educational workers. It may be mentioned, +however, that Louis Philippe, afterward +King of the French, while an exile in this country, +gave instruction in his native language. It +is not, however, every ruler of boys that is qualified +to become a ruler of men. Yet, in our own +country, probably a majority of our public men +have served in this capacity.</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> +<a name="toc_35"></a> + +<h2>Chapter XXXIV—The Tragic End.</h2> + + +<p>I should like to end my story here, and feel +that it was complete. I should like with my +countrymen to be still looking forward with interest +to the successful results of an administration, +guided by the experienced statesman whose +career we have followed step by step from its +humble beginnings. But it can not be.</p> + +<p>On the second of July, in the present year, a +startling rumor was borne on the wings of the +lightning to the remotest parts of the land:</p> + +<p>"President Garfield has been assassinated!"</p> + +<p>The excitement was only paralleled by that +which prevailed in 1865, when Abraham Lincoln +was treacherously killed by an assassin. But in +this later case the astonishment was greater, and +all men asked, "What can it mean?"</p> + +<p>We were in a state of profound peace. No +wars nor rumors of war disturbed the humble + +mind, and the blow was utterly unexpected and +inexplicable.</p> + +<p>The explanation came soon enough. It was +the work of a wretched political adventurer, who, +inflated by an overweening estimate of his own +abilities and importance, had made a preposterous +claim to two high political offices—the post +of Minister to Austria, and Consul to Paris—and +receiving no encouragement in either direction, +had deliberately made up his mind to "remove" +the President, as he termed it, in the foolish hope +that his chances of gaining office would be better +under another administration.</p> + +<p>My youngest readers will remember the sad +excitement of that eventful day. They will remember, +also, how the public hopes strengthened +or weakened with the varying bulletins of each +day during the protracted sickness of the nation's +head. They will not need to be reminded how +intense was the anxiety everywhere manifested, +without regard to party or section, for the recovery +of the suffering ruler. And they will surely +remember the imposing demonstrations of sorrow +when the end was announced. Some of the +warmest expressions of grief came from the + +South, who in this time of national calamity were +at one with their brothers of the North. And +when, on the 26th of September, the last funeral +rites were celebrated, and the body of the dead +President was consigned to its last resting-place +in the beautiful Lake View Cemetery, in sight of +the pleasant lake on which his eyes rested as a +boy, never before had there been such imposing +demonstrations of grief in our cities and towns.</p> + +<p>These were not confined to public buildings, +and to the houses and warehouses of the rich, but +the poorest families displayed their bit of crape. +Outside of a miserable shanty in Brooklyn was +displayed a cheap print of the President, framed +in black, with these words written below, "We +mourn our loss." Even as I write, the insignia of +grief are still to be seen in the tenement-house +districts on the East Side of New York, and there +seems a reluctance to remove them.</p> + +<p>But not alone to our own country were confined +the exhibitions of sympathy, and the anxious +alternations of hope and fear. There was scarcely +a portion of the globe in which the hearts of the +people were not deeply stirred by the daily bulletins +that came from the sick couch of the patient + +sufferer. Of the profound impression made in +England I shall give a description, contributed to +the New York <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Tribune</span> by its London correspondent, +Mr. G.W. Smalley, only premising +that the sympathy and grief were universal: from +the Queen, whose messages of tender, womanly +sympathy will not soon be forgotten, to the humblest +day-laborers in the country districts. Never +in England has such grief been exhibited at the +sickness and death of a foreign ruler, and the remembrance +of it will draw yet closer together, for +all time to come, the two great sections of the +English-speaking tongue. Were it not a subject +of such general interest, I should apologize for the +space I propose to give to England's mourning:</p> + +<p>"It happened that some of the humbler classes +were among the most eager to signify their feelings. +The omnibus-drivers had each a knot of +crape on his whip. Many of the cabmen had the +same thing, and so had the draymen. In the city, +properly so called, and along the water-side, it +was the poorer shops and the smaller craft that most +frequently exhibited tokens of public grief. Of +the people one met in mourning the same thing +was true. Between mourning put on for the day + +and that which was worn for private affliction it +was not possible to distinguish. But in many +cases it was plain enough that the black coat on +the workingman's shoulders, or the bonnet or bit +of crape which a shop-girl wore, was no part of +their daily attire. They had done as much as +they could to mark themselves as mourners for +the President. It was not much, but it was +enough. It had cost them some thought, a little +pains, sometimes a little money, and they were +people whose lives brought a burden to every +hour, who had no superfluity of strength or +means, and on whom even a slight effort imposed +a distinct sacrifice. They are not of the class to +whom the Queen's command for Court mourning +was addressed. Few of that class are now in London. +St. James' Street and Pall Mall, Belgravia +and May Fair are depopulated. The compliance +with the Queen's behest has been, I am sure, general +and hearty, but evidences of it were to be +sought elsewhere than in London.</p> + +<p>"Of other demonstrations it can hardly be necessary +to repeat or enlarge upon the description +you have already had. The drawn blinds of the +Mansion House and of Buckingham Palace, the + +flags at half-mast in the Thames on ships of every +nationality, the Stock and Metal Exchanges closed, +the royal standard at half-mast on the steeple of +the royal church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; the +darkened windows of great numbers of banking +houses and other places of business in the city itself—of +all these you have heard.</p> + +<p>"At the West End, the shops were not, as a +rule, draped with black. Some of them had the +Union Jack at half-mast; a few the Stars and +Stripes in black with white and black hangings on +the shop fronts. The greater number of shop-keepers +testified to their association with the general +feeling by shutters overhanging the tops of +the windows, or by perpendicular slabs at intervals +down the glass. Some had nothing; but in Regent +Street, Bond Street, St. James' Street, and +Piccadilly, which are the fashionable business +streets of the West End, those which had nothing +were the exception. The American Legation in +Victoria Street, and the American Consulate in +Old Broad Street, both of which were closed, +were in deep mourning. The American Dispatch +Agency, occupying part of a conspicuous building +in Trafalgar Square, had nothing to indicate its + +connection with America or any share in the +general sorrow.</p> + +<p>"In many private houses—I should say the +majority in such streets as I passed through during +the day—the blinds were down as they would +have been for a death in the family. The same +is true of some of the clubs, and some of the hotels. +The Reform Club, of which Garfield is +said to have been an honorary member, had a +draped American flag over the door.</p> + +<p>"To-day, as on every previous day since the +President's death, the London papers print many +columns of accounts, each account very brief, of +what has been done and said in the so-called provincial +towns. One journal prefaces its copious +record by the impressive statement that from +nearly every town and village telegraphic messages +have been sent by its correspondents describing +the respect paid to General Garfield on the +day of his funeral. These tributes are necessarily +in many places of a similar character, yet the variety +of sources from which they proceed is wide +enough to include almost every form of municipal, +ecclesiastical, political, or individual activity. Everywhere +bells are tolled, churches thrown open + +for service, flags drooping, business is interrupted, +resolutions are passed. Liverpool, as is natural +for the multiplicity and closeness of her relations +with the United States, may perhaps be said to +have taken the lead. She closed, either in whole +or in part, her Cotton Market, her Produce Markets, +her Provision Market, her Stock Exchange. +Her papers came out in mourning. The bells +tolled all day long.</p> + +<p>"Few merchants, one reads, came to their places +of business, and most of those who came were in +black. The Mayor and members of the Corporation, +in their robes, attended a memorial service +at St. Peter's, and the cathedral overflowed with +its sorrowing congregation. Manchester, Newcastle, +Birmingham, Glasgow, Bradford, Edinburgh +were not much behind Liverpool in demonstrations, +and not at all behind it in spirit. It is an +evidence of the community of feeling between the +two countries that so much of the action is official. +What makes these official acts so striking, +also, is the evident feeling at the bottom of this, +that between England and America there is some +kind of a relation which brings the loss of the President +into the same category with the loss of an +English ruler.</p> + + +<p>"At Edinburgh it is the Lord Provost who orders +the bells to be tolled till two. At Glasgow +the Town Council adjourns. At Stratford-on-Avon +the Mayor orders the flag to be hoisted at +half-mast over the Town Hall, and the blinds to +be drawn, and invites the citizens to follow his +example, which they do; the bell at the Chapel +of the Holy Cion tolling every minute while the +funeral is solemnized at Cleveland. At Leeds +the bell in the Town Hall is muffled and tolled, +and the public meeting which the United States +Consul, Mr. Dockery, addresses, is under the +presidency of the acting Mayor. Mr. Dockery +remarked that as compared with other great towns, +so few were the American residents in Leeds, that +the great exhibition of sympathy had utterly +amazed him. The remark is natural, but Mr. +Dockery need not have been amazed. The whole +population of Leeds was American yesterday; +and of all England. At Oxford the Town Council +voted an address to Mrs. Garfield. At the +Plymouth Guildhall the maces, the emblems of +municipal authority, were covered with black +At Dublin the Lord Mayor proposed, and the Aldermen +adopted, a resolution of sympathy.</p> + + +<p>"In all the cathedral towns the cathedral authorities +prescribed services for the occasion. I +omit, because I have no room for them, scores of +other accounts, not less significant and not less affecting. +They are all in one tone and one spirit. +Wherever in England, yesterday, two or three +were gathered together, President Garfield's +name was heard. Privately and publicly, simply +as between man and man, or formally with +the decorous solemnity and stately observance +befitting bodies which bear a relation to the Government, +a tribute of honest grief was offered to +the President and his family, and of honest sympathy +to his country. Steeple spoke to steeple, +distant cities clasped hands. The State, the +Church, the people of England were at one together +in their sorrow, and in their earnest wish +to offer some sort of comfort to their mourning +brothers beyond the sea. You heard in every +mouth the old cry, 'Blood is thicker than water.' +And the voice which is perhaps best entitled to +speak for the whole nation added, 'Yes, though +the water be a whole Atlantic Ocean.'"</p> + +<p>In addition to these impressive demonstrations, +the Archbishop of Canterbury held a service and +delivered an address in the church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, + +on Monday. Mr. Lowell had been +invited, of course, by the church wardens, and a +pew reserved for him, but when he reached the +church with his party half his pew was occupied.</p> + +<p>"The Archbishop, who wore deep crape over +his Episcopal robes, avoided calling his discourse +a sermon, and avoided, likewise, through the +larger portion of it, the purely professional tone +common in the pulpit on such occasions. During +a great part of his excellent address he spoke, as +anybody else might have done, of the manly side +of the President's character. He gave, moreover, +his own view of the reason why all England +has been so strangely moved. 'During the long +period of the President's suffering,' said the +Archbishop, 'we had time to think what manner +of man this was over whom so great a nation was +mourning day by day. We learned what a +noble history his was, and we were taught to +trace a career such as England before knew +nothing of.'</p> + +<p>"Among the innumerable testimonies to the +purity and beauty of Garfield's character," says +Mr. Smalley, "this address of the Primate of +the English Church surely is one which all Americans +may acknowledge with grateful pride."</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> +<a name="toc_36"></a> + +<h2>Chapter XXXV—Mr. Depew's Estimate Of Garfield.</h2> + + +<p>My task is drawing near a close. I have, in +different parts of this volume, expressed my own +estimate of our lamented President. No character +in our history, as it seems to me, furnishes +a brighter or more inspiring example to boys and +young men. It is for this reason that I have been +induced to write the story of his life especially +for American boys, conceiving that in no way can +I do them a greater service.</p> + +<p>But I am glad, in confirmation of my own +estimate, to quote at length the eloquent words +of Hon. Chauncey M. Depew, in his address +before the Grand Army of the Republic. He +says of Garfield:</p> + +<p>"In America and Europe he is recognized as +an illustrious example of the results of free institutions. +His career shows what can be accomplished +where all avenues are open and exertion + +is untrammeled. Our annals afford no such incentive +to youth as does his life, and it will become +one of the republic's household stories. No +boy in poverty almost hopeless, thirsting for +knowledge, meets an obstacle which Garfield did +not experience and overcome. No youth despairing +in darkness feels a gloom which he did not +dispel. No young man filled with honorable +ambition can encounter a difficulty which he did +not meet and surmount. For centuries to come +great men will trace their rise from humble +origins to the inspirations of that lad who learned +to read by the light of a pine-knot in a log-cabin; +who, ragged and barefooted, trudged along the +tow-path of the canal, and without money or +affluent relations, without friends or assistance, by +faith in himself and in God, became the most +scholarly and best equipped statesman of his +time, one of the foremost soldiers of his country, +the best debater in the strongest of deliberative +bodies, the leader of his party, and the Chief +Magistrate of fifty millions of people before he +was fifty years of age.</p> + +<p>"We are not here to question the ways of +Providence. Our prayers were not answered as + +we desired, though the volume and fervor of our +importunity seemed resistless; but already, behind +the partially lifted veil, we see the fruits of +the sacrifice. Old wounds are healed and fierce +feuds forgotten. Vengeance and passion which +have survived the best statesmanship of twenty +years are dispelled by a common sorrow. Love follows +sympathy. Over this open grave the cypress +and willow are indissolubly united, and into it are +buried all sectional differences and hatreds. The +North and the South rise from bended knees to +embrace in the brotherhood of a common people +and reunited country. Not this alone, but the +humanity of the civilized world has been quickened +and elevated, and the English-speaking people are +nearer to-day in peace and unity than ever before. +There is no language in which petitions have not +arisen for Garfield's life, and no clime where tears +have not fallen for his death. The Queen of the +proudest of nations, for the first time in our +recollections, brushes aside the formalities of +diplomacy, and, descending from the throne, +speaks for her own and the hearts of all her +people, in the cable, to the afflicted wife, which +says: 'Myself and my children mourn with you.'</p> + + +<p>"It was my privilege to talk for hours with +Gen. Garfield during his famous trip to the New +York conference in the late canvass, and jet it +was not conversation or discussion. He fastened +upon me all the powers of inquisitiveness and +acquisitiveness, and absorbed all I had learned in +twenty years of the politics of this State. Under +this restless and resistless craving for information, +he drew upon all the resources of the libraries, +gathered all the contents of the newspapers, and +sought and sounded the opinions of all around +him, and in his broad, clear mind the vast mass +was so assimilated and tested that when he spoke +or acted, it was accepted as true and wise. And yet +it was by the gush and warmth of old college-chum +ways, and not by the arts of the inquisitor, +that when he had gained he never lost a friend. +His strength was in ascertaining and expressing +the average sense of his audience. I saw him +at the Chicago Convention, and whenever that +popular assemblage seemed drifting into hopeless +confusion, his tall form commanded attention, and +his clear voice and clear utterances instantly gave +the accepted solution.</p> + +<p>"I arrived at his house at Mentor in the early + +morning following the disaster in Maine. While +all about him were in panic, he saw only a damage +which must and could be repaired. 'It is no +use bemoaning the past,' he said; 'the past has no +uses except for its lessons.' Business disposed of, +he threw aside all restraint, and for hours his +speculations and theories upon philosophy, government, +education, eloquence; his criticism of +books, his reminiscences of men and events, +made that one of the white-letter days of my life. +At Chickamauga he won his major-general's commission. +On the anniversary of the battle he +died. I shall never forget his description of the +fight—so modest, yet graphic. It is imprinted on +my memory as the most glorious battle-picture +words ever painted. He thought the greatest +calamity which could befall a man was to lose +ambition. I said to him, 'General, did you never +in your earlier struggle have that feeling I have +so often met with, when you would have compromised +your future for a certainty, and if so, +what?' 'Yes,' said he, 'I remember well when +I would have been willing to exchange all the +possibilities of my life for the certainty of a position +as a successful teacher.' Though he died + +neither a school principal nor college professor, +and they seem humble achievements compared +with what he did, his memory will instruct while +time endures.</p> + +<p>"His long and dreadful sickness lifted the roof +from his house and family circle, and his relations +as son, husband, and father stood revealed in the +broadest sunlight of publicity. The picture endeared +him wherever is understood the full significance +of that matchless word 'Home.' When +he stood by the capitol just pronounced the President +of the greatest and most powerful of republics, +the exultation of the hour found its expression +in a kiss upon the lips of his mother. For +weeks, in distant Ohio, she sat by the gate watching +for the hurrying feet of the messenger bearing +the telegrams of hope or despair. His last +conscious act was to write a letter of cheer and +encouragement to that mother, and when the blow +fell she illustrated the spirit she had instilled in +him. There were no rebellious murmurings +against the Divine dispensation, only in utter +agony: 'I have no wish to live longer; I will +join him soon; the Lord's will be done.' When +Dr. Bliss told him he had a bare chance of recovery, + +'Then,' said he, 'we will take that chance, +doctor.' When asked if he suffered pain, he answered: +'If you can imagine a trip-hammer +crashing on your body, or cramps such as you +have in the water a thousand times intensified, +you can have some idea of what I suffer.' And +yet, during those eighty-one days was heard +neither groan nor complaint. Always brave and +cheerful, he answered the fear of the surgeons +with the remark: 'I have faced death before; I +am not afraid to meet him now.' And again, 'I +have strength enough left to fight him yet'—and +he could whisper to the Secretary of the Treasury +an inquiry about the success of the funding +scheme, and ask the Postmaster-General how +much public money he had saved.</p> + +<p>"As he lay in the cottage by the sea, looking +out upon the ocean, whose broad expanse was in +harmony with his own grand nature, and heard +the beating of the waves upon the shore, and felt +the pulsations of millions of hearts against his +chamber door, there was no posing for history and +no preparation of last words for dramatic effect. +With simple naturalness he gave the military +salute to the sentinel gazing at his window, and + +that soldier, returning it in tears, will probably +carry its memory to his dying day and transmit +it to his children. The voice of his faithful wife +came from her devotions in another room, singing, +'Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah.' 'Listen,' +he cries, 'is not that glorious?' and in a few +hours heaven's portals opened and upborne upon +prayers as never before wafted spirit above he +entered the presence of God. It is the alleviation +of all sorrow, public or private, that close +upon it press the duties of and to the living.</p> + +<p>"The tolling bells, the minute-guns upon land +and sea, the muffled drums and funeral hymns fill +the air while our chief is borne to his last resting-place. +The busy world is stilled for the hour +when loving hands are preparing his grave. A +stately shaft will rise, overlooking the lake and +commemorating his deeds. But his fame will +not live alone in marble or brass. His story will +be treasured and kept warm in the hearts of millions +for generations to come, and boys hearing it +from their mothers will be fired with nobler ambitions. +To his countrymen he will always be a +typical American, soldier, and statesman. A year +ago and not a thousand people of the old world + +had ever heard his name, and now there is scarcely +a thousand who do not mourn his loss. The +peasant loves him because from the same humble +lot he became one of the mighty of earth, and +sovereigns respect him because in his royal gifts +and kingly nature God made him their equal."</p> +</div> + +<hr class="page"> + +<div> +<a name="toc_37"></a> + +<h2>Chapter XXXVI—The Lessons Of His Life.</h2> + + +<p>Probably the nearest and closest friend of +Garfield, intellectually speaking, was his successor +in the presidency of Hiram College, B.A. Hinsdale. +If any one understood the dead President +it was he. For many years they corresponded +regularly, exchanging views upon all topics that +interested either. They would not always agree, +but this necessarily followed from the mental independence +of each. To Mr. Hinsdale we turn for +a trustworthy analysis of the character and intellectual +greatness of his friend, and this he gives +us in an article published in the N.Y. <span class="hi" style="font-style: italic;">Independent</span> +of Sept. 29, 1881:</p> + +<p>"First of all, James A. Garfield had greatness +of nature. Were I limited to one sentence of description, +it would be: He was a great-natured +man. He was a man of strong and massive body. +A strong frame, broad shoulders, powerful vital + +apparatus, and a massive head furnished the +physical basis of his life. He was capable of an +indefinite amount of work, both physical and +mental. His intellectual status was equally strong +and massive. He excelled almost all men both in +the patient accumulation of facts and in bold +generalization. He had great power of logical +analysis, and stood with the first in rhetorical exposition. +He had the best instincts and habits of +the scholar. He loved to roam in every field of +knowledge. He delighted in the creations of the +imagination—poetry, fiction, and art. He loved +the deep things of philosophy. He took a keen +interest in scientific research. He gathered into +his storehouse the facts of history and politics, +and threw over the whole the life and power of +his own originality.</p> + +<p>"The vast labors that he crowded into those +thirty years—labors rarely equaled in the history +of men—are the fittest gauge of his physical and +intellectual power. His moral character was on +a scale equally large and generous. His feelings +were delicate, his sympathies most responsive, his +sense of justice keen. He was alive to delicate +points of honor. No other man whom I have + +known had such heart. He had great faith in +human nature and was wholly free from jealousy +and suspicion. He was one of the most helpful +and appreciative of men. His largeness of views +and generosity of spirit were such that he seemed +incapable of personal resentment. He was once +exhorted to visit moral indignation upon some +men who had wronged him deeply. Fully appreciating +the baseness of their conduct, he said +he would try, but added: 'I am afraid some one +will have to help me.'</p> + +<p>"What is more, General Garfield was religious, +both by nature and by habit. His mind was +strong in the religious element. His near relatives +received the Gospel as it was proclaimed +fifty years ago by Thomas and Alexander Campbell. +He made public profession of religion before +he reached his twentieth year and became a +member of the same church, and such he remained +until his death. Like all men of his +thought and reading, he understood the hard +questions that modern science and criticism have +brought into the field of religion. Whether he +ever wrought these out to his own full satisfaction +I can not say. However that may be, his + +native piety, his early training, and his sober convictions +held him fast to the great truths of revealed +religion. Withal, he was a man of great +simplicity of character. No one could be more +approachable. He drew men to him as the magnet +the iron filings. This he did naturally and +without conscious plan or effort. At times, when +the burden of work was heavy and his strength +overdrawn, intimate friends would urge him to +withdraw himself somewhat from the crowds that +flocked to him; but almost always the advice was +vain. His sympathy with the people was immediate +and quick. He seemed almost intuitively +to read the public thought and feeling. No matter +what was his station, he always remembered +the rock from which he had himself been hewn. +Naturally he inspired confidence in all men who +came into contact with him. When a young man, +and even a boy, he ranked in judgment and in +counsel with those much his seniors.</p> + +<p>"It is not remarkable, therefore, that he should +have led a great career. He was always with the +foremost or in the lead, no matter what the work +in hand. He was a good wood-chopper and a +good canal hand; he was a good school janitor; + +and, upon the whole, ranked all competitors, both +in Hiram and in Williamstown, as a student. He +was an excellent teacher. He was the youngest +man in the Ohio Senate. When made brigadier-general, +he was the youngest man of that rank +in the army. When he entered it, he was the +youngest man on the floor of the House of Representatives. +His great ability and signal usefulness +as teacher, legislator, popular orator, and +President must be passed with a single reference.</p> + +<p>"He retained his simplicity and purity of character +to the end. Neither place nor power corrupted +his honest fiber. Advancement in public +favor and position gave him pleasure, but brought +him no feeling of elation. For many years President +Garfield and the writer exchanged letters at +the opening of each new year. January 5th, last, +he wrote:</p> + +<p>"'For myself, the year has been full of surprises, +and has brought more sadness than joy. I +am conscious of two things: first, that I have +never had, and do not think I shall take, the Presidential +fever. Second, that I am not elated with +the election to that office. On the contrary, while +appreciating the honor and the opportunities + +which the place brings, I feel heavily the loss of +liberty which accompanies it, and especially that +it will in a great measure stop my growth.'</p> + +<p>"March 26, 1881, in the midst of the political +tempest following his inauguration, he wrote: 'I +throw you a line across the storm, to let you know +that I think, when I have a moment between +breaths, of the dear old quiet and peace of Hiram +and Mentor.' How he longed for 'the dear old +quiet and peace of Hiram and Mentor' in the +weary days following the assassin's shot all readers +of the newspapers know already.</p> + +<p>"Such are some main lines in the character of +this great-natured and richly-cultured man. The +outline is but poor and meager. Well do I remember +the days following the Chicago Convention, +when the biographers flocked to Mentor. +How hard they found it to compress within the +limits both of their time and their pages the life, +services, and character of their great subject. +One of these discouraged historians one day wearily +said: 'General, how much there is of you!'</p> + +<p>"Space fails to speak of President Garfield's +short administration. Fortunately, it is not necessary. +Nor can I give the history of the assassination + +or sketch the gallant fight for life. His +courage and fortitude, faith and hope, patience +and tenderness are a part of his country's history. +Dying, as well as living, he maintained his great +position with appropriate power and dignity. +His waving his white hand to the inmates of the +White House, the morning he was borne sick out +of it, reminds one of dying Sidney's motioning +the cup of water to the lips of the wounded soldier. +No man's life was ever prayed for by so +many people. The name of no living man has +been upon so many lips. No sick-bed was ever +the subject of so much tender solicitude. That +one so strong in faculties, so rich in knowledge, +so ripe in experience, so noble in character, so +needful to the nation, and so dear to his friends +should be taken in a way so foul almost taxes +faith in the Divine love and wisdom. Perhaps, +however, in the noble lessons of those eighty +days from July 2d to September 19th, and in the +moral unification of the country, history will find +full compensation for our great loss.</p> + +<p>"Finally, the little white-haired mother and +the constant wife must not be passed unnoticed. +How the old mother prayed and waited, and the + +brave wife wrought and hoped, will live forever, +both in history and in legend. It is not impiety +to say that wheresoever President Garfield's story +shall be told in the whole world there shall also +this, that these women have done, be told for a +memorial of them."</p> +</div> + +</div> + <hr class="doublepage"> + +<div class="back"> + <div class="div" id="footnotes"><a name="toc_38"></a><h2>Notes</h2><dl class="footnote"> +<dt><a name="note_1">1.</a></dt><dd><p>I have seen it somewhere stated that when a +Congressman at Washington he retained his interest +in the game of base-ball, and always was in attendance +when it was possible, at a game between two +professional clubs.</p></dd></dl></div> + + </div> +</div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's From Canal Boy to President, by Horatio Alger, Jr. + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FROM CANAL BOY TO PRESIDENT *** + +***** This file should be named 14964-h.htm or 14964-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/9/6/14964/ + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Josephine Paolucci, Joshua Hutchinson +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: From Canal Boy to President + Or The Boyhood and Manhood of James A. Garfield + +Author: Horatio Alger, Jr. + +Release Date: February 7, 2005 [EBook #14964] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FROM CANAL BOY TO PRESIDENT *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Josephine Paolucci, Joshua Hutchinson +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + + +[Illustration: JAMES A. GARFIELD, +AT THE AGE OF 16. +_Copied by permission of_ J.F. RYDER, _Cleveland, G._] + + + + +FROM + +CANAL BOY TO PRESIDENT, + +OR THE + +BOYHOOD AND MANHOOD + +OF + +JAMES A. GARFIELD. + +BY + +HORATIO ALGER, JR., + +AUTHOR OF RAGGED DICK; LUCK AND PLUCK; TATTERED TOM, ETC. + +_ILLUSTRATED_. + +NEW YORK + +AMERICAN PUBLISHERS CORPORATION + +310-318 SIXTH AVENUE + +1881 + + + + +TO + +HARRY AND JAMES GARFIELD + +WHOSE PRIVATE SORROW + +IS THE PUBLIC GRIEF, + +THIS MEMORIAL OF THEIR ILLUSTRIOUS FATHER + +Is inscribed + +WITH THE WARMEST SYMPATHY. + + + + +GENERAL PREFACE. + + +The present series of volumes has been undertaken with the view of +supplying the want of a class of books for children, of a vigorous, +manly tone, combined with a plain and concise mode of narration. The +writings of Charles Dickens have been selected as the basis of the +scheme, on account of the well-known excellence of his portrayal of +children, and the interests connected with children--qualities which +have given his volumes their strongest hold on the hearts of parents. +These delineations having thus received the approval of readers of +mature age, it seemed a worthy effort to make the young also +participants in the enjoyment of these classic fictions, to introduce +the children of real life to these beautiful children of the +imagination. + +With this view, the career of Little Nell and her Grandfather, Oliver, +Little Paul, Florence Dombey, Smike, and the Child-Wife, have been +detached from the large mass of matter with which they were originally +connected, and presented, in the author's own language, to a new class +of readers, to whom the little volumes will we doubt not, be as +attractive as the larger originals have so long proved to the general +public. We have brought down these famous stories from the library to +the nursery--the parlor table to the child's hands--having a precedent +for the proceeding, if one be needed, in the somewhat similar work, the +Tales from Shakespeare, by one of the choicest of English authors and +most reverential of scholars, Charles Lamb. + +Newtonville, Mass. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +If I am asked why I add one to the numerous Lives of our dead President, +I answer, in the words of Hon. Chauncey M. Depew, because "our annals +afford no such incentive to youth as does his life, and it will become +one of the Republic's household stories." + +I have conceived, therefore, that a biography, written with a view to +interest young people in the facts of his great career, would be a +praiseworthy undertaking. The biography of General Garfield, however +imperfectly executed, can not but be profitable to the reader. In this +story, which I have made as attractive as I am able, I make no claim to +originality. I have made free use of such materials as came within my +reach, including incidents and reminiscences made public during the last +summer, and I trust I have succeeded, in a measure, in conveying a +correct idea of a character whose nobility we have only learned to +appreciate since death has snatched our leader from us. + +I take pleasure in acknowledging my obligations to two Lives of +Garfield, one by Edmund Kirke, the other by Major J.M. Bundy. Such of my +readers as desire a more extended account of the later life of Gen. +Garfield, I refer to these well-written and instructive works. + +HORATIO ALGER, JR. + +New York, _Oct_. 8, 1881. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +I.--THE FIRST PAIR OF SHOES + +II.--GROWING IN WISDOM AND STATURE + +III.--IN QUEST OF FORTUNE + +IV.--ON THE TOW-PATH + +V.--AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION + +VI.--JAMES LEAVES THE CANAL + +VII.--THE CHOICE OF A VOCATION + +VIII.--GEAUGA SEMINARY + +IX.--WAYS AND MEANS + +X.--A COUSIN'S REMINISCENCES + +XI.--LEDGE HILL SCHOOL + +XII.--WHO SHALL BE MASTER? + +XIII.--JAMES LEAVES GEAUGA SEMINARY + +XIV.--AT HIRAM INSTITUTE + +XV.--THREE BUSY YEARS + +XVI.--ENTERING WILLIAMS COLLEGE + +XVII.--LIFE IN COLLEGE + +XVIII.--THE CANAL-BOY BECOMES A COLLEGE PRESIDENT + +XIX.--GARFIELD AS A COLLEGE PRESIDENT + +XX.--GARFIELD BECOMES A STATE SENATOR + +XXI.--A DIFFICULT DUTY + +XXII.--JOHN JORDAN'S DANGEROUS JOURNEY + +XXIII.--GARFIELD'S BOLD STRATEGY + +XXIV.--THE BATTLE OF MIDDLE CREEK + +XXV.--THE PERILOUS TRIP UP THE BIG SANDY + +XXVI.--THE CANAL-BOY BECOMES A CONGRESSMAN + +XXVII.--GARFIELD'S COURSE IN CONGRESS + +XXVIII.--THE MAN FOR THE HOUR + +XXIX.--GARFIELD AS A LAWYER + +XXX.--THE SCHOLAR IN POLITICS + +XXXI.--THE TRIBUTES OF FRIENDS + +XXXII.--FROM CANAL-BOY TO PRESIDENT + +XXXIII.--THE NEW ADMINISTRATION + +XXXIV.--THE TRAGIC END + +XXXV.--MR. DEPEW'S ESTIMATE OF GARFIELD + +XXXVI.--THE LESSONS OF HIS LIFE + + + + +THE + +BOYHOOD AND MANHOOD + +OF + +JAMES A. GARFIELD. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE FIRST PAIR OF SHOES. + + +From a small and rudely-built log-cabin a sturdy boy of four years +issued, and looked earnestly across the clearing to the pathway that led +through the surrounding forest. His bare feet pressed the soft grass, +which spread like a carpet before the door. + +"What are you looking for, Jimmy?" asked his mother from within the +humble dwelling. + +"I'm looking for Thomas," said Jimmy. + +"It's hardly time for him yet. He won't be through work till after +sunset." + +"Then I wish the sun would set quick," said Jimmy. + +"That is something we can not hasten, my son. God makes the sun to rise +and to set in its due season." + +This idea was probably too advanced for Jimmy's comprehension, for he +was but four years of age, and the youngest of a family of four +children. His father had died two years before, leaving a young widow, +and four children, the eldest but nine, in sore straits. A long and +severe winter lay before the little family, and they had but little corn +garnered to carry them through till the next harvest. But the young +widow was a brave woman and a devoted mother. + +"God will provide for us," she said, but sometimes it seemed a mystery +how that provision was to come. More than once, when the corn was low in +the bin, she went to bed without her own supper, that her four children, +who were blessed with hearty appetites, might be satisfied. But when +twelve months had gone by, and the new harvest came in, the fields which +she and her oldest boy had planted yielded enough to place them beyond +the fear of want. God did help them, but it was because they helped +themselves. + +But beyond the barest necessaries the little family neither expected +nor obtained much. Clothing cost money, and there was very little money +in the log-cabin, or indeed in the whole settlement, if settlement it +can be called. There was no house within a mile, and the village a mile +and a half away contained only a school-house, a grist-mill, and a +little log store and dwelling. + +Two weeks before my story opens, a farmer living not far away called at +the log-cabin. Thomas, the oldest boy, was at work in a field near the +house. + +"Do you want to see mother?" he asked. + +"No, I want to see you." + +"All right, sir! Here I am," said Thomas, smiling pleasantly. + +"How old are you?" asked the farmer. + +"Eleven years old, sir." + +The farmer surveyed approvingly the sturdy frame, broad shoulders, and +muscular arms of the boy, and said, after a pause, "You look pretty +strong of your age." + +"Oh, yes, sir," answered Thomas, complacently "I am strong." + +"And you are used to farm work?" + +"Yes, sir. I do about all the outdoor work at home, being the only boy. +Of course, there is Jimmy, but he is only four, and that's too young to +work on the farm." + +"What does he want?" thought Thomas. + +He soon learned. + +"I need help on my farm, and I guess you will suit me," said Mr. Conrad, +though that was not his name. In fact, I don't know his name, but that +will do as well as any other. + +"I don't know whether mother can spare me, but I can ask her," said +Thomas. "What are you willing to pay?" + +"I'll give you twelve dollars a month, but you'll have to make long +days." + +Twelve dollars a month! Tom's eyes sparkled with joy, for to him it +seemed an immense sum--and it would go very far in the little family. + +"I am quite sure mother will let me go," he said. "I'll go in and ask +her." + +"Do so, sonny, and I'll wait for you here." + +Thomas swung open the plank door, and entered the cabin. + +It was about twenty feet one way by thirty the other. It had three small +windows, a deal floor, and the spaces between the logs of which it was +built were filled in with clay. It was certainly an humble dwelling, and +the chances are that not one of my young readers is so poor as not to +afford a better. Yet, it was not uncomfortable. It afforded fair +protection from the heat of summer, and the cold of winter, and was +after all far more desirable as a home than the crowded tenements of our +larger cities, for those who occupied it had but to open the door and +windows to breathe the pure air of heaven, uncontaminated by foul odors +or the taint of miasma. + +"Mother," said Thomas, "Mr. Conrad wants to hire me to work on his farm, +and he is willing to pay me twelve dollars a month. May I go?" + +"Ask Mr. Conrad to come in, Thomas." + +The farmer entered, and repeated his request. + +Mrs. Garfield, for this was the widow's name, was but little over +thirty. She had a strong, thoughtful face, and a firm mouth, that spoke +a decided character. She was just the woman to grapple with adversity, +and turning her unwearied hands to any work, to rear up her children in +the fear of the Lord, and provide for their necessities as well as +circumstances would admit. + +She didn't like to spare Thomas, for much of his work would be thrown +upon her, but there was great lack of ready money and the twelve dollars +were a powerful temptation. + +"I need Thomas at home," she said slowly, "but I need the money more. He +may go, if he likes." + +"I will go," said Thomas promptly. + +"How often can you let him come home?" was the next question. + +"Every fortnight, on Saturday night. He shall bring his wages then." + +This was satisfactory, and Thomas, not stopping to change his clothes, +for he had but one suit, went off with his employer. + +His absence naturally increased his mother's work, and was felt as a +sore loss by Jimmy, who was in the habit of following him about, and +watching him when he was at work. Sometimes his brother gave the little +fellow a trifle to do, and Jimmy was always pleased to help, for he was +fond of work, and when he grew older and stronger he was himself a +sturdy and indefatigable worker in ways not dreamed of then. + +The first fortnight was up, and Thomas was expected home. No one was +more anxious to see him than his little brother, and that was why Jimmy +had come out from his humble home, and was looking so earnestly across +the clearing. + +At last he saw him, and ran as fast as short legs could carry him to +meet his brother. + +"Oh, Tommy, how I've missed you!" he said. + +"Have you, Jimmy?" asked Thomas, passing his arm around his little +brother's neck. "I have missed you too, and all the family. Are all +well?" + +"Oh, yes." + +"That is good." + +As they neared the cabin Mrs. Garfield came out, and welcomed her oldest +boy home. + +"We are all glad to see you, Thomas," she said. "How have you got +along?" + +"Very well, mother." + +"Was the work hard?" + +"The hours were pretty long. I had to work fourteen hours a day." + +"That is too long for a boy of your age to work," said his mother +anxiously. + +"Oh, it hasn't hurt me, mother," said Thomas, laughing. "Besides, you +must remember I have been well paid. What do you say to that?" + +He drew from his pocket twelve silver half-dollars, and laid them on +the table, a glittering heap. + +"Is it all yours, Tommy?" asked his little brother wonderingly. + +"No, it belongs to mother. I give it to her." + +"Thank you, Thomas," said Mrs. Garfield, "but at least you ought to be +consulted about how it shall be spent. Is there anything you need for +yourself?" + +"Oh, never mind me! I want Jimmy to have a pair of shoes." + +Jimmy looked with interest at his little bare feet, and thought he would +like some shoes. In fact they would be his first, for thus far in life +he had been a barefooted boy. + +"Jimmy shall have his shoes," said Mrs. Garfield; "when you see the +shoemaker ask him to come here as soon as he can make it convenient." + +So, a few days later the shoemaker, who may possibly have had no shop of +his own, called at the log-cabin, measured Jimmy for a pair of shoes, +and made them on the spot, boarding out a part of his pay. + +The first pair of shoes made an important epoch in Jimmy Garfield's +life, for it was decided that he could now go to school. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +GROWING IN WISDOM AND STATURE. + + +The school was in the village a mile and a half away. It was a long walk +for a little boy of four, but sometimes his sister Mehetabel, now +thirteen years old, carried him on her back. When in winter the snow lay +deep on the ground Jimmy's books were brought home, and he recited his +lessons to his mother. + +This may be a good time to say something of the family whose name in +after years was to become a household word throughout the republic. They +had been long in the country. They were literally one of the first +families, for in 1636, only sixteen years after the Pilgrims landed on +Plymouth rock, and the same year that Harvard College was founded, +Edward Garfield, who had come from the edge of Wales, settled in +Watertown, Massachusetts, less than four miles from the infant college, +and there for more than a century was the family home, as several +moss-grown headstones in the ancient graveyard still testify. + +They did their part in the Revolutionary war, and it was not till the +war was over that Solomon Garfield, the great grandfather of the future +President, removed to the town of Worcester, Otsego County, N.Y. Here +lived the Garfields for two generations. Then Abram Garfield, the father +of James, moved to Northeastern Ohio, and bought a tract of eighty +acres, on which stood the log-cabin, built by himself, in which our +story opens. His wife belonged to a distinguished family of New +England--the Ballous--and possessed the strong traits of her kindred. + +But the little farm of eighty acres was smaller now. Abram Garfield died +in debt, and his wife sold off fifty acres to pay his creditors, leaving +thirty, which with her own industry and that of her oldest son served to +maintain her little family. + +The school-house was so far away that Mrs. Garfield, who appreciated the +importance of education for her children, offered her neighbors a site +for a new school-house on her own land, and one was built. Here winter +after winter came teachers, some of limited qualifications, to instruct +the children of the neighborhood, and here Jimmy enlarged his stock of +book-learning by slow degrees. + +The years passed, and still they lived in the humble log-cabin, till at +the age of twenty-one Thomas came home from Michigan, where he had been +engaged in clearing land for a farmer, bringing seventy-five dollars in +gold. + +"Now, mother," he said, "you shall have a framed house." + +Seventy-five dollars would not pay for a framed house, but he cut timber +himself, got out the boards, and added his own labor, and that of Jimmy, +now fourteen years old, and so the house was built, and the log-cabin +became a thing of the past. But it had been their home for a long time, +and doubtless many happy days had been spent beneath its humble roof. + +While the house was being built, Jimmy learned one thing--that he was +handy with tools, and was well fitted to become a carpenter. When the +joiner told him that he was born to be a carpenter, he thought with joy +that this unexpected talent would enable him to help his mother, and +earn something toward the family expenses. So, for the next two years +he worked at this new business when opportunity offered, and if my +reader should go to Chagrin Falls, Ohio, he could probably find upon +inquiry several barns in the vicinity which Jimmy helped to build. + +He still went to school, however, and obtained such knowledge of the +mysteries of grammar, arithmetic, and geography as could be obtained in +the common schools of that day. + +But Jimmy Garfield was not born to be a carpenter, and I believe never +got so far along as to assist in building a house. + +He was employed to build a wood-shed for a black-salter, ten miles away +from his mother's house, and when the job was finished his employer fell +into conversation with him, and being a man of limited acquirements +himself, was impressed by the boy's surprising stock of knowledge. + +"You kin read, you kin write, and you are death on figgers," he said to +him one day. "If you'll stay with me, keep my 'counts, and 'tend to the +saltery, I'll find you, and give you fourteen dollars a month." + +Jimmy was dazzled by this brilliant offer. He felt that to accept it +would be to enter upon the high-road to riches, and he resolved to do +so if his mother would consent. Ten miles he trudged through the woods +to ask his mother's consent, which with some difficulty he obtained, for +she did not know to what influences he might be subjected, and so he got +started in a new business. + +Whether he would have fulfilled his employer's prediction, and some day +been at the head of a saltery of his own, we can not tell; but in time +he became dissatisfied with his situation, and returning home, waited +for Providence to indicate some new path on which to enter. + +One thing, however, was certain: he would not be content to remain long +without employment. He had an active temperament, and would have been +happiest when busy, even if he had not known that his mother needed the +fruits of his labor. + +He had one source of enjoyment while employed by the black-salter, which +he fully appreciated. Strange to say, his employer had a library, that +is, he had a small collection of books, gathered by his daughter, +prominent among which were Marryatt's novels, and "Sinbad the Sailor." +They opened a new world to his young accountant, and gave him an +intense desire to see the world, and especially to cross the great sea, +even in the capacity of a sailor. At home there was no library, not from +the lack of literary taste, but because there was no money to spend for +anything but necessaries. + +He had not been long at home when a neighbor, entering one day, said, +"James, do you want a job?" + +"Yes," answered James, eagerly. + +"There's a farmer in Newburg wants some wood chopped." + +"I can do it," said James, quietly. + +"Then you'd better go and see him." + +Newburg is within the present limits of Cleveland, and thither James +betook himself the next day. + +He was a stout boy, with the broad shoulders and sturdy frame of his +former ancestors, and he was sure he could give satisfaction. + +The farmer, dressed in homespun, looked up as the boy approached. + +"Are you Mr. ----?" asked James. + +"Yes." + +"I heard that you wanted some wood chopped." + +"Yes, but I am not sure if you can do it," answered the farmer, +surveying the boy critically. + +"I can do it," said James, confidently. + +"Very well, you can try. I'll give you seven dollars for the job." + +The price was probably satisfactory, for James engaged to do the work. +There proved to be twenty-five cords, and no one, I think, will consider +that he was overpaid for his labor. + +He was fortunate, at least, in the scene of his labor, for it was on the +shore of Lake Erie, and as he lifted his eyes from his work they rested +on the broad bosom of the beautiful lake, almost broad enough as it +appeared to be the ocean itself, which he had a strange desire to +traverse in search of the unknown lands of which he had read or dreamed. + +I suppose there are few boys who have not at some time fancied that they +should like "a life on the ocean wave, and a home on the rolling deep." +I have in mind a friend, now a physician, who at the age of fifteen left +a luxurious home, with the reluctant permission of his parents, for a +voyage before the mast to Liverpool, beguiled by one of the fascinating +narratives of Herman Melville. But the romance very soon wore off, and +by the time the boy reached Halifax, where the ship put in, he was so +seasick, and so sick of the sea, that he begged to be left on shore to +return home as he might. The captain had received secret instructions +from the parents to accede to such a wish, and the boy was landed, and +in due time returned home as a passenger. So it is said that George +Washington had an early passion for the sea, and would have become a +sailor but for the pain he knew it would give his mother. + +James kept his longings to himself for the present, and returned home +with the seven dollars he had so hardly earned. + +There was more work for him to do. A Mr. Treat wanted help during the +haying and harvesting season, and offered employment to the boy, who was +already strong enough to do almost as much as a man; for James already +had a good reputation as a faithful worker. "Whatever his hands found to +do, he did it with his might," and he was by no means fastidious as to +the kind of work, provided it was honest and honorable. + +When the harvest work was over James made known his passion for the +sea. + +Going to his mother, he said: "Mother, I want above all things to go to +sea." + +"Go to sea!" replied his mother in dismay. "What has put such an idea +into your head?" + +"It has been in my head for a long time," answered the boy quietly. "I +have thought of nothing else for the last year." + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +IN QUEST OF FORTUNE. + + +James had so persuaded himself that the sea was his vocation, and was so +convinced of the pleasures and advantages it would bring, that it had +not occurred to him that his mother would object. + +"What made you think of the sea, James?" his mother asked with a +troubled face. + +"It was the books I read last year, at the black salter's. Oh, mother, +did you ever read Marryatt's novels, and 'Sinbad the Sailor'?" + +"I have read 'Sinbad the Sailor,' but you know that is a fairy story, my +son." + +"It may be, but Marryatt's stories are not. It must be splendid to +travel across the mighty ocean, and see foreign countries." + +"A sailor doesn't have the chance to see much. You have no idea of the +hardships of his life." + +"I am used to hardships, and I am not afraid of hard work. But you seem +disappointed, mother. What have you thought of for me?" + +"I have hoped, James, that you might become a learned man, perhaps a +college professor. Surely that would be better than to be a common +sailor." + +"But I wouldn't stay a common sailor, mother. I would be a captain some +time." + +I suppose there is no doubt that, had James followed the sea, he would +have risen to the command of a ship, but the idea did not seem to dazzle +his mother. + +"If you go to sea I shall lose you," said his mother. "A sailor can +spend very little time with his family. Think carefully, my son. I +believe your present fancy will be short-lived, and you will some day +wonder that you ever entertained it." + +Such, however, was not the boy's idea at the time. His mother might have +reason on her side, but it takes more than reason to dissipate a boy's +passion for the sea. + +"You speak of my becoming a scholar, mother," he said, "but there +doesn't seem much chance of it. I see nothing but work as a carpenter, +or on the farm." + +"You don't know what God may have in store for you, my son. As you say, +there seems no way open at present for you to become a scholar; but if +you entertain the desire the way will be open. Success comes to him who +is in earnest." + +"What, then, do you want me to do, mother! Do you wish me to stay at +home?" + +"No, for there seems little for you to do here. Go to Cleveland, if you +like, and seek some respectable employment. If, after a time, you find +your longing for the sea unconquered, it will be time to look out for a +berth on board ship." + +James, in spite of his earnest longing to go to sea, was a reasonable +boy, and he did not object to his mother's plan. The next morning he +tied his slender stock of clothing in a small bundle, bade a tearful +good-bye to his mother, whose loving glances followed him far along his +road, and with hope and enthusiasm trudged over a hard road to +Cleveland, that beautiful city, whither, nearly forty years afterward, +he was to be carried in funereal state, amid the tears of countless +thousands. In that city where his active life began, it was to finish. + +A long walk was before him, for Cleveland was seventeen miles away. He +stopped to rest at intervals, and it was not until the sun had set and +darkness enveloped the town that he entered it with weary feet. + +He betook himself to a cheap boarding-place whither he had been +directed, and soon retired to bed. His fatigue brought him a good +night's sleep, and he woke refreshed and cheered to look about him and +decide upon his future plans. + +Cleveland does not compare in size with New York, Philadelphia, or +Boston, and thirty-five years ago it was much smaller than now. But +compared with James' native place, and the villages near him, it was an +impressive place. There were large business blocks, and handsome +churches, and paved streets, and a general city-like appearance which +interested James greatly. On the whole, even if he had to give up going +to sea, he thought he might enjoy himself in such a lively place as +this. But of course he must find employment. + +So he went into a store and inquired if they wanted a boy. + +"What can you do?" asked the storekeeper, looking at the boy with his +countrified air and rustic suit. + +"I can read, write, and cipher," answered James. + +"Indeed!" said the storekeeper smiling. "All our boys can do that. Is +that all you can do?" + +James might have answered that he could chop wood, work at carpentering, +plant and harvest, but he knew very well that these accomplishments +would be but little service to him here. Indeed, he was rather puzzled +to know what he could do that would earn him a living in a smart town +life Cleveland. However, he didn't much expect to find his first +application successful, so he entered another store and preferred his +request. + +"You won't suit us," was the brusque reply. "You come from the country, +don't you?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"You look like it. Well, I will give you a piece of advice." + +"What is that, sir?" + +"Go back there. You are better suited to country than the city. I +daresay you would make a very good hand on a farm. We need different +sort of boys here." + +This was discouraging. James didn't know why he would not do for a city +store or office. He was strong enough, and he thought he knew enough, +for he had not at present much idea of what was taught at seminaries of +a higher grade than the district schools he had been accustomed to +attend. + +"Well," he said to himself, "I've done what mother asked me to do. I've +tried to get a place here, and there doesn't seem to be a place for me. +After all, I don't know but I'd better go to Ohio." + +Cleveland was not of course a sea-port, but it had considerable lake +trade, and had a line of piers. + +James found his way to the wharves, and his eye lighted up as he saw the +sloops and schooners which were engaged in inland trade. He had never +seen a real ship, or those schooners and sloops would have had less +attraction for him. + +In particular his attention was drawn to one schooner, not over-clean or +attractive, but with a sea-faring look, as if it had been storm-tossed +and buffeted. Half a dozen sailors were on board, but they were grimed +and dirty, and looked like habitual drinkers--probably James would not +have fancied becoming like one of these, but he gave little thought to +their appearance. He only thought how delightful it would be to have +such a floating home. + +"Is the captain on board?" the boy ventured to ask. + +"He's down below," growled the sailor whom he addressed. + +"Will he soon come up?" + +He was answered in the affirmative. + +So James lingered until the man he inquired for came up. + +He was a brutal-looking man, as common in appearance as any of the +sailors whom he commanded, and the boy was amazed at his bearing. Surely +that man was not his ideal of a ship-captain. He thought of him as a +sort of prince, but there was nothing princely about the miserable, +bloated wretch before him. + +Still he preferred his application. + +"Do you want a new hand?" asked James. + +His answer was a volley of oaths and curses that made James turn pale, +for he had never uttered an oath in his life, and had never listened to +anything so disgusting as the tirade to which he was forced to listen. + +[Illustration: THE CANAL BOY] + +He sensibly concluded that nothing was to be gained by continuing the +conversation with such a man. He left the schooner's deck with a feeling +of discomfiture. He had never suspected that sailors talked or acted +like the men he saw. + +Still he clung to the idea that all sailors were not like this captain. +Perhaps again the rebuff he received was in consequence of his rustic +appearance. The captain might be prejudiced against him, just as the +shop-keepers had been, though the latter certainly had not expressed +themselves in such rude and profane language. He might not be fit for a +sailor yet, but he could prepare himself. + +He bethought himself of a cousin of his, by name Amos Letcher, who had +not indeed arrived at the exalted position of captain of a schooner, but +was content with the humbler position of captain of a canal-boat on the +Ohio and Pennsylvania Canal. + +This seemed to James a lucky thought. + +"I will go to Amos Letcher," he said to himself. "Perhaps he can find me +a situation on a canal-boat, and that will be the next thing to being on +board a ship." + +This thought put fresh courage into the boy, and he straightway +inquired for the _Evening Star_, which was the name of the boat +commanded by his cousin. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +ON THE TOW-PATH. + + +Captain Letcher regarded his young cousin in surprise. + +"Well, Jimmy, what brings you to Cleveland?" he asked. + +"I came here to ship on the lake," the boy answered. "I tried first to +get a place in a store, as I promised mother, but I found no opening. I +would rather be a sailor." + +"I am afraid your choice is not a good one; a good place on land is much +better than going to sea. Have you tried to get a berth?" + +"Yes, I applied to the captain of a schooner, but he swore at me and +called me a land-lubber." + +"So you are," returned his cousin smiling "Well, what are your plans +now?" + +"Can't you give me a place?" + +"What, on the canal?" + +"Yes cousin." + +"I suppose you think that would be the next thing to going to sea?" + +"It might prepare me for it." + +"Well," said Captain Letcher, good-naturedly, "I will see what I can do +for you. Can you drive a pair of horses?" + +"Oh, yes." + +"Then I will engage you. The pay is not very large, but you will live on +the boat." + +"How much do you pay?" asked James, who was naturally interested in the +answer to this question. + +"We pay from eight to ten dollars a month, according to length of +service and fidelity. Of course, as a new hand, you can not expect ten +dollars." + +"I shall be satisfied with eight, cousin." + +"Now, as to your duties. You will work six hours on and six hours off. +That's what we call a trick--the six hours on, I mean. So you will have +every other six hours to rest, or do anything you like; that is, after +you have attended to the horses." + +"Horses!" repeated James, puzzled; for the animals attached to the boat +at that moment were mules. + +"Some of our horses are mules," said Captain Letcher, smiling. +"However, it makes no difference. You will have to feed and rub them +down, and then you can lie down in your bunk, or do anything else you +like." + +"That won't be very hard work," said James, cheerfully. + +"Oh, I forgot to say that you can ride or walk, as you choose. You can +rest yourself by changing from one to the other." + +James thought he should like to ride on horseback, as most boys do. It +was not, however, so good fun as he anticipated. A canal-boat horse is +by no means a fiery or spirited creature. His usual gait is from two to +two and a half miles an hour, and to a boy of quick, active temperament +the slowness must be rather exasperating. Yet, in the course of a day a +boat went a considerable distance. It usually made fifty, and sometimes +sixty miles a day. The rate depended on the number of locks it had to +pass through. + +Probably most of my young readers understand the nature of a lock. As +all water seeks a level, there would be danger in an uneven country that +some parts of the canal would be left entirely dry, and in others the +water would overflow. For this reason at intervals locks are +constructed, composed of brief sections of the canal barricaded at each +end by gates. When a boat is going down, the near gates are thrown open +and the boat enters the lock, the water rushing in till a level is +secured; then the upper gates are closed, fastening the boat in the +lock. Next the lower gates are opened, the water in the lock seeks the +lower level of the other section of the canal, and the boat moves out of +the lock, the water subsiding gradually beneath it. Next, the lower +gates are closed, and the boat proceeds on its way. It will easily be +understood, when the case is reversed, and the boat is going up, how +after being admitted into the lock it will be lifted up to the higher +level when the upper gates are thrown open. + +If any of my young readers find it difficult to understand my +explanation, I advise them to read Jacob Abbot's excellent book, "Rollo +on the Erie Canal," where the whole matter is lucidly explained. + +Railroads were not at that time as common as now, and the canal was of +much more importance and value as a means of conveying freight. +Sometimes passengers traveled that way, when they were in not much of a +hurry, but there were no express canal-boats, and a man who chose to +travel in that way must have abundant leisure on his hands. There is +some difference between traveling from two to two and a half miles an +hour, and between thirty and forty, as most of our railroad express +trains do. + +James did not have to wait long after his engagement before he was put +on duty. With boyish pride he mounted one of the mules and led the +other. A line connected the mules with the boat, which was drawn slowly +and steadily through the water. James felt the responsibility of his +situation. It was like going to sea on a small scale, though the sea was +but a canal. At all events, he felt that he had more important work to +do than if he were employed as a boy on one of the lake schooners. + +James was at this time fifteen; a strong, sturdy boy, with a mass of +auburn hair, partly covered by a loose-fitting hat. He had a bright, +intelligent face, and an earnest look that attracted general attention. +Yet, to one who saw the boy guiding the patient mule along the +tow-path, it would have seemed a most improbable prediction, that one +day the same hand would guide the ship of State, a vessel of much more +consequence than the humble canal-boat. + +There was one comfort, at any rate. Though in his rustic garb he was not +well enough dressed to act as clerk in a Cleveland store, no one +complained that he was not well enough attired for a canal-boy. + +It will occur to my young reader that, though the work was rather +monotonous, there was not much difficulty or danger connected with it. +But even the guidance of a canal-boat has its perplexities, and James +was not long in his new position before he realized it. + +It often happened that a canal-boat going up encountered another going +down, and _vice versa_. Then care has to be exercised by the respective +drivers lest their lines get entangled. + +All had been going on smoothly till James saw another boat coming. It +might have been his inexperience, or it might have been the carelessness +of the other driver, but at any rate the lines got entangled. Meanwhile +the boat, under the impetus that had been given it, kept on its way +until it was even with the horses, and seemed likely to tow them along. + +"Whip up your team, Jim, or your line will ketch on the bridge!" called +out the steersman. + +The bridge was built over a waste-way which occurred just ahead, and it +was necessary for James to drive over it. + +The caution was heeded, but too late. James whipped up his mules, but +when he had reached the middle of the bridge the rope tightened, and +before the young driver fairly understood what awaited him, he and his +team were jerked into the canal. Of course he was thrown off the animal +he was riding, and found himself struggling in the water side by side +with the astonished mules. The situation was a ludicrous one, but it was +also attended with some danger. Even if he did not drown, and the canal +was probably deep enough for that, he stood in some danger of being +kicked by the terrified mules. + +The boy, however, preserved his presence of mind, and managed, with +help, to get out himself and to get his team out. + +Then Captain Letcher asked him, jocosely, "What were you doing in the +canal, Jim?" + +"I was just taking my morning bath," answered the boy, in the same +vein. + +"You'll do," said the captain, struck by the boy's coolness. + +Six hours passed, and James' "trick" was over. He and his mules were +both relieved from duty. Both were allowed to come on board the boat and +rest for a like period, while the other driver took his place on the +tow-path. + +"Well, Jim, how do you like it as far as you've got?" asked the captain. + +"I like it," answered the boy. + +"Shall you be ready to take another bath to-morrow morning?" asked his +cousin, slyly. + +"I think one bath a week will be sufficient," was the answer. + +Feeling a natural interest in his young cousin, Amos Letcher thought he +would examine him a little, to see how far his education had advanced. +Respecting his own ability as an examiner he had little doubt, for he +had filled the proud position of teacher in Steuben County, Indiana, for +three successive winters. + +"I suppose you have been to school more or less, Jim?" he said. + +"Oh, yes," answered the boy. + +"What have you studied?" + +James enumerated the ordinary school branches. They were not many, for +his acquirements were not extensive; but he had worked well, and was +pretty well grounded as far as he had gone. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION. + + +"I've taught school myself," said Captain Letcher, complacently. "I +taught for three winters in Indiana." + +James, who, even then, had a high opinion of learning, regarded the +canal-boat captain with increased respect. + +"I didn't know that," he answered, duly impressed. + +"Yes, I've had experience as a teacher. Now, if you don't mind, I'll ask +you a few questions, and find out how much you know. We've got plenty of +time, for it's a long way to Pancake Lock." + +[Illustration: CONFERENCE WITH DR. ROBINSON] + +"Don't ask me too hard questions," said the boy. "I'll answer the best I +know." + +Upon this Captain Letcher, taking a little time to think, began to +question his young cousin in the different branches he had enumerated. +The questions were not very hard, for the good captain, though he had +taught school in Indiana, was not a profound scholar. + +James answered every question promptly and accurately, to the increasing +surprise of his employer. + +The latter paused. + +"Haven't you any more questions?" asked James. + +"No, I don't think of any." + +"Then may I ask you some?" + +"Yes, if you want to," answered the captain, rather surprised. + +"Very well," said James. "A man went to a shoemaker and bought a pair of +boots, for which he was to pay five dollars. He offered a fifty-dollar +bill, which the shoemaker sent out and had changed. He paid his customer +forty-five dollars in change, and the latter walked off with the boots. +An hour later he ascertained that the bill was a counterfeit, and he was +obliged to pay back fifty dollars in good money to the man who had +changed the bill for him. Now, how much did he lose?" + +"That's easy enough. He lost fifty dollars and the boots." + +"I don't think that's quite right," said James, smiling. + +"Of course it is. Didn't he have to pay back fifty dollars in good +money, and didn't the man walk off with the boots?" + +"That's true; but he neither lost nor made by changing the bill. He +received fifty dollars in good money and paid back the same, didn't he?" + +"Yes." + +"Whatever he lost his customer made, didn't he?" + +"Yes." + +"Well, the man walked off with forty-five dollars and a pair of boots. +The other five dollars the shoemaker kept himself." + +"That's so, Jim. I see it now, but it's rather puzzling at first. Did +you make that out yourself?" + +"Yes." + +"Then you've got a good head--better than I expected. Have you got any +more questions?" + +"Just a few." + +So the boy continued to ask questions, and the captain was more than +once obliged to confess that he could not answer. He began to form a +new opinion of his young cousin, who, though he filled the humble +position of a canal-boy, appeared to be well equipped with knowledge. + +"I guess that'll do, Jim," he said after a while. "You've got ahead of +me, though I didn't expect it. A boy with such a head as you've got +ought not to be on the tow-path." + +"What ought I to be doing, cousin?" + +"You ought to keep school. You're better qualified than I am to-day, and +yet I taught for three winters in Indiana." + +James was pleased with this tribute to his acquirements, especially from +a former schoolmaster. + +"I never thought of that," he said. "I'm too young to keep school. I'm +only fifteen." + +"That is rather young. You know enough; but I aint sure that you could +tackle some of the big boys that would be coming to school. You know +enough, but you need more muscle. I'll tell you what I advise. Stay with +me this summer--it won't do you any hurt, and you'll be earning +something--then go to school a term or two, and by that time you'll be +qualified to teach a district school." + +"I'll think of what you say, cousin," said James, thoughtfully. "I +don't know but your advice is good." + +It is not always easy to say what circumstances have most influence in +shaping the destiny of a boy, but it seems probable that the +conversation which has just been detailed, and the discovery that he was +quite equal in knowledge to a man who had been a schoolmaster, may have +put new ideas into the boy's head, destined to bear fruit later. + +For the present, however, his duties as a canal-boy must be attended to, +and they were soon to be resumed. + +About ten o'clock that night, when James was on duty, the boat +approached the town of Akron, where there were twenty-one locks to be +successively passed through. + +The night was dark, and, though the bowman of the _Evening Star_ did not +see it, another boat had reached the same lock from the opposite +direction. Now in such cases the old rule, "first come, first served," +properly prevailed. + +The bowman had directed the gates to be thrown open, in order that the +boat might enter the lock, when a voice was heard through the darkness, +"Hold on, there! Our boat is just round the bend, ready to enter." + +"We have as much right as you," said the bowman. + +As he spoke he commenced turning the gate. + +My young reader will understand from the description already given that +it will not do to have both lower and upper gates open at the same time. +Of course, one or the other boat must wait. + +Both bowmen were determined to be first, and neither was willing to +yield. Both boats were near the lock, their head-lights shining as +bright as day, and the spirit of antagonism reached and affected the +crews of both. + +Captain Letcher felt called upon to interfere lest there should be +serious trouble. + +He beckoned to his bowman. + +"Were you here first?" he asked. + +"It is hard to tell," answered the bowman, "but I'm bound to have the +lock, anyhow." + +The captain was not wholly unaffected by the spirit of antagonism which +his bowman displayed. + +"All right; just as you say," he answered, and it seemed likely that +conflict was inevitable. + +James Garfield had been an attentive observer, and an attentive +listener to what had been said. He had formed his own ideas of what was +right to be done. + +"Look here, captain," he said, tapping Captain Letcher on the arm, "does +this lock belong to us?" + +"I really suppose, according to law, it does not; but we will have it, +anyhow." + +"No, we will not," replied the boy. + +"And why not?" asked the captain, naturally surprised at such a speech +from his young driver. + +"Because it does not belong to us." + +The captain was privately of opinion that the boy was right, yet but for +his remonstrance he would have stood out against the claims of the rival +boat. He took but brief time for considerations, and announced his +decision. + +"Boys," he said to his men, "Jim is right. Let them have the lock." + +Of course there was no more trouble, but the bowman, and the others +connected with the _Evening Star_, were angry. It irritated them to be +obliged to give up the point, and wait humbly till the other boat had +passed through the lock. + +The steersman was George Lee. When breakfast was called, he sat down by +James. + +"What is the matter with you, Jim?" he asked. + +"Nothing at all." + +"What made you so for giving up the lock last night?" + +"Because it wasn't ours. The other boat had it by right." + +"Jim, you are a coward," said Lee contemptuously. "You aint fit for a +boatman. You'd better go back to the farm and chop wood or milk cows, +for a man or boy isn't fit for this business that isn't ready to fight +for his rights." + +James did not answer. Probably he saw that it would be of no use. George +Lee was for his own boat, right or wrong; but James had already begun to +reflect upon the immutable principles of right or wrong, and he did not +suffer his reason to be influenced by any considerations touching his +own interests or his own pride. + +As to the charge of cowardice it did not trouble him much. On a suitable +occasion later on (we shall tell the story in due season) he showed that +he was willing to contend for his rights, when he was satisfied that the +right was on his side. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +JAMES LEAVES THE CANAL. + + +James was not long to fill the humble position of driver. Before the +close of the first trip he was promoted to the more responsible office +of bowman. Whether his wages were increased we are not informed. + +It may be well in this place to mention that a canal boat required, +besides the captain, two drivers, two steersmen, a bowman, and a cook, +the last perhaps not the least important of the seven. "The bowman's +business was to stop the boat as it entered the lock, by throwing the +bowline that was attached to the bow of the boat around the snubbing +post." It was to this position that James was promoted, though I have +some doubt whether the place of driver, with the opportunities it +afforded of riding on horse or mule-back, did not suit him better. +Still, promotion is always pleasant, and in this case it showed that +the boy had discharged his humbler duties satisfactorily. + +I have said that the time came when James showed that he was not a +coward. Edmund Kirke, in his admirable life of Garfield, has condensed +the captain's account of the occurrence, and I quote it here as likely +to prove interesting to my boy readers: + +"The _Evening Star_ was at Beaver, and a steamboat was ready to tow her +up to Pittsburg. The boy was standing on deck with the selting-pole +against his shoulders, and some feet away stood Murphy, one of the boat +hands, a big, burly fellow of thirty-five, when the steamboat threw the +line, and, owing to a sudden lurch of the boat, it whirled over the +boy's head, and flew in the direction of the boatman. 'Look out, +Murphy!' cried the boy; but the rope had anticipated him, and knocked +Murphy's hat off into the river. The boy expressed his regret, but it +was of no avail. In a towering rage the man rushed upon him, with his +head down, like a maddened animal; but, stepping nimbly aside, the boy +dealt him a powerful blow behind the ear, and he tumbled to the bottom +of the boat among the copper ore. Before he could rise the boy was upon +him, one hand upon his throat, the other raised for another blow upon +his frontispiece. + +"'Pound the cussed fool, Jim!' cried Captain Letcher, who was looking on +appreciatingly. 'If he haint no more sense'n to get mad at accidents, +giv it ter him! Why don't you strike?' + +"But the boy did not strike, for the man was down and in his power. +Murphy expressed regret for his rage, and then Garfield gave him his +hand, and they became better friends than ever before. This victory of a +boy of sixteen over a man of thirty-five obliterated the notion of young +Garfield's character for cowardice, and gave him a great reputation +among his associates. The incident is still well remembered among the +boatmen of the Ohio and Pennsylvania Canal." + +The boy's speedy reconciliation to the man who had made so unprovoked an +assault upon him was characteristic of his nature. He never could +cherish malice, and it was very hard work for him to remain angry with +any one, however great the provocation. + +Both as a boy and as a man he possessed great physical strength, as may +be inferred from an incident told by the Boston _Journal_ of his life +when he was no longer the humble canal-boy, but a brigadier-general in +the army: + +"At Pittsburg Landing one night in 1862 there was a rush for rations by +some newly-arrived troops. One strong, fine-looking soldier presented a +requisition for a barrel of flour, _and, shouldering it, walked off with +ease_. When the wagon was loaded, this same man stepped up to Colonel +Morton, commanding the commissary steamers there, and remarked, 'I +suppose you require a receipt for these supplies?' 'Yes,' said the +Colonel, as he handed over the usual blank; 'just take this provision +return, and have it signed by your commanding officer.' 'Can't I sign +it?' was the reply. 'Oh, no,' said the affable Colonel Morton; 'it +requires the signature of a commissioned officer.' Then came the remark, +that still remains fresh in the Colonel's memory: 'I am a commissioned +officer--I'm a brigadier-general, and my name is Garfield, of Ohio.'" + +For four months James remained connected with the canal-boat. To show +that traveling by canal is not so free from danger as it is supposed to +be, it may be stated that in this short time he fell into the water +fourteen times. Usually he scrambled out without further harm than a +good wetting. One night, however, he was in serious pain. + +It was midnight, and rainy, when he was called up to take his turn at +the bow. The boat was leaving one of those long reaches of slack-water +which abound in the Ohio and Pennsylvania Canal. He tumbled out of bed +in a hurry, but half awake, and, taking his stand on the narrow platform +below the bow-deck, he began uncoiling a rope to steady the boat through +a lock it was approaching. Finally it knotted, and caught in a narrow +cleft on the edge of the deck. He gave it a strong pull, then another, +till it gave way, sending him over the bow into the water. Down he went +in the dark river, and, rising, was bewildered amid the intense +darkness. It seemed as if the boy's brief career was at its close. But +he was saved as by a miracle. Reaching out his hand in the darkness, it +came in contact with the rope. Holding firmly to it as it tightened in +his grasp, he used his strong arms to draw himself up hand over hand. +His deliverance was due to a knot in the rope catching in a crevice, +thus, as it tightened, sustaining him and enabling him to climb on +deck. + +It was a narrow escape, and he felt it to be so. He was a thoughtful +boy, and it impressed him. The chances had been strongly against him, +yet he had been saved. + +"God did it," thought James reverently, "He has saved my life against +large odds, and He must have saved it for some purpose. He has some work +for me to do." + +Few boys at his age would have taken the matter so seriously, yet in the +light of after events shall we not say that James was right, and that +God did have some work for him to perform? + +This work, the boy decided, was not likely to be the one he was at +present engaged in. The work of a driver or a bowman on a canal is +doubtless useful in its way, but James doubted whether he would be +providentially set apart for any such business. + +It might have been this deliverance that turned his attention to +religious matters. At any rate, hearing that at Bedford there was a +series of protracted meetings conducted by the Disciples, as they were +called, he made a trip there, and became seriously impressed. There, +too, he met a gentleman who was destined to exert an important influence +over his destiny. + +This gentleman was Dr. J.P. Robinson, who may be still living. Dr. +Robinson took a great liking to the boy, and sought to be of service to +him. He employed him, though it may have been at a later period, to chop +wood, and take care of his garden, and do chores about the house, and +years afterward, as we shall see, it was he that enabled James to enter +Williams College, and pursue his studies there until he graduated, and +was ready to do the work of an educated man in the world. But we must +not anticipate. + +Though James was strong and healthy he was not proof against the disease +that lurked in the low lands bordering on the canal. He was attacked by +fever and ague, and lay for some months sick at home. It was probably +the only long sickness he had till the fatal wound which laid him on his +bed when in the fullness of his fame he had taken his place among kings +and rulers. It is needless to say that he had every attention that a +tender mother could bestow, and in time he was restored to health. + +During his sickness he had many talks with his mother upon his future +prospects, and the course of life upon which it was best for him to +enter. He had not yet given up all thoughts of the sea, he had not +forgotten the charms with which a sailor's life is invested in +Marryatt's fascinating novels. His mother listened anxiously to his +dreams of happiness on the sea, and strove to fix his mind upon higher +things--to inspire him with a nobler ambition. + +"What would you have me do, mother?" he asked. + +"If you go back to the canal, my son, with the seeds of this disease +lurking in your system, I fear you will be taken down again. I have +thought it over. It seems to me you had better go to school this spring, +and then, with a term in the fall, you may be able to teach in the +winter. If you teach winters, and work on the canal or lake summers, you +will have employment the year round." + +Nevertheless Mrs. Garfield was probably not in favor of his spending his +summers in the way indicated. She felt, however, that her son, who was a +boy like other boys, must be gradually weaned from the dreams that had +bewitched his fancy. + +Then his mother proposed a practical plan. + +"You have been obliged to spend all your money," she said, "but your +brother Thomas and I will be able to raise seventeen dollars for you to +start to school on, and when that is gone perhaps you will be able to +get along on your own resources." + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE CHOICE OF A VOCATION + + +James Garfield's experience on the canal was over. The position was such +an humble one that it did not seem likely to be of any service in the +larger career which one day was to open before him. But years afterward, +when as a brigadier-general of volunteers he made an expedition into +Eastern Kentucky, he realized advantage from his four months' experience +on the canal. His command had run short of provisions, and a boat had +been sent for supplies, but the river beside which the men were encamped +had risen so high that the boat dared not attempt to go up the river. +Then General Garfield, calling to his aid the skill with which he had +guided the _Evening Star_ at the age of fifteen, took command of the +craft, stood at the wheel forty-four hours out of the forty-eight, and +brought the supplies to his men at a time when they were eating their +last crackers. + +"Seek all knowledge, however trifling," says an eminent author, "and +there will come a time when you can make use of it." + +James may never have read this remark, but he was continually acting +upon it, and the spare moments which others devoted to recreation he +used in adding to his stock of general knowledge. + +The last chapter closes with Mrs. Garfield's advice to James to give up +his plan of going to sea, and to commence and carry forward a course of +education which should qualify him for a college professor, or a +professional career. Her words made some impression upon his mind, but +it is not always easy to displace cherished dreams. While she was +talking, a knock was heard at the door and Mrs. Garfield, leaving her +place at her son's bedside, rose and opened it. + +"I am glad to see you, Mr. Bates," she said with a welcoming smile. + +Samuel D. Bates was the teacher of the school near by, an earnest young +man, of exemplary habits, who was looking to the ministry as his chosen +vocation. + +"And how is James to-day?" asked the teacher, glancing toward the bed. + +"So well that he is already beginning to make plans for the future," +answered his mother. + +"What are your plans, James?" asked the young man. + +"I should like best to go to sea," said James, "but mother doesn't +approve of it." + +"She is wise," said Bates, promptly. "You would find it a great +disappointment." + +"But, it must be delightful to skim over the waters, and visit countries +far away," said the boy, his cheeks flushing, and his eyes glowing with +enthusiasm. + +"You think so now; but remember, you would be a poor, ignorant sailor, +and would have to stay by the ship instead of exploring the wonderful +cities at which the ship touched. Of course, you would have an +occasional run on shore, but you could not shake off the degrading +associations with which your life on shipboard would surround you." + +"Why should a sailor's life be degrading?" asked James. + +"It need not be necessarily, but as a matter of fact most sailors have +low aims and are addicted to bad habits. Better wait till you can go to +sea as a passenger, and enjoy to the full the benefits of foreign +travel." + +"There is something in that," said James, thoughtfully. "If I could only +be sure of going some day." + +"Wouldn't it be pleasant to go as a man of culture, as a college +professor, as a minister, or as a lawyer, able to meet on equal terms +foreign scholars and gentlemen?" + +This was a new way of putting it, and produced a favorable impression on +the boy's mind. Still, the boy had doubts, and expressed them freely. + +"That sounds well," he said; "but how am I to know that I have brain +enough to make a college professor, or a minister, or a lawyer?" + +"I don't think there is much doubt on that point," said Bates, noting +the bright, expressive face, and luminous eyes of the sick boy. "I +should be willing to guarantee your capacity. Don't you think yourself +fit for anything better than a common sailor?" + +"Yes," answered James. "I think I could make a good carpenter, for I +know something about that trade already, and I daresay I could make a +good trader if I could find an opening to learn the business; but it +takes a superior man to succeed in the positions you mention." + +"There are plenty of men with only average ability who get along very +creditably; but I advise you, if you make up your mind to enter the +lists, to try for a high place." + +The boy's eyes sparkled with new ambition. It was a favorite idea with +him afterward, that every man ought to feel an honorable ambition to +succeed as well as possible in his chosen path. + +"One thing more," added Bates. "I don't think you have any right to +become a sailor." + +"No right? Oh, you mean because mother objects." + +"That, certainly, ought to weigh with you as a good son; but I referred +to something else." + +"What then?" + +"Do you remember the parable of the talents?" + +James had been brought up by his mother, who was a devoted religious +woman, to read the Bible, and he answered in the affirmative. + +"It seems to me that you are responsible for the talents which God has +bestowed upon you. If you have the ability or the brain, as you call +it, to insure success in a literary career, don't you think you would +throw yourself away if you became a sailor?" + +Mrs. Garfield, who had listened with deep interest to the remarks of the +young man, regarded James anxiously, to see what effect these arguments +were having upon him. She did not fear disobedience. She knew that if +she should make it a personal request, James was dutiful enough to +follow her wishes; but she respected the personal independence of her +children, and wanted to convince, rather than to coerce, them. + +"If I knew positively that you were right in your estimate of me, Mr. +Bates, I would go in for a course of study." + +"Consult some one in whose judgment you have confidence, James," said +the teacher, promptly. + +"Can you suggest any one?" asked the boy. + +"Yes, Dr. J.P. Robinson, of Bedford, is visiting at the house of +President Hayden, of Hiram College. You have heard of him?" + +"Yes." + +"He is a man of ripe judgment, and you can rely implicitly on what he +says." + +"As soon as I am well enough I will do as you advise," said James. + +"Then I am satisfied. I am sure the doctor will confirm my advice." + +"Mr. Bates," said Mrs. Garfield, as she followed out the young teacher, +"I am much indebted to you for your advice to James. It is in accordance +with my wishes. If he should decide to obtain an education, where would +you advise him to go?" + +"To the seminary where I have obtained all the education I possess," +answered the young man. + +"Where is it?" + +"It is called the 'Geauga Seminary,' and is located in Chester, in the +next county. For a time it will be sufficient to meet all James' needs. +When he is further advanced he can go to Hiram College." + +"Is it expensive?" asked Mrs. Garfield. "James has no money except the +few dollars his brother and I can spare him." + +"He will have plenty of company. Most of the students are poor, but +there are chances of finding work in the neighborhood, and so earning a +little money. James knows something of the carpenter's trade?" + +"Yes, he helped build the house we live in, and he has been employed on +several barns." + +My readers will remember that the Garfields no longer lived in the +humble log-cabin in which we first found them. The money Thomas brought +home from Michigan, supplemented by the labor of James and himself, had +replaced it by a neat frame house, which was much more comfortable and +sightly. + +"That will do. I think I know a man who will give him employment." + +"He is a boy of energy. If he gets fairly started at school, I think he +will maintain himself there," said Mrs. Garfield. + +The teacher took his leave. + +When Mrs. Garfield re-entered the room she found James looking very +thoughtful. + +"Mother," he said, abruptly, "I want to get well as quick as I can. I am +sixteen years old, and it is time I decided what to do with myself." + +"You will think of what Mr. Bates has said, will you not?" + +"Yes, mother; as soon as I am well enough I will call on Dr. Robinson +and ask his candid opinion. I will be guided by what he says." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +GEAUGA SEMINARY. + + +I have stated in a previous chapter that James became acquainted with +Dr. Robinson while still employed on the canal. This statement was made +on the authority of Mr. Philo Chamberlain, of Cleveland, who was part +proprietor of the line of canal-boats on which the boy was employed. +Edmund Kirke, however, conveys the impression that James was a stranger +to the doctor at the time he called upon him after his sickness. Mr. +Kirke's information having been derived chiefly from General Garfield +himself, I shall adopt his version, as confirmed by Dr. Robinson. + +When James walked up to the residence of President Hayden, and inquired +for Dr. Robinson, he was decidedly homespun in appearance. He probably +was dressed in his best, but his best was shabby enough. His trousers +were of coarse satinet, and might have fitted him a season or two +before, but now were far outgrown, reaching only half-way down from the +tops of his cowhide boots. His waistcoat also was much too short, and +his coat was threadbare, the sleeves being so short as to display a +considerable portion of his arms. Add to these a coarse slouched hat, +much the worse for wear, and a heavy mass of yellow hair much too long, +and we can easily understand what the good doctor said of him: "He was +wonderfully awkward, but had a sort of independent, go-as-you-please +manner that impressed me favorably." + +"Who are you?" asked the doctor. + +"My name is James Garfield, from Solon." + +"Oh, I know your mother, and knew you when you were a babe, but you have +outgrown my knowledge. I am glad to see you." + +"I should like to see you alone," said James. + +The doctor led the way to a secluded spot in the neighborhood of the +house, and then, sitting down on a log, the youth, after a little +hesitation, opened his business. + +"You are a physician," he said, "and know the fiber that is in men. +Examine me and tell me with the utmost frankness whether I had better +take a course of liberal study. I am contemplating doing so, as my +desire is in that direction. But if I am to make a failure of it, or +practically so, I do not desire to begin. If you advise me not to do so +I shall be content." + +In speaking of this incident the doctor has remarked recently: "I felt +that I was on my sacred honor, and the young man looked as though he +felt himself on trial. I had had considerable experience as a physician, +but here was a case much different from any I had ever had. I felt that +it must be handled with great care. I examined his head and saw that +there was a magnificent brain there. I sounded his lungs, and found that +they were strong, and capable of making good blood. I felt his pulse, +and felt that there was an engine capable of sending the blood up to the +head to feed the brain. I had seen many strong physical systems with +warm feet and cold, sluggish brain; and those who possessed such systems +would simply sit round and doze. Therefore I was anxious to know about +the kind of an engine to run that delicate machine, the brain. At the +end of a fifteen minutes' careful examination of this kind, we rose, and +I said: + +"Go on, follow the leadings of your ambition, and ever after I am your +friend. You have the brain of a Webster, and you have the physical +proportions that will back you in the most herculean efforts. All you +need to do is to work; work hard, do not be afraid of over-working and +you will make your mark." + +It will be easily understood that these words from a man whom he held in +high respect were enough to fix the resolution of James. If he were +really so well fitted for the work and the career which his mother +desired him to follow, it was surely his duty to make use of the talents +which he had just discovered were his. + +After that there was no more question about going to sea. He +deliberately decided to become a scholar, and then follow where +Providence led the way. + +He would have liked a new suit of clothes, but this was out of the +question. All the money he had at command was the seventeen dollars +which his mother had offered him. He must get along with this sum, and +so with hopeful heart he set out for Geauga Seminary. + +He did not go alone. On hearing of his determination, two boys, one a +cousin, made up their minds to accompany him. + +Possibly my young readers may imagine the scene of leave-taking, as the +stage drove up to the door, and the boys with their trunks or valises +were taken on board, but if so, imagination would picture a scene far +different from the reality. Their outfit was of quite a different kind. + +For the sake of economy the boys were to board themselves, and Mrs. +Garfield with provident heart supplied James with a frying-pan, and a +few necessary dishes, so that his body might not suffer while his mind +was being fed. Such was the luxury that awaited James in his new home. I +am afraid that the hearts of many of my young readers would sink within +them if they thought that they must buy an education at such a cost as +that. But let them not forget that this homespun boy, with his poor +array of frying-pan and dishes, was years after to strive in legislative +halls, and win the highest post in the gift of his fellow-citizens. And +none of these things would have been his, in all likelihood, but for his +early struggle with poverty. + +So far as I know, neither of his companions was any better off than +James. All three were young adventurers traveling into the domains of +science with hopeful hearts and fresh courage, not altogether ignorant +of the hardships that awaited them, but prepared to work hard for the +prizes of knowledge. + +Arrived at Geauga Seminary, they called upon the principal and announced +for what purpose they had come. + +"Well, young men, I hope you mean to work?" he said. + +"Yes, sir," answered James promptly. "I am poor, and I want to get an +education as quick as I can." + +"I like your sentiments, and I will help you as far as I can." + +The boys succeeded in hiring a room in an old unpainted building near +the academy for a small weekly sum. It was unfurnished, but they +succeeded in borrowing a few dilapidated chairs from a neighbor who did +not require them, and some straw ticks, which they spread upon the floor +for sleeping purposes. In one corner they stowe their frying-pans, +kettles, and dishes, and then they set up housekeeping in humble style. + +The Geauga Seminary was a Freewill Baptist institution, and was attended +by a considerable number of students, to whom it did not, indeed, +furnish what is called "the higher education," but it was a considerable +advance upon any school that James had hitherto attended. English +grammar, natural philosophy, arithmetic, and algebra--these were the +principal studies to which James devoted himself, and they opened to him +new fields of thought. Probably it was at this humble seminary that he +first acquired the thirst for learning that ever afterward characterized +him. + +Let us look in upon the three boys a night or two after they have +commenced housekeeping. + +They take turns in cooking, and this time it is the turn of the one in +whom we feel the strongest interest. + +"What have we got for supper, boys?" he asks, for the procuring of +supplies has fallen to them. + +"Here are a dozen eggs," said Henry Bounton, his cousin. + +"And here is a loaf of bread, which I got at the baker's," said his +friend. + +"That's good! We'll have bread and fried eggs. There is nothing better +than that." + +"Eggs have gone up a cent a dozen," remarks Henry, gravely. + +This news is received seriously, for a cent means something to them. +Probably even then the price was not greater than six to eight cents a +dozen, for prices were low in the West at that time. + +"Then we can't have them so often," said James, philosophically, "unless +we get something to do." + +"There's a carpenter's-shop a little way down the street," said Henry. +"I guess you can find employment there." + +"I'll go round there after supper." + +Meanwhile he attended to his duty as cook, and in due time each of the +boys was supplied with four fried eggs and as much bread as he cared +for. Probably butter was dispensed with, as too costly a luxury, until +more prosperous times. + +When supper was over the boys took a walk, and then, returning to their +humble room, spent the evening in preparing their next morning's +lessons. + +In them James soon took leading rank, for his brain was larger, and his +powers of application and intuition great, as Dr. Robinson had implied. +From the time he entered Geauga Seminary probably he never seriously +doubted that he had entered upon the right path. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +WAYS AND MEANS. + + +James called on the carpenter after supper and inquired if he could +supply him with work. + +"I may be able to if you are competent," was the reply. "Have you ever +worked at the business?" + +"Yes." + +"Where?" + +"At Orange, where my home is." + +"How long did you work at it?" + +"Perhaps I had better tell you what I have done," said James. + +He then gave an account of the barns he had been employed upon, and the +frame house which he had assisted to build for his mother. + +"I don't set up for a first-class workman," he added, with a smile, "but +I think I can be of some use to you." + +"I will try you, for I am rather pressed with work just now." + +So, in a day or two James was set to work. + +The carpenter found that it was as he had represented. He was not a +first-class workman. Indeed, he had only a rudimentary knowledge of the +trade, but he was quick to learn, and in a short time he was able to +help in many ways. His wages were not very large, but they were +satisfactory, since they enabled him to pay his expenses and keep his +head above water. Before the seventeen dollars were exhausted, he had +earned quite a sum by his labor in the carpenter's-shop. + +About this time he received a letter from his brother. + +"Dear James," he wrote, "I shall be glad to hear how you are getting +along. You took so little money with you that you may need more. If so, +let me know, and I will try to send you some." + +James answered promptly: "Don't feel anxious about me, Thomas. I have +been fortunate enough to secure work at a carpenter's-shop, and my +expenses of living are very small. I intend not to call upon you or +mother again, but to pay my own way, if I keep my health." + +He kept his word, and from that time did not find it necessary to call +either upon his mother or his good brother, who was prepared to make +personal sacrifices, as he had been doing all his life, that his younger +brother might enjoy advantages which he had to do without. + +At length the summer vacation came. James had worked hard and won high +rank in his respective studies. He had a robust frame, and he seemed +never to get tired. No doubt he took especial interest in composition +and the exercises of the debating society which flourished at Geauga, as +at most seminaries of advanced education. In after-life he was so ready +and powerful in debate, that we can readily understand that he must have +begun early to try his powers. Many a trained speaker has first come to +a consciousness of his strength in a lyceum of boys, pitted against some +school-fellow of equal attainments. No doubt many crude and some +ludicrous speeches are made by boys in their teens, but at least they +learn to think on their feet, and acquire the ability to stand the gaze +of an audience without discomposure. A certain easy facility of +expression also is gained, which enables them to acquit themselves +creditably on a more important stage. + +James early learned that the best preparation for a good speech is a +thorough familiarity with the subject, and in his after-life he always +carefully prepared himself, so that he was a forcible debater, whom it +was not easy to meet and conquer. + +"He once told me how he prepared his speeches," said Representative +Williams, of Wisconsin, since his death. "First he filled himself with +the subject, massing all the facts and principles involved, so far as he +could; then he took pen and paper and wrote down the salient points in +what he regarded their logical order. Then he scanned these critically, +and fixed them in his memory. 'And then,' said he, 'I leave the paper in +my room and trust to the emergency.'" + +When the vacation came James began to look about for work. He could not +afford to be idle. Moreover, he hoped to be able to earn enough that he +might not go back empty-handed in the fall. + +Generally work comes to him who earnestly seeks it, and James heard of +a man who wanted some wood cut. + +He waited upon this man and questioned him about it. + +"Yes," he answered, "I want the wood cut. What will you charge to do +it?" + +"How much is there?" + +"About a hundred cords." + +James thought of the time when he cut twenty-five cords for seven +dollars, and he named a price to correspond. + +"I'll give you twenty-five dollars," said the proprietor of the wood. + +It was a low price for the labor involved, but, on the other hand, it +would be of essential service to the struggling student. + +"I will undertake it," he said. + +"When will you go to work?" + +"Now!" answered James promptly. + +How long it took him to do the work we have no record, but he doubtless +worked steadfastly till it was accomplished. We can imagine the +satisfaction he felt when the money was put into his hands, and he felt +that he would not need to be quite so economical in the coming term. + +Accordingly, when the vacation was over and James went back to the +seminary, he did not re-engage the room which he and his two friends had +rented the term before. He realized that to be in a condition to study +well he must feed his body well, and he was in favor of a more generous +system of diet. Besides, the labor required for cooking was so much time +taken from his study hours. + +He heard that a widow--Mrs. Stiles--mother of the present sheriff of +Ashtabula County, was prepared to receive boarders, and, accordingly, he +called upon her to ascertain if she would receive him. + +She knew something of him already, for she learned that he had obtained +the reputation of a steady and orderly student, and was disposed to +favor his application. + +The next question was an important one to young Garfield. + +"How much do you expect me to pay?" + +He waited with some anxiety for the answer, for though he had +twenty-five dollars in his pocket, the term was a long one, and tuition +was to be paid also. + +"A dollar and six cents will be about right," said Mrs. Stiles, "for +board, washing, and lodging." + +"That will be satisfactory," said James, with a sigh of relief, for he +saw his way clear to pay this sum for a time, at least, and for the +whole term if he could again procure employment at his old trade. + +A dollar and six cents! It was rather an odd sum, and we should consider +it nowadays as very low for any sort of board in any village, however +obscure or humble. But in those days it was not so exceptional, and +provisions were so much lower that the widow probably lost nothing by +her boarder, though she certainly could not have made much. + +James had no money to spare for another purpose, though there was need +enough of it. He needed some new clothes badly. He had neither +underclothing nor overcoat, and but one outside suit, of cheap Kentucky +jean. No doubt he was subjected to mortification on account of his +slender supply of clothing. At any rate he was once placed in +embarrassing circumstances. + +Toward the close of the term, as Mrs. Stiles says, his trowsers became +exceedingly thin at the knees, and one unlucky day, when he was +incautiously bending forward, they tore half-way round the leg, exposing +his bare knee. + +James was very much mortified, and repaired damages as well as he could +with a pin. + +"I need a new suit of clothes badly," he said in the evening, "but I +can't afford to buy one. See how I have torn my trowsers." + +"Oh, that is easy enough to mend," said Mrs. Stiles, cheerfully. + +"But I have no other pair to wear while they are being mended," said +James, with a blush. + +"Then you must go to bed early, and send them down by one of the boys. I +will darn the hole so that you will never know it. You won't mind such +trifles when you become President." + +It was a jocose remark, and the good lady little dreamed that, in after +years, the young man with but one pair of pantaloons, and those more +than half worn, would occupy the proud position she referred to. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +A COUSIN'S REMINISCENCES. + + +During his school-life at Geauga Seminary James enjoyed the +companionship of a cousin, Henry B. Boynton, who still lives on the farm +adjoining the one on which our hero was born. The relationship between +the two boys was much closer than is common between cousins; for while +their mothers were sisters, their fathers were half-brothers. Henry was +two years older than James, and they were more like brothers than +cousins. I am sure my young readers will be glad to read what Henry has +to say of their joint school-life. I quote from the account of an +interview held with a correspondent of the Boston _Herald_, bearing the +date of September 23, 1881: + +When General Garfield was nominated to the Presidency his old neighbors +in Orange erected a flag-staff where the house stood which Garfield and +his brother erected for their mother and sisters with their own hands, +after the log hut, a little farther out in the field nearer the wood, +had become unfit for habitation. Thomas Garfield, the uncle of the +President, who not long since was killed by a railroad accident, +directed the manual labor of rearing the shaft, and was proud of his +work. + +There is nothing except this hole left to mark his birth-place, and the +old well, not two rods off, which he and his brother dug to furnish +water for the family. In the little maple grove to the left, children +played about the school-house where the dead President first gathered +the rudiments upon which he built to such purpose. The old orchard in +its sere and yellow leaf, the dying grass, and the turning maple leaves +seemed to join in the great mourning. + +Adjoining the field where the flag floats is an unpretentious home, +almost as much identified with Gen. Garfield's early history as the one +he helped to clear of the forest timber while he was yet but a child. It +is the home of Henry B. Boynton, cousin of the dead President, and a +brother of Dr. Boynton, whose name has become so well known from recent +events. + +"While rambling over this place the correspondent came upon this near +relative of Garfield, smaller in stature than he was, but in features +bearing a striking resemblance to him. + +"General Garfield and I were like brothers," he said, as he turned from +giving some directions to his farm hands, now sowing the fall grain upon +ground which his cousin had first helped to break. "His father died +yonder, within a stone's throw of us, when the son was but a year and a +half old. He knew no other father than mine, who watched over the family +as if it had been his own. This very house in which I live was as much +his home as it was mine. + +"Over there," said he, pointing to the brick school-house in the grove +of maples, around which the happy children were playing, "is where he +and I both started for school. I have read a statement that he could not +read or write until he was nineteen. He could do both before he was +nine, and before he was twelve, so familiar was he with the Indian +history of the country, that he had named every tree in the orchard, +which his father planted as he was born, with the name of some Indian +chief, and even debated in societies, religion, and other topics with +men. One favorite tree of his he named Tecumseh, and the branches of +many of these old trees have been cut since his promotion to the +Presidency by relic-hunters, and carried away. + +"Gen. Garfield was a remarkable boy as well as man. It is not possible +to tell you the fight he made amid poverty for a place in life, and how +gradually he obtained it. When he was a boy he would rather read than +work. But he became a great student. He had to work after he was twelve +years of age. In those days we were all poor, and it took hard knocks to +get on. He worked clearing the fields yonder with his brother, and then +cut cord-wood, and did other farm labor to get the necessities of life +for his mother and sisters. + +"I remember when he was fourteen years of age, he went away to work at +Daniel Morse's, not four miles down the road from here, and after the +labors of the day he sat down to listen to the conversation of a teacher +in one of the schools of Cleveland, when it was yet a village, who had +called. The talk of the educated man pleased the boy, and, while intent +upon his story, a daughter of the man for whom he was working informed +the future President with great dignity that it was time that _servants_ +were in bed, and that she preferred his absence to his presence. + +"Nothing that ever happened to him so severely stung him as this +affront. In his youth he could never refer to it without indignation, +and almost immediately he left Mr. Morse's employ and went on the canal. +He said to me then that those people should live to see the day when +they would not care to insult him. + +"His experience on the canal was a severe one, but perhaps useful. I can +remember the winter when he came home after the summer's service there. +He had the chills all that fall and winter, yet he would shake and get +his lessons at home; go over to the school and recite, and thus keep up +with his class. The next spring found him weak from constant ague. Yet +he intended to return to the canal. + +"Here came the turning-point in his life. Mr. Bates, who taught the +school, pleaded with him not to do so, and said that if he would +continue in school till the next fall he could get a certificate. I +received a certificate about the same time The next year we went to the +seminary at Chester, only twelve miles distant. Here our books were +furnished us, and we cooked our own victuals. We lived upon a dollar a +week each. Our diet was strong, but very plain; mush and molasses, pork +and potatoes. Saturdays we took our axes, and went into the woods and +cut cord-wood. During vacations we labored in the harvest-field, or +taught a district school, as we could. + +"Yonder," said he, pointing to a beautiful valley, about two miles +distant, "stands the school-house where Garfield first taught school. He +got twelve dollars a month, and boarded round. I also taught school in a +neighboring town. We both went back to Chester to college, and would +probably have finished our education there, but it was a Baptist school, +and they were constantly making flings at the children of the Disciples, +and teaching sectarianism. As the Disciples grew stronger they +determined their children should not be subjected to such influence; the +college of our own Church was established at Hiram, and there Garfield +and I went." + +Though the remainder of the reminiscences somewhat anticipate the +course of our story, it is perhaps as well to insert it here. + +"We lodged in the basement most of the time, and boarded at the present +Mrs. Garfield's father's house. During our school-days here I nursed the +late President through an attack of the measles which nearly ended his +life. He has often said, that, were it not for my attention, he could +not have lived. So you see that the General and myself were very close +to one another from the time either of us could lisp until he became +President. Here is a picture we had taken together," showing an old +daguerreotype. "It does not resemble either of us much now. And yet they +do say that we bore in our childhood, and still bear, a striking +resemblance. I am still a farmer, while he grew great and powerful. He +never permitted a suggestion, however, to be made in, my presence as to +the difference in our paths of life. He visited me here before election, +and looked with gratification upon that pole yonder, and its flag, +erected by his neighbors and kinsmen. He wandered over the fields he had +himself helped clear and pointed out to me trees from the limbs of which +he had shot squirrel after squirrel, and beneath the branches of which +he had played and worked in the years of his infancy and boyhood. + +"I forgot to say that one of Gen. Garfield's striking characteristics +while he was growing up, was, that when he saw a boy in the class excel +him in anything, he never gave up till he reached the same standard, and +even went beyond it. It got to be known that no scholar could be ahead +of him. Our association as men has been almost as close as that of our +boyhood, though not as constant. The General never forgot his neighbors +or less fortunate kinsmen, and often visited us as we did him." + +More vivid than any picture I could draw is this description, by the +most intimate friend of his boyhood, of James Garfield's way of life, +his struggles for an education, his constant desire to excel, and his +devotion to duty. We have already pictured the rustic boy in his humble +room, cooking his own food, and living, as his cousin testifies, on a +dollar a week. Is there any other country where such humble beginnings +could lead to such influence and power? Is there any other land where +such a lad could make such rapid strides toward the goal which crowns +the highest ambition? It is the career of such men that most commends +our Government and institutions, proving as it does that by the humblest +and poorest the highest dignities may be attained. James was content to +live on mush and molasses, pork and potatoes, since they came within his +narrow means, and gave him sufficient strength to pursue his cherished +studies. Nor is his an exceptional case. I have myself known college and +professional students who have lived on sixty cents a week (how, it is +difficult to tell), while their minds were busy with the loftiest +problems that have ever engaged the human intellect. Such boys and young +men are the promise of the republic. They toil upwards while others +sleep, and many such have written their names high on the tablets in the +Temple of Fame. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +LEDGE HILL SCHOOL + + +Ever since he began to study at Geauga Seminary James had looked forward +to earning a little money by keeping school himself; not an advanced +school, of course, but an ordinary school, such as was kept in the +country districts in the winter. He felt no hesitation as to his +competence. The qualifications required by the school committees were by +no means large, and so far there was no difficulty. + +There was one obstacle, however: James was still a boy himself--a large +boy, to be sure, but he had a youthful face, and the chances were that +he would have a number of pupils older than himself. Could he keep +order? Would the rough country boys submit to the authority of one like +themselves, whatever might be his reputation as a scholar? This was a +point to consider anxiously. However, James had pluck, and he was ready +to try the experiment. + +He would have been glad to secure a school so far away that he could go +there as a stranger, and be received as a young man. But no such +opportunity offered. There was another opening nearer home. + +A teacher was wanted for the Ledge Hill district in Orange, and the +committee-man bethought himself of James Garfield. + +So one day he knocked at Mrs. Garfield's door. + +"Is James at home?" he asked. + +James heard the question, and came forward to meet his visitor. + +"Good-morning," he said, pleasantly; "did you want to see me?" + +"Are you calculating to keep school this winter" asked his visitor. + +"If I can get a school to keep," was the reply. + +"That's the business I came about. We want a schoolmaster for the Ledge +Hill School. How would you like to try it?" + +"The Ledge Hill School!" repeated James, in some dismay. "Why, all the +boys know me there." + +"Of course they do. Then they won't need to be introduced." + +"Will they obey me? That's what I was thinking of. There are some +pretty hard cases in that school." + +"That's where you are right." + +"I wouldn't like to try it and fail," said James, doubtfully. + +"You won't if you'll follow my advice," said the committee-man. + +"What's that?" + +"Thrash the first boy that gives you any trouble. Don't half do it; but +give him a sound flogging, so that he will understand who's master. +You're strong enough; you can do it." + +James extended his muscular arm with a smile. He knew he was strong. He +was a large boy, and his training had been such as to develop his +muscles. + +"You know the boys that will go to school. Is there any one that can +master you?" asked his visitor. + +"No, I don't think there is," answered James, with a smile. + +"Then you'll do. Let 'em know you are not afraid of them the first day. +That's the best advice I can give you." + +"I shouldn't like to get into a fight with a pupil," said James, +slowly. + +"You'll have to run the risk of it unless you teach a girls' school. I +guess you wouldn't have any trouble there." + +"Not of that kind, probably. What wages do you pay?" + +"Twelve dollars a month and board. Of course, you'll board round." + +Twelve dollars a month would not be considered very high wages now, but +to James it was a consideration. He had earned as much in other ways, +but he was quite anxious to try his luck as a teacher. That might be his +future vocation, not teaching a district school, of course, but this +would be the first round of the ladder that might lead to a college +professorship. The first step is the most difficult, but it must be +taken, and the Ledge Hill School, difficult as it probably would be, was +to be the first step for the future President of Hiram College. + +All these considerations James rapidly revolved in his mind, and then he +came to a decision. + +"When does the school commence?" he asked. + +"Next Monday." + +"I accept your offer. I'll be on hand in time." + + * * * * * + +The news quickly reached the Ledge Hill district that "Jim Garfield," as +he was popularly called, was to be their next teacher. + +"Have you heard about the new master?" asked Tom Bassett, one of the +hard cases, of a friend. + +"No. Who is it?" + +"Jim Garfield." + +The other whistled. + +"You don't mean it?" + +"Yes, I do." + +"How did you hear?" + +"Mr. ----," naming the committee-man, "told me." + +"Then it must be so. We'll have a high old time if that's so." + +"So we will," chuckled the other. "I'm anxious for school to begin." + +"He's only a boy like us." + +"That's so." + +"He knows enough for a teacher; but knowing isn't everything." + +"You're right. We can't be expected to mind a boy like ourselves that +we've known all our lives." + +"Of course not." + +"I like Jim well enough. He's a tip-top feller; but, all the same, he +aint goin' to boss me round." + +"Nor me, either." + +This conversation between Tom Bassett and Bill Stackpole (for obvious +reasons I use assumed names) augured ill for the success of the young +teacher. They determined to make it hot for him, and have all the fun +they wanted. + +They thought they knew James Garfield, but they made a mistake. They +knew that he was of a peaceable disposition and not fond of quarreling, +and although they also knew that he was strong and athletic, they +decided that he would not long be able to maintain his position. If they +had been able to read the doubts and fears that agitated the mind of +their future preceptor, they would have felt confirmed in their belief. + +The fact was, James shrank from the ordeal that awaited him. + +"If I were only going among strangers," he said to his mother, "I +wouldn't mind it so much; but all these boys and girls have known me +ever since I was a small boy and went barefoot." + +"Does your heart fail you, my son?" asked his mother, who sympathized +with him, yet saw that it was a trial which must come. + +"I can't exactly say that, but I dread to begin." + +"We must expect to encounter difficulties and perplexities, James. None +of our lives run all smoothly. Shall we conquer them or let them conquer +us?" + +The boy's spirit was aroused. + +"Say no more, mother," he replied. "I will undertake the school, and if +success is any way possible, I will succeed. I have been shrinking from +it, but I won't shrink any longer." + +"That is the spirit that succeeds, James." + +James laughed, and in answer quoted Campbell's stirring lines with +proper emphasis: + + "I will victor exult, or in death be laid low, + With my face to the field and my feet to the foe." + +So the time passed till the eventful day dawned on which James was to +assume charge of his first school. He was examined, and adjudged to be +qualified to teach; but that he anticipated in advance. + +The building is still standing in which James taught his first school. +It is used for quite another purpose now, being occupied as a +carriage-house by the thrifty farmer who owns the ground upon which it +stands. The place where the teacher's desk stood, behind which the boy +stood as preceptor, is now occupied by two stalls for carriage-horses. +The benches which once contained the children he taught have been +removed to make room for the family carriage, and the play-ground is now +a barnyard. The building sits upon a commanding eminence known as Ledge +Hill, and overlooks a long valley winding between two lines of hills. + +This description is furnished by the same correspondent of the Boston +_Herald_ to whom I am already indebted for Henry Boynton's reminiscences +contained in the last chapter. + +When James came in sight, and slowly ascended the hill in sight of the +motley crew of boys and girls who were assembled in front of the +school-house on the first morning of the term, it was one of the most +trying moments of his life. He knew instinctively that the boys were +anticipating the fun in store for them in the inevitable conflict which +awaited him, and he felt constrained and nervous. He managed, however, +to pass through the crowd, wearing a pleasant smile and greeting his +scholars with a bow. There was trouble coming, he was convinced, but he +did not choose to betray any apprehension. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +WHO SHALL BE MASTER? + + +With as much dignity as was possible under the circumstances, James +stepped to the teacher's desk and rang the bell. + +This was hardly necessary, for out of curiosity all the scholars had +promptly followed the young teacher into the school-room and taken their +seats. + +After the introductory exercises, James made a brief address to the +scholars: + +"I don't need any introduction to you," he said, "for you all know me. I +see before me many who have been my playfellows and associates, but +to-day a new relation is established between us. I am here as your +teacher, regularly appointed by the committee, and it is my duty to +assist you as far as I can to increase your knowledge. I should hardly +feel competent to do so if I had not lately attended Geauga Seminary, +and thus improved my own education. I hope you will consider me a +friend, not only as I have been, but as one who is interested in +promoting your best interests. One thing more," he added, "it is not +only my duty to teach you, but to maintain good order, and this I mean +to do. In school I wish you to look upon me as your teacher, but outside +I shall join you in your sports, and be as much a boy as any of you. We +will now proceed to our daily lessons." + +This speech was delivered with self-possession, and favorably impressed +all who heard it, even the boys who meant to make trouble, but they +could not give up their contemplated fun. Nevertheless, by tacit +agreement, they preserved perfect propriety for the present. They were +not ready for the explosion. + +The boy teacher was encouraged by the unexpected quiet. + +"After all," he thought, "everything is likely to go smoothly. I need +not have troubled myself so much." + +He knew the usual routine at the opening of a school term. The names of +the children were to be taken, they were to be divided into classes, and +lessons were to be assigned. Feeling more confidence in himself, James +went about this work in business fashion, and when recess came, the +comments made by the pupils in the playground were generally favorable. + +"He's going to make a good teacher," said one of the girls, "as good as +any we've had, and he's so young too." + +"He goes to work as if he knew how," said another. "I didn't think Jimmy +Garfield had so much in him." + +"Oh, he's smart!" said another. "Just think of brother Ben trying to +keep school, and he's just as old as James." + +Meanwhile Tom Bassett and Bill Stackpole had a private conference +together. + +"What do you think of Jim's speech, Bill?" asked Tom. + +"Oh, it sounded well enough, but I'll bet he was trembling in his boots +all the while he was talkin'." + +"Maybe so, but he seemed cool enough." + +"Oh, that was all put on. Did you hear what he said about keepin' +order?" + +"Yes, he kinder looked at you an' me when he was talkin'." + +"I guess he heard about our turnin' out the last teacher." + +"Of course. I tell you, it took some cheek to come here and order 'round +us boys that has known him all his life." + +"That's so. Do you think he's goin' to maintain order, as he calls it?" + +"You just wait till afternoon. He'll know better then." + +James did not go out to recess the first day. He had some things to do +affecting the organization of the school, and so he remained at his +desk. Several of the pupils came up to consult him on one point or +another, and he received them all with that pleasant manner which +throughout his life was characteristic of him. To one and another he +gave a hint or a suggestion, based upon his knowledge of their character +and abilities. One of the boys said: "Do you think I'd better study +grammar, Jimmy--I mean Mr. Garfield?" + +James smiled. He knew the slip was unintentional. Of course it would not +do for him to allow himself to be addressed in school by a pupil as +Jimmy. + +"Yes," he answered, "unless you think you know all about it already." + +"I don't know the first thing about it." + +"Then, of course, you ought to study it. Why shouldn't you?" + +"But I can't make nothin' out of it. I can't understand it nohow." + +"Then you need somebody to explain it to you." + +"It's awful stupid." + +"I don't think you will find it so when you come to know more about it. +I shall be ready to explain it. I think I can make you understand it." + +Another had a sum he could not do. So James found the recess pass +quickly away, and again the horde of scholars poured into the +school-room. + +It was not till afternoon that the conflict came. + +Tom Bassett belonged to the first class in geography. + +James called out the class. + +All came out except Tom, who lounged carelessly in his seat. + +"Thomas, don't you belong to this class?" asked the young teacher. + +"I reckon I do." + +"Then why don't you come out to recite?" + +"Oh, I feel lazy," answered Tom, with a significant smile, as if to +inquire, "What are you goin' to do about it?" + +James thought to himself with a thrill of unpleasant excitement, "It's +coming. In ten minutes I shall know whether Tom Bassett or I is to rule +this school." + +His manner was calm, however, as he said, "That is no excuse. I can't +accept it. As your teacher I order you to join your class." + +"Can't you wait till to-morrow?" asked Tom, with a grin, which was +reflected on the faces of several other pupils. + +"I think I understand you," said James, with outward calmness. "You defy +my authority." + +"You're only a boy like me," said Tom; "I don't see why I should obey +you." + +"If you were teacher, and I pupil, I should obey you," said James, "and +I expect the same of you." + +"Oh, go on with the recitation!" said Tom, lazily. "Never mind me!" + +James felt that he could afford to wait no longer Turning to the class, +he said, "I shall have to delay you for a minute." + +He walked deliberately up to the seat where Tom Bassett was sitting. + +Tom squared off in the expectation of an assault; but, with the speed of +lightning, the young teacher grasped him by the collar, and, with a +strength that surprised himself, dragged him from his seat, in spite of +his struggles, till he reached the place where the class was standing. + +By this time Bill Stackpole felt called upon to help his partner in +rebellion. + +"You let him alone!" he said, menacingly, stepping forward. + +"One at a time!" said James, coolly. "I will be ready for you in a +minute." + +He saw that there was only one thing to do. + +He dragged Tom to the door, and forcibly ejected him, saying, "When you +get ready to obey me you can come back." + +He had scarcely turned when Bill Stackpole was upon him. + +With a quick motion of the foot James tripped him up, and, still +retaining his grasp on his collar, said, "Will you go or stay?" + +Bill was less resolute than Tom. + +"I guess I'll stay," he said; then picked himself up and resumed his +place in the class. + +Apparently calm, James returned to his desk, and commenced hearing the +class recite. + +The next morning, on his way to school, James overtook Tom Bassett, who +eyed him with evident embarrassment. Tom's father had sent him back to +school, and Tom did not dare disobey. + +"Good morning, Tom," said James, pleasantly. + +"Mornin'!" muttered Tom. + +"I hope you are going to school?" + +"Father says I must." + +"I am glad of that, too. By the way, Tom, I think I shall have to get +some of the scholars to help me with some of the smaller pupils. I +should like to get you to hear the lowest class in arithmetic to-day." + +"You want me to help you teach?" exclaimed Tom, in amazement. + +"Yes; it will give me more time for the higher classes." + +"And you don't bear no malice on account of yesterday?" + +"Oh, no; we are too good friends to mind such a trifle." + +"Then," said Tom, impulsively, "you won't have no more trouble with me. +I'll help you all I can." + +There was general surprise felt when the young teacher and his +rebellious scholar were seen approaching the school-house, evidently on +the most friendly terms. There was still greater surprise when, during +the forenoon, James requested Tom to hear the class already mentioned. +At recess Tom proclaimed his intention to lick any boy that was impudent +to the teacher, and the new Garfield administration seemed to be +established on a firm basis. + +This incident, which is based upon an actual resort to war measures on +the part of the young teacher, is given to illustrate the strength as +well as the amiability of Garfield's character. It was absolutely +necessary that he should show his ability to govern. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +AMES LEAVES GEAUGA SEMINARY + + +While teaching his first school James "boarded round" among the families +who sent pupils to his school. It was not so pleasant as having a +permanent home, but it afforded him opportunities of reaching and +influencing his scholars which otherwise he could not have enjoyed. With +his cheerful temperament and genial manners, he could hardly fail to be +an acquisition to any family with whom he found a home. He was ready +enough to join in making the evenings pass pleasantly, and doubtless he +had ways of giving instruction indirectly, and inspiring a love of +learning similar to that which he himself possessed. + +He returned to school with a small sum of money in his pocket, which was +of essential service to him in his economical way of living. But he +brought also an experience in imparting knowledge to others which was +still greater value. + +An eminent teacher has said that we never fully know anything till we +have tried to impart it to others. + +James remained at the Geauga Seminary for three years. Every winter he +taught school, and with success. In one of these winter sessions, we are +told by Rev. William M. Thayer, in his biography of Garfield, that he +was applied to by an ambitious student to instruct him in geometry. +There was one difficulty in the way, and that a formidable one. He was +entirely unacquainted with geometry himself. But, he reflected, here is +an excellent opportunity for me to acquire a new branch of knowledge. +Accordingly he procured a text-book, studied it faithfully at night, +keeping sufficiently far ahead of his pupil to qualify him to be his +guide and instructor, and the pupil never dreamed that his teacher, like +himself, was traversing unfamiliar ground. + +It was early in his course at Geauga that he made the acquaintance of +one who was to prove his closest and dearest friend--the young lady who +in after years was to become his wife. Lucretia Rudolph was the daughter +of a farmer in the neighborhood--"a quiet, thoughtful girl, of +singularly sweet and refined disposition, fond of study and reading, +and possessing a warm heart, and a mind capable of steady growth." +Probably James was first attracted to her by intellectual sympathy and a +community of tastes; but as time passed he discerned in her something +higher and better than mere intellectual aspiration; and who shall say +in the light that has been thrown by recent events on the character of +Lucretia Garfield, that he was not wholly right? + +Though we are anticipating the record, it may be in place to say here +that the acquaintance formed here was renewed and ripened at Hiram +College, to which in time both transferred themselves. There as +pupil-teacher James Garfield became in one branch the instructor of his +future wife, and it was while there that the two became engaged. It was +a long engagement. James had to wait the traditional "seven years" for +his wife, but the world knows how well he was repaid for his long +waiting. + +"Did you know Mrs. Garfield?" asked a reporter of the Chicago +_Inter-Ocean_ of Mr. Philo Chamberlain, of Cleveland. + +"Yes, indeed," was the reply. "My wife knows her intimately. They used +to teach school together in Cleveland. Mrs. Garfield is a splendid lady. +She wasn't what you would call a brilliant teacher, but she was an +unusually good one, very industrious, and the children made rapid +progress in their studies under her. And then she was studious, too. +Why, she acquired three languages while she was in school, both as a +student and a teacher, and she spoke them well, I am told. They were +married shortly after he came back from Williams, and I forgot to tell +you a nice little thing about the time when he paid Dr. Robinson back +the money he had spent on him. When Dr. Robinson refused to take the +interest, which amounted to a snug little sum, Garfield said: 'Well, +Doctor, that is one big point in my favor, as now I can get married.' It +seems that they had been engaged for a long time, but had to wait till +he could get something to marry on. And I tell you it isn't every young +man that will let the payment of a self-imposed debt stand between him +and getting married to the girl he loves." + +Without anticipating too far events we have not yet reached, it may be +said that Lucretia Garfield's education and culture made her not the +wife only, but the sympathetic friend and intellectual helper of her +husband. Her early studies were of service to her in enabling her +partially to prepare for college her two oldest boys. She assisted her +husband also in his literary plans, without losing the domestic +character of a good wife, and the refining graces of a true woman. + +But let us not forget that James is still a boy in his teens. He had +many hardships to encounter, and many experiences to go through before +he could set up a home of his own. He had studied three years, but his +education had only begun. The Geauga Seminary was only an academy, and +hardly the equal of the best academies to be found at the East. + +He began to feel that he had about exhausted its facilities, and to look +higher. He had not far to look. + +During the year 1851 the Disciples, the religious body to which young +Garfield had attached himself, opened a collegiate school at Hiram, in +Portage County, which they called an eclectic school. Now it ranks as a +college, but at the time James entered it, it had not assumed so +ambitious a title. + +It was not far away, and James' attention was naturally drawn to it. +There was an advantage also in its location. Hiram was a small country +village, where the expenses of living were small, and, as we know, our +young student's purse was but scantily filled. Nevertheless, so limited +were his means that it was a perplexing problem how he would be able to +pay his way. + +He consulted his mother, and, as was always the case, found that she +sympathized fully in his purpose of obtaining a higher education. +Pecuniary help, however, she could not give, nor had he at this time any +rich friends upon whom he could call for the pittance he required. + +But James was not easily daunted. He had gone to Geauga Seminary with +but seventeen dollars in his pocket; he had remained there three years, +maintaining himself by work at his old trade of carpenter and teaching, +and had graduated owing nothing. He had become self-reliant, and felt +that what he had done at Chester he could do at Hiram. + +So one fine morning he set out, with a light heart and a pocket equally +light, for the infant institution from which he hoped so much. + +The Board of Trustees were in session, as we learn from the account +given by one of their number, when James arrived and sought an audience. + +After a little delay, the doorkeeper was instructed to bring him in. + +James was nineteen at this time. He was no longer as homespun in +appearance as when he sat upon a log with Dr. Robinson, in the seclusion +of the woods, and asked his advice about a career. Nevertheless, he was +still awkward. He had grown rapidly, was of slender build, and had no +advantages of dress to recommend him. One who saw him in after-life, +with his noble, imposing presence, would hardly recognize any similarity +between him and the raw country youth who stood awkwardly before the +Board of Trustees, to plead his cause. It happens not unfrequently that +a lanky youth develops into a fine-looking man. Charles Sumner, at the +age of twenty, stood six feet two inches in his stockings, and weighed +but one hundred and twenty pounds! Yet in after-life he was a man of +noble presence. + +But all this while we are leaving James in suspense before the men whose +decision is to affect his life so powerfully. + +"Well, young man," asked the Principal, "what can we do for you?" + +"Gentlemen," said James, earnestly, "I want an education, and would like +the privilege of making the fires and sweeping the floors of the +building to pay part of my expenses." + +There was in his bearing and countenance an earnestness and an +intelligence which impressed the members of the board. + +"Gentlemen," said Mr. Frederic Williams, one of the trustees, "I think +we had better try this young man." + +Another member, turning to Garfield, said: "How do we know, young man, +that the work will be done as we may desire?" + +"Try me," was the answer; "try me two weeks, and if it is not done to +your entire satisfaction, I will retire without a word." + +"That seems satisfactory," said the member who had asked the question. + +"What studies do you wish to pursue?" asked one gentleman. + +"I want to prepare for college. I shall wish to study Latin, Greek, +mathematics, and anything else that may be needed." + +"Have you studied any of these already?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Where?" + +"At the Geauga Seminary. I can refer you to the teachers there. I have +studied under them for three years, and they know all about me." + +"What is your name?" + +"James A. Garfield." + +"There is something in that young man," said one of the trustees to Mr. +Williams. "He seems thoroughly in earnest, and I believe will be a hard +worker." + +"I agree with you," was the reply. + +James was informed that his petition was granted, and he at once made +arrangements for his residence at Hiram. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +AT HIRAM INSTITUTE. + + +Hiram, the seat of the Eclectic Institute, was not a place of any +pretension. It was scarcely a village, but rather a hamlet. Yet the +advantages which the infant institution offered drew together a +considerable number of pupils of both sexes, sons and daughters of the +Western Reserve farmers, inspired with a genuine love of learning, and +too sensible to waste their time on mere amusement. + +This is the account given of it by President B.A. Hinsdale, who for +fifteen years has ably presided over its affairs: "The institute +building, a plain but substantially built brick structure, was put on +the top of a windy hill, in the middle of a cornfield. One of the cannon +that General Scott's soldiers dragged to the City of Mexico in 1847, +planted on the roof of the new structure, would not have commanded a +score of farm houses. + +"Here the school opened at the time Garfield was closing his studies at +Chester. It had been in operation two terms when he offered himself for +enrollment. Hiram furnished a location, the Board of Trustees a building +and the first teacher, the surrounding country students, but the +spiritual Hiram made itself. Everything was new. Society, traditions, +the genius of the school, had to be evolved from the forces of the +teachers and pupils, limited by the general and local environment. Let +no one be surprised when I say that such a school as this was the best +of all places for young Garfield. There was freedom, opportunity, a +large society of rapidly and eagerly opening young minds, instructors +who were learned enough to instruct him, and abundant scope for ability +and force of character, of which he had a superabundance. + +"Few of the students who came to Hiram in that day had more than a +district-school education, though some had attended the high schools and +academies scattered over the country; so that Garfield, though he had +made but slight progress in the classics and the higher mathematics +previous to his arrival, ranked well up with the first scholars. In +ability, all acknowledged that he was the peer of any; soon his +superiority to all others was generally conceded." + +So James entered upon his duties as janitor and bell-ringer. It was a +humble position for the future President of the United States; but no +work is humiliating which is undertaken with a right aim and a useful +object. Of one thing my boy-reader may be sure--the duties of the +offices were satisfactorily performed. The school-rooms were well cared +for, and the bell was rung punctually. This is shown by the fact that, +after the two weeks of probation, he was still continued in office, +though doubtless in the large number of students of limited means in the +institute there was more than one that would have been glad to relieve +him of his office. + +It will hardly be supposed, however, that the position of janitor and +bell-ringer could pay all his expenses. He had two other resources. In +term-time he worked at his trade of carpenter as opportunity offered, +and in the winter, as at Chester, he sought some country town where he +could find employment as a teacher. + +The names of the places where he taught are not known to me, though +doubtless there is many an Ohio farmer, or mechanic, or, perchance, +professional man, who is able to boast that he was partially educated by +a President of the United States. + +As characteristic of his coolness and firmness, I am tempted to record +an incident which happened to him in one of his winter schools. + +There were some scholars about as large as himself, to whom obedience to +the rules of the school was not quite easy--who thought, in +consideration of their age and size, that they might venture upon acts +which would not be tolerated in younger pupils. + +The school had commenced one morning, when the young teacher heard angry +words and the noise of a struggle in the school-yard, which chanced to +be inclosed. The noise attracted the attention of the scholars, and +interfered with the attention which the recitation required. + +James Garfield stepped quietly outside of the door, and saw two of his +oldest and largest pupils engaged in a wrestling match. For convenience +we will call them Brown and Jones. + +"What are you about, boys?" asked the teacher The two were so earnestly +engaged in their conflict that neither returned an answer. + +"This must be stopped immediately," said James, decisively. "It is +disrespectful to me, and disturbs the recitations." + +He might as well have spoken to the wind. They heard, but they continued +their fight. + +"This must stop, or I will stop it myself," said the teacher. + +The boys were not afraid. Each was about as large as the teacher, and +they felt that if he interfered he was likely to get hurt. + +James thought he had given sufficient warning. The time had come to act. +He stepped quickly forward, seized one of the combatants, and with a +sudden exertion of strength, threw him over the fence. Before he had +time to recover from his surprise his companion was lifted over in the +same manner. + +"Now, go on with your fighting if you wish," said the young teacher; +"though I advise you to shake hands and make up. When you get through +come in and report." + +The two young men regarded each other foolishly. Somehow all desire to +fight had been taken away. + +"I guess we'll go in now," said Brown. + +"I'm with you," said Jones, and Garfield entered the school-room, meekly +followed by the two refractory pupils. There was not much use in +resisting the authority of a teacher who could handle them with such +ease. + +James did not trouble them with any moral lecture. He was too sensible. +He felt that all had been said and done that was required. + +But how did he spend his time at the new seminary, and how was he +regarded? Fortunately we have the testimony of a lady, now residing in +Illinois, who was one of the first students at Hiram. + +"When he first entered the school," she writes, "he paid for his +schooling by doing janitor's work, sweeping the floor and ringing the +bell. I can see him even now standing in the morning with his hand on +the bell-rope, ready to give the signal, calling teachers and scholars +to engage in the duties of the day. As we passed by, entering the +school-room, he had a cheerful word for every one. He was probably the +most popular person in the institution. He was always good-natured, fond +of conversation, and very entertaining. He was witty and quick at +repartee, but his jokes, though brilliant and sparkling, were always +harmless, and he never would willingly hurt another's feelings. + +"Afterward he became an assistant teacher, and while pursuing his +classical studies, preparatory to his college course, he taught the +English branches. He was a most entertaining teacher--ready with +illustrations, and possessing in a marked degree the power of exciting +the interest of the scholars, and afterward making clear to them the +lessons. In the arithmetic class there were ninety pupils, and I can not +remember a time when there was any flagging in the interest. There were +never any cases of unruly conduct, or a disposition to shirk. With +scholars who were slow of comprehension, or to whom recitations were a +burden, on account of their modest or retiring dispositions, he was +specially attentive, and by encouraging words and gentle assistance +would manage to put all at their ease, and awaken in them a confidence +in themselves. He was not much given to amusements or the sports of the +playground. He was too industrious, and too anxious to make the utmost +of his opportunities to study. + +"He was a constant attendant at the regular meetings for prayer, and +his vigorous exhortations and apt remarks upon the Bible lessons were +impressive and interesting. There was a cordiality in his disposition +which won quickly the favor and esteem of others. He had a happy habit +of shaking hands, and would give a hearty grip which betokened a +kind-hearted feeling for all. He was always ready to turn his mind and +hands in any direction whereby he might add to his meagre store of +money. + +"One of his gifts was that of mezzotint drawing, and he gave instruction +in this branch. I was one of his pupils in this, and have now the +picture of a cross upon which he did some shading and put on the +finishing touches. Upon the margin is written, in the name of the noted +teacher, his own name and his pupil's. There are also two other +drawings, one of a large European bird on the bough of a tree, and the +other a church yard scene in winter, done by him at that time. In those +days the faculty and pupils were wont to call him 'the second Webster,' +and the remark was common, 'He will fill the White House yet.' In the +Lyceum he early took rank far above the others as a speaker and debater. + +"During the month of June the entire school went in carriages to their +annual grove meeting at Randolph, some twenty-five miles away. On this +trip he was the life of the party, occasionally bursting out in an +eloquent strain at the sight of a bird or a trailing vine, or a +venerable giant of the forest. He would repeat poetry by the hour, +having a very retentive memory. + +"At the Institute the members were like a band of brothers and sisters, +all struggling to advance in knowledge. Then all dressed plainly, and +there was no attempt or pretence at dressing fashionably or stylishly. +Hiram was a little country place, with no fascinations or worldly +attractions to draw off the minds of the students from their work." + +Such is an inside view--more graphic than any description I can give--of +the life of James Garfield at Hiram Institute. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THREE BUSY YEARS. + + +Among the readers of this volume there may be boys who are preparing for +college. They will be interested to learn the extent of James Garfield's +scholarship, when he left the Geauga Academy, and transferred himself to +the Institute at Hiram. Though, in his own language, he remembers with +great satisfaction the work which was accomplished for him at Chester, +that satisfaction does not spring from the amount that he had acquired, +but rather that while there he had formed a definite purpose and plan to +complete a college course. For, as the young scholar truly remarks, "It +is a great point gained when a young man makes up his mind to devote +several years to the accomplishment of a definite work." + +When James entered at Hiram, he had studied Latin only six weeks, and +just begun Greek. He was therefore merely on the threshold of his +preparatory course for college. To anticipate a little, he completed +this course, and fitted himself to enter the Junior class at Williams +College in the space of three years. How much labor this required many +of my readers are qualified to understand. It required him to do nearly +six years' work in three, though interrupted by work of various kinds +necessary for his support. + +He was not yet able to live luxuriously, or even, as we suppose, +comfortably. He occupied a room with four other students, which could +hardly have been favorable for study. Yet, in the first term he +completed six books of Caesar's commentaries, and made good progress in +Greek. During the first winter he taught a school at Warrensville, +receiving the highest salary he had yet been paid, eighteen dollars a +month--of course in addition to board. + +At the commencement of the second year the president sent for him. + +James obeyed the summons, wondering whether he was to receive any +reprimand for duty unfulfilled. + +President Hayden received him cordially, thus dissipating his +apprehensions. + +"Garfield," he said, "Mr. ----, tutor in English and ancient languages, +is sick, and it is doubtful whether he will be able to resume his +duties. Do you think you can fill his place, besides carrying on your +own work as student?" + +Young Garfield's face flushed with pleasure. The compliment was +unexpected, but in every way the prospect it opened was an agreeable +one. His only doubt was as to his qualifications. + +"I should like it very much," he said, "if you think I am qualified." + +"I have no doubt on that point. You will teach only what is familiar to +you, and I believe you have a special faculty for imparting knowledge." + +"Thank you very much, Mr. Hayden," said Garfield. "I will accept with +gratitude, and I will do my best to give satisfaction." + +How well he discharged his office may be inferred from the testimony +given in the last chapter. + +Though a part of his time was taken up in teaching others, he did not +allow it to delay his own progress. Still before him he kept the bright +beacon of a college education. He had put his hand to the plow, and he +was not one to turn back or loiter on the way. That term he began +Xenophon's Anabasis, and was fortunate enough to find a home in the +president's family. + +But he was not content with working in term-time. When the summer +brought a vacation, he felt that it was too long a time to be lost. He +induced ten students to join him, and hired Professor Dunshee to give +them lessons for one month. During that time he read the Eclogues and +Georgics of Virgil entire, and the first six books of Homer's Iliad, +accompanied by a thorough drill in the Latin and Greek grammar. He must +have "toiled terribly," and could have had few moments for recreation. +When the fall term commenced, in company with Miss Almeda Booth, a +mature young lady of remarkable intellect, and some other students, he +formed a Translation society, which occupied itself with the Book of +Romans, of course in the Greek version. During the succeeding winter he +read the whole of "Demosthenes on the Crown." + +The mental activity of the young man (he was now twenty) seems +exhaustless. All this time he took an active part in a literary society +composed of some of his fellow-students. He had already become an easy, +fluent, and forcible speaker--a very necessary qualification for the +great work of his life. + +"Oh, I suppose he had a talent for it," some of my young readers may +say. + +Probably he had; indeed, it is certain that he had, but it may encourage +them to learn that he found difficulties at the start. When a student at +Geauga, he made his first public speech. It was a six minutes' oration +at the annual exhibition, delivered in connection with a literary +society to which he belonged. He records in a diary kept at the time +that he "was very much scared," and "very glad of a short curtain across +the platform that hid my shaking legs from the audience." Such +experiences are not uncommon in the career of men afterward noted for +their ease in public speaking. I can recall such, and so doubtless can +any man of academic or college training. I wish to impress upon my young +reader that Garfield was indebted for what he became to earnest work. + +While upon the subject of public speaking I am naturally led to speak of +young Garfield's religious associations. His mind has already been +impressed with the importance of the religious element, and he felt +that no life would be complete without it. He had joined the Church of +the Disciples, the same to which his uncle belonged, and was baptized in +a little stream that runs into the Chagrin River. The creed of this +class of religious believers is one likely to commend itself in most +respects to the general company of Christians; but as this volume is +designed to steer clear of sect or party, I do not hold any further +reference to it necessary. What concerns us more is, that young +Garfield, in accordance with the liberal usages of the Disciples, was +invited on frequent occasions to officiate as a lay preacher in the +absence of the regular pastor of the Church of the Disciples at Hiram. + +Though often officiating as a preacher, I do not find that young +Garfield ever had the ministry in view. On the other hand, he early +formed the design of studying for the legal profession, as he gradually +did, being admitted to the bar of Cuyahoga County, in 1860, when himself +president of Hiram College. + +So passed three busy and happy years. Young Garfield had but few idle +moments. In teaching others, in pursuing his own education, in taking +part in the work of the literary society, and in Sunday exhortations, +his time was well filled up. But neither his religion nor his love of +study made him less companionable. He was wonderfully popular. His +hearty grasp of the hand, his genial manner, his entire freedom from +conceit, his readiness to help others, made him a general favorite. Some +young men, calling themselves religious, assume a sanctimonious manner, +that repels, but James Garfield never was troubled in this way. He +believed that + + "Religion never was designed + To make our pleasures less," + +and was always ready to take part in social pleasures, provided they did +not interfere with his work. + +And all this while, with all his homely surroundings, he had high +thoughts for company. He wrote to a student, afterward his own successor +to the presidency, words that truly describe his own aspirations and +habits of mind. "Tell me, Burke, do you not feel a spirit stirring +within you that longs _to know, to do, and to dare_, to hold converse +with the great world of thought, and hold before you some high and noble +object to which the vigor of your mind and the strength of your arm may +be given? Do you not have longings like these which you breathe to no +one, and which you feel must be heeded, or you will pass through life +unsatisfied and regretful? I am sure you have them, and they will +forever cling round your heart till you obey their mandate." + +The time had come when James was ready to take another step upward. The +district school had been succeeded by Geauga Seminary, that by Hiram +Institute, and now he looked Eastward for still higher educational +privileges. There was a college of his own sect at Bethany, not far +away, but the young man was not so blinded by this consideration as not +to understand that it was not equal to some of the best known colleges +at the East. + +Which should he select? + +He wrote to the presidents of Brown University, Yale, and Williams, +stating how far he had advanced, and inquiring how long it would take to +complete their course. + +From all he received answers, but the one from President Hopkins, of +Williams College, ended with the sentence, "If you come here, we shall +be glad to do what we can for you." This sentence, so friendly and +cordial, decided the young man who otherwise would have found it hard to +choose between the three institutions. + +"My mind is made up," he said. "I shall start for Williams College next +week." + +He was influenced also by what he already knew of Dr. Hopkins. He was +not a stranger to the high character of his intellect, and his +theological reputation. He felt that here was a man of high rank in +letters who was prepared to be not only his teacher and guide, but his +personal friend, and for this, if for no other reason, he decided in +favor of Williams College. To a young man circumstanced as he was, a +word of friendly sympathy meant much. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +ENTERING WILLIAMS COLLEGE. + + +James Garfield had reached the mature age of twenty-two years when he +made his first entrance into Williamstown. He did not come quite +empty-handed. He had paid his expenses while at Hiram, and earned three +hundred and fifty dollars besides, which he estimated would carry him +through the Junior year. He was tall and slender, with a great shock of +light hair, rising nearly erect from a broad, high forehead. His face +was open, kindly, and thoughtful, and it did not require keen perception +of character to discern something above the common in the awkward +Western youth, in his decidedly shabby raiment. + +Young Garfield would probably have enjoyed the novel sensation of being +well dressed, but he had never had the opportunity of knowing how it +seemed. That ease and polish of manner which come from mingling in +society he entirely lacked. He was as yet a rough diamond, but a diamond +for all that. + +Among his classmates were men from the cities, who stared in undisguised +amazement at the tall, lanky young man who knocked at the doors of the +college for admission. + +"Who is that rough-looking fellow?" asked a member of a lower class, +pointing out Garfield, as he was crossing the college campus. + +"Oh, that is Garfield; he comes from the Western Reserve." + +"I suppose his clothes were made by a Western Reserve tailor." + +"Probably," answered his classmate, smiling. + +"He looks like a confirmed rustic." + +"That is true, but there is something in him. I am in his division, and +I can tell you that he has plenty of talent." + +"His head is big enough." + +"Yes, he has a large brain--a sort of Websterian intellect. He is bound +to be heard of." + +"It is a pity he is so awkward." + +"Oh, that will wear off. He has a hearty, cordial way with him, and +though at first we were disposed to laugh at him, we begin to like +him." + +"He's as old as the hills. At any rate, he looks so." + +"How old are you?" + +"Seventeen." + +"Compared with you he is, for he is nearly twenty-three. However, it is +never too late to learn. He is not only a good scholar, but he is very +athletic, and there are few in college who can equal him in athletic +sports." + +"Why didn't he come to college before? What made him wait till he was an +old man?" + +"I understand that he has had a hard struggle with poverty. All the +money he has he earned by hard labor. Dr. Hopkins seems to have taken a +liking to him. I saw him walking with the doctor the other day." + +This conversation describes pretty accurately the impression made by +Garfield upon his classmates, and by those in other classes who became +acquainted with him. At first they were disposed to laugh at the tall, +awkward young man and his manners, but soon his real ability, and his +cordial, social ways won upon all, and he was installed as a favorite. +The boys began to call him Old Gar, and regarded him with friendship and +increasing respect, as he grew and developed intellectually, and they +began to see what manner of man he was. + +Perhaps the readiest way for a collegian to make an impression upon his +associates is to show a decided talent for oratory. They soon discovered +at Williams that Garfield had peculiar gifts in this way. His speaking +at clubs, and before the church of his communion in Hiram, had been for +him a valuable training. He joined a society, and soon had an +opportunity of showing that he was a ready and forcible speaker. + +One day there came startling news to the college. Charles Sumner had +been struck down in the Senate chamber by Preston S. Brooks, of South +Carolina, for words spoken in debate. The hearts of the students +throbbed with indignation--none more fiercely than young Garfield's. At +an indignation meeting convened by the students he rose and delivered, +so says one who heard him, "one of the most impassioned and eloquent +speeches ever delivered in old Williams." + +It made a sensation. + +"Did you hear Old Gar's speech at the meeting?" asked one of another. + +"No, I did not get in in time." + +"It was great. I never heard him speak better. Do you know what I +think?" + +"Well?" + +"Gar will be in Congress some day himself. He has rare powers of debate, +and is a born orator." + +"I shouldn't wonder myself if you were right. If he ever reaches +Congress he will do credit to old Williams." + +James had given up his trade as a carpenter. He was no longer obliged to +resort to it, or, at any rate, he preferred to earn money in a different +way. So one winter he taught penmanship at North Pownal, in Vermont, a +post for which he was qualified, for he had a strong, bold, handsome +hand. + +"Did you know Mr. Arthur, who taught school here last winter?" asked one +of his writing pupils of young Garfield. + +"No; he was not a student of Williams." + +"He graduated at Union College, I believe." + +"Was he a good teacher?" + +"Yes, he was very successful, keeping order without any trouble, though +the school is considered a hard one." + +This was Chester A. Arthur, whose name in after years was to be +associated with that of the writing-teacher, who was occupying the same +room as his Presidential successor. But to James Garfield, at that time, +the name meant nothing, and it never occurred to him what high plans +Providence had for them both. It was one of those remarkable cases in +which the paths of two men who are joined in destiny traverse each +other. Was it not strange that two future occupants of the Presidential +chair should be found teaching in the same school-room, in an obscure +Vermont village, two successive winters? + +As the reader, though this is the biography of Garfield, may feel a +curiosity to learn what sort of a teacher Arthur was, I shall, without +apology, conclude this chapter with the story of a pupil of his who, in +the year 1853, attended the district school at Cohoes, then taught by +Chester A. Arthur. I find it in the Troy _Times_: + +"In the year 1853 the writer attended the district school at Cohoes. The +high department did not enjoy a very enviable reputation for being +possessed of that respect due from the pupils to teacher. During the +year there had been at least four teachers in that department, the last +one only remaining one week. The Board of Education had found it +difficult to obtain a pedagogue to take charge of the school, until a +young man, slender as a May-pole and six feet high in his stockings, +applied for the place. He was engaged at once, although he was +previously informed of the kind of timber he would be obliged to hew. + +"Promptly at nine o'clock A.M. every scholar was on hand to welcome the +man who had said that he would 'conquer the school or forfeit his +reputation.' Having called the morning session to order, he said that he +had been engaged to take charge of the school. He came with his mind +prejudiced against the place. He had heard of the treatment of the +former teachers by the pupils, yet he was not at all embarrassed, for he +felt that, with the proper recognition of each other's rights, teacher +and scholars could live together in harmony. He did not intend to +threaten, but he intended to make the scholars obey him, and would try +and win the good-will of all present. He had been engaged to take +charge of that room, and he wished the co-operation of every pupil in so +doing. He had no club, ruler, or whip, but appealed directly to the +hearts of every young man and young lady in the room. Whatever he should +do, he would at least show to the people of this place that this school +could be governed. He spoke thus and feelingly at times, yet with +perfect dignity he displayed that executive ability which in after years +made him such a prominent man. Of course the people, especially the +boys, had heard fine words spoken before, and at once a little smile +seemed to flit across the faces of the leading spirits in past +rebellions. + +"The work of the forenoon began, when a lad of sixteen placed a marble +between his thumb and finger, and, with a snap, sent it rolling across +the floor. As the tall and handsome teacher saw this act, he arose from +his seat, and, without a word, walked toward the lad. + +"'Get up, sir,' he said. + +"The lad looked at him to see if he was in earnest; then he cast his +eyes toward the large boys to see if they were not going to take up his +defense. + +"'Get up, sir,' said the teacher a second time, and he took him by the +collar of his jacket as if to raise him. The lad saw he had no common +man to deal with, and he rose from his seat. + +"'Follow me, sir,' calmly spoke the teacher, and he led the way toward +the hall, while the boy began to tremble, wondering if the new teacher +was going to take him out and kill him. The primary department was +presided over by a sister of the new teacher, and into this room he led +the young transgressor. + +"Turning to his sister he said: 'I have a pupil for you; select a seat +for him, and let him remain here. If he makes any disturbance whatever, +inform me.' Turning to the boy he said: 'Young man, mind your teacher, +and do not leave your seat until I give permission,' and he was gone. + +"The lad sat there, feeling very sheepish, and as misery loves company, +it was not long before he was gratified to see the door open and observe +his seat-mate enter with the new teacher, who repeated the previous +orders, when he quietly and with dignity withdrew. + +"The number was subsequently increased to three, the teacher returning +each time without a word to the other scholars concerning the +disposition made of the refractory lads. The effect upon the rest of the +school was remarkable. As no intimation of the disposition of the boys +was given, not a shade of anger displayed on the countenance of the new +teacher, nor any appearances of blood were noticeable upon his hands, +speculation was rife as to what he had done with the three chaps. He +spoke kindly to all, smiled upon the scholars who did well in their +classes, and seemed to inspire all present with the truth of his remarks +uttered at the opening of the session. + +"At recess the mystery that had enveloped the school was cleared away, +for the three lads in the primary department were seen as the rest of +the scholars filed by the door. While all the rest enjoyed the recess, +the three lads were obliged to remain in their seats, and when school +was dismissed for the forenoon, the new teacher entered the +primary-room, and was alone with the young offenders. He sat down by +them, and like a father talked kindly and gave good advice. No parent +ever used more fitting words nor more impressed his offspring with the +fitness thereof than did the new teacher. Dismissing them, he told them +to go home, and when they returned to school to be good boys. + +"That afternoon the boys were in their seats, and in two weeks' time +there was not a scholar in the room who would not do anything the +teacher asked. He was beloved by all, and his quiet manner and cool, +dignified ways made him a great favorite. He only taught two terms, and +every reasonable inducement was offered to prevail upon him to remain, +but without avail. His reply was: "I have accomplished all I intended, +namely, conquered what you thought was a wild lot of boys, and received +the discipline that I required. I regret leaving my charge, for I have +learned to love them, but I am to enter a law office at once." + +"That teacher was Chester A. Arthur, now President of the United States; +the teacher of the primary department was his sister, now Mrs. +Haynesworth, and the first of the three refractory boys was the writer. +When it was announced that our beloved teacher was to leave us, many +tears were shed by his scholars, and as a slight token of our love, we +presented him with an elegant volume of poems." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +LIFE IN COLLEGE. + + +Probably young Garfield never passed two happier or more profitable +years than at Williams College. The Seminaries he had hitherto attended +were respectable, but in the nature of things they could not afford the +facilities which he now enjoyed. Despite his years of study and struggle +there were many things in which he was wholly deficient. He had studied +Latin, Greek, and mathematics, but of English literature he knew but +little. He had never had time to read for recreation, or for that higher +culture which is not to be learned in the class-room. + +In the library of Williams College he made his first acquaintance with +Shakespeare, and we can understand what a revelation his works must have +been to the aspiring youth. He had abstained from reading fiction, +doubting whether it was profitable, since the early days when with a +thrill of boyish excitement he read "Sinbad the Sailor" and Marryatt's +novels. After a while his views as to the utility of fiction changed. He +found that his mind was suffering from the solid food to which it was +restricted, and he began to make incursions into the realm of poetry and +fiction with excellent results. He usually limited this kind of reading, +and did not neglect for the fascination of romance those more solid +works which should form the staple of a young man's reading. + +It is well known that among poets Tennyson was his favorite, so that in +after years, when at fifteen minutes' notice, on the first anniversary +of Lincoln's assassination, he was called upon to move an adjournment of +the House, as a mark of respect to the martyred President, he was able +from memory to quote in his brief speech, as applicable to Lincoln, the +poet's description of some + + "Divinely gifted man, + Whose life in low estate began, + And on a simple village green, + Who breaks his birth's invidious bars, + And grasped the skirts of happy chance, + And breasts the blows of circumstance, + And grapples with his evil stars; + Who makes by force his merit known, + And lives to clutch the golden keys + To mould a mighty state's decrees, + And shape the whisper of the throne; + And moving up from high to higher, + Becomes on Fortune's crowning slope + The pillar of a people's hope, + The center of a world's desire." + +I am only repeating the remark made by many when I call attention to the +fitness of this description to Garfield himself. + +Our young student was fortunate in possessing a most retentive memory. +What he liked, especially in the works of his favorite poet, was so +impressed upon his memory that he could recite extracts by the hour. +This will enable the reader to understand how thoroughly he studied, and +how readily he mastered, those branches of knowledge to which his +attention was drawn. When in after years in Congress some great public +question came up, which required hard study, it was the custom of his +party friends to leave Garfield to study it, with the knowledge that in +due time he would be ready with a luminous exposition which would supply +to them the place of individual study. + +Young Garfield was anxious to learn the language of Goethe and +Schiller, and embraced the opportunity afforded at college to enter upon +the study of German. He was not content with a mere smattering, but +learned it well enough to converse in it as well as to read it. + +So most profitably the Junior year was spent, but unhappily James had +spent all the money which he had brought with him. Should he leave +college to earn more? Fortunately, this was not necessary. Thomas +Garfield, always unselfishly devoted to the family, hoped to supply his +younger brother with the necessary sum, in installments; but proving +unable, his old friend, Dr. Robinson, came to his assistance. + +"You can pay me when you are able, James," he said. + +"If I live I will pay you, doctor. If I do not--" + +He paused, for an idea struck him. + +"I will insure my life for eight hundred dollars," he continued, "and +place the policy in your hands. Then, whether I live or die, you will be +secure." + +"I do not require this, James," said the doctor kindly. + +"Then I feel all the more under obligations to secure you in return for +your generous confidence." + +It was a sensible and business-like proposal, and the doctor assented. +The strong, vigorous young man had no difficulty in securing a policy +from a reputable company, and went back to college at the commencement +of the Senior year. I wish to add that the young man scrupulously repaid +the good doctor's timely loan, for had he failed to do so, I could not +have held him up to my young readers as in all respects a model. + +There was published at Williams College, in Garfield's time, a magazine +called the _Williams Quarterly_. To this the young man became a frequent +contributor. In Gen. James S. Brisbin's campaign Life of Garfield, I +find three of his poetic contributions quoted, two of which I will also +transfer to my pages, as likely to possess some interest for my young +reader. The first is called + +"THE CHARGE OF THE TIGHT BRIGADE," + +and commences thus: + + "Bottles to right of them, + Bottles to left of them, + Bottles in front of them, + Fizzled and sundered; + Ent'ring with shout and yell, + Boldly they drank and well, + They caught the Tartar then; + _Oh, what a perfect sell!_ + Sold--the half hundred! + Grinned all the dentals bare, + Swung all their caps in air, + Uncorking bottles there, + Watching the Freshmen, while + Every one wondered; + Plunged in tobacco smoke, + With many a desperate stroke, + Dozens of bottles broke; + Then they came back, but not, + Not the half hundred!" + +Lest from this merry squib, which doubtless celebrated some college +prank, wrong conclusions should be drawn, I hasten to say that in +college James Garfield neither drank nor smoked. + +The next poem is rather long, but it possesses interest as a serious +production of one whose name has become a household word. It is entitled + +"MEMORY. + + "'Tis beauteous night; the stars look brightly down + Upon the earth, decked in her robe of snow. + No light gleams at the window save my own, + Which gives its cheer to midnight and to me. + And now with noiseless step sweet Memory comes, + And leads me gently through her twilight realms. + What poet's tuneful lyre has ever sung, + Or delicatest pencil e'er portrayed + The enchanted, shadowy land where Memory dwells? + It has its valleys, cheerless, lone, and drear, + Dark-shaded by the lonely cypress tree. + And yet its sunlit mountain tops are bathed + In heaven's own blue. Upon its craggy cliffs, + Robed in the dreamy light of distant years, + Are clustered joys serene of other days; + Upon its gently sloping hillside's bank + The weeping-willows o'er the sacred dust + Of dear departed ones; and yet in that land, + Where'er our footsteps fall upon the shore, + They that were sleeping rise from out the dust + Of death's long, silent years, and round us stand, + As erst they did before the prison tomb + Received their clay within its voiceless halls. + + "The heavens that bend above that land are hung + With clouds of various hues; some dark and chill, + Surcharged with sorrow, cast their sombre shade + Upon the sunny, joyous land below; + Others are floating through the dreamy air, + White as the falling snow, their margins tinged + With gold and crimson hues; their shadows fall + Upon the flowery meads and sunny slopes, + Soft as the shadows of an angel's wing. + When the rough battle of the day is done, + And evening's peace falls gently on the heart, + I bound away across the noisy years, + Unto the utmost verge of Memory's land, + Where earth and sky in dreamy distance meet, + And Memory dim with dark oblivion joins; + Where woke the first remembered sounds that fell + Upon the ear in childhood's early morn; + And wandering thence along the rolling years, + I see the shadow of my former self + Gliding from childhood up to man's estate. + The path of youth winds down through many a vale, + And on the brink of many a dread abyss, + From out whose darkness comes no ray of light, + Save that a phantom dances o'er the gulf, + And beckons toward the verge. Again, the path + Leads o'er a summit where the sunbeams fall; + And thus, in light and shade, sunshine and gloom, + Sorrow and joy, this life-path leads along." + +During the year 1856 young Garfield was one of the editors of the +college magazine, from which the above extracts are made. The hours +spent upon his contributions to its pages were doubtless well spent. +Here, to use his own words, he learned "to hurl the lance and wield the +sword and thus prepare for the conflict of life." More than one whose +names have since become conspicuous contributed to it while under his +charge. Among these were Professor Chadbourne, S.G.W. Benjamin, Horace +E. Scudder, W.R. Dimmock, and John Savary. The last-named, now resident +in Washington, has printed, since his old friend's death, a series of +sonnets, from which I quote one: + + "How many and how great concerns of state + Lie at the mercy of the meanest things! + This man, the peer of presidents and kings; + Nay, first among them, passed through dangers gate + In war unscathed, and perils out of date, + To meet a fool whose pistol-shot yet rings + Around the world, and at mere greatness flings + The cruel sneer of destiny or fate! + Yet hath he made the fool fanatic foil + To valor, patience, nobleness, and wit! + Nor had the world known, but because of it, + What virtues grow in suffering's sacred soil. + The shot which opened like a crack of hell, + Made all hearts stream with sacred pity's well + And showed that unity in which we dwell." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +THE CANAL-BOY BECOMES A COLLEGE PRESIDENT. + + +During his second winter vacation a great temptation assailed James. It +was not a temptation to do wrong. That he could easily have resisted. + +I must explain. + +At Prestenkill, a country village six miles from Troy, N.Y., the young +student organized a writing school, to help defray his expenses. Having +occasion to visit Troy, his interest in education led him to form an +acquaintance with some of the teachers and directors of the public +schools. + +One of these gentlemen, while walking with him over the sloping sides of +a hill overlooking the city, said: "Mr. Garfield, I have a proposition +to make to you." + +The student listened with interest. + +"There is a vacancy in one of our public schools. We want an experienced +teacher, and I am sure you will suit us. I offer you the place, with a +salary of twelve hundred dollars a year. What do you say?" + +The young man's heart beat for a moment with repressible excitement. It +was a strong temptation. He was offered, deducting vacations, about one +hundred and twenty-five dollars a month, while heretofore his highest +wages had been but eighteen dollars per month and board. Moreover, he +could marry at once the young lady to whom he had been for years +engaged. + +He considered the offer a moment, and this was his answer: + +"You are not Satan and I am not Jesus, but we are upon the mountain, and +you have tempted me powerfully. I think I must say, 'Get thee behind +me!' I am poor, and the salary would soon pay my debts and place me in a +position of independence; but there are two objections. I could not +accomplish my resolution to complete a college course, and should be +crippled intellectually for life. Then, my roots are all fixed in Ohio, +where people know me and I know them, and this transplanting might not +succeed as well in the long run as to go back home and work for smaller +pay." + +So the young man decided adversely, and it looks as if his decision was +a wise one. It is interesting to conjecture what would have been his +future position had he left college and accepted the school then offered +him. He might still have been a teacher, well known and of high repute, +but of fame merely local, and without a thought of the brilliant destiny +he had foregone. + +So he went back to college, and in the summer of 1856 he graduated, +carrying off the highest honor--the metaphysical oration. His class was +a brilliant one. Three became general officers during the +rebellion--Garfield, Daviess, and Thompson. Rockwell's name is well +known in official circles; Gilfillan is Treasurer of the United States. +There are others who fill prominent positions. In the class above him +was the late Hon. Phineas W. Hitchcock, who for six years represented +Nebraska in the United States Senate--like Garfield, the architect of +his own fortunes. + +"What are your plans, Garfield?" asked a classmate but a short time +before graduation. + +"I am going back to Ohio, to teach in the school where I prepared for +college." + +"What is the name of the school?" + +"Hiram Institute." + +"I never heard of it." + +"It has only a local reputation." + +"Will you get a high salary?" + +"No; the institute is poor, and can pay me but little." + +"I think you are making a mistake." + +"Why so?" + +"You are our best scholar, and no one can rival you in speaking in the +societies. You should study law, and then go to one of our large cities +and build up a reputation, instead of burying yourself in an +out-of-the-way Ohio town, where you may live and die without the world +hearing of you." + +"Thank you for your good opinion of me. I am not sure whether I deserve +it, but if I do, I shall come to the surface some day. Meanwhile, to +this humble school (it was not yet a college) I owe a large debt of +gratitude. I am under a promise to go back and do what I can to pay that +debt." + +"In doing so you may sacrifice your own prospects." + +"I hope not. At any rate, my mind is made up." + +"Oh, well, in that case I will say no more. I know that if your mind is +made up, you are bound to go. Only, years hence you will think of my +warning." + +"At any rate," said Garfield, cordially, "I shall bear in mind the +interest you have shown in me. You may be right--I admit that--but I +feel that it is my duty to go." + +I doubt whether any man of great powers can permanently bury himself, no +matter how obscure the position which he chooses. Sooner or later the +world will find him out, and he will be lifted to his rightful place. +When General Grant occupied a desk in the office of a lawyer in St. +Louis, and made a precarious living by collecting bills, it didn't look +as if Fame had a niche for him; but occasion came, and lifted him to +distinction. So I must confess that the young graduate seemed to be +making a mistake when, turning his back upon Williams College, he sought +the humble institution where he had taught, as a pupil-teacher, two +years before, and occupied a place as instructor, with an humble salary. +But even here there was promotion for him. A year later, at the age of +twenty-six, he was made president of the institution. It was not, +perhaps, a lofty position, for though Hiram Institute now became Hiram +College, it was not a college in the New England sense, but rather a +superior academy. + +Let us pause a minute and see what changes have taken place in ten +years. + +At the age of sixteen Jimmy Garfield was glad to get a chance to drive a +couple of mules on the tow-path of the Ohio and Pennsylvania Canal. The +ragged, homespun boy had disappeared. In his place we find James A. +Garfield, A.B., president of a Western college--a man of education and +culture. And how has this change been brought about! By energy, +perseverance, and a resolute purpose--a soul that poverty could not +daunt, an ambition which shrank from no hardship, and no amount of +labor. They have been years of toil, for it takes time to transform a +raw and ignorant country lad into a college president; but the toil has +not harmed him--the poverty has not cramped him, nor crippled his +energies. "Poverty is very inconvenient," he said on one occasion, in +speaking of those early years, "but it is a fine spur to activity, and +may be made a rich blessing." + +The young man now had an assured income; not a large one, but Hiram was +but an humble village. No fashionable people lived there. The people +were plain in their tastes, and he could live as well as the best +without difficulty. He was employed in a way that interested and pleased +him, and but one thing seemed wanting. His heart had never swerved from +the young lady with whom he first became acquainted at Geauga, to whom +he was more closely drawn at Hiram, and to whom now for some years he +had been betrothed. He felt that he could now afford to be married; and +so Lucretia Rudolph became Mrs. Garfield--a name loved and honored, for +her sake as well as his, throughout the length and breadth of our land. +She, too, had been busily and usefully employed in these intervening +years. As Mr. Philo Chamberlain, of Cleveland, has told us elsewhere, +she has been a useful and efficient teacher in one of the public schools +of that city. She has not been content with instructing others, but in +her hours of leisure has pursued a private course of study, by which her +mind has been broadened and deepened. If some prophetic instinct had +acquainted her with the high position which the future had in store for +her, she could have taken no fitter course to prepare herself to fulfil +with credit the duties which, twenty years after, were to devolve upon +her as the wife of the Chief Magistrate of the Union. + +This was the wife that Garfield selected, and he found her indeed a +helper and a sympathizer in all his sorrows and joys. She has proved +equal to any position to which the rising fame of her husband lifted +her. Less than a year ago her husband said of her: "I have been +wonderfully blessed in the discretion of my wife. She is one of the +coolest and best-balanced women I ever saw. She is unstampedable. There +has not been one solitary instance in my public career when I suffered +in the smallest degree for any remark she ever made. It would have been +perfectly natural for a woman often to say something that could be +misinterpreted; but, without any design, and with the intelligence and +coolness of her character, she has never made the slightest mistake that +I ever heard of. With the competition that has been against me, such +discretion has been a real blessing." + +Public men who have risen from humble beginnings often suffer from the +mistakes of wives who have remained stationary, and are unfitted to +sympathize with them in the larger life of their husbands. But as James +A. Garfield grew in the public esteem, and honors crowded upon him, step +by step his wife kept pace with him, and was at all times a fitting and +sympathetic companion and helpmeet. + +They commenced housekeeping in a neat little cottage fronting the +college campus; and so their wedded life began. It was a modest home, +but a happy one, and doubtless both enjoyed more happy hours than in the +White House, even had the last sorrowful tragedy never been enacted. As +President, James A. Garfield belonged to the nation; as the head of +Hiram College, to his family. Greatness has its penalties, and a low +estate its compensations. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +GARFIELD AS A COLLEGE PRESIDENT. + + +When James Garfield presented himself at Hiram, an awkward, overgrown +boy of nineteen, in his rustic garb, and humbly asked for the position +of janitor and bell-ringer, suppose the trustees had been told, "In +seven years your institute will have developed into a college, and that +boy will be the president," we can imagine their amazement. + +Yet it had all come true. Nowhere, perhaps, but in America could such a +thing have happened, and even here it seldom happens that such an upward +stride is made in so short a time. + +After all, however, the important question to consider is, "What sort of +a college president did this humble canal-boy, who counted it promotion +when he was elected a janitor and bell-ringer, become?" + +For information upon this point, we go to one of his pupils, Rev. I.L. +Darsie, of Danbury, Conn., who writes as follows: + +"I attended the Western Reserve Institute when Garfield was principal, +and I recall vividly his method of teaching. He took very kindly to me, +and assisted me in various ways, because I was poor, and was janitor of +the buildings, and swept them out in the morning and built the fires, as +he had done only six years before, when he was a pupil in the same +college. He was full of animal spirits, and used to run out on the green +every day and play cricket with his scholars. He was a tall, strong man, +but dreadfully awkward. Every now and then he would get a hit, and he +muffed his ball and lost his hat as a regular thing.[A] He was +left-handed, too, and that made him seem all the clumsier. But he was +most powerful and very quick, and it was easy for us to understand how +it was that he had acquired the reputation of whipping all the other +mule-drivers on the canal, and of making himself the hero of that +thoroughfare, when he followed its tow-path, only ten years earlier. + +[Footnote A: I have seen it somewhere stated that when a Congressman at +Washington he retained his interest in the game of base-ball, and always +was in attendance when it was possible, at a game between two +professional clubs.] + +"No matter how old the pupils were, Garfield always called us by our +first names, and kept himself on the most intimate terms with all. He +played with us freely, and we treated him out of the class-room just +about as we did one another. Yet he was a most strict disciplinarian, +and enforced the rules like a martinet. He combined an affectionate and +confiding manner with respect for order in a most successful manner. If +he wanted to speak to a pupil, either for reproof or approbation, he +would generally manage to get one arm around him, and draw him close up +to him. He had a peculiar way of shaking hands, too, giving a twist to +your arm, and drawing you right up to him. This sympathetic manner has +helped him to advancement. When I was janitor, he used sometimes to stop +me, and ask my opinion about this and that, as if seriously advising +with me. I can see now that my opinion could not have been of any value, +and that he probably asked me partly to increase my self-respect and +partly to show that he felt an interest in me. I certainly was his +friend all the firmer for it. + +"I remember once asking him what was the best way to pursue a certain +study. + +"'Use several text-books,' he answered. 'Get the views of different +authors as you advance. In that way you can plow a deeper furrow. I +always study in that way.' + +"He tried hard to teach us to observe carefully and accurately. He broke +out one day in the midst of a lesson with, 'Henry, how many posts are +there under the building down-stairs?' Henry expressed his opinion, and +the question went around the class, hardly any one getting it right. +Then it was, 'How many boot-scrapers are there at the door?' 'How many +windows in the building?' 'How many trees in the field?' He was the +keenest observer I ever saw. I think he noticed and numbered every +button on our coats. A friend of mine was walking with him through +Cleveland one day, when Garfield stopped and darted down a cellar-way, +asking his companion to follow, and briefly pausing to explain himself. +The sign, 'Saws and Files,' was over the door, and in the depths was +heard a regular clicking sound. 'I think this fellow is cutting files,' +said he, 'and I have never seen a file cut. + +"Down they went, and, sure enough, there was a man recutting an old +file; and they stayed ten minutes, and found out all about the process. +Garfield would never go by anything without understanding it. + +"Mr. Garfield was very fond of lecturing in the school. He spoke two or +three times a week, on all manner of topics, generally scientific, +though sometimes literary or historical. He spoke with great freedom, +never writing out what he had to say, and I now think that his lectures +were a rapid compilation of his current reading, and that he threw it +into this form partly for the purpose of impressing it upon his own +mind. + +"His facility of speech was learned when he was a pupil at Hiram. The +societies had a rule that every student should take his stand on the +platform and speak for five minutes on any topic suggested at the moment +by the audience. It was a very trying ordeal. Garfield broke down badly +the first two times he tried to speak, but persisted, and was at last, +when he went to Williams, one of the best of the five-minute speakers. +When he returned as principal, his readiness was striking and +remarkable." + +Henry James says: "Garfield taught me more than any other man, living +or dead, and, proud as I am of his record as a soldier and a statesman, +I can hardly forgive him for abandoning the academy and the forum." + +So President Hinsdale, one of Garfield's pupils, and his successor as +president, testifies: "My real acquaintance with Garfield did not begin +till the fall of 1856, when he returned from Williams College. He then +found me out, drew near to me, and entered into all my troubles and +difficulties pertaining to questions of the future. In a greater or less +degree this was true of his relations to his pupils generally. There are +hundreds of these men and women scattered over the world to-day, who can +not find language strong enough to express their feeling in +contemplating Garfield as their old instructor, adviser, and friend. + +"Since 1856 my relations with him have been as close and confidential as +they could be with any man, and much closer and more confidential than +they have been with any other man. I do not say that it would be +possible for me to know anybody better than I know him, and I know that +he possesses all the great elements of character in an extraordinary +degree. His interest in humanity has always been as broad as humanity +itself, while his lively interest in young men and women, especially if +they were struggling in narrow circumstances to obtain an education, is +a characteristic known as widely over the world as the footsteps of +Hiram boys and girls have wandered. + +"The help that he furnished hundreds in the way of suggestions, +teaching, encouragement, inspiration, and stimulus was most valuable. +His power over students was not so much that of a drill-master, or +disciplinarian, as that of one who was able to inspire and energize +young people by his own intellectual and moral force." + +An illustration of the interest he felt in his pupils may be given. + +A student came to the president's study at the close of a college term +to bid him good-bye. After the good-bye was said, he lingered, and +Garfield said: "I suppose you will be back again in the fall, Henry?" + +"No," he stammered, "I am not coming back to Hiram any more. Father says +I have got education enough, and that he needs me to work on the farm; +that education doesn't help a farmer along any." + +He was a bright boy--not a prodigy, by any means, but one of those +strong, awkward, large-headed fellows, such as James Garfield had +himself been. + +"Is your father here?" asked the young president, affected by the boy's +evident sorrow. + +"Yes, father is here, and is taking my things home for good." + +"Well, don't feel badly. Please tell him Mr. Garfield would like to see +him at his study before he leaves the college." + +"Yes, sir, I will." + +In half an hour the father, a sturdy farmer, entered the study and +awkwardly sat down. + +"So you have come to take Henry home, have you?" asked the president. + +"Yes," answered the farmer. + +"I sent for you because I wanted to have a little talk with you about +Henry's future. He is coming back again in the fall, I hope?" + +"Wal, I think not. I don't reckon I can afford to send him any more. +He's got eddication enough for a farmer already, and I notice that when +they git too much, they sorter git lazy. Yer eddicated farmers are +humbugs. Henry's got so far 'long now that he'd rather have his head in +a book than be workin'. He don't take no interest in the stock, nor in +the farm improvements. Everybody else is dependent in this world on the +farmer, and I think that we've got too many eddicated fellows settin' +'round now for the farmers to support." + +To this Garfield answered that he was sorry for the father's decision, +since his son, if permitted to come the next term, would be far enough +advanced to teach school, and so begin to help himself along. Teaching +would pay better than working on the farm in the winter. + +"Do you really think Henry can teach next winter?" asked the father, to +whom the idea was a new one. + +"I should think so, certainly," answered Garfield. "But if he can not do +so then, he can in a short time." + +"Wal, I will think on it. He wants to come back bad enough, and I guess +I'll have to let him. I never thought of it that way afore." + +The victory was won. Henry came back the next term, and after finishing +at Hiram, graduated at an Eastern college. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +GARFIELD BECOMES A STATE SENATOR. + + +Probably Garfield considered now that he was settled in life. He had +married the woman of his choice, set up a pleasant home, and was fully +occupied with a class of duties that suited him. Living frugally, he was +able to lay by a portion of his salary annually, and saw the way open, +if life and health continued, to a moderate prosperity. He seemed to be +a born teacher, and his life seemed likely to be passed in that pleasant +and tranquil office. + +Many years before, while still unmarried, his mother had been a teacher, +and one of her experiences when so occupied was so remarkable that I can +not forbear quoting it: + +"About the year 1820 she and her sister were left alone in the world, +without provision, so far as the inheritance or possession of property +was concerned. Preferring to live among relatives, one went to reside +with an uncle in Northern Ohio, and the other, Eliza, afterward Mrs. +Garfield, came to another uncle, the father of Samuel Arnold, who then +lived on a farm near Norwich, Muskingum County, Ohio. There Eliza Ballou +made her home, cheerfully helping at the house or in the field, as was +then sometimes the custom in a pioneer country. Having something more +than what at that day was an ordinary education, Eliza procured about +twenty pupils, and taught a summer school. + +"The school-house was one of the most primitive kind, and stood in the +edge of dense and heavily-timbered woods. One day there came up a +fearful storm of wind and rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning. +The woods were badly wrecked, but the wind left the old log-house +uninjured. Not so the lightning. A bolt struck a tree that projected +closely over the roof, and then the roof itself. Some of the pupils were +greatly alarmed, and no doubt thought it the crack of doom, or the day +of judgment. The teacher, as calm and collected as possible, tried to +quiet her pupils and keep them in their places. A man who was one of the +pupils, in speaking of the occurrence, says that for a little while he +remembered nothing, and then he looked around, and saw, as he thought, +the teacher and pupils lying dead on the, floor. Presently the teacher +began to move a little. Then, one by one, the pupils got up, with a +single exception. Help, medical and otherwise, was obtained as soon as +possible for this one, but, though life was saved for a time, reason had +forever fled." + +This was certainly a fearful experience for a young teacher. + +It was while on a visit to her sister, already married, in Northern +Ohio, that Eliza made the acquaintance of Abram Garfield, the father of +the future President. In this neighborhood, while on a visit to his +relatives, at the age of seventeen, James obtained a school and taught +for a single term. + +Having retraced our steps to record this early experience of James' +mother, we take the opportunity to mention an incident in the life of +her son, which was omitted in the proper place. The story was told by +Garfield himself during his last sickness to Mr. Crump, steward of the +White House. + +"When I was a youngster," said the President, "and started for college +at Hiram, I had just fifteen dollars--a ten-dollar bill in an old, +black-leather pocketbook, which was in the breast pocket of my coat, and +the other five dollars was in my trowsers' pocket. I was walking along +the road, and, as the day was hot, I took off my coat and carried it on +my arm, taking good care to feel every moment or two of the pocketbook, +for the hard-earned fifteen dollars was to pay my entrance at the +college. + +"After a while I got to thinking over what college life would be like, +and forgot all about the pocketbook for some time, and when I looked +again it was gone! I went back mournfully along the road, hunting on +both sides for the pocketbook. Presently I came to a house where a young +man was leaning over a gate, and he asked me when I came up what I was +hunting for. Upon my explaining my loss, and describing the pocketbook, +the young man handed it over. That young man," the President added, +turning to his devoted physician, "was Dr. Bliss. He saved me for +college." + +"Yes," said the doctor, "and if I hadn't found your ten dollars you +wouldn't have become President of the United States." + +Many a true word is spoken in jest. It might have happened that the boy +would have been so depressed by the loss of his money that he would have +given up his plan of going to Hiram and returned home to fill an humbler +place in the world. + +But it is time to return from this digression and resume our narrative. + +Devoted to his profession, young Garfield had given but little attention +to politics. But in the political campaign of 1857 and 1858 he became +interested in the exciting political questions which agitated the +community, and, taking the stump, he soon acquired the reputation of a +forcible and logical stump orator. This drew the attention of the voters +to him, and in 1859 he was tendered a nomination to the Ohio Senate from +the counties of Portage and Summit. His speeches during the campaign of +that year are said to have been warm, fresh, and impassioned, and he was +elected by a handsome majority. + +This was the first entrance of the future President upon public life. +The session was not long, and the absence of a few weeks at Columbus +did not seriously interfere with his college duties. + +In the Senate he at once took high rank. He was always ready to speak, +his past experience having made this easy. He took care to inform +himself upon the subjects which came up for legislation, and for this +reason he was always listened to with respectful attention. Moreover, +his genial manners and warmth of heart made him a general favorite among +all his fellow legislators, whether they belonged to his party or to the +opposition. + +Again, in the session of 1860-61, being also a member of the Senate, he +took a prominent part in such measures as were proposed to uphold the +National Government, menaced by the representative men of the South. He +was among the foremost in declaring that the integrity of the Union must +be protected at all hazards, and declared that it was the right and duty +of the Government to coerce the seceded States. + +When the President's call for seventy-five thousand men was made public, +and announcement was made to the Ohio Senate, Senator Garfield sprang to +his feet, and amid loud applause moved that "twenty thousand troops and +three millions of money" should be at once voted as Ohio's quota! He +closed his speech by offering his services to Governor Dennison in any +capacity. + +This offer the Governor bore in mind, and on the 14th of August, 1861, +Garfield was offered the Lieutenant-Colonelcy of the Forty-second Ohio +regiment, which he had been instrumental in forming. + +It was a serious moment for Garfield. The acceptance of this commission +would derange all his cherished plans. It would separate him from his +wife and child, and from the loved institution of which he was the head. +He must bid farewell to the calm, studious life, which he so much +enjoyed, and spend days and months in the camp, liable at any moment to +fall the victim of an enemy's bullet. + +Suppose he should be killed? His wife would have no provision but the +small sum of three thousand dollars, which he had been able by great +economy to save from his modest salary. + +He hesitated, but it was not for long. He was not a man to shrink from +the call of duty. Before moving he wrote to a friend: + +"I regard my life as given to the country. I am only anxious to make as +much of it as possible before the mortgage on it is foreclosed." + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +A DIFFICULT DUTY. + + +Having made up his mind to serve his country in the field, Garfield +immediately wrote to the Governor accepting the appointment. + +The regiment to which he was assigned was recruited from the same +counties which he represented in the State Senate. A large number of the +officers and privates had been connected as students with Hiram College, +and were personally known to Garfield. + +His first step was to qualify himself for his new position. Of the art +and mystery of war the young scholar knew little, but he was no worse +off than many another whom the exigencies of his country summoned from +peaceful pursuits to the tented field and the toilsome march. It was +probably the only office which he ever assumed without suitable +qualifications. But it was not in his nature to undertake any duties +without endeavoring to fit himself for their discharge. + +His method of studying the art of war was curious and original. Falling +back on his old trade of carpenter, he brought "his saw and jack-plane +again into play, fashioned companies, officers and non-commissioned +officers out of maple blocks, and with these wooden-headed troops he +thoroughly mastered the infantry tactics in his quarters." There was +this advantage in his method, that his toy troops were thoroughly +manageable. + +The next step was to organize a school for the officers of his regiment, +requiring thorough recitation in the tactics, while their teacher +illustrated the maneuvers by the blocks he had prepared for his own +instruction. He was obliged to begin with the officers, that they might +be qualified to assist him in instructing the men under their command. +He was then able to institute regimental, squad, skirmish, and bayonet +drill, and kept his men at these exercises from six to eight hours daily +till the Forty-second won the reputation of being the best drilled +regiment to be found in Ohio. + +My boy readers will be reminded of the way in which he taught geometry +in one of his winter schools, preparing himself at night for the lesson +of the next day. I would like to call their attention also to the +thoroughness with which he did everything. Though previously ignorant of +military tactics he instructed his regiment in them thoroughly, +believing that whatever was worth doing at all was worth doing well. + +He was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel, but by the time his organization +was completed he was promoted to the Colonelcy. + +At last the preliminary work was completed. His men, an undisciplined +body when he took them in hand, had become trained soldiers, but as yet +they had not received what Napoleon III. called the "baptism of fire." +It is all very well to march and countermarch, and practice the ordinary +evolutions like militia-men at a muster, but how was the regiment, how +was its scholarly commander likely to act in the field? + +On the 14th of December orders for the field were received by Colonel +Garfield's command, stationed at Camp Chase. + +Then came the trial of parting with wife and mother and going forth to +battle and danger. To his mother, whose highest ambition had been that +her son should be a scholar, it was doubtless a keen disappointment that +his settled prospects should be so broken up; but she, too, was +patriotic, and she quietly said: "Go, my son, your life belongs to your +country." + +Colonel Garfield's orders were to report to General Buell at Louisville. +He moved his regiment by way of Cincinnati to Catlettsburg, Kentucky, a +town at the junction of the Big Sandy and the Ohio, and was enabled to +report to his commander on the 19th of December. + +Then, for the first time, he learned what was the nature of the duty +that was assigned to him. It was no less than to save Kentucky to the +Union. A border State, with an interest in slavery, public opinion was +divided, and it was uncertain to which side it would incline. The +Confederates understood the value of the prize, and they had taken +measures, which promised to be successful, to wrest it from the Union. +The task had been committed to Gen. Humphrey Marshall, who had invaded +Eastern Kentucky from the Virginia border, and had already advanced as +far north as Prestonburg. + +Gen. Marshall fortified a strong natural position near Paintville, and +overran the whole Piedmont region. This region contained few slaves--but +one in twenty-five of the whole population. It was inhabited by a brave +rural population, more closely resembling their Northern than their +Southern neighbors. Among these people Marshall sent stump orators to +fire them with enthusiasm for the Confederate cause. Such men would make +valuable soldiers and must be won over if possible. + +So all that portion of the State was in a ferment. It looked as if it +would be lost to the Union. Marshall was daily increasing the number of +his forces, preparing either to intercept Buell, and prevent his advance +into Tennessee, or, cutting off his communications, with the assistance +of Beauregard, to crush him between them. + +To Colonel Garfield, an inexperienced civilian, who had only studied +military tactics by the aid of wooden blocks, and who had never been +under fire, it was proposed to meet Marshall, a trained soldier, to +check his advance, and drive him from the State. This would have been +formidable enough if he had been provided with an equal number of +soldiers; but this was far from being the case. He had but twenty-five +hundred men to aid him in his difficult work, and of these eleven +hundred, under Colonel Craven, were a hundred miles away, at Paris, +Kentucky, and this hundred miles was no level plain, but a rough, +mountainous country, infested with guerrillas and occupied by a disloyal +people. + +Of course, the first thing to be done was to connect with Colonel +Craven, but, considering the distance and the nature of the country to +be traversed, it was a most difficult problem. The chances were that +Gen. Marshall, with his vastly superior force, would attack the two +bodies of soldiers separately, and crush them before a union could be +effected. + +Gen. Buell explained how matters stood to the young colonel of +volunteers, and ended thus: + +"That is what you have to do, Colonel Garfield--drive Marshall from +Kentucky, and you see how much depends on your action. Now go to your +quarters, think of it overnight, and come here in the morning and tell +me how you will do it." + +In college Garfield had been called upon to solve many difficult +problems in the higher mathematics, but it is doubtful whether he ever +encountered a more knotty problem than this one. + +He and Colonel Craven represented two little boys of feeble strength, +unable to combine their efforts, who were called upon to oppose and +capture a big boy of twice their size, who knew a good deal more about +fighting than they did. + +No wonder the young colonel felt perplexed. But he did not give up. It +was not his way. He resolved to consider whether anything could be done, +and what. + +My chief object in writing this volume being to commend its subject as +an example for boys, I think it right to call attention to this trait +which he possessed in a conspicuous degree. Brought face to face with +difficulty--with what might almost be called the impossible, he did not +say, "Oh, I can't do it. It is impossible." He went home to devise a +plan. + +First of all, it was important that he should know something of the +intervening country--its conformation, its rivers and streams, if there +were any. So, on his way to his room he sought a book-store and bought +a rude map of Kentucky, and then, shutting himself up in his room, while +others were asleep, he devoted himself to a lesson in geography. With +more care than he had ever used in school, he familiarized himself with +the geography of the country in which he was to operate, and then set +himself to devise some feasible plan of campaign. + +It was a hard problem, and required still more anxious thought, because +the general to whom he was to report it, was, unlike himself, a man +thoroughly trained in the art of war. + +The next morning, according to orders, he sought again his commanding +officer. + +Gen. Buell was a man of great reticence and severe military habits, and +if the plan were weak or foolish, as might well be from the utter lack +of experience of the young officer who was to make it, he would +unhesitatingly say so. + +As Garfield laid his rude map and roughly outlined plan on the table, +and explained his conception of the campaign, he watched anxiously to +see how Gen. Buell was impressed by it. But the general was a man who +knew how to veil his thoughts. He waited in silence till Garfield had +finished, only asking a brief question now and then, and at the end, +without expressing his opinion one way or the other, merely said: +"Colonel Garfield, your orders will be sent you at six o'clock this +evening." + +Garfield was not compelled to wait beyond that hour. + +Promptly the order came, organizing the Eighteenth Brigade of the Army +of the Ohio, under the command of Colonel Garfield, with a letter of +instructions, embodying essentially the plan submitted by the young +officer in the morning. + +When Garfield set out with his command the next morning, Gen. Buell said +to him at parting: + +"Colonel, you will be at so great a distance from me, and communication +will be so difficult, that I must commit all matters of detail and much +of the fate of the campaign to your discretion. I shall hope to hear a +good account of you." + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +JOHN JORDAN'S DANGEROUS JOURNEY. + + +Col. Garfield had already sent on his regiment in advance to Louisa, +twenty-eight miles up the Big Sandy. + +There he joined them on the 24th, having waited at Catlettsburg only +long enough to forward to them necessary supplies. + +The arrival of the regiment was opportune, for the district was +thoroughly alarmed. A regiment had been stationed there--the Fourteenth +Kentucky--but had hastily retreated to the mouth of the river during the +night of the 19th, under the impression that Marshall was advancing with +his forces to drive them into the Ohio. It was a false alarm, but the +Union citizens were very much alarmed, and were preparing with their +families to cross the river for safety. With the appearance of +Garfield's regiment a feeling of security returned. + +I am anxious to make plain to my boy readers the manner in which the +young colonel managed his campaign. I think they will have no difficulty +in understanding that Garfield had two very difficult things to +accomplish. Colonel Craven knew nothing of Garfield's advance, nor of +his plans. It was necessary to inform him. Again, if possible, a +junction must be effected. The first was difficult, because the +intervening country was infested with roving bands of guerrillas, and a +messenger must take his life in his hands. How, again, could a junction +be effected in the face of a superior enemy, liable to fall upon either +column and crush it? + +Obviously the first thing was to find a messenger. + +Garfield applied to Col. Moore of the Fourteenth Kentucky, and made +known his need. + +"Have you a man," he asked, "who will die rather than fail or betray +us?" + +"Yes," answered the Kentuckian, after a pause, "I think I have. His name +is John Jordan, and he comes from the head of the Blaine." + +This was a small stream which entered the Big Sandy, a short distance +from the town. + +At the request of Garfield, Jordan was sent for. In a short time he +entered the tent of the Union commander. + +This John Jordan was a remarkable man, and well known in all that +region. He was of Scotch descent, and possessed some of the best traits +of his Scotch ancestry. He was a born actor, a man of undoubted courage, +fertile in expedients, and devoted to the Union cause. + +Garfield was a judge of men, and he was impressed in the man's favor at +first sight. He describes Jordan as a tall, gaunt, sallow man, about +thirty years of age, with gray eyes, a fine falsetto voice, and a face +of wonderful expressiveness. To the young colonel he was a new type of +man, but withal a man whom he was convinced that he could trust. + +"Why did you come into this war?" he asked, with some curiosity. + +"To do my share, colonel, and I've made a bargain with the Lord. I gave +Him my life to start with, and if He has a mind to take it, it's His. +I've nothing to say agin it." + +"You mean you have come into the war, not expecting to get out of it +alive?" + +"Yes, colonel." + +"You know what I want you to do. Will you die rather than let this +dispatch be taken?" + +"I will." + +Garfield looked into the man's face, and he read unmistakable sincerity. + +He felt that the man could be trusted, and he said so. + +The dispatch was written upon tissue paper. It was then rolled into the +form of a bullet, coated with warm lead, and given into the hands of the +messenger. He was provided with a carbine and a brace of revolvers, and +when the moon was down, he mounted his horse in the darkness and set out +on his perilous journey. + +It would not do to ride in the daytime, for inevitably he would be +stopped, or shot down. By day he must hide in the woods, and travel only +at night. + +His danger was increased by the treachery of one of his own comrades of +the Fourteenth Kentucky, and he was followed by a band of guerrillas in +the Confederate interest. Of this, however, Jordan was not apprised, and +supposing himself secure he sought shelter and concealment at the house +of a man whom he knew to be loyal. Near enough to see, but not to be +seen, the guerrillas waited till the tired messenger was sleeping, and +then coming boldly out of the woods, surrounded the house. + +In a fright the good housewife ran up to his chamber, and shook the +sleeping man. + +"Wake for your life!" she said. "The guerrillas are outside, clamoring +for you. I have locked the doors, but I can not keep them out long." + +Jordan had thrown himself on the bed with his clothes on. He knew that +he was liable to be surprised, and in such an event time was most +valuable. Though awakened from a sound sleep, he had all his wits about +him. + +"Thank you," said he. "I have a favor to ask in the name of our cause." + +"Be quick, then," said the woman. "They are bursting open the door." + +"Take this bullet. It contains a secret dispatch, which, if I am killed, +I enjoin upon you to convey to Colonel Craven, at Paris. Will you do +it?" + +"If I can." + +"Then I am off." + +The door burst open, but he made a sudden dash, and escaped capture. He +headed for the woods, amid a volley of bullets, but none of them reached +him. Once he turned round, and fired an answering shot. He did not stop +to see if it took effect, but it was the messenger of Death. One of the +guerrillas reeled, and measured his length upon the ground, dead in a +moment. + +Fleet as a deer the brave scout pushed on till he got within the +protecting shadows of the friendly woods. There they lost the trail, and +though he saw them from his place of concealment, he was himself unseen. + +"Curse him!" said the disappointed leader. "He must have sunk into the +earth, or vanished into the air." + +"If he's sunk into the earth, that is where we want him," answered +another, with grim humor. + +"You will find I am not dead yet!" said the hidden scout to himself. "I +shall live to trouble you yet." + +He passed the remainder of the day in the woods, fearing that his +pursuers might still be lingering about. + +"If there were only two or three, I'd come out and face 'em," he said, +"but the odds are too great. I must skulk back in the darkness, and get +back the bullet." + +Night came on, and the woman who had saved him, heard a low tapping at +the door. It might be an enemy, and she advanced, and opened it with +caution. A figure, seen indistinctly in the darkness, stood before her. + +"Who are you?" she asked doubtfully. + +"Don't be afraid, ma'am, it's only me." + +"And you--" + +"Are the man you saved this morning!" + +"God be thanked! Then you were not killed?" + +"Do I look like a dead man? No, my time hasn't come yet. I foiled 'em in +the wood, and there I have spent all day. Have you any victuals, for I +am famished?" + +"Yes, come in." + +"I can not stay. I will take what you have and leave at once, for the +villains may be lurkin' round here somewhere. But first, the bullet! +have you that safe?" + +"Here it is." + +The scout put it in his pocket, and taking in his hand a paper box of +bread and meat which his loyal hostess brought him, resumed his +hazardous journey. + +He knew that there were other perils to encounter, unless he was +particularly fortunate, but he had a heart prepared for any fate. The +perils came, but he escaped them with adroitness, and at midnight of the +following day he was admitted into the presence of Colonel Craven. + +Surely this was no common man, and his feat was no common one. + +In forty-eight hours, traveling only by night, he had traversed one +hundred miles with a rope round his neck, and without the prospect of +special reward. For he was but a private, and received but a private's +pay--thirteen dollars a month, a shoddy uniform, and hard-tack, when he +could get it. + +Colonel Craven opened the bullet, and read the dispatch. + +It was dated "Louisa, Kentucky, December 24, midnight"; and directed him +to move at once with his regiment (the Fortieth Ohio, eight hundred +strong) by way of Mount Sterling and McCormick's Gap, to Prestonburg. He +was to encumber his men with as few rations as possible, since the +safety of his command depended on his celerity. He was also requested to +notify Lieutenant-Colonel Woodford, at Stamford, and direct him to join +the march with his three hundred cavalry. + +On the following morning Col. Craven's column began to move. The scout +waited till night, and then set out on his return. The reader will be +glad to learn that the brave man rejoined his regiment. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +GARFIELD'S BOLD STRATEGY. + + +Garfield didn't wait for the scout's return. He felt that no time was to +be lost. The expedition which he had planned was fraught with peril, but +it was no time for timid counsels. + +On the morning following Jordan's departure he set out up the river, +halting at George's Creek, only twenty miles from Marshall's intrenched +position. As the roads along the Big Sandy were impassable for trains, +and unsafe on account of the nearness of the enemy, he decided to depend +mainly upon water navigation for the transportation of his supplies. + +The Big Sandy finds its way to the Ohio through the roughest and wildest +spurs of the Cumberland Mountains, and is a narrow, fickle stream. At +low-water it is not navigable above Louisa, except for small flat-boats +pushed by hand. At high-water small steamers can reach Piketon, one +hundred and twenty miles from the mouth; but when there are heavy +freshets the swift current, filled with floating timber, and the +overhanging trees which almost touch one another from the opposite +banks, render navigation almost impracticable. This was enough to +intimidate a man less in earnest than Garfield. He did not hesitate, but +gathering together ten days' rations, he chartered two small steamers, +and seizing all the flat-boats he could lay hands on, took his army +wagons apart, and loaded them, with his forage and provisions, upon the +flat-boats. + +Just as he was ready to start he received an unexpected reinforcement. +Captain Bent, of the Fourteenth Kentucky, entering Garfield's tent, said +to him, "Colonel, there's a man outside who says he knows you. Bradley +Brown, a rebel thief and scoundrel." + +"Bradley Brown," repeated Garfield, puzzled. "I don't remember any such +name." + +"He has lived near the head of the Blaine, and been a boatman on the +river. He says he knew you on the canal in Ohio." + +"Oh, yes, I remember him now; bring him in." + +Brown was ushered into the general's tent. He was clad in homespun, and +spattered from head to foot with mud, but he saw in Garfield only the +friend of earlier days, and hurrying up to him, gave him a hearty grasp +of the hand, exclaiming, "Jim, old feller, how are yer?" + +Garfield received him cordially, but added, "What is this I hear, Brown? +Are you a rebel?" + +"Yes," answered the new-comer, "I belong to Marshall's force, and I've +come straight from his camp to spy out your army." + +"Well, you go about it queerly," said Garfield, puzzled. + +"Wait till you are alone, colonel. Then I'll tell you about it." + +Col. Bent said in an undertone to Garfield, as he left the tent, "Don't +trust him, colonel; I know him as a thief and a rebel." + +This was the substance of Brown's communication. As soon as he heard +that James A. Garfield was in command of the Union forces, it instantly +struck him that it must be his old comrade of the canal, for whom he +still cherished a strong attachment. He was in the rebel camp, but in +reality cared little which side was successful, and determined out of +old friendship to help Garfield if he could. + +Concealing his design, he sought Marshall, and proposed to visit the +Union camp as a spy, mentioning his former intimacy with Garfield. Gen. +Marshall readily acceded to his plan, not suspecting that it was his +real purpose to tell Garfield all he knew about the rebel force. He +proceeded to give the colonel valuable information on this subject. + +When he had finished, Garfield said, "I advise you to go back to +Marshall." + +"Go back to him, colonel? Why, he would hang me to the first tree." + +"Not if you tell him all about my strength and intended movements." + +"But how kin I? I don't know a thing. I was brought into the camp +blindfolded." + +"Still you can guess. Suppose you tell him that I shall march to-morrow +straight for his camp, and in ten days be upon him." + +"You'd be a fool, colonel, to do that, and he 'trenched so strongly, +unless you had twenty thousand men." + +"I haven't got that number. Guess again." + +"Well, ten thousand." + +"That will do for a guess. Now to-day I shall keep you locked up, and +to-morrow you can go back to Marshall." + +At nightfall Brown went back to the rebel camp, and his report was made +in accordance with Garfield's suggestions. + +The fact was, that deducting those sick and on garrison duty, Garfield's +little army amounted to but fourteen hundred in place of the ten +thousand reported to the rebel commander. This little army was set in +motion the next day. It was a toilsome and discouraging march, over +roads knee-deep in mire, and the troops necessarily made but slow +progress, being frequently obliged to halt. Some days they succeeded in +making but five or six miles. On the 6th of January, however, they +arrived within seven miles of Paintville. Here while Garfield was trying +to catch a few hours' sleep, in a wretched log hut, he was roused by +Jordan, the scout, who had just managed to reach the camp. + +"Have you seen Craven?" asked Garfield eagerly. + +"Yes; he can't be more'n two days behind me, nohow." + +"God bless you, Jordan! You have done us great service," said Garfield, +warmly, feeling deeply relieved by this important news. + +"Thank ye, colonel. That's more pay 'n I expected." + +In the morning another horseman rode up to the Union camp. He was a +messenger direct from Gen. Buell. He brought with him an intercepted +letter from Marshall to his wife, revealing the important fact that the +Confederate general had five thousand men--forty-four hundred infantry +and six hundred cavalry--with twelve pieces of artillery, and that he +was daily expecting an attack from a Union force of ten thousand. + +It was clear that Brown had been true, and that it was from him Gen. +Marshall had received this trustworthy intelligence of the strength of +the Union army. + +Garfield decided not to communicate the contents of this letter, lest +his officers should be alarmed at the prospect of attacking a force so +much superior. He called a council, however, and put this question: + +"Shall we march at once, or wait the coming of Craven?" + +All but one were in favor of waiting, but Garfield adopted the judgment +of this one. + +"Forward it is!" he said. "Give the order." + +I will only state the plan of Garfield's attack in a general way. There +were three roads that led to Marshall's position--one to the east, one +to the west, and one between the two. These three roads were held by +strong Confederate pickets. + +Now, it was Garfield's policy to keep Marshall deceived as to his +strength. For this reason, he sent a small body to drive in the enemy's +pickets, as if to attack Paintville. Two hours after, a similar force, +with the same orders, were sent on the road to the westward, and two +hours later still, a small force was sent on the middle road. The first +pickets, retreating in confusion, fled to the camp, with the +intelligence that a large body of Union troops were on their way to make +an attack. Similar tidings were brought by the two other bodies of +pickets, and Marshall, in dismay, was led to believe that he was menaced +by superior numbers, and hastily abandoned Paintville, and Garfield, +moving his men rapidly over the central route, occupied the town. + +Gen. Marshall would have been intensely mortified had he known that this +large Union army was little more than one-fourth the size of his own. + +But his alarm was soon increased. On the evening of the 8th of January, +a spy entered his camp, and reported that Craven, with _thirty-three +hundred men_, was within twelve hours' march at the westward. + +The big general (he weighed three hundred pounds) was panic-stricken. +Believing Garfield's force to number ten thousand, this reinforcement +would carry his strength up to over thirteen thousand. Ruin and defeat, +as he fancied, stared him in the face, for how could his five thousand +men encounter nearly three times their number? They would, of course, be +overwhelmed. There was safety only in flight. + +So the demoralized commander gave orders to break camp, and retreated +precipitately, abandoning or burning a large portion of his supplies. + +Garfield saw the fires, and guessed what had happened, being in the +secret of Marshall's delusion. He mounted his horse, and, with a +thousand men, entered the deserted camp at nine in the evening. The +stores that were yet unconsumed he rescued from destruction for the use +of his own army. + +In order to keep up the delusion, he sent off a detachment to harass the +retreat of his ponderous adversary and fill his mind with continued +disquiet. + +The whole thing was a huge practical joke, but not one that the rebels +were likely to enjoy. Fancy a big boy of eighteen fleeing in dismay from +a small urchin of eight, and we have a parallel to this flight of Gen. +Marshall from an intrenched position, with five thousand troops, when +his opponent could muster but fourteen hundred men in the open field. + +Thus far, I think, it will be agreed that Colonel Garfield was a +strategist of the first order. His plan required a boldness and dash +which, under the circumstances, did him the greatest credit. + +The next morning Colonel Craven arrived, and found, to his amazement, +that Garfield, single-handed, had forced his formidable enemy from his +strong position, and was in triumphant possession of the deserted rebel +camp. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +THE BATTLE OF MIDDLE CREEK. + + +Col. Garfield has gained a great advantage, but he knows that it must be +followed up. His ambition is not satisfied. He means to force a fight +with Marshall, despite the odds. + +He has been reinforced, but Craven's men are completely exhausted by +their long and toilsome march. They are hardly able to drag one foot +after the other. Garfield knows this, but he explains to his men what he +proposes to do. He orders those who have strength to come forward. Of +the men under his immediate command seven hundred obey the summons. Of +Craven's weary followers four hundred heroic men volunteer to accompany +him. + +So at noon of the 9th, with eleven hundred men, Garfield sets out for +Prestonburg, sending all his available cavalry to follow the line of the +enemy's retreat. At nine o'clock that night, after a march of eighteen +miles, he reaches the mouth of Abbott's Creek with his eleven hundred +men. He hears that his opponent is encamped three miles higher up on the +same stream. He sends an order back to Lieutenant-Colonel Sheldon, who +is left in command at Paintville, to bring up every available man with +all possible dispatch, for he intends to force a battle in the morning. + +He requires to know the disposition of Marshall's forces, and here the +gallant scout, John Jordan, again is of service to him. While a dozen +Confederates were grinding at a mill, they were surprised by as many +Union men, who, taking them by surprise, captured their corn, and made +them prisoners. Jordan eyed the miller with a critical eye, and a plan +was instantly formed. The miller was a tall, gaunt man, and his clothes +would fit the scout. He takes a fancy to exchange raiment with the +miller. Then, smearing his face with meal, he goes back to the +Confederate camp in a new character. Even if he is surprised he will +escape suspicion, for the miller is a pronounced disunionist, and he +looks his very image. + +His midnight ramble enabled him to learn precisely what it was +important for Garfield to know. He found out their exact position, and +that they had laid an ambuscade for the Union commander. They were +waiting for him, strongly posted on a semicircular hill at the forks of +Middle Creek, on both sides of the road, with cannon commanding its +whole length, hidden by the trees and underbrush. + +"They think they've got you, general," said Jordan. "They're waitin' for +you as a cat waits for a mouse." + +Upon a steep ridge called Abbott's Hill, the Union soldiers, tired and +sleepy, had thrown themselves upon the wet ground. There was a dense +fog, shutting out the moon and stars, and shrouding the lonely mountain +in darkness. The rain was driven in blinding gusts into the faces of the +shivering men, and tired as they were they hailed with joy the coming of +morning. For more than one brave man it was destined to be his last day +upon earth. + +At four o'clock they started on their march. About daybreak, while +rounding a hill, their advance guard was charged upon by a body of +Confederate horsemen. In return Garfield gave the Confederates a +volley, that sent them reeling up the valley. + +[Illustration: TURNING THE TIDE OF BATTLE AT CHICKAMAUGA] + +It was clear that the main body of the enemy was not far away. To +determine this Garfield sent forward a body of skirmishers to draw the +fire of the enemy. He succeeded, for a twelve-pound shell whistled above +the trees, then plowed up the hill, and buried itself in the ground at +the feet of the little band of skirmishers. + +Noon came, and Garfield made the necessary preparations for battle. He +could not have been without apprehension, for he knew, though the enemy +did not, that their force was far superior to his. He sent forward his +mounted escort of twelve men to make a charge and draw the enemy's fire. +His plan succeeded. Another shell whistled over their heads, and the +long roll of five thousand muskets was heard. + +It was certainly a remarkable battle, when we consider that a small band +of eleven hundred men without cannon had undertaken to attack a force of +five thousand, supported by twelve pieces of artillery, charging up a +rocky hill, over stumps, over stones, over fallen trees, and over high +intrenchments. + +"The battle was fought on the margin of Middle Creek, a narrow, rapid +stream, and three miles from where it finds its way into the Big Sandy, +through the sharp spurs of the Cumberland Mountain. A rocky road, not +ten feet in width, winds along this stream, and on its two banks abrupt +ridges, with steep and rocky sides, overgrown with trees and underbrush, +shut closely down upon the road and the little streamlet. At twelve +o'clock Garfield had gained the crest of the ridge at the right of the +road, and the charge of his handful of horsemen had drawn Marshall's +fire, and disclosed his actual position. + +"The main force of the Confederates occupied the crests of the two +ridges at the left of the stream, but a strong detachment was posted on +the right, and a battery of twelve pieces held the forks of the creek, +and commanded the approach of the Union army. It was Marshall's plan to +drive Garfield along the road, and then, taking him between two +enfilading fires, to surround and utterly destroy him. But his hasty +fire betrayed his design, and unmasked his entire position. + +"Garfield acted with promptness and decision. A hundred undergraduates, +recruited from his own college, were ordered to cross the stream climb +the ridge whence the fire had been hottest, and bring on the battle. +Boldly the little band plunged into the creek, the icy water up to their +waists, and clinging to the trees and underbrush, climbed the rocky +ascent. Half-way up the ridge the fire of at least two thousand rifles +opens upon them; but, springing from tree to tree, they press on, and at +last reach the summit. Then suddenly the hill is gray with Confederates, +who, rising from ambush, pour their deadly volleys into the little band +of only one hundred. In a moment they waver, but their leader calls out, +'Every man to a tree! Give them as good as they send, my boys!' + +"The Confederates, behind rocks and a rude intrenchment, are obliged to +expose their heads to take aim at the advancing column; but the Union +troops, posted behind the huge oaks and maples, can stand erect, and +load and fire, fully protected. Though they are outnumbered ten to one, +the contest is therefore, for a time, not so very unequal. + +"But soon the Confederates, exhausted with the obstinate resistance, +rush from cover, and charge upon the little handful with the bayonet. +Slowly they are driven down the hill, and two of them fall to the ground +wounded. One never rises; the other, a lad of only eighteen, is shot +through the thigh, and one of his comrades turns back to bear him to a +place of safety. The advancing Confederates are within thirty feet, when +one of them fires, and his bullet strikes a tree directly above the head +of the Union soldier. He turns, levels his musket, and the Confederate +is in eternity. Then the rest are upon him; but, zigzagging from tree to +tree, he is soon with his driven column. But not far are the brave boys +driven. A few rods lower down they hear the voice of the brave Captain +Williams, their leader. + +"'To the trees again, my boys!' he cries. 'We may as well die here as in +Ohio!' + +"To the trees they go, and in a moment the advancing horde is checked, +and then rolled backward. Up the hill they turn, firing as they go, and +the little band follows. Soon the Confederates reach the spot where the +Hiram boy lies wounded, and one of them says: 'Boy, give me your +musket.' + +"'Not the gun, but its contents,' cries the boy, and the Confederate +falls mortally wounded. Another raises his weapon to brain the prostrate +lad, but he too falls, killed with his comrade's own rifle. And all this +is done while the hero-boy is on the ground, bleeding. An hour afterward +his comrades bear the boy to a sheltered spot on the other side of the +streamlet, and then the first word of complaint escapes him. As they are +taking off his leg, he says, in his agony, 'Oh, what will mother do?'" + +Poor boy! At that terrible moment, in the throes of his fierce agony, he +thought not of himself, but of the mother at home, who was dependent on +his exertions for a livelihood. For in war it is not alone the men in +the field who are called upon to suffer, but the mothers, the wives, and +the children, left at home, whose hearts are rent with anxiety--to whom, +at any moment, may come the tidings of the death of their loved one. + +On a rocky height, commanding the field, Garfield watched the tide of +battle. He saw that it was unequal, and that there was danger that his +troops would be overmatched. He saw that they were being driven, and +that they would lose the hill if not supported. + +Instantly he ordered to the rescue five hundred of the Ohio Fortieth and +Forty-second, under Major Pardee and Colonel Craven. They dashed boldly +into the stream, holding their cartridge-boxes above their heads, and +plunged into the fight, shouting: + +"Hurrah for Williams and the Hiram boys!" + +But their position was most critical, for shot, and shell, and canister, +and the fire of four thousand muskets are now concentrated upon them. + +"This will never do!" cries Garfield. "Who will volunteer to carry the +other mountain?" + +Colonel Munroe, of the Twenty-second Kentucky, responded quickly, "We +will. We know every inch of the ground." + +"Go in, then," cries Garfield, "and give them Columbia!" + +I have not space to record the varying fortunes of the day. For five +hours the contest rages. By turns the Union forces are driven back, and +then, with a brave charge, they regain their lost ground, and from +behind rocks and trees pour in their murderous volleys. The battle began +at noon, and when the sun sets on the brief winter day it is still +unfinished. + +Posted on a projecting rock, in full sight of both armies, stands the +Union commander--his head uncovered, his hair streaming in the wind, and +his heart full of alternate hopes and fears. It looks as if the day were +lost--as if the gallant eleven hundred were conquered at last, when, at +a critical moment, the starry banner is seen waving over an advancing +host. It is Sheldon and reinforcements--long and anxiously expected! +Their shouts are taken up by the eleven hundred! The enemy see them and +are panic-stricken. + +The day is won! + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +THE PERILOUS TRIP UP THE BIG SANDY. + + +I have followed Col. Garfield through the Kentucky campaign, not because +it compared in importance with many other military operations of the +war, but because in its conduct he displayed in a remarkable degree some +of the traits by which he was distinguished. From a military point of +view it may be criticised. His attack upon an enemy far his superior in +numbers, and in a more favorable position, would scarcely have been +undertaken by an officer of more military experience. Yet, once +undertaken, it was carried through with remarkable dash and brilliancy, +and the strategy displayed was of a high order. + +I must find room for the address issued to his little army on the day +succeeding the battle, for it tells, in brief, the story of the +campaign: + +"SOLDIERS OF THE EIGHTEENTH BRIGADE: I am proud of you all! In four +weeks you have marched, some eighty and some a hundred miles, over +almost impassable roads. One night in four you have slept, often in the +storm, with only a wintry sky above your heads. You have marched in the +face of a foe of more than double your number--led on by chiefs who have +won a national reputation under the old flag--intrenched in hills of his +own choosing, and strengthened by all the appliances of military art. +With no experience but the consciousness of your own manhood, you have +driven him from his strongholds, pursued his inglorious flight, and +compelled him to meet you in battle. When forced to fight, he sought the +shelter of rocks and hills. You drove him from his position, leaving +scores of his bloody dead unburied. His artillery thundered against you, +but you compelled him to flee by the light of his burning stores, and to +leave even the banner of his rebellion behind him. I greet you as brave +men. Our common country will not forget you. She will not forget the +sacred dead who fell beside you, nor those of your comrades who won +scars of honor on the field. + +"I have recalled you from the pursuit that you may regain vigor for +still greater exertions. Let no one tarnish his well-earned honor by any +act unworthy an American soldier. Remember your duties as American +citizens, and sacredly respect the rights and property of those with +whom you have come in contact. Let it not be said that good men dread +the approach of an American army. + +"Officers and soldiers, your duty has been nobly done. For this I thank +you." + +The battle had been won, but the victorious army was in jeopardy. They +had less than three days' rations, and there were great difficulties in +the way of procuring a further supply. The rainy season had made the +roads impassable for all but horsemen. + +Still there was the river. But the Big Sandy was now swollen beyond its +banks, and the rapid current was filled with floating logs and uptorn +trees. The oldest and most experienced boatmen shook their heads, and +would not attempt the perilous voyage. + +What was to be done? + +Col. Garfield had with him Brown, the scout and ex-canal-boatman, who +had returned from reconnoitering Marshall's camp, with a bullet through +his hat. Garfield asked his advice. + +"It's which and t'other, General Jim," he answered, "starvin' or +drownin'. I'd rather drown nur starve. So gin the word, and, dead or +alive, I'll git down the river!" + +Garfield gave the word, but he did not let the brave scout go alone. +Together in a small skiff they "got down the river." It was no light +task. The Big Sandy was now a raging torrent, sixty feet in depth, and, +in many places, above the tops of the tall trees which grew along its +margin. In some deep and narrow gorges, where the steep banks shut down +upon the stream, these trees had been undermined at the roots, and, +falling inward, had locked their arms together, forming a net-work that +well-nigh prevented the passage of the small skiff and its two +navigators. Where a small skiff could scarcely pass, could they run a +large steamboat loaded with provisions? + +"Other men might ask that question, but not the backwoods boy who had +learned navigation on the waters of the Ohio and Pennsylvania Canal. He +pushed to the mouth of the river, and there took possession of the +_Sandy Valley_, a small steamer in the quartermaster's service. Loading +her with supplies, he set about starting up the river, but the captain +of the boat declared the thing was impossible. Not stopping to argue the +point, Garfield ordered him and his crew on board, and _himself taking +the helm_, set out up the river. + +"Brown he stationed at the bow, where, with a long fending-pole in his +hand, he was to keep one eye on the floating logs and uprooted trees, +the other on the chicken-hearted captain. + +"The river surged and boiled and whirled against the boat, tossing her +about as if she were a cockle-shell. With every turn of her wheel she +trembled from stem to stern, and with a full head of steam could only +stagger along at the rate of three miles an hour. When night came the +captain begged to tie up till morning, for breasting that flood in the +dark was sheer madness; but Brown cried out, 'Put her ahead, Gineral +Jim,' and Garfield clutched the helm and drove her on through the +darkness. + +"Soon they came to a sudden bend in the stream, where the swift current +formed a furious whirlpool, and this catching the laboring boat, +whirled her suddenly round, and drove her, head on, into the +quicksands. Mattocks were plied, and excavations made round the imbedded +bow, and the bowman uttered oaths loud enough to have raised a small +earthquake; but still the boat was immovable. She was stuck fast in the +mud, and every effort to move her was fruitless. Garfield ordered a +small boat to be lowered, and take a line to the other bank, by which to +warp the steamer free; but the captain and now the crew protested it was +certain death to attempt to cross that foaming torrent at midnight. + +"They might as well have repeated to him the Creed and the Ten +Commandments, for Garfield himself sprang into the boat and called to +Brown to follow. He took the helm and laid her bow across the stream, +but the swift current swept them downward. After incredible labor they +made the opposite bank, but far below the steamboat. Closely hugging the +shore, they now crept up the stream, and fastening the line to a tree, +rigged a windlass, and finally warped the vessel again into deep water. + +"All that night, and all the next day, and all the following night they +struggled with the furious river, Garfield never but once leaving the +helm, and then for only a few hours' sleep, which he snatched in his +clothes in the day-time. At last they rounded to at the Union camp, and +then went up a cheer that might have been heard all over Kentucky. His +waiting men, frantic with joy, seized their glorious commander, and were +with difficulty prevented from bearing him on their shoulders to his +quarters." + +The little army was saved from starvation by the canal-boy, who had not +forgotten his old trade. He had risked his life a dozen times over in +making the perilous trip, which has been so graphically described in the +passages I have quoted. But for his early and humble experience, he +never would have been able to bring the little steamer up the foaming +river. Little did he dream in the days when, as a boy, he guided the +_Evening Star_, that fifteen years hence, an officer holding an +important command he would use the knowledge then acquired to save a +famishing army. We can not wonder that his men should have been +devotedly attached to such a commander. + +I have said that the Kentucky campaign was not one of the most +important operations of the civil war, but its successful issue was most +welcome, coming at the time it did. It came after a series of disasters, +which had produced wide-spread despondency, and even dimmed the courage +of President Lincoln. It kindled hope in the despondent, and nerved +patriotic arms to new and vigorous efforts. + +"Why did Garfield, in two weeks, do what it would have taken one of you +Regular folks two months to accomplish?" asked the President, of a +distinguished army officer. + +"Because he was not educated at West Point," answered the officer, +laughing. + +"No," replied Mr. Lincoln; "that wasn't the reason. It was because, when +a boy, he had to work for a living." + +This was literally true. To his struggling boyhood and early manhood, +and the valuable experience it brought him, Garfield was indebted for +the strength and practical knowledge which brought him safely through a +campaign conducted against fearful odds. + +His country was not ungrateful. He received the thanks of the commanding +general for services which "called into action the highest qualities of +a soldier--fortitude, perseverance, courage," and a few weeks later a +commission as brigadier-general of volunteers, to date from the battle +of Middle Creek. + +So Jim Garfield, the canal-boy, has become a general. It is an important +step upward, but where are others to come? + +If this were designed to be a complete biography of General Garfield, I +should feel it my duty to chronicle the important part he took in the +battle of Chickamauga, where he acted as chief of staff to General +Rosecranz, aiding his superior officer at a most critical point in the +battle by advice which had an important influence in saving the day. I +should like to describe the wonderful and perilous ride of three miles +which he took, exposing his life at every moment, to warn General Thomas +that he is out-flanked, and that at least seventy thousand men are +closing down upon his right wing, to crush his twenty-five thousand to +fragments. Sometimes I hope a poet, of fitting inspiration, will sing of +that ride, and how, escaping from shot and shell, he plunged down the +hill through the fiery storm, reaching Thomas in safety, though his +noble horse at that moment fell dead at his feet. I can not spare time +for the record, but must refer my young reader to the pages of Edmund +Kirke, or General James S. Brisbin. + +Other duties, and another important field of action, await Garfield, and +we must hurry on. But, before doing so, I must not fail to record that +the War Department, recognizing his important services at the battle of +Chickamauga, sent him a fortnight later the commission of a +major-general. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +THE CANAL-BOY BECOMES A CONGRESSMAN. + + +While Garfield was serving his country to the utmost of his ability in +the field, the voters of the Nineteenth District of Ohio, in which he +had his home, were called upon to select a man to represent them in +Congress. It perhaps exceeds any other portion of the State in its +devotion to the cause of education and the general intelligence of its +inhabitants. The people were mostly of New England origin, and in +selecting a representative they wanted a man who was fitted by +education, as well as fidelity, to do them credit. + +Their choice fell upon Garfield, who was known to them at home as the +head of one of their chief institutions of learning, and whose +reputation had not suffered in the field. They did not even consult him, +but put him in nomination, and elected him by an overwhelming majority. + +It was a gratifying compliment, for in our country an election to +Congress is regarded as a high honor, which no one need be reluctant to +accept. We have on record one of our most distinguished statesmen--John +Quincy Adams--who, after filling the Presidential chair, was content to +go back to Washington as a member of the House of Representatives from +his district in Massachusetts. It was undoubtedly more in harmony with +the desires and tastes of the young man--for he was still a young +man--than service in the field. But he felt that that was not the +question. Where was he more needed? The war was not over. Indeed, it +seemed doubtful when it would be finished; and Garfield was now in a +position to serve his country well as a military commander. + +When on the march to Chattanooga, Garfield consulted Gen. Rosecranz, +owning that he was perplexed in attempting to decide. + +Rosecranz said: "The war is not yet over, nor will it be for some time +to come. Many questions will arise in Congress which will require not +only statesman-like treatment, but the advice of men having an +acquaintance with military affairs. For that reason you will, I think, +do as good service to the country in Congress as in the field. I not +only think that you can accept the position with honor, but that it is +your duty to do it." + +He added, and we may be sure that his advice accorded with the personal +judgment of the man whom he was addressing, "Be true to yourself, and +you will make your mark before your country." + +Some months were to elapse before he would require to go to Washington, +for Congress was not to meet till December. + +He went to Washington, undecided even yet whether to remain as a +legislator, or to return to his old comrades in the army. He only wished +to know where he could be of most service to his country, and he finally +decided to lay the matter before President Lincoln. + +Lincoln gave substantially the same advice as Rosecranz: "We need men +who will help us carry the necessary war measures; and, besides, we are +greatly lacking in men of military experience in the House to promote +legislation about the army. It is your duty, therefore, to enter +Congress." + +When, on the 5th of December, 1863, Garfield took his seat in the House +of Representatives, he was the youngest member of that body. The +Military Committee was the most important committee of Congress, and he +was put upon that, on account of his practical experience in the field. +This, of course, brought him, though a new and young member, into +immediate prominence, and his familiarity with the wants of the army +enabled him to be of great service. + +I do not propose to detail at tiresome length the legislative +achievements of Gen. Garfield in the new position which he was destined +to fill for eighteen years. I shall only refer to such as illustrate his +characteristic devotion to duty without special regard to his own +interests. He never hesitated to array himself in opposition to the +popular will, if he thought the people were wrong. It was not long +before an occasion came up which enabled him to assert his independence. + +The country needed soldiers, and had inaugurated a system of bounties +which should tempt men to join the ranks of the country's defenders. It +was only a partial success. Some men, good and true, were led to join by +the offer of a sum which made them more at ease about the comfort of +their families, but many joined the service from mercenary +considerations only, who seized the first opportunity to desert, and +turning up in another locality, enlisted again and obtained a second +bounty. These men obtained the name of bounty-jumpers, and there was a +host of them. Yet the measure was popular with soldiers, and Congress +was unanimously in favor of it. Great was the amazement of his +fellow-members when the young member from the Nineteenth Ohio district +rose in his seat and earnestly opposed it. He objected that the policy +was ruinous, involving immense expense, while effecting little good. He +claimed that the country had a right to the service of every one of its +children at such a crisis, without hire and without reward. + +But one man stood with him, so unpopular was the stand he had taken; but +it was not long before the bounty system broke down, and Garfield's +views were adopted. + +Later on he had another chance to show his independence. President +Lincoln, foreseeing that at a certain date not far ahead the time of +enlistment of nearly half the army would expire, came before Congress +and asked for power to draft men into service. It met with great +opposition. "What! force men into the field! Why, we might as well live +under a despotism!" exclaimed many; and the members of Congress, who +knew how unpopular the measure would be among their constituents, +defeated it by a two-thirds vote. + +It was a critical juncture. As Lincoln had said in substance, all +military operations would be checked. Not only could not the war be +pushed, but the Government could not stand where it did. Sherman would +have to come back from Atlanta, Grant from the Peninsula. + +The voting was over, and the Government was despondent. Then it was that +Garfield rose, and moving a reconsideration, made a speech full of fire +and earnestness, and the House, carried by storm, passed the bill, and +President Lincoln made a draft for half a million men. + +Garfield knew that this action would be unpopular in his district. It +might defeat his re-election; but that mattered not. The President had +been assailed by the same argument, and had answered, "Gentlemen, it is +not necessary that I should be reelected, but it is necessary that I +should put down this rebellion." With this declaration the young +Congressman heartily sympathized. + +Remonstrances did come from his district. Several of his prominent +supporters addressed him a letter, demanding his resignation. He wrote +them that he had acted according to his views of the needs of the +country; that he was sorry his judgment did not agree with theirs, but +that he must follow his own. He expected to live long enough to have +them all confess that he was right. + +It was about this time that he made his celebrated reply to Mr. +Alexander Long, of Ohio, a fellow Congressman, who proposed to yield +everything and to recognize the Southern Confederacy. + +The excitement was intense. In the midst of it Garfield rose and made +the following speech: + +"MR. CHAIRMAN," he said, "I am reminded by the occurrences of this +afternoon of two characters in the war of the Revolution as compared +with two others in the war of to-day. + +"The first was Lord Fairfax, who dwelt near the Potomac, a few miles +from us. When the great contest was opened between the mother country +and the colonies, Lord Fairfax, after a protracted struggle with his own +heart, decided he must go with the mother country. He gathered his +mantle about him and went over grandly and solemnly. + +"There was another man, who cast in his lot with the struggling +colonists, and continued with them till the war was well-nigh ended. In +an hour of darkness that just preceded the glory of the morning, he +hatched the treason to surrender forever all that had been gained to the +enemies of his country. Benedict Arnold was that man! + +"Fairfax and Arnold find their parallels of to-day. + +"When this war began many good men stood hesitating and doubting what +they ought to do. Robert E. Lee sat in his house across the river here, +doubting and delaying, and going off at last almost tearfully to join +the army of his State. He reminds one in some respects of Lord Fairfax, +the stately Royalist of the Revolution. + +"But now when tens of thousands of brave souls have gone up to God under +the shadow of the flag; when thousands more, maimed and shattered in +the contest, are sadly awaiting the deliverance of death; now, when +three years of terrific warfare have raged over us; when our armies have +pushed the Rebellion back over mountains and rivers, and crowded it into +narrow limits, until a wall of fire girds it; now when the uplifted hand +of a majestic people is about to hurl the bolts of its conquering power +upon the Rebellion; now, in the quiet of this hall, hatched in the +lowest depths of a similar dark treason, there rises a Benedict Arnold, +and proposes to surrender all up, body and spirit, the nation and the +flag, its genius and its honor, now and forever, to the accursed +traitors to our country! And that proposition comes--God forgive and +pity our beloved State--it comes from a citizen of the time-honored and +loyal commonwealth of Ohio! + +"I implore you, brethren in this House, to believe that not many births +ever gave pangs to my mother State such as she suffered when that +traitor was born! I beg you not to believe that on the soil of that +State another such a growth has ever deformed the face of nature, and +darkened the light of God's day!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +GARFIELD'S COURSE IN CONGRESS. + + +If Garfield at once took a prominent place in the House of +Representatives, it was by no means because it was composed of inferior +men. On the other hand, there has seldom been a time when it contained a +larger number of men either prominent, or destined in after days to be +prominent. I avail myself of the detailed account given of its members +by Major Bundy, in his excellent Life of Garfield. There are some names +which will be familiar to most of my young readers: + +"Its then most fortunate and promising member was Schuyler Colfax, the +popular Speaker. But there were three young members who were destined to +a more lasting prominence. The senior of these who had enjoyed previous +service in he House, was Roscoe Conkling, already recognized by Congress +and the country as a magnificent and convincing speaker. The other two +were James G. Blaine and James A. Garfield. Only a year the senior of +Garfield, Blaine was about to begin a career as brilliant as that of +Henry Clay, and the acquisition of a popularity unique in our political +history. But in this Congress there were many members whose power was +far greater than that of either of the trio, who may yet be as much +compared as Clay, Webster, and Calhoun were in former days. + +"In the first place, there was Elihu B. Washburne, 'the watch-dog of the +treasury,' the 'father of the House,' courageous, practical, direct, and +aggressive. Then there was Thaddeus Stevens, who was one of the very few +men capable of driving his party associates--a character as unique as, +and far stronger than, John Randolph; General Robert C. Schenck, fresh +from the army, but a veteran in Congress, one of the ablest of practical +statesmen; ex-Governor Boutwell, of Massachusetts; ex-Governor Fenton, +of New York, a very influential member, especially on financial +questions; Henry Winter Davis, the brilliant orator, of Maryland; +William B. Allison, since one of the soundest and most useful of Iowa's +Senators; Henry L. Dawes, who fairly earned his promotion to the +Senate, but who accomplished so much in the House that his best friends +regret the transfer; John A. Bingham, one of the most famous speakers of +his time; James E. English, of Connecticut, who did valiant and +patriotic service as a War Democrat; George H. Pendleton, now Senator +from Ohio, and a most accomplished statesman, even in his early service +in the House; Henry G. Stebbins, who was to make a speech sustaining Mr. +Chase's financial policy that was unequaled for its salutary effect on +public opinion; Samuel J. Randall, now Speaker; John A. Griswold, of New +York; William Windom, one of the silent members, who has grown steadily +in power; James F. Wilson, who was destined to decline three successive +offers of Cabinet positions by President Grant; Daniel W. Voorhies, of +Indiana, now Senator; John A. Kasson, of Iowa, now our Minister to +Austria; Theodore M. Pomeroy, of New York, afterward Acting Speaker for +a brief period; William R. Morrison, of Illinois, since a Democratic +candidate for the Presidency; William S. Holman and George W. Julian, of +Indiana, both able men; and Fernando Wood--these were all prominent +members of the House. It will be seen that the House was a more trying +arena for a young member like Garfield than the Senate would have been; +for the contests of the former--unsubdued and unmitigated by 'the +courtesy of the Senate'--were conducted by as ready and able a corps of +debaters as ever sat in that body." + +This was surely a formidable array of men, and a man of ordinary powers +would have found it prudent to remain silent during the first session, +lest he should be overwhelmed by some one of the ready speakers and +experienced legislators with whom he was associated. But the canal-boy, +who had so swiftly risen from his humble position to the post of college +president and major-general, till at the age of thirty-two he sat in the +national council the youngest member, was not daunted. His term of +service as State Senator was now of use to him, for it had given him a +knowledge of parliamentary law, and the practice in speaking which he +gained long ago in the boys' debating societies, and extended in +college, rendered him easy and master of himself. + +Indeed he could not remain silent, for he represented the "boys at the +front," and whenever a measure was proposed affecting their interests, +he was expected to take part in the debate. It was not long before the +House found that its new member was a man of grace and power, with whom +it was not always safe to measure weapons. He was inclined to be +peaceful, but he was not willing to permit any one to domineer over him, +and the same member did not often attempt it a second time. + +My young readers are sure to admire pluck, and they will, therefore, +read with interest of one such occasion, when Garfield effectually +quelled such an attempt. I find it in a chapter of reminiscences +contributed to the Boston _Journal_, by Ben Perley Poore, the well-known +correspondent: + +"When the Jenckes Bankrupt Bill came before the House, Gen. Garfield +objected to it, because in his opinion it did not provide that the +estates of rebels in arms should escape the operations of the law. He +also showed that money was being raised to secure the enactment of the +bill, and Mr. Spalding, of the Cleveland district, was prompted by Mr. +Jenckes to 'sit down on him.' But Gen. Garfield was not to be silenced +easily and quite a scene ensued. The next day Garfield rose to a +personal explanation, and said: + +"'I made no personal reference whatever; I assailed no gentleman; I +called no man's honor in question. My colleague from the Cleveland +district (Mr. Spalding) rose and asked if I had read the bill. I +answered him, I believe, in courteous language and manner, that I had +read it, and immediately on my statement to that effect he said in his +place in the House, and it has gone on the record, that he did not +believe I had read it; in other words, that he believed I had lied, in +the presence of my peers in this House. I felt, under such +circumstances, that it would not be becoming my self-respect, or the +respect I owe to the House, to continue a colloquy with any gentleman +who had thus impeached my veracity and I said so. + +"'It pains me very much that a gentleman of venerable age, who was in +full maturity of life when I was a child, and whom I have respected +since my childhood, should have taken occasion here in this place to use +language so uncalled for, so ungenerous, so unjust to me, and +disgraceful to himself. I have borne with the ill-nature and bad blood +of that gentleman, as many others in this House have, out of respect for +his years; but no importunity of age shall shield him, or any man, from +my denunciation, who is so lacking in the proprieties of this place as +to be guilty of such parliamentary and personal indecency as the House +has witnessed on his part. I had hoped that before this time he would +have acknowledged to me the impropriety and unjustifiableness of his +conduct and apologized for the insult. But he has not seen fit to take +this course. I leave him to his own reflections, and his conduct to the +judgment of the House.'" + +Those who listened to these spirited rebukes saw that the young member +from Ohio would not allow himself to be snubbed or insulted with +impunity, and the few who were accustomed to descend to such discourtesy +took warning accordingly. They were satisfied that Garfield, to quote a +common phrase, would give them as good as they sent, and perhaps a +little better. The boy, who at sixteen, when employed on the tow-path, +thrashed the bully of thirty-five for insulting him, was not likely in +his manhood to submit to the insults of a Congressional bully. He was a +man to compel respect, and had that resolute and persistent character +which was likely ere long to make him a leader. So Disraeli, coughed +down in his first attempt to speak before the English House of Commons, +accepted the situation, but recorded the prediction that one day they +would hear him. He, too, mounted step by step till he reached the +highest position in the English Government outside of royalty. A man who +is destined to be great is only strengthened by opposition, and rises in +the end victorious over circumstances. + +Garfield soon made it manifest that he had come to Washington to work. +He was not one to lie back and enjoy in idleness the personal +consequence which his position gave him. All his life he had been a +worker, and a hard worker, from the time when he cut one hundred cords +of wood, at twenty-five cents a cord, all through his experience as a +canal-boy, a carpenter, a farm-worker, a janitor, a school teacher, a +student, and a military commander, and now that he had taken his place +in the grand council of the nation, he was not going to begin a life of +self-indulgent idleness. + +In consideration of his military record he was, at his entrance into +Congress, put upon the Military Committee; but a session or two later, +at his own request, he was assigned a place on the Committee of Ways and +Means. His reason for this request was, that he might have an +opportunity of studying the question of finance, which he had sufficient +foresight to perceive would one day be a great question, overshadowing +all others. He instantly set himself to a systematic and exhaustive +study of this subject, and attained so thorough a knowledge of it that +he was universally recognized as a high authority--perhaps the highest +in the department. He made speech after speech on the finance question, +and was a pronounced advocate of "Honest Money," setting his face like a +flint against those who advocated any measures calculated to lower the +national credit or tarnish the national reputation for good faith. + +"I am aware," said he one day in debate, "that financial measures are +dull and uninviting in comparison with those heroic themes which have +absorbed the attention of Congress for the last five years. To turn from +the consideration of armies and navies, victories and defeats, to the +array of figures which exhibits the debt, expenditure, taxation, and +industry of the nation requires no little courage and self-denial; but +to these questions we must come, and to their solution Congress and all +thoughtful citizens must give their best efforts for many years to +come." + +It was not only a wise but a bold thing to do, for among the members of +his own party, in Ohio, financial heresies had crept in, and a party +platform was adopted in 1867, looking to the payment of the bonds of the +Government in greenbacks. He was advised to say nothing on the subject +lest it should cost him the nomination in the election just at hand; but +he met the question boldly, and declared that the district could only +have his services "on the ground of the honest payment of this debt, and +these bonds in coin, according to the letter and spirit of the +contract." + +Nevertheless he was renominated by acclamation. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +THE MAN FOR THE HOUR. + + +On the 15th day of April, 1865, the country was thrilled from end to end +by the almost incredible report that President Lincoln had been +assassinated the evening previous while witnessing a performance at +Ford's Theatre, in Washington. + +The war was not yet over, but peace seemed close at hand. All were +anticipating its return with joy. The immense sacrifices of loyal men +seemed about to be rewarded when, like a clap of thunder in a clear sky, +came the terrible tidings, which were flashed at once over the +telegraphic wires to the remotest parts of the country. + +The people at first were shocked and silent. Then a mighty wave of wrath +swept over the country--a wrath that demanded victims, and seemed likely +in the principal city of the country to precipitate scenes not unlike +those witnessed in the "Reign of Terror" in France. + +The boys who read this story can not understand the excitement of that +day. It was unlike the deep sorrow that came upon us all on the second +of July, for Lincoln died a martyr, at a time when men's passions had +been stirred by sectional strife, and his murder was felt to be an +outgrowth of the passions which it engendered; but Garfield fell, slain +by the hand of a worthless wretch, acting upon his own responsibility. + +I shall venture, for the information of young readers, to whom it may be +new, to quote the graphic description of an eye-witness, contributed to +General Brisbin's interesting life of our subject: + +"I shall never forget the first time I saw General Garfield. It was the +morning after President Lincoln's assassination. The country was excited +to its utmost tension.... The newspaper head lines of the transaction +were set up in the largest type, and the high crime was on every one's +tongue. Fear took possession of men's minds as to the fate of the +Government, for in a few hours the news came on that Seward's throat was +cut, and that attempts had been made on the lives of others of the +Government officers. Posters were stuck up everywhere, in great black +letters, calling upon the loyal citizens of New York, Brooklyn, Jersey +City, and neighboring places, to meet around the Wall Street Exchange +and give expression to their sentiments. + +"It was a dark and terrible hour. What might come next no one could +tell, and men spoke with bated breath. The wrath of the workingmen was +simply uncontrollable, and revolvers and knives were in the hands of +thousands of Lincoln's friends, ready, at the first opportunity, to take +the law into their own hands, and avenge the death of their martyred +President upon any and all who dared to utter a word against him. + +"Eleven o'clock A.M. was the hour set for the rendezvous. Fifty thousand +people crowded around the Exchange building, cramming and jamming the +streets, and wedged in as tight as men could stand together. With a few +to whom special favor was extended, I went over from Brooklyn at nine +A.M., and even then, with the utmost difficulty, found my way to the +reception room for the speakers in the front of the Exchange building, +and looking out on the high and massive balcony, whose front was +protected by a massive iron railing. + +"We sat in solemnity and silence, waiting for General Butler, who, it +was announced, had started from Washington, and was either already in +the city or expected every moment. Nearly a hundred generals, judges, +statesmen, lawyers, editors, clergymen, and others were in that room +waiting for Butler's arrival. + +"We stepped out to the balcony to watch the fearfully solemn and swaying +mass of people. Not a hurrah was heard, but for the most part a dead +silence, or a deep, ominous muttering ran like a rising wave up the +street toward Broadway, and again down toward the river on the right. At +length the batons of the police were seen swinging in the air, far up on +the left, parting the crowd, and pressing it back to make way for a +carriage that moved slowly, and with difficult jags through the compact +multitude, and the cry of 'Butler!' 'Butler!' rang out with tremendous +and thrilling effect, and was taken up by the people. + +"But not a hurrah! Not one! It was the cry of a great people asking to +know how their President died. The blood bounced in our veins, and the +tears ran like streams down our faces. How it was done I forget, but +Butler was pulled through, and pulled up, and entered the room where we +had just walked back to meet him. A broad crape, a yard long, hung from +his left arm--terrible contrast with the countless flags that were +waving the nation's victory in the breeze. We first realized then the +sad news that Lincoln was dead. When Butler entered the room we shook +hands. Some spoke, some could not; all were in tears. The only word +Butler had for us all, at the first break of the silence was, +'_Gentleman, he died in the fullness of his fame_!' and as he spoke it +his lips quivered, and the tears ran fast down his cheeks. + +"Then, after a few moments, came the speaking. And you can imagine the +effect, as the crape fluttered in the wind while his arm was uplifted. +Dickinson, of New York State, was fairly wild. The old man leaped over +the iron railing of the balcony and stood on the very edge, overhanging +the crowd, gesticulating in the most vehement manner, and almost bidding +the crowd 'burn up the rebel, seed, root, and branch,' while a bystander +held on to his coat-tail to keep him from falling over. + +"By this time the wave of popular indignation had swelled to its crest. +Two men lay bleeding on one of the side streets, the one dead, the other +next to dying; one on the pavement, the other in the gutter. They had +said a moment before that 'Lincoln ought to have been shot long ago!' +They were not allowed to say it again. Soon two long pieces of scantling +stood out above the heads of the crowd, crossed at the top like the +letter X, and a looped halter pendant from the junction, a dozen men +following its slow motion through the masses, while 'Vengeance' was the +cry. + +"On the right suddenly the shout arose, '_The World!_' '_The World_!' +and a movement of perhaps eight thousand to ten thousand turning their +faces in the direction of that building began to be executed. + +"It was a critical moment. What might come no one could tell, did that +crowd get in front of that office; police and military would have +availed little, or been too late. A telegram had just been read from +Washington, 'Seward is dying!' Just then, at that juncture, a man +stepped forward with a small flag in his hand and beckoned to the +crowd. + +"'Another telegram from Washington!' + +"And then, in the awful stillness of the crisis, taking advantage of the +hesitation of the crowd, whose steps had been arrested a moment, a right +arm was lifted skyward, and a voice, clear and steady, loud and +distinct, spoke out: + +"'Fellow-citizens! Clouds and darkness are round about Him! His pavilion +is dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies! Justice and judgment are +the establishment of His throne! Mercy and truth shall go before His +face! Fellow-citizens! God reigns and the Government at Washington still +lives!' + +"The effect was tremendous. The-crowd stood rooted to the ground with +awe, gazing at the motionless orator, and thinking of God and the +security of the Government in that hour. As the boiling waters subside +and settle to the sea, when some strong wind beats it down, so the +tumult of the people sank and became still. All took it as a divine +omen. It was a triumph of eloquence, inspired by the moment, such as +falls to but one man's lot, and that but once in a century. The genius +of Webster, Choate, Everett, Seward, never reached it. What might have +happened had the surging and maddened mob been let loose, none can +tell. The man for the crisis was on the spot, more potent than +Napoleon's guns at Paris. I inquired what was his name. + +"The answer came in a low whisper, 'It is General Garfield, of Ohio.'" + +It was a most dramatic scene, and a wonderful exhibition of the power of +one man of intellect over a furious mob. + +How, would the thrilling intensity of the moment have been increased, +had some prophet, standing beside the inspired speaker, predicted that a +little more than sixteen years later he who had calmed the crowd would +himself fall a victim to violence, while filling the same high post as +the martyred Lincoln. Well has it been said that the wildest dream of +the romancer pales beside the solemn surprise of the Actual. Not one +among the thousands there assembled, not the speaker himself, would have +considered such a statement within the range of credibility. Alas, that +it should have been!--that the monstrous murder of the good Lincoln +should have been repeated in these latter days, and the nation have come +a second time a mourner! + +Will it be believed that Garfield's arrival and his speech had been +quite accidental, though we must also count it as Providential, since it +stayed the wild excesses of an infuriated mob. He had only arrived from +Washington that morning, and after breakfast had strolled through the +crowded streets, in entire ignorance of the great gathering at the +Exchange building. + +He turned down Broadway, and when he saw the great concourse of people, +he kept on, to learn what had brought them together. Butler was speaking +when he arrived, and a friend who recognized him beckoned him to come up +there, above the heads of the multitude. + +When he heard the wild cries for "Vengeance!" and noticed the swaying, +impassioned movements of the crowd, he saw the danger that menaced the +public order, and in a moment of inspiration he rose, and with a gesture +challenged the attention of the crowd. What he said he could not have +told five minutes afterward. "I only know," he said afterward, "that I +drew the lightning from that crowd, and brought it back to reason." + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +GARFIELD AS A LAWYER. + + +In the crowded activities of Garfield's life, my readers may possibly +have forgotten that he was a lawyer, having, after a course of private +study during his presidency of Hiram College, been admitted to the bar, +in 1861, by the Supreme Court of Ohio. When the war broke out he was +about to withdraw from his position as teacher, and go into practice in +Cleveland; but, as a Roman writer has expressed it, "Inter arma silent +leges." So law gave way to arms, and the incipient lawyer became a +general. + +When the soldier put off his armor it was to enter Congress, and instead +of practicing law, Garfield helped to frame laws. + +But in 1865 there came an extraordinary occasion, which led to the Ohio +Congressman entering upon his long delayed profession. And here I quote +from the work of Major Bundy, already referred to: "About that time +that great lawyer, Judge Jeremiah S. Black, as the attorney of the Ohio +Democrats who had been opposing the war, came to his friend Garfield, +and said that there were some men imprisoned in Indiana for conspiracy +against the Government in trying to prevent enlistments and to encourage +desertion. They had been tried in 1864, while the war was going on, and +by a military commission sitting in Indiana, where there was no war, +they had been sentenced to death. Mr. Lincoln commuted the sentence to +imprisonment for life, and they were put into State's prison in +accordance with the commutation. They then took out a writ of _habeas +corpus_, to test the constitutionality and legality of their trial, and +the judges in the Circuit Court had disagreed, there being two of them, +and had certified their disagreement to the Supreme Court of the United +States. Judge Black said to Garfield that he had seen what Garfield had +said in Congress, and asked him if he was willing to say in an argument +in the Supreme Court what he had advocated in Congress. + +"To which Garfield replied: 'It depends on your case altogether.' + +"Judge Black sent him the facts in the case--the record. + +"Garfield read it over, and said: 'I believe in that doctrine.' + +"To which Judge Black replied: 'Young man, you know it is a perilous +thing for a young Republican in Congress to say that, and I don't want +you to injure yourself.' + +"Said Garfield: 'It does not make any difference. I believe in English +liberty, and English law. But, Judge Black, I am not a practitioner in +the Supreme Court, and I never tried a case in my life anywhere.' + +"'How long ago were you admitted to the bar?' asked Judge Black. + +"'Just about six years age.' + +"'That will do,' Black replied, and he took Garfield thereupon over to +the Supreme Court and moved his admission. + +"He immediately entered upon the consideration of this important case. +On the side of the Government was arrayed a formidable amount of legal +talent. The Attorney-General was aided by Gen. Butler, who was called in +on account of his military knowledge, and by Henry Stanbury. Associated +with Gen. Garfield as counsel for the petitioners were two of the +greatest lawyers in the country--Judge Black and Hon. David Dudley +Field, and the Hon. John E. McDonald, now Senator from Indiana. The +argument submitted by Gen. Garfield was one of the most remarkable ever +made before the Supreme Court of the United States, and was made under +circumstances peculiarly creditable to Garfield's courage, independence, +and resolute devotion to the cause of constitutional liberty--a devotion +not inspired by wild dreams of political promotion, for at that time it +was dangerous for any young Republican Congressman to defend the +constitutional rights of men known to be disloyal, and rightly despised +and hated for their disloyal practices." + +I refer any of my maturer readers who may desire an abstract of the +young lawyer's masterly and convincing argument, to Major Bundy's +valuable work, which necessarily goes more deeply into such matters than +the scope of my slighter work will admit. His argument was listened to +with high approval by his distinguished associate counsel, and the +decision of the Supreme Court was given unanimously in favor of his +clients. + +Surely this was a most valuable _debut_, and Garfield is probably the +first lawyer that ever tried his first case before that august tribunal. +It was a triumph, and gave him an immediate reputation and insured him a +series of important cases before the same court. I have seen it stated +that he was employed in seventeen cases before the Supreme Court, some +of large importance, and bringing him in large fees. But for his first +case he never received a cent. His clients were poor and in prison, and +he was even obliged to pay for printing his own brief. His future +earnings from this source, however, added materially to his income, and +enabled him to install his family in that cherished home at Mentor, +which has become, so familiar by name to the American people. + +I can not dwell upon Garfield's experience as a lawyer. I content myself +with quoting, from a letter addressed by Garfield to his close friend, +President Hinsdale, of Hiram College, the account of a case tried in +Mobile, which illustrates his wonderful industry and remarkable +resources. + +Under date of June 18, 1877, Garfield writes "You know that my life has +abounded in crises and difficult situations. This trip has been, +perhaps, not a crisis, but certainly has placed me in a position of +extreme difficulty. Two or three months ago, W.B. Duncan, a prominent +business man in New York, retained me as his lawyer in a suit to be +heard in the United States Court in Mobile, and sent me the papers in +the case. I studied them, and found that they involved an important and +somewhat difficult question of law, and I made myself sufficiently +familiar with it, so that when Duncan telegraphed me to be in Mobile on +the first Monday in June, I went with a pretty comfortable sense of my +readiness to meet anybody who should be employed on the other side. But +when I reached Mobile, I found there were two other suits connected, +with this, and involving the ownership, sale, and complicated rights of +several parties to the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. + +"After two days' skirmishing, the court ordered the three suits to be +consolidated. The question I had prepared myself on passed wholly out of +sight, and the whole entanglement of an insolvent railroad, twenty-five +years old, and lying across four States, and costing $20,000,000, came +upon us at once. There were seven lawyers in the case besides me. On one +side were John A. Campbell, of New Orleans, late member of the Supreme +Bench of the United States; a leading New York and a Mobile lawyer. +Against us were Judge Hoadley, of Cincinnati, and several Southern men. +I was assigned the duty of summing up the case for our side, and +answering the final argument of the opposition. I have never felt myself +in such danger of failure before, all had so much better knowledge of +the facts than I, and all had more experience with that class of +litigation? but I am very sure no one of them did so much hard work, in +the five nights and six days of the trial, as I did. I am glad to tell +you that I have received a dispatch from Mobile, that the court adopted +my view of the case, and gave us a verdict on all points." + +Who can doubt, after reading of these two cases, that had Garfield +devoted himself to the practice of the law exclusively, he would have +made one of the most successful members of the profession in the +country, perhaps risen to the highest rank? As it was, he was only able +to devote the time he could spare from his legislative labors. + +These increased as years sped. On the retirement of James G. Blaine from +the lower House of Congress, the leadership of his party devolved upon +Garfield. It was a post of honor, but it imposed upon him a vast amount +of labor. He must qualify himself to speak, not superficially, but from +adequate knowledge upon all points of legislation, and to defend the +party with which he was allied from all attacks of political opponents. + +On this subject he writes, April 21, 1880: "The position I hold in the +House requires an enormous amount of surplus work. I am compelled to +look ahead at questions likely to be sprung upon us for action, and the +fact is, I prepare for debate on ten subjects where I actually take part +in but one. For example, it seemed certain that the Fitz John Porter +case would be discussed in the House, and I devoted the best of two +weeks to a careful 're-examination' of the old material, and a study of +the new. + +"There is now lying on top of my book-case a pile of books, revisions, +and manuscripts, three feet long by a foot and a half high, which I +accumulated and examined for debate, which certainly will not come off +this session, perhaps not at all. I must stand in the breach to meet +whatever comes. + +"I look forward to the Senate as at least a temporary relief from this +heavy work. I am just now in antagonism with my own party on legislation +in reference to the election law, and here also I have prepared for two +discussions, and as yet have not spoken on either." + +My young readers will see that Garfield thoroughly believed in hard +work, and appreciated its necessity. It was the only way in which he +could hold his commanding position. If he attained large success, and +reached the highest dignity in the power of his countrymen to bestow, it +is clear that he earned it richly. Upon some, accident bestows rank; but +not so with him. From his earliest years he was growing, rounding out, +and developing, till he became the man he was. And had his life been +spared to the usual span, it is not likely that he would have desisted, +but ripened with years into perhaps the most profound and scholarly +statesman the world has seen. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +THE SCHOLAR IN POLITICS. + + +In the midst of his political and professional activity, Garfield never +forgot his days of tranquil enjoyment at Hiram College, when he was +devoted solely to the cultivation of his mind, and the extension of his +knowledge. He still cherished the same tastes, and so far as his +leisure--he had no leisure, save time snatched from the engrossing +claims of politics--so far, at any rate, as he could manage the time, he +employed it for new acquisitions, or for the review of his earlier +studies. + +In January, 1874, he made a metrical version of the third ode of +Horace's first book. I quote four stanzas: + + "Guide thee, O ship, on thy journey, that owest + To Africa's shores Virgil trusted to thee. + I pray thee restore him, in safety restore him, + And saving him, save me the half of my soul. + + "Stout oak and brass triple surrounded his bosom + Who first to the waves of the merciless sea + Committed his frail bark. He feared not Africa's + Fierce battling the gales of the furious North. + + "Nor feared he the gloom of the rain-bearing Hyads + Nor the rage of fierce Notus, a tyrant than whom + No storm-god that rules o'er the broad Adriatic + Is mightier its billows to rouse or to calm. + + "What form, or what pathway of death him affrighted + Who faced with dry eyes monsters swimming the deep, + Who gazed without fear on the storm-swollen billows, + And the lightning-scarred rocks, grim with death on the shore?" + +In reviewing the work of the year 1874, he writes: "So far as individual +work is concerned, I have done something to keep alive my tastes and +habits. For example, since I left you I have made a somewhat thorough +study of Goethe and his epoch, and have sought to build up in my mind a +picture of the state of literature and art in Europe, at the period when +Goethe began to work, and the state when he died. I have grouped the +various poets into order, so as to preserve memoirs of the impression +made upon my mind by the whole. The sketch covers nearly sixty pages of +manuscript. I think some work of this kind, outside the track of one's +every-day work, is necessary to keep up real growth." + +In July, 1875, he gives a list of works that he had read recently. Among +these are several plays of Shakespeare, seven volumes of Froude's +England, and a portion of Green's "History of the English People." He +did not limit himself to English studies, but entered the realms of +French and German literature, having made himself acquainted with both +these languages. He made large and constant use of the Library of +Congress. Probably none of his political associates made as much, with +the exception of Charles Sumner. + +Major Bundy gives some interesting details as to his method of work, +which I quote: "In all his official, professional, and literary work, +Garfield has pursued a system that has enabled him to accumulate, on a +vast range and variety of subjects, an amount of easily available +information such as no one else has shown the possession of by its use. +His house at Washington is a workshop, in which the tools are always +kept within immediate reach. Although books overrun his house from top +to bottom, his library contains the working material on which he mainly +depends. And the amount of material is enormous. Large numbers of +scrap-books that have been accumulating for over twenty years, in number +and in value--made up with an eye to what either is, or may become, +useful, which would render the collection of priceless value to the +library of any first-class newspaper establishment--are so perfectly +arranged and indexed, that their owner with his all-retentive memory, +can turn in a moment to the facts that may be needed for almost any +conceivable emergency in debate. + +"These are supplemented by diaries that preserve Garfield's multifarous +political, scientific, literary, and religious inquiries, studies, and +readings. And, to make the machinery of rapid work complete, he has a +large box containing sixty-three different drawers, each properly +labeled, in which he places newspaper cuttings, documents, and slips of +paper, and from which he can pull out what he wants as easily as an +organist can play on the stops of his instrument. In other words, the +hardest and most masterful worker in Congress has had the largest and +most scientifically arranged of workshops." + +It was a pleasant house, this, which Garfield had made for himself in +Washington. With a devoted wife, who sympathized with him in his +literary tastes, and aided him in his preparation for his literary work, +with five children (two boys now at Williams College, one daughter, and +two younger sons), all bright and promising, with a happy and joyous +temperament that drew around him warmly-attached friends, with a mind +continually broadening and expanding in every direction, respected and +appreciated by his countrymen, and loved even by his political +opponents, Garfield's lot seemed and was a rarely happy one. He worked +hard, but he had always enjoyed work. Higher honors seemed hovering in +the air, but he did not make himself anxious about them. He enjoyed +life, and did his duty as he went along, ready to undertake new +responsibilities whenever they came, but by no means impatient for +higher honors. + +Filling an honored place in the household is the white-haired mother, +who, with justifiable pride, has followed the fortunes of her son from +his destitute boyhood, along the years in which he gained strength by +battling with poverty and adverse circumstances, to the time when he +fills the leading place in the councils of the nation. So steadily has +he gone on, step by step, that she is justified in hoping for him higher +honors. + +The time came, and he was elected to the United States Senate in place +of Judge Thurman, who had ably represented the State in the same body, +and had been long regarded as one of the foremost leaders of the +Democratic party. But his mantle fell upon no unworthy successor. Ohio +was fortunate in possessing two such men to represent her in the highest +legislative body of the nation. + +Doubtless this honor would have come sooner to Garfield, for in 1877 he +was the candidate to whom all eyes were directed, but he could not be +spared from the lower House, there being no one to take his place as +leader. He yielded to the expressed wishes of President Hayes, who, in +the exceptional position in which he found himself, felt the need of a +strong and able man in the House, to sustain his administration and help +carry out the policy of the Government. Accustomed to yield his own +interest to what he regarded as the needs of his country, Garfield +quietly acquiesced in what to most men would have been a severe +disappointment. + +But when, after the delay of four years, he was elected to the Senate, +he accepted with a feeling of satisfaction--not so much because he was +promoted as because, in his new sphere of usefulness, he would have more +time for the gratification of his literary tastes. + +In a speech thanking the members of the General Assembly for their +support, he said: + +"And now, gentlemen of the General Assembly, without distinction of +party, I recognize this tribute and compliment paid to me to-night. +Whatever my own course may be in the future, a large share of the +inspiration of my future public life will be drawn from this occasion +and from these surroundings, and I shall feel anew the sense of +obligation that I feel to the State of Ohio. Let me venture to point a +single sentence in regard to that work. During the twenty years that I +have been in public life, almost eighteen of it in the Congress of the +United States, I have tried to do one thing. Whether I was mistaken or +otherwise, it has been the plan of my life to follow my conviction at +whatever cost to myself. + +"I have represented for many years a district in Congress whose +approbation I greatly desired; but, though it may seem, perhaps, a +little egotistical to say it, I yet desired still more the approbation +of one person, and his name was Garfield. [Laughter and applause]. He is +the only man that I am compelled to sleep with, and eat with, and live +with, and die with; and, if I could not have his approbation, I should +have had companionship. [Renewed laughter and applause]. And in this +larger constituency which has called me to represent them now, I can +only do what is true to my best self, following the same rule. And if I +should be so unfortunate as to lose the confidence of this larger +constituency, I must do what every other fair-minded man has to +do--carry his political life in his hand and take the consequences. But +I must follow what seems to me to be the only safe rule of my life; and +with that view of the case, and with that much personal reference, I +leave that subject." + +This speech gives the key-note of Garfield's political action. More than +once he endangered his re-election and hazarded his political future by +running counter to what he knew to be the wishes of his constituents and +his party; but he would never allow himself to be a slave to party, or +wear the yoke of political expediency. He sought, first of all, to win +the approval of his own conscience and his own sense of right, and then +he was willing to "take the consequences," even if they were serious +enough to cut short the brilliant career which he so much enjoyed. + +I conceive that in this respect he was a model whom I may safely hold up +for the imitation of my readers, young or old. Such men do credit to the +country, and if Garfield's rule of life could be universally adopted, +the country would never be in peril. A conscientious man may make +mistakes of judgment but he can never go far astray. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + +THE TRIBUTES OF FRIENDS. + + +Before going farther, in order that my young readers may be better +qualified to understand what manner of man Garfield was, I will quote +the remarks made by two of his friends, one a prominent member of the +party opposed to him in politics. In the Milwaukee _Sentinel_ of Sept. +22d, I find this tribute by Congressman Williams, of that State: + +"Happening to sit within one seat of him for four years in the House, I, +with others, perhaps had a better opportunity to see him in all of his +moods than those more removed. In action he was a giant; off duty he was +a great, noble boy. He never knew what austerity of manner or +ceremonious dignity meant. After some of his greatest efforts in the +House, such as will live in history, he would turn to me, or any one +else, and say: 'Well, old boy, how was that?' Every man was his +confidant and friend, so far as the interchange of every-day good +feeling was concerned. + +"He once told me how he prepared his speeches; that first he filled +himself with the subject, massing all the facts and principles involved, +so far as he could; then he took pen and paper and wrote down the +salient points in what he regarded their logical order. Then he scanned +them critically, and fixed them in his memory. 'And then,' said he, 'I +leave the paper in my room and trust to the emergency.' He told me that +when he spoke at the serenade in New York a year ago, he was so pressed +by callers that the only opportunity he had for preparation was, to lock +the door and walk three times around the table, when he was called out +to the balcony to begin. All the world knows what that speech was. + +"He was wrapped up in his family. His two boys would come up to the +House just before adjournment, and loiter about his desk with their +books in their hands. After the House adjourned, other members would go +off in cars or carriages, or walk down the avenue in groups. But +Garfield, with a boy on each side of him, would walk down Capitol Hill, +as we would say in the country 'cross-lots,' all three chatting +together on equal terms. + +"He said to me one day during the canvass, while the tears came to his +eyes, 'I have done no more in coming up from poverty than hundreds and +thousands of others, but I am thankful that I have been able to keep my +family by my side, and educate my children.' + +"He was a man with whom anybody could differ with impunity. I have said +repeatedly, that were Garfield alive and fully recovered, and a dozen of +his intimate friends were to go to him, and advise that Guiteau be let +off, he would say, 'Yes, let him go.' The man positively knew no malice. +And for such a man to be shot and tortured like a dog, and by a dog! + +"He was extremely sensitive. I have seen him come into the House in the +morning, when some guerrilla of the press had stabbed him deeper in his +feelings than Guiteau's bullet did in the body, and when he looked +pallid from suffering, and the evident loss of sleep; but he would utter +no murmur, and in some short time his great exuberance of spirits would +surmount it all, and he would be a boy again. + +"He never went to lunch without a troop of friends with him. He loved +to talk at table, and there is no gush in saying he talked a God +socially and intellectually. Some of his off-hand expressions were like +a burst of inspiration. Like all truly great men, he did not seem to +realize his greatness. And, as I have said, he would talk as cordially +and confidentially with a child as with a monarch. And I only refer to +his conversations with me because you ask me to, and because I think his +off-hand conversations with any one reveal his real traits best. + +"Coming on the train from Washington, after his nomination, he said: +'Only think of this! I am yet a young man? if elected and I serve my +term I shall still be a young man. Then what am I going to do? There +seems to be no place in America for an ex-President.' + +"And then came in what I thought the extreme simplicity and real +nobility of the man. 'Why,' said he, 'I had no thought of being +nominated. I had bought me some new books, and was getting ready for the +Senate.' + +"I laughed at the idea of his buying books, like a boy going to college, +and remembered that during his Congressional career he had furnished +materials for a few books himself. And then, with that peculiar roll of +the body and slap on the shoulder with the left hand, which all will +recognize, he said: 'Why! do you know that up to 1856 I never saw a +_Congressional Globe_, nor knew what one was!' And he then explained how +he stumbled upon one in the hands of an opponent in his first public +anti-slavery debate. + +"A friend remarked the other day that Garfield would get as enthusiastic +in digging a six-foot ditch with his own hands, as when making a speech +in Congress. Such was my observation. Going down the lane, he seemed to +forget for the time that there was any Presidential canvass pending. He +would refer, first to one thing, then another, with that off-hand +originality which was his great characteristic. Suddenly picking up a +smooth, round pebble, he said, 'Look at that! Every stone here sings of +the sea.' + +"Asking why he bought his farm, he said he had been reading about +metals, how you could draw them to a certain point a million times and +not impair their strength, but if you passed that point once, you could +never get them back. 'So,' said he, 'I bought this farm to rest the +muscles of my mind!' Coming to two small wooden structures in the field, +he talked rapidly of how his neighbors guessed he would do in Congress, +but would not make much of a fist at farming, and then called my +attention to his corn and buckwheat and other crops, and said that was a +marsh, but he underdrained it with tile, and found spring-water flowing +out of the bluff, and found he could get a five-foot fall, and with +pumps of a given dimension, a water-dam could throw water back eighty +rods to his house, and eighty feet above it. 'But,' said he, in his +jocularly, impressive manner, 'I did my surveying before I did my +work.'" + +This is certainly a pleasant picture of a great man, who has not lost +his simplicity of manner, and who seems unconscious of his greatness--in +whom the love of humanity is so strong that he reaches out a cordial +hand to all of his kind, no matter how humble, and shows the warmest +interest in all. + +Senator Voorhees, of Indiana, was among the speakers at the memorial +meeting in Terre Haute, and in the course of his remarks, said: "I knew +James A. Garfield well, and, except on the political field, we had +strong sympathies together. It is nearly eighteen years since we first +met, and during that period I had the honor to serve seven years in the +House of Representatives with him. + +"The kindness of his nature and his mental activity were his leading +traits. In all his intercourse with men, women, and children, no kinder +heart ever beat in human breast than that which struggled on till 10.30 +o'clock Monday night, and then forever stood still. There was a light in +his face, a chord in his voice, and a pressure in his hand, which were +full of love for his fellow-beings. His manners were ardent and +demonstrative with those to whom he was attached, and he filled the +private circle with sunshine and magnetic currents. He had the joyous +spirits of boyhood and the robust intellectuality of manhood more +perfectly combined than any other I ever knew. Such a character was +necessarily almost irresistible with those who knew him personally, and +it accounts for that undying hold which, under all circumstances, bound +his immediate constituents to him as with hooks of steel. Such a nature, +however, always has its dangers as well as its strength and its +blessings. The kind heart and the open hand never accompany a +suspicious, distrustful mind. Designing men mark such a character for +their own selfishness, and Gen. Garfield's faults--for he had faults, as +he was human--sprang more from this circumstance than from all others +combined. He was prompt and eager to respond to the wishes of those he +esteemed his friends, whether inside or outside of his own political +party. That he made some mistakes in his long, busy career is but +repeating the history of every generous and obliging man who has lived +and died in public life. They are not such, however, as are recorded in +heaven, nor will they mar or weaken the love of his countrymen. + +"The poor, laboring boy, the self-made man, the hopeful, buoyant soul in +the face of all difficulties and odds, _constitute an example for the +American youth, which will never be lost nor grow dim_. + +"The estimate to be placed on the intellectual abilities of Gen. +Garfield must be a very high one. Nature was bountiful to him, and his +acquirements were extensive and solid. If I might make a comparison, I +would say that, with the exception of Jefferson and John Quincy Adams, +he was the most learned President in what is written in books in the +whole range of American history. + +"The Christian character of Gen. Garfield can not, with propriety, be +omitted in a glance, however brief, at his remarkable career. Those who +knew him best in the midst of his ambition and his worldly hopes will +not fail now at his tomb to bear their testimony to his faith in God and +his love for the teachings of the blessed Nazarene. + +"It seems but yesterday that I saw him last, and parted from him in all +the glory of his physical and mental manhood. His eye was full of light, +his tread elastic and strong, and the world lay bright before him. He +talked freely of public men and public affairs. His resentments were +like sparks from the flint. He cherished them not for a moment. Speaking +of one who, he thought, had wronged him, he said to me, that, sooner or +later, he intended to pour coals of fire on his head by acts of kindness +to some of his kindred. He did not live to do so, but the purpose of his +heart has been placed to his credit in the book of eternal life" + +A correspondent of the New York _Tribune_ suggests that the following +lines, from Pollok's "Course of Time," apply with remarkable fitness to +his glorious career: + + "Illustrious, too, that morning stood the man + Exalted by the people to the throne + Of government, established on the base + Of justice, liberty, and equal right; + Who, in his countenance sublime, expressed + A nation's majesty, and yet was meek + And humble; and in royal palace gave + Example to the meanest, of the fear + Of God, and all integrity of life + And manners; who, august, yet lowly; who + Severe, yet gracious; in his very heart + Detesting all oppression, all intent + Of private aggrandizement; and the first + In every public duty--held the scales + Of justice, and as law, which reigned in him, + Commanded, gave rewards; or with the edge + Vindictive smote--now light, now heavily, + According to the stature of the crime. + Conspicuous, like an oak of healthiest bough, + Deep-rooted in his country's love, he stood." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + +FROM CANAL-BOY TO PRESIDENT. + + +James A Garfield had been elected to the United States Senate, but he +was never a member of that body. Before the time came for him to take +his seat he had been invested with a higher dignity. Never before in our +history has the same man been an actual member of the House of +Representatives, a Senator-elect, and President-elect. + +On the 8th of June, 1880, the Republican Convention at Chicago selected +Garfield as their standard-bearer on the thirty-sixth ballot. No one, +probably, was more surprised or bewildered than Garfield himself, who +was a member of the Convention, when State after State declared in his +favor. In his loyalty to John Sherman, of his own State, whom he had set +in nomination in an eloquent speech, he tried to avert the result, but +in vain. He was known by the friends of other candidates to be +thoroughly equipped for the highest office in the people's gift, and he +was the second choice of the majority. + +[Illustration: INAUGURATION AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.] + +Mary Clemmer, the brilliant Washington correspondent, writes of the +scene thus: "For days before, many that would not confess it felt that +he was the coming man, because of the acclaim of the people whenever +Garfield appeared. The culminating moment came. Other names seemed to +sail out of sight like thistledown on the wind, till one (how glowing +and living it was) was caught by the galleries, and shout on shout arose +with the accumulative force of ascending breakers, till the vast +amphitheater was deluged with sounding and resounding acclaim, such as a +man could hope would envelope and uplift his name but once in a +life-time. And he? There he stood, strong, Saxon, fair, debonair, yet +white as new snow, and trembling like an aspen. It seemed too much, this +sudden storm of applause and enthusiasm for him, the new idol, the +coming President; yet who may say that through his exultant, yet +trembling heart, that moment shot the presaging pang of distant, yet +sure-coming woe?" + +Senator Hoar of Massachusetts, who was the President of the Convention, +in a speech made not long afterward, paid the following just tribute to +Garfield's character and qualifications: + +"Think of the qualifications for the office which that man combines. Do +you want a statesman in the broadest sense? Do you demand a successful +soldier? Do you want a man of more experience in civil affairs? No +President of the United States since John Quincy Adams has begun to +bring to the Presidential office, when he entered, anything like the +experience in statesmanship of Gen. Garfield. As you look over the list, +Grant, Jackson, and Taylor have brought to the position great fame as +soldiers, but who since John Quincy Adams has had such a civil career to +look back upon as Gen. Garfield? Since 1864 I can not think of one +important question debated in Congress or discussed before the great +tribunal of the American people in which you can not find the issue +stated more clearly and better than by any one else in the speeches in +the House of Representatives or on the hustings of Gen. Garfield--firm +and resolute, constant in his adherence to what he thinks is right, +regardless of popular delusions or the fear that he will become less +popular, or be disappointed in his ambitions. + +"Just remember when Republicans and Democrats alike of Ohio fairly went +crazy over the financial heresy, this man stood as with his feet on a +rock, demanding honesty in government. About six years ago I sat by the +side of an Ohio Representative, who had an elaborately prepared table, +showing how the West was being cheated; that Ohio had not as many bank +bills to the square mile as the East, and that the Southwest was even +worse off than Ohio. + +"In regard to the great questions of human rights he has stood +inflexible. The successor of Joshua R. Giddings, he is the man on whom +his mantle may be said to have descended. Still he is no blind partisan. +The best arguments in favor of civil service reform are found in the +speeches of Gen. Garfield. He is liberal and generous in the treatment +of the South, one of the foremost advocates of educational institutions +in the South at the national expense. Do you wish for that highest +type--the volunteer citizen soldier? Here is a man who enlisted at the +beginning of the war; from a subordinate officer he became a +major-general, trusted by those best of commanders, Thomas and +Rosecranz, always in the thickest of the fight, the commander of +dangerous and always successful expeditions, and returning home crowned +with the laurels of victory. Do you wish for an honored career, which in +itself is a vindication of the system of the American Republic? Without +the attributes of rank or wealth, he has risen from the humblest to the +loftiest position." + +When the nominee of the convention had leisure to reflect upon his new +position, and then cast his eye back along his past life, beginning with +his rustic home in the Ohio wilderness, and traced step by step his +progress from canal-boy to Presidential candidate, it must have seemed +to him almost a dream. It was indeed a wonderful illustration of what we +claim for our Republican institutions, the absolute right of the poorest +and humblest, provided he has the requisite talent and industry to +aspire to the chief place and the supreme power. "It was the most +perfect instance of the resistless strength of a man developed by all +the best and purest impulses, forces, and influences of American +institutions into becoming their most thorough and ablest embodiment in +organic and personal activity, aspiration, and character." + +The response to the nomination throughout the country was most hearty. +It was felt that the poor Ohio canal-boy had fitted himself, after an +arduous struggle with poverty, for the high post to which he was likely +to be called. The _N.Y. Tribune_, whose first choice had been the +brilliant son of Maine, James G. Blaine, welcomed the result of the +convention thus: + +"From one end of the nation to the other, from distant Oregon to Texas, +from Maine to Arizona, lightning has informed the country of the +nomination yesterday of James A. Garfield, as the Republican candidate +for the Presidency. + +"Never was a nomination made which has been received by friend and foe +with such evidence of hearty respect, admiration, and confidence. The +applause is universal. Even the Democratic House of Representatives +suspended its business that it might congratulate the country upon the +nomination of the distinguished leader of the Republicans. + +"James Abram Garfield is, in the popular mind, one of the foremost +statesmen of the nation. He is comparatively a young man, but in his +service he commands the confidence and admiration of his countrymen of +all parties. His ability, his thorough study, and his long practical +experience in political matters gives an assurance to the country that +he will carry to the Presidential office a mind superior, because of its +natural qualifications and training, to any that has preceded him for +many years. He will be a President worthy in every sense to fill the +office in a way that the country will like to see it filled--with +ability, learning, experience, and integrity. That Gen. Garfield will be +elected we have no question. He is a candidate worthy of election, and +will command not only every Republican vote in the country, but the +support of tens of thousands of non-partisans who want to see a +President combining intellectual ability with learning, experience, and +ripe statesmanship." + +The prediction recorded above was fulfilled. On the second of November, +1880, James A. Garfield was elected President of the United States. + +Had this been a story of the imagination, such as I have often written, +I should not have dared to crown it with such an ending. In view of my +hero's humble beginnings, I should expect to have it severely +criticised as utterly incredible, but reality is oftentimes stranger +than romance, and this is notably illustrated in Garfield's wonderful +career. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + +THE NEW ADMINISTRATION. + + +On the evening of March 3d, preceding the inauguration, the +President-elect met twenty of his college classmates at supper at +Wormley's Hotel, in Washington, and mutual congratulations were +exchanged. He was the first President of the United States selected from +among the graduates of Williams College, and all the alumni, but more +especially the class of 1856, were full of pride and rejoicing. From +none probably were congratulations more welcome to the new President +than from his old academic associates. If I transcribe the speech which +Gen. Garfield made upon that occasion it is because it throws a light +upon his character and interprets the feelings with which he entered +upon the high office to which his countrymen had called him: + +"CLASSMATES: To me there is something exceedingly pathetic in this +reunion. In every eye before me I see the light of friendship and love, +and I am sure it is reflected back to each one of you from my inmost +heart. For twenty-two years, with the exception of the last few days, I +have been in the public service. To-night I am a private citizen. +To-morrow I shall be called to assume new responsibilities, and on the +day after, the broadside of the world's wrath will strike. It will +strike hard. I know it, and you will know it. Whatever may happen to me +in the future, I shall feel that I can always fall back upon the +shoulders and hearts of the class of '56 for their approval of that +which is right, and for their charitable judgment wherein I may come +short in the discharge of my public duties. You may write down in your +books now the largest percentage of blunders which you think I will be +likely to make, and you will be sure to find in the end that I have made +more than you have calculated--many more. + +"This honor comes to me unsought. I have never had the Presidential +fever--not even for a day; nor have I it to-night. I have no feeling of +elation in view of the position I am called upon to fill. I would thank +God were I to-day a free lance in the House or the Senate. But it is +not to be, and I will go forward to meet the responsibilities and +discharge the duties that are before me with all the firmness and +ability I can command. I hope you will be able conscientiously to +approve my conduct; and when I return to private life, I wish you to +give me another class-meeting." + +This brief address exhibits the modesty with which Gen. Garfield viewed +his own qualifications for the high office for which twenty years of +public life had been gradually preparing him. While all are liable to +mistakes, it is hardly to be supposed that a man so prepared, and +inspired by a conscientious devotion to what he deemed to be right, +would have made many serious blunders. During his brief administration +he made, as the country knows, an admirable beginning in reforming +abuses and exacting the most rigid economy in the public service. There +was every probability of his being his own successor had his life been +spared. + +The inaugural ceremonies were very imposing. Washington was thronged as +it had never been before on any similar occasion. Private citizens, +civic bodies, and military companies were present from every part of +the country. Prominent among the eminent citizens present was the +stately and imposing figure of Gen. Hancock, who had been the nominee of +the opposing party, and who, with admirable good feeling and good taste, +had accepted an invitation to be present at the inauguration of his +successful rival. + +And there were others present whom we have met before. The wife and +mother of the new President, with flushed cheeks and proud hearts, +witnessed the ceremonies that made the one they loved the head of the +State. To him they were more than all the rest. When he had taken the +oath of office in the presence of the assembled tens of thousands, +Garfield turned to his aged mother and imprinted a kiss upon her cheek, +and afterward upon that of his wife. It was a touch of nature that +appealed to the hearts of all present. + +In the White House, one of the best rooms was reserved for his aged +mother, for whom he cherished the same fond love and reverence as in his +boyish days. It was a change, and a great one, from the humble log-cabin +in which our story opens; it was a change, too, from the backwoods boy, +in his suit of homespun, to the statesman of noble and commanding +figure, upon whom the eyes of the nation were turned. The boy who had +guided the canal-boat was now at the helm of the national vessel, and +there was no fear that he would run her aground. Even had storms come, +we might safely trust in him who had steered the little steamboat up the +Big Sandy River, in darkness and storm and floating obstructions, to the +camp where his famished soldiers were waiting for supplies. For, as is +the case with every great man, it was difficulty and danger that nerved +Garfield to heroic efforts, and no emergency found him lacking. + +His life must now be changed, and the change was not altogether +agreeable. With his cordial off-hand manners, and Western freedom, he, +no doubt, felt cramped and hampered by the requirements of his new +position. When he expressed his preference for the position of a +freelance in the House or Senate, he was sincere. It was more in +accordance with his private tastes. But a public man can not always +choose the place or the manner in which he will serve his country. +Often she says to him, "Go up higher!" when he is content with an humble +place, and more frequently, perhaps, he has to be satisfied with an +humble place when he considers himself fitted for a higher. + +So far as he could, Gen. Garfield tried to preserve in the Executive +Mansion the domestic life which he so highly prized. He had his children +around him. He made wise arrangements for their continued education, for +he felt that whatever other legacy he might be able to leave them, this +would be the most valuable. Still, as of old, he could count on the +assistance of his wife in fulfilling the duties, social and otherwise, +required by his exalted position. + +Nor was he less fortunate in his political family. He had selected as +his Premier a friend and political associate of many years' standing, +whose brilliant talent and wide-spread reputation brought strength to +his administration. In accepting the tender of the post of Secretary of +State, Mr. Blaine said: "In our new relation I shall give all that I am, +and all that I can hope to be, freely and joyfully to your service. You +need no pledge of my loyalty in heart and in act. I should be false to +myself did I not prove true both to the great trust you confide to me, +and to your own personal and political fortunes in the present and in +the future. Your administration must be made brilliantly successful, and +strong in the confidence and pride of the people, not at all directing +its energies for re-election, and yet compelling that result by the +logic of events and by the imperious necessities of the situation. + +"I accept it as one of the happiest circumstances connected with this +affair, that in allying my political fortunes with yours--or rather, for +the time merging mine in yours--my heart goes with my head, and that I +carry to you not only political support, but personal and devoted +friendship. I can but regard it as somewhat remarkable that two men of +the same age, entering Congress at the same time, influenced by the same +aims, and cherishing the same ambitions, should never, for a single +moment, in eighteen years of close intimacy, have had a misunderstanding +or a coolness, and that our friendship has steadily grown with our +growth, and strengthened with our strength. + +"It is this fact which has led me to the conclusion embodied in this +letter; for, however much, my dear Garfield, I might admire you as a +statesman, I would not enter your Cabinet if I did not believe in you as +a man and love you as a friend." + +When it is remembered that Mr. Blaine before the meeting of the +convention was looked upon as the probable recipient of the honor that +fell to Garfield, the generous warmth of this letter will be accounted +most creditable to both of the two friends, whose strong friendship +rivalry could not weaken or diminish. + +So the new Administration entered upon what promised to be a successful +course. I can not help recording, as a singular circumstance, that the +three highest officers were ex-teachers. Of Garfield's extended services +as teacher, beginning with the charge of a district school in the +wilderness, and ending with the presidency of a college, we already +know. Reference has also been made to the early experience of the +Vice-President, Chester A. Arthur, in managing a country school. To this +it may be added that Mr. Blaine, too, early in life was a teacher in an +academy, and, as may readily be supposed, a successful one. It is seldom +in other countries that similar honors crown educational workers. It +may be mentioned, however, that Louis Philippe, afterward King of the +French, while an exile in this country, gave instruction in his native +language. It is not, however, every ruler of boys that is qualified to +become a ruler of men. Yet, in our own country, probably a majority of +our public men have served in this capacity. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. + +THE TRAGIC END. + + +I should like to end my story here, and feel that it was complete. I +should like with my countrymen to be still looking forward with interest +to the successful results of an administration, guided by the +experienced statesman whose career we have followed step by step from +its humble beginnings. But it can not be. + +On the second of July, in the present year, a startling rumor was borne +on the wings of the lightning to the remotest parts of the land: + +"President Garfield has been assassinated!" + +The excitement was only paralleled by that which prevailed in 1865, when +Abraham Lincoln was treacherously killed by an assassin. But in this +later case the astonishment was greater, and all men asked, "What can it +mean?" + +We were in a state of profound peace. No wars nor rumors of war +disturbed the humble mind, and the blow was utterly unexpected and +inexplicable. + +The explanation came soon enough. It was the work of a wretched +political adventurer, who, inflated by an overweening estimate of his +own abilities and importance, had made a preposterous claim to two high +political offices--the post of Minister to Austria, and Consul to +Paris--and receiving no encouragement in either direction, had +deliberately made up his mind to "remove" the President, as he termed +it, in the foolish hope that his chances of gaining office would be +better under another administration. + +My youngest readers will remember the sad excitement of that eventful +day. They will remember, also, how the public hopes strengthened or +weakened with the varying bulletins of each day during the protracted +sickness of the nation's head. They will not need to be reminded how +intense was the anxiety everywhere manifested, without regard to party +or section, for the recovery of the suffering ruler. And they will +surely remember the imposing demonstrations of sorrow when the end was +announced. Some of the warmest expressions of grief came from the +South, who in this time of national calamity were at one with their +brothers of the North. And when, on the 26th of September, the last +funeral rites were celebrated, and the body of the dead President was +consigned to its last resting-place in the beautiful Lake View Cemetery, +in sight of the pleasant lake on which his eyes rested as a boy, never +before had there been such imposing demonstrations of grief in our +cities and towns. + +These were not confined to public buildings, and to the houses and +warehouses of the rich, but the poorest families displayed their bit of +crape. Outside of a miserable shanty in Brooklyn was displayed a cheap +print of the President, framed in black, with these words written below, +"We mourn our loss." Even as I write, the insignia of grief are still to +be seen in the tenement-house districts on the East Side of New York, +and there seems a reluctance to remove them. + +But not alone to our own country were confined the exhibitions of +sympathy, and the anxious alternations of hope and fear. There was +scarcely a portion of the globe in which the hearts of the people were +not deeply stirred by the daily bulletins that came from the sick couch +of the patient sufferer. Of the profound impression made in England I +shall give a description, contributed to the New York _Tribune_ by its +London correspondent, Mr. G.W. Smalley, only premising that the sympathy +and grief were universal: from the Queen, whose messages of tender, +womanly sympathy will not soon be forgotten, to the humblest +day-laborers in the country districts. Never in England has such grief +been exhibited at the sickness and death of a foreign ruler, and the +remembrance of it will draw yet closer together, for all time to come, +the two great sections of the English-speaking tongue. Were it not a +subject of such general interest, I should apologize for the space I +propose to give to England's mourning: + +"It happened that some of the humbler classes were among the most eager +to signify their feelings. The omnibus-drivers had each a knot of crape +on his whip. Many of the cabmen had the same thing, and so had the +draymen. In the city, properly so called, and along the water-side, it +was the poorer shops and the smaller craft that most frequently +exhibited tokens of public grief. Of the people one met in mourning the +same thing was true. Between mourning put on for the day and that which +was worn for private affliction it was not possible to distinguish. But +in many cases it was plain enough that the black coat on the +workingman's shoulders, or the bonnet or bit of crape which a shop-girl +wore, was no part of their daily attire. They had done as much as they +could to mark themselves as mourners for the President. It was not much, +but it was enough. It had cost them some thought, a little pains, +sometimes a little money, and they were people whose lives brought a +burden to every hour, who had no superfluity of strength or means, and +on whom even a slight effort imposed a distinct sacrifice. They are not +of the class to whom the Queen's command for Court mourning was +addressed. Few of that class are now in London. St. James' Street and +Pall Mall, Belgravia and May Fair are depopulated. The compliance with +the Queen's behest has been, I am sure, general and hearty, but +evidences of it were to be sought elsewhere than in London. + +"Of other demonstrations it can hardly be necessary to repeat or enlarge +upon the description you have already had. The drawn blinds of the +Mansion House and of Buckingham Palace, the flags at half-mast in the +Thames on ships of every nationality, the Stock and Metal Exchanges +closed, the royal standard at half-mast on the steeple of the royal +church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; the darkened windows of great +numbers of banking houses and other places of business in the city +itself--of all these you have heard. + +"At the West End, the shops were not, as a rule, draped with black. Some +of them had the Union Jack at half-mast; a few the Stars and Stripes in +black with white and black hangings on the shop fronts. The greater +number of shop-keepers testified to their association with the general +feeling by shutters overhanging the tops of the windows, or by +perpendicular slabs at intervals down the glass. Some had nothing; but +in Regent Street, Bond Street, St. James' Street, and Piccadilly, which +are the fashionable business streets of the West End, those which had +nothing were the exception. The American Legation in Victoria Street, +and the American Consulate in Old Broad Street, both of which were +closed, were in deep mourning. The American Dispatch Agency, occupying +part of a conspicuous building in Trafalgar Square, had nothing to +indicate its connection with America or any share in the general +sorrow. + +"In many private houses--I should say the majority in such streets as I +passed through during the day--the blinds were down as they would have +been for a death in the family. The same is true of some of the clubs, +and some of the hotels. The Reform Club, of which Garfield is said to +have been an honorary member, had a draped American flag over the door. + +"To-day, as on every previous day since the President's death, the +London papers print many columns of accounts, each account very brief, +of what has been done and said in the so-called provincial towns. One +journal prefaces its copious record by the impressive statement that +from nearly every town and village telegraphic messages have been sent +by its correspondents describing the respect paid to General Garfield on +the day of his funeral. These tributes are necessarily in many places of +a similar character, yet the variety of sources from which they proceed +is wide enough to include almost every form of municipal, +ecclesiastical, political, or individual activity. Everywhere bells are +tolled, churches thrown open for service, flags drooping, business is +interrupted, resolutions are passed. Liverpool, as is natural for the +multiplicity and closeness of her relations with the United States, may +perhaps be said to have taken the lead. She closed, either in whole or +in part, her Cotton Market, her Produce Markets, her Provision Market, +her Stock Exchange. Her papers came out in mourning. The bells tolled +all day long. + +"Few merchants, one reads, came to their places of business, and most of +those who came were in black. The Mayor and members of the Corporation, +in their robes, attended a memorial service at St. Peter's, and the +cathedral overflowed with its sorrowing congregation. Manchester, +Newcastle, Birmingham, Glasgow, Bradford, Edinburgh were not much behind +Liverpool in demonstrations, and not at all behind it in spirit. It is +an evidence of the community of feeling between the two countries that +so much of the action is official. What makes these official acts so +striking, also, is the evident feeling at the bottom of this, that +between England and America there is some kind of a relation which +brings the loss of the President into the same category with the loss of +an English ruler. + +"At Edinburgh it is the Lord Provost who orders the bells to be tolled +till two. At Glasgow the Town Council adjourns. At Stratford-on-Avon the +Mayor orders the flag to be hoisted at half-mast over the Town Hall, and +the blinds to be drawn, and invites the citizens to follow his example, +which they do; the bell at the Chapel of the Holy Cion tolling every +minute while the funeral is solemnized at Cleveland. At Leeds the bell +in the Town Hall is muffled and tolled, and the public meeting which the +United States Consul, Mr. Dockery, addresses, is under the presidency of +the acting Mayor. Mr. Dockery remarked that as compared with other great +towns, so few were the American residents in Leeds, that the great +exhibition of sympathy had utterly amazed him. The remark is natural, +but Mr. Dockery need not have been amazed. The whole population of Leeds +was American yesterday; and of all England. At Oxford the Town Council +voted an address to Mrs. Garfield. At the Plymouth Guildhall the maces, +the emblems of municipal authority, were covered with black At Dublin +the Lord Mayor proposed, and the Aldermen adopted, a resolution of +sympathy. + +"In all the cathedral towns the cathedral authorities prescribed +services for the occasion. I omit, because I have no room for them, +scores of other accounts, not less significant and not less affecting. +They are all in one tone and one spirit. Wherever in England, yesterday, +two or three were gathered together, President Garfield's name was +heard. Privately and publicly, simply as between man and man, or +formally with the decorous solemnity and stately observance befitting +bodies which bear a relation to the Government, a tribute of honest +grief was offered to the President and his family, and of honest +sympathy to his country. Steeple spoke to steeple, distant cities +clasped hands. The State, the Church, the people of England were at one +together in their sorrow, and in their earnest wish to offer some sort +of comfort to their mourning brothers beyond the sea. You heard in every +mouth the old cry, 'Blood is thicker than water.' And the voice which is +perhaps best entitled to speak for the whole nation added, 'Yes, though +the water be a whole Atlantic Ocean.'" + +In addition to these impressive demonstrations, the Archbishop of +Canterbury held a service and delivered an address in the church of St. +Martin-in-the-Fields, on Monday. Mr. Lowell had been invited, of +course, by the church wardens, and a pew reserved for him, but when he +reached the church with his party half his pew was occupied. + +"The Archbishop, who wore deep crape over his Episcopal robes, avoided +calling his discourse a sermon, and avoided, likewise, through the +larger portion of it, the purely professional tone common in the pulpit +on such occasions. During a great part of his excellent address he +spoke, as anybody else might have done, of the manly side of the +President's character. He gave, moreover, his own view of the reason why +all England has been so strangely moved. 'During the long period of the +President's suffering,' said the Archbishop, 'we had time to think what +manner of man this was over whom so great a nation was mourning day by +day. We learned what a noble history his was, and we were taught to +trace a career such as England before knew nothing of.' + +"Among the innumerable testimonies to the purity and beauty of +Garfield's character," says Mr. Smalley, "this address of the Primate of +the English Church surely is one which all Americans may acknowledge +with grateful pride." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV. + +MR. DEPEW'S ESTIMATE OF GARFIELD. + + +My task is drawing near a close. I have, in different parts of this +volume, expressed my own estimate of our lamented President. No +character in our history, as it seems to me, furnishes a brighter or +more inspiring example to boys and young men. It is for this reason that +I have been induced to write the story of his life especially for +American boys, conceiving that in no way can I do them a greater +service. + +But I am glad, in confirmation of my own estimate, to quote at length +the eloquent words of Hon. Chauncey M. Depew, in his address before the +Grand Army of the Republic. He says of Garfield: + +"In America and Europe he is recognized as an illustrious example of the +results of free institutions. His career shows what can be accomplished +where all avenues are open and exertion is untrammeled. Our annals +afford no such incentive to youth as does his life, and it will become +one of the republic's household stories. No boy in poverty almost +hopeless, thirsting for knowledge, meets an obstacle which Garfield did +not experience and overcome. No youth despairing in darkness feels a +gloom which he did not dispel. No young man filled with honorable +ambition can encounter a difficulty which he did not meet and surmount. +For centuries to come great men will trace their rise from humble +origins to the inspirations of that lad who learned to read by the light +of a pine-knot in a log-cabin; who, ragged and barefooted, trudged along +the tow-path of the canal, and without money or affluent relations, +without friends or assistance, by faith in himself and in God, became +the most scholarly and best equipped statesman of his time, one of the +foremost soldiers of his country, the best debater in the strongest of +deliberative bodies, the leader of his party, and the Chief Magistrate +of fifty millions of people before he was fifty years of age. + +"We are not here to question the ways of Providence. Our prayers were +not answered as we desired, though the volume and fervor of our +importunity seemed resistless; but already, behind the partially lifted +veil, we see the fruits of the sacrifice. Old wounds are healed and +fierce feuds forgotten. Vengeance and passion which have survived the +best statesmanship of twenty years are dispelled by a common sorrow. +Love follows sympathy. Over this open grave the cypress and willow are +indissolubly united, and into it are buried all sectional differences +and hatreds. The North and the South rise from bended knees to embrace +in the brotherhood of a common people and reunited country. Not this +alone, but the humanity of the civilized world has been quickened and +elevated, and the English-speaking people are nearer to-day in peace and +unity than ever before. There is no language in which petitions have not +arisen for Garfield's life, and no clime where tears have not fallen for +his death. The Queen of the proudest of nations, for the first time in +our recollections, brushes aside the formalities of diplomacy, and, +descending from the throne, speaks for her own and the hearts of all her +people, in the cable, to the afflicted wife, which says: 'Myself and my +children mourn with you.' + +"It was my privilege to talk for hours with Gen. Garfield during his +famous trip to the New York conference in the late canvass, and jet it +was not conversation or discussion. He fastened upon me all the powers +of inquisitiveness and acquisitiveness, and absorbed all I had learned +in twenty years of the politics of this State. Under this restless and +resistless craving for information, he drew upon all the resources of +the libraries, gathered all the contents of the newspapers, and sought +and sounded the opinions of all around him, and in his broad, clear mind +the vast mass was so assimilated and tested that when he spoke or acted, +it was accepted as true and wise. And yet it was by the gush and warmth +of old college-chum ways, and not by the arts of the inquisitor, that +when he had gained he never lost a friend. His strength was in +ascertaining and expressing the average sense of his audience. I saw him +at the Chicago Convention, and whenever that popular assemblage seemed +drifting into hopeless confusion, his tall form commanded attention, and +his clear voice and clear utterances instantly gave the accepted +solution. + +"I arrived at his house at Mentor in the early morning following the +disaster in Maine. While all about him were in panic, he saw only a +damage which must and could be repaired. 'It is no use bemoaning the +past,' he said; 'the past has no uses except for its lessons.' Business +disposed of, he threw aside all restraint, and for hours his +speculations and theories upon philosophy, government, education, +eloquence; his criticism of books, his reminiscences of men and events, +made that one of the white-letter days of my life. At Chickamauga he won +his major-general's commission. On the anniversary of the battle he +died. I shall never forget his description of the fight--so modest, yet +graphic. It is imprinted on my memory as the most glorious +battle-picture words ever painted. He thought the greatest calamity +which could befall a man was to lose ambition. I said to him, 'General, +did you never in your earlier struggle have that feeling I have so often +met with, when you would have compromised your future for a certainty, +and if so, what?' 'Yes,' said he, 'I remember well when I would have +been willing to exchange all the possibilities of my life for the +certainty of a position as a successful teacher.' Though he died +neither a school principal nor college professor, and they seem humble +achievements compared with what he did, his memory will instruct while +time endures. + +"His long and dreadful sickness lifted the roof from his house and +family circle, and his relations as son, husband, and father stood +revealed in the broadest sunlight of publicity. The picture endeared him +wherever is understood the full significance of that matchless word +'Home.' When he stood by the capitol just pronounced the President of +the greatest and most powerful of republics, the exultation of the hour +found its expression in a kiss upon the lips of his mother. For weeks, +in distant Ohio, she sat by the gate watching for the hurrying feet of +the messenger bearing the telegrams of hope or despair. His last +conscious act was to write a letter of cheer and encouragement to that +mother, and when the blow fell she illustrated the spirit she had +instilled in him. There were no rebellious murmurings against the Divine +dispensation, only in utter agony: 'I have no wish to live longer; I +will join him soon; the Lord's will be done.' When Dr. Bliss told him he +had a bare chance of recovery, 'Then,' said he, 'we will take that +chance, doctor.' When asked if he suffered pain, he answered: 'If you +can imagine a trip-hammer crashing on your body, or cramps such as you +have in the water a thousand times intensified, you can have some idea +of what I suffer.' And yet, during those eighty-one days was heard +neither groan nor complaint. Always brave and cheerful, he answered the +fear of the surgeons with the remark: 'I have faced death before; I am +not afraid to meet him now.' And again, 'I have strength enough left to +fight him yet'--and he could whisper to the Secretary of the Treasury an +inquiry about the success of the funding scheme, and ask the +Postmaster-General how much public money he had saved. + +"As he lay in the cottage by the sea, looking out upon the ocean, whose +broad expanse was in harmony with his own grand nature, and heard the +beating of the waves upon the shore, and felt the pulsations of millions +of hearts against his chamber door, there was no posing for history and +no preparation of last words for dramatic effect. With simple +naturalness he gave the military salute to the sentinel gazing at his +window, and that soldier, returning it in tears, will probably carry +its memory to his dying day and transmit it to his children. The voice +of his faithful wife came from her devotions in another room, singing, +'Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah.' 'Listen,' he cries, 'is not that +glorious?' and in a few hours heaven's portals opened and upborne upon +prayers as never before wafted spirit above he entered the presence of +God. It is the alleviation of all sorrow, public or private, that close +upon it press the duties of and to the living. + +"The tolling bells, the minute-guns upon land and sea, the muffled drums +and funeral hymns fill the air while our chief is borne to his last +resting-place. The busy world is stilled for the hour when loving hands +are preparing his grave. A stately shaft will rise, overlooking the lake +and commemorating his deeds. But his fame will not live alone in marble +or brass. His story will be treasured and kept warm in the hearts of +millions for generations to come, and boys hearing it from their mothers +will be fired with nobler ambitions. To his countrymen he will always be +a typical American, soldier, and statesman. A year ago and not a +thousand people of the old world had ever heard his name, and now there +is scarcely a thousand who do not mourn his loss. The peasant loves him +because from the same humble lot he became one of the mighty of earth, +and sovereigns respect him because in his royal gifts and kingly nature +God made him their equal." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI. + +THE LESSONS OF HIS LIFE. + + +Probably the nearest and closest friend of Garfield, intellectually +speaking, was his successor in the presidency of Hiram College, B.A. +Hinsdale. If any one understood the dead President it was he. For many +years they corresponded regularly, exchanging views upon all topics that +interested either. They would not always agree, but this necessarily +followed from the mental independence of each. To Mr. Hinsdale we turn +for a trustworthy analysis of the character and intellectual greatness +of his friend, and this he gives us in an article published in the N.Y. +_Independent_ of Sept. 29, 1881: + +"First of all, James A. Garfield had greatness of nature. Were I limited +to one sentence of description, it would be: He was a great-natured man. +He was a man of strong and massive body. A strong frame, broad +shoulders, powerful vital apparatus, and a massive head furnished the +physical basis of his life. He was capable of an indefinite amount of +work, both physical and mental. His intellectual status was equally +strong and massive. He excelled almost all men both in the patient +accumulation of facts and in bold generalization. He had great power of +logical analysis, and stood with the first in rhetorical exposition. He +had the best instincts and habits of the scholar. He loved to roam in +every field of knowledge. He delighted in the creations of the +imagination--poetry, fiction, and art. He loved the deep things of +philosophy. He took a keen interest in scientific research. He gathered +into his storehouse the facts of history and politics, and threw over +the whole the life and power of his own originality. + +"The vast labors that he crowded into those thirty years--labors rarely +equaled in the history of men--are the fittest gauge of his physical and +intellectual power. His moral character was on a scale equally large and +generous. His feelings were delicate, his sympathies most responsive, +his sense of justice keen. He was alive to delicate points of honor. No +other man whom I have known had such heart. He had great faith in human +nature and was wholly free from jealousy and suspicion. He was one of +the most helpful and appreciative of men. His largeness of views and +generosity of spirit were such that he seemed incapable of personal +resentment. He was once exhorted to visit moral indignation upon some +men who had wronged him deeply. Fully appreciating the baseness of their +conduct, he said he would try, but added: 'I am afraid some one will +have to help me.' + +"What is more, General Garfield was religious, both by nature and by +habit. His mind was strong in the religious element. His near relatives +received the Gospel as it was proclaimed fifty years ago by Thomas and +Alexander Campbell. He made public profession of religion before he +reached his twentieth year and became a member of the same church, and +such he remained until his death. Like all men of his thought and +reading, he understood the hard questions that modern science and +criticism have brought into the field of religion. Whether he ever +wrought these out to his own full satisfaction I can not say. However +that may be, his native piety, his early training, and his sober +convictions held him fast to the great truths of revealed religion. +Withal, he was a man of great simplicity of character. No one could be +more approachable. He drew men to him as the magnet the iron filings. +This he did naturally and without conscious plan or effort. At times, +when the burden of work was heavy and his strength overdrawn, intimate +friends would urge him to withdraw himself somewhat from the crowds that +flocked to him; but almost always the advice was vain. His sympathy with +the people was immediate and quick. He seemed almost intuitively to read +the public thought and feeling. No matter what was his station, he +always remembered the rock from which he had himself been hewn. +Naturally he inspired confidence in all men who came into contact with +him. When a young man, and even a boy, he ranked in judgment and in +counsel with those much his seniors. + +"It is not remarkable, therefore, that he should have led a great +career. He was always with the foremost or in the lead, no matter what +the work in hand. He was a good wood-chopper and a good canal hand; he +was a good school janitor; and, upon the whole, ranked all competitors, +both in Hiram and in Williamstown, as a student. He was an excellent +teacher. He was the youngest man in the Ohio Senate. When made +brigadier-general, he was the youngest man of that rank in the army. +When he entered it, he was the youngest man on the floor of the House of +Representatives. His great ability and signal usefulness as teacher, +legislator, popular orator, and President must be passed with a single +reference. + +"He retained his simplicity and purity of character to the end. Neither +place nor power corrupted his honest fiber. Advancement in public favor +and position gave him pleasure, but brought him no feeling of elation. +For many years President Garfield and the writer exchanged letters at +the opening of each new year. January 5th, last, he wrote: + +"'For myself, the year has been full of surprises, and has brought more +sadness than joy. I am conscious of two things: first, that I have never +had, and do not think I shall take, the Presidential fever. Second, that +I am not elated with the election to that office. On the contrary, while +appreciating the honor and the opportunities which the place brings, I +feel heavily the loss of liberty which accompanies it, and especially +that it will in a great measure stop my growth.' + +"March 26, 1881, in the midst of the political tempest following his +inauguration, he wrote: 'I throw you a line across the storm, to let you +know that I think, when I have a moment between breaths, of the dear old +quiet and peace of Hiram and Mentor.' How he longed for 'the dear old +quiet and peace of Hiram and Mentor' in the weary days following the +assassin's shot all readers of the newspapers know already. + +"Such are some main lines in the character of this great-natured and +richly-cultured man. The outline is but poor and meager. Well do I +remember the days following the Chicago Convention, when the biographers +flocked to Mentor. How hard they found it to compress within the limits +both of their time and their pages the life, services, and character of +their great subject. One of these discouraged historians one day wearily +said: 'General, how much there is of you!' + +"Space fails to speak of President Garfield's short administration. +Fortunately, it is not necessary. Nor can I give the history of the +assassination or sketch the gallant fight for life. His courage and +fortitude, faith and hope, patience and tenderness are a part of his +country's history. Dying, as well as living, he maintained his great +position with appropriate power and dignity. His waving his white hand +to the inmates of the White House, the morning he was borne sick out of +it, reminds one of dying Sidney's motioning the cup of water to the lips +of the wounded soldier. No man's life was ever prayed for by so many +people. The name of no living man has been upon so many lips. No +sick-bed was ever the subject of so much tender solicitude. That one so +strong in faculties, so rich in knowledge, so ripe in experience, so +noble in character, so needful to the nation, and so dear to his friends +should be taken in a way so foul almost taxes faith in the Divine love +and wisdom. Perhaps, however, in the noble lessons of those eighty days +from July 2d to September 19th, and in the moral unification of the +country, history will find full compensation for our great loss. + +"Finally, the little white-haired mother and the constant wife must not +be passed unnoticed. How the old mother prayed and waited, and the +brave wife wrought and hoped, will live forever, both in history and in +legend. It is not impiety to say that wheresoever President Garfield's +story shall be told in the whole world there shall also this, that these +women have done, be told for a memorial of them." + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's From Canal Boy to President, by Horatio Alger, Jr. + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FROM CANAL BOY TO PRESIDENT *** + +***** This file should be named 14964.txt or 14964.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/9/6/14964/ + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Josephine Paolucci, Joshua Hutchinson +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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