stitute a great family in the kingdom of God, and where I hope to meet you all in the end. Amen. After an ode by Horace, sung in Latin by the United German Singing Society, Mr. Robinson announced the late President's favorite hymn, "Ho, reapers of life's harvest," which the German vocal societies of Cleveland sang with marked effect. The exercises closed with the benediction by President Hinsdale, of Hiram College, and, reëntering their carriages, the mourners drove hurriedly back to the city, to avoid another shower which was threatened. The military and masonic escort left the cemetery in the same order in which they entered, and kept in line until the catafalque was reached, where they were dismissed. The following day the sad family of General Garfield returned in gloom to their home in Mentor; there, secluded from the public gaze, to weep with each other, a precious privilege to lovers of quiet like them, who had been in the focus of the world's gaze for so many terrible weeks. CHAPTER XXIII. IN MEMORIAM. RETROSPECTIVE VIEW OF HIS LIFE. THE SECRET OF HIS GREATNESS. -TRIBUTES FROM DISTINGUISHED MEN. INCIDENT OF HIS SICKNESS. -LETTER WRITTEN IN HIS BOYHOOD. — SUBSCRIPTION FOR HIS FAM ILY. CLOSING WORDS. As we cast a retrospective glance over the life which has now become as a whole a matter of history, the question presents itself to the student of the biography: In what feature of his character did his greatness most exhibit itself? Unlike some of ancient renown, and who perhaps would have been less renowned had they lived in this critical, enlightened century, General Garfield was not great in all directions. What strength may have lain dormant in his nature, undeveloped for the lack of those circumstances which would exhibit or test them, cannot be estimated. Certainly, neither in war, nor letters, nor revolutions, was he placed under such fearful tests. as have been noted in the history of some other men in other countries. Yet we say, and the verdict of unbiased history will say, he is counted rightly among the great men of his time. Looking, then, closely into his character and rec ord, we should say that the noblest characteristic of his nature was his outspoken, outacted, and unrivaled sympathy with the weak. Without that principle deeply permeating his nature no man can be either noble, good, or great, in the best sense of those terms, and the grandest heroism of any age has found its impetus in that disposition. When Jimmy Garfield returned to his mother, in her old log cabin, because he could not bear to leave her alone, and pledged himself to remain by her as her support, he exhibited in a touching manner this noble impulse. When James A. Garfield, as a school-boy, spread his strong hand and arm as a protective shield to the little boys and girls which the rude youths of Orange were persecuting, the nobility of his nature came clearly into view. When James, as a student at the Chester Academy, stood boldly forth as the champion of the weak and despised denomination of Christians, against the popular opinion, ridicule, and the opposition of the professors, and declared, "They shall not want a disciple while I live," he arose to a higher plane of heroism, and exhibited the true spirit of martyrdom. When, in the Ohio Legislature, the cause of the poor slave was being bandied about in jokes, and the "nigger" was often mentioned in derision, James A. Garfield wrote to his colleague, and quoted Burns, saying: "A man's a man for a' that." 1 |