Orange township. He was a devoted member of the Disciples' Church, loved the Bible, and despised lazy or dishonest people. He took an active part in organizing and sustaining local lyceum debates among the young men at the school-houses. The singingschools, spelling matches, out-door games, and religious gatherings had his personal assistance, and his encouragement and advice had a great influence with James, who stood in most reverential awe of his uncle.

His early school-days were not remarkably brilliant, nor did he particularly distinguish himself at that time, in any direction, beyond the majority of his school-fellows. He possessed a good memory, and made reasonable progress in such rudiments as were taught in the log school-houses of that time. He loved to hear his mother read poetry, and committed many verses to memory. His nature was poetical, and he loved to wander alone in the fields and woods, and in imagination act the part of some of the poetical characters of which he had heard. When he was old enough to read story books for himself, he found, somewhere, the "Pirates, Own Book," "Tales of the Sea," "Indian Stories," and other kindred volumes, in which he seems to have been greatly interested. Pet calves and sheep were named by him after some favorite hero or heroine mentioned in romance, and even the rocks and highlands came in for a share in the titles of nobility he conferred.

The apple orchard of one hundred trees, which

his father planted and which had already spread wide its fruitful branches, and in the shade of which he passed the happiest days of his boyhood, was to his active imagination an army of warriors, or a host of Indians. Every tree soon had its name by which it was known, not only to him, but to all his playmates in the neighborhood. Each tree was named after some noted Indian warrior, or after some old saint; or, as was occasionally the case, for the lack of other names, he applied those of neighbors, preachers and school teachers. He appears to have felt no lonesomeness when left to himself, but was able to imagine the presence of others with him, or himself to be in some distant and attractive place, and "was never less alone than when by himself."

man.

Very early in his life some story of the sea awakened his keen interest in the sailors' lives, and he formed many plans concerning a visit to the great ocean, to be carried out when he should become a He dreamed of the surging billows and longed for a sight of the white-fringed breakers. He would some day be a sailor. He would climb to the top of the masts. He would one day command a man-ofwar. He would fight battles and win victories on every ocean and sea. He was often overheard repeating the commands of the heroic captains, about whom he had read, and with a stern and loud voice he often bade his imaginary men to "clear the deck for action."

He early imbibed a love for the Bible, which he found was always his mother's dearest companion.

Its warriors, prophets, saints and apostles were characters as real and familiar to his active imagination as were the people he had actually met. In his work and at his play he saw and felt more than some other boys, because of this power to call about him imaginary characters.

It may have been this habit of thinking on distant things that caused him, as a workman, to meet with so many accidents.

For

He found much comfort in the society of a little black dog, which seemed to understand the language and wishes of James, like a human being. The dog was considered a wonder by the other boys. several years the little creature was seen with James at all his work, whether chopping wood, riding the horses for the plow, or going to the pastures for the neighbors' cows.

To all the beasts of the farm he was a kind and patient instructor, teaching them many curious and useful things. In all this he was, however, under his mother's careful oversight, and most faithfully did she watch over the "four saplings," of which James was the youngest, and which her husband, on his death-bed, had said he must leave to her care. For him she felt and exhibited that special solicitude which mothers usually feel for their youngest child. She was determined that he should avail himself of the school privileges during the few winter months in which it was held, and she labored very hard to supply him with the necessary clothes and books. The teachers of the school parted with Mrs. Garfield

in the spring with great reluctance, for the schoolhouse being on one corner of her farm, they were often obliged to seek favors from her, and thus became familiar friends. At no place in all the district was the teacher more welcome than at Mrs. Garfield's cabin, and although the loft in her home was perhaps more lonely, and the bed less easy than many others, they were glad when the time came in their "boarding around," to go to her abode. Many years afterwards they told of her love for learning, and of her desire that her children should have a thorough education.

James was favored with opportunities for reading which the other members of that industrious family did not get. It was usually accidental, however. He was a careless, awkward boy in the use of tools in his work, and was often laid up by self-inflicted wounds. He cut his feet with his axe or scythe. He wrenched his back by the fall of a fence rail upon him. He fell from the barn upon a pile of

wood. So that while he was not perhaps more careless or awkward than boys of his age usually are, yet he was more often confined to the house as a result of accidents, and the hours of his retirement he most earnestly employed in studying all the books they had in the house, and all he could borrow of the neighbors. It was to his credit that he used his books with great care, and any neighbor was willing to intrust their volumes to him. His neighbors say that he learned much more in his early days by reading history and studying stories of scientific discov

ery out of school than he ever gained from teachers. He was greatly interested in the debates and literary exercises which were often held on winter evenings at the school-house; and it is said that, as a critic, he was dreaded by some of the old men before he was ten years of age.

In 1842, when he was about eleven years old, the boys in Orange, by the advice of "Uncle Amos," organized a lyceum of their own, and it was the first place of the kind in which James ever ventured to speak.

His speech was not preserved, even in tradition. But the speech of the last disputant has never ceased to be a funny circumstance in the minds of the old people who heard of it at the time. The subject for discussion contained a clause in which it was resolved that navigation was of superior importance to some other branch of human industry. The young orator supposed a case" where a meal of victuals awaited a hungry, drunken man, but he could not get to them. "Now," said the speaker, "that man is too drunk to navigate himself. He will have no supper. Now, of what use are all the beans, potatoes, sausages, pork and doughnuts to a man who can't navigate?" That speech was conclusive, and by a unanimous vote it was seriously declared that it was of the highest importance that men be able "to navigate."

These debates quickened James's desire for reading, and in less than two years he had read and remembered so much concerning the current topics of lyceum debates that he successfully held his own as