The Life and Public Services of James A. Garfield. E. E. Brown
sell off part of the farm to pay our debts, and we shall then have thirty acres left, which will be quite enough for you and me to take care of."
It was now late in the spring, but Thomas managed to sow the wheat, plant the corn and potatoes and with the help of a kind neighbor complete the little barn his father had begun to build.
In cultivating the ground, his mother and sisters were always ready to help, and together they split the rails, and drove the stakes for the heavy fence around the wheat-field.
With such example of untiring industry and perseverance constantly before his eyes, it is no wonder the restless baby brother soon tried to lend a helping hand.
"Me do it too," he would cry, when Thomas took down the rake or the hoe, and started off for his work in the fields.
"One of these days, Jimmy," the boy-farmer would reply, with a merry smile: though even then he could not help hoping there might be better things in store for the little brother he loved so dearly.
Walking all the way to Cleveland, Thomas secures a little job, and brings home his first earnings, with a bounding heart.
"Now Jimmy can have a pair of shoes," he says to his mother who cannot keep back her tears as she looks at his own bare feet.
The old cobbler comes and boards at the cabin while he makes the little shoes, and when they are completed it is hard to tell which is the happier boy—Thomas or little Jimmy.
Four years after the father's death, a school-house is built a mile and a half away.
"Jimmy and the girls must go," says Thomas.
"Yes," replies the mother, "but I wish you could go, too."
"It wouldn't do for me to leave the farm, mother dear," says the noble boy. "One of these days, perhaps I can study at home."
The mile and a half walk to the school-house was a long, hard pull for little Jimmy, in spite of those new shoes; and many a time Mehetabel might have been seen, carrying him back and forth on her broad shoulders.
It was a happy day for all the children when the new log school-house was put up on one corner of the Garfield farm. The land had been given by Mrs. Garfield, and the neighbors clubbed together and built the house, which was only twenty feet square, with a slab roof, a puncheon floor, and log benches without backs.
The master was a young man from New Hampshire. He boarded with Mrs. Garfield, and between him and little James a warm friendship was soon established.
The bright active child was never tired of asking questions.
"He will make his mark in the world, one of these days—you may take my word for it!" exclaimed the teacher, as he recounted James' wonderful progress at school.
The happy mother never forgot these words, and determined to give her little boy every possible advantage.
But the Ohio schools in those days were very poor. The three "R's," with spelling and geography, were the only branches taught, and oftentimes the teachers knew but little more than the scholars.
As soon as James could read, he eagerly devoured every book that came within his reach. The family library comprised not more than half a dozen volumes, but among these, Weems' "Life of Marion" and Grimshaw's "Napoleon" were especial favorites with the eager enthusiastic boy.
Every night the mother would read to her children from her old, well-worn Bible: and oftentimes James would puzzle his little playmates with unexpected scripture questions. His wonderful memory held a strange variety of information in its tenacious grasp. He delighted to hear his mother read poetry, and would often commit long passages by heart. His vivid imagination peopled the old orchard with all sorts of strange characters. Each tree was named after some noted Indian chief, or some favorite hero he had read about; and from a high ledge of rocks in the neighborhood, he would sometimes deliver long harangues to his imaginary audiences. Thomas watched the progress of his little brother with fatherly pride and admiration, and James looked up to him with loving confidence.
He could now help about the farm in many ways, and when Thomas got an opportunity to work out and earn a few extra pennies, James would look after the stock, chop the wood, hoe the corn, and help his mother churn and milk.
"One of these days, James," she said to him, as he was working diligently by her side, "I expect Thomas will go out into the world to earn his living, and then you will have to take his place here on the farm."
"But, how soon will that be, mother?" asked the little fellow, who felt then that he could not possibly get along without his big brother.
"Not until Thomas is twenty-one, and then you will be twelve years old—older by two years than Thomas was when your father died."
"I wish I could be as good a farmer as he," said James; "but I think I would rather be a carpenter."
"And I would rather have you a teacher or a preacher," said his mother; "but we must take our work just as Providence gives it to us, and farming, my boy, comes first to you."
It was a trying day to the whole family when Thomas left the little home to work on a clearing, "way off in Michigan." He would be gone six months, at least, and there was very little communication in those days between Ohio and the farther west.
"I wish you could have found work nearer home," said the fond mother.
"But I shall earn higher wages there—twelve dollars a month,"—answered the self-forgetting son; "and, when I get back, I shall have money enough to build you a frame house."
The little log cabin was fast coming to pieces, and for five years Thomas had been cutting and seasoning lumber for the new house, but they had never been able to hire a carpenter to put it up.
James tried very hard to fill his brother's place, but he could never throw his whole soul into farming as Thomas had done. He read and studied all the time he could get out of working hours, and his thirst for knowledge was constantly increasing. But how was he to procure the education for which he longed?
"Providence will open the way," said the good mother; "though how and when I cannot tell."
CHAPTER II.
Boyhood of James.—Attempts at Carpentry.—First Earnings.—His Thirst for Knowledge.—The Garfield Coat-of-Arms.—Ancestry, etc.
True to his promise, Thomas returned in a few months with seventy-five dollars in gold, which seemed a great sum to the little family.
"Now you shall have the new house, mother," he exclaimed; and it was not many days after, that the carpenter was hired and the work begun.
James watched the building with keen, observant eyes. Before the house was completed he had learned a good part of the trade and practised it besides.
"I think I'll have to employ you when I want an extra hand," laughed the good-natured mechanic, as he noticed how cleverly James used the mallet, chisel and plane.
"I wish you would; I like the trade," exclaimed the boy, with sudden earnestness.
After the family had moved into the new house, which consisted of three rooms below and two above, Thomas went back to his work in Michigan, and James returned to his labor on the farm.
But the boy's restless spirit longed for a wider field. If he could only earn a little money, perhaps he would be able to buy a few books.
Passing the carpenter's shop one day, he saw a pile of boards at the door waiting to be planed. He stepped inside and asked for the job, which was readily given him.
"I will give you a cent a board," said the carpenter, "for I know you will do them well."
"How soon do you want them done?" asked James.
"Oh!