"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.]