Hiram knew him then, as the world knows him now. His old scholars "heard his days before him" and were not surprised, when the "tumult of his life" was passed, to see the world lay their garlands at his feet.

CHAPTER VIII.

TRUE MANHOOD.

Man was framed to co-operate in his aspirations and endeavors with the Sovereign Wisdom and Love. This is his distinguishing function, and conscience and faith are the indwelling principles which guide him in executing it. In the consciousness of tending toward this end, and of conforming to this law, there is a sense of fulfilled obligation and quiet respect, a peace within, which no accumulation of outward advantages, no gratification of selfish desires and worldly ambition, can possibly replace, and which though it may not take the name of happiness, no man actually possessing it would deliberately exchange it for what is often called happiness.

Hugh Miller says:

"The dynasty of the future is to have glorified man for its inhabitant; but it is to be the dynasty- the kingdom' -not of glorified man made in the image of God, but of God himself in the form of man. In the doctrine of the

two conjoined natures, human and Divine, and in the further doctrine, that the terminal dynasty is to be peculiarly the dynasty of Him in whom the natures are united, we find that required progression beyond which progress cannot go."

There is one proposition concerning man which few, if any, will care to dispute, viz.: That he has a relationship

to matter and to spirit. The testimony of the Bible being accepted, he is found formed from the dust of the ground, but his spirit is divinely inbreathed; "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul."

There is thus a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding; so that he is taught more than the beasts of the earth, and made wiser than the fowls of heaven, for he hath put wisdom in the inward parts, and given understanding to the heart. This union of matter and mind gives man a peculiar place in the universe, a place of sovereignty over all material things. In the perfect nature there is perfect harmony between the flesh and the spirit, and the whole being like a perfectly tuned instrument yields at every touch of every string a sweet note of melody, and the whole life becomes a finished anthem of praise to God.

There is one thing which man, as Goethe says, may not do-"He may not live at random." There must be a purpose in life, and if that purpose rises to the dignity of 'true manhood,' there must be the consecration of the whole man, his natural genius, and his acquirements, to the service of the great Architect, in whose living temple the highest honor the best can achieve is to be serviceable stones.

It is only by the proper relative development of the physical, mental, and spiritual natures that "a man more precious than fine gold; even a man more precious than the golden wedge of Ophir," can be made.

This was the faith of the gifted man whose life we are now considering; and hence, his religious history is worthy of a chapter. There is no better teacher of religion than a God-fearing mother. Whatever value the church may

have as a means of religious progress there is no overestimating the power and the influence of a godly mother in moulding the life of her child. Hers is

"The hand that rocks his cradle

And the hand that moves his world."

Among the ancient Jews are found the names of such mothers as these Maachah, whose son was Abijah who filled. the land with idolatry; Jezebel and her son Ahaziah who did evil exceedingly in the sight of the Lord; Hamutal and her son Jehoahaz; Zebadah and her son Jehoiakim; Nehushta and her son Jehoiachin,-names which taken in connection with their history sufficiently show the evil. courses they pursued and the evil influence they exerted. The bane of the Jewish nation was found in the nurseries of her kings where their infant minds were tainted and poisoned by their Jezebel mothers.

It may be said of Mr. Garfield's mother, that in many respects she is an extraordinary woman. She is slight in figure but with an impressive and dignified countenance, and a firm, determined will. She is gifted with intellectual and moral qualities of a high order. Her life has shone with purity, and she was nerved with a stern fortitude, which never gave way in the midst of the wild scenes that checkered the history of the frontier settlers. When her husband died she was left with the heavy burden of rearing an infant family in the western woods. She had two sons and two daughters, for whose care and education she must make provision. To bring up a family of children in a proper manner, under the most favorable circumstances, is a great work; but in a case like hers it almost touched the sublime. Goethe says: "The excellent

woman is she who if her husband dies, can be a father to her children." Then Eliza Garfield was an "excellent woman."

There is no empire like that which is crowned and sceptred by a godly mother. Her enthronement is complete, her reign unrivalled, and the moral issues of her empire are eternal. "Her children rise up and call her blessed." It is a Scotch maxim that, "An ounce of mother is worth more than a pound of clergy."

Napoleon said: "The great need of France is mothers." The Roman orator bore brilliant testimony to the value of the homes of Roman mothers when he said: "The empire is at the fireside"; and Mahomet expressed a great truth when he said that, "Paradise is at the feet of mothers."

Whatever Mrs. Garfield did for her son in other directions, nothing is clearer than that her influence was great in keeping his mind and heart in the direction of the moral and the spiritual. His whole life was religiously influenced by the seed which was planted by his mother's hand, while he lived with her in the little log-cabin in the wilderness. There is no more instructive incident recorded of his great life, or one that stirs the tender emotions of the soul more than that related at the Hiram Memorial Service, by his college room-mate, Mr. C. D. Wilbur, of Nebraska. Near the close of his address he said: "I will close by detailing an incident of our interior room-life. Everything was in perfect order; and when the sunset came, there came with it the oft-repeated, never-forgotten circumstance. It was an hour and a moment that was deemed by him sacred to his mother. It seemed to be in accordance with a promise: "Whenever the sun is setting read in the Bible, for I will read with you then." That was his mother's word to him, and he never forgot it. No matter what the press was he always had time for that.` We all know that when he went up to Greylock, he drew forth the Testament in the sunset, upon the mountain,