The Fremont County record., 1881-10-01
QUIZ nARrYRED FREsIDRKr.

4
OUR 1ARTYBED FKESIDENE.
[Orstion delivered BY Col. Z. H. Sawyer
at the Memorial Services OF President Gar
field, Canon City, Colorado, Sept. IS, 1881,
The mingled tones of sorrow, Hike
the voice OF many waters, are heard
in our land to-day. Another act Ii
the inscrutablc mysteries OF Divine
Providence has scnt among ne The
grim warden OF the charmed house
His footstep has been heard In the
counsel chamber of the nation. He
has cloycn down his victim In the
midst of the most vigilant aud de.
voted guards, and borne away ~ =
trophy him who 90 recently waa
Chief oyer many ststeeapnzH 1eanes
Abraham qaxAsI1 3k 5Os5 6te1>tss &
unite, with that noble cohort of mar
tyrs and the assembly of just men
made perfect, in the. eternal alteration
of Almighty God. We arc now call
ed upon to lament no common be-
reayement. The Chief Executive OF
the nation has fallen and the hopes
of a great people lie buried with the
encofiined dead. The sun which
ushered in this autumn day, will
soon cast its shadows upon a new
made grave. The srare Of the be-
| loved.
Scarcely more than seven months
ago, the nation gathered at her polit-
ical shrine to consecrate her chosen
son to the high Office of Chief Exccu-
tive. What scene then met our
gaze. Civilians and soldiers who had
recently grappled in fierce political
contest had shaken off the dust of
strife, and gathered from the remote
sections of our vast domain, bringing
their tributes TO the altar of their
common country.
No sound of discord was heard in
the land. The deft foot of the dove
of peace rested upon the topmost
pinnacle of the nations temple. The
sword and bayonet which CLEANED
along the moving ranks of the coun-
try's defenders, were not evoked to
haAa thC VI OhA liDSitltS.
The prophetic hour seemed to have
dawned upon us; and the benign
sentiment, "Peace on Earth, good
will TO Men 70 flashed in every eye
and voiced itself ON thousands of
patriotic lips.
The oath of Office was administer
ed, the filial token was given, the
outlines of popular administration
Sers :. dslins.ssa sas sssilaAt acclaim
Executive, night came on and the
throng dispersed. Who can forget
that hour when the hope of the future
pulsed high ia the heart of q loyal aud
united people.
The crow ned heads of the old world
looked on, and made cheerful obeis-
anec 10 the honored son of American
royalty. They could but admire the
genius, that in few brief years, had
climbed from the tow-path of the
bootlcss canal boy, to the highest
niche in the temple of political fame.
But, alas! my countrymen, he has
fallen. Tho brightest ray, which
flashed that day in gorgeous spiendor
upon the lofty dome of the nations
capitol, and difrused itself in grateful
smiles upon the upturncd faces of
thousands of American patriots, has
paled forever. Our Chief fell,
not because he lacked talent, not
because he lacked statesmanship, not
because he lacked virtue, but because
he possessed the wisdom and integri-
ty to refuse patronage 10 politico-
religious mountebank. All honor to
the dead. The photographer of the
future, when attempting to define
public honesty, will write Abraham
Lincoln and James Garfield. How
aptly those lines of Mrs. Bugbee,
penned but sixteen short years ago
to memorializc the martyred Lincoln
express the sentiment of this occa-
sion:
The tears OF q nation n.ll over the dead,
For our cherished one fell by - dastardly
l n
\ And sorrow has kurgcd like the waves OF tho
Whom the breath of the tempest is sweeping
And the head OF the lory and lowiy have
As the the shan os the lightning sped out nom
the cloud.
Yes, while I speak, the badge Of
mourning has been dccrced, the
funeral eulogy has been pronounced,
tho end and solemn pagcantry has
moved, the knell Of the nations woe
has pealcd forth, the grave has opened
TO receive the beloved, aud all that
was mortal, of that patriot soldier
and patriot sage, sleeps in the lowly
bed, followed for him meath the cod
of his native state.
Soon tho sculptured marble will
lift Its front, proud to perpetuate the
name ofGarfield, and rehearsc, to gen-
erations yet to be. tho virtues Of our
,nartyretl President. just tribute Of
respect, and TO the living useful, but
II 49, ~~nts.