The Brookhaven ledger. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1881-08-25
RROOKHAVEN MISS, THURSDAY. AUGUST Rs, 1SS].
.s8gigeellang.

Misreilany.
Mrs. Lucretia Garfield.
In presenting to our readers the
sketch of the first lady in the land
it is source of the most profound
sorrow to us, as it is to the whole
civilized world, that the sunshine
has been so suddenly stricken out
of her life by the hand Of an assas-
sin, and that, too, while she seemed
standing ON the threshold ofone OF
the most glorious futures known to
her sex on this wide continent.
Although dire the calamity which
has just befallen her and the Ma
tion, and though terrible the ordeal
through which she is now passing,
they do not involve all her claims
upon our sympathy. AS a noble
and self-sacrificing wife, fond and
affectionate mother, and kind, un-
wavering friend, she stands out in
bold relief also, eliciting that un-
feigned admiration and heartfelt
respect accorded SO generally to the
pure and the good who may have
attained to high position in any re-
lation whatever.
Mrs. Garfield whose maiden naine
was Lucretla Rudolph, was born
near Hiram, Portage county, Ohio,
in 1887. She was the daughter of a
respectable farmer who had suffi-
cient means to afford her an excel
lent education, and whose surround
,ngs indicated love of refinement
not generally observable among the
sparse population Of the place
From her childhood she was
thoughtful, amiable and industri-
Gus; and as she grew in years her
intellectual bias became so marked
and its fruits so promising, that all
her friends and family entertained,
without hesitation. the bright hopes
that have, long since, been more
than realized.
In 1853, Miss Rudolph, who had
been studying at the Academy in
which President Garfield was then
a professor, became the wife OF the
latter. The match was one purely
of love insomuch that neither party
was overburdened with wealth
They had, however, what was bet
ter and more enduring--brave, stur-
DIV and honest hearts, sustained by
a spirit of truth and love, as well as
by the supporting arm of a liberal
education. From the moment the
nupitial knot was tied, Mrs. Garfield
set about the business of life more
seriously than ever, could such have
been possible, and at once began
wreathing with flowers the yoke she
had assumed with such purity and
affectionate strength of soul. Mod
est as were their means, she made
their first new home one of sunshine
and love. And when young fam
|ily began to gather around her
hearthstone, she commenced that
course of fireside education and
training which has proved 30 emf
nently successful all the world over
that system of maternal culture
and care to which some of the great
est minds of the age have freely con-
fessed their indebtedness. Nor was
she helpmate to her noble partner
in one or two relations only; for,
from time to time, if report speaks
truly, it was his habit in any cir
cumstances of difficulty to draw up
on her intellectual resources and
unfailing clear -sightedness. Obvi-
ously, therefore, they were as one in
all that were essential to- human
happiness, and hence the cTerdeep-
ening love and affection which has
characterized their lives up to the
present hour.
1t will not, then, be difficult to
conceive of her dismav and anguish
whom, Oh Saturday the sd day Of
last month, the Intelligence reached
her at Elberton, N. j., that the
President her husband, was wound
ed, but not dangerously, by an as
sassin while entering the depot of
the Baltimore and Potomac Rail
road at Washington. A few mo-
ments previously, delicate as was
her health, her face was radiant with
JOY, for on that day she was to have
Joined the President with their chill
dren in New York, and proceeded
thence with him and some other
gentleman of high official position.
to pay visit to several points Of
interest East, and make a voyage
along the cost of Maine as far as
Mount Dessert Island. In an in
slant the cup was dashed from her
lips, and Notwithstanding that the
telegram conveying the dire intelii-
gence was couched the most eau
tious and considerate. yet, with an
instinct not to be baftled by the
guarded expressions of friends, she
felt that some frightful calamity
had befallen her and her family.
and instantly flew on the wings OF
affection to the bedside of the IL
lustrious sufferer. The journey,
although performed with almost the
speed Of the wind. was ta her al but
yet it came to close,
and at last she found herself bend
ing in agony filed with despair
over the sharer of her early joys and
sorrows, now the Chief Executive Of
one Of mightiest Nations on
earth. From that time on the sub.
tile influence of her voice and pres
cnce seems to have supplemented
the wondrous alchemy of the ply
sicians in attendance which has al
ready wrought miraplas, There is