Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1881-10-22
GARFIELD MEMORIES.
An Old Student of Prof. Garfield Re-
calls Some for The News.
From the Detroit Evening News.


calls Some for The News.
From the Detroit Evening News.
Last Saturdays News contained brief
report of a memorial meeting held at the
Central Methodist church. While not
wishing to take up too much space,
think few other points not mentioned
at that meeting would be Of interest to
many of your readers.
1t was my fortune to be student of
Garfeld's at Hiram college, and during
my intercourse with him there, while
he was the president Of the college and
instructor, came to learn what was as
he told it to me himself, the turning
point in his notwithstanding career.
He was endeavOring to make up some
extra terms in Latin in order that he
might enter as advanced class in the
institute Gt was not college them as
possible.
Of course this had to be done without
a tutors aid. He had finished the Latin
grammar as best he could, with little or
no instruction, and the next in the course
was Caesar. 1t was on this book, yes, the
very first sentence of it, that proved the
turning point in his career as student
and scholar. The sentence is very sim
pie, being Gala est On,nis diuisa in
parties tres, and yet it took our late pres
ident four hours of good solid labor to
surmOunt it. This is how it was
done:
There was a blackboard in his room,
and on this he wrote the words down at
the top of the board, then divided them
off by drawing perpendicular and
parallel lines between them. The leXi-
con was then consulted, and under each
word he wrote every defpitiOn found in
the lexicon (sOme were hard to find
owing to the declension forms not be-
ing given in the dictionary, and then
when he had them complete, he would
try the various readings the definitions
would allow. He knew he had to get
reading that would make sense. other
wise he could not call it good transla-
ton, Well, when he, at last got what he
considered a sensible rendering of the
passage, he looked at the clock and found
he had been just four and one-haf hours
in making the translation; that he stood
: in his shirt-sleeves, was cOllarless, and
as wet with Precipitation as if he had
idea of when he had taken off his coat,
vest, necktie and collar, so intent had been
he on his work. While the translation
was finally accomplished, he considered
the time necessary tOmake 1t so enormous
that he grew disheartened and discOur-
aged; in fact, went to bed with the idea
that the farm or boat was the place for
him, not cOllsge halls. In the morning
the matter preyed so heavily upon his
mind that he decided, at one time, to
quit the school Immediately. However,
looking the matter squarely in the face
again, during the fOrenoOn-let me give
the reasoning in his own words as near
as can, for remember them quite dis
tinctly as they were given to me at a
period when considered, from some
what similar reason, Caesar not worth
the trouble Of mastery-'I thought like
this" said he: Heres Cesar, considered
not very hard Latin, and yet James Gar
field can't master it! Thousands have
mastered it before; we'll then James Gar
field is not as good a scholar as all these
thousands, that is all, if he don't do it.
Cesar either masters James Garfield, or
James Garfield masters C@sar Which is
it? He then added the thought came like
flash, and with it tinge of bOastful
anger: James Garfield has not been
mastered yet, and he aciU master Ce-
sarw
He said this was the last time any
thing like hesitancy or doubt ever cross
ed his mind as to his ability to cope with
the requirements for collegiate degree.
That question, in that little room, with
that first sentece of Caesar on the black
board before him, was settled, SO far as
mental decision could settle it for him,
for all time.
This same y-stick-to-it-ive-
ness is homlier, though more express
sive phrase-in educational matters was
equally. shown forth in his earlier days.
When he came to work for my grand
father (he worked two summers for him,
during haying and harvest time,) he was
a lad Of some IS years Tall, muscular,
"raw-bOned," poorly clad, pants reaching
not down to his ankles, barefooted Gas
my grandfather described him on his
first visit. hair furry, wiry and rebel
lious to comb, large eyes, and frank
honest face. He had a scythe swung
over his shoulder, and was walking with
long, though not ungainly strides, to-
wards the farm house. His first ques-
tion was, after salutations, ifmy grand
father needed another man? The reply
was yes that he needed another man,