The Portland daily press., 1882-02-28

his mind and his active spirit OF inquiry were
early apparent and carried him beyond the dog
mas of sect and the restraints of ASSOCIATION. In
selecting a college in which to continue his ed
ucation he rejected Bethany, though presided
over by Alexander Campbell, the greatest
preacher Of his church. His reasons were char
acteristie first, that Bethany leaned too heavily
toward slavery; ana, second, that being himself
had little Acquaintance with people Of other be-
liefs and he thought it would make him more
liberal, quoting his own words both in his re-
ligious and general views, to go into new cir
Gle and be under new influences.
The liberal tendency which he anticipated as
the result OF wider culture was fully realized.
He was emancipated from mere sectarian belief,
and with eager interest pushed his investiga-
tions in the direction Of modern progressive
thought. He followed with quickening step in
the paths of exploration and speculation so
fearlessly tr0dden by Darwin, by Huxley, by
Tyndall and by other living scientists of the
radical and advanced type. His own church.
binding its disciples by no formulated creed;
but accepting the Old and New Testaments as
vate Interpretation, favored, if it did not stimu-
late. the spirit of investigation. Its members
profess with sincerity, and profess only, to be of
one mind and one faith with those who imme-
diatey followed the Master, and who were first
called Christians at Antioch.
But however high Garfield reasoned of "fxed
fate free will, fore-knowledge absolute', he was
never separated from the Church of the Dsci-
pies in his affections and in his associations.
For him it held the ark of the covenant. To
him it was the gate of Heaven. The world of
religious belief is full of solecisms and contra
dictions.. A philosophic observer declares that
men by the Thousand will die in defense of
| creed whose doctrines they do not comprehend
| and whose tenets they habitually violate. 1t is
| equally true that men by the thousand will
| cling to church organizations with Instructive
| and undsing fidelity when their belief in ma
| turer years is radically different from that
hichinspired them as neophytes.
But after this range of speculation, and this
| latitude of doubt, Garfield came back always
with freshness and delight to the simpler in
! stlncts of religious faith, which, earliest i'm
| planted, longest survive. Not many weeks
| before his assassination, walking on the banks
| of the Potomac with friend, and conversing
| those topics of personal religion, concerning
| which noble natures have an uncomfortable
reserve, he said that he found the Lords Prayer
| and the simple petitions learned in infancy in
fnitely restfal to him, not merely in their stated
| repetition, but in their casual and frequent re-
| call as he went about the daily duties of life
Certain texts OF scriptures had very strong
hold on his memory and his heart He heard,
| while in Edinburgh some years ago, an eminent
| Scotch preacher who prefaced his sermon with
reading the eighth chapter of the Epistle to the
| Romans, which book had been the subject of
| careful study with Garfield during all his reig-
| ious lie. He was greatly impressed by the
| elocution of the preacher and declared that it
had impaired new and deeper meaning to the
/ majestic urterances of Saint Paul. He referred
| often in after years to that memorable service,
1 and dwelt with exaltation of feeling upon the
/ radiant promise and the assured hope with
| which the great apostle of the Gentiles was
| "persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor
| gels nor principaities, nor powers nor things
| present, nor things to come, nor height, nor
1 uopIu, nor any OGlGr CfeaIuF6, snail D6 aDle TO
| separate us from the love of God, which is in
| Christ Jesus our Lord"
| The erowning characteristic of General Gar
| fields religious opinions, as indeed, of all his
| opinions was his liberality. He respected in
| Others the qualities which he possessed himself
sincerity of conviction and frankness of
preston. With MIN the inquiry was not SO
much what a man believes, but does he believe
IL? The lines of his friendship and his conf
dence encireled men of every creed, and men of
no creed, and to the end of his life, on his ever
lengthening list of friends, were to be found the
| names of pious Catholic priest and of an
honest-minded and generous-hearted free
| thinker.
| Oh the morning of Saturday, July second, the
President was contented and happy man-not
In an ordinary degree, but Joyfully, almost boy
| ishiy happy. On his way to tue railroad station
| to which he drove slowly, in conscious enjoy
ment of the beautiful morning, with an un-
| wonted sense of leisure and keen anticipation
of pleasure, his talk was all in the grateful and
gratulatory vein. He felt that after four months
OF trial his administration was strong in its
| grasp OF affairs, strong in popular favor, and
| destined to grow stronger; that grave difficult
| ties confronting him at his Inauguration had
been safely passed; that trouble lay behind him
and not before him; That he was soon to meet
| the wife whom he loved, now recovering from
an illness which had but lately disquieted and
| at times almost unnerved him. that he was GO
| ing to his Alma Mater to renew the most cher
| ished associations OF his young manhood, and to
| exchange greetings with those whose deepening
| interest had followed every step of his upward
| progress from the day be entered upon his col
| iege course until he had attained the loftiest
/ oicpdllOn III tQe RlIL OF HIS COuDLryIQGD.
| Surely il happiness can ever cone from the
honors or triumphs of this world, on that quiet
July morning James A. Garfield may well have
| been happy man. No forboding of evil haunt
| ed him; no slightest premonition of danger
| clouded his sky. His terrible fate was upon him
| in an instant. One moment he stood erect,
| fully out before him. The next he lay wounded,
| bleeding, helpless, doomed to weary weeks of
| torture to silence, and the grave.
Great in life, he was surprisingly great in
| death. For no cause in the very frenzy of wan
| tonness and wickedness, by the red hand of
murder The was thrust from the full tide of this
| worlds interest, from its hopes its aspirations,
its victories, into the visible presence of death
| and he did not quail.Not alone for the onesshort
moment IN which, stunned and dazed, he could
give upElife, hardly aware of its REIMBURSEMENT,
/ but through days of deadly languor, through
| weeks of agony, that was not less agony because
| silently borne, with clear sighc and calm cour-
| age, he looked into his open grave What blight
| and ruin met his anguished eyes. whose lips may
| tell-what brilliant, broken plans, what baffied,
| high ambitions, what sundering of strong,
| warm, manhood's friendships what bitter rem
/ dering OF sweet household ties Behind him
proud, eXpectant nation, great host of sustain
/ ing friends, a cherished and happy mother,
| wearing the full, rich honors of her early toll
;l ana tears; tho wife OF bis youth, whose whole
| from childhood's day of frolic; the fair, young
/ daughter; the sturdy sons just springing into
/ closest companionship, claiming every day and
| ever day rewarding fathers love and care; and
| in his heartthe eager rejoicing power to meet
| all demand. Before him, desoation and great
4
| countrymen were thrilled with instant, pro-
| found, and universal sympathy. Masterful in
his mortal weakness. he became the center of
nations love, enshrined in the prayers of
| world. But all the love and all the sympathy
| could not share with him his suffering. He trod
| the wine-press alone. With unfaltering front
| he faced death. With unfailing tenderness he
/ took leave OF life Above the demoniac hiss of
| the assassns bullet he heard the voice of God.
With simple resignation he bowed to the Divine
| decree.
| as the end drew near, his early craving for
| the sea returned The stately mansion of power
| had been to him the wearisome hospital of pain,
| and he begged to be taken from its prison walls,
| from its oppressive, sitting air, from its home
lessness and its hopelessness. Gently, silently.
the Iovesof greatspeople bore the paiegsuferer to
the longfor healing of the sea, to live or to die,
| as God should will. within sight of its heay
ing pillows, within sound of its manifold voices.
With wan, fevered face tenderly lifted to the
cooling breeze, he looked out wistfully upon the
| oceans changing wonders; on its far sails,
whitening IN the morning light; on its restless
waves, rolling shoreward to break and die be-
meath the MONDAY sun; on the red clouds of
evening, arching low TO the horizon; on the Sc
rene and shining pathway of the stars. Let MS
think that his dying eyes read mystic meaning
which only the rapt and parting soul may know.
Let us believe thai in the silence of the recediDg
world he heard the great waves breaking on
further shore, and felt already upon his wasted
brow the breath of the eternal morning.
The eulogy was concluded at 150, having
taken just an hour in its delivery AS Mr..
Blaine gave utterance to the last solemn words
which was not hushed for some momentes. The
address was listened to with intense interest
and in solemn silence, unbroken by any ound
except by sigh of relief such as arises from a
large audience when strong tension is remoV-
ed from their minds.
Benediction was Ghen offered BY Rev. DIR.
Bullock, chaplain of the Senate.
The Marine Band played the Garfield Dead
March as the invited guests fled out of the
chamber in the same order in which they had
entered it. The Senate was the last to leave.
Upon the conclusion of the Grafton and the
dispersion of the audience the Speaker called
the House to order, and Mr.. Mckinley of Ohio
offered the following resolutions:
ReSotged, The Senate concurring, that the
thanks of Congress are hereby presented to the
Hon. James G. Blaine for the appropriate me-
mortal address delivered by him on the life
and services of James A. Garfield, late Presi-
dent of the United States, in the Representa-
tiEes Hall before both houses of Congress and
their Invited guests on the 9th OF February,
1882, and that he be requested to furnish a
copy for publication
ReSolUed, That the chairman of the joint
committee appointed to make the necessary
arrangements to carry into effect the resolution
of Congress in relation to the memorial exer-
cises in honor of James A. Garfield, be re-
queSted to communicate to Mr.. Blaine the fore
going resolution, receive his answer thereto,
and present the same to both houses of
Congress.
The resolution was adopted unan imously.
Mr.. Mckinley then offered the following:
ResOLCed That as a further mark of respect