The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1883-08-30
GARFIELD AND BLACK.

The immediate cause Of the death o
Judge Black Is said 10 have been blOOt
poisoning. This fact Is a reminder al
General Garfield. IL will be a long
time before an American of any intel
ligenee will hear that term mentioned
without thinking OF Guiteau's victim
aud nothing suggestive OF the second
great National tragedy can fail to sci
in motion IA train Of melancholy
thoughts Mr.. Lincoln was spared
any Consciousness OF suffering, Il Is
believed, while his successor In mar
tyrdOm drained the cup of agony To
its very dregs. But the association OF
the two names, Garfield and Black,
has its justification and Specification
I'm resemblance and contrasts quite
independent OF bodily ailments.
Both were members Of the same
church, variOusly known a. Christian
Disciples and Campbellltes, and both
were distinguished Shakespearean
scholars. We say dis inguished, be-
cause they ranked among those most
familiar with tie text, aud were pas
siOnately fond Of dwelling upon the
lofty heights with that master OF all
thought. Thrown together when the
public life Of one was over, and that
OF the other was Just beginning, a very
warm personal friendship sprung up
between them, the church being the
accident Of association and Shakes
peare the real bond OF fellowship Pol
tiles did not enter deeply Into their
acquaintance. Opposite in politics,
they found Il 10 the advantage Of their
pleasure in each other that the mean
defings OF conversation should be In
other fields. Indeed, apart from
Shakespeare, the habits Of thought
and modes Of Judgment were singu-
larry unlike. Each had his own
golden meie wand Of truth" - the
rugged Black would say and they
were in sharp contrast.
Judge Black was q block Of granite.
No amount OF polishing could soften
him. Not that his heart was hard
and cruel, but that his mental pro-
cesses were austere to the verge Of
flint. He banishcd the emotional
from his brain when in action. The
Are that seintillated sbogt him was
simply the shower Of sparks thrown
of lly the clashing Of swords with a
fOeman worthy Of his steel. To him.
intellectual life was a fierce combat.
The seabbard was not always empty,
bat bis hand was seldom on the hilt.
In politics, law, or theology he took
keen delight IN pOlemies, and the
more difficult the defense the greater
bis enjoyment.
4 very different man was James A.
Garfield. He could fight II combat
were required, and the majestic pa
thence Of his last days reared iH the
hearts Of the American people mon
ument Of tender admiration for bra
very around which the flowers Of
memory will bloom forever. The ideal
created By those months Of uneOm-
planning torture Is grander than the
s.MOses" Of Michael Angelo. IL IL
nevertheless true that The leading
Of General Garfield was
sentiment. Whether right OF wrong
In what he did, the impelling power
was emOtiOn- A close reasoner geneF-
ally, be was an enthusiast always.
Nurtured On the same faith - Judge
Black, and equally devoted 10 Il, be
vas in every fber q his religious na-
tare different With the distinctivsly
modern views Of spiritual things he
was ID keen sympathy. He tired the
new paths and felt the impulse o. new
ideas. But be was also IN profound
aymnafhg with the church % whfen
Sc belonged, for ths memories %
ehiidhood were aiuays dear sad 20