The Story of Garfield | Page 9

was an enemy, and therefore, at the early age of eight, he became a temperance reformer. Little did the patient mother think that her humble efforts at man-making would produce such grand results, and that she was rearing in that lonely cabin one of the noblest characters the world has ever seen.
The motto of the Garfield family was, "Through faith I conquer." That motto was woven into the life of the boy. Pure in spirit, prompt in action, loyal in thought and deed to God and his mother, James came to regard the boy or man who did not dare to do right as the greatest coward of all.
With such a firm foundation to rest upon, we do not wonder that James Garfield's life has been, and will be, an inspiration to many young men on both sides of the Atlantic.
CHAPTER VII.
THE TWO BROTHERS.
A New House--Thomas leaves Home--Sorrow at Parting--James left to Manage the Farm--The Value of Experience.
At length Thomas was twenty-one, and the time had come for him to go out into the world and make a way for himself. One thing he at that time desired above all others, and that was to build a better house for his mother.
To do this properly it was necessary to engage a carpenter, who would make the necessary framework. Then Thomas and James would help him to put up the building. But money was needed to carry out the undertaking, and this was the purpose to which Thomas decided to devote his first earnings when he left home.
One day Thomas returned from an expedition in search of work, in high glee. He had obtained employment in the State of Michigan. He had engaged to assist in clearing the forest, that is, in cutting down trees for a man who was about to make a farm. His wages were to be fifty shillings a month. This sum seemed a very large amount to James, who seldom saw much money, and did not know the important part it plays in towns and cities. Though Mrs. Garfield knew that it was better, both for the family and for her eldest son, that he should go away and take a place, a man among men, yet she was very anxious that no evil should befall him.
Thomas had been a faithful son and a loving brother. He had been the mainstay of the family since that sad day when the grave in the wheatfield hid from their eyes the remains of the husband and father, who had never spared himself in his efforts to provide for them.
How much she had leaned on her noble son, even she hardly realised, until she saw him preparing to leave her. The loving labours, the strong hand, and the wise counsels of her boy, now a man, would be sorely missed, yet she dried her tears, and asked the God in whom she had trusted to support her in this new trial, and, above all, to be with the lad. If God was with her son, she knew that all would be well, and that he would come unscathed from the world and its temptations. So, smiling through her tears, she bade him God-speed.
[Illustration: She dried her tears and asked God to support her.]
To James the parting was no less painful. He had confidence in himself, and manfully made up his mind to fill his brother's place. Yet he could not see the big brother, who was so dear to him, and who had done so much for him, go away without feeling an aching void in his heart. And Thomas--what about him? Did he lightly step out into the world, and, glad to enjoy a sense of freedom, go on his new path without a thought of those he was leaving behind? Not so. The man who as a boy often had so nobly filled a father's place was still a son and a brother. He left the log cabin because he knew that by doing so he could the better help the loved ones who remained behind. Every day, every hour, the gentle, loving mother whom he loved best in all the world would in spirit be with him. The clever brother of whom he was so proud would be ever in his thoughts, and the two sisters who had so faithfully performed their part would not be forgotten.
[Illustration: An American Farmstead.]
Brave, noble-hearted, hard-working Thomas Garfield! though only known to the world through his more gifted brother, he belongs to that grand army of self-sacrificing spirits who leave a bright and shining track behind them, and who everywhere make the wilderness and the desert place to blossom like the rose.
While Thomas was cutting down trees in Michigan, James was playing the part of "boy farmer" to the satisfaction