felt to be an
outgrowth of the passions which it engendered; but Garfield fell, slain
by the hand of a worthless wretch, acting upon his own responsibility.

I shall venture, for the information of young readers, to whom it may be
new, to quote the graphic description of an eye-witness, contributed to
General Brisbin's interesting life of our subject:

"I shall never forget the first time I saw General Garfield. It was the
morning after President Lincoln's assassination. The country was excited
to its utmost tension.... The newspaper head lines of the transaction
were set up in the largest type, and the high crime was on every one's
tongue. Fear took possession of men's minds as to the fate of the
Government, for in a few hours the news came on that Seward's throat was
cut, and that attempts had been made on the lives of others of the
Government officers. Posters were stuck up everywhere, in great black
letters, calling upon the loyal citizens of New York, Brooklyn, Jersey
City, and neighboring places, to meet around the Wall Street Exchange
and give expression to their sentiments.

"It was a dark and terrible hour. What might come next no one could
tell, and men spoke with bated breath. The wrath of the workingmen was
simply uncontrollable, and revolvers and knives were in the hands of
thousands of Lincoln's friends, ready, at the first opportunity, to take
the law into their own hands, and avenge the death of their martyred
President upon any and all who dared to utter a word against him.

"Eleven o'clock A.M. was the hour set for the rendezvous. Fifty thousand
people crowded around the Exchange building, cramming and jamming the
streets, and wedged in as tight as men could stand together. With a few
to whom special favor was extended, I went over from Brooklyn at nine
A.M., and even then, with the utmost difficulty, found my way to the
reception room for the speakers in the front of the Exchange building,
and looking out on the high and massive balcony, whose front was
protected by a massive iron railing.

"We sat in solemnity and silence, waiting for General Butler, who, it
was announced, had started from Washington, and was either already in
the city or expected every moment. Nearly a hundred generals, judges,
statesmen, lawyers, editors, clergymen, and others were in that room
waiting for Butler's arrival.

"We stepped out to the balcony to watch the fearfully solemn and swaying
mass of people. Not a hurrah