"Commend me to that generous heart
Which like the pine on high,
Uplifts the same unvarying brow
To every change of sky,
Whose friendship does not fade away
When wintry tempests blow,
But like the winter's icy crown
Looks greener through the snow.
"He flies not with the flitting stork.
That seeks a southern sky,
But lingers where the wounded bird
Hath lain him down to die.
Oh, such a friend! He is in truth,
Whate'er his lot may be
A rainbow on the storm of life,
An anchor on its sea."
CHAPTER XX.
Tide of Unpopularity.—Misjudged.—Vindicated.—Re-elected.—The De Golyer Contract.—The Salary Increase Question.—Incident related by President Hinsdale.
It was impossible for a man of strong independent views like Garfield, to mount the ladder of fame so rapidly without meeting some opposition.
A lawyer by profession, he was at one time called to appear in the Supreme Court in behalf of some Confederates who had been tried by a court-martial and condemned to death. Of this case an able writer says, the rebels had been "tried by martial law in a State, in time of peace de facto in the State, and in a section of State not under martial law. The legal question was, whether any military body had such power under the circumstances. Should the civil power be ignored in time of peace, or in sections of the country where martial law had not been proclaimed? It was a case for which Garfield received no pay, and was undertaken as a test of this important principle."
By his clear, forcible presentation of the case and the law, in which he was fully sustained by the Court and the presiding justice—the criminals were finally set at liberty.
When the Ohio district that sent Garfield to Congress, heard that he had been pleading in Court for condemned rebels, a large proportion voted against him. As soon, however, as the facts of the case were fully known, the tide of popular feeling again turned towards their favorite leader, and Garfield was re-elected.