The Life and Work of James A. Garfield, Twentieth President of the United States / Embracing an Account of the Scenes and Incidents of His Boyhood; the Struggles of His Youth; the Might of His Early Manhood; His Valor As a Soldier; His Career As a Statesman; His Election to the Presidency; and the Tragic Story of His Death.

by John Clark Ridpath

Robed in the dreamy light of distant years,

Are clustered joys serene of other days;

Upon its gentle, sloping hillside bend

The weeping willow o’er the sacred dust

Of dear departed ones: and yet in that land,

Where’er our footsteps fall upon the shore,

They that were sleeping rise from out the dust

Of death’s long, silent years, and ’round us stand,

As erst they did before the prison tomb

Received their clay within its voiceless halls.