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

Old Autumn, thou art here! Upon the earth

And in the heavens the signs of death are hung;

For o’er the earth’s brown breast stalks pale decay,

And ’mong the lowering clouds the wild winds wail,

And sighing sadly, shout the solemn dirge,

O’er Summer’s fairest flowers, all faded now.

The winter god, descending from the skies,

Has reached the mountain tops, and decked their brows

With glittering frosty crowns, and breathed his breath

Among the trumpet pines, that herald forth