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 of all who knew him. He was
but twelve years of age, and yet he went about his work like a man. He
said that he could take his brother's place, and he did it. Even the
neighbours began to speak with admiration of the diligent lad who was
trying so earnestly to fill his elder brother's place. James worked
cheerfully; he was satisfied to do his best in the position in which he
found himself. He was satisfied to remain in that position until he
had qualified himself for a better. He had hopes and ambitions about
the future, but his whole time and energies were so occupied in doing
his best, that he never for one moment felt the unrest which
accompanies a discontented spirit.
James did not know the meaning of the word "hardship" in the sense
their neighbour used it. Did it mean hard work? Not to James, for he
was able to do it. Did it mean hard fare? No, for he had enough to
satisfy all his wants. In the companionship of his mother and sisters,
with health and strength, food and raiment, where was the hardship?
That was a question which James could not answer. He had not yet seen
and coveted the pleasures, the luxuries, nor even the conveniences of
the dwellers in towns. He had not felt the want of anything he did not
possess or enjoy. Therefore, while he hoped to be such a man as his
mother had often described, he was content to leave the future to take
care of itself, and was only concerned in making the most of himself in
the present.
The first season that James had alone, when single-handed he did the
work of the farm, was a severe strain on one so young, but his
readiness to plan or invent some way of meeting difficulties again
stood him in good stead. He found that by exchanging work with a
neighbour he could help both. So he bargained with a farmer to give
him a hand when he had a little spare time, and the farmer in return
agreed to lend James his oxen when he needed them.
When the end of the season came, James felt that the responsibility he
had assumed, and the work he had carried through, had made a man of
him. The daily round of necessary toil, and the constant need for
careful consideration and foresight, were an invaluable experience and
discipline, which nothing else would have given him.