He began:
And when asked what State he hails from,
Our sole reply shall be,
He comes from Appomattox,
And its famous apple-tree.
It was pretty difficult for Garfield to follow this speech
in the tempest of applause which came after it. There was
nothing stimulant or romantic in the plain wisdom of John
Sherman. It was like reading a passage from "Poor Richard's
Almanac" after one of the lofty chapters of the Psalms of
David. Garfield began, quietly:
"I have witnessed the extraordinary scene of this convention
with deep solicitude. Nothing touches my heart more quickly
than a tribute of honor to a great and noble character. But
as I sat in my seat and witnessed this demonstration, this
assemblage seemed to me a human ocean in a tempest. I have
seen the sea lashed into fury and tossed into spray, and its
grandeur moves the soul of the dullest man; but I remember
that it is not the billows, but the calm level of the sea
from which all heights and depths are measured. When the
storm has passed and the hour of calm settles on the ocean,
when the sunlight bathes its peaceful surface, then the astronomer
and surveyor take the level from which they measure all terrestrial
heights and depths.
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