An Anecdote Of The Lamented President's First Decoration Day Speech

Let me tt-11 yon an anecdote of Oarfield'3 power of memory, suid ex-Postmaster-General James to a Des Moincs ( Ia.) Register correspondent. He reluted it to me himself. It eeems thai wlien Decoration Day was lirst starled by the voluntary action of the people of Washington City, and before it became a legal celebration, Qarfield was chosen to tlelirer the oration over the dead at Arlington. It was to blm an important occasion, for General Grant was to be there, and that galaxy of people who would rule events for sonie time to come. Garfield was a good deal pressed by work in Congress, and he tinally had to sit up most of the nijrht to write bis speech out. He got it done somewhere about four o'clook in the morning, and, going to bis witi-'s ch amber, he woke her up and read her the manuscript. It was his habit to communicate to her his performances and get her criticism. After he had read it he went to bed and slept. The next morning he went over to Arlington with the procession, and had the manuscript in his pocket. When he aróse to speak he put it down before him and said to himself: "I will watch the eyes of ;rant and these other people and see how long they are interested before I take my manuscript up." So he comtnenced and delivered his whole address without looking at the paper at all. There were shorthand urid'is present, and then they wrote their notes out that afternoon these were sent to Garfleld to be revised. He was astonished at himself to find that he had delivered almost a transcript of the manuscript he had composed. and in the few instances where he had departed from that mode he had strengthened the expression.