Page:The World's Famous Orations Volume 10.djvu/147

 BLAINE

out blot or breath against him. As a la^vyer, tho admirably equipped for the profession, he can scarcely be said to have entered on its practise. The few efforts that he made at the bar were distinguished by the same high order of talent which he exhibited on every field where he was put to test, and if a man may be accepted as a competent judge of his own capacities and adap- tation, the law was the profession to which Gar- field should have devoted himself. But fate or- dained it otherwise, and his reputation in history will rest largely upon his services in the House of Representatives. That service was exception- ally long. He was nine times consecutively chosen to the House, an honor enjoyed by not more than six other representatives of the more than five thousand who have been elected from the organization of the government to this hour. As a parliamentary orator, as a debater on an issue squarely joined, where the position had been chosen and the ground laid out, Garfield must be assigned a very high rank. More, per- haps, than any man with whom he was associated in public life he gave careful and systematic study to public questions, and he came to every discussion in which he took part with elaborate and complete preparation. He was a steady and indefatigable worker. Those who imagine that talent or genius can supply the place or achieve the results of labor will find no encouragement in Garfield's life. In preliminary work he was apt, rapid, and skilful. He possessed in a high

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