d a better school, he bought the old one, and
removed it. Then he rebuilt it alongside his mother's cabin.

Sunday was regarded by the pioneers as a day of rest, but the younger
members of the various families had never even seen a place of worship.
Now and then a travelling preacher called at the settlement, and during
his brief stay held a service in one of the log cabins or in the
schoolhouse. A journey of five or six miles was often taken to be
present at such a service. Whole families, in waggons, on horseback,
and even on foot, might have been seen wending their way to the place
appointed.

The opportunities for public worship were too few to be neglected, and
the dwellers in the wilderness set a high value on such occasional
ministrations.

Mrs. Garfield eagerly welcomed the preachers of the gospel who passed
that way, and was glad to place the best fare her cabin afforded before
the earnest men, who braved many dangers, and suffered innumerable
inconveniences, to break to the settlers the Bread of life. The Bible
was the Book of books in the Garfield cabin. Every day it gave the
widow and her children the Divine message, and on Sundays Mrs. Garfield
never failed to do the duty of teacher and preacher to her little flock.

The reading of God's book every day, and especially on God's day, was
her invariable rule, until her children knew more about the contents
and the teaching of the sacred volume, than many town children who
enjoyed greater privileges and more numerous opportunities.

How and why the Bible was written, were questions which Mrs. Garfield
answered as well as she was able. Why men were wicked, and what
hindered them from being good, puzzled James. To him it was a great
mystery that any one could continue to do wrong when God was always
willing to help them to do right.

At this time a great wave of temperance passed over that part of the
country, and James at once questioned his mother about the movement.
Living so far away from the centres of population, the lad had no
opportunity of seeing for himself the terrible evils of drunkenness.
As far as it was necessary, his mother told him of the mischief done by
strong drink, and how much better it was to have nothing to do with it.
Here again the self-reliant boy had a difficulty. Just as he could not
understand how men could help being good, neither could he understand
how they could continue to drink, when they found that it only ended