a fine thing to commit a crime which would make his name known everywhere and prevent its being ever forgotten. His wicked wish has come true, but his name now stands in our history even lower than that of Arnold or Booth in the eyes of all good Americans.

It is true that Arnold was a base traitor, but for many years before that he had been a noble patriot, and he lived to repent of the wrong he had done. The murderer of Lincoln was the vile as

sassin of a good man, but he had thought so long over the sufferings of the Confederates that he was half insane when he killed the President.

When the murderer of Garfield was tried, his lawyer attempted to prove that this criminal did not deserve punishment because he was out of his right mind; but it was shown that he had been sane enough to plan the murder some time before. When the jury heard this, they decided that the law should take its usual course, and he was hanged.

All through Garfield's illness, Vice President Chester A. Arthur was in a very delicate position. By our Constitution he was to take the President's place only in case of the latter's death, resignation, or inability to discharge his duties. But it was at first impossible to decide

whether the President would recover or not, and as no great event took place at that time to make it necessary, Arthur firmly refused to take Garfield's place.

But a few hours after Garfield had breathed his last, Arthur, who was known as" the first gentleman in the land," on account of his kind, true feelings and courteous manners, took the presidential oath.

While Garfield lay hovering between life and death, Arthur himself was also taken very ill. For a time it seemed as if the country would be left without any President at all. To prevent such a thing ever happening, Congress made a law (1885) saying that if President and Vice President both died, the President's place was to be taken by a certain member of the Cabinet. Therefore it is only in case the President, Vice President, and seven Cabinet members die, that our country can be without a head.

Congress also said it was high time to put an end to the "spoils system," by which each new President was annoyed by office seekers. So it was decided that a great many of the positions in the government offices were to be given only to such as proved themselves most capable, by passing civil-service examinations (1883).

LXIV. THE CELEBRATION AT YORKTOWN.

VERY

ERY soon after Garfield's funeral, and during Arthur's term, there was a grand procession at Yorktown, to celebrate "Surrender Day," or the centennial of Cornwallis's surrender, October 19, 1781, in the Revolutionary

War. Visitors came thither from all parts of the country, and descendants of the three illustrious Frenchmen, De Grasse, De Ro-cham-beau', and De Lafayette, were invited to be present, as well as those of the German Von Steu'ben.

On that occasion, the corner stone of a beautiful monument was laid, and speeches were made in English, French, and German. One of the guests present was the widow of President Tyler, who came forward to shake hands with President Arthur. Many other noted people were there, and the crowd loudly applauded such heroes as Sherman, Hancock, and Fitzhugh Lee, who, having taken part in the Civil War, had many admiring friends among their former soldiers.

Besides illuminations, there was also a grand naval review, and when an English vessel came up, flying the Union Jack at its masthead, the whole American fleet fired a salute. This showed very plainly that none but friendly and courteous feelings now existed between the two nations which had twice been face to face in war.

In 1883, after fourteen years of hard work and at the expense of nearly fifteen million dollars, the great Brooklyn Bridge was finished. This bridge was planned by John A. Roe'bling, and constructed by his son. It is one of the mechanical wonders of the world, and streams of people now constantly pass to and fro over it. They can be seen on foot, in carriages, or in cars, for this structure has five separate avenues for those who go back and forth in New York between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

In 1884-85, New Orleans, the "Crescent City," the largest cotton market in the South, held an exhibition to celebrate the Cotton Centennial. One hundred years be

fore, eight bags of cotton had been sent from Charleston to England. But now the South could well boast that cotton is king," for more than two million bales were shipped in one year from the port of New Orleans alone.

The cotton crop is far greater, however, for, besides exporting cotton, the South supplies all the mills in this country. Most of the work in the cotton fields is still done by the colored people, who now get good wages. They are daily growing more self-reliant and thrifty, and whereas they did not even own themselves in 1860, they are now free and own several million dollars worth of property.

The New Orleans Exhibition was preceded and followed by smaller expositions of the same kind at Atlanta,

Louisville, and Nashville, all showing that the "New South" was growing fast. Not only were the cotton, sugar, rice, and tobacco crops far finer than ever before, but other things were now grown in great quantities in the South. Besides, many manufactories have been built, and shops of all kinds are seen in the South, where many of the towns are real "hives of industry."

Among the other grand changes which have taken place in the country, one of the most remarkable is that made in our mail service since the first postage stamps were used in 1847. It has grown better, quicker, and cheaper every year, the last great reduction being made in 1885, when Congress decided that all letters weighing one ounce or less should be carried from one end of our great country to the other for only two cents. Thus, a two-cent stamp will now carry a letter even from Florida to Alaska. The distance, as you can see in your geography, is very great, but Alaska is part of our country, and in 1884 it was provided with a government, and Sit'ka was chosen as its capital.

IN

LXV. THE GREAT STATUE.

IN 1885, Grover Cleveland became the twenty-second President of the United States. He was the first Democratic President seen in the White House for twentyfour years. Even some Republicans voted for him in preference to Blaine, their own candidate, because they knew he would uphold the civil-service reform.

Cleveland, the son of a minister, was left alone at six