“He is one of the most accurate scholars I ever knew,” said Hill to Leavitt, some weeks after James entered college; “he never misses anything, and he never fails to answer a question.”

“That is because he knows it all,” replied Leavitt. “He gave me some account of his methods of study in preparing for college. He did it all himself, pretty much. He sticks to anything until he understands it fully; that gives him the advantage now. He is one of the best-read students in college, and all that he ever read is at his tongue’s end.”

“He showed that in the debate last Saturday,” continued Hill. “His ability as a debater is superior; nobody in this college can compete with him.” Reference was here made to a debate in the Philologian society of the college.”

“A born speaker, I think. It is just as easy for him to speak as it is to recite; and that is easy enough.”

“I predict,” continued Hill, “that he will stand at the head of our class, notwithstanding he entered two years in advance.”

“It looks so now. ‘All signs fail in a dry time,’ it is said, but the signs certainly point that way.”

That these young men were not partial, or mistaken, in their estimate of James, is evident from the following communication, penned by a class-mate, after the lapse of twenty-five years:—

“In a class of forty or more he immediately took a stand above all others for accurate scholarship in every branch, but particularly distinguishing himself as a writer, reasoner, and debater. He was remarkable for going to the bottom of every subject which came before him, and seeing and presenting it in entirely a new light. His essays written at that time, not of the common-place character too common in college compositions, can even now be read with pleasure and admiration. While an indefatigable worker, he was by no means a bookworm or recluse, but one of the most companionable of men, highly gifted, and entertaining in conversation, ready to enjoy and give a joke, and having a special faculty for drawing out the knowledge of those with whom he conversed, thus enriching his own stock of information from the acquirements of others. Even then he showed that magnetic power, which he now exhibits in a remarkable degree in public life, of surrounding himself with men of various talents, and of employing each to the best advantage in his sphere. When questions for discussion arose in the college societies, Garfield would give each of his allies a point to investigate; books and documents from all the libraries would be overhauled; and the mass of facts thus obtained being brought together, Garfield would analyze the whole, assign each of the associates his part, and they would go into the battle to conquer. He was always in earnest, and persistent in carrying his point, often against apparently insurmountable obstacles; and in college election contests (which are often more intense than national elections) he was always successful.

James had taxed himself so long to his utmost capacity by advanced and extra studies, crowding six years’ labour into three, that it was easy for him now to lead his class. He added German to the regular studies of the college, and he became so proficient in it within one year that he could converse considerably in the language. But all this was little labour in comparison with his work at Hiram. He found much time to read, and to engage in the sports of the Campus. The latter he enjoyed with a keen relish; no one entered into them more heartily than he did. His college mates now recall with what enthusiasm he participated in their games. This was indispensable for his health now, as he had no labour with plane or hammer to perform.

The “Williams Quarterly” was a magazine supported by the college. James took great interest in it, and his compositions frequently adorned its pages, both prose and poetry. The following was from his pen in 1854:—