 Garfield took up the practice of law in 1865 as a means to improve his personal finances . His efforts took him to Wall Street where , the day after Lincoln 's assassination , a riotous crowd led him into an impromptu speech to calm it : " Fellow citizens ! Clouds and darkness are round about Him ! His pavilion is dark waters and thick clouds of the skies ! Justice and judgment are the establishment of His throne ! Mercy and truth shall go before His face ! Fellow citizens ! God reigns , and the Government at Washington still lives ! " The speech , with no mention or praise of Lincoln , was according to Garfield biographer Robert G. Caldwell " quite as significant for what it did not contain as for what it did " . In the following years , Garfield had more praise for Lincoln ; a year after the Illinoisan 's death Garfield stated that " greatest among all these developments were the character and fame of Abraham Lincoln " , and in 1878 called Lincoln " one of the few great rulers whose wisdom increased with his power " . 
