"Yes, he was very successful, keeping order without any trouble, though
the school is considered a hard one."

This was Chester A. Arthur, whose name in after years was to be
associated with that of the writing-teacher, who was occupying the same
room as his Presidential successor. But to James Garfield, at that time,
the name meant nothing, and it never occurred to him what high plans
Providence had for them both. It was one of those remarkable cases in
which the paths of two men who are joined in destiny traverse each
other. Was it not strange that two future occupants of the Presidential
chair should be found teaching in the same school-room, in an obscure
Vermont village, two successive winters?

As the reader, though this is the biography of Garfield, may feel a
curiosity to learn what sort of a teacher Arthur was, I shall, without
apology, conclude this chapter with the story of a pupil of his who, in
the year 1853, attended the district school at Cohoes, then taught by
Chester A. Arthur. I find it in the Troy _Times_:

"In the year 1853 the writer attended the district school at Cohoes. The
high department did not enjoy a very enviable reputation for being
possessed of that respect due from the pupils to teacher. During the
year there had been at least four teachers in that department, the last
one only remaining one week. The Board of Education had found it
difficult to obtain a pedagogue to take charge of the school, until a
young man, slender as a May-pole and six feet high in his stockings,
applied for the place. He was engaged at once, although he was
previously informed of the kind of timber he would be obliged to hew.