him first in the parlors of the young ladies' school which I
attended in Jacksonville. He entered the room with several other
students, was taller than the rest, and attracted my attention at
once. His face was pale and thin; a pair of keen dark eyes looked out
from beneath heavy brows; his nose was prominent, too large to look
well, I thought; a broad, thin-lipped mouth, and a square chin,
completed the contour of his face.

"He was neat, though not fastidious in dress, and stood firmly and
with dignity. I noted particularly his hair and his smile, the former
black in color, plentiful, fine in quality, and parted distressingly
straight; the latter expansive and expressive.

"In later years his smile has been the subject of considerable
comment, but the well rounded cheeks of Mr. Bryan now check its
outward march. No one has seen the real breadth of his smile who did
not see it in the early days. Upon one occasion a heartless observer
was heard to remark, 'That man can whisper in his own ear,' but this
was a cruel exaggeration."

Upon his graduation from Illinois College at the head of his class, he
entered the Union College of Law in Chicago where he was graduated at
the age of twenty-three. Immediately he hung out his shingle in
Jacksonville, and waited for clients. Month after month he impatiently
waited until finally it dawned upon him that among the old established
lawyers of Jacksonville there was no room for an ambitious beginner.
Then it was that he remembered the advice of Horace Greeley, "Young
man, go West."

Accordingly, with his talented young wife he went to Lincoln,
Nebraska. Here fortune smiled upon him, for so rapidly did he make a
place for himself that at the age of thirty he was chosen to represent
his district in Congress.

If any of you have ever seen the United States Congress in session you
will realize that Mr. Bryan must have been very much younger than most
of the congressmen. Keen, quick, and eager to learn, the young
Congressman made the most of every opportunity during the four years
he was in Congress.

In 1896, or when Mr. Bryan was thirty-six years of age, his greatest
opportunity came. Then it was that the Democratic party conferred upon
him the highest honor within its power by selecting him as its
candidate for president. Though defeated in 1896, so great was the
confidence the party had in him, that twice afterward his party asked
him to run for president. Since he was defea