ers, busy as they were, forgot their work and hastened to the
city. Merchants, too, had locked their stores and refused to sell
goods. Why all the excitement? At the edge of the city, in a huge
steel auditorium that seated thousands, the people were gathering--and
such a multitude--people as far as the eye could see. Soon the speaker
of the afternoon was introduced. For two hours he held that vast
throng as no other man in America and possibly in the world could have
done. So magnetic was his personality and so genuine his appeal that
the people forgot the heat and gave him the closest possible
attention.

Odd as it may seem, the speaker before this vast Chautauqua throng was
the same man that, years before, had tried to speak near Salem when no
one would hear him. Why the difference? What had he done that had made
the people so eager to see and hear him?

To answer these questions it will be necessary to study his life. Mr.
Bryan was born at Salem, Illinois, March 19, 1860. Though he is of
Irish descent, his ancestors have lived in this country for more than
a hundred years. Through all these years the Bryans have belonged to
the middle class. While none of them have been very rich, on the other
hand none have been extremely poor. Though members of the family have
entered practically every profession, more have engaged in farming
than in all the other professions combined.

Fortunately for Mr. Bryan, most of his boyhood was spent on a farm.
When he was but six years of age his father purchased a farm six
miles from Salem. It was indeed an eventful day for young William when
they moved to the large farm with its spacious farm house and broad
lawns. From the first the animals interested him most. William's
father, seeing this, built a small deer park. Here the deer,
unmolested by dogs or hunters, became so tame that the lad never tired
of petting and feeding them.

With the abundant, nutritious food of the farm, with plenty of fresh
air, sunshine, and exercise, William soon grew into a sturdy,
broad-shouldered, deep-chested lad. Those who knew him best say that
while the other boys always had their pockets filled with keys,
strings, and tops, his were sure to be filled with cookies and
doughnuts.

William's first day in school was indeed eventful. Ten years old and
large for his age, he seemed out of place in the first grade where the
pupils were so much younger and smaller. Soon, however, the teacher
discovered t