The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-07-25

The wife of William Jennings Bryan is
an absolutely new species of woman
among those who have stood chance of
ruling in the executive mansion.
Briefly, she is IA pale-faced, intellectual
slip of woman. lShe has an immense
amount of determination and silent ag-
gressiveness, is rather studious, and very
reserved. She does not care for fashion
or society, and pays noattention whatever
to either.
Attention was first drawn to Mrs.
Bryan at the time Bryan made rs famous
tariff speech in the House. Inside of Il
few hours, in the midst of the adulations
he was receiving, Bryan generously de-
clared that his wife.deserved share in
the praise.
This is the kind of a woman Mrs. Bryan
is. For weeks the Bryans had been pre-
pairing that speech The organs, hus-
band and wife, worked over the speech
day and night together Every prepara-
ton for it was made with determined
GOODNESS.
Mrs. Bryan afterwards told me how
they had worked over it, how sentence af-
ter sentence had been polished and repol-
1shed and cut until each was a gem of its
kind. They had already discovered Ar
l1ngton, the famous cemetery of the sol
diers. There they went twice, and among
graphs that proved especially effective
when delivered. Mrs. Bryan almost knew
every word by heart.
a week before the big speech was made
Bryan had delivered an eulogy on dead
colleague. Mrs. Bryan then, unknown TO
her husbands colleagues, sat in the gal
lery and carefully noted the volume of
tone required by Bryan TO fill the hall.
Anything more deliberate could hardly
be conceived. BY means of signals the
husband on the floor and the wife in the
gallery communicated, and he increased
or lowered his voice at her suggestion
until she had satisfied herself that he had
struck the most effective tone.
When the critical moment arrived Mrs.
Bryan was in the gallery She has told
me how anxious she was, vet sure that
her husband would wake up the House as
1T hadn't been stirred for months At
first Bryan held a low voice Her ewes
never left his face except to study the
effects some sentences might have on the
House. From time to time Bryan glanced
Tor encouragement at the pale face in the
gallery, and when it was all over there
was one quick glance of intelligence; both
knew that their work had been well done.
and the woman sank back in her seat al
most overcome with the intensity of her
satisfaction and relief.
1t was few days later that Mr.. Bryan
took me into the House gallery to meet
ms wife, who came over nearly every af-
ternoon to meet him and walk home with
him at the close of the session.
Mrs. Bryan told me how she and her
husband had known each other as young
people back in Illinois, where they be-
longed, when her name was. Mary Baird
When they We're married and went to
Nebraska to live and Bryan studied law,
she took up the same study with him.
Then Bryan found himself getting into
politics, but Mrs Bryan kept, on with her
law studies, took her examination and
was admitted to practice. All this was
done that she might work with and help
her husband.
In this connection Mrs Bryan said:
III amused me after / was graduated to
see the women in our town. OF course,
1T was little unusual then for woman
TO be admitted to practice Ny friends
called in numbers upon me- and it was
queer to see how they manoeuvered TO APP