The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-07-04
july 3.
DearH Hal

Dear Hal:
The town paused for a moment in its
pell nell of preparation for the Jubilee
and laid everything aside to do homage
TO Bryan. 1t was a proud night all
around; proud for the great leader of
the people, proud for Salt Lake, proud
for the historic old theatre, whose walls
were taxed as never before to hold the
surging crowds. We were all there,
GREATNESS anxious and expectant as
the veriest school children, to come in
contact with greatness. to have it 10
say that we had touched the hem of
the great Bryan's garment OF the
wonderful lecture. and the way it
swayed all hearers, you have. OF course,
read in the papers. But I know that
you would be anxious to obtain closer
glimpse than the newspapers could give
you. to learn something Of Bryan, the
nan. separate and apart from BRYAN,
the presidential candidate, so / devoted
most of my time while he was here to
picking up some details that the papers
might have overlooked, more or less
personal in their character.
In the first place, Bryan is very much
like his newspaper cuts, odd as it may
sound; he is darker than l expected to
find him, and his raven hued hair is
worn long, and in a somewhat old
isAing compound of strength and sweet
ness; 1 don't know which characteristic
predominates. The jaw spells the word
''i-Cn' as plainly as anything outside
of letters could, but the mouth and the
eyes. the whole effect OF the counten-
ance, is one % winningness, of sweet
ness, Of gentleness. TO a superlative de-
gree. Somehow. there was a femininity
about it that made you think of his
mother. and wonder whether he didn't
resemble her strongly, rather than his
father His voice is well tuned, well
toned, pleasing in the whole register
like a rich. diapason stop in the lower
notes; when he grew excited, and his
words. his gestures and his flashing
eyes confined To make up perfect tor
rent Of magnetism. the effect on his
audience vas stranger than anything
I ever beheld Of that kind. The audi
ence simply anticipated his cIimaXes, !
was swept of its feet, and time and
again drowned him out before he had
made his final point
The Overweening thing about the
man, however. is the impression his |
whole personality gives off, that he is |
one of the plain people Of this world: |
he has the clean-cut, chiseled features |
of an aristOcrat, and as he stood on /
the stage l thought if he could have
donned a Roman toga, il would have
been to the life. Tom Keene in one of |
his patrician roles, but his attire. his
sentiments. his manner and the hOmely !
way he has Of pronOuncing his words, |
all tell that he comes from the ranks, /
that he is charged with countless volts (
of democracy pure and undefiled. You /
couldn't help noticing the LONELINESS OF
his talk from time to time, when he
grew specially confidential with his
audience. and the very inelegance of /
some of his phrases. if dare use the (
word. l fancied, is what puts him on
level with his auditors. and makes them /
feel that he is part and parcel of them
selves. These are some of the sentences
took down from his lips: When
heard these 'fellers' say" Ever time
they build a railroad" It's true most
everywhere 1t amt treating the
country right" etc, etc. One could