The age-herald., 1900-07-29
COL. ". j. BRYAN
 SHOWS HIS AGE
Many Changes in the Great Leader In Four Years-He is Heavier and is Said
 to Have New Lines of Thought
From the Chicago Record.

From the Chicago Record.
 Omaha, Neb-Those who have had an opportunity to observe Colonel Bryan un- der various conditions agree that there have been notable changes in his charae- ter and manners and in his habits of thought since he came so prominently be- fore the public in 1896 as a candidate for the Presidency. In appearance he has aged considerably during the last four years. He has lost most of the hair on the top of his head, and retains only the heavy cataract that hangs as a fringe around the base of the cerebellum and rests upon the collar of his coat It has a natural curl at the bottom, and is kept with great deal of care Mrs. Bryan and the children love ts. stroke and comb this pecious hair, and its owner loves to have them.
 MT Bryan's face is much stronger and fuller than it was four years ago. He has gained considerable flesh, notwith- standing his arduous work upon the stump and platform, and weighs between thirty and forty pounds more than in 1S96 tp- ping the scales at an easy 200. This increase shows in his face as well as in the regions of his watstcoat. His cheeks are fuller, the dimple in his chin is more apparent and his fowl is heavier That MT. Bryan leads
 
 easily evident from his clear eyes and com plexion. He is a man of small appetite and simple tastes, neither g1utton nor a wine bibber, although not a teetotaller either in theory or practice He never uses wines or beer on his table, although he some times drinks both when offered him at the tables of others; but he keeps a bottle Of whiskey-or rather Mrs. Bryan does-on the top shelf of the pantry not for convivial but medicinal purposes. This bottle has fAnr lA1 for- to Tttra "A dropping strength and spirits of the states man from Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky and other States, but Is never produced un- til called for.
 ''If you are expecting to stay long," said the gentleman from North Carolina, to the gentleman from South Carolina, as they were leaving the hotel for their candidates Cottage, you better put in a couple of drinks before you go. They never offer thew visitors liquor out there."
 MT. Bryan is addicted to milk and iced tea, but he cares as little about his food and his drink as any man living, and Mrs. Bryan Is equally indifferent. The appear ance of the cottage inside and out in- dicates that she Is a neat and careful housekeeper, but she takes more interest in Buckles History of Civilization" than in her cook book. She keeps only one ser want a Swede maid -of-all-work. Those who have had the honor of dining with the Bryans say that the fare was plain but plentl1ul, ana served without Iormalltyo Ruth, the eldest daughter, who is 16, changed the plates, and the cook brought the viands from the kitchen. They live just in the same manner as the average Lincoln family of their means, in a most simple and democratic way.
 Colonel Hay, the Secretary of State, has an engraved portrait of famous cardinal of the fifteenth century that might be cas- fly mistaken for President Mckinley Col. Bryan also would make a handsome priest, and the scarlet robes of the cardinal have seldom set off finer face or figure. He has more of the physical intellectual and oratorical qualifications for an ideal clergy