Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-10-24
Woodrow Wilson, The Man,
As Seen By One Of His Family

: sohie uincrcnces In bOyish opinions
me Dride WAS much shocked: but I
caught II twinkle In tho bridegroo,n,s
eye. which seemed to say. Let's sen
arate them: but don't let's be i'm i'm
desperate haste about it,
Their First Home
n, ihe'L hrst nome was at Bryn Mawr.
IA, where he was Il member or ths
newly founded college for womem.
their second was In Middletown. Conn
where he was professor I'm Wcslcvan
University: their third home WINS In
Princeton, y. j., where he wns ~
lessor for twelve years ana nrcsihao,
Tor eight: then came the wider Ilfa
as Governor OF New Jersey and pre.i
dent OF the United States
AS soon as they had Il home I'm Brv,
Mawr tney sent for our little orphan
brother Edward. and he was a mcmiio.
OF their household until he morrieI
Probably the sharpest blow my sister
ever suffered WAS when Edward. III.
young wife and their baby were All
drowned together. Her natur,n,
strong constitution broke temporor,i,,
Tor he was her son rather than hnr 4
brother. myself became n membcr !
of their family for Il year at MiIdIe.
town. and ever since have been virtu
long years In Princeton. though
had my own apartments, / used their
house as If 1t were my own home Ana
our young sister Margaret (now Mrs
Elio'D had the same privileges. All
OF which would indicate that ubon
woodrow Wilson married he married ]
u family as we'll as "A wife, and that IS 4
not very far from the truth IL he
ever knew any difference between her
relatives and his own he never indi-
Gated II. And his blood became ns
her blood. have never known a case
where each adopted the others familv
so completely He even used TO refer
10 her dead father aud mother by thr
childhood names by which she always
called them. 1 think he would prob
ably say now that one OF his favorIte
unclcs was her Uncle Tom-Dr Thomas
Hoyt. OF Philadelphia. Once when
.hcIe rom was visiting us in Middle
town. Mr. Wilson broke into soft
ch"ckie while he ana | were sitting
alone.
What are you laughing at" asked.
He replied: ITO think how I blockcd
Uncle Toms boots this morning J,ass
ing ms bedroom door. J saw that lie
had put mis- boots outside, naturally
assuming that all sclf-respectinE peo-
pie Keep man. I knew bridget
wouldn't black them, and Annie
couldn't. so there was nothing to do
but tackle the job myself
II occurs to me. as write down
ms true episode. that he might very
well have sent me to do it, seeing that
was onlr a college student, while he
' b'"icsHci' ana. besides. IL was
my Uncle Tel" anyway. But Wood
row Wilson wouid not do that simplv
because ! e was too considcra...--.tbe
ni"st consiIcrate man | ever kn.v-;,,
We'll as the most generous and the ten
derest. So there is Il presidential pic-
tare to 20 along with Lincoln splitting
rails, and Garfield on a canal boat. and
Grant driving Il Ggay-Wilson backing
Unc,e '.nn's bcts--unc Tom by MAI
;iagc
IL Is lard FOR me TO speak in mod
or&t" terms OF tie beauty Of the WI
sons married lifc--that married life
winch saw 81 intimately for more
than twenty Years They .ay tIe
braves are ,nn tendercst." and :nis
strongest man in all the world TO day
has always been so gentle in his home
HE that ne has appeared to gone too
domestic. In tie unvs OF the un.ur-
tunate Qunrrcls in Princeton. on.
charge that used to be made against
hin was that he was shut up ia
his hom" life that he did not know
men and ;he WAYS Of men.
or course. "A man OF Wilson'S genius
for rapid perception learns more about
men in tho flash OF an eye than slower
men learn OF each other in whole long
afternoons of ciubroom gossip over
their highballs. But in the charge
there IS much truth. that Mr.. Wilson's
own nrcside has always been dearer
w 'uhu tHc tHTouStu mIFtS or
casual contracts. If were asked 10
name the leading and governing char
actcristic of this man. should reply:
That is not easy for he is n man OF
commanding genius. md genius is nee
essariiy complex; but certainly one OF
his leading traits Is deep affection.
Sometimes in his public dealings he IL
forced TO harden his heart deliDcr-
ately in order that he may do Justice,
but so soon as he can follow his own
instinct. there emerge, above all his
intellectually and all his iron firm
ness Of Will his affections
In the family circle he can give this
affection free reign, and hence ha
probably never feels so completely him
self as when he gathers with wife and
daughters and few chosen friends
around his fircsidc and allows his spirit
TO move whittier IL listeth. He simply
cannot live without affection. for this,
our American great man, is no super
man. but human TO the core OF him.
In the long years OF his and my
sisters life together they were more
completely one than any two peopls
with whom | have been thrown into
Intimate contact. They took color from
each other as water and sky reflect
each others moods Their tastes in
books. pictures. statues and architec-
lure confessed. He taught her to love
his prose favorites Burke and Bacehot
and Birrcll (the first Birrell book l ever
saw was an inscribed gift book from
aim to herr; she taught him to love
her poetic favoritcs, especially Wads-
worth and Browning: he had n deem
and true instinct for are hitecturc. which
he impaired to her, and she in turn
qmickened his discrimination for color
in landscape painting and i'm nature
for she had n skill In color that would
have made her a distinguished artist
had she not made her painting second
AIRY to her greater career as wife and
mother.
Gro Re Continued To- Morrow.)