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against sorrow—against the world. At the steps of the house of woe the new President spoke words which must appeal to every American. "Boys"-he did not say "gentlemen," he did not say "fellow citizens," he said "boys," for his mind had flown back to a time when he was fighting for his country-"Boys, we must stand together. We have met at the bier of one whom we loved. He was the product of the entire country. We are the product of all the country. He loved us and we loved him. Among you I see men from Texas and men from Maine. Is it not a glory to know that we are all as one? They predicted that this could not be. We have shown them their error. I have one word to pledge you -that we are all of us American citizens. My life and my work belong to you. I am not your ruler but your friend in council. I ask no higher honor than to serve my country. The North and the South have passed away, and we have become as one. These soldiers that you see are but the expressive force of a State-Ohio. They are the sons of the men who followed our dead chieftain to the war. Some of them were on the other side. Let us honor them, for they are representative of our country. Among you occasionally I catch

the glimpse of a countenance which I saw in battle-at a time when we charged up a hill. And to you I would extend my love and my sympathy. The nation has called upon us to do our duty. Let us do it. To public life there is due a sort of compliance. Let us conform; but at the same time let us remember that to you and your bravery is due our greatness to-day."

The mournful dirge began and the President stood upon the steps. Sorrow en masse had gathered in the street. The President had nothing more to say. He had said enough. He had told us all what was needed. We knew that McKinley was dead; those who stood there in that throng told us that. We knew that our country was living. And that is the reason that those who followed McKinley to the tomb knew that the flag could not be pulled down. We were there to bury a tender sentiment; we were there to shed the tears of a nation-to weep with a devoted wife and mother-but to stand firm with a man who himself stood firm with a nation.

And this book gives the life of that man. Never before has it been written. And to it do I gladly subscribe my name.

OPIE READ.

CHAPTER I.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT.

SKETCH OF HIS LIFE — MARKED CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MAN BLOOD OF HEROES IN HIS VEINS

A PRODUCT OF THE AGE
IN AN AGE OF MATERIALISM HE STANDS AS THE GREAT
EXPONENT OF THE VIRTUES-HIS FIRST HISTORICAL WORK-
AMBITIOUS TO DO DEEDS RATHER THAN CHRONICLE THEM.

Restless as the sea his forefathers sailed to reach the new world; active as the soil that answered to the tickling of their hoes with bursts of golder laughter; fearless as the native chiefs who fought European encroachment on their domains with a savage valor worthy of the ancient Greeks; patient as the mothers who reared children in a wilderness where danger and death lurked on every hand, and with a soul as broadly sympathetic as the missionaries who led the way for the pioneer into the new world, Theodore Roosevelt, the twenty-sixth President of the United States, stands to-day the embodiment of Americanism. He is as much a product of the laws underlying all life as is the air we

breathe or the country we inhabit; as much the result of the combination of harmonious forces as the battle-ship Brooklyn or the Constitution of the United States.

Born to ease and luxury, President Roosevelt has lived a life of constant toil and struggle; heir to a delicate body his indomitable will has transformed it to a sinewy frame, wherein his active mind, bent on the conquest of evil, is supplied with an unfailing host ready at all times to fight for his ideals.

What these ideals are he has made plainly apparent. The one trait of his character that stands out preeminent above all others is absolute frankness. In all his public life he has made no secret of his plans for the general good. Sincerity is the keynote of his nature. Having satisfied himself as to the truth of any matter he immediately takes the whole country into his confidence, relying on the good sense of the people for support in his battle for its establishment. As his life's motto he seems to have taken that comprehensive ritual of a brave man's creed enunciated by Shakespeare: "Beware of entrance to a quarrel; but, being in, bear't that the opposer may beware of thee." He must be sure

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