Page:American Boy's Life of William McKinley.djvu/184

152 In his home life William McKinley was always of a cheery disposition. He loved young folks, and having none living of his own, used often to have relatives and friends pay his wife and himself a visit. He liked music, and would often join in a song, and though not particularly a story-teller, he could still interest the boys and girls when they made the demand upon him. He often read the newspaper aloud to his wife, sitting either in the cosey home, when the weather was cool, or else in his favorite corner on the piazza. He was an early riser, and was frequently at work by seven o'clock in the morning, and it was often midnight ere he retired. His health was of the best and suffered little from the strain to which he subjected himself until, when he was President, he was attacked with the grippe, which left him with a somewhat weak heart. Although inclined to be stout, he was well proportioned, with broad shoulders and a chest which gave him good lung power and that clear, full voice which is so essential to every public speaker.