Page:American Boy's Life of William McKinley.djvu/48

22 But "all work and no play" will not do for anybody, and the mental strain to which McKinley subjected himself soon began to tell upon him. His cheeks grew pale and thin, and he occasionally complained of violent headaches and pains in the chest. When he came home on a few days' vacation, both his mother and his sisters were greatly alarmed.

"He has been studying too hard," said Annie McKinley. "He needs a rest. If he doesn't get it, he will surely break down."

She knew William better than did any of the other brothers and sisters, and the mother agreed that she was right, and that, for the present at least, the young student must give up his studies. So, much against his will, William McKinley bade adieu to Allegheny College, where he had been for less than a year. When he left, he fully expected to return in a short while, but this was not to be.

A vacation of a few months around home did wonders for the youth, and at the end of that time he announced that he felt as well as ever. In the meantime, however,