National Affairs: Man in a Toga

Once he was a farm boy in Illinois, hating the black soil and the toil, reading the Bible and Shakespeare, yearning for Thespian grace and glory. He was a student in Kansas, boning for the law and persuading his roisterous fraternity fellows to pay a farmer for four stolen turkeys. He was a starveling lawyer, writing orations for practice in the hot, sandy afternoons; galloping his horse to & from a young man's fun in the Kansas night. He was the smartest sprig in Idaho, taking up for downtrod Chinese, farmers, Mormons while he...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!