“At this football game there was little to foreshadow what was written on the political horizon two years later, but I do recall that he seemed to be especially popular with the sturdy young collegians, one of whom remarked to his companion as they passed by us:
“‘Who is that distinguished-looking man—the one that looks like Napoleon?’
“The late President was particularly fond of a good play, and when he would come to stay with me at Cleveland overnight, he would always inquire:
“‘Is there anything good at your opera house to-night, Mark?’
“We enjoyed many pleasant evenings together. He delighted in meeting the prominent actors and was very fond of Joseph Jefferson. Many an hour have they chatted together, and Jefferson never failed to call and see him when in Washington. Sol Smith Russell was another friend. The drama of high standard was to him a relief from worriments of the day and thoroughly enjoyed as a relaxation. He delighted to discuss with these play folks their art, and how actors, like men in public life, had to cater to public wishes, and how much their influence meant in producing plays of healthful purpose and moral teaching. Mrs. McKinley was also very fond of the theatre; he always delighted to indulge her, and they spent many happy evenings together witnessing the best plays that were on the boards.
“He never tired of seeing Jefferson in ‘Rip Van Winkle’ and ‘The Cricket on the Hearth,’ which were undoubtedly his favourite plays.
“‘Mark, you meet as many distinguished men as owner of an opera house as you do as Senator,’ he would jokingly remark after a chat with an actor. He always seemed to have a keen scent for talent in any profession and was quick to recognize genius. The psychological study the actor made in portraying human nature before the footlights was to him fascinating. The personality of these men on the stage he believed had a potent influence on the public mind. He never tired of high-class dramas; he was especially fond of Shakespeare’s plays, and always attended thoroughly ‘read up.’ He would often chide me for not being more thoroughly posted on the original Shakespearean text, but I was more concerned in the play as staged.
“How well I remember how he enjoyed witnessing the play entitled ‘The Politician’ during his second campaign for Governor of Ohio. We sat together in a box. Roland Reed, who played the ‘Politician,’ and who is now dead, directed his remarks straight at us, and McKinley enjoyed his hits immensely. The actor brought in impromptu points and so generously improvised the speaking part that it seemed as if the actors and audience were having an ‘aside’ all to themselves at our expense.
“A man of more generous impulses than William McKinley never lived. When cases were presented to him for relief that were beyond his ability to meet, he would apply to me or some of his friends for assistance in aiding worthy persons, and his friends were always glad to respond to these appeals. He was liberal without stint. It gave him actual pain to see anyone suffering or in distress, and on such occasions showed his great faith in friendship, never hesitating to go to any bounds in an appeal for others. Whatever he had in his pocket, whether it was 10 cents or $10, he was always ready to give it to relieve distress. If the applicant only required 50 cents and the Major had $10 in his pocket, the applicant would get the $10. He did not know such a thing as taking change from charity.
“Though he had no especial training in music, no person was more partial to it than William McKinley. And his tastes were as catholic as a child’s. Anything, from a hurdy-gurdy to a grand opera, pleased him. He would keep his hands or feet beating time whenever there was music about him. I recall many Sunday evening home concerts. Everyone was singing, and he would call for ‘Nearer, My God, to Thee,’ and ‘Lead, Kindly Light.’ The radiance of his face when he sang those old favourite hymns, as if his whole soul was in it, is to me a sacred memory picture of William McKinley.