The freeman. (Fremont [Ohio]) 1849-1850, 1850-03-30
Old Whitley.

We were standing at the corner of President
square, in Washington, the other day-literal-
ly brought to a stand-still by the heavenly
beauty Of the weather-when loose horse
trotted leisurely by us in the open street.
and we found ourself expanding towards him,
in sympathetic recognition of the similarity of
our respective happiness. There are two of
us out of harness, to-day" we mentally said
"God bless you, old brother worthy, and may
you enjoy, as l do, this delicious sunshine and
its heavenly nothing to dol" On he trotted
towards the Presidents gate, and hating a
little before the entrance, he seemed to be hes
itating between perfect liberty to go in or stay
out-when it suddenly occurred to us that
our fellow idler might not be, after ali, the
"private individual for whom we had fancied
our sympathy to be rather condescension
than otherwise! What if it should be sold
Whitey,"-reposing on his laurels
A moments look, up and down the pave in
front of the Presidents mansion, corroboratcd
the conjecture There were, parhaps, twenty
persons in sight, and, among them, we recog-
nized one of the Cabinet Secretaries, vener-
able Auditor, the Austrian Charge, and two
of those un-anxious and yet responsible look
ing persons whom you know to be Members, .
and not Office ce-seekers- -and-(curious to see)
all eyes were 6xed-not upon the distinguish
ed foreigner, not on the Honorable Members,
not on the Honorable officials, not on an un-
harnessed and loose Editor of the Home
Jouurnal-but, on the embarrassed and loose
white horse!
We felt the smoke of Buena Vista and Re-
SAGA de la Palma, of Palo Alto and Monterey,
ger. He went smelling about the edges Of
the side walk-wondering, probably, at such
warm weather and no grassland we crossed
over to have nearer Look at him, with feel
ing that the glory was not all taken from his
back with the saddle and holsters. "Old
Whitley is compact, hardy, well proportion
ed animal, less of battle-steed, in appearance,
than Of the style usually defined by the phrase
"ramily horse" slightly knock-kneed, and with
a tail (I afterwards learned)very much thinned
by the numerous applications for chair Of
him for memory" He had evidently been
long untouched with curry comb, and (like
other celebrities for want of an occasional rub
bing down1there was little too much of him
selfin his exterior the name of "Old Whitley
indeed, hardly describing with fidelity coat
so matted and yellow. But, remembering the
beatings of the great heart he had borne up
on his back-the anxieties, the energies, the
defances of danger, the iron impulses to duty
the thrills of chivalric triumphs, and the sad
turnings of the rein to see brothers in arms
laid in the graves of the battle-fcld-remem-
membering all that has been thought aud fell
in the saddle which that horse was wont te
wear-it was impossible to look at him with
out y fhpoh in the throat--one of those 11nhid.
den and uureasoning tear -throbs, that seem
to delight in paying. tribute, out of time and
unexacted, totrifes that have been belongings
of glory. We saw General Taylor himself for
the first time the next day-with more
thought and reverence of course, than had
had been awakened by looking upon his horse
but with not half the emotion.
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