The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-05-22
prn.onLL nrmINIscENcRs.
ReeOllecIions of General and Presi-
dent csOld Zach'') Taylor and Henry

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ReeoIIecIions of General and Pres
dent C'sOId Zach'') Taylor and Henr
clay. 1slll 1att aFsl 1eict
p, Like many other young men of tina
day, just beginning to glance at an
take an interest in public affairs, th
wriier of this article went on to Wasl
Iington to witness the Inauguration G
'honest old Zachary Taylor. TheT
was something almost inspiring in hi
mere name, for he was the hero of Pal
Alto, Resaca de la Palma and of Buen
Vista, and was victorious general no
of the past, but of the very times j
which we lived. 1t is true he was calle'
trough and readyP but he has born
Ibis faculties so meek and 'been s.
clear in his great office that men Of al
parties, especially the young men, wer
very enthusiastic about him; and thi
writer longed TO go and look upon hi
honest and weather beaten face, and Il
take him by the hand and murmur afev
words of gratitude in his ear. gr.
His dispatches, too, had been models
of their kind, worthy almost to- b'
ranked with Perry's immortal I'VE me
the enemy and they are ours" or Caesar
still more remarkable ''Ueii, Uidt uiei.
1t is true enough that many contendeo
that Col. Bliss wrote them, not Genera
Taylor, but all of us who supported hin
maintained and believed that this charge
was purely malevolent, and just a. thing
devised by the enemy and hence II
only made us the more enthusiastic on
his behalf. And so, with q heart full of
eager anticipation, this writer rushed on
to see him. ..rrt ~ ..
And he saw him first at Georgetown
before the inauguration. He was to be
received by the ladies 10 the Town Hall
there. And such scene he never wit
messed before; ;and never wishes to wit
ness again.
Robert Ould, ESQ.,, Corporation Coun-
sci at that time for Georgetown, made
the address of welcome, ,and very grace
full and touching one it was. For such
an occasional address, brief, compact,
neat and appropriate, | had never heard
it surpassed, or hardly equaled, except
by Jonathan Chapman, the Mayor of
Boston, in welcoming Daniel Webster
home once to Boston and to Faneuil
Hall. | stood at Mr.. Guilds side, and
Gen. Taylor was directly in front of US.
Shall | venture to describe his appear
ance? Mere words would be inadequate.
Rough, weather-beate and homely TO
degree, his face full of dents and
and wrinkles, addressed. and his gar
ments hanging upon him most awkardly,
he reminded me at once of some skipper
ON pinkey vessel. But of what conse-
quence was that? In his reply to Mr..
Ould he showed that he had heart, and
that he regarded himself as one upon
whom greatness had been thrust against
his will and his own better Judgment He
said he did not wish to be President, and
that he wasn't fit to be, and that the
victories" Mr.. Ould had spoken of were
not won by him, but by the poor soldiers,
the bones of many of whom were whiten-
ing upon the plains of Mexico. All this,
it was evident, he felt, and felt keenly,
and it would have been very affecting If
it had been uttered in any sort of style
whatever But while the tears were
streaming down his furrOwed cheeks Il
stood there and saw them, he actually
'blubbered'' it out, and it seemed, of
course, to border on the incredulous.
Conceive of some great, overgrown
schoolboy, with his fist in his eyes, say
ing, 81 didn't do it, sir and you can
form some" idea of how the general
looked and appeared. Mr.. Ould, with
whom ! was ON terms of familiarity, said
to me, in his laughing. way, He made
me feel ashamed of him,of myself and OF
all human kind"
But, | say again, ludicrOus as this
scene was, of what real consequence was
it? for we knew then and we know now
that ''Old Zach spoke from his heart,
and his heart was an honest one, q patri-
otic and a noble one. But still more
absurd scene was to follow.
For, the speeches being over, the next
thing in ORDER it seemed, was Tor the
general to kiss the ladies. Kiss the
ladies, indeed! You should have been
there to see the ladies kiss him! Upon
my word, almost thought they wonid
eat him up, if not actually tear him to
pieces. They rushed at him as parcel
of hungry chickens would rush at dish
of cereals, and with pretty much the
same vOraoity, and the same disregard
for each other and for him, the poor, be-
and almost distracted general.
| thought then and there how glad i was
that | was not the President-elect OF
these States, mere young man as | was
for, with all due respect to the fair and
superior sex, not many really pretty girls
can usually be found in an ordinary hall
full, especially in small city, such as
was at that time, and / con-
fess that pitied tile poor general, actu-
ally pulled hither. and thither by sheer
physical force, as he was, by various vir-
gins of an ancient and scraggy type.
They had no mercy on him whatever,
but actually attacked him with their
hungry lips. 1t occurred to me that he
would have felt more at ease if he had
been in a battle surrounded by relentless
warriors, There was. however, stand
ing near me Tor was standing near her)
an unusually lovely girl, and, to my in
tense amusement. while a phalanx of the
and for that matter
ones also, were pulling the
general along by. he discovered my fair
1eiphbor. and his poor. tired-looking
eve immediately lighted up. and tearing
himself from his relentless captors, he
rushed M. and. of his own accord, i'm
planted a loud and sonorous smack upon
her lovely lips. She turned absolutely
scarlet, but seemed TO be, and doubtless
was. yerv much pleased. notwithstand-
ing. i sball NOT reveal what she said to
me. But all things must have an end,
and this ridiculous scene came to an end
also. and had nv wish gratifed BY, at
the nroper time. taking the general by
the hand and saving a few words to him.
/ was told Henry CLAW went through
similar scenes. "Very WE'LL, | thought,
81 am clad. also. that am not Henry
Claw Of whom. as an orator in the SEN
ate / shall sneak presently.
Inaururation day was unpleasant and
gloomy. with intermittent drizzles. and
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