Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. II.djvu/177

 ZACHARY TAYLOR 137 and grace of expression that many attributed it to a member of his staff who had a literary reputa tion. It was written by Gen. Taylor s own hand, in the open air, by his camp-fire at Victoria, Mexico. Many years of military routine had not dulled his desire for knowledge ; he had extensively studied both ancient and modern history, especially the English. Unpretending, meditative, observant, and conclusive, he was best understood and most appreciated by those who had known him long and intimately. In a campaign he gathered informa tion from all who approached him, however sinister their motive might be. By comparison and elim ination he gained a knowledge that was often sur prising as to the position and designs of the enemy. In battle he was vigilantly active, though quiet in bearing; calm and considerate, though stern and inflexible; but when the excitement of danger and strife had subsided, he had a father s tenderness for the wounded, and none more sincerely mourned for those who had bravely fallen in the line of their duty. Before his nomination for the presidency Gen. Taylor had no political aspirations and looked for ward to the time when he should retire from the army as the beginning of a farmer s life. He had planned for his retreat a stock-farm in the hills of Jefferson County, behind his cotton-plantation on