Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. II.djvu/181

ZACHARY TAYLOR 139 large addition to the elements of sectional conten tion. These were soon developed, and while the upper air was calm and the sun of prosperity shone brightly on the land, the attentive listener could hear the rumbling sound of approaching convulsion. President Taylor, with the keen watchfulness and intuitive perception that had characterized him as a commander in the field, easily saw and appre ciated the danger; but before it had reached the stage for official action he died. His party and local relations, being a Whig and a southern planter, gave him the vantage-ground for the exer cise of a restraining influence in the threatened con test. His views, matured under former responsi bilities, were tersely given to confidential friends, but as none of his cabinet are living (Stuart was the last survivor), their consultations cannot be learned unless from preserved manuscript. Dur ing the brief period of his administration the rules that would govern it were made manifest, and no law for civil-service reform was needful for his guidance. With him the bestowal of office was a trust held for the people; it was not to be gained by proof of party zeal and labor. The fact of holding Democratic opinions was not a disqualifi cation for the office. Nepotism had with him no quarter. Gen. Winfield Scott related to the writer an anecdote that may appropriately close this sketch. He said he had remarked to his wife that