The Daily Dispatch: September 19, 1864., [Electronic resource]

"a royal Cortege."

The equipage that throws all others in the shade, and causes them to "pale their ineffectual fires," is that of the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. It consists of a low barouche, drawn by four elegant and fiery "thoroughbreds," with postillions mounted on the left or "near" horse of each pair. Two footmen, in extreme livery, are suspended from a high seat on the back of the carriage, technically called the "bramble." The barouche is lined with rich satin damask, and the outside trimmings are of heavy gilt. The postillions are dressed in buckskin breeches and high-top boots, with black silk velvet jackets and caps highly ornamented with gold lace. The men are peculiarly well formed, having been selected and trained in Europe with especial reference to their "build" and the extra size of their "calves" Their livery is imported at a cost of about one thousand dollars, and the cost of the whole affair may be conjectured when I state that the horses are valued at $25,000, and the carriage at $5,000, and the harness and other trappings at $3,000. When the royal cortege makes its appearance on the avenue, with the Democratic prince in full costume all vehicles instinctively give way, as though the occupant was indeed a "crowned head." The stables of his Democratic majority are said to contain some forty horses, valued at $1,000 to $3,000 each.