1858-1860.
COMPLIMENTARY GIFT FROM PRINCE ALBERT TO MR. BUCHANAN—VISIT OF THE
PRINCE OF WALES—CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE QUEEN—MINOR INCIDENTS OF
THE ADMINISTRATION—TRAITS OF CHARACTER—LETTERS TO MISS
LANE—MARRIAGE OF A YOUNG FRIEND.
There are good reasons for believing that the regard which was
always expressed by the members of the royal family of England for
Mr. Buchanan and his niece was something more than a dictate of
policy towards the great nation that he had represented at their
court. One token of this regard, which came after he had been made
President, was certainly intended as a personal reminder of the
pleasant intercourse which he had with the queen and her husband,
and of the liking for him which their eldest daughter had often and
artlessly manifested. When the Princess Royal was married to the
crown prince of Prussia in 1858, her father sent, not to the
President of the United States, but to Mr. Buchanan, a copy of the
medal struck in honor of the marriage, accompanied by this note:
[PRINCE ALBERT TO MR. BUCHANAN.]
BUCKINGHAM PALACE, Feb. 16, 1858.
MY DEAR MR. BUCHANAN:—
The belief that your recollection of the time passed by you in
England will have made you feel an interest in the late happy
marriage of our eldest daughter, induces me to send for your
acceptance a medal struck in commemoration of that event. You
will, I think, be able easily to recognize the Princess Royal’s
features; the likeness of Prince Frederick William is also very
good.
Trusting that your health continues unimpaired, notwithstanding
the manifold duties of your high and responsible office, in which
hope the queen joins with me, I remain, ever, my dear Mr.
Buchanan, yours truly,
ALBERT.
[MR. BUCHANAN TO PRINCE ALBERT.]
WASHINGTON CITY, March 13, 1858.
SIR:—
I have had the honor to receive from Lord Napier your very kind
note of the 13th ultimo, with the medal struck in commemoration of
the marriage of the Princess Royal with Prince Frederick William.
Whilst in England I had upon one or two occasions the privilege of
meeting and conversing with the Princess Royal, which caused me to
form a very high estimate of the excellence of her character, and
to feel a deep interest in her prosperity and happiness. May her
destiny prove fortunate, and her married life be crowned by a kind
Providence with all the blessings which it is the lot of humanity
to enjoy.
With my most respectful regards to the queen. I remain truly
yours,
JAMES BUCHANAN.
When the President in June, 1860, learned that the Prince of Wales
would visit Canada, he hastened to write to the queen, and to extend
a national invitation to the Prince to come to Washington. The
following are the letters which passed between the President and the
queen:
[THE PRESIDENT TO QUEEN VICTORIA.]
WASHINGTON CITY, June 4, 1860.
TO HER MAJESTY QUEEN VICTORIA:—
I have learned from the public journals that the Prince of Wales
is about to visit your Majesty’s North American dominions. Should
it be the intention of His Royal Highness to extend his visit to
the United States, I need not say how happy I shall be to give him
a cordial welcome to Washington. You may be well assured that
everywhere in this country he will be greeted by the American
people in such a manner as cannot fail to prove gratifying to your
Majesty. In this they will manifest their deep sense of your
domestic virtues, as well as the conviction of your merits as a
wise, patriotic, and constitutional sovereign.
Your Majesty’s most obedient servant,
JAMES BUCHANAN.
[QUEEN VICTORIA TO THE PRESIDENT.]
BUCKINGHAM PALACE, June 22, 1860.
MY GOOD FRIEND:—
I have been much gratified at the feelings which prompted you to
write to me inviting the Prince of Wales to come to Washington. He
intends to return from Canada through the United States, and it
will give him great pleasure to have an opportunity of testifying
to you in person that those feelings are fully reciprocated by
him. He will thus be able at the same time to mark the respect
which he entertains for the Chief Magistrate of a great and
friendly state and kindred nation.
The Prince will drop all royal state on leaving my dominions, and
travel under the name of Lord Renfrew, as he has done when
travelling on the continent of Europe.
The Prince Consort wishes to be kindly remembered to you.
I remain ever your good friend,
VICTORIA RA.
The Prince arrived in Washington early in October, 1860, and he and
the principal persons in his suite became the guests of the
President at the White House, where they remained until the 6th of
that month. During this visit there was an excursion to Mount
Vernon, to afford the Prince an opportunity to see the tomb of
Washington. The Prince and his suite, accompanied by a considerable
number of invited guests, were taken to Mount Vernon on the revenue
cutter, Harriet Lane, a vessel of the revenue service, which had
been named for the President’s niece by the Secretary of the
Treasury. The President and Miss Lane were of the party. The
incidents of the visit are well known, but there is an anecdote
connected with it which should be repeated here, because it
illustrates Mr. Buchanan’s scrupulous care in regard to public
money. The Secretary of the Treasury had given liberal orders for a
supply of refreshments to be put on board the cutter. When the
President heard that the bills for this and other expenses of the
excursion were about to be audited and paid at the Treasury, he
directed them to be sent to him. They were not paid at the Treasury,
but the whole expense was defrayed by a private arrangement between
the President and Mr. Cobb, the Secretary.[52]
Footnote 52:
I believe these bills were paid by Mr. Cobb, from his own private
means. The whole affair was gotten up by him, and the President
and Miss Lane went as invited guests. It is proper to say here
that the entertainment of the Prince and his suite at the White
House entailed a good deal of expense, for extra servants and
other things, and that Congress was never asked to defray any part
of it. Mr. Buchanan would never hear of any suggestion that the
extraordinary charges of his position should fall upon any fund
but his salary and his private income.
[THE PRESIDENT TO QUEEN VICTORIA.]
WASHINGTON, October 6, 1860.
TO HER MAJESTY, QUEEN VICTORIA:—
When I had the honor of addressing your Majesty in June last, I
confidently predicted a cordial welcome for the Prince of Wales
throughout this country, should he pay us a visit on his return
from Canada to England. What was then prophecy has now become
history. He has been everywhere received with enthusiasm, and this
is attributed not only to the very high regard entertained for
your Majesty, but also to his own noble and manly bearing. He has
passed through a trying ordeal for a person of his years, and his
conduct throughout has been such as became his age and station.
Dignified, frank and affable, he has conciliated wherever he has
been the kindness and respect of a sensitive and discriminating
people.
His visit thus far, has been all your Majesty could have desired,
and I have no doubt it will so continue to the end.
The Prince left us for Richmond this morning with the Duke of
Newcastle and the other members of his wisely selected suite. I
should gladly have prolonged his visit had this been possible
consistently with previous engagements. In our domestic circle he
won all hearts. His free and ingenuous intercourse with myself
evinced both a kind heart and good understanding. I shall ever
cherish the warmest wishes for his welfare.
The visit of the Prince to the tomb of Washington and the simple
but solemn ceremonies at this consecrated spot will become a
historical event and cannot fail to exert a happy influence on the
kindred people of the two countries.
With my respectful regards for the Prince Consort,
I remain your Majesty’s friend and obedient servant,
JAMES BUCHANAN.
[SIR HENRY HOLLAND TO THE PRESIDENT.]
BROOK STREET, LONDON, November 2, 1860.
MY DEAR MR. PRESIDENT:—
In writing to you thus soon after my return to England, my first
and foremost object is, to thank you once again, which I do very
warmly, for all your kindness during my last visit at Washington.
In the course of a life somewhat checquered with various
incidents, in various places, I know not that I ever enjoyed five
days so much;—including under this expression both the time of the
royal visit, and that which I afterwards passed with you alone.
The Executive Mansion is lost to me for the future, if even I ever
return to America; but you I trust will preserve to me hereafter
the regard and friendship which it is pleasant to me to possess.
The letter you entrusted to my care was in the hands of the queen
exactly fourteen days after I had received it from you. It will
give you pleasure, I know, to learn (which I presume you will
afterwards do in some way from the queen herself), how very much
she was gratified by it. Both Lord Palmerston and Lord John
Russell have expressly and strongly mentioned this to me.
All England, as far as I can see and hear, is delighted with the
reception of the Prince in the United States. It has produced a
strong impression here;—reciprocated I hope and believe in
America.
The squadron which brings him home has not yet been heard of; but
as they have now been twelve or thirteen days at sea, the arrival
can not be long delayed. Probably to-day may bring some
intelligence. I shall be impatient to see again the several
members of the Prince’s suite, and to hear their detail of all
that followed after our parting at Washington. They will all, I am
persuaded, come back with the same strong sentiment they had at
that time regarding their reception in the United States.
You will see that the European continent is still laboring under
the same strange political complications;—enlivened, if I may so
phrase it, by an occasional battle, but obscured by a dark haze
over the future. Lord Palmerston tells me that he believes it will
all end rightly, and I am willing to believe him, though I do not
see my way towards this result. Many games are evidently at this
moment played underhand—not like the open and frank bowling of the
ten-pin courts. Our excellent ally, Louis Napoleon, comes under
this suspicion, while some suspect that he, between Church and
State affairs, is under as much perplexity as his neighbors. It
seems even doubtful whether the compulsory concession of the
Emperor of Austria will satisfy Hungary, or leave him free for the
contingencies of an Italian campaign. If a general war can be
avoided, it is the utmost the most sanguine dare hope for. For the
present the great interest is concentrated on the spot where the
King of Naples still makes a show of resistance to the King of
Sardinia and Garibaldi,—a matter that a few days must decide. Then
comes the question of the Pope and Rome,—a still more complex and
delicate affair, with interests rooted all over Europe.
In England we are happy and prosperous, despite our indifferent
harvest,—better, however, than at one time expected. But we shall
be fed out of your abundance, if need there be.
The telegraphic news from China seems good as far as it goes, but
we shall need the details to know its full import. Lord Palmerston
tells me that the last despatches led them to believe that the
Emperor of China was very desirous, or at least not unwilling,
that his army should be defeated, to rescue himself from the hands
of a war party at Pekin, which overruled him in his own wishes.
Chinese rumors are very apocryphal documents.
I must not intrude further upon your time, by what, after all, is
little more than may be drawn from the newspapers of the day. In
bidding you farewell, my dear Mr. President, I have but again to
repeat the expressions of acknowledgment for kindnesses received,
and of cordial regard and respect, with which I remain,
Ever yours most faithfully,
H. HOLLAND.
[QUEEN VICTORIA TO THE PRESIDENT.]
WINDSOR CASTLE, November 19, 1860.
MY GOOD FRIEND:—
Your letter of the 6th ultimo has afforded me the greatest
pleasure, containing, as it does, such kind expressions with
regard to my son, and assuring me that the character and object of
his visit to you and to the United States have been fully
appreciated, and that his demeanor and the feelings evinced by him
have secured to him your esteem and the general good will of your
countrymen.
I purposely delayed the answer to your letter until I should be
able to couple it with the announcement of the Prince of Wales’s
safe return to his home. Contrary winds and stress of weather have
much retarded his arrival, but we have been fully compensated for
the anxiety which this long delay has naturally caused us, by
finding him in such excellent health and spirits, and so delighted
with all that he has seen and experienced in his travels.
He cannot sufficiently praise the great cordiality with which he
has been everywhere greeted in your country, and the friendly
manner in which you received him; and whilst, as a mother, I am
grateful for the kindness shown him, I feel impelled to express,
at the same time, how deeply I have been touched by the many
demonstrations of affection personally toward myself, which his
presence has called forth.
I fully reciprocate towards your nation the feelings thus made
apparent, and look upon them as forming an important link to
cement two nations of kindred origin and character, whose mutual
esteem and friendship must always have so material an influence
upon their respective development and prosperity.
The interesting and touching scene at the grave of General
Washington, to which you allude, may be fitly taken as the type of
our present feeling, and I trust of our future relations.
The Prince Consort, who heartily joins in the expressions
contained in this letter, wishes to be kindly remembered to you,
as we both wish to be to Miss Lane.
Believe me always your good friend,
VICTORIA R.
It is noteworthy that this graceful and cordial letter was written
on the eve of that great convulsion which was so soon to put in
imminent peril the perpetuity of this Union and the very existence
of our Government. To the feelings of the queen and her husband
towards this country, secured by President Buchanan’s wise and
well-timed reception of the Prince of Wales, and the demonstrations
everywhere made towards him in this country, the queen’s subjects
and the people of the United States owe it, that in the dark and
dangerous hour of our civil war, the many irritating causes of
alienation were not allowed by the sovereign of England to disrupt
the bonds of peace or the neutrality of her government between the
warring sections of this Republic. When we look back to the state of
feeling that at one time existed in England towards our Government,
and remember how many British statesmen of great consequence made
serious mistakes, it is but simple historical justice to impute to
the queen and her husband a moderating and restraining influence;
and if that influence had been wanting, there can be no rational
doubt that there would have been a recognition of the Confederate
States, not merely as a belligerent and a _de facto_ power, but as a
permanent and established government, and possibly as an ally of
Great Britain.
[FROM B. MORAN.]
LONDON, June 29th, 1860.
MY DEAR SIR:—
The publication of your invitation to the Prince of Wales to
become your guest has caused a great deal of happiness in England,
and the newspapers generally speak highly of the act. I send,
herewith, an editorial from the _Morning Chronicle_ of to-day, in
which there are some deserved and well-expressed compliments. The
British people have more respect for you than for any President
since Washington, and I have never seen a personal attack on you
in any English journal. Whenever you are spoken of, it is in a
tone of regard, and never in a carping spirit.
We are almost run down with visitors from home. From forty to
seventy are here daily, and I have to see them all. I have my
hands full. This is comfort to me, for I would be unhappy without
employment.
...... I hope you will not take offence when I say that I hope the
Baltimore Convention have nominated you, notwithstanding your
declinature to be a candidate. And if such be the case, you will
be elected triumphantly. We are anxiously waiting for news on this
point.
With best regards to yourself and Miss Lane, I am
Ever faithfully yours,
B. MORAN.[53]
Footnote 53:
Mr. Moran was one of the secretaries of the American legation
under Mr. Dallas.
Both with reference to this visit of the Prince of Wales, and to
some other incidents of the administration, and to certain traits of
Mr. Buchanan’s character, I insert here an extract from Mr. J.
Buchanan Henry’s communication to me, before I proceed to the trying
period of “secession,” which is to occupy a large part of the
remaining pages of this volume.
As private secretary, I had to be in my office, a room on the
southwest corner of the second story adjoining that of the
President, whenever he was there, which was from eight in the
morning until luncheon at one o’clock, and from that time until
five, when, with rare exceptions, he took an hour’s walk. I doubt
whether Mr. Buchanan used his coach and horses a dozen times a
year, except during the summer when he was at the “Soldier’s
Home;” then he drove in to the executive mansion in the morning
and out in the evening. He greatly preferred the exercise of
walking, with its exchange of kindly personal greetings with
friends. On returning from this daily exercise he dined with the
members of his household. It was not then etiquette for the
President to accept dinner or other invitations, for the wise
reason, I believe, that any discrimination would have been
impossible without giving offence, and universal acceptance would
have been impossible. Once a week Mr. Buchanan caused some of the
Cabinet members and their wives to be invited to dinner “en
famille” and as there was but little ceremony and all were
agreeable guests, with common and identical interests for the most
part, I remember that these were most pleasant little
entertainments. During the winter, or properly during the session
of Congress, there was what might be called a State dinner, once a
week, an entertainment of a much more formal and formidable
character, in the large dining-room, capable of seating about
forty persons. The first of these dinners was, I think, given to
the Justices of the Supreme Court, the next to the Diplomatic
Corps, then to the members of the Senate, and the House of
Representatives, including each member in his turn, according to
official seniority, except in a very few cases where individuals
had by discourtesy or offence rendered such an invitation
improper. Miss Lane and I attended to the details of these social
matters, including dinner and party attending, making visits,
etc., for the President. Among the most troublesome of these
duties was the proper assigning of precedence to the guests at
these so-called state dinners; a delicate task in these Washington
entertainments, as any neglect would pretty surely give offence.
Miss Lane, from natural aptitude and tact and the experience she
had in London whilst her uncle was minister there, managed these
details very cleverly. I had the difficult and worrying task at
these dinners, in the short time between the arrival of the forty
odd guests in the drawing-room and the procession into the great
dining-room, of ascertaining the name of each gentleman and
telling him what lady he was to take in, and probably introducing
the parties to each other. It was sometimes a very _mauvaise quart
d’heure_ of expectation for me; as I was pretty sure to find at
the last moment, when the President was leading the procession to
the table, that some male guest, perhaps not accustomed to such
matters, had strayed away from his intended partner, leaving the
lady standing alone and much embarrassed. I had then to give them
a fresh start.
As private secretary I was charged with the expenditure of the
library fund, the payment of the steward, messengers, and also of
the expenditures of the household which were paid out of the
President’s private purse. I might here mention that these latter
expenditures generally exceeded the President’s salary in the
winter months, because President Buchanan enjoyed entertaining and
entertained liberally from inclination. In summer the social
entertaining being much less, and the President being at the
Soldier’s Home, a modest but pretty stone cottage on the hills
near Washington, the expenses were much less. Taking the year
through, the salary of $25,000 was nearly sufficient to pay the
actual expenses of the executive mansion, but nothing beyond that,
or to allow the President to save any part of it; but on the
contrary, I think he had to draw upon his private means to a
considerable extent.
My first duty was to organize the private secretary’s office. I
had a set of books or records carefully prepared, in which could
be briefly entered the date of receipt of any letter or
communication addressed to the President, the name of the
writer—subject-matter condensed to the utmost—dates and substance
of answer, if any, to what department referred, and date of such
reference. If the letter contained a recommendation for
appointment to office, these records indicated the office, the
name of the applicant and by whom recommended. Such communications
as the President ought to see I folded and briefed and took them
to him every morning at eight o’clock and received his
instructions as to the answer I should make, and in some instances
he would answer them himself, if of a purely personal nature.
Either he or I would then endorse upon all letters “Respectfully
referred to the Secretary of State,” War, or otherwise, according
as the communication in subject matter related to the business of
that department; and once a day I would enclose them, as they
accumulated, in large envelopes, with printed addresses, and
despatch them by the messenger to the several departments. By this
system I could recall any letter or communication of any kind by
reference to the entries on my books, whenever the President
desired them for action. This was the routine of the Executive
Office.
It will hardly be credited that this simple and natural course of
business gave the pretext at a later day, and I can scarcely
suppress my indignation as I think of it, for that infamous
“mare’s nest,” discovered by Covode of Pennsylvania, a member of
the House of Representatives, and for the investigation of which
he obtained a committee with full powers. The letters of General
Patterson and others to which it related, were simply referred to
the Secretary of the Navy according to the ordinary and proper
routine of business in the Executive Office, as I have above
described, and were endorsed exactly as thousands of others had
been either by the President or by me, and such endorsement had
therefore no signification whatever. It was a cruel and malicious
pretence to infer that the Secretary of the Navy would attach any
importance whatever to the mere act of reference by the President
himself because a multitude of such papers were similarly endorsed
either by him or by me every day.
There would have been no room to keep such a mass of papers in the
White House, and they would have been out of place there, as they
related to the business of the several cabinet officers, and yet
upon this miserable basis was the “Covode investigation” erected,
and the first attempt ever made to soil a spotless public life,
extending over more than forty years in every exalted station of
our Government, as member of the legislature of Pennsylvania, many
years member of the House of Representatives, Senator of the
United States, twice diplomatic representative of the nation at
the two principal courts of Europe, Secretary of State of the
United States, and finally President of the Republic. The meagre
partisan fruits of the investigation when made, and the refusal,
to its credit be it said, of a bitterly hostile opposition in the
House to propose even a censure, clearly showed its baseless
character.
The committee, with well simulated delicacy, never summoned me to
appear and testify, but sent for my clerk, and after examining him
were glad, it seems, to drop it. I dwell upon this matter, because
in a long career of public service it is the only attempt ever
made to impeach Mr. Buchanan’s public or private integrity. He
himself felt it very bitterly, and I think it will be admitted
that he administered a wholesome and deserved rebuke to the House
in his special message of protest. Although the result
demonstrated that there was not the most gossamer pretext for the
charge made by Covode, I think Mr. Buchanan’s friends can be well
pleased at its having been made, and its futility exposed, as it
leads to the fair conclusion for history, that Mr. Buchanan was
invulnerable to any assaults upon the honor of his public or
private life. Surely this is much to be able to say of a public
servant, and a nation capable of breeding many such public men can
justly congratulate itself.
Another feature of Mr. Buchanan’s public life I will refer to,
which possibly may not now be esteemed a great virtue. I mean his
dislike of nepotism. Not unnaturally, there were members of our
family who would have been very glad to have obtained civil or
other appointments during his administration. But such was Mr.
Buchanan’s freely expressed repugnance to using his public
authority for the advantage of his relatives, that I am not aware
that any of them even made application to him for office of any
kind. Public policy clearly indicates the propriety and
desirability of the President’s private secretary being, if
possible, a blood relation, upon the ground that the honor and
interests of the President and his high office can be most safely
entrusted to one having an interest in his good name and fame, and
therefore more guarded against temptation of any kind. I therefore
do not consider the selection of myself, or my cousin Mr. James
Buchanan, who followed me, as any exception to what I have stated.
To such an extent did I know that my uncle disliked the appointing
of relatives to office, that I never dared to tell him of my
desire to be appointed to the paymaster corps of the navy, a
position which from my nomadic tastes I had long coveted, and I
concluded to save myself the mortification of a refusal. I could
exercise no influence with him for myself. As an instance of this,
I will mention that when the Hon. John Cadwalader, late Judge of
United States Circuit Court of Eastern Pennsylvania, was appointed
to that judgeship by Mr. Buchanan, he tendered me the clerkship of
his court, a permanent and honorable position, and one that I
should have been willing to accept. Judge Cadwalader had been my
legal preceptor, and for years my warm personal friend, so that
the proffered position would have been in every way agreeable and
proper. Although I was then residing in New York as a private
citizen, I consulted Mr. Buchanan as to its acceptance by me, and
on finding that he entertained serious reasonable objections to my
doing so, I declined the compliment. The President said the public
might justly infer that there had been some previous understanding
between him and the new judge, and that however erroneous such a
conclusion would be, it would be natural. Inasmuch, therefore, as
my acceptance might work injury, both to the President and his
excellent appointee, I quickly made my decision. These little
events, unknown to the public, will serve to illustrate the
delicate sense of right and the very appearance of right, which so
strongly marked his public service.
Among the minor but interesting incidents of the administration, I
may mention the receipt of the first message by the new ocean
telegraph from the British sovereign, and the President’s reply to
it. As the cable became silent almost immediately after, the
public were for a long time in doubt whether any message had
really been transmitted over the wonderful wire under the sea. I
well remember the reception of the message, and I had it and the
draft of the President’s reply in my possession for years
afterwards as a curiosity.
You doubtless know all about the visit of the Prince of Wales to
President Buchanan, and the pleasant social incidents following in
its train. The Duke of Newcastle, Lord St. Germains and Sir Henry
Holland—the latter an old friend of the President’s—in the
Prince’s suite, were also guests at the White House. I was then
residing in New York, and was sent for by my uncle to my old
quarters in Washington, to assist in entertaining these
distinguished persons, who, though entertained at the private
expense of Mr. Buchanan, were nevertheless looked upon, and
properly so, as the guests of the nation.
Probably among the most interesting, and I may say touching,
incidents of this visit, was a trip made by the royal guest and
suite, in company with the President, to Mount Vernon. I well
remember the whole party—the tall, venerable form of the
President, the youthful Prince, and the other guests representing
the highest social order in Great Britain, standing bare-headed in
front of the tomb of Washington. It was a most impressive and
singular spectacle, and I have often thought it would make a very
striking subject for a large historical painting. The Prince
planted a small tree near the tomb in commemoration of his visit,
but I have never learned whether it grew. Many interesting
incidents occurred in this visit, but I shall not repeat them. I
will only say that I never saw a more agreeable or unrestrained
intercourse of a social character—for the visit had no political
significance whatever, and the Queen and the Prince subsequently
expressed their appreciation of the President’s hospitality, the
former in an autograph letter, and the latter both by letter and
the presentation of a three-quarter length portrait, painted by
one of Britain’s greatest artists. The value of this was enhanced
by the delicacy which marked its presentation _after_ Mr. Buchanan
had retired to private life as a simple citizen. These letters and
portrait are now in the possession of my cousin, and also the
autograph letter of the Prince Consort to Mr. Buchanan on the
occasion of the marriage of the Princess Royal, in which he uses
some pleasant expressions of a personal character, and referring
back to Mr. Buchanan’s residence in London as minister. I think
the era of good feeling between America and England, and
especially the enduring friendship of the Queen herself for the
United States, so decidedly shown by her during our terrible war,
may be traced as one of the happy results of the visit of the
Prince of Wales to the President. The kindly feelings of these two
great nations towards each other, a _rapprochement_, now so
marked, had, I think, its beginning at that period.
Another trait of Mr. Buchanan I must not omit alluding to. He made
it an invariable rule, as President, to accept no gifts or
presents of any value, even from the most intimate friends, and it
was part of my duty to return them at once, with a kind but
emphatic declination, telling the donor that the President had
made it a rule, not to be broken, that he could accept no gifts;
and I was directed, at the same time, to express his thanks for
the friendly intentions in all cases where it seemed probable that
it was not a bold effort to purchase favor, and from purely
selfish motives. A number of costly gifts were thus returned.
After a personal intercourse with Mr. Buchanan from my boyhood,
more or less intimate, and therefore having had an opportunity to
judge, I can conscientiously say that I never knew a man of purer
private life, or one actuated by nobler or more upright motives.
He was, to us around him, an object of unbroken respect and
reverence. I can truly aver that I never heard him express an
ignoble sentiment, or do an act that could diminish that respect
and reverence. He was strong willed, rather austere, and somewhat
exacting to those around him, but always and in all things the
Christian gentleman. This was the impression made upon me as a
youth, and now, as I look back from later life, I see no cause to
change or modify my estimate of his character. His only fault, if
fault it be, was a too great readiness to forgive and conciliate
those who had been his enemies, regarding it as a triumph for his
principles and a vindication of his motives. And yet this has been
at times attributed to him as a weakness.
Mr. Buchanan had an extraordinary memory, and could repeat
verbatim much of the classic authors of his college days, and I
remember he often put me to shame, when I was yet in the midst of
my books, by questions that I failed to answer to my satisfaction.
He was also a remarkably fluent and agreeable conversationalist—a
rare and valuable gift—and it was one of my greatest pleasures to
listen to him, when in congenial company, relating anecdotes of
his great contemporaries in public life at home, and incidents
occurring during his missions in St. Petersburgh and later in
London. This quality made him a most agreeable companion among
men, and an especial favorite with the fair sex, whose friendship
in turn he appreciated and enjoyed to the end of his life. The
correctness of his own private life, and his association with only
the nobler of the other sex, resulted in his never entertaining or
expressing cynical views of them, so common in men’s later years.
I do not know if you have any account of Mr. Buchanan’s personal
appearance or dress. The best likeness of him is a miniature
portrait on ivory, by Brown of Philadelphia, now in the possession
of his brother, the Rev. Dr. Buchanan. I have an oil photograph
painted in 1857, which is excellent; also a bust in marble by a
Boston sculptor, which is good. My cousin has a half-length
portrait, painted by Eicholtz about the year 1833. His figure and
general appearance whilst President is very accurately represented
in a full-length engraving by Buttre of New York. On the whole, I
think it is the best average representation of him extant. Healy
executed a portrait of Mr. Buchanan at the White House, but he was
an impatient sitter, and I do not think it was very successful.
Mr. Buchanan, in his sketch of the four last months of his
administration, gives a short account of a remarkable naval
expedition ordered by him to Paraguay, to settle certain
difficulties with that republic. This naval demonstration on a
considerable scale was entirely successful, and resulted in a
permanent peace with that country ever since. It had, however,
this most uncommon feature to distinguish it, that it cost the
United States not one dollar beyond the usual small annual
appropriation for the navy. I sometimes wonder whether any other
such expedition of its size and importance, in this or any other
country, can show such an example of economy, honesty and
efficiency and success combined, as did this.
[TO MISS LANE, IN NEW YORK.]
WASHINGTON, May 20th, 1858.
MY DEAR HARRIET:—
Learning that you were about to purchase furniture in New York
[for the White House], I requested Doctor Blake to furnish me a
statement of the balance of the appropriation unexpended. This
balance is $8,369.02. In making your purchases, therefore, I wish
you to consider that this sum must answer our purpose until the
end of my term. I wish you, therefore, not to expend the whole of
it, but to leave enough to meet all contingencies up till 4th
March, 1861. Any sum which may be expended above the appropriation
I shall most certainly pay out of my own pocket. I shall never ask
Congress for the deficiency.
Who should make his appearance this morning but Mr. Keitt.[54]
After talking about other matters for some time, he said he was
married. I expressed strong doubts upon the subject, when he
insisted that he was actually and _bona fide_ married. The lady is
Miss Sparks, whom he has been so long addressing.
With my kind regards to Mr. and Mrs. R., I remain, etc.
Footnote 54:
Of South Carolina. Pronounced Kitt.
[TO MISS LANE, IN PHILADELPHIA.]
October 15th, 1858.
We have not yet heard from you since you left us. I hope you
arrived safely in Philadelphia, and did not contract a hoarseness
in talking on the way. We get along very nicely since your absence
and will give a big dinner on Thursday next. I have not seen any
of your lady friends since your departure, and can therefore give
you no news.
Well! we have met the enemy in Pennsylvania and we are theirs.
This I have anticipated for three months, and was not taken by
surprise, except as to the extent of our defeat. I am astonished
at myself for bearing it with so much philosophy.
The conspirators against poor Jones have at length succeeded in
hunting him down. Ever since my election the hounds have been in
pursuit of him. I now deeply regret—but I shall say no more. With
the blessing of Providence, I shall endeavor to raise him up and
place him in some position where they can not reach him.
Judge Black, General Anderson of Tennessee, Mr. Brenner, and Mr.
Van Dyke dined with me yesterday, and we had a merry time of it,
laughing, among other things, over our crushing defeat. It is so
great that it is almost absurd.
We will present a record of success at the meeting of Congress
which has rarely been equalled. We have hitherto succeeded in all
our undertakings.
Poor bleeding Kansas is quiet, and is behaving herself in an
orderly manner; but her wrongs have melted the hearts of the
sympathetic Pennsylvanians, or rather Philadelphians. In the
interior of the State the tariff was the damaging question, and in
defeating Jones, the iron interest have prostrated a man who could
render them more service than all the Republican Representatives
from Pennsylvania. He will be a loss to the whole country in the
House of Representatives.
I have heard nothing of the good and excellent Robert since you
left us. He is a man among a thousand. I wish I could say so much
for his brother.
It is growing late and I must retire. I sleep much better now, but
not near so well as at the Soldiers’ Home.
May 13th, 1859.
I send you an oration received from Hon. William Porcher
Miles,[55] and franked by him to yourself. A precious
recognition!......
I wrote a long letter to Mrs. Roosevelt, ten days ago, and left it
on my table open. It marvellously disappeared, and I had neither
courage nor time to copy it from memory. I know not what has
become of it, but it contains nothing which might not be published
in the _New York Herald_. My respect and admiration for Mrs.
Roosevelt, to be sure, appear in the letter; but this is well
known and does me honor. It is possible that in clearing my own
table I may have by mistake torn this letter up with other
manuscripts; but I can not believe it.
I have but little news. Mr. Magraw came to us on Saturday last and
still remains, much to my gratification. We get along very
comfortably and quietly. Miss Hetty is very busy. Washington, they
say, is extremely dull. I called yesterday at Mr. Thompson’s, just
before dinner. The lady was not at home. She had gone to a
travelling circus and show in company with Mrs. Gwin, her sister
and Miss Lucy. I made no remark to Mr. Thompson on receiving the
information, except that you would certainly have been of the
party had you been in Washington.
I met Mrs. Conrad and her daughters on the street the other day
and walked with them some distance. She does not appear to have
seen much of Lord Lyons. I think he keeps himself very much to
himself. Count Sartiges has been here several times. I shall miss
him more than I would any of the foreign ministers.
Footnote 55:
Of South Carolina.
May 14th, 1859.
I send you the enclosed letter from Mr. ——, of New York. It speaks
for itself. He seems to be a warm-hearted German, and I would
advise you to address him a few lines. In acknowledging the
compliment, I have said I would send his letter to you at Judge
Roosevelt’s. You have been hailed as “The Great Mother of the
Indians,” and it must gratify you to learn that your adopted
countrymen desire to perpetuate your name by giving it to their
children.
Two of the Secretaries and myself were to have visited Baltimore
to-day to select a site for the Federal Courts; but we agreed to
postpone our visit until Monday to enable them to attend a dinner
given by Lord Lyons to-day to the members of the cabinet. It is
quite probable we shall be accompanied on Monday by Mrs. Thompson,
Mrs. Gwin and other ladies.
What means the ominous conjunction between Mr. Van Buren and Mr.
Douglas at the —— Hotel. I do not, however, consider it ominous at
all, though others do.
Sir William ought to have been very careful in obeying his
instructions, especially after his former experience in South
America. The British government are not at all pleased with him.
We know this from Lord Lyons.
Here I was called away after ten at night, to hear the music of
the Knights Templars. It was, I think, excellent; though I am, as
you know, no great judge. Good-night! My affectionate regards to
Mrs. Roosevelt and my respectful compliments to the Judge.
Mr. Thompson and myself intend to set out for Chapel Hill on
Monday, 10th instant. I think Mr. Magraw will accompany us. They
are making great preparations to receive us. I hope you are
enjoying yourself. Stay as long as it affords you pleasure. We are
getting along very well. Miss Hetty is very busy in having things
put in order for the summer.
May 18th, 1859.
I return Lady Ouseley’s letter. When you write please to remember
me to her in the very kindest terms. I should be sorry indeed to
think I should never meet her again.
The conduct of Sir William has been most decidedly disapproved by
Lord Malmesbury. Of this we have the official evidence. I am truly
sorry he did not obey his instructions. But of this say nothing to
Mrs. Roosevelt.
Our two successful diplomatists, Messrs. Reed and Bowden, with
their ladies, are to dine with me to-day _en famille_. Mr. Cobb
now dines here regularly.
I never laughed as much on any one day as on Monday last at
Baltimore and on the way.
Remember me always most affectionately to Mrs. Roosevelt, and very
kindly to the Judge.
June 10th, 1859.
I have received your favor of yesterday. We returned to Washington
on Tuesday morning last from our visit to North Carolina. On
Wednesday morning Miss Hetty left for Wheatland with my full and
entire approbation, and I wish to say to you emphatically, that
you need not return home on my account. I shall be rejoiced to see
you whenever you may think proper to return; but I get along both
comfortably and happily in the absence both of Miss Hetty and
yourself.
I am sorry to find that your excursion to West Point on the
Harriet Lane, has been made the subject of newspaper criticism on
yourself. This is most ungallant and ungentlemanly. The practice,
however, of employing national vessels on pleasure excursions, to
gratify any class of people, is a fair subject of public
criticism. You know how much I condemned your former trip on the
same vessel, and I did not expect you would fall into a second
error. The thing, however, is past and gone, and let it pass.
After a fair time shall have elapsed, it is my purpose to cause
general orders to be issued by the Treasury and Navy Departments
to put a stop to the practice.
I am truly rejoiced to learn that James Henry is succeeding in his
practice.
I have not the least idea of paying the price you mention for a
cane. Let it pass for the present. I will get Mr. Baker to attend
to it.
Washington has been very quiet but very agreeable since you left.
I dined yesterday with Mrs. Thompson. Mrs. Gwin and her sister and
Mr. Cobb were the only persons present out of the family. We had a
merry time of it. The same party are to dine with Mrs. Gwin on
Tuesday next.
It was with the utmost reluctance I removed Mr. ——, though his
removal was inevitable. His brother —— has done him much injury. I
have known him long, and can say with truth that I know not a more
unprincipled man in the United States. I wished to avoid the
publication of Mr. Holt’s report, but Mr. —— and his brother made
this impossible. The trio are now all together in happy communion,
I mean ——, ——, and ——, the last the most contemptible of the set.
I have just had long and interesting letters from Jones and
Preston. They are both pleased, and both get along well. The
former evidently stands well with the Austrian government, and
gives us valuable information.
I remain, yours affectionately, etc.
BEDFORD SPRINGS, August 22, 1860.
I have only time to write a line before Mr. Wagner, the messenger
of Mr. Thompson, leaves. I am well, and the water is producing its
usual good effect. The company is reduced very much, though what
remains is agreeable and respectable. My visits from the
neighborhood are numerous.
Give my love to Lily. If things proceed as from appearances we
might anticipate she will soon be on the diplomatic corps, but I
yet entertain doubts whether she will stand fire at the decisive
moment.
Many inquiries have been made about you here, and regrets
expressed that you did not accompany me. In haste, yours
affectionately,
[FROM MISS MACALESTER.]
GLENGARRY, TORRISDALE, Oct. 8, 1860.
MY DEAR MR. BUCHANAN:—
You have always evinced such a kind and anxious interest in regard
to my matrimonial arrangements, that I feel it a duty, as well as
a pleasure, to relieve your solicitude on the subject, by assuring
you that I at last really am engaged. I consider you entirely
responsible for this result, my dear Mr. Buchanan, for you so
terrified me last spring and summer by your forebodings, and made
me so fully realize my almost hopeless condition and approaching
_superannuation_, that I determined to trifle no longer with time.
I think, therefore, I may fairly claim your kind wishes and
congratulations upon my escape from the prospect of a dreary
spinsterhood, and in due season I shall also claim your
fulfillment of a promise made long ago, and frequently repeated
since, to be present at my wedding when that incomprehensible
event takes place. _En attendant_, believe me always, my dear Mr.
Buchanan,
With truest love yours,
LILY L. MACALESTER.
[TO MISS MACALESTER.[56]]
WASHINGTON, October 10, 1860.
MY DEAR LILY:—
I have received your favor of the 10th, announcing your
engagement, and most sincerely and ardently do I hope that your
marriage may prove auspicious and secure your future happiness and
prosperity. I need not assure you that I feel all the interest
which devoted friendship can inspire in your permanent welfare.
I had thought that “the prospect of a dreary spinsterhood” would
not have impelled you into an engagement, without saying a word to
your superannuated bachelor friend, but when young ladies have
determined to marry they will go ahead.
May you enjoy all the blessings in your matrimonial state which I
ardently desire, and you so richly deserve. Always your friend,
JAMES BUCHANAN.
Footnote 56:
This lady, daughter of Charles Macalester, Esq., of Philadelphia,
married Mr. Berghmans, Secretary of the Belgian Legation in
Washington. He died about ten years since.