, 1868-08-07


scrupulous man. He carries the country
folks, who are not his intimate neighbors, 50
that the county is republican by Eve Thousand
msjorlty but in the city of Lancaster Ste>
vens could scarcely be elected constable. A
republican Of the city summed up Stevens to
me IN this way: with old Thad. the end
is all the means
The practice Of Mr. Stevens was said to be
worth ten thousand dollars year when be
attended to Il. He has much reputation for
ge'CrosityJ giving sway money freely, while
| Mr.. Buchanan held that generosity seldom
extended to money. Whatever Bnchanan
gave away was we'll given, however, as in
the permanent endowment for fuel for the
poor in winter, which he duplicated in his
will. Stevens and Buchanan were antipodes
in character. Both are bachelors, but Ste>
vens is a Bohemian and Buchanan was
Bourgeoise, by which the French mean
burgher, a staid citizen. Buchanan went TO
church, subscribed to orthodox tenets, loved
locality, rose to power within his party; like
coral edi6ce the old democracy rose, and
Buchanan was the highest particle, while
Stevens came to the surface as a volcano
Tho latter lived by the practice of the law,
which be trusted no more than a man riding
a COW into battle. 1t is the difference be.
tween generous audacity and penurious res
pectability. Stevens is partisan idol Bu>
chanAn was Chief Magistrate.
Among the other distinguished people who
have lived 10 this county of Lancaster were
Langdon Cheves, Governor Mif1in, Bishop
Bowman, General Reynolds, slain at Gettys-
burg; David Ramsey, the historian Robert
Fulton, born here; Count Zimzendorf, pat
ron to the American Moravians. The parents
of John G. Calhoun lived for time in Lam
caster county, and moved to South Carolina
During Mr.. Buchanan's life, Wheatland
was visited by every variety of distinguished
strangers. He was favorite with Europe>
ans, and with Frenchmen particularly, as he
spoke the French language elegantly, and
had anecdotes to relate of half the sovereigns
of Europe. Among his pallbearers were
many quiet people of the country, whose
company be liked, as FRANKIE, the great Lam
caster brewer Patrick McEvoy, the repre-
sentative OF Irish barristers; and DR.. McCalla
his dentist. A few republicans were on the
list, but there we're several old-fashioned
democrats, like Hester, of the Charleston
Convention, and Baker, ex-Collector of the
.port-of Philadelphia. Thirteen collateral rel
atives were mourners around his grave, with
some small grand-nephews and grand -nieces
Mrs H. L. Johnson, late Harriet Lane, has
a child named, believe james Buchanan.
Rev. DR.. John w. Nevin, of the German
Reformed Church, named Buchanan among
his communicates. The President last came
to church three weeks before his death he
walked to town several times during the lat
ter months of his life. His housekeeper,
Miss Nettie Parker, whom he has befriended
often, will leave Wheatland soon, and take
up her abode in the city. Then the old man
sion will be sold, probably, though the ex,
President should haunt the cool spring by
its gate ever so often.
PERMANENT FAME OF JAMES BUCHANAN.
Walking around the streets of this old
city one meets many persons who have spoken
to Mr. Buchanen, or seen his tall, distin<
guished form go up the streets, or sold him
something out of their shops, but there are
fewer anecdotes extant about himself than
about any public man whose whereabouts l
have chased up. His was not a quotable,
photographic, characteristic life 1t was a
studied, guarded, non-idiosyncatric life. There
are anecdotes of Stevens everywhere in Lam
caster, like the following one, of which there
are none of the grave, self-companionable
life of Mr.. Buchanan.
DR.. Henry Carpenter, a superior man in
his profession, and decided democrat, while
physician to Mr.. Buchanan, filed the same
position with Thaddeus Stevens. During
the bitter days of the war, committee, self
constituted or impelled by some other ply
sician, waited upon Mr.. Stevens, while sick,
and told him that his friends felt bound to
contest his will in keeping by his side a
'copperhead DOCTOR Before they could get
through with their speech old Thad arose
and ordered them out of his room.
will allow nobody he said, ito inter-
fere in my household
There are hundreds of similar things about
Stevens, and 1 suppose that Hon. Edward
Mcpherson, Clerk of the House of Repre-.
sentatives, who is writing Stevens life, will
instance many of them. The following soils
tary incident Mr. Mcpherson gave me about
Mr.. Buchanan:
In the days of WOolly Heads and Silver
Grsys, or Seward and Fillmore Wings, Mr..
Mcpherson edited the Woolly Head paper
of Lancaster in the interest of Mr.. Stevens
1t was a new paper, and Buchanan subscribed
for it. At that time Frank Pierce had sent
for Buchanan and offered him foreign mis-
sion, whereat the hearts of the Pennsylvania
democracy were lifted up. They anticipated
what afterward came true, that Buchanan
would return from Europe in four years, aud
be made the democratic candidate for the
Presidency. Just before Buchanan left Lam
caster, Mcpherson wrote a long and caustic
leader reviewing Buchanan. He arrayed his
long history as that of statesman who had
never originated one public measure, led one
new issue, or impressed himself upon the
time as anything more than public func-
tionary. Next day the stately form of the
ambassador was seen crossing the street; be
entered the Office and demanded his subscriP>
tion receipt. 1t was produced; he paid his
money and solemnly departed. For many