Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1868-06-10

m. Home and IPrivass Lsfs q the Lais
prskiAont HnchAnan.

The Home and iPriv3ss Lsfs o. the LAts
President Buchanan.
A correspondent writes from Wheat
lsnd ,oI,s-l New York World on the
noroinr Of he ..anefAl Of the late Presl'
An, m IA nan. a. icilows;a - -
a mile aud q half slnost due west
from the, quaint, slesp'gables tosn s ~
Lancaster is q plain villa OF req PIE
two stories aud an attic as 70 the poay
and three sheer stories rs 20 me wings.
IL stands perhaps hundred ieet eaek
from the mscadamized turnpike. nom
which II is screened BY . plantation o.
loousts A ma evergreens A whitevashed
fence divides Il from the public path, and
Two plain wooden gates give admission
IN II The windows Of the lover. story
arc secured BY the ugly white shutters 90
common In Pen ylvania, and over either
. lin OF the wing is woven q garment Of
The Virrinia creeper. The place has
besn carelessly. kept Of late, and a
stranger siumbles over the hoops set for
last year croque but now hidden under
the braided blooms, unknown and stimp-
lated by the recent rains { The stables
and. Offices are all plain, whitewashed
sheds. AID IN the former house are two
dingy carriages, three Cue horses Of the
Pennsylvania breed and . brindle COW.
But from the portico which tops tne
sIoping Lawn is such'a bucolic prospect
as can hardly be looked upon elsewhere,
Under the dappled clouds Of Juns morn
ing the, chsmpaisne stretches away 70
the southwest in varying undulations o.
rich meadow and dense woodland, till II
l. lost in the dim, dull. distant blue Of
The ridges of The York hills.s The inter-
walls are filled BY country spotted here
and there with native growths Of forest,
but for the most part rich with such ver-.
nal vegetation as only a tillage hardly
paralleled elsewhere in the world can
produce. Nearer, and on every hand,
spreads the stoueless soil from which the
domain derives its proper name Of,
Wheatland. From the East come uur-
murs of The busy hum Of meu.in Ian
. caster. but aii besIdes is absolute silence.
The whole place is one for which evi Y
IDENTIFY a man of domestic tastes might
form, passionate attachment, and for
which, much mere, witeless aud child
less man might have an almost feline
fondness. Such q man was James
Buchanan, the fifteenth President OF the
/, United States and the laird Of Wheat
land. who has lived here, for twenty
wears past, and who died last Sunday
night in yonder room at the southwest
corner of the main mansion. The
room. which has always been his own
fayorite choice, is q plain chamber, with
a four-post bedstsad, on which during
his last sickness he lay, with no other
books in it than great calf-bound family
Rible. and no other ornaments than two
pieees Of old -fashioned embroidery. done
= Nv his mother when he was child, and
marked in the corners, j. BUCHANAN
Indeed. the whole house is as simple asit
is solid-only one or two sumpluops
n;eces on carved wood or painted canvas
= n tellto The eve that The late tenant was
more han the plainest country gentle-
man. Bat, the house is such y one as
gentleman might wish 70 live ~ and 70
die 10, plain bat honest, and with no
suspicion In structure or decoration Of
the cheap and nasty about it. From the
door depends to-day yard Of Grape, and
the shutters are all closed. In the ample 1
hall VIII, ch Insects the house is laid the
coffin of the owner Of it, hallowed by no |
tear of widow or orphan, but consecrated |
in the respect of hundreds Of mourHers |
from far and near, who crowd the house |
and trample the long grass Of the lawn,
and whose vehicles wake the sleeping |
echoes of the road.
believe that il has been told in pri- |
yate before how Mr.. Buchanan came to |
lead his long life alone; but the story |
will bear repetition. In very early life |
he engaged 10 marry q young lady Of |
Lancaster, but gossips came TO her with |
story of his in6delity. She denied |
herself to him, and went away soon after |
to die Of broken heart. "a His heart was
of sterner stuff, and he lived on, achiey.
ing every honor that his town, has
county, and his State could in their turps
bestow ON him. But twas heartless
task to him, aud now at last he has fol-
lowed her, with no reluctance to quit
world from which the bloom died of full |
ffty wears ago. There lie indeed touch
ing similarity between his career and
that of another famous man, who died
only the other day, as it seems, at an age
almost equally advanced. Both lost their
youth in equal measure; both struggled
hard to achieve in their different walks the
favor of their country men, and both have
died-the one at Wheatland, the other at
Sunnysile u leaving behind them the
record Of lives, led not for pleasure nor
ambition, but for duty's sake; which
onqht not to be without an influence on
statesmen and on writer's. But while 10 |
the case of Irving the world gave him
the credit Of soft-heartedness and gene
rosity, Mr.. buchanan had the name OF |
being cold. 1t is only necessary TO go |
about among his old neighbors and |
friends here, from the lawyer who was
his most trusted friend, to his black bar
her. to learn how unjust such supposi-
tion was. "WhY, sir" the latter told
me. ''heI didn't know what twas to give
a rough answer to man, woman or child
Tn the hight Of party lrancor, when his
nolicy was assailed in such a manner as
pnjvc can be ia the fe-css. times,
The most violent man, forebore to
touch private chamber which was aud
remains immaculate. Those who were
admitted to the Inequalities of his home
know how genial be was, what store OF
stories he had for every listener, how
women and little children loved him, aud
how he had their confidence. 1t was not
because be had held high public trusts,
hut because he was a good citizen,
good beigbbor, and good man, tina,
lanes Bucbanan's memory was honored
TO day by a funeral, the like of which
Lancaster has never seen before. Nor
is Lancaster likely to sect again ! for
the Only son she has, who Is AZ all com
parable 10 prominence to the man who
-. wm0IN