New-York tribune., 1883-03-11
BUCHANAN'S BIOGRAPHERS,
SKUNK. REED AND CURTIS.
PEN PICTURES AND REMINIscnsoEs.

dgnfed and an Lonest man. and the cause of all his
failures and troubles his want of moral courage
He was constantly concatng his enemies and In order
to do so he neglected his friends. Simon Cameron with
much lls moral equipment did moral courage and
on the slender foundation which he reared his public
career outlasted Mr.. Buchanan Cameron in the first
place obliged his friends and almost faithfully OPP
posed his enemies. Consequently he had inferior ana
often unworthy men in his following they were neves
false to him. for they knew the price OF their prosperity.
and therefore Cameron has hardly been deceived
and revOlts against him have been among his op-
ponents and not among his friends. Buchanan had
been the intimate friend Of Henry Clay and really VAL
ued Cays friendship but he went TO the rising star
of Jackson and Jackson found that not do
to lean on him. His quarrels with Governor and
with Geary and Forney and great many others
from the snppeness with which he transferred HIS aeg-
ance from friends to enemes."
see that George Curtis the Life Of Pres
ident Buchanan in two volumes. II there ever was a
man whose weakness in his biography it was
Buchanan. When his times rcpudiated him and sent
him back TO Wheatlands in almost the rsnpopuarity of
Aaron Burr he resolved upon book the only way
getting even and did issue anonymously sketch OF his
Administration which, account OF its mpers0nal ma
ture and want Of human interest merely noticed and
anagOnized in the press and hardly passes to-day for
Buchanans own book. He then resolved a history,
and with splendid materials for it, chose succession
several biographers who drank his whiskey oi;ered
about his house and made capital gossips and crones
but proceeded to any appreciable extent with
composition. Among these was jim shunk OF an old
Dutch Governor OF Pennsylvania and friend OF Andrew
Jackson who had literary inclinatons with hardly any
industry, and who had been during Perces and Bucan-
ans Administrations one of the social timekers at tho
capital and had married there the brilliant daughter OF
Judge Jeremiah s. Black.
book contemporary with those times describes thit
wedding of the great episodes of Buchanan's
minstration Skunk had fondness for laeer-beer and
when that not at hand whiskey would do and Mr..
Buchanan kept in his cellar OF the finest ghiskey
distilled in better tunes than ours for that busine.s i'm
the Cumberland Valley. Buchanan that his years
| were numbered, told his life into shunks ear and
brought his letters out but the book did not seem 10
grow while skunk got neower every day and his
shone Ichcr ana warmer and he so 20 speak ruminated
this life into himself and finally Buchanan had to hnd
another bOgaphcr; the tremendous responsibility killed
skunk who vegeated whfie the Harrisburg tho
Easton press and generally introduced Mr..
Buchanans biographer but he died. and his widow has
| long been married again.
After two or three other persons had stepped into
shunks shoes and ruminaed and tapped the whskey in
the cellar and departed among their fathers, William Il.
Reed, Old Whg prosecuting attorney OF Phiadel-
phia who mad been Buchanan's Minister TO China took
up the task he of tart and yndctiye nature and
kept stepping out OF the line of the biography chasse
| his innumerabe opponents OF whom his mind was full,
and Buchanan apprehended that when the great book
done he'gould have just five times many enemies
he had before, he discharged Reed. rather
Reed got into financial troubles about large sums OF
money which had been put into his hands by English
rebel sympathzers for Investment in this country and
his great library and country house had be sod and
without his books he had less literary knack; he
came to New-York and spent several years writ
ing editorials, and he departed this life quite broken
hearted.
| How many other persons have had hack at Mr.
Buchanans papers the recording angel may have noted
though his Industry must have suffered Now Mr. Curtis
announces that the big bool is done and going
everything right and wipe OF Mr Bucbanans face and
| and Aaron Burr have been consigned by posthumous
| eulogsts and called the whitewash shelf
was recently told a good yarn Skunk fore
going and the hnnoTist Mark Twain. Skunk always
laying for celebrities and when Mark Twain got 10 Har
risburg twelve years ago. skunk with his CLASSY
blue eye, seized him and told various "reminiscences
the blogapher OF Buchanan kept pickle xo
liked each other much that they Carlisle,
where Twain was to lecture the following night and
there shnns led the way lagerbeer saloon cellar
and the two never emerged until the Carlisle people
ing the lecture hour approaching. in considerable
excitement Herman BOsler, brother OF james PNsler.
the millionaire went down TO the last train which
could arrive from anywhere, and no Mark Twain TO
he said he What To do Z That audience
has assembled and on o-nghts lecture expected TO
make further draft upon the purse and patience Of
audience" person given to beer spoke up and said:
think you will find that man down in the sergeants
beer cellar" The sergeant was an old German cavalry
soldier out Of service in the neighborng barracks and
keeps to this day the chief beer saloon for students
/
his cellar aud there they found Buchanans bogapher
and Sam Clemens exchanging the one-hundredth remi-
nscenee fifteenth President Mr.. BOslcr t00A the
sergeant aside and said: How many glasses Of beer
have these two drunk " The sergeant consulted
| his record and there sxty-fcur glasses apiece
charged up to the two gentlemen. Bosler took mue
and hesitatng survey OF his lecturer, and said him:
| " Do you generally require an introduction TO your
audience ." mo-" said Twain, whose eyes seemed TO be-
floating on his modcum of beer just you let me throw
! my spring my and show me the way
TO the stage and that's all right Mr. Boser said 10 @
friend: On pretencc of walking him the hall you
walk him around through most of the streets OF ths
walk" AT this Mr. skunk providenty sank into his seat
and ordered the sixty fifth glass OF beer There must
Buchanan, for Clemens went through his lecture with
ont hitch ny M SnG for 1 in
dence Informed him again that he had been chosen by
| the President to write the great book
Skunk related little tale, opening wheaands life up
! fragranty day. He sitting in that large
old bachelor house, where Buchanan aiterward
posed In his coffin 20 the surrounding country, when
servant in and said to Buchanan that stranger
gentleman passing through the country desired to snake
hands with the President Buchanan took the card
the man had sent in, and finding the residence written
upon IT, exclaimed in that cold trcking voice, like
articulate icice which he posses ell Another damned
Yankee" skunk gded out Of the way and took an
other pull at the old J. b. whskey in the cellar. but
he came up stairs he surprised 10 hear the same
icce going through the sounds OF pretty hearty laugh
Again and again the laughter ont OF the and
for nearly two hours that Yankee recapured the
President and brought him back into the voices and h
mors OF life. When nsaly the man departed and skunk
stepped before the subject OF the biography again.
buchanan remarked IN the same cold gurglipg voice:
He's not such "a bad fellow after all. Skunk al Ways
greatly excited # nyhody printed these anec-
does which he constantly was letting ont: Gracious
heavens." he would say, Mr.. Buchanan Is the most
sensitive III the world those matters y" hut IL
fortunately happened that the only parts Of the shunk
biography which did see the light those be-
tray ed by Shunk's gossips to the newspapers.
Mr. Skunk was not the only who magnined his
biographershp. l once knew man OF very agreeable
exterior and tall figure, with refined features and ane
OF white teeth. who invariably introduced himself
few moments after he met anybody with tho words: