Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1883-07-27
BUGHANAN'S BIOGRAPHY

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BUCHANAN'S BIOGRAPHY
QUITS LIVE OF THE Ex-rREsIDENT.
Buchanan - Lawyer. Member OF Congress,
Minister to Rnssts, Senator and
President.
Geo. Ticknor Curtis life of Buchanan is
published to day. It was at first designed
that the life of Buchanan should be writ
ton by his personal fri,nd, Mr.. w. B.
Reed, Of Philadelphia. When he was pre-
vented from the work, Judge John Cad.
walader was invited to undertake the task,
but his death came before tho work was
begun. In that way Mr.. Curtis was re-
quested to write the life, and consented.
In it, preparation he has been largely aid
cd by and he has copiously drawn from Mr..
Buchanan's own diaries, letters and volum-
IN autobiography. It faithfully follows the
which our readers are familiar, and some
al history of Mr.. Buchanan which it con.
gSAAAo 0A0 Va AA0 VwA ASAA AA0tAOus
Buchanan speaks of his father a. q man
of "great native force of character" OF
his mother, he says "My mother, con-
sidering her limited opportunities in early
life, was q remarkable woman. The
daughter of country farmer, engaged in
household employment from early life
until after my fathers death. she yet
found time to read much and to reflect
deeply on what she read. She had great
fondness for poetry, and could repeat with
ease all the passages in her favorite
authors which struck her fancy. These
were Milton, Pope, Young, Cowper and
Thomson. do not think, at least until o
late period of her life, she had ever read a
criticism on any one of these authors, and
| vet such was the correctness of her natural
taste that she had selected for herself, and
could repeat every passage in them which
has beer admired.
She was q sincere and devoted Chris
| tian from the time of my earliest recollec.
| ton, and had read much on the subject of
| theology and what she read once she re-
membered forever. For her SONS, as they
successfully grew up, she was delightful
and instructive companion. She would
argue with them, and often gain the vic
tory ridicule them in any folly or eccen.
tricity excite their ambition by present.
ing to them in glowing colors men who
had been useful to their country or their
kind as objects of ofimitation, and enter into
all their joys and sorrows. Her early
habits of labOrious industry she could not
be induced to forego whilst she had any.
thing to do. My father did everything be
could to prevent her from laboring in her
domestic concerns, but it was all in vain. y
| Insubordlnation at College.
| In 1907 young James was sent to Dick
inson college, where. owing to a lack Of
efficient discipline, he fell into trouble
He says of himself "Without much ma.
tural tendency to become dissipated, and
chiefly from the example of others, and in
order to be considered clever and spir
tied youth, engaged in very sort of ex
travagance and mischief in which the
greatest proficients of the college indulged
Unlike the rest of this class however,
was always tolerably hard student, anG
never was deficient in my college exer
cises.''
| He narrowly escaped expulsion and was
denied honors at graduation, the faculty
deciding that it would have a bad tenden
| cy to honor student who had shown 81
little respect for rules and professors
Buchanan was greatly mortified at being
denied an honor which it was admitted
he deserved, and left college with bu
little attachment toward his alma mat
| er.
OF the next period of his life Buchanan
says - came to Lancaster to study law
with tho late MIR. Hopkins in the month
of December, 1909, and was admitted tt
practice in November, 1919. determined
that if severe application would make me
a good lawyer l should not fail in thi.
particular, and can say, with truth, thai
I have never known harder student thar
1 was at that period of my life. studied
law, ard nothing but law, or what was
essentially connected with it. l took pains
to understand thoroughly, as far as wal
capable, everything which read ; and ir
order to fix it upon my memory and give
myself the habit of extempore speaking,
l almost every evening took lonely walh
and embodied the ideas which I had &C
quired during the day in my own language
This gave me habit of extempore speak
ing, and that not merely words, but things
l derived great Improvement from this
practice"
His first public address was made in
1914, soon after the capture of Washing
/ GOu ny Iuo DEIOiOu, duO III OOIOOCI VI tutsl
year he was elected to the House. At that
time, Philadelphia was threatened by the
British, and the Legislature was busy with
plans for its protection, which happily the
news of the peace rendered needless. He
was re elected in 1915, when he distin
guished himself in financial debates, re
lating to the suspension of specie pay
ments in Pennsylvania. After this sec
Ond term he appears to have determined
to devote himself entirely to his profes
sion, which he followed with grent sue
cess.
His career in Congress-, minister to St.
Petersburg, senatorial services and presi
dental administration are all faithfully
sketched and enlivened by much interest
ing correspondence.
Mr.. Curtis statement of difficulties by
which the four years of Mr.. Buchanan's
administration were surrounded and OF
the problems, perplexing and grave, which
forced themselves into angry prominence
during the months immediately preceding
Mr.. LincOln's Inauguration, is lucid and
forcible.
The chapter, however that is of greatest
personal and local interest is that which
relates to Mr.. Buchanan's early love and
| disappointment and We reprint that in full.
BUCHANANS LOVE.
Sad Death of Miss Aunio G. Coleman.
With an honorable and distinguished
professional career thus opening before
him. a favOritA in ROcietv hoth from his