The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1883-08-30
JAMES BUCHANAN'S LOVE.

AuO keutAo ulSpO9AtAOu3 Oue A0ASAn6 eAA~A
sensitive. Her father, Robert Coleman,
ESQ.,, a wealthy citizen of Lancaster. en-
tirely approved other engagement. A.
ter this connection had existed for some
time, she suddenly wrote note to her
lover and asked him to release her from
the engagement. There is no reason to
believe that ! their mutual feeling
had in any degree changed. He could
only reply that if it was her wish to put
IN end to their engagement, he must
submit. This occurred in the latter
part of the summer of 1919. The young
lady died very suddenly, while on Wis
it to Philadelphia, on the 9th of Decem,,
Der following, in the twenty-thlrd
year Of her age. Her remains were
brought to her fathers house inlancae-
ter, on the next Saturday. just one week
s"rhe funeral" says the diary already
Quoted from, "took place the next day,
and was attended by great number of
the inhabitants, who appeared to feel
deep sympathy with the family on this
distressing occasion"
From the same source transcribe a
little obituary notice, which was pub
lished ia Lancaster paper on the 18th
OF December, and which the diary states
was written by Mr.. Buchanan:
departed this life on Thursday
morning last, in the twenty.third year
of her age, while on visit to her friends
in the city OF Philadelphia, Miss Anne
G.. Coleman, daughter of Robert Cole
man, Esquire, of this city. 1t rarely falls
to our lot to shed tear over the mortal
remains of one 80 much and so de-
servedly beloved ae was the deceased.
She was everything which the fondest
parent or the fondest friend could have
wished her to be. Although she was
young and beautiful, and accomplished,
and the smiles of fortune shone upon
her yet her native modesty and worth
made her unconscious Of her own at
fractions. Her heart was the seat of all
softer virtues which ennoble and digni-
fy the character of woman. She has
now gone to world where in the 10.
som Of her God she will be happy with
congenial spirits. MAY the memory OF
her virtues be ever green in the hearts
of her surviving friends. May her mild
spirit, which on earth still breathes
peace and good will, be their guardian
angel to preserve them from the faults
to which she was ever stranger
Tho spiders most attenuated thread
IL chord. il cable, to mans tender tie
On earthly bliss-it breaks At every breeze. "
The following letter, written by Mr..
Buchanan to the father of the young Ia
dy. is all that remains Of written evil
dence to attest the depth Of. his attach
ment to her:
JAMES BUCHANAN TO ROBERT COLEMAN. ESQ.
LANCASTER, December, 10, 1919.
My Dear Sir: Yon have lost child, a
dear, dear child. / have lost the only
earthly object of my affections, without
whom life now presents tO me dreary
blank. Ny prospects are all cut of, end
I feel that my ha piness will be buried
with her in the grave. It is now 70
time for explanation, but the time will
come when you will discover that she.
as we'll as i, have been much abused,
God forgive the authors Of it, My feel
ings of resentment against them, who
ever they may be- ,!!are buried in the dust.
have now one request to make, and,
for the love of God and of your dear,
departed daughter, whom love infin-
lily more than any other human being
could love, deny me not. Afford me-
the melancholy pleasure of seeing her
body before it's intern'ent. I would not
for the world be denied this request.
might make another but from the
misrepresentation which must have
been made to You. l am almost afraid
I would like to follow her remains to the
grave az mourner. ! would like to
convince the world, and hope yet to
convince You, that she was infinitely
dearer to me than life. may sustain
the shock of her death. but feel that
happiness has fed from me for ever.
The prayer which make to God with
out ceasing is, that yet may be able to
show my generation for the memory of
my dear departed saint, by my respect
aud attachment for surviving friends.
l am, forever, your sincere and grate-
tn! friend, JAMES BUCHANAN.
In tho course of Mr.. Buchanan's long
subsequent political career, this incident
In his early life was often alluded to in
cies of literature called ''campaign docu.
ments," accompanied BY many pervey-
sions and mIsre prese nations. 1nese
publications are each and all unworthy
of notice. On one occasion, after he had
retired to Wheatland, and when he had
passed the age Of seventy, he was shown
by friend q newspaper article, mis-
representing, as usual, the details of this
affair. He then said, with deep emo
tlon, that there were papers aud relics
which he lad acknowledgement, then
10 q sealed package in place of de-
post in the city Of new York, which
would explain the trivial origin of this
separation.~ His executors found these
papers inclosed and sealed separately
from all others, and with q direction
upon them in bis handwriting, that they
were to be destroyed without being
read. They obeyed the Injunction and
burnt the package without breaking the
seal. It happened, however, that the
Buchanan to the young lady's father be-
fore her funeral was not contained in
this package. It was found in his pri-
vate depositaries at Wheatland, and it
came there in consequence Of the fact
that it was returned by the father unread
and unopened.
1t is now known that the separation
of the lovers originated in misunder-
standing, on the part of the lady, Of a
very small matter, exaggerated by giddy
and indiscreet tongues, working on 4
peculiarly sensitive nature. Such sep
afation, the commonest of occurrences,
would have ended, in tho
ordinary course, in reconcilia-
ton, when the parties met, il death had
not suddenly snatched away one of the
sufferers and left the other to a lifelong
grief. But under the circumstances I
feel bound to be governed by the spirit
of Mr.. Buchanan's written instruction to
his executors and not 70 into the details
of q story which show that the whole &C.
currence was chargeable on the folly Of
others, and not on either of the two
whose interests were involved.
Among the few eurviv ors of the circle
to which this young lady belonged, the,
remembrance of her death is still fresh
III aged hearts. The estrangement OF
the lovers was but ono Of those common