The Indianapolis journal., 1883-07-30
A DEAD ROMANCE.


| >
of energy, it seemed that happiness had been
provided for him by his own merits and
kind Providence. But there now occurred
an apsode in his life which cast upon him
never-ending sorrow. He became engaged
to be married to young lady in Lancaster,
who has been described to me, by persons
who knew her, as very beautiful girl, OF
singularly attractive and gentle dis
position but retiring and sensiti We.
Her father, Robert Coleman, esq,
wealthy citizen of Lancaster, entirely
approved of the engagement. After 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 feelings had in an degree changed.
He could only reply that if 1t was her wish
to put an 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 a visit to Philadel
phia on the 9th of the December following,
in the twenty-third year of her age Her
remains were brought to her fathers house
| in Lancaster, on the next Saturday just one
| week from the gay ON which Sue Iell uOule
| The funeral" says the diary already quoted
from, ''took place the next day, and was
| attended by great number OF the inhab-
itants, who appeared to feel deep sympathy
with the family on this distressing oc-
| cason."
From the same source transcribe a little
obituary notice which was published in
| Lancaster paper on the 11th of December,
and which the diary states was written by
| Mr.. Buchanan:
Departed this life, on Thursday morning last,
In the twenty-thlrd year of her age, while on
visit to her friends in the city of Philadelphia,
| Miss Anne @. Coleman, daughter of Robert Cole
man, esq., of this city. IL rarely falls to our lot
to shed tear over the mortal remains Of one SO
much and so deservedly beloved as was the de-
ceased. She was everything which the fOndest
parent or fOndest friend could have wished her
| to be- Although she was Young and beautiful,
and accomplished ana the smiles of fortune
| shone upon her, yet her native modesty and
worth made her unconscious Of her own attrac-
! tons. Her heart was the seat of all the softer
| virtues which enncble and dignity the character
| of woman SIZE has now gone to world where
III the bosom of her God she will be happy>wi
| congenlal spirits. May the memory OF her
| virtues be ever green in the hearts of her sur
viving friends. May her mild spirit. which on
earth still breathes peace and goodwill, be their
| guardian angel TO preserve them from the faults
to which she was ever stranger
'"rhe SPIDERS most attenuated thread
Is cord is cable, to mans tender tie
| On earthly blis5-tt breaks at every breeze"
The following letter, written by Mr..
Buchanan to the father of the young lady,
is all that remains of written evidence to at
test the depth OF his att schment to her:
JAMES BUCHANAN TO ROBBERY COLEMAN, ESQ.
LANCASTER, Dee 10, 1919.
| My Dear Sir-You have lost child, dear,
dear child. Ihave lost the only earthly object of
my affections without whom life now presents
to me dreary blank. My prospects are all cut
| oh aud feel that my happiness will be buried
with her III the grave. 1t is now no time for
- ha will nFnn han III
VIII discover that she, as well as l, have been
much abused. God forgive the authors of it.
My feelings of resentment against them, who
ever they may be, are buried III the dust have
now one request to make, and, for the love of
| God and of your dear, departed daughter whom
| loved infinitely more than any other human
| being could love, deny me not Afford The
melancholy pleasure of seeing her body before
| its interment. l would not for the world be de-
MED this request.
| 1 might make another but, from the misrepre-
| sentarions which must have been made to you,
| | am almost afraid. would like TO follow her
remains TO the grave as mourner. 1 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 fled frOnTme
| forever. The prayer which make to God with
out ceaRing is that yet may be able to show my
veneration for the memory of my dear departed
saint by my respect and attachment for her sur
| vving friends
+ the shock with the fortitude of Christian.
| am, forever, your sincere and grateful friend,
JAMES BUCHANAN.
In the course of Mr.. Buchanan's long sub
seauent political career, this incident in his
early life was often alluded to in partisan
newspapers and in that species of literature
called campaign documents" accompanied
| by many perversions and misrepresen tations
| These publications are each and all un-
worthy of notice. On one occasi 9n,
after he had retired to Wheatland and
| when he had passed the age of seventy, he
was shown by friend a newspaper article,
misrepresenting as usual, the details of this
affair. He then said, with deep emotion,
that there were papers and relics which he
| had religiously preserved, then in a sealed
package in place OF deposit in the city of
| New York, which would explain the trivial
origin of this separations His executors
| found these papers inclosed and sealed sepa-
rately from all Others, and with a direction
| upon them in his handwriting that they
| were to be destroyed without being read
They obeyed the injunction and burnt the
| package without breaking the seal. 1t hap
pened however that the original of the let
ter addressed by Mr. Buchanan to the young
| lady's father before her funeral was not con-
| tanned in this package. 1t was found in his
private repositories at Wheatland, and it
came there in consequence of the fact that it
was returned by the father unrerd and un-
opened.
1t is now known that the separation of the
lovers originated in a misunderstanding, on
the part of the lady, of very small matter,
exaggerated by giddy and indiscreet tongues,
! working on peculiarly sensitive nature
Such a separation, the commonest of occur
rences, would have ended, in the ordinary
course, in reconciliation, when the parties
met if death had not suddenly snatched
away one of the sufferers and left the other
to lifelong grief But under the circum-
stances | feel bound to be governed by the
spirit OF Mr.. Buehanan's written instruc-
| ton to his executors, and not to go into the
details of story which show that tive whole
occurrence was chargeable on the folly of
Others and not on either of the two whose
interests were involved.
Among the few survivors of the circle to
which this young lady belonged the remem-
brance of her sudden death is still fresh in