The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1886-06-19
THE TRUE STORY
or President Buchanan's Interesting
Love Affair.

To the Editor of the NEw DOMINION.
The last issue of your paper con
tanned an article upon an episode in
President Buchanan's life which,
with your permission, / desire to say
does not state the real facts in the
case. The present writer is dis
tant relative of the Bachelor Pfesi-
dent and has examined carefully the
history of his life. The true story
is as follows, taken from George
Ticknor Curtis Life of James A.
Buchanan, the only authentic biog-
raphy of him that has ever been
written: Aft* - -
"With an honorable and distin-
guished professional career thus
opening before him, a favorite in
society both from his talents and his
charactcr,s young, high-spirited and
full of energy, it. seemed that happi=
ness had been provided for him by
his own merits and d kind iProvi-
dence. But there now occurred an
episode in his life which cast him
upon q meyer ending sorrow. He
became engaged to be married to a
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 sensitive.
Her father Robert Coleman, Esq, a
wealthy citizen of Lancaster, entirely
approved of the engagement. After
this connection had existed for some
time, she suddenly wrote a note to
her lover and asked him to release
her from the engagement. There is
no reason to believe that their mutu-
al feelings had in any degree changed.
He could only reply that if it was
her wish to put an end to their en-
gagement, he must submit. This
occurred in the latter part of the
summer of 1919. The young lady
died very suddenly, while on visit
to Philadelphia, on the 9th of De
cember following, in the twenty third
year of her age. Her remains were
brought to her fathers house in Ian
caster, on the next Saturday, just
one week from the day on which she
left home. The funeral, says the
diary already quoted from, took
place the next day, and was attended
by great number of the inhabit-
ants, who appeared to feel deep
sympathy with the family on this
distressing OCCASION
''In the course of Mr.. Buchanan's
long subsequent political career, this
incident in his early life was often
alluded to in partizan newspapers,
and in that species of literature
called campaign documents, accom-
panied by many perversions and mis-
representations These publications
are each and 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 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 sealed
package in place of deposit in the
city of New York, which would ex-
plain the trivial origin of this separ-
alton. His executors found these
papers inclosed and sealed separately
from all others, and with a direction
upon them in his handwriting, that
they were to be destroyed without
being read. They obeyed the in
junction, and burnt the package with
out breaking the seal. 1t happened,
however. that the original of the let
ter addressed by Mr.. Buchanan to
the young lady's father, before her
funeral, was not contained in this
package. 1t was found in his pri-
waite depositaries at Wheatland and
it came there in consequence of the
fact that it was returned by the
father unread and unopened.
at is now known that the separa-
ton of the lovers originated in a
misunderstanding, on the part of the
lady of very small matter, exag-
Grated by giddy and indiscreet
tongues, working on a peculiarly
sensitive nature. Such separation,
the cOmmOnest of occurrences, 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 life long 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
to go into the details of a story
which show that the whole occur
renee 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 be-
longed, the remembrance of her
sudden death is still fresh in aged
hearts. The cstrangement of the
lovers was but one of those common
occurrences that are perpetually YER
flying the saying, hackneyed by ev-
erlasting repetition, that sthe course
of true love never did run smooth"
DEMOCRATIC VICTORIES