Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-06-26
Mrs. Harriet Lane Johnston.

Mrs. Harriet Lane Johnston.
the world of today does not know him,
and that history has not done credit to
his ability. She describes in vivid words
the trouhlOus times of his administration
when the north and the south were being
torn apart. and when one by one the Pres
dent saw the friends who had promised to
uphold him leaving Congress to engage
in secession and in plots to destroy the
government. The wear and tear of that
time such that it ultimately caused
his death. Mrs. Johnston thinks her uncle
wa was the only one of the then great pub
lie men who realized what the re-
suits of the war would be in the loss Of
property and life, and that he the only
one who appreciated how imminent war
was. President Buchanan she says, did all
that he could to prevent secession. He
strove to harmonic and to hold back the
south, and he saw that his efforts were in
vain. He was true to his country and to
his conscience, and the fact that he could
not save mis- country from war killed him.
He was throughout in spirit and in deed a
friend of the people, never wavering for
moment in his loyalty to his trust. l
asked Mrs. Johnston as to whether her uncle
had much desire to be President. She re-
pied that at an earlier point in his politi-
cal career he probably had such an a.nb-
ton. but that when he the direction
toward which parties were tending and
the growing feeling between the sections,
he shrank from it. The movement in his
favor sprang up when he was minister to
England. He wrote many letters protest
ing against the use of his name as a can
CIdate. hut in spite of his protests he was
made the nominee.
Experience With Royalty.
Mrs. Johnston has in her home here
many mementos of her stay in England
while her uncle minister. She at
tracted, you know, more attention perhaps
than any other American girl who has ever
been presented at the Court of ST. James
She was made much of by Queen Victoria,
and as the niece of Mr.. Buchanan she took
the place which would have been accord
ed to the minister's wife She has today
the pictures of the queen and the royal
family which the Prince of Wales gave to
her on her departure from England to
America. These pictures represent the
queen and the family as she knew them
Her majesty was at that time a very beau
tiful woman. She most charming in
her manners and was every inch a queen
During her stay Miss Lane met Louis Ma
poleon. Emperor of the French, and the
Empress Eugene, who were then paying
a visit to London. The empress impressed
Miss Lane as being elegant and graceful
but as not having the dignity nor regal
look of Queen Victoria. Miss Lane met at
this time all of the distinguished people of
England. Disrael. who was the leader of
the opposition, did not impress her so
much as some others, and Gladstone seems
to have made no special impression upon
her mind. During her visit to Oxford Col
lege that institution conferred the degree
of doctor Of civil laws upon Minister Blu
chanan and Alfred Tennyson. She remern-
bers Tennyson as having long hair and as
, ,9'2E 1 very much like poet: He was at
this time in his prime, and had written the
best CT his poetical works.
buchanan and His Niece.
The relations of President Buchanan and
and daughter than an uncle and niece Miss
Lanes parents had died when she was it,
tie more than n baby. and James Buchanan
was both father and mother to her. He
was fond of children and delighted in hay-
ing his niece's friends about him. He en-
Joyed having young people at the White
House, and although he was a bachelor.
MS administration was. socially. the gayest
one we have ever had Mr. Buchanan was
very careful in the bringing I'M of Miss
Lane. He directed her education. sending
her first to school at Lancaster, where h.
lived, then to a private school at Charles
town, and finally to the Georgetown Con-
vent He wrote regularly to her during her
school days His letters were full of news
and gossip and fun. and at the same time
OF much good advice to the young girl as
to her conduct. Here, for instance is an
extract from one written at about the time
Harriet Lane entered her teens:
WASHINGTON, February 1G, 1912.
My Dear Harriet: Your letter afforded
me very great pleasure. There is no wish
nearer my heart than that you should be-
come an aniable and intelligent woman
and | am rejoced to learn that you still;
continue at the head of your class. YoS
can render yourself very dear to me by
your conduct; and I anticipate with pleas
ure the months which. I trust in heaven. |
we will pass together after the adjourn
nent of Congress. 1 expect to be in Lam
caster for week or ten days about the 1st |
of April. when l hope to see you In good |
health and receive favorable reports of |
your behavior.
q ma n no
uncle. May heaven bless you.
JAMES BUCHANAN"
Here IS another letter. written about a |
year later:
LANCASTER, March 30 1872
MY Dear Harriet: 1t is one of the first |
desires of my heart that you shouid be- |
come an amiable and good girl Education |
and accomplishments are very important |
but they sink into nsignificance when com
pared with The proper government of the |
heart ard temper. How ali your friends |
ara relatives would love you-how proud |
and happy / should be to acknowledge. and |
cherish you as an object of deep affection |
could 1 say she is kind in heart amiable |
in temper and behaves in such a manner as |
around her: 1 now cherish the hope that
ere long this may be the case
wv hat a long list of studies you are en- |
gagged upon. The number would seem too
great for any common intellect, but 1t |
would seem that you manage them all |
without difficulty.
AT dinner table at Washington during
the last session, a wager was made that
rot person at the table could name all the |
muses. and the wager was won. Had YOU
been one of the company the result would |
doubtless have been different I presume
that The muses. and graces are great ia
Yorites with you. Attend diligently to
Your studies. but above all govern your
heart and your conduct. ="
Most affec tionately
JAMES BUCHANAN"
President Buchnnnn's Papers.
Mrs. Johnston says that President Bueh-
anan's papers are to be given over to the
Philadelphia Historical Society This de-
cision has teeL reached during the past few