CHAPTER XVIII.

1842–1849.

HARRIET LANE.

From all “the heady currents of a fight” of politics, from the toils of statesmanship and the objects of ambition, the reader can now turn to the sweet charities of domestic and social life; for these, notwithstanding his bachelor state, were not wanting to the public man whose life is traced in these volumes. A biography of Mr. Buchanan would be exceedingly imperfect without mention of that member of his family who, for the last twenty-five years of his life, stood in a very intimate domestic relation with him. It is a delicate matter to write of a living lady; but the name of Harriet Lane will recall to many readers one who occupied with singular grace positions in her uncle’s household that were almost public, and whose domestic connection with him formed a most important element in his private happiness. Mr. Buchanan discharged with great fidelity all his duties to the various members of his family who could be said to have any claims upon him. Of that family he was always regarded as the head; and when, in consequence of the death of one of his sisters and her husband, the care of four orphans devolved upon him, the youngest was at such an age that he could form her as he wished, and his wish was guided by the nicest sense of what belongs to the highest female excellence.

His sister, Mrs. Lane, wife of Elliott T. Lane, died at Mercersburg, in the year 1839. Her husband survived her for only two years. They left four children: James Buchanan, Elliott Eskridge, Mary Elizabeth Speer, and Harriet Rebecca.[79] They each inherited from their parents a moderate property. After the death of her father, Harriet, the youngest of the four orphans, was brought to Lancaster, and resided in her uncle’s house, when he was at home in that city. During his absences in Washington, she occasionally lived with two ladies in Lancaster, friends of her uncle,—the Misses Crawford. For a few years she attended a school in Lancaster, and also had private teachers. She and her sister Mary were then placed at a boarding-school in Charlestown, Virginia, in the neighborhood of some of their father’s relatives. Harriet’s education was finished at the well-known Roman Catholic convent at Georgetown, in the District of Columbia. The present superintendent of that institution was one of her school-mates.

To direct the education of this young girl, to form her religious and moral principles, to guard her against the temptations that beset an impulsive temperament, and to develop her into the character of a true woman, became one of the chief objects of Mr. Buchanan’s busy life. At first there was danger that the hoyden might become a “fast” and dashing young lady. There was an exuberance of animal spirits, the accompaniment of a fine physical organization and a healthy youth. There was an abundance of the generous, frank and joyous qualities of the female heart, along with its delicacy and purity. Such a nature required much discipline and a careful training; and it might, perhaps, be thought that an old-bachelor uncle, absorbed in public life, was not exactly the person to undertake this duty; that, after spoiling the child as a pet, he would leave her to take her chances as a woman. But Mr. Buchanan was a man in whom authority and affection could be most happily blended. He knew just how to exercise the one and to bestow the other. He knew the girl whom he had to influence, and he had a perfectly true sense of what a woman and a lady should be.

It is not my purpose, or according to my taste, to enlarge on my own estimate of the results which he produced. The methods by which they were attained will sufficiently exhibit themselves in what I am to give to the reader; and what is widely known of the lady who is unavoidably the subject of these observations, attests that a beautiful woman, whom flattery and adulation could not injure, and who became alike an ornament to society and a model of the domestic virtues, was formed by one of the busiest statesmen of our time, without a mother’s aid and a mother’s love. There is rarely to be met, in any literature of real life with which I am acquainted, a more interesting and instructive picture of a wise man’s care for a woman’s education, manners, deportment, and inner character, than is to be traced in Mr. Buchanan’s charming letters to his niece. They began when she was a school-girl, were continued when she became the companion of his age and the friend of his declining years; and they did not cease when he gave her to the husband of her choice. They are so numerous that it is difficult to make the selections to which my space confines me. After Miss Lane had grown up, whenever she was absent from her uncle, he wrote to her almost daily. But his affection for her was unselfish. He never failed to let her know how welcome would be her return, but he never exacted from her an abridgment of her pleasures, unless it was for her good that they should be interrupted. He could guide her, when she was away from him, by a dozen written words, just as infallibly as if she were under his eye and within the sound of his voice. One of her letters to him, which has come into my hands among the great mass of his papers, shall be given in its proper place, as an artless proof that he had his reward, and knew that he had it. I shall make many extracts from this correspondence, because nothing that has come within my reach can so well reveal a beautiful side of Mr. Buchanan’s character, of which the world, as yet, knows very little. One is reminded by these letters of many well-known instances of such a tender care for a young relative, evinced by a series of letters. Lord Eldon’s letters to his grandson and heir will occur to the reader; but the chancellor was always a stiff and formal writer, although his letters to his young kinsman are admirably wise. Lord Chatham’s letters to his son William afford delightful reading; but even in his expressions of affection, the “Great Commoner” could not be otherwise than stately, classical, and a little dramatic. Lord Chesterfield’s letters to his son, although written, like everything that came from his pen, with the utmost correctness of a marvellous grace, lack, of course, the religious and moral basis of all sound philosophy of life. Madame De Sévigné’s lively letters to her adored daughter, Burke’s to the son whom he strangely over-estimated, are among the treasures that the world would not willingly lose. But I should omit a very interesting part of my duty in this work, if I did not place before the reader as many of the letters of President Buchanan to his niece as I can find room for; and although they are not to be ranked in all respects side by side with the most renowned specimens of the class to which they belong, they seem to me to exhibit a happy union of the tenderest affection, deep religious principle, sound inculcation, minute direction of conduct, playfulness, vivacity, and an abounding confidence in the person to whom they were written. They are unique also in this—that they were written to a female relative, whom Providence had cast upon the care of an unmarried uncle, intensely occupied with the pursuits and interests of a statesman.

But by way of preface to such of these letters as can be quoted, it will be well to inform the reader that until the year 1848, Mr. Buchanan, when at home in Lancaster, resided in a bachelor establishment, at the head of which, as housekeeper, was a lady who was always called “Miss Hetty.” I am indebted to his nephew, Mr. James Buchanan Henry, for the following description of their domestic circle:

In consequence of the death, in 1840, of my surviving parent, the youngest sister of Mr. Buchanan, I became a member of his immediate family. He was executor of my mother’s will, and by it he was appointed my guardian. I was then seven years old. Mr. Buchanan at that time lived in a spacious brick house in the quiet inland city of Lancaster, on the principal street, called East King Street. This ancient town—one of the oldest in Pennsylvania, still retained the loyal names of colonial times, its best streets being named King, Queen, Duke, Orange, etc. At that date, Mr. Buchanan was in the Senate, and of course much of his time was passed in Washington; but during the recess of Congress he resided in Lancaster, where he was much honored and beloved by its citizens; and this personal attachment continued in a marked degree until his death. At the time of which I speak, his family consisted of a housekeeper, Miss Parker, always called “Miss Hetty,” myself and his servants. At a little later period, my cousin, Harriet Lane, after the death of her parents, also became a member of our uncle’s household. This little family circle continued unbroken, excepting during the temporary absences of my uncle in Washington, or on other public duty, or when my cousin and I were at boarding school or college, until my marriage in 1860, and until my cousin’s departure for her new home in Baltimore, after her marriage. No father could have bestowed a more faithful and judicious care upon his own children, than this somewhat stern but devoted bachelor uncle of ours bestowed upon us. While I was at school, in the little Moravian town of Litiz near by, when I was eleven years old, he required me to write to him once every month with great exactitude, and to each boyish letter he would write a prompt reply, carefully but kindly criticizing every part of it; and if I had been careless in either penmanship or spelling, he would give me sharp reproof, which, coming from the hero of my youthful worship, made an impression which I remember to this day.

Miss Hetty Parker, now a venerable lady of seventy-eight, residing in Lancaster in a comfortable house provided for her by my uncle’s will, belonged to a respectable and quite “well-to-do” family in Philadelphia. She became his housekeeper, I think, in 1834, or soon after, and was, by him and all of us, treated as a valued member of the family, and as a friend. She was always present at the table, and dispensed the hospitalities of my uncle’s house until my cousin had grown to womanhood, and assumed a part of such duties. “Miss Hetty” continued to be one of the family circle, and to perform her duties most acceptably to Mr. Buchanan through the remainder of his life. I do not hesitate to say that, it was largely owing to her vigilant care of his interests, and her wise economy, that his moderate private fortune, mainly earned by him in the practice of the law, and before he entered public life, not only proved sufficient for his wants, but slowly increased, amounting, at his death, to about $300,000.[80] Miss Hetty was for nearly forty years his faithful attendant in health and nurse in sickness; and he was so much attached to her, that I have often heard him say that nothing should ever part her from him while he lived. He would let her do what she pleased, and say to him what she pleased, and even scold him, without rebuke;—a privilege I never knew him to accord to any one else. No biography of Mr. Buchanan would be complete that did not mention this humble, unselfish and most faithful companion, who was so well known to the frequenters of Wheatland, and to the whole circle of Mr. Buchanan’s friends.

Although the dates of the following letters run somewhat beyond the period at which the last chapter terminated, they embrace the six years of Miss Lane’s school-girl life and her entrance into society, and I therefore do not separate them. The foot-notes explain the public positions held by Mr. Buchanan at the respective dates, and some of the allusions to persons.

[LETTERS TO MISS LANE.]

WASHINGTON, February 16th, 1842.

MY DEAR HARRIET:—

Your letter afforded me very great pleasure. There is no wish nearer my heart than that you should become an amiable and intelligent woman: and I am rejoiced to learn that you still continue at the head of your class. You can render yourself very dear to me by your conduct; and I anticipate with pleasure the months which, I trust in Heaven, we may pass together after the adjournment of Congress. I expect to be in Lancaster for a week or ten days about the 1st of April, when I hope to see you in good health, and receive the most favorable reports of your behavior.

Buck Yates is now a midshipman in the navy.[81] He is now at Boston, on board of the John Adams, and will sail in a few days for the Brazilian station. He may probably be absent for two or three years. He is much pleased with his situation, and I trust that his conduct may do both himself and his friends honor. When he left Meadville they were all well, except your aunt Maria, who still complains of a cough. Elizabeth is better than she has been for years.

I send you $——, the remains of poor Buck’s money when he arrived here. It was of no use to him and would be of no use to me here. Please to hand it to your brother James, and tell him to place it to my credit for what it is worth.

When you write to your sister Mary, give her my kindest and best love.

Remember me affectionately to your brother James, Miss Hetty and the Miss Crawfords, and believe me to be ever your affectionate uncle. May Heaven bless you.

JAMES BUCHANAN.

Lancaster, March 20, 1843.

MY DEAR HARRIET:—

It affords me sincere pleasure to receive your letter. It is one of the first desires of my heart that you should become an amiable and a good girl. Education and accomplishments are very important; but they sink into insignificance when compared with the proper government of the heart and temper. How all your relatives and friends would love you,—how proud and happy I should be to acknowledge and cherish you as an object of deep affection, could I say, she is kind in heart, amiable in temper, and behaves in such a manner as to secure the affection and esteem of all around her! I now cherish the hope that ere long this may be the case. Endeavor to realize this ardent hope.

What a long list of studies you are engaged upon! The number would be too great for any common intellect; but it would seem that you manage them all without difficulty. As mythology and history seem to be your favorites, I shall expect, when we meet, that you will have all the gods and heroes of Greece and Rome at your fingers’ ends. At a dinner table at Washington, during the last session, a wager was made that no 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 favorites with you. Attend diligently to your studies; but above all, govern your heart and your conduct.

Your friends, the Miss Crawfords, are about to move to a much more comfortable house; so that should you return to school in Lancaster, you may be better accommodated. I presume your partiality still continues for these good ladies; but to be serious, you must acknowledge that you did not treat them as they deserve.

Our recent news from poor Elizabeth is very discouraging. Dr. Yates, who has been to see her, considers her case hopeless. Poor thing! She seems destined to tread the path that so many of our family have already trodden. Her husband is kind, affectionate and attentive, and she is surrounded by every comfort. She is in full communion with the Episcopal church.

I know of no news here which would interest you. Lancaster has been very dull; and is likely so to continue. Your music mistress, Miss Bryan, was married a few evenings since to a Mr. Sterrett of Pittsburg. Annie Reigart and Kate Reynolds will take their degrees in a fortnight, and enter the world as young ladies. Judge Hayes has removed into town.

Miss Hetty says that both Mary and yourself promised to write to her, but that neither of you has written. She desires me to give her love to you both. Your brother James is well.

Had Mary written to me that you were a good girl, and had behaved yourself entirely well, I should have visited you during the Christmas holidays. Tell her, I shall expect her to write soon; and as I rely confidently that she will not deceive me, I shall most heartily rejoice should her account of you be favorable. In that event, God willing, I intend to pay you a visit.

Remember me most kindly to Mrs. Kennedy, whom I remember with much of “auld lang syne;” also to Miss Annie.

Give my kindest love to Mary, and believe me to be yours,

Most affectionately,

JAMES BUCHANAN.

P. S.—Your uncle Edward and the family are well except your aunt. She has been in delicate health all winter, but is now much better. Jessie Magaw is in Baltimore, but will return home to Meadville soon. Your letter is without date, and does not purport to come from any particular place.

LANCASTER, July 25th, 1843.

MY DEAR HARRIET:—

I enclose you a letter which I have received from Buck Yates, as your name is honorably mentioned in it. I wrote to him that it was ungallant for a young naval officer to inform a “lady faire” that he would answer her letters should she write, and that he should himself commence the correspondence.

I intend to leave for Bedford Springs in a day or two, and it is my purpose to return by Charleston, after two or three weeks, and pass a day with Mary and yourself. Give my kindest love to Mary, and believe me to be

Yours affectionately,

JAMES BUCHANAN.

WASHINGTON, July 17th, 1845.[82]

MY DEAR HARRIET:—

Although I should most gladly have you with me, yet I can not ask you to come here in this excessive heat. I have never felt the heat so oppressive as it has been for some time past; and I should fear you might become sick were you to visit Washington. Besides, you could not have any enjoyment.

I entertain a hope that I may be able to visit Bedford about the first of August. In that event, I should be willing to take you along with me. But whether it will be in my power to leave this city is still uncertain. Please to write to me how you intend to spend your vacation, and where a letter would reach you. Should the heat moderate, I still hope to see you in Washington.

Yours affectionately,

JAMES BUCHANAN.

WASHINGTON, July 27th, 1845.

MY DEAR HARRIET:—

I believe, although I am not yet quite certain, that I shall be able to leave here for the Bedford Springs on Thursday next. I shall be glad if you will accompany me. Unless you hear from me in the meantime, you may be at Harper’s Ferry on Thursday, before the cars pass from Baltimore to Cumberland. If I should not be able to go on that day, _you may still be there_. Mrs. Pleasonton,[83] Miss Pleasonton and Mrs. Bancroft will take charge of you to Bedford; and there you will find Mr. and Mrs. Plitt, under whose care I will place you until I can reach the Springs myself. Still, I hope to be able to go on Thursday. Of course you will get some one of your friends to accompany you from Charleston to Harper’s Ferry. Please to write to me immediately on the receipt of this.

Yours affectionately,

JAMES BUCHANAN.

WASHINGTON, July 6th, 1846.

MY DEAR HARRIET:—

Your welcome letter has been received, and I rejoice to learn...... I trust you will soon be well enough...... I think of all places for you the nunnery at Georgetown would be the best. Your religious principles are doubtless so well settled that you will not become a nun.

My labors are great; but they do not “_way_” me down, as you write the word. Now I would say “_weigh_;” but doctors may differ on this point.

I hope Mary has recovered ere this from her bruises. Give my love to her, and tell her to have her saddle girthed tighter the next time she rides.

It will be easy for you to find Dr. Jackson’s remedy in any hay-field near Lancaster at this season. It would be quite romantic and interesting to witness your exploits on such a theatre.

Your friends, Mrs. Bancroft and the Pleasontons, often inquire for you with kindness. They have given you somewhat of a name here; and Mrs. Polk and Miss Rucker, her niece, have several times urged me to permit you to come and pass some time with them. I have been as deaf as the adder to their request, knowing, to use a word of your grandmother, that you are too “outsetting” already. There is a time for all things under the sun, as the wise man says, and your time will yet come.

I intend to go to the Bedford Springs this summer, if possible; but as Congress may not adjourn until the 10th August, the fashionable season will then be over. I had thought of giving Mary and yourself a polite invitation to accompany me there; but I fear it will be too late in the season for Mary to enact the character of a belle, and you are quite too young to make the attempt.

Miss Hetty requests me to send her love to you, and to say that she would be very glad to see you in Washington...... I fear she might be twice glad, once on your arrival, and still more so on your departure. She will be in Lancaster in September.

James Henry is here.[84] I intend to commence with him to-morrow and make him eat vegetables, or he shall have no meat. I have not yet determined upon a school for him.

I wish you to embrace the first opportunity to remember me very kindly to Mrs. Franklin. I never lived beside a better or more agreeable neighbor. Give my love to Mary, though I perceive this is the second time, and Patt, and believe me ever to be

Yours affectionately,

JAMES BUCHANAN.

WASHINGTON, July 19, 1847.

MY DEAR HARRIET:—

The Secretary of the Treasury,[85] with his mother-in-law, Mrs. Bache, and Miss Bache, will leave here for Rockaway, to enjoy the benefit of sea-bathing, on Thursday morning next. I know of no other opportunity of sending you, and this will be an excellent one. It is impossible for me to accompany you myself. I hope that the good sister Cecilia may permit you to leave with them. You will lose but a few days by this arrangement. Your clothes, if they should not be ready, can be placed in order at Rockaway under the direction of Mrs. Bache. Besides, it is uncertain how long our friends, the Pleasontons, may remain at Oyster Bay, and whether they will like it. Mr. Walker has hired a cottage at Rockaway, and you may remain with his family as long as you please.

I am extremely anxious that this arrangement should be made, because I know of no other means by which you can reach the sea-shore. If possible, please to send me an answer by the bearer.

Yours affectionately,

JAMES BUCHANAN.

WASHINGTON, July 8, 1848.

MY DEAR HARRIET:—

I suppose you will now, within a week or ten days, return to the exhibition, and we shall all be happy to see you. If you should not have good company all the way through, I could meet you in Baltimore without inconvenience almost any evening, leaving here in the cars at 5 o’clock P. M. You would arrive in Baltimore, probably, a little before my arrival; but whoever might accompany you to Baltimore could take you to Barnum’s until my arrival. If you should adopt this course, inform me certainly of the day you will leave Lancaster, so that there may be no mistake.

We have no news here which would interest you. Everything has been quiet since you left. The Pleasontons and others often inquire of your health.

I am glad to learn that Mary has turned out to be “a grand housekeeper.” You could not have given me any more agreeable information. If she had proved to be idle and extravagant in youth, the promise of her age would have been poverty and dependence. There is no spectacle more agreeable to me than that of a young married woman properly sensible of the important duties of her station, and acting upon those high principles which add lustre to the female character. Give her my kindest love, with my best respect to Mr. Baker.

Remember me affectionately to James, and the family, and believe me to be

Yours, as ever,

James Buchanan.

WASHINGTON, August 2, 1848.

MY DEAR HARRIET:—

I have this moment received your letter of the 30th ultimo, and hasten to give it an answer. I regret very much that you are not pleased with Rockaway. You went there for the benefit of your health, under the advice of physicians, and I should be very sorry you should leave it without giving sea-bathing a fair trial.

It is certainly out of the question for me to accompany you on a tour to West Point, Niagara, Boston, etc. If I should be able to leave Washington at all, I cannot go to any place from which I could not immediately return in case of necessity. I require rest and quiet. Besides, _under existing circumstances_, which I need not explain, I could not visit the States of New York and Massachusetts, unless it might be to pass through them quietly and rapidly. It is possible, if the weather should be suitable towards the close of August, that I may go to Saratoga for a few days; but my movements are altogether uncertain.

I am much gratified that you have acquitted yourself so handsomely as to obtain medals and premiums; and under other circumstances, I should cheerfully accompany you on your travels. It is possible that I may take you to West Point.

Miss Hetty is gradually, but slowly, recovering. Please to remember me very kindly to Mrs. Bache, Mrs. Walker, and the ladies, and believe me to be

Yours affectionately,

JAMES BUCHANAN.

WASHINGTON, August 22, 1848.

MY DEAR HARRIET:—

I have this moment received your letter of the 20th instant. I answered your former letter very soon after it was received, and am sorry that my answer miscarried.

I expect sister Maria here to-day or to-morrow, and of course ——.[86] At this moment I was interrupted by the agreeable information that she had arrived, and I have just seen her. It is now four years since I enjoyed that pleasure. How long she will remain I do not know; but it will be impossible to leave before her departure. She will remain until James[87] shall receive his appointment in the revenue cutter service, which was kindly promised him by Mr. Walker, but which cannot be conferred until after the President’s return, who is not expected until this day week, the 29th instant. From present appearances I shall not be able to leave Washington before the first of September. I cannot, therefore, promise positively to visit Rockaway.

I hope you are enjoying yourself, and may be benefited in your health by the sea-bathing.

Should I go to New York, I may take you as far as West Point. I presume the season will be too late for the Saratoga Springs.

Give my kindest regards to Mrs. Bache and the ladies, and believe me to be

Yours affectionately,

JAMES BUCHANAN.

WASHINGTON, January 8, 1849.

MY DEAR HARRIET:—

You have acted wisely in controlling your inclinations and remaining at home. This act of self-restraint has raised you in my estimation. Let nothing divert you from your purpose.

Washington now begins to be gay. Mrs. Walker is at home to-night,—the first assembly will be held to-morrow evening. Mrs. Polk gives a drawing-room on Wednesday evening; and on Thursday evening Miss Harris will be married, and there will be a party at Captain McCauley’s at the Navy Yard. I now give dinners myself once a week. I rarely go out to evening parties. I have had my day of such amusement, and have enjoyed it. Yours is just commencing, and I hope it may be a happy one. I dare say Mr. Sullivan[88] will be inconsolable when he learns that you will not be here during the present winter.

I wish now to give you a caution. Never allow your affections to become interested or engage yourself to any person without my previous advice. You ought never to marry any man to whom you are not attached; but you ought never to marry any person who is not able to afford you a decent and immediate support. In my experience, I have witnessed the long years of patient misery and dependence which fine women have endured from rushing precipitately into matrimonial connections without sufficient reflection. Look ahead, and consider the future, and act wisely in this particular.

Mrs. Pleasonton of Philadelphia left here on Saturday morning last. I saw her and her two daughters on Friday evening. They all inquired for you very affectionately; and the Pleasontons of this city are, I believe, sincerely anxious that you should pass some time with them. At a proper period you may enjoy this pleasure.

It may be that I shall not reach Lancaster until the first of April, as I have some business to attend to here which may require a fortnight or three weeks after I shall be relieved from office. When I reach there, I shall be happy to have you with me.

Yours affectionately,

JAMES BUCHANAN.

P. S.—Give my love to Mary and all the rest.

Footnote 79:

Mary married George W. Baker, and died in San Francisco in 1855, while Mr. Buchanan was Minister to England. Eskridge died in 1857; James in 1862. Harriet dropped the name of Rebecca after she had grown up, and was always known as Miss Lane, or Miss Harriet Lane.

Footnote 80:

In these days of millions, such a fortune, accumulated by a man who had been in public life for about forty years, seems moderate indeed. It will appear, as we draw near the end of Mr. Buchanan’s life, that he did not enrich himself out of the public, and that such fortune as he did accumulate must have been, as Mr. Henry says, the slow increase of means honorably acquired and carefully husbanded. Yet he was not a parsimonious, but, on the contrary, he was a generous man.

Footnote 81:

James Buchanan Yates, son of Mr. Buchanan’s sister Maria, who married Dr. Yates, a physician in Meadville, Pennsylvania.

Footnote 82:

Mr. Buchanan became Secretary of State under President Polk in March of this year.

Footnote 83:

Wife of the Hon. Stephen Pleasonton, for very many years Fifth Auditor of the Treasury Department. He possessed the entire confidence of all administrations.

Footnote 84:

James Buchanan Henry: very averse as a boy to a vegetable diet.

Footnote 85:

The Hon. Robert J. Walker of Mississippi, Secretary of the Treasury under President Polk, appointed March 6, 1845.

Footnote 86:

Mrs. Yates.

Footnote 87:

James Buchanan Yates.

Footnote 88:

John Sullivan, Esq., an Irish gentleman of advanced years, long a resident of Washington, famous for his good dinners.