| Show written tor for this paper PRESIDENT NIECE copyrighted Opy righted 1697 bv frank G carpenter washington PD D bjune C june 1897 IVING within a few f blocks of the W white h i t e house so near to it that the strains of the marine band at the presidents receptions can almost be heard within her parlors is is a woman who forty years ago was one of the most popular mis tresses the executive mansion has ever had forty years ago she was as the most beautiful the most el iligio t and most accomplished wo agran ai of the united states the beaux tattie I 1 te army and navy then bowed down jfe her le diplomats from a dozen foreign if its strove together for iier smiles tates meo famous for their eloquence 0 wit repeated her bon and afe american people without regard to arty admired d and worshiped her tosy this woman is is intellectually as bright she jibe was then ano and physically she ims almost as young as a she was when s presided over the white house sr luxuriant mass fromen fj oMen I 1 ap hair has tufue ii been turned td to boosted 0 osted t te allver fv ot of time but at the afie blue t ue ot bt I 1 her deaf cleat th ane r roes 4 qa etier I 1 I 1 or cony comy bao still bloom ind and 1 the e wrinkles gi r ka es 0 of f here ed dold ld age I 1 eve ye yet t to cc come iria I 1 could show you president bu as vi niece ars harriet altoe I 1 ar john as I 1 saw aw tier her n her washington 44 ie this week ek her arm is as ss straight va lashe odthe Held the position of st at lady oi dt the land and were it or farher hei waite hair you would take i to be i a 6 the rime ot of middle age C ibi 3 jelfo also ung in ia soul the long ra of iler aher eife e has often been d ath bitt bitter sorrow first her thim then her ahei mand husband and her chilone lowb by one have passed away he je has not allowed her tiou troubles bles to ipher and she keegl keeps abreast with the ali of the times she e is in in sympathy the world ot of today and although is still in her sixties she is still of the queens ot of washington soy ers johnston is a wo bonan nan of means washington home is a large house ie of cream colored brick s stunted stua ted be comer of eighteenth dud and I 1 streets ste acost part oi of the cap in the same block is the inan mansion sion secretaries Frelin Freling gh huysen n and ar T whitney and postmaster general wanamaker successively successive lv lived and all about are the houses of distinguished men and women mrs johnstons home is beautifully furnished it contains mementoes of travel from many parti of the world A screen of moorish work wh ch once formed a window to hide the beauties ot of cairo from the gaze of the passersby passers by stands ii the hall and the wal wals s hang paintings and engravings aim almost 0 st every one of which is the more valuable by its associations in the parlor for or instance there is a portrait ot the prince ot of wales painted just alter after the princa left the united states and sent by him to president buchanan just under the portrait in a little black frame is the letter which the prince sent with the portrait the letter was penned ty oy his royal highness on atie t tie shores of palestine where he was traveling it reads jaffa march 29 1862 dear mr buchanan permit perit me to request that you will accept the accompanying portrait as a slight maik of my grateful recollection of the md hospitable reception and agreeable visit at the white house on the occasion of my to ir in the united states believe me that the cordial welcome which was then vouchsafed to me by the american people and bv you as their chief can never bs b effaced from my memory jl 1 I venture to ask you at the same time to remember me kindlan to ml mi s ume ine and believe n me dear mr bachanan bin ban chanan h a a 0 yours very truly ALBERT EDWARD the prince of wales visited the un united fad states stated i as ap the guest ot president huco anan he was at vie tie tithe time in his tw twentieth entwit year and miss lane could not have ave been older she was yu you know now then mistress at the white H house ouse and the week which aich the prince spent there must mast have laye been one ol of me fullest weeks of that eventful period of her life she says herself heri elf that visit of the prince was a most enjoyable on he came here heie onan on an english man ot war asconi accompanied gis acied by a large suite the prince nce I 1 and his suite all stayed with th the resident Kes president ident at the white house the time was one round of receptions d dinners in and amusements every even evening ipg with one exception president 13 buchanan uchic n gave a dinner at which distingue hed hd people were invited to meet the prince and miss I 1 lane ane also gave an invited reception cep tion introducing his royal highness to the socie y of the capital at the dinners the english minister and his attaches were er present and the minister who was lord lyons lyom gave a dinner at the legation at which miss lane and the president Pres taint attended one ofte of the features of the occasion wa was an excursion to mount vernon in which the party went on the dispatch boat harriet late lane one of the revenue cutters belonging to the treasury department it was in talking about the prince of wales visit that mrs johnston gave bave ms some inte interesting A n n formation asto how hoir her uncle re regarded g ald presidential dil eap exp expenses e i p he was one of the most conscientious presidents we have ever had and was scrupulously careful that none alws ot his personal expenses should be paid by toe the government all ol of the bils bi Is connected with the prince of wales visit to wash nigton bigton were settled settle dby by buchanan and the cost of the trip to mount veral vernan A was privately arranged for between him h and mr C bt bb the secretary ot of t the e treasury congress was not asked for a cent and even the fuel which wag was used for the revenue cutter for that tha day d a y was paid for by the president president ent buchanan never thought of planning hunting excursions and vacation t tou ours s for himself on government vessels 41 gs our presidents have done of bf late years during his stay in the white house lie entertained to such an extent that jus is salary was hardly equal to his expenses it cost him much mare more than his salary to live when he was a minister to zail land the salary ot of the minister at that time was in the neighbor neighborhood hool of offline hine thousand dollars with a slight addition for tk traveling aveling expenses between london and the united states mrs mm Jobb Ohn stoa tells me that mr buchanan paid almost ins his whole salary for his house brebt th hit it she understood that if it required all his is private ini income coine in addition to meet his 9 expenses 4 he appreciated the dignity b ot the abe british mission and abd knew that in order to do eff efficient elent 1 social expenditures must be ba great he was wai one of the few ministers eliom we e have sent to london who wail wa popular hot bot i with the english and aad th fihs ihs a people here at h me ime this rigid code of official honor mrs johnston John stoa says was kept kelp t by Bu chahan chabin throughout through dut MS life it he devoted the most of bu years to politics and statesmanship haneld he neld man official positions and yet he fie never waft mad a cent out of politics politico AU all of his fortune was accumulated at the law before he began his bis political career and he wasso was so clean handed as to have always been above suspicion there are a number of five fine portraits of president buchanan Buc Bucha in mrs jone dha home hame am alaon 1 ngn r others she wo snowed ir me a beiqiu aff ua miniature 11 ia ted by bif a famous artist mr buc buchanan a was in hii hi prime it t represents geace a face mua handsomer and mire burtian thao tha jhb fe WIT stin and stately figures shown ui the t tie ordin r iry engravings in it the complexion exi n of he 46 president dohi is rosy steves hiemes are blue as the summer skies and d his facea lull full of kindliness and soul J mrs harriet lane johnston almost worships the of her uncle ste says the world of taday does dees not col know him bim ard and that history has not done credit to his ability she c ascribes esc ribes in ia vivid words the arc bbous times of his when the north and the sauth were being tern apart and when one by one the pre president ident aw the friends who bad premised to uphold him leaving congress to engage in secession and in plots to destroy the government the wear and tear of that time was uch fuch that it ultimate ultimately lv caused his bis death mrs johnston thinks her uncle was the only one of the great then public men who realized what the results of the war would be in the loss cf property and life and that he was the only one who appreciated how imminent war was president buchanan Buc banan she says did all that he to prevent secession he strove to bar and to holdback hold back the south and he saw that his efforts f arts were in vain he was true to his country and to his conscience and the fact that he could not save his country from war mar billed him he was throughout in spirit and in deed a frier d of the people tople never wa wavering for a moment in his s loyalty to his trust I 1 asked mrs johnst johnsto n as to whether alif ther her uncle had much desire to te be president she replied that at an earlier point in his pol political lili career he pro pr bably had such an am but 1 that hat when he saw the dirt direction c towards which parties were tending lending 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 betteis protesting against the use of his name as a candidate audi date but in spite of his protests he was mede ms de the nominee mrs johnstan Johnst cn has in her acme he me here maty mary mementos los ot of her slay slav in england while her uncle was minister r she attracted tr you know more re ore attention perhaps than any ether american girl who has bas ever teen presented at the mccurt of st james she was made much of by queen lueen victoria and as the niece of mr buchenan she took the place which would have been accorded to the mili wife she has today the ibe pictures of the queen and the toyal royal cami y which the of wales gave to her on her departure de jiom horn england to america these pictures re represent the queen an d the 1 mily ES s she knew them her majesty irn jesty was at time a very beautiful won orran an she was most charming in her manners and was aas f queen during her stay miss lale lace int met t lous lou s tie napoleon apoleon emperor cf the french and tie empress eugenie Eug ecie who were then paying a visit isit to london Lon cion the empress empi ess impressed miss lane as being eitmant el gant and graceful but as net nt t having the dignity nor legal look of queen victoria mi s lane met at this time all of the cli people of Engla englard En glaid td disraeli who was the leader ot of the opposition did nofa impress i her so much as seme others oi hers ald aid ai d gladstone seems to have made no ho special impression ti upon on her mind during her cibit visit to exic rd co ajege that institution conferred the degree of doctor of civil laws upon M anster n ster buchanan and alfred tennyson Tenny ion ton she remembers tennyson as having long bair ind end as looking very much dikea like a poet he was at this time in his prime and had written the best of his bis poet poetical cai works the relations of Pre president Eident buchanan and his is niece were more like those of a father and daughter than an uncle and niece miss lanes parents had died when she was little more than a baby and james buchanan was both lather father and mother to her he was fond of children and delighted in having his nieces friends about him he enjoyed havira young people at the white house and alib although cugh he was a bachelor his bis administration was socially the gayest st one we have ever had mr buchanan was very careful in the bringing up of ci miss lane he directed her education sending her first to school at lancaster where he lived then to a private school at charlestown Charles town and finally to the georgetown convent 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 16 1842 my dear harriet yur letter afforded me very great pleasure there is is no wish nearer my heart than that you sl crould become an amiable and antell gent woman and I 1 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 1 anticipate with pleasure the months which I 1 trust in heaven we will pass together after the adjournment of congress I 1 expect to be in in lancaster for a week or ten days about the ot of april when I 1 hope to see you in in good health and receive favorable reports of your behavior believe me to be our bour very deiy ate vincle uncle may heaven bless you JAMES BUCHANAN here is another r letter written about a a 3 ear later LANCESTER match march 20 1842 my mv dear harriet it is one of the ane first desires of my heart that you should become an amiable and good girl edu cht cat on and a abc acc camp are very important ald por tant ut they sink into insignificance when compared with the proper doverin ment of the heart and temper how all friends and relatives would love you how proud and happy I 1 should be to acknowledge and cherish you ou as an objector object of deep affection could I 1 say she is kind in heart amiable in in hemr temper er and behaves behave in such a manner as to secure the affection and esteem of all around her I 1 now cherish the hope that ere lorg this maybe may be the case what a ion long 9 list of studies are engaged upon the number lumber would seem too great lor for any common intelli intellect ct but it would set in that you manage them all without difficulty at a dinner tabe at washington during the lest session a wager was made that not a person at the table could coula name all the mu louies ea and the wager was wen wan had you teen leen one of the company the he re resu ut t would doubtless have been ciffer ferent tnt I 1 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 most affectionately JAMES budhanan BUCHANAN mrs johnston says that president Bucha buchanann nans papers are to be given ver ever to the philadelphia historical society this decision ec ision has been reached during the past tew few weeks and within a shirt time a vast amount of valuable historical material will be there accessible to the public there was no man more careful of his papers than mr buchanan he never destroyed a letter and at his death there were ere boxes upon boxes of correspondence packed away in his house at Wheat lands near lancaster his correspondence coi covered a wide range there was hardly a character of rote in this country of europe with whom he be was not at some time in communication muni cation his letters to miss lane covered every variety of subject and could they have been saved and published t d they would have made a most moa interesting e ting volume when president buchanan died he left instructions as to the writing willing of his memoirs he chose as the author mr william B ref reed d of philadelphia mr reed wes was one of his closest friends ard and knew just how mr buchanan wanted every matter treated mr reed ho however weer had financial troubles doubles which prevented his carrying out his plan and the executors had the biography written by mr |
