f William H. Seward, and he swayed them as a
sovereign.

Mr. James Buchanan had not shed many tears over the defeat of his
rival, General Cass, and when the Whigs came into power he retired
from the Department of State to his rural home, called Wheatland,
near Lancaster, Pa. He used to visit Washington frequently, and
was always welcomed in society, where he made an imposing appearance,
although he had the awkward habit of carrying his head slightly to
one side, like a poll-parrot. He always attempted to be facetious,
especially when conversing with young ladies, but when any political
question was discussed in his presence, he was either silent, or
expressed himself with great circumspection. From his first entry
into the House of Representatives, in 1821, he had entertained
Presidential aspirations, and had sought to cultivate friendships
that would be of service to him in obtaining the object of his
ambition, protesting all the while that he was indifferent on the
subject. After his retreat to Wheatland he began to secure strength
for the coming National Democratic Convention of 1851, industriously
corresponding with politicians in different sections of the country,
and he was especially attentive to Mr. Henry A. Wise, with whose
aid he hoped to secure the votes of the delegates from Virginia in
the next National Democratic Convention.

Mr. Wise, recalling the time when he was a power behind the throne
of John Tyler, encouraged Mr. Buchanan to bid for Southern support,
and intimated a readiness to "coach" him so as to make him a favorite
in the slave States. His counsels were kindly taken and in return
Mr. Buchanan wrote to the fiery "Lord of Accomac," in his most
precise handwriting: "Acquire more character for prudence and
moderation, and under the blessing of Heaven you may be almost
anything in this country which you desire. There is no man living
whose success in public and in private life would afford me more
sincere pleasure than your own. You have every advantage. All
you have to do is to go straight ahead, without unnecessarily
treading upon other people's toes. I know you will think, if you
don't say, 'What impudence it is for this childless old bachelor
of sixty years of age to undertake to give me advice! Why don't
he mind his own business?' General Jackson once told me that he
knew a man in Tennessee who had got rich by minding his own business;
but still I urged him, and at last with succ