licy the same, but all else, how changed!
But it was no fault of his. He had but fifty thousand offices to
dispense, which, in the nature of things, could go but a short way
to appease the hunger of two hundred thousand applicants. For
every appointment there were two disappointments, for every friend
secured he made two enemies. A state of universal satisfaction
was succeeded by a state of violent discontent, and the Administration,
without any fault of its own, encountered the opposition of those
who but a few weeks previously were loudest in its praise.

In order to re-enlist public favor and to reunite the Democratic
party, Messrs. Buchanan, Mason, and Soule, United States Ministers
respectively to England, France, and Spain, were ordered by the
President, through Mr. Marcy, to meet at Ostend. There, after
mature deliberations, and in obedience to instruction from Washington,
they prepared, signed, and issued a brief manifesto, declaring that
the United States ought to purchase Cuba with as little delay as
possible. Political, commercial, and geographical reasons therefor
were given, and it was asserted in conclusion that "the Union can
never enjoy repose, nor possess reliable security, so long as Cuba
is not embraced within its boundaries." This was carrying out the
views of Mr. Buchanan, who, when Secretary of State, in June, 1848,
had, under the instructions of President Polk, offered Spain one
hundred million of dollars for the island.

Mr. Buchanan had accepted the mission to England, that he might
from a distance pull every available wire to secure the nomination
in 1856, coyly denying all the time that he wanted to be President.
In a heretofore unpublished letter of his, dated September 5th,
1853, which is in my collection of autographs, he says: "You
propounded a question to me before I left the United States which
I have not answered. I shall now give it an answer in perfect
sincerity, without the slightest mental reservation. I have neither
the desire nor the intention again to become a candidate for the
Presidency. On the contrary, this mission is tolerable to me alone
because it will enable me gracefully and gradually to retire from
an active participation in party politics. Should it please
Providence to prolong my days and restore me to my native land, I
hope to pass the remnant of my life at Wheatland, in comparative
peace and tranquillity. This will be most suitable both to my age
(now