happiness he once expected." For him, it would be no inauguration at all. For a man of 65 with nearly 45 years of public service it was less a commencement than a con- summation. For James Buchanan the inaugural ceremony would be a benediction. What would it be for the Union? He felt suddenly tired beyond

recently been the capital of the Commonwealth and a center of its social life. The wealth- iest families of the city comprised two groups, the iron masters and the lawyers, who between them set the tone of society and of poli- tics. It was James Buchanan,s fate to become involved, with tragic and far