for the latter, and which Mr. Buchanan left for him in the best attitude that it could be made to assume, was how to keep those Border States from joining the Southern Confederacy, as they had been kept from it hitherto.

This was largely-almost exclusively-a matter for the Executive, unless, indeed, he should think it best to call the new Congress-then legally existing-together immediately, and insist on its doing what the preceding Congress had neglected. This course was not at once adopted, and consequently everything depended upon the dealing of the Executive with the Confederate Commissioners, who were then in Washington, respecting the evacuation of Fort Sumter. Mr. Buchanan had in no way trammelled his successor by negotiations with those Commissioners. He had, in fact, declined all intercourse with them; and it was entirely optional with Mr. Lincoln to do the same thing; as it was entirely open to him to determine whether he would or would not order the evacuation of that fort, and to shape his measures accordingly. Thus far an attack upon Major Anderson's position had been prevented by the efforts of Virginia, and by the prudent course pursued by Mr. Buchanan. It was to be expected that the Southern Commissioners would be most persistent in their demands. But by no act, or word, or omission of the outgoing President, had his successor been placed under any obligation to yield to those demands, or even to consider them. Mr. Lincoln, therefore, assumed the Government without a single admission, by his predecessor, of the right of secession, or of any claim founded upon it; without any obligation, other than the duty of preventing civil war, to hold even an informal negotiation with the Confederate Commissioners; with thirteen millions of people in the Border States still in the Union, and not likely to leave it unless blood should be shed.-Life of Buchanan, Vol. II., Chap. xxv.

CURTIS, GEORGE WILLIAM, an American journalist, orator, and publicist, born at Providence, R. I., February 24, 1824; died on Staten Island, N. Y., August 31, 1892. His father removed to New York in 1839, and placed his son as clerk in a mercantile house. In 1842, he went with an elder brother to the Brook Farm Institution at Roxbury, Mass., where they remained a year and a half, after which the brothers went upon a farm at Concord, Mass., where they took part in ordinary agricultural labor for another year and a half, and then, for one season, cultivated a small piece of land for themselves.

In 1846, Mr. Curtis, then being twenty-two years old, started upon a foreign tour. About three years were passed in Italy and Germany, when he set out for the East, going up the Nile as far as the Cataracts; then visited Syria, the entire absence being about four years. The impressions of this Eastern journey were given in two works, Nile Notes of a Howadji (1850), and The Howadji in Syria (1852). Shortly after his return from the East, he joined the editorial staff of the New York Tribune; among his contributions were a series of graceful letters from various watering-places, which were subsequently issued in a volume entitled Lotus-Eating. Upon the establishment of Putnam's Monthly, in 1852, Mr. Curtis became one

of its editors and a frequent contributor. Afterward the proprietorship of the Magazine fell into the hands of a company, in which Mr. Curtis was a partner, though not taking part in the business management. This company became insolvent in 1857; and Mr. Curtis lost his whole moderate fortune. Moreover, a near kinsman had put a considerable sum of money into the concern, as a "special partner," but owing to some technical error, he was legally liable as a "general partner" for the large indebtedness of the company. Mr. Curtis held himself morally responsible for the reimbursement of this; and set himself at work to earn the money by his pen and as a public lecturer. It was not until 1873-fully sixteen years. -that this task was fully accomplished. Many of the contributions of Mr. Curtis to Putnam's Monthly have been published in volumes, under the titles, The Potiphar Papers (1853) and Prue and I (1856). Soon after the failure of Putnam's Monthly, Mr. Curtis formed a special connection with the pub. lishing house of Harper & Brothers, which continued until the time of his death. In 1858 he be gan the publication in Harper's Magazine of the series of papers entitled "The Editor's Easy Chair," which appeared monthly until his death. Harper's Weekly was established in 1857; and he was a regular contributor from an early period. For it he wrote (1858-59) Trumps, his only regular novel. Harper's Bazar was established in 1867, and to it Mr. Curtis furnished weekly a series of papers entitled "Manners upon the Road," which were continued until 1873, when, having accom

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