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LEFT BUCHANAN 215 BUCHAREST for the Presidency, who, in turn, ap- pointed him Minister to Russia, where he distinguished himself by arranging an important commercial treaty. In 1834, he entered the United States Sen- ate, serving there 12 years, where he defended the spoils system instituted by Jackson, and declared against the right or power of the Government to interfere with slavery in the States. He was ap- pointed Secretary of State by President Polk, after which service he was in re- tirement for four years. Under Presi- dent Pierce he was sent in 1853 as Min- JAMES BUCHANAN ister to England, where his advocacy of the annexation of Cuba by the United States led to his nomination to the Pres- idency in 1856. His cabinet contained men who supported the secession of South Carolina, and eventually joined the Confederacy. While holding that the States had no right to secede, he an- nounced in 1860 that the President had neither the right nor the constitutional power to prevent a State from seceding. This unwillingness to take decisive ac- tion enabled the seceding States to arm and prepare for war before the Govern- ment did anything to prevent. After he retired, however, he supported the Union cause. He died in Lancaster, Pa., June 1, 1868. BUCHANAN, ROBERT WILLIAMS, an English author, born in Warwick- shire, Aug. 18, 1841. He received his education in Glasgow, and while yonng went to London to engage in literature'. His attack upon Dante Gabriel Rossetti drew a famous letter from that poet on "The Stealthy School of Criticism," and a scathing pamphlet from Swinburne, "Under the Microscope" (1872). His poems include "London Poems" (1866) ; "Ballads of Love, Life and Humor" (1882); "The City of Dreams" (1888); etc. Buchanan also wrote novels and plays. He died in London, June 10, 1901. BUCHANANIA a genus of anacar- diacese (anacards). B. latifolia is a large Indian tree, the kernel of the nut of which is much used in native con- fectionery. It abounds in a bland oil. A black varnish is made from the fruits. The unripe fruits of B. lancifolia are eaten by the natives of India in their curries. BUCHAREST (bo'char-est), the capi- tal of the former principality of Wal- lachia and of the present kingdom of Ru- mania, stands 265 feet above sea-level, in the fertile but treeless plain of the small, sluggish Dambovitza. By rail it is 716 miles S. E. of Vienna, 40 N. of Giurgevo on the Danube, and 179 N. W. of Varna on the Black Sea. A strange meeting point of East and West, the town still has many narrow and crooked streets, though the latter are now mostly paved and lighted with gas anc' electricity. An elaborate system oi fortification was undertaken in 1885. There are some handsome hotels; ai'd the metal-plated cupolas of the innu- merable churches give to the place a picturesque aspect. The royal palace was rebuilt in 1885; and the Catholic Cathedral is a fine edifice of 1875-1884. The number of cafes and gambling tables is excessive; and^ altogether, Bucharest has the unenviable reputa- tion of being the most dissolute capital in Europe, with all the vices but few of the refinements of Paris. There is, how- ever, a university, founded in 1864. The Corso, or public promenade, is a minia- ture Hyde Park. Bucharest is the entrepot for the trade between Austria and the Balkan Peninsula, the chief articles of commerce being textile fab- rics, petroleum, grain, hides, metal, coal, timber, and cattle. Its manufactures in- clude refined petroleum, vegetable oils, flour, soap, candles, etc., and the work- men are chiefly Hungarians and Ger- mans. Besides the university there are a number of other educational institu- tions, museums, hospitals, and other charitable institutions. Bucharest has