General Scott again advises the President—Major Anderson’s 365 Removal from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter—Arrival of Commissioners from South Carolina in Washington—Their Interview and Communication with the President—The supposed Pledge of the _Status Quo_—The “Cabinet Crisis” of December 29th—Reply of the President to the South Carolina Commissioners—The anonymous Diarist of the _North American Review_ confuted CHAPTER XIX. December, 1860-January, 1861. Resignation of General Cass from the Department of 396 State—Reconstruction of the Cabinet which followed after the Resignations of Messrs. Cobb, Thompson, and Thomas CHAPTER XX. 1860—December. The Resignation of Secretary Floyd, and its Cause—Refutation 406 of the Story of his stealing the Arms of the United States—General Scott’s Assertions disproved CHAPTER XXI. November, 1860-March, 1861. The Action of Congress on the Recommendations of the 418 President’s Annual Message—The “Crittenden Compromise”—Strange Course of the New York _Tribune_—Special Message of January 8, 1861 [Illustration: WHEATLAND.] LIFE OF JAMES BUCHANAN. -------------- CHAPTER I. 1848-1852. PURCHASE OF WHEATLAND—NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF GENERAL TAYLOR—HIS DEATH AND THE ACCESSION OF PRESIDENT FILLMORE—THE COMPROMISE MEASURES OF 1850—LETTERS TO MISS LANE—PUBLIC LETTERS ON POLITICAL TOPICS.