Dr. John Johnston to Walt Whitman, 4 November 1891

 loc.02526.001_large.jpg 54 Manchester Road, Bolton. England Nov 4. 91 My Dear Good old Friend,

From Wallace1 comes the information (Oct 23) that you were then on the whole fairly well but that you had had a bad day on 22nd & I cannot allow this mail to go without another word of love & sympathy from us here to you however brief, & it must  loc.02526.002_large.jpgbe brief this time—

Doubtless J.W.W.'s now on his way across the Atlantic.2

A warm welcome awaits him here & we are already arranging a reception for him at W. A. Ferguson's3 house for the evening of Friday week (Nov 13th) of wh you will hear something in due time.

Meanwhile we are more than loc.02526.003_large.jpg pleased to know of the good time he has had with you & on behalf of the College4 I thank you most cordially for all your kindness to him both for his own sake & as our respresentative.

This has been a dull, sunless cheerless, November day, wh: has been reflected in my spirit—such creatures of the air are we & such participators in the loc.02526.004_large.jpg moods of our Mother Earth!

Things are going on here much as usual—humdrum enough for the most part—But what R.K.G.5 is fond of quoting— "Do thy duty that is best Leave unto thy God the rest"6 applies to all of us. & we all need to be reminded of it at times

I trust things are well with you.

My love to you & my everlasting reverence God bless you now & always

Yours affectly J. Johnston

My kind regards to Mrs D.7 W.8 & H.9

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Notes

• 1. James William Wallace (1853–1926), of Bolton, England, was an architect and great admirer of Whitman. Along with John Johnston (1852–1927), a physician from Bolton, he founded the "Bolton College" of English admirers of the poet. Johnston and Wallace corresponded with Whitman and with Horace Traubel and other members of the Whitman circle in the United States, and they separately visited the poet and published memoirs of their trips in John Johnston and James William Wallace, Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–1891 by Two Lancashire Friends (London: Allen and Unwin, 1917). For more information on Wallace, see Larry D. Griffin, "Wallace, James William (1853–1926)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). For more information on Johnston, see Larry D. Griffin, "Johnston, Dr. John (1852–1927)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
• 2. At this time, Wallace was returning to his home in Bolton, Lancashire, England, after spending several weeks' traveling in the United States and Canada. Wallace had arrived at Philadelphia on September 8, 1891 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, September 8, 1891). Wallace's arrival had been shortly preceded by that of the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke, who had been returning from two months of travel in Europe. Both Bucke and Wallace visited Whitman in Camden, and, after spending a few days with the poet, Wallace returned with Bucke to London, Ontario, Canada, where he met Bucke's family and friends. Wallace's account of his time with Whitman was published—along with the Bolton physician John Johnston's account of his own visit with the poet in the summer of 1890—in their memoir, Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–1891 by Two Lancashire Friends (London: Allen and Unwin, 1917). [back]
• 3. Little is known about W. A. Ferguson, who was affiliated with the Little Hulton branch of the Bank of Bolton and was a member of the Bolton College group of admirers of Whitman in Bolton, Lancashire, England. [back]
• 4. Johnston is referring to the "Bolton College," a group of English admirers of Whitman, that he and Wallace co-founded. [back]
• 5. Richard Greenhalgh, a bank clerk and one of Whitman's Bolton admirers, frequently hosted annual celebrations of the poet's birthday. In his March 9, 1892, letter to Traubel, Greenhalgh wrote that "Walt has taught me 'the glory of my daily life and trade.' In all the departments of my life Walt entered with his loving personality & I am never alone" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, March 20, 1892). James Wallace described Greenhalgh as "undoubtedly a rich, royal, plain fellow, not given to ornate word or act" (Sunday, September 27, 1891). For more on Greenhalgh, see Paul Salveson, "Loving Comrades: Lancashire's Links to Walt Whitman," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 14.2 (1996), 57–84. [back]
• 6. Johnston is slightly misquoting lines from the second part of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Tales of a Wayside Inn" (1863), "The Theologian's Tale; The Legend Beautiful": "'Do thy duty; that is best; / Leave unto thy Lord the rest!.'" [back]
• 7. Mary Oakes Davis (1837 or 1838–1908) was Whitman's housekeeper. For more, see Carol J. Singley, "Davis, Mary Oakes (1837 or 1838–1908)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
• 8. Frank Warren Fritzinger (1867–1899), known as "Warry," took Edward Wilkins's place as Whitman's nurse, beginning in October 1889. Fritzinger and his brother Harry were the sons of Henry Whireman Fritzinger (about 1828–1881), a former sea captain who went blind, and Almira E. Fritzinger. Following Henry Sr.'s death, Warren and his brother—having lost both parents—became wards of Mary O. Davis, Whitman's housekeeper, who had also taken care of the sea captain and who inherited part of his estate. A picture of Warry is displayed in the May 1891 New England Magazine (278). See Joann P. Krieg, "Fritzinger, Frederick Warren (1866–1899)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 240. [back]
• 9. Horace L. Traubel (1858–1919) was an American essayist, poet, and magazine publisher. He is best remembered as the literary executor, biographer, and self-fashioned "spirit child" of Walt Whitman. During the late 1880s and until Whitman's death in 1892, Traubel visited the poet virtually every day and took thorough notes of their conversations, which he later transcribed and published in three large volumes entitled With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906, 1908, & 1914). After his death, Traubel left behind enough manuscripts for six more volumes of the series, the final two of which were published in 1996. For more on Traubel, see Ed Folsom, "Traubel, Horace L. [1858–1919]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]