The Walt Whitman Archive
Life & Letters
Correspondence
About this Item
Title: James W. Wallace and Dr. John Johnston to Walt Whitman, 27 December 1891
Date: December 27, 1891
Whitman Archive ID: loc.04830
Source: The Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Transcribed from digital images or a microfilm reproduction of the original item. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the correspondence, see our statement of editorial policy.
Contributors to digital file: Stephanie Blalock, Brandon James O'Neil, and Breanna Himschoot
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Form No. 1
THE WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY.
This Company TRANSMITS and
DELIVERS messages only on conditions limiting its liability, which have been
assented to by the sender of the following message. Errors can be guarded against only be repating a message
back to the sending station, for comparison, and the company will not hold itself liable for
errors or delays in the transmission or delivery of Unrepeated Messages, beyond the amount of tolls paid thereon,
nor in any case where the claim is not presented in writing within 60 days after sending the message.
This is an UNREPEATED MESSAGE, and is delivered by the request
of the sender, under the conditions named above.
THOS. T. ECKERT, General Manager. NORVIN GREEN, President.
5 Cable 5.14 Pd1
NUMBER 9P
SENT BY JW
REC'D By Gs
CHECK 6
Received at
12/27 1891
Dated Bolton
To
Whitman
Camden NJ
Love2
Wallace
Johnston
Correspondent:
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.
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). Dr. John Johnston (1852–1927)
of Annan, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, was a physician, photographer, and avid
cyclist. Johnston worked as a general practitioner in Bolton and as an instructor of ambulance
classes for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railways (John Anson, "Bolton's Illustrious Doctor Johnston—a man
of many talents," Bolton News [March 28, 2021]; Paul
Salveson, Moorlands, Memories, and reflections: A Centenary
Celebration of Allen Clarke's Moorlands and Memories [Lancashire
Loominary, 2020]). 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). 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).
Notes:
1. The number "5" and the word "Cable" are written over the printed Western Union heading on the telegram, along with "5.14 p" above the printed "NORVIN GREEN, President." [back]
2. On December 17, 1891, Whitman had come down with a chill and was suffering from congestion in his right lung. Although the poet's condition did improve in January 1892, he would never recover. He was confined to his bed, and his physicians, Dr. Daniel Longaker of Philadelphia and Dr. Alexander McAlister of Camden, provided care during his final illness. Whitman died on March 26, 1892. [back]