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See notes Oct 8 1890
Insane
Asylum London
Ontario1
7 Oct. 90
Yours of 3d and 4th
just to hand2—also letter from
Horace3 to say that the I.4
address5
is fixed for 21st (two weeks today).6 I have written Horace to say definitely that
I shall be there unless something turns up to make it impossible—in fact I wd
not miss the occasion for any conceivable
con loc_sd.00047.jpgsideration.
Mrs Bucke7 will come East
with me—will no doubt be at Address and she will stay East (at Ingram's8 I
guess) for a few weeks. I do not believe that Mrs O'C.9 is not satisfied with the "Preface"10—I believe it is exactly what she wanted and I shall believe so untill I hear from herself to the contrary—so far I have not heard from her
and fear she may be sick.
Thanks for your promise of the M.S. of the preface11—I want it particularly.
It is good news that you
have been asked and will write for N.A.12 If you could
only get strong and stay so for a few years (as you may yet—nothing is
impossible to such a constitution as yours) you might yet see the dawn of the
splendid fame which surely waits for you in the near future.
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It is smoldering (as I have said before) and may any day burst out into a flame which
will light and warm the world.
There is no nonsense or doubt about this—the only question is—how
long?
"How long, O Lord, how long"
Your friend and lover
R M Bucke
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Correspondent:
Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1902) was a
Canadian physician and psychiatrist who grew close to Whitman after reading Leaves of Grass in 1867 (and later memorizing it) and
meeting the poet in Camden a decade later. Even before meeting Whitman, Bucke
claimed in 1872 that a reading of Leaves of Grass led him
to experience "cosmic consciousness" and an overwhelming sense of epiphany.
Bucke became the poet's first biographer with Walt
Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), and he later served as one
of his medical advisors and literary executors. For more on the relationship of
Bucke and Whitman, see Howard Nelson, "Bucke, Richard Maurice," Walt Whitman: An
Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York:
Garland Publishing, 1998).
Notes
- 1. This letter is addressed:
Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked:
London | PM | OC 7 | 90 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Oct | 8 | 4PM | 1890 |
Rec'd. [back]
- 2. See Whitman's October 3–4, 1890, letter to Bucke. [back]
- 3. 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]
- 4. Robert "Bob" Green Ingersoll
(1833–1899) was a Civil War veteran and an orator of the post-Civil War
era, known for his support of agnosticism. Ingersoll was a friend of Whitman,
who considered Ingersoll the greatest orator of his time. Whitman said to Horace
Traubel, "It should not be surprising that I am drawn to Ingersoll, for he is
Leaves of Grass. He lives, embodies, the
individuality I preach. I see in Bob the noblest
specimen—American-flavored—pure out of the soil, spreading, giving,
demanding light" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden,
Wednesday, March 25, 1891). The feeling was mutual. Upon Whitman's
death in 1892, Ingersoll delivered the eulogy at the poet's funeral. The eulogy
was published to great acclaim and is considered a classic panegyric (see
Phyllis Theroux, The Book of Eulogies [New York: Simon
& Schuster, 1997], 30). [back]
- 5. John H. Johnston (of New
York) and Bucke were in the process of planning a lecture event in Whitman's
honor, which would take place October 21 at Philadelphia's Horticultural Hall.
Robert Ingersoll delivered the lecture: "Liberty in
Literature. Testimonial to Walt Whitman." See Ingersoll's October 12, 1890 and October 20, 1890, letters to Whitman. [back]
- 6. On October 7, 1890,
Bucke sent Traubel some advice about advertising the lecture: "I hope that you
will see that the Lecture or speech is boomed for all it [is] worth—we
want a big crowd and I see no reason why we should not have one. I am clearly in favor of the dinner (or supper) to
Ingersoll after the lecture and would not miss it for a cow. Short hand reporter
of course—two I would say so that every word
might be saved—we want the speech eventually in a neat little book." Bucke
himself contributed to the advertising with "The Case of Walt Whitman and Col.
Ingersoll," The Conservator 1 (October 1890), 59. [back]
- 7. Jessie Maria Gurd Bucke
(1839–1926) grew up in Mooretown, Upper Canada. She was the daughter of
William Gurd, an army officer from Ireland. Gurd married Richard Maurice Bucke
in 1865. The couple had eight children. [back]
- 8. William Ingram, a Quaker, kept a tea
store—William Ingram and Son Tea Dealers—in Philadelphia. Of Ingram,
Whitman observed to Horace Traubel: "He is a man of the Thomas Paine
stripe—full of benevolent impulses, of radicalism, of the desire to
alleviate the sufferings of the world—especially the sufferings of
prisoners in jails, who are his protégés" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, May 20, 1888). Ingram and his wife visited the physician
Richard Maurice Bucke and his family in Canada in 1890. [back]
- 9. Ellen M. "Nelly" O'Connor (1830–1913) was the
wife of William D. O'Connor (1832–1889), one of Whitman's staunchest
defenders. Before marrying William, Ellen Tarr was active in the antislavery and
women's rights movements as a contributor to the Liberator and to a women's rights newspaper Una. Whitman dined with the O'Connors frequently during his Washington
years. Though Whitman and William O'Connor would temporarily break off their
friendship in late 1872 over Reconstruction policies with regard to emancipated
African Americans, Ellen would remain friendly with Whitman. The correspondence
between Whitman and Ellen is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence
with William. Three years after William O'Connor's death, Ellen married the
Providence businessman Albert Calder. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see Dashae
E. Lott, "O'Connor, William Douglas [1832–1889]" and Lott's "O'Connor (Calder),
Ellen ('Nelly') M. Tarr (1830–1913)," Walt
Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New
York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 10. On May 29, 1890, Ellen O'Connor asked Whitman to write
a preface for a collection of tales by her husband, the late William Douglas
O'Connor, which she hoped to publish—The Brazen Android
and Other Tales (later entitled Three Tales).
After the poet's approval was conveyed to her through Bucke, Mrs. O'Connor wrote
on June 1, 1890: "Your name & William's will
be associated in many ways, & this loving word from you will be a comfort to
me for all time." Not having heard directly from him, she wrote about the
preface once more on June 30, 1890. Three of
O'Connor's stories with a preface by Whitman were published in Three Tales: The Ghost, The Brazen Android, The Carpenter (Boston and
New York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1892). The preface was included in Good-Bye My Fancy (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1891),
51–53. [back]
- 11. See Whitman's October 3–4, 1890, letter to Bucke. [back]
- 12. On October 3, 1890, Whitman accepted the invitation to
write for The North American Review. He sent them "Old
Poets," the first of a two-part contribution, on October
9. [back]