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1890
Camden1
Sept: 24—noon
—Sunny cool day—Warry2 (my nurse) proposes that we
get a horse and wagon & drive down to the Staffords's,3
but I dont feel for it somehow—I enclose the O'C4 preface,5
such as it is6—I wanted to put on
record my personal tribute—I havn't heard for some time f'm Mrs: O'C7—don't
know whether the Tales have settled on publisher,
& when to appear—
—Y'r letter rec'd8—don't misconstrue me—I only
deprecate any solicitation of Ing:9 but am wholly &
deeply proud & responsive to his good will &c—(shall probably go &
sit in propria personae on the platform or front
seat)—consider Ing: as one of the very few first class
individual American typical men of the present time, wholly worthy of the
land and day—his very specialties & points (oddments—marks) prove
the rule—prove his splendid freedom & individuality—have rec'd
letters10 f'm J H Johnston11—am
unshaken in my preference of N Y city for the Ing: speech12—
Sept: 25—Rec'd this mn'g the enc'd13 f'm Dr
Johnston14—also letter f'm J H Johnston15, advocating New York as place for Ing: speech—you
know what my feeling (or preference) is, but I believe I don't care to interpose
definitely in deciding it, as Horace16 & the Phila: friends
are quite vehement for Phila: since the action of the Academy Directors17—you know too the Y. M. Christ: Ass: Directors
refused me their Hall to address on Elias Hicks18—so our
friends are on their mettle here—cold spell of weather here—grip bad on
me to-day side, back of neck sore & swelled—of course have written to Mrs:
O'C & sent the preface19—sun shining brightly
out.
Walt Whitman
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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:
Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden [illegible] | Sep 25 | 8 PM | 90;
Philadelpia, PA | Sep | 25 | 9 PM | 1890 | Transit; London | PM | SP 27 | 9 |
Canada. [back]
- 2. 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]
- 3. Susan (1833–1910) and
George Stafford (1827–1892) were the parents of Whitman's young friend,
Harry Stafford. Whitman often visited the family at their farm at Timber Creek
in Laurel Springs (near Glendale), New Jersey, and was sometimes accompanied by
Herbert Gilchrist; in the 1880s, the Staffords sold the farm and moved to nearby
Glendale. For more, see David G. Miller, "Stafford, George and Susan M.," Walt Whitman: An
Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York:
Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 4. William Douglas O'Connor
(1832–1889) was the author of the grand and grandiloquent Whitman pamphlet
The Good Gray Poet: A Vindication, published in 1866.
For more on Whitman's relationship with O'Connor, see Deshae E. Lott, "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)," Walt
Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New
York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 5. 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 the Canadian physician
Richard Maurice 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. [back]
- 6. 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]
- 7. 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]
- 8. See Bucke's letter of September 22, 1890. [back]
- 9. 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]
- 10. See Johnston's first and second
letters of September 22, 1890. [back]
- 11. John H. Johnston (1837–1919) was a New York
jeweler and close friend of Whitman. Johnston was also a friend of Joaquin
Miller (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, August 14, 1888). Whitman visited the Johnstons for the
first time early in 1877. In 1888 he observed to Horace Traubel: "I count
[Johnston] as in our inner circle, among the chosen few" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, October 3, 1888). See also Johnston's letter about
Whitman, printed in Charles N. Elliot, Walt Whitman as Man,
Poet and Friend (Boston: Richard G. Badger, 1915), 149–174. For
more on Johnston, see Susan L. Roberson, "Johnston, John H. (1837–1919) and Alma Calder," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and
Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 12. Whitman expresses his
preference for New York in his September 19, 1890,
letter to Richard Maurice Bucke. [back]
- 13. See Dr. John Johnston's
letter of September 13, 1890. [back]
- 14. Dr. John Johnston (1852–1927)
of Annan, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, was a physician, photographer, and avid
cyclist. Johnston was trained in Edinburgh and served as a hospital surgeon in
West Bromwich for two years before moving to Bolton, England, in 1876. Johnston
worked as a general practitioner in Bolton and as an instructor of ambulance
classes for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railways. He served at Whalley Military
Hospital during World War I and became Medical Superintendent of Townley's
Hospital in 1917 (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]). Johnston, along with the architect James W. Wallace, 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
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]
- 15. See Johnston's letter of
September 23, 1890. [back]
- 16. 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]
- 17. The hostility in
Philadelphia to the orator and agnostic Robert G. Ingersoll's (1833–1899)
lecture in honor of Whitman aroused the wrath of the Whitmanites, although they
secretly delighted in the opportunity to battle with the "enemy." Bucke, who had
wanted a New York lecture, sputtered on September
28, "Now I am in favor of Phila for the sake of the dear Pharisees
there. If I were down East and assisting to run the thing I would give them (at
least try to give them) a dose that they would remember and that would do them
good." He returned to the subject on September 30:
"Chaff the Pharisees and tell them to 'come on!' Lord how dear old [William]
O'C[onnor] would be tickled to be in the middle of the thing!" [back]
- 18. Elias Hicks (1748–1830) was a
traveling Quaker preacher and anti-slavery activist from Long Island, New York.
Whitman's essay on Hicks, "Notes (such as they are) founded on Elias Hicks,"
appeared in November Boughs (1888). For more on Hicks,
see Henry Watson Wilbur, The Life and Labors of Elias
Hicks (Philadelphia: Friends' General Conference Advancement Committee,
1910). [back]
- 19. Whitman enclosed the preface
with his letter to Ellen O'Connor of September 25,
1890. [back]