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Walt Whitman to Dr. John Johnston, 9–10 November 1891

About This Item

  • Title: Walt Whitman to Dr. John Johnston, 9–10 November 1891
  • Date: November 9–10, 1891
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: loc.07957
  • Source: Henry S. Saunders collection of Walt Whitman papers, 1887–1923, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. The transcription presented here is derived from Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller (New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977), 263. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the correspondence, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Contributors to digital file: Cristin Noonan Amanda J. Axley Stephanie Blalock
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "Walt Whitman to Dr. John Johnston, 9–10 November 1891." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 26 April 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: loc.07957.xml (TEI)
Camden N J—U S America Monday evn'g: Nov: 9 '911

Have just had my supper—mutton chop, potato, & some stew'd pears—& there are ten minutes light enough to write a bit, & finish & send it off to-morrow—You will see that Dr Bucke2 is well & strong & hard at hard work—his estimate of J W W[allace]3 is one we all confirm, & we all felt sorry to let him go4—the weather is finer than ever—probably Indian summer though without the slight haze belonging—it w'd have been a splendid experience for W to have staid another week5 if only to get a knowledge of that—Y'r kind letter yest'd'y—

Nov: 10—Sitting here again—just eaten my breakfast, buckwheat cakes & coffee—quite a budget of letters &c: by mail this mn'g—some ridiculous enough—have a g't pressure for autographs (never answer them)—I kill two birds with one stone by sending letters f'm Dr B to me—he is in his prime, must feel so, writes three or four times a week always cheery—ah there comes the sun shining out f'm the warm cloudy weather—Aff: regards to you & J W W & Wild6 & all the dear friends—

Walt Whitman

Correspondent:
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).

Notes

  • 1. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton Lancashire | England | It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 10 | 1 30 PM | (?). [back]
  • 2. 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). [back]
  • 3. James William Wallace (1853–1926), of Bolton, England, was an architect and great admirer of Whitman. Wallace, along with Dr. John Johnston (1852–1927), a physician in Bolton, 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). [back]
  • 4. Whitman wrote this letter to Johnston on the verso of a letter from Bucke dated November 6, 1891, in which Bucke wrote of Wallace: "He is a splendid fellow and I trust I may often see him and the other good County Borough of Bolton (England) Public Libraries fellows before I finish my earthly pilgrimage—such chaps as they are make the world worth living in." [back]
  • 5. At the time of this letter, Wallace was traveling to his home in Bolton, Lancashire, England, after spending several weeks in the United States and Canada. During his trip, Wallace visited Whitman in Camden, and, after spending a few days with the poet, Wallace traveled with the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke to Bucke's home in London, Ontario, Canada, where he met Bucke's family and friends. Wallace departed early in the morning of November 4, 1891, on board the City of Berlin. His 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]
  • 6. Fred Wild (d. 1935), a cotton waste merchant, was a member of the "Bolton College" of Whitman admirers and was also affiliated with the Labour Church, an organization whose socialist politics and working-class ideals were often informed by Whitman's work. A painter and scholar of Shakespeare, he was also a lively debater. With James W. Wallace and Dr. John Johnston, Wild formed the nucleus of the Bolton Whitman group. For more on Wild and Whitman's Bolton disciples, see Paul Salveson, "Loving Comrades: Lancashire's Links to Walt Whitman," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 14.2 (1996), 57–84. [back]
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