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Walt Whitman to Richard Maurice Bucke, 10 December 1891

About This Item

  • Title: Walt Whitman to Richard Maurice Bucke, 10 December 1891
  • Date: December 10, 1891; December 2, 1891
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman | Unknown
  • Whitman Archive ID: loc.08211
  • 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.

    Notes for this letter were created by Whitman Archive staff and/or were derived from Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller, 6 vols. (New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977), and supplemented or updated by Whitman Archive staff.
  • Contributors to digital file: Cristin Noonan Amanda J. Axley Stephanie Blalock
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt and Unknown. "Walt Whitman to Richard Maurice Bucke, 10 December 1891." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 19 April 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: loc.08211.xml (TEI)
 loc_zs.00604.jpg
Camden1 Dec: 10 '91

Yr's of 8th2 has just come & I see you have rec'd the paper copy complete L of G3—Shall send you another as I expect some to-day or to-morrow with heavier paper covers—the regular forthcoming cloth b'd ed'n will be in new green & stamp—(more satisfactory)—As now I consider it as finished as I propose & laid out—even its deficiencies are provided for, or plainly hinted at—to me its best points are its unmistakable atmosphere and with my maturity or stamina or the like its being in process (or evolution) qualities f'm first to last.

I continue in rather a lamentable condition4 day & night—(rather easier at this moment in my room all day, sitting in big chair or lying on bed)—unmitigated belly ache fulness & soreness, & continued trouble & smartness & burning bladder & urethra—Dr L5 comes—have had the bladder wash'd out twice—moderate breakfast of buckwheat cakes & coffee—fine sunny cold weather—have (temporarily at any rate) stopped massages6—am too sore & aching—retain fair spirits

God bless you Walt Whitman

Mr. Buxton Forman,7 of the General Post-office, London, has been accredited to the postal administrations at Paris and Rome for the purpose of negotiating for a revision of the existing arrangement for the transport of Indian mails through France and Italy.

Dom Pedro,8 ex-Emperor of Brazil, is (Reuter's9 Paris correspondent says) confined to his room by a chill.

Manchester Guardian10 Dec: 2 '9111

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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, N.J. | DEC [illegible] | 8 PM | [illegible]; PHILADELPHIA | DEC | 10 | 9[illegible] PM | 91 | TRANSIT | LONDON | DE 12 | 91 | CANADA. [back]
  • 2. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of December 8, 1891. [back]
  • 3. Whitman wanted to have a copy of the final Leaves of Grass before his death, and he also wanted to be able to present copies to his friends. A version of the 1891–1892 Leaves of Grass, often referred to as the "deathbed edition," was bound in December of 1891 so that Whitman could give the volume to friends at Christmas. The following year, the 1891–1892 Leaves of Grass was published by Phildelphia publisher David McKay. This volume reprints, with minor revisions, the 1881 text from the plates of Boston publisher James R. Osgood. Whitman also includes his two annexes in the book. The first annex consisted of a long prefatory essay entitled "A Backward Glance O'er Travel'd Roads" and sixty-five poems; while the second, "Good-Bye my Fancy," was a collection of thirty-one short poems taken from the gathering of prose and poetry published under that title by McKay in 1891. For more information on this volume of Leaves, see R.W. French, "Leaves of Grass, 1891–1892 edition," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
  • 4. Whitman's condition would continue to worsen during the month of December 1891. On December 17, Whitman came 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]
  • 5. Daniel Longaker (1858–1949) was a Philadelphia physician who specialized in obstetrics. He became Whitman's doctor in early 1891 and provided treatment during the poet's final illness. For more information, see Carol J. Singley, "Longaker, Dr. Daniel [1858–1949]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R.LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
  • 6. Whitman's nurse at the time, Warren Fritizinger, regularly gave the poet massages. [back]
  • 7. Henry Buxton Forman (1842–1917), also known as Harry Buxton Forman, was most notably the biographer and editor of Percy Shelley and John Keats. On February 21, 1872, Buxton sent a copy of R. H. Horne's The Great Peace-Maker: A Sub-marine Dialogue (London, 1872) to Whitman. This poetic account of the laying of the Atlantic cable has a foreword written by Forman. After his death, Forman's reputation declined primarily because, in 1934, booksellers Graham Pollard and John Carter published An Enquiry into the Nature of Certain Nineteenth Century Pamphlets, which exposed Forman as a forger of many first "private" editions of poetry. [back]
  • 8. In November 1889, Pedro II (1825–1891), emperor of Brazil, was overthrown by a military coup. The country became The Republic of the United States of Brazil, with a general serving as its first President. [back]
  • 9. Reuters news agency was established in London in 1851 by the German entrepreneur Paul Julius Reuter (1816–1899). The agency originally covered business and financial news for banks and brokerage firms. With the advent and increase of both overland and undersea cables, the news agency expanded to South America and the Far East, and was soon transmitting telegraphic messages to London newspapers. Reuters continues today as an international news organization owned by the Thompson Reuters Corporation. It is considered one of the largest news agencies in the world. [back]
  • 10. In 1821, John Edward Taylor (1791–1844), a cotton merchant, founded The Manchester Guardian. It began as a weekly, but later became a daily newspaper. The paper attained international fame under the editorship of Charles Prestwich ("C. P.") Scott (1846–1932), who served as editor for fifty-seven years, beginning in 1872, and was the paper's owner from 1907 until his death. In 1959, the paper's name was changed to simply The Guardian, and publication continues under that name. [back]
  • 11. Whitman has written the source information for the enclosed newspaper article in pencil at the bottom of the newspaper clipping, as follows: "Manchester Guardian Dec. 2 '91." [back]
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