Camden N J—U S America1
noon July 16 '91
Cloudy to-day & some breeze, but hot wave continued—begins to tell on
me—sitting at this moment in the customary place by the window middling
comfortable—you must be near shore—Suppose you (by this gets to you,)
have given my best affectionate regards to my friends there, the Costelloes,2 the Smiths,3 the dear Bolton folks4 & all—Tom Harned5 here
last evn'g—he & folks well—God bless you—
Walt Whitman
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 | care Mr Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor road | the Embankment | London
England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 16 | 3 PM | 91. [back]
- 2. The Costelloes were Benjamin
Francis ("Frank") Conn Costelloe (1854–1899) and Mary Whitall Smith
Costelloe (1864–1945). Frank was Mary's first husband, an English
barrister and Liberal Party politician. Mary was a political activist, art
historian, and critic, whom Whitman once called his "staunchest living woman
friend." For more information about her, see Christina Davey, "Costelloe, Mary Whitall Smith (1864–1945)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D.
Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 3. Whitman is referring to the family
of Robert Pearsall Smith (1827–1898). Smith, an evangelical minister, and
his wife Hannah Whitall Smith (1831–1911) had three children: Mary Whitall
Smith Costelloe (1864–1945), Logan Pearsall Smith (1865–1946), and
Alys Pearsall Smith (1867–1951). The Smith family were all friends and
supporters of Whitman. For more about the Smith family, see Christina Davey,
"Smith, Robert Pearsall (1827–1898)," Walt
Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New
York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 4. The "Bolton College" was a
group of Whitman admirers located in Bolton, England. Founded by Dr. John Johnston (1852–1927) and James William Wallace (1853–1926), the group corresponded with
Whitman and Horace Traubel throughout the final years of the poet's life.
Johnston and Wallace separately visited Whitman 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 on Whitman's disciples, see Paul Salveson,
"Loving Comrades:
Lancashire's Links to Walt Whitman," Walt Whitman
Quarterly Review 14.2 (1996), 57–84. [back]
- 5. Thomas Biggs Harned
(1851–1921) was one of Whitman's literary executors. Harned was a lawyer
in Philadelphia and, having married Augusta Anna Traubel (1856–1914), was
Horace Traubel's brother-in-law. For more on him, see Dena Mattausch, "Harned, Thomas Biggs (1851–1921)," Walt
Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New
York: Garland Publishing, 1998). For more on his relationship with Whitman, see
Thomas Biggs Harned, Memoirs of Thomas B. Harned, Walt
Whitman's Friend and Literary Executor, ed. Peter Van Egmond (Hartford:
Transcendental Books, 1972). [back]