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Camden1
Sept: 29 1890
Rec'd word from Mrs: O'Connor2—She has moved to 112
M Street N W, Washington D C wh' is now her address—She has a brief
(two months') appt'm't in the Census Bureau—appears to be ab't
as usual—asks me to designate some title for the
book3—I have suggested
the Brazen Android
and other tales By — —
I enclose Wallace's4 letter just rec'd5 I was
out to Harned's6 to supper ¼ past 5 yesterday—John Burroughs7
is here to see me—was at the Supper—is well & in good spirits—has
grown quite gray—left here to-day—was down some days at R U Johnsons8
at Babylon L I, & thinks of going on to see Herbert Gilchrist9 at
Centreport—Still bother'd with my grip & bladder trouble—pretty cold
here (I have fire)—but fine sunny bright day out—nothing newer ab't the Ing:10
affair—it will be in
Phila: (I have not interposed)11
—The cemetery Sup't: and monument architect12 have just been here to talk ab't and see me
anent of the tomb—I enclose a (very hasty, crude) outline of it, as I have the idea
& will probably direct it done—very plain & massive quite alone on a side
(moderate) hill & trees—Mrs: Davis13 has return'd from
Kansas14 well & hearty—I
have grapes & eat heartily of them
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 29 | 8 PM | 90;
Philadelphia, PA | Sep | 29 | 1890 | Transit; London | PM | OC | 9 |
Canada. [back]
- 2. 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]
- 3. 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. [back]
- 4. 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]
- 5. Whitman is probably
referring to Wallace's letter of September 19,
1890. [back]
- 6. Thomas Biggs Harned
(1851–1921) was one of Whitman's literary executors. Harned was a lawyer
in Philadelphia and, having married Augusta Anna Traubel, 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). [back]
- 7. The naturalist John Burroughs
(1837–1921) met Whitman on the streets of Washington, D.C., in 1864. After
returning to Brooklyn in 1864, Whitman commenced what was to become a decades-long
correspondence with Burroughs. Burroughs was magnetically drawn to Whitman.
However, the correspondence between the two men is, as Burroughs acknowledged,
curiously "matter-of-fact." Burroughs would write several books involving or
devoted to Whitman's work: Notes on Walt Whitman, as Poet and
Person (1867), Birds and Poets (1877), Whitman, A Study (1896), and Accepting
the Universe (1924). For more on Whitman's relationship with Burroughs,
see Carmine Sarracino, "Burroughs, John [1837–1921] and Ursula [1836–1917]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and
Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 8. Robert Underwood Johnson
(1853–1937) was on the staff of The Century
Magazine from 1873 to 1913, and was U. S. ambassador to Italy in 1920
and 1921. [back]
- 9. Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist
(1857–1914), son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, was an English painter
and editor of Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings
(London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1887). For more information, see Marion Walker Alcaro,
"Gilchrist, Herbert Harlakenden (1857–1914)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D.
Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 10. 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]
- 11. 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]
- 12. Ralph Moore was the
superintendent of Harleigh Cemetery. Moore, along with J. E. Reinhalter, a
designer from P. Reinhalter & Co., had called on Whitman on July 11, 1890,
to discuss plans for Whitman's tomb (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E.
Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of
Congress, Washington, D.C.). [back]
- 13. Mary Oakes Davis (1837 or
1838–1908) was Whitman's housekeeper. For more, see Carol J. Singley,
"Davis, Mary Oakes (1837 or 1838–1908)," Walt
Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New
York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 14. Mrs. Davis had gone to visit
relatives in Kansas; see Whitman's letter to the Canadian physician Richard
Maurice Bucke of September 13, 1890. [back]