Camden N J—U S America1
Nov: 3 '91
Sunny cool day—Wallace2 went hence this mn'g well & in
good spirits to take City of Berlin f'm N Y to morrow
mn'g3—Sir Edwin Arnold4 & others here
yesterday—all went well—A is being recepted here
finely—he is evidently one of my warmest & solid friends—I continue
ab't same as before—Y'rs rec'd—thanks—
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 R'd | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is
postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 3 | 8 PM | 91; Phil[adelp]hia, Pa. | Nov 3 | 11
PM | Paid. [back]
- 2. 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]
- 3. At this time, Wallace was
returning to his home in Bolton, Lancashire, England, after spending several
weeks' traveling in the United States and Canada. Wallace had arrived at
Philadelphia on September 8, 1891 (Horace Traubel, With Walt
Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, September 8, 1891). Wallace's arrival had been shortly
preceded by that of the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke, who had been
returning from two months of travel in Europe. Both Bucke and Wallace visited
Whitman in Camden, and, after spending a few days with the poet, Wallace
returned with Bucke to London, Ontario, Canada, where he met Bucke's family and
friends. Wallace's 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]
- 4. Sir Edwin Arnold, the
British poet and journalist, paid a surprise visit to Whitman in Camden on
November 2, 1891. An account of the visit was published in the Philadelphia Press with the title "A Poet's Greetings to a Poet." See
Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, November 3, 1891 for more information. In his commentary,
Traubel described the account of Whitman's visit with Arnold as "almost
idiotic—certainly foolish." See also The Springfield
Republican article published on November 7, 1891, which further reported on what Whitman and Traubel
deemed an "interesting incident." [back]