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Walt Whitman to Dr. John Johnston, 6–8 September 1891

About This Item

  • Title: Walt Whitman to Dr. John Johnston, 6–8 September 1891
  • Date: September 6–8, 1891
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: med.00922
  • Source: The location of this manuscript is unknown. Miller derives his transcription from a transcript of the letter published in John Johnston and James W. Wallace's Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–1891 by Two Lancashire Friends, 265–266. The transcription presented here is derived from Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller (New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977), 240. 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, 6–8 September 1891." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 09 September 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: med.00922.xml (TEI)
Sept: 6 '91

Went out yesterday afternoon on a short drive to the cemetery1—& have eaten quite a hearty breakfast this forenoon—so you see I am getting along fairly. Wallace2 is expected hourly. Dr. B[ucke]3 is of course here yet,4 is hearty & flourishing—expecting to take J. W. W[allace] on with him to Canada.5 Am alone at present—is abt 1½ p.m.—quiet & sort o' warm—pleasant—rain last night.

Sunday evening.—Quite a little levee down in my front room f'm 3 till after 5—I down there in the big chair by the window—six or seven persons—then at 5½ my supper. No news of J. W. W. yet. Horace6 & Dr. B. are going over to Phila early forenoon to speir of British Prince.7 I will keep this open to send by steamer by the 9th.

Sept: 8, 5½ p.m. Wallace has arrived all right—has been here with me this afternoon—is well & in good spirits—goes off to Canada with Dr. B. to-morrow night—had a good passage. All is jolly. Respects to all friends.8

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. Whitman is referring to Harleigh Cemetery, in Camden, New Jersey. He was making plans to be buried in there in an elaborate granite tomb that he designed. [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. 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]
  • 4. Bucke had recently returned from traveling abroad in England. He had then traveled to Camden, where, at the time of this letter, he was awaiting the arrival of the Bolton architect James W. Wallace. Bucke and Wallace planned to visit with Whitman in Camden, and then Wallace would travel with Bucke to Bucke's home in London, Ontario, Canada. [back]
  • 5. Wallace arrived in the United States from England, landing at Philadelphia on September 8, 1891 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, September 8, 1891). After spending a few days with Whitman, Wallace traveled with Bucke to the physician's home in London, Ontario, Canada, where he met Bucke's family and friends. [back]
  • 6. Horace L. Traubel (1858–1919) was an American essayist, poet, and magazine publisher. He is best remembered as the literary executor, biographer, and self-fashioned "spirit child" of Walt Whitman. During the late 1880s and until Whitman's death in 1892, Traubel visited the poet virtually every day and took thorough notes of their conversations, which he later transcribed and published in three large volumes entitled With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906, 1908, & 1914). After his death, Traubel left behind enough manuscripts for six more volumes of the series, the final two of which were published in 1996. For more on Traubel, see Ed Folsom, "Traubel, Horace L. [1858–1919]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
  • 7. The SS. British Prince was the steamer that Wallace sailed on from Liverpool to Philadelphia, marking the beginning of his travels in the United States and Canada during the fall of 1891. In Wallace's letter to Whitman of August 22, 1891, Wallace noted his departure date would be Wednesday, August 26. Towards the end of this multi-day letter, Whitman informed Johnston that Wallace's date of arrival was September 8, 1891. [back]
  • 8. 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. 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). 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]
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