The date of this fragment can only be conjectural. In 1866, George was in business with Smith. According to his mother's letter of June 7, 1866, to Walt Whitman, "George and smith and french the mason has bought 5 lots on portland ave opposite the arsenal, 950 a lot, going to put up brick houses" (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). On October 10, she wrote: "george says if you will buy smiths half of that lot he will fix the shop (the carpenters shop acrost the street) for me . . . for about 1200 twelv hundred dollars" (Trent Collection).
Only the lower half of the letter is extant.
George received his promotion to captain on December 12, 1862—with the date of rank retroactive to November 1, 1862 (Frederick Phisterer, comp., New York in the War of the Rebellion, 1861–1865 [1912], 5 vols. and index, 2414). Ryder's letter of December 9 is apparently lost. Henry Stanbery (1803–1881) was appointed Attorney General on July 23, 1866, and served until March 12, 1868, when he resigned to serve as President Johnson's chief counsel in the impeachment proceedings. When, at the conclusion of the trial, Johnson renominated Stanbery, the Senate refused to confirm him. Failing eyesight—to which Whitman referred in letters from November 13, 1866, and November 20, 1866—forced Stanbery to retire from legal practice in 1878. Speaking to Horace Traubel in 1888, Whitman affirmed his fondness for Stanbery (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, Novmeber 23, 1888). Sergeant Hiram W. Frazee, Second New York Artillery, was wounded in "one of the last battles near Petersburg" (Richard Maurice Bucke, ed., The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 6:236). William Henry Seward (1801–1872) was secretary of state from 1861 to 1869 under Presidents Lincoln and Johnson; Salmon Portland Chase (1808–1873) was Secretary of the Treasury from 1861 to 1864; Charles Sumner (1811–1874) served as chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, United States Senate from 1861 to 1871. Emerson wrote to Seward and Chase on January 10, 1863, and to Whitman on January 12, 1863. James Russell Lowell had been the editor at the Atlantic Monthly when Whitman published there in 1860. Unbeknownst to Whitman, however, James T. Fields, partner in the Atlantic's publisher Ticknor & Fields, took over the editorship of the magazine in May 1861 as a cost-saving measure. The Atlantic did not publish a list of its editors, and Whitman subsequently submitted the poem "1861" on October 1, 1861, to Lowell in error. The letter here submits two additional poems, unfortunately unidentified. Later, Whitman received an impersonal reply dated October 10, 1861—signed only "Editors of the Atlantic Monthly"—returning "the three poems with which you have favored us, but which we could not possibly use before their interest,—which is of the present,—would have passed." Horace Traubel questioned Whitman about this rejection many years later, but Whitman could not remember any of the poems he had submitted, only that he had been puzzled by Lowell's reason for their rejection. William Henry Seward (1801-1872), Secretary of State (1861-1869); Salmon Portland Chase (1808-1873), Secretary of the Treasury (1861-1864); Charles Sumner (1811-1874), chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, United States Senate (1861-1871). Emerson wrote to Seward and Chase on January 10, and to Walt Whitman on January 12, 1863. Apparently George Wood (1799–1870), who went to the Treasury Department as a clerk in 1822 and held various posts in that bureau until his death. He was the author of several satirical works, Peter Schlemihl in America (Philadelphia: Carey and Hart, 1848) and The Gates Wide Open; or, Scenes in Another World (Boston: Lee and Shepard, 1858; rev. ed. 1870); see National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Undoubtedly he became acquainted with Whitman through William and Ellen O'Connor. Ellen mentions a Mr. Wood in her letter of July 5, 1864. See also Wood's letter to Whitman dated "Thursday" probably [January 15, 1863] and Whitman's December 29, 1866, letter to Wood. Whitman described the Patent Office Hospital in the New York Times, February 26, 1863 (The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman, 10 vols. [New York: GP Putnam's Sons, 1902], 7:82–84).Draft letter.
Between December 26 and 29, 1864, Whitman sent copies of his article "The Prisoners" to several newspaper editors, including the Brooklyn Daily Eagle and the New York Times. See Whitman's letters from December 26 (?), 1864, and December 29, 1864, for similar letters of solicitation to editors.
Whitman's fervor for a general exchange of prisoners was born from his inability to effect a special exchange for his brother George, who, Whitman had told Ellen M. O'Connor in a letter dated December 4, 1864, "still remains a prisoner—as near as we can judge he is at Columbia, S C—we have had no word from him—." Richard Josiah Hinton (1830–1901) was born in London and came to the U.S. in 1851. He trained as a printer, and, like James Redpath, went to Kansas and joined John Brown. In fact, but for an accident he would have been with Brown at Harper's Ferry. A man mistaken for Hinton was hanged. Together with Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Hinton also planned the jailbreak of John Brown's accomplices Albert Hazlett and Aaron Stevens in Charlestown for the "Jayhawkers," a band of abolitionists who assisted slaves through the Underground Railroad that included Silas S. Soule. With James Redpath he was the author of Hand-book to Kansas Territory and the Rocky Mountains' Gold Region (New York: J. H. Colton, 1859). Later he wrote Rebel Invasion of Missouri and Kansas (Chicago: Church & Goodman, 1865) and John Brown and His Men (New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1894). Apparently Hinton had suggested that Thayer & Eldridge print Leaves of Grass (see The New Voice, 16 [4 February 1899], 2). Hinton served in the Union Army from 1861 to 1865, and saw Whitman while lying wounded in a hospital, a scene which he described in the Cincinnati Commercial on August 26, 1871. After the war Hinton wrote for many newspapers. He defended William O'Connor's The Good Gray Poet in the Milwaukee Sentinel on February 9, 1866. Hinton's article in the Rochester Evening Express on March 7, 1866, "Farms and Fortunes in England and America," included a lengthy discussion of Whitman, with quotations from O'Connor and John Burroughs. Obviously pleased, Whitman sent it to friends, including William Michael Rossetti, who acknowledged it on April 12, 1868 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 9 vols., 2:123). See also Traubel, 2:396; William Sloane Kennedy, The Fight of a Book for the World (West Yarmouth, Massachusetts: The Stonecroft Press, 1926), 19, 67, 110–111, 242; and the Boston Transcript, 21 December 1901. Shambaugh has not been identified. Probably Whitman wanted the letter printed in the Washington Sunday Chronicle. On February 3, 1865, Lincoln and his Secretary of State Wiliam H. Seward met with Vice-President of the Confederacy Alexander H. Stephens on the Union transport River Queen lying in Hampton Roads. All through 1864 Lincoln had insisted that he would consider any peace plan that included restoration of the Union and the emancipation of all slaves; he now also demanded a complete end to the war, refusing to consider a temporary cessation of hostilities. Lincoln's last requirement frustrated the Southerners' desire for an armistice, which would, they hoped, allow for a cooling of passions before the beginning of negotiations. The meeting ended with no agreement reached. See Whitman's letter from December 3, 1863 . Shillaber was the proprietor of the Boston Saturday Evening Gazette; see Whitman's letter from December 27, 1863 . According to Miller, the paragraph Whitman refers to has not been identified, although it evidently appeared; see Whitman's letter from March 3, 1865 . See Walt Whitman's letter to Thomas Jefferson Whitman dated April 1, 1860. John Brown was a tailor whom Jeff came to despise; see Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman dated March 3, 1863. For an account of the family living arrangements, see Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman (New York: Macmillan, 1955; rev. ed., New York University Press, 1967), 216 and 239–40. An alcoholic, Andrew would die of tuberculosis or perhaps throat cancer on December 3, 1863, the dupe of unscrupulous doctors. Walt Whitman enclosed the preceding three sentences in parentheses. Henry A. Lees, publisher and editor of the Brooklyn Daily Advertiser, was one of several Whig editors with whom Walt Whitman had feuded over political questions, especially those involving the Mexican War. Jeff's first daughter, Manahatta ("Hattie"), would be born on June 1860. These letters are not extant. Jeff writes in a letter to Walt from April 3, 1860, that "Andrew has been very sick but was getting better on Sunday when I was home. His disease commenced by a very violent pain in the side, kept up and made worse by an ignorent Dr. and those around him." An alcoholic, Andrew would die of tuberculosis or perhaps throat cancer on December 3, 1863. John Brown was a tailor whom Jeff came to despise; see Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman dated March 3, 1863. Jeff refers here either to E. D. or John Moore, both of whom lived on Myrtle Avenue. A member of the New York legislature from 1855 to 1861, Francis B. Spinola (1821–1891) later became a brigadier general during the Civil War, and finally a United States congressman from 1887 to 1891. The four members of the Brooklyn Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners were Gamaliel King, William B. Lewis, John H. Funk, and Daniel L. Northrup. Samuel McElroy preceded Kirkwood as chief engineer of what was the Nassau Water Company (later the Brooklyn Water Works). McElroy resigned his position on June 10, 1856, at which time Kirkwood took over. James P. Kirkwood (1807–1877), a prominent civil engineer and cofounder of the American Society of Civil Engineers (1852), superintended the construction of the Brooklyn Water Works as chief engineer from 1856 to 1862. After his work in Brooklyn, he moved to St. Louis and designed the waterworks which Jeff would later build. Kirkwood eventually became a nationally known independent consultant and wrote the standard text on water filtration. In 1856 Henry S. Welles & Co. signed a contract with the Nassau Water Company to build a waterworks for Brooklyn. Welles was the main contractor for the project from its beginning to its completion in 1862. Since Kirkwood and the others remained in their positions, the bill apparently did not pass. Walt Whitman may have loaned Louisa Van Velsor Whitman his two-volume edition of George Sand's The Countess of Rudolstadt (New York: William H. Graham, 1848). These volumes were in the poet's library at his death. James Redpath (1833–1891) was the author of The Public Life of Capt. John Brown (Boston: Thayer and Eldridge, 1860), a correspondent for the New York Tribune during the war, the originator of the "Lyceum" lectures, and editor of the North American Review in 1886. He met Whitman in Boston in 1860 (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #90) and remained an enthusiastic admirer; see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, ed. Sculley Bradley (New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 1961), 3:459–461. He concluded his first letter to Whitman on June 25, 1860: "I love you, Walt! A conquering Brigade will ere long march to the music of your barbaric jawp." See also Charles F. Horner, The Life of James Redpath and the Development of the Modern Lyceum (New York: Barse & Hopkins, 1926) and John R. McKivigan, Forgotten Firebrand: James Redpath and the Making of Nineteenth-Century America (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2008). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman acknowledged receiving the "life of john brown" from Walt Whitman on May 3 (?), 1860. For more information on Redpath see "Redpath, James [1833–1891]." Jeff probably refers to a lost letter from Walt Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Probably a nickname for Manahatta ("Hattie") Whitman. Walt Whitman's letter to Jeff of about December 28, 1862, is not extant. See Walt Whitman's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman of December 29, 1862. These may be Jeff's letter of December 19, 1862, and one letter that is not extant. The Delevan House, 315 West Ninth Street, was a boarding house run by Henry T. Bates. Whitman fell victim to a pickpocket in Philadelphia while changing trains en route to Washington. Whitman had written of his search for George among the numerous military hospitals in Washington and his frustration as he tried "to get access to big people." He complained that Moses Fowler Odell, a member of the House of Representatives from New York, "would not see me at all" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 59 n.3). "Tumble turds" is an Americanism for the common dung beetle. Shortly before finding George at the Fredericksburg battle site, Walt Whitman had encountered "a heap of feet, arms, legs, &c, under a tree in front [of] a hospital, the Lacy house" (Miller, 1:59). Jeff's letter of about December 30, 1862, is not extant. George replied on January 8, 1863, that he was thinking of requesting a furlough or perhaps even resigning. Richard Butt (1819–?), a Brooklyn surveyor, was appointed as a major in field and staff, First Regiment, New York Engineers, on December 3, 1861, and served until April 22, 1864. Jeff may consider him a "sneak" because his unit saw little action, spending most of its time in comparative safety at Fort Pulaski, Georgia. This word was double underlined in Jeff's letter for special emphasis. This word was double underlined in Jeff's letter for special emphasis. Jeff's continuing fears led Walt Whitman to remark on January 16, 1863, "I feel that you and dearest mother are perhaps needlessly unhappy and morbid about our dear brother—to be in the army is a mixture of danger and security in this war which few realize—they think exclusively of the danger." David R. Turner was a house painter. Williiam G. Hart, a captain and acting assistant adjutant general in Company K of the Eighty-eighth New York Volunteers, suffered a gunshot wound in the right forearm on December 13, 1862, and was granted twenty days sick leave on December 15, 1862. Charles Heyde repeatedly informed the Whitman family of Hannah's health. Mary Elizabeth Whitman Van Nostrand, Jeff's other sister, had married in 1840 and borne five children, of whom Fanny was the oldest. Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. Like Jeff Whitman, he collected money from his employees and friends for Walt's hospital work. Lane sent Whitman $15.20 in his letter of January 26, 1863, and later various sums which Whitman acknowledged in letters from February 6, 1863, May 11, 1863, May 26, 1863, and September 9, 1863. In his letter of May 27, 1863, Lane pledged $5 each month. In an unpublished manuscript in the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library, Whitman wrote, obviously for publication: "I have distributed quite a large sum of money, contributed for that purpose by noble persons in Brooklyn, New York, (chiefly through Moses Lane, Chief Engineer, Water Works there.)" Lane assisted Whitman in other ways as well (see Whitman's letters from December 29, 1862, and February 13, 1863). He was so solicitous of Whitman's personal welfare that on April 3, 1863, he sent through Jeff $5 "for your own especial benefit." In a letter of January 16, 1863, Walt Whitman indicated that Jeff and his mother ought not to make personal contributions to the hospital fund since he himself was carrying the family's share of the national burden. Nonetheless, and despite his own shortage of funds, Jeff continued to contribute. See Jeff's letter of July 7, 1863. Omnibus drivers in New York City and Brooklyn. One of the poet's favorite pastimes was to ride the omnibuses and sit beside the drivers whom he befriended. Occasionally, when a driver was sick, the poet would take his place without remuneration. Samuel R. Probasco (1833–1910) was an assistant engineer at the Brooklyn Water Works from 1856 to 1868 and principal assistant engineer on the Brooklyn Water Board from 1871 to 1875. Heyde's treatment of Hannah frequently provoked Jeff's anger. See Jeff's letter of April 3, 1863, and Jerome M. Loving, ed., Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 11–12. Moses Lane wrote to Captain James J. Dana on December 16, 1862, asking him to assist Walt Whitman in his search for George (Feinberg). These may have contained Walt Whitman's article, "Our Brooklyn Boys in the War," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 5, 1863. See Jeff's letter of February 10, 1863. This letter is not extant. Charles E. Botsford sent Walt Whitman one dollar on July 7, 1863. See Jeff's letter to Whitman of July 7, 1863. Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. Like Jeff Whitman, he collected money from his employees and friends for Walt's hospital work. Lane sent Whitman $15.20 in his letter of January 26, 1863, and later various sums which Whitman acknowledged in letters from February 6, 1863, May 11, 1863, May 26, 1863, and September 9, 1863. In his letter of May 27, 1863, Lane pledged $5 each month. In an unpublished manuscript in the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library, Whitman wrote, obviously for publication: "I have distributed quite a large sum of money, contributed for that purpose by noble persons in Brooklyn, New York, (chiefly through Moses Lane, Chief Engineer, Water Works there.)" Lane assisted Whitman in other ways as well (see Whitman's letters from December 29, 1862, and February 13, 1863). He was so solicitous of Whitman's personal welfare that on April 3, 1863, he sent through Jeff $5 "for your own especial benefit." This firm has not been identified. Henry P. Hill, James Hill, and Warren Hill were engineers; Simon Hill, Samuel Hill, and Thomas Newman were contractors. Henry Carlow, an engineer, is listed in the Brooklyn directory for 1859–60, but not in the subsequent years. This letter is not extant. Jeff refers to John Brown and his wife, the neighbors downstairs. In his reply to Jeff on February 13, 1863, Walt Whitman did not address these questions directly but rather discussed his attempts to secure a better-paying government position. Apparently, Jeff hoped to build his own house in Brooklyn, a plan he never carried out. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walt Whitman, February 10, 1863. Walt Whitman found members of the United States Sanitary Commission "incompetent and disagreeable" if not indeed "a set of foxes and wolves." He had a higher opinion of a civilian organization called the Christian Commission. See Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman (New York: Macmillan, 1955; rev. ed., New York University Press, 1967), 289. On January 8, 1863, George had written to Jeff: "I think they will have to do something with our Regt soon as we can only turn out about 160 men." Eventually the War Department issued an order to consolidate the companies in all regiments of less than 500 men. However, as George wrote on April 22, 1863, "I hear to night that Burnside has issued an order countermanding the consolidation order." This letter is not extant. Theodore A. Drake was a waterworks inspector. John D. Martin was an engineer. Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. Like Jeff Whitman, he collected money from his employees and friends for Walt's hospital work. Lane sent Whitman $15.20 in his letter of January 26, 1863, and later various sums which Whitman acknowledged in letters from February 6, 1863, May 11, 1863, May 26, 1863, and September 9, 1863. In his letter of May 27, 1863, Lane pledged $5 each month. In an unpublished manuscript in the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library, Whitman wrote, obviously for publication: "I have distributed quite a large sum of money, contributed for that purpose by noble persons in Brooklyn, New York, (chiefly through Moses Lane, Chief Engineer, Water Works there.)" Lane assisted Whitman in other ways as well (see Whitman's letters from December 29, 1862, and February 13, 1863). He was so solicitous of Whitman's personal welfare that on April 3, 1863, he sent through Jeff $5 "for your own especial benefit." For Lane's letter to E. D. Webster, see Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence (New York: New York University Press, 1961–77), 1:72, n. 32. William Henry Seward (1801–1872) was secretary of state from 1861 to 1869 under Presidents Lincoln and Johnson. George had to wait until March 7, 1863, for his ten-day furlough to Brooklyn. Samuel H. Sims, a captain in George's Fifty-first New York Volunteer Regiment, had been the subject in part of Walt Whitman's article, "Our Brooklyn Boys in the War," which appeared in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, on January 5, 1863. Sims died on July 30, 1864, of wounds received near Petersburg, Virginia (see George Washington Whitman's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman from August 9, 1864). Walt Whitman may have lived in Sims's tent during part of his stay at Falmouth, Virginia, opposite Fredericksburg—a trip that Walt took in search of George after reading his brother's name in the New York Herald listed among the wounded in the Battle of Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862. As it turned out, George only suffered a minor injury; George wrote in a letter to his mother on December 16, 1862: "I have come out safe and sound, although I had the side of my jaw slightly scraped with a peice of shell which burst at my feet." Formerly a bookkeeper and clerk, William H. DeBevoise was now serving in the Union army. He was a member of a large, established family that had lived in Brooklyn at least thirty years. There was a DeBevoise Street in Brooklyn as early as 1859. After working for the Brooklyn Water Works, Julius ("Jule") Mason became a career army officer. With his help Jeff and Walt Whitman were later able to get provisions to George when he was a prisoner of war (Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 37). Jeff accidentally spells "Towanda" as "Towando." Unidentified. Brooklyn directories of the period list seven George Wrights. Andrew Rome was one of the members of the firm of the Rome Brothers, which printed the first edition of Leaves of Grass. Probably George Wilkes (1820?–1885), owner of the New York paper, Wilkes' Spirit of the Times (formerly edited by William T. Porter). Wilkes was known for his strong antislavery, pro-Union views, which may be why Jeff thought he would support Walt Whitman's work. Wilkes was also among the first to advocate a transcontinental railroad, having published a pamphlet, Project for a National Railroad from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, in 1845. Walt Whitman did not find full-time government work until January 24, 1865, when he became a first-class clerk in the Indian Affairs Office, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. There is no record of his looking for work in New York. This firm has not been identified. Henry P. Hill, James Hill, and Warren Hill were engineers; Simon Hill, Samuel Hill, and Thomas Newman were contractors. Henry Carlow, an engineer, is listed in the Brooklyn directory for 1859–60, but not in the subsequent years. Theodore A. Drake was a waterworks inspector and John D. Martin an engineer. Edwin Haviland Miller reads this as "Rae" (Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:78, n46), but Jerome M. Loving reads this as "Rac" (Loving, ed., Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1975], 71, n7). We agree with Miller and believe Jeff refers to Edmund H. Rae, a notary and copyist who lived in Brooklyn but kept offices at 13 Wall Street, New York City. It is not clear why Jeff would consider having Rae build his house. General Ambrose Burnside's men, including George, travelled from Falmouth to Newport News, Virginia, crossing the Rappahannock River in the infamous "mud march"—an unsuccessful attempt to capture Fredericksburg. George came home March 7. Samuel H. Sims, a captain in George Washington Whitman's Fifty-first New York Volunteer Regiment, had been the subject in part of Walt Whitman's article, "Our Brooklyn Boys in the War," which appeared in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, on January 5, 1863. Sims died on July 30, 1864, of wounds received near Petersburg, Virginia (see George Washington Whitman's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman from August 9, 1864). Walt Whitman may have lived in Sims's tent during part of his stay at Falmouth, Virginia, opposite Fredericksburg—a trip that Walt took in search of George after reading his brother's name in the New York Herald listed among the wounded in the Battle of Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862. As it turned out, George only suffered a minor injury; George wrote in a letter to his mother on December 16, 1862: "I have come out safe and sound, although I had the side of my jaw slightly scraped with a peice of shell which burst at my feet." On February 1, 1863, Geroge wrote to Walt Whitman: "I have my log hut partly finished and should have had it completed long ago, but after I had cut the logs...orders came for us to be ready to move the next day so I used the logs for fire wood." Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. Like Jeff Whitman, he collected money from his employees and friends for Walt's hospital work. Lane sent Whitman $15.20 in his letter of January 26, 1863, and later various sums which Whitman acknowledged in letters from February 6, 1863, May 11, 1863, May 26, 1863, and September 9, 1863. In his letter of May 27, 1863, Lane pledged $5 each month. In an unpublished manuscript in the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library, Whitman wrote, obviously for publication: "I have distributed quite a large sum of money, contributed for that purpose by noble persons in Brooklyn, New York, (chiefly through Moses Lane, Chief Engineer, Water Works there.)" Lane assisted Whitman in other ways as well (see Whitman's letters from December 29, 1862, and February 13, 1863). He was so solicitous of Whitman's personal welfare that on April 3, 1863, he sent through Jeff $5 "for your own especial benefit." Jeff's sketch occurs here. It is reproduced about twice the size of the original. On February 12, 1863, Moses Lane wrote to E. D. Webster: "Mr. W. has been for a long time connected with the New York Press and is a writer of most decided ability. His patriotism and loyalty you can rely upon under all circumstances" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress). Whitman scholars have assumed that Nancy was Andrew Whitman's common-law wife. However, on September 22, 1852, Hannah wrote to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman: "tell me who Andrew is reported to be married to" (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). It seems more likely that this remark would have been prompted by a legal marriage rather than by a common-law marriage. This letter is not extant. Unidentified. Jeff refers to John Brown and his wife, the neighbors downstairs. See Jeff's letter from April 3, 1860. Jeff refers to Oliver's famous request for more food: "Please sir, I want some more" (Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist, Ch. ii). For another allusion to this quotation, see Jeff's letter from April 11, 1863. George wrote to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman on February 25, 1863. Walt Whitman's letter of about March 1, 1863, is not extant. See the letter from Charles and Hannah Heyde to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman of November 24, 1868 (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Books, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library); after Hannah wrote two pages Charles interrupted, "here I have interfered and compelled Han to break off—She is too weak to continue further." All evidence suggests that the imaginations of both Charles and Hannah tended toward the melodramatic. Walt Whitman responded on March 18, 1863: "Jeff, I wrote a letter to the Eagle and sent it yesterday…Look out for it, and buy me 20 of the papers." "The Great Washington Hospital" appeared in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on March 19 (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:79, n.50). In September Walt Whitman published another hospital letter in the Brooklyn Daily Union (Correspondence, 1:95, n.3). Walt Whitman's notebooks from this period record the pathetic scenes he witnessed almost daily in the hospitals. But as Jeff guessed these notebooks contain other "strange things," including the poet's meditation on the adjournment of the Thirty-seventh Congress which on March 3, 1863, authorized America's first nationwide military draft. Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. Like Jeff Whitman, he collected money from his employees and friends for Walt's hospital work. Lane sent Whitman $15.20 in his letter of January 26, 1863, and later various sums which Whitman acknowledged in letters from February 6, 1863, May 11, 1863, May 26, 1863, and September 9, 1863. In his letter of May 27, 1863, Lane pledged $5 each month. In an unpublished manuscript in the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library, Whitman wrote, obviously for publication: "I have distributed quite a large sum of money, contributed for that purpose by noble persons in Brooklyn, New York, (chiefly through Moses Lane, Chief Engineer, Water Works there.)" Lane assisted Whitman in other ways as well (see Whitman's letters from December 29, 1862, and February 13, 1863). He was so solicitous of Whitman's personal welfare that on April 3, 1863, he sent through Jeff $5 "for your own especial benefit." Walt Whitman did not ask Lane and his employees for more money; instead he took a more tactful and indirect approach by instructing his brother in a letter from March 18, 1863, thus: "Jeff, you must give my best respects to Mr. and Mrs. Lane, they have enabled me to do a world of good, and I can never forget them. George briefly mentions this furlough at home from March 7 to March 17, 1863, in his Civil War Diary. Army life agreed with George. He had held the rank of captain since November 1, 1862, and after the war he attempted unsuccessfully to secure a commission as a captain in the regular standing army (Jerome M. Loving, ed., Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1975], 6, 26). Jeff refers to Walt's letter of March 6, 1863, only part of which is extant. Earlier, on February 13, 1863, Walt had described his efforts to find employment in Washington: "(it is very amusing to hunt for an office—so the thing seems to me just now—even if one don't get it)—I have seen Charles Sumner three times—he says every thing here moves as part of a great machine, and that I must consign myself to the fate of the rest....Meantime I make about enough to pay my expenses by hacking on the press here, and copying in the paymasters offices." See Jeff's letter to Walt dated March 9, 1863. In a letter of March 18, 1863, to Jeff, Walt wrote: "I suppose the bundle of George's shirts, drawers, &c came safe by Adams express. I sent it last Saturday [March 14, 1863], and it ought to have been delivered Monday in Brooklyn." In her letter to Walt Whitman of March 11, 1863, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman asked the poet to send "those flannel shirts" by express because George thought "he could get them better from here than to send them to fortress monroe" (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Books, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). On March 18, 1863, Walt had asked Jeff to send "engravings (20 of the large head)." This is probably the engraving that served as the frontispiece for the 1860 Leaves of Grass. Gabriel Harrison was a photographer. See Jeff's letter to Walt dated April 3, 1860. Domenico Bellini joined Francesco Mazzoleni and Josephine (or Guiseppina) Medori as new members of Max Maretzek's opera company for the Spring 1863 season. The three opened in Il Trovatore on March 6, 1863, at the New York Academy of Music. George C. D. Odell's Annals of the New York Stage, 15 vols. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1927–49) lists no Bertina. This may be a slip for "Bettini," formerly a popular singer at the Castle Garden and Walt's favorite tenor. See Jeff's letter to Walt from February 3, 1865. Jeff refers to the period between 1845 and 1854, when Castle Garden (or "The Battery Theater") was a leading New York opera house. In June 1851, Walt heard Bettini as Fernando in Donizetti's La Favorita sing "Spirto Gentil" ("Spirit of Light"), a sorrowful tune that was among the poet's favorites (Faner, 181). Josephine Medori. The operas of Giuseppi Verdi (1813–1901) were immensely popular. The 1862–63 season at the Brooklyn Academy of Music featured Il Trovatore, Ernani, and La Traviata. Since La Traviata was performed on March 19, 1863, and starred Brignoli, Mazzoleni, and Bellini, this is probably the one Jeff had just seen. See Jeff's March 19, 1863, letter to Walt. Walt responded with playful formality: "I would like to have the pleasure of Miss Mannahatta Whitman's company, the first fine forenoon, if it were possible" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961], 1:87). Fort Greene stood opposite the Whitman's Portland Avenue home. Walt believed that one of his two finest achievements as a journalist was "the securing to public use of Washington Park (Old Fort Greene,)...against heavy odds, during an editorship of the Brooklyn Eagle" (Miller, Correspondence, 1964, 3:386). For one of Walt's editorials on the subject, see Cleveland Rogers and John Black, ed., The Gathering of the Forces, (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1920), 2:46–50. For Andrew's illness, see Jeff's letter to Walt dated April 3, 1860. The Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–1867) befriended the Whitman family and became especially close to Jeff and Mattie Whitman. Late in life, Ruggles lost interest in his practice and devoted himself to painting cabinet pictures called "Ruggles Gems" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:90, n. 85). On March 31, 1863, Walt wrote in a letter to his mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman: "Mother, when you or Jeff writes again, tell me if my papers & MSS are all right—I should be very sorry indeed if they got scattered, or used up or any thing—especially the copy of Leaves of Grass covered in blue paper, and the little MS book 'Drum Taps,' & the MS tied up in the square, spotted (stone-paper) loose covers—I want them all carefully kept." As part of General Burnside's Ninth Army, George's regiment, the Fifty-first New York, left Newport News, Virginia, on March 26, 1863, and travelled to Paris, Kentucky, arriving on April 1, 1863 (Jerome M. Loving, ed., Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1975], 90). Hannah, a hypochondriac, complained for decades of ill health, yet she outlived her entire immediate family. Jeff uses the popular name for the series issued by the U.S. War Department and prepared under the supervision of the U.S. Engineer Department, Topographical Bureau, Reports of Explorations and Surveys, to Ascertain the Most Practicable and Economical Route for a Railroad From the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, 12 vols. (Washington, D.C.: A. O. P. Nicholson, 1855–60). Although an earlier edition of these reports was published in a four-volume octavo in 1854, Jeff's later references to this work indicate he means the twelve-volume quarto edition. See his letter to Walt from April 11, 1863. The Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–1867) befriended the Whitman family and became especially close to Jeff and Mattie Whitman. Late in life, Ruggles lost interest in his practice and devoted himself to painting cabinet pictures called "Ruggles Gems" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:90, n. 85). Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. Walt Whitman often prepared "from a couple to four or five hours" for a hospital visit in order to exude "the perfection of phsyical health" and to present "as cheerful an appearance as possible" (Floyd Stovall, ed., Walt Whitman: Prose Works 1892 [New York: New York University Press, 1963–64], 1:52). He wrote in a letter dated May 14, 1863, "my profoundest help to these sick & dying men is probably the soothing invigoration I steadily bear in mind, to infuse in them through affection, cheering love… It has saved more than one life." Unidentified. There is no record of Walt Whitman writing Lane at this time. Walt Whitman referred to Charles Heyde with similar exasperation, calling him "the bed-buggiest man on the earth"—"almost the only man alive who can make me mad" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (November 1, 1888–January 20, 1889) [New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 1961], 3:498). Max Maretzek's new troupe gave a matinee performance of Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix at the New York Academy of Music on April 4, 1863. See also Jeff's letter to Walt from March 21, 1863. See Jeff's letter to Walt dated April 2, 1863. This letter is written on the verso of George's letter of April 2, 1863 . Walt Whitman's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman of April 15, 1863, suggests that Jeff wrote this on April 6, 1863. On April 15, 1863, Walt Whitman assured Jeff that he was "as much of a beauty as ever…well, not only as much, but more so—I believe I weigh about 200 and as to my face, (so scarlet,) and my beard and neck, they are terrible to behold…like a great wild buffalo, with much hair." See Jeff's letter to Walt from March 9, 1863. Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. The Brooklyn Water Works. On April 15, 1863, in a letter which also provided Andrew with detailed advice on how he should care for his throat, Walt Whitman instructed Jeff as well: "Jeff must not make his lessons to her in music any ways strong or frequent on any account—two lessons a week, of ten minutes each, is enough—But then I dare say Jeff will think of all these thigs, just the same as I am saying." Fort Greene stood opposite the Whitman's Portland Avenue home. Whitman believed that one of his two finest achievements as a journalist was "the securing to public use of Washington Park (Old Fort Greene,)…against heavy odds, during an editorship of the Brooklyn Eagle" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 3:386). For one of Walt Whitman's editorials on the subject, see The Gathering of the Forces, ed. Cleveland Rogers and John Black (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1920), 2:46–50. Mattie made shirt fronts for New York manufacturers (Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 2). Isaac Van Anden was the publisher and proprietor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Walt Whitman edited this paper (March 1846–January 1848) until he quarreled with Van Anden over political issues. For more on Van Anden see Raymond A. Schroth, "The Eagle and Brooklyn," in Brooklyn USA: The Fourth Largest City in America, ed. Rita Seiden Miller (New York: Brooklyn College Press, 1979), 99–119. Presumably two volumes of the Pacific Railroad reports (see Jeff's letter to Walt from April 2, 1863). Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. Like Jeff, he collected money from his employees and friends to give to Walt's hospital efforts during the Civil War. In his letter of May 27, 1863, Lane pledged $5 each month. Similarly, Lane sent dollar contributions from six individuals on May 2, 1863. In an unpublished manuscript in the Berg Collection, Whitman wrote, obviously for publication: "I have distributed quite a large sum of money, contributed for that purpose by noble persons in Brooklyn, New York, (chiefly through Moses Lane, Chief Engineer, Water Works there.)" Lane also assisted Whitman in other ways. He was so solicitous of Whitman's personal welfare that on April 3, 1863, he sent through Jeff $5 "for your own especial benefit." See Jeff's March 3, 1863, letter to Walt. It is not known which of the many reports on this tunnel Jeff read. He would have been interested in the improved surveying techniques Thomas Doane developed for this project, a 4¾-mile railroad tunnel under Hoosac Mountain in northwestern Massachusetts under construction from 1855 through 1876). Volume XII of the Pacific Railroad Reports, Isaac I. Stevens, U.S. Topographical Bureau, Report of Exploration of a Route for the Pacific Railroad Near the 47th and 49th Parallels From St. Paul to Puget Sound (Washington, D.C.: A. O. P. Nicholson, 1860). This was issued in two parts as a supplement to Volume I. The popular English title for Julius Weisbach's Lehrbuch der Ingenieur- und Maschinen-Mechanik (1845). A standard enginering text widely reprinted after 1869, it was available to Jeff as Principles of Mechanics of Machinery and Engineering, ed. Walter R. Johnson, 2nd ed., 2 vols (Philadelphia: Lea & Blanchard, 1858–59). Isaac Van Anden was the publisher and proprietor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. See Jeff's letter to Walt dated April 2, 1863. Two men named George Harkness—one a bookbinder and the other a carpenter—lived on Portland Avenue near Myrtle. No "Hearkness" appeared in Brooklyn directories at that time. Although Walt Whitman "was real amused with sis's remarks," he warned the family that "it is not good to enourage a child to be too sharp" (see Walt's letter to his mother from April 15, 1863. When the Whitman family read that George had been wounded, both Mattie and Walt planned to go help him. By not going, Mattie avoided the difficulties that Walt experienced. See Jeff's letter to Walt from January 1, 1863. The Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–1867) befriended the Whitman family and became especially close to Jeff and Mattie. Late in life, Ruggles lost interest in his practice and devoted himself to painting cabinet pictures called "Ruggles Gems" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:90, n. 85; 330). In his letter instructing Jeff on how to raise Hattie, Walt also offered a detailed explanation of how Andrew should care for his throat. Surprisingly, his brothers show no signs of resenting this instruction. Walt seems to have been able to combine the roles of the prophetic, all-knowing poet and the dominant, wise family head. Captain John Mullan (1830–1909), an army engineer, had just published for the U.S. Topographical Bureau his Report on the Construction of a Military Road From Fort Walla-Walla to Fort Benton (Washington, D.C.: Government Publications Office, 1863). Because Jeff and Walt were both fascinatd by the prospect of a western railroad, they would have admired Mullan's work described in Volume XII of the Pacific Railroad reports (see note 4 above). In his letter to his mother from March 31, 1863, Walt had praised "Capt. Mullin, U.S. Army (engineer), who has been six years out in the Rocky Mt's, making a gov't road, 650 miles from Ft. Benton to Walla Walla—very, very interesting to know such men intimately, and talk freely with them." Apparently Jeff wanted Walt to write a letter to Mr. Lane concerning Captain Mullan (see also Jeff's letter to Walt from April 20, 1863). By the time Jeff's letter reached Walt, the poet had already written to acknowledge receipt of the letters from April 6, 1863 and April 11, 1863. Isaac Van Anden, publisher and proprietor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Walt Whitman edited this paper (March 1846–January 1848) until he quarreled with Van Anden over political issues. For more on Van Anden see Raymond A. Schroth, "The Eagle and Brooklyn," in Brooklyn USA: The Fourth Largest City in America, ed. Rita Seiden Miller (New York: Brooklyn College Press, 1979), 99–119. See Jeff's letter to Walt from April 3, 1860. On April 3, 1863, the Ninth Army marched from Paris, Kentucky, to Mount Sterling, Kentucky. For the next two weeks the army camped in this area, although on April 15, 1863, it did invade Sharpsburg, Kentucky, only to return to Mount Sterling the same day (Jerome M. Loving, ed., Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1975], 91). See Edwin Haviland Miller, ed. The Correspondence (New York: New York University Press, 1961–77), 1:87. Born in 1845, Louisa was the third of five children of Jeff's sister Mary Whitman Van Nostrand (Katherine Molinoff, Some Notes on Whitman's Family, Monographs on Unpublished Whitman Material, no. 2 (Brooklyn: Comet Press, 1941), 4). Ansel Van Nostrand, a shipwright, lived with his wife Mary in the whaling village of Greenport, Long Island. Born in 1841, George was the oldest of the Van Nostrand children. One supposes from Jeff's reference that the young George was a streetcar driver; later he would go into insurance (Molinoff, 4, n. 3). The other Van Nostrand children were Fanny (b. 1843) and Minnie (b. 1857). Another child, Ansel (b. 1847), died in infancy (Molinoff, 4, n. 3). Captain John Mullan (1830–1909), an army engineer, was associated with General Isaac I. Stevens in his surveys for a railroad route to the West (U.S. Topographical Bureau, Report of Exploration of a Route for the Pacific Railroad Near the 47th and 49th Parallels From St. Paul to Puget Sound [Washington, D.C.: A. O. P. Nicholson, 1860]). When Whitman met Mullan, Mullan was about to publish his Report on the Construction of a Military Road From Fort Walla-Walla to Fort Benton (Washington, D.C.: Government Publications Office, 1863). In a notebook entry for April 1863 (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #76), Whitman referred to both of these reports. In a letter to his mother from March 31, 1863, Walt had praised "Capt. Mullin, U.S. Army (engineer), who has been six years out in the Rocky Mt's, making a gov't road, 650 miles from Ft. Benton to Walla Walla—very, very interesting to know such men intimately, and talk freely with them." A transcontinental railroad had long fascinated Whitman; he later wrote an editorial on the subject in 1858 while he was editor of the Brooklyn Daily Times (see Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer [New York: New York University Press, 1955], 213). Walt celebrated the completion of the railroad in his poem, "Passage to India." Moses Lane (1823–82) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. For an earlier reference to the letter, see Jeff's letter to Walt from April 11, 1863. The Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–1867) befriended the Whitman family and became especially close to Jeff and Mattie. Late in life, Ruggles lost interest in his practice and devoted himself to painting cabinet pictures called "Ruggles Gems" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:90, n. 85; 330). The New York Academy of Music had announced April 20, 1863, as the last night of its opera season but went on to produce at least six more operas with members of Maretzek's troupe, concluding on May 23. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman was considerably less charmed by Hattie's antics. Six months later, on Christmas Day 1863, she remarked to Walt, "i really think hattie is the worst child i ever had any thing to doo with" (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Books, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). In a letter to his mother dated April 28, 1863, Walt made reference to his letter of April 22 (not extant) which had not reached Jeff by April 25. However, Walt did promise to "write oftener especially to Jeff." Walt responded: "Jeff asks me if I go to hospitals as much as ever. If my letters home don't show it, you don't get 'em. I feel sorry sometimes after I have sent them, I have said so much about hospitals, & so mournful" (see Walt's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated April 28, 1863). Concerned that Jeff might suffer one of his occasional bouts of depression, Walt attempted to place his brother's seeming bad fortune in the largest of contexts: "You must not mind the failure of the sewer bills, &c. &c. It don't seem to me it makes so much difference about worldy successes (beyond just enough to eat & drink, and shelter, in the moderatest limits) any more, since the last four months of my life especially, & that merely to live, & have one fair meal a day, is enough—but then you have a family, & that makes a difference" (see Walt's letter to Louisa from April 28, 1863). See Jeff's letter to Walt dated April 3, 1860. The Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–1867) befriended the Whitman family and became especially close to Jeff and Mattie. Late in life, Ruggles lost interest in his practice and devoted himself to painting cabinet pictures called "Ruggles Gems" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:90, n. 85; 330). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman overworked herself compulsively. Some years before in one of her own letters to Walt she remarked, "i had A pery [sic] bad cold and coughf when Jeffy wrote and had been cleaning house and worked very hard but i am well now" (May 3, 1860? [Trent Collection, William R. Perkins Library, Duke University]). See also Jeff's letter to Walt from March 19, 1864. See Jeff's letter to Walt from April 20, 1863. Walt Whitman's letter never appeared in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Edwin Haviland Miller thinks it was eventually submitted to the Brooklyn Daily Union (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:105 and 1:95, n.3). In addition to requesting ten copies of the Daily Eagle, Walt asked Jeff in a letter dated April 28, 1863 for "5 more of my pictures, (the big ones in the last edition 'Leaves'), & a couple of the photographs carte visites (the smaller ones,)." Moses Lane (1823–82) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. On April 22, 1863, George wrote Jeff, "Kentucky is the most beautiful country I ever saw, the people seem much more inteligent, and every way better, than in any other part of the South I have ever been. I like Ky first rate…there is none of that devilish, Virginia mud to travell through." William G. Hart, a captain and acting assistant adjutant general in Company K of the Eighty-eighth New York Volunteers, suffered a gunshot wound in the right forearm on December 13, 1862, and was granted twenty days sick leave on December 15. Recently promoted to major, William G. Hart was granted several leaves of absence from March 2, 1863, through June 1863. He had received a spinal injury at Kelly's Ford, a camp near Falmouth, Virginia. Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. Like Jeff, he collected money from his employees and friends to give to Walt's hospital efforts during the Civil War. In his letter of May 27, 1863, Lane pledged $5 each month. Similarly, Lane sent dollar contributions from six individuals on May 2, 1863. In an unpublished manuscript in the Berg Collection, Whitman wrote, obviously for publication: "I have distributed quite a large sum of money, contributed for that purpose by noble persons in Brooklyn, New York, (chiefly through Moses Lane, Chief Engineer, Water Works there.)" Lane also assisted Whitman in other ways. He was so solicitous of Whitman's personal welfare that on April 3, 1863, he sent through Jeff $5 "for your own especial benefit." Jeff seems to be in error here. Major General David Bell Birney (1825–64) commanded divisions at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, both places where the Twentieth Connecticut Volunteers fought, but he never commanded in the Twelfth Army Corps. At this time he commanded the First Division, Third Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, while the Twentieth Connecticut Volunteers was in the Twelfth Army Corps, Second Brigade, First Division, under the command of Colonel Samuel Ross (1820?–80). Horace G. H. Tarr (1844–?) had just been promoted from private to sergeant major of Company K. His regiment fought at Chancellorsville, Virginia, May 1–5, 1863, but he was not injured. Evidently Tarr became a lifelong friend of Jeff and Walt Whitman (see Jeff's letter to Walt dated 11 September 1885). George was encamped near Lexington, Kentucky (Jerome M. Loving, ed., Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1975], pp. 91–93). Jeff is depressed by the results of the Battle of Chancellorsville, where a Union army of 130,000 men led by General Joseph Hooker was defeated by General Robert E. Lee's 60,000 Confederates. For Notherners, the only encouraging news was that Lee sacrificed 11,000 men—about as many as Hooker lost—and Stonewall Jackson, Lee's superb general, was killed. Jeff refers to Walt's letter to Moses Lane from May 11, 1863. Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. Like Jeff Whitman, he collected money from his employees and friends for Walt's hospital work. Lane sent Whitman $15.20 in his letter of January 26, 1863, and later various sums which Whitman acknowledged in letters from February 6, 1863, May 26, 1863, and September 9, 1863. In his letter of May 27, 1863, Lane pledged $5 each month. In an unpublished manuscript in the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library, Whitman wrote, obviously for publication: "I have distributed quite a large sum of money, contributed for that purpose by noble persons in Brooklyn, New York, (chiefly through Moses Lane, Chief Engineer, Water Works there.)" Lane assisted Whitman in other ways as well (see Whitman's letters from December 29, 1862, and February 13, 1863). He was so solicitous of Whitman's personal welfare that on April 3, 1863, he sent through Jeff $5 "for your own especial benefit." Some casualties from the Twentieth Connecticut Volunteers were in Washington hospitals, and Walt had promised "to make immediate inquiry" to determine whether Horace Tarr, the nephew of Moses Lane, was among them (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:99). Walt had advised: "You there north must not be so disheartened about Hooker's return to this side of the Rappahannock and supposed failure. The blow struck at Lee & the rebel sway in Virginia, & generally at Richmond & Jeff Davis, …is in my judgment the heaviest and most staggering they have yet got from us, & has not only hit them nearer where they live than all Maclellan ever did, but all that has been levelled at Richmond during the war" (see Whitman's letter to Moses Lane from May 11, 1863). James H. Cornwell was a first lieutenant in the 158th New York Regiment of Infantry. He was the quartermaster in charge of building fortifications at New Bern, North Carolina (Jerome M. Loving, ed., Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1975], 96, n. 5). As Loving notes, "it remains somewhat of a mystery as to why Andrew was beckoned only as far as Suffolk." Perhaps Andrew was to travel to Suffolk by boat, at which point Cornwell could have met him and conducted him to New Bern, North Carolina, by land. Andrew never made the trip (166). See Jeff's letter to Walt from April 16, 1860. Frank Spinola, a newly appointed brigadier general, was the first commander of the 158th New York Regiment of Infantry. The Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–1867) befriended the Whitman family and became especially close to Jeff and Mattie. Late in life, Ruggles lost interest in his practice and devoted himself to painting cabinet pictures called "Ruggles Gems" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:90, n. 85). See Jeff's letter to Walt from March 21, 1863. Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence (New York: New York University Press, 1961–77), 1:102–104. Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. The Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–1867) befriended the Whitman family and became especially close to Jeff and Mattie. Late in life, Ruggles lost interest in his practice and devoted himself to painting cabinet pictures called "Ruggles Gems" (Correspondence 1:90, n. 85). Martha Mitchell Whitman, also known as "Mattie," was Whitman's sister-in-law and wife of his brother Jeff. She was in the last month of her pregnancy at this time. Jeff apparently refers to George's letter of May 15, 1863. James H. Cornwell was a first lieutenant in the 158th New York Regiment of Infantry. He was the quartermaster in charge of building fortifications at New Bern, North Carolina (Loving, 96, n. 5). The siege of Vicksburg had begun May 22, 1863, and Jeff was apparently afraid that, win or lose, it would be as costly and indecisive a battle as those during the previous nine months at Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. Walt Whitman enclosed the preceding three sentences in parentheses. Perhaps in a lost letter Walt conveyed to Jeff ideas about President Lincoln similar to those he offered to his friends Nathaniel Bloom and John F. S. Gray in March: "I think well of the President. He has a face like a hoosier Michael Angelo, so awful ugly it becomes beautiful....Mr. Lincoln keeps a fountain of first-class practical telling wisdom. I do not dwell on the supposed failures of his government; he has shown I sometimes think, an almost supernatural tact in keeping the ship afloat at all" (Correspondence, 1:82–83). Despite this and similar remarks, the poet's faith in Lincoln did occasionally waver. See Correspondence, 1:174, n. 19. For Jeff and Walt's struggle to understand the outcome of the Battle of Chancellorsville, see Jeff's letters to Walt of May 9, 1863 and May 12, 1863. Abraham Lincoln. Walt Whitman's letter of about June 11, 1863, is not extant. In a letter to his mother on June 9, 1863, Walt wrote: "I think something of commencing a series of lectures & readings &c. through different cities of the north, to supply myself with funds for my Hospital & Soldiers visits—as I do not like to be beholden to the medium of others." Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. On June 22, 1863, Whitman was still firmly committed to this lecturing project. As he wrote Jeff, he hoped it would enable him "to continue my Hospital ministrations, on a more free handed scale—As to the Sanitary Commissions & the like, I am sick of them all, & would not accept any of their berths—you ought to see the way the men as they lie helpless in bed turn away their faces from the sight of these Agents." Jeff also had questioned the value of the Sanitary Commission (see Jeff's letter to Walt from February 6, 1863). The Reverend Dr. Richard S. Storrs was a member of Brooklyn's St. Nicholas Society. Walt saved a section of the Brooklyn Eagle, December 11, 1861, containing a short account of Storr's lecture to this society on "A Just War—Its Relations to a Nations [sic] Highest Development" (Charles E. Feinburg Collection, Library of Congress). As Jerome M. Loving notes, "it remains somewhat of a mystery as to why Andrew was beckoned only as far as Suffolk." Perhaps Andrew was to travel to Suffolk, Virginia, by boat, at which point James H. Cornwell, first lieutenant in the 158th New York Regiment of Infantry and quartermaster in charge of building fortifications at New Bern, North Carolina, could have met him and conducted him to New Bern by land. Andrew never made the trip (Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1949], 166). In his letter of June 9, 1863, Walt indicated that he would try to return home to get "some MSS & books, & the trunk, &c." He did not make the trip until November. Because of the generosity of William Douglas O'Connor and his wife, Ellen, Walt had not paid for his meals in Washington (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:108). See Jeff's letter to Walt from May 27, 1863. On June 4, 1863, the Fifty-first New York Regiment, as part of the Ninth Corps, left Stanford, Kentucky, to support the Union forces near Vicksburg. They arrived about June 15, 1863 (Loving, 97). As late as June 30 Walt suspected that George was near Vicksburg, but he had no certain knowledge (Correspondence, 1:111). James P. Kirkwood (1807–1877), a prominent civil engineer and cofounder of the American Society of Civil Engineers (1852), superintended the construction of the Brooklyn Water Works as chief engineer from 1856 to 1862. After his work in Brooklyn, he moved to St. Louis and designed the waterworks which Jeff would later build. Kirkwood eventually became a nationally known independent consultant and wrote the standard text on water filtration. John D. Martin was an engineer. Charles E. Botsford sent Walt Whitman one dollar on July 7, 1863. This is probably Grant. As Jeff explains, he was thinking specifically of the fall of Vicksburg, but he was also encouraged by news concerning the Gettysburg campaign. Major General George Gordon Meade (1815–1872) succeeded Joseph Hooker as commander of the Army of the Potomac in June 1863, and led the army to victory at Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863). General George Brinton McClellan (1826–1885) was General-in-Chief of the Army of the United States from November 1861, until July 1862, when he was replaced by General Henry W. Halleck. In 1864, when McClellan ran for the presidency, the Democratic party split between war Democrats and peace Democrats. To satisfy the war Democrats McClellan was nominated; to satisfy the peace Democrats C. L. Vallandigham and his followers were allowed to draft the platform. Jeff evidently considered the entire Democratic party as "the peace party." This letter is not extant. Jessie Louisa, hereafter the "Sis" of Jeff's letters, was born June 17, 1863. Moses Lane (1823–82) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. Horace G. H. Tarr (1844–?) had just been promoted from private to sergeant major of Company K. His regiment fought at Chancellorsville, Virginia, May 1–5, 1863, but he was not injured. Evidently, Tarr became a lifelong friend of Jeff and Whitman. The letter that contained fifteen dollars is not extant. For the letter containing ten dollars, see Jeff's letter to Walt of 7 July 1863. Walt Whitman enclosed this sentence in parentheses. For months the Copperhead press, especially the Day Book, Express, and Freeman's Journal, had been attacking the draft. Walt Whitman enclosed the words "there are now...this" in parenthesis. Fernando Wood was a former mayor of New York City. Unidentified. Shortly after the surrender of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, the Ninth Corps (including George) engaged in an eleven-day campaign which pushed the army of Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston back through Jackson, Mississippi, which the Union force occupied on July 17, 1863. For Lane, see Jeff's letter to Walt dated 13 January 1863. The $300 Jeff hoped to raise would enable him to buy his way out of the service if he were drafted. Walt Whitman wrote to his mother on July 15: "if it should so happen that Jeff should be drafted—of course he could not go, without its being the downfall almost of our whole family, as you may say, Mat & his young ones, & a sad blow to you too, mother, & to all—I didn't see any other way than to try to raise the $300, mostly by borrowing if possible of Mr Lane—mother, I have no doubt I shall make a few hundred dollars by the lectures I shall certainly commence soon...& I could lend that am't to Jeff to pay it back" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:117–18). The year is added in another hand, probably Walt Whitman's. As part of the Ninth Corps, George's regiment had fought in Mississippi under Wililam T. Sherman during July and was now returning to Cincinnati where it arrived August 14, 1863 (Jerome M. Loving, ed., Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975], 97, 100–101). See Jeff's letter to Walt from 21 March 1863. John D. Martin was an engineer. Henry Carlow, an engineer, is listed in the Brooklyn directory for 1859/60, but not in the subsequent years. This slang term, more often spelled "spondulicks," means money or cash. Unidentified. The Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–67) befriended the Whitman family and became especially close to Jeff and Mattie. Late in life, Ruggles lost interest in his practice and devoted himself to painting cabinet pictures called "Ruggles Gems" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961], 1:90, n. 85). After having contemplated giving lectures for several weeks (see Jeff's letters to Walt from 13 June 1863 and 19 July 1863), Walt Whitman took Ruggles' advice and wrote "Washington in the Hot Season" and "Letter from Washington" for the New York Times (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961], 1:136, n. 14, and 140, n. 27). Dating Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walt Whitman, September 5, 1863, and Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walt Whitman, September 5, 1863, is a problem. In the first of these Jeff incorrectly says that Setember 5 is a Wednesday; actually the fifth was a Saturday. One might assume, then, that both letters were written on Wednesday, September 2, if it were not for Walt Whitman's comment that he received letters from Jeff dated the third (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:143). Perhaps both letters were written on Thursday, September 3, 1863. Walt Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, September 1, 1863 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, 1:139–41). In her letter to Walt Whitman of August 31 (?) Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote: "Andrew has gone to place called freehold...he went last monday as far as suffron station" (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Books, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). Andrew's drinking with Jim Cornwell on this trip apparently worsened his health. Jeff was not merely making an off-hand statement praising his own will and constitution. To judge from scattered references in Hannah's undated letters, Jeff was very sick for a short time in the mid-1850s (Heyde, Hannah [Whitman] Collection, Library of Congress). While it is impossible to determine the exact nature of Jeff's illness, he seems to have suffered from severe depression, loss of appetite, and eventually emaciation. Since this was a period of vocational crisis for Jeff, the symptoms suggest that his illness was psychosomatic. The Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–1867) befriended the Whitman family and became especially close to Jeff and Mattie. Late in life, Ruggles lost interest in his practice and devoted himself to painting cabinet pictures called "Ruggles Gems" (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, 1:90, n. 85). Tom Geer, a reporter, lived on Myrtle Avenue. Two Thomas McEvoys are listed in the Brooklyn directory: a driver who lived on Navy Street, and a worker in morocco leather who lived on Front Street. Seven people named Patrick Hughes are listed in the 1862/63 Brooklyn directory. Nicholas Amerman was a grocer on Myrtle Avenue. In her letter of May 3 (?), 1860, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman noted that she was "in debt to ammerman about 10 dollars" (Trent). Husted & Carll was a carpet store at 295 Fulton Street. Governor Horatio Seymour of New York. Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. Dating Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walt Whitman, September 5, 1863, and Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walt Whitman, September 5, 1863, is a problem. In the first of these Jeff incorrectly says that Setember 5 is a Wednesday; actually the fifth was a Saturday. One might assume, then, that both letters were written on Wednesday, September 2, if it were not for Walt Whitman's comment that he received letters from Jeff dated the third (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:143). Perhaps both letters were written on Thursday, September 3, 1863. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from January 13, 1863. Dr. A. Cooke Hull had his office on Joralemon Street in Brooklyn. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from April 2, 1863. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote Walt Whitman on September 10 (?), 1863, indicating that despite the generous talk of Jeff and Mattie "they would soon get tired of fixing things" for Andrew (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Books, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from April 3, 1860. For more on Jesse's physical and mental decline, see Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from December 15, 1863. In her letter of September 10 (?), 1863, after noting that Andrew's health was "very bad," Louisa Van Velsor Whitman complained because Andrew wanted some roast lamb: "i said get a small peice and have it cooked i told him to have whatever he wanted but to be saving of what he had but to get anything he could eat but Walt it is no use to talk they just get the very most expensive things lamb is twenty cents per lb" (Trent). Perhaps one of the reasons for Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's extreme frugality was her need to keep money aside in case one of the Whitman family members needed to travel to Burlington, Vermont, to rescue Hannah from her husband (Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman [New York: Macmillan, 1955; rev. ed., New York University Press, 1967], 292–293). This letter has no signature or customary conclusion and may be a fragment. Joseph Phineas Davis (1837–1917) took a degree in civil engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1856 and then helped build the Brooklyn Water Works until 1861. He was a topographical engineer in Peru from 1861 to 1865, after which he returned to Brooklyn. A lifelong friend of Jeff Whitman's, he became city engineer of Boston (1871–80) and completed his distinguished career as chief engineer of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (1880–1908). For his work with Jeff in St. Louis, see Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letters to Walt Whitman from May 23, 1867, January 21, 1869, and March 25, 1869. Major General William Stacke Rosecrans (1819–1898) performed admirably in the Chattanooga campaign, but his tactical blunders at Chickamauga (September 1863) were disastrous. He was soon relieved of command on the advice of General Grant and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. Although Jeff repeatedly complained about this doctor (see Jeff's letter to Walt from October 15, 1863) George and Walt Whitman were willing to let Andrew experiment with him. On October 16, 1863, George wrote Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, "I had a letter from Walt, dated Sept. 28th he said that Andrew was considerable better and was Doctoring with a celabrated Italian Doctor in Court St. I dont have much faith in them new fangled foreign Doctors, but if Andrew is realy so much better, it is good encouragment to keep on and give him a fair trial" (Jerome M. Loving, ed., Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975], 107). Near the end of October Andrew changed to Dr. John H. Brodie who lived on Myrtle Avenue (Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to Walt Whitman, October 30 [?], 1863 [Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library]). Joseph Phineas Davis (1837–1917) took a degree in civil engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1856 and then helped build the Brooklyn Water Works until 1861. He was a topographical engineer in Peru from 1861 to 1865, after which he returned to Brooklyn. A lifelong friend of Jeff Whitman's, he became city engineer of Boston (1871–80) and completed his distinguished career as chief engineer of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (1880–1908). For his work with Jeff in St. Louis, see Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letters to Walt Whitman from May 23, 1867, January 21, 1869, and March 25, 1869. The lawyer William S. Davis and his brother Joseph were descendants of a distinguished Massachusetts family (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:152–53). He was probably a young son of Samuel R. Probasco, an engineer at the waterworks. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from January 13, 1863. Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. Like Jeff Whitman, he collected money from his employees and friends for Walt's hospital work. Lane sent Whitman $15.20 in his letter of January 26, 1863, and later various sums which Whitman acknowledged in letters from February 6, 1863, May 11, 1863, May 26, 1863, and September 9, 1863. In his letter of May 27, 1863, Lane pledged $5 each month. In an unpublished manuscript in the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library, Whitman wrote, obviously for publication: "I have distributed quite a large sum of money, contributed for that purpose by noble persons in Brooklyn, New York, (chiefly through Moses Lane, Chief Engineer, Water Works there.)" Lane assisted Whitman in other ways as well (see Whitman's letters from December 29, 1862, and February 13, 1863). He was so solicitous of Whitman's personal welfare that on April 3, 1863, he sent through Jeff $5 "for your own especial benefit." Someone, probably Walt Whitman, set off the first half of this sentence with virgules and underscored "W. S. Davis" and "Worcester." Walt Whitman wrote to William S. Davis on October 1, 1863. There was much ill will in the Whitman household at this time. Jeff thought that his mother's frugality was endangering the health of his brothers; the mother felt that Jeff and Mattie had themselves been stingy regarding Andrew. On September 15 (?), 1863, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman complained in a letter to Walt that Andrew and his wife Nancy expected her to pay their rent: "i suppose martha has told nancy i have got 2 or 3 hundred dollars in the bank they never gave him one cents worth when he went away not even a shirt....i said to mat the other day in a joke if they had another young one they would be so stingey we wouldent know what to doo but i got the same old retort that it was me that was stingey with my bank book....i told her the other day becaus i had 2 or 3 hu dolla if i used it all i might go to the poor house" (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). The Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–1867) befriended the Whitman family and became especially close to Jeff and Mattie. Late in life, Ruggles lost interest in his practice and devoted himself to painting cabinet pictures called "Ruggles Gems" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:90, n. 85; 330). James P. Kirkwood (1807–1877), a prominent civil engineer and cofounder of the American Society of Civil Engineers (1852), superintended the construction of the Brooklyn Water Works as chief engineer from 1856 to 1862. After his work in Brooklyn, he moved to St. Louis and designed the waterworks which Jeff would later build. Kirkwood eventually became a nationally known independent consultant and wrote the standard text on water filtration. Joseph Phineas Davis (1837–1917) took a degree in civil engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1856 and then helped build the Brooklyn Water Works until 1861. He was a topographical engineer in Peru from 1861 to 1865, after which he returned to Brooklyn. A lifelong friend of Jeff's, he became city engineer of Boston (1871–80) and completed his distinguished career as chief engineer of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (1880–1908). Whitman probably did not write this letter to Joseph Davis; he makes no reference to it in either his correspondence or his diary. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from September 24, 1863. There is no record of Walt Whitman writing Kirkwood at this time. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from October 7, 1863. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from April 16, 1860. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from January 13, 1863. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from February 10, 1863. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from February 6, 1863. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from April 2, 1863. On October 4, 1863, the New York Times printed Walt Whitman's "Letter from Washington." This wide-ranging article discussed such matters as the beauties of Washington, the progress on the Capitol Dome, army ambulances, and the quality of light in the city (Emory Holloway, ed., The Uncollected Poetry and Prose of Walt Whitman [Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Page and Company, 1921], 2:29–36). "From Washington" appeared in the Brooklyn Daily Union of September 22, 1863 (The Uncollected Poetry and Prose of Walt Whitman, [1921], 2:26–29). See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from January 13, 1863. See Whitman's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman from October 13, 1863. Walt Whitman's letter to which Jeff refers is not extant. On September 10 (?), 1863, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had instructed Walt Whitman to "write on a piece of paper loose from the letter if you say anything you dont want all to read" (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Books, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). It is hard to say why Louisa Van Velsor Whitman might have kept Walt Whitman's letter of October 13, 1863, away from Jeff since it was by no means of a sensitive or private nature. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from September 22, 1863. Jeff seems to be referring to the "Italian Dr" here. But on October 30 (?), 1863, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman noted that Andrew "is doctoring with dr Brody." Perhaps Jeff's complaints led to the change. Writing to his mother on October 20, 1863, Walt Whitman commented: "If I thought it would be any benefit to Andrew I should certainly leave everything else & come back to Brooklyn." Nonetheless, despite Jeff's repeated pleas and his assurances that Andrew would listen to Walt Whitman's advice above that of all others, the poet refused to return home. As Edwin Haviland Miller comments, Walt Whitman had "little excuse for delay" (Walt Whitman: The Corespondence, [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:165, n. 90). Perhaps the poet was loathe to return to an upsetting and hopeless situation at a time when he was "very happy [in the hospitals]. I never was so beloved." So many men were wounded at this time that he had "to bustle round, to keep from crying." The poet may also have been trying to avoid further strain to his already overcharged emotions. See Correspondence, 1:164, 166). In her letter to Walt Whitman of October 30 (?), 1863, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman condemned Nancy's inactivity more explicitly: "i asked him [Andrew} to day what nancy was dooing if she was dooing any sewing...i dont know but i think she is about the lazyest and dirtiest woman i ever want to see...shes as ugly as she is dirty i dont wonder he used to drink" (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Books, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from September 5, 1863. See Walt Whitman's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman from October 20, 1863. Walt Whitman had referred to the waterworks people as "mean old punkin heads" and "mean low-lived old shoats" for reducing Jeff's pay after "faithful &...really valuable" work (see Whitman's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman from October 20, 1863). This is one of a number of oblique references in the family correspondence to a period when Jeff's emotional state was less stable. Such references support the idea that Jeff's illness in the mid-1850s may have been psychosomatic. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from September 5, 1863. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from January 13, 1863. Perhaps Walt Whitman sent Jeff additional volumes of the Pacific Railroad reports (see Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from April 2, 1863). A member of the Adams family of Boston, Julius Walker Adams (1812–99) distinguished himself as an engineer working on both railroads and water systems. He designed the Brooklyn sewer system, the first one in America constructed on a general plan according to scientific principles, and is credited with having drawn up the first plans for the Brooklyn Bridge (1866). He also commanded the Fifty-sixth Regiment of the Brooklyn National Guard which defended the New York Times and Tribune offices during the draft riots of July 1863. He wrote several standard textbooks on engineering and served as chief engineer of Brooklyn from 1869 to 1877 and president of the American Society of Civil Engineers from 1873 to 1875. There is no evidence that he worked for any of the Pacific Railroad companies. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from April 2, 1863. This telegram is not extant. According to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, Mattie remained at Andrew's side the day before he died "nearly all day [and] only came home to nurse the baby...martha was there till late then she came home and mary and Jeffy staid all night...they had to fan him all night and bathe him in brandy...when she [Nancy] came out in the morning she brought such a smell that Jeffy got sick" (letter to Walt Whitman, December 4, 1863 [Trent Collection, William R. Perkins Library, Duke University]). William Ezra Worthen (1819–1897) graduated from Harvard in 1838 and soon became a leading civil and hydraulic engineer. He designed and built many dams and mills in New England, some of which still operate. Originally from Massachusetts, he settled in New York in 1849 and served as sanitary engineer of the Metropolitan Board of Health of New York City, 1866–1869. He became noted for designing and testing pumping engines, including some for James P. Kirkwood during the early stages of the new St. Louis Water Works, and developed a major reputation as a consultant (The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography [New York: James T. White & Company, 1904], 7:206). He published several books on engineering and served as president of the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1887. Jeff is in error; Friday was the fourth. Despite some complaints about Mattie, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letters generally show a deep affection for Jeff's wife. See Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 17–21. Jeff's unsympathetic attitude toward Edward and Jesse made it impossible for Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to consider becoming dependent on Jeff and Mattie. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's version of Jesse's outburst differs little from either that of Jeff or Mattie (see Waldron, Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [1977], 32–36); however, Mother Whitman attributed Jesse's behavior to "seeing his brothers corps" and thought Jeff overreacted: "of course Jeff had to hear it all in the strongest light" (Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to Walt Whitman, December 4, 1863 [Trent Collection, William R. Perkins Library, Duke University]). The squib Jeff refers to was a short "Personal" item in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle of December 3, 1863, which praised Walt Whitman's work with the soldiers and read in part: "Who is there in Brooklyn who doesn't know Walt Whitman? Rough and ready, kind and considerate, generous and good, he was ever a friend in need." In a note appended to a letter from George from December 9, 1863, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman said taht she thought that the article had been written by Dr. Ruggles, but Walt Whitman thought it was written by Joseph Howard, Jr. (see Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:190 and 190, n. 76). See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from April 16, 1860. Walt Whitman's letter is not extant. Apparently the poet agreed with Jeff that their brother Jesse needed to be institutionalized. Their mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, however, defended her firstborn: "Jessy is a very great trouble to me to be sure and dont appreceate what i doo for him but he is no more deranged than he has been for the last 3 years I think it would be very bad for him to be put in the lunatic assiliym...i could not find it in my heart to put him there withou i see something that would make it unsafe for me to have him" (December 25, 1863 [Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library]). See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from April 2, 1863. Peter G. Kisselbrack (1825–?), a local politician, was elected to the New York State Assembly from Columbia County in 1862 and served one term, through 1863. James Ward died December 14, 1863 (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 14, 1863). Although Jeff appears to have written "DeBenor's" or "DeBevor's," neither name is listed in the city directories. However, Jeff had maintained a long friendship with the DeBevoise family of Brooklyn, and perhaps this is the name he intended. Jeff would then be referring to a sister of his old friend William DeBevoise, which would explain Jeff's use of the maiden name. See Jeff's letter to Walt Whitman from February 10, 1863. Henry W. Merian (1840–1863), third assistant engineer, United States Navy, perished with twenty-six others when the monitor Weehawken sank in a storm off Charleston, South Carolina, on December 16, 1865. From roughly 1854 to 1862 Walt Whitman moved in a circle of literary and theatrical people that met at Charles Pfaff's restaurant on Broadway near Bleecker Street. Here he met such writers as William Dean Howells, Richard Henry Stoddard, Thomas Bailey Aldrich, and Edmund Clarence Stedman. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from January 13, 1863. "Tom" is proably the nickname of either Edward or John Tweedy. The Tweedys lived in Brooklyn and worked in a dry goods store in New York. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from January 13, 1863. The new mayor of Brooklyn, Colonel Alfred M. Wood, nominated Samuel S. Powell for water commissioner on February 1, 1864, but the Board of Aldermen refused to confirm him. On March 1, Wood nominated W. A. Fowler who was confirmed. William C. Kingsley (1833–1885) was one of the first contractors for the Brooklyn Water Works (1857). For his role in building the Brooklyn Bridge, see Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman from February 23, 1885. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walt Whitman, April 16, 1860. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walt Whitman, December 28, 1863. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walt Whitman, February 10, 1863. Copies of the Brooklyn Daily Union. Major Lyman S. Hapgood, the paymaster of the army volunteers, employed Walt Whitman as a copyist from December 1862 to January 1865. Charles W. Eldridge, co–publisher of the 1860 Leaves of Grass and later a clerk in Hapgood's office, helped the poet gain this employment. Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:11 and 162, n. 83). No record indicates the poet read this book, but he probably would not have been sympathetic with its thesis. Whitman also rejected arguments for white superiority; he marked an article on "The Slavonians and Eastern Europe," North British Review, American edition, 11 (August 1849), 283, which argued that there are "three varieties of human beings" and that "up to the present moment, the destinies of the species appear to have been carried forward almost exclusively by its Caucasian variety." The poet responded in the margin: "? yes of late centuries, but how about those 5, or 10, or twenty thousand years ago?" (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Books, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). See the letter from Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walt Whitman of January 13, 1863. On March 31, 1864, April 5, 1864, and April 26, 1864, Walt Whitman promised to write Jeff Whitman a long letter. In this letter from the 26th, the poet remarked that "the devil is in it....I have laid out so many weeks to write you a good long letter, & something has shoved it off each time." See the letter from Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walt Whitman of April 3, 1860. "Travis," here, is unidentified. "Jim Jourdan's wife" was probably the wife of James Jordan, a laborer. James C. Brower owned a hardware and house-furnishings store located at the corner of Cumberland and Myrtle in Brooklyn, New York. "Mr. Crany," here, is unidentified. See the letter from Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walt Whitman of December 15, 1863. George Whitman had written a letter to Jeff Whitman from this encampment near Hickman's Bridge, Kentucky, on September 22, 1863. He had returned to Brooklyn for a thirty-day leave in January 1864, reenlisted, and rejoined his regiment on February 25, 1864. On March 6, 1864, he wrote Lousia Van Velsor Whitman that he was in Nashville and would soon be in Knoxville; apparently the family had not yet received this letter. See the letter from Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walt Whitman of February 10, 1863. For Dr. Ruggles, see the letter from Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walt Whitman of April 2, 1863. Whitman's letter of about January 25 is not extant. This letter is not listed among the poet's lost letters (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:368). Unidentified. On January 24, 1865, the Evening Post published on the front page Grant's letter of January 21 to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton stating that a limited exchange of prisoners was under way at Richmond and that a general exchange should soon follow. Grant added that supplies were being distributed to prisoners by Union agents. The Post also reprinted Stanton's letter to the House of Representatives which indicated that Grant had had authority to make such an exchange since October 15, 1864, and that now the exchange appeared unlikely. Whitman was a first-class (lowest grade) clerk in the Indian Bureau, a branch of the Department of the Interior. Of course Jeff refers not to his neighbor John Brown but to the abolitionist leader who had seized the U.S. arsenal at Harpers Ferry and been memorialized in a popular song, "John Brown had a little Indian." Whitman responded on January 30, 1865: "It is easy enough—I take things very easy—the rule is to come at 9 and go at 4—but I don't come at 9, and only stay till 4 when I want." The job was perfect for it allowed Whitman time for both his hospital visits and his literary pursuits. Walt Whitman had written to Jeff on January 30, 1865. This joint congressional committee, dominated by Radical Republicans, had been investigating the conduct of the war since December 20, 1861. Both the Brooklyn Daily Union and the New York Evening Post of January 31, 1865, carried Albert D. Richardson's testimony before this committee about the conditions in Southern prisons. Brigadier General Benjamin Franklin Butler (1818–93), a controversial and outspoken Radical Republican, was dismissed from command by Grant's special order on January 7, 1865. He was the last civilian commander in the Union army. On January 28 in Lowell, Massachusetts, he addressed four thousand people in a speech defending his war record and attacking the policies of his former superiors. Two days later the New York Times printed the entire speech, devoting almost the whole front page to it. Butler explained that in March 1864 he had successfully conducted numerous prisoner exchanges but that Grant had ordered him to cease in the following terse telegram: "Do not give the rebels a single able-bodied man." Butler explicitly placed "the responsibility of stopping exchanges of prisoners...upon [Grant,] the Lieutenant-General commanding." The next day the Times characterized this speech as "exceedingly able, defiant, and mischievous" and "thoroughly insubordinate" in temper. On February 3, 1865, Richardson would write in the New York Tribune that it took twenty-five to forty days for packages to reach prisoners and that only one of every six or ten reached its destination. Confederate officers, he charged, confiscated the rest. In a brief note entitled "Arrivals at Libby Prison" the New York Tribune reported on this day that Brigadier General James Haynes and Lieutenant J. W. Lucas would leave military prison in Danville (where George Whitman was also held) to be "sent North by flag of truce." John Swinton (1829–1901) was the managing editor of the New York Times and a strong supporter of Whitman and Leaves of Grass. As a candidate of the Industrial Political party, Swinton ran for mayor of New York in 1874. After leaving the Times, he worked for the New York Sun from 1875 to 1883 and for the following four years edited John Swinton's Paper, a weekly labor journal. For more on Whitman and Swinton, see Donald Yannella, "Swinton, John (1829–1901)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). The Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–1867) befriended the Whitman family and became especially close to Jeff and Mattie Whitman. Late in life, Ruggles lost interest in his practice and devoted himself to painting cabinet pictures called "Ruggles Gems" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:90, n. 85). Walt Whitman took Jeff's advice and wrote to Swinton on February 3, 1865. On February 5 Swinton replied, enclosing a letter for the poet to send to Grant. In his letter to Whitman of February 5, 1865, John Swinton noted that his letter to Grant (dated February 6) might not be "worth mailing. Since your letter was written, the statement has been published . . . that Grant has made the arrangements for a general exchange." See Jeff Whitman's letter to Walt from February 10, 1863. Morris H. Roberts (1828–65), a local baker and superintendent for the poor of the Western District of Brooklyn, died not of spotted fever as first reported, but of typhoid fever (Brooklyn Daily Union, January 31 and February 1, 1865). On February 3, the New York Tribune devoted two and a half columns to Albert D. Richardson's "Our Prisoners in the South." Richardson had been imprisoned at Salisbury, North Carolina, from February 3, 1864, to December 18, 1864, when he escaped. Richardson not only argued that the Confederates were "deliberately killing" Union men, but he also attacked the inactivity of "well-fed and well-clothed Senators in their warm chamber...[and] cushioned chairs....I wish they would look into those foul pens at Salisbury, which by a perversion of the English tongue are called hospitals;...I wish they could look on the dead cart with its rigid forms, piled upon each other like logs—the stark swaying arms—the white, ghostly faces, with their dropped jaws and their staring, stony eyes—...I think a few hours in the stillness of that garrison...would change their view on the matter." Under the headline "The Peach Question" the Evening Post for February 3 quoted three paragraphs from Richardson's letter, including his comments on the high mortality rates. See Jeff Whitman's letter to Walt from January 31, 1865. See Jeff's letter to Walt from March 19, 1864. The Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–1867) befriended the Whitman family and became especially close to Jeff and Mattie Whitman. Late in life, Ruggles lost interest in his practice and devoted himself to painting cabinet pictures called "Ruggles Gems" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:90, n. 85). Newspapers of the day were filled with rumors of an impending meeting between Union and Confederate leaders at Fortress Monroe, Virginia. See Jeff's letter to Walt from February 7, 1865. "Bettini and his wife Trebelti have been winning successes in various Italian operas in Warsaw" (New York Times, February 3, 1865). Although Allesandro Bettini performed in New York for only a year (December 5, 1850, to about February 1852), he was Whitman's favorite tenor (Robert D. Faner, Walt Whitman & Opera [Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1951], 59–61; see also Jeff's letter to Walt from March 21, 1863). Whitman's letter of about February 6, 1865, is not extant. The Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–1867) befriended the Whitman family and became especially close to Jeff and Mattie Whitman. Late in life, Ruggles lost interest in his practice and devoted himself to painting cabinet pictures called "Ruggles Gems" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:90, n. 85). Swinton had already written a letter to Grant on February 6, 1865. See Jeff Whitman's letter to Walt from January 31, 1865. See Jeff's letter to Walt from February 10, 1863. By February 10, 1865, Julius W. Mason, a lieutenant colonel in the Fifth Cavalry, had sent a box to George and had promised Whitman that the poet's letter to his imprisoned brother would be sent by the first flag of truce. See Mason's February 16 letter to Whitman. Unidentified. On February 3, 1865, Lincoln and his Secretary of State Wiliam H. Seward met with Vice-President of the Confederacy Alexander H. Stephens on the Union transport River Queen lying in Hampton Roads. All through 1864 Lincoln had insisted that he would consider any peace plan that included restoration of the Union and the emancipation of all slaves; he now also demanded a complete end to the war, refusing to consider a temporary cessation of hostilities. Lincoln's last requirement frustrated the Southerners' desire for an armistice, which would, they hoped, allow for a cooling of passions before the beginning of negotiations. The meeting ended with no agreement reached. In his letter of January 30, 1865, Whitman briefly described the comfortable room he rented from "a very friendly old secesh landlady whose husband & son are off in the Southern army." The hospitals were fairly full because, as Whitman noted, some soldiers remained with "bad old lingering wounds" while others were moved to Washington as field hospitals were dismantled. See Whitman's letter to Abby H. Price from February 4, 1865. Major General Ethan Allen Hitchcock (1798–1870), military advisor to Lincoln and U.S. commissioner for the exchange of prisoners, had long feuded with Butler (see Jeff Whitman's letter to Walt from January 31, 1865) over the question of exchanging prisoners. He may have pointed out to Whitman that Grant was not solely responsible for the exchange policy because Stanton and Lincoln shaped it also. Whitman's letter of about May 3, 1865, is not extant. The Grand Review of the Union armies took place in Washington, D.C., on May 23 and 24, 1865. Jeff was unable to attend, but Walt wrote him about it in a letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman [New York: Macmillan, 1955; rev. ed., New York University Press, 1967], 336–337, and Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:260–263). On February 22, 1865, George gained his freedom as part of a general prisoner exchange. He was soon granted a thirty-day furlough, which was extended, because of his poor health, until about April 24. On his return to military duty he was assigned command of a military prison in Alexandria, Virginia, where he remained until July 27, 1865 (Jerome M. Loving, ed., Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975], 134–136). Whitman's letter from around May 13, 1865, is not extant. In his final months in the army George attempted, without success, to become a career officer (Jerome M. Loving, ed., Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975], 136). See Jeff Whitman's letter to Walt from February 10, 1863. See Jeff Whitman's letter to Walt from January 13, 1863. John Bidwell (1819–1900), a representative from California, was elected as a Unionist to the Thirty-ninth Congress (March 4, 1865 to March 3, 1867). Earlier in his extraordinary life Bidwell had crossed the Rockies and Sierras with the first overland expedition (1841). In California he became the first man to discover gold in the Feather River, the most noted agriculturalist in the state, one of the early regents of the university, and an unsuccessful candidate for governor. In 1890, he was the Prohibition party candidate for president of the United States. Moses Lane and Jeff might have been especially interested in Bidwell because he was one of the early proponents of a transcontinental railroad. See Jeff's letter to Walt from January 31, 1865. Edwin McMasters Stanton (1814–69) was secretary of war from 1862 to 1868. In the Brooklyn Daily Advertiser, June 1, 1850, Whitman had applauded Teunis G. Bergen for various services in the New York legislature and for being "a very Cerberus in his watch over the Treasury" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:37, n. 1). Jeff worked with the congressman's son, Van Brunt Bergen, at the Brooklyn Water Works (see Jeff's letter to Walt from December 21, 1866. The Grand Review of the Union armies. See Jeff's letter to Walt from May 4, 1865. Whitman's letter of about May 11, 1865, is not extant. See Jeff's letter to Walt from December 15, 1863. In her letter of June 3, 1865, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman complained of suffering "considerable distress" from headaches (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Books, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). See Jeff's letter to Walt from January 13, 1863. These surnames also appear in the postscript to Walt Whitman's "The Great Washington Hospitals: Life Among Fifty Thousand Sick Soldiers.—Cases of Brooklyn Men" (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 19, 1863: 2). One of the children, Kate Lane, is the daughter of Moses E. Lane. A second is Willie Durkee, presumably the son of the man listed as "E. R. Durkee" in Whitman's postscript. The child of Charles E. Crary ("Crany" in Jeff's letter) has not been identified. As Jeff indicates, this was not the first time some of these children had contributed to Whitman's hospital work. On January 26, 1863, Moses Lane sent Whitman $15.20, including five cents from Willie Durkee and fifteen cents from Miss Kate Lane. Moses Lane commented that these contributors were the only ones "thus far that will have to deny themselves anything" on account of their gifts. Crany may have sent Whitman money in 1863 and 1864 (see Jeff's letters to Walt from April 3, 1863 and March 11, 1864). Whitman's letter of about July 15, 1865, is not extant. Whitman enclosed in parentheses everything after "but" to the end of the paragraph. James Harlan (1820–1899), secretary of the interior from 1865 to 1866, dismissed Whitman from his second-class clerkship on June 30, 1865. Harlan apparently took offense at the copy of the 1860 Leaves of Grass which Whitman was revising and which he kept at his desk. With the help of William Douglas O'Connor and Assistant Attorney General J. Hubley Aston, Whitman secured a position in the attorney general's office. The Harlan episode led directly to O'Connor's pamphlet "The Good Gray Poet." Although Harlan was a Methodist, he was not a parson. Whitman may have sarcastically applied this term to Harlan because on May 30, 1865, Harlan had issued an official directive asking for the names of employees who disregarded "in their conduct, habits, and associations the rules of decorum & propriety prescribed by a Christian Civilization" (Jerome Loving, Walt Whitman's Champion [College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1978], 57). On July 12, 1865, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle published "Morality in Washington," which noted that "Walt Whitman has lost his position in the Interior Department at Washington under the general order discharging immoral persons, his 'Leaves of Grass' being produced as evidence of his immorality.... Walt is personally a good-hearted fellow, with some ability, but he was bitten with the mania of transcendentalism, which broke out in New England some years ago." Perhaps Jeff's outrage resulted from the charge that Whitman "wrote of things no right minded person is supposed ever to think of, and used language shocking to ears polite....He now occupies a desk in the Attorney General's office, where we suppose they are not so particular about morals." Isaac Van Anden. See Jeff Whitman's letter to Walt from April 6, 1863. On July 25, 1865, the Fifty-first Regiment of New York Volunteers was discharged from military service. In her letter to Walt Whitman of August 8, 1865, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote: "I gess they are all sorry i dont know as they are sorry the war is over but i gess they would much rather staid in camp...[George] is very restless" (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Books, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). Jeff may be thinking of this passage from Heyde's letter of June 1865: Hannah "will not dress herself decently, but in place of this when I come home to dinner...she manages to quarrell me out of it—so that I leave it half eaten—she begins by questioning me about my women [Heyde's art students],...and goes so far as to intimate that I have sexual intercourse with my pupils, at my roomDavid F. Wright wrote to Walt Whitman on January 4, 1865, relating his attempts to arrange for the exchange of George, who was in a Confederate prison at that time; see Whitman's letter to William D. O'Connor of January 6, 1865.
In Whitman scholarship, this letter traditionally has been identified as "to Dana F. Wright," based on Wright's signature at the end of his January 4, 1865 letter to Whitman. Descendants of Wright as well as military roster and census data confirm Wright's first name as David.
Captain Samuel H. Sims, a member of George's regiment, was killed on July 30, 1864, at Petersburg. Major (later Colonel) John Gibson Wright was taken prisoner with George; see Whitman's letters of September 11, 1864 and May 25, 1865. Excerpts from five of Whitman's letters to an unidentified ex-soldier were printed by Florence Hardiman Miller in the Overland Monthly. According to Edward Havilland Miller, most of the letters have not been dated because of the fragmentary nature of her quotations, and the identity of the recipient is also unknown. Evidently he came from Kentucky and later moved to California. Florence Miller's transcripts are not reliable, as evidenced by a comparison of the facsimile (63) with the transcription (61). Miss Miller, who generally is more exuberant than factual, seems to imply that the correspondence continued into the early 1870s. Until the originals are found, this attempt at reconstruction will have to suffice; see Whitman's letters to soldiers from 1865(?) , early 1866(?) , May 16, 1866 , and November (?) 1866 . Probably this is Whitman's copy of The Odyssey of Homer, translated by Theodore Alois Buckley (1863), now in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection at the Library of Congress. On the flyleaf Whitman wrote: "Possess'd by me from 1868 to 1888 and read by me during those times—Sometimes in Washington & sometimes in Camden—Small or larger readings—Often in Camp or Army Hospitals—Walt Whitman." Obviously either the reference to the hospitals or the date "1868" is in error. James Harlan (1820–1899), secretary of the interior from 1865 to 1866, dismissed Whitman from his second-class clerkship on June 30, 1865. Harlan apparently took offense at the copy of the 1860 Leaves of Grass which Whitman was revising and which he kept at his desk. With the help of William Douglas O'Connor and Assistant Attorney General J. Hubley Aston, Whitman secured a position in the attorney general's office. The Harlan episode led directly to O'Connor's pamphlet "The Good Gray Poet." Although Harlan was a Methodist, he was not a parson. Whitman may have sarcastically applied this term to Harlan because on May 30, 1865, Harlan had issued an official directive asking for the names of employees who disregarded "in their conduct, habits, and associations the rules of decorum & propriety prescribed by a Christian Civilization" (Jerome Loving, Walt Whitman's Champion [College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1978], 57). Whitman corresponded with Byron Sutherland, a soldier, between 1865 and 1870. On September 20, 1868, he wrote to Sutherland: "I retain just the same friendship I formed for you the short time we were together, (but intimate,) in 1865" (Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library; Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:44–45). Whitman had written to Sutherland on August 26, 1865 . Whitman refers to Sequel to Drum-Taps; see also his letter to Ellen M. O'Connor of October 12, 1865 . See Whitman's letter from April (?) 1865 . Apparently Anson Ryder, Jr., left Armory Square Hospital and, accompanied by another injured soldier named Wood (probably Calvin B. Wood; see NUPM 2:673), returned to his family at Cedar Lake, New York. Hugo Eicholtz was listed in the Washington Directory of 1869 and in one of Whitman's address books (The Library of Congress # 109). He evidently lived with his mother, a dressmaker. Sergeant Hiram W. Frazee, Second New York Artillery, was wounded in "one of the last battles near Petersburg" (Richard Maurice Bucke, ed., The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 6:236). Probably Dr. Thomas C. Smith, a Washington physician. Probably Whitman sent this issue of the Atlantic Monthly because of Lowell's poem "To J. B." According to an annotation in the Harvard Library copy of the magazine, J. B. is John Bartlett, the compiler of quotations. One of Burroughs's friends, interestingly, was Joel Benton, a poet and reviewer; see Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1931), 18. The magazine also contains an account of Ferrero's (and therefore George's) siege at Knoxville. For a time Whitman lived with William D. and Ellen M. O'Connor, who, with Charles W. Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the early Washington years. William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of Harrington, an abolition novel published by Thayer & Eldridge in 1860. He had been an assistant editor of the Saturday Evening Post before he went to Washington. O'Connor was an intelligent man who deserved something better than the various governmental clerical posts he was to hold until his death. The humdrum of clerkship, however, was relieved by the presence of Whitman whom he was to love and venerate—and defend with a single-minded fanaticism and an outpouring of vituperation and eulogy that have seldom been equaled, most notably in his pamphlet, "The Good Gray Poet." He was the first, and in many ways the most important, of the adulators who divided people arbitrarily into two categories: those who were for and those who were against Walt Whitman. The poet praised O'Connor in the preface to a posthumous collection of his tales: "He was a born sample here in the 19th century of the flower and symbol of olden time first-class knighthood. Thrice blessed be his memory!" (Complete Prose Works [New York, D. Appleton, 1910] pp. 513). For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors see O'Connor, William Douglas [1832–1889]. John J. Piatt met Whitman on New Year's Day, 1863. Piatt was a versifier and author of Poems by Two Friends in collaboration with W. D. Howells; see Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (1931), 43. On February 12, 1866, he wrote a sympathetic account of Whitman and The Good Gray Poet for the Columbus (Ohio) Morning Journal; see Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (1931), 10, and William Sloane Kennedy, The Fight of a Book for the World (West Yarmouth, Massachusetts: The Stonecroft Press, 1926), 17. Burroughs quoted from Piatt's article in Notes on Walt Whitman (1867), 84–85. The Washington Directory of 1866 listed Piatt as a clerk in the Treasury Department; according to Barrus, he was later librarian of the House of Representatives and then consul at Cork (Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [1931], 12).See Whitman's letter from April (?) 1865.
Henry Stanbery (1803–1881) was appointed Attorney General on July 23, 1866, and served until March 12, 1868, when he resigned to serve as President Johnson's chief counsel in the impeachment proceedings. When, at the conclusion of the trial, Johnson renominated Stanbery, the Senate refused to confirm him. Failing eyesight—to which Whitman referred in letters from November 13, 1866, and November 20, 1866,—forced Stanbery to retire from legal practice in 1878. Speaking to Horace Traubel in 1888, Whitman affirmed his fondness for Stanbery (With Walt Whitman in Camden [Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1906–1996], 3:156).
The frontispiece to the first edition of Leaves of Grass. According to service records, Lorenzo Strong was twenty years old when he enlisted as a Sergeant 1st Class on September 20, 1861. He was mustered into Company A of the 9th New York Cavalry Regiment on October 5, 1861, was wounded at Culpeper, Virginia, on September 13, 1863, and died of wounds in Washington, D.C., on September 16, 1863. Horace L. Strong is unidentified, and Whitman removed reference to him. Unidentified. Benjamin Penhallow Shillaber (1814–1890) was a celebrated humorist and newspaperman. While he was with the Boston Post, he invented the American version of Mrs. Malaprop, and The Life and Sayings of Mrs. Partington (New York: J.C. Derby, 1854) was a best-seller. John Townsend Trowbridge was associated with Shillaber in the short-lived comic journal Carpet Bag, in which appeared the first writings of Artemus Ward and Mark Twain. Shillaber wrote to Whitman about Babbitt on December 14, 1863 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 1961], 2:96–97). See Trowbridge, My Own Story, with recollections of noted persons (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1903), 179–182; and Cyril Clemens, "Benjamin Shillaber and His 'Carpet Bag,' " New England Quarterly, 14 (1941): 519–537. Count Adam Gurowski (1805–1866), a Polish exile, published an eccentric three-volume Diary (1862–1866), a day-by-day account of the war written with a marked partiality toward extreme abolitionists. The Count was a colorful figure: he covered his lost eye with a "green blinder," and "he had a Roman head...a powerful topknot, in and out: people always stopped to look at him" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [New York, Rowman and Littlefield, 1961], 3:79, 96). In this letter, O'Connor, who apparently translated Gurowski's manuscripts into English (see the letter from Gurowski to O'Connor in Feinberg), reported to Whitman that Gurowski "is a madman with lucid intervals"—he had attempted "to discipline the firemen with a pistol." Whitman told Traubel, in 1888, that Gurowski was "truly a remarkable, almost phenomenal, man," and that "he was, no doubt, very crazy, but also very sane" (3:79, 340). Ellen O'Connor related in a letter on November 24, 1863, that the Count had said to her recently: "My Gott, I did not know that [Walt Whitman] was such a poet, tell him so, I have been trying every where to find him to tell him myself." In the last volume of the Diary, Gurowski placed Whitman's name in the first category of his threefold evaluation of persons "mentioned in this volume": "Praise," "Half and Half," and "Blame." The Count referred to Whitman in his entry for April 18, 1864, as among "the most original and genuine American hearts and minds" (187). In a footnote (372–373), appended September 12, 1865, Gurowski abused Harlan, who had "shown himself to be animated by a spirit of narrow-minded persecution that would honor the most fierce Spanish or Roman inquisitor." Gurowski was praised by Robert Penn Warren in Writers at Work: The "Paris Review" Interviews, ed. Malcolm Cowley (New York: Viking, 1958), 189. See also LeRoy Fischer, Mississippi Valley Historical Review, 36 (1949–1950): 415–434, and the Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement One (New York: Scribner, 1944). Henry Clapp (18141875) Jr., was a journalist, editor and reformer. Whitman and Clapp most likely met in Charles Pfaff's beer cellar, located in lower Manhattan. Clapp, who founded the literary weekly the Saturday Press in 1858, was instrumental in promoting Whitman's poetry and celebrity; over twenty items on Whitman appeared in the Press before the periodical folded (for the first time) in 1860. Of Clapp Whitman told Horace Traubel, "You will have to know something about Henry Clapp if you want to know all about me." (For Whitman's thoughts on Clapp, see With Walt Whitman in Camden, "Sunday, May 27, 1888." Heyde is referring to the December 1, 1866, issue of the Galaxy, which contained a review of Drum-Taps written by John Burroughs and a review of Algernon Charles Swinburne's work by Richard Grant White. Henry Clapp, Jr.(1814–1875), was a journalist, editor and reformer. Whitman and Clapp most likely met in Charles Pfaff's beer cellar, located in lower Manhattan. Clapp, who founded the literary weekly the Saturday Press in 1858, was instrumental in promoting Whitman's poetry and celebrity: over twenty items on Whitman appeared in the Press before the periodical folded (for the first time) in 1860. Of Clapp Whitman told Horace Traubel, "You will have to know something about Henry Clapp if you want to know all about me." For more about Whitman's thoughts on Clapp, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, (1906–1996), 9 vols., 1:214. Charles Desmarais Gardette was a former reporter for the New York Evening Post who now wrote for the Philadelphia Evening Journal and also contributed frequently to the Saturday Press—and whenever in New York joined Clapp, Whitman, and the others at the Bohemian table at Pfaff's. An accomplished parodist, Gardette achieved his greatest fame when challenged by his friends to create a perfect imitation of Poe. His homage, published in the November 19, 1859, issue of the Saturday Press, was so convincing that it continued to surface in volumes of Poe's collected works into the twentieth century, even after Gardette published detailed accounts of its composition. Under the pen-name "Saerasmid" (an anagram of "Desmarais"), Gardette published several parodies of Whitman in the Saturday Press in 1860: "Yourn and Mine, and Any-Day (A Yawp, After Walt Whitman)" (January 21), "Poemet—(After Walt Whitman)" (February 11), and "Saerasmid to Walt Whitman, A Greeting" (June 16). See George Pierce Clark, "'Saerasmid,' An Early Promoter of Walt Whitman," American Literature (1955): 259–62. The review of Leaves of Grass that appeared in the New–York Saturday Press on June 2, 1860, was signed "Juliette H. Beach," but it had really been written by her husband, Calvin Beach. Expecting a favorable response, the editor of the Saturday Press, Henry Clapp, Jr., had forwarded a copy of Whitman's book to Juliette Beach for review. Her husband, however, angered that Clapp had sent the book to his wife, appropriated it and wrote a scathing review, which was published in his wife's name. In a letter to Clapp dated June 7, 1860, Juliette Beach explained the nature of the mistake and expressed her regret at not having had the opportunity to publish her own favorable opinion of Leaves of Grass. In an attempt to undo some of the damage, Clapp printed a notice titled "Correction" in the subsequent issue of his newspaper, alongside three positive commentaries on Leaves of Grass by women. (For Calvin Beach's review of the 1860 Leaves of Grass see "Leaves of Grass.") Ellen O'Connor contributed her bit to the theory that Beach and Walt Whitman had a love affair when she asserted that "Out of the Rolling Ocean, the Crowd," published in Drum-Taps, was composed for "a certain lady" who had angered her husband because of her correspondence with the poet (Emory Holloway, ed., The Uncollected Poetry and Prose of Walt Whitman, [Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Page and Company, 1921], 1:lviii). "Mrs. Beach's notes" may be the letters to Walt Whitman, which later Burroughs vainly asked Mrs. Beach to print; see Clara Barrus, The Life and Letters of John Burroughs (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1925), 1:120. If these were love letters, Walt Whitman hardly treated Mrs. Beach's heart-stirrings discreetly. See also Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman (New York: Macmillan, 1955; rev. ed., New York University Press, 1967), 340–342. Susan Garnet Smith was a total stranger to Walt Whitman when she wrote this letter to him. Whitman wrote the words "insane asylum?" on the envelope, which Horace Traubel later criticized as being undeserved: "Why did you write '? insane asylum' there?" He asked: "Isn't it crazy?" "No: it's Leaves of Grass." "What do you mean?" "Whyit sounds like somebody who's taking you at your word." He said: "I've had more than one notion of the letter: I suppose the fact that certain things are unexpected, unusual, makes it hard to get them in their proper perspective: the process of adjustment is a severe one." I said: "You should have been the last man in the world to write 'insane' on that envelope." Then I added: "But the question mark saves you." W. said: "I thought the letter would mystify you: but noyou seem to have a defined theory concerning it." I denied this. But I said: "You might as well write 'insane' across Children of Adam and the Song of Myself." He said: "Many people do." "Yes," I replied: "they dobut you don't." He assented by a nod of the head: "I suppose you are right" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press 1953], 4: 313–14.) In a letter now lost, Whitman must have asked his brother to raise money for his hospital work. Jeff quickly appealed to his fellow workers at the Brooklyn Water Works, and most of his letters during 1863 contained contributions. On January 13, 1863, Jeff wrote: "I wish you would take either Lane's or Probasco's money and keep an exact account of what it does and send them the particulars of just the good it does. I think it would assist them (and the rest of us) in collecting more. You can understand what an effect twould have, twould give us an oportunity to show what immense good a few shillings even will do when rightly applied besides twould please the person sending the money hugely twould bring his good deeds under his nose." Louis Probasco was a young employee in the Brooklyn Water Works, probably the son of Samuel, listed as a cooper in the Brooklyn Directory of 1861–62. Moses Lane was chief engineer in the Brooklyn Water Works. Like Jeff, he collected money from his employees and friends. Lane sent Whitman $15.20 in his letter of January 26, 1863, and later various sums which Whitman acknowledged in letters from February 6, 1863 , May 11, 1863 , May 26, 1863 , and September 9, 1863 . In his letter of May 27, 1863, Lane pledged $5 each month. In an unpublished manuscript in the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library, Whitman wrote, obviously for publication: "I have distributed quite a large sum of money, contributed for that purpose by noble persons in Brooklyn, New York, (chiefly through Moses Lane, Chief Engineer, Water Works there.)" Lane assisted Whitman in other ways (see Whitman's letter from December 29, 1862 and February 13, 1863). He was so solicitous of Whitman's personal welfare that on April 3, 1863, he sent through Jeff $5 "for your own especial benefit." This letter is not known. William Starke Rosecrans (1819–1898), a Union general, was in Tennessee in 1863 with the Army of the Cumberland. A reporter of the Cincinnati Commercial noted: "It can hardly be in human nature for men to show more valor, or generals to manifest less judgment, than were perceptible on our side that day"; quoted by Bruce Catton, Glory Road (New York: Doubleday, 1952), 74. George, however, had written to Whitman on January 13, 1863, from Falmouth. Though he had nothing important to say about his own activities, he was upset about Hannah: "I am sure she must be liveing in a perfect Hell . . . Walt, you or Jeff must certainly go on there and see how things are, and make arangements for bringing her home." Here Whitman replied to Jeff's almost hysterical letters. On January 1–2, 1863, he implored Walt to urge George to quit the army and thus to spare the life of their mother, who, "if any thing should happen him . . . , could not survive it. . . . Walt, I beg of you, do not neglect to see George and put this thing in its strongest light. Just think for a moment of the number of suckers that are gaining all the real benefits of the war (if that is not wicked to say) and think of George and thousands of others running all the risks while they are drawing all the pay." On January 13, 1863, Jeff continued to bewail George's lot: "I wish to God that he would come home, I think that it would add 10 years to Mothers life. Write him." Part of Whitman's letter is lost. Hannah Louisa Whitman, Whitman's younger sister, had married the landscape painter Charles Heyde in 1852; they lived in Vermont. The marriage was a stormy one, and Whitman's growing anger over Heyde's treatment of Han boils over in this letter. Walt Whitman and Jeff, in concocting a plot to rescue Han from her marriage, are considering whether to have Mat (Jeff's wife Martha) travel to Vermont to accompany Han back to New York. Salmon P. Chase was Secretary of the Treasury, and William Henry Seward was Secretary of State. Whitman hoped to land a job in one of those departments, since some government positions were traditionally slated for writers and artists, and Whitman hoped a letter of introduction from Ralph Waldo Emerson would open Chase's or Seward's door. Jessie had probably been visiting George and Louisa Whitman at their farmhouse in Burlington, New Jersey. Unidentified. Horace Tarr (see Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letters to Walt Whitman from May 9, 1863, and September 11, 1885). See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letters to Walt Whitman from December 15, 1863. The Ninth Army Corps had been encamped in this vicinity since May 9, 1863. Whitman is referring to the Battle of Chancellorsville (May 1–6, 1863). At one point during the engagement, General Joseph Hooker (see George Washington Whitman's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman from February 8, 1863)—who was then in command of the Union Army of the Potomac—was forced to retreat after Confederate forces under Stonewall Jackson surprised his right flank. Samuel Davis Sturgis (1828–1889). Whitman's meaning here is unclear. "Tel Dix" may simply mean a telegram about General John Dix's military movements. However, the term could also be a reference to a dramatic telegram Dix had issued on January 29, 1861, when he was Secretary of the Treasury. Within weeks of his appointment to that position, he had encountered resistance to his order requiring that all U.S. "revenue cutters," or coastal vessels, be dispatched to New York City in order to save them from falling into the hands of local authorities in the South. Without permission from Lincoln (who did not want the Union to initiate armed hostilities), Dix fired off a telegram which ordered the arrest of the commander of the revenue cutter McCelland, who had refused to obey the order. The telegram further stated: "If any one attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on the spot." This bold and perhaps incendiary statement was quoted in Northern newspapers and hailed by many as the first definite action in favor of the Union under Lincoln's administration. By calling Burnside's message a "Tel Dix," Whitman may be characterizing it as emphatic or positive. Ambrose Everett Burnside (1824–1881). At the outbreak of the war he organized the First Rhode Island Infantry. He was then in command of the Expedition Against the Coast of North Carolina. The Eleventh Army Corps constituted the right flank of the Union Army at Chancellorsville. Somewhat unprepared because Hooker was confident that Lee's army had retreated to Gordonsville, Virginia, it was easily routed by Jackson's attack of May 2, 1863. The "Dutchman of the 11th Corps" is a reference to the fact that the Eleventh Army was heavily populated by officers and enlisted men of German descent. Journalists severely criticized the performance of the Eleventh Army during this attack, suggesting that its officers had taken up arms to make money, and not to fight. See George Washington Whitman's letter to Thomas Jefferson Whitman from April 22, 1863. George wrote to his mother on April 3, 1864; apparently his last letter had been written on March 6, 1864. This letter is not known. In December 1863, Jeff had made surveys at Springfield, Massachusetts, and, in February and March, he had been in Connecticut "making surveys for an 'Iron Co.'" See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's March 11, 1864, letter to Walt Whitman. See Whitman's letter to his mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, dated January 19, 1864. See Whitman's letter to his mother, dated December 29, 1862 . Charles W. LeGendre (1830–1899), born in France and educated at the University of Paris, was a soldier who helped to recruit the Fifty-first New York Volunteer Infantry. LeGendre was severely wounded at New Bern, North Carolina, on March 14, 1862, as George observed in his letter of March 16–18,1862, to his mother, Lousia Van Velsor Whitman (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Books, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). LeGendre was appointed lieutenant colonel on September 20, 1862, and later succeeded Edward Ferrero (see Walt Whitman's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman from December 29, 1862) and Robert B. Potter (see Walt Whitman's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman from May 26, 1863) as commanding officer of the Fifty-first Regiment. During the second Battle of the Wilderness, May 6, 1864, he lost his left eye and the bridge of his nose, and was honorably discharged on October 4 of the same year. See Whitman's account of LeGendre's hospitalization in his letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, May 13, 1864 . In this and the letter Emerson wrote to William H. Seward also dated January 10, 1863, Emerson fulfilled Whitman's request when he wrote in a letter from December 29, 1862: "I wish you would write for me something…that I can present, opening my interview with the great man. I wish you to write two copiesput the one in an envelope directed to Mr. Seward, Secretary of Stateand the other in an envelope directed to Mr. Chase, Secretary of the Treasuryand enclose both envelopes in the one I send herewith so that I can use either one or the other." Though he was in Rochester, New York, at the time, Emerson, as he noted in a letter on January 12, 1863 , used his Concord address. Ralph Leslie Rusk, in The Letters of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 10 vols. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1939–95), 5:302-303, hypothetically reconstructs the two letters which he had not seen, and dates them "c. 2?" Whitman, who, despite his appeal to Emerson, was of two minds as far as an official position was concerned, did not immediately use the recommendations (see the letters from February 13, 1863, and March 19–20, 1863 ). On a wrapper of a copy of the letter to Seward (Charles E. Feinberg Collection), Whitman wrote, "never delivered." John Townsend Trowbridge (see Whitman's letter from December 27, 1863) presumably presented the letter to Chase on December 11, 1863. According to Whitman's account of this interview, Chase "said he considered Leaves of Grass a very bad book, & he did not know how he could possibly bring its author into the government service, especially if he put him in contact with gentlemen employed in the beaureaus" (Thomas Donaldson, Walt Whitman the Man [New York: Francis P. Harper, 1896], 156). Chase, however, kept the letter because he wanted an Emerson autograph; see Trowbridge, My Own Story (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1903), 388. The wrapper with this letter to Chase reads: "Clerkship | Walt Whitman | Applicant | New York: | Recommended by | R. W. Emerson | Recd. Jany 28, 1864." According to an entry in a notebook (The Library of Congress #8), a government employee informed Whitman on June 30, 1862, that, on seeing Leaves of Grass on the table, Chase had asked: "How is it possible you can have this nasty book here?" The Abby Price family became interested in the case of Erastus Otis Parker, as Helen Price wrote years later, "through his niece an intimate friend who believed most absolutely in her Uncle's innocence" (Pierpont Morgan Library). They asked Whitman to investigate the circumstances of Parker's conviction and to appeal for a pardon. Whitman sent this concise summary of the evidence to Stanbery. Though the wrapper in the National Archives reads, "Filed Oct 27th 1866 | Pardoned same day," Whitman had worked for months on the case. The Court Record was certified on May 31, 1866. The wrapper of this certified record of the case is in Whitman's hand: "Record of In- | dictment, with counts, &c. | (Conviction on 7th | count.)" Whitman's brackets. Whitman's brackets. Whitman included what he labeled a "Memorial of | persons holding | Municipal & | other positions | in Monument, | (fellow citizens) | for Mr. Parker's | pardon." The petition, with twenty-one signatures, advanced five reasons for pardoning Parker, the most important of which was the first: "We think that evidence did not sufficiently show that Mr. Parker was guilty of any offence against the laws." The petition from the citizens of Monument was marked, in Whitman's hand, "July 1866." Whitman included letters from Sheriff James Bates and jailer James B. Hollingswood. The letter from the sheriff was dated May 30, and the one from the jailer at Plymouth, July 14. Although Bates was careful to disclaim personal knowledge of Parker's innocence, Hollingswood considered him "entirely innocent of the crime for which he is committed." Note, however, the opinion quoted in note 2 to Whitman's letter of October 27, 1866. Whitman noted in his diary: "Rank musician—typhoid fever—I visited him from the time he was brought in the hospitals—he told me he had been sick off & on for several months" (Charles I. Glicksberg, Walt Whitman and the Civil War [Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1933], 148–149). See also his letters from August 10, 1863 and September 15, 1863 . On the verso of the letter is a pass, dated August 1, 1863, issued to Samuel B. Haskell for the purpose of visiting his son. The New-York Historical Society has a letter written by J. M. Jansen—like Erastus, a musician in the Hundred and Forty-first Regiment, New York Volunteers—on April 5, 1863, in which he informed Mr. Haskell that his son would surely receive "his discharge after a spel, so take things cool and dont borrow any trouble about him." Erastus added a note to Jansen's letter: "I am not doing any duty any where now, I havent been on duty since the 20th day of December." See Whitman's letter from July 27, 1863 . After Whitman handed the draft of this letter to Horace Traubel, on May 7, 1888, the latter wrote: "I read the letter. I must have shown I was much moved. W. said gently: 'I see that you understand it. Well, I understand it, too. I know what you feel in reading it because I know what I felt in writing it. When such emotions are honest they are easily passed along.' I asked W.: 'Do you go back to those days?' 'I do not need to. I have never left them. They are here, now, while we are talking together—real, terrible, beautiful days!' " (With Walt Whitman in Camden [New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 1961], 1:115). With the draft letter, written on the stationery of the United States Christian Commission, there is an envelope which contains the following: "sent about Aug 15 or 16 '63 | letter to | S B Haskell | Breseport | Chenning Co N Y." At this time, Whitman was seeking employment as a government clerk; he was also working part-time as a copyist in the office of the U S Amry Paymaster. In Emerson's letter to Chase and in the letter Emerson wrote to William H. Seward also dated January 10, 1863, Emerson fulfilled Whitman's request when the poet wrote in a letter from December 29, 1862: "I wish you would write for me something…that I can present, opening my interview with the great man. I wish you to write two copiesput the one in an envelope directed to Mr. Seward, Secretary of Stateand the other in an envelope directed to Mr. Chase, Secretary of the Treasuryand enclose both envelopes in the one I send herewith so that I can use either one or the other." Though he was in Rochester, New York, at the time, Emerson, as he noted in a letter on January 12, 1863 , used his Concord address. Ralph Leslie Rusk, in The Letters of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 10 vols. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1939–95), 5:302–303, hypothetically reconstructs the two letters which he had not seen, and dates them "c. 2?" Whitman, who, despite his appeal to Emerson, was of two minds as far as an official position was concerned, did not immediately use the recommendations (see the letters from February 13, 1863, and March 19–20, 1863 ). On a wrapper of a copy of the letter to Seward (Charles E. Feinberg Collection), Whitman wrote, "never delivered." John Townsend Trowbridge (see Whitman's letter from December 27, 1863) presumably presented the letter to Chase on December 11, 1863. Although Chase objected to employing Whitman in government positions, Whitman was hired at the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a clerk in 1865. Where the letter was folded, it is now difficult to transcribe. Doubtful readings have been checked with the draft copy. Whitman probably drew upon this account of Haskell in his "Notebook of September–October, 1863": "He used to have his fife lying by him on a little stand by his cot, once told me that when he got well he would play me a tune" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). Since Whitman composed a rough copy of this letter and then copied it before sending it, the artlessness of the letter was in part contrived. See Whitman's letters from July 27, 1863 and August 10, 1863 . The first page or two of this letter is missing. The falls of the Ohio River, located just below Louisville. Walt Whitman also described this section of the journey in "Excerpts from a Traveller's Note Book—" (Emory Holloway, ed., The Uncollected Poetry and Prose [UPP] of Walt Whitman [Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page, 1921], 1:189). Walt Whitman noted that despite the high quality of the food "everybody gulps down the victuals with railroad speed" (UPP, I, 188). Only one of these letters—from Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walter Whitman, Sr. and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, 18(?)-28 February 1848—is extant. Probably Peter W. Wilson, a printer. Probably Henry Brown; see Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walter Whitman, Sr. and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, 23 April 1848. Three men with this name are listed in the 1848 Brooklyn directory: a merchant, a bookkeeper, and a well digger. William Devoe, a carpenter. He corresponded with Jeff as late as 1885. See the letter from Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walt Whitman of February 23, 1885. This letter is not extant. Walt Whitman recommended to Crescent readers Cooper's Jack Tier, C. W. Webber's Old Hicks, the Guide, and Erastus Everett's System of Versification, but he criticized Dickens' Dombey and Son as "inartistical" (Joseph Jay Rubin, The Historic Whitman [University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1973], p. 195). Jeff means that carpenters receive additional compensation ("found") such as room and board along with their wages. Jeff and Walt Whitman boarded with P. Irwin on St. Charles Street at the price of nine dollars per week. Andrew W. Toombs, a printer. This parenthetical remark was inserted by Walt Whitman, who corrected Jeff's New Orleans letters. St. Louis Number One, the oldest cemetery in the city (1788), located on Basin Street between St. Louis and Toulouse. The St. Louis Cathedral, located in the Place d'Armes (renamed Jackson Square in 1850). These annual parades celebrating the founding of the volunteer fire department began in 1837 or 1838 and continued for fifty years. John Collins, an Irish comedian and vocalist popular on the New York stage, performed this night at Armory Hall. In 1847, 2,700 people died of yellow fever in New Orleans, by far the highest number recorded to that date. While Jeff is correct about the tendency of the disease to subside after severe outbreaks, it still killed nearly 900 people in 1848 and the same number in 1849. The family's fears may have been compounded by the popular view that strangers to the city were far more susceptible than natives. The excessive drinking of juleps and iced ale disturbed Walt Whitman: "Now you know I am not ultra in these matters, but it isn't good to drink spiritous compounds at this rate in hot climates" (quoted in Joseph Jay Rubin, The Historic Whitman [University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1973], p. 186). Walt Whitman and Jeff must have regularly taken long walks together in Brooklyn also. On September 22, 1852, Hannah commented: "I wish Walter and Jeffy was here [in Vermont] they could take long walks enough" (letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman [Trent Collection, William R. Perkins Library, Duke University]). Hannah. Walt Whitman added a paragraph-long note to his mother at the end of Jeff's letter (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961-77], 1:33). See Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walter Whitman, Sr., Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, George Washington Whitman, Andrew Jackson Whitman, Hannah Louisa Whitman, and Edward Whitman, 14 March 1848. Probably William H. DeBevoise; see Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walt Whitman, 10 February 1863. Regarding Jeff's problem with dysentery, see Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walter Whitman, Sr., Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, Andrew Jackson Whitman, George Washington Whitman, Hannah Louisa Whitman, and Edward Whitman, 27 March 1848. Probably Henry Brown; see Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walter Whitman, Sr., Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, George Washington Whitman, Andrew Jackson Whitman, Hannah Louisa Whitman, and Edward Whitman, 14 March 1848. Perhaps A. H. Hayes and J. E. McClure, the owners of the Crescent, had decided that Walt Whitman's antislavery sentiments would be an embarrassment in the coming presidential elections. Walt Whitman seemed puzzled at the harsh feelings that developed: "Through some unaccountable means...both H. and M'C, after a while, exhibited a singular sort of coldness, toward me, and the latter an irritability toward Jef., who had, at times, much harder work than I was willing he should do." When the owners refused Walt Whitman's request for a salary advance on May 24, he asked to "dissolve the connection" and then headed home with Jeff on May 27 (Emory Holloway, ed., The Uncollected Poetry and Prose of Walt Whitman [Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page, 1921], 2:77-78). The First District and Lake Pontchartrain were connected by Shell Road which parallelled the New Canal. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walter Whitman, Sr., Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, George Washington Whitman, Andrew Jackson Whitman, Hannah Louisa Whitman, and Edward Whitman, 14 March 1848. In New York's April elections the Whigs were victorious in Brooklyn, the Barnburners in Manhattan. Unidentified. This letter is not extant. Perhaps William Devoe. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walter Whitman, Sr., Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, George Washington Whitman, Andrew Jackson Whitman, Hannah Louisa Whitman, and Edward Whitman, 14 March 1848. At this time, four Smiths owned stores located on Fulton Street. Probably Samuel R. Johnson, rector of St. John's church on Myrtle Avenue. For the brief note Walt Whitman added to the end of this letter, see Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence (New York: New York University Press, 1961-77), 1:36. This note may have arrived with a letter that has not been found. It is enclosed in an envelope inscribed by Whitman, "Note from Jeff enclosed to me for Mr. O'Connor, March 17, 1865." Journalist, author, and civil servant, Wiliam Douglas O'Connor (1832–89) gained lasting fame as the champion of Whitman. O'Connor's panegyric The Good Gray Poet: a Vindication (New York: Bunce and Huntington, 1866) helped define a new role for Whitman, a role which seems to have shaped in subtle but far-reaching ways the closing decades of the poet's career. See Jerome Loving, Walt Whitman's Champion: William Douglas O'Connor (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1978). O'Connor's letter of March 14, 1865, is not extant. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman to William Douglas O'Connor, 16 March 1865. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walt Whitman, 25 March 1869. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walt Whitman, 22 September 1863. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman to William Douglas O'Connor, 16 March 1865. Presumably six copies of the Delafield pamphlet. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walt Whitman, 25 March 1869. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walt Whitman, 2 August 1867. The Jefferson Whitmans had evidently moved into 934 Hickory, where they lived until 1873. Joseph P. Davis boarded with them until he left around March 1870 to build the waterworks in Lowell, Massachusetts (Waldron, p. 68). John Frederick Schiller Gray was a captain in the Twentieth New York Infantry and later held the same rank in the Assistant Adjutant General's Volunteers. He became a major on January 4, 1865, and resigned on December 6 of the same year; see Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, 2 vols. (Washington D.C.: Government Publications Office, 1903). In 1862 he fought in the battle at Antietam, and at Charles Pfaff's beer cellar located in lower Manhattan, he gave Whitman "a fearful account of the battlefield at ½ past 9 the night following the engagement." (For discussion of Whitman's activity at Pfaff's, see "The Bohemian Years.") See Whitman's notations in Frederick W. Hedge's Prose Writers of Germany, reprinted in Emory Holloway, ed., Walt Whitman—Complete Poetry & Selected Prose and Letters (London: Nonesuch Press, 1938), 1099. In 1864, according to one of Whitman's notebooks (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103), Gray was stationed at New Orleans. He graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York in 1871, and briefly practiced medicine with his father in New York. Whitman referred to him during this period in a notebook (The Library of Congress, Notebook #109). Later he practiced in Paris, Nice, and Geneva. He died of Bright's disease at St. Clair Springs, Michigan, on April 18, 1891; obituaries appeared in the New York Herald and the New York Tribune on August 19, 1891. Nathaniel Bloom operated a fancy-goods store on Broadway for many years. What appears to be an early description of him was printed by Richard Maurice Bucke, ed., in Notes and Fragments from The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1902), 9:142; Trent Collection, Duke University): "Bloom—Broad-shouldered, six-footer, with a hare-lip. Clever fellow, and by no means bad looking… Direct, plain-spoken, natural-hearted, gentle-tempered, but awful when roused—cartman, with a horse, cart &c, of his own—drives for a store in Maiden lane." Whitman referred to him in one of his notebooks (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #109). Later in life Bloom was listed as an importer; his name does not appear in the Directories after 1900. Charles Russell was a member of the so-called Fred Gray Association, a group that gathered at Charles Pfaff's beer cellar was located in lower Manhattan and that Ed Folsom and Kenneth M. Price characterize as "a loose confederation of young men who seemed anxious to explore new possibilities of male-male affection" ( Re-Scripting Walt Whitman: An Introduction to His Life and Work). Members of the group included Walt Whitman, Nat Bloom, John Frederick Schiller Gray, Nat Gray, Charles Kingsley, Charles Chauncey, Hugo Fritsch, Fred Vaughan, a man known only as "Perkins," and someone referred to as "Raymond" that may be Henry J. Raymond. Benjamin Knower was listed as a clerk (1862–1863) and later as a New York merchant. In an 1863 diary, Whitman noted the receipt of a letter from Knower on May 6 [Charles I. Glicksberg, Walt Whitman and the Civil War (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1933), 135]; Knower was also mentioned in two other diaries (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebooks #104 and #108). Hugo Fritsch was the son of the Austrian Consul General. He was also part of the Fred Gray Association (see note four, above). General John Ellis Wool (1784–1869) was the oldest Union general of the American Civil War and was in command of the Department of the East. Among other assignments, he led military operations in New York City during and after the draft riots the following July. Lewis Kirke Brown (1843–1926) was wounded in the left leg near Rappahannock Station on August 19, 1862, and lay where he fell for four days. Eventually he was transferred to Armory Square Hospital, where Whitman met him, probably in February 1863. In a diary in the Library of Congress, Whitman described Brown on February 19, 1863, as "a most affectionate fellow, very fond of having me come and sit by him." Because the wound did not heal, the leg was amputated on January 5, 1864. Whitman was present and described the operation in a diary (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103). Brown was mustered out in August 1864, and was employed in the Provost General's office in September; see Whitman's letter from September 11, 1864 . The following September he became a clerk in the Treasury Department, and was appointed Chief of the Paymaster's Division in 1880, a post which he held until his retirement in 1915. (This material draws upon a memorandum which was prepared by Brown's family and is now held in the Library of Congress.) Hiram Sholes lay next to Lewis K. Brown in Armory Square Hospital, according to Sholes's letter to Walt Whitman on May 24, 1867 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection); see also "Letter from Walt Whitman to Hiram Sholes, May 30, 1867" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:331–332). Charles I. Glicksberg, ed., (Walt Whitman and the Civil War [Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1933], 155) records: "Hiram Scholis—bed 3—Ward E.—26th N. York—wants some pickles—a bottle of pickles." John Mahay, private in Company A of the 101st New York, was wounded in the bladder at second Bull Run, August 29, 1862, and held on for fifteen months at Armory Square Hospital before dying in 1864. "Poor Mahay," Whitman writes in Specimen Days, "a mere boy in age, but old in misfortune" (Richard Maurice Bucke, ed., The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman, 10 vols. (New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1902). Whitman notes that Mahay, despite his pain, "was of good heart" and "was delighted with a stick of horehound candy I gave him" (4:46). Mahay is referred to as in poor health in letters from Whitman to Lewis K. Brown from August 1, 1863 and August 15, 1863 . See also Charles I. Glicksberg, ed., Walt Whitman and the Civil War (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1933), 149. General Joseph Hooker (1814–1879) assumed command of the Army of the Potomac on January 25, 1863, after President Lincoln had removed General Burnside from command. Hooker's name was most (in)famously associated with the Battle of Chancellorsville (Virginia), where a Union army of 130,000 men was defeated by General Robert E. Lee's 60,000 Confederates. Whitman saw Amos H. Vliet in the hospital tent at Falmouth on December 22, 1862, and mentioned him briefly in an article that appeared in the Brooklyn Eagle of March 19, 1863 (Richard Maurice Bucke, ed., The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons 1902], 7:95–96). According to his diary (Charles I. Glicksberg, Walt Whitman and the Civil War [Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1933], 133), Whitman wrote a (lost) letter to Vliet on May 2, 1863. William Starke Rosecrans (1819–1898) was a general in the Union Army during the Civil War. Though he was successful in several early campaigns during the war, he is most known for his disastrous defeat at the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863. D. Willard Bliss (1825–1889) was a surgeon with the Third Michigan Infantry, and afterward in charge of Armory Square Hospital. See John Homer Bliss, Genealogy of the Bliss Family in America, from about the year 1550 to 1880 (Boston: John Homer Bliss, 1881), 545. He practiced medicine in Washington after the war; see "Letter from Walt Whitman to Hiram Sholes, May 30, 1867" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961], 1:331–332). When a pension for Whitman was proposed in the House of Representatives in 1887, Dr. Bliss was quoted: "I am of opinion that no one person who assisted in the hospitals during the war accomplished so much good to the soldiers and for the Government as Mr. Whitman" (Thomas Donaldson, Walt Whitman the Man [New York: F. P. Harper, 1896], 169). John Stilwell, brother of James and Julia Stilwell, was evidently killed at Culpeper, Virginia, about the time that James was wounded. Whitman was mistaken about the body, however, since, according to Margaret Stilwell's letter of October 25, 1863, members of the family had been refused a pass to Culpeper. James S. Stilwell, Second New York Cavalry, was confined in Ward C of Armory Square with a gunshot wound in his left leg; see "Notebook: September–October, 1863" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection) and "Hospital Notes" (Henry E. Huntington Library). He recovered slowly from his injury. About the end of May in the following year he was sent to Mower Hospital, Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, where he remained until he was granted a furlough in August 1864. He later returned to Mower Hospital and wrote to Whitman on September 27, 1864, that his wound was "most healed up," and that he expected either to be discharged or to be transferred to New York. See also Stilwell's letters to Whitman from July 5, 1864, and September 2, 1864. He was the brother of Julia and John Stilwell. On October 28, 1863, Whitman wrote to Margaret S. Curtis to ask that she check on the welfare of Babbitt. As Whitman informed Mrs. Curtis in the letter, Caleb Babbitt suffered a sun stroke in July and was admitted to Armory Square Hospital. According to the "Hospital Note Book" (Henry E. Huntington Library), Babbitt had been in Mobile earlier. About August 1, he left Washington on furlough. On August 18, 1863, Caleb's sister, Mary A. Babbitt informed Whitman of Caleb's arrival in Barre, Massachusetts; because of his exhaustion he was unable to write. Mary acknowledged Whitman's letter on September 6, 1863, and wrote that Caleb was "not quite as well as when I wrote you before…he wishes me to tell you to keep writing…for your letters do him more good than a great deal of medicine." On September 18, 1863, at the expiration of his forty-day furlough, Caleb was strong enough to write: "WaltIn your letters you wish me to imagine you talking with me when I read them, well I do, and it does very well to think about, but it is nothing compared with the original." On October 18, 1863, Babbitt was depressed ("dark clouds seem to be lying in my pathway and I can not remove them nor hide them from my mind") until he mentioned his beloved, Nellie F. Clark, who "has saved me." See also Whitman's letters from October 28, 1863, December 27, 1863, and February 8, 1864. (This letter is in two pieces, on the verso of which appears the draft letter to Bethuel Smith from October 7, 1863.) James S. Stilwell, Second New York Cavalry, was confined in Ward C of Armory Square with a gunshot wound in his left leg; see "Notebook: September–October, 1863" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection) and "Hospital Notes" (Henry E. Huntington Library). He recovered slowly from his injury. About the end of May in the following year he was sent to Mower Hospital, Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, where he remained until he was granted a furlough in August 1864. He later returned to Mower Hospital and wrote to Whitman on September 27, 1864, that his wound was "most healed up," and that he expected either to be discharged or to be transferred to New York. See also Stilwell's letters to Whitman from July 5, 1864, and September 2, 1864. He was the brother of Julia and John Stilwell. Lewis Kirke Brown (1843–1926) was wounded in the left leg near Rappahannock Station on August 19, 1862, and lay where he fell for four days. Eventually he was transferred to Armory Square Hospital, where Whitman met him, probably in February 1863. In a diary in the Library of Congress, Whitman described Brown on February 19, 1863, as "a most affectionate fellow, very fond of having me come and sit by him." Because the wound did not heal, the leg was amputated on January 5, 1864. Whitman was present and described the operation in a diary (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103). Brown was mustered out in August 1864, and was employed in the Provost General's office in September; see Whitman's letter from September 11, 1864 . The following September he became a clerk in the Treasury Department, and was appointed Chief of the Paymaster's Division in 1880, a post which he held until his retirement in 1915. (This material draws upon a memorandum which was prepared by Brown's family and is now held in the Library of Congress.) Garaphelia ("Garry") Howard was one of Whitman's Washington friends. In a February 11, 1874 letter to Ellen O'Connor, Whitman describes Howard as "a good, tender girl—true as steel" (Edwin Haviland Miller, [New York: New York University Press, 1961], 2:275–277). Possibly "Albina H Carter co E 6th Maine g s w lft knee" (Edward F. Grier, Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts, [New York, New York University Press: 1984], 2:666). Miss Gregg, a nurse in Armory Square Hospital Ward A. See Whitman's letter to Gregg May 6, 1864. "Oscar Cunningham, a young farmer from Delaware, Ohio, ... was wounded on May 3, 1863, in the Battle of Chancellorsville. Upon seeing him at Armory Square in June, Whitman was immediately struck by the beauty of the tall and fair soldier: 'Oscar H Cunningham bed 20 Ward K, Ohio boy, large, (told me he had usually weighed 200 lb) fracture of leg, above knee, rather bad—(a fine, magnificent specimen of western manliness).' Almost a full year after Oscar's arrival at Armory Square, Whitman noted that Oscar's 'leg is in a horrible condition, all livid & swollen out of shape—the chances are against him poor fellow.' On May 1, 1864, the doctors amputated Cunningham's right leg, and Whitman wrote on Oscar's behalf to his family, expressing new hope for Cunningham's recovery and telling them that it was unnecessary to make the long trip East. By June 3, however, Whitman told his own mother that the soldier he had visited for so long was near death: I have just left Oscar Cunningham, the Ohio boy—he is in a dying condition—there is no hope for him—it would draw tears from the hardest heart to look at him—his is all wasted away to a skeleton, & looks like some one fifty years old—you remember I told you a year ago, when he was first brought in, I thought him the noblest specimen of a young western man I had seen, a real giant in size, & always with a smile on his face—O what a change, he has long been very irritable, to every one but me, & his frame is all wasted away. Cunningham died on June 4, 1864, and was one of the first soldiers to be buried in the new Arlington National Cemetery. (Martin G. Murray, "Traveling with the Wounded: Walt Whitman and Washington's Civil War Hospitals," Washington History: Magazine of the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. 8 (Fall/Winter 1996–1997), 58–73, 92–93. Read the full article here.) See also Whitman's letters to his mother, which chronicle Oscar Cunningham's health and decline, written May 6, 1864, May 10, 1864, May 25, 1864, June 3, 1864, and June 7, 1864. Joseph Harris was a patient at Armory Square Hospital. He was friends with some of Whitman's other Armory Square Hospital comrades, such as Lewis Brown and Adrian Bartlett. See Harris's letter to Whitman from September 5, 1864. Adrian Bartlett was a friend of Joseph Harris and Lewis Brown; all three met Whitman while they were being treated at Armory Square Hospital. In this letter, Brown reported that he had not seen Bartlett and Harris since they returned from a spree to Baltimore on July 4, 1864. According to Brown's letter of September 5, 1864, the three young men were living in a Washington boardinghouse; Harris was not in good health, and Bartlett worked in the Treasury Department. J. A. Tabor seems to have been a patient at Armory Square Hospital. Whitman mentions him in his letter to Lewis K. Brown from August 1, 1863. D. Willard Bliss (1825–1889) was a surgeon with the Third Michigan Infantry, and afterward in charge of Armory Square Hospital. See John Homer Bliss, Genealogy of the Bliss Family in America (Boston, Massachusetts: John Homer Bliss, 1881), 545. He practiced medicine in Washington after the war; see Whitman's letter to Hiram Sholes from May 30, 1867 (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:331–332). When a pension for Whitman was proposed in the House of Representatives in 1887, Dr. Bliss was quoted: "I am of opinion that no one person who assisted in the hospitals during the war accomplished so much good to the soldiers and for the Government as Mr. Whitman" (Thomas Donaldson, Walt Whitman the Man [New York: Francis P. Harper, 1896], 169). Ana Lowell ("Miss Lowell") worked as a nurse in Armory Square Hospital during the Civil War. Charles Cate was a ward master in Armory Square Hospital. Brown possibly is referring to "Wm B. Douglass" whose nickname Whitman notes as "Billy" (Edward F. Grier, ed., Notes and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts [New York: New York University Press, 1961–84], 2:810). Joseph Harris was a patient at Armory Square Hospital. He was friends with some of Whitman's other Armory Square Hospital comrades, such as Lewis Brown and Adrian Bartlett. See Harris's letter to Whitman from September 5, 1864. Adrian Bartlett was a friend of Joseph Harris and Lewis Brown; all three met Whitman while they were being treated at Armory Square Hospital. On July 18, 1864, Brown reported that he had not seen Bartlett and Harris since they returned from a spree to Baltimore on July 4, 1864. According to this letter, the three young men were living in a Washington boardinghouse; Harris was not in good health, and Bartlett worked in the Treasury Department. Lewis Kirke Brown (1843–1926) was wounded in the left leg near Rappahannock Station on August 19, 1862, and lay where he fell for four days. Eventually he was transferred to Armory Square Hospital, where Whitman met him, probably in February 1863. In a diary in the Library of Congress, Whitman described Brown on February 19, 1863, as "a most affectionate fellow, very fond of having me come and sit by him." Because the wound did not heal, the leg was amputated on January 5, 1864. Whitman was present and described the operation in a diary (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103). Brown was mustered out in August 1864, and was employed in the Provost General's office in September; see Whitman's letter from September 11, 1864 . The following September he became a clerk in the Treasury Department, and was appointed Chief of the Paymaster's Division in 1880, a post which he held until his retirement in 1915. (This material draws upon a memorandum which was prepared by Brown's family and is now held in the Library of Congress.) Adrian Bartlett was a friend of Joseph Harris and Lewis Brown; all three met Whitman while they were being treated at Armory Square Hospital. On July 18, 1864, Brown reported that he had not seen Bartlett and Harris since they returned from a spree to Baltimore on July 4, 1864. According to Brown's letter of September 5, 1864, the three young men were living in a Washington boardinghouse; Harris was not in good health, and Bartlett worked in the Treasury Department. For a time Whitman lived with William D. and Ellen M. O'Connor, who, with Charles W. Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the early Washington years. William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of Harrington, an abolition novel published by Thayer & Eldridge in 1860. He had been an assistant editor of the Saturday Evening Post before he went to Washington. O'Connor was an intelligent man who deserved something better than the various governmental clerical posts he was to hold until his death. The humdrum of clerkship, however, was relieved by the presence of Whitman whom he was to love and venerate—and defend with a single-minded fanaticism and an outpouring of vituperation and eulogy that have seldom been equaled, most notably in his pamphlet, "The Good Gray Poet." He was the first, and in many ways the most important, of the adulators who divided people arbitrarily into two categories: those who were for and those who were against Walt Whitman. The poet praised O'Connor in the preface to a posthumous collection of his tales: "He was a born sample here in the 19th century of the flower and symbol of olden time first-class knighthood. Thrice blessed be his memory!" (Complete Prose Works [New York, D. Appleton, 1910] pp. 513). For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors see O'Connor, William Douglas [1832–1889]. William Mullery was Jesse Mullery's father. (See Mullery's letter to Whitman from October 21, 1864.) This might possibly be Garaphelia "Garry" Howard, one of Whitman's Washington friends. In a February 11, 1874, letter to Ellen O'Connor, Whitman describes Howard as "a good, tender girl—true as steel." Storms's relation to George is unclear; they were probably brothers. George Storms was a New York driver, uncle of Walt Whitman Storms, with whom Whitman corresponded in the 1870s. (See Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:363, 364, 371, 372; 3:431, 442.) In several letters Mullery referred to the kindnesses of a Miss Howard while he was in the hospital, and another soldier, Charles H. Harris, on May 30, 1864 (Berg Collection, New York Public Library), asked to be remembered to Miss Howard and her sister. On February 20, 1866, Mullery wrote that one of the Howard sisters had died the preceeding fall, and recalled "the Same Sad Smile on her countenance" (Library of Congress). Probably these were the Misses Sallie and Carrie Howard listed in the 1866 Directory, or the Miss Garaphelia Howard mentioned in Whitman's letter to Ellen M. O'Connor from February 3, 1874 (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2: 271–272). Possibly Garaphelia "Garry" Howard, one of Whitman's Washington friends. In a February 11, 1874, letter to Ellen O'Connor, Whitman describes Howard as "a good, tender girl—true as steel." In several letters Mullery referred to the kindnesses of Miss Howard while he was in the hospital, and another soldier, Charles H. Harris, on May 30, 1864, asked to be remembered to Miss Howard and her sister. Probably these were the Misses Sallie and Carrie Howard listed in the 1866 Directory, or Miss Garaphelia Howard—a writer, women's rights supporter, and fellow copyist with Whitman in the U.S. Army’s Quartermaster General’s Office. Garaphelia Howard is mentioned in Whitman's letter to Ellen O'Connor (1830–1913) of February 3, 1874, and discussed in Will Hansen's post "Walt and Garaphelia" for The Newberry Library Blog. This, apparently the first extant letter Whitman addressed to a soldier, is a revealing—and in many respects a pathetic—document. For Whitman was destined to write many others like it, and with the same results. Always Whitman was both an anxious father-figure and an ardent comrade desirous of establishing permanent ties with soldiers whom he had known and nursed in Washington hospitals. Like some of the others, Sawyer was evidently perplexed, possibly frightened, by Whitman's extravagant protestations of enduring friendship. The reply to Whitman's letter, dated April 26, though it is signed "Thos. B. Sawyer," is not in Sawyer's holograph, as Whitman noted in a letter on May 27, 1863. The author of the letter addressed Whitman as "Dear Brother," and continued: "I fully reciprocate your friendship as expressed in your letter and it will afford me great pleasure to meet you after the war will have terminated or sooner if circumstances will permit." However, on April 12, 1863, Sawyer himself had written to Brown: "I want you to give my love to Walter Whitman and tell him I am very sorry that I could not live up to my Prommice because I came away so soon that it sliped my mind and I am very sorry for it, tell him that I shall write to him my self in a few days, give him my love and best wishes for ever" (Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library). Though Whitman wrote several times during 1863, Sawyer did not reply until January 21, 1864: "Dear Brother, I hardly know what to say to you in this letter for it is my first one to you. . . . I hope you will forgive me and in the future I will do better and I hope we may meet again in this world." The Army of the Potomac was preparing for the assault at Chancellorsville, Virginia. Lewis Kirke Brown (1843–1926) was wounded in the left leg near Rappahannock Station on August 19, 1862, and lay where he fell for four days. Eventually he was transferred to Armory Square Hospital, where Whitman met him, probably in February 1863. In a diary in the Library of Congress, Whitman described Brown on February 19, 1863, as "a most affectionate fellow, very fond of having me come and sit by him." Because the wound did not heal, the leg was amputated on January 5, 1864. Whitman was present and described the operation in a diary (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103). Brown was mustered out in August 1864, and was employed in the Provost General's office in September; see Whitman's letter from September 11, 1864 . The following September he became a clerk in the Treasury Department, and was appointed Chief of the Paymaster's Division in 1880, a post which he held until his retirement in 1915. (This material draws upon a memorandum which was prepared by Brown's family and is now held in the Library of Congress.) Hiram Sholes lay next to Brown in Armory Square Hospital, according to Sholes's letter to Walt Whitman on May 24, 1867 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection); see also "Letter from Walt Whitman to Hiram Sholes, May 30, 1867" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:331–332). Charles I. Glicksberg, ed., (Walt Whitman and the Civil War [Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1933], 155) records: "Hiram Scholis—bed 3—Ward E.—26th N. York—wants some pickles—a bottle of pickles. John Mahay, private in Company A of the 101st New York, was wounded in the bladder at second Bull Run, August 29, 1862, and held on for fifteen months at Armory Square Hospital before dying in 1864. "Poor Mahay," Whitman writes in Specimen Days, "a mere boy in age, but old in misfortune" (Richard Maurice Bucke, ed., The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman, 10 vols. (New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1902). Whitman notes that Mahay, despite his pain, "was of good heart" and "was delighted with a stick of horehound candy I gave him" (4:46). Mahay is referred to as in poor health in letters from Whitman to Lewis K. Brown from August 1, 1863 and August 15, 1863 . See also Glicksberg, 149. D. Willard Bliss (1825–1889) was a surgeon with the Third Michigan Infantry, and afterward in charge of Armory Square Hospital. See John Homer Bliss, Genealogy of the Bliss Family in America, from about the year 1550 to 1880 (Boston: John Homer Bliss, 1881), 545. He practiced medicine in Washington after the war; see "Letter from Walt Whitman to Hiram Sholes, May 30, 1867" (Correspondence, 1:331–332). When a pension for Whitman was proposed in the House of Representatives in 1887, Dr. Bliss was quoted: "I am of opinion that no one person who assisted in the hospitals during the war accomplished so much good to the soldiers and for the Government as Mr. Whitman" (Thomas Donaldson, Walt Whitman the Man [New York: F. P. Harper, 1896], 169). Admiral Samuel F. du Pont was severely defeated at Charleston, South Carolina, on April 7, 1863, in the worst naval loss of the Civil War. Joseph Hooker (1814–1879) replaced Burnside as commanding general of the Army of the Potomac on January 26, 1863. He was defeated at Chancellorsville, Virginia, on May 2–4, 1863, and was succeeded by Meade on June 28, 1863, a few days before the battle of Gettysburg. Edwin Haviland Miller's footnote from the Correspondence reads: "At this point Whitman deleted the following sentence: 'My old mother, in Brooklyn, New York, when she sees the troops marching away, or returning, always begins to cry'" (1:92–93). It is unclear from Miller's note whether this line was deleted from a draft document rather than from a (perhaps now lost) final copy of the letter, or whether Whitman had struck through this line so that it was still visible to Sawyer. Miller's footnote from the Correspondence reads: "The following sentence, corrected several times, was omitted: 'What I have written is pretty strong talk, I suppose, but I mean exactly what I say'" (1:93). Again, it is unclear from Miller's note whether this line was omitted from a draft document rather than from a (perhaps now lost) final copy of the letter, or whether Whitman had struck through this line so that it was still visible to Sawyer. Lewis Kirke Brown (1843–1926) was wounded in the left leg near Rappahannock Station on August 19, 1862, and lay where he fell for four days. Eventually he was transferred to Armory Square Hospital, where Whitman met him, probably in February 1863. In a diary in the Feinberg Collection, Whitman described Brown on February 19, 1863, as "a most affectionate fellow, very fond of having me come and sit by him." Because the wound did not heal, the leg was amputated on January 5, 1864. Whitman was present and described the operation in a diary (Library of Congress #103). Brown was mustered out in August 1864, and he was then employed in the Provost General's office in September. The following September he became a clerk in the Treasury Department and was appointed Chief of the Paymaster's Division in 1880, a post which he held until his retirement in 1915. (This material is drawn from a memorandum prepared by Brown's family, now in the Library of Congress.) To Brown, on April 12, 1863, Sawyer wrote that he had "received a short letter from Walter yesterday" (Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library). Miller writes in his annotations, "I have not identified Walter; perhaps he was an orderly in Armory Square Hospital" (93). Whitman noted—in a letter from May 27, 1863—that Bliss was later confined to Old Capitol Prison. The only reference Miller was able to find with regard to Bliss's imprisonment appears in court testimony quoted by Lafayette C. Baker, History of the United States Secret Service (Philadelphia: L. C. Baker, 1867), 624. This perhaps references George S. Rose, assistant surgeon, though he was reported to have entered military service on September 24, 1863. Whitman deleted the following comment: "He is a sharp little fellow." Whitman excised the next sentence: "I thought about you many times." See Whitman's letter from May 5, 1863. Lewis K. Brown (1843–1926) was wounded in the left leg near Rappahannock Station on August 19, 1862, and lay where he fell for four days. Eventually he was transferred to Armory Square Hospital, where Whitman met him, probably in February 1863. In a diary in the Feinberg Collection, Whitman on February 19 described Brown as 'a most affectionate fellow, very fond of having me come and sit by him.' Because the wound did not heal, the leg was amputated on January 5, 1864. Whitman was present and described the operation in a diary (Library of Congress #103). Brown was mustered out in August 1864, and was employed in the Provost General's office in September. The following September he became a clerk in the Treasury Department and was appointed Chief of the Paymaster's Division in 1880, a post which he held until his retirement in 1915. (This material is drawn from a memorandum prepared by Brown's family, now in the Library of Congress.) D. Willard Bliss (1825–1889) was a surgeon with the Third Michigan Infantry, and afterward in charge of Armory Square Hospital. See John Homer Bliss, Genealogy of the Bliss Family in America, from about the year 1550 to 1880 (Boston: John Homer Bliss, 1881), 545. He practiced medicine in Washington after the war; see "Letter from Walt Whitman to Hiram Sholes, May 30, 1867" (Correspondence, 1:331–332). When a pension for Whitman was proposed in the House of Representatives in 1887, Dr. Bliss was quoted: "I am of opinion that no one person who assisted in the hospitals during the war accomplished so much good to the soldiers and for the Government as Mr. Whitman" (Thomas Donaldson, Walt Whitman the Man [New York: F. P. Harper, 1896], 169).The only reference that Miller was able to find with regard to Bliss's imprisonment appears in court testimony quoted by Lafayette C. Baker, History of the United States Secret Service (Philadelphia: L. C. Baker, 1867), 624. Whitman changed "celestial" to "gay." Eventually Brooks recovered and, after a furlough, returned to his regiment. He wrote to Whitman on November 21, 1863, from Culpepper, Virginia. (Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library); Whitman's reply of December 19, 1863 is lost (Charles I. Glicksberg, Walt Whitman and the Civil War [Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1933], 140). Whitman noted the case in his diary (Glicksberg, Walt Whitman and the Civil War [1933], 149–150). See Whitman's letters from January 2–4, 1863. In July, 1863, Whitman recorded the case of George W. Monk in his hospital notes: "Brooklyn boy—father Wm D. Monk, Brooklyn E[ast] D[istrict]—gun shot wound in head—feet benumbed—fine manly quiet boy" (Glicksberg, Walt Whitman and the Civil War [1933], 149). The father was listed as a roof maker in the Directory of 1861–1862, as a ropemaker in 1865. A drummer in the Seventy-eighth Regiment; see A Record of the Commissioned Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, and Privates, of the Regiments Which Were Organized in the State of New York and Called into the Service of the United States to Assist in Suppressing the Rebellion (Albany: Comstock and Cassidy, 1864), 3: 229. The New York Times reported that Lee was in Pennsylvania, at or near Chambersburg. Perhaps in part Whitman was directing these words to Jeff, who was no admirer of Lincoln. On May 27, 1863, apparently in answer to a lost letter, Jeff wrote: "I cannot agree with you, Walt, in relation to the President. I think that he is not a man for the times, not big enough. He dont seem to have even force enough to stop bickerings between his own Cabinet and Generals nor force enough to do as he thinks best. . . . No, A. L. is not the man and I hardly know if we have one that is equal to the thing." Jeff returned to the subject on June 13, 1863: "Well, Walt, you and I cannot agree in regard to 'Uncle Abe.' . . . He lends himself to the speculators, in all the ways that it can be done. He says 'yes' to the last man or 'No' as that man wants him to. Everything he does reminds me of an old woman" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). Compare the lines in "Come Up from the Fields Father," which appeared in Drum-Taps, 39: "Lo, 'tis autumn; . . . / Where apples ripe in the orchards hang, and grapes on the trellis'd vines . . ." See Whitman's letter from April 21, 1863 for details of Whitman's correspondence with Sawyer. On the verso of this letter is a draft of the article mentioned in note 5 to his letter from August 18, 1863 . The identity of Mrs. Cooper is unclear. A Mrs. Cooper is mentioned in Whitman's notation on Ellen O'Connor's letter of November 10, 1863, and on November 24, 1863, O'Connor informed Whitman that Eldridge was going to stay at Mrs. Cooper's home in Philadelphia for several days. This is undoubtedly the Hattie B. Cooper (listed in the Directory as C. H. B. Cooper, "gentlewoman") who in an undated letter sent a "Christmas Greeting" to Whitman. Fred Vaughan referred to who is likely a different Mrs. Cooper on March 27, 1860; the Mrs. Cooper of Vaughan's letters was the mother of his roommate Robert "Bob" Cooper after Vaughan left Whitman's Classon Avenue apartment. The identity of Hattie B. Cooper is unclear. A Mrs. Cooper is mentioned in Whitman's notation on Ellen O'Connor's letter of November 10, 1863, and on November 24, 1863, O'Connor informed Whitman that their friend Charles Eldridge was going to stay at Mrs. Cooper's home in Philadelphia for several days. This is undoubtedly the Hattie B. Cooper (listed in the Directory as C. H. B. Cooper, "gentlewoman") who sent this undated "Christmas Greeting" to Whitman. The stage driver Fred Vaughan, who was close to Whitman in the late-1850s, referred to a (likely) different Mrs. Cooper on March 27, 1860; the Mrs. Cooper of Vaughan's letters was the mother of his roommate Robert "Bob" Cooper after Vaughan left Whitman's Classon Avenue apartment. See note 4 in Whitman's letter from November 8–9, 1863 . According to Miller, Edward and Jesse Whitman were mentally handicapped. Max Maretzek (1821–1897), opera impressario, was the most successful producer of Italian opera in New York City from 1849 to 1879. Clara Louise Kellogg (1842–1916) sang in La Sonnambula on November 13, 1863. Giuseppini Medori sang Lucrezia Borgia on November 2; see Whitman's account of this opera in a letter from November 8–9, 1863 . In Peri's Judith on November 11, 1863, appeared Medori, Mazzoleni, and Biachi. See George Odell, Annals of the New York Stage, (New York: AMS Press, 1970), 8:580–581. On November 10, 1863, Ellen M. O'Connor melodramatically implored Whitman to see Mr. Howells, "and with all the skill and talent of which you are master do what you can to disenchant him with those people.…If he could but know the real truth in regard to 'the great head' and leader of the reform it would surely open his eyes. He evidently thinks Mr. A[ndrews] a 'great light' & a saint of a man, sincere and true." Joseph Charles Howells, according to entries in New York Directories, must have been versatile (and perhaps eccentric): in 1864–1865 he was an "inventor," in 1865–1866 an inspector in the Custom House, in 1866–1867 simply an "inspector," and in 1867–1868 a seller of hairpins. Perhaps John A. Newbould, who, according to the Directory of 1863–1864, managed a hardware store in New York and lived in Brooklyn. Stephen Pearl Andrews (1812–1886), an abolitionist and philosopher, was absorbed in utopian schemes to establish a universal language, to reconcile all great thought, to discover a science of the universe ("Universology"), and to institute a new social order which he called Pantarchy. Trowbridge related Whitman's adverse opinion of Andrews' schemes in The Independent, 55 (1903): 497–501; note also R. A. Coleman, "Trowbridge and Whitman," PMLA, 63 (1948): 266, and E. C. Stedman's description of the "Pantarchial scheme" in Life and Letters (New York: Moffat, Yard and Co., 1910), 1:174–175. Ellen M. O'Connor voiced her distaste for Andrews in "Personal Recollections of Walt Whitman," Atlantic Monthly, 99 (1907): 829. See Whitman's letter from September 7, 1863 . See the letter from November 8–9, 1863 . See the letter from October 21, 1863 . See the letter from November 8–9, 1863 . See the letter from August 1, 1863 . See the letter from May 3, 1864 . Mrs. Doolittle was also mentioned in the letter from November 8–9, 1863 . The affection of the O'Connors for Whitman was evident in Ellen's reply on November 21, 1863: "Dear Walt, we long for you, William sighs for you, & I feel as if a large part of myself were out of the city—I shall give you a good big kiss when you come, so depend upon it." This letter is not extant. Thomas ("Tom") P. Sawyer was a friend of Lewis Kirke Brown's, and a sergeant in the Eleventh Massachusetts Volunteers. The 11th Massachusetts, under Lieutenant Colonel Porter D. Tripp, suffered heavy losses on July 2, 1863, in defense of the Emmitsburg Road at the Battle of Gettysburg. Originally Whitman wrote: "& would take the clothes off her back to give . . ." This appears to be a rough copy of a letter to Moses Lane (see Whitman's letter from January 16, 1863), who, according to his letter on May 27, 1863 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection), had promised to send Whitman $5 each month for his hospital work. March 13, 1864 is a plausible date, since Jeff had enclosed $5 from Lane on March 11, 1864 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). Although Whitman ran vertical lines through the salutation and the first three sentences, they are retained here because they permit reasonable conjectures as to the date and recipient. This is, of course, a direction to Whitman. Here he undoubtedly intended to include material similar to that in a letter from May 14, 1863 addressed to Nicholas Wyckoff or Daniel L. Northrup. Whitman deleted the following at this point: "It is wonderful to go round among them, & twice blessed. One wonders too where all the enormous proceeds . . ." Walt Whitman left Washington on June 22, 1864. On July 5, 1864, Ellen O'Connor wrote: "It will be two weeks to-morrow since you left us, and I have missed you terribly every minute of the time. I think I never in my life felt so wholly blue and unhappy about any one's going away as I did, and have since, about your going. I began to be really superstitious I felt so badly. I did not think that you were going to die, but I could not possibly overcome the feeling that our dear and pleasant circle was broken, and it seemed to me that we four [the O'Connors, Charles Eldridge, and Whitman] should not be together any more as we have been. . . . Ah! Walt, I don't believe other people need you as much as we do. I am sure they don't need you as much as I do" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). For a time Whitman lived with William D. and Ellen M. O'Connor, who, with Charles W. Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the early Washington years. William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of Harrington, an abolition novel published by Thayer & Eldridge in 1860. He had been an assistant editor of the Saturday Evening Post before he went to Washington. O'Connor was an intelligent man who deserved something better than the various governmental clerical posts he was to hold until his death. The humdrum of clerkship, however, was relieved by the presence of Whitman whom he was to love and venerate—and defend with a single-minded fanaticism and an outpouring of vituperation and eulogy that have seldom been equaled, most notably in his pamphlet, "The Good Gray Poet." He was the first, and in many ways the most important, of the adulators who divided people arbitrarily into two categories: those who were for and those who were against Walt Whitman. The poet praised O'Connor in the preface to a posthumous collection of his tales: "He was a born sample here in the 19th century of the flower and symbol of olden time first-class knighthood. Thrice blessed be his memory!" (Complete Prose Works [New York, D. Appleton, 1910] pp. 513). For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors see O'Connor, William Douglas [1832–1889]. Of the O'Connors, Thomas Jefferson Whitman wrote on June 13, 1863: "I am real glad, my dear Walt, that you are among such good people. I hope it will be in the power of some of our family to return their kindness some day. I'm sure twould be done with a heartfelt gratitude. Tis pleasant, too, to think, that there are still people of that kind left."In his letter of July 2, 1864, O'Connor was deeply moved by Whitman's departure from Washington: "Many thoughts of you have come to me since you went away, and sometimes it has been lonely and a little like death. Particularly at evening when you used to come in . . . I wonder what the future for us is to be. Shall we triumph over obscurities and obstacles and emerge to start the Pathfinder, or whatever the name of it is to be? . . . Or shall we never meet, never work together, never start any Pathfinder, never do anything but fade out into death, frustrated, lost in oblivion? . . . I hardly believe you will come back here. But I hope you will." According to Ellen M. O'Connor's letter of July 5, 1864, Eldridge had gone to pay the staff officers of the Fifth Corps. Count Adam Gurowski (1805–1866), a Polish exile, published an eccentric three-volume Diary (1862–1866), a day-by-day account of the war written with a marked partiality toward extreme abolitionists. The Count was a colorful figure: he covered his lost eye with a "green blinder," and "he had a Roman head...a powerful topknot, in and out: people always stopped to look at him" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [New York, Rowman and Littlefield, 1961], 3:79, 96). William D. O'Connor, who apparently translated Gurowski's manuscripts into English (see the letter from Gurowski to O'Connor in Feinberg), reported to Walt Whitman, on August 13, 1864, that "he is a madman with lucid intervals"—he had attempted "to discipline the firemen with a pistol." Walt Whitman maintained to Traubel, in 1888, that "he was truly a remarkable, almost phenomenal, man," and that "he was, no doubt, very crazy, but also very sane" (3:79, 340). O'Connor related in a letter on November 24, 1863, that the Count had said to her recently: "My Gott, I did not know that [Walt Whitman] was such a poet, tell him so, I have been trying every where to find him to tell him myself." In the last volume of the Diary, Gurowski placed Walt Whitman's name in the first category of his threefold evaluation of persons "mentioned in this volume": "Praise," "Half and Half," and "Blame." The Count referred in his entry for April 18, 1864, to Walt Whitman as among "the most original and genuine American hearts and minds" (187). In a footnote (372–373), appended September 12, 1865, Gurowski abused Harlan, who had "shown himself to be animated by a spirit of narrow-minded persecution that would honor the most fierce Spanish or Roman inquisitor." Gurowski was praised by Robert Penn Warren, in Malcolm Cowley, ed., Writers at Work: The "Paris Review" Interviews, (New York: Viking, 1958), 189. See also LeRoy Fischer, Mississippi Valley Historical Review, 36 (1949–1950): 415–434, and the Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement One (New York: Scribner, 1944). On July 5, 1864, Ellen M. O'Connor asked Whitman what she should do with "Mrs. Beach's notes." Mrs. Juliette H. Beach was one of those enigmatic women associated with Whitman about whom imaginative biographers have spun ingenious theories. Mrs. Beach was to have reviewed the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass for the Saturday Press, but when her husband's unfavorable review was published instead, the journal had to take public note of matrimonial discord in order to correct the error (Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman [New York: Macmillan, 1955; rev. ed., New York University Press, 1967], 260–262). Mrs. O'Connor contributed her bit to the theory that Mrs. Beach and Whitman had a love affair when she asserted that "Out of the Rolling Ocean, the Crowd," published in Drum-Taps, was composed for "a certain lady" who had angered her husband because of her correspondence with the poet (Emory Holloway, ed., The Uncollected Poetry and Prose of Walt Whitman [Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Page, 1921], 1:lviii). "Mrs. Beach's notes" may be the letters to Whitman, which later Burroughs vainly asked Mrs. Beach to print; see Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1931) and The Life and Letters of John Burroughs (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1925), 1:120. If these were love letters, Whitman hardly treated Mrs. Beach's heart-stirrings discreetly. See also Allen, The Solitary Singer, 340–342. Lewis Kirke Brown (1843–1926) was wounded in the left leg near Rappahannock Station on August 19, 1862, and lay where he fell for four days. Eventually he was transferred to Armory Square Hospital, where Whitman met him, probably in February 1863. In a diary in the Library of Congress, Whitman described Brown on February 19, 1863, as "a most affectionate fellow, very fond of having me come and sit by him." Because the wound did not heal, the leg was amputated on January 5, 1864. Whitman was present and described the operation in a diary (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103). Brown was mustered out in August 1864, and was employed in the Provost General's office in September; see Whitman's letter from September 11, 1864 . The following September he became a clerk in the Treasury Department, and was appointed Chief of the Paymaster's Division in 1880, a post which he held until his retirement in 1915. (This material draws upon a memorandum which was prepared by Brown's family and is now held in the Library of Congress.)Brown had written from the Judiciary Square Hospital in an attempt to locate Whitman. Usually inarticulate, Brown was deeply moved in his reply to Whitman on July 18, 1864: "I was also very sory to hear of your illness & to think that it was brought on by your unselfish kindness to the Soldiers. There is a many a soldier now that never thinks of you but with emotions of the greatest gratitude & I know that the soldiers that you have bin so kind to have a great big warm place in their heart for you. I never think of you but it makes my heart glad to think that I have bin permited to know one so good." In his letter of July 18, 1864, Brown gave a colorful firsthand account of the attempted invasion of Washington. He had hobbled to the front on his crutches and had remained there until witnesses near him were killed. John Burroughs was also a participant in this skirmish; see Burroughs's letter to Whitman from August 2, 1864. Brown, on July 18, 1864, reported that he had not seen Adrian Bartlett and Joseph Harris since they returned from a spree to Baltimore on July 4. According to his letter of September 5, 1864, the three young men were living in a Washington boardinghouse; Harris was not in good health, and Bartlett worked in the Treasury Department. Harris enclosed a letter with Brown's on September 5, 1864. Brown and Bartlett were still clerks in the Treasury on May 30, 1867; see "Letter from Walt Whitman to Hiram Sholes, 30 May 1867" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:331–332). On July 18, 1864, Ellen O'Connor had informed Whitman that she would be in New York on July 20, 1864, and that she wanted to see him. Whitman refers here to the Report of the Secretary of the Navy in Relation to Armored Vessels (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1864). Of this volume O'Connor wrote on August 13, 1864: "I thought it might yield hints for poems. At all events, it gives one a good idea of what the Monitors are and can do. They are . . . an upheld finger of warning to all despotocracy." George's letter is not known; probably it was sent to Hannah. On August 13, 1864, O'Connor, who never emulated Whitman's calm faith in the outcome of the war, wrote: "Alas, Walt! There is no hope of Richmond. The campaign has proved a failure. . . . It is sad to think of the eighty thousand men, veterans, lost so fruitlessly." See Whitman's letter from November 15, 1863 . See note 7 to the letter from January 6, 1865 . Arnold Johnson was a friend of the O'Connors and private secretary to Senator Summer; see Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1931), 10. He was listed in the 1866 Directory as a clerk in the Treasury Department. Ellen O'Connor was hurt when Whitman did not reply to her letters of July 5, 1864, July 18, 1864, July 24, 1864, and August 18, 1864. In the August 18 letter she said: "You will not think me foolish if I tell you that it hurt me a little, will you? You know what a foolish, absurd person I am, where I love any one as I do you, and knowing this, and now I having confessed, you will pardon." Whitman most likely is referring to Brooklyn City Hospital, which Whitman visited in August and September. Throughout August George's regiment was engaged in especially heavy fighting near Petersburg, Virginia, in which he repeatedly distinguished himself. John Gibson Wright, captain of the Fifty-first Regiment, reported on August 8, 1864 that, when he had to relinquish command of the regiment, George "discharged the duties of the responsible position to my entire satisfaction, and it affords me great pleasure to speak of the gallant manner in which he has Sustained himself during the entire campaign" (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Books, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). (Wright rose from captain to colonel in the Fifty-first Regiment; he was appointed to the latter position on May 18, 1865. He was taken prisoner with George in 1864.) Captain Samuel H. Sims (see the letter from May 26, 1863) was killed on July 30, 1864, at Petersburg, Virginia, according to George's letter of August 9, 1864. The other officer has not been identified. See the letter from November 15, 1863 . William F. Channing (1820–1901), son of William Ellery Channing, and also Ellen O'Connor's brother-in-law, was by training a doctor, but devoted most of his life to scientific experiments. With Moses G. Farmer, he perfected the first fire-alarm system. He was the author of Notes on the Medical Applications of Electricity (Boston: Daniel Davis, Jr., and Joseph M. Wightman, 1849). Ellen O'Connor visited him frequently in Providence, Rhode Island, and Whitman stayed at his home in October 1868. See Whitman's letter from March 19–20, 1863 . Since Gray had written on May 7, 1864, to Whitman that "we are suddenly ordered away to the South-west. I will write when we get settled", he was probably not present. General George Brinton McClellan (1826–1885) was General-in-Chief of the Army of the United States from November 1861, until July 1862, when he was replaced by General Henry W. Halleck. In 1864, when McClellan ran for the presidency, the Democratic party split between war Democrats and peace Democrats. To satisfy the war Democrats McClellan was nominated; to satisfy the peace Democrats C. L. Vallandigham and his followers were allowed to draft the platform. Thomas Jefferson Whitman evidently considered the entire Democratic party as "the peace party" as evidenced from the letter to his brother Walt dated July 7, 1863. On August 13, 1864, O'Connor had reported that Ashton was "at Schooley's Mountain, New York, vacationizing." Brown informed Whitman of his appointment on September 5, 1864. Lewis Kirke Brown (1843–1926) was wounded in the left leg near Rappahannock Station on August 19, 1862, and lay where he fell for four days. Eventually he was transferred to Armory Square Hospital, where Whitman met him, probably in February 1863. In a diary in the Library of Congress, Whitman described Brown on February 19, 1863, as "a most affectionate fellow, very fond of having me come and sit by him." Because the wound did not heal, the leg was amputated on January 5, 1864. Whitman was present and described the operation in a diary (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103). Brown was mustered out in August 1864, and was employed in the Provost General's office in September; see Whitman's letter from September 11, 1864 . The following September he became a clerk in the Treasury Department, and was appointed Chief of the Paymaster's Division in 1880, a post which he held until his retirement in 1915. (This material draws upon a memorandum which was prepared by Brown's family and is now held in the Library of Congress.) There is no indication in Hannah's letter to Whitman on October 17, 1864, of a visit to her in September. See Whitman's letter from November 15, 1863 . Although Eldridge did not depart until January, Ellen O'Connor feared further changes in the little Washington group of Whitman admirers. On November 30, 1864, she wrote to Whitman: "Every evening we talk of you, & wish you were here, & almost every evening we read from Leaves of Grass, read & admire. I don't believe, dear Walt, that you have in all the world, two heartier lovers & appreciators than William & Charley." The last extant letter from George in 1864 is that of October 23, 1864.. On August 13, 1864, William O'Connor admitted "many misgivings about your plan of getting out the book yourself. I want it to have a large sale, as I think it well might, and I am afraid that this sort of private publication will keep it from being known or accessible to any considerable number of people." See also Whitman's letter to William D. O'Connor from May 12, 1867 (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:329–330). William T. Otto (1816–1905) was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Interior in January, 1863, and took an active interest in Indian affairs. He resigned from this post in 1871, but held various other governmental posts for many years. See also note 2 to Whitman's letter from January 20, 1865 . On December 30, O'Connor informed Whitman that Ashton had spoken to Otto "in your behalf. . . . We shall fetch it this time. I have every confidence that you will get a good and an easy berth, a regular income, &c, leaving you time to attend to the soldiers, to your poems, &c" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1906–96], 2:401). Of the 1867 edition Gay Wilson Allen observes: "What makes it important is Whitman's great exertion to rework the book by deletion, emendation, and rearrangement of the poems" (Walt Whitman Handbook [Chicago: Packard and Company, 1946], 173). He omitted from the "Calamus" poems "Long I thought that knowledge alone would suffice me" (#8), "Hours continuing long, sore and heavy-hearted" (#9), and "Who is now reading this?" (#16). George's last known letter was the one of October 23, 1864. Though the family did not hear from George for some time, it did everything possible to send provisions to him and to arrange for a prisoner exchange. On January 4, 1865, David F. Wright wrote to Whitman to explain that a gentleman who had a relative in an Ohio prison camp was anxious to arrange for an exchange: "Your brother's name was given & the party promised to act upon it immediately." See the letter from November 15, 1863 . According to Whitman's "Hospital Book 12" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection), Sergeant Jesse Mullery, Company K, Fifteenth New Jersey, was in Ward A, Armory Square Hospital, on May 14, 1864. The twenty-year-old boy had been "shot through shoulder, ball in lung—(ball still in probably near lung)—lost right finger." On June 23, 1864, he went home to Vernon, New Jersey, on furlough, and then served as assistant cook in the army hospital in Newark. On December 26, 1864, Mullery proposed a visit to Brooklyn. He was still at the Newark hospital on January 23, 1865. By 1866, Mullery was employed in a store in New York. According to his letters of May 3 and June 11, 1865, he later was able to return to active duty. (In the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library, there are four letters from Mullery and one from his father to Whitman.) In several letters Mullery referred to the kindnesses of a Miss Howard while he was in the hospital, and another soldier, Charles H. Harris, on May 30, 1864, asked to be remembered to Miss Howard and her sister. On February 20, 1866, Mullery wrote that one of the Howard sisters had died the preceding fall, and recalled "the Same Sad Smile on her countenance" (The Library of Congress). Probably these were the Misses Sallie and Carrie Howard listed in the 1866 Directory, or the Miss Garaphelia Howard mentioned in "Letter from Walt Whitman to Ellen M. O'Connor, 3 February 1874" (Correspondence, 2:271–272). Pauline Wright Davis (1813–1876) was a well-known abolitionist and suffragette. She was the wife of Thomas Davis (1805–1895), a manufacturer of jewelry in Providence, Rhode Island, and a Congressman from 1853 to 1855. Whitman stayed at their home in October, 1868. See the letter from September 11, 1864 . Eldridge had spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with the O'Connors, according to William's letter of December 30. The New York Times of this date quoted the following from the Richmond Sentinel: "Our authorities must do more. They must take care, whatever befalls us, to save us from the Yankees. If adverse gales and devouring billows should constrain our storm-lost ship into some port, let it be no Yankee port. If an unpropitious Providence should condemn us to a master, let it not be a Yankee master. Of all the people on earth, we should have most reason to loathe and to dread them. Any terms with any other would be preferable to subjugation to them." For a time Whitman lived with William D. and Ellen M. O'Connor, who, with Charles W. Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the early Washington years. William D. O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of Harrington, an abolition novel published by Thayer & Eldridge in 1860. He had been an assistant editor of the Saturday Evening Post before he went to Washington. O'Connor was an intelligent man who deserved something better than the various governmental clerical posts he was to hold until his death. The humdrum of clerkship, however, was relieved by the presence of Whitman whom he was to love and venerate—and defend with a single-minded fanaticism and an outpouring of vituperation and eulogy that have seldom been equaled, most notably in his pamphlet, "The Good Gray Poet." He was the first, and in many ways the most important, of the adulators who divided people arbitrarily into two categories: those who were for and those who were against Walt Whitman. The poet praised O'Connor in the preface to a posthumous collection of his tales: "He was a born sample here in the 19th century of the flower and symbol of olden time first-class knighthood. Thrice blessed be his memory!" (Complete Prose Works [New York, D. Appleton, 1910] pp. 513). For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors see O'Connor, William Douglas [1832–1889]. Of the O'Connors, Thomas Jefferson Whitman wrote on June 13, 1863: "I am real glad, my dear Walt, that you are among such good people. I hope it will be in the power of some of our family to return their kindness some day. I'm sure twould be done with a heartfelt gratitude. Tis pleasant, too, to think, that there are still people of that kind left." William T. Otto was assistant secretary of the interior. Otto wrote to Whitman on January 12, 1865 to advise him that upon "passing a satisfactory examination you will be appointed to a First Class Clerkship," and on January 24, he informed Whitman of his appointment as clerk at the salary of "$1200 per annum." Carey Gwynne; see the letter from June 9, 1863 . About March 5, 1865, Mrs. Whitman described George's illness in prison camp: "he was very sick at one time. i think it was in january with the lung fever. he was six weeks in the hospital so bad that the doctor thought he would die . . . he was dilerious and lay in a stupor till the night the fever turned. he says he felt a thrill run through him and thought he was dying. he was in the dark. he cald to one of the nurses to bring a light and to raise him up and give him a piece of paper and pencil and he wrote to me that was his last night and what was due him from the goverment" (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Books, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library; Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 190). O'Connor recommended Jeff for a position as a "draughtsman," but Jeff, in a letter to O'Connor on March 16, 1865, declined because of lack of experience. Whitman must have arrived in Brooklyn early in October for "a month's furlough" (see Whitman's letter from October 15, 1865 ), and evidently returned to Washington on November 7 (see Whitman's letter from October 29, 1865 ). He went to Brooklyn in order to supervise the binding of Sequel to Drum-Taps, which was printed in Washington; see Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman (New York: Macmillan, 1955; rev. ed., New York University Press, 1967), 353. For a time Whitman lived with William D. and Ellen O'Connor, who, with Eldridge and later Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the early Washington years. William D. O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of Harrington, an abolition novel published by Thayer & Eldridge in 1860. Ellen "Nelly" O'Connor, William's wife, had a close personal relationship with Whitman. In 1872 Whitman would walk out on a debate with William over the Fifteenth Amendment, which Whitman opposed and O'Connor supported. Ellen defended Whitman's opinion, and in response William established a separate residence. The correspondence between Whitman and Ellen is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence with William. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors see O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889). Mrs. Whitman arrived in Burlington, Vermont, on September 5, 1865. She wrote to Whitman on that date, as well as on September 11, 21, and 27 (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Books, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). She "found hanna quite as well and better than i expected." Mrs. Whitman returned on October 16 (see Whitman's letter of October 15, 1865 ). On July 16, 1865, Thomas Jefferson Whitman had described a long letter which Heyde had written to his mother: "He says he shall leave Han, and go out west—I wish he was in Hell—Mother of course is considerably exercised about it—and thinks she will go on there and bring Han home." After toying with several offers, including an appointment in the New York Custom House, George Washington Whitman decided to return to housebuilding. "I am quite sure," Jeff wrote to Walt Whitman on September 29, 1865, "that if he can keep devoted to his present undertaking he will make a handsome fortune in 8 or ten years—he certainly has the prospect of it." George had been mustered out in July. Nothing came of his plans to remain a commissioned officer in the regular army. Whitman enclosed a review of his work from the London Leader of June 30, 1860, for William D. O'Connor. O'Connor was so impressed that he planned to incorporate "a great deal of it" into his manuscript, The Good Gray Poet (13–14), which he was revising when he wrote on October 19, 1865: "But oh, Walt, the literary shortcomings of it oppress me. It is not the thing that should be said of your book—not the thing that it is in even me to say." At this time O'Connor had not found a publisher for his polemic. For a time Whitman lived with William D. and Ellen O'Connor, who, with Eldridge and later Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the early Washington years. William D. O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of Harrington, an abolition novel published by Thayer & Eldridge in 1860. Ellen "Nelly" O'Connor, William's wife, had a close personal relationship with Whitman. In 1872 Whitman would walk out on a debate with William over the Fifteenth Amendment, which Whitman opposed and O'Connor supported. Ellen defended Whitman's opinion, and in response William established a separate residence. The correspondence between Whitman and Ellen is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence with William. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors see O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889). William's letter of October 19, 1865, from New Ipswich, N. H., had not reached Whitman. Announcements of the publication of Drum-Taps by Bunce & Henry E. Huntington appeared in the New York Tribune of October 28, 1865, and in The Round Table of November 4. The Sequel was printed by Gibson Brothers of Washington, who issued a receipt to Whitman on October 2 for 1,000 copies (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–69], xlviii). On September 20, 1865, Abraham Simpson acknowledged $50 paid on account for binding 300 copies, and he billed Whitman for 500 copies on November 1 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). The only evidence for the date is the endorsement, which appears to be in O'Connor's hand. Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman (1833-1890), Walt's brother. Martha Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873), also known as "Mattie," wife of Whitman's brother Jeff. George B. Lincoln (1817-1890) held the position of Postmaster of Brooklyn between 1861 and 1867. The letter from Walt's sister Hannah Louisa Whitman Heyde (18231908) of March 24, 1866 (The Library of Congress) was almost cheerful, although she was "lonesome" and looked forward to Whitman's promised visit in the summer. On March 27(?), 1866, Mrs. Whitman added in a postscript: "i got all the letters you have sent." According to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letter of March 27(?), George was alarmed about his business prospects: "george is building his shop and he gets veary tired. he had never aught to have commenced to work at his trade he says. he had aught to have staid in the army" (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Books, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman (1833-1890), Walt's brother. Henry Stanbery (1803–1881) was appointed Attorney General on July 23, 1866, and served until March 12, 1868, when he resigned to serve as President Johnson's chief counsel in the impeachment proceedings. When, at the conclusion of the trial, Johnson renominated Stanbery, the Senate refused to confirm him. Failing eyesight—to which Whitman referred in letters from November 13, 1866 and November 20, 1866—forced Stanbery to retire from legal practice in 1878. Speaking to Horace Traubel in 1888, Whitman affirmed his fondness for Stanbery (With Walt Whitman in Camden [Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1906–1996], 3:156). Count Adam Gurowski (1805–1866), a Polish exile, published an eccentric three-volume Diary (Boston: Lee and Shepard, 1862–1866), a day-by-day account of the war written with a marked partiality toward extreme abolitionists. The Count was a colorful figure: he covered his lost eye with a "green blinder," and "he had a Roman head . . . a powerful topknot, in and out: people always stopped to look at him" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 3:79, 96). O'Connor, who apparently Englished Gurowski's manuscripts (see the letter from Gurowski to O'Connor in Charles E. Feinberg Collection), reported to Whitman, on August 13, 1864, that "he is a madman with lucid intervals"—he had attempted "to discipline the firemen with a pistol" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, 3:340). Whitman maintained to Horace Traubel, in 1888, that "he was truly a remarkable, almost phenomenal, man," and that "he was, no doubt, very crazy, but also very sane" (With Walt Whitman in Camden 3:79, 340). Mrs. O'Connor related in a letter on November 24, 1863, that the Count had said to her recently: "My Gott, I did not know that [Walt Whitman] was such a poet, tell him so, I have been trying every where to find him to tell him myself" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). In the last volume of the Diary, Gurowski placed Whitman's name in the first category of his threefold evaluation of persons "mentioned in this volume": "Praise," "Half and Half," and "Blame." The Count referred in his entry for April 18, 1864, to Whitman as among "the most original and genuine American hearts and minds" (187). In a footnote (372–373), appended September 12, 1865, Gurowski abused Harlan, who had "shown himself to be animated by a spirit of narrow-minded persecution which would honor the most fierce Spanish or Roman inquisitor." Gurowski was praised by Robert Penn Warren in Malcolm Cowley, ed., Writers at Work: The "Paris Review" Interviews (New York: Viking Press, 1958), 189. See also LeRoy Fischer, Mississippi Valley Historical Review, 36 (1949–1950), 415–434, and Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 1. Thaddeus Stevens (1792–1868), fiery Congressman from Pennsylvania, violently opposed Johnson's moderate policy toward the South. He introduced the impeachment resolution in February, 1868. Probably Julius W. Mason, a lieutenant colonel in the Fifth Cavalry. On February 10, 1863, Jeff mentioned a J. W. Mason, who "used to be in my party on the Water Works." When George considered staying in the army after the war, Jeff conferred with Mason; see his letter of May 14, 1865. Mason remained in the army until his death in 1882. According to his letter to Jeff on January 30, 1865, Whitman wrote to "Captain" Mason the same day; on February 7, Jeff noted that Mason had complied with Whitman's request. Whitman apparently wrote again on February 13, and Mason replied from City Point on February 16 that a box had been sent to George on February 10, and that Whitman's letter would be forwarded by "1st Flag of Truce." Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. Like Jeff Whitman, he collected money from his employees and friends for Walt's hospital work. Lane sent Whitman $15.20 in his letter of January 26, 1863, and later various sums which Whitman acknowledged in letters from February 6, 1863, May 11, 1863, May 26, 1863, and September 9, 1863. In his letter of May 27, 1863, Lane pledged $5 each month. In an unpublished manuscript in the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library, Whitman wrote, obviously for publication: "I have distributed quite a large sum of money, contributed for that purpose by noble persons in Brooklyn, New York, (chiefly through Moses Lane, Chief Engineer, Water Works there.)" Lane assisted Whitman in other ways as well (see Whitman's letters from December 29, 1862, and February 13, 1863). He was so solicitous of Whitman's personal welfare that on April 3, 1863, he sent through Jeff $5 "for your own especial benefit." The Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–1867) befriended the Whitman family and became especially close to Jeff and Mattie. Late in life, Ruggles lost interest in his practice and devoted himself to painting cabinet pictures called "Ruggles Gems" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:90, n. 85; 330). Martha Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873), also known as "Mattie," wife of Whitman's brother Jeff. Mannahatta and Jessie, Jeff's daughters. George Washington Whitman (1829-1901), Walt's brother. Hannah Louisa Whitman Heyde (1823–1908) was Walt Whitman's younger sister, and she was one of the only members of the Whitman family to read and admire Whitman's writings. She married Charles Heyde in 1852, and the couple lived in Burlington, Vermont. Charles regularly disparaged his wife and her sometimes erratic behavior in his letters. For more information on Hannah, see Paula K. Garrett, "Whitman (Heyde), Hannah Louisa (d. 1908)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman informed Walt on June 7, 1866, that she had sent "a short note to the honorable mr Heyde as i received a veery lengthy epistle from him the other day. i really think the world never produced such another man or devil. i think he is nearest the last named. i wrote very short with no compliment that i was not surprised at his wishing to get rid of han, that he had expressed that wish many times before this letter" (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Books, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). In a letter to Whitman in April 1866, Heyde had accused Mrs. Whitman of fomenting trouble between him and his wife. Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman (1833-1890), Walt's brother. Hannah Louisa Whitman Heyde (1823–1908), sister of Walt Whitman and wife of Charles Heyde. Hannah and Charles lived in Burlington, Vermont. Mary Mix lived with her daughter, Juliet Grayson, who operated the boardinghouse at 468 M North, where Whitman lived between late January 1865 and February 1866. After her daughter's death on January 7, 1867, Mrs. Mix left Washington; see Whitman's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman of January 29, 1867 in Miller, Correspondence, 1:311312). See also Whitman's letter of June 26, 1866. After the war, all the hospitals except this one were converted to other purposes. Armory Square Hospital, as Whitman observed in "Letter from Walt Whitman to Hiram Sholes, 30 May 1867" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York, North Carolina: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:331–332), became a clothing depot. Undoubtedly Joseph A. Velsor, who was later listed in an address book (The Library of Congress #108), and who had a drugstore in New York after 1868. Edward Whitman (1835-1892), Walt's youngest brother, who was mentally and physically handicapped. Presumably James and George Whitman, sons of Walt's brother Andrew. Mannahatta and Jessie Louisa Whitman, daughter of Walt's brother Jeff. For a time Whitman lived with William D. and Ellen M. O'Connor, who, with Charles W. Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the early Washington years. William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of Harrington, an abolition novel published by Thayer & Eldridge in 1860. He had been an assistant editor of the Saturday Evening Post before he went to Washington. O'Connor was an intelligent man who deserved something better than the various governmental clerical posts he was to hold until his death. The humdrum of clerkship, however, was relieved by the presence of Whitman whom he was to love and venerate—and defend with a single-minded fanaticism and an outpouring of vituperation and eulogy that have seldom been equaled, most notably in his pamphlet, "The Good Gray Poet." He was the first, and in many ways the most important, of the adulators who divided people arbitrarily into two categories: those who were for and those who were against Walt Whitman. The poet praised O'Connor in the preface to a posthumous collection of his tales: "He was a born sample here in the 19th century of the flower and symbol of olden time first-class knighthood. Thrice blessed be his memory!" (Complete Prose Works [New York, D. Appleton, 1910] pp. 513). For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors see O'Connor, William Douglas [1832–1889]. William E. Chapin was the printer of the 1867 edition of Leaves of Grass. F. J. Henry E. Huntington Library & Company, 459 Broome Street; see also Whitman's letter of October 20, 1865. Louisa Whitman had written on May 31, 1866: "he has got to be very economical, very different from when he was in the army, but every body changes, some for the better and some for the worser" (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Books, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). She also had noted that "he appears to be very much taken with some one," and, on June 7, 1866, "i think george will get married" (Trent Collection). George, however, did not marry until 1871. The Galaxy was edited by W. C. and F. P. Church; see the letter from Whitman to W. C. Church of August 7, 1867 (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77] 1:335–336). When W. C. Church wrote on June 13 to O'Connor (Charles E. Feinberg Collection), requesting an article, he suggested that the magazine publish Burroughs's "Walt Whitman and His 'Drum-Taps,'" which appeared in The Galaxy, 2 (December 1, 1866), 606–615. John Burroughs (1837-1921) met Whitman on the streets of Washington, DC, in 1864, even though Burroughs had frequented Pfaff's beer cellar, where he consistently defended Whitman's poetry, in 1862. After returning to Brooklyn in 1864, Whitman commenced what was to become a lifelong 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: Birds and Poets (1877), Notes on Walt Whitman as Poet and Person (1867), Whitman, A Study (1896), and Accepting the Universe (1924). For more information on John Burroughs see Burroughs, John [1837-1921] and Ursula [1836-1917]. Charles W. Eldridge was one half of the Boston based abolitionist publishing firm Thayer and Eldridge, who put out the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass. In December 1862, on his way to find his injured brother George in Fredericksburg, Virginia, Walt Whitman stopped in Washington and encountered Eldridge, who had become a clerk in the office of the army paymaster and eventually obtained a desk for Whitman in the office of Major Lyman Hapgood, the army paymaster. For more on Whitman's relationship with Thayer and Eldridge see Thayer, William Wilde [18291896] and Charles W. Eldridge [18371903]. Ellen "Nelly" O'Connor, William's wife, had a close personal relationship with Whitman. In 1872 Whitman would walk out on a debate with William over the Fifteenth Amendment, which Whitman opposed and O'Connor supported. Ellen defended Whitman's opinion, and in response William established a separate residence. The correspondence between Whitman and Ellen is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence with William. Although the letter is endorsed "1867?" in an uknown hand, Miller suspects the letter is from 1866. See Miller, 1:288–289. Moncure Conway's article; see the letter of September (?) 1866. John Burroughs called it "an eloquent article . . . but it told untruths about him. Walt said it did" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1931], 39). William O'Connor wrote to Conway on December 5, 1866: "A great deal of it I liked very much, and I think the general effect of it was very good. In part of it, there was a tone I regretted. Pardon me. I think the time is past when this august man should be written of as a curiosity, or his poem mentioned as something monstrous. You do not do this, it is true, but there are, here and there, lines and touches in your article, which suggest such a treatment and leave me unsatisfied" (Yale). However, to John Townsend Trowbridge, O'Connor labeled it "a frightful mess of misstatement and fiction" (Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs (1931), 40). Whitman, and therefore his friends, objected to two of Conway's anecdotes in particular: Whitman's lying on his back at Coney Island with the temperature at 100 degrees, and the description of his room in 1855. In 1888 Whitman observed: "I can't help feeling still a little suspicion of Conway's lack of historic veracity: he romances: he has romanced about me: William says lied: but romanced will do" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1906–1996], 3:16). William Michael Rossetti repeated the Coney Island tale in Poems by Walt Whitman (London: John Camden Hotten, 1868), 15–16.. The Galaxy was edited by W. C. and F. P. Church; see "Letter from Walt Whitman to W. C. Church, 7 August 1867" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York, North Carolina: New York University Press, 1961–77] 1:335–336). When W. C. Church wrote on June 13 to William O'Connor (Charles E. Feinberg Collection), requesting an article, he suggested that the magazine publish Burroughs's "Walt Whitman and His 'Drum-Taps,'" which appeared in The Galaxy, 2 (December 1, 1866), 606–615. In a letter to Moncure Conway on December 5, O'Connor asserted fervidly that Burroughs's was "the first article . . . that reveals real critical power and insight, and a proper reverence, upon the subject of Whitman's poetry" (Yale). Whitman's biographer, Gay Wilson Allen, concurs in O'Connor's judgment: Burroughs "deserves credit for having lifted the criticism of Whitman's poems to the plane of reason and intellectual appreciation" (Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman [New York: Macmillan, 1955; rev. ed., New York University Press, 1967], 375). See the letter of November 13, 1866. Mary Elizabeth Braddon (Maxwell), English novelist (1837–1915), established a phenomenal reputation after the publication of Lady Audley's Secret, which appeared in 1862 in The Sixpenny Magazine and later in the year as a three-volume novel. According to the Dictionary of National Biography, "in various forms nearly a million copies must have gone into circulation; it has been translated into every civilized tongue, several times piratically dramatized, and twice filmed." Whitman had boarded with Mrs. Grayson; see the letter of June 26, 1866. Jeff liked Walt's reference to his daughter; see his letter of December 21, 1866. William Rackliffe (or Racliffe) died December 15, 1866, and was buried in the National Cemetery (The Library of Congress # 108). See also Whitman's letter of February 2, 1864. Charles W. Eldridge was one half of the Boston based abolitionist publishing firm Thayer and Eldridge, who put out the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass. In December 1862, on his way to find his injured brother George in Fredericksburg, Virginia, Walt Whitman stopped in Washington and encountered Eldridge, who had become a clerk in the office of the army paymaster and eventually obtained a desk for Whitman in the office of Major Lyman Hapgood, the army paymaster. For more on Whitman's relationship with Thayer and Eldridge see "Thayer, William Wilde [18291896] and Charles W. Eldridge [18371903]." See Whitman's letter from October 11–15, 1863. Il Trovatore was performed at the Academy of Music on November 16, 1863, with a cast that included Medori, Mazzoleni, and Fernando Bellini. Ellen M. O'Connor wrote on November 21, 1863, that Eldridge "got your letter, & was delighted with it, he said it was worthy to be set in a gold frame—to which Wm. & I assented most heartily." Andrew Kerr was, according to the 1866 Directory, a clerk in the Attorney General's office. Less than two weeks after this letter, on January 24, 1865, Otto informed Whitman of his appointment as clerk at the salary of "$1200 per annum." James Harlan (1820–1899), secretary of the interior from 1865 to 1866, dismissed Whitman from his second-class clerkship on June 30, 1865. Harlan apparently took offense at the copy of the 1860 Leaves of Grass which Whitman was revising and which he kept at his desk. With the help of William Douglas O'Connor and Assistant Attorney General J. Hubley Aston, Whitman secured a position in the attorney general's office. The Harlan episode led directly to O'Connor's pamphlet "The Good Gray Poet." Although Harlan was a Methodist, he was not a parson. Whitman may have sarcastically applied this term to Harlan because on May 30, 1865, Harlan had issued an official directive asking for the names of employees who disregarded "in their conduct, habits, and associations the rules of decorum & propriety prescribed by a Christian Civilization" (Jerome Loving, Walt Whitman's Champion [College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1978], 57). James Harlan (1820–1899), secretary of the interior from 1865 to 1866, dismissed Whitman from his second-class clerkship on June 30, 1865. Harlan apparently took offense at the copy of the 1860 Leaves of Grass which Whitman was revising and which he kept at his desk. With the help of William Douglas O'Connor and Assistant Attorney General J. Hubley Ashton, Whitman secured a position in the attorney general's office. The Harlan episode led directly to O'Connor's pamphlet "The Good Gray Poet." Although Harlan was a Methodist, he was not a parson. Whitman may have sarcastically applied this term to Harlan because on May 30, 1865, Harlan had issued an official directive asking for the names of employees who disregarded "in their conduct, habits, and associations the rules of decorum & propriety prescribed by a Christian Civilization" (Jerome Loving, Walt Whitman's Champion [College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1978], 57). The word "koughnsiquenlighly" is Fred B. McReady's phonetic attempt at spelling the word "consequently." John Stilwell, brother of James and Julia Stilwell, was evidently killed at Culpeper, Virginia, about the time that James was wounded, for Julia Stilwell wrote to Whitman about both brothers on October 13, 1867. Whitman was mistaken about the body, however, since, according to this letter, members of the family had been refused a pass to Culpeper. The Prices were friends of Mrs. Whitman. The husband, Edmund, operated a pickle factory in Brooklyn; see Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman (New York: Macmillan, 1955), 199–200. His wife Abby was closer to Walt Whitman, who corresponded with her frequently in the 1860s. Whitman always interested himself in the Price children, Helen, Emma, and Arthur (another son, Henry, had died at 2 years of age). Helen's reminiscences were included in Bucke's biography, and she printed for the first time some of Whitman's letters to her mother in Putnam's Monthly 5 (October 1908), 163–169. Thayer and Eldridge was the Boston publishing firm responsible for the third edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1860). For more on Whitman's relationship with Thayer and Eldridge see "Thayer, William Wilde (1829–1896) and Charles W. Eldridge (1837–1903)." It was on this occasion that, according to Walt Whitman's recollections written twenty years later that Emerson attempted to persuade him not to publish the "Enfans d'Adam" poems. The date of the meeting was probably March 17, 1860, since on that day Emerson obtained reading privileges for "W. Whitman" at the Boston Athenaeum library; see Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman (New York: Macmillan, 1955), 237–238. Abby H. Price (1814–1878) was active in various social-reform movements. Price's husband, Edmund, operated a pickle factory in Brooklyn, and the couple had four children—Arthur, Helen, Emily, and Henry (who died in 1852, at 2 years of age). During the 1860s, Price and her family, especially her daughter, Helen, were friends with Whitman and with Whitman's mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. In 1860 the Price family began to save Walt's letters. Helen's reminiscences of Whitman were included in Richard Maurice Bucke's biography, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), and she printed for the first time some of Whitman's letters to her mother in Putnam's Monthly 5 (1908): 163–169. In a letter to Ellen M. O'Connor from November 15, 1863, Whitman declared with emphasis, "They are all friends, to prize and love deeply." John Arnold lived with his daughter's family in the same house as the Price family. Helen Price, Abby's daughter, described Arnold as "a Swedenborgian," with whom Whitman frequently argued without "the slightest irritation between them" (Bucke, 26–27). Price's son, Arthur Price, was a naval officer. Price is most likely referring to the wife of Benjamin Urner, publisher, 160 Fulton Street, New York. Price is most likely referring to one of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's neighbors. The letter has been repaired in the lower left-hand corner; the insertions, however, appear to be in Whitman's hand. See Whitman's letter from October 6, 1863 . He was the publisher of the third edition of Leaves of Grass (see the letter from March 29, 1860) and the man who obtained a position for Whitman in Major Hapgood's office (see the letter from December 29, 1862). Meade was unable to prevent a massive rebel movement across the Rapidan River. The New York Times on October 15, 1863, headed its account of the New York election "Copperheads Crushed," and printed an editorial entitled "The Great Union Victory." Abby H. Price (1814–1878) was active in various social-reform movements. Price's husband, Edmund, operated a pickle factory in Brooklyn, and the couple had four children — Arthur, Helen, Emily, and Henry (who died in 1852, at 2 years of age). During the 1860s, Price and her family, especially her daughter, Helen, were friends with Whitman and with Whitman's mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. In 1860 the Price family began to save Walt's letters. Helen's reminiscences of Whitman were included in Richard Maurice Bucke's biography, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), and she printed for the first time some of Whitman's letters to her mother in Putnam's Monthly 5 (1908): 163–169. Abby H. Price (1814–1878) was active in various social-reform movements. Abby Price's husband, Edmund, operated a pickle factory in Brooklyn, and the couple had four children—Arthur, Helen, Emily, and Henry (who died in 1852, at 2 years of age). During the 1860s, Price and her family, especially her daughter, Helen, were friends with Whitman and with Whitman's mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. In 1860 the Price family began to save Walt's letters. Helen's reminiscences of Whitman were included in Richard Maurice Bucke's biography, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), and she printed for the first time some of Whitman's letters to her mother in Putnam's Monthly 5 (1908): 163–169. In a letter to Ellen M. O'Connor from November 15, 1863, Whitman declared with emphasis, "they are all friends, to prize and love deeply." Abby H. Price (1814–1878) was active in various social-reform movements. Price's husband, Edmund, operated a pickle factory in Brooklyn; and the couple had four children—Arthur, Helen, Emily, and Henry (who died in 1852, at 2 years of age). During the 1860s, Price and her family, especially her daughter, Helen, were friends with Whitman and with Whitman's mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. In 1860 the Price family began to save Walt's letters. Helen's reminiscences of Whitman were included in Richard Maurice Bucke's biography, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), and she printed for the first time some of Whitman's letters to her mother in Putnam's Monthly 5 (1908): 163–169. In a letter to Ellen M. O'Connor of November 15, 1863, Whitman declared with emphasis, "they are all friends, to prize and love deeply." For a time Whitman lived with William D. and Ellen "Nelly" M. O'Connor, who, with Charles W. Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the early Washington years. Ellen O'Connor had a close personal relationship with Whitman. In 1872 Whitman would walk out on a debate with William over the Fifteenth Amendment, which Whitman opposed and O'Connor supported. Ellen defended Whitman's opinion, and in response William established a separate residence. The correspondence between Whitman and Ellen is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence with William. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors see O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889). William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of Harrington, an abolition novel published by Thayer & Eldridge in 1860. He had been an assistant editor of the Saturday Evening Post before he went to Washington. O'Connor was an intelligent man who deserved something better than the various governmental clerical posts he was to hold until his death. The humdrum of clerkship, however, was relieved by the presence of Whitman whom he was to love and venerate—and defend with a single-minded fanaticism and an outpouring of vituperation and eulogy that have seldom been equaled, most notably in his pamphlet, "The Good Gray Poet." He was the first, and in many ways the most important, of the adulators who divided people arbitrarily into two categories: those who were for and those who were against Walt Whitman. The poet praised O'Connor in the preface to a posthumous collection of his tales: "He was a born sample here in the 19th century of the flower and symbol of olden time first-class knighthood. Thrice blessed be his memory!" (Complete Prose Works [New York, D. Appleton, 1910] pp. 513). Abby H. Price (1814–1878) was active in various social-reform movements. Price's husband, Edmund, operated a pickle factory in Brooklyn, and the couple had four children—Arthur, Helen, Emily, and Henry (who died in 1852, at 2 years of age). During the 1860s, Price and her family, especially her daughter, Helen, were friends with Whitman and with Whitman's mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. In 1860 the Price family began to save Walt's letters. Helen's reminiscences of Whitman were included in Richard Maurice Bucke's biography, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), and she printed for the first time some of Whitman's letters to her mother in Putnam's Monthly 5 (1908): 163–169. In a letter to Ellen M. O'Connor from November 15, 1863, Whitman declared with emphasis, "they are all friends, to prize and love deeply." The Prices became interested in the case of Erastus Otis Parker, as Helen Price wrote years later, "through his niece an intimate friend who beleived most absolutely in her Uncle's innocence" (Pierpont Morgan Library). They asked Whitman to investigate the circumstances of Parker's conviction and to appeal for a pardon. See Whitman's October 26, 1866 letter to Henry Stanbery. Richard Henry Dana, Jr. (1815–1882), author of Two Years Before the Mast, was the United States attorney for the district of Massachusetts from 1861 to 1866. On July 9, 1864, Dana informed Montgomery Blair, Postmaster General, that a pardon was being requested for Parker "on the ground of failing health." On March 19, 1866, in a letter to M. F. Pleasants, pardon clerk in Whitman's office (see Whitman's letter from August 25, 1866 , Dana explained what had transpired two years earlier: "Parker's friends tried to get President Lincoln to issue a pardon without its coming to his knowledge that Parker had admitted his guilt; and for that purpose, contrived to get the thing out of the regular track of the Pardon Bureau, with a report from me. I think they did get an order for a pardon, conditioned on Mr. Blair's assent. But, Mr. Blair sent the papers to me; and when the President learned the facts, and the deception that had been practiced upon him, he revoked the order. . . . The case is a very bad one, almost as bad in the fraudulent attempts to get signatures and a pardon, as in the original guilt" (National Archives). Abby's son, Arthur, joined the navy and became second assistant engineer on the steamer "Ossipee"; see Whitman's address book (The Library of Congress #109). The two Price daughters, Helen and Emily. John Arnold lived with his daughter's family in the same house as the Abby and Edmund Price family. Helen Price, Abby's daughter, described Arnold as "a Swedenborgian," with whom Whitman frequently argued without "the slightest irritation between them" (Richard Maurice Bucke, Walt Whitman [Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883], 26–27). Abby's husband, Edmund. Abby H. Price (1814–1878) was active in various social-reform movements. Price's husband, Edmund, operated a pickle factory in Brooklyn; and the couple had four children—Arthur, Helen, Emily, and Henry (who died in 1852, at 2 years of age). During the 1860s, Price and her family, especially her daughter, Helen, were friends with Whitman and with Whitman's mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. In 1860 the Price family began to save Walt's letters. Helen's reminiscences of Whitman were included in Richard Maurice Bucke's biography, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), and she printed for the first time some of Whitman's letters to her mother in Putnam's Monthly 5 (1908): 163–169. In a letter to Ellen M. O'Connor from November 15, 1863, Whitman declared with emphasis, "they are all friends, to prize and love deeply." Possibly the wife of Stephen Pearl Andrews; see note 8 to Whitman's letter from November 15, 1863. James Monroe was the American consul at Rio de Janeiro from 1863 to 1869, and was later, after service in the Ohio legislature, professor of political science and modern history at Oberlin College. James Watson Webb (1802–1884) was an editor and later Minister to Brazil from 1861 to 1869. John Arnold lived with his daughter's family in the same house as the Price family. Helen Price described him as "a Swedenborgian," with whom Walt Whitman frequently argued without "the slightest irritation between them"; see Richard Maurice Bucke, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), 26–27. Mentioned again in "Letter from Walt Whitman to Charles W. Eldridge, 20 October 1868" (Miller, Correspondence, 2:64–65). See the letters from October 26, 1866 and October 27, 1866 . Number four of the "Chants Democratic," printed in the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass, 159–166. Apparently the poem was rejected by Harper's. Edward Howard House (1836–1901) was music and drama critic of the Boston Courier from 1854 to 1858, and was appointed to the same post on the New York Tribune in 1858. Whitman evidently knew House as early as 1857, for, in his "Autograph Notebook—1857" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection), he pasted a calling card signed by House. During the Civil War, House was a war correspondent for the Tribune. See also Walt Whitman to William D. O'Connor, May 5, 1867 (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 196177], 1:327–329). Lowell was editor of the Atlantic Monthly from 1857 to 1861. No admirer of Whitman, he evidently printed Whitman's poem at Emerson's suggestion; see Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman (New York: Macmillan, 1955; rev. ed., New York University Press, 1967), 238. For other correspondence with the Atlantic Monthly, see Whitman's letter from October 1, 1861 . Portia Baker analyzes Whitman's relations with this magazine in American Literature 6 (November 1934), 283–301. See Whitman's letter from January 20, 1860 . Ticknor and Fields, publishers of the Atlantic Monthly, sent Whitman a check for $30 on March 6, 1860 . On October 8, 1861, Lowell wrote to James T. Fields: "I enclose . . . three [poems] from Walt Whitman. '1861' he says is $20. the others $8. each"; see M. A. De Wolfe Howe, ed., New Letters of James Russell Lowell (New York: Harper, 1932), 102. On October 10, 1861, the editors of the Atlantic Monthly declined "the three poems with which you have favored us, but which we could not possibly use before their interest,—which is of the present,—would have passed" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906-1996], 9 vols., 2:213). When Horace Traubel asked Whitman in 1888 for the titles of these poems, he replied: "I don't just remember: I do remember that the idea that their interest was of the present struck me as being a bit odd: I always have written with something more than a simply contemporary perspective" (2:213). "1861" appeared in Drum-Taps (1865). John Burroughs (1837–1921) met Whitman on the streets of Washington, D.C., in 1864, even though Burroughs had frequented Pfaff's beer cellar, where he consistently defended Whitman's poetry, in 1862. After returning to Brooklyn in 1864, Whitman commenced what was to become a lifelong 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: Birds and Poets (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1877), Notes on Walt Whitman as Poet and Person (New York: American News Co., 1867), Whitman, A Study (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1896), and Accepting the Universe (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1920). For more information on Burroughs see Burroughs, John (1837–1921) and Ursula (1836–1917). Whitman's copy of Stanbery's "Order Book" is in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection. Lucia Jane Russell Briggs, the wife of the pastor of the First Parish Church in Salem, Massachusetts, heard of Whitman's work in the Washington hospitals through her brother, Dr. LeBaron Russell. (For information on Russell, see footnote 2 to Whitman's letter to him from December 3, 1863.) In her letter of April 21, 1864 Mrs Briggs wrote: "I inclose seventy-five dollars, which I have collected among a few friends in Salem, and which I hope may be of some little service to our brave boys, who surely should not suffer while we have the power to help them. You have our warmest sympathy in your generous work, and though sad to witness so much suffering, it is indeed a privilege to be able to do something to alleviate it" (Hanley; Donaldson, 151–52; Dedmond, 546). Apparently Anson Ryder, Jr., left Armory Square Hospital and, accompanied by another injured soldier named Wood (probably Calvin B. Wood; see Edward F. Grier, ed., Notes and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts [New York: New York University Press, 1961–84], 6:673), returned to his family at Cedar Lake, New York. On August 25, 1865, Ryder acknowledged receipt of a letter from Dr. Smith, who may be Thomas C. Smith, a Washington physician. On August 9, 1865, Ryder had written to Whitman to apologize for leaving Washington hastily and to remind him of a "promised" photograph, which is the famous frontispiece to the first edition of Leaves of Grass in 1855. See also Ryder's letter of October 22, 1865, and Whitman's letters to Ryder of May 16 and December 14, 1866. On April 1, 1865, Whitman signed a contract with Eckler to stereotype 500 copies for $254.00: "The workmanship is to be first class in every respect & to be completed, & the printed sheets delivered within one month from this date" (F. DeWolfe Miller, ed., Drum-Taps [Gainesville, FL: Scholars' Facsimiles & Reprints, 1959], xxxv). The contract called for "one hundred & twenty pages," but since the book contained only 72 pages, Eckler submitted on April 22 a bill for $192.85, of which $138.00 had been paid. According to Whitman's notations on the statement, he paid $20.00 on April 26 and again on May 2, perhaps with this letter. Whitman sent another letter on May 3 in answer to Eckler's request of May 1 that the balance be paid. On May 4, Eckler issued a receipt for $34.85, and included a receipt from Coridon A. Alvord, printer, for the stereotype plates, which he had placed in his vault. On April 26, Eckler had informed Whitman that the book was "now to press" and would "be ready for the Binders next Monday morning." For details on the printing history and organization of Drum-Taps see Ted Genoways, "The Disorder of Drum-Taps," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 24 (Fall 2006/Winter 2007), 98–116.. The receipt for this payment, dated April 21 and signed by Abraham Simpson, is in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection; see also F. DeWolfe Miller, ed., Drum-Taps (Gainesville, FL: Scholars' Facsimiles & Reprints, 1959), xxxvi. J. M. Bradstreet & Son, printers, had their establishment at 8 Spruce Street, New York. Whitman corresponded with Byron Sutherland, a soldier, between 1865 and 1870. On September 20, 1868, he wrote to Sutherland: "I retain just the same friendship I formed for you the short time we were together, (but intimate,) in 1865" (Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library; Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:44–45). In his jottings for "Sept. 8, 9 &c.," Whitman noted that Johnson was signing the pardons "very freely of late. The President, indeed, as at present appears, has fix'd his mind on a very generous and forgiving course toward the return'd secessionists" (Bucke, The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 6:219). Sutherland replied on September 5, 1865, from Corry, a lumber and oil center in Pennsylvania. He was working on a farm and "managing to save $30 per month," had "considerable leisure time" for "light reading," and expected during the winter to "learn a trade or go to School." See also Whitman's letter of October 15, 1865 . See Whitman's letter from December 27, 1863 . See Whitman's letter from December 3, 1863 . Whitman's reference is to "Our Wounded and Sick Soldiers—Visits among the Hospitals," which appeared in the New York Times on December 11, 1864. The piece was reprinted as "Hospital Visits" in Richard Maurice Bucke, ed., The Wound Dresser: A Series of Letters Written from the Hospitals in Washington (Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1898) and Bucke, ed., The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman (New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1902), 7:101–127. On December 30, 1864, O'Connor had informed Whitman that he had read this letter "with a swelling heart and wet eyes. It was very great and touching to me. I think I could mount the tribune for you on that and speak [a] speech which jets fire and drops tears. Only it filled me with infinite regrets that there is not a book from you, embodying these rich and sad experiences. It would be sure of immortality. No history of our times would ever be written without it." Robert Brown Potter (1829–1887) was a lawyer who enlisted as a private at the beginning of the war. He rose rapidly and became a lieutenant colonel on November 1, 1861. See the letter from Walt Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, December 29, 1862. Whitman remained at the Fifty-First Regiment's camp near Falmouth until December 28, 1862 (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:58). In a letter to Walt dated January 1, 1863, Jeff wrote: "I have written George, somewhat urging him to quit the army. I think that it is the duty of all of us to urge this upon him, I honestly think that he has done enough and run risk enough for any one man.... Walt, I beg of you, do not neglect to see George and put this thing in its strongest light. Just think for a moment of the number of suckers that are gaining all the real benefits of the war (if that is not wicked to say) and think of George and thousands of others running all the risk..." General William Starke Rosecrans (1819–1898) was then in command of the Army of the Cumberland. In December 1862 he repulsed General Bragg's Army of Tennessee at Murfreesboro, Tennessee—an engagement in which the total loss for both sides approached twenty-five thousand. See the letter from George Washington Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, September 5?, 1862. E. Rac was either the owner or foreman of a construction company building houses in Brooklyn. On at least one occasion, Rac contributed five dollars to Walt Whitman's hospital fund for wounded and sick Union soldiers. See the letter from Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walt Whitman, February 12, 1863. Charles W. LeGendre (1830–1899), born in France and educated at the University of Paris, was a soldier who helped to recruit the Fifty-first New York Volunteer Infantry. LeGendre was severely wounded at New Bern, North Carolina, on March 14, 1862, as George observed in his letter of March 16–18,1862, to his mother, Lousia Van Velsor Whitman (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Books, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). LeGendre was appointed lieutenant colonel on September 20, 1862, and later succeeded Edward Ferrero (see Walt Whitman's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman from December 29, 1862) and Robert B. Potter (see Walt Whitman's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman from May 26, 1863) as commanding officer of the Fifty-first Regiment. During the second Battle of the Wilderness, May 6, 1864, he lost his left eye and the bridge of his nose, and was honorably discharged on October 4 of the same year. See Whitman's account of LeGendre's hospitalization in his letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman from May 13, 1864 . For a more detailed account, see Civil War Diary. George is probably referring specifically to the "mud march" which began on January 21, 1863. After Burnside's unsuccessful attempt to capture Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862, he finally persuaded Lincoln to approve the Army's crossing the Rappahannock River in a second attempt to take possession of the city. It resulted, however, in nothing except a wretched expedition in which the troops floundered in "floods of rain and seas of sticky clay without making any progress in its purpose of attacking Lee" (James Garfield Randall, The Civil War and Reconstruction [Boston: D. C. Heath and company, ca. 1937], 315). Jeff wrote to Walt Whitman on April 2, 1863, that Andrew was "real sick with his throat. He cannot talk at all and eats but with the greatest agony." For a time Whitman lived with William D. and Ellen M. O'Connor, who, with Charles W. Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the early Washington years. William D. O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of Harrington, an abolition novel published by Thayer & Eldridge in 1860. He had been an assistant editor of the Saturday Evening Post before he went to Washington. O'Connor was an intelligent man who deserved something better than the various governmental clerical posts he was to hold until his death. The humdrum of clerkship, however, was relieved by the presence of Whitman whom he was to love and venerate—and defend with a single-minded fanaticism and an outpouring of vituperation and eulogy that have seldom been equaled, most notably in his pamphlet, "The Good Gray Poet." He was the first, and in many ways the most important, of the adulators who divided people arbitrarily into two categories: those who were for and those who were against Walt Whitman. The poet praised O'Connor in the preface to a posthumous collection of his tales: "He was a born sample here in the 19th century of the flower and symbol of olden time first-class knighthood. Thrice blessed be his memory!" (Complete Prose Works [New York, D. Appleton, 1910] pp. 513). For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors see O'Connor, William Douglas [1832–1889]. Of the O'Connors, Thomas Jefferson Whitman wrote on June 13, 1863: "I am real glad, my dear Walt, that you are among such good people. I hope it will be in the power of some of our family to return their kindness some day. I'm sure twould be done with a heartfelt gratitude. Tis pleasant, too, to think, that there are still people of that kind left." General John Ellis Wool (1784–1869) was the oldest Union general of the American Civil War and was in command of the Department of the East. Among other assignments, he led military operations in New York City during and after the draft riots the following July. A Charles W. Chauncey was listed as an importer in the New York Directories of the period. Chauncey was part of the so-called Fred Gray Association, a group that gathered at Pfaff's beer saloon and that Ed Folsom and Kenneth M. Price characterize as "a loose confederation of young men who seemed anxious to explore new possibilities of male-male affection" (see chapter four, "Intimate Script and the New American Bible: 'Calamus' and the Making of the 1860 Leaves of Grass" from Re-Scripting Walt Whitman: An Introduction to His Life and Work). Along with Chauncey, members of the Fred Gray Association included Walt Whitman, John Frederick Schiller (Fred) Gray, Nathaniel Bloom, Benjamin Knower, Charles S. Kingsley, Charles Porter Russell, Hugo Fritsch, Fred Vaughan, Samuel M. Raymond, a man known only as "Perkins," another known only as "Towle," and someone referred to as "Mullen," who may be Edward F. Mullen, an illustrator. It is not clear which general with the surname Smith is meant here. General William Buel Franklin (1823–1903) was a Union Army general in the American Civil War who saw action in the Peninsula Campaign, the Battle of Antietam, and the Battle of Fredericksburg. Gray's mother may have seen Whitman's "The Great Army of the Sick" in the New York Times (February 26, 1863) or "Life Among Fifty Thousand Soldiers" in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle (March 19, 1863). Charles Russell, as mentioned in note 3, was part of the so-called Fred Gray Association. George Gordon Meade (1815–1872) was a Union general during the Civil War who rose to the command of the Army of the Potomac. He is best known for his defeat of Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. This may be a reference to the "Perkins" affiliated with the Fred Gray Association (see note 3 above). Captain Francis M. Skaggs of the Second Tennessee Volunteer Regiment was reported absent due to illness on the March-April 1863 muster roll and died at Stanford, Kentucky, on May 19, 1863. William Barker, sergeant of Company E of the Second Tennessee Volunteer Regiment, recovered from his illness and served until his discharge on October 6, 1864. Colonel James P. T. Carter (John S. Goff, "Colonel James P. T. Carter of Carter County," Tennessee Historical Quarterly 26 [1967], 372–382). James M. Melton was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel on October 18, 1862. Colonel James P. T. Carter (John S. Goff, "Colonel James P. T. Carter of Carter County." Tennessee Historical Quarterly 26 (1967), 372–382). Captain Francis M. Skaggs was reported absent due to illness on the MarchApril 1863 muster roll and died at Stanford, Kentucky, on May 19, 1863. John C. Selvage (also spelled "Selvidge") was promoted to first lieutenant on May 20, 1863, but he submitted his resignation weeks later on June 5, 1863. Surgeon John Shrady diagnosed Selvage with "phthisis pulmonalis and hemorrhage of lungs." Kindred B. Jones was promoted to second lieutenant of Company E of the 2nd Tennessee Infantry under First Lieutenant John E. Selvidge on May 20, 1863. At the time of Barker's writing, Jones was on a thirty-day medical leave to his home to Union County, Tennessee. Barker's brother William, sergeant of Company E of the 2nd Tennessee Infantry, was apparently serving as the orderly of the camp hospital at Stanford, Kentucky. Thomas "Tom" P. Sawyer was a friend of Lewis Kirke Brown's, and a sergeant in the Eleventh Massachusetts Volunteers. The 11th Massachusetts, under Lieutenant Colonel Porter D. Tripp, suffered heavy losses on July 2, 1863, in defense of the Emmitsburg Road at the Battle of Gettysburg. D. Willard Bliss (18251889) was a surgeon with the Third Michigan Infantry, and afterward in charge of Armory Square Hospital. See John Homer Bliss, Genealogy of the Bliss Family in America, from about the year 1550 to 1880 (Boston: John Homer Bliss, 1881), 545. He practiced medicine in Washington after the war; see "Letter from Walt Whitman to Hiram Sholes, May 30, 1867" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961], 1:331332). When a pension for Whitman was proposed in the House of Representatives in 1887, Dr. Bliss was quoted: "I am of opinion that no one person who assisted in the hospitals during the war accomplished so much good to the soldiers and for the Government as Mr. Whitman" (Thomas Donaldson, Walt Whitman the Man [New York: F. P. Harper, 1896], 169). Felter Kelder, a private in Company C, returned to the 120th New York and was wounded in action at Boydton Plank Road, Virginia, on October 27, 1864. Anna Platt worked in Ward C of Armory Square Hospital from February 6, 1863, until the end of the war. Platt's time at Armory Square is described in detail by fellow nurse Amanda Akin Stearns in The Lady Nurse of Ward E (New York: The Baker & Taylor Company, 1909). According to her pension records submitted to Congress in 1891, Platt suffered "a severe attack of typhoid and brain fever," while working at Armory Square, "from the effects of which she has never fully recovered." Anna Lowell, a nurse in Armory Square Hospital, was the niece of poet and editor James Russell Lowell. D. Willard Bliss (1825–1889) was a surgeon with the Third Michigan Infantry, and afterward in charge of Armory Square Hospital. See John Homer Bliss, Genealogy of the Bliss Family in America, from about the year 1550 to 1880 (Boston: John Homer Bliss, 1881), 545. He practiced medicine in Washington after the war; see "Letter from Walt Whitman to Hiram Sholes, May 30, 1867" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961], 1:331–332). When a pension for Whitman was proposed in the House of Representatives in 1887, Dr. Bliss was quoted: "I am of opinion that no one person who assisted in the hospitals during the war accomplished so much good to the soldiers and for the Government as Mr. Whitman" (Thomas Donaldson, Walt Whitman the Man [New York: F. P. Harper, 1896], 169). The Willard was an inn/hotel famous for its lobby and dining establishment often frequented by the well-heeled figures of Washington, D.C. Samuel M. Dyer, from Company I of the 5th Wisconsin, like William H. McFarland, was listed as missing on May 4, 1863. He was apparently wounded and sent to Armory Square along with McFarland. Sargent Denison is unidentified. H. Benton is unidentified. Joseph Rutter Draper was appointed a medical cadet in 1862 and assigned to be assistant to Dr. David Willard Bliss at Armory Square Hospital. Less than a month after the writing of this letter, Draper was commissioned as assistant surgeon of the 14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery (later the 11th U. S. Colored Heavy Artillery) and left for Texas. Anna Lowell, a nurse in Armory Square Hospital, was the niece of poet and editor James Russell Lowell. Whitman's reply of December 19 is lost (Charles I. Glicksberg, Walt Whitman and the Civil War [Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1933], 140). Whitman noted the case in his diary (Glicksberg, Walt Whitman and the Civil War [1933], 149–150). Lewis Kirke Brown (1843–1926) was wounded in the left leg near Rappahannock Station on August 19, 1862, and lay where he fell for four days. Eventually he was transferred to Armory Square Hospital, where Whitman met him, probably in February 1863. In a diary in the Library of Congress, Whitman described Brown on February 19, 1863, as "a most affectionate fellow, very fond of having me come and sit by him." Because the wound did not heal, the leg was amputated on January 5, 1864. Whitman was present and described the operation in a diary (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103). Brown was mustered out in August 1864, and was employed in the Provost General's office in September; see Whitman's letter from September 11, 1864 . The following September he became a clerk in the Treasury Department, and was appointed Chief of the Paymaster's Division in 1880, a post which he held until his retirement in 1915. (This material draws upon a memorandum which was prepared by Brown's family and is now held in the Library of Congress.) Whitman identifies Alonzo S. Bush as belonging to "Co A 1st Indiana Cav" (Edward F. Grier, ed., Notes and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts [New York: New York University Press, 1961–84] 2:541). For Bush's first correspondence with Whitman, see December 22, 1863. Adrian Bartlett was a friend of Joseph Harris and Lewis Brown; all three met Whitman while they were being treated at Armory Square Hospital. On July 18, 1864, Brown reported that he had not seen Bartlett and Harris since they returned from a spree to Baltimore on July 4, 1864. According to Brown's letter of September 5, 1864, the three young men were living in a Washington boardinghouse; Harris was not in good health, and Bartlett worked in the Treasury Department. John Strain, recorded in Whitman's notebook as "Co A 1st Indiana Cav" (Edward F. Grier, ed., Notes and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts [New York: New York University Press, 1961–84], 2:670). Bush refers to Strain as his hospital "companion." (See the letter from Alonzo S. Bush to Walt Whitman from December 22, 1863.) Ana Lowell ("Miss Lowell"), worked as a nurse in Armory Square Hospital during the Civil War. Lewis K. Brown (1843–1926) was wounded in the left leg near Rappahannock Station on August 19, 1862, and lay where he fell for four days. Eventually he was transferred to Armory Square Hospital, where Walt Whitman met him, probably in February, 1863. In a diary in the Feinberg Collection, Whitman described Brown on February 19 as 'a most affectionate fellow, very fond of having me come and sit by him.' Because the wound did not heal, the leg was amputated on January 5, 1864. Whitman was present and described the operation in a diary (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103). Brown was mustered out in August, 1864, and was employed in the Provost General's office in September. The following September he became a clerk in the Treasury Department, and was appointed Chief of the Paymaster's Division in 1880, a post which he held until his retirement in 1915. (This material is drawn from a memorandum prepared by Brown's family, now in the Library of Congress.)" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77]). Charles Cate, ward master in Amory Square Hospital. "Oscar Cunningham, a young farmer from Delaware, Ohio, ... was wounded on May 3, 1863, in the Battle of Chancellorsville. Upon seeing him at Armory Square in June, Whitman was immediately struck by the beauty of the tall and fair soldier: 'Oscar H Cunningham bed 20 Ward K, Ohio boy, large, (told me he had usually weighed 200 lb) fracture of leg, above knee, rather bad—(a fine, magnificent specimen of western manliness).' Almost a full year after Oscar's arrival at Armory Square, Whitman noted that Oscar's 'leg is in a horrible condition, all livid & swollen out of shape—the chances are against him poor fellow.' On May 1, 1864, the doctors amputated Cunningham's right leg, and Whitman wrote on Oscar's behalf to his family, expressing new hope for Cunningham's recovery and telling them that it was unnecessary to make the long trip East. By June 3, 1864, however, Whitman told his own mother that the soldier he had visited for so long was near death: 'I have just left Oscar Cunningham, the Ohio boy—he is in a dying condition—there is no hope for him—it would draw tears from the hardest heart to look at him—his is all wasted away to a skeleton, & looks like some one fifty years oldyou remember I told you a year ago, when he was first brought in, I thought him the noblest specimen of a young western man I had seen, a real giant in size, & always with a smile on his face—O what a change, he has long been very irritable, to every one but me, & his frame is all wasted away.' Cunningham died on June 4, 1864, and was one of the first soldiers to be buried in the new Arlington National Cemetery. After Oscar's death, his sister Helen corresponded with Whitman. Although grateful to Oscar's hospital friend for his devoted service, Helen couldn't help reproaching Whitman for discounting the seriousness of Oscar's final illness and dissuading her from visiting. 'I recd yours of the 2nd telling us of Oscars condition last Wednesday,' she wrote. 'I was going to start right of to see him I would have come long ago but he thought not, so did you. this time I intended to go whether anyone thought best or not but the same eve Liut Perry came bringing us the sad news of his death,'" (Martin G. Murray, "Traveling with the Wounded: Walt Whitman and Washington's Civil War Hospitals," Washington History: Magazine of the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. 8 (Fall/Winter 1996–1997), 58–73, 92–93. Read the full article here.) See also Whitman's letters to his mother, which chronicle Oscar Cunningham's health and decline, written May 6, 1864, May 10, 1864, May 25, 1864, June 3, 1864, and June 7, 1864.Incomplete letter draft.
This fragment is written on the verso of a poem manuscript, "The ball-room was swept and the floor white." The date is apparently August, since on August 17, 1860, Thayer & Eldridge thanked Whitman for his advice about the New-York Saturday Press and informed him that the firm had made an offer to Clapp to assume financial control on September 1. Thayer & Eldridge believed that it could make the journal "pay": "Beside[s] we are deeply interested in sustaining any journal that dares in these days of literary flunkeyism to be independent, and make the literature of a country what it should be." Clapp had suggested to Whitman on March 27, 1860, that he might get Thayer & Eldridge to "advance me say one hundred dollars on advertising account." On May 14, 1860, Clapp was "in a state of despair . . . all for the want of a paltry two or three hundred dollars" which he needed to bring out the next issue.
A favorable review of Drum-Taps appeared in The Radical: A Monthly Magazine, Devoted to Religion, 1 (April, 1866), 311–312: "The author of 'Leaves of Grass,' is as unquestionably a true poet, as the greatest of his contemporaries. He seems to us more purely permeated with the subtile essence of poetry than almost any other." Anne Gilchrist's "A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman" also appeared in this journal, 7 (1870), 345–359. See Whitman's letters from March 23, 1866 and March 28, 1866 . The Whitmans moved to 840 Pacific Street; see the letter from July 30, 1866 . Martha Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873), also known as "Mattie," wife of Whitman's brother Jeff. Mannahatta and Jessie, Jeff's daughters. See Whitman's letter of November 16, 1866 . The letter referred to is not known. Moncure Conway's article; see the letter of September (?) 1866 . John Burroughs called it "an eloquent article . . . but it told untruths about him. Walt said it did" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1931], 39). William O'Connor wrote to Conway on December 5, 1866: "A great deal of it I liked very much, and I think the general effect of it was very good. In part of it, there was a tone I regretted. Pardon me. I think the time is past when this august man should be written of as a curiosity, or his poem mentioned as something monstrous. You do not do this, it is true, but there are, here and there, lines and touches in your article, which suggest such a treatment and leave me unsatisfied" (Yale). However, to John Townsend Trowbridge, O'Connor labeled it "a frightful mess of misstatement and fiction" (Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs (1931), 40). Whitman, and therefore his friends, objected to two of Conway's anecdotes in particular: Whitman's lying on his back at Coney Island with the temperature at 100 degrees, and the description of his room in 1855. In 1888 Whitman observed: "I can't help feeling still a little suspicion of Conway's lack of historic veracity: he romances: he has romanced about me: William says lied: but romanced will do" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1906–1996], 3:16). William Michael Rossetti repeated the Coney Island tale in Poems by Walt Whitman (London: John Camden Hotten, 1868), 15–16. John Burroughs's article; see Whitman's letter from November 23, 1866 . Charles L. Heyde was the husband of Whitman's sister Hannah. In his letter of December 1(?), 1866, he excitedly described his first reading of Swinburne and spoke critically of Whitman's poetry. See also Whitman's letter from December 24, 1866 . Adelaide Ristori (1822–1906), a famous Italian tragedian, appeared at the National Theatre in Elizabeth, Queen of England on December 6, 1866. The Washington National Republican reported on December 7 that the house had been sold out, and that during the week she would also appear in Macbeth and Mary, Queen of Scotland. The Washington National Intelligencer printed a lengthy biography of the actress on December 3, 1866. Raymond, on December 2, 1866, granted O'Connor four columns for a review of the new Leaves of Grass; see Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman (New York: Macmillan, 1955; rev. ed., New York University Press, 1967), 376. William Swinton (1833–1892) was war correspondent of the New York Times. His hostility to Union generals and his unscrupulous tactics led to his suspension as a reporter on July 1, 1864. Whitman did not have a high opinion of William's journalism; see his letter from June 10, 1864. He was professor of English at the University of California from 1869 to 1874. Thereafter he compiled extremely successful textbooks, and established the magazine Story-Teller, in 1883. He was the brother of John Swinton, managing editor of the New York Times; see the letter of February 23, 1863 from Walt Whitman to John Swinton. James Redpath (1833–1891) was the author of The Public Life of Capt. John Brown (Boston: Thayer and Eldridge, 1860), a correspondent for the New York Tribune during the war, the originator of the "Lyceum" lectures, and editor of the North American Review in 1886. He met Whitman in Boston in 1860 (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #90) and remained an enthusiastic admirer; see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 1961), 3:459–461. He concluded his first letter to Whitman on June 25, 1860: "I love you, Walt! A conquering Brigade will ere long march to the music of your barbaric yawp" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1961], 3:460). See also Charles F. Horner, The Life of James Redpath (New York: Barse and Hopkins, 1926). Lucia Jane Russell Briggs, the wife of the pastor of the First Parish Church in Salem, Massachusetts, heard of Whitman's work in the Washington hospitals through her brother, Dr. LeBaron Russell; see Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence (New York: New York University Press, 1961–77), 1:188. In her letter of April 21, 1864, Mrs Briggs wrote: "I inclose seventy-five dollars, which I have collected among a few friends in Salem, and which I hope may be of some little service to our brave boys, who surely should not suffer while we have the power to help them. You have our warmest sympathy in your generous work, and though sad to witness so much suffering, it is indeed a privilege to be able to do something to alleviate it." See also Whitman's letter to Lucia Jane Russell Briggs dated April 26, 1864. Edward Atkinson had been an ardent Free-Soil advocate and eventually raised money for John Brown. By 1863, he was actively participating in the "Cotton Question" by determining how the reformed Union would keep up the necessary production of cotton in a post-slavery economy. Benjamin H. Silsbee was the president of the Merchant's Bank in Salem and an influential member of the East India Marine Society. Hannah E. Stevenson was the sister of Margaret S. Curtis, wife of Boston counselor Charles Curtis. Both women sent sums of money to Whitman for his work in the army hospitals. Benjamin H. Silsbee was the president of the Merchant's Bank in Salem and an influential member of the East India Marine Society. For accounts of Whitman's New York friends, see his letters from March 19–20, 1863, and March 31, 1863 . In a notebook, Whitman described Kingsley as "a young man, upper class, at Pfaff's &c—fond of training for boat-racing &c.—June, July, 1862" (The Library of Congress #8). He was listed in the Directory of 1865–1866 as the proprietor of a furniture store; his name did not appear thereafter. Perkins has not been identified. American poet James Russell Lowell was editor of the Atlantic Monthly from 1857 to 1861. No admirer of Whitman, he evidently printed Whitman's poem at Emerson's suggestion; see Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman (New York: Macmillan, 1955; rev. ed., New York University Press, 1967), 238. For other correspondence with the Atlantic Monthly, see Whitman's letters from March 2, 1860 and October 1, 1861. Portia Baker analyzes Whitman's relations with this magazine in American Literature 6 (November 1934): 283–301. Edward Howard House (1836–1901) was music and drama critic of the Boston Courier from 1854 to 1858, and was appointed to the same post on the New York Tribune in 1858. Whitman evidently knew House as early as 1857, for, in his "Autograph Notebook—1857" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection), he pasted a calling card signed by House. During the Civil War, House was a war correspondent for the Tribune. See also Walt Whitman to William D. O'Connor, May 5, 1867 (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 196177], 1:327–329). "Bardic Symbols," later entitled "As I Ebb'd with the Ocean of Life," appeared in the April issue, 445–447, and, without a title, in the third edition of Leaves of Grass, 195–199. The two lines were omitted in the magazine. On March 27, Henry Clapp, Jr., wrote to Whitman: "The papers all over the land have noticed your poem in the Atlantic and have generally pitched into it strong: which I take to be good for you and your new publishers [Thayer & Eldridge], who if they move rapidly and concentrate their forces will make a Napolenic thing of it" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), 1:237). See also Walt Whitman to William D. O'Connor, May 5, 1867 (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 196177], 1:327–329). Henry Clapp (1814–1875) Jr., was a journalist, editor and reformer. Whitman and Clapp most likely met in Charles Pfaff's beer cellar, located in lower Manhattan. Clapp, who founded the literary weekly the Saturday Press in 1858, was instrumental in promoting Whitman's poetry and celebrity; over twenty items on Whitman appeared in the Press before the periodical folded (for the first time) in 1860. Of Clapp Whitman told Horace Traubel, "You will have to know something about Henry Clapp if you want to know all about me." (For Whitman's thoughts on Clapp, see With Walt Whitman in Camden, "Sunday, May 27, 1888.") In the next issue of the New-York Saturday Press, on June 16, Clapp printed, in the columns suggested by Whitman, two contributions of Henry P. Leland, which had appeared earlier in the Philadelphia City Item: a poem entitled "Enfans de Soixante-Seize" and a swashbuckling tribute to "Walt Whitman." Leland (1828-68) was the author of Grey-Bay Mare, and Other Humorous American Sketches (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott and Co., 1856) and co-author with his brother Charles of Ye Book of Copperheads (Philadelphia: Frederick Leypoldt, 1863). Whitman spoke many years later to Charles of Henry's support "in the darkest years of his life"; see Elizabeth Robins Pennell, Charles Godfrey Leland (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 1906), 2: 111, and note Whitman's letter from October 27, 1866 . Whitman seems to be reacting to the hostile review by Juliette H. Beach's husband which appeared in the New-York Saturday Press on June 2; see Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman (New York: Macmillan, 1955), 260–261. The Sunday Mercury printed an extravagant eulogy of Whitman on June 3 which was written by the actress and poet Adah Isaacs Menken, who at the time was married to the prize fighter John Heenan; see Allen, The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman (New York: Macmillan, 1955), 262; and Allen Lesser, Enchanting Rebel (New York: The Beechhurst Press, 1947), 61–65. Whitman spent a great deal of time revising the text of this draft letter, which was part of the correspondence by Ralph Waldo Emerson to Salmon P. Chase (January 10, 1863) [Edwin Haviland Miller, ed.,The Correspondence (New York: New York University Press, 1961–77), 1:64–65], Ralph Waldo Emerson to William H. Seward (January 10, 1863) [Miller, 1:65–66], and Ralph Waldo Emerson to Walt Whitman (January 12, 1863). The earliest version of the draft, dated "Washington / Saturday morning, Jan. 17, '63," was drastically altered by the insertion of the first four paragraphs in the present text and that part of the first sentence of the following paragraph preceding "expression of American character." See Whitman's letter from January 2–4, 1863 . Horatio Stone (1808–1875) was a surgeon in the Patent Office Hospital from 1862 to 1865. This material, published partially in the New York Times (1863–65) and in the New York Weekly Graphic in 1874, was eventually issued as Memoranda During the War. See also the letter from October 21, 1863 . Nathaniel Bloom operated a fancy-goods store on Broadway for many years. What appears to be an early description of him was printed by Richard Maurice Bucke, ed., in Notes and Fragments from The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1902), 9:142; Trent Collection, Duke University): "Bloom—Broad-shouldered, six-footer, with a hare-lip. Clever fellow, and by no means bad looking… Direct, plain-spoken, natural-hearted, gentle-tempered, but awful when roused—cartman, with a horse, cart &c, of his own—drives for a store in Maiden lane." Whitman referred to him in one of his notebooks (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #109). Later in life Bloom was listed as an importer; his name does not appear in the Directories after 1900. John Frederick Schiller Gray was a captain in the Twentieth New York Infantry and later held the same rank in the Assistant Adjutant General's Volunteers. He became a major on January 4, 1865, and resigned on December 6 of the same year; see Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, 2 vols. (Washington D.C.: Government Publications Office, 1903). In 1862 he fought in the battle at Antietam, and at Charles Pfaff's beer cellar located in lower Manhattan, he gave Whitman "a fearful account of the battlefield at ½ past 9 the night following the engagement." (For discussion of Whitman's activity at Pfaff's, see "The Bohemian Years.") See Whitman's notations in Frederick W. Hedge's Prose Writers of Germany, reprinted in Emory Holloway, ed., Walt Whitman—Complete Poetry & Selected Prose and Letters (London: Nonesuch Press, 1938), 1099. In 1864, according to one of Whitman's notebooks (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103), Gray was stationed at New Orleans. He graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York in 1871, and briefly practiced medicine with his father in New York. Whitman referred to him during this period in a notebook (The Library of Congress, Notebook #109). Later he practiced in Paris, Nice, and Geneva. He died of Bright's disease at St. Clair Springs, Michigan, on April 18, 1891; obituaries appeared in the New York Herald and the New York Tribune on August 19, 1891. William E. Barton, in Abraham Lincoln and Walt Whitman (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1928), 48–49, attacks Whitman's gross overstatement, which was undoubtedly intended to impress his New York friends. Whitman referred with more restraint to this rebel officer in "Hospital Visits," which appeared in the New York Times, December 11, 1864, and later in The Wound Dresser: "One, a Mississippian—a captain—hit badly in the leg, I talked with some time; he asked me for papers, which I gave him. (I saw him three months afterward in Washington, with leg amputated, doing well)" (The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman, 7:102–103). Whitman scribbled "Sight at the Lacy House" in his diary on December 22, 1862, when he was in the field with George: "At the foot of tree, immediately in front, a heap of feet, legs, arms, and human fragments, cut, bloody, black and blue, swelled and sickening—in the garden near, a row of graves; some distance back, a little while afterwards, I saw a long row of them" (Charles I. Glicksberg, Walt Whitman and the Civil War [Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1933], 69–70), a description substantially repeated in "Hospital Visits" (The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman, 7:102). See Whitman's letter from January 17, 1863 . Whitman retold this incident in "Democracy," The Galaxy, 4 (1867): 922. See the letter from February 13, 1863 . Whitman became eloquent about the beauty of Washington in the article he published in the New York Times on October 4, 1863. See Emerson's letters to Salmon P. Chase and William H. Seward from January 10, 1863, and Whitman's letter from February 13, 1863 . William and Ellen O'Connor. Matilda Agnes Heron (1830–1877) was a famous interpreter of Camille and of Legouvé's Medea; see George C. Odell, Annals of the New York Stage (New York: Columbia University Press, 1928), 6:534–536. A Charles W. Chauncey was listed as an importer in the New York Directories of the period. In his reply on May 1, 1863, Gray wrote: "Charles Chauncey, of whose illness you have heard, is said to be much better. . . . Charley Russell was in town some weeks ago, he told me not to fail to send his warmest love to you. He is on Genl. Meade's staff as Medical Inspector General of the 5th Corps d'Armée—a first rate position and one that he has earned by his industry and talents." Bucke is likely referring to the Inspector of Asylums for the Province of Ontario, Canada. Construction of the Washington Monument began in 1848; construction was abandoned from 1855 to 1877; and finally it was completed in 1884. Dr. John F. Gray (1804–1882) was a celebrated homeopath. In Old Friends, Being Literary Recollections of Other Days (New York: Moffat, Yard, 1909), 66, 88, William Winter mentions Edward F. Mullen, an artist and a Pfaffian. On August 16, 1881, in Specimen Days (The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman, 5:21), Whitman recorded a visit to Pfaff's Restaurant, during which the proprietor and he recalled "ante-bellum times" and the deaths of old habitués like "Mullin." Benjamin Knower was listed as a clerk (1862–1863) and later as a New York merchant. In an 1863 diary, Whitman noted the receipt of a letter from Knower on May 6 [Charles I. Glicksberg, Walt Whitman and the Civil War (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1933), 135]; Knower was also mentioned in two other diaries (The Library of Congress #104 and #108). This letter was sent to Charles S. Kingsley, who replied on March 21, 1863: "I received your letter and I delivered the enclosed one to Gray (not knowing where to find Bloom)." On May 5, 1863, one of John Burroughs's friends wrote to Kingsley: "He lent me some letters from some of his young friends in New York. They call him 'Walt,' and by reading you would judge him to be a young fellow, and indeed, he is young, with his perfect health and youthful tastes" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1931], 4).On May 1, 1863, Gray excused his neglect in replying because of his military duties and "bothering my brain with the detestable clerical duties incidental to my position": "I have just come from my Mother, who, together with my Father, desires to be kindly remembered to you. . . .I lead a very different life from what I did last summer—no more beer houses and disreputable 'cakes and ale.' Sometimes when I think of my poor little Clothilde and you I feel as if I were not as happy now as then. However, a man must work and woman must weep, I suppose! . . . I detest writing letters to a dear friend like you—it's such a devilish slow and insufficient way of communicating your thoughts. . . . the other day I took a walk in the central park with Perk; the park was so heavenly that it actually made me as sentimental and lachrymose as a school boy. I'm damned if I wouldn't have given up all my hopes in the future to have had you and my little girl with me then. Don't fail to write me, will you, old Boy! Be Christlike and forgive!" (Emory Holloway supplied a typescript of this letter to Miller). On June 18, 1864, George wrote to his mother of additional engagements of his regiment, and was confident that "it will not be long before the long covetted City of Petersburg will be in our possession. I notice by the papers that our Corps is very little spoken of, but for all that they have done some splendid fighting, although we seem to be rather outsiders here in the Army of the Potomac." J. Hubley Ashton, the assistant Attorney General, actively interested himself in Whitman's affairs, and obtained a position for the poet in his office after the Harlan fracas; see Whitman's letter from June 9, 1865 . Arnold Johnson was a friend of the O'Connors and private secretary to Senator Summer; see Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1931), 10. He was listed in the 1866 Directory as a clerk in the Treasury Department. Andrew Kerr was, according to the 1866 Directory, a clerk in the Attorney General's office. The elections of November 7, 1865, resulted in what the New York Times described as a "Great Republican Victory." Bayard Taylor (1825–1878), translator of Goethe's Faust, journalist, and traveler, sent his "Picture of St. John" to Whitman on November 12, 1866. He commended Whitman's "remarkable powers of expression" and "deep and tender reverence for Man." His letter of December 2, 1866 was even more unreserved in its praise. Later Taylor's enthusiasm for Whitman was to change dramatically. In The Echo Club (2d ed., 1876), 154–158, 168–169, Taylor burlesqued Whitman's poetry. William Sloane Kennedy lists him among Whitman's "Bitter and Relentless Foes and Villifiers"; see The Fight of a Book for the World (West Yarmouth, Massachusetts: The Stonecroft Press, 1926), 288. See also "Letter from Walt Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, 1 January 1867" in Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence (New York: New York University Press, 1961–69), 1:305. On December 21, 1866, Jeff had sent $31 collected from employees at the Water Works: "Hope you wont be disappointed in the smallness of the amount." Evidently Walt Whitman had also written to William E. Worthen for funds (see Whitman's letter to his brother Jeff of May 23, 1864 ), since Jeff noted that he had "sent letter to Worthen." See also Whitman's letter of December 29, 1866, and "Letter from Walt Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, 1 January 1867" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–69], 1:305). Elizabeth Chase Allen (1832–1911), one of the favorite nineteenth-century household poets, used the pseudonym Florence Percy. Poems, published in 1866 by Ticknor and Fields, includes her most famous poem, "Rock Me to Sleep." She married John Burroughs's friend, E. M. Allen, in October, 1866; she heartily disliked Walt Whitman (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1931], 12). Hannah acknowledged receipt of the book in her letter to her mother on March 20, 1867 (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Books, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). Henry Jarvis Raymond (1820–1869) established the New York Daily Times on September 18, 1851. Raymond termed The Good Gray Poet "the most brilliant monograph in our literature" (Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs, 35), and he published O'Connor's review of Leaves of Grass on December 2, 1866 (see Whitman's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman of December 4, 1866). Raymond later asked O'Connor to write for the Times; see the letter from Whitman to his mother of April 16, 1867. Andrew's wife. According to the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs, there were ninety-eight Union soldiers killed, wounded, or missing in the Battles of Roanoke and New Berne, North Carolina, combined. This letter is to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, dated May 12, 1864. Charles Heyde, a landscape painter, was the husband of Hannah Louisa Whitman, Whitman's younger sister. They married in 1852 and lived in Vermont. That there was "nothing at all" in Heyde's letter probably came as a surprise to the Whitmans, since ordinarily he bewailed his lot and disparaged his wife and her erratic behavior. (Heyde was still in a genial mood when he wrote again on May 18, 1860, to Whitman. Hannah lived in fear of her husband's letters, for he evidently threatened, or so Hannah imagined, to write candidly to her family. On July 21, 1861, for example, Hannah wrote to her mother: "Charlie has taken the greatest aversion to me, no matter what I do it is wrong. I know I should hide his faults. I do feel sensitive about it, no one knows how much so, but I must tell some little things for Charlie said he should write such a letter home that he thought some of you would come after me" (The Library of Congress). Whitman had not received his mother's letter of March 30, 1861 (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Books, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library), in which she reported that Andrew was recovering from an illness, "made worse," according to Jeff in a letter dated April 3, 1860, "by an ignorent Dr. and those around him." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman observed that "poor nance . . . looks as she was almost done over," and that "Jess has got to work in the navy yard again." She also requested "5 dollars the first of next month to help toward the rent." In his reply on April 3, 1863, Jeff wrote: "Mother has taken the house and rented the lower part to a Mr 'John Brown' @ $14 per month". The Browns lived for five years with the Whitmans on Portland Avenue, Brooklyn. He was a tailor. Relations between the two families were sometimes strained; see Whitman's letter from March 22, 1864 . On June 3, 1865, Mrs. Whitman informed her son that she was glad to move away from the Browns (Trent Collection). Of the forthcoming Leaves of Grass, Jeff wrote on April 3, 1860: "I quite long for it to make its appearence. What jolly times we will have reading the notices of it won't we, you must expect the 'Yam Yam Yam' writer to give you a dig as often as possible." Published as a serial in 1851-1852, and as a book in 1852. Rand and Avery, printers. This firm also printed the 1881 edition. It is still in business as Rand Avery-Gordon Taylor, Inc. Stephen Alonzo Schoff (1818–1904) was famous for his engraved portraits of William Penn, Emerson, and others. "Ned Buntline" was the pseudonym of Edward Z. C. Judson (1823–1886), the first of the dime novelists and the originator of the "Buffalo Bill" stories. The New York Ledger, under the editorship of Robert Bonner, was a popular weekly which featured serials, sentimental poems, and moral essays. In 1860 its circulation was 400,000; see Mott, A History of American Magazines, 2:356–363. On April 16, Jeff had written of impending changes at the Brooklyn Water Works: "We Water Works men are all trembling in our boots, the prospects being that we are all going to be kicked out, neck and heels, from the chief down to the Axeman. It seems that Mr F. Spinola started a bill at Albany some time last winter trying to oust the new commissioners. . . . It has passed one house, and I guess the chances are abt even for its passing the other" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). The New York legislature had adjourned on April 17, and the New York Tribune on the following day was "reverently thankful": "We do not believe it possible that another body so reckless not merely of right but of decency—not merely corrupt but shameless—will be assembled in our halls of legislation within the next ten years."Francis B. Spinola (1821–1891) was an alderman in Brooklyn from 1846 to 1853, a member of the New York legislature from 1855 to 1861, a brigadier general during the Civil War, and a United States Congressman from 1887 to 1891. On May 3, Mrs. Whitman related family gossip and told of a recent visit from Hector Tyndale (see "Letter from Walt Whitman to Sarah Tyndale, 20 June 1857," Correspondence, 1:42–44), who "behaved very friendly indeed" (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Books, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). Hannah wrote to her mother on June 1: "I have been very much disappointed because Walt did not come to see us. I had felt so glad, so pleased, had spoke of it so often. I watched the cars every night . . . I will not tell you how bad I felt. you at home would think me silly and childish" (The Library of Congress). In a letter now lost, Whitman must have asked his brother to raise money for his hospital work. Jeff quickly appealed to his fellow workers at the Brooklyn Water Works, and most of his letters during 1863 contained contributions. On January 13, 1863, Jeff wrote: "I wish you would take either Lane's or Probasco's money and keep an exact account of what it does and send them the particulars of just the good it does. I think it would assist them (and the rest of us) in collecting more. You can understand what an effect twould have, twould give us an oportunity to show what immense good a few shillings even will do when rightly applied, besides twould please the person sending the money hugely, twould bring his good deeds under his nose." Louis Probasco was a young employee in the Brooklyn Water Works, probably the son of Samuel, listed as a cooper in the Brooklyn Directory of 1861–62. Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. Like Jeff Whitman, he collected money from his employees and friends for Walt's hospital work. Lane sent Whitman $15.20 in his letter of January 26, 1863, and later various sums which Whitman acknowledged in letters from February 6, 1863, May 11, 1863, May 26, 1863, and September 9, 1863. In his letter of May 27, 1863, Lane pledged $5 each month. In an unpublished manuscript in the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library, Whitman wrote, obviously for publication: "I have distributed quite a large sum of money, contributed for that purpose by noble persons in Brooklyn, New York, (chiefly through Moses Lane, Chief Engineer, Water Works there.)" Lane assisted Whitman in other ways as well (see Whitman's letters from December 29, 1862, and February 13, 1863). He was so solicitous of Whitman's personal welfare that on April 3, 1863, he sent through Jeff $5 "for your own especial benefit." This letter is not known. William Starke Rosecrans (1819–1898), a Union general, was in Tennessee in 1863 with the Army of the Cumberland. A reporter of the Cincinnati Commercial noted: "It can hardly be in human nature for men to show more valor, or generals to manifest less judgment, than were perceptible on our side that day"; quoted by Bruce Catton, Glory Road (New York: Doubleday, 1952), 74. George, however, had written to Whitman on January 13, 1863, from Falmouth. Though he had nothing important to say about his own activities, he was upset about Hannah: "I am sure she must be liveing in a perfect Hell . . . Walt, you or Jeff must certainly go on there and see how things are, and make arangements for bringing her home." Here Whitman replied to Jeff's almost hysterical letters. On January 1–2, 1863, he implored Walt to urge George to quit the army and thus to spare the life of their mother, who, "if any thing should happen him . . . , could not survive it. . . . Walt, I beg of you, do not neglect to see George and put this thing in its strongest light. Just think for a moment of the number of suckers that are gaining all the real benefits of the war (if that is not wicked to say) and think of George and thousands of others running all the risks while they are drawing all the pay." On January 13, 1863, Jeff continued to bewail George's lot: "I wish to God that he would come home, I think that it would add 10 years to Mothers life. Write him." Part of Whitman's letter is lost. At one time there were at Camden two additional pages which presumably belonged to this letter; unfortunately, no transcription was made. The pages reproduced here do not appear to be part of the letter from January 16, 1863 , which is also incomplete. In a letter from March 9, 1863, Jeff noted receipt of "a long letter from you Saturday" (which would have been March 7, 1863). But the principal argument for the date of March 6 is that on March 3, 1863, Jeff asked his brother: "What are they going to do to reinforce the army, will they have to enforce the conscript bill." This letter is apparently lost. Joseph-Charles d'Almeida (1822–1880), a professor and author of Problèmes de physique (1862), came to the United States in 1862. In the Charles E. Feinberg Collection at the Library of Congress, there are three interesting letters from d'Almeida to William Douglas O'Connor, a close friend and associate of Whitman's. From Memphis, Tennessee, on January 28, 1863, d'Almeida explained that because of the kindness of a Miss Rebecca Harding he had been introduced to "la société rebelle." On March 2, 1863, he asked O'Connor to visit him in the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C. The Washington National Republican of this date listed d'Almeida among refugees who were committed to Old Capitol Prison for examination. From New York, on March 27(?), d'Almeida wrote his farewell letter after he had been to Boston, where he had been entertained by James Fields, and had met Longfellow, Emerson, and Agassiz: "I carry with me a little American library in which the LEAVES of Grass are included." William Henry Seward (1801–1872) was secretary of state from 1861 to 1869 under Presidents Lincoln and Johnson. Edwin McMasters Stanton (1814–1869) was secretary of war from 1862 to 1868. On March 3, 1863, Jeff wrote that he had decided to "wait for cheaper times" when he discovered that what he "supposed would cost at 11 or $1200 could not be done for less than 20 or $2100". In the Brooklyn Directory of 1859–1860, Ellison was listed as clerk. The name did not appear in the Directories of 1861–1862 and 1865–1866. Oscar F. Hughes had a store at 373 Myrtle Avenue. In 1861–1862, the Directory cited "house furnishings," and in 1865–1866, "glass ware." On February 12, 1863, Jeff sent to his brother $10 from Hill and Newman (a firm that has not been identified: Henry P. Hill, James Hill, and Warren Hill were engineers; Simon Hill, Samuel Hill, and Thomas Newman were contractors) and $5 "from our friend Mr. E. Rae": "I know Rae is a liberal hearted man and through his friends he could do a great deal and I am confident that he could be more earnestly interested in the matter if you write him directly." This was probably E. H. Rae, a law copyist with an office at 16 Wall Street, New York. According to Jeff's letter of March 9, 1863, George arrived in Brooklyn on March 7 on a ten-day furlough: "He is well and looking first rate." Mary Van Nostrand was Whitman's sister. Neither letter is extant. "The Great Washington Hospital" appeared in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on March 19, 1863, and was subtitled "Life Among Fifty Thousand Soldiers" in The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman (New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1902) 7:91–100. The New York Herald of March 17, 1863, described the meeting on the preceding day in glowing prose: "One of the largest and most truly enthusiastic meetings ever held in the new Brooklyn Academy of Music… The heart of every loyal man could not but throb with joy at seeing such a mass of beauty and intelligence coming forward with united voice to sustain the Government of the land." Joseph-Charles d'Almeida (1822–1880), a professor and author of Problèmes de physique (1862), came to the United States in 1862. In the Charles E. Feinberg Collection, there are three interesting letters from d'Almeida to William Douglas O'Connor, a close friend and associate of Whitman's. From Memphis, Tennessee, on January 28, 1863, d'Almeida explained that because of the kindness of a Miss Rebecca Harding he had been introduced to la société rebelle. On March 2, he asked O'Connor to visit him in the Old Capitol Prison in Washington D.C. The Washington National Republican of this date listed d'Almeida among refugees who were committed to Old Capitol Prison for examination. From New York, on March 27(?), d'Almeida wrote his farewell letter after he had been to Boston, where he had been entertained by James Fields, and had met Longfellow, Emerson, and Agassiz: "I carry with me a little American library in which the Leaves of Grass are included." William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891). George Henry Thomas (1816–1870) served under Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant, and in 1864 and 1865 commanded the Army of the Cumberland. George's official appointment as major, dated May 13, is in the Missouri Historical Society. John Gibson Wright rose from captain to colonel in the Fifty-first Regiment; he was appointed to the latter position May 18, 1865. He was taken prisoner with George in 1864. See also Whitman's letter from September 11, 1864 . Elliott F. Shepard, of the Fifty-first Regiment, informed George of his promotion on April 16, 1862 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1906–96], 2:201), and wrote to Walt Whitman about George's imprisonment on February 16, 1865. George had returned to his regiment, probably about the first of the month, and, when he wrote to his mother on May 8 (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Books, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library), he was in charge of the Prince Street Military Prison in Alexandria. According to Jeff's letter of May 14, 1865, George wanted an appointment in the regular army as captain. See Whitman's of January 30, 1865 . On March 9 hattie wrote to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman that "Papa will never write a letter he makes me write all the letters" (Walt Whitman Papers [Walt Whitman Papers], Library of Congress). See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman from February 24, 1873. For the Bulkleys, see Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman from February 24, 1873. The specific letter Jeff refers to is not known; however, on March 14 Hattie wrote to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman that the family had moved to Bulkley's on Saturday, March 8, and that "Papa has a very nice room but I sleep with Minnie Bulkley a young lady about sixteen years old" (Walt Whitman Papers). Hattie does not mention what arrangements were made for Jessie. Jeff disliked having to leave his daughers so soon after Mattie's death. Hattie's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman of March 14 notes that "Papa gave me a present of a most beautiful diamond ring it is perfectly elegant it has 4 splendid diamonds and five emeralds and he gave me a git [gilt?] necklace and cross and a black locket with six pearls and he gave Jessie a plain gold ring. I told him that I never got so many presents at once before I dont know what he did it for but I suppose he gave them to me because he was sorry he was going away" (Walt Whitman Papers). Kansas City, Missouri, was planning a new waterworks at this time. Jeff may have submitted one of the two propositions the city rejected in the spring of 1873. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman of January 13, 1863. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman of February 23, 1885. The second annual St. Louis Exposition opened on September 9, 1885, in a downtown block called Missouri Park. It featured music, amusements, art galleries, and commercial displays, and attracted 750,000 people. "Walt Whitman writes to his London friends as follows: 'Fortunately, I have a good, faithful young Jersey woman and friend, Mary Davis, who cooks for me and vigilantly sees to me'" (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 10, 1885). This item is quoted from a letter of Whitman's to Herbert Gilchrist of August 1, 1885. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman of May 9, 1863. Tarr was now a journalist. He and Jeff evidently maintained a close association during Jeff's last four or five years of life (see the letter from Tarr to Walt Whitman of December 1, 1890). For Lane, see Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman of January 13, 1863. Lewis Kirke Brown (1843–1926) was wounded in the left leg near Rappahannock Station on August 19, 1862, and lay where he fell for four days. Eventually he was transferred to Armory Square Hospital, where Whitman met him, probably in February 1863. In a diary in the Library of Congress, Whitman described Brown on February 19, 1863, as "a most affectionate fellow, very fond of having me come and sit by him." Because the wound did not heal, the leg was amputated on January 5, 1864. Whitman was present and described the operation in a diary (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103). Brown was mustered out in August 1864, and was employed in the Provost General's office in September; see Whitman's letter from September 11, 1864 . The following September he became a clerk in the Treasury Department, and was appointed Chief of the Paymaster's Division in 1880, a post which he held until his retirement in 1915. (This material draws upon a memorandum which was prepared by Brown's family and is now held in the Library of Congress.) Mary Felton, a nurse in Armory Square Hospital, was the daughter of Harvard president Cornelius Conway Felton, who had died on February 26, 1862. At the close of the war, she helped organize the Howard Industrial School, a trade school in Cambridge aimed at training former slaves into industrial jobs in the North. The letter to which Bainbridge refers has not been found. Bainbridge most likely refers to Benton Wilson, a former soldier with whom Whitman developed a friendship. See Wilson's letters of November 11, 1865 and December 16, 1866. Whitman probably chose Redpath as the publisher of his proposed book because earlier in the year he had printed Louisa May Alcott's Hospital Sketches, which relates the experiences of Tribulation Periwinkle in a military hospital in Georgetown. (Periwinkle, actually the author, had expected to go to Armory Square Hospital, but at the last minute was sent to "Hurly-burly House.") In his reply on October 28, 1863, Redpath said that there was "a lion in the way—$. I could easily publish a small Book, but the one you propose...implies an expenditure that may be beyond my means." Whitman's proposal was not to be realized until the publication of Memoranda During the War. Accompanying Whitman's draft letter is his sketch of the title page. An editor fully sympathizes with Traubel's remark (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1953], 4:416) when he received this letter from Whitman: "It made me sweat to look at it." It is a maze of interlineations. Once again Whitman overstated his involvement in the war. In his "Notebook: September–October, 1863," Whitman made this entry on September 23: "Talk with Ben in Ward A about tyrannous and unnecessary exposure of the soldiers—how many officers there are who dare not go into engagements nor even out on picket with their men, for fear of their lives from their own men—the 8th N Y Cav Col Davis, (killed afterward) who . . . made the poor sick men (sick with diarrhea) dismount & mount 13 times to make them do it in military style—I have seen not a single officer that seemed to know American men" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). William Henry Seward (1801–1872) was secretary of state from 1861 to 1869 under Presidents Lincoln and Johnson. On July 2, 1864, George wrote from "near Petersburg instead of from Richmond." Whitman here echoed George's optimism: "We all believe in Grant, and as far as I can hear the opinion is universal in the army, that before the campaign is over Petersburg and Richmond will be in our posession." On July 5, 1864, Mrs. O'Connor wrote: "Poor Ashton is sick in bed with rheumatism, a fearful attack of it." The family had not received George's letter of October 2, 1863, from Petersburg, Virginia: "Here I am perfectly well and unhurt, but a prisoner. I was captured day before yesterday . . . I am in tip top health and Spirits, and am as tough as a mule and shall get along first rate. Mother, please dont worry and all will be right in time if you will not worry." According to his letter of October 23, 1864, he was taken prisoner near the Weldon Railroad. William E. Babcock, a lieutenant in the Fifty-first Regiment, informed Whitman on October 18, 1864, that George's effects were to be sent to his mother. On December 12, 1864, Babcock promised to send George's "large Trunk," and, in a memorandum dated December 26, Whitman noted receipt of the trunk (Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman [New York: Macmillan, 1955; rev. ed., New York University Press, 1967], 318). Andrew Kerr was, according to the 1866 Directory, a clerk in the Attorney General's office. Matthew F. Pleasants, who later became chief clerk in the Attorney General's office. Frank U. Stitt was pardon clerk in the same office. Whitman was staying at the home of Abby H. Price; see his letter from August 1, 1866 . Sometime during 1866, O'Connor sent to Moncure D. Conway a "Memoranda" (Yale), in which he quoted from Whitman's letter, and commented on the poet's life and works. Conway used this material in his article "Walt Whitman," The Fortnightly Review, 6 (1866), 538–548. Whitman undoubtedly wrote to O'Connor with publication in mind. This letter is addressed: John Swinton, | Care H. J. Raymond, | Editor New York Times | New York | City. It is postmarked: Washington | Feb | 2(?) | 1863 | D. C. This letter is addressed: Dr L. B. Russell | 34 Mt Vernon street | Boston | Massachusetts. On April 19, 1861—shortly after the firing on Fort Sumter—George Whitman enlisted for one hundred days in the Thirteenth Regiment of the New York State Militia, which was commanded by Colonel Abel Smith. This regiment was first stationed at Annapolis, Maryland, from April 23, 1861, to June 16, 1861, when its encampment was shifted to an area adjacent to Baltimore. As his letter reflects, the majority of citizens there held secessionist sympathies. Completing one hundred days' military duty, the men of the Thirteenth Regiment were mustered out of service on August 6, 1861. More than half of them, however, joined other military units being formed when the war appeared to be far from over. On September 18, 1861, George Whitman re-enlisted as a private in the Fifty-First Regiment of New York Volunteers (known as the Shepard Rifles) for a period of three years. The next day Whitman was promoted to the rank of sergeant major by Colonel Edward Ferrero, the regiment's first commanding officer. About October 29, 1861, Whitman's regiment left New York for training duty at Annapolis, Maryland. While there Whitman became ill and had to spend a few weeks recuperating at a private residence in the area. On January 6, 1862, not long after Whitman's return to his regiment, the Fifty-First Regiment, as a part of the Burnside Expedition, sailed for Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The objective of this land-sea expedition was to capture certain Confederate positions on the coast of North Carolina. The chief results of the campaign were the seizures of Roanoke Island, New Bern, and Fort Macon. The expedition reached Fort Monroe on January 10, 1862, and Hatteras Inlet about the middle of the same month. After some two weeks of weighing anchor there waiting for the rest of the Union vessels to arrive and for the weather to improve, Burnside's troops attacked the Confederate forces at Roanoke Island on February 7, 1862. In this, the first extant letter written after the time of his re-enlistment, George Whitman describes the first of many battles he was to survive throughout the Civil War.The first four sheets
of this letter were written on Confederate stationery. On the initial page
there appears at the upper left a sketch showing a cannon being fired as the
Confederate banner waves behind it. In the right-hand corner the following
verses are printed:
Bright Banner of Freedom with pride I
unfurl
thee;
Fair Flag of my country with love I be-
hold thee,
Gleaming above us in freshness and youth,
Emblem of Liberty, Symbol of truth;
For the Flag of my country in triumph
shall
wave,
O'er the Southerner's Home and the
Southerner's
Grave
George Whitman has written in the space between the patriotic sketch
and the verses the following note: This is some of
the paper we found here it is first rate to write acounts of Union
Victories on.
The letterhead also states that it was "Manufactured by W. & J. BONITZ, Goldsboro, N.C." And immediately beneath the verses, the words "Confederate States of America" are printed in swash letters.
In the first part of this letter, Whitman speaks of the Battle of Cedar Mountain, Virginia (sometimes called the Battle of Cedar Run). On August 9, 1862, Jackson, with superior numbers, struck the forces of General Banks, inflicting heavy Union casualties. In this letter Whitman describes his experiences in the Second Battle of Manassas (August 29, 1862 to August 30, 1862), also called Second Bull Run, and the Battle of Chantilly (September 1, 1862). Both engagements were decisive victories for the Confederates. This undated fragment was probably written soon after George Washington Whitman's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman from August 17, 1862; it appears to dwell on the same subject: the results of a battle that included the Fourteenth New York State Militia (Eighty-Fourth Regiment of Infantry). In fact, it may well be the last part of the letter of September 5, 1862—which lacks a closing signature. The letterhead of the stationery used in this letter presents a sketch of a Union Soldier standing at attention and holding a rifle over his left shoulder. Beside him stands the Union banner and behind him is a military camp. The words "On Guard" are printed beneath. In the letter Whitman speaks briefly of the battles of South Mountain (September 14, 1862 to September 15, 1862) and Antietam (September 17, 1862). After having assured his mother that he was still alive (see George Washington Whitman's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman from September 19, 1862), Whitman now gives her a fuller account of his experiences in the battles of South Mountain and Antietam. In this letter George Whitman describes some of his experiences in the battle of First Fredericksburg (December 13, 1862)—a Union disaster in which 1,284 Federal troops were killed and 9,600 wounded. The Fifty-First Regiment alone, according to Whitman's own count, suffered a loss of sixty-nine officers and men either killed or wounded. Whitman himself was struck by a fragment of percussion shell that cut through his cheek (see Civil War Diary for a parallel account of this battle). Probably the first news of George's injury came to the Whitman family through the New York Herald of December 16, 1862, which in a list of wounded carried the name of "First Lieutenant G. W. Whitmore" (Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman [New York: Macmillan, 1955; rev. ed., New York University Press, 1967], 281). While the Whitmans could not be absolutely sure that this name was a misprint for the Whitman surname, they were familiar through George's previous letters with the names of the other officers in his regiment—which included no one by the name of Whitmore. Hence, such an indication was enough to send Walt Whitman on his journey to Fredericksburg the same day in search of George. The next day—December 17—the family's fears were confirmed by an entry in a list of wounded in the New York Times: "Lieut. Whitman, Co. E., 51st New York—cheek." In a letter to Walt datelined December 19, 1862, Jeff Whitman mentions the Times list and also expresses the family's impatience over not receiving by that time any news from Walt concerning George's condition. On May 25, 1863, the Ninth Army Corps left Lancaster for Cumberland Gap, but stopped instead at Crab Orchard, Kentucky, the same day. On May 28 it departed for Stanford, Kentucky, but the Fifty-First New York Regiment split off from the main unit and went to Hustonville, where George Whitman wrote this letter (see Civil War Diary). The final destination of Burnside's Ninth Corps was supposed to have been East Tennessee, where it would have assisted General Rosecrans in his move against Chattanooga. On June 2, 1863, however, Burnside received a dispatch from Washington requesting him to support General Grant in his siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Leaving Burnside behind with his own Department of Ohio, the Ninth Corps, under the command of General John Parke, departed from Stanford (with the Fifty-First New York Regiment) on June 4, 1863 and arrived in the area of Vicksburg about June 15, 1863—in time to support the Union forces there. Shortly after the surrender of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, the Ninth Corps was assigned to the Expeditionary Army of General Sherman. During the next eleven days, this force—in what Walt Whitman would later describe as a "tough little campaign" ("Fifty-First New York City Veterans," The Uncollected Poetry and Prose of Walt Whitman, edited by Emory Holloway, [Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Page and Company, 1921] 2:39)—pushed the Johnston army, then encamped near the Big Black River, back through Jackson, Mississippi, which the Union force occuped on July 17, 1863 (see Civil War Diary). The Ninth Army Corps was released from Sherman's Expeditionary Force shortly after returning from the pursuit of Johnston's army, and it started back to Cincinnati, where General Burnside was stationed as head of the Department of Ohio. The Ninth Army, however, was of no immediate use to Burnside, since it had suffered heavy losses from long marches and inadequate food and water while operating under Sherman (see Civil War Diary). In August 1863 General Burnside had traveled over the Cumberland Mountains into East Tennessee with 18,000 men, reaching Knoxville, Tennessee, on September 3. He left the Ninth Army scattered in various parts of Kentucky in order for it to have time to recuperate from the Vicksburg campaign. The Fifty-First Regiment of New York Volunteers was assigned to Nicholasville, Kentucky. By this time General Burnside had directed most of the Ninth Army Corps into East Tennessee in order to hold his own position at Knoxville and to assist Rosecran's army, which had retreated from Chickamauga to Chattanooga after defeat by the combined forces of Longstreet and Bragg, September 19–20, 1863. Only 6,000 soldiers in the Ninth Army were fit for duty, however, and the Fifty-First Regiment of New York Volunteers was one of the military units left behind. After successfully defending Knoxville against General Longstreet's siege (November 17–29, 1863), General Burnside transferred the Department of Ohio to General John G. Foster (December 11, 1863) and returned to his home in Rhode Island. The men of the Ninth Army Corps were sent home to their respective states for furloughs and re-enlistment. In January, 1864, George Whitman returned home on a thirty-day leave to Brooklyn, New York, where he re-enlisted. On February 25, 1864, he went back with his regiment to the Department of Ohio. The veteran regiments of the Ninth Army Corps—having been sent back to East Tennessee after their re-enlistment leaves—were ordered on March 8, 1864, to report to Annapolis, Maryland, where new regiments recruited under the direction of General Burnside were located. The Fifty-First Regiment of New York Volunteers started for Annapolis sometime during the period of March 17-23, 1864. Ordered to follow General Meade's Army of the Potomac into Virginia, Burnside's Ninth Army Corps departed from Annapolis on April 23, 1864. Upon reaching Washington, D.C., on April 25, it passed in review before President Lincoln. As Captain Whitman marched through Washington with his regiment, Walt Whitman walked beside him. According to Walt's letter to his mother on April 26, 1864, George became so preoccupied with seeing his brother again that he failed to salute as the regiment passed the balcony occupied by Lincoln and Burnside. After marching through the city, the Ninth Army proceeded into Virginia. It was encamped at Fairfax Court House on April 28 and at Bristoe Station on April 29.The immediate cause for family concern was the appearance of George's name in a list of wounded from the Battle of Fredericksburg (December 13, 1862). The poet set out on December 16, 1862, for Washington to search the hospitals for his brother. After finding George, who had sustained a superficial cheek wound, Walt decided to stay in the capital to help with the war effort by rendering aid in the city's numerous military hospitals. On January 1, 1863, Jeff wrote the poet and offered financial support, thus making Walt's hospital work a feasible project. Jeff began collecting money from his fellow engineers and sending it to Walt, who relied heavily on this source of funds. The engineers probably supported the hospital work because they were personal friends of the Whitman brothers and because their interest in engineering projects of a national scope (such as the transcontinental railroad) promoted belief in a strong federal government.
Walt Whitman readily acknowledged his admiration for Italian opera and stressed its importance to his poetry, even claiming that the method of "A Child's Reminiscence" (1859; later "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking") was "strictly that of the Italian Opera" (Robert D. Faner, Walt Whitman & Opera [Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1951], v). Late in his career he again emphasized this influence in "The Dead Tenor" (1884), a memorial tribute to Pasquale Brignoli: "How much from thee! the revelation of the singing voice from thee!/ ...How through those strains distill'd—how the rapt ears, the soul of me, absorbing / Fernando's heart, Manrico's passionate call, Ernani's, sweet Gennaro's."Jeff and Walt often attended operas together, especially during the period between 1854 and 1862. After the poet left Brooklyn for Washington, Jeff continued, in spite of the war conditions and a shortage of funds, to attend the opera "quite often" on his own. He and Walt shared similar tastes, as those composers, operas, and performers that Jeff mentions—Verdi's Il Trovatore, Donizetti's La Favorita, and the singers Amodio, Francesco Mazzoleni, and Josephine Medori—were ones that Walt praised in essays, notebook jottings, and letters. As Jeff's appreciation for the opera grew, he instructed his former teacher by guiding Walt to the latest arrivals on the New York stage and encouraging him to hear them.
Shortly after the Union victory at Gettysburg, the Northern cause was damaged by terrible riots in New York (July 13–16, 1863). Approximately 50,000 people, mainly Irish immigrants, battled police over the application of the Conscription Act. The Irish, who made up over half of the foreign-born population of New York and served as the main source of cheap labor, feared competition from the newly emancipated slaves. With justification, the Irish felt that the draft laws favored the rich. Many Irishmen earned no more than $500 per year and so could not raise the $300 necessary to buy their way out of the draft. Even the Whitmans were worried about how they would obtain $300 if Jeff were drafted, although in the following year the family did manage to raise $400 "to pay for a substitute" for Jeff (Jerome M. Loving, ed., Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975], 130).A primary cause of the riots was the foolhardy administration of the draft. The War Department ordered it at a time when the city was nearly stripped of defenses: Governor Horatio Seymour had sent 16,000 soldiers from New York City to check Lee's thrust into Pennsylvania. The draft was held on a Saturday, thus giving citizens a work-free Sunday to build up resentment. Names of those selected were published in the papers, and it was clear enough that the poor were disproportionately represented. Finally, the draft was conducted on a citywide basis. As Jeff realized, it should have been handled district-by-district, which was exactly what orders had suggested U.S. Provost Marshal General James Barnet Fry should do.
The riot caused roughly 500 deaths. Particularly vicious attacks were made against blacks, and one black orphanage was set ablaze. Police were able to protect only the lower half of Manhattan as the mobs attacked banks, newspaper offices, and other symbols of wealth and power. The police, badly outnumbered, were supported by Jeff's friend Julius W. Adams who led the Brooklyn National Guard in defense of the offices of the New York Times and Tribune. Given such violence, Jeff's vindictive comments about the Irish become more understandable.
The political response to the draft was varied. Fernando Wood, a congresssman whose support came largely from Irish immigrants, denounced the draft. Governor Seymour, who regarded the draft as unconstitutional, was accused of aiding the rioters. George Opdyke, the mayor, had little sympathy for the rioters and vetoed a $2,500,000 Conscription Exemption Bond Bill which would have provided $300 for each drafted man to buy an exemption.
The riots were stopped only after eleven New York regiments and one from Michigan were rushed to the city at a time when they might have been pursuing Lee. General-in-Chief Henry W. Halleck ordered General George G. Meade to pursue Lee no further than the Rappahannock because more troops might be needed to enforce the draft. After the riots were over, James R. Gilmore of the Tribune urged Lincoln to investigate the causes of the riot, but the president refused, supposedly saying, "One rebellion at a time is about as much as we can conveniently handle."
Jeff and Walt did not correspond in November 1863 because the poet was home for a visit from November 2 until December 1. Knowing that Andrew was near death, Walt attempted to bolster the family before the impending crisis. When Andrew died two days after Walt returned to Washington, new conflicts created even greater tension in the Whitman household.The worst of these conflicts resulted from the mental disorders of Jesse, the oldest Whitman brother. The genesis of Jesse's illness is not clear. One account is that he injured his head in a fall from a ship's mast, another that he was beaten on the head by thugs using brass knuckles (see Katherine Molinoff, Some Notes on Whitman's Family, Monographs on Unpublished Whitman Material, no. 2 [Brooklyn: Comet Press, 1941], 19–22). Jeff, however, suggests that Jesse suffered from syphilis. For much of 1863 Jesse enjoyed good relations with the Jefferson Whitman family: he played amicably with Hattie and rocked Jessie in her cradle (Jerome M. Loving, ed., Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975], 91; Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to Walt Whitman, August 31, 1863 [Trent Collection, William R. Perkins Library, Duke University]). But on December 4, in reaction to Andrew's death, Jesse exhibited a vicious outburst of temper that convinced Jeff that his eldest brother should be committed. Mother Whitman persuaded Walt that she could still care for Jesse, so no immediate action was taken (Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to Walt Whitman, December 25, 1863 [Trent]). Jesse's condition must have deteriorated, however, for Walt committed him to King's County Lunatic Asylum on December 5, 1864, where he remained until his death on March 21, 1870.
After suffering from dizzy spells, Walt left Washington on June 22, 1864, for an extended period of recuperation at home. While the poet was in Brooklyn, his brother George was captured on September 30, 1864, at Poplar Grove, Virginia, sent to prisons in Salisbury, North Carolina, and Richmond, and eventually placed in a Confederate military prison at Danville, Virginia, about October 22 (Jerome M. Loving, ed., Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975], 18). The four letters written after Walt's return to Washington on January 23, 1865, reveal how Jeff and Walt coordinated their efforts in sending food and clothing to George and attempting to secure his release.This was a period of great fear, anxiety, and frustration for the Whitman family. Daily they read lurid newspaper accounts of the barbarous conditions in Confederate prisons and hospitals, including several articles by an escaped prisoner of war, Albert D. Richardson. In public testimony before a congressional committee, Richardson charged "that the rebel authorities are murdering our soldiers at Salisbury by cold and hunger, while they might easily supply them with ample food and fuel" (Brooklyn Daily Union, January 31, 1865). He accused the Confederates of deliberate and systematic atrocities and estimated that prisoners "were dying at the average rate of twenty-eight per day, or thirteen per cent per month" (Evening Post, January 31, 1865). Such harrowing stories must have moved the Whitmans to despair of recovering George.
At the same time, the likelihood of a general prisoner exchange seemed ever more remote. Exchanges had seldom worked well in this war and had long been a subject of controversy among Union leaders. Grant had ordered all exchanges halted until the Confederates improved their treatment of black prisoners and released enough Union men to offset those Confederates who had been exchanged but had illegally returned to arms. Richardson's articles and former Brigadier General Benjamin Franklin Butler's speech of January 28, 1865, confirmed Jeff's fears that Grant did not want to exchange "good men for poor ones," and he somewhat pathetically asked Walt how Grant could be "willing to let the men starve and die without result" (see Jeff Whitman's letter to Walt from January 31, 1865). But Richardson claimed that such was the "cold-blooded" policy of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton and that it had already cost the lives of ten thousand Union solders; and Butler, who had long advocated a more liberal exchange program, exculpated himself and placed responsibility squarely upon Grant.
While modern historians have rejected the notion that conditions in Confederate prison camps resulted from a willful and systematic policy, they have confirmed that Grant did halt prisoner exchanges in order to deprive the South of needed reinforcements. Only in late January 1865, when he realized the war was coming to an end, did Grant agree to a policy of even exchange. The uncertainties and tensions of these two weeks intensified Jeff's fears for George's health and safety and gave added cause for his skepticism of public officials.
In his previous letter to Walt, Jeff indicated that everything was "going abt as usual," an innocuous phrase which hid the frustrations of his life. His career had stagnated, money was short, and he was still living at home. His mother thought he looked "bad" and needed "a month of leave from all cares and anxieties"; she noted, too, that he suffered "nervous spells sometimes and is quite moody" (Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to Walt Whitman, June 7, 1866, and January 17, 1867 [Trent Collection, William R. Perkins Library, Duke University]). Jeff's depression must have worsened on March 15, 1867, when he attended the funeral of his good friend Dr. Edward Ruggles, whose absence he would long lament (see Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walt Whitman, 12 July 1868).In the month following this low point, Jeff's life changed abruptly. On March 26, James P. Kirkwood, his former boss in Brooklyn, recommended that Jeff replace him as chief engineer of the new St. Louis Water Works, a system Kirkwood had designed for the state Board of Water Commissioners and the city council. By April an offer had been made and Jeff discussed it with William Douglas O'Connor. O'Connor quickly relayed this information to Walt who urged his brother "to accept the offer, & go, by all means" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961-77], 1:326).
Jeff reported for work in St. Louis on May 7, 1867. He was initially uncertain whether this would be a permanent move: he left Mattie and the children in the East and asked Walt to visit only "if I stay here long." But he liked the energetic young city, the companionship of prominent men like Henry Flad, the excitement of a large project, and the improved salary—in Brooklyn he made two hundred dollars per month, in St. Louis three hundred and thirty. Quickly he assumed the responsibilities that would dominate the next twenty years of his life, the task of building and supervising a waterworks as extensive as that in Brooklyn.
The plans called for drawing muddy water from the Mississippi, allowing it to settle in reservoirs, and then pumping it into a sprawling distribution system. Partly because the city council had rejected Kirkwood's original location for the works and insisted on a less expensive site nearer the city, Jeff was plagued with such problems as poor soil for foundations and periodic flooding from the river. By drawing freely on the expertise of his old friend Joseph P. Davis and the government publications sent him by William Douglas O'Connor, he overcame these obstacles and completed the job on schedule in 1871.
In the spring of 1872, after consulting with numerous doctors in St. Louis and the East, Mattie learned that she had cancer. Jeff's letters from this period provide a detailed account of her struggle with and death from the disease. Jeff hoped that Mother Whitman and Walt would visit, partly to ease the emotional strain and partly because he knew they had little time to see Mattie. Illness, however, prevented such visits, and Jeff and the girls were left alone to cope with the death. As Hattie wrote Walt two days after her mother's funeral, "Every body is very kind out here but if one of you could only be here it would be so pleasant for Papa. Dear Papa feels so badly" (February 24, 1873 [Walt Whitman Papers, Library of Congress]). On September 10, 1879, Walt departed from Camden on a western jaunt to participate in the Old Settlers' Quarter Centennial Celebration near Lawrence, Kansas. The poet travelled in the company of the Philadelphia publisher John W. Forney and newspapermen J. M. W. Geist, E. K. Martin, and W. W. Reitzel. By September 12 the group had reached St. Louis, where Jeff guided them on a tour of the city. According to Geist, "nothing interested us more than an inspection of the Water Works....As we went down the winding stairs with the great deep pit below the bed of the river, and viewed the herculean workings of these ponderous machines, we felt like taking off our hats in reverence to the engineering and mechanical skill which were personified in those masses of immovable stone and animated iron and steel." Geist judged Jeff's water tower to be "the only beautiful...standpipe...I have ever seen. It is a perfect copy of the classic Corinthian column on a collasal [sic] scale" (Daily New Era [Lancaster, Pennsylvania], September 17, 1879).Although Geist's paean may today sound excessive, he was giving voice to the widespread nineteenth-century excitement about the advances of science. Walt, too, marvelled at the engineering achievements of St. Louis, particularly the Eads Bridge: "I dont believe there can be a grander thing of the kind on earth" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961-77], 3:172); "It is indeed a structure of perfection and beauty unsurpassable, and I never tire of it" (Floyd Stovall, ed., Walt Whitman: Prose Works 1892 [New York: New York University Press, 1963-64], 1:229). Surprisingly, the poet left no record of his reaction to Jeff's waterworks, an omission which seems especially odd when compared with Geist's enthusiasm.
After his one-day stop in St. Louis, Walt travelled as far west as the Rockies and then returned to St. Louis, tired and ill, on September 27. He recuperated during a three-month visit with Jeff and the girls, but there were some difficulties: he was irritated by Hattie's piano playing and troubled by a shortage of money (See Jessie Whitman's interview with Garrett Newkirk, Fansler Collection, Northwestern University, and Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman [New York: Macmillan, 1955; rev. ed., New York University Press, 1967], p. 489). Nonetheless, Walt and Jefff seem to have enjoyed their first extended visit in over a decade.
On March 7, 1863, while the Ninth Army Corps was still encamped at Newport News, Virginia, George Whitman was finally granted a furlough for ten days. His arrival at the Whitman residence the following night after a sixteen-month absence was recorded by his brother Jeff in a letter to Walt Whitman, dated March 9, 1863: "He arrived home about 11 Oclk on Saturday night but we all happened to be abed and he did not wake us up but went to his room and made himself shown about 8 ock in the morning...." Jeff added that George looked healthy but "played out as regards clothes..." On March 17, Captain Whitman left Brooklyn to return to Newport News. Arriving on March 19, 1863, he found his regiment—as a part of Burnside's Ninth Army—preparing for a journey to the midwestern states. After General Burnside had transferred the command of the Army of the Potomac to General Hooker, he was assigned command of the Department of Ohio, a military territory which included Ohio and several adjacent states. The Ninth Corps departed for this region on March 26, 1863. Proceeding first by steamboat (the Fifty-First New York aboard the John Brooks) to Baltimore, the Army moved then by train through Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on March 29, 1863, and Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio, on March 30, 1863, where it boarded a ferry for Covington, Kentucky. The next day Burnside's army again traveled by train and arrived at Paris, Kentucky, on April 1, 1863. From sometime in September 1861 until September 6, 1863, George Whitman recorded his war experiences in a pocket diary. After he was captured on September 30, 1864, the diary was among the contents of a trunk sent on to his mother's home in Brooklyn, where it arrived on December 26, 1864. Walt Whitman read the diary and recorded the following thoughts in his own diary for that day:"It is merely a skeleton of dates, voyages, places camped in or marched through, battles fought, &c. But I can realize clearly that by calling upon even a tithe of myriads of living & actual facts, which go along with, & fill up this dry list of times & places, it would outvie all the romances in the world, & most of the famous histories & biographies to boot. It does not need calling in play the imagination to see that in such a record as this lies folded a perfect poem of the war comprehending all its phases, its passions, the fierce tug of the secessionists, the interminable fibre of the national union, all the special hues & characteristic forms & pictures of actual battles with colors flying, rifles snapping, cannon thundering, grape whiring, armies struggling, ships at sea or bombarding shore batteries, skirmishes in woods, great pitched battles, & all the profound scenes of individual death, courage, endurance & superbest hardihood, & splendid muscular wrestle of a newer large race of human giants with all furious passions aroused on one side, & the sternness of an unalterable determination on the other" (Manuscripts of Walt Whitman in the Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University; reprinted in the Introduction to Roy P. Basler, ed., Walt Whitman's "Memoranda During the War" and "Death of Abraham Lincoln" (1962), p. 17. Thayer and Eldridge was a Boston publishing firm responsible for the third edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1860). For more on Whitman's relationship with Thayer and Eldridge, see "Thayer, William Wilde (1829–1896) and Charles W. Eldridge (1837–1903)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Thayer and Eldridge was a Boston publishing firm responsible for the third edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1860). For more on Whitman's relationship with Thayer and Eldridge see "Thayer, William Wilde (1829–1896) and Charles W. Eldridge (1837–1903)." Thayer and Eldridge was a Boston publishing firm responsible for the third edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1860). For more on Whitman's relationship with Thayer and Eldridge see "Thayer, William Wilde (1829–1896) and Charles W. Eldridge (1837–1903)." Thayer and Eldridge was a Boston publishing firm responsible for the third edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1860). For more on Whitman's relationship with Thayer and Eldridge see "Thayer, William Wilde (1829–1896) and Charles W. Eldridge (1837–1903)." Thayer and Eldridge was a Boston publishing firm responsible for the third edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1860). For more on Whitman's relationship with Thayer and Eldridge see "Thayer, William Wilde (1829–1896) and Charles W. Eldridge (1837–1903)." Fred Vaughan was a young Irish stage driver with whom Whitman had an intense relationship during the late 1850's. For discussion of Vaughan's relationship with Whitman, see Jonathan Ned Katz, Love Stories: Sex between Men before Homosexuality (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001), 123–132; Charley Shively, Calamus Lovers: Walt Whitman's Working-Class Camerados (San Francisco: Gay Sunshine Press, 1987), 36–50; Ed Folsom and Kenneth M. Price, Re-Scripting Walt Whitman: An Introduction to His Life and Work, "Chapter 4: Intimate Script and the New American Bible: "Calamus" and the Making of the 1860 Leaves of Grass." Charles Hine (1827–1871) was a portrait and figure painter best know for his nude figure entitled Sleep. Fred Vaughan was a young Irish stage driver with whom Whitman had an intense relationship during the late 1850's. For discussion of Vaughan's relationship with Whitman, see Jonathan Ned Katz, Love Stories: Sex between Men before Homosexuality (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001), 123–132; Charley Shively, Calamus Lovers: Walt Whitman's Working-Class Camerados (San Francisco: Gay Sunshine Press, 1987), 36–50; Ed Folsom and Kenneth M. Price, Re-Scripting Walt Whitman: An Introduction to His Life and Work, "Chapter 4: Intimate Script and the New American Bible: "Calamus" and the Making of the 1860 Leaves of Grass." Henry Clapp (1814–1875) was a journalist, editor and reformer. Whitman and Clapp most likely met in Charles Pfaff's beer cellar, located in lower Manhattan. Clapp, who founded the literary weekly the New-York Saturday Press in 1858, was instrumental in promoting Whitman's poetry and celebrity; over twenty items on Whitman appeared in the Press before the periodical folded in 1860. Clapp told Horace Traubel, "You will have to know something about Henry Clapp if you want to know all about me." (For Whitman's thoughts on Clapp see With Walt Whitman in Camden, "Sunday, May 27, 1888". Fred Vaughan was a young Irish stage driver with whom Whitman had an intense relationship during the late 1850's. For discussion of Vaughan's relationship with Whitman, see Jonathan Ned Katz, Love Stories: Sex between Men before Homosexuality (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001), 123–132; Charley Shively, Calamus Lovers: Walt Whitman's Working-Class Camerados (San Francisco: Gay Sunshine Press, 1987), 36–50; Ed Folsom and Kenneth M. Price, Re-Scripting Walt Whitman: An Introduction to His Life and Work, "Chapter 4: Intimate Script and the New American Bible: "Calamus" and the Making of the 1860 Leaves of Grass." Fred Vaughan was a young Irish stage driver with whom Whitman had an intense relationship during the late 1850s. For discussion of Vaughan's relationship with Whitman, see Jonathan Ned Katz, Love Stories: Sex between Men before Homosexuality (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001), 123–132; Charley Shively, Calamus Lovers: Walt Whitman's Working-Class Camerados (San Francisco: Gay Sunshine Press, 1987), 36–50; Ed Folsom and Kenneth M. Price, Re-Scripting Walt Whitman: An Introduction to His Life and Work, "Chapter 4: Intimate Script and the New American Bible: "Calamus" and the Making of the 1860 Leaves of Grass." Fred Vaughan was a young Irish stage driver with whom Whitman had an intense relationship during the late 1850's. For discussion of Vaughan's relationship with Whitman, see Jonathan Ned Katz, Love Stories: Sex between Men before Homosexuality (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001), 123–132; Charley Shively, Calamus Lovers: Walt Whitman's Working-Class Camerados (San Francisco: Gay Sunshine Press, 1987), 36–50; Ed Folsom and Kenneth M. Price, Re-Scripting Walt Whitman: An Introduction to His Life and Work, "Chapter 4: Intimate Script and the New American Bible: "Calamus" and the Making of the 1860 Leaves of Grass." Fred Vaughan was a young Irish stage driver with whom Whitman had an intense relationship during the late 1850's. For discussion of Vaughan's relationship with Whitman, see Jonathan Ned Katz, Love Stories: Sex between Men before Homosexuality (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001), 123–132; Charley Shively, Calamus Lovers: Walt Whitman's Working-Class Camerados (San Francisco: Gay Sunshine Press, 1987), 36–50; Ed Folsom and Kenneth M. Price, Re-Scripting Walt Whitman: An Introduction to His Life and Work, "Chapter 4: Intimate Script and the New American Bible: "Calamus" and the Making of the 1860 Leaves of Grass." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Care Thayer & Eldridge | Publishers | Boston Mass. It is postmarked: New-York | May 18 | 1860. The envelope includes the printed address of the Manhattan Express Company's General Office (168 Broadway, N. Y.). Vaughan worked for the company in 1860. Fred Vaughan was a young Irish stage driver with whom Whitman had an intense relationship during the late 1850's. For discussion of Vaughan's relationship with Whitman, see Jonathan Ned Katz, Love Stories: Sex between Men before Homosexuality (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001), 123–132; Charley Shively, Calamus Lovers: Walt Whitman's Working-Class Camerados (San Francisco: Gay Sunshine Press, 1987), 36–50; Ed Folsom and Kenneth M. Price, Re-Scripting Walt Whitman: An Introduction to His Life and Work, "Chapter 4: Intimate Script and the New American Bible: "Calamus" and the Making of the 1860 Leaves of Grass." Thayer and Eldridge was the Boston publishing firm responsible for the third edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1860). For more on Whitman's relationship with Thayer and Eldridge see "Thayer, William Wilde [1829–1896] and Charles W. Eldridge [1837–1903]." William Wilde Thayer was one half of Thayer and Eldridge, the Boston publishing firm responsible for the third edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1860). For more on Whitman's relationship with Thayer and Eldridge see "Thayer, William Wilde [1829–1896] and Charles W. Eldridge [1837–1903]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings [New York: Garland Publishing, 1998]). Thayer and Eldridge was the Boston publishing firm responsible for the third edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1860). For more on Whitman's relationship with Thayer and Eldridge see "Thayer, William Wilde (1829–1896) and Charles W. Eldridge (1837–1903)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings [New York: Garland Publishing, 1998]). Thayer and Eldridge was the Boston publishing firm responsible for the third edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1860). For more on Whitman's relationship with Thayer and Eldridge see "Thayer, William Wilde (1829–1896) and Charles W. Eldridge (1837–1903)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings [New York: Garland Publishing, 1998]). Thayer and Eldridge was the Boston publishing firm responsible for the third edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1860). For more on Whitman's relationship with Thayer and Eldridge see "Thayer, William Wilde (1829–1896) and Charles W. Eldridge (1837–1903)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings [New York: Garland Publishing, 1998]). Thayer and Eldridge was the Boston publishing firm responsible for the third edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1860). For more on Whitman's relationship with Thayer and Eldridge see "Thayer, William Wilde (1829–1896) and Charles W. Eldridge (1837–1903)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings [New York: Garland Publishing, 1998]). Thayer and Eldridge was the Boston publishing firm responsible for the third edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1860). For more on Whitman's relationship with Thayer and Eldridge see "Thayer, William Wilde (1829–1896) and Charles W. Eldridge (1837–1903)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings [New York: Garland Publishing, 1998]). Thayer and Eldridge was the Boston publishing firm responsible for the third edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1860). For more on Whitman's relationship with Thayer and Eldridge see "Thayer, William Wilde (1829–1896) and Charles W. Eldridge (1837–1903)." Thayer and Eldridge was the Boston publishing firm responsible for the third edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1860). For more on Whitman's relationship with Thayer and Eldridge, see David Breckenridge Donlon, "Thayer, William Wilde (1829–1896) and Charles W. Eldridge (1837–1903)." Jewell and Kendall were collecting for Thayer and Eldridge's debtors. Thayer and Eldridge was a Boston publishing firm responsible for the third edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1860). For more on Whitman's relationship with Thayer and Eldridge see "Thayer, William Wilde [1829–1896] and Charles W. Eldridge [1837–1903]." William Wilde Thayer was part owner of Thayer and Eldridge, the Boston publishing firm responsible for the third edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1860). For more on Whitman's relationship with Thayer and Eldridge see "Thayer, William Wilde [1829–1896] and Charles W. Eldridge [1837–1903]." James Russell Lowell had been the editor at the Atlantic Monthly when Whitman published there in 1860. Unbeknownst to Whitman, however, James T. Fields, partner in the Atlantic's publisher Ticknor & Fields, took over the editorship of the magazine in May 1861 as a cost-saving measure. The Atlantic did not publish a list of its editors, and Whitman was not the only writer to submit to Lowell in error. On October 8, Lowell wrote to Fields promising some of his own work soon and enclosing "an article by Mr. S. A. Eliot—and three [poems] from Walt Whitman. '1861' he says is $20. the others $8. each." Two days later, Whitman received an impersonal reply—signed only "Editors of the Atlantic Monthly"—returning "the three poems with which you have favored us, but which we could not possibly use before their interest,—which is of the present,—would have passed." Silas S. Soule (1838–1865) was raised by an abolitionist father, Amasa Soule, who moved the Soule family to Kansas to help fight for Kansas's anti-slavery status. With his father and brother William, Silas was a member of the "Jayhawkers," a band of abolitionists who assisted slaves through the Underground Railroad. Silas was among the Kansas team assembled and brought to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania by Richard Swinton to break John Brown's accomplices Albert Hazlett and Aaron Stevens out of jail in Charlestown, Virginia (now West Virginia). In Harrisburg he would have met William W. Thayer, who helped Richard Hinton and Thomas Wentworth Higginson plan the jailbreak. On February 18, 1860, Soule went to Charlestown from Harrisburg and faked public intoxication in order to be imprisoned in the same jail as Hazlett and Stevens, only to be talked out of the jailbreak by them. Soule attended a public memorial for Hazlett and Stevens in Boston, where Thayer and Eldridge were in attendance. After the death of his father in 1860, Soule followed the gold rush to Denver, but enlisted in the Union army as soon as news of the war reached him. In 1864 Soule defied orders by refusing to join Colonel John M. Chivington's attack on a group of unarmed Native Americans, which later came to be known as the Sand Creek Massacre. Soule would later testify against Chivington in hearings in Denver. Soule married Hersa Coberly, the daughter of a pioneer family, on April 1, 1865. Three weeks later he was murdered on the streets of downtown Denver by a private from the Second Colorado infantry and an accomplice. Silas S. Soule (1838-1865) was raised by an abolitionist father, Amasa Soule, who moved the Soule family to Kansas to help fight for Kansas's anti-slavery status. With his father and brother William, Silas was a member of the "Jayhawkers," a band of abolitionists who assisted slaves through the Underground Railroad. Silas was among the Kansas team assembled and brought to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania by Richard Swinton to break John Brown's accomplices Albert Hazlett and Aaron Stevens out of jail in Charlestown, Virginia (now West Virginia). In Harrisburg he would have met William W. Thayer, who helped Richard Hinton and Thomas Wentworth Higginson plan the jailbreak. On February 18, 1860, Soule went to Charlestown from Harrisburg and faked public intoxication in order to be imprisoned in the same jail as Hazlett and Stevens, only to be talked out of the jailbreak by them. Soule attended a public memorial for Hazlett and Stevens in Boston, where Thayer and Eldridge were in attendance. After the death of his father in 1860, Soule followed the gold rush to Denver, but enlisted in the Union army as soon as news of the war reached him. In 1864 Soule defied orders by refusing to join Colonel John M. Chivington's attack on a group of unarmed native americans, which later came to be known as the Sand Creek Massacre. Soule would later testify against Chivington in hearings in Denver. Soule married Hersa Coberly, the daughter of a pioneer family, on April 1, 1865. Three weeks later he was murdered on the streets of downtown Denver by a private from the Second Colarado infantry and an accomplice. "Ellen Eyre" was one of conman William Kinney's various pseudonyms. In 1862 Kinney managed to establish a fraudulent medical practice on Broadway between 8th and 9th under the name "Dr. B. Coffin." Running his scam as Dr. Coffin during the day, Kinney's evenings were spent posing as "Mrs. Ellen Eyre." As Eyre, Kinney would send letters to prominent men in New York; the men would agree to meet Eyre at the time and place appointed by her in the letter. As Ted Genoways notes, "What exactly transpired thereafter is veiled in niceties of the period, but the letters from several suitors, published later in the Sunday Mercury, are highly suggestive. One invited Eyre for some 'twilight entertainment,' another thanked her for 'your "loving kindness" at our last meeting.' One man, offended at being asked for money, wrote that he never considered 'our tender relations in the light of a financial operation.'" Kinney was eventually arrested after a sting operation exposed Ellen Eyre's true identity: Kinney performing sexual favors dressed as a woman and later blackmailing men to keep the affair discrete. For further discussion of Ellen Eyre's identity and Kinney's interaction with Whitman consult Ted Genoways, Walt Whitman and the Civil War (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009), 154–159. Fred Vaughan was a young Irish stage driver with whom Whitman had an intense relationship during the late 1850's. For discussion of Vaughan's relationship with Whitman, see Jonathan Ned Katz, Love Stories: Sex between Men before Homosexuality (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001), 123–132; Charley Shively, Calamus Lovers: Walt Whitman's Working-Class Camerados (San Francisco: Gay Sunshine Press, 1987), 36–50; Ed Folsom and Kenneth M. Price, Re-Scripting Walt Whitman: An Introduction to His Life and Work, "Chapter 4: Intimate Script and the New American Bible: "Calamus" and the Making of the 1860 Leaves of Grass." William Wilde Thayer of Thayer and Eldridge, the Boston publishing firm responsible for the third edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1860). For more on Whitman's relationship with Thayer and Eldridge see "Thayer, William Wilde (1829–1896) and Charles W. Eldridge (1837–1903)." Silas S. Soule (1838–1865) was raised by an abolitionist father, Amasa Soule, who moved the Soule family to Kansas to help fight for Kansas's anti-slavery status. With his father and brother William, Silas was a member of the "Jayhawkers," a band of abolitionists who assisted slaves through the Underground Railroad. Silas was among the Kansas team assembled and brought to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania by Richard Swinton to break John Brown's accomplices Albert Hazlett and Aaron Stevens out of jail in Charlestown, Virginia (now West Virginia). In Harrisburg he would have met William W. Thayer, who helped Richard Hinton and Thomas Wentworth Higginson plan the jailbreak. On February 18, 1860, Soule went to Charlestown from Harrisburg and faked public intoxication in order to be imprisoned in the same jail as Hazlett and Stevens, only to be talked out of the jailbreak by them. Soule attended a public memorial for Hazlett and Stevens in Boston, where Thayer and Eldridge were in attendance. After the death of his father in 1860, Soule followed the gold rush to Denver, but enlisted in the Union army as soon as news of the war reached him. In 1864 Soule defied orders by refusing to join Colonel John M. Chivington's attack on a group of unarmed Native Americans, which later came to be known as the Sand Creek Massacre. Soule would later testify against Chivington in hearings in Denver. Soule married Hersa Coberly, the daughter of a pioneer family, on April 1, 1865. Three weeks later he was murdered on the streets of downtown Denver by a private from the Second Colarado infantry and an accomplice. John Swinton (1829-1901), managing editor of the New York Times, frequented Pfaff's beer cellar, where he probably met Whitman. On January 23, 1874 (Whitman said "1884"), Swinton wrote what the poet termed "almost like a love letter": "It was perhaps the very day of the publication of the first edition of the 'Leaves of Grass' that I saw a copy of it at a newspaper stand in Fulton street, Brooklyn. I got it, looked into it with wonder, and felt that here was something that touched on depths of my humanity. Since then you have grown before me, grown around me, and grown into me" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, [New York: Rowan and Littlefield, 1905], 1:24). He praised Whitman in the New York Herald on April 1, 1876 (reprinted in Richard Maurice Bucke, Walt Whitman [Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883], 36-37). Swinton was in 1874 a candidate of the Industrial Political Party for the mayoralty of New York. From 1875 to 1883, he was with the New York Sun, and for the next four years edited the weekly labor journal, John Swinton's Paper. When this publication folded, he returned to the Sun. See Robert Waters, Career and Conversations of John Swinton (Chicago, 1902), and Meyer Berger, The History of The New York Times, 1851-1951 (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1951), 250-251. Will W. Wallace was a hospital steward at a Union hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. Whitman probably met him in Campbell Hospital. Will W. Wallace was a hospital steward at a Union hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. Whitman probably met him in Campbell Hospital. Bethuel Smith, Company F, Second U.S. Cavalry, was wounded in 1863. He wrote to Whitman on September 17, 1863, from the U.S. General Hospital at Carlisle, Pennsylanvia, "I left the armory hospital in somewhat of A hurry." He expected, he explained on September 28, 1863, to rejoin his regiment shortly, and was stationed near Washington when he wrote on October 13, 1863. He wrote on December 16, 1863, from Culpeper, Virginia, that he was doing provost duty, and on February 28, 1864, he was in a camp near Mitchell Station, Virginia, where "the duty is verry hard." He was wounded again on June 11 (so his parents reported to Whitman on August 29, 1864), was transported to Washington, and went home on furlough on July 1. He returned on August 14 to Finley Hospital, where, on August 30, 1864, he wrote to Whitman: "I would like to see you verry much, I have drempt of you often & thought of you oftener still." He expected to leave the next day for Carlisle Barracks to be mustered out, and on October 22, 1864, he wrote to Whitman from Queensbury, New York. When his parents communicated with Walt Whitman on January 26, 1865, Bethuel was well enough to perform tasks on the farm. Smith was one of the soldiers to whom Whitman wrote ten years later; see Whitman's letter to Bethuel Smith, December 1874 (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence, 6 vols. [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:318–319). Bethuel Smith, Company F, Second U.S. Cavalry, was wounded in 1863. He expected, he explained on September 28, 1863, to rejoin his regiment shortly, and was stationed near Washington when he wrote on October 13, 1863. He wrote on December 16, 1863, from Culpeper, Virginia, that he was doing provost duty, and on February 28, 1864, he was in a camp near Mitchell Station, Virginia, where "the duty is verry hard." He was wounded again on June 11 (so his parents reported to Whitman on August 29, 1864), was transported to Washington, and went home on furlough on July 1. He returned on August 14 to Finley Hospital, where, on August 30, 1864, he wrote to Whitman: "I would like to see you verry much, I have drempt of you often & thought of you oftener still." He expected to leave the next day for Carlisle Barracks to be mustered out, and on October 22, 1864, he wrote to Whitman from Queensbury, New York. When his parents communicated with Walt Whitman on January 26, 1865, Bethuel was well enough to perform tasks on the farm. Smith was one of the soldiers to whom Whitman wrote ten years later; see Whitman's letter to Bethuel Smith, December 1874 (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence, 6 vols. [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:318–319). Bethuel Smith, Company F, Second U.S. Cavalry, was wounded in 1863. He wrote to Whitman on September 17, 1863, from the U.S. General Hospital at Carlisle, Pennsylanvia, "I left the armory hospital in somewhat of A hurry." He was stationed near Washington when he wrote on October 13, 1863. He wrote on December 16, 1863, from Culpeper, Virginia, that he was doing provost duty, and on February 28, 1864, he was in a camp near Mitchell Station, Virginia, where "the duty is verry hard." He was wounded again on June 11 (so his parents reported to Whitman on August 29, 1864), was transported to Washington, and went home on furlough on July 1. He returned on August 14 to Finley Hospital, where, on August 30, 1864, he wrote to Whitman: "I would like to see you verry much, I have drempt of you often & thought of you oftener still." He expected to leave the next day for Carlisle Barracks to be mustered out, and on October 22, 1864, he wrote to Whitman from Queensbury, New York. When his parents communicated with Walt Whitman on January 26, 1865, Bethuel was well enough to perform tasks on the farm. Smith was one of the soldiers to whom Whitman wrote ten years later; see Whitman's letter to Bethuel Smith, December 1874 (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence, 6 vols. [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:318–319). Elijah Douglass Fox was a Union soldier in the Third Infantry Wisconsin. At the time of his enlistment in May 1861, he resided in Buena Vista, Wisconsin. According to the "Notebook: September–October, 1863" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection), Fox was brought to Armory Square Hospital on September 26, 1863; it was here where he met Walt Whitman. He was discharged from the Union army on November 10, 1863, due to disability. Bethuel Smith, Company F, Second U.S. Cavalry, was wounded in 1863. He wrote to Whitman on September 17, 1863, from the U.S. General Hospital at Carlisle, Pennsylanvia, "I left the armory hospital in somewhat of A hurry." He expected, he explained on September 28, 1863, to rejoin his regiment shortly, and was stationed near Washington when he wrote on October 13, 1863. He wrote on February 28, 1864, that he was in a camp near Mitchell Station, Virginia, where "the duty is verry hard." He was wounded again on June 11 (so his parents reported to Whitman on August 29, 1864), was transported to Washington, and went home on furlough on July 1. He returned on August 14 to Finley Hospital, where, on August 30, 1864, he wrote to Whitman: "I would like to see you verry much, I have drempt of you often & thought of you oftener still." He expected to leave the next day for Carlisle Barracks to be mustered out, and on October 22, 1864, he wrote to Whitman from Queensbury, New York. When his parents communicated with Walt Whitman on January 26, 1865, Bethuel was well enough to perform tasks on the farm. Smith was one of the soldiers to whom Whitman wrote ten years later; see Whitman's letter to Bethuel Smith, December 1874 (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence, 6 vols. [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:318–319). Bethuel Smith, Company F, Second U. S. Cavalry, was wounded in 1863. He wrote to Walt Whitman on September 17, from the U. S. General Hospital at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, "I left the armory hospital in somewhat of A hurry." He expected, he explained on September 28, to rejoin his regiment shortly, and was stationed near Washington when he wrote on October 13. He wrote on December 16, from Culpepper, Virginia, that he was doing provost duty, and on February 28, 1864, he was in a camp near Mitchell Station, Virginia, where "the duty is verry hard." He was wounded again on June 11, so his parents reported to Whitman (August 29), was transported to Washington, and went home on furlough on July 1. He returned on August 14 to Finley Hospital, where, on August 30, he wrote to Whitman: "I would like to see you verry much, I have drempt of you often & thought of you oftener still." He expected to leave the next day for Carlisle Barracks to be mustered out, and on October 22 he wrote to Whitman from Queensbury, New York. When his parents communicated with Walt Whitman on January 26, 1865, Bethuel was well enough to perform tasks on the farm. (These letters are in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection.) Smith was one of the soldiers to whom Whitman wrote ten years later; see Walt Whitman to Bethuel Smith, December 1874 (Correspondence, 2: 318–319). Christopher and Maria Smith were the parents of Bethuel Smith, Company F, Second U.S. Cavalry, who was wounded in 1863 and met Whitman shortly after. He wrote to Whitman on September 17, 1863, from the U.S. General Hospital at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, "I left the armory hospital in somewhat of A hurry." He expected, he explained on September 28, 1863, to rejoin his regiment shortly, and was stationed near Washington when he wrote on October 13, 1863. He wrote on December 16, 1863, from Culpeper, Virginia, that he was doing provost duty, and on February 28, 1864, he was in a camp near Mitchell Station, Virginia, where "the duty is verry hard." He was wounded again on June 11, 1864, as this letter states. He was transported to Washington, and went home on furlough on July 1. He returned on August 14 to Finley Hospital, where, on August 30, 1864, he wrote to Whitman: "I would like to see you verry much, I have drempt of you often & thought of you oftener still." He expected to leave the next day for Carlisle Barracks to be mustered out, and on October 22, 1864, he wrote to Whitman from Queensbury, N.Y. When his parents communicated with Walt Whitman on January 26, 1865, Bethuel was well enough to perform tasks on the farm. Smith was one of the soldiers to whom Whitman wrote ten years later; see Walt Whitman to Bethuel Smith, December 1874 (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:318–319). Christopher and Maria Smith were the parents of Bethuel Smith, Company F, Second U.S. Cavalry, who was wounded in 1863 and met Whitman shortly after. He wrote to Whitman on September 17, 1863, from the U.S. General Hospital at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, "I left the armory hospital in somewhat of A hurry." He expected, he explained on September 28, 1863, to rejoin his regiment shortly, and was stationed near Washington when he wrote on October 13, 1863. He wrote on December 16, 1863, from Culpeper, Virginia, that he was doing provost duty, and on February 28, 1864, he was in a camp near Mitchell Station, Virginia, where "the duty is verry hard." He was wounded again on June 11, 1864 (so his parents reported to Whitman on August 29, 1864), was transported to Washington, and went home on furlough on July 1. He returned on August 14 to Finley Hospital, where, on August 30, 1864, he wrote to Whitman: "I would like to see you verry much, I have drempt of you often & thought of you oftener still." He expected to leave the next day for Carlisle Barracks to be mustered out, and on October 22, 1864, he wrote to Whitman from Queensbury, N.Y. When his parents communicated with Walt Whitman on January 26, 1865, Bethuel was well enough to perform tasks on the farm. Smith was one of the soldiers to whom Whitman wrote ten years later; see Walt Whitman to Bethuel Smith, December 1874 (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:318–319). Christopher and Maria Smith were the parents of Bethuel Smith, Company F, Second U. S. Cavalry, who was wounded in 1863. All that is known about Alfred Pratt is contained in this letter and those of June 10, 1865, August 26, 1865, September 27, 1866, January 29, 1867, July 25, 1867, October 28, 1867, July 1, 1869, and January 20, 1870. Anson Ryder, Jr., a soldier, had apparently left Armory Square Hospital and returned to his family at Cedar Lake, New York, accompanied by another injured soldier named Wood (probably Calvin B. Wood; see Edward F. Grier, ed., Notes and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts [New York: New York University Press, 1961–1984], 6:673). Anson Ryder, Jr., a soldier, had apparently left Armory Square Hospital and returned to his family at Cedar Lake, New York, accompanied by another injured soldier named Wood (probably Calvin B. Wood; see Edward F. Grier, ed., Notes and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts [New York: New York University Press, 1961–1984], 6:673). Whitman corresponded with Byron Sutherland, a soldier, between 1865 and 1870. On September 20, 1868, he wrote to Sutherland: "I retain just the same friendship I formed for you the short time we were together, (but intimate,) in 1865" (Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library; Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:44–45). Anson Ryder, Jr., a soldier, had apparently left Armory Square Hospital and returned to his family at Cedar Lake, New York. The friendship of Whitman with Wilson,a former soldier, can be reconstructed from Wilson's letters in the Feinberg Collection. On July 18, 1869, Wilson recalled his confinement in Armory Square Hospital (see Whitman's 8-9 November 1863), "when your kind face & pleasant words cheered the soldier Boys & won their hearts. I never shall forget the first time you came in after David & I got there. We Loved you from the first time we spoke to you." In Wilson's first letter, written on November 11, 1865, he began: "I suppose you will think that I have forgotten you long before this time but I have not, your kindness to me while in the hospital will never be forgotten by me." After a lapse in the correspondence, he wrote on December 16, 1866: "I wish if aggreable to yourself to keep up a regular correspondence between us . . . I think it will be of benefit to me morally and perhaps will not be of any detriment to you." In this letter he admitted that he had just discovered that Whitman was a poet. On January 27, 1867, he informed Whitman that he had been reading Leaves of Grass, but complained: "I wrote to you a year and more ago that I was married but did not receive any reply, so I did not know but you was displeased with it"; he concluded the letter: "I remain as ever your | Boy Friend | with Love | Benton H. Wilson." Whitman replied (lost), and sent William D. O'Connor's The Good Gray Poet, which Wilson acknowledged on February 3. On April 7, 1867, after he informed Whitman that his wife had gone to the hospital for her first confinement (the child was to be named Walt Whitman), he complained: "I am poor and am proud of it but I hope to rise by honesty and industry. I am a married man but I am not happy for my disposition is not right. I have got a good Woman and I love her dearly but I seem to lack patience or something. I think I had ought to live alone, but I had not ought to feel so." On April 21, Wilson acknowledged Whitman's reply of April 12: "I do not want you to misunderstand my motives in writing to you of my Situation & feelings as I did in my last letter or else I shall have to be more guarded in my letters to you. I wrote so because you wanted me to write how I was situated, and give you my mind without reserve, and all that I want is your advice and Love, and I do not consider it cold lecture or dry advice. I wish you to write to me just as you feel & express yourself and advise as freely as you wish and will be satisfied." On September 15, Wilson wondered why Whitman had not replied. See also Whitman's letter to Benton H. Wilson from April 15, 1870 (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–69], 1:182–184). The friendship of Whitman with this former soldier can be reconstructed from Wilson's letters in the Feinberg Collection. On July 18, 1869, Wilson recalled his confinement in Armory Square Hospital (see Whitman's November 8-9, 1863), "when your kind face & pleasant words cheered the soldier Boys & won their hearts. I never shall forget the first time you came in after David & I got there. We Loved you from the first time we spoke to you." In Wilson's first letter, written on November 11, 1865, he began: "I suppose you will think that I have forgotten you long before this time but I have not, your kindness to me while in the hospital will never be forgotten by me." After a lapse in the correspondence, he wrote on December 16, 1866: "I wish if aggreable to yourself to keep up a regular correspondence between us . . . I think it will be of benefit to me morally and perhaps will not be of any detriment to you." In this letter he admitted that he had just discovered that Whitman was a poet. On January 27, 1867, he informed Whitman that he had been reading Leaves of Grass, but complained: "I wrote to you a year and more ago that I was married but did not receive any reply, so I did not know but you was displeased with it"; he concluded the letter: "I remain as ever your | Boy Friend | with Love | Benton H. Wilson." Whitman replied (lost), and sent William D. O'Connor's The Good Gray Poet, which Wilson acknowledged on February 3. On April 7, 1867, after he informed Whitman that his wife had gone to the hospital for her first confinement (the child was to be named Walt Whitman), he complained: "I am poor and am proud of it but I hope to rise by honesty and industry. I am a married man but I am not happy for my disposition is not right. I have got a good Woman and I love her dearly but I seem to lack patience or something. I think I had ought to live alone, but I had not ought to feel so." On April 21, Wilson acknowledged Whitman's reply of April 12: "I do not want you to misunderstand my motives in writing to you of my Situation & feelings as I did in my last letter or else I shall have to be more guarded in my letters to you. I wrote so because you wanted me to write how I was situated, and give you my mind without reserve, and all that I want is your advice and Love, and I do not consider it cold lecture or dry advice. I wish you to write to me just as you feel & express yourself and advise as freely as you wish and will be satisfied." On September 15, Wilson wondered why Whitman had not replied. See also Whitman's letter to Benton H. Wilson from April 15, 1870 (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–69], 1:182–184). Hugh B. Thomson, who may have been a patient at Armory Square Hospital between 1862 and 1863, also wrote to Whitman on July 22, 1869: "You will not remember the writer of this letter....I won't forget Walt Whitman. I have just read that you completed your half century. May you live to a ripe old age, loving and beloved. I was reading 'Drum Taps' last night, no man can depict Army life so vividly that had not spent his time amongst the boys" (Yale). See also Thomson's letter of December 5, 1866. The friendship of Whitman with this former soldier can be reconstructed from Wilson's letters in the Feinberg Collection. On July 18, 1869, Wilson recalled his confinement in Armory Square Hospital (see Whitman's letter of November 8–9, 1863), "when your kind face & pleasant words cheered the soldier Boys & won their hearts. I never shall forget the first time you came in after David & I got there. We Loved you from the first time we spoke to you." In Wilson's first letter, written on November 11, 1865, he began: "I suppose you will think that I have forgotten you long before this time but I have not, your kindness to me while in the hospital will never be forgotten by me." On January 27, 1867, he informed Whitman that he had been reading Leaves of Grass, but complained: "I wrote to you a year and more ago that I was married but did not receive any reply, so I did not know but you was displeased with it"; he concluded the letter: "I remain as ever your | Boy Friend | with Love | Benton H. Wilson." Whitman replied (lost), and sent William D. O'Connor's The Good Gray Poet, which Wilson acknowledged on February 3. On April 7, 1867, after he informed Whitman that his wife had gone to the hospital for her first confinement (the child was to be named Walt Whitman), he complained: "I am poor and am proud of it but I hope to rise by honesty and industry. I am a married man but I am not happy for my disposition is not right. I have got a good Woman and I love her dearly but I seem to lack patience or something. I think I had ought to live alone, but I had not ought to feel so." On April 21, Wilson acknowledged Whitman's reply of April 12: "I do not want you to misunderstand my motives in writing to you of my Situation & feelings as I did in my last letter or else I shall have to be more guarded in my letters to you. I wrote so because you wanted me to write how I was situated, and give you my mind without reserve, and all that I want is your advice and Love, and I do not consider it cold lecture or dry advice. I wish you to write to me just as you feel & express yourself and advise as freely as you wish and will be satisfied." On September 15, Wilson wondered why Whitman had not replied. See also Whitman's letter to Benton H. Wilson from April 15, 1870 (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–69], 1:182–184). For a time Whitman lived with William D. and Ellen O'Connor, who, with Eldridge and later Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the early Washington years. William D. O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of Harrington, an abolition novel published by Thayer & Eldridge in 1860. Ellen "Nelly" O'Connor, William's wife, had a close personal relationship with Whitman. In 1872 Whitman would walk out on a debate with William over the Fifteenth Amendment, which Whitman opposed and O'Connor supported. Ellen defended Whitman's opinion, and in response William established a separate residence. The correspondence between Whitman and Ellen is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence with William. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors see O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889). Garaphelia "Garry" Howard was one of Whitman's Washington friends. In a February 11, 1874, letter to Ellen O'Connor, Whitman describes Howard as "a good, tender girl—true as steel." Endorsed (by Walt Whitman): "Private note from Walt Whitman | To Editor Sunday Courier." Endorsed (by Walt Whitman): "Verbatim copy of answer | to Mr. Baker's note." This letter is addressed: Hon. W. H. Seward, | Secretary of State, | Washington, | D. C.Endorsed (by Walt Whitman): "R W Emerson | Jan '63."
The envelope for this letter bears the address: Walt Whitman, Esq. | Washington.
Endorsed (by Walt Whitman): "letter to | Moses Lane | May 11th 1863." Draft letter. Endorsed (by Walt Whitman): "for Mother." Draft Letter. Draft Letter. Endorsed (by Walt Whitman): "To Hugo | Aug 7 '63." Incomplete draft letter. Incomplete draft letter. Endorsed (by Walt Whitman): "Note to Miss Gregg." Draft Letter. Endorsed (by Walt Whitman): "letter ab't Jack Barker." Draft Letter. The letter is endorsed, "Sent Oct 1 1863 | to W S Davis | Worcester | Massachusetts." Draft Letter. Endorsed (by Walt Whitman): "Oct 5, '63. | Margarete S Curtis | care Charles P Curtis | Boston | Mass." Endorsed (by Walt Whitman): "To Hugo | Oct 8 '63." Endorsed (by Walt Whitman): "sent Oct 8 '63 | Hannah E Stevenson | 80 Temple st | Boston | Mass." Draft Letter. Endorsed (by Walt Whitman): "to J Redpath | Oct 12 | '63." The letter is endorsed, "to Margaret S Curtis | care Charles P Curtis | Boston | Mass | Oct. 28 '63 (about Caleb H | Babbitt." Draft Letter. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Lewis K Brown | Ward K Armory Square Hospital | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: N (?) | Nov | 9 | 1863. Endorsed (by Walt Whitman): "to Elijah Fox | Portage | Kalamazoo Co | Mich | sent Nov 22 '63." Draft Letter. Draft letter. Endorsed (by Walt Whitman): "for J P Kirkwood | 44 Union Square | New York City." Draft Letter. All that is known about Alfred Pratt is contained in this letter and those of June 10, 1865, August 7, 1865, September 27, 1866, January 29, 1867, July 25, 1867, October 28, 1867, July 1, 1869, and January 20, 1870. Frederick Baker, attorney at law, wrote on behalf of Lazarus Wineburgh, who bought a house on Cumberland Street from Whitman in 1854. See Whitman's response to Frederick Baker from April 24, 1860. See also Whitman's letter to Albert Johnston, March 27, 1882, mentioning the sale to Wineburgh. See also Cleveland Rogers, "The Good Gray House Builder," Walt Whitman Review 5.4 (December 1959), 63–69. "He sold the two-story house [on Cumberland Street] to Lazarus Wineburgh on 15 March 1854" (68). According to Joann Krieg's Chronology, Whitman built a house on Cumberland Street in Brooklyn in May 1852, and he sold the house in March of 1853. See Joann P. Krieg, A Whitman Chronology (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1998), 23. Celia M. Burr was a poet, literary editor, and a Cincinnati correspondent to the New York Tribune in the 1850s. Already divorced, she moved to Troy, New York, to serve as secretary and companion to Emma Willard at the Women's Seminary. Almost exactly six months after mailing this letter, Burr married a third time, to William Henry Burleigh, a writer of Unitarian hymns and then harbormaster of New York. After their marriage, Burr became active in the women's suffrage movement and, after Burleigh's death in 1871, was ordained as a minister in the Unitarian church. John Burroughs (1837–1921) first met Whitman on the streets of Washington, D.C., in 1864, even though Burroughs had frequented Pfaff's beer cellar, where he consistently defended Whitman's poetry, in 1862. After returning to Brooklyn in 1864, Whitman commenced what was to become a lifelong 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: Birds and Poets, (New York: Hurd and Houghton, 1877), Notes on Walt Whitman as Poet and Person (New York: American News Company, 1867), Whitman, A Study (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and company, 1896), and Accepting the Universe (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1920). For more information on John Burroughs see Burroughs, John [1837-1921] and Ursula [1836-1917]. John Burroughs (1837–1921) met Whitman on the streets of Washington, D.C., in 1864, even though Burroughs had frequented Pfaff's beer cellar, where he consistently defended Whitman's poetry, in 1862. After returning to Brooklyn in 1864, Whitman commenced what was to become a lifelong 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: Birds and Poets (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1877), Notes on Walt Whitman as Poet and Person (New York: American News Co., 1867), Whitman, A Study (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1896), and Accepting the Universe (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1920). For more information on Burroughs see Burroughs, John (1837–1921) and Ursula (1836–1917). On April 1, 1865, Whitman signed a contract with Peter Eckler to stereotype 500 copies of Drum-Taps for $254.00: "The workmanship is to be first class in every respect & to be completed, & the printed sheets delivered within one month from this date." The contract called for "one hundred & twenty pages," but since the book contained only 72 pages, Eckler submitted the enclosed bill for $192.85, of which $138.00 had been paid. According to Whitman's notations on the statement, he paid $20.00 on April 26 and again on May 2. Whitman sent another letter on May 3 in answer to Eckler's request of May 1 that the balance be paid. On May 4, Eckler issued a receipt for $34.85, and included a receipt from Coridon A. Alvord, printer, for the stereotype plates, which he had placed in his vault. On April 26, Eckler had informed Whitman that the book was "now to press" and would "be ready for the Binders next Monday morning." For details on the printing history and organization of Drum-Taps see Ted Genoways, "The Disorder of Drum-Taps," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 24 (Fall 2006/Winter 2007), 98–116. On April 1, 1865, Whitman signed a contract with Peter Eckler to stereotype 500 copies of Drum-Taps for $254.00: "The workmanship is to be first class in every respect & to be completed, & the printed sheets delivered within one month from this date." The contract called for "one hundred & twenty pages," but since the book contained only 72 pages, Eckler submitted on April 12 a bill for $192.85, of which $138.00 had been paid. According to Whitman's notations on the statement, he paid $20.00 on April 26 and again on May 2. Whitman sent another letter on May 3 in answer to Eckler's request of May 1 that the balance be paid. On May 4, Eckler issued a receipt for $34.85, and included a receipt from Coridon A. Alvord, printer, for the stereotype plates, which he had placed in his vault. On April 26, Eckler had informed Whitman that the book was "now to press" and would "be ready for the Binders next Monday morning." (For details on the printing history and organization of Drum-Taps see Ted Genoways, "The Disorder of Drum-Taps," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 24 (Fall 2006/Winter 2007), 98–116. On April 1, 1865, Whitman signed a contract with Eckler to stereotype 500 copies for $254.00: "The workmanship is to be first class in every respect & to be completed, & the printed sheets delivered within one month from this date" (F. DeWolfe Miller, ed., Drum-Taps [Gainesville, FL: Scholars' Facsimiles & Reprints, 1959], xxxv). The contract called for "one hundred & twenty pages," but since the book contained only 72 pages, Eckler submitted on April 22 a bill for $192.85, of which $138.00 had been paid. According to Whitman's notations on the statement, he paid $20.00 on April 26 and again on May 2. Whitman sent another letter on May 3 in answer to Eckler's request of May 1 that the balance be paid. Eckler issued this receipt for $34.85 on May 4, and included a receipt from Coridon A. Alvord, printer, for the stereotype plates, which he had placed in his vault. On April 26, Eckler had informed Whitman that the book was "now to press" and would "be ready for the Binders next Monday morning." For details on the printing history and organization of Drum-Taps see Ted Genoways, "The Disorder of Drum-Taps," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 24 (Fall 2006/Winter 2007), 98–116. This letter includes a note by Whitman following the closer that reads, "June 25th '65—I have rec'd many curious letters in my time from one & another [unclear] persons (women & others) who have been reading "Leaves of Grass"—& some singular ones from soldiers—but never before one of this description—I keep it as a curiosity. The writer was one of the soldiers in Sherman army last of [unclear]—one of hundreds I talked with, & occasionaly showed some little kindness to—I met him, talked with him some,—he came one rainy night to my room & stopt with me. I am completely in the dark as to 'what such houses as we were talking about,' are—In the 1840s, while Walt experimented with fiction and poetry, he devoted his greatest efforts to journalism. He edited the Brooklyn Daily Eagle from March 1846 until about January 21, 1848, when he was replaced because he denounced slavery and supported the Wilmot Proviso. Fortunately, a few weeks later, on February 10, 1848, J. E. ("Sam") McClure met the newly unemployed journalist in New York and offered him a job with the New Orleans Crescent. Walt accepted the post and also procured a position for Jeff as office boy. On February 11, the brothers began the two-week trip south described in Jeff's first letter. Once in New Orleans, Walt became a father figure in a very real sense: for three months he was Jeff's guardian, tutor, and role model.
In a notebook, Whitman described Kingsley as "a young man, upper class, at Pfaff's &c—fond of training for boat-racing &c.—June, July, 1862" (The Library of Congress #8). He was listed in the Directory of 1865–1866 as the proprietor of a furniture store; his name did not appear thereafter. Thomas P. Sawyer was a friend of Lewis Kirke Brown's, and a sergeant in the Eleventh Massachusetts Volunteers. The 11th Massachusetts, under Lieutenant Colonel Porter D. Tripp, suffered heavy losses on July 2, 1863, in defense of the Emmitsburg Road at the Battle of Gettysburg. Justus F. Boyd was a soldier in the 6th Michigan Cavalry. Whitman wrote the following entry on Boyd in a notebook that he kept shortly after his appointment to the Christian Commission, January 20, 1863 ("Walt Whitman Soldier's," Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #99, sheets 1098–1133): "Corp. Justus F. Boyd bed 22 co. D 6th Michigan cavalry been in five months, four sick, affection of kidneys and pleurisy—wants some paper and envelope and something to read gave him 12 sheets paper, & 12 envelopes & three of them franked by Sumner." Will W. Wallace was a hospital steward at a Union hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. Whitman probably met him in Campbell Hospital. Alvah H. Small was a private in Company G of the 12th New Hampshire Infantry when he was wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863. He was apparently sent to Armory Square Hospital before being transferred to the Invalid Corps in July and sent to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where invalid soldiers were being used to enforce the draft. Lewis Kirke Brown (1843–1926) was wounded in the left leg near Rappahannock Station on August 19, 1862, and lay where he fell for four days. Eventually he was transferred to Armory Square Hospital, where Whitman met him, probably in February 1863. In a diary in the Library of Congress, Whitman described Brown on February 19, 1863, as "a most affectionate fellow, very fond of having me come and sit by him." Because the wound did not heal, the leg was amputated on January 5, 1864. Whitman was present and described the operation in a diary (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103). Brown was mustered out in August 1864, and was employed in the Provost General's office in September; see Whitman's September 11, 1864. The following September he became a clerk in the Treasury Department, and was appointed Chief of the Paymaster's Division in 1880, a post which he held until his retirement in 1915. (This material draws upon a memorandum which was prepared by Brown's family and is now held in the Library of Congress.) As Whitman informed Mrs. Curtis in a October 28, 1863, Caleb Babbitt suffered a sun stroke in July and was admitted to Armory Square Hospital. According to the "Hospital Note Book" (Henry E. Huntington Library), Babbitt had been in Mobile, Alabama, earlier. About August 1, 1863, he left Washington on furlough. In this letter, Caleb's sister, Mary A. Babbitt informed Whitman of Caleb's arrival in Barre, Massachusetts; because of his exhaustion he was unable to write. Mary acknowledged Whitman's letter on September 6, 1863, and wrote that Caleb was "not quite as well as when I wrote you before…he wishes me to tell you to keep writing…for your letters do him more good than a great deal of medicine." On September 18, 1863, at the expiration of his forty-day furlough, Caleb was strong enough to write: "Walt—In your letters you wish me to imagine you talking with me when I read them, well I do, and it does very well to think about, but it is nothing compared with the original." On October 18, 1863, Babbitt was depressed—"dark clouds seem to be lying in my pathway and I can not remove them nor hide them from my mind"—until he mentioned his beloved, Nellie F. Clark, who "has saved me." On October 26, 1863, S. H. Childs wrote for Caleb from the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston: "He Is unable to set up & suffers considerable pain In his head." See also Whitman's letters from December 27, 1863, and February 8, 1864. As Whitman informed Mrs. Curtis in a October 28, 1863, Caleb Babbitt suffered a sun stroke in July and was admitted to Armory Square Hospital. According to the "Hospital Note Book" (Henry E. Huntington Library), Babbitt had been in Mobile, Alabama, earlier. About August 1, 1863, he left Washington on furlough. On August 18, 1863, Caleb's sister, Mary A. Babbitt informed Whitman of Caleb's arrival in Barre, Massachusetts; because of his exhaustion he was unable to write. On September 18, 1863, at the expiration of his forty-day furlough, Caleb was strong enough to write: "Walt—In your letters you wish me to imagine you talking with me when I read them, well I do, and it does very well to think about, but it is nothing compared with the original." On October 18, 1863, Babbitt was depressed—"dark clouds seem to be lying in my pathway and I can not remove them nor hide them from my mind"—until he mentioned his beloved, Nellie F. Clark, who "has saved me." On October 26, 1863, S. H. Childs wrote for Caleb from the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston: "He Is unable to set up & suffers considerable pain In his head." See also Whitman's letters from December 27, 1863, and February 8, 1864. Julia Elizabeth Stilwell was the sister of James S. Stilwell, Second New York Cavalry, who was wounded and transferred to Ward C of Armory Square Hospital, and of John Stilwell, who was evidently killed at Culpeper, Virginia, about the time that James was wounded. She lived in South Norwalk, Connecticut. Caleb Babbitt suffered a sun stroke in July and was admitted to Armory Square Hospital. According to the "Hospital Note Book" (Henry E. Huntington Library), Babbitt had been in Mobile, Alabama, earlier. About August 1, 1863, he left Washington on furlough. On August 18, 1863, Caleb's sister, Mary A. Babbitt informed Whitman of Caleb's arrival in Barre, Massachusetts; because of his exhaustion he was unable to write. Mary acknowledged Whitman's letter on September 6, 1863, and wrote that Caleb was "not quite as well as when I wrote you before…he wishes me to tell you to keep writing…for your letters do him more good than a great deal of medicine." On September 18, 1863, at the expiration of his forty-day furlough, Caleb was strong enough to write: "Walt—In your letters you wish me to imagine you talking with me when I read them, well I do, and it does very well to think about, but it is nothing compared with the original." On October 26, 1863, S. H. Childs wrote for Caleb from the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston: "He Is unable to set up & suffers considerable pain In his head." See also Whitman's letters from December 27, 1863, and February 8, 1864. John and Margaret Stilwell were the parents of James, John, and Julia Stilwell. Elijah Douglass Fox was a Union soldier in the Third Infantry Wisconsin. At the time of his enlistment in May 1861, he resided in Buena Vista, Wisconsin. According to the "Notebook: September–October, 1863" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection), Fox was brought to Armory Square Hospital on September 26, 1863; it was here where he met Walt Whitman. He was discharged from the Union army on November 10, 1863, due to disability. Livingston J. Brooks, a soldier in Co B 17th Pennsylvania Cavlary, was brought to Armory Square Hospital with typhoid fever. Eventually Brooks recovered and, after a furlough, returned to his regiment (Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library). Whitman's reply of December 19 is lost (Charles I. Glicksberg, Walt Whitman and the Civil War [Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Press, 1933], 140). Whitman noted the case in his diary (Walt Whitman and the Civil War [1933], 149–150). William E. Vandemark, a private in Company I of the 120th New York Infantry, was wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 3, 1863. Whitman noted that Vandemark was placed in bed 39Ward B at Armory Square Hospital, and Whitman may have written a letter to Vandemark's sister Sarah in Accord, New York (Edward F. Grier, ed., Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts, [New York: New York University Press, 1984], 2:644). Vandemark returned home on furlough and was briefly transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps during the summer of 1864 before returning to his regiment. He was killed on a skirmish line during the charge on Fort Davis at Petersburg, Virginia, on September 28, 1864. William E. Vandemark, a private in Company I of the 120th New York Infantry, was wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 3, 1863. Whitman noted that Vandemark was placed in bed 39Ward B at Armory Square Hospital, and Whitman may have written a letter to Vandemark's sister Sarah in Accord, New York (Edward F. Grier, ed., Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts [New York: New York University Press, 1984], 2:644). Vandemark returned home on furlough and was briefly transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps during the summer of 1864 before returning to his regiment. He was killed on a skirmish line during the charge on Fort Davis at Petersburg, Virginia, on September 28, 1864. Margaret Stilwell was the mother of John, James S., and Julia E. Stilwell; she was married to John Stilwell. William E. Vandemark, a private in Company I of the 120th New York Infantry, was wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 3, 1863. Whitman noted that Vandemark was placed in bed 39Ward B at Armory Square Hospital, and Whitman may have written a letter to Vandemark's sister Sarah in Accord, New York (Edward F. Grier, ed., Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts, [New York: New York University Press, 1984], 2:644). Vandemark returned home on furlough and was briefly transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps during the summer of 1864 before returning to his regiment. He was killed on a skirmish line during the charge on Fort Davis at Petersburg, Virginia, on September 28, 1864. Whitman met Millis Sr.'s son and described him as "Wm H Millis co E 8th Penn Cav. Gen Gregg's old reg. Bridgeville Sussex co Del bed 33 Ward B May 8th '64 / g s w in Chest—w in left arm father living in Bridgeville Del" (NUPM 2:728). Millis Jr. became a correspondent of Whitman's. Thomas ("Tom") P. Sawyer was a friend of Lewis Kirke Brown's, and a sergeant in the Eleventh Massachusetts Volunteers. The 11th Massachusetts, under Lieutenant Colonel Porter D. Tripp, suffered heavy losses on July 2, 1863, in defense of the Emmitsburg Road at the Battle of Gettysburg. In a letter to his mother, Whitman describes Thomas B. Neat as "one very good boy, Thos Neat, 2d N Y Cavalry, wounded in leg—he is now home on furlough, his folks live I think in Jamaica, he is a noble boy, he may call upon you, (I gave him here $1 toward buying his crutches &c.)— I like him very much." (See Whitman's letter to his mother from October 27, 1863.) Rodney R. Worster enlisted in Company C, 133rd New York Infantry, as a private on 19 August 1862 at the age of 37. The 133rd New York participated in the siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana, during May and June 1863, and remained on garrison duty there until March 1864, when the regiment was transferred to defend New Orleans. Worster received a disability discharge from the hospital in New York on 16 Jan 1865. On 25 Sep 1861, Isaac Livensparger, age 19, and his older brother Philip, 29, enlisted in Company H, 55th Ohio Infantry. The regiment spent the winter of 1863 encamped at Brooks Station, Virginia. On May 2, at the Battle of Chancellorsville, 153 men from the 55th Ohio were killed, wounded, or missingincluding both Livenspargers. Philip was killed; Isaac was wounded in the left leg and sent to Armory Square Hospital. In a November 8–9, 1863 letter to Lewy Brown, Whitman describes Isaac Livensparger as wounded in the left leg and suffering from erysipelas. Whitman asks Brown to allow Livensparger to read his letter and to tell him "that I sent him my love." Written on the envelope to Brown's letter is Livensparger's message in reply: "This letter has been Read by Isaac Livensparger in Ward D. I think it is a very good letter & I am very much pleased & delited with it. I love to read such letters. I am yours truly." On 30 April 1864, Livensparger was finally discharged on a surgeon's certificate of disability. John Frederick Schiller Gray was a captain in the Twentieth New York Infantry and later held the same rank in the Assistant Adjutant General's Volunteers. He became a major on January 4, 1865, and resigned on December 6 of the same year; see Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, 2 vols. (Washington D.C.: Government Publications Office, 1903). In 1862 he fought in the battle at Antietam, and at Charles Pfaff's beer cellar located in lower Manhattan, he gave Whitman "a fearful account of the battlefield at ½ past 9 the night following the engagement." (For discussion of Whitman's activity at Pfaff's, see "The Bohemian Years.") In 1864, according to one of Whitman's notebooks (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103), Gray was stationed at New Orleans. He graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York in 1871, and briefly practiced medicine with his father in New York. Whitman referred to him during this period in a notebook (The Library of Congress, Notebook #109). Later he practiced in Paris, Nice, and Geneva. He died of Bright's disease at St. Clair Springs, Michigan, on April 18, 1891; obituaries appeared in the New York Herald and the New York Tribune on August 19, 1891. Charles H. Harris enlisted as a private in Company F, 4th Vermont Infantry, at Brattleboro on September 21, 1861 and reenlisted on December 12, 1863. At the Battle of the Wilderness in May 1864, the 4th Vermont sustained extraordinary losses; nearly half of the regiment of 550 men were killed or wounded. Harris was among those wounded and was sent to Armory Square Hospital. In his notebook, Whitman recorded Harris's arrival: "Charley H Harris co F. 4th Vermont bed 35—ward A May 13 '64" (Edward F. Grier, Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts, [New York, New York University Press: 1984], 2:729). Harris was finally discharged for his wounds on December 31, 1864. Helen S. Cunningham was the sister of Oscar Cunningham, a soldier and patient in Army Square Hospital. Her first letter to Whitman was written on May 9, 1864. Lewis Kirke Brown (1843–1926) was wounded in the left leg near Rappahannock Station on August 19, 1862, and lay where he fell for four days. Eventually he was transferred to Armory Square Hospital, where Whitman met him, probably in February 1863. In a diary in the Library of Congress, Whitman described Brown on February 19, 1863, as "a most affectionate fellow, very fond of having me come and sit by him." Because the wound did not heal, the leg was amputated on January 5, 1864. Whitman was present and described the operation in a diary (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103). Brown was mustered out in August 1864, and was employed in the Provost General's office in September; see Whitman's September 11, 1864. The following September he became a clerk in the Treasury Department, and was appointed Chief of the Paymaster's Division in 1880, a post which he held until his retirement in 1915. (This material draws upon a memorandum which was prepared by Brown's family and is now held in the Library of Congress.) Elijah Douglass Fox was a Union soldier in the Third Infantry Wisconsin. At the time of his enlistment in May 1861, he resided in Buena Vista, Wisconsin. According to the "Notebook: September–October, 1863" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection), Fox was brought to Armory Square Hospital on September 26, 1863; it was here where he met Walt Whitman. He was discharged from the Union army on November 10, 1863, due to disability. Fox often addressed Whitman as "father" in his correspondence; see Fox's November 10, 1863, as an example of Whitman's paternal relationship with Fox. Lewis Kirke Brown (1843–1926) was wounded in the left leg near Rappahannock Station on August 19, 1862, and lay where he fell for four days. Eventually he was transferred to Armory Square Hospital, where Whitman met him, probably in February 1863. In a diary in the Library of Congress, Whitman described Brown on February 19, 1863, as "a most affectionate fellow, very fond of having me come and sit by him." Because the wound did not heal, the leg was amputated on January 5, 1864. Whitman was present and described the operation in a diary (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103). Brown was mustered out in August 1864, and was employed in the Provost General's office in September; see Whitman's September 11, 1864. The following September he became a clerk in the Treasury Department, and was appointed Chief of the Paymaster's Division in 1880, a post which he held until his retirement in 1915. (This material draws upon a memorandum which was prepared by Brown's family and is now held in the Library of Congress.) James S. Stilwell, Second New York Cavalry, was confined in Ward C of Armory Square with a gunshot wound in his left leg; see "Notebook: September–October, 1863" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection) and "Hospital Notes" (Henry E. Huntington Library). He recovered slowly from his injury. About the end of May in the following year he was sent to Mower Hospital, Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, where he remained until he was granted a furlough in August 1864. He later returned to Mower Hospital and wrote to Whitman on September 27, 1864, that his wound was "most healed up," and that he expected either to be discharged or to be transferred to New York. See also Stilwell's letter to Whitman from July 5, 1864. He was the brother of Julia and John Stilwell. Lewis Kirke Brown (1843–1926) was wounded in the left leg near Rappahannock Station on August 19, 1862, and lay where he fell for four days. Eventually he was transferred to Armory Square Hospital, where Whitman met him, probably in February 1863. In a diary in the Library of Congress, Whitman described Brown on February 19, 1863, as "a most affectionate fellow, very fond of having me come and sit by him." Because the wound did not heal, the leg was amputated on January 5, 1864. Whitman was present and described the operation in a diary (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103). Brown was mustered out in August 1864, and was employed in the Provost General's office in September; see Whitman's September 11, 1864. The following September he became a clerk in the Treasury Department, and was appointed Chief of the Paymaster's Division in 1880, a post which he held until his retirement in 1915. (This material draws upon a memorandum which was prepared by Brown's family and is now held in the Library of Congress.) Joseph Harris was a patient at Armory Square Hospital. He was friends with some of Whitman's other Armory Square Hospital comrades, such as Lewis Brown and Adrian Bartlett. See Harris's letter to Whitman from September 5, 1864. Justus F. Boyd was a soldier in the 6th Michigan Cavalry. Whitman wrote the following entry on Boyd in a notebook that he kept shortly after his appointment to the Christian Commission, January 20, 1863 ("Walt Whitman Soldier's," Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #99, sheets 1098–1133): "Corp. Justus F. Boyd bed 22 co. D 6th Michigan cavalry been in five months, four sick, affection of kidneys and pleurisy—wants some paper and envelope and something to read gave him 12 sheets paper, & 12 envelopes & three of them franked by Sumner." James S. Stilwell, Second New York Cavalry, was confined in Ward C of Armory Square with a gunshot wound in his left leg; see "Notebook: September–October, 1863" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection) and "Hospital Notes" (Henry E. Huntington Library). He recovered slowly from his injury. About the end of May in the following year he was sent to Mower Hospital, Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, where he remained until he was granted a furlough in August 1864. He later returned to Mower Hospital when he wrote this letter. See also Stilwell's letters to Whitman from July 5, 1864, and September 2, 1864. He was the brother of Julia and John Stilwell. William Mullery was the father of Jesse Mullery. According to Whitman's "Hospital Book 12" (Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress), Sergeant Jesse Mullery, Company K, Fifteenth New Jersey, was in Ward A, Armory Square Hospital, on May 14, 1864. The twenty-year-old boy had been "shot through shoulder, ball in lung—(ball still probably near lung)—lost right finger." On June 23, 1864, he went home to Vernon, New Jersey, on furlough, and then served as assistant cook in the army hospital in Newark. On December 26, 1864, Mullery proposed a visit to Brooklyn. He was still at the Newark hospital on January 23, 1865. According to his letters of May 3, 1865, and June 11, 1865, he later was able to return to active duty. According to Whitman's "Hospital Book 12" (Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress), Sergeant Jesse Mullery, Company K, Fifteenth New Jersey, was in Ward A, Armory Square Hospital, on May 14, 1864. The twenty-year-old boy had been "shot through shoulder, ball in lung—(ball still probably near lung)—lost right finger." On June 23, 1864, he went home to Vernon, New Jersey, on furlough, and then served as assistant cook in the army hospital in Newark. On December 26, 1864, Mullery proposed a visit to Brooklyn. He was still at the Newark hospital on January 23, 1865. According to his letters of May 3, 1865, and June 11, 1865, he later was able to return to active duty. Herman Storms, a driver, visited Whitman with other drivers in 1876. Whitman lists Storms's address as "Pascock p.o. Bergen co. N.J." in his notebook (Edward F. Grier, ed., Notes and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts [New York: New York University Press, 1961–84], 2:481). Whitman records William Millis, Jr., in his notebook as "Wm H Millis co E 8th Penn Cav. Gen Gregg's old reg. Bridgeville Sussex co Del bed 33 Ward B May 8th '64 / g s w in Chestw in left arm father living in Bridgeville Del" (Edward F. Grier, ed., Notes and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts [New York: New York University Press, 1961–84], 2:728). Millis, Jr., became a correspondent of Whitman's. According to Whitman's "Hospital Book 12" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection), Sergeant Jesse Mullery, Company K, Fifteenth New Jersey, was in Ward A, Armory Square Hospital, on May 14, 1864. The twenty-year-old boy had been "shot through shoulder, ball in lung—(ball still in probably near lung)—lost right finger." On June 23, 1864, he went home to Vernon, N. J., on furlough, and then served as assistant cook in the army hospital in Newark. On December 26, 1864, Mullery proposed a visit to Brooklyn. He was still at the Newark hospital on January 23, 1865. According to his letters of May 3 and June 11, 1865, he later was able to return to active duty. According to Whitman's "Hospital Book 12" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection), Sergeant Jesse Mullery, Company K, Fifteenth New Jersey, was in Ward A, Armory Square Hospital, on May 14, 1864. The twenty-year-old boy had been "shot through shoulder, ball in lung—(ball still in probably near lung)—lost right finger." On June 23, 1864, he went home to Vernon, N. J., on furlough, and then served as assistant cook in the army hospital in Newark. On December 26, 1864, Mullery proposed a visit to Brooklyn. He was still at the Newark hospital on January 23, 1865. According to this letter and one of June 11, 1865, he later was able to return to active duty. According to Whitman's "Hospital Book 12" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection), Sergeant Jesse Mullery, Company K, Fifteenth New Jersey, was in Ward A, Armory Square Hospital, on May 14, 1864. The twenty-year-old boy had been "shot through shoulder, ball in lung—(ball still in probably near lung)—lost right finger." On June 23, 1864, he went home to Vernon, N. J., on furlough, and then served as assistant cook in the army hospital in Newark. On December 21, 1864, Mullery proposed a visit to Brooklyn. He was still at the Newark hospital on January 23, 1865. According to this letter and one of June 11, 1865, he later was able to return to active duty.Endorsed (in unknown hand): "21 April 1863."
Draft letter.
Endorsed (in unknown hand): "26 April 1863."
Draft letter.
Endorsed (by Walt Whitman?): "July '63." Draft Letter. For a time Whitman lived with William D. and Ellen M. O'Connor, who, with Eldridge and later Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the early Washington years. William D. O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of Harrington, an abolition novel published by Thayer & Eldridge in 1860. Ellen "Nelly" O'Connor, William's wife, had a close personal relationship with Whitman. In 1872 Whitman would walk out on a debate with William over the Fifteenth Amendment, which Whitman opposed and O'Connor supported. Ellen defended Whitman's opinion, and in response William established a separate residence. The correspondence between Whitman and Ellen is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence with William. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors see O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889). Endorsed (by Walt Whitman): "Nov. 63." Draft Letter. This letter is a draft. This letters is endorsed, "Answ'd." The envelope for this letter bears the address: Wm D O'Connor | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Brooklyn N Y | Jun | 2 (?). The letter is endorsed, "Answ'd." The envelope for this letter bears the address: Wm D O'Connor | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: [indecipherable]. The letter is endorsed, "Answ'd." This letter is addressed: William D O'Connor | Treasury Dep't Light house bureau | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Brooklyn N. Y. | Jul | 25 | 1864. The letter is endorsed, "Ans'd." This letter is addressed: Ellen M O'Connor | Little Compton | Rhode Island. It is postmarked: Brooklyn N. Y. | Sep | 11 | 18(?). The letter is endorsed, "Answ'd." This letter is addressed: William D O'Connor | Light house Board Treasury | Department | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Brooklyn N. Y. | Sep | 11 | 1864. The letter is endorsed, "Ans'd." This letter is addressed: Mrs Ellen M O'Connor | 400 L st corner of 14th | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: New York | Oct | 8. This is the draft of a letter written to the editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle or the New York Times to accompany a communication entitled "The Prisoners," which was to appear on December 27, 1864 (reprinted by Charles I. Glicksberg, Walt Whitman and the Civil War [Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1933], 178–180). Whitman assailed the Secretary of War and General Butler for their attitudes toward the exchange of prisoners. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Light House Board | Treasury Department | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: New York | Jan | 6. This letter is addressed: William D. O'Connor | Light House Bureau, | U S Treasury Department, | Washington, | D. C. It is postmarked: New York | Jan | 20. This letter is addressed: Wm. D. O'Connor | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Brooklyn (?) | Mar | 27 | (?). The letter is endorsed, "Ans'd." It is addressed: Mrs. E. M. O'Connor, | 326 H st. near Vermont av. | Washington, | D. C. Postmark: "New York | Oct | 12; Carrier | Oct | 13 | 1865 (?) | (?) AM. The letter is endorsed, "Ans'd." It is addressed: Mrs. E. M. O'Connor, | 326 H st. near Vermont av. | Washington | D. C. It is postmarked: New York | Oct | 20. Endorsed: "Jan. 25, 1866." This letter is addressed: Mr. O'Connor. This letter is addressed: William D. O'Connor | Light House Board — Treasury Depart- | ment. | Washington, | D. C. It is postmarked: New York | Aug | 26. Endorsed (in unknown hand): "1867?" The envelope for this letter bears the address: Mrs. Louisa Whitman | p. o. Box 218 | Brooklyn, New York. It is postmarked: Washington, D. C. | Oct | 30. According to Whitman's "Hospital Book 12" (Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress), Sergeant Jesse Mullery, Company K, Fifteenth New Jersey, was in Ward A, Armory Square Hospital, on May 14, 1864. The twenty-year-old boy had been "shot through shoulder, ball in lung—(ball still probably near lung)—lost right finger." On June 23, 1864, he went home to Vernon, New Jersey, on furlough, and then served as assistant cook in the army hospital in Newark. He was still at the Newark hospital on January 23, 1865. According to his letters of May 3, 1865, and June 11, 1865, he later was able to return to active duty. William T. Otto (1816–1905) was Assistant Secretary of the Interior. William D. O'Connor had arranged an interview for Whitman with Otto for a clerk position in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. William T. Otto (1816–1905) was Assistant Secretary of the Interior. William D. O'Connor had arranged an interview for Whitman with Otto for a clerk position in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. See O'Connor's December 30, 1864, and Otto's January 12, 1865, letter to Whitman. William T. Otto (1816–1905) was assistant secretary of the interior. Initially, William D. O'Connor had arranged an interview for Whitman with Otto for a clerk position in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. See O'Connor's December 30, 1864, and Otto's January 12, 1865, letter to Whitman. William E. Babcock was a lieutenant in George Washington Whitman's Fifty-first Regiment, New York Volunteers. William E. Babcock was a lieutenant in George Washington Whitman's Fifty-first Regiment, New York Volunteers. William E. Babcock was a lieutenant in George Washington Whitman's Fifty-first Regiment, New York Volunteers. David F. Wright enlisted in the Union Army in August 1861. He served in the New York Fifty-first until his discharge in October 1864. His brother, John Gibson Wright, was taken prisoner with Walt Whitman's brother, George Washington Whitman, at Petersburg. In Whitman scholarship, this letter traditionally has been attributed to Dana F. Wright, based on Wright's signature. Descendants of Wright as well as military roster and census data confirm Wright's first name as David. Margaret Stilwell was the mother of James, John, and Julia Stilwell. James S. Stilwell, Second New York Cavalry, was confined in Ward C of Armory Square with a gunshot wound in his left leg; see "Notebook: September–October, 1863" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection) and "Hospital Notes" (Henry E. Huntington Library). He recovered slowly from his injury. About the end of May in the following year he was sent to Mower Hospital, Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, where he remained until he was granted a furlough in August 1864. He later returned to Mower Hospital and wrote to Whitman on September 27, 1864, that his wound was "most healed up," and that he expected either to be discharged or to be transferred to New York. See also Stilwell's letter to Whitman from September 2, 1864. He was the brother of Julia and John Stilwell. Address: Abby H. Price, | S. W. corner Greenwich and Horatio streets, | New York | city. Postmark: Boston | Mar | 29 | (?). The envelope for this letter bears the address: Abby H. Price, | 279 East 55th st. | New York City. It is postmarked: Washington | Jul | 30 | Free. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Mrs. Abby H. Price, | 279 East 55th street, | New York City. It is postmarked: Washington D. C. | Aug | 4. The envelope for this letter bears the address: To | Mrs. Abby H. Price, | 279 East 55th st. bet. 1st & 2d Av's. | New York City. It is postmarked: Washington D. C. | Oct | 27 | Free. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Abby H. Price, | 279 East 55th st. | New York City. It is postmarked: Washington | Dec | 11 | D. C. Endorsed (by Walt Whitman): "Private note from Walt Whitman | To Editors and Proprietors Harper's | Magazine, accompanying 'A Chant of National Feuillage.'" The envelope for this letter bears the address: J. R. Lowell | Atlantic Magazine. The Ninth Army left Paris, Kentucky, April 3, 1863, and marched twenty-two miles to Mount Sterling, Kentucky, where it encamped. The Army remained in this area until April 17—except for April 15 when it invaded Sharpsburg, Kentucky, in search of Confederate guerillas and returned the same day (see Civil War Diary). The Union force's next encampment was in the vicinity of Winchester, Kentucky. From here, on April 20, George Whitman was dispatched to Lexington, Kentucky, in order to mail family payroll allotments for the officers and men of his regiment. At the time of this letter, George Whitman had been living in Camden, New Jersey, for three years, where he worked as an inspector of pipes for the city. In April of this year, he had married Louisa Orr Haslam. Justus F. Boyd was a soldier in the 6th Michigan Cavalry. Whitman wrote the following entry on Boyd in a notebook that he kept shortly after his appointment to the Christian Commission, January 20, 1863 ("Walt Whitman Soldier's," Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #99, sheets 1098–1133): "Corp. Justus F. Boyd bed 22 co. D 6th Michigan cavalry been in five months, four sick, affection of kidneys and pleurisy—wants some paper and envelope and something to read gave him 12 sheets paper, & 12 envelopes & three of them franked by Sumner." Justus F. Boyd was a soldier in the 6th Michigan Cavalry. Whitman wrote the following entry on Boyd in a notebook that he kept shortly after his appointment to the Christian Commission, January 20, 1863 ("Walt Whitman Soldier's," Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #99, sheets 1098–1133): "Corp. Justus F. Boyd bed 22 co. D 6th Michigan cavalry been in five months, four sick, affection of kidneys and pleurisy—wants some paper and envelope and something to read gave him 12 sheets paper, & 12 envelopes & three of them franked by Sumner." John Frederick Schiller Gray was a captain in the Twentieth New York Infantry and later held the same rank in the Assistant Adjutant General's Volunteers. He became a major on January 4, 1865, and resigned on December 6 of the same year; see Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, 2 vols. (Washington D.C.: Government Publications Office, 1903). In 1862 he fought in the battle at Antietam, and at Charles Pfaff's beer cellar located in lower Manhattan, he gave Whitman "a fearful account of the battlefield at ½ past 9 the night following the engagement." (For discussion of Whitman's activity at Pfaff's, see "The Bohemian Years.") See Whitman's notations in Frederick W. Hedge's Prose Writers of Germany, reprinted in Emory Holloway, ed., Walt Whitman—Complete Poetry & Selected Prose and Letters (London: Nonesuch Press, 1938), 1099. In 1864, according to one of Whitman's notebooks (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103), Gray was stationed at New Orleans. He graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York in 1871, and briefly practiced medicine with his father in New York. Whitman referred to him during this period in a notebook (The Library of Congress, Notebook #109). Later he practiced in Paris, Nice, and Geneva. He died of Bright's disease at St. Clair Springs, Michigan, on April 18, 1891; obituaries appeared in the New York Herald and the New York Tribune on August 19, 1891. John ("Jack") J. Barker was a soldier in the Second Tennessee Volunteer Regiment, whom Whitman greatly admired for remaining loyal to the Union even while in captivity among the Confederates. He became sick and was transferred to a hospital, where Whitman met him for the first time. John "Jack" J. Barker was a soldier in the Second Tennessee Volunteer Regiment, whom Whitman greatly admired for remaining loyal to the Union even while in captivity among the Confederates. He became sick and was transferred to a hospital, where Whitman met him for the first time. Lewis Kirke Brown (1843–1926) was wounded in the left leg near Rappahannock Station on August 19, 1862, and lay where he fell for four days. Eventually he was transferred to Armory Square Hospital, where Whitman met him, probably in February 1863. In a diary in the Library of Congress, Whitman described Brown on February 19, 1863, as "a most affectionate fellow, very fond of having me come and sit by him." Because the wound did not heal, the leg was amputated on January 5, 1864. Whitman was present and described the operation in a diary (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103). Brown was mustered out in August 1864, and was employed in the Provost General's office in September; see Whitman's September 11, 1864. The following September he became a clerk in the Treasury Department, and was appointed Chief of the Paymaster's Division in 1880, a post which he held until his retirement in 1915. (This material draws upon a memorandum which was prepared by Brown's family and is now held in the Library of Congress.) Lewis Kirke Brown (1843–1926) was wounded in the left leg near Rappahannock Station on August 19, 1862, and lay where he fell for four days. Eventually he was transferred to Armory Square Hospital, where Whitman met him, probably in February 1863. In a diary in the Library of Congress, Whitman described Brown on February 19, 1863, as "a most affectionate fellow, very fond of having me come and sit by him." Because the wound did not heal, the leg was amputated on January 5, 1864. Whitman was present and described the operation in a diary (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103). Brown was mustered out in August 1864, and was employed in the Provost General's office in September; see Whitman's September 11, 1864. The following September he became a clerk in the Treasury Department, and was appointed Chief of the Paymaster's Division in 1880, a post which he held until his retirement in 1915. (This material draws upon a memorandum which was prepared by Brown's family and is now held in the Library of Congress.) William E. Vandemark, a private in Company I of the 120th New York Infantry, was wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 3, 1863. Whitman noted that Vandemark was placed in "bed 39-Ward B" at Armory Square Hospital, and Whitman may have written a letter to Vandemark's sister Sarah in Accord, New York (Edward F. Grier, ed., Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts [New York: New York University Press, 1984], 2:644). Vandemark returned home on furlough and was briefly transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps during the summer of 1864 before returning to his regiment. He was killed on a skirmish line during the charge on Fort Davis at Petersburg, Virginia, on September 28, 1864. William E. Vandemark, a private in Company I of the 120th New York Infantry, was wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 3, 1863. Whitman noted that Vandemark was placed in "bed 39-Ward B" at Armory Square Hospital, and Whitman may have written a letter to Vandemark's sister Sarah in Accord, New York (Edward F. Grier, ed., Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts, [New York: New York University Press, 1984], 2:644). Vandemark returned home on furlough and was briefly transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps during the summer of 1864 before returning to his regiment. He was killed on a skirmish line during the charge on Fort Davis at Petersburg, Virginia, on September 28, 1864. Lewis Kirke Brown (1843–1926) was wounded in the left leg near Rappahannock Station on August 19, 1862, and lay where he fell for four days. Eventually he was transferred to Armory Square Hospital, where Whitman met him, probably in February 1863. In a diary in the Library of Congress, Whitman described Brown on February 19, 1863, as "a most affectionate fellow, very fond of having me come and sit by him." Because the wound did not heal, the leg was amputated on January 5, 1864. Whitman was present and described the operation in a diary (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103). Brown was mustered out in August 1864, and was employed in the Provost General's office in September; see Whitman's September 11, 1864. The following September he became a clerk in the Treasury Department, and was appointed Chief of the Paymaster's Division in 1880, a post which he held until his retirement in 1915. (This material draws upon a memorandum which was prepared by Brown's family and is now held in the Library of Congress.) William E. Vandemark, a private in Company I of the 120th New York Infantry, was wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 3, 1863. Whitman noted that Vandemark was placed in bed 39Ward B at Armory Square Hospital, and Whitman may have written a letter to Vandemark's sister Sarah in Accord, New York (Edward F. Grier, ed., Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts [New York: New York University Press, 1984], 2:644). Vandemark returned home on furlough and was briefly transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps during the summer of 1864 before returning to his regiment. He was killed on a skirmish line during the charge on Fort Davis at Petersburg, Virginia, on September 28, 1864. Lewis Kirke Brown (1843–1926) was wounded in the left leg near Rappahannock Station on August 19, 1862, and lay where he fell for four days. Eventually he was transferred to Armory Square Hospital, where Whitman met him, probably in February 1863. In a diary in the Library of Congress, Whitman described Brown on February 19, 1863, as "a most affectionate fellow, very fond of having me come and sit by him." Because the wound did not heal, the leg was amputated on January 5, 1864. Whitman was present and described the operation in a diary (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103). Brown was mustered out in August 1864, and was employed in the Provost General's office in September; see Whitman's September 11, 1864. The following September he became a clerk in the Treasury Department, and was appointed Chief of the Paymaster's Division in 1880, a post which he held until his retirement in 1915. (This material draws upon a memorandum which was prepared by Brown's family and is now held in the Library of Congress.) Dr. Le Baron Russell (1814–1819) was a Boston physician who was well acquainted with Ralph Waldo Emerson and James Redpath. Along with other philanthropically minded citizens, Russell sent Whitman money to be used in easing the suffering of the Civil War wounded languishing in the Washington, D.C., area. William Hugh McFarland, a native of England, was orphaned and raised by his uncle and namesake, who also gave his name to a town in Wisconsin that he settled. McFarland enlisted in Company B of the 5th Wisconsin on May 10, 1861. On May 3, 1863, near Bank's Ford after the Second Battle of Fredericksburg, he was shot in the left leg and suffered its amputation by enemy surgeons the next day—his nineteenth birthday. He was admitted to Armory Square on June 13 and sent home July 28. Lewis Kirke Brown (1843–1926) was wounded in the left leg near Rappahannock Station on August 19, 1862, and lay where he fell for four days. Eventually he was transferred to Armory Square Hospital, where Whitman met him, probably in February 1863. In a diary in the Library of Congress, Whitman described Brown on February 19, 1863, as "a most affectionate fellow, very fond of having me come and sit by him." Because the wound did not heal, the leg was amputated on January 5, 1864. Whitman was present and described the operation in a diary (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103). Brown was mustered out in August 1864, and was employed in the Provost General's office in September; see Whitman's September 11, 1864. The following September he became a clerk in the Treasury Department, and was appointed Chief of the Paymaster's Division in 1880, a post which he held until his retirement in 1915. (This material draws upon a memorandum which was prepared by Brown's family and is now held in the Library of Congress.) William E. Vandemark, a private in Company I of the 120th New York Infantry, was wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 3, 1863. Whitman noted that Vandemark was placed in bed 39Ward B at Armory Square Hospital, and Whitman may have written a letter to Vandemark's sister Sarah in Accord, New York (Edward F. Grier, ed., Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts, 6 vols. [New York: New York University Press, 1984], 2:644). Vandemark returned home on furlough and was briefly transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps during the summer of 1864 before returning to his regiment. He was killed on a skirmish line during the charge on Fort Davis at Petersburg, Virginia, on September 28, 1864. Livingston J. Brooks, a soldier in Co B 17th Pennsylvania Cavlary, was brought to Armory Square Hospital with typhoid fever. Eventually Brooks recovered and, after a furlough, returned to his regiment. He wrote to Whitman on November 21, 1863, from Culpeper, Virginia. Elijah Douglass Fox was a Union soldier in the Third Infantry Wisconsin. At the time of his enlistment in May 1861, he resided in Buena Vista, Wisconsin. According to the "Notebook: September–October, 1863" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection), Fox was brought to Armory Square Hospital on September 26, 1863; it was here where he met Walt Whitman. He was discharged from the Union army on November 10, 1863, due to disability. Alonzo S. Bush was a Union soldier with Company A of the First Indiana Cavalry. He enlisted on August 13, 1862. For Bush's first correspondence with Whitman see the December 22, 1863. Alonzo S. Bush was a Union soldier with Company A of the First Indiana Cavalry. He enlisted on August 13, 1862. See Edward F. Grier's Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts (New York: New York University Press, 1984), 2:541. Andrew J. Liebenau enlisted as a private in Company F, 70th New York Infantry, on 22 August 1862. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant of Company I on February 5, 1863. In his notebook, Whitman described Liebenau as "Lieut. A J Liebenan 70th NY Volunteers 1st Excelsior brigade res NY 91 west 41st st" (Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts, ed. Edward F. Grier [New York: New York University Press, 1984], 1:447448). He was promoted to full captain in the 25th New York Cavalry on 1 Jul 1864. Whitman described Larr as "friend of Alonzo Bush nicknamed Ray" (Edward F. Grier, ed., Notes and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts [New York: New York University Press, 1961–84] 2:672). Both Larr and Bush were assigned to quartermaster duty in Company I of the 1st Indiana. Alonzo S. Bush, Whitman identifies Bush as belonging to "Co A 1st Indiana Cav" (NUPM 2:541). For Bush's first correspondence with Whitman see December 22, 1863. William A. Jellison, at age 18, enlisted in the 6th Maine on 25 October 1862. Whitman's notebook contains the following description written in another hand: "William A. Jellison. Company 'H' 6th Me Reg home address West Enfield Maine". See Edward F. Grier, ed., Notes and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts (New York: New York University Press, 1961–84), 2:673. Jellison transferred to the 1st Maine on 15 August 1864. Helen S. Cunningham was the sister of Oscar Cunningham, a soldier and patient in Armory Square Hospital. Justus F. Boyd was a soldier in the 6th Michigan Cavalry. Whitman wrote the following entry on Boyd in a notebook that he kept shortly after his appointment to the Christian Commission, January 20, 1863 ("Walt Whitman Soldier's," Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #99, sheets 1098–1133): "Corp. Justus F. Boyd bed 22 co. D 6th Michigan cavalry been in five months, four sick, affection of kidneys and pleurisy—wants some paper and envelope and something to read gave him 12 sheets paper, & 12 envelopes & three of them franked by Sumner." The envelope for this letter bears the address: Mrs. Louisa Whitman | p. o. Box 218, | Brooklyn, New York. It is postmarked: Washington D. C. | Nov | 20. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Mrs. Louisa Whitman | P. O. Box 218, | Brooklyn, New York. It is postmarked: Washington D. C. | Nov | 27. Lucia Jane Russell Briggs, the wife of the pastor of the First Parish Church in Salem, Massachusetts, heard of Whitman's work in the Washington hospitals through her brother, Dr. LeBaron Russell. See Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence (New York: New York University Press, 1961–77), 1:188. Dr. Le Baron Russell (1814–1819) was a Boston physician who was well acquainted with Ralph Waldo Emerson and James Redpath. Along with other philanthropically minded citizens, Russell sent Whitman money to be used in easing the suffering of the Civil War wounded languishing in the Washington, D.C., area. Dr. Le Baron Russell was a Boston physician, who was well acquainted with Ralph Waldo Emerson and James Redpath. Along with other philanthropically minded citizens, Russell sent Whitman money to be used in easing the suffering of the Civil War wounded languishing in the Washington, D.C., area. Dr. Le Baron Russell (1814–1819) was a Boston physician who was well acquainted with Ralph Waldo Emerson and James Redpath. Along with other philanthropically minded citizens, Russell sent Whitman money to be used in easing the suffering of the Civil War wounded languishing in the Washington, D.C., area. Endorsed: "Jan 17 '63 | to Emerson—was | it sent? | I think not." The envelope for this letter bears the address: Charles W. Eldridge | care Major Hapgood | Paymaster U S Army | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Brooklyn | Jun | (?). Alonzo S. Bush was a Union soldier with Company A of the First Indiana Cavalry. He enlisted on August 13, 1862. See Edward F. Grier's Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts (New York: New York University Press, 1984), 2:541. Milford C. Reed wrote to Whitman on June 1, 1889: "Do you remember the young man of the 5th U S Cavalary who you used to visit in Armory Square Hospital and the many times you used to take me into a Restaurant and give me a good square meal. I suppose you done that to so many you would hardly remember me by that. for all Soldiers know[n] to you looked upon you as their friend, for you ever wore your heart on your sleeve to Old Soldier boys. You used to call me Cody then. . . . In the years gone by I have often passed through Camden, and had I have known it was your home I should surely have stopped to see you, that I might once more have grasped you by the hand and looked into that kindly face and fought over our battles (once again) in Washington" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection, the Library of Congress). Walt Whitman's reply of June 9, 1889 is lost. The letter is endorsed, "letter to Redpath about | Memoranda of a Year | (publisher's announcement) | sent Oct 21 '63." The envelope for this letter bears the address: Charles W Eldridge | care J F Eldridge & Co | 31 School street | Boston | Massachusetts. It is postmarked: New York | Oct | 8. Draft fragment. James Redpath (1833–1891) was the author of The Public Life of Capt. John Brown (Boston: Thayer and Eldridge, 1860), a correspondent for the New York Tribune during the war, the originator of the "Lyceum" lectures, and editor of the North American Review in 1886. He met Whitman in Boston in 1860 (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #90) and remained an enthusiastic admirer; see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, ed. Sculley Bradley (New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 1961), 3:459–461. He concluded his first letter to Whitman on June 25, 1860: "I love you, Walt! A conquering Brigade will ere long march to the music of your barbaric jawp." See also Charles F. Horner, The Life of James Redpath and the Development of the Modern Lyceum (New York: Barse & Hopkins, 1926). According to Whitman's letter to John R. Johnston, Jr. of February 18, 1878, Whitman arrived in Kirkwood on Saturday, February 16, and in his Commonplace Book he mentioned his stay with the Staffords from "16th to 23d inclusive" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman was with Anne Gilchrist on February 13, and George and Louisa dined with her on the following day (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Susan Stafford had written on January 26, urging that Whitman come to Kirkwood. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Mrs A Gilchrist | 1929 North 22d Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Kirkwood | Feb | 1(?) | (?); Philad'a, Pa. | Feb | 19 | 7 PM | (?). According to Whitman's notation on Jack Johnston's calling card, the young man was employed about this time by A. R. McCown & Co., a hosiery store in Philadelphia. Later he was employed by Ziegler & Swearingen, sellers of notions in Philadelphia (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). In Jack's autograph book, Whitman wrote in 1875: "In memory of the good times, Sunday evenings, in Penn street, 1875, '4, & '3." On January 18, 1880, he wrote again: "Good times, Sunday Evenings, continued, '76, '77, '78, '79, &c. W W" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The envelope for this letter bears the address: John R Johnston Jr | care of McCown & Co: | 623 Market Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: (?) | Feb | (?); Philad'a, Pa. | Feb | 19 | 7 PM. During the auction, Whitman, "pinched by the cold," took "refuge in the house, by a window, whence I get a full view of the crowd." He observed the people, "old & young, a hundred or more, mostly men & young fellows, but a few housewives & young women . . . Very well they look too, in my opinion—not only handsome & open-eyed, and fresh & independent, with wit enough, movements a little sluggish, but none the less artistic for that—always evidencing power—but with a certain heroic, rugged element through all" (Clifton Waller Barrett Collection, University of Virginia). A cryptic reference to Harry Stafford ("hickory saplings . . . Honor . . . subject"). Perhaps the c in "creek" referred to Edward Cattell, another one of his young Kirkwood friends, to whom the poet had written on February 10 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See the letter from Whitman to Edward Cattell of January 24, 1877. Herbert Gilchrist noted that Whitman was fond of quoting Cassius's speech to Brutus, "Well, honour is the subject of my story" (Julius Caesar, 1.2.91; Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist, Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings [London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1887], 241). Whitman placed a large bracket about this passage in the margin. A reference to the investigations of John Tyndall (1820–1893), the British physicist. Probably an allusion to an experiment conducted by Beatrice Gilchrist at the medical school. Whitman returned on the following day (Whitman's Commonplace Book). The envelope for this letter bears the address: Pete Doyle | M Street South—bet 4½ & 6th | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden | Feb | 26 | N.J. The year is confirmed by the allusion to the stay with the Staffords and by a reference to this communication in Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Since Whitman was in New York on this date in 1877, and since the Gilchrists were not in Philadelphia in March, 1879, the note was sent in 1878. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Herbert Gilchrist | 1929 north 22d Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Mar | 8 | 3(?) PM | Pa. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Herbert Gilchrist | 1929 North 22d Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Camden | Mar | 18 | N.J.; Philad'a, Pa. | Mar | 18 | 10 PM | R(?). Whitman was at Kirkwood from March 15 to 17 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). From March 17 to 25 Whitman noted "much suffering from rheumatism & prostration" (Whitman's Commonplace Book); see also his letters to John Burroughs of March 21, 1878 and Herbert Gilchrist of March 23. Later he consulted Dr. S. Weir Mitchell. For more on the consultation, see Whitman's letter to Louisa Orr Whitman of April 13–14, 1878. Mrs. Stafford's children, Edwin, Harry, and Deborah. Evidently the "Company" included Ben Pease, Will Fox, Will and Rachel Morgan, and Lizzie Hider (Whitman's Commonplace Book). This may have been the account of "The American Water Color Society" in the New York Tribune of March 18, since Herbert undoubtedly was acquainted with some of the artists mentioned. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Herbert Gilchrist | 1929 North 22d Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Camden | Mar | 23 | N.J.; Philad'a, Pa. | Mar | 23 | 8 PM | Rec'd. See the reference to Herbert's drawing of Whitman in the letter of March 8, 1878. Herbert visited Whitman on the following evening, and Mrs. Gilchrist called on March 27 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman,1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The envelope for this letter bears the address: John Burroughs | Esopus-on-Hudson | New York. It is postmarked: Camden | Mar | 29 | N.J. On May 1, Anne Gilchrist informed Burroughs that they were in Northampton, Massachusetts, and mentioned her sorrow in leaving Philadelphia: "We had planted our tent so firmly and spread our possessions around us so, at 1929. However it stands empty and forlorn now" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 145). This description of her former home undoubtedly characterized her own emotional state after an association with Whitman for eighteen months during which she had learned, how painfully she never divulged in her correspondence, the impossibility of establishing a physical relationship with the poet. Burroughs came to Camden to see Whitman on April 1 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The envelope for this letter bears the address: Mrs Louisa O Whitman | Care of F E Dowe | Norwich | Conn:. It is postmarked: Camden | AP(?) | 14 | N.J. According to the letter from Whitman to Emma Dowe of July 12, 1877, Louisa left for Norwich, Connecticut, to see her sister on April 10 and returned on April 20 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). As evidenced in his letter to Charles W. Eldridge of June 23, 1873, Whitman had known Kate Hillard's writings since 1871. He sent her a copy of Leaves of Grass on July 27 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Dr. S. (Silas) Weir Mitchell (1829–1914) was a specialist in nervous disorders as well as a poet and a novelist. On April 18, Whitman had his second interview with Dr. Mitchell, who attributed his earlier paralysis to a small rupture of a blood vessel in the brain but termed Whitman's heart "normal and healthy." Whitman also noted that "the bad spells [Mitchell] tho't recurrences by habit (? sort of automatic)" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Mitchell was the first physician to indicate the psychosomatic nature of many of Whitman's ailments. Probably Whitman's impending lecture on the death of Lincoln unconsciously brought back the emotional involvements of his hospital experiences with comrades whom he had come to love only to be separated from them. Dr. S. (Silas) Weir Mitchell (1829–1914) was a specialist in nervous disorders as well as a poet and a novelist. On April 18, 1878, Whitman had his second interview with Dr. Mitchell, who attributed his earlier paralysis to a small rupture of a blood vessel in the brain but termed Whitman's heart "normal and healthy." Whitman also noted that "the bad spells [Mitchell] tho't recurrences by habit (? sort of automatic)" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Mitchell was the first physician to indicate the psychosomatic nature of many of Whitman's ailments. Mrs. Elliston L. Perot, evidently a friend of Kate Hillard, called on the poet on April 3, according to Whitman's notation on her calling card mounted in his Commonplace Book. Louisa's servant. Whitman noted on February 25, 1878 in his Commonplace Book that he had been reading a letter about his aunt in the New York Evening Post of February 22. The article in the newspaper mentioned that Mrs. Sarah Mead had seen George Washington (The Trent Collection of Walt Whitman Manuscripts, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). From a member of Mrs. Mead's family or from a friend Whitman received a letter on April 11 announcing her death. Whitman's dog. Probably Joseph Elverson, Jr., assistant editor of the Saturday Night. In addition to Harry Stafford, Debbie Stafford and her future husband, Joseph Browning, called on April 10 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On February 3, 1878, John Burroughs informed Whitman that Richard Watson Gilder wanted to organize a "benefit" in New York at which the poet was to lecture on Lincoln (see also the letter from Whitman to Burroughs of March 11, 1878). Burroughs suggested that Stedman and Swinton should be invited to support the project. Whitman wrote on the envelope of Burroughs's letter: "(first suggestion of lecture)." Whitman also wrote to Burroughs on February 27 about the New York lecture, and evidently listed the names of possible sponsors. Whitman had been with the Staffords from March 2 to 4 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). In a letter on February 28, 1878, Burroughs asked for Swinton's address and inquired about Johnston. Samuel S. Cox (1828–1889) served in the House of Representatives from New York from 1869 until his death. Burroughs, when asked why Whitman wanted Cox's name deleted, could not recall any reason (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 172). Whitman was with the Staffords again on Saturday and Sunday, March 9 and 10 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Richard Watson Gilder (1844–1909) was the assistant editor of Scribner's Monthly from 1870 to 1881 and editor of its successor, The Century, from 1881 until his death. During his lifetime, Gilder also published several collections of poetry. Whitman had met Gilder for the first time in 1877 at John H. Johnston's (Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer [New York: New York University Press, 1955], 482). He attended a reception and tea given by Gilder after William Cullen Bryant's funeral on June 14; see "A Poet's Recreation" in the New York Tribune, July 4, 1878. Whitman considered Gilder one of the "always sane men in the general madness" of "that New York art delirium" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 9 vols., 2:93). The editor of the New York Tribune. Montgomery Schuyler (1843–1914) was associated with the New York World from 1865 to 1883 and with the New York Times from 1883 until his retirement in 1907. He was also managing editor of Harper's Weekly from 1885 to 1887. Shepard, a colonel in George Washington Whitman's regiment during the Civil War, was now a New York attorney (see the letter from Walt Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman of May 25, 1865, and Wilson's Business Directory of New York City for 1878–1879). Joel Benton (1832–1911) was a poet and a friend of Burroughs (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 18,174). See the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of April 13, 1876, and the letter from Whitman to Bayard Taylor of November 18, 1866. George William Curtis (1824–1892), the editor of Harper's Monthly, was disliked by Whitman's friends. Burroughs termed Curtis "an orator that fairly leaned and languished on the bosom of the graces" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 173). Speaking of Curtis's criticisms of Whitman in Harper's "Easy Chair" in June 1876, William Douglas O'Connor observed in a letter to Burroughs, "The artificial mountain in Brooklyn park has labored and produced a toy mouse!" (Barrus, 131, 141–142). This postcard bears the address: Pete Doyle | M Street South—bet 4½ & 6th | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden | Apr | 22 | N.J. This postcard bears the address: George W Waters | artist | Elmira | New York. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Apr 23 | 6 PM | Pa. The date of this post card is uncertain, but it seems reasonable to assign it to 1878 despite the absence of any reference to Whitman's recent indisposition. After his visits to Dr. S. Weir Mitchell (1829–1914), Whitman began to improve, and he resumed his frequent visits to the Stafford family. He was at Kirkwood on April 20 and 21, April 25 to 27, May 1 and 2, and May 6 and 7 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Henry Festing Jones (1851–1928) was the author of Samuel Butler (1919) and the editor of many of Butler's manuscripts. Whitman evidently forgot that he had promised to mail the two books. See the letters from Whitman to Jones on June 2, 1878 and July 12, 1878. In his Commonplace Book, Whitman noted that he had sent an advertising circular (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The inscription in Leaves of Grass was dated by Jones "July 1878." Both volumes are now in the Feinberg Collection. In April, Whitman resumed his visits to the Staffords. He was at Kirkwood on April 20 and 21, April 25 to 27, May 1 and 2, and May 6 and 7 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Interestingly, Whitman did not repeat Dr. S. Weir Mitchell's diagnosis. See the letter from Whitman to Louisa Orr Whitman of April 13–14, 1878. Linton, a wood engraver, published Poetry of America, 1776–1876 in London (G. Bell, 1878). The volume contained eight of Whitman's poems and Linton's engraving of the poet. See the letter from Whitman to Linton of March 22, 1872. The Gilchrists had left Philadelphia evidently late in April, since apparently Whitman saw them for the last time in Philadelphia on the evening of April 22 and 23 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Unquestionably "Walt Whitman for 1878," which appeared in the West Jersey Press of January 16, 1878, as noted in Whitman's Commonplace Book. The New York lecture on Lincoln's death. May 6 and 7, characterized in Whitman's Commonplace Book as "two fine days" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman was at Kirkwood on Sunday, May 12. See the letter from Whitman to Louisa Orr Whitman of April 13–14, 1878. See the letter from Whitman to Herbert Gilchrist of May 10, 1878. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Mrs Anne Gilchrist | Round Hill Hotel | Northampton | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden | May | 10 | N.J. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Herbert H Gilchrist | Care of Mrs Voorhees | 147 Remsen Street | Brooklyn | New York. It is postmarked: Camden | May | 10 | N.J.; Brooklyn, N.Y. | May | 11 | 8 AM | Rec'd. The rheumatism had little discernible effect upon Whitman's handwriting. Wyatt Eaton (1849–1896), an American portrait and figure painter, organized the Society of American Artists in 1877. Whitman met Eaton at a reception given by Richard W. Gilder on June 14; see "A Poet's Recreation," New York Tribune, July 4, and Walt Whitman's Diary in Canada, ed. William Sloane Kennedy (Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1904), 54. William Rudolph O'Donovan (1844–1920) was an American sculptor. He was an associate of American artist Thomas Eakins and accompanied Eakins to Whitman's Camden home and fashioned a large bust of Whitman. Whitman liked O'Donovan but did not care for the bust, which he found "too hunched" and the head "too broad" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, July 15, 1891). See the discussion of mulleins in Specimen Days (Floyd Stovall, ed. [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 148–149). By Alfred J. Church (1829–1912), a prolific translator. The edition referred to has not been found. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Mrs Anne Gilchrist | Round Hill Hotel | Northampton | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden | May | 19 | N.J. Whitman had been with the Staffords from May 16 to 18 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). He had breakfast at the home of James Matlack Scovel (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman almost invariably went to Johnston's on Sunday evenings when he was in Camden. These letters are not known. Debbie was married on June 13, 1878 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). This letter bears the address: Henry Festing Jones | 1 Craven Hill Gardens | London W | England. It is postmarked: Camden | Jun | 3 | N.J.; London W (?) | F (?) | Paid | 15 Ju (?) 8. See Whitman's letter to Henry Festing Jones of April 29, 1878. John R. Johnston, Jr. had moved to this address after his marriage to Alma Calder on April 21 (Charles N. Elliott, Walt Whitman As Man, Poet and Friend [Boston: R.G. Badger, 1915], 152). Whitman was in New York from June 13 to July 10 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). A lengthy account of the funeral of William Cullen Bryant appeared in the New York Sun on June 15, one paragraph of which began: "The man most looked at was the white-haired poet, Walt Whitman, who presented a Homeric picture, in which were combined the easy good nature of Grandfather Whitehead and the heroic build of an antique statue." Harold Johnston, the child whose birth caused his mother's death. See the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of March 4, 1877. However, see the letter from Walt Whitman to Mannahatta Whitman of June 22–26, 1878, sent from Esopus on the Hudson. Whitman's nieces arrived in Camden on June 13 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). John Bigelow (1817–1911) had been minister to France in 1865 and 1866 and had been coeditor, with William Cullen Bryant, of the New York Evening Post from 1848 to 1861. The account of Whitman's visit appeared in the New York Tribune on July 4, but was not included in Specimen Days. Much of the material in this and the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of June 23–26, 1878 appeared in similar form in "A Poet's Recreation" in the Tribune on July 4, and later in Specimen Days. There are phrasal similarities between the letters and the printed versions. On October 27, Jeff wrote to Whitman about an epidemic of yellow fever during the warm months in St. Louis and about Hattie Whitman's illness. This card is evidently not extant. The newspaper must have been the New York Sun of June 15. See the letter from Walt Whitman to George and Louisa Whitman of June 15–17, 1878. The parallels with the published account of this trip in the Tribune on July 4 indicate that Whitman retained a draft of this or of his letter to Mannahatta Whitman of June 22–26, 1878. The account in Specimen Days is condensed (Floyd Stovall, ed. [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 167). The printed version in the Tribune adds the detail that upon rising "I have a capital rubbing and rasping with the flesh-brush—with an extra scour on the back by Al: J., who is here with us—all inspiriting my invalid frame with new life, for the day." (See also Specimen Days, 168). For Albert Johnston's recollection of this trip, see Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 176–177). The Tribune account of the gypsy concluded: "Poor woman—what story was it, out of her fortunes, to account for that inexpressibly scared way, those glassy eyes, and that hollow voice?" (See also Specimen Days, 169). The version of this trip which appeared in the Tribune mentioned the owner of the boat, David G. Croly, the editor of the New York Daily Graphic. See the letter from Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman of March 7, 1873. Deborah Stafford had married Joseph Browning. This letter bears the address: John Burroughs | Esopus-on-Hudson | New York. It is postmarked: New-York | Jul 5 | 6 PM. "A Poet's Recreation" appeared in the New York Tribune on July 4. On the preceding day Whitman read proof in the Tribune office (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Walt Whitman's Diary in Canada, 55). He returned to Camden on July 10. The letters from Harry Stafford to Walt Whitman in 1878 reveal the troubled relations between the two men (See Edwin Haviland Miller, "Introduction," Walt Whitman: The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 3:1–9). On September 18, Whitman received 250 prints of this photograph (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Benjamin Hunter was convicted of the murder of John Armstrong, a Philadelphia music publisher, on July 3. Harry (Harold) and Kitty were two of John H. Johnston's children. There are no extant letters from William Michael Rossetti to Whitman between 1877 and 1885. See the letter from Whitman to Rossetti of July 12, 1878. Whitman was with the Staffords from July 14, Sunday, to July 17 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman referred to "A Poet's Recreation," published in the New York Tribune on July 4, 1878. This letter bears the address: Henry Festing Jones | 1 Craven Hill Gardens W | London W | England. It is postmarked: Camden | Jul | 12 | N.J.; London N. W. | (?) 7 | Paid | (?) 78. See Whitman's letter to Jones of April 29, 1878. Whitman noted receipt of $9.70 from Jones on the preceding day (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman mentioned in his Commonplace Book this letter and Passage to India (1871), in which "O Captain! My Captain!" appears (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On July 17 Reid thanked Whitman for the book. Whitman received the payment on July 19 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). This letter bears the address: Wm M Rossetti | 56 Euston Square | London W | England. It is postmarked: Camden | Jul | 12 | N.J.; London N.W. | C 7 | Paid | 23 | Jy 78. A money order for $24 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See Whitman's letter to Rossetti of July 28, 1878. Whitman referred to "A Poet's Recreation," published in the New York Tribune on July 4, 1878. Whitman mentioned sending these books on this date to Tottie at 64 Seymour Street, London (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Tottie acknowledged receipt of the volumes on August 11 (Library of Congress). This post card bears the address: Wm M Rossetti | 56 Euston Square | London N W | England. It is postmarked: Camden | Jul | 28 | N.J. Although there seems to be little doubt that Whitman wrote "Aug. 1," it is possible that he intended to write "Aug. 7." If that were the case, the allusion to the lengthy letter to Herbert Gilchrist could clearly be to the letter of August 3–5, 1878. Whitman was in Camden on August 1 and 7 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman was with the Staffords from August 3 to 6, 10 to 13, and 17 to 20 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Susan Stafford was still ill on August 10 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). She was "only middling" on August 30. See the letter from Walt Whitman to Beatrice Gilchrist of August 30, 1878. Deborah had married Browning on June 13. Susan Stafford's daughter (1866–1939), later Ruth Stafford Goldy. See the letter from Walt Whitman to Susan Stafford of February 6, 1881. He died on June 13 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Benjamin Franklin Stafford, a cousin of George, was married to Elizabeth Allen. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Josiah Child | care of | Trübner & Co: | publishers &c | 57 & 59 Ludgate Hill | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden | Aug | 9 | N.J.; London E.C. | Paid | (?) | 20 Au 78. Whitman quoted from this editorial in the London Times in "Poetry To-day In America" (The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 5:214–215), which appeared as "The Poetry of the Future" in The North American Review, 132 (February 1881), 195–210. For Whitman's account of his relations with book dealers, see his letter to Jeannette L. Gilder of December 30, 1875. For Whitman's transactions with Trübner, see his letter to Trübner & Co. of October 1, 1878.Whitman's dealings with Trübner & Co. were handled through Josiah Child. See the letter from Whitman to Child of August 9, 1878. On May 31, 1877, Trübner sent Whitman $7.57 in payment for copies of Democratic Vistas, and noted that 61 copies of that work were still on hand (Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On November 8 Whitman recorded that Trübner owed him $70 for ten sets and "also something due me for Dem: Vistas." On December 6 he received $47.55 from Trübner in payment for six sets and for fifteen (twelve according to the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of December 12, 1878) copies of Democratic Vistas; the balance due was $28 for four sets and $17.02 for forty-six copies of Democratic Vistas.
Whitman received a payment from Trübner through Josiah Child on June 9, 1879, and an order for books. See the letter from Whitman to Child of June 9, 1879. Probably the payment amounted to $24.50, since in making a tally of the books in Trübner's possession as of June 27, he noted thirty-seven volumes (including thirty-six sent on June 25 or 27) and forty-six copies of Democratic Vistas. On March 4, 1880, he received in payment $37.22; on July 22, 1880, $80.50, at which time he sent thirty-four volumes; on March 4, 1881, $105.37, at which time he sent an additional twenty volumes; and on December 8, 1881, he received $80.50. At that time the balance due was $14.43 for thirty-nine copies of Democratic Vistas. At a later date Whitman added to this entry, "all paid in full" (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.).
This is a draft letter, and includes several deletions and additions by Whitman. Two letters to Whitman, one from Richard Maurice Bucke (undated), and one from Benjamin Gurney (August 3, 1878) are on the versos. This letter is apparently lost. Whitman did not keep a draft. See the letter from Whitman to Robert Buchanan of May 16, 1876. See the letter from Alfred, Lord Tennyson to Whitman of August 24, 1878. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Harry L Stafford | Kirkwood | Camden County | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden | Aug | 15 | N.J. On August 14, Whitman applied for a situation for Harry Stafford to Bartram Bonsall, coeditor of the Camden Daily Post with his father, Henry Lummis Bonsall. Henry established the Camden New Republic after the Civil War and later founded the Post, which he sold to his son in 1883; see George R. Prowell, The History of Camden County (Philadelphia: L.J. Richards & Co., 1886), 325–326. Harry began to work at Haddonfield, N.J., about August 20, either for a newspaper or in a printing plant (see the letter from Whitman to Edward Carpenter of September 1, 1878). Probably Whitman was seeking a position for Harry when he wrote on October 9 to William Taylor, the editor of the Woodstown (N.J.) Constitution (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On November 13 Whitman noted that Harry was at "Atco," but after his visit on December 31, the poet wrote in his Commonplace Book: "has left Atco." Whitman was at Kirkwood from August 17, Saturday, to August 20 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). The envelope for this letter bears the address: Beatrice C | Gilchrist M D | New England Hospital for Women | Codman Avenue | Boston Mass:. It is postmarked: Cam(?) | A(?) | 3(?) | N.(?); Boston Mass. | Aug | 31 | (?) | Carrier. Whitman noted receipt of letters from Edward Carpenter and Herbert Gilchrist on August 30 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman's most recent visit to the Staffords had been from August 17 to 20 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). On August 12, Beatrice had sent to Whitman a lengthy account of her activities at the New England Hospital for Women, and had also mentioned visits with Joseph B. Marvin and Sidney Morse, who was "working away desperately at the bust of you" (The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, ed. Thomas B. Harned [New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918], 156–158). Whitman received the head from Morse on February 16, 1878: "head rec'd—bad—wretchedly bad" (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Carpenter's letter is not extant. But earlier in the year, on May 13, he had written to Whitman about his lectures in England (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, March 20, 1889 , 391–392). The one taken by Sarony. See the letter from Whitman to Harry Stafford of July 6–7. Herbert was in Kirkwood on August 22 and in Camden on August 24, after which he returned to the Staffords'. He was in Atlantic City on August 29 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The letter from Whitman to Beatrice Gilchrist of August 30, 1878, states that Beatrice was at the New England Hospital for Women in Boston. Miller's transcription is derived from a transcript of the letter. This letter bears the address: Pete Doyle | M Street South bet 4½ | & 6th | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Carrier | Sep | 3 | (?) AM. According to a notation in Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles Johnson was a railroad man who had been on a train with Doyle for six months. Whitman met him on the Federal Street ferry boat on August 28 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter bears the address: John Burroughs | Esopus-on-Hudson | New York. It is postmarked: Camden | Sep | 20 | N.J. In commenting upon William Cullen Bryant's death, the London Times had referred to Whitman. See the letter from Whitman to Josiah Child of August 9, 1878. On September 9, 1878, Whitman noted receipt of the article from Josiah Child (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman sent "Gathering the Corn," which appeared in the New York Tribune on October 24. It was later reprinted in Good-bye My Fancy (The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman, [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 7:14–17). See the letters from Whitman to Whitelaw Reid of September 30, 1878 and November 27, 1878. See the letter from Whitman to Whitelaw Reid of September 21, 1878. Whitman returned the article to the Tribune on October 3 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter bears the address: J H Johnston | Jeweler | 150 Bowery cor Broome St | New York City. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Oct | 23 | 5 PM | Pa.; New York | (?) | 24 | 12(?)M | 78 | Recd. In 1878 Whitman was with the Staffords from October 5 to 7, 10 to 12, 16 to 21, and 24 to 28. He mentioned "the furious gale & storm" in his Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Herbert Gilchrist was also with the Staffords; see the letter from Anne Gilchrist to him of October 10 (Feinberg), and the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of November 10, 1878. Whitman sent "Roaming in Thoughts," a two-line poem which appeared in the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Sam'l Van Wyck | 65 New York Avenue | Brooklyn | N Y. It is postmarked: New York | May 28 | 5 PM | 79. See Gay Wilson Allen's The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1955), 595. See the letter from Whitman to George W. Childs of December 12, 1878. Whitman attended a reception at Childs's on the following day. On April 9, 1878, D. W. Belisle, with the encouragement of Childs, had approached Whitman about an edition of Leaves of Grass, "leaving out the objectionable passages...(decided at once to decline on any such condition)" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). John A. Johann, of the Philadelphia Public Ledger, whose calling card appears in Whitman's Commonplace Book. For Whitman's transactions with Trübner, see his letter to the company of October 1, 1878. Whitman sent photographs, undoubtedly Napoleon Sarony's, to Cecil C. Brooks and W.J. Ham Smith (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman mailed the journal to John Burroughs on December 12, 1878. This postal card is addressed: Pete Doyle | M Street South—bet 4½ & 6th | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden | (?) | 17 | N.J. The year is confirmed by the reference to the post card in Whitman's Commonplace Book and by his recent New York trip (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman sent a copy of "Three Young Men's Deaths" (Whitman's Commonplace Book). This postal card is addressed: John Fraser | 10 Lord Nelson Street | Liverpool | England. It is postmarked: Camden | Ju(?) | 17 | N.J.; Paid | Liverpool | US Packet | 28 Ju 79 | 5 B. Payment for "Three Young Men's Deaths" from the editor of Cope's Tobacco Plant. This postal card is addressed: Herbert Gilchrist | 112 Madison Av: | New York City. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Apr | 8 | (?); F | 4–8 | 6 P(?) | (?). Whitman left for New York on April 9, 1879, and remained there until June 14 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See also Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall (New York: New York University Press, 1963), 190–202. While Whitman was at John H. Johnston's home in New York, G.M. Ottinger painted his portrait; see Charles N. Elliot, Walt Whitman as Man, Poet and Friend (Boston: R.G. Badger, 1915), 150–151. The New York Tribune. See the letters from Whitman to Whitelaw Reid of May 8, 1879 and May 12, 1879. Whitman's remark here contrasts sharply with his idyllic account of Central Park published in the New York Tribune on May 24 (see Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 197–198). Note also the differences between his public and private accounts of St. Louis in his letter to Louisa Orr Whitman of October 11, 1879. Whitman attached two accounts of a wrestling match between Professor William Miller and John McMahon, both of whom "belonged to the sect of muscular Christianity," as it was termed in the days before television. McMahon was the victor. Whitman was last with the Staffords from November 29 to December 6, 1878. Ruth was Harry's sister (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of March 23, 1877. Mannahatta and Jessie Louisa, Walt's brother Thomas Jefferson Whitman's daughters, came to Camden almost annually. Ruth's brother, Montgomery. Whitman went to Glendale on July 2 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). See Whitman's letter to Reid of September 21, 1878. Whitman received payment on December 6 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter was probably sent to R. J. Morrell, a manufacturer of rattan furniture at Newfield, N.J., or to Mr. Judson, one of his employees. Morrell's advertisement is mounted in Whitman's Commonplace Book opposite the entries for late November, 1878 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This draft letter was probably sent shortly after Whitman's visit from November 29 to December 6, 1878. He was not with the Staffords again until July 2, 1879 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). When he stayed with Susan Stafford, he ordinarily paid her $5 a week for his board. The date is established by an entry in Whitman's Commonplace Book. Riley was an ardent young Englishman who addressed Whitman as "My dear Friend and Master" on March 5. Twelve years earlier he had found a copy of Leaves of Grass "and saw a Revelation. . . . In all my troubles and successes I have been strengthened by your divine teachings." Riley wanted a copy of Leaves of Grass for Ruskin, who, upon reading a few extracts from Whitman's poems, pronounced them "glorious": "He is a stern critic, and as honest as God or a tree." On April 2 Riley noted receipt of the book and photographs, and on April 4 he quoted from a note sent to him by Ruskin: "I am glad to know that I can give some pleasure to such a man." Although Ruskin did not write to the poet, Whitman informed the New York Sun on April 15 that "he did not feel at liberty to divulge the exact contents of the letter." See also the Camden Daily Post of May 12 and the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of February 21, 1880 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). "Broadway Revisited" appeared in the New York Tribune on May 10, 1879, and, rearranged, in Specimen Days (ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 16–21, 338–339). This was the first of three chatty (and, in the view of Edwin Haviland Miller, embarrassingly trite) letters Whitman submitted to the Tribune in May (Walt Whitman: The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77] 3:153 n39). See also the letter from Whitman to Whitelaw Reid of May 12, 1879. On May 29, 1879, Whitman received from D. Nicholson $45 for the three articles. "Real Summer Openings," which appeared in the New York Tribune on Saturday, May 17, 1879, described Whitman's trip to John Burroughs's home. See the letter from Whitman to Herbert Gilchrist of April 29, 1879. The piece was entitled "These May Afternoons" when it appeared in the Tribune on May 24, 1879. It discussed a visit to Central Park and to the "U.S. Minnesota." Much of the material later appeared in Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall (New York: New York University Press, 1963), 196–202, 341–342. Whitman, accompanied by Colonel Forney (see the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of March 27, 1879,) left for St. Louis on September 10 after accepting an invitation to address the Old Settlers of Kansas Committee at Lawrence. He arrived in St. Louis on September 12, and proceeded on the following day to Lawrence, where he stayed with Judge John P. Usher (1816–1889), Secretary of Interior in Lincoln's administration and at this time mayor of Lawrence (see the letter from Whitman to Usher of January 14, 1880). Whitman described this accident at Urbana, Ohio, in an interview in the St. Louis Republican on September 13 (reprinted in American Literature, 14 [1942–1943], 143). Harry occasionally wrote short compositions as exercises in penmanship and writing which he submitted to Whitman for criticism. See Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall (New York: New York University Press, 1963), 201–202. Only two letters are extant (see the letter from Whitman to Harry Stafford of May 13, 1879). Harry's letters are apparently lost. Two of the children of John H. Johnston. See the note from Whitman to Herbert Gilchrist of May 28, 1879. Whitman referred to "A Poet's Recreation," published in the New York Tribune on July 4, 1878. Writing on the same day, July 11, Burroughs informed Whitman that "we got our baby just as the heat began, July 1st, & we have had our hands full. . . . He is a bright little fellow & I expect we shall 'set a store' by him as the old women say." This adopted child was Julian Burroughs (1878–1954), who later became a landscape painter, writer, and photographer. Burrough's hired hand, Smith Caswell. Anne Gilchrist's letters of June 20, 1879 from Glasgow, and August 2, 1879 from Durham, where her son Percy was living. Both were letters about her travels and various points of interest (The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, ed. Thomas B. Harned [New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918], 181–185). The poet and sculptor Anne Charlotte Lynch Botta (see the letters from Whitman to Botta of May 13, 1871 and June 6, 1871). John Burroughs informed Clara Barrus that Whitman attended some of Botta's receptions (Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 186). Whitman sent Botta a photograph and a copy of Democratic Vistas on July 20 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman undoubtedly intended to write "four" or "five." He noted "rainy days & nights" in his Commonplace Book from August 16 to 18. See the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of June 20, 1879. On August 24 Burroughs described his trip on the Delaware River late in June (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, December 6, 1888, 260). Whitman enclosed a note for inclusion in Burroughs's article, "Nature and the Poets," in which he discussed his own poetry and quoted John Addington Symonds's opinion that Whitman "is more thoroughly Greek than any man of modern times!" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 111, also quotes Burroughs's adaptation of the passage). Whitman reread Symonds's Greek Poets while he was at Esopus in April (Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 340). Burroughs's article appeared in Scribner's Monthly, 19 (December 1879), 285–295, and later in Pepacton (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1881). Burroughs's "Harvest Time." On August 24, Burroughs mentioned sending a "Pastoral Letter" to the New York Tribune (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, December 7, 1888, 260). This letter is addressed: Dr Beatrice C Gilchrist | 33 Warrenton Street | Boston | Mass:. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Feb | 21 | 6 PM | Pa.; Boston Mass. | Feb | 22 | 11 AM | Carrier. In her letter of February 16, 1879, Beatrice descibed her work at the hospital and her decidedly favorable impression of Boston (The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, ed. Thomas B. Harned [New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918], 175–176). Perhaps a mistake for Mr. George Stafford, the father. Harry Stafford had last visited Whitman on February 10 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This postal card is addressed: Herbert Gilchrist | 112 Madison avenue | New York City. It is postmarked: Esopus | (?). Whitman stayed with John Burroughs from April 23 to May 3, 1879 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). A report of his journey appeared in the New York Tribune on May 17 under the heading, "Real Summer Openings"; most of the material was included in Specimen Days (ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 190–196, 339–341). Burroughs was particularly delighted with what was to be Whitman's last visit to Esopus-on-Hudon: "The weather has been nearly perfect, and his visit has been a great treat to me—April days with Homer and Socrates for company" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 184). The report in the New York Tribune included two paragraphs describing Burroughs's son, Julian, passages omitted in Specimen Days (ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 339–340). On April 28, 1879, Whitman visited Professor Frédéric Louis Ritter (1834–1891), professor of music and art at Vassar College. Fanny Raymond Ritter, a musician and a friend of William D. O'Connor, invited Whitman to visit her in a letter to O'Connor on April 26, 1876 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, January 7, 1889, 483–484). Her letter "was on rose tinted paper in a pale green envelope, and perfumed like Arabia Felix," or so O'Connor described it to Burroughs on May 4, 1876. Professor Ritter composed a musical setting for "Dirge for Two Veterans" (see the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of February 21, 1880, and Barrus, 355). The "Tom Moore Centenary" took place on May 28, 1879. This note to Herbert was included in the letter from Whitman to Harry Stafford of May 28, 1879. Wyatt Eaton (1849–1896), the artist (see the letter from Whitman to Herbert Gilchrist of May 10, 1878). According to Anne Gilchrist's letter of March 18, 1879, Eaton had urged Herbert to continue his studies in Paris (The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, ed. Thomas B. Harned [New York: Doubleday, Page and Company, 1918], 177–178). The Moran brothers, Edward (1829–1901), Thomas (1837–1926), and Peter (1841–1914), were British-born painters who had emigrated to the U.S. in 1844. Whitman's recent articles in the New York Tribune. This postal card is addressed: Mrs Anne Gilchrist | 177 Remsen Street | Brooklyn N Y. It is postmarked: Camden | Dec | 6 | N.J.; Brooklyn N.Y. | Dec | 7 | 9 AM | Received. Whitman erred in writing "Nov. 6." Upon his return from Kirkwood on December 6, he sent a post card to Anne Gilchrist in Brooklyn (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). There are no extant letters from Anne Gilchrist or from Herbert. This postal card is addressed: Herbert Gilchrist | 315 West 19th Street | New York City. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | (?) | 25 | (?) | Pa. In his Commonplace Book, Whitman mentioned that the "cold spell" lasted from December 24 to 29 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman had Sunday breakfast (December 22) with John L. Wilson, the purser of the "Whildin" steamboat. Upon his return, Whitman sent Wilson a photograph and a copy of Memoranda During the War (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Probably Wyatt Eaton (see the letter from Whitman to Herbert Gilchrist of May 10, 1878), who did a crayon drawing of William Cullen Bryant for Scribner's Monthly (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman had a serious relapse while he was in the West, and was not able to return to Camden until early in January, 1880. On January 2, 1879, Whitman's sister Hannah Heyde (1823–1908) had written a letter to Whitman, in which she expressed her concern that her husband Charles (ca. 1820–1892) had written with negative things to say about her. She insisted that he "cannot or does not say one word of truth." Charles Heyde was infamous among the Whitman family for his querulous letters and his bad treatment of Hannah. Though Whitman wrote several times a year to Mary Cabot and never failed to send her a Christmas gift, usually $5, few of his letters to her are extant, and only two of her letters are known. See Faint Clews & Indirections, ed. Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver (Durham: Duke University Press, 1949), 207–208; Appendix C, December 23, 1883 (Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library). Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. In Specimen Days, Whitman made no references to these liabilities (ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 228). William Torrey Harris (1835–1909), the editor of The Journal of Speculative Philosophy from 1867 to 1893, was the leading interpreter of Hegel and German philosophy in America and superintendent of schools in St. Louis. See also the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of November 23, 1879, and Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, May 22, 1888. Gertrude Garrigues's "Raphael's School of Athens," The Journal of Speculative Philosophy (October 1879), 8:406–420. This letter is addressed: Herbert H Gilchrist | 112 Madison Avenue | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden | Feb | 6 | N.J.; New York | Feb 6 | 8 PM | 79 | (?). In his February 2, 1879, letter to "Dear Darling Walt," Herbert mentioned the development of a "tenfold facility with my brush since the autumn" and receptions given by various New Yorkers which were attended by such people as Katharine Hillard and Joaquin Miller (The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, ed. Thomas B. Harned [New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918], 173–174). Burroughs was suffering from "painfully excruciating" attacks of neuralgia (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, 173). Whitman noted meeting Alexander Boroday, a "Russian gent, on Chestnut st. Feb. '79" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Harry had visited Whitman on January 22 (Whitman's Commonplace Book); see also his letter to Whitman of January 13. George Stafford's older brother, Montgomery (1820–1907). Captain Vandoren Townsend was married to Patience, George Stafford's sister. After moving from Massachusetts to New York, Anne Gilchrist wrote frequently and impatiently to Whitman (Walt Whitman: The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 3:147). She wanted him to come to see her. "Are you never coming?" she asked on January 27. "I do long & long to see you" (The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, 171). Whitman did not hurry—he never did when he was importuned—and he arrived in New York on April 9. In fact, he apparently did not write to Anne until March 27 (see the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of March 27, 1879). Grace, Herbert's sister. Herbert's married brother, a metallurgist (1851–1935). On January 5 Anne Gilchrist informed Whitman that Percy was about to lose his position, and that she wondered about his making a career in America, but by January 14, she had come to the conclusion that Percy should remain in England (The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, 167, 169–170). Percy's problems created a great deal of uncertainly for Anne, since she had to assist her son, as she wrote to Beatrice on January 28, "with a little of the money that was to have taken us back—so that even if he gets an opening in England & decides not to come, we may have to wait another year, & contrive to get a little forward in money matters somehow or other before we can go" (Feinberg). At this time Percy was engaged in experiments which led to the establishment of the Basic Bessemer Process; see Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society, 2 (1936–1938), 19–24.This letter is addressed: John Burroughs | care J B Marvin | Internal Revenue Bureau | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Mar | 27 | (?).
Joseph B. Marvin, one of Whitman's Washington friends, had visited Whitman on February 24, 1879 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Marvin had been co-editor of The Radical in 1866–1867. Later he was employed in the Treasury Department in Washington.
That this letter was written in 1879 is confirmed by an entry in Whitman's Commonplace Book and by the reference to the New York lecture. Horace Furness (1833–1912) was the distinguished editor of the Variorum Shakespeare, and was one of the honorary pallbearers at Whitman's funeral. See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1914), 3:520. Frank Furness designed the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and was the teacher of Louis Sullivan, who described his mentor in The Autobiography of an Idea (New York: Press of the American Institute of Architects, 1926), 190–196. John W. Forney (1817–1881) established the Philadelphia Press in 1857, the Washington Sunday Morning Chronicle in 1861, and the Daily Morning Chronicle in 1862. In 1878, he founded the Philadelphia Progress, a weekly magazine to which Whitman contributed; "The First Spring Day on Chestnut Street" appeared in the Progress on March 8, 1879 (Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 188–190). During the Washington years, Whitman's self-puffs had frequently appeared in Forney's newspapers. Later in 1879, the publisher accompanied Whitman to Kansas (see the letter from Walt to Louisa Whitman of September 12–13, 1879). John Foster Kirk (not Kirke) (1824–1904) was editor of Lippincott's Magazine from 1870 to 1886. This letter is addressed: John Burroughs | Esopus-on-Hudson | New York. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Mar | 20 | 1 PM | Pa. Richard Watson Gilder (1844–1909) was the assistant editor of Scribner's Monthly from 1870 to 1881 and editor of its successor, The Century, from 1881 until his death. Whitman had met Gilder for the first time in 1877 at John H. Johnston's (Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer [New York: Macmillan, 1955], 482). He attended a reception and tea given by Gilder of William Cullen Bryant's funeral on June 14; see "A Poet's Recreation" in the New York Tribune, July 4, 1878. Whitman considered Gilder one of the "always sane men in the general madness" of "that New York art delirium" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 9 vols., 2:93). Charles de Kay (1848–1935) was the literary and art editor of the New York Times from 1876 to 1894, and was the brother-in-law of Gilder (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 182). Whitman met de Kay at a reception given by Gilder on June 14, 1878 (Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 329). At this time, Whitman was experiencing what he referred to as a "rheumatic (neuralgic) attack." See the letters from Whitman to Herbert Gilchrist of February 6, 1879 and Beatrice Gilchrist of February 21, 1879. Smith Caswell. See the postcard from Whitman to William Harrison Riley of March 18, 1879. The year is established by the reference to the Lincoln lecture on April 14. Anne Gilchrist wrote five letters to Whitman in 1879 before he replied: on January 5, 14, and 27, and on March 18 and 26. After moving from Massachusetts to New York, Gilchrist wrote frequently and impatiently to Whitman. She wanted him to come to see her. "Are you never coming?" she asked on January 27, 1879. "I do long & long to see you" (The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, ed. Thomas B. Harned [New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918], 171). Whitman did not hurry—he never did when he was importuned—and he arrived in New York on April 9. Emma Dowe (see the letter from Whitman to Emma Dowe of July 12, 1877). Her arrival in Camden was noted in Whitman's Commonplace Book on March 6 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman sent Amy H. Dowe a valentine on February 14 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Amy taught school in Norwich, Connecticut, from 1912 until 1918, when she moved to Philadelphia with her father. The letter is addressed: Mrs Anne Gilchrist | Lower Shincliffe | Durham | England. It is postmarked: Philad'a Pa. | Aug | 18 | Paid All; Durham | H | Au 29 | 79; Haslemere | A | Sp 1 | 79. Anne Gilchrist wrote after landing in Glasgow on June 20 and on August 2 from Durham, where her son Percy was living. Both were substantive letters about her travels and various points of interest (The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, ed. Thomas B. Harned [New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918], 181–185). Whitman visited the Staffords from July 2 to 9. It was an uneventful summer except for an "Evening at Exposition Building, at National Teachers' Reception—saw the phonograph and telephone" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 203). "Winter Sunshine. A Trip from Camden to the Coast" (see the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of January 25, 1879). In her letter of October 6–12, Anne Gilchrist hoped "you would reconsider the title—so far, that is, as to leave out the clause 'by half paralytic'...for health and vigour, dear Friend, are and ever must remain synonymous with our Walts name" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 147). On August 2, 1879, Anne Gilchrist described her grandson and the Durham Cathedral (The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, ed. Thomas B. Harned [New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918], 183). See also Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall (New York: New York University Press, 1963), 215. E. L. (Ed. Lindsey), who lived in Sterling, Kansas, with whom Whitman stayed on September 24 and 25 (Specimen Days, 219; Walt Whitman Review, 7 [1961], 10). Whitman is referring to the picture of the bridge on the stationery he used. This letter is addressed: Mrs Anne Gilchrist | 1 Elm Villas | Elm Row Heath street | Hampstead | London | England. It is postmarked: Saint Louis | Nov | 10 | 2 PM | Mo,; London, N(?) | (?) | Paid | 24 No 79. Anne Gilchrist's post card of October 1879 contained her address (Walt Whitman Review, 7 [1961], 12). In her letter of October 6–12, 1879, she noted a recent luncheon with Tennyson and the preparation of a new edition of her husband's Life of William Blake (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 147–148). The map is reproduced by Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist in Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings (London: T.F. Unwin, 1887), 253. Of this map, Anne Gilchrist wrote to Whitman on December 5, 18879: "You could not easily realize the strong emotion, with which I read your last note and traced on the little map—a most precious possession to me which I would not part with for the whole world—all your journeyings—both in youth & now" (The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, ed. Thomas B. Harned [New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918]). As his health improved, Whitman wrote articles for various newspapers. On November 12, 1879, he sent a letter to Joseph B. Marvin, a friend in Washington, with a "piece" for Frank Brett Noyes, the editor of the Washington Star. "A Poet's Western Trip" appeared in the Star on November 15. On November 20, he forwarded a "piece" to Bartram Bonsall, the editor of the Camden Daily Post, perhaps the item on November 29 referring to a volume of prose based on his Western journey. In a letter to Erastus Brainerd on December 9, he enclosed a poem, "What Best I See in Thee," and a "¶ for Personal—in answer to request"; they appeared in the Philadelphia Press on December 17. See Walt Whitman Review, 7 (1961), 10, 12. This letter is addressed: John Burroughs | Esopus-on-Hudson | Ulster County | New York. It is postmarked: Saint Louis | Nov | (?) | Mo. Apparently Whitman wrote Burroughs two days earlier about William Douglas O'Connor; see the cryptic entry in his diary (Walt Whitman Review, 7 [1961], 11). Her letter of October 6–12 (see the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of November 10, 1879). R. W. Gilder, writing to Whitman from England on October 1, mentioned Charles Bonaparte Wyse, a young Irish poet, who wanted to visit, in his own words, "this most sympathetic of poets, for whose large & lofty nature my admiration is merged with love." Smith Caswell, Burroughs's hired-hand, to whom Whitman wrote (lost) on November 4. Reproduced by Clara Barrus in Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931), 188. Whitman, in short, approved of his own contribution to Burroughs's article in Scribner's Monthly (see the letter from Whitman to Burroughs of August 29, 1879). In his review of Matthew Arnold's Selections from Wordsworth, in The Fortnightly Review, 27 (1879), 686–701, Symonds quoted Whitman's indictment of English literature as "no model for us," but added that if Whitman had read Wordsworth, "he would have made at least a qualified exception in his favor." See the letter from Whitman to William Torrey Harris of October 27, 1879. Whitman did not leave St. Louis until January 4, 1880. This letter is addressed: Herbert Gilchrist | 1 Elm Villas Elm Row | Heath Street Hampstead | London | England. It is postmarked: Saint Louis | Dec | 15 | 6 PM | Mo; London N.W. | C7 | Paid | (?) 79. According to his diary, Whitman had "very bad spells" from December 7 to 10, "(sometimes tho't it all nearing the end)" (Walt Whitman Review, 7 [1961], 12). James T. Fields wrote to Burroughs on December 22, 1879, about sending Walt Whitman "a small Christmas remembrance in money [$100] . . . There is no occasion for his being told who sends it" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 189). On December 29 Burroughs sent the gift without mentioning the donor's name (The John Rylands Library, Manchester, England). On November 9 Richard Maurice Bucke had offered the poet $100 as a gift or a loan. Whitman wrote on the letter: "Kind letter from Dr Bucke offering money (declined with thanks)" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The Eads Bridge. Whitman undoubtedly meant to write "Jan 3," since Sunday was the fourth (Walt Whitman: The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 3:172). This postal card is addressed: Mrs Gilchrist | 1 Elm Villas Elm Row | Heath Street Hampstead | London | England. It is postmarked: Saint Louis | Jan | (?). Anne Gilchrist replied to this post card on January 25: "Welcome was your post card announcing recovered health & return to Camden! . . . I wish one of those old red Market Ferry Cars were going to land you at our door once more! What you would have to tell us of Western scenes & life!" (The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, ed. Thomas B. Harned [New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918], 190). Thhis letter is addressed: John Burroughs | Esopus-on-Hudson | Ulster Co: | New York. It is postmarked: Camden | Feb | 21 | N.J. Whitman received a check for $25 from Burroughs on February 20 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Smith Caswell, Burroughs's hired hand. See the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of December 12, 1878. Studies of the Greek Poets was published in a two-volume edition in 1879–1880 in Boston. On February 16, 1880, Whitman received from Ruskin £10 for five sets of books through Herbert J. Bathgate, to whom the books were sent on February 19 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). In a letter on January 31, Bathgate quoted a recent communication from Ruskin: "The reason neither he (yourself) nor Emerson are read in England is first—that they are deadly true—in the sense of rifles—against all our deadliest sins. The second that this truth is asserted with an especial colour of American egotism which good English scholars cannot, and bad ones will not endure. This is the particular poison and tare by which the Devil has rendered their fruit ungatherable but by gleaning and loving hands, or the blessed ones of the poor." The first sentence of this letter was quoted in The Athenaeum on March 20, 1880. See also the letter from Whitman to William Harrison Riley of March 18, 1879. In her letter on January 25, 1880, Anne Gilchrist added this postscript: "Please give my love to John Burroughs when you write or see him" (The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, ed. Thomas B. Harned [New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918], 192). Beatrice Gilchrist was studying medicine in Switzerland. On January 19, Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke asked Whitman for "a sketch of your interior life—especially in relation to the conception and elaboration of 'Leaves of Grass.'" On February 3 he acknowledged receipt of articles about the poet by O'Connor, Burroughs, and Gilchrist, and again requested more "inward and outward" facts about the poet's life. On February 6 Bucke noted his recent lectures on Whitman's poetry and his arrangements for the sale of his works, a subject to which he again referred in letters on March 18 and March 23. In his "circular" soliciting information about the poet, Bucke wrote: "I am myself fully satisfied that WALT WHITMAN is one of the greatest men, if not the very greatest man, that the world has so far produced" (The Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, New York Public Library). Frédéric Louis Ritter, composer and professor at Vassar College (see the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of February 21, 1880) composed a setting for "Dirge for Two Veterans." Kenneth P. Neilson, in The World of Walt Whitman Music: A Bibliographical Study (1963), lists only one work by Ritter. This letter is addressed: Frederick Locker | 25 Chesham Street | London S W | England. It is postmarked: Camden | Mar | 23 | N.J.; Philad'a, Pa. | Mar | 23 | Paid All. Locker-Lampson acknowledged receipt of the book on April 7 (Thomas Donaldson, Walt Whitman the Man [New York: Francis P. Harper, 1896], 236–237). This letter is addressed: Robert G Ingersoll | 1421 New York Avenue | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden | Apr | 3 | N.J.Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–1899), the noted lawyer and agnostic, sent on March 25, 1880, what Whitman termed a "cordial, flattering, affectionate letter" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.).
Whitman heard Ingersoll lecture, evidently for the first time, on May 25: "talked afterward with him a few minutes" (Whitman's Commonplace Book). On May 26 the Philadelphia Press noted that "Walt Whitman . . . drank deep draughts of the orator's eloquence," and interpolated into its reprint of the text at several points, "['Amen' from Walt Whitman.]" On the following day Richard Maurice Bucke, who had accompanied the poet, denied that Whitman had showed either approval or disapproval. See also Whitman's comments on Ingersoll's religious views in his letter to Harry Stafford of January 27, 1881.
The Gilchrists sailed for Glasgow on June 9, 1879 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See also the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of August 18, 1879. Before embarking, Anne Gilchrist and Whitman had a private farewell at Johnston's home—a farewell which neither was willing to discuss (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 146–147). The meeting was Anne Gilchrist's final defeat, as she "learned of finalities | Besides the grave." "Three Young Men's Deaths" (see the letter from Whitman to John Fraser of June 16, 1879). Burroughs's hired hand, Smith Caswell. Albert, John H. Johnston's son, accompanied Whitman to Burroughs's home in 1878 (see the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of June 23–26, 1878). Whitman sent the 1876 two-volume edition to E. D. Mansfield and James W. Thomson on June 16, 1879, and to W. G. Brooke on June 20 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Upon his return to England, Herbert Gilchrist spent a week with Edward Carpenter and his family (The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, ed. Thomas B. Harned [New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918], 183). Burroughs's son, Julian. This letter is addressed: Harry L Stafford | (Glendale) | Kirkwood | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden | Apr | 14 | N.J. See the letter from Whitman to William Reisdell of April 13, 1880. 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. Whitman included in this letter a news release based on an interview printed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on October 17, in which he criticized William Cullen Bryant, John Greenleaf Whittier, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (reprinted in American Literature, 14 [1942–1943], 144–147). See also Robert Underwood Johnson, Remembered Yesterdays (Boston: Little, Brown, 1923), 336, and Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall (New York: New York University Press, 1963), 167. 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. This letter is addressed: William Reisdell | at the door Association | Hall, cor 15th & | Chestnut | Phila:. Whitman delivered "Death of Abraham Lincoln" at Association Hall, Philadelphia, on April 15. He sent the lecture to the Chicago Tribune and to the Cincinnati Commercial on April 13 (not published), and forwarded to many of his friends the account of the speech which appeared in the Camden Daily Post on April 16, the introductory paragraphs of which are quoted in Roy P. Basler's edition of Memoranda During the War [Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1962], 30–33). See also the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of May 9, 1880. This note is written at the top of a proof sheet entitled "Walt Whitman Last Night," which Whitman had obviously placed in type before he gave his lecture. Although the letters are not extant, probably the poet sent similar notes to the editors of the Chicago Tribune, the Cincinnati Commercial, and to the Philadelphia Press. There is the possibility that Whitman prepared this copy but did not send it. At the bottom of the sheet Whitman appended a note: "to printer dont mind the different type." This letter is addressed: Harry L Stafford | (Glendale) | Kirkwood | Camden County | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden | Apr | 19 | N.J. On this visit Whitman was the guest of John L. Wilson, the ship's purser. See also the letter from Whitman to Herbert Gilchrist of December 25, 1878. The artist whom Whitman visited frequently. (See Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 235). Apparently the Johnstons became annoyed at something Whitman said in his (lost) letter to their son on June 9, for on June 21 Scovel informed the poet that "Johns[t]on called here Sunday with your letter to his Boy." Scovel urged Whitman to apologize to the mother and thus "stop Johns[t]on's blathering." This postal card is addressed: Herbert Gilchrist | 5 Mount Vernon | Hampstead | London England. It is postmarked: Haddonfield | Apr | 29 | N.J.; Philad'a Pa. | Apr | 25(?) | Paid All. Whitman was at Glendale with the Staffords from April 23 to May 4 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Harry's brothers, Montgomery (1862–1926?), Van Doran (1864–1914), and George (1869–1924). For Ruth, see the letter from Whitman to Herbert Gilchrist of August 3–5, 1878. Whitman sent to Mrs. Gilchrist the account in the Camden Daily Post on April 16, 1880 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). On March 28 Mrs. Gilchrist wrote at length about Beatrice's decision to give up her medical studies. Evidently during her stay in Switzerland Beatrice had decided that because she was intellectually incapable of becoming an ideal physician, she preferred to abandon the profession. Her sympathetic (but possessive) mother observed that "the profession was like a great man that swallowed her up from me." A year later Beatrice committed suicide (see the letter from Whitman to Harry Stafford of September 9, 1881). This letter is addressed: Frederick Locker | 25 Chesham Street | Belgrave Square | London S W | England. It is postmarked: Camden | May | 28; Philad'a Pa. | May | 28 | Paid All. Whitman was with the Staffords from May 19 to 23 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). His trips "on the water" were confined to his rides on the ferry from Camden to Philadelphia. See the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of May 9, 1880. On June 15, Locker-Lampson acknowledged Whitman's letter as well as the receipt of the Emerson article and "The Riddle Song." On July 3, he requested that Whitman write a few lines in a Sir Walter Scott manuscript. "Summer Days in Canada" appeared in the London (Ontario) Advertiser on the date stipulated. The article did not appear in the New York Tribune. It later was included in Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall (New York: New York University Press, 1963), 236–241, 345–346. According to Whitman's Commonplace Book, the article was sent to the following papers, in addition to the two mentioned: Boston Herald, Philadelphia Press, Cincinnati Commercial, Chicago Tribune, Detroit Free Press, Louisville Courier-Journal, Washington Post, and to Canadian newspapers in New Brunswick, Halifax, Toronto, and Montreal (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The price, except for the Tribune, was $10. Whitman offered the piece to the Woodstown (N.J.) Register for $7, however, and to the Camden Daily Post without charge. Only the Camden Daily Post and the Philadelphia Press printed the piece (Edwin Haviland Miller, Walt Whitman: The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 181). This postal card is addressed: J.H. Johnston jeweler | 150 Bowery cor: Broome St | New York City U S A. It is postmarked: Sarnia | Ju(?) | (?). Timothy Blair Pardee was Commissioner of Crown Lands (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Johnston's son, Albert. Johnston replied to this card on June 26. There is no reference to Whitman's illness in Whitman's Commonplace Book, but in a letter to William D. O'Connor on July 1, Bucke noted that Whitman "has not been very well for a few days" (The Trent Collection of Walt Whitman Manuscripts, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). Though Whitman and O'Connor remained estranged until 1882, Bucke as well as John Burroughs apparently kept O'Connor informed about the poet's activities. This letter is addressed: Peter Doyle | M Street South bet: 4½ & 6th | Washington | D C | U S A. Whitman left London on July 26 for his trip on the St. Lawrence River and returned to London on August 14. Whitman's account of this journey was published in the London (Canada) Advertiser, the Philadelphia Press, and the Camden Daily Post on August 26. He sent the article on August 23 to the Washington Sunday Herald (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Most of the material was later incorporated into Specimen Days & Collect (1882; see Whitman's Complete Prose Works, 1–202). See also the account of this trip in Walt Whitman's Diary in Canada, ed. William Sloane Kennedy (Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1904), 16–40. Hiskey and Captain Respegius Edward Lindell worked for the Camden ferries (Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 183). Lindell, who was also a viola player, wrote to Whitman on July 4: "The boys read your little postal cards with much pleasure" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Tilghman Hiskey | Care of Ed: Lindell | ferry foot of Federal St: | Camden New Jersey | U S A. It is postmarked: Sarnia | (?). Whitman was in Sarnia, Canada, from June 19 to 24 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). See also Walt Whitman's Diary in Canada, ed. William Sloane Kennedy (Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1904), 3–10. Whitman's printed accounts of his activities in Canada were more colorful than his personal letters, usually cards, as also was his Canadian diary. Whitman was especially attracted to a number of young Canadians; see his letters to Thomas Nicholson of October 14, 1880, December 17, 1880 and October 12, 1881. A young man named Norman McKenzie, a high school student in Sarnia, wrote to Whitman on June 29: "Do you remember the nice sail we had that night on the lake and river, I will never forget it, you, and I had such a pleasant time up in the bow of the boat when I sat on your lap and asked you questions about the which you wrote about in your book named Two Rivulets." McKenzie wanted to visit Whitman in London, Canada, during the school vacation period. The poet undoubtedly met the boy when he visited a public school in Sarnia (Walt Whitman's Diary in Canada, 8–9); probably McKenzie accompanied the poet on "A Moonlight Excursion up Lake Huron" (7–8). Whitman replied (lost) to the boy's letter on July 4 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). The records of book sales in Whitman's Commonplace Book are numerous at this time (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman had written to the Postmaster General at Ottawa, Canada, about October 13 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). F. A. Hoag was a young reporter who died on June 17, 1890, at age thirty-five. Whitman was at Glendale from November 6, Saturday, to November 16, 1880 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). This postal card is addressed: A Williams & Co: | Booksellers | 283 Washington Street | Boston Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden | Nov | 1 | N.J. This transaction with the Boston book dealer was noted in Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The card was marked by the bookseller—"Paid Nov. 3/80 $7.00." The envelope for this letter bears the address: Mrs Gilchrist | Keats' Corner | Wells Road | Hampstead | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden | Nov | 17 | N.J.; London, N.W. | Z A | No 29 | 80. Walt Whitman was in Kirkwood from November 6 to 16, 1880 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Stedman's "Walt Whitman" appeared in the November issue of Scribner's Monthly (47–64); it was reprinted in Poets of America (Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed., [Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1885], 349–395). For the reactions of Whitman's friends to Stedman's article, see Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931), 192–195, and the letter from Walt Whitman to John Burroughs of November 26, 1880. On July 17, 1880, Anne Gilchrist informed Louisa Whitman that some Americans had purchased Percy's "Dephosphorization process"; see Edwin Haviland Miller, "Amy H. Dowe and Walt Whitman," Walt Whitman Review 13 (September 1967), 73–79. See also the letter from Walt Whitman to Herbert Gilchrist of February 6, 1879. Analysis of Whitman's records in the Commonplace Book about book sales in 1880 shows that purchasers were chiefly Americans (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See the letter from Walt Whitman to Herbert Gilchrist of October 10, 1880. On July 10, 1880, Child informed Whitman that Trübner & Co. had exhausted its supply of Leaves of Grass. He sent a draft for $80.50, and ordered ten copies of Leaves of Grass and five of Two Rivulets (The John Rylands Library, Manchester, England). Whitman wrote on September 19 to John H. Ingram (1848–1916), who, in addition to the edition of Poe's writings, wrote Chatterton and His Circle and Christopher Marlowe and His Associates (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). After reading this letter to his mother, Herbert Gilchrist wrote on November 30, 1880, about the publication of Whitman's prose writings in England. He wanted to illustrate the volume which he thought was to be entitled "Pond Musings by Walt Whitman" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, ed. Thomas B. Harned [Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page, 1918], 195–196). This postal card is addressed: Tilghman Hiskey | care of Ed: Lindell | ferry foot of Federal Street | Camden New Jersey | U S A. It is postmarked: (?) | Jy 28 | 80 | Canada. Hiskey's fellow employees on the Camden ferries, many of whom were cited in Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall (New York: New York University Press, 1963), 183. See also the letter from Whitman to Hiskey of June 20, 1880 and Walt Whitman's Diary in Canada, ed. William Sloane Kennedy (Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1904), 19–20. This letter bears the address: Thos: J Whitman | office Water Commissioner | City Hall | St Louis | Missouri | U S A. It is postmarked: (?) | (?) 2 | 80 | Canada. Dr. W. G. Metcalf; see the account in Walt Whitman's Diary in Canada, ed. William Sloane Kennedy (Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1904), 17, 22–26. Metcalf was in Philadelphia with Richard Maurice Bucke on May 25 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This note, probably directing an acquaintance to a Sunday morning breakfast at Scovel's home, was written on the verso of an invitation to a farewell reception for the sculptor, W. W. Story, on December 24, 1877. The decision to go to New York was impromptu (Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 165–167). William Cullen Bryant was buried on June 14. After the funeral Whitman attended a reception and tea given by Gilder (Specimen Days, 329). According to his Commonplace Book, Whitman returned from Kirkwood on November 8 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On October 25, 1878, Anne Gilchrist had written from Concord, Mass., about her visit with Emerson, and had inquired about Herbert's portrait of Whitman and his landscape (The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, ed. Thomas B. Harned [New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918], 161–162). On November 13, 1878, she expressed her delight with the description of Herbert's painting but wondered whether Whitman was satisfied with the portrait (The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, 164). Probably the poet Arthur Peterson (1851–1932), whose Songs of New-Sweden appeared in 1887. See also the letter from Whitman to Herbert Gilchrist of December 15, 1879. Whitman received Tennyson's letter of August 24 on October 21 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). See the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of November 10, 1878. See the letter from Whitman to Josiah Child of December 10, 1878. Smith Caswell was one of Burroughs' hired hands (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 178). In the New York Tribune on May 17, 1879, Whitman described Caswell ploughing in a raspberry field (Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 340). After Burroughs informed Whitman of the death of Caswell's brother, Charles, the poet copied verbatim Burroughs's sketch of the young man in "Three Young Men's Deaths," printed in Cope's Tobacco Plant and later in Specimen Days (157–158). Whitman sent the article to John Fraser, the editor of Cope's Tobacco Plant, on November 27, through Josiah Child (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See also the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of June 11, 1879. Jeannette Leonard Gilder (1849–1916) was Richard Watson Gilder's sister. Whitman met her, probably for the first time, at a reception given by her brother on June 14, although he wrote to her in 1875 (see the letter from Whitman to Gilder of December 30, 1875). At this time Jeannette Gilder was writing a literary column for the New York Herald. With her brother Joseph, she founded The Critic in 1881 and was its editor until 1906. Whitman wrote to Jeannette Gilder, evidently about the biographical sketch, on December 20, 22, and 30 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). See also the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of December 23–25, 1878. Burroughs's "Picturesque Aspects of Farm Life in New York" appeared in the November issue of Scribner's Monthly, 17 (1878), 41–54. The transaction with Trübner & Co. See the letter from Whitman to Josiah Child of December 10, 1878. On this occasion, Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke presented to Whitman a copy of Man's Moral Nature (1879): "I dedicate this book to the man who inspired it—to the man who of all men past and present that I have known has the most exalted moral nature—to WALT WHITMAN." During the year, Bucke sent to Whitman his pamphlet entitled The Moral Nature and the Great Sympathetic (1878) "with the author's affectionate regards" (presentation copy in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). According to his Commonplace Book, Whitman sent a note on December 12 to George W. Childs (1824–1894), co-owner of the Philadelphia Public Ledger, and on December 17, he received "50 from G W C for the drivers' gloves" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). At Christmas, Whitman sent gloves to friends, relatives, and various drivers. He apparently had enough gloves to give them as presents again in 1881. This draft letter appears on the verso of notes for "A County Auction." The lecture on Lincoln which had been postponed earlier in the year because of Whitman's health. Burroughs published Locusts and Wild Honey in 1879. See the letter from Whitman to Burroughs of December 12, 1878. See the letter from Whitman to George W. Childs of December 12, 1878. This letter is addressed: John Burroughs | Esopus-on-Hudson | New York. It is postmarked: Camden | Jan | 26 | N.J. On January 13 Burroughs wrote to Whitman about the title of his new book, which his publisher did not like. See Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931), 181. John Burroughs' "Winter Sunshine. A Trip from Camden to the Coast" appeared in the Philadelphia Times on January 26, 1876; it was reprinted by Herbert Bergman in Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, 66 (October 1948), 139–154. This letter is derived from a transcription that was sent to Professor Rollo G. Silver by the secretary of Ogden Reid (Walt Whitman: The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77]). The two-column report of Whitman's address—"A Poet on the Platform"—in the New York Tribune on April 15, began: "The poet Walt Whitman made his beginning as a lecturer last night at Steck Hall, in Fourteenth-st. His subject was the death of President Lincoln. He reads from notes, sitting in a chair, as he is still much disabled from paralysis. He desires engagements as a reader of his own poems and as a lecturer." Wilson (1832–1914) served in the Civil War, was an editor of Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biography, and author of biographies of Grant and Fitz-Greene Halleck. Probably Wilson sent to Whitman The Poets and Poetry of Scotland (1876). Walt Whitman wrote to Wilson again on . Bloor (1828–1917) was, he informed Whitman on June 9, a member of the architectural staff that designed Central Park (Library of Congress). He was a poet as well as the author of a number of architectural treatises. Whitman quoted from Bloor's letter at the conclusion of his article in the Tribune on May 24 (see Floyd Stovall, ed.,Specimen Days[New York: New York University Press, 1963], 342). Bloor had taken exception to Whitman's contemptuous references to actors in his lecture on Lincoln's murder. A lost letter written on April 29. On June 9 Bloor sent to Whitman "a copy of the selections you made from my journal, and also an account of the information Clara Harris [daughter of Senator Ira Harris] gave me as to what she knew of Mr. Lincoln's assassination" (Library of Congress). The location of the original manuscript of this letter is unknown. The text is derived from a transcript found in the Catalog of Thomas Madigan (1930). Josiah Child was the agent for Trübner & Company (see the letter from Whitman to Trübner & Company of October 1, 1878). On June 25 Whitman shipped thirty-six volumes at $3.50 each, as he informed the firm two days later (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). "Three Young Men's Deaths," which appeared in the April issue (2, 318–319). Whitman sent the article on November 27, 1878, to John Fraser, the editor of the magazine. He received $15.30 for it on June 15 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). See the letter from Whitman to John Fraser of June 16, 1879. "The Dalliance of the Eagles" appeared in this magazine in November 1880 (2, 552). In the Walt Whitman Review, 16 (1970), 56–57, Professor Florence B. Freedman has identified T. D. Westness as an uneducated English admirer; see also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), 9 vols., 3:571–573. Freedman also points out that Walters may be the Frank W. Walters mentioned in William Sloane Kennedy's The Fight of a Book for the World (West Yarmouth, MA: The Stonecroft Press, 1926), 41. For Henry Norman of the Pall Mall Gazette, see Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller (New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977), 4:62. Thomas Dixon, an uneducated corkcutter of Sunderland, England, was one of Whitman's early English admirers. In 1856 he had bought copies of Leaves of Grass from a book peddler; one of these copies was later sent by William B. Scott to William Michael Rossetti. Dixon vigorously supported cultural projects and was in effect the ideal laborer of Ruskin, who printed many of his letters to the corkcutter in Time and Tide (1867). See Autobiographical Notes of the Life of William Bell Scott, ed. W. Minto (1892), 2:32–33, 267–269; Harold Blodgett, Walt Whitman in England (1934), 15–17; The Works of John Ruskin, ed. E. T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn (1905), 17:78–79. John P. Usher, Jr., was the son of Judge Usher, with whom Whitman had stayed at Lawrence, Kansas (see the letter from Walt Whitman to Louisa Whitman of September 12–13, 1879). On the same day he sent to the son a copy of Memoranda During the War and two photographs, one of which was intended for Linton J. Usher, probably the brother of Judge Usher (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The location of the original manuscript of this letter is unknown. The text is derived from a transcript found in American Literature, 9 (1937-38), 243. This letter is addressed: Horace Howard Furness | 222 West Washington Square | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Camden | Apr | 9 | (?). Whitman returned from a visit with the Staffords on April 8, 1880 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On April 15 he sent the volumes to Howard Roberts (1843–1900), a sculptor whom he met on March 12, 1879, at a dinner attended by Furness (Whitman's Commonplace Book). This letter is addressed: Horace Howard Furness | 222 West Washington Square | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Camden | Apr | 13. April 13 fell on Tuesday in 1880. Perhaps Whitman was acknowledging receipt of money for a set of his books which he sent to Furness on March 30 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: John Burroughs | Esopus-on-Hudson | New York. It is postmarked: Camden | May | 9 | N.J.; New York | May 10 | 5 AM | 80(?) | Recd. "A Riddle Song" appeared in the Tarrytown Sunnyside Press on April 3. "Emerson's Books (the Shadows of Them)" appeared in The Literary World on May 22 (11:177–178); it was reprinted in the New York Tribune on May 15, 1882, and later appeared in Specimen Days & Collect (1882; see Whitman's Complete Prose Works, 319–321). Edward Abbott was evidently associated with The Literary World. Richard Maurice Bucke arrived in Camden on May 25 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Edmund Clarence Stedman's "Edgar Allan Poe" and John Burroughs's "Notes of a Walker" appeared in Scribner's Monthly, 20 (1880), 47–64, 97–102. According to Whitman's Commonplace Book, Whitman sent to Burroughs Herbert Gilchrist's letter of May 9, in which he described a visit to the studio of Dante Gabriel Rossetti (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 148–149). Whitman sent Caswell a copy of the Lincoln lecture on May 13, 1880, and other clippings on May 23 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). C. H. Sholes, a shorthand reporter in Des Moines, Iowa, requested the 1876 edition on March 12, 1880 (see the letter from Whitman to Sholes of March 12). Whitman noted receiving an "ardent letter from him" in the same month. Sholes on June 30 "saw Dr B[ucke] and myself in Dr B's library—London" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: C H Sholes | Short-Hand Reporter | Des Moines | Iowa | U S A. It is postmarked: London | (?) | Ju 10 | 8(?) | Ontario. Edward G. Doggett lived in Bristol, England (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Burroughs on November 2, 1880, informed Whitman of Stedman's difficulties in getting his article printed in Scribner's Monthly over the objections of Holland, the editor, and observed: "The article is candid & respectful & that is all we can ask. . . . it seems to me that the adverse criticisms in the paper are all weak & ineffectual, & that he is truly at home only when he is appreciative. How gingerly he does walk at times to be sure, as if he feared the ground underfoot was mined" (T.E. Hanley Collection, University of Texas). Interestingly, Whitman did not comment on the following passage in Burroughs's letter: "Dr Bucke is a good fellow, but between me & you, I am a little shy of him: I fear he lacks balance & proportion & that his book will not be pitched in the right key. But I hope I do him injustice." For images and a transcription of these pages, see Whitman's letter to Richard Watson Gilder of November 26, 1880. Harry's married sister, Deborah Browning. The former home of the Staffords, where Whitman had recuperated in the late 1870s. Lizzie H. Hider was shortly to marry Wesley Stafford, Harry's cousin (see the letter from Whitman to Susan Stafford of February 6, 1881). They occupied the former home of Susan and George Stafford (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Theodore Hieniken, apparently a friend of the Staffords, was occasionally mentioned in Whitman's Commonplace Book, but spelled Heineken, Hieneken, and Hinieken. Harry was working at the time in Atlantic City, N.J. This letter is addressed: R W Gilder | office Scribner's Magazine | 743 Broadway | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden | Nov | 17 | N.J.; New-York | Nov 17 | 8 PM | Rec'd. Mrs. Gilder thanked Whitman for the books on November 20 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, August 10, 1888, 118–119). On January 30 Whitman sent this letter to Susan Stafford as well as a "'wrestling' slip to Harry" and Old Curiosity Shop to Deborah Browning (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Presumably the new and enlarged two-volume edition, Life of William Blake, with Selections (1880), containing the memoir of Herbert's father, Alexander Gilchrist. See the letter from Whitman to Ellen Louise Chandler Moulton of December 11, 1876. In the first printing of the 1876 edition of Leaves of Grass some poems were pasted in: these intercalations are visually distinctive both because they are pasted on the page and because Whitman used a different typeface for the titles. In the next issue, however, the poems became fully integrated into the printing of the volume, and he used a typeface matching that of the rest of the book. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Mrs Susan M Stafford | Kirkwood | Glendale | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Ca(?) | Feb | 7 | N.J. Lizzie Hider and Wesley Stafford, Mrs. Stafford's nephew, were married on February 9 by the Reverend J. B. Wescott, according to the Camden Democrat of February 19. The year is confirmed by Whitman's letter to Beatrice Gilchrist of December 13, 1877. This letter bears the address: Herbert H Gilchrist | 1929 north 22d Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Dec | 12 | 1 PM | Pa. Charles W. Eldridge was an old friend of Whitman and copublisher of the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass. He had last visited Whitman on October 19, 1876 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Mrs Gilchrist | 5 Mount Vernon Hampstead | London England. It is postmarked: Camden | Jun | 3 | N.J.; Philad'a Pa. | Jun | 4 | Paid All; London(?) | D6 | Paid | Ju 14 80. Whitman was accompanied by Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke, who had come to Camden on May 25. See also Specimen Days (ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 236–237). On June 1 Whitman made a new will in which he appointed George and his wife as executor and executrix. At the time he had approximately $1000 in the Brooklyn Savings Bank and about $800 in the National State Bank in Camden. He bequeathed four-sevenths of his estate to Edward and one-seventh each to Mary Van Nostrand, Hannah Heyde, and his nieces, Mannahatta and Jessie (Whitman House, Camden). Burroughs's letter is apparently lost. A criticism of "The Poetry of the Future" appeared in The American (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On January 21 Rice wrote to Whitman: "Permit me to thank you on behalf of the readers of the Review for the singularly interesting and valuable article you contribute to the February number. With the cooperation of yourself and other American thinkers of the first note, the Review must become indeed a necessity for every thinking man in America. I hope to able to afford the readers of the Review frequent opportunity of being instructed by you." Marvin had also called on Whitman in November (see the letter from Whitman to Burroughs of November 26, 1880). Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke's biography of Whitman. See the letter from Whitman to Burroughs of February 21, 1880. This letter is endorsed: "1881." It is addressed: Harry Lamb Stafford | Kirkwood | Glendale | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden | Jan | 27 | N.J. Whitman referred to this letter in his Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). January 27 was on Thursday in 1881. See the letter from Whitman to Harry Stafford of January 2, 1881. For discussion of this letter, see Ed Folsom, "Trying to Do Fair: Walt Whitman and the Good Life," Speakeasy 10 (March/April 2004), 14–18. Whitman did not note in his Commonplace Book this visit with Harry and his brother. "Death of Carlyle" appeared in The Critic on February 12, and was reprinted in Essays from "The Critic" (1882), 31–37. See also Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall (New York: New York University Press, 1963), 248–253. Whitman received $10 for the article on February 25 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On February 7, Whitman sent the piece to The Literary World (see the letter from Whitman to the editors of The Literary World, February 16, 1881). Jeannette Gilder's brother, Joseph. Evidently a financial agreement. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Harry Lamb Stafford | Kirkwood | Glendale | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden | Feb | 11 | N.J. Evidently when Harry visited Whitman on February 7, the poet gave him a copy of Leaves of Grass, five years after they had become acquainted (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman noted sending this letter in his Commonplace Book. Whitman may have stricken this word. According to his Commonplace Book, Whitman sent the books to Mrs. Edward Smithson in York, England. See the letter from Whitman to Jeannette L. Gilder of February 6, 1881. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Herbert H. Gilchrist | 1929 North 22d Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Camden | Jan 2 | N.J. For confirmation of this date, see the letter from Whitman to Herbert Gilchrist dated early 1877. Based on the information in this letter, the former letter must have been composed in the last days of 1876, not the early days of 1877, as previously supposed. Whitman ended up delaying his visit until January 10 to 16 and again from January 25 to February 2. Sydney Howard Vines (1849–1934) was among Edward Carpenter's circle of Whitman admirers in England. On November 13, Carpenter sent Whitman—in a letter now lost—Vines's request for books. On the same date he sent this letter to Vines, Whitman sent a letter to Carpenter, noting, "have to-day mailed Mr Vines' books" (The Collected Writings of Walt Whitman: The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller (New York: New York University Press, 1961–77), 3:103). At that time, Vines was Fellow and Lecturer in Botany at Christ's College, Cambridge, and later was named Sherardian Professor of Botany at Oxford. Whitman received word from Carpenter on December 19 that "I hear from Vines that your books have arrived" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (Boston: Small, Maynard, 1906), 1:189). Vines's copy of Leaves of Grass inscribed by Whitman, "Sidney H. Vines from the author," was among the books offered for sale in the Spring 2001 catalog of Bertram Rota, Ltd., an antiquarian bookseller in London. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Sydney H Vines B A | Christ's College, Cambridge Whitman recorded in Daybooks and Notebooks (William White, ed. [New York: New York University Press, 1978] 1:61) that he sent Barton copies of Notes, Democratic Vistas, and Memoranda During the War on August 5, 1877. This post card bears the address: Sidney Lanier | 33 Denmead Street | Baltimore | Md: It is postmarked: Camden | May | 27 | N.J. On May 5, 1878, Lanier informed Whitman that he had discovered a copy of Leaves of Grass in Bayard Taylor's library and had "spent a night of glory and delight upon it." Now "among your most earnest lovers," he ordered a copy of the book (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, May 25, 1888, 208). Lanier's ardor was short-lived. On January 26, 1879, the Philadelphia Times published Whitman's article "Winter Sunshine. A Trip from Camden to the Coast." The pun on the title in this brief note would seem to indicate that this is the lost letter Whitman wrote to Ritter noted in his Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White (New York: New York University Press, 1978) for February 24, 1879, and that he enclosed a copy of the article. Frédéric Louis Ritter, composer and professor at Vassar College, who set Whitman's "Two Veterans" to music in 1880. Robert Buchanan (1841–1901), a Scottish poet, novelist and dramatist, was an ardent supporter of Walt Whitman's works in England (see Harold Blodgett, "Whitman and Buchanan," American Literature, 2:2 [May 1930], 131–40). Originally entitled "Enfans d'Adam" in the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass, this cluster of poems celebrating sexuality was called "Children of Adam" in 1867 and thereafter. The poems, openly "singing the phallus" and the "mystic deliria," were too bold for their time and often led to trouble for Whitman. His relationship with esteemed writer Ralph Waldo Emerson cooled after he refused Emerson's advice in 1860 to drop the poems; in 1865, he lost his job in the Department of the Interior in Washington D.C., for writing "indecent" poems; and he had to withdraw the 1881 edition of Leaves from publication in Boston when the Society for the Suppression of Vice found it immoral. For more on "Children of Adam" and its reception, see James E. Miller, Jr., " 'Children of Adam' [1860]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings [New York: Garland Publishing, 1998]). John Addington Symonds, a prominent biographer, literary critic, and poet in Victorian England, was in his time most famous as the author of the seven-volume history Renaissance in Italy. But in the smaller circles of the emerging upper-class English homosexual community, he was also well known as a writer of homoerotic poetry and a pioneer in the study of homosexuality, or sexual inversion as it was then known (Miller,Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings [New York: Garland Publishing, 1998], 701). The first edition of Leaves of Grass was published not in Boston but in Brooklyn (1855). Whitman notes this error in his discussion of Symonds's letter with Horace Traubel (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, July 13, 1888). This letter is endorsed, in Whitman's hand: from J Addington Symonds | Jan 23 '77 | books sent April & May, '77. This letter is addressed: Charles W Post | Care of B D Buford & Co: | Kansas City | Missouri. It is postmarked: Feb. 8, '80. Retained with this letter is the signed and dated ("1880") photograph of Whitman, which is actually an 1878 image by Napoleon Sarony ("Photographs of Whitman, 1840s–1890s," 20, and "Notes on Photographs," 51, Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 4:2/3 [1986]). Six years after his first stroke, at the age of 61, Whitman apparently met the 25-year-old C.W. Post on the return leg of the poet's autumn, 1879, western trip. At the time he met Whitman, Charles William Post (1854–1914) was a married traveling salesman from Springfield, Illinois. He sold agricultural implements for the B. D. Buford Company. Destined to become one of America's first multimillionaires, this pioneer manufacturer, market researcher, and advertising innovator went on to invent and sell the country's first commercial coffee substitute—the early health drink, Postum—and to develop the first dry-pack cereals. He is often credited as the originator of the prepared food industry (Alice Lotvin Birney, "Whitman to C. W. Post: A Lost Letter Located," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 11 [Summer 1993], 30–31). Whitman had stopped in St. Louis only briefly while going west, but on returning from Denver, he "went on to St. Louis where I remain'd nearly three months with my brother T.J.W. (Thomas Jefferson Whitman), and my dear nieces" (Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 96). This letter bears the following address: C H Sholes | Glenwood | Mills Co: Iowa. It is postmarked: Philadelphia PA | Mar | 12 | 5 PM. C. H. Sholes was a shorthand reporter in Iowa. On Decoration Day, May 30, 1880, he published an article entitled "Ashes of Soldiers" in the Iowa State Register, commending Whitman for his service during the Civil War. See Ted Genoways, "'Ashes of Soldiers': Walt Whitman and C. H. Sholes, a New Letter and a Newspaper Article," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 18 (Spring 2001), 186–187. Sholes received the package—an 1876 edition of Two Rivulets was offered for sale in the early 2000s by D & D Galleries of Somerville, New Jersey, with the inscription: "C. H. Sholes | from the author"—but if he sent a postcard confirming the shipment, Whitman did not note it in the daybooks. This letter is written on a small card, and is in an envelope addressed, in Whitman's own hand, to "Walt Whitman London Ontario Canada"—he sent self-addressed envelopes to Harry and his family in order to encourage them to write while he was on his Canadian trip. The envelope is postmarked: 17 July 1880 at Kirkwood, New Jersey. Stafford conserved space on the page through crosshatch writing, leaving parts of the letter nearly illegible. The New York residence of John H. Johnston, whom Whitman was visiting at the time. Alfred Janson Bloor (1828–1917) was, he informed Whitman on June 9, 1879, a member of the architectural staff that designed Central Park. He was a poet as well as the author of a number of architectural treatises. Whitman quoted from Bloor's letter at the conclusion of his article in the Tribune on May 24 (see The Collected Writings of Walt Whitman: Prose Works 1892, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1964], 342). Bloor had taken exception to Whitman's contemptuous references to actors in his lecture on Lincoln's murder. Unidentified, perhaps some of Bloor's own treatises. A lost letter written on April 29. On June 9, 2879, Alfred Janson Bloor sent to Whitman "a copy of the selections you made from my journal, and also an account of the information Miss Harris [daughter of Senator Ira Harris] gave me as to what she knew of Mr. Lincoln's assassination" (Library of Congress). Sydney Howard Vines (1849–1934) was among Edward Carpenter's circle of Whitman admirers in England. On November 13, Carpenter sent Whitman—in a letter now lost—Vines' request for books. On the same date he sent this letter to Vines, Whitman sent a letter to Carpenter, noting, "have to-day mailed Mr Vines' books" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., Walt Whitman: The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 3:103). At that time, Vines was Fellow and Lecturer in Botany at Christ's College, Cambridge,and later was named Sherardian Professor of Botany at Oxford. Whitman received word from Carpenter on December 19 that "I hear from Vines that your books have arrived"(Horace Traubel, ed. With Walt Whitman in Camden [New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1914], 1: 189). Indeed, Vines' copy of Leaves of Grass inscribed by Whitman, "Sidney H. Vines from the author," was among the books offered for sale in the Spring 2001 catalog of Bertram Rota, Ltd., an antiquarian bookseller in London. The envelope for this letter bears the address: [Sydney H Vines B A] | Christ's College, Cambridge. The recipients of this letter are unknown because there are no entries in the Daybooks and Notebooks for letters sent on this day, and there are no references to this letter in the known correspondence (Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White [New York: New York University Press, 1978]). Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke, Man's Moral Nature (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1879). This map was reproduced in Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist, ed. Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings (London: T.F. Unwin, 1887). In February 1880, Whitman took a trip to Philadelphia to see his friend John H. Johnston. Of Timber Creek, Camden County, New Jersey, whose hospitality helped Whitman to improve his health. Sidney Morse, the sculptor. One of the words within the damaged section of the letter seems to be "Alabama." The postcard bears the following address: Hillion's Store | Ala | Feb 20 | 77 | Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens st Camden | Co[illegible] New Jersey1. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: [illegible] | AUG | [illegible]; P O. | 8-30 85 | 9-1 A | [illegible]; NEW YORK | AUG 30 | [illegible]; CA[illegible]. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: [illegible] | FEB | 6 | 7 AM | 1886 | REC'D. "The Function of the Great Sympathetic Nervous System" (American Journal of Insanity, 43 (October 1877), 115–59). Bucke is referring to his illumination in the spring of 1872. Bucke's philosophical materialism is clearly expressed in his epigraph from Comte: "Les régions speculative et active du cerveau n'ont de communcations nerveuses qu'avec les sens et les muscles pour aperçevoir et modifier le monde exterieur" (Man's Moral Nature [New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1879], 2). Translation: "The speculative and active regions of the brain have neural communications only with the senses and the muscles to perceive and modify the external world." The application of the term to Whitman is less clear. Man's Moral Nature bears the following dedication: "I dedicate this book to the man who inspired it—to the man who of all men past and present that I have known has the most exalted moral nature—to WALT WHITMAN" (v). The letter is on printed stationery from the Asylum in Hamilton. Bucke has deleted "Hamilton" and written in "London." Bucke had moved from Hamilton to London in February 1877, but was still apparently using left-over stationery. The letter is endorsed, in Whitman's hand: Dr Bucke | Nov 4 '77. This letter provides an approximate date for the beginning of Bucke's biography. Apparently Whitman responded only by sending Bucke a list of materials to use in writing the biography (see the letter from Whitman to Bucke of February 3, 1880). Although the Whitman letter to which Bucke is responding is apparently lost—Edwin Haviland Miller lists a missing letter from Whitman to Bucke on 26 January 1880 (Walt Whitman: The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 3:434)—it would appear that Whitman had sent Bucke a list of materials for use in the biography. If this is the case, then the following have the special sanction of the poet: John Burroughs, Notes on Walt Whitman as Poet and Person, 1st ed. (New York: American News Company, 1867); "The Flight of the Eagle," Birds and Poets (Boston: Houghton Mifflin and Company, 1877), 185–235; William Douglas O'Connor, The Good Gray Poet: A Vindication (New York: Bunce and Huntington, 1866); and Anne Gilchrist, "An Englishwoman's Estimate of Walt Whitman," Boston Radical, 7 (May 1870), 345–59. In the biography, Bucke reprinted The Good Gray Poet (pp. 99–130) and extracts from "An Englishwoman's Estimate" (pp. 204–6). Although Whitman at this time was living with George Washington Whitman at 431 Stevens Street, there was not much sympathy between the brothers. Some notion of the attitude of the family may be gained from the interview with George Washington Whitman that Traubel conducted in 1893 ("Notes from Conversations with George W. Whitman, 1893: Mostly in his Own Words," in In Re Walt Whitman, eds. Horace Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas B. Harned [Philadelphia: McKay, 1893], 33–40). Discussing the publication of the first edition of Leaves of Grass, George remarked: "I was about twenty-five then. I saw the book—didn't read it all—didn't think it worth reading—fingered it a little. Mother thought as I did—did not know what to make of it" (35). Possibly The Good Gray Poet. This letter was cut up and used as scrap paper by Whitman for preparing his Lincoln lectures. This letter was marked Sunday, which would fit 1878; however, Whitman sent a kit of fish November 24, 1877, so the date may be 1877. Whitman wrote the family "Births," "Marriages," and "Deaths" in a Bible and sent it to Mary as a Christmas gift in 1878 (Faint Clews & Indirections, ed. Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver [Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1949], 6–8). The year 1889 has been written at the top of this page in an unknown hand, struck through, and replaced by the year 1875. Our dating of the letter as 1878 is based on the information in the note below and the list of incoming correspondence in Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Ted Genoways (Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Press, 2004), 7:145. Whitman's letter and Tennyson's reply are unknown. Frederick Locker-Lampson (1821–1895), an English poet, corresponded with Whitman in 1880 (see the letter from Whitman to Locker-Lampson of March 21, 1880). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esqre | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: LONDON [] | 6 | AUG | 80. NEW YORK | AUG | 16. CAMDEN | AUG | 19 | 7A.M. | N.J. LONDON | AU 20 | 80. The letter was originally addressed to Camden, New Jersey, | United States of America and was forwarded to London, Ontario. Whitman was spending the summer in Canada with his friend Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Frederic Almy | 151 Pawtucket Street | Lowell | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden | Oct | 30 | N.J.; Lowell Mass. | Nov | 1 | 9(?) AM | Carrier. About November 10, Whitman received a letter from Edward Dowden which he characterized as "like a kindly living talk and hand clasp" (see Whitman's letter to Dowden of November 10, 1882), and then forwarded it to William D. O'Connor, who was to send it to Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke and John Burroughs. The letter is apparently lost. Dowden's review of Specimen Days appeared in The Academy on November 18, 1882, as he informed Whitman on November 21 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, September 22nd, 1888, 363). Whitman sent "Robert Burns" to Jeannette L. Gilder of The Critic on December 7, and it appeared on December 15. G. C. Macaulay's review of Leaves of Grass appeared in The Nineteenth Century, 12 (December 1882), 903–18. On April 28, 1882, after Whitman decided to purchase the plates of the Osgood edition of Leaves of Grass, he asked Burroughs for a loan of $100, which he repaid on January 17, 1883 (Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 2:310). Whitman's letter to Bucke of November 12, 1879, declining the money is listed as lost (Walt Whitman: The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 3:433). On October 16, 1879, Whitman had written Bucke from St. Louis: "Have been absent from Camden the last five weeks—been over the Plains & up in the Rock Mountains—gave out about two weeks ago & have been quite sick ever since (principal trouble with my head) but am recovering—only received yours (of Sept 22) today—will send the book from Camden as soon as I get back—shall stay here twelve days WW." Note at the top of the letter (in Whitman's hand): send 10 L of G (14 altogether) 4 of these paid for & 10 to be acct'd for & 4 TR See Whitman's entry of February 17, 1880, in his Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Bucke's lecture on Whitman was delivered in London on February 27, 1880, and was reported in detail in the London Advertiser on February 28, 1880. This report provoked letters of protest in both the Advertiser and the London Free Press. Bucke may have sent Whitman a copy of the March 12, 1880 Advertiser in which Bucke is charged with "dig[ging] up from the gutter a book stained with filth." (See Artem Lozynsky, "Walt Whitman in Canada," American Book Collector 23 [July–August 1973], 21-23). There are stains in places and the text is difficult to make out. Lozynsky supplied conjectural readings. Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke's Man's Moral Nature (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1879). This letter bears the address: Edward Carpenter | Cobden Road | Chesterfield | Derbyshire | England. It is postmarked: Camden | Nov | 27 | N.J.;(?) | De 10 | 77. On this date Whitman sent the 1876 edition to Sidney H. Vines, a lecturer at Christ's College, Cambridge (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See Whitman's November 11, 1877 letter to Anne Gilchrist. Whitman also mentioned this visit in his Commonplace Book. Owners of the "Old Corner Bookstore" in Boston from 1864 to 1883 (Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family, eds. Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver [Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1949], 88n). The 1872 edition of Leaves of Grass (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The envelope for this letter bears the address: Miss Mannahatta Whitman | Care of Mrs Archer | Patapsco Seminary | Ellicott City | Maryland. It is postmarked: Camden | Oct | 3 | N.J. See Whitman's October 2, 1877 letter to Edward Carpenter. This letter is apparently lost. However, on July 22, Jeff had written to inform Whitman that he was about to lose his position at the St. Louis Water Works because of political pressures, but that he was actively engaged in consultation work for Henry Flad & Co., civil engineers. John Lucas was a manufacturer of paint with a store at 1028 Race Street in Philadelphia. The family had a zinc and color works near Kirkwood; see Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, 66 (October 1948), 148. A series of numbers is jotted down on the back of this page. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Edward D. Bellows | 356 Fifth Street | bet Monmouth & Brunswick sts | Jersey City | N J. It is postmarked: Camden | Nov | 20 | N.J. Whitman sent advertising circulars to Edward D. Bellows on November 13, after which Bellows sent an order for books on November 15, 1877, and on November 18, Whitman forwarded the two-volume edition and John Burroughs' book Notes on Walt Whitman (The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On the back of this letter is a pencil drawing that looks like a page layout. Bits of pasted-on newspaper clippings are attached to the backs of both letter and envelope. Since this letter apparently refers to Whitman's extended visits to Kirkwood in 1877 and to his stay with the Johnstons in March, the year is almost positive. The reference in the last line to G.W. Waters, who had recently painted the poet's portrait, also points to this year. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Pete Doyle | M Street South | bet 4½ & 6th | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden | Sep | 16 | N.J. September 16 occurred on Sunday in 1877. Whitman had returned from Kirkwood on September 10 (The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Most of Whitman's communications with Doyle were written on post cards. Much more romantically, and inaccurately, Whitman had written on August 27 in a little piece entitled "Convalescent hours": "Come, ye disconsolate, in whom any latent eligibility is left—come get the sure virtues of creek, shore, and wood and field. Two months (July and August) have I absorbed them, and they already make a new man of me. Every day, seclusion—every day at least two or three hours of freedom, bathing, no talk, no bonds, no dress, no books, no manners" (Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 4:182). Whitman sent the 1876 two-volume edition to James Anderson Rose in London (The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman made only one visit, in 1875, to Washington after going to Camden in 1873, but he apparently was considering another trip in 1877 (see the letter from Walt Whitman to Herbert Gilchrist of July 22, 1877). Herbert Gilchrist stayed with John Burroughs at Esopus-on-Hudson until about October 4. See the letter from Whitman to Edward Carpenter of October 5, 1877. Anne Gilchrist had, as she wrote to one of her English friends on December 23, "a somewhat severe operation (under ether) to cure an injury received at the birth of one of my children which has always troubled me—The success depended largely on skilful nursing afterward and this Bee accomplished" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). In the same letter Mrs. Gilchrist made an interesting comment upon her stay in America: "I rejoice that we came—to see it all with our own eyes, but I also rejoice very much that I do not feel as if I ought to stay—as I should have done if it had offered manifestly better advantages and opportunities for Herby and Bee than England." Not a word about her disillusionment with the person who, not mentioned by name, was simply "an American poet." The envelope for this letter bears the address: Miss Beatrice Gilchrist | 1929 North 22d Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Camden | Sep | 21 | N.J.; Philad'a, Pa. | Sep | 21 | 9 PM | Rec'd. On the same day Whitman recorded in his Commonplace Book: "Saw Geo Staf[ford] at the market, (sent the little dinner basket to Ruth—Geo: wanted me to go down with him)" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). According to The Commonplace Book, the girls left on September 24 for Ellicott City, Maryland, where they attended Patapsco Seminary (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See the letter from Walt Whitman to Mannahatta Whitman and Jessie Louisa Whitman of October 2, 1877. The envelope for this letter bears the address: John Burroughs | Esopus-on-Hudson | Ulster County New York. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | June | 22 | 3 PM. It was "with real reluctance" that Edward Carpenter returned to England after coming under "the added force of bodily presence" (Days with Walt Whitman, [New York: The Macmillan Company, 1908], 32). Apparently Whitman, with his customary optimism, considered that Louisa's health had improved. See the letter from Whitman to Emma Dowe of July 12, 1877. Joseph B. Marvin, one of Walt Whitman's Washington friends, visited Anne Gilchrist shortly after her arrival in Philadelphia in September, 1876 (Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist, Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings [London: T.F. Unwin, 1887], 228). Marvin had been co-editor of The Radical in 1866-1867. Later he was employed in the Treasury Department in Washington. On December 15, 1874, Marvin wrote to Whitman: "I read and re-read your poems, and the 'Vistas,' and more and more see that I had but a faint comprehension of them before. They surpass everything. All other books seem to me weak and unworthy my attention. I read, Sunday, to my wife, Longfellows verses on Summer, in the last Atlantic, and then I read your poem on the Death of Lincoln. It was like listening to a weak-voiced girl singing with piano accompanyment , and then to an oratorio by the whole Handel Society, with accompanyment by the Music Hall organ" (Library of Congress). Marvin's veneration of Whitman is also transparent in an article in The Radical Review, I (1877), 224-259. Ursula, Burroughs's wife. According to Walt Whitman's notation on Jack Johnston's calling card, the young man was employed about this time by A. R. McCown & Co., a hosiery store in Philadelphia (see the letter from Walt Whitman to John R. Johnston, Jr. of February 18, 1878). Later he was employed by Ziegler & Swearingen, sellers of notions in Philadelphia (The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). In Jack's autograph book Whitman wrote in 1875: "In memory of the good times, Sunday evenings, in Penn street, 1875, '4, & 3." On January 18, 1880, he wrote again: "Good times, Sunday Evenings, continued, '76, '77, '78, '79, &c. W W" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist. Crosby Stuart Noyes, the editor of the Washington Star. See the letter from Whitman to Peter Doyle of October 9, 1868. The word "boy" has been penciled in as an addition here. Whitman remained at the Gilchrists' until about June 25, when once again he visited the Staffords (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Louisa, George's wife, was in poor health. On July 4 Whitman noted that Louisa was "very sick" (Whitman's Commonplace Book). She had a miscarriage about July 7 (see the letter from Whitman to Emma Dowe of July 12, 1877). Grace and Beatrice Gilchrist, respectively. Apparently Harry was drifting from job to job. According to some notes he wrote on April 21–22, he was working for the West Jersey Press. On May 21 Harry was looking for a job in Philadelphia or Camden. When he wrote to Whitman on July 9, he said: "I wish that I coul[d] get a situation in a good printing office. Try the Democrat of Camden for me, will you?" Carpenter had called on Whitman at Kirkwood about May 15 and had met Harry Stafford at that time (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Apparently Whitman did not go to Kirkwood until June 25, Monday (Whitman's Commonplace Book). This letter bears the address: Miss Ida Johnston | 434 Penn street | near 5th | Camden. Ida was the daughter of Colonel John R. Johnston, the artist, whose home Walt Whitman visited almost every Sunday evening. See the letter from Whitman to John Flood of November 22, 1868. The year is conjectural, although entries in The Commonplace Book warrant the elimination of the next five years (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Her brother, John Jr. See the letter from Whitman to John Johnston of June 20, 1877. June 11 was on Monday in 1877. According to an entry dated May 15, Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist visited Walt Whitman at Kirkwood (The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings, ed. Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist [London: T.F. Unwin, 1887]). Anne Gilchrist's daughters were Beatrice (1854–1881) and Grace (1859–1947). Whitman was fond of both girls, especially of Beatrice, whom he termed "the noble one." See the letter from Whitman to Harry Stafford of June 18–19, 1877. Henrietta Carwardine Burrows (1786–1875) was the mother of Anne Burrows Gilchrist. This letter bears the address: Mrs Gilchrist | 1929 north 22d Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Kirkw[ood] | Jul | 3(?) | (?). Herbert Gilchrist spent part of July painting at Kirkwood (The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Also, see the letter from Whitman to Herbert Gilchrist of July 22, 1877. In a news article in the Camden Daily Post on August 2, which quoted from the Washington Star, Whitman, who was obviously the anonymous author, referred to Herbert's portrait of himself: "The painting, which is now well advanced, and promises to be an excellent likeness, represents Mr. Whitman sitting in an easy chair under a favorite tree." Whitman expected to return to Camden on Friday, July 6, as noted in his letter to John Burroughs of June 22, 1877. Whitman was with the Staffords from June 25 to July 6 or 7 (The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This is a reference to "The Flight of the Eagle" in Birds and Poets. See the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of January 24, 1877. Joseph B. Marvin, one of Walt Whitman's Washington friends, visited Anne Gilchrist shortly after her arrival in Philadelphia in September, 1876 (Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist, Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings [London: T.F. Unwin, 1887], 228). Marvin had been co-editor of The Radical in 1866-1867. Later he was employed in the Treasury Department in Washington. On December 15, 1874, Marvin wrote to Whitman: "I read and re-read your poems, and the 'Vistas,' and more and more see that I had but a faint comprehension of them before. They surpass everything. All other books seem to me weak and unworthy my attention. I read, Sunday, to my wife, Longfellows verses on Summer, in the last Atlantic, and then I read your poem on the Death of Lincoln. It was like listening to a weak-voiced girl singing with piano accompanyment , and then to an oratorio by the whole Handel Society, with accompanyment by the Music Hall organ." Marvin's veneration of Whitman is also transparent in an article in The Radical Review, I (1877), 224-259. On Saturday, July 28, Whitman stayed at the Gilchrists', and Herbert was at Kirkwood with the Staffords. Whitman also noted in his Commonplace Book that from July 22 to 30 it was "very hot—therm 90-96—in Camden" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Walt Whitman was with the Staffords from February 7 to 13, and stayed in Philadelphia from February 15 to 21 (The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). "The Flight of the Eagle" is the chapter devoted to Walt Whitman in Birds and Poets. See Whitman's letter to John Burroughs, 24 January 1877. Burroughs arrived in Philadelphia on February 15; see Whitman's letter to Anne Gilchrist, 14 February 1877. In his journal on February 17, Burroughs recorded his visit with Walt Whitman: "It is a feast to look at Walt's face; it is incomparably the grandest face I ever sawsuch sweetness and harmony, and such strength . . . If that is not the face of a poet, then it is the face of a god. None of his pictures do it half justice" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931), 160). Walt Whitman was with the Staffords from February 7 to 13, and stayed in Philadelphia from February 15 to 21 (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Beatrice was a medical student. Whitman was almost clairvoyant: Beatrice committed suicide in 1881 (see Whitman's letter to Harry Stafford on September 9, 1881). Here Whitman gave the more plausible explanation of his paralysis and physical collapse; for public consumption, however, he invariably attributed his ailments to infections received during his visits to the wartime hospitals. According to Whitman's Commonplace Book, Whitman spent most evenings with the Gilchrists from December 10 to 30, and had Christmas dinner with them. In December, Whitman introduced the Gilchrists to Joaquin Miller and took them on December 27 to see Miller's play, The Danites, at the Walnut Street Theatre (The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman himself had attended the opening of the play on December 24; see Miller's December 1877 letter to Whitman (see also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, December 2, 1888 . Herbert Gilchrist reported that at a tea given by his mother Miller exclaimed upon Whitman's arrival: "He looks like a god, to-night" (Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings, ed. Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist [London: T.F. Unwin, 1887], 231). The year is confirmed by the following (dated) letter. Eldridge was an old friend of Walt Whitman and copublisher of the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass. He had last visited Walt Whitman on October 19, 1876 (The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). August 7 was on Tuesday in 1877. Until August 12, Whitman remained in Camden, where Harry had visited him on August 4 and 5 (The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Probably with New York jeweler John H. Johnston and his friends. See the letter from Whitman to Johnston of June 20, 1877. After staying with Whitman in Camden on August 4 and 5 (The Commonplace Book; see also the letter from Whitman to Herbert Gilchrist of July 22, 1877), Harry wrote from Kirkwood on August 6: "Herbret cut me prety hard last night at the supper table, you must not let on if I tell you: he called me a 'dam fool,' I wasn't talking to him anyway! we was all talking of telegraphing, and father said he was reading of a man who was trying to overdo it and I said that I did not think he could do it and the[n] Herbret stuck in that, it did not fit very well, and if I had been near enough to smacked him in the 'Jaws' I would of doneit, you must not say anything about it to him or any one, he thinks he can do as he wants to with me but he will find out sometime [t]hat he is fooling with the wrong one. . . . I will be up to see you on Thursday to stay all night with you, dont want to go any wais[?] then, want to stay in and talk with you, did not get time to say anything to you when I sawe you, did not have time to say scarcely anything." See also the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of November 11, 1877 and Edwin Haviland Miller's introduction to Walt Whitman: The Correspondence (New York: New York University Press, 1961–77) 3:1-9. Whitman pasted three newspaper clippings in his letter from the Camden New Republic of August 4. There is no notation in The Commonplace Book of Harry's visit on Thursday, August 9. Whitman returned to Kirkwood on August 12 and, except for a flying visit to Camden on August 15, remained there until September 10. August 20 was on Monday in 1877. Whitman returned to Kirkwood on August 12 and, except for a flying visit to Camden on August 15, remained there until September 10 (The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The enclosures, probably letters, are not with the manuscript. April 2 was on Monday in 1877. Walt Whitman did not record this visit in The Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Since Walt Whitman was in Camden on April 10, 1878, this letter was undoubtedly written in 1877 (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). He made no entries in The Commonplace-Book between April 1 and 24, 1877. This letter bears the address: Mrs. Gilchrist | 1929 north 22nd Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Kirkwood | (?) | (?) | N.J.; Philad'a, Pa. | Apr | 12 | 2 (?) M | (?). 25. D. M. Zimmerman, the secretary and treasurer of the Camden & Atlantic Railroad, sent the poet a railroad pass (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). D. M. Zimmerman, the secretary and treasurer of the Camden & Atlantic Railroad, sent the poet a railroad pass (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This note, probably directing an acquaintance to a Sunday morning breakfast at Scovel's home, was written on the verso of an invitation to a farewell reception for the sculptor, W. W. Story, on December 24, 1877. This postal card is addressed: J J Harris Teall | University Extension Lecturer | Nottingham | England. It is postmarked: (?) | Oct | 5 | N.J.; Philadelphia | Oct | 5 | Paid. J. J. Harris Teall taught science at Nottingham; see The Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) and Edward Carpenter's letter to Whitman on December 19, 1877. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Edward Carpenter | 45 Brunswick Square | Brighton | England. It is postmarked: Camden | (?) | N.J.; Paid | Liverpool | U S Packet | 18 Oc (?) 7 | 5 A. Seymer (Seymour?) Thompson was at Christ's College, Cambridge; Clement Templeton was a concert manager in London; J. J. Harris Teall taught science at Nottingham; and the Rev. H. R. Haweis was "a popular London preacher"; see Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) and Carpenter's letter to Walt Whitman of December 19, 1877. Haweis and his wife called on Whitman in Camden on December 3, 1885 (Commonplace Book); "A Visit to Walt Whitman" appeared in the Pall Mall Budget on January 14, 1886, and in the Critic, 8 (27 February 1877), 109. Except for Teall, the men had ordered the two-volume edition; see Whitman's October 5, 1877 postcard to Teall. In his Commonplace Book Whitman noted: "Oct 5 after three weeks absence visited Mrs G's—Mrs G temporarily sitting up—Herbert returned." The postcard bears the address: Mrs Gilchrist | 1929 North 22d Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Oct | 30 | 1 PM | Pa. The date of this postcard is established by the postmark. October 30 occurred on Tuesday in 1877. On November 1 Whitman wrote in The Commonplace Book: "walked a-foot in Phil: and C[amden]—more than for four years, at any one time" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman noted receipt of $50.12 from Carpenter on this date (The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Carpenter sent a letter on September 17 and a post card on September 20 about the book orders from his friends (With Walt Whitman in Camden, ed. Horace Traubel [Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1905–1953], 4:204–205). See also Whitman's letter to Edward Carpenter of October 5, 1877). At Whitman's request Carpenter had examined a volume of Augusta Webster (1837–1894), an English poet, and had found her verse commonplace. For an account of Harry's letters to Whitman, see Edwin Haviland Miller, "Introduction," The Correspondence (New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977), 3:1–9. This transcription is derived from a typescript at Stanford University. This transaction is confirmed in The Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman had supper with Anne Gilchrist every evening from October 22 to 26 (Commonplace Book). These letters are not known. Evidently Burroughs changed his plans. He wrote to Whitman on August 10 after a three-week trip to Canada and a brief visit to Boston and Concord (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, September 14th, 1888, 318–319). He was in Camden about the middle of September. See the letter from Walt Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of September 19, 1877. Anne Gilchrist had written to Burroughs early in May inviting him to meet Edward Carpenter. According to his next letter of May 16, Carpenter was to visit Burroughs at the latter's home. On June 5 Burroughs mentioned a three-day visit: "I like him much—a modest, sensible man and a great admirer of W. W." (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 140–141). Herbert went to Esopus with Burroughs in September (see the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of September 19, 1877). The text does not aid dating. However, the letter was written during the winter months, and it seems reasonable to assume that it was sent shortly after the arrival of the Gilchrists in Philadelphia. Note also the similarities to 779 and 792. According to Commonplace Book, Walt Whitman stayed with the Gilchrists from January 10 to 16 and from January 25 to February 2. Probably a fragment of this letter is in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection (December 15?, 1876). This letter was written shortly before Whitman's return to Camden on September 10, probably on Tuesday, September 4. On September 3 the New York Tribune noted the fighting between the Turks and Russians near Plevna. Carpenter returned to England late in June (see Whitman's letter to John Burroughs on June 22, 1877). This letter bears the address: Mrs Gilchrist | 1929 North 22d Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Camden | Nov | 11 | N.J. After Harry Stafford visited Whitman on November 10, and informed the poet that his father was "quite unwell," Whitman sent "an affectionate letter" and a small bottle of whisky to Mr. Stafford (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On November 13, Harry urgently suggested that Whitman come immediately to Kirkwood. During his stay there from November 14 to 17, Whitman learned that George Stafford suffered from stomach hemorrhages—hematomesis (see Whitman's letter to Edward Carpenter on November 27, 1877). Since Herbert Gilchrist walked to Kirkwood on November 4 and returned on the following day, Harry wanted him to be informed of his father's condition (The Commonplace Book). Herbert and Harry, however, were not on amicable terms (see Whitman's letter to Harry on August 7, 1877). On October 24 Harry complained to Whitman: "H. G. is down yet, he will be down for several days by the way he talks. him and our folks get along well, Mother thinks him tip top, and it makes her mad if I say any thing against him. she told me the other day if I did not want to sleep with him I could go somewhere else for she was not going to keep a bed for me by myself." Evidently the two young men were later on better terms, for, according to Harry's letter to Whitman on November 7, Herbert invited him to spend the weekend with the Gilchrists. Walt Whitman had been with the Staffords from April 24 to 30, and Edward Carpenter was in Camden on May 1 (The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This was Whitman's first meeting with his fervid English admirer (see the letter from Whitman to Edward Carpenter of April 23, 1876). On March 1, 1877, Carpenter wrote to Whitman about his intended visit: "I think there are reasons why we should meet. . . . What must be done—and what you have largely (for a foundation entirely) done—is to form a new organic centre for the thought growth of this age. All seemed clear to me at times, so simple, so luminously clear—I have no more doubt or trouble for myself—but then to express it: that is an endless business—a thing never finished." In Days with Walt Whitman, Carpenter erred in dating his visit May 2 ([New York: The Macmillan Company, 1908], 3–4). A few days later he followed Whitman to Kirkwood, where he was charmed by the poet's naturalness among the earthy Staffords. This post card bears the address: George W. Waters | artist | Elmira | New York. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | May 18 | 1 PM | Pa. Waters evidently sent the completed oil portrait (see the letter from Walt Whitman to John H. and Amelia Johnston on March 17, 1877), which John H. Johnston later purchased from Walt Whitman for $200 in 1884 (see note from Walt Whitman to John H. Johnston on March 27, 1884). This letter is addressed: John Burroughs | Esopus-on-Hudso[n] | Ulster County New York. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | May 18 | 1 PM | Pa. Walt Whitman had been with the Staffords before he returned to Camden on May 15; he went back to Kirkwood on the following day and remained there until May 22 (The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This is a reference to Burroughs' Birds and Poets. According to The Commonplace Book, however, Walt Whitman received the book on May 23 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Burroughs was expected to visit the Gilchrists in June (see the letter from Walt Whitman to Anne and Herbert Gilchrist on June 12, 1877), but he apparently was unable to come to Philadelphia. Walt Whitman, accompanied by Harry Stafford, stayed with the New York jeweler, John H. Johnston for several weeks in March of 1877 (see the letter from Whitman to John H. Johnston of December 20, 1876). He was in New York from March 2 to 27 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), during which time he also stayed with naturalist John Burroughs. This letter bears the address: John Burroughs | Esopus-on-Hudson | New York. It is postmarked: New York | Mar 13 | 9 PM. Walt Whitman was at naturalist John Burroughs' home in Esopus from March 16 (Friday) to March 20, 1877. Burroughs noted the "great event" in his journal on March 21: "[Walt Whitman and Harry Stafford] cut up like two boys and annoyed me sometimes. Great tribulation in the kitchen in the morning. Can't get them up to breakfast in time. Walt takes Harry with him as a kind of foil or refuge from the intellectual bores" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 164). According to the letter from Walt Whitman to John H. Johnston of 13 December 1876, Whitman had agreed to sit for a portrait by noted landscape painter G. W. Waters. Burroughs, understandably, was not fond of the painting: "It gives Walt's benevolent look, but not his power—his elemental look. It makes him look rather soft, like a sort of Benjamin Franklin" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 164). The portrait appears as the frontispiece to the fifth volume of the Camden Edition. Waters' sketch also idealizes the poet (The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman, ed. Richard Bucke, Thomas Harned, Horace Traubel, Oscar Tiggs [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 1:202). This post card is not known. This note is endorsed: "R | 4 | 2 | 77." Walt Whitman sent John Burroughs's book on March 30 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This note bears the address: Mrs Gilchrist | 1929 north 22d Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: New York | Mar | 23 | 7 PM | N. Y. Whitman returned to Camden on March 27, Tuesday. Amelia Johnston, John H. Johnston's wife, died on Monday evening, March 26, in giving birth to Harold; see Charles N. Elliot, Walt Whitman as Man, Poet and Friend (Boston: R.G. Badger, 1915), 153. An account of Walt Whitman's New York trip appeared in the Camden Daily Post on March 29. Whitman returned to New York on Tuesday, March 20, and stayed with the Johnstons until March 27. See also Clifton Joseph Furness, Walt Whitman's Workshop (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1928), 207. F. Leypoldt & Co. were bookdealers with a store at 37 Park Row in New York City. There are no references to book orders from this firm in The Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter bears the address: Herbert Gilchrist | Kirkwood | Camden County | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden | Jul | 22 | N.J. Whitman was with the Staffords from July 13 to 20; he "came up in the light wagon with Mrs. S July 20." (The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). For an account of a scene with Harry Stafford, see Edwin Haviland Miller's introduction to Walt Whitman: The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 3:1-9). Evidently Whitman was considering a trip to Washington, for on November 9, 1877, Elmer Stafford, Harry's sixteen-year-old cousin, wrote to Whitman: "I would like to be with you all the time if i could. i would like very much to go with you on your trip to Washington." John Burroughs wrote to Whitman on August 10 after a three-week trip to Canada and a brief visit to Boston and Concord (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, September 14th, 1888, 318–319). He was in Camden about the middle of September (see the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of September 19, 1877). Emma Dowe was Louisa (Mrs. George Washington) Whitman's sister. Her husband Francis E. Dowe operated dry goods stores in Norwich, Connecticut, from 1872 to 1918. A copy of the letter Whitman refers to was preserved by Mrs. Dowe's daughter Amy, who wrote "A Child's Memories of the Whitmans." This reminiscence, composed in the 1930s, has been published by Edwin Haviland Miller in "Amy H. Dowe and Walt Whitman," Walt Whitman Review, 13 (September 1967), 73–79. The first child of George and Louisa Whitman died on July 12, 1876 (see Walt Whitman's letter to Ellen M. O'Connor on July 13, 1876). This letter is endorsed: "letter to | Ed Cattell"; "letter sent to | Ed Cattell." It is a draft letter. Edward Cattell was a young, semiliterate farm hand and a friend of the Staffords. Whitman met him evidently in May, 1876: "about 25 or 6—folks mother, father &c. live at Gloucester—his grand, or great grandfather, Jonas Cattell, a great runner, & Revolutionary soldier, spy." (Whitman referred to Jonas in the Philadelphia Times on January 26, 1879.) Later in the same diary the poet wrote: "the hour (night, June 19, '76, Ed & I.) at the front gate by the road." Two days later he noted "the swim of the boys, Ed. [Stafford?], Ed. C. & Harry" (Diary Notes in Charles E. Feinberg Collection). In 1877 Whitman cited "Sept meetings Ed C by the pond at Kirkwood moonlight nights" (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), and in Diary Notes on October 29, "Ed. Cattell with me." On November 26, 1877, Cattell, who generally called Whitman "old man," wrote: "Would love to See you once moor for it seems an age Since I last met With you down at the pond and a lovely time We had of it to old man . . . I love you Walt and Know that my love is returned to." In another letter from October 21, 1877, Cattell said: "Went with Some Boys up the Pond to day and I Seen your old Chir floting down the Strem. . . . i would like to See you and have a talk. I love you Walt and all ways Will. So May God Bless You is my prayer." Whitman deleted the following: "Or come over to 1929 north 22d street Philadelphia [Mrs. Gilchrist's house] & see me." Whitman deleted the following: "Mr and Mrs Stafford are very near & dear to me, & as to Harry, you know how I love him." This letter bears the address: John Burroughs | Esopus-on-Hudson | New York. It is postmarked: Camden | Jan | 24 | N.J.; New York | Jan | 25 | 8 AM. Burroughs accepted Whitman's suggestion, and "Birds and Poets," which had appeared in Scribner's Monthly in 1873 (see Whitman's letter to Peter Doyle on August 14–15, 1873), became the first chapter in the book. For over a month Burroughs sent to Whitman the manuscript of this book for comment and correction; see Whitman's letters to John Burroughs on February 3, 1877, February 13, 1877, and February 27, 1877. Whitman's emendations, particularly in the chapter devoted to himself, "The Flight of the Eagle," are discussed at length by Clara Barrus in Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931), 160–163. This is possibly a reference to "Our Rural Divinity," which appeared in The Galaxy, 23 (January 1877) 43–51. The year is established by the reference to Whitman's visit to the Staffords on January 18, 1877. Whitman did not return on January 21, Sunday, but he was with the Gilchrists on the following Sunday (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman was with the Gilchrists from January 25 to February 2 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Walt Whitman's increasing dissatisfaction with life in his brother George's home (see Walt Whitman's letter to Mannahatta and Jessie Louisa Whitman on December 20, 1876) is apparent in the frequency of his absences. He was with the Staffords from January 6 to 10 and January 18 to 23 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), and he stayed with the Gilchrists from January 10 to 16 and January 25 to February 2. This letter is not known. This postcard bears the address: John Burroughs | Esopus-on-Hudson | New York. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Feb | 3 | 10 PM | Pa. This is a reference to Burroughs's Birds and Poets (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1877). See Walt Whitman's letter to Burroughs on January 24, 1877. For Walt Whitman's emendations in Burroughs's manuscript, see the letter from Walt Whitman to John Burroughs on January 24, 1877. "Before Beauty" is the fifth chapter of Burroughs's Birds and Poets (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1877). Whitman returned the proof of his article on January 20 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). "The Poetry of the Future" (see the letter from Whitman to Harry Stafford of January 2, 1881). Jeannette Gilder had been associated with the New York Herald (see the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of December 12, 1878). Charles Allen Thorndike Rice (1851–1889) purchased The North American Review in 1876. See also the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of February 1, 1881. Perhaps Lorettus S. Metcalf, listed in the directories as a journalist. The following phrase appears at the bottom of the letter in Whitman's hand, but has been rubbed out: "The article in Feb Rev was." See the letter from Whitman to Susan Stafford of January 30, 1881. Anne Gilchrist's "postal" has not been located. In his Commonplace Book Whitman noted sending two volumes to John A. Scott in London; on the following day he forwarded a set to Miss Harriet W. Robinson in Brooklyn (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman sent the next two articles in the series on April 9 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman sent the manuscript of "How I Get Around at 60, and Take Notes" to The Critic on January 5 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See the letter from Whitman to Harry Stafford on October 31, 1880. Harry's sister and brother-in-law, the Brownings. This card is evidently not extant. "The Poetry of the Future" appeared in The North American Review in February (195–210). It was later called "Poetry To-day In America" (see Whitman's Complete Prose Works, 288). On January 15, Whitman received $100 in payment for the article (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). "Patroling Barnegat" was sent to Harper's Monthly on October 9, 1880 and published in the April issue (Whitman's Commonplace Book). The poem had appeared in The American in June, 1880 (The Cambridge History of American Literature, ed. A. W. Ward and A. R. Waller [New York: Putnam, 1907–1921]). On May 20, 1881, Whitman sent Harper's Monthly "A Summer's Invocation," which was returned (Whitman's Commonplace Book). It appeared, however, in The American (see Whitman's letter to Harry Stafford on May 5, 1881). The articles for The Critic. As evidenced by an address mounted in Whitman's Commonplace Book, Horner was the nickname of Jacob H. Stafford (1850–1890), Harry's cousin, whose mother was Mary Horner. Apparently Whitman gave Harry one of the books which Robert G. Ingersoll sent on March 25, 1880 (see the letter from Whitman to Ingersoll on April 2, 1880). The articles for Jeannette L. Gilder of The Critic (see the letter from Whitman to Gilder of December 31, 1880). Harry's brother, Edwin. This letter bears the address: Mrs Gilchrist | Keats corner 12 Well Road | Hampstead | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden | Jan | 2 | N.J.; (?) N.W. | E | Paid 20 Ja 81. Herbert Gilchrist informed Whitman about his mother's health on December 13, 1880. On February 16, Anne Gilchrist wrote about her "bronchitis & cardiac asthma" (University of Pennsylvania). See the letter from Whitman to Susan Stafford of January 30, 1881. Apparently this letter is lost. A reference to the articles for The Critic (see the letter from Whitman to Jeannette L. Gilder of December 31, 1880). "Cedar-Plums Like" probably appeared late in 1880 in the Philadelphia Press. It was included in Specimen Days (ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 245–248). On February 16, Mrs. Gilchrist referred to the notes in The Critic and "Cedar-Plums Like": they "are especially precious to me & I doubt not will be so to all friends & lovers of yours." Whitman agreed to write a series of sketches for The Critic, a new magazine of which Jeannette Gilder was editor. On January 5, 1881, he sent her the first installment (see Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., and Whitman's letter to Jeannette Gilder of January 8, 1881). The series, entitled "How I Get Around at 60, and Take Notes," was printed during the following eighteen months: January 29, 1881 (2–3), April 9, 1881 (88–89), May 7, 1881 (116–117), July 16, 1881 (184–185), December 3, 1881 (330–331), and July 15, 1882 (185–186). This is a draft letter. The only clue to the identification of the correspondent is a reference in Whitman's Commonplace Book to the fact that Whitman sent his two-volume edition to John P. Woodbury of Boston on this date (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This draft letter was crossed out, and on the back Whitman experimented with what appear to be trial titles. The ideas and language used here are echoed in the partial line "the embers left from earlier fires" in the 1888 poem, "Continuities." This letter is addressed: Rudolf Schmidt | Baggesen's Gate No 3 | Copenhagen | Denmark. It is postmarked: Hamilton | Sp 28 | 80 | Canada; K | Omb. 1 | 14–10–80. Whitman noted this letter to Nicholson in his Commonplace Book. The poet sent the young man a newspaper account of a "N Y walking match" on January 30, 1881 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman had spent the afternoon of December 5 with Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke at the Girard House in Philadelphia (Whitman's Commonplace Book). These two friends of Nicholson are mentioned in the letter from Whitman to Nicholson of October 14, 1880. This letter bears the address: R W Gilder | Scribner's Magazine office | 743 Broadway | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden | Dec | 10 | N.J.; D | 12–10 | 3 P. For more on the Worthington matter (see the letter from Whitman to Gilder of November 26, 1880). Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke was in Philadelphia on December 5, evidently on his way to New York, where he apparently investigated the Worthington matter (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Isaac Hull Platt (1853–1917) was a New York attorney, a Baconian, and an early biographer of Whitman (1904). In his Commonplace Book Whitman noted sending a circular to Platt on October 22, but on the following page, on Platt's calling card, he wrote: "Oct 23—Letter from, very warm ab't poems, & asking ab't books—I sent circular . . . (I sent the letter to Dr Bucke)." The poet sent the 1876 Leaves of Grass on October 27 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Edward Carpenter | 45 Brunswick Square | Brighton | England. It is postmarked: (?) | Sp 28 | 1880 | U.S.A.; Brighton | 1 | Oc | 80 | E. Carpenter had written to Whitman twice in 1880, on March 28 and July 1. In the former he asked whether Whitman approved the publication of an inexpensive English edition of Leaves of Grass. This letter bears the address: Thomas Nichelson | Asylum for the Insane | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: (?) | Oct | 15 | N.J.; London | Oc 16 | 80 | Ont. Whitman noted sending this letter in his Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Nicholson, who was twenty-one, was an attendant in Dr. Richard Bucke's asylum from April 12, 1880, to September 14, 1882. In his only extant letter to the poet, on December 6, 1881, Nicholson urged Whitman to come to London, Ontario: "Every body loves you, and you wount be no Stranger this Time." Perhaps Nicholson, or one of his friends, is referred to in the following description in Edmund Gosse's Critical Kit-Kats: "The other . . . was a photograph of a very handsome young man in a boat, sculling. . . . He explained . . . that this was one of his greatest friends, a professional oarsman from Canada, a well-known sporting character" ([London: William Heinemann, 1896], 104–105). According to his Commonplace Book, Whitman was with the Staffords from October 9 to 13, not at the seashore, unless he was with Harry in Atlantic City. These young men, like Nicholson, were employees in Richard Bucke's hospital. Thomas Bradley, age 23, served at the asylum from September 6, 1876, to April 30, 1877, when he was discharged. He rejoined the staff on June 1, 1877, and was employed until April 30, 1882, holding such positions as mail driver, assistant baker, and messenger. He again returned to the asylum on July 1, 1882, only to resign three months later. Edward Batters, who was 42, worked at the hospital in 1873 and 1874, until he was discharged. He was rehired in 1875 and remained until March 31, 1881, at which time he was a supervisor. Richard Flynn, age 24, was employed from 1875 to 1885, working as a messenger, a gardener, a night watchman, and a stoker. Henry O'Connor, age 22, was an attendant from August 15, 1879, until he was discharged on November 12, 1880 (Walt Whitman: The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 3:190–191 n57). Probably Whitman referred to Gomley Canniff, an eighteen-year-old attendant, who worked at the asylum from January 1 to November 30, 1880. Written in red on the letter in an unknown hand is the date: "1880." Written on the envelope is the date: "Oct 14 1880." This letter is addressed: Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist | Keats' Corner Wells Road | Hampstead | London | England. It is postmarked: Haddonfield | Oct | 12 | N.J.; Philadelphia | Oct | 12. Whitman was with the Staffords from October 9 to 13 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). "Home Again" appeared in the Camden Daily Post on September 30 and was reprinted with the title "Walt Whitman Safe Home" in the London (Ontario) Advertiser on October 4. See the letter from Walt Whitman to Damon Y. Kilgore of September 24, 1876 and to Mr. and Mrs. Kilgore of January 24, 1877. See also Floyd Stovall, ed., Specimen Days (New York: New York University Press, 1963), 140–142. This postal card is addressed: Frederick Locker | 25 Chesham Street | London S W | England. It is postmarked: Hamilton | Sp 28 | 80 | Canada. Locker-Lampson noted receipt of Whitman's post card on October 13 (Thomas Donaldson, Walt Whitman the Man [New York: Francis P. Harper, 1896], 237). In January 1881, Whitman sent copies of his article in The North American Review, "The Poetry of the Future" (see Whitman's letter to Harry Stafford of January 2, 1881), one of which was to be forwarded to Tennyson. Locker-Lampson acknowledged the gift on January 31. On August 22, Anne Gilchrist wrote to Whitman about her family, and concluded: "Send me a line soon, dear Friend—I think of you continually & know that somewhere & somehow we are to meet again & that there is a tie of love between us that time & change & death itself cannot touch." This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Jan. 21/86." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden | Jan | 4 | 4 PM | 1886 | N.J. January 4 fell on Monday in 1886. Later that year, on August 24, Whitman lent $50 to Colonel James Matlack Scovel (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), and see the letter from Whitman to Scovel on November 1, 1876. On September 16, Scovel thanked his "dear old friend." In 1888 Scovel reported "some ultra-intimate suspicions to [William Sloane] Kennedy about W.'s private life," which "shocked" the poet (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1914], 1:278–279). The Poet as A Craftsman (see the letter from Whitman to William Sloane Kennedy of December 2, 1885). This letter bears the address: Mrs: Susan M Stafford | Kirkwood (Glendale) | New Jersey. POSTMARK: Camden |(?) | 7 | 7 AM | N.J. Probably William H. Duckett, Whitman's young driver. Dr. C. H. Shivers lived in Haddonfield, N.J.; Whitman also dined with him on October 13, 1885 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Anne Gilchrist had died on November 29, 1885 (see the letter from Whitman to Gilchrist of December 8, 1885). Whitman did not record either in his letters or in his Commonplace Book a visit of Gilchrist and her daughters, Beatrice and Grace, to Kirkwood in May 1877. This letter is addressed: Mrs: Susan M Stafford | Kirkwood (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden | (?) | 7 | 7 AM | N.J. This letter bears the address: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | Glendale | New Jersey. It is postmarked: (?) | Jan | 10(?) | 8 PM | 1886 | N.J. This letter is apparently lost. The daughter of Robert Pearsall Smith. In Commonplace Book, Walt Whitman noted the birth of Dora, the first child of Harry and Eva Stafford (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd March 23/86." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden | Jan | 22 | 5 PM | 1886 | N.J.; Washington, Rec'd | Jan | 23 | 7 AM | 1886 | 5. Poets of America (1885), which contained Stedman's article on Whitman. Neither Burroughs's letter nor Bucke's is extant. On January 25 Whitman received the fourth installment from Rossetti—£33 16s. 6d. (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See also the letter from Whitman to William Michael Rossetti of November 30, 1885. In a letter on January 5 Rossetti mentioned that he had inserted in The Athenaeum on January 2 "a reminder to any well-wishers" who might want to contribute to the offering. An identical notice appeared in The Academy on the same day. Commenting on Rossetti's letter, Whitman said to Traubel: "Rossetti is the kind of friend who never forgets the market basket" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 9 vols., 2:291). Whitman received this sum from McKay on December 1, 1885 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). O'Connor's brother-in-law, Dr. William F. Channing, had recently moved to Pasadena, Calif., according to O'Connor's letter of January 21. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd March 23/86." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Washington | D C. Whitman delivered his "Death of Abraham Lincoln" lecture at a banquet of the "Pythian Club" on February 2, for which he received $30 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Folger McKinsey (1866–1950) was responsible for the invitation. McKinsey, then a railroad clerk in Philadelphia, began to call on Whitman in 1884, as indicated by his letter of June 10 and the reference to his occasional visits in Whitman's Commonplace Book on June 17. In 1885 McKinsey became the editor of the Elkton (Md.) Cecil Democrat, in which he printed an interview with the poet on December 12. On March 12, 1886, the newspaper termed Whitman's lecture "a failure." See Rollo G. Silver, N & Q, 170 (1936), 190–191, and Ernest J. Moyne, "Walt Whitman and Folger McKinsey," Delaware Notes, 29 (1956), 103–117. Later McKinsey became the editor of the Baltimore Sun. This postal card is addressed: Al: Johnston | 1309 Fifth anvenue | New York City | U S A. It is postmarked: LONDON | A.M. | AU 17 | 80 | ONT; K | 8–18 | 3–1. The address on Whitman's card was crossed out, and the card was redirected to "Equinunk Wayne Co | Pa." On June 26 John H. Johnston informed Whitman of his son's recent activities; John may have written the corrected address at the top of the postal card. For a discussion of the Worthington affair, see the letter from Whitman to Richard Watson Gilder of November 26, 1880, where Worthington's letter, which Whitman misinterpreted, is quoted. The poet's letter, probably written in October 1879, is not known. A small piece at the side of this letter is missing. See also Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall (New York: New York University Press, 1963), 207–208. In an "interview" which Whitman prepared for a Denver newspaper, he spoke ecstatically of the beauties of Denver. See Fred W. Lorch, "Whitman Interviews Himself," American Literature, 10 (March 1938), 84–87. See also Specimen Days (ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 209, 214–216). On December 31, 1885, Burroughs had asked Whitman to forward the Emerson volumes, which Whitman had borrowed during the Washington years (Feinberg; Horace Traubel, ed. With Walt Whitman in Camden [New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1914],2: 86–87). burroughs notes receiving the volumes on April 3 (Feinberg; Horace Traubel, ed. With Walt Whitman in Camden [New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1914],2: 549). See the letter from Walt Whitman to James Redpath of December 15, 1885. See the letter from Walt Whitman to Robert Underwood Johnson of . In Walt Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) on March 12, Whitman recorded "bad spell sickness—stomach & head—in bed all day—(better & up next day)." He had bad spells on March 16 to 18 and 20 to 23. Whitman gave the lecture for the second time in 1886 on March 1 at Morgan Hall, Camden, and was paid $25 (The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On March 16 Whitman wrote in his Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.): "The nag Frank seems to me played out." On March 28 he bought a new horse named "Nettie" from Edwin Stafford for $152.50. This letter is addressed: W. T. Harris | p o box 2398 | St Louis | Missouri U S A. It is postmarked: St. Louis (?) | Sep | (?) | 10 AM | Received. The newspaper accounts of his journey (see the letters from Whitman to Whitelaw Reid of June 17, 1880 and to Peter Doyle of July 24, 1880). The Journal of Speculative Philosophy, of which Harris was the editor (see the letter from Whitman to Harris of October 27, 1879). Here Sutherland quotes Isaiah 32:2: "And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." While the prophecies in this chapter of Isaiah nominally point to Hezekiah, 14th king of Judah, many commentators have noted that the passage has strongly Messianic overtones with its promise of comfort and restoration. The poem "Ethiopia Commenting," sent by Walt Whitman with his September 7, 1867 letter to William and Francis Church (and later resubmitted to the Churches on March 3, 1868), was never published in the Galaxy. It probably became "Ethiopia Saluting the Colors"; see Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, XXIII (1951–1952), 337. Walt Whitman withdrew the poem in his November 2, 1868, letter to Francis P. Church. J. Parker Milburn (1835–1874) was the proprietor of J. P. Milburn & Co., druggists: "Proprietors and Manufacturers of Milburn's UNRIVALLED POLAR SODA WATER." Milburn's store—opposite the Treasury building—had been frequented by Walt Whitman before his debilitating illness in 1872 (Martin G. Murray, "Pete the Great: A Biography of Peter Doyle"). Milburn died of pneumonia on March 1, 1874, at age thirty-eight. Robert Burns published his poem "A Man's a Man for A'That" anonymously in the Glasgow Magazine for fear of recrimination or arrest or even arrest. The song is regarded as proof of Burns's support for revolution in France. This appears to be a reference to W. Munro Taylor's A Hand-book of Hindu Mythology and Philosophy: With Some Biographical Notices from Higginbotham and co., published in 1870. Originally launched as the Williamsburgh Daily Times, the newspaper became the Brooklyn Daily Times when the city of Williamsburg was annexed to the city of Brooklyn as an Eastern-District in 1855. The newspaper included reviews of Whitman's Leaves of Grass (see "Walt Whitman Archive"). Possibly the Danish weekly (and later daily) newspaper, Fædrelandet. Moses: A Drama in Five Acts, by Edward Carpenter, published in 1875. This is almost certainly a reference to an anonymous review of the 1868 edition Poems of Walt Whitman, edited by William Michael Rossetti. The review, entitled "The Poetry of the Period," appeared in the October 1869 edition of Temple Bar, a London literary periodical published from 1860 to 1906. A digital transcription of this review is available at "The Poetry of the Period: [Review of Poems by Walt Whitman]." Here Wingate quotes from "To Mrs. Scott of Wauchope," a poem by Robert Burns (1759–1796). In its July 1868 edition, the New Eclectic Magazine published a translation of Ferdinand Freiligrath's "Walt Whitman," which had originally appeared in the Augsburg Allgemeine Zeitung on April 24, 1868. Freiligrath (1810–1876) was a German poet and translator and friend of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. "Walt Whitman" was among the first notices of Whitman's poetry on the continent. On October 13, 1867, Walt Whitman had advised the editors of the Galaxythat "Democracy," an article Whitman penned for the magazine, would be ready for the December edition on October 21, 1867. On April 30, 1868, Walt Whitman wrote to William and Francis Church that he was writing a third article, "Orbic Literature," to follow "Democracy" and "Personalism" in publication in the Galaxy. Although Francis Church here seems willing to publish the article, on May 15, 1868, Church wrote that, after consultation with new financier Mr. Sheldon, "I am obliged to come to the conclusion that for the present at least, it is best that it should not be published in The Galaxy," possibly as a consequence of the essay's twelve-page length. The essay finally appeared in Democratic Vistas.On November 30, 1868, Walt Whitman informed Ralph Waldo Emerson that "Proud Music of the Sea-Storm" (later called "Proud Music of the Storm") was "put in type for my own convenience, and to ensure greater correctness." He asked Emerson to take the poem to James T. Fields, editor of the Atlantic Monthly, who sent $100 to Whitman on December 5, 1868. Fields informed Whitman on December 14, 1868 that if he was to get the poem into the February issue it would be impossible to send proofs to Washington. This was the second of Whitman's poems to appear in the Atlantic Monthly; "Bardic Symbols" was published in 1860. "Proud Music of the Sea-Storm" was published in the February 1869 edition of the Atlantic Monthly; see 23, 199–203. In 1888 Horace Traubel asked Walt Whitman why he had appealed "to Emerson as a mediator": "For several reasons, I may say. But the best reason I had was in his own suggestion that I should permit him to do such things for me when the moment seemed ripe for it" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 2:284).
For digital images of the poem as it appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, see "Proud Music of the Sea-Storm."
In the 1866 elections, Republicans gained thirty-seven seats in the House of Representatives, with the Democrats losing nine. The Republicans gained a clear majority in the House, holding 173 seats to the Democrats' 47. With fellow border states Delaware and Maryland, Kentucky was one of only three states to elect Democratic representatives; Democratic failure in the election was due in no small part to the rise of Reconstruction politics and the waning popularity of President Andrew Johnson, who stumped for several Democratic nominees in the "Swing Around the Circle" speaking tour. Walt Whitman lived at 472 M Street in Washington, D. C. Whitman had been living with Mr. and Mrs. Newton Benedict since February 1867 (after the death of Juliet Grayson), according to his February 12, 1867, letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, but he expressed a passing interest in leaving the boarding house in a letter of August 24, 1868. By September 7, 1868, Walt Whitman was one of only two boarders remaining in the house.On August 1, 1867, William Conant Church, from the office of the Galaxy, wrote to William Douglas O'Connor: "It seems to me that this glorious harvest of 1867, sown & reaped by the returned soldiers, ought to be sung in verse. . . . Walt Whitman is the man to chaunt the song. Will you not ask him to do it for The Galaxy?" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection, ). In response, Whitman submitted "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867" to William Conant and Francis Pharcellus Church on August 7, 1867. In their letter of August 8, 1867, the editors told Whitman that they considered "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867" (later titled "The Return of the Heroes") "to rank with the very best of [his] poems." Negotiating the publication of the poem, Whitman, in his letter of August 11, 1867, reserved the right to publish "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867" in an edition of Leaves of Grass no sooner than six months after the poem's publication in the Galaxy. Whitman acknowledged receipt of $60 as compensation for "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867" in his September 7, 1867, letter to the editors, in which he also submitted a second poem, "Ethiopia Commenting," unpublished in the magazine.
For images and a transcription of "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867" as it appeared in the September 1867 edition of the Galaxy, see "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867".
"A Christmas Garland" consisted of miscellaneous observations on various subjects and occasional poems; it is reprinted in The Uncollected Poetry and Prose of Walt Whitman (1921), 2 vols., ed. by Emory Holloway, II, 53–58. Submitted to Whitelaw Reid on July 7, 1876, A Death-Sonnet for Custer" (later entitled "From Far Dakota's Cañons") appeared in the New York Daily Tribune on July 10, 1876. Whitman acknowledged receipt of $10 in a July 18, 1876, letter to Reid. Submitted by Walt Whitman on February 8, 1870, to William Conant and Francis Pharcellus Church, "A Warble for Lilac-Time" appeared in the Galaxy, 9 (May 1870), 686. The poem was later reprinted in the New York Daily Graphic on May 12, 1873. For images of the poem as it appeared in the Galaxy, see "Warble for Lilac-Time." The Harper's Weekly issue of April 27, 1867 contained Thomas Nast's (1840–1902) illustration "Abraham Lincoln and the Drummer-Boy." On April 12, 1868, William Michael Rossetti informed Walt Whitman that a review in the Academia had been composed by a Mr. Robertson, "a Scotchman of acute intellectual sympathies." Rossetti had restored the passages "cut out by a less ardent Editor" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 2:123). Founded in 1839, Adams Express Company was a delivery business that began under the name Adams & Company. Produce merchant Alvin Adams (1804–1877) started the company when he began carrying letters and parcels between the cities of Boston and Worcester in Massachusetts. The company rebranded itself as the Adams Express Company in 1854. The New York Tribune printed the entire address of Dr. William Adams. The Evangelical Alliance, an international meeting of Protestants who sought unity among all Christians, met in New York from October 3–10, 1873. It convened to answer the questions raised by the new Catholic doctrines of papal infallibility and the immaculate conception of the Virgin, as well as the threats posed to Christianity by science and materialism. The Tribune, with unconcealed Protestant zeal, reprinted verbatim virtually all the speeches of the delegates. Aeschylus was a Greek playwright, often described as the father of tragedy. He is known for writing the only extant trilogy of Greek plays, The Oresteia, as well as The Persians, about the Persian invasion of Greece during the Greco-Persian Wars.Walt Whitman read "After All, Not to Create Only" before the American Institute on September 7, 1871, after accepting their invitation on August 5, 1871; the poem was later published by the Roberts Brothers (the only work by Whitman printed by that firm) after Whitman sent an order on September 17, 1871.
The New York Evening Post reprinted the poem, later entitled "After All, Not to Create Only," and called Walt Whitman "a good elocutionist"; he was also praised in the New York Sun and the Brooklyn Standard; the New York Tribune printed excerpts from the poem on September 8, 1871, and later a devastating parody by Bayard Taylor (reprinted in his Echo Club [2nd ed., 1876], 169–170); the Springfield Republican published the poem on September 9, 1871. In reply to the criticisms of the poem, Walt Whitman prepared the following for submission to an unidentified newspaper: "The N. Y. World's frantic, feeble, fuddled articles on it are curiosities. The Telegram dryly calls it the longest conundrum ever yet given to the public" (Yale). See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 1:328–329; Emory Holloway, Whitman–An Interpretation in Narrative (1926), American Mercury, 18 (1929), 485–486; and Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (1955), 433–435.
On September 11, 1871, John W. Chambers, secretary of the Institute, thanked Walt Whitman "for the magnificent original poem" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 4:484).
The poem was later retitled "Song of the Exposition" to capitalize upon the formal opening of the Philadelphia Exposition on May 10, 1876. Walt Whitman sent the poem to various newspapers, among them the Herald and the Tribune. According to a notation on May 5, 1876, the price was $50 (Whitman's Commonplace Book).
"After All, Not to Create Only," which Whitman sometimes referred to as his "American Institute piece," was presented before the American Institute on September 7, 1871. Roberts Brothers of Boston later published it; Whitman had written to them about the poem on September 17, 1871. This was the only Whitman poem published by the Roberts Brothers. "After All, Not to Create Only," which Whitman sometimes referred to as his "American Institute piece," was presented before the American Institute on September 7, 1871. Roberts Brothers of Boston later published it; Whitman had written to them about the poem on September 17, 1871. This was the only Whitman poem published by the Roberts Brothers. The poem was later retitled "Song of the Exposition" to capitalize upon the formal opening of the Philadelphia Exposition on May 10, 1876. Walt Whitman sent the poem to various newspapers, among them the Herald and the Tribune. According to the Washington National Republican, Professor Alexander Agassiz (1835–1910), the zoologist, lectured at the E Street Baptist Church on January 24, 1868, on "the succession of organized beings in geological times." In 1866, Dr. William A. Hammond (1828–1900), F. S. Hoffman, and "Abe" Simpson joined with B. W. Bond (of the publishing firm Moorhead, Simpson & Bond) to form the Agathynian Club, which printed both original works and reprints with an interest in typographical innovation. The Club produced periodicals, as well as reprints of rare, curious, and old American, English, French, and Latin books (American Literary Gazette and Publishers Circular [Philadelphia: George W. Childs, Publisher, No. 600 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, July 1, 1867], 9:136). While preparing the Agathynian Club's second volume, a fire destroyed the Bradstreet book-bindery, all 150 copies of the Club's second volume, and by extension the Club itself, which folded in 1868 when Hammond elected to focus on his medical practice. For more information on the Club, see Adolf Growell, "The Agathynian Club (1866–1868)," American Book Clubs: Their Beginnings and History, and a Bibliography of their Publications (New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1897), 145–151. Amos Tappan Akerman (1821–1880) served in the Confederate Army and was Attorney General from 1870 to 1871. "Death of a Fireman," a tribute to a Camden fireman named William Alcott, appeared in the Camden New Republic on November 14, 1874. Henry Mills Alden (1836–1919) was managing editor of Harper's Weekly from 1863 to 1869 and editor of Harper's New Monthly Magazine from 1869 until his death.On May 9, 1867, William Douglas O'Connor wrote to Walt Whitman: "I enclose a letter I got from that child of a burnt father, Allen . . . It is truly Pecksniffian, and seems to have been written on all-fours. You will see that it ends the matter of publishing the book, and he doesn't say a word about John Burroughs' book . . . I think, on the whole, it is probably altogether best that should have nothing to do with 'Leaves of Grass,' though I would well enough like to have him publish the 'Notes' " (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 3:521–522).
Henry Stanley Allen (1830–1904) was a publisher who partnered with New York publisher George W. Carleton in 1867; the 1867 Directory listed them at the same business address. In 1864 O'Connor had suggested Carleton as the publisher of Drum-Taps; see Trowbridge's February 12, 1864, letter to Walt Whitman. In 1865, O'Connor proposed to George William Curtis (1824–1892), the editor of Harper's Weekly, that he write to Carleton about the publication of The Good Gray Poet; see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), 1:86. Since O'Connor was not successful in either attempt, it is surprising that he once again sought to interest Carleton in publication schemes. See also Miller, ed., Drum-Taps, xxv.
According to the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle of August 14, 1873, George Allen, a fireman on the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad, had had his leg crushed in an accident near Baltimore and had died on the previous day. In "The American Iliad in a Nutshell," Scottish satirist Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) recast the American Civil War as an extremely brief dialogue between Peter of the North and Paul of the South. Peter, upset that Paul hires his servants "for life, not by the month or year as I do," refuses to abandon what he sees as a moral issue and attacks Paul in order to save his soul, although Carlyle notes that Peter has been "trying dreadfully ever since, but cannot yet manage it." The piece was first printed on May 3, 1863, in Macmillan's Magazine and reprinted on August 14, 1863, in the New York Times. Walt Whitman's rejoinder to Carlyle is not known. Charles E. Burd, along with George Payton and James B. Young, was on the Board of Managers of the 40th Annual Exhibition of the American Institute being held on September 7, 1871. The American News Company was a New York magazine—and later comic book—distribution company founded in 1864 by Henry Dexter (1813–1910). The American News Company published John Burroughs's Notes on Walt Whitman, as Poet and Person in 1867. Whitman's article "The American War" appeared in the London Examiner on March 18, 1876. In his June 26, 1876 letter to William Michael Rossetti, Whitman indicated that he had not yet been paid for the piece. Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875) was a Danish author best known for his work on fairy tales and children's stories, including "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," and "The Emperor's New Clothes." In his letter of January 5, 1872, Rudolf Schmidt observed to Walt Whitman: "Hans Christian Andersen would perhaps not make you very great joy, if you did know him personally." Anderson & Archer were listed as "binders" in Trow's New York City Directory (1860), with an office at 22 Frankfort. By late 1867, they had moved to No. 6 Reade Street (according to Walt Whitman's November 13, 1867, letter to Michael Doolady). Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author and poet best known for his fairy tales. Emil Arctander was acting vice-consul for Denmark. Armory Square Hospital was the hospital Walt Whitman most frequently visited in Washington, D.C., during the Civil War. Because of Armory Square's location near a steamboat landing and railroad, it received the bulk of serious casualties from Virginia battlefields. At the end of the war, it recorded the highest number of deaths among Washington hospitals. See Martin G. Murray, "Traveling with the Wounded: Walt Whitman and Washington's Civil War Hospitals." Armory Square was the hospital Whitman visited most frequently in Washington, D.C. Because of its location near a steamboat landing and railroad, Armory Square received the bulk of serious casualties from Virginia battlefields. For more information on all of the hospitals Whitman visited in Washington, D.C., see Martin G. Murray, "Traveling with the Wounded: Walt Whitman and Washington's Civil War Hospitals." For more information Whitman's visits to wounded Civil War soldiers in the hospitals of Washington, D.C., see Martin G. Murray, "Traveling with the Wounded: Walt Whitman and Washington's Civil War Hospitals." A friend of the Prices, John Arnold lived with his daughter's family in the same house as the Price family. Helen Price described him as "a Swedenborgian," with whom Walt Whitman frequently argued without "the slightest irritation between them"; see Richard Maurice Bucke, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), 26–27. Joseph Hubley Ashton (1836–1907), the assistant Attorney General, actively interested himself in Walt Whitman's affairs, and obtained a position for the poet in his office after the Harlan fracas (see James Harlan's June 30, 1865, letter to Walt Whitman). The daughter of assistant Attorney General J. Hubley Ashton, Kitty Ashton was nineteen months old when she died on April 8, 1874. Hannah Ashton (1843–1906) was the wife of Assistant Attorney General Joseph Hubley Ashton (1836–1907). The New York Athenaeum was founded in 1824 by intellectuals (including writers James Fenimore Cooper and Washington Irving) in order to sponsor lectures which would further the causes of literature and science in the city. In the 1850s an Athenaeum Club proper, modeled after a London literary club of the same name, was formed by literati like Charles King, William Cullen Bryant, and Bayard Taylor. Robert Atkinson (1839–1908) was a professor of romance languages at Trinity College, Dublin. The Atlantic Monthly, founded in 1857 in Boston, was during Walt Whitman's lifetime a prestigious literary magazine, in which Whitman published two poems: "Bardic Symbols" and "Proud Music of the Sea-Storm." For more on Whitman's relationship with the magazine, see Susan Belasco's "The Atlantic Monthly." Founded in 1857 in Boston, the Atlantic Monthly, was during Vaughan and Whitman's lifetimes a prestigious literary magazine. For more on Whitman's relationship with the magazine, see Susan Belasco's "The Atlantic Monthly." The first reports of the sinking of the steamship "Atlantic" spoke of the loss of 700 lives. On April 3, 1873, the New York Times noted that the number was 546. Later a board of inquiry attributed the disaster to dereliction of duty on the part of the captain. Greek philosopher Plato introduced the legend of Atlantis (likely inspired by other lost sources) in Timaeus and Critias. In Plato's account, Atlantis was a powerful island empire located west of the Strait of Gibraltar in the Atlantic Ocean; the empire was destroyed and sunk by an earthquake after the gods decided that the people of Atlantis had become corrupted by their wealth and military power. Margaret and William Avery, who lived in Brooklyn, were evidently cousins of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman; see The Library of Congress #108. They visited Walt Whitman in Camden on October 19, 1876; see the Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). Sarah Avery was one of Walt Whitman's cousins. On May 20, 1873, she suggested with trepidation and apologies—she was so overawed by Walt Whitman's "knowledge and intellect"—that he should find a good wife for his old age (The Library of Congress). Her husband John, a New York merchant, wrote to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman twice in 1872 about interest due her from the estate of Elizabeth Maybee (The Library of Congress). George B. Bacon was a U. S. clergyman as well as an author of religious texts. Josephine Barkeloo, a young Brooklyn friend of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, was the daughter of Tunis S. Barkeloo, a clerk. Josephine Barkeloo wrote three affectionate letters to Walt Whitman's mother before she left for Europe in 1872 (The Library of Congress). On December 8, 1873, the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle reported the death of Barnes in an accident on the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad four days earlier. From 1841 to 1865, Barnum's American Museum was owned by Phineas T. (P. T.) Barnum (1810–1891), who rose to fame as an American showman and founder of the Barnum and Bailey Circus. The New York City museum, which included a zoo, theater, and wax museum, burned in one of New York's most famous fires. Although Barnum attempted to reopen the museum, his second museum also burned in 1868. Rogers must be referring to the former location of Barnum's American Museum, as Barnum left the museum business following the 1868 fire in order to focus on the circus, which he opened at Madison Square Garden. Adrian Bartlett was a friend of Joseph Harris and Lewis Brown; all three met Whitman while they were being treated at Armory Square Hospital. According to Brown's letter of September 5, 1864, the three young men were living in a Washington boardinghouse; Harris was not in good health, and Bartlett worked in the Treasury Department. Lewis L. Bartlett was a Brooklyn surveyor, with whom Thomas Jefferson Whitman began his career in engineering. See Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Introduction, Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman (Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984), 13. Edward Bates (1793–1869) of Missouri was Abraham Lincoln's first Attorney General. Bates resigned when Lincoln was reelected in 1864. The opinion to which Whitman refers here is unclear. In writing to Walt Whitman about old New York drivers on June 21, 1874, William H. Taylor, himself a former driver or son of one, referred to "William Baun alias (Bawlkey Bill)." Ann and Ester Van Wycke were sisters. Ellen Van Wycke was an in-law. The Van Wycke family farm was near Colyer farm, which had belonged to Jesse Whitman, Walt Whitman's paternal grandfather. See Bertha H. Funnel, Whitman on Long Island (Port Washington, NY: Kennikat Press, 1971), 78. J. Baylis has not been identified. John Frederick Schiller Gray was a captain in the Twentieth New York Infantry and later held the same rank in the Assistant Adjutant General's Volunteers during the Civil War. He became a major on January 4, 1865, and resigned on December 6 of the same year; see Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, 2 vols. (Washington D.C.: Government Publications Office, 1903). In 1862 he fought in the battle at Antietam, and at Charles Pfaff's beer cellar located in lower Manhattan, he gave Whitman "a fearful account of the battlefield at ½ past 9 the night following the engagement." (For discussion of Whitman's activity at Pfaff's, see "The Bohemian Years.") See Whitman's notations in Frederick W. Hedge's Prose Writers of Germany, reprinted in Emory Holloway, ed., Walt Whitman—Complete Poetry & Selected Prose and Letters (London: Nonesuch Press, 1938), 1099. In 1864, according to one of Whitman's notebooks (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103), Gray was stationed at New Orleans. He graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York in 1871, and briefly practiced medicine with his father in New York. Whitman referred to him during this period in a notebook (The Library of Congress, Notebook #109). Later he practiced in Paris, Nice, and Geneva. He died of Bright's disease at St. Clair Springs, Michigan, on April 18, 1891; obituaries appeared in the New York Herald and the New York Tribune on August 19, 1891. Henry Ward Beecher (1813–1887), Congregational clergyman and brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, accepted the pastorate of the Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, in 1847. Whitman described him briefly in the Brooklyn Daily Advertiser of May 25, 1850, reprinted in The Uncollected Poetry and Prose of Walt Whitman, 2 vols., ed. Emory Holloway (Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Page, 1921), 1:234–235. See also Walt Whitman, Emory Holloway, and Vernolian Schwarz, I Sit and Look Out: Editorials from the Brooklyn Daily Times (New York: Columbia University Press, 1955), 84–85, and Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, May 11, 1888. Henry Beecher's father, Lyman Beecher (1775–1863), was also a clergyman, who upon his retirement lived with his son in Brooklyn. Henry Ward Beecher (1813–1887), Congregational clergyman and brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, accepted the pastorate of the Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, in 1847. Walt Whitman described him briefly in the Brooklyn Daily Advertiser of May 25, 1850, reprinted in The Uncollected Poetry and Prose of Walt Whitman, 2 vols., ed. Emory Holloway (Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Page, 1921), 1:234–235. See also Walt Whitman, Emory Holloway, and Vernolian Schwarz, I Sit and Look Out: Editorials from the Brooklyn Daily Times (New York: Columbia University Press, 1955) 84–85, and Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, May 11, 1888. Henry Beecher's father, Lyman Beecher (1775–1863), was also a clergyman, who upon his retirement lived with his son in Brooklyn. Otto Behrens, listed as a carver in the New York Directory of 1874–1875 and as an engraver in the following year. The 1869 Directory listed at the same address George A. Bell, a conductor, and Horace Bell, a messenger. Waldemar E. Bendz, originally of Denmark, was listed as a clerk in the Washington Solicitor of the Treasury office by an 1871 Maryland state and District of Columbia directory. Mr. and Mrs. Newton Benedict were Walt Whitman's landlords at 472 M North, having replaced Juliet Grayson after her death in 1867. Whitman recorded this change in management in his February 12, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. The 1869 Directory listed him as a clerk in the State Department and Mrs. Benedict as a clerk in the First Comptroller's office. The 1869 annual report from the Commissioner of Patents recorded that a Newton Benedict received a patent for a "sliding clamp . . . forming, for the wick, a slitted cap or covering" on a lamp, as well as for the construction of the press-gauge for the wick. Mr. and Mrs. Newton Benedict were Walt Whitman's landlords at 472 M North, having replaced Juliet Grayson after her death in 1867. Whitman recorded this change in management in his February 12, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. The 1869 Directory listed him as a clerk in the State Department and Mrs. Benedict as a clerk in the First Comptroller's office. The 1869 annual report from the Commissioner of Patents recorded that a Newton Benedict received a patent for a "sliding clamp . . . forming, for the wick, a slitted cap or covering" on a lamp, as well as for the construction of the press-gauge for the wick. Mr. and Mrs. Newton Benedict were Walt Whitman's landlords at 472 M North, having replaced Juliet Grayson after her death in 1867. Whitman recorded this change in management in his February 12, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. The 1869 Directory listed him as a clerk in the State Department and Mrs. Benedict as a clerk in the First Comptroller's office. The 1869 annual report from the Commissioner of Patents recorded that a Newton Benedict received a patent for a "sliding clamp . . . forming, for the wick, a slitted cap or covering" on a lamp, as well as for the construction of the press-gauge for the wick. Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) was an English utilitarian philosopher who, with Scottish philosopher James Mill (1773–1836), founded the Westminster Review in 1823. Richard Bentley & Son were London publishers. According to Robert Buchanan's letter of April 28, 1876, Bentley was among those who "do not want copies [of Two Rivulets and Memoranda During the War], some having them already" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). Probably Franklin Rives, of F. & J. Rives and George A. Bailey, publishers in Washington. The nature of the barroom brawl at Bergazzi's (mentioned also in Walt Whitman's November 21, 1873, and November 28, 1873, letters to Peter Doyle) is not ascertainable. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's "bergen" is probably Van Brunt Bergen (1841–1917), an employee of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1864 to 1895. The son of Congressman Teunis G. Bergen, Van Brunt Bergen (1841–1917) graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1863 with a degree in civil engineering. He wrote a short history of the department which was printed in Henry R. Stiles, ed., The Civil, Political, Professional, and Ecclesiastical History . . . of the County of Kings and the City of Brooklyn, New York from 1683 to 1884 (New York: W. W. Munsell & Co., 1884), 584–94. See also Thomas Jefferson Whitman's December 21, 1866, letter to Walt Whitman. In 1862, the autobiography of English ornithologist and engraver Thomas Bewick (1753–1823), A Memoir of Thomas Bewick, Written by Himself, was published. The Bhagavad Gita is a Hindu scriptural text, a part of the Mahabharata in which Lord Krishna provides counsel on the concept of dharma and the relationship between this life and the next. Dr. Bielby is likely Porteus P. Bielby (1846–1880). On October 21, 1870, the New York Times reported that a Dr. P. P. Bielby had arrived on a steamship from Brazil, although two years earlier, on May 2, 1868, the Medical and Surgical Reporter printed that Porteus P. Bielby had been appointed Assistant Surgeon in the Medical Corps of the United States Navy during the week ending April 25, 1868. An "Assistant Surgeon B. P. Bielby" was mentioned as being "detached from special duty" on July 27, 1873—likely a typographical error, as an assistant surgeon was listed as "P. P. Bielby" on September 22, 1873. An obituary for "Porteus P. Bielby" was printed in the Churchman on August 21, 1880. Mary LeBaron Andrews (1842–1894) married Porteus P. Bielby in 1863. John M. Binckley served as assistant U.S. Attorney General during the tenure of U.S. Attorney General Henry Stanbery (1866–1868). Binckley died in 1878, of apparent suicide. Julius Bing was a social reformer appointed as clerk of the Joint Select Committee on Retrenchment in early 1867. Bing wrote more than twenty articles on the civil service, which were published in the North American Review and Putnam's Magazine. Little is known about Bing, and although this letter suggests that Walt Whitman had written to Bing at least once before, no other correspondence between the two is currently extant. Whitman explored in some unpublished manuscripts the suggestions Bing made about a poem referencing the Crusades but is not known to have published such a work. See also Art Hoogenboom, Outlawing the Spoils: A History of the Civil Service Reform Movement, 1865–1883 (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1968), 40–49. John A. Bingham (1815–1900) was a Representative from Ohio appointed to conduct the impeachment proceedings against Andrew Johnson. See Erving E. Beauregard, Bingham of the Hills: Politician and Diplomat Extraordinary (New York: Peter Lang, 1989). John Burroughs's Birds and Poets was eventually published in 1877. In the title essay, Burroughs traced the appearance of birds in the poetry of Walt Whitman, John Milton, and others. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's youngest daughter, Hannah Heyde (1823–1908), resided in Burlington, Vermont, with husband Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892). Louisa went to visit them at their home in September of 1856, and wrote to Walt Whitman about this visit, sometimes mistakenly writing Birmingham instead of Burlington. Otto Eduard Leopold Bismarck was the prime minister of Prussia (1862–73, 1873–90) and founder and first chancellor (1871–90) of the German Empire. Björnstjerne Björnson (1832–1910), Norwegian poet, dramatist, and novelist, was co-editor of Rudolf Schmidt's journal. In his January 5, 1872, letter, Rudolf Schmidt observed: "Hans Christian Andersen would perhaps not make you very great joy, if you did know him personally. Björnson would be your man" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, February 7, 1889, 103). Schmidt later altered his opinion of Björnson, writing at some length on February 28, 1874: "His poetry comes from the source that is throbbing in the people's own heart. He has been the spoiled darling of the whole Danish public. But he is a living test of the hideous and venomous serpent, that hides his ugly head among the flowers of the pantheistic poetry. You have in your 'vistas' spoken proud words of the flame of conscience, the moral force as the greatest lack of the present democracy. You have, without knowing it, named the lack of Björnson at the same time! Björnson owes Denmark gratitude. He has shown it in the form of deep and bloody offences, that make every honest Danish heart burn with rage and indignation." Considered the first musical comedy in musical theater history, The Black Crook opened at the National Theatre in Washington, D. C., on September 7, 1868, and ran until September 26, 1868. With a book by American playwright Charles M. Barras (1826–1873), the play, produced according to the advertisements at a cost of $20,000, included a Parisian ballet and "Transformation Scenes, Incantation Scenes, Cascade Scenes of Real Water, Amazonian Armor." On September 27, 1868, Peter Doyle wrote that he had seen the play and "had no idea that it was so good Some of the scenes was magnificient . . ." Mrs. Black was a neighbor of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Louisa mentions her many times in her letters to Walt Whitman including her letters of March 11, 1868, March 13, 1868, and March 16, 1870. Joseph L. Blamire was an American agent of London publishers George Routledge & Sons and sometimes worked as a translator. Blamire's office, at 416 Broome Street in New York City, had been operative since 1854. Mathilde Blind (1841-1896), born Mathilde Cohen, was a poet and biographer. D. Willard Bliss (1825–1889) was a surgeon with the Third Michigan Infantry, and afterward in charge of Armory Square Hospital during the Civil War. See John Homer Bliss, Genealogy of the Bliss Family in America, from about the year 1550 to 1880 (Boston: John Homer Bliss, 1881), 545. He practiced medicine in Washington after the war. In 1887, when Representative Henry B. Lovering proposed a House bill that would secure a war pension for Whitman, Bliss was quoted: "I am of opinion that no one person who assisted in the hospitals during the war accomplished so much good to the soldiers and for the Government as Mr. Whitman" (Thomas Donaldson, Walt Whitman the Man [New York: F. P. Harper, 1896], 169). George Bliss, Jr. (1830–1897), was a prominent New York lawyer whose service as Paymaster General of New York (a position which came with the rank of colonel) led President Ulysses S. Grant to appoint Bliss as United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York in December 1872. Nathaniel Bloom operated a fancy-goods store on Broadway for many years. What appears to be an early description of him was printed by Richard Maurice Bucke, ed., in Notes and Fragments from The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1902), 9:142; Trent Collection, Duke University: "Bloom—Broad-shouldered, six-footer, with a hare-lip. Clever fellow, and by no means bad looking . . . Direct, plain-spoken, natural-hearted, gentle-tempered, but awful when roused—cartman, with a horse, cart &c, of his own—drives for a store in Maiden lane." Whitman referred to Bloom in one of his notebooks (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #109). Later in life Bloom was listed as an importer; his name does not appear in the Directories after 1900. Born in England on 4 July 1818, Samuel Booth was brought to New York city by his parents when he was three weeks old. He served as the sixteenth mayor of Brooklyn. He was, according to his New York Times obituary, one of the best known men in Brooklyn. He worked as a carpenter before being elected, in 1851, as an Alderman, representing the old Fourth Ward. He served four terms as Alderman, was appointed a member of the Board of Education, and elected Supervisor of the Fourth Ward, before being elected Mayor of Brooklyn in 1865. He also served as Postmaster, being appointed to the office by President Grant in 1869. Anne Charlotte Lynch Botta (1815–1891) was a teacher, a poet, and a sculptor. Her "literary" evenings in New York are mentioned in Bayard Taylor's John Godfrey's Fortunes. According to the Memoirs of Anne C. L. Botta (1894), 14, Poe gave his first public reading of "The Raven" at her home. Her evaluation of Walt Whitman's poetry appeared in her often-reprinted Handbook of Universal Literature (1885 ed.), 535: "Walt Whitman . . . writes with great force, originality, and sympathy with all forms of struggle and suffering, but with utter contempt for conventionalities and for the acknowledged limits of true art." Dr. Charles H. Bowen was a Washington physician. An entry in an address book (The Library of Congress #109) indicated that in January 1869 Whitman sought treatment for his "bad spells" from Bowen. Additionally, according to Richard Maurice Bucke, in 1869 Peter Doyle was suffering a skin eruption popularly known as "barber's itch," and Whitman took him to Bowen for treatment; see The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 10 vols., VIII, 40–41n. Sayles J. Bowen (1813–1896), a Republican, was elected mayor of Washington, D.C., on June 1, 1868, by 74 votes. This municipal election was the first in which African Americans in Washington, D.C., could vote, and Bowen's efforts to enact equality measures for African Americans earned him wide support from black voters. Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen (1848–1895) was a Norwegian author who immigrated to the United States in 1869. Boyesen's article, entitled "Björnstjerne Björnson as a Dramatist," was published in the January 1873 edition of the North American Review, no. 238, 109–138. Perhaps the Rev. F. E. Boyle of Washington, D.C. An address book (The Library of Congress #109), however, listed an A. F. Boyle of Washington, a journalist. Whitman mentioned dinner "at a Mr Boyle's" in his September 15, 1863, letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. J. M. Bradstreet & Son, publishers located at 18 Beekman Street, New York, published Drum-Taps. Walt Whitman perhaps refers to No. 45 in 100 Whitman Photographs, ed. Henry S. Saunders (1948). Henry Bryan Binns (1873–1923), a poet and biographer, wrote and published A Life of Walt Whitman (1905), the earliest major biographical work about Whitman following the poet's death. Binns was also the author of Walt Whitman and His Poetry (1915) and a biography of Abraham Lincoln (1907). For more information on Binns, see Katherine Reagan, "Binns, Henry Bryan (1873–1923)," J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, eds., Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). William C. Angus (1830–1899) was a fine art dealer and a member of the Glasgow art-dealer firm of Craibe, Angus, and son. He was a collector of works by Robert Burns (1759–1796), and he was an organizer of the Burns Exhibition that took place in 1896, one hundred years after Burns’s death. The remainder of this letter has not been located. Little is known about Huntington Smith (1857–1926), who was a publisher in Dorchester, Massachusetts. John Bright was a British politician and co-founder of the Morning Star, a London daily newspaper. Pasquale Brignoli (1824–1884), the Italian tenor, and Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa (1836–1876), the English soprano, gave a recital at Metzerott Hall on April 15, 1867, of which the National Republican reported: "Their performances last evening were all that heart and cultivated taste could demand." According to Gay Wilson Allen, (Walt Whitman Handbook [Chicago, Packard and Company, 1946], 195), "The Singer in the Prison" described Parepa-Rosa's concert in Sing Sing Prison. Upon Brignoli's death in 1884, Whitman wrote a memorial poem, "The Dead Tenor," published in the Critic in November 1884. The "British Behemoth" to which Alcott refers is probably Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881), a Scottish essayist and writer known for his conservative politics and critiques of progress. On August 18, 1867, Carlyle published an essay titled Shooting Niagara: And After? in the New York Tribune under the editorship of Horace Greeley. In his essay, Carlyle criticized the Reform Act, which extended voting rights in England. The essay to which Alcott refers, Whitman's "Democracy" (which would later appear in Democratic Vistas), was first published in the Galaxy in December 1867 and supported increasing enfranchisement and other democratizing practices. For more on the impetus for Carlyle's and Whitman's essays, see "Democratic Vistas (1871)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). According to Rollo G. Silver, "A Broadway Pageant," which had been published in Drum-Taps, was reprinted on September 5, 1868, in the Citizen. See Silver, "Thirty-One Letters of Walt Whitman," American Literature 8.4 (January 1937), 420. The Broadway (subtitled "A London Magazine") was a British literary magazine founded by George Routledge (1812–1888) and published between 1867 and 1872. The magazine printed Robert Buchanan's glowing review of the 1867 edition of Leaves of Grass in the November 1867 issue. The Broadway also printed Whitman's poem "Whispers of Heavenly Death" in the October 1868 issue. William Brockie (1811–1890) was a Scottish writer known for his local histories, particularly his 1894 Sunderland Tales (published posthumously). Probably a reference to a member of the Brown family who boarded in the same house as the Whitmans on Portland Avenue, Brooklyn. In 1860, the lower part of the house was rented to Mr. John Brown, a tailor. The relationship between the Browns and the Whitmans was often strained, but the Browns remained in the Portland Avenue house for five years. In Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman of April 14, 1869 she talks of going to Sand St. to call on Mrs. Brown and adds that "if Jeff and matt knew i had been to see mrs Brown they would cross me off their books." Founded in 1818 in Philadelphia, Brown Brothers & Company was opened by brothers George (1787–1859) and John Brown. The bank is notable for being one of only a few banks not to close its doors during the Panic of 1857. William Michael Rossetti duly cited Brown Brothers in a circular he issued on June 1, 1876 (Thomas Donaldson, Walt Whitman the Man (1896), 27–28). Lewis Kirke Brown (1843–1926) was wounded in the left leg near Rappahannock Station on August 19, 1862, and lay where he fell for four days. Eventually he was transferred to Armory Square Hospital, where Whitman met him, probably in February 1863. In a diary in the Library of Congress, Whitman described Brown on February 19, 1863, as "a most affectionate fellow, very fond of having me come and sit by him." Because the wound did not heal, the leg was amputated on January 5, 1864. Whitman was present and described the operation in a diary (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103). Brown was mustered out in August 1864, and was employed in the Provost General's office in September; see Whitman's letter of September 11, 1864. The following September he became a clerk in the Treasury Department and was appointed Chief of the Paymaster's Division in 1880, a post which he held until his retirement in 1915. (This material draws upon a memorandum which was prepared by Brown's family and is now held in the Library of Congress.) Daughter of painter Ford Madox Brown, Lucy Madox Brown (1843–1894) married William Michael Rossetti in 1874. She bore five children between 1875 and 1881. Born in France, Ford Madox Brown (1821–1893) was a British painter and designer. He was also the father-in-law of the English editor William Michael Rossetti. Orville Hickman Browning (1806–1881) completed the unexpired term of Senator Stephen A. Douglas after Douglas's death in 1861. Defeated for re-election in 1862, Browning established a law firm in Washington, and later actively supported President Andrew Johnson, who appointed him Secretary of the Interior in 1866. After the resignation of Henry Stanbery (1803–1881), Browning was appointed Acting Attorney General on March 12, 1868. At the conclusion of Johnson's administration, Browning returned to private law practice. The English poet Robert Browning (1812–1889), known for his dramatic monologues, including "Porphyria's Lover" and "My Last Duchess," was also the husband of poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861). Robert Buchanan (1841–1901), Scottish poet and critic, had lauded Whitman in the Broadway Annual in 1867, and in 1872 praised Whitman but attributed his poor reception in England to the sponsorship of William Michael Rossetti and Algernon Charles Swinburne. See Harold Blodgett, Walt Whitman in England (1934), 79–80, and Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (1955), 445–446. Swinburne's recantation later in 1872 may be partly attributable to Buchanan's injudicious remarks. For more on Buchanan, see Philip W. Leon, "Buchanan, Robert (1841–1901)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Two trains of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad collided in a tunnel outside of Washington on April 26, 1875. Captain Tim Buchanan, a conductor on one of the trains, was hospitalized. 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). 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. Henry Thomas Buckle (1821–1862) was an English historian and author of The History of Civilization in England (1857, 1861). Mrs. Buckley, Thomas Jefferson Whitman wrote on March 16, 1873 "was a particular friend of Mattie's." After Martha Whitman died, the Buckleys immediately took charge of the funeral arrangements and provided for the children; see Thomas Jefferson Whitman's February 24, 1873, letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. When Manahatta Whitman wrote to her grandmother on March 14, 1873, she appeared quite satisfied with her new home (The Library of Congress). Charles E. Burd, along with George Payton and James B. Young, was on the Board of Managers of the 40th Annual Exhibition of the American Institute being held in on September 7, 1871. General John Burgoyne (1722–1792) was a British army officer who surrendered his troops at Saratoga on October 17, 1777, during the American Revolutionary War. Denis Francis Burke (1841–1893) was a captain in the 88th New York Infantry, Company A, at the Battle of Gettysburg in early July 1863. After the Civil War, Burke was made a colonel. Although Burke was arrested in Ireland in February 1867 for his support for the Fenian Rising against the British, the United States government intervened on his behalf and saw to his release. Anson Burlingame (1820–1870) was appointed U.S. Minister to China by President Abraham Lincoln in 1861. Upon the opening of trade and diplomatic relations with China, Burlingame was appointed by the Chinese government as "Envoy Extraordinary and High Minister Plenipotentiary" in 1867, in which position he was to arrange treaties between China and the U.S. and European nations. Carrie S. Burnham was the first woman to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania with a law degree. An early suffragette of sorts, Burnham had attempted to vote in Philadelphia on October 10, 1871, later arguing that she fit the legal definition of "freemen." Her claim was denied by Judge George Sharswood on December 30, 1871; Sharswood's opinion was later upheld by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on April 5, 1873. Robert Burns (1759–1796) was widely regarded as Scotland's national poet. An early Romantic poet who wrote in both Scots and English (often though not exclusively inflected by Scottish dialect), Burns is perhaps best known for his poems "Auld Lang Syne," "Tam o' Shanter" and "To a Mouse" (from which the title of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is derived). Of Burns, Whitman wrote in November Boughs: "Though so much is to be said in the way of fault-finding, drawing black marks, and doubtless severe literary criticism . . . after full retrospect of his works and life, the aforesaid 'odd-kind chiel' remains to my heart and brain as almost the tenderest, manliest, and (even if contradictory) dearest flesh-and-blood figure in all the streams and clusters of by-gone poets." For Whitman's full opinion of Burns as it appeared in November Boughs, see "Robert Burns as Poet and Person," November Boughs (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1888), 57–64. Probably I. N. Burritt, assistant manager of the Evening Press Association in Washington. The Washington Directory listed him as a reporter for the New York Tribune in 1871, and as the editor and proprietor of the Sunday Herald in 1872. 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). Ursula North (1836–1917) married John Burroughs in 1857 and became a friend to Walt Whitman, a frequent guest in the Burroughs household. When issues of sexual incompatibility arose in the Burroughs marriage, Whitman sided with Ursula against John's sexual "wantonness" and eventual infidelity. While John Burroughs traveled a great deal due to his job as a bank examiner, Ursula and Whitman visited frequently, with Ursula visiting the poet after his stroke in 1873. For more on Whitman's relationship with the Burroughs family, 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). The naturalist John Burroughs (1837–1921) married Ursula North (1836–1917) in 1857 and became friends with Whitman after meeting the poet 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 John Burroughs. Burroughs was magnetically drawn to Whitman and 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). However, the correspondence between the two men is, as Burroughs acknowledged, curiously "matter-of-fact." When issues of sexual incompatibility arose in the Burroughs marriage, Whitman sided with Ursula against John's sexual "wantonness" and eventual infidelity. While John Burroughs traveled a great deal due to his job as a bank examiner, Ursula and Whitman visited frequently, with Ursula visiting the poet after his stroke in 1873. For more on Whitman's relationship with John and Ursula 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). The reference is to a book by Frederic Swartwout Cozzens (1818–1869), a New York humorist and author of The Sayings of Dr. Bushwhacker, and Other Learned Men (sometimes spelled "Bushwacker"), an 1867 collection of essays, Prismatics (written under the pseudonym Richard Haywarde) and The Sparrowgrass Papers, a humorous account of a city man running a country home. Cozzens was also the editor of the Wine Press, a monthly periodical, until the break out of the Civil War. Benjamin F. Butler (1818–1893) was a Union general in the Civil War and a Radical Republican in the House of Representatives who served as a prosecutor during the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson. For some of the proceedings during the impeachment, see Johnson's counsel's request for postponement of 30 days (or 10 days), which was rejected, see "News of the Day: Congress," New York Times (24 March 1868), 1. Also see "Gen. Butler's Opening Speech for the Prosecution."; New York Times (31 March 1868), 1. On Butler's cleverness, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman may refer to a letter from Butler to the Salem, Massachusetts, Gazette, which was reprinted under the title "Gen. Butler on Impeachment—The Financial Policy and His Own Sagacity."New York Times (26 March 1868), 1. For Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's concern about Walt's position in the office of the Attorney General, see her March 13, 1868, letter. Asa K. Butts was a New York bookseller at 39 Dey Street. Walt Whitman was having difficulties— real or imaginary, as his mother might have said—with booksellers. When Walt Whitman wrote this letter, he had decided to let Butts, as he said, "have actual & complete control of the sales." Commenting on one of the letters of Butts, Walt Whitman observed to Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden in 1889: "What a sweat I used to be in all the time . . . over getting my damned books published! When I look back at it I wonder I didn't somewhere or other on the road chuck the whole business into oblivion" (III, 561). Butts went bankrupt in 1874.Harriet Beecher Stowe, an abolitionist and author who is best known for her 1852 novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, entered the Byron controversy with a vigorous article in the Atlantic Monthly, 24 (September 1869), 295–313. "The True Story of Lady Byron's Life" was based on an interview and some notes that Lady Byron, critically ill at the time, gave to Stowe in 1856. Stowe attacked the biographical studies of Thomas Moore and Countess Guiccioli, and called Lady Byron "the most remarkable woman that England has produced in the century."
Though William Douglas O'Connor's reply to Walt Whitman is lost, he expressed his opinion of the article with his usual vigor to William Michael Rossetti on August 28, 1869: "One would fancy Mrs Stowe demented to issue this old foul romance, without one scrap of evidence, and pregnable on every side" (Rossetti Papers [New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1903], 460).
Lord Byron was an English poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement. He is famous for his poems, including "She Walks in Beauty," "When We Two Parted," and "So, we'll go no more a-roving," and infamous for his scandalous affairs and celebrity status. Pete Calhoun (cited in two address books [the Library of Congress #108, 109; the former is dated September 1870]), one of Walt Whitman's friends, was the driver of a car in which a murder occurred on April 26, 1871: William Foster (1837–1873), a former New York conductor, accosted a woman and her daughter in a street car, and was rebuked by their companion, Avery D. Putnam. When Putnam got off, Foster, who was drunk, killed him with a carhook. The murder was reported in the New York Times on April 28, 1871. Because of appeals for commutation, including one from Putnam's widow, Foster was not hanged until March 21, 1873. On March 21 and 22, 1873, the New York Daily Graphic devoted pages to pictures and stories of Foster's last hours. Charles Kingsley (1819–1875) was a novelist, a Church of England clergyman, and a controversialist. Under the supervision of architect Edward Clark (1822–1902), who served as Architect of the Capitol from 1865 until his death, the marble balustrades and exterior fronts of the U. S. Capitol building, and a water closet system was installed in the north wing. On November 30, 1868, Orville Hickman Browning (1806–1881), Secretary of the Interior, informed Congress of the completion of the exterior marble work on the Capitol; see Documentary History . . . of the United States Capitol Buildings and Grounds (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1904), 1266. Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) was a Scottish writer who wrote frequently on the conflict between scientific changes and the traditional social (often religious) order. For Whitman's writings on Carlyle, see "Death of Thomas Carlyle" and "Carlyle from American Points of View" in Specimen Days (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), 168–170 and 170–178. To celebrate the paving of Pennsylvania Avenue, the District of Columbia held a three-day carnival in late February 1871. Schools closed, more than 10,000 visitors came to the area, and a masked procession was held down Pennsylvania Avenue. See James H. Whyte, "The District of Columbia Territorial Government, 1871–1874," Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C., vol. 51/52, (1951/1952), 87–88. Like many other young disillusioned Englishmen, Edward Carpenter (1844–1929) deemed Whitman a prophetic spokesman of an ideal state cemented in the bonds of brotherhood. Carpenter—a socialist philosopher who in his book Civilisation, Its Cause and Cure posited civilization as a "disease" with a lifespan of approximately one thousand years before human society cured itself— became an advocate for same-sex love and a contributing early founder of Britain's Labour Party. On July 12, 1874, he wrote for the first time to Whitman: "Because you have, as it were, given me a ground for the love of men I thank you continually in my heart . . . . For you have made men to be not ashamed of the noblest instinct of their nature" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 1:160). On January 3, 1876, Carpenter sent another impassioned letter. On April 8, 1876, he sent £4 for the 1876 volumes (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). See also Whitman's May 1, 1877, letter to Anne Gilchrist (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977], 3:82–83). Edward Carpenter (1844–1929) was an English writer and Whitman disciple. Like many other young disillusioned Englishmen, he deemed Whitman a prophetic spokesman of an ideal state cemented in the bonds of brotherhood. Carpenter—a socialist philosopher who in his book Civilisation, Its Cause and Cure posited civilization as a "disease" with a lifespan of approximately one thousand years before human society cured itself—became an advocate for same-sex love and a contributing early founder of Britain's Labour Party. On July 12, 1874, he wrote for the first time to Whitman: "Because you have, as it were, given me a ground for the love of men I thank you continually in my heart . . . . For you have made men to be not ashamed of the noblest instinct of their nature." For further discussion of Carpenter, see Arnie Kantrowitz, "Carpenter, Edward [1844–1929]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Matthew Hale Carpenter (1824–1881), a Republican from Wisconsin, served as a United States Senator from 1869–1875 and again from 1879–1881. Carpenter died before he could complete his second term. Prior to his election to the Senate, Carpenter served as a lawyer and district attorney in numerous Wisconsin cities. Robert Carter (1819–1879) was at various times editor of the Boston Commonwealth, the Boston Telegraph, the Boston Atlas, the Rochester Democrat, and Appleton's Journal. He assisted Charles A. Dana in editing the first edition of the New American Cyclopaedia, and in 1873, he was engaged in the revision. In 1854, Carter was a key founder of the Republican Party during a Free Soil Party convention, appointing John A. Andrew (1818–1867) as the new party's first chairman. The reference to the "Castilian fleet" dates back to the Middle Ages prior to the unification of the two main kingdoms (Aragon and Castile) that essentially made up Spain, both of which had developed powerful fleets at the time. Castile had developed its naval capabilities during the reconquista against the Moors, achieving many victories including the capture of Cadiz in 1232 and the 1402 conquest of the Canary Islands for Henry III of Castile. Perhaps its most notable achievement was its arrival in the Americas, which resulted from an ongoing race of exploration between Castile and Portugal. According to Alonzo S. Bush's December 22, 1863, letter to Walt Whitman, Cate was ward master in Armory Square Hospital. James Michael Cavanaugh (1823–1879) was a practicing lawyer and a Democratic representative from Minnesota (1858–1859) and Montana (1867–1871) in the House of Representatives. Cavanaugh is perhaps most notorious for his 1868 statement in the House, "I like an Indian better dead than living. I have never in my life seen a good Indian—and I have seen thousands—except when I have seen a dead Indian." John W. Chambers, who by 1850 was serving as secretary to the board of directors of the American Institute, also served as a sometimes chairman, clerk, and librarian during his tenure on the board. As late as 1892, he still maintained secretarial duties. William Francis Channing (1820–1901), Ellen O'Connor's brother-in-law and the son of William Ellery Channing, was by training a doctor, but devoted most of his life to scientific experiments. With Moses G. Farmer, he perfected the first fire-alarm system. He was the author of Notes on the Medical Application of Electricity (1849). Ellen O'Connor visited him frequently in Providence, R. I., and Whitman accepted Channing's offer to visit Providence in a September 27, 1868. Mary Jane Tarr (1826–1897), sister of Ellen O'Connor, married William Francis Channing in 1858. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote to Walt Whitman on March 6, 1869 about "the doctor" and his wife Jenne. In this letter she says that the husband is "a divorced man with his first wife living with one child." Andrew Chatto (1841–1913) was the junior partner of John Camden Hotten at Hotten's publishing business. After Hotten's death in 1873, Chatto bought the business and partnered with poet W. E. Windus. See also Oliver Warner, Chatto & Windus: A Brief Account of the Firm's Origin, History and Development (1973). The Children of the Abbey, by the Irish novelist Regina Marie Roche (1764?–1845), was published in 1798 in four volumes. The Washington Daily Morning Chronicle was a District of Columbia newspaper published from 1862 to 1874. Chug Creek was located in Platte County, Wyoming, United States. Keshub Chunder Sen (1838–1884) was a religious reformer born in Calcutta in 1838. Francis Pharcellus Church (1839–1906) established the Galaxy in 1866 with his brother William Conant Church (1836–1917). Financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon & Company in 1868, and it was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. Francis Church wrote for the New York Sun "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." See Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, XXIII (1951–1952), 332–350; Donald N. Bigelow, William Conant Church & "The Army and Navy Journal" (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952); J. R. Pearson, Jr., "Story of a Magazine: New York's Galaxy, 1866–1878," Bulletin of the New York Public Library, LXI (1957), 217–237, 281–302. William Conant Church (1836–1917), journalist and publisher, was a correspondent for several New York newspapers until he founded the Army and Navy Journal in 1863. With his brother Francis Pharcellus Church (1839–1906), he established the Galaxy in 1866. Financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon & Company in 1868, and it was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. William published a biography of his life-long friend Ulysses S. Grant in 1897. See Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 332–350; Donald N. Bigelow, William Conant Church & "The Army and Navy Journal" (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952); J. R. Pearson, Jr., "Story of a Magazine: New York's Galaxy, 1866–1878," Bulletin of the New York Public Library, 61 (1957), 217–237, 281–302. William Conant Church (1836–1917), journalist and publisher, was a correspondent for several New York newspapers until he founded the Army and Navy Journal in 1863. With his brother Francis Pharcellus Church (1839–1906), he established the Galaxy in 1866. Financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon & Company in 1868, and it was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. William published a biography of his life-long friend Ulysses S. Grant in 1897. See Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, XXIII (1951–1952), 332–350; Donald N. Bigelow, William Conant Church & "The Army and Navy Journal" (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952); J. R. Pearson, Jr., "Story of a Magazine: New York's Galaxy, 1866–1878," Bulletin of the New York Public Library, LXI (1957), 217–237, 281–302. William Conant Church (1836–1917), journalist and publisher, was a correspondent for several New York newspapers until he founded the Army and Navy Journal in 1863. With his brother Francis Pharcellus Church (1839–1906), he established the Galaxy in 1866. Financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon & Company in 1868, and it was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. William published a biography of his life-long friend Ulysses S. Grant in 1897, and Francis wrote for the New York Sun "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." See Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, XXIII (1951–1952), 332–350; Donald N. Bigelow, William Conant Church & "The Army and Navy Journal" (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952); J. R. Pearson, Jr., "Story of a Magazine: New York's Galaxy, 1866–1878," Bulletin of the New York Public Library, LXI (1957), 217–237, 281–302. George Clapp was a clerk, according to the New York Directory of 1867–1868. Henry Clapp, Jr. (1814–1875), was one of Walt Whitman's intimates from the Pfaffian days. Restless and adventurous, Clapp roamed to Paris, returned in the 1840s to Lynn, Massachusetts, to edit the Essex County Washington (later the Pioneer), and eventually went to New York, where he became "king of the Bohemians." As editor of the short-lived Saturday Press (1858–1860), he printed Whitman's "A Child's Reminiscence" ("Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking"), and, in 1860, praised Leaves of Grass when others condemned it. (Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer, New York: The Macmillan Company, 1955, 242–244, 260–261). All told, more than twenty items on Whitman appeared in the Press before the periodical folded in 1860. "Henry Clapp," Walt Whitman said to Horace Traubel, "stepped out from the crowd of hooters—was my friend: a much needed ally at that time (having a paper of his own) when almost the whole press of America when it mentioned me at all treated me with derision or worse. If you ever write anything about me in which it may be properly alluded to I hope you will say good things about Henry Clapp" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden "Wednesday, May 30, 1888," 236). Whitman also told Traubel, "You will have to know something about Henry Clapp if you want to know all about me" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, May 27, 1888). For more information on Clapp, see Christine Stansell, "Clapp, Henry (1814–1875)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, eds., (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Ada Clare, the stage and pen name of Jane McElheney (or McElhinney) (1836–1874), made her stage debut on August 15, 1855, at Wallack's Theatre in New York. See George Clinton Densmore Odell, Annals of the New York Stage (New York: Columbia University Press, 1927–1949), VI, 365. She was an intimate of the bohemians who gathered at Pfaff's and wrote for the New York Leader. Clare publicly defended Whitman's poem "A Child's Reminiscence" in the Saturday Press, stating that it "could only have been written by a poet" and asserting "I love the poem" ("Thoughts and Things," New York Saturday Press, 14 January 1860, 2). In his August 31, 1862 letter to Walt Whitman, William W. Thayer wrote: "How's Bohemia and its Queen the charming Ada? She talks with us every week in the Leader in articles that wify and I love to read." Her autobiographical novel, Only a Woman's Heart (1866), relates the sufferings of a woman in love with a young actor who becomes famous in the role of Romeo. She returned to the stage in 1867–1868. See Charles Warren Stoddard, "Ada Clare, Queen of Bohemia," National Magazine, 22 (1905), 637–645; Albert Parry, Garrets and Pretenders: A History of Bohemianism in America (New York: Covici-Friede, 1933), 14–37; Thomas Donaldson, Walt Whitman the Man (1896), 208; Emory Holloway, Whitman—An Interpretation in Narrative (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1926); Ralph Adimari and Emory Holloway, ed., New York Dissected (New York: Rufus Rockwell Wilson, 1936), 232–233; Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1931), 2–4. (For further discussion of Clare, see "Clare, Ada [Jane McElheney].") Carl F. Clausen, who Rudolf Schmidt called "my old friend and countryman," corresponded with Schmidt after he left Denmark in 1860. See Carl Roos, "Walt Whitman's Letters to a Danish Friend," Orbis Litterarum, 7 (1949), 34–39. The Directory in 1870 listed him as a draughtsman and in 1872 as a patent agent. He died of consumption in the middle 1870s. Sir Henry Clinton (1730–1795) was a British army officer who served during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolution. He was the British Commander-in-Chief in North America from 1778 to 1782. Mary Cole was listed in the Directories as a clerk in the Internal Revenue Department. Perhaps she was the sister of George D. Cole, a former conductor and a friend of Doyle, who wrote to Walt Whitman, probably in the early 1870's, after he had become a sailor (Yale). Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (1931) (72) mentions May Cole, a friend of Ellen O'Connor, who later married Dr. Frank Baker of the Smithsonian Institute. William Colein was an engineer in the fire room at the Treasury Building. Colein is mentioned in an address book (The Library of Congress #108): "(took me around through the vaults, &c)." Charles E. Burd, along with George Payton and James B. Young, was on the Board of Managers of the 40th Annual Exhibition of the American Institute (1871). The American Institute was an exhibition of American industry that was held annually from 1829. Walt Whitman was evidently aware that a bill approved by Congress on June 20, 1874, required a reduction of personnel in the Department of Justice. Walt Whitman's letter was sent by Ulysses S. Grant's secretary to the Attorney General on July 26, 1874. It was accompanied by a clipping from the Camden New Republic of June 20, 1874, which included "Song of the Universal" and Walt Whitman's (anonymous) comments on his illness. Wecter conjectures that Walt Whitman had the article printed "with the hope that it might catch Grant's eye more effectually than would a letter"; see Publications of the Modern Language Association, LVIII (1943), 1108. The Continental Bank Note Company was established in 1863 in order to compete for government contracts to print stamps. On May 1, 1873, Continental received the only government contract to print stamps; the contract was renewed in 1877, a year before Continental merged with the American Note Bank Company. Moncure Daniel Conway (1832–1907) was an American abolitionist, minister, and frequent correspondent with Walt Whitman. Conway often acted as Whitman's agent and occasional public relations man in England. For more on Conway, see Philip W. Leon, "Conway, Moncure Daniel (1832–1907)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Moncure Conway's "Walt Whitman," published in the Fortnightly Review of October 15, 1866. See "Review of Poems by Walt Whitman" Moncure Conway. Probably James H. Cornwell, a friend of Andrew Whitman, who got him a job in North Carolina in 1863 building fortifications. After being discharged from the Union Army in December of 1864, Cornwell returned to his position as a judge in the Brooklyn City Hall. He was mentioned in Whitman's "Scenes in a Police Justices' Court Room" in the Brooklyn Daily Times, September 9, 1857. For more on the relationship between Andrew and Cornwell, see "Bunkum Did Go Sogering." Charles Cornwallis (1738–1805) was a British Army officer and a leading general in the American Revolution. Cornwallis's military career in North America ended with his surrender to George Washington's troops at Yorktown in 1781. Frederic Swartwout Cozzens (1818–1869) was a New York humorist and author of The Sayings of Dr. Bushwhacker, and Other Learned Men (sometimes spelled "Bushwacker"), an 1867 collection of essays, Prismatics (written under the pseudonym Richard Haywarde) and The Sparrowgrass Papers, a humorous account of a city man running a country home. George Armstrong Custer (1839–1876) was a United States Army officer best known for his disastrous attack on Native American forces at the Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25 and 26, 1876. Known colloquially as "Custer's Last Stand," 700 members of the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the U.S. Army attacked somewhere between 1,000 and 1,800 Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Lakota people. More than a third of the U.S. Army forces were killed, including Custer himself. Upon Custer's death, Whitman composed "A Death-Sonnet for Custer" (later entitled "From Far Dakota's Cañons"), which appeared in the New York Daily Tribune on July 10, 1876. The Dabestān-e Mazāheb (sometimes transliterated as Dabistān-e Mazāhib), or "School of Religions," was written some time around 1655. The text, whose author is unknown, examines and compares South Asian religions of the mid-17th century. The first significant English translation was made by David Shea and Anthony Troyer and was published in three volumes in 1843. Carl Roos notes that the Dags Telegrafen, a conservative Danish newspaper, criticized Democratic Vistas on May 20, 1874; see Orbis Litterarum, 7 (1949), 53n. Henry Graham Dakyns (1838–1911) was a translator of ancient Greek at Clifton College in Bristol, England, where he started the Rugby Football Club, and served as the tutor for Alfred, Lord Tennyson's children. Walt Whitman mailed two volumes to Dakyns at Clifton College, Bristol, on October 24, 1876 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Charles Anderson Dana (1819–1897) was the owner as well as the editor of the New York Sun from 1868 until his death, and co-edited the New American Cyclopaedia with George Ripley from 1857 to 1863. Walt Whitman permitted Dana to print Emerson's famous letter of 1855. Dante Alighieri (1265?–1321) was an Italian poet best known for his Divine Comedy, a cosmology of the afterlife in three parts—Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Dark Blue was an Oxford magazine published from 1871 to 1873 by John Christian Freund. Though the magazine featured contributions from such figures as A. C. Swinburne, Edward Dowden, and William Michael Rossetti, Dark Blue folded, and Freund fled to the United States to escape creditors. The article in question—Roden Noel's "A Study of Walt Whitman: The Poet of Modern Democracy" (Dark Blue 2 [October 1871], 241–253)—spoke glowingly of Whitman, describing him as "tall, colossal, luxuriant, unpruned, like some giant tree in a primeval forest . . . He springs out of that vast American continent full-charged with all that is special and national in it" (242). Either William S. or Joseph P. Davis. William S. Davis was a lawyer in Worcester, Massachusetts, whose brother Joseph was in Peru until 1865; Joseph eventually accompanied Thomas Jefferson Whitman to St. Louis. George K. Davis, a jeweller, was undoubtedly related to Thomas and Pauline Davis, at whose home Walt Whitman stayed in October 1868. Jefferson Davis (1808–1889) was the President of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865. After the Civil War, public opinion of Davis was mixed in both the North and the South, and Davis eventually wrote two books on his tenure as President: The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government (1881) and A Short History of the Confederate States of America (1889). Joseph Phineas Davis (1837–1917) took a degree in civil engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1856 and then helped build the Brooklyn Water Works until 1861. He was a topographical engineer in Peru from 1861 to 1865, after which he returned to Brooklyn. A lifelong friend of Thomas Jefferson Whitman's, Davis became city engineer of Boston (1871–1880) and later served as chief engineer of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (1880–1908). For Davis's work with Jeff Whitman in St. Louis, see Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letters to Walt Whitman from May 23, 1867, January 21, 1869, and March 25, 1869. Pauline Kellogg Wright Davis (1813–1876) was a well-known abolitionist and suffragette. She was the wife of Thomas Davis (1806–1895), a manufacturer of jewelry in Providence, Rhode Island, and a Congressman from 1853 to 1855. Whitman stayed at their home in October 1868. See also Whitman's January 6, 1865, letter to William D. O'Connor. Thomas Davis (1806–1895) was a manufacturer of jewelry in Providence, Rhode Island, and a Democratic representative for that state from 1853 to 1855. Whitman stayed at Davis's home in October 1868. Perhaps A. C. de Burgh of Trinity College, Dublin, to whom Walt Whitman sent two volumes on September 7, 1876, in care of T. W. H. Rolleston in Dublin; the entry, however, was later deleted (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Rudolph Schmidt translated Whitman's Democratic Vistas into Danish in 1874. General Frederick Tracy Dent (1820–1892) was Ulysses S. Grant's aide-de-camp during the Civil War and his military secretary during his administration. The two had attended West Point together, and in 1848 Dent's sister Julia (1826–1902) married Grant. Chrissie Deschamps was mentioned in Whitman's November 4, 1873, letter to Daniel G. Gillette. "John Devlin, a Brooklyn merchant convicted on Feb. 3, 1868, in a Federal court in New York for the illegal sale of liquor was pardoned early in 1869 by President Johnson." See Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, eds, Faint Clews & Indirections. Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family (New York: AMS Press, Inc., 1965), 200n. Albert George Dew-Smith (1848–1903) formed the Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company in 1881 with Horace Darwin (1851–1928), the son of naturalist Charles Darwin. Walt Whitman sent two volumes to Dew-Smith on May 19, 1876 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Chauncey Burroughs Deyo (1851–1874), John Burroughs' nephew, substituted for Whitman while the poet was in Brooklyn in early 1872; see Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1931), 88. Whitman wrote of Deyo's "sudden insanity & death" in his June 5, 1874 letter to Burroughs and in his June 10, 1874 letter to Ellen M. O'Connor. Israel Dille (1802–1874) became a clerk in the Internal Revenue Bureau after the Civil War. Prior to moving to Washington, D.C., Dille had served as mayor of Newark, Ohio, and helped organize a school system in Newark County and the Republican Party as county commissioner of Ohio. Thomas Dixon (1831–1880), a corkcutter of Sunderland, England, was one of Walt Whitman's early English admirers. In 1856, he had bought copies of Leaves of Grass from a book peddler; one of these copies was later sent by William B. Scott to William Michael Rossetti. Dixon vigorously supported cultural projects and represented the ideal laborer of John Ruskin, who printed many of his own letters to the corkcutter in Time and Tide (1867). See Autobiographical Notes of the Life of William Bell Scott, ed. W. Minto (1892), 2, 32–33, 267–269; Harold Blodgett, Walt Whitman in England (1934), 15–17; The Works of John Ruskin, ed. E. T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn (1905), 17: lxxviii–lxxix. Michael Doolady, a bookseller and publisher at 448 Broome Street in New York, was the publisher of actress and Pfaff's regular Ada Clare's Only a Woman's Heart (1866). For Walt Whitman's correspondence with Doolady, see Whitman's November 13, 1867, letter. Mary Clerke married Edward Dowden in 1866; the pair had three living children, including noted psychic Hester Dowden (1868–1949). After Mary Clerke's death in 1892, Dowden remarried, this time to Elizabeth Dickinson West, daughter of John West, the dean of St. Patrick's College in Dublin; early correspondence between Elizabeth West and Dowden during the latter's first marriage indicates that the union with Mary Clerke was an unhappy one. Edward Dowden (1843–1913), professor of English literature at the University of Dublin, was one of the first to critically appreciate Whitman's poetry, particularly abroad, and was primarily responsible for Whitman's popularity among students in Dublin. In July 1871, Dowden penned a glowing review of Whitman's work in the Westminster Review entitled "The Poetry of Democracy: Walt Whitman," in which Dowden described Whitman as "a man unlike any of his predecessors. . . . Bard of America, and Bard of democracy." In 1888, Whitman observed to Traubel: "Dowden is a book-man: but he is also and more particularly a man-man: I guess that is where we connect" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, June 10, 1888, 299). For more, see Philip W. Leon, "Dowden, Edward (1843–1913)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). See "The Poetry of Democracy: Walt Whitman," The Westminster Review 96 (July 1871): 33–68. John Dowden (1840–1910), brother of Edward Dowden, was an Episcopalian clergyman. Ordained in 1865, John Dowden was elected bishop of Edinburgh in 1886, a position he held until his death. In a September 5, 1871, letter to Walt Whitman, Edward Dowden described his brother as one "who finds his truth halved between John H. Newman (of Oxford celebrity) & you." Francis M. Doyle (1833–1871), older brother of Peter Doyle, was a policeman who was shot and killed on December 29, 1871, allegedly by Maria Shea (known as "Queen of Louse Alley") when he went to her home to recover a stolen watch and chain. According to the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle, Doyle, a native of Ireland, was 38, had a wife and three children, and lived at 340 K Street in Washington, D. C. He had been on the police force for four or five years, and had served during the Civil War for three years as a fireman on the U. S. Wabash. Doyle was the first police officer killed in Washington, D. C.; Shea was later acquitted of the murder. Among the manuscripts at Yale is a draft of an article which Whitman prepared for a Washington newspaper in May 1871, seven months before the policeman's death, to answer criticisms of Doyle for his "arrest of a little boy, for theft." Whitman doubted that "the true interests" of the public were "aided by this attempt to make martyrs and heroes of the steadily increasing swarms of juvenile thieves & vagabonds who infest the streets of Washington." The Brooklyn Tabernacle, built in 1870 by the congregation of Reverend Thomas De Witt Talmadge (1832–1902), burned in a December 1872 fire—one of the worst in the city's history. Although rebuilt in 1874, the second tabernacle burned in 1889, and a third burned in 1894. On January 1, 1862, Joseph N. Dubarry (1830–1892) was named General Superintendent of the Northern Central Railway of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company after the resignation of James C. Clarke. In October 1882, Dubarry was named Second Vice President of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Walt Whitman's letter to Dubarry is apparently lost. Italian politician Giuseppe Mazzini (1805–1872) released Doveri dell'uomo (The Duties of Man) in 1860. In it, Mazzini emphasizes the importance of education to a unified nation and argues that man's duty to the nation is second only to duty to God. Oliver Dyer (1824–1907) was a journalist, lawyer, and stenographer who, in addition to his law practice, developed a shorthand system that led to his becoming the first Congressional shorthand reporter. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (published from 1841–1955) was a popular daily newspaper in Brooklyn. Walt Whitman served as its editor from 1846–1848. The Eagle had supported the Democratic party during the American Civil War, and its politics made Louisa Van Velsor Whitman suspect its veracity. In a February 17, 1868, letter to Walt Whitman, she wrote, "the old eagle how i dislike it yet i take it if i dident see any other paper i should think andy was perfection and all the rest was crushed general grant in the bargain." George Franklin Edmunds (1828–1919) was a lawyer and, later, a Republican senator from Vermont, serving from 1866 to 1891. Edmunds was a participant in the 1868 attempt to impeach President Andrew Johnson. He co-sponsored the Edmunds-Tucker Act of 1887 that restricted practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including polygamy. Edmunds also authored the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890), limiting monopolies. James Madison Edmunds (1810–1879) was postmaster in Washington, D. C., from 1869 to 1879. Edmunds had previously worked as postmaster of the Senate from 1866 to 1869. Edwin Einstein (1842–1905) was a tobacconist and a friend of Walt Whitman's from the Pfaffian days of the 1850s. The Trow's New York City Directory of 1860 listed an Edwin Einstein as "clerk, h 167 W. 14th" (260), while in 1877, the Gouldings New York City Directory listed an Edwin Einstein as "tobacco, 87 Water" (402). Einstein was later elected to a brief stint in the House of Representatives as a New York Republican from 1879 to 1881. Einstein wrote to Walt Whitman on November 18, 1875, from the Union League Club, Madison Avenue and Twenty-sixth Street, New York: "I would not trouble you with this letter, were it not that I saw mentioned in the N. Y. Sun the other day the fact that you were in very needy circumstances, if that is so will you let me know, and myself and a few other of your old friends would be glad to aid you to the best of our ability. If it is not so, (which I sincerely trust may be the case) pardon the liberty I am taking and believe it is only done out of friendship and good will." Charles W. Eldridge (1837–1903) was one half of the Boston-based abolitionist publishing firm Thayer and Eldridge, who issued the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass. In December 1862, on his way to find his injured brother George in Fredericksburg, Virginia, Whitman stopped in Washington and encountered Eldridge, who had become a clerk in the office of the army paymaster, Major Lyman Hapgood. Eldridge helped Whitman gain employment in Hapgood's office. For more on Whitman's relationship with Thayer and Eldridge, see David Breckenridge Donlon, "Thayer, William Wilde (1829–1896) and Charles W. Eldridge (1837–1903)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Edwin Ellis (1848–1918), an artist and poet, shared a studio in London with the painter John Butler Yeats. With William Butler Yeats, Ellis edited a three-volume collection of the work of William Blake. See Letters of Edward Dowden and His Correspondents (1914), 43. Bookseller Frederick Startridge Ellis (1830–1901) partnered with G. M. Green (1841–1872) in 1871 to form Ellis & Green; Ellis had been selling books since 1860 at 33 King Street, Covent Garden in London. As a small-scale publisher, Ellis introduced the works of William Morris and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, also serving as the British Museum's official buyer for many years. Bookseller Frederick Startridge Ellis (1830–1901) partnered with G. M. Green (1841–1872) in 1871 to form Ellis & Green; Ellis had been selling books since 1860 at 33 King Street, Covent Garden in London. As a small-scale publisher, Ellis introduced the works of William Morris and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, also serving as the British Museum's official buyer for many years. Webster Elmes was the chief clerk in the U.S. Attorney General's office. In 1879, Elmes published The Executive Departments of the United States. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) first delivered his "Eloquence" lecture in 1846 and continued to deliver modified versions of the speech for the next twenty years. Included in Society and Solitude (1870), the lecture on man as orator was first published in September 1858 in the Atlantic Monthly Kristian Elster (1841–1881) was a Norwegian novelist whose work focused on cultural conflict, as in his 1872 pamphlet, "On the contrast between the western and the eastern parts of Norway." According to Carl Roos, Elster was a friend of Björnstjerne Björnson (1832–1910), Norwegian poet, dramatist, and novelist; see Orbis Litterarum, 7 (1949), 51n. The New York Times of September 15, 1870, reported that the Papal troops were evacuating various towns and Papal states. On September 21, 1870, the forces of Italian King Victor Emanuel II (1820–1878) entered Rome without bloodshed, after "the Pope forbade any resistance." Victor Emanuel, whose reign had been marked by wars of Italian unification, established the capital of the newly unified Italy at Rome on July 2, 1871. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) was an American poet and essayist who began the Transcendentalist movement with his 1836 essay Nature. On November 30, 1868, Whitman informed Ralph Waldo Emerson that "Proud Music of the Storm" was "put in type for my own convenience, and to ensure greater correctness." He asked Emerson to take the poem to James T. Fields, editor of the Atlantic Monthly, who promptly accepted it and published it in February 1869. For more on Emerson, see Jerome Loving, "Emerson, Ralph Waldo [1809–1882]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) was an American poet and essayist who began the Transcendentalist movement with his 1836 essay Nature. For more on Emerson, see Jerome Loving, "Emerson, Ralph Waldo [1809–1882]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Dr. DeWitt Clinton Enos (1820–1869) lived at 16 Clinton Avenue in Brooklyn. According to the 1869 Transactions of the Medical Society of the State of New York, Enos was a member of the surgical staff at the Brooklyn City Hospital. Giuseppe Verdi's opera Ernani was performed at the National Theatre on January 7, 1867, with a cast that included Carmen Poch, Mazzoleni, and Bellini. Walt Whitman had submitted "Ethiopia Commenting" to the Galaxy on September 7, 1867. The poem was never published in the Galaxy and probably became "Ethiopia Saluting the Colors"; see Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature 23.3 (November 1951), 337. Founded in 1846, the Evangelical Alliance, an international meeting of Protestants who sought unity among all Christians, met in New York from October 3–10, 1873. It convened to answer the questions raised by the new Catholic doctrines of papal infallibility and the immaculate conception of the Virgin, as well as the threats posed to Christianity by science and materialism. William Maxwell Evarts (1818–1901) was chief counsel for Andrew Johnson during the impeachment trial of 1868. As a reward for his services, Johnson appointed Evarts Attorney General later in the year. Evarts was Secretary of State from 1877 to 1881 and U. S. Senator from New York from 1885 to 1891. L'extinction du paupérisme (The Extinction of Pauperism), published in 1844, was written by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (also Napoleon III, 1808–1873). In it, Bonaparte outlined socialist economic policies to ease the poverty of working-class French citizens. These policies, combined with Bonaparte's argument for his legitimacy as Emperor of France, came to be defined as Bonapartism. Penelope Anna Blessing Eyster (known as Nellie Eyster, b. 1836), who lived in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at the time she wrote to Walt Whitman, moved to San Francisco in 1876 and became a lecturer and author. She served as the first president of the Pacific Coast Woman's Press Association (formed in 1887), was an active proponent of women's suffrage, edited The Pacific Ensign, wrote a number of books (including Sunny Hours, or the Child Life of Tom and Mary and Chincapin Charlie), and contributed articles to several magazines. The New York Directory for 1867–1868 listed Henry L. Faris, banker, and John E. Faris, broker. The burial rites of Admiral David Glasgow Farragut (1801–1870) were held in New York on September 30, 1870. All business activity was suspended, and the ceremonies, according to the New York Times, "surpassed in their imposing character anything of the kind ever seen in this City, with the exception of the obsequies of the murdered President Lincoln." Farragut had commanded the Union fleet at the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864, where he delivered the order which has been remembered in popular parlance as "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" Reuben Farwell (1843–1926), also called "Little Mitch," was a Union soldier who served with the Michigan Cavalry during the American Civil War. Farwell met Walt Whitman in Armory Square Hospital early in 1864; upon his release from the hospital he corresponded with Whitman. After Farwell received his discharge on August 24, 1864, he returned to his home in Plymouth, Michigan. Evidently the correspondence was renewed when Whitman sent a post card (now lost) on February 5, 1875. On March 5, 1875, Farwell, who owned a farm in Michigan, wrote: "Walt my dear old Friend how I would like to grasp your hand and give you a kiss as I did in the days of yore. what a satisfaction it would be to me." In Farwell's last letter, on August 16, 1875, he said that he was planning to leave shortly for California. Eleven letters from Farwell are in the Trent Collection, Duke University. He is mentioned in "Memoranda During the War"; see The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902), 10 vols., 4:134. Reuben Farwell (1843–1926), also called "Little Mitch," was a Union soldier who served with the Michigan Cavalry during the American Civil War. Farwell met Walt Whitman in Armory Square Hospital early in 1864; upon his release from the hospital he corresponded with Whitman. After Farwell received his discharge on August 24, 1864, he returned to his home in Plymouth, Michigan. Evidently the correspondence was renewed when Whitman sent a post card (now lost) on February 5, 1875. In Farwell's last letter, on August 16, 1875, he said that he was planning to leave shortly for California. Eleven letters from Farwell are in the Trent Collection, Duke University. He is mentioned in Memoranda During the War (1875–1876). Reuben Farwell was married to Ann Eliza Knickerbocker Farwell (1844–1932), and, at the time of this letter, the Farwells were the parents of one daughter, Nettie Blanche Farwell (1870–1955). Reuben Farwell was married to Ann Eliza Kickerbocker Farwell (1844–1932). Alfred John Webb (1834–1908) was the son of Richard Davis Webb (1834–1908) and Hannah Waring Webb (1810—1862). He was from a family of activist printers; they owned a print shop in Dublin and belonged to a Quaker group that supported suffrage and the abolition of slavery. Webb was the author of A Compendium of Irish Biography (1878), and later became a politician with the Irish Parliamentary Party and served as a Member of Parliament. The article has not been identified. Francis B. Felt & Co., booksellers, were located at 91 Mercer Street, New York. Walbridge Abner Field (1833–1899) was the Assistant Attorney General from 1869 to 1870. Later he was chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court. James T. Fields (1817–1881) succeeded James Russell Lowell as editor of the Atlantic Monthly in 1861 and held the position until 1871. After Emerson, who had received "Proud Music of the Sea-Storm" in Whitman's November 30, 1868 letter, delivered the poem to Fields, Fields sent $100 to Whitman on December 5, 1868. He informed Whitman on December 14, 1868 that if he was to get the poem into the February issue it would be impossible to send proof to Washington. This was the second of Whitman's poems to appear in the Atlantic Monthly; "Bardic Symbols" was published in 1861.(For "Bardic Symbols," see Whitman's January 20, 1860 letter to James Russell Lowell and Whitman's March 2, 1860 letter to the editor of the Atlantic Monthly.) James Thomas Fields (1817–1881), who had succeeded James Russell Lowell as editor of the Atlantic Monthly in 1861 and held the position until 1871. He published his reminiscences of his friendships with famous writers, including Nathaniel Harthorne, in his 1871 Yesterdays with Authors. James T. Fields (1817–1881) succeeded James Russell Lowell as editor of the Atlantic Monthly in 1861 and held the position until 1871. George Purnell Fisher (1817–1899) served in the House of Representatives from 1861 to 1863, and was appointed by Lincoln in 1863 to the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. He presided at the trial of John H. Surratt, which Walt Whitman described in his July 25, 1867, letter to Alfred Pratt. Fisher left the bench in 1870 to become District Attorney of the District of Columbia, a position he held until 1875. It is unclear which James Fisk is being referenced in this letter. Likely Rudolf Schmidt intends the stockbroker James Fisk (b. 1835), who died on January 6, 1872—about one month before this letter—after a career filled with army contracts, alleged cotton smuggling, and an alliance with Boss Tweed. Schmidt may, however, be referencing James Liberty Fisk (1835?–1902), a Union Army officer whose interest in settling the American West led him to mount four expeditions to Minnesota and Montana from 1862 to 1866. Whitman is referring to the wife of Henry Flad, an important civil engineer and public figure with whom Jeff frequently worked (see Thomas Jefferson Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman of July 14, 1888). The Flads and Jeff Whitman's family also visited socially (Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977]). John Flood was a streetcar conductor in New York, known, according to an unidentified notation on his letter to Walt Whitman, as "Broadway Jack." According to date entries in an address book (the Library of Congress # 109), Whitman saw Flood on September 30, 1868, and October 5, 1868, and rode with him on his Second Avenue car. Flood had been a conductor for ten years. After Whitman's return to Washington, there was a brief correspondence, consisting of four extant letters from Whitman (dated November 22, 1868, December 12, 1868, February 23, 1871, and March 8, 1871?) and one from the young man. Flood wrote on January 11, 1869: "Sir, It is with great pleasure that I sit down with pen in hand to address a few lines to you." He informed Walt Whitman that he had lost his position on New Year's Eve and that he was now seeking another job: "I shall still continue to correspond and can never forget your kind friendship towards me. ... Your True and Ever intimate friend." According to the first listing of his name in the New York Directory, in 1872–1873, he was at that time either in the milk business or a milkman. Cyril Flower (1843–1907) was an English barrister and a friend of Tennyson; see Harold Blodgett, Walt Whitman in England (1934), 128–129. According to the February 20, 1886 Solicitor's Journal, Flower was appointed a Lord of the Treasury (275). Flower served as a member of Parliament from 1880 to 1892, when he was given the title Baron Battersea (see the London Gazette (6 September 1892), 5090). According to Flower's April 23, 1871 letter, he met Whitman in Washington in December, 1870. He had later delivered some of Whitman's books to Tennyson, who "was much touched by your memory of him, and I told him of your deep regard for him." On July 16, 1871, Flower informed Whitman that Tennyson was sending a letter by the same mail (Tennyson's letter was dated July 12, 1871). Flower wrote again on October 20, 1871: "When I read you or think of you . . . I feel that I hold in my hand clasped strong & tight & for security the great hand of a friend, a simple good fellow, a man who loves me & who is beautiful because he loves, & with the Consciousness of that I feel never alone—never sad." The Flowery Scroll is a Chinese novel by one Hwa Tsien Ki, which was translated in 1868 by Sir John Bowring. George William Foote (1850–1915), a British freethinker and secularist, was the author of many pamphlets attacking Christianity. Foote did not forward £3 to Whitman. Rossetti mentioned on August 17, 1877, that he had called the failure to pay to Foote's attention. In his Commonplace Book on February 12, 1878, Whitman cited a letter from Foote, who promised to send the sum, which he alleged had been stolen by an employee (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). After the entry the poet later wrote "fraud." For Idé og Virkelighed was a journal published from 1869 to 1873 by Schmidt, Rasmus Nielsen, and Björnstjerne Björnson. 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. Fort D.A. Russell, Wyoming Territory, was named after David Allen Russell, a celebrated soldier who died in the Third Battle of Winchester in 1864. The fort was built in 1867 to secure the Union Pacific Railroad, which was under construction at the time. Troops stationed at the fort in the 1870s frequently became involved in skirmishes against Native Americans. The fort was renamed Fort Francis E. Warren in 1929. The London Fortnightly Review was an English magazine founded in 1865 by a group of novelists, historians, and intellectuals. The Fortnightly Review was noted for being one of the first magazines to identify contributors by name rather than publish their work anonymously. The magazine ceased publication in 1954. On April 26, 1871, William Foster (1837–1873), a former New York conductor, accosted a woman and her daughter in a street car, and was rebuked by their companion, Avery D. Putnam. When Putnam got off, Foster, who was drunk, killed him with a carhook. The murder was reported in the New York Times on April 28, 1871. Pete Calhoun, one of Whitman's friends, was the driver of the car. Because of appeals for commutation, including one from Putnam's widow, Foster was not hanged until March 21, 1873. On March 21 and 22 the New York Daily Graphic devoted pages to pictures and stories of Foster's last hours. Jimmy Foy was a railroad worker, cited in one of Whitman's address books (the Library of Congress # 109). Instigated by growing tensions between France and Prussia preceding a vacancy on the Spanish throne, the Franco-Prussian War (July 1870–May 1871) ended in complete Prussian victory and facilitated the unification of Germany, whose previously unaffiliated states had allied with Prussia. In the New York Evening Mail on October 27, 1870, the Washington correspondent reported: "At the commencement of the present war in Europe [Walt Whitman] was strongly German, but is now the ardent friend of the French, and enthusiastically supports them and their Republic" (Charles I. Glicksberg, Walt Whitman and the Civil War [1933], 116n.). Note also "O Star of France." Frank Leslie's Weekly, published from 1852 to 1922, was an American literary and news magazine published by engraver Frank Leslie (1821–1880). The magazine was notably patriotic in its reporting, particularly on military conflicts like the Civil War and the First World War. Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country was a journal published in London from February 1830 to October 1882. The magazine, founded by Hugh Fraser and William Maginn (1794–1842), was a major Victorian periodical (especially under Maginn's editorial purview) and frequently endorsed Tory politics. Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810–1876) was a German poet and translator and friend of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In his January 16, 1872 letter to Rudolf Schmidt, Whitman wrote that Freiligrath "translates & commends my poems." Freiligrath's review in the Augsburg Allgemeinen Zeitung on April 24, 1868 (reprinted in his Gesammelte Dichtungen [Stuttgart: G. J. Göschen, 1871], 4:86–89), was among the first notices of Whitman's poetry on the continent. A translation of the article appeared in the New Eclectic Magazine, 2 (July 1868), 325–329; see also Gay Wilson Allen, Walt Whitman Abroad (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1955), 3–7. A digital version is available in Walter Grünzweig's "Whitman in the German-Speaking Countries," which collects numerous examples of German reception of Whitman's poetry. Freiligrath had promised his readers "some translated specimens of the poet's productions," not a complete translation. A sympathetic article on Whitman in the New York Sonntagsblatt of November 1, 1868, mentioned Freiligrath's admiration for the American poet. A translation of this article, which Whitman had a Washington friend prepare, is now in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection. After France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, discontented workers in Paris who had formed a "National Guard," a kind of citizens' militia, led a rebellion against the Parisian government and formed the Paris Commune. The Commune governed the city from March 18 to May 28, 1871, at which time the French army retook the city and prosecuted those who had supported the Commune. Mr. French was a mason who joined George Washington Whitman and a man named Smith in their building business in 1866. This is possibly G. French, who had remodeled the Plymouth Chuch in Brooklyn in 1860 (see New York Times, April 19, 1860). See Jerome F. Loving, Introduction Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1975), 3–35. Before the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883, the Fulton Ferry connected Fulton Streets in Manhattan and Brooklyn across the East River. The Fulton Ferry Company, founded by Robert Fulton (1765–1815) and William Bayard Cutting (1850–1912) obtained a lease on the route in 1814 and merged with the South Ferry Company in 1839 to form the New York and Brooklyn Union Ferry Company. Before the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883, the Fulton Ferry connected Fulton Streets in Manhattan and Brooklyn across the East River. The Fulton Ferry Company, founded by Robert Fulton (1765–1815) and William Bayard Cutting (1850–1912) obtained a lease on the route in 1814 and merged with the South Ferry Company in 1839 to form the New York and Brooklyn Union Ferry Company. G. Swayne Buckley's minstrel troupe appeared in Brooklyn in August 1870 in parodies of operas; George Clinton Densmore Odell, Annals of the New York Stage (New York: Columbia University Press, 1927–1949), however, does not record performances in September 1870. William Conant Church (1836–1917) established the Galaxy in 1866 with his brother Francis Pharcellus Church (1839–1906). Financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon & Company in 1868, and it was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. For a time, the Churches considered Whitman a regular contributor, printing two of his essays that later made up a significant portion of Democratic Vistas (1871) and several of his poems, including" A Carol of Harvest for 1867," "Brother of All, With Generous Hand," "Warble for Lilac-Time," and "O Star of France." For more on Whitman's relationship with the Galaxy, see Susan Belasco, "Whitman's Poems in Periodicals—The Galaxy." Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807–1882) was one of the heroes of Italian unification, who formed the red-shirted Italian Legion in 1843. On October 3, 1867 Henry Clapp sent Walt Whitman a clipping from the New York Times about Garibaldi: "I wonder why it made me think of you!" In the account (reprinted in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, June 5, 1888, 1:268–269), Garibaldi is characterized as "a rowdy," an opponent stylistically of "the small flute of the Academies," "the expression of the land and the age that gave him birth," and "a mixture of the prophet and the child." When Traubel in 1888 asked how Walt Whitman reacted to the newspaper article, Whitman replied: "I can see some of the features—yes. ... As to being any way associated with Garibaldi—that is the crowning tribute. Garibaldi belongs to the divine eleven!" (270). Wendell Phillips Garrison (1840–1907), son of the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, helped found the New York Nation in 1865 and served as its literary editor from 1865–1906. La Gerusalemme liberata (Jerusalem Delivered) is an epic poem by Italian poet Torquato Tasso (1544–1595). First published in 1581, the poem depicts the Christian forces of the First Crusade (1096–1099) in a hard-won triumph against the Muslims at Jerusalem. Torquato Tasso (1544–1595) was an Italian poet known for his poem La Gerusalemme liberata (Jerusalem Delivered). First published in 1581, the poem depicts the Christian forces of the First Crusade (1096–1099) in a hard-won triumph against the Muslims at Jerusalem. The Italian poet Ludovico Ariosto (1474–1533) authored Orlando Furiorso, which appeared in its earliest version in 1516. Alexander Gilchrist (1828–1861) was the biographer of William Blake and husband of Anne Gilchrist (1828–1885). Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of one of the first significant pieces of criticism on Leaves of Grass, titled "A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (From Late Letters by an English Lady to W. M. Rossetti)," The Radical 7 (May 1870), 345–59. Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that she had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when she moved to Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned her affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on their relationship, see Marion Walker Alcaro, "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Beatrice Carwardine Gilchrist (1854–1881) was the second child (and first daughter) of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist. An aspiring physician, Beatrice took the needed preparatory classes but was barred (as were all women) from becoming a medical student in England. As a result, she attended the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia. She held positions as a physician in Berne, Switzerland, and later Edinburgh before committing suicide by fatally ingesting hydrocyanic acid in 1881. Grace "Giddy" Gilchrist (1859–1947) was the youngest child of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist. An aspiring singer, Grace trained as a contralto and married architect Albert Henry Frend in 1897, though the couple divorced twelve years later. Before her marriage to Frend, Grace became involved with playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950); an 1888 letter from Shaw to Grace's brother Herbert Gilchrist suggests that the Gilchrists may have disapproved of Shaw's relationship with Grace. 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). Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, the only of their four children who did not accompany their mother to Philadelphia in 1876 when she met Whitman, as Percy Gilchrist was newly married to Norah Fitzmaurice at the time. At about the same time (1875–1877), Percy Gilchrist collaborated with his cousin Sidney Gilchrist Thomas on refining the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel. Jeannette Leonard Gilder (1849–1916) helped her brother, Richard Watson Gilder (1844–1909), edit Scribner's Monthly and then, with another brother, Joseph Benson Gilder (1858–1936), co-edited the Critic (which she co-founded in 1881). For more, see Susan L. Roberson, "Gilder, Jeannette L. (1849–1916)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Joseph Benson Gilder (1858–1936) was, with his sister Jeannette Leonard Gilder (1849–1916), co-editor of The Critic, a literary magazine. According to the New York Directory of 1874–1875 and the Gouldings Directory of 1877–1878, Daniel G. Gillette was a clerk in the county courthouse. An undated entry in one of Whitman's address books (The Library of Congress #108) indicates that Gillette was at one time employed in the postmaster's office in New York. Dr. F. B. Gillette was the acting assistant surgeon at Port Hospital in Natchez, Mississippi. Godfrey of Bouillon (1060?–1100) was a French noble who led the First Crusade to Jerusalem from 1096 until his death four years later. After the siege of Jerusalem in 1099, Godfrey assumed rulership of the city but declined the title of "king" for religious reasons. Walter Godey was Whitman's replacement at the Attorney General's office, starting August 14, 1873 (see the letter of introduction for Godey from Whitman to chief clerk Webster Elmes of August 14, 1873). Whitman subsequently sent payment for Godey's service through Charles W. Eldridge (see the letters from Whitman to Eldridge of August 29, 1873 and September 29, 1873. In order to borrow money and escape his relationship with his estranged wife, English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) visited the home and bookshop of utilitarian/anarchist philosopher William Godwin (1756–1836) frequently in 1814. Godwin was also the husband of Mary Wollstencraft (1759–1797), the early British feminist author who penned A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792. During his 1814 visits, Shelley fell in love with Godwin and Wollstencraft's daughter Mary Godwin (1797–1859), who would later gain fame as Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein (1818). On July 28, 1814, the two eloped, even though Harriet Westbrooke (1797–1816)—Shelley's first wife of nearly three years—was pregnant at the time. Percy Shelley (who was never able to repay his debts to William Godwin) married Mary Godwin in 1816 after Westbrooke committed suicide. The German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) was famous for The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774) and Faust (1808), in which Faust sells his soul to the devil. Timothy Shay Arthur's Golden Grains from Life's Harvest Field (1853) is a collection of sentimental anecdotes: "Golden Grains from Life's Harvest Field, what are they but good and true principles, pure affections and human sympathies, gathered by the mind as it passes through its fields of labor? . . . A handful or two have we shaken from the full ears, and now present them to our readers. May the offering bear with it strength to the weak and the tempted, comfort to those who are in affliction, and good impulses to all." William Douglas O'Connor's The Good Gray Poet: A Vindication was published by Bunce & Huntington, 459 Broome Street, New York, in 1866 and was reprinted by Richard Maurice Bucke in his 1883 biography of Walt Whitman. The 46-page pamphlet opposed Whitman's critics while praising those who held the poet in high regard. The nickname "Good Gray Poet" originated here and remained with Whitman throughout his life. The correspondence between the publishers and O'Connor is in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection (Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Sir Edmund William Gosse (1849–1928), English poet and author of Father and Son (a memoir published in 1907), had written to Whitman on December 12, 1873: "I can but thank you for all that I have learned from you, all the beauty you have taught me to see in the common life of healthy men and women, and all the pleasure there is in the mere humanity of other people" (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, June 1, 1888). Gosse reviewed Two Rivulets in "Walt Whitman's New Book," The Academy, 9 (24 June 1876), 602–603, and visited Whitman in 1885 (see Whitman's letter inviting Gosse to visit on December 31, 1884, Gosse's December 29, 1884 letter to Whitman, and The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977], 3:384 n80). In a letter to Richard Maurice Bucke on October 31, 1889, Whitman characterized Gosse as "one of the amiable conventional wall-flowers of literature." For more about Gosse, see Jerry F. King, "Gosse, Sir Edmund (1849–1928)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Sir Edmund William Gosse (1849–1928) was an English poet and the author of Father and Son (a memoir published in 1907). Gosse wrote to Whitman on December 12, 1873: "I can but thank you for all that I have learned from you, all the beauty you have taught me to see in the common life of healthy men and women, and all the pleasure there is in the mere humanity of other people" (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, June 1, 1888). Gosse reviewed Two Rivulets in "Walt Whitman's New Book," The Academy, 9 (24 June 1876), 602–603, and visited Whitman in 1885 (see Whitman's letter inviting Gosse to visit on December 28, 1884 and The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977], 3:384 n80). In a letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke on October 31, 1889, Whitman characterized Gosse as "one of the amiable conventional wall-flowers of literature" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). For more about Gosse, see Jerry F. King, "Gosse, Sir Edmund (1849–1928)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). On the night of October 5, 1868, veteran soldiers and other members of the Democratic Party met at Tammany Hall and Union Square to endorse Democratic nominees for president and governor, some bearing banners that read, "Reduce Taxation Before Taxation Reduces Us." The New York Times published an extensive report on the "Democratic Mass Meeting," including transcriptions of speeches given by General George B. McClellan and others, on October 5, 1868. William Grayson was the son of Edward B. and Juliet Grayson, Southern sympathizers who took boarders at 468 M North. Horace Greeley (1811–1872), editor of the New York Tribune, ran against Ulysses S. Grant as the Liberal Republican Party's candidate for the presidency in 1872. Samuel W. Green was listed in Goulding's New York City Directory (1877–1878) as a printer at 18 Jacob St., with a home at 123 Livingston St. in Brooklyn. Among his skills and services, Green listed a "book and job department," a "stereotype and electrotype foundry," "bookbindery," and "printing of every description" (Lawrence G. Goulding & Co., Directory, 1877–1878, 3:545). Green printed the sheets of Whitman's As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free (1872) in an edition of 572 copies, 300 of which were bound. Green later printed the pages of the 1876 Leaves of Grass and Two Rivulets. For more information on books by Whitman that were printed by Green, see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). Dr. Matthew J. Grier (1838–1900) worked as a surgeon at Satterlee Hospital in Philadelphia during the Civil War and established his own practice there after the war. Alexander Balloch Grosart (1827–1899) was born in Stirling, Scotland, and he attended the University of Edinburgh. He became a Presbyterian minister and literary editor, and he reprinted numerous works of Elizabethan and Jacobean literature. Francis Grose (1731?–1791) was an English antiquary and writer of several books on the subject of antiques. Grose's membership in the Surrey regiment earned him the title of captain in 1766, which he adopted as an informal title as well. Grose was the anonymous author of Advice to the Officers of the British Army: With the addition of some Hints to the Drummer and Private Soldier (1783), which satirized British conduct in the American Revolutionary War. When George returned to Brooklyn after the Civil War, he rented a room from Elizabeth Hegaman. Mrs. Hegaman's death was announced in the February 14, 1968 issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. She died on Thursday, February 13 at the age of 73. Whitman possibly refers to Thomas Haggerty (or Hagerty), listed in Washington Directories as a clerk in the Treasury Department. Philip Hale (1854–1934), a music critic and program annotator for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, wrote to Walt Whitman for the first time on September 14, 1871. Hale wrote again on October 7, 1875, to praise the "Calamus" poems and to enclose a copy of "Walt Whitman," which he published in the Yale Literary Magazine in November 1874, 96–104. Walt Whitman sent Two Rivulets to Hale on September 3, 1876 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman's prose piece "Halls of Gold and Lilac," a description of the Capitol, appeared in the New York Daily Graphic on November 24, 1873; it was reprinted in The Uncollected Poetry and Prose of Walt Whitman (1921), 2 vols., ed. by Emory Holloway, II, 42–49. Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), youngest sister of Walt Whitman, married Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), a Pennsylvania-born landscape painter. Charles Heyde was infamous among the Whitmans for his offensive letters and poor treatment of Hannah. Hannah and Charles Heyde lived in Burlington, Vermont. For more, see Paula K. Garrett, "Whitman (Heyde), Hannah Louisa (d. 1908)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), youngest sister of Walt Whitman. For more, see Paula K. Garrett, "Whitman (Heyde), Hannah Louisa (d. 1908)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Lady Hardy was probably Maria Hepburn (d. 1886), the wife of Herbert Hardy, first Baron Cozens-Hardy (1838–1920), an English judge. Walt Whitman sent the 1876 set to Lady Hardy in London on October 24, 1876 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). James Harlan (1820–1899), secretary of the interior from 1865 to 1866, dismissed Whitman from his second-class clerkship on June 30, 1865. Harlan apparently took offense at the copy of the 1860 Leaves of Grass which Whitman was revising and which he kept at his desk. With the help of William Douglas O'Connor and Assistant Attorney General J. Hubley Aston, Whitman secured a position in the attorney general's office. The Harlan episode led directly to O'Connor's pamphlet "The Good Gray Poet." Although Harlan was a Methodist, he was not a parson. Whitman may have sarcastically applied this term to Harlan because on May 30, 1865, Harlan had issued an official directive asking for the names of employees who disregarded "in their conduct, habits, and associations the rules of decorum & propriety prescribed by a Christian Civilization" (Jerome Loving, Walt Whitman's Champion [College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1978], 57). Harlan resigned in 1866 and returned to the Senate in the following year. Thomas Harland of Norwich, Connecticut, was chief clerk in the Patent Office. Harper's Monthly Magazine (sometimes Harper's New Monthly Magazine or simply Harper's) was established in 1850 by Henry J. Raymond and Fletcher Harper. The magazine published several of Whitman's poems, including "Song of the Redwood-Tree" and "Prayer of Columbus." In 1857, Fletcher Harper founded Harper's Weekly (subtitled "A Journal of Civilization"), which gained its fame for its coverage of the Civil War and its publication of cartoonist Thomas Nast's (1840–1902) work. For Whitman's relationship with these two publications, see Susan Belasco's "Harper's Monthly Magazine" and "Harper's Weekly Magazine." Harper's Monthly Magazine (sometimes Harper's New Monthly Magazine or simply Harper's) was established in 1850 by Henry J. Raymond and Fletcher Harper. The magazine published several of Walt Whitman's poems, including "Song of the Redwood-Tree" and "Prayer of Columbus." In 1857, Fletcher Harper founded Harper's Weekly (subtitled "A Journal of Civilization"), which gained its fame for its coverage of the Civil War and its publication of cartoonist Thomas Nast's (1840–1902) work. For Whitman's relationship with these two publications, see "Harper's Monthly Magazine" and "Harper's Weekly Magazine." Joseph Harris was a patient at Armory Square Hospital during Whitman's Civil War visits. He was friends with some of Whitman's other Armory Square Hospital comrades, such as Lewis Brown and Adrian Bartlett. See also Harris's September 5, 1864 letter to Walt Whitman, Whitman's July 11, 1864, letter to Brown, and Brown's July 18, 1864, letter to Whitman. Michael C. Hart was listed as a printer in the Washington Directory of 1869. Whitman sent Hart publicity puffs for insertion in the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle; see Doyle's letter to Whitman of October 5–6, 1868. Michael C. Hart was listed as a printer in the Washington Directory of 1869. Whitman sent Hart publicity puffs for insertion in the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle.Francis Bret Harte (1836–1902) was an American author who wrote on California pioneering efforts. From 1868 to 1871, Harte was editor of the literary magazine The Overland Monthly, for whom he penned his 1870 elegiac "Dickens in Camp," a poetic obituary for Charles Dickens.
This letter is in response to Walt Whitman's April 4, 1870, submission of "Passage to India" for $200.
On August 1, 1867, William Conant Church, from the office of the Galaxy, wrote to William Douglas O'Connor: "It seems to me that this glorious harvest of 1867, sown & reaped by the returned soldiers, ought to be sung in verse . . . . Walt Whitman is the man to chaunt the song. Will you not ask him to do it for The Galaxy?" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). In response, Whitman submitted "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867" to William Conant and Francis Pharcellus Church on August 7, 1867. In their letter of August 8, 1867, the editors told Whitman that they considered "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867" (later titled "The Return of the Heroes") "to rank with the very best of [his] poems." Negotiating the publication of the poem, Whitman, in his letter of August 11, 1867, reserved the right to publish the poem in an edition of Leaves of Grass no sooner than six months after the poem's publication in the Galaxy. Whitman acknowledged receipt of $60 as compensation for "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867" in his September 7, 1867, letter to the editors. The poem was published in the September 1867, issue of the magazine. Whitman also submitted a second poem, "Ethiopia Commenting," which was never published in the magazine. This is apparently Dr. William A. Hawley's first letter to Whitman. An October 24, 1888 letter from Whitman, with which Whitman sent Hawley one of his books, is not extant; neither is a letter that Whitman sent on February 6, 1890, according to his notebooks. Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer, author of The Scarlet Letter. He received praise from Ralph Waldo Emerson, a contemporary of and influence upon Walt Whitman. Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (1797–1856) was a renowned German poet, journalist, essayist, and literary critic. He is well known for his lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of the lieder by the composers Robert Schumann (1810–1856) and Franz Schubert (1797–1828). Cora Tappan (1840–1923) was a medium. At age ten, as she sat with slate and pencil in hand, "she lost external consciousness, and on awaking she found her slate covered with writing." At fourteen she was a public speaker, and at sixteen married Dr. B. F. Hatch, who published and wrote an introduction to her Discourses on Religion, Morals, Philosophy, and Metaphysics (1858). Walt Whitman became acquainted with Cora Tappan (then Hatch) in 1857, and mentioned her in his June 20, 1857, letter to Sarah Tyndale. See Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence (New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977), 1:42–44. In 1871, she self-published a collection of poems titled Hesperia; the section "Laus Natura" was dedicated to "Walt Whitman, the Poet of Nature." See also Emma Hardinge, Modern American Spiritualism (New York, 1870), 149. Cora Tappan (then Hatch) (1840–1923) was a medium. At age ten, as she sat with slate and pencil in hand, "she lost external consciousness, and on awaking she found her slate covered with writing." At fourteen she was a public speaker, and at sixteen married Dr. B. F. Hatch, who published and wrote an introduction to her Discourses on Religion, Morals, Philosophy, and Metaphysics (1858). Whitman became acquainted with Tappan in 1857, and he mentioned her in his June 20, 1857, letter to Sarah Tyndale. See Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence (New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977), 1:42–44. In 1871, she self-published a collection of poems titled Hesperia; the section "Laus Natura" was dedicated to "Walt Whitman, the Poet of Nature." See also Emma Hardinge, Modern American Spiritualism (New York, 1870), 149. Cora Tappan (then Hatch) (1840–1923) was a medium. At age ten, as she sat with slate and pencil in hand, "she lost external consciousness, and on awaking she found her slate covered with writing." At fourteen she was a public speaker, and at sixteen married Dr. B. F. Hatch, who published and wrote an introduction to her Discourses on Religion, Morals, Philosophy, and Metaphysics (1858). Whitman became acquainted with Tappan in 1857. In 1871, she self-published a collection of poems titled Hesperia; the section "Laus Natura" was dedicated to "Walt Whitman, the Poet of Nature." See also Emma Hardinge, Modern American Spiritualism (New York, 1870), 149. Whitman made an error in dating this letter; he wrote "July" instead of "June." The error, noted by Edward Haviland Miller, is evident from Tyndale's responses to Whitman's letter on June 24 and on July 1 (See Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., Walt Whitman: The Correspondence (New York: New York University Press, 1961–77), 1:42n1. Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), a French-born landscape painter, married Hannah Louisa Whitman (1823–1908), Walt Whitman's sister, and they lived in Burlington, Vermont. Charles Heyde was infamous among the Whitmans for his offensive letters and poor treatment of Hannah. For more information about Heyde, see Steven Schroeder, "Heyde, Charles Louis (1822–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), a Pennsylvania landscape painter, married Hannah Louisa Whitman (1823–1908), Walt Whitman's sister, and they lived in Burlington, Vermont. Charles Heyde often claimed to have been born in France, and he was infamous among the Whitmans for his offensive letters and poor treatment of Hannah. For more information about Heyde, see Steven Schroeder, "Heyde, Charles Louis (1822–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). On September 1, 1873, the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle noted that Robert S. Hickman (1838–1873), about 49 years old, was close to death. Evidently Hickman had squandered a fortune of $40,000, had been disowned by his family, and was now impoverished. On the same day the New York Herald observed that Hickman "is known throughout the country by reputation and familiar to visitors to Washington for many years." He was interred in the potter's field on September 2, 1873. On the following day, after a subscription was raised among Washington businessmen to rebury the body in the Congressional Cemetery, it was discovered that the remains had been desecrated. On September 4, 1873, the headlines in the Chronicle read: "Ghouls.Whitman accepted this invitation on August 5, 1871, and read what he called his "American Institute piece" (in his September 17,1871 letter to the Roberts Brothers) before the American Institute on September 7, 1871. The poem was published as "After All, Not to Create Only," and was retitled "Song of the Exposition" for its publication in Two Rivulets (1876).
The newspaper coverage of Walt Whitman's appearance at the American Institute was extensive: the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle published the poet's account on September 7, 1871; the New York Evening Post reprinted the poem, and called Walt Whitman "a good elocutionist." He was also praised in the New York Sun and the Brooklyn Standard; the New York Tribune printed excerpts from the poem on September 8, 1871, and later a devastating parody by Bayard Taylor (reprinted in his Echo Club [2nd ed., 1876], 169–170); the Springfield Republican published the poem on September 9, 1871. In reply to the criticisms of the poem, Walt Whitman prepared the following for submission to an unidentified newspaper: "The N. Y. World's frantic, feeble, fuddled articles on it are curiosities. The Telegram dryly calls it the longest conundrum ever yet given to the public" (Yale). See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, "Thursday, June 14, 1888," 328–329; Emory Holloway, Whitman–An Interpretation in Narrative (1926), American Mercury, 18 (1929), 485–486; and Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (1955), 433–435. John Trivett Nettleship (1841–1902), an English painter known especially for his portraits of lions, had recently published Essays on Robert Browning's Poetry (1868), likely the first serious work on the poet. He was a friend of William Michael Rossetti and a contributor to the 1876 appeal for funds for Walt Whitman; see Rossetti Papers, 339, and Harold Blodgett, Walt Whitman in England (1934), 37. John Butler Yeats reported that Nettleship had spent almost his last three guineas to purchase a copy of Leaves of Grass which "had not been bereaved of its indecencies"; see Letters of Edward Dowden and His Correspondents (1914), 44. In its July 1868 edition, the New Eclectic Magazine published a translation of Ferdinand Freiligrath's "Walt Whitman," which had originally appeared in the Augsburg Allgemeine Zeitung on April 24, 1868. Freiligrath (1810–1876) was a German poet and translator and friend of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. "Walt Whitman" was among the first notices of Whitman's poetry on the continent. A digital version is available in Walter Grünzweig's "Whitman in the German-Speaking Countries," which collects several examples of German reception of Whitman's poetry. The New York Commercial Advertiser was an evening American newspaper. Whitman's poem "After All, Not to Create Only" appeared in the New York Commercial Advertiser on September 7, 1871. For more information on The New York Commercial Advertiser, see Susan Belasco, "New York Commercial Advertiser," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). The New York Daily Graphic published a number of Walt Whitman's poems and prose pieces in 1873 and 1874. In 1873, it printed "Nay, Tell Me Not To-day the Publish'd Shame" (March 5, 1873), "With All the Gifts, America" (March 6, 1873), "The Singing Thrush" (March 15, 1873; later called "Wandering at Morn"), "Spain" (March 24, 1873), "Sea Captains, Young or Old" (April 4, 1873; later called "Song for All Seas, All Ships"), "Warble for Lilac-Time" (May 12, 1873), "Halls of Gold and Lilac" (November 24, 1873), and "Silver and Salmon-Tint" (November 29, 1873). In 1874, the Daily Graphic printed "A Kiss to the Bride" (May 21, 1874), "Song of the Universal" (June 17, 1874), and "An Old Man's Thought of School" (November 3, 1874). On November 25, 1873, a picture of Whitman and a review of his work (excerpted by Richard Maurice Bucke, Walt Whitman [Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883], 209–210) occupied an entire page of the paper (as Whitman alludes to in his November 28, 1873, letter to Peter Doyle). An editorial in the same issue added biographical details, probably supplied by Whitman himself, and announced the forthcoming publication of the sixth edition of Leaves of Grass. For more on Whitman's relationship with the Daily Graphic, see Susan Belasco, "The New York Daily Graphic." John Henry Newman (1801–1890) was a priest in the Church of England and a leader in the Oxford Movement, which argued for the return of the Anglican Church to many Catholic beliefs and ritual expressions. In 1845, Newman left the Church of England and eventually became a Cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church under Pope Leo XIII (1810–1903, r. 1878–1903). In 1854, Newman was one of the founders of the Catholic University of Ireland (now University College Dublin).Walt Whitman did not see this play on September 9, 1870, since that was the one evening in the week on which it was not presented. The cast included Edward Loomis Davenport as Brutus. Lawrence Barrett as Cassius, and Walter Montgomery as Marc Antony.
Niblo's Theatre was built in 1834 by coffeehouse owner William Niblo as a way to supplement the entertainment value of his refreshment "resort." Rebuilt in 1849 after an 1846 fire, Niblo's Theatre saw a significant increase in business after the Civil War. It was destroyed in another fire in 1872, later rebuilt by Alexander Turney Stewart (1903–1876) before closing in 1895 to make way for an office building for sugar refiner Henry Osborne Havemeyer (1847–1907).
Rasmus Nielsen (1809–1884) was a Danish Hegelian philosopher and contemporary of Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855). In 1870, Nielsen published his Philosophy of Religion, in which he argued (against the Hegelian model) that religious faith and scientific knowledge were not mutually exclusive categories, permitting faith in Christian dogma to exist simultaneously with scientific advances. Christine Nilsson (1843–1921), the Swedish soprano, appeared in Il Trovatore during the week of March 4, 1872, and in Meyerbeer's Robert le Diable on March 11, 1872, with Pasquale Brignoli (an Italian tenor, mentioned in Walt Whitman's April 16, 1867, letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). See Odell, IX, 190. Nilsson is mentioned in Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina (1873–1877) and Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence (1920), and she has been rumored to be the inspiration for Christine Daeé in Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera (1911). The conductor or driver on car 6. Roden Berkeley Wriothesley Noel (1834–1894) was an English poet; his best-known work, A Little Child's Monument, was published in 1881. On September 13, 1871, Moncure Conway wrote that "the Hon Roden Noel (one of the Lord Byron blood, and author of a pleasing volume of Poems) submitted to me recently a very long and careful review of your work." "A Study of Walt Whitman, The Poet of Modern Democracy" appeared in Dark Blue, 1 (1871), 241–253, 336–349; reprinted in Essays on Poetry and Poets (1886), 304–341. John Burroughs, who did not "think the article amounts to shucks," sent it to Walt Whitman on October 30, 1871 (Syracuse University). On November 3, 1871, Noel sent Walt Whitman an inscribed copy of his essay: "The proclamation of comradeship seems to me the grandest & most tremendous fact in your work & I heartily thank you for it." Walt Whitman sent Noel a copy of the 1876 edition of Leaves of Grass. Founded in 1772, the Norwegian Society was originally a literary gentleman's club for Norwegian students in Copenhagen. In 1818, five years after the original club was discontinued, a new gentleman's club was formed under the same name. Crosby Stuart Noyes (1825–1908) was editor of the Washington Star from 1867 until his death. On September 30, 1868, his newspaper printed his account of "Chicago." Crosby Stuart Noyes (1825–1908) was editor of the Washington Star from 1867 until his death. Carlos D. Stuart (1820–1862) was a poet and a journalist, as well as an editor for The New York Sun in the late 1840s and early 1850s. "O Star of France" voices Whitman's support for the French cause in the Franco-Prussian War. Whitman had initially expressed support for the Prussian cause; in his September 6, 1870, letter to Peter Doyle, Whitman called Louis Napoleon "the meanest scoundrel ... that ever sat on a throne." But Whitman had a change of heart, as reported in the New York Evening Mail on October 27, 1870, by the Washington correspondent: "At the commencement of the present war in Europe [Walt Whitman] was strongly German, but is now the ardent friend of the French, and enthusiastically supports them and their Republic" (Charles I. Glicksberg, Walt Whitman and the Civil War (1933), 116n). On April 10, 1871, Francis Pharcellus Church accepted "O Star of France" for the June issue of the Galaxy. For a digital version of the poem as it appeared in the June 1871 edition of the Galaxy, see "O Star of France!" For a time Walt Whitman lived with William D. and Ellen M. O'Connor, who, with Charles Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the early Washington years. William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of the pro-Whitman pamphlet "The Good Gray Poet" in 1866 (a digital version of the pamphlet is available at "The Good Gray Poet: A Vindication"). Ellen "Nelly" O'Connor, William's wife, had a close personal relationship with Whitman. In 1872 Whitman and William strongly disagreed on the Fifteenth Amendment, which Whitman opposed and O'Connor supported. Ellen defended Whitman's opinion, and in response William moved out. The correspondence between Walt Whitman and Ellen is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence with William. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)." For a time Walt Whitman lived with William D. and Ellen M. O'Connor, who, with Charles Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the early Washington years. William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of Harrington, an abolition novel published by Thayer & Eldridge in 1860. He had been an assistant editor of the Saturday Evening Post before he went to Washington. O'Connor was one of Whitman's strongest defenders, most notably in his 1866 pamphlet "The Good Gray Poet" (a digital version of the pamphlet is available at "The Good Gray Poet: A Vindication"). The poet praised O'Connor in the preface to a posthumous collection of his tales: "He was born sample here in the 19th century of the flower and symbol of olden time first-class knighthood. Thrice blessed be his memory!" In 1872, while living in the O'Connors' home, Whitman strongly disagreed with O'Connor over the Fifteenth Amendment, which Whitman opposed and O'Connor supported. Ellen defended Whitman's opinion, and in response William moved out. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)." For a time Walt Whitman lived with William D. and Ellen M. O'Connor, who, with Charles Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the early Washington years. William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of Harrington, an abolition novel published by Thayer & Eldridge in 1860. He had been an assistant editor of the Saturday Evening Post before he went to Washington. O'Connor was one of Whitman's strongest defenders, most notably in his 1866 pamphlet "The Good Gray Poet" (a digital version of the pamphlet is available at "The Good Gray Poet: A Vindication"). The poet praised O'Connor in the preface to a posthumous collection of his tales: "He was born sample here in the 19th century of the flower and symbol of olden time first-class knighthood. Thrice blessed be his memory!" In 1872, while living in the O'Connors' home, Whitman strongly disagreed with O'Connor over the Fifteenth Amendment, which Whitman opposed and O'Connor supported. Ellen defended Whitman's opinion, and in response William moved out. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)." Standish James O'Grady (1846–1928), a lawyer and later a celebrated Irish poet, published (under the pseudonym Arthur Clive) "Walt Whitman: the Poet of Joy," the Gentleman's Magazine, 15 (December 1875), 704–716, in which he concluded that Walt Whitman "is the noblest literary product of modern times, and his influence is invigorating and refining beyond expression." See Harold Blodgett, Walt Whitman in England (Cornell: Cornell University Press, 1934), 180–182, and Hugh Art O'Grady, Standish James O'Grady—The Man & the Writer (Dublin: Talbot Press, 1929). See also Joann P. Krieg, chapter 8, "Dublin," Walt Whitman and the Irish (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2000), 190–231. O'Kane, a New York book dealer, took over the books still in the possession of Michael Doolady (a bookseller to whom Whitman wrote on November 13, 1867) on April 22, 1874. On December 29, 1873, Walt Whitman withdrew his books from O'Kane, and also dismissed Piper, the Boston outlet. At the same time he entrusted the whole matter to Asa K. Butts & Co., which went into bankruptcy in the following year. Though Walt Whitman wrote cordially to O'Kane on April 22, 1874, he later became hostile. Citing only the initials, Richard Maurice Bucke, Walt Whitman (1883), in his "official" biography (46), averred that O'Kane and Somerby, Butts's successor, "took advantage of [Walt Whitman's] helplessness to embezzle the amounts due—(they calculated that death would soon settle the score and rub it out.)" This sounds like an interpolation composed by the poet himself; note also Whitman's December 30, 1875, letter to Jeannette Gilder, in which he wrote, "every one of the three successive book agents I have had in N. Y. has embezzled the proceeds." In an address book (The Library of Congress #108) Walt Whitman scrawled on a piece of O'Kane's stationery, "rascal." Ole Bornemann Bull (1810–1880) was a popular Norwegian violinist and composer. Oliver Madox Brown (1855–1874) was the son of the English painter Ford Madox Brown. Oliver was a painter as well as a writer. He died at the age of nineteen as a result of blood poisoning, leaving several of his works unpublished. William M. Rossetti and Francis Hueffer edited a posthumous collection of Brown's stories including "The Dwale Bluth" and "The Black Swan." Thomas Osler, a Pennsylvania Railroad fireman to whom Walt Whitman "took quite a fancy" (according to his October 3–4, 1873, letter to Peter Doyle), was killed in a railroad accident on October 13, 1873. On October 15, 1873, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Osler died in a collision with train no. 43 at Morris Platform, near Palmyra, Pennsylvania. If Whitman's October 24, 1873, letter to Doyle is accurate, Osler was buried on October 19, 1873. Albert Boyd Otis (1839–1897) was a Boston lawyer who practiced with John Albion Andrew (1818–1867) and later Andrew's son John Forester Andrew. On April 20, 1878, G. P. Lathrop wrote to Walt Whitman: "I think you have corresponded with Albert Otis, a lawyer of Boston, whom I know." Otis was also one of the subscribers to the 1887 fund (See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, September 10, 1888). A biographical sketch of Otis appeared in Memorial Biographies of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (Boston: The New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1908), 9:387–389. Albert Boyd Otis (1839–1897) was a Boston lawyer who practiced with John Albion Andrew (1818–1867) and later Andrew's son John Forester Andrew. On April 20, 1878, G. P. Lathrop wrote to Walt Whitman: "I think you have corresponded with Albert Otis, a lawyer of Boston, whom I know." A biographical sketch of Otis appeared in Memorial Biographies of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, vol. 9 (1908), 387–389. On July 9, 1871, Rossetti had called attention to the "highly respectful references" to Whitman in Harry Buxton Forman's Our Living Poets (1871). These references included two prefatory quotations from Whitman, even though according to Rossetti, the book dealt "directly with English poets only." Francis Turner Palgrave (1824–1897) was a British poet and art critic known for his interpretations of poetry and for his Golden Treasury of English Songs and Lyrics (first published in 1861), which anthologized what Palgrave believed to be the best in English poetry—excluding, however, any poet still living at the time of publication. Likely "An Essay in Marathi on Beneficent Government" by Vishnu Bawa Brahmachari (Vishnu Bhikaji Gokhale, 1825–1871), translated by Captain A. Phelps and published by Trübner & Co. in 1870. After France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, discontented workers in Paris who had formed a "National Guard," a kind of citizens' militia, led a rebellion against the Parisian government and formed the Paris Commune. The Commune governed the city from March 18 to May 28, 1871, at which time the French army retook the city and prosecuted those who had supported the Commune. Theodore Parker (1810–1860) was an American abolitionist, transcendentalist, and social reformer who as a Unitarian minister drew controversy for denying the authenticity of the Bible, which he saw as contradictory and mistaken. Much of Parker's language on secular issues, however, has survived by inspiring Abraham Lincoln, Betty Friedan, Martin Luther King, Jr., and others. The "Parton affair" has never been adequately explained. This letter, with the accompanying documents (reproduced in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 3:237–239), was Walt Whitman's version, written at the insistence of William Douglas O'Connor when the story "was bandied about Washington—got into the papers" (III, 235). James Parton (1822–1891) was a journalist and, according to the Dictionary of American Biography, "the most successful biographer of his generation." Shortly before Walt Whitman had borrowed money, Parton had published his first bestseller, The Life of Horace Greeley (1855). When the issue of payment was in dispute, Parton sent attorney Oliver Dyer to collect from Whitman. Involved in the issue, according to Walt Whitman, were the "venom, jealousies, opacities ... [of] a woman" (III, 235–236), probably Parton's wife, the poet Sara Willis Parton ("Fanny Fern," 1811–1872), yet she was the first woman to praise Walt Whitman publicly (New York Dissected, 146–154, 162–165). William Sloane Kennedy's investigation of the matter suggests that, like the Biblical story of Potiphar's wife, Sara Parton had attempted to seduce Whitman but involved her husband when her efforts with the poet were either rebuffed or simply not returned; see Justin Kaplan, Walt Whitman: A Life (New York: HarperCollins, 2003), 224–226). See Oral S. Coad, "Whitman vs. Parton," Journal of the Rutgers University Library, 4 (December 1940), 1–8; Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (New York: Macmillan Co., 1955), 209–210; Frank Luther Mott, A History of American Magazines (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1957), 4 vols., II, 352–353. First printed as a separate publication containing the title poem, some new poetry, and a number of poems previously published in Leaves of Grass, "Passage to India" was Whitman's attempt to "celebrate in my own way, the modern engineering masterpieces . . . the great modern material practical energy & works," including the completion of the Suez Canal (1869), the Union and Central Pacific transcontinental railroad (1869), and the completion of the Atlantic Cable (1866) (see Whitman's April 22, 1870, letter to Moncure D. Conway). Although Whitman submitted the poem to the Overland Monthly on April 4, 1870, it was rejected on April 13, 1870, for being "too long and too abstract for the hasty and material-minded readers of the O. M." Conway, Walt Whitman's agent in England, was not able to sell the poem to an English journal. John Burroughs observed in the second edition of his Notes on Walt Whitman as a Poet and Person (1871), 123: "The manuscript of Passage to India was refused by the monthly magazines successively in New York, Boston, San Francisco, and London." The poem was eventually included in the final three editions of Leaves of Grass, published in 1871, 1881, and 1891. For more information on "Passage to India," see John B. Mason, "'Passage to India' (1871)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Written to commemorate the opening of the Suez Canal in November 1869, "Passage to India" was, according to Walt Whitman's April 22, 1870, letter to Moncure D. Conway, the poet's attempt to "celebrate in my own way, the modern engineering masterpieces . . . the great modern material practical energy & works." The poem appeared first in 1871 in a separate publication containing the title poem, some new poems, and several poems previously published in Leaves of Grass. "Passage to India" was subsequently included in a 120-page supplement to the fifth edition of Leaves of Grass in 1871. For more information, see John B. Mason, "'Passage to India' (1871)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). A farewell concert for Carlotta Patti (1835?–1889), "The Queen of the Concert Room," and Giuseppe Mario (1810–1883), "The World-renowned Tenor," was presented at Lincoln Hall on January 14, 1873. The review in the Daily Morning Chronicle the next day gave greater praise to a young contralto, Annie Louise Cary, than to Patti or Mario. George Payton, along with Charles Burd and James B. Young, were members of the Board of Managers for the 40th Annual Exhibition of the American Institute that was held on September 7, 1871. George Peabody (1795–1869), an American entrepreneur often cited as the father of modern philanthropy, died in London on November 4, 1869, and his body was returned to Danvers, Massachusetts in January, 1870. He founded and endowed the Peabody museums at Yale and Harvard. Walt Whitman's poem, entitled "Outlines for a Tomb (G. P., Buried 1870)" in the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass, appeared in the Galaxy as "Brother of All, With Generous Hand" , (9 January 1870, 75–76). George Frank E. Pearsall (1841–1927) was a New York photographer with an office at 298 Fulton Street. Pearsall held an early patent for the first "folding photographic camera," which was designed with portability in mind. In 1880, Pearsall advertised his as the largest photography studio in Brooklyn. Walt Whitman sent Two Rivulets to Pearsall on September 10, 1876 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Washington F. Peddrick (d. 1896) was a clerk in the Attorney General's office. Peddrick was employed as secretary to the counsel for the President in the impeachment of Andrew Johnson Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's spelling "perbasco" probably refers to Louis Probasco, an employee at Brooklyn Water Works, who is first mentioned in Thomas Jefferson Whitman's January 16, 1863, letter to Walt Whitman. A Joe Probasco is mentioned as a soldier in Thomas Jefferson Whitman's September 24,1863, letter to Walt Whitman. Walt probably refers to this latter Joe as "Probasco" in a April 28, 1864, letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. George W. Perrigo was one half of Perrigo & Finn, who worked as the U. S. Army and Navy's "Bounty, Pay and Pension Agents." Perrigo & Finn had an office at No. 20 Arcade Building in Lockport, New York, in 1867. According to the Dictionary of American Biography, Nora Perry (1831–1896) was a poet, journalist, and author of juvenile books. Perry published a qualified defense of Whitman, entitled "A Few Words About Walt Whitman," in Appleton's Journal, 15 (22 April 1876), 531–533. She was a friend of William Douglas O'Connor; see his letter to John Burroughs on May 4, 1876, in which he called her "a perfect pussy-cat" (Estelle Doheny Collection of the Edward Laurence Doheny Memorial Library, St. John's Seminary; Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [1931], 130). Mordecai Manuel Noah (1785–1851) was a playwright and journalist born in Pennsylvania. After moving to New York, Noah founded and edited The Evening Star, The Sunday Times, and The New York Enquirer, among other newspapers. Noah was a proponent of slavery, served as both a sheriff and diplomat, and was an important Jewish lay leader in New York. In Greek mythology, Nestor was a king of Pylos. He was a character in Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey. Whitman scholar Thomas Ollive Mabbot has speculated that Whitman may have been editing the New York Sunday Times when it merged with Noah's Weekly Messenger in 1843 (Mabbott, "Walt Whitman Edits the Sunday Times July, 1842–June, 1843," American Literature 39.1 [March 1967], 99–102). Mordecai Manuel Noah (1785–1851) and T. W. Meighan edited the new work, titled, the New York Sunday Times & Noah's Weekly Messenger. The paper published the first two chapters of "The Fireman's Dream: With the Story of His Strange Companion, A Tale of Fantasie," (1844) a work Whitman may have intended as a novella. Other pieces by Whitman that were published in the paper include the article "A Visit to Greenwood Cemetery," (1844) and "Tale of a Shirt: A Very Pathetic Ballad" (1844) (Susan Belasco, New York Sunday Times & Noah's Weekly Messenger). James Watson Webb (1802–1884) served in the army and then resigned to become the proprietor and editor of the New York Morning Courier. Two years later, in 1829, he purchased the New York Enquirer from M. M. Noah (1785–1851) and created the paper known as the Courier and Enquirer. At that time, James Gordon Bennett, Sr. (1795–1872)—who would later found The New York Herald—was a reporter for Noah's paper. Webb retained Bennett in that capacity for the Courier and Enquirer. Webb was well connected both to public figures and to the political events of his day, and he later accepted an appointment as Minister to Brazil ("Died, Aged 82 Years. The Late Col. James Watson Webb," Placer Herald, August 9, 1884, 6). William Leete Stone (1792–1844) was an author, journalist, and historian. He became the editor and proprietor of the Commercial Advertiser—a Whig publication—in 1821, a position he held until his death. John Inman, who had been serving as an associate editor on the Commercial Advertiser took over the paper upon the death of the previous editor and proprietor, William Leete Stone (1792–1844). Inman had also edited the New York Mirror and contributed to the Knickerbocker (Wendy Katz, Humbug! The Politics of Art Criticism in New York City's Penny Press [New York: Fordham University Press, 2020], 37). At the time he assumed responsibility for the Commercial Advertiser, Inman was editing and contributing to the The Columbian Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine (Frank Luther Mott, "The Columbian Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine," in A History of American Magazines: 1741–1850, (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1930), 1: 743–744). Inman's magazine published five of Whitman's short stories in 1844. Moses Yale Beach (1800–1868) was an early owner of the New York Sun. He was an inventor, creating a rag-cutting machine for paper mills, an entrepreneur, and is credited with beginning print syndication and starting the Associated Press. "Pfaff's" refers to Charles Pfaff's beer cellar in lower Manhattan. According to Thomas Donaldson, Walt Whitman the Man (New York: Francis P. Harper, 1896), 206, Whitman said that he had not visited Pfaff's between 1865 and 1881. For Whitman's account of a supper at Pfaff's, see his early August 1863 letter to Hugo Fritsch. For further discussion of Whitman's activity at Pfaff's, see "The Bohemian Years.") According to one of Walt Whitman's notebooks (The Library of Congress #109), Philp was to leave New York on July 27, 1867: "(Ought to get in London Aug 9—answer ought to get here last of Aug.)" This may be James B. Philp, listed as a lithographer and engraver in the New York Directory of 1867, or Franklin Philp, of Philp & Solomon, Washington booksellers. Franklin Philp and Adolphus Solomon were Washington booksellers. Mrs. Piercy is the wife of Henry R. Piercy who operated sulphur baths at 5 Willoughby Avenue, Brooklyn. In Walt Whitman's May 5, 1863 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman he writes, "I am sorry about your rheumatism–If it still continues, I think it would be well for me to write a line to Mrs. Piercy . . . so that you could take the baths again." Edwards Pierrepont (1875–1876) was active in the Democratic Party for most of his career, but after Horatio Seymour was nominated for presidential candidate in 1868, Pierrepont threw his support behind Ulysses S. Grant. After Grant was elected he appointed Pierrepont to U.S. Attorney General. Matthew F. Pleasants was chief clerk in Walt Whitman's office (mentioned in Walt Whitman's August 25, 1866, letter to Andrew Kerr). Described by William Douglas O'Connor as "a miserable devil" in an October 9, 1868, letter to Whitman, Pleasants resigned as chief clerk in the Pardons Office in 1871; Whitman named him as "late Chief Clerk" in his January 9, 1871, letter to Amos Tappan Akerman. According to Charles W. Eldridge's letter to John Burroughs on June 26, 1902, Pleasants was "now, as he has been for many years," clerk of the United States Circuit Court at Richmond, Virginia (Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature). Samuel M. Pooley (d. 1924) was a member of the Fifty-first Regiment, New York State Volunteers. In his notes on the Fifty-first Regiment, Walt Whitman wrote that Pooley was "born in Cornwall, Eng. 1836—struck out & came to America when 14—has lived mostly in Buffalo [,] learnt ship joining—left Buffalo in the military service U.S. June, 1861—came out as private—was made 2d Lieut at South Mountain. Made Captain Aug. 1864—got a family in Buffalo" (Manuscripts of Walt Whitman in the Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University). Benjamin Perley Poore (1820–1887), a well-known journalist and author, was at this time editor of the Congressional Directory and clerk of the Senate committee in charge of printing public records. Having successfully submitted "Song of the Redwood-Tree" to Harper's New Monthly Magazine on November 2, 1873, Walt Whitman submitted a second poem, "Prayer of Columbus," later in November 1873, also for $60. Editor Henry Mills Alden (1836–1919) accepted the poem on December 1, 1873; it appeared in the March 1874 edition, 58 (1874), 524–525. In reprinting the poem on February 24, 1874, the New York Tribune commented that it "shows the brawny vigor, but not the reckless audacity, by which the name of that wild poet has become best known to the public." For digital images of the poem as it appeared in Harper's Monthly Magazine, see "Prayer of Columbus." Abby H. Price (1814–1878) was active in various social-reform movements. Price's husband, Edmund, operated a pickle factory in Brooklyn, and the couple had four children — Arthur, Helen, Emily, and Henry (who died in 1852, at 2 years of age). During the 1860s, Price and her family, especially her daughter, Helen, were friends with Walt Whitman and his mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. In 1860 the Price family began to save Walt's letters. Helen's reminiscences of Whitman were included in Richard Maurice Bucke's biography, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), and she printed for the first time some of Whitman's letters to her mother in Putnam's Monthly 5 (1908): 163–169. In a letter to Ellen M. O'Connor on November 15, 1863, Whitman declared, "they are all friends, to prize and love deeply." Gay Wilson Allen notes that Edmund Price owned a pickle factory on Front street, where the Whitmans had resided, and he speculates that Whitman became acquainted with Abby through her speaking and writing for reform movements. See Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer, (New York: Macmillan, 1955), 199. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832), Lord Byron (1788–1824), and Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848) all composed works that presented the Italian poet Torquato Tasso (1544–1595) as romantically infatuated with Eleonora, the sister of Duke Alfonso II of Ferrara (1533–1597). Progress of the Working Class, 1832–1867 was a book by John Malcolm Forbes Ludlow and Lloyd Jones, first published in 1867 and reprinted as recently as 2010, which traced the status of the British working class from the Reform Bill of 1832 (which amended representation in Parliament) through 1867. The book concluded that the "artisans of England" had—with exceptions—made significant advances, particularly within government. Prospect Park covers over 500 acres in what is now the center of Brooklyn. The designer for the park was Calvert Vaux (1724–1785), and the chief architect was Frederick Law Olmsted (1822[?]–1893). Work began in 1859 and continued after the interruption of the Civil War. In 1868, when this letter was written, the realization of Vaux's design was nearly complete, and the park was already quite popular. It stretched to the city's eastern boundary. The park is notable for its Long Meadow, "a classic passage of pastoral scenery with gracefully modulated terrain of greensward, scattered groves of trees, and indefinite boundaries that create a sense of unlimited space" (Charles E. Beveridge, "Olmsted, Frederick Law," American National Biography Online).On November 30, 1868, Walt Whitman informed Ralph Waldo Emerson that "Proud Music of the Sea-Storm" (later called "Proud Music of the Storm") was "put in type for my own convenience, and to ensure greater correctness." He asked Emerson to take the poem to James T. Fields, editor of the Atlantic Monthly, who sent $100 to Whitman on December 5, 1868. Fields informed Whitman on December 14, 1868 that if he was to get the poem into the February issue it would be impossible to send proofs to Washington. This was the second of Whitman's poems to appear in the Atlantic Monthly; "Bardic Symbols" was published in 1860. "Proud Music of the Sea-Storm" was published in the February 1869 edition of the Atlantic Monthly; see 23, 199–203. In 1888 Horace Traubel asked Walt Whitman why he had appealed "to Emerson as a mediator," to which Whitman replied, "For several reasons, I may say. But the best reason I had was in his own suggestion that I should permit him to do such things for me when the moment seemed ripe for it" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 2:22).
For digital images of the poem as it appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, see "Proud Music of the Sea-Storm."
George Palmer Putnam (1814–1872) was founder and publisher of Putnam's Monthly Magazine. In January 1868, Putnam printed William Douglas O'Connor's "The Carpenter," 11 (1868), 55–90, and one of John Burroughs' essays in August 1868 (Walt Whitman recommended the essay, "A Night-Hunt in the Adirondacks," to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in his July 17, 1868, letter). On December 17, 1868, Whitman submitted a poem to Putnam, although the poem itself is not known. George Palmer Putnam (1814–1872) was founder and publisher of Putnam's Monthly Magazine out of New York. In January 1868, Putnam had printed William Douglas O'Connor's "The Carpenter," 11 (1868), 55–90, and he printed one of John Burroughs' essays in August (Walt Whitman recommended the essay, "A Night-Hunt in the Adirondacks," to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in his July 17, 1868, letter). It is not known which poem Whitman submitted to Putnam. Queen Mary, a poetic drama by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892) about the life of "Bloody" Mary I of England (1516–1558) and her marriage to Philip II of Spain (1527–1598), appeared in 1875. Edgar Quinet (1803–1875) was a French historian who participated in the 1848 Revolution but fled France in 1851 after Napoleon III (1808–1873) staged a coup d'état. In 1865, Quinet published the two-volume La Révolution, which criticized the atrocities of the French Revolution.The monthly Boston Radical (1865–1872) was printed by Samuel H. Morse, and included among its contributors at least two of Walt Whitman's friends, Moncure Conway and Amos Alcott; see Frank Luther Mott, History of American Magazines (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1957), 4 vols., III, 78. The former co-editor of the journal, Joseph B. Marvin, was now a clerk in the Treasury Department and was acquainted with Walt Whitman. Anne Gilchrist's "A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman" appeared in the May 1870 issue of the Radical, 7 (1870), 345–359, reprinted in In Re Walt Whitman (1893), ed. by Horace L. Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas B. Harned, 41–55, and The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, ed. Thomas B. Harned [New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918], 3–22. Since William Douglas O'Connor promised William Michael Rossetti to have Gilchrist's essay "fitly given to the world" (Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist, Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings (New York: Scribner & Welford, 1887), 187), he probably arranged for its publication in the magazine.
In an undated letter, probably written early in June 1870, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman commented on Gilchrist's article: "that Lady seems to understand your writing better than ever any one did before as if she could see right through you. she must be a highly educated woman" (Trent Collection, Duke University). On June 13, 1870, Charles Heyde wrote of the article: "Yet you percieve, even the praise she bestows is qualified with the general recoil, which all natures of true human sensibility experience, at your (mistaken) barbarism. The louse and the maggot know as much about procreation as you do, and when you unveil and denude yourself, you descend to the level of the dog, with the bitch, merely."
The article she refers to, "The L. I. Railroad Slaughter," appeared in the Brooklyn Eagle on Saturday, April 24, 1869. According to the report as "the train reached Willow Station, the last car jumped up as if it had struck a broken rail." Of the thirty passengers in the car, it was estimated that six died instantly, and fourteen were wounded. The dead included Onestes M. Pray, a young physician, and his mother Matilda Pray, as well as George Van Nostrand. This is the George Louisa likely mistook for Mary's son. Hiram J. Ramsdell (1839–1887) was a clerk in Washington; in a hospital notebook (Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, California), Whitman called him "chief clerk." Ramsdell was the Washington correspondent for the New York Tribune and the Cincinnati Commercial. On May 8, 1867, Ramsdell reported the high praise that George Townsend, the journalist (1841–1914), accorded to Whitman—"a stupendous genius," "the song of a God." On July 17, 1867, he asked Whitman to do whatever he could for Judge Milton Kelly, of Idaho, against whom charges had been brought by "a very bad man," Congressman Edward Dexter Holbrook (1836–1870), a Democrat from the Idaho Territory. Actually, on July 12, 1867, Whitman had submitted to the Attorney General a "Report on the Charges submitted by Hon. E. D. Holbrook, Del[egate] from Idaho Terr[itory], against Hon. Milton Kelly, Asso[ciate] Just[ice] Supreme Court of Idaho" (National Archives). To this forty-one page summary of the evidence, all in Whitman's hand, there is appended a letter signed by attorney general Henry Stanbery (1803–1881) but inscribed by Whitman, dated July 20, 1867: "The Conclusion in the preceding Report is hereby adopted by me, & ordered to stand as the decision of this Office in the Case, so far as now presented." On July 22, 1867, Ramsdell apologized for his "aggressiveness." Judge Kelly wrote to Whitman on June(?) 21, 1867 (National Archives), and again on August 9, 1867. On November 15, 1875, Ramsdell, among others, petitioned Benjamin H. Bristow (1832–1896), Secretary of the Treasury, that Whitman "be appointed to a position in the Treasury Department" (National Archives & Records Administration, Washington, D.C.). General John Aaron Rawlins (1831–1869) was Ulysses S. Grant's aide-de-camp during the Civil War and Secretary of War in 1869. Rawlins was extremely loyal to Grant, assisting him with his public image and alcoholism during the Civil War and even disregarding doctors' orders to retire to Arizona for health reasons, electing instead to remain in Grant's Cabinet quite literally until the day he died. Henry Jarvis Raymond (1820–1869) was the editor of the New York Times, which he founded on September 18, 1851, as the New-York Daily Times. Foul Play, an exposé about those who destroy ships for spare parts, was written by Charles Reade (1814–1884) and Dion Boucicault (1820?–1890), and was published in Boston in 1868. Born in Wisconsin, Lavinia Ellen "Vinnie" Ream (1847–1914) was a sculptor who made a bust from life of Abraham Lincoln. After Lincoln's assassination, Ream was commissioned to do a statue of Lincoln for the rotunda in the Capitol. Unveiled in 1871, the marble statue was the first government commission given to a female artist. Reproductions of her sculpture, as well as a portrait by George Caleb Bingham and a bust by Clark Mills, appear in Antiques (November 1976), 1016–1018. During the 1860s, Ream also worked as a clerk in the dead letter office in Washington, D. C. and was one of the first women to be employed in a federal government position.James S. Redfield, a publisher at 140 Fulton Street, New York, was a distributor of Whitman's books in the early 1870s. On March 23, 1872, Redfield accepted 496 copies of Leaves of Grass: "I am to account to him (for all that I may sell) at the rate of One Dollar & Fifty Cents a copy, (1.50)" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). When Whitman prepared his will on October 23, 1872, he noted that Redfield had 500 copies of the fifth edition of Leaves of Grass, 400 copies of As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free, and 500 copies of Democratic Vistas (The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). Redfield later established a London outlet for Democratic Vistas and Leaves of Grass with Sampson, Low, Marston, Low, and Searle, who, on March 28, 1873, transferred Redfield's account for the remaining books to Whitman. On February 12, 1875, when his firm was in bankruptcy, Redfield noted that the balance due Walt Whitman ($63.45) "will have to go in with my general indebtedness. I think my estate will pay 50 cents on the dollar: hope so at any rate." He suggested that Michael Doolady (bookseller and publisher who printed Ada Clare's 1866 book Only a Woman's Heart; mentioned in Whitman's October 13, 1867, letter to Dionysius Thomas and Whitman's November 13, 1867, letter to Doolady) and the new Boston firm of Estes & Lauriat might agree to handle his books. He noted, however, that most book dealers were unwilling to sell Whitman's books, either because of inadequate sales or because of the poet's reputation in respectable circles: "It is only here and there a speckled sheep, like J. S. R., turns up who—not to put too fine a point upon it—don't care a d--n for Mrs Grundy, who would take you in."
James S. Redfield, a publisher at 140 Fulton Street, New York, was a distributor of Whitman's books in the early 1870s. On March 23, 1872, Redfield accepted 496 copies of Leaves of Grass: "I am to account to him (for all that I may sell) at the rate of One Dollar & Fifty Cents a copy, (1.50)" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) James S. Redfield, a publisher at 140 Fulton Street, New York, was a distributor of Whitman's books in the early 1870s. Henry Whitney Bellows (1814–1882), a Boston native, was educated at Harvard and became well known as a pulpit orator and lyceum lecturer. He was a clergyman and leader in the Unitarian Church, and he became the president of the United States Sanitary Commission during the American Civil War. Whitelaw Reid (1837–1912) was the editor of the New York Tribune from 1872 to 1905 and also American ambassador to France (1889–1892) and England (1905–1912). He met Whitman in the hospitals during the Civil War. Of his relations with the poet, Reid later observed: "No one could fail then [during the War] to admire his zeal and devotion, and I am afraid that at first my regard was for his character rather than his poetry. It was not till long after 'The Leaves of Grass' period that his great verses on the death of Lincoln conquered me completely." See Charles N. Elliot, Walt Whitman as Man, Poet and Friend (Boston: Richard G. Badger, 1915), 213, and Edwin Haviland Miller, "Walt Whitman's Correspondence with Whitelaw Reid, Editor of the New York Tribune," Studies in Bibliography 8 (1956): 242–249. Walt Whitman also mentioned Mrs. Rein in his September 27, 1868, letter to William and Ellen O'Connor. In 1872, the Republican National Convention met in Philadelphia and nominated Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885) for a second term as president. The convention replaced Grant's incumbent vice-president Schuyler Colfax with Massachusetts senator Henry Wilson. Although Horace Greeley and his supporters left the party to form the Liberal Republicans—acquiring the support of the Democratic Party as well—Grant and Wilson went on to win the 1872 election. John Ward Hunter (1807–1900), not William, was elected to complete the term of James Humphrey (1811–1866), who was a Congressman from New York from 1859 to 1861 and again from 1864 until his death. On January 26, 1867 (a Sunday, not a Saturday), Hunter was censured by a 77–33 vote for unparliamentary language during a debate. Hunter was not nominated for reelection but was later elected mayor of Brooklyn in 1875 and 1876. Charles Weatherby Reynell (1797–1892) was listed as a printer in A Roll of Honour (a 1908 directory of book collectors and printers throughout Britain's history). Walt Whitman sent the 1876 edition of Leaves of Grass to Reynell on May 18, 1876, and Memoranda During the War on June 14 or 15, 1876 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Walter Whitman Reynolds wrote to Whitman on February 9, 1870, April 26, 1870, and May 13, 1872. In the last letter, Reynolds begged Whitman, "friend Walt I want to know if you will be kind enough loan me twenty dollars as I want to get a pair of pants and a coat." If Whitman replied, his letters are not extant. According to Whitman's daybook, his namesake Reynolds visited him on September 1, 1889. Mrs. Henry Reynolds, mother of Walter Whitman Reynolds, wrote to Walt Whitman on October 16, 1868, imploring Whitman to get to know his namesake, who "is a nice boy, between 13 and 14 years old. and i thought perhaps you might take an interest in him." Richard I of England (1157–1199), better known as Richard the Lionheart (Cur de Lion), led the Third Crusade (1189–1192) and defeated the forces of Saladin (1138?–1193) but failed to conquer Jerusalem. The Richings Opera Company, formed in 1859 by American actor Peter Richings (1797–1871), toured the United States. Richings's adopted daughter Caroline Richings (1827–1882) directed the troupe after her father retired in 1867. In 1870, the company was renamed the Caroline Richings Bernard Grand Opera Combination. She later married tenor Peter Bernard. Whitman may be referring to the actor Peter Richings (1797–1871), who would later form The Richings Opera Company and tour the United States. John Fisher (1798–1847) was a comedian and actor who was a favorite among audiences at the Park Theatre in the 1830s and 1840s ("The Late Mr. John Fisher, The Comedian," Theatrical Times [August 14, 1847], 251.) Elizabeth Jefferson Chapman was an American actress and singer who performed at the Park Theatre. She married the actor Samuel Chapman (b. 1799), and after his death she married Augustus Richardson of Baltimore. Thus, she acted under the names of Mrs. Chapman and, later, Mrs. Richardson. She also managed a theatre for a short time in Alabama (Jane Kathleen Curry, Nineteenth-Century American Women Theatre Managers [Westport: Greenwood Press], 1994: 23–24). Emma Wheatley (1822–1854) began dancing on the Park Theatre stage as a child, and became a prominent actress. Her older sister Julia Wheatley (1819–1904) also danced and performed as an actress. But Julia was best known for her singing talents, and, as a teenager, she became the contra-alto of an Italian Opera company performing in New York (Joseph N. Ireland, Records of the New York Stage from 1750 to 1860 [New York: T. H. Morrell, 1866], 1:457–458). Born in Nova Scotia, Sarah Ross Wheatley (1790–1872) began acting on the Park Theatre stage in 1805. She was notable for her portrayals of elderly women, especially her role as Juliet's nurse in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Sarah married the actor and Irish entertainer Frederick Wheatley (1779?–1836). She and her husband were the parents of the actress Emma Wheatley (1822–1854), the opera singer Julia Wheatley (1819–1904), and the actor and theatre manager William Wheatley (1816–1876). Fanny Kemble (1809–1893) was the eldest daughter of Charles Kemble (1775–1854), an actor, and his wife, Maria Theresa Kemble (1774–1838), who was an actress, singer, dancer, and playwright. Fanny was born in London and educated in Paris, and she went on to become an actress, performing in the United States and in Britain. She acted in many principal women's roles of the era, including playing Juliet in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and Beatrice in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Charles Kean (1811–1868) was an English actor and the son of the English Shakespearean stage actor Edmund Kean (1787–1833) and Mary Chambers, also a leading actress. Charles Kean married the actress Ellen Tree Kean (1805–1880), and the couple acted in productions together in London and made a visit to the United States in the mid-1840s. Charles was known for a series of Shakespearean revivals that aimed for authenticity, including historically accurate costuming. Jacob Barker (1779–1871) was a banker and a legislator. He was one of the founders of Exchange Bank on Wall St. and a director of the Life and Fire Insurance Company of New York. In 1814, he was among those who helped save the Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington from the burning White House under the order of then First Lady Dolley Madison (1768–1849), wife of James Madison (1751–1836), the fourth president of the United States ("Barker, Jacob," Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607–1896 [Chicago: The A. N. Marquis Company, 1963], 40). William Wheatley (1816–1876) was a popular and successful American stage actor, and a favorite of audiences in Baltimore and Philadelphia. He started performing at the Park Theatre as a child, acted in numerous plays, and, later, leased and managed Niblo's Garden in New York. Whitman is likely referring to Jane Marchant Fisher Vernon (1792–1869), a popular actress, who performed on the stage at the Park Theatre for many years. Henry Placide (1799–1870) was born in South Carolina, and he later performed on stage at the Park Theatre as a comedian and a singer. Thomas Placide (1809–1877) was an American actor of French descent who some described as a "very capital low comedian," while others claimed he was "one of the most careful of actors." Regardless, his career was very successful. "[H]e played in the principal theatres in the Union," such as the Chatham Garden and Park Theatres in New York City, and managed his own theatre in New Orleans during the 1850s. See N. M. Ludlow, Dramatic Life as I Found It: A Record of Personal Experience (St. Louis: G. I. Jones and Company, 1880), 703–706; O. A. Roorbach, Actors as They Are: A Series of Sketches of the Most Eminent Performers Now on the Stage (New York: O. A. Roorbach, 1856), 75–77. John Sefton (1805–1868) was an English actor who gained renown throughout New York for his portrayal of Jemmy Twitcher in the play, the Golden Farmer. He played an "English pickpocket" and his performance was considered a "unique and laughable personation, that has never been equaled in this country." By 1845, Sefton had played Jemmy Twitcher 360 times in New York City. At one point, he served as the "stage-manager" of the Garden Theatre in New York City (Joseph N. Ireland, Records of the New York Stage from 1750 to 1860 [New York: T. H. Morrell, 1867], 2:167, 444; N. M. Ludlow, Dramatic Life as I Found It: A Record of Personal Experience (St. Louis: G. I. Jones and Company, 1880), 326, 502). Charlotte Cushman (1816–1876), an American stage actress who also lived in Europe and was adept at playing both male and female roles. Some of her more notable roles were in Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, with Cushman even performing at the Globe Theatre. In 1848 Cushman met and became romantically involved with journalist and actress Matlida Hayes (1820–1897); the couple had a ten-year relationship. Part of the Ravel family troupe, Charles Winther was a "graceful and daring" rope equilibirst and performer (Joseph N. Ireland, Records of the New York Stage from 1750 to 1860 [New York: T. H. Morrell, 1867], 2:364). Little is known about Mrs. G. Barrett, who was an actress and the wife of the British actor George Horton Barrett (1794–1860). Born in France, Adelaide Lehmann (1830–1851) was a dancer who performed with her sisters as part of the family troupe, The Lehmann family. They toured the United States in the 1840s. Whitman may be referring to the actor and elocutionist George Vanderhoff (1820–1885). For this advertisement, see "Matrimony," The New York Herald (August 4, 1848), [3]. Silvanus S. Riker (1822?–1897) was president of the Washington & Georgetown Railroad, for which Peter Doyle worked. Frederick Kelly, Charles McLaughlin, and Thomas Riley were listed as New York drivers. Probably Franklin Rives, of F. & J. Rives and George A. Bailey, publishers in Washington. The nature of the barroom brawl at Bergazzi's (mentioned also in Walt Whitman's November 21, 1873, and November 28, 1873, letters to Peter Doyle) is not ascertainable. The Roberts Brothers firm was established in Boston in 1863. Though it introduced such authors as Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Morris, Joaquin Miller, Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Emily Dickinson, it became famous for the works of Louisa May Alcott. After All, Not to Create Only was the only work of Walt Whitman that the firm published. It has been suggested that Bronson Alcott persuaded Roberts to undertake the work; see Raymond L. Kilgour, Messrs. Roberts Brothers, Publishers (1952), 107. The house merged with Little, Brown and Co. in 1898. On April 12, 1868, William Michael Rossetti informed Walt Whitman that this review had been composed by a Mr. Robertson, "a Scotchman of acute intellectual sympathies." Rossetti had restored the passages "cut out by a less ardent Editor" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 2:123). John M. Rogers was a Brooklyn driver. George Sand's A Rolling Stone was translated from French by Carroll Owen and published in English 1871. Andrew and Thomas Rome were old Brooklyn friends of Walt Whitman. In their printing establishment Whitman set up the first edition of Leaves of Grass. Henry Rome was a fellow inmate of Jesse Whitman in the Asylum. See "Introduction." Rondout is a Hudson River port town. Carl Rosenberg was a friend of Rudolf Schmidt. According to Schmidt's February 28, 1874, letter, an eight-column review of Walt Whitman's works appeared in the Fatherland (Fædrelandet): "The author of the criticism Rosenberg is a silly little fellow, who understands nothing between heaven and earth, and least of all, you" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). See Orbis Litterarum, 7 (1949), 49n. William Michael Rossetti prepared a British edition of Whitman's writings called Poems by Walt Whitman that John Camden Hotten published in 1868. About half of the poems from the 1867 American edition of Leaves of Grass were removed for the British edition. In his twenty-seven page "Prefatory Notice," Rossetti justified his editorial decisions, which included editing potentially objectionable content and removing entire poems: "My choice has proceeded upon two simple rules: first, to omit entirely every poem which could with any tolerable fairness be deemed offensive to the feelings of morals or propriety in this peculiarly nervous age; and, second, to include every remaining poem which appeared to me of conspicuous beauty or interest." For more information on this book, see Edward Whitley, "Introduction to the British Editions of Leaves of Grass." Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882), brother of Christina and William Michael Rossetti, was an English poet, translator, and painter. His highly stylized portraits of women influenced the development of the Symbolist movement in Europe. His brother William Michael Rossetti was one of Whitman's most influential European editors and supporters. William Michael Rossetti (1829–1915), brother of Dante Gabriel and Christina Rossetti, was an English editor and a champion of Whitman's work. In 1868, Rossetti edited Whitman's Poems, selected from the 1867 Leaves of Grass. Whitman referred to Rossetti's edition as a "horrible dismemberment of my book" in his August 12, 1871, letter to Frederick S. Ellis. Nonetheless, the edition provided a major boost to Whitman's reputation, and Rossetti would remain a staunch supporter for the rest of Whitman's life, drawing in subscribers to the 1876 Leaves of Grass and fundraising for Whitman in England. For more on Whitman's relationship with Rossetti, see Sherwood Smith, "Rossetti, William Michael (1829–1915)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). William Michael Rossetti edited the series Moxon's Popular Poets from 1870 to 1875. The volume of American poems to which he refers was to be the seventeenth volume in the series and was dedicated to Walt Whitman; it was published in 1872. William Michael Rossetti's tract "Italian Courtesy Books" was published by the Early English Text Society in June 1869. Anne Gilchrist's "A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman" appeared in the May 1870 issue of the Boston Radical, 7 (1870), 345–359, reprinted in In Re Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), ed. by Horace L. Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas B. Harned, 41–55, and The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, ed. Thomas B. Harned [New York: Doubleday, Page, 1918], 3–22. Gilchrist is only vaguely referred to as "The Lady" by William Michael Rossetti on October 8, 1871, and "the English lady" by Rudolf Schmidt on February 5, 1872, making it unclear whether her authorship of the article was known by Whitman's friends. In his twenty-seven page "Prefatory Notice" to the 1868 British Poems by Walt Whitman, William Michael Rossetti justified his editorial decisions, which included editing potentially objectionable content and removing entire poems: "My choice has proceeded upon two simple rules: first, to omit entirely every poem which could with any tolerable fairness be deemed offensive to the feelings of morals or propriety in this peculiarly nervous age; and, second, to include every remaining poem which appeared to me of conspicuous beauty or interest." For more information on Rossetti's book, see "Introduction to the British Editions of Leaves of Grass." On November 22, 1867, Walt Whitman sent William Michael Rossetti a letter and a sketch of a proposed title page for the English edition of his poems. Whitman suggested the page read, "WALT WHITMAN'SJohn Morley (1838–1923), a statesman as well as a man of letters, was editor of the London magazine the Fortnightly Review from 1867 to 1882. He had visited Walt Whitman in February 1868; see Morley's Recollections (1917), II, 105. Morley wrote on January 5, 1869 that he could not print Walt Whitman's poem "Thou vast Rondure, Swimming in Space" until April 1869: "If that be not too late for you, and if you can make suitable arrangements for publication in the United States so as not to interfere with us in point of time, I shall be very glad." Unaccountably, the poem did not appear in print.
On November 7, 1867, Conway had written a note introducing John Morley; see also Whitman's December 17, 1868 letter to Morley.
Although the North River is a name which best describes the south Hudson River, the name has been used to describe the entirety of the Hudson River or any number of segments therein. The name "North River" was given to the Hudson by Dutch settlers in the early 1600s but fell out of general use in the 1900s. Jean "Jenny" O'Connor was the daughter of William Douglas and Ellen M. O'Connor, with whom Walt Whitman lived for a time in Washington. After William moved out following a disagreement with Ellen and Whitman, William continued to support Jenny with his government paychecks. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), "Orbic Literature" was an article first solicited by Walt Whitman in his April 30, 1868, letter to William Conant Church and Francis Pharcellus Church, publishers of the Galaxy. On May 15, 1868, Francis Church wrote that, after consultation with new financier Mr. Sheldon, "I am obliged to come to the conclusion that for the present at least, it is best that it should not be published in The Galaxy," possibly as a consequence of the essay's length. Louis J. Kern has referred to "Orbic Literature" as a "literary declaration of independence" for the New World; see Kern, "'The United States Themselves [Are] Essentially the Greatest Poem': Fraternity, Personalism, and a New World Metaphysics in Democratic Vistas," American Poetry: Whitman to the Present (special issue of SPELL [Swiss Papers in Language and Literature] 18), ed. Robert Rehder and Patrick Vincent (Tübingen, Germany: Gunter Narr, 2006), 21–34. The essay finally appeared in Democratic Vistas. On April 13, 1870, Francis Bret Harte (1836–1902) replied for the Overland Monthly: "I fear that the 'Passage to India' is a poem too long and too abstract for the harty and material-minded readers of the O. M." (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1964), 5 vols., 1, 28). Though Whitman liked Harte's 1869 short story "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 4:208), he felt that "somehow when [Harte] went to London the best American in him was left behind and lost" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 1:28). In a newspaper interview in 1879, Whitman objected to Harte's "ruffians and delirium tremens specimens. ... I think it is an outrage. He seems to me to have taken Dickens' treatment of the slums of London and transferred it to California." See Robert Hubach, "Three Uncollected St. Louis Interviews of Walt Whitman," American Literature, 14.2 (May 1942), 146. On January 28, 1877, Walt Whitman delivered a lecture on Thomas Paine (1737–1809) at Lincoln Hall in Philadelphia in commemoration of the anniversary of Paine's 140th birthday. A bust of Paine was also inaugurated at this celebration. The speech (which Whitman entitled "A true Reminiscence of Thomas Paine" in his January 24, 1877, letter to Mr. and Mrs. Damon Y. Kilgore) was published the next day in the New York Tribune as "Walt Whitman on Thomas Paine" and was reprinted in Specimen Days as "In Memory of Thomas Paine." Catherine Nash married Peter Doyle, Sr. on January 16, 1831. Although Walt Whitman claimed that Peter Doyle, Sr., had drowned, a Peter Doyle, age 66, Irish native, died in Manhattan, on August 4, 1865, of "Debility" and was buried in Calvary Cemetery (see Vital Records, New York City Department of Records and Information Services, Municipal Archives, New York, New York). Catherine Doyle died on May 24, 1885—within a day of the anniversary of the death of Whitman's mother. See also Martin G. Murray's "Pete the Great: A Biography of Peter Doyle." Peter the Hermit (1050?–1115) was a priest who led members of the People's Crusade (a faction of the First Crusade in 1096) to the Holy Land. When his followers were killed by Seljuk forces in the winter of 1096, Peter never returned from a supply run to Constantinople but instead joined Godfrey of Bouillon before attempting to desert. Clemens Petersen (1834–1918), for ten years a critic for the Danish magazine "Fædrelandet" (Fatherland), left Denmark in 1869 amid police accusations of homosexuality; accusations that Petersen was inappropriately involved with schoolchildren were never proven. Petersen remained in the U.S. until 1904, when he returned to Denmark. Petersen and Norwegian poet Björnstjerne Björnson (1832–1910) engaged in a long correspondence, suggesting a close friendship. Rudolf Schmidt pressed Walt Whitman for his opinion of Petersen, as in his February 28, 1874, letter: "I have asked you at least two times how you did like Clemens Petersen; you have not replied and most probably you wont speak of this matter. If that is the case, I shall repeat the question no more." See Who's Who in Gay & Lesbian History, ed. Robert Aldrich and Garry Wotherspoon (London: Psychology Press, 2000), 2:55, 343; see also Carl Roos, "Walt Whitman's Letters to a Danish Friend," Orbis Litterarum, 7 (1949), 43n. Plymouth Rock is the traditional landing place of William Bradford and the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower upon arriving in Massachusetts in 1620. Edward Alfred Pollard (1837–1872) was the author of many books about the Civil War, almost exclusively from a Southern perspective. Pollard penned a three-volume account of the Civil War, The Southern History of the War, between 1862 and 1864. All that is known about Alfred Pratt is contained in this letter and those of June 10, 1865, August 7, 1865, August 26, 1865, September 27, 1866,, January 29, 1867, July 25, 1867, October 28, 1867, July 1, 1869, September 29, 1869, January 20, 1870, and March 15, 1870. All that is known about Alfred Pratt and his parents is contained in this letter and those of June 10, 1865, August 6, 1865, August 7, 1865, August 26, 1865, September 27, 1866, January 29, 1867, July 25, 1867, September 29, 1867, October 28, 1867, July 1, 1869, January 14, 1870, January 20, 1870, and March 15, 1870. John B. Pratt (1820–1906), a cooper and laborer in the wood products industry, and Nancy Pratt (1826–1912) were the parents of Alfred E. Pratt (1847–1900). Alfred Pratt was a farmer and a Union soldier; he served as a private in the 8th Regiment, New York Cavalry during the U. S. Civil War and was recovering from an illness when he met Whitman at Armory Square Hospital in Washington, D. C. Whitman communicated with Pratt's parents about their son's condition. Additional information about Pratt is contained in this letter and those of June 10, 1865, August 6, 1865, August 7, 1865, August 26, 1865, September 27, 1866, January 29, 1867, July 25, 1867, September 29, 1867, October 28, 1867, July 1, 1869, January 14, 1870, and January 20, 1870. John B. Pratt (1820–1906), a cooper and laborer in the wood products industry, and Nancy Pratt (1826–1912) were the parents of Alfred E. Pratt (1847–1900). Alfred Pratt was a farmer and a Union soldier; he served as a private in the 8th Regiment, New York Cavalry during the U. S. Civil War and was recovering from an illness when he met Whitman at Armory Square Hospital in Washington, D. C. Whitman communicated with John Pratt and his wife about their son's condition. All additional information that is known about the Pratt family is contained in this letter and those of June 10, 1865, August 6, 1865, August 7, 1865, August 26, 1865, September 27, 1866, January 29, 1867, July 25, 1867, September 29, 1867, October 28, 1867, July 1, 1869, January 14, 1870, and January 20, 1870. Alfred E. Pratt (1847–1900) was the son of John B. Pratt (1820–1906), a cooper and laborer in the wood products industry, and Nancy Pratt (1826–1912). Alfred Pratt was a farmer and a Union soldier during the Civil War; he served as a private in the 8th Regiment, New York Cavalry and was recovering from an illness when he met Whitman at Armory Square Hospital in Washington, D. C. Whitman communicated with Pratt's parents about their son's condition. Additional information about Pratt is contained in this letter and those of June 10, 1865, August 7, 1865, August 26, 1865, September 27, 1866, January 29, 1867, July 25, 1867, September 29, 1867, October 28, 1867, July 1, 1869, January 14, 1870, and January 20, 1870. Little is known about Ellen A. Phelps, of Walworth, New York, who married Alfred Pratt in 1868. In the presidential election of 1868, Republican candidate General Ulysses S. Grant defeated Democratic nominee Horatio Seymour with a 214–80 electoral advantage (Grant received 400,000 more popular votes); incumbent Andrew Johnson did not receive the Democratic Party's nomination after his impeachment and general unpopularity while in office. The race was marked by a close popular vote, although Grant's success as a Union general during the Civil War is widely acknowledged as significant to his presidential victory. After Pennsylvania went Republican in the elections held on October 13, 1868, the New York Times remarked editorially on the following day: "This splendid civil triumph of Gen. Grant is only surpassed by his brilliant military achievements ("The Great Victory!," The New York Times [November 4, 1868]). Abby Price's son, Arthur, joined the navy and became second assistant engineer on the steamer "Ossipee"; see Walt Whitman's address book (The Library of Congress #109). Whitman wrote about a visit from Arthur Price in his January 1, 1872, letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Emily ("Emmy" or "Emma") Price was the daughter of Abby and Edmund Price. Helen Price was the daughter of Abby and Edmund Price. In Greek mythology, the sun-god Apollo killed the serpent Python at Delphi after a jealous Hera had sent Python to kill Leta, Apollo's mother and mistress of Hera's husband Zeus. A reconstruction bill under discussion aroused bitter controversy. The first Reconstruction Act was passed March 2, 1867. The next day, the Tenure of Office Act was passed, prohibiting the president from removing an appointed official without the approval of the United States Senate. Walt Whitman also mentioned Mrs. Rein in his March 3, 1874, letter to Abby Price. Dr. O. K. Sammis was a hydropathist who practiced medicine in Brooklyn and New York in the decades before the Civil War. See Harold Aspiz, Walt Whitman and the Body Beautiful (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1980), 44. Walt Whitman refers to Sammis in an April 15, 1863, letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman; Sammis had written to Walt Whitman on April 6, 1860. Rudolf Schmidt, a Dane and editor of For Idé og Virkelighed, is credited with introducing Walt Whitman to Scandinavia by quoting translated passages from Leaves of Grass in an 1872 essay in his magazine. He wrote to Walt Whitman on October 19, 1871: "I intend to write an article about yourself and your writings in the above named periodical which is very much read in all the Scandinavian countries. ... I therefore take the liberty to ask you, if you should not be willing to afford some new communications of yourself and your poetry to this purpose" (The Library of Congress). Walt Whitman was fond of Salvador Petrola, a cornetist in the Marine Band. See Hans Nathan, "Walt Whitman and the Marine Band," the Bulletin of the Boston Public Library, XVIII (1943), 51, 53. Petrola became the assistant to Louis Schneider, who was appointed conductor in September 1873. See also The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 10 vols., VIII, 9.James Matlock Scovel began to practice law in Camden in 1856. During the Civil War he was in the New Jersey legislature and became a colonel in 1863. He campaigned actively for Horace Greeley in 1872 and was a special agent for the U. S. Treasury during Chester Arthur's administration. In the 1870s, Walt Whitman frequently went to Scovel's home for Sunday breakfast, as he did on December 2 and 9, 1877 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). For a description of these breakfasts, see Walt Whitman's Diary in Canada, 59–60. For Scovel, see George R. Prowell's The History of Camden County, New Jersey (1886).
Apparently Walt Whitman sent this note to Scovel, who was hospitalized
shortly before the presidential election in 1876. The Camden lawyer included
it in an article entitled "Walt Whitman.
A Symposium in a Sick Room,"
which appeared in the Camden Daily Post on November
18, 1876. Scovel was one of Walt Whitman's publicity agents at this time
(see Whitman's July 31, 1875, letter to Rudolf
Schmidt).
In the Charles E. Feinberg Collection there are three receipts written by Walt Whitman and signed by Tasistro. On April 26, 1872, Tasistro acknowledged $70. On April 29, 1872, he accepted an additional $25, and on May 14, 1872, $10. On August 3, 1872, in his own hand, Tasistro signed a receipt for $17. On the verso Walt Whitman noted the total of $122: "also $10 more handed by W. W. to Mr. Tasistro." On October 24, 1872, Walt Whitman wrote: "also about $25 more in different sums since." See Walt Whitman Review, VII (1961), 14–16.
For more on Thayer and Eldridge, publishers of the third edition of Leaves of Grass, see "Thayer, William Wilde (1829–1896) and Charles W. Eldridge (1837–1903)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), Tip was Walt Whitman's dog, whose color was "little yellow & white," and who he describes as "a most faithful affectionate companion" in his March 3, 1874, letter to Abby Price. Maggy Tripp was Priscilla Townsend's sister, so Louisa Van Velsor Whitman informed her son on April 3(?), 1873 (Trent Collection, Duke University). Sir Hubert von Herkomer (1849–1914) was a Bavarian painter who resided in England and was professor of Fine Arts at Oxford from 1885 to 1894. He was correctly cited as "Hubert" in the draft of this letter as well as in Whitman's Commonplace Book, in which Walt Whitman noted forwarding two volumes on October 24, 1876. The Walls Opera House was located on 9th Street in Washington, D. C., between Constitution Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue. In 1931, the federal government purchased the property in order to demolish it to make way for the Federal Triangle office buildings. Walt Whitman wrote for the first time to distinguished American sculptor John Quincy Adams Ward (1830–1910) on April 12, 1876. Ward (1830–1910) was, according to Dictionary of American Biography, "the first native sculptor to create, without benefit of foreign training, an impressive body of good work." Ward informed Walt Whitman on April 23, 1876, that on May 1, 1876, he would order five sets of the new edition of Leaves of Grass (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 2:278). The order was sent on June 1, 1876 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection); Walt Whitman noted receipt of $50 from Ward on June 6, 1876 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). White Rose and Red, A Love Story was published by Osgood & Co. in 1873. The name of the author, Robert Williams Buchanan (1841–1901), did not appear on the title page, but there was the following inscription: "To Walt Whitman and Alexander Gardiner, with all friends in Washington, I dedicate this book." Whitman stayed with Dr. George A. White, a chiropodist, and his wife Isabella A. White from March 1, 1871, until the poet left Washington following his stroke in 1873. Whitman had paid $236 in rent through June 10, 1873. On November 28, 1873, Dr. White acknowledged for his wife receipt of $25 "on account . . . for rent of room etc from May 1st/73." Whitman gave up one room at the Whites' on June 10, 1873: "Kept the other at $2.50 a month" (Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts, ed. Edward F. Grier [New York: New York University Press, 1984], 2:942). According to a letter dated July 29, 1874, Isabella White had written, evidently early in July, about the rent due for his room; Whitman's reply is not extant. On the 29th, White offered to purchase Whitman's bedstead and certain other effects. Whitman had not settled his account when White wrote again on October 6, 1874, and offered him a credit of $10 for his furnishings against a balance of $38. See also Walt Whitman's July 10, 1874, letter to Peter Doyle, in which Whitman left instructions for the delivery of his boxes from the Whites. Whitman stayed with Dr. George A. White, a chiropodist, and his wife Isabella A. White from March 1, 1871, until Whitman left Washington following his stroke in 1873. Whitman had paid $236 in rent through June 10, 1873. On November 28, 1873, Dr. White acknowledged for his wife receipt of $28 "on account . . . for rent of room etc from May 1st/73." Whitman gave up one room at the Whites' on June 10, 1873: "Kept the other at $2.50 a month" ("Payments to Dr. and Mrs. White," Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman Papers, 1842–1937, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts, ed. Edward F. Grier [New York: New York University Press, 1984], 2:942). Isabella White had written, evidently early in July, about the rent due for his room; Whitman's reply is not extant. In this letter, she offered to purchase Whitman's bedstead and certain other effects. Whitman had not settled his account when White wrote again on October 6, 1874, and offered him a credit of $10 for his furnishings against a balance of $38. See also Whitman's July 10, 1874, letter to Peter Doyle, in which Whitman left instructions for the delivery of his boxes from the Whites. Whitman stayed with Dr. George A. White, a chiropodist, and his wife Isabella A. White from March 1, 1871, until Whitman left Washington following his stroke in 1873. Whitman had paid $236 in rent through June 10, 1873. On November 28, 1873, Dr. White acknowledged for his wife receipt of $28 "on account . . . for rent of room etc from May 1st/73." Whitman gave up one room at the Whites' on June 10, 1873: "Kept the other at $2.50 a month" ("Payments to Dr. and Mrs. White," Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman Papers, 1842–1937, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts, ed. Edward F. Grier [New York: New York University Press, 1984], 2:942). Isabella White had written, evidently early in July, about the rent due for his room; Whitman's reply is not extant. In her letter of July 29, 1874, she offered to purchase Whitman's bedstead and certain other effects. Whitman had not settled his account by the time White wrote this letter and offered him a credit of $10 for his furnishings against a balance of $38. See also Whitman's July 10, 1874, letter to Peter Doyle, in which Whitman left instructions for the delivery of his boxes from the Whites. A sister of George Washington Whitman's wife Louisa. The friendship between Whitman and Wilson, a former U. S. Civil War soldier, can be reconstructed from Wilson's letters (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On July 18, 1869, Wilson recalled his confinement in Armory Square Hospital (as mentioned in Whitman's November 8–9, 1863, letter to Lewis K. Brown), "when your kind face & pleasant words cheered the soldier Boys & won their hearts. I never shall forget the first time you came in after David & I got there. We Loved you from the first time we spoke to you." In Wilson's first letter, written on November 11, 1865, he began: "I suppose you will think that I have forgotten you long before this time but I have not, your kindness to me while in the hospital will never be forgotten by me." After a lapse in the correspondence, he wrote on December 16, 1866: "I wish if aggreeable to yourself to keep up a regular correspondence between us ... I think it will be of benefit to me morally, and perhaps will not be of any detriment to you." In this letter he admitted that he had just discovered that Whitman was a poet. On January 27, 1867, he informed Whitman that he had been reading Leaves of Grass, but complained: "I wrote to you a year and more ago that I was married but did not receive any reply, so I did not know but you was displeased with it"; he concluded the letter: "I remain as ever yourJohn Morley (1838–1923), a statesman as well as a man of letters, was editor of the Fortnightly Review from 1867 to 1882. He had visited Walt Whitman in February; see Morley's Recollections (1917), 2:105. Morley replied on January 5, 1869 that he could not print Walt Whitman's poem ("Thou vast Rondure, Swimming in Space") until April: "If that be not too late for you, and if you can make suitable arrangements for publication in the United States so as not to interfere with us in point of time, I shall be very glad." Unaccountably, the poem did not appear in print.
On November 7, 1867, Conway had written a note introducing John Morley; see also Whitman's December 17, 1868 letter to Morley.
Walt Whitman was misleading: A. Bronson Alcott wrote on January 7, 1868. See Whitman's April 26, 1868 letter to Alcott. On February 1, 1868, Conway called Whitman's attention to his review of Swinburne's book on Blake in the Fortnightly Review, 9 (1868), 216–220. Swinburne, at the conclusion of William Blake: A Critical Essay, pointed out similarities between Whitman and Blake, and praised "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking" and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," which he termed "the most sweet and sonorous nocturn ever chanted in the church of the world" ([London: John Camden Hotten, 1868], 300–303). Included in Songs before Sunrise (1871) was his famous lyric "To Walt Whitman in America." For the story of Swinburne's veneration of Walt Whitman and his later recantation, see Harold Blodgett, Walt Whitman in England (Cornell: Cornell University Press, 1934), 103–121. Moncure Conway acted as Walt Whitman's agent in England. He was not able to sell the poem to an English journal. Burroughs observed in the second edition of his Notes on Walt Whitman as a Poet and Person (1871): "The manuscript of 'Passage to India' was refused by the monthly magazines successively in New York, Boston, San Francisco, and London" (123). In his April 22, 1870 letter, Whitman had asked Conway to solicit "Passage to India" to publishers in England. Conway's letter is not known, but he was unable to sell the poem to an English journal. Walt Whitman's transcription of Emerson's famous letter of 1855 (see Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977], 1:41) is with the letter to Conway. Democratic Vistas. The year is established by the references to the 1876 edition. Perhaps Conway visited Walt Whitman on March 18, 1876. According to Whitman's February 24, 1876 letter to Ellen O'Connor, Conway was to return to England about the middle of March 1876. For the subsequent controversy, see Whitman's April 7, 1876 letter to William Michael Rossetti. On May 26, 1874, Thomas A. Wilson had offered Walt Whitman a lot on Royden Street for $450. Whitman wrote of the sale in his July 10, 1874 letter to Peter Doyle. Walt Whitman did not move into his own "shanty" until 1884. See Whitman's February 24, 1876 and February 29, 1876 letters to Ellen O'Connor.Walt Whitman sent "Proud Music of the Sea-Storm" (later called "Proud Music of the Storm"), which James T. Fields, editor of the Atlantic Monthly, promptly accepted for the magazine; the poem appeared in the February 1869 issue of the magazine.
In 1888 Horace Traubel asked Whitman why he had appealed "to Emerson as a mediator": "For several reasons, I may say. But the best reason I had was in his own suggestion that I should permit him to do such things for me when the moment seemed ripe for it" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 2:22).
James T. Fields (1817–1881) succeeded James Russell Lowell as editor of the Atlantic Monthly. After Emerson delivered the poem to him, Fields sent $100 to Whitman on December 5, 1868. He informed Whitman on December 14, 1868 that if he was to get the poem into the February issue it would be impossible to send proof to Washington. This was the second of Whitman's poems to appear in the Atlantic Monthly; "Bardic Symbols" was published in the Atlantic Monthly of April 1860. See also Whitman's January 20, 1860, letter to James Russell Lowell and his March 2, 1860, letter to the editor of the Atlantic Monthly. Whitman reported receipt of $100 in his December 8, 1868 letter to Fields, in which he also indicated that he had not yet received the 30 copies of the Atlantic. In a postscript to her letter of March 20, 1867, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman added: "last evening sis swallowed a penny, Jeff was very much alarmed about it but she is bright enough now."Walt Whitman first wrote of Andrew J. Kephart in his February 26, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Kephart was a soldier from Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, admitted from the 44th Regiment Infantry for bleeding at the lungs.
Whitman also wrote about Kephart's recovery in his March 5, 1867 and March 12, 1867 letters to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, and at the time of the poet's April 2, 1867 letter, Kephart had "quite recovered."
The Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–1867) befriended the Whitman family and became especially close to Jeff and Mattie. Late in life, Ruggles lost interest in his practice and devoted himself to painting cabinet pictures called "Ruggles Gems."
Obituaries appeared in the New York Evening Post, March 11, 1867, and in the Round Table, 5 (1867), 173. The author of the obituary in the New York Tribune, on March 12, 1867, lamented the fact that Ruggles had abandoned his profession to produce "Ruggles Gems": "The public gained nothing by the change, and we regret Dr. Ruggles' death, not because we have lost an artist, but because an excellent man and a worthy citizen has gone to his rest." Jeff and Martha attended the funeral, according to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letter of March 15, 1867.
J. Hubley Ashton, the assistant Attorney General, actively interested himself in Walt Whitman's affairs, and obtained a position for the poet in his office after the Harlan fracas. On March 15, 1867, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote that George expected to sell one of his houses but had to borrow $200 from Jeff. George, she wrote, "is well but begins to look quite old . . . ." On March 20, 1867, Hannah Heyde wrote excitedly about her mother's lameness, begged her or one of the boys to visit her in the summer, and extolled Walt Whitman's kindness to her (The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). John H. Surratt, who had been a secret dispatch bearer for the Confederacy and involved, with his mother Anna, in John Wilkes Booth's conspiracy, fled the country before the murder of Abraham Lincoln. He remained a fugitive until he was arrested in Egypt in 1866. Unlike his mother, who had been convicted by a military tribunal and ordered hanged on July 7, 1865, the son was tried in a civil court, between June 10 and August 10, 1867. Walt Whitman described the trial in his July 25, 1867 letter to Alfred Pratt. When the jury could not agree, a new trial was ordered, but because of inadequate evidence the government quietly released Surratt on June 22, 1868. His sister Anna sought clemency for her mother in 1865, but, presumably because of a conspiracy, her plea never reached the desk of President Andrew Johnson. See David Miller DeWitt, The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1909). Henry Ste. Marie reported the hiding place of John H. Surratt to the American consul in Montreal when Surratt fled there shortly before Lincoln's murder; see DeWitt, The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1909), 187–188, 205–206.Henry Jarvis Raymond (1820–1869) established the New York Daily Times on September 18, 1851. Raymond termed The Good Gray Poet "the most brilliant monograph in our literature" (Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs [Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1931], 35), and invited O'Connor to review Leaves of Grass on December 2, 1866 (see Whitman's December 4, 1866 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman).
Evidently Raymond was considering O'Connor for a position on the New York Times. On May 9, 1867, O'Connor wrote that he had heard from Raymond—"a sort of hankering treatment of the subject, but no offer."
Pasquale Brignoli (1824–1884), the Italian tenor, and Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa (1836–1876), the English soprano, gave a recital at Metzerott Hall, of which the National Republican reported: "Their performances last evening were all that heart and cultivated taste could demand." According to Gay Wilson Allen, "The Singer in the Prison" described Parepa-Rosa's concert in Sing Sing Prison (Walt Whitman Handbook [Chicago, Packard and Company, 1946], 195). Walt Whitman later wrote of this soldier's recovery in his April 23, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. This offer was first described in Walt Whitman's April 23, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. For more information on Walt Whitman's dealings with Lane, see Whitman's January 16, 1863 letter to Thomas Jefferson Whitman. Either William S. or Joseph P. Davis. William S. Davis was a lawyer in Worcester, Massachusetts, whose brother Joseph was in Peru until 1865; Joseph eventually accompanied Jeff to St. Louis. This offer was first described in Walt Whitman's April 23, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. James P. Kirkwood was a New York engineer; in his September 29, 1865 letter, Thomas Jefferson Whitman wrote to Walt Whitman that Kirkwood had gone to St. Louis to construct a water works. Joseph P. Davis, who accompanied Jeff to St. Louis after returning from Peru in 1865.This draft letter is endorsed (by Whitman), "Dion Thomas | Nassau st. bet Beekman & Spru[ce]." Whitman crossed out the draft, and on the back wrote a series of notes labeled "Specimen Days."
In the Clifton Waller Barrett Collection at the University of Virginia, there is an envelope, postmarked October 16, addressed to: "Dion Thomas, | Bookseller, &c | Nassau street, bet. Beekman & Spruce, | New York City."
Michael Doolady, a bookseller and publisher at 448 Broome Street in New York, was the publisher of Ada Clare's Only a Woman's Heart (1866). For Walt Whitman's correspondence with Doolady, see Whitman's letter of November 13, 1867. In 1888 Whitman spoke of "a history and a grief" in connection with the 1867 edition: "It was got up by a friend of mine, a young fellow, printed from type, in New York. One day I received the intelligence . . . that the place had been seized for debt. I received a portion of the books remaining—the most of them were lost" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 2:257). Joseph M. Simonson. Sayles J. Bowen, a Republican, was elected mayor on June 1, 1868, by 74 votes. He was the candidate of Col. J. W. Forney and the Washington Chronicle. The occasion for these ceremonies was the opening of trade and diplomatic relations with China. Anson Burlingame (1820–1870), U.S. Minister to China, was appointed by the Chinese government in 1868 "Envoy Extraordinary and High Minister Plenipotentiary," in which position he was to arrange treaties with the U.S. and other countries. Ulysses S. Grant and Schuyler Colfax, Speaker of the House of Representatives, were the Republican candidates. The New York Times of June 6, 1868, reported on "Mr. Chase and the Presidency—His Views of Party." At this time Salmon P. Chase was Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. For Whitman's relations with Chase, see Ralph Waldo Emerson's January 10, 1863 letter to Chase. Whitman evidently began sending the Chicago Weekly News early in May, for on May 5, 1868, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman noted: "Walter i like the chicago news very much. i never saw one before. i wish whenever you have one you would send it to me." Whitman refers to Horatio Seymour (1810–1886), former governor of New York, and Montgomery Blair (1813–1883), Postmaster General in Lincoln's administration. In January 1868, William Douglas and Ellen O'Connor occupied rented rooms in John and Ursula Burroughs' new house; see Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (New York: Macmillan, 1955), 391. On March 13, 1868, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman asked Walt Whitman about Ursula North Burroughs (1836–1917): "how does mrs Oconor and she get along. mrs. Oconor thought they would not perhaps." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman alluded to the rift between the O'Connors and the Burroughs on August 19, 1868: "i suppose it makes you feel awkard to go to Mr Oconors, their not being friendly and you being friendly to both but when they [the O'Connors] move it will be different. its very disagreable to live in one house and not be on speaking terms." According to Clara Barrus, John Burroughs visited Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in late June 1868 (Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1931], 57). Orville Hickman Browning was still acting Attorney General. Whitman lived at 472 M Street. By September 7, 1868, Walt Whitman was one of only two boarders remaining in the house. On August 19, 1868, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had written: "i dont beleive you ever would be contented any where else. i dont wonder at it for i think you have more true friends there than any other place (i mean those not related to you of course)." William Maxwell Evarts (1818–1901) was chief counsel for Andrew Johnson during the impeachment trial of 1868. As a reward for his services, Johnson appointed Evarts Attorney General later in the year; Evarts was Secretary of State from 1877 to 1881 and U.S. Senator from New York from 1885 to 1891. J. Hubley Ashton, the assistant Attorney General, actively interested himself in Walt Whitman's affairs, and obtained a position for the poet in his office after the Harlan fracas. William Maxwell Evarts (1818–1901) was chief counsel for Andrew Johnson during the impeachment trial of 1868. As a reward for his services, Johnson appointed Evarts Attorney General later in the year; Evarts was Secretary of State from 1877 to 1881 and U.S. Senator from New York from 1885 to 1891. J. Hubley Ashton, the assistant Attorney General, actively interested himself in Walt Whitman's affairs, and obtained a position for the poet in his office after the Harlan fracas. The 1869 Washington Directory listed Mrs. Sarah R. McKnight, artist; see also Walt Whitman's address book (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #109). Since Walt Whitman did not subsequently refer to her, it is doubtful that he sat for his portrait. Before he returned to Washington, O'Connor called on Walt Whitman's mother in Brooklyn, as mentioned in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's November 4, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman. The sale at the American Art Association on March 11, 1924, listed a one-page letter to Burroughs on October 23, 1868, which stated that Walt Whitman intended to spend a few days in New York before he returned to Washington. William Maxwell Evarts (1818–1901) was chief counsel for Andrew Johnson during the impeachment trial of 1868. As a reward for his services, Johnson appointed Evarts Attorney General later in the year; Evarts was Secretary of State from 1877 to 1881 and U.S. Senator from New York from 1885 to 1891. Mr. and Mrs. Newton Benedict were Walt Whitman's landlords at 468 M North, having replaced Juliet Grayson after her death in 1867. Whitman recorded this change in management in his February 12, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. On November 18, 1868, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman reported that Jeff was on his way from St. Louis to Brooklyn (The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). On November 11 (?), 1868, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote: "matty is improving but far from well. the doctor is doctoring her throat with great success. i think he has performed two moderate opperations on her throat, but o dear if you could hear her talk it would make me hoarse to talk a steady stream as she does when any one comes on to see her" (The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). After Jeff's family left, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman complained, on December 14 (?), 1868, that they had not paid for any "provitions" while they stayed in Brooklyn: "i did really think they had ought to give me some [money] but let every thing go but i would ask more than 100$ to go through the same again (burn this letter)" (The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman added a postscript to her letter of December 14 (?): "george has commenced his house. they are digging the cellar" (The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). John Townsend Trowbridge (1827-1916) was a novelist, poet, author of juvenile stories, and antislavery reformer. Though Trowbridge became familiar with Whitman's poetry in 1855, he did not meet Whitman until 1860 when the poet was in Boston overseeing the Thayer and Eldridge edition of Leaves of Grass. He again met Whitman in Washington in 1863, when Trowbridge stayed with Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase in order to gather material for his biography, The Ferry Boy and the Financier (Boston: Walker and Wise, 1864); he described their meetings in My Own Story (Boston: Houghton and Mifflin, 1903), 360–401, with recollections of noted persons. On December 11, 1863, Trowbridge presented to Chase Emerson's letter recommending Whitman; see Emerson's letter from January 10, 1863. Though Trowbridge was not an idolator of Whitman, he wrote to William D. O'Connor in 1867: "Every year confirms my earliest impression, that no book has approached the power and greatness of this book, since the Lear and Hamlet of Shakespeare" (Rufus A. Coleman, "Trowbridge and O'Connor," American Literature, 23 [1951–52], 327). For Whitman's high opinion of Trowbridge, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), 3:506. See also Coleman, "Trowbridge and Whitman," PMLA, 63 (1948), 262–273. On July 20, 1867, Trowbridge had suggested W. H. Piper as "a good man to retail the book." Whitman refers to Windsor Warren Trowbridge (1864–1884); see Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections (New York: AMS, 1949), 75n. In a letter to Walt Whitman of September 13, 1871, Moncure D. Conway quoted from a letter sent to him by Katharine Hillard (1839?–1915): "I have made a discovery since I have been here [in the Adirondacks], and that is, that I never half appreciated Walt Whitman's poetry till now, much as I fancied I enjoyed it. To me he is the only poet fit to be read in the mountains, the only one who can reach and level their lift, to use his own words, to pass and continue beyond." The first meeting of the poet Katharine Hillard with Whitman took place on February 28, 1876, referenced in Whitman's February 29, 1876 letter to Ellen M. O'Connor. A Brooklyn resident, Hillard was a friend of Abby Price (see Whitman's September 9, 1873 letter to Price); in fact, according to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letter to Helen Price on November 26, 1872, the Prices expected that Arthur Price and Katharine Hillard would marry (Pierpont Morgan Library). She was also the translator of Dante's Banquet (1889) and the editor of An Abridgement . . . of The Secret Doctrine . . . by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1907). James C. McGuire (1812–1888) was a collector of Americana; see Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections (Durham: Duke University Press, 1949), 75n.Louis Fitzgerald Tasistro (1808–1875?) came to the United States from Ireland as a young man. He edited a newspaper in New York and later had a brief career on the stage. Subsequently he was a translator for the State Department and a lecturer. He was the author of Travels in the Southern States: Random Shots and Southern Breezes (1842) and translator of Compte de Paris' History of the Civil War in America (1875). On April 26, 1872, Walt Whitman inserted in the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle an appeal for "pecuniary assistance for a man of genius," who was not named. On the following day the Chronicle noted "prompt contributions" from, among others, Samuel Ward. According to Whitman's April 26, 1872 letter to Ward, Tasistro acted as the carrier of Ward's money to Whitman.
In the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., there are three receipts written by Whitman and signed by Tasistro. On April 26, 1872, Tasistro acknowledged $70. On April 29, 1872, he accepted an additional $25, and on May 14, 1872, $10. On August 3, 1872, in his own hand, Tasistro signed a receipt for $17. On the verso Walt Whitman noted the total of $122: "also $10 more handed by W. W. to Mr. Tasistro." On October 24, 1872, Walt Whitman wrote: "also about $25 more in different sums since." See Edwin Haviland Miller, "Walt Whitman and Louis Fitzgerald Tasistro," Walt Whitman Review, 7 (March 1961), 14–16.
Draft letter. J. M. Edmunds (1810–1879) was a postmaster in Washington, D.C., from 1869 to 1879. The phraseology here is uncertain because of the interlineations. The material from here to the end of the paragraph is actually a series of jottings which Walt Whitman intended to clarify, and many of which he no doubt eliminated in the letter. Whitman left space for the insertion of the definition. See Whitman's letter of July 15, 1873. On July 7, 1873, the New York Herald noted: "The Chief Clerkship of the Lighthouse Board, now vacant, will, it is said, be filled by the appointment of William D. O'Connor, who has for some years past been the corresponding clerk of that office and is thoroughly familiar with its details." O'Connor's tenure was brief; as of Walt Whitman's March 12–13, 1874 letter to Peter Doyle, O'Connor had "changed to a clerkship in the Library, Treasury." Since Alden's acceptance of this poem is unmistakably dated November 1, 1873 (Clifton Waller Barrett Collection, University of Virginia), either the date of this letter (which may be a draft) or of Alden's is incorrect. The poem appeared in the February 1874 edition of Harper's New Monthly Magazine. Alden (1836–1919) was managing editor of Harper's Weekly from 1863 to 1869 and editor of Harper's New Monthly Magazine from 1869 until his death.Draft letter.
The London agents for Whitman's books. On April 13, 1874, in a letter not presently available, Walt Whitman acknowledged receipt of $41.54 from Trübner and Company.
Draft letter. "After the lapse of over 8. years," William Stansberry, a former soldier whom Walt Whitman had met in Armory Square Hospital, wrote on December 9, 1873, from Howard Lake, Minnesota, and recalled "the Blackbery [Jam?] you gave me & all the kindness which you shown." After Walt Whitman replied on April 27, 1874 (lost), Stansberry wrote again on May 12, 1874, about the hospital visits. On June 28, 1874, he thanked Whitman for his letter and "22 News Pappers." On July 15, 1874, his wife informed Walt Whitman of her husband's failing health and poverty and inquired about the possibility of a pension. Evidently in reply to another lost letter from Whitman, Stansberry asked on July 21, 1875, for "the Lone of 65$" in order to return to West Virginia, where he expected to find witnesses to support his application for a pension. This was evidently the last letter in the correspondence. These letters are in the The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library. Stansberry's letter was written on May 12, 1874 (The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). Originally Whitman wrote: "Dear, dear comrade—for so I must call you—you have done me good, much good." That this letter was written in 1875 is confirmed by the succeeding notes. In addition, as indicated in Whitman's February 24, 1875 letter to William J. Linton, Whitman had begun plans for a new edition of his works. Whitman suffered a paralytic stroke on February 16, 1875. In Whitman's February 19, 1875, letter to Peter Doyle—one of Whitman's closest comrades and companions—Whitman explained that the stroke affected the "right side" but was "not severe." Moncure D. Conway arrived in America in September 1875; in his September 14, 1875 letter to William J. Linton, Whitman mentioned that Conway had "just arr'd here from England." At the time Whitman wrote to Burroughs he had received, as he said, six letters from the colorful and eccentric John Newton Johnson, a self-styled philosopher from rural Alabama. There are about thirty letters from Johnson in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., but unfortunately there are no replies extant, although Whitman wrote frequently for a period of approximately fifteen years. When Johnson wrote for the first time on September 13, 1874, he was forty-two, "gray as a rat," a former Rebel soldier with an income between $300 and $400 annually, though before the war he had been "a youthful 'patriarch.'" He informed Whitman that during the past summer he had bought Leaves of Grass and after a momentary suspicion that the bookseller should be "hung for swindling," he discovered the mystery of Whitman's verse, and "I assure you I was soon 'cavorting' round and asserting that the $3 book was worth $50 if it could not be replaced. (Now Laugh)." He offered either to sell Whitman's poetry and turn over to him all profits or to lend him money. In the letter he enclosed a gold dollar: "So much grand poetry nearly kills me with the pain of delight." Characteristically, he concluded his letter with an unexpected question: "Walt! Are you Orthodox or Universalist? I am Materialist of late." On October 7, 1874, after describing Guntersville, Alabama, he commented: "Orthodoxy flourishes with the usual lack of flowers or fruit." His amusingly detailed description of his face on November 7, 1875, Whitman marked in red crayon. Thus Johnson became a self-designated philosophical jester to amuse Whitman. See also Charles N. Elliot, Walt Whitman as Man, Poet and Friend (Boston: R. G. Badger, 1915), 125–130. Dowden enclosed a draft for $10 on February 6, 1876. Whitman sent the two books on March 2, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The post card is lost, but Dowden received it on March 14, 1876; see Dowden's Fragments of Old Letters, E. D. to E. D. W., 1869–1892 (London: Dent, 1914), 149. On February 16, 1876, Dowden ordered six copies of the new edition for friends, including Professor Atkinson of Trinity College, Dublin, and Bram Stoker. Whitman mailed the volumes on March 14, 1876, which Dowden mentions in his letter to Whitman dated March 16, 1876. Dowden's first wife was Mary Clerke, whom he had married in 1866. The couple's daughter, Hester Downden (1868–1949), was a noted spiritualist medium. "Walt Whitman: the Poet of Joy," by the Irish poet, Standish James O'Grady, appeared in the Gentleman's Magazine, 15, n.s. (1875), 704–716. See Whitman's January 18, 1872 and March 4, 1876 letters to Dowden. Whitman sent the photograph to O'Grady about October 19, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Peter Bayne (1830–1896), a Scots journalist, in the Contemporary Review attacked Whitman's English admirers, William Michael Rossetti, Dowden, and Robert Buchanan, as well as Leaves of Grass: "While reading Whitman, . . . I realized with bitter painfulness how deadly is the peril that our literature may pass into conditions of horrible disease, the raging flame of fever taking the place of natural heat, the ravings of delirium superseding the enthusiasm of poetical imagination, the distortions of tetanic spasm caricaturing the movements, dance-like and music-measured, of harmonious strength" (28 [December 1875], 49–69). Bayne's diatribe was reprinted in Littell's Living Age, 128 (January 8, 1876), 91–102. See also the Nation, 22 (January 13, 1876), 28–29. In the West Jersey Press Whitman referred to "the scolding and cheap abuse of Peter Bayne" (Clifton Joseph Furness, Walt Whitman's Workshop [Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1928], 246). See also Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931), 121 and 126. Whitman eventually responded to Stoker's February 14, 1876 letter on March 6, 1876. On February 16, 1876, Dowden mentioned a discussion of "The Genius of Walt Whitman" at the Fortnightly Club that had taken place two days earlier.This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle | M Street South | bet 4½ & 6th— | Washington | D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Dec | 20 | N.J."
Although the executors dated this postcard 1878, 1876 seems more plausible; note the similar phraseology in Whitman's December 13, 1876 letter to Doyle and the reference to the weather in Whitman's December 20, 1876 letter to Mannahatta and Jessie Whitman. In 1877 the weather late in December, according to his Commonplace Book, was perfect, and Walt Whitman visited the Gilchrists almost daily. In 1878 there is no indication in Whitman's Commonplace Book (kept by the poet as a diary, a memorandum, and account book, this bound manuscript notebook dates from March 1876 to 30 May 1889) that Whitman wrote to Doyle, or that the weather kept Whitman indoors (note Whitman's December 23–25, 1878 letter to John Burroughs, in which Whitman wrote of going out despite "a sharp spell of cold & gusty winds here these days"). Probably Doyle had answered Whitman's December 13, 1876 letter.
Mr. and Mrs. Nash were old Washington friends of Whitman and Doyle. The poet stayed at their home in 1875 (see Whitman's November 9, 1875 letter to Ellen O'Connor). The Romes were old Brooklyn friends. In their printing establishment Walt Whitman set up the first edition of Leaves of Grass. "A Warble for Lilac-Time" appeared in the Galaxy, 9 (May 1870), 686. For images of the poem as it appeared in the Galaxy, see "Warble for Lilac-Time." This was the second letter Whitman had received from the "Society of Old Brooklynites," requesting him to speak at the Society's Annual Banquet. See the March 2, 1888, letter from Judah B. Voorhees to Whitman. Whitman had been elected to the Society of Old Brooklynites in 1880 (the year the organization was founded); he told Horace Traubel: "I submitted to it as to a necessary courtesy—that was all" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, June 23, 1888). Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810–1876) was a German poet and translator and friend of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. His review in the Augsburg Allgemeinen Zeitung on April 24, 1868 (reprinted in his Gesammelte Dichtungen [Stuttgart: G. J. Göschen, 1871], 4:86–89), was among the first notices of Walt Whitman's poetry on the continent. (A translation of the article appeared in the New Eclectic Magazine, 2 [July 1868], 325–329; see also Gay Wilson Allen, Walt Whitman Abroad [Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1955], 3–7.) Freiligrath had promised his readers "some translated specimens of the poet's productions," not a complete translation. A sympathetic article on Whitman in the New York Sontagsblatt of November 1, 1868, mentioned Freiligrath's admiration for the American poet. A translation of this article, which Whitman had a Washington friend prepare, is now in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. William D. O'Connor acted as emissary between Whitman and Freiligrath. Whitman's September 27, 1868 letter to O'Connor indicated that O'Connor had provided Whitman with Freiligrath's address, and in his October 4, 1868 letter, Whitman asked O'Connor to write a letter to Freiligrath to follow a package Whitman sent to Freiligrath on November 11, 1868. Written in blue crayon. The note itself was written in ink.The only evidence, which is hardly conclusive, that this note was sent to the Boston Daily Advertiser is the accession record in the Houghton Library at Harvard. "As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free" was not reprinted in this newspaper. However, on June 27, 1872, a correspondent may have used part of Walt Whitman's blurb in his lengthy description of Walt Whitman's appearance before the United Literary Society, where he followed Edward Everett Hale: "He stood up bravely, but did not fill the entire house with his voice. He appeared in his usual eccentric garb, and with a part of his brawny breast bared and his long, white, gray hair and tawny beard, set out by his Byronic collar, made his head and face a study.
"Mr. Whitman calls his poem the 'thread-voice' or 'the spine' of a new series of chants illustrating 'an aggregated, inseparable, unprecedented, vast, composite, electric, democratic nationality,' to be published on some far distant day in a book, and be a following of his 'Leaves of Grass,' which he calls 'the song of a great, complete democratic individual.' He seeks to demonstrate that America is to create a new literature, a new poetry, as well as new inventions and power, and to show that the poet of the age must sing vigorously of work, creation and development to be worthy of a hearing in this great epoch. I fear his hearers hardly comprehended his lines, or dreamed at what he was driving, and some in my immediate vicinity were so ungracious as to comment upon it severely, terming it 'words, words, meaningless,' while others characterized it, rather more roughly, 'stuff and nonsense.' But at the close of the reading the compliment of hearty applause was given it. The day must be considered an eventful one in the career of Walt Whitman, for it brought him for the first time within the walls of a college and before a college people."
A dispatch to the New York Times on June 29, 1872, reported that Walt Whitman "was cordially met by the venerable gentlemen sitting upon the platform. He then took his position at the desk and read, with clearness of enunciation, his poem, written for the occasion, 'As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free.' As Mr. Whitman himself said to the writer, 'There is no one expression that could stand as the subject of the poem.'" For another first-hand report of this recitation, see Bliss Perry, Walt Whitman (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1906), 203–205.
Walt Whitman wrote "July." For Alden, see Walt Whitman's undated 1867 letter to William D. O'Connor. According to Rollo G. Silver, "A Broadway Pageant," which had been published in Drum-Taps, was reprinted on September 5, 1868, in the Citizen; see Silver, "Thirty-One Letters of Walt Whitman," American Literature 8.4 (January 1937), 420. The date of this letter is determined by the reference to it in Whitman's October 9–10, 1873 letter to Peter Doyle and by the allusion to the Evangelical Alliance (mentioned in Whitman's October 3, 1873 letter to Eldridge). Endorsed (in unknown hand): "Dr. O. K. Sammis." O. K. Sammis wrote to Walt Whitman on April 6, 1860, and was mentioned in his April 15, 1863 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Henry Stanbery (see Walt Whitman's May 7, 1866 letter to Thomas Jefferson Whitman) sent a letter of resignation on March 11, 1868, and President Johnson acknowledged it on March 12, 1868. The correspondence appeared in the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle on March 14, 1868. Stanbery resigned in order to serve as one of Johnson's counsels during the impeachment proceedings. A reference to the presidential election in the fall. Jeff's offer was to cause excitement and confusion in the Whitman household. Martha bustled about; Louisa Van Velsor Whitman did not know where she was to live, and complained about Martha and the general turmoil. The issue of April 27, 1867 contained Thomas Nast's (1840–1902) illustration "Abraham Lincoln and the Drummer-Boy." Walt Whitman first wrote of this soldier in his April 16, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. An excerpt from this paragraph appeared on May 29, 1875, in the Academy, to which William Michael Rossetti contributed. The article began: "Walt Whitman writes to a correspondent. . . ." See Whitman's May 2, 1875 letter to John Burroughs. See Alfred, Lord Tennyson's July 8, 1874 letter to Whitman. Dowden commented on this letter to his future (second) wife, Elizabeth D. West: "He writes very simply and affectionately and manfully." Dowden also had received about the same time a letter from Burroughs: "A deep alarm possesses Burroughs about Whitman's state of health (he says W. is so inexpressibly dear to him, the earth would seem hardly inhabitable without him.)" See Dowden's Fragments of Old Letters, E. D. to E. D. W., 1869–1892 (London: Dent, 1914), 130. The text is based on a transcription by Carroll Hollis. "Walt Whitman in Europe," signed by Hinton, appeared in the Kansas Magazine, 1 (December 1872), 499–502. William Conant Church (1836–1917), journalist and publisher, was a correspondent for several New York newspapers until he founded the Army and Navy Journal in 1863. With his brother Francis Pharcellus (1839–1906), he established the Galaxy in 1866. Financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon and Company in 1868, and it was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. William published a biography of his life-long friend Ulysses S. Grant in 1897, and Francis wrote for the New York Sun the unsigned piece "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." See Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 332–350; Donald N. Bigelow, William Conant Church & "The Army and Navy Journal" (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952); J. R. Pearson, Jr., "Story of a Magazine: New York's Galaxy, 1866–1878," Bulletin of the New York Public Library, 61 (1957), 217–237, 281–302. On May 15, 1868, Francis P. Church wrote that, after consultation with new financier Mr. Sheldon, "I am obliged to come to the conclusion that for the present at least, it is best that it should not be published in The Galaxy." The essay finally appeared in Democratic Vistas. Though Whitman cited $100 as his fee for previous articles to the Galaxy, he accepted $75 for "Personalism" in his May 18, 1868 letter to Sheldon and Company. Walt Whitman's health had begun to deteriorate; he had written about a "severe cold" with "bad spells [of] dizziness" in his February 2–8, 1869 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Yet in his puff in the Washington Sunday Chronicle on May 9, 1869, Walt Whitman had written about himself: "On the verge of becoming half a centenarian, he retains his accustomed health, eats his rations regularly, and keeps his weight well toward 190 pounds"; reprinted in Emory Holloway, "Whitman as His Own Press Agent," American Mercury 18 (1929), 482. According to Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke, Doyle was suffering a skin eruption popularly known as "barber's itch" and was taken by Whitman to Dr. Charles Bowen for treatment; see The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 8:40–41n. Doyle's suicidal response to the skin irritation was undoubtedly associated with deep-seated feelings of guilt. In this uncharacteristic injunction, Walt Whitman was no doubt exploiting Doyle's Catholicism. Probably a laborer or a conductor. The 1869 Directory listed, however, a number of John Lees. The skin eruption mentioned in Walt Whitman's August 21, 1869 letter to Doyle. A railroad worker, cited in one of Whitman's address books (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #109). Probably a laborer or a conductor. The 1869 Directory listed, however, a number of John Lees. The letter is not known. Apparently lost. It probably contained the money order mentioned in Whitman's August 21, 1869 letter to Doyle. General John Aaron Rawlins (1831–1869) was Grant's aide-de-camp during the Civil War and Secretary of War in 1869. Probably a laborer or a conductor. The 1869 Directory listed, however, a number of John Lees. Perhaps Whitman intended to write "Hassett," the Washington conductor mentioned in his September 25, 1869 letter to Doyle. A railroad worker, cited in one of Whitman's address books (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #109). All that is known about Alfred Pratt is contained in this letter and those of June 10, 1865, August 7, 1865, August 26, 1865, September 27, 1866, January 29, 1867, July 25, 1867, July 1, 1869, and January 20, 1870. Mr. and Mrs. Newton Benedict operated the boarding house after the death of Juliet Grayson on January 7, 1867. This change in ownership was first noted in Walt Whitman's February 12, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Draft letter. The friendship of Walt Whitman with this former soldier can be reconstructed from Wilson's letters in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. On July 18, 1869, Wilson recalled his confinement in Armory Square Hospital (as mentioned in Whitman's November 8–9, 1863 letter to Lewis K. Brown), "when your kind face & pleasant words cheered the soldier Boys & won their hearts. I never shall forget the first time you came in after David & I got there. We Loved you from the first time we spoke to you." In Wilson's first letter, written on November 11, 1865, he began: "I suppose you will think that I have forgotten you long before this time but I have not, your kindness to me while in the hospital will never be forgotten by me." After a lapse in the correspondence, he wrote on December 16, 1866: "I wish if aggreable to yourself to keep up a regular correspondence between us…I think it will be of benefit to me morally, and perhaps will not be of any detriment to you." In this letter he admitted that he had just discovered that Walt Whitman was a poet. On January 27, 1867, he informed Walt Whitman that he had been reading Leaves of Grass, but complained: "I wrote to you a year and more ago that I was married but did not receive any reply, so I did not know but you was displeased with it"; he concluded the letter: "I remain as ever your | Boy Friend | with Love | Benton H. Wilson." Walt Whitman replied (lost), and sent The Good Gray Poet, which Wilson acknowledged in his February 3, 1867 letter. On April 7, 1867, after he informed Walt Whitman that his wife had gone to the hospital for her first confinement (the child was to be named Walt Whitman), he complained: "I am poor and am proud of it but I hope to rise by honesty and industry. I am a married man but I am not happy for my disposition is not right. I have got a good Woman and I love her dearly but I seem to lack patience or something. I think I had ought to live alone, but I had not ought to feel so." In his April 21, 1867 letter, Wilson acknowledged Walt Whitman's reply of April 12: "I do not want you to misunderstand my motives in writing to you of my Situation & feelings as I did in my last letter or else I shall have to be more guarded in my letters to you. I wrote so because you wanted me to write how I was situated, and give you my mind without reserve, and all that I want is your advice and Love, and I do not consider it cold lecture or dry advice. I wish you to write to me just as you feel & express yourself and advise as freely as you wish and will be satisfied." In his September 15, 1867 letter, Wilson wondered why Walt Whitman had not replied. See also Walt Whitman's April 15, 1870 letter to Benton H. Wilson. This draft letter is endorsed, in Whitman's hand, "sent to Abm Simpson— | May 20 '67." Simpson, who, while working for J. M. Bradstreet and Son, had supervised the binding of Drum-Taps (see Walt Whitman's May 2, 1865 letter to Peter Eckler), wrote on May 10, 1867, that he was going into business for himself: "Hearing you are writing another book, [I] would like to print and publish it for you and will give you better advantages than any other publishing house.…One of my reasons for securing your friendship is my appreciation for you as a man, with knowing your life has been devoted to help among those most in need of your assistance." In his May 31, 1867 letter, he informed Walt Whitman that "we have established a Ptg & Publishing House." But, on July 3, 1867, he advised Walt Whitman that after consultation "with several eminent literary men,…though we are favorably impressed,…we deem it injudicious to commit ourselves to its publication at the present time." (These letters are in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.)Draft letter.
After seeing Walt Whitman's name in a newspaper, Sholes (mentioned in Walt Whitman's April 21, 1863 letter to Thomas P. Sawyer) wrote to him from Albany on May 24, 1867. Sholes had occupied a bed next to Lewis Brown's in Armory Square Hospital in 1862 and 1863, and recalled Walt Whitman's visits: "My kind friend (for so you must permit me to call you) I have thought of you many times since I left Washington and how well can I remember you as you came into the Wards with the Haversack under your arm, giving some little necessary here, a kind word there, and when you came to Louis [Brown's] bed and mine how cordialy you grasped our hands and anxiously enquired into our condition. I thank you for all this and you in your lonely moments must be happy in thinking of the good you have done to the many suffering ones during the war." In his June 8, 1867 reply, Sholes reported that his health was excellent, but not his economic lot: he had been an attendant in an insane asylum, a watchman, and a doorkeeper, positions he was able to hold for only short periods of time. (These letters are in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.)
Walt Whitman's letter supplies details about soldiers mentioned earlier in his correspondence: Brown (see Whitman's August 1, 1863 letter to Lewis K. Brown), Bartlett (see Whitman's July 11, 1864 letter to Lewis K. Brown), Taber (see Whitman's August 1, 1863 letter to Lewis K. Brown), Sawyer (see Whitman's April 21, 1863 letter to Thomas P. Sawyer), Dr. Bliss (see Whitman's April 21, 1863 letter to Thomas P. Sawyer), Harris (see Whitman's July 11, 1864 letter to Lewis K. Brown), Curley (see Whitman's August 1, 1863 letter to Lewis K. Brown), and Cate (see Whitman's November 8–9, 1863 letter to Lewis K. Brown).
Walt Whitman was in error: Sholes's letter was dated May 24. Perhaps H. B. Thompson, who wrote to Walt Whitman on July 22, 1869: "You will not remember the writer of this letter.…I wont forget Walt Whitman. I have just read that you have completed your half century. May you live to a ripe old age, loving and beloved. I was reading 'Drum Taps' last night, no man can depict Army life so vividly that had not spent his time amongst the boys." Dr. Charles H. Bowen was a Washington physician. This sentence was lined through. This is an error. According to his November 16, 1866 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, Walt Whitman's salary was $1,600, and he later received a "20 percent addition" (see Whitman's March 5, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). Perhaps Walt Whitman sensed that Sholes was about to ask for a loan due to his poor economic lot. In his December 22, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman, Alonzo S. Bush, a soldier, referred to Anna Lowell, a nurse during the war in Armory Square Hospital: "Tell Miss Lowell that her Kindness to the Solders undr her charge While I was there I never Shall forget." Mrs. H. J. Wright was a nurse during the Civil War at the Mansion House Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #104). In "The Soldiers," published in the New-York Times on March 6, 1865, Walt Whitman wrote: "I have known her for over two years in her labors of love." The passage referring to her did not appear with the rest of the article in Specimen Days.Endorsed (by Walt Whitman): "sent M. Doolady | 448"
Bookseller and publisher, Michael Doolady was the publisher of Ada Clare's Only a Woman's Heart (1866).
Walt Whitman later reduced his order to 90 copies for $31.50 in his February 19, 1868 letter to Anderson and Archer. The publishing history of the 1867 edition of Leaves of Grass is confused. The first issue was printed by Chapin, and Walt Whitman considered asking Henry E. Huntington Library and Son to distribute it; see Whitman's August 26, 1866 letter to William D. O'Connor. One of the later issues, to which Drum-Taps was added, was bound by James Gray, who became bankrupt; see Whitman's October 13, 1867 letter to Dionysius Thomas. Evidently, Anderson and Archer received and bound the sheets in Gray's possession. Dionysius Thomas and Doolady, rather than Henry E. Huntington Library and Son, distributed the book. According to his letter of February 18, 1868, Whitman paid Anderson and Archer $.35 each for binding Leaves of Grass. This draft letter is endorsed, "letter to Messrs. Routledge | Dec. 30, 1867. . . . I sent 'Whispers | of Heavenly Death' | which they printed & paid handsomely for | in gold." The publishers of the Broadway Annual (London) printed two sympathetic accounts of Walt Whitman in 1867. W. Clark Russell termed him one of America's eminent poets, and Robert Buchanan devoted an entire article to Walt Whitman. On December 28, 1867, the New York office of the firm requested "one or two papers or poems" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 1:263). Walt Whitman sent "Whispers of Heavenly Death," which appeared in October 1868, and for which he received $50; Whitman accepted this money as compensation in his February 19, 1868 letter to Routledge and Sons. This draft letter is endorsed, "Sent to N. Y. | Feb. 19, 1868." Walt Whitman had initially requested $120 in his January 17, 1868 letter to Routledge and Sons. Walt Whitman excised the next paragraph: "Allow [me] to say to Mr. E. Routledge—I profoundly approve your idea & enterprise of a Magazine interlinking the two English-speaking nations, and, persevered in, I have no doubt it will be a triumphant success." See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), 4:191. This draft letter is endorsed, "Letter sent to | Edmund Routledge, | Jan. 17, '68." For this correspondence, see Walt Whitman's December 30, 1867 letter to George Routledge and Sons. Whitman ultimately accepted $50 in gold after a period of negotiation, documented in his February 19, 1868 letter to Routledge and Sons. This draft letter is endorsed, "went probably | March 18." On May 9, 1868, Conway informed Walt Whitman: "I regret to say I was unable to do anything with the proof of Personalism. I tried several magazines, but they were already made up for their May numbers" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 4:10). This draft letter is endorsed, "letter to Mr. Morley | reach'd London | probably New Year's | day"; "went by steamer Dec 19 | reach'd London | New Year's." John Morley (1838–1923), a statesman as well as a man of letters, was editor of the Fortnightly Review from 1867 to 1882. He had visited Whitman in February 1868; see Whitman's February 17, 1868, letter to Moncure D. Conway and Morley's Recollections (1917), 2:105. Morley replied on January 5, 1869, that he could not print Walt Whitman's poem ("Thou vast Rondure, Swimming in Space") until April: "If that be not too late for you, and if you can make suitable arrangements for publication in the United States so as not to interfere with us in point of time, I shall be very glad." Unaccountably, the poem did not appear in print. This is a draft letter that Whitman has endorsed, "To Mr. Alcott | April 26 '68." This letter is a reply to Alcott's of January 7, 1868, in which he praised Whitman's "Democracy," and added: "I talked last evening with [Ralph Waldo] Emerson about your strong strokes at the thoughtless literature and Godless faith of this East." Alcott noted receipt of Whitman's letter on April 28, 1868: "Say what men may, this man is a power in thought, and likely to make his mark on times and institutions. I shall have to try a head of him presently for my American Gallery: Emerson, Thoreau, and Walt" (The Journals of Bronson Alcott, ed. Shepard [Boston: Little, Brown, 1938], 391). On the same day, Alcott wrote to Whitman: "Yet think of the progress out of the twilight since your star dawned upon our hazy horizon!" Alcott was so fond of the term "personalism" that he adopted it. The article in question was "Orbic Literature," first solicited by Whitman in his April 30, 1868, letter to William Conant Church and Francis Pharcellus Church. This draft letter is endorsed, "To John Camden Hotten, | February 18, 1868, (went 19th | probably)." John Camden Hotten (1832–1873) printed Swinburne's Poems and Ballads when another publisher withdrew after the book caused a furor. Perhaps because he had lived in the United States from 1848 to 1856, Hotten introduced to an English audience such writers as Robert Lowell, Artemus Ward, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Bret Harte. After his death, his business was purchased by Chatto and Windus. In his letter to Conway on December 5, 1866, O'Connor had suggested Hotten as the English publisher of Walt Whitman: "Seems to me the courage that prints Laus Veneris might dare this" (Yale). Hotten's letter repeated the financial proposals related by Moncure D. Conway, to which Whitman responded in his February 17, 1868 letter to Conway. Hotten was the publisher of this critical essay, which Whitman had expected in his February 17, 1868 letter to Moncure D. Conway. Swinburne at the conclusion of William Blake: A Critical Essay (1868), 300–303, pointed out similarities between Walt Whitman and Blake, and praised "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking" and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," which he termed "the most sweet and sonorous nocturn ever chanted in the church of the world." Included in Songs before Sunrise (1871) was his famous lyric "To Walt Whitman in America." For the story of Swinburne's veneration of Walt Whitman and his later recantation, see Harold Blodgett, Walt Whitman in England (Cornell: Cornell University Press, 1934), 103–121. This draft letter is endorsed, "Note to Routledge & Sons N. Y. | Feb. 22 '68." Walt Whitman had initially requested $120 in his January 17, 1868 letter to Routledge and Sons. He lowered his price to $50 in his February 19, 1868 letter. This draft letter is endorsed, "To Mr. Hotten | went April 25 '68." Hotten wrote about the portrait on April 8, 1868. Whitman first expressed interest in switching the frontispiece in his March 9, 1868 letter to Hotten. At this point in the draft Whitman crudely sketched a face, or "autoportraiture" (Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 1:210). Hotten enclosed on April 8, 1868 a number of newspaper notices of the English edition of Whitman's poems. On April 12, 1868, William Michael Rossetti also sent clippings. Rossetti informed Whitman that this review had been composed by a Mr. Robertson, "a Scotchman of acute intellectual sympathies." Rossetti had restored the passages "cut out by a less ardent Editor." Littell's Living Age reprinted notices on April 25, 1868, from the London Review of Politics, Society, Literature, Art, and Science (16 [March 21, 1868], 288–289), on June 6, 1868, from the Saturday Review (25 [May 2, 1868], 589–590), and on June 12, 1868, from the Athenaeum (April 25, 1868: 585–586); see 9, 4th series (1868), 251–252, 637–640, and 702–703. The critic in The London Review observed: "Walt Whitman is, indeed, the Turner of poets. Sometimes you find a mere blurred mass of colour; then an incomprehensible blaze of light; then a piece of apparent commonplace; and then a picture which overawes the beholder." Rossetti also noted that the Morning Star "had a very handsome notice…but like all literary reviews in that paper a brief one." No other communications with Hotten are extant. Whitman did not reply to Rossetti's letter of April 12, 1868. Whitman deleted the next line of this draft—"I will think about the American agent too, & write"—his answer to Hotten's request of April 8, 1868 for the name of "a good agent" in America (Yale; Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 4:308). This draft letter is endorsed, "To | Ed Routledge | March 24 '68." See Walt Whitman's January 17, 1868 letter to Edmund Routledge. Since this is the last extant letter to Routledge, it is not known whether Whitman actually submitted another poem or article to the Broadway.This draft letter is endorsed, "March 24 | '68 | Note to Mr. Binckley."
The numerous changes made in this draft indicate that Whitman struggled to phrase his refusal tactfully.
John M. Binckley, a Washington lawyer, was associated with the National Intelligencer, was in the Attorney General's office for several years, and in 1869 was Solicitor of Internal Revenue. See also Walt Whitman's August 31, 1867 letter to Binckley. Binckley replied on the same day: "Your wishes admit of easy compliance, since Mr Browning has resolved to make a vacancy of the post of pardon clerk." See Binckley's March 24, 1868 letter to Whitman. Edmund Yates (1831–1894) was the drama critic of the London Daily News, a novelist, and the author of several farces. On a lecture tour of the United States in 1872 and 1873, he met Walt Whitman in Washington in March 1873; see Yates' Fifty Years of London Life: Memoirs of a Man of the World (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1885), 402, and Doyle's comments on Yates's meetings with Walt Whitman, in The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1902), 8:13–14. In 1868 Yates had reviewed the London edition of Whitman's poem in the Leader; Yates's review was quoted generously in a review cited in Whitman's April 28–May 4, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Mr. Philp was one part of Philp & Solomon booksellers in Washington, D.C. This draft letter is endorsed, "Chas Hine | sent May 9 '68 | 800 Broadway | N. Y." Charles Hine (1827–1871) did an early oil painting of Walt Whitman, the engraving of which was the frontispiece for the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass. In 1889 Whitman observed of Hine's portrait: "I don't know but the best of all" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 4:378). Hine's reply to Whitman's letter is not extant, nor is Whitman's second letter written shortly before June 17, 1868. On June 17, 1868, Hine wrote: "Be assured of the high estimate I place upon your gift, and the glowing thoughts to which you have given utterance. 'Leaves of Grass' forever!…My dear old friend, I love you." Whitman visited Hine shortly before his death, a visit mentioned in Whitman's July 26, 1871, letter to William D. O'Connor and his July 28, 1871, letter to Peter Doyle. In Watson's Art Journal, 9 (April 25, 1868), 11–12, appeared "'Sleep': Painted by Charles Hine." The article described his painting of a female nude, and concluded: "We know no picture of modern date that is in any way comparable with it. It is a work, necessarily sensuous, but utterly devoid of sensuality." Notes on Walt Whitman, As Poet and Person (New York: American News, 1867). Hinton's letter in the Rochester Evening Express. The New York Directory for 1867–1868 listed Henry L. Faris, banker, and John E., broker.This draft letter is endorsed, "3d letter | Sept 25 | letters sent | 1st 18th Sept. | 2d—22 | 3d—25th | 4th—29 | 5th Oct 2 | 6th—Oct 6 | 7th Oct 9. | Oct 9—sent papers to | P. D. Harper's & Star | Charley Sorrell—Clipper | Wm Sydnor—Sporting Life | Jas Sorrell—Sporting Life."
These "papers" probably included the September 26, 1868, issue of Harper's Weekly, which contained some of Thomas Nast's brutal cartoons aimed at the Democratic party. The New York Clipper excerpt, "The Oldest American Sporting and Theatrical Journal." The Sorrells were evidently brothers and drivers. William Sydnor was described in an address book as "driver car boy on Pittsburgh's car 7th st" (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #108); Walt Whitman inquired about Sydnor's health in his October 2 (?), 1868 letter to Lewis Wraymond. Sporting Life was a weekly sports magazine.
Since Walt Whitman's first two letters to Peter Doyle are not extant, this is the beginning of an extensive correspondence. Doyle, however, had written on the day Walt Whitman had sent his first letter. Doyle's letter of September 18, 1868 is characteristic. At this point Walt Whitman inserted a direction to himself: "Mention the two letters I have sent." "Whispers of Heavenly Death." Walt Whitman crossed out the following: "I have been with M. (the lady that was there [in] W[ashington] . . ." Perhaps Thomas Hassett, listed in the Washington Directory as a laborer. The name is spelled Hassett in Whitman's October 9, 1868 letter to Doyle. The Washington Nationals defeated the Olympics 21 to 15 on September 21, 1868.Endorsed (by R. M. Bucke?): "Oct. 68."
Draft letter. This draft was written on the verso of Walt Whitman's October 2, 1868 letter to Henry Hurt.
Lewy Wraymond (or Raymond), also called "Pittsburgh," worked for one of the Washington railroads; see Doyle's letter to Walt Whitman on September 27, 1868.
A Washington driver. In writing to Walt Whitman about old New York drivers on June 21, 1874, William H. Taylor, himself a former driver or son of one, referred to "William Baun alias (Baulkey Bill)." Frederick Kelly, Charles McLaughlin, and Thomas Riley were listed as New York drivers. Francis McKinney, a driver, was cited in the New York Directory of 1869–1870. This draft letter is endorsed, "7th letter." Doyle's letter of October 5, 1868 contained gossip about Washington. Whitman refers to William Francis Channing. See Whitman's September 27, 1868 letter to Channing, in which he accepted Channing's invitation to visit Providence. Whitman refers to David Stevens, a driver or a conductor. William James printed this paragraph up to this point, and commented: "Truly a futile way of passing the time, some of you may say, and not altogether creditable to a grown-up man. And yet, from the deepest point of view, who knows the more of truth, and who knows the less,—Whitman on his omnibus-top, full of the inner joy with which the spectacle inspires him, or you, full of the disdain which the futility of his occupation excites?" (Talks to Teachers on Psychology [New York: H. Holt and Company, 1899], 252). Calhoun is cited in two address books (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebooks #108 and #109); the former is dated September, 1870. Calhoun was involved in a street car altercation reported in Whitman's June 21–23, 1871 letter to Doyle. The next edition of Leaves of Grass appeared in 1871–1872. Towers was, like Stevens, a driver or a conductor. In his October 2, 1868 letter to Doyle, Whitman responded to Henry Hurt's request for information about the New York Fire Department. This draft letter is endorsed, "4th letter." At the top of letter, Whitman struck out the sentence, "To me they tell every thing." Doyle's chatty letter of September 27, 1868 was filled with references to his comrades: "Walt you cant think [how] much pleasure i derive from our letters. it seems to me Very often that you are With me and that i am Speaking to you." The Star on September 26, 1868, reported that Hinton spoke on women's rights before the Universal Franchise Association. On the preceding day the newspaper contained a report on the payment Walt Whitman received from the Broadway Magazine: "It is needless to add that no other poet, except Tennyson, commands such a price in England." The Washington Daily Morning Chronicle on September 26, 1868, also noted that Walt Whitman had received "fifty pounds in gold." According to his letter of October 9, 1868, O'Connor had inserted the item in the Star: "It made a great sensation in Washington, and your stock went up enormously." The Black Crook opened at the National Theatre in Washington on September 7, 1868, and ran until September 26, 1868. The play, produced according to the advertisements at a cost of $20,000, included a Parisian ballet and "Transformation Scenes, Incantation Scenes, Cascade Scenes of Real Water, Amazonian Armor." Originally Walt Whitman wrote: "Dear Pete, every word you write is most welcome. I suppose you got a letter from me last Saturday, as I sent one the day before." Walt Whitman deleted: "just to go by myself." Whitman refers to Horatio Seymour (1810–1886), former governor of New York, and Montgomery Blair (1813–1883), Postmaster General in Lincoln's administration. Doyle wrote on September 27, 1868: "Jim Sorrill Sends his love & best respects & says he is alive & kicking but the most thing that he dont understand is that young Lady that said you make such a good bed fellow." Walt Whitman at this point excised: "to a dot—Jimmy dear boy, Jim." Sorrell's brother. The conductor or driver on car 6.Endorsed (in unknown hand): "Mem sent to John Swinton | for publication by WW."
The news item appeared under "Minor Topics" in the New York Times on October 1, 1868. Swinton followed the outline proposed by Walt Whitman, and even quoted at places. The first sentence was Walt Whitman's except for the substitution of "New York" for "Broadway." Swinton wrote: "The pertinacity of the existence of these 'leaves' is certainly remarkable in the face of all attacks and objections; and his admirers can only attribute it to the appearance in our easy-going, imitative literature of an obstinate, tenacious, determined living American man." The Washington Star reprinted the article on October 2, 1868. See also Edwin Haviland Miller, "A Whitman Note to John Swinton," Walt Whitman Review 6 (December 1960), 72–73.
Walt Whitman put a question mark above this word. This was an exaggeration of Freiligrath's intention, or wishful thinking; see Walt Whitman's January 26, 1869 letter to Freiligrath.This draft letter is endorsed, "5th letter | Oct 2. | To Pittsburgh | To Harry Hurt."
"Pittsburgh" was an alias for Lewis Wraymond, with whom Walt Whitman corresponded on October 2, 1868. For Hurt, see Walt Whitman's October 2, 1868 letter to Henry Hurt.
Since this draft consists of scraps of paper pasted together, with vague directions to transpose passages, the text as here given is of necessity conjectural. On October 2, 1868, the New York Times reported that there had been five fires in stables during the week. A fire on October 1, 1868, in the stables of Teunis G. Bergen, a Brooklyn official and U.S. Representative acquainted with Walt Whitman, had caused damage estimated at $1,000 (see Walt Whitman to "Tunis G. Bergen," January 15, 1849, in Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Pres, 1961–1977], 1:37). On September 27, 1868, Doyle informed Walt Whitman that Harry wanted information about the New York Fire Department. After this sentence appeared two notes which Walt Whitman apparently planned to expand in the letter: "Political meeting, at Cooper Institute—the great Hall, mostly under ground—conductor—pistol incident in Brooklyn." A driver. In an entry dated September 7, 1874, in an address book (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #108), Whitman recorded a visit from Stevens, who was at that time a driver in Philadelphia. The latter part of this sentence originally read: "& remember me particular. He is a young man…" Walt Whitman accepted William Francis Channing's offer to visit Providence in Whitman's September 27, 1868 letter to Channing. What was evidently to be the next sentence was stricken: "I wish we could be together on the last trip this evening, & have an hour with each other afterward as usual." Walt Whitman also excised the following: "Political excitement—banners stretched across the streets, &c—processions—" This draft letter is endorsed (by R. M. Bucke?), "'68." Henry Hurt, like Doyle, worked for the Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company. Hurt's reply to this letter on October 5, 1868, written on the company's stationery, had the self-conscious stiltedness of a clerk: "I am pleased to Know that you are enjoying your leave of absence so much; may you continue to do so until you return. Your favor of 2d inst. to me, and papers for others were duly received, and I am requested by the recipients to return their thanks for the same." According to the Washington Chronicle of January 15, 1874, at that time he was the treasurer of the company. The October 3, 1868, issue of the Clipper contained Paul Preston's article "On the 'Five Points,'" part of a series entitled "Reminiscences of a Man about Town." Preston recalled the depravities of the inhabitants, the mixture of races, and the squalid bars and brothels in this "plague spot," which surrounded the intersection of Worth, Park, and Baxter streets in lower Manhattan. This draft letter is endorsed, "6th letter." Doyle concurred in Walt Whitman's opinion in his letter of October 9, 1868: "i think your description of the Procession beats theirs all to pieces." The article in the Herald was lengthy (almost a page and one-half) but factual and colorless: "It were an unending task to describe in detail this monster procession." See Doyle's letter of October 1, 1868. The first draft of the conclusion to this letter read: "I remain well, work a little, & loafe around a good deal, sometimes on the river, or occasionally on Broadway, or take a ride on top of the stage, &c. Well, Pete, that is all this time from… For life your loving comrade. So long—Your loving comrade." Crosby Stuart Noyes (1825–1908) was editor of the Washington Star from 1867 until his death. On September 30, 1868, his newspaper printed his account of "Chicago." This draft letter is endorsed, "8th letter." On the back of the second leaf are a series of drafted lines of poetry that Whitman has marked out. After Pennsylvania went Republican in the elections held on October 13, 1868, the New York Times remarked editorially on the following day: "This splendid civil triumph of Gen. Grant is only surpassed by his brilliant military achievements." Doyle's October 9, 1868 letter contained gossip about Washington friends. In his September 27, 1868 letter to William Francis Channing, Whitman accepted Channing's invitation to visit Providence. Whitman's October 17, 1868 letter to Peter Doyle detailed this visit. O'Connor described in his letter of October 9, 1868, the physical and emotional exhaustion which forced him to leave Washington on September 30, 1868, to vacation at Jamestown, R. I.: "My purpose was to kill two birds with one stone—get well and fix up the 'Carpenter,' but I fear neither are likely to be effected. I feel wretchedly unwell, and can't think of composition." The New York World, October 3, 1868; the quotation is accurate except for the insertion of "carrying." On October 8, 1868, the World, probably borrowing from the New York Times of October 1, 1868, announced "Freiligrath's" translation, and two days later the newspaper reported that "Walt. Whitman visited THE WORLD office yesterday." Walt Whitman excised: "Remember me to Coley, John Towers, Jim Sorrell, Dave Stevens, & all the boys." This draft letter is endorsed, "9th letter." Apparently not extant. Doyle had written on October 14, 1868. This draft letter is endorsed, "10th letter." Doyle's October 14, 1868 letter, dated "Oct 14—4," mentioned the death of a cousin and a plot to assassinate the president: "all the boys sends their love— | Pete X X." Walt Whitman's directions for transposing material are confusing at this point. Possibly in the letter he sent he deleted this sentence, which interrupted his gossip about the ladies.The following notice in the Washington Sunday Morning Chronicle was Walt Whitman's public version of his vacation: "After an absence of some weeks, Walt Whitman, the poet, is just returning, we hear, to his residence and employment in this city. Besides visiting his mother at Brooklyn, and recuperating down Long Island and at Providence and Newport, he has spent quite a while 'loafing at his ease' in New York, among the streets, docks, throngs on Broadway, and upon the waters adjacent to that great metropolis, abandoning himself to one of his favorite spells of studying and enjoying the life and scenes there, not for pleasure alone, but to give color to his characteristic poetry. Mr. Whitman, however, we may say in passing, it is understood among his friends, has been for some time and is now principally engaged on a poem, or a series of poems, intended to touch the religious and spiritual wants of humanity, with which he proposes to round off and finish his celebrated 'Leaves of Grass.' He has also, we hear, completed several magazine pieces for publishers in London, a quarter where his productions appear to be in demand. A small prose book by him, 'Democratic Vistas,' will probably appear the ensuing winter. As we understand, Mr. Whitman returns to Washington all the more robust and healthy from his vacation, and with the prospect and purpose, in the leisurely way usual for him, of considerable literary work in the future."
According to Dictionary of American Biography, Perry (1831–1896) was a poet, journalist, and author of juvenile books. Probably George K. Davis, a jeweller, undoubtedly related to the Davises. Mentioned as a friend of Abby H. Price in Walt Whitman's December 10, 1866 letter to Price. This draft letter is endorsed, "11th letter." Whitman refers to Amasa and William Sprague, manufacturers, first mentioned in his October 21, 1868 letter to Abby H. Price. Whitman announced this intention in his October 14, 1868 letter to Doyle. Walt Whitman wrote at greater length on Martha Whitman's condition in his October 25, 1868 letter to Thomas Jefferson Whitman. This draft letter is endorsed (by Walt Whitman): "2d." Jack Flood was a streetcar conductor in New York, known, according to an unidentified notation on his letter to Walt Whitman, as "Broadway Jack." According to date entries in an address book (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #109), Whitman saw Flood on September 30, 1868, and October 5, 1868, and rode with him on his Second Avenue car; Flood had been a conductor for ten years. After Whitman's return to Washington, there was a brief correspondence, consisting of four extant letters from Whitman (dated November 22, 1868, February 23, 1871, and March 8, 1871?) and one from the young man. Flood, somewhat better educated than some of Walt Whitman's other conductor friends, wrote on January 11, 1869: "Sir, It is with great pleasure that I sit down with pen in hand to address a few lines to you." He informed Walt Whitman that he had lost his position on New Year's Eve and that he was now seeking another job: "I shall still continue to correspond and can never forget your kind friendship towards me.…Your True and Ever intimate friend." According to the first listing of his name in the New York Directory, in 1872–1873, he was at that time either in the milk business or a milkman. Whitman's letter was dated November 22, 1868. On November 30, 1868, O. H. Browning, Secretary of the Interior, informed Congress of the completion of the exterior marble work on the Capitol; see Documentary History . . . of the United States Capitol Buildings and Grounds (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1904), 1266. Walt Whitman excised the following: "No doubt you are all right, Jack, but should ever sickness or any thing trouble you, you must send me word." Walt Whitman inserted similar sentiments after the first paragraph and then lined through the passage. Walt Whitman originally wrote "loving society." John Harrison Littlefield (1835–1902) advertised himself in the Washington Directory of 1869 as an artist and publisher; see also Daniel Trowbridge Mallett's Mallett's Index of Artists (New York: Peter Smith, 1948). The Republican publishers of the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle in 1868 were offering to new subscribers Littlefield's steel engraving of Grant. This draft letter is endorsed, "To | J. T. Fields | Dec. 8, '68." James T. Fields (1817–1881) succeeded James Russell Lowell as editor of the Atlantic Monthly. After Emerson, who had received "Proud Music of the Sea-Storm" in Whitman's November 30, 1868 letter, delivered the poem to Fields, Fields sent $100 to Whitman on December 5, 1868. He informed Whitman on December 14, 1868 that if he was to get the poem into the February issue it would be impossible to send proof to Washington. "Proud Music of the Sea-Storm" did, however, appear in the February 1869 issue of the Atlantic Monthly and was the second of Whitman's poems to appear in the magazine; "Bardic Symbols" was published in 1860. (For more on "Bardic Symbols," see Whitman's January 20, 1860 letter to James Russell Lowell and Whitman's March 2, 1860 letter to the editor of the Atlantic Monthly.) Unaccountably, Walt Whitman lined through the rest of the draft. This draft letter is endorsed, "sent to Dr. Thayer, | Dec 8, '68." Relations between Hannah Heyde and her husband and between Heyde and the Whitmans remained the same. On March 3, 1868, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman informed Walt Whitman of the receipt of "the most awful" letter from Heyde (The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library), and on March 6, 1868, she mentioned writing "a pressing letter to hannah urging her to come and make us a visit" (The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). Nothing of course happened; after her marriage Hannah never left her husband. On March 24, 1868, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman noted "a letter or package from charley heyde, three sheets of foolscap paper and a fool wrote on them." Later in the year, on November 4(?), 1868, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote that Hannah was ill. On November 13, 1868, Hannah herself wrote to Walt Whitman about excruciating pain in her thumb: "Charlie was very ugly. He would not get a nurse…Dr. Thayer I believe thinks all my thumb wont get well. I feel very anxious about it. dear brother write to Dr. Saml. B. Thayer…but dear brother of all things in [the world?] I beg you to not let Charlie know I have wrote to you & run a great risk.…be pleasant to Charlie while I am sick on my account" (The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). On November 24, 1868, Hannah wrote to her mother about her illness, somewhat more calmly than she had to her brother, perhaps because her letter was part of Heyde's (The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). According to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letter of December 5(?), 1868, Heyde wrote to her about "a very stupid letter from Walt addressed to han which he humanely concluded not to deliver to her" (The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). About December 8, 1868, Heyde reported to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman the amputation of Hannah's thumb, refused to "withdraw" his remarks about Walt, and explained: "I have no desire to annoy or give you unnecessary concern.…Besides Han's illness, I was exceedingly annoyed at the unnecessary, miserable condition of our domestic affairs" (The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). After listening to Horace Traubel read this letter in 1889, Whitman commented on Heyde: "He is a cringing, crawling snake: uses my sister's miseries as a means by which to burrow money out of her relations.…I think if Charlie was a plain everyday scamp I'd not feel sore on him: but in the rôle of serpent, whelp, he excites my active antagonism" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 3:500). Charles F. Blanch is unidentified. Charles Warren Stoddard (1843–1909) published Poems, edited by Bret Harte, in 1867. His most famous book, South-Sea Idyls (1873), is mentioned in Walt Whitman's April 23, 1870 letter to Stoddard. He was a journalist, a lecturer at the Catholic University of America from 1889 to 1902, and for a brief period Mark Twain's secretary. Stoddard's first letter was written on February 8, 1867, when he was about 24; he requested (or beseeched) an autograph. When he wrote again on March 2, 1869, he was in Honolulu, and passionately implored an answer. Fascinated with the "Calamus" theme, Stoddard began a correspondence with Burroughs; see Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931), 48. See also Whitman's April 23, 1870 letter to Stoddard. In his letter of March 2, 1869, Stoddard described his entry into a typical native village: "The native villagers gather about me, for strangers are not common in these parts. I observe them closely. Superb looking, many of them. Fine heads…Proud, defiant lips, a matchless physique, grace and freedom in every motion. I mark one, a lad of eighteen or twenty years who is regarding me. I call him to me, ask his name, giving mine in return. He speaks it over and over, manipulating my body unconciously, as it were, with bountiful and unconstrained love. I go to his grass-house, eat with him his simple food. Sleep with him upon his mats, and at night sometimes waken to find him watching me with earnest, patient looks, his arm over my breast and around me." After listening to Horace Traubel read this letter, Walt Whitman commented: "Occidental people, for the most part, would not only not understand but would likewise condemn the sort of thing about which Stoddard centers his letter" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 4:269). This phrase did not appear in the draft; otherwise there are no significant alterations. Whitman probably sent the Washington Sunday Chronicle of May 9, 1869. All that is known about Alfred Pratt is contained in this letter and those of June 10, 1865, August 7, 1865, August 26, 1865, September 27, 1866, January 29, 1867, July 25, 1867, October 28, 1867, and January 20, 1870. The Pratts lived in Williamson, New York. Whitman omitted mention of Alfred's wife, whom Alfred had married in 1868; Whitman referred to her in his January 20, 1870 letter to the Pratts. Probably the Washington Sunday Chronicle of May 9, 1869. At the bottom of the page, within a little square, is printed in pencil in another hand, "For | Mother."All that is known about Alfred Pratt is contained in this letter and those of June 10, 1865, August 7, 1865, August 26, 1865, September 27, 1866, January 29, 1867, July 25, 1867, October 28, 1867, and July 1, 1869.
On January 14, 1870, Alfred spoke of his departure for Kansas, and John offered to send a picture of his "daughter," whom Alfred had married in August 1868: "She ways about 100 lbs and is as handsome as a picture." (A picture of Alfred and his wife at the time of their marriage is in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) He concluded: "please write soon to your unworthy friends" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On March 15, 1870, John informed Walt Whitman that Alfred had left on January 25, 1870, and had settled in "Douglass," Kansas. This was apparently the last letter in the correspondence.
This letter is endorsed (by O'Connor), "Parton Matter." Its envelope bears the address, "Wm. D. O'Connor, | Light House Board, | Treasury Dep't. | Washington City." Its postmark is indecipherable. The "Parton affair" has never been adequately explained. This letter, with the accompanying documents (reproduced in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 3:237–239), was Walt Whitman's version, written at the insistence of O'Connor when the story "was bandied about Washington—got into the papers" (3:235). Involved according to Whitman were the "venom, jealousies, opacities…[of] a woman" (3:235–236), probably Parton's wife, the poet Fanny Fern; yet she was the first woman to praise Whitman publicly (New York Dissected, 146–154, 162–165). James Parton (1822–1891) was a journalist and, according to the Dictionary of American Biography, "the most successful biographer of his generation." Shortly before Whitman had borrowed money, Parton had published his first best seller, The Life of Horace Greeley (1855). See Oral S. Coad, "Whitman vs. Parton," Journal of the Rutgers University Library, 4 (December 1940), 1–8; Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (New York: Macmillan Co., 1955), 209–210; Frank Luther Mott, A History of American Magazines (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1957), 2:352–353. Jesse Talbot (1806–1879) was a Brooklyn genre painter. Mary Augusta Talbot Burhans (d. 1899) was the oldest daughter of the artist Jesse Talbot (1805–1879) and his wife Mary Augusta Sluyter. In 1863, Mary Augusta (the daughter) married George W. Burhans of New York. Jesse Talbot (1805–1879), a native of Dighton, Massachusetts, was the son of Josiah and Lydia (Wheaton) Talbot. He was the secretary of the American Tract Society with interests and/or involvement in anti-slavery and religious reform movements. He went on to become a genre painter. Whitman and Talbot developed a friendship, and Whitman wrote newspaper articles about and in promotion of Talbot's artistic work. For more on Talbot's life and on Whitman's association with him, see Jessica Skwire Routhier, "Fellow Journeyers Walt Whitman and Jesse Talbot: Painting, Poetry, and Puffering in 1850s New York," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 38 (Summer 2020), 1–37. This document, written by Walt Whitman and signed by Dyer, noted the receipt of $181 and the balance of $35 due. The second document, in Dyer's hand, was headed: "Supreme Court Kings County. | James Parton | vs | Walt Whitman." This draft letter is endorsed, "Overland | Monthly | sent April 4 '70." On April 13, 1870, Bret Harte replied for the Overland Monthly: "I fear that the 'Passage to India' is a poem too long and too abstract for the hasty and material-minded readers of the O. M.." Though Whitman liked "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 4:208), he felt that "somehow when [Harte] went to London the best American in him was left behind and lost" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 1:28). In a newspaper interview in 1879, Whitman objected to Harte's "ruffians and delirium tremens specimens.…I think it is an outrage. He seems to me to have taken Dickens' treatment of the slums of London and transferred it to California." See Robert Hubach, "Three Uncollected St. Louis Interviews of Walt Whitman," American Literature, 14.2 (May 1942), 146. Walt Whitman was acquainted with Cora Tappan (then Cora Hatch) in 1857. He mentioned her in his June 20, 1857 letter to Sarah Tyndale; see Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence (New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977), 1:42–44. Tappan, born in 1840 in Cuba, New York, was a medium. At age ten, as she sat with slate and pencil in hand, "she lost external consciousness, and on awaking she found her slate covered with writing." At fourteen she was a public speaker, and at sixteen married Dr. B. F. Hatch, who published and wrote an introduction to her Discourses on Religion, Morals, Philosophy, and Metaphysics (1858). In 1871, now Cora Tappan, she published a collection of poems entitled Hesperia; the section "Laus Natura" was dedicated to "Walt Whitman, the Poet of Nature." See also Emma Hardinge, Modern American Spiritualism (New York, 1870), 149.The Committee of the American Institute had written on August 1, 1871, "to solicit of you the honor of a poem on the occasion of its opening, September 7, 1871—with the privilege of furnishing proofs of the same to the Metropolitan Press for publication with the other proceedings.…We shall be most happy, of course, to pay traveling expenses & entertain you hospitably, and pay $100 in addition."
The newspaper coverage of Walt Whitman's appearance was extensive: the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle published the poet's account on September 7, 1871; the New York Evening Post reprinted the poem, later entitled "After All, Not to Create Only," and called Walt Whitman "a good elocutionist"; he was also praised in the New York Sun and the Brooklyn Standard; the New York Tribune printed excerpts from the poem on September 8, 1871, and later a devastating parody by Bayard Taylor (reprinted in his Echo Club [2nd ed., 1876], 169–170); the Springfield Republican published the poem on September 9, 1871. In reply to the criticisms of the poem, Walt Whitman prepared the following for submission to an unidentified newspaper: "The N. Y. World's frantic, feeble, fuddled articles on it are curiosities. The Telegram dryly calls it the longest conundrum ever yet given to the public" (Yale). See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), 1:328–329; Emory Holloway, Whitman–An Interpretation in Narrative (1926), American Mercury, 18 (1929), 485–486; and Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (New York: Macmillan, 1955), 433–435.
On September 11, 1871, John W. Chambers, secretary of the Institute, thanked Walt Whitman "for the magnificent original poem."
This letter is the first from Anne Gilchrist to Whitman. Walt Whitman enclosed books for Gilchrist in his July 28, 1871 letter to William Michael Rossetti. On September 3, 1871, Rossetti replied affirmatively to Gilchrist's query as to the propriety of writing directly to Walt Whitman; see The Letters of William Michael Rossetti, ed. Gohdes and Baum (Durham: Duke University Press, 1934), 80. Alexander Gilchrist (1828–1861). "A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman" appeared anonymously; Whitman wrote positively of the piece in his December 9, 1869 letter to William M. Rossetti and in his May 11, 1870 letter to William D. O'Connor. In a letter on July 19, 1869, Rossetti had urged Gilchrist to "suppress" her name; see The Letters of William Michael Rossetti, ed. Gohdes and Baum (Durham: Duke University Press, 1934), 31. Whitman wrote these words in his December 9, 1869 letter to William M. Rossetti. Burroughs wrote to Walt Whitman from London on October 3–4, 1871, after he had visited St. Paul's, where he had a staggering revelation, not unlike Henry James's in a Parisian gallery: "I saw for the first time what power & imagination could be put in form & design—I felt for a moment what great genius was in this field.…I had to leave them & sit down.…My brain is too sensitive. I am not strong enough to confront these things all at once…It is like the grandest organ music put into form." Whitman wrote in the margin: "Splendid off hand letter from John Burroughs—? publish it." On October 8, 1871, William Michael Rossetti referred to a visit three days earlier from Burroughs: "I like his frank manly aspect & tone." Burroughs visited Dowden in November 1871; see Fragments from Old Letters, E. D. to E. D. W., 1869–1892 (1914), 16–17.In his letter of September 5, 1871, Dowden cited a number of Dublin admirers, and concluded: "One thing strikes me about everyone who cares for what you write—while your attraction is most absolute, & the impression you make as powerful as that of any teacher or vates, you do not rob the mind of its independence, or divert it from its true direction. You make no slaves, however many lovers."
Dowden replied to Whitman's letter on October 15, 1871.
Endorsed (by Bucke?): "27 Nov '71." See Gilchrist's September 3–6, 1871 letter to Whitman for this "long letter." The letter was dated October 23, 1871. (The Library of Congress; The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, ed. Thomas B. Harned [New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918], 65–66). See the last sentence in Whitman's November 3, 1871 letter to Gilchrist, in which Whitman noted, "there surely exists between us so beautiful & delicate a relation, accepted by both of us with joy." Gilchrist's September 3–6, 1871 letter to Whitman. Because Walt Whitman did not reply immediately to this letter, Gilchrist recopied it and sent it in December. William Conant Church (1836–1917), journalist and publisher, was a correspondent for several New York newspapers until he founded the Army and Navy Journal in 1863. With his brother Francis Pharcellus (1839–1906), he established the Galaxy in 1866. Financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon and Company in 1868, and it was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. William published a biography of his life-long friend Ulysses S. Grant in 1897, and Francis wrote for the New York Sun the unsigned piece "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." See Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 332–350; Donald N. Bigelow, William Conant Church & "The Army and Navy Journal" (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952); J. R. Pearson, Jr., "Story of a Magazine: New York's Galaxy, 1866–1878," Bulletin of the New York Public Library, 61 (1957), 217–237, 281–302. John C. Broderick, who printed this letter, explains the situation clearly. "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867," which was to appear in the Galaxy in September 1867, was printed in abbreviated form in the New York Weekly Tribune on August 21, 1867; sections five to ten and half of section eleven were omitted. The Weekly Tribune observed on August 28, 1867: "Some of Mr. Walt Whitman's friends complain of us for publishing only a part of his Harvest Carol in the last number of The Weekly Tribune. We did not print the whole, first because it was too long, and secondly because it was not good enough. Anybody who wants the rest will find it in the Galaxy." The poem was later retitled "The Return of the Heroes." See also Whitman's August 7, August 11, and September 7, 1867 letters to William C. Church and Francis P. Church. William Conant Church (1836–1917), journalist and publisher, was a correspondent for several New York newspapers until he founded The Army and Navy Journal in 1863. With his brother Francis Pharcellus (1839–1906), he established the Galaxy in 1866. Financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon and Company in 1868, and it was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. W. C. published a biography of his life-long friend U.S. Grant in 1897, and F. P. wrote for the New York Sun the unsigned piece "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." See E. F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 332–350; D. N. Bigelow, William Conant Church & "The Army and Navy Journal" (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952); J. R. Pearson, Jr., "Story of a Magazine: New York's Galaxy, 1866–1878," Bulletin of the New York Public Library, 61 (1957), 217–237, 281–302. The date of this letter is uncertain; however, July 17th was on a Monday in 1871. During his career as a diplomat, Albert Rhodes (1840–1894) served as the United States Consul in the Netherlands, France, and Germany. Rhodes was also a frequent contributor of fiction and nonfiction to The Galaxy, The Century, and LIppincott's. Whitman wrote this letter between 1876 and 1884, while he lived with his brother and sister-in-law on Stevens Street in Camden. This draft letter is endorsed, "To Rudolf Schmidt." Rudolf Schmidt, editor of For Idé og Virkelighed, wrote to Walt Whitman on October 19, 1871: I intend to write an article about yourself and your writings in the above named periodical which is very much read in all the Scandinavian countries.…I therefore take the liberty to ask you, if you should not be willing to afford some new communications of yourself and your poetry to this purpose" (Library of Congress). The photograph, inscribed "To Walt Whitman | the poet of the american democracy," is in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Schmidt's January 5, 1872 letter is in the Syracuse University Library. Carl F. Clausen, termed in Schmidt's letter "my old friend and countryman," corresponded with Schmidt after he left Denmark in 1860; see Orbis Litterarum, 7 (1949), 34–39. The Directory in 1870 listed him as a draughtsman and in 1872 as a patent agent. He died of consumption in the middle 1870s. Whitman refers here to the "The Mystic Trumpeter." Björnstjerne Björnson (1832–1910), Norwegian poet, dramatist, and novelist, was co-editor of Schmidt's journal. In his January 5, 1872 letter Schmidt observed: "Hans Christian Andersen would perhaps not make you very great joy, if you did know him personally. Björnson would be your man." Schmidt later altered his opinion of Björnson; see notes to Whitman's March 19, 1874 letter to Schmidt. Whitman's Washington address was to have been inserted here. On February 27, 1872, Schmidt acknowledged receipt of the various books and articles. Samuel Ward (1814–1884), the brother of Julia Ward Howe, co-edited An Elementary Treatise on Algebra (Philadelphia: Carey & Lea, 1832), was the author of Lyrical Recreations (New York and London: D. Appleton; Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1865), and was a lobbyist for various financiers during the Johnson and Grant administrations.Louis Fitzgerald Tasistro (1808–1875?) came to the U.S. from Ireland as a young man. He edited a newspaper in New York and later had a brief career on the stage. Subsequently he was a translator for the State Department and a lecturer. He was the author of Random Shots and Southern Breezes (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1842) and translator of Louis-Phillipe-Albert d'Orléans, Compte de Paris' History of the Civil War in America (Philadelphia: J. H. Coates, 1875). On April 26, 1872, Whitman inserted in the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle an appeal for "pecuniary assistance for a man of genius," who was not named. On the following day the Chronicle noted "prompt contributions" from, among others, Samuel Ward.
In the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., there are three receipts written by Whitman and signed by Tasistro. On April 26, 1872, Tasistro acknowledged $70. On April 29, 1872, he accepted an additional $25, and on May 14, 1872, $10. On August 3, 1872, in his own hand, Tasistro signed a receipt for $17. On the verso Whitman noted the total of $122: "also $10 more handed by W. W. to Mr. Tasistro." On October 24, 1872, Walt Whitman wrote: "also about $25 more in different sums since." See Walt Whitman Review, 7 (1961), 14–16.
This draft letter is endorsed, "To Carlyle | with Dem Vistas | & Am Inst. poem." Perhaps Whitman sent the poems to Carlyle, who was not one of his admirers, because of Burroughs' letter from London on October 30, 1871, written after his recent visit to Carlyle: "I am sure you would like him & that he would like you." Whitman dated this letter April 30, but, as the envelope indicates, he was in error. Note that in his April 30, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, he wrote, "I have not gone over to the office to-day." This letter's envelope bears the address, "John Burroughs, | Examiner Waukill Bank, | Middletown | New York." It is postmarked: "Washington | A(?)| 29." Edward Dowden wrote on April 12, 1873. Burroughs replied on May 14, 1873: though he was not completely "weaned" from Washington, he was looking forward to settling in New York State. This draft letter is endorsed, "letter sent to | Thos. O'Kane, | 130 Nassau st. | Sept. 13, '73."Whitman's relations with his book agents were complicated and troubling during these years. O'Kane, a New York book dealer, took over the books still in the possession of Michael Doolady (a bookseller to whom Whitman wrote on November 13, 1867) on April 22, 1874. On December 29, 1873, Whitman withdrew his books from O'Kane, and also dismissed Piper, the Boston outlet. At the same time he entrusted the whole matter to Asa K. Butts and Co., which went into bankruptcy in the following year. Though Whitman wrote cordially to O'Kane on April 22, 1874, he later became hostile. Citing only the initials, Richard Maurice Bucke, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), in his "official" biography (46), averred that O'Kane and Somerby, Butts's successor, "took advantage of [Walt Whitman's] helplessness to embezzle the amounts due—(they calculated that death would soon settle the score and rub it out.)" This sounds like an interpolation composed by the poet himself; note also Whitman's December 30, 1875 letter to Jeannette Gilder, in which he wrote, "every one of the three successive book agents I have had in N. Y. has embezzled the proceeds." In an address book now held in the Library of Congress, Walt Whitman scrawled on a piece of O'Kane's stationery, "rascal."
For other letters dealing with the distribution of Whitman's books, see Whitman's December 29, 1873, February 4, 1874, and February 8, 1874 letters to Asa K. Butts and Company, as well as Whitman's April 22, 1874 letter to Thomas O'Kane.
The next paragraph was stricken: "I send herewith adv't, which I wish (would like) to have inserted twice forthwith, in Tribune, as that seen." Because the directions for reaching Camden were repeatedly corrected, the reading at this point is somewhat conjectural. The draft is incomplete.Draft letter.
Whitman refers here to "Song of the Redwood-Tree," offered in Whitman's November 2, 1873 letter to Alden, editor of Harper's New Monthly Magazine.
Alden accepted the poem for Harper's New Monthly Magazine on December 1, 1873; it appeared in March 1874, 48 (1874), 524–525. On the back of this draft letter Whitman wrote a series of notes that begins with the words: "names—in future writing about the War." Several deleted portions of this draft letter refer to Whitman in the third person, so the letter is apparently a reworking of a publicity note, of the kind he frequently sent to newspapers. The original version reads: "W. W. has had a bad spell, but is now the same as before. He is out to-day..."This postcard bears the address, "John Swinton | 134 E. 38th st. | New York City." It is postmarked: "Camden | Jun | 24 | N.J."
This postcard was written in reply to Swinton's letter of June 23, 1874, in which he spoke of "going toward social radicalism of late years," and promised to visit Walt Whitman "within a few weeks."
The letter is dated "1874," evidently by Reid. Whitelaw Reid (1837–1912) was the editor of the New York Tribune from 1872 to 1905. He met Whitman in the hospitals during the Civil War. Of his relations with the poet Reid later observed: "No one could fail then [during the War] to admire his zeal and devotion, and I am afraid that at first my regard was for his character rather than his poetry. It was not till long after 'The Leaves of Grass' period that his great verses on the death of Lincoln conquered me completely"; see Charles N. Elliot, Walt Whitman as Man, Poet and Friend (Boston: R. G. Badger, Gorham Press, 1915), 213, and Studies in Bibliography, 8 (1956), 242–249. Reid apparently did not publish this unidentified article. Seemingly in a lost letter to Reid, Whitman had protested what he considered a slurring reference to his health in a news item in the Tribune. In apologizing on December 22, 1874, Reid promised to "have a paragraph within a day or two, which will I think relieve you of the idea that we had any such intention." A complimentary notice appeared in the issue of December 26, 1874; In his January 7, 1875 letter to Ellen O'Connor, Whitman referred to this notice as "the most flourishing puff yet given me—& from them!"Draft letter.
For Bethuel Smith, see Whitman's September 16, 1863 letter to Smith.
Bethuel, who replied on March 12, 1875, had four children, hauled wood for a paper mill near Queensbury, N.Y., and had grave financial problems: ". . . this spring I am owing some debts that I dont no whether I can pay them or not." Maria Smith wrote about her family on December 10, 1874. Whitman's draft was written on the verso of her letter. In reply to Whitman's letter and later ones, she wrote again on February 1 and March 14, 1875. In the latter she said: "it always seemed to me that god sent you to save the life of our son that he might Come home and see his parents once more." Endorsed (by Reid?), "8 Feb. 1876." Whitman sent Reid, the editor of the New York Tribune, a lengthy review of his new edition, which appeared in the New York Tribune on February 19, 1876; see Whitman's December 5, 1874 letter to Reid and Studies in Bibliography, 8 (1956), 243–244. Draft letter. William Michael Rossetti duly cited Brown Brothers in a circular he issued on June 1, 1876 (Thomas Donaldson, Walt Whitman the Man [London: Suckling & Galloway, 1896], 27–28). This draft letter is endorsed, "to Buchanan | April 4 '76 | Sent B the N Y | letter of July 4 '78 | (to Olean Scotland)." The last three lines of the endorsement were added three years later. Whitman referred to "A Poet's Recreation," published in the New York Tribune on July 4, 1878; see Whitman's July 12, 1878 letter to Whitelaw Reid. Buchanan's article of March 13, 1876; Whitman had referred to it in a March 17, 1876 letter to William Michael Rossetti.A copy of Memoranda During the War in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection at the Library of Congress is inscribed: "To Dan: Whittaker from his friend the Author." Whittaker, a printer, was employed in the office of the Camden New Republic, where Harry Stafford was an errand boy. (Since Whitman became acquainted with the Staffords in 1876, the year appears to be correct.)
When Susan Stafford wrote to Whitman on May 1, 1876, she was worried because Harry "left the New Republic office in such A hurry at least untill he had another place as he does not like to work on A farm. he spoke of getting A situation In the park."
This letter's envelope bears the address, "John Swinton | 13413 East 38th Street | New York City." (Swinton's address was actually 124 East 38th Street; see Whitman's May 31, 1876? letter to Swinton.) It is postmarked: "Camden | May | 6 | N.J." May 5 fell on Friday in 1876.The year is established by the fact that this draft was written on the verso of Whitman's April 23, 1876 letter to C. P. Somerby. Harry's brother, Edwin, was born on May 6, 1856, and died in 1906.
Draft letter.
Undoubtedly Memoranda During the War. In her letter of May 1, 1876, Susan Stafford was concerned about Harry's instability and, specifically, his lack of employment. She thought that it was "better still for him to be with you but I fear he is to much trouble to you all ready. I do not think it right to impose on the good nature of our friends. I hope Harry will ever be Greatfull to you fore your kindness to him."This letter's envelope bears the address, "Wm M Rossetti | 56 Euston Sq | London | n w | England." It is postmarked: "Camden | Apr | 23 | N.J.; Philadelphia | Apr | 24 | (?); London N W | C 7 | Paid | My 8 | 76."
On March 30, 1876, Thérèse C. Simpson and Elizabeth J. Scott Moncrieff sent orders for books through William Michael Rossetti. Whitman sent Two Rivulets on April 23, 1876, and Leaves of Grass on June 12, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.).This postcard bears the address, "John Swinton | 124 East 38th st | New York City." It is postmarked: "Camden | May | 31 | N.J.
Though the text of this postcard is not helpful, it seems to refer to Swinton's support of Walt Whitman's 1876 edition; see Whitman's May 5, 1876 and May 6, 1876 letters to Swinton. (This postcard also resembles Whitman's May 19, 1876 postcard to Edmund W. Gosse in appearance and in handwriting.)
This draft letter is endorsed, "Robt Buchanan | (must have gone 17th by Scotia | from N.Y.)"; "Buchanan | May 16 '76."On April 18, 1876, in a letter marked "Private," Buchanan discussed the English campaign on Walt Whitman's behalf and, probably because he was perplexed by Walt Whitman's contradictory statements, pressed for a specific statement: "Moncure Conway has denied authoritatively that you wanted money, & I have been waiting & wondering what to do. . . . I wish I were a rich man . . . and you should certainly never want anything your heart craved . . . happy, Whitman, in the serene certainty that you have fulfilled your life, & spoken—in tunes no thunders can silence—the beautiful message you were fashioned to bring!"
On April 28, 1876, Buchanan sent Walt Whitman a check for £25, including a contribution of £5 from Tennyson, with a list of those who had subscribed £22.15. Walt Whitman sent books on September 5, 1876 (see Whitman's September 4, 1876 letter to Buchanan).
See Whitman's April 4, 1876 letter to Buchanan. Walt Whitman deleted the following passage: "There is doubtless a point of view from which Mr. Conway's statement of April 4th might hold, technically—but, essentially, under the circumstances, . . ." Despite the poet's denials, Conway's statement (see Whitman's April 7, 1876 letter to William Michael Rossetti) was justified. Originally Walt Whitman wrote: "a little 100, 6 or $700 house." Walt Whitman struck out the following: "I should like Wm M Rossetti, and Prof. Dowden of Dublin to see this letter." This draft letter is endorsed, "R Buchanan." The list, which is not with the draft letter, appears in his Commonplace Book under September 5, 1876: two volumes were sent to Tennyson, Richard Bentley, Roden Noel, and Drummond; Two Rivulets was sent to Robinson, Salaman, Marks, Townsend Mayer, Thomas Ashe, Mrs. Dickens, and Henry Lobb; Memoranda During the War was sent to Newton, Coleman, and Hirsh; and a photograph was sent to the School of Art in London. Buchanan's letter of April 28, 1876, in addition to these names, cited a contribution £2 from Browning and his desire for a complete set of the 1876 edition. Buchanan acknowledged receipt of the volumes on January 8, 1877 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 1:2–3). Whitman had written of his intent to send these books to Tennyson in his June 26, 1876 letter to William Michael Rossetti. Richard Bentley and Son were London publishers. According to Buchanan's letter of April 28, 1876, Bentley was among those who "do not want copies, some having them already." The list is not with this draft letter, but see Whitman's September 10, 1876 letter to William Michael Rossetti. Whitman sent the book with his August 22, 1876 letter to Rossetti. George William Foote (1850–1915), a freethinker, was the author of many pamphlets attacking Christianity. Foote did not forward £3 to Walt Whitman. Rossetti mentioned on August 17, 1877, that he had called the failure to pay to Foote's attention. Whitman received a letter from Foote in February or March 1878, who promised to send the sum, which he alleged had been stolen by an employee. After the entry the poet later wrote "fraud." For Nettleship, see Whitman's January 18, 1872 letter to Edward Dowden. Rossetti's letter of May 23 is not known. £3.3 (see Whitman's June 26, 1876 letter to Rossetti). Gilchrist and her children arrived in Philadelphia on September 10, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Though Gilchrist had come to America to accomplish in person what she had not been able to accomplish in her letters—to become Mrs. Whitman—she was practical enough to arm herself with letters of introduction to various Americans. Rossetti, her shrewd and somewhat snobbish advisor, wrote on August 23 and 24, 1876, to various painters and to Charles Eliot Norton (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). "A Death-Sonnet for Custer" (see Whitman's July 7, 1876 letter to Whitelaw Reid). The "Personal," which appeared on July 19, 1876, was a sentimental account of the death of Walt Whitman's nephew; see Studies in Bibliography, 8 (1956), 244–245. According to Richard Maurice Bucke, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883) (55n.), the notice appeared in the Philadelphia Public Ledger on July 20, 1876.This letter's envelope bears the address, "W Brockie | Olive Street | Sunderland | England." It is postmarked: "Camden | (?)p | 7 | N.J."
This letter's envelope bears the address, "P B Marston | 20 Ladbroke Grove Road | London W England." It is postmarked: "Camden | Sep | 7 | N.J.; Philad'a | Sep | 8 | Paid."
Philip Bourke Marston (1850–1887) was an English poet of the Rossetti school.
There is no reason to question the date that Clifton Joseph Furness, Walt Whitman's Workshop: A Collection of Unpublished Manuscripts (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1928) assigned to this note (249–250).This letter's envelope bears the address, "H S Theobold | 20 Talbot Road | Bayswater | London W | England." It is postmarked: "Camden | Oct | 23 | N.J."
H. S. Theobold was a London art collector or dealer, probably a friend of William Michael Rossetti's brother.
This draft letter is endorsed, "to Robt Buchanan | Nov 21 | '76." See Whitman's September 4, 1876 letter to Buchanan. On January 8, 1877, Buchanan informed Walt Whitman that he had neglected acknowledge the books because "the tone adopted by certain of your friends here became so unpleasant that I requested all subscriptions etc. to be paid over to William Michael Rossetti, and received no more myself" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 1:2).This letter's envelope bears the address, "Mrs Louise Chandler Moulton | care Philip Bourke Marston | 20 Ladbroke Grove Road | Notting Hill W | London | England." It is postmarked: "Camden | Dec | 11 | N.J.; London | F Z | Paid | De 23 | 76."
Louise Chandler Moulton (1835–1908), an American poet, was staying with Philip Bourke Marston (to whom Whitman wrote on September 7, 1876), whose works she edited after his premature death in 1887. See Lilian Whiting, Louise Chandler Moulton, Poet and Friend (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1910). An entry in Whitman's Commonplace Book confirms the date (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.).
This letter's envelope bears the address, "John Burroughs | Esopus | Ulster Co | New York." It is postmarked: "Camden | Dec | 20 | N.J."
Whitman wrote for the first time to this distinguished American sculptor on April 12, 1876. Ward (1830–1910) was, according to Dictionary of American Biography, "the first native sculptor to create, without benefit of foreign training, an impressive body of good work." Ward informed Whitman on April 23, 1876, that on May 1, 1876, he would order five sets of the new edition. The order was sent on June 1, 1876. Whitman noted receipt of $50 from Ward on June 6, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Ainsworth R. Spofford (1825–1910) was Librarian of Congress from 1864 to 1897. Whitman's reply was written on the verso of Spofford's July 21, 1876 letter, in which he cited the six editions of Leaves of Grass in the Library of Congress.This letter's envelope bears the address, "R Spence Watson | 101 Pilgrim Street | Newcastle-on-Tyne | England." It is postmarked: "Camden | Aug | 30 | N.J. ; Philadelphia | Aug | 30 | (?)."
R. Spence Watson was apparently one of William Michael Rossetti's friends and among the early English admirers of Leaves of Grass. On September 29, 1884, Watson requested an inscribed copy of Leaves of Grass (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.).
Whitman sent the second set of books on September 9, 1876.This letter's envelope bears the address, "R Spence Watson | 101 Pilgrim Street | Newcastle-on-Tyne | England." It is postmarked: "Camden | Sep | 9 | N.J."
Watson was apparently one of William Michael Rossetti's friends and among the early English admirers of Leaves of Grass. Whitman had sent a set of books on August 30, 1876. On September 29, 1884, Watson requested an inscribed copy of Leaves of Grass (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.).
This draft letter is endorsed, "Sent Anderson & Archer | Feb. 19, 1868." When Emory Holloway made his transcription in 1920, the manuscript draft was in the Henry Goldsmith Collection. This letter is not known. In his November 13, 1867 letter to Michael Doolady, Whitman had initially presumed that Anderson and Archer had prepared 100 copies. This reference to visiting Anderson and Archer, who had offices in New York, on January 2, 1868, is somewhat puzzling; there is no other evidence that Whitman was in New York at this time. He was in Washington on December 30, 1867, and on January 17, 1868; see his letters of December 30, 1867 and January 17, 1868. The 1867 edition appeared in many forms: Leaves of Grass by itself, with Drum-Taps, and with Songs Before Parting. The Benedicts were Walt Whitman's landlords at 468 M North, who replaced Juliet Grayson after her death in 1867. Whitman recorded this change in management in his February 12, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. The summary of the letter is drawn from an auction catalog put out by the American Art Association for a 1924 sale. The location of this manuscript is presently unknown. Transcript. Jack Flood was a streetcar conductor in New York, known, according to an unidentified notation on his letter to Walt Whitman, as "Broadway Jack." According to date entries in an address book (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #109), Walt Whitman saw Flood on September 30, 1868, and October 5, 1868, and rode with him on his Second Avenue car; Flood had been a conductor for ten years. After Walt Whitman's return to Washington, there was a brief correspondence, consisting of four extant letters from Walt Whitman (dated December 12, 1868, February 23, 1871, and March 8, 1871?) and one from the young man. Flood, somewhat better educated than some of Walt Whitman's other conductor friends, wrote on January 11, 1869: "Sir, It is with great pleasure that I sit down with pen in hand to address a few lines to you." He informed Walt Whitman that he had lost his position on New Year's Eve and that he was now seeking another job: "I shall still continue to correspond and can never forget your kind friendship towards me.…Your True and Ever intimate friend." According to the first listing of his name in the New York Directory, in 1872–1873, he was at that time either in the milk business or a milkman. When this letter first appeared in The Correspondence, the recipient was unknown (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed. [New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977], 2:76). Miller subsequently identified the recipient as Anson Ryder (6:74). Transcript.Walt Whitman began his correspondence with soldier Byron Sutherland on August 26, 1865.
Sutherland was now teaching at Jamestown, N. Y. In reply to Walt Whitman's request for further information about his life, the former soldier observed on April 8, 1870: "You remember me in 1865 a green vain (?) lad of Eighteen—without, even, an imperfect knowledge of the rudimentary English branches, I came home from Washington and applied myself, as soon as possible, to school and to study…My life since we parted that July day upon the Treasury steps, has been one of hard work and little recreation—I find on looking back to that time, that I am not so pure or trusting—that the world isnt quite so fair and beautiful as it seemed then—That the world is not precisely a green pasture for unsophistocated human lambs to skip in—That I like dreaming less, and work or excitement better—That I have lost a great deal of Ambition, and gained a like quantity of stupidity—That I dont know nearly so much as I once supposed I did."
Transcript from the City Book Auction in New York, February 20, 1943.
Walt Whitman did join the Solicitor's Office in the Treasury (as this letter is signed) until January 1872.
James S. Redfield, a publisher at 140 Fulton Street, New York, was a distributor of Whitman's books in the early 1870s. On March 23, 1872, Redfield accepted 496 copies of Leaves of Grass: "I am to account to him (for all that I may sell) at the rate of One Dollar & Fifty Cents a copy, (1.50)" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.).
When Whitman prepared his will on October 23, 1872, he noted that Redfield had 500 copies of the fifth edition of Leaves of Grass, 400 copies of As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free, and 500 copies of Democratic Vistas (The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). Redfield later established a London outlet for Democratic Vistas and Leaves of Grass with Sampson, Low, Marston, Low, and Searle, who, on March 28, 1873, transferred Redfield's account for the remaining books to Whitman. On February 12, 1875, when his firm was in bankruptcy, Redfield noted that the balance due Whitman ($63.45) "will have to go in with my general indebtedness. I think my estate will pay 50 cents on the dollar: hope so at any rate." He suggested that Michael Doolady and the new Boston firm of Estes and Lauriat might agree to handle his books; Doolady was the bookseller and publisher mentioned in Whitman's October 13, 1867 letter to Dionysius Thomas and in Whitman's November 13, 1867 letter to Doolady. He printed Ada Clare's 1866 book Only a Woman's Heart. He noted, however, that most book dealers were unwilling to sell Whitman's books, either because of inadequate sales or because of the poet's reputation in respectable circles: "It is only here and there a speckled sheep, like J. S. R., turns up who—not to put too fine a point upon it—don't care a d--n for Mrs Grundy, who would take you in."
The receipt, written by Whitman, originally read $1.60, but was corrected to the lower figure when the receipt was dated in another ink. This was Tennyson's first letter to Walt Whitman. Whitman wrote to Tennyson in 1871 or late 1870, probably shortly after the visit of Cyril Flower in December, 1870, but the letter is not extant (see Thomas Donaldson, Walt Whitman the Man [New York: F. P. Harper, 1896], 223; for Flower, see Whitman's letter of February 2, 1872). According to Walt Whitman's reply on April 27, 1872, Tennyson wrote a second letter on September 22, 1871, also apparently lost. Sylvester Baxter reported that in April, 1881, Walt Whitman had informed Trowbridge and himself of his discouragement about his "poetic mission" at the time Tennyson's letter arrived. See Rufus A. Coleman, "Trowbridge and Whitman," PMLA, 62 (1948), 268. Edwin Haviland Miller derived his transcription of this letter from Thomas Donaldson, Walt Whitman the Man (New York: Francis P. Harper, 1896), 224–226; and Emory Holloway, ed., Walt Whitman—Complete Poetry & Selected Prose and Letters (London: Nonesuch Press, 1938), 1006–1007. Here Walt Whitman summarizes one of his major points in Democratic Vistas. Henry Thomas Buckle (1821–1862), English historian and author of The History of Civilization in England (1857, 1861). Whitman copied this paragraph almost verbatim from the preface to As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free (1872), which is dated May 31, 1872; see The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 5:188–189. The missing letter of September 22, 1871, referred to a few lines below. Tennyson sent his picture in May 1872. The envelope of this missing letter was endorsed by Walt Whitman: "(from Tennyson with picture)." The postmark reads: Yarmouth | B | My 23 | (?) 2 | (?) (Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library). The first letter is lost; the extant correspondence begins with Tennyson's July 12, 1871 letter to Whitman. Transcription derived from Merwin-Clayton Sales Company catalogue, January 12, 1906. On November 30, 1868, Walt Whitman informed Ralph Waldo Emerson that "Proud Music of the Storm" was "put in type for my own convenience, and to ensure greater correctness." He asked Emerson to take the poem to James T. Fields, editor of the Atlantic Monthly, who promptly accepted it and published it in February 1869.Transcript.
William Conant Church and Francis Pharcellus Church, editors of the Galaxy, printed several of Whitman's poems beginning in 1867. The first notice of Walt Whitman to appear in the magazine was John Burroughs' 1866 review of Drum-Taps.
Apparently the Churches rejected "The Mystic Trumpeter," which appeared in the Kansas Magazine in February 1872; Whitman wrote of his relationship with the magazine in his January 26, 1872 letter to Thomas Jefferson Whitman. Transcript. Priscilla Townsend was a cousin of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and apparently the granddaughter of Sarah Mead. Her husband James H. was a clerk in the New York "Hall of Records." The letter referred to is apparently not extant. In February 1873, Priscilla wrote to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman about Walt Whitman's illness (Library of Congress). Sarah Avery was another one of Walt Whitman's cousins. On May 20, 1873, she suggested with trepidation and apologies—she was so overawed by Walt Whitman's "knowledge and intellect"—that he should find a good wife for his old age. Her husband John, a New York merchant, wrote to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman twice in 1872 about interest due her from the estate of Elizabeth Maybee (Library of Congress). Maggy Tripp was Priscilla Townsend's sister, so Louisa Van Velsor Whitman informed her son on April 3(?), 1873 (The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman was not unduly concerned about her health; on April 12, 1873, she wrote: "god forgive me if i judge wrongfully but i dont think there is much the matter." She was correct: Louisa was not pregnant. On April 21, 1873, she bitterly bewailed Louisa's economy, and continued to look forward to keeping house in Washington: "walt if you think you cant get a house for us to live in dont worry about me. i shall live my allotted time. if you ever do get one i think one about the size of what i wrote about would do and wouldent cost very much." Whitman summarized in the next few lines the contents of Jeff's letter of March 16, 1873. In her reply on March 21, 1873, to the missing letter of March 19, 1873, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman complained of her lot: "i have many little things to put up with but we all have our annoyances, some one way and some another. george is good enough to me but he thinks and its all right he should that every thing Lou does is all right. . . . george is a good man but i dont think i ever saw any one so changed. he used to be so generous and free but now he is very saving, never goes out any where. so we go walter dear" (The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library).Transcript.
This appears to be a note written while Whitman was still in Washington; therefore, the year 1873 seems plausible, since before his illness Whitman would have gone for the books himself.
Transcript. Whitman was mistaken. It was Colonel E. C. Mason, not his old friend Julius Mason. The warfare with the Modocs lasted from November 29, 1872, to October 3, 1873; see Keith A. Murray, The Modocs and Their War (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1959), 318–319. Transcript. When George Washington Whitman was building homes in Brooklyn after the Civil War, Smith was associated with him in his speculations. In the essay in Scribner's Monthly Burroughs quoted passages pertaining to birds in various poems. The last sentence is taken from the text in the catalog of the American Art Association, November 5–6, 1923. Transcript. According to the New York Directory of 1874–1875, Gillette, which Whitman spelled Gilette (see Whitman's November 4, 1873 letter to Gillette), was a clerk in the county courthouse. An undated entry in one of Walt Whitman's address books (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #108) indicates that Gillette was at one time employed in the postmaster's office in New York. Transcript. Whitman wrote at greater length about the new will in his October 3–4, 1873 letter to Peter Doyle. The New York Tribune printed the entire address of Dr. William Adams. The Evangelical Alliance, an international meeting of Protestants who sought unity among all Christians, met in New York from October 3–10, 1873. It convened to answer the questions raised by the new Catholic doctrines of papal infallibility and the immaculate conception of the Virgin, as well as the threats posed to Christianity by science and materialism. The Tribune, with unconcealed Protestant zeal, reprinted verbatim virtually all the speeches of the delegates. Transcript. Sally Mead, whom Whitman had mistaken for her sister Phebe Pintard in his April 1–2, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman.Endorsed: "Whitman here speaks of two sets of books that I had sent him. These must have been my Selections of American Poems in the series Moxon's Popular Poems. W.M.R."
Transcript. Transcription supplied to Edwin Haviland Miller by Professor Roger Asselineau, who received it from Gilette Bornand. Bornand made a copy of the letter years ago when it was in the possession of William Michael Rossetti's daughter. American Poems was apparently published early in 1873.
Transcript. Transcription provided to Edwin Haviland Miller by Warren Chappell.
Transcript. Transcription provided to Edwin Haviland Miller by Warren Chappell. The letter from Dr. Bielby is evidently lost. Among Whitman's early friends at Camden was John R. Johnston, "the jolliest man I ever met, an artist, a great talker," per Whitman's November 9, 1873 letter to Peter Doyle. Johnston was a portrait and landscape painter who for years maintained a studio in Philadelphia and lived at 434 Penn Street in Camden. See The New-York Historical Society Dictionary of Artists in America, 1564–1860 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1957). On the verso of Anne Gilchrist's letter of February 21–25, 1875, Whitman scrawled some trial lines for an inscription: "written in memory of the good times Sunday evening's in Penn street, 1875—'4 & '3." The poet was fond of Johnston's children, Ida and Jack (John Jr.). When this letter was printed on December 19, 1874, the newspaper item stated that Whitman had been sent a circular and an "accompanying letter." The Daily Graphic had printed in other issues comments (mostly sympathetic) on the subject. This letter was discovered by Professor Harold W. Blodgett.Transcript.
"Little Mitch," or Reuben Farwell, served with the Michigan Cavalry during the War and met Whitman in Armory Square Hospital early in 1864, and upon his release from the hospital he corresponded with Whitman. After Farwell received his discharge on August 24, 1864, he returned to his home in Plymouth, Michigan. Evidently the correspondence was renewed when Whitman sent a postcard on February 5, 1875. On March 5, 1875, Farwell, who owned a farm in Michigan, wrote: "Walt my dear old Friend how I would like to grasp your hand and give you a kiss as I did in the days of yore. what a satisfaction it would be to me." In Farwell's last letter, on August 16, 1875, he said that he was planning to leave shortly for California. He is mentioned in "Memoranda During the War"; see The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman, ed. Richard Maurice Bucke, Thomas B. Harned, and Horace L. Traubel (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1902), 4:134.
The year is confirmed by the reference to Farwell's letter of March 5, 1875. When Bucke wrote to Farwell after Walt Whitman's death, apparently only this one note, written "on the back of a circular," was extant.
Sampson, Low, Marston, Low, and Searle, London booksellers, handled the English distribution of Leaves of Grass and Democratic Vistas.
According to the auction record (Parke-Bernet, February 7–8, 1944), Whitman addressed the letter to "Messrs. Samson Low & Co."
Transcript.The presentation copy of Dowden's Shakspere: A Critical Study of His Mind and Art (London: Henry S. King, 1875), now in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., is marked on every page for the first eighty pages but only sporadically after that, although there are underlined passages throughout the entire volume. The underscoring in various kinds of pencils and comments dated in the 1880s indicate that Whitman examined Dowden's study several times.
In his reply to Whitman on July 27, 1875, Burroughs was not impressed with Dowden's book: "It does not differ very much from the rest of the critical literature of that subject, I do not yet see that it throws any new light. His Victor Hugo article strikes me as much more masterly."
Dowden referred to his article on Hugo in a letter to Whitman on April 12, 1873: "There is much in common between Victor Hugo & you, but if I had to choose between 'Leaves of Grass' & 'La Légende des Siècles' I should have not a moment's hesitation in throwing away 'La Légende'." To Burroughs on June 9, 1875, Dowden admitted that "my article on Victor Hugo is only partially satisfactory" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 3:216). In a postscript he inquired about Whitman's physical comforts because a Camden newspaper which he had seen had described the poet as "ill and indigent." On April 14, 1875, William Michael Rossetti discussed his literary activities, his insertion of notices about Walt Whitman in the London Academy, and his marriage in 1874 to the daughter of Ford Madox Brown, the painter. Transcript. Robert Carter (1819–1879) was at various times editor of the Boston Commonwealth, the Boston Telegraph, the Boston Atlas, the Rochester Democrat, and Appleton's Journal. He assisted Dana in editing the first edition of the New American Cyclopaedia, and in 1873 he was engaged in the revision. Charles A. Dana (1819–1897) was the owner as well as the editor of the New York Sun from 1868 until his death and was at one time co-editor of the New American Cyclopaedia. Whitman permitted Dana to print Emerson's famous letter of 1855. The brief notice in the new edition ignored Whitman's letter. In 1892, however, Appleton's printed the "sketch" in facsimile in the Annual Encyclopaedia. See American Literature, 25 (1953), 361–362.This letter must have been written about the same time as the one to William Michael Rossetti (dated January 26, 1876), for the following reasons: Whitman referred to the article in the West Jersey Press, to Burroughs' visit in the middle of January, and to Conway's recent interview. Dowden apparently replied to this letter on February 16, 1876. However, Dowden's letter on February 6, 1876, also noted receipt of a communication referring to his book on Shakespeare.
Transcript.
The presentation copy of Dowden's Shakspere: A Critical Study of His Mind and Art (London: Henry S. King, 1875), now in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., is marked on every page for the first eighty pages but only sporadically after that, although there are underlined passages throughout the entire volume. The underscoring in various kinds of pencils and comments dated in the 1880s indicate that Whitman examined Dowden's study several times. Whitman had praised the book's opening chapters in his May 2, 1875 letter to John Burroughs. Probably at this point Whitman mentioned the publication of Leaves of Grass and Two Rivulets. Transcript. Although the New York Tribune had printed Whitman's review of his own books earlier in the year (see Whitman's February 8, 1876 letter to Whitelaw Reid) as well as sympathetic reports on January 29 and February 25, 1876, and excerpts from Two Rivulets on March 1, 1876, the newspaper, probably through the influence of Bayard Taylor (see Whitman's November 18, 1866, to Taylor), began to publish hostile notices. On March 28, 1876, the London correspondent assailed Buchanan's article in the London Daily News. An editorial on March 30, 1876, also attacked the recklessness of Buchanan's charges, and maintained that Whitman failed to save money from his Washington days, "the cause thereof was certainly not 'persecution.' " Another hostile editorial appeared on April 12, 1876. Burroughs' defense was published on April 13, 1876. On April 22, 1876, O'Connor, Walt Whitman's estranged friend, wrote an extravagant, and garrulous, encomium. Later the Tribune resumed its friendly attitude toward Walt Whitman. Franklin B. Sanborn (1831–1917) was an abolitionist and a friend of John Brown. In 1860, when he was tried in Boston because of his refusal to testify before a committee of the U.S. Senate, Walt Whitman was in the courtroom (Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer [New York: Macmillan, 1955], 242). He reviewed Drum-Taps in the Boston Commonwealth on February 24, 1866 (Miller, Drum-Taps, lviii). He was editor of the Springfield Republican from 1868 to 1872, and was the author of books dealing with his friends Emerson, Thoreau, and Alcott. "A Visit to the Good Gray Poet" appeared without Sanborn's name in the Springfield Republican on April 19, 1876. For more on Sanborn, see Linda K. Walker, "Sanborn, Franklin Benjamin (Frank) (1831–1917)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 605. Transcript.James Matlock Scovel began to practice law in Camden in 1856. During the Civil War he was in the New Jersey legislature, and became a colonel in 1863. He campaigned actively for Horace Greeley in 1872, and was a special agent for the U.S. Treasury during Arthur's administration. In the 1870s Whitman frequently went to Scovel's home for Sunday breakfast, as he did on December 2 and 9, 1877 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). For a description of these breakfasts, see Walt Whitman's Diary in Canada, ed. William Sloane Kennedy (Boston: Small, Maynard, 1904), 59–60. For Scovel, see George R. Prowell's The History of Camden County, New Jersey (Philadelphia: L. J. Richards, 1886).
Apparently Whitman sent this note to Scovel, who was hospitalized shortly before the presidential election in 1876. The Camden lawyer included it in an article entitled "Walt Whitman: A Symposium in a Sick Room," which appeared in the Camden Daily Post on November 18, 1876. Scovel was one of Whitman's publicity agents at this time (see Whitman's July 31, 1875 letter to Rudolf Schmidt).
Transcript. Whitman acknowledged receipt of $21.97 in his April 23, 1876 letter to Carpenter. In a letter to Whitman on March 1, 1877, Carpenter wrote: "Your two volumes with my name written in them are my faithful companions." Edwin Haviland Miller's transcription was derived from G. M. Williamson, Catalogue of A Collection of Books, Letters and Manuscripts written by Walt Whitman (Jamaica, New York: The Marion Press, 1903), 28. Whitman's May 6, 1876 letter to John Swinton confirms that the recipient of this letter was John Swinton, who ordered books on April 24, 1876. For Ward, see Whitman's April 12, 1876 letter. Whitman also wrote about Miller's book order in his April 19, 1876 letter to John H. Johnston. George A. Townsend (1841–1914) was a journalist who contributed to the New York Herald and to the Chicago Tribune. See also Whitman's May 12, 1867, letter to William D. O'Connor. Probably because of Townsend's affiliation, Whitman sent "Song of the Exposition" to the Chicago Tribune on this date (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On May 10, 1876, the newspaper returned the manuscript because it arrived too late for publication. The editor of the Galaxy; see Whitman's August 7, 1867 letter to Church. Only the first page of the letter is reproduced by Williamson. Whitman, after noting receipt of $50 from Swinton for five sets of books on May 4, 1876, sent two additional volumes on May 6, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Transcript. "A Death-Sonnet for Custer" (later entitled "From Far Dakota's Cañons") appeared in the New York Daily Tribune on July 10, 1876. Reid acknowledged Whitman's note on July 10, 1876. John Hay (1838–1905), who was Lincoln's private secretary and an historian as well as Secretary of State under Theodore Roosevelt, praised this poem on July 25, 1876. Whitman sent the 1876 edition to Hay on August 1, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Transcript. On September 5, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), Whitman sent the 1876 edition to Mentia Taylor, of Brighton, England, and to Alexander Ireland (see Whitman's June 13, 1876 letter to Ireland).Transcript.
On June 3, 1876, Edward Carpenter ordered books for Charles G. Oates. Evidently Oates himself wrote for a copy of Two Rivulets, which Whitman sent on September 7, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The transcription of this note in the Stanford Library is dated "Sept 7th, 1881," which, in view of the entry in his Commonplace Book, is an error. When the postcard was sold at the Rains Galleries on April 14, 1937, the year was cited as 1876.
This note was sent to an Englishman to inform him of the price of the 1876 edition.Transcript.
William Michael Rossetti noted receipt of this letter on December 23, 1875.
In a letter dated November 16–30, 1875, Anne Gilchrist referred to a pleasant visit with Marvin, who had gone to England with a "Treas[ury] squad" on official business (see Whitman's December 17, 1875 letter to John Burroughs). On December 23, 1875, Rossetti described to Whitman a dinner he gave for Marvin, which was attended by the following "good Whitmanites": Anne Gilchrist; Joseph Knight, editor of the London Sunday Times; Justin McCarthy, a novelist and writer for the London Daily News; Edmund Gosse; and Rossetti's father-in-law, Ford Madox Brown. Alfred, Lord Tennyson had written to Whitman on August 11, 1875.Transcript.
This postcard to Stedman has been dated on the basis of an entry in Whitman's Commonplace Book: "April 13 from E. C. Stedman | 80 Broadway N Y. | sent books, slips photo | &c | $30.00" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.).
Whitman sent a letter to Stedman announcing the two volumes on April 12, 1876, and on May 5, 1876 he noted to John Swinton that Stedman had purchased books.
Transcript.In April 1876, Whitman, with the assistance of friends in America and abroad, began a promotional campaign for the sale of Leaves of Grass (sixth edition) and Two Rivulets. John Swinton suggested that a circular be sent to his brother William, John Quincy Adams Ward, Dr. Ferdinand Seeger, Edmund Clarence Stedman, Joaquin Miller, and D. Jardine, most of whom ordered copies of the books. See also the notes to Whitman's April 12, 1876 letter to various friends.
Swinton reported Whitman's "penury" in an article in the New York Herald on April 1, 1876. Robert Buchanan and William Michael Rossetti made appeals to English admirers to relieve the poet's poverty.
This letter is not extant. Martha Whitman's condition (mentioned in Walt Whitman's July 17, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman as "some cough") had not improved. On September 6, 1868, Jeff had informed George Washington Whitman that her doctor had recommended "a visit east," and on September 8, 1868, he wrote: "The doctors all unite in declaring that Mat has no disease of the lungs—it is all in the bronchial tubes of the throat" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). She remained in Brooklyn until the middle of December. By the writing of Walt Whitman's November 24, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, Martha's condition had not improved. DeWitt C. Enos, at 16 Clinton Avenue. Jeff arrived in Brooklyn about November 20, 1868; Walt Whitman inquired about Jeff's arrival in his November 24, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. To George on September 8, 1868, Jeff had complained that "the house is damp and I cannot seem to better it. I have spent abt $125 on it trying to fix it" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman began his correspondence with soldier Byron Sutherland on August 26, 1865, and had last written to Sutherland on April 4, 1870. The letter, now in the National Archives, is docketed: "Walt Whitman | Brooklyn, N. Y. | May 11. Recd May 12, 1870 | Asks extension of his leave | of absence— | May 12. Answered unofficially." Walbridge A. Field (1833–1899) was the Assistant Attorney General from 1869 to 1870. Later he was chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court. Late in April or early May 1870, Walt Whitman cut his thumb, which became infected, and he returned to Brooklyn for about two weeks. The thumb healed slowly, for his mother referred to it anxiously in letters written on June 1, 1870, June 8 (?), 1870 (Library of Congress), June 22, 1870, and June 29, 1870. Abby H. Price wrote this letter and Walt Whitman's May 11, 1870 letter to William D. O'Connor. Amos Tappan Akerman (1821–1880) served in the Confederate Army and was Attorney General from 1870 to 1871. James Speed (1812–1887) was appointed Attorney General in 1864 by Lincoln; because he was opposed to Johnson's policies, he resigned on July 17, 1866. Henry Stanbery (1803–1881) was appointed Attorney General in 1866 by Andrew Johnson but resigned on March 12, 1868, in order to defend Johnson at his impeachment trial. Orville Hickman Browning (1806–1881) completed the unexpired term of Stephen A. Douglas after his death in 1861. Defeated for re-election in 1862, he established a law firm in Washington, and later actively supported President Johnson, who appointed him Secretary of the Interior in 1866. Browning was appointed Acting Attorney General on March 12, 1868. At the conclusion of Johnson's administration, he returned to private law practice. William Maxwell Evarts (1818–1901) was chief counsel for Andrew Johnson during the impeachment trial. As a reward for his services, Johnson appointed Evarts Attorney General later in the year; Whitman reported the news in his July 17, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Evarts was Secretary of State from 1877 to 1881 and U.S. Senator from New York from 1885 to 1891. J. Hubley Ashton, the assistant Attorney General, actively interested himself in Walt Whitman's affairs, and obtained a position for the poet in his office after the Harlan fracas. Matthew F. Pleasants, who later became chief clerk in the Attorney General's office. The letter is endorsed: "Received Jany 10, 1871 | Dated Jany 9 1871 | From Walt Whitman Clerk | Subject: Asks for position of pardon clerk | Action. [unfilled space] | Filed June 2, 1871." This letter's envelope bears the address, "Llewellyn Avery, Jr. | Washington, | D.C." It is postmarked: "Washington | Feb | 20 | D.C." On the verso of the envelope, presumably in Avery's hand, appear several notations: "Received February 20th, 1867. | Walt Whitman was forty years | old during the 83d Anniversary | of American Independence.…'I am Walt Whitman liberal and lusty | as nature.'" Gilbert A. Tracy (1835–1918) was at this time a clerk in the War Department. Before the war he had been a teacher in Connecticut. Later he became a noted collector of Lincolniana, and published Uncollected Letters of Abraham Lincoln (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1917).This letter's envelope bears the address, "Mrs. Louisa Whitman | p.o. box 218, | Brooklyn, New York." It is postmarked: "Washington D.C. | Jan | 22."
Augustus Woodbury, Burnside and the Ninth Army Corps: A Narrative of Operations in North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee (Sidney S. Rider & Bros., Publishers, Providence, R.I.). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, on January 17, 1867, spoke of a visit from Emma Price: "i told her if shed wait till the teakettle boiled i would make her some tea, so she took off her hat and i fried her a fresh egg and bread and butter." Van Brunt Bergen (1841–1917) was the son of Congressman Teunis G. Bergen. He graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1863 with a degree in civil engineering and was employed on the Brooklyn Water Works from 1864 to 1895. In 1884, he wrote a short history of the department, which was printed in Henry R. Stiles, ed., The Civil, Political, Professional, and Ecclesiastical History . . . of the County of Kings and the City of Brooklyn, N.Y. from 1683 to 1884 (New York: W. W. Munsell & Co., 1884), 584–594. According to Thomas Jefferson Whitman's December 21, 1866 letter to Walt Whitman, Bergen contributed $2 to the fund raised for the soldiers' dinner mentioned in Walt Whitman's December 24, 1866 letter to his mother. (This material draws upon information provided by Edna Huntington, librarian of the Long Island Historical Society.) Probably Julius W. Mason, a lieutenant colonel in the Fifth Cavalry. On February 10, 1863, Jeff mentioned a J. W. Mason, who "used to be in my party on the Water Works." Mason remained in the army until his death in 1882. Mary Mix lived with her daughter, Juliet Grayson, who operated the boardinghouse at 468 M North, where Walt Whitman lived between late January 1865 and February 1866. After her daughter's death on January 7, 1867 (which Walt Whitman reported to his mother on January 15, 1867), Mrs. Mix left Washington, which Walt Whitman mentioned in his letter to his mother of January 29, 1867. Hannah Brush Whitman, born in 1753, died on January 6, 1834.Mary Mix evidently went to live with Samuel S. Haskell, Jr., who was associated with his father, an importer of bags.
Henry Ward Beecher (1813–1887), Congregational clergyman and brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, accepted the pastorate of the Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, in 1847. Walt Whitman described him briefly in the Brooklyn Daily Advertizer of May 25, 1850. His father, Lyman Beecher (1775–1863), was also a clergyman, who upon his retirement lived with his son in Brooklyn.
J. Hubley Ashton, the assistant Attorney General, actively interested himself in Walt Whitman's affairs and obtained a position for the poet in his office after the Harlan fracas. In her letter of January 26, 1867, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman described the lameness and told Walt Whitman that Jeff planned to visit him in Washington the following week. Mary Mix lived with her daughter, Juliet Grayson, who operated the boardinghouse at 468 M North, where Walt Whitman lived between late January 1865 and February 1866. After her daughter's death on January 7, 1867 (which Walt Whitman reported to his mother on January 15, 1867), Mix left Washington to live with her granddaughter, which Walt Whitman mentioned in his January 22, 1867 letter to his mother. Walt Whitman wrote of Jeff's visit in his February 19, 1867 letter to his mother. J. Hubley Ashton was the assistant Attorney General from 1864 to 1869. The Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–1867) befriended the Whitman family and became especially close to Jeff and Mattie. Late in life, Ruggles lost interest in his practice and devoted himself to painting cabinet pictures called "Ruggles Gems." Walt Whitman enclosed a copy of Ruggles' obituary with his March 19, 1867 letter to his mother. Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman (1833–1890), Walt's brother. Juliet Grayson operated the boardinghouse at 468 M North, where Walt Whitman lived between late January 1865 and February 1866. Whitman reported her death in his January 15, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Newton Benedict. The 1869 Directory listed him as a clerk in the State Department and Mrs. Benedict as a clerk in the First Comptroller's office. The 1869 annual report from the Commissioner of Patents recorded that a Newton Benedict received a patent for a "sliding clamp… forming, for the wick, a slitted cap or covering" on a lamp, as well as for the construction of the press-gauge for the wick. A reconstruction bill under discussion aroused bitter controversy. The first Reconstruction Act was passed March 2, 1867. In his February 26, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, Walt Whitman wrote that he had sent two almanacs to his mother, though both were calibrated for the Washington, D.C., area and not for New York. According to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letter of February 21, 1867, "Jeff is pleased with his visit to washington he likes the Oconors very much says he spent a very agreable evening there. . . ." Walt Whitman enclosed $5 in this letter for his mother, who wrote on February 21, 1867: "i feel Walt sometimes as if you was too liberall with me but its all i have except sometimes 15 or 20 cents . . . ." Walt Whitman also wrote about Kephart's recovery in his March 5, March 12, and March 19, 1867 letters to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, noting that by the time of his April 2, 1867 letter, Kephart had "quite recovered." John H. Surratt, who had been a secret dispatch bearer for the Confederacy and involved, with his mother Anna, in John Wilkes Booth's conspiracy, fled the country before the murder of Abraham Lincoln. He remained a fugitive until he was arrested in Egypt in 1866. Unlike his mother, who had been convicted by a military tribunal and ordered hanged on July 7, 1865, the son was tried in a civil court, between June 10 and August 10, 1867. Walt Whitman described the trial in his July 25, 1867 letter to Alfred Pratt. When the jury could not agree, a new trial was ordered, but because of inadequate evidence the government quietly released Surratt on June 22, 1868. His sister Anna sought clemency for her mother in 1865, but, presumably because of a conspiracy, her plea never reached the desk of President Andrew Johnson. See David Miller DeWitt, The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (New York: Macmillan, 1909). Walt Whitman ultimately declined the invitation in his February 26, 1867 letter to Ellen M. O'Connor. This letter is endorsed, "Ans'd." Its envelope bears the address, "Ellen M. O'Connor." William O'Connor had invited Walt Whitman to dinner earlier that day, but Whitman wrote in his February 26, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman that he would likely not accept the offer as, "I believe I don't care to go to-day." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letter of February 27, 1867 was filled with complaints about her health ("i feel my age more this winter then i ever did before"), about Jeff's children, and about George's business difficulties.Walt Whitman first wrote of Andrew J. Kephart in his February 26, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Kephart was a soldier from Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, admitted from the 44th Regiment Infantry for bleeding at the lungs.
Walt Whitman also wrote about Kephart's recovery in his March 12 and March 19, 1867 letters to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, and by Whitman's letter of April 2, 1867, Kephart had "quite recovered."
Congress did vote twice to impeach President Andrew Johnson. On December 5, 1867, an impeachment vote failed 57–108; all three votes of the more famous May 1868 impeachment motion failed 35–19, one vote shy of the two-thirds majority needed for an impeachment conviction. Walt Whitman had written in his February 12, 1867 letter to his mother that he had moved back into Juliet Grayson's boarding house, though his original room was now occupied by Newton Benedict. The new Congress, according to the New York Herald, had 128 Republicans and 35 Democrats in the House and 40 Republicans and 12 Democrats in the Senate. The Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–1867) befriended the Whitman family and became especially close to Whitman's brother Jeff and sister-in-law Mattie. Late in life, Ruggles lost interest in his practice and devoted himself to painting cabinet pictures called "Ruggles Gems." According to Walt Whitman's March 12, 1867 letter to his mother, this letter also included money and envelopes. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman confirmed receipt of the money and the envelopes in her March 15, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman. This letter's envelope bears the address, "Mrs. Louisa Whitman, | p.o. Box 218, | Brooklyn, | New York." It is postmarked: "Washington | Mar | 12 | D.C." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dutifully replied on March 15, 1867: "i shall certainly do so for i find i cant do much in the way of any thing that is laborious, its hard to give up but old age will creep on us . . . ."Walt Whitman first wrote of Andrew J. Kephart in his February 26, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Kephart was a soldier from Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, admitted from the 44th Regiment Infantry for bleeding at the lungs.
Walt Whitman also wrote about Kephart's recovery in his March 5 and March 19, 1867 letters to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman,and by the time of Whitman's letter of April 2, 1867, Kephart had "quite recovered."
J. Hubley Ashton was the assistant Attorney General from 1864 to 1869. Walt Whitman had written in his February 12, 1867 letter to his mother that he had moved back into Juliet Grayson's boarding house, now operated by Mr. and Mrs. Newton Benedict (Grayson died on January 7, 1867). This change in ownership was first noted in Whitman's February 12, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Walt's original room in the boarding house was now occupied by Newton Benedict. Walt Whitman's March 5, 1867 letter to his mother included money and envelopes. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman confirmed receipt of the money and the envelopes in her March 15, 1867 letter to Whitman. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman continued in her letters to complain of the severe winter. On March 21, 1867, she lamented: "it has been almost as much as your life was worth to get to the privy"; and on March 28, 1867: "it will be spring one of these days i hope . . . ." Mr. and Mrs. Newton Benedict operated the boarding house after the death of Juliet Grayson on January 7, 1867. This change in ownership was first noted in Walt Whitman's February 12, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman.Walt Whitman first wrote of Andrew J. Kephart in his February 26, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Kephart was a soldier from Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, admitted from the 44th Regiment Infantry for bleeding at the lungs.
Walt Whitman also wrote about Kephart's recovery in his March 5, March 12, and March 19, 1867 letters to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman.
This letter's envelope bears the address, "Wm. D. O'Connor, | Light House Board, | U.S. Treasury Dep't. | Washington, | D.C." It is postmarked: "New-York | May | 8 | (?)." On May 2, 1867, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman reported that George Washington Whitman was not well, but was still able to go to work; she did not indicate the gravity of his illness. She was upset by all the turmoil involved in Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's moving. Martha, Jeff's wife, somewhat impulsively, sold all the furnishings "and spent the money as fast as it came in for clothes to go in the country." Under the circumstances, since the family desperately needed some one who could "take things coolly," it is understandable that Walt Whitman decided to hurry to Brooklyn.Henry Clapp (1814–1875) was one of Walt Whitman's intimates from the Pfaffian days. Restless and adventurous, Clapp roamed to Paris, returned in the 1840s to Lynn, Massachusetts, to edit the Essex County Washington (later The Pioneer), and eventually went to New York, where he became "king of the Bohemians." As editor of the short-lived Saturday Press (1858–1860; 1865–1866), he printed "A Child's Reminiscence" ("Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking"), and, in 1860, praised Leaves of Grass when others condemned it; see Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1955), 242–244, 260–261. "Henry Clapp," Walt Whitman said to Horace Traubel, "stepped out from the crowd of hooters—was my friend: a much needed ally at that time (having a paper of his own) when almost the whole press of America when it mentioned me at all treated me with derision or worse. If you ever write anything about me in which it may be properly alluded to I hope you will say good things about Henry Clapp" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 1:236). In his reply to Walt Whitman on May 9, 1867, O'Connor was amused that Clapp was "becoming a respectable citizen. When once a man enters upon the downward path, &c.…one can see as the guilty result of Bohemianism, a place in the Common Council or Board of Aldermen!"
See also Clapp's March 27, 1860 and October 3, 1867 letters to Whitman. Clapp is referred to in Whitman's September 15, 1867 letter to William D. O'Connor and in his September 21, 1867 letter to John Burroughs. See William Winter's sympathetic account of Clapp in Old Friends, Being Literary Recollections of Other Days (New York: Moffat, Yard and Company, 1909), 57–63.
Edward Howard House (1836–1901) was music and drama critic of the Boston Courier from 1854 to 1858, and was appointed to the same post on the New York Tribune in 1858. Walt Whitman evidently knew House as early as 1857, for, in his "Autograph Notebook—1857" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), he pasted a calling card signed by House. During the Civil War, House was a war correspondent for the Tribune.
At this time House was not with the New York Tribune; he was engaged in theatrical management in New York and London.
O'Connor, much flattered by this paragraph, compared himself to "a young girl finding herself beloved or admired by some one unsuspected before." In the same letter of May 9, 1867, he went on to describe how deeply Whitman's mother "affected" him: "Her cheerfulness, her infinite gentleness and tenderness, were like the deep smile of the evening sky. As I saw her that night, with the children on each side, and each leaning a head upon her, I thought of the Madonna grown old." This letter's envelope bears the address, "Wm. D. O'Connor, | Light House Board, | Treasury Department, | Washington, | D.C." It is postmarked: "New-York | May | 13." In his May 5, 1867 letter to William D. O'Connor, Walt Whitman wrote that his brother George was ill with "malignant erysipelas, with great swelling, sores, & for a while complete blindness." H. J. Ramsdell was a clerk in Washington; in a hospital notebook (Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, California), Walt Whitman called him "chief clerk." In the 1869 Directory, he was listed as a correspondent. On May 8, 1867, Ramsdell reported the high praise that George Townsend, the journalist (1841–1914), accorded to Walt Whitman—"a stupendous genius," "the song of a God." In his July 17, 1867 letter, he asked Walt Whitman to do whatever he could for Judge Milton Kelly, of Idaho, against whom charges had been brought by "a very bad man," Congressman Edward D. Holbrook (1836–1870). Actually, on July 12, 1867, Walt Whitman had submitted to the Attorney General a "Report on the Charges submitted by Hon. E. D. Holbrook, Del[egate] from Idaho Terr[itory], against Hon. Milton Kelly, Asso[ciate] Just[ice] Supreme Court of Idaho" (National Archives). To this forty-one page summary of the evidence, all in Walt Whitman's hand, there is appended a letter signed by Stanbery but written by Walt Whitman, dated July 20, 1867: "The Conclusion in the preceding Report is hereby adopted by me, & ordered to stand as the decision of this Office in the Case, so far as now presented." On July 22, 1867, Ramsdell apologized for his "aggressiveness." (Ramsdell's letters are in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) Judge Kelly wrote to Walt Whitman on June (?) 21, 1867 (National Archives), and again on August 9, 1867. On November 15, 1875, Ramsdell, among others, petitioned Benjamin H. Bristow (1832–1896), Secretary of the Treasury, that Walt Whitman "be appointed to a position in the Treasury Department" (National Archives). On May 9, O'Connor wrote: "I enclose a letter I got from that child of a burnt father, Allen…It is truly Pecksniffian, and seems to have been written on all-fours. You will see that it ends the matter of publishing the book, and he doesn't say a word about John Burroughs' book…I think, on the whole, it is probably altogether best that Carleton should have nothing to do with 'Leaves of Grass,' though I would well enough like to have him publish the 'Notes' " (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 3:521–522). George W. Carleton was a New York publisher, and Henry Stanley Allen was evidently associated with him, since the 1867 Directory listed them at the same business address. In 1864 O'Connor had suggested Carleton as the publisher of Drum-Taps; see Trowbridge's February 12, 1864 letter to Walt Whitman. In 1865 O'Connor proposed to George William Curtis (1824–1892) the editor of Harper's Weekly, that he write to Carleton about the publication of The Good Gray Poet; see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), 1:86. Since O'Connor was not successful in either attempt, it is surprising that he once again sought to interest Carleton in publication schemes. See also Miller, ed., Drum-Taps, xxv. William Conant Church (1836–1917), journalist and publisher, was a correspondent for several New York newspapers until he founded the Army and Navy Journal in 1863. With his brother Francis Pharcellus (1839–1906), he established the Galaxy in 1866. Financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon and Company in 1868, and it was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. William published a biography of his life-long friend Ulysses S. Grant in 1897, and Francis wrote for the New York Sun the unsigned piece "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." See Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 332–350; Donald N. Bigelow, William Conant Church & "The Army and Navy Journal" (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952); J. R. Pearson, Jr., "Story of a Magazine: New York's Galaxy, 1866–1878," Bulletin of the New York Public Library, 61 (1957), 217–237, 281–302.This payment was compensation for "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867," a poem Walt Whitman submitted to the Galaxy in his August 7, 1867 letter to William Church.
For images and a transcription of the poem as it appeared in the September 1867 edition of the Galaxy, see "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867".
This poem was never published in the Galaxy. It later became "Ethiopia Saluting the Colors"; see Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 337. Whitman withdrew the poem in his November 2, 1868 letter to Francis Church. "Shooting Niagara: and After?" (Macmillan's Magazine, 16 1867: 319–336). Whitman's piece was published in the December issue. See Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 337–338; and Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1955), 389–391. Walt Whitman had submitted "Ethiopia Commenting" to the Galaxy on September 7, 1867. If he sent the poem "to another quarter," it has not as yet been discovered. It later became "Ethiopia Saluting the Colors"; see Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature 23.3 (November 1951), 337. This letter's envelope bears the address, "William D. O'Connor, | Light House Board, | Treasury Department, | Washington, | D.C." It is postmarked: "New York | (?) | 15." Though none of Walt Whitman's letters to the family is extant between the periods of his two visits to Brooklyn in 1867, it is possible to reconstruct the activities of the family from correspondence addressed to him. Jeff was in St. Louis, and Martha and her children boarded with friends in Towanda, Pennsylvania, until they returned to Brooklyn, about the time Whitman was writing. George, not completely recovered from his illness, was working and living with his mother. The family was considering, as Whitman noted, building a home. Charles Heyde, in June 1867, complained vituperatively of Hannah's vulgarity and meanness, and described an encounter with her which he came out of with "the back of my right hand so badly lacerated by her nails that I am compelld to bandage it." Ed, at least, caused no one any trouble. (Jesse had been confined to an asylum in December of 1864.)William Conant Church (1836–1917), journalist and publisher, was a correspondent for several New York newspapers until he founded the Army and Navy Journal in 1863. With his brother Francis Pharcellus (1839–1906), he established the Galaxy in 1866. Financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon and Company in 1868, and it was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. William published a biography of his life-long friend Ulysses S. Grant in 1897, and Francis wrote for the New York Sun the unsigned piece "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." See Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 332–350; Donald N. Bigelow, William Conant Church & "The Army and Navy Journal" (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952); J. R. Pearson, Jr., "Story of a Magazine: New York's Galaxy, 1866–1878," Bulletin of the New York Public Library, 61 (1957), 217–237, 281–302.
Walt Whitman wrote positively of his meeting with Francis P. Church in his September 27, 1867 letter to William D. O'Connor.
Henry Clapp (1814–1875) was one of Walt Whitman's intimates from the Pfaffian days. Restless and adventurous, Clapp roamed to Paris, returned in the 1840s to Lynn, Massachusetts, to edit the Essex County Washington (later The Pioneer), and eventually went to New York, where he became "king of the Bohemians." As editor of the short-lived Saturday Press (1858–1860; 1865–1866), he printed "A Child's Reminiscence" ("Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking"), and, in 1860, praised Leaves of Grass when others condemned it; see Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1955), 242–244, 260–261. "Henry Clapp," Walt Whitman said to Horace Traubel, "stepped out from the crowd of hooters—was my friend: a much needed ally at that time (having a paper of his own) when almost the whole press of America when it mentioned me at all treated me with derision or worse. If you ever write anything about me in which it may be properly alluded to I hope you will say good things about Henry Clapp" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 1:236). In his reply to Walt Whitman on May 9, 1867, O'Connor was amused that Clapp was "becoming a respectable citizen. When once a man enters upon the downward path, &c.…one can see as the guilty result of Bohemianism, a place in the Common Council or Board of Aldermen!"
See also Clapp's March 27, 1860 and October 3, 1867 letters to Whitman. Clapp is referred to in Whitman's September 15, 1867 letter to William D. O'Connor and in his September 21, 1867 letter to John Burroughs. See William Winter's sympathetic account of Clapp in Old Friends, Being Literary Recollections of Other Days (New York: Moffat, Yard and Company, 1909), 57–63.
According to Thomas Donaldson, Walt Whitman the Man (New York: Francis P. Harper, 1896), 206, Whitman said that he had not visited Pfaff's between 1865 and 1881. For Whitman's account of a supper at Pfaff's, see his early August 1863 letter to Hugo Fritsch. A clerk, according to the New York Directory of 1867–1868. William Winter (1836–1917) was a "sub-editor" of the Saturday Press and drama critic of the New York Tribune from 1865 to 1909. He was one of the "vilifiers" of Leaves of Grass, and was the butt of Whitman's idolators. Whitman himself termed Winter "a dried-up cadaverous schoolmaster" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 2:93), "miserable cuss" (1:61), and "an arrant damned fool" (3:431). In 1888 Winter voiced his hostility to Whitman before an English audience; see William Sloane Kennedy, The Fight of a Book for the World (West Yarmouth, Massachusetts, 1926), 81–82. In Old Friends, Being Literary Recollections of Other Days, Winter depicted the Pfaffians unsympathetically. These men were Whitman's companions during the Pfaff's days, most of whom, like Clapp himself and Winter, had moved from bohemianism to respectability; they had entered upon O'Connor's "downward path." Richard Henry Stoddard (1825–1903) was appointed custom inspector in New York through the influence of Nathaniel Hawthorne. From 1860 to 1870, he was a literary reviewer for the New York World. A poet as well as an anthologist, he was often characterized as the "Nestor of American literature" (Dictionary of American Biography). He referred briefly to Walt Whitman in Recollections Personal and Literary (New York: A. S. Barnes & Co., 1903), 266. For Edmund Clarence Stedman (1833–1908), one of the few Pfaffians with whom Walt Whitman remained friendly throughout his life, see Whitman's October 20, 1863 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836–1907) was associated with Clapp's Saturday Press during its first phase; see Ferris Greenslet, the Life of Thomas Bailey Aldrich (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, Co., 1908), 37–49. In 1865 Aldrich left New York and returned to Boston—to gentility and Longfellow. He was editor of the Atlantic Monthly from 1881 to 1890. For Aldrich's opinion of Whitman's poetry, see Greenslet, 138–139. William Dean Howells (1837–1920), the novelist, described his first meeting with Walt Whitman at Pfaff's in Literary Friends and Acquaintances (New York: Harper & Bros., 1900), 73–76. Wendall Phillips Garrison (1840–1907), son of the celebrated abolitionist, was literary editor of the Nation. Ada Clare, the stage and pen name of Jane McElheney (or McElhinney) (1836–1874), made her stage debut on August 15, 1855, at Wallack's Theatre in New York; see George Clinton Densmore Odell, Annals of the New York Stage (New York: Columbia University Press, 1927–1949), 6:365. She was an intimate of the bohemians who gathered at Pfaff's and wrote for the New York Leader. In his August 31, 1862 letter to Walt Whitman, William W. Thayer wrote: "How's Bohemia and its Queen the charming Ada? She talks with us every week in the Leader in articles that wify and I love to read." Her autobiographical novel, Only a Woman's Heart (1866), relates the sufferings of a woman in love with a young actor who becomes famous in the role of Romeo. Except for the contrived romantic conclusion and some melodramatic plotting, the book is an interesting, and occasionally penetrating, study of an Ophelia-like woman (Ada herself). She returned to the stage in 1867–1868. See Charles Warren Stoddard, "Ada Clare, Queen of Bohemia," National Magazine, 22 (1905), 637–645; Albert Parry, Garrets and Pretenders: A History of Bohemianism in America (New York: Covici-Friede, 1933), 14–37; Thomas Donaldson, Walt Whitman the Man (1896), 208; Emory Holloway, Whitman—An Interpretation in Narrative (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1926); Ralph Adimari and Emory Holloway, ed., New York Dissected (New York: Rufus Rockwell Wilson, 1936), 232–233; Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1931), 2–4. When O'Connor had belatedly sent Clapp a copy of his pamphlet, he had written defensively: "You don't believe in heroes, and I do! So I know beforehand that my pamphlet comes to you at a disadvantage" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Possibly Thomas Haggerty (or Hagerty), listed in Washington Directories as a clerk in the Treasury Department. The Good Gray Poet was published by Bunce and Henry E. Huntington Library, 459 Broome Street, New York. The correspondence between the publishers and O'Connor is in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Burroughs' Notes on Walt Whitman as Poet and Person was printed in Washington at the author's expense and was published in New York by the American News Company; see Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1931), The Life and Letters of John Burroughs (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1925), 1:116. See also Whitman's May 12, 1867 letter to William D. O'Connor. Burroughs' book was composed with some assistance from O'Connor and Walt Whitman; see Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (New York: Macmillan Co., 1955), 383, and Frederick P. Hier, Jr., "The End of a Literary Mystery," American Mercury, 1 (1924), 471–478. Interestingly, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote to her son on August 1, 1867: "you know i like . . . the good gray poet better than i doo borroughs book. Oconor shows the spirit its wrote in. i should form an idea of the man if i had never seen him by reading his writings." This letter's envelope bears the address, "William D. O'Connor, | Light House Board, | Treasury Department, | Washington, | D.C." It is postmarked: "New York | Sep | 27; Carrier | Sep | 28 | 1 Del." This poem, sent by Walt Whitman with his September 7, 1867 letter to William Conant Church and Francis Pharcellus Church was never published in the Galaxy. It later became "Ethiopia Saluting the Colors"; see Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 337. Whitman withdrew the poem in his November 2, 1868 letter to Francis Church. One of the objects of Walt Whitman's Brooklyn visit was to arrange for the construction of a house for the family. Timothy Titcomb was the pseudonym of Josiah Gilbert Holland (1819–1881), who was an editor of the Springfield Republican from 1850 to 1862, and author of Titcomb's Letters to Young People, Simple and Married (1858). While Titcomb was editor of Scribner's Monthly (1870–1881), Whitman submitted poems to him; see Whitman's December 12, 1875 letter to Josiah Gilbert Holland. Walt Whitman wrote to Gray and Bloom on March 19–20, 1863. The Galaxy published O'Connor's "The Ballad of Sir Ball" in March of 1868; see Whitman's May 18, 1868, letter to Messrs. Sheldon and Company. This letter is endorsed, "Sept. 21.—1867— | Ans'd." Its envelope bears the address, "Mrs. Ellen M. O'Connor, | Care of Benjamin Gardiner, | Jamestown, | Rhode Island." It is postmarked: "Brooklyn | Sep | 23 | N. Y." "Shooting Niagara: and After?" (Macmillan's Magazine, 16 1867: 319–336). Whitman's piece was published in the December issue. See Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 337–338; and Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1955), 389–391. William Conant Church (1836–1917), journalist and publisher, was a correspondent for several New York newspapers until he founded the Army and Navy Journal in 1863. With his brother Francis Pharcellus (1839–1906), he established the Galaxy in 1866. Financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon and Company in 1868, and it was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. William published a biography of his life-long friend Ulysses S. Grant in 1897, and Francis wrote for the New York Sun the unsigned piece "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." See Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 332–350; Donald N. Bigelow, William Conant Church & "The Army and Navy Journal" (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952); J. R. Pearson, Jr., "Story of a Magazine: New York's Galaxy, 1866–1878," Bulletin of the New York Public Library, 61 (1957), 217–237, 281–302. William Conant Church (1836–1917), journalist and publisher, was a correspondent for several New York newspapers until he founded the Army and Navy Journal in 1863. With his brother Francis Pharcellus (1839–1906), he established the Galaxy in 1866. Financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon and Company in 1868, and it was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. William published a biography of his life-long friend Ulysses S. Grant in 1897, and Francis wrote for the New York Sun the unsigned piece "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." See Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 332–350; Donald N. Bigelow, William Conant Church & "The Army and Navy Journal" (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952); J. R. Pearson, Jr., "Story of a Magazine: New York's Galaxy, 1866–1878," Bulletin of the New York Public Library, 61 (1957), 217–237, 281–302.Address: "M. D. Conway, | 14 Milborne Grove, | Brompton W. | London, | England."
This draft letter was prepared by Walt Whitman for William D. O'Connor to copy and send to Conway, who was Walt Whitman's agent for the forthcoming English edition; see Whitman's letters of July 24 and November 1, 1867 to Moncure D. Conway. In 1888 Whitman did not remember whether O'Connor "had used it or not." "I must," he said to Horace Traubel, "have been intending to assist him in something he was to say to Conway. If he used it at all he probably recast it in his own manner" (With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 1:381–382). The probabilities are that O'Connor sent it without substantial alteration. William Michael Rossetti noted in his diary, on November 28, 1867, that O'Connor "has written another letter (not yet in Conway's hands) setting forth the points he would wish insisted on in any prefatory work of mine. I replied to him in cordial terms, but to the effect that the Preface and part of the Selection are now in print, and cannot well be remodelled" (Rossetti Papers [London: Sands & Co, 1903], 244).
A draft of this letter in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., includes two notations, written at different times: "Part of Wm O'Connor's | letter to Conway. | Nov. 10, 1867. . . . Good for | use in | review of Leaves | of Grass."
That Whitman took pains in composing the letter is evidenced by the many changes he made in the draft which he retained and which Horace Traubel printed. He observed to Traubel: "It gives my idea of my own book: a man's idea of his own book—his serious idea—is not to be despised. I do not lack in egotism, as you know—the sort of egotism that is willing to know itself as honestly as it is willing to know third or fourth parties" (With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 1:83).
This paragraph does not appear in Walt Whitman's first draft. However, toward the end of that version appears this simple statement—"Personally the author is a man of normal characteristics, & of moderate, healthy, following a regular employment, averse to any display" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 1:384). The earlier draft begins at this point. In criticizing Conway's article in the Fortnightly Review, O'Connor wrote on December 5, 1866: "The great, paramount, unmistakable thing about 'Leaves of Grass' is its modernness" (Yale). In Notes on Walt Whitman, As Poet and Person (New York: American News Company, 1867), Burroughs wrote: "As we gaze and gaze, and wish the unlocking word, gradually the dimness and the many-tinted, many-twining lines become illumined, definite, showing clearly the word—MODERNNESS" (36). For Walt Whitman's critique of Conway see his November 13, 1866 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. This letter's envelope bears the address, "William O'Connor." Walt Whitman boarded with Mrs. Newton Benedict in 1867 after the death of Juliet Grayson; see Walt Whitman's February 12, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. The contents of this note are too brief and indefinite to make dating certain. It could, for example, refer to any one of a number of publishing ventures in the period between 1865 and 1867, either O'Connor's or Whitman's. The contents of this note are too brief and indefinite to make dating certain. It could, for example, refer to any one of a number of publishing ventures in the period between 1865 and 1867, either O'Connor's or Whitman's.No copies of the Citizen are extant before July 10, 1869; it is not known precisely when "A Carol of Harvest for 1867" was reprinted. (William Livingston Alden, associate editor of the New York Citizen, wrote to Whitman on August 9, August 19, and November 18, 1867. Whitman also corresponded with Alden on August 27, 1868, in reference to another piece.)
"A Carol of Harvest for 1867," first appeared in the Galaxy. On August 1, 1867, William Conant Church, from the office of the Galaxy, wrote to O'Connor: "It seems to me that this glorious harvest of 1867, sown & reaped by the returned soldiers, ought to be sung in verse.…Walt Whitman is the man to chaunt the song. Will you not ask him to do it for The Galaxy?" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The editors, in a letter to Walt Whitman on August 8, 1867, considered "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867" (later titled "The Return of the Heroes") "to rank with the very best of your poems." For images and a transcription of "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867" as it appeared in the September 1867 edition of the Galaxy, see "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867".
There are extant no letters from Walt Whitman to his family for the latter part of the year, though, as "A Check list of Whitman's Letters" makes clear, he wrote frequently. There were no startling developments. While Jeff was in St. Louis, Martha lived with Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, and her children ("the young fry department," as Walt Whitman's mother termed them on December 15, 1867) continued to annoy their grandmother. George spent some time in Philadelphia in November on a job that Moses Lane evidently had obtained for him; for Lane, see Whitman's January 16, 1863 letter to Thomas Jefferson Whitman. Jeff returned to Brooklyn in December, and, on December 26, 1867, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman reported that Jeff was taking his family to St. Louis.This letter's envelope bears the address, "William O'Connor, | Light House Bureau."
Perhaps because O'Connor's correspondence with William Michael Rossetti had preceded his own, Walt Whitman encouraged his friend to reply to Rossetti's letter of December 16, 1867. When O'Connor wrote to Rossetti on January 20, 1867, he included Whitman's paragraph with only a few unimportant alterations; see Rossetti Papers (London: Sands & Co, 1903), 342.
Walt Whitman replied to these letters on November 22, and December 3, 1867. John Camden Hotten (1832–1873) printed Swinburne's Poems and Ballads when another publisher withdrew after the book caused a furor. Perhaps because he had lived in the United States from 1848 to 1856, Hotten introduced to an English audience such writers as Lowell, Artemus Ward, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Bret Harte. After his death, his business was purchased by Chatto and Windus. In his letter to Conway on December 5, 1866, O'Connor had suggested Hotten as the English publisher of Walt Whitman: "Seems to me the courage that prints Laus Veneris might dare this" (Yale). Whitman consented to the sale of Hotten's English edition of Leaves of Grass in his February 17, 1868 letter to Moncure D. Conway. Walt Whitman first made mention of this agreement in his December 30, 1867 letter to Routledge and Sons. This is the first reference to The Broadway in his letters to his mother. Neither letter is extant. Since Jeff and his family had gone to St. Louis at the end of 1867, Walt Whitman expected news of their activities. According to his mother's letter of February 12 (?), 1868, Jeff had received a letter from Walt Whitman. Congress was debating a supplementary reconstruction bill. According to the Washington National Republican, Professor Alexander Agassiz (1835–1910), the zoologist, lectured at the E Street Baptist Church on January 24, 1868, on "the succession of organized beings in geological times." This letter's envelope bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor, | at house of Mrs. Price, | 279 East 55th street, | New York City." It is postmarked: "Washington D.C. | (?)." According to Walt Whitman's February 17, 1868 letter to Moncure D. Conway, Ellen O'Connor had been in Providence, R.I. Whitman refers to O'Connor's sister, Mary Jane Channing, also referenced in his September 11, 1864 letter to O'Connor. Whitman visited the Channings in Providence later in the year. William O'Connor had not been well for several weeks. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote to Walt Whitman on February 17, 1868: "i was in hopes mrs Oconor had returned for his sake. if he is not very well it would probably make him more comfortable." On February 22, 1868, President Johnson ordered the removal of Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War. The President had suspended Stanton on August 12, 1867. According to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letter of February 12(?), 1868, Emma Price had recently visited her during a snow storm. The English edition of Walt Whitman's poems was released on February 5, 1868; see William Michael Rossetti, Rossetti Papers (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1903), 297. Swinburne at the conclusion of William Blake: A Critical Essay (1868), 300–303, pointed out similarities between Walt Whitman and Blake, and praised "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking" and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," which he termed "the most sweet and sonorous nocturn ever chanted in the church of the world." Included in Songs before Sunrise (1871) was his famous lyric "To Walt Whitman in America." For the story of Swinburne's veneration of Walt Whitman and his later recantation, see Harold Blodgett, Walt Whitman in England (Cornell: Cornell University Press, 1934), 103–121. In his February 18, 1868 letter to John Camden Hotten, Walt Whitman accepted Hotten's offer of "one shilling, (or 25 cents gold)" for each copy of the English edition sold. William Douglas and Ellen O'Connor were living in John and Ursula Burroughs' new home. A reference to a lost letter. In his April 24, 1868 letter to John Camden Hotten, Walt Whitman wrote graciously about the reviews Hotten had been forwarding. On April 7, 1868, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman said that she was "troubled with the dissiness in my head but to day i feel entirely free from it." A Washington acquaintance, Mary Mix was first mentioned in Walt Whitman's June 26, 1866 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Probably a nephew of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, he was listed as a "teamster" in the 1869 Washington Directory. "Jo. Velsor," mentioned in Walt Whitman's July 2, 1866 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman as a driver in the Quartermaster Department, was probably a brother. Not identified. In 1868 George Washington Whitman lived with his mother in Brooklyn. He was an inspector for Moses Lane, chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works (for Lane, see Walt Whitman's January 16, 1863 letter to Thomas Jefferson Whitman). On July 8, 1868, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote to Walt Whitman: "Mr Lane makes strait for george [when there is trouble]. Jeff says george needent be uneasy about being discharged as long as lane is there." George continued to build houses on speculation. William Maxwell Evarts (1818–1901) was chief counsel for Andrew Johnson during the impeachment trial of 1868. As a reward for his services, Johnson appointed Evarts Attorney General later in the year; Evarts was Secretary of State from 1877 to 1881 and U.S. Senator from New York from 1885 to 1891. Jeff wrote at length from St. Louis on July 12, 1868: "We are all pretty well, all very well except Mat. She has a bad cough—and she has had it so long that I begin to feel quite anxious that she should be rid of it. I have had a doctor examine her lungs two or three times but he says they are not as yet to any extent affected." Whitman refers to Burroughs' "A Night-Hunt in the Adirondacks," Putnam's Monthly Magazine, 12 (1868), 149–154. Whitman responded personally to William Michael Rossetti on July 28, 1871. Probably because of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's health, Jeff and his family visited her in the fall; Martha visited her mother-in-law in the spring or early summer. Martha and her children went to Camden to see George's wife Louisa, whom he had married on April 14, 1871. On October 10, 1871, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote to Walt Whitman: "george and loo and Jeff insists on my breaking up houskeeping. they dident only insist but almost commanded me. i told them i should remain here this winter (if i lived). they none of them want edd, walter, and they would soon get tired of paying his board and we aint much expence to any but you, walter dear, for any thing but houseroom." Charles Hine, a painter to whom Whitman wrote on May 9, 1868. On August 4, 1871 Hine's wife informed Whitman of her husband's death: "I think after your visit to him that his hold on life seemed to give way and his yearnings were all accomplished." Mrs. Hine, who visited Louisa Van Velsor Whitman on August 22, 1871, thought it "strange" that Whitman did not write. According to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letter of September 30, 1871, Mrs. Hine had received a "donation" from Walt Whitman. Whitman also wrote of Charles Hine's illness in his July 28, 1871 letter to Peter Doyle. Hine is referencing the poem that Whitman would eventually title "Who Learns My Lesson Complete?" The correspondent is likely Edward F. Strickland, Jr., the son of the distinguished actor turned minister Edward F. Strickland. The family's autograph collection is held by the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Harvard Radcliffe Institute. The New York World of July 24, 1871, reprinted Lucy Fountain's article, "An Evening with Swinburne" (retitled "Swinburne at Home") from the August Galaxy, 12 (1871), 231–234, in which Swinburne's favorable comments on Whitman were reported. The reference to Hilliard is unclear, although Hilliear was perhaps the real name of the author. Charles W. Hine (1832–1881), of Connecticut, served as a sergeant in the Union Army during the American Civil War. According to the 1880 United States Census, Hine was a farmer, and he and his wife Marina Thomas Hine (1834–1896) were the parents of four children. An unsigned article by Edward Dowden (a professor of English literature at the University of Dublin; see also Whitman's August 22, 1871 letter to Dowden) in the Westminster Review, 96 (July 1871), 33–68. Whitman wrote glowingly about the piece in his July 14, 1871 letter to William O'Connor. Walt Whitman began his correspondence with soldier Byron Sutherland on August 26, 1865. Sutherland was now preparing to be a teacher at the State Normal School at Edinboro, Pennsylvania. He wrote after he had seen reviews of Walt Whitman's poetry in the New Eclectic Magazine, 11 (July 1868), 325–329, 371–375. One was a translation of Freiligrath's article in the Augsburg Allgemeinen Zeitung (Whitman wrote to the reviewer, Ferdinand Freiligrath, on January 26, 1869), and the other was a reprint of an English review of the Rossetti edition. In the same issue of the magazine the editor termed Walt Whitman "a monstrosity." Sutherland reported details of his academic program on October 8, 1868. Whitman refers to the article by Richard J. Hinton in the Rochester Evening Express, of which he made mention in his April 28–May 4, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman.This letter's envelope bears the address, "William D. O'Connor, | Light House Bureau, | Treasury Department, | Washington, | D.C." It is postmarked: "New York | Sep | 28."
A draft of this letter appears on the verso of Walt Whitman's September 29, 1868 letter to Peter Doyle.
O'Connor's letter of September 16, 1868. Whitman wrote to Freiligrath on January 26, 1869. Whitman refers to Bernard Westermann, publisher and importer of books, whose office was at 440 Broadway. Whitman followed up on the package for Freiligrath in his October 4, 1868 letter to William D. O'Connor. For William Francis Channing and Whitman's reply to him, see Whitman's September 27, 1868 letter to Channing, in which Whitman accepted Channing's invitation to visit Providence. The enthusiasm of Swinton (to whom Walt Whitman first wrote on February 23, 1863) for Walt Whitman was unbounded. On September 25, 1868, Swinton wrote: "I am profoundly impressed with the great humanity, or genius, that expresses itself through you. I read this afternoon in the book. I read its first division which I never before read. I could convey no idea to you of how it affects my soul. It is more to me than all other books and poetry." Songs of Innocence and of Experience and Poetical Sketches, published by Pickering and edited by R. H. Shepherd, appeared in 1868; see Geoffrey Keynes, A Bibliography of William Blake (New York: Grolier Club of New York, 1921), 268–269. On October 9, 1868, O'Connor commented: "Swinton's discovery of the resemblance in form between Leaves of Grass and Blake's poetry, is in my humble opinion, a mare's nest of the first water. (Irish!!) The resemblance is extremely superficial–about as much as between the Gregorian chant, bellowed by bull-necked priests with donkey lips, and a first-class, infinitely varied, complex-melodied Italian opera, sung by voices half-human, half-divine." J. Hubley Ashton, the assistant Attorney General, actively interested himself in Walt Whitman's affairs, and obtained a position for the poet in his office after the Harlan fracas. A friend of the Prices, John Arnold lived with his daughter's family in the same house as the Price family. Helen Price described him as "a Swedenborgian," with whom Walt Whitman frequently argued without "the slightest irritation between them"; see Richard Maurice Bucke, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), 26–27. This letter's envelope bears the address, "William D. O'Connor, | Light House Bureau, | Treasury Department, | Washington, | D.C." It is postmarked: "New York | Oct | 4 | 1:30 PM." Walt Whitman's letter to William D. and Ellen M. O'Connor was actually dated September 27, 1868. J. Hubley Ashton, the assistant Attorney General, actively interested himself in Walt Whitman's affairs, and obtained a position for the poet in his office after the Harlan fracas. In the draft letter after this sentence appeared the following: "John seems lately possest with L. of G. as with a demon. I have found two or three others—a Mr. Norton, of Boston, is one. He is an educated man, a Boston metaphysical thinker." Walt Whitman also interpolated in the draft: "Tell Charles Eldridge." The draft letter ends at this point. However, above the salutation appeared the following: "ask about the office—Ashton—has Andy Kerr returned —my new desk." Kerr, a clerk in Walt Whitman's office, probably had gone to Pittsburgh; see address book (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #108). For Freiligrath, see Walt Whitman's letters of September 27, 1868 to the O'Connors and of January 26, 1869. Again, as with William Michael Rossetti (in Whitman's January 1868 letter), O'Connor was to act as Whitman's emissary. On December 2, 1868, in a letter to his daughter, Freiligrath joyfully noted receipt of a thirty-two page letter from O'Connor as well as the books Whitman mentioned in this letter: "Der Schreiber ist natürlich ein enthusiastischer Verehrer des sonderbaren Kauzes" (Ferdinand Freiligrath, Ida Melos Freiligrath, and Luise Freiligrath Wiens, Freiligrath-Briefe [Stuttgart: J.G. Cotta'sche Buchhandlung Nachfolger, 1910], 167–168). According to one of Walt Whitman's address books (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #109), the package was sent to Freiligrath on November 11, 1868. This letter's envelope bears the address, "William D. O'Connor, | care of | Dr. W. F. Channing, | p. o. box 69 | Providence, | R. I." It is postmarked: "New York | (?) | 14 | (?)." This letter's envelope bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor, | care of | Charles W. Eldridge, | Internal Revenue Bureau, | Treasury Dept. | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Providence | Oct | 19." William Francis Channing's wife was Ellen O'Connor's sister. Sarah Helen Whitman (1803–1878), the American poet and fiancée of Edgar Allan Poe, to whom he wrote the second "To Helen." Her collected poems appeared in 1879. Walt Whitman presented an inscribed copy of Leaves of Grass to her during or shortly after his Providence visit. In a letter to Walt Whitman on November 23, 1868, O'Connor, who was a close friend of Sarah Helen Whitman, transcribed some of her comments in a recent letter to Walt Whitman: "The great, the good Camerado! The lover of men! . . . How strange it seems to me now that I should have been so near him without knowing him better! How many questions that I asked you about him would have needed no answer, if I had but have read his book then as I have read it now" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 3:505). According to Dictionary of American Biography, Perry (1831–1896) was a poet, journalist, and author of juvenile books. Perry published a qualified defense of Walt Whitman, entitled "A Few Words About Walt Whitman," in Appleton's Journal, 15 (22 April 1876), 531–533. She was a friend of William D. O'Connor; see his letter to John Burroughs on May 4, 1876, in which he called her "a perfect pussy-cat" (current location unknown; Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades 1931, 130). On October 23, 1868, Ellen O'Connor wrote most urgently to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to make a visit to Washington: "I want you to come and see how you like Washington, because you know I have always had a hope that you would come here to live" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). J. Hubley Ashton, the assistant Attorney General, actively interested himself in Walt Whitman's affairs, and obtained a position for the poet in his office after the Harlan fracas. Evidently Walt Whitman had written of his "bad spells" in an earlier (lost) letter, for on February 4, 1869, his mother wrote: "i was sorry, Walter, you have them bad spells with your head. it must be very bad indeed, there is a kind of linement called cloroform linement. it dont affect one in the least, that is to stupify, but it is thought to be good for the neuralghy and rheumatism." An entry in an address book (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #109) would indicate that he went in January to Dr. Charles H. Bowen, a Washington physician mentioned in Whitman's May 30, 1867 letter to Hiram Sholes. A new bill intended to raise the salaries of governmental clerks by ten per cent (substituted for the "20 per cent bill") was defeated in the House of Representatives on February 1, 1869. On the following day the New York Times commented: "The clerks were at it once more to-day." A "capital photo" taken by Alexander Gardner was mentioned in the Washington Star on January 18, 1869. William Maxwell Evarts (1818–1901) was chief counsel for Andrew Johnson during the impeachment trial of 1868. As a reward for his services, Johnson appointed Evarts Attorney General later in the year; Evarts was Secretary of State from 1877 to 1881 and U.S. Senator from New York from 1885 to 1891. On February 4, 1869, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman complained about Hannah's failure to write to her: "sometimes i get so worried about her that it makes me quite unhappy." J. Hubley Ashton, the assistant Attorney General, actively interested himself in Walt Whitman's affairs, and obtained a position for the poet in his office after the Harlan fracas.During the spring George was building houses in Brooklyn and, because of the tight money situation, was having trouble arranging construction loans. Jeff advanced $3,000, for which he was to receive a mortgage, and on March 15, 1869, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman asked Walt Whitman to lend George $600. Though no correspondence on the subject between Walt Whitman and his family is extant, Jeff's letter of March 25, 1869 confirms the fact that Walt Whitman assisted his brother, and on December 7, 1869, December 7, 1869 Louisa Van Velsor Whitman informed Walt Whitman that George was repaying $200.
During 1869 the lot of the Whitmans underwent no changes. Heyde still wrote nasty letters, and Hannah promised, when she got around to writing, a visit to Brooklyn. Martha's health did not improve markedly. Though George provided a new home for his mother, she complained that "these gals and amusements takes the greenbacks" (Summer, The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). Mary Van Nostrand in October moved in "bag and baggage" with Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Evidently Ansel Van Nostrand failed in business, Louisa wrote on October 19, 1869, "got a drinking," and "come near dying with the deleru tremen." Walt remained "the same good old standby." (Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to Walt Whitman, June 30, 1869.)
In his September 3, 1869 letter to Peter Doyle, however, Whitman wrote that he was still "unwell most every day—some days not so bad." Someone, probably William D. O'Connor, placed a large asterisk over this paragraph.Harriet Beecher Stowe entered the Byron controversy with a vigorous article in the Atlantic Monthly, 24 (September 1869), 295–313. "The True Story of Lady Byron's Life" was based on an interview and some notes that Lady Byron, critically ill at the time, gave to her in 1856. She attacked the biographical studies of Thomas Moore and Countess Guiccioli, and almost deified "the most remarkable woman that England has produced in the century."
Though O'Connor's reply to Whitman is lost, he expressed his opinion of the article with his usual vigor to William Michael Rossetti on August 28, 1869: "One would fancy Mrs Stowe demented to issue this old foul romance, without one scrap of evidence, and pregnable on every side" (Rossetti Papers [New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1903], 460).
Endorsed (by O'Connor), "Dec. 23, 1869." This letter's envelope bears the address, "William D. O'Connor, | Light House Board | Treasury Dep't, | Washington | D.C." It is postmarked, "Brooklyn N. Y. | May | 11."Anne Gilchrist's "A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman" appeared in the May issue of the Boston Radical, 7 (1870), 345–359, reprinted in In Re Walt Whitman (1893), ed. Horace L. Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas B. Harned, 41–55, and The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, ed. Thomas B. Harned [New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918], 3–22. In an undated letter, probably written early in June 1870, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman commented: "that Lady seems to understand your writing better than ever any one did before as if she could see right through you. she must be a highly educated woman" (The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). On June 13, 1870, Charles Heyde wrote of the article: "Yet you percieve, even the praise she bestows [i?]s qualified with the general recoil, which all natures of true human sensibility experience, at your (mistaken) barbarism. The louse and the maggot know as much about procreation as you do, and when you unveil and denude yourself, you descend to the level of the dog, with the bitch, merely."
Since O'Connor promised William Michael Rossetti to have Mrs. Gilchrist's essay "fitly given to the world" (Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist, Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings [New York: Scribner & Welford, 1887], 187), he probably arranged for its publication in the Radical, which was printed in Boston by Samuel H. Morse, and which included among its contributors at least two of Walt Whitman's friends, Conway and Alcott; see Frank Luther Mott, History of American Magazines (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1957), 3:78. The former co-editor of the journal, Joseph B. Marvin, was now a clerk in the Treasury Department and was acquainted with Walt Whitman; Marvin is mentioned in Whitman's December 11, 1874 letter to John Burroughs.
Abby H. Price wrote this letter and Walt Whitman's May 11, 1870 letter to Walbridge A. Field. The executors dated this letter 1873. However, that 1874 is the correct year is evidenced by the following notes. Joseph B. Marvin had been co-editor of the Radical in 1866–1867; see Frank Luther Mott, A History of American Magazines (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1938–1968), 3:78n. Later he was employed in the Treasury Department in Washington. On December 15, 1874, Marvin wrote to Whitman: "I read and re-read your poems, and the 'Vistas,' and more and more see that I had but a faint comprehension of them before. They surpass everything. All other books seem to me weak and unworthy my attention. I read, Sunday, to my wife, Longfellows verses on Sumner, in the last Atlantic, and then I read your poem on the Death of Lincoln. It was like listening to a weak-voiced girl singing with piano accompanyment, and then to an oratorio by the whole Handel Society, with accompanyment by the Music Hall organ" (The Library of Congress). His veneration of Whitman is also transparent in an article in the Radical Review, 1 (1877), 224–259. "A Christmas Garland" consisted of miscellaneous observations on various subjects and occasional poems; it is reprinted in The Uncollected Poetry and Prose of Walt Whitman (1921), ed. Emory Holloway, 2:53–58. "Death of a Fireman," a tribute to a Camden fireman named William Alcott, appeared in the Camden New Republic on November 14, 1874. George Saintsbury's review of Leaves of Grass. This letter's envelope bears the address, "Wm. D. O'Connor, | Light House Board, | Treasury Dept. | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "New York | (?) | (?)." From 1870 to 1874, William Swinton (1833–1893) was professor of English at the University of California. Thereafter he compiled extremely successful textbooks, and established the magazine, Story-Teller, in 1883. On July 30, 1870 the New York Tribune referred to Dr. Holmes's assertion that Boston, "our Literary Head Center," could claim writers like William D. O'Connor. Emily Price had married in 1869. On April 7, 1869, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman informed her son that "Emily price is going to get married…his name is law an artist in the cheap picture line." This letter is endorsed, "Answ'd Oct 12." Its envelope bears the address, "Wm. D. O'Connor, | Treasury Department, | Light House Board, | Washington, | D.C." It is postmarked: "New-York | Oct (?) | (?) | 6 PM (?)." Evidently Walt Whitman had given up his room with the Benedicts at 468 M North. Leaves of Grass, Passage to India, and Democratic Vistas. This letter is endorsed, "Answered" (?). Its envelope bears the address, "Wm. D. O'Connor, | Treasury Department, | Light House Board | Washington, | D.C." It is postmarked "New-York | (?) | (?)." "Sigma" noted in the New York Evening Mail on October 27, 1870, the poet's return to Washington, "where Walt Whitman fitly belongs, both in his personnel and what his works represent." The correspondent also reported that Whitman now supported the French, liked and defended Grant, and placed "little stock in 'woman's rights.'" This letter is endorsed, "June 8, 1871 | Ans'd." Its envelope bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor, | 1015 O street near 11th | N. W." Walt Whitman visited Ellen M. and William D. O'Connor regularly on Sundays when he was in Washington. Perhaps No. 45 in 100 Whitman Photographs, ed. Henry S. Saunders (1948). This letter is endorsed: "Ans'd." Its envelope bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor, | 1015 O street, N. W. | Washington | D.C." It is postmarked: "New York | Jun | 29 | 6 (?) PM; Carrier | Jun | 30 | 3 AM." Not the John Arnold who was a friend of the Prices. A friend of the O'Connors; see Whitman's November 15, 1863 letter to Ellen O'Connor for Joseph Howells and his wife. Evidently Mrs. Howells' daughter. Distributors of sewing machines. This letter is endorsed, "Answ'd July 16 | 71." Its envelope bears the address, "Wm. D. O'Connor, | Treasury Department, | Light House Bureau, | Washington, | D.C." It is postmarked, "New York | (?) | 14 | 1:30 PM." For this letter, see Whitman's June 29, 1871 letter to Ellen M. O'Connor. Burroughs was one of Walt Whitman's staunchest defenders in print during this period; see his "More about Nature and the Poets," Appleton's Journal, 4 (September 10, 1870), 314–316, and Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931), 58. Burroughs issued the expanded second edition of his Notes in 1871. An unsigned article by Edward Dowden (a professor of English literature at the University of Dublin; see also Whitman's August 22, 1871 letter to Dowden) in the Westminster Review, 96 (July 1871), 33–68. A few weeks later Whitman was still pleased with the review; he wrote positively about it in his July 26, 1871 letter to William D. O'Connor and in his July 28, 1871 letter to William Michael Rossetti. With the headline "War at Our Doors," the New York World reported: "The ides of March have come and gone. In spite of the efforts of the clergy, the municipal authorities, and all good citizens, New York has been disgraced by a street fight in 1871 over the merits of an Irish battle fought and won in 1690." The journal devoted two full pages (in an eight-page issue) to the incident, and announced that 45 had been killed and 105 wounded. Whitman also wrote of the incident in his July 14, 1871 letter to Peter Doyle. Whitman refers to his poem "The Mystic Trumpeter," which was published in the February 1872 issue of the Kansas Magazine. See William Michael Rossetti's letters of July 9 and October 8, 1871 to Whitman. Burroughs had gone to London and Dublin in the fall of 1871; Whitman suggested in his September 19, 1871 letter to Edward Dowden that Burroughs might visit Dowden. Writing to Whitman on October 30, 1871, Burroughs said: "Rossetti I am drawn toward, and though my first impression of him was that he was a high flown literary cockney, yet I soon saw that…he was a genuine good fellow" (Syracuse University). James Harlan was the Secretary of Interior who had peremptorily fired Walt Whitman; see the notes to Whitman's June 9, 1865 letter. Harlan had resigned in 1866 and had returned to the Senate in the following year. Perhaps Katharine Hillard, mentioned in Whitman's June 23, 1873 letter to Charles W. Eldridge. Since, with the exception of the Tribune incident, all this material was familiar to William Michael Rossetti, Whitman was writing for his English friends. Rossetti, however, commented at length on this passage on March 31, 1872: "But certainly it does seem that in degree & duration the obduracy of Americans against your work is something abnormal & unworthy." Democratic Vistas. Anne Gilchrist engaged in a long and affectionate correspondence with Walt Whitman, beginning with her September 3–6, 1871 letter to Whitman. "To Walt Whitman in America" appeared in this volume. This copy, now in the Houghton Library at Harvard, is inscribed: "To | Alg. Chs. Swinburne | from | Walt Whitman, | Washington, U.S. | November, 1871." On September 30, 1871, Joaquin Miller (1839–1913) had concluded his letter: "I am tired of books too and take but one with me; one Rossetti gave me, a 'Walt Whitman'—Grand old man! The greatest, and truest American I know, with the love of your son. Joaquin Miller." In an entry in his journal dated August 1, 1871, Burroughs recorded Whitman's fondness for Miller's poetry; see Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1931), 60. Whitman met Miller for the first time later in 1872; he wrote of a visit with Miller in a July 19, 1872 letter to Charles W. Eldridge. Symonds (1840–1893) was the author of Renaissance in Italy (1875–1886) and of Walt Whitman—A Study (1893), translator of Michelangelo's sonnets, and a minor poet. Whitman wrote to Symonds on January 27, 1872. On September 13, 1871, Moncure Conway wrote that "the Hon Roden Noel (one of the Lord Byron blood, and author of a pleasing volume of Poems) submitted to me recently a very long and careful review of your work." "A Study of Walt Whitman, The Poet of Modern Democracy" appeared in Dark Blue, 1 (1871), 241–253, 336–349; reprinted in Essays on Poetry and Poets (1886), 304–341. Burroughs, who did not "think the article amounts to shucks," sent it to Walt Whitman on October 30, 1871 (Syracuse University). On November 3, 1871, Noel (1834–1894) sent Walt Whitman an inscribed copy of his essay: "The proclamation of comradeship seems to me the grandest & most tremendous fact in your work & I heartily thank you for it." Symonds dedicated to Noel Many Moods—A Volume of Verse (1878). Walt Whitman sent Noel a copy of the 1876 edition of Leaves of Grass. Whitman made this proposal in his August 12 (?), 1871 letter to Ellis. Ellis replied on August 23, 1871: since there were poems in Leaves of Grass which "would not go down in England," he believed that it would "not be worth while to publish it again in a mutilated form." Rossetti informed Walt Whitman on October 8, 1871 that he was preparing "a vol. of Selections from American Poets," which appeared in 1872 as American Poems with a dedication to Walt Whitman, "the greatest of American poets."This letter, as the contents confirm, was written at the same time as Whitman's March 15, 1872 letter to Peter Doyle. Evidently one of the executors inserted "'71" after the date on the manuscript.
This letter's envelope bears the address, "John Burroughs, | Office Comptroller | of the Currency, | Washington, | D.C." It is postmarked, "New York | Mar | 15 | (?)30 PM."
Burroughs' wife Ursula. Chauncey B. Deyo, Burroughs' nephew, was substituting for Whitman while he was in Brooklyn; see Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1931), 88. Whitman wrote of Deyo's "sudden insanity & death" in his June 5, 1874 letter to Burroughs and in his June 10, 1874 letter to Ellen M. O'Connor. Gilchrist referred to reading Burroughs' Wake-Robin (1871) in a letter to Burroughs on October 19, 1875 (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1931], 115). It is surprising that not until this late date did Whitman inform his friend of Gilchrist's authorship of the article in The Radical. This letter is endorsed, "Ans'd." Its envelope bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor, | 1015 O street, N. W. | Washington, | D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Jun (?)| 10 | N.J.; (?)| 11 (?)| Jun | 8 AM." "Song of the Universal" appeared in the New York Daily Graphic on June 17, 1874; in the Evening Post on June 17, 1874; in the Springfield Republican on June 18, 1874; in the New York World on June 19, 1874; and in the Camden New Republic on June 20, 1874. According to the Springfield Republican, the poem was read by Prof. Brown "probably better than the poet himself would have rendered it…The poem…is very Whitmany, being one of the most grotesque in expression and one of the richest and subtlest in thought which he has put out for a long time." Whitman refers here to Chauncey B. Deyo. The visit took place about May 25, 1874; in his May 29, 1874 letter to Peter Doyle, Whitman mentioned that Doyle had recently left Camden. This letter's envelope bears the address, "John Burroughs, | Roxbury, | Delaware Co. | New York." It is postmarked: "New York | Jun | 18 | 9(?)." Burroughs was not able to attend the Dartmouth commencement; see Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston: Houghton Mifflin & Co., 1931), 73. Jeff's letter to Walt Whitman is not known. Writing to his mother on February 15 and 16, 1873, he begged her to travel to St. Louis: "It seems to be the one desire of [Martha's] life to have you come and see her" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.).On February 23, 1873, Jeff's daughter Mannahatta, almost thirteen years old, wrote to her grandmother about her mother's death: "when I got home from school the buggy was out side of the door and papa said he would take Mama out riding as it was such a pleasant day and Mama wanted to go so much. so papa lifted her out and put her in the buggy and then went to take the reins and while he [was] taking them Mama fell over in the buggy and when papa turned around he did not know what had happened so he lifted her in the house and just then I came home from school and found that Mama was dying but she seemed to know me though she could not speak. I felt so bad that I did not know what to do" (The Library of Congress).
Jeff on the following day wrote of Martha's death to his mother: "The circumstances attending her death are quite impressive. Over two weeks before it the Dr told me that I might expect her death at any moment—that her lungs were in immediate liability to rupture and that each breath she drew was a risk, that I must not leave her alone a moment. On Tuesday she seemed to feel a little more like her old self—though suffering much pain from the fact that the right lung had been pierced by the gathering and the air in breathing would gather between the ports and remain—her right side and breast were very much enlarged from this cause—the pain was intense from the cancer and a few days before her death the old spinal trouble came back to her—yet with all this, dear Mother, did she keep up to the last—not a murmur escaped her—she was cheerful to a degree and at noon of the day she died sat up in her chair and directed how my lunch should be prepared" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection).
Sixteen years later Walt Whitman still considered Drinkard "the best Doctor that ever was": he "seemed to understand me well: he charged it to the emotional disturbances to which I was subjected at that time" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 4:472). Also note Dr. Matthew Grier's opinion in Whitman's September 5, 1873 letter to Ellen M. O'Connor. Around this remark Louisa Van Velsor Whitman was to construct a dream-house: annoyed by George's economizing and, more important, loath to accept a (rightful) secondary position in her daughter-in-law's household, Walt Whitman's mother despite her years hoped for a home of her own. As early as October 9, 1872, hardly six weeks after she had moved to Camden, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman complained to Helen Price: "i would rather have my own shanty and my good friends come to see me" (Pierpont Morgan Library). Even more significant, she wrote to the same friend on April 18(?), 1873: "i wouldent mind living here if i had a place of my own but this living with and not being boss of your own shanty aint the cheese" (Pierpont Morgan Library). Walt Whitman himself referred to the possibility of purchasing a house in Washington; see his March 1, 1873 letter to Mannahatta Whitman and his March 28, 1873, and April 4, 1873 letters to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. This letter is endorsed, "Ans'd." Its envelope bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor | care of Dr. W. F. Channing | Newport, R. I." Its postmark is indecipherable. In his September 5, 1873 letter to Peter Doyle, Whitman omitted this part of Grier's diagnosis. Whitman refers here to Walter Godey. Lillie Townsend was, like Priscilla Townsend, presumably a cousin of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (see Walt Whitman's April 21, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's aunt, Sally Mead. On March 2, 1873, Ursula Burroughs reported to her husband how much Walt Whitman had enjoyed the ride (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 81). One of the executors marked this letter "[9 March '73]," which seems a plausible assignment. Mannahatta wrote to her grandmother on March 9 and March 14, 1873 (Library of Congress); her letter to Walt Whitman is evidently lost. Mrs. Buckley, Jeff wrote on March 16, 1873, "was a particular friend of Mattie's" (Yale). After Martha died, the Buckleys immediately took charge of the funeral arrangements and provided for the children; see Jeff's letter to his mother on February 24, 1873 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). When Mannahatta wrote to her grandmother on March 14, 1873, she appeared quite satisfied with her new home (Library of Congress). In a letter of early March 1873, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman complained of her loneliness. Walt Whitman meant to write March 15, when "The Singing Thrush" appeared in 1873. About May 12, 1873, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman explained that her "nervous system is very much out of order . . . my head feels bad . . . i have such trembling spels" (Trent Collection, Duke University). She thought that she would improve if she got away from Camden. Louisa, unknown to her mother-in-law, also wrote to Walt Whitman about the same time (The Library of Congress). Writing on May 9, 1873, Jeff was concerned about the situation in Camden, Louisa's stinginess, George's failure "to make things good and happy" for his mother, and the possibility of having her go to Washington (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is endorsed, "Ans'd." Its envelope bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor, | 1015 O street n. w. | Washington, | D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Feb | 29 | N.J.; Carrier | 1 | Mar | 8 AM." See also Whitman's February 24, 1876 letter to Ellen O'Connor. Professor J. Peter Lesley married Susan I. Lyman, the daughter of Judge Samuel Fowler Lyman of Northampton, Massachusetts. Whitman refers here to the letter written on February 24, 1876. This letter is endorsed, "Ans'd." Its envelope bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor, | Care of Dr. W. F. Channing, | Newport, | R. I." Its postmark is indecipherable. Whitman refers to his July 7, 1873 letter to Charles Eldridge, in which Whitman addressed a paragraph to Ellen O'Connor, advising her to "take this letter the same is if written to you." Whitman stayed at the Whites' from March 1, 1871, until he left Washington. He had paid $236 in rent through June 10, 1873 (The Library of Congress #73). On November 28, 1873, Dr. George A. White, a chiropodist, acknowledged for his wife receipt of $28 "on account . . . for rent of room etc from May 1st/73" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). Whitman gave up one room at the Whites' on June 10, 1873: "Kept the other at $2.50 a month" (The Library of Congress #68). See also Whitman's July 10, 1874 letter to Peter Doyle, in which Whitman left instructions for the delivery of his boxes from the Whites'. Ellen O'Connor's sister was Dr. William F. Channing's wife.This postcard bears the address, "Peter Doyle | M street south, bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | O(?)| 8 | N.J.; Carrier | 9 | Oct | 8(?)."
The postmark of this postcard furnishes evidence for the date: October 8 was on Wednesday in 1873.
This letter and his October 13, 1873 letter to Peter Doyle indicate that Whitman had abandoned his plans to return to Washington in the near future. Whitman refers here to a drug store run by his friends.This postcard bears the address, "Peter Doyle | M street South | bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Oct | 21 | N.J.; Carrier | 22 | Oct | 8 AM."
This is the postcard to which Whitman refers in his October 24, 1873 letter to Doyle as written on Tuesday.
The envelope and the contents confirm the date. Whitman refers here to Israel Dille, a clerk in the Internal Revenue Bureau. Whitman probably refers here to Nancy M. Johnson, a widow; see Whitman's February 24, 1876 letter to Ellen O'Connor. This letter is endorsed, "Ans'd." Its envelope bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor, | 1015 O street | near 11th N. W. | Washington, | D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Feb | 3 | N.J." Whitman refers here to Nancy M. Johnson and her sister, referenced in Whitman's January 16, 1874 letter to Ellen M. O'Connor. Whitman refers here to Walter Godey, Whitman's substitute at the U.S. Attorney General's Office. Charles Eldridge wrote later in the week; Whitman confirmed receipt of Eldridge's letter in a February 6, 1874 letter to Peter Doyle. Whitman mentioned these photographs in his December 29, 1873 letter to Charles W. Eldridge. Whitman meant the March issue, in which "Prayer of Columbus" appeared. Whitman probably refers here to the "Miss Howard" mentioned in his January 6, 1865 letter to William O'Connor. The New York Daily Graphic of November 25, 1873. Israel Dille was a clerk in the Internal Revenue Bureau, whose death was mentioned in Whitman's January 16, 1874 letter to Ellen M. O'Connor. This letter is endorsed, "Ans'd." Its envelope bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor, | 1015 O st—near 11th N. W. | Washington, | D.C." It is postmarked: "Philadelphia | Feb | 11 | 11 PM | Pa." Whitman visited the Johnstons on Sunday; for John and Rebecca Johnston, see Whitman's February 9, 1875 letter. Once again Whitman's life fell into a pattern; in Washington he had visited the O'Connors on Sunday. In a review of Joaquin Miller's Songs of the Sunlands in The Nation on January 29, 1874, an anonymous writer sharply criticized Whitman's catalogs, mystic raptures, and lack of restraint. On February 14, 1874, Whitman sent a manuscript entitled "Is Walt Whitman's Poetry Poetical?" to John Burroughs, who was to send it to the editor of the magazine. If Burroughs submitted the essay, it was not published. It is reprinted by Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931), 107–110. Whitman's statement explains why letters from Charles Eldridge, Peter Doyle, Ellen O'Connor, and others are not extant. Whitman perhaps refers here to the widow of William S. Huntington (whose death was reported in Whitman's March 29, 1872 letter to Peter Doyle), or the widow of Joshua, a clerk in the Third Auditor's office. Whitman probably refers here to Huntington's son. Whitman refers here to Garaphelia Howard, mentioned in Whitman's January 6, 1865 letter to William O'Connor and in Whitman's February 3, 1874 letter to Ellen O'Connor. Whitman refers here to Israel Dille, clerk in the Internal Revenue Bureau, whose death was mentioned in Whitman's January 16, 1874 letter to Ellen M. O'Connor.Henry Townsend, an employee in the First Auditor's office, died on February 7, 1874; he lived at 1013 O Street, next door to Ellen O'Connor.
The allusion to Townsend's death establishes the year.
The year is established by Whitman's reference to the pictures of his nieces, pictures referenced in Whitman's February 3, 1874 letter to Ellen M. O'Connor.This postcard bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor, | 1015 O st. near 11th N. W. | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | (?)| 3 | N.J."
This postcard was apparently written at the same time as Whitman's March 3, 1874 letter to Abby H. Price since both allude to the "bad spell" of February 1874. Note that in his letter to Price, Walt Whitman referred to the receipt of a letter from Ellen O'Connor.
For dating this letter, the reference to Ada Clare is conclusive. March 8 was on Sunday in 1874.
This letter is endorsed, "Ans'd." The letter's envelope bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor, 1015 O street, near 11th N. W. | Washington, | D. C." It is postmarked: "Camden | (?) | 8 | N.J
The clipping from the March 6, 1874 issue of the New York Herald is with the letter. Headed "A Sad Case of Hydrophobia," it recorded the death of the actress and author, Ada Clare (cited in Whitman's September 15, 1867 letter to William D. O'Connor), now Mrs. Ada Noyes, on March 4, 1874, as a result of a rabies infection she had developed five weeks earlier. The last three parts of "Tis But Ten Years Since."This postcard apparently refers to Whitman's March 8, 1874 letter to Ellen M. O'Connor.
This postcard bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor | 1015 O street, near 11th N. W. | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | (?)| N.J."
Whitman refers here to Charles Eldridge. This letter is endorsed, "Ans'd." Its envelope bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor, | 1015 O st. near 11th N. W. | Washington, | D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Mar | 22 | N.J." See also Whitman's September 5, 1873 letter to Peter Doyle.This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle, | M street South, bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Mar(?)| 23 | N.J.; Carrier | 24 | Mar | 8 AM."
This is the postcard to which Whitman refers in March 26–27, 1874 letter to Doyle.
This letter's envelope bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor, | 1015 O street, near 11th, N. W. | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Apr | 10 | N.J.; Carrier | 11 | Apr | 8 AM."
The year is established by the reference to Kitty Ashton's death.
Kitty Ashton, who was nineteen months old, died on April 8, 1874.This letter's envelope bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor, | 1015 O street, near 11th N. W. | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Apr | 17(?)| N.J.; Carrier | 18 | (?)| 8 AM."
The year is verified by the reference to Burroughs' visit mentioned in Whitman's April 16, 1874 letter to Peter Doyle and in Whitman's April 25, 1874 letter to Rudolf Schmidt.
This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle, | M street South, bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Apr | 21 | N.J.; Carrier | 22 | Apr (?)| (?)."
The reference to the new express train here and in Whitman's May 1, 1874 letter to Doyle permits assignment of this postcard to 1874.
This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle, | M street South—bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Apr | 24 | N.J."
Since Whitman wrote about Doyle's first visit to Camden on March 23, March 26–27, and May 22, 1874, this postcard can be dated 1874.
This letter is endorsed, "Ans'd." Its envelope bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor | 1015 O st. near 11th N. W. | Washington | D.C. " It is postmarked: "Camden | May | 1 | N.J."This letter's envelope bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor | 1015 O st—near 11th N. W. | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | (?)| 7(?)| N.J."
This and Whitman's May 8 letter to Peter Doyle can be assigned to 1874 because of the particularized descriptions of Whitman's physical symptoms, which are elaborated upon in Whitman's May 1 letter to Ellen O'Connor and his May 15 letter to Peter Doyle, both of which can definitely be assigned to 1874.
See Whitman's June 5, 1874 letter to John Burroughs. Whitman probably refers here to a lost letter from Rudolf Schmidt. This piece of correspondence is addressed, "Pete Doyle, | M st. South, bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | May | 8 | N.J.; Carrier | 9 | May | 8 AM." This piece of correspondence is addressed, "Pete Doyle, | M street South, bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | May | 15 | N.J.; Carrier | 16 | May | 8 AM." This envelope is endorsed, "Ans'd." Its envelope bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor | 1015 O street | near 11th N. W. | Washington, | D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | May | 15 | N.J." Actually Whitman was not "encouraging" in his May 1, 1874 letter to Ellen O'Connor. Whitman refers here to a sister of George's wife Louisa.This postcard bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor, | 1015 O st near 11th N. W. | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | May | 29 (?)| N.J.; Carrier | 30 | May | 8 AM."
Note the reference to Whitman's May 15, 1874 letter to O'Connor and the similar phrasing of this postcard and Whitman's May 29, 1874 letter to Peter Doyle.
This piece of correspondence is addressed, "Pete Doyle | M st. South, bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Philadelphia | Jun | 10 | 10 PM | (?); Carrier | 11 | Jun (?)| (?) AM."
Doyle's visit to Whitman establishes the year.
This piece of correspondence is addressed, "Peter Doyle, | M st. South—bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Philadelphia | Jun | (?); Carrier | 13 | Jun (?)| 8 AM."
The reference to Tufts College verifies the year.
This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle | M st. South bet 4½ & 6th | Washington D.C." It is postmarked: "Philadelphia | Ju(?)| 26 | 9 PM | Pa; Carrier | 27 | J (?)| (?) ."
Since Whitman wrote to Doyle on Fridays, and since the account of his illness here does not contradict the account in his June 10, 1874 letter to Ellen M. O'Connor, this postcard can be plausibly assigned to 1874.
This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle | M st. South—bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Jul | 3 | N.J.; Carrier | 4 | J (?)| (?) ."
The symptoms mentioned here are fully discussed in Whitman's July 10, 1874 letter to Doyle, in which Whitman also referred to a postcard that Doyle should have received on July 4.
This piece of correspondence is addressed, "Peter Doyle, | M st. South, bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Jul | 17 | N.J.: Carrier | 18 | Jul | 8 AM."
This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle, | M street South bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Philadelphia | Jul | 31(?)| 12 M | Pa.; Carrier | Aug | 1 | 8 AM."
The dating of this postcard as well as the notes and letters to Doyle on August 7, 14, 21, and 28, 1874, depends in part on Whitman's habit of writing on Fridays. However, as evidenced in Whitman's August 5, 1874 letter to Ellen O'Connor and his August 18, 1874 letter to John and Ursula Burroughs, both of which were conclusively written in 1874, Whitman's "alternations" were especially marked during the summer of this year, and despite his "natural buoyancy" he was frequently depressed by the inability of his once healthy body to triumph over his ailments.
This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle, | M street South, bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Aug | 7 | N.J.; Carrier | 8 | Aug | 8 AM."
The dating of this postcard as well as the notes and letters to Doyle on July 31, August 14, 21, and 28, 1874, depends in part on Whitman's habit of writing on Fridays. However, as evidenced in Whitman's August 5 letter to Ellen O'Connor and his August 18 letter to John and Ursula Burroughs, both of which were conclusively written in 1874, Whitman's "alternations" were especially marked during the summer of this year, and despite his "natural buoyancy" he was frequently depressed by the inability of his once healthy body to triumph over his ailments.
The visit of George and Louisa to Atlantic City was mentioned in Whitman's August 5, 1874 letter to Ellen O'Connor.This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle, | M street South, bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Aug | 21 | N.J.; Carrier | 22 | Aug | (?)."
The dating of this postcard as well as the notes and letters to Doyle on July 31, August 7, 14, and 28, 1874, depends in part on Whitman's habit of writing on Fridays. However, as evidenced in Whitman's August 5 letter to Ellen O'Connor and his August 18 letter to John and Ursula Burroughs, both of which were conclusively written in 1874, Whitman's "alternations" were especially marked during the summer of this year, and despite his "natural buoyancy" he was frequently depressed by the inability of his once healthy body to triumph over his ailments.
According to his August 18, 1874 letter to John and Ursula Burroughs, Whitman was enjoying a slight respite from pain.This letter is endorsed, "Ans'd." Its envelope bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor, | 1015 O street, near 11th N. W. | Washington | D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Aug | 5 | N. (?) ; Carrier | 6 | Aug | 8 AM."
The year is corroborated by the allusion to Nancy Johnson in the third paragraph; see Whitman's June 10, 1874 letter to Ellen O'Connor.
The reference to his dismissal from his government post establishes the year. Whitman last wrote to John Burroughs on June 5, 1874. Whitman refers to the letter Tennyson sent on July 8, 1874.This letter's envelope bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor, | 1015 O street, n. 11th n. w. | Washington, | D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | No(?)| 23 | (?) ."
The year is confirmed by the succeeding notes.
The Academy of October 10, 1874 contained George Saintsbury's favorable review of Leaves of Grass (398–400). "Death of a Fireman," a tribute to a Camden fireman named William Alcott, appeared in the Camden New Republic on November 14, 1874. Henry Lummis Bonsall, the editor of this newspaper, was one of Whitman's Camden friends; see Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (New York: Macmillan, 1955), 461.This letter's envelope bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor | 1015 O street, near 11th N. W. | Washington D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Jan | 8 | N.J.; Carrier | 9 | Jan | 8 AM."
In light of the references to the two newspapers, discussed in the notes below, the year seems reasonably certain.
Perhaps the issue of December 29, 1874, in which a correspondent expressed surprise that Whitman was not included in Emerson's Parnassus, and noted the New York Tribune's change in attitude; see the notes to Whitman's December 5, 1874 letter to Whitelaw Reid. Whitman refers here to Charles Eldridge. This is probably a reference to a paragraph in the New York Tribune on December 26, 1874, which commented on Whitman's services during the Civil War, and concluded: "…we need not share or contest the opinion of his poetry held by Mr. Tennyson and Mr. Emerson, to hope that he may soon recover and that he may enjoy the peaceful age he has earned." In the judgment of Whitman and his friends, the Tribune had been hostile chiefly because of the influence of Bayard Taylor.This postcard bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor | 1015 O st. near 11th N.W. | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Jan | 11 | N.J.; Carrier | 12 | Jan | 3 (?) PM."
Since Ellen O'Connor's letters to Whitman during this period are not extant, the year must remain conjectural. Certain facts point to 1875: the postcard Whitman used was discontinued early in 1876, and Burroughs visited Whitman at Camden about the middle of January in 1876.
This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle, | M st South—bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Feb | 5(?)| N.J.; Carrier | 6 | Feb | 8 AM."
The four brief postcards to Doyle in February 1875 were written on Fridays, and the discussion of his ailments is confirmed in Whitman's March 2, 1875 letter to John and Ursula Burroughs, which can be positively assigned to this year. Obviously this postcard was written before Whitman's visit to Washington in November 1875.
This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle, | M st South, bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Feb | 12 | N.J.; Carrier | 13 | Feb | (?) AM."
The four brief postcards to Doyle in February 1875 were written on Fridays, and the discussion of his ailments is confirmed in Whitman's March 2, 1875 letter to John and Ursula Burroughs, which can be positively assigned to this year. Obviously this postcard was written before Whitman's visit to Washington in November 1875.
This postcard bears the address, "Peter Doyle, | M st South—bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Feb. | 19 | N.J."
The four brief postcards to Doyle in February 1875 were written on Fridays, and the discussion of his ailments is confirmed in Whitman's March 2, 1875 letter to John and Ursula Burroughs, which can be positively assigned to this year. Obviously this postcard was written before Whitman's visit to Washington in November 1875.
This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle, | M st. South—bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Feb | 26 | N.J."
The four brief postcards to Doyle in February 1875 were written on Fridays, and the discussion of his ailments is confirmed in Whitman's March 2, 1875 letter to John and Ursula Burroughs, which can be positively assigned to this year. Obviously this postcard was written before Whitman's visit to Washington in November 1875.
This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle, | M st South, bet 4½ & 6th, | Washington, D. C." It is postmarked: "Camden | (?) | 19 | N.J."
This and Whitman's March 26, 1875 letter to Doyle were written on Fridays, if the year is correct. In both notes Whitman seems to refer to the serious relapse in February 1875. The latter card alludes to Doyle's new, but temporary, position in Baltimore; see also Whitman's June 25, 1875 letter to Doyle.
This piece of correspondence is addressed, "Pete Doyle, | M st. South, bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Mar | 26 | (?) ; Carrier | 27 | Mar | 8 AM."
This and Whitman's March 19, 1875 letter to Doyle were written on Fridays, if the year is correct. In both notes Whitman seems to refer to the serious relapse in February 1875. This card alludes to Doyle's new, but temporary, position in Baltimore; see also Whitman's June 25, 1875 letter to Doyle.
This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle, | M street South—bet 4½ & M. | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Apr | 16 | N.J.; Carrier | 17 | Apr | 8 (?) AM."
The correspondence (again chiefly postcards) with Doyle in April and May was sent on Fridays, according to Whitman's habit. At this time Doyle was working out of Baltimore; note Whitman's April 30, 1875, and June 25, 1875 letters to Doyle. This postcard can be positively dated on the basis of Burroughs' visit; see his letter to Dowden on May 4, 1875, quoted by Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931), 94.
This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle, | M street South, bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Apr | 23 (?)| (?)."
The correspondence (again chiefly postcards) with Doyle in April and May was sent on Fridays, according to Whitman's habit. At this time Doyle was working out of Baltimore; note Whitman's April 30, and June 25, 1875 letters to Doyle. This postcard can be positively dated on the basis of Burroughs' visit; see his letter to Dowden on May 4, 1875, quoted by Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931), 94.
On this visit Whitman attended a public reburial of Poe's remains in Baltimore, and commented on Poe in an unsigned article in the Washington Star on November 18, 1875; see The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 4:286–287; and Rollo G. Silver, "A Note about Whitman's Essay on Poe," American Literature, 6 (1935), 435–436.
On November 15, 1875, sixteen Washingtonians sent a petition to Benjamin H. Bristow, Secretary of the Treasury: "We respectfully ask that Walt Whitman, 'the Good Gray Poet,' may be appointed to a position in the Treasury Department." The docket in the National Archives reads: "The Secretary says give the applicant a place Jany. 1, '76 if possible." Though Whitman apparently did not comment on this proposal, Burroughs knew of it, and wrote to Dowden in April 1876: "We expected he would have a position in one of the Departments at Washington again before this, as it was promised last winter, but nothing seems to come of it yet" (Clara Barrus, The Life and Letters of John Burroughs [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin], 1:183).
This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle, | M st. South—bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | May | 7 | N.J.; Carrier | 8 | May | 8 AM."
The correspondence (again chiefly postcards) with Doyle in April and May was sent on Fridays, according to Whitman's habit. At this time Doyle was working out of Baltimore; note Whitman's April 30, and June 25, 1875 letters to Doyle.
This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle, | M street South—bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | May | 14 | (?); Carrier | May | 15 | (?) AM."
The correspondence (again chiefly postcards) with Doyle in April and May was sent on Fridays, according to Whitman's habit. At this time Doyle was working out of Baltimore; note Whitman's April 30, and June 25, 1875 letters to Doyle.
Whitman met Stedman during the Civil War; see Whitman's October 20, 1863 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. On June 8, 1875, Stedman had requested "one scrap of paper, which you can spare. …I am one of those American writers who always look upon you as a noble, original, and characteristic poet" (Thomas Donaldson, Walt Whitman, the Man [London: Suckling & Galloway, 1896], 214).This piece of correspondence is addressed, "Pete Doyle, | M street South—bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Aug | 20 | N.J.; Carrier | Aug | 21 | 8 AM."
Dating depends upon Whitman's almost inflexible habit of sending Doyle a line on Friday. Note also the reference to his "bad head" in this and the following letter.
This piece of correspondence is addressed, "Pete Doyle | M street South, bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Sep | (?)| N.J.; Carrier | Sep | 5 | 9 AM."
The year is assumed because Whitman did not seriously plan to return to Washington until 1875.
This piece of correspondence is addressed, "Pete Doyle, | M street South, bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C. " It is postmarked: "Camden | Oct | 2 | N.J."
The projected visit to Washington makes the year almost positive.
Winter Sunshine appeared in December 1875 or January 1876. In his October 19, 1875 letter to Abby Gilchrist, Whitman wrote to introduce Gilchrist to Joseph Marvin. Moncure D. Conway published "A Visit to Walt Whitman" in The Academy, 8 (November 27, 1875), 554. (The New York Tribune noted Conway's article on December 9, 1875.) At the same time he informed William Michael Rossetti that "Walt is not in need"; see Letters of William Michael Rossetti, ed. Gohdes and Baum (Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1934), 98. At this time Gilchrist and Rossetti were contemplating purchasing Walt Whitman's new volumes and presenting them to libraries; see Letters, 95. Richard Monckton Milnes (1809–1885), Lord Houghton, was an intimate of Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892) and William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863), as well as a poet. He was a collector of famous people; in Dictionary of National Biography he is characterized as "eminently a dilettante." Houghton wrote to Joaquin Miller on September 1, 1875, from Chicago: "Please give my best regards to Mr Whitman." On September 5, 1875, Miller informed Whitman that he was trying to arrange a meeting with Lord Houghton. Houghton himself wrote to Walt Whitman on September 27, 1875 and proposed a visit at the end of October or early in November, and on November 3, 1875, he asked whether November 6 would be convenient. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), Thursday, June 21, 1888, 364, and Wednesday, September 12th, 1888, 310; In Re Walt Whitman (1893), ed. Horace L. Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas B. Harned, 36; and Harold Blodgett, Walt Whitman in England (1934), 141–143. Walter Orr Whitman, born November 4, 1875, died in the following year.This piece of correspondence is addressed, "Pete Doyle | M st. South, bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Nov | 3 | N.J.; Carrier | Nov | 4 | 8 AM."
See Whitman's November 5, 1875 letter to Doyle for dating this letter.
This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle, | M st. South, bet. 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Mar | 8 | N.J.; Carrier | 9 | Mar | 8 AM."
This postcard cannot be assigned to a specific year for obvious reasons: the allusions to Whitman's health are vague and in fact applicable to almost any time between 1873 and 1876; there are no concrete references to events which would make dating possible. However, it was written on a standard government postcard which was redesigned in 1876.
This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle, | M st. South, bet. 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Jul | 30 | N.J."
This postcard cannot be assigned to a specific year for obvious reasons: the allusions to Whitman's health are vague and in fact applicable to almost any time between 1873 and 1876; there are no concrete references to events which would make dating possible. However, it was written on a standard government postcard which was redesigned in 1876.
This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle, | M street South, bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Sep | 1 (?) | N.J.; Carrier | 19 | Sep | (?) AM."
This postcard cannot be assigned to a specific year for obvious reasons: the allusions to Whitman's health are vague and in fact applicable to almost any time between 1873 and 1876; there are no concrete references to events which would make dating possible. However, it was written on a standard government postcard which was redesigned in 1876.
This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle, | M street South, bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Sep | 25 | N.J.; Carrier | 26 | Sep | 8(?) AM." This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle, | M street South, bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Philadelphia | Oct | 23 | Pa.; Carrier | Oct | 24 | (?)."This postcard bears the address, "Peter Doyle, | M st. South, bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Oct | (?) 8 | N.J.; Carrier | 29 | Oct | (?) AM."
This postcard cannot be assigned to a specific year for obvious reasons: the allusions to Whitman's health are vague and in fact applicable to almost any time between 1873 and 1876; there are no concrete references to events which would make dating possible. However, it was written on a standard government postcard which was redesigned in 1876.
This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle | M street South bet 4½ & M. | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Dec | 16 | N.J."
This postcard cannot be assigned to a specific year for obvious reasons: the allusions to Whitman's health are vague and in fact applicable to almost any time between 1873 and 1876; there are no concrete references to events which would make dating possible. However, it was written on a standard government postcard which was redesigned in 1876.
This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle, | M street South bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Jan | 15 | N.J.; Carrier | 16 | Jan | 8 AM." This letter bears the address, "Mrs E. M. O'Connor | 1015 O st. near 11th N.W. | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Jan | 15 | 10 PM; (?) | 16 | Jan | 8 AM."This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle, | M street South—bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Jan | 22 | N.J.; Carrier | 23 | Jan | 8 PM."
This postcard appears to have been written one week after Whitman's January 22, 1876 letter to Doyle, as evidenced by the descriptions of Whitman's health and of the weather.
This letter's envelope bears the address, "Mrs E M O'Connor | 1015 O street | Washington | D. C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Mar | 23 | N.J.; Carrier | 24 | Mar | 8 AM."
The year is established by Nancy M. Johnson's letter to Whitman on March 15, 1876, in which she ordered the 1876 set, as well as by the reference to Whitman's nephew. Whitman sent the volumes to Johnson on March 17, 1876, and Memoranda During the War on April 20, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.); see also Whitman's February 24, 1876 letter to Ellen O'Connor and his June 28, 1864 letter to Charles Eldridge.
Whitman refers here to Walter Orr Whitman, his nephew. Whitman refers here to Edward Whitman, his brother.This letter's envelope bears the address, "Mrs Ellen M O'Connor | 1015 O street n w | Washington | D.C.." It is postmarked: "Camden | Nov | 23 | N.J."
Although the text furnishes no clues as to the date, 1876 appears plausible. Whitman apparently did not correspond with Ellen O'Connor between 1876 and 1887; there are no extant letters from her to Whitman between 1865 and 1888. Because of the continued estrangement between Whitman and William O'Connor, probably neither his wife nor the poet was completely at ease in writing to the other.
This postcard bears the address, "Chas. W. Eldridge | Internal Revenue Bureau | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Dec | 8 | N.J.; Carrier | 9 | Dec | 6 (?) AM."
This postcard deals with the same material as that in Whitman's December 2, 1874 letter to Eldridge.
Whitman refers here to John Addington Symonds' Studies of the Greek Poets (London: Smith, Elder, & Co., 1873–1876), in which Whitman was lauded as "more thoroughly Greek than any man of modern times." George Palmer Putnam (1814–1872) was founder and publisher of Putnam's Monthly Magazine. In January of 1868, Putnam had printed William D. O'Connor's "The Carpenter," 11 (1868), 55–90, and one of Burroughs' essays in August (Whitman recommended the essay, "A Night-Hunt in the Adirondacks," to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in his July 17, 1868 letter). It is not known which poem Whitman submitted. This letter's envelope bears the address, "Abby H. Price, | 279 East 55th street, | New York City." It is postmarked, "Washington | Mar | 13 | D.C." Someone, probably Helen Price, had written above this word, "(Ear ache)." In 1860, Erastus Otis Parker was indicted on seven counts of theft. On October 28, 1866, Whitman wrote a letter to Attorney General Henry Stanbery successfully petitioning for a pardon on the grounds that "the whole theory on which he was convicted was but an inference from an inference" and that Parker had "already served four years in prison." All that is known about Alfred Pratt is contained in this letter and those of June 10, 1865, August 7, 1865, August 26, 1865, September 27, 1866, January 29, 1867, October 28, 1867, July 1, 1869, and January 20, 1870. Only two of Pratt's letters are extant—August 7, 1865 and September 29, 1867—both of which are held in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. John H. Surratt, who had been a secret dispatch bearer for the Confederacy and involved, with his mother Anna, in John Wilkes Booth's conspiracy, fled the country before the murder of Abraham Lincoln. He remained a fugitive until he was arrested in Egypt in 1866. Unlike his mother, who had been convicted by a military tribunal and ordered hanged on July 7, 1865, the son was tried in a civil court, between June 10 and August 10, 1867. When the jury could not agree, a new trial was ordered, but because of inadequate evidence the government quietly released Surratt on June 22, 1868. His sister Anna sought clemency for her mother in 1865, but, presumably because of a conspiracy, her plea never reached the desk of President Andrew Johnson. See David Miller DeWitt, The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1909). Isaac was John Surratt's elder brother. His counsels were Joseph H. Bradley and Richard T. Merrick, and the government was represented by Edwards Pierrepont; see De Witt, The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1909). Walt Whitman mentioned one such invitation in his January 29, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. This letter's envelope bears the address, "Abby H. Price, | 279 East 55th street, | New York City." It is postmarked: "Washington | (?) | (?) | D.C." Undoubtedly Thomas Harland, chief clerk in the Patent Office, to whom Abby Price referred in her letter of March 25, 1867. Walt Whitman was replying to Abby Price's letter of March 25, 1867, in which she made a tempting offer: "I write now in great haste to ask your assistance in behalf of Our Ruffle Manufacture and if you succeed in doing what we ask, or in getting it done I am authorized to offer you a 1000 dollar check as soon as it is done! think of that. Tis only a simple act of Justice that we ask either." As a dressmaker, Price feared the effect on her business of a projected tax on ruffles; see Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (New York: Macmillan, 1955), 381. This letter's envelope bears the address, "Mrs. Abby H. Price, | 279 East 55th street, | New York City." It is postmarked: "Washington | Jul | (?) | D.C." Edwin L. Godkin (1831–1902) was the founder of the Nation, and a publisher, with a shop at the address Walt Whitman cited. William Michael Rossetti's article on Walt Whitman appeared on July 6, 1867. As Burroughs observed to a friend, it "had a profound effect" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 48). On April 30, 1867, William Michael Rossetti had called on Conway and had borrowed the 1867 Leaves of Grass, as well as the proofs of Burroughs' Notes on Walt Whitman as Poet and Person; see the Rossetti Papers (London: Sands & Co., 1903), 181, and Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (New York: Macmillan, 1955), 383. He probably had also seen the material which O'Connor had sent Conway on December 5, 1866 (Yale)—a copy of Burroughs' article in the Galaxy, and his own article in the New York Times on December 2, 1866. Ford practiced law in New York and lived in Brooklyn. This letter's envelope bears the address, "Mrs. Abby H. Price, | (new number) | No. 331 East 55th street, | New York City." It is postmarked: "Washington, D.C. | Apr | 10." Walt Whitman had written on March 27, 1867 to Abby Price, a seamstress, about the possible exemption of ruffles from taxation. James Speed (1812–1887) was appointed Attorney General in 1864 by Lincoln; because he was opposed to Johnson's policies, he resigned on July 17, 1866. Benjamin Franklin Wade (1800–1878), U.S. Senator from Ohio, was a bitter opponent of President Johnson. James Harlan was the Secretary of Interior who had peremptorily fired Whitman; see the notes to Walt Whitman's June 9, 1865 letter. Harlan had resigned in 1866 and had returned to the Senate in the following year. Submitted with his December 30, 1867 letter to Routledge and Sons, "Whispers of Heavenly Death" appeared in the October issue of the Broadway. On April 9, 1868, the prosecution in the impeachment proceedings against Johnson concluded its arguments, and the defense opened. This letter's envelope bears the address, "Mrs Abby H. Price, | 331 East 55th street, | bet 1st & 2d av's. | New York City." It is postmarked: "(?) | Sep | 8." William Maxwell Evarts (1818–1901) was chief counsel for Andrew Johnson during the impeachment trial of 1868. As a reward for his services, Johnson appointed Evarts Attorney General later in the year; Evarts was Secretary of State from 1877 to 1881 and U.S. Senator from New York from 1885 to 1891. On October 9, 1868, however, O'Connor wrote cryptically to Walt Whitman: "I had a long and free talk with [Ashton] about Mat Pleasants and Evarts, in connexion with you, which I must tell you about when we meet. It made me feel quite anxious, but I guess all's right, while Ashton is there. Pleasants is a miserable devil. I wish I had power in that office for a little while. I'd put a spoke in the wheel of his vendetta, which would carry it and him to a safe distance." This letter's envelope bears the address, "Mrs. Abby H. Price, | 331 East 55th street, | bet 1st and 2d Av's, | New York City." It is postmarked: "Washington, D.C. | Sep | 14." "Whispers of Heavenly Death." This letter's envelope bears the address, "Mrs. Abby H. Price, | 331 East 55th street, | between 1st and 2d Avenues | New York City." It is postmarked: "(?) | Oct | (?) 1 | (?)." Walt Whitman was staying with the Prices on this visit to New York. Whitman refers to Amasa and William Sprague, manufacturers; their factories were detailed in Whitman's October 23 (?), 1868 letter to Peter Doyle. Sarah Helen Whitman (1803–1878), the American poet and fiancée of Edgar Allan Poe, to whom he wrote the second "To Helen." Her collected poems appeared in 1879. Walt Whitman presented an inscribed copy of Leaves of Grass to her during or shortly after his Providence visit. In a letter to Walt Whitman on November 23, 1868, O'Connor, who was a close friend of Sarah Helen Whitman, transcribed some of her comments in a letter to Walt Whitman: "The great, the good Camerado! The lover of men!…How strange it seems to me now that I should have been so near him without knowing him better! How many questions that I asked you about him would have needed no answer, if I had but have read his book then as I have read it now." According to Dictionary of American Biography, Perry (1831–1896) was a poet, journalist, and author of juvenile books. According to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letter of July 14, 1869, Helen Price had visited her on the preceding day. Probably Walt Whitman wrote because Helen was "wondering all the time why you dont write to her" (The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). Walt Whitman did not refer to his mother's report that "emmily will be married this fall" (The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). The daughter of William D. and Ellen M. O'Connor. This letter's envelope bears the address, "Mrs. Abby H. Price | 331 East 55th street | bet 1st and 2d av's. | New York City." It is postmarked: "Washington | Apr | 22 | D.C." Major Samuel Willard Saxton, who served in the Union Army from 1862 to 1866, was employed in the Treasury Department. Arthur Price, who was in the Navy, is also mentioned in Whitman's October 27, 1866 letter to Abby Price. Emily Price's baby; Whitman reported the birth in his August 2, 1870 letter to William D. O'Connor. In his January 1, 1872 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, Walt Whitman reported that he had sent three letters to his mother the preceding week, of which this was the first. This letter's envelope bears the address, "Mrs. Louisa Whitman | p. o. Box 218, | Brooklyn, New York." It is postmarked: "Washington | Dec | 25 | D.C." William F. Channing, the doctor whom Walt Whitman had visited in Providence in October, 1868. Walt Whitman moved to the new office before January 23, 1872; Whitman wrote of his new office in his January 23–24, 1872 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, saying, "I like this place just as well as the other" but bemoaning the overcrowded nature of the office. The official transfer was not prepared until March 10, 1873 (National Archives). George Henry Williams (1820–1910), U.S. Senator from Oregon, served as Attorney General from 1871 to 1875. Williams dismissed Walt Whitman on June 30, 1874; Whitman "respectfully acknowledged" his dismissal in his July 1, 1874 letter to Williams. Francis M. Doyle was murdered on December 29, 1871, by Maria Shea, known as "Queen of Louse Alley," when he went to her home to recover a stolen watch and chain. According to the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle, Doyle, a native of Ireland, was 38, had a wife and three children, and lived at 340 K Street. He had been on the police force for four or five years, and had served during the War for three years as a fireman on the U.S. Wabash. Among the manuscripts at Yale is a draft of an article which Whitman prepared for a Washington newspaper to answer criticisms of Doyle for his "arrest of a little boy, for theft." Whitman doubted that "the true interests" of the public were "aided by this attempt to make martyrs and heroes of the steadily increasing swarms of juvenile thieves & vagabonds who infest the streets of Washington." Whitman refers to Abby Price's son; he wrote of Arthur's visit in his January 23–24, 1872 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. George Henry Williams (1820–1910), U.S. Senator from Oregon, served as Attorney General from 1871 to 1875. Williams dismissed Walt Whitman on June 30, 1874; Whitman "respectfully acknowledged" his dismissal in his July 1, 1874 letter to Williams.The Stantons lived downstairs; according to Walt Whitman's January 26, 1872 letter to Thomas Jefferson Whitman, George "turned 'em out for impudence to mother."
According to a letter sent in 1928 to Harry Hanson of the New York World, which he in turn transmitted to Emory Holloway, Elizabeth Stanton was the daughter of an editorial writer on the New York News. Her daughter described Walt Whitman as a "rude and rough" man who enjoyed sitting in the Stanton kitchen as he recited his poetry.
Louisa and George had come from Camden to visit Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Rudolf Schmidt. Walt Whitman wrote to his mother three times during this week, and George and Louisa Whitman were in Brooklyn at the time (see Walt Whitman's January 1, 1872 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). "Gracie" is Grace B. Haight (whose visits were anticipated in Walt Whitman's January 3, 1872 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). The "Am. Institute piece" is "After All, Not to Create Only." The poem was printed by Roberts Brothers of Boston, to whom Whitman had written on September 17, 1871. Haight acknowledged the poem in her letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman on February 7, 1872: "I missed much of it the day it was delivered" (Library of Congress). Whitman wrote about the visit of Arthur Price, the son of Abby Price, in his January 1, 1872 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Whitman drew a line through "Department of Justice." Martha Whitman came to Brooklyn in late April or early May of 1872, evidently for consultation with New York doctors; see her daughter's letter of May 5, 1872 (Library of Congress). The diagnosis was cancer, mentioned in Walt Whitman's July 19, 1872 letter to Charles W. Eldridge. Jeff either accompanied her or came for her; see Martha Whitman's letter to Louisa Whitman on May 27, 1872 (Missouri Historical Society). If Walt Whitman was replying to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's undated letter, his remarks about Andrew's children were inappropriate, for his mother described how George—"i think he is a very bad boy indeed"—came to beg, and also informed her son that Nancy, Andrew's wife, "said in the letter i could take george if i wanted too." According to a letter from Mannahatta, Jeff's daughter, to her grandmother on October 26, 1872 (Library of Congress) George was killed in an accident later in the year. The Stantons lived downstairs; according to Walt Whitman's January 26, 1872 letter to Thomas Jefferson Whitman, George "turned 'em out for impudence to mother." Whitman refers to Grace B. Haight. Evidently Whitman forgot, or did not know, that Haight, the daughter of the Bruces (a couple mentioned in his January 23–24, 1872 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman), was in Independence, Iowa, whence she wrote to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman on February 7, 1872 (Library of Congress). After her return to Brooklyn, she wrote to Whitman's mother on September 22, 1872 (Library of Congress) and to Whitman on September 26, 1872 (Library of Congress). Haight and the Bruces visited Louisa Van Velsor Whitman at Camden the day after Thanksgiving; see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's December 3, 1871 letter to Walt Whitman (Library of Congress). According to the Baltimore American, Emerson lectured at the Peabody Institute on Tuesday, January 2, 1872, on the subject "Imagination and Poetry." Yet Walt Whitman wrote as though he had heard Emerson on Thursday, January 4, 1872. See Ralph Rusk, Letters of Ralph Waldo Emerson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1939), 6, 187–197. Walt Whitman conveyed to Emerson an invitation from Charles Sumner; see Rusk, 6, 193. Note also Walt Whitman's comment on an Emerson lecture in his January 18, 1872 letter to Edward Dowden. Not surprisingly, Burroughs' reactions were almost identical: he too believed that Emerson failed to perceive "the needs of the American people today" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 65–66). George Henry Williams (1820–1910), U.S. Senator from Oregon, served as Attorney General from 1871 to 1875. Williams dismissed Walt Whitman on June 30, 1874; Whitman "respectfully acknowledged" his dismissal in his July 1, 1874 letter to Williams.This letter's envelope bears the address, "Abby H. Price | 331 East 55th street | New York City." It is postmarked: "Washington | Feb | 21 | D.C."
This letter's envelope bears the address, "Abby H. Price | 331 East 55th street | New York City." It is postmarked: "Camden N.J. | Sep | 9."
On the basis of the reference to his illness and the appearance of articles in the New York Weekly Graphic, January 11, 1874, a Sunday, appears to be a plausible date; January 18, 1874, however, cannot be ruled out. "'Tis But Ten Years Since" appeared in the New York Weekly Graphic from January 24 to March 7, 1874. For a discussion of these articles, see Thomas O. Mabbott and Rollo G. Silver, American Literature, 15 (1943), 51–62. Later these articles appeared in Memoranda During the War. The word was underscored twice. This letter's envelope bears the address, "Mrs. Abby H. Price | 331 East 55th street | New York City." Its postmark is indecipherable. This postcard is not known. Pauline Wright Davis (1813–1876) was a well-known abolitionist and suffragist. She was the wife of Thomas Davis (1805–1895), a manufacturer of jewelry in Providence, Rhode Island, and a Congressman from 1853 to 1855. Whitman stayed at their home in October 1868; see also Whitman's January 6, 1865 letter to William D. O'Connor. Whitman also mentioned Rein in his September 27, 1868 letter to the O'Connors.This letter's envelope bears the address, "Miss Helen Price | (or Mrs Abby Price)| Red Bank | New Jersey." It is postmarked: "Camden | Oct | 6 | N.J."
This is the last letter Whitman wrote to Abby H. Price, who was dead when he wrote to Helen on April 21, 1881. Whitman, who had lived with the Prices at various times in the 1860s, evidently did not visit them after his mother's death in 1873 until he journeyed to his birthplace in 1881. This is one of Whitman's characteristically misleading statements. He had exhausted the first printing of 100 to 150 copies of the 1876 edition, but he sent, as his Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) and his letters reveal, many copies of the second printing to English and American admirers.On October 12, 1867, Moncure D. Conway reported to Walt Whitman that John Camden Hotten had "contracted with W. M. Rossetti to prepare and edit a volume of selections from your Poems." William Michael Rossetti received £25 and twelve copies of the book; see William Michael Rossetti, Rossetti Papers (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1903), 240. Conway noted as advantages of this new plan that a volume of selections would prepare the public for the complete work, and that it was better to have a well-known English critic introduce an American poet to the British public than an unknown American author like O'Connor; according to Whitman's July 24, 1867 letter to Conway, O'Connor was originally named as the introduction's author. The irony, of course, was that Walt Whitman had written the Introduction.
Hotten (1832–1873) printed Swinburne's Poems and Ballads when another publisher withdrew after the book caused a furor. Perhaps because he had lived in the United States from 1848 to 1856, Hotten introduced to an English audience such writers as Robert Lowell, Artemus Ward, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Bret Harte. After his death, his business was purchased by Chatto and Windus. In his letter to Conway on December 5, 1866, O'Connor had suggested Hotten as the English publisher of Walt Whitman: "Seems to me the courage that prints Laus Veneris might dare this" (Yale).
In addition, Rossetti requested permission to delete "venereal sores or discolorations" and "any depravity of young men" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 3:298). Rossetti noted in his diary, on November 28, 1867, O'Connor's "distaste" for the "concession to the outcry against W's indecencies" and his intimation that "Whitman, though resigned, is not really pleased at the publication of a mere selection from his poems" (William Michael Rossetti, Rossetti Papers [New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1903], 244). The material in brackets has been supplied from the draft version. Someone cut out Walt Whitman's signature in the original. Rossetti quoted this definition in a note; see Poems by Walt Whitman, 390n. William Conant Church (1836–1917), journalist and publisher, was a correspondent for several New York newspapers until he founded the Army and Navy Journal in 1863. With his brother Francis Pharcellus (1839–1906), he established the Galaxy in 1866. Financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon and Company in 1868, and it was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. William published a biography of his life-long friend Ulysses S. Grant in 1897, and Francis wrote for the New York Sun the unsigned piece "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." See Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 332–350; Donald N. Bigelow, William Conant Church & "The Army and Navy Journal" (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952); J. R. Pearson, Jr., "Story of a Magazine: New York's Galaxy, 1866–1878," Bulletin of the New York Public Library, 61 (1957), 217–237, 281–302.On August 1, 1867, William Conant Church, from the office of the Galaxy, wrote to O'Connor: "It seems to me that this glorious harvest of 1867, sown & reaped by the returned soldiers, ought to be sung in verse.…Walt Whitman is the man to chaunt the song. Will you not ask him to do it for The Galaxy?" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The editors, in a letter to Walt Whitman on August 8, 1867, considered "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867" (later titled "The Return of the Heroes") "to rank with the very best of your poems." For images and a transcription of "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867" as it appeared in the September 1867 edition of the Galaxy, see "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867".
In his August 11, 1867 letter to the Galaxy, Whitman reserved the right to publish "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867" in an edition of Leaves of Grass no sooner than six months after the poem's publication in the Galaxy. Whitman acknowledged receipt of $60 as compensation for "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867" in his September 7, 1867 letter to the editors, in which he also submitted a second poem, "Ethiopia Commenting," unpublished in the magazine. William Conant Church (1836–1917), journalist and publisher, was a correspondent for several New York newspapers until he founded the Army and Navy Journal in 1863. With his brother Francis Pharcellus (1839–1906), he established the Galaxy in 1866. Financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon and Company in 1868, and it was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. William published a biography of his life-long friend Ulysses S. Grant in 1897, and Francis wrote for the New York Sun the unsigned piece "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." See Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 332–350; Donald N. Bigelow, William Conant Church & "The Army and Navy Journal" (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952); J. R. Pearson, Jr., "Story of a Magazine: New York's Galaxy, 1866–1878," Bulletin of the New York Public Library, 61 (1957), 217–237, 281–302.On August 1, 1867, William Conant Church, from the office of the Galaxy, wrote to William Douglas O'Connor: "It seems to me that this glorious harvest of 1867, sown & reaped by the returned soldiers, ought to be sung in verse.…Walt Whitman is the man to chaunt the song. Will you not ask him to do it for The Galaxy?" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The editors, in a letter to Walt Whitman on August 8, 1867, considered "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867" (later titled "The Return of the Heroes") "to rank with the very best of your poems." The poem appeared in the September 1867 issue of the Galaxy. For images and a transcription of "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867" as it appeared in the September 1867 edition of the Galaxy, see "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867".
Whitman acknowledged receipt of $60 as compensation for "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867" in his September 7, 1867 letter to the Galaxy, in which he also submitted a second poem, "Ethiopia Commenting," unpublished by the magazine.
On August 13, 1867, the editors replied that they had no objection to Walt Whitman's using the poem in a book. This letter is endorsed, "Leave of Absence, | from Sept. 9 to Oct. 12, '67." John M. Binckley, a Washington lawyer, was associated with the National Intelligencer, was in the Attorney General's office for several years, and in 1869 was Solicitor of Internal Revenue. Except for Binckley's signature, this letter is in Walt Whitman's hand. The April issue of the Galaxy announced that Sheldon and Co. had assumed financial control of the journal. The reply to this letter is in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. The Galaxy in 1868 was more than kind to Whitman and his friends. In March appeared O'Connor's satirical poem "The Ballad of Sir Ball," 328–333, about the authorship of Florence Percy's (Elisabeth Chase Allen) "Rock Me to Sleep." Of the poem Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote on March 24, 1868: "it is signed W. i hope nobody will think you wrote it walt." In April the magazine printed John Burroughs' "Before Genius," 421–426, in which he observed: "If we except 'Leaves of Grass' and Emerson's works, there is little as yet in American literature that shows much advance beyond the merely conventional and scholastic." William Conant Church (1836–1917), journalist and publisher, was a correspondent for several New York newspapers until he founded the Army and Navy Journal in 1863. With his brother Francis Pharcellus (1839–1906), he established the Galaxy in 1866. Financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon and Company in 1868, and it was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. William published a biography of his life-long friend Ulysses S. Grant in 1897, and Francis wrote for the New York Sun the unsigned piece "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." See Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 332–350; Donald N. Bigelow, William Conant Church & "The Army and Navy Journal" (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952); J. R. Pearson, Jr., "Story of a Magazine: New York's Galaxy, 1866–1878," Bulletin of the New York Public Library, 61 (1957), 217–237, 281–302. See Whitman's November 1, 1867, letter to Moncure D. Conway for a fuller explanation of the kinds of changes William Michael Rossetti had suggested. Walt Whitman was disturbed by the following passage in Rossetti's letter: "But now, after your letter [referring to Whitman's November 1, 1867 letter to Moncure D. Conway] it seems to me that all or most of these poems, with some minimum of verbal modification or excision, may very properly be included: & indeed that there is nothing to prevent a reprint of the revised copy of your complete poems (which you sent to Mr Conway) coming out at once, instead of the mere selection—subject only to modification or excision here & there as above named" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 3:300). However, in his next letter, on December 8, 1867, Rossetti informed Walt Whitman that the publisher was unwilling to substitute a complete edition for the selections because printing was too far advanced. In the same letter, Rossetti stated the "two rules" which he had followed in making his selections: "1, to omit entirely every poem which contains passages or words which modern squeamishness can raise an objection to—& 2, to include, from among the remaining poems, those which I most entirely & intensely admire." See also Poems by Walt Whitman (London: John Camden Hotten, 1868), 20. This was no offhand letter, as a casual glance at the manuscript of the draft reveals deletions and insertions appear in almost every line. Rossetti had written on November 17, 1867: "I shall always hold it one of the truest & most prized distinctions of my writing career to be associated, in however modest a capacity, with the works of so great a poet & noble-hearted a man as you." And on December 16, 1867 he replied to Walt Whitman's offer of "friendship": "To be honoured by your friendship is as great a satisfaction & distinction as my life has presented or ever can present. I respond to it with all warmth & reverence, & the Atlantic seemed a very small space between us while I read and re-read your letter." The letter was written on November 22, 1867. William Conant Church (1836–1917), journalist and publisher, was a correspondent for several New York newspapers until he founded the Army and Navy Journal in 1863. With his brother Francis Pharcellus (1839–1906), he established the Galaxy in 1866. Financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon and Company in 1868, and it was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. William published a biography of his life-long friend Ulysses S. Grant in 1897, and Francis wrote for the New York Sun the unsigned piece "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." See Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 332–350; Donald N. Bigelow, William Conant Church & "The Army and Navy Journal" (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952); J. R. Pearson, Jr., "Story of a Magazine: New York's Galaxy, 1866–1878," Bulletin of the New York Public Library, 61 (1957), 217–237, 281–302. This poem, sent by Walt Whitman with his September 7, 1867 letter to the Churches, was never published in the Galaxy. It later became "Ethiopia Saluting the Colors"; see Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 337. Walt Whitman withdrew the poem in his November 2, 1868 letter to Francis P. Church. William Conant Church (1836–1917), journalist and publisher, was a correspondent for several New York newspapers until he founded the Army and Navy Journal in 1863. With his brother Francis Pharcellus (1839–1906), he established the Galaxy in 1866. Financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon and Company in 1868, and it was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. William published a biography of his life-long friend Ulysses S. Grant in 1897, and Francis wrote for the New York Sun the unsigned piece "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." See Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 332–350; Donald N. Bigelow, William Conant Church & "The Army and Navy Journal" (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952); J. R. Pearson, Jr., "Story of a Magazine: New York's Galaxy, 1866–1878," Bulletin of the New York Public Library, 61 (1957), 217–237, 281–302. Walt Whitman intended to write W. C. Church. Apparently Walt Whitman coined the word "personalism," which Bronson Alcott introduced into American philosophy; see Gay Wilson Allen, Walt Whitman Handbook (Chicago: Packard and Company, 1946), 303. The essay appeared in the Galaxy, 5 (May 1868), 540–547, though not as the lead article, and was later part of Democratic Vistas. William Conant Church (1836–1917), journalist and publisher, was a correspondent for several New York newspapers until he founded the Army and Navy Journal in 1863. With his brother Francis Pharcellus (1839–1906), he established the Galaxy in 1866. Financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon and Company in 1868, and it was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. William published a biography of his life-long friend Ulysses S. Grant in 1897, and Francis wrote for the New York Sun the unsigned piece "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." See Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 332–350; Donald N. Bigelow, William Conant Church & "The Army and Navy Journal" (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952); J. R. Pearson, Jr., "Story of a Magazine: New York's Galaxy, 1866–1878," Bulletin of the New York Public Library, 61 (1957), 217–237, 281–302. Walt Whitman first solicited "Personalism" in his February 21, 1868 letter to the Churches, citing it as a sequel of sorts to "Democracy." Walt Whitman did send "Personalism" to Moncure D. Conway in his March 18, 1868, letter. Conway later wrote that attempts to market the piece in England proved unsuccessful. Whitman had sent his essay "Personalism" to Conway and asked Conway to help place the piece in an English magazine (See Whitman's March 18, 1867, letter to Conway). Conway was not able to find an English magazine to publish the essay. But "Personalism" was published in the Galaxy magazine in May of 1868; the essay was a sequel to Whitman's essay "Democracy" which had been published in that magazine in December 1867. This poem, sent by Walt Whitman with his September 7, 1867 letter to the Churches, was never published in the Galaxy. It later became "Ethiopia Saluting the Colors"; see Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 337. Walt Whitman withdrew the poem in his November 2, 1868 letter to Francis P. Church. Walt Whitman overstated; only "Whispers of Heavenly Death" had been accepted for publication in England. Thomas Hotten (1832–1873) printed Swinburne's Poems and Ballads when another publisher withdrew after the book caused a furor. Perhaps because he had lived in the United States from 1848 to 1856, Hotten introduced to an English audience such writers as Lowell, Artemus Ward, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Bret Harte. After his death, his business was purchased by Chatto and Windus. In his letter to Conway on December 5, 1866, O'Connor had suggested Hotten as the English publisher of Walt Whitman: "Seems to me the courage that prints Laus Veneris might dare this" (Yale). Walt Whitman discussed the frontispiece in greater detail in his April 24, 1868 letter to John Camden Hotten. Swinburne, at the conclusion of William Blake: A Critical Essay (London: John Camden Hotten, 1868), 300–303, pointed out similarities between Whitman and Blake, and praised "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking" and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," which he termed "the most sweet and sonorous nocturn ever chanted in the church of the world." Included in Songs before Sunrise (1871) was his famous lyric "To Walt Whitman in America." For the story of Swinburne's veneration of Walt Whitman and his later recantation, see Harold Blodgett, Walt Whitman in England (Cornell: Cornell University Press, 1934), 103–121. William Conant Church (1836–1917), journalist and publisher, was a correspondent for several New York newspapers until he founded the Army and Navy Journal in 1863. With his brother Francis Pharcellus (1839–1906), he established the Galaxy in 1866. Financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon and Company in 1868, and it was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. William published a biography of his life-long friend Ulysses S. Grant in 1897, and Francis wrote for the New York Sun the unsigned piece "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." See Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 332–350; Donald N. Bigelow, William Conant Church & "The Army and Navy Journal" (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952); J. R. Pearson, Jr., "Story of a Magazine: New York's Galaxy, 1866–1878," Bulletin of the New York Public Library, 61 (1957), 217–237, 281–302. Walt Whitman had sent the proofs with his March 3, 1868 letter. On March 25, 1868, William C. Church reported that Walt Whitman's second set of proofs had arrived too "late for us to make the corrections & I return it so that you can transfer them to the proofs before sent" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Probably associates in the Attorney General's office. William Conant Church (1836–1917), journalist and publisher, was a correspondent for several New York newspapers until he founded the Army and Navy Journal in 1863. With his brother Francis Pharcellus (1839–1906), he established the Galaxy in 1866. Financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon and Company in 1868, and it was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. William published a biography of his life-long friend Ulysses S. Grant in 1897, and Francis wrote for the New York Sun the unsigned piece "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." See Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 332–350; Donald N. Bigelow, William Conant Church & "The Army and Navy Journal" (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952); J. R. Pearson, Jr., "Story of a Magazine: New York's Galaxy, 1866–1878," Bulletin of the New York Public Library, 61 (1957), 217–237, 281–302.George Peabody (1795–1869), merchant and philanthropist, died in London on November 4, 1869, and his body was returned to Danvers, Massachusetts in January, 1870. He founded and endowed the Peabody museums at Yale and Harvard. The poem, entitled "Outlines for a Tomb (G. P., Buried 1870)" in the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass, appeared in the Galaxy, 9 (January 1870), 75–76.
For the poem as it appeared in the Galaxy, see "Brother of All, With Generous Hand".
William Conant Church (1836–1917), journalist and publisher, was a correspondent for several New York newspapers until he founded the Army and Navy Journal in 1863. With his brother Francis Pharcellus (1839–1906), he established the Galaxy in 1866. Financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon and Company in 1868, and it was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. William published a biography of his life-long friend Ulysses S. Grant in 1897, and Francis wrote for the New York Sun the unsigned piece "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." See Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 332–350; Donald N. Bigelow, William Conant Church & "The Army and Navy Journal" (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952); J. R. Pearson, Jr., "Story of a Magazine: New York's Galaxy, 1866–1878," Bulletin of the New York Public Library, 61 (1957), 217–237, 281–302. Whitman's poem appeared in the Galaxy, 9 (May 1870), 686. For the poem as it appeared in the Galaxy, see "A Warble for Lilac-time." Martha had been east two months earlier for consultations with doctors in New York and Camden. Whitman also sent his consolations in his January 23–24, 1872 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Whitman here makes a veiled reference to the connubial relations of the Heydes. In the manuscript, "Interviews with Joaquin Miller," Whitman characterized him as "an ardent, pensive, gentle person—decidedly morbid & sensitive—(made a very favorable impression on me)" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman also wrote of this meeting in his July 19, 1872 letter to Peter Doyle. The date of this note is conjectural, but "O Star of France" appeared in the June 1871 issue of the Galaxy, and Whitman was in New York in July 1871. Neither of these letters is known."As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free" ("Thou Mother with Thy Equal Brood") was printed as a pamphlet in 1872. Whitman had sent Democratic Vistas on April 27, 1872.
Edwin Haviland Miller's publication of this letter carried the following acknowledgments: "I am able to print this previously unknown letter through the courtesy of Lord Tennyson and Sir Charles Tennyson. Dr. Edgar F. Shannon, Jr., president of the University of Virginia, who is preparing an edition of Tennyson's letters, has graciously consented to my publication of the correspondence between the two poets. I wish also to thank the City of Lincoln (England) Public Libraries, Museum, and Art Gallery for the photostat of this letter."
431 Stevens Street was Whitman's home address until 1884. According to a calling card pasted in the Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress), Lipstay (not Liptay) was a correspondent for "Hungarian Journals." He visited Whitman on August 26, 1876. Ottoe Behrens was listed as a carver in the New York Directory of 1874–1875 and as an engraver in the following year.This postcard bears the address, "John Swinton | 134 E. 38th Street | New York City." It is postmarked: "Camden | (?)| 12 | N.J."
This postcard can be plausibly assigned to 1875, since Swinton visited Whitman within a few weeks; see Whitman's April 1, 1875 letter to John Burroughs.
When Whitman went to Washington in November 1875, he stayed with Mr. and Mrs. Michael Nash; see Whitman's November 9, 1875 letter to Ellen O'Connor. Whitman refers here to George Saintsbury's comment on Leaves of Grass appeared in The Academy, 6 (October 10, 1874), 398–400. Damon Y. Kilgore (1827–1888) was a well-known Philadelphia lawyer and a member of the Liberal League of Philadelphia. In 1875 he prepared a petition to exclude the Bible from the public schools. In the following year he married Carrie S. Burnham, who was the first woman admitted to the bar in University of Pennsylvania. See also Whitman's letters of January 23 and 24, 1877, to Kilgore (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977], 3:75–76).Draft letter.
After the first printing of the 1876 edition was exhausted, there was a delay until Whitman had 600 additional copies printed (see Whitman's September 1, 1876 letter to William Michael Rossetti). This note undoubtedly was the draft of a letter which Whitman sent to those people who had to wait for the second printing.
This letter's envelope bears the address, "John Burroughs, | Esopus, Ulster co | New York." It is postmarked: "Camden | Oct | 12 | N.J."
Since Whitman went to Washington on November 8, 1875 (see Whitman's November 3, 1875, and November 5, 1875 letters to Peter Doyle), 1875 appears to be a plausible date.
On October 12, 1867, Moncure D. Conway reported to Walt Whitman that John Camden Hotten had "contracted with W. M. Rossetti to prepare and edit a volume of selections from your Poems." William Michael Rossetti received £25 and twelve copies of the book; see William Michael Rossetti, Rossetti Papers (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1903), 240. Conway noted as advantages of this new plan that a volume of selections would prepare the public for the complete work, and that it was better to have a well-known English critic introduce an American poet to the British public than an unknown American author like O'Connor; according to Whitman's July 24, 1867 letter to Conway, O'Connor was originally named as the introduction's author. The irony, of course, was that Walt Whitman had written the Introduction.
Hotten (1832–1873) printed Swinburne's Poems and Ballads when another publisher withdrew after the book caused a furor. Perhaps because he had lived in the United States from 1848 to 1856, Hotten introduced to an English audience such writers as Robert Lowell, Artemus Ward, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Bret Harte. After his death, his business was purchased by Chatto and Windus. In his letter to Conway on December 5, 1866, O'Connor had suggested Hotten as the English publisher of Walt Whitman: "Seems to me the courage that prints Laus Veneris might dare this" (Yale).
In addition, Rossetti requested permission to delete "venereal sores or discolorations" and "any depravity of young men" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 3:298). Rossetti noted in his diary, on November 28, 1867, O'Connor's "distaste" for the "concession to the outcry against W's indecencies" and his intimation that "Whitman, though resigned, is not really pleased at the publication of a mere selection from his poems" (William Michael Rossetti, Rossetti Papers [New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1903], 244). The material in brackets has been supplied from the draft version. Someone cut out Walt Whitman's signature in the original. Rossetti quoted this definition in a note; see Poems by Walt Whitman, 390n. This letter is Walt Whitman's first to William Michael Rossetti, whose name he consistently misspelled. See Walt Whitman's November 1, 1867 letter to Moncure D. Conway for a fuller explanation of the kinds of changes Rossetti had suggested.Whitman included with this letter a sketched mock-up of the proposed title page. Whitman suggested the page read, "WALT WHITMAN'S | POEMS | Selected from the American | Editions | By Wm. M. Rosetti ."
On December 8, 1867, Rossetti wrote to Whitman: "The form of title-page which you propose would of course be adopted by me with thanks & without a moment's debate, were it not that my own title-page was previously in print."
Rossetti agreed to this change on December 8, 1867: "I had previously given it a title of my own, 'Nocturn for the Death of Lincoln'." See "Postscript" to Poems by Walt Whitman (London, John Camden Hotten, 1868), 402. Rossetti had seen the proofs of Burroughs' pamphlet in April; see Walt Whitman's July 27, 1867 letter to Abby H. Price. See Walt Whitman's November 1, 1867 letter to Moncure D. Conway for a fuller explanation of the kinds of changes William Michael Rossetti had suggested. Walt Whitman was disturbed by the following passage in Rossetti's letter: "But now, after your letter [referring to Whitman's November 1, 1867 letter to Moncure D. Conway] it seems to me that all or most of these poems, with some minimum of verbal modification or excision, may very properly be included: & indeed that there is nothing to prevent a reprint of the revised copy of your complete poems (which you sent to Mr Conway) coming out at once, instead of the mere selection—subject only to modification or excision here & there as above named" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 3:300). However, in his next letter, on December 8, 1867, Rossetti informed Walt Whitman that the publisher was unwilling to substitute a complete edition for the selections because printing was too far advanced. In the same letter, Rossetti stated the "two rules" which he had followed in making his selections: "1, to omit entirely every poem which contains passages or words which modern squeamishness can raise an objection to—& 2, to include, from among the remaining poems, those which I most entirely & intensely admire." See also Poems by Walt Whitman (London: John Camden Hotten, 1868), 20. This was no offhand letter, as a casual glance at the manuscript of the draft reveals deletions and insertions appear in almost every line. Rossetti had written on November 17, 1867: "I shall always hold it one of the truest & most prized distinctions of my writing career to be associated, in however modest a capacity, with the works of so great a poet & noble-hearted a man as you." And on December 16, 1867 he replied to Walt Whitman's offer of "friendship": "To be honoured by your friendship is as great a satisfaction & distinction as my life has presented or ever can present. I respond to it with all warmth & reverence, & the Atlantic seemed a very small space between us while I read and re-read your letter." The letter was written on November 22, 1867. Channing (first mentioned in Walt Whitman's September 11, 1864 letter to Ellen M. O'Connor) extended the invitation on September 24, 1868. "Whispers of Heavenly Death."Rudolf Schmidt, editor of For Idé og Virkelighed, wrote to Walt Whitman on October 19, 1871, "I intend to write an article about yourself and your writings in the above named periodical which is very much read in all the Scandinavian countries. …I therefore take the liberty to ask you, if you should not be willing to afford some new communications of yourself and your poetry to this purpose" (Library of Congress).
In this letter Whitman was furnishing information Schmidt sought for his article; see Whitman's December 7, 1871 letter to Schmidt. This and Whitman's January 18, 1872 letter to Edward Dowden contain almost identical statements of Whitman's conception of his works.
Carl F. Clausen, termed in Schmidt's letter "my old friend and countryman," corresponded with Schmidt after he left Denmark in 1860; see Carl Roos, "Walt Whitman's Letters to a Danish Friend," Orbis Litterarum, 7 (1949), 34–39. The city directory in 1870 listed him as a draughtsman and in 1872 as a patent agent. He died of consumption in the middle 1870s; see the Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #108. Whitman refers here to his poem, "After All, Not to Create Only." For first periodical printings of this poem, see the 7 September 1871 issues of the New York Evening Post and the New York Commercial Advertiser. Once again Whitman restated what was by this time a somewhat shop-worn charge—a poet systematically persecuted by governmental authority and by American newspapers and journals. In his desire to appear in the role of a martyr, he consistently neglected mention of the coverage he received in the press. Even Horace Traubel, in 1889, dissented from Whitman's opinion; see With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), 4:61–62. In addition, sales were better than he admitted; Whitman wrote of strong sales in his January 26, 1872 letter to Thomas Jefferson Whitman. Again Whitman omitted reference to the 1860 edition published by Thayer and Eldridge. Tennyson made such an offer in his July 12, 1871 letter to Whitman. Robert Buchanan (1841–1901), English poet and critic, had lauded Whitman in the Broadway Annual in 1867, and in 1872 praised Whitman but attributed his poor reception in England to the sponsorship of William Michael Rossetti and Algernon Charles Swinburne. See Harold Blodgett, Walt Whitman in England (1934), 79–80, and Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (1955), 445–446. Swinburne's recantation later in the year may be partly attributable to Buchanan's injudicious remarks.For Whitman's relationship with John Camden Hotten and the "bad & defective" edition, see Whitman's November 1, 1867 letter to Moncure D. Conway.
Mark Twain, incensed by the pirated edition of The Innocents Abroad, damned "John Camden Hottentot"; see Delancey Ferguson, Mark Twain: Man and Legend (1943), 163.
Schmidt, editor of For Idé og Virkelighed, wrote to Walt Whitman on October 19, 1871, "I intend to write an article about yourself and your writings in the above named periodical which is very much read in all the Scandinavian countries.…I therefore take the liberty to ask you, if you should not be willing to afford some new communications of yourself and your poetry to this purpose" (Library of Congress). Carl F. Clausen, termed in Schmidt's letter "my old friend and countryman," corresponded with Schmidt after he left Denmark in 1860; see Carl Roos, "Walt Whitman's Letters to a Danish Friend," Orbis Litterarum, 7 (1949), 34–39. The city directory in 1870 listed him as a draughtsman and in 1872 as a patent agent. He died of consumption in the middle 1870s; see Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #108. Björnstjerne Björnson (1832–1910), Norwegian poet, dramatist, and novelist, was co-editor of Schmidt's journal. In his reply on January 5, 1872, Schmidt observed: "Hans Christian Andersen would perhaps not make you very great joy, if you did know him personally. Björnson would be your man." Schmidt later altered his opinion of Björnson; see notes to Whitman's March 19, 1874 letter to Schmidt. Rudolf Schmidt, editor of For Idé og Virkelighed, wrote to Walt Whitman on October 19, 1871: "I intend to write an article about yourself and your writings in the above named periodical which is very much read in all the Scandinavian countries. . . . I therefore take the liberty to ask you, if you should not be willing to afford some new communications of yourself and your poetry to this purpose" (Library of Congress). See Schmidt's February 27, 1872 letter to Whitman. Clemens Petersen (1834–1918), for ten years the critic of the Danish magazine Fatherland, left Denmark in 1869 and stayed in the United States until 1904. See Schmidt's letter to Walt Whitman of February 27, 1872. Also note Whitman's letter of March 19, 1874. Whitman next wrote to Schmidt on May 28, 1872. Rudolf Schmidt, editor of For Idé og Virkelighed, wrote to Walt Whitman on October 19, 1871: "I intend to write an article about yourself and your writings in the above named periodical which is very much read in all the Scandinavian countries. . . . I therefore take the liberty to ask you, if you should not be willing to afford some new communications of yourself and your poetry to this purpose" (Library of Congress).Carl F. Clausen, whom Schmidt termed "my old friend and countryman," corresponded with Schmidt after he left Denmark in 1860; see Orbis Litterarum, 7 (1949), 34–39. The city directory in 1870 listed him as a draughtsman and in 1872 as a patent agent. He died of consumption in the middle 1870s; see Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #108.
Björnstjerne Björnson (1832–1910), Norwegian poet, dramatist, and novelist, was co-editor of Schmidt's journal. In his letter of January 5, 1872, Schmidt observed: "Hans Christian Andersen would perhaps not make you very great joy, if you did know him personally. Björnson would be your man." Schmidt later altered his opinion of Björnson; see notes to Whitman's March 19, 1874 letter to Schmidt.
Schmidt's review of Whitman appeared in For Idé og Virkelighed in March 1872. Whitman included excerpts from it in an appendix to As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free (1872), 7–8. It was reprinted in entirety in In Re Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), ed. Horace L. Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas B. Harned, 231–248. On April 25, 1872, Schmidt made a request: "Will you do me a service? I should like to write an article on 'American fancy' contrasting the grotesque humor that is scattered with no pretension in your newspapers with the humor of Luther and Shakespeare . . . . Could you not find for me about a dozen jokes of this sort." It is not known what books Whitman sent to Schmidt. See also Whitman's letter to Schmidt of June 4, 1872. Whitman recited "As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free" (later "Thou Mother with Thy Equal Brood") at Dartmouth College on June 26, 1872. Evidently, a student organization hoped to annoy the faculty by inviting Whitman to Dartmouth, a seat of New England sobriety and conservatism; see Bliss Perry, Walt Whitman (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1906), 203–205. The poem appeared in the 26 June 1872 edition of the New York Herald. Rudolf Schmidt, editor of For Idé og Virkelighed, wrote to Walt Whitman on October 19, 1871: "I intend to write an article about yourself and your writings in the above named periodical which is very much read in all the Scandinavian countries. …I therefore take the liberty to ask you, if you should not be willing to afford some new communications of yourself and your poetry to this purpose" (Library of Congress). Carl F. Clausen, identified by Schmidt as "my old friend and countryman," corresponded with Schmidt after he left Denmark in 1860; see Orbis Litterarum, 7 (1949), 34–39. The city directory in 1870 listed him as a draughtsman and in 1872 as a patent agent. He died of consumption in the middle 1870s; see Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #108.On April 25, 1872, Schmidt made a request: "Will you do me a service? I should like to write an article on 'American fancy' contrasting the grotesque humor that is scattered with no pretension in your newspapers with the humor of Luther and Shakespeare…Could you not find for me about a dozen jokes of this sort."
With this letter are three newspaper clippings: "American Slang in England," "Artemus Ward and the Press," and "Yankee Talk."
Emil Arctander, who was acting vice-consul for Denmark, translated Rudolf Schmidt's 1872 article for Walt Whitman. According to his letters of June 17 and 20, 1872, Arctander did not complete his self-styled "weak translation" until later in the month. The translation, with scores of corrections in Walt Whitman's hand, is in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. The Republican convention of 1872. On August 23, 1867, Walt Whitman informed Gordon Lester Ford that Dion Thomas had copies of the first edition of Leaves of Grass. Walt Whitman wrote of preparations for this dinner, including a collection effort, in his December 24, 1866 letter to his mother. Bayard Taylor (1825–1878), translator of Faust, journalist, and traveler, had sent a copy of his poem "The Picture of St. John" to Walt Whitman in a November 12, 1866 letter, to which Whitman responded in a November 18, 1866 letter to Taylor. In the November 12 letter, Taylor commended Whitman's "remarkable powers of expression" and "deep and tender reverence for Man." His letter of December 2, 1866 was even more unreserved in its praise of Whitman. Later Taylor's enthusiasm for Whitman was to change dramatically. In The Echo Club (2d ed., 1876), 154–158, 168–169, Taylor burlesqued Whitman's poetry. In his Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896), William Sloane Kennedy lists Taylor among Whitman's "Bitter and Relentless Foes and Cillifiers." Whitman wrote "1866." Charles Heyde, husband of Hannah Louisa Whitman, sent this package to Senator George Franklin Edmunds, of Vermont. Edmunds informed Walt Whitman of the package's arrival in his letter of January 4, 1867. Heyde mentioned Walt Whitman's gifts in a letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, written in January: "Walter is very kind" (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). In commenting on this passage in her letter of January 17, 1867, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, who was not without a sense of humor, wrote: "i suppose you will take it as a great complement . . . ." Hannah, with her customary guilt about her procrastination, acknowledged the gifts in a letter to her mother on March 20, 1867 (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). Juliet Grayson operated the boardinghouse at 468 M North, where Walt Whitman lived between late January 1865 and February 1866. Whitman reported her death in his January 15, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Walt Whitman proposed a similar real estate venture to his brother George in an October 1866 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Verdi's Ernani was performed at the National Theatre, with a cast that included Carmen Poch, Mazzoleni, and Bellini. Adelaide Ristori (1822–1906), a famous Italian tragedian, appeared at the National Theatre in Elizabeth, Queen of England on December 6, 1866. The Washington National Republican reported on December 7 that the house had been sold out, and that during the week she would also appear in Macbeth and Mary, Queen of Scotland. The Washington National Intelligencer printed a lengthy biography of the actress on December 3, 1866. Juliet Grayson operated the boardinghouse at 468 M North, where Walt Whitman lived between late January 1865 and February 1866. Mary Mix lived with her daughter, Juliet Grayson. After her daughter's death, Mix left Washington to live with her granddaughter, which Whitman mentioned in his January 22, 1867 letter to his mother. Attempts to impeach President Johnson continued throughout the session until its adjournment on March 3. In 1860, Erastus Otis Parker was indicted on seven counts of theft. On October 28, 1866, Whitman wrote a letter to Attorney General Henry Stanbery successfully petitioning for a pardon on the grounds that "the whole theory on which he was convicted was but an inference from an inference" and that Parker had "already served four years in prison." According to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's reply of January 17, 1867, Walt Whitman enclosed $5 in this letter, as well as paper and envelopes. This letter's envelope bears the address, "Mr. Knox, | Sec. of the Treasury's Office." John Jay Knox (1828–1892) was appointed to the Treasury Department by Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase. On October 10, 1867, Knox became Deputy Comptroller of the Currency, and from 1872 to 1884 he served as Comptroller. Walt Whitman forwarded to Knox an opinion of Edward Bates (1793–1869), Lincoln's Attorney General. There were two tailors by this name in the Brooklyn Directory of 1865–1866: Andrew, 372 Myrtle Avenue, and N., 739 Atlantic Avenue. John Ward Hunter (1807–1900), not William, was elected to complete the term of James Humphrey (1811–1866), who was a Congressman from 1859 to 1861, and, after two unsuccessful attempts, was elected for the second time in 1864. Mary Mix lived with her daughter, Juliet Grayson, who operated the boardinghouse at 468 M North, where Walt Whitman lived between late January 1865 and February 1866. After her daughter's death on January 7, 1867 (which Whitman reported to his mother on January 15, 1867), Whitman wrote in a January 22, 1867 letter to his mother that Mix would be leaving Washington to live with her granddaughter, Mrs. Samuel S. Haskell, Jr. All that is known about Alfred Pratt is contained in this letter and those of June 10, 1865, August 7, 1865, August 26, 1865, September 27, 1866, July 25, 1867, October 28, 1867, July 1, 1869, and January 20, 1870. Lewis Kirke Brown (1843–1926) was wounded in the left leg near Rappahannock Station on August 19, 1862, and lay where he fell for four days. Eventually he was transferred to Armory Square Hospital, where Whitman met him, probably in February 1863. In a diary in the Library of Congress, Whitman described Brown on February 19, 1863, as "a most affectionate fellow, very fond of having me come and sit by him." Because the wound did not heal, the leg was amputated on January 5, 1864. Whitman was present and described the operation in a diary (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #103). Brown was mustered out in August 1864, and was employed in the Provost General's office in September; see Whitman's letter of September 11, 1864. The following September he became a clerk in the Treasury Department and was appointed Chief of the Paymaster's Division in 1880, a post which he held until his retirement in 1915. (This material draws upon a memorandum which was prepared by Brown's family and is now held in the Library of Congress.) The book in question is Augustus Woodbury, Burnside and the Ninth Army Corps: A Narrative of Operations in North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee (Sidney S. Rider & Bros., Publishers, Providence, R.I.). Walt Whitman pasted on the advertisement of the book. He had previously written of Jeff's potential interest in the book in his January 22, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. The clipping from the Star read: "Accidents.—On Tuesday morning, as Mr. J. Hubley Ashton, Assistant Attorney General, was leaving his residence, corner of 14th and F streets, he fell and cut his face so badly as to confine him to his room for a few days. On the following day, Mr. F. U. Stitt, the pardon clerk of the same office, received a fall, by which his left arm was badly injured." Ashton actively interested himself in Walt Whitman's affairs and obtained a position for the poet in his office after the Harlan fracas. John A. Rowland, a clerk in the Attorney General's office, substituted for Walt Whitman when he was on leave in 1870. William Maxwell Evarts (1818–1901) was chief counsel for Andrew Johnson during the impeachment trial of 1868. As a reward for his services, Johnson appointed Evarts Attorney General later in the year; Evarts was Secretary of State from 1877 to 1881 and U.S. Senator from New York from 1885 to 1891. This letter is not known. Walt Whitman had been living with the Benedicts since February 1867, as per his February 12, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, but he expressed a passing interest in leaving the boarding house in a letter of August 24, 1868. J. Hubley Ashton, the assistant Attorney General, actively interested himself in Walt Whitman's affairs, and obtained a position for the poet in his office after the Harlan fracas. See also Walt Whitman's January 20, 1869 letter to Blanch. After Whitman's January 20, 1869 letter to Blanch, only "Proud Music of the Sea-Storm" had appeared in a magazine. For the publication of "Proud Music of the Sea-Storm," see Whitman's December 8, 1868 letter to James T. Fields. Anne Charlotte Lynch Botta (1815–1891) was a teacher, a poet, and a sculptor. Her "literary" evenings in New York are mentioned in Bayard Taylor's John Godfrey's Fortunes. According to the Memoirs of Anne C. L. Botta (1894), 14, Poe gave his first public reading of "The Raven" at her home. Her evaluation of Walt Whitman's poetry appeared in her often reprinted Handbook of Universal Literature (1885 ed.), 535: "Walt Whitman . . . writes with great force, originality, and sympathy with all forms of struggle and suffering, but with utter contempt for conventionalities and for the acknowledged limits of true art." Orville Hickman Browning (1806–1881) completed the unexpired term of Stephen A. Douglas after his death in 1861. Defeated for re-election in 1862, he established a law firm in Washington, and later actively supported President Johnson, who appointed him Secretary of the Interior in 1866. Browning was appointed acting Attorney General on March 12, 1868. At the conclusion of Johnson's administration, he returned to private law practice. James Michael Cavanaugh (1823–1879) was a member from Montana of the House of Representatives from 1865 to 1871. With this letter is a twenty-page document in which Walt Whitman summarized the affidavits alleging malpractice and the Judge's defense of his conduct. Although the case was apparently never brought to trial, Munson resigned on October 31, 1868. For an account of the affair and a digest of Walt Whitman's report, see Dixon Wecter, "Walt Whitman as Civil Servant," PMLA, 58.4 (December 1943), 1094–1109. For forgeries of this letter, see Walt Whitman Newsletter, 4 (1958), 92–93. This letter is Whitman's response to Anne Gilchrist's September 3–6, 1871 letter to Whitman. Walt Whitman had not as yet received Gilchrist's second letter, written on October 23, 1871: "… but spare me the needless suffering of uncertainty on this point & let me have one line, one word, of assurance that I am no longer hidden from you by a thick cloud—I from thee—not thou from me: for I that have never set eyes upon thee…love thee day & night.…I am yet young enough to bear thee children, my darling, if God should so bless me. And would yield my life for this cause with serene joy if it were so appointed, if that were the price for thy having a 'perfect child'." After Horace Traubel read this letter aloud in 1889, Walt Whitman spoke at some length of the "passionate love" of his friends which "offset the venomous hate" of his critics: "The substance of that letter—its feel: what it starts out to say to her: oh! with a few words taken out and put in—it would do for any of you!" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 3:514). In her November 27, 1871 letter, Gilchrist wrote anxiously about her earlier letters, actually written on September 3–6 and October 23, 1871. "Baffled & almost despairing," she sent two copies of her November letter; see her letter of January 24, 1872. Draft letter. "The Mystic Trumpeter" appeared in the Kansas Magazine on February 1, 1872, and was reprinted in the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle on February 7, 1872. In the draft of this letter Whitman deleted: "and how earnestly I wish them prosperity—well I feel that they must be noble children." Edwin Haviland Miller suggests this timeline is a misstatement concerning Whitman's intended stay in Brooklyn, since, in his February 2, 1872 letter to Rudolf Schmidt, Whitman wrote that he would remain in New York until April 10. Miller also points out that Whitman sent Schmidt an address in Brooklyn where he would be staying, while he provided Gilchrist only his address in Washington. This letter to William Michael Rossetti was dated January 30, 1872. William Michael Rossetti sent on July 13, 1869, what O'Connor termed a "precious enclosure," extracts from Anne Gilchrist's correspondence with the English critic. In his letter Rossetti described Gilchrist: "The writer is a lady of earlyish middle age, & more than common literary cultivation. She is a person of remarkably strong sense, firm perception, solidity of judgment, with a rather strong scientific turn. My impression is that hitherto she has cared very little about poetry. …If I had been asked how this lady would receive Whitman's poems, I should have replied—'She will glance into them, set them aside in her own mind as eccentric unavailable sort of work, & never touch the book again.' And see how utterly I should have been mistaken. The result fairly astonishes me" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Writing to Rossetti on August 28, 1869, O'Connor was obviously deeply moved, though he did not know "the dear lady's name," and he noted that, after reading the extracts, Walt Whitman's "Olympian front was surcharged with a tender pensiveness" (Rossetti Papers [New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1903], 459–460). In his letter to O'Connor, Rossetti said: "I have not told her that I communicate her letters to any one" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). But in his diary on July 23, 1869, he noted that he had informed Anne Gilchrist of his action (Rossetti Papers [New York: Charles Scribner's Sons], 404). Gilchrist began to expand her comments in September, and on November 19, 1869, Rossetti "finished transcribing Mrs Gilchrist's paper on Whitman"; see Rossetti Papers [New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1903], 411, 415, and Letters of William Michael Rossetti, ed. Clarence Gohdes and Paull Franklin Baum (Durham: Duke University Press, 1934), 27–45. At the time Whitman wrote to Rossetti, he probably had received the new version. Though Walt Whitman did not realize that Anne Gilchrist's passion included his person as well as his poetry, this letter, which Rossetti gave to her, served to inflame her ardor. See her letter to Rossetti on January 1, 1870 (Rossetti Papers [New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1903], 497). On January 9, 1870, Rossetti informed Walt Whitman that he had conveyed "your cordial message" to Conway, who had recently returned from Russia. This letter is apparently not extant. On April 23, 1868, "Monadnock" reported under "Affairs in England": "Of course you know that English and French critics admit but one American Poet. Bryant, Longfellow and the rest are only second and third rate English poets—the one American poet is Walt Whitman." The journalist quoted generously from the review of William Michael Rossetti's edition in the Leader by Edmund Yates (for Yates, see Walt Whitman's May 7, 1873 letter). In a dispatch "From Great Britain" in the New York Tribune on May 9, 1868, G. W. Smalley commented hostilely on the favorable review of Walt Whitman in the Athenaeum, and concluded: "Mr. Carlyle likens [Walt Whitman] to a buffalo, useful in fertilizing the soil, but mistaken in supposing that his contributions of that sort are matters which the world desires to contemplate closely." On May 20, 1868, O'Connor wrote to Rossetti to inquire about the authenticity of Carlyle's remarks; see William Michael Rossetti, Rossetti Papers (New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1903), 355–356. Richard J. Hinton (1830–1901) was born in London and came to the U.S. in 1851. He trained as a printer, and, like James Redpath (with whom Walt Whitman corresponded on August 6, 1863), went to Kansas and joined John Brown. In fact, but for an accident he would have been with Brown at Harper's Ferry. A man mistaken for Hinton was hanged. With Redpath, Hinton was the author of Hand-book to Kansas Territory and the Rocky Mountains' Gold Region (1859). Later he wrote Rebel Invasion of Missouri and Kansas (1865) and John Brown and His Men (1894). Apparently Hinton had suggested that Thayer and Eldridge print Leaves of Grass; see The New Voice, 16 (4 February 1899), 2. Hinton served in the Union Army from 1861 to 1865, and saw Whitman while lying wounded in a hospital, a scene which he described in the Cincinnati Commercial on August 26, 1871. After the war Hinton wrote for many newspapers. He defended O'Connor's The Good Gray Poet in the Milwaukee Sentinel on February 9, 1866. Hinton's article in the Rochester Evening Express on March 7, 1868, was a lengthy account of Walt Whitman's "Fame and Fortunes in England and America," with quotations from O'Connor and Burroughs. Obviously pleased, Walt Whitman sent it to friends, including Rossetti, who acknowledged it on April 12, 1868. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), 2:396; William Sloane Kennedy, The Fight of a Book for the World (West Yarmouth, Massachusetts: Stonecroft Press, 1926), 19, 67, 110–111, 242; the Boston Transcript, December 21, 1901. Walt Whitman's friends could not forgive Conway the anecdotes he had related in his article in the Fortnightly Review; Whitman himself referred to Conway's article as "most ridiculous" in his November 13, 1866 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. William Maxwell Evarts (1818–1901) was chief counsel for Andrew Johnson during the impeachment trial. When Walt Whitman heard him, Evarts had just presented the opening arguments for the defense. As a reward for his services, Johnson appointed Evarts Attorney General later in the year; Whitman reported the news in his July 17, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Evarts was Secretary of State from 1877 to 1881 and U.S. Senator from New York from 1885 to 1891. On May 5, 1868 Louisa Van Velsor Whitman replied: "poor old alcot he must be very old seems to me (you remember walt that sunday morning we couldent have him)." On April 21, 1868, John Camden Hotten informed Rossetti that he had just sent Walt Whitman "a most flattering review" by Charles Kent, the editor of The Sun (William Michael Rossetti, Rossetti Papers [New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1903], 351). According to the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle, Stanbery began his defense of Johnson on May 1 and concluded his address on May 2. The article, "Orbic Literature," was solicited in Walt Whitman's April 30, 1868 letter to William Conant Church and Francis Pharcellus Church but was not picked up for publication in the Galaxy. On May 2, 1868, Francis P. Church advised that Walt Whitman's manuscript would have to be received by the end of the following week if the article were to appear in the July issue. When Walt Whitman wrote this letter, a London edition of his poem was under consideration. On April 30, 1867, Conway had informed O'Connor of a conference, attended by Swinburne, William Michael Rossetti, and John Camden Hotten, the publisher, at which it was decided that a complete edition of Leaves of Grass could not be published in England without "legal prosecution on any publisher" (Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library; Bliss Perry, Walt Whitman [Boston: Houghton Mifflin and Company, 1906], 185). This statement was later denied; see Conway's letter to Burroughs (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1931], 47). A volume of selections was eventually decided upon; see Whitman's November 1, 1867 letter to Moncure D. Conway. Since Walt Whitman was determined to guide the London edition, he sent to Conway an "Introduction" which he had composed but had attributed to O'Connor, who was thus to introduce Walt Whitman to English readers. A Walt Whitman manuscript in the Pierpont Morgan Library, "Introduction to the London Edition," is dated August 1867, and was later corrected to read September, 1871; it is reprinted by Clifton Joseph Furness, Walt Whitman's Workshop (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1928), 150–154. According to one of Walt Whitman's notebooks (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #109), Philp was to leave New York on July 27, 1867: "(Ought to get in London Aug 9—answer ought to get here last of Aug.)" This may be James B. Philp, listed as a lithographer and engraver in the New York Directory of 1867, or Franklin Philp, of Philp and Solomon, Washington booksellers. It is impossible to date this note with any certainty. John Jay Knox (1828–1892) was appointed to the Treasury Department by Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase. On October 10, 1867, Knox became Deputy Comptroller of the Currency, and from 1872 to 1884 he served as Comptroller. The letters describing Martha's accident are evidently lost; probably Walt Whitman sent them to Hannah. On August 10, 1868, Jeff wrote to George: "Mat is pretty bad yet, can just get around a little—very lame—but I think 'twill get away in a week or two" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). William Maxwell Evarts (1818–1901) was chief counsel for Andrew Johnson during the impeachment trial of 1868. As a reward for his services, Johnson appointed Evarts Attorney General later in the year; Evarts was Secretary of State from 1877 to 1881 and U.S. Senator from New York from 1885 to 1891. J. Hubley Ashton, the assistant Attorney General, actively interested himself in Walt Whitman's affairs, and obtained a position for the poet in his office after the Harlan fracas. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman replied on August 19, 1868, that she expected to move into the new house on October 1, 1868. Democratic Vistas, which was printed in 1871. James T. Fields (1817–1881) succeeded James Russell Lowell as editor of the Atlantic Monthly. After Emerson, who had received "Proud Music of the Sea-Storm" in Walt Whitman's November 30, 1868 letter, delivered the poem to Fields, Fields sent $100 to Walt Whitman on December 5, 1868. He informed Walt Whitman on December 14, 1868 that if he was to get the poem into the February issue it would be impossible to send proof to Washington. This was the second of Walt Whitman's poems to appear in the Atlantic Monthly; "Bardic Symbols" was published on April 5, 1860 and "Proud Music of the Sea-Storm" was published on February 23, 1869. (For more on "Bardic Symbols," see Walt Whitman's January 20, 1860 letter to James Russell Lowell and Whitman's March 2, 1860 letter to the editor of the Atlantic Monthly.) "Proud Music of the Sea-Storm." Walt Whitman inserted a blurb about the poem in the Washington Star of January 18, 1869; see Emory Holloway, American Mercury, 18 (1929), 483–485. For the solicitation to the London Fortnightly Review, see Whitman's December 17, 1868 letter to John Morley. The poem did not appear in either magazine. It later was incorporated into Passage to India. The year is established by two facts: Walt Whitman was in Brooklyn at this time, and Redfield was now the distributor of his books. Anne Charlotte Lynch Botta (1815–1891) was a teacher, a poet, and a sculptor. Her "literary" evenings in New York are mentioned in Bayard Taylor's John Godfrey's Fortunes. According to the Memoirs of Anne C. L. Botta (1894), 14, Poe gave his first public reading of "The Raven" at her home. Her evaluation of Walt Whitman's poetry appeared in her often reprinted Handbook of Universal Literature (1885 ed.), 535: "Walt Whitman…writes with great force, originality, and sympathy with all forms of struggle and suffering, but with utter contempt for conventionalities and for the acknowledged limits of true art." On April 10, 1871, Francis P. Church had accepted "O Star of France" for the June issue of the Galaxy. This poem, sent by Walt Whitman with his September 7, 1867 letter to William Conant Church and Francis Pharcellus Church was never published in the Galaxy. It later became "Ethiopia Saluting the Colors"; see Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 337. Whitman withdrew the poem in his November 2, 1868 letter to Francis Church. Henry Jarvis Raymond (1820–1869), editor of the New York Times, which he founded on September 18, 1851, as the New-York Daily Times. Anne Gilchrist. William Michael Rossetti noted receipt of the books on October 8, 1871. The second edition, with new supplementary notes, was printed by Redfield. Actually July 9, 1871. On July 9, 1871, Rossetti had sent Walt Whitman a copy of the Westminster Review. He conjectured that the author was Edward Dowden, and had called attention to the "highly respectful references" to Walt Whitman in H. Buxton Forman's Our Living Poets (1871), 2, which also included two prefatory quotations from Walt Whitman. Rossetti informed Walt Whitman on October 8, 1871 that he was preparing "a vol. of Selections from American Poets," which appeared in 1872 as American Poems with a dedication to Walt Whitman, "the greatest of American poets." In a letter on July 20, 1867, John T. Trowbridge had said that William H. Piper and Co., booksellers in Boston, were willing to take 50 copies of the new edition of Leaves of Grass, and that he could personally recommend the firm. The firm was advertised as Whitman's Boston agent in books published in 1871 and 1872. Later Whitman authorized Asa K. Butts and Co. to collect the money Piper owed to him; see Whitman's December 29, 1873 and February 4, 1874 letters to Butts. For more on Trowbridge, see Whitman's December 27, 1863 letter. William J. Linton (1812–1897), a British-born wood engraver, came to the United States in 1866 and settled near New Haven, Connecticut. He illustrated the works of John Greenleaf Whittier, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, William Cullen Bryant, and others, wrote the "indispensable" History of Wood-Engraving in America (1882), and edited Poetry of America, 1776–1876 (London, 1878), in which appeared eight of Whitman's poems as well as his picture. According to his Threescore and Ten Years, 1820 to 1890—Recollections (1894), 216–217, Linton met with Whitman in Washington and later visited him in Camden (which Whitman reported in his November 9, 1873, letter to Peter Doyle): "I liked the man much, a fine-natured, good-hearted, big fellow, . . . a true poet who could not write poetry, much of wilfulness accounting for his neglect of form." Linton's engraving appeared in the 1876 edition of Leaves of Grass and in Complete Poems & Prose (1888–1889); it inspired the poem "Out from Behind This Mask." See Harold W. Blodgett, "Whitman and the Linton Portrait," Walt Whitman Newsletter, 4 (September 1958), 90–92. On August 16, 1872, Burroughs wrote to Dowden: "Walt Whitman is back again from his brief summer vacation but I am sorry to say is not as well as I should like to see him" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1931], 74). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Eddy had moved to Camden to live with George and Louisa. Horace Greeley (1811–1872) ran against Grant for the Presidency in 1872. General Frederick T. Dent (1821–1891) was Grant's aide-de-camp during the Civil War and his military secretary during his administration. It is a reasonable conjecture that the fracas between Walt Whitman and O'Connor occurred about this time; see Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), 3:75–78, and Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1931), 96–99. Walt Whitman visited Camden early in September; he wrote of this visit in his September 15, 1872 letter to Rudolf Schmidt. The executors altered the date to August 13, 1872, because of the reference in Walt Whitman's August 22–23, 1872 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to a letter (now lost) sent on August 13, 1872. However, it is clear from Walt Whitman's remarks in this letter and in his October 23, 1872 letter to George Washington Whitman and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman that Walt was planning a second visit to Camden. He had gone to Camden early in September, described in is September 15, 1872 letter to Rudolf Schmidt. Horace Greeley (1811–1872) ran against Ulysses S. Grant for the Presidency in 1872. In his letter of November 10, 1872, Jeff suggested that Martha go to Camden and accompany Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to St. Louis. Of Martha Jeff wrote: "Her chest and lungs both seem better now and if by [care?] I can get her in the way of taking some little food I have hopes she will get along yet." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman was not entirely happy in Camden, for about December 3, 1872 she complained to Walt Whitman: "lou and george are very clever but i think they are a very saving couple. what they want to save so much for i cant see as they have no young ones but maybe its all right. george is so changed in regard to being saving but i cant get used to being so ecomical." Margaret and William Avery, who lived in Brooklyn, were evidently cousins of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. They visited Walt Whitman in Camden on October 19, 1876; see Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The executors dated this letter 1868. Walt Whitman had made a New Year's visit to Camden, according to Hannah Heyde's letter to her mother on January 7–10, 1873 (Library of Congress); see also Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letter to Helen Price on January 6(?), 1873 (Pierpont Morgan Library). The issue of January 18, 1873 (9 1873, 106–108) contained Burroughs's "A Glimpse of France." A farewell concert for Giuseppe Mario (1810–1883), "The World-renowned Tenor," and Carlotta Patti (1835?–1889), "The Queen of the Concert Room," was presented at Lincoln Hall on January 14, 1873. The review in the Daily Morning Chronicle the next day gave greater praise to a young contralto, Annie Louise Cary, than to Patti or Mario, the latter of whom sang with "great effort." Walt Whitman referred to Mario frequently in his prose writings (The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 4:26; 6:186; 7:56). On January 12, 1873, Burroughs wrote: "It cost me a pang to leave W[ashington]. I was so warm & snug & my nest was so well feathered; but I have really cut loose & do not expect to return again except briefly. I can make more money here, be much freer, be nearer home & have a new field of duties." Burroughs became a bank inspector in New York State. This letter fragment is impossible to date precisely. Edwin Haviland Miller dated it to no later than May 23, 1873. Henry (Harry) Leverett Dwight (1861–unknown) was born in Ohio, the son of Henry Leander Dwight (1829–1896) and Olive Emeline Dibble (1831–1887). According to the 1880 federal census, Dwight worked as a clerk for a druggist, and the 1892 New York State census claims he was working with his father as a tailor. The 1892 census also indicates that Dwight lived in Friendship, New York, with his father and wife Sarah (1845–). Dwight advertised his beekeeping business in The American Bee Keeper and contributed letters on the trade (The American Bee Keeper 1.6 [June 1891], 98). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | N. J. It is postmarked: Friendship | 25 | Nov | 1891 | N.Y.; Camden, N. J. | Nov 27 | 6am | 91 | Rec'd. This draft letter is endorsed, "Thomas Dixon | 15 Sunderland | st."Thomas Dixon, an uneducated corkcutter of Sunderland, England, was one of Walt Whitman's early English admirers. In 1856 he had bought copies of Leaves of Grass from a book peddler; one of these copies was later sent by William B. Scott to William Michael Rossetti. Dixon vigorously supported cultural projects and was in effect the ideal laborer of Ruskin, who printed many of his letters to the corkcutter in Time and Tide (1867). See Autobiographical Notes of the Life of William Bell Scott, ed. W. Minto (1892), 2:32–33, 267–269; Harold Blodgett, Walt Whitman in England (1934), 15–17; The Works of John Ruskin, ed. E. T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn (1905), 17:lxxviii–lxxix.
On the basis of the lengthy correspondence of this impassioned man now preserved in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., it seems clear that Dixon must have written to Walt Whitman in 1869 or earlier and asked him to inquire about the whereabouts of his sister. (Walt Whitman's reply is apparently lost.) They exchanged photographs at this time, Dixon's being dated October, 1869. In Dixon's first extant letter, dated December 23, 1869, he wrote: "I love nearly all the Men thou lovest, and all the Books and thoughts that seem congenial to thee, long hath been so to me. I gaze at the Sea while I eat my food and think of thee. . . . and often while I gaze thereon I think of thee, and how thou loves that Sea, and how to thee it hath been more then to me." On January 9, 1870, Dixon informed Rossetti that he was enclosing a copy of Walt Whitman's portrait, and that Walt Whitman had sent "a very nice letter of sympathy for Mother's death, and of friendship to me" (Rossetti Papers, 508). In June, Dixon sent books which included Mazzini, Carlyle, and various works on oriental religion. He asked for Walt Whitman's opinion of them on July 27, 1871. The fervor of the corkcutter was evident in his letter of September 8, 1874: "Ruskin is also working hard too to help on a nobler life, and one not much unlike the one you also long to see. so many souls laboring for one end must someday effect the accomplishment of the 'Golden Days' so long sung, so long toiled for, prayed for—and fought for!!" When Walt Whitman wrote again to Dixon in 1876 (the letters are not known), the latter resumed the correspondence with his customary intensity. "I see thee now while I write this," he wrote on February 16, 1876. "I look into thine eyes. I grasp thy hand. Thou grasps it hard, thou looks upon me with a smile. I hear thee say: 'All is peace now, young man, the Storm is indeed past. I live once again in the Souls and memories of these Hero's and all is Well!'" Later, on June 17, 1876, he reported that in addition to selling and circulating many copies he had placed Walt Whitman's poem in the town libraries at Shields, Manchester, New Castle, Warrington, Liverpool, and Plymouth. "So you see," he concluded modestly, "the little band's been a Working one."
Dixon had requested this preface on May 28, 1870. After Horace Traubel read this letter in 1888, Walt Whitman commented: "I may have underrated the preface: it appears to have some very likely friends" (Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 2:311). Walt Whitman first solicited this piece to the editors of the Galaxy on September 7, 1867. Anne Gilchrist's "A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman" appeared in the May issue of the Boston Radical, 7 (1870), 345–359. The envelope is addressed "Peter Doyle, | conductor, | Office | Wash. & Georgetown City RR. Co. | Washington, | D. C." It is postmarked "New-York | Aug | 5 | 130 P.M. The 1869 Washington Directory listed George S. Smith, a driver. In an entry dated October 13, 1868, in an address book (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #108), Walt Whitman referred to Smith as a driver on the Fifth Avenue "stage" in New York. The 1869 Directory listed at the same address George A. Bell, a conductor, and Horace Bell, a messenger. Henry Shedd, the driver of the streetcar (#14) on which Doyle was the conductor. The New York Times of August 3, 1870, reported the "first battle" of the Franco-Prussian War, the capture of Saarbruck by the French. According to the New York Times, Benjamin Nathan, a wealthy broker and one of the founders of Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, was murdered in his home on July 29, 1870. For days the newspaper carried lengthy accounts of the unsolved murder. The Queen's Cup Race was held off Staten Island on August 8, 1870. The Dauntless finished second, the America fourth, and the Cambria eighth. On August 9, 1870, the New York Times observed: "The contest was probably attended by more public and wide-spread enthusiasm than any American sporting event that has ever occurred, either on land or water." Henry Ward Beecher (1813–1887), Congregational clergyman and brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, accepted the pastorate of the Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, in 1847. Walt Whitman described him briefly in the Brooklyn Daily Advertiser of May 25, 1850, reprinted in The Uncollected Poetry and Prose of Walt Whitman, ed. Emory Holloway, 1:234–235. See also Walt Whitman, Emory Holloway, and Vernolian Schwarz, I Sit and Look Out: Editorials from the Brooklyn Daily Times (New York: Columbia University Press, 1955) 84–85, and Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden, 1:137–138. His father, Lyman Beecher (1775–1863), was also a clergyman, who upon his retirement lived with his son in Brooklyn. The Queen's Cup Race, mentioned in Walt Whitman's August 3–5, 1870 letter to Doyle, was held off Staten Island on August 8, 1870. The Dauntless finished second, the America fourth, and the Cambria eighth. On August 9, 1870, the New York Times observed: "The contest was probably attended by more public and wide-spread enthusiasm than any American sporting event that has ever occurred, either on land or water." The Washington Daily Morning Chronicle of August 7, 1870, noted an accident on the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad at White Sulphur Springs, Greenbrier County, West Virginia, in which twelve people were killed. Mr. and Mrs. Michael Nash, Washington friends to whom Walt Whitman referred frequently in his letters to Doyle. Mr. Nash was an old resident of the city; Walt Whitman's December 5, 1873 letter to Doyle made mention of a speech Nash gave to the Oldest Inhabitants' Association. Probably Andrew J. Wooldridge (not Woolridge), listed as a druggist in 1873. Chief clerk in Walt Whitman's office (mentioned in Walt Whitman's August 25, 1866 letter to Andrew Kerr). Pleasants resigned as chief clerk in the Pardons Office in 1871; Whitman named him as "late Chief Clerk" in his January 9, 1871 letter to Amos Tappan Akerman. According to Charles W. Eldridge's letter to John Burroughs on June 26, 1902, Pleasants was "now, as he has been for many years," clerk of the United States Circuit Court at Richmond, Virginia (Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, New York Public Library). A mineral water. J. P. Milburn & Co., druggists: "Proprietors and Manufacturers of Milburn's Unrivaled Polar Soda Water." Silvanus S. Riker, president of the Washington & Georgetown Railroad, for which Doyle worked. Walt Whitman was disturbed by Doyle's mood swings; he raised similar concerns in his August 21, 1869 letter to Doyle. J. K. Emmet appeared in Charles Gayler's Fritz, Our German Cousin at Wallack's Theatre from July 11 to September 10, 1870; see George Clinton Densmore Odell, Annals of the New York Stage (New York: Columbia University Press, 1927–1949), 8:564–565. Not identified. W. C. Milburn, either the son or the brother of Dr. J. P. Milburn, a druggist mentioned in Whitman's August 7–10, 1870 letter to Doyle. This piece of correspondence is addressed, "Peter Doyle, | conductor, | Office | Wash. & Georgetown City RR. Co. | Washington | D. C." It is postmarked: "New York | Aug | 2 | 10:30 PM."During this extended leave, from July 27 to October 15, 1870, Walt Whitman was to see through the presses three works, the fifth edition of Leaves of Grass, Passage to India, and the much-delayed Democratic Vistas. The electroplates for these works were made by Smith & McDougal, and J. S. Redfield was the publisher, though his name did not appear on the title pages; see Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (New York: Macmillan, 1955), 583–584.
A few days before Walt Whitman left Washington, he made one of his most enigmatic entries in a notebook on July 15, 1870: "TO GIVE UP ABSOLUTELY & for good, from this present hour, this FEVERISH, FLUCTUATING, useless undignified pursuit of 164—too long, (much too long) persevered in,—so humiliating—It must come at last & had better come now—(It cannot possibly be a success) LET THERE FROM THIS HOUR BE NO FALTERING, NO GETTING [erasure] at all henceforth, (NOT ONCE, under any circumstances)—avoid seeing her, or meeting her, or any talk or explanations—or ANY MEETING WHATEVER, FROM THIS HOUR FORTH, FOR LIFE" (Library of Congress; The Uncollected Poetry and Prose of Walt Whitman, ed. Emory Holloway [Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Page, and Company, 1921], 2:96). For interpretations, see Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (1955), 421–425, and Roger Asselineau, L'évolution de Walt Whitman (1955), 192–193, who concludes that feminine pronouns were substituted for masculine. "164" was undoubtedly intended to conceal Doyle's initials, P (16) D (4).
This piece of correspondence is addressed, "Peter Doyle | Conductor | Office | Wash. & Georgetown City RR. Co. | Washington, | D. C." It is postmarked: "New-York | Sep | 2 | 6:30 P.M." Probably Edward C. Stewart, who wrote to Whitman on February 25, 1870. Walt Whitman also referred to him in an address book (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #109). Walt Whitman referred to the "Fred Gray association"; see Whitman's March 19–20, 1863 letter to Nathaniel Bloom and John F. S. Gray. According to the New York Directory of 1870–1871, Charles H. Russell lived at 417 Fifth Avenue. Russell's occupation was not cited, and he was not listed in the following year. Not extant. A clerk in the Attorney General's office, who substituted for Whitman while he was on leave. (Rowland is also mentioned in Whitman's January 29, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman.) On September 24, 1870, Rowland received through A. J. Falls $50, "on account, for service as substitute for Walt Whitman." A later receipt, dated October 18, 1870, and prepared by Walt Whitman himself after his return to Washington, read: "Received from W. W. seventy dollars additional, making One hundred & twenty dollars—in full of all demands" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This piece of correspondence is addressed, "Peter Doyle | conductor, | Office | Wash. & Georgetown City RR. Co. | Washington | D. C." It is postmarked: "New-York | Sep | 6 | (?)." Henry Shedd, the driver of the streetcar (#14) on which Doyle was the conductor. Napoleon III was deposed and the French army surrendered on September 2, 1870. For Walt Whitman's changing attitude toward the Franco-Prussian war, see his September 15–16, 1870 letter to Doyle. In the New York Evening Mail on October 27, 1870, the Washington correspondent reported: "At the commencement of the present war in Europe [Walt Whitman] was strongly German, but is now the ardent friend of the French, and enthusiastically supports them and their Republic" (Charles I. Glicksberg, Walt Whitman and the Civil War [Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1933], 116n). Note also "O Star of France." Since Doyle's letters to Walt Whitman in 1870 are lost, it is impossible to explain this paragraph. This piece of correspondence is addressed, "Peter Doyle, | Conductor, | Office | Wash & Georgetown City RR. Co. | Washington, | D. C." It is postmarked: "New-York | Sep | 9 | 6 P.M." Walt Whitman did not see this play on September 9, 1870, since that was the one evening in the week on which it was not presented. The cast included E. L. Davenport as Brutus. Lawrence Barrett as Cassius, and Walter Montgomery as Marc Antony. This piece of correspondence is addressed, "Peter Doyle | Conductor, | Office | Wash. & Georgetown City RR. Co. | Washington, | D. C." It is postmarked: "New-York | Sep | 16(?)| (?)." In his September 6, 1870 letter to Doyle, Whitman expressed support for the Prussian cause, labeling Louis Napoleon "the meanest scoundrel . . . that ever sat on a throne." In the New York Evening Mail on October 27, 1870, the Washington correspondent reported: "At the commencement of the present war in Europe [Walt Whitman] was strongly German, but is now the ardent friend of the French, and enthusiastically supports them and their Republic" (Charles I. Glicksberg, Walt Whitman and the Civil War [Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1933], 116n). Note also "O Star of France." The New York Times of September 15, 1870 reported that the Papal troops were evacuating various towns and Papal states. On September 21, 1870, the forces of Victor Emmanuel entered Rome without bloodshed, after "the Pope forbade any resistance." Henry Hurt, like Doyle, worked for the Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company. According to the Washington Chronicle of January 15, 1874, at that time he was the treasurer of the company. Henry Shedd, the driver of the streetcar (#14) on which Doyle was the conductor. The 1869 Directory listed at the same address George A. Bell, a conductor, and Horace Bell, a messenger. Baalam Murdock, a conductor, was mentioned in an address book: "went to school several years but with little profit" (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #108). The 1869 Washington Directory listed George S. Smith, a driver. However, in an entry dated October 13, 1868, in an address book (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #108), Walt Whitman referred to Smith as a driver on the Fifth Avenue "stage" in New York. J. P. Milburn & Co., druggists: "Proprietors and Manufacturers of Milburn's Unrivaled Polar Soda Water," and W. C. Milburn, either the son or the brother of Dr. J. P. Milburn, a druggist mentioned in Whitman's August 7–10, 1870 letter to Doyle. Mr. and Mrs. Michael Nash, Washington friends to whom Walt Whitman referred frequently in his letters to Doyle. Mr. Nash was an old resident of the city; Walt Whitman's December 5, 1873 letter to Doyle made mention of a speech Nash gave to the Oldest Inhabitants' Association. Perhaps the Rev. F. E. Boyle. An address book (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #109), however, listed an A. F. Boyle of Washington, a journalist. Whitman mentioned dinner "at a Mr Boyle's" in his September 15, 1863 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. The New York Times of September 15, 1870 reported that the Papal troops were evacuating various towns and Papal states. On September 21, 1870, the forces of Victor Emmanuel entered Rome without bloodshed, after "the Pope forbade any resistance." G. Swayne Buckley's minstrel troupe appeared in Brooklyn in August 1870 in travesties of operas; George Clinton Densmore Odell, Annals of the New York Stage (New York: Columbia University Press, 1927–1949), however, does not record performances in September 1870. Walt Whitman intended to write "Sept. 30," which was Friday, the day of Farragut's funeral as described below. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman was born September 22, 1795. The burial rites of Admiral David Glasgow Farragut (1801–1870) were held in New York on September 30, 1870. All business activity was suspended, and the ceremonies, according to the New York Times, "surpassed in their imposing character anything of the kind ever seen in this City, with the exception of the obsequies of the murdered President Lincoln." Perhaps George Allen, mentioned in Whitman's August 22, 1873 letter to Doyle. Alfred Thornett, like Doyle, was a conductor; see Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #109. Evidently he later entered the Signal Corps, since in another address book (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #108) Walt Whitman gave his address as "Obs. Sig. Serv. U. S. A., Mt. Washington, N. H." Walt Whitman later altered his plans; in his October 10, 1870 letter to William D. O'Connor, Whitman noted that he would not return to Washington until October 15, 1870. Whitman confirmed receipt of the $50 in his July 24, 1871 letter to Doyle. The date has been lined through and "21?" (correctly) substituted in another hand. Michael C. Hart was listed as a printer in the Washington Directory of 1869, and was the person to whom Walt Whitman sent publicity puffs for insertion in the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle; see Doyle's letter to Walt Whitman on October 5, 1868. Hart was listed as an editor in the New York Directory of 1871–1872. Whitman had requested $50 in his July 16–21, 1871 letter to Doyle. Draft letter. For Walt Whitman's earlier correspondence with this ex-soldier, see his April 12, 1867 letter to Wilson. In his letter of December 19, 1869 Wilson reported that he had moved to Greene, N. Y., but was still selling melodeons and sewing machines. On May 15, 1870, Wilson informed Walt Whitman of his father's death two weeks earlier and related that his son "Little Walt . . . is quite a boy now . . . and gets into all kinds of Mischief." Benton's father, who "was insane at times," had written to Walt Whitman on January 17, 1867, and on March 30, 1868. Evidently Benton wrote to Walt Whitman for the last time on June 23, 1875, when he wanted to know "what I can do to contribute to your comfort and happiness." No signature is indicated in the transcription. Originally Walt Whitman wrote "dearest young man." Walt Whitman struck out the following: "How good it was that we met—I remember the times we used to sit there in the Ward in Armory Square Hospital." The first reading was: "with what peculiar great love." At this point, obviously groping for words, Walt Whitman wrote but then deleted: "O if we could only be together now even if only Dear Boy, dear, dear friend, my dear solider—dear comrade." In 1888 Walt Whitman commented to Horace Traubel about this letter: "I can't live some of my old letters over again. . . . Comradeship—yes, that's the thing: getting one and one together to make two—getting the twos together everywhere to make all: that's the only bond we should accept and that's the only freedom we should desire: comradeship, comradeship" (Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 2:370–371). Draft letter.Flood was a streetcar conductor in New York, known, according to an unidentified notation on his letter to Walt Whitman, as "Broadway Jack." According to date entries in an address book (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #109), Walt Whitman saw Flood on September 30, 1868, and October 5, 1868, and rode with him on his Second Avenue car; Flood had been a conductor for ten years. After Whitman's return to Washington, there was a brief correspondence, consisting of four known letters from Whitman (November 22, 1868, December 12, 1868, February 23, 1871, and March 8, 1871) and one from the young man. Flood, somewhat better educated than some of Walt Whitman's other conductor friends, wrote on January 11, 1869: "Sir, It is with great pleasure that I sit down with pen in hand to address a few lines to you." He informed Walt Whitman that he had lost his position on New Year's Eve and that he was now seeking another job: "I shall still continue to correspond and can never forget your kind friendship towards me. . . . Your True and Ever intimate friend." According to the first listing of his name in the New York Directory, in 1872–1873, he was at that time either in the milk business or a milkman.
The date of this letter is based on Walt Whitman's reference to Flood's unemployment: on January 11, 1869, Flood wrote that he had been "discharged" on New Year's Eve. Walt Whitman's first salutation was, "Dear boy." The frequent alterations in this letter are interesting: Walt Whitman softened his affectionate terms, and attempted to make the relationship that of a father and son.
Joseph "Sonny" James, a well-known Washington gambler, was killed in a brawl by Horatio Bolster, an ex-prizefighter. At first Walt Whitman wrote: "& keep up pretty good spirits." Walt Whitman at this point deleted "Jack" and "my darling." The first reading was "my loving boy." The qualifying clause was an afterthought. The following was struck out at the beginning of this paragraph: "Should you feel like coming on here ... Wha ... Are you doing any th[ing]." Walt Whitman excised "Johnny" and "my dear son." The next sentence was deleted: "Don't make any move without . . . " "Boy" was altered to "son." Draft letter. Flood was a streetcar conductor in New York, known, according to an unidentified notation on his letter to Walt Whitman, as "Broadway Jack." According to date entries in an address book (Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #109), Walt Whitman saw Flood on September 30, 1868, and October 5, 1868, and rode with him on his Second Avenue car; Flood had been a conductor for ten years. After Whitman's return to Washington, there was a brief correspondence, consisting of four known letters from Whitman (November 22, 1868, December 12, 1868, February 23, 1871, and March 8, 1871) and one from the young man. Flood, somewhat better educated than some of Walt Whitman's other conductor friends, wrote on January 11, 1869: "Sir, It is with great pleasure that I sit down with pen in hand to address a few lines to you." He informed Walt Whitman that he had lost his position on New Year's Eve and that he was now seeking another job: "I shall still continue to correspond and can never forget your kind friendship towards me. . . . Your True and Ever intimate friend." According to the first listing of his name in the New York Directory, in 1872–1873, he was at that time either in the milk business or a milkman. This letter cannot have been written in 1872 (the year assigned by the executors), for then Walt Whitman read a poem at Dartmouth College on June 26, 1872, and visited Hannah at Burlington, Vermont, on June 30, 1872; Whitman described the 1872 trip in his July 19, 1872 letter to Charles Eldridge. Note also the similar material in this and Whitman's June 29, 1871 letter to Ellen M. O'Connor. This piece of correspondence is addressed, "Peter Doyle, | Conductor, | Office Wash. & Georgetown | City RR. Co. | Washington, | D. C." It is postmarked: "New York | Jun | 30 | (?)." Foul Play, by Charles Reade and Dion Boucicault, was published in Boston in 1868. Stoddard (1843–1909) published Poems, edited by Bret Harte, in 1867. His most famous book, South-Sea Idyls (1873), is mentioned in this letter. Stoddard was a journalist, a lecturer at the Catholic University of America from 1889 to 1902, and for a brief period Mark Twain's secretary. Stoddard's letter of April 2, 1870, began dramatically: "In the name of CALAMUS listen to me!" He was sending "a proze idyl wherein I confess how dear [barbarism] is to me." "A South-Sea Idyl," which appeared in the Overland Monthly, 3 (September 1869), 257–264, related, with thinly veiled homosexual overtones, Stoddard's relations with a sixteen-year-old native boy Kána-ána. It was reprinted as Part One of "Chumming with a Savage" in South-Sea Idyls (1873). Walt Whitman was obviously trying to check the seething emotion of this young man who was about to sail for Tahiti. Stoddard had written, in his letter of April 2, 1870, "I know there is but one hope for me. I must get in amongst people who are not afraid of instincts and who scorn hypocracy. I am numbed with the frigid manners of the Christians; barbarism has given me the fullest joy of my life and I long to return to it and be satisfied." This is a draft letter. Ellis replied on August 23, 1871: since there were poems in Leaves of Grass which "would not go down in England," he believed that it would "not be worth while to publish it again in a mutilated form." On the following day he sent another note and a specially printed copy of Swinburne's Songs before Sunrise (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 2:448). Whitman referred to his dealings with his English publisher Hotten; Whitman described his experiences with Hotten as "passive" in a November 1, 1867 letter to Moncure D. Conway and labeled Hotten a "pirate-publisher" of "a bad & defective London reprint" in a January 16, 1872 letter to Rudolf Schmidt. Following this passage, Whitman deleted: "literal—and all your English carefulness in proof-reading, must by cap." Scottish-born John Swinton (1829–1901), managing editor of the New York Times, frequented Pfaff's beer cellar, where he probably met Whitman. On January 23, 1874 (Whitman said "1884"), Swinton wrote what the poet termed "almost like a love letter": "It was perhaps the very day of the publication of the first edition of the 'Leaves of Grass' that I saw a copy of it at a newspaper stand in Fulton street, Brooklyn. I got it, looked into it with wonder, and felt that here was something that touched on depths of my humanity. Since then you have grown before me, grown around me, and grown into me." He praised Whitman in the New York Herald on April 1, 1876 (reprinted in Richard Maurice Bucke, Walt Whitman [Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883], 36–37). In 1874, Swinton was a candidate of the Industrial Political Party for the mayoralty of New York. From 1875 to 1883, he was with the New York Sun, and for the next four years edited the weekly labor journal, John Swinton's Paper. When this publication folded, he returned to the Sun. See Robert Waters, Career and Conversations of John Swinton (Chicago, 1902), and Meyer Berger, The History of The New York Times, 1851–1951 (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1951), 250–251. Since the press had not reported his speech before the American Institute sympathetically (see Whitman's August 5, 1871 letter to the American Institute), Walt Whitman wanted Swinton, who was no longer editor of the New York Times, to place an "official" but anonymous reply in the newspapers named. Edwin Haviland Miller had not found the notices. However, at Yale there is a detailed answer to the newspaper attacks on this poem which Walt Whitman prepared for an unidentified newspaper. The firm was established in Boston in 1863. Though it published such authors as Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Morris, Joaquin Miller, Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Emily Dickinson, it became famous for the works of Louisa May Alcott. After All, Not to Create Only was the only work of Walt Whitman that the firm published. It has been suggested that Bronson Alcott persuaded Roberts to undertake the work; see Raymond L. Kilgour, Messrs. Roberts Brothers, Publishers (1952), 107. The house merged with Little, Brown and Co. in 1898. This draft letter is endorsed, "letter to J. A. Symonds, went Jan 27, 1872." (1840–1893), author of Renaissance in Italy (1875–1886) and Walt Whitman—A Study (1893), translator of Michelangelo's sonnets, and a minor poet. On the title page of Love and Death appeared: "To the Prophet Poet | Of Democracy Religion Love | This Verse | A Feeble Echo of His Song | Is Dedicated." Symonds noted in his letter of October 7, 1871 that his poem "is of course implicit already in your Calamus, especially in 'Scented herbage of my breast.'" The printer's proof of the poem is in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. On December 8, 1872, Symonds wrote to Swinburne, somewhat abjectly, to implore his opinion of his poems: "I sent Walt Whitman the one called 'Love & Death,' & he graciously accepted it as a tribute to the author of Calamus. Yet no one on whose critical faculty I could rely has judged them" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Walt Whitman deleted: "I must apologize, & profoundly too, for not having written to you before." Encouraged by Walt Whitman's reply, Symonds wrote on February 7, 1872, begging for clarification of "athletic friendship." On February 25, 1872, he sent Walt Whitman "Callicsates," a poem which, like Stoddard's sketches, has homosexual overtones. Perhaps because Symonds pressed too hard, as he was to do again later, for information about the Calamus poems, Walt Whitman did not reply; see Symonds' letter of June 13, 1875. Philp and Solomon were Washington booksellers. Perhaps the reference is to Bulwer-Lytton's The Last Days of Pompeii. Walt Whitman sent "Proud Music of the Sea-Storm" (later called "Proud Music of the Storm"), which James T. Fields (1817–1881), editor of the Atlantic Monthly, promptly accepted for the magazine. After Emerson, who had received "Proud Music of the Sea-Storm" in Whitman's November 30, 1868 letter, delivered the poem to Fields, Fields sent $100 to Whitman on December 5, 1868. He informed Whitman on December 14, 1868 that if he was to get the poem into the February issue it would be impossible to send proof to Washington. "Proud Music of the Sea-Storm" did, however, appear in the February 1869 issue of the Atlantic Monthly and was the second of Whitman's poems to appear in the magazine; "Bardic Symbols" was published in 1860. The reference is to Tennyson's July 12, 1871 letter to Whitman. Walt Whitman read "After All, Not to Create Only" before the American Institute on September 7, 1871, after accepting their invitation on August 5, 1871. This draft letter is endorsed, "sent Thos. O'Kane"; "Letter to O'Kane | April 22 | '74." See also Whitman's September 13, 1873 letter to O'Kane and his February 4, 1874 letter to Asa K. Butts & Company. This letter is apparently lost. This draft letter is endorsed, "To | A. K. Butts | 36 Dey st | N. Y." Lee, Shepard, & Dillingham, booksellers also mentioned in Whitman's April 17, 1873 letter to Francis B. Felt. Redfield sent Democratic Vistas and Leaves of Grass to Sampson, Low & Co., London booksellers. According to a statement dated December 31, 1872, the firm had on hand at that time 48 copies of the prose tract and 41 copies of the poetry (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., Library of Congress). According to a notation in his Commonplace Book, the account was closed in 1876, when the firm sent $9 to Walt Whitman through William Michael Rossetti (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). In his December 27, 1873 letter, Whitman noted that Trübner also had copies. James M. Edmunds (1810–1879), postmaster in Washington D.C., from 1869 to 1879. The editor of the Washington Star.This draft letter is endorsed, "Sent to C P Somerby | April 23 '76."
Somerby was one of the book dealers whom Walt Whitman termed "embezzlers." In 1875 Somerby assumed the liabilities of Butts & Co. This proved to be a matter of embarrassment to Somerby, who, in reply to a lost letter on March 16, 1875, was unable "to remit the amount you name at present." On May 5, 1876, he wrote: "It is very mortifying to me not to be in a position to send you even a small portion of the balance your due." On October 4, 1875, Somerby sent $10—his only cash payment: "Have made every exertion to raise the $200 you require, and find it utterly impossible to get it. . . . We had hoped that you would accept our offer to get out your new book, and thus more than discharge our indebtedness to you." On April 19, 1876, Somerby reported that "I have been losing, instead of gaining." On May 6, 1876, he sent Whitman a statement pertaining to the volumes mentioned in this letter. On May 12, 1876, he included complete financial statement: in eighteen months he had made only one cash payment, and owed Walt Whitman $215.17. The firm was still unable to make a payment on September 28, 1876. In August 1877, Walt Whitman received a notice of bankruptcy dated August 8, 1877, from, in his own words, "assignee [Josiah Fletcher, an attorney] of the rascal Chas P. Somerby."
This draft letter is endorsed, "Sent to C P Somerby | April 23 '76." This letter is virtually a duplicate of Whitman's letter to the editor of the Boston Daily Advertiser dated also on June 25, 1872. This draft letter, owned by Oscar Lion and provided to Edwin Haviland Miller as a typescript, is endorsed, "sent at date." On March 20, 1874, Mann invited Whitman to deliver, on June 17, 1874, a poem before the Mathematician Society of Tufts College, a society "of young men of the Col. desiring to become more proficient in the art of speaking, writing and debate." Mann replied to Whitman's queries on April 2, 1874 (Oscar Lion). Whitman composed "Song of the Universal" for the occasion, but, unable to deliver the poem in person, sent it to Mann on June 11, 1874. On April 14, 1875, William Michael Rossetti wrote to Whitman that he would include in The Academy "the substance of your last note," probably a postcard. The text given here appeared on April 17, 1875. Rossetti also observed that he had quoted from Whitman's estimate of Robert Burns in The Academy, 7 (February 27, 1875), 214–215. On June 30, 1874, Bluford Wilson, Solicitor of the Treasury, informed Williams that "Walt Whitman is the clerk of this class who can be discharged with least detriment to the national service" (National Archives). On June 30, 1874, Williams informed the poet of his dismissal. On July 6, 1874, (copy in the National Archives) Williams replied that Whitman was entitled to two months salary. By mistake Whitman wrote "June." Whitman's letter was endorsed by Elmes: "Walt Whitman Brooklyn July 9, 1872 Applies for extension of leave of absence for two weeks Office Solicitor of the Treasury July, 11/72 Extension granted as requested by direction of Asst. Solicitor, & Mr Whitman advised." Webster Elmes was the chief clerk in the Attorney General's office. George H. Williams, the Attorney General, wrote on the verso of this letter: "If the pay of Mr Whitman goes on I see no objection to this personal arrangement if the bearer is a suitable person of which you must judge." Whitman refers here to Walter Godey. Whitman was evidently aware that a bill approved by Congress on June 20, 1874, required a reduction of personnel in the Department of Justice. Whitman's letter was sent by Grant's secretary to the Attorney General on July 26, 1874. It was accompanied by a clipping from the Camden New Republic of June 20, 1874, which included "Song of the Universal" and Whitman's (anonymous) comments on his illness. Wecter conjectures that Whitman had the article printed "with the hope that it might catch Grant's eye more effectually than would a letter"; see PMLA, 58 (1943), 1108. The letter, now in the National Archives, is docketed: "Walt Whitman | Brooklyn, N. Y. | May 11. Recd May 12, 1870 | Asks extension of his leave | of absence— | May 12. Answered unofficially." Walbridge A. Field (1833–1899) was the Assistant Attorney General from 1869 to 1870. Later he was Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court. Late in April or early May 1870, Walt Whitman cut his thumb, which became infected, and he returned to Brooklyn for about two weeks. Abby H. Price wrote both this letter and Walt Whitman's May 11, 1870 letter to William D. O'Connor. Amos Tappan Akerman (1821–1880) served in the Confederate Army and was Attorney General from 1870 to 1871. James Speed (1812–1887) was appointed Attorney General in 1864 by Lincoln; because he was opposed to Johnson's policies, he resigned on July 17, 1866. Henry Stanbery (1803–1881) was appointed Attorney General in 1866 by Andrew Johnson but resigned on March 12, 1868, in order to defend Johnson at his impeachment trial. Orville Hickman Browning (1806–1881) completed the unexpired term of Stephen A. Douglas after his death in 1861. Defeated for re-election in 1862, he established a law firm in Washington, and later actively supported President Johnson, who appointed him Secretary of the Interior in 1866. Browning was appointed Acting Attorney General on March 12, 1868. At the conclusion of Johnson's administration, he returned to private law practice. William Maxwell Evarts (1818–1901) was chief counsel for Andrew Johnson during the impeachment trial. As a reward for his services, Johnson appointed Evarts Attorney General later in the year; Whitman reported the news in his July 17, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Evarts was Secretary of State from 1877 to 1881 and U.S. Senator from New York from 1885 to 1891. Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar (1816–1895) was Attorney General from 1869 to 1870 and was later a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. J. Hubley Ashton, the assistant Attorney General, actively interested himself in Walt Whitman's affairs, and obtained a position for the poet in his office after the Harlan fracas. Matthew F. Pleasants, who later became chief clerk in the Attorney General's office. The letter is endorsed: "Received Jany 10, 1871 | Dated Jany 9 1871 | From Walt Whitman Clerk | Subject: Asks for position of pardon clerk | Action. [unfilled space] | Filed June 2, 1871." Josiah Gilbert Holland (1819–1881), mentioned pseudonymously as Timothy Titcomb in Whitman's September 27, 1867 letter to William D. O'Connor, was an editor of the Springfield Republican from 1850 to 1862, and author of Titcomb's Letters to Young People, Simple and Married (New York: C. Scribner, 1858). While he was editor of Scribner's Monthly (1870–1881), Whitman submitted poems to him. At this time Holland was also editor of the Century Magazine. On two occasions Whitman recalled that he had sent poems to Holland at the suggestion of John Swinton (Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 1:184; 4:326–327). This letter was probably written in 1875, since one of the poems was "Eidólons," which appeared in the New York Tribune on February 19, 1876. The following year, Holland issued a hostile criticism in the May 1876 issue of Scribner's Monthly, 12 (1876), 123–125. Holland's lengthy (lost) reply "was offensive, low, bitter, inexcusable" (Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 3:327). In an interview in 1879, Whitman complained that many American magazines were "in the hands of old fogies like Holland or fops like Howells" (American Literature, 14 [1942–43], 145–146). Walt Whitman wrote of Martha's death in his February 20, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. The letter is apparently lost. This letter is endorsed, "Ans'd." The envelope of this letter bears the address, "Mrs. E. M. O'Connor, | 1015 O street, W, | Washington, | D. C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Feb | 24 | N.J.; Carrier | 25 | Feb | 8 AM." Whitman refers here to his nephew, Walter Orr Whitman, born November 4, 1875, who died in 1876; Whitman wrote of the birth in his December 17, 1875 letter to John Burroughs.Address: Peter Doyle, | M street South—bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D. C.
Postmarks: Camden | (?)| 5 | N.J.; Carrier | 6 | Jun | 8 AM.
Observe the similarities between this post card and Whitman's June 5, 1874 letter to John Burroughs.
The letter is mutilated for the next several lines because someone cut off Whitman's signature. Whitman also wrote about Burroughs's visit in a January 15, 1876 letter to Peter Doyle. Whitman had known Hillard's writings since 1871 and mentioned her in his June 23, 1873 letter to Charles Eldridge. He sent her a copy of Leaves of Grass on July 27, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Professor J. Peter Lesley was appointed state geologist of University of Pennsylvania in 1874. He was also secretary of the American Philosophical Society. Anne Gilchrist spoke glowingly of the "delightful family circle" of the Lesleys (Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist, Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings [London: T. F. Unwin, 1887], 228–229). Maggie Lesley, an artist, visited Gilchrist in 1881 (Thomas B. Harned, ed., The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman [Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page, and Co., 1918], 198). See Whitman's July 20, 1857 letter to Sarah Tyndale and his February 29, 1876 letter to Ellen O'Connor. Whitman had submitted this review in his February 8, 1876 letter to Whitelaw Reid. Moncure D. Conway had arrived in America for a lecture tour in September 1875; Whitman wrote of Conway's arrival in his September 14, 1875 letter to William Linton. Whitman refers here to an unidentified Washington friend of Ellen O'Connor. Whitman probably refers here to William S. Huntington's wife. Nancy M. Johnson is listed in the 1875 Directory as a widow. Whitman sent a set of books to her, as mentioned in his March 23, 1876 letter to Ellen O'Connor.This postcard is addressed, "Pete Doyle, | M st. South bet 4½ & 6th | Washington D. C." It is postmarked: "Camden | (?) | (?) 9 | N.J.; Carrier | 30 | Dec | 8 AM."
This postcard cannot be assigned to a specific year because the allusions to Whitman's health are vague and in fact applicable to almost any time between 1873 and 1876, and there are no concrete references to events which would make dating possible. However, it was written on a standard government postcard which was redesigned in 1876.
This letter's envelope bears the address, "G F E Pearsall | artist & Photographer | 298 Fulton street | Brooklyn | N York." It is postmarked: "Camden | Jun | 15 | N.J." Walt Whitman sent Two Rivulets to Pearsall on September 10, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar (1816–1895) was Attorney General from 1869 to 1870 and was later a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Evidently during the last month of Johnson's administration Walt Whitman had some uncertain moments as to his future, for on February 17, 1869 his mother asked: "walt what is it you alluded to that was disagreable in the office." In his additions to the second edition of Notes on Walt Whitman, As Poet and Person (New York: J. S. Redfield, 1871) John Burroughs wrote cryptically: "and afterward, (1869,) he is subjected, in another Department, to trains of dastardly official insolence by a dignitary of equal rank [to Harlan], from whom he narrowly escapes the same fate" (123). Because of Grant's new administration. In a publicity blurb in the Washington Sunday Chronicle on May 9, 1869 (reprinted by Emory Holloway, American Mercury, 18 1929, 482–483), Walt Whitman spoke of his plans for the summer: a new edition of Leaves of Grass, "the collection, revised, and including his new verses on religious themes," and Democratic Vistas. These works did not appear until 1871. There is an ink blot here. On April 7, 1869, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman informed her son that "Emily price is going to get married ... his name is law an artist in the cheap picture line." A friend of the Prices, John Arnold lived with his daughter's family in the same house as the Price family. Helen Price described him as "a Swedenborgian," with whom Walt Whitman frequently argued without "the slightest irritation between them"; see Richard Maurice Bucke, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), 26–27. Elihu Benjamin Washburne (1816–1887) served as Grant's Secretary of State for a few days and then resigned to become minister to France.This letter's envelope bears the address, "A Ireland | Inglewood | Bowdon | Cheshire | England." It is postmarked: "Camden | Jun | 13 | N.J.; Manchester | U 33 | Ju 24 | 76."
Ireland (1810–1894), an English author and one of Emerson's early biographers, was also one of the organizers of the Manchester Free Library. His most popular book was The Book-Lover's Enchiridion (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1883).
Italicized passages in this letter are in Whitman's hand; the rest is a printed form.
According to Schmidt's letter of February 28, 1874, an eight-column review of Walt Whitman's works appeared in the Fatherland (Fædrelandet): "The author of the criticism Rosenberg is a silly little fellow, who understands nothing between heaven and earth, and least of all, you." Roos identifies Carl Rosenberg as a friend of Schmidt; see Orbis Litterarum, 7 (1949), 49n. Walt Whitman's portrait, with an extract from Schmidt's essay, appeared in the Illustreted Folkeblad on February 22, 1874, according to Roos. Whitman mentioned meeting Petersen in his April 4, 1872 letter to Schmidt. Schmidt pressed Walt Whitman for his opinion of Petersen, as in his letter of February 28, 1874: "I have asked you at least two times how you did like Clemens Petersen; you have not replied and most probably you wont speak of this matter. If that is the case, I shall repeat the question no more." Schmidt wrote at some length on February 28, 1874 of Björnson: "His poetry comes from the source, that is throbbing in the people's own heart. He has been the spoiled darling of the whole Danish public. But he is a living test of the hideous and venomous serpent, that hides his ugly head among the flowers of the pantheistic poetry. You have in your 'vistas' spoken proud words of the flame of conscience, the moral force as the greatest lack of the present democracy. You have, without knowing it, named the lack of Björnson at the same time! Björnson owes Denmark gratitude. He has shown it in the form of deep and bloody offences, that make every honest Danish heart burn with rage and indignation." On February 28, 1874, Schmidt reported that he had seen Bismarck in Berlin: "It is worth the travel to get a glance on this so very powerfull and so excessively beastly face. Attila called himself 'God's scourge,' Napoleon did not call himself so, but he was it. But Attila was imposing in the splendour of his barbaric greatness; of Napoleon the German H: Heine has said 'every inch a God.' A scourge like this Brandenburgider fox hunter mankind never has known. Perhaps mankind never has been so deeply fallen!" Schmidt, editor of For Idé og Virkelighed, wrote to Walt Whitman on October 19, 1871: "I intend to write an article about yourself and your writings in the above named periodical which is very much read in all the Scandinavian countries. . . . I therefore take the liberty to ask you, if you should not be willing to afford some new communications of yourself and your poetry to this purpose" (Library of Congress). Since Schmidt's letter is not extant, it is not possible to clarify the next few lines. The editor of the article in Orbis Litterarum did not find a reference to Walt Whitman in the Dagbladet. Waldemar E. Bendz was listed as a clerk.Carl F. Clausen, termed in Schmidt's letter "my old friend and countryman," corresponded with Schmidt after he left Denmark in 1860; see Orbis Litterarum, 7 (1949), 34–39. The Directory in 1870 listed him as a draughtsman and in 1872 as a patent agent. He died of consumption in the middle 1870s; see Thomas Biggs Harned Collection of Walt Whitman, The Library of Congress, Notebook #108.
According to Whitman's June 4, 1872 letter to Schmidt, Clausen had gone to Denmark in June 1872.
In his January 2, 1874 letter, Schmidt reported that the first part of his translation of Democratic Vistas had gone to the printers: "It is a devilish hard task to translate your prose, and our ordinary translators most surely would break the neck in trying it." Schmidt had been told by "an American gentleman" that Walt Whitman was going to England. Tennyson had extended this invitation in his July 12, 1871 letter to Walt Whitman. "Song of the Redwood-Tree." In reprinting the poem on February 24, 1874, the Tribune commented that it "shows the brawny vigor, but not the reckless audacity, by which the name of that wild poet has become best known to the public." Whitman mentioned this meeting in his April 4, 1872 letter to Schmidt. Schmidt pressed Walt Whitman for his opinion of Petersen, as in his letter of February 28, 1874: "I have asked you at least two times how you did like Clemens Petersen; you have not replied and most probably you wont speak of this matter. If that is the case, I shall repeat the question no more." Walt Whitman referred to an article in the Daily Graphic of January 23, 1874, in which C. F. presented "A Biographical Sketch—An American Poet Graduating from a Printer's 'Case.' " Linton's engraving appeared in the 1876 edition of Leaves of Grass. Roos suggests the reference is perhaps to Nathalie Zahle, a reformer of Danish female schools; see Orbis Litterarum, 7 (1949), 49n. Roos proposes two possibilities—Falbe Hansen and Rasmus Nielsen. This picture, now in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., appears in Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), 2:84. On April 4, 1874, Schmidt described a critical article composed by a young Norwegian named Kristian Elster, who had expressed "a great fear that the editor (in Christiania) would not print it. In the war, on the roaring sea the Norwegians are a people of heroes; but in their civil and literary life they are a race of cowards." According to Roos, Elster (1841–1881) was a friend of Björnson; see Orbis Litterarum, 7 (1949), 51n. "Scandinavia" appeared in two parts in the May and June 1874 issues; see the Galaxy, 17 (1874), 610–618, 770–778. Whitman also wrote about Burroughs's visit in his April 16, 1874 letter to Peter Doyle. This description of Burroughs was inserted in answer to Schmidt's request. Roos notes that the conservative Dags Telegrafen criticized Democratic Vistas on May 20, 1874; see Orbis Litterarum, 7 (1949), 53n. In acknowledging receipt of the poems and other items sent to him, Schmidt commented on June 26, 1874: "But your humorists of the day I don't like. Mark Twain has been translated into Danish this year. He is a detestable fool." Walt Whitman's letter is a point-by-point reply to Schmidt's of June 26, 1874. Of "Song of the Redwood-Tree" Schmidt observed: "It is your old great theme in a simple and powerful stile, embracing the holy and original nation of the far West." Walt Whitman's numbering is inaccurate. See Schmidt's letter of March 20, 1874. On July 23, 1875, the Springfield Republican printed a three-column article entitled "Walt Whitman. | His Life, His Poetry, Himself." Though the article was signed with the initials J. M. S. (James Matlock Scovel), Burroughs observed on July 27, 1875: "It is an admirable piece of writing (of course I see your hand) & contains some of the best things about you that have yet been in print." The New York Tribune printed excerpts from the dispatch on July 24, 1875; William Michael Rossetti quoted from it in The Academy, 8 (August 14, 1875), 167; see Letters of William Michael Rossetti, ed. Gohdes and Baum (1934), 96–97; Scovel utilized most of the material in the National Magazine, 20 (1904), 165–169. Schmidt described his visit to the tombs of Goethe and Schiller in his letter of July 17, 1875. Schmidt replied at length on August 18, 1875. Walt Whitman had written on July 31, 1875. Undoubtedly the articles in the Springfield Republican and the West Jersey Press; see Whitman's January 26, 1876 letter to William Michael Rossetti. See Whitman's March 4, 1874 letter to Schmidt. On this occasion Walt Whitman read Schiller's "The Diver" (Clifton Joseph Furness, Walt Whitman's Workshop 1928, 205). The program for the "Musical—Literary Entertainment, under the auspices of the Walt Whitman Debating Club of Camden, N.J.," is in the Oscar Lion Collection, New York Public Library. This letter's envelope is addressed, "Rudolf Schmidt | 16 Klareboderne | Copenhagen | Denmark." It is postmarked: "(?)| Aug | 11 | N.J.; New York | Aug | 12." On July 24, 1876, Schmidt reported his recent marriage to "my dear faithful little wife, to whom I have been betrothed since some years." The letter written "six weeks before" may be Schmidt's letter of April 18, 1876, in which he admitted his failure to sell Walt Whitman's books in Denmark. Walt Whitman's reply, probably written late in May or early in June 1876, is not known. Transcript. Probably I. N. Burritt, assistant manager of the Evening Press Association in Washington. The Washington Directory listed him as a reporter for the New York Tribune in 1871, and as the editor and proprietor of the Sunday Herald in 1872. The article, written by Richard J. Hinton (1830–1901), appeared in the Sunday Herald on December 8, 1872; the article served as a review of European critical comment on Walt Whitman since 1868. Burroughs' nephew, Chauncey B. Deyo, visited Whitman in March 1874 and wrote to his uncle on March 29, 1874: "It seemed hard to see the great man afflicted, bowed down, and I could not suppress my tears, and cannot suppress them now. . . . His death would be a heavy, heavy blow to me. Oh, Uncle John, I can't think of it without crying, as I do now" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 89). See also Whitman's June 10, 1874 letter to Ellen M. O'Connor. In some manuscript jottings, Walt Whitman described a visit to Dr. Grier on June 2, 1874: "He reiterated his theory that my sufferings, (later ones) come nearly altogether from gastric, stomachic, intestinal, non-excretory, &c. causes, causing flatulence, a very great distension of the colon, of passages, weight on valves, crowding & pressing on organs (heart, lungs, &c) and the very great distress & pain I have been under in breast & left side, & pit of stomach, & thence to my head, the last month. Advised me by all means to begin the use of an injection syringe, (Fountain No. 2. tepid water for clysters)—was favorable to my using whiskey—advised assa[feti]da pills, 2 ? kneading the bowel[s] . . ." (The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). Philip Hale (1854–1934), a music critic and program annotator for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, wrote to Walt Whitman for the first time on September 14, 1871. He wrote again on October 7, 1875, to praise the "Calamus" poems and to enclose a copy of "Walt Whitman," which he published in the Yale Literary Magazine in November 1874, 96–104. Whitman sent Two Rivulets on September 3, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman's "Sea-Shore Memories" cluster of poems was published as part of the Passage to India annex to Leaves of Grass. Passage to India was included in the second issue of the fifth edition of Leaves of Grass (1871–72). The first poem in the cluster was "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking." For more information on this edition, see Lee Mancuso, "Leaves of Grass, 1871–72 Edition," ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Lillie Townsend was, like Priscilla Townsend (see Whitman's April 21, 1873 letter to his mother), presumably a cousin of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Sarah Mead was Walt Whitman's maternal grandmother's sister. Mead was at the time over ninety years old. Here Walt Whitman summarized Jeff's letter of March 30, 1873. At the request of Ellen O'Connor, his sister-in-law, Dr. Channing sent to Walt Whitman on March 19, 1873, a copy of his 1849 treatise on medical electricity, but warned against premature use of electric shock: "In a word electricity must not be used while there is existing lesion of the brain or nerve centres. . . . premature use of electricity . . . may induce congestion, apoplexy or convulsions." Walt Whitman also referred to the possibility of purchasing a house in Washington; see his March 1, 1873 letter to Mannahatta Whitman and his February 23 and March 28, 1873 letters to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. The first reports of the sinking of the steamship Atlantic spoke of the loss of 700 lives. On April 3, 1873, the New York Times noted that the number was 546. Later a board of inquiry attributed the disaster to dereliction of duty on the part of the captain. Lillie Townsend was, like Priscilla Townsend (see Whitman's April 21, 1873 letter to his mother), presumably a cousin of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Walt Whitman was understandably confused about the relationship. Sarah Mead and Phebe Pintard were sisters (born Williams) and his maternal grandmother's sisters. Mead was at the time over ninety years old, but Pintard had been dead for several years. See Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman of April 3, 1873, and Walt Whitman's jottings dated November 20, 1873 (The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). The first reports of the sinking of the steamship Atlantic spoke of the loss of 700 lives. On April 3, 1873, the New York Times noted that the number was 546. Later a board of inquiry attributed the disaster to dereliction of duty on the part of the captain.The New York Daily Graphic took pride in its illustrations of topical happenings.
The New York Daily Graphic published a number of Walt Whitman's poems and prose pieces in 1873 and 1874. In the former year the Daily Graphic printed the following works: "Nay, Tell Me Not To-day the Publish'd Shame" on March 5, 1873; "With All the Gifts, America" on March 6, 1873; "The Singing Thrush" (later titled "Wandering at Morn") on March 15, 1873; "Spain" on March 24, 1873; "Sea Captains, Young or Old" (later called "Song for All Seas, All Ships") on April 4, 1873; "Warble for Lilac-Time" on May 12, 1873; "Halls of Gold and Lilac" on November 24, 1873; and "Silver and Salmon-Tint" on November 29, 1873. In 1874, the Daily Graphic printed "A Kiss to the Bride" on May 21, 1874; "Song of the Universal" on June 17, 1874; and "An Old Man's Thought of School" on November 3, 1874.
Trübner & Company was the London agent for Whitman's books; see Whitman's December 27, 1873 letter to Trübner & Company. This "second letter" is not known. This draft letter is endorsed, "To Tennyson July 24 '75." See Whitman's May 24, 1874 letter to Tennsyon and Tennyson's July 8, 1874 letter to Whitman. Tennyson replied to Walt Whitman's letter on August 11, 1875. Queen Mary appeared in 1875. Probably the Springfield Republican of July 23, 1875; see Whitman's July 31, 1875 letter to Rudolf Schmidt.This letter's envelope bears the address, "Ben: Perley Poore, | Clerk Printing records, | Congress, | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Camden | Feb | 7 | N.J."
Poore (1820–1887), a well-known columnist and author, was at this time editor of the Congressional Directory and clerk of the Senate committee in charge of printing public records.
This letter's envelope bears the address, "W M Rossetti | 56 Euston Sq | London | n w | England." It is postmarked: "Camden | Mar | 23 | N.J.; London N.W. | C 10 | Paid | (?)| 76." William Michael Rossetti's letter is apparently lost. These transactions are confirmed in Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter's envelope bears the address, "Edward Carpenter | 3 Wesley Terrace | Shaw Lane | Headingly | Leeds, England." It is postmarked: "Camden | Apr | 23 | N.J.; Leeds | 162 | 10 My | 76." Like many other young disillusioned Englishmen, Carpenter (1844–1929) deemed Walt Whitman a prophetic spokesman of an ideal state cemented in the bonds of brotherhood. On July 12, 1874, he wrote for the first time to Walt Whitman: "Because you have, as it were, given me a ground for the love of men I thank you continually in my heart . . . . For you have made men to be not ashamed of the noblest instinct of their nature." On January 3, 1876, Carpenter sent another impassioned letter. On April 8, 1876, he sent £4 for the 1876 volumes. See also Whitman's May 1, 1877 letter to Anne Gilchrist. Walt Whitman probably meant the letter of September 1, 1876. Probably Robert Atkinson (1839–1908), professor of romance languages at Trinity College, Dublin. Probably Edward Armstrong (1846– 1928), English historian and lecturer at Oxford. Perhaps A. C. de Burgh, to whom Walt Whitman sent two volumes on September 7, 1876, in care of T. W. H. Rolleston in Dublin; the entry, however, was later deleted (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Probably the son of Sir George Cathcart (1749–1854). Perhaps Chrissie Deschamps, mentioned in Whitman's November 4, 1873 letter to Daniel G. Gillette. Probably Edward Dowden's clergyman brother, John (see Whitman's January 18, 1872 letter to Edward Dowden). Walt Whitman sent the 1876 set to Lady Hardy in London on October 24, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). She was probably the wife of Herbert Hardy, first Baron Cozens-Hardy (1838–1920), an English judge. Walt Whitman sent two volumes to C. W. Sheppard at Horsham, England, on September 6, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Dowden characterized Dr. John Todhunter (1839–1916) as "a man of science, & a mystic—a Quaker." Todhunter later held a chair in English literature at Alexandria College in Dublin, and wrote Study of Shelley (1880), in which he termed Shelley, Hugo, and Walt Whitman the three poets of democracy. See Harold Blodgett, Walt Whitman in England (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1934), 180. See also Whitman's September 1, 1876 to William Michael Rossetti. Walt Whitman sent two books to John Trivett Nettleship on October 24, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Walt Whitman mailed two volumes to Dakyns at Clifton College, Bristol, on October 24, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Sir Hubert von Herkomer (1849–1914), a Bavarian painter who resided in England and was professor of Fine Arts at Oxford from 1885 to 1894. He was correctly cited as "Hubert" in the draft of this letter as well as in Whitman's Commonplace Book, in which Whitman noted forwarding two volumes on October 24, 1876 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). A poet and the author of a critical notice of Walt Whitman in Dark Blue in 1871 (see Whitman's January 30, 1872 letter to Rossetti). Noel was hurt because Richard Maurice Bucke did not include the essay in his biography; see Noel's letters to Walt Whitman of March 30, 1886 and May 16, 1886. George William Foote (1850–1915), a freethinker, was the author of many pamphlets attacking Christianity. Foote did not forward £3 to Walt Whitman. Rossetti mentioned on August 17, 1877, that he had called the failure to pay to Foote's attention. On February 12, 1878, Whitman cited a letter from Foote, who promised to send the sum, which he alleged had been stolen by an employee (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). After the entry the poet later wrote "fraud." The sister of Philip Bourke Marston (for Marston, see Whitman's September 7, 1876 letter to Marston). See Whitman's September 4, 1876 letter to Buchanan. Conway's letter to Walt Whitman is not extant; see also Whitman's September 5, 1876 letter to Conway. Whitman had received £6 from Conway on June 12, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Gilchrist arrived in Philadelphia on September 10, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter's envelope bears the address: "Wm Michel Rossetti | 56 Euston Square | London N W | England." It is postmarked: "Camden | Aug | 22 | N.J.; London (?)| C 1(?)| Paid | Sp 7 | 76." Walt Whitman sent a copy of Leaves of Grass (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Carpenter concludes and signs this letter on the first page. This part of the letter is written sideways in the left margin of the first page. Ward (1830–1910) was, according to Dictionary of American Biography, "the first native sculptor to create, without benefit of foreign training, an impressive body of good work." Ward informed Walt Whitman on April 23, 1876, that on May 1, 1876, he would order five sets of the new edition. The order was sent on June 1, 1876; Walt Whitman noted receipt of $50 from Ward on June 6, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.).This letter's envelope bears the address, "W J Stillman | St Helen's Cottage | Ventnor | England." It is postmarked, "Camden | (?)| 2(?)| N.J.; Ventnor | (?)| No 6 | (?) 6."
Stillman (1828–1901), an American painter and art critic, visited Walt Whitman in Washington in December 1869, and wrote to his friend William Michael Rossetti of Whitman's "remarkable personal qualities"; see Rossetti Papers, 492, and Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), 1:380–381. An intimate of Ruskin and Turner, he was in the diplomatic service from 1862 to 1868 and a correspondent for the London Times from 1875 to 1898. An entry in Whitman's Commonplace Book corroborates the date (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.).
Evidently Gilchrist's letter of January 24, 1872, or one now unknown. A reference to his trip to Dartmouth College in June 1872, mentioned in Whitman's June 27, 1872 letter to Peter Doyle. With George, who now lived in Camden, New Jersey. Gilchrist sent the photographs on January 24, 1872. Perhaps Whitman intended to acknowledge them in his February 8, 1872, response to Gilchrist. On April 12, 1872, Gilchrist objected to this warning: "it hurts so, as seeming to distrust my love. . . . O, I could not live if I did not believe that sooner or later you will not be able to help stretching out your arms towards me & saying 'Come, my Darling.'" On June 3, 1872, Gilchrist begged for a longer letter, "for I sorely need it." Though she declared that she would be satisfied with a gossipy letter about his affairs, she really wanted more: "And if you say 'Read my books, & be content—you have me in them'—I say, it is because I read them so that I am not content." Toward the conclusion of the letter she spoke of coming to America. On July 14, 1872, she acknowledged his gift of As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free and wrote again of the effect of Whitman's poems on her: "Had I died the following year 1870, it would have been the simple truth to say I died of joy." Gilchrist wrote again on November 12, 1872—Walt Whitman had been silent—"I must write not because I have anything to tell you—but because I want so, by help of a few loving words, to come into your presence as it were—into your remembrance." In a letter dated November 16–30, 1875, Gilchrist referred to a pleasant visit with Marvin, who had gone to England on official business (see Whitman's December 16, 1875 letter to John Burroughs). On December 23, 1875, William Michael Rossetti described to Walt Whitman a dinner he gave for Marvin which was attended by the following "good Whitmanites": Gilchrist; Joseph Knight, editor of the London Sunday Times; Justin McCarthy, a novelist and writer for the London Daily News; Edmund Gosse; and Rossetti's father-in-law, Ford Madox Brown. See Gilchrist's letter of August 28, 1875. Fearful after reading a printed account in which Conway reported that Walt Whitman had given up hope of recovery, on December 4, 1875, Gilchrist implored: "Dont give up that hope, for the sake of those that so tenderly passionately love you." She promised to come to America as soon as Percy was married. Meanwhile, on October 19, 1875, Gilchrist had written to Burroughs to inform him that Walt Whitman's English admirers were preparing "some tangible embodiment however inadequate" to relieve the poet's financial needs (Boston Public Library; Clifton Joseph Furness, Walt Whitman's Workshop 1928, 244). Gilchrist continued to ignore the obvious: Walt Whitman wanted her (and her passion) three thousand miles away. On January 18, 1876, she informed him that she was sailing for America on August 30, 1876. On February 25, 1876, she was ecstatic: "Soon, very soon I come, my darling. . . . this is the last spring we shall be assunder—O I passionately believe there are years in store for us— . . . Hold out but a little longer for me, my Walt." Gilchrist wrote again, on March 11, 1876, after she had seen some of Whitman's poems in the London Daily News. In her reply on March 30, 1876, Gilchrist refused Walt Whitman's advice: "I can't exactly obey that, for it has been my settled steady purpose (resting on a deep strong faith) ever since 1869." After reading Two Rivulets, she could not curb her ardor, writing on April 21, 1876: "sweetest deepest greatest experience of my life—what I was made for, surely I was made as the soil in which the precious seed of your thoughts & emotions should be planted—they to fulfil themselves in me, that I might by & bye blossom into beauty & bring forth rich fruits—immortal fruits." Gilchrist sent birthday greetings on May 18, 1876. The body of Salmon P. Chase, chief justice of the Supreme Court, was sent from New York to Washington on May 11, 1873, for funeral services. Theodore Tilton (1835–1907), a protégé of Henry Ward Beecher, accused his mentor on December 30, 1870, of improper relations with his wife. The accusation was suppressed by all parties until a sensational account of Beecher's relations with Tilton's family appeared on November 2, 1872, in Woodhill and Claffin's Weekly. Strangely, Beecher did not make a public denial until June 30, 1873. After Tilton published in June 1874 a statement concerning Beecher's alleged misconduct, a committee from the minister's church examined the allegations and exonerated Beecher. On August 20, 1874, Tilton accused Beecher of adultery and asked $100,000 in damages. The trial lasted for six months and ended in a split verdict. In 1875 a committee of the Congregational churches found Beecher innocent. This letter's envelope bears the address, "John Burroughs, | Wallkill Bank | Middletown | New York." It is postmarked, "Camden | Feb | 14 | N.J." In a review of Joaquin Miller's Songs of the Sunlands in the Nation on January 29, 1874, an anonymous writer sharply criticized Walt Whitman's catalogs, mystic raptures, and lack of restraint. On February 14, 1874, Whitman sent a manuscript entitled "Is Walt Whitman's Poetry Poetical?" to John Burroughs, who was to send it to the editor of the magazine. If Burroughs submitted the essay, it was not published. It is reprinted in Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931), 107–110. Burroughs published "A Word or Two on Emerson" and "A Final Word on Emerson" in the Galaxy in February and April, 1876; the essays were reprinted in Birds and Poets (1877), 185–210. For Whitman's final verdict on the articles, see his June 17, 1876 letter to Burroughs. Deferring to Whitman's wishes, Burroughs deleted a paragraph expressing "wonder" that Emerson had ever accepted Whitman. The passage was restored in Birds and Poets. See Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931), 135–136. This letter's envelope bears the address, "John Burroughs | Esopus-on-Hudson | Ulster Co | New York." It is postmarked: "Camden | Jun | 17 | N.J." Burroughs published "A Word or Two on Emerson" and "A Final Word on Emerson" in the Galaxy in February and April 1876. See also Whitman's April 1, 1875 letter to Burroughs. See the Galaxy, 21 (February 1876), 258–259. Of Walt Whitman's "overpraise," Burroughs remarked in 1907: "I think he must have had a glass of whisky, or some champagne, when he wrote that" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 135). On May 10, 1876, Whitman noted receipt of $50 from Burroughs (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Walt Whitman did not record in his Commonplace Book any visits with the Staffords at this time (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Mannahatta and Jessie, Jeff's daughters, came from St. Louis to Camden in July and remained until October 25, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Burroughs' wife, Ursula. On March 16, 1876, Walt Whitman noted receipt of $50 from Marst Halstead of the Cincinnati Commercial (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The newspaper had printed "extracts" from Memoranda During the War on February 16, 1876. This letter's envelope bears the address, "Abraham Stoker | 119 Lower Baggot street | Dublin, | Ireland." It is postmarked:"Camden | Mar | 6 | N.J." Stoker (1847–1912) was the author of Dracula, secretary to Sir Henry Irving, and editor of Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving (1906). As a young man, on February 18, 1872, Stoker wrote a personal, eccentric letter to Walt Whitman which he did not send until February 14, 1876. In the earlier letter he had written: "How sweet a thing it is for a strong healthy man with a woman's eyes and a child's wishes to feel that he can speak so to a man [Walt Whitman] who can be if he wishes, father, and brother and wife to his soul." Stoker visited Walt Whitman in 1884 (Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (New York: Macmillan, 1955), 516). Whitman had written to Dowden on March 4, 1876. Draft letter. In order to capitalize upon the formal opening of the Philadelphia Exposition on May 10, 1876, Walt Whitman sent the poem to various newspapers, among them the Herald and the Tribune. According to a notation on May 5, 1876, the price was $50 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). "Song of the Exposition" (formerly called "After All, Not to Create Only") was published in 1871; see Whitman's August 5, 1871 letter to the American Institutes's Committee on Invitations and his September 17, 1871 letter to the Roberts Brothers.This letter's envelope bears the address, "E W Gosse | Townsend House North Gate | Regent's Park | London England." It is postmarked: "Camden | May | 19 | N.J.; London. N W | F 6 | Paid | My 29 | 76."
Gosse (1849–1928) had written to Walt Whitman on December 12, 1873: "I can but thank you for all that I have learned from you, all the beauty you have taught me to see in the common life of healthy men and women, and all the pleasure there is in the mere humanity of other people." He reviewed Two Rivulets in The Academy, 9 (June 24, 1876), 602–603, and visited Whitman in 1885. In a letter to Richard Maurice Bucke on October 31, 1889, Whitman characterized Gosse as "one of the amiable conventional wall-flowers of literature" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.).
The Stantons, mentioned in Walt Whitman's December 27, 1871 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. "The Mystic Trumpeter," the Kansas Magazine, 1 (1872), 113–114. "Virginia—The West" appeared in the March issue, 1 (1872), 219. For page images and transcriptions of the poems as they appeared in the Kansas Magazine, see "The Mystic Trumpeter" and "Virginia—The West." In December 1872, the journal published Richard J. Hinton's "Walt Whitman in Europe" (1 [1872], 499–502), a review of European critical comment on Whitman since 1868. Probably Hinton, who was well known in Kansas (and whom Whitman mentioned as a "friend" in his April 28–May 4, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman), was responsible for the friendliness of the new magazine. George Henry Williams (1820–1910), U.S. Senator from Oregon, served as Attorney General from 1871 to 1875. Williams dismissed Walt Whitman on June 30, 1874; Whitman "respectfully acknowledged" his dismissal in his July 1, 1874 letter to Williams. Walt Whitman's niece, Jessie Louisa. In this will, dated October 23, 1872, Walt Whitman bequeathed to his mother, or in the event of her death, to George, as trustee for his brother Edward, all his personal property (more than $1,000 in a Brooklyn bank), the amounts due from the sale of his books by Redfield, and the stereotype plates of his books in the possession of S. W. Green. Bucke's copy of this will is in the The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library. A second will was drawn on May 16, 1873; see Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931), 82. Mannahatta informed her grandmother on February 27, 1873, that she had written seven pages to Walt Whitman—"the longest letter I have ever written" (Library of Congress). Walt Whitman, obviously pleased with the letter, sent it to Hannah, who on March 5, 1873, (Library of Congress) forwarded it to her mother. On February 27, 1873, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote about her uneasiness both to Walt Whitman and to Jeff (Northwestern University). Manahatta sister, Jessie Louisa. Walt Whitman had also expressed desire to purchase a home in Washington in his February 23, 1873, March 28, 1873, and April 4, 1873 letters to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. According to her letter of June 5(?), 1873, Louisa inquired of one of her friends about rooms in Atlantic City (Library of Congress). Walt Whitman was too ill in 1873 to undertake the trip. On April 11, 1873, and again on June 2, 1873, Burroughs urged Walt Whitman to visit them. A New York bookseller at 39 Dey Street. Whitman was having difficulties—real or imaginary, as his mother might have said—with booksellers. When Whitman wrote this letter, he had decided to let Butts, as he said, "have actual & complete control of the sales." Commenting on one of the letters of Butts, Whitman observed to Horace Traubel in 1889: "What a sweat I used to be in all the time . . . over getting my damned books published! When I look back at it I wonder I didn't somewhere or other on the road chuck the whole business into oblivion" (With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 3:561). Butts went bankrupt in 1874. The Boston agents for Whitman's books; see also Whitman's December 8, 1871 letter to W. H. Piper & Co. Evidently Piper settled the bill in February; see Whitman's February 13, 1874 letter to Peter Doyle, in which he noted the receipt of "a check paying a debt due me a long time, & which I had quite given up." For Thomas O'Kane, a New York book dealer, see Whitman's September 13, 1873 letter. The letter to O'Kane is not known. Linton (1812–1897), British-born wood engraver, came to the U.S. in 1866 and settled near New Haven, Conn. He illustrated the works of Whittier, Longfellow, Bryant, and others, wrote the History of Wood-Engraving in America (1882), and edited Poetry of America, 1776–1876 (London, 1878), in which appeared eight of Walt Whitman's poems as well as his picture. According to his Threescore and Ten Years, 1820 to 1890—Recollections (1894), 216–217, Linton met with Walt Whitman in Washington and later visited him in Camden (which Whitman reported in his November 9, 1873 letter to Peter Doyle): "I liked the man much, a fine-natured, good-hearted, big fellow, . . . a true poet who could not write poetry, much of wilfulness accounting for his neglect of form." According to his June 29, 1871 letter to Ellen M. O'Connor, Whitman had been reported killed in a "railroad smash." Despite the gravity of Walt Whitman's condition, William O'Connor did not visit him: the breach between the two men was deep. Mary Cole was listed in the Directories as a clerk in the Internal Revenue Department. Perhaps she was the sister of George D. Cole, a former conductor and a friend of Doyle, who wrote to Walt Whitman, probably in the early 1870's, after he had become a sailor (Yale). Clara Barrus mentions May Cole, a friend of Ellen O'Connor, who later married Dr. Frank Baker of the Smithsonian Institute (Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades, [Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931].) In June, however, Walt Whitman consented to stay with the Ashtons for about ten days; in his June 9 (?), 1873 letter to Peter Doyle, Whitman asked Doyle to visit him there. On January 30, 1873, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote: "i thought of peter. i knew if it was in his power to be with you he would and cherefully doo everything that he could for you." Walt Whitman paid for Ed's board, $15 a month, and sent additional money to his mother. George's wife. Burroughs had returned to Washington to arrange for the sale of his house. Jeff sent letters on February 7, 1873, to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and to Walt Whitman: there was no change in Martha's condition. Jeff informed his brother that he had learned about his illness in a newspaper. Jeff wrote on February 11, 1873, both to Walt Whitman and to his mother (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Jeff still hoped, since he did not appreciate the gravity of Walt Whitman's illness, that his brother would be able to visit Martha. Heyde's letter to Walt Whitman is not extant, but on February 6, 1873, he wrote to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman most solicitously about Walt's illness (The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). These letters are not known; probably Walt Whitman wrote to some of the dealers who handled his books. Jeff's letter to Walt Whitman is not extant, but on the same day he wrote to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman: Martha "is cheerful and brave—nothing can make her despondent in the shape of personal suffering—and I do not allow her to suffer from any feeling that we feel mournful or despondent" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Since Jeff wrote to Walt Whitman on March 30, 1873, their letters obviously crossed. Walt Whitman's letter is not known. Josephine Barkeloo, a young Brooklyn friend of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, was the daughter of Tunis S. Barkeloo, a clerk. Josephine Barkeloo wrote three affectionate letters to Louisa before she left for Europe in 1872 (Library of Congress). The letter which Walt read was sent from Belgium, according to Louisa's letter to Helen Price of March 31, 1873 (Pierpont Morgan Library). The New York Daily Graphic published a number of Walt Whitman's poems and prose pieces in 1873 and 1874. In the former year the Daily Graphic printed the following works: "Nay, Tell Me Not To-day the Publish'd Shame" on March 5, 1873; "With All the Gifts, America" on March 6, 1873; "The Singing Thrush" (later titled "Wandering at Morn") on March 15, 1873; "Spain" on March 24, 1873; "Sea Captains, Young or Old" (later called "Song for All Seas, All Ships") on April 4, 1873; "Warble for Lilac-Time" on May 12, 1873; "Halls of Gold and Lilac" on November 24, 1873; and "Silver and Salmon-Tint" on November 29, 1873. In 1874, the Daily Graphic printed "A Kiss to the Bride" on May 21, 1874; "Song of the Universal" on June 17, 1874; and "An Old Man's Thought of School" on November 3, 1874. On April 12, 1873, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman complained that George "has never given me 50 cts since i have been heere," and marveled that her son, who once did as he pleased, "gives the strictest account of every thing." Of Lou she wrote: "god forgive me if i judge wrongfully but i dont think there is much the matter." She was correct: Louisa was not pregnant. Unaccountably, Walt Whitman deleted the following: "I hope you will have a pleasant Sunday." On April 12, 1873, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman advised her son not to send letters for her to George's office. About the beginning of May 1873, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman began to fail. On May 1, 1873, she complained of dyspepsia because of the poor food: "we have lived quite poor lately." In an undated letter, probably written about May 9, 1873, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman said: "walter dont send any more papers as i cant read. my head gets confused." "Warble for Lilac-Time" was printed in the Graphic on May 12, 1873. It had originally appeared in the Galaxy on May 9, 1870, after Whitman sent it to William C. Church and Francis P. Church on February 8, 1870. In a postscript to this letter Whitman's mother added: "dont come till you can walk good and without injury to your getting fully recovered" (Texas). Burroughs wrote on May 14, 1873.About May 17, 1873, Louisa wrote: "my dearly beloved walter thank god i feel better this morning" (The Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library). But this was a false recovery. Walt Whitman went to Camden on May 20, 1873, and three days later his mother died. Her "last lines" reveal her affection for her favorite son: "farewell my beloved sons farewell. i have lived beyond all comfort in this world. dont mourn for me my beloved sons and daughters. farewell my dear beloved walter."
In the New York Evening Post on May 31, 1919, Helen E. Price recalled that at Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's funeral about thirty persons had been present. "On taking my seat among them, I noticed a curious thumping at intervals that made the floor vibrate beneath my feet. I was so absorbed in my own grief that at first I was hardly conscious of it. I finally left my chair, and going to the back of the room where we were sitting, I noticed a half-opened door leading to another room. Glancing in, I saw the poet all alone by the side of his mother's coffin. He was bent over his cane, both hands clasped upon it, and from time to time he would lift it and bring it down with a heavy thud on the floor. His sister-in-law told me that he had sat there all through the previous night."
This letter was written on the verso of a letter from William Bell Scott to Conway, dated August 21, 1875. William Michael Rossetti had dedicated his edition of Walt Whitman's poems to Scott. Walt Whitman ordered 1,000 impressions of the engraving in his February 24, 1875 letter to Linton. The account of Whitman's ailments makes 1875 a plausible date. On May 27, 1875, Joaquin Miller promised a visit shortly. As for the recipient, the reference to the engraving indicates Linton. Furthermore, according to Linton's letter of May 19, 1875, he was to be in New York on June 5, 1875, at which time he probably renewed the invitation to visit New Haven that he had made in his earlier letter. Nothing further is known about this meeting with Miller. On August 19, 1875, Whitman spent an evening with Miller in Philadelphia (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.).This letter dates to August 13–16, 1863. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman received George Washington Whitman's July 23, 1863 letter from Milldale, Mississippi, and she forwarded it to Walt Whitman with this brief note. Edwin Haviland Miller dated Louisa's letter "after" July 23?, 1863 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:373), but this brief note from Louisa must date to mid-August 1863. In his August 18, 1863 letter to Louisa, Walt acknowledged "George's letter." Miller associated that letter loosely with George's August 16, 1863 letter from Kentucky—at least insofar as it indicates George's location—but the forwarded letter from George that Walt received in mid-August is almost certainly this one. Walt's August 18 letter cannot acknowledge George's August 16, 1863 letter because Louisa postponed forwarding that letter for several days while she awaited an express packet (see her August 22 or 23?, 1863 letter to Walt).
George's July 23 letter had been long delayed by his extended expedition from Kentucky to Mississippi with Ambrose Burnside's Ninth Corps (see Jerome M. Loving, ed., Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975], 97). According to Thomas Jefferson Whitman's August 4, 1863 letter to Walt, "we do not hear from George." Walt had not received word from George a week later: "I feel so anxious to hear from George, one cannot help feeling uneasy" (see his August 11, 1863 letter to Louisa). George's August 16, 1863 letter confirms that his July 23, 1863 letter to his mother was the most recent he had sent.
Since Walt acknowledged George's forwarded letter and another letter (not extant) that Louisa promised to send the following day (see Walt's August 18, 1863 letter to Louisa), this letter dates to August 13–16, 1863.
Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's August 14–17, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman is not extant. She shared news of Andrew Jackson Whitman's continuing struggle with a throat condition (he had lost his voice) and an abusive letter from son-in-law Charles L. Heyde. She presumably also inquired whether Walt had written his sister Hannah Heyde, Charles's wife, about George Washington Whitman's letter and informed Walt that she had shared his Washington address with Emma Price, the daughter of Abby Price (see Walt's August 18, 1863 letter to Louisa). See George Washington Whitman's July 23, 1863 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, from Milldale, Mississippi. George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the sixth child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and ten years Walt Whitman's junior. George enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 and remained on active duty until the end of the Civil War. He was wounded in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and was taken prisoner during the Battle of Poplar Grove (September 1864). After the war, George returned to Brooklyn and began building houses on speculation, with a partner named Smith and later a mason named French. George eventually took up a position as inspector of pipes in Brooklyn and Camden. For more information on George, see "Whitman, George Washington."This letter dates to August 22 or 23, 1863. Edwin Haviland Miller dated the letter to August 16–25?, 1863 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:137; 1:373), but a more narrow range can be assigned.
Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had received George Washington Whitman's August 16, 1863 letter from near Covington, Kentucky, and she forwarded George's letter to Walt with this letter. Walt Whitman acknowledged receipt of George's letter and "your lines" on August 24 (see his August 25, 1863 letter to Louisa). Walt, who was pleased that George was "back to Kentucky," received George's letter with this one from Louisa because his remark echoes George's phrase "again back to old Kaintuck" (see George's August 16, 1863 letter to Louisa). Walt also responded to this letter's discussion of Andrew Jackson Whitman's illness and the possibility that George's money could help aid Andrew to take a trip recommended by a physician.
This letter from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to Walt Whitman is inscribed on George Washington Whitman's August 16, 1863 letter to Louisa. George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the sixth child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and ten years Walt Whitman's junior. George enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 and remained on active duty until the end of the Civil War. He was wounded in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and was taken prisoner during the Battle of Poplar Grove (September 1864). After the war, George returned to Brooklyn and began building houses on speculation, with a partner named Smith and later a mason named French. George eventually took up a position as inspector of pipes in Brooklyn and Camden. For more information on George, see "Whitman, George Washington." "Mother, you may expect to get 175 or 180 dollars nearly as soon as you receive this" (see George Washington Whitman's August 16, 1863 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). The preceding Wednesday, the day Louisa she received George's letter, was August 19, 1863. George Washington Whitman generally forwarded money from Kentucky via Adams Express, a packet and letter service that was founded in the northeast in the 1840s and spread nationally. Adams Express was noted for its trustworthiness and its guarantee of privacy for shippers, which made it a favorite for conveying material that was deemed valuable or otherwise called for discretion. The Whitmans use Adams Express to transfer larger sums of money (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's April 29, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman). For more on the trust accorded to Adams Express, see Hollis Robbins, "Fugitive Mail: The Deliverance of Henry 'Box' Brown and Antebellum Postal Politics," (American Studies 50.1/2 [2009], 12–13). Whether Louisa Van Velsor Whitman asked George Washington Whitman if she could spend some of his money to permit Andrew Jackson Whitman to take the proposed trip to Rockland Lake is not known, but Louisa provided money for Andrew to take two trips in late August. A few weeks earlier, Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman had conveyed a physician's opinion that Andrew must "go out from the seashore if he wants to get well." Jeff also sought Walt Whitman's advice: "Andrew wants to go but dont know where to go or how to leave his family" (see Jeff's August 4, 1863 letter to Walt). In addition, Andrew sought treatment from an Italian doctor on Court Street who recommended baths (see George's October 16, 1863 letter to Louisa). Rockland Lake is an elevated lake on the western shore of the Hudson River, about 45 miles north of Brooklyn. It was a recreational area that also served as a source for ice in the city of New York (see Addison T. Richards, Appletons' Illustrated Hand-book of American Travel [New York: Appleton, 1860], 125). Andrew took a late-August trip to Freehold, New Jersey, that Louisa characterized as a drinking spree (see her August 31 to September 2, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman). The postscript is inverted on the top of the page. Manahatta "Hattie" Whitman (1860–1886) was the elder daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. Though Louisa Van Velsor Whitman was at times irritated with childcare responsibilities, she became very close to Hattie, who lived most of the first seven years of her life in the same home with her grandmother. Hattie and her sister Jessie Louisa were both favorites of their uncle Walt.Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote this letter on a blank verso of George Washington Whitman's October 16, 1863 letter to Louisa, which Thomas Jefferson Whitman enclosed with his October 22, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman.
Edwin Haviland Miller assigned the letter the approximate date October 21?, 1863 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:374). Because Walt acknowledged receiving "Yours & George's letter" in his October 27, 1863 reply to Louisa, and October 27 was a Tuesday in 1863, this letter from Louisa, which was written on the Wednesday preceding Walt's October 27 letter, must date to October 21, 1863.
See George Washington Whitman's October 16, 1863 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the sixth child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and ten years Walt Whitman's junior. George enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 and remained on active duty until the end of the Civil War. He was wounded in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and was taken prisoner during the Battle of Poplar Grove (September 1864). After the war, George returned to Brooklyn and began building houses on speculation, with a partner named Smith and later a mason named French. George eventually took up a position as inspector of pipes in Brooklyn and Camden. For more information on George, see "Whitman, George Washington." Walt Whitman reported sending a letter to George Washington Whitman in his October 13, 1863 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. He reported sending two more letters to George in his October 20, 1863 letter to Louisa, one on October 14 and a "short note" that he had forwarded with Louisa's October 19 letter (not extant). George began his October 16, 1863 letter (which Louisa forwarded to Walt) with the complaint that he had been expecting "for the last two weeks to get a letter from home." Louisa also paraphrased George's surmise toward the end of his October 16 letter that the geographical separation of the Fifty-first Regiment, New York Volunteers, in Camp Nelson, Kentucky, had resulted in letters addressed to the 9th Army Corps being sent to Knoxville, Tennessee (Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham: Duke University Press, 1975], 107–109). Thomas Jefferson Whitman enclosed George's October 16 letter, Louisa's note to Walt on George's letter (this letter), and the letter that Louisa "sat right down and wrote to [George]," which is not extant, with his October 22, 1863 letter to Walt (Dennis Berthold and Kenneth Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 80–82). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's son Andrew Jackson Whitman (1827–1863) was married to Nancy McClure Whitman. During Andrew's lifetime, he and Nancy had two sons James "Jimmy" and George "Georgy," and Nancy was pregnant when Andrew died in December 1863 of the throat condition from which he was suffering at this time. In the early 1860s, Andrew worked as a carpenter, and he enlisted briefly in the Union Army during the Civil War (see Martin G. Murray, "Bunkum Did Go Sogering," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 10 [Winter 1993], 142–148). Nancy McClure was the wife of Walt Whitman's brother Andrew Jackson Whitman (1827–1863). It is believed that prostitution was her means of support. James ("Jimmy") and George ("Georgy") were Nancy and Andrew's sons, and she was pregnant with Andrew, Jr., when her husband died. Andrew, Jr., was run over by a brewery wagon in 1868, and Georgy died in 1872. For more on Andrew's family, see Loving, "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman, 12–14.This letter dates to between May 2 and May 4, 1860, with the earlier dates having a higher probability. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter May 3, 1860, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:53, n. 19). Bucke's date cannot be confirmed, but it must be very close.
Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman in his April 16, 1860 letter to Walt Whitman requested a copy of James Redpath's The Public Life of Captain John Brown. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in this letter acknowledged receiving the book "and all the money,"five dollars to assist with rent according to her March 26–31?, 1860 letter to Walt. Walt in his May 10, 1860 letter to Jeff acknowledged receipt of "Mother's letter." These two facts narrow the range of possible dates for Louisa's letter to between the last few days of April and the first week of May. Multiple factors suggest a more narrow date range, immediately after May 1. The Brown family had begun to settle into the house, and they presumably moved very near May 1, the traditional moving day in Brooklyn. The newspaper coverage of a notable prize fight and the Democratic political convention, both of which Louisa pointedly excluded from her letter, were at their most intense from Saturday, April 28 through Monday, April 30.
Rheumatism or arthritic rheumatism, which Louisa Van Velsor Whitman also spells "rheumattis" or "rhumatis," is joint pain, which was attributed to dry joints. See Health at Home, or Hall's Family Doctor (Hartford: J. A. S. Betts, 1873), 704. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote the descender of her letter "p" separately, but the bowl of her "p" is nearly indistinguishable from her letter "v." This similarity led her sometimes to switch the two letters. Here she added a descender to her intended "v," which makes the word "very" appear as "pery." Walt Whitman's reply from Boston to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 26–31?, 1860 letter is not extant. Walt in his May 10, 1860 letter to Thomas Jefferson Whitman indicated that he would return to Brooklyn soon, but his return was delayed until later in the month (see his May 1860 draft letter to William Wilde Thayer and Charles W. Eldridge). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's spelling "dreaned" is a common dialect form of "drained." George Van Nostrand was Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's grandson, the eldest child of Mary Elizabeth (Whitman) Van Nostrand and her husband Ansel. Nicholas Amerman had a grocery store on Myrtle Avenue. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's September 5, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman. Horace Greeley's New York Tribune was one of the leading dailies of its era. And the Weekly Tribune enjoyed widespread distribution, with a circulation of 200,000 in 1860 (for a profile of Greeley's Tribune, see "About New-York Tribune," Chronicling America (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/). Pleurisy is an inflammation of the chest or lungs. See Health at Home, or Hall's Family Doctor (Hartford: J. A. S. Betts, 1873), 715. Walt Whitman traveled to Boston in early March 1860 to oversee printing of the third edition of Leaves of Grass by Thayer and Eldridge. For a detailed account of Whitman's time in Boston, see his May 10, 1860 letter to Thomas Jefferson Whitman. Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), known as "Jeff," was the son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and Walt Whitman's favorite brother. In early adulthood he worked as a surveyor and topographical engineer. In the 1850s he began working for the Brooklyn Water Works, at which he remained employed through the Civil War. In 1867 Jeff became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis and became a nationally recognized name in civil engineering. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)." See Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 26–31?, 1860 letter to Walt Whitman. See Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 26–31?, 1860 letter to Walt Whitman. Andrew Jackson Whitman (1827–1863), her son, was married to Nancy McClure. During Andrew's lifetime, he and Nancy had two sons, James "Jimmy" and George "Georgy." Nancy was pregnant with a son, Andrew, Jr., when her husband died in 1863. In the early 1860s, Andrew worked as a carpenter, and he enlisted briefly in the Union Army during the Civil War (see Martin G. Murray, "Bunkum Did Go Sogering," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 10 [Winter 1993], 142–148). Walt Whitman's April 1, 1860 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant. According to Walt's April 1, 1860 letter to Thomas Jefferson Whitman, however, he had just "finished a letter to mother." This letter dates to April 4, 1860. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter April 4, 1860, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:371). The date is consistent with Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's receipt of a letter that Walt Whitman had written on April 1 (Walt's letter is not extant), with her previous letter to Walt (March 26–31?, 1860) on Andrew Whitman's illness, and with the announcement of municipal election returns at the office of the New York Tribune on April 3, 1860. Therefore, the letter dates April 4, 1860. According to Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's April 3, 1860 letter to Walt Whitman, the Brown family rented the "lower part" of the house at $14 per month. John Brown, a tailor, and his family remained in the house for five years, but the relationship between the Browns and Jeff Whitman's family was often strained. Louisa's reference to John Brown as an "uncommon name" evokes the noted abolitionist, who was executed six months before this letter was written. The famous abolitionist John Brown (1800–1859) began pursuing a violent guerilla war against slavery in Kansas and Missouri in 1856. In October 1859, Brown stormed a federal armory at Harper's Ferry but was captured by marines under the command of Robert E. Lee. Brown's execution ten days later transformed him into a martyr for the abolitionist cause (see Robert McGlone, "John Brown," American National Biography Online). Pleurisy is an inflammation of the chest or lungs, which in the nineteenth century was judged difficult to distinguish from pneumonia. Medical dictionaries from the period differ, but the seventh or ninth day is commonly suggested as the day on which fever begins to abate.This letter dates to between March 26 and March 31, 1860. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's date is illegible, but "31" is the most probable reading, after consultation of the original letter in the Trent Collection. However, "26," "27," and "30" are also reasonable transcriptions.
Richard Maurice Bucke dated this letter March 30, 1860, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:50–51, n. 10). Multiple subjects in the letter date the letter to a range near the date proposed by Bucke and Miller: the recent rental of a floor to the Brown family (see Thomas Jefferson Whitman's April 3, 1860 letter), Andrew Jackson Whitman's throat illness, and Jesse Whitman's employment at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and his desire to return home (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's April 4, 1860 letter to Walt Whitman). Bucke's date (March 30) and the date transcribed here (March [31?]) are possible, but so are earlier dates within the range from March 26 through March 31.
The name "Walt" is the only probable reading, but the letter "l" is omitted. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote again the following week: "a letter come from Boston wanted A Book and I made a mistake and put some other in the letter" (see Louisa's April 4, 1860 letter to Walt Whitman). The letter or letters from Boston are not known. Andrew Jackson Whitman (1827–1863) was Walter Whitman, Sr., and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's son, and Walt Whitman's brother. Andrew developed a drinking problem that contributed to his early death, leaving behind his wife Nancy McClure Whitman, who was pregnant with son Andrew, Jr., and their two sons, George "Georgy" and James "Jimmy." For more on Andrew, see Martin G. Murray, "Bunkum Did Go Sogering," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 10:3 (1993), 142–148. Nancy McClure Whitman was the wife of Walt Whitman's brother, Andrew Jackson Whitman. James "Jimmy" and George "Georgy" were Nancy and Andrew's sons, and Nancy was pregnant with Andrew, Jr., when her husband died in December 1863. Andrew, Jr., died in 1868, and Georgy died in 1872. For Nancy and her children, see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 13–14.Cupping is a means of bloodletting, which uses a heated cup. In wet cupping, shallow incisions induce bloodletting. In dry cupping, which is most likely what Louisa Van Velsor Whitman describes here, blood is drawn to surface of the skin.
Blistering is the application of an irritant, often derived from the blistering fly (also known as Spanish fly), to the surface of the skin to produce a blister and a discharge. See Richard Dennis Hoblyn, A Dictionary of Terms Used in Medicine and the Collateral Sciences (Philadelphia: Blanchard, 1856).
The church is Henry Ward Beecher's Plymouth Church. Beecher (1813–1887), Congregational clergyman and brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, accepted the pastorate of the Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, in 1847. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's son Edward attended Beecher's church. Cornell is James H. Cornwell, a friend of Andrew Whitman, who got him a job in North Carolina in 1863 building fortifications. Cornwell served as a judge in the Brooklyn City Hall and is listed as a lawyer in the 1870 census, which also identifies his wife as Mary (b. 1822?) (United States Census, 1870, Brooklyn, Kings, New York). He is mentioned in Whitman's "Scenes in a Police Justices' Court Room" (Brooklyn Daily Times, September 9, 1857). For more on the relationship between Andrew Jackson Whitman and Cornwell, see Martin G. Murray, "Bunkum Did Go Sogering," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 10 (Winter 1993), 142–148. The "fight" was an April 17, 1860 bare-knuckle boxing match between American John C. Heenan and Englishman Tom Sayers. Lasting over two hours and counted at 37 (or 42) rounds, but inconclusive because it was broken up by police, the match is considered the first international boxing championship (see "The Great Prize Fight," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 28, 1860, 2; "The Great Fight," New York Times, April 30, 1860, 8; and Elliot J. Gorn, The Manly Art: Bare-Knuckle Prize Fighting in America, updated edition [Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1986], 148–159). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's "politicks" is the Charleston Democratic Convention, which began on April 23, 1860 and adjourned on May 3, 1860. Despite a walkout by pro-slavery southern delegates after the adoption of a moderate pro-slavery platform, Stephen A. Douglas (1813–1861) was unable to achieve the necessary two-thirds vote to secure the nomination. Newspapers provided daily convention coverage and commentary. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had requested $5 in her March 26–31?, 1860 letter to Walt Whitman. Fred B. Vaughan (b. 1837) was a stage driver, and Robert "Bob" Cooper was Vaughan's roommate. See Fred Vaughan's April 9, 1860 letter to Walt Whitman. Vaughan was one of Walt's most important relationships from the Pfaff's period. Ed Folsom and Kenneth M. Price associate Vaughan with "the sequence of homoerotic love poems Whitman called 'Live Oak, with Moss'" (Re-Scripting Walt Whitman: An Introduction to His Life and Work [Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell, 2005], 62). For more on Vaughan, see Charley Shively, ed., Calamus Lovers: Walt Whitman's Working-Class Camerados (San Francisco: Gay Sunshine Press, 1987), 14, 16, 36–50. Hector Tyndale (1821–1880), son of Sarah Tyndale and Robinson Tyndale, was a Philadelphia merchant and importer like his father. During the Civil War, he played a significant role at the Battle of Antietam and rose to the rank of brigadier general in the Union Army. Whitman described a meeting with him on February 25, 1857 (The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G. P. Putnam, 1902], 9:154–155). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman apparently made an impression on Tyndale. Whitman wrote to his mother that Tyndale "has been to see me again—always talks about you" (see Whitman's June 29, 1866, letter to Louisa). Hector Tyndale (1821–1880), son of Sarah Tyndale and Robinson Tyndale, was a Philadelphia merchant and importer like his father. During the Civil War, he played a significant role at the Battle of Antietam and rose to the rank of brigadier general in the Union Army. Whitman described a meeting with him on February 25, 1857 (The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G. P. Putnam, 1902], 9:154–155). Hector's mother Sarah Thorn Tyndale (1792–1859) was an abolitionist from Philadelphia who met Walt Whitman during Amos Bronson Alcott and Henry David Thoreau's visit to Whitman. For more information on Sarah Tyndale, see "Tyndale, Sarah Thorn [1792–1859]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Sarah Thorn Tyndale (1792–1859) was an abolitionist from Philadelphia who met Walt Whitman during Amos Bronson Alcott and Henry David Thoreau's visit to the Whitman home in November 1856. For more information on Tyndale, see "Tyndale, Sarah Thorn [1792–1859]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman had requested a copy of James Redpath's The Public Life of Captain John Brown (Boston: Thayer & Eldridge, 1860) for his mother (see Jeff's April 16, 1860 letter to Walt Whitman). Walt Whitman traveled to Boston in early March 1860 to oversee printing of the third edition of Leaves of Grass by Thayer & Eldridge. For a detailed account of Whitman's time in Boston, see his May 10, 1860 letter to Jeff Whitman. James "Jimmy" Whitman was the son of Walt Whitman's brother Andrew Jackson Whitman (1827–1863) and Andrew's wife Nancy McClure Whitman. For more on Andrew's family, see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 13–14. According to Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's April 3, 1860 letter, the Brown family rented the "lower part" of the house. Louisa describes the portion of the house rented by the Browns later in this letter. John Brown, a tailor, and his family remained in the house for five years, but the relationship between the Browns and Jeff Whitman's family was often strained. Though Louisa too became frustrated with the Browns, she maintained cordial relations with them after Jeff and family departed for St. Louis. The date "March 1863" on the letter in the hand of Richard Maurice Bucke is accurate, but the letter can be dated a more narrow range, to between March 9 and March 14, 1863. The letter followed Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's March 9, 1863 letter to Walt, which reported George Washington Whitman's arrival in Brooklyn on "Sunday morning" (March 8) for a ten-day furlough. George departed from Brooklyn the morning of March 17, the day his furlough ended (see George's April 2, 1863 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). In this letter, Louisa refers to Jeff's letter and twice asks Walt to send the flannel shirts. She could have written no earlier than the same day as Jeff's letter, March 9. If she expected the shirts to arrive before George's expected departure from Brooklyn, she must have written no later than March 14. This date range is confirmed also by Walt's March 18, 1863 letter to Jeff, in which he reported having sent a packet with George's shirts on March 15, 1863. Louisa's letter likely was not written on neither end of the possible extremes, so between one day after Jeff's letter (March 10) and four days before George's departure (March 13) is most likely as the date of the letter. This letter is written on paper of very low quality. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in another letter on the same paper expressed her frustration: "this 12 sheets of writing paper for 4 cents is awful stuf to write on" (see her March 19, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman). The passage of 150 years has proven that the paper is "awful stuf" on which to preserve a letter: it is slowly crumbling away at edges and folds. To arrest the deterioration, a conservator at Duke University has stabilized the document with backing, which is visible in the reproduction. Many crumbled fragments are also preserved. Many words could only be recovered from the letter itself by reassembling the document from a small envelope of crumbled fragments. However, a typed transcription for each letter is available in a two-volume manuscript album, Walt Whitman: An Extensive Collection of Holograph Manuscripts Written to Walt Whitman by His Mother Mrs. L. Whitman (Trent Collection). According to Will Hansen, Assistant Curator of Collections at Duke University Library, the manuscript albums and transcripts were prepared by a previous owner in the early twentieth century. For this letter, portions of the text that were still legible when the manuscript album was prepared in the early twentieth century have been recovered from the type transcript. In a March 9, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman, Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman reported George's arrival in Brooklyn. During the Civil War, Jeff was employed as a civil engineer for the Brooklyn Water Works. Jeff eventually became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis and a nationally recognized name. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)." Edward Whitman (1835–1892), called "Eddy" or "Edd," was the youngest son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr. He required lifelong assistance for significant physical and mental disabilities, and he remained in the care of his mother until her death. During Louisa's final illness, Eddy was taken under the care of George Washington Whitman and his wife, Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman, with financial support from Walt Whitman. Matilda Agnes Heron (1830–1877), an actress, was a famous interpreter of Alexander Dumas' Camilleand of Ernest Legouvé's Medea, both roles that she adapted for the stage. See George C. Odell, Annals of the New York Stage (New York: Columbia University Press, 1928), 6:534–6. Porter has not been positively identified, but he was probably a member of George's regiment, the 51st New York Volunteers. The National Park Service Soldiers and Sailors Database lists three men named Porter in George's regiment: Thomas, a chaplain, George A., a first lieutenant, and George W., also a first lieutenant. Walt Whitman in his March 18, 1863 letter to Jeff Whitman reported a "bad humming feeling and deafness, stupor-like at times, in my head." Olive oil or "sweet oil," which Louisa Van Velsor Whitman recommended, was a common treatment for the removal of ear wax in the nineteenth century. The individual letters in this word most closely resemble "frour," a nonsense reading, so Louisa may have intended "floor" or "from." If the word is "floor," it completes the phrase "fire on the same [floor]," reporting Charles Heyde's assertion about Hannah's comfort in her Vermont home. If the word is "from," it marks a transition between Heyde's words and what Hannah, her daughter, wrote. Though the phrase "from she wrote" is not idiomatic, the reading "from" is more probable because the passage that follows reports the portion of the letter written by Hannah. Andrew Jackson Whitman (1827–1863) was Walter Whitman, Sr., and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's son and Walt Whitman's brother. In the early 1860s, Andrew worked as a carpenter, and he enlisted briefly in the Union Army during the Civil War (see Martin G. Murray, "Bunkum Did Go Sogering," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 10 [Winter 1993], 142–8). He developed a drinking problem that contributed to his early death, leaving behind his wife Nancy McClure Whitman, pregnant with son Andrew, Jr., and their two sons, George "Georgy" and James "Jimmy." For Andrew's family after his death, see Jerome Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 13–14. This portion of postscript continues in the right margin of the first page, with a large tear after the word "are." Because of the gap, an entire word may be missing. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman may have asked Walt to "write if you are [not] well." The postscript then continues in the top margin of the first page. George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the sixth child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and ten years Walt Whitman's junior. George enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 and remained on active duty until the end of the Civil War. He was wounded in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and was taken prisoner during the Battle of Poplar Grove (September 1864). After the war, George returned to Brooklyn and began building houses on speculation, with a partner named Smith and later a mason named French. George eventually took up a position as inspector of pipes in Brooklyn and Camden. For more information on George, see "Whitman, George Washington." Louisa wrote the descender of the letter "p" separately. Here she neglected to add the descender, which makes the word appear more like "verhaps." Walt Whitman in his March 18, 1863 letter again asked Jeff Whitman to "put the engravings (20 of the large head) in the same package" with copies of a newspaper article, "The Great Washington Hospitals" (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 19, 1863, 2). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (1795–1873) married Walter Whitman, Sr., in 1816; together they had nine children, of whom Walt Whitman was the second. For more information on Louisa and her letters, see Wesley Raabe, "'walter dear': The Letters from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to Her Son Walt" and Sherry Ceniza, "Whitman, Louisa Van Velsor (1795–1873)." Fort Monroe, located on the southernmost tip of the Virginia Peninsula, remained under Union control throughout the Civil War. George Washington Whitman, whose Ninth Army Corps unit had been encamped at Newport News, Virginia before his ten-day furlough in early March, hoped to receive the shirts in Brooklyn before his March 17 return to the encampment near Fort Monroe (see George's April 2, 1863 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). The blue flannel shirts were probably sewn by Louisa's daughter-in-law Martha "Mattie" Whitman, the wife of George's brother Thomas Jefferson Whitman. Robert Roper has traced the many references to these flannel shirts in the Whitman family's early 1863 correspondence (see Now the Drum of War [New York: Walker and Company, 2008], 204–6). Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's younger daughter, resided in Burlington, Vermont, with husband Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), a French-born landscape painter. Charles Heyde was infamous among the Whitmans for his offensive letters and poor treatment of Hannah. Mary Elizabeth (Whitman) Van Nostrand (1821–1899) was the oldest daughter of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and Walt Whitman's younger sister. She married Ansel Van Nostrand, a shipwright, in 1840, and they subsequently moved to Greenport, Long Island. They raised five children: George, Fanny, Louisa, Ansel, Jr., and Mary Isadore "Minnie." See Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 10–11. "Sis" is Manahatta "Hattie" Whitman (1860–1886), the elder daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. Hattie, who lived most of the first seven years of her life in the same home as Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, was especially close to her grandmother. The nickname "Sis" would eventually pass from Manahatta to her younger sister Jessie Louisa, the latter born in June 1863. Hattie and Jessie were both favorites of their uncle Walt. Walt Whitman sent a packet with "George's shirts, drawers, &c" via Adams Express on March 15, 1863 (see his March 18, 1863 letter to Thomas Jefferson Whitman). Adams Express, a packet delivery service, was noted for its fast delivery, trustworthiness, and its guarantee of privacy for shippers (see Hollis Robbins,"Fugitive Mail: The Deliverance of Henry 'Box' Brown and Antebellum Postal Politics," American Studies 50:1/2 [2009], 12–13). According to the Brooklyn City Directory (1863), Gabriel Harrison was a photographer at 73 Fulton Avenue. He was a friend of Whitman's and took the daguerreotypes that Whitman used for the engraved portrait of himself that appeared in the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass. In addition to being an award-winning daguerreotypist, Harrison was also a writer, actor, painter, and stage manager, and he remained for Whitman one of the true artisan-heroes of the era. In March 1863 George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) returned home to Brooklyn for the first time in sixteen months on a ten-day furlough, which ended on March 17. He returned to his regiment in Newport News, Virginia. George was the sixth child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and he was ten years younger than Walt Whitman. He enlisted in the Union army in 1861 and remained on active duty until the end of the Civil War. He was wounded in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and was taken prisoner during the Battle of Poplar Grove (September 1864). After the war, George returned to Brooklyn and began building houses on speculation, with a partner named Smith and later a mason named French. George also took a position as inspector of pipes in Brooklyn and Camden. For more information on George, see "Whitman, George Washington." Walt Whitman, in his March 18, 1863 letter to Thomas Jefferson Whitman, reported his hope that "the bundle of George's shirts, drawers, &c came safe by Adams Express. I sent it last Saturday." Adams Express, a packet delivery service, was noted for its fast delivery, trustworthiness, and its guarantee of privacy for shippers (see Hollis Robbins, "Fugitive Mail: The Deliverance of Henry 'Box' Brown and Antebellum Postal Politics," American Studies 50:1/2 [2009], 12–13). Robert Roper has traced the many references to these flannel shirts in the Whitman family's early 1863 correspondence (Now the Drum of War [New York: Walker and Company, 2008], 204–206). Crullers are a "cake cut from dough containing eggs, butter, sugar, etc., twisted or curled into various shapes, and fried to crispness in lard or oil" (Oxford English Dictionary). Because the letter dates to May 1863, the nickname "Sis" refers to Manahatta Whitman (1860–1886), the elder daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother, and his wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. In later letters, Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957), born in June, acquired the nickname "Sis" when Manahatta became "Hattie." This letter dates to March 19, 1863. "March 19" is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, and Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to the year 1863. Edwin Haviland Miller dated the letter March 19?, 1873 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:373). The quizzical "th" could be the abandoned word "Thursday": March 19 fell on Thursday in 1863. Or it could be the word "th[e?]" as part of an abandoned postscript. The letter coincided with the end of George Washington Whitman's ten-day furlough. Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman in his March 9, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman reported George's arrival in Brooklyn on "Sunday morning" (March 8) for a ten-day furlough. George departed from Brooklyn on Tuesday, March 17, two days before this letter. The date March 19, 1863 is certain. This letter is not extant. Thomas Jefferson Whitman forwarded copies of George Washington Whitman's photograph and the engravings in his March 21, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman. Louisa wrote "shall" over "should." This postscript is in the hand of Thomas Jefferson Whitman. This Thomas, presumably a member of George Washington Whitman's regiment, the 51st New York Volunteers, cannot be identified. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's March 3, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman. Samuel R. Probasco (1833–1910) was an assistant engineer at the Brooklyn Water Works from 1856 to 1868 and principal assistant engineer on the Brooklyn Water Board from 1871 to 1875. Charles Louis Heyde (1822–1892), Hannah (Whitman) Heyde's husband, was infamous among the Whitmans for his offensive letters and poor treatment of Hannah. Jessie Louisa Whitman, born June 17, 1863, is being rocked in the cradle. Martha Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873), known as "Mattie," was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother. She and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta (b. 1860) and Jessie Louisa. For more on Mattie, see the introduction to Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26. Freehold, New Jersey was readily accessible from Brooklyn by steamboat to Long Branch, New Jersey and then via the Central Railroad toward Trenton (J. Calvin Smith, The Illustrated Hand-book, a New Guide for Travelers Through the United States of America [New York: Sherman and Smith, 1847], 83, 122). Andrew's companion "Buckly" has not been identified. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman may have forwarded George Washington Whitman's August 16, 1863 letter.This letter dates to a range from August 31, 1863, the most likely date of composition, through September 2, 1863, the last possible date. Richard Maurice Bucke dated this letter September 3, 1863, a date based, presumably, on Walt Whitman's having received Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's "letters sent Sept 3d containing your letter" (see Walt's September 8, 1863 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). Edwin Haviland Miller also dated this letter September 3?, 1863 or "about" September 3, 1863 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:373).
How one dates this letter depends in part on a reading of two letters by Jeff Whitman. Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price dated two of Jeff's letters September 5, 1863, because Walt acknowledged that date in his September 8, 1863 letter (see Jeff's September 5?, 1863 and his second September 5?, 1863 letters to Walt). Berthold and Price note the inconsistency in the latter letter between Jeff's statement that he wrote on Wednesday and his date September 5, which fell on a Saturday. That inconsistency makes the dates of the two letters from Louisa, which Jeff enclosed in his, nearly impossible to resolve based on Jeff's letter dates.
Walt seems to have responded to this letter's concerns about Andrew Jackson Whitman in his September 8, 1863. If so, this letter is probably the one that Jeff enclosed with his first September 5?, 1863 letter, though Jeff's letter, which does not include a day of the week, would probably need to date September 3, 1863. That date must remain speculative because an earlier non-extant letter from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman about Andrew's ongoing illness may have also elicited Walt's concerns.
The most reliable way to date this letter is to the Brooklyn draft and to Walt's brother George Washington Whitman's acknowledgment of his mother's August 30 letter (not extant) in George's September 7, 1863 letter. Louisa in this letter says that she wrote to her son George "last night." Therefore, the letter that she wrote George "last night" could be dated or postmarked on August 30, which would date the writing of this letter (the next day) to August 31 or September 1. Louisa also mentions the drafts in Brooklyn: military drafts were held on August 31, September 1, and September 2, 1863. She refers twice to Andrew's drinking binge as "last monday" and once as "that day one week ago." Because August 31 fell on a Monday, it is consistent both with her statement on the military draft, her writing on a Monday, and with her having written George's August 30 letter "last night." Therefore, Louisa presumably wrote one letter to Walt on August 31, 1863 and another on September 2. August 31, 1863 is the most likely date of this letter, the one that prompted Jeff to apologize in his early September 1863 letter, which also included this letter from his mother written "some days ago" as an enclosure. However, since Jeff also enclosed a letter from Louisa with his September 5?, 1863 to Walt, this letter could date as late as September 2, 1863. Ultimately, this letter is dated to accord with Louisa's statement on the Brooklyn draft and with her having written George's August 30 letter "last night."
Mary Elizabeth (Whitman) Van Nostrand (1821–1899) was the oldest daughter of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and Walt Whitman's younger sister. She married Ansel Van Nostrand, a shipwright, in 1840, and they subsequently moved to Greenport, Long Island. They raised five children: George, Fanny, Louisa, Ansel, Jr., and Mary Isadore "Minnie." See Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 10–11.
The "Willy" who encountered Mary is probably the son of John Brown, a tailor who boarded in the Portland Avenue home.
George "Georgy" Whitman was the son of Walt Whitman's brother Andrew Jackson Whitman and Andrew's wife Nancy McClure Whitman. For more on Andrew's family, see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 13–14. See Walt Whitman's August 25, 1863 and September 1, 1863 letters to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. See "Drafting in the Second District," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 31, 1863, 2; and "The Draft in Brooklyn. The Drawing To-Day. The Eleventh Ward. The Eleventh and the Sixteenth Ward Complete," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 2, 1863, 2. George Washington Whitman's (1829–1901) late August letter is not extant. George was the sixth child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and he was ten years younger than Walt. George enlisted in the Union army in 1861 and remained on active duty until the end of the Civil War. He was wounded in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and was taken prisoner during the Battle of Poplar Grove (September 1864). For more on George, see "Whitman, George Washington."According to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, the infantry regiments encamped at Fort Greene were the 1st Minnesota and the 8th and 10th Ohio ("Entertaining the Soldiers," September 3, 1863, 3). But according to the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database (CWSS), the 14th Indiana was also among units "detached on duty at New York City during draft disturbances August 16 to September 6" (http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm), which is consistent with Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's statement that she talked to an Ohio soldier who had already completed two years of active service. Ohio infantry regiments designated 5th, 7th, and 8th were formed early in the war (June 1861), and these seasoned units were dispatched to New York for the September draft as part of the 12th Army Corps, 2nd Division, 1st Brigade (CWSS).
Louisa's word "california" is not a designation for a regiment but an interjection that adapted the name "California" from its brief appearance as a slang term for money (Oxford English Dictionary).
Greenport is a seaport village near the end of the northern fork of Long Island, New York. It was the home of Mary Elizabeth (Whitman) Van Nostrand and family. Fort Greene is the former name for the site that is now Washington Park. It was opposite the Whitman home on Portland Avenue (see Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's March 21, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman. The regiments were encamped on Fort Greene during this September draft to prevent a repeat of draft riots that had taken place July 13–16 (see Jeff's July 19, 1863 letter to Walt). Walt Whitman had moved to 456 Sixth Street West near Pennsylvania Avenue, and he wrote that his room "looks south" (see his October 20, 1863 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). He boarded with Eliza S. Baker, a widow, and her granddaughter (see Kim Roberts, "A Map of Whitman's Washington Boarding Houses and Work Places," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 22.1 [November 2004], 24).Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the date October 26, 1863 to this letter on an accompanying slip of paper held in the Trent Collection (not reproduced here). Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:374). Because this letter echoes Walt Whitman's description of his new boarding arrangement with Eliza S. Baker, the letter must be in response to his October 20, 1863 letter. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote on the Monday (she dated the letter "Monday evening") following her receipt of Walt's letter, so the date October 26, 1863 is correct.
Walt Whitman's concerns about his mother's health were raised by Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's October 15, 1863 letter to Walt: Jeff described her as "failing rapidly." Mattie's refusal to provide a shirt to James "Jimmy," son of Andrew and Nancy McClure Whitman, was consistent with her husband Jeff Whitman's opinion (see previous note). The abbreviation after "3" is either "hn" or "hu" for "hundred." "mrs more" is E. D. Moore, the spouse of John Moore, an iron founder, who lived on Myrtle Avenue. Louisa probably refers to Hampden Street—there is no "hampton"—which intersects Myrtle Avenue near Washington Park. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman probably enclosed a letter from George Washington Whitman with this letter, but she may refer to an enclosure with her previous letter. See George's September 7, 1863 letter to Louisa.Although Louisa Van Velsor Whitman provided no clear clue about the date of this letter in her own hand, a wide range of contextual matters, some conflicting, make it possible to date this letter to a range between September 5 and September 23, 1863. Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the approximate date November 1, 1863 on an accompanying slip of paper in the Trent Collection (not reproduced here). Edwin Haviland Miller dated this letter September 3, 1863 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:144–145, n. 33). Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price dated this letter both September 10? and September 15?, 1863 (see Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's September 5, 1863 and September 24, 1863 letters to Walt Whitman).
Louisa either enclosed a letter from George Washington Whitman or had recently forwarded a letter from him with her previous letter (her postscript is ambiguous). As mail from George when he was stationed in Kentucky took approximately a week to reach Brooklyn (but often longer), Louisa may have enclosed George's September 7, 1863 letter. If a letter from George was enclosed with this or with Louisa's previous letter to Walt (not extant), the approximate range of dates for this letter extends from September 12 to September 23. A letter preceding George's September 7 letter, or an intermediate letter from George, may be lost, but Walt in his September 29, 1863 letter to Louisa wished for news from George: Walt's receipt of this letter from Louisa with George's letter enclosed thus rules out a date after September 23, 1863. This approximate range of dates (September 5 to September 23) is corroborated by topics in Jeff Whitman's September 24, 1863 letter to Walt, though some topics in Louisa's letter may suggest an earlier date.
Louisa was in sharp disagreement with Jeff and his wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman over assistance that they could, or should, extend to the family of Andrew Jackson Whitman. Jeff and Mattie were willing to provide more nourishing food for Andrew because they feared neglect could contribute to his death, but Jeff and Mattie refused to provide direct aid to Andrew's wife Nancy and their children. Louisa challenged Jeff and Mattie to be more generous to James "Jimmy," Andrew and Nancy's son. Jeff and Mattie insisted that Louisa should use her "bank book"—her deposits of George's military pay—if she wished to assist Jimmy. Jeff charged Louisa with mistaken notions of economy—she scrimped on the food for herself and sons Jesse and Edward when George's military pay could provide relief.
Because Louisa again discussed the expense of Andrew's two drunken sprees—$30 and $10—on the heels of his recovery from a debilitating episode of pleurisy, this letter could date to near Louisa's August 31 to September 2, 1863 letter to Walt, in which Andrew's two sprees are mentioned with a sense that the second spree occurred within the past week. Jeff's suggestion—bringing Andrew into the Portland Avenue home, which Louisa rejected—also appears in Jeff's September 5, 1863 letter to Walt. The parallel between Jeff's suggestion on Andrew and Louisa's rejection of it may have prompted Miller's early September 3, 1863 date for this letter, but Louisa's reference to Jeff's suggestion in this letter is perfunctory, as a matter that she had long dismissed from consideration. Because no pattern of consistencies among topics is predominant, the letter is assigned to a date range from September 5 to September 23, 1863.
Louisa's September 25 or October 2, 1863 letter to Walt almost certain follows this one, and October 2 is a more likely date for that letter. However, if that letter dates to September 25 rather than October 2, this letter is likely to date earlier in the range of possible dates, to no later than September 18. The parallel passages with Jeff's September 5, 1863 and September 24, 1863 letters to Walt are annotated, and readers may judge for themselves which parallels offer the most convincing evidence for assigning this letter within the range from September 5 to September 23, 1863.
Louisa Van Velsor Whitman struck through the phrase "money in the" after the word "my." The paragraph continues up the right margin of the page. Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman criticized Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's diet and her unwillingness to spend money on food for herself and her sons Jesse and Edward: "Even to day she has 25 or $30 in the house and I will bet that all they have for dinner will be a quart of tomats and a few cucumbers, and then Mother wonders why Jess vomits up his meals However Mother gets them just as good or better than she has herself" (see Jeff's September 5, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman). Walt seconded Jeff's advice in his September 8, 1863 letter:"Mother, I hope you will live better—Jeff tells me you & Jess & Ed live on poor stuff, you are so economical—Mother, you mustn't do so, as long as you have a cent—I hope you will at least four or five times a week have a steak of beef or mutton, or something substantial for dinner." For a more detailed account of Andrew Jackson Whitman's drinking "spree," see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's August 31 to September 2, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman was thrifty because she desired to preserve George Washington Whitman's military pay as much as possible for his use. A comment in Walt Whitman's October 6, 1863 letter to Louisa, which refers to a letter that is not extant, suggests that Walt hoped to counteract Louisa's pride in her thriftiness with George's money. Walt enlisted George himself to pressure Louisa to spend more freely: "I sent him enclosed your letter before the last, though you said in it not to tell him how much money he had home, as you wanted to surprise him, but I sent it." Though George's October 16, 1863 letter is extant, the most recent letter that he had received then from his family was a non-extant September 28 letter from Walt. In the next extant letter from George, December 9, 1863, which followed Andrew Whitman's death, George pressed his mother to "dont be the least backward in useing the money for anything you want" and to "do all, that is required for, Andrews Family." Greenport is a seaport village near the end of the northern fork of Long Island, New York. It was the home of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's daughter Mary Whitman Van Nostrand and family, but Louisa mentions it here proverbially as a distance that Andrew believes his wife Nancy would travel for him. Louisa's reference to Nancy's "econimy" in the sense of her financial means, the only time that the word appears in her correspondence, may derive from Jeff's criticism of Louisa's "economy." Jeff wrote to Walt that "Mother is following a mistaken notion of economy" in his September 5, 1863 letter. "Mattie has, I think very kindly, volunteered to cook and take care of [Andrew], and I feel that he could, in a short time, be fixed up so that he could carry out the Dr's idea. But Mother, says that she cant let him have the room, because it will bring his whole family here" (see Thomas Jefferson Whitman's September 5, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman).Mattie was a skilled seamstress who had engaged in contract sewing to supplement Jeff's income, and Robert Roper has determined that Jeff and Mattie had purchased an expensive sewing machine (Now the Drum of War [New York: Walker, 2008], 92–93).
Like Whitman scholars who have followed, neither Jeff nor Louisa extended sympathy to Andrew's wife Nancy McClure Whitman, whom Louisa described as dirty and as being on the street (see her September 25 or October 2, 1863 and her December 25, 1863 letters to Walt). Gay Wilson Allen referred to Nancy's "extravagance," repeated Louisa's adjectives "dirty, ugly, and lazy," and referred to Nancy's being in the street as "misconduct" (The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman, revised edition, [New York: New York University Press, 1967], 304, 306, 308). Even if Nancy was judged an inadequate housekeeper by the standards of Louisa and Mattie, Louisa's and Jeff's letters provide hints that the combination of Andrew's drinking sprees, his expensive medical treatments (see Jeff's October 15, 1863 letter to Walt), and Nancy's pregnancy rendered her and her children financially vulnerable. The financial strain that both Jeff and Louisa assumed for Andrew's illness and approaching death and their fears for George may have inured them to Nancy's suffering.
Their attitude toward Nancy may have been entwined with their ethnic prejudice toward Irish immigrants. After the New York City draft riots, Jeff gave vent to his hatred for Irish immigrants: "I hear that [Michigan Regiments] made fearful havoc with the irish ranks. Twas better so—they did not have that 'citizen feeling' that our militia would have had. The only feeling I have is that I fear that they did not kill enough of 'em Walt. I'm perfectly rabid on an Irishman I hate them worse than I thought I could hate anything" (see Jeff's July 19, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman). Louisa in her July 20, 1870 letter speculated that one positive result of the Franco-Prussian War would be if it inspired some Irish immigrants to leave the United States.
Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), known as "Jeff," was Walt Whitman's favorite brother. Though he was willing to aid Andrew Jackson Whitman, Jeff rejected offering any assistance to his wife Nancy or their children: "I dont think myself that we have any thing to do with Nancy, she is able enough to make a good living both for herself and the children, if she wasnt so dam'd lazy" (see his September 24, 1863 letter to Walt). Jeff in early adulthood worked as a surveyor and topographical engineer, and in the 1850s he began working for the Brooklyn Water Works, at which he remained employed through the Civil War. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)." The euphemism "went in the country" refers to one of Andrew Whitman's extended drinking episodes after he recovered from pleurisy. This letter includes brief remarks on both episodes. See also Louisa's August 31 or September 2, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman for additional detail. The last word on the line is either "their" or "then." Louisa contracted the letters as she approached the right margin of the page. James ("Jimmy") and George "Georgy" Whitman (see below) were the sons of Walt Whitman's brother Andrew Jackson Whitman. Additionally, Nancy McClure was pregnant with Andrew, Jr., when her husband died in December 1863. For Andrew's wife and children, see Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman, 12–14. Nancy McClure Whitman was the wife of Walt Whitman's brother Andrew Jackson Whitman. For more on Nancy, see Loving, "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman, 13–14. Louisa may refer to a shoe that produces the sluff sound or to an old cast-off (sluffed off) shoe. Walt Whitman counted the "sluff of bootsoles" among the sounds that form the "blab of the pave" (Leaves of Grass [1855]).This letter dates either to September 25 or October 2, 1863. Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the letter to a Friday in November 1863 on an accompanying slip of paper held in the Trent Collection (not reproduced here). Edwin Haviland Miller assigned this letter the approximate date October 5, 1863 on the basis of Walt Whitman's writing "Mother, you dont know how pleased I was to read what you wrote about little sis," apparently in response to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's remark that Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's daughter Jessie Louisa was "well and fat" though her older sister Manahatta was "obstropolous" (see Walt's October 6, 1863 letter to Louisa). Miller's date is more accurate than Bucke's, but since Louisa wrote on a Friday, the date proposed by Miller should be changed to the most recent Friday before Walt's letter, October 2.
The letter may date to even a week earlier, September 25. Walt in his September 29, 1863 letter to Louisa reassured her about Union generals Ambrose Burnside and George Gordon Meade, and Walt may well have responded directly to Louisa's concern that "rebels will get the better of Burny" and her wish that "mead was removed." However, Walt had also discussed Burnside (but not Meade) in his September 15, 1863 letter to Louisa. He also yearned regularly for news about Mattie and Jeff, their daughters, and Walt's brother Andrew Jackson Whitman. The matter of Burnside and Meade is suggestive but not conclusive. The earliest possible date for this letter derives from the distance since Andrew's most recent acute episode of illness—Louisa's remarks suggest some improvement in his eating—and the specificity of Walt's many queries: whether soldiers remain on Fort Greene and whether she, Louisa, could forward copies of the Brooklyn newspapers, the Union and the Eagle. As Andrew's acute episode of illness had passed and this letter addresses neither of Walt's queries, this letter is unlikely to date to the Friday immediately following Walt's September 15 letter or earlier. This letter may follow Louisa's September 5–23, 1863 letter to Walt, but that too is a matter of interpretation. The Friday preceding the date proposed by Miller, October 2, 1863, is more probable, but September 25, 1863 is also possible.
"Obstropolous" is a dialect form of obstreperous, a word whose challenging pronunciation and spelling spawned innumerable dialect spellings but is now rare (see Oxford English Dictionary). According to the Brooklyn Directory (1863), the physician Dr. John A. Brody was located at 84 Myrtle Avenue. Jamaica is a Queens neighborhood station on the Long Island railroad. Ambrose Everett Burnside (1824–1881) rose to the rank of major general in March 1862 and was charged with reinforcing George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac. After McClellan's removal in November 1862, Burnside assumed command. Burnside was soundly defeated in the Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862), a demoralizing defeat for Union forces at which Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's son George Washington Whitman was wounded. Burnside was removed from command of the Army of the Potomac and in March 1863 assumed command of the Department of Ohio, under which George and his regiment, the Fifty-first New York Volunteers, was serving at the time of this letter (see Michael C. C. Adams, "Burnside, Ambrose Everett," American National Biography Online; also see George's September 7, 1863 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). The Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–1867) befriended the Whitman family and became especially close to Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and his wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. Jeff consulted with Ruggles on Andrew Whitman's illness (see Jeff's September 24, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman). George Gordon Meade (1815–1872) became commander of the Army of the Potomac in May 1863, replacing Joseph Hooker. Meade was the victorious commander of the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1863) and afterward promoted to the rank of brigadier general, though faulted for not pursuing retreating Confederate forces. See Herman Hattaway and Michael D. Smith, "Meade, George Gordon," American National Biography Online. If this letter dates to October 2, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had received Walt's September 29, 1863 letter. If this letter dates to September 25, Walt's previous letter is not extant. The "young ones" are Manahatta "Hattie" (1860–1886) and Jessie Louisa "Sis" Whitman (1863–1957), the daughters of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. Hattie and Jessie were both favorites of their uncle Walt. The Brown family began boarding in the same house as the Whitmans on Portland Avenue, Brooklyn in April 1860. The relationship between the Browns and Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's family was often strained, but the Browns remained in the Portland Avenue house for five years. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman maintained a cordial relationship with the Browns after Jeff and his wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman departed for St. Louis. Years later Louisa called on Mrs. Brown and remarked to Walt Whitman, "if Jeff and matt knew i had been to see mrs Brown they would cross me off their books" (see her April 14, 1869 letter). Andrew Jackson Whitman (1827–1863) was Walter Whitman, Sr., and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's son and Walt Whitman's brother. He was married to Nancy McClure Whitman. Andrew and his wife Nancy had had two sons, James "Jimmy" and George "Georgy," and Nancy was pregnant with a son, Andrew, Jr., when her husband died in 1863. At the time of this letter, Andrew was ill with a throat ailment that led to his death within two months (see Louisa's December 4–5, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman). In the early 1860s, Andrew had worked as a carpenter, and he enlisted briefly in the Union Army during the Civil War (see Martin G. Murray, "Bunkum Did Go Sogering," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 10 [Winter 1993], 142–148). Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908) was the youngest daughter of Walter Whitman, Sr., and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. She resided in Burlington, Vermont, with her husband Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), a landscape painter. The relationship between Hannah and Charles was difficult and marred with quarrels and disease. Charles Heyde was infamous among the Whitmans for his offensive letters and poor treatment of Hannah. Walt Whitman said in his December 6, 1863, letter to George Washington Whitman that he had "written to Han" to notify her of Andrew's death.This letter dates to December 4–5, 1863. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman began composing the letter on Friday evening, December 4, but she did not complete it until the following morning or afternoon. Richard M. Bucke dated this letter to December 5, 1863. Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver dated the letter to December 4, 1863 (Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 187–190). Edwin Haviland Miller agreed (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:189, 374).
Walt Whitman had departed Brooklyn on December 3 (a Thursday) to return to Washington. Louisa began composing the first part of this letter (numbered "1") on December 4, 1863, and she conveyed to Walt a detailed account of the "particulars of Andrews death," from Walt's departure through his brother's decease. Andrew Jackson Whitman died on Thursday afternoon, his body was brought to the Portland Avenue home on Thursday evening, and part one of Louisa's letter—composed Friday evening and covering four pages—closes with Andrew's body lying in his coffin on Friday afternoon in the Portland Avenue house. Louisa proclaimed herself "composed and ca[lm?]." The second part of the letter (numbered "2") was written later that Friday evening or Saturday morning, and Louisa asked Walt to write to Hannah Whitman Heyde (Walt's sister in Vermont) and informed Walt of Mrs. Brown's kindness. Part two of the letter concludes. The fifth page is divided into two sections by a line across the page, but the section below the line does not follow immediately in reading order.
Louisa resumed writing on Saturday morning or early afternoon after she realized that Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman planned to inform Walt about an episode from the night before, which she did not intend to include in her letter. The night before, Jesse Whitman, Walt's brother, threatened to whip Manahatta, Jeff and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's three-year-old daughter. Mattie confronted Jesse, and Louisa eventually calmed Jesse down. Louisa resumed her letter on page six (numbered part "3") with the intent to offer her account for what she feared would be a more inflammatory account were Jeff to write. According to Louisa, Jesse had called Mattie "very bad names" and looked "very wild for a while." Louisa blamed Jesse's outburst on seeing his brother Andrew's corpse. Jeff may have been temporarily assuaged by having his mother inform Walt about Jesse's behavior, but both Jeff and Mattie later sent Walt alternate accounts of Jesse's behavior. After reaching the bottom of page six, Louisa turned the page and continued her letter on the bottom quarter of the previous page (page 5), adding a line to divide the page into two sections. Unable to complete the letter in the available space, she then selected another sheet of paper and brought the letter to a close on the seventh page. The part numbers are in Louisa's hand, and they clarify the intended reading order of the letter. The transcription is presented in order of composition and an implied order of reading.
The letter's opening tone seems deliberately measured to manage unspeakable sorrow and to elide Jesse's hellish outburst, from which Louisa would prefer to spare Walt. Faced with Jeff's anger, she did her best to manage the reshaping of the letter even as its physical layout begins to reveal her mental and emotional strain.
Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman waited almost two weeks to write Walt Whitman, but he gave his account of Jesse Whitman's violent outburst in his December 15, 1863 letter to Walt. Jeff's letter has essentially the same order of events as Louisa's letter but provides harrowing detail. Manahatta, who was a bit over three years old, set off her uncle Jesse by "shoving a chair slowly toward the stove." Jesse threatened to "break her damn'd neck," and Jeff's wife Mattie confronted Jesse and told him "not to dare to lay his hand on her." Jesse then turned on Mattie: he threatened to "kill her," to "beat her brains out," and called her a "damed old bitch." See also Mattie's December 21, 1863 letter to Walt for another account (Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1971], 32–36). According to Jeff's December 15, 1863 letter to Walt, Mattie's back pain was so debilitating that she took an hour to make it from the basement up two floors to her room. Robert Roper has speculated that Mattie's debilitating back pain could have been associated with a congenital weakness or a damaged disk (Now the Drum of War [New York: Walker, 2008], 78). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman identified the undertaker as "oaks" and reported paying him $52 in her December 16–17, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman. Burdett S. Oakes, listed as an undertaker in the Brooklyn Directory (1863), was located at 268 Washington Street. The baby is Jeff and Mattie Whitman's daughter, Jessie Louisa, who was born on June 17, 1863. "Who is there in Brooklyn who doesn't know Walt. Whitman? Rough and ready, kind and considerate, generous and good, he was ever a friend in need, which is, after all, the only friend indeed. Walt is now in Washington, a volunteer nurse, going from hospital to hospital, and doing good every minute of his life. We hear of him at the bedside of the sick, the pallet of the wounded, the cot of the dying, and the pestilential ward. He writes letters home for disabled men, bathes the feverish brow of half-crazed soldiers, refreshes the parched lips of neglected sufferers, and attends with fidelity and tact to the thousand and one necessities of those who approach the gate of death. Surely such as he will find their reward here and hereafter" ("Personal," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 3, 1863, 3). Because Louisa Van Velsor Whitman just above refers to Jesse Whitman's having seen Andrew's body "last night," which was Friday, Louisa wrote this portion of her letter on Saturday, December 5. Therefore, "last night" in reference to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle sketch of Walt Whitman is an error: the article appeared on December 3. The word is most likely "packed," but it could also be "packet," in the common nineteenth-century sense of packet mail. George ("Georgy") and James "Jimmy" Whitman were the sons of Walt Whitman's brother Andrew Jackson Whitman. Georgy was killed in 1872.The salutation and signature are inverted in the top margin of the first page.
Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (1795–1873) married Walter Whitman, Sr., in 1816; together they had nine children, of whom Walt Whitman was the second. For more information on Louisa and her letters, see Wesley Raabe, "'walter dear': The Letters from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to Her Son Walt" and Sherry Ceniza, "Whitman, Louisa Van Velsor (1795–1873)."
Springfield, Massachusetts is located on the Connecticut River, north of Hartford, Connecticut, approximately one hundred miles west of Boston. During the Civil War, it was the site of the United States Arsenal, the largest manufacturer of military firearms. According to Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's December 15, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman, Jeff was in Springfield to prepare surveys for William Ezra Worthen.This letter dates to December 16 or December 17, 1863. Richard Maurice Bucke dated this letter to mid-December on an accompanying slip of paper held in the Trent Collection (not reproduced here). Edwin Haviland Miller estimated December 15?, 1863, a Tuesday (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:189, n. 75).Based on inferences from contextual clues in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letters from sons George Washington Whitman, Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, and Walt during the same week, this letter should be assigned to Wednesday or Thursday, not the Tuesday proposed by Miller.
This letter is the second that Louisa wrote to Walt following Andrew Jackson Whitman's death on December 3. In it, she reports receiving two letters on the day she is writing, one from Walt and one from his brother George. Because she quotes almost verbatim from George's letter in her own letter, she had received his December 9, 1863 letter from Camp Pittman in Kentucky. Given typical mail times, Walt's December 15, 1863 letter to Louisa (from Washington, D.C.) arrived in Brooklyn on the same day as George's December 9 letter.
Jeff's letter on Jesse Whitman's disturbing outburst after Andrew Whitman's death provides further corroborating detail. According to Louisa, Jeff departed for Springfield, Massachusetts on Monday "this week," and he was expected back before the end of the week. Jeff informed Walt that he arrived back at Springfield "on Monday—yesterday" (see Jeff's December 15, 1863 letter to Walt). Jeff's date and Louisa's date for Jeff's departure for Springfield are identical. Jeff in his letter described Jesse's outburst toward his wife and daughter Manahatta just after Andrew's death. Because Louisa does not mention Jesse's outburst at all, she was responding to Walt's December 15, 1863 letter, in which he sought more details about Andrew's funeral. Louisa did not know that Walt would soon receive the harrowing account of Jesse's outburst in Jeff's letter: Louisa had downplayed the seriousness of Jesse's threats toward Jeff's wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman and daughter Manahatta in her December 4–5, 1863 letter to Walt. That this letter dates within a week or two of Andrew's December 1863 death is indisputable. Since Louisa has received Walt's December 15 letter on the day she wrote this letter, since George's letter probably arrived on the same day, and since her date for Jeff's departure is consistent with Jeff's December 15 letter from Springfield, this letter dates either to December 16 (Wednesday) or December 17, 1863.
See George Washington Whitman's December 9, 1863 letter from Camp Pittman in Kentucky. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman quotes almost verbatim from George's letter. The account of Andrew Whitman's funeral that follows the news from George was in response to Walt's request for "the particulars of Andrew's funeral" (see Walt's December 15, 1863 letter to Louisa). Camp Pittman was located near London, Kentucky, which is seventy miles south of Lexington. Burdett S. Oakes, listed as an undertaker in the Brooklyn Directory (1863), was located at 268 Washington Street. The Brooklyn Directory (1863) lists a Francis B. Stryker (b. 1846) at 188 Adams Street with the profession inspector. His occupation in the 1880 census is listed as Officer in City Court, which would be consistent with an acquaintance with Andrew Whitman's friend James H. Cornwell, though the Stryker listed in the directory and the census would be almost two decades younger than Andrew (see United States Census, 1880. Brooklyn, Kings, New York). Another Francis Stryker (b. 1811) is also listed as a superintendent (United States Census, 1870, Brooklyn Ward 4, Kings, New York). Green-Wood is a Brooklyn cemetery located southwest of Prospect Park. Nancy McClure Whitman was the widowed wife of Andrew Jackson Whitman. For the identification of McClure as Nancy's maiden name and information on Andrew's wife and children, see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 12, n. 32; 13–14. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's bill was probably with Nicholas Amerman, who had a grocery store on Myrtle Avenue. See also Thomas Jefferson Whitman's September 5, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman. This mark is probably a closing parenthesis mark, which Louisa Van Velsor Whitman used to close phrases, that has been canceled by a strikethrough mark. However, the mark used to strike through the parenthesis faintly resembles a word, possibly "[a]nd[?]." The marks (and the possible word) are omitted from the text transcribed here, since the canceled parenthesis mark is the more likely reading. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's eldest son Andrew Jackson Whitman (1827–1863) died December 3, 1863 (see her December 4–5, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman). During Andrew's lifetime, he and his wife Nancy McClure Whitman had two sons James "Jimmy" and George "Georgy," and Nancy was pregnant with a son, Andrew, Jr., when Andrew died. In the early 1860s, Andrew had worked as a carpenter, and he enlisted briefly in the Union Army during the Civil War (see Martin G. Murray, "Bunkum Did Go Sogering," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 10 [Winter 1993], 142–148). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's suggestion that Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman (1836–1873), Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's wife, went to bed early because she was burdened by loneliness at her husband's absence and also by grief for Andrew Jackson Whitman's death is notable for an omission. Mattie locked herself and her children in a section of the house away from Jesse Whitman. After Jeff described Jesse's outburst toward his wife Mattie and daughter Manahatta, Jeff wrote that he and Mattie "dont allow Jess to come in our rooms" (see Jeff's December 15, 1863 letter to Walt). Also see Mattie's December 21, 1863 letter to Walt for another account of Jesse's behavior (Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman[New York: New York University Press, 1971], 32–36). Walter Whitman, Sr., (1789–1855) married Louisa Van Velsor in 1816. Walter, Sr., was a free-thinker and rationalist who rejected organized religion. He and Louisa had nine children, of whom Walt was the second. For more information on Walter, see "Whitman, Walter, Sr. (1789–1855)." Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957) was the younger daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. Jessie and her sister Manahatta "Hattie" were both favorites of their uncle Walt. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had informed Walt Whitman on March 5, 1865 that "sis is not well yet she seems to have A kind of fever." The nickname "Sis" was given first to Manahatta but was passed to her younger sister Jessie Louisa when Manahatta became "Hattie." The letter dates to 1865, so "Sis" is Jessie Louisa. Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957) was the younger daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman (1833–1890) and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman (1836–1873), Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. Jessie and her sister Manahatta "Hattie" (1860–1886) were both favorites of their uncle Walt. Major John Gibson Wright, the brother of David F. Wright, was taken prisoner with George Washington Whitman at Petersburg, Virginia. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote in herMay 28–June 1, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman that Major Wright had been placed "in the insane assilum very bad."This letter dates to March 7, 1865. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter March 7, and Richard Maurice Bucke later supplied the year 1865. Edwin Haviland Miller, however, dated the letter to 1863 (The Correspondence, 1842–67 [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:372). If not an error in his calendar of letters, Miller may have dated Louisa's letter to 1863 because an article by Walt appeared in the New York Times and because Walt asked Louisa to retrieve copies of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle that year. An article by Whitman appeared in both publications in March 1863: "Exemption from Military Service," New York Times, March 15, 1863, and "The Great Washington Hospitals," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 19, 1863. However, Louisa specifically states that the article appeared in the "times yesterday" and dates her letter "March 7." 1865 is correct year because an article by Walt Whitman appeared in the New York Times the previous day ("The Soldiers," New York Times, March 6, 1865). Additional corroboration is provided by a remark about a sketch made by Samuel H. Sims (see Walt Whitman's March 13, 1865 letter to David F. Wright).
The reason that Walt requested copies of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in March 1865 is not known.
Samuel M. Pooley was a member of the Fifty-first New York Volunteers. His experience as a prisoner of war with George Washington Whitman is described in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 5, 1865 letter to Walt Whitman. Walt in his notes on the Fifty-first regiment wrote that Pooley was "born in Cornwall, Eng. 1836—struck out & came to America when 14—has lived mostly in Buffalo[,] learnt ship joining—left Buffalo in the military service U.S. June, 1861—came out as private—was made 2d Lieut at South Mountain. Made Captain Aug. 1864—got a family in Buffalo" (Manuscripts of Walt Whitman in the Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University). Samuel H. Sims, a captain in George Washington Whitman's Fifty-first New York Volunteers, had been the subject in part of Walt Whitman's "Our Brooklyn Boys in the War" (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 5, 1863). Sims died on July 30, 1864 of wounds received near Petersburg, Virginia (see George's August 9, 1864 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). Walt may have lived in Sims's tent during part of his stay at Falmouth, Virginia, opposite Fredericksburg—a trip that Walt took in search of George after reading his brother's name in the New York Herald among the list of wounded in the Battle of Fredericksburg. As it turned out, George only suffered a minor injury: "I have come out safe and sound, although I had the side of my jaw slightly scraped with a peice of shell which burst at my feet" (see George's December 16, 1862 letter to Louisa). This "Wright" is presumably David F. Wright. Walt Whitman asked Wright to send Samuel H. Sims's sketch to his brother George Washington Whitman (see Walt's March 13, 1865 letter to Wright). Also see "Major Wright" (John Gibson Wright) below. The "eagles" refers probably to multiple copies of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. No article by Walt Whitman in the Eagle from late February or early March 1865 is currently known, but his most recent article in that newspaper was "A Brooklyn Soldier and a Noble One" (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 19, 1865). Walt may have requested that his mother acquire multiple copies of the article, but no record of his request or her response from early 1865 is extant. The article also appeared on the same date in the Brooklyn Daily Union. See Jerome M. Loving, "'A Brooklyn Soldier, and a Noble One': A Brooklyn Daily Union Article by Whitman," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 20 (March 1974), 27–30. See Walt Whitman's "The Soldiers." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote "are is the same department" but presumably intended "are in the same department." Samuel M. Pooley was a soldier in the Fifty-first New York Volunteers. In his notes on the Fifty-first regiment, Walt Whitman wrote that Pooley was "born in Cornwall, Eng. 1836—struck out & came to America when 14—has lived mostly in Buffalo[,] learnt ship joining—left Buffalo in the military service U.S. June, 1861—came out as private—was made 2d Lieut at South Mountain. Made Captain Aug. 1864—got a family in Buffalo" (Manuscripts of Walt Whitman in the Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University). The nickname "Sis" refers to Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957), the daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. Jessie and her sister Manahatta "Hattie" were both favorites of their uncle Walt. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman reported on March 7, 1865 that "sis is much better she has been down stairs to day and plays about she has lost some of her fat but will regain it again." The nickname "Sis" was given first to Manahatta but was passed to her younger sister Jessie Louisa when Manahatta became "Hattie." This letter dates to March 5, 1865. On an accompanying slip of paper held in the Trent Collection (not reproduced here) that is bound with Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 7, 1865 letter to Walt, Richard Maurice Bucke dated this letter February 26 or March 2, 1863. Bucke's date is incorrect, and he probably erred because he associated George Washington Whitman's release from imprisonment with his imminent arrival to Brooklyn. After his release from the Confederate Military Prison at Danville, George arrived at Annapolis, Maryland, on February 24, and he continued to Brooklyn several days later. See Jerome M. Loving, ed., Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 134–135. His one-month furlough, which expired on April 4, would have begun on March 4, 1865. George arrived in Brooklyn on March 5, 1865, a Sunday, and this letter dates to the evening of his arrival. The doctor named "Wilson" has not been identified. See George Washington Whitman's February 24, 1865 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Louisa wrote on the verso of the letter from George, which she forwarded, "Walter i should have sent you this letter from george but thought of course you knew all about his arrival at Anapolis i saw his name in the times with 500 others arrived)" (see her March 4, 1865 letter to Walt). "June 29" is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to 1869, and Edwin Haviland Miller dated it to 1870 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:368). Miller is correct. In the postscript, Louisa refers to Walt's "teedious thumb," and in five letters between June and August 1870 Louisa inquired about Walt's thumb. Therefore, this letter dates to June 29, 1870. Charles Louis Heyde (1822–1892), a landscape painter, married Hannah Louisa Whitman (1823–1908), Walt Whitman's sister. They lived in Burlington, Vermont. Foolscap is a large piece of paper that is used by artists for sketches. As writing paper, it may be divided into smaller pieces. Fort Greene is the former name for the site that is now Washington Park. Fort Greene was opposite the longtime Whitman home on Portland Avenue near Myrtle, in which Louisa Van Velsor Whitman resided with Thomas Jefferson Whitman and family for several years before their move to 840 Pacific Street in May 1866. Louisa had moved to the home on 101 N. Portland, in which she resided at the time of this letter, in spring 1869 (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman'sApril 7, 1869 letter to Walt). Ellen M. "Nelly" O'Connor was the wife of William D. O'Connor (1832–1889), one of Walt Whitman's staunchest defenders. Walt may have mentioned a potential visit by Nelly and her daughter during his May visit to Brooklyn, though whether a visit came near this time is not known from his or Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letters. Walt Whitman dined with the O'Connors frequently during his Washington years, and he spoke often in his letters of their daughter Jean (called "Jenny" or "Jeannie"). Though Whitman and William O'Connor would break off their friendship in late 1872 over a disagreement about Reconstruction policies and the role of emancipated slaves, Nelly would remain friendly with Whitman. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)." The R. D. Wood Foundry was located in Florence, New Jersey. At this time, George Washington Whitman was an inspector of gas pipes. He would accept a position as inspector of pipes at the foundry in late 1869. See Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's August 26, 1868, November 4?, 1868, and December 7, 1869 letters to Walt Whitman. See also Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham: Duke University Press, 1975), 28. The words "over it" are in the right margin, but they are only faintly visible in the digital image due to the curve associated with the binding. The text can be read easily in the original document. Walt Whitman cut his thumb in late April or early May 1870, and it became infected. He referred to the injury in two letters from Brooklyn, a May 11, 1870 letter to Walbridge A. Field and a second May 11, 1870 letter to William D. O'Connor. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman inquired about or expressed concern for Walt's thumb in this and five other letters to Walt from May or June to July 1870: May 17? to June 11?, 1870, June 1, 1870, June 8, 1870, June 22, 1870, and July 20, 1870. Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908) was the youngest daughter of Walter Whitman, Sr., and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. She resided in Burlington, Vermont, with her husband Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), a landscape painter. The relationship between Hannah and Charles was difficult and marred with quarrels and disease. Charles was infamous among the Whitmans for his offensive letters and poor treatment of Hannah. Louisa wrote, "if heyde was kind to her she would get well" (see her November 11–14, 1868 letter to Walt). Part of the Portland Avenue house was rented to the family of John Brown, a tailor (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 26–31?, 1860 letter to Walt Whitman). The relationship between the Browns and the Whitmans was often strained, especially in regard to the noise made by Jeff and Mattie's daughter "Hattie," but the Browns remained in the Portland Avenue house for five years. See Jeff's April 16, 1860 and March 3, 1863 letters to Walt. Walt Whitman had inquired "whether you got the package of 5 Drum-Taps" (see his May 25, 1865 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). Walt had directed printer Peter Eckler to deliver materials to his mother at the Portland Avenue address (see his May 3, 1865 letter to Eckler). For details on the printing history and organization of Drum-Taps, see Ted Genoways, "The Disorder of Drum-Taps," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 24 (Fall 2006/Winter 2007), 98–116. The Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–1867) befriended the Whitman family and became especially close to Thomas Jefferson Whitman and his wife. Late in life, Ruggles lost interest in his practice and devoted himself to painting cabinet pictures called "Ruggles Gems." "June 3" is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, and the letter closes with the remark that Louisa writes on Saturday. June 3 fell on Saturday in 1865. Therefore, the letter dates to June 3, 1865. Richard Maurice Bucke also assigned the year 1865, and the year is consistent with the recent assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, 1842–67 [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:376). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman likely refers to George Washington Whitman's May 8, 1865 letter. George (1829–1901) was the sixth child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and ten years Walt Whitman's junior. George enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 and remained on active duty until the end of the Civil War. He was wounded in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and was taken prisoner during the Battle of Poplar Grove (September 1864). After the war, George returned to Brooklyn and began building houses on speculation, with a partner named Smith and later a mason named French. He would later be employed as an inspector of pipes in Brooklyn and Camden. For more information on George, see "Whitman, George Washington." Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. Edward B. Grayson was the husband of Juliet Grayson, who took boarders at 468 M Street South, where Walt Whitman lived between late January 1865 and at least June 1866. The Graysons were Southern sympathizers with a son in the Confederate Army. Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman earnestly requested that Walt Whitman send a letter to the "children of the people that sent you money last winter." Jeff listed the families by their surnames—"Durkee's, Crany, Lanes &c &c" (see Jeff's June 4, 1865 letter to Walt Whitman). The names in Jeff's letter match the postscript to Walt Whitman's "The Great Washington Hospitals: Life Among Fifty Thousand Sick Soldiers.—Cases of Brooklyn Men" (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 19, 1863, 2). Eight suspected conspirators in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln first appeared before a military tribunal on May 1, 1865. After a seven-week trial, all eight were found guilty on June 30, 1865; four were hanged on July 7, 1865, one died in prison in 1867, and three were pardoned in 1869. Jefferson Davis (1808–1889) was the President of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865. After the Civil War, public opinion of Davis was mixed in both the North and the South. George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the sixth child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and ten years Walt Whitman's junior. George enlisted in 1861 and remained on active duty until the end of the Civil War. He was wounded in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and was taken prisoner during the Battle of Poplar Grove (September 1864). After the war, George returned to Brooklyn and began building houses on speculation, with partner Smith and later a mason named French. George also took a position as inspector of pipes in Brooklyn and Camden. George struggled initially to find employment after the war. He ate meals with Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and his brother Edward at the Portland Avenue house in Brooklyn but boarded in a rented room. For more information on George Washington Whitman, see "Whitman, George Washington" and Jerome M. Loving, ed.,"Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham: Duke University Press, 1975), 26–28. This letter dates to August 8, 1865. The date "August 8" is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand. Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the year 1865 to the letter, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (The Correspondence, 1842–67 [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:376). The year can be confirmed based on Louisa's many references to her son George Washington Whitman: her admiration for his uniform in preparation for a military review, his need to "settle up" his pay at the conclusion of his service, and his possible plans to seek "journey work" (day labor). It is consistent also with Thomas Jefferson Whitman's recommendation that George start up his own business. To doff is to remove clothing. George soon would muster out of the Union Army, set aside his military uniform, and purchase civilian clothes. When George Washington Whitman arrived home to Brooklyn for a 30-day leave after his release from the Confederate prison camp at Andersonville, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote that he "looks quite thin and shows his prison life"(see her March 5, 1865 letter to Walt). Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), known as "Jeff," was the son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and Walt Whitman's favorite brother. At the time of this letter, Jeff was employed as a civil engineer at the Brooklyn Water Works, and in 1867 he moved to St. Louis to become Superintendent of Water Works, where he become a nationally recognized name. Jeff encouraged his brother George Washington Whitman to pursue an independent business in building houses on speculation, and through his connection to Moses Lane, his supervisor at the Brooklyn Water Works, Jeff found George an offer of employment (see Jeff's September 11, 1865 letter to Walt). For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman visited daughter Hannah (Whitman) Heyde in early September 1865. She provided an extended description of Charles and Hannah's home in her September 27, 1865 letter to Walt. According to the National Park Service Soldiers and Sailors Database, George Washington Whitman's regiment, the 51st New York, "lost during service 9 Officers and 193 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 2 Officers and 174 Enlisted men by disease." Since this letter dates to August 8, 1865, a Tuesday, the phrase "here last sunday week" indicates that the soldier Frederick B. McReady visited for tea on July 30. McReady served with George Washington Whitman in the Fifty-first New York Volunteers, and he rose to the rank of captain. Walt Whitman encountered McReady at Fredricksburg, Virginia. See George's October 16, 1863 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walt's May 13, 1863 letter to Louisa. Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman (1836–1873) was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman. Their elder daughter Manahatta (1860–1886), nicknamed "Hattie," also attended George's military review; Jessie Louisa "Sis" (1863–1957) presumably remained at home. For more on Mattie, see the introduction to Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26. Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908) was the youngest daughter of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr. She lived in Burlington, Vermont with her husband Charles L. Heyde (1822–1892), a landscape painter. Charles Heyde was infamous among the Whitmans for his often offensive letters and poor treatment of Hannah. Julius W. Mason (1835–1882) was a lieutenant colonel in the Fifth Cavalry. Thomas Jefferson Whitman mentioned a J. W. Mason who "used to be in my party on the Water Works" in his February 10, 1863 to Walt Whitman. Mason became a career army officer, and he assisted in getting supplies to George when he was held prisoner. Mason remained in the army until dying of apoplexy in 1882. His father George F. Mason was a prominent Pennsylvania businessman and state senator, with whom Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman stayed after selling her furniture in preparation for departure to St. Louis. See Jeff Whitman's February 10, 1863 and February 7, 1865 letters to Walt, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's May 3, 1867 letter to Walt, and Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 37. Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. He was instrumental in promoting Thomas Jefferson Whitman's career and employed George Washington Whitman as a pipe inspector after the war. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's December 21, 1866, letter to Walt Whitman. For Lane's career, see "Moses Lane," Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers (February 1882), 58. Hart Island, or Hart's Island, located near the western end of Long Island, served as a military depot and training center for new recruits into the Union army. It also served as a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp. When George Washington Whitman returned to Brooklyn after the Civil War, he rented a room from Elizabeth Hegeman (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's September 27, 1865 letter to Walt). The Brooklyn Directory (1868) lists an Elizabeth Hegeman at 83 Car[ro]ll Street, some three miles east of the Portland Avenue home where Louisa lived. Jesse Whitman (1818–1870) was the first-born son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr. He suffered from mental illness that included threats of violence for several years before he was committed to an asylum, where he was placed in December 1864. Shortly after an outburst that followed his brother Andrew Jackson Whitman's death in December 1863—he threatened Martha Mitchell and Thomas Jefferson Whitman's daughter Manahatta—Jeff sought to "put him in some hospital or place where he would be doctored" (see Jeff's December 15, 1863 to Walt Whitman). Louisa resisted institutionalizing Jesse because, according to her December 25, 1863 letter, she "could not find it in my heart to put him there." On December 5, 1864, Walt committed Jesse to Kings County Lunatic Asylum on Flatbush Avenue, where he remained until his death on March 21, 1870 (see E. Warner's March 22, 1870 letter to Walt). For a short biography of Jesse, see Robert Roper, "Jesse Whitman, Seafarer," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 26:1 (Summer 2008), 35–41. James "Jimmy" and George "Georgy" Whitman were the sons of Andrew Jackson Whitman (1827–1863) and Nancy McClure Whitman. Nancy was pregnant with Andrew, Jr., when her husband Andrew died in 1863. For Nancy and her children, see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 13–14. Troy is located just north of Albany, New York, on the Hudson River, and the journey took Louisa Van Velsor Whitman twelve hours. Her son George Washington Whitman accompanied her by boat to Albany and then saw her to a car in Troy, in which she continued her journey to Burlington (see her September 5, 1865 letter to Walt). The "0" in the year of 1890, intended to complete the date of the letter, appears in red ink in an unknown hand. Richard Maurice Bucke may have dated this letter. Heyde is probably referring to Whitman's presentation of his Lincoln lecture at the Contemporary Club in Philadelphia on April 15, 1890, an event that received a great deal of publicity. Heyde dated this letter "June." The day (the 5th) and the year (1890) have been completed in red ink in an unknown hand. Richard Maurice Bucke may have dated this letter. This letter dates to August 29, 1865. In this letter, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman anticipates traveling to Burlington, Vermont, to visit her daughter Hannah (Whitman) Heyde "next Monday," a journey that she undertook on September 4, 1865. Her September 5, 1865 letter to Walt Whitman reports her arrival in Burlington on September 4. This "tuesday evening" letter, which preceded her trip, thus dates to August 29, 1865, the date assigned by Richard Maurice Bucke. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (The Correspondence, 1842–67 [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:377). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman appears to have written the letter "c" over an "s" in her spelling "Gracon." Juliet Grayson operated a boarding house at 468 M Street South, where Walt Whitman lived between late January 1865 and at least June 1866. The following year Walt wrote to his mother about Grayson's death after an illness (see his January 15, 1867 letter to Louisa). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman did not explain to Walt Whitman the reasons that could delay her trip to Burlington, but her phrases "if nothing occurs" and "if nothing prevents" may reflect considerable tension with her son Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman. In his July 16, 1865 letter, Jeff reported to Walt that Hannah Heyde and her husband Charles L. Heyde had quarreled about "some women that Heyde had in his room" and that Louisa had told Jeff that she intended to "bring Han home," a suggestion that Jeff ridiculed. He insisted that his mother's visit to Hannah be delayed until George could accompany her, but Jeff eventually reconciled himself to the visit (see his September 11, 1865 letter to Walt). The relationship between Hannah and Charles Heyde (1822–1892), a landscape painter, was difficult. Heyde was infamous among the Whitmans for his offensive letters and poor treatment of Hannah. Edward Whitman (1835–1892), called "Eddy" or "Edd," was the youngest son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr. He required lifelong assistance for significant physical and mental disabilities, and he remained in the care of his mother until her death. Eddy remained in Brooklyn during Louisa's visit to Burlington under the care of Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Jeff's wife, with whom Louisa and Eddy lived in the Portland Avenue home. George and his wife Louisa Orr Haslam cared for Eddy after Louisa's death, with financial support from Walt Whitman. Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman (1836–1873) was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman (1833–1890), Walt Whitman's brother. She and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta "Hattie" (1860–1886) and Jessie Louisa "Sis" (b. 1863). In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to join Jeff after he had assumed the position of Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis in 1867. For more on Mattie, see the introduction to Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26. For more on Thomas Jefferson Whitman, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)." Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), the youngest daughter of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., resided in Burlington, Vermont, with husband Charles L. Heyde (1822–1892), a landscape painter. Charles was infamous among the Whitmans for his often offensive letters and poor treatment of Hannah. According to Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's July 16, 1865 letter, the reason for Louisa's visit to Hannah in September 1865 was that she and her husband had quarreled about "some women that Heyde had in his room." Louisa had told Jeff that she intended to "bring Han home," a suggestion that Jeff ridiculed. Jeff insisted that Louisa's visit to Hannah be delayed until George Washington Whitman could accompany her, but Jeff eventually reconciled himself to Louisa's visit to Hannah in Burlington (see his September 11, 1865 letter to Walt). Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the date September 5, 1865. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:377). In this letter, written "tuesday afternoon,"Louisa Van Velsor Whitman describes the trip that she completed "yesterday," from her home in Brooklyn, New York, to Burlington, Vermont, to visit her daughter Hannah (Whitman) Heyde. In his letter of September 11, 1865, Thomas Jefferson Whitman reported that "Mother left last Monday," so this letter dates to September 5, 1865. Troy is located just north of Albany, New York, on the Hudson River. George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the sixth child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and ten years Walt Whitman's junior. George enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 and remained on active duty until the end of the Civil War. George was available to accompany Louisa on her trip because he had just begun his post-war housebuilding business. According to Louisa's August 8, 1865 letter, after being mustered out of the army George considered journey work (day labor) and starting his own business. Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman recommended the latter but may have encouraged his own supervisor Moses Lane to offer George a position with the Brooklyn Water Works (see Jeff's September 11, 1865 letter to Walt). George in July began building houses on speculation, with a partner named Smith and later a mason named French. George eventually took up a position as inspector of pipes in Brooklyn and Camden. During the war, he was wounded in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and was taken prisoner during the Battle of Poplar Grove (September 1864). For more information on George, see "Whitman, George Washington." Manahatta Whitman (1860–1886), known as "Hattie," was the daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. Hattie, who lived most of the first seven years of her life in the same home with Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, was especially close to her grandmother. Hattie and her younger sister Jessie Louisa (1863–1957) were both favorites of their uncle Walt. Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), known as "Jeff," was Walt Whitman's favorite brother. As a civil engineer, Jeff eventually became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis and a nationally recognized name. The letter in which Walt Whitman requested papers, possibly related to Drum-Taps, is not extant. Jeff Whitman reported that he "sent the bundle" in his September 16, 1865 letter. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)." Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), the youngest daughter of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., resided in Burlington, Vermont, with husband Charles L. Heyde (1822–1892), a landscape painter. In this letter, Louisa refers to Heyde as the one she dislikes, and she labels him a "conceited fool." Louisa visited her daughter in September 1865 because Hannah and her husband had quarreled about "some women that Heyde had in his room" (see Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's July 16, 1865 letter to Walt Whitman). According to Jeff's letter, Louisa informed Jeff that she intended to "bring Han home." Martha Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873), known as "Mattie," was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother. She and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. Mattie suffered a throat ailment that would lead to her death in 1873. For more on Mattie, see Randall H. Waldron, "Whitman, Martha ("Mattie") Mitchell (1836–1873)," ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). See also Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter "September 11," and Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the year 1865. Edwin Haviland Miller cited Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:377). Because Louisa is in Burlington, Vermont, to visit her daughter Hannah Heyde at the time of this letter, it dates to September 11, 1865. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman left Brooklyn for Burlington, Vermont, to visit her daughter Hannah (Whitman) Heyde, on September 4, 1865 (see Thomas Jefferson Whitman's September 11, 1865 to Walt). She remained longer than she anticipated and did not return to Brooklyn until October 17, 1865 (see Walt Whitman's October 20, 1865 letter to Ellen M. O'Connor). Though below she wrote the proper name "Burlington," Louisa Van Velsor Whitman erred here because daughter Hannah Heyde and her husband reside in Burlington, Vermont. She repeated the mistake, writing "Birmingham" instead of "Burlington," in her September 21, 1865 letter and, after her return to Brooklyn, in a March 26, 1866 letter. Burlington is on Lake Champlain, across from Port Kent, New York. Vermont has no city or town named Birmingham. The "young ones" are Manahatta "Hattie" Whitman (1860–1886) and Jessie Louisa "Sis" Whitman (1863–1957), the daughters of Jeff and Mattie Whitman. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman shared the Portland Avenue home with Jeff's family and often had the responsibility of caring for Hattie and Sis. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman appears to have written "gramatical phrases," but the meaning of the expression is unclear. If a nonce coinage, she may intend the phrase as a euphemism for "dramatical phases," the periodic conflicts between Hannah and Charles L. Heyde. Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), the youngest daughter of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., resided in Burlington, Vermont, with husband Charles L. Heyde (1822–1892), a landscape painter. The relationship between Hannah and Charles was difficult and marred with quarrels and disease. Charles Heyde was infamous among the Whitmans for his offensive letters and poor treatment of Hannah. Louisa during her visit was alternately alarmed by and resigned to the conflict between Hannah and Charles, writing to her son Walt Whitman reassuringly in her September 5, 1865 letter that she found her daughter "quite as well and better than i expected," but alarmingly in her September 11, 1865 letter that "there was quite a blow out of coarse i did not participate in the scrap." The date "September 21" is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand and Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the year 1865. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:377). Since Louisa was in Burlington, Vermont—where she traveled on September 4, 1865 and returned on October 17, 1865—at the time of this letter, the letter dates to September 21, 1865. Walt Whitman's September 8?, 1865 letter, in which he requested papers, possibly related to Drum-Taps (1865), is not extant (see Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's September 11, 1865 letter to Walt, n. 1). Jeff reported that he had "sent the bundle." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman arrived in Burlington on September 4, 1865, and she returned to Brooklyn six weeks later, on October 17. Louisa wrote again from Burlington on September 27, 1865 and encouraged Walt Whitman to visit Hannah because "i dont think i can stay a very great while longer." Walt, from Brooklyn, wrote to Ellen M. O'Connor on October 20, 1865: "mother arrived home last Tuesday." The "old lady" is Juliet Grayson, who with husband Edward B. Grayson took boarders at 468 M Street South, where Walt Whitman lived between late January 1865 and at least June 1866. The Graysons were Southern sympathizers with a son in the Confederate Army. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman also named Juliet Grayson the "old lady" in her May 31, 1866 letter to Walt. Jesse Whitman (1818–1870) was the first-born son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr. He suffered from mental illness that included threats of violence for several years before he was committed to an asylum. This letter dates to a little less than a year after Walt Whitman committed Jesse to Kings County Lunatic Asylum in Brooklyn, where he remained until his death on death on March 21, 1870 (see E. Warner's March 22, 1870 letter to Walt). For a short biography of Jesse, see Robert Roper, "Jesse Whitman, Seafarer," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 26:1 (2008), 35–41. Hannah and Charles Heyde resided in Burlington, Vermont, not "birmingham" as Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote here. Though below she wrote the correct name "Burlington,"she erred also in her September 11, 1865 letter from Burlington and, after her return to Brooklyn, in her March 26?, 1866 letter. Burlington, Vermont is on Lake Champlain, across from Port Kent, New York. Vermont has no city or town named "Birmingham." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's "v" in "very" has a tail and so resembles the letter "y." The day of the month, "27," is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand. Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the letter to the month September and the year 1865, and Edwin Haviland Miller cited Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:377). "27" is somewhat obscured by the postscript, but the number is certain because Louisa also wrote to Walt that she "received your letter yesterday all right the 26th." The letter concerns Burlington, Vermont, and Louisa arrived for her only extended visit to daughter Hannah Heyde on September 5, 1865. She returned in mid-October of that year. Therefore, September 27, 1865 is certain as the date of this letter. Walt Whitman eventually traveled to Brooklyn and from there to Burlington, Vermont, to visit Hannah and assist his mother's return on October 17. He wrote from Brooklyn to Ellen M. O'Connor on October 12, 1865 that he would "probably go for her very shortly" and on October 20, 1865 (also to Ellen M. O'Connor) that "mother arrived home last Tuesday." Mr. Wells and family in Burlington, Vermont, have not been identified. Keesville, New York, is located on the St. Lawrence River opposite from Burlington, Vermont, inland from Port Kent (mentioned below). Port Kent, New York, is located on the opposite side of the St. Lawrence River from Burlington, Vermont. An 1861 travel guide described the view from Port Kent as "exceeding striking and beautiful" (Addison T. Richards, Appletons' Illustrated Hand-book of American Travel [New York: Appleton, 1861], 155). In 1853 Burlington constructed a large building to house mechanic shops (for skilled laborers) that was called the Pioneer Mechanics' Shop. A "capacious building four hundred feet long, fifty feet wide, and four stories high," the shop "accommodated a great number of mechanics." The original structure was destroyed by fire in 1858 but rebuilt on a smaller scale (see Austin Jacobs Coolidge and John Brainard Mansfield,History and Description of New England [Burlington: A. J. Coolidge, 1860], 776). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman probably refers to the route run by the R. W. Sherman, a steamboat lauded as the "fastest steamboat on the lake." Launched in 1851, it was piloted by Captain T. D. Chapman. See Walter Hill Crockett, A History of Lake Champlain: The Record of Three Centuries, 1609–1909 (Burlington: H. J. Shanley & Co., 1909), 308–309. The intended word is "very," but Louisa Van Velsor Whitman added an unneeded descender so that the first letter resembles a "p." Walt Whitman's September 26, 1865 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:369). When George Washington Whitman returned to Brooklyn after the Civil War, he rented a room from a Mrs. Hegeman (also see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's August 29, 1865 letter to Walt Whitman). Elizabeth Hegeman (1795?–1868) is listed in the Brooklyn Directory (1868) as a resident of "83 Car[ro]ll" Street, some three miles east of the Portland Avenue home where Louisa lived. Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), the youngest daughter of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., resided in Burlington, Vermont, with husband Charles L. Heyde (1822–1892), a landscape painter. Charles Heyde was infamous among the Whitmans for his offensive letters and treatment of Hannah. Louisa in her September 11, 1865 letter to Walt Whitman had labeled Heyde a "little conceited fool." According to Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's July 16, 1865 letter to Walt, Louisa visited Hannah in September 1865 because of a quarrel about "some women that Heyde had in his room." According to that letter, Louisa informed Jeff that she intended to "bring Han home." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman during the summer had told Walt Whitman that she had received "5 books," copies of Drum-Taps, from printer Peter Eckler (see her June 3, 1865 letter to Walt). Those five books are presumably the "first ones" that she mentions in this letter. Walt had inquired "whether you got the package of 5 Drum-Taps" about a week before her June letter (see his May 25, 1865 letter to Louisa). Drum-Taps, a series of poems about Walt Whitman's Civil War experience, was published in 1865. It was later integrated into the 1867 Leaves of Grass and later editions. See "Drum-Taps (1865)." For details on the printing history and organization of Drum-Taps, see Ted Genoways, "The Disorder of Drum-Taps," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 24 (Fall 2006/Winter 2007), 98–116. A large number of newspapers were published under the title "New Yorker." The New Yorker to which the letter refers is not obvious. Possible English-language titles published in 1865 include the Central New Yorker of Syracuse, New York; the Western New Yorker of Perry, New York; Moore's Rural New Yorker of Rochester, New York; or the Carthage Republican and Northern New Yorker of Carthage, New York. Walt Whitman in an October 29, 1865 letter to Andrew Kerr, a clerk in the Attorney General's office, stated his intent to "vote here [Brooklyn] early Tuesday forenoon & then start immediately for Washington." But he also offered to return to Washington earlier if requested. Even if Walt left as planned on Tuesday, November 7, election day, and no earlier, he was unusually late in writing after his return to Washington. Though no Whitman letters from late December or January 1865 are extant, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman acknowledged a letter from Walt in her December 10, 1865 letter. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman presumably intended the word "w[rite?]" but omitted all letters after the "w" because she had reached the margin of the page. The word is a request for Walt to write. The editors Gohdes and Silver transcribed the word as "see [?]" (Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 92). This letter dates to the year 1865, the year in the hand of Richard Maurice Bucke. Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver agreed with Bucke's date (Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 192), and Edwin Haviland Miller cited Gohdes and Silver's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:377). Based both on Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's anxiety about not having received a letter since Walt's departure (November 7?) to Washington and on her reference to multiple copies of Drum-Taps, the letter dates November 14, 1865. Walt Whitman's December 8, 1865 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:369). The day of the week, "Sunday," and "10" are in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, and Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the date December 10, 1865. Edwin Haviland Miller cited Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:377). December 10 fell on Sunday in 1865, and December 1865 is consistent with the presence in Brooklyn of George Washington Whitman, Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, and Jeff's wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. Also, the letter mentions a recent theft of a watch nearby, which echoes a story that appeared in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle of December 6, 1865. The letter dates to December 10, 1865. Mrs. Jones has not been identified, but she may have been the neighbor whose watch was stolen. The doctor is probably Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–1867), who befriended the Whitman family and became especially close to Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and his wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. Late in life, Ruggles lost interest in his practice and devoted himself to painting cabinet pictures called "Ruggles Gems" (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:90, n. 85).The signature appears in the bottom margin of the first page.
Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (1795–1873) married Walter Whitman, Sr., in 1816; together they had nine children, of whom Walt Whitman was the second. For more information on Louisa and her letters, see Wesley Raabe, "'walter dear': The Letters from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to Her Son Walt" and Sherry Ceniza, "Whitman, Louisa Van Velsor (1795–1873)."
These two words are difficult to decipher. The transcription of the text, letter by letter, is probably "recent parknesses." The first letter in each word, however, is written over and the reading is doubtful. Because the letter refers to local burglaries and fights in the City Park near the Naval Yard, the intended phrase could be "recent park [me]nesses," with the "me" omitted inadvertently. The criminal activity that menaced the City Park near the Naval Yard followed mass layoffs of laborers as part of post-war demobilization (see "The Political Guillotine at Work, Excitement in the Navy Yard" and "The Navy Yard," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 5, 1865, 2). Louisa had described a crime near City Park a few weeks earlier (see her November 25, 1865 letter to Walt Whitman). This burglary of a silver watch valued at $30, which occurred on Portland Avenue near Myrtle on December 5, was reported in the next day's paper ("City News and Gossip," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 6, 1865, 3). The reported murder occurred in the City Park, which borders the U.S. Navy Yard and was four blocks from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's home on Portland Avenue near Myrtle. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle's sensationalistic coverage began on Thursday, November 23, the day after the crime. The victim, later identified as Jose Garcia Otero, was a theater manager, and his body was found with over $200 in cash and gold—reportedly he carried almost $10,000 when he left the Barcelona House, a boarding establishment. Two suspects were identified, Theodore Martinez Pellecer and Jose Gonzales, both Spanish nationals from Cuba; the weapons used to kill Otero were two razors and a dagger. The newspaper covered the case avidly and editorialized on city parks as havens for crime. See "Brutal Murder," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 23, 1865, 3; "The City Park Murder," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 24, 1865, 2). According to the review, "Whitman has done noble service in the war, but he is not a poet, for poetry needs music and imagination, not only the strong feeling and appreciation of nature which Whitman has. His fervent patriotism has produced only commonplace work, despite 'occasional sonorous lines and frequent thrilling passages.' He sins in assuming himself to be the most original and authoritative critic of this world" (see "Literary. 'Drum-Taps,'" Brooklyn Daily Union, November 23, 1865, 2). See Henry James, "Mr. Walt Whitman," The Nation 1 (16 November 1865), 625–626. This letter dates to November 25, 1865. The date, "November 25," is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, and Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the year 1865. Edwin Haviland Miller cited Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:377). Bucke's year 1865 is confirmed because the letter describes an alleged murder in Brooklyn City Park, which matches a late-November 1865 murder reported in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and refers to two November 1865 reviews of Drum-Taps. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had returned to Brooklyn on October 17, after an extended visit to her daughter Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908) in Burlington, Vermont (see Walt Whitman's October 20, 1865 letter to Ellen M. O'Connor). Hannah married Charles L. Heyde (1822–1892), a French-born landscape painter. Charles Heyde was infamous among the Whitmans for his often offensive letters and poor treatment of Hannah. According to Thomas Jefferson Whitman's July 16, 1865 letter, Louisa decided to visit Hannah in late 1865 after a quarrel about "some women that Heyde had in his room." Tom Rome (b. 1836) was a printer with A. H. Rome and Brothers, later Rome Brothers. His brother Andrew Rome, a friend of Walt Whitman, printed the first edition of Leaves of Grass in 1855. See Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). For a time Walt Whitman lived with William Douglas and Ellen M. O'Connor, who, with Charles Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the early Washington years. William D. O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of the pro-Whitman pamphlet "The Good Gray Poet" in 1866 (a digital version of the pamphlet is available at "The Good Gray Poet: A Vindication"). Ellen "Nelly" O'Connor, William's wife, had a close personal relationship with Whitman. The correspondence between Walt Whitman and Ellen is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence with William. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's November 19, 1865 letter is not extant. The Cornelius mentioned here may be Cornelius Van Velsor (1768–1837), Walt's maternal grandfather. Walt described him in Specimen Days as a "mark'd and full Americanized specimen" (Complete Prose Works [Philadelphia: David McKay, 1892], 11). Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908) was the youngest daughter of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr. She lived in Burlington, Vermont with her husband Charles Heyde (1822–1892), a landscape painter. This lot on Putnam Avenue, which was purchased by George Washington Whitman's partner Smith and housed their carpentry shop, long occupied Louisa Van Velsor Whitman as a potential spot for a home. After George and his partner decided not to build there (see Louisa's May 2, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman), she asked Walt whether he could purchase this lot so that she could have there a small home for herself (see her October 16 or 23, 1867 letter to Walt). The Brown family boarded in the same house as the Whitmans on Portland Avenue in Brooklyn. In 1860, the lower part of the house was rented to John Brown, a tailor. The relationship between the Browns and the Whitmans was often strained, but the Browns remained in the Portland Avenue house for five years. See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's April 16, 1860 and March 3, 1863 letters to Walt Whitman. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote "birmingham" but meant Burlington, Vermont, where her daughter Hannah Heyde and son-in-law Charles L. Heyde lived. Louisa had visited them in September 1865. While on her visit she referred twice to Burlington as "birmingham" (see her September 11, 1865 and September 21, 1865 letters). Burlington is on Lake Champlain, across from Port Kent, New York. Vermont has no city or town named Birmingham. March 26, 1866 is the most likely date for this letter. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to late March 1866. Edwin Haviland Miller assigned the approximate date of March 27, 1866 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:272, n. 5). It is possible that the letter dates as early as March 25, 1866, but that is probably too early because Louisa Van Velsor Whitman forwarded to Walt Whitman a letter she had received from daughter Hannah Heyde, which dates to March 24, 1866. It is also possible, but unlikely, that this letter dates to as late as March 27, 1866, but this late date is unlikely because Walt acknowledged receipt of Louisa's letter "this morning" with Hannah's letter enclosed on March 28, 1866 (see Walt's March 28,1866 letter to Louisa). Walt Whitman did not find this assurance sufficiently specific. He sought to confirm Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's receipt of all three of his letters from the previous week: "Mother, I wrote you three letters last week, the second one was in a big envelope, & the last was a small one you ought to have got Saturday" (see his March 28, 1866 letter to Louisa). Neither letter from Walt Whitman is extant. Edwin Haviland Miller dated the letter from "yesterday," December 1, 1865 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:365). The Monday or Tuesday letter, not noted by Miller, would date November 26?, 1865 (cf. The Correspondence, 1:365). Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), the youngest daughter of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., resided in Burlington, Vermont, with husband Charles L. Heyde (1822–1892), a landscape painter. Charles Heyde was infamous among the Whitmans for his offensive letters and treatment of Hannah. Louisa in her September 11, 1865 letter to Walt Whitman had labeled Heyde a "little conceited fool." According to Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's July 16, 1865 letter to Walt, Louisa visited Hannah in September 1865 because of a quarrel about "some women that Heyde had in his room." See Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's November 25, 1865 letter to Walt Whitman for her assessment of the review of Drum-Taps ("Literary. 'Drum-Taps,'" Brooklyn Daily Union, November 23, 1865, 2). This letter dates to December 3, 1865. "December 3" is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to 1865, and Edwin Haviland Miller also dated the letter to December 3, 1865 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:377). December 3 fell on a Sunday in 1865—Louisa wrote "it is sunday"—and the date is consistent both with the recent dismissal of workers in the Brooklyn Navy Yard and with similar family topics in Louisa's November 25, 1865 letter to Walt Whitman. "Sis" is likely Jessie Louisa Whitman (b. 1863), the younger daughter of Jeff and Martha "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. Manahatta ("Hattie") had the nickname "Sis" first, but Jessie Louisa inherited it from her older sister. Also, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's references to a "fat" child are typically to the younger sister. Jessie Louisa and her sister Hattie were both favorites of their uncle Walt. After a month-long furlough, Walt Whitman returned to Washington on November 7, 1865. See Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:267, n. 57. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's account was based on the reports in the Democratic-leaningBrooklyn Daily Eagle. The Navy Yard workers were organized by profession: carpenters, plumbers, caulkers, etc. The dismissal of workers was in part connected to post-war demobilization. Though sympathetic to striking workers, the newspaper was generally hostile to the "bosses" in the large federal labor force, which it considered beholden to the Republican administration. For articles that address recent layoffs, anxiety about the political power of the yard bosses, and a caulker's strike, see "The Political Guillotine at Work, Excitement in the Navy Yard" and "The Navy Yard" (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 5, 1865, 2). Jake Striker, if an individual boss in the Navy Yard, has not been identified. The name may also have been a derogatory term for striking workers. The reason for Louisa's animus against a particular man is unknown—and is contrary to her usual sympathy for discharged workers—but her son George Washington Whitman may have crossed a politically powerful yard boss in his housebuilding business. The "last one" is Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's November 25, 1865 letter to Walt Whitman. Her mention of "bad paper" in the present letter is consistent with the earlier letter, in which she lamented that her paper was "soiled and rather scanty." Fishkill is approximately 70 miles north of Brooklyn. Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908) was the youngest daughter of Walter Whitman, Sr., and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Hannah's husband, Charles Heyde, stated that he owed &500 on his house, and he acknowledged Walt's gift to Hannah: "Han has received two parcels from Walt with two pairs of nice gloves; one 5 dollar greenback; and numerous stampd envelopes with your address written upon them; also sufficient note paper for several letters. Walter is being kind." The animal that Heyde described in his letter was a small brown squirrel, not "a rabbit" (see Charles L. Heyde's January 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, Duke University, Trent Collection). Charles Louis Heyde (1822–1892), a French-born landscape painter, married Hannah Louisa Whitman (1823–1908), Walt Whitman's sister, and they lived in Burlington, Vermont. Charles Heyde was infamous among the Whitmans for his often offensive letters and poor treatment of Hannah. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman often spoke disparagingly of Heyde in her letters to Walt: "i had a letter or package from charley hay three sheets of foolscap paper and a fool wrote on them" (see her March 24, 1868 to Walt). This letter dates to January 17, 1867. Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the letter to the year 1866, but Edwin Haviland Miller dated the letter January 17, 1867 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:307, n. 10). The year 1867 is correct because, according to the date in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, the letter dates to January 17, a Thursday. January 17 fell on Wednesday in 1866 and on Thursday in 1867. Further, the letter responds to Walt Whitman's news that Juliet Grayson has died (see his January 15, 1867 letter to Louisa) and discusses a January 1867 letter from Charles Heyde. At the time of this letter, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman was living at 840 Pacific Street near Prospect Park, which covered over 500 acres in what is now the center of Brooklyn. The designer for the park was Calvert Vaux (1724–1785), and the chief architect was Frederick Law Olmsted (1822[?]–1893). Work began in 1859 and continued after the interruption of the Civil War. In 1867, when this letter was written, the realization of Vaux's design was nearly complete. The park stretched to the city's eastern boundary is notable for its Long Meadow, "a classic passage of pastoral scenery with gracefully modulated terrain of greensward, scattered groves of trees, and indefinite boundaries that create a sense of unlimited space" (Charles E. Beveridge, "Olmsted, Frederick Law," American National Biography Online). Joseph Phineas Davis, who shared the Pacific Street house with Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, her son Edward, and Thomas Jefferson Whitman's family, was an engineer at Prospect Park (see Louisa's May 31, 1866 letter to Walt Whitman). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman here refers to the abhorrent behavior of Edward B. Grayson, Juliet Grayson's husband. According to Walt Whitman's January 22, 1867 letter to Louisa, Edward Grayson was "just as bad since his wife's death as ever—he gets drunk, & then tries to choke his son & daughter, & ends by getting in a fury, & trying to beat every body out of the house." Juliet B. Grayson, who lived with her mother Mary Mix at 468 M Street North in Washington, D.C., took boarders, one of whom was Walt Whitman. Grayson died on January 7, 1867, and Walt reported her death to his mother a week later (see his January 15, 1867 letter). Walt Whitman and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman were close friends of the Price family during the years of Walt's Brooklyn residence before the Civil War. The Prices also were regular visitors to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in the post-war years. The surviving letters from Walt to Abby Hills Price (1814–1878) are numerous, and Walt often expressed interest in her children, Helen, Emma, and Arthur (another son, Henry, had died at 2 years of age). For Walt Whitman's relationship with the Price family, especially Abby, see Sherry Ceniza, Walt Whitman and 19th-century Women Reformers (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1998), 45–95. The woman that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman identifies as "mrs wells" was a friend of Emma Price. Louisa mentioned Mrs. Wells in connection with another Emma Price visit in her February 12, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman. Mrs. Wells has not been identified, and it is not known whether she had a connection to Samuel R. Wells, a member of the firm that distributed the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass.This postscript appears inverted in the top margin of the first page.
Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman (1833–1890) was Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's eighth child. He married Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman in February 1859, and they and two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa, shared the Pacific Street house with Louisa and her son Edward. Jeff in 1866 was employed as an engineer at the Brooklyn Water Works, but his career had stagnated and did not revive until he was offered the position of chief engineer at the St. Louis Water Works in 1867. For a discussion of his mental state during this period, which is discernible from phrases in Jeff's own letters and informed also by Louisa's observations, see Dennis Berthold and Kenneth Price, ed., "Introduction," Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman (Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984), 119.
Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, his wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, their daughters Manahatta and Jessie Louisa, and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and her son Edward Whitman had moved from their home during the Civil War, at Portland Avenue north of Myrtle, to 840 Pacific Street between Washington Avenue and Grand Avenue (see Walt Whitman's July 30, 1866 letter to Abby H. Price). The house was near Prospect Park, on what was then the outer edge of Brooklyn. This letter dates to May 31, 1866. The date in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand reads "the last day of may," and Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the year 1866. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's year (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:377). The year 1866 is consistent with Louisa's recent move to 840 Pacific Street and with Walt Whitman's boarding with Juliet Grayson. Juliet Grayson operated the boarding house at 468 M Street South, Washington, D.C., where Walt Whitman lived between late January 1865 and at least June 1866 (see Walt's June 26, 1866 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). George Washington Whitman's "some one" is probably Louisa Orr Haslam (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," whom he married in spring 1871. The Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–1867) befriended the Whitman family and became especially close to Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and his wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. Late in life, Ruggles lost interest in his practice and devoted himself to painting cabinet pictures called "Ruggles Gems" (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:90, n. 85). For a time Walt Whitman lived with William D. and Ellen M. "Nelly" O'Connor, who, with Charles Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the Washington years. William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of the pro-Whitman pamphlet "The Good Gray Poet" in 1866. Nelly O'Connor had a close personal relationship with Whitman, and the correspondence between Walt and Nelly is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence with William. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's postscript appears in the top margin of the first page and is inverted. Walt Whitman replied on June 12, 1866 that his health had improved: "it is very healthy here this summer—I havn't been troubled by the heat yet—my head is much better." Joseph Phineas Davis's "mr somebody" who stays all night is never named in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letters. But her terms "somebody" and "some one" are euphemisms for a companion with whom one has a romantic interest. She also refers to George Washington Whitman's interest in a young woman (almost certainly his future wife Louisa Orr Haslam) as being "carried away by somebody" (see her November 4, 1868 letter to Walt). Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908) was the youngest daughter of Walter Whitman, Sr., and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. She resided in Burlington, Vermont, with her husband Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), a landscape painter. The relationship between Hannah and Charles was difficult and marred with quarrels and disease. Charles Heyde was infamous among the Whitmans for his offensive letters and poor treatment of Hannah. Louisa wrote, "if heyde was kind to her she would get well" (see her November 11–14, 1868 letter to Walt). George Washington Whitman married Louisa Orr Haslam (d. 1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," in spring 1871. This letter dates to June 7, 1866. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter "June 7 thursday" in her own hand, and June 7 fell on Thursday in 1866. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to the year 1866, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:377). The subjects of the letter are consistent with Louisa's residence at the Pacific Street house with Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. Furthermore, Walt Whitman addressed numerous matters from this letter in his June 12, 1866 reply to Louisa: the improvement of the pain in his head, his invitation for Jeff to visit him in Washington, and the expectation that his brother "George will do well, in the houses, if he & others put them up on Portland av." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman received Walt Whitman's October 15 or 22, 1867 letter (not extant). Edwin Haviland Miller, who dated this letter from Louisa to October 10, 1866, dated Walt's letter to Louisa (not extant) October 9, 1866 (Correspondence, 1:369). Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957) was the younger daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. Jessie and her sister Manahatta "Hattie" were both favorites of their uncle Walt. The nickname "Sis" was given first to Manahatta but was passed to her younger sister Jessie Louisa when Manahatta became "Hattie." The letter dates to 1865, so "Sis" is Jessie Louisa. Martha Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873), known as "Mattie," was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother. She and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. After residing in Brooklyn in a home shared with Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Louisa's son Eddy, in early 1868 Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in May 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. For more on Martha Whitman, see the introduction to Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26. A man known only as Smith was George Washington Whitman's partner in building houses on speculation. Walt Whitman described Smith as "a natural builder and carpenter (practically and in effect) architect," and he advised John Burroughs that Smith was an "honest, conscientious, old-fashioned man, a man of family . . . . youngish middle age" (see Walt's September 2, 1873 letter to John Burroughs). Walt Whitman formerly boarded with Juliet Grayson and her mother Mary Mix at 468 M Street North. Juliet Grayson died in January 1867 (see Walt Whitman's January 15, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). After her death, Whitman returned to the same house to board under the new proprietors Mr. and Mrs. Newton Benedict, but he was confined to a small attic (see his February 12, 1867 letter to Louisa).This letter dates to October 16 or 23, 1867. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter October 10, 1866, and Edwin Haviland Miller accepted Bucke's date (see Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:293, n. 57). Bucke and Miller's date is incorrect: the letter dates just over a year later. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman cannot date to the year 1866 because Walt in his October 16, 186[6?] fragment states that "I have not heard any thing from you the last week." If this letter dates October 10, 1866 (Wednesday), Walt would have heard from Louisa "last week," if his fragmentary letter dates October 16, 1866 (Tuesday). The second, decisive factor in dating this letter to October 1867 is Louisa's housing situation, which though unpleasant in October 1866 did not become seriously unsettled until after Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman departed for St. Louis in May 1867. Louisa's housing difficulties became acute in 1867, after Jeff's departure, which led his wife, Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman to leave the Pacific Street home and stay with Gordon F. Mason's family in Towanda, Pennsylvania, from June to September 1867 (see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 37, 42). Louisa in this letter conveys from George Washington Whitman a description of a Portland Avenue lot that Walt could be interested in purchasing. The fragment in which Walt offers to raise $2000 is in response to this letter. Miller's conjectured date for Walt's fragmentary letter must be rejected in favor of a few days after this letter, to a range from October 18 to October 30, 1867 (cf. Walt Whitman's October 16, 1867 letter fragment to Louisa, The Correspondence, 1:293).
Because this letter dates a year later than previously determined by Bucke and Miller, to October 16 or 23, 1867, the fragmentary letter from Walt Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman that Miller assigned to 1866 must be reassigned, and Kim Roberts's calendar of Walt's Washington boarding places must be revised as well. According to Roberts, Walt moved to 468 M Street South (Graysons) in January 1865, to 364 13th Street West in February 1866, and to 472 M Street South (same house as Graysons, then under Mrs. Newton Benedict) in 1867 ("A Corrected Map of Whitman's Washington Boarding Houses and Work Places," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 22 [Summer 2004], 136). But the date that Roberts assigns for Walt's move from the Graysons (February 1866) is incorrect. Walt in summer 1866 was boarding with the Graysons: "Mrs. Grayson gives me plenty of good vegetables, peas string beans, squash [...] the house is very pleasant this weather—as cool as it can be any where" (see his June 26, 1866 letter to Louisa).
Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's intent is unclear. After the word "one" is a stricken character that may have been a letter "c." She may have referred to rubbing the swollen arm "once" with a type of massage, or perhaps she massaged the arm with the slippery elm poultice that George Washington Whitman recommended. Alternately, she may have intended also to cancel the word "a." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated this letter only "Sunday." Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter January 20, 1867, but Edwin Haviland Miller dated it January 26, 1867 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:311, n. 31; 1:377). Miller presumably relied on Walt Whitman's acknowledgment of a "letter of Sunday week, Jan. 26" to assign the date (see Walt's February 5, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). Walt almost certainly responded to this letter from Louisa—he referred to her "lameness in the wrist," and acknowledged Thomas Jefferson Whitman's possible trip to Washington—but January 26, 1867 fell on Saturday. Because Louisa wrote "Sunday," this letter dates to January 27, 1867. Crullers are a "cake cut from dough containing eggs, butter, sugar, etc., twisted or curled into various shapes, and fried to crispness in lard or oil" (Oxford English Dictionary). Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman visited Walt Whitman in Washington from February 13 to February 18, 1867. For Walt's report on Jeff's visit, see his February 19, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. The application of a poultice made from ground or powdered slippery elm bark was a common herbal treatment for swelling and infection in the nineteenth century. Probably Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957), the younger daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. Jessie and her sister Manahatta "Hattie" were both favorites of their uncle Walt. The nickname "Sis" was given first to Manahatta but was passed to her younger sister Jessie Louisa when Manahatta became "Hattie." "perbasco" probably refers to Louis Probasco, an employee at the Brooklyn Water Works (see Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's January 16, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman). The Whitmans had two other acquaintances named Probasco—Samuel R. Probasco (1833–1910), an employee at the Brooklyn Water Works from 1856 to 1868 and an assistant engineer in the Department of City Works, and Joe Probasco, a soldier mentioned both in Jeff's September 24, 1863 letter to Walt and in Walt's April 28, 1864 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Whichever Probasco this one is, he is mentioned again in Louisa's February 21, 1867 letter to Walt: Jeff and his wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman are said to depart for the "perbasco region." Mary Mix lived with her daughter, Juliet Grayson, who operated the boarding house at 468 M Street South, Washington, D.C., where Walt Whitman lived between late January 1865 and at least June 1866. After her daughter's death on January 7, 1867, which Walt Whitman reported to his mother in his January 15, 1867 letter, Mix left Washington. Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman visited his brother Walt Whitman in Washington in mid-February 1867. Jeff thereafter corresponded periodically with William D. O'Connor, and Walt reported on Jeff's visit in his February 19, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. For a time Walt lived with William D. and Ellen M. "Nelly" O'Connor, who, with Charles Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the Washington years. William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of the pro-Whitman pamphlet "The Good Gray Poet" in 1866. Nelly, William's wife, had a close personal relationship with Whitman. The correspondence between Walt and Nelly is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence with William. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)." Horace Greeley's New-York Tribune was one of the leading dailies of its era. The Weekly Tribune enjoyed widespread distribution, with a circulation of 200,000 in 1860. Greeley later ran against Ulysses S. Grant as the Liberal Republican Party's candidate for the presidency in 1872. "Duty" or "Duti" was a nickname for Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957), the younger daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. This nickname is rare in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letters. In Louisa's letters Jessie Louisa is most often "Sis," a nickname that she inherited from her older sister Manahatta "Hattie" Whitman, or "California" in deference to Walt Whitman's private nickname, which he bestowed on her shortly after her birth (see Walt's December 15, 1863 letter). For Mattie Whitman's reference to Jessie by the nickname "Duti," see her July 4 and July 19, 1867 letters to Louisa (Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 38–41).Louisa Van Velsor Whitman read newspapers and followed national politics avidly, hence her frustration that Joseph Phineas Davis had absconded with the New York Times and her efforts to secure Horace Greeley's New-York Tribune.
Michigan Senator Zachariah Chandler (1813–1879) spoke on February 11, 1867 in opposition to President Andrew Johnson's authority to appoint provisional governors over defeated Southern states without Congressional confirmation and argued that Johnson's usurpation of Congressional authority was adequate grounds for impeachment. Chandler, a founder of the Republican Party and a leader among Radical Republicans, pressed for impeachment, but Andrew Johnson was not impeached until February 1868, after he dismissed Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton (see "Thirty-Ninth Congress," New York Times, February 12, 1867, 8; and see R. Hal Williams, "Chandler, Zachariah," American National Biography Online).
Louisa Van Velsor Whitman was replying to a query from Walt Whitman's February 19, 1867 letter: "Mother, do you see the papers much? I can send papers to you." This letter dates to February 21, 1867. "February 21" is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, and Richard Maurice assigned the year 1867. Edwin Haviland Miller also dated the letter February 21, 1867 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:378). The year is consistent with Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's reference to a February 11, 1867 speech by Michigan Senator Zachariah Chandler. Chandler's speech, which advocated impeaching President Andrew Johnson, was published in the New York Times on February 12, 1867. The "perbasco region" refers to the surname of Louis Probasco, mentioned as a visitor in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's January 27, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman. Probasco, an employee at Brooklyn Water Works, is first mentioned in Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's January 16, 1863 letter to Walt. The phrase "perbasco region," however, is unclear and may refer to the Probasco family. The Whitmans had two other acquaintances named Probasco—Samuel R. Probasco (1833–1910), an employee at the Brooklyn Water Works from 1856 to 1868 and an assistant engineer in the Department of City Works, and Joe Probasco, mentioned as a soldier in Jeff Whitman's September 24, 1863 letter to Walt and in Walt's April 28, 1864 letter to Louisa. Julius "Jules" Mason (1835–1882) was a lieutenant colonel in the Fifth Cavalry and a career army officer. Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman wrote that Mason "used to be in my party on the Water Works" (see his February 10, 1863 letter to Walt). Jules Mason's sister Irene was a close friend of Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's May 3, 1867 letter to Walt; see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977], 37, 42). Jules and Irene were the children of Gordon F. Mason, a prominent Pennsylvania businessman. When Jeff departed for St. Louis in early May 1867, Mattie stayed at the Mason home in Towanda, Pennsylvania (Waldron, 37). Croup is an infection of throat and larynx, characterized by a ringing cough. Mustard plasters were a mustard paste that was applied to a cloth or paper, which was then applied to skin, generally with an intervening layer of cloth or paper. The paste, sometimes diluted, was typically applied to the abdomen and was held to relieve pain by increasing bloodflow or by drawing excess blood from the inflamed or painful area. Mustard, a strong irritant, would produce blisters if allowed to remain in contact with skin. See Health at Home, or Hall's Family Doctor (Hartford: J. A. S. Betts, 1873), 297. Walt Whitman described the injuries and outlook for a soldier named Andrew J. Kephart as "very bad with bleeding at the lungs—it is doubtful if he recovers" in his February 26, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, and he provided an update two weeks later (see his March 12, 1867 letter to Louisa). On April 2, 1867, he reported that Kephart "is quite recovered." Walt identified the soldier's regiment as "44th Reg. Infantry"; however, the National Park Service's Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System includes only one Andrew J. (or A.) Kephart, a member of the 13th Regiment, Maryland Infantry (http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm). This letter dates to February 27, 1867. The date "February 27" is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, and Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the year 1867. Edwin Haviland Miller cited Bucke's year (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:378). The date is correct. Walt Whitman forwarded two almanacs the previous day (see his February 26, 1867 letter to Louisa), and Louisa acknowledged receipt of the almanacs. At the time of this letter, Walt Whitman lived at 472 M Street in Washington, D.C. He had been living with Mr. and Mrs. Newton Benedict for a few weeks, after the death of Juliet Grayson (see his February 12, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). Walt Whitman had sent his mother two almanacs: "both are calculated for this region, not New York, & one is a sort of Catholic almanac—I saw it had all the Saints' days" (see his February 26, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). Walt again sent his mother an almanac the following year (see her February 12, 1868 letter to Walt). The Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–1867) befriended the Whitman family and became especially close to Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and his wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. Late in life, Ruggles lost interest in his practice and devoted himself to painting cabinet pictures called "Ruggles Gems." Walt Whitman enclosed a copy of Ruggles' obituary with his March 19, 1867, letter to his mother. Green-Wood is a Brooklyn cemetery located southwest of Prospect Park. This Mrs. Mason is presumably the wife of Gordon F. Mason of Towanda, Pennsylvania. Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman stayed with the Mason family from June to September 1867, after her husband Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman departed for St. Louis (see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 37, 42). This letter dates to March 15, 1867. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter March 15, 1867, but only the letter "M" and day of the month "15" appear in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand. March 15, 1867 fell on Friday, the day that Louisa wrote. Edwin Haviland Miller cited Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:378). The date is consistent with the death of Dr. Edward Ruggles, a close friend of the Whitman family, the previous Sunday ("Obituary: Edward Ruggles, M.D.," New York Herald Tribune, March 12, 1867, 4).The postscript encircles the first page from the left to the top and then to the right margin.
"Sis" is Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957), the younger daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. At the time of this letter, she was approaching four years of age. For an update on the penny, see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 21, 1867 letter to Walt. Jessie and her elder sister Manahatta were both favorites of their uncle Walt.
Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's youngest daughter, resided in Burlington, Vermont, with her husband Charles L. Heyde. Charles Heyde was infamous among the Whitmans for his offensive letters and poor treatment of Hannah. The animal that Heyde described in his letter was a small brown squirrel, not a rabbit as Louisa wrote here (see Charles L. Heyde's January 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, Duke University, Trent Collection). Louisa had previously noted her receipt of Heyde's January letter and his description of the animal she mistakenly designated a "rabbit" (see Louisa's January 17, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman). Abby H. Price (1814–1878) was active in various social-reform movements. Price's husband, Edmund, operated a pickle factory in Brooklyn, and the couple had four children—Arthur, Helen, Emily, and Henry (who died in 1852, at 2 years of age). During the 1860s, Price and her family, especially her daughter Helen, were friends with Walt Whitman and with Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. In 1860 the Price family began to save Walt's letters. In a November 15, 1863 letter to Ellen M. O'Connor, Whitman declared, "they are all friends, to prize and love deeply." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's debt for the barrel of flour is probably to Nicholas Amerman, who had a grocery store on Myrtle Avenue. She would incur a similar debt the following year. See her April 7, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman.Edward Whitman (1835–1892), called "Eddy" or "Edd," was the youngest son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr. He required lifelong assistance for significant physical and mental disabilities, and he remained in the care of his mother until her death. During Louisa's final illness, Eddy was taken under the care of George Washington Whitman and his wife, Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman, with financial support from Walt Whitman.
Manahatta Whitman (1860–1886), known as "Hattie," was the daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. Hattie and her sister Jessie were both favorites of their uncle Walt.
Emily "Emmy" or "Emma" Price was the daughter of Abby and Edmund Price, who were friends of Walt Whitman and his mother. Emily and her sister Helen were regular visitors to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. This letter dates to March 28, 1867. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter "March 28." Richard Maurice Bucke later assigned the year 1867, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's year (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:378). The year is correct. This letter continues the concerns of two recent letters by Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, the residence with Joseph P. Davis at Pacific Street and the responsibilities of caring for Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's young daughters (see Louisa's February 21, 1867 and her March 15, 1867 letters to Walt Whitman). Charles Louis Heyde (1822–1892), a landscape painter, married Hannah Louisa Whitman (1823–1908), Walt Whitman's sister, and they lived in Burlington, Vermont. Heyde wrote to Walt Whitman in regard to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman earlier in March 1867: "It is reasonable to anticipate from Mrs Whitman's past robustness, and present approaching infirmities, that she will never undergo protracted sickness, but her demise, when it does take place, will occur in a brief period. It may so happen that Hannah may not be permitted to see her mother again." Heyde complained also that Hannah's lack of "outward sentiment or sympathy" had made it "impossible for me to respect her" (Charles L. Heyde, March 1867 letter to Walt Whitman, Trent Collection, Duke University). On March 26, 1867, Walt wrote to his mother: "I have rec'd another epistle from Heyde—one of his regular damned fool's letters—I never answer them, nor make any allusion to them—it was full of complaints—." Heyde complained of Hannah's sloppy attire ("her appearance would disgrace any servant in the vicinity"), her laziness, her lack of "womanly sensibility . . . and intellectual imbecility" (Trent Collection, Duke University). His cousin has not been identified, but Joseph Phineas Davis (1837–1917) shared the Pacific Street house with Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, her son Edward, and the family of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman before Jeff's departure for St. Louis in 1867. Davis took a degree in civil engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1856 and then helped build the Brooklyn Water Works until 1861. He was a topographical engineer in Peru from 1861 to 1865, after which he returned to Brooklyn. Davis, a lifelong friend of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, shared the Pacific Street house with Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, son Edward, and Jeff Whitman's family before Jeff departed for St. Louis, and he visited Louisa while serving as an engineer in Lowell, Massachusetts. Davis also served briefly as the chief engineer for Prospect Park, near the Pacific Street house in Brooklyn (see Louisa's May 31, 1866 letter to Walt Whitman). For Davis's work with Jeff Whitman in St. Louis, see Jeff's May 23, 1867, January 21, 1869, and March 25, 1869 letters to Walt Whitman. Davis eventually became city engineer of Boston (1871–1880) and later served as chief engineer of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (1880–1908). For Davis's career, see Francis P. Stearns and Edward W. Howe, "Joseph Phineas Davis," Journal of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers 4 (December 1917), 437–442. Julius "Jules" Mason (1835–1882) was a lieutenant colonel in the Fifth Cavalry and a career army officer. Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman wrote that Mason "used to be in my party on the Water Works" (see his February 10, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman). Jules Mason's sister Irene was a close friend of Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's May 3, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman, and Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 37, 42). Jules and Irene were the children of Gordon F. Mason, a prominent Pennsylvania businessman. When Jeff departed for St. Louis in early May 1867, Mattie stayed at the Mason home in Towanda, Pennsylvania (Waldron, 37). The name of the "captain" and the "contest taken by the alabamans" are unclear. If a ship captain, it cannot be Homer C. Blake, the captain of the USS Hatteras, the only Union warship taken by the CSS Alabama, because Blake was not a Brooklyn resident. Perhaps this captain commanded one of the many merchant vessels taken by the warship CSS Alabama during its career as a commerce raider. Or this captain may have been associated with a Union defeat in the land war. This letter dates to March 21, 1867. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated this letter "March 21." Richard Maurice Bucke later assigned the year 1867, and Edwin Haviland Miller accepted Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:378). The year 1867 is confirmed by a previous mention of a penny that Jessie Louisa, daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, had swallowed (see Louisa's March 15, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman), by Louisa's receipt of Walt Whitman's March 19, 1867 letter, and by the recent death of Dr. Ruggles. See Walt Whitman's March 19, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Walt acknowledged receipt of "both your letters last week." George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the sixth child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and ten years Walt Whitman's junior. George enlisted in 1861 and remained on active duty until the end of the Civil War. He was wounded in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and was taken prisoner during the Battle of Poplar Grove (September 1864). After the war, George returned to Brooklyn and began building houses on speculation, with partner Smith and later a mason named French. George initially relied on the significant sum that Louisa had husbanded for him from his military pay, but this letter is near the beginning of a two-year period during which George is financially overextended and begins to rely on loans from brothers Walt and Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman. According to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 15, 1867 letter to Walt, Jeff agreed to lend George $200. For a review of the series of loans that Walt and Jeff had made to George, see her June 23, 1869 letter to Walt. For more information on George, see "Whitman, George Washington." Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde's (1823–1908) March 20, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman commended Walt Whitman's kindness; expressed Hannah's appreciation for Walt's forwarding of paper, money, and Louisa's letters; pressed her mother to again visit Vermont; and informed Louisa of some notices of Walt in periodicals. Hannah, Louisa's youngest daughter, resided in Burlington, Vermont, with her husband Charles L. Heyde (1822–1892), a landscape painter (see Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 209–211). Burlington, Vermont was the home of Louisa's Van Velsor Whitman's daughter Hannah Heyde. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman presumably refers to an article in the Brooklyn Daily Times by the newspaper's former title. George C. Bennet's Williamsburgh Times was renamed theBrooklyn Daily Times in 1855. Walt Whitman worked at the paper from 1857 to 1859. See Walt Whitman, Emory Holloway, and Vernolian Schwarz, I Sit and Look Out: Editorials from the Brooklyn Daily Times (New York: Columbia University Press, 1955), 12–20. Jessie Louisa "Sis" Whitman, daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, had swallowed a penny (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 15, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman). Louisa was answering Walt's query about Sis's penny (see his March 19, 1867 letter to Louisa). Walt replied to this letter with gratitude that "sis's penny had a safe journey" (see his March 26, 1867 letter to Louisa). A Mr. and Mrs. Rice in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, were close friends of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. The Rices joined Jeff and Mattie when they returned to St. Louis after the Whitman family's December 1867 trip to Brooklyn and were interested in boarding with the Whitmans in St. Louis (see Jeff's January 17, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 124, and Mattie's February 1, 1868 letter to Louisa, Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 45). "April 13" is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, and Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the year 1867. Edwin Haviland Miller accepted Bucke's year (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:378), and the date is correct. Because this letter describes Louisa as living in the country and away from the bustle, she was living at Pacific Street and caring for the daughters of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. The only date consistent with all of these matters is April 13, 1867. In letters that followed Walt Whitman consistently promised to visit Brooklyn soon. He arrived on May 4, 1867 (see his May 5, 1867 letter to William D. O'Connor). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman at the beginning of May 1886 had moved to Pacific Street, which was adjacent to Prospect Park (see Walt Whitman's April 28, 1866 letter to Louisa). Prospect Park extended to the eastern edge of Brooklyn in 1866, and it was far less developed than the more urban setting of the Portland Avenue home from which she had departed."California" was a nickname for Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957), the younger daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. Though Louisa Van Velsor Whitman referred most often to her granddaughter as "Sis"—a nickname that Jessie Louisa inherited when her older sister Manahatta became "Hattie"—Walt Whitman apparently bestowed the private nickname "California" on Jessie Louisa shortly after her birth (see his December 15, 1863 letter to Louisa). According to Louisa's March 21, 1867 letter to Walt, Jessie Louisa recognized the name's association with Walt: "she calafor when uncle comes home."
Edward Whitman (1835–1892), called "Eddy" or "Edd," was the youngest son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr. He required lifelong assistance for significant physical and mental disabilities, and he remained in the care of his mother until her death. During Louisa's final illness, Eddy was taken under the care of George Washington Whitman and his wife, Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman, with financial support from Walt Whitman.
Joseph Phineas Davis (1837–1917) took a degree in civil engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1856 and then helped build the Brooklyn Water Works until 1861. He was a topographical engineer in Peru from 1861 to 1865, after which he returned to Brooklyn. Davis, a lifelong friend of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, shared the Pacific Street house with Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, son Edward, and Jeff Whitman's family before Jeff departed for St. Louis, and he visited Louisa while serving as an engineer in Lowell, Massachusetts. Davis also served briefly as the chief engineer for Prospect Park, near the Pacific Street house in Brooklyn (see Louisa's May 31, 1866 letter to Walt Whitman). For Davis's work with Jeff Whitman in St. Louis, see Jeff's May 23, 1867, January 21, 1869, and March 25, 1869 letters to Walt Whitman. Davis eventually became city engineer of Boston (1871–1880) and later served as chief engineer of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (1880–1908). For Davis's career, see Francis P. Stearns and Edward W. Howe, "Joseph Phineas Davis," Journal of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers 4 (December 1917), 437–442. If the letter dates April 1867, Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's travel and shortness of funds are connected to an offer that he received in early March 1867 to become the chief engineer of the St. Louis Water Works. He began work in St. Louis on May 7, 1867. Though a letter from Jeff Whitman to Walt Whitman informing him of the offer is not extant, see Jeff Whitman's March 16, 1867 enclosure in his letter to Walt that he directed to William D. O'Connor. On Jeff's St. Louis offer, see Walt Whitman's April 29, 1867 letter to Jeff Whitman and the notes for Jeff Whitman's May 23, 1867 letter to Walt. Neither the New York Times of April 25, 1867, a Thursday, nor of the day preceding or following, has a mention of Walt Whitman. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman may refer to the Brooklyn Daily Times, but the brief review to which the letter refers is not known. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter only to a Saturday. The date assigned by Richard Maurice Bucke, April 27, 1867, is defensible. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:378).The letter's contents seem to match the period between Thomas Jefferson Whitman's offer of employment at the St. Louis Water Works and his departure for the position. And if so, this letter corresponds also to the appearance of Eugene Benton's appraisal of Walt Whitman in the April 1867 Galaxy. However, a review to which Louisa Van Velsor Whitman refers from the previous "thursday times," which would be April 25, 1867 if the date is correct, raises significant doubts with regard to the date of this letter. Louisa reports that she encloses a clipping from the "thursday times" in which Whitman is labeled the "only american poet." If she has misnamed the newspaper, she may refer to Ferdinand Freiligrath's "Walt Whitman" (Boston Commonwealth, July 4, 1868) or possibly to an unknown article in the London Saturday Review that Horace Traubel dates September 21, 1867. Either article, if enclosed, would change the date of this letter. If the sentiment is more general and not a direct quotation, the most likely newspaper for the enclosed clipping is the Brooklyn Daily Times or the New York Times. If a later date is proposed, it should correspond to a recent visit to Brooklyn by Thomas Jefferson Whitman. Another factor is George Washington Whitman's work for Moses Lane on the "new mane that was laid last fall." George is also said to be working on the "new main" in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's June 20, 1867 and March 6, 1868 letters to Walt. If Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's phrase "only american poet" is a quote from an article, this letter's date is incorrect. If her phrase is not a quotation, April 27, 1867, or any Saturday in April is a reasonable date for this letter. The earliest claimed reference of Walt Whitman as the "only American poet" appeared in the September 21, 1867 issue of the London Saturday Review, according to Horace Traubel (With Walt Whitman in Camden [Boston: Small, Maynard, 1906], 1:242). The first verified reference to Walt Whitman as the "only American poet," however, is usually credited to Ferdinand Freiligrath ("Walt Whitman," Boston Commonwealth, July 4, 1868). Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman spoke well of Freiligrath's article in his July 12, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman. If Louisa's letter refers to a comment or selection from either of these articles, the letter cannot date to April 1867. If the letter dates late April 1867, is not certain what "recreations" Louisa Van Velsor Whitman has in mind. On April 23, 1867 Walt Whitman wrote that he had a visit from William O'Connor, that he visited soldiers in a hospital, and that he spent some time listening to the bells of the St. Aloysius Church. A week earlier, he had attended a concert (see Walt's April 16, 1867 letter to Louisa). In "Literature and the People" Eugene Benson counts Whitman among "noble literary contemporaries" as the representative of American poetry, because he is among a group of writers who have "corrected us, moved us, liberated us" (The Galaxy 3 [April 1867], 875). For the poet's relationship with Benson and The Galaxy, see Robert J. Scholnick, "'Culture' or Democracy: Whitman, Eugene Benson, and The Galaxy," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 13 (Spring 1996), 189–198. John Burroughs (1837–1921) met Walt Whitman on the streets of Washington, D.C., in 1864. After returning to Brooklyn in 1864, Whitman commenced what was to become a lifelong correspondence with Burroughs. Burroughs wrote several books involving or devoted to Whitman's work: Birds and Poets (1877), Notes on Walt Whitman as Poet and Person (1867), Whitman, A Study (1896), and Accepting the Universe (1924). Ursula North (1836–1917) married John Burroughs in 1857 and also became a friend to Walt Whitman. For more on Whitman's relationship with the Burroughs family, see "Burroughs, John (1837–1921) and Ursula (1836–1917)." William Conant Church (1836–1917) and his brother Francis Pharcellus Church (1839–1906) established the Galaxy in 1866. For a time, the Churches considered Walt Whitman a regular contributor, printing several of his poems, including "A Carol of Harvest for 1867," "Brother of All, With Generous Hand," "Warble for Lilac-Time," and "O Star of France." For more on Whitman's relationship with the Galaxy, see "Whitman's Poems in Periodicals—The Galaxy." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's phrase "loaf and live at his ease" evokes one of the most famous lines in all of Whitman's poetry, from the second stanza of Leaves of Grass (1855), "I lean and loafe at my ease." Whether Louisa echoes Walt's poem, later to be titled "Song of Myself" (1881–1882), or whether the poem is an echo of her familial expression is unknown. The nickname "Sis" refers to Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957), the daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. Jessie and her sister Manahatta "Hattie" were both favorites of their uncle Walt. The nickname "Sis" was given first to Manahatta but was passed to her younger sister Jessie Louisa when Manahatta became "Hattie." Richard Maurice Bucke has supplied the year for this letter, writing "'91" in red ink following Heyde's date."The Good Gray Poet" is William D. O'Connor's spirited defense of Walt Whitman against charges of indecency, issued in pamphlet form in 1866.
John Burroughs (1837–1921) met Walt Whitman on the streets of Washington, D.C., in 1864. After returning to Brooklyn in 1864, Whitman commenced what was to become a lifelong 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 wrote several books involving or devoted to Whitman's work: Birds and Poets (1877), Notes on Walt Whitman as Poet and Person (1867), Whitman, A Study (1896), and Accepting the Universe (1924). For more on Whitman's relationship with Burroughs, see "Burroughs, John [1837–1921] and Ursula [1836–1917]."
Portsmouth is probably Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a city on the border of Maine with a naval shipyard. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had spotted an unsigned New York Times reprint of William Michael Rossetti's influential review ("Walt Whitman's Poems," London Chronicle, July 6, 1867, 362–363). Though Walt Whitman was already aware that Rossetti was preparing a London edition of his poems, he may not have yet known the exact nature of Rossetti's commentary on him in the London Chronicle review because in his July 27, 1867, letter to Abby H. Price he had requested her assistance in acquiring "two or three copies" of the New York Times reprint of Rossetti's review. In the review, Rossetti described Leaves of Grass as "incomparably the largest poetic work of our period" (see "Current Literature," New York Times, July 28, 1867, 2). Walt Whitman had forwarded a copy of Leaves of Grass for "republication in England" (see his July 24, 1867, letter to Moncure D. Conway). In his November 1, 1867, letter to Conway, Whitman stated, "I have no objection to [Rossetti's] substituting words." Whitman hesitated but ultimately accepted the compromise necessary to bring his work to a British public, but he later regretted acquiescing. Rossetti's expurgated edition appeared as Poems by Walt Whitman. Selected and Edited by William Michael Rossetti (London: Hotten, 1868). This letter dates to August 1, 1867. "August 1" is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand. Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the year 1867, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:378). The year is correct because Louisa had moved recently to the 1194 Atlantic Street boarding house after her departure from 840 Pacific Street (see herJune 20, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman). This letter has the first mention of her new neighbor, Mr. Hambler, who departed from Atlantic Street later in the year. Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in her July 8, 1868 letter reported Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's confidence that George Washington Whitman's connection to Lane offered assurance of stable employment. Lane later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer, and he again employed George to inspect pipe in Camden, New Jersey. For Walt Whitman's dealings with Lane, see his January 16, 1863 letter to Jeff Whitman. For Lane's career, see "Moses Lane," Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers [February 1882], 58. Mr. Hambler (or Hamblen) was a soap maker who lived downstairs from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. In her November 19, 1867 letter, she reported to Walt that he "is gone bought a house and moved all his manufactory which was immence." According to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's June 20, 1867 letter, she expected to depart from the 840 Pacific Street home on the "last of june." She moved to 1194 Atlantic Street, as Walt Whitman reported in his July 27, 1867 letter to Abby Price: "Mother has moved to 1194 Atlantic street—(not av.)—opposite Hamilton st." This letter dates to October 17, 1867. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter "October 17," and Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the year 1867. In his calendar of letters, Edwin Haviland Miller included no letter dated October 17, 1867, but he did reference a letter from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to Walt Whitman that he dated to October 7, 1867 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:378). No other letter from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman could date to October 7, 1867, so Miller's date must be an error. Louisa stated that she was writing on a Thursday, the day of the week on which October 17 fell in 1867. Additional confirmation for the letter's date is that Louisa's October 20, 1867 letter to Walt—which is concerned also with $10 that has gone missing in the mail—refers to this letter as the one she wrote "thursday last." The postscript appears on the first page of the letter, beneath the date and above the salutation. For her receipt of the "accustomed letter," in which Walt Whitman enclosed $10, see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's October 22, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman. Edwin Haviland Miller dated Walt's lost letter October 20, 1867 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:370). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's postscript runs vertically in the right margin of the first page. The piece to which the postscript refers is Walt Whitman's "Democracy" (Galaxy 4 [December 1867], 919–33, reprinted in Democratic Vistas [Washington, 1871]). Walt Whitman announced the completion of "Democracy" to Francis P. Church and William C. Church in his October 13, 1867 letter and forwarded a copy the following week. He presumably reported to Louisa that he had completed "Democracy" in the letter that she received on October 9, 1867 (see above). See Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's October 17, 1867 letter, the "thursday last." Though the letter that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman received on October 9, 1867 is not extant, Walt Whitman may have reported to her his recent completion of the essay "Democracy" for the Galaxy. In Louisa's October 22, 1867 letter, she referred to the non-extant letter as "sent the 8th." A man known only as Smith was George Washington Whitman's partner in building houses on speculation. Walt Whitman described Smith as "a natural builder and carpenter (practically and in effect) architect," and he advised John Burroughs that Smith was an "honest, conscientious, old-fashioned man, a man of family . . . . youngish middle age" (see Walt's September 2, 1873 letter to Burroughs). The lot with the carpenter's shop, which belonged to Smith, was on Putnam Avenue (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's May 2, 1867 letter to Walt). Louisa asked Walt about purchasing the shop as a residence for herself (see her October 16 or 23, 1867 letter to Walt). Helen and Emily "Emma" Price were the daughters of Abby and Edmund Price and friends with Walt Whitman and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Helen's reminiscences of Walt were included in Richard Maurice Bucke's biography, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), and she printed for the first time some of Whitman's letters to her mother ("Letters of Walt Whitman to His Mother and an Old Friend," Putnam's Monthly 5 [1908], 163–169). This letter dates to October 20, 1867. Both Richard Maurice Bucke and Edwin Haviland Miller dated the letter to October 20, 1867 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:378). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter "Octo 20" and referred to the day she wrote as Sunday, which is correct for the year 1867. The letter's concerns about Thomas Jefferson and Martha Mitchell Whitman are consistent with this period, and the letter resumes the subjects of Louisa's October 17, 1867 letter to Walt, which was written "thursday last." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman exaggerated the time since the last letter, but the most recent extant letter from Walt Whitman to Louisa is from April 30, 1867. Walt Whitman's October 9, 1867 letter (mentioned later in this letter) is not extant. One reason for the lack of recent letters was that Walt visited Brooklyn from mid- to late-September 1867. Louisa reported her receipt of Walt's delayed letter on October 22, 1867. The letter that Walt Whitman sent on October 8, 1867 is not extant, but he may have reported to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman his recent completion of the essay "Democracy" for the Galaxy. In her October 20, 1867 letter, she referred to the letter that she received from Walt, which is undoubtedly the same as "your last the 9th." The one-day discrepancy (her 8th and 9th) is because the letter was sent by Walt on October 8 and received by Louisa on October 9. Though the letter that Walt Whitman sent to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman on October 8, 1867 is not extant (see Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:370), he may have reported to his mother his recent completion of the essay "Democracy" (Galaxy 4 [December 1867], 919–933). "Democracy" is reprinted in Democratic Vistas (1871). Whitman announced the completion of "Democracy" to Francis P. Church and William C. Church in his October 13, 1867 letter and promised to forward the manuscript the following week. This letter dates to October 22, 1867. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated this letter "22 October," and Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the year 1867. Bucke's date is correct because the letter asks about the publication of Walt Whitman's article "Democracy" in the Galaxy and discusses Louisa's anxiety about Walt's health—"thought you was sick" (see also her October 20, 1867 letter to Walt). The word is "c[h]ristmas," but Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote the letters "crist" over the first five letters of the holiday that precedes Christmas, Thanksgiving, which President Andrew Johnson proclaimed would be held on Thursday, November 28, 1867. Walt Whitman made a visit to Brooklyn a few days after this letter. In his October 28, 1867 letter to Alfred Pratt, Whitman wrote that he had "been home to Brooklyn, N. Y., on a visit to my mother." In Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's request to Walt Whitman that he "write to that man about young jim," the phrase "that man" most likely refers to Edward McClure, the brother of Nancy McClure, who was the spouse of Louisa's deceased son Andrew Jackson Whitman. James "Jimmy" was Louisa's grandson, the child of Andrew and Nancy. The effort to remove Nancy's children resumed with greater intensity the following year. After a May 1868 visit that from Jane McClure (Edward McClure's wife), Louisa wrote to Walt that the McClures sought to have Jim placed into a public orphan asylum (see her May 1868 letter to Walt). In May 1868, Louisa asked Walt to write to James Cornwell, a friend of Andrew who served as a judge in the Brooklyn City Hall. Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908) was the youngest daughter of Walter Whitman, Sr., and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. She resided in Burlington, Vermont, with her husband Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), a landscape painter. The relationship between Hannah and Charles was difficult and marred with quarrels and disease. Charles was infamous among the Whitmans for his offensive letters and poor treatment of Hannah. Louisa reported a letter from Charles, but not Hannah, in her March 24, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman.Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), known as "Jeff," was the son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and Walt Whitman's favorite brother. In early adulthood he worked as a surveyor and topographical engineer. In the 1850s he began working for the Brooklyn Water Works, at which he remained employed through the Civil War. In 1867 Jeff became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis and became a nationally recognized name in civil engineering. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)."
Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman (1836–1873) was the wife of Jeff Whitman. She and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta "Hattie" (1860–1886) and Jessie Louisa "Sis" (b. 1863). In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to join Jeff after he had assumed the position of Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis in 1867. For more on Mattie, see the introduction to Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26.
Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), known as "Jeff," was Walt Whitman's favorite brother. As a civil engineer, Jeff became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis in 1867 and a nationally recognized name. He married Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman (1836–1873) in 1859, and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman shared their Brooklyn residence until Jeff departed for St. Louis in 1867. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)."
Jeff had sent word by telegraph of Mattie's death on February 19, and he apologized in his February 24, 1873 letter to his mother—which she had yet to receive—for not writing. Jeff explained that "there were many things I had to do" (Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 158).
Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), known as "Jeff," was the son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and Walt Whitman's favorite brother. His wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman died on February 19, 1873, from complications associated with a throat ailment. Jeff married Mattie in 1859, and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had shared their Brooklyn residence until Jeff departed in 1867 for St. Louis, where he became Superintendent of Water Works. He eventually became a nationally recognized name in civil engineering. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)." Mrs. Beecher is Eunice White Beecher, the wife of Henry Ward Beecher, a Congregational clergyman who accepted the pastorate of the Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, in 1847. Debby Applegate has provided a brief profile of the minister's wife (The Most Famous Man in America [New York: Doubleday, 1996], 82, 317). A memorial stone for a Rebecca Denton Van Velsor (1791?–1871) is present in Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery, and the woman identified by Louisa Van Velsor Whitman as "Aunt Becca" may be a great aunt or other distant relative of Walt Whitman. Aunt Becca is mentioned also Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letters of November 16, 1868 and December 7, 1869.George Washington Whitman wrote to Thomas Jefferson Whitman on April 22, 1863 from Lexington, Kentucky.
George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the sixth child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and ten years Walt Whitman's junior. George enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 and remained on active duty until the end of the Civil War. He was wounded in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and was taken prisoner during the Battle of Poplar Grove (September 1864). After the war, George returned to Brooklyn and began building houses on speculation, with a partner named Smith and later a mason named French. George eventually took up a position as inspector of pipes in Brooklyn and Camden. For more information on George, see "Whitman, George Washington."
According to Clara Barrus, after visiting Brooklyn in late June 1868, John Burroughs described Louisa Van Velsor Whitman favorably in a letter to his wife: "A spry, vivacious, handsome old lady, worthy of her illustrious son" (Whitman and Burroughs: Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 57).
John Burroughs (1837–1921) met Walt Whitman on the streets of Washington, D.C., in 1864. After returning to Brooklyn in 1864, Whitman commenced what was to become a lifelong correspondence with Burroughs. Burroughs wrote several books involving or devoted to Whitman's work: Birds and Poets (1877), Notes on Walt Whitman as Poet and Person (1867), Whitman, A Study (1896), and Accepting the Universe (1924). Ursula North (1836–1917) married John Burroughs in 1857 and also became a friend to Walt Whitman. For more on Whitman's relationship with the Burroughs family, see "Burroughs, John (1837–1921) and Ursula (1836–1917)."
This letter dates to between July 5 and July 12, 1869. The letter has no date marking in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand. The executors did not date it, and Edwin Haviland Miller did not list it in his calendar of letters (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367). Based on Louisa's expectation that fractional currency bills, which Walt Whitman had forwarded, would "soon be in circulation," the letter dates to early July 1869, perhaps a week or two before the release of Postal Currency in the 15-cent denomination. The latest possible date, July 12, is derived both from Louisa's expectation that Abby and Helen Price would visit soon and that Walt would arrive "next month." Walt in a mid-July letter to Abby Price praised her daughter Helen's visit to his mother and reported that he would "leave Washington soon after the middle of August" (see his July 16, 1869 letter to Abby Price). Also see Louisa's July 14, 1869? letter to Walt, which describes the Price's visit the previous day. The United States issued fractional currency during the Civil War, which was known as Postal Currency because the designs copied postage stamps. Various issues continued to enter circulation until the mid-1870s. The 15 cent note appeared only in the fourth issue, which entered circulation on July 14, 1869, and its design is known as the "Bust of Columbia." See Arthur L. Friedberg and Ira S. Friedberg, Paper Money of the United States: A Complete Illustrated Guide With Valuations, 18th ed. (Clifton, New Jersey: Coin & Currency Institute, 2006), 174, 177. If Walt Whitman acquired the notes and forwarded them to his mother some days before they entered official circulation, how he was able to do so is unknown. His close friend William D. O'Connor, who worked in the Treasury Department, may have had access to uncirculated currency.Martha Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873), known as "Mattie," was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother. She and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. For more on Mattie, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26.
Later, in a portion of her letter written the next day, Louisa acknowledged receipt of a letter from Mattie and one from Jeff. Neither letter is extant. Mattie in her June 8, 1868 letter wrote, "It is a long time since I wrote to you" (Waldron, 54).
This letter dates to between May 28 and June 1, 1868. Richard Maurice Bucke dated this letter only to the decade of the 1860s. Edwin Haviland Miller did not assign a date in his calendar of letters (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:366).
Due to its continuation of the discussion on the replacement of the Brooklyn postmaster, which occurred on May 12, 1868, this letter must follow Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's May 13–18, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman. Other items in the letter narrow the range of possible dates but are difficult to reconcile exactly. Louisa refers to a letter from Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman that she received, which dated the "26th." She also wrote that Ansel Van Nostrand was "here this week as the grand masonic lodge meets." According to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, an Odd Fellows lodge held a ceremony on May 26. Though the Odd Fellows were not affiliated with the Freemasons, Louisa probably referred to Ansel's lodge. Because she "look[s] for Ansel here this week," she most likely wrote on May 29 (Sunday) or the following day.
Walt forwarded this letter to Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman in St. Louis because Mattie responded to Louisa's "account of poor Wright" from this letter (see Mattie's June 8, 1868 letter to Louisa, in Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1971], 55). To allow for the receipt of Jeff's letter (May 26) and Ansel's visit to the Odd Fellows lodge, for the letter from Louisa in Brooklyn to reach Walt in Washington, D.C., for him to forward it to Mattie, and for Mattie to have received it "last week" (Sunday, May 30–Saturday, June 6), Louisa must have sent this letter to Walt no later than June 1, 1868.
A new Odd Fellows Lodge at Myrtle and Kent Avenue was dedicated on May 26, 1868, and Ansel Van Nostrand was presumably one of the attending "members of the Order from New York" ("Institution of a New Lodge of Odd Fellows," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 27, 1868, 3). The Odd Fellows, though independent of the Freemasons, were likewise a fraternal organization devoted to beneficence and self-improvement. The following year Ansel was demoted from his position because of his serious alcoholism (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's October 19, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman).
Mary Elizabeth (Whitman) Van Nostrand (1821–1899) was the oldest daughter of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and Walt Whitman's younger sister. She married Ansel Van Nostrand, a shipwright, in 1840, and they subsequently moved to Greenport, Long Island. They raised five children: George, Fanny, Louisa, Ansel, Jr., and Mary Isadore "Minnie." See Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 10–11.
Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had been annoyed for some time with missing letters: "it seems hard to get honest people in the post offices" (see her May 13–18, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman). A Major (later Colonel) John Gibson Wright was taken prisoner with George Washington Whitman at Petersburg (September 1864). This George Wright, perhaps John's brother, is mentioned also in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 7, 1865 letter to Walt Whitman. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman also referred to Jane McClure in her letters as "janey maquire." Jane McClure was the sister-in-law of Nancy McClure, the widow of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's son Andrew Jackson Whitman (1827–1863). Jane was married to Nancy's brother Edward McClure, a janitor in the Brooklyn courthouse. Jane McClure often addressed Louisa about improving the condition of Andrew and Nancy's children. See Louisa's May 1868 and June 25, 1868 letters to Walt Whitman. Jesse Whitman (1818–1870) was the first-born son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr. He suffered from mental illness that included threats of violence for several years before he was committed to an asylum, where he was placed in December 1864. Louisa's remark is her first extant reference to Jesse after he was institutionalized the previous December. Shortly after an outburst that followed his brother Andrew Jackson Whitman's death in December 1863—he threatened Martha Mitchell and Thomas Jefferson Whitman's daughter Manahatta—Jeff sought to "put him in some hospital or place where he would be doctored" (see Jeff's December 15, 1863 to Walt Whitman). Louisa resisted institutionalizing Jesse because, according to her December 25, 1863 letter, she "could not find it in my heart to put him there." On December 5, 1864, Walt committed Jesse to Kings County Lunatic Asylum on Flatbush Avenue, where he remained until his death on March 21, 1870 (see E. Warner's March 22, 1870 letter to Walt). For a short biography of Jesse, see Robert Roper, "Jesse Whitman, Seafarer," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 26:1 (Summer 2008), 35–41.This letter dates to May 16, 1873. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letter to Walt Whitman follows a letter on the same sheet of paper from Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman to Walt. Louisa Orr Haslam dated her letter "Friday." May 16, 1873, the date Richard Maurice Bucke assigned to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letter, fell on Friday. Edwin Haviland Miller dated this letter "about" May 17, 1873 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–75], 2:220, n. 85). Miller's date is incorrect because May 17 fell on Saturday in 1873.
In his letter of May 16, 1873, Walt acknowledged his mother's May 13 or 14, 1873 letter as the first one that he had received in several days. This letter must therefore follow Louisa's May 13 or 14, 1873 letter, and it cannot date to May 23, 1873, the next Friday and day of Louisa's death. Walt arrived at the home of his brother George Washington Whitman in Camden, New Jersey, on May 20, 1873 (see Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer [New York, Macmillan, 1955], 452).
This letter may be the final letter that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman sent to her son Walt. Another letter, which was probably written later, may not have been sent (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's May 17–20?, 1873 letter to Walt).
The letter from Walt that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman "just received" is probably his May 13, 1873 letter. Walt Whitman in January 1873 suffered a paralytic stroke that initially confined him to bed: it took weeks before he could resume walking. He first reported the stroke to his mother in his January 26, 1873 letter and continued to report his condition in subsequent letters. George Washington Whitman married Louisa Orr Haslam (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," in spring 1871, and they lived in Camden at 322 Stevens Street. This letter dates to March 24, 1868. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's date, "March 24" and "Tuesday," are consistent with 1868, the year Richard Maurice Bucke assigned to the letter. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's year (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:365). March 24, 1868 is consistent both with Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's recent receipt of the Galaxy issue that featured William D. O'Connor's "Ballad of Sir Ball" and with the distribution of Fanny Van Nostrand's estate after her death.Neither of these letters from Walt Whitman to his mother, the one received on March 20, 1868 (Friday), or the one received on March 24, 1868, is extant. Edwin Haviland Miller dated the two missing Whitman letters March 19 and March 23, 1868 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:360).
Mary Elizabeth (Whitman) Van Nostrand (1821–1899) was the oldest daughter of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and Walt Whitman's younger sister. She married Ansel Van Nostrand, a shipwright, in 1840, and they subsequently moved to Greenport, Long Island. They raised five children: George, Fanny, Louisa, Ansel, Jr., and Mary Isadore "Minnie." See Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 10–11.
Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had written the previous month, "i think we will get the galaxy and see Oconors peice" (see her February 25, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman). See William D. O'Connor, "The Ballad of Sir Ball," The Galaxy 5 (March 1868), 328–333. O'Connor had recommended Whitman to William C. Church and Francis P. Church, publishers of the Galaxy. For Whitman's work in the magazine, see "The Galaxy." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's sense that Mary Van Nostrand's daughter Mary Isadore "Minnie" was indulged was reaffirmed the following year. Mary requested a week-long visit for shopping in preparation for Minnie's approaching marriage (see Louisa's September 15–26, 1871 letter to Walt Whitman). Fanny Van Nostrand, called "Aunt Fanny" in the letters of Walt Whitman and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, is the mother of Ansel Van Nostrand, who married Walt Whitman's younger sister Mary. Mary Van Nostrand had written on February 16, 1868 that Ansel's mother "cannot live." Louisa reported Aunt Fanny's recent death in this letter. Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver tentatively dated Mary Van Nostrand's letter to 1867, but Louisa's February 19, 1868 letter to Walt dates firmly to 1868, so Gohdes and Silver's provisional date for Mary's letter is incorrect. Louisa had written in her February 25, 1868 letter that "i have heard nothing from aunt fanny i suppos she is living yet," which is consistent with a report on a genealogy site that Fanny Van Nostrand died on March 9, 1868, two weeks before this letter (see http://www.longislandsurnames.com). For Walt Whitman's remark on Aunt Fanny, see his September 29, 1863 letter to Louisa. Fanny Van Nostrand's money was divided among Ansel Van Nostrand, Ansel and Mary Van Nostrand's son George, and Ansel's brother Noah Van Nostrand. Much of the remainder of this letter to Walt Whitman, through granddaughter Manahatta's response to a package, summarizes Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's March 20, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 51–53). The salutation and the two postscripts circle the outer margin of the second page. Earlier in the month Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had written "a pressing letter to Hannah urging her to come and make us a visit" (see Louisa's March 6, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman). Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), Louisa's youngest daughter, resided in Burlington, Vermont, with husband Charles L. Heyde (1822–1892), a landscape painter.Charles L. Heyde "charley hay" was the husband of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's daughter Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde, and they lived in Burlington, Vermont. Louisa no doubt anticipated that requesting a visit from Hannah would upset Heyde, who was infamous among the Whitmans for his offensive letters and poor treatment of Hannah. Louisa in her November 28 to December 12, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman wrote that Heyde "is a very bad man very very."
Foolscap is a large piece of paper that is used by artists for sketches. As writing paper, it may be divided into smaller pieces.
This letter dates to April 7, 1868. The date "april 7" appears in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, and Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to 1868; Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:365). The year is correct, as the letter refers to a speech by Benjamin F. Butler during negotiations on the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson, which was printed in newspapers on March 30, 1868. Van Brunt Bergen (1841–1917) was an employee of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1864 to 1895. The son of Congressman Teunis G. Bergen, Van Brunt Bergen (1841–1917) graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1863 with a degree in civil engineering. He wrote a short history of the department, which was printed in Henry R. Stiles, ed., The Civil, Political, Professional, and Ecclesiastical History . . . of the County of Kings and the City of Brooklyn, New York from 1683 to 1884 (New York: W. W. Munsell, 1884), 584–594. See also Thomas Jefferson Whitman's December 21, 1866 letter to Walt Whitman. Edwin Haviland Miller dated the two missing Walt Whitman letters April 2 and April 6, 1868 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:360). Nicholas Amerman had a grocery store on Myrtle Avenue. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had requested 10 dollars to settle a similar debt in her March 28, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman. Mary Elizabeth (Whitman) Van Nostrand (1821–1899) was the oldest daughter of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and Walt Whitman's younger sister. She married Ansel Van Nostrand, a shipwright, in 1840, and they subsequently moved to Greenport, Long Island. They raised five children: George, Fanny, Louisa, Ansel, Jr., and Mary Isadore "Minnie." See Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 10–11. For Mary's recent visit to her mother, see Louisa's March 24, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman. Benjamin F. Butler (1818–1893) was a Union general in the Civil War and a leader among Radical Republicans who pushed for the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson. During the war, Butler was credited with labeling escaped fugitive slaves as "contraband of war," and his soldiers occupied New Orleans. As a member of the House of Representatives, he served as a prosecutor during the impeachment proceeding in the Senate. For the request by Johnson's counsel that the trial be postponed for 30 days (or 10 days), a request that was rejected, see "News of the Day: Congress," New York Times, March 24, 1868, 1. Also see "Gen. Butler's Opening Speech for the Prosecution," New York Times, March 31, 1868, 1. On Butler's cleverness, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman may refer to a letter from Butler to the Salem (Massachusetts) Gazette, which was reprinted as "Gen. Butler on Impeachment—The Financial Policy and His Own Sagacity," New York Times, March 26, 1868, 1. This letter dates to May 5, 1868. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter May 5, 1868, and Edwin Haviland Miller cited the same date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:366). The mark between Louisa's month and the number "5" is probably a superscript "th"; her placement of the superscript for ordinal designation varies widely, but it may be an inverted signature. Jeff and Mattie Whitman had relocated from Brooklyn to St. Louis with their daughters. Jeff moved to St. Louis in May 1867 to assume the position of chief engineer of the St. Louis Water Works, and Mattie and daughters Manahatta and Jessie Louisa joined Jeff in St. Louis in January 1868. Louisa grew increasingly anxious about the absence of letters from Jeff and Mattie, a concern that Mattie acknowledged in her June 8, 1868 letter (Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 54–56). Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's younger daughter, resided in Burlington, Vermont, with husband Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), a French-born landscape painter. Charles was infamous among the Whitmans for his offensive letters and poor treatment of Hannah. Louisa often spoke disparagingly of Charles in her letters to Walt Whitman. On March 24, 1868, she wrote, "i had a letter or package from charley hay three sheets of foolscap paper and a fool wrote on them." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman probably refers to the Illustrated Chicago News, a periodical that began a brief run on April 24, 1868, "a very creditable weekly, with illustrations by Thomas Nast and other well known artists" (Frank W. Scott and Edmund Janes James, ed., Newspapers and Periodicals of Illinois, 1814–1879 [Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1910], 92). The first of May was the proverbial moving day in Brooklyn as year-long leases expired. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman paraphrased the assessment of a newspaper article: "increasing and exorbitant rents asked for houses and apartments this year have driven hundreds of families to the necessity of giving up housekeeping" ("High Rents and Housekeeping," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 5, 1868, 3). George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the sixth child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and ten years Walt Whitman's junior. George enlisted in 1861 and remained on active duty until the end of the Civil War. He was wounded in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and was taken prisoner during the Battle of Poplar Grove (September 1864). After the war, George returned to Brooklyn and began building houses on speculation, with partner Smith and later a mason named French. By 1868, the house business is balanced against George's work as an inspector of pipes in Brooklyn and Camden. For more information on George Washington Whitman, see "Whitman, George Washington." Advertised as "Part of House No. 340 Carlton ave[nue], comprising 4 rooms on the second floor and 2 attic bedrooms" ("Boarding," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 1, 1868, 3). John A. Bingham (1815–1900), representative from Ohio who served as a manager during the impeachment proceedings of President Andrew Johnson in the Senate, presented the closing argument for removing the president from office. Though not considered a Radical Republican, Bingham argued for Johnson's removal on the grounds that the president was not a "judiciary to interpret the Constitution for himself" and so was required to abide by and enforce all laws, even those with which he disagreed ("Impeachment: Mr. Bingham's Closing Argument for the Prosecution," New York Times, May 5, 1868, 1; Richard L. Aynes, "Bingham, John Armor," American National Biography Online). Amos Bronson Alcott (1799–1888) was an American educator and abolitionist and the father of Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888), whose 1868 novel Little Women (loosely based on the Alcott home) secured the financial stability that her father had been unable to achieve through his own work as a teacher and transcendentalist. See Odell Shepard, ed., The Journals of Bronson Alcott (Boston: Little, Brown, 1938), 286–90. Whitman had forwarded to Alcott a copy of "Personalism" (Galaxy [May 1868], 540–547). Whitman had informed his mother of Alcott's appreciation for the essay in his letter to her of April 28–May 4, 1868. The enthusiastic reponse to Whitman by the transcendentalist writer Ralph Waldo Emerson following the publication of the first edition of Leaves of Grass led Alcott and the poet Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) to visit the Whitman home in Brooklyn on November 9, 1856. Whitman was not home at the time. In his journal, Alcott described Whitman's mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, as "a stately sensible matron believing in Walter absolutely and telling us how good he was and wise as a boy" (Odell Shepard, ed., The Journals of Bronson Alcott [Boston: Little, Brown, 1938], 289). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's disbelief is understandable since Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's salary far exceeded the earnings of Walt Whitman and his brother George Washington Whitman, but it is unlikely to be a mistake. The raise that Moses Lane reported would be substantial, an increase of about fifty percent over Jeff's initial salary of "three hundred thirty dollars per month" (Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 119). This mark may not be a signature at all but instead a superscript "th" in the date.This letter dates to a Thursday in May 1868. Neither Walt Whitman's reply to this letter, nor any letter to his mother between his April 28–May 4, 1868 and his June 6–8, 1868 letters survive. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to May 14, 1868, but this date cannot be directly confirmed. Nonetheless, Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver accepted Bucke's date (Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 195–196), and Edwin Haviland Miller cited their date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:374). The date, nonetheless, remains uncertain.
May 14 fell on Thursday in 1868, but the letter may date to a Thursday that preceded or followed in the same month. May seems to be consistent with the efforts of Jane McClure (Louisa's "maquire") to remove Andrew Jackson Whitman's children from the care of his widow Nancy McClure and place them in an orphan asylum, a topic to which Louisa Van Velsor Whitman returned in her June 25, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman. Jane McClure was the sister-in-law of Nancy. Louisa wrote in late June that Jane McClure inquired whether "cornell had been to see me about the children." This "cornell" is the same James Cornwell who had been a close friend of Louisa's son Andrew before his death in 1863.
This letter could date even earlier because a brief mention of removing James "Jimmy" Whitman and a request to "write that man" appeared in Louisa's December 15, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman. Louisa in this letter asked (almost begged) Walt to write Cornwell. The impetus for James Cornwell's visit to Louisa about Andrew and Nancy's children was presumably the letter from Walt that Louisa requested. Walt, however, did not mention Nancy McClure's children or the letter to Cornwell when he acknowledged receipt of letters from his mother in his April 28–May 4, 1868 or his June 6–8, 1868 letters. The intensified efforts appear to date to May and June. Louisa's request for a letter to Cornwell by the end of the month presumably makes May 28, the last Thursday of the month, the last possible date for this letter.
Jane McClure, whose last name Louisa Van Velsor Whitman here wrote as "maquire," was the sister-in-law of Nancy McClure, the widow of Louisa's son Andrew Jackson Whitman. Jane was married to Nancy's brother Edward McClure, a janitor in the Brooklyn courthouse. For the identification of McClure as Nancy's maiden name, see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 12, n. 32. Nancy McClure Whitman was the wife of Walt Whitman's brother, Andrew Jackson Whitman. James "Jimmy" and George "Georgy" were Nancy and Andrew's sons, and Nancy was pregnant with Andrew, Jr., when her husband died in December 1863. This letter has the only known information about the twins born to Nancy in 1868. George Washington Whitman and his wife Louisa Orr Haslam briefly cared for Jimmy and Georgy in late 1871 and early 1872, but traces of them are lost aside from Georgy's death in late 1872. For Andrew's wife and children, see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975], 13–14. James H. Cornwell, a friend of Andrew Jackson Whitman, secured Andrew a job in North Carolina in 1863 building fortifications, and he assisted the Whitman family during Andrew's funeral. After being discharged from the Union Army in December 1864, Cornwell returned to his position as a judge in the Brooklyn City Hall. He is mentioned in Whitman's "Scenes in a Police Justices' Court Room" (Brooklyn Daily Times, September 9, 1857). For the relationship between Andrew and Cornwell, see Martin G. Murray, "Bunkum Did Go Sogering," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 10 (Winter 1993), 142–148.On behalf of which Andrew Louisa Van Velsor Whitman made this request to Walt Whitman is unclear. She most likely asked Walt to write Cornwell on behalf of the memory of Walt's brother Andrew Jackson Whitman, who died in 1863, for the sake of his three children. Presumably this is what she intended because also referred to "the 3 children" and indicated a plan to share the financial burden of caring for them with the McClures. But she may have asked on behalf of Walt's nephew, Andrew, Jr., who was born to Nancy McClure after Andrew's death.
The Home of the Friendless only accepted children up to the age of eleven, so Andrew, Jr., was the only child eligible for long-term assistance through that institution. This effort to remove Nancy's children was unsuccessful. Andrew, Jr., aged 5 years, was run over in the street and killed the following autumn (see Walt's September 7, 1868 letter to Louisa).
The Home of the Friendless was constructed in 1847 by the American Female Guardian Society "to protect, befriend, and to train to virtue and usefulness to those whom no one seemed to have thought or pity." The asylum took in orphaned or homeless children under the age of 11. It was located on 30th Street between Park Avenue South and Madison (see Moses King, King's Handbook of New York City [Boston: Moses King, 1892], 396). Edward McClure was the brother of Nancy McClure, Andrew Jackson Whitman's widow. See Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975], 12, n. 32.Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's report of Janey McClure's recommendation deploys somewhat cryptic syntax, but her intent can be summarized as follows: If Nancy McClure's children were removed from her care by a legal process, taken "the proper way," then the children could be placed into ("can be got in") the Home of the Friendless. The concern that Nancy would be able to remove her children from an orphanage is consistent with Louisa's June 25, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman, in which she stated her own and the McClures' preference that Nancy's children be placed in the Brooklyn Home for Destitute Children, the "only place that [Nancy] couldent get them out." The word "it" in the phrase "proper way it taken" may be an error for the intended word "is," the transcription offered by Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver (Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 196).
Louisa's son George Washington Whitman and his wife Louisa Orr Haslam briefly cared for Andrew and Nancy's sons James "Jimmy" and George "Georgy" in late 1871, though it is unclear why Nancy released her two sons into their custody (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's October 10, 1871 and October 23, 1871 letters to Walt). The son born to Nancy after the death of her husband Andrew in 1863, Andrew, Jr., died after he was run over by a brewery wagon in 1868, and Georgy died in 1872.
The spelling "Edwar" is an incomplete correction. Louisa began to write "Edd," as she spelled her son Edward's name, and then she wrote the letter "w" for "Edward" (Janey McClure's husband) over the second "d" in her original assay. The name "Edwar" has the "w" over the original and now stricken letter "d." Gohdes and Silver transcribed the name "Eddwar" (Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 196). Edward McClure worked as a janitor in the courthouse. See Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975], 12, n. 32. See the left margin of the second page. See the left margin of the first page. This letter dates to June 25, 1868. "June 25" is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, and Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to the year 1868. Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver also assigned the date June 25, 1868 (Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 196–198), and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:366). The year 1868 is consistent with Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman living in St. Louis, with the prospect of placing the children of Nancy McClure in an orphan asylum, and with the initial progress on a house that George Washington Whitman was building for his mother. This letter follows Louisa's May? 1868 letter to Walt Whitman, in which she asked him to write to James Cornwell about removing Nancy's children.According to Clara Barrus, John Burroughs (1837–1921) visited Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in Brooklyn in late June (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:37, n. 10). However, Walt Whitman also wrote on July 10–13, 1868 that John Burroughs "may call upon you on his way home." If Walt Whitman informed his mother in a June letter that Burroughs might visit, that letter is not extant, but more than one visit by Burroughs, who traveled regularly, is also reasonable.
Burroughs met Walt Whitman on the streets of Washington, D.C., in 1864, and Whitman in 1864 commenced what was to become a lifelong correspondence with Burroughs. Burroughs wrote several books involving or devoted to Whitman's work: Birds and Poets (1877), Notes on Walt Whitman as Poet and Person (1867), Whitman, A Study (1896), and Accepting the Universe (1924). Ursula North (1836–1917) married John Burroughs in 1857 and also became a friend to Walt Whitman. For more on Whitman's relationship with the Burroughs family, see "Burroughs, John (1837–1921) and Ursula (1836–1917)."
For Mattie's June 8, 1868 letter, probably the most recent letter that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had received, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 54–56. Jane McClure was the sister-in-law of Nancy McClure, the widow of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's son Andrew Jackson Whitman (d. 1863). Jane was married to Nancy's brother Edward McClure, a janitor in the Brooklyn courthouse. For the identification of McClure as Nancy's maiden name, see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), n. 32. Nancy McClure Whitman was the wife of Walt Whitman's brother, Andrew Jackson Whitman. James "Jimmy" and George "Georgy" were Nancy and Andrew's sons, and Nancy was pregnant with Andrew, Jr., when her husband died in December 1863. For the identification of McClure as Nancy's maiden name (Louisa Whitman also writes "maguire" or "maquire") and Andrew's wife and children, see Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman, 12, n. 32; 13–14. The man "cornell" is James H. Cornwell, a friend of Andrew Jackson Whitman, who secured him a job in North Carolina in 1863 building fortifications. After being discharged from the Union Army in December of 1864, Cornwell returned to his position as a judge in the Brooklyn City Hall. He is mentioned in Whitman's "Scenes in a Police Justices' Court Room" Brooklyn Daily Times (September 9, 1857). For more on the relationship between Andrew and Cornwell, see Martin G. Murray, "Bunkum Did Go Sogering," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 10 (1993), 142–148. On the efforts of the Edward and Janey McClure to remove Nancy McClure's children and place them in an institution, see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's May? 1868 letter to Walt Whitman. The Brooklyn Home for Destitute Children was inaugurated in 1862. It was located on Baltic Avenue near Flatbush. It accepted infants and male children up to the age of nine years old. For a description of the facility and its purpose at its founding, see "The Home for Destitute Children," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 12, 1862, 3. The word "clean" is near certain. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman struck through the two words that follow, and part of her cancelling mark obscures the word "clean." This part of postscript appears in the right margin of the page.This postscript appears at the top of the first page and is inverted.
The cellar was probably for the house in the lot on 1149 Atlantic Avenue. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman followed up on George Washington Whitman's difficulty in locating a surveyor and with his progress on the cellar in her July 1, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman. George purchased the property outright from his partner—a man named Smith—and Louisa and son Edward moved there in late September (see her August 26, 1868 letter to Walt and Walt's September 25, 1868 letter to Peter Doyle).
George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the sixth child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and ten years Walt Whitman's junior. George enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 and remained on active duty until the end of the Civil War. He was wounded in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and was taken prisoner during the Battle of Poplar Grove (September 1864). After the war, George returned to Brooklyn and began building houses on speculation, with a partner named Smith and later a mason named French. George eventually took up a position as inspector of pipes in Brooklyn and Camden. For more information on George, see "Whitman, George Washington."
This letter dates to July 1, 1868. "July 1" is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, and Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to 1868. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–75], 2:366). The year is consistent with the January 1868 departure of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman to St. Louis and with Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's June 25, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman, which also discusses George Washington Whitman's effort to have a property surveyed. Walt Whitman's June 29, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–75], 2:361). Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's June 25, 1868 letter is not extant. Mattie (1836–1873) was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother. She and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta "Hattie" and Jessie Louisa "Sis." In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. For more on Mattie, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., "Introduction," Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26. Jeff and Mattie Whitman had relocated from Brooklyn to St. Louis with their daughters. Jeff moved to St. Louis in May 1867 to assume the position of chief engineer of the St. Louis Water Works, and Mattie and daughters Manahatta and Jessie Louisa joined Jeff in St. Louis in January 1868. Mattie had written in her March 20, 1868 letter to Louisa that Jeff "has so much to think about in his business that you mustnt think hard of him for not writing" (see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 53). Whether Walt visited Brooklyn for July 4, 1868 is not known. The previous year Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and son Edward "Edd" Whitman had moved out of the home on 840 Pacific Street shortly after Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's departure for St. Louis. Louisa and Edd had shared a home with the family of Jeff and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman for several years. Louisa reported the expected moving date as the "last of june" (see her June 20, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman). She had moved to her current boarding location at 1194 Atlantic Street. Lewis L. Bartlett was a Brooklyn surveyor, with whom Jeff Whitman began his career in engineering. See Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., "Introduction," Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman (Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984), 13. Prospect Park covers over 500 acres in what is now the center of Brooklyn. The designer for the park was Calvert Vaux (1824–1895), and the chief architect was Frederick Law Olmsted (1822[?]–1893). Work began in 1859 and continued after the interruption of the Civil War. In 1868, when this letter was written, the realization of Vaux's design was nearly complete, and the park was already quite popular. It stretched to the city's eastern boundary. The park is notable for its Long Meadow, "a classic passage of pastoral scenery with gracefully modulated terrain of greensward, scattered groves of trees, and indefinite boundaries that create a sense of unlimited space" (Charles E. Beveridge, "Olmsted, Frederick Law," American National Biography Online). The 840 Pacific Street home that Louisa had shared with Jeff Whitman and his family was on Prospect Park.Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's word, perhaps "pr[en?]ty" is probably an incomplete correction. The word "plenty" is likely the intended correction, but the letter "r" in the word originally intended, probably "pretty," is not stricken through.
George Washington Whitman a month earlier had reported Moses Lane's statement that Thomas Jefferson Whitman as chief engineer of the St. Louis Water Works was earning a salary of $6,000 per year (a figure that Louisa doubted—see her May 5, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman). Early in his career Jeff had worked as a surveyor, but it was unlikely that Jeff, who had achieved such a prominent position, would have considered the career switch that his mother was contemplating.
The cellar was for the house in the lot on 1149 Atlantic Avenue. George Washington Whitman purchased the property outright from his partner—a man named Smith—and Louisa and son Edward moved there in late September (see her August 26, 1868 letter to Walt and Walt's September 25, 1868 letter to Peter Doyle).
George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the sixth child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and ten years Walt Whitman's junior. George enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 and remained on active duty until the end of the Civil War. He was wounded in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and was taken prisoner during the Battle of Poplar Grove (September 1864). After the war, George returned to Brooklyn and began building houses on speculation, with a partner named Smith and later a mason named French. George eventually took up a position as inspector of pipes in Brooklyn and Camden. For more information on George, see "Whitman, George Washington."
The conclusion of the phrase is written in the upper right margin. Whether Walt Whitman made a short visit to Brooklyn in early July for the holiday is not known, but it is unlikely that he visited in early July because Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in her July 8, 1868 letter wrote that "we have all lived through the 4th." In any case, Walt did not take his usual extended leave of absence in 1868 until the autumn (see his September 7, 1868 letter to Louisa).This letter dates to July 8, 1868. "July 8" is in Louisa Van Velsor's Whitman's hand, and Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter 1868; Edwin Haviland Miller agreed (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–75], 2:366). The year is consistent with her reference to a Thomas Nast cartoon in Harper's Weekly. In addition, July 8 fell on a Wednesday in 1868, the day of the week that Louisa wrote this letter.
Louisa used a superscript "th" with some regularity, but the placement is not consistent. She appears here to have written a superscript both before and after the number "8," but neither mark is clear.
This letter is not known. Erysipelas is contagious and has symptoms of fever accompanied by skin inflammation with a deep red color. It is also known by the name St. Anthony's fire. George Washington Whitman suffered a serious bout of erysipelas (see Walt Whitman's May 5, 1867 letter to William D. O'Connor). Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. George Washington Whitman's position as inspector for the Brooklyn Water Works became more tenuous in 1869 after the reorganization of the Brooklyn Board of Water Commissioners in April: Lane resigned after the new board was seated (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's April 7, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman). Lane later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer, and he again employed George to inspect pipe in Camden, New Jersey. For Walt Whitman's dealings with Lane, see his January 16, 1863 letter to Jeff Whitman. For Lane's career, see "Moses Lane," Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers (February 1882), 58. Walt Whitman was proud of Dutch ancestry on his mother's side: "I may say I revel, even gloat, over my Dutch ancestry" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden ed. Jeanne Chapman and Robert MacIsaac [Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1992], 7:1).See Thomas Nast, "Sickly Democrat," Harper's Weekly, July 11, 1868, 439. In Nast's cartoon, Salmon P. Chase (1808–1873), Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, is depicted as a physician who offers a sickly Democrat a medicinal draught that holds a stereotyped black figure as the "medicine," a reference to Chase's support for African American suffrage.
Louisa could refer to Harper's Weekly of "last" Sunday (July 11, 1868) in this July 8 letter because the weekly was post-dated by one week. Walt Whitman in his July 10–13, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman reported receiving a letter, almost certainly this one, because he referred to the Copperhead Democratic ticket of Horatio Seymour and Montgomery Blair as "a bad dose of medicine" outside New York.
Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's phrase "your place" refers to Walt Whitman's employment in the office of the attorney general. Before Henry Stanbery (1803–1881) resigned the office on March 12, 1868 to serve as counsel during the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson, Walt had served under Stanbery and his interim replacement Orville Browning (1806–1881). William M. Evarts (1818–1901) succeeded Browning (see Walt's July 17, 1868 letter to Louisa). The words "no more" are pressed together. The word that precedes "lame" is most likely "letter," as in "letter lame," but it could also be "little."Jean, usually "Jenny" but here "Jinne," and Ellen M. "Nelly" O'Connor had visited Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in Brooklyn earlier in the year (see Louisa Whitman's March 3, 1868 letter). Walt Whitman the previous month had reported his regular visits to the O'Connors, "up to the O'Connors as usual last evening to tea" (see his June 6–8, 1868 letter).
For a time Walt Whitman lived with William D. and Nelly O'Connor, who, with Charles Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the Washington years. William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of the pro-Whitman pamphlet "The Good Gray Poet" in 1866. Nelly O'Connor had a close personal relationship with Whitman, and the correspondence between Walt and Nelly is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence with William. Jenny was the O'Connors' daughter. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)."
This letter dates to July 15, 1868. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter only "wensday," and Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the date July 15, 1868. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–75], 2:361). July 15, 1868, was a Wednesday, and the date assigned by Bucke is correct because it corresponds with stories about politics in the newspaper and because Louisa Van Velsor Whitman replied directly to a query in Walt Whitman's most recent letter. The letter refers to the Democratic presidential candidate Horatio Seymour, and Louisa drew from an article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, which appeared on July 7. She responded to Walt Whitman's request for her (and George Washington Whitman's) opinion of the Democratic ticket in Walt's July 10–13, 1868 letter. The house was probably the one on 1149 Atlantic Avenue. Louisa had discussed George Washington Whitman's difficulty in locating a surveyor and his progress on the cellar in her July 1, 1868 letter. George purchased the property outright from his partner—a man named Smith—and Louisa and her son Edward moved there in late September (see her August 26, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman and his September 25, 1868 letter to Peter Doyle). George Washington Whitman started a business building houses on speculation with a man named Smith in 1865, and they were joined by a mason named French the following year. Walt Whitman described Smith as "a natural builder and carpenter (practically and in effect) architect," and he advised John Burroughs that Smith was an "honest, conscientious, old-fashioned man, a man of family . . . . youngish middle age" (see Walt's September 2, 1873 letter to Burroughs). See also Jerome F. Loving, "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 3–35. Martha Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873), known as "Mattie," was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother. She and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. For more on Mattie, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26. Mattie's June 8, 1868 letter may be the most recent one that Louisa has received (see Waldron, 54–56). Horatio Seymour (1810–1886), former governor of New York, was the Democratic Party nominee and opponent of Republican candidate Ulysses S. Grant in the presidential election of 1868. "Seymour among the People" reported enthusiastic crowds for the candidate along the train route for his return to Utica, New York (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 14, 1868, 2). The term "Radical" was the Democratic-leaning Eagle's party designation for Republican candidates and voters, and it reserved terms like "respectable" and "respectful" for moderate Republicans who advocated generous terms for the southern states and so would consider voting for Seymour. For more on Seymour, see Joel H. Silbey, "Seymour, Horatio," American National Biography Online.Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's support for Ulysses S. Grant and the Republican presidential ticket was genuine. Walt Whitman had been employed in the office of the attorney general for a Republican president, and his brother George Washington Whitman served in the Union Army. Louisa read against the grain of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Louisa replied to Walt's query in his July 10–13, 1868 letter, "How do you all like the nomination of Seymour and Blair?" Despite her annoyance with the daily paper's political orientation, she continued to subscribe to it out of habit and familiarity (see her February 17, 1868 letter to Walt).
"Copperhead" is a derisive term for an antiwar Democrat.
Salmon P. Chase (1808–1873) was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He sought the 1868 presidential nomination of the Democratic Party, but his support for African American suffrage undermined his candidacy. Horatio Seymour was selected as the party's nominee. Also see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's response to a Thomas Nast cartoon on Chase's politics in her July 8, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman. This letter dates to August 26, 1868. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter August 19, 1868. Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver agreed with Bucke's date, and Edwin Haviland Miller cited Gohdes and Silver to date this letter (see Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 198–199; Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–75], 2:366). The surmised date based on corresponding topics with Walt Whitman's August 24, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is reasonable but incorrect: the letter must follow George Washington Whitman's receipt of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's August 20, 1868 letter (Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 128–129). The date accepted by Gohdes and Silver and Miller is consistent with subjects in two letters from Walt Whitman, one before August 19 and one after. Louisa discussed the house that George Washington Whitman was building at 1149 Atlantic Avenue, conceivably in response to a query in Walt's August 13–17, 1868 letter to Louisa. Louisa also reacted to a "falling out" between the O'Connors and Ursula North Burroughs, which Walt also discussed in that letter. Finally, she noted that Walt was "so attached to washington," an observation to which Walt seems to have responded in his August 24, 1868 letter to Louisa. Despite the seeming corroboration of these three topics, however, discussion of them presumably continued through multiple letters. The letter to dates August 26, 1868, a week later, after George has received a $510 draft from Jeff Whitman. Since Jeff referred to an "enclosed draft" in the same amount in his letter to George, Louisa's statement that George has received Jeff's draft must follow Jeff's letter. See Walt Whitman's August 13–17, 1868 letter. In his July 10–13, 1868 letter, Walt Whitman reported a "serious falling out" between Ursula North Burroughs and the O'Connors (William D. and Ellen M. "Nelly"). In his August 13–17, 1868 letter, he stated that the O'Connors "have got another house, & move in about a month." The house that George Washington Whitman co-owned with his partner Smith was at 1149 Atlantic Avenue. Walt Whitman described Smith as "a natural builder and carpenter (practically and in effect) architect," and he advised John Burroughs that Smith was an "honest, conscientious, old-fashioned man, a man of family . . . . youngish middle age" (see Walt's September 2, 1873 letter to Burroughs). George purchased the property outright from Smith, and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and her son Edward moved there in late September (see her August 26, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman and his September 25, 1868 letter to Peter Doyle). Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman had pipe for the St. Louis Water Works made at the R. D. Wood Foundry, which was located in Florence, New Jersey. See Jeff's September 6, 1868 letter to George. See Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's August 20, 1868 letter to George Washington Whitman (Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 128–129). For George's financial struggles in the house-building business during the immediate postwar years, during which he relied on loans both from Walt and Jeff, see Robert Roper, Now the Drum of War (New York: Walker and Company, 2008), 352–361. The intended word is probably "reckoning," but the letter-by-letter spelling is closer to "rectoneng." In context, the intended word is most likely "reckoning," but given Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's phonetic spelling of unfamiliar words and casual inconsistency in handwriting habits, some doubt must remain. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's postscript appears upside down on the top of the first page. This letter dates to November 2 or 3, 1868. Louisa dated the letter "November 2," and Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the year and the day of the week, "Monday." Edwin Haviland Miller also dated this letter November 2, 1868 (see Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 198–199; Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–75], 2:366). However, the letter refers to going to town on "election day," which does not match her date "November 2," because the election was held on Tuesday, November 3, 1868. The year is corroborated by the illness of neighbor Charley Mann, whose death is the subject of Louisa's November 10, 1868 letter to Walt. As the date in Louisa's hand and election day are not compatible, the letter dates to November 2 or 3, 1868. Joseph Mosler Simonson (d. 1879) was a chief clerk in the Brooklyn Post Office. After three or four letters in which money was sent went missing earlier during the year, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had visited postmaster Simonson in his office (see her May 28–June 1, 1868 letter to Walt). Simonson assured her of the Brooklyn office's honesty, a view that Walt contested in his June 6–8, 1868 reply to Louisa: "I know the Mr. Simonson you saw at the post office—he has been a sort of Deputy post master a good many years—Notwithstanding what he says, the Brooklyn p. o. has a very bad name, & a great many money letters sent there never get to their destination." Also see "Funeral of an Old Official," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 7, 1879, 4. Mattie Whitman returned to Brooklyn in mid-October 1868 for medical treatment and an extended visit. Jeff Whitman arrived in Brooklyn late November. Mattie visited Brooklyn physician A. D. Wilson, and Walt Whitman consulted about her condition with another physician, DeWitt C. Enos (see Walt's October 25, 1868 letter to Jeff). Walt noted his own suspicion that Mattie had "possibilities of consumption." Charles L. Heyde (1822–1892) a landscape painter, married Hannah Louisa Whitman (1823–190), Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's second daughter, and they lived in Burlington, Vermont. Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde suffered from a thumb infection that led Doctor Samuel W. Thayer to lance her wrist in November 1868 and to amputate her thumb the following month (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's November 18, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman; and see Charles L. Heyde's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, December 1868, Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 225–226). In November 1868, coal was advertised in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle at a rate of $8.50 or $9.50 per ton. A man known only as Smith was George Washington Whitman's partner in building houses on speculation. Walt Whitman described Smith as "a natural builder and carpenter (practically and in effect) architect," and he advised John Burroughs that Smith was an "honest, conscientious, old-fashioned man, a man of family . . . . youngish middle age" (see Walt's September 2, 1873 letter to John Burroughs). For more on George's housebuilding business, see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975). William W. Goodrich ran for State Senator in the Second District on the Republican ticket in 1867. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle printed a detailed letter that accused Goodrich of attempting to intimidate the Brooklyn Water Board into purchasing overpriced fire hydrant couplings during a previous stint on the state legislature ("A Radical Republican on Mr. Goodrich's Nomination," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 23, 1867, 2). George Washington Whitman in late 1867 had begun to serve as a pipe inspector for Moses Lane of the Brooklyn Water Works. Charley Mann died of a disease that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman identified as "diptheria [sic] croup" three days later (see her November 10, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman). Diphtheria is a contagious disease characterized by acute infection of mucous membranes, primarily the throat and nasal passages. Croup, an infection of the throat and larynx, is characterized by a ringing or barking cough. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's phonetic spelling "mobeal" refers to Mobile, Alabama. The "old lady" was probably the mother of neighbor Mary E. Mann, who had family in Alabama (also see Louisa's December 7, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman). The Mann family—though Louisa spelled the name "man"—lived downstairs from Louisa. Also see Mary E. Mann's March 9, 1873 letter to Louisa (Library of Congress). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter "wensday," and the letter closes with the news that "grant is elected." Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the date November 4, 1868, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:66, n. 17; 2:366). Republican presidential candidate Ulysses S. Grant's strong showing in the election on Tuesday, November 3, 1868, assured him an electoral college victory, so this letter dates to the Wednesday immediately following the election, November 4, 1868. Charles L. Heyde (1822–1892), a French-born landscape painter, married Hannah Louisa Whitman (1823–1908), Walt's sister, in 1852, and they lived in Burlington, Vermont. Hannah in late 1868 suffered from a thumb infection that led Doctor Samuel W. Thayer to lance her wrist in November 1868 and to amputate her thumb the following month (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's November 18, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman; and see Charles L. Heyde's December 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 225–226). Mattie Whitman had arrived in Brooklyn for a visit and medical evaluation in mid-October. For a report on her medical condition, see Walt Whitman's October 25, 1868 letter to Thomas Jefferson Whitman. Helen "Ellen" Price was the daughter of Edmund and Abby Price, whom Walt Whitman and his mother had known since the Prices moved to Brooklyn in 1856. During the 1860s, Abby Price and her family, especially her daughter Helen, were friends with Walt and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. The Price family began to save Walt's letters. Helen's reminiscences of Whitman are included in Richard Maurice Bucke's biography, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), and she printed for the first time some of Whitman's letters to her mother ("Letters of Walt Whitman to his Mother and an Old Friend," Putnam's Monthly 5 [1908], 163–169). Edmund and Abby Price's boarder may have been John Arnold and family (see Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer [New York: Macmillan, 1955], 199). The 1868 presidential election was held on Tuesday, November 3, 1868. By November 4 both the New York Times and the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported the expected and overwhelming electoral college victory of Republican candidate Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885). Grant was the most successful and highest ranking Union general of the Civil War. As commander of the Army of the Potomac, he accepted the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox. Elected first in 1868, he was re-elected in 1872 and served two full terms as president.This letter dates to November 10, 1868. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to 1868. Edwin Haviland Miller also dated the letter November 10, 1868 (see Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:366). Bucke's and Miller's date is correct. The year is consistent both with the death of Charley Mann, whose illness is mentioned in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's November 2 or 3?, 1868 letter to Walt, and with the year (but not the month) in which Louisa's daughter Hannah Heyde's thumb was amputated.
The letter is difficult to reconcile with Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's late-1868 visit to Brooklyn and with Hannah's surgery. Louisa acknowledged two recent letters from Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Mattie, letters that were prompted, Louisa said, by a letter from Walt that "stirred them up." That both Mattie and Jeff would write to Louisa in early November 1868 is quizzical because Mattie began an extended visit to Brooklyn for medical treatment in mid-October 1868 (see Walt's October 25, 1868 letter to Jeff). Furthermore, it has been assumed that Mattie, who came to Brooklyn in part for medical treatment, remained in Brooklyn from her mid-October arrival until her return to St. Louis with Jeff in mid-December. Walt's letter implies the same when he described Mattie as "comfortably situated" (Miller The Correspondence, 2:68, n. 21; Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 60). But Mattie was unlikely to have remained with Louisa from mid-October to mid-December. Mattie in early November 1868 presumably returned to St. Louis (or visited elsewhere), which would explain why Walt's forwarded letter from Louisa could prompt a "letter from jeff and one from matty." Louisa's reference to Hannah's "losing her thumb" presents another complication for dating the letter. If the month and year, November 1868, are correct, Louisa cannot refer to the surgical amputation of Hannah's thumb (in December 1868) but rather to its loss of use.
The letter cannot date earlier than the election of 1868, when Charley Mann was noted ill but alive, nor can it date to the following year, by which time Louisa had moved to Portland Avenue.
Walt Whitman's November 8?, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant.Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had written the previous week, "little charley down stairs is very sick" (see her November 2 or 3?, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman).
In an annotation to the letter in Richard Maurice Bucke's hand, the surname of "little charley" is given as Mann. A March 9, 1873 letter from Mary E. Mann, presumably Charley Mann's mother, to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman confirms the spelling of the name is Mann.
Diphtheria is a contagious disease characterized by acute infection of mucous membranes, primarily the throat and nasal passages. Croup, an infection of throat and larynx, is characterized by a ringing cough. Charlie Mann is described as a "down stairs" neighbor in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's November 2 or 3?, 1868 letter. This "Janey" may have been a relative of Charlie Mann or Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's upstairs neighbor, Jenne Chappell, whom Louisa described in her March 6, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman as the wife of "the doctor." The letter is not extant. Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), known as "Jeff," was the son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and Walt Whitman's favorite brother. In early adulthood he worked as a surveyor and topographical engineer. In the 1850s he began working for the Brooklyn Water Works, at which he remained employed through the Civil War. In 1867 Jeff became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis and became a nationally recognized name in civil engineering. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)." This letter is not extant. Martha Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873), known as "Mattie," was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother. She and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. For more on Mattie, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26. Louisa Van Velsor lamented missing money in a letter from Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and a lack of letters from Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman in her November 4, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman: "every time Jeff sends me any money its stolen i wrote three letters to maty thinking it so strange i got no answer." The statement seems the best candidate to have "stirred them up," if Walt forwarded her letter. This letter, if the date is correct, preceded the amputation of Hannah Heyde's thumb, though she may already have lost the use of the digit. For the initial surgical effort to relieve the infection, see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's November 18, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman. Charles L. Heyde in his December 1868 letter to Louisa described the surgical amputation by Samuel W. Thayer: the "thumb had been dead, at the extremity for many days[,]" and was "quite offensive" (Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 225–226).This letter dates to November 11, 1868. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman did not provide any form of a date for the letter, but the letter does refer to the day before as Tuesday. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter November 11, 1868, a Wednesday, and Edwin Haviland Miller cited Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:70–71, n. 31; 2:366). The date November, 11, 1868, accords with a recent throat operation for Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman in Brooklyn, but Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's statement about an architectural drawing that George Washington Whitman has received raises some doubt about the date.
After Mattie's arrival in Brooklyn to visit a physician in October, Walt reported to his brother Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman that the physician hoped to have a better sense of Mattie's health within "ten or twelve days" after a surgery (see his October 25, 1868 letter to Jeff). Louisa's November 4?, 1868 letter to Walt must date after Walt's letter and before this letter both because Mattie's surgery remained in the future in that letter and because George went to Camden "last night" and is expected to stay there through November 21. Mattie's throat surgery was performed, presumably, shortly after Louisa's November 4 letter to Walt, and this letter dates November 11, the Wednesday after Mattie's surgery. However, the letter also states that George "has got a draw of the two houses they talk of building." If the statement implies that George has returned to Brooklyn, it contradicts his plan to be away at Camden for over two weeks. However, Louisa explained in her November 4, 1868 letter to Walt that George was inclined to return more often than every two weeks (that amount of time is required for return trip to be paid by the Brooklyn Water Board), because he is "carried away by somebody." According to Louisa's November 10, 1868 letter, George "is away." Even if George was not then in Brooklyn, his receipt of an architectural drawing could have alternate explanations: he may have received the drawing in Camden, which Louisa forwarded or received on his behalf, or he returned briefly to Brooklyn and was again away. The matter of George's architectural drawing can only be resolved by a surmise about what was probable. Regardless, this letter cannot date to the Wednesday after November 11 because Jeff Whitman's arrival in Brooklyn was not expected until the following week (see Louisa's November 18, 1868 letter to Walt). Despite the doubts raised by George's drawings, this letter must nonetheless date to the Wednesday between Louisa's November 4 and her November 18 letters to Walt.
Walt Whitman's November 6?, 1868 and November 8?, 1868 letters are not extant (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], ed. Edwin Haviland Miller 2:361). Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's younger daughter, resided in Burlington, Vermont, with husband Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), a French-born landscape painter. Charles Heyde was infamous among the Whitmans for his offensive letters and poor treatment of Hannah. In late 1868 Hannah suffered a thumb infection that led Doctor Samuel W. Thayer to lance her wrist in November and to amputate her thumb the following month (see Charles L. Heyde's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, December 1868, Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 225). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman visited daughter Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde and Hannah's husband Charles L. Heyde in early September 1865, and she remained in Burlington, Vermont for over a month. See her letters to Walt from September 5, 1865 and September 11, 1865 Samuel R. Probasco (1833–1910) was an employee at the Brooklyn Water Works from 1856 to 1868, an assistant engineer in the Department of City Works, and a principal engineer on the Brooklyn Water Board from 1871 to 1875. According to a brief newspaper profile a decade later, he was the "handsomest man on the entire bridge force" ("Samuel R. Probasco," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 24, 1883, 5). For more on Probasco, also see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's November 19, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman. The name "saywards" has not been identified. It is not clear whether this word is "off," superimposed over a word that began with the letter "g" or a canceled word. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman may have begun to write the name "george" but decided instead to continue the previous phrase that described Edward: he is "very bad) off." The reading then is a letter "o" in "off" over a partially canceled "g" in "george" but with the vertical mark after "bad" uncanceled. Or Louisa may have intended to cancel the entire word but neglected to cancel the second "f." The paragraph continues up the right margin of the page. The postscript begins inverted at the top of the first page and continues in the left margin.The date of this letter is uncertain, but clues point to a date of November 4, 1868. Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the date November 11, 1868, and Edwin Haviland Miller accepted Bucke's date (see Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:366). But the letter is likely to date to the Wednesday a week earlier, November 4, 1868. Another letter from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to Walt, which described Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's recent throat surgery, is more likely to date November 11, 1868, and that letter fulfills this letter's concluding promise to "write about domestic affairs." Second, this letter does not mention Mattie's throat surgery or her recovery from that surgery. Presumably, then, the throat surgery was still in the future at the time of this letter. Louisa wrote bluntly in this letter that "i have not got any hous yet." In her next week's letter (November 11), she wrote that son George Washington Whitman "has got a draw of the two houses they talk of building," which implies that Louisa believed that one of the two houses that George planned to build will be for her and her son Edward Whitman.
This letter has no mention of Charley Mann or his illness, a topic that dominates Louisa's November 10, 1868 letter. Finally, this letter says that George went to Camden "last night" and is expected to stay there until "2 weeks from next Saturday" (November 21 if this letter dates to November 4). In the November 10 letter, she wrote that George "is away," but he has returned to Brooklyn by Louisa's November 18, 1868 letter. That George remained away in Camden for two full weeks is unlikely because Louisa wrote in this letter that he "is very much carried away by somebody," presumably Louisa Orr Haslam, his future wife. Because a number of contextual clues point to this letter's date as a Tuesday approximately a week before Louisa's November 11, 1868 letter to Walt—and though no one clue is decisive—this letter dates November to 4, 1868.
The pipe foundry located in Camden, New Jersey, was the R. D. Wood Foundry, where George Washington Whitman's brother Thomas Jefferson Whitman had pipe made for the St. Louis Water Works. George accepted a position as inspector of pipes at the foundry in late 1869. Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. For more information on Walt Whitman's dealings with Lane, see Whitman's January 16, 1863 letter to Thomas Jefferson Whitman. The woman that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman identified as George Washington Whitman's "somebody" is almost certainly Louisa Orr Haslam, whom he would marry in spring 1871. See Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (New York: Macmillan, 1955), 443. Louisa's term "somebody" is her euphemism for a companion with whom one has a romantic interest. She likewise described a companion of Joseph Phineas Davis, who is "here quite often to supper and stay all night," as a "mr somebody" (see her June 7, 1866 letter to Walt).Martha Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873), known as "Mattie," had arrived in Brooklyn from St. Louis for medical treatment and a holiday visit in mid-October. Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman joined his wife and children near the end of November, and they returned to St. Louis in mid-December. It is possible that Mattie departed from Brooklyn for a brief period in mid- or late-November 1868 (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's November 11, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman).
Mattie and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In early 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved from Brooklyn to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. Mattie suffered a throat ailment that would lead to her death in 1873. For more on Mattie, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., "Introduction," Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26.
Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's early November 1868 letter to Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman is not extant, but he remained in St. Louis. Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890) was the son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and Walt Whitman's favorite brother. In early adulthood he worked as a surveyor and topographical engineer. In the 1850s he began working for the Brooklyn Water Works, at which he remained employed through the Civil War. In 1867 Jeff became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis and became a nationally recognized name in civil engineering. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)." William Ezra Worthen (1819–1897) was the sanitary engineer of the Metropolitan Board of Health of New York City from 1866 to 1869. The absence of punctuation for dialog is somewhat disorienting in this section of the letter. After Mattie said, according to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, that she wished "they would hurry up and pay the other hundred," Louisa informed Mattie that she had predicted to George Washington Whitman that Mattie would say that as soon as she received the $200 check. This letter dates to November 18, 1868. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter November 18, 1868, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:366). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote that she received a letter from Charles L. Heyde, her daughter Hannah's husband, "yesterday tuesday 17th." November 18 fell on a Wednesday in the year 1868, and the letter's discussion of Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's illness and the expected arrival of Mattie's husband Thomas Jefferson Whitman is consistent with that year.This letter is unusual for its systematic correction. The marks are faintly visible on the digital image but are clearly visible on the manuscript in the Trent Collection at Duke University. The corrections appear to be in Louisa's hand, but she may have been prompted to make these corrections by her visiting granddaughter Manahatta. (Manahatta accompanied her mother Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman for her return to Brooklyn for medical treatment.) It appears that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in her hand corrected her usual lowercase "i" to capital "I" and made many marks to separate phrases. That said, while lower-case "i" is more common in later letters, capital "I" is not unusual in early letters. Also, the style of the slash to separate phrases is not systematically different from the mark that is elsewhere transcribed as a closing parenthesis—the style of the mark varies widely. In this edition, the dashes have been transcribed as an en dash with a space before and after, and the slash-style marks are transcribed as the closing parenthesis.
Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (1795–1873) married Walter Whitman, Sr., in 1816; together they had nine children, of whom Walt Whitman was the second. For more information on Louisa and her letters, see Wesley Raabe, "'walter dear': The Letters from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to Her Son Walt" and Sherry Ceniza, "Whitman, Louisa Van Velsor (1795–1873)."
Thomas Jefferson Whitman arrived in Brooklyn on November 20, 1868, a Friday. See Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's November 25, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman. Samuel W. Thayer, a Professor of Anatomy at the University of Vermont Medical School, performed surgeries in Burlington, Vermont during the 1860s. Walt Whitman inquired about Hannah's health in his December 8, 1868 letter to Thayer. For the Whitman family's bitterness toward Charles L. Heyde and the stress that Hannah's health crisis introduced between Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and George Washington Whitman, see Horace Traubel, Wednesday, January 9, 1889, With Walt Whitman in Camden (New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1914), 3:499–500. The postscript is written in the left margin. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter November 25. The year 1868, added by Richard Maurice Bucke, is certain because it is consistent with multiple family matters: Martha Mitchell Whitman's convalescence from throat surgery, Thomas Jefferson Whitman's recent arrival from St. Louis, George Washington Whitman's presence in Brooklyn (he returned recently from Camden), and Walt Whitman's correspondence with Dr. Samuel Thayer in Burlington, Vermont, about his sister Hannah Heyde's recent thumb surgery (also see Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:366). Louisa wrote that she received a letter from Walt "to day wensday," his November 24, 1868 letter; November 25, the date in Louisa's hand, fell on a Wednesday in 1868. Therefore, November 25, 1868 is certain for the date of this letter. See Walt Whitman's November 24, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Walt stated his confidence that his mother had received his Saturday, November 21, 1868 letter, but that letter is not extant (see Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:361). Miller dated the missing letter November 20?, 1868. George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the sixth child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and ten years Walt Whitman's junior. George enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 and remained on active duty until the end of the Civil War. He was wounded in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and was taken prisoner during the Battle of Poplar Grove (September 1864). After the war, George returned to Brooklyn and began building houses on speculation, with a partner named Smith and later a mason named French. George also took a position as inspector of pipes in Brooklyn and Camden, and he married Louisa Orr Haslam in spring 1871. For more information on George, see "Whitman, George Washington."Martha Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873), known as "Mattie," was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother. Mattie had arrived in Brooklyn for a visit and medical evaluation and treatment in mid-October. For a report on Mattie's medical condition, see Walt Whitman's October 25, 1868 letter to Jeff Whitman. Mattie and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. Mattie's throat ailment led to her death in February 1873. For more on Mattie, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26.
The money that George Washington Whitman had advanced to Mattie ($50), which Jeff did not repay, became a matter of misunderstanding in the accounting of the loans that Jeff had extended to George (see Louisa's June 23, 1869 letter to Walt).
Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), known as "Jeff," was the son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and Walt Whitman's favorite brother. In early adulthood he worked as a surveyor and topographical engineer. In the 1850s he began working for the Brooklyn Water Works, at which he remained employed through the Civil War. In 1867 Jeff became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis and became a nationally recognized name in civil engineering. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)."
Walt Whitman inquired in his November 24, 1868 letter whether Jeff had arrived, and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman confirmed his arrival in Brooklyn on Friday, November 20.
Hannah Heyde (1823–1908), Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's younger daughter, resided in Burlington, Vermont, with husband Charles L. Heyde. Hannah in late 1868 is suffering from a thumb infection. She wrote: "I am so anxious about my hand I fear I shall lose my thumb I cant see it gets & feels or looks much better. It pained me last night more than usual." Heyde described Hannah's hand as follows: "Her hand is yet very distressing. Dr Thayer says that he cannot decide how it will terminate. The finger next her thumb is perfectly torpid and half closed and the others are not much better (Charles L. Heyde and Hannah Heyde's November 24, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, Duke University, Trent Collection). The complications from the infection led Doctor Samuel W. Thayer to lance her wrist in November 1868 and to amputate her thumb the following month (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's November 18, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman; see Charles L. Heyde's December 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 225–26). During the 1860s, Abby Price and her family, especially her daughter Helen, were friends with Walt Whitman and his mother Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. The Price family began to save Walt Whitman's letters, and Helen's reminiscences of Whitman are included in Richard Maurice Bucke's biography, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883). Helen printed for the first time some of Whitman's letters to her mother ("Letters of Walt Whitman to his Mother and an Old Friend," Putnam's Monthly 5 [1908], 163–169). Walt Whitman had visited Thomas Davis (1806–1895) in Providence, Rhode Island during his October 1868 vacation. Davis, a jewelry manufacturer, served both in Rhode Island's state house of representatives and state senate. He also served one term as Rhode Island's representative in Congress. See the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. For Walt Whitman's visit to Davis during his October vacation, see his October 20, 1868 letter to Charles W. Eldridge. Walt Whitman had inquired, "Has George done any thing about the Portland av. house, yet?" (see his November 24, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). The salutation and the postscript are inverted in the top margin of the first page. The date for this letter, "12 Jan '92" has been supplied in pencil in the upper right hand corner of the letter. Heyde dated this letter "Feby 1892" in pencil. The day, "29," has been writted in red ink and inserted between the month and the year; this insertion may have been supplied by Richard Maurice Bucke. Whitman had written to Hannah Whitman Heyde on February 24, 1892. This letter dates to no earlier than November 30, 1868 and no later than December 3, 1868. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to December 1, 1868, and Edwin Haviland Miller also assigned the letter the date of December 1, 1868 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:366). The letter addresses multiple family matters in common with other letters from late 1868 that are consistent with Bucke's and Miller's month and day: Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's presence in Brooklyn after arriving from St. Louis in late November, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's daughter Hannah (Whitman) Heyde's recent thumb surgery, and the diminishing probability that Jeff and his wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman will visit Walt Whitman in Washington. Louisa had mentioned Jeff and Mattie's possible trip to Washington in her November 25, 1868 letter to Walt, so this letter's update that their trip was no longer probable dates this letter a week after that November 25 letter. Also, Louisa's November 28 to December 12, 1868 letter to Walt, which offers further details about Hannah's thumb problems from Heyde's letter, is most likely to follow this one. Charles Louis Heyde (1822–1892), a landscape painter, married Hannah Louisa Whitman (1823–1908), Walt Whitman's sister. They lived in Burlington, Vermont. Charles Heyde was infamous among the Whitmans for his offensive letters and poor treatment of Hannah. Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908) was the youngest daughter of Walter Whitman, Sr., and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. She resided in Burlington, Vermont, with her husband Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), a landscape painter. The relationship between Hannah and Charles was difficult and marred with quarrels and disease. Louisa often spoke disparagingly of Charles in her letters to Walt Whitman. For the Whitman family's bitterness toward Charles and the stress that Hannah's health crisis introduced between Louisa and her son George, see Horace Traubel, Wednesday, January 9, 1889, With Walt Whitman in Camden (New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1914), 3:499–500. For the condition of Hannah Heyde's thumb, which had been lanced during a surgery in November by Dr. Samuel Thayer and would be amputated in December, see Charles L. Heyde's December 1868 letter to Louisa (Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 225–226). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman switched subjects from daughter Hannah Heyde's thumb infection to Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's possible trip to Washington. Louisa had written in her November 25, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman that "Jeff and she talks of coming to washington for a few days the first of next week Jeff will write to inform you what day they will come)." Martha Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873), known as "Mattie," was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother. She and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. Mattie had arrived in Brooklyn from St. Louis for medical treatment and a holiday visit in mid-October 1868. Jeff joined his wife and children near the end of November, and they returned to St. Louis in mid-December. At the time of this letter, Mattie was being treated for the throat ailment that will lead to her death in 1873. For more on Mattie, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., "Introduction," Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26.November 28, 1868 is the earliest possible date for this letter, and December 12, 1868 is the latest possible date; the most probable date for the letter is December 5, 1868. The subjects of this letter are consistent with late November and early December 1868, both the matter of Hannah (Whitman) Heyde's serious thumb infection and the presence of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and his wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman in Brooklyn. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to December 5, 1868, which fell on a Saturday. Edwin Haviland Miller accepted Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:366). December 5 is the most probable date, though the letter could fall a week earlier.
The letter very likely precedes Charles Heyde's December 8?, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, which describes the surgical amputation of Hannah's thumb (Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 225; Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, 2:72–73, n. 37). Walt's December 8, 1868 letter to Samuel W. Thayer, in response to Hannah's November 24, 1868 letter to Walt (Trent Collection), corroborates the assumption that this letter is unlikely to date before November 28 or after December 12 (Miller, Correspondence, 2:72–73, n. 37). As Louisa's letter seconded Hannah's request to have Walt write to Thayer in her November 25, 1868 letter to Walt, Walt's letter to Hannah, which Charles Heyde intercepted, and Heyde's letter to Louisa, which Louisa summarized in this letter, followed in rapid succession. Therefore, this letter from Louisa to Walt is from early December but not after Hannah's surgery. It is likely also to follow Louisa's November 30–December 3, 1868 letter to Walt, which offers further details about Hannah's thumb problems from Heyde's letter. It is possible (but unlikely) that this letter dates to the Saturday after Louisa's request to Walt to write Thayer (November 28), but it dates no later than the Saturday following Hannah's surgery (December 12).
Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's youngest daughter, resided in Burlington, Vermont, with husband Charles L. Heyde. The phrase "began with saying" that precedes Hannah's name marks the beginning of Louisa Van Velsor's excerpt from Charles Heyde's letter, which continues on to the next page. At the conclusion of her excerpt, she wrote, "all this i have copied from his letter." Also see note 6 below for "he says," a phrase marked in the manuscript. Walt's late-November or early December letter to Hannah (Whitman) Heyde is not extant. Above the words "he says" is a mark that resembles a curly brace. Because the horizontal curved mark intersects the curved mark after the word "next" in the line above, it may seem that the intent is to insert the word "he says" after the word "next" in the line above. However, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman explains the mark five lines below; she has "copied from his letter except where i marked above." This horizontal curved line is Louisa's mark to indicate that she is not quoting these two words from Charles L. Heyde's letter: they are her own words rather than a quotation from his letter. The mark after "next" is her usual closing mark for a phrase, which functions rhetorically to close a phrase but may resemble a closing parenthesis mark or a vertical pipe. Though the closing mark after "next" and the curved line enclosing "he says" intersect physically on the page, their function is not related. Louisa, who was transcribing part of Charles Heyde's letter for Walt Whitman, appears to have written over a false start. After the letter "hy," the start of Heyde's name, she wrote over those letters with the word "himself." Heyde's letter, which she was transcribing, discusses Walt. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman also sought higher quality wine as a treatment for her daughter-in-law Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman after throat surgery (see Louisa's November 18, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman).This letter dates to December 10, 1868, which fell on Thursday in 1868. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter December 10, 1868, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:366). The subjects of this letter are consistent with early December 1868, both in the matter of the recent amputation of Hannah (Whitman) Heyde's thumb and in the plans by Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha "Mattie" Whitman to depart Brooklyn soon for St. Louis without visiting Walt Whitman in Washington.
Louisa enclosed in this letter to Walt a December 1868 letter from Charles Heyde that described the surgical amputation of his wife Hannah Heyde's thumb (Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 225–226). Miller dated Heyde's letter to "[a]bout December 8" (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, 2:72–73, n. 37). A second point of corroboration for the date of the present letter is Louisa's statement that Jeff and Mattie no longer plan to visit Walt in Washington. That statement affirms Louisa's observation, in her November 30–December 3, 1868 letter to Walt, that "i hardly think they will come to washington." Indeed, Jeff and Mattie departed for St. Louis shortly after this letter (see Louisa's December 15–19, 1868 letter to Walt). Since the letter must precede Louisa's December 15–19 letter and since Louisa enclosed Heyde's December 8 letter, it must date to the Thursday following Heyde's, December 10, 1868.
Charles Louis Heyde (1822–1892), a French-born landscape painter, married Hannah Louisa Whitman (1823–1908), Walt's sister in 1852, and they lived in Burlington, Vermont. The letter that Louisa had received, Heyde's December 8?, 1868 letter, describes the surgical amputation of Hannah's thumb by Samuel W. Thayer, a Vermont physician. See Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949), 225. Edwin Haviland Miller dated Heyde's letter to "[a]bout December 8" (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], n. 37). Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), the youngest daughter of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., resided in Burlington, Vermont, with husband Charles L. Heyde. Martha Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873), known as "Mattie," was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother. She and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. Mattie suffered a throat ailment that would lead to her death in February 1873. For more on Mattie, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26. Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and family began boarding at "George Wolbrecht's 'Hotel Garni, Billiard Hall and Restaurant'" in early 1869. See Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's January 7, 1869 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 63, n. 2). This letter dates to March 31, 1869. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter "31 march," and Richard Maurice assigned the year 1869. Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver cited Bucke's date (Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 200–201), and Edwin Haviland Miller cited Gohdes and Silver's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:367). The year is consistent, as Bucke indicated, with the publication of Walt Whitman's "Whispers of Heavenly Death." Bucke's scholarly abbreviation "N.B." for nota bene (see page image 1) may be to signal that Walt Whitman forwarded copies of the poem to his mother Louisa Van Velsor Whitman almost immediately upon receipt of the thirty copies that he had requested from the publisher (see Walt's March 22, 1868 draft letter to the New York office of Edmund Routledge). Routledge is the London-based publisher that had issued the set of poems during the previous October. This letter corresponds with Walt's request and with Louisa's receipt of printed copies of "Whispers of Heavenly Death" from publisher Routledge. Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), the youngest daughter of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., resided in Burlington, Vermont, with husband Charles L. Heyde (1822–1892), a landscape painter. This letter is but one of many in which Louisa Van Velsor Whitman remarks on Charles Heyde's offensive letters and his willingness to deny Hannah access to letters from her family. Late in 1868 Hannah suffered a thumb infection that led Doctor Samuel W. Thayer to lance her wrist in November and to amputate her thumb the following month (see Charles L. Heyde to Louisa Whitman, December 1868, Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 225). This letter has the most extended description of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's upstairs neighbor "chappells wife," whose first name have been Janey or Jenne. This letter gives her name as "janey," but she is probably the same person that Louisa named "jenne chappell" in her March 6, 1868 letter, where she is described as the wife of "the doctor." This upstairs neighbor may also be the same person who visited Louisa at the same time as Charlie Mann, a young child and downstairs neighbor who died from the croup in late 1868 (see Louisa's November 10, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman). See "Whispers of Heavenly Death" (The Broadway, A London Magazine 10 [October 1868], 21–22). The set of five poems was republished in Passage to India (1871). The "a" is an abbreviated form of avenue. George Washington Whitman purchased the lot on Putnam Avenue as one of his earliest investment properties after his return from the Civil War, but he decided against building a house on the lot shortly after the purchase (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's May 2, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman). Putnam Avenue runs east-west from Broadway to Grand Street, through the present-day Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. Clermont Avenue runs north-south between Atlantic Avenue and Flatbush Avenue, which then bordered the U.S. Navy Yard. This brief letter appears on the verso of George Washington Whitman's February 24, 1865 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. This letter is probably the one that Edwin Haviland Miller dated to February 24?, 1865 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:376). Miller's date cannot be correct because Louisa's letter apologizes for not sending George's letter earlier. The letter from George was originally sent to Boston, and Walt remained unaware that his brother had been exchanged at least through February 27, 1865. Louisa did not forward the letter earlier because she assumed Walt already knew of George's release. According to Louisa's March 5, 1865 letter to Walt, she forwarded George's letter (this one) "yesterday." Therefore, this letter dates to March 4, 1865. Walt Whitman remained unaware that his brother George Washington Whitman had been exchanged, at least as of his February 27, 1865 letter to Captain William Cook, in which he inquired why George had not "come up with the main body, for exchange." The delay between George's sending the letter and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's forwarding it to Walt was related to two matters: that George's letter was "missent to boston" and that George's name appeared in the list of released officers in the New York Times. George Washington Whitman's name appeared in the list of returned officers. He is listed as "Capt G W Whiteman, 51st New York." The list of names took up almost two full columns of type. To save space, the standard newspaper column was split into two columns divided by a line. In the fifth full column from the edge of the page (the left-most column of names in the article), George's name appears 14 names up from the bottom of the page ("Our Returned Prisoners," New York Times, February 28, 1865, 1). George Washington Whitman arrived the next morning. For a detailed description of George's deteriorated physical condition upon arrival, see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 5, 1865 letter to Walt Whitman. Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman (1836–1873) was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother. She and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. Mattie suffered a throat ailment that would lead to her death in February 1873. For more on Mattie, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's "Sis" is Manahatta "Hattie" Whitman (1860–1886), the older daughter of Thomas Jefferson and Martha Mitchell Whitman. The nickname "Sis" would eventually pass from Hattie to her younger sister Jessie Louisa, the latter born in June 1863. Hattie, who lived most of the first seven years of her life in the same home with Louisa Whitman, was especially close to her grandmother. Hattie and Jessie Louisa were both favorites of their uncle Walt. This letter dates to March 4, 1869. The date "March 4" is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, and Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the year 1869. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367). The year corresponds with a series of late-term pardons by the outgoing President Andrew Johnson, and it corresponds also to George Washington Whitman's difficulty in obtaining financing for his housing business, which led him to request a loan from Walt Whitman (see Louisa's March 15, 1869 letter to Walt). This letter, which precedes the letter with the loan request by eleven days, explains the financing difficulties that George had encountered from loan agents. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in her March 17, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman wrote that George Washington Whitman would follow Walt's advice and have a mortgage made out to Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman: "i will get george to doo what you say) he is having the morgage [sic] made out to Jeffy there will be no other claim on it and i think it has been a good thing for Jeff as well as george." According to the understanding at this time, Jeff agreed to lend George $3,000. Jeff sent George installments of $200 per month (see Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 136, n. 1; Walt Whitman, Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:79–80, n. 11). However, according to Louisa's June 23, 1869 letter to Walt, Jeff initially agreed to lend George $1,000 and had agreed to lend an additional $3,000 in exchange for a mortgage. But Jeff, who had only sent George $2400 toward the mortgage, wanted to be repaid the initial $1,000 immediately—even though Jeff had ceased making $200 monthly payments on the promised $3,000 while $600 short of $3,000. In mid-March 1869 Louisa asked Walt to lend George $600, and Walt apparently agreed (see Louisa's March 15, 1869 letter and Jeff's March 25, 1869 letter to Walt). The reason that Walt could be "offended at any thing i said" is uncertain, but George may have hinted already that he would ask Walt for a loan and so had become anxious about Walt's silence on the matter. George Washington Whitman started a building business with a partner named Smith in 1865, and they were joined by a mason named French the following year. See Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 27–29. The "t" was omitted in "payment" to shorten the word so that it would fit in space before the fold. President Andrew Johnson's late-term pardons, according to contemporary issues of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, included John C. Brain, convicted of piracy ("The Pardon of Brain," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 1, 1869, 3); Charles O. Brockway and Nathaniel Oakley, both convicted of counterfeiting ("U.S. Marshal's Office. Pardons Ad Libitum," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 3, 1869, 3; "U.S. Marshal's Office. Still Another Pardon," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 1, 1869, 5), and John R. Wigham, convicted of embezzling letters ("U.S. Marshal's Office. Still Another Pardon," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 2, 1869, 2). Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), the youngest daughter of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., resided in Burlington, Vermont, with husband Charles L. Heyde (1822–1892), a landscape painter. Late in 1868 Hannah suffered a thumb infection that led Doctor Samuel W. Thayer to lance her wrist in November and to amputate her thumb the following month. For Louisa's report on the initial surgery from a non-extant letter by Charles Heyde, see her November 28 to December 12, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman. Moses Lane (1823–1882) was Chief Engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869 and later became City Engineer of Milwaukee. He was the supervisor of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman at the Brooklyn Water Works and found George Washington Whitman an offer of employment, according to Jeff's September 11, 1865 letter. For more information on Walt Whitman's dealings with Lane, see Whitman's January 16, 1863 letter to Jeff. This letter dates to March 15, 1869. The date "March 15" is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand on the second page, and Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to 1869. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's year (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367). In March 1869 George Washington Whitman was struggling to keep his housebuilding business afloat financially, and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in this letter asks Walt Whitman for a loan of "five or six hundred" on George's behalf, the "cause of her writing." This direct request had been prepared two weeks earlier when Louisa wrote on the reluctance of agents to lend money to George: they instead sought the safety of government bonds (see her March 4, 1869 letter to Walt). Walt sent a bank draft immediately after receiving this letter, and Louisa acknowledged George's receipt of the draft (see her March 17, 1869 letter to Walt). Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman confirmed Walt's loan to George a week later (see Jeff's March 25, 1869 letter to Walt). In his February 2–8, 1869 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, Walt Whitman wrote of "severe cold in my head" and "bad spells, dizziness in the head." Walt's suffering continued for some time. In her February 18, 1869 letter, Louisa wrote, "i was sorry Walter you have them bad spells with your head it must be very bad indeed." She also recommended a "kind of linement [sic] called cloroform [sic]." According to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 6, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman, George Washington Whitman was returning to the R. D. Wood Foundry in Camden, New Jersey, to inspect the "new main" for Moses Lane, chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works. George's brother Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman also had pipe made for the St. Louis Water Works in Camden. George accepted a position as inspector of pipes at the foundry in late 1869. Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman had agreed to lend his brother George Washington Whitman $2,000 (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 4, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman). If there are "800 dollars to come," as Louisa wrote above, George had already received six $200 installments from Jeff—with four more to come. However, the set of installments may have differed. Louisa attempted to provide a complete accounting in her June 23, 1869 letter to Walt: two installments from Jeff in the amount of $500 each were followed by a series of installments of $200, which George eventually expected would total $3,000 for a mortgage on top of the initial $1,000 in two installments. It is unclear whether Jeff agreed to provide $4,000 in full—$3,000 in $200 installments on top of the initial $1,000—because he only loaned George $3,400, which was $600 less than George expected. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman shortened a series of words in her conventional closing: "mor[e]," "remem[ber]," and "you[r]." This letter dates to August 25, 1868. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter "spring of 1869," and Edwin Haviland Miller dated the letter "summer" 1869 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:80, n. 11). Miller's summer 1869 date is impossible: Moses Lane resigned the position of Chief Engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works on May 1, 1869, but this letter refers to the safety of George Washington Whitman's position as a pipe inspector so long as Lane remained as the chief engineer ("Moses Lane," Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers [February 1882], 58). Bucke's spring date is also impossible, as Louisa herself refers to "summer" in this letter, and she had noted in April 1869 that Lane was expected to resign his position after a new water board was seated (see her April 7, 1869 letter to Walt). This letter dates to the previous year, and it followed Walt's August 24, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. This letter responds directly to four matters from Walt's letter: the receipt of stamped envelopes, Walt's dissatisfaction with his boarding situation, a requested update on George's house, and an acknowledgment that Walt has set a date for his coming September leave. Walt dated his August 24 letter "Monday forenoon," and Louisa dates this letter "tuesday evening." One day for letters between Washington, D.C., and Brooklyn, New York, is common if the letter was sent before noon, so this letter dates to August 25, 1868. Walt Whitman enclosed "some envelopes—they are already stamped" in his August 24, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Ebenezer Ray (1843?–1902) was a long-time jewelry store owner in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn City Directory (1869) lists him as a jeweler at 462 Atlantic Avenue. George Washington Whitman and "his gal" were on a leisure tour up East River. The steamer departed "Pier 24, at Peck Slip, foot of Beekman Street, for Glen Cove, L[ong] I[sland]" (Appletons' Hand-Book for American Travel. Northern and Eastern Tour [New York: D. Appleton, 1873], 30, 31). Glen Cove, accessible from Hempstead, was a "pleasant place for a quiet day's enjoyment[,]" and the village of Roslyn was "nestled among green trees and placid lakelets" (36). George Washington Whitman's "gal" was probably Louisa Orr Haslam (1842–1892). George and Louisa married in spring 1871 and lived in Camden, New Jersey. Moses Lane (1823–82) was Chief Engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869 and later became City Engineer of Milwaukee. The connection between Lane and Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, who had served under Lane before accepting the position of Chief Engineer at the St. Louis Water Works, led to George Washington Whitman's employment as a pipe inspector in Brooklyn. Lane resigned as Chief Engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works the following year, on May 1, 1869 ("Moses Lane," Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers [February 1882], 58). For more information on Walt Whitman's dealings with Lane, see Whitman's January 16, 1863 letter to Jeff. Moses Lane resigned as Chief Engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works the following year, on May 1, 1869 ("Moses Lane," Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers [February 1882], 58). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's remark on the contrast between Walt Whitman's generosity and George Washington Whitman's spendthrift ways may betray considerable frustration. George had received a $510 bank draft from his brother Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman just days before, $500 of which was a loan to help George keep his speculative housing business financially viable as he awaited the next sale (see Jeff's August 20, 1868 letter to George). The extra $10 was "to mother as a present from Mattie" (Jeff's wife Martha Mitchell Whitman). Louisa may not have received the $10 from Mattie before George departed for his leisure trip. The house is on the lot at 1149 Atlantic Avenue, which George Washington Whitman soon purchased outright from his partner Smith and to which Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and son Edward moved in late September (see Louisa's August 26, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman and Walt Whitman's September 25, 1868 letter to Peter Doyle). Walt Whitman had written, "I have not been satisfied with my boarding place—so several weeks ago, I tried another place & room for a couple of days & nights on trial, without giving up my old room—Well, I was glad enough to go back to my old place & stay there" (see his August 24, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). The "old room" to which he returned was 472 M Street South, a boarding house owned by Mr. & Mrs. Newton Benedict. He began boarding with the Benedicts in February 1867 (see his February 12, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman; also see Kim Roberts, "A Map of Whitman's Washington Boarding Houses and Work Places," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 22:1 [November 2004], 25). This postscript is in the right margin of the page.This note is inverted on the first page. Walt Whitman conveyed his mother's remark on the lack of visits from the Price family in his September 7, 1868 letter to Abby H. Price, in which he also asked if he could board at the Price's residence during his leave, a request that she accepted (see Walt's September 14, 1868 letter).
Abby H. Price (1814–1878) was active in various social-reform movements. Her husband Edmund operated a pickle factory in Brooklyn, and the couple had four children—Arthur, Helen, Emily, and Henry (who died in 1852, at 2 years of age). During the 1860s, Price and her family, especially her daughter Helen, were friends with Walt Whitman and his mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. In 1860, the Price family began to save Walt's letters. Helen's reminiscences of Whitman are included in Richard Maurice Bucke's biography, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), and she printed for the first time some of Whitman's letters to her mother ("Letters of Walt Whitman to his Mother and an Old Friend," Putnam's Monthly 5 [1908], 163–169).
This letter dates to April 7, 1869. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter April 7, and Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the year 1869. Edwin Haviland Miller also dated the letter April 7, 1869 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367). The year is correct because it corresponds to the appointment of a new Water Board for Brooklyn. Although the public announcement of the new appointees came on April 12, 1869 in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, George Washington Whitman's connection to Moses Lane, chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works, probably provided Louisa with inside information about the expected appointments some days earlier. Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to May 1, 1869. The connection between Lane and Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, who had served under Lane before accepting the position of Chief Engineer at the St. Louis Water Works, led to George Washington Whitman's employment as a pipe inspector in Brooklyn. Lane later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. John McNamee served at the Brooklyn Water Works in the office of Moses Lane, probably as an engineer (see Thomas Jefferson Whitman's August 20, 1868 letter to George Washington Whitman). McNamee donated to Walt Whitman's hospital work (see "The Great Washington Hospitals," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 19, 1863, 2). Millville, in the southern part of New Jersey, is on Union Lake and accessible to Delaware Bay via the Maurice River. The R. D. Wood Foundry had a site in Millville, but George Washington Whitman more often inspected pipe at Camden (see note below) and Florence, New Jersey. Moses Lane sent George to the Millville site to train a new pipe inspector. For a brief history of the company, see the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's finding aid to the R. D. Wood & Co. Records, 1858–1910, http://hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/findingaid1176wood.pdf. Daniel L. Northup was a continuing member of the Brooklyn Water Board. He had served as a city auditor. William A. Fowler, also continuing, was a member of the Democratic State Committee ("The New Water and Sewage Boards," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 12, 1869, 2). The two newly appointed members of the Water Board were Archibald M. Bliss and Thomas Kinsella ("The New Water and Sewage Boards," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 12, 1869, 2). The "eagle man" is Thomas Kinsella (1832–1884), a staunch Democrat, who served as the editor in chief of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle from 1861 until his death ("Dead. Thomas Kinsella, Editor of the Eagle," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 11, 1884, 4). Archibald M. Bliss (1838–1923), who served on the Water Board until 1872, was a Brooklyn alderman, delegate to the Republican National convention in 1864 and 1868, railroad president, six-time Democratic Representative to Congress between 1875 and 1889, and real estate businessman in Washington, D.C. (Biographical Directory of the United States Congress). Before the New York legislature reorganized it, the Brooklyn Water Board had operated independently of the Brooklyn City government. On April 1, 1869, the Water Board was reorganized as four appointees, two Republicans and two Democrats, all chosen by city officials. The activity of the Water Works, where Moses Lane was employed as chief engineer, was under the authority of the new Water Board, which was also charged with contracting for the paving and cleaning of streets ("The New Water and Sewage Acts," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 2, 1869, 2). Henry Rome was an escaped resident from Kings County Lunatic Asylum, where Walt Whitman had committed his brother Jesse Whitman. Henry was in the family of Andrew and James Rome, printers for the 1855 Leaves of Grass (Robert Roper, "Jesse Whitman, Seafarer," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 26:1 [Summer 2008], 35–41). George Washington Whitman started his speculative building business with a partner known only as Smith in 1865, and they were joined by a mason named French the following year. See Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975). Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's early April 1869 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant. But Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman in the same month belied Mattie's claim that she "is gaining": he wrote that she "is not so well for a week or so back" (see Jeff's April 5, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman). May 1, when leases expired, was moving day in Brooklyn. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman moved from 1149 Atlantic Avenue to 71 Portland Avenue "opposite the Arsenal" (see her April 25–27?, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman). The 1869 Brooklyn Directory lists two Lotts as lawyers, Abraham and John Z., at 13 Willoughby Street. A man named Lott is mentioned also with regard to financial matters concerning George Washington Whitman's speculative housebuilding business (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 17, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman). Emily "Emma" Price was the daughter of Edmund and Abby Price. Walt Whitman and his mother were both close with the Price family. For the marriage of Emily Price to Edward M. Law, an engraver, see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's July 14, 1869 letter to Walt. Mrs. Black was Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's neighbor. This letter dates to April 14, 1869. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to April 1869, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367). April 14 fell on Wednesday in 1869, and the calendar date 14 and the day of the week Wednesday are in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand. Neither Louisa's most recent letter to Walt Whitman nor the letter she received from Walt, his April 13?, 1869 letter, is extant. But her son George Washington Whitman's receipt of a $200 bank draft from Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman is consistent with Jeff's expectation earlier that month that he would send the draft on about April 5, 1869. See Jeff's April 5, 1869 letter to Walt. The year 1869 is also consistent with new fashions in bonnets and the appointment of postmaster Samuel Booth, both of which are reported by the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in spring 1869. See Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's April 5, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman (Berthold and Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt, 140–142). In exchange for a mortgage, Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman had agreed to lend his brother George Washington Whitman $3,000, which he sent in installments of $200 per month (see Jeff's March 25, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman, n. 1). In his April 5, 1869 letter to Walt, Jeff wrote that he would "try and send George some money to-day." Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to May 1, 1869. The connection between Lane and Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, who had served under Lane before accepting the position of Chief Engineer at the St. Louis Water Works, led to George Washington Whitman's employment as a pipe inspector in Brooklyn. Lane later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. George relied on Lane to deposit large checks from Jeff, which Lane then withdrew for George as cash (see Jeff's August 20, 1868 letter to George). George Washington Whitman started a building business with a partner known only as Smith in 1865, and they were joined by a mason named French the following year. See Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 27–29. Walt Whitman often enclosed a few dollars (up to five) in each postal service letter to his mother, but he transmitted larger amounts by money order. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman reported using money orders from Walt to purchase a hair cloth lounge and to pay a debt of $10 to her grocer Amerman for a barrel of flour (see her March 13, 20, or 27?, 1868 and her April 7, 1868 letters to Walt). Another money order from Walt paid for the purchase of coal and the repair of a heating stove (see her November 2 or 3?, 1868 letter to Walt). From March 25 to April 7, three "Spring Openings" reviews in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle described new fashions in bonnets and hats. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's description, however, is not from an advertisement but from a satirical writer under the pseudonym Corry O'Lanus: the "sweetest love of a bonnet we saw consisted of two yards of ribbon attached to a rose bud" ("Corry O'Lanus' Epistle," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 27, 1869, 2). The new spring fashion in hats, which drew Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's ire, were smaller sizes with low crowns and narrow rims: feathers were out, lace and flowers and ribbons were in, and the height of fashion for trimmings was striped or "Roman" ribbon in "very pretty colors and tasteful contrasts" ("The Fashions," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 27, 1869, 2). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's most recent visit to her daughter Hannah (Whitman) Heyde and husband Charles L. Heyde in Burlington, Vermont was from early September to mid-October 1865. When Louisa Van Velsor Whitman lived at Portland Avenue, the house she shared with Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman and family, a section of the house was rented to the family of John Brown, a tailor, in March 1860. The relationship between the Browns and the Whitmans was often strained, especially in regard to the noise made by Jeff and Mattie's daughter Manahatta, but the Browns remained in the Portland Avenue house for five years. For Jeff's frustration with the Brown family, see his April 16, 1860 and March 3, 1863 letters to Walt Whitman. Though Louisa too expressed annoyance with the Browns, she seems to have achieved more cordial relations with the family after the departure of Jeff, Mattie, and family to St. Louis in 1868. Samuel Booth (1818–1894) was appointed to the office of postmaster by President Ulysses S. Grant ("The Post Office," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 14, 1869, 2). Booth was Brooklyn's former mayor, elected to that office in 1865 ("Obituary," New York Times, October 20, 1894, 4). May 1, when leases expired, was moving day in Brooklyn. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman moved from 1149 Atlantic Avenue to 71 Portland Avenue "opposite the Arsenal" (see her April 25–27?, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman). George Whitman's progress on the house to which she would move is described above. The last phrase is written vertically in the right-hand margin of the second page. This letter dates to between Sunday, April 25, 1869 and Tuesday, April 27, 1869. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter "about 20," and Edwin Haviland Miller accepted Bucke's probable date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367). Bucke's and Miller's date, however, is too early: the letter refers to a train accident that occurred on April 23, 1869, which was reported in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on April 24, 1869. In addition, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman has received a letter from Walt Whitman (not extant) in which he expressed concerned that his nephew George Van Nostrand was among the accident victims. If Walt received news of the accident on the same day that it was reported in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle and the letter to his mother arrived the next day, the earliest possible date for Louisa's letter is April 25, 1869. The latest possible date is before the return of George Washington Whitman to Brooklyn from Camden on Wednesday or Thursday of that week. Louisa also expected to move to a new residence on Portland Avenue the following Saturday, May 1, the typical moving day in Brooklyn. Because Walt had to write Louisa after he became aware of the railroad accident, because Louisa wrote that she "shall have to move on saturday," and because one assumes that George Washington Whitman would return before the move, the letter must date to between Sunday, April 25, 1869 and Tuesday, April 27, 1869. Walt Whitman's concern was that "George Van Nostrand," one of the dead in a Long Island railroad accident, was his nephew. George was the son of Walt Whitman's sister Mary Elizabeth (Whitman) Van Nostrand (1821–1899) and Ansel Van Nostrand (1821–1899), who lived at Greenport, Long Island. See Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949), 206.Walt Whitman's nephew George Van Nostrand's exact place of residence is unclear, but Springfield, New Jersey, from which Meridan Road is to the north, is approximately 20 miles east of New York City. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman assumed that Mary Van Nostrand's son George was far from the accident at Willow Point Station on the Long Island Railroad, some 10 miles east of Brooklyn. But Walt Whitman's fears were not baseless. Mary's son George could well have traveled via the Long Island Railroad to visit his parents in Greenport, Long Island.
The George Van Nostrand killed in the accident was buried at Jamaica, in present-day Queens, and was not Walt's nephew.
The unusual word "owawer" may be a combination of "owner" to describe Oliver Charlick (see below) and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's common interjection "o walter." The 10:30 Northport train from Hunter's Point was five minutes late to the Jamaica station. When proceeding to Northport, the final car jumped the track at the Willow Station, which resulted in multiple deaths. The Long Island Railroad President and Manager was Oliver Charlick. Other deaths listed by Louisa Van Velsor Whitman are William C. Rushmore, President of the Atlantic National Bank of Brooklyn, his nephew Charles M. Pray, a physician, and Matilda Pray (mother of Charles M. Pray and daughter of Judge John Dikeman). See "The L. I. Railroad Slaughter. Full Particulars of the Calamity," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 24, 1869, 2. The man named "old judge dikeman" is John Dikeman (1795–1879), County Judge of Kings County from 1864 to 1868 ("Obituary. Ex-Judge John Dikeman," New York Times, August 26, 1879, 5). Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's younger daughter, resided in Burlington, Vermont, with husband Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), a French-born landscape painter. Charles Heyde was infamous among the Whitmans for his offensive letters and poor treatment of Hannah, and Louisa often complained about what she here calls "heyds awful letters." Hannah in late 1868 suffered a serious thumb infection that led Dr. Samuel Thayer to lance her wrist in November. In early December Dr. Thayer amputated Hannah's thumb. For Louisa's report to Walt Whitman on the initial surgery, which is based on a letter from Charles, see her November 28 to December 12, 1868 letter to Walt. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's "aftern" (the "n" is clearly present) indicates that she received her daughter Hannah Heyde's letter in the afternoon, in contrast to Charles Heyde's letter from the "forenoon." The word is shortened because she reached the edge of the page. The April 1869 letter from Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman (1836–1873) to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant. However, Mattie's husband Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Louisa's son and Walt's favorite brother, described the family's recent move to a boarding house on Pine street in his March 25, 1869 letter to Walt. Mattie and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. Mattie's cough, which Louisa mentions in this letter, was associated with a throat ailment that led to her death in 1873. See Randall H. Waldron, ed., "Introduction," Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman may not have known Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's exact salary as chief engineer, but she had heard reports that Jeff's earnings far exceeded that of his brothers. Louisa wrote the previous year, based on a report by Moses Lane, that the St. Louis Water Works had "raised Jeffs salary to 6000," a figure that Louisa did not believe (see her May 5, 1868 letter to Walt). Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price have documented Jeff's initial salary at $330 per month, or $3960 per year. (See Jeff's May 23, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman, n. 1.) Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and sons Edward Whitman and George Washington Whitman moved from 1149 Atlantic Avenue to 71 Portland Avenue on Saturday, May 1, the traditional moving day in Brooklyn because annual leases expired on that day. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman may refer to her hope that she will not have to move soon, or she may refer indirectly to the unexpected death of Margret Steers' husband (her neighbor; see previous note) in early 1869. "Walt Whitman, says the Springfield Republican, never carried his eccentricities of appearance to greater length than at present. He wanders up and down the avenue in Washington every day. His hair, to which the old poet gives free scope, falls below his shoulders, and his head is crowned by an immense, weather-stained hat, broad-brimmed as a Quaker's, and 'skewed' all out of shape" ("Facts and Fancies," Daily Evening Bulletin, February 22, 1869, 1). The note in the Philadelphia paper is a condensed excerpt from "Surface Life at Washington," Springfield Republican, February 16, 1869, 2,5. Also see Gary Scharnhorst, "Rediscovered Nineteenth-Century Whitman Articles," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 19:3 (2002), 183–186. This letter dates to June 23, 1869. June 23, the date in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, fell on a Wednesday in 1869, the year assigned to the letter by Richard Maurice Bucke. In the letter, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote that John Burroughs had visited her "yesterday tuesday." Edwin Haviland Miller cited Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367). Louisa's summary of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's loans to George Washington Whitman—he received the first loan of $500 "last august"—is consistent with Jeff Whitman's August 20, 1868 letter to George and further confirms the year of Louisa's letter as 1869. John Burroughs was one of Walt Whitman's closest friends in Washington. The "friend" that accompanied Burroughs is not known. See "Burroughs, John (1837–1921) and Ursula (1836–1917)." See Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 5, 1865 letter to Walt Whitman. The letter is not extant. Martha Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873), known as "Mattie," was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother. She and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. Mattie suffered a throat ailment that would lead to her death in February 1873. For more on Mattie, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26. The United States issued fractional currency during the Civil War, which was known as Postal Currency because the designs copied postage stamps. Various issues continued in circulation until the mid-1870s. See Arthur L. Friedberg and Ira S. Friedberg, Paper Money of the United States: A Complete Illustrated Guide With Valuations, 18th ed., (Clifton, New Jersey: Coin & Currency Institute, 2006). For Thomas Jefferson Whitman's initial $500 loan to George Washington Whitman, see Jeff's August 20, 1868 letter to George. Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman began an extended visit to Brooklyn for medical treatment in mid-October 1868 (see Walt Whitman's October 25, 1868 letter to Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman). Mattie and Jeff returned to St. Louis in mid-December. For the $50 that George Washington Whitman lent Mattie, see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's December 15–19, 1868 letter to Walt. The meaning of "all but 600 dollars" is that George had received from Jeff the two $500 loans plus $2400 in exchange for the mortgage valued at "three thousand dollars." Also see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 17, 1869 letter for the mortgage made out to Thomas Jefferson Whitman. In mid-March 1869 Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had asked Walt to lend George $600, and Walt apparently agreed (see Mrs. Whitman's March 15, 1869 letter to Walt; see Jeff Whitman's March 25, 1869 letter to Walt). Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman wanted his brother George Washington Whitman to sell the mortgage on the Steers property and repay him $1,000, which would allow Jeff to invest in the iron furnace manufacturer. George could not sell the Steers property because he had already transferred the mortgage note to the mason. Louisa was probably frustrated that Jeff's demand for an immediate payment altered the terms that George had expected. Jeff initially agreed to lend George $1,000 and had agreed to lend an additional $3,000 in exchange for a mortgage. But Jeff had only sent George $2,400 toward the mortgage. Now Jeff wanted to be repaid the initial $1,000 immediately and ceased making monthly $200 payments on the promised $3,000 while $600 short of $3,000. Because Louisa was writing to Walt Whitman, she was probably implying that George should first repay the $600 loan to Walt (above George "said that six hundred he should keep to pay you") because Jeff had not sent George the full amount to which he had agreed and told George not to sell the house: Jeff, Louisa implies, could wait until George sold another house to be repaid the initial $1,000 in full. Louisa like George wanted the $1,000 to remain outstanding. By recasting George's loan of $50 to Mattie at Christmas as a servicing payment for Jeff's initial $1,000 loan, George could be considered to have paid interest due on the loan. This letter dates to June 30, 1869. It is dated "June 30" in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, and Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to the year 1869. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman writes that she received a letter from Walt "to day wensday," and June 30 fell on a Wednesday in 1869. The year is also consistent both with her recent move to the house that her son George Washington Whitman had provided at 71 Portland Avenue opposite the Arsenal and with an expected visit by daughter-in-law Martha Mitchell Whitman. Walt Whitman's June 29, 1869 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:361). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman appears to have begun with the word "it" but replaced that word with "i." Martha Mitchell Whitman's expected visit was postponed until mid-February (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's February 23, 1870 letter to Walt Whitman). The Brooklyn Union was issued both in a morning edition and an evening edition from 1867 to 1870. The twice-a-day format continued for the three-year period. The Brooklyn Union both succeeded and was succeeded by a Brooklyn Daily Union that was issued only once per day. This letter dates to September 23, 1869. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter September 23, and Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the year 1869. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's year (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367). Bucke's year is corroborated by the letter's "old mrs turner" died; Margaret Turner at 120 Portland Avenue died on September 20, 1869. Walt Whitman departed Brooklyn to return to Washington on September 15 or 16 (see Walt Whitman's September 13, 1869 letter to his Washington friends).Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), known as "Jeff," was the son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and Walt Whitman's favorite brother. In early adulthood he worked as a surveyor and topographical engineer. In the 1850s he began working for the Brooklyn Water Works, at which he remained employed through the Civil War. In 1867 Jeff became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis and became a nationally recognized name in civil engineering. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)."
Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman (1836–1873) was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother. She and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. Mattie suffered a throat ailment that would lead to her death in February 1873. For more on Mattie, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26."
Margaret Turner (1791?–1869), resident at 120 Portland Avenue, is described in her obituary as the mother of Father Turner, the Vicar-General of the Brooklyn Diocese, and a long-time resident of the city ("Obituary," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 23, 1869, 2). The place "where we used to live" is the longtime Whitman home on Portland Avenue near Myrtle, in which Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had resided with Thomas Jefferson Whitman and family. This letter dates to September 28, 1871. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter September 30, 1869, and Edwin Haviland Miller cited Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367). Bucke's and Miller's date, however, is incorrect. The letter dates to two years later, to a late-September 1871 visit to Brooklyn from the family of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's daughter Mary Van Nostrand. The Van Nostrands came to shop in anticipation of the approaching marriage of Mary's daughter Mary Isadore "Minnie" in October 1871. Louisa had indicated her anxiety regarding the expected visit in her September 15–26, 1871 letter to Walt Whitman. A week after this letter, Louisa wrote that her "company is here yet and i dont know how long they will remain" (see her October 5, 1871 letter to Walt Whitman). Based on this letter's consistency with the preceding and the following letters on the Van Nostrands' extended visit, this letter dates to the last Thursday of the month, September 28, 1871. Mary Elizabeth (Whitman) Van Nostrand (1821–1899) was the oldest daughter of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and Walt Whitman's younger sister. She married Ansel Van Nostrand, a shipwright, in 1840, and they subsequently moved to Greenport, Long Island. They raised five children: George, Fanny, Louisa, Ansel, Jr., and Mary Isadore "Minnie." The visit is in preparation for the marriage of Minnie to Leander Jay Young (1846–1937) on October 18, 1871 (see Gertrude A. Barber, compiler, "Marriages of Suffolk County, N.Y. Taken from the 'Republican Watchman': A Newspaper Published at Greenport, N.Y. Years 1871, 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1876" [1950], 1:3). For more on the Van Nostrand family, see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 10–11. The postscript appears in the right margin of the first page. This letter dates to October 19, 1969. October 19 fell on a Tuesday in the year 1869, which is consistent with the year added in Richard Maurice Bucke's hand. Edwin Haviland Miller cited Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367). The declining possibility that daughter-in-law Martha Mitchel "Mattie" Whitman would visit Brooklyn during the winter and lingering concerns about the health of daughter Hannah Whitman Heyde, whose thumb had been amputated the previous December, are consistent with the year.Louisa wrote the letter "s" in her spelling "magsine" over her letter "a."
Harper's Weekly Magazine debuted in 1857. Though designed like its sister monthly to promote British reprints, Harper's Weekly was notable for its Civil War coverage and began publishing American writers in the ensuing decades. Walt Whitman's poem "Beat! Beat! Drums!" appeared in the September 28, 1861 issue of the newspaper, and two poems by Whitman were first published in the periodical in the 1880s (for all works by Whitman, see Harper's Weekly Magazine).
The application of a poultice made from ground or powdered slippery elm bark was a common herbal treatment for swelling and infection in the nineteenth century. Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman (1836–1873) was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother. She and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. Mattie had a long-term cough and throat ailment that would lead to her death in February 1873, and she returned to Brooklyn in late-October 1869 and remained through late-December for medical treatment. Walt Whitman reported on Mattie's medical condition to her husband, his brother Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, in his October 25, 1868 letter. For more on Mattie, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26. Samuel W. Thayer, a Professor of Anatomy at the University of Vermont Medical School, performed surgeries in Burlington, Vermont during the 1860s. A serious thumb infection in late 1868 led Dr. Thayer to lance Hannah (Whitman) Heyde's wrist in November. In early December, he amputated Hannah's thumb. For Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's report to Walt Whitman on the initial surgery from a non-extant letter by Charles L. Heyde, see her November 28 to December 12, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman. Walt inquired of Dr. Thayer with regard to Hannah's health on December 8, 1868. "Burlng" is a shortened form of Burlington, the Vermont residence of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's youngest daughter Hannah Heyde and Hannah's husband Charles L. Heyde (1822–1890). Ansel Van Nostrand was the husband of Mary Elizabeth (Whitman) Van Nostrand (1821–1899), Louisa's eldest daughter and Walt Whitman's younger sister. Based on Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's phrase, this John is probably the husband to the third daughter of Ansel and Mary Whitman Van Nostrand, Louisa Van Nostrand. For more on Mary's daughter Louisa, see Some Notes on Whitman's Family, Monographs on Unpublished Whitman Material, no. 2 (Brooklyn: Comet Press, 1941), 4.According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term delerium tremens (trembling delirium) is used in medical Latin to describe severe symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, which are characterized by violent shakes and delusions.
It is possible that Louisa struck through the "s" in her spelling "tremes" and inserted the letters "man" to make the form "tremman"; more likely, she inscribed a separating line between her word "tremes" and the inserted word "man" below. The inserted word "man" concerns her son-in-law Ansel Van Nostrand's having been demoted from a "master mason" to a "common man" is his Masonic lodge.
For Ansel Van Nostrand's participation in a Masonic lodge, see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's May 28–June 1, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman.
It is possible that the word "man" in the phrase "common man" was inserted to complete the phrase "deliru tremman" in the previous line (see note above).
William D. O'Connor (1832–1889) was one of Walt Whitman's staunchest defenders, and Walt was also close with William's wife Ellen M. "Nelly" O'Connor. Whitman dined with the O'Connors frequently during his Washington years, and he wrote often in his letters of their daughter Jean "Jenny" or "Jeannie." Though Whitman and William O'Connor would break in late 1872 over Reconstruction policies with regard to emancipated black citizens, Ellen remained friendly with Whitman. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman refers here to Ellen M. O'Connor's sister, Mary Jane "Jeannie" (Tarr) Channing (1828–1897). Walt Whitman visited often with Mary Jane and her husband Dr. William Ellery Channing during his October 1868 visit to Providence, Rhode Island (see Walt's October 17, 1868 letter to Peter Doyle). This letter dates to December 7, 1869. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter "December 7," and Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the year 1869. Edwin Haviland Miller cited Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367). The concurrence of familial, social, and public matters provides assurance that the year is correct. Henry Clapp, Walt Whitman's friend from Pfaff's Beer Cellar, had resumed contact with Abby and Helen Price earlier in the year. George Washington Whitman had begun repaying loans to both of his brothers, Walt Whitman and Thomas Jefferson Whitman, though his employment as a pipe inspector for the Brooklyn Water Works was somewhat unsettled since the appointment of a new Water Board. Also, the expected appointment of a new attorney general is almost certainly that of Ebenezer R. Hoar. The brief mention of Henry Ward Beecher refers to his involvement in a public scandal known as the Richardson-McFarland affair. In addition, December 7 fell on Tuesday, and that day of the week is consistent with Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's surprise that Walt's letter, which she received on Monday morning, was sent on Sunday. Weekend overnight mail delivery from Washington, D.C. to Brooklyn, New York, was unusual but was shocking to Louisa only because the letter was written Sunday afternoon. Walt Whitman's December 5, 1869 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:362). Adams Express, a packet delivery service, was noted for its fast delivery, trustworthiness, and its guarantee of privacy for shippers. The Whitmans used Adams Express to transfer larger sums of money both during and after the war, but Walt Whitman generally sent his mother smaller sums via the postal service. George Washington Whitman was repaying in installments a loan that Walt had made to him when George was struggling financially in his speculative housebuilding business. For Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's account of George's loans from Walt and from his brother Thomas Jefferson Whitman, see her June 23, 1869 letter to Walt. For more on Adams Express, see Hollis Robbins, "Fugitive Mail: The Deliverance of Henry 'Box' Brown and Antebellum Postal Politics," American Studies 50:1/2 (2009), 12–13. A memorial stone for a Rebecca Denton Van Velsor (1791?–1871) is present in Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery, and the woman identified by Louisa Van Velsor Whitman as "Aunt Becca" may be a great aunt or other distant relative of Walt Whitman. Aunt Becca is mentioned also Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letters of April 13, 1867 and November 16, 1868. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's phonetic spelling "mobeal" refers to Mobile, Alabama. The woman named "old mrs man" is the mother of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's former downstairs neighbor at the 1194 Atlantic Street, Mary E. Mann. Mary Mann sent for her mother (the "old lady") in Mobile, Alabama, shortly after the death of her young son Charley Mann (see Louisa's November 2 or 3?, 1868 and November 16, 1868 letters to Walt Whitman). Also see Mary E. Mann's March 9, 1873 letter to Louisa (Library of Congress). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman refers to Henry Clapp, Jr. (1814–1875), one of Walt Whitman's close friends and a leading figure among the bohemians with whom Whitman gathered at the Pfaff's restaurant and beer cellar in lower Manhattan. Clapp was the editor of a short-lived but influential literary weekly, the New-York Saturday Press. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had reported earlier in the year, according to Helen Price, that Clapp "was tipsey nearly all the time" (see Louisa's May 30, 1869 letter to Walt). For a profile of Clapp, see Vault at Pfaffs: An Archive of Art and Literature by New York City's Nineteenth-Century Bohemians, ed., Edward Whitley (http://digital.lib.lehigh.edu/pfaffs/). The phrase "falanks Jersey" is difficult to decipher. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in her May 30, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman said that Henry Clapp, Jr., was to "put up at lessey[?] farlands." The quizzical phrase "lessey farlands" in that letter may refer to same place as "falanks" in this letter. She may refer to a boarding house, or the phrase may be yet another alternate spelling for Florence, New Jersey, also the site of an R. D. Wood foundry at which George Washington Whitman inspected pipe. Henry Ward Beecher (1813–1887), Congregational clergyman and brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, accepted the pastorate of the Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, in 1847, and he became one of America's most influential ministers. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's son Edward Whitman attended Beecher's church regularly. Louisa may be paraphrasing a short newspaper article, which remarked that Beecher was "getting it all around" ("The News," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 6, 1869, 2). This late-1869 scandal, known as the Richardson-McFarland matter, targeted Beecher because he had performed a deathbed marriage ceremony for the prominent New York Tribune correspondent Albert Richardson. Richardson was shot in the Tribune office by Daniel McFarland, the ex-husband of Abby Sage McFarland, an actress who was reported to be Richardson's lover. Abby McFarland had moved to Indiana, with Richardson's assistance, to secure a divorce. Upon his ex-wife's return from Indiana with divorce papers, Daniel McFarland shot Richardson. The ensuing public scandal targeted Beecher: he was accused of endorsing bigamy because "Indiana divorces were not recognized in New York State" (see Debby Applegate, The Most Famous Man in America [New York: Doubleday, 1996], 388). Beecher's own extramarital relationships with married women including Chloe Beach and Elizabeth Tilton were fodder for Brooklyn gossip, and Beecher's shaky standing on marriage was a frequent part of the scandal coverage in the New York Sun and the Brooklyn Daily Eagle (see Applegate, 365–70; 388). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman probably followed the Richardson-McFarland scandal in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle (see "Mr. Beecher at the Bedside," December 1, 1869, 2; "The Shooting Cases," December 4, 1869, 2). The new attorney general, who had not been announced, would be Ebenezer R. Hoar (1816–1895). President Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885) appointed Hoar to the office on December 15, 1869 (see Mark Grossman, Encyclopedia of the United States Cabinet [Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2000], 1:79–80). Hoar replaced William M. Evarts, and as attorney general he presided over the office in which Walt Whitman served as a clerk. George Washington Whitman's position as an inspector for the Brooklyn Water Works became more tenuous after the April 1869 reorganization of the Brooklyn Board of Water Commissioners. Moses Lane, chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works, resigned shortly after the new board was seated. For details on the new water board and the anxiety that it provoked in Lane, see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's April 7, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman. This letter dates to December 22, 1869. The date December 22 is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, and Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the year 1869. Edwin Haviland Miller accepted Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367). The year 1869 is correct because it is consistent with a December rumor that William Strong would be appointed to the office of attorney general. The word may be "easy" written over "easier," but the more probable reading is that the letters "ier" are written over the letter "y." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman probably refers to a brief article that identifies William Strong as President Ulysses S. Grant's potential appointment to office of attorney general ("The News," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 18, 1869, 2). Louisa's interest is that Walt Whitman served as a clerk in the office of the attorney general. William Strong (1808–1895) was never nominated to office of attorney general, but Grant eventually nominated him to the Supreme Court, in which he served as a justice from 1871 to 1880 (Lisabeth G. Svendsgaard, "Strong, William," American National Biography Online). Ebenezer R. Hoar (1816–1895) remained in the office until his resignation on June 23, 1870. Amos T. Ackerman (1821–1880) replaced Hoar (see Mark Grossman, Encyclopedia of the United States Cabinet [Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2000], 1:81–82). Elijah Bruce (b. 1808) and Ruth Bruce (b. 1812) were the parents of Grace Haight (b. 1839), and they were neighbors near Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's residence at 71 Portland Avenue (see United States Census, 1880, New York, Brooklyn, Kings; and see Helen Price's October 13, 1872 letter to Louisa, Trent Collection, Duke University). Grace Haight's familiar and chatty February 7, 1872 letter to Louisa in Camden, New Jersey, suggests they were quite close friends (Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress). The date January 19 is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, and Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the year 1870. Edwin Haviland Miller accepted Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367). However, the delay in Louisa's comments on the death of Hannah Fleet and on a public outcry over smallpox vaccination raises some doubt about the date. Louisa almost always comments on recent local news within days, but the two matters that she mentions in this letter date to newspaper stories on January 6 and 7. The year 1870 is certain, but the letter may date earlier than January 19. Nonetheless, because the date is in Louisa's hand, the letter is assigned the date January 19, 1870. Walt Whitman's January 17?, 1870 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:362). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's fear that her daughter-in-law would not live long enough to see her children reach adulthood would prove prophetic. Mattie suffered a throat ailment that led to her death in February 1873. At the time of her death, her daughter Manahatta was aged 12 years and her daughter Jessie Louisa 9 years. For Louisa's anguish over Mattie's death, see her April 21–May 3?, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman. Samuel H. Moore is listed in the Brooklyn Directory (1871) as residing at Spencer near Willoughby. The Moore family's intended move is mentioned briefly in Thomas Jefferson Whitman's April 16, 1860 letter to Walt Whitman, but they are otherwise unknown except that two other Moores, E. D. and John, also lived on Myrtle. The Moore's "big house" was near the Whitman home on Portland Avenue near Myrtle, where Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had resided with Thomas Jefferson Whitman and family during the Civil War. Hannah (Strong) Fleet (b. 1789), widow of Gilbert Fleet (1783–1854), died in early January 1870 in Babylon, Long Island ("Died," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 7, 1870, 3). A John Fleet, probably their son, worked with Walt Whitman on the Long Islander ("Whitman, Editor Good Gray Poet," Long Islander, June 9, 1905, rpt., Whitman Supplement [1978]). For the vaccination procedures and the public outcry, see "The Public Health," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 6, 1870, 2. This letter dates to March 24, 1870. The date 24 is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, and Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the date March 24, 1870. Edwin Haviland Miller accepted Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367). The letter was written just after the death of Jesse Whitman, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's son. Though Louisa does not refer to Jesse by name, she identifies him as her "first born" and says that he is to be buried in a "paupers grave." Jesse died in the Kings County Lunatic Asylum on March 21, 1870. Jesse Whitman (1818–1870) died at Kings County Lunatic Asylum on March 21, 1870. Walt Whitman was notified of his brother's death (see E. Warner's March 22, 1870 letter), and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman was either notified at the same time or received notice from Walt. Jesse had suffered from mental illness that included threats of violence for several years before he was committed to an asylum, where he was placed in December 1864. Shortly after an outburst that followed his brother Andrew Jackson Whitman's death in December 1863—he threatened Martha Mitchell and Thomas Jefferson Whitman's daughter Manahatta—Jeff sought to "put him in some hospital or place where he would be doctored" (see Jeff's December 15, 1863 to Walt Whitman). Louisa resisted institutionalizing Jesse because, according to her December 25, 1863 letter, she "could not find it in my heart to put him there." On December 5, 1864, Walt committed Jesse to Kings County Lunatic Asylum on Flatbush Avenue. For a short biography of Jesse, see Robert Roper, "Jesse Whitman, Seafarer," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 26:1 (Summer 2008), 35–41. Richard Maurice Bucke dated this letter March 28, 1870. Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver cited Bucke's date, and Edwin Haviland Miller cited Gohdes and Silver (Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 202–203; Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367). The date is certain. The letter was written after Louisa Van Velsor Whitman was notified of the death of her son Jesse Whitman, and it followed a large wind storm that produced substantial damage in Brooklyn, New York. Because the day Monday in Louisa's hand is consistent with the Brooklyn storm after Jesse's death, the letter dates to March 28, 1870. Jesse Whitman (1818–1870) died at Kings County Lunatic Asylum on March 21, 1870. Walt Whitman was notified of his brother's death (see E. Warner's March 22, 1870 letter), and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman probably received a copy of Warner's letter from Walt. However, Walt's March 26?, 1870 letter to Louisa is not extant (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:362). Jesse had suffered from mental illness that included threats of violence for several years before he was committed to an asylum, where he was placed in December 1864. Shortly after an outburst that followed his brother Andrew Jackson Whitman's death in December 1863—he threatened Martha Mitchell and Thomas Jefferson Whitman's daughter Manahatta—Jeff sought to "put him in some hospital or place where he would be doctored" (see Jeff's December 15, 1863 to Walt Whitman). Louisa resisted institutionalizing Jesse because, according to her December 25, 1863 letter, she "could not find it in my heart to put him there." On December 5, 1864, Walt committed Jesse to Kings County Lunatic Asylum on Flatbush Avenue. For a short biography of Jesse, see Robert Roper, "Jesse Whitman, Seafarer," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 26:1 (Summer 2008), 35–41. The physician Edwin R. Chapin served as the physician at the Kings County Lunatic Asylum on Flatbush from 1859 to 1871 (William Schroeder, "Dispensaries, Hospitals, and Medical Societies of Kings County, 1830–1860," Brooklyn Medical Journal 10 [1896], 127). Edwin R. Chapin remained the physician at Kings County Lunatic Asylum, but the letter announcing Jesse Whitman's death on March 21, 1870 was signed by assistant physician "E Warner" (see Warner's March 22, 1870 letter to Walt Whitman). Mattie Whitman visited Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in Brooklyn from February to mid-March in 1870. For two of Mattie's letters to Walt Whitman during her visit, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 68–70. For reports on damages and deaths, see "The Storm," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 28, 1870, 2; "The Fury of the Equinox," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 28, 1870, 3. This letter dates to April 5, 1870. The calendar date April 5 is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, and the letter dates to the year of Jesse Whitman's death. Richard Maurice Bucke's month is obscured by a water stain, but his calendar date "5" and year "70" are near certain because he could rely on Louisa's date and Jesse Whitman's death. Edwin Haviland Miller cited Bucke's year (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:368). Walt Whitman's April 4, 1870 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:362). The late-March or early-April letter from Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman (1836–1873) to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant. Mattie, in her March 30, 1870 letter to Walt Whitman, had indicated her intent to "write to Mother." In that letter, Mattie reported that Louisa had "promised" to visit her and the children in St. Louis (see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 70–71). But Mattie did not report her husband Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's plan to visit his mother during his trip to Pittsburgh (see below). Mattie and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. For more on Mattie, see Waldron, 1–26. Jeff Whitman visited his mother in Brooklyn the following week (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's April 13, 1870 letter to Walt Whitman). Jesse Whitman (1818–1870), Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's eldest son, died at Kings County Lunatic Asylum on March 21, 1870. Jesse had suffered from mental illness that included threats of violence for several years before he was committed to the asylum. Walt Whitman was notified of his brother's death (see E. Warner's March 22, 1870 letter to Walt). For a short biography of Jesse Whitman, see Robert Roper, "Jesse Whitman, Seafarer," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 26:1 (Summer 2008), 35–41. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had expressed the same hope, that she could learn more detail, immediately after she was notified of Jesse Whitman's death (see her March 24, 1870 letter to Walt Whitman). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had blamed daughter-in-law Mattie Whitman for using up the pre-addressed envelopes in her March 28, 1870 letter to Walt Whitman. Richard Maurice Bucke dated this letter April 13, 1870, and Edwin Haviland Miller cited Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:368). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman received a letter from Walt Whitman "today the 13t" (not extant), and she had received a letter from her daughter Mary Van Nostrand, to whom she had written about the death of Jesse Whitman. The letter also refers to Thomas Jefferson Whitman's departure from St. Louis as "last thursday a week ago tomorrow," which would mean that Louisa wrote on a Wednesday. Louisa had anticipated a possible visit by Jeff in her April 5, 1870 letter to Walt. Because a letter from Mary Van Nostrand after her brother Jesse's death would be expected, because Jeff's visit is consistent with her earlier letter, and because April 13 fell on Wednesday, this letter dates to April 13, 1870. Walt Whitman's April 11?, 1870 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:362). Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), known as "Jeff," was Walt Whitman's favorite brother. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had written the previous week of a possible visit by her son Jeff during his trip to Pittsburgh (see her April 5, 1870 letter to Walt). As a civil engineer, Jeff in 1867 became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis and a nationally recognized name. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)." Alexander Crozier was a member of the St. Louis Water Works Board of Water Commissioners (see M. L. Holman, "The St. Louis Water Works," Association of Engineering Societies 14:1 [January 1895], 7).This postscript continues in the right margin of the page.
Jesse Whitman (1818–1870), Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's eldest son, died at Kings County Lunatic Asylum on March 21, 1870. Jesse had suffered from mental illness that included threats of violence for several years before he was committed to the asylum. Walt Whitman was notified of his brother's death (see E. Warner's March 22, 1870 letter). For a short biography of Jesse Whitman, see Robert Roper, "Jesse Whitman, Seafarer," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 26:1 (Summer 2008), 35–41.
This letter dates to March 23, 1870. The date "march 23" is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, but Richard Maurice Bucke marked the letter with a speculative month of May and the year 1870. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with the month in Louisa's hand and dated the letter March 23?, 1870 (see Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961], 2:367). Bucke's date is incorrect, and his error originated in a misreading of Thomas Jefferson Whitman's March 18, 1870 letter to Louisa (Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 143). Jeff's month is hurried and trails off after the letters "Ma," so Bucke misread Jeff's date as "Ma[y?]." Berthold and Price date Jeff's letter March and transcribe his month "Mar" (143). This letter from Louisa is written on the reverse of her son Jeff's letter. The month March is correct and is consistent both with Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's return to St. Louis and with a recent storm in Brooklyn. Mattie departed Brooklyn on March 14, 1870, and she arrived in St. Louis on March 16 (see Louisa's March 16, 1870 letter to Walt and Jeff's March 18, 1870 letter to Louisa). Walt Whitman's March 21?, 1870 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:362). The "within letter" from the preceding Monday is unlikely to be from Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman: if such a letter existed, it is not extant. A March 14 letter from Mattie is impossible as an enclosure because she departed Brooklyn for St. Louis on that date (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 16, 1870 letter to Walt Whitman). The more probable case is that the phrase "within letter" refers to Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's brief letter on Mattie's arrival in St. Louis. Louisa's letter is written on the reverse of Jeff's letter (see Jeff's March 18, 1870 letter to Louisa). If Jeff's letter was mailed on March 18, it probably arrived in Brooklyn on March 21, 1873 (Monday). Martha Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873), known as "Mattie," was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother. She and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. Mattie had visited Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in Brooklyn for treatment of her throat ailment from February 16 to March 14, 1870. For more on Mattie, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26. A damaging storm hit Brooklyn on March 16, 1870 (see "Long Island Items: Effects of the Storm To-Day on Long Island," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 17, 1870, 14). After Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's departure for St. Louis in May 1867, Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman stayed with the family of Gordon F. Mason, a prominent businessman, in Towanda, Pennsylvania, from June to September 1867. Mattie was a close friend to Mason's daughter Irene Mason, and Jeff was a close friend to his son Julius "Jules" Mason—Jeff and Jules worked together at the Brooklyn Water Works. See Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 37, 42; see also Jeff Whitman's February 10, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman. The man named Willie is probably the son of tailor John Brown, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's former neighbor. After a visit from John Brown in February 1868, Louisa wrote that Brown's son Willie was married (see Louisa's February 19, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman). Willie Brown's wife has not been identified. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman presumably reads a serial fiction in weekly installments. The words "week" and "weekly" are common in newspaper and magazine titles, and she may refer not to the title of a periodical but to the next weekly issue. The postscript begins inverted at the top of the second page and continues in the left margin. This letter dates to June 1, 1870. The date June 1 is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, and Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the year 1870. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:368). The year 1870 is consistent with a thumb injury and infection that Walt Whitman suffered in late April or early May 1870, and Louisa inquired about Walt's thumb in several letters between May and July. The death of a butcher named Richard Hunt and the appearance of an article on Whitman by Anne Gilchrist are also consistent with the year. Walt Whitman cut his thumb in late April or early May 1870, and it became infected. He referred to the injury in two letters from Brooklyn, a May 11, 1870 letter to Walbridge A. Field and a second May 11, 1870 letter to William D. O'Connor. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman inquired about or expressed concern for his thumb in this and five other letters to Walt from May or June to July 1870: May 17? to June 11?, 1870, June 8, 1870, June 22, 1870, June 29, 1870, and July 20, 1870. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman canceled the original "do" and replaced it with "dont." Walt Whitman sought a copy of an article by Anne Gilchrist (see "A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman," Radical 7 [May 1870], 345–359). The Boston Radical was a Unitarian periodical edited by Sidney H. Morse (1833–1903). Gilchrist's "Woman's Estimate" was based on letters that Gilchrist wrote to William Michael Rossetti after he edited for publication Poems by Walt Whitman (London: Hotten, 1868). According to Jerome M. Loving, Rossetti encouraged Gilchrist to have her enthusiastic letters published and forwarded them to William D. O'Connor. O'Connor initially contacted William C. Church and Francis P. Church, editors of the Galaxy. After they rejected Gilchrist's piece, O'Connor submitted it to the Radical (see Walt Whitman's Champion [College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1978], 92–93). For more on Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)." May 30 was designated Decoration Day in Washington, D.C. The holiday was not officially recognized in New York, but Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letter shows that some Brooklyn residents engaged in unofficial observations (see "From Washington," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 30, 1870, 3). According to Drew Gilpin Faust, Decoration Day as a predecessor of Memorial Day was observed independently in Northern and Southern states, and the competing observances "reflect[ed] persistent sectional division" (This Republic of Suffering [New York: Vintage, 2008], 241). Memorial Day—the federal United States holiday honoring members of the U. S. armed forces who have fought and died while serving—was originally known as "Decoration Day." The holiday was first observed on May 30, 1868, with African Americans taking a leading role. A Richard Hunt (1803–1870), a butcher, died in Brooklyn in May 1870 (see United States Census Mortality Schedule, 1870). Hunt may be the butcher that moved in at 1194 Atlantic Street (see Louisa's November 19, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman). The street name is semi-legible. It is transcribed here as "stanton" because that street name is the only possible name for a street within walking distance. Portland, the street on which Louisa Van Velsor Whitman resided, intersected with Myrtle Avenue at Washington Park. Stanton Street was about seven blocks from the intersection of Portland and Myrtle. Duffield street was renamed Stanton in 1870 (see Brooklyn Directory [1871]). The 1860 census lists the butcher Richard Hunt (1803–1870) as having 5 children. They ranged in age from 20 to 7 years, a decade before his reported death (see United States Census, 1860., New York, New York: Ward 17, District 1).Louisa Van Velsor Whitman here acknowledges receipt of a money order. Walt Whitman often enclosed a few dollars (up to five) in each postal service letter to his mother, and he transmitted larger amounts by money order. Louisa reported using money orders from Walt to purchase a hair cloth lounge and to pay a debt of $10 to her grocer Amerman for a barrel of flour (see her March 13, 20, or 27?, 1868 and her April 7, 1868 letters to Walt). Another money order from Walt paid for the purchase of coal and the repair of a heating stove (see her November 2 or 3?, 1868 letter to Walt).
This postscript is inscribed in the top margin of the first page.
This letter dates to June 22, 1870. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter June 22, and Richard Maurice Bucke added the year 1870. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:362; 2:368). The year is correct and is consistent with President Ulysses S. Grant's expected appointment of Amos T. Ackerman as the attorney general after the resignation of Ebenezer R. Hoar. Walt Whitman cut his thumb in late April or early May 1870, and it became infected. He referred to the injury in two letters from Brooklyn, a May 11, 1870 letter to Walbridge A. Field and a second May 11, 1870 letter to William D. O'Connor. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman inquired about or expressed concern for his thumb in this and five other letters to Walt from May or June to July 1870: May 17? to June 11?, 1870, June 1, 1870, June 8, 1870, June 29, 1870, and July 20, 1870. Charles Louis Heyde discouraged Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's visit to Burlington because she was "becoming too aged." He also wrote that it is "as much as Han can do to take care of herself" and that he had "paid off the mortgage on my house" (see Charles L. Heyde to Walt Whitman, June 13, 1870, Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 226–228). Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), known as "Jeff," was Walt Whitman's favorite brother. As a civil engineer, Jeff eventually became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis and a nationally recognized name. Joseph Phineas Davis had served as an assistant engineer with Jeff in St. Louis from 1867 to 1869. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)." It is unclear whether the word "he" is written over an abandoned word or canceled. Amos Tappan Ackerman (1821–1880) was born in New Hampshire, attended Dartmouth College, and spent his early adulthood as a teacher before studying law in Georgia. Though he opposed secession, he served in the Confederate army under General Robert Toombs. After the Civil War, he served in Georgia's state constitutional convention and was named U.S. district attorney. President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Ackerman to the office of attorney general after the resignation of Ebenezer R. Hoar on June 23, 1870 (see Mark Grossman and ABC-CLIO Information Service, Encyclopedia of the United States Cabinet [Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2000], 81–82). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman followed the appointment of the attorney general closely because Walt served as a clerk in that office. The "awfull things said" about Ackerman, aside from his being an ex-rebel, may refer to an article that mocked him as an unknown: "The Senate could hardly be pleased, because it didn't know such a person was ever born" ("A Few Things," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 18, 1870, 4). Joseph Phineas Davis (1837–1917) served as the chief engineer of the Water Works in Lowell, Massachusetts, from 1870 to 1871. Davis took a degree in civil engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1856 and then helped build the Brooklyn Water Works until 1861. He was a topographical engineer in Peru from 1861 to 1865, after which he returned to Brooklyn. He would later serve as the city engineer of Boston (1871–1880) and as chief engineer of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (1880–1908). A lifelong friend of Thomas Jefferson Whitman, Davis shared the Pacific Street house with Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, her son Edward, and Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's family before Jeff's departure for St. Louis. For Davis's work with Jeff, see Jeff Whitman's May 23, 1867, January 21, 1869, and March 25, 1869 letters to Walt Whitman. For Davis's career, see Francis P. Stearns and Edward W. Howe, "Joseph Phineas Davis," Journal of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers 4 (December 1917), 437–442. The date of this letter, July 5?, 1870, is somewhat speculative. Richard Maurice Bucke estimated the date as July 12, 1870. Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver agreed with Bucke's date (Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 203), and Edwin Haviland Miller cited Gohdes and Silver's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:368). The letter, however, is more likely to date to a week earlier. The most useful detail for dating the letter is that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman has had a photograph taken at the studio of William S. Pendleton. She plans to enclose a copy of the photograph in a box that she has prepared for her daughter Hannah (Whitman) Heyde. According to her firmly dated July 20, 1870 letter to Walt Whitman, she had requested a pickup of Hannah's package by Westcott's Express Tuesday the previous week (July 12). If she prepared Hannah's box on the same day that she has the picture taken, this letter dates to July 12, 1870. Since Louisa, in her July 20, 1870 letter, lamented the difficulty of preparing the package for Hannah, it is unlikely that she would both seek to have her picture taken and on the same day (July 12) have the box sent to Hannah. Therefore, this letter is more likely to date to the preceding Tuesday, July 5, 1870. No letters from Walt Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman between February 1869 and his July 27, 1870, return to Brooklyn are extant (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:78–2:101). Walt returned to Brooklyn briefly after his thumb became infected in late April or early May 1870, and he returned to Washington in mid-May (see his May 11, 1870 letter to William D. O'Connor). William S. Pendleton's photography studio was located at 297 Fulton Street at the corner of Johnson. The earliest advertisement for Pendleton at that location dates to early August 1870 (see "Pendleton, Practical Photographer," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 6, 1870, 3), but the studio was open in October 1869 ("For Sale—A Large Stove," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 29, 1869, 3). A photograph of Walt Whitman was taken at the same studio (see Ted Genoways and Ed Folsom, "An Unpublished Early 1870s Photograph of Whitman," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 23 [Summer 2005], 59–60). For Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's photograph, see "Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing slightly right," Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division (Feinberg-Whitman Collection, Library of Congress, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c25627). George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the sixth child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and ten years Walt Whitman's junior. George enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 and remained on active duty until the end of the Civil War. He was wounded in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and was taken prisoner during the Battle of Poplar Grove (September 1864). After the war, George returned to Brooklyn and began building houses on speculation, with a partner named Smith and later a mason named French. George also took a position as inspector of pipes in Brooklyn and Camden, and he married Louisa Orr Haslam in spring 1871. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and son Edward moved from Brooklyn to reside with them in Camden in August 1872. For more information on George, see "Whitman, George Washington." Thomas Jefferson Whitman and family were in St. Paul, Iowa, in early August 1870 and presumably departed St. Louis for Iowa some weeks earlier. The date of their departure is not known (see Walt Whitman's August 2, 1870 letter to William D. O'Connor).The final three words appear in the right margin of the page. The book that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman gave to Helen Price is not known.
Helen Price was the daughter of Abby and Edmund Price. Abby H. Price (1814–1878) was active in various social-reform movements. Her husband, Edmund, operated a pickle factory in Brooklyn, and and the couple had four children—Arthur, Helen, Emily, and Henry (who died in 1852, at 2 years of age). During the 1860s, Price and her family, especially daughter Helen, were friends with Walt Whitman and his mother. In 1860, the Price family began to save Walt's letters. Helen's reminiscences of Whitman were included in Richard Maurice Bucke's biography, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), and she printed for the first time some of Whitman's letters to her mother ("Letters of Walt Whitman to his Mother and an Old Friend," Putnam's Monthly 5 [1908], 163–169).
The most probable date for this letter is July 14, 1869. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to 1870, but Edwin Haviland Miller dated it to 1869 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367). Bucke's reason for dating the letter to 1870 is unclear, but Walt Whitman returned to Brooklyn for his vacation in July 1870. It is unlikely, were the letter to date 1870, that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman would omit mention of Walt's expected arrival within less than two weeks. Miller's year 1869 is believed correct, and numerous factors support this date, though most are indirect. The letter states that granddaughter Manahatta "Hattie" Whitman is "only [9?] years old." Though the number is at best semi-legible, Hattie was 9 years old in July 1869. Another indirect reason to prefer the year 1869 is Helen Price's statement that her mother Abby Price has written to Walt and hopes that he will respond. Walt wrote Abby Price on July 16, 1869 to thank Helen for visiting his mother, prompted perhaps by this letter or by Abby Price's. Louisa had anticipated a visit by the Prices earlier in July (see her July 5–12?, 1869 letter to Walt). Miller proposed that Walt's letter to Abby Price was prompted by this letter, but Walt did not respond to news about Emily "Emma" Price's marriage (Correspondence, 2:83, n. 31), which is an odd complication. Emily Price married Edward M. Law, an engraver, in 1869. Louisa writes of the expected date of marriage only that she "beleive[s] they think," a phrase that suggests uncertainty. That is a peculiar statement in July 1869 because Emily Price—according to another letter—married in late April or early May 1869. Just after a visit by Helen Price (Emily's sister), Louisa wrote to Walt that Emily "married about two or three weeks ago" (see Louisa's May 30, 1869 letter to Walt). That letter of course conflicts with this letter's month July: the date of Emily Price's marriage is an awkward complication, which may suggest confusion on Louisa's part or an effort by the Prices to be ambiguous about Emily's marriage date—or that this letter is not dated correctly. Despite that complication, many factors support summer 1869 for this letter. The width of the paper in this letter is consistent with Louisa's July 5–12?, 1869 letter to Walt, which does mention the expected visit by the Prices. On the basis of the Price visit, Emily Price's marriage, granddaughter Hattie's age, and Walt's July 16, 1869 letter to Abby Price, this letters most likely dates to July 14, 1869. Edward Whitman (1835–1892), called "Eddy" or "Edd," was the youngest son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr. He required lifelong assistance for significant physical and mental disabilities, and he remained in the care of his mother until her death. During Louisa's final illness, Eddy was taken under the care of George Washington Whitman and his wife, Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman, with financial support from Walt Whitman. Edward attended Henry Ward Beecher's Plymouth Church. Beecher, Congregational clergyman and brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, accepted the pastorate of Brooklyn's Plymouth Church in 1847. The exact date of Emily Price's marriage is not known: Louisa Van Velsor Whitman does not state a firm date because she prefaces her claim: "i beleive [sic] they think." According to Louisa's April 7, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman, Emily was expected to marry a man named Law, an "artist in the cheap picture line." Emily Price married Edward Law (1844?–), whose occupation is listed as engraver in the 1880 census (see United States Census. 1880. New York. Brooklyn, Kings.). The spelling "ellen" is Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's alternate spelling of Helen. Abby Price's (1814–1878) business involved the attachment of ruffles, a process for which her partner, the inventor George B. Arnold, had developed a sewing machine attachment (see Sherry L. Ceniza, "Walt Whitman and Abby Price," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 7:2 [Fall 1989], 50–51, 63, n. 7). Abby Price had offered Walt $1000 to lobby Thomas Harland, the chief clerk in the Patent Office, to have her ruffles exempted from the list of articles subject to a tax assessment because the materials used to make the ruffles were already taxed (see Abby Price's March 25, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman). Also see Ceniza, Walt Whitman and 19th-Century Women Reformers (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1998), 54, 94, 208, n. 16. Charles Williams Kingsley (1833–1885) was a contractor for the Brooklyn Water Works. Walt Whitman's letter is not extant. Numerous photographs of Whitman were taken between the years 1868 and 1870 (see "Gallery of Images"). Manahatta Whitman (1860–1886), known as "Hattie," was the daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. If this letter dates to July 1869, Hattie is 9 years old, and her sister Jessie Louisa (1863–1957), known as "Sis," is 6 years old. This letter dates to July 20, 1870. The date July 20 is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, and Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the year 1870. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:368). The year 1870 is consistent with the injury to and infection of Walt Whitman's thumb, and Louisa's remarks on political concerns about the widening of the Franco-Prussian War and on a Brooklyn heat wave also are consistent with the year. Walt Whitman's July 18?, 1870 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:362). St. Louis was the home of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's son Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman (1833–1890) and family. The most recent letter from either Jeff or his wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman (1836–1873) was Mattie's March 30, 1870 letter to Louisa (Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 70–71). Jeff had departed Brooklyn in 1867 to assume the position of the Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis, and Mattie and their daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa, joined him in 1868. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)." For more on Mattie, see Waldron, 1–26. Robert F. Westcott founded the Manhattan Express Company, a packet and mail service, in 1851 (see Alexander Stimson, Express Office Handbook and Directory [Bedford, Massachusetts: Applewood, 1860], 115–116). The offices and delivery service were known by the name Westcott's Express. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had mentioned preparing a box for daughter Hannah (Whitman) Heyde earlier in the month, and she intended to enclose a recent photograph (see Louisa's July 5, 1870 letter to Walt Whitman). For Louisa's preparation of gift boxes, which Sherry Ceniza has designated "care packages" and compared to Walt's poetry, see Walt Whitman and 19th-Century Women Reformers (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1998), 10–12. Walt Whitman returned to Brooklyn from late July through October 1870 to see into press Leaves of Grass (1871–1872), Passage to India (1871), and Democratic Vistas (1871). Summaries of London press reports speculated about the possible widening of the Franco-Prussian War should Russia or Spain intervene. If England joined the conflict, France threatened to provide material support to the Fenians (see below), an Irish independence organization ("The War Widening," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 19, 1870, 4). The Fenians or the Fenian Brotherhood was founded in New York in 1858 by John O'Mahoney. The open American association was affiliated with the Brotherhood (later the Irish Republican Brotherhood) founded in Dublin by James Stephens. Both organizations were dedicated to the cause of an independent Irish Republic (see Ireland and the Americas, ed. James P. Byrne, Philip Coleman, and Jason King [Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2008], xxxii). Because Louisa Van Velsor Whitman paired the term "fenians" with "roughfs," she probably used the designation "Fenians" in a more general sense to refer to working-class Irish immigrants in New York. The very clipped form, which is most likely "gd," is presumably the word "good" that is contracted at the edge of the page. For the scarcity of ice and the rising death toll from heat in the New York and Brooklyn area, see "An Epidemic of Heat," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 20, 1870, 3.This postscript is inverted in the top margin of the first page.
Walt Whitman cut his thumb in late April or early May 1870, and it became infected. He referred to the injury in two letters from Brooklyn, a May 11, 1870 letter to Walbridge A. Field and a second May 11, 1870 letter to William D. O'Connor. Louisa inquired about or expressed concern for his thumb in this and five other letters to Walt from May or June to July 1870: May 17? to June 11?, 1870, June 1, 1870, June 8, 1870, June 22, 1870, and June 29, 1870.
This letter dates to between May 17, 1870 and June 12, 1870, and it more likely dates to early June. The letter has no date in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand. Richard Maurice Bucke conjectured August 1870, but his month is incorrect. Edwin Haviland Miller conjectured June? 1870 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:98, n. 20; 2:368), and Miller's date is corroborated partially by Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's receipt and response to Anne Gilchrist's "A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman." However, a number of contextual factors allow the letter to date as early as May 17, 1870 and no later than June 12, 1870.
Walt Whitman traveled to Brooklyn in late April or early May, and from there he made a request to William D. O'Connor in Washington D.C.: "If the 'Radical' has come, send me a copy immediately" (see Walt's May 11, 1870 letter to O'Connor). Walt also informed O'Connor that he expected to return to Washington "next Monday" (May 16). Louisa may have received O'Connor's forwarded copy of the Radical just before or after Walt's return to Washington, but it is more probable that Walt sent a copy of Gilchrist's article to his mother after his return. Walt also forwarded a copy of Gilchrist's article to his brother-in-law Charles Heyde, and Heyde responded in a June 13, 1870 letter to Walt. The date of Louisa's receipt of Gilchrist's article and the date of Heyde's letter establish the outer range of possible dates for this letter. Another detail that may narrow the range of dates is that Heyde wrote of wife Hannah (Whitman) Heyde that a "swelling in her neck has subsided," and in this letter Louisa relays Heyde's report from a letter (not extant) that Hannah "has a swelling on the side of her face and ear has been three weeks that it pains her." Though the calendar dates during which Hannah suffered the pain in her neck and face cannot be established with certainty, Louisa's letter must precede Heyde's June 13 response to Gilchrist's article. Louisa's letter also indicates that she received a letter from Heyde in response to the one that she "wrote [Hannah] last week," and Heyde may acknowledge receipt of that same letter.
The earliest possible date for this letter is the second day after Walt's May 16 departure: because Louisa has received copies of Gilchrist's article two days in succession, May 17, 1870 is the earliest possible date. The letter dates no later than a day before Heyde responded to Gilchrist's article, June 12, 1870.
Walt Whitman cut his thumb in late April or early May 1870, and it became infected. He referred to the injury in two letters from Brooklyn, a May 11, 1870 letter to Walbridge A. Field and a second May 11, 1870 letter to William D. O'Connor. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman inquired about or expressed concern for Walt's thumb in this and five other letters to Walt from May or June to July 1870: June 1, 1870, June 8, 1870, June 22, 1870, June 29, 1870, and July 20, 1870. Walt Whitman and his friend William D. O'Connor played an active role in the publication of "A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman," Radical 7 (May 1870), 345–359. The Boston Radical was a Unitarian periodical edited by Sidney H. Morse (1833–1903). Gilchrist's "Woman's Estimate" was based on letters that Gilchrist wrote to William Michael Rossetti after he edited for publication Poems by Walt Whitman (London: Hotten, 1868). According to Jerome M. Loving, Rossetti encouraged Gilchrist to have her enthusiastic letters published and forwarded them to William D. O'Connor. O'Connor initially contacted William C. Church and Francis P. Church, editors of the Galaxy. After they rejected Gilchrist's piece, O'Connor submitted it to the Radical (see Walt Whitman's Champion [College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1978], 92–93). Anne Gilchrist's "A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman" was published anonymously. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman immediately recognized Gilchrist's analysis—she "seems to understand your writing better than ever any one did before"—as one of the first great critical readings of Whitman's work. For more on Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)." Moses Lane (1823–82) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to May 1, 1869. After his resignation from Brooklyn, Lane worked in Chicago and contributed to the design of the Pittsburgh Water Works. Lane later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer ("Moses Lane," Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers [February 1882], 58). Walt Whitman seems to have ended his boarding arrangement with Mr. and Mrs. Newton Benedict at 472 M Street South with his departure from Washington after suffering the injury to his thumb in late April or early May 1871. Based on this letter, he did not return to the Benedict household during July. Whatever arrangement Walt made was short-term: he returned to Brooklyn in late July for a furlough that would extend through mid-October.This letter dates to between December 20 and December 22, 1870. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter November 30, 1870 on an accompanying slip of paper held in the Trent Collection (not reproduced here). Bucke's month and date are unlikely to be correct because Louisa acknowledges receiving a letter from Walt "this wensday morning the last day of autumn." Bucke's year, 1870, however, is corroborated by other matters in the letter: a visit to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman by Ellen M. O'Connor and her daughter Jean; the presence of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's family in St. Louis; Louisa's receipt of copies of the Boston Radical, presumably copies with a printing of Anne Gilchrist's "A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman" from May of that year; and the absence of son George Washington Whitman from Brooklyn with the expectation that he will visit the coming weekend.
In the letter, Louisa writes that "Ellen M. O'Connor "was here yesterday tuesday 2[1?]." Edwin Haviland Miller's date for the letter of December 22, 1870 presumably follows from this information (see Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:368). But if the year is 1870, Louisa's phrase to describe the day on which she wrote as "wensday last day of autumn" does not correspond with the fact that the last day of autumn fell on Tuesday, December 20 (Wednesday, December 21, 1870 being the first day or winter). As no date in December 1870 can be consistent both with Wednesday and with the "last day of autumn," it is likely that either her reference to the day of the week or to the last day of autumn is incorrect. The presumed date for the letter is the Wednesday morning that fell closest to the winter solstice, December 21, 1870. Another detail that supports the week before Christmas as the probable date is Louisa's expectation that George, who did not visit on Thanksgiving, is expected in Brooklyn on Saturday, Christmas Eve. The reference to the last day of autumn and the expectation that George will visit on Christmas support the week before Christmas in 1870 as the date of this letter. The most probable day of writing is Wednesday, December 21, with the assumption that Louisa is mistaken on the intersection of season designation and the solstice. But given the inconsistency between calendar date and solstice, the letter can only be assigned a range from December 20 to December 22, 1870.
Neither Walt's December 18–21?, 1870 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman nor "the books you spoke of" are known. Edwin Haviland Miller dated Whitman's missing letter December 20?, 1870 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:362). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman regularly consulted almanacs, so she may be invoking the date in a strict sense. The winter solstice, traditionally the first day of winter, fell in the early morning on December 21, 1870, a Wednesday. Tuesday, December 20, 1870 was the last day of autumn, and Wednesday was the first day of winter. She may, technically, be writing early Wednesday morning before the exact hour and minute of the solstice and so be writing on a Wednesday but still during autumn because preceding the winter solstice, but that seems unlikely as she tended to rise early. The winter solstice fell December 21, 1870 at 1:42 am (Political Manual and Annual Register for the State of New Hampshire [Concord: McFarland and Jenks, 1869], [2]). Ellen M. "Nelly" O'Connor (1830–1910) was the wife of William D. O'Connor. Nelly O'Connor, whose marital strife with William had led to a separation in 1870 and resulted in divorce, wrote an admiring letter to Walt Whitman from Providence, Rhode Island, shortly before this visit to Brooklyn (see Nelly's November 20, 1870 letter to Walt; and see Florence B. Freedman, William Douglas O'Connor: Walt Whitman's Chosen Knight [Athens: Ohio University Press, 1985], 246). For a time Walt Whitman lived with the O'Connors, who, with Charles Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the early Washington years. The correspondence between Walt Whitman and Nelly is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence with William. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)." The number is most likely a "1," but the character also resembles "7" or "9." Of these choices, only December 27, 1870 fell on a Tuesday. However, the "last day of autumn" (see note above) in the year 1870 was Tuesday, December 20. If the letter refers to the change of seasons at the winter solstice, "1" is the most probable number. Walt Whitman dined frequently with William D. and Ellen M. O'Connor during his Washington years, and he spoke often in his letters of their daughter Jean, also known as "Jenny" or "Jeannie." The woman accompanying Ellen and daughter Jean may be her sister Mary Jane "Jeannie" Tarr Channing (1828–1897). Walt Whitman visited with Mary Jane and her husband Dr. William Ellery Channing during his October 1868 visit to Providence, Rhode Island (see Walt's October 17, 1868 letter to Peter Doyle). The Boston Radical was a Unitarian periodical edited by Sidney H. Morse (1833–1903). The copies that Walt Whitman sent are most likely from an earlier issue that year, which included Anne Gilchrist's "A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman," Radical 7 (May 1870), 345–359. For Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's opinion of Gilchrist's article, see her May 17? to June 11?, 1870 letter to Walt. For more on Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)."." The letter continues in the right margin of the page. Jean O'Connor (1858–1883), known as "Jeannie" or Jenny," was the daughter of Ellen M. and William D. O'Connor. The postscript is inverted in the top margin of the first page.This letter dates to between March 7 and May 15, 1871. On an accompanying slip of paper held in the Trent Collection (not reproduced here), Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter March 1871 with a note that George Washington Whitman, who married in "March '71," spent $700 on his house and is already living in Camden, New Jersey at the time of the letter.
George probably married Louisa Orr Haslam on March 14, 1871 (see Walt Whitman, "Marriages," Missouri Historical Society, reprinted in Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts, ed. Edward F. Grier [New York: New York University Press, 1984], 27; and see H. Stanley Craig, Camden County New Jersey Marriages, 1837–1910: Records Filed in the Office of the County Clerk [Merchantville, New Jersey: H. Stanley Craig, 1932], 133). A March date for George's marriage conflicts with Whitman scholarly consensus, that he married Louisa Orr on April 14, 1871 (see Richard Maurice Bucke, "Genealogy of Whitman Family," Trent Collection, Duke University, reprinted in Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer [New York: Macmillan, 1955], 596). But because March 14 is both in Walt Whitman's hand and is derived independently from the records assembled by Craig, March 14 for the date of George's marriage is likely correct. Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman and daughters arrived in Brooklyn no earlier than February 14 but perhaps several days later (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's February 9, 1871 letter to Walt Whitman). Another letter that may corroborate the March marriage is Louisa's March 19?–May 14?, 1871 letter to Walt. If a March 14 marriage date for George and Louisa Orr Haslam is assumed, and Mattie's family began their five- or six-week visit to Brooklyn and Camden in late February, this letter dates to just before the marriage (March 7?) or just after it (March 15–17?). The latest possible date for this letter can be inferred from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's expectation that Mattie Whitman will report to Walt about Brooklyn after she returns "home," possibly to Brooklyn unless Mattie is returning to St. Louis directly from Camden. Mattie and family may be en route to St. Louis, or they may be visiting George and Louisa Orr near their marriage date. Louisa's next extant letter to Walt, June 13, 1871, refers to St. Louis but not to Mattie's recent visit, so Mattie and family had returned to St. Louis by mid-May.
To summarize, this letter could date to some days before George and Louisa's marriage (March 7?), to just after their marriage (March 15–17?), or to just before the return of Mattie and daughters to St. Louis (March 30–May 14?). If Louisa's March 19?–May 14?, 1871 letter dates April 30, the latest possible date for this letter is a week or two after that letter, from May 7 to May 15, 1871. However, this letter is likely to date earlier, to just after Mattie and daughters visit George and Louisa Orr in Camden near their marriage.
The children are Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's daughters Manahatta (1860–1886), known as "Hattie," and Jessie Louisa (1863–1957), known as "Sis." Hattie, who lived most of the first seven years of her life in the same home with Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, was especially close to her grandmother. Hattie and Sis (known also as "California" and "Duti") were both favorites of their uncle Walt. Mattie Whitman is going to meet George's fiancée or new wife Louisa Orr Haslam (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," at their new home at 322 Stevens Street in Camden, New Jersey. If the letter dates to late April and Manahatta Whitman has received a periodical with a newly published poem by Walt Whitman, the poem is "Warble for Lilac-Time," Galaxy 9 (May 1871), 686. However, in that case Louisa Van Velsor Whitman has named the wrong periodical. The spelling "graphe" more likely refers to a celebrated London periodical, The Graphic: An Illustrated Weekly Newspaper, which was founded by William Luson Thomas (1830–1900) and began publication in December 1869. Its high-quality illustrations and its coverage of the Franco-Prussian War helped its circulation to rise rapidly, to around 50,000 subscribers by 1870 and up to 250,000 subscribers by 1874. See Laurel Brake & Marysa Demoor, ed., Dictionary of Nineteenth-Century Journalism (London: British Library, 2009). Louisa also acknowledged a copy of the Graphic in her February 9, 1871 letter to Walt Whitman. The postscript is inverted in the top margin of the first page. This letter dates to October 10, 1871. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter October 10, a Tuesday. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to letter 1871, and October 10 fell on Tuesday in 1871. Clarence Gohdes and Ronald G. Silver assigned the same date, and Edwin Haviland Miller cited Gohdes and Silver's date (see Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:369; Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 203–204). Louisa's month is not clearly written, but the pressure from sons Thomas Jefferson Whitman and George Washington Whitman for Louisa to leave Brooklyn for Camden and the publication of Jean Bruce Washburn's Yo Semite: A Poem dates the letter to the year assigned by Bucke and subsequent editors. The persons designated "aunt freelove" and "daughter elizabeth" have not been identified. However, the United States Census, 1880 lists an Elizabeth Freelove (1820?–) from Queens, New York, and Freelove Day (1855?–) as a daughter (see United States Census, 1880, Queens, New York). George Washington Whitman married Louisa Orr Haslam (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou" in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letters, in spring 1871, and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and son Edward moved from Brooklyn to reside with them in Camden at 322 Stevens Street in August 1872. The letter from Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman that insisted on Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's "breaking up houskeeping" is not extant. Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Jeff's wife, did not mention the matter in her October 22, 1871 letter to Louisa (see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 72–76). Louisa delayed her departure from Brooklyn to Camden until August 1872. After Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and son Edward moved in with George Washington Whitman and wife Louisa Orr Haslam in August 1872, Walt Whitman sent monthly payments for Edward's board. James "Jimmy" Whitman was the oldest son of Walt Whitman's brother Andrew Jackson Whitman (1827–1863) and Andrew's widow Nancy McClure. Jimmy was in the care of George Washington Whitman and wife Louisa Orr in late 1871. For a more extended description of Jimmy, see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's July 31 or August 7, 1872 letter to Walt Whitman. For Andrew's wife and children, see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 13–14. Jean Bruce Washburn (1838–1904), of Mariposa, California, published Yo Semite: A Poem (San Francisco: A. Roman, 1871). This letter dates to October 7, 1871. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter September 30, 1871, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:369). Bucke's and Miller's date is incorrect because the letter states that the "green porters has left early this morning." The "green porters" are the family of Mary (Whitman) Van Nostrand, who lived in Greenport, Long Island. In late September 1871, Louisa's daughter Mary, Mary's husband Ansel, and their two daughters Louisa and Mary Isadore "Minnie" came to Brooklyn and shopped in preparation for Minnie's marriage. This letter must follow Louisa's October 5, 1871 letter to Walt Whitman, in which she reported that her "company is here yet and i dont know how long they will remain." Since Louisa did not mention the Van Nostrands in her October 10, 1871 letter to Walt, this letter dates to the Saturday between the October 5 and the October 10 letters, October 7, 1871. Walt Whitman was an enthusiastic reader of the novelist George Sand. He favorably reviewed Le Compagnon du Tour de France (1840) in Francis George Shaw's English translation, The Journeyman Joiner: or the Companion of the Tour of France (1847). Walt counted both Sand's Consuelo (1845) and her La Comtesse de Rudolstadt (1845) among his favorite novels (see K. H. Francis, "Walt Whitman's French," Modern Language Review 51:4 [1956], 504). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman shared her son's enthusiasm for Sand. Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman had sent this request to his brother Walt a decade earlier: "Mother wants me to be sure and tell you that you must bring her one of those books by the authoress of 'Consuelo'" (see Jeff's April 16, 1860 letter to Walt). The Sand title that Walt forwarded in October 1871 is not known. The "green porters" are Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's elder daughter Mary Elizabeth (Whitman) Van Nostrand (1821–1899), Mary's husband Ansel Van Nostrand, and two of their daughters, Louisa and Mary Isadore "Minnie" (1851–1938). Louisa announced their arrival with "bag and baggage" in her September 28, 1871 letter to Walt Whitman. The shopping trip, which relied on Louisa's Brooklyn residence as a home base, was in preparation for Minnie's marriage to Leander Jay Young (1846–1937) on October 18, 1871 (see Gertrude A. Barber, compiler, "Marriages of Suffolk County, N. Y. Taken from the 'Republican Watchman': A Newspaper Published at Greenport, N. Y. Years 1871, 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1876." [1950], 1:3). For Louisa's anxiety regarding the impending visit and the extended stay, see her September 15–26, 1871 letter to Walt. For more on the Van Nostrand family, see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 10–11. The American Institute was a long-running Brooklyn fair that displayed flowers, plants, fruits, and products of American industry and manufacture. The fair buildings, which occupied 100,000 square feet, were located on the block enclosed by Second and Third Avenue and Sixty-third and Sixty-fourth Street (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 14, 1871, 1). Walt Whitman opened the American Institute on September 7, 1871, with a recitation of "After All, Not to Create Only." The poem was widely reprinted (see "Poems in Periodicals" and Whitman's August 5, 1871 draft letter to the American Institute Committee on Invitations). The man accompanying Thomas Jefferson Whitman has not been identified. He may be a member of the St. Louis Water Works Board of Water Commissioners (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's April 13, 1870 letter to Walt Whitman). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letter from Julia Hine, widow of Charles Hine, is not extant. Charles Hine was an artist, and he had died on July 31, 1871, only days after a visit by Walt Whitman. Hine's painting of the poet was the model for the engraving that became the frontispiece for Leaves of Grass in 1860 (see Walt Whitman's July 14, 1871 letter to Charles Hine, The Correspondence, ed. Ted Genoways [Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2004], 7:31; and see Connecticut, Deaths and Burials Index, 1650–1934 [Salt Lake City: FamilySearch, 2009]). Julia Hine indicated her plan to visit Walt's mother in Brooklyn in an August 4, 1871 letter to Walt. After Julia Hine's earlier visit, Louisa wished she had been able to give her money (see Louisa's August 22, 1871 letter to Walt). The poem that Walt Whitman sent is not known. Julia Hine in her August 4, 1871, letter to Walt Whitman explained that she would have difficulty caring for three children because her financial means have been exhausted by her husband's illness and death. She asked Whitman if he could assist her to find copying work. She also wrote, "Mr. Townsend, a dear friend of Charley's, has sent you a paper with a pleasant article written by himself." The review of Whitman's work by a Townsend in a Providence, Rhode Island, newspaper has not been identified.The final four words of the letter are written in the right margin.
Tom Rome married Agnes Rogerson (b. 1848) in 1871 (see United States Census, 1900). According to a genealogy prepared by John Malcom MacDonald, Agnes Rogerson, born in Annan, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, married Tom Rome on Portland Avenue, Brooklyn, on September 11, 1871 (MacDonald/Rome/Reardon/Coleman/Smith/Stevens/Lanning/Novak, http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/m/a/c/John-M-Macdonald/index.html).
This letter dates to August 22, 1871. The date August 22 is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, and Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to the year 1871. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:369). The year designated by Bucke and affirmed by Miller is correct because it is consistent with a visit to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman by Julia Hine after the death of her husband, Charles Hine (also see Louisa's October 7, 1871 letter to Walt Whitman). Walt Whitman was invited to read at the opening of the American Institute, a long-running Brooklyn fair that displayed flowers, plants, fruits, and products of American industry and manufacture. The fair buildings, which occupied 100,000 square feet, were located on the block enclosed by Second and Third Avenue and Sixty-third and Sixty-fourth Street (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 14, 1871, 1). Whitman opened the American Institute on September 7, 1871, with a recitation of "After All, Not to Create Only." The poem was widely reprinted (see "Poems in Periodicals" and Whitman's August 5, 1871 draft letter to the American Institute Committee on Invitations). The dates for Whitman's travel to Brooklyn, New York, and his return to Washington, D.C., are not known. Julia A. Hine, widow of Charles Hine (1827–1871), indicated her intent to visit Walt Whitman's mother in Brooklyn shortly after her husband's death (see Julia Hine's August 4, 1871 letter to Walt Whitman; for her name Julia, see United States Census, 1870). Charles Hine was a portrait and figure painter, and his painting of Walt Whitman became the frontispiece for Leaves of Grass in 1860. He died on July 31, 1871, only days after a visit from Whitman. Julia Hine may have visited Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in part because Walt had reported his mother "ill—some of the time very ill" (see Walt Whitman's July 14, 1871 letter to Charles Hine, The Correspondence, ed. Ted Genoways [Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2004], 7:31; and see Connecticut, Deaths and Burials Index, 1650–1934 [Salt Lake City: FamilySearch, 2009]). The oldest daughter of Charles and Julia Hine, named Minnie, was born in 1859 (United States Census, 1870). Julia Hine's companion, Mrs. Judson, has not been identified. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman originally wrote, "my sympathy for her strong." She then canceled the word "my" and the phrase "for her strong." She inserted "i felt great" above the canceled word "my." The revised phrase is "i felt great sympathy." Julia Hine in her August 4, 1871 letter to Walt Whitman wrote, "Mr. Townsend, a dear friend of Charley's, has sent you a paper with a pleasant article written by himself." The review of Whitman's work by a Townsend in a Providence, Rhode Island, newspaper has not been identified. This letter dates to June 13, 1871. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter June 13, 1871, and this date is almost certain. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:368). At the close of the letter, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman asks Walt to "write in your this weeks letter what day you will come." Walt arrived in Brooklyn for his vacation on Wednesday the following week (see his June 21–23, 1871 letter to Peter Doyle). If Louisa wrote on Tuesday afternoon and Walt received this letter before he left Washington, it had to be sent on Tuesday, June 13 (rather than June 20). As Walt generally notified Louisa of his planned visits well beforehand—and he notified Abby Price of his intent to take an early summer vacation this year in his April 21, 1871 letter—the June 13, 1871 date is the only one that accords with Louisa's being aware of when Walt would take his summer 1871 vacation. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman claimed that the work she performed on the renovation or upkeep of "georgeys house," probably the house at 71 Portland Avenue but possibly another property in his speculative housebuilding business, entitled her to withhold the rent that she had paid the two previous months. The source of income for George Washington Whitman was work completed for Joseph Phineas Davis (1837–1917), chief engineer of the Water Works in Lowell, Massachusetts, between 1870 and 1871. Davis, a close friend of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and the Whitman family, employed George to inspect pipe. For Davis's work with Jeff Whitman in St. Louis, see the following letters from Jeff to Walt Whitman: May 23, 1867, January 21, 1869, and March 25, 1869. Louisa was also friendly with Davis, who stopped by her house in Brooklyn after he departed St. Louis when working in Lowell (see her June 22, 1870 letter to Walt). For Davis's career, see Francis P. Stearns and Edward W. Howe, "Joseph Phineas Davis," Journal of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers 4 (December 1917), 437–442. Louisa's letters "r" and "n" at the end of words are sometimes nearly indistinguishable: this is one of those cases. The letter looks more like her typical "r," which might place emphasis on fixing up the house (removing carpet, putting up paper, cleaning) so that George Washington Whitman could sell it and "clear" a profit. Or she may have considered carpet removal and scrubbing as making the section of the house more presentable for tenants, as cleaning it. Whether new tenants were sought for a section of the Portland Avenue house or she was working on another property in George's housebuilding business is not known.This letter is nearly impossible to date precisely. Richard Maurice Bucke dated it April 3, 1871, and Edwin Haviland Miller dated it April 16?, 1871 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:368). Because the letter refers both to an expected visit from George Washington Whitman and his "wife" that has been postponed until the following Saturday and to "quite a seige [sic] the last month or so," a phrase that presumably refers to the departure of Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman and daughters Manahatta and Jessie Louisa after an extended visit, the letter dates at least a week (and perhaps several) after the marriage of George to Louisa Orr Haslam and a few (or several) days after the departure of Jeff Whitman's family. One separate matter, the expected move of the Mann family, may suggest a late April date. However, these factors cannot be pinned down with certainty, so the letter could date as early as March 19, 1871, as late May 14, 1871, and to almost any Sunday in between.
If George has a "wife" already, the letter dates no earlier than the Sunday that followed his marriage. George married Louisa Orr Haslam on either March 14, 1871 or April 14, 1871. Whitman scholars since Gay Wilson Allen have preferred the April date: see Richard Maurice Bucke, "Genealogy of Whitman Family," Trent Collection, Duke University, reprinted in Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (New York: Macmillan, 1955), 596. This assumption probably guided Miller's April 16? date for this letter. However, Allen's source, Bucke's typescript genealogy, is derived from a manuscript in Walt Whitman's hand, and Whitman's manuscript differs: Whitman identified March 14, 1871 as George's marriage date. See Walt Whitman, "Marriages," Missouri Historical Society, reprinted in Edward F. Grier, ed., Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts (New York: New York University Press, 1984), 27. Bucke's notation on Louisa's March 7?–May 15?, 1871 letter to Walt also differs: there Bucke writes "George married March '71." An independent source derived from Camden county records also dates George's marriage March 14 (H. Stanley Craig, Camden County New Jersey Marriages, 1837–1910: Records Filed in the Office of the County Clerk [Merchantville, New Jersey: H. Stanley Craig, 1932], 133). As two independent sources, one in Walt's hand and one derived independently from county marriage records agree on March 14, the date of this letter, if to a Sunday just after George's marriage, is March 19 or March 26, 1871.
If Louisa's reference to a "seige [sic] the last month or so" refers to the visit of Jeff Whitman's family to Brooklyn, their departure to return to St. Louis dates four to six weeks after their arrival. Louisa at one time expected Mattie and daughters to arrive in Brooklyn in early February: "we are looking for matt," Louisa wrote in her February 9, 1871 letter to Walt. The two-week discrepancy between Louisa's initial and later expectation of Mattie's arrival highlights the speculative quality of presumptions that have guided this initial assignment of the letter's date to March 19 or March 26, 1871. Questioning those assumptions undermines either of those possible dates. The phrase "month or so" may refer to the entire visit of four to six weeks by Mattie and family in Brooklyn, but another letter places Mattie and family in Brooklyn and on the point of departure for Camden with George. See Louisa's March 7?–May 15?, 1871 letter to Walt, which is assigned a most probable range of March 7 to March 21, 1871. If Louisa defined her "seige" as having begun after the return of Mattie and daughters from Camden, Jeff's family's visit could have begun in late February and continued for a few weeks before the departure to Camden. If Mattie and daughters departed Camden to return to Brooklyn on March 21 or so, their return could mark the new start as an extended month-plus visit to Brooklyn (the "seige").
In addition, at the time of the letter Louisa expected the Mann family to move soon, and that expectation may date this letter to April 30, 1871, just before May 1, the typical moving day in Brooklyn. However, the most common date for moving is highly speculative if it cannot be corroborated by another factor. And it cannot be in this case. Ultimately, any factor cited so far may be independent of the others: the Mann family's moving day, the arrival of Jeff's family in Brooklyn, George and Louisa Orr's marriage date, the visit of Jeff's family to George and Louisa Orr in Camden, the start and end of the approximately month-long "seige," the separation of Jeff's family's visit into multiple stages, and the departure of Jeff's family for St. Louis. Therefore, the letter may date between possible marriage dates, from March 20 to 27. The full range of possible dates, given either of the two marriage dates, is March 20 to May 14, but the most probable date range—if Jeff's family has departed for St. Louis, their visit began in late February and extended for approximately six weeks, and George and Louisa Orr married on March 14, 1871—is April 9 or April 16, 1871, a week or so after Mattie and daughters departed to return to St. Louis. If the April 14 marriage date is assumed, the latest date, April 30, 1871, is preferred as it corresponds also to Brooklyn's moving day.
May 1, when annual leases expired, was the typical moving day in Brooklyn. The Mann family—though Louisa Van Velsor Whitman usually spells their name "man"—lived downstairs from her at 1149 Atlantic Avenue between September 1868 and April 1869. Shortly after Louisa's arrival at Atlantic Avenue, a young child in the family, named Charley, succumbed to the croup (see Louisa's November 10, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman). She mentioned the Mann family in multiple letters while at 1149 Atlantic Avenue, just after they moved in, but aside from this single brief reference she made no mention of them after her move to Portland Avenue in April 1869. This letter, by indicating that the Manns were moving out, suggests that they were either taken on as boarders in the Portland Avenue house that George Washington Whitman built as a residence for his mother or rented one of George's other houses. Louisa did remain in contact with the Mann family: her letter to Mary E. Mann shortly after the death of Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman is not extant, but Mary Mann's March 9, 1873 reply indicates that Louisa had reported on Walt's stroke and on her residence with George and wife Louisa Orr in Camden. Louisa also inquired about the health of Mary, her three daughters, and Mary's mother. In 1873 the Mann family resided at 89 North Portland Avenue (Library of Congress, Harned Collection). Though his letter is not extant, Walt Whitman apparently teased his mother about moving a bed to the front room (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 7?–May 15?, 1871 letter to Walt). This letter dates to February 9, 1871. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter February 9, and Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the year 1871. However, Edwin Haviland Miller dated a letter, presumably this one, February 8, 1871 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:368). The month and year are certain because the letter refers to the "hudson river horror," which matches a train disaster that occurred on February 7, 1871. No other letter can date to February 9, 1871, so Miller's date February 8 is an error.Walt Whitman's February 7?, 1871 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant. Miller dated Walt's missing letter February 6?, 1871 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:362).
The Graphic: An Illustrated Weekly Newspaper, founded by William Luson Thomas (1830–1900), began publication in London in December 1869. Its high-quality illustrations and coverage of the Franco-Prussian War helped its circulation to rise rapidly, to around 50,000 subscribers by 1870 and up to 250,000 subscribers by 1874. See Laurel Brake and Marysa Demoor, ed., Dictionary of Nineteenth-Century Journalism (London: British Library, 2009). The steam crossing from Liverpool to New York took about 12 days in 1870, so Walt presumably forwarded a copy of The Graphic that dated to early or mid-January. The January 18 number has a full-page engraving of a dying French soldier in another's arms, Henry Woods's "The Last Message," which is paired with a poem of the same title by Walter Thornbury (36, 35). The January 7 number has a two-page engraving by Godefroy Durand with ten foreground figures of dying or deceased soldiers entitled "The Last Bivouac: The Crest of a Hill Between Champigny and Villiers, on the Night of December 5, 1870," which is also paired with a poem entitled "The Last Bivouac" by E. J. C. (10–11, 9).
On February 7, the Second Pacific Express, a passenger train, collided with a derailed freight train carrying an estimated 500 barrels of kerosene. The ensuing conflagration resulted in significant loss of life. See "Appalling Disaster: A Human Holocaust on the Hudson River Railroad. Passengers Roasted Alive. Forty or Fifty Persons Supposed to Have Perished," New York Times, February 8, 1871, 1. Walt Whitman cut his thumb in late April or early May 1870, and it became infected. He referred to the injury in two letters from Brooklyn, a May 11, 1870 letter to Walbridge A. Field and a second May 11, 1870 letter to William D. O'Connor. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman inquired about or expressed concern for his thumb in this and five other letters to Walt from May or June to July 1870: May 17? to June 11?, 1870, June 1, 1870, June 8, 1870, June 22, 1870, June 29, 1870, and July 20, 1870.Martha Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873), known as "Mattie," was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother. She and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. Mattie suffered long with a throat ailment that led to her death in 1873. For more on Mattie, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26.
The date that Mattie and her daughters arrived in spring 1871 is not known, but the visit was probably planned to coincide with the marriage of George Washington Whitman to Louisa Orr Haslam in March or April 1871.
Charles Heyde was infamous among the Whitmans for his offensive letters. Louisa wrote, in her March 24, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman, "i had a letter or package from charley hay three sheets of foolscap paper and a fool wrote on them." This letter dates to May 13 or May 14, 1873. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter early 1873. Edwin Haviland Miller dated it about May 17, 1873 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:220, n. 85). Miller's date is more accurate than Bucke's, but a slightly earlier date (May 13 or May 14) can be inferred from Walt Whitman's letter in response and from Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman's report on Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's condition. Walt's mother had described "a trembling in my whole system" in her May 5–6 letter, and he was alarmed by his mother's letter (see his May 7, 1873 reply). Louisa's next brief letter, which instructed Walt "don't send any more papers," was hardly reassuring (see her May 6 or 7, 1873 to Walt). Then her almost daily letters to Walt stopped. Louisa was apparently unable to write Walt for several days, and this letter is the next one he received. Walt acknowledged a letter, probably this one, the following week as "your letter yesterday (Thursday)" (see his May 11, 1873, May 13, 1873, and May 16, 1873 letters to Louisa). Louisa Orr Whitman's report on Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's condition, that she "feel[s] better this morning," is in accord with Walt's description in his May 16, 1873 letter. To be consistent both with the extended absence of letters after Louisa's May 6 or 7, 1873 letter to Walt and with her reported improvement in Louisa Orr's May 16, 1873 letter to Walt, this letter is the one that Walt received on Thursday, May 15. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman at the onset of this event, presumably a stroke, described "trembling in my whole system" (see her May 5–6, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman). Based on the deterioration of her handwriting in that letter and the absence of letters for several days, she may have suffered a second and more incapacitating event. This letter is the first that she sent after the event, though Walt had inquired anxiously for news for several days. On May 11 he wrote that he would "feel anxious until I hear from you"; two days later he asked his mother to "try to write a line soon after you get this" (see Walt's May 11, 1873 and May 13, 1873 letters to Louisa). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's improved condition is consistent with a letter that Walt Whitman received from Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman on May 15, 1873. Walt reported, "I have got a letter from Sister Lou written Thursday morning, which gives me great relief, as it says that Sunday was your worst day, & that you have got relief now" (see Walt's May 16, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). See the extended description of the house that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman speculated she and her son could share in her April 8, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman. Walt prompted this fantasy by suggesting the same a few weeks earlier: "if you & I had a house here" (see his February 23, 1873 letter to Louisa). This second postscript appears in the top margin of the first page. See Walt's May 13, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. This letter dates to January 12, 1869. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter 1873. Edwin Haviland Miller dated it 1869 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:361; 2:367), and Randall H. Waldron agreed with Miller's date (Walt Whitman: An Extensive Collection of Holograph Letters written to Walt Whitman by His Mother Mrs. L. Whitman, vol. 2, 1868–1873, note for letter 121, Trent Collection, Duke University). Sherry Ceniza used the package that Louisa sent to daughter Hannah (Whitman) Heyde to date this letter 1872 (Walt Whitman and 19th-Century Women Reformers [Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1998], 10, 242, n. 1). Bucke's date is incorrect because Louisa Van Velsor Whitman was in Brooklyn, not Camden. The year 1872 (Ceniza) is plausible, but the year 1869 (Miller and Waldron) is correct, primarily because this letter echoes a January 1869 letter from Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. Waldron observed, "the letter from Mattie to which [this letter] refers was written 1/7/1969" (Walt Whitman: An Extensive Collection, vol. 2, 1868–1873, note for letter 121). This letter has many paraphrases and near verbatim quotations from Mattie's January 1869 letter: on her cough, on the family's living arrangement in a parlor, and on the cost of their board (see Mattie Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, January 7, 1869, Randall D. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 63–64). Louisa received Mattie's letter "yesterday," and four or five days was the usual time for mail from St. Louis to Brooklyn. Louisa's verbal echoes of Mattie's January 7, 1869 letter are too many to be disputed. The date 1869 is further affirmed by Louisa's concern that Walt Whitman will find a "better room": he was dissatisfied with the residence of Mrs. Newton Benedict (see his August 24, 1868 letter to Louisa) but had returned to the Benedicts in early November 1868. In addition, the brief mention of the house on which George Washington Whitman is working (at 71 Portland Avenue) is consistent with Louisa's late April 1869 move to that house. Walt Whitman's January 11?, 1869 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:361). Charles Louis Heyde (1822–1892), a French-born landscape painter, married Hannah Louisa Whitman (1823–1908), Walt's sister, in 1852. Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's younger daughter, resided in Burlington, Vermont, with husband Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892). Hannah in late 1868 suffered a serious thumb infection that led Dr. Samuel Thayer to lance her wrist in November. In early December Dr. Thayer amputated Hannah's thumb. For Louisa's report to Walt Whitman on the initial surgery, which is based on a letter from Charles, see her November 28 to December 12, 1868 letter to Walt. For the surgical amputation of Hannah's thumb, see Charles Heyde's early December letter to Louisa (Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 225). Edwin Haviland Miller dated Heyde's letter "[a]bout December 8" (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:72–73, n. 37). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman sent this gift box to her daughter Hannah (Whitman) Heyde on January 14, 1869. For additional details on the enclosed contents, see Louisa's January 19, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman. For Louisa's preparation of gift boxes, which Sherry Ceniza has designated "care packages" and compared to Whitman's poetry, see Walt Whitman and 19th-Century Women Reformers (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1998), 10–12. See Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's January 7, 1869 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 63–64). Louisa's description of living arrangements in this letter is an extended paraphrase with many near quotations from Mattie's letter. Mattie (1836–1873) was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother. She and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. Mattie suffered a throat ailment that led to her death in February 1873. For more on Mattie, see Waldron, 1–26. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's comment probably expresses some shock that one could spend such an extravagant monthly sum for meals. Randall D. Waldron doubts that the figure could be accurate (Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 75). However, Thomas Jefferson Whitman's salary of $6000 per year was able to support boarding expense of such magnitude (see Louisa's May 5, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman refers to the house that George Washington Whitman was building at 71 Portland Avenue. She and son Edward moved from 1149 Atlantic Avenue to the Portland house at the end of April 1869 (see Louisa's April 25–27?, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman). For more on George's housebuilding business, see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975], 30). Walt Whitman had expressed dissatisfaction with the boarding arrangement in a room owned by Mrs. Newton Benedict at 472 M Street (see his August 24, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). But Walt had returned to Mrs. Benedict's house in late October or early November 1868 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:69). Also see Kim Roberts, "A Map of Whitman's Washington Boarding Houses and Work Places," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 22:1 (November 2004), 25.This letter dates to January 19, 1869. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to the year 1873. But Edwin Haviland Miller dated it to 1869, and Sherry Ceniza dated it to 1872 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367; Walt Whitman and 19th-Century Women Reformers [Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1998], 242, n. 1). Miller is correct: the letter dates to 1869. The source of Bucke's error is unknown, and Ceniza was misled by Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's plan to send a package to daughter Hannah (Whitman) Heyde, which seems to echo her January 12, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman that Ceniza dated incorrectly to 1871 (242, n. 1).
The year 1869 can be confirmed by the publication of one of Walt Whitman's poems and a visit to Brooklyn by Joseph Phineas Davis, which closely matches a letter from Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman. Louisa received a copy of the February 1869 issue of the Atlantic Monthly, which printed Walt Whitman's "Proud Music of the Sea-Storm." Louisa did not note the title of the poem, but she did inform Walt that he need not forward a copy. Walt acknowledged receiving copies of the February issue of the Atlantic Monthly on almost the same day (see his January 20, 1869 letter to James T. Field). Joseph Phineas Davis visited Louisa the previous Sunday, and the possibility that Davis would visit Walt in Washington on his return to St. Louis is corroborated by Jeff Whitman's January 21, 1869 letter to Walt. Davis in March 1870 was working in Lowell, Massachusetts (see Louisa's March 16, 1870 to Walt), and in 1871 Davis was working in Boston, so his plan to return to St. Louis corroborates the year 1869. Finally, the letter refers to January 19 as "to day tuesday," and January 19 fell on Tuesday in the year 1869.
Walt Whitman's January 18?, 1869 letter is not extant (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:361). For a time Walt Whitman lived with William D. and Ellen M. "Nelly" O'Connor (1830–1913), who, with Charles Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the Washington years. 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. She had a close personal relationship with Whitman and helped to nurse him after his January 1873 stroke. The correspondence between Walt and Ellen is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence with William. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)." Hildreth's Express was a package and delivery service located at 335 Cumberland Street near Fulton Avenue. Charles Louis Heyde (1822–1892), a French-born landscape painter, married Hannah Louisa Whitman (1823–1908), Walt Whitman's sister, in 1852, and they lived in Burlington, Vermont. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman often spoke disparagingly of Heyde in her letters to Walt. Louisa eventually received a letter from Heyde (but not Hannah) in mid-February, which led her to remark to Walt in her February 16, 1869 letter: "i felt very glad even to hear from him)." A castor is a serving container with a perforated top for dispensing powdered condiments. Joseph Phineas Davis and George Washington Whitman may have been discussing the physical plants that housed the pump engines for the Water Works or the "dr[iv]ing" or "dr[ain]ing" of the pumps themselves. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's phrase is awkward as it begins with "davis told george all about" and concludes with "he had with him." She likely erred by referring to the communication between Davis and her son George both in the sense of a conversation and in the sense of Davis's telling George information. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman relayed Davis's hint that he may visit Walt Whitman in Washington on his return trip to St. Louis. Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman conveyed the same hint in his January 21, 1869 letter to Walt. Walt and Davis knew each other because Davis had shared the Pacific Street house with Louisa and Jeff Whitman's family. Whether Davis visited Walt in January 1869 is not known. Martha Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873), known as "Mattie," was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother. She and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. Based on the report that Mattie "seems to be gaining" in this letter, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had probably received the January 7, 1869 letter, in which Mattie wrote, "I cough very little and raise scarcly any [blood] which I think looks favorable" (see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 64). After residing in Brooklyn in a home that she shared with Louisa and Louisa's son Edward, in 1868 Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. Mattie suffered a throat ailment that led to her death in 1873. For more on Mattie, see Waldron, 1–26. See Walt Whitman's "Proud Music of the Sea-Storm" (Atlantic Monthly 23 [February 1869], 199–203). The February issue of the Atlantic Monthly was available on January 16: Walt Whitman acknowledged receipt of copies in his January 20, 1869, letter to James T. Field: a "package of February magazines, sent on the 16th, arrived safely yesterday." For more on Whitman's publications in the Atlantic Monthly, see Susan Belasco's entry on The Atlantic Monthly in "Poems in Periodicals." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and son Edward moved from 1149 Atlantic Avenue to the house that George building at 71 Portland Avenue "opposite the Arsenal" at the end of April (see Louisa's April 25–27?, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman). This letter dates to January 30, 1873, which is consistent with the day of week, Thursday, and day of month, 30, in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand at the end of the letter. Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the year 1873, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:370). Louisa's letter acknowledges one from Walt Whitman, in which he wrote that he was confined to his room, unable to walk, and had "attentive friends" (see Walt's January 26, 1873 letter to Louisa). Walt Whitman wrote that he "had a slight stroke of paralysis" and was "not able to get up," but he added that he had "some very attentive friends" (see his January 26, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). Walt befriended Peter Doyle (1843–1907), a horsecar conductor in Washington, around 1865. Though Whitman informed Doyle of his flirtations with women in their correspondence, Martin G. Murray affirms that "Whitman and Doyle were 'lovers' in the contemporary sense of the word." Doyle assisted in caring for Whitman after his stroke in January 1873. See Murray, "Pete the Great: A Biography of Peter Doyle." Walt Whitman visited Camden, New Jersey, from January 7–10, 1873 (see Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:191, n. 2). Walt Whitman assured his mother that he would convey "the exact truth—neither better nor worse" (see his January 26, 1873 letter). A week later he wrote that despite the doctor's assurance and his own confidence that he was improving he had to remain in bed because he could "not move yet without great difficulty" (see his January 29, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). This letter dates to between February 11 and February 13, 1873. The most probable date is February 12, 1873. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter February 1, 1873, but its topical consistency and verbal echoes of letters from both Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Walt Whitman sets the range of possible dates between February 11 and February 13. February 12?, 1873, the date proposed by Edwin Haviland Miller, is most probable (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:370). The letter reports that Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's coughing is "somewhat easier," probably in echo of a similar phrase in Jeff's February 7, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 154). Louisa observes that Walt "will be glad to get out in the open air once more," and she seems to echo Walt's hope that he can "get out—or to the front door, at any rate" (see his February 10, 1873 letter to Louisa). Finally, Walt acknowledged that he "rec'd your letter Saturday" (February 14) in his February 17, 1873 reply. Louisa had received both Jeff's February 7 letter and Walt's February 10 letter, and Walt received this letter on February 14. Therefore, this letter dates between February 11 and February 13, 1873. Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman died on February 19, 1873 from complications associated with a throat ailment. Mattie and her husband Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. The letters after Mattie's death show that emotional acceptance of the fact was difficult for Louisa. For more on Mattie, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26. Waldron reports that a physician identified the cause of death as cancer (3). Robert Roper has speculated that Mattie's accompanying bronchial symptoms may have been associated with tuberculosis (Now the Drum of War [New York: Walker, 2008], 78–79).Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's number 7 is ambiguous, but her phrase "somewhat esier [sic]" echoes Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's February 7, 1873 letter to Louisa (see Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 154).
Jeff Whitman (1833–1890) was Walt Whitman's favorite brother. As a civil engineer, Jeff in 1867 became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis and a nationally recognized name. He married wife Mattie in 1859, and Louisa had shared their Brooklyn residence until Jeff departed for St. Louis. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)."
Walt wrote that he can "get out—or to the front door, at any rate," and he repeated the assurance that he is "progressing," "improving," or "gaining" in echo of all letters since his paralytic stroke on January 23, 1873. See his February 10, 1873 letter to Louis Van Velsor Whitman and the eight other letters between January 26 and February 9, 1873. Jeff Whitman inquired whether his mother thought Walt Whitman would be able to visit St. Louis, and he cautioned her, "you must not be surprised to hear that it is all over with the dear soul at any time." Two days later, Jeff added Mattie Whitman "speaks often and much about you—wants to see you very, very much" (see his February 5, 1873 and February 7, 1873 letters to Louisa Whitman in Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 153–155). Walt wrote to Jeff on February 8, 1873 that he was unable "to move from one room to the other" and so "can but send my love, dear, dear, sister." Helen Price inquired anxiously about Walt Whitman's health and wrote that his illness had been reported in the papers (see her January 31, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, Trent Collection, Duke University). This letter dates to May 5 or May 6, 1873. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to the year 1873. This letter is probably the "short letter of yesterday" that Walt Whitman mentioned in his May 7, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. In addition, this letter acknowledged Louisa's receipt Saturday of $5 that Walt had sent on Thursday or Friday. Although Walt's letter sending the $5 is not extant, in his April 30, 1873 letter he had promised to enclose the money in "my next [letter]." Walt in his reply to this letter worried about his mother's condition, a concern elicited by the shortness of this letter, the deficiency of her handwriting, and her report of "a trembling in my whole system" (see Walt's May 7, 1873). If Louisa received Walt's Thursday or Friday letter on Saturday, May 3, and she had received another letter ("one to today") from Walt, this letter—the "short letter" that elicited Walt's worried May 7 response—dates to May 5 or May 6, 1873. Walt Whitman in his April 30, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman promised to send "the other 5 in my next," but his Thursday or Friday letter from that week is not extant (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:217). Walt Whitman in his May 7, 1873 letter responded, "I feel so bad, you are not well." He inquired whether rest or better food could help, and he promised to "come on about the 1st of next month." Louisa Orr Haslam (1842–1892), called "Lou" or "Loo," married George Washington Whitman in spring 1871, and they were soon living at 322 Stevens Street in Camden, New Jersey. At the insistence of George and his brother Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and son Edward departed from Brooklyn to live with George and Lou in the Stevens Street house in August 1872, with Walt Whitman responsible for Edward's board. Her health in decline, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman was displeased with the living arrangement and confided many frustrations, often directed at Lou, in her letters to Walt. She never developed the close companionship with Lou that she had with Jeff's wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. The "aunt" who was engaged to assist Louisa "Lou" Orr Haslam has not been identified. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman described Lou's aunt as English, and Louisa was not fond of the aunt's company: "i wouldent be very sorry if aunty wasent here" (see Louisa's April 21–May 3?, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman). She is named "aunt Lib" and "aunt Libby" in Louisa's April 10–15, 1873 and April 21, 1873 letters to Walt. This letter dates to February 27, 1873. The date February 27 is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand. Edwin Haviland Miller accepted Louisa's date and assigned the year 1873 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:370). Miller's date is correct. The letter refers to the recent death of Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, and Mattie died on February 19, 1873 (see Thomas Jefferson Whitman's February 24, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 158). Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman (1836–1873) died on February 19, 1873 from complications associated with a throat ailment that had first been noted by her husband Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman in February 1863. Mattie and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. The letters after Mattie's death show that emotional acceptance of the fact was difficult for Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. For more on Mattie, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26. Waldron reports that a physician identified the cause of death as cancer (3). Robert Roper has speculated that Mattie's accompanying bronchial symptoms may have been associated with tuberculosis (Now the Drum of War [New York: Walker, 2008], 78–79). The "little girls" are Manahatta "Hattie" (1860–1886) and Jessie Louisa "Sis" Whitman (1863–1957), the daughters of Jeff and Mattie Whitman. Hattie, who lived most of the first seven years of her life in the same home with Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, was especially close to her grandmother. Hattie and Jessie Louisa were both favorites of their uncle Walt. Walt Whitman wrote that Ursula North Burroughs would be "here probably to-day with a carriage to take me out riding" (see his February 26, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). In January 1873, he had suffered a paralytic stroke that initially confined him to bed: it took weeks before he could resume walking. He first reported the stroke to his mother in his January 26, 1873 letter. For more on Walt Whitman's relationship with the Burroughs family, see "Burroughs, John (1837–1921) and Ursula (1836–1917)." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had yet to receive Jeff Whitman's February 24, 1873 letter and Manahatta "Hattie" Whitman's February 23, 1873 letter. See Jeff Whitman's February 24, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 158). Jeff's daughter Hattie wrote, "Oh if you could only be here I would be so glad I shall never see Dear Mama again" (see Manahatta Whitman's February 23, 1873 letter to Louisa, Library of Congress, Feinberg Collection). George Washington Whitman would build a larger house on the corner lot at 431 Stevens Street in Camden, New Jersey (see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975], 31). Edwin Haviland Miller dated this letter March? 1873, but it dates to March 29, 1873, a Saturday at the end of a week-long gap since Walt Whitman's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:370). Louisa had received newspapers from Walt during the most recent week, but she had had no letter since "one wrote last friday a week ago yesterday." That extended gap between letters from Walt—to be consistent with Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's recent death, with Louisa's receipt of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's March 26, 1873 letter, with George Washington Whitman's efforts to acquire a job as an inspector in Brooklyn and his progress on the new house at 431 Stevens Street, and with Helen Price's March 27, 1873 letter on Paulina Wright Davis—can only fall between her receipt of Walt's March 21, 1873 and his March 28, 1873 letters. See Walt Whitman's March 21, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. See Helen Price's March 27, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (Trent Collection, Duke University). During the 1860s, Abby Price and her family, especially her daughter Helen, were friends with Walt Whitman and his mother, and the Price family began to save Walt's letters. Helen's reminiscences of Whitman were included in Richard Maurice Bucke's biography, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), and she printed for the first time some of Whitman's letters to her mother ("Letters of Walt Whitman to his Mother and an Old Friend," Putnam's Monthly 5 [1908], 163–169). Paulina Wright Davis (1813–1876) was a noted feminist who presided over the first National Woman's Rights Convention. See Sherry L. Ceniza, Walt Whitman and 19th-Century Women Reformers (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1998), 96–139. Wright Davis and her husband Thomas Davis (1806–1895), a jewelry manufacturer, resided in Providence, Rhode Island, and Walt Whitman had visited them during his October 1868 vacation. Helen Price reported that Paulina "is expected home in May" (see her March 27, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman [Trent Collection, Duke University]). Katy Hinds, the niece of Paulina Wright Davis and Thomas Davis, was also close to Abby Price. See Sherry L. Ceniza, Walt Whitman and 19th-Century Women Reformers (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1998), 94. Josephine Barkeloo, daughter of Tunis S. Barkeloo, was a Brooklyn friend of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, and Josephine sailed to Belgium in winter 1872 on the Queen, a ship owned by the National Steam Navigation Company. For Josephine's impending departure and her hope to "perfect myself in the French and German languages," see her December 16, 1872 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (Library of Congress). With her April 8, 1873 letter to Walt, Louisa forwarded Josephine's letter from Belgium. George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the sixth child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and ten years Walt Whitman's junior. George enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 and remained on active duty until the end of the Civil War. He was wounded in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and was taken prisoner during the Battle of Poplar Grove (September 1864). After the war, George returned to Brooklyn and began building houses on speculation, with a partner named Smith and later a mason named French. George also took a position as inspector of pipes in Brooklyn and Camden. He married Louisa Orr Haslam in spring 1871, and they moved to 722 Stevens Street in Camden. At the time of this letter, George was already or would soon be inspecting pipe for Moses Lane at the R. D. Wood Foundry sites in Camden and Florence, New Jersey, and at the Gloucester Iron-Works (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 23?, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman). For more information on George, see "Whitman, George Washington." This Adams is not Julius W. Adams, the noted Brooklyn engineer, but a Brooklyn City Works Commissioner named Henry Adams, who is listed in a public call to property owners on the altering of water lines on Lee Avenue ("Notice," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 5, 1872, 1). See Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's December 3, 1872 letter to Walt Whitman, in which an Adams, the same man, is described as a commissioner. See Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's March 26, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (Dennis Berthold and Kenneth Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman, [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 164–165). George Washington Whitman was building a house on a corner lot at 431 Stevens Street in Camden, New Jersey (see Jerome M. Loving, ed. "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975], 31). Richard Maurice Bucke dated this letter "shortly after" Martha Mitchell Whitman's death on February 19, 1873, which narrows the range of dates to late February or early March. Edwin Haviland Miller presumably dated it March 23?, 1873 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:370). Miller's date is correct because of this letter's many similarities to Walt Whitman's March 21, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Louisa's letter acknowledges receiving "papers" in response to a query in Walt's letter, expresses her satisfaction that Walt has received a letter from Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, and echoes Walt's phrase "extra work" to explain her not receiving a letter from Jeff. Therefore, since Walt's March 21, 1873 letter to Louisa is almost certainly the one that she acknowledges as "your letter yesterday," the earliest date for this letter is March 23, 1873. Since Louisa's March 24?, 1873 letter to Walt is dated "monday" in her own hand, it must follow this one. Therefore, this letter dates to March 23, 1873. Walt Whitman wrote, "I send some more papers, to-day." He referred also to receiving a letter from Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and to Jeff's "extra work" for Kansas City, Missouri (see Walt's March 21, 1873 letter to Louisa). See Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's March 16, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman. Also see Walt Whitman's March 21, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Moses Lane (1823–1882), the Chief Engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works and a close friend of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman during his time there from 1862 to 1867, was also George Washington Whitman's employer when he began inspecting pipe for the Brooklyn Water Works. After departing Brooklyn in 1869, Lane eventually became the City Engineer of Milwaukee. George was probably inspecting pipe at the R. D. Wood Foundry sites in Camden and Florence, New Jersey, and at the Gloucester Iron-Works. The Iron-Works, an enterprise founded by directors formerly associated with Star's Foundry in 1864, specialized in casting pipes for water and gas distribution (see the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's finding aid to the R. D. Wood & Co. Records, 1858–1910, http://hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/findingaid1176wood.pdf; and see George Reeser Prowell, The History of Camden County, New Jersey [Philadelphia: Richards, 1886], 594). For George Washington Whitman's earlier prospect of work, which led him to travel to Brooklyn, see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 17?, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman. A few days later Louisa wrote that "george aint like to get the brookly [sic] work" (see her March 21, 1873 letter to Walt). But on March 24 George again entertained the "prospect of getting the brooklyn work" (see Louisa's March 29, 1873 letter to Walt). George Washington Whitman was employed in early 1873 at Star's Foundry (Walt Whitman wrote "Starr's) in Camden, New Jersey. Easton, Pennsylvania, on the Delaware River, was the site of numerous iron foundries. The postscript is inverted in the top margin of the first page. This letter dates to March 24, 1873. Edwin Haviland Miller dated this letter March 23?, 1873 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:370). However, the word "monday" is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, and March 23, 1873 fell on a Sunday. Louisa wrote that she had received a letter (not extant) from "one of mattees dear freends." Louisa also wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman on March 22–24?, 1873 (not extant) upon receipt of the letter from Mattie's friend, and Jeff with his March 26, 1873 reply acknowledged Louisa's letter and included a cryptic note about Mattie's friend, who was named "Mrs. O'Rielly [sic]" (see Jeff Whitman's March 26, 1873 letter to Louisa Whitman in Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 164; 164, n. 2). Because Louisa dated the letter "monday" and March 24 was the only Monday that fell between the letter from Mrs. O'Reilly to Louisa and Jeff's March 26 reply to Louisa's letter, this letter must date to March 24, 1873. Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman, George Washington Whitman's wife, had made a trip to Philadelphia, and George had traveled to Brooklyn to seek a job inspecting pipe (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 17?, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman). The letter that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman has received from Walt Whitman is not his March 21, 1873 letter, to which Louisa responded directly in her March 23?, 1873 letter to Walt. Therefore, Walt Whitman's March 22 or 23?, 1873 letter to Louisa is not extant but was not noted by Miller (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:363). Walt Whitman in January 1873 suffered a paralytic stroke that initially confined him to bed: it took weeks before he could resume walking. He first reported the stroke to his mother in his January 26, 1873 letter and continued regularly to report his condition in subsequent letters. Helen Price inquired anxiously about Walt's health and wrote that his illness had been reported in the papers (see her January 31, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, Trent Collection, Duke University). Anna Van Wyck's February 20, 1873 letter to Louisa also noted that Walt's stroke was reported in the New York Herald (Library of Congress, Feinberg Collection). Anna Van Wycke had boarded with the Whitmans in Brooklyn, and the Van Wyck family farm was near Colyer farm, which had belonged to Jesse Whitman, Walt Whitman's paternal grandfather. See Bertha H. Funnel, Whitman on Long Island (Port Washington, New York: Kennikat Press, 1971), 78. Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's effort to explain the letter that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had received from a "stranger" caused him considerable unease. In his reply to this letter, Jeff referred to the "stranger" as "Mrs. O'Rielly [sic]" and explained who she was—or, rather, explained not explaining who she was in his letter—with a cryptic remark: "in regard to this I must say to you that though I cannot tell you in a letter in regard to why the letters are silent in regard to her I can and will explain the matter." Jeff's odd repetition of "regard" led editors Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price to conjecture that he "clearly intends to hide something" (see Jeff's March 26, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in Berthold and Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 164; 164, n. 2). For more on Mrs. O'Reilly and for additional insistence that Louisa keep the matter of her letter quiet, see Jeff Whitman's April 24, 1873 letter to Louisa (Berthold and Price, 166–167; 167, n. 3). Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), known as "Jeff," was the son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and Walt Whitman's favorite brother. In early adulthood he worked as a surveyor and topographical engineer. In the 1850s he began working for the Brooklyn Water Works, at which he remained employed through the Civil War. In 1867 Jeff became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis and became a nationally recognized name in civil engineering. He married wife Martha Mitchell (1836–1873), known as "Mattie," in 1859, and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had shared their Brooklyn residence until Jeff departed for St. Louis. Mattie and her two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa, joined Jeff in St. Louis in early 1868. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)." Jessie Louisa "Sis" Whitman (1863–1957) was the younger daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother, and his wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. Jessie Louisa inherited the nickname "Sis" after older sister Manahatta became "Hattie" and was sometimes called "Duty," but Walt often called her by the nickname "California." This letter dates to March 1, 1873. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter February 28, 1873, but February 28 did not fall on Saturday, the day in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, in the year 1873. Edwin Haviland Miller dated the letter March 1, 1873 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:370), and Miller's date, which did fall on Saturday, is correct. Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's death on February 19 was very recent at the time of this letter, and three letters that Louisa had received date this letter to Saturday, March 1. February 22 can be eliminated as a possibility because Louisa had received a letter from Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, and Jeff described his February 24, 1873 letter to his mother as the first he had written since Mattie's death (Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman, [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 158). Louisa described Jeff's letter as a "long one" with "the particulars of matties death," and that description is consistent with Jeff's February 24, 1873 letter. Louisa's letter also acknowledges Walt's payment for Edward Whitman's board, the $20 that he promised to send within two or three days of his February 26, 1873 letter. Finally, Louisa paraphrases two lines from granddaughter Manahatta Whitman's February 23, 1873 letter (Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress). See Walt Whitman's February 26, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Edward Whitman (1835–1892), called "Eddy" or "Edd," was the youngest son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr. He required lifelong assistance for significant physical and mental disabilities, and he remained in the care of his mother until her death. Walt had promised to send $20 for Edward's board a few days earlier (see his February 26, 1873 letter to Louisa).Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman (1833–1890) in his letter provided details about the day of Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's death. The day was pleasant, so Jeff planned to take her out. He placed her in a buggy: she collapsed and died later that evening (see Jeff's February 24, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, in Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman, [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 158–61).
Jeff Whitman was the son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and Walt Whitman's favorite brother. In early adulthood he worked as a surveyor and topographical engineer. In the 1850s he began working for the Brooklyn Water Works, at which he remained employed through the Civil War. In 1867 Jeff became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis and became a nationally recognized name in civil engineering. He married wife Martha Mitchell (1836–1873), known as "Mattie," in 1859, and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had shared their Brooklyn residence until Jeff departed for St. Louis. Mattie and her two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa, joined Jeff in St. Louis in early 1868. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)."
George Washington Whitman will build a larger house on this corner lot at 431 Stevens Street in Camden, New Jersey (see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975], 31). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman paraphrased closely two phrases from granddaughter Manahatta "Hattie" Whitman's letter: "I shall never see Dear Mama again," and "Oh Dear Grandma if I only could see you I would like it so much." See Hattie's February 23, 1873 letter to Louisa (Library of Congress, Feinberg Collection). The postscript begins in the left margin and continues in the top margin of the page. This later dates to March 4, 1873. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter March 4, and Richard Maurice Bucke added the year 1873. Edwin Haviland Miller cited the date in Louisa's hand and Bucke's assigned year (see Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:370). Louisa's letter reports one from granddaughter Manahatta "Hattie" Whitman, which was written since the recent death of her mother, Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. Mattie, the wife of Thomas Jefferson, Walt's brother, died on February 19, 1873. See Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 1, 1873 ("last saturday") letter to Walt Whitman, and see Walt's April 30, 1873 letter to Louisa, in which he enclosed payment for Edward Whitman's board. Walt Whitman directed his letters for his mother to George Washington Whitman at Star's Foundry (Walt wrote "Starr's"). He instructed Manahatta "Hattie" Whitman, Thomas Jefferson Whitman's daughter, to direct letters for her grandmother to Star's Foundry as well. See Walt's March 1, 1873 letter to Hattie. See Walt Whitman's March 29–[30], 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Manahatta Whitman's "papa" was Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman (1833–1890), Walt Whitman's favorite brother. Jeff married Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman in 1859, and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had shared their Brooklyn residence until Jeff departed for St. Louis, where he in 1867 became Superintendent of Water Works and become a nationally recognized name. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)." Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman died on February 19, 1873. Shortly after her death, Jeff and daughters Manahatta "Hattie" and Jessie Louisa went to live with Mary Moody and Philemon C. Bulkley. See Hattie's February 27, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (Library of Congress) and Jeff Whitman's February 24, 1873 letter to Louisa Whitman (Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 158–160; 160, n. 5). In January 1873, Whitman suffered a paralytic stroke that made walking difficult. He first reported it in his January 26, 1873, letter to his mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (1795–1873), and continued to provide regular notes on his condition. By mid-March Whitman was taking brief walks out to the street and began to hope that he could resume work in the office. See also his March 21, 1873, letter to his mother. After her move to Camden, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman corresponded regularly with Abby Price's daughter Helen Price in Brooklyn. Walt Whitman and Louisa knew Abby and her husband Edmund Price from their move to Brooklyn in 1856. During the 1860s, Abby Price and her family, especially Helen, were friends with Walt and his mother. Helen's reminiscences of Walt Whitman were included in Richard Maurice Bucke's biography, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), and she printed for the first time some of Whitman's letters to her mother ("Letters of Walt Whitman to his Mother and an Old Friend," Putnam's Monthly 5 [1908], 163–169). Twelve of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letters to Helen are held by the Morgan Library and Museum. For more on Abby Price's relationship to Walt, see Sherry L. Ceniza, Walt Whitman and 19th-Century Women Reformers (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1998), 45–95. This letter dates to March 17, 1873. The letter bears no date in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, aside from her statement that she wrote on Monday. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter mid-March, and it is probably the letter that Edwin Haviland Miller dated only to March 1873 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:370). A more exact date can be determined from numerous contextual clues. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had received Manahatta "Hattie" Whitman's March 9, 1873 letter and echoed some of its language in this letter to Walt Whitman. She had also received Walt's March 13–14, 1873 letter). Mid-March 1873 is also consistent with Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman's trip to Philadelphia, with George Washington Whitman's prospect of Brooklyn work, and with his plan to start building a house on the lot at 431 Stevens Street. The only Monday that conforms to all of these contextual matters is March 17, 1873. A few days later Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote that her son George Washington Whitman "aint like to get the brookly [sic] work" (see Louisa's March 21, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman). However, George again traveled to Brooklyn on March 24 for the "prospect of getting the brooklyn work" (see Louisa's March 29, 1873 letter to Walt). George Washington Whitman was building a larger house on a corner lot at 431 Stevens Street in Camden, New Jersey (see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975], 31). Louisa first reported George's purchase of the lot in her March 1, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman, and she described George's plans for the house in her April 8, 1873 letter to Walt. After his paralytic stroke in January 1873, Walt was confined to bed and then to his room for several weeks. He reported that he was improving "very slowly indeed." See his March 13–14, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. See Manahatta "Hattie" Whitman's (1860–1886) March 9, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress). Hattie was the elder daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. Hattie, who lived most of the first seven years of her life in the same home with Louisa Whitman, was especially close to her grandmother. Hattie and her younger sister Jessie Louisa (1863–1957) were both favorites of their uncle Walt. Manahatta "Hattie" Whitman had written, "It seemes like a dream for this past three weeks Grandma." See her March 9, 1873 letter to Louisa Whitman (Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress). The three words "you must write" and the remainder of the postscript are inscribed, inverted, in the top margin of the first page. This letter dates to March 21, 1873. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to March 21, 1873, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:206–207, n. 44). The date "M 21" in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand corresponds to March 1873 because that date is consistent with the publication of Walt Whitman's "The Singing Thrush" in the New York Daily Graphic and with the February 1873 death of Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Louisa's daughter-in-law. Walt Whitman's March 19, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant (see Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:206, n. 44). Walt had enclosed a copy of the March 15, 1873 New York Daily Graphic, which featured his "The Singing Thrush", in his March 17, 1873 letter to Louisa. Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), known as "Jeff," was the son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and Walt Whitman's favorite brother. In his February 24, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, Jeff described the death of his wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman (see Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman, [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 158–161). Mattie Whitman died on February 19, 1873, from complications associated with a throat ailment. Manahatta Whitman (1860–1886), known as "Hattie," was the older daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. After her mother's death, Hattie reported that "Papa will never write a letter he makes me write all the letters" (see her March 9, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman [Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress]). Hattie, who lived most of the first seven years of her life in the same home with Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, was especially close to her grandmother. Hattie and her younger sister Jessie Louisa (1863–1957) were both favorites of their uncle Walt. After the death of Martha Mitchell Whitman, Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and daughters Manahatta "Hattie" and Jessie Louisa began to board with Mary Moody and Philemon C. Bulkley. According to Hattie, they moved on March 8: "Papa has a very nice room but I sleep with Minnie Bulkley a young lady about sixteen years old" (see Hattie's March 14, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman [Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress]). A week earlier Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had written that George Washington Whitman was away "to see about getting the brookly [sic] work" (see her March 17?, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman). Despite this initial disappointment, George again visited a Brooklyn water commissioner for the "prospect of getting the brooklyn work" (see Louisa's March 29, 1873 letter to Walt). In January 1873, Whitman suffered a paralytic stroke that made walking difficult. He first reported it in his January 26, 1873, letter to his mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (1795–1873), and continued to provide regular notes on his condition. By mid-March Whitman was taking brief walks out to the street and began to hope that he could resume work in the office. See also his March 21, 1873, letter to his mother. After Walt Whitman's stroke, Ellen M. "Nelly" O'Connor (1830–1913) made regular visits and assisted in nursing him. In his early Washington years, Whitman lived with William D. and Nelly O'Connor, who, with Charles Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to remain his close associates. Before marrying William O'Connor, Ellen Tarr was active in the antislavery movement and women's rights movements as a contributor to the Liberator and to a women's rights newspaper Una. Nelly had a close personal relationship with Whitman. The correspondence between Whitman and Nelly is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence with William. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)." The sentence that follows is written inverted in the top margin of the first page. This letter dates to April 8, 1873. Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the letter the date April 8, 1873, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:212, n. 59; 2:370). April 8, 1873 fell on a Tuesday, the day that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman indicated she wrote, and the letter acknowledges Walt Whitman's "letter of sunday and monday and the papers." Walt had written a letter over the course of two days, the Sunday and Monday preceding, and he enclosed with the letter a "bundle of papers" (see Walt's April 6–7, 1873 letter to Louisa). Therefore, Bucke's and Miller's date is the most probable. However, Louisa's letter seeks Walt's opinion of a letter from Josephine Barkeloo. If this letter dates April 8, the request is peculiar because Walt had enclosed a letter from Josephine Barkeloo with his March 30, 1873 letter to his brother Thomas Jefferson Whitman. If Louisa was enquiring about the letter from Barkeloo that Walt forwarded on March 30, the date is curious: Louisa had speculated about the arrival of Barkeloo's ship in her March 29, 1873 letter to Walt, so Walt could not have enclosed in his letter to Jeff a letter from Barkeloo that Louisa had yet to receive. In this letter, Louisa asks, "walt what did you think of Josephenes letter"? One explanation, though contrary to Louisa's usual timeliness, is that she delayed asking Walt's opinion for more than a week. Another speculative explanation is that Louisa had received two different letters from Barkeloo, one at the end of March, which reported Josephine's arrival in England, and a second letter, which she enclosed with this one, after Barkeloo's arrival in Belgium. Any resolution for this matter must remain speculative, but the matter of Barkeloo's letter (or letters) is secondary and cannot alone undermine the inferred date of this letter. Walt Whitman had enclosed a "bundle of papers" with the letter he wrote the previous Sunday and Monday (see his April 6–7, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). For the poem that he enclosed, see "Sea Captains, Young or Old," published in the April 4, 1873 issue of the New York Daily Graphic. Walt Whitman in January 1873 suffered a paralytic stroke that initially confined him to bed: it took weeks before he could resume walking. He first reported the stroke to his mother in his January 26, 1873 letter. Whitman in his most recent letter said that he wrote from the Treasury Department office, but he had confined comments on his condition to two brief remarks, that he did "not feel very well" and that "My head is still so feeble" (see his April 6–7, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. The description that follows is the most extensive description of the new house that George Washington Whitman was building on a corner lot at 431 Stevens Street in Camden, New Jersey (see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975], 31). Walt Whitman had proposed building a house for himself, his mother, and his brother Edward Whitman. He first speculated—"if you & I had a house here"—as Washington, D.C. prepared for Ulysses S. Grant's inauguration (see his February 23, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). And he followed up a week before this letter: "I shall surely get here or buy or build a little place here, rooms enough to live in for you & Ed and me" (see his March 28, 1873 letter to Louisa). The letter continues, inverted, in the top margin of the page. This letter dates to between April 10 and April 15, 1873. Richard Maurice Bucke dated this letter April 12, 1873, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:213, n. 63; 370). The letter may date April 12, but the date can only be established to within a range of a few days. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letter instructs Walt Whitman that he need not direct letters to George Washington Whitman's office. Walt in his next letter asked, almost certainly in response to this request, whether the new address that he used was correct (see his April 16, 1873 letter to Louisa). Walt's letter does not establish April 12 as the definite date for this letter, but a few days before April 16, 1873 is consistent with Louisa's earlier report that George's wife Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman, who was believed pregnant, had not come down the stairs for several days. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote in her April 8, 1873 letter to Walt that "she dident come down stairs all day monday)." Louisa wrote in this letter that her daughter-in-law has not come down stairs "since last tuesday." The two letters, taken together, place Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman upstairs without coming down from Monday or Tuesday (April 7 or 8) through the date of this letter. The range of dates for this letter is thus no earlier than April 10 and no later than April 15. Bucke's date April 12 falls near the midpoint of the range and may be derived from an envelope or other external marking, so it has the highest probability among the range of dates. Edward Whitman (1835–1892), called "Eddy" or "Edd," was the youngest son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr. He required lifelong assistance for significant physical and mental disabilities, and he remained in the care of his mother until her death. His brother George Washington Whitman cared for him for most of the rest of his life, with financial support from Walt Whitman. Walt reported he would soon send a monthly payment of $20 in his February 26, 1873 letter. Walt Whitman's most recent extant letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman was that of April 6–7, 1873, so it is probable that two letters from Walt to his mother, April 11, 1873, and another, are not extant (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:212; 363).Walt Whitman had previously addressed his letters to George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) at Star's Foundry (Walt wrote "Starr's") in Camden, New Jersey (see his March 1, 1873 letter to Manahatta Whitman).
George was the sixth child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and ten years Walt Whitman's junior. George enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 and remained on active duty until the end of the Civil War. He was wounded in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and was taken prisoner during the Battle of Poplar Grove (September 1864). After the war, George returned to Brooklyn and began building houses on speculation, with a partner named Smith and later a mason named French. George also took a position as inspector of pipes in Brooklyn and Camden. For more information on George, see "Whitman, George Washington."
George Washington Whitman in early 1873 was employed at Star's Foundry in Camden, New Jersey, but he was probably inspecting pipe for Moses Lane, chief engineer of the Milwaukee Water Works (see note above), at the R. D. Wood Foundry sites in Camden and Florence, New Jersey. The Gloucester Iron-Works was an enterprise founded by directors formerly associated with Star's Foundry in 1864, and it specialized in casting pipes for water and gas distribution (see the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's finding aid to the R. D. Wood & Co. Records, 1858–1910, http://hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/findingaid1176wood.pdf; and see George Reeser Prowell, The History of Camden County, New Jersey [Philadelphia: Richards, 1886], 594). The "aunt Lib" or "aunt Libby" who was engaged to assist Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman has not been identified but was probably named Elizabeth. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman described her daughter-in-law Louisa Orr's aunt as English, and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman was not fond of the aunt's company: "i wouldent be very sorry if aunty wasent here" (see her April 21–May 3?, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman). The aunt is designated "aunt Libby" in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's April 21, 1873 letter to Walt. Approximately a week earlier Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote that George Washington Whitman's wife Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman was "in the family way they think so still" and that "they wont let her hardly move yesterday she dident come down stairs all day monday)" (see Louisa's April 8, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman). Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), known as "Jeff," was the son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and Walt Whitman's favorite brother. In early adulthood he worked as a surveyor and topographical engineer. In the 1850s he began working for the Brooklyn Water Works, at which he remained employed through the Civil War. In 1867 Jeff became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis and became a nationally recognized name in civil engineering. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had shared a home with Jeff and his wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman for several years before their departure to St. Louis. The death of Mattie on February 19, 1873 was a devastating emotional blow to Louisa (see Jeff's February 24, 1873 letter to Louisa in Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 158; and see Louisa's February 27, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman). For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)." George Washington Whitman was building a larger house on a corner lot at 431 Stevens Street in Camden, New Jersey (see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975], 31). For an extended description of George's planned house, see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's April 8, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman. This letter dates to April 21, 1873. Richard Maurice Bucke dated this letter April 21, 1873, which fell on Monday, the day of the week in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, and Edwin Haviland Miller concurred with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:215, n. 70). Bucke's and Miller's date is correct. Louisa Whitman acknowledged two recent letters from Walt Whitman, one received on the date of this letter and one received the previous Saturday. The letters that she received were Walt's letters of April 16, 1873 (received Saturday) and April 19, 1873. See Walt Whitman's April 16, 1873 and April 19, 1873 letters to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. The phrase "anything or not" is written in the right margin. The "aunt Lib" or "aunt Libby" who was engaged to assist Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman has not been identified but was probably named Elizabeth. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman described her daughter-in-law Louisa Orr's aunt as English, and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman was not fond of the aunt's company: "i wouldent be very sorry if aunty wasent here" (see her April 21–May 3?, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman). The aunt is designated "aunt Lib" in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's April 10Ὰ15, 1873 letter to Walt. Between the words "dignity" and "now" Louisa Van Velsor Whitman canceled the phrase "it would bee all good to have my." For an extended description of the house that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman imagined she, Walt Whitman, and Edward could share, see her April 8, 1873 letter to Walt. Walt may have initiated this fantasy with the remark "if you & I had a house here" (see his February 23, 1873 letter to Louisa). The conclusion is written inverted in the top margin of the first page. This letter dates to May 1, 1873. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman began the letter by acknowledging receipt of Walt Whitman's letter "this 1 of may." Richard Maurice Bucke inscribed the year 1873 on the letter surface, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:217, n. 74; 2:370). The year 1873 is consistent with Louisa's living in Camden, New Jersey, with Walt's payment for Edward Whitman's board, and with Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and daughters boarding with the Bulkley family after the February 1873 death of Jeff's wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. See Walt Whitman's April 30, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Walt enclosed $15 and promised to send $5 more in his next letter. Walt paid George Washington Whitman and his wife Louisa Orr "Lou" Haslam Whitman $20 per month for his brother Edward Whitman's board. Walt Whitman's April 28, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant.See Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's April 24, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 166–169).
Jeff Whitman (1833–1890) was the son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and Walt Whitman's favorite brother. In early adulthood he worked as a surveyor and topographical engineer. In the 1850s he began working for the Brooklyn Water Works, at which he remained employed through the Civil War. In 1867 Jeff became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis and became a nationally recognized name in civil engineering. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had shared a home with Jeff and his wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman for several years before their departure to St. Louis. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)."
After Mattie Whitman's death in February 1873, Jeff Whitman and daughters Manahatta and Jessie Louisa began boarding at the home of Mary Moody and Philemon C. Bulkley. The remarks that follow—on Jeff's Kansas work, on boarding with the Bulkley's, and on Mr. Bulkley's potential visit to New York and to Washington to fetch Walt Whitman to St. Louis—are paraphrased from Jeff's letter. See Jeff's April 24, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 167). Thomas Jefferson Whitman acknowledged receipt of Walt Whitman's letter, which is not extant, in his May 9, 1873 letter to Walt. The Boston work is for Joseph Phineas Davis (1837–1917), who was the city engineer there from 1871 to 1880. Davis had worked with Jeff Whitman in Brooklyn, had joined Jeff in St. Louis, and had served a brief stint in Lowell, Massachusetts (1870–1871), before becoming the city engineer of Boston. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman was also quite friendly with Davis, who had shared the Pacific Street home before Jeff's departure in 1867 and had stopped by her house in Brooklyn when working in Lowell (see Louisa's June 22, 1870 letter to Walt Whitman). Davis completed his career at American Telephone and Telegraph Company (1880–1908). For Davis's career, see Francis P. Stearns and Edward W. Howe, "Joseph Phineas Davis," Journal of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers 4 (December 1917), 437–442. Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. George Washington Whitman's original connection to Lane was through his brother Jeff Whitman: "jeff says as long as lane is in the [Brooklyn] water works georgey will be" (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's June 15 or 16, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman). Lane resigned as Chief Engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works in 1869, and he soon became City Engineer of Milwaukee ("Moses Lane," Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers [February 1882], 58). Like Joseph P. Davis (above), Lane was loyal to George as a pipe inspector. The employment opportunity for George in Milwaukee that Walt mentioned in his January 23–24, 1872 letter to Louisa was probably with Lane. George Washington Whitman in March 1873 made at least two trips to Brooklyn to seek work inspecting pipe with a commissioner named Henry Adams, who is listed in a public call to property owners on the altering of water lines on Lee Avenue ("Notice," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 5, 1872, 1). See Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 29, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had reported that George Washington Whitman in early 1873 was inspecting pipe for Moses Lane at the R. D. Wood Foundry sites in Camden and Florence, New Jersey, and at the Gloucester Iron-Works (see her March 23, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman). Walt Whitman had enclosed a copy of the March 15, 1873 New York Daily Graphic, which featured his "The Singing Thrush", in his March 17, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. The tabloid newspaper was published from 1873 to 1889, and Louisa in her March 21, 1873 letter to Walt had remarked, "i like them very much i should think they would be a sucsess [sic]." The date of this letter is uncertain, but the most probable date is April 5, 1873. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letter acknowledges one from Walt Whitman, probably his April 4, 1873 letter, and Edwin Haviland Miller dated this letter April 5?, 1873 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:208, n. 47; 2:370). Louisa responded to Walt that he "should certainly get a place for you and edd and me": the word "certainly" echoes Walt's remark on acquiring a house in Washington from his letter, that he "shall certainly do so." Walt had also mentioned a house in his March 28, 1873 letter to Louisa. Louisa's statement on the house is consistent also with the timing of George Washington Whitman's new house on 431 Stevens Street: in this letter, she wrote that "george has commenced his house the cellar is being dug." A week later she reported that George's "house is begun the cellar dug and the foundation laid" (see her April 8, 1873 letter to Walt). Therefore, April 5, 1873 is the most probable date for this letter. However, Louisa also wrote, "i told you saturday i would give you an account of our affairs," a statement that cannot be reconciled with Louisa's March 29, 1873 (Saturday) letter to Walt, which has no such promise. Despite that inconsistency, Louisa's discussion of the prospective house that they could share in Washington echoes Walt's April 4, 1873 letter, and her account of George's progress on his new Camden house is in accord with her April 8 letter to Walt. The "aunt" who was engaged to assist Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman, George Washington Whitman's wife, has not been identified but is probably named Elizabeth. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman described her daughter-in-law Louisa Orr's aunt as English and was not fond of the aunt's company. She is named "aunt Lib" and "aunt Libby" in Louisa's April 10–15, 1873 and April 21, 1873 letters to Walt.The postscript is inverted on the first page.
George Washington Whitman was building a house on a corner lot at 431 Stevens Street in Camden, New Jersey (see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975], 31). For an extended description of George's planned house, see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's April 8, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman.
Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote the word "september" and struck it out. She neglected to strike through the preceding word "or." This letter dates to between April 21 and May 3, 1873. Richard Maurice Bucke dated this letter only to spring 1873, and it is not clear whether Edwin Haviland Miller assigned it a date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:370). The letter indicates that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote on a Monday, and it dates to late April or to early May 1873. The earliest possible date, though unlikely, is after April 13, 1873 (Sunday), the day on which news of the so-called "Modoc Massacre," the assassination of General Edward R. S. Canby and Reverend Eleazer Thomas, was published in the New York Herald. Louisa refers to having learned of those events "last" Sunday from the Herald. Her phrase may mean either the most recent Sunday (April 13) or the one following, so the letter could also date after April 21, 1873 (Monday). However, another phrase, if in echo of an extant letter from Walt Whitman, could date the letter even later. Louisa wrote, "you dident write how you was particularly that you was abou[t?] the same." The phrase, a familiar refrain in both Walt's and Louisa's letters, echoes Walt's April 30, 1873 letter: "I am about the same." In sum, Louisa's letter is near certain to date to no earlier than April 21, the Monday a week after news of the Modoc Massacre was first reported on April 13, 1873. However, Louisa's phrase "abou[t?] the same"—unless in echo of a non-extant earlier letter—is likely to follow Walt's April 30, 1873 letter. As both a non-extant letter from Walt with a familiar phrase and confusion about how many Sundays have passed since a widely covered story was first reported are quite possible, the letter is assigned a range from April 21 to May 3, 1873. Walt Whitman after his paralytic stroke in late January 1873 promised his mother to provide regular updates about his condition. This remark appears to echo Walt's April 30, 1873 letter to Louisa, "I am about the same." Martha Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873), known as "Mattie," was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother. She and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and son Edward had shared the Brooklyn residence with Jeff and Mattie's family until Jeff departed for St. Louis. Mattie died on February 19, 1873 (see Jeff's February 24, 1873 letter to Louisa in Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 158). The letters after Mattie's death show that emotional acceptance of the fact was difficult for Louisa. For more on Mattie, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26.George Washington Whitman was building a house on a corner lot at 431 Stevens Street in Camden, New Jersey (see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975], 31). For an extended description of George's planned house, see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's April 8, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman.
George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the sixth child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and ten years Walt Whitman's junior. George enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 and remained on active duty until the end of the Civil War. He was wounded in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and was taken prisoner during the Battle of Poplar Grove (September 1864). After the war, George returned to Brooklyn and began building houses on speculation, with a partner named Smith and later a mason named French. George also took a position as inspector of pipes in Brooklyn and Camden, and he married Louisa Orr Haslam in spring 1871. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and son Edward moved from Brooklyn to reside with them in Camden in August 1872. For more information on George, see "Whitman, George Washington."
Louisa Orr Haslam (1842–1892), called "Lou" or "Loo," married George Washington Whitman in spring 1871, and they were soon living at 322 Stevens Street in Camden, New Jersey. At the insistence of George and his brother Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and son Edward departed from Brooklyn to live with George and Lou in the Stevens Street house in August 1872, with Walt Whitman responsible for Edward's board. Louisa Orr in April 1873 was believed pregnant, and she began to spend entire days upstairs without descending (see Louis Van Velsor Whitman's April 8, 1873 letter to Walt). Her health in decline, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman was displeased with the living arrangement and confided many frustrations, often directed at Lou, in her letters to Walt. She never developed the close companionship with Lou that she had with Jeff's wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. For a time Walt Whitman lived with William D. and Ellen M. "Nelly" O'Connor (1830–1913), who, with Charles Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the Washington years. Before marrying William O'Connor, Ellen Tarr was active in the antislavery movement as a contributor to the Liberator and in the women's rights movements as a contributor to Una. Nelly had a close personal relationship with Whitman, and correspondence between Whitman and Nelly is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence with William. Nelly also helped nurse Whitman after his paralytic stroke in January 1873. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)." In the view of newspapers of the day, the "Modoc Massacre" was the unprovoked assassination of General Edward R. S. Canby and Reverend Eleazer Thomas and the wounding of Oregon Indian Superintendent Alfred Meacham during negotiation between the United States Army and the Modoc tribe led by Kientpoos (?–1873), known as "Captain Jack." Canby sought the return of the Modoc people to a reservation occupied by the Klamath people, an historical enemy of the Modocs. Protected in their stronghold of the Lava Beds, Kientpoos and his fellow Modocs sought to remain near Lost River. Canby and Thomas, part of a Peace Commission that Ulysses S. Grant formed in an effort to end the standoff, went to the peace negotiation with the Modocs unarmed. They were killed on April 11, 1873. For the initial report that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman cites, see "Massacre," New York Herald, April 13, 1873, 8. Also see Erwin N. Thompson, The Modoc War: Its Military History and Topography (Sacramento: Argus Books, 1971). This letter dates to April 3, 1873. Richard Maurice Bucke dated this letter only to spring 1873. Edwin Haviland Miller dated it April 3?, 1873 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:210, n. 52; 2:370). Miller's date is correct. Walt Whitman enclosed a New York Graphic with his April 1–2, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Louisa's letter acknowledges Walt's letter and "the graphic," and she responds to Walt's query about the names of two sisters of his maternal grandmother. In Walt's April 4, 1873 reply to this letter, he acknowledged Louisa's suggestion on the "galvanic battery for panalasis [sic]" by conveying his conversations with his physician Dr. Drinkard.Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's word "lillies" probably refers to a letter, i.e., Lillie's letter, that Walt Whitman enclosed from the cousin.
Louisa received Walt Whitman's April 1–2, 1873 letter. Walt enclosed a copy of the New York Daily Graphic, a tabloid newspaper published from 1873 to 1889. Walt published four poems in the periodical during March 1873, and he may have enclosed the March 24, 1873 issue, which included his poem "Spain," with his April 1–2, 1873 letter.
Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's April 1, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman is not extant, but he acknowledged receiving her letter (see Walt's April 4, 1873 letter to Louisa). Priscilla or Lillie (Mead) Townsend was probably Walt Whitman's second cousin, the daughter of Sally (Williams) Mead, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's aunt. Priscilla's husband James H. Townsend was a clerk in the New York "Hall of Records." Sally (Williams) Mead and Phoebe (Williams) Pintard were sisters of Walt Whitman's maternal grandmother Naomi or Amy Williams (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:210, n. 52; Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer [New York: Macmillan, 1955], 596). Louisa was responding to a question from Walt, "What is Aunt Sally's name—is it Sarah Pintard"? (see his April [1]–2, 1873 letter to Louisa). These letters from relatives were probably prompted by the report of Walt's stroke in the New York Herald (see Louisa's February 11–13, 1873 letter to Walt). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman appears to name Maggy/Maggie (Mead?) Tripp as Priscilla (Mead) Townsend's sister. Maggie Tripp is otherwise unknown. Walt also mentioned the letters he had received from relatives, including Maggie Tripp, Priscilla Townsend, and Sally Pintard, in his April 21, 1873 letter to Louisa. Nineteenth-century cookbooks name a wide variety of recipes Indian Cakes, usually to designate a pan-fried cake with a high proportion of finely ground corn meal or seeds to wheat flour. It is unlikely that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman refers to a pure cornmeal batter (called "johnnycakes" when fried) because George Washington Whitman returned from his imprisonment at Andersonville with a sample of "corn bread" as an oddity (see Louisa's March 5, 1865 letter to Walt Whitman). The following week Louisa Van Velsor Whitman was more forthright about the possibility that Louisa Orr Haslam was pregnant, though Louisa Van Velsor Whitman doubted Louisa Orr was pregnant in fact. Her daughter-in-law, she wrote, is "in the family way they think so still," and she continued, "they wont let her hardly move yesterday she dident come down stairs all day monday)" (see Louisa's April 8, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman). The "letter of tuesday" refers to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's April 1, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman. Her letter is not extant, but Walt acknowledged receipt of the letter (see his April 4, 1873 letter to Louisa). This letter dates to May 6 or May 7, 1873. Edwin Haviland Miller dated the letter about May 9?, 1873 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:217, n. 75), but it is more likely to date two or three days earlier. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman instructed Walt Whitman to send no more papers. Walt had enclosed two newspapers with his May 7, 1873 letter, but he never again forwarded newspapers to his mother. The letter is unlikely to date to May 8, 1873 or later: "I shall feel anxious until I hear from you," Walt wrote in his May 11, 1873 letter to his mother. Had Walt received a letter a day or two before writing his, he would have been unlikely to express such concern. So this letter from Louisa probably dates before May 8, 1873. The letter that Louisa received on Sunday or Monday, which Walt wrote on May 4 or May 5, 1873, is not extant. Walt had enclosed newspapers, including the Sunderland Times, an English newspaper, with his May 7, 1873 letter. Also see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's May 5–6, 1873 letter to Walt, in which the shortness of the letter and deficient handwriting suggest another and more serious episode followed. Louisa described the later episode, probably a stroke, the following week: "my head and my very brain has seemed to be affected" (see her May 13 or 14, 1873 letter to Walt). This letter dates to May 13 or 14, 1873. On an accompanying slip of paper held in the Trent Collection (not reproduced here), Richard Maurice Bucke dated this letter only "near the end," and Edwin Haviland Miller dated it May 12 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 219, n. 80). Because Walt Whitman acknowledged a letter from his mother on May 16, this letter dates to one or two days later than Miller's date. Walt acknowledged a Wednesday letter from his mother and a Thursday letter from Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman in his May 16, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. According to Walt, the "letter from Sister Lou written Thursday morning ... gives me great relief." In her May 15 letter (not extant) Louisa Orr had reported that "Sunday [May 11] was your worst day." If Walt received a letter written Thursday morning that described his mother's relief, it is unlikely that she had recovered enough from the Sunday (May 11) episode, presumably a stroke, to write on Monday. Walt most likely referred to this letter when he wrote "got your letter (Thursday)." Therefore, as Walt probably received this letter on Thursday, May 15, it dates to May 13 or May 14, 1873. This letter dates to February 14 or February 15, 1870. The day Tuesday and "14" are in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter February 1871. February 14 fell on Tuesday in 1871, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (see Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:368). The evidence for the month of February is Louisa's query about Walt Whitman's Valentines at the letter's close. However, Bucke's and Miller's assigned year is incorrect, and because the year is incorrect, the day of week and calendar date are off also. Louisa noted the death of "vanvories the ex supervisor," and Dominicus S. Vorhees, a builder, was shot not in 1871 but on February 13, 1870, a Sunday. Valentine's Day, February 14, fell on Monday in 1870. Therefore, the letter dates not to February 14, 1871 but to February 14 or 15, 1870. Walt Whitman's February 12 or 13?, 1870 letter is not extant, and the book that he sent is not known. The date that Edwin Haviland Miller assigned for Walt's lost February 13(?), 1871 letter, which is attested by this letter from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, must also date the previous year (see Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:362). Dominicus S. Vorhees, a builder and former Supervisor for the Tenth Ward in Brooklyn, was shot on Sunday, February 13, 1870 ("Startling Assassination," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 14, 1870, 3). According to witnesses, the alleged shooter, William Chambers, was intoxicated and declared himself a member of the Fenian Brotherhood, which advocated Irish independence. According to the article, Vorhees and his companions invited Chambers to share a glass, and Chambers allegedly shot Vorhees without provocation. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's son Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, his wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, and their two daughters lived in St. Louis, where Jeff had relocated in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)." For more on Mattie, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26. This letter dates to between January 3 and January 24, 1871. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter January 10, 1871, which fell on a Tuesday. Edwin Haviland Miller dated no letter to January 1871 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:368). Bucke's date cannot be confirmed, but many contextual clues suggest it is possible: Louisa Van Velsor Whitman asked Walt whether he would visit in February. The son of Louisa's former neighbor Margret Steers had lost a position with the Brooklyn Water Board, and Louisa says Steers's son was discharged "with many others." That remark is consistent with mass layoffs at the Brooklyn Water Works in late 1870 and early 1871. Also, Louisa did not know when her daughter-in-law Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman would visit. Though the exact date of Mattie's arrival in Brooklyn is not known, Louisa began to expect her in early February—though her arrival was delayed until late February. Because Brooklyn Water Works employee layoffs were widely reported in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in December and because the expected visits of Mattie and of Walt are discussed as if some distance in the future, January 10, 1871 is a probable date. However, no evidence in the letter provides exact confirmation. Therefore, the letter is assigned a range of dates that is consistent with its subjects, to Tuesdays from January 3 to January 24, 1871.Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had mentioned briefly the property that George Washington Whitman intended to sell (and now had sold) to Margret Steers more than a year earlier (see Louisa's June 23, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman).
Louisa had known the Steers family about three years. Margret and husband Thomas Steers (1826–1869) and their four children Thomas (b. 1853), Caroline (b. 1857), Louisa (b. 1862), and Margret (b. 1865) moved into the Atlantic Avenue building in which Louisa was boarding in November 1868. Thomas Steers operated a bakery, and his wife, who would become a close friend of Louisa, continued the business when he died in January 1869. After Thomas Steers's sudden death, Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman replied to a non-extant early 1869 letter from Louisa with concern that "Mr. Steers' death had quite an effect on you" (see Mattie's February? 1869 letter to Louisa in Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 67; Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's November 4, 1868 letter to Walt; "Died," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 22, 1869, 3; and United States Census, 1870, New York, Brooklyn Ward 7, Kings).
The Brooklyn Directory (1871) lists two Lotts as lawyers, Abraham and John Z., at 13 Willoughby Street. A man named Lott is mentioned previously on matters concerning George Washington Whitman's speculative housebuilding business (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 17, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman). The Brooklyn Directory (1871) lists two Greenwoods as lawyers, John and Joseph, at Montague and Remsen Streets. Another Greenwood, John E., is listed as an agent and located at Halsey and Tompkins Avenue. The son of Margret Steers is named Thomas, and he is presumably a laborer or inspector who has lost his position for the Brooklyn Water Works during its mass layoffs. William A. Fowler, President of the Brooklyn Water Board, began discharging employees with mass layoffs in November 1870 and anticipated continuing a series of employee purges: 100 on November 1, 150 on November 15, 200 on December 1, and more in January ("Two Hundred Men Discharged To-Day," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 2, 1870, 4). Brooklyn Mayor Martin Kalbleisch blamed the proliferation of community boards, including the Water Board, whose street improvements included paving and lighting, for extravagant expenditures ("The Mayor's Message," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 4, 1871, 2). The newspaper, though careful to express some sympathy for released workers, lauded the new emphasis on discharging employees and the promise of reduced property taxes ("The Eagle and Local Taxation. What is Said of its Course. Leading Men of All Parties Stand by the Eagle," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 2, 1870, 2). Walt Whitman's visit, planned for February (according to this letter), is difficult to date precisely. However, he may have made a brief visit in late February, March, or April near the marriage of George Washington Whitman to Louisa Orr Haslam. The family of Thomas Jefferson Whitman also visited. Walt took his summer vacation in June (see Walt's June 21, 1871 letter to Peter Doyle). Martha Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873), known as "Mattie," was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother. No letter from Jeff or Mattie from this period, December 1870 to February 1871, is extant. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman probably expected Mattie to report her plans for a visit that was anticipated to begin in early February but was delayed (see Louisa's February 9, 1871 letter to Walt). Mattie and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. Mattie experienced a throat ailment that led to her death in February 1873. For more on Mattie, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26. This letter dates to between December 15 and 19, 1868; the earlier dates are somewhat more probable. Richard Maurice Bucke, on an accompanying slip of paper held in the Trent Collection (not reproduced here), dated this letter mid-December 1868. Edwin Haviland Miller assigned the date December 14? (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:366). Based on the letter's reference to the death of DeWitt C. Enos, a Brooklyn physician, which the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported on December 15, the date range for the letter can be narrowed to a range shortly after Enos's death, though probably not as early as that proposed by Miller. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman tended to share Brooklyn news with Walt Whitman promptly, so it is unlikely that the letter dates to more than three or four days after the December 15 report of Enos's death. Randall H. Waldron also assigned "mid-December" as the date for the departure of Thomas Jefferson Whitman and family to St. Louis, though Waldron's date may rely in part on Miller's date (Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 60). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman complains, but her complaint has an element of bitter humor that would have been recognizable to her son Walt Whitman. The $100 amount is an echo of Mattie Whitman's complaint from a little over a month earlier: Jeff Whitman's check from the Metropolitan Board of Health was $100 short of the amount that Mattie had anticipated (see Louisa's November 4?, 1868 letter to Walt). Even if one finds sardonic humor in Louisa's echo of the amount that frustrated Mattie, her complaint over Jeff and Mattie's spendthrift ways reflects her recognition that she lived in comparative poverty. From her perspective, Jeff's earnings at the St. Louis Water Works were beyond comprehension: "mr lane told george they had raised Jeffs salary to 6000 but i think it must be a mistake" (see her May 5, 1868 letter to Walt). Charles Louis Heyde (1822–1892), a French-born landscape painter, married Hannah Louisa Whitman (1823–1908), Walt Whitman's sister, and they lived in Burlington, Vermont. The relationship between Hannah and Charles was difficult and marred with quarrels and disease. Charles was infamous among the Whitmans for his often offensive letters and poor treatment of Hannah. Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's younger daughter, resided in Burlington, Vermont, with husband Charles L. Heyde, a landscape painter. Hannah in November had suffered a serious thumb infection that led Dr. Samuel Thayer to lance her wrist. In early December, Thayer amputated Hannah's thumb. For Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's report on the initial surgery from a non-extant letter by Charles L. Heyde, see her November 28 to December 12, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman. For the surgical amputation of Hannah's thumb, see Charles Heyde's early December letter to Louisa (Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 225). Edwin Haviland Miller dated Charles Heyde's letter to "[a]bout December 8" (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:73, n. 37). See "The Sudden Death of Dr. DeWitt C. Enos" (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 15, 1868, 2). Walt Whitman had attempted to consult Enos on Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's throat condition. Satisfied after a meeting with Dr. A. C. Wilson, he decided not to consult Enos (see Walt's October 25, 1868 letter to Thomas Jefferson Whitman). According to Enos's death notice, he was aged 45 years, resided at Clinton Street near Fulton Avenue, graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, and had served both as a visiting surgeon in the City Hospital and as a professor of anatomy in the Long Island College Hospital. This letter dates to December 28, 1868. "December 28" is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, and Richard Maurice Bucke added the date notation "1868 (?)" on the first page. Edwin Haviland Miller cited Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977], 2:366). The year 1868 is corroborated by Louisa's reference to a tragic fire in Richmond: a housekeeper and at least five men died ("The Richmond Calamity," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 28, 1868, 3). Walt Whitman's late December 21–25?, 1868 letter ("last week") is not extant. The "big book" that Walt Whitman sent his mother is not known, but it may have been another almanac. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote in her February 27, 1867 letter to Walt that he had sent her two almanacs the previous year, and she acknowledged the receipt of a "franklyn almanack" in her February 12, 1868 letter. The "young woman" has not been identified. Walt Whitman's late December 26?, 1868 letter is not extant. It is possible that this letter from Walt is the same as the one mentioned above, but Louisa Van Velsor Whitman later refers to "all letters." Therefore, Walt probably sent two letters to his mother between December 21 and December 26, 1868. The Brooklyn Directory (1868) lists a Cephas Gill at 188 Myrtle Avenue as a dealer in stoves. The stove is a coal-burning stove for heating, and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had purchased a supply of coal the previous month (see her November 2 or 3?, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman). The back room was in the new larger house at 1149 Atlantic Avenue, which was probably the occasion also for the need to purchase the coal-burning stove (see previous note). Walt Whitman had assisted his mother during the move (see Walt Whitman's September 25, 1868 letter to Peter Doyle). The "ond" is omitted in "richmond" at the paper's edge to shorten the word. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle printed a graphic letter from a man to his wife, which detailed his experience on the night of December 24 during a fire at the Spotswood Hotel in Richmond, Virginia. The fire claimed the lives of a housekeeper and at least five men ("The Richmond Calamity," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 28, 1868, 3). The "ur" is omitted in "your" to shorten the word at the paper's edge. This letter dates to February 18, 1869. Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the date February 4, 1869, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977], 2:79, n. 10; 2:367). The date proposed by Miller and Bucke is too early, however, and the correct date can only be established by deduction. In her February 17, 1869 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman apologized for not having sent a letter even though her husband Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman in a letter to his brother George Washington Whitman had said that Mattie was writing a letter to Louisa (see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 65–66). Though neither George's nor Jeff's letter is extant, the circumstances described in Mattie's February 17 letter match this letter exactly: George had received a letter from Jeff; Jeff reported that Mattie was writing a letter to Louisa; and Louisa had not received a letter from Mattie. Louisa did receive Mattie's letter by February 23, 1869 (see her February 23, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman). Therefore, since Jeff wrote on Saturday, February 14 (three days before Mattie wrote), this letter to Walt was written on the Thursday after George had received Jeff's February 14 letter (February 18). Mattie's February 17 letter (delayed from the planned letter of February 14) is the letter that Louisa acknowledged in her February 23 (Tuesday) letter to Walt. This letter, composed on Thursday, was written on the Thursday preceding Louisa's February 23 letter to Walt, so it dates to February 18, 1869. See Martha Mitchell Whitman's February 17, 1869 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, which explained why her letter was delayed (Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 65–66). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman sent this gift box to her daughter Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde on January 14, 1869. For a list of the enclosed contents, see her January 19, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman. For Louisa's preparation of gift boxes, which Sherry Ceniza has designated "care packages" and compared to Walt's poetry, see Walt Whitman and 19th-Century Women Reformers (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1998), 10–12. Chloroform liniment is composed of equal parts olive oil, chloroform, and camphor spirit, a solution of alcohol and camphor. See Health at Home, or Hall's Family Doctor (Hartford: J. A. S. Betts, 1873), 297. Neuralgia is a generic description for any type of nerve pain, but it was often used to refer to pains in the head and face. Rheumatism or arthritic rheumatism is joint pain, which was attributed to dry joints. See Health at Home, or Hall's Family Doctor (Hartford: J. A. S. Betts, 1873), 704, 768, 782. The "folks here" and the "loss of their father" refers to the death of Thomas Steers (1826–1869) the month before. Margret Steers, her husband Thomas, and their four children Thomas (b. 1853), Caroline (b. 1857), Louisa (b. 1862), and Margret (b. 1865) moved into the Atlantic Avenue building in November 1868. Thomas Steers had operated a bakery, and his wife, who would become a close friend of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, continued the business when he died in January 1869. After Thomas Steers's sudden death, Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman replied to a non-extant early 1869 letter from Louisa with concern that "Mr. Steers' death had quite an effect on you." George Washington Whitman later sold a property to Margaret Steers, and the property had title trouble with regard to unpaid assessments (see Mattie's February? 1869 letter to Louisa in Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman, 66–67; Louisa's November 4, 1868 letter to Walt; "Died," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 22, 1869, 3; United States Census, 1870, New York, Brooklyn Ward 7, Kings; and Louisa's January 3–24?, 1871 letter to Walt). This letter dates to March 30, 1869. Richard Maurice Bucke's date for this letter is somewhat ambiguous. After assigning the date February or March 1869, he then added a phrase "Not[?] March," though his word "Not" is unclear. All dates that Edwin Haviland Miller assigned in February or March 1869 are associated with other letters (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367), so Miller may not have assigned a date for this letter. Bucke's month March can be confirmed on the basis of numerous contextual consistencies. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote in her own hand the day of the week Tuesday and the calendar date "30," and she wrote that some activities are "prepa[tory?] to moving." She moved from 1149 Atlantic Avenue to 71 Portland Avenue at the end of April 1869 (see her April 25–27?, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman). The letter is consistent also with Walt's recent receipt of his brother Thomas Jefferson Whitman's March 25, 1869 letter on his family's housing situation in St. Louis (presumably reported to Louisa by Walt in a letter not extant) and with the mass dismissal of female clerks in the Treasury Department at the end of March 1869. In her March 15, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote that George Washington Whitman (1829–1901), Walt's brother, "expects he will have to go to the foundry." George was going to the R. D. Wood Foundry in Camden, New Jersey, to inspect the "new main" for Moses Lane, chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works. George was the sixth child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and ten years Walt Whitman's junior. He enlisted in the Union Army 1861 and remained on active duty until the end of the Civil War. He was wounded in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and was taken prisoner during the Battle of Poplar Grove (September 1864). After the war, George returned to Brooklyn and began building houses on speculation, with a partner known only as Smith and later a mason named French. George also took a position as inspector of pipes in Brooklyn and Camden. For more information on George, see "Whitman, George Washington." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman originally wrote "straighed" and then canceled the "d" by writing an "n" over it when she resumed writing, producing "straighened." George Washington Whitman was building a house that he would share with his mother Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and brother Edward. Louisa reported regularly on the progress of George's house since he commenced building it (see her December 15–19, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman). The house was located at 71 Portland Avenue, and Louisa moved into George's house at the end of April (see her April 25–27?, 1869 letter to Walt). See Thomas Jefferson Whitman's March 25, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman (Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 136–139). Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), known as "Jeff," was Walt Whitman's favorite brother. As a civil engineer, Jeff eventually became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis and a nationally recognized name. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)." Martha Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873), known as "Mattie," was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman. According to Jeff's March 25, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman, Mattie and Jeff initially settled in a hotel in January, moved to a boarding house on Pine Street in March, departed after a week to another boarding house, and would seek a more permanent place. Mattie and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. Jeff moved to St. Louis in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. For more on Mattie, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26. Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885) was elected President of the United States in 1868 as the candidate of the Republican party. This letter was written very early in his first term. Grant was the most successful and highest ranking Union general of the Civil War. As commander of the Army of the Potomac, he accepted the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox. He served two consecutive terms as president. The postscript is in the right margin of the page. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman refers to the widespread layoffs in the Treasury Department. The Printing Bureau planned to terminate seventy female and fifteen male employees at the end of the March. In the Government Printing Office, seventy-five "females" were discharged from the folding room. An unstated number of "females" were discharged from the bindery. The dismissals were to come "from the least efficient and most obnoxious, politically, of the employe[e]s" (see "Washington: The Contest Between the Senate and the House on the Tenure-of-Office Bill—Great Reduction of the Clerical Force in the Departments—Discharge of Female Clerks," New York Times, March 28, 1869, 1). The discharge of Treasury Department employees was followed by Louisa in part because Walt Whitman's close friend William D. O'Connor served there. A week later Walt reported that his "situation in the office continues the same" and that "William is still in the Treasury Dep't" (see Walt's April 7, 1869 letter to Abby H. Price). This letter dates to February 16, 1869. Only the day of the week, Tuesday, is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter February 18, 1869, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367). The subjects of the letter are consistent with February 1869, but Tuesday fell on February 16 in that year. The month February is consistent with early 1869 because the letter discusses the recovery of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's daughter Hannah Heyde from the amputation of her thumb in a December 1868 surgery. Also, Louisa's relief at Walt Whitman's recovery from "distress in [his] head" is consistent with symptoms that Walt had listed in an early February letter: he had described a "severe cold in my head" and "bad spells, dizziness" (see his February 2–8, 1869 letter to Louisa). Those descriptions of symptoms are from the portion of Walt's letter dated February 2, but the letter does not indicate a full recovery. Louisa's letter can date no earlier than February 9, and Walt's recovery was only partial by the weekend. According to the portion of that letter written on February 6 (Saturday), he had some relief from "bad spells" but no relief from "cold in the head." Therefore, Louisa probably responded to a later non-extant letter. February 16 is the earliest possible Tuesday on which Louisa could have responded to Walt's reported recovery. Louisa also wrote that George Washington Whitman had not received a bank draft and had "parted with nearly all he had." George's departure must have been recent because Louisa has not heard recently from him in her February 18, 1869 letter to Walt, which implies that George, who had been gone for several days, had not written. This letter very likely followed Walt's February 2–8, 1869 letter to Louisa and preceded Louisa's February 18, 1869 letter to Walt. Earlier in the month, Walt Whitman reported a "severe cold in my head" and "bad spells, dizziness" (see his February 2–8, 1869 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). Walt continued to describe symptoms of a severe cold in the portion of that letter written February 6 (Saturday), so Walt's full recovery probably dates to a later (non-extant) letter that Edwin Haviland Miller dated February 15, 1869 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:361). Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's younger daughter, resided in Burlington, Vermont, with husband Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), a landscape painter. See Charles Heyde's December 1868 letter for the surgical amputation of Hannah's thumb (Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 225–226). Miller dated Charles's letter to "[a]bout December 8" (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:72–73, n. 37). For the Whitman family's bitterness toward Charles and the stress that Hannah's health crisis introduced between Louisa and her son George Washington Whitman, see Horace Traubel, Wednesday, January 9, 1889, With Walt Whitman in Camden (New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1914), 3:499–500. George Washington Whitman had probably departed to inspect pipe for Moses Lane, which he typically did in Camden or Florence, New Jersey. His brother Thomas Jefferson Whitman sent monthly drafts of $200 (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's June 23, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman). George Washington Whitman sought a loan on a house owned by his partner, a man known only as Smith. He was unable to get the loan and eventually sold the mortgage on Smith's house to his brother Thomas Jefferson Whitman (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 17, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman). Walt described Smith as "a natural builder and carpenter (practically and in effect) architect," and he advised John Burroughs that Smith was an "honest, conscientious, old-fashioned man, a man of family . . . . youngish middle age" (see Walt's September 2, 1873 letter to John Burroughs). The Brooklyn Directory (1869) lists two Lotts as lawyers, Abraham and John Z., at 13 Willoughby Street. An agent named Lott is mentioned multiple times in financial matters concerning George Washington Whitman's speculative housebuilding business (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 17, 1869 and January 3–24?, 1871 letters to Walt Whitman). Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman had agreed to lend his brother George Washington Whitman $2,000 (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 4, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman). Louisa also asked Walt to lend George $500, and Walt extended a loan to his brother (see Louisa's March 17, 1869 letter to Walt). The amount of the loans from Jeff later shifted as George agreed to Jeff's purchase of a mortgage. Louisa sought to provide a complete accounting for the series of loans in her June 23, 1869 letter to Walt. Anna Van Wycke had boarded with the Whitmans in Brooklyn, and her parents' farm was near Colyer farm, which had belonged to Jesse Whitman, Walt Whitman's paternal grandfather. See Bertha H. Funnel, Whitman on Long Island (Port Washington, New York: Kennikat Press, 1971), 78. "Lib" was Anna Van Wycke's sister (see Anna's February 23, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman [Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress]).This letter dates to March 17, 1869. The calendar date, 17, and day of the week, Wednesday, are in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, but Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to the month February in the year 1869. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367). However, George Washington Whitman's satisfaction upon his receipt of a bank draft from Walt Whitman in this letter conflicts with George's frustration at not receiving a bank draft just before his departure in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's February 16, 1869 letter to Walt. Therefore, February 17, 1869 is an impossible date for this letter.
This letter dates to a month later, March 17, 1869, which is corroborated by Louisa's March 15, 1869 letter to Walt and by Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's letter to Walt the following week. Louisa in her letter from two days earlier requested on George's behalf that Walt forward "five or six hundred." George also asked Walt to send a telegraph acknowledgment upon receipt of Louisa's letter because he had to depart for a foundry soon (see her March 15, 1869 letter to Walt). According to this letter, George received Walt's telegraph dispatch just before he was to depart for Philadelphia, and he was pleased that he could expect a bank draft from Walt. A week later, Jeff had received a letter from Louisa (not extant) in which she explained that Walt has "stepped in" to assist George after his "troubles in getting money for the house" (see Jeff's March 25, 1869 letter to Walt). Because this letter notes George's receipt of the telegraph dispatch and his relief that a "draft came to day" (March 17), Walt's actions during the past two days (telegraph dispatch and bank draft) are consistent with the requests that Louisa made on George's behalf in her March 15 letter. Jeff's March 25 letter to Walt confirms this series of events from March 15 to 17, 1869.
Walt Whitman's March 15?, 1869 letter is not extant. Because Edwin Haviland Miller dated this letter from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman February 17, he dated Walt's missing letter February 15, 1869 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:361). George Washington Whitman asked Walt Whitman to send a telegraph dispatch to acknowledge receipt of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 15, 1869 letter. George, according to the same letter, was to depart for the R. D. Wood Foundry site in Camden, New Jersey, to inspect the "new main" for Moses Lane, chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works. The Brooklyn Directory (1871) lists two Lotts as lawyers, Abraham and John Z., at 13 Willoughby Street. A man named Lott is also mentioned concerning title troubles for a property that George Washington Whitman sold to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's Atlantic Street neighbor Margret Steers (see Louisa's January 3–24?, 1871 letter to Walt Whitman). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had described George Washington Whitman's efforts to get a loan with his partner Smith's house as collateral in her February 16, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman. Walt described George's partner Smith as "a natural builder and carpenter (practically and in effect) architect," and he advised John Burroughs that Smith was an "honest, conscientious, old-fashioned man, a man of family . . . . youngish middle age" (see Walt's September 2, 1873 letter to John Burroughs). George Washington Whitman offered Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman a mortgage on Smith's house, valued at $3,000, as collateral or, if Smith's house were sold, to repay Jeff's loan. Jeff began sending George monthly installments of $200. However, some confusion ensued about the relationship between this set of loans for $3,000 on Smith's house and an original $1,000 loan in two installments that Jeff and George had agreed upon when Jeff visited in December 1868 (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's June 23, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman). Edwin Haviland Miller suggested that this reference to something disagreeable in the office of the attorney general was related to Richard Maurice Bucke's description of "dastardly official insolence" from a high-ranking government official in the year 1869. See John Burroughs, Notes on Walt Whitman, As Poet and Person (New York: Redfield, 1871), 123; Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:80, n. 12. The postscript is written in the right margin of the page. Josephine Barkeloo, a young Brooklyn friend of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, was the daughter of Tunis S. Barkeloo, a clerk (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:209, n. 50). Josephine sailed to Belgium in winter 1872. For her impending departure and her hope to "perfect myself in the French and German languages," see Josephine's December 16, 1872 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (Library of Congress). Based on the phrasing in Louisa's letter, it seems most likely that Louisa enclosed a letter from Josephine. However, Walt Whitman had enclosed a letter from Josephine Barkeloo with his March 30, 1873 letter to his brother, Thomas Jefferson Whitman. Perhaps Louisa's query about Josephine's late-March letter was long delayed, or perhaps Louisa referred to a second letter. A man known only as Smith was George Washington Whitman's partner in building houses on speculation. Walt Whitman described Smith as "a natural builder and carpenter (practically and in effect) architect," and he advised John Burroughs that Smith was an "honest, conscientious, old-fashioned man, a man of family . . . . youngish middle age" (see Walt's September 2, 1873 letter to John Burroughs). The phrase in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, almost certainly "he seems," is cut away. The bottom quarter of the first four letters are visible, and the letters "ms" are clear. Richard Maurice Bucke supplied the reading "he seems" in his hand, and that is the most probable reading. This postscript is inverted in the top margin of the page. The "criticism on the press" to which Louisa Van Velsor Whitman refers cannot be determined. No August 1865 letter from Walt Whitman to his mother is extant. Both the presswork in Peter Eckler's printing of Whitman's Drum-Taps (1865) and the press coverage of James Harlan's late-June 1865 dismissal of Whitman from the Department of the Interior are likely too distant to elicit this comment. The letter "s" is unclear. The letter "s" is probably written over the letter "l" in the canceled start of the word "lake." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had returned in mid-October from an extended visit to her daughter Hannah Heyde in Burlington, Vermont. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman was thrifty during the war because she hoped to preserve her own funds for the future (see her September 5–23, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman). Walt had encouraged her to use George Washington Whitman's substantial military pay to buy better food for herself and for his brother Andrew Jackson Whitman during his illness, and Walt had enlisted George to pressure their mother to spend more freely from George's pay (see Walt's October 6, 1863 letter to Louisa and George's December 9, 1863 letter to Louisa). Louisa's careful husbanding helped George to finance his speculative housebuilding business after the war, but in this letter Louisa regrets having exhausted the bank book in her own name. As no particular one-time expense is noted in her letters, her savings probably diminished gradually for living expenses. The word "he" is unclear. The letter "h" in the word "he" is probably written over the letter "i." Abby Price's remedy for "bad spells" is presumably potassium nitrate paper. Medical dictionaries of the era recommend the inhalation method that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman describes to relieve symptoms of asthma. Walt Whitman originally planned to depart Brooklyn to return to Washington, D.C., on September 30, 1867 (see his September 27, 1867 letter to William D. O'Connor), but his return may have been delayed a week or so (see his October 13, 1867 letter to Francis P. Church and William C. Church and his October 28, 1867 letter to Alfred Pratt). It is not known whether this letter was mailed. According to Gay Wilson Allen, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote out the note for her children just before Walt Whitman's arrival on May 20, 1873: Walt was summoned because his mother's death was imminent (see The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman [New York: Macmillan, 1955], 452). Whether sent as a letter, only intended to be sent, or composed without the intent to send, Mother Whitman's deathbed letter to her children and to her "beloved walter" dates to May 17–20, 1873.The wording of the public death notice—presumably written by Walt Whitman—echoes Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's emphasis on the word "beloved": "WHITMAN.—At Camden, N. J., early on the morning of May 23d, 1873, in the 78th year of her age, Mrs. Louisa Whitman, widow of the late Walter Whitman, of Brooklyn, N. Y., and beloved mother of Walt Whitman, of Washington, George Whitman, of Camden, and Thos. J. Whitman, of St. Louis. Buried on Monday afternoon, May 26th, in Evergreen Cemetery, Camden" ("Died," Camden Democrat, May 31, 1873, 3).
Louisa also addressed Walt as "beloved" in her May 13 or 14, 1873 letter.
This letter dates to April 29, 1863. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter only Wednesday. The executors did not assign a date, and Edwin Haviland Miller appears not to have been aware of the letter (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:373). The letter must follow George Washington Whitman's April 22, 1863 letter to his brother Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman. George, writing from Lexington, Kentucky, described his regiment as "encamped at Winchester about 16 miles from here" and reported that he had sent $350 to his mother. According to Louisa's letter, Jeff received a letter from George the previous Monday, and she echoed George's statement on his location and the amount of money sent. Therefore, Jeff received George's April 22, 1863 letter two days before this letter was written. George forwarded pay for soldiers in his regiment on April 19: his role in the process is corroborated in an April 23, 1863 letter in the New York Sunday Mercury. Also, Louisa addressed two matters from Walt Whitman's most recent letter: he sent shinplasters (currency of a small denomination) and inquired whether Henry D. Howell had visited (see his April 28, 1863 letter to Louisa). Louisa acknowledged Walt's letter here. Therefore, this letter dates to the Wednesday that followed George's April 22, 1863 letter to Jeff and Walt's April 28, 1863 letter to Louisa: April 29, 1863. The term shinplasters refers to paper money of a small denomination issued by the United States government from 1862 to 1878. According to Walt Whitman's April 28, 1863 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, "Mother, you rec'd a letter from me, sent last Wednesday, 22d. of course, with a small quantity of shinplasters." Mrs. Piercy was the wife of Henry R. Piercy, who operated sulphur baths at 5 Willoughby Avenue, Brooklyn. Walt Whitman in his May 5, 1863 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote, "I think it would be well for me to write a line to Mrs. Piercy, . . . so that you could take the baths again." The letter "t" in "put" is cut off in the digital image but is clearly visible in the original manuscript. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote the number "11" over the word "eleven." See George Washington Whitman's April 22, 1863 letter to Thomas Jefferson Whitman (Jerome M. Loving, ed., Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1975] 91–92). A special correspondent from the New York Fifty-first Volunteers to the New York Sunday Mercury signed as "Greenback." In his April 19, 1863 letter from Winchester, Kentucky, Greenback wrote, "Captain Whitman is ordered to Cincinnati to send the boys money by express" (April 23, 1863, [7]). The pseudonym "Greenback" may be a pun: Captain Whitman, the one sending the greenbacks (dollars) to New York, may be the special correspondent whose letter is printed. The Sunday Mercury was a weekly newspaper published from 1839 to 1896. Only the first five letters of the word "somewhere" are visible in the image. The letter is pasted into a manuscript book, and the final letters on the edge closest to the binding in the page image are often obscured. Most of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman manuscript letters in the bound volume entitled Walt Whitman: A Series of Thirteen Letters from His Mother to Her Son, held at the Harry Ransom Center, have obscured text on at least one page. Text from this page was recorded based on an examination of the physical volume, which allowed more text to be recovered. Andrew Jackson Whitman (1827–1863) was Walter Whitman, Sr., and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's son, and Walt Whitman's brother. Andrew was seriously ill from tuberculosis, and the family struggled with a series of health crises before Andrew's death in December 1863. For more on Andrew, see Martin G. Murray, "Bunkum Did Go Sogering," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 10:3 (1993), 142–148. Henry D. Howell (d. 1862) was employed with Walt Whitman's brother Andrew Jackson Whitman in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Walt Whitman published an article in the Brooklyn Daily Union about Howell's son Benjamin D., who died in Yorktown in June 1862. Howell had seen Walt in Washington, and Walt inquired whether Howell had visited his mother in Brooklyn (see Walt's April 28, 1863 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). The R. D. Wood Foundry had a site in Millville, New Jersey, but George Washington Whitman more often inspected pipe at the more recently established foundries in Camden and Florence, New Jersey. George accepted a position as inspector of pipes at the foundry in late 1869. See Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's August 26, 1868, November 4?, 1868, and December 7, 1869 letters to Walt Whitman. See Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 28. Only the first three letters of the word "much" are visible in the image. The letter is pasted into a manuscript book, and the final letters on the edge closest to the binding in the page image are often obscured. Most of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman manuscript letters in the bound volume entitled Walt Whitman: A Series of Thirteen Letters from His Mother to Her Son, held at the Harry Ransom Center, have obscured text on at least one page. Text from this page was recorded based on an examination of the physical volume, which allowed more text to be recovered.For Helen Price's visit, see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's July 14, 1869? letter to Walt Whitman. Walt wrote to Abby Price within days of this letter from his mother: "What a good girl Helen is, to go and make those nice calls on mother" (see Walt's July 16, 1869 to Abby Price).
Helen Price was the daughter of Abby H. Price (1814–1878) and Edmund Price. During the 1860s, Abby and Helen were friends with Walt and Louisa, and the Price family began to save Walt's letters. Helen's reminiscences of Whitman were included in Richard Maurice Bucke's biography, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), and she printed for the first time some of Whitman's letters to her mother (see "Letters of Walt Whitman to his Mother and an Old Friend," Putnam's Monthly 5 [1908], 163–169).
This letter dates to May 30, 1869. The executors did not mark this letter with a date, and Edwin Haviland Miller did not list it in his calendar of letters (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367). Based on Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's belief that Emily Price had married recently, this letter dates to the year 1869. The month, May, can be inferred from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letter "M" and her April 7, 1869 letter: "i suppose you know Emily price is going to get married." However, the date of Emily Price's marriage is not certain. In her July 14, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman, Louisa wrote, "i beleive they think emmily [Price] will be married this fall." That later letter cannot be easily reconciled with this one, but perhaps the marriage was delayed several months without Louisa's being aware of the postponement. Despite that complicating difficulty, this letter's date in May corresponds to the appointment of a new Brooklyn Water Board. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's "harpers" refers either to Harper's Monthly or to Harper's Weekly. The former, designed to promote Harper and Brothers' reprints of British novels, debuted during the summer of 1850 and began publishing poems by Whitman in 1874. The latter, Harper's Weekly, debuted in 1857. Walt Whitman's poem "Beat! Beat! Drums!" appeared in the September 28, 1861 issue of the newspaper, and two poems by Whitman were first published in the periodical in the 1880s. Though designed like its sister monthly to promote British reprints, Harper's Weekly was notable for its Civil War coverage and began publishing American writers in the ensuing decades. Helen Price was the daughter of Abby and Edmund Price. Helen's reminiscences of Walt Whitman were included in Richard Maurice Bucke's biography, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), and she printed for the first time some of Whitman's letters to her mother ("Letters of Walt Whitman to his Mother and an Old Friend," Putnam's Monthly 5 [1908], 163–169). Emily "Emma" Price was the daughter of Abby and Edmund Price. The date of her marriage is difficult to determine. According to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's April 7, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman, Emily was expected to marry a man named Law, an "artist in the cheap picture line." This letter seems to confirm her marriage in late April or early May 1869. She married a man named Edward Law (b. 1844?), an engraver (see United States Census. 1880., New York. Brooklyn, Kings). However, another letter from summer 1869 states that "emmily will be married this fall" (see Louisa's July 14, 1869 letter to Walt). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman refers to Henry Clapp, Jr., (1814–1875), one of Walt Whitman's close friends and a leading figure among the bohemians with whom Whitman gathered at the Pfaff's restaurant and beer cellar in lower Manhattan. Clapp was the editor of a short-lived but influential literary weekly, the New-York Saturday Press. For an extended profile of Clapp, see Vault at Pfaffs: An Archive of Art and Literature by New York City's Nineteenth-Century Bohemians, ed., Edward Whitley. Only the first three letters of the word "york" are visible in the image. The letter is pasted into a manuscript book, and the final letters on the edge closest to the binding in the page image are often obscured. Most of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman manuscript letters in the bound volume entitled Walt Whitman: A Series of Thirteen Letters from His Mother to Her Son, held at the Harry Ransom Center, have obscured text on at least one page. Text from this page was recorded based on an examination of the physical volume, which allowed more text to be recovered. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote "i beleive thats name" in reference to "lessee farlands." The word "lessee" may be a name, but it could also refer to the proprietor of the boarding house. The Brooklyn Directory (1871) lists two close names that may be boarding houses, a widow Ann Farlan and a clerk Matthew Farlands, and the directory lists thirty-five surnames from "McFarlan" through "McFarlane." The term "lessee" usually refers to the tenant, but Thomas Gunn Butler also used it to refer to a proprietor, which may indicate its currency to refer to tenants in Brooklyn slang (The Physiology of New York Boarding-Houses [New York: Mason, 1854], 117). In another letter about Clapp in connection with Helen Price, Louisa wrote that he was at or going to "falanks, Jersey" (see her December 7, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman). Walt Whitman said of Clapp, "Poor fellow, he died in the gutter—drink—drink—took him down, down" (Horace Traubel, Wednesday, July 8, 1891, With Walt Whitman in Camden [New York: Rowan and Littlefield, 1961], 8:312). This letter dates to between September 15 and September 26, 1871. The letter dates to mid- or late-September 1871 based on the approaching visit of Mary Isadore "Minnie" Van Nostrand and family. Minnie was the younger daughter of Mary Elizabeth Van Nostrand, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's elder daughter. Louisa was anxious about the Van Nostrands' visit because her daughter Mary proposed that she, her husband Ansel, and two daughters would spend approximately a week in Brooklyn to shop in preparation for Minnie's upcoming marriage on October 17. Louisa acquiesced to the proposal, and the visit began on September 27 (see Louisa's September 28, 1871 letter to Walt Whitman). A late-September date for this letter is corroborated by Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's visit to Brooklyn in fall 1871. Though two of Walt Whitman's letters to his mother and a letter from Martha Mitchell "Mattie" to Jeff are mentioned, which if available could narrow the range of dates, not one of the letters is extant. Randall H. Waldron dated the letter "about September 17, 1871" (Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1971], 72, n. 1), but it could date up to a week later and still anticipate the Van Nostrands' visit. Only the first two letters of the word "has" are visible in the image. The letter is pasted into a manuscript book, and the final letters on the edge closest to the binding in the page image are often obscured. Most of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman manuscript letters in the bound volume entitled Walt Whitman: A Series of Thirteen Letters from His Mother to Her Son, held at the Harry Ransom Center, have obscured text on at least one page. Text from this page was recorded based on an examination of the physical volume, which allowed more text to be recovered. Mary Isadore "Minnie" Van Nostrand (1851–1938) married Leander Jay Young (1846–1937) on October 18, 1871 (Gertrude A. Barber, compiler, "Marriages of Suffolk County, N.Y. Taken from the 'Republican Watchman': A Newspaper Published at Greenport, N.Y. Years 1871, 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1876," [1950], 1:3, http://longislandgenealogy.com/MarriagesofSuffolk.pdf). For Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's annoyance during the Van Nostrands' visit and her relief at their expected departure, see her September 28, 1871 and October 5, 1871 letters to Walt Whitman. George Washington Whitman married Louisa Orr Haslam (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," in spring 1871, and they were soon living at 322 Stevens Street in Camden. At the insistence of George and his brother Thomas Jefferson Whitman, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and son Edward departed from Brooklyn to live with George and Lou in the Stevens Street house in August 1872, with Walt Whitman responsible for Edward's board.Charles Hine (1827–1871), an artist, had died on July 31, 1871, only days after a visit by Walt Whitman. Julia Hine indicated her plan to visit Walt's mother in Brooklyn in an August 4, 1871 letter to Walt. After Julia Hine's earlier visit, Louisa wished she had been able to give her money (see Louisa's August 22, 1871 letter to Walt).
Charles Hine's painting of the poet was the model for the engraving that became the frontispiece for Leaves of Grass in 1860 (see Walt Whitman's July 14, 1871 letter to Charles Hine, The Correspondence, ed. Ted Genoways [Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2004], 7:31; and see Connecticut, Deaths and Burials Index, 1650–1934 [Salt Lake City: FamilySearch, 2009]).
This letter dates to February 6?, 1870. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter February 1, 1870, and Edwin Haviland Miller did not list the letter in his calendar of letters (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367). The letter dates to approximately a week later than Bucke proposed. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman was amused by an "account of the ball," which was held in New York in honor of a visit by Prince Arthur, seventh child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. At the time of this letter, Louisa remained in Brooklyn with her son Edward after the departure of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman to St. Louis. Her son George Washington Whitman continued to live nearby, though he was often away to Camden, New Jersey for his duties as an inspector of pipe for the Brooklyn Water Works.Prince Arthur (1850–1942), third son and seventh child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, was posted to a rifle brigade in Canada from 1869 to 1870. Prince Arthur was named first duke of Connaught and Strathearn, the title by which he is now known, in 1874 (Noble Frankland, "Arthur, Prince, first duke of Connaught and Strathearn (1850–1942)," Dictionary of National Biography [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004]). The young prince visited Washington, D.C., and Brooklyn, New York, in late January and early February 1870. He attended dinners and balls in his honor in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, January 27, in Brooklyn on Friday, January 28, and again in Brooklyn, on February 4.
Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's comment was probably in jest as newspaper coverage tended to highlight the contrast between society's fawning attention to royalty and America's claimed republican virtue ("Prince does his duty," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 31, 1870, 2). A report on a Brooklyn Club Ball and Supper, held in the his honor, tends toward satire ("Royalty in Brooklyn: Beauty, Wealth, Worth, and Birth Colliding," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 5, 1870, 2).
Louisa Van Velsor Whitman shortened Saturday to "satur" because she had no room remaining on the paper. When interlining the "nt" for the previously written word "have," Louisa Van Velsor Whitman added an extra "e." Only the first four letters of the word "think" are visible in the image. The letter is pasted into a manuscript book, and the final letters on the edge closest to the binding in the page image are often obscured. Most of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman manuscript letters in the bound volume entitled Walt Whitman: A Series of Thirteen Letters from His Mother to Her Son, held at the Harry Ransom Center, have obscured text on at least one page. Text from this page was recorded based on an examination of the physical volume, which allowed more text to be recovered. The copy of a Walt Whitman poem that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman gave to Helen Price, based on the reference to a "christmas present" and the date on which the poem appeared, is presumably "The Singer in the Prison" (Saturday Evening Visitor, December 25, 1869, 4). Helen Price's employer, the "lawyer of pattens," was presumably a patent attorney named Stitson or perhaps Stutson, but he has not been identified. This letter dates to February 23, 1870. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter February 23 but did not provide a year. Edwin Haviland Miller did not cite the letter in his calendar of letters (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367). The letter dates to the year 1870 based on Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's presence in Brooklyn, her intent to travel to Washington, D.C., and Joseph Phineas Davis's plan to visit Lowell, Massachusetts (see Mattie's February 27, 1870 letter to Walt Whitman). During Mattie Whitman's February 1870 visit to Brooklyn, Joseph Phineas Davis decided to depart St. Louis and take a position at Lowell, Massachusetts (see Mattie's February 27, 1870 letter to Walt in Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 68). Davis's decision to take the position at Lowell caused Jeff Whitman to depart Brooklyn earlier than he had planned. No "s" in "particulars" is visible on the image nor can its presence be confirmed based on the manuscript. The letter is pasted into a manuscript book, and the final letters on the edge closest to the binding in the page image are often obscured. Most of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman manuscript letters in the bound volume entitled Walt Whitman: A Series of Thirteen Letters from His Mother to Her Son, held at the Harry Ransom Center, have obscured text on at least one page. Text from this page was recorded based on an examination of the physical volume, which allowed more text to be recovered. Walt Whitman roomed at Mrs. Benedict's house in Washington, D.C. In his February 12, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, he stated "I moved to-day back again to the same house Mrs. Grayson used to live in—it is now occupied by a Mr. & Mrs. Benedict." George F. Mason was a prominent Pennsylvania businessman and state senator, with whom Mattie Whitman stayed after selling her furniture in preparation for the trip to St. Louis in 1867. Mason's daughter Irene was a close friend of Mattie (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's May 3, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman; Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 37, 42). Gordon's son Julius "Jules" Mason (1835–1882) was a lieutenant colonel in the Fifth Cavalry. Jeff Whitman wrote that Mason "used to be in my party on the Water Works" (see his February 10, 1863 letter to Walt). Jules Mason helped to get supplies to George Washington Whitman when he was held prisoner (see Jeff's February 7, 1865 letter to Walt).This letter dates to May 23, 1866. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter's mailing to May 24, 1866, and Edwin Haviland Miller did not include the letter in his calendar of letters (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:377). Bucke's date may be derived from the envelope in which the letter was enclosed. The second page of the letter has the note "wensday" in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand. That note may date the letter's composition to May 23, 1866, which fell on Wednesday in 1866.
As the information in the letter is otherwise scant, some support for year 1866 is provided by eliminating the previous and subsequent years according to contextual hints. The years 1864 and 1865 can be excluded because George Washington Whitman's army concerns would have been present in a letter of those years. The years 1867 and 1868 can be excluded also. If the former, it would be unusual for Louisa not to mention Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's recent departure for St. Louis, which raised housing concerns for Louisa in May 1867. The latter year (1868) can be eliminated based on Louisa's expressed hopes for a visit from Walt Whitman. She would not have expected a visit in 1868 because Walt on April 23, 1868 promised a visit to Brooklyn, a visit that extended from May 4 to May 17. On the other hand, Louisa's mentions of Brooklyn Water Works engineers Joseph Phineas Davis and Louis Probasco and her references to the family of her deceased son Andrew Jackson Whitman are consistent with the year 1866—and probably consistent with a Water Works public relations disaster in early May 1866.
Walt Whitman's May 20–23?, 1866 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant. Edwin Haviland Miller did not list this lost letter from Walt (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:369). Walt took an extended vacation to Brooklyn in August, but he may have visited shortly after his mother and Thomas Jefferson Whitman's family moved to 840 Pacific Street in early May 1866. James "Jimmy" Whitman, Louisa's "little Jim," was the son of Walt Whitman's brother Andrew Jackson Whitman (1827–1863) and Andrew's wife Nancy McClure Whitman. For more on Andrew's family, see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 13–14. Andrew Whitman, Jr. (1864–1868), the son of Walt Whitman's brother Andrew Jackson Whitman (1827–1863) and Andrew's wife Nancy McClure Whitman, was born after his father's death. Andrew died in 1868 after he was struck in the street by a brewery wagon. For Walt's response to the death of Andrew, Jr., see his September 7, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's spelling "perbasco" probably refers to Louis Probasco, an employee at the Brooklyn Water Works (see Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's January 16, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman). The Whitmans had two other acquaintances named Probasco—Samuel R. Probasco (1833–1910), an employee at the Brooklyn Water Works from 1856 to 1868 and an assistant engineer in the Department of City Works, and Joe Probasco, a soldier mentioned both in Jeff's September 24, 1863 letter to Walt and in Walt's April 28, 1864 letter to Louisa. The line is not clear but probably reads "for one the hot concern." During a tour of the Brooklyn Water Works in early May 1866, commissioners witnessed outdoor toilets and drainage ditches that discharged into the Ridgewood Reservoir, which supplied drinking water. If Probasco lost his position, he may have been removed because of public complaint about the "hot concern" ("The Ridgewood Water," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 5, 1866, 4). This surmise remains speculative as the transcription is questionable, and no external source confirms Probasco's discharge. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman may report rumors from the Water Works engineers. Only the first three letters of the word "seem" are visible in the image or page. The letter is pasted into a manuscript book, and the final letters on the edge closest to the binding in the page image are often obscured. Most of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman manuscript letters in the bound volume entitled Walt Whitman: A Series of Thirteen Letters from His Mother to Her Son, held at the Harry Ransom Center, have obscured text on at least one page. Text from this page was recorded based on an examination of the physical volume, which allowed more text to be recovered. This letter dates to between May 13 and May 18, 1868. The executors did not date this letter, and Edwin Haviland Miller did not list it in his calendar of letters (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:366). The letter dates to the removal of Samuel H. Roberts as the Brooklyn postmaster, which was reported on May 12, 1868, and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman paraphrased the article on his removal. Louisa also acknowledged Walt's most recent letter (not extant) on Tuesday, probably May 12, 1868. Her references to the "president question," which may refer to the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson or to the expected nomination of Ulysses S. Grant as the Republican candidate at the Chicago Convention, corroborate the month and year but are too general to establish a particular date. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman refers to the Illustrated Chicago News, a periodical published by A. M. Farnum and C. A. Church that began a brief run on April 24, 1868 (see Frank W. Scott and Edmund Janes James, ed., Newspapers and Periodicals of Illinois, 1814–1879 [Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1910], 92). Walt Whitman's May 11? or 18?, 1868 (Monday) letter is not extant. Edwin Haviland Miller did not list it among Walt's lost letters (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:361). Postmaster Samuel H. Roberts was removed from office and replaced by Joseph M. Simonson because the former "has been unpleasantly short, and for some reason has been unable to send forward the balances due the government" ("Removal of the Postmaster," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 12, 1868, 3). Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. Lane helped to further the careers both of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman as an engineer and George Washington Whitman as a pipe inspector. That connection was especially useful for George's career: "jeff says as long as lane is in the [Brooklyn] water works georgey will be" (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's June 15 or 16, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman). Lane resigned as Chief Engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works in 1869, and he soon became City Engineer of Milwaukee ("Moses Lane," Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers [February 1882], 58). The "president question" was before the Chicago Republican Convention, which nominated Ulysses S. Grant. Though widely viewed as the only probable candidate, Grant had signaled his unwillingness to be nominated while the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson remained unresolved ("Gen. Grant Declares," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 13, 1868, 2). This passage can be clarified by recalling Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's political sympathies. Her loyalties were in part to Walt Whitman's employ in Washington under Republican presidential administrations, but she performed a complex act of mimicry. She dramatized for Walt in monologue form Edward "Eddy" Whitman's exchange (and his report of the exchange) with the unnamed Democrat. Eddy reported that the Democrat said, "the radicals were all down," a statement which apparently excited Eddy. Louisa repeated Eddy's report of the Democrat's words, and then she interrupted Eddy to seek clarification because she found Eddy's exasperation to be humorous. So "i how doo you know he is clear he said" could be rendered with formal punctuation and explanatory insertions as follows: "I [said], 'how do you know?' Eddy is clear [the democrat] said, 'it was in the eagle. . . .' It [Eddy's reaction] was quite amusing. . . ." Louisa derided often the Brooklyn Daily Eagle's boosterism for the Democratic party.The letter is cut off. The portion that concerns "mrs glover" is not present in the continuation of the letter. Above, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman indicated she was out of paper. She may also have abandoned the thought after acquiring paper to resume the letter.
Mrs. Glover cannot be positively identified. The Brooklyn Directory (1868) lists a "David K. Glover" as an engineer in East Brooklyn. She may have been a spouse or other acquaintance through Thomas Jefferson Whitman or George Washington Whitman at the Brooklyn Water Works.
Thomas Jefferson Whitman's April 28, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman may have written the word "cant" over "could." A Rebecca Denton Van Velsor (1791?–1871) has a memorial stone in Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery. The woman buried in Green-Wood, who may have been Walt Whitman's "Aunt Becca," is listed as the wife of a Joseph Van Velsor (1792–1859), possibly a brother or uncle to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Aunt Becca is mentioned also in Louisa's April 13, 1867 and December 7, 1869 letters to Walt. The last letter of the word "would" is not visible in the image. The letter is pasted into a manuscript book, and the final letters on the edge closest to the binding in the page image are often obscured. Most of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman manuscript letters in the bound volume entitled Walt Whitman: A Series of Thirteen Letters from His Mother to Her Son, held at the Harry Ransom Center, have obscured text on at least one page. Text from this page was recorded based on an examination of the physical volume, which allowed more text to be recovered. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's phonetic spelling "mobeal" refers to Mobile, Alabama. The Mann family—though Louisa spelled the name "man"—lived downstairs from Louisa. In her November 10, 1868 letter, Louisa informed Walt Whitman of the death of "little Charley man" due to diphtheria and croup. Mary E. Mann's March 9, 1873 letter to Louisa (Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress), presumably Charley Mann's mother, confirms the spelling of the name is "Mann." Walt Whitman's November 15?, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant. Edwin Haviland Miller did not list it among Walt's lost letters (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:361). This letter dates to November 16, 1868. Neither the executors nor Edwin Haviland Miller dated this letter (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:366). The letter, however, dates to death of Charley Mann, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's neighbor, in 1868, and November 16 is in her hand. Louisa discussed Charley Mann's death in her November 10, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman, and she describes visitors to the Mann household after the funeral in this letter. This letter dates to June 15 or 16?, 1868. Neither the executors nor Edwin Haviland Miller dated this letter (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:366). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman identified the day of the week as Tuesday, and the letter probably dates to June 15, 1868. This letter must follow Walt Whitman's June 6–8, 1868 letter, which she received on June 9, a Tuesday. However, because Louisa had received Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's June 8, 1868 letter from St. Louis, this letter dates no earlier than June 15, 1868. June 15 is also consistent with Thomas Jefferson Whitman's recent departure from Brooklyn to return to St. Louis. Louisa acknowledged Walt's "tuesday letter," so she may have erred on the day of the week. Walt Whitman's June 15 or 16, 1868 letter is not extant. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's designation of Walt's letter as the "tuesday letter" may be an error, as she dated her own letter Tuesday. Edwin Haviland Miller did not list the letter Louisa received among Walt's lost letters (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:361). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had been annoyed for some time with missing letters: "it seems hard to get honest people in the post offices" (see her May 13–18, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman). Mrs. Black was a neighbor of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Louisa also mentioned Mrs. Black in her March 11, 1868, March 13, 20, or 27?, 1868, and March 16, 1870 letters to Walt Whitman. The Brooklyn Directory (1868) lists only one Baker as a physician, George W. Baker. The fabric "delaine" is a light-weight printed wool fabric.Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), known as "Jeff," was the son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and Walt Whitman's favorite brother. In early adulthood he worked as a surveyor and topographical engineer. In the 1850s he began working for the Brooklyn Water Works, at which he remained employed through the Civil War. In 1867 Jeff became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis and became a nationally recognized name in civil engineering. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)."
On June 4, 1868, Jeff began a trip from St. Louis to Pittsburgh, where engines were manufactured, and he intended to stop in Brooklyn before his return to St. Louis (see Martha Mitchell Whitman's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, June 8, 1868, in Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1971], 54).
Jessie Louisa Whitman (b. 1862), known as "Sis," is the younger daughter of Thomas Jefferson ("Jeff") and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. Sis and her older sister Manahatta were both favorites of their uncle Walt. The nickname "sis" was given first to Manahatta but was passed to her younger sister Jessie Louisa when Manahatta became "Hattie." Two men known only as Smith, a carpenter, and French, a mason, were George Washington Whitman's partners in building houses on speculation. Walt Whitman described Smith as "a natural builder and carpenter (practically and in effect) architect," and he advised John Burroughs that Smith was an "honest, conscientious, old-fashioned man, a man of family . . . . youngish middle age" (see Walt's September 2, 1873 letter to John Burroughs). The portion of the postscript that is written in the margin, beginning with the word "than," is not visible in the digital image but is visible in the bound volume entitled Walt Whitman: A Series of Thirteen Letters from His Mother to Her Son, which is held at the Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman inserted the letter "u" above the word "cold." She used both spellings "cold" and "could." The spelling may be "easiy" or "easey." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman may have intended "easy" or "easily." The last letter of the word "office" is not visible in the image. The letter is pasted into a manuscript book, and the tipping into the binding often obscures the final letters on the edge closest to the binding in the page image. Most Louisa Van Velsor Whitman manuscript letters in the bound volume entitled Walt Whitman: A Series of Thirteen Letters from His Mother to Her Son, held at the Harry Ransom Center, have missing text on at least one surface. Text on this letter surface is recorded based on an examination of the physical volume, which allows more text to be recovered.Both here and later in the letter Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's intended word is probably "there," but she somewhat uncharacteristically omitted the final "e." As Louisa's spelling varies, "ther" may be a shortened form. It is also possible that she emphasized the temporal dimension of her doubts about the postmaster's claim of a "long time," which she was convinced contradicted the newspaper report that Simonson replaced Roberts on May 12: in that case, the word is possibly "then."
Postmaster Samuel H. Roberts was removed from office and replaced by Joseph M. Simonson because the former "has been unpleasantly short, and for some reason has been unable to send forward the balances due the government" ("Removal of the Postmaster," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 12, 1868, 3). The cause for the misunderstanding between Louisa and Postmaster Simonson is unclear. Simonson may have misled her, or he may have affirmed that he had been at the Brooklyn post office even if not in the position of postmaster.
This letter dates to October 5, 1871. The executors did not date this letter, and Edwin Haviland Miller did not list it in his calendar of letters (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:369). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter "Oct 5," and based on her statements that she had visitors and that she planned to make a long-delayed trip to the post office tomorrow, the letter dates to 1871. A week earlier, Louisa had noted her irritation at the arrival of her daughter Mary Van Nostrand and family with "bag and baggage" just as she planned to go out to the post office (see her September 28, 1871 letter to Walt Whitman). According to this letter, "our company is here yet," but Louisa planned to take her delayed trip to the post office tomorrow. Louisa's daughter Mary came to Brooklyn with husband Ansel and her two daughters Louisa and Mary Isadore "Minnie." Mary had requested a week-long visit for shopping in preparation for her daughter Minnie's approaching marriage in mid-October (see Louisa's September 15–26, 1871 letter to Walt). Adams Express, founded in the northeast in the 1840s, was a packet and letter service that spread nationally as a reliable alternative to the United States Post Office. Adams Express was noted for its trustworthiness and its guarantee of privacy for shippers, which made it a favorite for conveying material that was deemed valuable or otherwise called for discretion. The Whitmans used Adams Express to transfer larger sums of money both during and after the Civil War, but Walt Whitman generally sent Louisa Van Velsor Whitman smaller sums via the postal service. For the trust accorded to Adams Express, see Hollis Robbins, "Fugitive Mail: The Deliverance of Henry 'Box' Brown and Antebellum Postal Politics," American Studies 50.1/2 (2009), 12–13. The company that is "here yet" is Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's daughter Mary Elizabeth Van Nostrand (1821–1899), her husband Ansel Van Nostrand, and their daughters Louisa and Mary Isadore "Minnie." The four used Louisa's Brooklyn residence as a home base for a full week of shopping in preparation for Minnie's upcoming marriage. For Louisa's anxiety regarding the Van Nostrands' planned visit, see her September 15–26, 1871 letter to Walt Whitman. For her irritation at their arrival with "bag and baggage," see her September 28, 1871 letter to Walt. Minnie married Leander Jay Young (1846–1937) on October 18, 1871. For the date of the marriage, see Gertrude A. Barber, compiler, "Marriages of Suffolk County, N. Y. Taken from the 'Republican Watchman': A Newspaper Published at Greenport, N. Y. Years 1871, 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1876" (1950), 1:3, http://longislandgenealogy.com/MarriagesofSuffolk.pdf. This letter dates to February 26, 1865. The executors did not date the letter, and Edwin Haviland Miller did not list it in his calendar of letters (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:376). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman knew that her son George Washington Whitman had been released from his imprisonment, so this letter must date to a Sunday, the date in Louisa's hand, in late February 1865. The first line of the letter refers to one that she received as "that from George," but she did not forward it to Walt Whitman at this time. She received George Washington Whitman's February 24, 1865 letter, which she forwarded the following Sunday (see Louisa's March 4, 1865 letter to Walt). Therefore, this letter must date to February 26, the only Sunday between George's February 24 letter to Louisa and Louisa's March 4 letter to Walt. George was expected to arrive in Brooklyn on March 5. This letter's late-February date is corroborated further by her reference to a February 26, 1865 article in the New York Times.See George Washington Whitman's February 24, 1865 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Walt did not yet know that George was among the exchanged prisoners. Louisa the following week wrote to Walt that "i should have sent you this letter from George but thought of course you knew all about his arrival at Anapolis" (see her March 4, 1865 letter to Walt). Walt remained unaware that his brother George had been exchanged (see his February 27, 1865 letter to William Cook).
George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the sixth child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and ten years Walt Whitman's junior. George enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 and remained on active duty until the end of the Civil War. He was wounded in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and was taken prisoner during the Battle of Poplar Grove (September 1864). After the war, George returned to Brooklyn and began building houses on speculation, with a partner named Smith and later a mason named French. George eventually took up a position as inspector of pipes in Brooklyn and Camden. For more information on George, see "Whitman, George Washington."
See "Exchange of Prisoners [. . .] List of Officers Exchanged," New York Times, February 26, 1865, 1. William Cook was a Captain in the 19th U.S. Colored Troops. He was held prisoner with George Washington Whitman, and after Howard's release he forwarded a letter from George to his mother. In February 1869, Walt Whitman had written Cook, who was then at home in New York City, for additional detail about George. Cook replied that he did not really know George. For more information about the exchange, see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 24. Mrs. Howard has not been identified. The Brooklyn Directory (1865) lists fifty families and persons with the name Howard. This letter has no date in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand. Edwin Haviland Miller dated it "after" November 10, 1868 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:366). The source of Miller's date is Hannah Heyde's November 10, 1868 letter, which appears on the verso of Louisa's letter. Because Louisa was generally prompt about forwarding letters to Walt Whitman, this letter dates to between November 11 and November 14, 1868. Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's younger daughter, resided in Burlington, Vermont, with husband Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), a French-born landscape painter. The reason that Hannah's letter is "strangely connected" may be attributed to a thumb infection that led Doctor Samuel W. Thayer to lance her wrist in November 1868 and to amputate her thumb the following month (see Louisa's November 18, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman; and see Charles L. Heyde's December 1868 letter to Louisa in Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 225–226). Charles Louis Heyde (1822–1892), a French-born landscape painter, married Hannah Louisa Whitman (1823–1908), Walt Whitman's sister, in 1852, and they lived in Burlington, Vermont. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman often spoke disparagingly of Heyde in her letters to Walt, and Hannah's thumb infection and the surgical amputation strained relations further. On March 24, 1868, she wrote, "i had a letter or package from charley hay three sheets of foolscap paper and a fool wrote on them." Erysipelas is contagious and has symptoms of fever accompanied by skin inflammation with a deep red color. It is also known by the name St. Anthony's fire. The sentence continues in the right margin of the page.The sentence that follows is written inverted in the upper margin.
Walt had returned to Brooklyn in early September 1868 and returned in early November, a vacation that had included a visit to Providence, Rhode Island.
Whitman's essay "Democracy" was first publishied in The Galaxy 4 (December 1867), 919–933. It was later incorporated into Democratic Vistas (New York: J. S. Redfield, 1871). See Robert Buchanan, "Walt Whitman," The Broadway 1 (November 1867), 188–195. In early December 1867, the United States House of Representatives debated whether to take up articles of impeachment against President Andrew Johnson. The House impeached Johnson on February 24, 1868. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman may have stricken the word "that," but it is more likely that she wrote a single crossbar for both letters t, which though through the body of the word's letters was not intended to cancel the word "that." Her strikethrough method was generally more deliberate than a single line. French, a mason, was a partner in George Washington Whitman's speculative housebuilding business. Smith, a carpenter, was a partner in George Washington Whitman's speculative housebuilding business. Mr. Hamblen (or Hambler) lived in the same boarding house as Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. In her August 1, 1867 letter, she described a terrible smell, which Mr. Hamblen blamed on the "privys" backing up on Pacific Street. "mr and mrs marten" may have been John D. Martin, an engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works, and his spouse. See Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman (Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984), 26, n. 3. Anna Van Wycke had boarded with the Whitmans in Brooklyn, and her parents' farm was near Colyer farm, which had belonged to Jesse Whitman, Walt Whitman's paternal grandfather. See Bertha H. Funnel, Whitman on Long Island (Port Washington, New York: Kennikat Press, 1971), 78. The pipe for the St. Louis Water Works was being made at the R. D. Wood Foundry in Florence, New Jersey. Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, chief engineer at the St. Louis Water Works, had inquired of his brother, "did you see our 36" pipe and if so what did you think of them" (see Jeff's September 6, 1868 letter to George Washington Whitman). Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. George Whitman's original connection to Moses Lane was through his brother Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote to Walt Whitman on June 15 or 16, 1868 that "jeff says as long as lane is in the water works georgey will be." For Walt Whitman's dealings with Lane, see his January 16, 1863 letter to Jeff. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's spelling "perbasco" probably refers to Louis Probasco, formerly employed at Brooklyn Water Works, who is mentioned in Thomas Jefferson Whitman's January 16, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman. The previous year, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman lived at 840 Pacific Street near Prospect Park. Walt Whitman's letter is not extant. This letter dates to November 19, 1867. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to November 19, 1867, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:378). November 19 fell on Tuesday in 1867, the day of the week given in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand. Bucke's and Miller's date is consistent with the expected appearance of Walt Whitman's "Democracy" tomorrow (the 20th) in the following month's issue of the Galaxy 4 ([December 1867], 919–933) and with George Washington Whitman's having just acquired a copy of a recent review, Robert Buchanan's "Walt Whitman" (The Broadway 1 [November 1867], 188–195). Charles Williams Kingsley (1833–1885) was a contractor for the Brooklyn Water Works. The paragraph continues in the right margin of the page, then continues in the top margin (inverted), and concludes in the left margin. This letter dates to December 15, 1867. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter "December the 15," and the letter begins, "if it wasent sunday." The most probable reading is that she wrote her letter on Sunday, and December 15, 1867 fell on Sunday. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to 1867, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's year (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence (New York: New York University Press, 1961–77), 1:356, n. 54; 1:379). The year is consistent with the presence of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and his family in Brooklyn and with efforts to remove James "Jimmy" Whitman, son of Walt's deceased brother Andrew Jackson Whitman, from the care of his mother Nancy McClure Whitman, an effort that would intensify in spring 1868. Other factors consistent with the year 1867 are the status of George Washington Whitman's business of building houses on speculation and the casual reference to daughter Hannah (Whitman) Heyde. The latter reference rules out the following year because in late 1868 Hannah had a serious infection required amputation of her thumb in December. This letter dates to December 11, 1867. Richard Maurice Bucke, on an accompanying slip of paper held in the Trent Collection (not reproduced here), dated this letter December 18, 1867. In his calendar of letters, Edwin Haviland Miller assigned a letter—presumably this one—from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to Walt Whitman a date range of December 1–15, 1867 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:379). By contrast, Randall H. Waldron cited Bucke's December 18, 1867 date (Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 44). Bucke and Waldron's date of December 18, which fell on Wednesday—the day of the week in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand—would place this letter following her December 15, 1867 letter to Walt. But the present letter must precede that one. The letter notes Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's arrival "here this morning," and in her December 15 letter Louisa reported that Jeff "has got well again he eats so heartily." The December 15 letter in which Jeff is already in Brooklyn is firmly dated in Louisa's hand, so this Wednesday letter—which notes Jeff's arrival—must precede that one. Walt Whitman's December 13?, 1867 letter (which Edwin Haviland Miller dated December 6?, 1867 in Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:370; 1:379) to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant. The present may have been William D. O'Connor's The Ghost (New York: G.P. Putnam, 1867), or he may have forwarded books or newspapers. For a time Walt Whitman lived with William D. and Ellen M. "Nelly" O'Connor, who, with Charles Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the Washington years. William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of the pro-Whitman pamphlet "The Good Gray Poet" in 1866. Nelly O'Connor had a close personal relationship with Whitman, and the correspondence between Walt and Nelly is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence with William. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)." The "eagle" refers to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Though Louisa Van Velsor Whitman subscribed to the newspaper, she was skeptical of paper's editorial slant to the Democratic party. In her February 17, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman, she gave her fullest rejection of its politics: "the old eagle how i dislike it yet i take it if i dident see any other paper i should think andy [Johnson] was perfection and all the rest was crushed general grant in the bargain." Ned is a folk name for the devil, so the phrase "raising old ned," like "raising the devil," signals that granddaughters Manahatta and Jessie Louisa were causing a disturbance or trouble. This letter dates to December 26, 1867. The date, "26," and day of the week, "Thursday," are in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand. Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the month and year December 1867. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:379). December 26 fell on Thursday in 1867, and the letter's concern, that Martha Mitchell Whitman was dissatisfied with her new place and decided to return to St. Louis with Thomas Jefferson Whitman, is consistent with late 1867.Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman (1833–1890) had pipe for the St. Louis Water Works made at the R. D. Wood Foundry in Florence, New Jersey. George Washington Whitman in late 1867 served as a pipe inspector both for Moses Lane's Brooklyn Water Works in Camden, New Jersey and for Jeff Whitman's pipe at the R. D. Wood Foundry (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's November 19, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman).
Jeff was the son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and Walt Whitman's favorite brother. In early adulthood he worked as a surveyor and topographical engineer. In the 1850s he began working for the Brooklyn Water Works, at which he remained employed through the Civil War. In 1867 Jeff became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis and became a nationally recognized name in civil engineering. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)."
Walt Whitman's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman on his expected visit is not extant. He arrived in Brooklyn on January 1 or 2, 1868 (see his December 30, 1867 letter to Francis P. Church and William C. Church), and he returned to Washington on or near January 18 (see Walt's January 17, 1868 letter to Edmund Routledge). This letter dates to February 12, 1868. The day of the week, Wednesday, is in Louisa's hand, and Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the date February 12, 1868. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:365). The letter paraphrases a story about women who slipped on the ice on their way to a service at the church attended by Edward Whitman, Henry Ward Beecher's Plymouth Church. The story appeared in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on February 10, 1868, a Monday. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman presumably refers to the Old Franklin Almanack, no. 9 (Philadelphia: A. Winch, 1867). According to her February 27, 1867 letter, Walt had sent her two almanacs the previous year. Though no letter from Walt Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman from early February 1868 is extant, he probably forwarded newspapers with coverage of the House of Representatives, which was considering drawing articles of impeachment against President Andrew Johnson. Walt recommended that his mother "take a morning paper, the Times or something" because the debates on impeachment "are quite interesting now" (see his January 26, 1868 letter to his mother). For the 1868 issue, see Alex J. Schem, compiler, The Tribune Almanac and Political Register (New York: Tribune Association, 1867). The 1868 almanac, with 108 pages, sold at retail for 20 cents. The church is Henry Ward Beecher's Plymouth Church. Beecher (1813–1887), Congregational clergyman and brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, accepted the pastorate of the Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, in 1847. The short article in the newspaper cautioned readers about icy streets and satirized the dedication of Beecher's parishioners. The seven women were "stretched upon the sidewalk, in Cranberry Street," which led to Plymouth Church on Fulton Street (see "The Slippery Sidewalk," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 10, 1868, 3). Brooklyn's Orange Street runs parallel to Cranberry Street. Mrs. Wells, presumably a friend of the Price family or Emily Price, has not been identified. Mrs. Black was a neighbor of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. She is also mentioned in Louisa's March 11, 1868, March 13, 20, or 27?, 1868, and March 16, 1870 letters to Walt Whitman. Abby Price's "spells" were asthma (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's January 17, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman). For Walt Whitman's relationship with Abby Hills Price (1814–1878) and family, see Sherry Ceniza, Walt Whitman and 19th-Century Women Reformers (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1998), 45–95. For Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's February 1, 1868 letter, presumably one of these "two letters," see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 44–46. Mattie was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother. She and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. Jeff moved to St. Louis in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. Mattie and her daughters joined him in early February 1868. For more on Mattie, see Waldron, 1–26. Walt Whitman's February 9?, 1868 letter (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:360), though it is more likely to date February 10 or 11, 1868, is not extant. Based on this response from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, Walt in his letter informed Louisa that he was again working on Leaves of Grass. Presumably, he had begun the revisions that led to the fifth American edition (1871–72). For more on that edition, see Lee Mancuso, "Leaves of Grass, 1871–72 Edition."According to Mancuso, Walt Whitman began revising for the fifth edition "as early as summer 1869," but this letter indicates that he was writing or revising Leaves of Grass actively in February 1868. If Whitman's revision for the 1871–72 edition began in early 1868, the correspondence concerning William Michael Rossetti's expurgated London edition may have played a significant role in prompting Whitman to return to his poems (see Poems by Walt Whitman. Selected and Edited by William Michael Rossetti [London: Hotten, 1868]). This letter dates to February 17, 1868. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter "monday 17," and Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to February 17, 1868. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:365). February 17, 1868 fell on Monday. Louisa had received daughter Mary Van Nostrand's February 15, 1868 letter, and the month and year are consistent with multiple letter topics: Congressional debate on President Andrew Johnson's impeachment, Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's February 13, 1868 letter from St. Louis, and the recent death of Elizabeth Hegamen. Neither letter from Walt Whitman to his mother, the one mailed Sunday, February 16, 1868, or the one that arrived in Brooklyn on Saturday, presumably mailed the previous Thursday or Friday (February 13 or 14), is extant. The "papers" are newspapers. See the discussion of President Andrew Johnson's impeachment below. Harper's Weekly debuted in 1857. Harper's Weekly was notable for its Civil War coverage and began publishing American writers in the ensuing decades. Walt Whitman's poem "Beat! Beat! Drums!" appeared in the September 28, 1861 issue of the newspaper, and two poems by Whitman were first published in the periodical in the 1880s. For more information on Whitman and Harper's, see Susan Belasco, "Harper's Weekly Magazine," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). In her February 13, 1868 letter from St. Louis, Mattie Whitman reported that she had located a rental house and a nearby school for daughter Manahatta (see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 46–48). This instance is the only time that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman used the nickname "Molly" for her elder daughter Mary (Whitman) Van Nostrand (1821–1899), but it was Mary's nickname. In mid-February, the illness and expected death of Fanny Van Nostrand (Mary's husband Ansel's mother) had delayed Mary's plans for a visit to Louisa. However, Mary promised—were Louisa to request a visit—that "you will see molly quick" (see Mary's February 15, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, Trent Collection, Duke University). Louisa also informed Walt Whitman that weather would delay her daughter's visit: "mary hasent come yet the weather has been very bad indeed so i think she could not have got here last sunday was awfull" (see her February 12, 1868 letter to Walt). Mary, Walt Whitman's younger sister, married Ansel Van Nostrand, a shipwright, in 1840, and they lived in Greenport, Long Island. Mary and Ansel had five children: George, Fanny, Louisa, Ansel, Jr., and Isadore "Minnie." See Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949), 206. Charles L. Heyde rejected Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's proposal for Hannah Heyde's visit to Brooklyn. Louisa wrote in a March 11, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman that her request to Heyde had "stirred him up." George Washington Whitman had rented a room from Elizabeth Hegeman when he returned to Brooklyn, New York after the Civil War in 1865 (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's August 29, 1865 letter to Walt Whitman). Hegeman died on Thursday, February 13, 1868 at the age of 73 ("Died," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 14, 1868, 3). Andrew Johnson (1808–1875) became President of the United States after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Johnson was the first president to be impeached, but the Radical Republican efforts to remove him from office ultimately failed. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman alludes to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle's Democratic Party leanings and to its opposition to Johnson's impeachment. Louisa read widely in political news: she subscribed to the Eagle and at various times also read the New York Times, the New York Herald, and the Brooklyn Daily Union. Walt Whitman in his January 26, 1868 letter had advised his mother to "take a morning paper, the Times or something" because the debates on Johnson's impeachment "are quite interesting now." According to Louisa's February 19, 1868 letter to Walt, she was also reading the Washington Star, presumably a copy that Walt had forwarded. Ulysses Simpson Grant (1822–1885) was the highest ranking Union general of the Civil War. As commander of the Army of the Potomac, he accepted the surrender of the Confederate General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox. Grant was elected to two consecutive terms as president, first in 1868 and again in 1872. The "chronicle" that Walt forwarded with impeachment news is presumably a Washington daily newspaper, the Morning Chronicle, which was published from 1862 to 1874. Walt published a promotional piece about himself in the Sunday Morning Chronicle on May 9, 1869, and he wrote that he was working on a revised Leaves of Grass (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:80–81, n. 14). This letter dates to February 19, 1868. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter "wensday 19," and Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the month February and year 1868. However, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman conveys information about the expected death of Ansel Van Nostrand's mother "Aunt Fanny." Edwin Haviland Miller, appearing to rely on Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver's dating of a letter from Mary Van Nostrand, dated Louisa's letter to February 19, 1867 (see Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 206–207 and Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:378). Mary's letter, however, must date to 1868 both because Fanny Van Nostrand died in 1868 and because Mary inquired about Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman after her recent departure for St. Louis. Mary Elizabeth (Whitman) Van Nostrand (1821–1899) was the daughter of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walt Whitman's younger sister. She married Ansel Van Nostrand, a shipwright, in 1840, and they lived in Greenport, Long Island. Mary and Ansel had five children: George, Fanny, Louisa, Ansel, Jr., and Mary Isadore ("Minnie"). A brief note on Mary's family, and the letter from Mary that Louisa forwards to Walt, which, based on the death of Aunt Fanny (see below), dates February 16, 1868, is reproduced in Gohdes and Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections, 206–207. For more on the Van Nostrand family, see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 10–11. Fanny Van Nostrand "Aunt Fanny" was the mother of Ansel Van Nostrand, who married Walt Whitman's younger sister Mary. Mary's letter, which should be dated February 16, 1868, reported that Ansel's mother Aunt Fanny "cannot live." Louisa also wrote in her February 25, 1868 letter that "i have heard nothing from aunt fanny i suppos she is living yet." She reported Aunt Fanny's recent death in her March 24, 1868 letter. The death of Fanny Van Nostrand is reported on a genealogy site as having occurred on March 9, 1868 (see http://www.longislandsurnames.com). For Walt Whitman's remark on Aunt Fanny, see his September 29, 1863 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. John Brown, a tailor, and his family boarded in the same house as the Whitmans on Portland Avenue, Brooklyn. The relationship between the Browns and the Whitmans was often strained, but the Browns remained in the Portland Avenue house for five years. For the strained relationship, see Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's April 16, 1860 and March 3, 1863 letters to Walt Whitman. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman seems however to have remained on more cordial terms with the Browns. In her April 14, 1869 letter to Walt, after describing a visit and dinner with the Browns, she reminded him not to share the fact of her visit with Jeff and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman: "if Jeff and matt knew i had been to see mrs Brown they would cross me off their books." "Willy" and "Charlee" were probably John Brown's sons. The "stars paper" is probably the Washington Star. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had acknowledged receipt of numerous papers (see her February 17, 1868 letter to Walt). Because the date is February 19, 1868, her use of the term "acquitted" is an error. On February 18, 1868, Radical Republican Thaddeus Stevens sought to have the Reconstruction Committee in the House of Representatives take up articles of impeachment, an attempt that was defeated ("Impeachment Again Defeated,"Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 14, 1868, 3). This letter dates to February 23, 1869. In the body of the letter, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman said she wrote on Wednesday. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter February 25, 1868, but his date must be ruled out. Bucke's year "1868" may be a slip of the pen both because February 25, 1868 fell on Tuesday and because another February 25 letter dates near the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson in 1868 (see Louisa's February 25, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman). Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver dated this letter a year later, "February? 1869," and Edwin Haviland Miller reported their date (Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 199–200; Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367). The letter informs Walt about his brother Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's difficulties with the rising river in St. Louis, and Louisa probably relied on a letter from Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman that survives only as an undated fragment. Randall H. Waldron dated Mattie's letter fragment to February 1869 on the basis of Gohdes and Silver's date for this Louisa Van Velsor Whitman letter (see Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 67, 67, n. 1). The year 1869 is certain, but the range of possible dates in February can be narrowed to the latter part of month based on Louisa's remarks on the transition between the presidential administrations of Andrew Johnson and Ulysses S. Grant, which draw from her reading of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. The letter dates to February 23, 1869, when a rumor first circulated that Edwards Pierrepont could be appointed as the attorney general under incoming president Ulysses S. Grant. Another remark on political news, on Andrew Johnson's pardon of John C. Devlin, probably comes from an article that appeared a week before the Pierrepont rumor surfaced. Louisa's remarks on political events seldom come more than a week after they are reported in the newspaper. In addition, another extant letter from Louisa to Walt dates to March 4, 1869, and it is highly unlikely that this letter was written only one day after that one. Therefore, the date of the initial Pierrepont article, February 23, 1869 (Wednesday), is certain as this letter's date. Margret Steers, her husband Thomas Steers (1826–1869), and their four children Thomas (b. 1853), Caroline (b. 1857), Louisa (b. 1862), and Margret (b. 1865) moved into the Atlantic Avenue building in November 1868. Thomas Steers operated a bakery, and his wife, who would become a close friend of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, continued the business when he died in January 1869. After Thomas Steers' sudden death, Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman replied to an early 1869 letter from Louisa (not extant) with concern that "Mr. Steers' death had quite an effect on you." George Washington Whitman sold a property to Margaret Steers in January 1871, and the property had title trouble with regard to unpaid assessments (see Mattie Whitman's February? 1869 letter to Louisa in Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 67; Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's November 4, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman; "Died," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 22, 1869, 3; United States Census, 1870. New York, Brooklyn Ward 7, Kings, District 1; and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's January 3–24?, 1871 letter to Walt). Rheumatism or arthritic rheumatism, which Louisa also spelled "rheumattis" or "rhumatis," is joint pain, which was attributed to dry joints. See Health at Home, or Hall's Family Doctor (Hartford: J. A. S. Betts, 1873), 704. John Devlin was sentenced to two years imprisonment in February 1868 on the charge of running an unlicensed whiskey ring (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 5, 1868, 3). Outgoing President Andrew Johnson pardoned Devlin on February 16, 1869. The Devlin pardon was politically inflammatory because a Brooklyn Collector of Revenue, T. C. Callicott, was held to be party to Devlin's effort to defraud the government, though only John Devlin was convicted. The Eagle editorialized in favor of Johnson's pardon, minimized the suggestion of corruption, and implied that Benjamin F. Tracy, District Attorney for Kings County, New York, had overreached on a petty case ("Devlin's Pardon—A Query for District Attorney Tracy," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 17, 1869, 2). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman read against the grain of the Democratic-leaning Eagle's editorial slant. She had indicated her skepticism toward the politics of the newspaper in her February 17, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman: "the old eagle how i dislike it yet i take it if i dident see any other paper i should think andy was perfection and all the rest was crushed." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman followed the potential appointments for attorney general closely because Walt Whitman was serving as a clerk in that office. Edwards Pierrepont (1817–1892) actively supported Republican candidate for president Ulysses S. Grant, and Pierrepont was rumored to be under consideration for appointment as attorney general ("Topics of To-day," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 23, 1869, 3). Grant, upon taking office, passed over Pierrepont for that office and instead appointed him the United States attorney for the southern district of New York (New York Times, April 28, 1869, 7). Pierrepont eventually joined Grant's cabinet as attorney general, but not until 1875 (Bruce Tap, "Pierrepont, Edwards," American National Biography Online). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's mark to separate this paragraph from next, a short vertical slash or solidus, is on the next line, and the mark might be considered to enclose the next phrase, to precede the word "give." Louisa's mark most often resembles in shape a closing parenthesis mark. The mark has been transcribed, here as elsewhere, as a closing parenthesis, with no paired opening parenthesis. The choice of the closing parenthesis to represent Louisa's mark is to signal that the grammatical function for the mark is generally to close the previous phrase. Nonetheless, the range of styles for the mark are diverse, from marks that more closely resemble a vertical pipe to those that more closely resemble a comma. A vertical pipe is also a reasonable transcription for this mark. Richard Maurice Bucke dated this letter March 3. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date and assigned the year 1868 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:365). March 3 fell on Tuesday in 1868, which matches Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's date "tuesday noon." The year 1868 is consistent both with a recent visit to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman by Ellen M. O'Connor and daughter and with Louisa's detailed report on the family of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman in St. Louis, Missouri. She relied on a February 24, 1868 letter from Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman for that report. Because the letter is consistent with Louisa's usual practice of reporting to Walt on Jeff's family and on her recent visitors, the O'Connors, this letter dates to March 3, 1868. Neither of these late February or early March letters from Walt Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is extant. Edwin Haviland Miller dated one of these missing letters March 1, 1868 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:360), and the letter received on Friday would probably date February 28, 1868. Jennie (or Jenny) was the daughter of William D. and Ellen M. "Nelly" O'Connor. Walt Whitman had recommended that Ellen and her daughter make a visit to his mother (see his February 24, 1868 letter to Nelly). For a time Walt Whitman lived with William D. and Ellen M. "Nelly" O'Connor, who, with Charles Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the Washington years. William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of the pro-Whitman pamphlet "The Good Gray Poet" in 1866. Nelly O'Connor had a close personal relationship with Whitman, and the correspondence between Walt and Nelly is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence with William. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)." The remainder of this page and most of the next, until the subject changes to George Washington Whitman's work with the water commissioners, summarizes Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's February 24, 1868 letter to Louisa (see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 48–50). Mattie was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother. She and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In early 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. For more on Mattie, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 1–16. Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957) was the younger daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. Jessie and her sister Manahatta "Hattie" were both favorites of their uncle Walt. Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. He later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in her July 8, 1868 letter conveyed Jeff Whitman's confidence that George Whitman's connection to Moses Lane offered assurance of stable employment. For more information on Walt Whitman's dealings with Lane, see Whitman's January 16, 1863 letter to Jeff Whitman. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and son Edward continued to reside at the Atlantic Street boarding house until September 1868, when they moved to a house constructed by George Washington Whitman at 1149 Atlantic Avenue (Brooklyn City Directory 1869). Walt Whitman assisted with the move by "hiring a stout young laboring man" (see his September 25, 1868 letter to Peter Doyle). This letter continues in the right margin of the page. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's postscript appears in the top margin of the first page and is inverted. On February 24, 1868, Representative Thaddeus M. Stevens (1792–1868) of Pennsylvania, a leader of the Radical Republicans, gave the final speech during the debate just before the House of Representatives passed the resolution to impeach Andrew Johnson ("Washington: Debate in the House on the Impeachment Resolution," New York Times, February 25, 1868, 1). Fanny Van Nostrand, called "Aunt Fanny" in the letters of Walt Whitman and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, is the mother of Ansel Van Nostrand, who married Walt Whitman's younger sister Mary. Mary Van Nostrand had written on February 16, 1868 that Ansel's mother "cannot live." Louisa reported Aunt Fanny's recent death in her March 24, 1868 letter to Walt. Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver tentatively dated Mary Van Nostrand's letter to 1867, but Louisa's February 19, 1868 letter to Walt dates firmly to 1868, so Gohdes and Silver's provisional date for Mary's letter is incorrect. For the letter from Mary on Aunt Fanny's expected death, see Gohdes and Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 206–207. For Walt Whitman's remark on Aunt Fanny, see his September 29, 1863 letter to Louisa. William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), one of the most successful Union generals of the Civil War, succeeded Ulysses S. Grant as the commanding general of the Union Army. In August 1865, the city of St. Louis presented Sherman a gift of $30,000 to buy a house in the city, and he purchased a house on Garrison Avenue near the corner of Franklin ("A Gift to General Sherman," New York Times, March 18, 1866, 1). See William D. O'Connor, "The Ballad of Sir Ball," Galaxy 5 (March 1868), 328–334. O'Connor had recommended Walt Whitman to William Conant C. Church and Francis P. Church, publishers of the Galaxy. For Whitman's work in the magazine, see "The Galaxy." Walt Whitman acknowledged receipt of a request for material from George Routledge & Sons, the New York office for the publisher of The Broadway, A London Magazine, in his December 30, 1867 letter. In the letter's endorsement, Whitman wrote, "I sent 'Whispers of Heavenly Death' which they printed & paid handsomely for in gold." Whitman acknowledged receipt of the payment in his February 22, 1868 letter to Routledge & Sons. "Whispers of Heavenly Death," a collection of five poems, was published in The Broadway, A London Magazine 10 (October 1868), 21–22. See "The Broadway, A London Magazine." George Washington Whitman would have won his bet. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's interest in impeachment was primarily with events of national significance, but she and George were also anxious that impeachment could affect Walt Whitman's employment as a clerk in the office of the attorney general (see her March 13, 20, or 27, 1868 letter to Walt). The United States House of Representatives brought articles of impeachment against President Andrew Johnson on February 24, 1868. The precipitating event was the removal from office of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton (1814–1869) three days earlier ("Letter from Andrew Johnson to the Senate," in Papers of Andrew Johnson, ed. Paul H. Bergeron, et al. [Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1996], 13:575). Johnson advocated leniency toward states in the former Confederacy, but Stanton, who had served under Abraham Lincoln, actively supported the more stringent policies of the Republican Congress (William B. Skelton, "Stanton, Edwin McMasters," American National Biography Online). Copperhead is a derisive term for a northern Democrat who opposed the Civil War. This letter dates to February 25, 1868. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter February 25, 1868, which fell on Tuesday, the day in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand. Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver accepted Bucke's date, and Edwin Haviland Miller cited Gohdes and Silver (see Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 192–194; Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:365). The House of Representatives voted to impeach President Andrew Johnson on February 24, 1868, the day preceding this letter, and Louisa refers approvingly to a speech by Thaddeus Stevens just before the vote. George Washington Whitman had offered to make a bet on whether Johnson would be impeached the previous day. This letter was written on the Tuesday that followed the impeachment vote, February 25, 1868. The letter that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote to her daughter Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908) "stirred . . . up" Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), Hannah's husband (see Louisa's March 11, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman). Hannah, who resided in Burlington, Vermont, was married to Heyde, a French-born landscape painter. Louisa often spoke disparagingly of Heyde "Hay" in her letters to Walt. On March 24, 1868, she wrote, "i had a letter or package from charley hay three sheets of foolscap paper and a fool wrote on them." Colonel Elliot F. Shepard (1833–1893) served with George Washington Whitman and the Fifty-first New York during the Civil War. In April of 1862, he wrote to George, "I have the pleasure of handing you your commission, and congratulate you upon your promotion" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [New York: Rowan and Littlefield, 1961], 2:201). Shepard married Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt (1845–1924), the daughter of railroad tycoon William H. Vanderbilt, on February 18, 1868 ("Married," New York Times, February 20, 1868, 5). "Jenne" may have been a shared acquaintance of the Price family. If so, "Jenne" is unidentified, but Walt Whitman presumably would have recognized the person because he visited often with the Prices and sometimes stayed with them during trips to New York. But the letter here may also switch to a description of a family that lives upstairs in the Atlantic Street boarding house. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman spoke of the "chappells" in her March 31, 1869 letter to Walt. According to that letter, the husband had "an awful temper," but the wife Janey (not "Jenne" as here) let it go "in one ear and out the other." Moses Lane (1823–1882) served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869. The connection between Lane and Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, who had served under Lane before accepting the position of Chief Engineer at the St. Louis Water Works, led to George Washington Whitman's employment as a pipe inspector in Brooklyn. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in her July 8, 1868 letter reported Jeff Whitman's confidence that George's connection to Lane offered assurance of stable employment. George's position with the Brooklyn Water Works became more tenuous in 1869 after the reorganization of the Brooklyn Board of Water Commissioners in April: Lane resigned after the new board was seated (see Louisa's April 7, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman). Lane later designed and constructed the Milwaukee Water Works and served there as city engineer, and he again employed George to inspect pipe in Camden, New Jersey ("Moses Lane," Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers [February 1882], 58). In late 1867, George began inspecting gas pipes in Camden, New Jersey and Brooklyn, New York. By 1869, he had accepted a position inspecting pipes at a Camden foundry. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter March 6, 1868, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:365). March 6, 1868 fell on Friday, and both the day of the week and the calendar date are in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand. Furthermore, the letter must follow the recent marriage of Colonel Elliot F. Shepard to Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt, a ceremony to which George Washington Whitman was invited, on February 18, 1868. March 6, 1868 was the first Friday to follow on the 6th day of the month after the Shepard-Vanderbilt wedding. Therefore, the letter dates to March 6, 1868. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman wrote that she had sent "a pressing letter to hannah urging her to come and make us a visit" (see her March 6, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman). Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's youngest daughter, resided in Burlington, Vermont, with husband Charles L. Heyde (1822–1892), a landscape painter. Charles Heyde was infamous among the Whitmans for his offensive letters and treatment of Hannah. Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's letter is not extant, but Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman described dissatisfaction with hotel life in her February 1, 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. They soon moved to a new home on Olive Street. See Mattie's March 20, 1868 letter to Louisa (Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 44–46, 50–53). Walt Whitman's early March 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not known. Mrs. Black was a neighbor of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. She is also mentioned in Louisa's March 13, 20, or 27?, 1868, June 15 or 16, 1868, and March 16, 1870 letters to Walt Whitman. The Portland Avenue home that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman shared with Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman was rented to the family of John Brown, a tailor (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 26–31?, 1860 letter to Walt Whitman). The relationship between the Browns and the Whitmans was often strained, especially in regard to the noise made by Jeff and Mattie's daughter Hattie, but the Browns remained in the Portland Avenue house for five years. See Jeff Whitman's April 16, 1860 and March 3, 1863 letters to Walt. Louisa maintained cordial relations with the Browns after the departure of Jeff, Mattie, and family to St. Louis in 1868. See Louisa's April 14, 1869 letter to Walt, in which she described a visit to Mrs. Brown and added that "if Jeff and matt knew i had been to see mrs Brown they would cross me off their books." Advertised as the "SECOND FLOOR and part of third, six rooms" including "water and gas," the rooms were located at 407 Carlton Avenue and listed at a rate of $50 per month ("Houses to Let," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 7, 1868, 3). George Washington Whitman inspected pipe at the R. D. Wood foundry in Camden, New Jersey, on behalf of Moses Lane of the Brooklyn Water Works, but "stan the foundry man" has not been identified. This letter dates to March 11, 1868. The date, "March 11," is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to 1868, and Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:365). The year 1868 is consistent with subjects in letters to Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman and to Charles Heyde and with a Brooklyn Daily Eagle advertisement for a prospective room for rent on Carlton Avenue. Mrs. Black was a neighbor of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. She is also mentioned in Louisa's March 11, 1868 and March 16, 1870 letters to Walt. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman likely refers to the Baltimore Sun, which was known for its political coverage, but it is not known which election she was following. In March 1868 the Sun reported election results in Maryland (March 7), New Hampshire (March 10 and 16), Kentucky (March 10), Alabama (March 11), Louisiana (March 13), Florida (March 16), and Connecticut (March 18). The first six or so letters of the word "impeachment" are inserted above the words "not but"; however, no mark indicates the place of insertion. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman presumably intended to write "articles of impeachment," inadvertently omitted the word "impeachment," and inserted the partial word in the available space. James Speed (1812–1887), attorney general under Abraham Lincoln, continued to serve under President Andrew Johnson but resigned in July 1866 over Reconstruction policies. Henry Stanbery (1803–1881) succeeded Speed, and he resigned on March 12, 1868, the month of this letter, to serve as President Johnson's counsel during the impeachment trial. Walt Whitman had served as clerk in the office of the attorney general under Speed and Stanbery. He continued to serve under Orville Browning (1806–1881), a temporary stand-in after Stanbery resigned, and under William M. Evarts (1818–1901), who succeeded Browning. For Whitman's assessment of his prospects during this unsettled period, including concern that James Harlan, who had fired him from the Department of the Interior, might be appointed, see his April 10, 1868 letter to Abby H. Price. The United States House of Representatives voted to bring articles of impeachment against President Andrew Johnson on February 24, 1868. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman commented on the House speeches prior to the vote in her February 25, 1868 letter to Walt. Ursula North (1836–1917) married John Burroughs in 1857 and became a friend to Walt Whitman, a frequent guest in the Burroughs household. The marriage faltered over matters of sexual incompatibility, and Whitman sided with Ursula against John's sexual "wantonness" and eventual infidelity. John Burroughs traveled a great deal for his job as a bank examiner, and Ursula and Whitman visited frequently, with Ursula visiting the poet after his stroke in 1873. For more on Whitman's relationship with the Burroughses, see "Burroughs, John [1837–1921] and Ursula [1836–1917]." Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver transcribed the name as "Varny" (Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 195), but Louisa Van Velsor Whitman probably wrote "John vanwy," a shortened spelling of Van Wyck (or Van Wycke). John Van Wyck has not been identified, but he was probably a relative of Anna or Esther Van Wyck. Ann (or Anna) and Esther Van Wyck (also spelled "Van Wycke") were sisters. Ellen Van Wyck was an in-law. Anna Van Wyck had boarded with the Whitmans in Brooklyn, and the Van Wyck family farm was near Colyer farm, which had belonged to Jesse Whitman, Walt Whitman's paternal grandfather. See Bertha H. Funnel, Whitman on Long Island (Port Washington, New York: Kennikat Press, 1971), 78. John Robbins Baylis (1838–1882?) married Esther Van Wycke (1838–1913) on October 1, 1857 (http://www.longislandsurnames.com). Walt Whitman's mid- or late March 1868 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant. Edwin Haviland Miller dated this lost letter from Walt Whitman to March 12, 1868 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:360). If the present letter dates to March 20 or March 27, 1868, which is more likely than March 13, Walt's lost letter would also date a week or two later.March 20, 1868 is the most likely date for this letter; however, March 13 and March 27, 1868 are also possible. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter only "friday afternoon." The letter may date to March 13, 1868, as suggested by Richard Maurice Bucke. Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver assigned the same date (Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949], 194), and Edwin Haviland Miller cited Gohdes and Silver's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:365). The evidence for dating the letter to March 13, 1868 is indirect, and the letter more probably dates to a week or two later.
Attorney General Richard Stanberry resigned his office on March 12, 1868 to serve as legal counsel during Andrew Johnson's impeachment trial. Walt Whitman served as a clerk in the office of the attorney general, and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman conveyed her discussion with son George Washington Whitman about Walt's prospects after Stanberry was replaced. March 12, 1868, a Friday, is therefore the earliest possible date for the letter. The letter, however, mentions a recent letter from Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, and Louisa had also acknowledged a previous letter from Jeff in her March 11, 1868 letter to Walt. If both of Louisa's letters refer to the same letter from Jeff, March 13, 1868 is the correct date. But since Louisa conveyed no news from Jeff nor from Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman (Jeff's wife), the letter presumably acknowledges a later but non-extant letter from Jeff. Because Jeff was overwhelmed with work, it is unlikely that he wrote two letters to his mother within the span of three days; therefore, March 20, 1868 is a more probable date for this letter.
This postal card is addressed: T W Rolleston | glass house Shinrone | Kings County Ireland. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | NOV | 2 | 1884 | N.J.; PHILADELPHIA, P.A. | NOV | 2 | 1884 | PAID; [illegible] SCREA | B | NO 13 | 84. [on verso:] [illegible] SCREA | B | NO 13 | 84.This letter dates to December 25, 1863. Richard Maurice Bucke, on an accompanying slip of paper held in the Trent Collection (not reproduced here), dated the letter Christmas 1863. No other known letter from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dates to December 25, so this letter must be the one that Edwin Haviland Miller dated December 25, 1865 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:377). Miller's year, 1865, is incorrect, and Bucke's year, 1863, is correct.
In this letter, Louisa refers to a December 21–23, 1863 letter from Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman to Walt Whitman, mentions Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's recent return to Brooklyn and his forthcoming surveying trip to Albany, and addresses Jeff's December 15, 1863 letter to Walt on Jesse Whitman's vicious outburst after Andrew Jackson Whitman's death. The letter also provides detail about Andrew's funeral, in response to Walt's request.
Mattie Whitman's letter was enclosed in the same envelope with Louisa's letter. This brief comment may reveal significant tension in the household because Mattie's letter followed Thomas Jefferson Whitman's report on Jesse Whitman's threatening outburst toward Mattie and daughter Manahatta after Andrew Jackson Whitman's December 3 death (see Jeff's December 15, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman and Mattie's December 21–23, 1863 letter to Walt (Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 32–36). Louisa knew that Walt had received Jeff's letter, but her awkwardly standoffish phrasing about Mattie's letter suggests that the contents of Mattie's December 21–23 letter were kept from Louisa even though both letters were enclosed in the same envelope. For her original account of Jesse's outburst, see Louisa's December 4–5, 1863 letter to Walt. Jeff Whitman was in Springfield, Massachusetts, performing surveys for William Ezra Worthen (see Jeff's December 15, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman). On his next trip to Copake, New York, Jeff would "make some surveys for an Iron Company," which he expected would take him a week to ten days (see his December 28, 1863 letter to Walt). Manahatta "Hattie" Whitman (1860–1886) was the elder daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. Though Louisa Van Velsor Whitman was frustrated with child care and perhaps eager to defend Jesse Whitman's behavior by placing some of the blame for his outburst on her granddaughter Hattie's behavior, she would in time become especially close to Hattie, who lived most of the first seven years of her life in the same home with Louisa. Jesse Whitman (1818–1870) was the first-born son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr. He suffered from mental illness that included threats of violence for several years. For a short biography of Jesse, see Robert Roper, "Jesse Whitman, Seafarer," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 26:1 (Summer 2008), 35–41. After the family of John Brown moved into the Portland Avenue house, Jeff Whitman and family occupied one upper floor, the Browns occupied another, and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman with sons Edward and (within a month or two) Jesse occupied the basement (see Louisa's May 2–4, 1860 and April, 4, 1860 letters to Walt). Following Jesse's vicious threats toward Mattie and Hattie, Jeff and Mattie decided to keep Jesse out of the living quarters, away from Mattie and the children. See Jeff's December 15, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman, and see Mattie's December 21–23, 1863 letter to Walt (Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 33–34). Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957), called "the baby" here and "California" later in the letter, was born the previous June. She was the younger daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. Nancy McClure Whitman was the widowed wife of Walt's brother Andrew Jackson Whitman (1827–1863). James "Jimmy" and George "Georgy" were Nancy and Andrew's sons, and Nancy was pregnant with Andrew, Jr., when her husband died in December 1863. It is believed that prostitution was her means of support, largely on the basis of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's statement in this letter that she "goes it [y?]et in the street." For the scholarly consensus on Nancy, see Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman, revised edition (New York: New York University Press, 1967), 294, 398.According to Mattie, Nancy McClure Whitman had "nothing but a crust of bread" at the time of Mattie's mid-December visit. Mattie gave Nancy a chicken, a dollar, and a "basket of Provisions" (see her December 21–23, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman, Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 35).
Like Whitman scholars who have followed, neither Jeff nor Louisa extended sympathy to Andrew's wife Nancy McClure Whitman, whom Louisa described as dirty and as being on the street (see her September 25 or October 2, 1863 and her December 25, 1863 letters to Walt). Nancy was judged an inadequate housekeeper by the standards of Louisa and Mattie, but Louisa's and Jeff's letters provide hints that the combination of Andrew's drinking sprees, his expensive medical treatments (see Jeff Whitman's October 15, 1863 letter to Walt), and Nancy's pregnancy rendered her and her children financially vulnerable. The financial strain that both Jeff and Louisa assumed for Andrew's illness and their fears for George Washington Whitman at war may have inured them both to Nancy's suffering. Mattie was a bit more sympathetic to Nancy's trials, but she comforted herself with religious consolation: "the Lord always provides for the Widow and I feel confident that he will provide for her" (see her December 21–23, 1863 letter to Walt, Waldron, 35).
George Washington Whitman's military pay may have been the source to pay for Nancy McClure Whitman's rent. After Andrew Jackson Whitman's death, George wrote, "dont be the least backward in useing [sic] the money for anything you want, and I know, you will do all, that is required for, Andrews family" (see George's December 9, 1863 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). Andrew Jackson Whitman (1827–1863) was Walter Whitman, Sr., and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's son and Walt Whitman's brother. In the early 1860s, Andrew worked as a carpenter, and he enlisted briefly in the Union Army during the Civil War (see Martin G. Murray, "Bunkum Did Go Sogering," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 10 [Winter 1993], 142–8). He developed a drinking problem that contributed to his early death, on December 3, 1863. Milgate, a friend of Andrew Jackson Whitman from his work at the U.S. Navy Yard, held a raffle for Andrew's tools and gave Andrew's wife Nancy $30 (see Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's December 21–23, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman, Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 35). James H. Cornwell, a friend of Andrew Jackson Whitman from his work at the U.S. Navy Yard, intends to buy Nancy McClure a sewing machine. Thomas Jefferson Whitman, sent by his wife Martha to review the desperate condition in Nancy's house, decided against offering additional assistance after seeing that Nancy had received the money from the sale of Andrew's tools, the provisions that Mattie had provided, and Cornwell's plan to purchase her a sewing machine (see Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's December 21–23, 1863 letter to Walt, Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 35). See Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's December 15, 1863 letter to Walt. Walt sent a letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman about institutionalizing Jesse after he received Jeff's letter. The letter from Walt, which Louisa received on or about December 23, 1863, is not extant (see Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's December 21–23, 1863 letter to Walt, Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 36). The Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–1867) befriended the Whitman family and became especially close to Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and his wife. After consulting Ruggles, Jeff wrote to Walt Whitman the doctor's opinion of treatment for Jesse Whitman in an asylum—that "there might be such a thing as it curing him.—helping him anyway" (see Jeff's December 28, 1863 letter to Walt). Walt Whitman presumably agreed with Jeff Whitman's recommendation that Jesse Whitman should be institutionalized, but Louisa Van Velsor Whitman resisted institutionalizing her son. Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman wrote to Walt, "untill mother get[s] worse I dont think you could pursuade her to send him" (see Mattie's December 21–23, 1863 letter to Walt, Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 36). Jesse was committed to Kings County Lunatic Asylum about a year later, in December 1864. This rationalization of Jesse Whitman's vicious outburst and threats toward Mattie Whitman and her daughter Hattie after Andrew Whitman's death is an abbreviated version. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman again blames Jesse's behavior on his seeing Andrew's body (compare her December 4–5, 1863 letter to Walt). For corresponding details, also see Thomas Jefferson Whitman's December 15, 1863 letter to Walt. Mattie, in a letter enclosed with this one to Walt, notes that Louisa resisted institutionalizing Jesse (see Mattie's December 21, 1873 letter to Walt, Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 33). George "Georgy" Whitman, the son of Nancy McClure Whitman and Andrew Jackson Whitman. The second "l" is on the next line. Louisa used four techniques to cram words into smaller spaces: she omitted ending letters, turned the end of a word downward to squinch it into the available space, continued the remainder of the word interlined above, or continued on the subsequent line. It was unusual for her to place a single letter on the subsequent line. Sarah Matilda Heyde Cobb (1823–) is the sister to Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), spouse of Hannah (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908) and son-in-law to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. She lived in Brooklyn, New York, and was born in Pennsylvania. "California" was a nickname for Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957), the younger daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. Though Louisa Van Velsor Whitman referred most often to her granddaughter as "Sis"—a nickname that Jessie Louisa inherited when her older sister Manahatta became "Hattie"—Walt Whitman apparently bestowed the private nickname "California" on Jessie Louisa shortly after her birth (see his December 15, 1863 letter), and it was Walt's preferred nickname for his niece. Another source for the nickname's origin may be the adaptation of a slang term for money—"california it is full of tents"—from an exclamation that Louisa made upon seeing soldiers gathered on Fort Greene in Brooklyn (see her August 31 or September 2, 1863 letter to Walt). The word "conceited" is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, but she may have intended "congested." This letter dates to December 3, 1872. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter Tuesday. A note on the first page in Walt Whitman's hand dated it December 3, 1872, a Tuesday. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with the assigned date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:369). The assigned date is corroborated by multiple details in the letter and is correct. Louisa, who was in Camden, New Jersey, had received a money order from Walt to pay Edward's board to Louisa Orr Whitman, so the letter must date in the first week of a month. The holiday Thanksgiving has just passed, so the month is December. And George Washington Whitman's most recent stint as an inspector for the Brooklyn Water Works has come to an end, also consistent with December 1872. Louisa Orr Haslam (1842–1892), called "Lou" or "Loo," married George Washington Whitman in spring 1871. At the insistence of George and his brother Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and son Edward departed from Brooklyn to live with George and Lou at 322 Stevens Street in Camden in August 1872. When Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and son Edward began living with George and Lou, Walt Whitman sent his mother $20 per month, $15 for Edward's board (see Walt's January 29, 1873 and February 26, 1873 letters to Louisa). Elijah Bruce (b. 1808) and Ruth Bruce (b. 1812) were the parents of Grace Haight (b. 1839), and they were neighbors near Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's residence at 71 Portland Avenue (see United States Census, 1880, New York, Brooklyn, Kings; and Helen Price's October 13, 1872 letter to Louisa [Trent Collection, Duke University]). The 1871 Brooklyn City Directory lists Elijah Bruce, surveyor, at 90 Portland Avenue. Grace Haight's familiar and chatty February 7, 1872 letter to Louisa shows that they were quite close friends (Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress). This Adams is presumably a Brooklyn City Works Commissioner named Henry Adams, who is listed as a commissioner in a Brooklyn public call to property owners on the opening and altering of water lines on Lee Avenue ("Notice," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 5, 1872, 1). Adams is also named as a commissioner in another letter (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 29, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman). In early 1873, George Washington Whitman inspected pipe at Star's Foundry (Walt wrote "Starr's") in Camden, New Jersey. For a few months he had no work through the Brooklyn Water Works. George made multiple trips to Brooklyn in early 1873 to seek additional work inspecting pipe and secured another job (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 29, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman). George Washington Whitman's plan for a new house was delayed for only a few months. Between early March and mid-April 1873, George purchased a lot and began building, and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman provided regular updates on the house (see her March 1, 1873, March 17, 1873, and April 8, 1873 letters to Walt Whitman). The new house was on a corner lot at 431 Stevens Street in Camden, New Jersey (see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman [Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975], 31). Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's younger daughter, resided in Burlington, Vermont, with husband Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), a landscape painter. Louisa sent gift boxes to her daughter regularly. For a list of contents in another such box, see Louisa's January 19, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman. For her preparation of gift boxes, which Sherry Ceniza has designated "care packages" and compared to Walt's poetry, see Walt Whitman and 19th-Century Women Reformers (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1998), 10–12. The crossbar that was intended for the first letter "t" is written over the "ll" pair, so the word "telling" on a letter-by-letter basis looks more like "letting." Based on context, the intended word is telling. Both Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman (1833–1890) and his wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman (1836–1873) wrote in November to urge Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to visit St. Louis (see Jeff's November 10, 1872 letter to Louisa in Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 146; and Mattie's November 15, 1872 letter in Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 88). Neither letter mentions the $25 money order that Jeff had sent. Jeff, a civil engineer, had relocated to St. Louis in 1867 to serve as Superintendent of Water Works and would become a nationally recognized name. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)." The picture of Walt Whitman that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had beside her was probably G. Frank Pearsall's September 1872 photograph (see Gallery of Images), which later served as the frontispiece for Two Rivulets (1876). When Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and son Edward began living with George Washington and Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman, Walt Whitman sent his mother $20 per month, $15 for Edward's board (see Walt's January 29, 1873 and February 26, 1873 letters to Louisa). George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the sixth child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and ten years Walt Whitman's junior. George enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 and remained on active duty until the end of the Civil War. He was wounded in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and was taken prisoner during the Battle of Poplar Grove (September 1864). After the war, George returned to Brooklyn and began building houses on speculation, with a partner named Smith and later a mason named French. George also took a position as inspector of pipes in Brooklyn and Camden. He married Louisa Orr Haslam in spring 1871, and they moved to 722 Stevens Street in Camden, where he was employed inspecting pipe at foundry sites for Joseph Phineas Davis, Moses Lane, and on periodic contracts for the Brooklyn Water Works. For more information on George, see "Whitman, George Washington." For Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman's impending departure to Philadelphia, see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 17, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman. Walt Whitman's March 23?, 1873 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant. Edwin Haviland Miller, who dated this letter January 20, 1873, dated no lost letter January 19, 1873 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:363; 2:370). This letter dates to March 26–28, 1873. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman provided no date in her hand, and Edwin Haviland Miller dated the letter January 20, 1873 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:370). Miller's date is consistent with Louisa's and son Edward's residence in Camden, New Jersey, at the home of George Washington Whitman and wife Louisa Orr Haslam "Lou" Whitman, but Miller's date is incorrect. This letter dates to late March 1873, just after Lou returned from an extended trip to Philadelphia. For her daughter-in-law's impending departure, see Louisa's March 17, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman. Two matters in this letter support a date of composition during the week of Lou's return. According to this letter, Louisa's daughter-in-law has been "gone since last saturday week." Also, Louisa had received a Tuesday letter from Walt. The date of her most recently received letter can be inferred by eliminating Walt's March 29–[30], 1873 letter, which ended a week-long hiatus in letters from him (see Louisa's March 29, 1873 letter to Walt). The most reasonable surmise, then, is that this letter dates to late in the last full week of March and precedes Louisa's March 29–30, 1873 letter to her son. The Tuesday letter from Walt (not extant) dates to March 23, 1873. If Lou's mid-March trip to Philadelphia ended approximately March 25 and a letter from Walt was received on Tuesday (March 25), this letter dates to between March 26 and March 28, 1873. The Brooklyn Water Board was reorganized in April 1869 with four appointed commissioners, two Republicans and two Democrats (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's April 7, 1869 letter to Walt Whitman). The Water Works employed a large work force to pave streets and install water and sewage lines. The Democrat-leaning Brooklyn paper had reported a recent set of layoffs and relished the prospect that many politically active Republicans among those removed from their position could be easily replaced by Democrats. The paper published an appeal by the "Sub-Committee of the Committee Appointed by the Democratic General Committee" to the Water Board for a list of Republican employees who could be replaced by Democrats. William A. Fowler, president of Water Board, rejected the appeal ("The City Hall Today," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 1, 1870, 4). Walt Whitman cut his thumb in late April or early May 1870, and it became infected. He referred to the injury in two letters from Brooklyn, a May 11, 1870 letter to Walbridge A. Field and a second May 11, 1870 letter to William D. O'Connor. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman inquired about or expressed concern for his thumb in this and five other letters from May or June to July 1870: May 17? to June 11?, 1870, June 1, 1870, June 22, 1870, June 29, 1870, and July 20, 1870.This letter dates to June 8, 1870. The date June 8 is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand. Richard Maurice Bucke dated the letter to the year 1869. Bucke's hurried year on the letter's surface resembles "1864," but he intended 1869. Edwin Haviland Miller dated a letter from Louisa to June 8, 1870, though he assigned the June 8 letter to both the Trent Collection (Duke) and the Library of Congress (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:362; 2:368). Ted Genoways accepted Miller's assignment of the letter to the Trent Collection (Correspondence, [1961–2004], 7:136). If Miller referred both times to the same letter but assigned it inadvertently to the Trent Collection in his Check List of Lost Letters (2:362), his date for this Feinberg Collection letter is correct.
Louisa inquired about Walt Whitman's injured thumb, and Walt suffered a serious thumb infection in spring and summer 1870. She also inquired about his thumb in five other letters. Louisa's letter also refers to George Washington Whitman's return to Brooklyn on June 3 as the previous Friday, and June 3 fell on Friday in 1870. George's departure for and return from Brooklyn on Friday are consistent with her June 1, 1870 letter to Walt, though then she had expected George to return to Brooklyn on Saturday (June 4). The actions of the Brooklyn Water Board and Louisa's concern that George could be dismissed with Republican-leaning employees are consistent with the early-June 1870 actions of a Democratic Party subcommittee, which petitioned the Brooklyn Water Board to dismiss Republican employees from the Water Works. The year 1870 is therefore near certain.
Walt Whitman's March 13?, 1870 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:362). The end of this letter is in a swift and casual hand, and many letters are omitted from words. A damaging storm hit Brooklyn on March 16, 1870 (see "Long Island Items: Effects of the Storm To-Day on Long Island," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 17, 1870, 14). Martha Mitchell Whitman arrived in St. Louis on March 16, 1870 (see Thomas Jefferson Whitman's March 18, 1870 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 143). Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), known as "Jeff," was Walt Whitman's favorite brother. Jeff in 1867 became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis and would become a nationally recognized name in civil engineering. Jeff departed St. Louis with his wife, Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, in mid-February 1870 but spent time in Pittsburgh before rejoining his wife in Brooklyn. Jeff departed Brooklyn to return to St. Louis on February 26 (see Mattie's February 27, 1870 letter to Walt Whitman (Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 68). For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)." Walt Whitman visited Louisa Van Velsor Whitman in Camden, New Jersey, at the end of August, shortly after her move. See his August 22–23, 1872 letter to Louisa. The article that Louisa Van Velsor Whitman read on the Shakers, presumably in a July 1872 issue of the New York Sun, has not been identified. The Shakers, the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Coming, originated in mid-eighteenth century England by separating from the Quakers. The movement was concentrated in New England states, and the Shakers practiced communal worship and emphasized communal property ownership. The Shakers practiced formal equality between male and female members. The movement reached a peak membership of six thousand in the late 1840s, and it thereafter went into gradual decline (Lawrence Foster, "Shakers," Encyclopedia of Religions [Detroit: Macmillan Reference, 2005]). George "Georgy" Whitman was the younger son of Walt Whitman's deceased brother Andrew Jackson Whitman (1827–1863) and his wife Nancy McClure. Though the Whitmans as early as spring 1868 sought actively to remove Nancy McClure's children from her care and place them in an orphan asylum, Nancy first indicated her willingness to release Georgy into their care in late 1871 (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's October 23, 1871 letter to Walt). Georgy's older brother Jimmy was placed into the care of George Washington Whitman and wife Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman for a time, but this letter seems to indicate that Georgy still remained with his mother. The cause of his death is not known, but Georgy Whitman was killed in October 1872 (see Manahatta Whitman's October 26, 1872 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). James "Jimmy" Whitman was the older son of Walt Whitman's deceased brother Andrew Jackson Whitman (1827–1863) and his wife Nancy McClure. Nancy released her son Jimmy to the care of George Washington Whitman and Louisa Orr in late 1871 (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's October 23, 1871 letter to Walt). For Andrew's wife and children, see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 12–14. It is not known what Walt Whitman sent to the office of the New York Herald (1840–1920) in late July or early August 1872. The newspaper had recently published a poem by Whitman for the first time, "As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free." For more on James Gordon Bennett's New York Herald and the many poems by Whitman that were published in the paper, see "The New York Herald." The phrase "slate to newmans" is unclear. Perhaps the delivery service had a regular pickup that included a nearby grocery, John Newman at 381 Myrtle (Brooklyn Directory [1870]). Walt Whitman probably departed Brooklyn on July 23 or 24, 1872. Upon requesting a two-week extension of his summer leave, he planned to return to the office of the attorney general on July 25, 1872 (see his July 9, 1872 letter to Webster Elmes). Walt Whitman's July 30 or August 6, 1872 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:362).This letter dates to either July 31 or August 7, 1872. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter Wednesday, and the marking in the upper right margin of the first page may be the time of the day, "abt 6." That mark, however, is unreliable because it is illegible. Edwin Haviland Miller did not note this summer 1872 letter (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:367).
When requesting a two-week extension of his summer leave, Walt Whitman planned to return to the office of the attorney general on July 25, 1872 (see his July 9, 1872 letter to Webster Elmes). According to Louisa's letter, a packet service came to gather Walt's trunk just after he departed for Washington, D.C. However, Louisa at the close of the letter seems to expect that Walt would visit soon. He planned to visit on August 31, 1872 (see his August 22–23, 1872 letter to Louisa). If Walt returned to Washington as planned on July 25, this letter probably dates to the following Wednesday, July 31, 1872. But since Louisa expected Walt to visit again shortly after her arrival in Camden, this letter may date a week later, to August 7, 1872.
For Joseph Phineas Davis's work with Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman in St. Louis, see Jeff's May 23, 1867, January 21, 1869, and March 25, 1869 letters to Walt Whitman. Davis took a degree in civil engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1856 and then helped build the Brooklyn Water Works until 1861. He was a topographical engineer in Peru from 1861 to 1865, after which he returned to Brooklyn. Davis eventually became city engineer of Boston (1871–1880) and later served as chief engineer of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (1880–1908). At the time of this visit to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, Joseph Phineas Davis (1837–1917) was on his way to Lowell, Massachusetts, where he would serve as an engineer. Davis, a lifelong friend of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, shared the Pacific Street house with Louisa, her son Edward, and Jeff Whitman's family before Jeff departed for St. Louis. Davis also served briefly as the chief engineer for Prospect Park in Brooklyn (see Louisa's May 31, 1866 letter to Walt Whitman). After he departed St. Louis, Davis stopped at least three times to visit Louisa when he traveled through Brooklyn (also see Louisa's January 19, 1869 and June 22, 1870 letters to Walt). During her spring 1870 trip east, Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman intended to travel from Brooklyn to Washington, D.C., to visit Walt Whitman and her friends Julius Mason, his wife Mary, and probably Julius's sister Irene. Mattie planned to stay with William D. and Ellen M. O'Connor while in Washington. See her March 1, 1870 letter to Walt Whitman (Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 69–70; 69, n. 4). Anna Van Wycke (or "Van Wyck") had boarded with the Whitmans in Brooklyn, and the Van Wycke family farm was near Colyer farm, which had belonged to Jesse Whitman, Walt Whitman's paternal grandfather. See Bertha H. Funnel, Whitman on Long Island (Port Washington, New York: Kennikat Press, 1971), 78.Moses Lane (1823–1882), who served as chief engineer of the Brooklyn Water Works from 1862 to 1869, was one of the most generous contributors to Walt Whitman's hospital work (see Lane's May 27, 1863 letter to Whitman), and he promoted both Thomas Jefferson Whitman's career as an engineer and George Washington Whitman's work as a pipe inspector. Lane married Marinda Ingalls (1829–) in 1852, and they had four children (United States Census, 1880, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; "Moses Lane," Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers [February 1882], 58).
James P. Kirkwood (1807?–1877), who also contributed to Walt Whitman's hospital work, designed the Brooklyn Water Works, consulted on the design of the St. Louis Water Works, and served as the second president of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Sarah E. Richards (1817–) was the maiden name of his second wife ("Obituary. James P. Kirkwood," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 24, 1877, 4; United States Census, 1870, New York, Brooklyn Ward 3, Kings).
Mrs. Black was a neighbor to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. After Louisa moved to Camden, New Jersey, Mrs. Black complained that Helen Price no longer visited her: "tell Helen she might come to Brooklyn and see me now that Mrs. Whitman has moved away I am just as good as she is" (see Helen's November 24, 1872 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman [Trent Collection, Duke University]). Louisa also mentioned Mrs. Black in her March 11, 1868, March 13, 20, or 27?, 1868, and June 15 or 16, 1868 letters to Walt Whitman. Helen Price was the daughter of Abby and Edmund Price. Abby Price and her family, especially her daughter Helen, were friends with Walt Whitman and his mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Abby H. Price (1814–1878) was active in various social-reform movements. Price's husband, Edmund, operated a pickle factory in Brooklyn, and the couple had four children—Arthur, Helen, Emily, and Henry (who died in 1852, at 2 years of age). In 1860, the Price family began to save Walt's letters. Helen's reminiscences of Whitman were included in Richard Maurice Bucke's biography, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), and she printed for the first time some of Whitman's letters to her mother ("Letters of Walt Whitman to his Mother and an Old Friend," Putnam's Monthly 5 [1908], 163–169). Walt had not visited Brooklyn, but Louisa Van Velsor Whitman had permitted her daughter-in-law Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's letters to Walt to substitute for her own: "Mother says she will not write this week" (see Mattie's March 1, 1870 to Walt Whitman, Mattie, 69). Louisa presumably allowed Mattie Whitman's promised letter the following week to also serve (Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 70).This letter dates to March 16, 1870. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter "16" in her own hand, and Edwin Haviland Miller assigned the date December? 16, 1868 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:366). Miller probably dated this letter according to Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's December 1868 visit to Brooklyn. But Miller's date is too early: Mattie also arrived in Brooklyn during February 1870 and departed on March 14, 1870, a Monday. This letter is associated with Mattie's early 1870 visit to Brooklyn.
Mattie departed from her month-long visit to Brooklyn on March 14, 1870, and her daughters Manahatta and Jessie Louisa had not accompanied her on the trip (see Louisa's February 23, 1870 letter to Walt Whitman). The date of Mattie's departure from Brooklyn and her expected arrival in St. Louis matches Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman's March 18, 1870 letter to Louisa (Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 143). Jeff returned to St. Louis on February 26, 1870 while Mattie remained in Brooklyn (see Mattie's February 27, 1870 letter to Walt in Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 68). During her trip, Mattie planned also to visit Washington, D.C., and to stay with William D. and Ellen M. O'Connor, but those plans were scuttled (see Mattie's March 1, 1870 letter to Walt Whitman [Waldron, 69–70]). This letter from Louisa indicates that Mattie will not travel to Washington, and Louisa asked Walt to thank the O'Connors on Mattie's behalf. Joseph Phineas Davis has also visited Louisa in Brooklyn, and his visit is consistent with his recent departure from St. Louis to become an engineer in Lowell, Massachusetts (see Mattie's February 27, 1870 letter to Walt [Waldron, 68–69]). Finally, the damaging storm that Louisa noted at the close of the letter was reported in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle just days after Mattie's departure for St. Louis (see Louisa's March 23, 1870 letter to Walt). This letter is consistent with Mattie's March 14, 1870 departure from Brooklyn after an extended visit, with her cancellation of a planned trip to Washington and a stay with the O'Connors, with Davis's visit to Brooklyn on his way to Lowell, and with the date of a severe storm, so it dates March 16, 1870.
Pieces of this letter are held in two repositories. The portion of the letter in the Yale Collection of American Letter is incomplete and lacks a closing. The remainder of the letter was discovered in January 2012 by Kenneth M. Price and Brett Barney, in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection (Library of Congress). The portion in the Feinberg Collection lacks a date and salutation but has a closing. Louisa's references to Mattie's expected arrival in St. Louis and to a "terrible storm" confirm that the newly discovered Feinberg leaf is the remainder of Louisa's March 16, 1870 letter in the Yale Collection.
Louisa Van Velsor Whitman canceled the word "her" before "it." See Justin McCarthy, Lady Judith: A Tale of Two Continents (New York: Sheldon, 1871). As early as December 1867, the family of Nancy McClure, her brother Edward and his wife Jane McClure, enlisted the assistance of the Whitmans to have Nancy's children removed from her care (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's December 15, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman). In spring 1868, Louisa asked Walt to write Andrew Jackson Whitman's friend James Cornwell, a judge in City Hall, about placing the children in an orphan asylum (see Louisa's May? 1868 and her June 25, 1868 letters to Walt). Nothing became of that effort, but Andrew, Jr., the child born the spring following Andrew's death in 1863, was run over by a brewery wagon in September 1868 (see Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman [New York: Macmillan, 1955], 397–398). December 1871 seemed to mark a turning point in Nancy McClure's attitude toward keeping the children in her care. Jimmy, Nancy's eldest son, lived for a time with George Washington Whitman and Louisa Orr Whitman in 1872 (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's July 31 or August 7, 1872 letter to Walt). Though the cause of Jimmy's younger brother Georgy's death is not known, he was killed in October 1872 (see Manahatta Whitman's October 26, 1872 letter to Louisa [Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress]). James "Jimmy" Whitman was the oldest son of Andrew Jackson Whitman (1827–1863), Walt Whitman's brother, and Andrew's widow Nancy McClure. Jimmy's birthday is not known, but he was a young boy when his father Andrew died in December 1863. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman provided an extended description of Jimmy when he was in the care of George Washington Whitman and Louisa Orr Whitman in 1872 (see her July 31 or August 7, 1872 letter to Walt). Abby Price's October? 1871 letter to Walt Whitman is not known (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977], 2:369). Abby Price's "old complaint" is asthma (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's January 17, 1867 letter to Walt). For Walt Whitman's relationship with Abby Price (1814–1878) and family, see Sherry Ceniza, Walt Whitman and 19th-Century Women Reformers (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1998), 45–95. The word "and" is the last word on the first page and is repeated as the first word on the second page. The St. Nicholas Hotel on Broadway was one of New York City's premiere hotels in the 1870s and was a favorite among the "flashily-dressed, loud-voiced, and self-asserting" people (James D. McCabe, Lights and Shadows of New York Life: or, the Sights and Sensations of the Great City [Philadelphia: National Publishing, 1872], 306). The Van Nostrands inherited wealth after the death of Ansel's mother Fanny Van Nostrand in March 1868 (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's March 24, 1868 letter to Walt Whitman), and Louisa hinted at their propensity toward lavish display after they received the inheritance (see her October 19, 1869 letter to Walt). Mary Isadore "Minnie" Van Nostrand (1851–1938) was the daughter of Mary Elizabeth (Whitman) Van Nostrand (1821–1899), Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's elder daughter, and Mary's husband Ansel Van Nostrand. Minnie married Leander Jay Young (1846–1937) on October 18, 1871 (see Gertrude A. Barber, compiler, "Marriages of Suffolk County, N.Y. Taken from the 'Republican Watchman': A Newspaper Published at Greenport, N.Y. Years 1871, 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1876," [1950], 1:3, http://longislandgenealogy.com/MarriagesofSuffolk.pdf). For more on the Van Nostrand family, see Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 10–11.Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman described their choice to stay and fix up their current residence after Jeff Whitman's return from his trip east: "I suppose Jeff told you that we were going to move but after he came back we were out about a week looking for a house and we found we couldn't find any as good as the one we are in for the same rent so we went to work and fixed this one and what with Plumbers, Carpenters, Chimney-sweeps, painters, and house cleaners I have had my hands full but we are nicely fixed now" (Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1971], 72).
Mattie and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In 1868, Mattie and her daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. For more on Mattie, see Waldron, Mattie, 1–26.
Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman (1833–1890) had recently returned to St. Louis after a visit to Brooklyn and his brother George Washington Whitman in Camden (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's September 15–26, 1871 letter to Walt Whitman). Thomas Jefferson Whitman's mid-October 1871 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant, but the report on his housing situation matches his wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's October 22, 1871 letter to Louisa (see following note).
Jeff Whitman was Walt Whitman's favorite brother. As a civil engineer, Jeff eventually became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis and a nationally recognized name. For more on Jeff, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)."
This letter dates to October 23, 1871. Because the date Monday is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, Edwin Haviland Miller dated the letter to January 1, 1872 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:369). Miller's date is incorrect because the letter refers to the marriage of Mary Isadore "Minnie" Van Nostrand (Louisa's granddaughter, the youngest child of Mary Van Nostrand) as having taken place on the Wednesday preceding Minnie's Saturday visit. Minnie married Leander Jay Young on October 18, 1871. The Saturday that followed Minnie's October 18 (Wednesday) marriage is October 21, so this letter, written the following Monday, dates to October 23, 1871. The high temperatures in Brooklyn on July 30 and July 31, 1872, were 89°F (31.7°C) and 87°F (30.5°C). The high temperatures on August 6 and August 7, 1872, were 86°F (30°C) and 81.5°F (27.5°C). See "Heat Record," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 30, 1872, July 31, 1872, August 6, 1872, August 7, 1872. This letter dates to June 20, 1867. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter "Thursday" and explained to Walt that she expected to move from the 840 Pacific Street home on the "last of June." Since she directed Walt to send "next weeks letter" to the same address, this letter must date at least one week before her move at the end of June 1867. Richard Maurice Bucke assigned the date June 20, 1867, and June 20 fell on a Thursday, the day of the week in her hand, in 1867. Edwin Haviland Miller also dated a letter from Louisa to Walt Whitman to June 20, 1867 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:378). The letter is consistent with Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman's expected departure from the Pacific Street house and with the Thursday that preceded the end-of-June move, so the date assigned by Bucke and Miller is correct. Woodbridge and Perth Amboy are municipalities in the northeast corner of New Jersey, across from Staten Island, New York. The machine is a Singer Sewing Machine. For Martha Mitchell Whitman's contract sewing, see Robert Roper, Now the Drum of War: Walt Whitman and His Brothers in the Civil War (New York: Walter and Company, 2008), 92–93. The word from context is almost certainly "is." Mrs. Beecher is Eunice White Beecher, the wife of Henry Ward Beecher, a Congregational clergyman who accepted the pastorate of the Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, in 1847. Debby Applegate provides a brief profile of the minister's wife (The Most Famous Man in America [New York: Doubleday, 1996], 82, 317). For a time Walt Whitman lived with William D. and Ellen M. O'Connor, who, with Charles Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the early Washington years. William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of the pro-Whitman pamphlet "The Good Gray Poet" in 1866 (a digital version of the pamphlet is available at "The Good Gray Poet: A Vindication"). Ellen "Nelly" O'Connor, William's wife, had a close personal relationship with Whitman. The correspondence between Walt Whitman and Ellen is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence with William. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)." The postscript echoes Walt Whitman's most recent letter. He sympathized with his mother's unsettled housing situation and sought to extend reassurance: "about domestic matters—I hardly know what to say at present"; "But, Mother, you must not worry about it—it will be arranged some way—"; and "try to take things coolly" (see his April 30, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman). DeKalb Avenue passed next to Fort Greene, near the previous Whitman home on Portland Avenue. A Frances G. Turner, listed as a builder in the 1867 Brooklyn Directory, was located at 120 Portland Avenue. No person named Turner is listed in the directory as an agent. A Turner family may have been familiar to the Whitman family because Louisa Van Velsor Whitman also noted the death of a Margaret Turner, a long-time Brooklyn resident at 120 Portland Avenue, which is near the former Whitman home on Fort Greene (see Louisa's September 23, 1869 letter to Walt). Tompkins and Layette Avenue both have the same names today. The area that George Washington Whitman and his partner Smith visited was in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood near present-day Herbert Von King Park, which was known in 1868 as Tompkins Square. The many houses that are described in this letter, which George Washington Whitman and his partner Smith visited, could expand their speculative housing business and provide immediate housing for Louisa and son Edward. Davis served as the chief engineer for Prospect Park, near the Pacific Street house in Brooklyn (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's May 31, 1866 letter to Walt Whitman). Joseph P. Davis's brother W. S. Davis, an attorney, lived in Worcester, Massachusetts (see Thomas Jefferson Whitman's September 24, 1863 letter to Walt). Eunice White Beecher was the wife of Henry Ward Beecher, the Congregational clergyman who accepted the pastorate of the Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, in 1847. Debby Applegate provides a profile of the minister's wife (The Most Famous Man in America [New York: Doubleday, 1996], 82, 317). Edward Whitman attended Beecher's Plymouth church regularly (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's October 26, 1863 letter to Walt Whitman). The Bullards were probably relatives of Eunice Beecher, who is said in this letter to be "responcible for" the payment of $100. Eunice Beecher's last name was Bullard before her marriage (Applegate, 82). "Mr Bullard" was a member of the family moving into the 840 Pacific Street house after Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman departed from it. Because the Bullards wanted Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Edward to vacate also, Jeff was annoyed: "It seems to me d—m mean that they manage to want the whole of that big house It looks more like being a little ugly than anything else" (see Jeff's May 23, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman). Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman departed for St. Louis on May 6, 1867. Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman sold household belongings in preparation for her mid-June departure to Towanda, Pennsylvania, where she and daughters Manahatta and Jessie Louisa resided temporarily with the Gordon F. Mason family. See Jeff Whitman's August 2, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman (Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 123, n. 5). Walt Whitman arrived in Brooklyn on May 4, 1867, and he found his brother George Washington Whitman seriously ill with "malignant erysipelas, with great swelling, sore & for a while complete blindness, now partially relieved" (see Walt Whitman's May 5, 1867 letter to William D. O'Connor). Richard Maurice Bucke dated this letter to letter May 3, 1867, and Edwin Haviland Miller dated it to letter May 2, 1867 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:328, n. 73; 1:378). The postscript echoes Walt Whitman's April 30, 1867 letter, so the letter dates to early May 1867. Because the day of the week, Thursday, is in Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's hand, Miller is correct. The letter dates to May 2, 1867. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's transcription is near verbatim: "Who is there in Brooklyn who doesn't know Walt. Whitman? Rough and ready, kind and considerate, generous and good, he was ever a friend in need, which is, after all, the only friend indeed. Walt is now in Washington, a volunteer nurse, going from hospital to hospital, and doing good every minute of his life. We hear of him at the bedside of the sick, the pallet of the wounded, the cot of the dying, and the pestilential ward. He writes letters home for disabled men, bathes the feverish brow of half-crazed soldiers, refreshes the parched lips of neglected sufferers, and attends with fidelity and tact to the thousand and one necessities of those who approach the gate of death. Surely such as he will find their reward here and hereafter" ("Personal," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 3, 1863, 3). Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and his mother Louisa Van Velsor Whitman at first thought Brooklyn physician Edward Ruggles (1817?–1867), a close friend of the Whitman family, wrote the sketch of Walt Whitman. However, Jeff had several talks with Ruggles about placing his brother Jesse Whitman in an asylum in December, and he did not mention Ruggles's authorship in his next letter to Walt (see Jeff's December 28, 1863 letter to Walt). Walt suspected that the sketch was written by Joseph Hayward, Jr. (1833–1890), a city editor from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle who also had served as a war correspondent (see Walt's December 15, 1863 letter to Louisa). Andrew Jackson Whitman (1827–1863) was Walter Whitman, Sr., and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's son, and Walt's younger brother. He died on December 4, 1863. The brief sketch of Walt Whitman had appeared in the newspaper the previous day ("Personal," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 3, 1863, 3). Louisa's account of Andrew's death appears in her December 4–5, 1863 letter to Walt. For more on Andrew, see Martin G. Murray, "Bunkum Did Go Sogering," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 10:3 (1993), 142–148. The "little peece" was a brief newspaper sketch of Walt Whitman in Washington ("Personal," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 3, 1863, 3).This letter likely dates to December 18 or 19, 1863. It is possible, though unlikely, that it dates to as late as December 24, 1863.
This brief letter from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to Walt Whitman is inscribed in the margins of George Washington Whitman's December 9, 1863 letter from Camp Pittman, Kentucky. Louisa received the letter from George on the same day that she received Walt's December 15, 1863 letter, and she planned to forward George's letter after Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman had read it. Jeff probably read George's letter shortly after his return from the surveying trip that took him to Springfield, Massachusetts. Jeff's return from that surveying trip is estimated at December 18 or 19, 1863 because Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman noted that Jeff had visited the home of his sister-in-law Nancy McClure Whitman (his brother Andrew Jackson Whitman's widow) on December 19 or 20, 1863 (see Jeff's December 15, 1863 letter to Walt; and see Mattie's December 21, 1863 letter to Louisa in Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1971], 34–35).
Jeff in his late-December letter to Walt had yet to acquire the brief sketch of Walt from an article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, which is the subject of Louisa's note on George's letter (see Jeff's December 28, 1863 letter to Walt). The more probable case is that Jeff was so busy that he was unable to write Walt the letter about acquiring a copy of the sketch in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and Louisa took it upon herself to take care of the matter and forward George's letter after Jeff read it, probably on December 19 or 20, 1863. The less probable case is that Jeff's apology at month's end for not acquiring copies of the sketch could indicate that Louisa had continued to delay forwarding George's letter and had waited perhaps another week, until December 24 or 25, 1863. Based on Louisa's December 25, 1863 letter to Walt, which mentions neither George nor the Brooklyn Daily Eagle sketch, the matter of forwarding George's letter and the sketch to Walt were unlikely to remain matters of pressing concern to her, though Jeff had still to complete the task of acquiring copies.
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle printed this brief note: "Walt Whitman is about to answer [Thomas] Carlyle's last anti-democratic screed" ("Topics of To-Day," October 29, 1867, 2). The book may be William D. O'Connor's The Ghost (New York: G.P. Putnam, 1867). For a time Walt Whitman lived with William D. and Ellen M. "Nelly" O'Connor, who, with Charles Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the Washington years. William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of the pro-Whitman pamphlet "The Good Gray Poet" in 1866. Nelly O'Connor had a close personal relationship with Whitman, and the correspondence between Walt and Nelly is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence with William. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman hoped that the prescribed medicine would improve her appetite (see her October 22, 1867 letter to Walt Whitman). The names of the "families up stairs" have not been identified. Walt Whitman's October 29?, 1867 letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman is not extant. Walt Whitman's October 15?, 1867 letter with ten dollars enclosed went missing (see Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's October 22, 1867 letter to Walt). This letter dates to October 30, 1867. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated the letter only "wensday," and Richard Maurice Bucke later assigned the date of October 30, 1867. Edwin Haviland Miller agreed with Bucke's date (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:378). October 30 fell on a Wednesday in 1867. The letter's concerns are consistent with Louisa's October 22, 1867 and November 19, 1867 letters to Walt Whitman, and a brief notice on Walt Whitman in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle also corresponds to the date. Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist (1857–1914) was a painter, and the son of Anne and Alexander Gilchrist. He had met Whitman while living in United States with his mother and siblings from 1876 to 1879 and continued to write to Whitman after returning to London. He was also the editor of Anne Gilchrist, her life and writings (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1887.) The Examiner was a weekly paper founded in London by Leigh and John Hunt in 1808. It published leading writers of the day, such as John Keats, Charles Dickens and Lord Byron. During its several-decade run, it repeatedly changed ownership and political allegiance. The paper ceased publication in 1886. Roden Noel (1834–1894) was an English poet. Noel came from an aristocratic English family, and in his youth developed socialist sympathies. He was a close friend of the poet and influential critic Robert Buchanan, and it may have been through Buchanan that Noel first encountered Leaves of Grass in 1871 (the same year that he first wrote to Whitman). In 1871, Noel published an essay entitled "A Study of Walt Whitman" in The Dark Blue (Harold Blodgett, Walt Whitman in England [Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1934], 147–149). Symonds is likely referring to his Studies of the Greek Poets (London: Smith, Elder, 1876, 2 vols.) and Renaissance in Italy (London: Smith, Elder, 1886, 7 vols.) Susan M. Lamb Stafford (1833–1910) was the mother of Harry Stafford (1858–1918), who, in 1876, became a close friend of Whitman while working at the printing office of the Camden New Republic. Whitman regularly visited the Staffords at their family farm near Kirkwood, New Jersey. Whitman enjoyed the atmosphere and tranquility that the farm provided and would often stay for weeks at a time (see David G. Miller, "Stafford, George and Susan M.," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings [New York: Garland Publishing, 1998], 685). Susan M. Stafford (1833–1910) was Harry Stafford's (1858–1918) mother. Whitman regularly visited the Staffords at their family farm near Kirkwood, New Jersey. Whitman enjoyed the atmosphere and tranquility that the farm provided and would often stay for weeks at a time (see David G. Miller, "Stafford, George and Susan M.," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings [New York: Garland Publishing, 1998], 685). Susan (1833–1910) and George Stafford (1827–1892) were the parents of Whitman's young friend, Harry Stafford. Whitman often visited the family at their farm at Timber Creek in Laurel Springs (near Glendale), New Jersey, and was sometimes accompanied by Herbert Gilchrist; in the 1880s, the Staffords sold the farm and moved to nearby Glendale. For more, see David G. Miller, "Stafford, George and Susan M.," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Not much information is known about Thomas B. Freeman other than that he was a young man in whom Whitman took an interest. Freeman notes that he was "born the first year of the war," which would make him roughly 16 years old at the time of his first letter to Whitman. The poet mentioned sending Freeman material on several occasions (most likely a copy of Leaves of Grass, a newspaper piece by Whitman that appeared in the Philadelphia Times, and a copy of Drum-Taps). See Walt Whitman: Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White (New York: New York University Press, 1978), 1:32, 36, and 56. Whitman's Drum-Taps, a volume that consisted of fifty-three Civil War poems, was published in 1865. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln occurred while Drum-Taps was being printed, and Whitman promptly added the short poem "Hush'd be the Camps To-day," with a note about Lincoln's death to the final signature of the book. Whitman then decided to stop the printing and add a sequel to the book that would more fully take into account Lincoln's death. Copies of the volume were withdrawn so that the sequel could be added. Whitman hastily composed several poems, adding eighteen new poems to those that appeared in Drum-Taps, and all of these poems were published in a second edition Sequel to Drum-Taps (1865–1866). Later, these poems were folded into Leaves of Grass, and by the time the final arrangement of Leaves of Grass was printed in 1881, the "Drum-Taps" cluster that Whitman included in that volume contained forty-three poems. For more information on the printing of Drum-Taps (1865), see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, University of Iowa, 2005). For more on the poems of Drum-Taps and their arrangement in Leaves of Grass, see Huck Gutman, "Drum-Taps," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman is referring either to Drum-Taps (1865) or Sequel to Drum-Taps (1865–1866). Drum-Taps, a volume that consisted of fifty-three Civil War poems, was published in 1865. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln occurred while Drum-Taps was being printed, and Whitman promptly added the short poem "Hush'd be the Camps To-day," with a note about Lincoln's death to the final signature of the book. Whitman then decided to stop the printing and add a sequel to the book that would more fully take into account Lincoln's death. Copies of the volume were withdrawn so that the sequel could be added. Whitman hastily composed several poems, adding eighteen new poems to those that appeared in Drum-Taps, and all of these poems were published in a second edition Sequel to Drum-Taps (1865–1866). For more information on the printing of Drum-Taps (1865), see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). For more on the poems of Drum-Taps and their arrangement in Leaves of Grass, see Huck Gutman, "Drum Taps," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Kenningale Robert Cook (1845–1886) sought a contribution to the Dublin University Magazine, a journal he edited (Marion Meade, Madame Blavatsky: The Woman Behind the Myth [New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1980], 390). Cook was also the author of The Fathers of Jesus: A Study of the Lineage of the Christian Doctrine and Traditions, 2 vols. (London: K. Paul, Trench & Co., 1886). Cook first wrote to Whitman in February 1876, enclosing money for a copy of Whitman's complete poems. In that letter, Cook also notes that while he considered sending Whitman copies of his own poems, he decided against it as "they are very juvenile." Joseph C. Baldwin was a young sharecropper living in Elliottstown, Illinois, who Whitman likely met in Camden in 1873. Baldwin is discussed in Calamus Lovers: Walt Whitman's Working Class Camerados, ed. Charley Shively (San Francisco: Gay Sunshine Press, 1987), 122–135. William Minto (1845–1893) was a Scottish literary critic, editor and writer. He was the editor of The Examiner from 1874 to 1878. See Alexander Mackie's entry on Minto in Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900, ed. Sir Leslie Stephen & Sir Sidney Lee Lazarus, (London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885–1901, vol. 38). According to Roger W. Peattie, the writer Adams mentioned by Rossetti in this letter is Robert Dudley Adams (1829–1912). Adams was an Australian businessman, journalist and writer. See Philip Mennell's entry on him in Dictionary of Australasian Biography (London: Hutchinson, 1892). George William Foote (1850–1915) was a British republican, secularist, and journalist. He edited The Secularist from 1876 to 1877, together with George Jacob Holyoake. Charles Patrick O'Conor (1837–?) was an Irish poet, known as "the Irish peasant poet," who went to live in England during his youth. He published Songs of a Life: Wayside Chants; Fatherland (London: Kentish Mercury Office, 1875) and Wreaths of Fancy (London: John Vickers, 1870). See Catherine Reilly, Mid-Victorian Poetry 1860–1879: an Annotated Bibliography (London: Mansell, 2000), 345. Joseph B. Marvin, a friend and an admirer of Whitman's poetry, was from 1866 to 1867 the co-editor of the Radical. He was then appointed as a clerk in the Treasury Department in Washington, on behalf of which he took a trip to London in the late fall of 1875. On October 19, 1875, Whitman wrote a letter to William Michael Rossetti to announce a visit from Marvin. Rossetti gave a dinner for Marvin, which was attended by the following "good Whitmanites": Anne Gilchrist; Joseph Knight, editor of the London Sunday Times; Justin McCarthy, a novelist and writer for the London Daily News; Edmund Gosse; and Rossetti's father-in-law, Ford Madox Brown. John St. Loe Strachey (1860–1927) was a British journalist, and for a time was the editor of The Spectator. He was the second son of Sir Edward Strachey and Mary Isabella Symonds, sister of John Addington Symonds. William Gardner Barton (1851–1890) was a writer and naturalist whose writings were featured in the collection Songs and Saunterings (Salem, MA: The Salem Press Publishing & Printing Co., 1892). Barton wrote a letter to Whitman on November 12, 1876, requesting an autograph. The letter referenced here of July 29, 1877, has not been found. John Burroughs's Notes on Walt Whitman, as Poet and Person was first published in New York in 1867. The text was extensively revised and rewritten by Whitman. No additional information is available about Kate A. Evans. Edwin Haviland Miller calls her "a gushing admirer" (Walt Whitman: The Correspondence, [New York: New York University Press], 3:442). As is clear from the letter, Fred R. Guernsey was associated with the Boston Herald. In 1882 the newspaper supported Whitman against the Boston censors, and quoted Oscar Wilde's defense (Edwin Haviland Miller, Walt Whitman: The Correspondence, [New York: New York University Press], 3:283 n73). Here Burroughs is referring to the review of his Birds and Poets written by critic Henry Amos Blood (1836–1900), published in Library Table 3:7 (19 July 1877), 107-109, and titled "Essays on Rural Topics." In it, Blood criticized some of Burroughs's extreme claims for Whitman but also noted the poet's virtues of sublimity and use of chiaroscuro, with "mostly superb passages." Walt Whitman Storms (probably born in 1858; see the letter from Herman Storms to Walt Whitman, January 11, 1865) was the son of Herman Storms (1822–1898) and the nephew of George Storms (1829–1886), both New York drivers. 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). Augusta Webster (1837–1894) was a British poet, essayist, and translator, who published her first book of poetry (Blanche Lisle, and other Poems) under the pen name Cecil Home in 1860. For more, see Elizabeth Lee, "Webster, Augusta," in Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900 60:115–16. Dora Carpenter was one of the six sisters of Edward Carpenter. She committed suicide in 1912. Anna Tolman Smith (1840–1917) was an American writer and educator who wrote reports for the United States Office of Education for more than thirty-five years (American Association for the Advancement of Science, General Program of the Meeting [Washington: The Association, 1969] 40:77). She was the author of "Progress of Education for Women," which was published in the Annual Report of the Department of the Interior (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1871). See the letter from John Swinton to Whitman of September 24, 1877. See the letter from Annie Tolman Smith to Walt Whitman of September 24, 1877. Deborah Stafford (1860–1945) was the sister of Harry Stafford. She married Joseph Browning. See Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White (New York: New York University Press, 1978), 1:35. Deborah Stafford Browning (1860–1945) was Susan and George Stafford's daughter. Deborah Stafford (1860–1945) was the sister of Harry Stafford, a young man whom Whitman befriended in 1876 in Camden. She married Joseph Browning (d. 1931). See Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White (New York: New York University Press, 1978), 1:35. Debbie and Harry's parents, George and Susan Stafford, were tenant farmers at White Horse Farm near Kirkwood, New Jersey, where Whitman visited them on several occasions. For more on Whitman and the Staffords, see David G. Miller, "Stafford, George and Susan M." Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, ed., (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 685. Presumably, Heyde is here referring to General William Wirt Henry (1831–1915), a manufacturer and a colonel in the Union Army during the Civil War, who lived in Burlington, Vermont. J. I. Allen? Edward P. Cattell was a Timber Creek farmhand. Whitman and Cattell probably had a love relationship around 1876-1877. See Stafford, Harry L. (b. 1858) and Charley Shively (ed) Calamus Lovers: Walt Whitman's Working Class Camerados (San Francisco: Gay Sunshine Press, 1987) 144–146. George Stafford (1827–1892) was the father of Harry Stafford, a young man whom Whitman befriended in 1876 in Camden. Harry's parents, George and Susan Stafford, were tenant farmers at White Horse Farm near Kirkwood, New Jersey, where Whitman visited them on several occasions. For more on Whitman and the Staffords, see David G. Miller, "Stafford, George and Susan M.," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). George Stafford (1827–1892) was Harry Stafford's father. George Stafford (1827–1892) was Susan's husband. George (1827–1892) and Susan Stafford (1833–1910) were the parents of Harry Stafford, a young man whom Whitman befriended in 1876 in Camden. They were tenant farmers at White Horse Farm near Kirkwood, New Jersey, where Whitman visited them on several occasions. For more on Whitman and the Staffords, see David G. Miller, "Stafford, George and Susan M." Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, ed., (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 685. George Stafford (1827–1892) was Susan's husband and Harry's father. George Stafford (1827–1892) was the father of Harry Stafford, a young man that Whitman befriended in 1876 in Camden. George and his wife Susan were tenant farmers at White Horse Farm near Kirkwood, New Jersey, where Whitman visited them on several occasions. For more on Whitman and the Staffords, see David G. Miller, "Stafford, George and Susan M." Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, ed., (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 685. Presumably, Jo Baldwin (see n0822) In this letter, Bucke is talking about Man's Moral Nature (New York: G. P. Putnam's sons, 1879), his first book on his theory of evolving consciousness. The book was dedicated "to the man of all men past and present that I have known who has the most exalted moral nature—Walt Whitman." Elmer E. Stafford (1861–1957) was Harry Stafford's cousin (see Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White [New York: New York University Press, 1978], 1:76 n232). Elmer E. Stafford (1861–1957) was a cousin of Harry Stafford, a young man who Whitman befriended in 1876 in Camden. Harry's parents, George and Susan Stafford, were tenant farmers at White Horse Farm near Kirkwood, New Jersey, where Whitman visited them on several occasions. For more on Whitman and the Staffords, see David G. Miller, "Stafford, George and Susan M." Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, ed., (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 685. Sydney Howard Vines (1849–1934) was a British botanist who taught at Oxford. He was among Edward Carpenter's circle of Whitman admirers in England. For more on this, see Ted Genoways, ed.,Whitman. The Correspondence. Volume VII (Iowa City: The University of Iowa Press, 2004) 51. John Townsend Trowbridge (1827–1916) was a novelist, poet, author of juvenile stories, and anti-slavery reformer. Though Trowbridge became familiar with Whitman's poetry in 1855, he did not meet Whitman until 1860, when the poet was in Boston overseeing the Thayer and Eldridge edition of Leaves of Grass. For several weeks in 1863, Trowbridge stayed with Whitman in Washington, D.C., along with John Burroughs and William D. O'Connor. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON, W.O. | 4 | JA 3 | 85 | (?); NEW YORK | JAN | 12; (?) | E | ALL; 85. The Book of Eden Sidney H. Morse (1832–1903) was a self-taught sculptor as well as a Unitarian minister and, from 1866 to 1872, editor of The Radical. He visited Whitman in Camden many times and made various busts of him. Whitman had commented on an earlier bust by Morse that it was "wretchedly bad." For more on this, see Ruth L. Bohan, Looking into Walt Whitman: American Art, 1850–1920 (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2006), 105–109. The Contributor's Club was an anonymous monthly column where short pieces by regular Atlantic Monthly contributors were collected. For more on this, see Philip B. Eppard and George Monteiro, A Guide to the Atlantic Monthly Contributor's Club (Boston: G.K. Hall, 1983.) J.A. Rose Rossetti is presumably referring to William Minto, editor of The Examiner in the late 1870s. For more on this, see n0825. Wesley Stafford was Harry Stafford's cousin. John Burroughs's Birds and Poets (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1877). General Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) was an American military officer who commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War. Blackwood's Magazine was a British magazine printed between 1817 and 1980. For more information, see David Finkelstein, The House of Blackwood: Author-Publisher Relations in the Victorian Age (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2002). John (Jack) M. Rogers was a Brooklyn driver with whom Whitman had a loving relationship. Whitman first met him in Brooklyn on September 21, 1870. For more on Rogers and his relationship with the poet, see Charley Shively, ed., Calamus Lovers: Walt Whitman's Working-Class Camerados (San Francisco: Gay Sunshine Press, 1987), 122–135. Richard Watson Gilder (1844–1909) was the assistant editor of Scribner's Monthly from 1870 to 1881 and editor of its successor, The Century, from 1881 until his death. Whitman had met Gilder for the first time in 1877 at John H. Johnston's (Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer [New York: New York University Press, 1955], 482). Whitman attended a reception and tea given by Gilder after William Cullen Bryant's funeral on June 14; see "A Poet's Recreation" in the New York Tribune, July 4, 1878. Whitman considered Gilder one of the "always sane men in the general madness" of "that New York art delirium" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, August 5, 1888). For more about Gilder, see Susan L. Roberson, "Gilder, Richard Watson (1844–1909)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Edmund Clarence Stedman (1833–1908) edited the Mountain County Herald at Winsted, Connecticut, for one year; wrote "Honest Abe of the West," presumably Lincoln's first campaign song; and served as correspondent of the New York World from 1860 to 1862. In 1862 and 1863 Stedman was in the Attorney General's office until he entered the firm of Samuel Hallett and Company in September 1863. In 1864, he opened his own brokerage office. He published many volumes of poems and compiled a number of anthologies, among which were Poets of America, 2 vols. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1885), and A Library of American Literature from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, 11 vols. (New York: C. L. Webster, 1889–90). Stedman, who Whitman met during the Civil War, was one of the few Pfaffians with whom Whitman remained friendly throughout his life. Stedman is also mentioned in Whitman's October 20, 1863, letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Whitman considered Gilder and Stedman two sane men "in that New York art delirium" (Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden, [Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1905–1953, 2:93.]) Scribner & co. is an American publishing house founded in 1846 by Charles Scribner I and Isaac D. Baker. In 1870 the Scribners organized a new firm, Scribner and Company. "Yours of the 7th from N.Y." Richard Watson Gilder (1844–1909) was the assistant editor of Scribner's Monthly from 1870 to 1881 and editor of its successor, The Century, from 1881 until his death. Whitman had met Gilder for the first time in 1877 at John H. Johnston's (Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer [New York: New York University Press, 1955], 482). Whitman attended a reception and tea given by Gilder after William Cullen Bryant's funeral on June 14; see "A Poet's Recreation" in the New York Tribune, July 4, 1878. Whitman considered Gilder one of the "always sane men in the general madness" of "that New York art delirium" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 9 vols., 2:93). Whitelaw Reid (1837–1912) was an American politician and ambassador (in France and Great Britain) and newspaper editor, as well as author of a history of Ohio in the Civil War (see his Ohio in the War; her statesmen, her generals, and soldiers [Cincinnati, Moore: Wistach & Baldwin, 1868]). Colonel Elliott Fitch Shepard (1833–?) was the organizer of the Fifty-first Regiment of New York volunteers during the Civil War. He practiced law following his military career and was organizer and president of the New York State Bar Association in 1876. Joel Benton (1832–1911) was an American poet and author of Emerson as a Poet (New York: M.L. Holbrook & Co., 1883) and other books. George William Curtis (1824–1892) was an American writer and public speaker. For more on this, see Ehrlich, Eugene and Gorton Carruth. The Oxford Illustrated Literary Guide to the United States. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1982, p. 71.) Fanny Van Nostrand was the third child of Mary and Ansel Van Nostrand, Walt Whitman's sister and brother-in-law. Greenport was a whaling village in Long Island where the Van Nostrand family lived. "Eddy and Hannah Jeff George and all" : Mary is here referring to her and Whitman's brothers and sisters. Louisa was the fourth child of Mary and Ansel Van Nostrand, and John was her husband. Van Doran Stafford (1864–1914) was one of Harry Stafford's brothers. Van Doran Stafford (1864–1914) was one of Harry Stafford's brothers. Van Doran Stafford (1864–1914) was one of Susan and George Stafford's sons. Van Doran Stafford (1864–1914) was one of Harry Stafford's brothers. Harry (1858–1918) was a close friend of Whitman's; the poet had befriended the young man in 1876 when Harry was working in a Camden printing office. George Parsons Lathrop (1851–1898) was an American poet and novelist. He was also the biographer of his father-in-law, Nathaniel Hawthorne. For more on him, see The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, ed. Rossiter Johnson and John Howard Brown (Boston: Biographical Society, 1904), 360. The Roberts Brothers were bookbinders and publishers in Boston. The firm began publishing around 1860. "O Captain! My Captain!" was one of Whitman's most popular poems, although it is atypical of his verse and style (the rhyme, meter, stanza and refrain are conventional, and the poem makes use of traditional metaphors). It first appeared in the Saturday Press on November 4, 1865. Sidney Lanier (1842–1881) was a Southern poet and musician who fought for the Confederacy and eventually became a professor at Johns Hopkins University. See his May 5, 1878, letter to Whitman. For more information about Lanier, see Lawrence I. Berkove, "Lanier, Sidney (1842–1881)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Bayard Taylor (1825–1878), translator of Goethe's Faust, journalist, and traveler, sent his "Picture of St. John" to Whitman on November 12, 1866. He commended Whitman's "remarkable powers of expression" and "deep and tender reverence for Man." His letter of December 2, 1866, was even more unreserved in its praise. Later, Taylor's response to Whitman would change dramatically. Taylor used his influence on the New York Tribune to turn it from a supporter of Whitman and his work to a hostile critic. In The Echo Club (2d ed., 1876 154–158, 168–169), Taylor burlesqued Whitman's poetry. William Sloane Kennedy lists him among Whitman's "Bitter and Relentless Foes and Villifiers"; see The Fight of a Book for the World (West Yarmouth, MA: The Stonecroft Press, 1926), 288. See also the letter from Walt Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman of January 1, 1867. Grace Gilchrist Frend (1859–1947) was one of Anne Gilchrist's four children and Herbert's sister. She became a contralto. She was the author of "Walt Whitman as I Remember Him" (Bookman 72 [July 1927], 203–205). Henry B. Cotterill was a schoolfellow of Edward Carpenter at Brighton College. After lecturing in pedagogy at Harrow School, he went on an exploration in Africa, around Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. (Carpenter recalls this in his My Days and Dreams, Being Autobiographical Notes [London: G. Allen & Unwin, 1916], 232–233). Cotterill was the author of various books about Ancient Greece, Medieval Italy, and Italian literature. He also carried out a translation of the complete Odyssey of Homer into English hexameters. Ursula North Burroughs (1836–1917) was John Burroughs's wife. Ursula and John were married on September 12, 1857. The couple maintained a small farm overlooking the Hudson River in West Park, Ulster County. They adopted a son, Julian, at two months of age. It was only later revealed that John himself was the biological father of Julian. Esopus is a town in Ulster County, New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River. Sandy Hook is a town along the New Jersey shore. Sorosis was a professional women's association created in 1868 by Jane Cunningham Croly, who established the group because women were usually shut out of membership in the organizations of many professions. The "slip" Whitman cut regards, according to scholar James Perlman, an attack on Whitman that the newspaper Tribunehad recently printed. See James Perlman, "An Unpublished Whitman Letter to John Burroughs" Walt Whitman Quarterly Review Vol. 3, n. 1, Summer 1985, p. 48. Burroughs is presumably referring to the article by Whitman entitled "A Poet's Recreation," which appeared in the New York Tribune on July 4, 1878 and most of which was reprinted in Specimen Days (see Prose Works, 1:329-330). The article was based on Whitman's observations of the New York surroundings in his trip of June–July 1878. Burroughs is here referring to his and his wife Ursula's son Julian. Mrs Whitman was Louisa Van Velsor, Walt Whitman's mother. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (1795–1873) married Walter Whitman, Sr., in 1816; together they had nine children, of whom Walt was the second. The close relationship between Louisa and her son Walt contributed to his liberal view of gender representation and his sense of comradeship. For more information on Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, see "Whitman, Louisa Van Velsor (1795–1873)." Colonel Whitman was George Whitman (1829–, Walt Whitman's brother. See "Whitman, Louisa Van Velsor (1795–1873)." Emily Sarah Tennyson (1813–1896) was born Emily Sarah Sellwood and had married Alfred Lord Tennyson on June 13, 1850. Lionel Tennyson (1854–1886) was the second and younger son of Alfred Lord Tennyson and Emily Sarah Tennyson. Frederick Locker-Lampson (1821–1895), an English poet, corresponded with Whitman in 1880. Locker-Lampson's daughter Eleanor married Lionel Tennyson, younger son of the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson. London Lyrics was Frederick Locker's collection of poems, published in 1857 by Chapman and Hall. The London The envelope for the letter bears the address: Walt Whitman | Camden City | [illegible] N.J. It is endorsed, in Whitman's hand: Aug 28 '78. Egg Harbor is a township in New Jersey. Montgomery Stafford (1862–1925) was one of Harry Stafford's brothers. "Mont" is Montgomery Stafford (1862–1925); he was the son of Susan Stafford and her husband George. He was the brother of Whitman's close friend Harry Stafford. "Gomery" is Montgomery Stafford (1862–1925), one of Susan Stafford's sons. Montgomery Stafford (1862–1925) was one of Harry Stafford's brothers. Whitman met Harry Stafford in 1876 and quickly became friends with the entire Stafford family. Mannahatta Whitman (1860–1886) was Walt Whitman's niece. She was the first daughter born to the poet's brother, Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman (1833–1890), and Jeff's wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman (1836–1873). The "Book on the war" was probably Whitman's Memoranda During the War. Six sections of this book first appeared as newspaper pieces in 1874, and then were collected and revised for the book publication in 1875. See Robert Leigh Davis, "Memoranda During the War [1875–1876]." A slightly misquoted line from Whitman's "A Poem of Joys." In the 1871 edition of Leaves of Grass the line reads: "O, while I live, to be the ruler of life—not a slave, / To meet life as a powerful conqueror, / No fumes—no ennui—no more complaints, or scornful criticisms." John Newton Johnson (1832–1904) was a colorful and eccentric self-styled philosopher from rural Alabama. There are about thirty letters from Johnson in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919 (Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), but unfortunately there are no replies extant, although Whitman wrote frequently for a period of approximately fifteen years. When Johnson wrote for the first time on August 13, 1874, he was forty-two, "gray as a rat," as he would say in another letter from September 13, 1874: a former Rebel soldier with an income between $300 and $400 annually, though before the war he had been "a slaveholding youthful 'patriarch.'" He informed Whitman in the August 13, 1874, letter that during the past summer he had bought Leaves of Grass and, after a momentary suspicion that the bookseller should be "hung for swindling," he discovered the mystery of Whitman's verse, and "I assure you I was soon 'cavorting' round and asserting that the $3 book was worth $50 if it could not be replaced, (Now Laugh)." He offered either to sell Whitman's poetry and turn over to him all profits or to lend him money. On October 7, 1874, after describing Guntersville, Alabama, a town near his farm from which he often mailed his letters to Whitman, he commented: "Orthodoxy flourishes with the usual lack of flowers or fruit." See also Charles N. Elliot, Walt Whitman as Man, Poet and Friend (Boston: R. G. Badger, 1915), 125–130. John Newton Johnson (1832–1904) was a colorful and eccentric self-styled philosopher from rural Alabama. There are about thirty letters from Johnson in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919 (Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), but unfortunately there are no replies extant, although Whitman wrote frequently for a period of approximately fifteen years. When Johnson wrote for the first time on August 13, 1874. He informed Whitman that during the past summer he had bought Leaves of Grass and, after a momentary suspicion that the bookseller should be "hung for swindling," he discovered the mystery of Whitman's verse, and "I assure you I was soon 'cavorting' round and asserting that the $3 book was worth $50 if it could not be replaced, (Now Laugh)." He offered either to sell Whitman's poetry and turn over to him all profits or to lend him money. On October 7, 1874, after describing Guntersville, Alabama, a town near his farm from which he often mailed his letters to Whitman, he commented: "Orthodoxy flourishes with the usual lack of flowers or fruit." See also Charles N. Elliot, Walt Whitman as Man, Poet and Friend (Boston: R. G. Badger, 1915), 125–130. Franklin B. Sanborn (1831–1917) was an abolitionist and a friend of John Brown. In 1860, when he was tried in Boston because of his refusal to testify before a committee of the U.S. Senate, Whitman was in the courtroom (Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer [New York: Macmillan, 1955], 242). He reviewed Drum-Taps in the Boston Commonwealth on February 24, 1866. He was editor of the Springfield Republican from 1868 to 1872, and was the author of books dealing with his friends Emerson, Thoreau, and Alcott. "A Visit to the Good Gray Poet" appeared without Sanborn's name in the Springfield Republican on April 19, 1876. For more on Sanborn, see Linda K. Walker, "Sanborn, Franklin Benjamin (Frank) (1831–1917)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). James Anderson Rose (1819–1890) was a solicitor and collector. William Michael Rosetti wrote to Lucy Rossetti on February 26, 1886: "Rose talked to me a goodish deal about his books. It seems he has a library of some 10,000 volumes, and has just had them catalogued at a cost of £100 or so...Rose says he is solicitor to the Globe and Morning Post, as well as the Standard (of which last I knew), and has even had something to do for the Daily News lately: he must I think have well-filled pockets" (James Perrin Warren, Walt Whitman's Language Experiment, [College Station, PA: Penn State Press, 1990], 130 n4). Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935) was a British chemist and metallurgist, and the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist. Along with his cousin, Sidney Gilchrist Thomas, he developed the Thomas-Gilchrist process of producing steel from phosphoric pig iron during the late 1870s. See Marion Walker Alcaro, Walt Whitman's Mrs. G: A Biography of Anne Gilchrist (Cranbury, N.J.: Associated University Presses, 1991), 252n28. Henry James (1843–1916) was an American-born writer and the author of such notable works as Daisy Miller (1879), The Portrait of a Lady (1881), The Bostonians (1886), and The Ambassadors (1903). James spent most of his adult life in Europe, becoming a British subject in 1915. William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of the grand and grandiloquent Whitman pamphlet The Good Gray Poet: A Vindication, published in 1866. For more on Whitman's relationship with O'Connor, see Deshae E. Lott, "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). At the time he met Whitman, Charles William Post (1854–1914) was a married traveling salesman from Springfield, Illinois. He sold agricultural implements for the B.D. Buford Company. Destined to become one of America's first multi-millionaires, this pioneer manufacturer, market researcher, and advertising innovator went on to invent and sell the country's first commericial coffee substitute, Postum, and to develop the first dry packaged cereals. The company he founded, Postum Cereals, survives today as Post Cereals. He is often credited as the originator of the prepared food industry. See Alice Lotvin Birney, "Whitman to C. W. Post: A Lost Letter Located," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 11 (Summer 1993), 30–31. C. H. Sholes was a shorthand reporter in Iowa. On Decoration Day, May 30, 1880, he published an article entitled "Ashes of Soldiers" in the Iowa State Register, commending Whitman for his service during the Civil War. See Ted Genoways, "'Ashes of Soldiers': Walt Whitman and C. H. Sholes, A New Letter and a Newspaper Article," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 18:4, 188–187. In a letter of March 18, 1880, Bucke proposed to Whitman that the bookseller I. I. Anderson advertise and sell Whitman's work in London, Ontario. Harold "Harry" Hugh Johnston was the son of Whitman's friends John H. and Amelia F. Johnston. Whitman often made long visits to the Johnstons in New York during the late 1870s, and he was very fond of Harry and the other Johnston children. For a picture of Whitman with Harry see the July 1878 photograph by William Kurtz. Izaak Walton was a seventeenth-century British writer, mainly known as the author of The Compleat Angler, first published in 1653. John Henry Ingram (1842–1916), an English editor, collector, and biographer, wrote several memoirs about Edgar Allan Poe, largely in opposition to a Poe memoir written in 1850 by Rufus W. Griswold, which Ingram deemed inaccurate and filled with lies. Ingram also wrote critical studies of Thomas Chatterton and Christopher Marlowe. For more on Ingram, see John Carl Miller, "John Henry Ingram: Editor, Biographer, and Collector of Poe Materials," in A Guide to John Henry Ingram's Poe Collection at the University of Virginia, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va. (2015). Whitman's piece was entitled "Art-Singing and Heart-Singing" and was published on November 29, 1845, in the Broadway Journal, which was then edited by Poe. The article argued for an American music which would distance itself from European influences. Whitman and friend Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke spent a week in the Kingston, Ontario area during their trip through Canada in the summer of 1880. They spent much of their time around the Lakes of the Thousand Islands. During the summer of 1880, Whitman and his friend Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke traveled throughout Canada after spending a month relaxing at the Asylum for the Insane in London, Ontario, where Bucke was the superintendent. They visited Toronto, Lake of the Thousand Islands, and the St. Lawrence River, among other places. On the return journey, Bucke traveled with Whitman as far as Niagara, at which point the poet returned to New Jersey on his own. This is referring to the plates of the 1860 edition of Leaves, which George A. Leavitt & Co. auctioned off after the dissolution of the Thayer and Eldridge publishing house. Worthington originally wrote Whitman on September 29, 1879, informing him that he possessed the plates to the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass. In a statement mailed to both Richard Watson Gilder and John Burroughs on November 26, 1880, Whitman writes that Worthington initially offered him $250 to "add something to the text & authenticate the plates." This is supported by Worthington's original letter. Worthington went on to manufacture and sell pirated copies of the text, but Whitman accepted royalties from these sales. For more on Worthington and the piracy controversey, see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). The plates of the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass, printed by Thayer & Eldridge, were sold to Richard Worthington, who for many years printed them without Whitman's authorization. Worthington originally wrote Whitman on September 29, 1879, informing him that he possessed the plates to the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass. In a statement mailed to both Richard Watson Gilder and John Burroughs on November 26, 1880, Whitman writes that Worthington initially offered him $250 to "add something to the text & authenticate the plates." This is supported by Worthington's original letter. Worthington went on to manufacture and sell pirated copies of the text, but Whitman accepted royalties from these sales. For more on Worthington and the piracy controversey, see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). During her 1878 trip to Brooklyn, Gilchrist met Whitman's friend Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke. This appears to have been their only meeting, although Bucke did quote from Gilchrist's writing in his biography of Whitman. Three of Gilchrist's children. "The Staffords" refers to the family of Harry Lamb Stafford (1858–1918), a young man who Whitman befriended in 1876 in Camden. Harry's parents, George (1827–1892) and Susan Stafford (1833–1910), were tenant farmers at White Horse Farm near Kirkwood, New Jersey, where Whitman visited them on several occasions. In the 1880s, the Staffords sold the farm and moved to nearby Glendale. For more on Whitman and the Staffords, see David G. Miller, "Stafford, George and Susan M.," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Harry Stafford's sister, Deborah (1860–1945), and her husband, Joseph Browning. This possibly refers to a letter that Whitman wrote on July 13, 1880 to Harry's parents, George and Susan Stafford. In this letter, Whitman notes that he has sent letters and papers to the Staffords, individually and as a group, eight or nine times without a response. In that letter, Whitman also mentions that he has been sick, a fact which Harry references here. Adam Bede was the first novel by British writer George Eliot (1819–1880), published in 1859. Impressions of Theophrastus Such was her final published work of fiction, released in 1879. James G. Blaine (1830–1893) was a Republican presidential candidate in the 1880 election. James A. Garfield eventually won the party's nomination during the 1880 Republican convention in Chicago and named Blaine Secretary of State after taking office in 1881. Roscoe Conkling (1829–1888) was a Republican New York senator from 1867 to 1881. He was a fierce supporter of President Ulysses S. Grant and strongly opposed James G. Blaine's potential nomination as the Republican candidate for the 1880 presidential election. He was greatly displeased with Blaine's eventual promotion to Secretary of State under President Garfield. This created a rift between Conkling and Garfield which ended in Conkling's resignation from the Senate. Eliza Seaman Leggett (1815–1900) was a suffragist and abolitionist who later founded the Detroit Women's Club. She married Augustus Wright Leggett (1836–1855), and the couple's home was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Leggett, who was also the grandmother of the artist Percy Ives, corresponded sporadically with Whitman from 1880 until his death. A number of her letters to him are reprinted in Thomas Donaldson's Walt Whitman: The Man (New York: Francis P. Harper, 1896), 239–48. For more information on Leggett, see Joann P. Krieg, "Walt Whitman's Long Island Friend: Eliza Seaman Leggett," Long Island Historical Journal 9 (Spring 1997), 223–33. Roslyn, Long Island. Originally known as Hempstead Harbor, the name was changed in 1844 by the Leggett family and a group of neighbors so as to alleviate its confusion with the towns of Hempstead, North Hempstead, and Hempstead Branch. Two of these neighbors were the poet William Cullen Bryant and his wife (Krieg, 227). This is a quotation from the third line of William Cullen Bryant's famous poem "Thanatopsis." The opening lines read: "To him who in the love of Nature holds / Communion with her visible forms, she speaks / A various language..." This photograph was taken in July 1878 in New York by Napoleon Sarony. The photograph can be viewed here. Haddonfield is a borough near Camden, which is also a part of Camden County, New Jersey. In the 1880 presidential election, Republican nominee James Garfield defeated Democratic nominee Winfield Scott Hancock. In a letter to his mother from January 29, 1864, Whitman mentions that he had become acquainted with Garfield and "like[d] him very much indeed." The poet would eventually eulogize Garfield in the poem "The Sobbing of the Bells." A. Williams & Co. was a Boston-based publishing house and bookstore; the company owned the "Old Corner Bookstore" in Boston from 1864 to 1883 (Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family, eds. Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver [Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1949], 88n). Frederic Almy was a graduate of Harvard College, a friend of Jane Addams, and the founder in 1885 of the Saturn Club in Buffalo. Almy sent $10 to Whitman on October 27. See Whitman's letter to Locker of September 28, 1880. Frederick Locker owned the manuscript of Walter Scott's poem Harold the Dauntless. However, some of the lines were missing in the manuscript, so in addition to Whitman, Locker asked several other major poets, including Tennyson, Christina Rossetti, and William Morris to write in the missing lines. See William Michael Rossetti's letter of February 19, 1880 to his brother Dante in Selected Letters of William Michael Rossetti, ed. Roger W. Peattie. (University Park: Pennsylvania State UP, 1990), 382-383. James Russell Lowell (1819–1891), one of Whitman's famous poetic contemporaries, was committed to conventional poetic form, which was clearly at odds with Whitman's more experimental form. Still, as editor of the Atlantic Monthly, he published Whitman's "Bardic Symbols," probably at Ralph Waldo Emerson's suggestion. Lowell later wrote a tribute to Abraham Lincoln titled "Commemoration Ode," which has often, since its publication, been contrasted with Whitman's own tribute, "O Captain! My Captain!" Thomas William Hazen Rolleston (1857–1920) was an Irish poet and journalist. After attending college in Dublin, he moved to Germany for a period of time. He wrote to Whitman frequently, beginning in 1880, and later produced with Karl Knortz the first book-length translation of Whitman's poetry into German. In 1889, the collection Grashalme: Gedichte [Leaves of Grass: Poems] was published by Verlags-Magazin in Zurich, Switzerland. See Walter Grünzweig, Constructing the German Walt Whitman (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1995). For more information on Rolleston, see Walter Grünzweig, "Rolleston, Thomas William Hazen (1857–1920)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). An ancient Greek text offering ethical advice, of which Rolleston published a translation in 1881. John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892) earned fame as a staunch advocate for the abolition of slavery. As a poet, he employed traditional forms and meters, and, not surprisingly, he was not an admirer of Whitman's unconventional prosody. For Whitman's view of Whittier, see the poet's numerous comments throughout the nine volumes of Horace Traubel's With Walt Whitman in Camden (various publishers: 1906–1996) and Whitman's "My Tribute to Four Poets," in Specimen Days (Philadelphia: Rees Welsh & Co., 1882–'83), 180–181. Edmund Clarence Stedman (1833–1908) was a poet, essayist and editor. In 1880, he published the piece "Walt Whitman" in Scribner's Monthly. Stedman met Whitman during the Civil War and was one of the few Pfaffians with whom Whitman remained friendly throughout his life. Stedman is also mentioned in Whitman's October 20, 1863, letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden, [Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1905–1953], 2:93.) Helena Modjeska (1840–1909) was a well-known Polish actress, particularly famous for playing Shakespearean heroines. In 1878, Whitman met Modjeska while visiting with writer and editor Richard Watson Gilder (1844–1909). The poet later said of the actress, "She is a fascinating, bright woman. I have never seen her act—saw her at Gilder's, in New York—handsome, agreeable, magnetic" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, August 28, 1889). Alfred William Hunt (1830–1896) was an artist and the son of Andrew Hunt, an English landscape painter. Andrew attempted to push his son away from painting, but with the encouragement of John Ruskin, Alfred continued to exhibit his landscape paintings throughout his life and became known for his eye for details. Helena de Kay Gilder (1846–1916), the wife of poet and editor Richard Watson Gilder, was a painter as well as the founder of the Society of American Artists and the Art Student's League. She worked closely with her husband, designing the text illustrations for all of his books of poetry. In 1880, a depot was added to the already-existing Medford train station. In 1950, this depot was destroyed by a fire. After reading a letter Whitman wrote to Anne Gilchrist on November 10–16, 1880, about the publication of his prose writings in England, Herbert Gilchrist wanted to illustrate the volume, which he thought was to be entitled "Pond Musings by Walt Whitman" (The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, ed. Thomas B. Harned [Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page, 1918], 195–196). It is likely that the two-volume edition referred to here is the 1876 publication of Two Rivulets with Leaves of Grass. See the encyclopedia entry on Two Rivulets. This letter is a response to Sanborn's invitation of July 21, 1880, asking Whitman to join him and his family at their home for "a week or two." Susan Stafford, mother of Harry Stafford, a young man who Whitman befriended in 1876 in Camden. Harry's parents, George and Susan Stafford, were tenant farmers at White Horse Farm near Kirkwood, New Jersey, where Whitman visited them on several occasions. For more on Whitman and the Staffords, see David G. Miller, "Stafford, George and Susan M." Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, ed., (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 685. Sir Henry Norman (1858–1939) was a writer and liberal politican from England. After moving to the United States to study at Harvard, he wrote for the Pall Mall Gazette and the News Chronicle. Sir Edward Baldwin Malet (1837–1908) was a diplomat from England, representing Britain in the various German states (before 1871) as well as other countries around the world. Lord Ronald Charles Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (1845–1916) was a liberal politican and writer from Scotland. For Whitman's response to the gift, see the letter from Whitman to Henry Norman of January 3, 1887. Given the poet's precarious financial situation, many of his supporters in the late 1880s lobbied for granting Whitman a war pension for his services during the Civil War. Representative Henry B. Lovering proposed a bill to the House in 1887 that would have secured a $25/month pension for Whitman. Ultimately, the bill was dropped, though, possibly because of an objection by Whitman. Robert Lutz was a publisher and editor from Stuttgart, Germany. He owned the Robert Lutz publishing house and was the editor of the renowned literary journal Das Litterarische Echo. Léon Gambetta (1838–1882) was a prominent republican and political leader from France. Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (1818–1883) was a Russian playwright and novelist. He is regarded as one of the leading figures in Russian Realism. Charles Parsons (1820–1910) was the art superintendent of Harper & Brothers periodical publications. The anonymous lead article of The Critic stated that "Walt Whitman has many characteristics of Hugo. Like him Whitman began with very simple rhymes in ordinary metres and in later life broke through all the rules. About 1850 Hugo seems to have learned in the school of adversity the beauty of democratic principles which came to Whitman naturally through his birth and education." Whitman had always liked being compared to Hugo and even urged William Sloane Kennedy to include a comparison to the French writer in his essay on Whitman. On the latter, see Whitman's letter to Kennedy of May 24, 1885. Frederick Wedmore (1844–1921) was a theater critic and scholar from England. He was also a neighbor of the Gilchrists. Whether he really met Whitman that fall (as was planned) is unclear. Probably a reference to Ruth Stafford Goldy (1866–1939), the sister of Whitman's close friend Harry Stafford. She had married in August of 1884 at the age of 18. The Staffords had moved to Glendale, New Jersey, a few miles from their farm at Timber Creek (in Laurel Springs, close to Kirkwood), where Whitman had frequently visited in the late 1870s and early 1880s. Charles Parsons (1820–1910) was the art superintendent of Harper & Brothers periodical publications. See Whitman's letter to Kennedy of August 5, 1885. Wonders and Curiosities of the Railway; or, Stories of the Locomotive in Every Land, published in Chicago in 1884. Sylvester Baxter (1850–1927) was a newspaperman and urban planner from Boston. Besides writing for Outing, he also published in the Boston Herald. Whitman's letter does not appear to be extant. See Redpath's letter to Whitman of June 30, 1885. Mr. Thomas Gradgrind is a character in Charles Dickens's novel Hard Times and a notorious number-cruncher. The paragraph in the Athenaeum of July 11, 1885, read: "A subscription list is being formed in England with a view to presenting a free-will offering to the American poet Walt Whitman. The poet is in his sixty-seventh year, and has since his enforced retirement some years ago from official work in Washington, owing to an attack of paralysis, maintained himself precariously by the sale of his works in poetry and prose, and by occasional contributions to magazines." The magazine lists Anne Gilchrist's son Herbert as well as William Rossetti as the parties responsible for the collection. In mid-August of that year, the Athenaeum printed Whitman's letter to Herbert Gilchrist of August 1, 1885, in which Whitman said he "should decidedly and gratefully accept anything" sent as an offering. This letter is undated, but, according to Anne Burrows Gilchrist's July 20, 1885, letter to Whitman, Wedmore planned to visit the United States in the Fall of 1885. A letter Whitman received from Herbert Gilchrist the following day, July 21, 1885, indicated that Wedmore was to "call upon" Whitman in September. This is likely a reference to William Hosen Ballou's interview with Whitman that appeared in the Camden Daily Post on June 28, 1885, and was reprinted in the Cleveland Leader and Herald. In the piece, the interviewer also described Whitman's room, describing "a small picture of Victor Hugo, framed and bordered with mourning," Whitman's "old fashioned" furniture and a "canary" that "sang with all his might, and a kitten [that] played to and fro." Rolleston's last letter to Whitman was sent on February 11, 1885. He is referring to "Of That Blithe Throat of Thine," a piece Rolleston called "poetry at its greatest" in his prior letter. Rolleston's editorship of the Dublin University Review only lasted from May to December of 1885. Michael Davitt (1846–1906) was an Irish nationalist, social reformer, and Home Rule politician. He was likely an inspiration to Mahatma Gandhi. Whitman had already contacted Knortz on April 27, 1885. After receiving this letter from Rolleston, Whitman marked the end of the last paragraph in blue, added a note to the last page, and forwarded the letter to Knortz, dated September 10. Knortz replied in September, 1885, and again in late September or early October, 1885, assuring Whitman his translation was about to come out. Whitman forwarded Knortz's later letter to Rolleston on October 9, 1885. Whitman's poem "The Voice of the Rain" was eventually published in Outing. See Rhys's letter of May 31, 1885. This correspondent is unknown. See O'Connor's letter of March 7, 1885. O'Connor would ultimately publish his theses on Shakespeare in his Hamlet's Note-Book, which he understood as a "Baconian reply to R. G. White," a literary critic and scholar, who argued that Shakespeare was not a pseudonym of Francis Bacon but indeed a seperate historic figure and author. After numerous publishers had declined O'Connor's manuscript, it was finally published in 1886 by Houghton, Mifflin and Company (Boston and New York). See also O'Connor's letter to Whitman of January 21, 1886. George W. Smalley (1833–1916) was the London correspondent for the New York Tribune and renowned for his reporting of the Battle of Antietam. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street, | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: WASHINGTON | JUL 28 | 1 PM | D.C. See Whitman's letter to O'Connor of January 4, 1886. Kennedy's letter is undated. The excerpt is not extant. Over the years, The Nation had published a number of negative comments on Whitman's poetry, most famously perhaps Henry James's scathing remarks on Drum-Taps (16 November 1865), 625–626. Especially O'Connor had chosen the British periodical as his personal enemy, authoring rebuttals to a number of Nation reviews that he felt misrepresented the poet or his disciples. William Sloane Kennedy's The Poet as Craftsman, a twenty-page pamphlet, was published by David McKay in 1885. Grace Ellery Channing (1862–1937) was the daughter of William F. Channing and the niece of William D. O'Connor. After her initial refusal to ever read Whitman's work, Channing became enthralled by the poet's words and even published her own volume of Whitman-inspired poetry titled Sea-Drift in 1899. Hamlet's Note-Book. O'Connor understood his book as a "Baconian reply to R. G. White," a literary critic and scholar, who argued that Shakespeare was not a pseudonym of Francis Bacon but indeed a seperate, historic figure and author. After numerous publishers had declined O'Connor's manuscript, it was finally published in 1886 by Houghton, Mifflin and Company (Boston and New York). Stuart Robson (1836–1903) and William Henry Crane (1845–1928) were American stage actors and long-time collaborators. Their Broadway adaptation of Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors was perhaps their most successful act. According to an Albany, New York, city directory for 1885, there were eight George Weavers living in the city at that time. Currently, there is not enough evidence to indicate which of the men wrote this letter. For more information, see The Albany City Directory For the Year 1885 (Albany, New York: Sampson, Davenport and Company, 1885), 299. Houghton, Mifflin & Company of Boston were the publishers of John Burroughs's work. W. B. Walton (1826–1897) was born in Birmingham, England, and had moved to the United States with his wife Sarah Jane. See Whitman's letter of September 15, 1885, in which he describes his health as "not quite so well," gives a short overview of the well-being of the Stafford family and encloses a list with "some names of friends (or used to be friends) of L of G. and W. W." for Gilchrist's "free-will offering" that he had been collecting in England to support Whitman financially. On the latter, see also Anne Gilchrist's letter to Whitman of July 20, 1885 as well as William M. Rossetti's letter of August 25, 1885. Edward R. Pease (1857–1955) was a British socialist. His letter is not extant. Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912) was a Frisian-British painter well known for his classicist works. Whitman's prior letter is not extant and in his reply to Rossetti of November 30, 1885, he has little positive to say about his health: "nothing new with me, only my eyesight is better." Rossetti is referring to the funds that he and Herbert Gilchrist had been raising in England to support Whitman. For more on this "free-will offering" see Anne Gilchrist's letter to Whitman of July 20, 1885 as well as Rossetti's letter of August 25, 1885. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St. | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON W.[illegible] | NO12 | 85 | S.M.P.; NEW YORK | NOV | 21 | F. D.; CAMDEN N.J. | NOV 22 | 5PM | 1885 | [illegible] Although Whitman's response to this offer is unknown, the poet accepted free stationery from Rice and Redpath. Whitman recieved payment for his piece on Lincoln in December of 1885. See Whitman's letter to Redpath and Rice of December 10, 1885 as well as his letter to Redpath of December 15, 1885. See Whitman's letter to Redpath of December 15, 1885. The letterhead includes a seal explaining that this is a dictated letter. See Whitman's letter of August 1, 1885. Herbert Gilchrist and William Michael Rossetti had been collecting funds in England for the financial support of Whitman. A paragraph in the Athenaeum of July 11, 1885, read: "A subscription list is being formed in England with a view to presenting a free-will offering to the American poet Walt Whitman. The poet is in his sixty-seventh year, and has since his enforced retirement some years ago from official work in Washington, owing to an attack of paralysis, maintained himself precariously by the sale of his works in poetry and prose, and by occasional contributions to magazines." John Fraser was the editor of Cope's Tobacco Plant. Gilchrist is paraphrasing Whitman's letter of August 1. Mary Davis was Whitman's housekeeper. 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). Benjamin Francis Conn Costelloe (1854–1899), Mary's first husband, was an English barrister and Liberal Party politician. Benjamin Francis Conn Costelloe (1854–1899), the first husband of the political activist and art historian Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe, was an English barrister and Liberal Party politician. The Philadelphia Press was a newspaper that operated from 1857 to 1920; it was edited by Charles Emory Smith (1842–1908) from 1880 until his death. James Thomas Knowles, Jr. (1831–1908) was a British architect and editor of the The Nineteenth Century. "Fancies at Navesink" was published on August 18, 1885. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esqre | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON-S.W | [illegible] | AU 18 | 85; [illegible] | K | ALL; NEW YORK | AUG | 18; CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG | 28 | 4 PM | 1885 | REC'D. The initials "J.T.K." are in lower lefthand corner of envelope. Redpath is discussing Whitman's "Booth and the Old Bowery." Whitman eventually accepted $60 for it, and it was published in Allen Thorndike Rice's New York Tribune on August 16, 1885. See also Whitman's reply to Redpath of August 12, 1885. 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). Mary Oakes Davis was Whitman's housekeeper. Perhaps a reference to Whitman's "Booth and the Old Bowery," published in Allen Thorndike Rice's New York Tribune on August 16, 1885. Edward S. Mawson (1819–1889) was born in London and had opened his "Fine Furs" store in Philadelphia in 1839. Edmund Kean (1787–1833) was a well-known Shakespeare actor, touring in his native England as well as overseas. The Kembles were a family of English actors, who were considered the prime of British theater at the turn of the eighteenth century. William Macready (1793–1873) was a British stage actor, who played Shakespearean roles, including Richard III. He performed in London, New York, and Paris. Anne Gilchrist died on November 29, 1885. See Herbert's letter to Whitman of December 2, 1885. Anne Gilchrist's last letter to the poet was sent on July 20. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden, New Jersey. It is postmarked: LONDON, N.W. | 15 7 | NO19 | 85; NEW YORK | NOV | 28; PAID | J | ALL; CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV | 29 | 5 PM | 1885 | REC'D. In his letter of December 21, 1885, Whitman seemed to favor "Spring Relish," which turned into the title for Burroughs's book when it appeared in 1886. Robert Burns (1759–1796) was a Scottish poet and pioneer of the Romantic movement in Great Britain. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden. | N.J. It is postmarked: WEST PARK, | DEC | 31 | 1885 | N.Y.; NEW YORK | JAN 1 | 1 30 PM | 86 | TRANSIT; CAMDEN, N.J. | JAN | 2 | 7 AM | 1886 | REC'D. Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings would be published in 1887 with a foreword by William Michael Rossetti. Whitman sent a quote to Gilchrist in his reply of August 23, 1886. The article in question, Roden Noel's (1834–1894) "A Study of Walt Whitman: The Poet of Modern Democracy" (Dark Blue 2 [October 1871], 241–253), spoke glowingly of Whitman, describing him as "tall, colossal, luxuriant, unpruned, like some giant tree in a primeval forest . . . He springs out of that vast American continent full-charged with all that is special and national in it" (242). George Henry Lewes (1817–1878) was an English critic and philosopher. He was the partner of George Eliot. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Mickle Street | Camden, New Jersey, | United States, America. It is postmarked: HAMPSTEAD | D ZX | JA25 | 86 | N.W.; NEW YORK | [illegible] | 6; PAID | D | ALL; CAMDEN, N.J. | FEB | 7 | 10 AM | 1886 | REC'D. See also Whitman's letter of November 30, 1885, expressing his shock at learning that Anne Gilchrist was terminally ill. Herbert's letter had not reached the poet by then. Whitman expressed his condolences in a letter of December 15, 1885. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Mickle Street, | Camden, | New Jersey, | United States, America. It is postmarked: HAMPSTEAD | [illegible] | 85 | N.W.; NEW YORK | DEC | 14; PAID | K | ALL; CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC | 15 | 7 AM | 1885 | REC'D. See Whitman's letter of November 30, 1885. See Whitman's letter to Aldrich of June 12, 1884. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: BROAD ST | [illegible] | [illegible] 29 | BLOOMSBURY W.C.; NEW YORK, N.Y. | 9-7 | 1885 | REG'Y. DIV. See Rossetti's letter to Whitman of January 5. William Roscoe Thayer (1859–1923) was an American historian, editor of John Hay's letters, and a biographer of Theodore Roosevelt. He would publish Personal Recollections of Walt Whitman in 1919. James Russell Lowell (1819–1891) was an American critic, poet and editor of The Atlantic. One of Whitman's famous poetic contemporaries, Lowell was committed to conventional poetic form, which was clearly at odds with Whitman's more experimental form. Still, as editor of the Atlantic Monthly, he published Whitman's "Bardic Symbols," probably at Ralph Waldo Emerson's suggestion. Lowell later wrote a tribute to Abraham Lincoln titled "Commemoration Ode," which has often, since its publication, been contrasted with Whitman's own tribute, "O Captain! My Captain!" For further information on Whitman's views of Lowell, see William A. Pannapacker, "Lowell, James Russell (1819–1891)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998) Whitman seems to have shared these views on nutrition, telling Horace Traubel in 1888: "John about hit the truth. But I have been very abstemious the past three years—very conservative—as you know, and still here I am thrown down. Well, my time has come—that is all. You see, I am somewhat of a fatalist!" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, July 1, 1888). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 322 Mickle St | Camden, | N.J. It is postmarked: WEST PARK, | OCT | 7 | 1885 | N.Y.; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT | 1 PM | 8 | 1885 | REC'D. See Whitman's letter of August 3, 1885. Folger McKinsey (1866–1950) was a poet and columnist for The Sun. McKinsey also arranged Whitman's Lincoln lectures. Lionel Johnson (1867–1902) was an English poet and critic. With William Butler Yeats, Ernest Dowson, and close Whitman associates Thomas W. H. Rolleston and Ernest Rhys, he was a member of the Rhymers' Club, a well-known group of writers who met in London in the 1890s, and whose members also included Lord Alfred Douglas and, briefly, Douglas's friend and lover Oscar Wilde, who were introduced to each other by Johnson. Discussing Johnson's letter with Horace Traubel, Whitman exclaimed: "it was a very remarkable letter . . . Keep a weather eye open for that boy: he will appear again" (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, August 22, 1888). Hiram Corson (1828–1911) was a scholar of English literature from Philadelphia, where he taught at Girard College. While his studies focused mainly on canonical British texts (Shakespeare, Chaucer, etc.), Corson would also give public readings of Whitman's verse. Roden Noel (1834–1894) was an English poet, critic, and admirer of Whitman. Noel's "A Study of Walt Whitman: The Poet of Modern Democracy" (Dark Blue 2 [October 1871], 241–253), spoke glowingly of the poet, describing him as "tall, colossal, luxuriant, unpruned, like some giant tree in a primeval forest. . . . He springs out of that vast American continent full-charged with all that is special and national in it" (242). Talcott Williams (1849–1928), a journalist, worked for the New York Sun and World, and became an editorial writer on the Springfield Republican in 1879. He joined the staff of the Philadelphia Press in 1881. In 1912 he became director of the School of Journalism at Columbia University. See also Elizabeth Dunbar's Talcott Williams: Gentleman of the Fourth Estate (1936). Whitman had returned "three Vols. of your Emerson so long detained" to Burroughs on March 18, 1886. Whitman's November Boughs was published in 1888 by David McKay. See also James E. Barcus Jr., "November Boughs [1888]." Edwin H. Woodruff (1863–1941), then a member of the staff of the Cornell University Library, was introduced to the poet by Hiram Corson in a letter of March 26, 1886. Two days later he was in Camden (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Earlier, on June 4, 1882, Woodruff had sent Whitman a poem written under his influence and printed in the Cornell Era. Later Woodruff became a professor of law and was dean of the Cornell Law School from 1916 to 1921. See Cornell University, Faculty. Necrology of the Faculty, 1941–1942, 5–7. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq. | Camden, N.J. | Introducing | Mr. E.H. Woodruff. In his letter of April 13, 1886, the poet sent Corson—whom he addressed as "Prof. Carson"—John Burroughs's 1867 Notes on Walt Whitman. Whitman read his "Death of Abraham Lincoln" in Philadelphia on April 22, 1886. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, Esq. | 328 Mickle Street | Camden, New Jersey. It is postmarked: ITHACA | 86 | APR 27 | 12_M | N.Y.; CAMDEN, [illegible] | APR | 28 | 8 AM | [illegible]. As euphoric as Kennedy sounds in this letter, his book-length study of Whitman would not see the light of day until 1896, when it was published as Reminiscences of Walt Whitman. Kennedy is likely referring to an incident four years prior, when Oliver Stevens, District Attorney in Boston, wrote to the publisher of Leaves of Grass: "We are of the opinion that this book is such a book as brings it within the provisions of the Public Statutes respecting obscene literature and suggest the propriety of withdrawing the same from circulation and suppressing the editions thereof" and asked Whitman to censor certain passages (The Library of Congress; The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [1902], 10 vols., 8:290). He is referring to Bucke's Walt Whitman (1883), heavily edited by Whitman himself. Fanny Raymond Ritter (c.1835–1891) was an American musician, writer, historian, and the wife of the German-American composer Frédéric Louis Ritter (1834–1891). The Ritters were friends of William Sloane Kennedy and William D. O'Connor, and they had invited Whitman for a visit in 1876. Helen Price was the daughter of Abby H. Price (1814–1878) and Edmund Price. During the late 1850s and throughout the 1860s, Abby and Helen were friends with Whitman and his mother, and the Price family began to save Walt's letters. Helen's reminiscences of Whitman were included in Richard Maurice Bucke's 1883 biography of Whitman. For more on Helen Price, see Sherry Ceniza "Price, Helen E. (b. 1841)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). For more on Abby Price, see Sherry Ceniza "Price, Abby Hills (1814–1878)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: BELMONT | FEB | [illegible]; CAMDEN, N.J. | FEB | [illegible]. Perhaps Lilian Whiting (1859–1942), an American writer and journalist. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N. Jersey | 328 Mickle St. It is postmarked: BOSTON, MASS | APR 20 | 9-AM | 1886; [illegible]MDE[illegible] | AP[illegible] | [illegible] | 7 [illegible] | 18 [illegible]. Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1902) was a Canadian physician and progressive psychiatrist who grew close to Walt Whitman after reading (and later memorizing) Leaves of Grass in 1867. He earned the distinction of Whitman's first biographer—with his 1883 Walt Whitman to which Noel is referring here. Bucke later served as both Whitman's medical advisor and literary executor. The naturalist John Burroughs (1837–1921) met Walt Whitman on the streets of Washington, D. C., in 1864. After returning to Brooklyn in 1864, Whitman commenced what was to become a lifelong 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 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). It is likely that Noel is referring to Burrough's 1877 publication here. For more on Whitman's relationship with Burroughs, see Carmine Sarracino, "Burroughs, John [1837–1921] and Ursula [1836–1917]." The naturalist John Burroughs (1837–1921) met Walt Whitman on the streets of Washington, D. C., in 1864. After returning to Brooklyn in 1864, Whitman commenced what was to become a lifelong 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 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). It is uncertain which of Burroughs's works that Forman is referring to here. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | c/o Mess. Houghton Mifflin & Co | Boston | U.S.A. It is postmarked: DEFICIENCY IN ADDRESS | SUPPLIED BY | POST OFFICE | BOSTON, MASS.; THORNTON HEATH | E | AP | 86 | HICH ST; BOSTON, MASS | APR 13 | 12-M | 1886; [illegible] 1886 | PAID. No answer by Whitman is extant and the event never took place. The rest of this letterhead contains the following paragraph: "SALEM, N. J. is one of the stands forming the SOUTH JERSEY CIRCUIT—Salem, Bridgeton and Millville. Wilmington, Del., is just across the river from Salem, and Companies can thus make out a good route via. Wilmington to the South, North or West. Wilmington is but two hours by Steamer from Salem. SALEM, a manufacturing city of 6000 population, is an Excellent Show Town, surrounded by a good country. Salem is 32 miles from Philadelphia, and has 6 trains each way daily. The Salem Opera House will seat 900 people; has new scenery and plenty of it; stage opening 25 feet; piano furnished with house; gas; has 5 double dressing rooms, and all the conveniences to be found in first-class Theatres. ☞ The best Companies played here last season to good business. The Managers will book only two Companies a week. We show our faith in Salem as a Show Town by preferring to share with good attractions. Address SMITH & STARR, Lessees and Managers. As no answer by Whitman is extant, the context of this letter remains unclear. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: EXPERIMENT MILLS, | APR. | 9 | 1886 | PA.; PHILADELPHIA, PA | APR | 9 | 1886 | 3PM | TRANSIT; CAMDEN, N.J. | APR | 9 | 7 PM | 1886 | REC'D. Besides the central letterhead there are two sidebars, the left reading "A HOME OF BEAUTY AMONG THE MOUNTAINS. Dry, Clear, Bracing Air, Rapid Streams, Healing Sunlight, Nerve-Restoring Sleep, Restful Surroundings. | F. Wilson Hurd, M.D., Physician & Proprietor." and the right reading "NATURAL CURE for all Diseases. PILES And all other Rectal Troubles a specialty. When all other treatment fails Come Here. Natural Cure is Permanent Cure. Drug Cure is Chronic Disease." O'Connor's last letter apparently reached Whitman on January 21, 1886. See Whitman's messages from January 22, 1886 and February 3, 1886. O'Connor is quoting Whitman's letter of January 22. Edmund Clarence Stedman (1833–1908) was an editor, poet, and broker. O'Connor had sent Whitman Stedman's 1885 book Poets of America. Enrico Nencioni (1837–1896) was a poet, critic and translator from Italy. He had published a number of essays on Whitman in Fanfulla della Domenica in the late 1870s and early 1880s; his "Walt Whitman" appeared in Nuova Antologia in August 1885. See also Roger Asselineau, "Whitman in Italy," in Walt Whitman and the World, ed. Gay Wilson Allen, Ed Folsom (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1990), 268–281. Perhaps a reference to Henry Jacob Bigelow (1818–1890), an American surgeon, professor at Harvard and one of the leading physicians in Boston (his home town). O'Connor understood this book as a "Baconian reply to R. G. White," a literary critic and scholar, who argued that Shakespeare was not a pseudonym of Francis Bacon but indeed a distinct historic figure and author. After numerous publishers had declined O'Connor's manuscript, it was finally published in 1886 by Houghton, Mifflin and Company (Boston and New York). See also O'Connor's letter to Whitman of January 21, 1886. Horace Traubel quotes Whitman's paragraph-by-paragraph responses to his re-reading of this letter in With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, March 24, 1889. Charles W. Eldridge (1837–1903) was, with William Wilde Thayer, the Boston publisher of Whitman's 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass. He moved to Washington, D.C. during the Civil War and became a good friend of O'Connor. For more on Whitman's relationship with Thayer and Eldridge, see David Breckenridge Donlon, "Thayer, William Wilde (1829–1896) and Charles W. Eldridge (1837–1903)." Burt Zimmerman was a satirist, writing for the New York-based Puck on Wheels. Sir Walter Raleigh (1554–1618) was an English poet, soldier and explorer. He introduced tobacco to England. Whitman's letter is not extant. R. K. Munkittrick was a humorist and poet (1852–1911) who wrote for Punch, Puck on Wheels, and Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly. The rest of this letter has been torn away. Whitman crossed out the letter and wrote a series of notes on the back. The Austrian cartoonist Joseph Keppler (1838–1894) founded Puck, a magazine that takes its title from the mischievous forest sprite of the same name in William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream. Puck was first issued as a German-language magazine, and, a decade later, in 1877, the first English edition of the magazine was published. It soon became a successful humor magazine in the United States. Charles McIlvaine (1840–1909) served in the American Civil War, achieving the rank of Captain before being wounded and resigning from military service. McIlvaine went on to become an author, as well as a mycologist. He published the book Toadstools, Mushrooms, Fungi Edible and Poisonous: One Thousand American Fungi (1900), a standard work on mycology in his time and later regarded as a classic work in the field. McIlvaine published literature for young people, contributed fiction and poems to numerous publications, and often used the pseudonym "Tobe Hodge" for these publications. According to the 1890 Veteran Schedules of the U.S. Federal Census, McIlvaine was living in Haddonfield, New Jersey, the city that he writes after his signature on this letter. This suggests that the letter may date to 1890. McIlvaine continued to live in Haddonfield until 1895. Baldwin's Monthly was a literary and advertising journal published by the clothier O. S. Baldwin in New York. Whitman sent his article "An Indian Bureau Reminiscence" to the journal, and it was published in February 1884. See Whitman's letter to O.S. Baldwin of December 18, 1883. Whitman drew a line in ink through this letter. Lovejoy's "Walt Whitman" appeared in Baldwin's Monthly on first page of the July 1884 issue. The left side of the Grand Union Hotel letterhead reads: "[PASSENGERS] arriving in the city [of New York] via Grand Central [Depot, save] $3 Carriage Hire and [Transfer of] Baggage by stopping [at] the Grand Union Hotel, opposite said depot. Passengers arriving by West Shore Rail Road, via Weehawken Ferry, by taking the 42d street Horse Cars at Ferry entrance, reach Grand Union Hotel in ten minutes for 5 cents, and save $3 Carriage Hire." The right side reads: "600 Elegant Rooms, $1 and upwards per day. European Plan. Elevators, Restaurant, Café, Lunch and Wine Rooms, supplied with the best. Prices moderate. Families can live better for less money at the Grand Union than at any other strictly first class hotel in the city. Guests' Baggage delivered to and from Grand Central Depot, free." Missing text, indicated in brackets, has been supplied from a hotel circular published on Making of America Books. There is no record of Whitman doing either. Frank Baker (1841–1918) was a physician, clerk, and professor who later became the superintendent of the National Zoo in Washington D.C. He had met Whitman and Burroughs in the capital in the 1860s. Kennedy had married Adeline Ella Lincoln (d. 1923) of Cambridge, Massachusetts, on June 17, 1883. Their son Mortimer died in infancy. Noel had informed Whitman on March 30, 1886 that he had his publishers send Whitman "a vol. of [his] essays on Poetry and Poets." The poet replied on May 3, 1886, stating he did not receive the book and describing himself as "well cared for, but paralyzed in body, & quite unable to walk around." After Noel had re-sent his book, Whitman acknowledged its receipt on June 29, 1886. See Noel's letter to Whitman of May 16, 1886. This postal card is addressed: Roden Noel | 57 Anesley Park | London s.e. | England. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | JUN | 29 | 6 PM | N.J. Whitman crossed out his first attempt to address the card. The enclosure is not extant. While little is known about Shoemaker, his card is in one of Whitman's commonplace books (indicating Shoemaker visited him in Camden) and on a later occasion he would tell Horace Traubel: I liked him: an old man—rather past the age of vigor—but discreet, quiet, not obtrusive" (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, October 17, 1888). Any prior letters are not extant, and there is no indication that Whitman replied to this inquiry. Williams's last letter was of May 4, 1886. See Whitman's letters to O'Connor of April 16, 1886 and April 18, 1886. The card from April 26 appears to be lost. Burroughs describes the visit in his letter to Whitman of June 28, 1886. Thomas Donaldson (1843–1898) was a lawyer from Philadelphia and a friend of Whitman. He introduced Whitman to Bram Stoker and later accompanied Stoker when he visited the poet; he also organized a fund-raising drive to buy Whitman a horse and carriage. He authored a biography of Whitman titled Walt Whitman, the Man (1896). For more information about Donaldson, see Steven Schroeder, "Donaldson, Thomas (1843–1898)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Edward Tuckerman Potter (1831–1904), a native of Schenectady, New York, was a prominent American architect. He is known for designing the Mark Twain House (1871) in Hartford, Connecticut. He married Julia Maria Blatchford (1834–1922), and the couple lived abroad in London and Paris for many years, before Edward's retirement, after which they remained primarily in Newport, Rhode Island. C. Oscar Gridley of London was the secretary of the Carlyle Society and had called on Whitman in April 1884. He had contributed to William Michael Rossetti and Herbert Gilchrist's fundraiser for Whitman in 1885. The poet called Gridley a "friend of L of G. and W. W." in a letter to Gilchrist of September 15, 1885. This postal card is addressed: C Oscar Gridley | 9 Duke Street | London Bridge | London | s e | England. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | AUG | 30 | [illegible] | 1886 | N.J.; PHILADELPHIA, PA. | AUG | 30 | 1886 | PAID. This postal card is addressed: C Oscar Gridley | 9 Duke Street | London Bridge | London | s e | England. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | SEP | 28 | 3 PM | 1886 | N.J. A note on this letter in an unidentified hand suggests that the letter was written to Dana H. Ferreu of The Century Company. As yet we have no additional information about this correspondent. The editor's letter appears to be lost. James Wilkie was a Scottish admirer of Whitman, whose 44-page pamphlet on the poet, The Democratic Movement in Literature, was printed in Scotland in 1886. Morley C. Roberts (1857–1942) was a well-travelled English novelist who had visited, among other places, Australia and South Africa and incorporated elements from his trips into his fiction. While there is no record of Whitman responding to Roberts, he did call the letter "fragrant and beautiful" when discussing it with Horace Traubel (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, January 5, 1889). Burroughs is referring to Whitman's letter of December 19, 1886. It is unclear what paper Burroughs refers to. Burroughs is probably referring to William D. O'Connor's letter to Whitman of December 10, 1886, which the poet apparently forwarded. In the letter, O'Connor laments: "The difficulty of managing pen and ink is indescribable, and only equalled by the difficulty of putting even the simplest expressions together. I begin to fear that paralysis is not far off. I move about with slowness and difficulty. But worst of all is the horrible deadness of the mind. I put in an appearance every day at the office, but it is a long time since I have been able to do anything." Burroughs is referring to "My Book and I," which appeared in the January 1887 issue of the magazine. Whitman is referring to his article "My Book and I," which was published in Lippincott's (January 1887), 121–127. "American Poets," in the October number of the British Quarterly Review. O'Connor describes it as "disfigured by a few lines, but as a whole it is a glorious tribute, and full of splendid and wholehearted ardor." Discussing the letter with Horace Traubel, Whitman responded: "John was then, is now, about right in saying the bowels are the seat of the difficulty, but he was, he is wrong, if he says the bowels are the origin of the difficulty. There's something back of all that in my history, physiology, accounting for the hole I've got myself into. I have lived along pretty conservative lines now for years, but in spite of that I'm slowly slipping to the foot of the hill: it seems as though nothing would stay, however some things might or do delay, my descent" (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, February 11, 1889). To Horace Traubel, Whitman would say about this rejection: "There's a kick: don't you call that a kick? . . . I suppose I'm thin-skinned too, sometimes: I never get it quite clear in my old head that I am not popular and if editors have any use for me at all it can only be among the minor figures of interest. I do not rank high in market valuations—at the best I am only received on sufferance: I have not yet really got beyond the trial stage" (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, August 30, 1888). Probably a publication by John Macmillan Brown of New Zealand's University of Canterbury, who visited Whitman in 1884. It is unclear what the title of the publication was, but it was apparently reviewed in London's The Nation in the early 1880s. "Robert Burns" had already appeared in The Critic on December 16, 1882, and Whitman republished it in the North American Review under the title "Robert Burns as Poet and Person" in November 1886. Julian Hawthorne (1846–1934) was the son of Nathaniel Hawthorne and an American critic and journalist. In October 24, 1886, he published an interview with his mentor James Russell Lowell, in which Lowell apparently called the Prince of Wales "immensely fat"—a quote Lowell later publicly denied. The card is not extant. William Ewart Gladstone (1809–1898) was a British Liberal politician and Prime Minister of Great Britain for four separate terms. In 1886, he unsuccessfully proposed home rule for Ireland. Rachel ("Ray") Pearsall Conn Costelloe (1887–1940) was the daughter of Mary Smith-Costelloe; she would grow up to be a feminist writer and politician. Samuel E. Gross (born 1843) was a realtor and writer from Chicago. Whitman would later send Colles two copies of the 1876 edition of Leaves of Grass. See the letter from Whitman to Colles of November 18, 1886. Robbie Ross (1869–1918) was a journalist, critic, and literary executor of Oscar Wilde. Little is known about this writer from Philadelphia. Besides her 1886 book on Wollstonecraft, Moore published The Literature of Philanthropy in 1893. She was married to a Nathaniel D. Moore. See Whitman's letter of August 13, 1886. This postal card is addressed: Roden Noel | 57 Anesley Park | London s e | England. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | MAY | [illegible] | 3 PM | 1886 | N.J. Whitman's letter is not extant. Swinburne's publishers. Swinburne's response to Robert Buchanan, published in 1872. Elizabeth J. Sharpe was a friend of the Staffords. Grace was one of the daughters of James Hunter (1818–1894), a Scottish friend of Whitman's. Little is known about Samuel G. Stanley besides the information he provides in this letter. He was apparently a friend from Brooklyn. Henry George (1839–1897) was an American writer and political economist whose writings inspired a variety of reform movements in the Progessive Era. The year of Wroth's letter is uncertain. It has been transcribed here as 1889, but it might be 1887. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Camden | NJ. The return address is: CHARLES F. WINGATE, | CONSULTING SANITARY ENGINEER, | Expert Examination of Plumbing, Heating and Ventilation, | NO. 119 PEARL STREET, NEW YORK. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | OCT 5 | 1 PM | 86; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT | 6 | 7 AM | 1886 | REC'D. William S. Walsh (1854–1919) was an American historian, poet, critic, and editor. Mary Grace Thomas was the niece of Robert Pearsall Smith and the sister of the influential American suffragist (and President of Bryn Mawr College) Martha Carey Thomas. Alys Pearsall Smith (1867–1951) was a social activist and the wife of philosopher Bertrand Russell. Smith was the daughter of Robert Pearsall Smith, a Quaker religious leader, evangelist, map publisher, and friend of Whitman. The couple had three children but in 1896 Worthington divorced her—a scandal in the orthodox Quaker family. Edith Carpenter (1863–1902) was a writer and social activist who would marry Grace Thomas's brother Bond Thomas. She committed suicide in 1902. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: EDGAR | 7 | [illegible]; CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC | 11 | 8 AM | 1885 | REC'D. Whitman's letters appear to be lost. Charles Morris (1833–1922) was an American journalist and popular historian. Whitman replied quickly and gave permission: see his letter to Morris of July 20, 1886. Ignatius L. Donnelly (1831–1901) was an American politician, writer, pseudo-scientist and Shakespeare critic, who argued that Francis Bacon wrote Shakespeare's plays. Hamlin Garland (1860–1940) was an American novelist and autobiographer, known especially for his works about the hardships of farm life in the American Midwest. For his relationship to Whitman, see Thomas K. Dean, "Garland, Hamlin," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Leonard Morgan Brown (c. 1857–1928) was an English teacher and friend of Herbert Gilchrist. These letters appear to be lost. Albert Johnston was the son of John H. Johnston, a New York jeweler and friend of Whitman. "Miss Elwell was a friend of my sister's . . . [she] is a reader—a bright woman," Whitman later explained to Horace Traubel (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, December 25, 1888). Joseph Benson Gilder (1858–1936) was, with his siblings Richard Watson Gilder (1844–1909) and Jeannette Leonard Gilder (1849–1916), editor of Scribner's Monthly and the Critic. Blaine and Mary Donaldson were the children of Thomas Donaldson, a lawyer from Philadelphia and a friend of Whitman. Stephen Price (1783–1840), a former lawyer, was one of the managers of the New York Park Theater in the early nineteenth century. He introduced many famous British actors to New York and with his focus on spectacle, Price played a key role in the theater's success and financial well-being. Charles John Kean (1811–1868) was a British actor and son of Edmund Kean. Edwin Forrest (1806–1872) was an American stage actor, well known for his Shakespearean roles. He was also notorious for his feud with William Macready, a British actor, which ended in an 1849 nativist riot at New York's Astor Opera House that left twenty-five dead. Thomas Flynn (born 1834) was an Irish-American actor who managed the Bowery theater briefly in the 1830s and would later help finance and direct the Chatham Street Theatre. Originally a neighborhood playhouse, the Chatham became known for its minstrel shows in the 1840s and would later draw figures like Edwin Forrest and the elder Booth. Mary Ann Wood (1802–1864), neé Paton, was a Scottish actress and singer, often called "Queen of the English Opera" in her day. She was briefly married to the tenor Joseph Wood (died 1863), whom she later divorced. Wood was accused of misbehaving towards a fellow actress by the name of Mrs. Conduit and not only refusing to take part in a benefit the latter organized but putting on a show of her own in direct competition with it. The affair ended with an angry mob storming the Park Theater and driving the Woods off stage. The destruction of the establishment itself was only averted when one of its managers (Edmund Simpson) promised to never let the couple appear on stage again. James Watson Webb (1802–1884) was an American diplomat, general, and newspaperman. After publicly denouncing singer Mary Ann Wood in his Morning Courier for her alledged misbehavior toward a fellow actress (Mrs. Conduit) whom his paper supported, he was challenged to a pistol duel by her husband. While the duel apparently never took place, Webb continuted to editorialize against the couple and played a major role in the Woods' flight from the United States. For more on the Wood affair, see Vera Brodsky Lawrence's Strong on Music (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988), 3–30. Giulia Grisi (1811–1869) was an Italian opera singer who toured throughout Europe and the Americas. Whitman had apparently seen her in the late 1840s. Thérèse Johanne Alexandra Tietjens (1831–1877) was a German-born opera singer who became famous for her performances in London. Maria Malibran (1808–1836) was an Italian mezzo-soprano and one of the most widely known opera performers of the nineteenth century. Malibran famously died while performing in a church in Manchester. William Michael Rooke (1794–1847) was an Irish composer. He had written "Amelie" in 1818 but it only premiered in 1837 to widespread praise. Mawson names two of the more famous traveling opera troupes of his day: Wilson's Opera Troupe (led by Jane Shirreff and John Wilson) as well as the Seguine Operatic Troupe. Shirreff (1811–1883), Mrs. Wilson, and Mrs. Seguin apparently performed "Amelie, or the Love Test" together in 1838 with the support of a variety of singers, including Henry Horncastle who might be the "charming baritone" that Mawson mentions. It was also the first performance of Mary Taylor, who would later become a popular stage actress at London's Olympic Theater. See also Katherine K. Preston, Opera on the Road (Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2001). William Mitchell was one of Broadway's most famous burlesque producers and actor managers. Opéra bouffe was a subgenre of late-nineteenth-century French operetta. Both Giuseppe de Begnis (1793–1849) and Luigi Lablache (1794–1858) were Italian opera singers. Giorgio Ronconi (1810–1890) was an operatic baritone from Milan. Marietta Alboni (1826–1894) was an Italian opera singer who became world famous after touring Europe in the late 1840s. Whitman heard her perform frequently, and she was his favorite singer; his 1860 poem "To a Certain Cantatrice" is addressed to her. Fanny Elssler was a famous Austrian ballerina, who in 1840 performed for two years in the United States alongside her sister in a tour organized by the travel writer and diplomat Henry Wikoff (1811–1884). Augusta Maywood (1825–1876) was an Austrian-American dancer who became one of the first ballerinas of international renown trained in the United States. Cesare Badiali (1805–1865) and Allesandro Bettini were Italian opera singers whom Whitman admired. The poet had written newspaper pieces praising their art as early as 1851. Fortunata Tedesco (1826–1866) was an Italian soprano who earned renown for her 1861 role of Venus in Tannhäuser. Thomas S. Hamblin (1800–1853), Sarah Kirby (1813–1898), and her husband James Stark were well-known theater managers. Hamblin, born in England, managed New York's Bowery Theater for a while and the Starks were active in the theater scene of San Francisco. Giovanni Battista Rubini (1794–1854) was an Italian tenor. Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840) was an Italian composer and one of the most celebrated violin-players of the nineteenth century. Adelina Patti (1843–1919) was an opera singer from Spain and a celebrated soprano. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esqr | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: PHILADELPHIA | PA | AUG 17 85 | 8 30 PM; CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG | 18 | [illegible] AM | [illegible] | REC'D. Whitman's "Booth and the Old Bowery" was published in the New York Tribune on August 16, 1885. Whitman recieved $60 for it. See also his letter to Charles Allen Thorndike Rice of August 12, 1885. In January 1878, Whitman sent Peter Doyle a copy of his poem "Autumn Rivulets" and a West Jersey Press story about the poet (Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White [New York: New York University Press, 1978] 1:79). Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885), widow to Alexander Gilchrist, and her four children Beatrice, Grace, Percy and Herbert. Anne Gilchrist wrote one of the first significant pieces of criticism on Leaves of Grass, titled "A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (From Late Letters by an English Lady to W. M. Rossetti)," Radical 7 (May 1870), 345–59. Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that she had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when she visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned her affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. Anne's son Herbert (1857–1914) was a painter and shared his mother's fascination for Whitman. For more on Whitman and the Gilchrists, see Marion Walker Alcaro, "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). John Lucas was a manufacturer of paint with a store at 1028 Race Street in Philadelphia. Lucas and his wife were active in numerous professional and philanthropic organizations. A week after Harry's letter, John became a member of the Philadelphia Society for Organizing Charitable Relief and Repressing Mendicancy while his wife was later elected president of The Women's Silk Culture Association of the United States. The Lucas family had a zinc and color works near Kirkwood; see Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, 66 (October 1948), 148. Napoleon Sarony (1821–1896) was an eccentric lithographer and photographer who took at least nine pictures of the grey-bearded Whitman in 1878. Besides Whitman, Sarony's clients included well-known literary figures like Mark Twain and Oscar Wilde. One of the trailblazers of modern celebrity culture, Sarony invited public figures to sit for him and be included in his catalogues. Whitman enjoyed the experience, writing Harry Stafford that he "had a real pleasant time" and calling the studio a "great photographic establishment" (see his letter to Stafford of July 6–7, 1878). For more on Sarony, see Ed Folsom, "Nineteenth-century Visual Culture," A Companion to Walt Whitman, ed. Donald D. Kummings (Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell, 2009), 272–288. Benjamin Gurney (1833–1899) was the son of Jeremiah Gurney (1812–1886), one of the founding figures of American photography. Together, they ran the Gurney & Son photographic studio in New York and took several pictures of Whitman in the early 1870s (see John Rietz, "Another Whitman Photograph: The Gurney and Rockwood Sessions Reconsidered," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 9 [Summer 1991] 24–25). After the end of the firm in 1874 and with Jeremiah in Europe, Benjamin Gurney seemed to have started working for his former competitor, Napoleon Sarony. For more on Gurney & Son, see Christian A. Peterson, Chaining the Sun: Portraits by Jeremiah Gurney (Minneapolis: Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 2000). William Harrison Riley (1835–1907) of Manchester was a British socialist. He published Yankee Letters to British Workmen in 1871, and in 1872 began editing the British journal, the International Herald. He addressed Whitman as "My dear Friend and Master" in a letter on March 5, 1879. Twelve years earlier he had found a copy of Leaves of Grass "and saw a Revelation. . . . In all my troubles and successes I have been strengthened by your divine teachings." Norah Gilchrist, née Fitzmaurice, was the wife of Anne Gilchrist's son Percy Carlyle Gilchrist. Eustace Conway, associated with Bangs & Stetson in New York City, was the uncle of Moncure D. Conway. See Autobiography: Memories and Experiences of Moncure Daniel Conway (Boston: New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1904), 1:38. Edward M. Lee was appointed territorial secretary of Wyoming on 25th of July 1868. See Report of the Governor of Wyoming Territory Made to the Secretary of the Interior on the Year 1878 (Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1878), 1663. William Charles Bonaparte-Wyse (1826–1892) was an Irish poet living in France. He had translated Whitman's "I Heard You Solemn-Sweet Pipes of the Organ" and "Reconciliation" into Provençal, a minority dialect of southern France. His parents were Sir Thomas Wyse, an Irish politician, and Marie Bonaparte, a French author. Bonaparte-Wyse was a great-nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. He was married to Ellen Linzee Prout (1842–1925). For more on Wyse and his Whitman translations, see Thomas Donaldson, Walt Whitman the Man (New York: Francis P. Harper, 1896), 215–220. For his parents, see: "Wyse, Sir Thomas" A Compendium of Irish Biography (Dublin: M.H. Gill & Son, 1878), 574. Caroline Virginia Wiley Anderson (1848–1919) was the daughter of abolitionist William Still (1821–1902) and Letitia George. She graduated from the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1878 as a Doctor of Medicine (being one of only two African-American women in her class). She then applied for an internship at the New England Hospital for Women and Children in Boston. After appealing a racially biased refusal to admit her, she was accepted and interned alongside Beatrice Gilchirst at the hospital and an outpatient dispensary. In 1879, she established a practice in Philadelphia. Wiley married the Reverend Matthew Anderson and became an active member of the Philadelphia community (founding, for example, the city's first black YWCA). See Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science, eds. Marilyn Ogilvie and Joy Harvey (London; New York: Routledge, 2000), 65–66. On January 26, 1879, the Philadelphia Times published Walt Whitman's article "Winter Sunshine. A Trip from Camden to the Coast." Paragraph 31 of the piece was titled "A July Afternoon by the Pond" when it was later included in Specimen Days. Sarah Adelaide Trowbridge, née Newton. John Ruskin (1819–1900) was one of the leading art critics in Victorian Great Britain. Whitman sent Leaves of Grass and a "couple of photographs" to Ruskin via William Harrison Riley in March 1879 (see the letter from Whitman to Riley of March 18, 1879). Ruskin, according to Whitman, expressed "worry...[that] Leaves of Grass is...too personal, too emotional, launched from the fires of...spinal passions, joys, yearnings" (see the letter from Whitman to William O'Connor of October 7, 1882). Whitman, late in life, said to Horace Traubel: "[I] take my Ruskin with some qualifications." Still, Ruskin "is not to be made little of: is of unquestionable genius and nobility" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, January 24, 1889, 17). To recieve the 'Goldsmith's Hall' stamp, gold had to conform to the standard of at least 18 of gold to 6 of alloy. The sterling standard required 22 of gold to 2 of alloy. See Charles Knight, The English Cyclopaedia (London: Bradbury, Evans & Co., 1867), 4:1014. These pieces are Matthew Arnold's "Wordsworth" and "Moose-Hunting in Canada" by the Earl of Dunraven, Windham Wyndham-Quin. See Appletons' Journal: A Magazine of General Literature, 7.2 (New York: D. Appleton and Company, August 1879). Walt Whitman Johnson (1874–1935) was one of the children of John Newton Johnson (1832–1904) and his second wife, Sarah Evergreen Parker (1846–1907). Burroughs published Locusts and Wild Honey, a collection of allegorical nature writing, in 1879. The volume contains a meditation on water that praises Whitman's expression "the slumbering and liquid trees" from "Song of Myself." See John Burroughs, Locusts and Wild Honey (1879; Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1895), 71. The published book contains the same chapter titles, except that "Sharp Eyes" precedes "Strawberries" instead of coming after it. See Burroughs, Locusts and Wild Honey. Mary Louise Booth (1831–1889) was the first editor of the New York-based Harper's Bazaar, one of the first fashion magazines of its time. Booth also translated around 40 works of French literature and wrote a history of New York. For more on Booth and the Bazaar, see Paula Bernat Bennett, "Subtle Subversion: Mary Louise Booth and Harper's Bazaar (1867–1889)," in Blue Pencils & Hidden Hands: Women Editing Periodicals, 1830–1910 (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2004), 225–247. William Taylor was the editor of the Woodstown (N.J.) Constitution (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The letter is cut off here but a transcription of the letter by William Douglas O'Connor shows that Bathgate went on to quote a recent communication from Ruskin: "The reason neither he (yourself) nor Emerson are read in England is first—that they are deadly true—in the sense of rifles—against all our deadliest sins. The second that this truth is asserted with an especial colour of American egotism which good English scholars cannot, and bad ones will not endure. This is the particular poison and tare by which the Devil has rendered their fruit ungatherable but by gleaning and loving hands, or the blessed ones of the poor" (Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, New York Public Library). For Ruskin's January 29 letter to Bathgate, see William Sloane Kennedy, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (London: Alexander Gardner, 1896), 84. See also the letter from Whitman to William Harrison Riley of March 18, 1879. On February 16, Whitman received from Ruskin £10 for five sets of books through Bathgate, to whom the books were sent on February 19 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Herbert J. Bathgate was a British author and friend of the art critic John Ruskin. His essay "Ouida" was advertised in the 1881 Trübner & Co. reprint of Whitman's preface to his first edition of Leaves of Grass. Whitman commented on Bathgate later in life: "Bathgate writes genuinely, considerately: he has no affectations" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, January 28, 1889). Norman McKenzie was a high school student in Sarnia. Whitman undoubtedly met the boy when he visited a public school in Sarnia (Walt Whitman's Diary in Canada, 8–9); probably McKenzie accompanied the poet on "A Moonlight Excursion up Lake Huron" (7–8). Whitman replied (lost) to the boy's letter on July 4 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839—1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Norman McKenzie was a high school student in Sarnia. Whitman undoubtedly met the boy when he visited a public school in Sarnia (Walt Whitman's Diary in Canada, ed. William Sloane Kennedy [Boston: Small, Maynard, 1904], 8–9); probably McKenzie accompanied the poet on "A Moonlight Excursion up Lake Huron" (7–8). Captain Respegius Edward Lindell worked for the Camden ferries (Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 183). He was also a viola player (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Kivas Tully (1820–1905) was a Toronto-based architect and politician. Born in Ireland in 1820, he immigrated to Canada in his early twenties. He was the architect of many institutional buildings in Toronto and submitted proposals for the Toronto and Georgian Bay Ship Canal and the Toronto Harbor Front (Andrea Kristof, "Kivas Tully," The Canadian Encyclopedia, Historica Foundation [2013]). Fred W. Rauch worked on the Camden ferry that Whitman frequently rode after moving to the city in 1873. In Specimen Days Whitman calls Rauch one of his "ferry friends" (Floyd Stovall, ed. [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 183). Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–1894) was a Bostonian author, physician, and lecturer. One of the Fireside Poets, he was a good friend of Ralph Waldo Emerson as well as John Burroughs. Holmes remained ambivalent about Whitman's poetry. He married Amelia Lee Jackson in 1840 and they had three children, including the later Supreme Court judge Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. For more information, see Julie A. Rechel-White, "Holmes, Oliver Wendell (1809–1894)," (Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, eds. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings [New York: Garland Publishing, 1998], 280). Joseph William Thompson was a lawyer from London and member of the Middle Temple, one of the four Inns of Court of the city. He was called to the bar in 1879. Thompson was the 5th son of Charles Thompson of Preswylfa near Cardiff, a member of the Society of Friends (Joseph Foster, Men-at-the-bar: A Biographical Hand-list of the Members of the Various Inns [London and Avlesbury: Hazell, Watson and Viney, Limited, 1885], 464). Honora Elizabeth Thompson (1871–1954). Walter Lewin's quarterly on "Literature, Philosophy and Religion" also published Frank W. Walters's essay "Walt Whitman." Lewin did end up publishing Whitman's 1855 preface in his journal in 1880 (with Trübner & Co. as the publisher). Lewin turned out to be an avid reviewer of Whitman, too, highly praising Leaves of Grass in a September 1887 review and Specimen Days and Collect in June 1887, Democratic Vistas, and Other Papers in 1888 as well as November Boughs in 1889. Whitman himself was little impressed, calling Lewin's piece on November Boughs "very shallow, superficial, [...] too!" and saying to Richard Maurice Bucke, "Doctor you had better take it: you are the fellow who adopts all the foundlings!" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1953), 4:274–275). See the postal card from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of January 3, 1880. Concerning the shipment of books to Bucke in March 1880, Whitman made the following entries in his Commonplace Book: 17 March 1880: "sent Dr Bucke Two copies of L of G. on sale," and 26 March 1880: "sent Dr Bucke three Vols: two TR and one of L of G. 5 Vols in all to be acc't for $3.50 each" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See the letter from Bucke to Whitman of March 18, 1880. James Berry Bensel (1855–1886) was a clerk, author, and public speaker; he published a volume of poems titled In the King's Garden: And Other Poems (Boston: D. Lothrop and Company, 1885). In 1890, author Charles H. Crandall remarked that Bensel's "life is the pathetic and too familiar story of suffering and unfulfilled promise" (Representative Sonnets by American Poets, [Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company], 323). Probably Whitman sent an account of his lecture to this unidentified editor similar to the one mentioned in his letter to Whitelaw Reid of April 14, 1879. According to his Commonplace Book, Whitman learned from Thomas W. H. Rolleston that Mrs. Alexander had not received a copy of Two Rivulets, which she had ordered in 1878 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See the letter from Rolleston to Whitman of July 29, 1879. The poet sent the book on August 9, 1879, and so informed Rolleston on the same day, to whom he wrote again on August 14: "sent p. o. letters." Whitman received a postal order for $10 from Mrs. Alexander about November 1, 1879, while he was in St. Louis (St. Louis Diary). Frédéric Louis Ritter set "Dirge for Two Veterans" to music; see Whitman's letters to Herbert Gilchrist of April 29, 1879, and to John Burroughs of February 21, 1880. Kenneth P. Neilson, in The World of Walt Whitman Music: A Bibliographical Study (1963), lists only one work by Ritter. Minot Judson Savage (1841–1918) was a Congregational minister in his early years, but when he found himself deeply influenced by the theories of evolution, he decided to become a Unitarian. He published such works as The Problem Attempted to be Solved by the Trinity and Science and the Church. See also Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White (New York: New York University Press, 1977) 1:209. Named by James Cook "Sandwich Islands" after the Earl of Sandwich, Hawaii returned to its Polynesian name in 1840. A region located today in southern Egypt and the Republic of the Sudan. The letter is not extant and the circumstances surrounding the alleged insult to Johnston's son are unknown. See Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller (New York: New York University Press, 1964), 3:177 n21. Apparently, whatever Odenheimer's condition was, it was not life-threatening. Nine years later, Whitman told Horace Traubel: "The Odenheimer girls have been in: you know them? Lou Odenheimer? They brought me tiger-lilies—leopard lilies, they called them" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, August 16, 1889). Whitman's "Scenes on Ferry and River" in Specimen Days lists the day-shift of the Camden ferry as "captains Hand, Walton, and Giberson" (Floyd Stovall, ed. [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 183). Alma Calder Johnston was an author and the second wife of John H. Johnston. Her family owned a home and property in Equinunk, Pennsylvania. For more on the Johnstons, see Susan L. Roberson, "Johnston, John H. (1837–1919) and Alma Calder" (Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Elliott may have been referring to the 63rd regiment of the Ohio National Guard from Huron County that became part of the 166th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (The Union Army: States and Regiments [Madison, WI: Federal Publishing Company, 1908], 2:438). "Dominion" was a designation used to describe the provinces of Canada. It was formalized in the Canadian Constitution Act, 1867. The Concord School of Philosophy was a series of lectures held at Amos Bronson Alcott's Hillside Chapel in Concord, Massachusetts, from 1879 to 1888. Watkins Glen is a gorge twenty miles west of Ithaca, New York, famous for its picturesque waterfalls. In Specimen Days, Walt Whitman recounts his meeting with Poe as follows: "I also remember seeing Edgar A. Poe, and having a short interview with him, (it must have been in 1845 or '6,) in his office, second story of a corner building, (Duane or Pearl street.) He was editor and owner or part owner of 'the Broadway Journal.' The visit was about a piece of mine he had publish'd. Poe was very cordial, in a quiet way, appear'd well in person, dress, &c. I have a distinct and pleasing remembrance of his looks, voice, manner and matter; very kindly and human, but subdued, perhaps a little jaded. "(Floyd Stovall, ed. [New York: New York University Press, 1963]). The Royal Canadian Institute is Canada's oldest scientific society. It is dedicated to "the encouragement and general advancement of the physical sciences, the arts and the manufactures." Based in Toronto, it was founded in 1848 by Sandford Fleming and Kivas Tully (Lawrence J. Burpee and Arthur G. Doughty, eds.The Makers of Canada: Index and Dictionary of Canadian History [Toronto: Morang &Co Limted, 1912], 60). Tully wrote on this article the date "March 9th/78." A total amount for Wheat, Corn, Oats, Rye and Barley was added here by hand: "6,477.645." Jean Talon, Comte d'Orsainville (1626–1694) was the second "intendant" of New France. The 1912 Index and Dictionary of Canadian History describes this position as follows: "The intendant was charged with the supervision of practically all the civil affairs of the colony, including the administration of justice, but his most important function, from the point of view of the court, was to act as a virtual spy upon the acts of the governor."(Lawrence J. Burpee and Arthur G. Doughty, eds.The Makers of Canada: Index and Dictionary of Canadian History [Toronto: Morang &Co Limted, 1912], 185). L'Anse des Mères (Mother's Bay) is a waterfront in Quebec City. Saint-Charles River is the main river in Quebec City. It springs from Saint-Charles Lake and ends in the Saint Lawrence River. Giovanni da Verrazzano (1485–1528) was an explorer from Florentine in the service of the King of France. John Cabot (ca. 1450-1499) was a Italian navigator who is believed to have been the first European to set foot on American soil since the Vikings in the 11th century. Jacques Cartier (1491-1557) was a French explorer who claimed Canada for France. He is also believed to have been the first European to travel inland in North America. Henry Hudson was an English navigator (ca. 1560s-1611) who explored what is known today as Hudson Bay and the Hudson River trying to discover a passage to China. Samuel de Champlain (1574-1635) was the French scientist and explorer who founded New France and Quebec City. The Red River of the North originates at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux River and the Otter Tail River (close to Breckenridge, Minnesota) and ends in Lake Winnipeg. Today, the river is known as Mississippi based on the Ojibwe designation 'misi-ziibi' (Great River). Jacques Marquette (1637-1675) was a Jesuit priest and explorer who founded Michigan's first European settlement. Louis Joliet (ca. 1645-1700) was a French Canadian explorer who is credited with the discovery of the upper reaches of the Mississippi. The Myaaniaki Algonquian people who lived in Indiana and Western Ohio. This quotation is from William Cullen Bryant's "Thanatopsis." Lewis T. Ives, an artist and the father of Percy Ives. See the card from Whitman to Locker-Lampson of September 28, 1880. See the letter from Locker-Lampson to Whitman of July 3, 1880. Rolleston quotes from Whitman's Democratic Vistas (1888) here (see Whitman's Complete Prose Works, 245). Whitman himself did not specifically refer to Emerson in this passage. These lines are adapted from the following, in William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing: "However they have writ the style of gods | And made a push at chance and sufferance" (5.1). See the letter from Richard W. Gilder to Whitman of October 1, 1879. William Charles Bonaparte-Wyse (1826–1892) was an Irish poet living in France. He had translated Whitman's "I Heard You Solemn-Sweet Pipes of the Organ" and "Reconciliation" into Provençal, a minority dialect of southern France. His parents were Sir Thomas Wyse, an Irish politician, and Marie Bonaparte, a French author. Bonaparte-Wyse was a great-nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. He was married to Ellen Linzee Prout (1842–1925). For more about Wyse and his Whitman translations, see Thomas Donaldson, Walt Whitman the Man (New York: Francis P. Harper, 1896), 215–220. Whitman's relationship with the The Literary World changed over the years. In 1888, the poet recalled: "The Literary World started out years ago with being friendly—almost fulsome, eulogistic: its head man was Abbot: I had several letters from Abbot, written in a friendly temper: displaying a friendly feeling for me. The other man, the money man, on The World, was Hines [...] At that time [1880] they wanted me to send them something for an Emerson number of The World [...] I sent them the piece— [...] But this friendly disposition came to an end. There was a time when the question of W. W. came up—Abbot must have been overborne: yet, whatever the policy of the paper, more recent letters from Abbot—personal letters—have in substance repeated his original judgment" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, December 10, 1888. Whitman is talking about "The Poetry of the Future," published in The North American Review 132 (February 1881), 195–210. Whitman is talking about his piece "Poetry To-day In America" (The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 5:214–215) William Sloane Kennedy (1850–1929) was on the staff of the Philadelphia American and the Boston Transcript; he also published biographies of Longfellow, Holmes, and Whittier (Dictionary of American Biography [New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1933], 336–337). Apparently Kennedy called on the poet for the first time on November 21, 1880 (William Sloane Kennedy, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman [London: Alexander Gardener, 1896], 1). Though Kennedy was to become a fierce defender of Whitman, in his first published article he admitted reservations about the "coarse indecencies of language" and protested that Whitman's ideal of democracy was "too coarse and crude"; see The Californian, 3 (February 1881), 149–158. For more about Kennedy, see Katherine Reagan, "Kennedy, William Sloane (1850–1929)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Rice is talking about Whitman's "The Poetry of the Future," published in The North American Review (132 [February 1881], 195–210). Irish National Land League (1870s-1890s) was an Irish nationalist organisation that aimed to abolish the landlord-system in Ireland; see: Michael Davitt, The Fall of Feudalism in Ireland : or The Story of the Land League Revolution (London and New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1904) In the fall of 1880, the Land League discovered its most powerful weapon of attack—the boycott. The phrase Rolleston quotes here is commonly associated with a September 1880 speech by Land League President Charles Stewart Parnell (see, for instance, James M. Jasper, The Art of Moral Protest [Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008], 251–252), but Norman D. Palmer writes: "Apparently the subject was first referred to during the land campaign by John Dillon, who, speaking at Maryborough, Queen's County, on October 5, 1879, advised that if a tenant took a farm from which another had been evicted, no man should 'speak to him or have any business transaction with him.' And Dillon's words were repeated and elaborated on numerous occasions prior to September, 1880, by other spokesmen of the league" (The Irish Land League Crisis [New Haven: Yale University Press, 1940], 196). John Dillon (1851–1927), an Irish nationalist politician, was a very active member of the Land League and advocated a fighting policy for the organization. His tempestuous career—he was arrested several times and traveled extensively in his campaigns, even to America and Australia—was spent participating in various Irish nationalist groups: the Land League, the Irish National Federation, and the Nationalist Party. Whitman had recieved the poem "Calvin Harlowe," attached to the letter Rolleston sent him on November 11, 1880. Apparently, Whitman liked the poem, noting the receipt with the words "fine ballad" on the envelope of the letter. The poem was eventually published in Kottabos, 4.1 (1882), 1–2. See the letter from Rolleston to Whitman of February 14, 1882. Probably an allusion to the "Morey letter," a document allegedly written by James A. Garfield that surfaced during the 1880 election. It was first called "Garfield's Death Warrant" because the letter's author advocated extended Chinese immigration. Garfield denied authorship and, since in 1879 Garfield had opposed a Chinese exclusion law, his position on the subject was known, and the piece was quickly believed to be a forgery (John I. Davenport, History of the Forged "Morey letter" [New York: John I. Davenport, 1884]). The episode, however, does indicate the contemporary disturbance over Chinese immigration. In 1880, a treaty was signed providing for regulation or suspension of immigration but not its absolute prohibition, and two years later, in 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed. Whitman wrote a series of numbers on the back of the envelope that accompanied this letter. This postal card is addressed: Vereinigte Staaten | Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens Street | Camden | New Jersey | United States. It is postmarked: Dresden Altstadt | 3. | 22 9 | 82 | 6-7N | Camden, N. J. | Oct | 8 | 7 PM | Recd. Specimen Days & Collect was published on September 8, 1882, by Rees Welsh in Philadelphia. Clementon, New Jersey, is a town about twelve miles from Whitman's home in Camden; it is right next to Kirkwood, where Harry's parents, George and Susan Stafford, lived on a farm Whitman frequently visited. Harry worked in Clementon at this time. Herbert Gilchrist (1857–1914), the artist-son of Anne Gilchrist, was a frequent visitor with Whitman to the Stafford farm. For more on him, see Marion Walker Alcaro, "Gilchrist, Herbert Harlakenden (1857–1914)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, ed., (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Carpenter (1844–1929) was a British socialist writer and devoted follower of Whitman. This letter is addressed: Talcott Williams | Daily Press office | Cor: 7th & Chestnut Sts: | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Pa. June 29 | 1882 | 1 PM. Talcott Williams (1849–1928) was associated with the New York Sun and World as well as the Springfield Republican before he became the editor of the Philadelphia Press in 1879. His newspaper vigorously defended Whitman in news articles and editorials after the Boston censorship of 1882; see Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller (New York: New York University Press, 1964), 3:296–97n. Rees Welsh became Whitman's publisher after Osgood & Company could not stand up to the scurrilous and sanctimonious blasts of Anthony Comstock and his associates. On the letter, Whitman noted "book sentOn October 20, 1888, O'Connor had written Bucke that "a month ago my right eye closed, and the lid had not yet lifted, spite of battery. So I am practically blind" (See Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence of Walt Whitman [New York: New York University Press, 1969], 4:227n89). Earlier that year, January 23, 1888, O'Connor had described one of his attacks for Bucke:
"My state of health is exasperating. Everyone says I look very well and I feel reasonably so but for the horrible lameness and feebleness. Last Monday (the 16th) I had a new experience. I sat down to dinner, suddenly felt a curious still feeling, pushed back my chair, and became perfectly insensible. It was then five o'clock in the afternoon. When I came to it was ten. The room was lighted, and four doctors were around me, and my wife and a couple of neighbors. I thought I had died, did not know where I was, and for about an hour could not articulate. Then I began to realize I was still in the world, and began a resolute effort to have three or four messages written for me, for I tranquilly thought I was dying. I succeeded, and was then helped up stairs and put to bed, where I remained for the rest of the week. It was a tough of apoplexy, incident to my malady the doctor said, and a small blood vessel in my head had broken. Now I am no worse than usual, save that I am very feeble; and I go to the office, though I can't do much." (See the letter from O'Connor to Bucke of October 20, 1888 in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.).
As Bucke had predicted, this was the sort of disease that "is a good deal more in the habit of going forwards than backwards." On March 8, 1889, Ellen O'Connor, William Douglass O'Connor's wife, wrote to Whitman about her husband's worsening condition and his epileptic seizures.
"Dear Walt, I have not been able to write you again, for Wm. has been & is very ill. On the 6th Wed. he had five of those epileptic seizures, the last four from 5 P.M. to 9.30 going from one to another, without recovering consciousness. He has not been up since, is very weak & sick, & his mind not clear yet. Will send word again as soon as I can. With love— Nelly O'C." (Artem Lozynsky, ed., The Letters of Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke to Walt Whitman [Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1977], 75n2.
Whitman mentioned reviews of November Boughs by W.S. Kennedy in the Boston Transcript and by Melville Philips in the Philadelphia Press. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of October 21, 1888. See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, October 20, 1888). See note 10 accompanying the letter from Whitman to Bucke of October 21, 1888. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | OC 24 | 88 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT | 26 | 6 AM | 1888 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | OC 25 | 88 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT | 27 | [illegible]AM | [illegible] | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | OC 29 | 88 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT | 30 | 1[illegible] PM | 1888 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: CAMBRIDGE STA. | FEB | 25 | 8AM | [illegible] MASS; CAMDEN | FEB | 27 | 6 AM | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: CAMBRIDGE STA | MAR 29 | 2PM | ON MASS; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR 30 | 10AM | 1888 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: BELMONT | JUN | 8 | MASS.; Camden. N.J. | Jun | 9 | 8AM | [illegible] | Rec'd. Rev. John Oliver (1852–1925) was a Scottish minister and collector of rare books and manuscripts. He was born in St. Quivox, Ayrshire, to James Oliver (1824–1910) and Margaret McMurtrie (1832–1910). His brother was the well-known physician and hygienist Sir Thomas Oliver (1853–1942). Oliver studied at Glasgow University and was ordained by the Church of Scotland in 1878, going on to serve at Lady Yester's Parish in Edinburgh and Belhaven Parish in Dunbar before transferring to Glasgow's Maryhill Parish in 1888 and serving there until his retirement in 1922. Oliver also served as military chaplain for the Maryhill Barracks for several decades and chaplain of Masonic Lodge Maryhill no. 510. In 1886, he married Isabella Kelly (or Kellie) Dunlop (1852–1942), and the couple had four children: Edwin Hamerton, Constance Evelyn, Mona Middlemas, and Athole Gordon. Oliver occasionally wrote for periodicals, with letters and short articles appearing in journals such as Chambers Journal, The Journal of the Ex Libris Society, and The Expository Times. Alexander Thomson, a local Maryhill historian and friend of Oliver, declared that Oliver possessed a "courteous and considerate kindliness to all" and "a thorough absence of that pecuniary hunger for self . . . which seems year by year to become more persistent and engrossing in clerical circles" (Random Notes and Rambling Recollections of Drydock, the Dock, or Kelvindock, All Now Known by the Modern Name of Maryhill 1750–1894 [Glasgow: Kerr and Richardson, 1895], 71). For more information, see the notice of Oliver's death in "News of the Week" in the Southern Reporter (Selkirk, Scotland), January 8, 1925, 2. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Boston. Mass | Jul 9 | [covered] AM | 1888; Camden, N.J. | Jul 10 | 8 AM | 1888 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: CAMBRIDGE | OCT | 9 | 7 PM | [illegible] | MASS. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: BELMONT | OCT 18 | MASS; Camden N [illegible] | Oct | 19 | 1 PM | [illegible] | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: BELMONT | FEB | 3 | MASS; CAMDEN. N.J. | FEB | 4 | 10AM | REC'D. This letter is addressed to David McKay. Kennedy is referring to "Walt Whitman's New Volume," a notice of the publication of November Boughs that was published in the Boston Evening Transcript on October 17, 1888. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. The postmarks are illegible. Arnold's "Civilisation in the United States" appeared in the April 1888 issue of Nineteenth Century. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: BOSTON MASS | MAR 4 | 9-15P | 1888; Camden, N.J. | Mar 5 | 1PM | 1888 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | Camden | N. J. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | JUN 7 | [illegible] | 88; CAMDEN. NJ | JUN | 7 | 4PM | 88 | REC'D. Whitman wrote what appears to be a draft note or a partial letter on the back of this letter from Lane. Whitman wrote on the back of this letter a draft letter to Robert Pearsall Smith dated June 2, 1888. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Boston.Mass. | Jul 13 | 3-PM | 1888; Camden, N.J. | Jul | 14 | 8 AM | 1888 | Rec'd. Russian immigrant artist C.V. Skokowski was a Boston painter who later taught Russian at the New England College of Languages. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden New Jersey. It is postmarked: BOSTON.MASS | JUL 24 | 1-PM | 1888. There is an additional Camden, N.J. postmark, but only the name of the city is legible. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esqre | Camden | New Jersey | United States, America. It is postmarked: PAID | ALL | MARYBOROUGH | AU 7 | 88 | QUEENSLAND; BRISBANE | A | AU 10 | 88 | QUEENSLAND; NEW YORK | OCT | 5 | PAID | E | ALL; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT | 6 | 6AM | 1888 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: For Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: FARMINGTON | AU | 21 | 1888 | ME; CAMDEN | AUG | 2[illegible] | 6 AM | [illegible] | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St. | Camden | United States. New Jersey. It is postmarked: Delgany | C | S[illegible] 1 | 88; [illegible] | C | SE 1 | 88; [illegible] | C | SE 1 | 88; Camden | Sep | 9 | 1 P M | 1888 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Hon "Walt" Whitman, | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: BOSTON.MASS. | SEP 4 | 4–AM | 1888; Camden | Sep | 5 | [illegible]. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: TELFORD | SEP | 12 | 1888 | PA; CAMDEN, N. J. | SEP | [illegible] | 6[illegible] | [illegible] | [illegible]. Ingram's return address is printed at the top of the envelope: Return to WILLIAM INGRAM, | 31 North Second Street, PHILADELPHIA, Pa., | If not delivered within 5 days. This letter is addressed: US. of America | Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: CHISWICK | ID | OC 2 | 88; NEW YORK | OCT | [illegible] | CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT | 13 | [illegible] AM | [illegible] | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: NEW HAVEN, CONN | OCT 10 | 2PM; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT | 11 | 6AM | [illegible] | REC'D. This letter is addressed: For Walt Whitman Esquire | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: [illegible] | OCT 16 | 530 PM | 88; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT| 17 | 6 AM | 1888 | REC'D. Although the New York Tribune had printed Whitman's review of his own books earlier in the year (see Whitman's February 8, 1876 letter to Whitelaw Reid) as well as sympathetic reports on January 29 and February 25, 1876, and excerpts from Two Rivulets on March 1, 1876, the newspaper, probably through the influence of Bayard Taylor, began to publish hostile notices. Burroughs' defense was published on April 13, 1876. On April 22, 1876, William D. O'Connor, Whitman's estranged friend, wrote an extravagant, and garrulous, encomium. Later the Tribune resumed its friendly attitude toward Whitman. Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian, lecturer, and philosopher. He wrote frequently on the conflict between scientific changes and the traditional social (often religious) order. His History of Friedrich II of Prussia, called Frederick the Great was published in 1858. For more on Carlyle, see John D. Rosenberg, Carlyle and the Burden of History (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1985). For Whitman's writings on Carlyle, see "Death of Thomas Carlyle" (pp. 168–170) and "Carlyle from American Points of View" (170–178) in Specimen Days (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1882). The English poet and critic Matthew Arnold (1822–1888) was in America for a lecture tour from October 1883 to March 1884. Burroughs had gone to hear Arnold speak in New York on January 4, 1884 (see Burroughs's letter to Whitman of January 8, 1884). "Reminiscences of the Indian Bureau" (later retitled "An Indian Bureau Reminiscence") was published in the February 1884 issue of Baldwin's Monthly. Possibly "With Husky-Haughty Lips, O Sea," which Whitman had mentioned to O'Connor in a letter of December 3, 1883, and which was published in Harper's Monthly in March, 1884. The issue may have been distributed before the publication date. William Sloane Kennedy also discusses this poem in a February 16, 1884 letter to Whitman. The "Tribune article" O'Connor refers to is a review, "New Publications," New-York Tribune 41 (19 November 1881): 4. His attack on this review can be found in Bucke's Walt Whitman where he declares "it would seem to have been written . . . in a brothel. . . . The whole article is thoroughly obscene" (81). Whitman sent advertising circulars to Bellows on November 13, after which Bellows sent this order for books, and on November 18 Whitman forwarded the two-volume edition and Burroughs's book (See Whitman's Commonplace Book in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman replied to Bellows in a letter dated November 20, 1877. Smith Caswell was one of Burroughs's hired hands (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 178). After Burroughs informed Whitman of the death of Caswell's brother, Charles, the poet copied verbatim Burroughs's sketch of the young man in "Three Young Men's Deaths," printed in Cope's Tobacco Plant and later in Specimen Days (157–158). Whitman sent the article to John Fraser, the editor of Cope's Tobacco Plant, on November 27, through Josiah Child (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See also the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of June 11, 1879. This abbreviation of "ed," adopted by Whitman throughout Specimen Days, probably did not appear in Burroughs's original letter. Whitman sent the books to Brown on October 24, 1876, and Brown would have likely received them in November of 1876 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). No note from Whitman to Whitelaw Reid or the Tribune dated May 28 has been found. "Broadway Revisited," which appeared in the Tribune on May 10, was the first of three "chatty" letters Whitman submitted that May (The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 3:153 n39). The others were "Real Summer Openings," published May 17, and "These May Afternoons," published May 24. See the letters from Whitman to Whitelaw Reid of May 8, 1879, and May 12, 1879. Donald Nicholson (1834–1915) served as the managing editor of the New York Tribune. Born in England, Nicholson graduated with honors from Christ College, Cambridge before moving to New York in 1868. In New York, Nicholson and Albert D. Richardson wrote a popular biography of Civil War General Ulysses S. Grant. Through Richardson, an editorial staff member at the Tribune, Nicholson met then managing editor Whitelaw Reid, who worked under editor Horace Greeley. Nicholson began work at the Tribune as Reid's secretary, eventually becoming managing editor under Reid when Reid succeeded Greeley as editor in 1872. Nicholson came into contact with Whitman during Whitman's attempts to publish in the Tribune. Henry Braid Wilson (1828–1898) was postmaster of Camden during Rutherford B. Hayes's presidential term, from 1877 to 1881. Wilson spent much of his life as a civil servant in Camden, including terms as City Council member and president. The H. B. Wilson School in Camden, which opened in 1907, is named in his honor. He is the father of Admiral Henry Braid Wilson Jr., who served as a naval officer in the First World War. Based in Philadelphia, Powers and Weightman was one of the major drug manufacturing firms in the country during the nineteenth century. The company was a primary seller of quinine during the Civil War, and these sales made company heads William Weightman and Thomas H. Powers two of the richest men in Pennsylvania. Weightman's mansion, Ravenhill, was later incorporated into the campus of Philadelphia University. Edward H. Hames (1844–1922) served as business manager of the monthly journal The Literary World after he and editor Edward Abbott purchased the journal from its founder, Samuel R. Crocker, in 1877. Hames worked with the Boston-based journal until 1903. Leggett is referring to Elias Hicks (1748–1830), a Quaker from Long Island whose controversial teachings led to a split in the Religious Society of Friends in 1827, a division that was not resolved until 1955. Hicks had been a friend of Whitman's father and grandfather, and Whitman himself was a supporter and proponent of Hicks's teachings. This letter excerpt begins Whitman's "Reminiscence of Elias Hicks" in Specimen Days, where Whitman writes that accompanying Leggett's letter was "a rare old engraved head of Elias Hicks, (from a portrait in oil by Henry Inman, painted for J. V. S., must have been 60 years or more ago, in New York)." For more on Hicks and his influence on Whitman, see David S. Reynolds, Walt Whitman's America (New York: Knopf, 1995), 37–39. This abbreviation of "ed," adopted by Whitman throughout Specimen Days, probably did not appear in Leggett's original letter. James Hearne was steward of the Century Club, an exclusive club in New York City devoted to the promotion of arts and literature. Hearne was dismissed as steward of the organization in 1883. Whitman had sent Leaves of Grass and Two Rivulets to the Century Club at the request of Titus M. Coan. See the letter from Coan to Whitman of November 22, 1880. Whitman noted in his Commonplace Book on November 24 that the two-volume set had been sent (see Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 213). On the envelope pasted to this letter is the following return address (associated with a different letter): "Return to D. RANSOM, SON & CO., | BUFFALO, N. Y., | If not delivered within 10 days. The signature to this letter has been cut away, but Whitman made the following note in his Commonplace Book for January 18, 1881: "Sent "Leaves of Grass" to C B Burr M D. | Asylum for the Insane Pontiac Mich: | recd | paid" (Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 1:220). C. B. Burr became medical superintendent of the Eastern Michigan Asylum in 1889, after working as an assistant physician and an assistant superintendent. As yet we have no information about these correspondents. Frederic Almy was a graduate of Harvard College, a friend of Jane Addams, and the founder in 1885 of the Saturn Club in Buffalo. Almy sent $10 to Whitman on October 27. Eugene Benson (1839–1908) was an artist and cultural critic who published several articles in the Galaxy about Whitman in the 1860s. In the 1870s, he moved to Italy, where he studied painting and dedicated himself to finding forgotten Italian artworks; he chronicled his quest in a series of letters in the New York Post and later published the collected letters as Art and Nature in Italy (1882). For more on Whitman's relationship with Benson, see Robert J. Scholnick, "'Culture' or Democracy: Whitman, Eugene Benson, and The Galaxy," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 13.4 (1996), 189–198. Benson had recieved original editions of all of Whitman's writings for Christmas in 1876, prompting this letter. Whitman crossed this letter out, and on the back he wrote notes toward one of his lectures on the death of Abraham Lincoln. Whitman crossed this letter out, cut it into pieces, and pasted part of it back together with other scraps of paper. On the back he drafted part of one of his lectures on the death of Abraham Lincoln. Whitman crossed this letter out and on the back of it wrote one part of a series of notes that would become the essay "A Word About Tennyson." On January 4, 1886, Whitman forwarded this letter from Kennedy on to William D. O'Connor with a note of his own on the back. Kennedy is referring to his pamphlet titled The Poet as A Craftsman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1886). The date and summary of the letter are drawn from a catalog put out by Anderson Galleries for a sale on December 8, 1927. The location of this manuscript is presently unknown. The date and summary of the letter are drawn from an auction catalog put out by the American Art Association for a sale on March 10–11, 1924. The location of this manuscript is presently unknown. The letter was probably written in 1878 after the Gilchrists' departure from Philadelphia in April. After their arrival in New York, at first they took rooms in Brooklyn (see the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of December 12, 1878), but, on December 29, when Anne Gilchrist wrote to her daughter Beatrice, who was in Boston, she had just moved to 112 Madison Avenue, New York City (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This note may have been addressed to Jeannette Gilder, as Whitman wrote a post card to her on this date (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Feinberg Collection). The date and summary of the letter are drawn from a catalog put out by George J. C. Grasberger, Inc. The location of this manuscript is presently unknown. Whitman had supper with the Donaldsons on December 4—"a very enjoyable evening, warm hospitality—fine children" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Irving described a visit to Camden in The Theatre, 5 (April 1885), 178–179. Truman Howe Bartlett (1835–1923), an instructor in modelling at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was characterized by William Vaughan Moody as "a magnificent old goat and man of God . . . passing hours with immortal phrases"; see Hermann Hagedorn, Edwin Arlington Robinson (New York: Macmillan, 1938), 254. Bartlett evidently affected the Whitman pose with his open collar and flowing tie. On June 8, 1883, Bartlett informed Whitman that "the cast of your hand I shall soon send to Paris to be cast in bronze." The plaster cast is in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; a bronze cast is at Yale. Probably Whitman met Bartlett at the poet's close friend Colonel John R. Johnston's home on September 1, 1878 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). George Stafford (1827–1892) was Susan Stafford's (1833–1910) husband. In 1886, Century Magazine commissioned American portrait painter John White Alexander to undertake a portrait of Whitman for inclusion in the magazine. Whitman insisted that the sitting be done in his Camden home, and Alexander arrived on February 22, 1886, to begin sketches. His portrait of Whitman was not completed until 1889 and never did appear in the Century. (See Ruth L. Bohan, Looking into Walt Whitman [University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2006], 89–94.) O'Connor became Assistant General Superintendent of the U.S. Life-Saving Service (an agency in the Treasury Department) in 1878. The agency was responsible for providing help for ships that ran aground on U.S. coasts. A reference to English novelist William Makepeace Thackery's pseudonym, Charles James Yellowplush, and his Yellowplush Papers (1837). John Howard Payne (1791–1852) was an American actor and playwright who in 1822 wrote the lyrics to "Home Sweet Home" (using the music of English composer Henry Bishop), which became the most beloved song of the Civil War, reportedly sung by Union and Confederate troops together the night before a battle, as well as performed at the White House for President Lincoln. A reference to a popular humorous ballad by Thomas Percy in his 1767 Reliques of Ancient Poetry, recounting the legend of a knight slaying a dragon by kicking it in its "arse-gut," which turns out to be its only vulnerable spot. Smith and Starr were "lessees and managers" of the Salem, New Jersey, Opera House. James S. Charles (d. 1892) moved from Philadelphia to Marion, Iowa, and then in 1866 to Omaha, Nebraska, where he practiced as a dentist. Charles invented and patented a fountain-pen holder and a horseshoe. In an article about his death in 1892, which was ruled a suicide but which relatives believed was a robbery and murder, his ex-wife claimed that "her former husband was in the habit of carrying diamonds to the value of several thousand dollars and he always carried a valuable watch" ("Think it a Murder," Chicago Tribune 11 January 1892). See the letter from Whiting to Whitman of June 14, 1886, listing prices obtained at auction for a Whitman letter and a first edition of Leaves of Grass. Whitman forwarded the letter to the Critic on June 17. William J. Sewell (1835–1901) was a politician, merchant, and military general who came to the U.S. from Ireland when he was a boy. During the Civil War, Sewell served in the Union Army, and was awarded a Medal of Honor after leading a charge at Chancellorsville. After the war, Sewell was affiliated with several railroads, including the Camden and Atlantic Railroad Company and the West Jersey Railroad Company. He was New Jersey state senator from 1872 to 1881 and a Republican U. S. Senator from 1881 to 1887 and again from 1895 until his death in 1901. The bottom of this note has been torn away. On the back Whitman wrote and then crossed out a partial line: "In the deepest." Henry Tyrrell was a journalist, poet, and historian from New York, and he was apparently associated with Frank Leslie's Publishing House. Tyrrell published in some of the same venues as Whitman (such as The Cosmopolitan and The Century) and was a fellow member in the American Copyright League. The editor of The Century at this time was Richard Watson Gilder (1844–1909). Whitman had met Gilder for the first time in 1877 at John H. Johnston's (Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer [New York: New York University Press, 1955], 482), and considered Gilder one of the "always sane men in the general madness" of "that New York art delirium" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, August 5, 1888). For more about Gilder, see Susan L. Roberson, "Gilder, Richard Watson (1844–1909)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). As this letter indicates, in the 1880s The Century published a series of articles about the American Civil War. The editor of The Century at this time was Richard Watson Gilder (1844–1909). Whitman had met Gilder for the first time in 1877 at John H. Johnston's (Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer [New York: New York University Press, 1955], 482), and considered Gilder one of the "always sane men in the general madness" of "that New York art delirium" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, August 5, 1888). For more about Gilder, see Susan L. Roberson, "Gilder, Richard Watson (1844–1909)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). As the letterhead indicates, Marion Thrasher was superintendent of Edgar Public Schools in Edgar, a small town in south central Nebraska. Houghton and Mifflin, a Boston publishing company founded by Henry Oscar Houghton and George Mifflin, had merged with Ticknor and Fields in 1880, creating Houghton, Mifflin and Company. Houghton Mifflin would publish John Burroughs's Whitman: A Study in 1896. Houghton and Mifflin, a Boston publishing company founded by Henry Oscar Houghton and George Mifflin, had merged with Ticknor and Fields in 1880, creating Houghton, Mifflin and Company. The first part of this sentence has been crossed out. Henry Mills Alden (1836–1919) was managing editor of Harper's Weekly from 1863 to 1869 and editor of Harper's Monthly Magazine from 1869 until his death. The editor of the Critic at this time was Jeannette Gilder (1849–1916), who wrote that "one of the things of which I am most proud is that the Critic was the first publication of its class to invite Walt Whitman to contribute to its pages" (see Charles N. Elliot, Walt Whitman as Man, Poet, and Friend [1915], 97); she was assisted in her editorial tasks by her brother Joseph. For more information, see Susan L. Roberson, "Gilder, Jeannette L. (1849–1916)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman crossed out this letter and wrote a series of notes on the back. John Boyle O'Reilly (1844–1890) was a fervent Irish patriot who joined the British Army in order to sabotage it. He was arrested and sentenced to be hanged in 1866. Later the decree was altered, and O'Reilly was sent to Australia, where he escaped on an American whaler in 1869. In 1876 he became the coeditor of the Boston Pilot, a position which he held until his death in 1890. See William G. Schofield, Seek for a Hero: The Story of John Boyle O'Reilly (New York: Kennedy, 1956). For more on O'Reilly, see also the letter from Whitman to James R. Osgood of May 8, 1881. George Franklin Edmunds (1828–1919) was a longtime U.S. Senator from Vermont, serving from 1866 until 1891. John Mackinson Robertson published "Walt Whitman: Poet and Democrat" in the 1884 Round Table Series (no. 4), issued by W. Brown in Edinburgh. "Chips" was a family nickname given to Carpenter when he was a child; he used it his whole life. Wilson & McCormick, of Glasgow, Scotland, published Leaves of Grass and Specimen Days (see the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of February 27, 1883). Leaves of Grass: The Poems of Walt Whitman [Selected], with an introduction by Rhys, was printed in 1886 in The Canterbury Poet Series, published by Walter Scott. Though aimed at the British working class, and despite Rhys's hopes, the volume did retain its ornate decorations and red borders. A presentation copy in the Feinberg Collection reads: "Walt Whitman with Ernest Rhys's apologies & high regards. 1st March 1886." On May 22 Rhys informed the poet that about 8,000 copies of the edition were sold, and that the publisher expected to print a second edition. In the same letter Rhys requested permission to include Specimen Days in a prose series called The Camelot Classics. This postscript was added, in red ink, at the top of the postal card. W M R is William Michael Rossetti, the editor of the first British edition of Whitman's work and brother of the poets Dante Gabriel and Christina Rossetti. For more, see Sherwood Smith, "Rossetti, William Michael [1829–1915]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Mannahatta (Hattie) Whitman, the poet's niece, died on September 3 and was buried three days later (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). George Whitman's wife Louisa went to St. Louis to be with Jeff and his other daughter, Jessie Louisa. Logan and Alys were Mary's siblings. Their parents, Robert Pearsall Smith and Hannah Whitall Smith, were strong supporters of Whitman. For more information about the Smiths, see Christina Davey, "Smith, Robert Pearsall (1827–1898)," and "Smith, Logan Pearsall (1865–1946)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Logan was the son of Robert Pearsall Smith and Hannah Whitall Smith; for more about him, see Christina Davey, "Smith, Logan Pearsall (1865–1946)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Mannahatta (Hattie) Whitman, the poet's niece, died on September 3 and was buried three days later (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). George Whitman's wife Louisa went to St. Louis to be with Jeff and his other daughter, Jessie Louisa. Mannahatta (Hattie) Whitman, the poet's niece, died on September 3 and was buried three days later (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Jess is Jessie Louisa, Jeff's other daughter. Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell (1829–1914) was a specialist in nervous disorders as well as a poet and a novelist. In 1878, Whitman met with Dr. Mitchell, who attributed his earlier paralysis to a small rupture of a blood vessel in the brain but termed Whitman's heart "normal and healthy" (see Whitman's letter to Louisa Orr Whitman of April 13–14, 1878). Whitman also noted that "the bad spells [Mitchell] tho't recurrences by habit (? sort of automatic)" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). For more, see Jennifer A. Hynes, "Mitchell, Silas Weir (1829–1914)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Martha B. Houston Williams was the wife of playwright and poet Francis Howard Williams, whose home in Germantown, Philadelphia, Whitman often visited, recalling it as "a sort of asylum (like old churches, temples)." (See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, September 18, 1888.) Martha B. Houston Williams was the wife of playwright and poet Francis Howard Williams, whose home in Germantown, Philadelphia, Whitman often visited. This is a draft letter. Peter Bolger (1852–1929) was a reporter for the Philadelphia Times and, later, for the Philadelphia Register. According to a notation in Whitman's Commonplace Book, the poet met Bolger in December 1878. Edward Reynolds Pease (1857–1955) was an English writer and a founding member of the Fabian Society. Robert Pearsall Smith (1827–1898) was a Quaker who became an evangelical minister associated with the "Holiness movement." He was also a writer and businessman. Whitman often stayed at his Philadelphia home, where the poet became friendly with the Smith children—Mary, Logan, and Alys. For more information about Smith, 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). 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). Whitman is referring to the family of the evangelical minister Robert Pearsall Smith (1827–1898) and his wife Hannah Whitall Smith (1831–1911). The Smiths 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). Carl Sadakichi Hartmann (ca. 1867–1944) was an art historian and early critic of photography as an art form. He visited Whitman in Camden in the 1880s and published his conversations with the poet in 1895. Generally unpopular with other supporters of the poet, he was known during his years in Greenwich Village as the "King of Bohemia." For more information about Hartmann, see John F. Roche, "Hartmann, C. Sadakichi (ca. 1867–1944)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). James Redpath (1833–1891), an antislavery activist, journalist, and longtime friend of Whitman, was the author of The Public Life of Capt. John Brown (Boston: Thayer and Eldridge, 1860), a correspondent for the New York Tribune during the war, and the originator of the "Lyceum" lectures. He met Whitman in Boston in 1860, and he remained an enthusiastic admirer; see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, January 4, 1889. He concluded his first letter to Whitman on June 25, 1860: "I love you, Walt! A conquering Brigade will ere long march to the music of your barbaric jawp." Redpath became managing editor of The North American Review in 1886. See also Charles F. Horner, The Life of James Redpath and the Development of the Modern Lyceum, (New York: Barse & Hopkins, 1926); John R. McKivigan, Forgotten Firebrand: James Redpath and the Making of Nineteenth-Century America, (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2008); and J.R. LeMaster, "Redpath, James [1833–1891]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This draft letter is on the back of an envelope from The North American Review postmarked NEW YORK | AUG 11 | 730 PM and CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG | 12 | 7 A.M. | 1885 | REC'D, which presumably contained the letter from James Redpath to Whitman of August 11, 1885. Alma Calder Johnston was an author and the second wife of John H. Johnston. David McKay (1860–1918) took over Philadelphia-based publisher Rees Welsh's bookselling and publishing businesses in 1881–82. McKay and Rees Welsh published the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass after opposition from the Boston District Attorney prompted James R. Osgood & Company of Boston, the original publisher, to withdraw. McKay also went on to publish Specimen Days & Collect, November Boughs, Gems from Walt Whitman, Complete Prose Works, and the final Leaves of Grass, the so-called deathbed edition. For more information about McKay, see Joel Myerson, "McKay, David (1860–1918)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). S. W. Green was a large New York printing firm. In the second printing of the 1876 Leaves of Grass intercalations included: "As in a Swoon," "The Beauty of the Ship," "When the Full-Grown Poet Came," and "After an Interval." This letter was cut into pieces and pasted back together. On the back Whitman drafted a letter to Edwin Einstein dated November 26, 1875. Whitman wrote a note on the back of this letter and forwarded it to the editor of the Critic. See the letter from Walt Whitman to the Editor of the Critic of June 17, 1886. Jeanette Gilder (1849–1916) was the editor of the Critic in 1886, assisted by her brother Joseph. This letter is addressed: Editors | Critic | weekly paper | 20 Astor Place | New York City. The return address is: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | JUL | 27 | 4 30 PM | 1886 | N.J.; D | 7-27-86 | 7 P | N.Y. Frederick Startridge Ellis (1830–1901) was a London bookseller, publisher, and author who published the works of William Morris and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Whitman first wrote to Ellis on August 12, 1871, to ask if he would publish Leaves of Grass. Ellis declined, writing in an August 23 letter that there were poems in Leaves of Grass that "would not go down in England," but he praised Whitman's poetry and sent him a specially printed copy of Algernon Charles Swinburne's Songs before Sunrise. See the previous letter from Knortz to Whitman of September 1885. Whitman wrote a note on the back of this letter and sent it to Rolleston on October 9, 1885. Thomas W. H. Rolleston's translation of selections from Whitman was revised by Knortz and published as Grashalme: Gedichte (Zurich: Verlags-Magazin, 1889). This letter from Knortz was received by Whitman in September 1885. This word has been corrected to "fourth" in Whitman's hand. In this paragraph, and elsewhere in the letter, portions have been crossed out, apparently by Whitman. The note pasted to the top would seem to indicate that Whitman intended to have the letter printed. He also numbered the pages, beginning with 100 on the pasted-on note, and adding 101, 102, and 103, respectively, at the top of each subsequent page of the letter. No additional pages of this letter have been located. On the back of this letter, Whitman drafted what may be an early version of his poem "Last of Ebb, and Daylight Waning," published as part of "Fancies at Navesink" in Nineteenth Century in August 1885. O. S. Baldwin was the editor of Baldwin's Monthly. Baldwin wrote to Whitman to request a piece in 1883; in return, Whitman sent "Reminiscences of the Indian Bureau" (later retitled "An Indian Bureau Reminiscence"), which was published in the February 1884 issue of Baldwin's Monthly. Whitman was quite annoyed over the many letters he had been receiving from autograph hounds and often complained to his disciple Horace Traubel about them: "Those fellows have one virtue—they always use good paper: and on that I manage to do a good deal of my writing" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, July 27, 1888). Richard Josiah Hinton (1830–1901) was born in London and came to the U.S. in 1851. He trained as a printer, and, like the radical abolitionist writer and publisher James Redpath, went to Kansas and joined John Brown. In fact, but for an accident he would have been with Brown at Harper's Ferry. A man mistaken for Hinton was hanged. Together with Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Hinton also planned the jailbreak of John Brown's accomplices Albert Hazlett and Aaron Stevens in Charlestown for the "Jayhawkers," a band of abolitionists who assisted slaves through the Underground Railroad that included Silas S. Soule. With James Redpath he was the author of Hand-book to Kansas Territory and the Rocky Mountains' Gold Region (New York: J. H. Colton, 1859). Later he wrote Rebel Invasion of Missouri and Kansas (Chicago: Church & Goodman, 1865) and John Brown and His Men (New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1894). Apparently Hinton had suggested that Thayer & Eldridge print Leaves of Grass (see The New Voice, 16 [4 February 1899], 2). Hinton served in the Union Army from 1861 to 1865, and saw Whitman while lying wounded in a hospital, a scene which he described in the Cincinnati Commercial on August 26, 1871. After the war Hinton wrote for many newspapers. He defended William O'Connor's The Good Gray Poet in the Milwaukee Sentinel on February 9, 1866 (2). Hinton's article in the Rochester Evening Express on March 7, 1866, "Farms and Fortunes in England and America," included a lengthy discussion of Whitman, with quotations from O'Connor and John Burroughs. Obviously pleased, Whitman sent it to friends, including William Michael Rossetti, who acknowledged it on April 12, 1868 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, August 11, 1888). See also Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, September 28, 1888; William Sloane Kennedy, The Fight of a Book for the World (West Yarmouth, Massachusetts: The Stonecroft Press, 1926), 19, 67, 110–111, 242; and the Boston Transcript, 21 December 1901. George William Curtis (1824–1892), author and editor of Harper's Magazine, was a New England writer and orator who had been a neighbor of Ralph Waldo Emerson for some time in the 1840s. Henry Clapp, Jr. (1814–1875) was a journalist, editor and reformer. Whitman and Clapp most likely met in Charles Pfaff's beer cellar, located in lower Manhattan. Clapp, who founded the literary weekly the Saturday Press in 1858, was instrumental in promoting Whitman's poetry and celebrity: over twenty items on Whitman appeared in the Press before the periodical folded (for the first time) in 1860. Of Clapp Whitman told Horace Traubel, "You will have to know something about Henry Clapp if you want to know all about me." For more about Whitman's thoughts on Clapp, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, May 27, 1888. For more information on Clapp, see Christine Stansell, "Clapp, Henry (1814–1875)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, eds., (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Harper's Monthly Magazine (sometimes Harper's New Monthly Magazine or simply Harper's) was established in 1850 by Henry J. Raymond and Fletcher Harper. The magazine became successful by reprinting British novels before eventually publishing American authors. Six of Whitman's poems were published there between 1874 and 1892. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Harper's, see Susan Belasco's Harper's Monthly Magazine. Harper's Weekly was a New York-based magazine published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 to 1916. It did extensive coverage of the Civil War, during which it was the most widely read magazine in the U.S. After the War, it supported the Republican Party and Radical Reconstruction and published Thomas Nast's highly influential political cartoons. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Harper's Weekly, see Susan Belasco's Harper's Weekly Magazine. William J. Linton (1812–1897), a British-born wood engraver, came to the United States in 1866 and settled near New Haven, Connecticut. He illustrated the works of John Greenleaf Whittier, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, William Cullen Bryant, and others, wrote the "indispensable" History of Wood-Engraving in America (1882), and edited Poetry of America, 1776–1876 (London, 1878), in which appeared eight of Whitman's poems as well as a frontispiece engraving of the poet. According to his Threescore and Ten Years, 1820 to 1890—Recollections (1894), 216–217, Linton met with Whitman in Washington and later visited him in Camden (which Whitman reported in his November 9, 1873, letter to Peter Doyle): "I liked the man much, a fine-natured, good-hearted, big fellow, . . . a true poet who could not write poetry, much of wilfulness accounting for his neglect of form." Marie Blood was the wife of Henry A. Blood, a clerk in the Internal Revenue Service (see Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts, ed. Edward F. Grier [New York: New York University Press, 1984], 2:846). William Livingston Alden (1837–1908) was associate editor of the New York Citizen. Dr. W. O. Baldwin was a physician, a member of the Board of Health, and an elected representative to the chamber of the city council in Washington, D.C. Asa K. Butts was a New York bookseller. Whitman was having difficulties around this time—real or imaginary, as his mother might have said—with booksellers. Commenting on one of the letters of Butts, Whitman observed to Horace Traubel in 1889: "What a sweat I used to be in all the time . . . over getting my damned books published! When I look back at it I wonder I didn't somewhere or other on the road chuck the whole business into oblivion" (With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], Friday, January 18, 1889). Butts went bankrupt in 1874. Francis Pharcellus Church (1839–1906) established the Galaxy in 1866 with his brother William Conant Church (1836–1917). Financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon & Company in 1868, and the magazine was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. In 1897, Francis Church famously wrote, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" for the New York Sun in response to a letter the paper received from eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon. For more information on the Church brothers, see Edward F. Grier, "Walt Whitman, the Galaxy, and Democratic Vistas," American Literature, 23 (1951–1952), 332–350; Robert J. Scholnick, "The Galaxy and American Democratic Culture, 1866–1878," Journal of American Studies 16 (April 1982), 69–80; and Brook Thomas, "The Galaxy, National Literature, and Reconstruction," Nineteenth-Century Literature 75 (June 2020), 50–81. Francis Pharcellus Church (1839–1906) established the Galaxy in 1866 with his brother William Conant Church (1836–1917). Financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon & Company in 1868, and the magazine was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. Perhaps because he had lived in the United States from 1848 to 1856, London publisher John Camden Hotten (1832–1873) introduced such writers as Robert Lowell, Artemus Ward, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Bret Harte to an English audience. Hotten published Poems by Walt Whitman, selected and edited by William Michael Rossetti, in 1868. Whitman was dissatisfied with Hotten's work, however, referring to him as "the English pirate-publisher" in a January 16, 1872, letter to Rudolf Schmidt. For Whitman's relationship with Hotten and the "bad & defective" edition, see Whitman's November 1, 1867, letter to Moncure D. Conway. After Hotten's death, his business was purchased by Chatto & Windus, who reprinted the text of Poems by Walt Whitman in 1886 and several subsequent printings. Alfred Porter Putnam (1827–1906) was a reverend in the First Congregational Unitarian Society (The Church of the Saviour) in Brooklyn. The date is established by Whitman's allusion in the final paragraph to his paralysis. "Song of the Redwood-Tree" and "Prayer of Columbus." See the letter from Whitman to Doyle of July 31, 1874. The second paragraph establishes the date. Two Rivulets was set up in the New Republic Print Shop in Camden. Probably the "Walt Whitman Club in Camden" to which the Springfield Republican of July 23 referred, if it actually existed, consisted of "mechanics" employed by the local newspaper. Joseph B. Marvin also referred to this "club" in The Radical Review 1 (1877), 238. Undoubtedly Whitman gave him a copy of the Republican during his visit. See the letter from Whitman to Doyle of April 16, 1875. This postcard is addressed: Pete Doyle, | M street South, bet. 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C. It is postmarked: Camden | May | 29 | N.J.; Carrier | May | 29 | 7 PM. The railroad accident described in the opening paragraph establishes the year. Two trains of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad collided in a tunnel outside of Washington on April 26. Captain "Tim" Buchanan, a conductor on one of the trains, was hospitalized. This letter is addressed: Pete Doyle, | M street South, | bet. 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C. It is postmarked: Camden | Apr | 30(?) | N.J. The only clue to the date is the reference to the dictionary, which Whitman mentioned in his letter to Doyle of January 2, 1874. April 3, 1874, is a possibility since it is the only Friday in the early part of the year for which there is no extant letter or card. There is an envelope in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., with the following postmarks: Camden | Apr | 3 | N.J.; Carrier | 4 | Ap(?) | 8 AM. The year is confirmed by the reference to George's visit to Delaware, also mentioned in the letter from Whitman to Charles Eldridge of December 29, 1873. This letter is apparently lost. This letter and the one from Whitman to Charles W. Eldridge of October 13, 1873, indicate that Whitman had abandoned his plans to return to Washington in the near future. The date given to this letter by the executors, August 29, is incorrect, since it fell on Saturday in 1874. The letter could have been written at any time during the warm months. See the letter from Whitman to Doyle of July 31, 1874. This letter is addressed: Pete Doyle, | M street South | bet. 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C. It is postmarked: Camden | Aug | 28(?) | N.J. On May 26 Thomas A. Wilson had offered Whitman a lot on Royden Street for $450 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). According to a letter dated July 29, Isabella A. White, Whitman's landlady (see the letter from Whitman to Charles Eldridge of October 13, 1873), had written, evidently early in July, about the rent due for his room. His reply is not extant. On the 29th Mrs. White offered to purchase Whitman's bedstead and certain other effects. Whitman had not settled his account when Mrs. White wrote again on October 6 and offered him a credit of $10 for his furnishings against a balance of $38. "Song of the Universal" appeared in the Camden New Republic on June 20. This postcard is addressed: Peter Doyle | M st. South. bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C. It is postmarked: Camden | May | 29 | N.J. Doyle's visit to Whitman in May 1874 makes the date certain (see the letter from Whitman to Doyle of May 22). The date of this letter is confirmed by the account of Burroughs' visit in the letter from Whitman to Rudolf Schmidt of April 25, 1874. Whitman ordinarily wrote on Friday; April 16 was on Thursday in 1874. That this postcard and the next one were written in 1874 is demonstrated in the following note. Kitty Ashton, who was nineteen months old, died on April 8. The child mentioned in the letter from Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman of August 30–31, 1868, must also have died. This postcard is addressed: Pete Doyle, | M street South, | bet 4½ & 6th | Washington | D. C. It is postmarked: Camden | Apr | 10 | N.J. Charles Sumner died of a heart attack on March 11. See the letter from Whitman to Charles Eldridge of June 28, 1864. See the letter from Whitman to Charles Eldridge of July 7, 1873. J. Parker Milburn, age 38, died of pneumonia on March 1. Parker Milburn's brother. See the letter from Whitman to Doyle of February 27, 1874. This letter is addressed: Pete Doyle, | M street South, | bet 4½ & 6th | Washington D. C. It is postmarked: Camden | Mar | 6 | N.J.; Carrier | 7 | Mar | 8 AM. "'Tis But Ten Years Since." W. F. Peddrick, a clerk in the Attorney General's office. Mentioned in an address book (The Library of Congress, Notebook #108): "(took me around through the vaults, &c)." The allusions to his published works, in addition to the envelope, confirm the date assigned by the executors. "Prayer of Columbus." This letter is addressed: Pete Doyle, | M street South, | bet 4½ & 6th, | Washington, D. C. It is postmarked: Camden | Feb | 20 | N.J. "'Tis But Ten Years Since." "Prayer of Columbus." Probably a payment from William H. Piper, Boston bookseller, a debt which Whitman had authorized Asa K. Butts to collect; see the draft letter from Whitman to Butts of February 4, 1874. By George Daniel (1789–1864), published in 1842, with illustrations by John Leech and Robert Cruikshank. The book contains familiar lore about old England related with gusto and sentimentality by a Dickensian character named Uncle Timothy. This letter is addressed: Pete Doyle, | M street south | bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, | D. C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Jan | 30 | 10 PM | Pa. The executors assigned this date, which is confirmed by the description of his health and his newspaper series. "'Tis But Ten Years Since." Timothy Shay Arthur's Golden Grains from Life's Harvest Field (1853) is a collection of awesomely sentimental anecdotes in awesome prose, the type of tritely "moral" work likely to appeal to Doyle: "Golden Grains from Life's Harvest Field, what are they but good and true principles, pure affections and human sympathies, gathered by the mind as it passes through its fields of labor? . . . A handful or two have we shaken from the full ears, and now present them to our readers. May the offering bear with it strength to the weak and the tempted, comfort to those who are in affliction, and good impulses to all." We follow Edwin Haviland Miller's example in adopting the dates assigned by Whitman's executors to the correspondence addressed to Doyle in January (The Correspondence, 2:265). Miller notes that all except one of the letters were written on Fridays, and most of them referred to Doyle's search for another position on the railroad. George Sand's A Rolling Stone was translated by Carroll Owen and published in 1871. The year is verified by the references to his catarrh, to "want of exercise for 16 months," and to Doyle's impending visit, which evidently took place a few days later (see the letter from Whitman to Doyle of May 29, 1874). See the letter from Whitman to Doyle of March 23, 1874. This letter is addressed: Pete Doyle | M street South | bet 4½ & 6th | Washington | D. C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | May | 22 | Pa. This and the letter from Whitman to Ellen M. O'Connor of May 1, 1874, were obviously written on the same day. The allusion to the Ashtons, who had recently lost a child (see the letter from Whitman to Doyle of April 10, 1874), conclusively establishes the year. This letter is addressed: Peter Doyle | M street south | bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, | D. C. It is postmarked: Camden | Mar | 20 | N.J. The year is established by the discussion of Dr. Grier's diagnosis in the letter from Whitman to . O'Connor of March 22, which can be positively assigned to 1874. The allusion to his forthcoming books establishes the year. "Song of the Redwood-Tree" and "Prayer of Columbus." "Halls of Gold and Lilac" and "Silver and Salmon-Tint." On December 8 the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle reported the death of Barnes in an accident on the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad four days earlier. See the letter from Whitman to Doyle of November 21, 1873. See the letter from Whitman to Doyle of December 5, 1873. "Silver and Salmon-Tint," like "Halls of Gold and Lilac" a description of the Capitol, was published on November 29; it is reprinted in The Uncollected Poetry and Prose of Walt Whitman, ed. Emory Holloway (1921), 2 vols., 2:49–53. On December 4 the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle noted Nash's speech before the Oldest Inhabitants' Association. Baltimore and Potomac Railroad. The picture and "Matador's" review (excerpted by Richard Maurice Bucke in Walt Whitman [Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883], 209–210) occupied an entire page in the New York Daily Graphic; an editorial in the same issue added biographical details, probably supplied by Whitman, and announced the forthcoming publication of an edition of Leaves of Grass. "Halls of Gold and Lilac." The Scottish Chiefs; A Romance by the English novelist Jane Porter (1776–1850) was published in 1810; it relates the fortunes of the Scottish patriot William Wallace. Probably Franklin Rives, of F. & J. Rives and George A. Bailey, publishers in Washington. The nature of the barroom brawl (see the letter from Whitman to Doyle of November 28, 1873) is not ascertainable. "Halls of Gold and Lilac" appeared in the New York Daily Graphic on November 24; reprinted in The Uncollected Poetry and Prose of Walt Whitman, ed. Emory Holloway (1921), 2 vols., 2:42–49. Editorially the newspaper commented: "Walt Whitman's prose is as remarkable in its way, as is his poetry, and is characterized by the same curious rhythm and same wealth of color. . . . The public will be glad to learn that Mr. Whitman has in a great degree recovered from his recent illness—an illness which had its origin in the exposures undergone by Mr. Whitman in the army, and which at one time threatened his life. Though not yet as strong as he hitherto has been, he is still well enough to resume in a measure his duties at Washington and to wield his pen with as much effectiveness as ever." "Song of the Redwood-Tree"; see the letter from Whitman to Henry M. Alden of November 2, 1873. See the letter from Whitman to John R. and Rebecca B. Johnston of February 9, 1875. That evening Whitman gave Mrs. Johnston an inscribed copy of Drum-Taps (Trent Collection, Duke University). An article in the New York Times of this date entitled "Attractions of Virginia" discussed the natural resources and industrial development of Richmond. Doyle came from Virginia. The Exposition was held in 1876. See the letter from Whitman to William James Linton of March 22, 1872. The New York Times on November 9 reported that General Washington Ryan and three Cuban "patriot generals" had been shot by the Spaniards as traitors. An account of Ryan's career with the Cuban insurgents had appeared on the preceding day. The poem did not appear in the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle or The Daily Patriot. The Washington Star, however, printed Whitman's laudatory version of his performance; see Emory Holloway, American Mercury, 18 (1929), 485. This letter is addressed: Peter Doyle, | conductor | Office | Wash. & Georgetown City RR. It is postmarked: Hanover N. H. | Jun | 27. This note is written by Whitman in red pencil. The date is confirmed by the reference to Huntington at the beginning of the letter. William S. Huntington (1841–1872) died on March 26. He entered the Treasury Department in 1861, and was selected in 1863 by Jay Cooke, the financier, to be cashier of the First National Bank in Washington. This letter is addressed: Peter Doyle, | Conductor, | Office Wash & Georgetown RR | Washington | D. C. It is postmarked: New York | Mar | 29 | 6 P.M. Christine Nilsson (1843–1921), the Swedish soprano, appeared in Il Trovatore during the week of March 4 and in Meyerbeer's Robert le Diable on March 11, with Pasquale Brignoli (see the letter from Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman of April 16, 1867). Listed in the Directory of 1872 as a messenger. This letter is addressed: Peter Doyle, | Conductor, | Office | Wash. & Georgetown City RR. | Washington | D. C. It is postmarked: New York | Mar | 15 | 1:30 PM. This letter is addressed: Peter Doyle | Conductor | Office | Wash. & Georgetown City RR. | Washington, | D. C. It is postmarked: New York | Mar | 7 | 6 P.M. This note is written in red pencil. The date of this letter is also established by the reference to the $10 sent on March 5. Doyle was temporarily out of work. Senator Carl Schurz (1829–1906), of Missouri, alleged that since the U.S. had violated its neutrality in the 1870 war by selling arms to French agents, Germany could bring claims for damages against the American government. Schurz's opponents charged that he had falsified documents. The New York Times on February 23 declared: "Schurz was the greatest toady any President ever had until he failed to get all the offices he wanted, and then he turned round and became a 'patriot' and a 'reformer.'" February 10. This letter is addressed: Peter Doyle | conductor, | [Of]fice Wash. & Georgetown City RR. | Washington, | D. C. It is postmarked: New York | Feb | 16 | (?) M. Charles C. Sailer, superintendent of the Washington & Georgetown Railroad, of which Pete was an employee. Whitman pasted this newspaper clipping onto the third page of his letter to Doyle. This letter has not been found. This letter is addressed: Introducing Rev. Mr. Chase | Hon. Stephen J. W. Tabor | 4th Auditor. | West Wing. | Treasury Building. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden, New Jersey | U.S.A. It is endorsed: Carpenter. It is postmarked: CHESTERFIELD | K | JY 9 | 85; CHESTERFIELD | K | JY 9 | 85; NEW YORK | JUL | 18; PAID | H | JLY | CAMDEN, N.J. | JUL | 19 | [illegible] PM | [illegible] | REC'D. Stephen J. W. Tabor (1815–1883) was a newspaper editor and county judge in Independence, Iowa, before being appointed Auditor of the United States Treasury, a post he held from 1863 to 1878. He was also a book collector whose private library included 6,000 volumes. For more about Tabor, see Benjamin F. Gue, History of Iowa from the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century (New York: The Century History Company, 1903), 4:258. Whitman crossed out this draft letter and wrote a note titled "Tramps" on the back. James Arnold was a Philadelphia bookbinder. On March 19, 1864, Thomas Jefferson Whitman forwarded this letter to Walt Whitman, including a letter of his own on the back. Bates dated this letter January 18, 1880. In the letter, however, she mentions seeing E. C. Stedman's essay in a recent issue of Scribner's Monthly. Stedman's important essay "Walt Whitman" appeared in Scribner's Monthly in November 1880, so it is probable that Bates, after a year of writing 1880, kept doing so out of habit in the new year, momentarily forgetting in January that she was now in 1881. In 1880 Whitman paid his only visit to London, Ontario, where his friend Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke was superintendent of a mental institution. Dr. Bucke accompanied Whitman from Camden on June 2, and for almost four months, until September 28, the poet vacationed in Canada. See Walt Whitman's Diary in Canada (Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1904) and Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The letter must have been written, then, between June 4 and September 28, 1880. Whitman pasted this letter together with a piece of another letter, and on the back wrote part of a prose draft titled "Poetry in America—Shakspere—the Future." What remains of this letter is not dated, but surrounding letters are dated 1880, so it is likely also from that year. Whitman cut this letter into pieces, pasted them together with pieces of other letters, and on the back wrote part of a prose draft titled "Poetry in America—Shakspere—the Future." What remains of this letter is not dated, but surrounding letters are dated 1880, so it is likely also from that year. This is a partial transcription of this letter. The complete letter has not been located. James R. Osgood (1836–1892) agreed to publish Whitman's Leaves of Grass in 1881, but the firm stopped publication after Whitman refused to comply with the Boston district attorney, who had written to the publisher demanding some poems and passages removed. Osgood was also the publisher of Browning, Arnold, Holmes, Henry James, and Howells; see Carl J. Weber, The Rise and Fall of James Ripley Osgood (1959). Whitman cut this letter into pieces, pasted it together with several other letters, and used it as the foundation for a draft of "You tides with ceaseless swell," written on the back. See also the letters from William J. Sewell to Whitman of January 8, 1884, and from Richard J. Hinton to Whitman of September 10, 1871. Whitman cut this letter into pieces, pasted it together with several other letters, and used it as the foundation for a draft of "You tides with ceaseless swell," written on the back. See also the letters from William J. Sewell to Whitman of January 8, 1884, and from Whitelaw Reid to Whitman of July 17, 1878. Whitman cut this letter into pieces and pasted it together with pieces from at least three other letters. See the letters from Whitelaw Reid to Whitman of July 17, 1878, and from Richard J. Hinton to Whitman of September 10, 1871. Another partial letter, likely composed by the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke, is visible on the left side of this image. Whitman received annual passes for rairoad travel during the early 1880s. See for example the letter from the Camden & Atlantic Railroad Company to Whitman of January 25, 1881. Given that Sewell's letter was sent in January, it may have included information concerning an annual pass for Whitman on the "WJ RRd" or the West Jersey Railroad. For a time Whitman lived with William D. and Ellen M. O'Connor, who, with Charles W. Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the early Washington years. William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of Harrington, an abolition novel published by Thayer & Eldridge in 1860. He had been an assistant editor of the Saturday Evening Post before he went to Washington. O'Connor often complained about the various governmental clerical posts he was to hold until his death. However, his government work was relieved by the presence of Whitman, whom he was to love and venerate—and defend with a single-minded fanaticism and an outpouring of vituperation and eulogy that have seldom been equaled, most notably in his pamphlet, "The Good Gray Poet." He was the first, and in many ways the most important, of the adulators who divided people arbitrarily into two categories: those who were for and those who were against Walt Whitman. The poet praised O'Connor in the preface to a posthumous collection of his tales: "He was a born sample here in the 19th century of the flower and symbol of olden time first-class knighthood. Thrice blessed be his memory!" (Complete Prose Works [New York, D. Appleton, 1910], 513). For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors see Deshae E. Lott, O'Connor, William Douglas [1832–1889]. This post card is addressed: Pete Doyle | M st South—bet 4½ & 6th | Washington D C. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | MAR | 17 | N.J. Whitman crossed this letter out and wrote prose notes on the back. Whitman crossed this letter out and wrote several lines of poetry on the back. George M. Williamson (b. 1850) was a New York book collector who contacted Whitman several times about purchasing manuscripts, and later published Catalogue of A Collection of Books, Letters, and Manuscripts written by Walt Whitman, in the Library of George M. Williamson, Grand View on Hudson (New York: The Marion Press, 1903). Other items in Williamson's collection, which was sold at auction in 1908, included George Washington's copy of Don Quixote, a presentation copy of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Evangeline," Nathaniel Hawthorne's annotated copy of The Scarlet Letter, and "a very remarkable collection of Walt Whitman's works" (The George M. Williamson Collection [Anderson Galleries, Inc., 1908]). After a later exchange with Williamson about purchasing manuscripts (see the letter from Williamson to Whitman of October 6, 1888), Whitman remarked to Horace Traubel: "I would like to humor Williamson but don't see how I can do it. He will have to content his 'happy owner' soul with patience: I can give him no hope. That whole mania for collecting things strikes me as an evidence of disease—sometimes of disease in an acute form: though I know Williamson for an exceptional man in a bad crowd. And indeed, that is what makes a remarkable matter more remarkable—that a man such as we know Williamson to be should care a damn whether he was the happy owner of a manuscript—any manuscript—or not. Well, give him my love: that is real: and if he is satisfied to be the happy owner of my love he owns it—tell him so—and welcome, welcome" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, October 6th, 1888, 442). In 1891, however, Whitman sent Williamson manuscript drafts of several poems, including "Old Age's Ship and Crafty Death's" and "A Twilight Song." Kenningale Robert Cook (1845–1886) was editor of the Dublin University Magazine, and he was married to popular Victorian novelist Mabel Collins (Marion Meade, Madame Blavatsky: The Woman Behind the Myth [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1980], 390). Cook was also the author of The Fathers of Jesus: A Study of the Lineage of the Christian Doctrine and Traditions, 2 vols. (London: K. Paul, Trench & Co., 1886). Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), known as "Jeff," was Walt Whitman's favorite brother. As a civil engineer, Jeff eventually became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis and a nationally recognized figure. For more on Jeff, see Randall Waldron, "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Allen Upward (1863–1926) was a poet and political activist from Dublin, Ireland. See the letter from Gentry to Whitman of February 8, 1884. Whitman forwarded this letter to George and Susan Stafford on February 14, 1884, including a note of his own on the back. Whitman crossed out this letter and wrote a draft of "Of that blithe throat of thine" on the back. Folger McKinsey (1866–1950) was a railroad clerk in Philadelphia who began to call on Whitman in 1884, as indicated by this letter and the reference to his occasional visits in Whitman's Commonplace Book on June 17 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). In 1885 McKinsey became the editor of the Elkton (Maryland) Cecil Democrat, in which he printed an interview with the poet on December 12. In 1886, he invited Whitman to deliver his "Death of Abraham Lincoln" lecture at a banquet of the "Pythian Club," for which Whitman received $30 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). On March 12, the Cecil Democrat termed Whitman's Lincoln lecture "a failure." See Rollo G. Silver, N & Q, 170 (1936), 190–191, and Ernest J. Moyne, "Walt Whitman and Folger McKinsey," Delaware Notes, 29 (1956), 103–117. Later McKinsey became the editor of the Baltimore Sun. Whitman crossed out this letter. On the back he wrote notes for an article about himself, titled "Walt Whitman in Camden," which appeared in The Critic on February 28, 1885, under the signature of George Selwyn. It was reprinted in Authors at Home, ed. J. L. and J. B. Gilder (1888), and in Critic Pamphlet No. 2 (1898). As yet we have no information about this correspondent. As yet we have no information about these correspondents. As yet we have no information about this person. As yet we have no information about these visitors. As yet we have no information about these people. As yet we have no information about this visitor. As yet we have no information about this company. As yet we have no information about this publication. This letter may not survive. This postal card may not survive. This postal card has not been located. This letter has not been located. This communication has not been located. This enclosure has not been located. These enclosures have not been located. These letters have not been located. This letter is not extant. It is uncertain which letter Whitman is referring to here. It is uncertain which letter is being referred to here. It is uncertain which letters are referred to here. For this quote, see Whitman's letter to the Editors of The Critic of January 16, 1891. In Johnston's letter to Whitman of February 6, 1891, he mentioned that these same words had been printed in London's Daily Graphic. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 56 | AP 15 | 91; PAID | H | ALL; New York | Apr | 24 | 91; Camden, N.J. | Apr | 25 | 6AM | 1891 | Rec'd. See Whitman's March 30–31, 1891, letter to Johnston. Henry Ward Beecher (1813–1887) was a famous preacher and abolitionist in the antebellum North. He became the first pastor of Plymouth Church in Brooklyn in 1847. According to Edwin Haviland Miller, Wallace has misdated this letter. The date is March 4, 1892, not February 4, 1892 (see Walt Whitman: The Correspondence 5 [New York: New York University Press, 1969], 348; Ted Genoways confirms the misdating in Walt Whitman: The Correspondence 7 [Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2004], 186). This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Philadelphia, Pa. | Feb | 3 | 1886 | 4 PM | Transit. Apparently Whitman was unable to visit the Staffords before March 7 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). According to entries in his Commonplace Book, Whitman paid a Mr. Bennet $18 monthly to take care of his horse (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). In his letter of January 25, Gilchrist requested permission to quote from Whitman's letters to his mother. See Whitman's letter to Susan Stafford of January 9–10. Whitman crossed out this letter and wrote a prose draft about cremation on the back of it. Whitman crossed out this letter and wrote a poetry draft titled "Drift Sands" on the back of it. This letter is addressed: W Hale White | Park Hill | Carshalton Surrey | England. It is postmarked: Camden | May | 6 | 5 PM | N.J.; Phila. Paid | May | 6 | 18(?). White (1831–1913) published under a pseudonym The Autobiography of Mark Rutherford (1881) and Mark Rutherford's Deliverance as well as translations and criticism. Whitman sent a "Gilt top" Specimen Days (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See White's letter to Whitman of October 23, 1882. According to Kennedy, in The Fight of a Book for the World (1926), 41, White wrote about Whitman in the Secular Review, 20 March 1880. The translation of dollars into English currency in the note appears to be in a different hand. In 1883 Whitman arranged with David McKay, his Philadelphia publisher, to print Bucke's Walt Whitman (1883). The poet personally supervised publication, including proofreading. The typesetting of Bucke's biography was completed on March 31 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Bucke generated some of the text, but Whitman controlled every detail, altering the proofs at will. On March 20, Bucke wrote: "I open and read these parcels of proof in fear and trembling (you must go as easy as you can, you are the terrible surgeon with the knife & saw and saw the patient). You left out my remarks on 'Children of Adam', I believe they were good but I acquiesce—your additions are excellent as they have been all through." On May 28 Bucke was pleased with the book he and Whitman had produced: "I believe it will do, and if it will the Editor will deserve more credit than the Author—I am really surprised at the tact and judgement you have displayed in putting my rough M. S. into shape and I am more than satisfied with all you have done." Bucke, however, was not quite so pleased with Whitman's high-handed treatment of his book as his letters to the poet indicate. For in a letter on August 19 to O'Connor, who on August 16 objected to "several omissions and commissions," Bucke wrote: "I do not care to go into these matters by letter but when you come [to Canada] I will make every thing clear to your comprehension" (Library of Congress). In 1883 Whitman arranged with David McKay, his Philadelphia publisher, to print Bucke's Walt Whitman (1883). The poet personally supervised publication, including proofreading. The typesetting of Bucke's biography was completed on March 31 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Bucke generated some of the text, but Whitman controlled every detail, altering the proofs at will. This letter was crossed out and repurposed by Whitman. On the back he drafted some lines that would end up in the article titled "Walt Whitman in Camden" and attributed to George Selwyn (The Critic 3 [28 February 1885], 97–98). This letter was crossed out and repurposed by Whitman. He cut it into pieces, pasted it to other sheets, and on the back wrote part of a prose draft titled "Poetry in America—Shakspere—the Future." This letter was crossed out and repurposed by Whitman. He cut it in half, pasted it to other sheets, and on the back wrote part of a prose draft titled "Poetry in America—Shakspere—the Future." This letter was crossed out and repurposed by Whitman. On the back he wrote a series of notes. Whitman crossed out this letter and wrote a series of notes on the back. This partial letter from Richard Maurice Bucke was most likely sent between Bucke's letter to Whitman of November 4, 1877, and his letter of November 9, 1879. The Asylum moved from Hamilton to London, Ontario, in February 1877, but Bucke was still apparently using left-over stationery from Hamilton in November of that year. Whitman visited Bucke in London in the summer of 1880. Ted Genoways dated this letter 1879 (see Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Ted Genoways [Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2004], 7:145). It seems more likely based on the content, however, that this letter came before the letter from Sarah [Bownes?] to Whitman of April 6, 1877. In an entry in his Commonplace Book on September 2, 1878, Whitman wrote the following note: "Mrs Sarah E Brown ?Bowen | Woodside L I | N Y | (infant little Walter)" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). It seems likely, however, considering Whitman's uncertainty about the last name in this entry, that the sender of this letter was the same Mrs. Walter Bownes who sent a letter to Whitman dated June 7, [1876?]. Whitman sent "Summer Days in Canada," as the letter indicates, to many newspapers; see Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller (New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977), 3:181–182. Unless the notation in Whitman's Commonplace Book refers to the asking price, the Toronto Globe printed and paid for the piece (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is not known. Hannah Heyde, Walt's sister. The Barclay Railroad and Coal Company owned large coalfields about ten miles southwest of Towanda (records of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania). Walt went to Brooklyn sometime between September 7 and 15 (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977], 1:337–38). It is not known whether Mattie saw him in Washington, but she was back in Brooklyn when he arrived there (The Correspondence, 1:340). Probably John Burroughs's Notes on Walt Whitman as Poet and Person, which had recently been published. This letter was crossed out and repurposed by Whitman. On the back he wrote a series of prose notes. This letter was crossed out, pasted to another letter, and repurposed by Whitman. On the back he wrote part of a prose draft titled "Poetry in America—Shakspere—the Future." This letter was crossed out and repurposed by Whitman. On the back he wrote part of a prose draft titled "Poetry in America—Shakspere—the Future." This letter was crossed out and cut in half. On the back of the top half, Whitman wrote part of a prose draft titled "Poetry in America—Shakspere—the Future." The other half of the letter, including the signature, has not been located. This letter was cut up and reassembled, pasted together with other pieces of paper. On the back Whitman wrote part of a prose draft titled "Poetry in America—Shakspere—the Future." This letter was cut up and reassembled, pasted together with other pieces of paper. On the back Whitman wrote part of a prose draft titled "Poetry in America—Shakspere—the Future." This one-page letter was crossed out and cut in half. On the back Whitman wrote part of a prose draft titled "Poetry in America—Shakspere—the Future." This letter was crossed out and cut in half. On the back Whitman wrote part of a prose draft titled "Poetry in America—Shakspere—the Future." This letter has been crossed out. On the back Whitman wrote part of a prose draft titled "Poetry in America—Shakspere—the Future." This letter was crossed out and cut in half. On the back Whitman wrote part of a prose draft titled "Poetry in America—Shakspere—the Future." This two-page letter has been crossed out, and Whitman wrote on the back of both pages. One of the notes is part of a prose draft titled "Poetry in America—Shakspere—the Future." This letter has been crossed out, and Whitman wrote several lines on the back labeled with the note "? Specimen Days." This letter has been cut into pieces, and Whitman wrote prose notes on the back of each of the letter fragments. This transcription of Ruskin's letter has been marked with red ink by an unknown hand, and the word "glorious" has been underlined. Miller derived his transcription, dated January 18, 1878, from another transcription by Edward Dowden, in the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, New York Public Library. A draft version of this letter held at the Library of Congress, however, is dated January 20, 1878. See the letter from Whitman to Ransom of January 6, 1881. No letters from Ransom to Whitman have been located. Whitman made the following note in his Commonplace Book on February 2: "Sent a set Two Vols: to Frank H Ransom of D Ransom Son & Co: Medicine Warehouse, Buffalo N Y.—He writes (letter rec'd to day), that he sent me a p.o. order for $12.50 on Jan: 22—I write to-day that I have not seen or heard of any such order, but consider it my loss, & send." Below this entry, Whitman added in blue pencil: "the books—rec'd—paid (12.50)" (Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 224). Whitman made the following note in his Commonplace Book on February 2: "Sent a set Two Vols: to Frank H Ransom of D Ransom Son & Co: Medicine Warehouse, Buffalo N Y.—He writes (letter rec'd to day), that he sent me a p.o. order for $12.50 on Jan: 22—I write to-day that I have not seen or heard of any such order, but consider it my loss, & send." Below this entry, Whitman added in blue pencil: "the books—rec'd—paid (12.50)" (Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 224). See also Whitman's letter to Ransom of February 2, 1881. On April 15, 1886, Whitman delivered his Lincoln lecture in Philadelphia at the Chestnut Street Opera House. Donaldson and Talcott Williams each raised funds to pay Whitman for the event. On April 15, Whitman received $370 from Donaldson and $304 from Williams. Whitman expanded upon this brief note in a letter to Williams on May 4, 1886. This letter is addressed: Thomas Donaldson | 326 North 40th Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | APR | 8 | 3 PM | 1886 | N.J.; RECEIVED | APR 8 | 7 PM | PHIL[illegible]; REC'D PHILA | B | APR 9 [illegible] | 6 AM. Cook ordered books from Whitman in 1876; see his letter of February 29, 1876. On April 23, 1877, he asked the poet's permission to print some verses in the Dublin University Magazine (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, August 29, 1888, 219). Although previously confused by conflicting press reports as to Whitman's financial straits, Rossetti accepted Whitman's statements in the West Jersey Press and in Whitman's letter to Rossetti of January 26. In a letter to Whitman on February 28, Rossetti wrote: "There are some of us who wd really be glad to exert ourselves to the extent of our moderate means, to prove that we are not insensible of the obligations we owe you." Yet in this letter Whitman was silently modifying his own earlier accounts; in fact, his position as now stated did not materially differ from that in the Springfield Republican which had led to the reply in the West Jersey Press. Rossetti distributed facsimiles of this letter to English admirers. On February 28 Rossetti informed Whitman that Anne Gilchrist and he would shortly send £10 (approximately $50) for sets of Whitman's new edition. For Whitman's account of this alleged embezzlement, see the letter from Whitman to an unidentified correspondent of December 30, 1875. See Whitman's letter to Edward Dowden of March 4, 1876. Buchanan had written in praise of Whitman as early as 1867 (see the letter from Whitman to Routledge & Sons of December 30, 1867, and the letter from Whitman to Rudolf Schmidt of January 16, 1872). His account in the London newspaper was based on excerpts from the West Jersey Press which Rossetti had inserted in The Athenaeum on March 11. Rossetti's letter in support of Buchanan appeared in the London Daily News on March 14. Except for this final paragraph, which was probably added later, the letter differs from a draft version held by the Library of Congress only in insignificant verbal changes (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919). Nothing came of this proposed English edition until 1881, when Leaves of Grass was published by David Bogue. Dowden made this proposal on February 16. He wrote again on March 16, after receiving Whitman's new edition (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 9 vols., 1:303 and 1:122–123). See the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of April 13, 1876. A segment of this paragraph is bracketed in red ink, and written next to the bracket in pencil, in what appears to be Rossetti's hand, are the words: "superseded by letter of 31 March." John Byrne Leicester Warren (1835–1895), third Baron de Tabley, was a poet. Whitman sent the 1876 edition on May 18, and Memoranda During the War on June 14 or 15 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Probably a reference to his letter to Rossetti of March 29, 1876. Rossetti's letter is not known (see Whitman's letter to Rossetti of April 7). In his March 17, 1876, letter to Rossetti, Whitman wrote, "Though poor now even to penury I have not so far been deprived of any physical thing I need or wish whatever—& I feel confident I shall not, in the future." Whitman wrote about sending this volume in his March 29, 1876, letter to Rossetti. Whitman sent the Centennial Edition to Reynell on May 18, 1876, and Memoranda During the War on June 14 or 15, 1876 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman evidently alluded to this edition in a lost letter. See the notification from the Sierra Grande Mining Company to Walt Whitman of March 20, 1883. Whitman evidently sent this letter to someone else, and wrote to send along with it this note, which appears on a separate leaf. Much of the letter itself Whitman crossed out with pencil, creating an "extract," including the header and the last several paragraphs. He also wrote "Dresden, Saxony" and added a ¶" at the top. The letter cuts off at the end, indicating that there was probably another page, which has not been located. This is a partial transcription. In Complete Prose Works, Whitman introduces the letter as follows: "I extract the following, verbatim, from a letter to me dated September 29, from my friend John Burroughs, at Esopus-on-Hudson, New York State." Whitman wrote the following note on the back of this letter: "Black & 1 [illegible] & 2 opening?" Rossetti's three letters are apparently not extant. The letters referred to were written on March 30 and March 31. The draft of the former, which Whitman retained in his possession, is dated March 31, with the additional notation: "went in steamer Baltic April 1." Conway was reported in the London Daily News as saying: "On the strength of a letter just received from Mr. Whitman, that the idea that he is in distress or dependent upon his relatives is unfounded" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), 9 vols., 1:345, and see 1:346). On April 24 Conway informed Whitman that he was attempting to protect the poet and his relatives from the "insults" of his British admirers (Traubel, 1:347). On April 17 the New York Tribune paraphrased Conway's remarks in the Daily News, and quoted him on April 26: "Having recently visited the poet in his comfortable quarters in Camden, I am compelled to deny Buchanan's gross exaggerations." In the margin Whitman wrote: "sent this to C[onway]—2 of 4 [newspaper accounts]." The postscript does not appear in the draft of this letter. Rossetti's letter is not known, but the receipt of money is noted in Whitman's Commonplace Book. On April 4 Rossetti had written to Whitman to inquire whether Leaves of Grass was available at less than £1. Either Whitman's reply is not extant, or the second paragraph of this letter was intended as an answer. See the letter from Whitman to S. W. Green of May 4, 1876. See the letter from Whitman to Rossetti of April 7, 1876. Whitman did not recopy the following passage in his draft: "(in diplomacy as some one has said, the utterance markedly malapropos or ill-tempered is worse than the worst untruth)." Whitman did not include the following from the draft letter: "Buchanan stands to me as a fervid, affectionate & reverential friend and advocate." William Bell Scott (1811–1890), an English poet and painter, became acquainted with Leaves of Grass through Thomas Dixon; see the letter from Whitman to Dixon of June 30, 1870. Whitman sent the two 1876 volumes on May 18 and Memoranda During the War on June 14 or 15 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). For Reynell and Warren, see Whitman's letter to Rossetti of March 30, 1876. Whitman sent two volumes to Dew-Smith on May 19 (The Commonplace Book). Rossetti's letters and Whitman's reply, probably sent early in June, are apparently lost. Whitman probably intended to write 600; see his letter to Rossetti of September 1, 1876. See Whitman's letter to Rossetti of April 23, 1876. Wallis (1811–1891) was an artist and Keeper of the Art Collection at the South Kensington Museum from 1860 until his death. Whitman sent the two volumes to him on June 7 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Norman MacColl (1843–1904), the editor of the London Athenaeum from 1871 to 1900. Whitman noted sending the two books on June 12 (The Commonplace Book). An undated entry in Whitman's Commonplace Book recorded the receipt of £3.3 from The Athenaeum; see also the letter from Whitman to Rossetti of February 11, 1876. The Examiner was slow in paying for "The American War" (see the letter from Whitman to Rossetti of February 11, 1876). Whitman informed Rossetti on September 1 that he had not been paid by the Examiner. On June 15, 1877, Rossetti mentioned that William Minto, the editor of the journal, had promised to send the money "round to me at once" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), 9 vols., 3:170). Whitman noted in his Commonplace Book on October 11, 1877: "Wrote to Rossetti, spoke of the Examiner claim, told him to take no further trouble." On December 17, 1877, Rossetti promised to call the matter once more to Minto's attention. Miller visited Whitman on May 11 (The Commonplace Book). Justin McCarthy's "The Pre-Raphaelites in England," The Galaxy, 21 (June 1876), 725–732. Marvin met Rossetti in 1875; see Whitman's letter to Anne Gilchrist of October 19, 1875. If Whitman's recollection was correct, Longfellow came to Camden with George W. Childs, the owner of the Philadelphia Public Ledger, and, not finding him at home, finally encountered him at the wharf. Whitman was unimpressed with Longfellow (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), 1:129–130). The New York Tribune noted the visit on June 3: "The two poets are said to bear a striking resemblance to each other." Whitman's last letter to Tennyson was written on July 24, 1875. Whitman replied to a letter from Tennyson on September 14, 1876; both letters, unfortunately, are lost. Kent was the editor of the London Sun; see also the letter from Walt Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman of April 28–May 4, 1868. See also the letter from Whitman to Rossetti of May 5, 1876. Whitman was at the Stafford farm in Kirkwood from October 10 to 19 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman called on the Gilchrists frequently in Philadelphia after their arrival on September 10, and was accompanied by John Burroughs on September 14 and 15 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Because this letter is among the other Gilchrist correspondence, formerly in the possession of Mrs. Frank J. Sprague, there can be no doubt that it was addressed to Anne Gilchrist. Since the Gilchrists were in Philadelphia in December 1876, and since Whitman accompanied Eldridge to the Gilchrists' on December 12, 1877 (see the letters from Whitman to Herbert Gilchrist of December 12, 1877 and to Beatrice Gilchrist of December 13, 1877), this letter was written in 1876. This letter is addressed: Peter Doyle | Conductor, | Office Wash. & Geo. City RR. Co. | Washington, | D. C. It is postmarked: New York | Jul(?) | 14 | 1:30. With the headline "War at Our Doors," the New York World reported on the incident: "The ides of March have come and gone. In spite of the efforts of the clergy, the municipal authorities, and all good citizens, New York has been disgraced by a street fight in 1871 over the merits of an Irish battle fought and won in 1690." The journal devoted two full pages (in an eight-page issue) to the incident, and announced that 45 had been killed and 105 wounded. Whitman also wrote of the incident in his July 14, 1871, letter to his friend and defender, the writer William D. O'Connor. Because of his mother's illness, Whitman had his leave extended, and returned to Washington on July 31; see Whitman's July 16–21, 1871 and July 28, 1871, letters to Doyle. This is Whitman's summary of a letter, or postcard, which apparently is not extant. Rossetti's letter, which included a list of English subscribers to the 1876 version of Leaves of Grass, is also unknown. Whitman received the following sums from Rossetti: £28.4 on April 19, 1876; £45.9.6 on June 20, 1876; £21.18 ($116.01) on October 11, 1876; and $23.30 on September 10, 1877. See Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) and his September 10, 1876, letter to Rossetti. Whitman crossed out this letter and wrote several lines of prose in pencil on the back. On February 21, 1872, H. Buxton Forman (1842–1917), later the biographer of Shelley and Keats, sent to Whitman a copy of R. H. Horne's The Great Peace-Maker; A Sub-marine Dialogue (London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, & Searle, 1872). This poetic account of the laying of the Atlantic cable has a foreword written by Forman. Forman proposed an English edition of Whitman's writings "verbatim, without any retrenchments," a project of which the poet thoroughly approved (see Forman's letter to Whitman of February 21, 1872). The 1872 edition is the fifth, not the sixth, edition. At the conclusion of the second paragraph of this letter is pasted a clipping from the New-York Tribune of March 26 in reference to the plans of Senator John Sherman for a new copyright law. Rudolf Schmidt's laudatory essay appeared in the March issue of For Ide og Virkelighed; see Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller (New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977), 2:175n. Whitman was in Brooklyn at his mother's home from early February until about the tenth of April; see The Correspondence, 2:165–173. See Bloor's letter to Whitman dated June 7, 1879. Bloor initially wrote and then crossed out the letter "H." Here Bloor drew a diagram of the Theatre Box, labeled with circles indicating the locations of President Lincoln, Mrs. Lincoln, Miss —, and Major —. The Major — is Major Henry Rathbone. The Miss — is Miss Clara Harris. She did indeed marry her stepbrother, as Bloor goes on to note, though they were not related by blood. Her stepbrother, Henry Reed Rathbone, was badly wounded when he tried to stop John Wilkes Booth from fleeing the site of the assassination. Later in life, perhaps because he blamed himself for failing to stop the killing of Lincoln, he went mad, attacked his children, killed his wife who tried to protect them, and attempted to kill himself by stabbing himself in the chest. The signature on this letter has been partially cut away. Whitman repurposed this letter, writing on the back notes that would become part of his lecture on the death of Abraham Lincoln. The rest of this letter has been cut away. Whitman repurposed this letter, writing on the back a series of notes, likely toward his lecture on the death of Abraham Lincoln. The rest of this letter has been cut away. Whitman repurposed this letter, writing on the back a series of notes toward his lecture on the death of Abraham Lincoln. The rest of this letter has been cut away. Whitman repurposed this letter, writing on the back a series of notes toward his lecture on the death of Abraham Lincoln. This post card is pasted onto a page of one of Whitman's handmade notebooks. This note is written on the fly-leaf of a copy of Specimen Days, sent to Peter Doyle at Washington, D.C., in June, 1883. It was published subsequently in Specimen Days & Collect as "Note to a Friend" (see Complete Prose Works, 443). The note is significant, because it constitutes the first correspondence from Whitman to Doyle since July 1880. It appears that writing Specimen Days stirred Whitman's memories of the times he shared with Doyle in Washington, contributing to the nostalgic air of this note. Mr. and Mrs. Michael Nash were old, mutual friends of Whitman and Peter Doyle in Washington. Whitman referred to them often, especially in closing, in his letters to Doyle. Whitman was at Johnston's home on August 6 (see the letter from Whitman to Jeannette L. Gilder of August 6, 1881) and he had published "A Week at West Hills" in the New York Tribune on August 4 (see the letter from Whitman to the editor of the New York Tribune of August 3, 1881). This undated letter must have been written between February 10, 1881, the date of the preceding letter, and May, 1881, when Dowden's article appeared in the Nineteenth Century. In the letter of February 10, Rolleston stated that he had sent the money for Leaves of Grass; in this letter he is inquiring as to its safe receipt. Since Rolleston saw Dowden in Dublin before the publication of the article in the May issue of the Nineteenth Century, the letter could not have been written after that date. Since the copy of Leaves of Grass which Whitman had just sent, the 1876 edition, was a reprint of the fifth edition (1871–72), Rolleston's old copy must have been either the 1867 fourth edition or the first issue of the fifth edition, which was subsequently changed to include "Passage of India" and some other new poems. This is the opening line to "To the Man-of-War-Bird," published in the 1881 edition. Edward Dowden (1843–1913), professor of English literature and oratory in Trinity College, Dublin, was a noted scholar at whose home gathered many of the leaders of the Irish Renaissance. Through reviews and personal action, he did much to advance Whitman's cause in the British Isles. "Carlyle's Lectures on the Periods of European Culture. From Homer to Goethe," transcribed by Dowden, appeared in the May 1881 issue of the Nineteenth Century (9, 856–879). Dowden introduced the article with the following: "'Detestable mixture of prophecy and playactorism'–so in his Reminiscences Carlyle describes his work as a lecturer." This is the only statement in the article that might be constucted in any way as "damaging" and even this estimate by Carlyle of his own work Dowden refuted. Sir Henry Taylor's essay on the publication of Carlyle's Reminiscences is to be found in the same volume. While this contains personal material, the author's attitude is a very sympathetic one. The only other article on Carlyle which appeared in the Nineteenth Century around that time is J. A. Froude's "The Early Life of Thomas Carlyle" (July 1881), which contains letters but hardly of a "damaging" nature. The letter containing this passage must have been written before May 5, 1884, the date of Rolleston's letter to Whitman acknowledging receipt of Whitman's dedication. See Whitman's letter to Rolleston of April 20, 1884. This letter, evidently mailed on April 22, though the entry in Whitman's Commonplace Book appears under April 20, included an "endorsement to go in R's preface—& recommending that Salut au Monde be included" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Rolleston's translation of the original version of this passage appears on page 12 of Grashalme (Zürich: Verlags-Magazin, 1889). This and two other Christmas cards appear to have been sent to the Johnston children sometime during the 1880s. The first, to Harold Johnston, is dated March 26; on the back of the second, to Calder Johnston, the following is written in an unknown hand: "about 1885." This and two other Christmas cards appear to have been sent to the Johnston children sometime during the 1880s. The first, to Kitty Johnston, is undated; on the back of the second, to Calder Johnston, the following is written in an unknown hand: "about 1885." On the back of this card is a date in an unknown hand: "about 1885." This and two other Christmas cards appear to have been sent to the Johnston children sometime during the 1880s: the first, to Kitty Johnston, is undated; the second, to Harold Johnston, is dated March 26, suggesting that the cards were characteristically belated. This fragment appears to be a draft letter, evidenced both by the informal signature and the fact that it appears on the reverse of a draft of Whitman's poem, "Others May Praise What They Like," which was first published in Drum Taps in 1865. Ted Genoways has argued that the letter draft probably dates to late 1879 or early 1880, based on the poetry draft (which he thinks was likely an intermediary stage between the poem's publication in Drum-Taps and its revised appearance in the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass) and Whitman's visit to the West that fell in the summer and fall of 1879 (The Correspondence [Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2004], 57). We have dated the letter earlier, however, thinking it was probably meant for Thayer and Eldridge, since Whitman was eager to have them press for sales of Leaves of Grass in the west. In his anonymous self-review, "All About a Mocking-Bird," Whitman discussed the forthcoming third edition of 1860: "The market needs to-day to be supplied—the great West especially—with copious thousands of copies" (New York Saturday Press [7 January 1860], 3). This letter may have been intended for Robert R. Hubach, editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Hubach published three interviews with Whitman during October 1879. This is a draft letter. Whitman returned from his Western jaunt to St. Louis in October 1879; if he had indeed spent a month there, then this letter was written in the last days of October or sometime during November. The "flying impromptu notes" were never published in newspapers or magazines; however, they appear in Specimen Days from sections "Swallows on the River" through "Upon our Land" (204–30). The only reason for assigning this note to 1878—and it is far from conclusive—is that during this and the following year Whitman frequently had Sunday breakfast with Scovel; it became a kind of ritual when he was in Camden. James and Mary Mulford Scovel (1831–1893) had three children: Mary (Scovel) Kookejay Senor, Anna Dean (Scovel) Brooke, and Henry Sydney Scovel. Scovel is likely referring to his daughter Mary. This postscript is written in the left margin of the first page of the letter. There is too little information to identify a specific date or what the "queer little book" might be. The letter was apparently written after one of Whitman's visits to the Johnstons in New York. According to Amy Haslam Dowe's "A Child's Memories of the Whitmans," some elderly women identified only as "the Chevaliers" lived across the street from Whitman (see Edwin Haviland Miller, "Amy H. Dowe and Walt Whitman," The Walt Whitman Review 13 [September 1967], 73–79). The Chevaliers may also have been relatives of the Camden printer William Chevalier. Twelve leaves were enclosed with this note. Although no date can be established conclusively, the resemblance of this note to the letter from Whitman to Scribner and Company of March 30, 1877, makes 1877 plausible. The text does not aid dating. However, the letter was written during the winter months, and it seems reasonable to assume that it was sent shortly after the arrival of the Gilchrists in Philadelphia. Note also the similarities to the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of December 12, 1876 and the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of January 16, 1877. According to his Commonplace Book, Whitman stayed with the Gilchrists from January 10 to 16 and from January 25 to February 2 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Probably a fragment of this letter is in the Feinberg Collection (December 15?, 1876). This letter is addressed: O S Baldwin | N E cor: Broadway & Canal | New York City. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Pa. | Dec 18 83 | 2 30 PM; P.O. | 12-18-83 | 9 P | N.Y. Since Whitman wrote several post cards to Harry after he went to Canada, probably the fragment reproduced here was sent at this time, since December 8 fell on Saturday in 1883. In a letter to Whitman from Canada on November 28, Harry complained of his work as "turnkey" in Bucke's asylum, asked for letters of recommendation, and concluded: "Your boy is away among strangers and a good long letter from his dear friend will do him good." On December 17 Harry asserted: "I am determined to make a hit somewhere and dont forget it. I havent had a blue spell yet and think I can get along without any . . . With lots of love and a good old time kiss I am ever your boy Harry." According to a letter to his father on January 12, 1884, Harry was reading Haeckel and Darwin, but was not satisfied with his position at the hospital: "The rules of the Asylum are absurdly strict and of a military form." O'Connor meant the sending of the printed lecture through the mail (see the letter from Whitman to George Chainey of June 26, 1882). Whitman, to help out with expenses, paid the Staffords when he stayed at their farm, so it is possible that Harry decided to reciprocate on a recent occasion when he visited Whitman in Camden. Whitman began in early 1883 to make frequent visits to the home of Robert Pearsall Smith and Hannah Whitall Smith in Germantown; their daughter, Mary Whitall Smith, had admired Whitman's work during her studies at Smith College and talked her father into taking her to Camden to meet the poet. Whitman became good friends with this wealthy Quaker family and stayed with them from August 4–28 (a little over three weeks, not the "five or six weeks" he claims in the letter). Glendale is near Kirkwood, New Jersey. At various times, Whitman and the Stafford family seem to refer to the contiguous communities of Kirkwood and Glendale interchangeably, as if Kirkwood were part of the larger community of Glendale. Montgomery ("Mont") Stafford was Harry's younger brother. Whitman's reply appears at the conclusion of the letter on August 22 from Scribner's requesting his "kind consent to include your two poems 'Pioneers' and 'The Soldier's Letter' ['Come up from the Fields Father']" in "a very excellent and comprehensive collection of English Verse." This transcript is taken from a copy labeled in Whitman's own autograph: "Copy of Letter sent by Walt Whitman in response to invitation of 'Tertio. Millenial Anniversary Association' at Santa Fe New Mexico." A copy was also sent to the Philadelphia Press for publication; the article was run on August 5, 1883, with the following headnote: "Our friends at Santa Fé, New Mexico, have just finish'd their long drawn out anniversary of the 333d year of the settlement of their city by the Spanish. The good, gray Walt Whitman was asked to write them a poem in commemoration. Instead he wrote them a letter as follows." The letter from Arthur Boyle, requesting a poem for the "Santa Fé Tertio Millennial Celebration," is in the Feinberg collection. Whitman's letter appears in November Boughs as "The Spanish Element in Our Nationality," (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1888), 50–51. Boyle's letter is dated June 20, 1883. Whitman originally wrote "five years," then crossed it out and wrote over it in pencil the word "blank." Born in England, Arthur Boyle (1840–1910) was a capitalist and agent for investors in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He was a talented horticulturalist, as well as the husband of Blanche Blackmore, whose family owned property in the American West. Boyle was a member of the group that planned and promoted the Tertio-Millennial Exposition that took place in Santa Fe in July 1883. This letter is addressed: Hon Ths Donaldson | 132 N-40th St. | Phil | Pa | For Walt Whitman Esq. It is postmarked: SANTE FE | JUN | 20 | 1883 | N. MEX.; PHILADELPHIA, PA | JUN | 25 | 7PM | REC'D; PHILADA | B | JUN | 26 | 71M REC'D. The name of David Bogue, a London-based publisher who distributed the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass in England, is misspelled in Harned's transcription. In 1883, Karl Knortz (1841–1918), the author of many articles on German-American affairs, was living in New York City. In his letters to Whitman that year Knortz frequently included "German renderings" of poems in Leaves of Grass. Later he assisted Thomas W. H. Rolleston in Grashalme (Zurich: Verlags-Magazin, 1889), a German translation of Leaves key to Whitman's influence in Germany. See Walter Grünzweig, Constructing the German Walt Whitman (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1995). Whitman renumbered these pages in blue pencil. Whitman renumbered these pages in blue pencil. Whitman renumbered these pages in blue pencil. Whitman renumbered these pages in blue pencil. This letter is pasted to a backing sheet. On the back of the backing sheet is a small slip of paper on which the following is written in an unknown hand: "O.M. Hanscom | Police Inspector | City Hall." An image of the back of this letter is not provided here because the letter is pasted onto a backing sheet. In Donaldson's transcription, the last name of Leggett's son in law, Lewis T. Ives, is misspelled. Lewis and his son Percy were both artists. In a notation late in 1880 Whitman referred to Percy, "age 16, a student, intends to be an artist . . . Academy of Fine Arts" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On December 21, 1881, Percy made several pencil sketches of Whitman, and in his letter to his grandmother on December 25, he drew a sketch for her of the picture which was "in a promising condition" (Detroit Public Library). His oil painting of Whitman is now in the Feinberg Collection. See also Leggett's letter to Whitman on July 19, 1880. Dowden's letter was sent to O'Connor and others and is apparently lost. On November 21 Dowden acknowledged Whitman's card and urged the poet to "try a voyage across the Atlantic" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, September 22nd, 1888, 363). Dowden's review of Specimen Days appeared in The Academy on November 18. See also Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1931), 233. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Treasury | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Nov | 1 | 1 AM | Pa.; Washington, Recd. | Nov | 1 | 9 AM | 1882 | 1. Whitman wrote on the same day in his Commonplace Book: "Am slowly getting better." On November 6 he observed: "to-day, well as usual, before sickness." The Camden Daily Post on November 1 noted the poet's "reappearance on the street," and "Walt Whitman's Illness" appeared in the Progress on November 9 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Mrs Ann Gilchrist | Keats' Corner 12 Well Road | Hampstead | London England. It is postmarked: Camden | Oct | 30 | 5 PM | N.J.; Phila. Paid All | Oct | 30 | 1882 | Pa. O'Connor included in his letter of October 27 an extract from a newspaper entitled "L'Etranger," a poem not too unlike Whitman's own statements about adhesiveness (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, March 11, 1889, 323). Ezra H. Heywood (1829–1893), a radical reformer and an advocate of free love, was arrested on October 26, 1881, because he printed "To a Common Prostitute" and "A Woman Waits for Me" in The Word and attempted to mail the journals. On October 27, 1882, O'Connor noted a newspaper report of Heywood's arrest: "I don't like Heywood's ways, and I don't like the Free-Love theories at all, but he has his rights, which these devils trample on" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, March 11, 1889). See also the letter from Whitman to O'Connor of November 12, 1882. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Treasury | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden | Oct | 29 | 6 PM / N.J.; Washington, Recd. | Oct | 30 | 4 30 AM | 1882 | 2. This post card is addressed: J H Johnston | Jeweler | 150 Bowery | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden | Oct | 26 | 8 PM | N.J.; P O | 10-2(?)-82 | 6 I A | N.Y. Johnston called on Whitman in Camden on October 10 accompanied by an Australian friend, John W. Tilton. On the following day the poet sent to Johnston a copy of Leaves of Grass for Tilton and a copy of Specimen Days for Mrs. Johnston (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is endorsed: "Answd Oct / 26 & 27." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Treasury | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden | Oct | 25 | 5 PM | N.J.; Washington, Recd | Oct | 26 | 5 AM | 1882 | 2. Whitman suffered from a liver disorder from October 17 to 28, 1882 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Dr. Dowling Benjamin, his physician, began to practice medicine in Camden in 1877; see George R. Prowell, The History of Camden County, New Jersey (1886). A newspaper report alarmed the poet's friends: "Walt Whitman is so seriously ill of Bright's disease that few if any hopes for his recovery are entertained." See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, March 11, 1889, 322–323, and Jeff's letter to his brother on October 29. For a discussion of the Worthington affair, see the letter from Whitman to Richard Watson Gilder of November 26, 1880. Camden & Atlantic Railroad. According to entries in Whitman's Commonplace Book, Whitman often had Sunday breakfast with the Scovels. Though there is no entry in the notebook for November 28, he was at the Scovels's on December 5. The poet spent Thanksgiving with the Kilgores (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.).Whitman's account of his dealings with Richard Worthington ("Holy Dick" was the poet's epithet later), a New York publisher, is somewhat garbled. (Whitman's version in 1888 was filled with inaccuracies; see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [Boston: Small, Maynard, 1906], 1:195–196, 250–251). Worthington bought the plates of the 1860 edition after they had been sold at auction by George A. Leavitt & Co. for $200 "to a Mr Williams" (see the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of December 7, 1880). After the plates came into Worthington's hands, he wrote to the poet on September 29, 1879: "As the edition is not complete although subject as I understand to a copyright of ten per cent it seems to me that it would be better for all parties to have it completed. If this idea meets your views on the subject I would be willing to make you an immediate payment of $250.00 on account and will do everything in my power to make the book sell." Despite Whitman's rejection of Worthington's offer, the publisher began to run off copies from the plates.
On August 20, 1880, Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke informed Eldridge that he had lately discovered many copies of the 1860 edition (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1931], 197–198). Probably at Bucke's suggestion Whitman wrote on the following day to inquire whether Worthington still owned the plates (see the letter from Whitman to Worthington of August 21, 1880). He probably wrote to the same effect on September 19 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). After Whitman was offered a copy of the pirated book in Philadelphia on November 20, 1880, he decided to take action against Worthington.
Early in December Scovel went to New York and compelled Worthington to pay a royalty of $50. On December 6 Whitman sent a receipt to the publisher: "Rec'd from R Worthington (thro Jas M Scovel) Fifty-Dollars on account of royalty in selling(?) my book Leaves of Grass W. Whitman" (Whitman's Commonplace Book). It would appear, despite the poet's later observations, that the settlement permitted Worthington to continue his sales (perhaps only of bound copies) so long as he paid a royalty. On December 6 Scovel asked to be reimbursed: "I expended $9.50 in pursuit of the recalcitrant, pirate Worthington, in New York City." Whitman paid Scovel $10 (Whitman's Commonplace Book).
On May 20, 1881, Whitman informed Osgood & Co. that Worthington had "sold languid surreptitious copies—can be stopt instantly by me & will be." On August 11, 1881, Whitman "call'd on R Worthington . . . & had an interview of over half an hour—I told him emphatically he must not print and publish another copy of L. of G. from the '60-'61 plates—if so it would be at his peril—he offered $50 down if I would warrant his printing a new edition of 500 from said plates, which I peremptorily declined—Mr Williams & one or two clerks in the store heard the conversation—R. W. paid me $25 due me on back sales—I shall not trouble him for any thing past—but shall hold him to strict account for what is done after this date" (Whitman's Commonplace Book).
Apparently Whitman again must have consented to Worthington's selling bound copies, for on July 25, 1882, the publisher wrote to the poet: "I Enclose you check for 44.50 being Copyright on Leaves of Grass sold since you last received check." In 1888 Whitman recalled only the first payment and "another twenty-five dollars paid at another time—I don't know when. I acknowledged both, on account, as royalty" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, 1:250).
During the 1880s Worthington ran off additional copies. In 1885 Whitman, again disturbed about the publisher's activities, wrote about the piracy in a lost letter to Eldridge, who advised him on August 17 to write to a firm in New York which made "a specialty of copyright cases" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). Evidently Whitman did not write to the firm, but again availed himself of the services of Scovel. About November 5 he noted "from R Worthington $24: through J M S" (Whitman's Commonplace Book).
David McKay, the Philadelphia publisher of Whitman's writings, became concerned about the plates. On February 12, 1886, Whitman noted "a visit from D McKay, ab't the Worthington plates—subscription to purchase" (Whitman's Commonplace Book).
In a letter to the editor of The Critic on June 2, 1888, William Sloane Kennedy, without mentioning Worthington's name, asserted: "Mr. Whitman has not received a cent of copyright on them. . . . I hope that this note may be the means of inducing some rich friend of Whitman's to put a lawyer on the case, and bring the New Yorkers who are issuing the spurious books to justice." Interestingly, Whitman neglected to inform Kennedy of the royalties ($143.50) he had accepted (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, 1:250). It is also noteworthy that, despite Kennedy's remarks, Whitman refused to stop the publisher: "I am averse to going to law about it: going to law is like going to hell: it's too much trouble even if we win" (Traubel, 1:195 and 251). But he was willing to go to law at someone else's expense.
Worthington continued to use the plates until they were purchased by the literary executors after Whitman's death (The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 8:280).
The lost letter of September 19 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Whitman noted sending this post card in his Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Lewis T. and Percy Ives were father and son, both artists. In a notation late in 1880 Whitman referred to Percy, "age 16, a student, intends to be an artist . . . Academy of Fine Arts" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On December 21, 1881, Percy made several pencil sketches of Whitman, and in his letter to his grandmother, Elisa S. Leggett, on December 25, he drew a sketch for her of the picture which was "in a promising condition" (Detroit Public Library). His oil painting of Whitman is now in the Feinberg Collection. Ruth Stafford (1866–1939), one of Harry Stafford's sisters, later Ruth Stafford Goldy. Ruth Stafford (1866–1939), later Ruth Stafford Goldy, was one of Susan Stafford's daughters. Ruth Stafford Goldy (1866–1939) was one of Debbie's siblings. When Whitman wrote this letter, Debbie was visiting Ruth in Kansas. Based on an address mounted in Whitman's Commonplace Book, Horner was the nickname of Jacob H. Stafford (1850–1890), Harry Stafford's cousin, whose mother was Mary Horner. In this paragraph Susan refers to the other Stafford children: Edwin, Van Doran, Ruth, George, and Deborah, who was married to Joseph Browning. The date of this letter is based on Edwin Haviland Miller's introduction to volume three of The Correspondence, in which Miller also discusses the occasionally troubled relationship between Whitman and Stafford (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1964], 3:1–9). The letter appears on the back of a letter from W.A.B. James to Whitman of March 27, 1877. Ida Johnston was the daughter of Colonel John R. Johnston, the artist, whose home Walt Whitman visited almost every Sunday evening during his time in Camden. Tilghman Hiskey worked for the Camden ferries (Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 183). See the letters from Whitman to Hiskey of June 20 and July 27, 1880. Harry Scovel Buster og Masker contains a revised version of Schmidt's essay on Whitman originally published in 1872. Schmidt's book, inscribed, is now in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. See the post card from Whitman to Schmidt of October 13, 1882. See the letter from Whitman to Schmidt of December 18, 1881. This letter is addressed: Rudolf Schmidt | Baggesen's Gate 3 | Copenhagen | Denmark. It is postmarked: Camden | Oct | 8 | 6 PM | N.J.; K | Omb 1 | 3 10 82. Schmidt noted receipt of the book on November 3 and his desire to translate "The Death of Abraham Lincoln." Richard Maurice Bucke mentioned receiving Schmidt's book in a letter to Whitman on October 11. In this letter he summed up his reactions to Specimen Days in a passage which Whitman marked with red ink: "As to S. D. it is a suitable finish up to your work, it is what we (those who know something of you) have been wanting for a long time and what the future will want still more and will prize far more even than we can prize it now—it is all on a low key (as it ought to be) no fine writing but plain prose giving the [illegible] just the insight that we wanted into your common every day life, and your ordinary every day manner of looking at things—I think you may now say that your work is done, I do not see any more for you to do at all events though perhaps you will see something, when you have had time to look about again a bit." See the first sentence of The Divinity School Address (1838): "In this refulgent summer, it has been a luxury to draw the breath of life." Whitman sent two copies to Anne Gilchrist on October 5 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Herbert referred to the book on October (?) 20, and Anne Gilchrist described her reactions to the work on November 24. Because the records of David McKay, successor to Rees Welsh & Co. as Whitman's publisher, are now in the University of Pennsylvania Library, exact figures on sales are available until the poet's death. As of December 1, 1882, 4,900 copies of Leaves of Grass had been printed, of which 3,118 were sold. Whitman's royalty was $1,091.30. Only 1,000 copies of Specimen Days were printed and 925 copies sold; the return to Whitman was $203.50—a total of $1,294.80. Because Whitman owed McKay money, the actual return was $1,230.78 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). This letter is addressed: Mrs: Anne Gilchrist | Keats' Corner 12 Well Road | Hampstead | London England. It is postmarked: Camden | Oct | 8 | 6 PM | N.J.; Philadelphia | Oct | 8 | 1882 | Pa. This letter is addressed: Sylvester Baxter | Daily Herald | newspaper office | Boston Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden | (?) | 8 | 6 PM | N.J. On November 12 Whitman informed O'Connor that of 1500 copies of Specimen Days 400 remained unsold. Perhaps he referred to a second printing; more probably Whitman overstated the success of the volume so that Baxter would have good copy for his review in the Boston Herald. This notation refers to the preceding paragraph, which Baxter included verbatim in the second to last paragraph of his "review" of Specimen Days in the Boston Herald on October 15. Baxter quoted from the first paragraph of Whitman's letter but then incorporated the rest of the letter without indicating the source. Mrs. Rogers was Susan Stafford's sister; see the letter from Whitman to Susan Stafford of May 14, 1882. On September 8, 1882, Whitman sent a notice concerning the appearance of Specimen Days to various newspapers; see the letter from Whitman to the editors of the Springfield Republican of September 8, 1882. Whitman wrote a series of numbers on the back of the envelope that accompanied this letter. This last sentence was added with an asterisk, and is written in the left side margin of the letter. This segment of the letter, apparently added later, Guernsey wrote in pencil. See the letter from Whitman to Locker-Lampson of May 26, 1880. "A Riddle Song" appeared in the Tarrytown Sunnyside Press on April 3. Apparently Whitman gave Harry Stafford one of the books which Ingersoll sent (see the letter from Whitman to Harry Stafford of January 2, 1881). Whitman responded to Ingersoll on April 2, 1880. William Hale White (1831–1913) was a British writer and civil servant who sometimes published under the pen name Mark Rutherford. The review of Whitman's Two Rivulets enclosed in this letter, titled "The Genius of Walt Whitman," appeared in The Secular Review on March 20, 1880. Since, according to Whitman's Commonplace Book, the poet sent two volumes on March 4, 1880, to R. H. Ewart, of New York City, it is probable that this note accompanied the volumes (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The price was always $10. Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957) was the second and youngest daughter of Whitman's brother Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman (1833–1890) and Jeff's wife Martha Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873). Whitman, as he noted, offered virtually the same advice about Edwin in a letter to Harry on January 31. Herbert Gilchrist wrote to the poet on January 15. Whitman was in Glendale from February 16 to March 6, 1882 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Clara Barrus notes that the signature to this letter (written on office stationery of J. M. Stoddart and Company, Philadelphia) has been torn off (Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1931], 235). Whitman recorded an order of $10 filled on March 30 for "G Wm Harris, Ass't Lib: Cornell University"; this is the only order on that approximate date (Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White [New York: New York University Press, 1978], 1:235). This letter is now lost. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman. | 431. Stevens St. | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: CAMBRIDGE STA MASS 23 FEB 12 M. Whitman had written to Longfellow to request an autograph, apparently intended for one of Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke's friends, on February 20, 1881. On February 24, Whitman sent the autograph to Bucke (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On February 13, Whitman sent a "postal to Dr Bucke ab't Longfellow's autograph," which Bucke had apparently requested (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On February 22, Longfellow wrote to Whitman: "It gives me great pleasure to comply with your request"; and on February 24, Whitman sent the autograph to Bucke (Whitman's Commonplace Book). In 1891, Whitman recollected the incident in a conversation with Horace Traubel: "Bucke once got me in a hell of a hole. Wrote asking me to interpose for an autograph of Longfellow—wished it for some great lord somebody up there—a man he was under—a man whose favor he particularly wanted—indeed, he owned as much to me—and would have me write, which I did. And the gentle amiable sweet Longfellow acquiesced. But I was ashamed of myself—thousands of dollars would not have bought it. This thing with Forman [another request for an autograph] amounts to about the same. I do it but hate myself for surrendering" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 9 vols., 8:223–224). The Literary World printed "The Dead Carlyle" on February 12 (see the letter from Whitman to Jeannette L. Gilder of February 6, 1881). The Protection of Life and Property (Ireland) Bill was passed by the British Government in 1881 to cope with the agitation of the Land League. With this "Coercion Act," the Habeas Corpus Act was suspended and authorities were given the power to imprison any "reasonably suspected" person. See the Academy 18 (1880), 238: "Walt Whitman will shortly give in one of the London magazines his estimate of the leading English poets of the nineteeth century." Rolleston noted the announcement in his letter to Whitman of October 16, 1880. An Irish agrarian movement, organized in 1879 by Michael Davitt and led by Charles Parnell, the Land League agitated for land tenure reform and for the transferal of land ownership from British landholders to Irish tenants. The fight for fixity of tenure, fair rent, and free sale was accompanied by boycotting and violence, until the League was declared illegal. However, the group did carry the land question into the realm of practical politics and was an active force in bringing about the great land reform bills which culminated in the Land Purchase Act of 1903. See Michael Davitt, The Fall of Feudalism in Ireland: or The Story of the Land League Revolution (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1904). Whitman's dealings with Trübner & Company were handled through Josiah Child. Trübner & Company was the London agent for Whitman's books; see Whitman's December 27, 1873, letter to the firm. Augustus H. Lung lived at 426 Stevens Street (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.); he was the pastor of the Trinity Baptist Church. For the Staffords' copies of The Life of Blake, see Whitman's letters to George and Susan Stafford of January 16, 1881 and to Susan Stafford of January 30, 1881. Herbert Gilchrist wrote to Whitman on November 30, 1880, and on December 13, 1880. This letter has been crossed out. On the back of it Whitman drafted a poem titled "A Clear Midnight" and labeled it "end of "From Noon to Starry Night" cluster." For a discussion of the Worthington affair, see the letter from Whitman to Richard Watson Gilder of November 26, 1880, where Worthington's letter, which Whitman misinterpreted, is quoted. Richard Worthington was a New York printer who published and sold unauthorized editions of Whitman's Leaves of Grass, printed from the plates of the 1860 edition. Whitman explains his claims against Worthington in his November 26, 1880, letter to Richard Watson Gilder. For more on Worthington and the piracy controversy, see Jerome Loving, Walt Whitman: The Song of Himself (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000), 401, and Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). Emma Lazarus (1849–1887) was a writer and editor best known for "The New Colossus," a sonnet that appears on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. A two-volume collection of her poems was published in 1888, titled The Poems of Emma Lazarus (Boston; New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888). Lazarus also advocated on behalf of Jewish refugees in New York. See Esther Schor, Emma Lazarus (New York: Schocken Books, 2006). John Bigelow (1817–1911) had been minister to France in 1865 and 1866 and had been co-editor, with William Cullen Bryant, of the New York Evening Post from 1848 to 1861. Wyatt Eaton (1849–1896), an American portrait and figure painter, organized the Society of American Artists in 1877. Whitman met Eaton at a reception given by Richard W. Gilder on June 14; see "A Poet's Recreation," New York Tribune, July 4, and Walt Whitman's Diary in Canada, ed. William Sloane Kennedy (Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1904), 54. Whitman crossed out this letter and wrote a series of manuscript notes on the back of it. James Matlack Scovel (1833–1904) began to practice law in Camden in 1856. During the Civil War, he was in the New Jersey legislature and became a colonel in 1863. He campaigned actively for Horace Greeley in 1872, and was a special agent for the U.S. Treasury during Chester Arthur's administration. In the 1870s, Whitman frequently went to Scovel's home for Sunday breakfast (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). For a description of these breakfasts, see Walt Whitman's Diary in Canada, ed. William Sloane Kennedy (Boston: Small, Maynard, 1904), 59–60. For Scovel, see George R. Prowell's The History of Camden County, New Jersey (Philadelphia: L. J. Richards, 1886). Captain Vandoren Townsend was married to Patience, George Stafford's sister. Edward Whitman (1835–1892), called "Eddy" or "Edd," was the youngest son of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr. He required lifelong assistance for significant physical and mental disabilities, and he remained in the care of his mother until her death in 1873. During his mother's final illness, George Whitman and his wife Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman took over Eddy's care, with financial support from Walt Whitman. In 1888, Eddy was moved to an asylum at Blackwood, New Jersey. For more information on Edward, see Randall Waldron, "Whitman, Edward (1835–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Perhaps Katharine Hillard (1839?–1915), editor, translator, and Brooklyn resident. Whitman's brother, George Washington Whitman (1829–1901), and his wife Louisa Orr Haslam (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou." For more information on George, see Martin G. Murray "Whitman, George Washington," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). For more on Louisa, see Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). John White Chadwick (1840–1904), who termed himself a radical Unitarian, was the pastor of the Second Unitarian Church in Brooklyn from 1865 until his death. He was also a reviewer for The Nation and the author of A Book of Poems (1876). Whitman wrote a series of notes about the Odyssey on the back of one of the pages of this letter. At the top of the notes are the words "for Abraham Lincoln." Whitman crossed this letter out and composed a draft letter on the back. See the draft letter from Whitman to Alfred Lord Tennyson of August 9, 1878. Whitman crossed out this letter and wrote a series of manuscript notes about Tennyson on the back of it. The envelope for this letter is endorsed (by Whitman): Nov 27 '77. On the back of the envelope accompanying this letter Whitman has written a list, as follows: "envelopes at Altemuss | take the white hat to 8th st | shoes (base ball) | see about a pair for Mrs Stafford | stuff for trousers | some stockings & hokfs at Johnny's | coffee" Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) was an American poet and essayist who began the Transcendentalist movement with his 1836 essay Nature. For more on Emerson, see Jerome Loving, "Emerson, Ralph Waldo [1809–1882]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Edmund Clarence Stedman (1833–1908) was a man of diverse talents. He edited for a year the Mountain County Herald at Winsted, Connecticut, wrote "Honest Abe of the West," presumably Lincoln's first campaign song, and served as correspondent of the New York World from 1860 to 1862. In 1862 and 1863 he was a private secretary in the Attorney General's office until he entered the firm of Samuel Hallett and Company in September, 1863. The next year he opened his own brokerage office. He published many volumes of poems and was an indefatigable compiler of anthologies, among which were Poets of America, 2 vols. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1885) and A Library of American Literature from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, 11 vols. (New York: C. L. Webster, 1889–90). For more, see Donald Yannella, "Stedman, Edmund Clarence (1833–1908)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Sydney Howard Vines (1849–1934) was among Edward Carpenter's circle of Whitman admirers in England. On November 13, Carpenter sent Whitman—in a letter now lost—Vines's request for books. On November 27, 1877, Whitman sent the books (Leaves of Grass and Two Rivulets) and a post card to Vines. Whitman also sent a letter to Carpenter on November 27, noting, "have to-day mailed Mr Vines' books." At that time, Vines was Fellow and Lecturer in Botany at Christ's College, Cambridge, and later was named Sherardian Professor of Botany at Oxford. Vines's copy of Leaves of Grass inscribed by Whitman, "Sidney H. Vines from the author," was among the books offered for sale in the Spring 2001 catalog of Bertram Rota, Ltd., an antiquarian bookseller in London. Oscar Wilde and Whitman met on January 18, 1882, at Whitman's home in Camden; the meeting is described in Lloyd Lewis and Henry J. Smith's Oscar Wilde Discovers America, 1882 (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1936), 73–77. Wilde was at Trinity College, Dublin, from 1871 to 1874. From there he transferred to Oxford. William Wilkins was a fellow student of Rolleston and a frequent contributor to Kottabos. He entered Trinity College in 1873 at the age of twenty-one and received the B.A. degree in 1878 and the M.A. in 1881. Rolleston's poem "Calvin Harlowe" appeared in Kottabos, 4.1 (1882), 1–2.The following review of The Encheiridion of Epictetus (London, 1881) appeared in the January 14, 1882 issue of the Critic (2.6):
"This is an admirable, scholarly translation of the calm old Stoic who still has something to say to the world—something, in particular, to those who would dwell on the serene heights of philosophy. The translator has preserved the fresh, crisp, compact spirit of the original, and gives us the true tones of the Greek. It is presented in a handsome pocket volume of exquisite taste and workmanship, and at the time of the year when we are forming good resolutions. Though we might go astray if we accepted all that the old heathen philosopher offers, yet we shall find in him ideas of great pith and moment, many of which have already become worthily imbedded in Christian doctrine."
Jefferson Davis, The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government (New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1881). "p. 15" appears in the upper left-hand corner of a single-page enclosure on which Rolleston copied the three poems. Their English titles are "Beginners," "Walt Whitman's Caution," and "On Journeys Through the States." Only "Zu Reisen durch die Staaten" was published in Grashalme, where it appears with some improvements under the title of "Zur Reise durch die Staaten" (171–172). The reader familiar with German will detect a number of unusual words and spellings in the other two poems. Although Whitman's poem has "north-east," Rolleston changes "Nordost" to "Nordwesten" in the published version appearing in Grashalme. Whitman was staying with John H. Johnston in March, 1877; see the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist on March 4, 1877, and the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs on March 13, 1877. Mrs. Amelia Johnston, John H. Johnston's first wife, died on March 26, 1877; see the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist on March 23. Whitman drew a line through this letter. Whitman went to New York to attend the funeral of William Cullen Bryant on June 14, 1878, and stayed with John H. Johnston, a jeweler and old friend. As the letter indicates, Whitman paid a visit to John Burroughs before he returned to New York, where he remained until July 10. See Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller (New York: New York University Press, 1964), 3:120–128. B. K. Sharp was at one time Harry Stafford's employer, according to Edwin Haviland Miller (see "Introduction," The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1964], 3:6). On the right side of this page, Johnson included a pencil diagram of his farm with geographical markers ("big river, limestone, heavy clay," and so forth). The diagram is labeled with the letters "A" and "B." Edwin Haviland Miller notes that Whitman wrote on the envelope for this letter: "(first suggestion of lecture)" (The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–1967] 3:109). William Hale White (1831–1913) was a British writer and civil servant who sometimes published under the pen name Mark Rutherford. In 1880, White wrote a review of Whitman's Two Rivulets titled "The Genius of Walt Whitman." See the letter from White to Whitman of March 21, 1880. Probably a reference to Herbert Gilchrist, who was visiting the Staffords around this time. See the letter from Walt Whitman to Herbert Gilchrist, [28 July 1877]. The letter "for the papers" was "Summer Days in Canada," which Whitman sent to many newspapers for publication on June 22. See the letter from Whitman to Whitelaw Reid of June 17, 1880. In this paragraph Whitman referred to the Stafford children: Edwin, Van Doran, Ruth, George, and Deborah, who was married to Joseph Browning. Harry wrote to Whitman on July 17, Susan Stafford on July 16, Elmer on July 17, and Deborah on July 18. This letter is endorsed (by R.M. Bucke): "1881." Harry called on Whitman on February 15 and returned on the following day (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). Prentice (1802–1870) was editor of the Louisville (Ky.) Daily Journal from 1830 to 1868. His poetry was issued posthumously in 1876. During the Civil War he was a supporter of Abraham Lincoln, and, according to the Dictionary of American Biography, was largely responsible for keeping Kentucky in the Union. This letter is addressed: Josiah Child | Care Trübner & Co. | 57 Ludgate Hill | London England. On November 27, 1878, Whitman sent "Three Young Men's Deaths" to John Fraser, editor of Cope's Tobacco Plant, through Josiah Child, who was associated with the publishing firm of Trübner & Company; see the letter from Whitman to Josiah Child of December 10, 1878. Although no envelope is now with the card, Whitman sent books on April 6, 1881, to Albert D. Shaw (1857–1947), who at the time was the United States Consul in Manchester, England; see Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White (New York: New York University Press, 1978), 1:237. He was the founder and editor of the American Review of Reviews from 1891 to 1937 and author of Abraham Lincoln (1929). Shaw's letter to Whitman on March 26, 1881, is apparently lost. "No. 2" was part of a series of six articles entitled "How I Get Around at 60 and Take Notes." Whitman's lengthiest comment on the writings of Hugo appeared in the New York Daily Graphic in 1874; see Prose Works 1892, ed. Floyd Stovall (New York: New York University Press, 1964), 2:759. Whitman delivered his Lincoln speech in Boston on April 15 (see the letter from Whitman to the Staffords of April 15-[17], [1881]). Apparently Jeannette Gilder (1849–1916) never asked William D. O'Connor to write for The Critic. Whitman wrote a letter to James R. Osgood on the back of this letter from O'Reilly. See the letter from Whitman to Osgood of May 8, 1881. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens Street | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | MY 23 | 81 | CANADA. Osgood informed Whitman on May 31 that the firm would be "glad to publish the book" and proposed a royalty of ten per cent. Again he inquired about Worthington's pirated books: "We should like to feel clear that you can control the old Thayer & Eldridge plates, so as to stop the issue of any books printed from them" (The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 8:278–279). Osgood returned Whitman's copy at the same time, and enclosed a copy of Our Poetical Favorites as a sample of what the firm proposed to do with Whitman's book. This letter is cited in Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman was with the Staffords from May 13 to 26, 1881; on May 8 he began negotiations with Osgood & Company concerning publication of the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass (see the letter from Whitman to James R. Osgood of May 8, 1881). Edward Carpenter wrote on May 14 (lost); see the letter from Whitman to Carpenter of May 30, 1881. Theodore and William Heiniken (or Hieniken) were apparently brothers or perhaps son and father; see the letter from Whitman to Harry Stafford of November 12, 1880. Rolleston's only sister—to whom he was very devoted—was married to Henry Truell of Clonmannon, County Wicklow. The historical writings of Standish O'Grady (1846–1928) were an inspiration to the great Irish Literary Revival. He has often been referred to as the father of this movement. Between 1878 and 1880, he published the two volumes of History of Ireland: Heroic Period. In a letter to Horst Frenz of August 13, 1950, Captain C. H. Rolleston wrote: "I do not think there can be any doubt that my Father's schoolmaster friend was H. B. Cotterill, M.A., who was later in Germany and was the author of a version of Homer's Odyssey in English hexameters." One of the poems is probably "To the Man-of-War-Bird" referred to in the letter from Rolleston to Whitman, February-May 1881. The firm sent on June 10 "3 sample pages of the size you indicated." This page includes a pencil drawing by Whitman with the following note: "this is the size of the printed page without the folio & running title—set up a sample one page from the copy in long primer solid—Then another sample, one page, in bourgeois solid, & send me." Whitman was with the Staffords from June 11 to 15 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Osgood & Co. sent "three new proofs" to Whitman on June 21. The newly elected President Garfield—to whom Rolleston had referred enthusiastically in his letter to Whitman of January 29, 1881—had been shot by a disappointed office-seeker on July 2, 1881; he died on September 19, 1881. Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1902), a Canadian psychiatrist, became an intimate friend of Whitman and wrote the first complete life of the poet (see the letter from Rolleston to Whitman of September 27, 1883). The review to which Rolleston refers appeared in the June 4, 1881 issue of the Spectator (54, 742). The reviewer presents as the main thesis of Bucke's Man's Moral Nature (New York, 1879) the concept that love and faith are the basic elements of all progress and that Christianity is but "one step in an immense, perhaps an infinite series." The exact reading of the quotation given by Rolleston is: "The author of this essay is, it appears, an ardent admirer of Walt Whitman; hence, perhaps, some of the obscurities in his pages, which we must candidly say baffle us." The attitude of the Saturday Review toward Whitman was unsympathetic during his whole writing career. When Whitman sent a copy of his newly published Leaves of Grass to the periodical with a suggestion that it be favorably reviewed, he evoked the editor's comment that "If the Leaves of Grass should come into anybody's possession, our advice is to throw them instantly behind the fire." Representative of the Review's attitude is an article in the March 18, 1876 issue written in answer to a current drive by Whitman's friends to relieve his financial distress. It begins, "Whitman, it may be explained, is an American writer who some years back attracted attention by a volume of so-called poems which were chiefly remarkable for their absurd extravagance and shameless obscenity, and who has since, we are glad to say, been little heard of among decent people," and continues with such descriptions of his writing as a "stock of garbage," "so-called poetry," and "Whitman wares." The article even calls Whitman a "dirty bird which is shunned on account of its unclean habits." This address and date have been covered by a piece of paper, pasted down, on which Whitman wrote the following comment: "A valued Irish friend, a frequent traveler and resident on the European Continent—here is an extract from one of his late letters to me." Below the note, Whitman added in ink the heading "Dresden, Saxony" and a quotation mark at the beginning of the text. This mark is preceded by a pencilled ¶; the last sentence of the first paragraph and the remainder of the extract have been crossed out, also with pencil. On July 18 the firm was ready to "start the book whenever you wish, and should consider six to eight weeks sufficient time for it." A draft version of this letter is available at the Library of Congress. Whitman returned corrected proofs of the poem "Spirit That Form'd This Scene" on August 6 and requested, "After correcting please take five slip impressions (proofs) & send me." Ever prolific, Whitman wrote a piece about Mott Haven, entitled "City Notes in August," which he published in the New York Tribune on August 15. This letter is addressed: J L Gilder | Editor Critic | 757 Broadway | New York City. It is postmarked: Morrisania | Aug 9 | 2 PM | N.Y. CITY. The reference is to a footnote on p. 200 of the article "Poetry of the Future" in the February 1881 issue of the North American Review (185–210): "A few years ago I saw the question, 'Has America produced any great poet?' announced as prize-subject for the competition of some university in Northern Europe. I saw the item in a foreign paper, and made a note of it; but being taken with the paralysis, and prostrated for a long season, the matter slipped away, and I have never been able since to get hold of any essay presented for the prize, or report of the discussion, nor to learn for certain whether there was any essay or discussion, nor can I now remember the place. It may have been Upsala, or possibly Heidelberg. Perhaps some German or Scandinavian can give particulars. I think it was in 1872." The review of Dr. Rudolph Doehn's Aus dem Amerikanischen Dichterwald (Leipzig, 1881) is to be found in Die Gegenwart of July 1881 (47). Although it praises the author for independent and impartial judgment, it recognizes that the work is not exhaustive and suggests changes in a second edition, with particular reference to the material on Bret Harte and Edgar Allan Poe. These were prominent literary figures of the time. J. G. Holland was editor of Scribner's Monthly; Charles G. Halpine, a journalist and author of poetical and humorous writings; and William Winter, dramatic critic and poet. This is Rolleston's error. Doehn's book contains the correct spelling, Louisa Van Velsor. Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810–1876) was an early German Whitman enthusiast. He read the Rossetti edition of the poems while a political exile in Great Britain and published an enthusiastic account of them in the Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung, 24 April 1868. He followed this article with some undistinguished and inaccurate translations from the Rossetti edition. Freiligrath's importance in discovering Whitman for Germany is to be attributed more to his critical appreciation of his work than to his translations. Kottabos, first issued in 1874, is a miscellany of verse and prose including translations from Greek and Latin. The editor was R. Y. Tyrrell, Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, and many of the contributors were present and former Trinity men. Rolleston frequently contributed translations and original poems to Kottabos. The second volume contains a poem by Rolleston, "On Walt Whitman's 'Leaves of Grass'" (284–295), and a series of poems by John Todhunter written in "discipleship" of the "school of Walt Whitman" (14–16). Rolleston's translation of the Encheiridion of Epictetus was published in 1881. John William Draper's History of the American Civil War (3 vols., New York, 1867–70; London, 1871). This letter has been cut up and reassembled. On the back of it Whitman drafted "The Sobbing of the Bells." The words in brackets have been supplied from a transcription in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1915), 2:136. Traubel wrote of the transcription: "W. gave me a bit of his writing which proved to be a draft of his Garfield poem, The Sobbing of the Bells. I found it was written on the reverse of a letter written to W. by Boyle O'Reilly. Spoke of it to W. 'Yes, so I see. That must have been in the eighties, while I was in Boston. Yes, we want art: I saw the Millet pictures at Shaw's: it was a great day.' As W. had cut the Boyle letter and pieced it together again irregularly it is now difficult to make out. Up in the corner of the letter O'R. wrote: 'Shall see you at Bartlett's Thursday.' This is the letter as I have got it together with perhaps a word or two not literally in place." Whitman went to Glendale on Friday, March 11, 1881, and remained three days (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See also the letter from Whitman to Harry Stafford on March 7, 1881 and the letter from Whitman to Ruth Stafford on March 9, 1881. Anne Gilchrist wrote on February 16. The poet wrote to Susan Stafford on February 22 and to Harry on February 24. Whitman composed a draft of the poem "As Consequent, Etc." (first published in the 1881 Leaves of Grass) on the back of this form letter. The rest of the letter has been cut off. "No. 5" of "How I Get Around at 60 and Take Notes" appeared on December 3, 1881. The "proof slips" were sent to William Michael Rossetti, Mrs. Franklin B. Sanborn, and Emerson's son Edward; see Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White (New York: New York University Press, 1978), 1:272. "Walt Whitman and the Poetry of the Future" appeared in the New York Sun on November 19, 1881. On November 20, Whitman sent a card of thanks and appears to have requested copies. He noted on November 26, "recd 50 Suns" (Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White [New York: New York University Press, 1978], 1:273–74). This was the edition published in November 1881, by James R. Osgood and Company, Boston publishers. See Gay Wilson Allen, Walt Whitman Handbook (Chicago: Packard and Company, 1946), 211–220. Rolleston's edition could be either the 1867 edition (fourth), the 1871 edition (fifth), or the 1876 printing, in all three of which "Respondez" appears as a complete poem under that title. It was printed as a complete poem in earlier editions but under different titles: in the second edition (1856) as "Poem of the Proposition of Nakedness" and in the third edition (1860) as "Chants Democratic, No. 5." In the 1881 edition, it was broken up into several poems, some appearing under the title "Respondez," some under "Reversals," and some under "Transpositions." One of the hints of the "riddle" were the "two words": "Two little breaths of words comprising it, / Two words, yet all from first to last comprised in it." These are the last two lines of a sonnet by William Bell Scott, "Spiritual Longings Unanswered," Part XII of Outside the Temple. See W. B. Scott, Poems (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1875), 85. See the letter from John Fitzgerald Lee to Whitman of November 28, 1881. This part of the letter was included on page 251 of Clifton Joseph Furness's Walt Whitman's Workshop (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1928) as a note in connection with Whitman's preface "To the Foreign Reader." "Fortschritt" was a German liberal political party founded in 1861 in Prussia. William Wilkins was a fellow student of Rolleston and a frequent contributor to Kottabos. He entered Trinity College in 1873 at the age of twenty-one and received the B.A. degree in 1878 and the M.A. in 1881. See Whitman's response to Lee's letter on December 20, 1881. The Trinity College records reveal that John Fitzgerald Lee, born in County Galway, entered the College in 1878 at the age of twenty-one and received his B.A. degree in 1886. This letter is endorsed (by Whitman): from Rudolf Schmidt | Nov '81. The envelope for this letter is endorsed (by Whitman): W M Rossetti | Dec 17 '77. Chesterfield, Massachusetts, is a hilltop summer resort town where Herbert Gilchrist liked to paint. Anne Gilchrist visited her son there from July 25th through mid-September, 1878. See Marion Walker Alcaro, Walt Whitman's Mrs. G: A Biography of Anne Gilchrist (Cranbury, N.J.: Associated University Presses, 1991), 192, 260 n20. Walter White had been a friend of Anne Gilchrist's late husband, Alexander Gilchrist. He was known for writing essays on walking excursions for British periodicals. See Marion Walker Alcaro, Walt Whitman's Mrs. G: A Biography of Anne Gilchrist (Cranbury, N.J.: Associated University Presses, 1991), 68. White Horse was one of Whitman's names for Glendale, New Jersey, where the Stafford farm was located. He may have called it White Horse because he took White Horse Pike road to get to Glendale from Camden. He also used the names Timber Creek and Kirkwood. Likely referring to Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Gospel According to Walt Whitman," which appeared in New Quarterly Magazine 10 (Oct. 1878), 461–81. Octavius Brooks Frothingham (1822–1895) was an American Transcendentalist author and public speaker, and was apparently familiar with Leaves of Grass. On July 3rd, 1891, Whitman told Horace Traubel, "I have understood O. B. was always my friend—that his allusions were always kind—that he quoted 'Leaves of Grass' without doubt, fear" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, July 22, 1891). Kirkwood was one of Whitman's names for Glendale, the location of the Stafford farm. Whitman also referred to Glendale using the names White Horse and Timber Creek. Jane Cunningham Croly (1829–1901) was a journalist, and was also the wife of David Goodman Croly, who had served as editor of the New York Daily Graphic. Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi (1842–1906) was a physician, author, and one of the leading feminists of her day. She was the daughter of George Palmer Putnam of Wiley and Putnam, the New York publishing firm. Jane Tunis Poultney Bigelow (1829–1889) was the wife of John Bigelow, former American minister to France (1865–1866) and coeditor, with William Cullen Bryant, of the New York Evening Post. William Merritt Chase (1849–1916) was an American impressionist painter. In 1878 he began teaching at the New York City Art Students League, where Herbert Gilchrist became his student. After graduating from the Woman's Medical College of Philadelphia in March 1878, Beatrice Gilchrist became an intern at the New England Hospital for Women and Children in Boston. Her twelve-month internship required her to spend three months at the outpatient dispensary. See Walt Whitman's Mrs. G: A Biography of Anne Gilchrist (Cranbury, N.J.: Associated University Presses, 1991), 184–185, 190–191. Caroline Virginia Still Wiley (1848–1919) was the daughter of William and Letitia Still, two of the founding members of the Underground Railroad. She attended Oberlin College, graduated as the youngest member of her class at age nineteen, and became a schoolteacher for one year before marrying E.A. Wiley, a former classmate at Oberlin. After her husband's death in 1874, Caroline began studying medicine at Howard University. She matriculated at the Woman's Medical College with Beatrice Gilchrist in October 1876 and became a frequent visitor at their gatherings, where she met Whitman. She is known as one of the first African American women physicians in the United States (Walt Whitman's Mrs. G: A Biography of Anne Gilchrist [Cranbury, N.J.: Associated University Presses, 1991], 167-168). Edward Everett Hale (1822–1909) was a Unitarian minister and fiction writer, best-known for the short-story "The Man Without a Country" (1863). In May 1876, Whitman met Edward Cattell, a young farm hand and a friend of the Staffords. The poet took an interest in the Cattell family: "about 25 or 6—folks mother, father &c. live at Gloucester—his grand, or great grandfather, Jonas Cattell, a great runner, & Revolutionary soldier, spy." Whitman referred to Jonas in the Philadelphia Times on January 26, 1879. Whitman took special interest, however, in Edward, as charged entries from one of his diaries make clear: "the hour (night, June 19, '76, Ed & I.) at the front gate by the road." Two days later he noted "the swim of the boys, Ed. [Stafford?], Ed. C. & Harry" (Diary Notes in Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). In 1877 Whitman cited "Sept meetings Ed C by the pond at Kirkwood moonlight nights" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), and in Diary Notes on October 29, "Ed. Cattell with me." On December 13, 1888 William Sloane Kennedy inquired: "Did you ever write a production called 'Solitude.' It is credited to you by a pencil-script line in the Harvard College Library. I don't believe it is yrs, but that it is an imitation. It is unbound, abt 2/3 the size of this sheet, contains 16 pp. & has written on it in pencil 'Presented to the Library by Prof. Jas. Russell Lowell, 1860. Sept 26." James Russell Lowell (1819–1891) was editor of the Atlantic Monthly, where he published Whitman's "Bardic Symbols" [later "As I Ebb'd with the Ocean of Life"] in April of 1860. A review of November Boughs (1888) appeared in The Literary World (Boston) on December 8, 1888. Richard Maurice Bucke commented on December 16, 1888: "He [the author] is a good friend and has considerable insight into matters—is evidently holding himself in in the little col. and half article." Whitman has forgotten the postcard O'Connor wrote on December 9, 1888, in which he says: "I have been very sick and feeble for month past, but am a little better. My eye got open at last, but is still bleary and bad." This postal card is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden, New Jersey. It is postmarked: Washington | Dec 10 | 11PM | DC; Camden, N.J. | Dec | 11 | [illegible] | [illegible] | Rec'd. Rachel Felix (1821–1858), known simply as "Mademoiselle Rachel," was a French actor who joined the famous Comédie-Française theater in Paris when she was seventeen years old and quickly became celebrated, as much for her scandalous love life as for her brilliant acting. She has been called the first international theater star. O'Connor may have seen her on her tour of the United States in 1855. She was known for her remarkable ability to inhabit classical roles (in plays by Voltaire, Corneille, and Racine) as fully living women, conveying their passions with great conviction. For further information, see Rachel Brownstein, Tragic Muse: Rachel of the Comédie-Française (New York: Knopf, 1993). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | DE 26 | 88 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | DEC 27 | 12PM | 1888 | REC'D. See the letter from Whitman to Bucke of December 23, 1888. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 9 | 8 PM | 89. Whitman received $307.91 from McKay, $5.59 being deducted for an unspecified reason (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Thomas Donaldson | 326 N 40th Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Ca[illegible] | Jan 14 | 8 PM | 89. The envelope is printed with Whitman's address as follows: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. According to an entry in The Commonplace-Book on March 25, 1887, Clayton Wesley Peirson took Walt Whitman's "'Day Book' to be re-bound—(is to make me a new one also)." At the beginning of his last "Day Book," the poet noted: "CWP is located (July 24 '90) at 3819 Lancaster av: Phila—real estate office." (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman is referring to the notice for November Boughs (1888) that was published in The Critic on January 19, 1889 (see Whitman's January 19–20, 1889, letter to Richard Maurice Bucke). As later letters indicate, Whitman had Kennedy's translation of Gabriel Sarrazin's article (published in the May 1888 Revue Nouvelle) set in type. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 24 | 10 AM | 89. This letter is addressed: Mrs: O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 29 | 8 PM | 89. In her letter to Whitman of January 28, 1889, Mrs. O'Connor spelled out at length the gravity of William's condition: "He feels discouraged for the first time, & says the outlook is very gloomy." This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 3(?) | 8 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd | Feb 1 | 7 AM | 89 | 4. This letter is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden | Feb 1 | 89; Belmont, Mass. | [illegible] | Feb | 1888 | Rec'd. See Kennedy's letter to Whitman of January 29, 1889. This letter is addressed: Mrs Susan M Stafford | Kirkwood | Glendale | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden Feb 7 | N.J. Harry Bonsall was the son of the editor and politician Henry Lummis Bonsall. Bonsall and Whitman's brother Eddy lived in the same asylum, Blackwood. Bonsall died there in January 1889. See Whitman's February 28, 1881, letter to Harry Stafford. This postal card is addressed: Harry Lamb Stafford | RR Station | Marlton | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 6 | 8 PM | 89. Whitman is referring to his February 6, 1889, letter to Susan Stafford. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, New Jersey. It is postmarked: Washington, D.C. | Jan 21 | 5PM | 89; Camden, N.J. | Jan | 2[illegible] | 6am | [illegible] | Rec'd. This postal card is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington, D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 9 | 8 PM | 89. This postal card is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 10 | 5 PM | 89. This postal card is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Feb 11 | 8 PM | 89. See the letter from Symonds to Whitman of January 29, 1889. Grashalme, the first book-length German translation of Leaves of Grass, by Karl Knortz and Thomas William Hazen Rolleston, was issued by Swiss publisher Jakob Schabelitz in 1889. This postal card is addressed: Mrs: O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington, D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Feb 12 | 8 PM | 89. This postal card is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmost | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Feb 14 | 8 PM | 89. This letter is addressed: Dr Karl Knortz | 540 East 155th Street | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Feb 14 | 8 PM | 89; R | 2—15—89 | 6—1A—NY. This letter is addressed Mrs: Mary Whitall Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London | S W | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 27 | 5 PM | 89. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington, D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N(?) | Feb 15 | 8 PM | 89. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Feb 17 | 5 PM | (?). This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Mary W Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | The Embankment | London England | SW. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 18 | 8 PM | 89; Philadelphia, PA | Feb 18 | 11 PM | F D. Benjamin Costelloe, Mary's husband, was recently elected to the London directory municipal government. See Whitman's February 6, 1889, letter to Richard Maurice Bucke. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Feb 18 | 8 PM | 89. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Feb 19 | 8 PM | 89. The Pall Mall Gazette's notice of November Boughs (1888) was entitled "The Gospel According to Walt Whitman." It was published in the January 25, 1889, issue, and although unsigned in the original, the author of the notice was Irish poet and playwright, Oscar Wilde. An unsigned review of November Boughs was published in the January 26, 1889, issue of The London Echo. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | (?) | 8 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd | Feb 21 | 7 AM | 89 | 3. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Feb 22 | 8 PM | 89. O'Connor's Mr. Donnelly's Reviewers was issued posthumously. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 24 | 5 PM | 89. Kennedy had reported in a letter to Whitman of January 2, 1888 that Frederick W. Wilson was willing to publish his study of Whitman. Kennedy's manuscript eventually became two books, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896) and The Fight of a Book for the World (1926). Kennedy's postscript appears (upside down) in the upper left corner of the verso of the letter. The second image has been rotated for easier reading of the postscript; the third image shows the postscript as it appears on the manuscript. In his letter of February 22, 1889, Kennedy informed Whitman that he was sending his manuscript of his book about Whitman to the publisher Alexander Gardner (1821–1882) of Paisley, Scottland because he was dissatisfied with Frederick W. Wilson, of the firm Wilson & McCormick: "He acts like an imbecile to me." Whitman received the book of translations by Knortz and Rolleston, Grashalme, on February 25, 1889 (The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Kennedy sent the requested translation on February 27, 1889 (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, March 19, 1889). Sarrazin on February 14, 1889 thanked Walt Whitman for the copy of Complete Poems & Prose, and expressed his "admiration . . . with all my love for one I considered, from my first reading of him, as one of the best and the greatest men of the time." Whitman had asked Dr. Bucke to translate the Sarrazin essay and wanted Kennedy to look it over. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 26 | 8 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd | Feb 27 | 7 AM | 89 | 7. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 27 | 8 PM | (?); Washington, Rec'd | Feb 28 | 8 AM | 89 | 1. See Whitman's February 25, 1889, letter to Kennedy. Grashalme, the first book-length German translation of Whitman's poetry, was published in 1889, translated by Thomas William Hazen Rolleston and Karl Knortz. Whitman received the book on February 25, 1889 (The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 28 | 8 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd | Mar 1 | 8 AM | 89 | 4. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Mar (?) | 8 PM | 89. For a detailed and touching account of Bucke's and Traubel's visit to O'Connor, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, March 2, 1889. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 3 | 5 PM | 89. Whitman printed slip-sheets of William Sloane Kennedy's translation of Gabriel Sarrazin's essay on the poet. See Whitman's February 1, 1889, letter to Kennedy. Whitman received the book of translations by Karl Knortz and Thomas W. H. Rolleston, Grashalme, on February 25 (The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On Saturday, March 2, 1889, Bucke and Traubel took a trip to Washington, D.C., to visit O'Connor; Traubel describes the visit in detail in With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, March 2, 1889. This postal card is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 4 | 8 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd | Mar 5 | 10 AM | 89 | 4. This postal card is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 5 | 8 PM | 89. This postal card is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 6 | 8 PM | 89. For an account of the lecture, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, March 6, 1889. After reading Bucke's address Walt Whitman observed: "I must confess he has plastered it on pretty thick: . . . plastered it on not only a good deal more than I deserve but a good deal more than I like" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, March 7, 1889). Ellen O'Connor's card of March 5, 1889 acknowledged receipt of the copies of Complete Poems and Prose that Whitman had sent to the O'Connors. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 7 | 8 PM | 89. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 8 | 8 PM | 89. This letter is addressed: Mrs: E M O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: (?) | Mar 10 | 5 PM | 89 (?); Washington, Rec'd. | Mar 11 | 2(?) AM | 89 | 7. On March 8, 1889 Mrs. O'Connor wrote that two days earlier William "had five of those epileptic seizures . . . going from one to another without recovering consciousness" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, March 9, 1889). This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 11 | 8 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd | Mar 12 | 7 AM | 89 | 7. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 12 | 8 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd | Mar 13 | 7 AM | 89 | 7. Dr. T. B. Hood was O'Connor's physician, and he wrote to Richard Maurice Bucke, one of Whitman's own physicians, about O'Connor's declining health. Bucke would forward the letter he received from Hood to Whitman later in March 1889. When Horace Traubel and Bucke went to Washington, D.C., in early March to visit O'Connor, Bucke met with Dr. Hood and discussed O'Connor's condition. See Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, March 2, 1889. Later, Whitman discussed Hood's letter and O'Connor's condition with Horace Traubel. See Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, March 26, 1889. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 14 | 8 PM | 89. In this letter, she informed Walt Whitman that "Wm. is gaining, but is very weak" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, March 14, 1889). This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 15 | 8 PM | 89. Dublin University Review for November 1886 contained an article by W. B. Yeats on "The Poetry of Sir William Ferguson" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, March 15, 1889). In her March 27, 1889, letter to Whitman, Mrs. A. H. Spaulding expressed extravagant gratitude for the visit. On one of her calling cards the poet wrote: "dear friend of L of G & me—a middle-aged lady—I sh'd say—one of the real circle." The calling card is part of the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of Walt Whitman papers, held by the Library of Congress, See MSS18630, Box 41, Reel 26. The rest of the letter is written vertically at the top of the first page. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Mar 17 | 5 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd. | Mar 18 | (?) AM | 89 | 7. Aldrich acknowledged receipt of the book on March 25, 1889. Aldrich's check for $25 is in the Houghton Library. This letter is addressed: A N Brown | Library | Naval Academy | Annapolis Md:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 2(?) | 5 PM | 8(?). This letter is addressed: Wm. D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Mar 24 | 5 PM | 8(?); Washington, Rec'd. | Mar (?) | 2 AM | 89 | 7. On March 23, 1889 Ellen O'Connor reported that "William has had two epileptic attacks." This postal card is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Mar 25 | 8 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd. | Mar 26 | 7 AM | 89 | 7. Whitman has written "New Jersey | 1884" upside down at the bottom. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia (?) | Mar 26 | 11 PM | 89; Washington, R(?) | Mar 27 | 7 AM | 89 | 7. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 29 | 8 PM | 89. See Stedman's letter to Whitman of March 27, 1889. "C" refers to Stedman. Why Whitman used the initial C, not E, is unknown. On March 2, when Traubel and Bucke visited him, O'Connor said: "I have had many talks with Stedman and have, I am confident, broken down most of his remaining prejudices against Walt" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, March 2, 1889). On March 28, 1889, Burroughs mentioned his new book: "A collection of Indoor Essays; rather a piece of bookmaking—not much worth" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, March 29, 1889). This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 31 | 5 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd. | Apr 1 | 2 AM | 89 | 7. According to Ellen O'Connor's letter of March 29, 1889, William was somewhat improved. See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, March 30, 1889. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?)| Apr (?) | 6 (?) | 8(?). The selections from Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman appear in Edmund Clarence Stedman and Ellen Mackay Hutchinson, eds., A Library of American Literature (Charles L. Webster & Company: New York, 1889), 7: 573–580, and 550–555, respectively. See Stedman's letter to Whitman of March 27, 1889. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington, D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 7 | 5 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd. | Apr 8 | 2 AM | 89 | 7. This postal card is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 8 | 8 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd. | Apr 9 | (?) AM | 89 | 7. Whitman is referring to Thomas Bruce, Earl of Elgin (1766–1841). This postal card is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Apr 14 | 5 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd. | Apr 15 | 8 AM | 89 | 7. See Whitman's April 8, 1889 letter, to O'Connor, William Sloane Kennedy, and Richard Maurice Bucke. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 14 | 5 PM | 89; London | AM | AP 16 | 89 | Canada. Whitman is referring to his April 8, 1889, letter to William Sloane Kennedy, William Douglas O'Connor, and Richard Maurice Bucke. He sent instructions with this letter that directed Kennedy to send the letter and its enclosure to Ellen O'Connor (wife of William D. O'Connor), and then the O'Connors were to send the letters to Bucke. The enclosure Whitman sent with the letter was a March 27, 1889, letter that he had received from the writer and editor, Edmund Clarence Stedman. Whitman is referring to the two enclosures he included with this letter to Bucke: the March 31, 1889, letter Whitman received from evangelical minister Robert Pearsall Smith and the April 8, 1889, letter he had receved from William Sloane Kennedy. Whitman responded to Kennedy on April 16, 1889, and he mentions having received Smith's letter in his April 19, 1889, letter to Mary Smith Costello, the daughter of Robert Pearsall Smith. Friedrichshall water is a purgative mineral water from springs located near Heidelberg, Germany. It was one of several mineral waters commonly used in the late nineteenth century to treat constipation. (See C. R. C. Tichborne, The Mineral Waters of Europe [London: Baillière, Tindall & Cox, 1883], Chapter 3, "Chemistry of the Purgative Waters.") This was a cold rejoinder to Kennedy's announcement on April 8, 1889 that Alexander Gardner was going to publish Kennedy's "Walt Whitman, Poet of Humanity" "in 2 vols." Whitman offered no opinion about Gardner's request to delete Kennedy's inclusion of "the censor's list of objectionable passages" in the Osgood edition of Leaves of Grass. See Stedman's letter to Whitman of March 27, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | 16 Apr | 8 PM. Richard Hinton's three-column article "Walt Whitman at Home" appeared in the New York World on April 14, 1889. Whitman observed to Traubel: "It seems like three crowded columns of gush. . . . It may seem ungracious . . . to say so (for Dick is my friend and means me well) but his piece impresses me most by its emptiness—impresses me as a big tumor or boil, much swelled, inflamed, bulging, but nothing after all" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, April 17, 1889, Thursday, April 18, 1889). C. Sadakichi Hartmann's article "Walt Whitman. Notes of a Conversation with the Good Gray Poet by a German Poet and Traveller" appeared in the New York Herald on April 14. For Whitman's reactions, see his April 17 letter to Bucke and his May 4 letter to William Sloane Kennedy (see also Traubel, Tuesday, April 16, 1889, and Wednesday, April 17, 1889). Bucke prepared a correction for the Herald which was not printed (Traubel, Monday, May 6, 1889). This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Mary Whitall Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London England. It is postmarked: Camden [illegible] | April 19 | 8 PM; Philadelphia, PA. | Apr 20 | 4 PM | Paid. Writing on March 31, 1889, Robert Pearsall Smith informed Whitman of events in the family: Alys was to attend Bryn Mawr College in the fall, Logan was studying at Oxford, and Mary had a second child. Robert's wife Hannah wrote on March 13 to Whitman about her granddaughter's birth (see also Smith Alumnae Quarterly [February, 1958], p. 88). Hannah was no admirer of the poet, and Whitman once said of her: "She still believes that the world is to be persuaded, driven into salvation. I do not—never did!" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, April 19, 1889). This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Apr 22 | 8 PM | 89. On April 22, 1889 the New-York Tribune reported that the nearly 700 passengers aboard the Danmark had been rescued by the steamship Missouri. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, April 22, 1889. This postal card is addressed: Miss Alys Smith | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London England | SW. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 22 | 8 PM | 89. Whitman is referring here to the family of Alys Smith (1867–1951). Smith was the daughter of Robert Pearsall Smith (1827–1898) and his wife, Hannah Whitall Smith (1831–1911). Robert, Hannah, and their children 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). Rhys added a note dated the 24th in the left margin of this page. Because the letter is dated the 22nd, it has been placed at the end of this transcription as a postscript. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Apr 25 | 8 PM | 89. Stedman was hurt because Whitman refused to disavow publicly C. Sadakichi Hartmann's report that the poet considered Stedman a "dancing master"; see Stedman's letter to Horace Traubel, published in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, April 22, 1889. On April 25, 1889, the New-York Tribune reported that Captain Hamilton Murrell of the steamship Missouri "now has the record of saving more human beings from death than any master of a ship in the past." The item, pasted on the letter, referred to a government proclamation that would prevent Canada from being "a haven" for American criminals. Nelly O'Connor reported on April 24 that William was still "very sick & weak since I wrote you . . 'throwing up' at all times of day & night." On April 25, 1889, Kennedy wrote: "Your Homeric lines on the dandelion ["The First Dandelion"] . . . are as immortal as those of Robert Burns or William Wordsworth on the daisy." This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Ap(?) | 8 PM | 89. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 28 | 5 PM | 89; London | AM | AP 30 | 89 | Canada; [illegible]uffalo | APR | 630 PM | 1889 | Transit. On April 24, 1889 Bucke wrote of "the John Hopkins Hospital. Walt, if I were in your fix I would think seriously of going there for the next six months or a year . . . as a private patient. . . . I do not suppose the expence would be much more than the present subsidy but if it is we can easily get more money." See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, April 26, 1889. Bucke wrote about this matter to Traubel on the same date. Whitman is referring to the three-day celebration of the centennial commemorating the inauguration of George Washington. Whitman included six photographs and engravings in the 1889 issue of Leaves of Grass. Whitman is referring to Bucke's letter of April 24, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 1 | 8 PM | 89. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | May 3(?) | 6 AM | 89. Whitman mentioned that Ed (Edward "Ned" Wilkins, one of Whitman's nurses during his Camden years) was going to "Barnum's great circus" in his May 1, 1889, postal card to Bucke. Whitman mentioned Frank Baker's graduation in his May 1, 1889, postal card to Bucke. Whittier's "The Vow of Washington" appeared in the New York World and elsewhere on May 1, 1889. Wyatt Eaton's "Recollections of Jean Francois Millet" in the May 1889 Century (90–104). For Walt Whitman's comments, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, May 3, 1889 and Saturday, May 4, 1889. For Whitman's response to German composer Richard Wagner (1813–1883), see Edwin Haviland Miller, Walt Whitman's Poetry: A Psychological Journey (New York: New York University Press, 1968), 175–177. Whitman is referring to the April 30, 1889, letter he received from Ellen O'Connor. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 5 | 5 PM | 89. Whitman is referring to La Renaissance de la Poésie Anglaise 1798–1889. See his May 4, 1889, letter to William Sloane Kennedy. The presentation copy to Whitman, inscribed April 19, is now in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 6 | 8 PM | 89. Whitman is referring to La Renaissance de la Poésie Anglaise 1798–1889. See his May 4, 1889, letter to William Sloane Kennedy. See also Whitman's May 4, 1889, letter to Bucke. See Whitman's April 27–28, 1889, letter to Bucke. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | May 8 | 8 P(?) | 89. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 01 | 6 AM | 89; (?) | 5-10-89 | 10 30 AM. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 10 | 12 M | 89. Ellen O'Connor wrote on May 9, 1889 to deliver the sad news of the death of her husband, William. For Bucke's reaction to the death of O'Connor, see his letter to Whitman of May 13, 1889. This letter is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 10 | (?) | 89. On May 11-12 Kennedy responded: "How can we really believe in death? It is in yr writings, & there alone that I have found the deepest glimpses into death-realm. You have made it life-realm to me—given me an idea of it grand in mystic possibilities." This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 12 | 5 PM | 89. Apparently the mother-in-law of the Mrs. Mapes who assisted Whitman's housekeeper, Mary Davis. See Horace L. Traubel, In RE Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), 375–376. The committee included Henry (Harry) L. Bonsall, Geoffrey Buckwalter, and Thomas B. Harned. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, May 7, 1889. This postal card is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 14 | 8 PM | 89. The Critic declined Traubel's obituary notice for O'Connor, and printed what Whitman called a "tame" one on May 18, 1889 (see Whitman's letter to Richard Maurice Bucke on May 20, 1889), which included extracts from O'Connor's letters to the magazine. This postal card is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 19 | 5 PM | 89. The obituary was written by the literary editor Charles Hurd (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, May 18, 1889). See also Whitman's letter to William Sloane Kennedy of June 30, 1890. Kennedy is referring to an obituary for O'Connor that was written by a man named Hurd (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, May 18, 1889). The author of the obituary may be Charles E. Hurd, the literary editor of the Boston Transcript. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | 328 Mickle | N. Jersey. It has a Boston, Mass. postmark in which only the city and the year of 1889 are legible. It is also postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May | 18 | 1889 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 20 | 8 PM | 89; London | AM | MY 22 | 89 | Canada. Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe had written a letter to Whitman on May 10, 1889. (See also Smith Alumnae Quarterly [February 1958], 88). See the letter from Whitman to Ellen O'Connor of May 19, 1889. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden, N.J. It is postmarked: New York | May 19 | 12 PM | D; Camden, N.J. | May | 20 | 10 AM | 1889 | Rec'd; N.Y. | 5[illegible]-20-89 | 2 30 [illegible]M | [illegible]. The remaining page or pages of this letter are missing and may not be extant. Alma is referring here to Whitman's first extended visit to the Johnston home in February 1877, when J.H. Johnstons's first wife, Amelia, suddenly took ill and died. Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), youngest sister of Walt Whitman, married Charles Louis Heyde (1822–1890), a French-born landscape painter. For more, see Paula K. Garrett, "Whitman (Heyde), Hannah Louisa (d. 1908)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: North Cam[cut away]dge Sta Mass. | May | 23 | 8 AM | 18[illegible]; Camden, N.J. | May | 24 | 10 AM | 1889 | Rec'd. The postal card was originally addressed to Horace Traubel, but Traubel's name has been crossed out and Whitman's name was written above it. For more on Whitman's 70th birthday dinner, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, May 25, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 7 | 6 PM | 88. Walt Whitman's letter was written on one from William Sloane Kennedy dated January 2, 1888, in which the latter reported that Frederick W. Wilson was willing to publish his "Walt Whitman, Poet of Humanity," and requested Walt Whitman's "book of addresses" for a circular soliciting subscriptions. The letter was signed "yr faithful son, & lover." Rhys wrote on January 4, 1888, from Orange, New Jersey, and described a Shakespearean masquerade at which Alys Smith, dressed as Portia, danced like "A wild Bacchantë, passionate of foot!" O'Connor enclosed a review of Anne Gilchrist in The Nation in his letter of January 3, 1888. Whitman forgot to insert the date of Bucke's (lost) letter. Kennedy is likely referring to Whitman's poem "Twilight," which had been published in the December 1887 issue of Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine. Charles G. (C. G.) Loring (?–1902) was a Civil War veteran and the director of the Boston Museum of Fine Art. Kennedy wrote on January 10, 1888 and again on the following day after receipt of Whitman's letter, and reported an impending visit with Sanborn at Concord and Rhys's lecture before the Saint Botolph Club. In a postscript on January 10 he observed: "Rhys is obeying yr injunction to show me myself. Nothing delights me more—my limitations are so many. I see chances of improvement in many directions, already—from his friendly suggestions." This letter is endorsed: "Ans'd Jan. 27/88." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan (?) | 8 PM | 88; Washington, Rec.d | Jan 15 | 7 AM | 1888. See the letter from Alfred, Lord Tennyson to Whitman of November 15, 1887. On January 13, 1888, Burroughs wrote: "My domestic skies are not pleasant & I seem depressed & restless most of the time. . . . I dislike the winters more & more & shall not try to spend another in this solitude. Indeed I am thinking strongly of selling my place. I am sick of the whole business of housekeeping. If it was not for Julian I should not hesitate a moment. J. goes to school & is a bright happy boy, very eager for knowledge, & with a quick intelligence. He alone makes life tolerable to me." In a brief note on January 13, 1888, Whittier wrote: "But for illness I should have thanked thee before this for thy vigorous lines of greeting in Munyon's Illustrated World, combining as they do the cradle and evening song of my life. My brother writers have been very generous to me and I heartily thank them for it" (see also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, July 17, 1888). This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | care W S Kennedy | Belmont | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Jan [18] | 6 AM | 88; Philadelphia, Pa. | Jan | 17 | 12 M | 1888 | Transit. Rhys arrived in the United States early in December 1887 and apparently spent most of the month in or near Camden. He was with Whitman at a Christmas dinner at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas B. Harned. Whitman noted: "Ernest Rhys here daily—his talks &c. ab't English matters & people" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On December 22, 1887, Morse, "who has been here the last seven or eight months, started this evn'g by western RR. for Richmond Indiana" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). At this time Thomas Eakins was doing his famous portrait of the poet. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Jan. 27/88." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan (?) | 6 PM | 88; Washington, Rec'd | Jan | 19 | 7 AM | 1888 | 4. The January issue of the Harvard Monthly included Charles T. Sempers' article "Walt Whitman and His Philosophy" (149–165). On March 3, 1888, Sempers invited Walt Whitman to address the Harvard Signet Society. On the following day, in a personal communication, he informed the poet that "Prof. Wm James would like you to be his guest," and that he was making a study of Walt Whitman's poetry under an unnamed English instructor. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan (?)4 | 8 PM | 88. On January 23, 1888, Bennett suggested that contributions on "any subject whatever that may suit your fancy can be treated. The Herald would be very willing to pay a reasonable compensation for this work, and only as much as you desire need be signed. The stanzas need not contain more than 4 to 6 lines." Beginning on January 27 and continuing until May 27, Whitman submitted the following pieces, for which he received $180 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.): January 27, "To Those Who've Failed"; January 29, "Halcyon Days"; February 3, "After the Dazzle of Day"; February 11, "America"; February 15, "True Conquerors"; February 21, "Soon Shall the Winter's Foil Be Here"; February 23, "The Dismantled Ship"; February 25, "Old Salt Kossabone"; February 27, "Mannahatta"; February 29, "Paumanok"; March 1, "From Montauk Point"; March 2, "My Canary Bird"; March 9, "A Prairie Sunset"; March 10, "The Dead Emperor"; March 12, "The First Dandelion"; March 16, "The Wallabout Martyrs"; March 18, "The Bravest Soldiers"; March 19, "Orange Buds by Mail from Florida"; March 20, "Continuities"; April 10, "Broadway"; April 15, "Life"; April 16, "To Get the Final Lilt of Songs"; April 23, "To-day and Thee"; May 2, "Queries to My Seventieth Year"; May 8, "The United States to Old World Critics"; May 10, "Out of May's Shows Selected"; May 14, "As I Sit Writing Here"; May 21, "A Carol Closing Sixty-Nine"; May 23, "Life and Death"; May 27, "The Calming Thought of All." (To avoid confusion Miller has consistently used the titles established in the last edition of Leaves of Grass.) This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Jan. 27/88." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden | Ja(?) | (?) | 8 P(?) | 88. In the top margin Whitman has written: "send to | John Burroughs | West Park | Ulster County | New York." Whitman's letter was written on the verso of a February 10, 1888, letter from Richard Maurice Bucke, but the part pertaining to O'Connor is missing. O'Connor noted Bucke's "very pleasant" visit in a letter to Walt Whitman on April 14, 1888 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, April 5, 1889). According to the Philadelphia Ledger of February 9, Edgar Fawcett (1847-1904), a minor poet and novelist, "satirized Walt Whitman's poetry. Mr. Fawcett said he had heard it stated that there had been auctioneers' catalogues duller than Walt Whitman's poetry, but he attributed that to partisan bias. Rev. Mr. [William] Lloyd also condemned Whitman's poetry." For Fawcett's vitriolic rant, see Kennedy, The Fight of a Book for the World (West Yarmouth, Mass.: Stonecroft, 1926), 83–84. Also see The New-York Times of February 9, 1888. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Ocean View Hotel | Bay Street | St Augustine | Florida. It is postmarked: Camden | (?) | (?) | 9(?) | 88. Morse's letters to Whitman from Richmond, Indiana, where he was staying with his mother, were filled with plans to make money through sculpture demonstrations, theatrical benefits for the Y.M.C.A., etc. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Ocean View Hotel | Bay Street | St Augustine | Florida. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb (?) | 4 30 (?) | 88. On the following day he sent "Soon Shall the Winter's Foil Be Here" to the New York Herald (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The poem was published in the paper on February 21, 1888. This postal card is addressed: Mrs: O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb (?) | 4 30 PM | 88; Washington, Rec'd | Feb | 17 | 11 PM | 1888 | 1. Whitman is probably referring to David Newport, with whom Whitman had a "talk ab't Elias Hicks" on February 15 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Kennedy informed Whitman that he had sent "375 (out of the 1000) circulars" soliciting subscribers for his "Walt Whitman, Poet of Humanity." One of the circulars was included in the letter. See the letter from Kennedy to Whitman of February 15, 1888. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Hotel San Marco | St Augustine | Florida. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 21 | 4 30 PM | 88. Whitman may be referring to the letter he received from Rhys on February 20, 1888. In the letter, Rhys discussed his lecture in Concord at the home of Dr. Edward Emerson, which had been attended by Mrs. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Ellen Emerson, and Sanborn: "There was a general agreement with my position." This postal card is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Hotel San Marco | St Augustine | Florida. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Feb 2 (?) | 4 30 PM | 88; Saint Augustine | 2 M | Feb | 28 | 1888 | Fla. Apparently in a lost letter Bucke informed Whitman that he had submitted to The Critic an article entitled "One Word More on Walt Whitman." About February 20, 1888, he sent the poet a letter (dated February 16) from the editors of the magazine rejecting the piece: "We have printed a great many 'words' on Whitman, & can only print 'more' when there is some specific occasion for doing so—when he issues a new book, or does something to attract general attention to his work" (For this rejection, see Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., MSS18630, Box 4, Reel 2–3). On March 11, 1888, Bucke informed Whitman that he was revising his article and was considering either submitting it to Lippincott's Monthly Magazine or withholding it until the appearance of William Sloane Kennedy's book on Whitman, when he could include it in a notice of that work. On August 15, 1888, Bucke was still working on his article and now thought to "make it into a review of the new vol." Probably it became "An impromptu criticism" (see Whitman's letter to Bucke dated December 29, 1888.) This postal card is addressed: Mrs: O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 1(?) | 4 30 PM | 88. The Transcript of this date contained a lengthy account of Ernest Rhys's lecture on "The New Poetry" before the New England Women's Club on March 5, 1888. The article also noted, in the discussion following Rhys's formal address, Ada H. Spaulding (who correspondend with and later visited the poet) spoke "in eloquent praise of Whitman." This postal card is addressed: Talcott Williams | office Press newspaper | Phila:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 6 | 8 PM | 88. On March 2, 1888, Whitman had sent a bill to the New York Herald; for a draft of this letter, see the letter from Whitman to the Editors of the Herald, of March 1, 1888. See also Whitman's letter to Bucke dated January 24, 1888, especially note 6. Whitman published over thirty pieces in the Herald in 1888; for a complete investigation of Whitman's close publishing relationship with the New York Herald in 1888, see Elizabeth Lorang, "'Two More Throws against Oblivion': Walt Whitman and the New York Herald in 1888," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 25 (Spring 2008), 167–191. On March 24, 1888, Whitman noted "the pulse pains (heart?) in left breast the last 20 hours and during the last night" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). No pieces appeared in the New York Herald between March 20 and April 10 (see Whitman's letter to Bucke dated January 24, 1888). According to Kennedy's The Fight of a Book for the World, the first issue of Kottabos, prepared by the classical students at Trinity College, contained "a translation by J.I. Beare into Greek anapests" of "Come Lovely and Soothing Death" (42). In his letter on March 29, 1888, Kennedy noted his request to Tennyson "to say a few words of you for the appendix to the book. Also wrote Enrico Nencioni (c/o Nuova Antologia, Rome) asking him to send me a statement as to 'Walt Whitman in Italy.'" Whitman is probably referring to a letter from John Newton Johnson. For the letter, see William Sloane Kennedy, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman [1896], 19–21. On March 29, 1888, Kennedy confessed "a good deal of sympathy for our cranky friend Johnson." Whitman had requested that Kennedy send along to him a letter that Johnson had written to Kennedy. Whitman is keeping his promise to return the letter. For Whitman's request, see his letter to Kennedy of March 22, 1888. Undoubtedly Whitman was informing Kennedy that he contemplated no change in his living arrangements, and that the proceeds from the Cottage Fund were to be used (or not used) as he saw fit. Although Whitman's friend was loath to offer any public criticism, some of the contributors were evidently annoyed that no accounting was made by the poet. Hamlin Garland, in 1889, asked Horace Traubel "what had become of the cottage money." Whitman retorted quickly: "It is a question not again to be reopened" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, July 8, 1889). This postal card is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar | 20 | 10 30 AM | 88 | Transit. On March 23, 1888, Whitman lent Heywood $15 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On his way back from Florida Bucke stayed briefly in Philadelphia and discussed publication of Whitman's poetry with J. B. Lippincott Company. On March 6 the publisher wrote to Bucke: "We have carefully considered the question of making a proposition for the publication of Walt Whitman's Poems, but have concluded that we could not use his works to advantage" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Apparently Eakins brought his painting of Whitman back to Camden on March 23, 1888 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, and see also Whitman's letter to Bucke dated April 8, 1888). William Sloane Kennedy noted that it was hanging in Whitman's "shanty" in May, and commented: "It is a work of fine technical merit, has power in it beyond a doubt; but the expression and pose are not liked by many. To me it has something of the look of a jovial and somewhat dissipated old Dutch toper, such as Rubens or Teniers might have painted" (Reminiscences of Walt Whitman [London: Alexander Gardner, 1896], 30). This note was written on a blank envelope in response to a letter dated April 28, 1888 from Hempstead & Son notifying Whitman of the imminent arrival of apparel sent to him by Lady Mount Temple (for more on this letter and on Whitman and Traubel's dealings with O.G. Hempstead & Son, see Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, May 2, 1888). Whitman described Lady Mount Temple's present as "a beautiful vest of knit stuff, wool, & silk" in his letter to Robert Pearsall Smith of May 7, 1888. Whitman would later receive a letter dated April 28, 1888 from Hempstead & Son, a customs brokerage house in Philadelphia, notifying him of the imminent arrival of apparel sent to him by Lady Mount Temple (for more on this letter and on Whitman and Traubel's dealings with O.G. Hempstead & Son, see Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, May 2, 1888). Whitman later described Lady Mount Temple's present as "a beautiful vest of knit stuff, wool, & silk" in his letter to Robert Pearsall Smith of May 7, 1888. Whitman wrote his response to O.G. Hempstead & Son on the front of a blank envelope (for Whitman's response, see his letter of May 2, 1888). For more on Whitman and Traubel's dealings with O.G. Hempstead & Son, see Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, May 2, 1888). Whitman described Lady Mount Temple's present as "a beautiful vest of knit stuff, wool, & silk" in his letter to Robert Pearsall Smith of May 7, 1888. Rhys was in Camden on May 15—"goes this afternoon to N Y, & thence (after visiting Dr B[ucke]) to England" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See Whitman's letter to Richard Maurice Bucke of May 24, 1888. Whitman was paid $40 by the New York Herald for his April contributions. See the letter from James Gordon Bennett of the Herald to Whitman of May 4, 1888. This postal card is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | May 1 (?) | 3 PM | 88; Washington, Rec'd | May | 18 | 11 PM | 1888 | 5. It is endorsed: "Answ'd June 13/88." O'Connor's letter of May 16, 1888, confirmed Whitman's verdict that his friend was "a master juggler of words": now exuding confidence, then describing the devil with fanciful vigor, now attacking Ignatius Loyola Donnelly's critics, and then praising Edmund Stedman—all with his old manic intensity (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, March 1, 1889). This postal card is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 14 | 6 PM | 88. It is endorsed: "Answ'd June 15/88." Troubled by newspaper reports of the poet's illness, O'Connor wrote for information on June 13, 1888 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, April 5, 1889). The almost fatal illness during the early part of June is fully recorded in Traubel's entry of Monday, June 4, 1888. Fortunately Bucke had come to Camden on June 3, 1888 (see Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, June 3, 1888), and Nathan M. Baker became the poet's nurse on June 10 (see Traubel, Sunday, June 10, 1888). At first Whitman resisted, but for the rest of his life he was not without male nurses. On August 10 Traubel noted: "I have started a Whitman fund—am trying to get a small monthly guarantee each from a group of people to pay for the nurse and the extras required by Whitman's persistent illness" (see Traubel's entry of Friday, August 10, 1888). Among the contributors were Stedman (see Traubel, Tuesday, August 14, 1888), Richard Watson Gilder (see Traubel, Wednesday, March 20, 1889), Josephine Lazarus (see Traubel, Tuesday, April 2, 1889), and Andrew Carnegie (see Traubel, Wednesday, March 27, 1889). When Whitman learned of the fund on March 20, 1889, "he was greatly touched: the tears came into his eyes" (Traubel, Wednesday, March 20, 1889). This postscript is written above the main text of the letter in the holograph. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Jun 24 | 5 PM | 88. An unsigned postcard urged the recipient to pray to "Sts. Peter and Paul to cure you." See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, June 23, 1888. For background on Harned's trip to the Republican National Convention in Chicago and the political issues at play, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, June 23, 1888. In the holograph, "no" is written above the word "weak." Whitman probably forgot to cross out the word "weak." On June 15, 1888 Bucke mentioned Pardee's illness. In the same letter he discussed a circular to raise funds for Whitman: "I have found time to write the circular and give it to the printer. I will send you a proof early in the week—but mind you are not supposed to see it however you may as well and perhaps you would suggest a verbal change or two—if you feel like it do so." Whitman was incensed—"hot" is Traubel's word: "I don't approve of it—I don't want money—I have enough for all I need!" (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, June 18, 1888). Whitman's friends, however, raised money without consulting him (see the second footnote in Whitman's June 14, 1888, letter to William Douglas O'Connor). This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 1 | 5 PM | 88. The witnesses were Mary O. Davis (see note 8) and Dr. Nathan M. Baker, who was serving at the time as Whitman's nurse. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd May 16/88." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington | DC. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr | 18 | 10 PM | 1888 | 4; Washington, Rec'd. | Apr | 18 | 10 PM | 1888 | 4. See Whitman's letter to the editor of Cosmopolitan from April 9, 1888. O'Connor noted, on April 14, 1888, spending an evening with Stedman, who spoke of Whitman's poetry "with enthusiasm": "His face is Zion-ward, & he will be a credit to the family yet" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, April 5, 1889. To which Whitman responded, when Traubel read O'Connor's letter aloud: "Welcome! thrice welcome Edmund, to our bed and board!" This postscript is written at the top of the letter. This poem was published as "The Final Lilt of Songs" in the New York Herald on April 16, 1888, after being rejected by the Cosmopolitan. Frank Harned, who began to photograph the Sidney Morse bust of Whitman around June 8, brought them for Whitman's inspection on July 2 (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, June 8, 1888 and Monday, July 2, 1888). Despite what Whitman said in this letter, Traubel reports on Wednesday, July 4, 1888 that "W. has not seemed to like Frank Harned's pictures," and they did not appear in the printed book. Bennett sent a check for $40 after Whitman stopped sending poems to the newspaper, and refused to accept the check back when the poet returned it (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, July 9, 1888 and Wednesday, July 11, 1888). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd July 12/88." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 11 | 8 PM | 88; Washington (?) | Jul 12 | 7 AM | 88. On July 12, 1888 O'Connor wrote: "I have felt that you and I were brothers in misfortune." He also praised the 20 proof pages of "Sands at Seventy" that Whitman sent on June 23, 1888. However, he did not appreciate the inclusion of "The Dead Emperor": "[I] find some consolation in the sweet assurance that he is finally damned, and can trouble earth no more!" Also on July 12 O'Connor mentioned the hostile reception of Ignatius Donnelly's "book" in England (probably The Great Cryptogram: Francis Bacon's Cipher in the So-Called Shakespeare Plays [1888]). This letter is addressed to: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Jul 15 (?) | 6 P(?) | 88. During Dr. William Osler's absence, beginning on July 8, Whitman was attended by Dr. J. K. Mitchell, son of S. Weir Mitchell (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, July 8, 1888). For Whitman's opinion of the young man, see Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, July 12, 1888. Baxter had written on July 13, 1888 (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, August 24, 1888). O'Connor's Hamlet's Note-book (1886) argues for Bacon's authorship of Shakespeare's plays. Whitman also refers to Ignatius L. Donnelly's The Great Cryptogram: Francis Bacon's Cipher in the So-Called Shakespeare Plays (1888). This letter is addressed to: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Jul (?) | 6 PM | 88. On July 16, 1888, Burroughs recommended "raw clams" which "are very strengthening" and hoped that Walt Whitman would be strong enough in the fall to go to the seashore with him. Burroughs was still depressed: "I try to keep absorbed in my farm operations. It is much better for me than to mope about, nibbling at literature. . . . I do no writing at all." This letter is addressed to: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 24 | 8 PM | 88. On July 22, 1888 Bucke had offered advice that Whitman, characteristically, rejected: "I wish you wd hand over the balance of the M.S. to Traubel to do the best he could with it. It is not good for you to be trying at it and failing—you ought to let it go and forget it as soon as possible. In your present state you would not do any good with the Hicks if you did go through it. Let Traubel have it and tell him to alter nothing except where necessary to make sense and connection, and let it be printed and the book brought to an end." This letter is addressed to: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 25 | 8 PM | 88. See Ernest Rhys's letter of July 9–10, 1888. Charlotte Fiske Bates wrote a laudatory letter on July 19, 1888: ". . . In one sense, no other writer of any age, has, in his work, laid so far-reaching and sympathetic a grasp on the heart of the future as you have done." The "Japanee friend," C. Sadakichi Hartmann, on July 24, 1888, reported his return from abroad. On July 25, 1888, O'Connor referred only briefly to his "own bad state" and expressed his gratitude that Whitman was recovering (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, August 21, 1888). Whitman observed of O'Connor's letter: "William always has the effect of the open air upon me." This letter is addressed to: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 28(?) | 8 PM | 88. Whitman could not publish November Boughs (1888) until after the appearance of "Army and Hospital Cases" in the October issue of Century (see also Whitman's September 22, 1888 letter to Bucke). In his reply to this letter on August 4, 1888, Bucke offered the following suggestion: "I think myself a good idea would be to print a hundred or two hundred copies on good (and large) paper, bind them nicely and sell yourself for $5. or even $10. with autograph, by & by publish through McKay or another." Whitman could not publish November Boughs (1888) until after the appearance of "Army and Hospital Cases" in the October issue of Century (see also Whitman's September 22, 1888, letter to Richard Maurice Bucke). Mr. Donnelly's Reviewers was published posthumously. On August 7, 1888 Bucke wrote: "I am glad you are getting cheerful letters from O'Connor. I trust he is not suffering so much these times. Am a little sorry he is worrying himself about the Cryptogram which I fear is more or less of a fraud though perhaps not intentionally so on Donnelly's part" (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, August 9, 1888). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Aug 31/88." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 4 | 8 PM | 88; Washington, Rec'd | Aug 5 | 7 AM | 88 | 1. On August 3, 1888 O'Connor mentioned that Grace Channing's calendar (see Whitman's August 30, 1888, letter to Charles W. Eldridge) had been sent to Stedman, who was to arrange for publication (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, August 6, 1888). On the same day O'Connor wrote to thank Stedman for his assistance in the projected work. On September 21 Stedman informed Traubel that three firms had rejected publication of the calendar (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, September 22, 1888). Whitman is probably referring to Reverend G. L. Harney's The Lives of Benjamin Harrison, and Levi P. Morton (1888). In the upper margin of the page Whitman has written the following note: "send to Dr Bucke—both letters." Whitman is referring to the notice that was printed in The Literary News, 10 (May, 1889): 180–181. On May 6, 1889, Kennedy observed that he thought he had the only copy of Hartmann's criticism (see Whitman's October 20, 1887 letter), but apparently there was a duplicate. Kennedy was ready to remove the Hartmann section from his manuscript. The letter concluded: "Regards to yrself & the senior members of our masculine-comrade-family—the three or four when you write 'em." Kennedy is referring to a letter that Whitman sent to him on October 20, 1887 in which the poet expressed respect and "good will" toward Stedman. In William Sloane Kennedy's manuscript of his projected book on Whitman he recorded the following which "Whitman is said to have said" to the art historian C. Sadakichi Hartmann: "E. C. Stedman is after all nothing more than a sophistical dancing master. If Hercules or Apollo should make their appearance, he would look at them with the eye of a dancing master" (Trent Collection, Duke University). Hartmann attributed the remark to Whitman in the New York Herald on April 14, 1889. It is the publication of this article, which Kennedy feels misrepresents Whitman's words and opinions, that Kennedy is referring to as an "outrageous act" that stands to damage the poet's reputation. Kennedy is referring to Gabriel Sarrazin's La Renaissance de la Poésie Anglaise, 1798–1889 (Paris: Perrin, 1889). For Whitman's enthusiastic response to Sarrazin's book, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, May 4, 1889; see also Whitman's May 4, 1889, letter to Karl Knortz. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: North Cambridge Sta., Mass. | May 7 | 8AM | 1888; Camden, N.J. | May 8 | 10AM | 1888 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: North Cambridge Sta., Mass. | APR | 29 | 8AM | 1888; Camden, N.J. | APR | 30 | 10AM | 1888 | Rec'd. A special edition of Leaves of Grass was issued in honor of Whitman's 70th birthday in 1889. It was printed on thin Bible paper and had a flexible leather binding in a pocket-size format. Clarence James Blake (1843–1919) was a prominent ear doctor in Boston, professor of otology at Harvard Medical Schoool, and head of Boston's Marlborough Hospital. In addition to many medical accomplishments, he aided Alexander Graham Bell with his invention of the telephone. See Whitman's October 20, 1887, letter to Kennedy. This letter is addressed: Edmund C Stedman | 3 east Fourteenth Street | (C E Webster Publisher's) | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Mar 31 | 5 PM | 89. Stedman, who termed himself on March 27–28, 1889, "one of your most faithful lovers," gushed about the Complete Poems & Prose: "There is no book just like this, & there never will be." Whitman received more space in A Library of American Literature than any other poet. Stedman printed William Linton's wood engraving of the poet. See Whitman's November 10–16, 1880, letter to Anne Gilchrist for his earlier reaction to Stedman's criticism. This letter is endorsed: "Horace Traubel | Show this to T B Harned, Harry Bonsall & Buckwalter—& then to David McKay." This letter is addressed: Arthur Newton Brown | U S N Library | Annapolis | Md:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 20 | 8 PM | 88(?). See Whitman's March 24, 1889, letter to Brown. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 1 | 8 PM | 89; London | AM | JU 4 | 89 | Canada. Probably the Philadelphia Press of June 1, which reported the celebration at length and quoted Whitman and Herbert Gilchrist directly. On March 18, 1889, Kennedy wrote that Sanborn's twenty-three-year old son had committed suicide. Whitman is referring to Burroughs' depressions. See Burroughs' February 21, 1889, letter to Whitman. In 1889, April 14th fell on a Sunday, and Bucke is likely referencing a popular expression. The name of Mrs. Gosling is written in Whitman's Commonplace-Book, as are those of several other residents of London, Ontario. This entry is not dated, but follows that for June 19, 1880 and precedes the entry for July 1880 (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See the letter from Whitman to Bucke of April 22, 1889. Bucke has made an "X" with an insertion mark in red at this point in the letter. It refers to an addition written at the bottom of the page. The addition: "He remarked that there must be something extraordinary about you to cause you to be remembered in this persistent manner" has been transcribed here, in the body of the letter, where Bucke intended to include it. See McKenzie's letter to Whitman of June 29, 1880. Whitman spells the young man's surname "McKenzie." Bucke spells it "MacKenzie." See Whitman's letter to Bucke of May 9, 1889. Bucke is referring to Whitman's letter of May 9, 1889. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | MY 13 | 89 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | May | 15 | [illegible]30 PM | 1889 | Rec'd. See Whitman's postal card to Bucke of May 10, 1889. Both Whitman and Bucke highly valued O'Connor's polemical writings on the poet. Bucke reprinted them in his biography of the poet, Walt Whitman (1883): "Mr. O'Connor's Letter, 1883," 73–98; The Good Gray Poet: A Vindication, 99–130; and "Two Subsequent Letters," 130–132. See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, May 13, 1889. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: OT WEST UR WY ST ATN | PM | MY 15 | 89 | London; Ca[illegible] | May | 1[illegible] | 6 AM | 1889 | Rec[illegible]. See O'Connor's letter to Whitman of May 9, 1889. See also Whitman's letter to Bucke of May 11–12, 1889. See Whitman's May 11–12, 1889, letter to Bucke, where he discusses bathing, the chair, and the delayed calomel prescription mentioned below. In his June 1, 1889, letter to Bucke, Whitman reports the success of the dinner. See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, May 31, 1889. According to Bucke's letter to Whitman of May 13, 1889, Mrs O'Reilly was "the wife of the Inspector of Asylums." Notices for Whitman's birthday dinner were published on May 10, 1889, in both the Camden Post and the Camden Courier (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, May 10, 1889). The list of names that has been added below Bucke's signature in an unidentified hand, is almost certainly associated with the poet's birthday dinner; some of them were part of the planning committee for the event, while others would serve as speakers. Artem Lozynsky theorizes that "the list represents the names of those to whom Whitman intended to present copies of the 1889 edition of Leaves of Grass—the 'Birthday Book'" since Traubel suggested this idea to Whitman, who seemed to be in favor of the plan (The Letters of Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke to Walt Whitman, ed. Artem Loyzynsky [Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1977], 127n2. Traubel writes, "I proposed that he [Whitman] give copies of the Birthday Book to the main speakers, and he instantly took hold of the idea. 'Yes—that would mean Clifford, Tom, Herbert, Frank Williams, perhaps the Colonel—who else?'" (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, May 24, 1889). For an account of the birthday dinner, see Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, May 31, 1889. Whitman had recently gotten a wheel chair that gave him access to the outdoors again, and he occasionally stopped in to the Camden Post offices to see friends there. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | MY 28 | 89 | Canada; C. D. [illegible] | 8[illegible]; Camden, N.J. | May | 30 | 6 AM | [illegible]9 | Rec'd. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of May 25–26, 1889. The cutting from The Critic is probably the notice of William Douglas O'Connor's death which appeared May 18, 1889. Horace Traubel had written an appreciation notice for The Critic but it was rejected. Instead, the journal printed one which Whitman called "weak enough to be namby-pamby" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, May 14, 1889 and Monday, May 20, 1889. Traubel's note on the envelope refers to With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, May 30, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr. R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. Walt Whitman's address is printed on the envelope as follows: Walt. Whitman, | Camden | New Jersey, | U.S. America. The letter is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 26 | 5 PM | 89; Philadelphia | 6PM | 1889 | Transit; London | AM | MY 28 | 89 | Canada. There is a Buffalo, NY postmark, but only the city name and the year "1889" are clearly legible. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: [illegible] | [illegible] | [illegible] | 89 | Canada; Ca[illegible] .J. | [illegible] | [illegible] | 8 AM | [illegible] | Rec'd; [illegible] | 25 | 1 PM. Bucke's copy of the 1889 pocket edition of Leaves of Grass is described in the Sotheby & Co (1935) and the American Art Association (1936) auction catalogues of his Whitman collection. The item is numbered 11 and 294, respectively. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of June 1, 1889. Whitman discusses Bucke's comments on the pocket edition with Horace Traubel; see With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, June 6, 1889. Bucke is referring to Whitman's letter of June 2, 1889. Horace Traubel notes that Whitman received "a letter from Dr. A____t of London, Ontario" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, June 8, 1889). Gertrude Traubel seems to have been unable to decipher her father's handwritten record of the physician's name. Dr. Charles A. Sippi's diary provides no clue as to the identity of Dr. A____t. However, a Dr. Henry Arnott is listed at 226 Queens Avenue, London, Ontario in 1890. There is no earlier listing (letter of March 13, 1974 from Edward Phelps of the Weldon Library). Whitman noted that Louisa "bro't my new blue gown" on June 11, 1889 (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Judge Charles G. Garrison had been a speaker at the birthday celebration (Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman [Philadelphia: David McKay, 1889], 34–36); he paid $19.50 for the volumes (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Mary W Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | Westminster Embankment | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 14 | 8 PM | 89. Whitman almost always sent Mary Costelloe's letters to Bucke. Whitman wrote his letter of June 17 to William Sloane Kennedy on the verso of Bucke's letter. Bucke is referring to Mental Evolution in Man, Origin of Human Faculty (New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1889) by Canadian evolutionary biologist and Darwin disciple George John Romanes (1848–1894). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | JU[illegible]7 | 89 | Canada; NY | 6–18.89 | 11 30 AM | [illegible]; Camden, N.J. | Jun | 18 | 8 PM | [illegible]9 | R[illegible]. Bucke intends to quote the first line of the poem "The Picket Guard" by Ethel Lynn Beers: "All quiet along the Potomac to-night!" The poem was first published in Harper's Weekly on November 30, 1861. John Hill Hewitt later set the poem to music; Hewitt's song also takes as its title the first line of the poem. This letter is addressed: Mr Cox | photographer | Broadway & Ninth st: | New York City Amy and Warren Dowe were the children of Emma Dowe, Louisa Whitman's sister (see Whitman's letter of July 12, 1877). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | [illegible] | JY 15 | 89 | Canada; Cam[illegible] | [illegible] | 16 | 3 PM | 1889 | Rec'd; NY | 7-16 89 | 8 AM | [illegible]. This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | care Walter Scott, publisher | 24 Warwick Lane Paternoster | Row | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 23 | 8 PM | 89; Philadelphia, Pa. | Jul 23 | 11 PM | Paid. Rhys's article "The Portraits of Walt Whitman" in the June 1889 issue of The Scottish Art Review (p. 17–24) was slapdash journalism: the painter Thomas Eakins' last name, for example, became "Eadie." Whitman made a similar observation in The Commonplace-Book on July 19, 1889: "No sale worth mentioning of my books by myself" (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Mrs: Mary Whitall Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London: England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 8 | 8 PM | 89. Whitman recorded his visit to Frederick Gutekunst's Philadelphia studio in his daybook on August 6, not the 7th, as this postal card suggests. For more information, see the digital facsimile of the "big picture" on The Walt Whitman Archive. This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | Care Walter Scott Publisher | 24 Warwick Lane Paternoster Row | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden, (?) | Aug 2(?) | 6 AM | 89. Rhys's letter of August 14, 1889, was indeed a "jolly" and astute comment on Wales and Paris. Rhys replied to Whitman on September 11, 1889, and informed him of his study of Welsh poetry. See the letter from Rhys to Whitman of August 14, 1889. See Whitman's postal card to Bucke of August 22, 1889. Richard "Dick" Flynn was a longtime assistant to Bucke at the London asylum, doing odd jobs. Whitman met Flynn and admired his gardening work when he visited Bucke in 1880; he mentions Flynn in his October 14, 1880, letter to Thomas Nicholson. Traubel also records that Whitman was anticipating a visit from Flynn in Camden shortly before Bucke wrote this letter (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, August 27, 1889). Flynn, while on a tour of the U.S., apparently stopped by Whitman's Mickle Street home and carried a copy of the Gutekunst photograph of 1889 back to London with him. Whitman had worried that the photo would get damaged in the mail. Whitman and Bucke both greatly admired this photographic portrait. Whitman mentions Dick Flynn in his October 14, 1880, letter to Thomas Nicholson. Like Nicholson, Flynn was an employee at Bucke's asylum, doing odd jobs. Whitman came to know him during his visit to the asylum in 1880 and admired Flynn's gardening. Flynn took a tour of the U.S. in 1889 and visted Whitman Camden home, where he carried the Gutekunst photographic portrait of Whitman back to Dr. Bucke in London Ontario. Whitman and Bucke both greatly admired this photographic portrait. See the frontispiece of the fifth volume of Horace Traubel's With Walt Whitman in Camden (Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1964), as well as the entries for Tuesday, August 27, 1889 and Friday, August 30, 1889. Whitman mentions Dick Flynn in his October 14, 1880 letter to Thomas Nicholson. Like Nicholson, Flynn was an employee at Bucke's asylum. This postal card is addressed: John Burroughs | West Park | Ulster County New York. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 28 | 8 PM | 89. In his letter of June 2, 1889, Whitman proposed this book, which would become Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman (1889), to Horace Traubel. Giordano Bruno (1548–1600) was an Italian Dominican friar and philosopher, whose notions of a vast and infinite cosmos, as well as his pantheism and denial of doctrines like the divinity of Christ and the virginity of Mary, got him tried for heresy beginning in 1593 and burned at the stake in Rome in 1600. William Roscoe Thayer's essay on the "Trial, Opinions, and Death of Giordano Bruno" appeared in the Atlantic Monthly in March 1890. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | SP 4 | 89 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Sep | 6 | 6AM | 1889 | Rec'd. Whitman enclosed the August 13, 1889, letter from Robert Pearsall Smith with his August 30–31, 1889, letter to Bucke. Lady Mount Temple was an admirer of Whitman; in 1888, she had sent him a gift. In a letter dated April 28, 1888 Hempstead & Son, a customs brokerage house in Philadelphia, notified Whitman of the imminent arrival of apparel sent to him by Lady Mount Temple (for more on this letter and on Whitman and Traubel's dealings with O.G. Hempstead & Son, see Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, May 2, 1888). Whitman described Lady Mount Temple's present as "a beautiful vest of knit stuff, wool, & silk" in his letter to Robert Pearsall Smith of May 7, 1888. Bucke is referring to Whitman's poem "My 71st Year," which would be published in Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine in November 1889 and "Death's Valley," which would be published in Harper's Monthly Magazine in April 1892. On August 25, 1889, Henry Alden, the editor of Harper's New Monthly Magazine, requested a poem. Whitman sent "Death's Valley," and was paid $25 on September 1, 1889 (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The poem accompanied an engraving of George Inness' "The Valley of the Shadow of Death" (1867); see LeRoy Ireland, The Works of George Inness (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1965), 98–99. When the poem appeared in April 1892, the frontispiece of the magazine was a photograph of Alexander's portrait of Whitman, and above the poem appeared a more recent sketch of the poet by the same artist. A partial facsimile of this manuscript appears in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, May 30, 1889. See also "Death's Valley" (loc.00189) in the Integrated Catalog of Walt Whitman's Literary manuscripts. Harry Clifford Kochersperger (1871–1951) of Philadelphia, worked in the banking and brokerage industries in Camden, New Jersey. Kochersperger and his wife Marie Edith Gane Kochersperger (1874–1942) were the parents of at least three daughters. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey USA. It is postmarked: London | PM | SP 9 | 89 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Sep | 11 | 6AM | 1889 | Rec'd. Bucke is referring to Whitman's letter of September 4, 1889. "Mrs. B" is Bucke's wife, Jessie Maria (Gurd) Bucke (1839–1926), and "Clare" is the Buckes' daughter, Jessie Clare Bucke (1870–1943). This postal card is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep [illegible] | 8 PM | 89. Mrs. O'Connor's nephew, according to her letter of September 12, 1889. On September 5, 1889, Kennedy informed Whitman ("Dear Dad" was the salutation) that he was now reading "proof at Riverside Press." He noted on September 15, 1889 that his wife would visit the poet shortly, and recommended Dumas' "D'Artagnon romances"—"Manly comradeship is the theme and love. But especially comradeship . . . yr calamus doctrine embodied in a faint & inferior degree." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | SP 21 | 89 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Sep | 22 | 6 AM | 1889 | Rec'd; NY | [illegible] | 8. Traubel's article, "W.D. O'Connor of Massachusetts," appeared in Liberty on September 7,1889. Following the death of Whitman's friend and defender William Douglas O'Connor, Traubel wrote an article about him entitled "W. D. O'Connor of Massachusetts." It was published in Liberty on September 7, 1889. See Whitman's September 18, 1889, letter to Bucke. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey USA. It is postmarked: London | PM | SP 28 | 89 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Sep | 30 | 6AM | 1889 | Rec'd. Bucke is referring to Whitman's letter of September 25, 1889. Whitman's poem "Bravo, Paris Exposition!" was published in Harper's Weekly on September 28, 1889. A meter index is the gauge on the gas meter that measures usage. This note, likely written by Gertrude Traubel, appears on the front of the envelope that contained the letter. This letter is addressed: O. O. Hemenway | Pittsfield | Ill:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 30 | 8 PM | 89. Born and raised in Illinios, Otto O. Hemenway (ca. 1874–1946) worked as a bookkeeper and, later, as an insurance salesman. He married Minnie Lee Johnston in 1903. If federal census records correctly document his birth year, Hemenway would have been fifteen or sixteen years old at the time of his correspondence with Whitman. This postal card is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 30 | 8PM | 89. Kennedy's letter of October 3, 1889 was addressed to "Dear Old Quaker Friend of the horse-taming sea-kings of Long Island." Among other things in his affected prose he asked, "How is it with you? Do you get any Emersonian soul-baths?" He continued: "I have not seen a man for two years. I begin to think they are scarce, scarce, scarce. Dr. Bucke seems to me one. . . . Query: if I want to see an heroic man, why don't I become one myself? Perhaps I am, unbeknownst!" On October 10, 1889, Kennedy mentioned Sylvester Baxter's recent article on Whitman in the Boston Herald. This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Mary Whitall Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London England | SW. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 15 | 8 PM | 89; Philadelphia, Pa. | Oct (?) | 8 PM | Paid. There is an additional postmark, but only the time of "8 PM" is visible. Above the first line of Kennedy's letter, Whitman has written a note in blue pencil: "the pocket bk b'd of L of G." Whitman has written above this paragraph in blue pencil: "he is writing a book life of Whittier—ask'd me what I thot of W." John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892) earned fame as a staunch advocate for the abolition of slavery. As a poet, he employed traditional forms and meters, and, not surprisingly, he was not an admirer of Whitman's unconventional prosody. For Whitman's view of Whittier, see the poet's numerous comments throughout the nine volumes of Horace Traubel's With Walt Whitman in Camden (various publishers: 1906–1996) and Whitman's "My Tribute to Four Poets," in Specimen Days (Philadelphia: Rees Welsh & Co., 1882–'83), 180–181. Whitman has written at the end of this paragraph in blue pencil: "—don't know ab't this—wasn't indited for publication" Whitman has written at the bottom of the page in blue pencil: "I rec'd the currants—wh' I eat with my bread & like—also rec'd the calamus caramels" This letter is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 17 | 8 PM | 89. On October 15, 1889, Kennedy sent currant jam and calamus caramels made by his young cousin Hattie Woodruff McDowell, who was visiting him. There is a note in pencil by Horace Traubel in the upper left corner of this page: "See Notes | Oct. 21, '89" Edward "Ned" Wilkins left Whitman's service as a nurse on October 21, 1889. (See Whitman's October 21 letter to Bucke.) Wilkins returned to his hometown of Nilestown, Ontario and then set out for Veterinary College. After graduating March 24, 1893, Wilkins returned to the United States to practice veterinary medicine. See Bert A. Thompson, "Edward Wilkins: Male Nurse to Walt Whitman," Walt Whitman Review 15 (September 1969): 194-96. Wilkins was replaced by Warren Fritzinger, the son of the sea-captain whom Mrs. Davis, Whitman's housekeeper, had looked after before she started to perform the same service for Whitman. "Warry," as Whitman called his "sailor boy," was to become his favorite nurse. (See Whitman's October 31 letter to Bucke.) There is a famous 1890 photograph of Whitman with Fritzinger. Harrington: A Story of True Love (Boston: Thayer & Eldridge, 1860) was William Douglas O'Connor's abolitionist novel. In 1860 Thayer & Eldridge also brought out the third edition of Leaves of Grass. Locus standi is a legal term, meaning, loosely, the right to be heard. See Whitman's October 16, 1889, letter to Bucke. "Uncu'guid" is a Scotch expression meaning "very good or strictly moral people." Frank Warren Fritzinger (1867–1899), known as "Warry," took Edward Wilkins's place as Whitman's nurse, beginning in October 1889. Fritzinger and his brother Harry were the sons of Henry Whireman Fritzinger (about 1828–1881), a former sea captain who went blind, and Almira E. Fritzinger. Following Henry Sr.'s death, Warren and his brother—having lost both parents—became wards of Mary O. Davis, Whitman's housekeeper, who had also taken care of the sea captain and who inherited part of his estate. A picture of Warry is displayed in the May 1891 New England Magazine (278). See Joann P. Krieg, "Fritzinger, Frederick Warren (1866–1899)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 240. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | OC 25 | 89 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Oct | 27 | 5 PM | 1889 | [illegible]. See Whitman's postal cards to Bucke of October 21, 1889 and October 22, 1889. Sir Edwin Arnold (1832–1904) was the author of the controversial The Light of Asia . . . Being the Life and Teaching of Gautama . . . as told in verse by an Indian Buddhist (London: Truber & Co., 1879). Arnold had visited Whitman on September 13, 1889. Whitman reported the visit to Traubel: "[Arnold's] visit was only in transit—he goes back to New York at once—then across to San Francisco—then to Japan and the East Indies." Whitman found the visitor interesting but too effusive: "My main objection to him, if objection at all, would be, that he is too eulogistic—too flattering" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, September 13, 1889). Bucke had coveted the 1872 edition of Leaves of Grass for some time. During his visit to Whitman (February to March 1889) Bucke had accidentally come across a copy. (See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, March 5, 1889.) This letter is addressed: Mrs: Mary Whitall Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London | S W | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 27 | 5 PM | 89. Bucke is referring to Whitman's poem "My 71st Year," which was first published in the November 1889 issue of the Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine. In his letter of October 26–27, 1889 Whitman sent Bucke a reprint of the poem with corrections. Bucke is referring to the English poet and journalist Sir Edwin Arnold (1832–1904). The sonnet is unidentified. "Throstle" was a parody of Tennyson by the English poet and author Edmund Gosse (1849–1928). Whitman mentions "Throstle" in his letters to Bucke of October 23, 1889, October 27–28, 1889, and October 31, 1889. See Whitman's October 21, 1889 letter to Bucke in which the poet states that Wilkins would soon be delivering a package of portraits to Bucke. In his letter to Whitman of October 30, 1889, Bucke reports that Wilkins visited him and brought the photographs the previous evening, October 29, 1889. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | OC 30 | 89 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Nov | 1 | 6AM | 1889 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | NO 6 | 89 | Canada; NY | 11-7-89 | 9AM | [illegible]; Camden, N[illegible] | Nov | 3PM | 1889 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: Lon[d]on | AM | NO 6 | 89 | Canada. See the letter from Whitman to Bucke of November 4, 1889. With his October 28–29, 1889, letter to Bucke, Whitman had enclosed an October 13, 1889, letter from Robert Pearsall Smith, Mary Costelloe's father, in which Smith informed the poet that his daughter "is under a nervous break-down—not suffering much but compelled to great quiet." This letter is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 6 | 8PM | 89. Kennedy wrote on November 5, 1889: "Fred. Wilson writes me that if he publishes I must pay cost of production. I can't, so I write him to return the MS. to me. I must wait till I get able." Richard Maurice Bucke, to whom Whitman sent Kennedy's note, promised on November 8, 1889 that if the meter paid off he would "ad[vance] the funds required, for I am [most?] anxious to have K's book pub[lished] and so made safe." On January 28, 1891, Kennedy informed Bucke that Wilson had not returned his manuscript: "He has about $200 at least subscribed. I recently wrote him again, asking him if he wd like to bring out the 1st half, & let the Concordance slide." Kennedy is referring to his manuscript "Walt Whitman, Poet of Humanity." Kennedy had reported in a letter to Whitman of January 2, 1888 that Frederick W. Wilson was willing to publish the study. Kennedy's manuscript eventually became two books, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896) and The Fight of a Book for the World (1926). Wilson promised to return the manuscript in his letter to Kennedy of February 1, 1888. Alexander Gardner (1821–1882) of Paisley, Scotland, a publisher who reissued a number of books by and about Whitman, ultimately published Reminiscences of Walt Whitman in 1896 after a long and contentious battle with Kennedy over editing the book. Le Temps included Whitman's poem "Bravo, Paris Exposition!," which had been published in Harper's Weekly on September 28, 1889. See Whitman's November 6 letter to Bucke. Because of a tear in the second sheet, some of the text has been lost. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 13 | 8 PM | 89. Whitman gave her $10 (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman is referring to his postal card of November 13, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N. J. | Nov 14 | 8PM | 89; Philadelphia | Nov 14 | 8 PM | 89; London | PM | NO 16 | 89 | Canada. According to Bucke's letter on November 5, 1889, he was giving a series of lectures to students on such topics as "Melancholia" and "Mania." This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 16 | 8 PM | 89; Buffalo, N.Y. | Nov | [illegible] | 1889 | Transit; London | AM | NO 18 | 89 | Canada. "The Brazen Android" was included in William Douglas O'Connor's Three Tales (1892), with "The Ghost" and "The Carpenter." This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 19 | 8 PM | 89; LONDON | AM | NO 22 | 89 | CANADA; PHILADELPHIA PA. | NOV | 19 | 9 PM | 1889 | TRANSIT. Whitman sent the poem (later entitled "A Christmas Greeting") to John Foord of Harper's Weekly and asked $10. When it was rejected, he sent the manuscript on December 4 to S. S. McClure (see his December 9–10 letter to Bucke), who paid $11 for the rights to publish the poem in his syndicate of newspapers; whether it was ever published is still unknown (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See Whitman's November 19, 1889, letter to R. F. Wormwood. Whitman is likely referring to a copy of a Globe Edition of Poems Songs and Letters Being The Complete Works of Robert Burns, edited by Alexander Smith, and published by Macmillan publishing. This letter is addressed: R F Wormwood | Fryeburg | Maine. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 19 | 8PM | 89; Philadelphia, PA | Nov | 19 | 9 PM | 1889 | Transit. Whitman's address is printed on the envelope: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. R. F. Wormwood was a writer and newspaper editor. During his career, he served as the editor for several newspapers in Maine, including the Oxford County Record and the Biddeford Daily Journal. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Es'q | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov21 | 130PM | 89. Grey's return address is printed on the envelope as follows: Grey & Grey, | Law Offices, | 104 Market St., Camden,—93 Market St., Salem, N. J. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 21 | 8 PM | 89; Philadelphia, PA | Nov 21 | [illegible]PM | Transit; London | AM | No 25 | 89 | Canada. The Critic of December 21, 1889 contained an extract from Harrison S. Morris's article in The American entitled "Whitman's 'Indescribable Masculinity,'" a review of Sarrazin's book by his American translator. Whitman is referring to O'Connor's card of November 20, 1889, noting her arrival in Washington. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 3 | 8 PM | 89. The Illustrated London News included on November 16, 1889, a two-page supplement containing M. Klinkicht's engraving of Whitman after a photograph by Sarony. A column devoted to the poet in the same issue concluded that he was not "a great author, or a good writer in point of literary skill." See Whitman's letter of November 19, 1889, to Bucke. See also his letter of December 4, 1889 to S.S. McClure. Caroline K. Sherman on November 27, 1889 sent Whitman her article on Carpenter entitled "He's an English Thoreau," which appeared in the Chicago Herald. See Mrs. O'Connor's letter to Whitman of November 29, 1889. O'Connor may be referring to Whitman's letter of November 23, 1889. O'Connor is referring to Whitman's letter of November 23, 1889, in which Whitman enclosed a letter from Richard Maurice Bucke. Bucke's letter is not known and may not be extant. Harold Channing was the son of O'Connor's brother-in-law, William F. Channing (1820–1901) and the brother of Grace Ellery Channing (1862–1937). Harold and Grace were the nephew and niece, respectively, of O'Connor. Whitman is referring to the poem ultimately titled "A Christmas Greeting." In his December 3, 1889, letter to Richard Maurice Bucke the poet refers to the poem as "the little 'Northern Star-Group to a Southern' (welcome to Brazilian Republic)." This would become the poem's subtitle: "From a Northern Star-Group to a Southern. 1889–'90." See also "[A North Star]," a manuscript draft of this poem, in the Catalog of the Walt Whitman Literary Manuscripts in The Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. McClure had written to Whitman on December 3, 1889. Henry Codman Potter (1834–1908) was Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York and a venerated religious and civic leader who devoted much of his ministry to what he called "the problem of the poor"; he also was well known for his efforts to support the interests of labor and labor unions. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 8 | 6 PM | 89; Buffalo, N. Y. | Dec | 8 | 11AM | 1889 | Transit; London | AM | DE 10 | 89 | Canada. There is also a Philadelphia postmark, but it is entirely illegible. Edward Drinker Cope (1840–1897) was a naturalist and editor of American Naturalist. Whitman forgot that he had sent Rolleston's November 10, 1889, letter and the clipping to Ellen M. O'Connor on November 23, 1889. Rolleston married Edith Caroline de Burgh (1859?–1896) in Dublin, Ireland, in 1879. Rolleston is referring to the German translation of Leaves of Grass (Grashalme: Gedichte) that he and his co-translator Karl Knortz had just published. Whitman may be referring to William Sloane Kennedy's letter of January 11, 1888 (erroneously dated 1887 by Kennedy). Bucke is referring to the Camden Post. Whitman drew a line in ink through Bucke's letter; the line extends from the top left to the bottom right of the page. This letter is addressed: Mrs: Mary Whitall Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London England. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Dec 8 | 5PM | 89. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 11 | 6 AM | 89. The circular advertised Complete Poems & Prose ($6), Leaves of Grass ($5), and Portraits from Life ($3). The advertisement appeared in Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1889); a facsimile of Walt Whitman's draft of the circular appears in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, May 30, 1889. Whitman is referring to the poem ultimately titled "A Christmas Greeting." In his December 3, 1889, letter to Richard Maurice Bucke the poet refers to the poem as "the little 'Northern Star-Group to a Southern' (welcome to Brazilian Republic)." This would become the poem's subtitle: "From a Northern Star-Group to a Southern. 1889–'90." See also "[A North Star]," a manuscript draft of this poem, in the Catalog of the Walt Whitman Literary Manuscripts in The Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, DC. The poem was likely published on December 25, 1889, in various newspapers in the syndicate established by the investigative journalist Samuel Sidney McClure (1857–1949). McClure's Magazine began publication in 1893, and posthumously published some of Whitman's poetry (in 1897). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey | U. S. America. It is postmarked: Davos | 11.XII.89.VII— | Platz; Paid | B | All; Camden, N.J. | Dec | 24 | 6 AM | [illegible]. There is a New York postmark and an additional postmark, but both of these are illegible. Symonds is referring to the Complete Poems and Prose of Walt Whitman, 1855–1888 (1888). In a letter of December 5, 1889, he wrote to Horatio Forbes Brown: "Old Walt Whitman sends me, with autograph and inscription in his shaky hand, the final and complete edition of his works—one book, a sort of Bible. It is a grand present to the spirit, and (for the future) of incalculable pecuniary value." See The Letters of John Addington Symonds, Volume III: 1885–1893, ed. Herbert M. Schueller and Robert L. Peters (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1969), 417. Symonds is referring to his contribution to Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman (1889). See poem 8 of Calamus. Whitman deleted this poem from the Calamus cluster after 1860. See poem 28 of Calamus. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 13 | 8 PM | (?); London | AM | De 16 | 89 | Canada. Bucke had written on December 8, 1889: "I have spent part of the day looking over L. of G. and I wish I could tell you, or convey to you in the faintest way, the deep down emotions that that book excites in me. There is nothing stirs me up like it. Sometimes as I read it I feel as if my whole previous life were rolling en masse through me, and as if at the same time vast vistas were opening ahead which I longed and yet half dreaded to enter. The profound religious sentiment which that book is destined to develope in the human heart when it becomes once assimilated by (incorporated into) the life of the race is, I think, simply inconceivable at present." Bucke is quoting from Whitman's poem "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry." This letter is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 13 | 8PM | 89. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 22 | 5 PM | 89. Whitman is likely referring to the December 17, 1889, letter he received from John Burroughs and to the December 7, 1889, letter he had received from the writer and editor Ernest Rhys. Sent to Mrs. E. C. Waters, who paid $6.40 (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). It is uncertain which of Bucke's letters Whitman is referring to here. Whitman was buried in Harleigh Cemetery in Camden, New Jersey, on March 30, 1892, four days after his death, in an elaborate granite tomb that he designed. Reinhalter and Company of Philadelphia built the tomb, at a cost of $4,000. Whitman covered a portion of these costs with money that his Boston friends had raised so that the poet could purchase a summer cottage; the remaining balance was paid by Whitman's literary executor, Thomas Harned. For more information on the cemetery and Whitman's tomb, see See Geoffrey M. Still, "Harleigh Cemetery" Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). J. B. Wood wrote about the cemetery plot on December 24, 1889. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | London Asylum | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | DEC [illegible] | 5PM | 89; London | AM | DE 31 | 89 | Canada. John B. Wood (ca. 1845–1915) resided in Philadelphia. In his youth, he worked with his father Horatio Wood in the ship-building business. Later, he married author Lydia C. Wood (1845–1921) and began to develop Harleigh Cemetery on land owned by Lydia (The Wood-Woods Family Magazine, Volumes 9–13, Virgina Wood Alexander: 1981, 24). The Harleigh Cemetery Association was formed in 1885, and the land where the cemetery is laid out was purchased from John and Lydia Wood. In 1886, John B. Wood was the manager of the Cemetery Association (George R. Prowell, The History of Camden County, New Jersey [Philadelphia: L. J. Richards & Co., 1886], 554.) This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Mickle St. | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Philadelphia, P.A. | Dec24 | 12PM [illegible]; Camden, N.J. | Ded | 24 | 8PM | 1889 | Rec'd. A series of mathematical calculations are written in pencil on the envelope. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | DE 21 | 89 | Canada; N.Y. | 12-22-89 | 10 AM | [illegible]; Camden, N.J. | Dec 23 | 6AM | 1889 | Rec'd. On December 9, 1889, Whitman sent Bucke four copies of an advertising circular for Complete Poems & Prose, Leaves of Grass and Portraits from Life. The advertisement appeared in Traubel's Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1889); a facsimile of Whitman's draft of the circular appears in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, May 30, 1889. Stevenson's The Master of Ballantrae focused on two brothers and Scottish noblemen during the 1745 rebellion, when Charles Edward Stuart attempted to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It was published in 1889. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | DE 23 | 89 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Dec 24 | 1 PM | 1889 | Rec'd. Bucke is quoting a portion of a line from Whitman's poem "To Think of Time": "A gray discouraged sky overhead, the short last daylight of December." This letter is addressed: Rudolph Schmidt | Blaagaardsgade 16 B | Copenhagen N | Denmark. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 24 | 8 PM | 89; London | AM | Ja 2 | 90(?); OMB. 1 | 4-1-90 | (?). Schmidt was quoted in Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1889), 53–54. The volume, edited by Horace Traubel, collected notes and addresses that were delivered at Whitman's seventieth birthday celebration on May 31, 1889, in Camden, New Jersey. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | DE 26 | 89 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Dec 27 | 4PM | 1889 | Rec'd. Henry Harland (1861–1905) was the American novelist and co-editor with Aubrey Beardsley of The Yellow Book, a British quarterly literary magazine (1894-1897). Bucke's admiration must be understood in terms of Harland's early novels, such as A Jewish Musician's Story (1885), a local color description of German Jews in Manhattan. Bucke may be referring to Burroughs's letter of December 17, 1889 and Rhys's of December 7, 1889. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | USA. It is postmarked: CTWEST[illegible]S | AM | De 30 | 89 | London On; Camden, N.J. | Dec | 31 | 12 M | 1889 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 26(?) | 8 PM | 89. Symonds' letter of December 9, 1889 was indeed "passionate": "I cannot even attempt to tell yourself (upon this page of paper with this pen in my hand), what it is that makes me ask you now to bless me. . . . Perhaps we shall yet meet [after death]: . . . I shall ask you about things which have perplexed me here—to which I think you alone could have given me an acceptable answer. . . . I cannot find words better fitted to express the penetrative fate with which you have entered into me, my reliance on you, & my hope that you will not disapprove of my conduct in the last resort." What Whitman failed to see was that Symonds, who was preoccupied with his study of sexual inversion, was trying to ask the questions he finally posed nine months later. See Whitman's August 19, 1890, letter to Symonds. Almost the same information appeared in the Camden Post on December 26, 1889, in a paragraph probably written by Whitman: "He resolutely passed by all the show parts and lawns, and chose a place back on a woody side hill, . . . where a solid gray stone monumental vault will be constructed" (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The Critic of December 21, 1889 contained an extract from Harrison S. Morris's article in The American entitled "Whitman's 'Indescribable Masculinity,'" a review of French critic Gabriel Sarrazin's book by his American translator. Whitman recorded the following about the book purchase: A "morocco b'd L of G to Alma Johnston N Y. Paid 5" (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On December 24, 1889, Wilkins informed Whitman that he had left Camden because he was unhappy with his Camden friends and because he wanted to enter the "Veterinary business." Since the note refers to Whitman's two recently published books, it seems logical to assign it to 1889 [for further clarification of the assigned date, see the second note below]. According to Edwin Haviland Miller's tabulation, based upon his letters and his entries in The Commonplace-Book, the poet's income in 1889 amounted to at least $1,447.91: royalties, $626.47; sales of books, $245.89; payments for articles and poems, $95.00; and gifts, $480.55. (The figures on book sales are necessarily to some extent conjectural, based on the assumption that he charged uniform prices for his various books.) The entries in The Commonplace-Book in 1889, like those in 1888, are not complete, as discrepancies between amounts deposited in the bank and notations of receipts of money are commonplace (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman is requesting a copy of one of McKay's printings of the sixth (1881) edition of Leaves of Grass, with the "annex" "Sands at Seventy." Because this letter is undated, it could be argued that the poet was asking for the 1884 issue of the 1881 edition (the first issue published by McKay). However, he is more likely asking for the 1888 issue, which dates the letter closer to 1889. The postscript reference to the "pocket-b'k copy" Whitman gave to McKay with the letter makes the year certain and eliminates the months January through May. The poet had the special pocket-book edition printed in honor of his 70th birthday, on May 31, 1889. See Whitman's May 16 1889 letter to Frederick Oldach. Whitman had a limited pocket-book edition of Leaves of Grass printed in honor of his 70th birthday, on May 31, 1889, through special arrangement with Frederick Oldach. Only 300 copies were printed, and Whitman signed the title page of each one. The volume also included the annex Sands at Seventy and his essay A Backward Glance O'er Traveled Roads. See Whitman's May 16, 1889, letter to Oldach. For more information on the book see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). Whitman had a limited and pocket-book edition of Leaves of Grass printed in honor of his 70th birthday, on May 31, 1889, through special arrangement with Frederick Oldach. Only 300 copies were printed, and Whitman signed the title page of each one. The volume also included the annex Sands at Seventy and his essay A Backward Glance O'er Traveled Roads. For more information on the book see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). This letter is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | Glendale | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Jan 3 | 5(?)PM | 90. Whitman is quoting from the Bible; he is referring to Luke 13:7. Whitman is referring to Mrs. Stafford's daughter Deborah Stafford Browning, her granddaughter Susan Browning, and her son-in-law Joseph Browning (Deborah's husband). Stafford is referring to her sister-in-law (her husband Harry Stafford's sister), Deborah Stafford Browning (1860–1945). Stafford is referring to her father-in-law George Stafford (1827–1892). George Stafford was the father of Eva's husband Harry Stafford, a young man whom Whitman befriended in 1876 in Camden. Harry's parents, George and Susan Stafford, were tenant farmers at White Horse Farm near Kirkwood, New Jersey, where Whitman visited them on several occasions. For more on Whitman and the Staffords, see David G. Miller, "Stafford, George and Susan M." Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, eds., (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 685. Stafford is likely referring to her mother-in-law, Susan Stafford (1833–1910). Stafford is referring to her son and second child, George Westcott Stafford (1890–1984), who would have been about eleven months old at the time of this letter. In 1890, the Staffords were the parents of two children: Dora Virginia Stafford (1886–1928) and George Westcott Stafford (1890–1984). By 1891, Harry Stafford (1858–1918) and his wife Eva Westcott Stafford (1856–1906) were the parents of two children: Dora Virginia Stafford (1886–1928) and George Westcott Stafford (1890–1984). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Cam(?) N.J. | Jan 5 | 5 PM | 90. "Old Poets" appeared in the North American Review in November. See Whitman's October 10, 1890, letter to Bucke. Bucke had written to Whitman on December 22, 1889 and December 24, 1889. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | JA 6 | 90 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Jan | 7 | 4PM | 1890 | Rec'd. Dr. Nelson Henry (N. H.) Beemer (ca. 1854–1934) was in charge of the "Refractory Building" at Bucke's asylum and served as his first assistant physician. Whitman met Beemer during his visit there in the summer of 1880. See James H. Coyne, Richard Maurice Bucke: A Sketch (Toronto: Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, 1906), 52. Mary Anne Wilcox Laing Beemer (1862–1927) was the daughter of the Scottish merchant Alexander Laing and his wife Anne Laing. She grew up in Ontario, Canada, and married Dr. Nelson Henry Beemer in 1879. The couple were the parents of at least two children. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | JA 8 | 90 | Canada; N.Y. | 1-8-90 | 930AM; Camden, N.J. | Jan | 9 | 3PM | 1890 | Rec'd. McKenzie is likely William P. McKenzie, "a young admirer who sent his first book" to Whitman. See McKenzie's October 10, 1889 letter to Whitman. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Jan 7 | 8 PM | 90. Bucke replied on January 10, 1890: "Yes, you are living on your ancestry at present, if that had not been A.1, W. W. would have been under the sod fifteen months ago—at least." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | Ja 11 | 90 | Canada; N.Y. | 1-12-90 | 11 AM | 9; Camden, N.J. | Jan | 13 | 7AM | 1890 | Rec'd. See Whitman's January 7, 1890, letter to Bucke. Bucke is responding to a comment from Whitman's January 7 letter. See Whitman's December 13, 1889 letter to Bucke, where the poet notes Browning's death and asks for Bucke's thoughts. The fact that the postmark is a week prior to the date of the letter suggests that this might not be the right envelope, but there is no other known correspondence from Bernard O'Dowd or Australia so near September 2 or 9. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | United States of America. It is postmarked: Melbourne | (?)O | SE 2 | 90; New York | Oct (?) | 2; Camden, N.J. | Oct | (?) | 6AM | 1890 | Rec'd. Notes on the address side of the envelope read: Sydney & | via San Francisco; 1st Sept: '90. This letter and the "former one" are not extant. The current letter from O'Dowd is the earliest piece of correspondence between Whitman and O'Dowd. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | Ja 13 | 90 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Ja[illegible] | [illegible] | [illegible] | 1890 | [illegible]. Bucke's youngest son was Robert Walpole Bucke (b. 1881). Bucke may be referring to John Addington Symonds's letter of December 9, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 15 | 6 AM | 90; N.Y. | 1-15-90 | 11 AM | 12; London | AM | Ja 16 | 90 | Canada. Kennedy so informed Whitman on January 6, 1890: "Am at Transcript office, permanent engagement as proof-reader. Have to read like lightning." Whitman is referring to Symonds' letter of December 9, 1889. See also Bucke's letter of December 25–26, 1889. Bucke wrote to Whitman on January 10, 1890 and January 12, 1890. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | Ja 17 | 90 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Jan | 18 | 4PM | 1890 | Rec'd. See Whitman's January 7, 1890, letter to Bucke. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | Ja 17 | 90 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Jan | 20 | 6AM | 1890 | Rec'd. See Whitman's January 14, 1890, letter to Bucke. At this time, Robert Pearsall Smith was sending Whitman copies of The Spectator from England. See Whitman's January 22, 1890, letter to Mary Smith Costelloe. See Whitman's January 14, 1890, letter to Bucke. See also Symonds's letter of December 9, 1889. From the surviving evidence it appears that Whitman did not answer Bucke's questions. It may be that the matter was further discussed and resolved in letters—now apparently missing—between Bucke and Traubel. On January 6, 1890, Kennedy wrote to Whitman: "Am at [Boston] Transcript office, permanent engagement as proof-reader. Have to read like lightning." Whitman mentions Kennedy's engagement to Bucke in his postal card of January 14, 1890. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 19 | 5 PM | 90. On January 8, 1890, Whitman sent "A Death-Bouquet" to Franklin File of the New York Sun for which he received $10 (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See Prose Works 1892, ed. Floyd Stovall, 2 vols. (1963–1964), in Collected Writings, 671n. It appeared in the Philadelphia Press on February 2, 1890. See Whitman's February 2–3, letter to Bucke. See Bucke's January 17, 1890, letter to Whitman. Dana Estes of Boston invited him on January 14, 1890, to attend a meeting of the Browning Society. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Jan 23 | 6 AM | 90; London | AM Ja 24 | O | Canada. "Old Age's Ship & Crafty Death's" appeared in the February 1890 issue. See Whitman's January 2, 1889, letter to Bucke. William T. Stead wrote to Whitman on January 7, 1890 about his new journal. See Whitman's letter of January 3, 1887 to Henry Norman; see also the poet's letter of August 17, 1887 to William T. Stead. In 1889 Bucke had suggested that Walt Whitman consider going to the Johns Hopkins Hospital. See Whitman's April 27–28, 1889 and May 6, 1889, letters to Bucke. Alys Smith visited the hospital before she wrote on January 4, 1890. On January 25 Bucke praised it "as a palace of medical skill and physical comfort for the sick and helpless," and on January 29 he sent Whitman a note from Dr. William Osler, to whom he had written about hospital accommodations. See Whitman's December 8, 1886 letter to Sylvester Baxter. Mounted in the lower right-hand corner of this letter is a clipping from the Boston Evening Transcript of January 18 describing a series of lectures on American art and literature to be given by Hamlin Garland at the Boston School of Oratory: "The genre and landscape poetry of Whitman." This letter is addressed: Mrs: Mary Whitall Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 23 | 6 AM | 90. This letter from Logan Pearsall Smith is not extant. Whitman's poem "Old Age's Ship & Crafty Death's" appeared in the February 1890 issue of the Century. This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | Care Walter Scott 24 Warwick Lane | Paternoster Row | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 23 | 6 AM | 90; London E.C. | C | Fe 3 90 | AK. This letter originally appeared in The Correspondence of Walt Whitman, Volume 5: 1890–1892. That version was based on a transcript that appeared in Pall Mall Gazette on February 8, 1890, and that Whitman used in Good-bye My Fancy (1890). The current transcription, which appeared The Correspondence, Volume 6: A Supplement with a Composite Index, is based on the manuscript letter in The Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, New York Public Library. The transcription of the manuscript letter reinstates Whitman's salute as well as the first line. It also reveals that the line stating "America continues generally busy enough..." was changed to "America continues—is generally busy enough..." in the Pall Mall Gazette. The slips Whitman is referring to are most likely copies of "Old Age's Ship & Crafty Death's," which appeared in the February 1890 issue of the Century magazine. The poet sent "slips" to Mary Smith Costelloe, as well as her brother and father. See his January 22, 1890, letter to her. Edith Rhys, who was involved in music and in British theatre as an actor and director (she directed and acted in the production of one of Ernest Rhys's plays, The Masque of the Grail, in 1908 at the Court Theatre), was Ernest Rhys's sister. She visited Whitman in June of 1887; Whitman briefly describes the visit in his letter to Ernest Rhys of June 26, 1887. She began study at the London Academy of Music the following year. See also Rhys's letters to Whitman of March 2, 1889, and of January 3, 1888. See Charles Sempers' letter to Whitman of March 4, 1888. Chickering Hall was a Boston concert hall opened in 1883 and the site of a number of lectures by well-known writers, including Matthew Arnold and George Washington Cable. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | Ja 25 | 90 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Jan | 27 | 12M | 1890 | Rec'd. On April 24 Bucke wrote of "the John Hopkins Hospital. Walt, if I were in your fix I would think seriously of going there for the next six months or a year . . . as a private patient. . . . I do not suppose the expence would be much more than the present subsidy but if it is we can easily get more money." See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, April 26, 1889. Bucke is referring to "Old Age's Ship & Crafty Death's," which appeared in the February issue of the Century. Bucke is referring to John Addington Symonds' letter of December 9, 1889. The Review of Reviews was a magazine begun by the reform journalist William Thomas Stead (1849–1912) in 1890 and published in Great Britain. It contained reviews and excerpts from other magazines and journals, as well as original pieces, many written by Stead himself. Mary Costelloe on March 14, 1890, had sent Whitman a copy from England. The Review of Reviews was a magazine begun by the reform journalist William Thomas Stead (1849–1912) in 1890 and published in Great Britain. It contained reviews and excerpts from other magazines and journals, as well as original pieces, many written by Stead himself. The Review of Reviews was a magazine begun by the reform journalist William Thomas Stead (1849–1912) in 1890 and published in Great Britain. It contained reviews and excerpts from other magazines and journals, as well as original pieces, many written by Stead himself. Johnston often sent copies of the magazine to Whitman. "Old Age's Ship & Crafty Death's" appeared in the February 1890 issue of the Century. The book was sent to J. V. Blake, who paid $6.40 (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | Ja 29 | 90 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Jan | 31 | 1 PM | 1890 | Rec'd. On April 24, 1890, Bucke wrote of "the John Hopkins Hospital. Walt, if I were in your fix I would think seriously of going there for the next six months or a year . . . as a private patient. . . . I do not suppose the expence would be much more than the present subsidy but if it is we can easily get more money." See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, April 26, 1889. Because of a lack of materials, especially the portions of Traubel still in MS, it is not possible to determine what Whitman thought of Bucke's hospital scheme. On 6 March 1890, Bucke wrote Traubel: "I am quite content to let the hospital matter rest for the present and I think all you say on the subject very reasonable" (Feinberg). Since Whitman never went to the hospital it would seem that he rejected the idea, although it was he who proposed it to Bucke. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 31(?) | 4 30 PM | 90. "Old Age's Ship & Crafty Death's" appeared in the February 1890 issue of the Century. On January 26, 1890, Whitman sent to Melville Philips, of the Philadelphia Press, "Osceola" (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), which was printed in Munyon's Illustrated World in April; see William Sloane Kennedy, The Fight of a Book for the World (1926), 271. Philips and two photographers visited the poet on January 29 and "'took me' in my room—(bo't two big books)" (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman did not like the photograph; see his February 22, 1890, letter to Melville Philips. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 3 | 8 PM | 90; Philadelphia, PA | FEB | 3 | 9PM | 1890 | Transit; London | PM | Feb 5 | 90 | Canada. On February 3, 1890, he sent "The Commonplace" (poem) and "The Human Voice" (prose) as well as a paragraph "ab't common school teachers" to Munyon's Illustrated World—"$20 due me." "The Commonplace" appeared in that magazine in manuscript facsimile in March, 1891, and "The Human Voice" (later entitled "The Perfect Human Voice") in October, 1890; see William Sloane Kennedy, The Fight of a Book for the World (1926), 271. "Unknown Names" became "A Twilight Song" when it was accepted on February 26, 1890 by Century, which printed it in May and paid Walt Whitman $25 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). "A Death-Bouquet" became the last section of Good-Bye My Fancy, which was later reprinted in Complete Prose Works (1892). Though Whitman notes its appearance in the Philadelphia Press in this letter, Floyd Stovall claims not to have found it there in his edition of the Prose Works 1892. See The Collected Writings of Walt Whitman: Prose Works 1892. Volume II, Collect and Other Prose, ed. Floyd Stovall (New York: New York University Press, 1964), 671n. "A Christmas Greeting," beginning with the line "Welcome, Brazilian brother—thy ample place is ready," eventually appeared in Goodbye My Fancy (1891). See also Whitman's November 19, 1889, letter to Bucke, where the poet informs his correspondent that he has sent out a "welcome sonnet to Brazil." Jacques Reich (1852–1923) sent "proofs of my drawings" on February 12, 1890. This dated drawing is the frontispiece of Volume 5 of The Correspondence of Walt Whitman, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller (New York, NY: New York University Press, 1969). Reich's etching, based upon Thomas Eakins's photograph, appears as the frontispiece to Volume I of The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902), 10 vols. Whitman is referring to Kennedy's letter of December 27, 1889. John G. Nicolay and John Hay, both personal secretaries to Lincoln during the Civil War, co-authored the ten-volume Abraham Lincoln: A History (1890); some of the work was serialized in The Century Magazine beginning in 1886. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb | 3 | 9AM | 1890 | Rec'd. Kennedy may be referring to Whitman's letter of January 27, 1890. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | FE 5 | 90 | Canada; NY | 2-6-90 | 9AM | [illegible]; Camden, N.J. | Feb | 6 | 3PM | 1890 | Rec'd. "Old Age's Ship & Crafty Death's" appeared in the February 1890 issue of the Century. James C. Duffield (d. 1920) was president of the City Gas Company, London, Ontario. With his brother, William E. Duffield, he founded what was originally called the London Gas Light Company in 1879 and remained in charge of the company into the twentieth century. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Feb (?) | 6 AM | 90. Whitman is likely referring to Bucke's letter of February 4, 1890. Whitman is referring to the poem "Shakspere-Bacon's Cipher," which appeared in the October 4, 1887, issue of The Cosmopolitan. He also refers to a corrected proof of "Old Age's Ship & Crafty Death's," which appeared in the February 1890 issue of the Century. See Whitman's September 3, 1887, letter to Samuel Sidney ("S.S.") McClure. "A Death-Bouquet" became the last section of Good-Bye My Fancy, which was later reprinted in Complete Prose Works (1892). On February 10, 1890 Whitman noted the receipt of £5 from Brown (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See also Whitman's November 19, 1887, letter to Brown. Leonard M. Brown (c. 1857–1928), a young English schoolteacher and friend of Herbert Gilchrist, came to America in May, 1887. On March 31, 1887 Gilchrist wrote to Whitman: "he is an uncommonly good fellow, quiet earnest serious soul and very practical, full of solid worth, whose knowledge and attainments are sure to be valued in America. His father is a clergyman, and this son of his reads Leaves of Grass silently & unobserved by the sect of his orthodox family." An entry in Whitman's Commonplace Book on August 29 reads: "Leonard Morgan Brown goes back to Croton-on-Hudson—has been here ab't a week" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See also Whitman's letter to Leonard Brown of November 19, 1887 and his letter to Herbert Gilchrist of December 12, 1886, note 2. Little is known about Theresa B. H. Brown. She introduces herself to Whitman in this letter as a "teacher" and the widow of a former "southern soldier." Whitman published an extensive autobiographical note in the March 1891 issue of Lippincott's Magazine entitled "Some Personal and Old-Age Memoranda." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | Mickel St | N.J. It is postmarked: Peoria, ILL | Feb 3 | 6 PM | 90; Camden, N.J. | Feb | 10 | 10 AM | 1890 | Rec'd. The interview to which Morse refers has not been located, but the passages alluded to, including the "old varmint" story, appear in a similar form in "My Summer with Walt Whitman, 1887," in Horace Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas B. Harned, eds., In Re Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), 367–392. Morse is probably referring to Thomas Brackett Reed (1839–1902), who was Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1889–1891. Morse is referring to Traubel's Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1889). The volume consisted of the notes and addresses that were delivered at Whitman's seventieth birthday celebration on May 31, 1889 in Camden, which were collected and edited by Traubel. The book also included a photo of Sidney Morse's 1887 clay bust of Whitman as the frontispiece. See Whitman's November 4, 1889, letter to the Canadian physician and psychiatrist Richard Maurice Bucke, where he mentions submitting "Old Age Echoes." Knowles returned the copy on February 21, 1890. The cluster of poems was eventually published in the March 1891 issue of Lippincott's Magazine. Morse is referring to the song "All Quiet along the Potomac Tonight." The lyrics come from a poem titled "The Picket Guard" by Ethel Lynn Beers, which was first published in Harper's Weekly on November 30, 1861. The poem was set to music two years later by the newspaperman and musician John Hill Hewitt. The Ethical movement is a late nineteenth-century social and educational movement often traced to Felix Adler (1851–1933); it was a humanist movement that developed religious trappings. Chapters of the Society for Ethical Culture were begun in cities across the U.S. in the 1880s, including Chicago, where William Salter (1853–1931), a philosophy lecturer at the University of Chicago and a close associate of Adler, founded the Ethical Culture Society of Chicago and often lectured there. This letter is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 10 | 8 PM | 90. Whitman is probably referring to Kennedy's postal card of February 3, 1890. This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Mary Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 10 | 8 PM | 90; Philadelphia, Pa. | Feb 10 | 11 PM | Paid. In her letter of February 3, 1890, Costelloe had said: "I cannot now imagine what life would be like with no interest in politics!"; she spoke of the spread of socialism and of a meeting of the Westminster Women's Liberal Association at which she was to preside (Smith Alumnae Quarterly [February, 1958], 88). On February 15, Whitman forwarded her letter to Bucke, who commented two days later (on February 17, 1889): "I guess Mr & Mrs Costelloe (and friends) are going to reform that old world over there! They will have a whack at it any way and perhaps the trying to reform it is as good as the actual reforming would be!" "Old Age's Ship & Crafty Death's" appeared in the February 1890 issue of the Century. The sender's address and the date appear at the bottom of the leaf. The letter has been canceled with a vertical line. Jacques Reich (1852–1923) was a portrait etcher from Hungary. He studied at the National Academy of Design in New York and at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts; he would later establish a studio in New York. He also worked for the United States Mint. Reich made the drawing of Abraham Lincoln that appeared on the tickets for Whitman's Lincoln Lecture in Madison Square Theatre in New York in 1887. He visited Whitman late in the poet's life and made what is believed to be the last drawing of Whitman done in the poet's lifetime, dated "Feb. 3 '90." For a reproduction of Reich's drawing of Whitman, see Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., Selected Letters of Walt Whitman (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1990), 273. Whitman sent, via Reich, a copy of his 1889 "pocket book" edition of Leaves of Grass to the renowned American historian and diplomat George Bancroft (1800–1891), who then lived in Washington DC. For Whitman's memories of having seen Bancroft when both lived in DC, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden>, Wednesday, July 18, 1888. See Whitman's daybook for February 3, 1890, for his note that he "sent pk't-b'k L of G. to Bancroft Wash'n" and noted "(rec'd)" when he got Reich's confirmation letter (William White, ed., Daybooks and Notebooks [New York: New York University Press, 1978], 547). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Perryville | Feb | 13 | 1890 | MD; [illegible]. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Camden | #328 Mickel St | N.J. It is postmarked: [illegible]an City | [illegible] | 14 | [illegible] | Train; Camden, N.J. | Feb | 15 | 4 PM | 1890 | Rec'd. Rush is referring to Whitman's first and only western excursion between September 10, 1879–January 5, 1880. See Walter H. Eitner, Walt Whitman's Western Jaunt (Lawrence: The Regents Press of Kansas, 1981). Rush was imprisoned in Bucks Country, Pennsylvania. See William Ingram's letter of August 10, 1888. Heyde may have intended to write: "Han might encourage them to come to Burlington, and stay with her some time." This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 15 | 3 PM | 90; NY | 2-15-90 | 12PM | [illegible] | London | AM | FE 17 | 90 | Canada. According to Bucke's February 17, 1890, response to this letter, Whitman included two enclosures. One is likely the postal card from Ellen O'Connor, dated February 13, 1890; the other, a letter from Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe, may not be extant. Whitman's poem "A Twilight Song" was published in the May 1890 issue of Century. Matilda Gurd was Richard Maurice Bucke's sister. She was also the wife of William Gurd, the co-inventor of the gas and fluid meter that Bucke regularly mentions in his letters to Whitman from this period. George Wescott Stafford was born on January 30, the second child of Harry and Eva. See Charles L. Stafford, The Stafford Family (n.d.), 17. Chalkley LeConey of Merchantville, New Jersey was tried for the brutal murder of his niece Anna LeConey; the trial, a huge media event, was held in Camden, and he was acquitted on March 3, 1890. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | FE 17 | 90 | Canada; Received | Feb | 18 | 1130AM | 1890 | [illegible]; Camden, N.J. | Feb | 18 | 3PM | 1890 | Rec'd.Asolando (1889) is collection of Browning's last poems. Bucke had long been a reader of Browning, and at one time he had even thought of writing on the poet. Bucke had acquired The Ring and the Book (1868–69) as it came out in parts. On February 19, 1869, he wrote Harry Buxton Forman:
"I have been so excessively busy this year . . . that I have not yet read Browning's new poem, that is the parts of it that I have viz. I. & II. and I do not think I shall read it at all now except an occasional dip into it until I get the rest of it—I know from what I have seen of it that it is a great work" (For this letter, see the collection at the D. B. Weldon Library, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario). Gradually, Bucke became involved in the work (see letters to H.B. Forman of May 16, 1869 and April 1–13, 1870), and on August 9, 1870, he wrote Harry Buxton Forman: "I shall probably have a go at the 'Ring and Book.' Also shall perhaps find time to elaborate my theory as to the guilt of Pamphilia of which I am firmly persuaded. Mind you, in speaking of this matter I take for granted that everything that Browning says about her is the exact truth and that this is all we do or can know about her. Browning himself, according to my hypothesis, may or may not think her guilty. He is merely a faithful reporter of the evidence in the case and can only have an opinion about it just like anybody else. I consider it a mighty pretty subject for an essay and feel greatly tempted at times to try and get up something rather effective on the subject" (For this letter, see the collection at the D. B. Weldon Library, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario).
Bucke is referring to Bret Harte's "Tennessee's Partner" (1869), a tale of California miners, known in the story simply as "Tennessee" and "Tennessee's Partner," who say at one point, "It's a hot night. I disremember any sich weather before on the Bar." Bucke may have come across this expression in his own mining days in California. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | FE 17 | 90 | Canada; Camden | Feb | 19 | 1 PM | 1890 | Rec'd. See Whitman's February 15 letter to Bucke. On 3 February 1890, Mary Costelloe wrote Whitman: "I cannot now imagine what life would be like with no interest in politics!" Both she and her husband, Benjamin Francis Conn Costelloe, were involved in such political and social movements as Home Rule for Ireland and the various activities of the Fabians. According to Parker, "Mary was one of several energetic young American women who were then undertaking, to borrow only the title of a book by Henry James, the Siege of London." See Robert Allerton Parker, The Transatlantic Smiths (New York: random House, 1959), 54–65, 58. See Whitman's January 22, 1890, letter to Costelloe. Rukhmabai (1864–1955) was an Indian woman who was prosecuted in Bombay in 1884 for refusing to live with a man to whom she had been married when she was eleven and he was nineteen. The case was widely publicized and became a rallying point for British women's rights activists, who brought Rukhmabai to London, where she entered the London School of Medicine for Women and became a doctor in 1894. See Antoinette Burton, "From Child Bride to 'Hindoo Lady': Rukhmabai and the Debate on Sexual Respectability in Imperial Britain," American Historical Review 103 (October 1998), 1119–1146. This letter is addressed: To Walt Whitman Eq | Camden | New Jersey | United States of | America—. It is postmarked: London S.W. | [illegible]2 | FE 21 | 90; New York | Mar | 2; Camden, N.J. | Mar | 3 | 9 AM | 18[illegible] | Rec'd; Paid | F | All. Knowles has initialled the lower left corner of this side of the envelope. The remainder of the letter, including the signature, is written in the upper left corner of this leaf. Whitman's "Old Age Echoes," a series of four short poems, appeared in Lippincott's Magazine in March 1891 and were reprinted in Goodbye My Fancy (1891). The text of this letter has been cancelled with a diagonal line from the upper left to the lower right of the leaf. Just above the date, a rectangular portion of the letter has been removed, possibly for the purpose of saving a name or address. On February 3 Whitman sent "The Commonplace" and "The Human Voice" (prose) as well as a paragraph "ab't common school teachers" to Munyon's Illustrated World—"$20 due me" (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839-1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The poem appeared in that magazine in manuscript facsimile in March, 1891, and "The Human Voice" (later entitled "The Perfect Human Voice") in October, 1890. "Walt Whitman's Life" appeared in Munyon's Illustrated World in April. J. M. Munyon established Munyon's Illustrated World in 1884; the magazine ceased publication in 1894. Whitman mentions J. M. Munyon in his notebooks. Melville Phillips was an editor at Munyon's Illustrated World and visited Whitman in Camden to request that Whitman contribute work to the journal. He also reviewed November Boughs in the Philadelphia Press, where he served as literary editor, in 1888. After the word "or," Burroughs continued the letter vertically in the left margin. Whitman enclosed this letter with his February 28–March 1, 1890, letter to the Canadian physician and psychiatrist Richard Maurice Bucke. Emily Ingram was the daughter of William Ingram, a Quaker who ran a Philadelphia tea store and was a friend of Whitman's. Emily graduated from Penn Medical University and provided care at prisons in the region. This postal card is addressed: Dr Emily J Ingram | Telford Penn:. It is postmarked: Camden | Mar 20 | 8 PM | 90. This letter is addressed: Mrs: Mary Whitall Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 2 | 5 PM | (?) | 90; Paid | Liverpool | US Packet | (?) MR 90 | 5(?) Whitman wrote this postscript above the dateline. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Mar 1 | 8 PM | 90. The subtitle of "A Twilight Song" in the Century was "For unknown buried soldiers, North and South." Whitman is referring to Burroughs's letter of February 27, 1890, which he enclosed with this letter to Bucke. On February 4, 1890, Bucke wrote that the gas and fluid meter might be "worth millions of dollars." According to Bucke's reply on March 6, 1890, the poet also enclosed an advertisement: "So you have become immortal in a cigar advertisement!! Well done! I always thought you would come to something if you stuck to your business long enough!" Since the Walt Whitman Archive does not currently have images of Bucke's letter, we have chosen not to display images of the enclosure without those of the actual letter within which it was enclosed. For images of the enclosure, see the letter from Burroughs to Whitman of February 27, 1890. See Whitman's February 28–March 1, 1890, letter to Bucke. The poet enclosed Burroughs's letter of February 27. Whitman apparently had sent Bucke an advertisement for cigars that used Whitman's image. See William White, "Walt Whitman Cigars," Walt Whitman Review 16 (September 1970), 96. In his February 28–March 1, 1890, letter to Bucke, Whitman mentioned that "A Twilight Song" was going to appear in the May issue of Century. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 6 | 8 PM | 90. See Whitman's February 9, 1890, letter to James Knowles, editor of Nineteenth Century, in which he reminds Knowles that he has sent the poem "Old Age's Echoes" and was still awaiting a reply. See also Knowles's February 21, 1890, letter in response. This "Annex" would become Good-bye My Fancy (1891). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey—. In the lower left corner, Howard has written: "(The Poet)." Howard provided the following return address: Albert Waldo Howard | 25—5th—St—North—. The letter is postmarked: Minneapolis, Minn | Mar 12 | 11 PM | 90; Camden, N.J. | Mar | 15 | 8AM | 1890 | Rec'd. Albert Waldo Howard (dates unknown, pseudonym, M. Auburré Hovorrè) was the author of a utopian novel, The Milltillionaire (Boston: A. Howard, ca. 1895). Howard was partially deaf and published two pamphlets implying that he was the reincarnation of the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven. In the late 1880s, he was living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, before moving east to Boston and New York City. The August 16, 1889, issue of the Minneapolis Star Tribune describes Howard as "an intelligent semi-mute who is looking for employment at copying, drawing, bookkeeping, teaching music or instructing private deaf pupils" (5). When he left the city in 1890, the newspaper's farewell message called him a "student of human nature" who "expects some day to give the world a volume of poetical and philosophical writings" (Star Tribune [June 8 1890], 5). For more information, see Howard P. Segal, Technological Utopianism in American Culture (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2005), 49–50. Hall is referring to an article he wrote entitled "Walt Whitman," which was published in the December 1888 issue of The Monthly Magazine. Hall included a copy of the article as an enclosure with this letter, but it does not seem to be extant. Kennedy is referring to Whitman's postal card of May 10, 1889. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | MR 17 | 90 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Mar | 18 | 1 PM | 1890 | Rec'd. See "A Riddle Song" in the "From Noon To Starry Night" cluster of Leaves of Grass (1881–82). Bucke wrote this postscript in red ink in the upper-left corner of the recto. Browning's "Paracelsus" is a five-part epic poem about a sixteenth-century physicist. The poem was published in 1835, and it became a major and celebrated work. Harry Fritzinger, Warren's brother. Harry Fritzinger (about 1866–?) was the brother of Warren Fritzinger, who would serve as Whitman's nurse beginning in October 1889. Harry worked as an office boy in Camden when he was fourteen. He also worked as a sailor. Later, he became a railroad conductor. Mary Davis, Whitman's housekeeper, took care of both Harry and Warren after the death of their father, the sea captain Henry W. Fritzinger. Davis had looked after Capt. Fritzinger, who went blind, before she started to perform the same housekeeping services for Whitman. Harry married Rebecca Heisler on September 15, 1890. A "piece by young Mr Cate in the 'Morning News'—I sent copies to many friends" (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839-1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman, ed. Horace Traubel (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1889). See Whitman's March 23, 1890, letter to Bucke. See Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe's March 14, 1890, letter to Whitman. See Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, Volume III: 1876–1885, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller (New York: New York University Press, 1964), 2–9. In an attempt to find suitable work, Stafford had worked as a turnkey at the London Asylum from late November 1883 to March 8, 1884. Stafford did not enjoy the work at the Asylum, and on January 12, 1884 wrote to his father: "The rules of the Asylum are absurdly strict and of a military form." See Whitman' s December 8, [1883?], letter to Harry Stafford; see the first note in particular. See also Whitman's March 13, 1884, letter to George and Susan Stafford; see note three of this letter in particular. It had been Whitman's custom in the past years to deliver a lecture on Lincoln on or about April 15, the day of Lincoln's assassination. See Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1955), 483–484, 491–492, 524, and 525. See also Whitman's March 23, 1890, letter to Bucke. Bucke is referring to his son Edward Pardee Bucke (1875–1913). Harry Stafford suffered from a number of health problems. Whitman had written to his former nurse Ed Wilkins on March 20, 1890, that Stafford was "quite sick—has fits of being out of his mind." Bucke would have been particularly interested in Stafford, who had worked as a turnkey at the London Asylum from late November 1883 to March 8, 1884 This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, Esq. | Camden | N.J. The return address is: The Illustrated American, | Bible House, Astor Place, N.Y. | 142 Dearborn St., Chicago. It is postmarked: New York | Apr 2 | 630PM | D | 90; Camden, N.J. | Apr | [illegible] | 6[illegible] | 9[illegible] | [illegible]. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 24 | 8 PM | 90; London | AM | MR 25 | 90 | Canada; [illegible]nada | AM | MR 25 | 90. This letter from Edward Wilkins is not extant. See Whitman's March 20, 1890 response. On March 16, 1890, Bucke informed Whitman that Gurd and he were now selling stock in a company they were forming to manufacture and sell the meter. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Apr (?) | 8 PM | 90. Stead's magazine was The Review of Reviews. The Universal Review reprinted Gabriel Sarrazin's essay "Poètes modernes de l'Amérique—Walt Whitman" in French. See The Universal Review 6 (1890): 247–269 Bucke had written to Whitman on March 27, 1890; if he wrote a letter on March 30, 1890, it may not survive. Whitman's poem "A Twilight Song" was published in the Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine in May 1890. This letter is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 1 | 8 PM | 90. On March 31, 1890, Kennedy wrote: "The productions of Homer & Milton seem quite boyish in comparison with the profound cosmic epic L. of G." "A Twilight Song" was accepted on February 26 by Century, which printed it in May and paid Walt Whitman $25 (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camde[illegible] | Apr 1 | 8PM | 90; [illegible] | Apr | 2 | 1890 | N.J. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 6 | 5 PM | 90. Until letters from Bucke between March 27 and April 14 surface, the allusion will remain a mystery. Giordano Bruno: Philosopher and Martyr (1890) consisted of two speeches before the Philadelphia Contemporary Club by Daniel G. Brinton (1837–1899), a pioneer in the study of anthropology and a professor of linguistics and archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania, and by Thomas Davidson (1840–1900), a Scottish philosopher and author. It included a prefatory note by Whitman dated February 24, 1890 (see The Collected Writings of Walt Whitman: Prose Works 1892, ed. by Floyd Stovall, 2 vols. [1963–1964], 2:676–677). In his essay Brinton links the poet with Bruno in his rejection of the "Christian notion of sin as a positive entity" (34). On April 4, 1890, Whitman sent copies of the book to John Addington Symonds, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Gabriel Sarrazin, T. H. Rolleston, and W. M. Rossetti (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See also Whitman's April 11, 1890, letter to Bucke. After the poet presented him with a copy of Complete Poems & Prose, Brinton expressed his thanks effusively on April 12, 1890. Whitman records in his daybook for April 3 1890, that he "presented Dr Brinton with big book" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman often referred to his Complete Poems and Prose, published in 1888, as the "big book." This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Philadelphia, Pa. | Apr 7 | 8 PM | 90. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Philadelphia, (?) | Apr 8 | (?) | 90. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 10 | 6 AM | 90; N.Y. | 4-10-90 | 10 30 AM | (?). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 10 | 8 PM | 90. Horace Howard Furness (1833–1912) was the distinguished editor of the Variorum Shakespeare, and was one of the honorary pallbearers at Whitman's funeral. See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, January 12, 1889. Founded in 1812, the State Bank of Camden became the National State Bank of Camden in 1865. It was the city's oldest bank (United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, Docmentation Forms, Recieved July 1990). Horace Howard Furness (1833–1912) was the distinguished editor of the Variorum Shakespeare, and was one of the honorary pallbearers at Whitman's funeral. See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, January 12, 1889. On April 27, 1890, Whitman sent Furness a copy of "O Captain! My Captain!" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See also Whitman's April 30, 1890, letter to Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell, a physician specializing in nervous disorders. Furness was somewhat snide in a letter he wrote to English poet Edmund Gosse on March 29, 1892, three days after the poet's death: "Let us hope that he is now more favourably situated than erstwhile for giving a 'yawp over the roofs of the world.' I should be sorry to think that the yawp would reverberate through our cellars. I'm not sure that the very best of Walt was not his Jovian looks. Latterly when I used to see him in his room, with that majestic avalanche of a beard flowing in snowy luxuriousness over his broad chest, it was not hard to convert his blue wrapper into blue sky and the vast & innumerable newspapers piled knee deep around him in[to] the clouds of Olympus. And, oh, the lot of funny stories about him, gossip pure & simple but nourishing, which 'twould take too long to write & must be reserved for the pleasant time when you & I can ha'e a crack thegither." Reverend Doctor William Henry Furness (1802–1896) was a close friend of Ralph Waldo Emerson, a Unitarian minister at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, and a prominent and committed abolitionist. This postal card is addressed: R Pearsall Smith | 1305 Arch Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 11 | 6 PM | 88. Whitman mentions this bust of Elias Hicks in his April 18 letter to William Sloane Kennedy and Richard Maurice Bucke. The bust was by Sidney H. Morse, who also made busts of Whitman. Morse, a self-taught sculptor, made four plaster busts of Whitman, a bust of the Quaker minister Elias Hicks, and a statue of President Grover Cleveland. Morse is likely referring to similar works, including likenesses of the poet Thomas Carlyle and the American essayist and lecturer Ralph Waldo Emerson, that were purchased by the woman who also hired him to provide parlor entertainments in her home. Unity was a weekly newspaper published by the Western Unitarian Conference. "Broad brims" was a colloquial term for Quakers, referring to the style of hats the Quaker men typically wore. Morse spent a great deal of time in Richmond, Indiana, a thriving Quaker community, and did a bust of Elias Hicks while living there. His mother was from Richmond, and Morse is buried there. Burroughs is probably referring to Whitman's letter of January 7, 1888. "Abagail" was Burroughs's sister. Whitman noted the visit in his letter of January 7, 1888. This letter is addressed: Wm Sloane Kennedy | Belmont | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan (?) | 6 PM | 88. This postal card is not extant. The address on this letter was crossed out with a diagonal line. Above it Whitman wrote: "send to T B Harned." The letter was originally addressed by Sidney H. Morse: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle st. | Camden.| New Jersey. It is postmarked: Richmond [illegible] | Feb 23 | 6 [illegible] AM | [illegible]88; Camden, N.J. | Feb | 24 | 7 AM | 88 | Rec'd. Whitman's transcription of Morse's letter has been pasted onto the letter bearing the preceding text. The verso of Whitman's transcribed Morse letter contains an inscription, partially obscured: Camden | N.J. This inscription is likely part of a letter that Whitman had previously received from an unknown correspondent. See Whitman's January 27 letter to Colles. Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh (1847–1927) was an Irish businessman, serving as the chairman of the Guinness Company and running the Dublin brewery for more than twenty years. He was also well-known as a philanthropist and had a lifelong interest in collecting fine art. At the time of Colles' letter, the Lord Chancellor of Ireland was highest judicial official, and Edward Gibson, 1st Baron Ashbourne (1837–1913) held the position from 1886–1892. Colles is referring to the Roman senator Lucius Junius Gallio Annaeanus, mentioned in the Book of Acts as being indifferent to charges that Jews brought against the Apostle Paul: "Gallio cared for none of these things." This letter is a draft. It is endorsed: "bill to Herald—$100 | sent March 1, '88 | Mr Browning (Phila. representative Herald) here March 7 '88." Apparently, the editors of the New York Herald sent a note to Whitman on February 19, 1888, requesting a bill for his recent contributions. This draft represents his first effort. A finalized list was sent later in the day, and the Philadelphia representative of the Herald brought Whitman his payment on March 7. The poem "After the Dazzle of Day" was published in the New York Herald on February 3, 1888. The poem "Halcyon Days" was published in the Herald on January 29, 1888. The poem "To Those Who've Fail'd" was published in the Herald on January 27, 1888. The poem "America" was published in the Herald on February 11, 1888. The poem "Abraham Lincoln, Born Feb. 12, 1809" was published in the Herald on February 12, 1888. The poem "Soon Shall Winter's Foil Be Here" was published in the Herald on February 21, 1888. The poem "The Dismantled Ship" was published in the Herald on February 23, 1888. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | MR [illegible] | 88 | Canada; New York | Mar 8 | 9 30 AM | [illegible]8 | [illegible]; Camden, N.J. | Mar | [illegible] | 5 PM | [illegible] | Rec'd. Whitman cut the sides of the envelope and used the inside as a sheet of paper on which he drafted lines that would become part of his poem "The Wallabout Martyrs," the same poem that he drafted on the versos of Bucke's letter. Whitman noted that he sent the poem to the New York Herald on March 11 at the bottom of his draft. "The Wallabout Martyrs" was published in the New York Herald on March 16, 1888. At some point, Bucke's closing and the signature on his letter were cut away. Bucke did, however, include a postscript on the verso of his letter, which he signed with his initials. The postscript, which is struck through, can be found in the right margin of the top half of Whitman's draft of "The Wallabout Martyrs," on the verso of Bucke's letter. For more information on Whitman's numerous publications here, see Susan Belasco, "Lippincott's Magazine (2008)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman cut Bucke's letter in half and used the two resulting versos to draft "The Wallabout Martyrs." While writing the poem, the poet reversed the two halves of Bucke's letter. At some point, the end of the letter was cut away. Bucke is referring to Whitman's postal card of March 3, 1888.. Jessie's closing salute and signature appear in the upper-left corner of the first page of the letter. This letter has been crossed out with a vertical line in black ink. See Whitman's May 18, 1888, postal card to O'Connor. Bucke had come to Camden on June 3, 1888. See Whitman's June 14, 1888, letter to O'Connor. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 16 | 8 PM | 88. Dr. William Osler (1849-1919), at that time a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. His reminiscences of Whitman appear in Harvey Cushing's The Life of Sir William Osler (1926), I: 264-266. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq, | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: London S.W. | 10 | Jun | 88; New York | Jun | 8[illegible]; Paid | A | [illegible]; Camden N.[illegible] | Ju[illegible] 2[illegible] | 6 AM | 88 | Rec'd. The postscript, added by Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe, appears in the upper-left corner of the first page of the letter. Smith may be referring to Rhys's sister Edith. Edwin Haviland Miller speculates that the "Edith" Whitman refers to in his June 26, 1887, letter to Rhys is Rhys's sister. See especially note 2. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. The return address is: From C.W. Eldridge, | Lawyer, 118 W. First St., | Los Angeles, Cal. | P.O. Box 17[illegible]5. The letter is postmarked: Los Angeles, Ca | Jul 26 | 330 PM | 88; Camden N[illegible] | Aug | 8 | 6[illegible] | [illegible] | [illegible]. The annotation "328 Mickle" is written at the bottom of the envelope. Traubel's letters to Burroughs are published in Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931), 277–280. On July 12, 1888, Burroughs tried to reconcile himself in his journal to the possibility of Whitman's death: "How life will seem to me with Whitman gone, I cannot imagine. He is my larger, greater, earlier self. No man alive seems quite so near to me" (280). This letter is addressed: James Hunter | Vienna | Virginia. In her article "I Knew Walt Whitman," James Hunter's daughter Sarah Hunter Walker (1864–1933) recorded her contacts with the poet after her arrival in the United States from Scotland. According to Walker, her father and Whitman discussed "questions of philosophy, religion, biology and the humanities" (See her essay in 1980: Leaves of Grass at 125: Eight essays, ed. William White [Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1980], 72). James Hunter (1818–1894) was a Scottish immigrant to Virginia in the 1880s, where he farmed before moving to the Philadelphia area to work in publishing and edit a New Jersey weekly newspaper. He and his daughter Susan (1864–1933) visited the poet in Camden numerous times. See Susan Hunter Walker, "I Knew Walt Whitman," in William White, ed., 1980: Leaves of Grass at 125 (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1980), 71–74. Whitman was being cared for by several doctors at this time. Canadian physician and psychiatrist Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1902) had visited Whitman earlier in June, and in 1885 he had introduced Whitman to Sir William Osler (1849–1919), another Canadian physician and one of the four founding staff members of Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he served as the first Chief of Medicine. Osler also visited Whitman in June. For more on these doctors, see Howard Nelson, "Bucke, Richard Maurice," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998); and Philip W. Leon, "Osler, Dr. William (1849–1919)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | JY 17 | 88 | Canada. Bucke is referring to Whitman's letter of July 14–15, 1888. See Whitman's letter of July 14–15, 1888. Bucke is referring to his daughter, Ina Matilda Bucke (1877–1968). A note in Traubel's hand in the upper-left corner reads: "all | notes | Sept 5 | 1888." This letter is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Ashland | Camden County | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden | (?) | 6 PM | (?). Susan S. Browning, born November 17, 1886. See Charles L. Stafford, The Stafford Family (n.d.), 17. According to The Commonplace-Book, Mary Davis withdrew $50 from the bank in order to pay Whitman's city tax ($24.47) and culvert tax ($9.62) (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839-1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On September 1, 1888, Klein, a St. Louis lawyer, wrote to William Sloane Kennedy to inquire whether he should write directly to Whitman in order to obtain the 1876 edition of Leaves of Grass. Kennedy forwarded the letter to Whitman, who wrote "ans'd" on Klein's note. See also Whitman's September 17, 1888, letter to Klein. On September 1, 1888, Jacob Klein, a St. Louis lawyer, wrote to Kennedy to inquire whether he should write directly to Whitman in order to obtain the 1876 edition of Leaves of Grass. Kennedy forwarded the letter to Whitman, including it as an enclosure with this letter. Whitman wrote "ans'd" on Klein's note. See also Whitman's letters to Klein of September 10, 1888 and September 17, 1888. In addition to writing "Providence R.I." in the address line, Whitman wrote "Providence" in pen four times at the top of this letter, twice vertically and twice horizontally. Also at the top of the letter, the poet wrote "9th letter." Whitman crossed out "letter of 14th." In the manuscript the postscript appears before the last paragraph and is marked with a bracket and line pointing to the bottom of the leaf. This postscript appears at the top of the first page of the letter. On the verso of this letter, Kennedy has written a letter to Burroughs dated October 25, 1888, as well as a second note, dated October 26, 1888. Both of those letters are transcribed below. Kennedy wrote on October 20, 1888: "Mrs. K. is in Boston at a Symphony Concert and a precious ½ hour for my soul being at my disposal I feel a strong inner impulse to pour out here in the evening solitude, my heart to you in a genuine heart-letter of affection, welling up out of the deeps you long ago touched as no other ever did or can. Dear friend whom I have for so long admired, do you not feel that all is well with you & the great cause of freedom for which you have laid down yr life? I do. I feel somehow that the future is going to be with you, with us. Humanity is sweeping on into the larger light. To me who have drank at all fountains of literature the world over, & climbed the lonely peaks of thought in every land & age, your Leaves of Grass still towers up above everything else in grand aspiration, right philosophy, & the heart-beats of true liberty." Kennedy went on to complain that he was "really ill with hard work—nerves trembling, eye fluttering & above all sleepy." Whitman is referring to Bucke's letter of October 23, 1888. A brief note from William D. O'Connor to Bucke on October 20, 1888 mentioned that "a month ago my right eye closed, and the lid had not yet lifted, spite of battery. So I am practically blind" (University of Pennsylvania). Whitman tells Kennedy and Burroughs that this letter had been enclosed with the letter he received from Bucke on October 23, 1888. See Whitman's letter to the editors of the New York Critic, November 1888. Whitman is referring to his brother, George Washington Whitman, and George's wife Louisa Orr Haslam (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou." Traubel writes: "Changed his cover design at McKay's [at] my suggestion. Instead of 'Walt Whitman's Complete Prose and Poems' above and specified contents below—author's edition, portraits, 1888–9—all that—he is satisfied to have 'Walt Whitman's Complete Works' at the top, 'Poetry and Prose' in centre, 'Author's Edition 1888–9' below" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, November 26, 1888). The date of this note can be further verified by Whitman's November 27, 1888, letter to his binder Frederick Oldach in which he writes: "I will send you the label to put on the backs—I am now having them printed—." Traubel noted: "W's design for the cover was given back to me by Oldach. I keep it among my records" (Monday, November 26, 1888). In response to E.C. Stedman's Poets of America, Edmund Gosse wrote an article, published in the Forum, entitled "Has America Produced a Poet?" On October 19, 1888, The Critic wrote to several well-known writers asking for their opinions in reply. Whitman's letter above is prefaced with the statement: "Walt Whitman's views [as follows] are, naturally, more radical than those of any other contributor to the discussion." See The Collected Writings of Walt Whitman: Prose Works 1892, ed. Floyd Stovall (New York: New York University Press), 675. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: C(?) | Dec 13(?) | 8 PM | 88. Whitman wrote this postscript on the back of the December 13, 1888, letter from Kennedy that Whitman included as an enclosure with this letter. See the letter from Whitman to Kennedy on December 18, 1888. Whitman confirmed Kennedy's suspicions that "Solitude" was not one of the poet's works. See the letter from Whitman to Kennedy on December 18, 1888. He also denied authoring the poem in the postscript of a December 13, 1888, letter to Richard Maurice Bucke. Whitman sent this inquiry from Kennedy as an enclosure in his letter to Bucke. The paper was published as a pamphlet, which Greg enclosed with his letter: Walt Whitman, Man and Poet: a paper delivered before the Society on the 16th October, 1888 (Warrington: Warrington Literary & Philosophical Society, 1888). See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, December 31, 1888. Thomas Tylston Greg (1858–1920) was from a wealthy mill owning family in Styal, Cheshire, England. He worked as a solicitor and collected pottery, which he later donated to the Manchester Art Gallery. He was also the author of the collection of essays Through a Glass Lightly: Confession of a Reluctant Water Drinker (1897). This letter is addressed: Charles E. Shepard | editor Long Islander newspaper | Huntington, Suffolk Co: New York. It is postmarked: Camden NJ Dec 19 88. If Shepard wrote to acknowledge the receipt of Whitman's package, the letter is now lost. See Daybooks and Notebooks, Volume 2, ed. William White (New York: New York University Press, 1978), 479, where the poet lists Shepard as one of only sixteen people to receive Complete Poems & Prose in December 1888. David McKay published Elizabeth Porter Gould's Gems from Walt Whitman in 1889. To Traubel the poet observed: "These gems, extracts, specimens, tid-bits, brilliants, sparkles, chippings—oh, they are all wearisome: they might go with some books: yes, they fit with some books—some books fit with them: but Leaves of Grass is different—yields nothing to the seeker for sensations" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, December 27, 1888). See also Friday, December 28, 1888. Five of Bucke's letters to Whitman (January 8, 1889, January 20, 1889, April 28, 1890, August 24, 1890, and March 6, 1891) were miscatalogued as being from Bucke to Traubel. Edwin Haviland Miller has not listed these letters in his "Calendar of Letters Written to Whitman" (The Collected Writings of Walt Whitman: The Correspondence New York: New York University Press, Volume 4, 428–441; Volume 5, 333–349). See Whitman's January 5–6, 1889 letter to Bucke. See Whitman's December 24, 1888 letter to Bucke. Dick Deadeye is a character in the 1878 comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan; the character is a sailor on the crew of the British warship, and he is both a villain and a hard-eyed realist. Bucke is referring to a lost letter. For Lozynsky's reconstruction see The Letters of Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke to Walt Whitman, ed. Artem Lozynsky (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1977), 98–99. See Whitman's January 5–6, 1889 letter to Bucke. This letter is addressed: Edward Carpenter | Millthorpe | near Chesterfield | England. It is postmarked: (?) | Jan (?) | 8 PM | 89. See Whitman's January 11, 1889, letter to Carpenter. Whitman asked Kennedy to translate Sarrazin's article on January 22, 1889. The poet had an edited, condensed version of Kennedy's translation printed, and he circulated it among his correspondents. See his February 1, 1889, letter to Kennedy, with which Whitman enclosed a proof of this version. Whitman is referring to "Editor's Study," which was published in Harper's New Monthly Magazine in February 1889. The review was unsigned in the magazine. See John Addington Symonds, Essays Speculative and Suggestive, Volume 2 (London, 1890) Horace Traubel records Whitman's first reactions to the new book in Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, January 23, 1889. Also, on January 23, 1889, Whitman wrote to Bucke: "a handsome substantial volume—not that I am overwhelmed or even entirely satisfied by it, but as I had not put my calculations high & was even expecting to be disappointed, I shall accept it." Undoubtedly a copy of Kennedy's translation of Gabriel Sarrazin's "Walt Whitman," which originally appeared in La Nouvelle Revue on 1 May 1888. Kennedy's translation was an abridged version; the complete essay, translated by Harrison S. Morris, appeared in In Re Walt Whitman, ed. Horace L. Traubel et al. (David McKay, 1893), 159-194. Traubel made a transcription of this letter on the day it was written. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, February 15, 1889. In his note, written in blue pencil at the top of the first page of the letter from Burroughs, Whitman is referring to the gift copies of his Complete Poetry & Prose that he was sending to his friends (John Addington Symonds, Rudolf Schmidt, and Edward Carpenter). The only extant letter from Whitman to Burroughs preceding the present letter is the poet's letter of February 8, 1889. O'Connor lived in Washington, D.C. This postal card is addressed: John Burroughs | 314 Mill Street | Po'Keepsie New York. It is postmarked: Poughkeepsie, NY | Feb 23 | (?)AM | 1889; Camden, N.J. | Feb 22 | (?)PM | 89. This letter is addressed: John Burroughs | West Park | Ulster Co: | New York. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 28 | 8 PM | 89. Whitman is referring to Grashalme, the German translation of Leaves of Grass by Karl Knortz and Thomas W. Rolleston. The poet received his copies on February 25, 1889. See his letter of February 25, 1889, to William Sloane Kennedy. Chamberlin is referring to Whitman's Complete Poems & Prose (David McKay, 1888). Traubel records Whitman's first reactions to the new book in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, January 23, 1889. Also, on January 23, Whitman wrote to Bucke: "a handsome substantial volume—not that I am overwhelmed or even entirely satisfied by it, but as I had not put my calculations high & was even expecting to be disappointed, I shall accept it." In this case, "last Sat." does not refer to an extant letter. The extant letter preceding this one is dated February 12. Traubel records the contents and aims of the letter: "The slip was about five inches solid of Herald print. The True Need of Fiction was the subject. Asked in effect: 'Shall we sound the alarm or ring the jubilee' over the prevailing tendencies of fiction?" See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, March 18, 1889. See William S. Walsh's March 17, 1889, letter to Whitman. Apparently, Walsh's request for the poet's assessment of the "prevailing tendencies" in current fiction, co-signed with James Gordon Bennett of the New York Herald, prompted a discussion with Williams about the distinction between mere sensationalism and progressive attitudes toward sex in literature. Traubel records Whitman saying: "No one would more rigidly keep in mind the difference between the simply erotic, the merely lascivious, and what is frank, free, modern, in sexual behaviour, than I would" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, March 20, 1889). See also the letter from Frank H. Williams to Whitman on March 18, 1889. Apparently, Walsh's request for the poet's assessment of the "prevailing tendencies" in current fiction, co-signed with James Gordon Bennett of the New York Herald, prompted a discussion with Williams about the distinction between mere sensationalism and progressive attitudes toward sex in literature. Traubel records Whitman saying: "No one would more rigidly keep in mind the difference between the simply erotic, the merely lascivious, and what is frank, free, modern, in sexual behaviour, than I would" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, March 20, 1889). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle st. | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Jamaica Plains Sta | Apr | 3 | 8PM | 1889 | Mass.; Received 2 | Apr | 4 | 1130AM | 1889 | Phila; Philadelphia, Pa | Apr | 4 | 230PM | 1889 | Transit; [illegible] N.J. | Apr | 4 | [illegible] | [illegible] | [illegible]'D. Mrs. Ada H. Spaulding, of Boston, was an admirer of Whitman who praised him publicly. On March 17, 1889, she visited Whitman in Camden. When she returned to Boston, she wrote to thank him for the visit; on March 28, 1889, she sent Whitman flowers. Hezekiah Butterworth (1839–1905) was assistant editor (1870–1904) of The Youth's Companion, a prominent Boston weekly magazine for children. Garland published two poems in The Youth's Companion in 1889: "A Dakota Wheat Field," which appeared in the July 18 issue, and "By the River," which appeared in the August 15 issue. In 1882, "A Woman Waits for Me" and "To a Common Prostitute" were two of the poems that the Boston district attorney referred to when officially classifying Leaves of Grass as an obscene book. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: Padding[cut away] | Y 2 [cut away] | AP [cut away] | 8[cut away]; New York | 15; Camden N.J. | Apr 1[illegible] | 6 AM | 1889 | Rec'd; [illegible] | G | ALL. Embossed on the envelope and the following pages is: Bristol Lodge, | Warrington Gardens, | Warwick Road. W. Holmes is quoting William Michael Rossetti's introduction to the section of American Poems devoted to Whitman. See W. M. Rossetti, ed., American Poems (London, 1872), 247. The source of this specific quotation is unknown. Holmes is quoting from William Morris's "Song," as it appears in "The Hill of Venus," a late section of William Morris's The Earthly Paradise: A Poem. Published as a "companion volume" to the 1876 Author's edition of Leaves of Grass, Two Rivulets consisted of an "intertwining of the author's characteristic verse, alternated throughout with prose," as one critic from the The New York Daily Tribune wrote on February 19, 1876 (4). For more information on Two Rivulets, see Frances E. Keuling-Stout, "Two Rivulets, Author's Edition [1876]" and "Preface to Two Rivulets [1876]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Two Rivulets was published as a "companion volume" to the 1876 Author's edition of Leaves of Grass. Notable for its experimentations in form, typography, and printing convention, Whitman's two-volume set marks an important departure from previous publications of Leaves. The book, as one critic of the The New York Daily Tribune wrote, consisted of an "intertwining of the author's characteristic verse, alternated throughout with prose." For more information on Two Rivulets, see Frances E. Keuling-Stout, "Two Rivulets, Author's Edition [1876]" and "Preface to Two Rivulets [1876]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Knortz's acknowledgment is not extant. Whitman is referring to his Complete Poems & Prose (David McKay, 1888). Traubel records the poet's first reactions to the new book in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, January 23, 1889. Also, on January 23, Whitman wrote to Bucke: "a handsome substantial volume—not that I am overwhelmed or even entirely satisfied by it, but as I had not put my calculations high & was even expecting to be disappointed, I shall accept it." The date appears after the signature. The card was originally addressed to Mrs. S.E. Kennedy, but her name has been crossed out. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr | 19 | 10 AM | 1889 | Rec'd. Edmund Clarence Stedman and Ellen Mackay Hutchinson, eds., A Library of American Literature from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, 11 vols. (New York: C.L. Webster and Co., 1889–90). Kennedy is referring to Stedman's letter to Whitman of March 27, 1889. Whitman had enclosed Stedman's letter in his April 8, 1889, letter to Kennedy. Whitman had a special pocket-book edition printed in honor of his 70th birthday, May 31, 1889, through special arrangement with Frederick Oldach. Only 300 copies were printed, and Whitman signed the title page of each one. The volume also included the annex Sands at Seventy and his essay A Backward Glance O'er Traveled Roads. See Whitman's May 16, 1889, letter to Oldach. For more information on the book see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). See Knortz's postal card to Whitman of April 14, 1889. Whitman is referring to Sarrazin's book La Renaissance de la Poésie Anglaise, 1798–1889 (Paris: Perrin, 1889). For Whitman's enthusiastic response to the book, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, May 4, 1889; see also Whitman's May 4, 1889, letter to Karl Knortz. The inscribed copy is now in the possession of Sarrazin's son, Bernard; see Walt Whitman Review, 5 (1959): 10. Burroughs, on May 11, 1889, expressed the sentiments of many of O'Connor's friends: "And it is sad to me to think that he has left behind him no work or book that at all expresses the measure of his great powers." On May 8, 1889, Whitman wrote Bucke: "The word from O'C is bad as you can see by the enclosed card—in some respects the worst yet—I am feeling badly depress'd ab't it to-day as you may think." Whitman might have intended to send the postal card from Ellen O'Connor dated April 30, 1889. It is the only extant correspondence from Ellen before she wrote the poet of her husband's death on May 9, 1889. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, May 6, 1889; Tuesday, May 7, 1889; and Saturday, May 11, 1889. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, May 14, 1889. This "P.S." could refer to Kennedy's letter of May 11–12, 1889. If it refers to another letter posted on the 13th and thus received by Whitman on the morning of the 14th in Camden, as this postal card was, then that letter is not extant. The present postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Belmont | May | [illegible]; Camden [illegible] | May | 14 | 10 | Rec'd. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: London | AM | OC 4 | [illegible]O | Canada; N. Y. | 10-2-90 | 12PM | 8; Camden, N.J. | Oct 2 | 3pm | 90. This postal card is addressed: John Burroughs | West Park | Ulster Co: New York. It is postmarked: West Park | May | 18 | 1889 | NY; Camden, N.J. | May 17 | 8 PM | 89. Ellen O'Connor informed Whitman of the death of her husband and Whitman's longtime friend and defender, William Douglas O'Connor, in her letter of May 9, 1889. The poet informed Burroughs in his postal card of May 10, 1889; Burroughs responded the next day in his letter of May 11, 1889. Isabella Ford (1855–1924) was an English feminist, socialist, and writer. Elizabeth (Bessie) Ford was her sister. Both were introduced to Whitman's writings by Edward Carpenter, and they quickly became admirers of the aged poet. The Ford sisters also helped form the Leeds Women's Suffrage Society. In 1875, Isabella Ford met Carpenter, who introduced her to socialism; they joined The Fabian Society in 1883. As yet we have no information on William, Ethel, and Arthur Thompson. This letter is addressed: Edw'd Carpenter | Millthorpe | near Chesterfield | England. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | May 28 | 8 PM | 89. Carpenter sent the birthday gift of $194.95 (£40) on May 18, 1889 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, June 2, 1889). On Carpenter's letter Whitman wrote: "Seems to me one of the leading best missives I ever had—goes to the heart." Traubel included the letter in Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1889), 54. There is no extant letter from Whitman to Carpenter reporting the proceedings of the 70th birthday dinner. For similar letters regarding the dinner, see the poet's June 4, 1889 letter to William Sloane Kennedy and his June 4–5, 1889 letter to Richard Maurice Bucke. See also Whitman's June 2, 1889 letter to Traubel, regarding the published volume of birthday speeches Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1889). The place and date appear at the bottom of this leaf, after the signature. Garland attended Whitman's birthday celebration, which took place at Morgan's Hall in Camden, N.J., on May 31. He gave a brief address on Whitman's themes of "Optimism and Altruism—Hope for the future and Sympathy toward men." Howells did not attend Whitman's birthday celebration. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | JU 3 | 89 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Jun | 4 | 12 M | 1889 | Rec'd. For Whitman's thoughts about his 70th birthday dinner, see his June 4, 1889, letter to William Sloane Kennedy and his June 4–5, 1889, letter to Bucke. See also Whitman's June 2, 1889, letter to Traubel, regarding the published volume of birthday speeches Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1889). In his pamphlet Mr. Donnelly's Reviewers (Chicago: Belford, Clarke & Co., 1889), O'Connor attempted to defend Ignatius Donnelly's Baconian theories, as found in The Great Crytogram (1887). In his pamphlet Mr. Donnelly's Reviewers (Chicago: Belford, Clarke & Co., 1889), William D. O'Connor attempted to defend Ignatius Loyola Donnelly's Baconian argument—his theory that Shakespeare's plays had been written by Francis Bacon—an idea Donnelly wrote about in his book The Great Cryptogram: Francis Bacon's Cipher in Shakespeare's Plays, published in 1888. The book was published just two weeks after O'Connor's death. According to Traubel, Whitman mentioned that Kennedy and Bucke had reported liking O'Connor's book in letters he received on June 4, 1889. Whitman was almost certainly referring to this letter from Bucke, as well as Kennedy's letter of June 3, 1889; see also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, June 4, 1889. In his letter of June 1, 1889, Whitman told Bucke that he sent a copy of the pocket-book edition of Leaves of Grass. The poet had the special pocket-book edition printed in honor of his 70th birthday (May 31, 1889) through special arrangement with Frederick Oldach. See Whitman's May 16, 1889, letter to Oldach. Only 300 copies were printed, and Whitman signed the title page of each one. The volume also included the annex Sands at Seventy and his essay A Backward Glance O'er Traveled Roads. For more information on the book see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). Bucke's copy of the 1889 pocket-book edition of Leaves of Grass is described in the Sotheby & Co (1935) and the American Art Association (1936) auction catalogues of his Whitman collection. The item is numbered 11 and 294, respectively. Whitman's speech is published in Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1889), 5. This volume consisted of the notes and addresses that were delivered at Whitman's seventieth birthday celebration on May 31, 1889 in Camden, were collected and edited by Horace Traubel. It also included a photo of Sidney Morse's 1887 clay bust of Whitman as the frontispiece. The book was published in 1889 by Philadelphia publisher David McKay. Traubel provides a report of the proceedings in With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, May 31, 1889. Whitman gave Bucke a report of the proceedings in his letter of June 4–5, 1889. Richard Watson Gilder, the editor of The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine and the most distinguished guest at the birthday dinner, had referred to Bucke as "that Canadian crank." Although Gilder made this remark to Thomas Harned in private, Harned repeated it to both Whitman and Traubel. Whitman, of course, defended Bucke: "Bucke is no crank at all—he is simply individualistic. If to be individualistic is to be a crank, then he is one—not otherwise" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, June 5, 1889 and Saturday, June 1, 1889). Bucke is referring to Gabriel Sarrazin's La Renaissance de la Poésie Anglaise, 1798-1889 (Paris: Perrin, 1889). This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | 14 Eagle Street | Haulgh Bolton England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 4 | 8 PM | 89. Johnston and Wallace sent the gift on May 21, 1889. The Johnstown flood. In The Commonplace-Book Whitman wrote on June 1: "The most pervading & dreadful news this m'ng is of the strange cataclysm at Johnstown & adjoining Cambria County, Penn: by wh' many thousands of people are overwhelm'd, kill'd by drowning in water, burnt by fire, &c: &c:—all our hearts, the papers & the public interest, are fill'd with it—the most signal & wide-spread horror of the kind ever known in this country—curious that at this very hour, we were having the dinner festivities &c—unaware." Browning, now the Philadelphia representative of the New York World, was instructed by Julius Chambers to ask the poet for "a threnody on the Johnstown dead," which became "A Voice from Death" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, June 5, 1889). Whitman's 70th birthday dinner. For Whitman's thoughts about the dinner, see his June 4, 1889, letter to William Sloane Kennedy and his June 4–5, 1889, letter to Richard Maurice Bucke. See also Whitman's June 2, 1889, letter to Horace Traubel, regarding the published volume of birthday speeches Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1889). Traubel provides a report of the proceedings in With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, May 31, 1889. For Whitman's thoughts about the dinner, see his June 4, 1889, letter to William Sloane Kennedy and his June 4–5, 1889, letter to Richard Maurice Bucke. See also Whitman's June 2, 1889, letter to Horace Traubel, regarding the published volume of birthday speeches Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1889). Traubel provides a report of the proceedings in With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, May 31, 1889. In The Commonplace-Book Whitman recorded his thoughts on the Johnstown flood on June 1, 1889: "The most pervading & dreadful news this m'ng is of the strange cataclysm at Johnstown & adjoining Cambria County, Penn: by wh' many thousands of people are overwhelm'd, kill'd by drowning in water, burnt by fire, &c: &c:—all our hearts, the papers & the public interest, are fill'd with it—the most signal & wide-spread horror of the kind ever known in this country—curious that at this very hour, we were having the dinner festivities &c—unaware." C. H. Browning, the Philadelphia representative of the New York World, was instructed by Julius Chambers to ask the poet for "a threnody on the Johnstown dead," which became "A Voice from Death" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, June 5, 1889). The poem was first published in the New York World on June 7, 1889. The "7th" in the date has been added in red pen. Rev. Joshua Isham Bliss taught Rhetoric and English at the University of Vermont in Burlington, then in 1885 became rector of St. Paul's Episcopal church in Burlington, where he remained until 1899 (see The Churchman 87 [March 28, 1903], 431). George Grenville Benedict (1826–1907) was a Medal of Honor winner in the Civil War, then returned to his home of Burlington, Vermont, where he edited and published The Burlington Daily Free Press. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | JU 10 | 89 | Canada; NY | 6–11–89 | 8 AM | [illegible]; Cam[illegible] | Jun | 11 | 3 PM | 1889 | Rec'd. See Whitman's letters of Bucke of June 4–5, 1889 and June 6, 1889. See Whitman's June 2, 1889, letter to Traubel, regarding the published volume of birthday speeches Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1889). This letter is addressed: Thomas Donaldson | 326 N. 40th Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 9 | 1889 | 5 PM. Henry Irving and Bram Stoker sent gifts of $50 and $25, respectively, to Whitman through Donaldson; see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, June 7, 1889. Donaldson informed Whitman on September 15, 1889, that he had deposited the sum and would bring a check to Camden. Whitman received the money on October 1, 1889 (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), and sent receipts to Donaldson through Wilkins on October 16, 1889 (Thomas Donaldson, Walt Whitman the Man [New York: Francis P. Harper, 1896], 98). Whitman discussed the letter and Bertz's article with Horace Traubel, remarking, "It is interesting to me to know what they think of us way over there. It comes from Berlin, which is a center, I suppose, an important center" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, June 28, 1889). Edward Bertz (1853–1931), also spelled "Eduard," was a German writer and translator from Potsdam, who became involved with social democracy movements and signed a petition against the criminalization of homosexuality in Germany. For more information on Bertz, see Grünzweig, Walter, "Bertz, Eduard (1853–1931)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Bertz published an article in the Deutsche Presse of June 2, 1889 (Amelia von Ende, "Whitman and the Germans of Today," The Conservator No. 4 [June 1907], 55–57). A holograph copy of the article, with corrections by Whitman (June 1889) is part of the Charles E. Feinberg Collection, held by the Library of Congress. See Whitman's June 17, 1889, postal card to Carey. George C. Cox, who took several photographs of Whitman in 1887. Walsh published Garland's article on Whitman's 70th birthday dinner, which was held in Morgan's Hall in Camden, New Jersey. Garland's birthday address to Whitman was also published in Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1889), 40–41. Garland's Main-Travelled Roads: Six Mississippi Valley Stories was published in 1891 by the Arena Publishing Company, Boston. Garland's fourth drama is not extant. Fragments of three plays are held in the Hamlin Garland Collection at the University of Southern California. He published only one play, entitled "Under the Wheel: A Modern Play in Six Scenes." It appeared in Benjamin Orange Flower's magazine Arena 2 (July 1890), 182–228. It was also published as a book: Under the Wheel (Boston: Barta Press, 1890). Garland concludes his letter by writing the rest at an angle on the verso of the first page. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Mickle st | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Philadelphia, PA | Oct | [illegible]| 8am; Camden, NJ | Oct 20 | 6am | 1889 | Rec'd. Garland's return address is printed on the envelope as follows: HAMLIN GARLAND | Teacher English & American Literature, Shakespeare, | Dramatic Reading, etc. Rooms at No. 7 Beacon St. | BOSTON SCHOOL OF ORATORY. In the upper margin, Whitman has written: "didn't res: these notes—& havn't seen them in print since W." Garland sent the poet "Whitman at Seventy" in typescript (Hamlin Garland Papers, University of Souther California). The essay was published in the New York Herald, June 30, 1889. As he tended to do, Whitman revised Garland's essay. William Sloane Kennedy wrote on July 9, 1889, of Mrs. O'Connor: "The wife of such a Philip Sidney of a man as O'C [William D. O'Connor] demands chivalrous treatment if we w'd emulate the virtues of him. So I shall think & act." Kennedy is likely referring to Whitman's letter of July 7, 1889. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: North Cambridge Sta. | Jul 9 | 8AM | N Mass; Camden, NJ | Jul | 10 | 6am | 1889 | Rec'd. Whitman included this postal card as an enclosure in his July 10, 1889, letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke. Whitman may be referring to the July 3, 1889, letter he received from Ellen O'Connor. On July 13, 1889, Eldridge informed Whitman that he had returned to the Internal Revenue Service and that he intended to remain in California. William Closson (1848–1926) was an American artist from Vermont. He later moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where he was apprenticed to a wood engraver and studied drawing at the Lowell Institute before going on to work for Harper's Magazine and other Boston publishing houses. George Inness (1825–1894) was an influential American landscape painter. "The Valley of the Shadow of Death" was one of three paintings that were collectively titled "The Triumph of the Cross," and it is the only one of the three that survives intact. Whitman responded to Alden's invitation on August 29, 1889. "Death's Valley" appeared in the April 1892 issue of Harper's New Monthly Magazine with the engraving of Innes's painting as well as a portrait of Whitman. Whitman responded to Alden's invitation on August 29, 1889. He sent "Death's Valley," and was paid $25 on September 1, 1889 (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The poem accompanied an engraving of George Inness' "The Valley of the Shadow of Death" (1867); see LeRoy Ireland, The Works of George Inness (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1965), 98–99. When the poem appeared in April 1892, the frontispiece of the magazine was a photograph of J. W. Alexander's portrait of Whitman, and above the poem appeared a more recent sketch of the poet by the same artist. A partial facsimile of this manuscript appears in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, May 30, 1889. See also "Death's Valley" (loc.00189) in the Integrated Catalog of Walt Whitman's Literary manuscripts. On August 25, 1889, Henry Alden, the editor of Harper's New Monthly Magazine, requested a poem. Whitman sent "Death's Valley," and was paid $25 on September 1, 1889 (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The poem accompanied an engraving of George Inness' "The Valley of the Shadow of Death" (1867); see LeRoy Ireland, The Works of George Inness (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1965), 98–99. When the poem appeared in April 1892, the frontispiece of the magazine was a photograph of Alexander's portrait of Whitman, and above the poem appeared a more recent sketch of the poet by the same artist. A partial facsimile of this manuscript appears in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, May 30, 1889. See also "Death's Valley" (loc.00189) in the Integrated Catalog of Walt Whitman's Literary manuscripts. Whitman mentions Dick Flynn in his October 14, 1880 letter to Thomas Nicholson. Like Nicholson, Flynn was an employee at Bucke's asylum. Traubel also records that Whitman was anticipating a visit from Flynn shortly before Bucke wrote this letter (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, August 27, 1889). This postscript appears in the upper-left corner of the first page of the letter; it has been written vertically and in red pen. Bucke is referring to Whitman's letter of September 2, 1889. This postal card is addressed: R Pearsall Smith | Friday's Hill | Haslemere | Surrey England. It is postmarked: Philadelphia, PA | Sep 8 | 10PM | Paid; Camden, N.J. | Sep 8 | 5PM | 89. Sir Henry Irving (1838–1905), British actor and ad hoc manager of the Lyceum Theatre in London. The British actor Henry Irving (1838–1905) and Bram Stoker (1847–1912), who would later author the novel Dracula (1897), sent gifts of $50 and $25, respectively, to Whitman through Donaldson; see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, June 7, 1889. Donaldson informed Whitman on September 15, 1889, that he had deposited the sum and would bring a check to Camden. Whitman received the money on October 1, 1889 (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), and sent receipts to Donaldson through Edward Wilkins, Whitman's nurse, on October 16, 1889 (Thomas Donaldson, Walt Whitman the Man [New York: Francis P. Harper, 1896], 98). Sir Edwin Arnold (1832–1904) was an English poet and journalist. He visited Whitman in 1889 and in 1891. He documented his visit to Whitman in an article entitled "Sir Edwin Arnold and Whitman" that was published anonymously in The Springfield Republican on November 7, 1891. Laura Daintrey was an American novelist who wrote Miss Varian of New York (1887), Eros (1888), Fedor (1889), and Actæon (1892), among other novels. She was often associated with women writers of erotic and sensational works, including Laura Jean Libbey and Gertrude Atherton. It is unclear what poem Daintrey has in mind; perhaps she has confused Whitman with John Greenleaf Whittier, whose immensely popular "Barbara Frietchie" described the old woman from Frederick, Maryland, who waved the Stars and Stripes while General Lee's and Stonewall Jackson's rebel troops marched by her window, as "Bravest of all in Frederick town." This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | [illegible]8 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Dublin | 5 | Oc 27 | 89; Camden, N.J. | Nov [illegible] | 8AM | 89. This letter is addressed: Mrs: Colquitt [sic]. Mary Louisa (Holmes) Colkitt (1868–1953) had been married only three years to Frederick V. Colkitt (1862–1890), a brakeman working for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, when he was crushed and killed by a freight car on July 14, 1890. His death was reported in The Morning Post the following day in Camden, and he was buried in Philadelphia's Evergreen Cemetery on July 17th, the day before Whitman wrote this letter. While Whitman here spells the family name "Colquitt," he records his gift of $5 using the spelling from the newspaper, "Colkitt" (Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White [New York: New York University Press, 1978], 2:608). Whitman later records that Mary and her daughter, Ethel May (b. 1888), visited him on Mickle Street on August 5, 1891 (Daybooks and Notebooks, 2:564). Four days after this visit, Mary married George E. Willitts (1867–1960), an engineer for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. In her book Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (1931), Clara Barrus observes that this letter "came on Sunday afternoon, March 2"—a statement which may mean that Whitman wrote it on that day or that the letter reached Burroughs on Sunday afternoon. The former is more plausible. Burroughs' letter of February 27, 1890 reveals that he was still depressed, living separate most of the time from his wife, and nostalgic." On March 6, 1890, Richard Maurice Bucke was annoyed at Burroughs' tone. See Burroughs' letter of February 27, 1890. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Apr 12 | 6 AM | (?). Whitman is most likely referring to his lecture on Lincoln, "Death of Abraham Lincoln," which he delivered for the last time on April 15, 1890 in the Arts Room in Philadelphia. For more information, see Larry D. Griffin, "'Death of Abraham Lincoln' (1879)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman is referring to his lecture on Lincoln, "Death of Abraham Lincoln," which he delivered for the last time on April 15, 1890 in the Arts Room in Philadelphia, where he was part of a reception given that evening by the Contemporary Club. He included a newspaper clipping from the Philadephia Record that reported on the event in his April 16, 1890, letter to Bucke. For more information, see Larry D. Griffin, "'Death of Abraham Lincoln' (1879)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). It had been Whitman's custom in the past years to deliver a lecture on Abraham Lincoln on or about April 15, the day of Lincoln's assassination. See Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1955), 483–484, 491–492, 524, and 525. Whitman delivered his Lincoln lecture for the last time on April 15, 1890, in the Arts Room in Philadelphia. For more information, see Larry D. Griffin, "'Death of Abraham Lincoln' (1879)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Dodd, Mead, & company enclosed a printed prospecus for their series "Makers of America" with this letter. This letter is not extant. Edward Bertz was a German admirer of Whitman's. See Bertz's letter of June 16, 1890. This letter is not extant. This letter is addressed: John Burroughs | West Park | Ulster Co: New York. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr11 | 8PM | 90; West (?) | Apr | 14 | 1890 | N.Y. This letter is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 11 | 8 PM | 90. Kennedy frequently sent Whitman copies of the Boston Transcript, where he worked as a proofreader. Arthur Sturgis Hardy (1837–1901) was the fourth Premier of the Province of Ontario, from 1896 to 1899. Hardy was admitted to the bar as a criminal lawyer in 1865 and served as provincial secretary and registrar under Sir Oliver Mowat beginning in 1877. In 1889, he was made Commissioner of Crown Lands, and Premier of Ontario seven years later. According to his obituary, "no man bore so large a share of the responsibility for the administration of the province as Arthur Hardy." For more information, see "The Late Hon. A. S. Hardy," Buffalo Morning Express and Illustrated Buffalo Express, June 23, 1901, 8. Sir John Morison Gibson (1842–1929) was the tenth Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1908 to 1914. Until 1895, he was Commanding Officer of Hamilton, Ontario's 13th Regiment, and fought against the Fenian Brotherhood at the Battle of Ridgeway in 1866. After Arthur Hardy's promotion to Commissioner of Crown Lands, Gibson served as provincial secretary under Sir Oliver Mowat from 1889 to 1896. He then followed Hardy as Commissioner in 1896, after Hardy was made Premier. For more information, see his obituary, "Death Calls Sir John Gibson," The Border Cities Star (Windsor, Ontario), June 4, 1929, 21. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 13 | 5 PM | 90; London | PM | Ap 15 | 9 | Canada. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Buffalo, N. Y. | APR | 14 | 3PM | 1890 | Transit; London | PM | AP 15 | 9[illegible] | Canada. Whitman is likely referring to the letter he received from Brinton on April 12, 1890. See also Bucke's letter to Whitman of April 6, 1890. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 14 | 8PM | 90; Philadelphia, PA | APR | 14 | 3PM | 1890 | Transit; London | AP 15 | 90 | Canada. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Roxbury Sta. | Apr | 15 | 3PM | 1890 | Mass.; Cam[illegible] | [illegible] | 9 AM | 1890 | Rec'd. Garland published two stories in Harper's Weekly in 1889: "Under the Lion's Paw" ([7 September], 726-727) and "Old Sid's Christmas" ([28 December], 1038-1040). "Drifting Crane" would appear in the 31 May 1890 issue of Harper's (421-422); "Among the Corn-Rows" would appear in the June 28 issue (506-508). Also in 1890, Garland published two pieces in Arena: the critical essay "Ibsen as a Dramatist" (June, 72-82) and the short story "The Return of a Private" (December, 97-113). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: New York | Apr23 | 11 AM | P; Camden, N.J. | Apr | 23 | 4PM | 1890 | Rec'd. Wingate enclosed a flyer with information about the Twilight Club, including the organization's "Principles." He also sent a printed summary of the club's recent "173d Dinner" that was held on April 10, 1890, when the question discussed for the evening was "Do you believe in Ghosts?." George Bancroft (1800–1891), American diplomat in Europe and historian. Hamilton Fish (1808–1893), Governor of New York, Senator, and Secretary of State under Ulysses S. Grant. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Washington, D.C. | Apr 17 | 730 PM | 90; Camden, N.J. | Apr | 18 | 6 [illegible]M | 1890 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 22 | 8PM | 90. The Boston Evening Transcript on April 19, 1890 contained "Walt Whitman Tuesday Night," which was reprinted in the Camden Post on April 22 and in Pall Mall Gazette on May 24 (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The piece was "sent to us at Transcript office by W.W. in his own MS., with request to me to return the MS., which I did. It is an account of his Lincoln lecture in Philadelphia"; see Kennedy, The Fight of a Book for the World (West Yarmouth, Massachusetts: The Stonecroft Press, 1926), 270. The account later was entitled "Walt Whitman's Last 'Public'"; see Complete Prose Works (Philadelphia, PA: David McKay, 1892), 503–505. Kennedy occasionally sent Whitman treats that Mrs. Kennedy had made, including "calamus sugar plums." Kennedy occasionaly sent Whitman treats that Mrs. Kennedy had made, including "calamus sugar plums" and "calamus lozenges." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | AP 24 | 90 | Canada; Camden, N. J. | Apr | 25 | 6PM | 90 | Rec'd. See Whitman's April 20, 1890, letter to Bucke. Bucke is referring to Bernard O'Dowd's letter of March 12. See Whitman's April 22, 1890, postal card to Bucke. Bucke is referring to his son, Edward Pardee Bucke (1875–1913). Bucke left London on May 12, 1890, for Cape May City, N.J. He remained in the United States until June 1, 1890. Kennedy did not date this letter. In the upper right-hand corner of the letter, Horace Traubel has written: "see notes Feb 3 | 1891." Edwin Haviland Miller dates the letter February 1 in his footnotes Whitman's January 20–21, 1891, letter to Kennedy (See n4). The question part of this postscript appears in the right-hand margin at the top of the letter. In his May 12, 1890, letter to Bucke, Whitman mentions that Mary Costelloe and her family may be visiting the U.S. In the manuscript letter the date appears after the signature. At the bottom of this leaf Mary Fisher has written "Mr Whitman." This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: New York | May 15 | 12 M | D; N.Y. | 5-90 | 1230 PM; Camden, N.J. | May | 16 | 6AM | 1890 | Rec'd. Included with this letter is the printed proof of "On, On the Same, Ye Jocund Twain." The poem was eventually published in Once a Week, June 9, 1891. The Century accepted "A Twilight Song" for publication on February 26. They published it in the May issue and paid Whitman $25 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N. [illegible] | Apr 20 | 5 PM | 90. The last extant letter from Bucke is dated April 14, 1890. There are no additional surviving letters between April 14 and April 20, 1890. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 22 | 1 30 PM | 90; London | PM | Ap 23 | (?) | Canada. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | of Canada | Care Mr Moeller | the Aldine | Cape May | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 12 | 8 PM | 90. Whitman is referring to "On, On the Same, Ye Jocund Twain!" Century rejected the poem. See R.W. Gilder's May 14 letter to Whitman. The poem was eventually published in Once a Week on June 9, 1891. Whitman is referring to "For Queen Victoria's Birthday," which was published in the Philadelphia Public Ledger on May 24. Dr. Bucke had decided to get some "fresh sea air" and so spent some time on the southern New Jersey shore at the Aldine Cottage on Cape May (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, April 9, 1890), after which he came to Philadelphia and Camden and stayed to attend the poet's seventy-first birthday dinner. The date line appears in the bottom left of the leaf, below "San José Cal." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | United States of America. It is postmarked: London, N.W. | JU 2 | 90; Camden, N.J. | Jun | 16 | 6AM | 1890 | Rec'd; Paid | B | All. Forman is most likely referring to Bucke"s "Leaves of Grass and Modern Science," The Conservator 1 (May 1890): 19. See Whitman's May 22, 1890, letter to Forman. Forman identifies this lady as Miss Louisa Drewry in his June 16, 1890, letter to Whitman. See also Louisa Drewry's June 20, 1890, letter to Whitman, and Whitman's response of July 1, 1890. Louisa Drewry (1834–1916) of Middlesex, England, began teaching Greek and Latin classes for women in the early 1860s. She became a founding faculty member of The Working Women's College in 1864. She continued teaching classes for women in literature, composition, and history until approximately 1910, and she had amassed a library of 2,000 books by the time of her death in 1916. She was a member of the Browning Society, a contributor to the English Woman's Journal, and is author of A Simple Method of Grammatical Analysis (London: George Bell & Sons, 1891). Whitman acknowledges receipt of this pamphlet in his June 16, 1890, letter to Forman. In his June 16, 1890, letter to Forman, Whitman writes: "There is no other ed'n of Specimen Days (that I know) but the one I believe you have." The rest of this letter, the final page, is written on the verso of the first page of the letter. Sir Joseph Whitworth (1803–1887) was an English engineer and inventor who created the Whitworth rifle and the British Standard Whitworth system, resulting in an accepted standard for screw threads. Forman edited several volumes of work by the English romantic poet John Keats, including editions of poetry and letters by Keats. This letter is addressed: H Buxton Forman | 46 Marlborough Hill | St John's wood | London n w | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 22 | 6 PM | 90; London N.W. | Z A | Ju 2 | 90. This letter is not extant. Forman acknowledges receipt of this package in his June 4, 1890, letter to Whitman. This acknowledgement is dated incorrectly as June 16 in Miller. The June 16, 1890, letter acknowledges receipt of an inscribed copy of November Boughs only, which is inconsistent with Whitman's reference to "books & pictures" in this letter. This letter is addressed: H Buxton Forman | 46 Marlborough Hill | St John's Wood | London England. It is postmarked: Camden | Ju 17 | 6 PM | 90. See Forman's June 4, 1890, letter to Whitman, where Forman asks about the edition of Specimen Days mentioned in this letter and with which he encloses the "Celebrities of the Century" pamphlet. Forman acknowledged receipt of the "big parcel" in his June 4, 1890, letter to Whitman. Forman mentions this paper in his June 4, 1890, letter to Whitman, but he does not give the name of the woman who delivered the paper. See Louisa Drewry's June 20, 1890, letter to Whitman, and Whitman's response of July 1, 1890. Forman is referring to Whitman's "Sands at Seventy," a group of late poems that he had included in November Boughs (1888) and then included as an "annex" to Leaves of Grass starting with the 1889 printing of the book. See Whitman's July 1, 1890, confirmation letter to Drewry. Harry Buxton Forman mentions Louisa Drewry and her interest in Leaves of Grass in his June 16, 1890, letter to Whitman. Below the signature line Drewry has written: "(address Miss Drewry.)" and "To Walt Whitman Esq." The series of mathematical calculations that have been written after the postscript are Whitman's. On June 20, 1890, Louisa Drewry, whom H. Buxton Forman mentioned in his letters of June 4, 1890 and June 16, 1890, requested copies of Complete Poems & Prose and the pocket-book edition of Leaves of Grass, published in 1889 in honor of Whitman's seventieth birthday, and sent £2.8. There are two cancellation marks in ink across the body of the letter. See Whitman's April 25, 1890, postal card to Bucke. In his April 25 postal card, Whitman tells Bucke that an English publisher contacted his American publisher, David McKay, for international publication rights. Tennyson's criticism appeared in Philadelphia's American on April 26, 1890. See Whitman's April 25 postal card to Bucke. Whitman's "To the Sunset Breeze" was published in Lippincott's in December 1890; his "Old Age Echoes" was published in the magazine in March 1891. Whitman's "To the Sunset Breeze" was first published in Lippincott's Magazine in December 1890. Whitman's essay "Old Poets" was first published in the November 1890 issue of The North American Review. Bucke is referring to a copy of the November 1890 issue of The North American Review, which published Whitman's essay "Old Poets." A "literary machine" was the common name in the nineteenth century for an adjustable reading stand used for holding books or serving as a portable writing desk. Johnston's literary machine was a birthday gift from the Bolton College group (the "boys"). The "Boston man" is unidentified; see Whitman's April 25 postal card to Bucke This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 25 | 8 PM | 90; London | AM | Ap 23 | 90 | Canada. Whitman could be referring to Bucke's most recent extant letter of April 24, 1890. The only extant letter from Bucke dated earlier than the 24th is his letter of April 14, 1890. Whitman had written to Bucke several times between the 14th and the 24th. On April 21, 1890 Whitman wrote in his Commonplace Book: "Horace T. comes with the item (f'm a letter seen by Frank Williams, Phila.) of Tennyson's criticism on L og G." The "criticism" appeared in the Philadelphia American on April 26. See The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, April 21, 1890. Whitman's poem "To the Sun-Set Breeze" was published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in December 1890. His poem "Old-Age Echoes" was published in the magazine in March 1891. Whitman also sent "the MS of 'O Captain.'" See Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The piece from the May issue of Century is "A Twilight Song." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | JU 5 | 90 | Canada; [illegible]en, N.J. | JUN | [illegible] | [illegible] PM | 90 | Rec'd. In honor of Whitman's 71st birthday, his friends gave him a birthday dinner on May 31, 1890, at Reisser's Restaurant in Philadelphia. The main speaker was Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, and there were also speeches by the physicians Richard Maurice Bucke and Silas Weir Mitchell. The Camden Daily Post article "Ingersoll's Speech" of June 2, 1890, was written by Whitman himself and was reprinted in Good-Bye My Fancy (Prose Works, 1892, ed. Floyd Stovall, 2 vols. [New York: New York University Press: 1963–1964], 686–687). "Honors to the Poet" appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, June 1, 1890. See also the notes on Whitman's birthday party in the poet's June 4, 1890, letter to Bucke. The postscript is written in red ink in the upper-left margin. Whitman enclosed two newspaper stories about the birthday dinner his friends gave him on May 31, 1890. See note 3 below. Bucke had just returned from his trip to Philadelphia to attend Whitman's 71st birthday dinner. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | JU 19 | 90 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | JUL | 20 | [illegible]M | 1890 Rec'd. William D. O'Connor's abolitionist novel Harrington: A Story of True Love (Thayer & Eldridge, 1860) was his only novel. Thayer & Eldridge published the novel the same year that they published Whitman's 1860, third edition of Leaves of Grass. Philip Eustace Bucke (b. 1831). His occupation is unknown, but according to Seaborn's "Genealogy of the Bucke family" (MS) Philip Eustace "Left home when 16 . . . crossed ocean 92 times . . . Retired at 55—spent rest of time in making rods & flies." Three of O'Connor's stories with a preface by Whitman were published in Three Tales: The Ghost, The Brazen Android, The Carpenter (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1892). The preface was included in Good-Bye My Fancy (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1891), 51–53. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Washington, D. C. | Jun 1 | 7pm | 1890; Camden, N. J. | Jun | 2 | 6am | 1890 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 4 | 8 PM | 90; London | PM | Ju 6 | 9 | Canada. Whitman's friends gave him a birthday supper in honor of his 71st birthday on May 31, 1890, at Reisser's Restaurant in Philadelphia, at which Ingersoll gave a "grand speech, never to be forgotten by me" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Daniel Brinton, a professor of linguistics and archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania, presided, and other speakers included Bucke and Silas Weir Mitchell, a writer and a physician specializing in nervous disorders. The Philadelphia Inquirer carried the story on the front page on the following day, and the account in the Camden Post on June 2 the poet reprinted in Good-bye My Fancy (Prose Works, 1892, ed. Floyd Stovall, 2 vols. [New York: New York University Press: 1963–1964], 686–687). On June 5 Bucke asked Whitman whether Traubel was responsibe for the article in the Post. Later Traubel wrote "Walt Whitman's Birthday" for Unity (25 [August 28, 1890], 215). On June 5 Ingersoll wrote to Whitman: "I can hardly tell you what pleasure it gave me to meet you—to look into your eyes, to hear your voice, to grasp your hands and to thank you for the brave and splendid words you have uttered." Bertha Johnston was the daughter of New York jeweller, John H. Johnston. Bertha Johnston (1872–1953) was the daughter of Whitman's friend John H. Johnston and his first wife Amelia. Like her father, Bertha Johnston was passionate about literature. She was also involved with the suffrage movement and was a member of the Brooklyn Society of Ethical Culture. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: New York | June 5 | 10 PM | E; Camden, N.J. | Jun | 6 | 9AM | 1890 | Rec'd. There is a second New York postmark that is almost entirely illegible. Ingersoll is referring to meeting Whitman at the poet's 71st birthday dinner. The dinner was held on May 31, 1890 at Reisser's Restaurant in Philadelphia, and Ingersoll was the main speaker. There were also speeches by the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke and Silas Weir Mitchell, a writer and a physician specializing in nervous disorders. On June 2, 1890, the Camden Post published the article titled "Ingersoll's Speech," which Whitman wrote himself. He reprinted it in his 1891 bookGood-Bye My Fancy. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | JY 7 | 90 | Canada; NY | 7-8-90 | 9 AM | [illegible]; Camden, N.J. | Jul | 8 | 3 PM | [illegible] | Rec'd. See Whitman's July 2, 1890, letter to Bucke. See Whitman's July 2, 1890, letter to Bucke. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: Lo[illegible] | AM | JU[illegible] | [illegible] | Canada. See Whitman's June 23, 1890 postal card to Bucke. Bucke is referring to "On, On the Same, Ye Jocund Twain!" Whitman told Bucke that he was submitting the poem to Century in his letter of May 12, 1890. Century rejected the poem. See Richard W. Gilder's May 14, 1890, rejection letter to Whitman. The poet expressed his "botheration" about the rejection in his June 5 and June 23 letters to Bucke. The poem was eventually published in Once a Week on June 9, 1891. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 5 | 8 PM | 90. Swinton, a friend from Civil War days, wrote to Whitman on January 16 from Nice and on May 26 from London; he was now "an invalid—nervous prostration." He sent belated birthday wishes on July 31 from Edinburgh. He sent "books" to Mrs. J.C. (or M.) Sears on June 3 and to David L. Lezinsky on June 4 (The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Mrs Sears acknowledged receipt of the books on June 5. Whitman is referring to "On, On the Same, Ye Jocund Twain!" Whitman told Bucke that he was submitting the poem to Century in his letter of May 12. Century rejected the poem. See Richard Watson Gilder's May 14 rejection letter to Whitman. The poem was eventually published in Once a Week, June 9, 1891. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | London Asylum | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 23 | 3 PM | 90; London | PM | Ju 24 | 90 | Canada. Whitman is referring to the rejection of "On, On the Same, Ye Jocund Twain!" by the Century magazine. Whitman told Bucke that he was submitting the poem for publication in his letter of May 12, 1890. Richard W. Gilder rejected the poem on May 14, 1890. The poem was eventually published in Once a Week on June 9, 1891. Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 2 | 8 PM | 90; London | PM | Jy 4 | 9 | Canada. "Sail Out for Good, Eidólon Yacht!" was one of four poemets published as part of "Old-Age Echoes" in the March 1891 issue of Lippincott's magazine. The other poemets that make up "Old-Age Echoes" are "Sounds of Winter," "The Unexpress'd," and "After the Argument." "The Quaker Traits of Walt Whitman" appeared in the July 1890 issue of Horace Traubel's The Conservator; it was reprinted in In Re Walt Whitman (Philadelphia, PA: David McKay, 1893), 213–214, a volume edited by Horace Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas B. Harned. It was also reprinted in William Sloane Kennedy's Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (London: Alexander Gardner, 1896), 86–87. In Fight of a Book for the World (West Yarmouth, MA: The Stonecroft Press, 1926), Kennedy confirms: "The date authenticated by W.W." (273). This postscript is written at the top of the postal card. Whitman is referring to the group of thirty-one poems taken from the book Good-Bye My Fancy (1891) that were reprinted as the second annex to Leaves of Grass (1891–1892), the last edition of Leaves published in Whitman's lifetime. For more information on Good-Bye My Fancy, as a book and an annex, see Donald Barlow Stauffer, "Good-Bye my Fancy (Second Annex) (1891)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Above the address has been written: "See | Notes | July | 22, '90." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | JY 21 | 90 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Jul | 22 | 12 M | 1890 | Rec'd. Bucke's bibliography of Whitman was never published, and the manuscript does not appear to be extant. Whitman agreed to send Bucke the items he requested. In his letter of July 22, 1890, Whitman writes that he "will send you anything I find or think of in that line." See Whitman's July 22, 1890, letter to Bucke. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey | United States of America. It is postmarked: Nice | 8e | 16 | Janv. | 90 | Alpes Maritimes; Camden, N.J. | Jan | 28 | 9 A M | 1890 | Rec'd. Swinton is referring to the poem titled "A Christmas Greeting: From a Northern Star-Group to a Southern, 1889–'90." Swinton has replaced Whitman's title with his paraphrasing of the first line, "Welcome, Brazilian brother—thy ample place is ready." Whitman included the poem in his late collection Good-Bye My Fancy, 1891–1892; the poems in that book became the second annex of the 1891–92 "Deathbed" edition of Leaves of Grass. This postal card is the first of three that Swinton wrote to Whitman while traveling through Europe to cure his "nervous prostration." The Paris Herald was founded in 1887 in Paris, France, as the European edition of the New York Herald; it eventually became the Paris Herald Tribune, serving as the global edition of the New York Herald, and then, in 1967, the International Herald Tribune, affiliated with the Washington Post and New York Times, and in 2013 was taken over by the New York Times. No record of Whitman's poem having been published in the Paris Herald has been found. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey | United States of America. It is postmarked: Stoke Newington S O. | 7 | My 27 | 90 | N.; Paid | G | All; New York | Jun 4 | [illegible]; Camden N.J. | Jun [illegible] | 6 A M | 1890 | Rec'd. Swinton crossed out "Congrat" before writing "American" above it. "For Queen Victoria's Birthday" first appeared in the Philadelphia Public Ledger on May 24, 1890. It was reprinted in four London periodicals. In Robert Waters' Career and Conversation of John Swinton (1902), Swinton's wife is described this way: "His wife, whom he used to call his angel, had been everything to him, hands, eyes, feet—she ministered to him in all his work and ways, went with him everywhere, and supported him in all his trials and troubles. . . . Mrs. Swinton is the daughter of the famous phrenologist Fowler, of the well-known firm of Fowler & Wells" (78). "J.S. Morgan & Co,": American banker and financier Junius Spencer Morgan (1813–1890), the father of John Pierpont Morgan, became a partner in George Peabody and Company, merchants, in 1854, when the firm moved to 22 Old Broad Street in London. When Peabody retired in 1864, the merchant banking firm became J. S. Morgan and Company. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey | United States of America. It is postmarked: U T | Edinburgh | Jy 31 | 90; Camden, N.J. | Aug | 11 | 6 A M | 1890 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 22 | 8 PM | 90; London | PM | [illegible] 24 | 9 | Canada. See Bucke's July 20, 1890, letter to Whitman. On July 20, 1890, Bucke informed Whitman that he had begun to compile a bibliography: "I find that what I am shortest in is first editions of poems and prose pieces by the said W.W.—I mean as they came out in newspapers and magazines—if you have any of these (especially early ones), that you do not especially want to keep I wish you would let me have them." Whitman agreed to send Bucke the items he had requested. 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. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Washington, D.C. | May 29 | 1030PM | 90; Camden, N.J. | May 30 | 7AM | 1890 | Rec'd. Originally, Nelly O'Connor imagined she would include all of her husband's short stories in the volume; she eventually settled on including just three. Thomas Davidson (1840–1900) was a Scottish-American philosopher who co-authored Giordano Bruno: Philsopher and Martyr (1890) with Daniel G. Brinton. Whitman sent copies of this book to several of his correspondents. Oliver Bell Bunce (1828–1890) was associated with D. Appleton & Company, an American publishing empire founded by Daniel Appleton in 1831 and run by his sons after the elder Appleton's death in 1849. Bunce edited Appleton's Journal and then took over many of the duties of one of the sons, George Appleton, upon his death in 1878. Bunce was also a playwright, essayist, and novelist. In the upper left corner of this leaf has been written: "see notes | July 29, 90." In his December 25–26 1889, letter to Bucke, Whitman wrote: "J A Symonds from Switzerland has sent the warmest & (I think sh'd be call'd) the most passionate testimony letter to L of G. & me yet—I will send it to you after a while." For the testimony see Symonds' letter of December 9, 1889. The rest of the letter is missing. This side of the leaf is in Whitman's hand. See the facsimile image for calculations in arithmetic not included in the transcription. Horace Traubel founded The Conservator in March 1890, and he remained its editor and publisher until his death in 1919. Traubel conceived of The Conservator as a liberal periodical influenced by Whitman's poetic and political ethos. A fair portion of its contents were devoted to Whitman appreciation and the conservation of the poet's literary and personal reputation. O'Reilly died of an accidental overdose of chloral. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, August, 11, 1890. In his July 18–19, 1890, letter, Whitman told Bucke that Symonds had sent him a copy of his Essays. The poet "doubt[ed] whether [Symonds] has gripp'd 'democratic art' by the nuts, or L of G. either." In his August 24, 1890, response to Bucke's criticism in this letter; however, Whitman observed: "you are a little more severe on Symonds than I sh'd be." In his first footnote to "Democratic Art," Symonds observes: "'Poetry of the Future' (North American Review, February, 1881—why not included in his 'November Boughs,' I know not)" (see John Addington Symonds, Essays Speculative and Suggestive [London: Chapman and Hall, 1890], 242). Bucke correctly points out that "The Poetry of the Future," which first appeared in the North American Review 132.291 (February 1881), 195–210, was reprinted, in a slightly revised form, as "Poetry To-day in America—Shakspere—The Future" in Specimen Days & Collect (1882) (see Prose Works 1892, Volume 2: Collect and Other Prose, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1964], 474–490). In a letter to Whitman of August 3, 1890, Symonds confessed that he had discovered this error and hoped to correct it in future editions. According to Schueller and Peters, the change was never made (see The Letters of John Addington Symonds, Volume 3: 1885–1893, ed. Herbert M. Schueller and Robert L. Peters [Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1969], 481–482, 484n). See Whitman's August 18, 1890, letter to Bucke, with which he enclosed the various items Bucke refers to in this letter. Whitman's "Rejoinder" was a discussion of some points raised by Symonds in "Democratic Art." It was published as "An Old Man's Rejoinder" in The Critic 17 (August 16, 1890), 85–86. It was reprinted in Good-Bye My Fancy (see Prose Works 1892, Volume 2: Collect and Other Prose, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1964], 655–658). Charles J. Woodbury, who met Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1865, spread the story that Emerson told him that he once met Whitman for dinner at the Astor House in New York, and that the poet showed up without a coat, as if to "dine in his shirtsleeves." Whitman denied the rumor. For one of Whitman's responses to the shirtsleeves story, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, August, 11, 1890. Woodbury, who met Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1865, spread the story that Emerson told him that he once met Whitman for dinner at the Astor House in New York, and that the poet showed up without a coat, as if to "dine in his shirtsleeves." Whitman denied the rumor. For one of Whitman's responses to the shirtsleeves story, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, August, 11, 1890. Bucke is probably referring to Kennedy's most recent letter, dated August 15, 1890. The letter referred to here is most likely the famous August 3, 1890, letter from Symonds. In the letter, Symonds asks Whitman to clarify the meaning of the "Calamus" poems and whether or not Whitman intended them to include physical and emotional intimacies between men. Whitman probably responded on August 19, 1890, though only a draft of the poet's letter survives. In this draft letter, Whitman denies having intended any homoerotic meanings for the "Calamus" poems and boasts that he had fathered six illegitimate children, a claim that is certainly false. The letter referred to here may also be an older one; Whitman also promised to pass along "an older letter" from Symonds in his August 24, 1890, letter to Bucke. The older letter would probably be Symonds' passionate letter of December 9, 1889, which prefigured Symonds' August 3rd letter. Whitman mentioned this older letter in his December 25–26, 1889 letter to Bucke. Bucke is referring to John Addington Symonds's Essays Speculative and Suggestive (London: Chapman and Hall, 1890). The chapter on "Democratic Art" is mainly inspired by Whitman. Symonds's Essays Speculative and Suggestive were published by the London firm of Chapman and Hall in 1890. The chapter on "Democratic Art" is mainly inspired by Whitman. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey. | U. S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 58 | DE27 | 90; Paid | D | All; 91. Grashalme, Rolleston and Karl Knortz's book-length German translation of Leaves of Grass had been published in 1889. Rolleston likely enclosed a review of the volume with this letter to Whitman, but the enclosure has not been located. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 19 | 6 PM | 90; Buffalo N. Y. | Jul | 20 | 10 AM| 1890 | Transit; London | AM | JY 21 | [illegible]O | Canada; Philadelphia, PA | Jul | 19 | 7 PM | 1890 | Transit. Andrew Rome's wife was the cousin of Dr. John Johnston's wife (John Johnston and James W. Wallace, Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–1891 by Two Lancashire Friends [1918], 63). For an account of Johnston's sightseeing, see Johnston and Wallace, 63–74. On July 12 Rome wrote about plans to visit the poet. Andrew Rome's wife was the cousin of Dr. John Johnston's wife. Dr. Johnston, along with James W. Wallace, founded the Bolton group of English Whitman admirers (John Johnston and James W. Wallace, Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–1891 by Two Lancashire Friends [1918], 63). Whitman commented on Symonds' chapter from Essays Speculative and Suggestive (London: Chapman and Hall, 1890), 237–268, in "An Old Man's Rejoinder," which appeared in The Critic 17 (August 16, 1890), 85–86. Whitman's "Rejoinder" was also reprinted in Good-Bye My Fancy (Prose Works 1892, Volume 2: Collect and Other Prose, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1964], 655–658). In his August 20–22 letter, Bucke remarked: "The whole article is 'flat, stale and unprofitable'—a saw dust chewing business—dealing with the hull, the shell, the superfices, never for one line, one flash of insight penetrating to the heart of the business." On August 24, Whitman observed: "you are a little more severe on Symonds than I sh'd be." Whitman commented on Symonds' chapter, "Democratic Art," from Essays Speculative and Suggestive (London: Chapman and Hall, 1890), 237–268, in "An Old Man's Rejoinder," which appeared in The Critic 17 (August 16, 1890), 85–86. Whitman's "Rejoinder" was also reprinted in Good-Bye My Fancy (Prose Works 1892, Volume 2: Collect and Other Prose, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1964], 655–658). Pliny B. Smith (1850–1912) was a lawyer in Chicago for more than forty years. He served as the counsel for the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad for twelve years, from 1883 to 1895. He was also a member of the Chicago Public Library Board from 1887 to 1893. For more on Smith, see "In Memoriam: Pliny B. Smith," In Memory of the Members of the Chicago Bar Association who have died during the year 1911–1912 [Chicago: Printed for the Association], 1912). Whitman is referring to Jonathan Trumbull's article in Poet-lore, 2 (1890), 368–371. Whitman's reply, "Shakspere for America," appeared in Poet-lore 2 (October 1890), 492–493, and was reprinted in The Critic on September 27. Franklin File, an employee of a newspaper syndicate including the Boston Herald and the Philadelphia Press, made the proposal on July 16. According to the poet's Commonplace Book, he sent "A Death-Bouquet" to File of the New York Sun; he received $10 for it. Edwin haviland Miller says that "A Death-Bouquet" appeared in the Philadelphia Press on February 2. Whitman mentions the publication in his February 2–3, 1890, letter to Bucke. However, Floyd Stovall claims not to have found it there in his edition of the Prose Works 1892. "A Death-Bouquet" became the last section of Good-Bye My Fancy, which was later reprinted in Complete Prose Works (1892). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 18 | 8 PM | 90; London | PM | AU 20 | 9 | Canada. If there was a letter from Sanborn, it has not survived. On August 16 the Boston Evening Transcript printed a long article by Sanborn entitled "'The City of the Simple'" (an account of "a Famous Belgian Insane Asylum") as well as Whitman's response to Symonds' essay "Democratic Art" titled "An Old Man's Rejoinder." Both of these clippings are enclosed with the letter. "An Old Man's Rejoinder" was published in The Critic 17 (16 August 1890): 85–86. Whitman's "Rejoinder" was also reprinted in Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). See also Prose Works 1892, Volume 2: Collect and Other Prose, ed. Floyd Stovall (New York: New York University Press, 1964), 655–658. Whitman is probably referring to Kennedy's most recent letter, dated August 15, 1890. Bucke acknowledged receiving Kennedy's letter in his August 20–22 1890, letter to Whitman. The letter referred to here is most likely the famous August 3, 1890, letter from Symonds, to which Whitman probably responded on August 19, 1890, though only a draft of the poet's letter survives. However, Whitman also promised to pass along "an older letter" from Symonds in his August 24, 1890, letter to Bucke. The older letter would probably be Symonds' passionate letter of December 9, 1889, which prefigured Symonds's August 3rd letter. Whitman mentioned this older letter in his December 25–26 1889, letter to Bucke. Kennedy described the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) convention on August 12, 1890, and evidently sent a clipping from the Boston Herald. Apparently, Whitman sent the letter to a Camden newspaper. Kennedy is responding to "An Old Man's Rejoinder," which appeared in The Critic 17 (August 16, 1890), 85–86. The "Rejoinder" was later reprinted in Good-Bye My Fancy (1891) (see Prose Works 1892, Volume 2: Collect and Other Prose, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1964], 655–658). Near the end of the essay, Whitman writes: "My own opinion has long been, that for New World service our ideas of beauty (inherited from the Greeks, and so on to Shakspere—query—perverted from them?) need to be radically changed, and made anew for to-day's purposes and finer standards" (2:658). Kennedy is referring to Whitman's "An Old Man's Rejoinder," which appeared in The Critic 17 (August 16, 1890), 85–86. The article is a response to John Addington Symonds's essay on "Democratic Art," which was inspired by Whitman. See Symonds, Essays Speculative and Suggestive (London: Chapman and Hall, 1890). The "Rejoinder" was later reprinted in Good-Bye My Fancy (1891) (see Prose Works 1892, Volume 2: Collect and Other Prose, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1964], 655–658). Near the end of the essay, Whitman writes: "My own opinion has long been, that for New World service our ideas of beauty (inherited from the Greeks, and so on to Shakspere—query—perverted from them?) need to be radically changed, and made anew for to-day's purposes and finer standards" (2:658). Wallace is referring to Whitman's "An Old Man's Rejoinder," which appeared in The Critic 17 (August 16, 1890), 85–86. The article is a response to John Addington Symonds's essay on "Democratic Art," which was inspired by Whitman. See Symonds, Essays Speculative and Suggestive (London: Chapman and Hall, 1890). The "Rejoinder" was later reprinted in Good-Bye My Fancy (1891) (see Prose Works 1892, Volume 2: Collect and Other Prose, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1964], 655–658). John Addington Symonds, Essays Speculative and Suggestive (London: Chapman and Hall, 1890). Kennedy is referring to John Addington Symonds's Essays Speculative and Suggestive (London: Chapman and Hall, 1890). The chapter on "Democratic Art" is mainly inspired by Whitman. John Lothrop Motley (1814–1877) was an American author and diplomat, serving as U.S. Minister to Austria (1861–1867) and the United Kingdom (1869–1870). He wrote two popular histories of the Netherlands: The Rise of the Dutch Republic (1856) and The United Netherlands (1867). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | AU 23 | 90 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Aug | 30 | 6PM 1890 | Rec'd. See Whitman's August 26, 1890, letter to Bucke. In his letter of August 26, 1890, Whitman mentions enclosing William Sloane Kennedy's August 23, 1890, letter and "the printed slip" of James M. Scovel's "A Talk with Whitman," which appeared in the August 25, 1890, issue of the Philadelphia Times. The slip from The Inquirer is unexplained. It may simply have been a reprint of the same Scovel "talk." James M. Scovel's "A Talk with Whitman" appeared in the August 25, 1890 issue of the Philadelphia Times. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 2(?) | 6 PM | 90, Philadelphia. P.A. | AUG | 26 | 7 PM | 1890 | Transit, London | PM | AU 27 | 90 | Canada, Buffalo, N.Y. | AUG | 27 | 11AM | 1890 | Transit. James M. Scovel's "A Talk with Whitman" appeared in the August 25, 1890, issue of the Philadelphia Times. Bucke shared Whitman's contempt in his letter of August 28. See William Sloane Kennedy's August 23 letter to Whitman. See Whitman's August 28–29, 1890, letter to Bucke. The article that Bucke mentions having received from Whitman is the following: Oliver Wendell Holmes, "Over the Teacups. X." Atlantic Monthly 66 (September 1890), 388–390. Above the "and," "but" has been added in pencil. An addition stating "(In all senses)" has been made in red ink at the end of this sentence. "An Old Man's Rejoinder" was published in The Critic 17 (August 16, 1890), 85–86. The "Rejoinder" was later reprinted in Good-Bye My Fancy (1891) (see Prose Works 1892, Volume 2: Collect and Other Prose, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1964], 655–658). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 29 | 8 PM | 90; NY | 7-29-90 | [illegible]PM | [illegible] ;London | PM | AU 30 | 9 | Canada. Burroughs commented on Dr. Johnston's visit in his journal on July 24: "A canny young Scot. Like him first rate" (see Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 292). Whitman is referring to "John Ruskin" by "A Companion of His Guild of St. George," The Illustrated American 3 (August 30, 1890): 347–352. The article not only referred to Whitman, but also reprinted a letter from the poet to the author, William Harrison Riley. See Whitman's letter of March 18, 1879 to Riley. Whitman is referring to John Addington Symonds's Essays Speculative and Suggestive (London: Chapman and Hall, 1890). The chapter on "Democratic Art" is mainly inspired by Whitman. In his August 20–22, 1890, letter, Bucke remarked: "The whole article is 'flat, stale and unprofitable'—a saw dust chewing business—dealing with the hull, the shell, the superfices, never for one line, one flash of insight penetrating to the heart of the business." On August 24, 1890, Whitman observed: "you are a little more severe on Symonds than I sh'd be." "An Old Man's Rejoinder" was published in The Critic 17 (August 16, 1890), 85–86. The "Rejoinder" was later reprinted in Good-Bye My Fancy (1891) (see Prose Works 1892, Volume 2: Collect and Other Prose, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1964], 655–658). Bucke acknowledged receiving it on September 2, 1890. "An Old Man's Rejoinder" was published in The Critic 17 (August 16, 1890), 85–86. The "Rejoinder" was later reprinted in Good-Bye My Fancy (1891) (see Prose Works 1892, Volume 2: Collect and Other Prose, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1964], 655–658). Whitman is referring to a piece by Oliver Wendell Holmes. See "Over the Teacups. X." Atlantic Monthly 66 (September 1890), 388–390. Bucke responded on September 2, 1890: "O. W. is to all intents and purposes an Englishman (and a very good speciment too) Such a book as L. of G. and the mentality that goes with such a book is as far as possible from his ideal." In his letter of September 2, 1890, Bucke wrote: "Of course you have said it all before (and more than once) but the children have not learned the lesson yet and there is no harm (even need) to repeat." This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 25 | 6 AM | 90; N.Y. | 8–25–90 | 10 30 AM | 10; London | PM | AU 26 | 90 | Canada. "An Old Man's Rejoinder" appeared in The Critic 17 (August 16, 1890), 85–86. The "Rejoinder" was later reprinted in Good-Bye My Fancy (1891) (See Prose Works 1892, Volume II: Collect and Other Prose, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1964], 655–658). Bucke acknowledged receiving it on September 2, 1890. Whitman is referring to an offprint of "An Old Man's Rejoinder," headed "From The Critic, New York, Aug. 16, 1890." In his August 20–22, 1890, letter, Bucke remarked: "The whole article is 'flat, stale and unprofitable'—a saw dust chewing business—dealing with the hull, the shell, the superfices, never for one line, one flash of insight penetrating to the heart of the business." The letter referred to here is most likely the famous August 3rd letter from Symonds, to which Whitman probably responded on August 19, though only a draft of the poet's letter survives. This "older letter" would probably be Symonds' passionate letter of December 9, 1889, which prefigured Symonds' August 3rd letter. Whitman mentioned this older letter in his December 25–26 1889, letter to Bucke. Bucke is referring to St. Paul's categories of those who will "not inherit the kingdom of God," particularly men who had sex with men. See, for example, 1 Corinthians 6:9–10, which in the King James version reads: "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor ers, shall inherit the kingdom of God." In the New King James Version (1982), "homosexuals" and "sodomites" replace "effeminate" and "abusers of themselves with mankind." Johnston is probably referring to the Camden County Courier, which published a notice of Richard Maurice Bucke's biography, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), on June 2, 1883. Johnston is referring to the following article: Horace Traubel, "Walt Whitman's Birthday," Unity (August 28, 1890), 215. Wallace is likely referring to the following article: Horace Traubel, "Walt Whitman's Birthday," Unity (August 28, 1890), 215. Traubel has apparently sent Wallace a copy of the magazine in which his article on Whitman's seventy-first birthday appeared. Traubel sent Wallace a copy of the December issue of the New Ideal in which a "'Walt Whitman/Robert Ingersoll' page" by Traubel had been published. See Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, November 21, 1890. Wallace is referring to a proof of Horace Traubel's article "Walt Whitman's Birthday, May 31, 1891," which offered a detailed account of Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday celebration at the poet's home on Mickle Street. Traubel's article was published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in August 1891. Traubel is referring to his article "Walt Whitman's Birthday, May 31, 1891," which offered a detailed account of Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday celebration at the poet's home on Mickle Street. Traubel's article was published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in August 1891. "Of That Blithe Throat of Thine" was first published in Harper's Monthly Magazine 70 (January 1885), 264; "Yonnondio" originally appeared in the Critic 11 (November 26, 1887), 267; "Halcyon Days" was first published in the New York Herald (January 29, 1888), 12; and "The Voice of the Rain" originally appeared in Outing 6 (August 1885), 570. Whitman reprinted all four poems in November Boughs, which supplied the poems for the "Sands at Seventy" annex to the 1889 reprinting of the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass. See Whitman's postal card of August 30, 1890, to J.W. Wallace. Gabriel Sarrazin's "Poètes modernes de l'Amérique—Walt Whitman" appeared in La Nouvelle Revue 52 (May 1888), 164–184. The Universal Review reprinted Sarrazin's essay in French. See The Universal Review 6 (1890), 247–269. Johnston is referring to the "Bolton College," a group of English admirers of Whitman, that he and Wallace co-founded. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | P[illegible] | SP 17 | 90 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Sep | 18 | 4PM | [illegible]. See Whitman's September 13, 1890, letter to Bucke. William Sloane Kennedy's "Dutch Traits of Walt Whitman" was published in The Conservator 1 (February 1891), 90–91. It was reprinted in In Re Walt Whitman, ed. Horace Traubel, et al. (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), 195–199. This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | Anderton near Chorley | Lancashire England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 30 | 8 PM | 90; Philadelphia, PA | Aug 30 | 11 PM | Paid. Wallace sent 22 shillings for the book on August 18–19, 1890. Dr. John Johnston's most recent letter, which didn't arrive in Camden until September 6, is dated August 27, 1890. The only extant letter from Johnston antedating the letter of August 27 is the letter that Johnston and Wallace wrote together on May 5. This suggests that the letter Whitman is referring to has not survived. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 13 | 3 PM | 90. Whitman may be referring to Kennedy's letter of September 10, 1890. Whitman is referring to Robert Ingersoll's "Tolstoi and 'The Kreutzer Sonata,'" The North American Review 151 (September 1890), 289–299. The word is underscored heavily: possibly Whitman was ironic, although he rarely was, or more probably he had to convince himself that all things worked out well in the end. On August 27, 1890, Dr. Johnston wrote to Bucke to apologize for not visiting him in Canada and to report in reverential terms his meeting with Walt Whitman: "The memory of that 'good time' will ever be one of my most valued possessions and it is associated with my most unique experience. Although it is now over six weeks since I saw him it is no exaggeration for me to say that I still feel the magnetism of his personality." See also Johnston's September 13, 1890, letter to Whitman. Whitman had just finished reading Leo Tolstoy's novella The Kreutzer Sonata (1889), which he called "a masterpiece"; he considered writing about the book. He commented on the The Kreuzer Sonata in conversation with Horace Traubel. See Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, September 13, 1890 and Sunday, September 28, 1890. William Sloane Kennedy, "Quaker Traits of Walt Whitman," in In Re Walt Whitman, ed. Horace Traubel, et al. (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), 213–214. On September 10, Kennedy informed Whitman that his "racy bit of work" was now in the hands of the editor of the Boston Evening Transcript and that he preferred not to send the piece to The Critic, or, as he put it, "Miss [Jeannette] Gilder and her dilettante sheet." At the top of this page Whitman has written: "Dr B is interested in a new meter | a simple patented machine for measuring | the flow of water, gas, or anything & also a cheap easy motor &c I sent him one of | the two group | pictures." Below this note has been written in a different hand: "see | notes | Sept 4 | 1891." The article Whitman sent to Bucke was probably Jonathan Trumbull, "Walt Whitman's View of Shakespeare," Poet-Lore 2.7 (July 15, 1890): 368–371. Dr. John Johnston and James William Wallace were members of a group of Whitman admirers in Bolton, Lancashire, England, who referrred to their little circle as the "Bolton College." Dr. Johnston visited Whitman in the summer of 1890, while Wallace visited both Whitman and Bucke in the fall of 1891. An account of "Bolton College" and of these visits is found in their Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917). Bucke visited them in July 1891. Frederick Marryat (1792–1848) was a novelist, Royal Navy Officer, and a friend of the British novelist Charles Dickens. Marryat is known for such works as the novel Mr. Midshipman Easy (1836) and a children's novel titled The Children of the New Forest (1847). See Whitman's September 8, 1890, postal card to Johnston. Man's Moral Nature (1879) was Bucke's first book. He dedicated it "to the man of all men past and present that I have known who has the most exalted moral nature—Walt Whitman." Whitman's first edition of Leaves of Grass (1855) was printed by the Rome brothers in a small shop at the intersection of Fulton and Cranberry in Brooklyn. For the cover, Whitman chose a dark green ribbed morocco cloth, and the volume included an engraving of a daguerreotype of Whitman, a full-body portrait, in working clothes and a hat. The book included a preface and twelve poems. For more information on the first edition of Leaves of Grass, see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books / Books Making Whitman (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). Whitman expresses his appreciation for the photographs in his September 8, 1890, postal card to Johnston. In his September 8, 1890, postal card to Johnston, Whitman mentions that he wants to use the photos for his "forthcoming little (2d) annex," which would become Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). Whitman mentioned that the "grip" had "seized" him in his August 30, 1890, postal card to J.W. Wallace, who passed the word along to Johnston. Johnston mentions this in his letter of September 13. On October 8, 1890, Horace Traubel notes that Whitman received a letter from Captain Noell [sic] stating that Johnston and James W. Wallace had given him a blanket of Bolton manufacture to deliver personally to the poet in Camden. Traubel notes a few days later on October 14: "W. said Captain Noell [sic] had been in with the blanket." See the letter from S. Nowell to Whitman of October 8, 1890. Johnston had not yet received Whitman's letter of September 13, 1890, in which he says: "the massage book came safe (valuable book)." Johnston is referring to Whitman's Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). Johnston is referring to Whitman's Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). Good-Bye My Fancy (1891) was Whitman's last miscellany, and it included both poetry and short prose works commenting on poetry, aging, and death, among other topics. Thirty-one poems from the book were later printed as "Good-Bye my Fancy 2d Annex" to Leaves of Grass (1891–1892), the last edition of Leaves of Grass published before Whitman's death in March 1892. For more information see, Donald Barlow Stauffer, "'Good-Bye my Fancy' (Second Annex) (1891)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Johnston is referring to Richard Maurice Bucke's "Leaves of Grass and Modern Science," which was published in The Conservator 1 (May 1890): 19. Little is known about Samuel Nowell, the captain of the SS British Prince, except that he did make arrangements for J. W. Wallace to gain passage on the already fully-booked British Prince for Wallace's 1891 journey to the U.S. to meet Whitman; see Dr. John Johnston to Walt Whitman (August 19, 1891). Nowell clearly had some interest in Whitman’s work: see James W. Wallace to Walt Whitman (March 13, 1891). Wallace is likely referring to Whitman's postal card of August 30, 1890. Wallace and Dr. John Johnston were members of a group of Whitman admirers in Bolton, Lancashire, England, who referrred to their little circle as the "Bolton College." This postscript is written in the left margin of the fourth page of the letter. Johnston visited Whitman in the summer of 1890, while Wallace visited both Whitman and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke in the fall of 1891. Accounts of these visits can be found in Johnston and Wallace's Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917). Wallace visited both Whitman and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke in the fall of 1891. Dr. John Johnston visited Whitman in the summer of 1890. Accounts of these visits can be found in Johnston and Wallace's Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917). Wallace discusses the significance of his time with Whitman, as well as his return journey later in this letter. Wallace is referring to Richard Maurice Bucke's Man's Moral Nature: An Essay (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1879). The book is dedicated to Whitman, and Bucke writes in his introduction that one of his purposes in the work is to "discuss the moral nature—to point out in the first place, its general relation to the other groups of functions belonging to, or rather making up, the individual man, and also its relations to the man's environment" (11). James W. Wallace of Bolton, England, visited both Whitman and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke in the fall of 1891. Accounts of Wallace's visit can be found in Dr. John Johnston and Wallace's Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917). At the time of this letter, Wallace was in New York. He visited both Whitman and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke in the fall of 1891. Accounts of Wallace's visit can be found in Dr. John Johnston and Wallace's Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917). Johnston is referring to the article "Literature in the United States" by George Lathrop Parsons (The New Review 5 [1891], 244–255). The enclosure that Johnston sent has not been located. Horace Traubel founded The Conservator in March 1890, and he remained its editor and publisher until his death in 1919. Traubel conceived of The Conservator as a liberal periodical influenced by Whitman's poetic and political ethos. A fair portion of its contents were devoted to Whitman appreciation and the conservation of the poet's literary and personal reputation. On September 11–12, 1890, James W. Wallace explained that he had requested by telegram a copy of the pocket-book edition which was to be a birthday present for a member of the County Borough of Bolton (England) Public Libraries circle, the Rev. F. R. C. Hutton, for which he was enclosing 22 shillings. Johnston describes the presentation of the book to Hutton and Hutton's reaction in his December 20, 1890, letter to Whitman. On September 11–12, 1890, James W. Wallace explained that he had requested by telegram a copy of the pocket-book edition which was to be a birthday present for a member of the County Borough of Bolton (England) Public Libraries circle, the Rev. F. R. C. Hutton, for which he was enclosing 22 shillings. Johnston describes the presentation of the book to Hutton and Hutton's reaction in his December 20, 1890, letter to Whitman. Pauline W. Roose was a writer and frequent contributor to Victorian Periodicals, including The Argosy and The Gentleman's Magazine. She often signed these pieces as "P.W. Roose." She was also the author of The Book of the Future Life, assisted by David C. Roose (London: Elliot Stock, 1900) and an essay on Whitman entitled "A Child-Poet: Walt Whitman," The Gentleman's Magazine 272 (January–June 1892): 467, 474, 480. Walter Savage Landor (1775–1864) was an English writer and poet, whose writings included prose, lyric poetry, and political works. He was the author of the multivolume work Imaginary Conversations of Literary Men and Statesmen and the poem Rose Aylmer, among numerous other works. This postal card is addressed: Dr J Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 8 | 6 PM | 90; Philadelphia, Pa. | Sep 8 | 9 PM | Paid. Johnston responded to Whitman's appreciation of the photos in his letter of September 20, 1890. Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 13 | 3 PM | 90. Johnson's gratitude in his letter of September 27, 1890 was overwhelming: "Thanks too for the domestic details and glimpses into your daily life which you favour me with, all of which possess a genuine and deep interest for me and which serve to vivify and deepen the ever present and ineradicable image & memory of yourself and your surroundings and to recall the numerous & unexampled kindnesses you had shewn me." Johnston appended the following note to Whitman's letter: "In the gummed envelope of this Letter there is a white hair which was probably detached from the beard of Walt Whitman." On December 16, 1890 Wallace related with the sobriety of his devoton that a friend had set this discovery (or revelation) to music in a line reading, "[Dr. Johnston] triumphantly has shown us a hair from off your beard!" These enclosures have not been located. See Whitman's September 19, 1890, letter to Bucke. Bucke is referring to Wallace's letter of September 9, 1890. In his letter of September 17, 1890, Bucke quoted a letter from John H. Johnston: "This morning an hours talk with Ingersoll and I got his promise and authority to proceed and get up a lecture entertainment by him for Walt's benefit—in Phila I guess—Shall I put you on committee?" In his September 19 letter to Bucke, Whitman wrote that being affiliated with Ingersoll and "freethinking folks" was "annoying" to him, despite the poet's deep respect for Ingersoll. See also Whitman's September 20 letter to John H. Johnston. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 19 | 6 PM | 90. Louisa Orr Whitman, wife of the poet's brother George, and Jessie Louisa Whitman, daughter of the poet's brother Jeff, came to discuss their visit to Burlington, Vermont, where Hannah was ill (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On September 17, 1890 Bucke quoted from a letter from John H. Johnston: "This morning an hours talk with Ingersoll and I got his promise and authority to proceed and get up a lecture entertainment by him for Walt's benefit—in Phila I guess—Shall I put you on committee?" Almost invariably Johnston was the instigator of the remunerative benefits given for Walt Whitman in the last decade of his life. Bucke replied to this objection on September 22, 1890: "I think you are right to stand aside (personally) from this I[ngersoll] demonstration but for my part (as a friend of the cause) I look upon it (and think you should) with great complacency. I think therefore that you are entirely wrong to be 'annoyed' at a demonstration in your favor even if it were entirely by freethinker[s]—they cannot alter you or your teaching and (on the contrary) you will undoubtedly, in the end, alter many of them and will have (in the end) in all probability your most extreme partisans & lovers in this section of humanity." James McKeen Cattell (1860–1944) was professor of psychology (the first to hold such a position in the U.S.) at the University of Pennsylvania from 1888 to 1891; later he taught at Columbia University and was editor of The Psychological Review, Scientific Monthly, and School and Science. According to Heyde's letter on August 28, 1890, Louisa and Jessie had cleaned the house, bought various necessities, but had failed to leave "25 dollars for the taxes." Heyde complained again on September 8 that "no money was bestowed," and said that he was consulting real estate agents in Camden about buying a house there (no doubt a threat). On November 5 and again on December 3, after effusive praise, he reminded the poet of the $25 needed to pay taxes and interest. Mrs. Davis had gone to visit relatives in Kansas; see Whitman's letter to Bucke of September 13, 1890. Mrs. Davis was going to visit relatives in Kansas. Whitman is referring to Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). John H. Johnston had at least four daughters from his first marriage to Amelia Johnston; they were Mary, Bertha, Grace, and Catherine Johnston. This letter is addressed: J H Johnston | Diamond Merchant | 150 Bowery cor: Broome St: | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep (?) | 6 AM | (?). Whitman expressed his conflicted feelings about the "Ingersoll affair" in his September 19 letter to Bucke. See also Bucke's September 22 reply. Whitman is referring to the lecture in his honor, which would take place on October 21 at Philadelphia's Horticultural Hall. Johnston and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke planned the event, and Robert Ingersoll delivered the lecture. See Ingersoll's October 12 and October 20 letters to Whitman. Whitman is referring to the lecture in his honor, which would take place on October 21, 1890, at Philadelphia's Horticultural Hall. The New York jeweler John H. Johnston and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke planned the event. Robert Ingersoll delivered the lecture. See Ingersoll's October 12 and October 20 letters to Whitman. In a note on this letter, Edwin Haviland Miller provides the following explanation: On October 3 Whitman "sent copies of the big book [Complete Poems & Prose (1888), Dr B[ucke]'s W[alt] W[hitman] and J[ohn] B[urroughs]'s Notes [on Walt Whitman] (with portraits W W in envelope) to Col: Ingersoll" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller (New York: New York University Press, 1961–69), 5:89n64. However, on September 23, Johnston says he received the items that Whitman refers to here, suggesting that the October 3 gift to Ingersoll refers to another matter. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N(?) | Sep 22 | 6 AM | 90; London | PM | Sp 23 | 90 | Canada. With a collector's avidity Bucke requested the manuscript of the preface if Mrs. O'Connor was not to receive it. Whitman sent Bucke a draft with his September 24-25 letter and the proof with his September 26-[27] letter, where he also claimed to have sent a copy to Mrs. O'Connor. See the second of Whitman's two September 20 letters to Johnston. This letter is addressed: J H Johnston | 17 Union Sq: cor: B'dway | & 15th St: | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 23 | 3 PM | 90. See the second of Johnston's two September 22, 1890, letters to Whitman. See the second of Whitman's two letters to Johnston of September 20, 1890. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden [illegible] | Sep 25 | 8 PM | 90; Philadelpia, PA | Sep | 25 | 9 PM | 1890 | Transit; London | PM | SP 27 | 9 | Canada. See Bucke's letter of September 22, 1890. See Johnston's first and second letters of September 22, 1890. Whitman expresses his preference for New York in his September 19, 1890, letter to Richard Maurice Bucke. See Dr. John Johnston's letter of September 13, 1890. See Johnston's letter of September 23, 1890. The hostility in Philadelphia to the orator and agnostic Robert G. Ingersoll's (1833–1899) lecture in honor of Whitman aroused the wrath of the Whitmanites, although they secretly delighted in the opportunity to battle with the "enemy." Bucke, who had wanted a New York lecture, sputtered on September 28, "Now I am in favor of Phila for the sake of the dear Pharisees there. If I were down East and assisting to run the thing I would give them (at least try to give them) a dose that they would remember and that would do them good." He returned to the subject on September 30: "Chaff the Pharisees and tell them to 'come on!' Lord how dear old [William] O'C[onnor] would be tickled to be in the middle of the thing!" The hostility in Philadelphia to the orator and agnostic Robert G. Ingersoll's (1833–1899) lecture in honor of Whitman aroused the wrath of the Whitmanites, although they secretly delighted in the opportunity to battle with the "enemy." The Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke, who had wanted a New York lecture, sputtered on September 28, "Now I am in favor of Phila for the sake of the dear Pharisees there. If I were down East and assisting to run the thing I would give them (at least try to give them) a dose that they would remember and that would do them good." He returned to the subject on September 30: "Chaff the Pharisees and tell them to 'come on!' Lord how dear old [William] O'C[onnor] would be tickled to be in the middle of the thing!" Whitman enclosed the preface with his letter to Ellen O'Connor of September 25, 1890. 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 the Canadian physician Richard Maurice 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. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Sep 27 | 8 PM | 90; London | PM | SP 29 | 90 | Canada. Francis ("Frank") Howard Williams (1844–1922) was a poet and playwright from Germantown in Philadelphia. Frank and his wife Mary Bartholomew Houston Williams (1844–1920) had a wide circle of literary acquaintances. He wrote a number of essays about Whitman, and Whitman often visited the Williams family and once was photographed with them. Whitman mentions them frequently to Horace Traubel, recalling "how splendidly the Williamses have always received me in their home" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, September 18, 1888). The hostility in Philadelphia to the Ingersoll lecture aroused the wrath of the Whitmanites, although they secretly delighted in the opportunity to battle with the "enemy." Bucke, who had wanted a New York lecture, sputtered on September 28, "Now I am in favor of Phila for the sake of the dear Pharisees there. If I were down East and assisting to run the thing I would give them (at least try to give them) a dose that they would remember and that would do them good." He returned to the subject on September 30: "Chaff the Pharisees and tell them to 'come on!' Lord how dear old O'C[onnor] would be tickled to be in the middle of the thing!" Whitman enclosed the preface with his letter to Mrs. O'Connor of September 25. See Bucke's letter of September 24, 1890. See Whitman's July 18–[19] letter to Bucke. The Tariff Act of 1890 was passed into law on October 1, 1890, increasing duties across all imports. Whitman is referring to the lecture in his honor, which would take place on October 21 at Philadelphia's Horticultural Hall. The New York jeweler John H. Johnston and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke planned the event, and the orator and agnostic Robert Ingersoll delivered the lecture: "Liberty in Literature. Testimonial to Walt Whitman." See Ingersoll's October 12 and October 20 letters to Whitman. Shore is referring to the lecture in Whitman's honor that took place on October 21, 1890, at Philadelphia's Horticultural Hall. The New York jeweler John H. Johnston and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke planned the event, and the orator and agnostic 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. Whitman is referring to the lecture in his honor that was also a benefit for him, which took place on October 21, 1890, at Philadelphia's Horticultural Hall. The New York jeweler John H. Johnston and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke planned the event, and the orator and agnostic 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. 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. Whitman enclosed the preface with his letter to Mrs. O'Connor of September 25, 1890. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | Sp 29 | 90 | Can[illegible]; Camden, N.J. | Sep | 30 | 4PM | [illegible] | Rec'd. See Whitman's letter of September 24–25, 1890, with which he enclosed a draft of his preface for O'Connor's posthumously published collection of short stories Three Tales (1892). In his letter of September 17, 1890, Bucke quoted a letter from John H. Johnston: "This morning an hours talk with Ingersoll and I got his promise and authority to proceed and get up a lecture entertainment by him for Walt's benefit—in Phila I guess—Shall I put you on committee?" In his September 19 letter to Bucke, Whitman wrote that being affiliated with the lawyer Robert G. Ingersoll(1833–1899) and "freethinking folks" was "annoying" to him, despite the poet's deep respect for Ingersoll. See also Whitman's September 20, 1890, letter to John H. Johnston. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | SP 24 | 90 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | SEP | 2[illegible] | [illegible] | [illegible]. See Whitman's September 21, 1890, letter to Bucke. See Whitman's September 21, 1890, letter to Bucke. The proof of Whitman's preface to W. D. O'Connor's posthumously published Three Tales is described in the American Art Association catalogue as dated "1889" [sic] by Bucke (122). For Whitman's intial responses to the lawyer Robert Ingersoll's (1833–1899) lecture, see Whitman's September 19, 1890, letter to Bucke and the second of the poet's two September 20, 1890, letters to John H. Johnston, who helped arrange it. The hostility in Philadelphia to Ingersoll's lecture aroused the wrath of the Whitmanites, although they secretly delighted in the opportunity to battle with the "enemy." Bucke returned to the subject on September 30: "Chaff the Pharisees and tell them to 'come on!' Lord how dear old O'C[onnor] would be tickled to be in the middle of the thing!" This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | [illegible] | SP 30 | 90 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Oct | 2 | 12 M | 1890 | Rec'd. See Whitman's September 26–[27], 1890, letter to Bucke. See Whitman's letter of September 24–25, with which he enclosed a draft of his preface for a collection of short stories by William D. O'Connor entitled Tales, which was published after O'Connor's death. The poet enclosed the proof of the preface with his letter of September 26–[27]. Bucke is referring to an event arranged by John H. Johnston and Robert Ingersoll, who was to lecture on Whitman. There was some discussion about whether or not the event should be held in New York or Philadelphia. See Bucke's letter of September 17 and the poet's September 19 response. See also his September 20 letter to John H. Johnston. In the upper left corner has been written: "see | notes | Oct 5 | 1890." Whitman sent "Old Poets" to the North American Review on October 9. He returned proof on October 18 and was paid $75 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The article appeared in the November 1890 issue. The North American Review was the first literary magazine in the United States. The journalist Charles Allen Thorndike Rice (1851–1889) edited and published the magazine in New York from 1876 until his death. After Rice's death, Lloyd Bryce became owner and editor, and he held these positions at the time of Rideing's letter. The North American Review was the first literary magazine in the United States. The journalist Charles Allen Thorndike Rice (1851–1889) edited and published the magazine in New York from 1876 until his death. After Rice's death, Lloyd Bryce became owner and editor, and he held these positions at the time the journal solicited this essay from Whitman. The North American Review was the first literary magazine in the United States. The journalist Charles Allen Thorndike Rice (1851–1889) edited and published the magazine in New York from 1876 until his death. After Rice's death, Lloyd Bryce became owner and editor. To the left of the date and address is printed: "Telegraph | Fernhurst | Sussex." See Whitman's August 12, 1890, postal card to Smith. Whitman enclosed a letter from Smith with his August 27, 1890, letter to William Sloane Kennedy. Smith's letter has not survived. See Whitman's postal card of August 12, where the poet said that he would send the books to London rather than Haslemere. Whitman is referring to Kennedy's letter of August 23, 1890. Whitman is referring to Horace Traubel's "Walt Whitman at Date," which was published in the New England Magazine 4 (May 1891), 275–292. Horace Traubel's article "Walt Whitman at Date" was published in the New England Magazine 4 (May 1891): 275–292. Wallace is referring to Horace Traubel's article "Walt Whitman at Date," which was published in the New England Magazine 4 (May 1891), 275–292. In the August 12 entry of his Commonplace Book the poet notes that the funds were received "for twelve copies [of the] pocket b'k b'd L of G" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). In celebration of his seventieth year, Whitman published the limited and autographed pocket-book edition of Leaves of Grass, a volume which also included the annex Sands at Seventy and his essay A Backward Glance O'er Traveled Roads. Complete Poems & Prose (1888). See William Rideing's October 3, 1890, letter to Whitman. Rideing was assistant editor of The North American Review. On October 3, 1890, William H. Rideing, the assistant editor, requested an article of about "4000 words" on "Recent aspects of American literature" for "the sum of Two hundred dollars" or on "some other subject on which you would be more willing to write." Whitman sent "Old Poets" to the magazine on October 9, returned proof on October 18, and received $75 (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Lloyd Bryce was the editor of The North American Review from 1889–1896. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 4 | 8 PM | 90; Philadelphia, P.A. | OCT | 4 | 1890 | Transit; London | PM | OC 6 | 90 | Canada. See Bernard O'Dowd's letter of September 1, 1890. See Whitman's October 3, 1890, letter to Bernard O'Dowd. Never one to leave things to chance, Whitman wrote to Ingersoll twice before the lecture, as evidenced by the latter's replies on October 12, 1890 and October 20, 1890 (See The Letters of Robert G. Ingersoll [New York, NY: Philosophical Library, 1951], 393–394). The event was arranged by John H. Johnston and Robert Ingersoll, who was to lecture on Whitman. There was some discussion about whether or not the event should be held in New York or Philadelphia. See Bucke's letter of September 17, 1890 and the poet's September 19 response. See also his September 20 letter to John H. Johnston. On October 3, 1890, William H. Rideing, the assistant editor, requested an article of about "4000 words" on "Recent aspects of American literature" for "the sum of Two hundred dollars" or on "some other subject on which you would be more willing to write." Whitman sent "Old Poets" to the magazine on October 9, returned proof on October 18, and received $75 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | OC 7 | 90 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Oct | 8 | 4PM | 1890 | Rec'd. See Whitman's October 3–4, 1890, letter to Bucke. On October 7, 1890, Bucke sent Traubel some advice about advertising the lecture: "I hope that you will see that the Lecture or speech is boomed for all it [is] worth—we want a big crowd and I see no reason why we should not have one. I am clearly in favor of the dinner (or supper) to Ingersoll after the lecture and would not miss it for a cow. Short hand reporter of course—two I would say so that every word might be saved—we want the speech eventually in a neat little book." Bucke himself contributed to the advertising with "The Case of Walt Whitman and Col. Ingersoll," The Conservator 1 (October 1890), 59. See Whitman's October 3–4, 1890, letter to Bucke. On October 3, 1890, Whitman accepted the invitation to write for The North American Review. He sent them "Old Poets," the first of a two-part contribution, on October 9. 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. Three of O'Connor's stories with a preface by Whitman were published in Three Tales: The Ghost, The Brazen Android, The Carpenter (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1892). The preface was included in Good-Bye My Fancy (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1891), 51–53. O'Connor hoped to publish a collection of fiction by her late husband, William D. O'Connor, a friend and defender of Whitman. Whitman is referring to a letter that Dr. John Johnston had received from John Addington Symonds. Johnston had made a copy of Symonds' letter, which he included as an enclosure with his December 27, 1890, letter to Whitman. Whitman then sent the copy of Symonds' letter to Bucke along with this letter, but instructed Bucke to return it when he was finished with it. This copy has not yet been located. On October 3, 1890, William H. Rideing, the assistant editor of the North American Review, had written to Whitman and requested that the poet write an article of about "4000 words" on "Recent aspects of American literature" for "the sum of Two hundred dollars" or on "some other subject on which you would be more willing to write." Whitman sent his essay "Old Poets" to the magazine on October 9. Rideing responded with this letter, and he enclosed a proof of Whitman's piece. Whitman returned proof on October 18 and received $75 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Ellen O'Connor hoped to publish a collection of her late husband's fiction. Three of William D. O'Connor's stories with a preface by Whitman were published in Three Tales: The Ghost, The Brazen Android, The Carpenter (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1892). Whitman's preface was also included in Good-Bye My Fancy (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1891), 51–53. Whitman is referring to the letter he received from Bucke on January 5, 1891. The transcription leaves out printed information and manuscript notations pertaining to the telegraph message's printed form, but not the date, location, or content of the message. See the recto image. Joseph Marshall Stoddart (1845–1921) published Stoddart's Encyclopaedia America, established Stoddart's Review in 1880, which was merged with The American in 1882, and became the editor of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1886. On January 11, 1882, Whitman received an invitation from Stoddart through J. E. Wainer, one of his associates, to dine with Oscar Wilde on January 14 (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 235n). Stoddart had written to Whitman on October 10, 1890, about publishing a Whitman page in a future issue of Lippincott's. The March 1891 issue of the magazine (376–389) contained Whitman's portrait as a frontispiece, "Old Age Echoes" (including "Sounds of Winter," "The Unexpress'd," "Sail Out for Good, Eidólon Yacht!" and "After the Argument"), Whitman's "Some Personal and Old-Age Memoranda," Horace Traubel's "Walt Whitman: Poet and Philosopher and Man," and "The Old Man Himself. A Postscript." A diagonal line has been drawn through this letter in black ink. On October 3, 1890, Whitman accepted the invitation to write for The North American Review. He sent them "Old Poets," the first of a two-part contribution, on October 9, 1890. "Shakspere for America," Poet-lore II (September 1890), 492–493. Here Whitman summarized the leading articles on the first page of the Philadelphia Press at the time: "Little Girls Murdered;" President Harrison at Ottumwa, Iowa; and the Count of Paris in Richmond, Virginia. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: New York | Oct 12 | 12 PM | B Cam[illegible] | [illegible] | 13 | 9AM | 18[illegible] | Rec'd. In his letter of September 17 Bucke quoted a letter from John H. Johnston: "This morning an hours talk with Ingersoll and I got his promise and authority to proceed and get up a lecture entertainment by him for Walt's benefit—in Phila I guess—Shall I put you on committee?" In his September 19 letter to Bucke, Whitman wrote that being affiliated with Ingersoll and "freethinking folks" was "annoying" to him, despite the poet's deep respect for Ingersoll. See also Whitman's September 20 letter to John H. Johnston. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | OC 13 | 90 | Canada; N.Y. | 10-14-90 | 930 AM | [illegible]; Camden, N.J. | Oct | 14 | 4PM | 1890 | Rec'd. Of course, Bucke was completely aware of what this was all about. In his letter of September 17 Bucke quoted a letter from John H. Johnston: "This morning an hours talk with Ingersoll and I got his promise and authority to proceed and get up a lecture entertainment by him for Walt's benefit—in Phila I guess—Shall I put you on committee?" In his September 19 letter to Bucke, Whitman wrote that being affiliated with Ingersoll and "freethinking folks" was "annoying" to him, despite the poet's deep respect for Ingersoll. See also Whitman's September 20 letter to John H. Johnston. On October 3, 1890, Whitman accepted an invitation to write for The North American Review. He sent them "Old Poets," the first of a two-part contribution, on October 9. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 12 | 5 PM | 90; London | PM | OC 13 | 90 | Canada. Whitman is referring to the lecture event planned in his honor, which took place 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 and October 20 letters to Whitman. Planning for the event had been underway for about a month. In his letter of September 17 Bucke quoted a letter from John H. Johnston: "This morning an hours talk with Ingersoll and I got his promise and authority to proceed and get up a lecture entertainment by him for Walt's benefit—in Phila I guess—Shall I put you on committee?" See Whitman's letter of October 10, with which he enclosed the manuscript of his preface to O'Connor's Three Tales. With a collector's avidity Bucke requested the manuscript of the preface if Mrs. O'Connor was not to receive it. Whitman sent Bucke a draft with his September 24–25, 1890, letter and the proof with his September 26–[27] letter, where he also claimed to have sent a copy to Mrs. O'Connor. He promised Bucke the manuscript in his letter of October 3–4. On October 3 Whitman accepted an invitation to write for The North American Review. He sent them "Old Poets," the first of a two-part contribution, on October 9. See Whitman's October 12 postal card to Bucke. Bucke is referring to the lecture event in honor of Whitman, which took 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 and October 20 letters to Whitman. Planning for the event had been underway for about a month. In his letter of September 17 Bucke quoted a letter from New York jeweler John H. Johnston: "This morning an hours talk with Ingersoll and I got his promise and authority to proceed and get up a lecture entertainment by him for Walt's benefit—in Phila I guess—Shall I put you on committee?" Sometime before October 10, 1890, Bucke suffered a fall in which he injured his right arm. That same day, he wrote Horace Traubel: "I am over my eyes in work and my right arm is helpless and painfull—it keeps me from getting good rest at night so that I am not in the best of trim by day." On the reverse side of this leaf there is a fragment of Horace Traubel's verse in pencil: "burning with fervent but forbidden." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: New York | Oct 20 | 430 PM | 90; Camden, [illegible] | Oct | [illegible] | 6AM | [illegible] | Rec'd. Ingersoll is alluding to William Shakespeare's As You Like It, Act 3, Scene 3: "When a man's verses cannot be understood, nor a man's good wit seconded with the forward child Understanding, it strikes a man more dead than a great reckoning in a little room." The line is spoken by Touchstone, a fool. Whitman was concerned about what remarks he would make before or after Ingersoll's Philadelphia speech honoring the poet. He eventually followed Ingersoll's advice to "leave it all to your feeling at the time": he later recorded in his Commonplace Book that he, "at the last spoke a very few words—A splendid success for Ingersoll, (— me too.)" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: (?) | Oct 24 | 6 AM | 90. Following the lecture event in Philadelphia in honor of Whitman on October 21, 1890, Traubel went to Canada with Bucke. On October 22 Whitman recorded in his commonplace book his impressions of Robert Ingersoll's speech for the occasion: "Well the Ingersoll lecture came off last evn'g in Horticultural Hall, Broad st: Phila:—a noble, (very eulogistic to WW & L of G) eloquent speech, well responded to by the audience. There were 1600 to 2000 people, (choice persons,) one third women (Proceeds to me $869.45)—I went over, was wheeled on the stage in my ratan chair, and at the last spoke a very few words—A splendid success for Ingersoll, (& me too.) Ing. had it written, & read with considerable fire, but perfect ease" (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839—1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Following the lecture event in honor of Whitman at Philadelphia's Horticultural Hall on October 21, 1890, Horace Traubel went to Canada with Bucke. Following a lecture event in honor of Whitman at Philadelphia's Horticultural Hall on October 21, 1890, Horace Traubel had traveled to Canada with Bucke. This article recounted the discussion about religion and death that Ingersoll and Whitman engaged in at the dinner in the Lafayette Hotel after Ingersoll's address in Horticultural Hall in Philadelphia to benefit Whitman on October 21, 1890. Following a lecture event in honor of Whitman at Philadelphia's Horticultural Hall on October 21, 1890, Traubel had traveled to Canada with Bucke. Following a lecture event in honor of Whitman at Philadelphia's Horticultural Hall on October 21, 1890, Traubel had traveled to Canada with Bucke. Traubel had returned to Camden on October 29th. Traubel has written the rest of the letter at the top of the first page. On October 21, 1890 at Horticultural Hall in Philadelphia, Robert Ingersoll delivered a lecture in honor of Walt Whitman titled Liberty in Literature. Testimonial to Walt Whitman. Whitman recorded in his Commonplace Book that the lecture was "a noble, (very eulogistic to WW & L of G) eloquent speech, well responded to by the audience" and the speech itself was published in New York by the Truth Seeker Company in 1890 (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]). Following the lecture event, Horace Traubel went to Canada with Bucke. On October 21, 1890, at Horticultural Hall in Philadelphia, Robert Ingersoll delivered a lecture in honor of Walt Whitman titled Liberty in Literature. Testimonial to Walt Whitman. Whitman recorded in his Commonplace Book that the lecture was "a noble, (very eulogistic to WW & L of G) eloquent speech, well responded to by the audience," and the speech itself was published in New York by the Truth Seeker Company in 1890 (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]). The reference is probably to Blasius & Sons, retailers of pianos and presumably agents for the Philadelphia Horticultural Hall, where the October 21st lecture event honoring Whitman and featuring a lecture by Robert Ingersoll took place. On October 22, 1890, Whitman recorded in his Commonplace Book his impressions of Ingersoll's speech: "Well the Ingersoll lecture came off last evn'g in Horticultural Hall, Broad st: Phila:—a noble, (very eulogistic to WW & L of G) eloquent speech, well responded to by the audience. There were 1600 to 2000 people, (choice persons,) one third women (Proceeds to me $869.45)—I went over, was wheeled on the stage in my ratan chair, and at the last spoke a very few words—A splendid success for Ingersoll, (& me too.) Ing. had it written, & read with considerable fire, but perfect ease" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This may be a reference to the clipping from the Sunday Chronicle of February 27, 1887, referring to "Walt Whitman Junior," which Wallace sent on October 15, 1890. Dick Flynn was an employee at Bucke's Asylum. Flynn came to Camden in 1889. See Whitman's August 27, 1889 and August 29, 1889, letters to Bucke. See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, August 27, 1889). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | OCT 25 | 430 PM | 90; London | AM | OC 27 | 9O | Canada. Ralph Moore was the superintendent of Harleigh Cemetery, where Whitman had had his marble tomb built. J. E. Reinhalter, of P. Reinhalter & Company, on October 11 urged Whitman to "be kind enough and look over the paper wich I left with you [&] see if all correct, as we are govern[ing] ourselfs according." He also said that his "brother has gone to the Quarry in Massachusetts and will stay there untill all the stones connected with your work are split out." See also Whitman's November 12–14, 1891 letter to Bucke. A Mugwump was a political activist who shifted from the Republican party to the Democratic party in the 1880s; for the rest of the century it was a common term for anyone who left one political party for another. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | OC 27 | 90 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Oct | 28 | 12 M | [illegible] | Rec'd. After Robert Ingersoll gave a lecture in Philadelphia in honor of Whitman on October 21, 1890, Traubel returned with Bucke to London, Ontario, Canada. For Whitman's description of the Ingersoll lecture, see his October 23, 1890 letter to Bucke and Traubel. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 26 | 5 PM | 90; London | M | Oc 27 | O | Canada. The letter from Niagara is not extant. On October 29, 1890, Bucke commented that the Philadelphia Press article "Whitman-Ingersoll-Death" "might have been worse—but it also might have been a good deal better without being anything wonderful." This article describes the discussion between Whitman and Robert Ingersoll (following Ingersoll's lecture at Horticultural Hall) held in the dining room of the Layfayette Hotel. On October 21, 1890 at Horticultural Hall in Philadelphia, Robert Ingersoll delivered a lecture in honor of Walt Whitman titled Liberty in Literature. Testimonial to Walt Whitman. Whitman recorded in his Commonplace Book that the lecture was "a noble, (very eulogistic to WW & L of G) eloquent speech, well responded to by the audience" and the speech itself was published in New York by the Truth Seeker Company in 1890 (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]). Following the lecture event, Horace Traubel went to Canada with Bucke. Before this letter, Whitman sent letters to Bucke and Traubel on October 23, October 24, and October 25. Bucke attended the Philadelphia lecture event honoring Whitman on October 21, 1890. When Bucke returned to Canada, Traubel joined him for a vacation. Traubel returned to Camden on October 29th. On October 21, 1890 at Horticultural Hall in Philadelphia, Robert Ingersoll delivered a lecture in honor of Walt Whitman titled Liberty in Literature. Testimonial to Walt Whitman. Whitman recorded in his Commonplace Book that the lecture was "a noble, (very eulogistic to WW & L of G) eloquent speech, well responded to by the audience" and the speech itself was published in New York by the Truth Seeker Company in 1890 (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]). Following the lecture event, Horace Traubel went to Canada with Bucke. Before this letter, Whitman sent letters to Bucke and Traubel on October 23, October 24, and October 25. Traubel returned to Camden on October 29th. At the Lafayette Hotel event, Whitman read what he described as "a translation of mine from the French of Henri Murger" of Murger's poem "The Midnight Visitor" (based on an Anacreon ode); the translation is printed in the Philadelphia Press article. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 27 | 3 PM | 90, B | A.M. OC | 29. The only extant letter that Traubel wrote to Whitman during his jaunt to Canada with Bucke between October 22–29 is dated October 27. Harrison Smith Morris (1856–1948) was a businessman and man of letters. Horace Traubel published Morris's translation of French critic Gabriel Sarrazin's essay "Walt Whitman" in the tribute collection In Re Walt Whitman, ed. Horace Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas B. Harned [Philadelphia: McKay, 1893], 159–194. Morris also wrote a biography of the poet, Walt Whitman: A Brief Biography with Reminiscences (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1929). Dr. Charles Sippi (1843–1947) was the bursar at the asylum where Bucke worked. Bucke's son, Edward Pardee Bucke (1875–1913). Bucke usually referred to his son as "Pardee," and reversed his son's initials (the "E" and "P" are reversed). See Whitman's postal card of October 27, 1890 See Whitman's postal card of October 26, 1890. Bucke is referring to Edwin Reed, Brief for Plaintiff. Bacon vs. Shakespeare (Chicago: Rand, McNally & Co., 1890). On November 5, Horace Traubel noted: "W. explained that while I was away he 'got a very raspy note from Oldach practically asking that I take my sheets away, saying there was nothing to him in their being there,' etc. W. now would have Oldach bind up 150 copies more, then fold all rest of the sheets and arrange them for binding, etc., subject to order. Gave me memorandum letter to that effect" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, November 5, 1890). See Whitman's November 5, 1890, reply to Oldach. This letter is addressed: Oldach & Co: | Book Binders | 1215 Filbert Street | Philadelphia. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 8 | 430 PM | 90, London | AM | NO 10 | [illegible]0 | Canada, NY | 11-8-90 | 1130 PM. Whitman noted in his Commonplace Book the receipt of 30 copies of The Truth Seeker, which printed Ingersoll's "Testimonial to Walt Whitman" on November 1 (Volume 17 [1890], 690–693 and 700). See Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Logan Smith wrote from Oxford on October 27, 1890 at the beginning of the college year. Gleeson White, an Englishman whom Whitman described as a "middle-aged man very gentlemanly & pleasant," visited Whitman in Camden on November 4, 1890, and gave the poet a "strong acc't of L of G receptivity and popularity" in England See Daybooks & Notebooks, ed. William White (New York: New York University Press, 1978), 2:575. White had requested permission to visit in his letter of November 2, 1890. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | NO [illegible] | 90 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Nov | 11 | 3PM | 1890 | Rec'd; Rec[illegible] | Nov | 1[illegible] | 1130 AM | Phila. When Traubel returned to Camden from a trip to London, Ontario, Canada, he brought with him a number of volumes from Bucke's Whitman collection to be inscribed by the poet. On November 9, 1890, Bucke wrote Traubel: "The valise reached London yesterday morning, I went in, passed it through the customs and brought it out. I was and am much elated at its contents—all the books duly autographed and many presents over and above—you and dear old Walt have treated me in a princely manner." Some if not all of these volumes were inscribed by Whitman on October 31, 1890. See the Catalogue of important letters, manuscripts and books by or relating to Walt Whitman (Sotheby & Co., 1935). Bucke may be referring to one of several reliefs of Whitman by Sidney H. Morse, sculpted in clay and cast in plaster. Johnston may be referring to one of several reliefs of Whitman by Sidney H. Morse, sculpted in clay and cast in plaster. Johnston is slightly misquoting lines from the second part of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Tales of a Wayside Inn" (1863), "The Theologian's Tale; The Legend Beautiful": "'Do thy duty; that is best; / Leave unto thy Lord the rest!.'" Little is known about W. A. Ferguson, who was affiliated with the Little Hulton branch of the Bank of Bolton and was a member of the Bolton College group of admirers of Whitman in Bolton, Lancashire, England. 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). At this time, Wallace was returning to his home in Bolton, Lancashire, England, after spending several weeks traveling in the United States and Canada. During his trip, Wallace visited Whitman in Camden, and, after spending a few days with the poet, Wallace traveled with the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke to Bucke's home in 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). At this time, Wallace was preparing to return to his home in Bolton, Lancashire, England, after spending several weeks traveling in the United States and Canada. During his trip, Wallace visited Whitman in Camden, and, after spending a few days with the poet, Wallace traveled with the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke to Bucke's home in London, Ontario, Canada, where he met Bucke's family and friends. Wallace departed early in the morning of November 4, 1891, on board the City of Berlin. His 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). At the time of this letter, Wallace was traveling to his home in Bolton, Lancashire, England, after spending several weeks in the United States and Canada. During his trip, Wallace visited Whitman in Camden, and, after spending a few days with the poet, Wallace traveled with the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke to Bucke's home in London, Ontario, Canada, where he met Bucke's family and friends. Wallace departed early in the morning of November 4, 1891, on board the City of Berlin. His 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). During the months of September and October 1891, Wallace had traveled in the United States and Canada. He visited Whitman in Camden, and traveled with the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke to Bucke's home in London, Ontario, where he met Bucke's family and friends. Wallace then returned to the United States, spending time with Whitman and traveling in New York. Wallace departed early in the morning on November 4, 1891 on board the City of Berlin and returned home to Bolton, Lancashire, England (See Whitman's letter to Bucke of October 31–November 1, 1891). 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). Wallace had recently returned to his home in Anderton (near Bolton), Lancashire, England, after spending several weeks traveling in the United States and Canada. During his trip, Wallace visited Whitman in Camden, and, after spending a few days with the poet, Wallace traveled with the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke to Bucke's home in 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). Bucke is inquiring about Whitman's essay "Have We a National Literature?," which was published in The North American Review 125 (March 1891), 332–338. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | NO 11 | 90; Camden, NJ | Nov | 13 | 6AM | 1890 | Rec'd. See Whitman's November 8, 1890, letter to Bucke. See Whitman's November 13, 1890, letter to Bucke. See Whitman's letters to Bucke of November 13, 1890 and November 18, 1890. In his November 8, 1890, letter to Bucke, Whitman wrote that he "had a lively gent visitor day before yesterday f'm Eng." who "gives a strong acc't of L of G receptivity." The English visitor was likely Joseph William (Gleeson) White (1851–1898), an English critic and editor, who wrote extensively on the subjects of design, illustration, and book-binding (Daybooks & Notebooks, ed. William White [New York: New York University Press, 1978], 2:575). The 1890 election was held during Republican President Benjamin Harrison's term of office (Harrison served from 1889–1893). Republicans suffered major losses in the election, with Democrats taking control of the House of Representatives, but with Republicans hanging onto control of the Senate. The Populist Party had some surprising successes, electing two U.S. Senators. In his November 8, 1890, letter Whitman wrote that he was "tickled hugely with the election." This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: C[illgeible]| Nov 12 | 6 PM | 90, Buffalo, N.Y. | Nov | 13 | 12 M | 1890 | Transit, London | AM | No 14 | [illegible]O | Canada. In his November 9 letter, Bucke thanked Whitman for signing the editions of Leaves of Grass which Traubel had brought back with him to Camden for this purpose. Whitman is probably referring here to Edwin Stafford (1856–1906). Edwin was one of George and Susan Stafford's sons. He was the brother of Harry Stafford, a close acquaintance of Whitman. Harriet Parkerson Harned (1824–1890) was born in Norwich, England, the third of five sisters. Harned said of her: "She was a great woman, with unusual mental qualities. In many respects she was the ablest woman I have ever known." For more information about her, see Memoirs of Thomas B. Harned, Walt Whitman's Friend and Literary Executor, ed. Peter Van Egmond (Hartford, CT: Transcendental Books, 1972). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N. J. | NOV 14 | 6 AM | 90; N. Y. | 11-14-90 | 1030AM | [illegible]; LONDON | PM | NO 15 | 91 | CANADA. Whitman wrote this letter on the blank verso of a piece of stationery printed with the following: Department of Justice | Washington. __187. On November 5 Whitman sent Complete Poems & Prose to F. Townsend Southwick, of New York City (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Southwick was the director of a school of oratory, who, in an undated fragment, probably written in 1890, requested permission "to select & edit a number of your poems for class use & recitation." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | NO 17 | 90 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Nov | 18 | [illegible]. See Whitman's November 12, 1890, letter to Bucke. See Whitman's November 12 letter to Bucke. Whitman reports on his dissatisfaction with the glasses in his letter of November 13, 1890. In the nineteenth century, calomel was used as a purgative agent to treat numerous illnesses, especially gastrointestinal symptoms like constipation, dysentery, and vomiting. In high doses, calomel could lead to mercury poisoning. Whitman was examined by an oculist, Dr. Thomas, on October 25, 1890. Thomas was to assist the poet in obtaining "suitable glasses." See Whitman's letter to Bucke of October 26, 1890. Whitman also reports on his dissatisfaction with the glasses in his letter of November 13, 1890. Williams had suggested that Whitman have his eyes examined. Dr. George de Schweinitz (1858–1938), an expert opthamologist and educator who served as the oculist to President Woodrow Wilson, examined Whitman on September 16, 1891, at the poet's Mickle Street home. See the letter from Whitman to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke of September 16, 1891. Whitman was waiting to receive a pair of eyeglasses from Fox. When he was a young man, Bucke explored the American West, including trekking through the mountains of California in the winter of 18571–858 on a silver-mining expedition; as the only survivor of his party, he walked alone out of the mountains, suffering severe frostbite that led to the loss of one foot and part of the other one. See Whitman's November 12, 1890, letter to Bucke. Bucke is presumably referring to J.W. Wallace's "Address," a piece that has yet to be identified. Dr. Thomas was an oculist who had visited the poet on October 25, 1890; he examined Whitman and was to assist the poet in obtaining "suitable glasses." See Whitman's letter to Bucke of October 26, 1890. Unidentified. The New York World piece may have something to do with Whitman's reading of "After All, Not to Create Only" at the fortieth National Industrial Exhibition on September 7, 1871, which received extensive coverage in the New York press. See Leaves of Grass: Comprehensive Reader's Edition, ed. Harold W. Blodgett and Sculley Bradley (New York: New York University Press, 1965), 194n–196n; Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (New York: Macmillan, 1955), 432–435; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, vol. 1 (Boston: Small, Maynard, 1906), 324–339. Whitman had written to Bucke on November 8, 1890 and November 12, 1890. On March 27, 1871, the New York World published a two-column obituary for Whitman. The paper had recently received a telegram indicating that a "Walter Whitman" had been killed in a railroad accident in Croton, New York. The writers of the obituary confused the victim of the railroad accident, "Walter Whitman," with Walt Whitman the poet, who, at the time the obituary was printed, was alive and well in Washington, D.C. For more on the obituary and the circumstances leading to it, see Todd Richardson, "Walt Whitman's 'Lively Corpse' in 1871: The American Press on the Rumor of Whitman's Death," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 15.1 (1997), 1–22. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, [] | Nov 19 | 6 AM | 90; London | PM | No 20 | 9 | Canada; N.Y. | 11-19-90 | 1030 AM | [illegible].To Julius Chambers (1850–1920), managing editor of the New York World, Whitman sent a piece entitled "Walt Whitman's Thanksgiving," which appeared in the paper on November 23 with this preface: "From out of buoyant spirits, fine weather and brightest sunshine (Nov: 18 '90) I send hearty salutations in advance to The World readers, staff, and printers—Why not say, all the Commonwealth—aye, the orb itself, all hands? Carlyle said the truest poetry was impell'd by gratitude, adoration, the richness of love, thanksgiving (it is a deep criticism). I sometimes wonder whether this native festa of ours is not to be kicked out of all the celebration days of our New World, and spread to all our confines, and become our distinctive day, autochthonous, representative of our whole Nationality. Though old and helplessly paralyzed, I am among you in New York more than you think; and, while I cannot send you anything particularly new, I re-dedicate to you all, as follows, one of my late personal utterances. . . ." Following this preface, "Thanks in Old Age" was printed in its entirety. The poet was paid $10 on November 23 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.).
On November 22, Whitman sent six poems to Isaac N. Baker, who was apparently associated with The Arena: "Old Chants," "On, on the Same, Ye Jocund Twain!" "Sail Out for Good, Eidólon Yacht," "L. of G.'s Purport," "For Us Two, Reader Dear," and "My Task" (?). The cluster was rejected by B. O. Flower, the editor, on December 2; he preferred "an essay from your pen to poems." Whitman sent six poems to Isaac N. Baker, who was apparently associated with The Arena at that time: "Old Chants," "On, on the Same, Ye Jocund Twain!," "Sail Out for Good, Eidólon Yacht," "L. of G.'s Purport," "For Us Two, Reader Dear," and "My Task" (?). The cluster was rejected by Benjamin Orange Flower, the editor of the magazine, on December 2, 1890; he preferred "an essay from your pen to poems." Isaac Newton Baker (1838–1923) of Philadelphia, Pennslyvania, was an American writer and the editor of the American Sunday-School Times. He served as the private secretary to the orator Robert G. Ingersoll, and also became Ingersoll's biographer. Whitman is referring to Charles Hamilton Aidé (1826–1906), who was a poet, novelist, and British army officer. Also visiting the poet was Sir Henry Morton Stanley (1841–1904), a Welsh journalist and explorer who made a triumphal tour of America in 1890. Charles Hamilton Aidé (1826–1906) was a poet, novelist, and British army officer, who served as a secretary to the explorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley (1841–1904). Sir Henry Morton Stanley (1841–1904) was a Welsh journalist and explorer who made a triumphal tour of America in 1890. The remainder of this letter—likely including the item Whitman provided for Kennedy to publish, as well as the poet's closing and signature—is missing and has not yet been located. Kennedy, however, in his Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896), describes the now-missing enclosure: "On November 8, 1890, Whitman sent to us at the Transcript office, in Boston, for use in the paper, a 'jotting' memorandum, anent the then recent sweeping Democratic victory in many States of the Union, which was considered a rebuke of the McKinley Tariff and pension enormities:—'Walt Whitman likes the result of the late election, and wants more of it. Though an old Republican, he calls the party in power "the banditti combine," and says, if it were not for American elections as safety-valves, we would likely have a French Revolution here and Reign of Terror.'" Of "To the Sun-Set Breeze" Bucke said on November 22: "If I know any thing of L. of G. or of you this is one of the most subtle, extraordinary little poems you ever wrote and so far from its being done off-hand it seems to me deeper than the deepest study—even to follow in thought the (double) meaning of it makes me feel giddy as in looking up, up, into the far sky." This is the poem highly praised by Ezra Pound; see Leaves of Grass: Comprehensive Reader's Edition, ed. Harold W. Blodgett and Sculley Bradley (New York: New York University Press, 1965), 546–547n. "To the Sun-Set Breeze" was published in Lippincott's Magazine 46 (December 1890), 861. There is no extant letter from Bucke to Whitman dated the 16th. The poet might have meant Bucke's letter of the 15th. Edward B. Fox was an optician with an office on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. He invented and patented several types of eyeglasses in the late 1880s and early 1890s (see The Jeweler's Circular and Horological Review [November 28, 1894], 68). This postal card included a printed address for the intended recipient: S. P. Wharton, who lived at or had a business at 910 Clinton St. in Philadelphia. Whitman drew a line in pen through each line of Wharton's address, and wrote Bucke's address. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 20 | 8 PM | 90; London | PM | No 22 | 9 | Canada. Whitman wrote this note to Bucke on a postal card that was used for ordering tickets to a series of lectures by John Fiske. Whitman drew lines in pen through the printed information about Fiske's lectures and wrote his message to Bucke on the card. Stoddart wrote about a Whitman page on October 10, 1890. The March issue of Lippincott's in 1891 (376–389) contained Whitman's portrait as a frontispiece, "Old Age Echoes" (including "Sounds of Winter," "The Unexpress'd," "Sail Out for Good, Eidélon Yacht!" and "After the Argument"), Whitman's "Some Personal and Old-Age Memoranda," Traubel's "Walt Whitman: Poet and Philosopher and Man," and "The Old Man Himself. A Postscript." Bucke is referring to Whitman's poem "To the Sun-Set Breeze," which was published in the December issue of Lippincott's Magazine. The poet enclosed the piece with his letter of November 18, 1890. Benjamin Orange Flower (1858–1918) was an American journalist and reform writer. Born in Illinois to Rev. Alfred Flower (1822–1907) and Elizabeth Orange (1821–1896), Flower studied for a few years at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, in hopes of pursuing a religious vocation like his father. Flower left university after a change of religion and took up journalism, founding The American Spectator in 1886, a magazine succeeded by The Arena three years later. The magazine advocated social reform movements including socialism, prohibition, and trade unionism, and published work from authors Stephen Crane, Hamiln Garland, and Upton Sinclair. After The Arena ceased publication in 1909, Flower began the Twentieth-Century Magazine that ran until 1911. His essays from The Arena were gathered in several volumes, including Civilization's Inferno; or, Studies in the Social Cellar (Boston: Arena Publishing Co., 1893) and Persons, Places and Ideas: Miscellaneous Essays (Boston: Arena Publishing Co., 1896). He is also author of Christian Science as a Religious Belief and a Therapeutic Agent (Boston: Twentieth Century Co., 1910) and Progressive Men, Women, and Movements of the Past Twenty-Five Years (Boston: The Arena, 1914). For more information, see Allen J. Matusow, "The Mind of B. O. Flower," The New England Quarterly 34.4 (December 1961), 492–509. Founded by the American journalist and reform writer Benjamin Orange Flower (1858–1918),The Arena was a monthly magazine that advocated social reform movements including socialism, prohibition, and trade unionism, and published work from authors Stephen Crane, Hamiln Garland, and Upton Sinclair. The Arena ceased publication in 1909. On the verso of this leaf has been written: "see notes | Nov. 24 | 1890." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | NO [illegible] | 90 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Nov | 2[illegible] | [illegible]M | [illegible] | [illegible]. See Whitman's November 20, 1890, letter to Bucke. The poet enclosed this poem with his letter of November 18, 1890. "To the Sun-Set Breeze" appeared in the December issue of Lippincott's Magazine. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | 321 Mickle St. | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Philad(?) | Nov 24 | 11PM | 90; Camden, (?) | Nov | 25 | 9AM | 1890 | Rec'd. Minna Gale (1869–1944) was an American actress known for Shakespearean roles early in her career. She later appeared in silent films. The Chestnut Street Opera House in Philadelphia opened in 1877. In late November 1890, Booth and Barrett, as part of their acclaimed 1889–1890 tour, performed in several plays there; the plays included Francesca da Rimini, George Henry Boker's 1855 tragedy based on Dante, as well as Edward Bulwer-Lytton's 1839 historical play Richelieu, along with Shakespeare's Hamlet, Othello, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, and Macbeth. Minna Gale joined Booth and Barrett in a number of these productions; she replaced the renowned Polish actress Helena Modjeska (1840–1909), who had to leave the tour because of an injured ankle. Only one leaf of this letter is extant, and it is in poor condition: a portion of the upper left corner has been cut away, and there is water damage. Whitman has drawn a diagonal cancellation mark across the leaf, suggesting that he planned to use the verso as scrap paper. Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), known as "Jeff," was Walt Whitman's favorite brother. As a civil engineer, Jeff eventually became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis and a nationally recognized name. Whitman probably had his brother in mind when he praised the marvels of civil engineering in poems like "Passage to India." Though their correspondence slowed in the middle of their lives, the brothers were brought together again by the deaths of Jeff's wife Martha (known as Matty) in 1873 and his daughter Manahatta in 1886. Jeff's death on November 25, 1890 caused Walt to reminisce in his obituary, "how we loved each other—how many jovial good times we had!" For more on Thomas Jefferson Whitman, see "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). A diagonal line has been drawn through the letter in black ink. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | DE 13 | 90 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Dec | 15 | 6 AM | [illegible] | Rec'd. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 9 | 6 AM | 90; N.Y. | 12-9-90 | 530PM | [illegible] | London | PM | De 10 | 90 | Canada. According to Bucke's letter to Whitman of December 12, 1890, Whitman sent the Camden Courier of December 6, 1890, with a "long piece abt. tomb." This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, [illegible] Dec 9 | 4 30 PM | 90; London | AM | DE 11 | 0 | Canada, N.Y. | 12-9-90 | 11PM | [illegible]. Whitman's obituary for his brother, "Thomas Jefferson Whitman: An Engineer's Obituary," was published in the Engineering Review of December 14, 1890. See Prose Works 1892, Volume 2: Collect and Other Prose, ed. Floyd Stovall (New York: New York University Press, 1964), 692–693. Williams was in Camden on December 5 with the "proof" typescript of "Off-hand talk between WW and R[G] Ingersoll" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The book was for Agnes Schilling (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Bucke explained the matter in his letter of December 12: a man named Beers gave Johnston $10 for tickets on the day of the Philadelphia lecture. The Panic of 1890 involved the near insolvency of Barings Bank of London, England, which had invested heavily in Argentina's failing economy, leading to international financial distrust and a sharp recession in the U.S. See Whitman's postal card of December 8, 1890. See Whitman's letter of December 8–9, 1890. See Mary Smith Costelloe's November 28, 1890, letter to Whitman. Bucke is referring to the Camden Daily Courier of December 6, 1890. See Whitman's letter of December 8–9, 1890. Whitman's obituary for his brother "Thomas Jefferson Whitman: An Engineer's Obituary" was published in the Engineering Review of December 13, 1890. See Prose Works 1892, Volume II: Collect and Other Prose, ed. Floyd Stovall (New York: New York University Press, 1964), 692–693. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 14 | 5 PM | 90; London | DE 15 | [illegible]0 | Canada, Buff[illegible]. See Whitman's December 24, 1890, letter to Bucke, where the poet responds to Bucke's relief about "the catheter &c." See Whitman's December 12–13, 1890, letter to Bucke. See Whitman's letters of November 13, 1890 and November 18, 1890. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 16 | 6 PM | 90; London | M | De 17 | 90 | Canada. Mrs. O'Connor wrote on December 14 that she had not heard from the publishers of the late William Douglas O'Connor's collection of stories, Three Tales, for which Whitman wrote the introduction. There is a diagonal cancellation mark on the recto of this letter, suggesting that Whitman intended to use the blank verso as scrap paper. See Whitman's letter of December 16. Philip Eustace Bucke (1831–1918) was Richard Maurice Bucke's older brother. He was born in Methwold, Norfolk, England, and, when he was seven years old, emigrated to Canada with the rest of the Bucke family. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | DE 22 | 90 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Dec | 24 | 6AM | 1890 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton | Lancashire England. It is postmarked: Ca(?) | Dec 24 | 12 M | 90; Philadelphia, Pa. | Dec 24 | 2 PM | Paid. Johnston's letter of December 13, 1890, like most of his notes, abounded in the sentimental vitality of an idealistic little group of men who frequently for evenings of poetry reading, good fellowship, and edifying injunctions—"rousing us to a sense of the value & importance of our little Society of Friends & urging upon us the necessity for strengthening the bonds of mutual manly love & true Comradeship & the cultivation of the Higher Self." Whitman's nurse at the time, Warren Fritizinger, regularly gave the poet massages. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 30 | 8 PM | 90; London | JA [illegible] | 91 | Canada. Whitman sent "Some Personal and Old-Age Memoranda" (later "Some Personal and Old-Age Jottings") and "Sail Out for Good, Eidólon Yacht!" for which he received $50 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). "Some Personal and Old-Age Memoranda" and a group of four poems, including "Sail Out for Good," appeared in Lippincott's Magazine in the March 1891 issue. For more on the gift copy of Leaves of Grass to Fred Wild, a member of the Bolton group, see James W. Wallace's January 9, 1891, letter to Whitman and Johnston's January 17, 1891, letter to Whitman (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). For more on the gift copy of Leaves of Grass to Fred Wild, a member of the Bolton group, see Dr. John Johnston's January 17, 1891, letter to Whitman (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Wallace is quoting from Whitman's "Calamus" poems. This postal card is addressed: J W Wallace | Anderton near Chorley | Lancashire England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 24 | (?)2 M | 90; Philadelphia, Pa. | Dec 24 | 3 PM | Paid. Whitman is probably referring to Wallace's letter of December 12, 1890 (typescript: County Borough of Bolton [England] Public Libraries). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Philadelph(?) | Dec 24 | 1 PM | 90, London | PM | DE 25 | 90 | Canada. On December 22 Bucke wrote: "The best letter I have had for a long time was one this moment received written by Dr Mitchell jr. to Horace and forwarded me by the latter. This letter gives an acct. of the analysis of your water and according to it your kidneys are absolutely normal. There is nothing at all wrong with your water works except the enlarged prostate and the irritation consequent upon it. Your main difficulty is that on account of the enlargement of the prostate the bladder is not entirely emptied at any time—the urine retained undergoes decomposition and causes irritation—Now what is wanted is that a catheter should be passed morning and evening and all the water drawn off (in this way) twice a day." See Whitman's November 20, 1890, letter to Joseph M. Stoddart and his December 30, 1890, letter to Bucke. On December 17, Whitman sent four poems: "Old Chants," "Grand is the Seen," "Death dogs my steps," and "two lines." He requested $100, but the poems were rejected on January 23, 1891 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See Dr. Johnston's letter of December 13, 1890. In the lower left corner of the envelope, Scovel has written: Jan 8. This letter is addressed: for/ Walt Whitman. | 328 Mickle— | Camden, NJ. It is postmarked: Washington, D.C. | Jan 8 | 12PM | [illegible]. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman— | Poet— | Camden— | New Jersey—. It is postmarked: New York | JAN20 | 2PM | 90; [illegible]mden, N.J. | Jan | 21 | 6AM | 1890 | Rec'd. The remainder of this letter is not extant. See Whitman's 5 February 1890 letter to Bucke. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 28 | 8 PM | 90, London | AM | MY 1 | [illegible] | Canada; N. Y. | 4-29-90 | 11PM | 12. Whitman may be referring to Bucke's letter of April 24, 1890. Whitman is referring to Bucke's "Leaves of Grass and Modern Science," The Conservator 1 (May 1890): 19. "A Twilight Song" was published in the May issue of Century. This postal card is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 30 | 8PM | 90. This letter may not be extant. Mrs. Ada H. Spaulding was one of Whitman's warmest Boston admirers. On January 4 she wrote about her successful public address on his poetry and noted that her "few minutes" in Camden meant "so much" to her. The Staffords ran a country store near their farm in Laurel Springs, New Jersey. Whitman mentions the Stafford family's store in his letter to Thomas Nicholson of March 17, 1881. Whitman had likely sent notice of his lecture on Lincoln, "Death of Abraham Lincoln," which he delivered for the last time on April 15, 1890 in the Arts Room in Philadelphia, where he was part of a reception given that evening by the Contemporary Club. If Whitman enclosed a notice for Dowden with a letter, that letter has not yet been located. For more information on Whitman's lecture, see Larry D. Griffin, "'Death of Abraham Lincoln' (1879)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Edward Dowden (1843–1913) was the son of John Wheeler Dowden (1799–1891) and Alicia Bennett Dowden. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Dublin | 3D | AP 19 | 90; New York | Apr | 28 | PAID | C | A[illegible]; Camden, N.J. | Apr | 28 | 4PM | 1890 | Rec'd. Dowden had an elder brother John and two sisters, Margaret (six years older than Edward) and Anna, the eldest sibling ("Biographical Note," Letters of Edward Dowden and His Correspondents [New York: Dutton, 1914], 395–397). Dowden is likely referring to Margaret because he had written to his brother expressing concerns about her health in 1888. See Dowden's letter dated August 20, 1888 (238). This letter may have been addressed to Dodd, Mead, & Co, a publishing house in New York City, regarding their April 15, 1890, letter requesting Whitman's contribution to a projected volume on Abraham Lincoln. Stedman wrote this letter with an early typewriter, which only typed in capital letters. The transcription provided here does not reproduce this feature of the original typescript. Stedman is referring to the published volume of 70th birthday speeches Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1889). The Latin phrase, "Deo volente," meaning "God willing." The eleventh and final volume of Stedman's Library of American Literatureappeared later in 1890. This a draft letter; the version of the letter that Whitman sent to McKay is not extant. The notes are written in pencil on the verso of the final page of the letter—they appear upside down at the top of the page. The Adams Express Company was founded in 1854 in New York City and began operations by delivering parcels between Boston and New York. It expanded into one of the most successful express delivery companies in the U.S. Women's fashion in the early 1890s embraced a number of shoulder-enhancing styles. The Critic of November 28, 1890 (p. 282) printed a paragraph about Whitman's forthcoming volume Good-Bye My Fancy and noted that he was writing a "prefatory note" for William Douglas O'Connor's Three Tales; the paragraph also offers details about Whitman's current physical condition. William Ewert Gladstone (1809–1898) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1868 to 1894. Ferdinand de Lesseps (1805–1894) was a French diplomat and participated in the development of the Suez Canal. George Bancroft (1800–1891), American diplomat in Europe and historian. Hamilton Fish (1808–1893), Governor of New York, Senator, and Secretary of State under Ulysses S. Grant. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Walt Whitman | 431 Steevens Street | Camden | New Jersey | United States. Rolleston misspelled Stevens Street here and on the envelopes of several of his other letters to Whitman. Edmund C. Stedman (1833–1908), the American poet and critic, wrote "Walt Whitman" for Scribner's Monthly, 21 (November 1880), 47–64. Stedman differs with some of Whitman's theories and objects to his "over-bodiness." On the other hand, he calls him a man of genius, of striking physical and mental qualities, excelling most writers in personal magnetism, tact, and adroitness as a man of the world, the avowed champion of democracy. He states that Whitman represents, first of all, his own personality; secondly, the conflict with aristocracy and formalism, and remarks that against the latter he early took the position of an iconoclast, avowing that the time had come in which to create an American art by rejection of all forms, irrespective of their natural basis, which had descended from the past. For the reactions of Whitman's friends to Stedman's article, see Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931), 192–195, and the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of November 26, 1880. For Whitman's own response to Stedman's article, see "My Tribute to Four Poets" in Specimen Days and the discussion in Kenneth M. Price, Whitman and Tradition (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990), 79–95. The "Children of Adam" section of Leaves of Grass, because of its treatment of sex, provoked much controversy. In the Scribner's article Stedman protests the "blunt and open manner" in which Whitman makes the "consummate processes of nature, the acts of procreation and reproduction with all that pertain to them" the theme or illustration of various poems, notably "Children of Adam." Doing so "mistakes the aim of the radical artist or poet." Charles Heyde, a landscape painter, was the husband of Hannah Louisa Whitman, Whitman's younger sister. They married in 1852 and lived in Vermont. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden City | Camden City | N. J. It is postmarked: HADDONFIELD | 15 | JAN | N.J. CAMDEN JAN | 15 | 5PM | N.J. The second edition of Alexander Gilchrist's The Life of William Blake (London: Macmillan and Co., 1880). The envelope for the letter bears the address: Walt Whitman | [damage] Camden | New Jersey. The return address is listed as: Meltonsville Ala | May 22/77 | May 22/77. The envelope for the letter bears the address: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: UKIAH | AUG | 4 | 1877 | CAL. The uncle of Moncure D. Conway; see Autobiography: Memories and Experiences of Moncure Daniel Conway (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1904), 1:38. According to a jotting in Whitman's Commonplace Book, Conway was associated with Bangs & Stetson in New York (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman wrote to Mrs. Stafford on February 22 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Harry brought the poet a chicken and strawberries on February 15 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). This letter is endorsed (by Richard Maurice Bucke): "1881." The year is established by the reference in the second paragraph and by a notation in Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See the letter from Whitman to Harry Stafford of February 17, 1881. This card marks the beginning of Whitman's extensive correspondence with William Sloane Kennedy (1850–1929), who at this time was on the staff of the Philadelphia American, and who later published biographies of Longfellow and Whittier (Dictionary of American Biography). Apparently Kennedy had called on the poet for the first time on November 21, 1880 (William Sloane Kennedy, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman [London: Alexander Gardner, 1896], 1). Though Kennedy was to become a fierce defender of Whitman, in his first published article he admitted reservations about the "coarse indecencies of language" and protested that Whitman's ideal of democracy was "too coarse and crude"; see The Californian, 3 (February 1881), 149–158. Yet, according to John Burroughs's letter to Whitman on November 2, 1880, Kennedy was angered by Edmund Clarence Stedman's article in Scribner's Monthly (see the letter from Whitman to Burroughs of November 26, 1880), and thought that his own article did Whitman "fuller justice" (T. E. Hanley Collection, University of Texas). He vigorously defended his views in a letter to Burroughs on February 26, 1881 (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 201–204). Excerpts from articles about Thomas Carlyle appeared in the New York Tribune on February 21. Whitman returned the clipping from the newspaper on February 28 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter was mentioned in Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Relations between the poet and the young man were frequently strained; see Edwin Haviland Miller, "Introduction" (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York, New York University Press, 1961–1977], 3:1–9). Franklin H. Hovey was a salesman in Philadelphia (Whitman's Commonplace Book). The son of Henry Lummis Bonsall, editor and politician. According to Whitman's letter to Susan Stafford on February 6, 1889, Bonsall died in the asylum in the preceding month; the poet's brother was in the same institution at the time. This last paragraph is written vertically in red ink. Whitman erred in writing "Feb: 7." According to his Commonplace Book, Whitman sent Harry a letter on March 7 and went to Glendale on Friday, March 11 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This "letter-card" was sent on Wednesday, March 9 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The visitor from Boston was George Parsons Lathrop (see the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of March 16, 1881). Whitman referred to this letter in his Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On March 14 Burroughs sent "a little remembrance—enough to pay your expenses up here when you get ready to come." Whitman again went to Glendale on March 18 and remained there four days (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Burroughs enclosed, or thought he had, a copy of Emerson's "Impressions of Thomas Carlyle in 1848," which was to appear in the May issue of Scribner's Monthly, 22:89–92. A review of James Anthony Froude's volume appeared in The Critic on March 12 (1:59–60). Of Carlyle, "a towering and god like man," Burroughs wrote eulogistically on March 14. Burroughs observed on March 14: William Sloane Kennedy "is a good fellow but he needs hetcheling to get the toe [sic] out the flax." George Parsons Lathrop (1851–1898) was a journalist and the biographer of his father-in-law, Nathaniel Hawthorne. Whitman received a letter from Lathrop on March 23 (lost) inviting him to come to Boston to give his lecture on Lincoln (Whitman's Commonplace Book). According to Kennedy, Lathrop was in Philadelphia on March 8 in order to arrange for Whitman's lecture (Reminiscences of Walt Whitman [London: Alexander Gardner, 1896], 3). Lathrop wrote to the poet for the first time on April 20, 1878. On March 31, 1885, he urged Whitman to give a reading from his own poetry in order to raise funds in aid of international copyright laws (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). According to Clara Barrus, Whitman enclosed a proof of "Patroling Barnegat" (Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 200). Whitman was at Glendale from March 18 to 22, March 26 to 30, and April 2 to 7 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter bears the address: Mrs Gilchrist | Keats' corner Well Road | Hampstead | London | England. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Mar | 21 | (?); London (?) | D | Paid | 4(?) Ap 81. One of the pieces Whitman sent to Anne Gilchrist was "Death of Carlyle," to which she referred in her reply on April 18, 1881. Anne Gilchrist's letter was sent on February 16 (University of Pennsylvania). In her answer on April 18, Gilchrist wrote: "I am well again so far as digestion &c. goes; but bronchitis & asthma of a chronic kind still trouble me. My breath is so short, I cannot walk, which is a privation." Whitman wrote last to Anne Gilchrist on January 1, 1881, before his illness. She noted his error in her reply. Burroughs mentioned this fact in his letter of March 14. Pepacton includes "Nature and the Poets" (see the letter from Whitman to Burroughs of November 23, 1879). This post card bears the address: Mrs Susan M Stafford | (Glendale) | Kirkwood | Camden County | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden | Mar(?) | 31 | N.J. Since Whitman went to Glendale on Saturday, April 2, the year appears to be correct (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The "Boston notes" became the third installment of "How I Get Around at 60, and Take Notes," which appeared in The Critic on May 7 (see the letter from Whitman to Jeannette L. Gilder of December 31, 1880). Whitman was paid $15 for the article (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman referred to this letter in his Commonplace Book, "postponing visit until I hear from them" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). For Horner, see the letter from Whitman to Harry Stafford of January 2, 1881, and for Hieniken (not Hinieken), see the letter from Whitman to Harry Stafford of November 12, 1880. This post card bears the address: Miss Ruth Anna Stafford | Kirkwood (Glendale) | New Jersey. May 10 fell on Tuesday in 1881, and Whitman went to Glendale on Friday, May 13 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Osgood advised Whitman on June 3 to write to him in care of Trübner & Co., London. Benjamin H. Ticknor, who replied to this letter on June 8, liked the "photo-type": "should be quite inclined to use it, and perhaps also the first, steel, portrait." After noting his letter to Osgood on June 4 in his Commonplace Book, Whitman added: "(mistake about price of lith[ograph] corrected next day)" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This was Whitman's counterproposal to Osgood's offer of ten per cent. The publisher accepted Whitman's terms on June 3. This letter bears the address: Edward Carpenter | Bradway | near Sheffield | England. It is postmarked: Camden | May | 30 | 12 M | N.J. Carpenter's letter is not known. On July 1 Carpenter wrote from Sheffield what Whitman termed a "good letter": "These friends that I have here and my more natural open air life seem to have made a difference to me. I feel as if I had touched the bottom at last, and had something firm to go upon—after floundering about so long. Thanks for all that also to you." On May 12 Osgood asked for "the copy" in order to make "careful estimates as to its size, style etc. and give you our views." He also inquired about the plates of the Thayer & Eldridge edition (The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 8:277). This part of the letter was not printed in The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman. The final sentence of the second paragraph was also omitted. See the letter from Whitman to Richard Watson Gilder of November 26, 1880. This letter bears the address: Henry A Beers | New Haven | Conn:. It is postmarked: Kirkwood | May | 21(?) | N.J. Henry Augustin Beers (1847–1926) was a poet and professor of English literature at Yale. On May 16, 1881, Beers wrote to thank Whitman for quoting his verses in The American on May 14: "To a young writer, uncertain of himself, the slightest notice from an older & distinguished brother in the craft is very precious . . . because it gives him heart in his work." Whitman responded to Beers on May 20, 1881. Beers in 1898 termed Whitman "a great sloven" (see William Sloane Kennedy, The Fight of a Book for the World [West Yarmouth, MA: The Stonecroft Press, 1926], 136). Similar reservations appear in his Four Americans (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1919), 85–90. Whitman was at Glendale from May 13 to 26 except for a brief visit to Camden on May 17 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.); see also Walt Whitman's Diary in Canada, ed. William Sloane Kennedy (Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1904), 58–59. James R. Osgood (1836–1892) was the publisher of Browning, Arnold, Holmes, Henry James, and Howells; see Carl J. Weber, The Rise and Fall of James Ripley Osgood (1959). John Boyle O'Reilly (1844–1890) was a fervent Irish patriot who joined the British Army in order to sabotage it. He was arrested and sentenced to be hanged in 1866. Later the decree was altered, and O'Reilly was sent to Australia, where he escaped on an American whaler in 1869. In 1876 he became the coeditor of the Boston Pilot, a position which he held until his death in 1890. See William G. Schofield, Seek for a Hero: The Story of John Boyle O'Reilly (New York: Kennedy, 1956). On April 26 O'Reilly informed Whitman that "James R Osgood wants to see the material for your complete book." Whitman's letter to Osgood was written, as he indicated, on the verso of O'Reilly's. Osgood did not pay sufficient attention to Whitman's "warning," since he was not prepared to resist the censors who succeeded in protecting Boston's dubious morality by making it a national joke. According to the New York Times, the Canadians defeated an American cricket team on October 11. October 12 was on Wednesday in 1881. This letter was written on the stationery of the Grand Union Hotel, which was opposite the Grand Central Depot, between Forty-first and Forty-second Streets at Fourth Avenue. The stationery includes a drawing of the hotel at the top of the page. Matilda Gurd (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Apparently Whitman changed his mind later in the day, since, according to Whitman's Commonplace Book, he was at the Johnstons' on October 24 and 25. During Whitman's last weeks in Boston, he had entertained himself to his own satisfaction. On October 11, accompanied by Sylvester Baxter, he attended a performance of Romeo and Juliet starring Ernesto Rossi, the Italian actor, who was on an American tour (Whitman's Commonplace Book). On October 15, he held open house at Mrs. Moffitt's boarding house for the pressmen and friends. According to the report, undoubtedly written by Whitman, in the Boston Daily Advertiser on October 17, there were three hundred visitors. See also the letter from Whitman to Ruth Stafford of October 25, 1881. A reference to a missing letter written on October 4 (?) (Whitman's Commonplace Book). He returned to Camden on November 3 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). The celebrated Brooklyn clergyman, Henry Ward Beecher. This letter is addressed: Ruth A Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Morrisania | Oct 25 | 6 PM | N.Y. City. See the letter from Whitman to Harry Stafford on September 14, 1881. On the back of the second page of this letter are two pencil drawings of a heart, with the word "Heart" written at the top of the page in an unknown hand. Interestingly, Whitman praises Baxter for the lengthy review of Leaves of Grass in the Boston Herald on October 30 without acknowledging his own contributions to this review. For discussion of this review, see Kenneth M. Price and Janel Cayer, "'It might be us speaking instead of him!': Individuality, Collaboration and the Networked Forces Contributing to 'Whitman,'" Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 33:2 (2015), 114–124. The concluding part of Baxter's review, obviously inspired by Whitman himself, perhaps written by the poet, referred to Stedman's impression that his article in Scribner's Monthly (see the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of November 10–16, 1880) had been "churlishly received": "Mr. Whitman has the warmest personal regard for Mr. Stedman, of whom he speaks with a genuine liking, and he felt the real worth of Mr. Stedman's article, but he also felt that Mr. Stedman had failed to grasp the wholeness of the work." Burroughs was with Whitman on October 28 and 29 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter bears the address: John H Johnston | Jeweler | 150 Bowery | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden | Nov | 6 | (?) PM | N.J. Arthur E. Lebknecker (not Leibkeucher), to whom Whitman sent the new Leaves of Grass on December 27 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter bears the address: Edward Carpenter | Bradway | near Sheffield | England. It is postmarked: Camden | Nov | 10 | 7 AM | N.J.; Philadelphia | Nov | 10. Whitman also noted the "magnificent" review in his Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On November 20 he wrote a card of "thanks" to the New York Sun after the appearance of E. P. M.'s lengthy review, "Walt Whitman and the Poetry of the Future," on the preceding day (Whitman's Commonplace Book). On November 14 Ticknor, of Osgood & Co., wrote to Whitman: "The first edition is all gone & we are binding up the second." This letter bears the address: Mrs Anne Gilchrist | Keats Corner 12 Well Road | Hampstead | London | England. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Nov | 28 | Pa.; London | CM | De 10 | 81. Whitman was referring to the suicide of Beatrice Gilchrist. On December 14 Anne Gilchrist replied to Whitman: "Your welcome letter to hand. I have longed for a word from you—could not write myself—was stricken dumb—nay, there is nothing but silence for me still." The intensity of her grief is visible in the lines of an undated and unsigned letter: "My dear Children, you would not wish me to live if you knew how I suffered. Not grief alone—that I could learn to bear, to be resigned—but remorse—that I should have left her; that is like an envenomed wound poisoning all my life. 'Weighed & found wanting' am I. And there where I thought myself surest. O the love for her shut up in my heart" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Probably Anne had encouraged Beatrice to abandon medicine (see the letter from Whitman to Herbert Gilchrist of April 24, 1880). Whitman apparently did not reply to Anne Gilchrist's letter of June 17, in which she apologized for not remembering his birthday: "it was past & I had not written one word—not just put my hand in yours as I would fain always do on that day." In the same letter she invited the poet to visit her: "a snug bed-room ready & waiting for you—as long as ever you will stay with us" (Walt Whitman Collection, 1842–1957, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania). A friend of the Gilchrists (see the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of November 10, 1878). This note was written in reply to Osgood's letter of May 23, in which he asked for "the copy this week, as I sail for Europe in a fortnight" (The Library of Congress; The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 7:278). This letter was noted in Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). For Harry's letter to Whitman on April 4, see Edwin Haviland Miller, "Introduction" (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence [New York, New York University Press, 1961–1977], 3:1–9). See the letter from Whitman to Harry Stafford of October 31, 1880. On May 3, 1881, Whitman sent "Bumble-Bees and Bird Music" to W. R. Balch of The American (Philadelphia), for which he received $20 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). It appeared on May 14, and was later included in Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall (New York: New York University Press, 1963), 263. The poet sent "My Picture-Gallery" to Balch on October 8, 1880, for which he received $5, and which appeared in The American on October 30. On May 27, 1881, he sent to the same newspaper "A Summer's Invocation" (later called "Thou Orb Aloft Full-Dazzling"), and received $12 from Balch. The poem was printed on June 14. Unless Whitman meant The Critic, it is not clear which "N. Y. papers" he referred to. The third installment of "How I Get Around at 60, and Take Notes" appeared on May 7. On May 3 Whitman sent Harry "Newspaper ballads" (Whitman's Commonplace Book). See the letter from Whitman to the Staffords of April 15–17, 1881. This letter bears the address: Miss Helen E. Price | Woodside | Long Island | New York. Abby H. Price, an old friend of the Whitman family, had died on May 4, 1878; see Putnam's Monthly, 5 (1908), 163–169. Undoubtedly Helen Price wrote to Whitman after receiving a request from Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke for material to be included in his study of the poet. Her reminiscences appear in Bucke's Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), 26–32. Whitman and Bucke visited Helen Price from July 23 to 28, 1881 (see the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of August 3, 1881). Edward, Whitman's brother, went on March 23 to an institution at Glen Mills, Pa. Whitman sent $16 monthly to William V. Montgomery for Ed's care (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Helen's sister, Emily, who had married in 1869 (see the letter from Whitman to Abby H. Price of April 7, 1869), probably named one of her sons after the poet. Charles B. Ferrin, the proprietor of the Revere House. Whitman was in Boston from April 13 to 19. The proceeds from the lecture amounted to $135 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). For the Boston visit, see The Critic of May 7, 1881; Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall (New York: New York University Press, 1963), 264–269, 347–348; and Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (New York: New York University Press, 1955), 491. An account of Whitman's lecture appeared in the Boston Herald on April 16. In his Commonplace Book, Whitman noted sending Leaves of Grass and a "letter card" to Helen Price (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter bears the address: T W H Rolleston | Lange Strasse 29 | Dresden | Saxony. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Dec | 3; Dresden (?) | I. | 18 12 | 81 | (?). Rolleston (1857–1920) was one of Professor Edward Dowden's students, a poet, biographer of Lessing, and historian of Irish myth and legends (Whitman and Rolleston—A Correspondence, ed. Horst Frenz [Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1951], 7). The correspondence between the two men began in 1879 (see Rolleston's letters in the John Rylands Library, Manchester, England), but the poet's replies (at least six) are missing. On October 16, 1880, Rolleston sent Whitman a copy of his translation of Epictetus which he had printed at his own expense. The pamphlet is now in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. In the following year the Enchiridion of Epictetus was published in London by Kegan Paul, Trench & Co. In his copy, also in the Feinberg Collection, Whitman wrote in 1886 or 1888: "Have had this little Vol. at hand or in my hand often all these years." The markings in three different colors testify to the fact that Whitman perused the book. Whitman sent a letter to Rolleston on November 9 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Feinberg Collection). The article appeared in The Critic on December 3, the fifth part of "How I Get Around at 60, and Take Notes." Whitman noted this letter in his Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See the letter from Whitman to James R. Osgood & Company of December 8, 1881, and the letter to David Bogue of December 14, 1881. Benjamin Ticknor replied for James R. Osgood & Co. on December 10, and noted "a cable order for 250 copies more" from Bogue (The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 8:287). The firm granted both of Whitman's requests on December 13, and included a list of thirty-eight newspapers and magazines to which review copies had been sent. This letter bears the address: Miss Ruth Anna Stafford | Kirkwood | Glendale | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden | Dec | 11 | (?) M | N.J. Probably Richard E. Labar (1864–1885), a native of Pennsylvania. Labar began working in the offices of the Philadelphia Ledger at the age of twelve. He later moved to Colorado and then spent the 1884–1885 academic year at the University of Michigan studying literature and law. He began to sell books to fund additional study at Union High School in Waukesha, Wisconsin. In 1887, he founded the Waukesha World newspaper and worked in real estate.. Colonel John W. Forney was buried on December 12 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman was at Glendale from December 29 to January 9 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). See the letter from Whitman to James R. Osgood & Company of December 8, 1881. The "list of names in Eng[land]" is not with the letter (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Björnstjerne Björnson, the Norwegian poet (see the letter from Whitman to Schmidt of December 7, 1871). A Danish critic who had emigrated to the U.S. (see the letter from Whitman to Schmidt of April 4, 1872). On November 27 Schmidt mentioned to Whitman that Petersen's family feared he was dead. Whitman met Petersen in New York; see the New York Tribune, March 6, 1877. Kristian Elster (1841–1881), a Norwegian critic (see the letter from Whitman to Schmidt of April 25, 1874), whose death Schmidt lamented on November 27: "He was a heart's ease growing in the shadow." Steingrimar Thorsteinsson (1831–1913), an Icelandic classical scholar and poet as well as an intimate friend of Schmidt, received a copy of Leaves of Grass on March 26, 1882; see Orbis Litterarum, 7 (1949), 58–59. Bucke's Walt Whitman was published in 1883. Whitman also sent a copy of The Literary World containing a review of recent Scandinavian books (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See the letter from Whitman to Thomas W. H. Rolleston of December 2, 1881. See the letter from Whitman to Dr. John Fitzgerald Lee of December 20, 1881. Whitman misspelled O'Reilly's name. The letter referred to is apparently lost. Whitman sent the book and slips to Swinburne's publishers, Chatto & Windus (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Oscar Wilde wrote to Swinburne on Whitman's behalf in January, 1882. See the letter from Whitman to Oscar Wilde and Joseph M. Stoddart of January 18, 1882. John Fitzgerald Lee was a student at Trinity College, Dublin, and a friend of Thomas W. H. Rolleston. On November 28, 1881, Lee wrote to Whitman requesting permission to translate Leaves of Grass into Russian (see Whitman and Rolleston—A Correspondence, ed. Horst Frenz [Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1951], 48–50). Nothing came of Lee's projected translation. The postscript is in a different color ink than the rest of the letter. On the back of the last page is the following note, in the hand of H. Buxton Forman: "Sent to | Dr. J. Fitzgerald Lee, | M.A." This is a reference to "A Study of Walt Whitman," The Californian, 3 (February 1881), 149–158. Whitman sent three copies of Leaves of Grass (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Kennedy wrote at the conclusion of the letter: "I afterward sent him $5. as part payment for these K" (Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family, ed. Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver [Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1949], 94n). This draft letter is endorsed (by Whitman): "letter sent T W H Rolleston | Dresden, Dec 22 '81." For Rolleston's letter of November 28, see Horst Frenz, ed., Whitman and Rolleston—A Correspondence (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1951), 43–47. On September 17 Rolleston had proposed a German translation of Leaves of Grass "as soon as I could find a proper German collaborateur" (Frenz, 41). In his lost letter written on November 9, Whitman approved the translation and proposed a double text. On November 28 Rolleston confessed that the "collaborateur" was too "pedantic," and that he had reservations as to a double text (Frenz, 44–46). On January 7, in reply to this letter, Rolleston stated his "principle of rigid literality" (Frenz, 54). The Rolleston translation was completed years later with the assistance of Karl Knortz. See the letter from Whitman to John Fitzgerald Lee of December 20, 1881. See the letter from Whitman to Rolleston of December 2, 1881. This letter is addressed: Herbert H Gilchrist | Keats' Corner 12 Well Road | Hampstead | London | N W | England. It is postmarked: Haddonfield | Jan | 2 | N.J.; London, N.W. | C M | Ja 14 | 82. Whitman stayed with the Staffords until January 9 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Herbert replied to this letter on January 15, 1882. The name of Ed's "nag." The trial of Charles J. Guiteau, the assassinator of President Garfield. Beatrice Gilchrist. Whitman did not write to Anne Gilchrist until July 22, 1882. She, however, wrote on January 29, 1882: "Your letter to Herby was a real talk with you. I dont know why I punish myself by writing to you so seldom now, for indeed to be near you, even in that way would do me good—often & often do I wish we were back in America near you" (The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, ed. Thomas B. Harned [New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918], 205). Herbert's sister, Grace. The summary of the letter is drawn from a catalog put out by the American Art Association for a sale on January 31, 1939. The location of this manuscript is presently unknown. Whitman sent "My Long Island Antecedents" to The North American Review on October 29, but it was returned (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). For a discussion of the Baxter-Whitman co-authored review, see Kenneth M. Price and Janel Cayer, "'It might be us speaking instead of him!': Individuality, Collaboration, and the Networked Forces Contributing to 'Whitman,'" Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 33 (2015): 114–124. Joseph Marshall Stoddart (1845–1921) published Stoddart's Encyclopaedia America; established Stoddart's Review in 1880, which was merged with The American in 1882; and became the editor of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1889. On January 11 Whitman received an invitation from Stoddart through J. E. Wainer, one of his associates, to dine with Oscar Wilde on January 14 (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 235n). Emma Bouvier Childs was the wife of George W. Childs, the co-owner of the Philadelphia Public Ledger. This letter is endorsed (in unknown hand): "1882." In his Commonplace Book Whitman noted, "Oscar Wilde here a good part of the afternoon" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). An account of this interview appeared on the following day in the Philadelphia Press. Whitman was evidently pleased with Wilde's letter of March 1, 1882, in which he quoted Swinburne's praise of Whitman: "I have by no manner of means relaxed my admiration of his noblest works" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1915], 2:288). The quotation was from a letter written by Swinburne to Wilde on February 2 (Feinberg). Note also the letter from Whitman to Benjamin Ticknor of December 18, 1881. The meeting of Wilde and Whitman was satirized by Helen Gray Cone in "Narcissus in Camden," The Century Magazine, 25 (November 1882), 157–159. There is no reference in Whitman's Commonplace Book to a visit to one of his friends (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Jeff was with his brother on January 24 and 25, and apparently the poet was in Camden on January 26 and 28. See the letter from Whitman to Oscar Wilde and Joseph M. Stoddart of January 18, 1882. Burroughs, who also met Wilde in 1882, was less impressed (see Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 235). This letter bears the address: Paymaster | John S Cunningham | USN | Office 425 Chestnut Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Camden | Jan | 27(?) | 7 AM | N.J.; Philadelphia, Pa. | Jan | 27 | 8 AM | Rec'd. Chambers is referring to a lecture in Whitman's honor, which would take place on October 21 at Philadelphia's Horticultural Hall. The New York jeweler John H. Johnston and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke planned the event, and the orator and agnostic Robert Ingersoll delivered the lecture: "Liberty in Literature. Testimonial to Walt Whitman." A line has been drawn through this letter in black ink. In his Commonplace Book, Whitman referred to a "card-note" to Cunningham, whose name card was mounted opposite the entries for this period (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). There is only one other reference to Cunningham in the Commonplace Book: on June 22, 1882, he was stationed at Wakefield, R.I. The article in the Washington Evening Star of January 21 quoted Wilde: "I think Mr. Whitman is in every way one of the greatest and strongest men who have ever lived." This letter is endorsed (by Richard Maurice Bucke): "1882." January 31 occurred on Tuesday in 1882. The year is also confirmed by the reference to Oscar Wilde. Whitman was probably referring to his letter to Harry Stafford of January 25, 1882. In 1881 Whitman noted Harry's address as "care of T B Gibbs—Berlin N J" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Evidently Edwin Stafford was in Indiana, Pa., since that was his address when Whitman wrote (lost) to him on February 3. He was in Kirkwood, however, on March 31 (see the letter from Whitman to Herbert Gilchrist of March 31, 1882). See Gilchrist's letter of January 15. This draft letter is endorsed: "Letter sent Dr Bucke—with his return'd MS | My letter to Dr Bucke | Feb 7 '82 | returning his MS." According to Miller, only the photostat of the draft version of this letter is extant. The draft in 1917 was in the possession of the Bucke family; see Emory Holloway, Free and Lonesome Heart (New York: Vantage Press, 1960), 208–209. On February 1 Whitman was "reading Dr B's MS book (& a tough job it is)" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See Richard Maurice Bucke, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), 163–167. Bucke dedicated this book to Whitman (see the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of December 12, 1878). According to Whitman's Commonplace Book, this communication was sent on March 8 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On March 1, 1882, Oliver Stevens, District Attorney in Boston, wrote to Osgood & Co., the publishers of the newest edition of Leaves of Grass: "We are of the opinion that this book is such a book as brings it within the provisions of the Public Statutes respecting obscene literature and suggest the propriety of withdrawing the same from circulation and suppressing the editions thereof." In transmitting Stevens's letter to Whitman on March 4, the firm asked Whitman's "consent to the withdrawal of the present edition and the substitution of an edition lacking the obnoxious features." Whitman was with the Staffords from February 16 to March 6 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). On March 20 the firm replied: "We are waiting for an official indication in the matter of revisions." Perhaps the sixth and last installment of "How I Get Around at 60, and Take Notes," which appeared in The Critic on July 15, 1882 (see the letter from Whitman to Jeannette L. Gilder of December 31, 1880). Whitman noted sending the sixth (revised?) article on April 2; evidently he returned the galleys of the "Notes" on April 9 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On March 20, Osgood & Co. wrote about Bucke's biography: "We do not know whether the book would appeal to us commercially but we of course prefer not to look at it without first being sure that it meets your approval." On March 1, 1882, Oliver Stevens, District Attorney in Boston, wrote to Osgood & Co., the publishers of the newest edition of Leaves of Grass: "We are of the opinion that this book is such a book as brings it within the provisions of the Public Statutes respecting obscene literature and suggest the propriety of withdrawing the same from circulation and suppressing the editions thereof." In transmitting Stevens's letter to Whitman on March 4, the firm asked Whitman's "consent to the withdrawal of the present edition and the substitution of an edition lacking the obnoxious features." Whitman was left with numerous sets of unbound sheets; to these, he added a new title page. He had the books bound in green cloth, and this "Author's Edition," of Leaves of Grass sold for $3. This letter may be in response to an inquiry regarding the price of this printing of Leaves of Grass. The "Author's Edition," of Leaves of Grass, published in 1882, sold for $3. This letter may be in response to an inquiry regarding the price of this printing of Leaves of Grass. However, Whitman did not have an office in 1882. He did have an office in the Department of Justice in the early 1870s in Washington, D.C., and he reguarly undertook book storage and shipping from there. It is also possible, then, that Whitman is referring here to Leaves of Grass (1871–1872) and that the letter was written in the 1870s. John F. Burke and Aubrey D. Hiles were both attorneys who shared an office on Water Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Burke specialized in mercantile collections and commercial law, and Hiles also focused on mercantile collections (Hubbell's Legal Directory for Lawyers and Business Men [New York: The Hubbell Legal Directory Company, 1892], 218). This post card is addressed: George and Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden | Mar | 22 | 12 M | N.J. Whitman went to Glendale on Friday, March 24, and remained there until March 31 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The publisher submitted the following list of "Passages to be expurgated from Walt Whitman's 'Leaves of Grass,'" a list not accurately recorded by Richard Maurice Bucke in Walt Whitman [Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883], 149n: "Song of Myself" (p. 31, ll. 15–16; p. 32, ll. 19–22; p. 37, ll. 14–15; p. 48, ll. 20, 28, 29; p. 49, ll. 11, 20; p. 52, section 28, beginning with l. 12; p. 59, ll. 11–12; p. 66, ll. 15–16); "From Pent-Up Aching Rivers" (p. 79, ll. 21–22; pp. 80–81, ll. 14 to end); "I Sing the Body Electric" (p. 84, ll. 1–17; p. 87, ll. 13, 28); "A Woman Waits for Me" (pp. 88–89, "entire"); "Spontaneous Me" (pp. 90–91); "Native Moments" (p. 94, ll. 1–7); "The Dalliance of the Eagles" (p. 216, in entirety); "By Blue Ontario's Shore" (p. 266, ll. 21–22); "To a Common Prostitute" (pp. 299–300, in entirety); "Unfolded Out of the Folds" (p. 303, ll. 2–3); "The Sleepers" (p. 325, half of l. 22; p. 331, ll. 9–10); and "Faces" (p. 355, ll. 13–17). See the letter from Osgood & Company to Whitman of March 21, 1882. This copy of Leaves of Grass with Whitman's changes has either been lost or was destroyed. It will be noted that Whitman agreed to alterations only in "I Sing the Body Electric," "A Woman Waits for Me," and "Spontaneous Me." On his copy of a draft of the letter to Osgood & Co. Whitman wrote: "By this letter of W W March 23 several minor changes & alterations, words & lines in two or three cases are consented to in 'Children of Adam' but J R O. & the officials not considering them as at all meeting the point they are entirely waived on both sides" (The Library of Congress; The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 8:295). Osgood & Co. replied to Whitman on March 29: "We do not think the official mind will be satisfied with the changes you propose. They seem to think it necessary that the two poems 'A Woman Waits for Me' and 'Ode to a Common Prostitute' should be omitted altogether. If you consent to this we think the matter can be arranged without any other serious changes." This final paragraph was included by the executors in the letter of March 7 (The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman, 8:291). The son of the jeweler, John H. Johnston (see the letter from Walt Whitman to Mannahatta Whitman of June 22–26, 1878). Whitman deleted the following words: "& will do any thing." On the Cumberland Street house, see the letter from Whitman to Frederick Baker of April 24, 1860. But see the letter from Whitman to Herbert Gilchrist of March 31, 1882. This letter bears the address: Herbert H Gilchrist | 12 Well Road | Keats' Corner Hampstead | London England. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Mar | 31(?) | (?). On May 8 Anne Gilchrist informed Whitman that Herbert had visited Bogue (see the letter from Whitman to Josiah Child of December 8, 1881), and discovered that "the sale of Leaves of Grass was progressing satisfactorily." Bogue's father had published her husband's "first literary venture" (The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, ed. Thomas B. Harned [New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918], 207). On November 24 Anne Gilchrist wrote: "I fear you will be a loser by Bogue's bankruptcy" (The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, 210). Herbert wrote on January 15; Anne Gilchrist on January 29 (The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, 205–206). Charles A. Dana (1819–1897) was the editor of the New York Sun (see the letter from Whitman to Robert Carter of May 7, 1875). In The Household Book of Poetry (1882) Dana included six poems from Leaves of Grass: "Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night," "A Sight in Camp in the Daybreak Gray and Dim," "Great Are the Myths," "The Mystic Trumpeter," and excerpts from "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" and "Song of Myself" (section 35). When Whitman did not reply to their letter of March 29 (see the letter from Whitman to Osgood & Company of March 23, 1882), Osgood & Co. sent a telegram to the poet on April 5 (The Library of Congress; The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 8:296). "Death of Longfellow" appeared in The Critic on April 8; it was reprinted in Essays from "The Critic" (1882), 41–45, and in Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall (New York: New York University Press, 1963) , 284–286, 355. Whitman sent the article to the magazine on April 2 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Osgood & Co. wrote to Whitman on April 10: "We have laid before the District Attorney the alterations proposed by you. They are not satisfactory. . . . As we said at the outset we do not wish to go into court in connection with this case. Therefore as your views seem to be irreconcilable with those of the official authorities there seems no alternative for us but to decline to further circulate the book. We should be open to any reasonable arrangement for turning the plates over to you." On April 13 the publisher informed Whitman that the royalty due him was $405.50 and that the cost of the plates was $475. In return for a receipt for the royalty, the firm was willing to turn over to Whitman the plates, the steel portrait and 225 copies of the book in sheets. As Whitman did not reply, the firm wrote again on May 4. The poet arranged better terms in the final settlement (see the letter from Whitman to Osgood & Company of May 23, 1882). Whitman was inaccurate: he was at Glendale from April 22 to 27 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This was his "excuse" for not replying to Burroughs's (lost) letter of April 10. Emerson died on April 26, 1882. On April 29 Whitman sent to The Critic "By Emerson's Grave," which appeared in the issue of May 6, along with Burroughs's "Emerson's Burial Day." The poet received $3 for the piece (Whitman's Commonplace Book). It was included in Specimen Days (ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 290–291). With his letter of May 1, Burroughs included a communication from O'Connor dated April 28, in which the latter related how he had convinced associates in his office that the Boston censorship was "the greatest outrage of the century" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, December 21, 1888, 351). O'Connor wrote to Richard Maurice Bucke about the matter on April 29 (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 212). On May 1, Burroughs wrote to Gilder, probably Richard, "So far as this is the wish of the city of Boston, I pray for the wrath of Sodom and Gomorrah to descend upon her" (Barrus, 211). In reprinting Burroughs's letter of May 1, Traubel interpolated an explanation of the loan: "This was money in my possession belonging to Walt. J. B. 1912." (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, December 21, 1888, 350). Burroughs and Traubel, however, were in error, for on January 27, 1883, Whitman noted: "returned $100 to John Burroughs" (Whitman's Commonplace Book). See also Barrus, 210. Whitman had sent the article to the magazine on April 8, and on April 27 received $25 "with 'sincere thanks'" (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Apparently Whitman submitted the account of his last visit with Ralph Waldo Emerson which had appeared in The Critic on December 3, 1881 (see the letter from Walt Whitman to Louisa Orr Whitman of September 18, 1881). On the back of this letter Thomas Donaldson wrote on April 30 that he was in the office of the Philadelphia Press when Whitman's contribution arrived and that it was declined; see American Art Association (16 February 1927). This letter is endorsed: "Forward all this budget 'A to L inclusive' to Dr. Bucke." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Bureau | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden | May | 3 | 12 M | N.J.; Washington, D. C. | May | 4 | 4 AM | 1882 | Recd. It is unfortunate that Whitman's correspondence with Richard Maurice Bucke at this time is lost, for it would presumably reveal that after the poet informed Bucke of Osgood's decision on April 19, the latter suggested that O'Connor be enlisted to reply to the charges of obscenity. Since the poet and O'Connor had been estranged for ten years, Bucke undoubtedly wrote to O'Connor to obtain his consent. Probably Whitman discussed the matter frankly in a "long letter" to Bucke on April 27 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). At any rate their correspondence resumed without mention of their misunderstanding. Jottings in Whitman's Commonplace Book suggest that Whitman had attempted to heal the wounds for many years. He sent to O'Connor the following books and articles: Memoranda During the War in April, 1876; the Centennial Edition in March, 1879; his Emerson article in The Literary World in May, 1880; "Poetry of the Future" in December, 1880; The Progress of April 30, 1881; The Critic of May 9, 1881; the New York Tribune of August 4, 1881; and the Osgood edition on December 25, 1881. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | May | 3 | 7 PM | Pa.; Washington, D.C. | May | 4 | (?) AM | 1882 | Recd. This letter is endorsed: "Answd May 9/82." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden | May | 7 | 6 PM | N.J.; Washington, D.C. | May | 8 | 4 AM | 1882 | Recd. O'Connor's letter is apparently lost. The "notes" begin in the second paragraph. The price asked was $25 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On May 9 O'Connor informed Whitman that he needed no excuse for the article he was writing for the New York Tribune (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, March 12, 1889, 331). See the letter from Whitman to James R. Osgood of May 8, 1881. Whitman was slightly inaccurate: he arrived in Boston on August 19, 1881 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Probably Whitman overstated the number of copies printed by Osgood. In a letter to the poet on January 25, John H. Johnston quoted from a note he had received from the publisher, who had "printed three editions, 2000 copies in all." The Springfield Republican on May 23 reported that 1600 copies of Leaves of Grass had been sold "during the winter and spring" (see Whitman's letter to O'Connor of May 25, 1882). When Osgood discontinued publication in April, the royalty due to Whitman amounted to $405.50 (see Whitman's letter to Osgood & Company of April 12, 1882). Unless there was a previous payment to the poet, Osgood sold 1622 copies of the book ($405.50 @ .25 per copy). Whitman sent the article on May 18, and it was returned to him (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). It is printed in Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall (New York: New York University Press, 1963), 254–262. The North American Review also rejected "The Prairies in Poetry" which the poet submitted on May 4 and for which he asked $50 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). This article included a number of sections in Specimen Days (219–224; and see Stovall's note, 219n). Probably the brother of Susan Stafford's son-in-law, Joseph Browning. Whitman sent "papers" to Harry on May 7 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Mary Jane Holmes (1825–1907) was a popular novelist. Elizabeth W. Rogers, a widow, was Susan Stafford's sister. Whitman dined on March 11, 1882, with Mrs. Stafford at Mrs. Rogers's home at 431 Linden Street, Camden (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Mrs. Rogers died on March 30, 1888. This letter is endorsed: "Answd May 20/82." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Bureau | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden | May | 17 | 2 PM | N.J.; Washington, D.C. | May | (?) | 1882 | Recd. Ticknor, of Osgood & Co., telegraphed on May 16 for an appointment on the following day (The Library of Congress). The settlement provided that Osgood turn over "the plates, dies, steel portrait, and 225 copies (more or less) in sheets of Leaves of Grass, and pay W. W. the sum of $100.00 in cash" (The Library of Congress; The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 8:298). Though O'Connor on May 20 approved of Whitman's "magnanimous" attitude toward Osgood & Co., he believed that "my part, and the part of all your friends, is to whale them" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, July 18, 1888, 14). In his reply on May 20, O'Connor said that he had "focussed all my fire right upon Oliver Stevens, who, you know, is the only one that appears officially in the transaction." But "when we get Marston to the front, there will be augmented fire for his hide, and I hope to make it so intolerable for him, that he will in self-defence peach on the holy citizens who have egged him on." "A Memorandum at a Venture" (see the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of April 28, 1882). Whitman noted in his Commonplace Book this letter to Rand & Avery, the firm which had printed the 1860 and Osgood editions (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On June 8 Whitman sent "corrections" to the firm and "ordered 1000 copies printed," but the order was later "countermanded" (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Evidently Rand & Avery refused to run off the edition because of fears of legal action. On July 24 Whitman paid Rand & Avery $13.75, presumably for the corrections (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Ticknor, for Osgood & Co., on May 19 instructed Rand & Avery to hold the plates for Whitman (Whitman's copy of the letter is in the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The superintendent of the Rand & Avery plant. On the same day Whitman "sent order to Sanborn, Boston, to send the 225 sets sheets to James Arnold" (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Arnold, who had his plant at 531 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, had bound the 1876 edition. This draft letter is endorsed (by Whitman): "Sent May 24 '82." See the letter from Whitman to James R. Osgood & Company of May 23, 1882. Ticknor had sent a check for $100 on May 20; he acknowledged Whitman's letter on May 25. See the letter from Whitman to Osgood & Company of March 23, 1882. This is a draft receipt. It is endorsed (by Whitman): "Copy of rec't sent O & Co May 23 '82." This letter is endorsed (in unknown hand): "Not answered." At the top of the page Whitman wrote: "? Under Bits of Criticism | in Sunday Tribune | A defence of Walt Whitman | From the Philadelphia Press." Immediately below appeared the editorial from the Press of May 22. According to Whitman's Commonplace Book, Whitman sent similar letters (lost) to the editors of the Boston Herald (see the letter from Whitman to William D. O'Connor of May 25, 1882), the Boston Globe, the Boston Post, and to Crosley Stuart Noyes, an old friend and the editor of the Washington Evening Star (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The Camden Daily Post copied the article in the Press on May 22. Though the Tribune apparently did not reprint the editorial, it published on May 15 Whitman's "Emerson's Books, (the Shadows of them)," which appeared in 1880 in The Literary World (see the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of May 9, 1880).Whitman was supported, not without reservations in some instances, by the following newspapers: the Philadelphia Times on May 23, the Chicago Inter Ocean on May 22 and 23, the Chicago Herald on May 23, the New York Home Journal on May 24, the Boston Liberty and the Cambridge (Mass.) Chronicle on May 27, the Boston Globe on May 28, the Audubon County (Iowa) Sentinel on May 31(?), and the Woodstown (N.J.) Register on June 6. He was attacked, often with hysteria, by the following: the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin on May 23, the Boston Daily Advertiser on May 24, the Cincinnati Ohio on May 24, The Christian Intelligencer (quoted in the New York Tribune on June 4), and the Philadelphia Times on July 17. For the Springfield Republican and the Boston Herald, see the letter from Whitman to O'Connor of May 25, 1882; for The Critic, see the letter from Whitman to Jeannette L. and Joseph B. Gilder of June 3, 1882.
Noble, who lived in Elizabethtown, N.Y., ordered the Centennial Edition (see the letter from Whitman to Noble of May 31, 1882 and Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Little is known about George R. Morse. He served as the secretary and treasurer of the Iowa Central Railway Company, and held the same title as part of the Reorganization Committee for the Railway Company. Kennedy's biography of Longfellow was published in Cambridge, Mass., in 1882. In an undated letter, written in late May or early June, Kennedy referred to the Boston censorship: "I know you are as serene as a mountain, though you are a grand old god, with all your faults. . . . It has taken me three years to get y'r parallax & calculate your dimensions" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd May 29/82." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Pa. | May 25 82 | 7 PM. But see the latter part of the letter. Winter, the drama critic of the New York Tribune, and Stoddard, a writer and reviewer, were old enemies of Whitman (see Whitman's letter to O'Connor of September 15, 1867). The brief note in the newspaper on May 24 consisted chiefly of adverse comments from the Boston Transcript. "Walt Whitman's Naturalism," consisting largely of quotations from Stedman's article, appeared on November 7, 1880 (see the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of November 10–16, 1880). Edwin Haviland Miller writes that it is difficult not to be irritated at times by Whitman's carping at people like Reid, who gave him considerable space in the New York Tribune during these years, and who printed O'Connor's attack on the poet's critics on May 25. On May 29, O'Connor quoted what Reid had written to him: "I took great pleasure in printing your letter, because it was so cleverly done, and because, besides, I could not help having sympathy with it" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, December 11, 1888, 284). Another favorite target of the Whitmanites. The editorial in the Springfield Republican, entitled "The Prurient Prudes and 'Leaves of Grass,'" quoted Whitman: "There is no bad personal feeling at all—W. W. considers himself treated by Osgood & Co throughout with courtesy and even liberality." The newspaper again defended the poet on May 28 and on June 11. On May 26 Fred R. Guernsey, of the Boston Herald, asked Whitman to write to the editor, E. B. Haskell, "in acknowledgment of his defence of you." The Herald supported Whitman against the Boston censors on May 24 and 28, and on June 2 it quoted Oscar Wilde's defense. Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson (1823–1911), reformer and author, was a consistently hostile critic of Whitman. His first denunciation of the poet, "Unmanly Manhood," in The Woman's Journal on February 4, 1882, charged that Whitman, "with all his fine physique and his freedom from home-ties, never personally followed the drum, but only heard it from the comparatively remote distance of the hospital." O'Connor suggested on May 20 that "Reverend" Higginson was an "instigator" of the whole Boston affair. He promised "in due time [to] plant a javelin where it will do him good." The famous 1860 stroll in the Boston Common (see the letter from Whitman to Abby M. Price of March 29, 1860). On May 20, 1882, O'Connor advised Whitman to "be careful in what you say of Emerson's position." Burroughs left for England reluctantly when he discovered that the book of his friend was under attack (see Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 212). On May 20 O'Connor informed Whitman that Eldridge, who had read the manuscript of his letter to the New York Tribune, considered it "the best thing I have done." On May 29 O'Connor expressed his gratitude for Whitman's praise: "I shall get nothing worth so much as your heartful 'God bless you,' flashing from the finale of your postscript" (Traubel, 3:282). T. C. Callicot was the editor of the Albany Evening Times. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd | June 3/82." It is addressed: William D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Bureau | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden | May | 28 | 7 PM | N.J.; Washington, D.C. | May | 29 | 5 AM | 1882 | Recd." John White Chadwick (1840–1904), who termed himself a radical Unitarian, was the pastor of the Second Unitarian Church in Brooklyn from 1865 until his death. He was also a reviewer for The Nation and the author of A Book of Poems (1876). In his reply to O'Connor in the Tribune of May 28, Chadwick averred that Emerson had qualified his earlier praise of the poet. On May 29 O'Connor wrote to Whitman: "Of course I shall answer this clerical blackguard, who has the audacity to accuse me of wilfully and consciously lying, and I shall do my best to answer him with blasting effect" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, December 11, 1888, 283). "A Memorandum at a Venture." As directed, O'Connor quoted Whitman's remarks in his reply to Chadwick in the New York Tribune on June 18. See also Whitman's letter to O'Connor of May 30, 1882. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd June 3/82." It is addressed: Wm Douglas O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Bureau | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden | May | 30 | 6 PM | N.J.; Washington, D.C. | May | 31 | 4 AM | 1882 | Recd. Here Whitman continued to assemble facts to refute Chadwick's article. On June 3 O'Connor wrote: "I have freely used the memoranda you sent, and got in as much of it as I could see my way to employ, and as much as I dared" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, April 20, 1888, 52). But, fortunately, O'Connor verified some of Whitman's erroneous information (see note 9 below). O'Connor's letter in the New York Tribune on May 25. Whitman deleted: "as far as he did any thing." In his reply on June 3, O'Connor corrected Whitman's misstatements in this paragraph. George W. Cooke reprinted Emerson's famous letter to Whitman of July 21, 1855 in Ralph Waldo Emerson: His Life, Writings, and Philosophy (Boston, 1881), 233–234; but it was obvious that Cooke's remarks about the relations between the two men were speculative, not official. It is not known exactly how many times Emerson visited Whitman in Brooklyn. Probably Whitman overstated. Whitman made extensive use of this letter. He had the letter reprinted in the New York Tribune and inserted copies of it into later issues of the first edition of Leaves of Grass (1855). He also printed the Emerson letter in the second edition of Leaves of Grass (1856) along with his own lengthy open letter in response. More prominently, Whitman featured both Emerson's name and the endorsement "I greet you at the beginning of a great career" in gold letters on the spine of the volume. For more information on Whitman's use of Emerson's letter, see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). The Mason Brothers, a New York firm with offices at 108 and 110 Duane Street, published Fanny Fern's novels Ruth Hall (1855) and Rose Clark (1856), as well as her collection of stories for children The Play-Day Book: New Stories for Little Folks (1857), among other titles. See the two letters written at the time of Whitman's visit to Concord (the letter from Walt Whitman to Louisa Orr Whitman of September 18, 1881, and the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of September 19, 1881). Herbert Gilchrist did not know that Whitman had contributed to O'Connor's article when he wrote on August 16: "I and mother do not think very highly of O'Connor's blustering defence: we think that he is on the wrong tack when he justifies you by the classics and by what Emerson says as if that made any difference one way or the other" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, May 29, 1888). See also Anne Gilchrist's letter to Burroughs on July 28 (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 220–221). See the letter from Whitman to Noble of May 25, 1882. This correspondence card is mounted in a copy of Two Rivulets inscribed by Whitman to Noble. No entry in Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) provides a clue to the identification of this person whom Whitman called in Specimen Days "a German Friend." However, in his letter of November 15, 1882, Whitman called the letter to Knortz's attention. Knortz (1841–1918) was born in Prussia and came to the U. S. in 1863. He was the author of many books and articles on German-American affairs and was superintendent of German instruction in Evansville, Ind., from 1892 to 1905. See The American-German Review, 8 (December, 1946), 27–30. Knortz's first published criticism of Whitman appeared in the New York Staats-Zeitung Sonntagsblatt on December 17, 1882. In 1883, Knortz was living in New York City. In his letters to Whitman that year Knortz frequently included "German renderings" of poems in Leaves of Grass. Later he assisted Thomas W. H. Rolleston in Grashalme (Zurich, 1889), which "marks the real beginning of Whitman's influence" in Germany (Walt Whitman Abroad, ed. Gay Wilson Allen [Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1955], 17). Whitman could never resist the pose of the benign poet indifferent to his enemies. His publicity campaign after the banning of the Osgood edition hardly confirms the pose. "John Sands" was the pen name of William Hutchinson, a journalist. The Boston Herald vigorously supported Whitman (see the letter from Whitman to William D. O'Connor of May 25, 1882). This letter is addressed: J L & J B Gilder | Critic office | 30 Lafayette Place | New York City. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Jun | 3 | 9 PM | Pa. Payment for "Edgar Poe's Significance," which appeared in The Critic on this date; included in Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall (New York: New York University Press, 1963), 230–233. "The Massachusetts Dogberry," an editorial in The Critic on June 3, was indeed a "razor-edged" attack on the Boston censors of Leaves of Grass. Essays from "The Critic" contained Whitman's "Death of Carlyle" and "Death of Longfellow" as well as an anonymous chapter entitled "Whitman's 'Leaves of Grass,'" in which the author judiciously appraised Whitman's poetry as "truly caviare to the multitude," defended the sexual poems, deplored Whitman's "lack of taste" in the use of foreign phrases, and compared him to Richard Wagner. Van Doran Stafford wrote to Whitman on May 28 from New York, where he was employed on the steamer "Plymouth Rock." He was enjoying New York and was not anxious to return since "Ruth says she will have a situation for me when I get home to scrub and wash dishes." Rees Welsh & Co., booksellers and publishers, wrote to Whitman on June 5 offering to print his book. On June 16 the firm wanted to proceed "at once." See also the letter from Whitman to the publishers of June 20, 1882. Whitman wrote to Richard Maurice Bucke on June 10 "ab't 'motif' of his book & ab't printing in Phila" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd June 19/82." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden | Jun | 18 | 6 PM | N.J.; Washington, D.C. | Jun | 19 | 4 AM | 1882 | Recd. On June 15, O'Connor notified Whitman of the appearance of his article in the New York Tribune and of what Whitelaw Reid termed "a savage article on the other side." On June 19, O'Connor tentatively proposed that Spofford, the Librarian of Congress, was the author of the letter signed "Sigma" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, June 12, 1888, 314), but on June 29, he decided upon Richard H. Stoddard ( Wednesday, November 7, 1888, 49). This draft letter is endorsed: "Rees Welsh & Co | Sent Rees Welsh & Co June 20 '82." It is written on the back of a series of other documents, including a letter from David Hutcheson to Whitman of November 24, 1880, a letter from John Forney [?] to Whitman of June 11, and an undated letter from Miss F.M. Alvoral [?]. Rees Welsh & Co. agreed to Whitman's terms on June 21 with two stipulations: they were unwilling to accept Specimen Days until they had seen the manuscript, and they wanted to know about the copyright of Bucke's volume. Apparently the agreement to publish Leaves of Grass and Specimen Days was signed on June 28 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See also the letter from Whitman to William D. O'Connor of June 28, 1882. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd June 29/82." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Washington | D.C. It is postmarked: Camden | Jun | 23 | 5 PM | N.J.; Washington, D.C. | Jun | 24 | 4 AM | 1882 | Recd. Probably Whitman sent an article entitled "The Condemned Poems," signed by W. H. (apparently a woman), which appeared in the Philadelphia Press on June 16. See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1914), 3:349. This post card is addressed: Miss Ruth Anna Stafford | Kirkwood | Glendale | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden | Jun | 23 | 7 AM | N.J. Whitman was at Glendale from July 3 to 5 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd June 29/82." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden | Jun (?) | 26 | 7 AM | N.J.; Washington | Jun | 26 | 5 M(?) | (?). June 25 was on Sunday in 1882. The year is also confirmed by the notes below. On June 24 O'Connor reported that the Boston postmaster had halted a lecture by George Chainey on Leaves of Grass (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, December 21, 1888, 349). Obviously he meant the sending of the printed lecture through the mail (see the letter from Whitman to George Chainey of June 26, 1882). After O'Connor's request on June 15, Whitman sent the volume on June 20 to Professor Elias Loomis (1811–1889), the astronomer and Yale professor, who at the time was in the Nautical Almanac Office of the Navy Department in Washington (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). According to O'Connor's letter of June 19, Loomis knew that Emerson had never qualified his praise of Leaves of Grass (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [Boston: Small, Maynard, 1906], 1:313). O'Connor "judged it prudent to withhold my reply to 'Sigma.'" Probably Whitman met George Chainey, the publisher of This World (Boston), in Boston in 1881. On December 22, 1881, the poet sent one of Chainey's sermons to Susan Stafford (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Chainey printed on June 17, 1882, "Keep Off the Grass," a lecture which he had delivered on June 11, as well as "To a Common Prostitute." Chainey printed Whitman's letter and one from O'Connor on July 1. Interestingly, O'Connor deplored Chainey's stupidity in a letter to Whitman on July 13, although he had been furnishing Chainey with information; see Chainey's letter to O'Connor, dated July 11 (Trent Collection, Duke University). Chainey discussed the censorship on July 1, July 6, and November 4; see Roger Asselineau, L'Évolution de Walt Whitman (1955), 250–251n. Chainey lectured on Leaves of Grass in 1884 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, June 23). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd | June 29/82." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Jun | 28 | 3 PM | Pa.; Washington, D.C. | Jun | 29 | 5 AM | 1882 | Rec'd. Anthony Comstock (1844–1915), the secretary of the Society for the Suppression of Vice in New York from 1873 to 1915, was the author of Frauds Exposed (1880) and Morals Versus Art (1887). On June 29 O'Connor informed Whitman that Ingersoll and he were drawing up a memorandum for the Postmaster General (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1914], 3:50). On July 13 O'Connor reported that in Ingersoll's opinion Comstock "is not an honest bigot, but an arrant black-hearted scoundrel." The Cambridge Chronicle, edited by Linn B. Porter, printed a vigorous defense of Whitman on May 27. For the Boston Herald, see the letter from Whitman to O'Connor of May 25, 1882. On May 19 Ticknor advised J. W. Daniels, of Boston, to hold the plate subject to Whitman's orders (The Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). This letter is endorsed: "Walt Whitman | Answ'd July 7/82." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Jul | 6 | 6 PM | Pa.; Washington, D.C. | Jul | 7 | 5 AM | 1882 | Recd. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd July 10/82 | [Answ'd July] 12 [82]." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden | Jul | 9 | 7 PM | N.J.; Washington, D.C. | Jul | 10 | 5 AM | 1882 | Recd. On July 7 O'Connor wrote jubilantly: "The Boston Postmaster's action on Chainey's lecture is reversed and disapproved! Furthermore in the letter to Tobey, the Postmaster General takes the ground that your book must pass unmolested through the mails—that a book, generally accepted by the public, admitted into libraries, and accepted by the literary class, cannot be brought under the operation of the statutes respecting taboo matter. This is cheering. We owe this victory to the tact, bonhomie, energy and gallantry of Ingersoll, who put the case to the Department in the best manner possible" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). On July 5 Rees Welsh & Co. wrote to Whitman: "Much to our surprise are threatened with an action. Please call at your earliest convenience and we will talk over it." Talcott Williams (1849–1928), a journalist, worked for the New York Sun and World, and became an editorial writer on the Springfield Republican in 1879. He joined the staff of the Philadelphia Press in 1881. In 1912 he became director of the School of Journalism at Columbia University. See also Elizabeth Dunbar's Talcott Williams: Gentleman of the Fourth Estate (1936) and Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (Boston: Small, Maynard, 1906), 1:202. The Philadelphia Press vigorously supported the poet against the Boston censorship both in its news columns and in its editorials. A front-page story on July 15 quoted at length the defense of Leaves of Grass offered by the Reverend James Morrow, "a prominent Methodist."For more information on Talcott Williams, see Philip W. Leon, "Williams, Talcott (1849–1928)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd July 13/82." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden | Jul | 11 | 4 PM | (?); Washington, D. C. | Jul | 12 | 5 AM | 1882 | Recd. William O'Connor carefully explained on July 10 that he had given a slightly misleading impression of the Post Office's decision since the ruling applied only to George Chainey's pamphlet, not to Leaves of Grass as a book. However, the interpretation offered by Judge Charles A. Ray, the law officer of the Post Office Department, meant in effect that Leaves of Grass was "mailable" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd July 20/82." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Jul | 19 | 6 PM | Pa.; Washington, D.C. | Jul | 20 | 5 AM | 1882 | Recd. Whitman wrote in his Commonplace Book: "The first Phila ed'n. . . ready 18th—morning of 20th all exhausted—not a copy left" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Sherman & Co. began to set type on July 19. On July 23 Whitman "read first page proof 'Specimen Days'" (Whitman's Commonplace Book). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd July 24/82." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Pa. | Jul 21 82 | 11 PM; Washington, D.C. | Jul | 22 | 7 AM | 1882 | Recd. In 1888, speaking to Horace Traubel, Whitman observed that he had read O'Connor's letter of July 20 "a dozen times" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1915], 2:60). O'Connor was so vituperative in dealing with Comstock that Traubel omitted the following passage: "It a disgrace to the Government that they should employ this vile maggot bred from carrion—the rat of the cloaca—this lump of devil's-dung." This edition appeared on August 4 (see the letter from Whitman to O'Connor of August 6, 1882). On July 7, O'Connor asked Whitman to see whether Rees Welsh & Co. had a copy of the first edition of Florio's Montaigne (Charles E. Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). See also Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, October 17, 1888, 496. This letter is addressed: Mrs Anne Gilchrist | Keats' Corner—12 Well Road | Hampstead | London England. It is postmarked: Phila. Paid All | Jul | 22 | 1882 | Pa. Anne Gilchrist wrote on May 8 and again on June 18. In the earlier letter she objected to Whitman's rearrangement of his poems and to the new titles in the 1882 edition. In the latter she praised "A Memorandum at a Venture": "It is as clear as daylight to me that you speak truth—invigorating ennobling truth, full of hope & promise & impetus for the race. I have never for a moment wavered in my belief in this truth since it burst upon me a veritable sunrise in reading your poems in 1869" (University of Pennsylvania). On July 28 Gilchrist in a letter to Burroughs offered her defense of Whitman, which she was willing to have submitted to the New York Tribune (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 220–221). The newspaper, however, declined to publish it (Barrus, 242). Whitman referred to Carpenter's letter of March 16, in which he enclosed a letter from a friend named Sharp(?), who termed Leaves of Grass "a barbaric work" and Whitman "the poet of anarchy, confusion, lawlessness, disorder, 'anomia,' chaos," who was not even "cosmopolitan" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [Boston: Small, Maynard, 1906], 1:252–253). Whitman was amused and impressed: "I kind o' take to the man: he tumbles me clear over as a matter of conscience—I respect him for it" (Traubel, 1:253). This is a draft letter. It is endorsed: "Aug 1 '82 | sent to Librarian of Congress | ans'd—see note | copyright entrance of | 1860–'61—acknowledged | & on file." On August 2, 1882, Spofford, the Librarian of Congress, acknowledged that the 1860 edition had been entered, but the request for renewal of copyright could not be made until May 24, 1888 (The Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). This letter is endorsed: "No answer." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Aug | 3 | 5(?) PM | Pa.; Washington, D.C. | Aug | 4 | 4 AM | 1882 | Recd. Grimm's article was included in Essays on Literature, translated by Sarah H. Adams (1886). The edition appeared on the following day (see the letter from Whitman to O'Connor of August 6, 1882). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Aug 19/82." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden | Aug | 6 | 6 PM | N.J.; Washington, D.C. | Aug | 7 | 4 AM | 1882 | Recd. Whitman never stated the exact number of copies of the second Philadelphia impression. Since he referred to the "cautious 1000" copies of the first impression, presumably this printing was larger. Whitman wrote in a letter to John Burroughs on August 13 that the second impression was "now nearly gone." On August 27 he wrote to O'Connor that Rees Welsh & Co. were "paying out their 3d edition." On September 17 he wrote to O'Connor that "they are now on their fourth Phila: ed'n L of G." The fifth impression was run off in October (see the letter from Whitman to Sylvester Baxter of October 8, 1882). See the letter from Whitman to O'Connor of July 21, 1882. In his answer on August 19, O'Connor mentioned with resentment that J. B. Gilder, of The Critic, was supporting Chadwick and deplored the fact that Leaves of Grass, according to the New York Tribune on August 15, was now "proscribed by Trinity College, Dublin" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, October 17, 1888, 496). Burroughs had just returned from a two-month visit to England, as he informed Whitman in a post card on August 9. Before Rees Welsh & Co. became his publisher, Whitman bound some of the "sheets" which he had received from Osgood (see the letter from Whitman to Burroughs of April 28, 1882). Goldsmith estimated that only fifty copies of this "edition" were issued (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 210n). Late in June, apparently, Burroughs informed O'Connor that Rossetti now called Leaves of Grass "nasty"; see O'Connor's letter to Burroughs on July 12 (Barrus, 220). On July 13 O'Connor wrote to Whitman of Rossetti's recantation: "It is sad and sickening." On August 24 Burroughs explained the situation to Whitman: "Yes, I was much put out with Wm Rossetti; it was not so much what he said about your poems, . . . but his manner, his coldness, his indifference. He did not even ask about your health, or any other human thing, & made me feel that my call upon him, miserable petrefied cockney that he is, was an unwelcome interruption." Apparently Rossetti and Burroughs, in Whitman's words, "did not seem altogether to hit it" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [Boston: Small, Maynard, 1906], 1:437). When Rossetti wrote to Whitman on January 1, 1885, his praise of Leaves of Grass and Specimen Days was unstinted (Traubel, 1:436–437). This is Whitman's only reference to his estrangement from O'Connor. According to Bucke's letter to O'Connor on October 14, he was withholding his book at Whitman's suggestion. In fact, although he carefully refrained from saying so, Bucke was not happy about Whitman's vague plans for the publication of his study by Rees Welsh & Co. Probably a reference to Anne Gilchrist's letter of June 18 (University of Pennsylvania). This note is addressed: Mrs Gilchrist | Keats' Corner 12 Well Road | Hampstead | London England. It is postmarked: Camden | (?) | 14 | 7 AM | N.J. The note was written at the bottom of a post card announcement of the Philadelphia printings of Leaves of Grass and Specimen Days. Since John Burroughs had just returned from England (see the letter from Whitman to Burroughs of August 13, 1882), and since the postmark is clearly "14 | AM," the card was undoubtedly written on August 13. This letter is addressed: John Burroughs | Esopus-on-Hudson | New York. It is postmarked: Camden | (?) | 27 | 5 PM | N.J. Specimen Days was not ready until October 1 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Mrs Anne Gilchrist | Keats Corner 12 Well Road | Hampstead | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden | Aug | 27 | 6 PM | N.J.; Philadelphia | Aug | 27 | 1882 | Pa. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Aug 28/82." It is addressed: Wm Douglas O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden | Aug | 27 | 6 PM | N.J.; Washington, D.C. | Aug | 28 | 4 AM | 1882 | Recd. O'Connor, on August 28, was pleased that the third printing was out: "I think by September we shall have a boom in full drive. I will do my best to keep up the controversy." This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Sept 20." It is addressed: Wm D. O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden | Sep | 3 | 6 PM | N.J.; Washington, D.C. | Sep | 4 | 4 AM | 1882 | Recd. On August 28 O'Connor informed Whitman that his reply to Comstock, "Mr. Comstock as Cato the Censor," had appeared in the New York Tribune on the preceding day. Only his opening sentence had been deleted: "Mr. Anthony Comstock's hostility to the nude—of which an illustrious instance was his famous prosecution of three unfortunate women, whom he had hired to dance before him for over an hour, without clothing, in a New York brothel—appears to extend to even the naked truth" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 225). See also Walt Whitman Review, 5 (1959), 54–56. On September 26 Whitman wrote in his Commonplace Book: "'Specimen Days' done," but it was not distributed until October 1 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman was with the Staffords at Glendale from November 18 to 27 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) Kennedy's John Greenleaf Whittier (Boston: S. E. Cassino, 1882). Brander Matthews (1852–1929), professor of English literature at Columbia University from 1892 to 1924, included the poem in Poems of American Patriotism (1882), 268–269. This letter is addressed: Editors | Republican daily newspaper | Springfield | Mass. On September 8 Whitman sent notices of the publication of Specimen Days to the Springfield Republican as well as to the New York Times, the New York Tribune, the New York World, and the Philadelphia Press (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The Republican printed two columns of excerpts on September 10 (Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 133–136, 282–283). The World printed a brief announcement on the same date. Apparently the Times and the Tribune did not give Whitman's book publicity. According to the Certificate of Death, Edmund Price (1809–1882) died on September 9 of a chronic cardiac disease. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Sept 20." It is addressed: Wm Douglas O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Treasury Department | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden | Sep | 17 | 6 PM | N.J.; Washington, D.C. | Se(?) | 18 | 5 AM | 1882 | Recd. The book was delayed until October 1. Fitzgerald Molloy, of London, was the "author of the friendly article" in Modern Thought, 4 (1 September 1882), 319–326. Whitman sent Leaves of Grass to Molloy on September 15 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). No copy of the New York American Queen has been located. This letter is addressed: Karl Knortz | cor: Morris Av: & 155th St: | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden | Nov | 15 | 12 M | N.J.; P.O. | 11-15-82 | 5 P | N.Y. Whitman's letter to John Fitzerald Lee of December 20, 1881. The Good Gray Poet was reprinted in Bucke's Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), 99–132. This letter may have been sent to L. O. Bliss of Iowa Falls, Iowa, to whom Whitman sent a "gilt-top L of G" on December 18 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman was inaccurate, perhaps deliberately: he was with the Staffords at Glendale from November 18 to 27 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). See Whitman's letter to William Sloane Kennedy of November 28, 1882. Possibly an envelope in the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library, belongs with this letter. The envelope is addressed: J L & J B Gilder | Critic | office | 30 Lafayette Place | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden | Dec(?) | 7 | 5 PM | (?); P. O. | (?) 8(?)-82 | (?) | (?). "Robert Burns" appeared in The Critic on December 16. Whitman received $15 for the article (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). With additions he republished it as "Robert Burns as Poet and Person" in The North American Review, 143 (1886), 427–435, and in November Boughs (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1888), 57–64. This note is addressed: T W H Rolleston | Lange Strasse 29 | Dresden | Saxony. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec | 1(?) | (?). The address and the text of the note were cut out and pasted on the flyleaves of Rolleston's copy of Leaves of Grass. Whitman's signature appears in the lower left corner of the address. On the flyleaf below the text Rolleston wrote: "The edition here alluded to was published by Osgood & Co. Boston, in 1882. The present volume is a reprint of it." The reprint to which Rolleston refers was published by David McKay in Philadelphia in 1882. Since, from the end of 1881 through 1882, Rolleston lived in Dresden at 29 Lange Strasse, the address of the letter card, and in 1883 moved to 28 Terrassen Ufer, 1882 must be the year in which this card was written. The month, December, is clearly visible on the postmark, and so is "1," the first number of the date. Rolleston's letter of December 26, 1882, acknowledges the receipt of Whitman's card of December 10, and according to Whitman's Commonplace Book, Whitman sent Rolleston "full set loose leaves L of G. with postal card" on December 10, 1882 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The date of this note should therefore be December 10, 1882. For Rolleston's letters to Whitman in 1882, see Whitman and Rolleston—A Correspondence, ed. Horst Frenz (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1951), 56–70. The right lower corner of the note is cut off: Whitman's signature, pasted on page 29 of Rolleston's copy of Leaves of Grass, may belong to this note (see Frenz, 72 n2). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Dec. 15/82." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Treasury | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Dec | 14 | 2 PM | (?); Washington, Recd. | (?) | 5 AM | 1882 | 2. Edward Dowden's review of Specimen Days (see the letter from Whitman to Dowden of November 10, 1882). This post card is addressed: Josiah Child | at Trübner & Co's: | 57 & 59 Ludgate Hill | London England. It is postmarked: Camden | (?) | 17 | 8 PM | N.J.; E 7 | London (?) | Ja (?) | 83. Macaulay's review of Leaves of Grass appeared in The Nineteenth Century, 12 (December 1882), 903–918. Despite some reservations, Macaulay's was a fair and judicious essay; he particularly admired "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking" and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd." This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service— | Treasury | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden | (?) | 17 | 8 PM | N.J.; Washington, Recd. | Dec | 18 | 430 AM | 1882 | 2. O'Connor's letter appears to be lost. There is a letter from O'Connor to Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke on December 15 in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919 (Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). See the letter from Whitman to O'Connor of November 12, 1882. See the letter from Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman of December 4, 1866. See the letter from Whitman to Jeannette L. Gilder of December 7, 1882. O'Connor acknowledged receipt of The Critic on December 19. See Whitman and Rolleston—A Correspondence, ed. Horst Frenz (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1951), 56–60, 69–70. On January 13, 1883, The Critic printed Whitman's picture with four lines from Leaves of Grass in Whitman's hand. The issue also contained a review of Specimen Days (2–3). This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service—Treasury | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Dec | 27 | 7 PM | Pa. A three-volume edition of Molière, translated by Henri Van Laun, is now in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919 (Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). Interestingly, it was published in 1880 by Worthington. From December 23 to 25 Whitman spent a "pleasant time at R. Pearsall Smith's and his wife Mrs Hannah W Smith (& dear daughter Mary) at 4653 Germantown avenue . . . the fine, long, spirited drives along the Wissahickon, the rocks and banks, the hemlocks, Indian Rock—Miss Willard, Miss Kate Sanborn, Lloyd Smith (R P's brother) the librarian" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Feinberg Collection). Whitman was again with the Smiths from December 30 to January 2 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Mary Smith, a student at Smith College, forced her somewhat reluctant family to visit the poet. Her father became very fond of Whitman, who, however, never "hitched" with his wife, a famous Quaker leader (1832–1911). Hannah Smith was not impressed with the poet's Hicksite leanings or his verse. Whitman was very fond of the other two Smith children, Alys and Logan Pearsall (1865–1946). Lloyd Smith (1822–1886) was a publisher and a librarian. See Logan Pearsall Smith, Unforgotten Years (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1939), 92–108, and A Religious Rebel: The Letters of "H. W. S." (Mrs. Pearsall Smith) (London: 1949), xvii–xviii. Whitman's visit to the Smith family is also discussed in Jon Miller, "'Father Walt': Frances Willard and Walt Whitman," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 28 (Summer/Fall 2010), 54–60. Edward Sprague Marsh (1857–?) was a lawyer in Brandon, Vermont, a collector of rare books, and the editor and publisher of the Brandon Chronicle in 1894 ("Marsh, Edward Sprague," The Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography, ed. Prentiss Cutler Dodge [Burlington, Vermont: Ullery Publishing Company, 1912], 258). "The Bible as Poetry" appeared in The Critic on February 3. On February 8 Whitman sent copies to Anne Gilchrist, Edward Dowden, Thomas W. H. Rolleston, Rudolf Schmidt, and G. C. Macaulay (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Payment for "The Bible as Poetry" (see the letter from Whitman to the Gilders of January 25, 1883). The editors deducted $2 for the offprints which Whitman requested. This letter is addressed: John Burroughs | Esopus-on-Hudson | New York. It is postmarked: Camden | Feb | 9 | 4 PM | N.J. Burroughs was in Philadelphia on Wednesday, February 7 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman noted on January 31 that McKay sent over Richard Maurice Bucke's manuscript of his biography. On February 8 the poet returned to Bucke "$200 borrowed last fall" (Whitman's Commonplace Book). On the back of the envelope for this letter, the following is written in pencil (probably in the hand of John Burroughs): "And down it came in drops—the smallest fit | To drown a bee in fox-glove bell concealed | Hartley Coleridge." Wilson & McCormick, of Glasgow, Scotland, published Specimen Days (see the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of February 27, 1883). Thomas W. H. Rolleston's projected German translation. Whitman was with the Smiths from December 30 to January 2 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See also the letter from Whitman to William D. O'Connor of December 27, 1882. Susan Stafford's son. Elmer (1861–1957) was Susan Stafford's nephew; Edwin was her son. This letter is not known. This sentence and the postscript were written in red ink and perhaps added to the letter by Whitman at a later time. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Feb 19/83." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Treasury | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Washington, Recd. | Feb | (?) 8 | (?) AM | 1883 | 2. Bucke's biography included a letter from O'Connor dated February 22, 1883, which served as a preface to his reprint of The Good Gray Poet. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Feb 20/83." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Treasury | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Pa. | Feb 19 83 | (?); Washington, Recd. | Feb | 20 | 4 30 AM | 1883 | 2. In his reply on February 20 O'Connor stated that although he wanted to delete the passages mentioned, he was in a "dilemma," since they were singled out for censure by his critics when the pamphlet appeared in 1866. For this reason he thought no deletions should be made (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [Boston: Small, Maynard, 1906], 1:351). O'Connor, who had Olympian contempt for brevity, added more than a paragraph—a letter of twenty-five pages. Perhaps an unidentified work by Frederick York Powell (1850–1904), Froude's successor at Oxford, who wrote an eulogistic letter to Whitman on November 1, 1884 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; Traubel, 1:356–357). This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Treasury | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden | Feb | 21 | 5 PM | N.J.; Washington, Recd. | Feb | 22 | 430 AM | 1883 | 2. On February 20 O'Connor wrote: "The paper on Life-Saving Transfer is mine—some touches in the others. I was thinking of you when I wrote the first and third of my three reasons against transfer" (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, June 18, 1888, 351). The family of Robert Pearsall Smith. Mary Whitall Smith, who was at the time a student at Smith College and who married B. F. W. Costelloe and later Bernard Berenson. According to his letter of February 20, O'Connor had read in the New York Tribune excerpts from The Correspondence of Thomas Carlyle and Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1834–1872 (1883). He particularly objected to Emerson's reference to Whitman in one of the letters (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, September 3, 1888, 251): "The letter, as printed, is very characteristic of Emerson—his reserve, his shrinking, like a woman's, because of rebuff; his deceptive concessions to the enemy, in a vein of pleasantry, almost like irony, almost like a sneer, when he says the book 'wanted good morals so much' that he did not send it" (Monday, June 18, 1888, 352). In 1888 Whitman agreed with O'Connor: "Emerson should have said yes or no—not yes-no" (Monday, June 18, 1888, 353). See the letter from Walt Whitman to Louisa Orr Whitman of September 18, 1881, and Whitman's letter to John Burroughs of September 19, 1881. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Feb 24/83." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Treasury | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Pa. | Feb 23 83 | 6 30 PM; Washington, Recd. | Feb | 24 | 4 30 AM | 1883 | 2. This post card is endorsed: "Answ'd Feb 24/83." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Treasury | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Pa. | Feb 23 83 | 6 30 PM; Washington, Recd. | Feb | 24 | 4 30 AM | 1883 | 2. The date of this post card, obviously sent later than the preceding one, is established by O'Connor's endorsement, the postmark, and the reference to O'Connor's manuscript. In his reprint of The Good Gray Poet Richard Maurice Bucke included a reference to Richard Henry Stoddard's review of the pamphlet in The Round Table on January 20, 1866, and printed a letter written to the magazine by Charles Lanman and O'Connor's reply (130–132). This letter is addressed: John Burroughs | Esopus-on-Hudson | New York. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Pa. | Feb 26 83 | 10 30. "Signs and Seasons," The Century Magazine, 25 (March 1883), 672–682. This letter is addressed: Mrs. Anne Gilchrist | Keats' Corner | 12 Well Road | Hampstead | London | England. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Feb | 27 | 1883 | Pa.; London, N.W. | M E | Mr 9 | 83. In her letter of January 27, Anne Gilchrist related how Lady Dilke handled a betrayer of a maid (The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman, ed. Thomas B. Harned [New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918], 211–212). Mary Whitall Smith. Fred W. Wilson of this firm wrote to Whitman on February 27, 1884: "You may be pleased to know that your Leaves of Grass is going very well here. I have been a reader of your writings for the last ten years or so and have in my humble way done my best to spread a knowledge of your work. (Indeed I have evinced the sincerity of my belief in you by going farther in its expression than most people have thought prudent in me—viz: by becoming your publisher in this country. Not in the slightest degree do I regret taking this step for I look upon you as one of my teachers and as such owe you my debt of gratitude)" (The Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). See the letter from Whitman to William D. O'Connor of February 21, 1883. Apparently Whitman did not visit the Staffords from November 27, 1882, to April 14, 1883. Harry Stafford called on the poet on March 5 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: J M Stoddart | 1018 Chestnut Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Camden | Mar | 6 | 5 PM | N.J. James Edward Kelly (1855–1933) was a sculptor and illustrator from New York, who was best known for depicting the events of the American Civil War. He worked as an illustrator for numerous magazines, including Harper's Monthly. This letter is endorsed: "Walt Whitman | Answ'd March 10/83." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Treasury | Washington D C. It is postmarked: (?) | Mar | 9 | 5 PM | (?); Washington, Recd. | Mar | 10 | 4 30 AM | (?). On March 6 Richard Maurice Bucke's manuscript was "in the hands of the printers—Sherman & Co: Phila." Three days later Whitman sent galleys to Bucke, who, on March 12, acknowledged receipt of them (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Treasury | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden | Mar | 11 | 6 PM | N.J.; Washington, Recd. | Mar | 12 | 7 AM | 188(?) | (?). On March 10 O'Connor informed Whitman that he was leaving Washington for Providence, R. I., because of the illness of his daughter. It is an interesting sidelight on the relations of O'Connor and Whitman that after the resumption of their correspondence in 1882 almost a year passed before O'Connor referred to his family or Whitman inquired about Mrs. O'Connor and Jeannie. Until the quarrel Whitman was on intimate terms with the family; in fact, Mrs. O'Connor continued to write to him for four years after the estrangement. Despite Jeannie's critical illness the poet referred to her only in this letter and in his letter to O'Connor of March 14, 1883. O'Connor mentioned her death on May 23 (Oscar Lion Collection, New York Public Library). In 1888 Whitman observed: "Jeannie's death was the tragedy of their history—and a tragedy in my history, too. Too much must not be said of that or the like of that—it gets down in you where words do not go." Horace Traubel reported that Whitman's "eyes were full of tears" (With Walt Whitman in Camden [New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1915], 2:261). Yet Whitman apparently did not write to O'Connor about her death or record it in his Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See the letter from Whitman to Burroughs of February 26, 1883. Burroughs commented on this letter: "In the essay I had overhauled the poets. When I came to put it in book form I modified and excised a little" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 241). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd March 15/83." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Care of Dr W F Channing | 98 Congdon Street | Providence | Rhode Island | p o box 393. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Mar | 14 | 7 PM | Pa.; Providence | Mar | 15 | 1 PM | R.I. On March 14, O'Connor reported that his daughter "Jeannie is very ill, confined to her bed, perhaps never to be well again" (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, March 23, 1889, 407). Mrs. Channing and Mrs. O'Connor were sisters. Whitman visited the Channings in 1868 (see the letters from Whitman to Peter Doyle of October 18, 1868, to Ellen M. O'Connor of October 19, 1868, to Charles W. Eldridge of October 20, 1868, to Abby H. Price of October 21, 1868, and to John Burroughs of October 22, 1868). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd March 19/83." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Care Dr W F Channing | 98 Congdon Street | Providence | Rhode Island | p o box | 393. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Mar | 15 | 1883 | 5 PM | Pa. On March 19 O'Connor offered two suggestions: the lines referring to Longinus in Pope's Essay on Criticism and three lines from Hamlet (Charles E. Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). Either Bucke or Whitman decided not to follow his proposals, and inserted a quotation from "a letter to R. M. B., by W. F., Mobile, Ala., March, 1883" (Richard Maurice Bucke, Walt Whitman [Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883], 72). Bucke wrote to O'Connor about the motto on March 30 (The Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd March 17/83." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Care Dr W F Channing | 98 Congdon Street | Providence | Rhode Island | p o box | 393. It is postmarked: Camden | Mar | 16 | 12 M | N.J.; Providence | Mar | 17 | 6 AM | R.I. On March 14, O'Connor requested that Emerson's letter be printed in entirety in Richard Maurice Bucke's Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883) (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, March 23, 1889). On March 17 O'Connor vehemently opposed any alterations in his paragraphs (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, March 15, 1889 , 354–355). O'Connor wanted printed exactly the footnote which alluded, without mentioning Lowell by name, to a Cambridge author who had termed Whitman "nothing but a low New York rowdy," "a common street blackguard" (Richard Maurice Bucke, Walt Whitman [Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883], 100n). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd March 19/83." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | care Dr: W F Channing | 98 Congdon Street | Providence | Rhode Island | P O Box | 393. It is postmarked: Camden | Mar | 18 | 6 PM | N.J.; Providence | (?) | 18 | (?) PM | R.I. With his usual insistence, O'Connor wrote on March 17, "Do let me have a revise" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, March 15, 1889 , 355). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd March 27/83." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Care Dr W F Channing | 98 Congdon Street | Providence | Rhode Island | P O box 393. It is postmarked: Camden | Mar | 25 | 6 PM | N.J. Whitman referred to the prefatory letter which preceded The Good Gray Poet in Bucke's study. This letter is addressed: [K]ristofer Janson | [1306] Franklin Ave. | [Mi]nneap[olis] | Minn:. It is postmarked: Camden | Mar | (?). Kristofer N. Janson, a Unitarian clergyman and author, was born in Bergen, Norway, and went to Minneapolis in 1882. The year is established by the following: on March 31, 1883, Whitman noted in his Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) that he had "read John Burroughs's 'Carlyle' proof"; on May 20 Burroughs referred to his article to which he was "adding a page about Mrs. C. as revealed by her letters" (Syracuse University; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, April 7, 1889, 510); and the article, entitled "Carlyle," appeared in The Century Magazine in August, 1883. After writing "Carlyle and Emerson" for The Critic, 2 (20 May 1882), 140–141, and an unsigned review of Froude's Thomas Carlyle in The Century Magazine, 24 (June 1882), 307–308, Burroughs began to gather material for a more extended article, as he informed Whitman from London on June 16, 1882 (Traubel, Monday, August 20, 1888, 171). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd April 1/83." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Care Dr W F Channing | 98 Congdon Street | Providence | Rhode Island. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Mar | 29 | 5(?) PM | Pa.; Providence | Mar | 30 | 6 AM | R.I. In his reply on April 1, O'Connor informed Whitman that he had given copies of Leaves of Grass and Specimen Days to the Channings (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, September 4th, 1888, 258). O'Connor was thoroughly acquainted with the writings of Karl Elze (1821–1889), whom he termed "a perfect Bismarck philistine" (Traubel, Tuesday, September 4th, 1888, 259). Probably Whitman sent Elze's Essays on Shakespeare (1874). The question mark after Elze in the text is Whitman's. See the letter from Whitman to O'Connor of October 29, 1882. Though O'Connor considered Heywood "a stupendous jackass," as he wrote in his letter of March 27, he was anxious to have him acquitted (Traubel, Friday, January 18, 1889, 566). On April 1 he approved of Whitman's course of inaction (Traubel, Tuesday, September 4th, 1888, 260). On March 27 O'Connor reported that Harriet Prescott Spofford (1835–1921), novelist and poet, considered Whitman "the only poet that ever lived who has done justice to woman" (Traubel, Friday, January 18, 1889, 564). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd April 1/83." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Care Dr. W F Channing | 93 Congdon Street | Providence | Rhode Island | p o box | 393. It is postmarked: Camden | Mar | 31 | 12 M | N.J.; Providence | Apr | 1 | (?) AM | (?). A series of quotations from Dante appear on this page of Bucke's book. Despite Whitman's praise, O'Connor, on April 1, felt "dreadfully at the prospect your letter opens, of my paragraphing being changed" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, September 4th, 1888 , 260). See the letter from Whitman to O'Connor of March 29, 1883. The typesetting of Bucke's biography was completed on March 31 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This was Whitman's book in every detail: he altered the proofs at will. On March 20, Bucke, whose role was simply to acquiesce in Whitman's changes, wrote: "I open and read these parcels of proof in fear and trembling (you must go as easy as you can, you are the terrible surgeon with the knife & saw and saw the patient). You left out my remarks on 'Children of Adam', I believe they were good but I acquiesce—your additions are excellent as they have been all through" (Feinberg Collection). On May 28 Bucke was pleased with the book he and Whitman had produced: "I believe it will do, and if it will the Editor will deserve more credit than the Author—I am really surprised at the tact and judgement you have displayed in putting my rough M. S. into shape and I am more than satisfied with all you have done" (Feinberg Collection). Bucke, however, may not have been quite so pleased with Whitman's high-handed treatment of his book as his letters to the poet indicate. For in a letter on August 19 to O'Connor, who on August 16 objected to "several omissions and commissions," Bucke wrote: "I do not care to go into these matters by letter but when you come [to Canada] I will make every thing clear to your comprehention" (The Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Treasury | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Pa. | Apr 5 83 | 5 30 PM; Washington, Recd. | Apr | 6 | 4 30 AM | 1883(?) | 2. O'Connor sent a list of typographical errors on April 4 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, April 25, 1888, 67–68). This letter is addressed: Mrs Susan M Stafford | Kirkwood | Glendale | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden | Apr | 13 | 7 AM | N.J. Whitman went to Glendale on Saturday, April 14, and stayed until Monday (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is endorsed (by Kennedy?): "1883." Oliver Wendell Holmes (Boston, 1883) contains a brief reference to the Boston censorship (256). Bucke's biography was bound on June 1 and was formally released on June 20 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd April 17/83." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Treasury | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Pa. | Apr 14 83 | 1 PM; Washington, Recd. | Apr | 15 | 4 30 AM | 1883 | 2. On February 19 Richard Maurice Bucke wrote to O'Connor: "If you do not object we are going to copyright the book in America in your name as we cannot in mine—Shall of course copyright in own name in England" (The Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). O'Connor was vehement in his denunciation of Comstock on April 17: "He ought to be crushed, signally, publicly, in the interest of free letters and the rights of thought; he ought to be nailed up, like a skunk to a barn-door, as an example to deter. . . . It is nothing less than a public—national—infamy, that an infamous dog like this, convicted of such practices—a decoy duck, a dirty stool pigeon—should be in the employ of the United States" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, February 5, 1889, 91). The title page originally contained a quotation from Lucretius, the excision of which disappointed O'Connor. Whitman, however, fibbed, for on May 28 Bucke wrote: "I see now that you were right about the Latin motto (as about everything else)" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Herbert H Gilchrist | Keats' Corner 12 Well Road | Hampstead | London England. It is postmarked: Gibbsborough, N.J. | Apr | 16 | 1883; Philadelphia | A(?) | 1(?) | 1883 | Pa. A saccharine, Millet-like portrait of Whitman. In his reply on April 29, Herbert noted that "John Burroughs was very violent against my intaglio." Kennedy's "The Obsolescence of Barrel-Organ Poetry," which appeared in The Critic on May 26, attacked conventional rhyme and meter in poetry, and praised the new freedom in the music and poetry of Wagner and Walt Whitman. See also the letter from Whitman to Kennedy of May 31, 1883. This letter is addressed: Mrs. Ann Gilchrist | 12 Well Road Hampstead | London England. It is postmarked: Camden | May | 27 | 5 PM | N.J.; Philadelphia | May | 27 | 1883 | Pa. Anne Gilchrist wrote on May 6, and Herbert on April 29. When Anne Gilchrist replied to Whitman on July 30, she was unexpectedly (and sensibly) critical of Bucke's biography: she particularly objected to "carefully gathering together again all the rubbish stupid or malevolent that has been written of you" and to "all that unmeaning, irrelevant clatter about what Rabelais or Shakespeare or the ancients & their times tolerated in the way of coarseness or plainness of speech." She also forwarded to Whitman her recent biography of Mary Lamb (1883). She wrote again on October 13–21. Apparently Whitman did not reply to either letter. The biography was published in London on June 15 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Richard Maurice Bucke included extracts from Anne Gilchrist's article in The Radical from May, 1870 (204–206). Whitman was with the Staffords from May 12 to 15 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Kennedy's review of Bucke's study appeared in the Boston Globe on June 10. Whitman sent "Press copies" to the Philadelphia Press, in which a review appeared on May 27; to The Critic, where it was reviewed on June 9; to the Boston Herald (to Sylvester Baxter), in which a review was printed on May 27; to the New York Evening Post; and to the New York Tribune (Notebook, Yale; and Bucke's Scrapbook, Charles E. Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). The Camden County Courier noticed the book on June 2, the New York Times on July 1 (see the letter from Whitman to William D. O'Connor of July 20, 1883), and The Nation on July 26 (see the letter from Whitman to O'Connor of September 17, 1883). Edward Dowden published a review in The Academy on September 8 (see the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of October 1883). Of his book Bucke wrote to O'Connor on February 26: "I am glad to . . . go to battle in a good cause, but I am not exultant about it, I have made up my mind to be attacked in every conceivable way, to be called an idiot, a lunatic, and all the rest of it, and I am prepared to stand it all" (The Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). See the letter from Whitman to William Sloane Kennedy of May 26, 1883. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd June 15/83." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Treasury | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Pa. | Jun 13 83 | 6 30 PM; Washington, Recd. | Jun | 14 | 4 30 AM | 1883 | 2. Apparently a reference to the errors cited in O'Connor's letter of May 23 (Oscar Lion Collection, New York Public Library). Whitman did not allude to Jeannie's death which O'Connor reported in the same letter (see the letter from Whitman to O'Connor of March 11, 1883). However, O'Connor on May 14 informed Richard Maurice Bucke of the details of his daughter's death and of "a bad attack of inflammatory rheumatism," which incapacitated him for the rest of the year (The Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). The book was published on June 15 in London and on June 20 in Philadelphia (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; see also the letter from Whitman to O'Connor of June 18, 1883). In a letter of June 15, O'Connor considered Whitman's comparison "magnificent and happy" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, February 16, 1889 , 162). On June 15 O'Connor promised to write to William Sloane Kennedy as soon as his hand healed. The June 9 issue of The Critic contained a review of Bucke's book. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd June 19/83." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Treasury | Washington | DC. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Pa. | Jun 18 | 1 PM; Washington, Recd. | Jun | 19 | 4 30 AM | 1883 | 2. The article was allegedly written by Dr. P. Popoff. In the margin of a copy, however, Whitman wrote: "my guess (at random) is that John Swinton is the writer of this article" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). On August 12, 1882, Swinton informed the poet that his lecture on American literature had been translated and printed in Zagranichnyi Viestnik (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, September 27th, 1888, 393). See also Gay Wilson Allen, Walt Whitman Abroad (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1955), 145. This letter is addressed: J B Gilder | Critic office | 30 Lafayette Square | New York City. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Pa. | Jun 1883 | (?) PM. Whitman's question mark. This letter is addressed: Dr Karl Knortz | Cor: Morris Avenue | & 155th Street | New York City. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Pa. | Jun 19 83 | 2 30 PM; P.O. | 6-19-83 | 7-1 P | N.Y. This letter is addressed: Dr Karl Knortz | Cor: Morris Avenue | & 155th Street | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden | Jun | 21 | 12 M | N.J.; R | 6-22-83 | 6-1 A | N.Y. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd June | 83." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Treasury | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden | Jun | 27 | 6 PM | N.J. Reviews of Dr. Bucke's study. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Aug 12/83." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Treasury | Washington | D. C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Jul | 20 | 7 PM | Pa.; Washington, Recd. | Jul | 21 | 4 30 AM | 1883 | 3. Whitman is referring to the letter of July 12, in which O'Connor mentioned corrections in Bucke's book and referred to the "office editor" of The North American Review (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, November 18, 1888, 129). See the letter from Whitman to O'Connor of May 17, 1882. See the letter from Whitman to O'Connor of June 18, 1883. George Edgar Montgomery reviewed Bucke's book on July 1 in the New York Times and on July 7 in the Boston Transcript. Whitman visited the Staffords from July 3 to 17 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Mrs Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | Glendale | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Aug | 6 | 8 PM | Pa. Whitman stayed with Robert Pearsall Smith from August 4 to 28 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Alys and Logan. Whitman noted during his stay at Glendale from July 3 to 17 "the rides over to 'Charlestown' with Ed. evenings to engage 'pea-pickers.'" Wyld and Edwards were Mrs. Stafford's boarders (Whitman's Commonplace Book). What loss Whitman sustained at this time is not known, unless he referred to the 200 shares of stock he purchased on February 26 in the Sierra Grande mines at Lake Valley, New Mexico. According to a prospectus mounted in Whitman's Commonplace Book, shares in the company had a par value of $25. He received his first dividend ($50) on March 6, but he did not receive the second dividend, evidently payable on July 6, when he was with the Staffords, until October 3. Perhaps the delay in payment made him think that he had lost his money. He may have fabricated this story because Mrs. Stafford wanted to borrow money. He lent her $50 on October 24, 1882 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Aug 17/83." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Treasury | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Aug | 14 | (?) PM; Washington, Recd. | Aug | 15 | 7 AM | 1883. The letter O'Connor wrote on August 12 (see the letter from Whitman to O'Connor of July 20, 1883) is apparently lost. This letter is addressed: Edw: R Pease | 17 Osnaburgh Street | Regents Park | London England. It is postmarked: Camden | Aug | 21 | 4 PM | N.J. According to his Commonplace Book, Whitman sent the two books on August 2, but the postmark is clearly August 21 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Perhaps there was a delay in mailing because Whitman was staying with Smith in Germantown. In a letter to Professor Rollo G. Silver in 1934, Pease wrote: "I called on W. W. in Camden in the winter (i.e. November or December) of 1888. He was ill in bed, & I was only allowed to see him for 5 minutes. He was living in what my memory pictures as almost a slum, & his bedroom was not exactly tidy. He spoke of the devotion of Americans to the worship of the dollar, which surprised me, as his usual attitude in his writings is patriotic, & laudatory of his compatriots." See also the letter from Whitman to Elizabeth & Isabella Ford and Edward R. Pease of May 28, 1884. This letter is addressed: John Burroughs | Esopus-on-Hudson | New York. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Aug | 21 | 6 PM | Pa. In his letter of August 17, Burroughs commented on Bucke's book: "I cannot say that I care much for what Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke has to say; he gives no new hint or idea." Evidently Burroughs did not recognize Whitman's hand in the book. On June 13 Johnston invited Whitman to meet Grover Cleveland, then governor of New York and "a great admirer of Walt Whitman": "It will boom another edition for you sure pop, and I hope you will come right over and smell the June roses with us." May 31, 1887, was Whitman's sixty-eighth birthday. This letter is incorrectly endorsed (by O'Connor): "Answ'd Sept 4/82." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Treasury | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Pa. | Aug 29 83 | 6 30 PM; Washington, Recd. | Aug | 30 | 4 30 AM | 1883 | 2. See the letter from Whitman to Herbert Gilchrist of April 29, 1879. Whitman was not accurate. He sent Bucke's book to John H. Johnston and to John Swinton on July 19 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Benjamin R. Tucker was a translator, editor, and friend of writer John Ruskin. On May 25, 1882, Tucker offered to act as Whitman's publisher in order to test the Boston banning of Leaves of Grass (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, September 3, 1888, 253–254). As editor of Liberty, he followed the Boston controversy closely in editorial comments on May 27, June 10, and July 22. In the July issue, he printed an advertisement in which he offered to sell and mail Leaves of Grass to any purchaser, and informed Stevens, Marston, Tobey, and Comstock, all of whom were mentioned by name, that he was willing to have his offer tested in the courts. On August 19, he commented: "We have offered to meet the enemy, but the enemy declines to be met. . . . We still advertise the book for sale, and sell it openly and rapidly." The advertisement appeared again on September 16. For more information on the controversy, see Joseph P. Hammond, "Stevens, Oliver (b. 1825)" and "Comstock, Anthony (1844–1919)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Benjamin R. Tucker (1854–1939) was an editor, publisher, and translator. He published Liberty, an anarchist publication, and he was known for his publication of other radical works, including Whitman's Leaves of Grass. On May 25, 1882, Tucker offered to act as Whitman's publisher in order to test the Boston banning of Leaves of Grass (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, September 3, 1888). As editor of Liberty, he followed the Boston controversy closely in editorial comments on May 27, June 10, and July 22. In the July issue he printed an advertisement in which he offered to sell and mail Leaves of Grass to any purchaser, and informed those involved in the Boston banning of Leaves—Massachusetts State District Attorney Oliver Stevens, State Attorney General George Marston, Boston Postmaster Edward Tobey, and anti-vice activist Anthony Comstock, all of whom were mentioned by name—that he was willing to have his offer tested in the courts. On August 19 he commented: "We have offered to meet the enemy, but the enemy declines to be met. . . . We still advertise the book for sale, and sell it openly and rapidly." Whitman had received a letter from Robert Pearsall Smith (1827–1898) on August 13, 1889. Smith, his wife Hannah, and their children were all friends and supporters of Whitman. For more about Smith and his 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). On September 27 and again on November 22, Rolleston discussed problems connected with his translation. On October 14, Whitman sent Knortz's translations to Rolleston, and on December 10 noted receipt of his friend's "lecture pamphlet, 'Wordsworth and Walt Whitman' from Dresden [Über Wordsworth und Walt Whitman]" (Whitman's Commonplace Book). A translation of Rolleston's lecture, prepared by Horace Traubel's father and corrected by Whitman, appeared in the Camden Daily Post on February 13, 1884. Whitman's corrections in purple crayon appear in Traubel's manuscript in the Feinberg Collection. See the letter from Whitman to Karl Knortz of June 19, 1883. One of the young men whom Whitman met at Bucke's asylum (see the letter from Whitman to Nicholson of October 14, 1880). On June 1 Whitman received from McKay $227.15 in royalties (University of Pennsylvania) and on December 5 $102.51 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The sale of books was: 867 copies of Leaves of Grass and 558 copies of Specimen Days. Though Whitman spoke frequently of visiting Richard Maurice Bucke, he did not go to Canada after his journey in 1880. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Treasury | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Pa. | Sep 6 (?) | 1 30 PM; Washington, Recd. | Sep | 7 | (?) | 1883 | 2. Whitman's post card was written in answer to a letter from O'Connor on September 4 which is not extant (see the letter from Whitman to O'Connor of August 29, 1883). Apparently O'Connor planned a vacation in order to recuperate after the death of his child. On August 19 Bucke urged O'Connor to visit Canada (The Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). This letter is addressed: Karl Knortz | Cor: Morris avenue | & 155th Street | New York City. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Pa. | Sep 11 83 | 3 PM; P. O. | 9-(?)-83 | (?)-1P | N.Y. Whitman's question mark. In his reply, dated September 14 by Whitman, Knortz wrote that Dr. Adolf Stodtmann (1829–1879) had translated eight of Whitman's "smaller poems" in Amerikanische Anthologie (Leipzig, 1870), 149–154: "the late Doctor did not, I am very sorry to say, give you a favorable introduction to the German public." Knortz also informed the poet that in his "critical history of American literature . . . a whole chapter (about 20 printed pages) will be devoted to your poetry." This book, Geschichte der Nord-Amerikanischen Literatur, did not appear until 1891. See the letter from Whitman to Knortz of June 19, 1883. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Sept. 22/83." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Treasury | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Pa. | Sep 13 83 | 8 30 PM; Washington, Recd. | Sep | 14 | 4 30 AM | 1883 | 2. The letter referred to is not with the manuscript. Whitman wrote this note to O'Connor on the envelope of the letter, which, according to the postmark, was received in Camden on April 27. On September 22 O'Connor wrote: "I return your Salt Lake City letter about Bacon and Shakespeare, having carefully read it twice. It seems quite crazy—though maybe only crude—yet has some good points in it, which I took in." This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Sept. 18/83." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Treasury | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Pa. | Sep 17 83 | 2 30 PM. O'Connor wrote an answer to the review of Bucke's biography in The Nation of July 26, the first sentence of which read: "This is an unadulterated eulogy by a man of very little culture or critical ability." According to O'Connor's letter on September 18, the New York Times rejected it for "professional reasons." Richard Maurice Bucke, writing to O'Connor on December 16, said of the article in The Nation: "don't see anything in it to get mad about—do you get in a passion every time you hear a hog grunt out of time? If so I fear, old man, you have a bad time" (The Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Marvin's criticism of Leaves of Grass was reprinted in Bucke's book (163–165). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Sept 22/83." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Treasury | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Pa. | Sep 19 83 | 1 30 PM. Dana, the editor of the New York Sun, who was one of Whitman's early admirers, rejected the article, according to O'Connor's post card of September 24. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Dec 2/83." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden | Sep | 25 | 4 PM | N.J.; Washington, Recd. | Sep | 26 | 5 AM | 1883 | 2. On September 18 O'Connor spoke of "a vague wandering notion of sending it to The Critic," but "I felt rather deterred by the remembrance of [Joseph L.] Gilder's unfriendly sport at me when I was fighting that contemptible clergyman, Chadwick, and was so clearly in the right" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 9 vols., 4:395). Eldridge, who had lost his governmental position because of "an uncircumcized dog," and was about to establish a law practice in Boston, wrote to Whitman on September 22: "I am still in the prime of life, have health, some means and many friends, and if under these circumstances I did not cheerfully accept the situation I should be unworthy ever to have read Leaves of Grass, with its philosophy of hope and the morning." O'Connor, as indicated in his letter to Whitman of September 22, wanted Eldridge to re-enter the publishing business, "so that we might start a magazine, and make it pleasant for the bats and owls and literary carrion generally, but he appears to have abandoned the idea" (Traubel, 4:191–192). On September 21 Burroughs invited Whitman to join him at the seashore. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Dec 2/83." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Treasury | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia, Pa. | Oct | 1 | 11 AM | Transit; Washington, Recd. | Oct | 2 | 4 30 AM | 1883 | 2. Whitman stayed at the Sheldon House at Ocean Grove from September 26 to October 10 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; see also Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer [New York: Macmillan, 1955], 512–514). Before leaving Camden, Whitman met Simon B. Conover (1840–1908), a former senator from Florida, at Scovel's on September 16, and on September 23 he had dinner at Conover's (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Bartlett (1835–1923), an instructor in modelling at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was characterized by William Vaughan Moody as "a magnificent old goat and man of God . . . passing hours with immortal phrases"; see Hermann Hagedorn, Edwin Arlington Robinson (New York: Macmillan, 1938), 254. Bartlett evidently affected the Whitman pose with his open collar and flowing tie. On June 8, 1883, Bartlett informed Whitman that "the cast of your hand I shall soon send to Paris to be cast in bronze." The plaster cast is in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; a bronze cast is at Yale. Probably Whitman met Bartlett at Colonel Johnston's studio on September 1, 1878 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Elizabeth Fairchild was the wife of Colonel Charles Fairchild, the president of a paper company, to whom Whitman sent the Centennial Edition on March 2, 1876 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). He mailed her husband a copy of Progress in April, 1881, shortly after his visit to Boston, where he probably met the Fairchilds for the first time (Commonplace Book). This letter is addressed: T H Bartlett | sculptor | 394 Federal Street | Boston Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden | Oct | (?) | 5 PM | N.J.; Philadelphia, Pa. | Oct | 14 | 7 PM | Transit. The summary of the letter is drawn from Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931), 246. The location of this manuscript is presently unknown. The letter must have been written shortly after Whitman left Ocean Grove on October 10 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The Scottish Review discussed Leaves of Grass, Specimen Days and Collect, Rossetti's 1868 selection Poems of Walt Whitman, Burroughs's Notes on Walt Whitman as Poet and Person, and Bucke's biographical study Walt Whitman. In "A Salt Breeze," in Outing and the Wheelman 3 (January 1884), 275–279, Burroughs referred to Whitman as a poet of the sea. "With Husky-Haughty Lips, O Sea" (see the letter from Whitman to William D. O'Connor of December 3, 1883). Harry called on Whitman on October 30 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). "Our Eminent Visitors (Past, Present, and Future)," The Critic, 3 (November 17, 1883), 459–460. These letters are not known. The envelope of the letter written on November 17 is in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection (Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). This letter is addressed: [G]eorge and Susan M. Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Ca[md]en | Dec | 1 | 12 M | N.J. Harry Stafford was in London, Ontario, with Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke. Whitman wrote this letter to George and Susan Stafford on the back of one of the pages of Harry's letter to him from November 28, 1883. See also the letter from Whitman to Harry of December 8, 1883. This letter is endorsed (by Whitman), in red ink: "(answer." Whitman later crossed out the word and wrote over it in pencil: "answered." Thomas Nicholson was one of the young men whom Whitman met at Bucke's asylum (see the letter from Whitman to Nicholson of October 14, 1880). This letter is endorsed (by Whitman): "answered Dec 12 '81." It is addressed: 29 Lange Strasse | Dresden. It is postmarked: Dresden Altstadt | 3. | 28/11 | 81 | 3-4N. | New York | Dec | 16 | Paid | K | All | Camden, N. J. | Dec | 17 | 7 am | Recd. This letter is endorsed (by Whitman): "Dec 20 '81 Russian translation answered." It is addressed: Bismarckplatz 10 I. | Dresden | Germany. It is postmarked: Dresden | 14. | 28/11 | 81 | 4-5N. | New York | Dec | 16 | A | Paid | K | All | Camden, N. J. | Dec | 17 | 7 am | Recd. Lee probably obtained Whitman's address from Thomas W. H. Rolleston, who occasionally misspelled Stevens Street. See the letter from Rolleston to Whitman of November 28, 1881. "Three Young Men's Death" appeared in Cope's Tobacco Plant, 2 (April 1879), 318–319. See also the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of December 12, 1878. At this point there was an endorsement: "6 to each sent 15/4/79." Whitman was on the Stafford farm from June 11 through 15 (Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White [New York: New York University Press, 1978] 1:244). On May 23 Burroughs wrote to Whitman inviting him to Esopus, New York, and promising to visit Camden shortly (T. E. Hanley Collection, University of Texas). With this letter Whitman sent a copy of "A Summer's Invocation" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman was at the Staffords' only from June 11 to 15 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). He spent twelve days in Glendale in May. Whitman was too occupied with printing the Osgood edition to make the trip, but he met Nicholson and Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke in Jersey City, N.J., on July 23 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). This is a draft letter, and is endorsed (by Whitman): "sent | June 23 '81." The date is also confirmed by an entry in Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The publishing house replied on June 25: "If you desire to personally oversee the beginning, (or all, if you prefer), shall be happy to see you at any time, & do our best to facilitate matters." Louisa Orr Whitman left for Connecticut on July 2 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman knew Garfield when he was in Washington (see the letter from Walt Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman of January 29, 1864). Later in the year he wrote "The Sobbing of the Bells," which appeared in the Boston Daily Globe on September 27, and was included in The Poets' Tribute to Garfield (1881), 71. See also Poet-Lore, 10 (1898), 618. Beginning July 2, Whitman took his meals with Caroline Wroth, the wife of a Philadelphia importer who lived at 319 Stevens Street, Camden (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Arthur Stanley was an oilcloth painter; according to "A Child's Memories of the Whitmans" by Amy Haslam Dowe (see "Amy H. Dowe and Walt Whitman," Walt Whitman Review 13 [September 1967], 73–79), some old ladies, the Chevaliers, lived across the street from Whitman. Caroline Wroth's daughter. Louisa's niece, Amy Dowe (see the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of March 27, 1879). On July 15 Whitman wrote in his Commonplace Book: "quite unwell these days—prostrated with the heat & bad, bad air of the city" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman left Camden on July 23 to meet Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke in Jersey City (Whitman's Commonplace Book). George Stafford's cousin (see the letter from Whitman to Herbert Gilchrist of August 3–5, 1878). See the letter from Whitman to Harry Stafford of October 31, 1880. On July 18 the firm was ready to "start the book whenever you wish, and should consider six to eight weeks sufficient time for it" (The Library of Congress; The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 8:283). Whitman met Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke and Thomas Nicholson in Jersey City on July 23, and went to Woodside, Long Island, where he stayed with Helen and Arthur Price until July 28. He spent the following four days at West Hills near Huntington. On August 1 he went to New York City, where he stayed with Edgar M. Smith, listed in the directory as a secretary, until August 6 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See also Specimen Days (ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 273). In The Long Islander, on August 5, a lengthy article appeared on the poet by Mary E. Wager-Fisher, who drew upon an earlier piece in Wide Awake Pleasure Book, 6 (February 1878), 109–115, in which she was greatly indebted to Whitman. In an adjacent column of the same issue of the newspaper was a report titled "Walt Whitman in Huntington." On August 4 "A Week at West Hills" appeared in the Tribune; it was later included in altered form in Specimen Days (ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 5–8, 352–354). Whitman noted sending a "postal" to Stafford. While he was at West Hills, he spent one day at Long Branch and another at Far Rockaway (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The year is confirmed by the notes below. Whitman was at the office of The Critic on August 3 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). He undoubtedly was returning the corrected proof of "Spirit That Form'd This Scene," which appeared in The Critic on September 10. After the poem was rejected by The North American Review, Whitman sent it on May 28 to Jeannette Gilder, who paid him $5 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Whitman left the home of Edgar Smith on August 6, and stayed with his old friend until August 19, when he went to Boston (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Johnston's summer home was at Mott Avenue and 149th Street. Whitman described Mott Haven in the New York Tribune on August 15 in "City Notes in August." The announcement of Whitman's new edition appeared in The Critic on August 13: "Walt Whitman's poems will soon have the recognition of a well-known publishing house. James R. Osgood & Co. will publish 'Leaves of Grass' without any expurgations, the author having made that a condition of his contract. The book will contain many new poems, and will for the first time fulfil what Mr. Whitman says has been for years his main object in relation to the publication of his works—namely, 'completeness and relative proportion.'" Sylvester Baxter (1850–1927) was on the staff of the Boston Herald. Apparently he met Whitman for the first time when he delivered his Lincoln address in Boston in April, 1881; see Rufus A. Coleman, "Whitman and Trowbridge," PMLA 63 (1948), 268. Baxter wrote many newspaper columns in praise of Whitman's writings, and in 1886 attempted to obtain a pension for the poet. Like Baxter, Frederic R. Guernsey was associated with the Boston Herald. This firm had also printed the third edition (see the letter from Whitman to Abby H. Price of March 29, 1860). Whitman arrived in Boston on August 19 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is written on letterhead from James R. Osgood & Co. About August 22 Whitman began to spend part of the day at Rand & Avery's so that he could supervise closely the printing of his book (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman paid $8 a week for his board to Eva E. Moffit. On September 30 Whitman paid Mrs. Moffit $41.44 "for six weeks, up to date" and $21 on October 19 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On August 22 Whitman spent the morning at the printing office: "the superintendent Mr [Henry H.] Clark very kind & thoughtful—appears as though I was going to have things all my own way—I have a table & nook, in part [of] a little room, all to myself, to read proof, write, &c." In an inclusive entry, "Aug 20 to 30," Whitman noted: "the book well under way—I am at the printing office some hours every day." On September 1 Whitman sent Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke "proofs up to page 143" and on September 4 "proofs to p 176" (Whitman's Commonplace Book). See also Clifton Joseph Furness, Walt Whitman's Workshop (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1928), 263–265. A lengthy interview with Whitman, entitled "The Good Gray Poet," appeared in the Boston Globe on August 24, in which the poet discussed the architectural structure of Leaves of Grass; averred that "the large magazines are still shy of me," citing a recent rejection by Harper's Monthly ("A Summer's Invocation"; see the letter from Whitman to Harry Stafford of January 2, 1881); praised Emerson as the most important American poet and termed Tennyson "in every respect the poet of our times." President Garfield lingered in a critical condition until September 19. This note was written in the margin of the notice in the Boston Globe August 24 (August 27 1881). Undoubtedly Walt Whitman sent it to one of the many newspapermen he knew. Lewis T. and Percy Ives were father and son, both artists. In a notation late in 1880 Whitman referred to Percy, "age 16, a student, intends to be an artist . . . Academy of Fine Arts" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On December 21, 1881, Percy made several pencil sketches of Whitman, and in his letter to his grandmother, Elisa S. Leggett, on December 25, he drew a sketch for her of the picture which was "in a promising condition" (Detroit Public Library). His oil painting of Whitman is now in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection. See also Mrs. Leggett's letter to Whitman on July 19, 1880. The entry in Whitman's Commonplace Book for this date reads: "have just read proof to page 245 of the book" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). In his Commonplace Book Whitman commented: "some gloomy news—sad, sad—the death of Beatrice Gilchrist—as accomplished and noble a young woman as I ever knew." Yet he did not write to the mother until November 28. On December 14 Anne Gilchrist wrote to Whitman: "Herby wrote to Mrs. Stafford first—thinking that so the shock would come less abruptly to you." See the letter from Whitman to Harry Stafford of September 14, 1881. Mrs. Moffitt. Probably one of his new Boston friends mentioned in Whitman's Commonplace Book: Colonel Frank E. Howe, Captain Milton Haxtun, or Ed Dallin. Probably a reference to Richard E. Labar, who, according to an entry in Whitman's Commonplace Book, was associated with the Philadelphia Public Ledger. Whitman wrote (lost) to Labar on August 21. Upon his return to Camden, on November 10, he made a "visit through the Ledger office with Dick Labar" (Whitman's Commonplace Book). According to Whitman's Commonplace Book, Whitman sent copies of The Long Islander (see the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of August 3, 1881), the Boston Daily Globe (see the letter from Whitman to Louisa Orr Whitman of August 27, 1881), and his article "City Notes in August," which had appeared in the New York Tribune on August 15. For the last-named article, included in abridged form in Specimen Days (ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 273–276, 354–355), he received $10. The firm agreed on the following day, September 13, 1881, to make the changes (The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 8:284). The contract was executed on October 1: the price of the edition was to be $2, the royalty was twenty-five cents on every copy sold, the copyright was to remain in the poet's hands, and Osgood & Co. was to be the sole publisher for ten years (The Library of Congress; The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman, 8:285–286). Osgood & Co. replied on the next day that the plate (the portrait in the first edition) was worn, and that it would cost "$15. or $20. to put it into a condition suitable to use." Whitman received $40 from the firm on September 30 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See also the letter from Whitman to James R. Osgood & Company of September 15, 1881. See the letter from Whitman to Harry Stafford of September 9, 1881. The firm suggested on September 13 the inclusion of "another plate—a portrait of yourself as now." Why Whitman decided against using the Gutekunst portrait which he originally suggested in his letter to Osgood on June 4, 1881, is not clear. Whitman's account of this visit to Concord, during which he met A. Bronson Alcott and Louisa and the Emersons as well as visited the graves of Hawthorne and Thoreau, appeared in The Critic on December 3 (330–331) and later became part of Specimen Days (ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 278–282). See also the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of September 19, 1881. This letter is endorsed: "James R. Osgood & Co. | Boston. | Sep | 16 | 1881." Whitman wrote on Sanborn's stationery, which had a sketch of his home the top of the sheet. Whitman left Boston on October 22 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The death of Beatrice Gilchrist (see the letter from Whitman to Harry Stafford of September 9, 1881). See the letter from Whitman to Louisa Orr Whitman of April 13–14, 1878. Probably one of the daughters of Horace Mann's brother, Thomas. See the letter from Walt Whitman to Louisa Orr Whitman of August 27, 1881. The death of President Garfield on September 19. See also the letter from Walt Whitman to Louisa Orr Whitman of July 6, 1881. Whitman had called on Longfellow on April 16 (Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 266). The father of the novelist. Mrs. Johnston's son, Albert. This is a draft of a letter sent to the Librarian of Congress during Whitman's Boston stay. See also Whitman's draft of a later letter to Spofford, written around August 1, 1882. Whitman completed reading the proofs on September 30 and sent a complete set to Dr. Bucke on October 4 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On October 31 Whitman received from Josiah Child "form of entry for English copyright," which he returned to Trübner & Co. on November 1 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). This is a draft letter; the finished letter was sent on October 5, 1881. Whitman did not leave Boston until October 22 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman did more; see the letter from Whitman to O'Connor of October 7, 1882. On September 20, O'Connor wanted to know "just what Ruskin said about L. of G., for I discover that it was to you, or some near friend of yours, that he wrote" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1953], 4:21). Whitman forwarded to O'Connor three letters from William Harrison Riley, dated March 5, April 2, and April 4, 1879, and one from Herbert J. Bathgate, written on January 31, 1880. Riley and Bathgate were friends of Ruskin (see Whitman's letter to Riley of March 18, 1879 and his letter to John Burroughs of February 21, 1880). O'Connor returned these letters to Whitman on August 17, 1883. O'Connor's copies are in the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library. See Whitman's letter to Susan Stafford of May 14, 1882. On September 24 the Springfield Republican said: "It is to be regretted that Whitman had not the patience to wait for some firm of consequence to take up the task Osgood so feebly laid down," and then cited an objectionable advertisement of Leaves of Grass, undoubtedly the one referred to in The Critic of October 7: "We learn from Messrs. Rees Welsh & Co. , of Philadelphia, that 'the party who inserted the advertisement' in which Mr. W's 'Leaves of Grass' was characterized as 'a daisy' 'has no longer charge of that department.'" Susan Stafford's son-in-law, Joseph L. Browning. Whitman went to Glendale on September 30, Saturday, and remained there until October 3 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See the jottings in November Boughs (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1888), 76–77. This letter is endorsed: "WW | Answd | Aug 17/83." It is addressed: Wm D. O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Treasury | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Oct | 7 | 1 PM | Pa.; Washington, Rec'd | Oct | 8 | 5 30 AM | 1882 | 2. The date is confirmed not only by the postmark but also by O'Connor's letter of August 17, 1883. See Whitman's letter to William Harrison Riley of March 18, 1879 and his letter to John Burroughs of February 21, 1880. O'Connor disagreed with Whitman's evaluation of Ruskin in a letter dated August 17, 1883: "I was very much touched with what Ruskin wrote, which seemed to me to be very strongly on your side. . . . It seems a great thing to say, as Ruskin does, that your book 'is deadly true—in the sense of rifles—against our deadliest social sins'—and also that its fruit is 'ungatherable save by loving and gleaning hands, and by the blessed ones of the poor.' I understand this as a high endorsement." See the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of October 8, 1882. Whitman constantly gave out erroneous figures. Only 1,000 copies of Specimen Days were printed in 1882 (see Whitman's letter to Anne Gilchrist of October 8, 1882). On December 1, 925 copies had been sold. Yet The Critic reported on October 21 that the book had been sold out before publication.Heywood's letter was published as "An Open Letter to Walt Whitman" in a broadside distributed by The Word (copy in Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Heywood informed Whitman that Benjamin R. Tucker, editor of the Boston Globe, was openly advertising Leaves of Grass in defiance of the post office. On the last page of Heywood's letter, which was sent to O'Connor, Whitman wrote: "I don't want this back again—Have you any thing to Suggest?—the more I think of it, the more I am convinced that is Comstock's game, (see my letter)" (Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library).
With this letter Whitman enclosed The Truth Seeker of November 4, "Whispers of Heavenly Death," and "Talks with Trelawney," dated August 4, who was quoted as finding in Leaves of Grass "the material of poetry, but not poetry itself" (Berg). Mounted in the lower corner of Whitman's letter is a newspaper advertisement of Miss Leslie Hinton's appearance in Little Sunshine.
William Henry Hurlbert (1827–1895) was editor of the New York World from 1876 to 1883. The review of Specimen Days in the newspaper began: "So painfully impressed is Mr. Whitman with the idea that every deed and experience of a man's life, nay, every sight and sound and touch and taste and smell, should be recorded that it is strange he has not sooner written his autobiography." Yet the World had printed on June 4, during the Boston fracas, some highly sympathetic reminiscences of Whitman by Thomas A. Gere, reprinted in Richard Maurice Bucke, Walt Whitman [Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883], 32–34. For Whitman's contributions to Baxter's review, see the letter from Whitman to Baxter of October 8, 1882.O'Connor also planned to include The Good Gray Poet; see Bucke's letter to O'Connor, dated August 4 (The Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). According to Bucke's letter to O'Connor on October 14, the latter decided not to reprint his pamphlet (The Library of Congress). On March 21, 1883, O'Connor explained to Burroughs that the project had been delayed because of "my cares and griefs."
O'Connor's third letter to the New York Tribune on the Boston censorship was refused by Reid; if possible, it was more choleric and longwinded than his published communications (see Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 226–231). Apparently O'Connor forgave the editor of the Tribune, for, in replying to O'Connor on October 14, Bucke wrote: "I think as you do that Reid did well by you and that we should be satisfied" (The Library of Congress).
J. Hubley Ashton was Assistant Attorney General when Whitman was employed in that office. On December 18 O'Connor gave Eldridge's address as the Internal Revenue Service Office in Boston. On November 9 Whitman sold his lot at 460 Royden Street for $525 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Feinberg Collection). O'Connor's brother-in-law, Dr. William F. Channing (see the letter from Whitman to Ellen M. O'Connor of September 11, 1864). According to O'Connor's letter to Whitman on June 3, 1882, Channing had offered to reprint at his own expense The Good Gray Poet (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, April 19, 1888, 54). According to Heywood's letter to Whitman on November 5, Josephine S. Tilton, "the persistent Socialist, once imprisoned for her Faith," was selling copies of Leaves of Grass on the streets of Boston. On May 28 and 29, the Free Love League adopted the following resolution: "That effort to suppress Walt Whitman's poems for their alleged obscenity, because officious exponents of 'law and order' lack wit to understand them, shows the continued lascivious stupidity voiced by pulpits and courts, the religio-political lewdness still mistaken for culture and purity . . ." (Boston Public Library; Roger Asselineau, L'évolution de Walt Whitman [Paris: Didier, 1954], 252n). This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service Bureau | Treasury | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden | (?) | 12 | 6 PM | N.J.; Washington, Recd. | Nov | 13 | 430 AM | 1882 | 2. Undoubtedly Stedman's article on Whitman in November, 1880. Leaves of Grass Imprints (Boston: Thayer and Eldridge, 1860). This letter is addressed: Karl Knortz | cor: Morris Av. & 155th Street | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden | Nov | 14 | 2 PM | N.J.; P. O. | 11-14-82 | 7-1P | N.Y. Sanborn's Henry D. Thoreau appeared in the "American Men of Letters" series in 1882. This post card is addressed: F B Sanborn | Concord | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden | Nov | 14 | 5 PM | N.J. Doyle spent the afternoon of December 7 with Whitman (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). He visited the poet again on June 4, 1884. When Doyle's mother was dying, on May 23, 1885, Whitman sent $10, and he lent Doyle $15 when he came to Camden on June 4, 1885 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). In the 1870s Edward Doyle, like Peter, had been a streetcar conductor. Whitman was with the Smiths from December 15, Saturday, to December 17 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman sent "An Indian Bureau Reminiscence" to Baldwin's Monthly, published by "Baldwin, the Clothier"; it was printed in February, 1884, and was reprinted in To-Day in May, 1884. Whitman wrote this letter on the back of a letter to him from Harry Stafford, written on December 17 and sent from London, Ontario. Mannahatta and Jessie, Jeff's daughters, had visited Camden in August of this year, had gone to see Hannah Heyde in Burlington, Vt., and had returned to St. Louis at the end of November (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). "With Husky-Haughty Lips, O Sea" (see the letter from Whitman to William D. O'Connor of December 3, 1883). Johnston's son, Albert. "An Indian Bureau Reminiscence" (see the letter from Whitman to O. S. Baldwin of December 15, 1883). Whitman published "Some Diary Notes at Random" in Baldwin's Monthly in December, 1885, for which he received $10 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman was with the Smiths from December 15 to 17. He stayed with Francis H. Williams (1844–1922), a poet and dramatist, from December 22 to 26 (see Whitman's Commonplace Book and his letter to Harry Stafford of January 2, 1884). Note also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1915], 2:341, and Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, 73 [1955], 298–299. This letter is endorsed, in Whitman's hand: "from Tom Freeman | May '77." This is likely a reference to Rev. G. W. Mitchell's X + Y = Z; or The Sleeping Preacher of North Alabama (New York: W. C. Smith, 1876). B.K. Sharp was Harry's employer, according to Edwin Haviland Miller (see "Introduction," The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1964], 3:6). Thomas Donaldson writes that this postal card was dated October 13, 1880, from London. Aeschylus was a Greek playwright, often described as the father of tragedy. He is known for writing the only extant trilogy of Greek plays, The Oresteia, as well as The Persians, about the Persian invasion of Greece during the Greco-Persian Wars. Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. He is the author of the novels The Scarlet Letter (1850) and The House of the Seven Gables (1851), among many other works. Hawthorne joined Brook Farm, a transcendentalist and utopian community in the early 1840s, and in 1842 he married the illustrator and writer Sophia Peabody (1809–1871). The couple had three children, Una, Julian, and Rose Hawthorne (Mother Mary Alphonsa). Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) was an American author, poet, and abolitionist best known for writing Walden; or, Life in the Woods (1854) and Civil Disobedience (1849). He was a contemporary of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman. For more on Whitman's relationship with Thoreau, see Susan L. Roberson, "Thoreau, Henry David [1817–1862]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). The naturalist John Burroughs (1837–1921) met Walt Whitman on the streets of Washington, D. C., in 1864, even though Burroughs had frequented Pfaff's beer cellar, where he consistently defended Whitman's poetry, in 1862. After returning to Brooklyn in 1864, Whitman commenced what was to become a lifelong 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: Birds and Poets (1877), Notes on Walt Whitman as poet and Person (1867), Whitman, A Study (1896), and Accepting the Universe (1924). For more on Whitman's relationship with Burroughs, see "Burroughs, John [1837–1921] and Ursula (1836–1917)Burroughs, John [1837–1921] and Ursula (1836–1917)." George Gordon Byron (1788–1824), often referred to simply as "Lord Byron," was an English poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement. He is famous for his poems, including "She Walks in Beauty," "When We Two Parted," and "So, we'll go no more a-roving," and infamous for his scandalous affairs and celebrity status. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) was an American poet and essayist who began the Transcendentalist movement with his 1836 essay Nature. On November 30, 1868November 30, 1868, Walt Whitman informed Ralph Waldo Emerson that "Proud Music of the StormProud Music of the Storm" was "put in type for my own convenience, and to ensure greater correctness." He asked Emerson to take the poem to James T. Fields, editor of the Atlantic Monthly, who promptly accepted it and published it in February 1869. The naturalist John Burroughs (1837–1921) met Walt Whitman on the streets of Washington, D. C., in 1864, even though Burroughs had frequented Pfaff's beer cellar, where he consistently defended Whitman's poetry, in 1862. After returning to Brooklyn in 1864, Whitman commenced what was to become a lifelong 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: Birds and Poets (1877), Notes on Walt Whitman as poet and Person (1867), Whitman, A Study (1896), and Accepting the Universe (1924). For more on Whitman's relationship with Burroughs, see "Burroughs, John [1837–1921] and Ursula (1836–1917)Burroughs, John [1837–1921] and Ursula (1836–1917)." This portion of the letter begins upside-down on the bottom of the third page and continues up the left margin. This portion of the letter is written upside-down on the top margin of the third page. This portion of the letter is written on the top margin of the first page. The naturalist John Burroughs (1837–1921) met Walt Whitman on the streets of Washington, D. C., in 1864, even though Burroughs had frequented Pfaff's beer cellar, where he consistently defended Whitman's poetry, in 1862. After returning to Brooklyn in 1864, Whitman commenced what was to become a lifelong 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: Birds and Poets (1877), Notes on Walt Whitman as poet and Person (1867), Whitman, A Study (1896), and Accepting the Universe (1924). For more on Whitman's relationship with Burroughs, see "Burroughs, John [1837–1921] and Ursula (1836–1917)Burroughs, John [1837–1921] and Ursula (1836–1917)." Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (1795–1873) married Walter Whitman, Sr., in 1816; together they had nine children, of whom Walt was the second. The close relationship between Louisa and her son Walt contributed to his liberal view of gender representation and his sense of comradeship. For more information on Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, see "Whitman, Louisa Van Velsor (1795–1873)Whitman, Louisa Van Velsor (1795–1873)," ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Edward Dowden (1843–1913), professor of English literature at the University of Dublin, was one of the first to critically appreciate Walt Whitman's poetry, particularly abroad, and was primarily responsible for Walt Whitman's popularity among students in Dublin. In July 1871, Dowden penned a glowing review of Whitman's work in the Westminster Review entitled "The Poet of Democracy: Walt WhitmanThe Poet of Democracy: Walt Whitman," in which Dowden described Whitman as "a man unlike any of his predecessors . . . Bard of America, and Bard of democracy." In 1888 Walt Whitman observed to Traubel: "Dowden is a book-man: but he is also and more particularly a man-man: I guess that is where we connect" (Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1964], 5 vols., I, 299). Asa K. Butts was a New York bookseller at 39 Dey Street. Walt Whitman was having difficulties— real or imaginary, as his mother might have said—with booksellers. When Walt Whitman wrote this letter, he had decided to let Butts, as he said, "have actual & complete control of the sales." Commenting on one of the letters of Butts, Walt Whitman observed to Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden in 1889: "What a sweat I used to be in all the time . . . over getting my damned books published! When I look back at it I wonder I didn't somewhere or other on the road chuck the whole business into oblivion" (III, 561). Butts went bankrupt in 1874. Asa K. Butts was a New York bookseller at 39 Dey Street. Walt Whitman was having difficulties— real or imaginary, as his mother might have said—with booksellers. When Walt Whitman wrote this letter, he had decided to let Butts, as he said, "have actual & complete control of the sales." Commenting on one of the letters of Butts, Walt Whitman observed to Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden in 1889: "What a sweat I used to be in all the time . . . over getting my damned books published! When I look back at it I wonder I didn't somewhere or other on the road chuck the whole business into oblivion" (3:561). Butts went bankrupt in 1874. Whitman wrote about O'Connor's promotion in a July 7, [1873]July 7, [1873], letter to Charles Eldridge. This letter is addressed: Pete Doyle, | M street South | bet 4½ & 6th | Washington | D. C. It is postmarked: Camden | (?) | 27 | N.J. Whitman sent similar instructions to Eldridge on October 13, [1873]October 13, [1873]. Whitman wrote to Ellen O'Connor on November 23, 1874, with instructions to "read [Doyle] this letter—also give him the printed slip to read." Whitman bracketed this entire paragraph and included the proofreader's mark "tr." to indicate its transposition with the paragraph immediately following it. See Whitman's letter to Charles W. Eldridge of July 19, 1872. At this point in the letter, Richard Maurice Bucke, one of Whitman's literary executors, wrote handwritten comments directly on Whitman's letter (later crossed out by a diagonal line): "He had left Washington some two weeks before this letter was written. Had been lying sick in that city, paralyzed, and 'Pete' had been in with him often, to wait on and assist him. His mother & brother George lived in Camden, he went there for a chance expedition to return to Washington. On Monday 23 June his mother died suddenly. It was a terrible shock and grief to him but it seems his physical state was not affected by it for the first week. On Saturday 31st he still expects to return to Washington almost at once. His letter of 9th June (wrongly dated 7th) shows that almost immediately after May 31—probably 1st or 2d June—he became so much worse that all thought of immediate return to W. had to be abandoned. He must have written 'Pete' at least once between 31 May and 9 June. Letter or letters lost." Whitman refers here to the editor of the Washington Star. A draft version of this letter also exists in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., written on the verso of some notes describing Whitman's illness. On March 6, Grant's secretary, Leon P. Luckey, replied that the President "wishes me to assure you of his appreciation of the polite attention, and his best wishes for your speedy recovery." "'Tis But Ten Years Since" appeared in the Weekly Graphic from January 24 to March 7. For a discussion of these articles, see Thomas O. Mabbott and Rollo G. Silver, American Literature, 15 (1943), 51–62. Later these articles appeared in Memoranda During the War. This paragraph was written in pencil on a separate piece of paper. Whitman noted the intended placement in the letter with an insertion mark. The letter itself reads "Dec 19/1875" but an editorial marking crosses out 1875 and suggests instead that the letter is dated 1876. Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Alexander Gilchrist (1828–1861) was the biographer of William Blake and husband of Anne Gilchrist (1828–1895). Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, the only of their four children who did not accompany their mother to Philadelphia in 1876 when she met Whitman, as Percy Gilchrist was newly married to Norah Fitzmaurice at the time. At about the same time, Percy Gilchrist collaborated with his cousin Sidney Gilchrist Thomas on refining the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel from 1875 to 1877. Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist (1857–1914) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, an English painter and author of Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings in 1887. Gilchrist may be referring to her letter to Whitman of November 27, 1871. Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892), among the best-known British poets of the latter half of the nineteenth century, wrote such poems as "Morte d'Arthur," "Ulysses," "The Charge of the Light Brigade," and In Memoriam A.H.H.. In 1850, the same year In Memoriam was published, Tennyson was chosen as the new poet laureate of England, succeeding William Wordsworth. The intense male friendship described in In Memoriam, which Tennyson wrote after the death of his friend Arthur Henry Hallam, possibly influenced Walt Whitman's poetry. Tennyson began a correspondence with Whitman on July 12, 1871July 12, 1871. Although Tennyson extended an invitation for Whitman to visit England in a July 12, 1871July 12, 1871, letter, Whitman never acted on the offer. Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Charles Augustus Young (1834–1908) was a prominent American astronomer of the nineteenth century. Credited with the invention of the automatic spectroscope and its application to solar research, Young was the Chair of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at Dartmouth from 1865 to 1877. He later accepted a post as Chair of Astronomy at Princeton. Whitman recited "As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free" (later, "Thou Mother with Thy Equal Brood") at the Dartmouth commencement on June 26, 1872. Evidently a student organization hoped to annoy the faculty by inviting Whitman to Dartmouth, a seat of New England sobriety and conservatism; see Bliss Perry, Walt Whitman (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1906), 203–205. A dispatch to the New York Times on June 29, 1872, reported that Whitman "was cordially met by the venerable gentlemen sitting upon the platform. He then took his position at the desk and read, with clearness of enunciation, his poem, written for the occasion, 'As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free.' As Whitman himself said to the writer, 'There is no one expression that could stand as the subject of the poem.'" "As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free" was later printed as part of the volume As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free and Other Poems in 1872. For a time Whitman lived with William D. and Ellen M. O'Connor, who, with Charles Eldridge and later John Burroughs, were to be his close associates during the early Washington years. William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889) was the author of Harrington, an abolition novel published by Thayer & Eldridge in 1860. He had been an assistant editor of the Saturday Evening Post before he went to Washington. O'Connor was one of Whitman's strongest defenders, most notably in his 1866 pamphlet "The Good Gray Poet" (a digital version of the pamphlet is available at "The Good Gray Poet: A VindicationThe Good Gray Poet: A Vindication"). For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889), Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). The naturalist John Burroughs (1837–1921) met Walt Whitman on the streets of Washington, D. C., in 1864, even though Burroughs had frequented Pfaff's beer cellar, where he consistently defended Whitman's poetry, in 1862. After returning to Brooklyn in 1864, Whitman commenced what was to become a lifelong correspondence with Burroughs. Burroughs was magnetically drawn to Whitman and would write several books involving or devoted to Whitman's work: Birds and Poets (1877), Notes on Walt Whitman as poet and Person (1867), Whitman, A Study (1896), and Accepting the Universe (1924). For more on Whitman's relationship with Burroughs, see "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). Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, the only of their four children who did not accompany their mother to Philadelphia in 1876 when she met Whitman, as Percy Gilchrist was newly married to Norah Fitzmaurice at the time. At about the same time, Percy Gilchrist collaborated with his cousin Sidney Gilchrist Thomas on refining the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel from 1875 to 1877. Horace Greeley (1811–872), editor of the New York Tribune, ran against Ulysses S. Grant as the Liberal Republican Party's candidate for the presidency in 1872. Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). "As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free" (later "Thou Mother with Thy Equal Brood") was recited at the Dartmouth commencement on June 26, 1872. Evidently a student organization hoped to annoy the faculty by inviting Walt Whitman to Dartmouth, a seat of New England sobriety and conservatism; see Bliss Perry, Walt Whitman (1906), 203–205. A dispatch to the New York Times on June 29, 1872, reported that Walt Whitman "was cordially met by the venerable gentlemen sitting upon the platform. He then took his position at the desk and read, with clearness of enunciation, his poem, written for the occasion, 'As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free.' As Mr. Whitman himself said to the writer, 'There is no one expression that could stand as the subject of the poem.'" For another first-hand report of this recitation, see Perry, Walt Whitman, 203–205. "As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free" was later printed as a pamphlet in 1872. Hannah Heyde (1823–1908), Walt Whitman's youngest sister, resided in Burlington, Vermont, with husband Charles L. Heyde (1822–1890), a landscape painter. For more information about Hannah, see Paula K. Garrett, "Whitman (Heyde), Hannah Louisa (d. 1908)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). For more on Charles Heyde, see Stevem Schroeder, "Heyde, Charles Louis (1822–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist (1857–1914) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, an English painter and author of Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings in 1887. Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, the only of their four children who did not accompany their mother to Philadelphia in 1876 when she met Whitman, as Percy Gilchrist was newly married to Norah Fitzmaurice at the time. At about the same time, Percy Gilchrist collaborated with his cousin Sidney Gilchrist Thomas on refining the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel from 1875 to 1877. William Michael Rossetti (1829–1915), brother of Dante Gabriel and Christina Rossetti, was an English editor and a champion of Walt Whitman's work. In 1868 Rossetti edited Whitman's Poems, selected from the 1867 Leaves of Grass. Rossetti would remain one of Whitman's staunchest supporters for the rest of Whitman's life, drawing in major subscribers to the 1876 Centennial edition of Leaves of Grass and fundraising for Whitman in England. For more on Whitman's relationship with Rossetti, see "Rossetti, William Michael (1829–1915)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Henry Morton Stanley (1841–1904) was a Welsh explorer best known for his travels through Africa, including a rescue mission he led to find missing Scottish explorer David Livingstone (1813–1873). The New York Herald reported on July 2, 1872, that Livingstone—almost certainly Gilchrist's "large-hearted heroic traveller"—was discovered near Lake Tanganyika on November 10, 1871; the Herald's account was one of many that printed Stanley's greeting (possibly apocryphal) to the missing explorer: "Doctor Livingstone, I presume?" Henry Jackson Morton (1807–1890) attended the University of Pennsylvania, and after graduation became a scientist and professor of physics and chemistry at the Episcopal Academy of Pennsylvania. He gave lectures on chemistry at the Franklin Institute, where he served as the resident secretary. He then went on to become a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the first president of the Stevens Institute of Technology, a research university in New Jersey. Gilchrist likely intends "June" rather than "July," as this letter is dated July 14 and therefore makes impossible a copy of an article dated July 29. However, Stanley did not depart for Africa in search of Livingstone until March of 1871, making it possible that the article in question was published in July 1871. Beatrice Carwardine Gilchrist (1854–1881) was the second child (and first daughter) of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist. An aspiring physician, Beatrice was a medical student in England before the educational system there (which excluded women) prompted her to attend the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia. She held positions as a physician in Berne, Switzerland, and later Edinburgh before committing suicide by fatally ingesting hydrocyanic acid in 1881. Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, the only of their four children who did not accompany their mother to Philadelphia in 1876 when she met Whitman, as Percy Gilchrist was newly married to Norah Fitzmaurice at the time. At about the same time, Percy Gilchrist collaborated with his cousin Sidney Gilchrist Thomas on refining the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel from 1875 to 1877. Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). "Spain" was published in the New York Daily Graphic on March 24, 1873; the poem was later reprinted in Two Rivulets (1876). William Michael Rossetti (1829–1915), brother of Dante Gabriel and Christina Rossetti, was an English editor and a champion of Walt Whitman's work. In 1868 Rossetti edited Whitman's Poems, selected from the 1867 Leaves of Grass. Rossetti would remain one of Whitman's staunchest supporters for the rest of Whitman's life, drawing in major subscribers to the 1876 Centennial edition of Leaves of Grass and fundraising for Whitman in England. For more on Whitman's relationship with Rossetti, see "Rossetti, William Michael (1829–1915)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (1795–1873) married Walter Whitman, Sr., in 1816; together they had nine children, of whom Walt was the second. The close relationship between Louisa and her son Walt contributed to his liberal view of gender representation and his sense of comradeship. For more information on Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, see "Whitman, Louisa Van Velsor (1795–1873)Whitman, Louisa Van Velsor (1795–1873)." Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). William Michael Rossetti (1829–1915), brother of Dante Gabriel and Christina Rossetti, was an English editor and a champion of Walt Whitman's work. In 1868 Rossetti edited Whitman's Poems, selected from the 1867 Leaves of Grass. Rossetti would remain one of Whitman's staunchest supporters for the rest of Whitman's life, drawing in major subscribers to the 1876 Centennial edition of Leaves of Grass and fundraising for Whitman in England. For more on Whitman's relationship with Rossetti, see "Rossetti, William Michael (1829–1915)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Moncure Daniel Conway (1832–1907) was an American abolitionist and frequent correspondent with Walt Whitman. Conway often acted as Whitman's agent and occasional public relations man in England. Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Charles Augustus Young (1834–1908) was a prominent American astronomer of the nineteenth century. Credited with the invention of the automatic spectroscope and its application to solar research, Young was the Chair of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at Dartmouth from 1865 to 1877 before accepting a post as Chair of Astronomy at Princeton. Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist (1857–1914) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, an English painter and author of Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings in 1887. Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist (1857–1914) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, an English painter and author of Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings in 1887. Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, the only of their four children who did not accompany their mother to Philadelphia in 1876 when she met Whitman, as Percy Gilchrist was newly married to Norah Fitzmaurice at the time. At about the same time, Percy Gilchrist collaborated with his cousin Sidney Gilchrist Thomas on refining the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel from 1875 to 1877. Richard Anthony Proctor (1837–1888) was a prominent astronomer of the Victorian era. According to the New York Times of January 9, 1874, Proctor delivered "The Sun," which discussed both historical and scientific facts about the sun, to one of the largest audiences held in Association Hall: "It was quite impossible to find a vacant seat, and the crowding at the door was quite foreign to such an occasion" (5). Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). William Michael Rossetti married Lucy Madox Brown (1843–1894), daughter of painter Ford Madox Brown, in 1874; the couple had five children between 1875 and 1881. Rossetti (1829–1915), brother of Dante Gabriel and Christina Rossetti, was an English editor and a champion of Walt Whitman's work. In 1868 Rossetti edited Whitman's Poems, selected from the 1867 Leaves of Grass. Rossetti would remain one of Whitman's staunchest supporters for the rest of Whitman's life, drawing in major subscribers to the 1876 Centennial edition of Leaves of Grass and fundraising for Whitman in England. For more on Whitman's relationship with Rossetti, see "Rossetti, William Michael (1829–1915)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Moncure Daniel Conway (1832–1907) was an American abolitionist and frequent correspondent with Walt Whitman. Conway often acted as Walt Whitman's agent and occasional public relations man in England. Having successfully submitted "Song of the Redwood-Tree" to Harper's New Monthly Magazine on November 2, 1873, Walt Whitman submitted a second poem, "Prayer of Columbus," later in November 1873, also for $60. Editor Henry Mills Alden (1836–1919) accepted the poem on December 1, 1873; it appeared in the March 1874 edition, 47:524–525. In reprinting the poem on February 24, 1874, the New York Tribune commented that it "shows the brawny vigor, but not the reckless audacity, by which the name of that wild poet has become best known to the public." For digital images of the poem as it appeared in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, see "Prayer of Columbus." Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (1795–1873) married Walter Whitman, Sr., in 1816; together they had nine children, of whom Walt was the second. The close relationship between Louisa and her son Walt contributed to his liberal view of gender representation and his sense of comradeship. For more information on Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, see "Whitman, Louisa Van Velsor (1795–1873)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Grace "Giddy" Gilchrist (1859–1947) was the youngest child of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist. An aspiring singer, Grace trained as a contralto and married architect Albert Henry Frend in 1897, though the couple divorced twelve years later. Before her marriage to Frend, Grace became involved with playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950); an 1888 letter from Shaw to Grace's brother Herbert Gilchrist suggests that the Gilchrists may have disapproved of Shaw's relationship with Grace. Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist (1857–1914) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, an English painter and author of Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings in 1887. Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, the only of their four children who did not accompany their mother to Philadelphia in 1876 when she met Whitman, as Percy Gilchrist was newly married to Norah Fitzmaurice at the time. At about the same time, Percy Gilchrist collaborated with his cousin Sidney Gilchrist Thomas on refining the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel from 1875 to 1877. William Michael Rossetti married Lucy Madox Brown (1843–1894), daughter of painter Ford Madox Brown, in 1874; the couple had five children between 1875 and 1881. Rossetti (1829–1915), brother of Dante Gabriel and Christina Rossetti, was an English editor and a champion of Walt Whitman's work. In 1868 Rossetti edited Whitman's Poems, selected from the 1867 Leaves of Grass. Rossetti would remain one of Whitman's staunchest supporters for the rest of Whitman's life, drawing in major subscribers to the 1876 Centennial edition of Leaves of Grass and fundraising for Whitman in England. For more on Whitman's relationship with Rossetti, see "Rossetti, William Michael (1829–1915)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Moncure Daniel Conway (1832–1907) was an American abolitionist and frequent correspondent with Walt Whitman. Conway often acted as Walt Whitman's agent and occasional public relations man in England. Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist (1857–1914) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, an English painter and author of Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings in 1887. Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, the only of their four children who did not accompany their mother to Philadelphia in 1876 when she met Whitman, as Percy Gilchrist was newly married to Norah Fitzmaurice at the time. At about the same time, Percy Gilchrist collaborated with his cousin Sidney Gilchrist Thomas on refining the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel from 1875 to 1877. Beatrice Carwardine Gilchrist (1854–1881) was the second child (and first daughter) of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist. An aspiring physician, Beatrice was a medical student in England before the educational system there (which excluded women) prompted her to attend the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia. She held positions as a physician in Berne, Switzerland, and later Edinburgh before committing suicide by fatally ingesting hydrocyanic acid in 1881. William Michael Rossetti married Lucy Madox Brown (1843–1894), daughter of painter Ford Madox Brown, in 1874; the couple had five children between 1875 and 1881. Rossetti (1829–1915), brother of Dante Gabriel and Christina Rossetti, was an English editor and a champion of Walt Whitman's work. In 1868 Rossetti edited Whitman's Poems, selected from the 1867 Leaves of Grass. Rossetti would remain one of Whitman's staunchest supporters for the rest of Whitman's life, drawing in major subscribers to the 1876 Centennial edition of Leaves of Grass and fundraising for Whitman in England. For more on Whitman's relationship with Rossetti, see "Rossetti, William Michael (1829–1915)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Moncure Daniel Conway (1832–1907) was an American abolitionist and frequent correspondent with Walt Whitman. Conway often acted as Walt Whitman's agent and occasional public relations man in England. Grace "Giddy" Gilchrist (1859–1947) was the youngest child of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist. An aspiring singer, Grace trained as a contralto and married architect Albert Henry Frend in 1897, though the couple divorced twelve years later. Before her marriage to Frend, Grace became involved with playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950); an 1888 letter from Shaw to Grace's brother Herbert Gilchrist suggests that the Gilchrists may have disapproved of Shaw's relationship with Grace. Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). John Carwardine (1829–1889), here spelled "Cowardine," was honorably discharged from military service on March 21, 1863. Pertaining to the landed gentry or squires of a country. Grace "Giddy" Gilchrist (1859–1947) was the youngest child of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist. An aspiring singer, Grace trained as a contralto and married architect Albert Henry Frend in 1897, though the couple divorced twelve years later. Before her marriage to Frend, Grace became involved with playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950); an 1888 letter from Shaw to Grace's brother Herbert Gilchrist suggests that the Gilchrists may have disapproved of Shaw's relationship with Grace. Beatrice Carwardine Gilchrist (1854–1881) was the second child (and first daughter) of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist. An aspiring physician, Beatrice was a medical student in England before the educational system there (which excluded women) prompted her to attend the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia. She held positions as a physician in Berne, Switzerland, and later Edinburgh before committing suicide by fatally ingesting hydrocyanic acid in 1881. Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist (1857–1914) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, an English painter and author of Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings in 1887. Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Beatrice Carwardine Gilchrist (1854–1881) was the second child (and first daughter) of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist. An aspiring physician, Beatrice was a medical student in England before the educational system there (which excluded women) prompted her to attend the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia. She held positions as a physician in Berne, Switzerland, and later Edinburgh before committing suicide by fatally ingesting hydrocyanic acid in 1881. Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist (1857–1914) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, an English painter and author of Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings in 1887. Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, the only of their four children who did not accompany their mother to Philadelphia in 1876 when she met Whitman, as Percy Gilchrist was newly married to Norah Fitzmaurice at the time. At about the same time, Percy Gilchrist collaborated with his cousin Sidney Gilchrist Thomas on refining the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel from 1875 to 1877. Grace "Giddy" Gilchrist (1859–1947) was the youngest child of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist. An aspiring singer, Grace trained as a contralto and married architect Albert Henry Frend in 1897, though the couple divorced twelve years later. Before her marriage to Frend, Grace became involved with playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950); an 1888 letter from Shaw to Grace's brother Herbert Gilchrist suggests that the Gilchrists may have disapproved of Shaw's relationship with Grace. William Michael Rossetti married Lucy Madox Brown (1843–1894), daughter of painter Ford Madox Brown, in 1874; the couple had five children between 1875 and 1881. Rossetti (1829–1915), brother of Dante Gabriel and Christina Rossetti, was an English editor and a champion of Walt Whitman's work. In 1868 Rossetti edited Whitman's Poems, selected from the 1867 Leaves of Grass. Rossetti would remain one of Whitman's staunchest supporters for the rest of Whitman's life, drawing in major subscribers to the 1876 Centennial edition of Leaves of Grass and fundraising for Whitman in England. For more on Whitman's relationship with Rossetti, see "Rossetti, William Michael (1829–1915) Rossetti, William Michael (1829–1915)." Moncure Daniel Conway (1832–1907) was an American abolitionist and frequent correspondent with Walt Whitman. Conway often acted as Walt Whitman's agent and occasional public relations man in England. Mannahatta ("Hattie," 1860–1886) and Jessie Louisa (b. 1862) Whitman were the daughters of Walt Whitman's brother Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and his wife Martha Mitchell Whitman. Hattie and Jessie were both favorites of their uncle Walt; the two girls had moved with their mother in 1868 to St. Louis after Jeff became Superintendent of Water Works there the year before. Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885) Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)." Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, the only of their four children who did not accompany their mother to Philadelphia in 1876 when she met Whitman, as Percy Gilchrist was newly married to Norah Fitzmaurice at the time. At about the same time, Percy Gilchrist collaborated with his cousin Sidney Gilchrist Thomas on refining the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel from 1875 to 1877. Beatrice Carwardine Gilchrist (1854–1881) was the second child (and first daughter) of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist. An aspiring physician, Beatrice was a medical student in England before the educational system there (which excluded women) prompted her to attend the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia. She held positions as a physician in Berne, Switzerland, and later Edinburgh before committing suicide by fatally ingesting hydrocyanic acid in 1881. Mannahatta ("Hattie," 1860–1886) and Jessie Louisa (1862–1957) Whitman were the daughters of Walt Whitman's brother Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and his wife Martha Mitchell Whitman. Hattie and Jessie were both favorites of their uncle Walt; the two girls had moved with their mother in 1868 to St. Louis after Jeff became Superintendent of Water Works there the year before. Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885) Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)." Beatrice Carwardine Gilchrist (1854–1881) was the second child (and first daughter) of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist. An aspiring physician, Beatrice was a medical student in England before the educational system there (which excluded women) prompted her to attend the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia. She held positions as a physician in Berne, Switzerland, and later Edinburgh before committing suicide by fatally ingesting hydrocyanic acid in 1881. Moncure Daniel Conway (1832–1907) was an American abolitionist and frequent correspondent with Walt Whitman. Conway often acted as Walt Whitman's agent and occasional public relations man in England. Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, the only of their four children who did not accompany their mother to Philadelphia in 1876 when she met Whitman, as Percy Gilchrist was newly married to Norah Fitzmaurice at the time. At about the same time, Percy Gilchrist collaborated with his cousin Sidney Gilchrist Thomas on refining the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel from 1875 to 1877. Beatrice Carwardine Gilchrist (1854–1881) was the second child (and first daughter) of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist. An aspiring physician, Beatrice was a medical student in England before the educational system there (which excluded women) prompted her to attend the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia. She held positions as a physician in Berne, Switzerland, and later Edinburgh before committing suicide by fatally ingesting hydrocyanic acid in 1881. Grace "Giddy" Gilchrist (1859–1947) was the youngest child of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist. An aspiring singer, Grace trained as a contralto and married architect Albert Henry Frend in 1897, though the couple divorced twelve years later. Before her marriage to Frend, Grace became involved with playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950); an 1888 letter from Shaw to Grace's brother Herbert Gilchrist suggests that the Gilchrists may have disapproved of Shaw's relationship with Grace. Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist (1857–1914) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, an English painter and author of Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings in 1887. Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, the only of their four children who did not accompany their mother to Philadelphia in 1876 when she met Whitman, as Percy Gilchrist was newly married to Norah Fitzmaurice at the time. At about the same time, Percy Gilchrist collaborated with his cousin Sidney Gilchrist Thomas on refining the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel from 1875 to 1877. Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, the only of their four children who did not accompany their mother to Philadelphia in 1876 when she met Whitman, as Percy Gilchrist was newly married to Norah Fitzmaurice at the time. At about the same time, Percy Gilchrist collaborated with his cousin Sidney Gilchrist Thomas on refining the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel from 1875 to 1877. Beatrice Carwardine Gilchrist (1854–1881) was the second child (and first daughter) of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist. An aspiring physician, Beatrice was a medical student in England before the educational system there (which excluded women) prompted her to attend the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia. She held positions as a physician in Berne, Switzerland, and later Edinburgh before committing suicide by fatally ingesting hydrocyanic acid in 1881. Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist (1857–1914) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, an English painter and author of Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings in 1887. Grace "Giddy" Gilchrist (1859–1947) was the youngest child of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist. An aspiring singer, Grace trained as a contralto and married architect Albert Henry Frend in 1897, though the couple divorced twelve years later. Before her marriage to Frend, Grace became involved with playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950); an 1888 letter from Shaw to Grace's brother Herbert Gilchrist suggests that the Gilchrists may have disapproved of Shaw's relationship with Grace. William Michael Rossetti (1829–1915), brother of Dante Gabriel and Christina Rossetti, was an English editor and a champion of Walt Whitman's work. In 1868 Rossetti edited Whitman's Poems, selected from the 1867 Leaves of Grass. Rossetti would remain one of Whitman's staunchest supporters for the rest of Whitman's life, drawing in major subscribers to the 1876 Centennial edition of Leaves of Grass and fundraising for Whitman in England. For more on Whitman's relationship with Rossetti, see "Rossetti, William Michael (1829–1915)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Moncure Daniel Conway (1832–1907) was an American abolitionist and frequent correspondent with Walt Whitman. Conway often acted as Walt Whitman's agent and occasional public relations man in England. Katharine Hillard (1839?–1915) was the translator of Dante's Banquet (1889) and the editor of An Abridgment by Katharine Hillard of the Secret Doctrine: A Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1907). A Brooklyn resident, she was a friend of Abby Price (see Whitman's September 9, [1873]September 9, [1873], letter to Price); in fact, according to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letter to Helen Price on November 26, 1872, the Prices expected that Arthur Price and Katharine Hillard would marry (Pierpont Morgan Library). Walt Whitman had known Hillard's writings since 1871 and mentioned her in his June 23, [1873]June 23, [1873], letter to Charles Eldridge. He sent her a copy of Leaves of Grass on July 27, 1876 (The Commonplace–Book). The first meeting of the poetess with Walt Whitman took place on February 28, 1876 (The Library of Congress #108). George William Childs (1829–1894) was an American publisher from Baltimore, Maryland, who became the co-owner of the Philadelphia Public Ledger. He was married to Emma Bouvier Childs; the couple had no children. Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Moncure Daniel Conway (1832–1907) was an American abolitionist and frequent correspondent with Walt Whitman. Conway often acted as Whitman's agent and occasional public relations man in England. Conway published "A Visit to Walt Whitman" in The Academy 8(November 27, 1875), 554. (The New York Tribune noted Conway's article on December 9, 1875.) At the same time he informed Rossetti that "Walt is not in need"; see Letters of William Michael Rossetti, ed. Clarence Gohdes and Paul Franklin Baum (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1934), 98. At this time Gilchrist and Rossetti were contemplating purchasing Walt Whitman's new volumes and presenting them to libraries (95). Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, the only of their four children who did not accompany their mother to Philadelphia in 1876 when she met Whitman, as Percy Gilchrist was newly married to Norah Fitzmaurice at the time. At about the same time, Percy Gilchrist collaborated with his cousin Sidney Gilchrist Thomas on refining the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel from 1875 to 1877. Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, the only of their four children who did not accompany their mother to Philadelphia in 1876 when she met Whitman, as Percy Gilchrist was newly married to Norah Fitzmaurice at the time. At about the same time, Percy Gilchrist collaborated with his cousin Sidney Gilchrist Thomas on refining the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel from 1875 to 1877. Beatrice Carwardine Gilchrist (1854–1881) was the second child (and first daughter) of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist. An aspiring physician, Beatrice was a medical student in England before the educational system there (which excluded women) prompted her to attend the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia. She held positions as a physician in Berne, Switzerland, and later Edinburgh before committing suicide by fatally ingesting hydrocyanic acid in 1881. Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, the only of their four children who did not accompany their mother to Philadelphia in 1876 when she met Whitman, as Percy Gilchrist was newly married to Norah Fitzmaurice at the time. At about the same time, Percy Gilchrist collaborated with his cousin Sidney Gilchrist Thomas on refining the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel from 1875 to 1877. William Michael Rossetti (1829–1915), brother of Dante Gabriel and Christina Rossetti, was an English editor and a champion of Walt Whitman's work. In 1868 Rossetti edited Whitman's Poems, selected from the 1867 Leaves of Grass. Rossetti would remain one of Whitman's staunchest supporters for the rest of Whitman's life, drawing in major subscribers to the 1876 Centennial edition of Leaves of Grass and fundraising for Whitman in England. For more on Whitman's relationship with Rossetti, see "Rossetti, William Michael (1829–1915)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, the only of their four children who did not accompany their mother to Philadelphia in 1876 when she met Whitman, as Percy Gilchrist was newly married to Norah Fitzmaurice at the time. At about the same time, Percy Gilchrist collaborated with his cousin Sidney Gilchrist Thomas on refining the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel from 1875 to 1877. In 1876, the National Centennial commemorated the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The Centennial was marked by celebrations across the United States, not the least of which was the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, which ran from May to November 1876 with approximately 10 million visitors in a seven month period. Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Beatrice Carwardine Gilchrist (1854–1881) was the second child (and first daughter) of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist. An aspiring physician, Beatrice was a medical student in England before the educational system there (which excluded women) prompted her to attend the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia. She held positions as a physician in Berne, Switzerland, and later Edinburgh before committing suicide by fatally ingesting hydrocyanic acid in 1881. Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist (1857–1914) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, an English painter and author of Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings in 1887. Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, the only of their four children who did not accompany their mother to Philadelphia in 1876 when she met Whitman, as Percy Gilchrist was newly married to Norah Fitzmaurice at the time. At about the same time, Percy Gilchrist collaborated with his cousin Sidney Gilchrist Thomas on refining the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel from 1875 to 1877. Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Beatrice Carwardine Gilchrist (1854–1881) was the second child (and first daughter) of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist. An aspiring physician, Beatrice was a medical student in England before the educational system there (which excluded women) prompted her to attend the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia. She held positions as a physician in Berne, Switzerland, and later Edinburgh before committing suicide by fatally ingesting hydrocyanic acid in 1881. Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, the only of their four children who did not accompany their mother to Philadelphia in 1876 when she met Whitman, as Percy Gilchrist was newly married to Norah Fitzmaurice at the time. At about the same time, Percy Gilchrist collaborated with his cousin Sidney Gilchrist Thomas on refining the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel from 1875 to 1877. Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: CAMBRIDGE STA. | DEC | 1 | 10 AM | MASS.; CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC | 2 | 8 AM | 1885 | REC'D. Whitman suffered a stroke in 1873 that left him partially paralyzed and recovering for several years. Beatrice Carwardine Gilchrist (1854–1881) was the second child (and first daughter) of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist. An aspiring physician, Beatrice was a medical student in England before the educational system there (which excluded women) prompted her to attend the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia. She held positions as a physician in Berne, Switzerland, and later Edinburgh before committing suicide by fatally ingesting hydrocyanic acid in 1881. Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, the only of their four children who did not accompany their mother to Philadelphia in 1876 when she met Whitman, as Percy Gilchrist was newly married to Norah Fitzmaurice at the time. At about the same time, Percy Gilchrist collaborated with his cousin Sidney Gilchrist Thomas on refining the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel from 1875 to 1877. William Michael Rossetti (1829–1915), brother of Dante Gabriel and Christina Rossetti, was an English editor and a champion of Walt Whitman's work. In 1868 Rossetti edited Whitman's Poems, selected from the 1867 Leaves of Grass. Rossetti would remain one of Whitman's staunchest supporters for the rest of Whitman's life, drawing in major subscribers to the 1876 Centennial edition of Leaves of Grass and fundraising for Whitman in England. For more on Whitman's relationship with Rossetti, see "Rossetti, William Michael (1829–1915)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935) was the son of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist, the only of their four children who did not accompany their mother to Philadelphia in 1876 when she met Whitman, as Percy Gilchrist was newly married to Norah Fitzmaurice at the time. At about the same time, Percy Gilchrist collaborated with his cousin Sidney Gilchrist Thomas on refining the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel from 1875 to 1877. Anne Burrows Gilchrist (1828–1885) was the author of the first significant criticism on Leaves of Grass—A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman (1870). Gilchrist's long correspondence with Whitman indicates that Gilchrist had fallen in love with the poet after reading his work; when the pair met in 1876 when Gilchrist visited Philadelphia, Whitman never fully returned Gilchrist's affection, although their friendship deepened after that meeting. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman had written to Tennyson on May 24, 1874. Probably the Alfred Wise whose father William Wise (1814–1903) was a jeweler for more than seventy years in Brooklyn. Alfred became a partner in his father's jewelry business in the 1850s, at which time the business was renamed William Wise & Son. William and Alfred Wise are listed in the Brooklyn Directory for 1866–1867 as living at 233 Fulton St., Brooklyn (Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts, ed. Edward F. Grier [New York: New York University Press, 1984], 2:837). Whitman arrived in Washington, D.C., in late December 1862 after searching for his brother, George W. Whitman (1829–1901), a Union soldier in the American Civil War, who had been wounded in the Battle of Fredericksburg. Walt Whitman would remain in Washington, D.C. for a decade, volunteering in the Civil War Hospitals and, later, performing clerical tasks for several government offices. For more information on Whitman's time in Washington, see Martin G. Murray, "Washington, D.C. (1863–1873)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). The naturalist John Burroughs (1837–1921) met Walt Whitman on the streets of Washington, D. C., in 1864, even though Burroughs had frequented Pfaff's beer cellar, where he consistently defended Whitman's poetry, in 1862. After returning to Brooklyn in 1864, Whitman commenced what was to become a lifelong 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: Birds and Poets (1877), Notes on Walt Whitman as poet and Person (1867), Whitman, A Study (1896), and Accepting the Universe (1924). For more on Whitman's relationship with Burroughs, see "Burroughs, John [1837–1921] and Ursula (1836–1917)Burroughs, John [1837–1921] and Ursula (1836–1917)." Talcott Williams (1849–1928) was associated with the New York Sun and World as well as the Springfield Republican before he became the editor of the Philadelphia Press in 1879. His newspaper vigorously defended Whitman in news articles and editorials after the Boston censorship of 1882. For more information about Williams, see Philip W. Leon, "Williams, Talcott (1849–1928)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). See Whitman's letter to Rossetti of March 30, 1876. See Whitman's letter to Rossetti of May 5, 1876. The naturalist John Burroughs (1837–1921) met Walt Whitman on the streets of Washington, D. C., in 1864, even though Burroughs had frequented Pfaff's beer cellar, where he consistently defended Whitman's poetry, in 1862. After returning to Brooklyn in 1864, Whitman commenced what was to become a lifelong 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: Birds and Poets (1877), Notes on Walt Whitman as poet and Person (1867), Whitman, A Study (1896), and Accepting the Universe (1924). For more on Whitman's relationship with Burroughs, see "Burroughs, John [1837–1921] and Ursula (1836–1917)Burroughs, John [1837–1921] and Ursula (1836–1917)." Ursula North (1836–1917) married John Burroughs in 1857 and became a friend to Walt Whitman, a frequent guest in the Burroughs household. When issues of sexual incompatibility arose in the Burroughs marriage, Whitman sided with Ursula against John's sexual "wantonness" and eventual infidelity. While John Burroughs traveled a great deal due to his job as a bank examiner, Ursula and Whitman visited frequently, with Ursula visiting the poet after his stroke in 1873. For more on Whitman's relationship with Burroughs, see "Burroughs, John [1837–1921] and Ursula [1836–1917]Burroughs, John [1837–1921] and Ursula [1836–1917]." Charles Allen Thorndike Rice (1851–1889) was a journalist and edited and published the North American Review in New York from 1876 until his death. His Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln by Distinguished Men of His Time (1888) was published by The North American Review Publishing Company. Bessie (d. 1919) and Isabella (1855–1924) Ford were sisters who lived together in Leeds, were friends and disciples (as well as cousins) of Carpenter, and active social reformers, working for women's suffrage, trade unionism, and an independent labor party. Johnston is referring to either Elizabeth (Bessie) Ford (d. 1919) or her sister Isabella Ford (1855–1924). The Fords lived together in Leeds and were friends (as well as cousins) of writer and Whitman disciple Edward Carpenter. The Ford sisters were active social reformers, working for women's suffrage, trade unionism, and an independent labor party. Elizabeth (Bessie) Helen Ford (1848–1919) was a violinist and the sister of Isabella Ormston Ford (1855–1924), an English social reformer, suffragist, and writer. The sisters lived together in Leeds; they were friends of Edward Carpenter, an English writer and Whitman disciple. After being introduced to Whitman's writings by Carpenter, Bessie and her sister quickly became admirers of the poet. Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe (1864–1945) was a political activist, art historian, and critic, whom Whitman once called his "staunchest living woman friend." For more information about Costelloe, 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). In 1841, October 21 was a Thursday. James Thomas Knowles (1831–1908) was the editor of The Nineteenth Century, a leading British monthly magazine, in which "Fancies at Navesink" was published on August 18, 1885. He was also an architect and the founder of the Metaphysical Society, dedicated to discovering common ground between science and religion. The editor of the Critic from 1881 to 1906 was Jeannette Leonard Gilder (1849–1916), who wrote that "one of the things of which I am most proud is that the Critic was the first publication of its class to invite Walt Whitman to contribute to its pages" (Charles N. Elliot, Walt Whitman as Man, Poet, and Friend [Boston: Richard G. Badger, The Gorham Press, 1915], 97). She was assisted in her editorial work by her brother Joseph Benson Gilder (1858–1936). For more information, see Susan L. Roberson, "Gilder, Jeannette L. (1849–1916)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Sylvester Baxter (1850–1927) was on the staff of the Boston Herald. Apparently he met Whitman for the first time when the poet delivered his Lincoln address in Boston in April, 1881; see Rufus A. Coleman, "Whitman and Trowbridge," PMLA 63 (1948), 268. Baxter wrote many newspaper columns in praise of Whitman's writings, and in 1886 attempted to obtain a pension for the poet. For more, see Christopher O. Griffin, "Baxter, Sylvester [1850–1927]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden (Post Office) | New Jersey | United States America. The envelope is endorsed: from Herbert Gilchrist | Sept '84. It is postmarked: LONDON [illegible] | H 12-[illegible] | OC 1[illegible] | 84; PAID | B | ALL; NEW YORK | OCT | 12; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT | 13 | 7 AM | 1884 | REC'D. This postal card is addressed: Talcott Williams | Daily Press office | Corner Chestnut & Seventh St. | Phila:. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | MAY | 6 | 8 PM | N.J.; RECEIVED | MAY 6 | 9 PM | [illegible] This postal card is addressed: Roden Noel | 57 Anesley Park | London S E | England. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | MAY | 25 | 130 PM | 1886 | N.J.; PHILADELPHIA | MAY | 25 | 1886 | [illegible]. This postal card is addressed: Ernest Rhys | 59 Cheyne Walk | London | S W | England. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | JUN | 10 | [illegible]30 PM | 1886 | N.J.; PHILADELPHIA | JUN | 10 | 1886 | [illegible] Rhys edited Malory's History of King Arthur and the Quest of the Holy Grail in 1886 for Walter Scott. This postal card is addressed: Wm Sloane Kennedy | Belmont Mass. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | AUG | 11 | 8 PM | 1886 | N.J.; PHILADELPHIA | AUG | 11 | 9 PM | 1886 | [illegible] This letter is addressed: J H Johnston | Jeweler | 150 Bowery | Cor: Broome | New York City. It is postmarked: PHILADELPHIA | PA | JUL 21 85 | 8 30 PM. Whitman had ordered a "a gold watch, hunting case, middling showy in appearance" for $35 from Johnston in a December 20, 1876, letter. The watch was intended either for Harry Lamb Stafford (1858–1918), whom Whitman met in 1876, or for Edward Cattell, a hired hand at the Stafford family's New Jersey farm, who became close to Whitman. See the letter from Whitman to Cattell of January 24, 1887). Whitman wrote this letter on the back of the circular he references. William Michael Rossetti had made some copies printed of a March 17, 1876, letter that Whitman had sent, and Whitman intended this printed copy as an enclosure for Alma Calder Johnston, the wife of John H. Johnston. Whitman had sent the original letter to Rossetti on March 17, 1876. Whitman is referring to Joaquin Miller's poem "To Walt Whitman," which was published in The Galaxy 23 (January 1877), 29. See the letter from Rhys to Whitman of May 31, 1885. "Walt Whitman's Actual American Position," which appeared in the West Jersey Press on January 26, was Whitman's anonymous reply to the article in the Springfield Republican of January 18, which attacked the "loose talk" of Joaquin Miller and others that Whitman was "a neglected martyr," and averred that Whitman was "not yet in want, though three years of illness and enforced idleness have used up his savings." In the West Jersey Press, Whitman protested his neglect by American readers, publishers, and poets. He had recently printed, he declared, a two-volume edition of his complete writings "'to keep the wolf from the door' in old age." See Clifton Joseph Furness, Walt Whitman's Workshop (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1928), 245–246. Rossetti printed excerpts from the article in The Athenaeum on March 11, and also quoted the last two sentences of the first paragraph of this letter. According to Rossetti's letter on February 28, 1876, the editor of The Academy had shown no interest in publishing the account. Miller had visited Whitman in June, 1875; See the letter from Whitman to William James Linton of June 9, 1875. For mentions of the visits of Conway and Houghton, see the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of December 17, 1875. Joseph Marvin, who had recently returned from England; see the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of October 19, 1875, and the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of December 17, 1875. In his letter of December 23, 1875, Rossetti had described a dinner given in honor of Joseph Marvin, who had visited England in 1875; see the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of October 19, 1875. Peter Bayne (1830–1896), a Scottish journalist, in The Contemporary Review 28 (December 1875), 49–69, attacked Whitman's English admirers, Rossetti, Dowden, and Buchanan, as well as Leaves of Grass: "While reading Whitman, . . . I realized with bitter painfulness how deadly is the peril that our literature may pass into conditions of horrible disease, the raging flame of fever taking the place of natural heat, the ravings of delirium superseding the enthusiasm of poetical imagination, the distortions of tetanic spasm caricaturing the movements, dance-like and music-measured, of harmonious strength." Bayne's diatribe was reprinted in The Living Age 128 (8 January 1876), 91–102. See also The Nation 22 (13 January 1876), 28–29. In the West Jersey Press Whitman referred to "the scolding and cheap abuse of Peter Bayne" (Clifton Joseph Furness, Walt Whitman's Workshop [1928], 246). See also Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (1931), 121 and 126. "Walt Whitman: the Poet of Joy," by the Irish poet Standish James O'Grady, appeared in The Gentleman's Magazine 15 (1875), 704–716. See the letters from Whitman to Edward Dowden of January 18, 1872 and of March 4, 1876; see also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, June 29, 1888. We know of no reason to question the date of 1873 assigned by the executors. Mrs. O'Connor's sister. Encouraged by Whitman's references to a home (see the letter from Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman of February 23, 1873), Louisa wrote on March 21: "i think walt when folks get old like you and me they ought to have a home of their own." Louisa also informed Jeff of her unhappiness at Camden, for on March 30, Jeff reported to Whitman that mother "is not quite as happy as when she kept her own house—what do you think about it." About April 5(?), Louisa wrote: "well walt i should never have made any complaint if you hadent have wrote to me. you should certainly get a place for you and edd and me. i hope you may succeed walter. i have not been very happy here but i thought you had trouble enough without hearing mine." Meanwhile, George had begun to construct a house in Camden—much too elaborate for Louisa's tastes. On April 8, she described the house she dreamed of: "if we ever build walt which i hope we shall, i dont think it will be quite so extensive. the cheapest house that you could build would be a 2 story house with 2 rooms below and 2 rooms above with a shed kichen with no fireplace in the house except in the kichen. . . . what do you think of my plan walt. we couldent have many visitors to stay all night." Jeff wrote to his mother on March 26. There are a few words scribbled illegibly at the top and bottom left corners of the first page of this letter. The contents are of slight help in dating the letter, but Clara Barrus's conjecture that it was written in 1873 seems plausible (Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 85). "Sea Captains, Young or Old" appeared on April 4. On April 8, Mrs. Whitman informed Walt Whitman that Louisa was probably pregnant, and that everyone was carrying trays to her (Trent Collection, William R. Perkins Library, Duke University). Jeff's letter to Walt is not extant, but in a letter written on the same day to Mrs. Whitman, Jeff expressed fears for Martha's recovery, and urged that Whitman come to St. Louis. When he wrote, Jeff was unaware of the seriousness of his brother's paralysis. After visiting their uncle Walt for four months, Whitman's nieces had returned to St. Louis on October 25, 1876 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). During their visit, on September 16, Whitman and Hattie had attended a performance of La Favorita at the Philadelphia Academy. Pasquale Brignoli (1824–1884), the Italian tenor, had peformed. On October 24, Whitman had gone to the Exposition in Philadelphia with Mrs. Fannie L. Taylor, of St. Louis, who had probably come to Camden to escort the young ladies home (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Mannahatta's picture had been taken on October 25, and on November 12 Walt Whitman had paid a Mr. Spieler—possibly Jacob Spieler at the Charles H. Spieler Studios in Philadelphia—$5 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Tip was Whitman's dog. Little is known about James Davis, who was employed as "an oysterman." Whitman mentions Davis in his letter to Peter Doyle of December 27, 1876. Joseph B. Marvin had been co-editor of The Radical in 1866–1867; see Frank Luther Mott, A History of American Magazines (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1938–1968), 3:78n. Later he was employed in the Treasury Department in Washington. On December 15, 1874, Marvin wrote to Whitman: "I read and re-read your poems, and the 'Vistas,' and more and more see that I had but a faint comprehension of them before. They surpass everything. All other books seem to me weak and unworthy my attention. I read, Sunday, to my wife, Longfellows verses on Sumner, in the last Atlantic, and then I read your poem on the Death of Lincoln. It was like listening to a weak-voiced girl singing with piano accompanyment, and then to an oratorio by the whole Handel Society, with accompanyment by the Music Hall organ" (The Library of Congress). His veneration of Whitman is also apparent in an article in The Radical Review 1 (1877), 224–259. His letter of October 13 is not known, but he apparently replied to Whitman's letter on December 15, 1874: "You said in your last letter you still intend to come to Washington this winter." In 1873 Whitman was not making plans to visit friends in Washington (see the letter from Whitman to Charles W. Eldridge of November 13, 1873, and to Peter Doyle of November 13, 1873), and in October 1875, Marvin was on his way to England (see the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of November 19, 1873). William J. Linton was an engraver and an anthologist; see the letters from Whitman to Linton of March 22, 1872 and of May 8, 1878. According to Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), Whitman was with the Stafford family on November 5–8, 16, and 25–28, and visited Mrs. Anne Gilchrist in Philadelphia on November 18–20 and 24. Linton on August 21 requested permission to use his engraving of Whitman as a frontispiece for a volume of American poetry which he was preparing "for English publication" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), 9 vols., 2:201–202). Whitman wrote this draft on the back of Linton's letter. This draft letter is endorsed: "to W. J. Linton Feb 24 '75." Appeared in the 1876 edition of Leaves of Grass. The watch was intended either for Harry Lamb Stafford (1858–1918), whom Whitman met in 1876, or for Edward Cattell, a hired hand at the Stafford family's New Jersey farm who became close to Whitman. See the letter from Whitman to Cattell of January 24, 1887). See also the letter from Whitman to Johnston of December 31, 1876. Harry Stafford. Whitman was hardly accurate since there is no evidence that Harry and he had taken a trip together. The year is established by an entry in Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), as well by the fact that Whitman visited Johnston for the first time early in 1877. Undoubtedly Harry Stafford, with whom Whitman was establishing a "Calamus" relationship; see Edwin Haviland Miller's introduction to The Correspondence, vol. 3. Miller had visited Whitman on September 24 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). George W. Waters (1832–1912), a portrait and landscape painter. Samuel Loag, a Philadelphia printer and friend of the Johnstons. See The Bookman 46 (1917), 412. This is the first letter in a fairly extensive correspondence with this New York jeweler (1837–1919), who was also a friend of Joaquin Miller (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), 9 vols., 2:139). Whitman visited the Johnstons for the first time early in 1877. In 1888 he observed to Traubel, "I count [Johnston] as in our inner circle, among the chosen few" (With Walt Whitman in Camden 2:423). See also Johnston's letter, printed by Charles N. Elliot, Walt Whitman as Man, Poet and Friend (1915), 149–174. Miller had written to Whitman on April 16, 1876. Johnston was in Camden on May 11, 1876 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). A reply from Ingram has not been located. However, Whitman also noted sending the volumes in his Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). A year after his "slight stroke of paralysis, on my left side, and especially the leg" (see the letter from Whitman to William D. O'Connor of September 1866), Whitman was recuperating slowly and was writing occasional articles for magazines as well as handling orders for his books. [Whitman discussed his health and noted an article in the New York Daily Graphic which had pleased him.] Katharine Hillard (1839?–1915) was a poet and translator. Writing to Whitman on September 13, 1877, Moncure D. Conway quoted from a letter sent to him by Hillard: "I have made a discovery since I have been here [in the Adirondacks], and that is, that I never half appreciated Walt Whitman's poetry till now, much as I fancied I enjoyed it. To me he is the only poet fit to be read in the mountains, the only one who can reach and level their lift, to use his own words, to pass and continue beyond" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), 9 vols., 3:112; Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The first meeting of the poetess with Whitman took place on February 29, 1876; see also the letter from Whitman to Ellen M. O'Connor of February 29, 1876. A Brooklyn resident, she was a friend of Abby H. Price (see the letter from Whitman to Price of September 9, 1873); in fact, according to Mrs. Whitman's letter to Helen Price on November 26, 1872, the Prices expected that Arthur and Miss Hillard would marry (Morgan). She was also the translator of Dante's Banquet (1889) and the editor of An Abridgement...of The Secret Doctrine...by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1907). Whitman gave an account of this meeting in his letter to Ellen M. O'Connor of February 29, 1876. Professor J. Peter Lesley was appointed state geologist of Pennsylvania in 1874. He was also secretary of the American Philosophical Society. Gilchrist spoke glowingly of the "delightful family circle" of the Lesleys (Gilchrist, 228–229). Maggie Lesley, an artist, visited Gilchrist in 1881 (The Library of Congress). This is a draft letter. On May 2, in a lost letter, Whitman asked Green to give him an estimate, which Green supplied on May 3 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Probably Whitman accepted the offer on the following day. Green evidently delivered 600 copies to the binders on May 24, for in the Feinberg Collection, there is a check for $157 made out to Green on May 31. Green had printed some of Whitman's earlier works; see the letter from Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman of November 14, 1872. Edwin Einstein, a tobacconist and a friend from the Pfaffian days of the 1850s, wrote to Whitman on November 18, 1875, from the Union League Club, Madison Avenue and Twenty-sixth Street, New York: "I would not trouble you with this letter, were it not that I saw mentioned in the N. Y. Sun the other day the fact that you were in very needy circumstances, if that is so will you let me know, and myself and a few other of your old friends would be glad to aid you to the best of our ability. If it is not so, (which I sincerely trust may be the case) pardon the liberty I am taking and believe it is only done out of friendship and good will" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Probably the repetitions in this draft were eliminated in the version that was sent. As evidenced by the number of stricken passages, Whitman had difficulty in finding the exact words to describe his lot. This draft letter was written on the backs of a series of letters to Whitman, pasted together to form a long sheet. The year is conjectural. White Rose and Red. A Love Story was published by Osgood & Co. in 1873. The name of the author, Robert Buchanan, did not appear on the title page, but there was the following inscription: "To Walt Whitman and Alexander Gardiner, with all friends in Washington, I dedicate this book." The date is confirmed by an entry in Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Peter Doyle, | M street South | bet 4½ & 6th | Washington | D. C. It is postmarked: Camden | Oct | 31 | N.J. Rob Evans; see the letter from Whitman to Doyle of October 9–10, 1873. This letter is addressed: Peter Doyle | M street south | bet 4½ & 6th | Washington | D. C. It is postmarked: Camden | Oct | 17 | (?). Since Doyle's correspondence during this period is not extant, it is impossible to explain Whitman's comment. Whitman was fond of Salvador Petrola, a cornetist in the Marine Band; see Hans Nathan, "Walt Whitman and the Marine Band," The Bulletin of the Boston Public Library 18 (1943), 51, 53. Petrola became the assistant to Louis Schneider, who was appointed conductor in September, 1873. See also The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman, 10 vols. (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1902), 8:9. For a previous will, see the letter from Walt Whitman to George Washington and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman of October 23, 1872. According to Clara Barrus, Whitman also made a will on May 16, in which he bequeathed a silver watch to Doyle (Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 82). The Children of the Abbey, by the Irish novelist Regina Marie Roche (1764?–1845), was published in 1798 in four volumes. The hand points to a pasted newspaper clipping which described a car-coupler invented by William A. Boyden of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Whitman had trouble with the spelling of Hawkinson's name; see the letter from Whitman to Doyle of May 9, 1953. A Professor Wise was attempting to launch a balloon named "Graphic" after its sponsor, the New York Daily Graphic. Wise expected to gather scientific information. Walter Godey. On September 1 the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle noted that Robert S. Hickman, about 49 years old, was close to death. Evidently Hickman had squandered a fortune of $40,000, had been disowned by his family, and was now impoverished. On the same day the New York Herald observed that Hickman "is known throughout the country by reputation and familiar to visitors to Washington for many years." He was interred in the potter's field on September 2. On the following day, after a subscription was raised among Washington businessmen to rebury the body in the Congressional Cemetery, it was discovered that the remains had been desecrated. On September 4 the headlines in the Chronicle read: "Ghouls. | Graveyard Hyenas. | Beau Hickman's Body Exhumed. | Horrible and Revolting Details." For Whitman's opinion of Hickman, see the letter from Whitman to Doyle of September 12, 1873. The New York Tribune reported this accident on the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad, in which C. J. Hawkinson (not Hankinson) was crushed to death. Dr. Matthew J. Grier; see the letter from Whitman to Ellen M. O'Connor of September 5, 1873. One of the executors, probably Richard Maurice Bucke, dated this letter "Aug 28, 1873." However, the reference to Eldridge in this letter would seem to be earlier than that in the letter of August 22. The probabilities are also that Whitman would have referred to the "Wawasset" disaster shortly after it occurred on August 8, though the investigation lasted from August 18 to 23. The "Wawasset" was a river steamer which caught fire on August 8 on the Potomac River near Aquia Creek, with a frightful loss of life. The official investigation attributed the tragedy to dereliction of duty. Burroughs is referring to "The Birds of the Poets," Scribner's Monthly 6 (1873), 565–574, in which he quoted at length from "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking." Towner (as Whitman meant to write) was a clerk in the Treasury Department; see Whitman's letter to Doyle of September 12, 1873. At one time Whitman wanted to lodge with the Towners. George B. McCartee, general superintendent of the Treasury building. According to the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle of August 14, George Allen, a fireman on the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad, had had his leg crushed in an accident near Baltimore, and had died on the previous day. Dr. J. M. Duncan and Dr. E. Tucker Blake. The clipping reported "probably the narrowest escape in the history of railroading from a total wreck." William Ingram kept a tea store in Philadelphia. To Horace Traubel, Whitman observed: "He is a man of the Thomas Paine stripe—full of benevolent impulses, of radicalism, of the desire to alleviate the sufferings of the world—especially the sufferings of prisoners in jails, who are his protégés" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), 9 vols., 1:185). George P. Fisher (1817–1899) served in the House of Representatives from 1860 to 1862, and was appointed by Lincoln in 1863 to the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. He presided at the trial of John H. Surratt, which Whitman described in a letter to Alfred Pratt of July 25, 1867. Fisher left the bench in 1870 to become District Attorney of the District of Columbia. Whitman wrote "June" by mistake. Whitman's description of life in George's home is in sharp contrast with the querulous letters of his mother in the six months preceding her death. This letter is addressed: Peter Doyle | M street south, | bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D. C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | 20. Whitman evidently returned to Washington on June 2, as planned. Unwell and depressed, he finally went to the home of the Ashtons, where he at least did not have to climb to the fourth floor. About June 16 he returned to Camden. Dated 1873 in The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1902), 10 vols. The executors had trouble dating this note because they were convinced that Whitman did not return to Washington immediately after his mother's death; see The Complete Writings, 8:89n. Milburn's drug store. Doyle was evidently not informed of Whitman's move. Charles W. Eldridge wrote to John Burroughs on June 26 about Whitman's health: "Walt returned here about a week after the funeral in a very depressed condition and complaining more in regard to himself than I have ever heard him do since he got sick. . . . I begin to doubt whether Walt is going to recover, and I am very apprehensive of another attack. . . . He is a mere physical wreck to what he was. . . . His mental powers seem to be as vigorous as ever, which is the brightest part of his case, but to be stricken with such physical weakness that he cannot walk a block without resting—it is very pitiful" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 83). This letter is addressed: "Peter Doyle, | Conductor, | Office | Wash. & Georgetown City RR. | Washington, D. C. It is postmarked: New York | (?). In the preface to this small pamphlet Whitman clearly states that he had completed Leaves of Grass and was about to start a new work—a clear indication, in Gay Wilson Allen's words, that "he is not sure of his new literary intentions" (Walt Whitman Handbook [Chicago: Packard and Company, 1946], 202). The number of Pete's car. On June 12 an article in the New York Times entitled "The Deserted Capital" noted the absence of the President and congressmen from Washington: "The transition is at once from scenes of busy excitement to dull times and hot weather." See the letter from Whitman to Gillette of September 26, 1873. Whitman consistently dropped an l in Gillette. Frances B. Felt & Co., booksellers, were located at 91 Mercer Street, New York. Lee, Shepard, & Dillingham, publishers and booksellers, had offices at 47–49 Green Street, New York. In 1867 John T. Trowbridge attempted to interest this firm in the fourth edition of Leaves of Grass; see Trowbridge's letter to William D. O'Connor of March 24, 1867, reprinted in American Literature, 23 (1951), 326. This draft letter is endorsed: "letter to F. B. Felt | April 17, 1873." This postcard is addressed: Pete Doyle, | M st. South—bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D. C. It is postmarked: Camden | Sep | 10 | N.J. The postcard cannot be assigned to a specific year for obvious reasons: the allusions to his health are vague and are in fact applicable to almost any time between 1873 and 1876; there are no concrete references to events which would make dating possible. However, it was written on a standard government postcard which was redesigned in 1876. The executors dated this letter 1877. However, November 8 was on Monday in 1875 (see the letter from Whitman to Doyle of November 3, 1875). On November 3 Whitman had promised Doyle definite word about his plans by Saturday; this letter was sent on Friday, November 5. Doyle replied on November 7 that he would meet Whitman at the depot on the following day, and that Mr. and Mrs. Nash "told me to tell you to come on and they would do the best they Could to make your Visit pleasant." That this letter was written in 1876 is evidenced by Whitman's references to his paralysis in the first paragraph and to the 1876 edition in the last paragraph and by an entry in his Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). A reference to Edward Dowden, who was primarily responsible for Whitman's popularity among students in Dublin. The year assigned by the executors, 1875, is erroneous, as the notes below confirm. William Alcott; see the letter from Whitman to Ellen O'Connor of November 23. This letter cannot have been written in 1875, as the executors suggested: Louisa had a baby on November 4, 1875, and Whitman at that time was preparing to leave for Washington. Though, admittedly, there is little concrete information in this letter to aid in establishing the year, the executors' assignment of this letter to 1875 seems questionable for the following reasons: in a letter to Doyle of August 22, 1873, Whitman also asked for a copy of the Sunday Herald; he expected this letter to arrive in Washington on Saturday, August 30—"Send me the Herald to-morrow"; and in 1875 he invariably gave his Camden street address in the headings of his letters. "Song of the Redwood-Tree" and "Prayer of Columbus." At this point Whitman pasted a brief clipping about the "Horrendous Blow" from the New York Sun. John Burroughs, the naturalist, became acquainted with Whitman during the Civil War and remained a steadfast friend; see The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York University Press, 1961–69], 1:14). The transaction referred to in the note was also recorded in Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). At this time Whitman lived with George and Louisa Orr Whitman, whose only son, Walter Orr Whitman, had died on July 12; see The Correspondence, 3:54. Dowden (1843–1913), professor of English literature at the University of Dublin, sent a copy of his article with a letter on July 23: "I ought to say that the article expresses very partially the impression which your writings have made on me. It keeps, as is obvious, at a single point of view, & regards only what becomes visible from that point. But also I wrote more cooly than I feel because I wanted those, who being ignorant of your writings are perhaps prejudiced against them, to say 'Here is a cool, judicious, impartial critic who finds a great deal in Whitman—perhaps, after all, we are mistaken' " (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 9 vols., 1:134). Note also Dowden's comments to Burroughs, in Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (1931), 67. On three occasions in 1870 Dowden had written to Rossetti about his difficulties in having his article published; see Rossetti Papers, 517–518, 519, 520. In 1888 Whitman observed to Horace Traubel: "Dowden is a book-man: but he is also and more particularly a man-man: I guess that is where we connect" (With Walt Whitman in Camden, 1:299). R. Y. Tyrrell, a fellow of Trinity College and "an excellent Greek scholar," had recently delivered a public lecture on Whitman's poetry; see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), 9 vols., 1:135, 225. His nephew, Walter Orr Whitman; see the letter from Whitman to Whitelaw Reid of July 18, 1875. Whitman and Horace Traubel discussed a draft version of this letter (manuscript in The Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) in which Whitman excised the next paragraph: "Allow [me] to say to Mr. E. Routledge—I profoundly approve your idea & enterprise of a Magazine interlinking the two English-speaking nations, and, persevered in, I have no doubt it will be a triumphant success." See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden Wednesday, February 20, 1889. The contents of this letter are explained fully in the letter from Whitman to of May 12, 1867. Mr. Cummins has not been identified. Lady Blanche's account of English social life appeared in the May issue of The Galaxy (679–688). This is a reply to the letter from Whitman to Tennyson of July 24, 1875. Walter Godey was Whitman's replacement at the Attorney General's office, starting August 14, 1873 (see the letter of introduction for Godey from Whitman to chief clerk Webster Elmes of August 14, 1873). Whitman subsequently sent payment for Godey's service through Charles W. Eldridge (see the letters from Whitman to Eldridge of August 29, 1873 and September 29, 1873. On October 31, 1873 Whitman wrote Peter Doyle that "I got a letter from Mr. Eldridge that he had paid Godey, my substitute, the money I sent on for his October pay." It was clearly Whitman's routine to send Godey's money order on the twenty-ninth of each month (see the letter from Whitman to Eldridge of December 29, 1873. Therefore, the letter would seem to date from either October or November 1873, as Whitman's correspondence with Eldridge has also been lost for November. However, his opinions of his health seem less optimistic during that month. Whitman's letters in October routinely begin in the same way this fragment does: "I am still doing as well as when I last wrote" (see the letter from Whitman to Doyle of October 24, 1873), and "My condition remains about the same" (see the letter from Whitman to Eldridge of October 31, 1873. For all these reasons, the date of "circa October 29, 1873" has been assigned until the original can be located. According to Westbrook, there is no way of determining whether he received the appointment he sought. Both of these letters are now lost. The photograph Whitman enclosed is also housed at Western Carolina University; the verso reads: "Walt Whitman's | best Christmas | love to his | dear niece | Jess:" This letter is known through a transcription prepared by Miss Gilder on May 12, 1902. According to the entry in Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), Whitman sent Two Rivulets to Horace Howard Furness (1833–1912), the distinguished Shakespearean scholar whom the poet met in 1879; see the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of March 27, 1879 and letters from Whitman to Furness of April 8, 1880 and April 13, 1880. See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), 9 vols., 3:520. Whitman sent Leaves of Grass and Two Rivulets on the same day (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The Marquis de Leuville was William Redivivus Oliver de Lorncourt, born in 1841; he enjoyed some notoriety as a poet who wrote in French and English. His Poems and Aelia from "Entre-Nous" appeared in 1884 (London: Chapman & Hall), and the introduction, called "Entre-Nous," begins, "I had therefore better make some apologies for my 'French-English.'" The envelope is addressed: To the | Commissioner of Pensions | Washington DC. Written at the request of Reuben Farwell's widow, Ann, in support of her application for survivor benefits. Reuben Farwell (?–1883) was "admitted to Armory Square Hospital on October 12, 1863, and given Bed Number 33, in Ward A. He remained in the hospital until January 28, 1864, when he was furloughed home for a month, returning again on February 27" (Murray, 161). Whitman's letter is on the verso of Gentry's request to print "The Man-of-War Bird" (see the letter from Gentry to Whitman of February 8, 1884). Gentry (1843–1905) was an ornithologist whose Nests and Eggs of Birds of the United States appeared in 1882, only to be termed "unreliable and worthless...trash," the few admirable parts having apparently been plagiarized. Gentry and his son Alan visited the poet on December 30, 1885; see Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White [New York: New York University Press, 1978], 2:371. In his daybook for this date, Whitman records "dinner at J M S's—good time" (Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White [New York: New York University Press, 1878], 327); "J M S" is James Matlack Scovel, one of Whitman's Camden friends. Joe Browning married Harry's sister Debbie, who also lost a baby the next year; see the letter from Whitman to Gilchrist of September 15, 1885, which notes that Whitman did not inform Herbert that Deborah Stafford Browning gave birth to a daughter on February 2, 1885 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The child, Ruth, died on July 26. As Mattie notes, the letter was finished on December 23. This letter is not known. Jessie Louisa, who later in the letter is referred to as "California." The basement of the house on Portland Avenue was the Whitmans' main, and "a little crampt," living space, much of the house being rented out to the John Brown family (see the letter from Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walt Whitman of April 3, 1860). In spite of the close quarters, Whitman, after moving to Washington, remembered the basement fondly: "if I could only be home two or three days & have some good teas with you [Mrs. Whitman] & Mat & set in the old basement a while..." (The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–69], 1:210). It had been his habit to rock the cradle for Mattie "day in and day out" (see the letter from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to Walt Whitman of September 3, 1863). Mrs. Whitman's feelings about this prohibition differed markedly from Mattie's estimate of them: "you know they wont have jess up stairs now so we have the benefit of the children down stairs i dont mind the baby but i really think hattie is the worst child i ever had any thing to do with so very ugly with her mischievousness" (see the letter from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to Walt Whitman of December 25, 1863). Mrs. Whitman wrote in her letter to Walt of December 4 that "seeing his brothers corps seemed to effect him very much..." (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University). Walt had left Brooklyn in mid-December, 1862, to find his brother George who had been reported wounded. After staying with George for two weeks in a camp near Falmouth, Virginia, he took up residence in Washington, working part-time in the army Paymaster's office (see Allen, 282–86). Milgate was one of the men who had worked with Andrew at the Brooklyn Navy Yard (see the letter from Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Walt Whitman of December 28, 1863). Undoubtedly James H. Cornwell, Andrew's friend and frequent companion, after whom Andrew named his son James Cornwell Whitman—see Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931), 82. Cornwell was probably the son of Justice James Cornwell about whom Whitman wrote a sketch, "Scenes in a Police Justice's Court Room," for the Brooklyn Daily Times. The sketch is reprinted in The Uncollected Poetry and Prose of Walt Whitman, ed. Emory Holloway (New York: Peter Smith, 1932), 2:10–12. Mrs. Whitman's letters repeatedly refer to Andrew's friend and to the Justice as "Cornell," and Mattie apparently followed her into this error. For an extended discussion of James Cornwell's friendship with Andrew, see Loving, 165–67. If we are to believe the worst of Mrs. Whitman's remark that Nancy "goes it yet in the street," (see the letter from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to Walt Whitman of December 25, 1863) she had become a prostitute, perhaps even before Andrew's death; yet there is no reason to believe that Andrew was not the father of the son she bore the following spring, who was called Andrew Whitman. "Little Andrew" was run over and killed by a brewery wagon in September 1868 (Allen, 398–98; Loving, 13), just a few months after Nancy had given birth to twins, one stillborn (see the letter from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to Walt Whitman of May 14, 1868). Not identified. Jenny DeB[eron?] Ward, a friend of the Whitmans. Jeff wrote to Walt on December 28, 1863, of the death of her husband James. Jeff frequently did extra surveying jobs which took him out of town. On a page of blank paper attached to this letter, Whitman copied lines from Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem "Ulysses." 1885 appears to be a plausible date for the following reasons: Whitman was contemplating on March 15, 1885, a "sort of resume & talk in general" as part of the next edition of Leaves of Grass (1313 [III]); he complained of "unconsciousness, falling &c" on August 8, 1885 (1313 [III]); and he wrote about the German translation of Leaves of Grass to Karl Knortz on April 27, 1885 (1313 [III]) and again on September 10 (1344). In addition, he wrote "Booth and 'The Bowery' " (1288, n. 52 [III]), which appeared in the New York Tribune on August 16, 1885, and "Abraham Lincoln" (1357 [III]), which was printed in Rice's Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln (1886). Furness assumes that this draft is part of the draft letter to Rolleston on August 20, 1884 (1287 [III]). The difficulty with this date is that the first sentence of the draft in question appears to indicate some lapse of time in the correspondence. Whitman wrote to Rolleston on April 22(?), August 20, and September 20; but apparently he did not write again for a number of years. Although the poet complained of a possible "total and permanent loss of walking power" on September 20, 1884 (1291 [III]), he was evidently not planning a new edition of Leaves of Grass at the time. However, he was collecting material for articles on Father Taylor (1291 [III]) and Edwin Booth (1288–1289 [III]). The former did not appear until 1887, and the latter, as noted earlier, was printed in 1886. Draft letter. The Camden Horse Railroad Company, constructed in 1871 and expanded through the 1880s, was the city's first attempt to connect inland parts of Camden with the ferryboats. The lines were converted to electricity in 1889. Whitman used the verso of this draft as a mailing label for S. R. Henderson's copy of Complete Poems & Prose (1888), sent on December 23, 1890. The label reads: "S R Henderson | p o box 838 | Los Angeles | California | f'm Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey." Henderson appears to have noted receipt of the package on December 30, as "12–30" appears in pencil in another hand. Jeannette Gilder (1849–1916) was the editor of the magazine The Critic. Jane Stansberry was the wife of William Stansberry, a former soldier whom Whitman had met in Armory Square Hospital. Charles Hine (1827–1871) was a portrait and figure painter best known for his nude figure entitled Sleep. Hine did an early oil painting of Walt Whitman, which served as the basis for Stephen Alonzo Schoff's engraving of the poet for Leaves of Grass (1860). Lucy is one of the daughters of Charles (1827–1871) and Caroline P. Woodman Hine (1833–1903), who, by 1891, had a family of her own. Lucy is one of the daughters of the artist Charles (1827–1871) and his wife Caroline P. Woodman Hine (1833–1903). Caroline Hine was the widow of the artist Charles Hine, who had died on July 31, 1871, only days after a visit by Whitman. After Charles's death, Caroline Hine continued to correspond with Whitman. In her August 4, 1871, letter to Whitman, for example, she explained that she would have difficulty caring for three children because her financial means have been exhausted by her husband's illness and death. She also visited Whitman's mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (1795–1873). Knox wrote this letter to Whitman on a printed flyer describing the work of the Universal Knowledge & Information Bureau, in New York. On April 20, 1878, G. P. Lathrop wrote to Walt Whitman: "I think you have corresponded with Albert Otis, a lawyer of Boston, whom I know" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1964), 5 vols., 2:316). Otis was also one of the subscribers to the 1887 fund; see Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1964), 5 vols., 2:299. Henry Clapp (1814–1875) was a journalist, editor and reformer. Whitman and Clapp most likely met in Charles Pfaff's beer cellar, located in lower Manhattan. Clapp, who founded the literary weekly the New-York Saturday Press in 1858, was instrumental in promoting Whitman's poetry and celebrity; over twenty items on Whitman appeared in the Press before the periodical folded in 1860. Clapp told Horace Traubel, "You will have to know something about Henry Clapp if you want to know all about me." (For Whitman's thoughts on Clapp see With Walt Whitman in Camden, "Sunday, May 27, 1888". According to Whitman's "Hospital Book 12" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection), Sergeant Jesse Mullery, Company K, Fifteenth New Jersey, was in Ward A, Armory Square Hospital, on May 14, 1864. The twenty-year-old boy had been "shot through shoulder, ball in lung—(ball still in probably near lung)—lost right finger." On June 23, 1864, he went home to Vernon, New Jersey, on furlough, and then served as assistant cook in the army hospital in Newark. On December 21, 1864, Mullery proposed a visit to Brooklyn. He was still at the Newark hospital on January 23, 1865. According to his letters of May 3 and June 11, 1865, he later was able to return to active duty. By 1866, Mullery was employed in a store in New York. Leon P. Luckey was the secretary to President Ulysses S. Grant. David Jardine (1840–1892) and his brother John E. Jardine (1838–1920) were Scottish architects practicing in New York City. Fred B. Vaughan was a young Irish stage driver from Canada with whom Whitman had an intense relationship during the late 1850s. For a discussion of Vaughan's relationship with Whitman, see Jonathan Ned Katz, Love Stories: Sex between Men before Homosexuality (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001), 123–132; Charley Shively, Calamus Lovers: Walt Whitman's Working-Class Camerados (San Francisco: Gay Sunshine Press, 1987), 36–50; Ed Folsom and Kenneth M. Price, Re-Scripting Walt Whitman: An Introduction to His Life and Work, "Chapter 4: Intimate Script and the New American Bible: "Calamus" and the Making of the 1860 Leaves of Grass." George D. Cole was a former conductor and a friend of Doyle, who wrote to Walt Whitman, probably in the early 1870's, after he had become a sailor (Yale). This is Whitman's copy of a form letter he sent to various friends at the suggestion of Swinton in order to sell copies of his new edition. A war correspondent and later a professor of English; see the letter from Whitman to John Swinton of February 23, 1863. See the letter from Whitman to Ward of April 12, 1876. See the letter from Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman of October 20, 1863. Stedman visited Whitman on March 18 (The Library of Congress Notebook #108). Buchanan wrote to Whitman on April 18: [Stedman] "is most hostile to your poetic claims. . . . Stedman is a clever versewriter, without backbone or virility" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). O'Connor, in 1876, however, termed Stedman "very friendly" (Estelle Doheny Collection of the Edward Laurence Doheny Memorial Library, St. John's Seminary; Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [1931], 132). See also the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of November 10–16, 1880. Dr. Ferdinand Seeger, of New York City, sent checks for $5 on April 15 and 18 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), and Whitman forwarded two volumes on April 21 (Whitman's commonplace book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Jardine wrote to Walt Whitman on April 26 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See the letter from Whitman to John Swinton of February 23, 18637. On April 1 Swinton published in the New York Herald a previously unnoted article written after a recent visit to Whitman: "Walt Whitman's long and grievous illness has placed him in such a position as to justify the appeal of Mr. Buchanan." Swinton referred to the help given to Whitman by Colonel Johnston (see the letter to Peter Doyle of November 9, 1873), James M. Scovel (see the letter from Whitman to James Matlack Scovel of November 1, 1876), and Samuel Bowles (1826–1878), the editor of the Springfield Republican. He concluded: "Now, sir, it seems to me that Walt Whitman's countrymen should not allow him to suffer from penury in his old age. . . . his closing days should be cheered by those kindly memories, which, I hope, are not to reach him wholly from Great Britain." An envelope addressed to Swinton, postmarked April 12, is in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Hiram Sholes lay next to Louis K. Brown in Armory Square Hospital, according to Sholes's letter to Walt Whitman on May 24, 1867 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection); see also "Letter from Walt Whitman to Hiram Sholes, May 30, 1867" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:331–332). Charles I. Glicksberg, ed., (Walt Whitman and the Civil War [Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1933], 155) records: "Hiram Scholis—bed 3—Ward E.—26th N. York—wants some pickles—a bottle of pickles." John Camden Hotten (1832–1873) was a publisher in London known primarily for his dictionary of English language slang. Hotten was one of the first publishers to bring Whitman's poetry to an overseas audience. Redelia Bates (1842–1943) was a female suffrage lecturer from St. Louis who married American socialist Albert Brisbane. After his death, she edited and published his autobiography. "After the lapse of over 8 years," William Stansberry, a former soldier whom Whitman had met in Armory Square Hospital, wrote on December 9, 1873, from Howard Lake, Minn., and recalled "the Blackbery [Jam?] you gave me & all the kindness which you shown." After Whitman replied on April 27, 1874 (lost), Stansberry wrote again on May 12, 1874, about the hospital visits. On June 28, 1874, he thanked Whitman for his letter and "22 News Pappers." On July 15, 1874, his wife informed Whitman of her husband's failing health and poverty and inquired about the possibility of a pension. Evidently in reply to another lost letter from Whitman, Stansberry asked on July 21, 1875 for "the Lone of 65$" in order to return to West Virginia, where he expected to find witnesses to support his application for a pension. This was evidently the last letter in the correspondence. These letters are in the Trent Collection, Duke University. See also The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 10 vols., 4:134. "After the lapse of over 8 years," William Stansberry, a former soldier whom Whitman had met in Armory Square Hospital, wrote on December 9, 1873, from Howard Lake, Minn., and recalled "the Blackbery [Jam?] you gave me & all the kindness which you shown." After Whitman replied on April 27, 1874 (lost), Stansberry wrote again on May 12, 1874, about the hospital visits. On July 15, 1874, his wife informed Whitman of her husband's failing health and poverty and inquired about the possibility of a pension. Evidently in reply to another lost letter from Whitman, Stansberry asked on July 21, 1875 for "the Lone of 65$" in order to return to West Virginia, where he expected to find witnesses to support his application for a pension. This was evidently the last letter in the correspondence. These letters are in the Trent Collection, Duke University. See also The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman, 10 vols. [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 4:134. "After the lapse of over 8 years," William Stansberry, a former soldier whom Whitman had met in Armory Square Hospital, wrote on December 9, 1873, from Howard Lake, Minn., and recalled "the Blackbery [Jam?] you gave me & all the kindness which you shown." Whitman's reply on April 27, 1874 is lost, but Stansberry wrote again on June 28, 1874, thanking Whitman for his letter and "22 News Pappers." On July 15, 1874, his wife informed Whitman of her husband's failing health and poverty and inquired about the possibility of a pension. Evidently in reply to another lost letter from Whitman, Stansberry asked on July 21, 1875 for "the Lone of 65$" in order to return to West Virginia, where he expected to find witnesses to support his application for a pension. This was evidently the last letter in the correspondence. These letters are in the Trent Collection, Duke University. See also The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 10 vols., 4:134. All that is known about Alfred Pratt is contained in this letter and those of June 10, 1865, August 7, 1865, August 26, 1865, September 27, 1866, January 29, 1867, July 25, 1867, October 28, 1867, July 1, 1869, September 29, 1869, January 20, 1870, and March 15, 1870. Alfred E. Pratt (1847–1900), a native of Williamson, New York, was the son of John B. Pratt (1820–1906), a cooper and laborer in the wood products industry, and Nancy Pratt (1826–1912). Alfred was a farmer and a Union soldier during the Civil War. He served as a private in the 8th Regiment, New York Cavalry and was recovering from an illness when he met Whitman at Armory Square Hospital in Washington, D. C., and Whitman communicated with Pratt's parents about their son's condition. Pratt returned home to Williamson in 1865 after he was discharged from his militery service; he later worked as a laborer. Pratt is buried in Butler County, Kansas. All additional information that is known about Pratt is contained in this letter and those of June 10, 1865, August 7, 1865, August 26, 1865, September 27, 1866, January 29, 1867, July 25, 1867, October 28, 1867, July 1, 1869, September 29, 1869, January 20, 1870, and March 15, 1870. Alfred E. Pratt (1847–1900), a native of Williamson, New York, was the son of John B. Pratt (1820–1906), a cooper and laborer in the wood products industry, and Nancy Pratt (1826–1912). Alfred was a farmer and a Union soldier during the Civil War. He served as a private in the 8th Regiment, New York Cavalry and was recovering from an illness when he met Whitman at Armory Square Hospital in Washington, D. C, and Whitman communicated with Pratt's parents about their son's condition. Pratt returned home to Williamson in 1865 after he was discharged from his militery service; he later worked as a laborer. Pratt is buried in Butler County, Kansas. All additional information that is known about Pratt is contained in this letter and those of June 10, 1865, August 7, 1865, August 26, 1865, September 27, 1866, January 29, 1867, July 25, 1867, October 28, 1867, September 29, 1867, July 1, 1869, January 20, 1870, and March 15, 1870. Henry Hurt worked for the Washington Railroad Company. This letter is Hurt's reply to Whitman's letter of October 5, 1868. According to the Washington Chronicle of January 15, 1874, at that time he was the treasurer of the company. John Quincy Adams Ward (1830–1910) was an American sculptor. Walt Whitman noted receipt of $50 from Ward on June 6, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Laura Curtis Bullard (1831–1912) was an American author and women's activist. Whitman noted the receipt of Herbert's book, Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings, on April 5 (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]). Kennedy's manuscript, "Walt Whitman, the Poet of Humanity," eventually became two books, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896) and The Fight of a Book for the World (1926). Whitman is referring to Garland's letter of January 10, 1889. The correspondent may be the Ernest Seybold who was born in Washington, D.C., in 1866 to the printer T. S. Seybold and his wife Eizabeth. According to the 1880 U. S. Census, Ernest Seybold, then fourteen, was a boarder who had returned to Washington, D.C., and was attending school. Harry H. Parmenter (1843–1911) was a clerk in the War Department in Washington, D. C. John Wilson Sprague (1817–1892) was a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was also a railroad executive for the Northern Pacific Railway and co-founded the city of Tacoma, Washington. Frank Cowan (1844–1905) was born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and later moved to Washington, D.C., where he studied law while working in a clerk position on the Committee of Patents under his father, Edgar Cowan (1815–1885), a United States Senator from Pennsylvania. Frank would go on to work as a lawyer and to study medicine at Georgetown Medical College. After moving back to his native Greensburg, he started a newspaper focused on Western Pennsylvania, titled Frank Cowan's Paper. His three-volume work The Poetical Works of Frank Cowan was published by the Oliver Publishing House in Greensburg in 1892. Cave is referring to the following poems by Whitman: "Beat! Beat! Drums!, "Poets to Come," "When I Heard at the Close of Day," and "Give Me the Splendid Silent Sun," all of which were published in the 1871–1872 edition of Leaves of Grass. This letter was almost certainly sent at or after the publication of this edition of Leaves of Grass and would have been received by Whitman prior to his death; this letter therefore was sent between 1871 and 1891. The Union Veteran Publishing Company of Chicago, Illinois, published historical, biographical, and genealogical works. In addition to Edward Everett Hale's biography of Columbus, the company published Soldiers' and Patriots' Biographical Album(1892), which featured Civil War biographies and portraits. The Union Veteran Publishing Company enclosed with this letter an advertising circular that included a summary of Hale's book along with selected reviews. Cowan is referring to Charon, or the ferryman of Hades from Greek Mythology. Charon ferried the souls of the dead that had received their burial rites across the river that separated the world of the living from that of the dead. Cowan is quoting lines spoken by the character of Bottom from William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream; see Act 3, Scene 1. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328. Mickle Street | Camden, N. J. | U. S. America. It is postmarked: NOTTINGHAM | R5 | JA29 | 92; NOTTINGHAM | R5 | JA29 | 92; [illegible] | JA 29 | NOTTINGHAM; NEW YORK | FEB | 8; A | 92; PAID | E | ALL; CAMDEN, N. J. | FEB 18 | 4PM | 92 | REC'D. Isabel Yeomans Brown (1867–1910) was a central figure in numerous women's organizations in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She was President of the Ottawa Equal Suffrage Association and instrumental in the formation of the organization. She was also a prominent figure in the Unitarian Women's Alliance. She was married to John Henry Brown, a civil service worker, and the couple had five sons. For more information, see her obituary: "Mrs. J. H. Brown Died Yesterday," The Ottawa Journal (September 22, 1910), 1. Asenath (Cenia) Robinson Chapin Benedict (1831–1900) was the daughter of Orange Chapin (1788–1867), a farmer, and his wife Fanny Green Chapin (1794–1876). Asenath was born and grew up in Cayuga, New York, and by the age of eighteen, she was married to Newton Benedict (ca. 1824–1888). The Benedicts moved to Washington, D.C., and by 1870, both Asenath and her husband were employed as clerks; they also opened their home to boarders, who were similarly employed. The Benedicts were Whitman's landlords at 472 M North, having replaced Juliet Grayson after her death in 1867. Whitman lived at the Benedicts' home while he worked as a clerk in the office of the U.S. Attorney General, remaining with the family until 1871. Newton Benedict (ca. 1824–1888) worked as a teacher and a Daguerrean Artist in New York prior to the American Civil War. Benedict enlisted in 1863, and then he and his wife Asenath moved to Washington, D.C., where Newton worked as a clerk in the State Department. The Benedicts opened their home to boarders who were similarly employed. The Benedicts were Whitman's landlords at 472 M North, having replaced Juliet Grayson after her death in 1867. Whitman lived at the Benedicts' home while he worked as a clerk, remaining with the family until 1871. Newton Benedict died in 1888, and Asenath had been a widow for approximately four years by the time she wrote this letter to Whitman. Sevellon Brown (ca. 1843–1895), a native of New York, was the son of David Brown (1813–1889), a shoemaker, and Charlotte Powers Brown (1814–1901). Brown worked as a clerk for the State Department in Washington D.C., and, according to the 1870 U.S. Census, was a boarder at the home of Newton and Asenath Benedict, along with Whitman. Brown married Sally Maynadier Brown (ca. 1855–1916), and the couple continued to board with the Benedicts at least through 1880. James Sackett Benedict (ca. 1857–1936) was the son of Newton Benedict (ca. 1824–1888) and Asenath Robinson Chapin Benedict (1831–1900). Educated in Washington, D.C., James later worked as an American Consulate in New York, spending forty-six years in government service. James married Cora Blanche Chase in 1879, and the couple had at least one daughter, Mary. The Benedicts spent at least seventeen years in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, and in 1924, James retired and moved to Toronto to live with his daughter. For more information, see James Benedict's obituary: "Dies in Toronto," The Windsor Star (November 9, 1936), 15. Pittman is referencing Whitman's poem "Long, Long Hence." The Philadelphia Times was founded by Alexander McClure and Frank McLaughlin in 1875. It was a daily newspaper with a largely middle class readership. It was published until 1902, when it was merged with another newspaper, the Philadelphia Public Ledger. Henry Romeike (1855–1903) was born in Prussia and educated in Germany. He began his career as an employee in a dry goods firm, but he later traveled to Paris and became interested in newspapers. He began a press clipping bureau business in London and established an agency in New York. He then moved to New York to oversee his press clipping business in that city, while also establishing branches in Berlin and Paris. His clients included politicians, lawyers, and actors, among others who applied to Romeike to learn what the national and international press had to say about them and others in their professions ("Death of Henry Romeike," The New York Times [June 4, 1903], 9). Giovanni Morelli (1816–1891) was an Italian art critic, art historian, and politician from Verona. He is known for having developed the "Morellian technique" in art scholarship, which involved identifying painters not on the basis of the subject matter of their paintings but rather by analyzing details of the idiosyncratic ways they portrayed certain physical features. O'Dowd is referring to Bucke's 1883 biography Walt Whitman, which was published by David McKay of Philadelphia. Whitman wrote long passages for the book himself and heavily revised others. Thomas Bury (1838–1900) was a journalist from Dublin, who went to Australia in search of gold, but settled in Victoria, where he held various jobs and continued to contribute to newspapers. He wrote for the Ballarat Courier on politics, religion, literature, and art. For more on Bury, see Joseph Jones, "Bury, Thomas (1838–1900)," Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 3: 1851–1890 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1869). John Sutherland was a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries and was considered a mathematical authority. James (Jim) Hartigan was a plasterer and a member of the Australem discussion club. See the letter from Whitman to Bernard O'Dowd of July 12, 1890. Fred Woods was the author of Heavenly Thoughts (1932), a volume of poetry. See the letter from Whitman to Bernard O'Dowd of July 12, 1890. Dodd, Mead, & Company was a New York publishing house founded in 1839 that, operating under several names, continued until 1990. The firm began as a publisher of religious books under partners Moses Woodruff Dodd (1813–1899) and John S. Taylor; within a year, Dodd had bought out Taylor's part of the company and renamed it M. W. Dodd. Dodd's son, Frank Howard Dodd later joined the business, as did his cousin Edward S. Mead. The Company became known as Dodd, Mead, & Co. in 1876. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked New York | Apr 15 | 7PM | D; 90; Camden, N. J. | APR 15 | 6AM | 1890 | Rec'd; Camden, N. J. | APR 15 | 6AM | 1890 | Rec'd. Wallace is referring to Whitman's postal card to the Bolton physician John Johnston of July 28, 1891. The term "locum temens" is a reference to the physician who was taking over Johnston's professional duties while he was away. According to Whitman's July 24, 1891, letter to Dr. John Johnston, Whitman sent two photos of his tomb—an elaborate granite tomb of his own design—that was then being constructed in Harleigh Cemetery in Camden, New Jersey. One of the photos was intended for Johnston and the other was for Wallace. Wallace is referring to Whitman's letter to Bucke of June 25, 1891. Little is known about Edith Surridge save her work as a teacher of Music at Stoneygate College in Leicester, Leicestershire, England, in the 1890s. The school was founded in 1878 by sisters Gertrude and Jean MacKennal. It is now known as Leicester Prepatory School, and is the oldest prep school in Leicester. Charles Grant Garrison (1849–1924) attended medical school at the University of Pennsylvania and began his career in the field of medicine. He later pursued a legal career and went on to serve as a Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey for thirty years ("Judge C. G. Garrison dies," The Morning Call [April 23, 1924], 1). "Know Thyself" was a Delphic maxim and was the first of three maxims inscribed in the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. The Greek philosopher Socrates (c. 470–399 BC), as well as his student, the Athenian philosopher Plato (c. 428/427 or 424/423–348/347 BC), used the maxim. Elliott Coues (1842–1899) was born in New Hampshire, the son of Sam Elliott Coues (1797–1867) and his wife, Charlotte Haven Ladd Coues (1813–1900). Elliott Coues graduated from Columbian University in D. C., and joined the U.S. Army as a Medical cadet in 1862, during the American Civil War. He became Assistant Surgeon and held that rank until he resigned in 1881. After the War, he worked as a naturalist and professor of zoology and comparative anatomy at Norwich University (Vermont) and, later, as a professor of Biology at Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College. He served as a collaborator at the Smithsonian Institute in 1875. He edited numerous geological and natural history publications and contributed several works on ornithology, including Key to North American Birds (1872) and Check-list and Dictionary of North American Birds (1882). Coues also became a strong advocate for women’s rights (see Paul Russell Cutright and Michael J. Brodhead, Elliott Coues: Naturalist and Frontier Historian [Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1981], especially Chapter 21, "A New Wife and Women’s Rights"). For more information, see "Coues, Elliott," Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biography, ed. James Grant Wilson and John Fiske (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1885), 1:754. This letter is addressed: Sylvester Baxter | office Herald newspaper | Boston Mass. It is postmarked: Cam(?) | Au(?) | 8(?) | 9(?). Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" Lowell died on the preceding day. In 1889, Whitman had refused to contribute to a Lowell number of The Critic, a literary magazine co-edited by Joseph Benson Gilder (1858–1936) and his sister, Jeannette Leonard Gilder (1849–1916). See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, February 27, 1889. Whitman mentioned sending these books to Tottie at 64 Seymour Street, London (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See also Whitman's postal card to Tottie of July 26, [1878]. Whitman wrote this letter on the back of one he had received from Richard Maurice Bucke two days earlier. Whitman thus included Bucke's letter, dated April 28, 1891, as an enclosure for Kennedy to read. In the early 1890s, Whitman often wrote letters on yellow stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript that references Epictetus: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" Whitman received this letter on May 8, 1888, and Horace Traubel records the event in With Walt Whitman in Camden; see the entry for Tuesday, May 8, 1888. The letter was accompanied by Vielé-Griffin's book of poetry entitled Les Cygnes [The Swans, 1887], which was inscribed by the author "To Walt Whitman—the homage and sympathetic admiration of the author, Francis Vielé-Griffin.” Whitman tells Traubel that he will need Traubel's father to translate the letter for him. Traubel's father did that, and the manuscript of his translation is available in the Horace Traubel and Anne Montgomerie Traubel Papers at the Library of Congress. Horace Traubel, after making a couple of small syntactical changes, reprinted his father's translation in With Walt Whitman in Camden. See Tuesday, May 8, 1888. Minchen is quoting from Whitman's poem "Who Learns My Lesson Complete." Juliet Hall Worth Stillman Severance (1833–1919) was born in Massachusetts and grew up in New York. She went on to become one of the first women physicians in the United States, and she participated in numerous anti-slavery, dress reform, and dietary reform movements. She was a proponent of women's rights and a leader in Labour organizations and Spirtualist assocations in the Midwest. By the early 1870s, she had moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she lived with her children and second husband, Anson Bigelow Severance, a Spiritualist and dancing teacher. Professor Royce is the American idealist philosopher Josiah Royce (1855–1916), who was born in California and received degrees from the University of California and Johns Hopkins University. Royce wrote numerous philosophical works, including The Religious Aspects of Philosophy (1885) and The Spirit of Modern Philosophy (1892), as well as a historical work, California: A Study of American Character (1886). He accepted a position at Harvard University in 1882, and he remained there, serving as the Alford Professor of natural religion, moral philosophy, and civil polity until his death in 1916. For more on Royce, see his obituary, "Death of Prof. Josiah Royce," in the September 22, 1916, issue of The Harvard Crimsom. Remington Ward (1858–1921), the oldest child of A. Judson Ward (1830–1908) and Harriet F. Gould Ward (1830–1915), was a printer and stationer, and he was the proprietor of a printing office in his native Rhode Island. He was married to Myrtle Bull Ward (1871–1937), who had been born in Canada. The couple were the parents of at least two children. Whitman seems to be responding to a previous request for a piece or pieces of writing from Nugent Robinson, the editor of Once a Week. Once a Week was a New York magazine founded by Irish immigrant Peter Fenelon Collier (1849–1909) in 1888. For more information on the magazine, see Susan Belasco's "Once a Week." Four months later, on May 19, 1891, Melville Phillips, an editor at Munyon's Illustrated World, wrote to Whitman, noting that Nugent Robinson of Once a Week had asked Phillips to "get him some verse." Whitman published two poems—"On, On the Same, Ye Jocund Twain" and "Unseen Buds"—in the June 1891 issue of Once a Week. James Cardinal Gibbons (1834–1921) was born in Baltimore, but his family moved to Ireland, when he was a young child, and he lived there for ten years. He entered a seminary in Baltimore in 1855 and rose rapidly in the Roman Catholic Church. He became the youngest bishop in the United States in 1868, and Pope Leo XIII made him a Cardinal in 1886. Cardinal Gibbons was known as a labor advocate, and he authored several books on religion, including The Faith of Our Fathers (1876). Blathwayt would send a second letter reiterating this request for an interview with Whitman three weeks later. See Blathwayt's letter to Whitman of May 6, 1891. Henry Edward Manning (1808–1892), born in Hertfordshire, England, was educated at Harrow and Oxford. He was ordained as a deacon in the Church of England, but later converted to Catholicism. After studying at the academia in Rome, he was ordained as a Catholic Priest. In 1865 he was appointed Archibishop of Westminster, and in 1875, he was made a Cardinal-Priest of San Gregorio in Rome. He published the influential book The Eternal Priesthood in 1883. Charles Grant Blairfindie Allen (1848–1899), born in Canada and educated in England, was a science writer and a novelist. A proponent of evolution, Allen wrote books dealing with scientific topics, including Physiological Aesthetics (1877) and Flowers and Their Pedigrees (1886), and many of his articles presented Darwinian arguments. He also wrote thirty novels, including a pioneering work in science fiction, The British Barbarians (1895). Reverend Raymond Blathwayt (1818–1910) served as the chaplin at several convict prisons before becoming a vicar at Christ Church in Totlands Bay, Isle of Wight in the 1870s. Rev. Blathwayt started a series of prison lectures, inviting speackers to lecture on various subjects to the prisoners in an effort at prison reform ("Pioneer of Prison Reform," The Ashbourne Telegraph, March 4, 1910, 10). Reverend Blathwayt was married to Christina Hogarth Blathwayt (1823–1905), and the couple were the parents of several children. A native of Cheshire, England, Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine (1853–1931) was a prolific novelist, a poet, and a critic. His novels covered such topics as adultry, domestic violence, and women's rights and were very popular in his time. Many of them were later adapted into silent films. He was also a very successful dramatist; he wrote numerous plays that became West End and Broadway productions. Raymond Blathwayt (1855–1936) was born in London and began his career as a clergyman while also gaining experience in literary work and engaging in philanthropic efforts among the urban poor. He went on to become a journalist and an actor on the silent screen. He often wrote celebrity interviews, many of which were collected in Interviews (1893), including his talks with authors Thomas Hardy (1840–1928), Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809–1894), and Mark Twain (1835–1910). Later, he had parts in such films as The Great Moment (1921) and Beyond the Rocks (1922). This letter is addressed Mr Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Baltimore, [M. D.] | May 6 | 430PM | 91; Camden, N.J. | May | 7 | 6AM | 1891 | Rec'd. The printed return address reading "University Club. | 1005 North Charles Street." has been crossed out both on the stationery and on the envelope. Blathwayt is reiterating a prior request for an interview with Whitman. See Blathwayt's letter to Whitman of April 17, 1891. The Pall Mall Gazette was a daily evening newspaper in London that was founded by British publisher George Murray Smith (1824–1901) in 1865. Frederick Greenwood (1830–1909), an English journalist, was the paper's first editor. One of the paper's most well-known editors and innovator in investigative journalism was William T. Stead (1849–1912), who edited the paper until 1889. In the early 1890s, the paper was edited by the journalist and biographer Sir Edward Tyas Cook (1857–1919). The paper published works by and about Whitman during its run. The Pall Mall Gazette was merged into The Evening Standard in 1923. William Smith was the author of numerous historical and travel works. He edited the work Old Yorkshire, which spanned five volumes and included historical, archeological, and descriptive notes related to Yorkshire, England. The volumes were published in the early 1880s, with the fifth and final volume published in 1884. Smith was also the author of Rambles about Morley with Descriptive and Historic Sketches (1866) and A Yorkshireman's trip to the United States and Canada (1892). On May 9, 1891, approximately a month after Whitman received Carleton's letter of introduction, Smith traveled to Camden to visit Whitman. Whitman's health prevented him from having a long conversation with Smith, but Smith was able to speak with the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke at Whitman's house. Smith's account of the visit to Whitman was published in his A Yorkshireman's trip to the United States and Canada, and an excerpt of the book's sixth chapter includes Smith's impressions of Whitman and the poet's Mickle Street home. Little is known about Leo Spitzer, who was living in New York in 1891. Spitzer published an article, signed with the same closing and address as this letter, around the same time as he wrote this letter. The article describes the February 1891 funeral procession for William Tecumseh Sherman, who served as a general in the Union Army during the Civil War. See Leo Spitzer, "William Tecumseh Sherman," The National Echo: Devoted to the Sons and Daughters of Veterans 3.3–5 (March, April, & May 1891), 7. This is a reference to the book The Field-Ingersoll Discussion, a collection of articles on faith and agnosticism by Henry Martyn Field (1822–1907) and the orator and agnostic, Robert Ingersoll (1833–1899) that were published in The North American Review. The book was published in New York in 1888 by the journal's editor Charles Allen Thorndike Rice and The North American Review Publishing Company. Henry Martyn Field (1822–1907) was a clergyman and the author of several travel books. He also wrote The History of the Atlantic Telegraph (1866) and served as the editor and publisher of The Evangelist, a Presbyterian periodical, from 1854 to 1898. The Truth Seeker Company is the longest continually operating small press in the U.S., and its newspaper is the oldest freethought publication. It was founded by D. M. Bennett (1818–1882) in Paris, Illinois, in 1873. He moved the publication office to New York City and ran it as well as edited its newspaper The Truth Seeker until his death. Eugene M. Macdonald (1855–1909) was publisher and editor from 1883 to 1909 William J. Nicolay (b. 1835) grew up in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, and began his career as a teacher before deciding to attend medical school. Nicolay then became a homeopathic physician and established a practice in Minier, Illnois. Thomas Sergeant Perry (1845–1928) was an academic and a literary translator and historian. He was educated at Harvard and later became a member of the faculty. During his academic career he tutored in German and served as an English instructor at Harvard, and he taught English literature in Japan. Perry served as the editor of North American Review for a short time, and he was a lifelong friend of the novelist Henry James (1843–1916). Perry married Lilla Cabot (1848–1933), an American Impressionist artist who counted among her mentors the founder of Impressionist painting, French plainter Claude Monet. After several years of living abroad, the Perrys returned to the United States and resided in Boston; they were the parents of three children. The correspondent may be Thomas E. Vale (1845–1917), the son of James Vale, a physician, and his wife Elizabeth. According to the 1891 England Census, Thomas Vale resided with his mother, then a widow "living by her own means," and his sister in Bidford, Warwickshire, England. Whitman is referring to Susan Stafford's letter of December 3, 1890. By 1890, Harry Stafford (1858–1918) and his wife Eva Westcott Stafford (1856–1906) were the parents of two children: Dora Virginia Stafford (1886–1928) and George Westcott Stafford (1890–1984). Heyde's dateline for this letter reads simply "Sunday morning." The date of August 2, 1891, has been added at the top of the first page of the letter page in red ink, likely by Richard Maurice Bucke, a Canadian physician and one of Whitman's literary executors. Heyde's dateline for this letter reads simply "June." The day and the year have been added in red ink, likely by Richard Maurice Bucke, a Canadian physician and one of Whitman's literary executors. Heyde is likely referring to Whitman's letter to Hannah of June 16, 1891. Wallace had written to Whitman on June 11, 1891. Johnston enclosed a p. o. order with his letter of June 11, 1891. Wallace is referring to Whitman's June 1, 1891, letter to the Bolton physician, Dr. John Johnston. Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, edited from 1886 to 1894 by Joseph Marshall Stoddart, published "Walt Whitman's Last" (a brief note on his last miscellany Good-Bye My Fancy [1891]) and Horace Traubel's "Walt Whitman's Birthday: May 31, 1891" in the August 1891 issue of the magazine. Henry Ware Cattell (1862–1936), a pathologist and medical editor affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania, was a member of the American Anthropometric Society; following the autopsy of Whitman in 1892, he would remove the poet's brain so that it could be stored and studied as a specimen of an advanced human brain. See James R. Wright, "Henry Ware Cattell and Walt Whitman’s Brain," Clinical Anatomy 31 (2018), 988–996. The verso of this letter is inaccessible because the letter is part of a framed item. Richard Maurice Bucke has dated this letter in red ink in the top right corner of the first page of the letter. A transcript of this letter is held in The Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Aldrich wanted an autograph copy of Whitman's poem "O Captain! My Captain!." The poem, an elegy for Abraham Lincoln, was one of Whitman's most popular, although it was atypical of his verse and style (the rhyme, meter, stanza and refrain are conventional, and the poem makes use of traditional metaphors). "O Captain! My Captain!" was first published in The New-York Saturday Press on November 4, 1865, and it was reprinted in Sequel to Drum-Taps (1865–1866). For more information on the poem, see Gregory Eiselein, "'O Captain! My Captain!' [1865]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman's poem "O Captain! My Captain!," an elegy for Abraham Lincoln, was one of Whitman's most popular, although it was atypical of his verse and style (the rhyme, meter, stanza and refrain are conventional, and the poem makes use of traditional metaphors). "O Captain! My Captain!" was first published in The New-York Saturday Press on November 4, 1865, and it was reprinted in Sequel to Drum-Taps (1865–1866). For more information on the poem, see Gregory Eiselein, "'O Captain! My Captain!' [1865]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | Care Dr. Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 21 | 6 AM | 91; London | AM | Sp 22 | (?) | Can(?). This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | Care Dr. Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 25 | 8 PM | 91. Wallace had written to Whitman from London, Ontario, Canada, on September 21, September 22, September 23, and September 24. This letter is addressed: Mrs: E S Leggett | Drayton Plains | Oakland Co: | Mich:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 26 | 6pm | 91; Drayton Plain(?) | Oct 28 | 1891 | (?). Whitman is likely referring to Mortimer A. Leggett (1837–1930), one of Eliza Seaman Leggett's sons. This letter is addressed: Dr. Johnston | 54 Manchester R'd | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 27 | 6 PM | 9(?); (?) Pa. | Oct 27 | 9PM | Paid. See Johnston's letter to Whitman of September 26, 1891. See Whitman's letter to Johnston of September 10–11, 1891. Johnston is referring to Carlyle's Sartor Resartus, a comic novel that purports to detail the life of a German philosopher named Diogenes Teufelsdröckh. It was first published as a serial novel in Fraser's Magazine from November 1833 to August 1834. Edward Irving (1792–1834) was a Scottish clergyman from Annan, Annadale, Scotland, who was the primary founder of the Christian religious tradition known as the Catholic Apostolic Church, or the Irvingian Church. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U. S. America. It is postmarked: Annan | [illegible] | New York | Oct | 1; B | 91 | Paid | B | All; Camden, N.J. | Oct 2 | 6am | 91 | Rec'd. Johnston has written his initials, "J.J," in the bottom left corner of the front of the envelope. Whitman wrote this letter on the verso of a letter he had received from Bucke on October 5, 1891. Bucke's letter was misdated September 2, 1891; he meant October 2, 1891. This letter is addressed: Dr: Johnston | 54 Manchester r'd | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 4 | 5 PM | 91; Philadelphia, Pa | Oct 4 | (?) | Paid. This letter is addressed: Dr. Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camde(?) | Sep 2(?) | 8 PM | 91. Whitman is referring to James W. Wallace's letter of September 30, 1891. Little is known about Tom Rutherford, whom James W. Wallace describes as a Canadian farmer with Scottish ancestry in Wallace and Dr. John Johnston's book Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917), 171. Wallace visited Fenelon Falls, Ontario, because it was the former home of his school friend Fred Wild, who was also a member of the Bolton College of English Whitman admirers. Wild lived in Fenelon Falls when he arrived in Canada at the age of twenty, and while he was there, he worked in a shingle mill and became close friends with Tom Rutherford, a farmer. See Wallace's letter to Whitman of September 30, 1891. Charles R. Stewart (1826–1905) was the resident agent for the Canadian Land and Immigration Company. He was also the first settler in the village of Haliburton, Ontario, Canada. His son, C. E. Stewart (1851–1921), became a newspaper editor for the Bobcaygeon Independent. This letter is addressed: Dr. Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: (?) | Oct 12 | (?) PM | 91. See Wallace's letter to Whitman of October 8, 1891. This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | care Andrew Rome | Printer 76 Myrtle av: | Brooklyn | New York. It is postmarked Camden, N.J. | Oct 9 | 8 PM | 91. This letter is addressed: Dr. Johnston | 54 Manchester R'd | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 15 | 8 PM | 91; Philadelphia, Pa. | Oct 15 | 11PM | Paid. At the behest of Ellen O'Connor, Houghton, Mifflin & Company published a collection that included three of her late husband William Douglas O'Connor's stories and a preface by Whitman. Three Tales: The Ghost, The Brazen Android, The Carpenter was published in 1892. See Wallace's letter to Whitman of November 14, 1891. See the letter from Whitman to Bucke of November 12–14, 1891. It is uncertain which letter from May Johnston that Whitman enclosed with his November 12–14 letter to Bucke, but Johnston had written to Whitman on October 29, 1891. Joseph Howard, Jr. (1833–1908) was a journalist, a war correspondent, and newspaper editor from Brooklyn, New York. He was a reporter for The New York Times, served as the President of the New York Press Club, and held the position of city editor of the Brooklyn Eagle (later The Brooklyn Daily Eagle), the newspaper that Whitman edited from 1846 to 1848. Howard wrote for numerous newspapers, including The Sun and The New York Recorder, and his contributions were published under such headines as "Howard's Column" and "Howard's Letter." Johnston is referring to Whitman's letter of November 9–10, 1891. Johnston is referring to Bucke's letter to Whitman of November 6, 1891, which Whitman had sent to Johnston as an enclosure with his letter of November 9–10, 1891. Bucke is referring to Whitman's letter of November 18, 1891. The "S-B matter" is the Shakespeare-Bacon controversy. Bucke is referring to the so-called "Baconian theory." Francis Bacon (1561–1626) was an English philosopher, scientist, statesman, and author. Bacon's personal notebooks and works came under scrutiny during the nineteenth-century because of suspicions that he had written plays under the pen-name William Shakespeare in order to protect his political office from material some might find objectionable. For more on the Baconian theory, see Henry William Smith, Was Lord Bacon The Author of Shakespeare's Plays?: A Letter to Lord Ellesmere (London: William Skeffington, 1856). Bucke disagreed with Whitman about the copyright of Leaves of Grass. In his letter of November 24, 1891, Bucke wrote: "I would stipulate for no changes in the text and let her go. . . . Let it be given to the world." Little is known about Henry W. Armstrong. According to the New Jersey State Census records of 1885 and 1895, Armstrong lived in Trenton, New Jersey, with his wife Katherine M. Armstong. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | NO 24 | 91 | CANADA; PHILADELPHIA, PA | NOV | 25 | 2PM | 1891 | TRANSIT; CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV27 | 6 AM | 91 | REC'D.; RECEIVED | NOV | 26 | 1130AM | 1891 | [illegible] CAMDEN | NOV27 | 6AM | 91 | REC'D. Bucke is referring to Whitman's letter of November 22, 1891. According to Johnston's letter to Whitman of November 28, 1891, Wallace had come down with a bad cold while "superintending some work on a canal." Johnston is referring to Whitman's postal card of December 10, 1891. Johnston is referring either to Robert Pearsall Smith (1827–1898), a Quaker who became an evangelical minister, or to one of Robert's children: Logan Pearsall Smith (1865–1946) or Alys Pearsall Smith (1867–1951). Johnston is alluding to a Bible verse; see Mark 7:37: "He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak." Johnston is referring to the "Bolton College," a group of English admirers of Whitman that he co-founded along with the architect James W. Wallace. Horace Traubel and Ed Wilkins, Whitman's nurse, went to Philadelphia to purchase a wheeled chair for the poet that would allow him to be "pull'd or push'd" outdoors. See Whitman's letter to William Sloane Kennedy of May 8, 1889. Thayer is alluding to Whitman's 1884 poem, "With Husky-Haughty Lips, O Sea!" Thayer is quoting William Wordsworth's sonnet "Written in London, September, 1802." Emerson also used the phrase in his essay "Domestic Life." Lowell's "Ode Recited at the Harvard Commemoration, July 21, 1865," was in honor of Harvard students who died in the Civil War. The English philosopher and critic George Henry Lewes (1817–1878) published his Life of Goethe in 1855. These stockings were for Whitman's mentally and physically incapacitated brother Edward, who had lived with George and Louisa but was now living at a boarding house in the country. The rest of this postscript is written at the top of the first page. The sentence that begins "You will be notified" is crossed out. There is a drawn-in line beginning at the top of the page above the words "THE NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW" and extending to the bottom of the page. Both paragraphs following the sentence "It has not been read" are also crossed out. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Camden | New Jersey. The return address is: 328 Mickle St. It is postmarked: BELMONT | AUG | 3 | 1886 | MASS.; CAMDEN | AUG | 4 | 10AM | 1886 | REC'D. The ending of the letter can be found on the first page. Noel has written in a palimpsest across the opening of the letter. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328. Mickle St. | Camden | New Jersey | USA. Camden is written in red between the Mickle Street address and the state of New Jersey. A post office stamp indicates that the missing part of the address—Camden—was supplied by the New York Post Office. The letter is postmarked: New York | MAY | 24. The letter is also postmarked: RW? | 5 | May 5 | 86; CAMDEN N.J. | MAY | 25 | 7AM | 1886 | REC'D; NEW YORK | MAY 24 | 530PM | 86. The post office has also marked the letter Due | 10 | cents; DEFICIENCY | IN | DIRECTION | SUPPLIED | BY | NEW YORK POST OFFICE. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey | United States of America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 47 | MY17 | 86; CAMDEN | MAY | 29 | 7AM | 1886 | REC'D; NEW YORK |. There is one additional, but illegible postmark. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Washington | [illegible] | 8PM | D. C. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: BELMONT | JUN | 18 | 1886 | MASS; CAMDEN | JUN | 19 | 7AM | 1886 | REC'D. There is one additional, partial postmark, but only the letters "N TRAN" are visible. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden. | 328 Mickle St. | N. J. This letter is postmarked: WEST PARK | JUN | 28 | 1886; CAMDEN. N. J. | JUN | 29 | 1 PM | 1886 | REC'D. Mary Davis, Whitman's housekeeper, may have written the following note on the back of the envelope: "have gone out with Horace will be home soon—say 10 AM | Mary." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey | 328 Mickle St.It is postmarked: BELMONT | JUL | 2 | 1886 | MASS.; CAMDEN . N. J. | JUL | 3 | 1 PM | 1886 | REC'D. This letterhead likely refers to Samuel G. Stanley and John F. Unckles's business, which was known as Stanley & Unckles, Sash, Blind, and Door Manufacturers. It was located at the corner of Butler and Nevins in 1876; see Important Events of the Century: Containing Historical and Important Events During the Last Hundred Years (New York: United States Central Publishing Company, 1876), 170. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: [illegible] | JUL | [illegible] | 1886 | PA.; CAMD[illegible] | JU[illegible] | [illegible] | 4PM | 1886 | REC'[illegible]. This part of the letter can be found at the top of the second page. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman. | 328. Mickle Street. | Camden. | New Jersey | United States of America. It is postmarked: SOUTH KENSINGTON S. W. | 34 | NO26 | 86; PAID | E | ALL; New York | DEC | 6; CAMDEN | DEC 7 | 7AM | 1886 | REC'D. Rhys has inserted this postscript on the first page of the letter. Lavinia Fanning Watson Whitman (1818–1900) was the eldest daughter of John Fanning Watson—author of Annals of Philadelphia (1830) and a well known historian of Philadelphia and New York City—and his wife Phebe Barron Crowell. In 1846, Lavinia became the first woman to sponsor a United States Navy ship when she christened the sloop-of-war, the USS Germantown, in Philadelphia. She married Harrison Gray Otis Whitman, a son of Maine Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ezekial Whitman. Charles Henry Farnham (1846–1909) was an archaeologist and author from New Haven, Connecticut. He attended Yale and went on to serve as the Assistant in Archæology in the Peabody Museum at the university from 1877 to 1891. He researched Whitman genealogy for several years before publishing The History of the Descendants of John Whitman of Weymouth, Mass. in 1889. He would have been gathering material for this volume at the time Lavinia Whitman sent his request for genealogical information to Walt Whitman. Whitman has added the erroneous date "1866" to Carpenter's "17 May" and then has written in red the correct year, "1886." Charles Robert Ashbee (1863–1942) studied history at Cambridge University, then became an architect, heavily influenced by John Ruskin, William Morris, and the Arts and Craft movement; he designed handicrafts and jewelry as well as buildings. Whitman delivered his Lincoln lecture in the Chestnut Street Opera House in Philadelphia on April 15, 1886. 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). Charles Leland Harrison (1861–1913) was an executive in a chemical and paint manufacturing company in Philadelphia; he attended Harvard University and wrote in a Harvard publication in 1909: "I regret to say I can claim no distinction in any public way, either literary, scientific, or political" (Class of 1883 Harvard College: Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Report of the Secretary, Report VII [Cambridge, MA: University Press, 1909]). This letter is written on letterhead from the office of Adler & Sullivan, Architects, and the name and address of the firm, along with the date of February 3, 1887, appears on the front of each of the four pages of Sullivan's letter. Adler and Sullivan's address is also printed on the envelope. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N. J. It is postmarked: [illegible] | [illegible] | 11AM | 87; [illegible] | Feb | 10AM | 1887 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Washington, D.C. | Mar 12 | 12 M | 87; Camden. N. J. | MAR 13 | 1PM | [illegible] Rec'd. Rhys has inserted this postscript on the first page of the letter. The final two sentences are written upside-down at the tops of pages 6 and 4 of the letter. Elizabeth J. Sharpe was a friend of the Stafford family; the Staffords' farm at Timber Creek in Laurel Springs, New Jersey, was a frequent refuge for Whitman in the 1870s and 1880s. Moncure Conway (1832–1907) was a Unitarian minister who lived in England from the 1860s until 1885, where he served as a supporter of Whitman and wrote frequently about the poet. The section number "9" was indeed omitted from "Salut au Monde!" in the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass. Kennedy has written this letter on a United States Letter Sheet Envelope. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Belmont | Apr | 11 | Mass; [illegible] | 1887 | Rec'd. A line has been drawn from near the upper left corner of the page to the bottom of the letter, near the lower right corner. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq. | Camden: | New Jersey: | U. S. A. It is postmarked: [illegible] | JUL | 14 | 6AM | [illegible]. The envelope also includes the following return address: C[illegible], Clay: White Hall, Ky. The letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Camden, N. J. It is postmarked: PHILADELPHIA, PA | AUG 3 | 830 PM | 87; CAMDEN, N. [illegible] | AUG | 4 | 6AM | 1887 | REC'D. The envelope has the following printed return address: CONSTITUTIONAL CENTENNIAL | COMMISSION, | 907 WALNUT STREET, | PHILADELPHIA, PA. William H. Ballou (1857–1937) was a journalist and natural scientist who falsely reported in the Cleveland Leader and Herald in 1885 that Whitman was about to go to England to visit Tennyson; he conducted two interviews with the poet in 1885 and 1886. See Ballou's interview with Whitman of June 28, 1885 for the Leader and Herald and his interview with Whitman of June 12, 1886 for the Chicago Daily Tribune. John M. Vandenhoff (1760–1861) was a British actor, famous for his performance of Shakespearean and other roles. Giuseppina Ronzi (known as "Claudine") was an Italian operatic soprano who married Guiseppe de Begnis in 1816. Either Luigi Lablache (1794–1858), a French/Irish opera singer, or his son Frederick Lablache (1815–1887), also an opera singer, born in England. Macbeth, Act V, where Macbeth says, "I have liv'd long enough: my way of life / Is fall'n into the sere, the yellow leaf. . . ." Hannah Whitall Smith was the wife of Robert Pearsall Smith, and mother of Mary and Alys. Mariechen was the family nickname for Alys Smith's sister, Mary Whitall Smith (1864–1945), who was a political activist, art historian, and critic, whom Whitman once called his "staunchest living woman friend." A scholar of Italian Renaissance art and a daughter of Robert Pearsall Smith, she would in 1885 marry B. F. C. "Frank" Costelloe. She had been in contact with many of Whitman's English friends and would travel to Britain in 1885 to visit many of them, including Anne Gilchrist shortly before her death. For more, see Christina Davey, "Costelloe, Mary Whitall Smith (1862–1945)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). On the verso of page 4 of the letter, in an unknown hand or hands, crossed out, are various letters and words, including "House Keeping / Immediately," "Transatlantic August 29," and "Mary O. Davis." Mary Davis was Whitman's housekeeper. Glendale, New Jersey, was where the Staffords had moved after leaving their farm at Timber Creek, where Whitman had often visited. Glendale, New Jersey, was where Harry Stafford's parents, George and Susan Stafford, had moved after leaving their farm at Timber Creek, where Whitman had often visited. Gilchrist is referring to the volume: Poems of Walt Whitman, ed. William Michael Rossetti (London: John Camden Hotten, 1868). Ignatius Loyola Donnelly (1831–1901) was a politician and writer, well known for his notions of Atlantis as an antediluvian civilization and for his belief that Shakespeare's plays had been written by Francis Bacon, an idea he argued in his book The Great Cryptogram: Francis Bacon's Cipher in Shakespeare's Plays, published in 1888. William Lukens Shoemaker (1822–1906) was trained as a physician but became a philologist, poet, and translator; one of his poems ("The Sweetheart Bird-Song") was set to music and became a popular ballad in the late 1800s. He visited Whitman in Camden, after which Whitman said that he "liked him," describing him as "an old man—rather past the age of vigor—but discreet, quiet, not obtrusive" (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, October 17, 1888). Whitman published his American Institute Poem, After All, Not to Create Only, with Roberts Brothers, a Boston publisher, in 1871. Sullivan's 1886 "Essay on Inspiration" was divided into three parts: "Growth, a Spring Song," "Decadence: Autumn Reverie," and "The Infinite: A Song of the Depths." Garland's "The Evolution of American Thought" was never published; the manuscript of the book does contain a chapter on Whitman. Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem, "Locksley Hall Sixty Years After," was published in 1886; it is a sequel to his 1842 "Locksley Hall" and offers a bleak assessment of what England has become. Gilchrist's postscript can be found at the top of the first page of this letter. William Sloane Kennedy endorsed this letter: "[1887]." This letter is endorsed by Kennedy: [Joint letter to myself, John Burroughs & Dr Bucke | sent first to me with request to forward]. Kennedy misdated this letter "Jan. 11' 87." He forgot to account for the new year; the correct date is January 11, 1888. Maggie Pepper Van Reed Biddle was a native of Pennsylvania and married Noble T. Biddle (1840–1902), a lawyer, in 1865. They lived in Elkton, Maryland, and then moved to San José, California, in 1881, where Mr. Biddle became a prominent attorney. Gilchrist is referring to Mrs. Eames. Charles Eames was a prominent maritime attorney in Washington, D.C., in the 1860s, and his wife was a legendary hostess, who turned their home into a social center for political and cultural figures. Mrs. Eames remained loyal to the controversial Count Gurowski after he had been discredited by many people, and she nursed him at the Eames home during his ultimately losing battle with typhoid fever. Julia Ward Howe writes about Mr. and Mrs. Eames and their relationship with Gurowski in her Reminiscences, 1819–1867. Kennedy worked incessantly on his "book" and frequently alerted Whitman that it was about to come out, but his two books on Whitman did not appear until years after the poet's death. Whitman is concerned here about Trowbridge's claim that Emerson was the inspiration for Leaves of Grass; see Whitman's letter to Kennedy of February 25, 1887. On February 22, Whitman read "The Mystic Trumpeter" and "A Voice from the Sea" to the Contemporary Club in Philadelphia. Clito was a new blank-verse drama set in ancient Greece, written by the English dramatist Sydney Grundy (1848–1914) in collaboration with Barrett, who played the lead role. Notes from the holding library that accompany this postal card indicate that it was "Removed from Van Sinderen copy of WW's "Franklin Evans" (New World, II, 10). In addition to the printed letterhead, James B. Pond's letter also includes a printed notice at the bottom of the letter that reads: "I am now booking time for Mr. Henry George for next season. Associations desiring him will find it to their advantage to apply early. Please do not write letters on Postal Cards. They are liable to get overlooked.—J.B.P." Jeannette Leonard Gilder (1849–1916) and her brother Joseph Benson Gilder (1858–1936) edited The Critic together from 1881 to 1906. For more information on Jeannette Gilder, see Susan L. Roberson, "Gilder, Jeannette L. (1849–1916)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Francis Bacon's notebook, the Promus of Formularies and Elegancies, was the text that was often cited by Baconians as evidence that Bacon was the author of the plays attributed to Shakespeare. William Thomas Stead (1849–1912) was a well-known English journalist and editor of The Pall Mall Gazette in the 1880s. He was a proponent of what he called "government by journalism" and advocated for a strong press that would influence public opinion and affect government decision-making. His investigative reports were much discussed and often had significant social impact. He has sometimes been credited with inventing what came to be called "tabloid journalism," since he worked to make newspapers more attractive to readers, incorporating maps, illustrations, interviews, and eye-catching headlines. He died on the Titanic when it sank in 1912. Andrew D. Chandler (1854?–1919) worked in the circulation department for several periodicals, including the Independent, the Christian Union, and the Outlook. He also served as the circulation manager for Harper's for fifteen years. He died in Orange, N.J. Little is known about Walter Lewin, a journalist from Bebington (near Liverpool). He apparently published frequently in The Academy. The enclosure is not extant. Edwin Haviland Miller, working from a transcript of a summary of this letter, was unable to identify the correspondent. Arnold Gerstenberg, a graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge, and a Lieutenant in Her Majesty's 20th Regiment of Hussars; he committed suicide in October 1887. See The London Gazette (December 9, 1887), 6895. William Sloane Kennedy had proposed the idea of building the poet a "summer 'shanty'" on the farm land owned by George and Susan Stafford (parents of Whitman's young friend Harry Stafford), a place Whitman often visited in the summer. Sylvester Baxter took charge of raising money for this Cottage Fund project in and around Boston. See William Sloane Kennedy, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896), 10–11. William Sloane Kennedy and Richard Maurice Bucke were two of Whitman's closest friends and admirers. Kennedy (1850–1929) first met Whitman while on the staff of the Philadelphia American in 1880. He became a fierce defender of Whitman and would go on to write a book-length study of the poet. For more about Kennedy, see Katherine Reagan, "Kennedy, William Sloane (1850–1929)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Bucke (1837–1902), a Canadian physician, was Whitman's first biographer, and would later become 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). Sarah Anne Southall Tooley (1857–1946) was born in Staffordshire and took classes in literature at London University College. After her 1882 marriage to the minister George W. Tooley, she pursued a career in journalism. She authored numerous biographical sketches and earned a reputation as a talented interviewer who spoke to and wrote about women working in an array of fields, including several women writers and activists. She contributed to fin-de-siècle periodicals such as the Woman's Signal and Woman at Home, and she is the author of The Life of Florence Nightingale (1905) and The History of Nursing in the British Empire (1906), among other works (Terri Doughty, "Representing the Professional Woman: The Celebrity Interviewing of Sarah Tooley," in Women in Journalism at the Fin de Siècle 'Making a Name for Herself', ed. F. Elizabeth Gray [New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012], 165–181). There are no extant postal cards from Ellen O'Connor at this time. John S. Shults (1836–after August 1887) served at least three terms as the City Surveyor in Camden. In 1860, he moved from Reading to Camden, where he started working as a teacher. During the Civil War, Shults held a clerkship and was later associated with the Sanitary Commission. He studied surveying under then City Surveyor Edward H. Saunders. Shults was elected surveyor in 1878 and was re-elected in 1881 and 1884 (George Reeser Powell, The History of Camden County New Jersey [Philadelphia: L. J. Richards & Co., 1886], 438). Whitman had written a similar note requesting proofs in February, see the letter from Whitman to Jeanette L. and Joseph B. Gilder of February 14, 1887. Whitman has drawn a line down the center of this page through this partial letter. The remainder of the page has been cut away. The rest of the body of the letter has been cut away. Percy Wallace Thompson (1858–1935?) was born in Washington D.C., and he attended the Virginia Military Institute and Columbian (now George Washington) University. He was a graduate of the Revenue-Cutter Service Academy in 1881 and was the commanding officer of the U.S.S. Corwin during the Spanish-American War. He wrote articles on the Revenue-Cutter service and on maritime history for several publications, including Scribner's Magazine, the New York Sun, and the Boston Herald (Albert Nelson Marquis, ed., The Book of Chicagoans: A Biographical Dictionary of Leading Living Men of the City of Chicago, Vol. 2 [Chicago: A.N. Marquis & Company, 1911], 669). The first issue of Whitman's Specimen Days and Collect was published by the Philadelphia firm of Rees Welsh and Company in 1882. The second issue was published by David McKay. Many of the autobiographical notes, sketches, and essays that focus on the poet's life during and beyond the Civil War had been previously published in periodicals or in Memoranda During the War (1875–1876). For more information on Specimen Days, see George Hutchinson and David Drews "Specimen Days [1882]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman's Democratic Vistas was first published in 1871 in New York by J.S. Redfield. The volume was an eighty-four-page pamphlet based on three essays, "Democracy," "Personalism," and "Orbic Literature," all of which Whitman intended to publish in the Galaxy magazine. Only "Democracy" and "Personalism" appeared in the magazine. For more information on Democratic Vistas, see Arthur Wrobel, "Democratic Vistas [1871]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). The sculptor Sidney H. Morse (1832–1903) made two plaster busts of Whitman. Here, Whitman is referring to the second bust. Whitman quotes these two lines from a poem by Walter Scott entitled "The Bonny Hynd. Copied from the Mouth of a Milkmaid in 1771." Whitman is referring to one of the busts of him made by sculptor Sidney H. Morse. See Whitman's letter to Robert Pearsall Smith of September 12, [1887] Ada H. Spaulding (b. 1841), née Pearsons, was a socialite and active member of various reform movements and women's clubs. She served as the President of the Home Club of East Boston and was a member of the Women's Educational and Industrial Union. She married Ebenezer Spaulding, an Assistant Surgeon during the Civil War, and, later, a homeopathic physician and surgeon who practiced in Boston. Ada Spaulding read and admired Whitman's poetry, visited the poet, and wrote a number of letters to him in his final years. For more on Spaulding, see Sherry Ceniza, "Women's Letters to Walt Whitman: Some Corrections," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 9 (Winter 1992), 142–147. Carpenter used part of his inheritance from his father to buy acreage in Millthorpe, a village near Sheffield, where he gardened and built a country retreat. Lippincott's Magazine published Whitman's poem cluster "November Boughs" in the November 1887 issue. "Jo" probably refers to Joseph Browning, Deborah Stafford's husband. William J. "Billy" Thompson (1848–1911), known as "The Duke of Gloucester" and "The Statesman," was a friend of Whitman's who operated a hotel, race track, and amusement park on the beach overlooking the Delaware River at Gloucester, New Jersey. His shad and champagne dinners for Whitman were something of a tradition. See William Sloane Kennedy, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (London: Alexander Gardner, 1896), 15–16. Hampton L. Carson (1852–1929) was a Pennsylvania lawyer and historian. He held numerous prominent positions throughout his career, serving as Pennsylvania's Attorney General, as professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania, and as the secretary of the Constitutional Centennial Commission. Rhys is referring to the final lines of the third poem in Whitman's "Calamus" cluster. "Calamus" was first published in the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass. Hurt is referring to the novel Stretton by Henry Kingsley, an English novelist and the brother of the clergyman and professor Charles Kingsley; the novel was serialized in The Broadway from September 1868 to August 1869. Little is known about Louisa Snowden. Whitman told Horace Traubel that she was "one of the beautiful unknowns" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, February 27, 1889). Elizabeth Fairchild was the wife of Colonel Charles Fairchild, the president of a paper company, to whom Whitman sent the Centennial Edition on March 2, 1876 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). He mailed her husband a copy of Progress in April, 1881, shortly after his visit to Boston, where he probably met the Fairchilds for the first time (Commonplace Book). Clay's address to Yale University alumni was delivered on June 28, 1887, and published in the New York Times on June 29, 1887; the address concerned the Prohibition, Labor, and Woman Suffrage Parties, with Clay supporting temperance but rejecting laws governing temperance, supporting labor but rejecting socialism, and rejecting women's suffrage as detrimental to the family structure. William Wilson Potter (1792–1839) was a Democrat and a member of the House of Representatives from the state of Pennsylvania from 1837 to 1839. Whitman's "big book" is a reference to his Complete Poems and Prose of Walt Whitman (1888). Whitman published the book himself—in an arrangement with the Philadephia publisher David McKay, who allowed Whitman to use the plates for both Leaves of Grass and Specimen Days—in December 1888. In late 1887, James Gordon Bennett, Jr., editor of the New York Herald, invited Whitman to contribute a series of poems and prose pieces for the paper. From December 1887 through August 1888, 33 of Whitman's poems appeared. Whitman contributed a series of poems and prose pieces to the New York Herald at the invitation of the editor, James Gordon Bennett, Jr. From December 1887 through August 1888, 33 of Whitman's poems were published in the paper. Augusta Anna Traubel Harned (1856–1914) was Horace Traubel's sister. She married Thomas Biggs Harned, a lawyer in Philadelphia and, later, one of Whitman's literary executors. This postal card is addressed: J H Johnston | Jeweler | 150 Bowery Cor: Broome | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden | Feb | (?) | (?); (?) | 2-14-87 | 5-(?). This postcard poses problems in dating: there is an ink smudge where Whitman apparently changed 12 to 14; one legible postmark is clearly "2-14-87." In 1887, however, February 14 fell on Monday, not on Sunday. The Johnstons had visited Whitman on February 6 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), a fact (if correct) which makes some of the comments in the note superfluous. Since the poet was "half sick (or more than half) most of the month," he could have erred in dating the card either as to the day of the week or the date, or have forgotten the recent visit (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Albert Johnston was the son of John H. Johnston. Little is known about Miss Corning. Whitman told Horace Traubel that she was "a bright girl," but that she was also a woman "who would prefer the false to the dull" (See Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, December 9, 1888). Katherine (sometimes spelled "Catherine") B. Johnston (b. 1874) was a daughter of John H. Johnston, a jeweler and close friend of Whitman's. Katherine had at least six siblings, four of whom were older and two that were younger. When Whitman visited the Johnston family for the first time early in 1877, Katherine ("Kittie," "Kitty") would have been three years old. Katherine (sometimes spelled "Catherine") B. Johnston (b. 1874) was a daughter of John H. Johnston, a jeweler and close friend of Whitman's. Costelloe has crossed out the address printed at the top of the letterhead, replacing 44, GROSVENOR ROAD, | WESTMINSTER EMBANKMENT, S.W. with the Llwynbarried Rhayader address. Whitman's response was published in the November 24, 1888, Critic, along with responses by many other writers (including John Greenleaf Whittier, John Burroughs, Francis Parkman, and Julia Ward Howe). Whitman wrote that "the names of Bryant, Emerson, Whittier and Longfellow (with even added names, sometimes Southerners, sometimes Western or other writers of only one or two pieces,) deserve in my opinion an equally high niche of renown as belongs to any on the baker's dozen of that glorious list." Morse sent Whitman a plaster cast of his bust of Elias Hicks (1748–1830), the Quaker preacher and abolitionist, about whom Whitman was writing an essay at this time. Exeter Hall in London, England, served as the headquarters of the Y. M. C. A. Morse had sculpted a statue of President Grover Cleveland and Whitman's head. See Matthew 25:23 ("His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things"). See Jonathan Mitchel Sewall (1748–1808), Epilogue to Joseph Addison's 1713 play Cato, written for a 1778 production of the play in Portsmouth, New Hampshire: "No pent-up Utica contracts your powers, / But the whole boundless continent is yours. 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). Jean (1858–1883) was the daughter of William D. and Ellen O'Connor. William speaks often in his letters of Jean, calling her by her nicknames of "Jenny" or "Jeannie." Herbert Spencer Harned (1888–1969) was born on December 2, 1888. "Walt Whitman and His Philosophy" appeared in Harvard Monthly 5 (January 1888), 149–165. James Clarence Mangan's translation of Friedrick August von Heyden's "The Last Words of Al-Hassan" contains the lines "O Allah, for the light of another sun, / With my Bazra sword in hand!" Mangan's translation was published in the Dublin University Magazine in 1845 and frequently reprinted during the nineteenth century. John Keats's "Lines on Seeing a Lock of Milton's Hair" (1818) begins, "Chief of organic Numbers! / Old Scholar of the Spheres!" "Poetical Occultism: Some Rough Studies of the Occult Leanings of the Poets, III," by "J." and "S.B.," was published in The Path 1 (December 1886), 270–74; it explained how Whitman's work exemplified doctrines of meditation, karma, and reincarnation. Quincy Adams Shaw (1825–1908) was a wealthy Boston Brahmin businessman and art collector. He traveled with his cousin, the historian Francis Parkman, to the American West in the 1840s and is a key figure in Parkman's The Oregon Trail. He amassed a large collection of Millet's paintings, which Whitman saw when he was in Boston in 1881. Dr. John Kearsley Mitchell II (1859–1935) was the son of S. Weir Mitchell, the noted American physician and writer of historical fiction; the young Mitchell looked in on Whitman when his regular physician, William Osler, was unavailable. Whitman was not overly impressed with the Mitchells: "The young man Mitchell did not take me by storm—he did not impress me. I start off with a prejudice against doctors anyway. I know J. K.'s father somewhat—Weir: he is of the intellectual type—a scholar, writer, and all that: very good—an adept: very important in his sphere—a little bitter I should say—a little bitter—touched just a touch by the frosts of culture, society, worldliness—as how few are not!" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, July 12, 1888). Lida Nordhoff was the wife of author and New York Evening Post and Herald newspaper correspondent and editor Charles Nordhoff (1830–1901); they were among the first of the wealthy families to build vacation estates on the New Jersey Palisades in the late 1800s. Whitman had been given a horse and buggy in 1885 as the result of a fund-raising drive by friends. Samuel Loag was a Philadelphia printer and friend of Whitman's New York jeweler friend J. H. Johnston, as well as an acquaintance of Horace Traubel (see Edward F. Grier, ed., Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts, [New York: New York University Press, 1984], 2:819, where Whitman corrects his misspelling of Loag's name as "Logue"). See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, January 22, 1889. Samuel Loag was a Philadelphia printer and a friend of both Johnston and of Horace Traubel. Dr. Walsh was the brother of William S. Walsh (1854–1919), an American author and editor of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. Richard Maurice Bucke arranged to have him accompany Dr. William Osler to see Whitman, since Bucke believed it would be useful to have a younger doctor examine the poet. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, December 5, 1888. Whitman received the first bound copies of his Complete Poems and Prose in November of 1888 and sent copies to friends. Little Lord Fauntleroy was a children's novel by English-American novelist Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849–1924) and was a sensation when published in 1886; the stage adaptation of the novel opened on Broadway in December of 1888. Whitman's greeting to Whittier ("As the Greek's Signal Flame") appeared in the New York Herald on December 15, 1887 and in Munyon's Illustrated World in January 1888. Thomas Biggs Harned (1851–1921) was a lawyer in Philadelphia and, later, one of Whitman's literary executors. His wife, Augusta Anna Traubel Harned (1856–1914), was Horace Traubel's sister. 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). See the letter from Whitman to William Sloane Kennedy and Richard Maurice Bucke of April 18, 1888. Thompson enclosed blank sheet of stationery and a self-addressed stamped envelope with his request for Whitman's autograph. The envelope is addressed: Lieut. Percy W. Thompson, | U.S.S. "Dallas," | Portland, | Maine. Walter Scott was a railway contractor and a publisher in London. His publishing firm, Walter Scott, was based in London and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and it was the imprint under which a number of Whitman's books appeared in England. Walter Scott's managing editor was bookbinder David Gordon, and Ernest Rhys—one of Whitman's major promoters in England—worked with the firm. Rhys included a volume of Whitman's poems in the Canterbury Poets series and two volumes of Whitman's prose in the Camelot series for Walter Scott publishers. Walter Scott also published Whitman's 1886 English edition of Leaves of Grass and the English editions of Specimen Days in America (1887) and Democratic Vistas, and Other Papers (1888). The English edition of Whitman's Democratic Vistas, and Other Papers was published by the London firm of Walter Scott publisher in 1888. Kennedy's wife was Adeline Ella Lincoln (d. 1923) of Cambridge, Massachusetts. They married on June 17, 1883. The couple's son Mortimer died in infancy. Kennedy had married Adeline Ella Lincoln (d. 1923) of Cambridge, Massachusetts, on June 17, 1883. The couple's son Mortimer died in infancy. Kennedy had married Adeline Ella Lincoln (d. 1923) of Cambridge, Massachusetts, on June 17, 1883. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It postmarked: Belmont | Oct | 28 | Mass.; Camden, N. J. | Oct | [illegible] | 9am | 1889 | Rec'd. This postscript appears on the back of the envelope. Whitman enclosed this letter from Kennedy with his October 30, 1889, letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke. Jacob Klein (b. 1845) was a lawyer and, later, a Judge of the Circuit Court in St. Louis. Klein was born in Germany, but arrived in the United States with his parents in 1851; the family settled in St. Louis the following year. He was educated in St. Louis public schools and at Harvard Law School. He practiced law in St. Louis until he was elected Judge of the Circuit Court, and he also served as a member of the faculty at the St. Louis Law School (A. J. D. Stewart, "Jacob Klein, Saint Louis," The History of the Bench and Bar of Missouri [St. Louis, MO.: The Legal Publishing Company, 1898], 247–249). Mary E. Mapes was a neighbor friend of Mary Davis and sometimes took care of Whitman's house when Mrs. Davis was away. One of Morse's plaster sculptures of Whitman had been sent to Boston, with the hope it would be placed in the public library. Morse is referring here to the family of Robert Pearsall Smith (1827–1898). Smith, his wife Hannah, and their children were all friends and supporters of Whitman. For more about Smith and his 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). On June 23, 1888, Whitman sent O'Connor a twenty-page proof of "Sands at Seventy" and asked him to pass the pages on to Dr. Bucke after reading them. O'Connor is referring to Whitman's letter of July 11, 1888. See Whitman's letters to O'Connor on June 17, 1888 and June 23, 1888. Whitman wanted to publish a "big book" that included all of his writings, and, with the help of Horace Traubel, Whitman made the presswork and binding decisions for the volume. Frederick Oldach bound Whitman's Complete Poems & Prose (1888), which included a profile photo of the poet on the title page. The book was published in December 1888. For more information on the book, see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). Rhys is referring to the UK edition of Democratic Vistas, and Other Papers, which was published in London by Walter Scott in 1888. Whitman is referring to Bucke's book Walt Whitman, published by Philadelphia publisher David McKay in 1883. Rhys is referring to the UK edition of Democratic Vistas, and Other Papers, which would be published in London by Walter Scott in 1888. Ernest Percival Rhys (1859–1946) was a British author and editor; he founded the Everyman's Library series of inexpensive reprintings of popular works. He included a volume of Whitman's poems in the Canterbury Poets series and two volumes of Whitman's prose in the Camelot series for Walter Scott publishers. For more information about Rhys, see Joel Myerson, "Rhys, Ernest Percival (1859–1946)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is continued at the top of the first page. John Nesbit was a partner with Bucke and Gurd in the marketing of the gas and fluid meter; see Bucke's letter to Whitman of August 28, 1888. Bucke and his brother-in-law William John Gurd were designing a gas and fluid meter to be patented in Canada and sold in England. Louisa Helen Pardee (1865–1950) was the daughter of Timothy Blair Pardee (1830–1889), a Canadian lawyer and politician. W. A. Musgrove replaced Dr. Nathan M. Baker as Whitman's caregiver on July 15, 1888. Musgrove was far less satisfactory than Baker. Traubel noted that "Musgrove is a cloudy man. I asked how M. got on. W. evaded the question by some general remark. . . . He [Musgrove] is only a nurse—not a doctor" (Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, July 16, 1888). Yet, Whitman later described Musgrove as "kind active & considerate all through" (See the letter from Whitman to Bucke of November 3–4, 1888). Bucke is referring to the recent marriage of Mrs. Bucke's nephew, the lawyer Frederick Kittermaster to Louisa Helen Pardee (1865–1950), daughter of Timothy Blair Pardee (1830–1889), a Canadian lawyer and politician. Maurice Andrews Bucke (1868–1899) and William Augustus Bucke (1873–1933) were the two oldest of Dr. Bucke's five sons. The letter continues at the top of the first page. This letter continues at the top of the first page. This letter continues at the top of the first page. Thomas William Mather (1850–1917) was a mechanical engineer and taught that subject at the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University, where he was also educated. He was the principal of Boardman Manual Training School in New Haven and later founded the engineering firm of Mather & Son in Florida. He was married to Margaret Wade Linton Mather (1851–1943), the daughter of engraver William J. Linton. James Gordon Bennett Jr. (1841–1918) was the editor and publisher of the New York Herald, founded by his father in 1835. Julius Chambers (1850–1920) was an American author, investigative journalist, and travel writer; after working as a reporter for the New York Tribune, he became an editor of the New York Herald and, later, managing editor of the New York World. For more on the Herald and the many poems by Whitman that were published in it, see Susan Belasco, "The New York Herald." Whitman has drawn a blue line through both pages of the letter. Jerome Buck (1835–1900) was a lawyer and writer in New York City. He was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and he studied law under his mother's second husband, John Titus Esquire. After being admitted to the bar, Buck moved to New York, setting up his law offices in Broadway. Buck was also fond of reading and writing poetry. For more information on Buck, see William W. H. Davis, History of Bucks County Pennsylvania, 2 vols. (New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1905), 2:227. Whitman was angry at having been asked to provide commentary on work by a poet with whom he was not familiar. For his full reaction to the letter, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, August 16, 1888. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, Esq., | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Brooklyn, N.Y. | Mar 17 | 1030am | 87; Camden [illegible] | Mar | 17 | 8pm | 1887 | Rec'd. Bok has written "Personal" at the top of the front of the envelope. John H. (J.H.) Johnston (1837–1919) was a New York jeweler who became a close friend of Whitman's. Whitman visited Johnston's home frequently, and Johnston assisted with raising funds for the aging poet. Alma Calder Johnston was an author and John's second wife. Her family owned a home and property in Equinunk, Pennsylvania. For more on the Johnstons, see Susan L. Roberson, "Johnston, John H. (1837–1919) and Alma Calder" (Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman had intended to have Mr. Bennerman, a Philadelphia proprietor, print November Boughs, but Bennerman lost the print job in part because, Whitman claimed, "he never wanted me to go upstairs into the composing room" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, May 25, 1888). Courtlandt (sometimes spelled "Courtland") Palmer (1843–1888) was an attorney and the founder and first president of the Nineteenth Century Club, a group dedicated to discussing significant social and philosophical issues of the time. Palmer was a freethinker as well as a friend of the noted orator Colonel Robert Ingersoll. Upon Palmer's death in 1888, Whitman remarked to his disciple Horace Traubel: "They may bury Palmer—they will bury him and I do not feel like crying over his grave. There's only one word for some graves—hurrah is that word. Hurrah is the word for brave Palmer!" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, July 26, 1888). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N. Jersey | 328 | Mickle St. It is postmarked: Belmont | AUG | 28 | MASS.; CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG | 29 | 8AM | 1888 | REC'D. Whitman may have enclosed a draft for the editors to consider with this letter. The enclosure may have been Whitman's poem "For Queen Victoria's Birthday," which did appear in The Critic (and other periodicals) on May 24. Sophia Kirk (1855–1950) was an educator and writer in Pennsylvania, who, along with her sister, Anne Kirk, served on the staff of Bryn Mawr College. In 1899, the sisters began a small school preparatory to the college, known as "The Misses Kirk's School," Bryn Mawr (A Handbook of Private Schools for American Boys and Girls, 7th edition [Porter Sargent, Boston, MA: 1922], 193). In 1900, she contributed a essay on women and higher education entitled "The College Girl and the Outside World" to the April 1900 issue of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. Sophia and Anne were the daughters of the historian, educator, and bibliographer John Foster Kirk, who had edited Lippincott's from 1870 to 1886. James Francis Walsh was a young Camden physician who attended Whitman, visiting him nearly every day, during the poet's illness of 1888–89. Walsh was the brother of William S. Walsh, an American author and editor of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. Whitman had a favorable opinion of Walsh because he visited often, watched his patient carefully, but did not give medicine. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of December 18, 1888. Bucke had arranged to have Walsh accompany Dr. Osler to see Whitman, since Bucke believed it would be useful to have a younger doctor examine the poet. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, December 5, 1888. O.G. Hempstead & Son was a customs brokerage house located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Little is known about Elmer B. Lane. He would go on to become the manager of a branch of a typewriter company in England. His father, Chester T. Lane, was a well-known educator who served as the principal of Fort Wayne High and Manual Training School in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Frederick Oldach was a German bookbinder whose Philadelphia firm bound Whitman's Complete Poems & Prose (1888), a volume that included a profile photo of the poet on the title page. The nearly 900-page book was published in December 1888. For more information on the book, see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). Whitman drew a line through this letter. Whitman is referencing the poem "England in 1819" by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Warren Davis (1865–1928) was an American artist best known for his tempura paintings and his etchings of young women. He studied at the Art Students League in New York, and several of his etchings were used on the covers of magazines, including Vanity Fair and Life. His proposed Whitman painting apparently never materialized. Helen E. Price (1841–1927) was the daughter of Whitman's close friend, women's rights activist Abby Price. Helen wrote about Whitman's friendship with her mother in a chapter in Richard Maurice Bucke's 1883 biography of the poet and in a 1919 newspaper article. For more on Price, see Sherry Ceniza, "Price, Helen E. (b. 1841)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman's Complete Poems & Prose (1888)included a profile photo of the poet on the title page. The nearly 900-page book was published in December 1888. For more information on the book, see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). Henry George (1839–1897) was a social reformer from Philadelphia. His published works include his pamphlet Our Land and Land Policy (1871), Progress and Poverty (1879), and Social Problems (1883). Kennedy received the volumes and delivered them as Whitman requested. See Kennedy's letter to Whitman of December 25, 1888. Agnes Traubel Lychenheim (1881–1923) was Horace Traubel's sister. She married Dr. Morris Lychenheim, an osteopathic physician from Chicago. A line has been drawn through this letter in black ink. Frederick Oldach (1823–1907) was a German bookbinder whose Philadelphia firm bound Whitman's November Boughs (1888) and Complete Poems & Prose (1888), as well as the special seventieth-birthday issue of Leaves of Grass (1889). O'Connor is referring to Whitman's poem "The Dead Emperor," which was published in the New York Herald on March 10, 1888. Whitman's poem "Old Age's Lambent Peaks" appeared in the September 1888 issue of The Century Magazine. Charlotte Fiske Bates (1838–1916) was a poet and editor. She published Risks and Other Poems (1879), a collection of around 120 poems, and she edited the Cambridge Book of Poetry and Song (1882). She contributed to numerous magazines and worked as an instructor in English at the Salisbury School for Young Ladies. She later married M. Adolphe Rogé. For more information on Bates, see American Women: Fifteen Hundred Biographies with over 1,400 Portraits, eds. Frances E. Willard and Mary A. Livermore, (New York: Mast. Crowell and Kirkpatrick, 1897), 2: 617–618. Whitman's Pond in Weymouth, Massachusetts, is named for Deacon John Whitman (1602–1692) who settled in Weymouth in 1638. John Whitman's father, Abijah Peter Whitman, is Walt Whitman's direct ancestor, through John's brother Zachariah. John Whitman's fourth-great grandchild is American President Abraham Lincoln. See Ezekiel Whitman, Memoir of John Whitman and His Descendants (Portland, Maine: Charles Day and Co., 1832). Bates's father, Hervey Bates (1790–1838), died when she was an infant. He was the son of Levi Bates and Lucy Pratt, and a native of Weymouth, Massachusetts. For more information, see Vital Records of Weymouth, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Vol. 1, Births (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1910), 28. In September 1885, Whitman received a horse ("Nettie") and a phæton as a gift from a group of prominent friends, and he used the horse and carriage for three years. A photo is available here. Stedman was trying to interest publishers in a calendar that contained excerpts from Leaves of Grass. The Leatherstocking Tales consist of five novels featuring the fictional frontiersman Natty Bumppo, written by James Fenimore Cooper and published between 1827 and 1841. Bucke is reading proofs of Whitman's November Boughs; "Last of the War Cases" appears on pp. 109–117. Bucke eventually edited a collection of Whitman's letters to his mother (The Wound Dresser: A Series of Letters Written from the Hospitals in Washington During the War of the Rebellion [1898]). The Reverend John Jamieson (1759–1838) published his Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language in 1809 and 1810. Garland's review of November Boughs was published in the Boston Evening Transcript (15 November 1888). Bucke has been advising Whitman about the preparation of November Boughs (1888) and Complete Poems & Prose (1888). This was a notice for November Boughs appearing in the New York Herald. Smith sent Whitman a letter from Wales on September 7, 1888. See the letter from Whitman to Bucke of September 25–26, 1888. Maurice Andrews Bucke (1868–1899) was Dr. Bucke's oldest son. When Whitman received this letter, he mistakenly thought Bucke was referring to Whitman's Philadelphia friend J. H. Johnston and was mystified since he had not heard about such a project (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, October 3, 1888), but in fact Bucke is probably referring to the British disciple, Dr. John Johnston, whose "Notes of Visit to Walt Whitman and His Friends in 1890" (finally published in 1917) contained a portrait of Bucke; Johnston began corresponding with Whitman in 1887 and began planning a trip to the U.S. to visit the poet and his friends. "Walt Whitman's Words" was published anonymously in the New York Herald on September 23, 1888. Whitman is referring to Kennedy's manuscript "Walt Whitman, Poet of Humanity." Kennedy had reported in a letter to Whitman of January 2, 1888 that Frederick W. Wilson was willing to publish the study. Kennedy's manuscript eventually became two books, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896) and The Fight of a Book for the World (1926). Kennedy had reported in a letter to Whitman of January 2, 1888 that Frederick W. Wilson was willing to publish his study of Whitman. Kennedy's manuscript eventually became two books, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896) and The Fight of a Book for the World (1926). Alexander Gardner (1821–1882) of Paisley, Scotland, a publisher who reissued a number of books by and about Whitman, ultimately published Reminiscences of Walt Whitman in 1896 after a long and contentious battle with Kennedy over editing the book. Kennedy's manuscript eventually became two books, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896) and The Fight of a Book for the World (1926). Alexander Gardner (1821–1882) of Paisley, Scotland, a publisher who reissued a number of books by and about Whitman, ultimately published Reminiscences of Walt Whitman in 1896 after a long and contentious battle with Kennedy over editing the book. Kennedy's manuscript eventually became two books, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896) and The Fight of a Book for the World (1926). Whitman is referring to Robert Pearsall Smith and his daughter Alys. The Smiths sent Whitman a letter from the Steamship Aller, bound for England, dated June 20, 1888. Whitman is referring to Kennedy's manuscript "Walt Whitman, Poet of Humanity." Kennedy had reported in a letter to Whitman of January 2, 1888 that Frederick W. Wilson was willing to publish the study. Kennedy's manuscript eventually became two books, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896) and The Fight of a Book for the World (1926). Wilson promised to return the manuscript in his letter to Kennedy of February 1, 1888. Alexander Gardner (1821–1882) of Paisley, Scotland, a publisher who reissued a number of books by and about Whitman, ultimately published Reminiscences of Walt Whitman in 1896 after a long and contentious battle with Kennedy over editing the book. Bucke is referring to Whitman's poem "A Riddle Song," which invites readers to guess "two words" that name "That which eludes this verse and any verse." Whitman published a special issue of his 1871 Leaves of Grass in 1876 as a commemorative edition for the nation's centennial celebration. Two Rivulets was published at the same time to form a matching set. Arthur Sturgis Hardy (1837–1901) was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and served as Provincial Secretary from 1877 to 1889. He later became Premier of Ontario. Gabriel Sarrazin's "Potes modernes de l'Amrique, Walt Whitman" appeared in La Nouvelle Revue on May 1, 1888. A review of November Boughs by Melville Phillips appeared in the October 21, 1888, issue of the Philadelphia Press. Whitman mentions Lippincott's to Horace Traubel on October 24, 1888: "The whole of that Rebel editor's diary appears in the November issue. I sent it to Dr. Bucke—tore out the leaves: rolled the rest of the magazine up with some other papers and mailed it to the Asylum. You know, I send a bundle of stuff—papers, odds and ends—every week"(see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, October 24, 1888). The November 1888 issue of Lippincott's published "Extracts from the Diary of John R. Thompson." John Reuben Thompson (1823—1873) was an editor, journalist, and poet from Richmond, Virginia; he edited the Literary Messenger and Southern Field and Fireside before going to England in 1864 to become the head writer for the Index, the organ of Confederate opinion in England. From 1867 until his death, he was literary editor of the New York Evening Post. The block is Linton's engraving of Whitman that he used for the frontispiece of Poets in America (1878). Arthur Stedman (1859–1908) was the son of the prominent critic, editor, and poet Edmund Clarence Stedman. Arthur was an editor at Mark Twain's publishing house, Charles L. Webster, where he edited a selection of Whitman's poems and a selection of his autobiographical writings for the "Fiction, Fact, and Fancy Series" (1892). This postscript is written at the top of the first page of the letter. Francis Churchill Williams (1869–1945) was the son of Francis and Mary Williams and (as "Churchill Williams") published a number of short stories and novels. The English critic and philosopher George Henry Lewes (1817–1878) was the longtime partner of Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot), with whom he lived for many years; both were strong supporters of Whitman and his work. Lewes had a son, Charles, who became a London city councilor. The reference here may be to this family. Mary Bartholomew Houston Williams (1844–1920) was the wife of playwright and poet Francis ("Frank") Howard Williams (1844–1922) of Germantown, Philadelphia. The couple had a wide circle of literary acquaintances. Francis Howard Williams wrote a number of essays about Whitman, and Whitman often visited the Williams family and once was photographed with them. Whitman mentions them frequently to Horace Traubel, recalling "how splendidly the Williamses have always received me in their home" (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, September 18, 1888). Grace Ellery Channing, O'Connor's niece, came up with the idea of producing a calendar with selected quotations from Whitman's poetry, to be illustrated by Charles Walter Stetson. O'Connor, Edmund Clarence Stedman, and others worked on the project, which Whitman did not approve of and which never came to fruition. For more information on Channing and the Calendar, see Joann Krieg, "Grace Ellery Channing and the Whitman Calendar," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 12 (Spring 1995), 252–256. Grace Ellery Channing (1862–1937) was a poet; she was the daughter of William F. Channing and the niece of William D. O'Connor. Whitman at this time was working on both November Boughs and Complete Poems & Prose, both published in 1888. "Mariechen" was Logan's pet name for his sister Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe. John H. (J.H.) Johnston (1837–1919) was a New York jeweler who became a close friend of Whitman's. Whitman visited Johnston's home, and Johnston assisted with raising funds for the aging poet. Alma Calder Johnston was an author and John's second wife. Elias Hicks (1748–1830) was a traveling Quaker preacher and anti-slavery activist from Long Island, New York. Whitman's long essay on Hicks appeared in November Boughs. For more on Hicks, see Henry Watson Wilbur, The Life and Labors of Elias Hicks (Philadelphia: Friends' General Conference Advancement Committee, 1910). Thomas Eakins (1844–1919) was an American painter. His relationship with Whitman was characterized by deep mutual respect, and he became a close friend of the poet. Eakins resumed work on his portrait of the poet on January 14, 1888 (Whitman's Commonplace Book; Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman's quotation here echoes Percy Bysshe Shelley's sonnet "England 1819," which opens by describing King George III as an "old, mad, blind, despised, and dying King." Hamlin Garland (1860–1940) was an American writer best known for his fiction about the Midwest. He strongly endorsed Whitman's work, and he frequently wrote and lectured about him. Whitman sometimes misspells Garland's name as "Harland." For more on Garland's relationship to Whitman, see Thomas K. Dean, "Garland, Hamlin," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Hamlin Garland (1860–1940) was an American writer best known for his fiction about the Midwest. He strongly endorsed Whitman's work, and he frequently wrote and lectured about him. For more on Garland's relationship to Whitman, see Thomas K. Dean, "Garland, Hamlin," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman published his first "annex" to Leaves of Grass—"Sands at Seventy"—in the 1889 issue of his book. All but one of the poems appeared earlier in November Boughs (1888). Kennedy is gently mocking Ralph Waldo Emerson's formality. Whitman's essay, "The Old Bowery. A Reminiscence of New York Plays and Acting Fifty Years Ago," appeared in November Boughs (1888), along with his "Fancies at Navesink" poems, one of which ("Last of Ebb, and Daylight Waning") Kennedy refers to here. Frederick William Kittermaster (?–1904) was a lawyer in Sarnia, Ontario; he married Louisa Helen Pardee (1865–1950), the daughter of the Canadian lawyer and politician Timothy Blair Pardee, in 1888. Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1902) and his wife Jessie Gurd Bucke (1839–1926) had three daughters and five sons: Clare Georgina (1866–1867), Maurice Andrews (1868–1899), Jessie Clare (1870–1943), William Augustus (1873–1933), Edward Pardee (1875–1913), Ina Matilda (1877–1968), Harold Langmuir (1879–1951), and Robert Walpole (1881–1923). Traubel is referring to Bucke's daughter, Ina Matilda (1877–1968). Traubel is likely referring to Italo Campanini (1845–1896), an operatic tenor, who was popular in Europe and in New York City. Italo was the brother of the orchestra conductor Cleofonte Campanini (1860–1919). Traubel may be referring to the violinist and conductor, Theodore Thomas (1835–1905). Thomas founded the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1891; he also served as its first music director. "The Prince of Whales business" is a reference to an 1890s British gambling scandal. In 1890, Sir William Gordon-Cumming, a lieutenant colonel in the Scots Guard was accused of cheating at the card game baccarat. With the knowledge and agreement of then Prince of Wales and later King Edward VII, Gordon-Cumming was confronted and pressured to sign a document that he would not play the game again in exchange for the silence of those in attendance at the home of the ship owner Arthur Wilson. When the news was revealed anyway, Gordon-Cumming claimed he had been the victim of slander. The case was heard in court in June 1891, and the Prince of Wales was compelled to appear as a witness. Gordon-Cumming eventually lost the court case, and he was dismissed from the British Army, although public opinion, at the time, was on his side. Traubel is almost certainly referring to the court proceedings that took place the same month as this letter was written. "The Lotos-Eaters" is a poem by Tennyson about Odysseus and his mariners eating lotos leaves and entering an altered state of consciousness; it was published in 1832. See the letter from Whitman to Bucke of September 8, 1888. Grashalme, the first book-length German translation of Whitman's poetry, was published in 1889, translated by Thomas William Hazen Rolleston and Karl Knortz. Bucke had written to Whitman on December 20, 1888, registering at length his enthusiasm for Whitman's just-published Complete Poems and Prose. Whitman decided to have Bucke's letter printed for distribution among his friends and disciples, and he titled it "An impromptu criticism on the 900 page Volume, 'The Complete Poems and Prose of Walt Whitman,' first issued December, 1888." The first printing had several typos, including the addition of an acute accent over the first "e" of "Goethe," so Whitman had the errors corrected in a second printing that was completed by January 2, 1889. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, December 27, 1888. Whitman sent this letter, which he received from William Sloane Kennedy on Christmas Day in 1888, as an enclosure to Bucke. For images of the letter, see December 25, 1888. Bucke confirms that he received Whitman's letter and the enclosed letter from Kennedy on December 31, 1888. Rachel Pearsall Conn Costelloe (1887–1940) was Mary's first daughter. She eventually married Oliver Strachey (brother of biographer Lytton Strachey) and was a writer and women's suffrage activist who ran for a seat in the British parliament soon after women were granted the right to vote. Whitman is referring to "Sands at Seventy," a group of late poems that he had included in November Boughs (1888) and then included as an "annex" to Leaves of Grass starting with the 1889 printing of the book. Whitman and his companion William Duckett stayed at the Westminster Hotel when the poet gave his Lincoln lecture in New York's Madison Square Theatre on April 14, 1887. Hinton attended a reception for Whitman held at the hotel. Frederick W. Wilson was a member of the Glasgow firm of Wilson & McCormick that published the 1883 British edition of Specimen Days and Collect. Kennedy's manuscript was one of several drafts of what became two books, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896) and The Fight of a Book for the World (1926). For Whitman's conflicting opinions of Kennedy's study, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, August 18, 1888. Helen Price had a brother named Arthur (b. 1840), who became an engineer in the U.S. Navy, and a sister named Emily, who married an artist named Law in 1869; Whitman mentions Emily's first baby in a letter to Abby Price on April 21, 1871. A younger brother, Henry (b. 1850), died in infancy. See the letter from Whitman to Bucke of October 6, 1888. See the letter from Whitman to Bucke of October 9, 1888. See the letter from Whitman to Bucke of October 13, 1888. See the letter from Whitman to Bucke of November 30–December 1, 1888. See the letter from Whitman to Bucke of September 18–19, 1888. See the letter from Whitman to Bucke of July 19, 1888. The bust of Hicks was sculpted by Sidney Morse (1832–1903), a self-taught sculptor as well as a Unitarian minister and, from 1866 to 1872, editor of The Radical. He visited Whitman in Camden many times and made various busts of him. Whitman's short poem "As I Sit Writing Here" appeared in the New York Herald on April 14, 1888. The bust of Hicks was sculpted by Sidney Morse. Whitman was writing an essay, "Notes (such as they are) founded on Elias Hicks," which he would publish in November Boughs(1888). Whitman's "Thought on Shakespeare" was published in The Critic on August 14, 1886. For Whitman's spirited response to this letter, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, March 1, 1889. A review of November Boughs(1888) appeared in the Tribune on December 9, 1888. Bucke is quoting from Whitman's "To Think of Time": "A gray discouraged sky overhead, the short last daylight of December. . . ." James Russell Lowell (1819–1891) was editor of the Atlantic Monthly, where he published Whitman's "Bardic Symbols" [later "As I Ebb'd with the Ocean of Life"] in April of 1860. Bucke is referring to busts of Whitman sculpted by Sidney Morse (1833–1903). The Cosmopolitan magazine was first published in 1886 by publishers Schlicht & Field of New York; it was billed as a "family magazine." Paul Schlicht acted as the magazine's initial editor. Whitman published one poem in the magazine, "Shakespeare Bacon's Cipher," in October 1887. Edward and Florence Earle Coates visited Whitman at his Camden home a number of times, and he was quite fond of their company. Florence (1850–1927) was a well-known and widely published poet and a friend of the English essayist and poet Matthew Arnold, who frequently visited the Coates' home in Germantown, Philadelphia. Edward (1846–1921) was a businessman and widely admired patron of the arts, who chaired the Committee on Instruction at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he worked closely with artist Thomas Eakins. Whitman expressed great admiration for Florence Earle Coates; see, for example, Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, August 9, 1888. James Leonard Corning (1828–1903) was educated in New York and ordained as a Congregational minister. He served as a pastor in Connecticut and Wisconsin, and, in 1888, he became the pastor of Unity Church in Camden, New Jersey. He was also a frequent visitor at Whitman's Camden home in the poet's final years (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). For more on Corning, see his entry in The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictorary of Notable Americans, ed. Rossiter Johnson (Boston, Massachusetts: The Biographical Society, 1904), Volume 2. This letter is written on the stationary of the Red Star Line Passenger and Mail Service; so, Corning most likely wrote this letter while he was sailing from Antwerp to New York. This may be a reference to Corning's daughter, Nellie. Nellie Corning Knote married Heinrich Knote, a tenor in the Royal Opera in Munich, Germany. Nellie died in Munich in 1907. See the notice of her death "Frau Knote Dead in Munich," The Musical Courier 55.17 (April 24, 1907), 25. The SS Rhynland was a transatlantic passenger ship built in 1879 and owned by the Red Star Line; it operated between Antwerp, Belgium, and New York City. It was scrapped in 1906. Corning wrote this letter on Red Star Line stationery that contains an image of the Red Star flag in the letterhead. The Scottish writer Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) published his six-volume life of Frederic the Great from 1858 to 1865. The Roman Emperor's Meditations, written around 170–180 AD, express his Stoic philosophy, as Whitman quotes it here. Matthew Arnold's essay, "Heinrich Heine," in which he calls the German poet and essayist (1797–1856) the "the successor and continuator of Goethe" as a "soldier in the war of liberation of humanity," was part of Arnold's Essays in Criticism (1865). George Eliot wrote four essays on Heine, including her 1856 "German Wit: Heinrich Heine," published in the Westminster Review. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Belmont | Sep 4 | MASS.; CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP | 5 | 8 AM | 1888 | REC'D. Bucke had written to Whitman on July 30, 1888, and on August 4, 1888. Bucke may be referring to Whitman's letter of October 15, 1888. If there is an additional letter addressed to all three men of October 13, 1888, it may not survive. Whitman often referred to Complete Poems & Prose (1888) as his "big book." The volume was published by the poet himself in an arrangement with publisher David McKay, who allowed Whitman to use the plates for both Leaves of Grass and Specimen Days—in December 1888. With the help of Horace Traubel, Whitman made the presswork and binding decisions, and Frederick Oldach bound the volume, which included a profile photo of the poet on the title page. For more information on the book, see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). Reginald A Beckett and his wife Katie E. Beckett were British socialists and admirers of Whitman. Reginald Beckett, also a poet and journalist, authored "Whitman as a Socialist Poet," which was published in the July 1888 issue of To-Day magazine. He also published in serials such as the Christian Socialist and the Labor Prophet, a periodical that he began editing in 1896 (Kirsten Harris, Walt Whitman and British Socialism: 'The Love of Comrades' [New York: Routledge, 2016], 20, 109). Little additional information is known about Katie E. Beckett. Spielmann is referring to Whitman's poem "Twenty Years," which was published in the Magazine of Art (August 1888). Susan Stafford and her husband George were the parents of Edwin (1856–1906), Harry (b. 1858), Ruth (1864–1914), Van Doran (1864–1914), and Deborah Stafford. Deborah's husband, Joseph Browning, is likely the "Jo" Whitman mentions. Gudbrand Vigfusson (1827–1889) was born in Iceland and educated at Copenhagen University. He became a respected Scandinavian scholar and moved to Oxford. He would later hold the position of Reader in Scandinanvian at Oxford until his death. Carpenter's review of November Boughs was published in the April 1889 issue of The Scottish Art Review. Wilhelm Carl Grimm (1786–1859) was (with Jakob) one of the Grimm Brothers, who published an influential collection of fairy tales in 1812. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: North Cambridge, Sta. | Mar | 19 | 8AM |[illegible]. There is what what is likely a Camden postmark that is only partially legible. It reads as follows: MAR | 20 | 10AM | [illegible] | Rec'd. Little is known about these correspondents who seemingly visited Whitman in Camden. Whitman likely wrote this note to communicate with his visitors, who could neither hear nor speak. Whitman is referring to Oscar Wilde's "The Gospel According to Walt Whitman," a review of November Boughs that was published in the Pall Mall Gazette on January 25, 1889. This postal card is addresssed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR | 24 | 1 PM | 1889 | REC'D; WASHINGTON, D. C. | Mar 23 | 10 PM | [illegible] | [illegible]. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: WASHINGTON | MAR 26 | 10 PM | 89 | D.C. There is also Camden, N.J. postmark, but only the city and the date of "MAR 27" are legible. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR | 28 | 6AM | [illegible] | REC'D; WASHINGTON | MAR 27 | 10PM | [illegible] | D. C. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | 328 Mickle N. Jersey. It is postmarked: BOSTON. MASS | MAR 28 | [illegible] | 1889; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR | 29 | 10 AM | [illegible] | REC'D. Andrew James Symington's article on Whitman appeared in volume six of Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biography(1889); the article was later often used as the basis for many of Whitman's obituary notices. Kennedy and others published a number of short pieces on Whitman in the Boston Evening Transcript in 1888, and Kennedy sent copies to Whitman. Kennedy is likely referring to Whitman's letter of April 7, 1889. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | APRIL 14 | 6PM | R; N.Y. | 4-14-89 | 89; CAMDEN, N. J. | APR | 15 | 6AM | 1889 | REC'D. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: WASHINGTON | APR 24| 4PM | D.C.; CAMDEN, N.J. | APR 25 | 6AM | 1889 | REC'D. O'Connor is likely referring to Whitman's letter to William D. O'Connor of April 22, 1889. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: BOSTON, MASS. | APR 24 | [illegible] | 1889; CAMDEN, N.J. | APR | 25 | 10AM | 1889 | REC'D. Kennedy is referring to Whitman's poem "The First Dandelion," which had been first published in the New York Herald, on March 12, 1888. This postal card is addressed: Walt. Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: WASHINGTON | MAY 1 | 8AM | D. C.; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAY 1 | 630 PM | 1889 | REC'D. April 30, 1889, was a national holiday in celebration of the centennial of George Washington's inauguration as the first president. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. For Whitman's reaction to Stepniak's article and Kennedy's comments on Howells, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, May 21, 1889. Harriet Stanton Blatch's article on and interview the Ukranian revolutionary, socialist, and nihilist Sergius Stepniak (1851–1895), then living in London, appeared in the Boston Evening Transcript on May 18, 1889. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: North Cambridge Sta, Mass. | Jun | 25 | 8AM | 1889; Camden, N.J. | JUN | 26 | 8AM | 1889. Kennedy has added this postscript by writing over his message to Whitman on the recto of the postal card. The postscript begins at the top of the right side of the recto. This postal card is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont | Mass:. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | JUN 4 | 8PM | 89. Irish Scholar John Pentland Mahaffy (1839–1919) published Rambles and Studies in Greece in 1876. On June 3, 1889, Kennedy had sent a brief notice of the birthday celebration from the Boston Evening Transcript and a check for $4.99, his facetious way of ordering the pocket-book edition of Leaves of Grass (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., Walt Whitman: The Correspondence [1886–1889], 4:344n32). The notes and addresses that were delivered at Whitman's seventieth birthday celebration in Camden, on May 31, 1889, were collected and edited by Horace Traubel. The volume was titled Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman, and it included a photo of Sidney Morse's 1887 clay bust of Whitman as the frontispiece. The book was published in 1889 by Philadelphia publisher David McKay. For Whitman's seventieth birthday, Horace Traubel and a large committee planned a local celebration for the poet in Morgan's Hall in Camden, New Jersey. The committee included Henry (Harry) L. Bonsall, Geoffrey Buckwalter, and Thomas B. Harned. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, May 7, 1889. The day was celebrated with a testimonial dinner. Numerous authors and friends of the poet prepared and delivered addresses to mark the occasion. Whitman, who did not feel well at the time, arrived after the dinner to listen to the remarks. Whitman sent a copy of his November Boughs essay on Elias Hicks to the New York Herald, which printed a note on Whitman in its September 17, 1888, "Some New Books" column, noting the publication of November Boughs and quoting from the Hicks essay. This top part of the letter was written by author John Habberton (1842–1921), at the time the literary critic at the New York Herald, and indicates that he had just printed the notice of Whitman's November Boughs in his September 17 "Some New Books" column. This postal card is addressed: R Pearsall Smith | 1305 Arch Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | JAN 11 | 6 PM | 88. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is also addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey | June 27. It is postmarked: DEM | Jun27 | 88. 48879 June 30/88 July 15th | "Patt Matt's Pictures of the Year" 6 L (sixpence) Whitman has crossed out this letter he has recieved from Blake. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq, | 328 Nickle Street | Camden| New Jersey| U.S. America. It is postmarked: London 10 June| 88. Maurice Barrymore (1849–1905) was the stage name of Herbert Arthur Chamberlayne Blythe who was born in India and later educated in England. He became a boxing champion before taking up acting; he emigrated to the United States and debuted in Augustin Daly's play Under the Gaslight. He married the actress Georgiana Drew, and he starred in Broadway productions and headlined in Vaudeville. Barrymore is the great-grandfather of actress Drew Barrymore. For more on Barrymore's biography, see James Kotsilibas-Davis, Great Times, Good Times: The Odyssey of Maurice Barrymore (New York: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1977). Scovel is referencing Bryant's poem "The May Sun Sheds An Amber Light." Whitman's poem, "Old Age's Lambent Peaks," was published in the September 1888 issue of The Century. He may be referring to proofs of this poem. This letter is addressed: Etats-Unis d'Amérique | Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey | U. S. A. It is postmarked: NOUVELLE-CALEDONIE | [illegible] 22 | DEC | 90; NOUVELLE-CALEDONIE | [illegible] 22 | DEC | 90; SA[illegible] | FE[illegible] 15 | PAID ALL; CAMDEN [illegible] See Whitman's letter to Sarrazin of September 5, 1890. Sarrazin is referring to an abodominal infection or inflammation. His condition required him to have surgery. A play by William Gillette (1853–1937), set during the Civil War, and now recognized as having a significant influence on modern realism in American drama. It was first performed in 1886 in the Madison Square Theatre, followed by numerous revivals in New York and other cities, including the 1888 Academy performances starring Barrymore as the handsome and earnest Colonel Prescott. Very little is known about the illustrator William H. Blauvelt. Kennedy is referring to Whitman's letter of October 19, 1888. Whitman is likely referring to Bucke's letter of February 3, 1889. Whitman is referring to Gabriel Sarrazin's "Poetes modernes de l'Amerique, Walt Whitman," which appeared in La Nouvelle Revue, 52 (May 1, 1888), 164–184. Whitman had asked both William Sloane Kennedy and Richard Maurice Bucke to make an abstract in English of it (see Whitman's letter to Kennedy of January 22, 1889, and to Bucke of January 27, 1889). Sarrazin's piece is reprinted in an English translation by Harrison S. Morris in In Re (1893, pp. 159–194). Gabriel Sarrazin (1853–1935) was a translator and poet from France, who commented positively not only on Whitman's work but also on Poe's. For more on Sarrazin, see Carmine Sarracino, "Sarrazin, Gabriel (1853–1935)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 609. Whitman is referring to Complete Poems & Prose (1888). With the help of Horace Traubel, Whitman made the presswork and binding decisions, and Frederick Oldach bound the volume, which included a profile photo of the poet on the title page. The book was published in December 1888. For more information on the book, see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). Whitman's Complete Poems & Prose was published in December 1888. With the help of Horace Traubel, Whitman made the presswork and binding decisions, and Frederick Oldach bound the volume, which included a profile photo of the poet on the title page. For more information on the book, see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). Whitman's letter to Bertz appears to be lost. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | 328 Mickle Street, | Camden, New Jersey, | United States America. It is postmarked: LAGOW | 22 7 | 89 | 8-12H. There are two additional postmarks; both are illegible. The following is printed at the top of the envelope: Deutscher Schriftstellerverband | Bezirks-Berein I, Berlin. Edward Bertz (1853–1931), also spelled "Eduard," was a German writer and translator from Potsdam, who became involved with social democracy movements and signed a petition against the criminalization of homosexuality in Germany. In honor of Whitman's seventieth birthday, Bertz published an article in the Deutsche Presse of June 2, 1889 (Amelia von Ende, "Whitman and the Germans of Today," The Conservator No. 4 [June 1907], 55–57). Bertz sent Whitman the article in his June 16, 1889, letter to the poet. A holograph copy of the article, with corrections by Whitman (June 1889) is part of the Charles E. Feinberg Collection, held by the Library of Congress. Whitman discussed the letter and Bertz's article with Horace Traubel, remarking, "It is interesting to me to know what they think of us way over there. It comes from Berlin, which is a center, I suppose, an important center" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, June 28, 1889). For more information on Bertz, see Grünzweig, Walter, "Bertz, Eduard (1853–1931)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Bertz is referring to Dr. Heinrich Rehfeldt (1851–1910), his longtime friend, who studied medicine in Leipzig and was, at the time, the chief physician at Frankfurt-on-Oder. Thyrza (1887), a novel by the English novelist George Gissing (1857–1903), is the story of Thyrza Trent, a working class hat-trimmer who longs to rise above the circumstances of her birth and who falls in love with the Oxford-educated Walter Egremont, who often delivers lectures on literature to an audience of factory workers. George Gissing (1857–1903) was an English writer who authored twenty-three novels during his literary career, including The Odd Women (1893) and New Grub Street (1891). His novels often focused on working class life and urban poverty. Bertz was a friend and correspondent of Gissing. Thomas Hughes (1822–1896) was an English laywer and author from Oxfordshire; he was best known for his novel Tom Brown's School Days (1857). He also founded an experimental Utopian community in Rugby, Tennessee, in 1880. Bertz is quoting, inaccurately, the opening of Whitman's "Reconciliation." Lettres persanes (Persian Letters), by the French writer and political philosopher Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu (1689–1755), was published in 1721. Very little is known about the English priest Charles W. Sparkes. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, Esq | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: New York | Jun 1| 830PM | D; Camden, NJ | Jun[illegible] | 1pm | 1889 | Rec'd | NY | 6-1-89 | [illegible]pm | [illegible] Very little is known about W. J. O'Reardon. He published at least one poem titled "Man"—a humorous meditation on human nature—that was reprinted in several newspapers in the late 1880s. He sent the verses enclosed with this letter to Whitman at the time of the poet's seventieth birthday. Horace Traubel referred to O'Reardon as "a New Yorker" and noted that Whitman kept O'Reardon's "greeting," since it was still "intact" as late as December 13, 1889 (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, December 13, 1889). The 14th Cincinnati Industrial Exposition (1888) celebrated the hundredth anniversary of the city's founding. The 1888 Republican National Convention was held in Chicago on June 19–25. "Tippecanoe" was the nickname used by Harrison's grandfather, William Henry Harrison, in the 1840 presidential campaign. Morse is here applying it to the grandson and current presidential candidate. Forman is referring to Whitman's November Boughs. The book was published in October 1888 by Philadelphia publisher David McKay. For more information on the book, see James E. Barcus Jr., "November Boughs [1888]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman had written to Costello on September 2, 1888. Evelyn Hunter Nordhoff (1865–1898) was the first female bookbinder in the US. She had learned her trade in London and became aquainted with Smith and his sister Mary Whitall Smith Costello there. Whitman is referring to his Complete Poems & Prose (1888). This letter is addressed to four close acquaintances of Whitman: William Sloane Kennedy (1850–1929), the naturalist John Burroughs (1837–1921), the author of the Whitman pamphlet "The Good Gray Poet" (1866), William D. O'Connor (1832–1889), and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1902). For more on these figures, see these entries from Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998): Katherine Reagan, "Kennedy, William Sloane (1850–1929)," Carmine Sarracino, "Burroughs, John (1837–1921) and Ursula (1836–1917)," Deshae E. Lott, "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)," and Howard Nelson, "Bucke, Richard Maurice (1837–1902)." Whitman's Complete Poems & Prose (1888), a volume Whitman often referred to as the "big book," was published by the poet himself—in an arrangement with publisher David McKay, who allowed Whitman to use the plates for both Leaves of Grass and Specimen Days—in December 1888. With the help of Horace Traubel, Whitman made the presswork and binding decisions for the volume. Frederick Oldach bound the book, which included a profile photo of the poet on the title page. For more information on the book, see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). Ada H. Pearsons Spaulding (b. 1841) was a socialite and active member of various reform movements. She wrote a number of letters to Whitman in his final years. In her March 27, 1889, letter to Whitman, she expressed extravagant gratitude for the visit. On one of her calling cards the poet wrote: "dear friend of L of G & me—a middle-aged lady—I sh'd say—one of the real circle." The calling card is part of the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of Walt Whitman papers, held by the Library of Congress, See MSS18630, Box 41, Reel 26. This letter is addressed to two close acquaintances of Whitman: William Sloane Kennedy (1850–1929) and the naturalist John Burroughs (1837–1921). For more on these figures, see these entries from Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998): Katherine Reagan, "Kennedy, William Sloane (1850–1929)" and Carmine Sarracino, "Burroughs, John (1837–1921) and Ursula (1836–1917)." Eliza Langley (?–1897) was the proprietress of a well-known bookselling, library, and stationery establishment on London Street in Reading. After serving as a manageress to George Lovejoy, the former owner of the business, she purchased it from his trustees in 1884 and acted as proprietress until her death in December 1897. She was the daughter of George Langley, a paper-maker for Ford Mills, in Kent ("Obituary" [for Miss Langley], The Bookseller No. 482 [January 13, 1898]: 16). This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Washington | Mar 20 | [illegible]PM | 89; Camden, N. J. | March 21 | [illegible]AM | [illegible] | Rec'd This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Washington | Mar 21 | 11PM | 89 | D C.; Camden, N.J. | Mar | 22 | [illegible] | [illegible] | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Washington, D C. | May 9 | 130PM | 89; Camden, N.J. | May | 10 | 6AM | 1889 | Rec'd. Whitman is referring to the February 21, 1889, letter from Burroughs. Rhys is referring to Whitman's poem "A Carol Closing Sixty-Nine," which was published in the New York Herald on May 21, 1888. Lawrence Barrett (1838–1891) was an American stage actor who acted in the repertory company of the Boston Museum and later on the London stage. He played numerous parts during his career, including taking on a number of Shakespearean roles, sometimes acting alongside the well-known stage actor Edwin Booth. Arthur Newton Brown (1856 or 1857–1933) worked as a Professor of English and a librarian at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis for twenty-five years. He and his wife later lived in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida, where he resided at the time of his death. See Arthur Newton Brown's obituary in The New York Times on January 16, 1933. Whitman is referring a review of November Boughs by William S. Walsh published in The Saturday Review on March 2, 1889. Luigi Gamberale published several translations of Whitman's poetry into Italian. Galimberti may be referring to Gamberale's Cati Sceliti Di Walt Whitman, published in Milan in 1887. This letter is addressed: To Walt Whitman in | Camden, New Jersey | (Stati Uniti d'America). It is postmarked: CUNEO | 24 | 5-89 | 12M; Torino [illegible] | No. 3 | 24 | Mae | 89| (Ambie); New York | Jun 4 | 89; Paid | C | All; Camden, NJ | Jun 5 | 10AM | 1889 | REC'D. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman, poet | Camden | New Jersey | United States of America. It is postmarked: Camden, NJ | Jul | 20 | 6AM | 1889 Rec'd. There are two additional postmarks from Safsjö, but neither are legible. The final page(s) of this letter, including the remainder of the body, the closing, and the signature appear to be missing and may no longer be extant. This letter is addresssed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: North Cambridge, Sta. Mass | Feb | 26 | 8am | 1889; Camden, N.J. | Feb | 27 | 10am | Rec'd. Kennedy is likely referring to Whitman's postal card of July 31, 1889. In celebration of his seventieth year, Whitman published the limited and autographed pocket-book edition of Leaves of Grass, a volume which also included the annex Sands at Seventy and his essay A Backward Glance O'er Traveled Roads. Payne has partially crossed out parts of the letterhead that refer to the editorial rooms of the Chicago Daily News. He has written an alternative return address. William Morton Payne (1858–1919) was an American literary critic and writer from Newburyport, Massachusetts. He was a literary editor for the Chicago Morning News and the Chicago Evening Journal, and he later wrote for literary publications such as The Dial, Harper's Weekly, and The Atlantic Monthly. In the early 1900s, Payne lectured at several universities in the Midwest, including institutions in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Kansas. Charles DeKay (1848–1935) was a New York poet and literary and art critic. He was the brother of the artist Helena DeKay Gilder, wife of the editor Richard Watson Gilder, a friend and supporter of Whitman. DeKay contributed an article on "George Fuller, Painter" to the September 1889 Magazine of Art that compared Fuller and Whitman. Whitman discussed the article with Horace Traubel; see Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, August 22, 1889. George Kennan (1845–1923) was an American explorer who travelled throughout Siberia and published enthographical accounts of his experience in his 1870 book, Tent Life in Siberia. He later worked as a war correspondent for the Associated Press, and contributed to such magazines as The Century and Atlantic Monthly. Jefferson Davis (1808–1889) was a politician who served as the President of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865, during the Civil War. He died on December 6, 1889. Rhys is quoting a passage from Algernon Charles Swinburne's poem "Ex-Voto." 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). 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. Whitman probably sent Dowden a copy of the 1889 special issue of Leaves of Grass, issued in honor of Whitman's 70th birthday. Only 300 copies were printed, and Whitman signed the title page of each one. For more information on the book, see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). Tom Brown at Rugby (1857) is a novel by British writer and politician Thomas Hughes (1822–1896). "Enoch Arden" (1864) is a narrative poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson about a man who goes to sea to support his wife and children, is shipwrecked on an island for ten years, then returns home to find his wife married to one of his childhoood friends. Heyde is indicating here that he had been reading portions of November Boughs; one of the pieces in that book is "A Word about Tennyson," in which Whitman quotes a number of passages from Tennyson's poetry and writes: "Tennyson shows more than any poet I know (perhaps has been a warning to me) how much there is in finest verbalism. There is such latent charm in mere words, cunning collocutions, and in the voice ringing them, which he has caught and brought out, beyond all others." The bracketed date of "[Feb. 1889] that is written at the top of this letter in an unknown hand is the only evidence for this date of composition. However, the letter must have been written soon after the publication of Whitman's Complete Poems and Prose in December 1888. Wolmershausen was a high-fashion firm for men's and women's clothes in London, located at 48– 49 Curzon Street in Mayfair, and 24 Half Moon Street, where a "Miss Wolmershausen" oversaw the Ladies Department. See Charles Eyre Pascoe, London of To-day: An Illustrated Handbook for this Season and for all Seasons, 1892 (London: Roberts Brothers, 1892), 391, 409. Jacob Klein (1845–?) attended Harvard Law School and graduated in 1871. He practiced law in St. Louis until 1881, when he formed a partnership with William E. Fisse, and remained with their firm—Klein & Fisse—until 1899, when he was elected as a judge in the Circuit Court of Saint Louis. He continued his work as a judge unitil 1901. For more information on Klein, see "Jacob Klein," The Book of Missourians: The Achievements and Personnel of Notable Living Men and Women of Missouri in the Opening Decade of the Twenteith Century, M. L. Van Nada, ed. (St. Louis: T. J. Steele & Co., Publishers, 1906), 201–202. Asa K. McIlhaney (1867–1946) was a local historian, naturalist, and author from Northhampton county, Pennsylvania. He worked as a teacher at the grammar school in Bath, Pennsylvania, and later as a principal. For more information on McIlhaney, see "Asa K. McIlhaney: The Monocacy School's Most Famous Teacher," The Governor's Gossip: Newsletter of the Governor Wolf Historical Society (November 2016), 6. Costelloe is referring to Whitman's postal card of April 19, 1889. John Burroughs and Richard Maurice Bucke were two of Whitman's closest friends and admirers. Burroughs (1837–1921), a naturalist, met Whitman in Washington, D.C. in 1864 and became one of Whitman's most frequent correspondents. He would also go on to write several studies of Whitman. Bucke (1837–1902), a Canadian physician, was Whitman's first biographer, and would later become one of his medical advisors and literary executors. 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). For more on his relationship with Bucke, see Howard Nelson, "Bucke, Richard Maurice (1837–1902). Wroth has written his name in the center of the page on the verso of the letter. Mexican feather cards were sought-after items, with tropical birds on the cards crafted from actual bird feathers. See Whitman's letter to Rhys of February 2, 1887. Little is known about C. A. Spofford; he seems to have worked in the editorial rooms of the New York Evening Post at this time. Howard Everton (H. E.) Strout (1846–before 1905?) was born in Maine but later moved to Massachusetts and became a photographer. Over the course of his career, he had photography studios in Woburn and Brockton. Cabinet card portraits from the late 1890s list the address of his studio at the time as the "Home Bank Block" in Brockton. Whitman may have drawn the line that extends through the text of the letter on the recto image with the intent of crossing out the autograph request. George Jacob Spinner (1874–1934) was born in Warren, Pennsylvania. His parents, Jacob and Elizabeth Spinner, were immigrants from the Alsace-Lorraine region. Around 1895, The family moved to Toldeo, Ohio, where George married Clarinda Saunders and had three children, Bertram, Ruth, and Ralph. When he registered for the Draft during WWI, George was living with his family in Chicago, Illinois, and working as a manager for the Dr. Bell Electro-Appliance Company. After Clarinda's death in 1922, he married Edith Nelson. According to his death certificate, Spinner was working as a copywriter for an advertising company at the time of his death. He is buried in Chicago's Rosehill Cemetery. For more information, see Spinner's death notice in the Chicago Daily Tribune (October 22, 1934), 20. Samuel H. Grey (1836–1903) was a lifelong resident of Camden and a prominent constitutional lawyer. A founder of New Jersey's Republican party, he served on the New Jersey Constitutional Commission and was appointed New Jersey Attorney General in 1897, serving in that position until 1902. O'Connor is likely referring to Whitman's postal card of November 7, 1889. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: South Weymouth | Nov | 9 | 1889 | Mass.; Camden, N.J. | Nov | 11 | 6am | 1889 | Rec'd. Alyssa ("Alys") Whitall Pearsall Smith (1867–1951) was born in Philadelphia and became a Quaker relief organizer. She attended Bryn Mawr College and was a graduate of the class of 1890. She and her family lived in Britain for two years during her childhood and again beginning in 1888. She married the philosopher Bertrand Russell in 1894; the couple later separated, and they divorced in 1921. Smith also served as the chair of a society committee that set up the "Mothers and Babies Welcome" (the St Pancras School for Mothers) in London in 1907; this health center, dedicated to reducing the infant mortality rate, provided a range of medical and educational services for women. Smith was the daughter of Robert Pearsall and Hannah Whitall Smith, and she was the sister of Mary Whitall Smith (1864–1945), the political activist, art historian, and critic, whom Whitman once called his "staunchest living woman friend." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman. | Camden. | New Jersey | Mickle St. It is postmarked: Boston, Mass. | Dec 30 | [illegible]PM | 1889; Camden, N.J. | Dec 31 | 9 AM | 1889 | Rec'd. Gould has added a note following the heading "For May 31st 1889," which she has marked with an asterisk. The corresponding note refers to the title of the poem "Song at Sunset," which Gould has written after the final lines of the poem. More than a year later, in his letter to Whitman of November 5, 1889, Kennedy wrote that Wilson would publish his book on Whitman only if Kennedy paid the costs of production. Grace McAlpine Johnston (1866–1935), born in Mount Vernon, New York, was the daughter of Walt Whitman's friend John Henry Johnston (1837–1919), a jeweler, and Johnston's first wife, Amelia F. Many (1839–1877). From 1927 to 1931, she served as the President of the oldest women's club in the United States: the Sorosis Club. She was married first to William J. Johnston (1853–1907), a publisher of telegraphic literature and founder of Electrical World; the couple had at least three children. She later married William McCarroll (1851–1933), a Public Service Commissioner ("Mrs. Wm McCarroll, Ex-Sorosis Head, Dies," New York Times [March 11, 1935], 17). For genealogical information on the ancestors and descendants of Grace's father, John H. Johnston, see "John H. Johnston," Families of Dickerman Ancestry: Descendants of Thomas Dickerman an Early Settler of Dorchester, Massachusetts (New Haven, CT: The Tuttle, Morehouse, & Taylor Press, 1897), 267–268. Alma Calder Johnston (1843–1917) was an author and the founder of a charity called the Little Mothers' Aid Society. The charity funded trips to Pelham Bay Park on Hunter's Island for young girls who served as the primary caregivers for their siblings while their parents worked. Johnston wrote for the New York Tribune and Harper's Weekly ("[Obituary for Alma Calder Johnston]," in "New York Notes," The Jewelers' Circular-Weekly [May 9, 1917], 85). Her "Personal Memories of Walt Whitman" was published in The Bookman 46 (December 1917), 404–413. She was the second wife of the jeweler John H. Johnston, and her family owned a home and property in Equinunk, Pennsylvania. For more on the Johnstons, see Susan L. Roberson, "Johnston, John H. (1837–1919) and Alma Calder" (Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Little is known about the physician O.W. True. Dr. True succeeded Dr. Henry Warren (H. W.) Hamilton as a practicing homeopathic physician in Farmington, Franklin County, Maine. Dr. Hamilton, who is credited with bringing homeopathy to Farmington in 1861, later moved to Vermont, leaving his practice to Dr. True. See "History of Homeopathy in Maine. An Address before the Homeopathic Medical Society of Maine by William E. Payne, M.D., of Bath, Me 1867," North American Journal of Homeopathy 16 (November 1867), 210–226. See also "Dr. Henry Warren Hamilton," New England Families: Genealogical and Memorial, ed. William Richard Cutter, A. M., Vol. 3 (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1941), 1481–1482. Richard E. Labar (1864–1885), a native of Pennsylvania, began working in the offices of the Philadelphia Ledger at the age of twelve. He later moved to Colorado and then spent the 1884–1885 academic year at the University of Michigan studying literature and law. He began to sell books to fund additional study at Union High School in Waukesha, Wisconsin. In 1887, he founded the Waukesha World newspaper and worked in real estate. For more on Labar and his family's history, see "Richard E. Labar," Portrait and Biographical Record of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, Volume 2 (Chicago: Excelsiour Publishing Co., 1894), 506–507. Rhys mentioned on February 15, 1887 that separate publication of Specimen Days and Democratic Vistas was about to be considered by the publisher Walter Scott. Whitman noted sending to Rhys a two-page preface to Specimen Days on March 8 and an "Additional Note" on March 15 (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]). Rhys here notes the receipt of the "Additional Note." Thomas Hutchinson (1856–1938) was an English writer and educator, teaching at Northumbria University and the Pegswood school. He published a book of verse, Ballades and other Rhymes of a Country Bookworm (1888). He was also a collector of first editions and publications by notable writers, and the items in the collection that had not been sold previously at auction were later donated by Hutchinson's descendants to Preston Park Museum and Grounds (Charlotte Barro, "Man with Lifelong Love Affair with Literature," Morpeth Herald, January 1, 2016). These lines from the poem "Not Knowing" have been attributed to Mary Gardiner Brainard (1837–1905), a writer of religious poetry. Philip Paul Bliss set the lines to music as a hymn in the 1870s. Whitman quoted parts of these lines in Specimen Days and Collect, but offered no source. Kennedy is likely referring to Whitman's letter of March 17, 1888. Frederick Gutekunst (1831–1917) was a well-known ninteenth-century American photographer in Philadelphia. During the Civil War he made portraits of soldiers, and, after the War, he continued to create high quality portraits of notable figures, including Abraham Lincoln, Lucretia Mott, and Grover Cleveland. He made portraits of Whitman in Philadelphia ca. 1879–1881 and in 1889, which are available in The Walt Whitman's Archive's Gallery of Images. Whitman's three-line poem "Twilight" was published in the Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine in December 1887. O'Connor is referring to Whitman's poem "The Dead Emperor," about the death of Emperor Wilhelm I of Germany, who died in March 1888. The poem was published in the New York Herald on March 10, 1888. O'Connor is referring to Whitman's poem "Twilight" that ends "A haze—nirwana—rest and night—oblivion." The poem was published in the Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine in December 1887. Whitman sent this letter from Burroughs to the Canadian physician and psychiatrist Richard Maurice Bucke, including it as an enclosure with his letter to Bucke of July 13, 1889. Eldridge is echoing Whitman's line in "Song of Myself"—"I know I shall not pass like a child's carlacue cut with a burnt stick at night." Whitman sent this letter to two of his closest friends and admirers, the naturalist John Burroughs and Canadian physician and psychiatrist Richard Maurice Bucke, including it as an enclosure with his letter to Burroughs and Bucke of July 19, 1889. Caroline K. Sherman (1842–1929) of Massachusetts was a writer and philosopher. She graduated from Wheaton Seminary and also received private instruction in theology and philosophy. She was a member of the Concord School of Philosophy, where she lectured in 1885. She served as Vice President of the Aristotelian Society, the chairwoman of the Woman's Branch Department of Philosophy and Science, World's Congress Auxiliary World's Columbian Exposition, and, after moving to Chicago, as a member of the Chicago Board of Education. She was the author of Dante's Vision of God; a Critical Analysis (Chicago: Scott Foresman & Co., 1897), and she married Jonathan Sherman, Jr., from Boston. See the brief biographical note that appears as a footnote to Caroline K. Sherman's "Characteristics of the Modern Woman," The Congress of Women, Held in the Woman's Building, World's Columbian Exhibition, ed. Mary Kavanaugh Oldham Eagle (Chicago: S.I. Bell & Co., 1894), 764. Harrison S. Morris (1856–1948) of Philadelphia was a writer, editor, and translator. He made an English translation of French critic Gabriel Sarrazin's "Poétes moderns de l'amérique, Walt Whitman," La Nouvelle Revue, 52 (May 1888), 164–84; Morris's translation of Sarrazin's piece is reprinted in In Re Walt Whitman (1893, pp. 159–194). Morris also served as the managing director of the Philadelphia Academy of the Fine Arts and editor of Lippincott's Magazine, as well as the president of the Wharton Steel Company. He was the author and/or editor of several books, including Walt Whitman. A Brief Biography, with Reminiscences (1929). This letter is addressed to two close acquaintances of Whitman: William Sloane Kennedy (1850–1929), a writer and defender of the poet, and the naturalist John Burroughs (1837–1921). For more on these figures, see these entries from Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998): Katherine Reagan, "Kennedy, William Sloane (1850–1929)" and Carmine Sarracino, "Burroughs, John (1837–1921) and Ursula (1836–1917)." Walter Delaplaine Scull (1863–1915), born in Bath, Somerset, was the son of Gideon Delaplaine Scull and Anna Holder Scull. He was educated at Oxford and later became an artist and writer. Whitman sent the edition on February 21, 1888 (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]). Dick & Fitzgerald was a publishing firm with an office at 18 Ann Street in New York City. The firm was founded in 1858 by William Brisbane Dick (1827–1901) and Lawrence R. Fitzgerald (1826–1881). They published books on topics ranging from puzzles and dancing to games and songs. Alfred (1826–1896) and Moses (1822–1892) Beach were brothers from Springfield, Massachusetts, who ran the New York Sun in parntership with their father before buying his part of the paper and assuming full control. Moses became the sole proprietor of The Sun in 1852 and ran the paper through most of the American Civil War. Alfred Beach was a publisher and entrepreneur who is best known as an owner and cofounder of Scientific American magazine. Whitman is referring to Fredrika Bremer (1801–1865), who was a Swedish reformer and a writer of romantic stories with independent women as narrators. Bernhard Severin Ingemann (1789–1862) was a Danish poet and novelist from the island of Falster, Denmark. He was married to the painter Luie Marie Mandix (1792–1868). Houghton, Mifflin and Co., Publishers were a publishing firm with offices in Boston and at 11 E. 17th St. in New York. They published, among other works, numerous titles that were adopted as textbooks in many schools. This letter appears to be a request from the publisher to Whitman in order to obtain permission for publishing the poet's poem "O Captain! My Captain!" in one or more books, including one for use in schools. Chants of Labour: A Song Book of the People was a collection of songs compiled by Edward Carpenter, and it included poetry by Whitman that had been set to music. The volume was first published by Swan Sonnenschein in London in 1888. It was reissued three times: in 1892, 1897, and 1905, and further editions were published into the 1920s. Riley's enclosure is unknown and may not survive. Twain's letter was one of numerous addresses and letters prepared for Whitman's seventieth birthday celebration on May 31, 1889, in Camden. These writings were collected and edited by Horace Traubel in a volume titled Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman. It included a photo of Sidney Morse's 1887 clay bust of Whitman as the frontispiece. The book was published in 1889 by Philadelphia publisher David McKay. Coal tar, a by-product of coal processing, had a number of medical and industrial uses, including treating skin problems like psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis. Charles E. Hurd (1833–1910) of New Hampshire was a jouralist and author. He served as the literature editor for the Boston Transcript newspaper from 1874 to 1901. This postal card is addressed Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Boston Mass | Sep 15 | 9 30A | 1890; Camden, N.J. | Sep 16 | 9am | 1890 | Rec'd. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Boston.Mass | Sep 15 | 9-30AM | 1890; Camden, N.J. | Sep 16 | 9am | 1890 | Rec'd. Kennedy was writing a piece on Whitman's "Dutch traits" and had asked Whitman for some notes; see Whitman's letter to Kennedy of August 29, 1890. Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375) was an Italian writer and poet best known for his works The Decameron and On Famous Women. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U. S. A. It is postmarked: London | 9 7 | SP 25 | 90; Camden, N.J. | Oct | 6 | 6am | 1890 | Rec'd. Whitman may be referring to the letter he wrote to O'Connor on September 21, 1890. At Ellen O'Connor's request, Whitman had written a preface for W. D. O'Connor's posthumously published Three Tales (1892). Ellen O'Connor eventually titled the book simply Three Tales (included were "The Ghost," "The Brazen Android," and "The Carpenter"). Francis ("Frank") Howard Williams (1844–1922) was a Philadelphia poet and playwright who wrote several essays on Whitman and two sonnets to the poet (included in his The Flute Player and Other Poems [1896]). He often welcomed Whitman into his home in the 1880s and is frequently mentioned in Horace Traubel's With Walt Whitman in Camden, where Whitman describes the Williams family home as "a sort of asylum (like old churches, temples) when so many homes were closed against me" (See Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, September 18, 1888). James T. Fields (1817–1881) succeeded James Russell Lowell as editor of the Atlantic Monthly in 1861 and held the position until 1871. Fields wrote a book of reminiscences of his friendships with various authors, called Yesterdays with Authors (1871); two of the authors were Charles Dickens and Nathaniel Hawthorne. John Ward Wiggins, Jr. (1846–?) was on the Board of Directors of the Society of Old Brooklynites; he was descended from one of the oldest families on Long Island and worked for the Niagara Fire Insurance Company of New York. He served on the Board of Education of Brooklyn and was active in the Free Masons. (See Henry Whittemore, Free Masonry in North America from the Colonial Period to the Beginning of the Present Century [New York, Artotype Printing and Publishing, 1889], 189–190). Col. Thomas Wentworth Higginson (1823–1911) was a Unitarian minister, a prolific author, a militant abolitionist, a women's rights advocate, and, in the Civil War, the officer in charge of the first federally authorized black regiment. In 1862, he published a "Letter to a Young Contributor" in the Atlantic Monthly that inspired Emily Dickinson to write to him and ask for his opinion of her poems, leading to a decades-long correspondence; he helped edit the first book of her poems. For more information on Higginson and Whitman, see Edward W. Harris, "Higginson, Thomas Wentworth (1823–1911)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). After graduating from Illinois State Normal University (now Illinois State University), John Williston Cook (1844–1922) taught history and math, among other subjects, at his alma mater. In 1890, he became the fourth president of Illinois State Normal University, and he went on to become the first president of Illinois State Normal School in Dekalb, a position he held until his retirement, three years before his death. Wilke Collins (1824–1889) was an English novelist and playwright. He was a close friend of Charles Dickens, and some of his writings were first published in All the Year Round and Household Words, magazines that Dickens edited. Collins is best known for his novels The Woman in White (1859) and The Moonstone (1868), which is often considered the first English detective novel. Founded by Charles Little (1799–1869) and James Brown (1800–1855), Little, Brown and Company began as a bookseller and publishing firm in Boston in 1837. The firm published the works of Benjamin Franklin and George Washington and were also well known as a legal publisher; later they published numerous volumes of works by British poets. Today, Little, Brown and Company is part of the Hachette book group, and they continue to publish both fiction and nonfiction works. This letter is addressed: Dr. Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. The envelope includes Whitman's return address printed as follows in the bottom left corner of the envelope: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey, | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar24 | 8PM | 90; London | AM | MR 25 | 90 | Canada. The Canadian postmark appears twice. Costelloe is referring to Whitman's postal card of March 2, 1890. Louisa Drewry (1834–1916) of Middlesex, England, began teaching Greek and Latin classes for women in the early 1860s. She became a founding faculty member of The Working Women's College in 1864. She continued teaching classes for women in literature, composition, and history until approximately 1910, and she had amassed a library of 2,000 books by the time of her death in 1916. She was a member of the Browning Society, a contributor to the English Woman's Journal, and is author of A Simple Method of Grammatical Analysis (London: George Bell & Sons, 1891). The Review of Reviews was a magazine begun by the reform journalist William Thomas Stead (1849–1912) in 1890 and published in Great Britain. It contained reviews and excerpts from other magazines and journals, as well as original pieces, many written by Stead himself. George Fuller (1822–1884) of Massachusetts was a figure and portrait painter who studied painting with the Boston Artists' Association and the National Academy of Design in New York. He spent time painting in both the southern United States and Europe, and a national exhibition of his works took place at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in 1884. Some of his artwork currently resides there and in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The poet and critic Charles DeKay (1848–1935) contributed an article on "George Fuller, Painter" to the September, 1889 Magazine of Art that compared Fuller and Whitman. Whitman discussed the article with Horace Traubel; see Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, August 22, 1889. Kennedy has written this postscript at the top of the letter. Richard William "Ramsay" Colles (1862–1919) was born in Bodh Gaya, India, to Anglo-Irish parents. Colles attended Wesley College in Dublin, and by 1896 was working as a journalist for the Dublin Daily Express before moving to a cultural review paper, the Irish Figaro, which he owned and edited with his wife, Annie (Sweeney). He also founded a fraternity periodical, the Irish Masonry Monthly, and achieved notoriety in 1911 with his memoir, In Castle and Court House: Being Reminiscences of 30 Years in Ireland (London: Werner Laurie). Known as a theater critic, editor, and poet, Colles contributed to many anthologies and periodicals, and his poems "Love's Question" and "Her Coming" appeared in Gems of Poesy by Present Day Authors, edited by Charles F. Forshaw, a member of the Council of the Royal Society of Literature (London: Kenning, 1901). Colles also edited volumes of poetry by Thomas Lovell Beddoes (Routledge, 1907), George Darley (Routledge, 1908) and Hartley Coleridge (London: Muses Library, 1908). His final work was the four-volume The History of Ulster: From the Earliest Times to the Present Day, published the year of his death (London: Gresham, 1919). Samuel Goodman Stanley (1830–1909) was raised in Brooklyn before heading to California during the 1849 Gold Rush. Upon returning from California in the early 1850s, Stanley established a sash and blind building company, with two branches in Brooklyn and Washington D.C. According to Stanley's letter to Whitman of July 13, 1886, he was an old friend of the poet's from Brooklyn. During the Civil War years, Stanley seems to have been in Washington, and he recalled standing near Secretary Chase's residence when Abraham Lincoln passed by. Stanley employed Joe Hyer, another old friend of the poet and his brother Jeff, at his company. Samuel G. Stanley and John F. Unckles were the prorpietors of the manufacturing business known as Stanley & Unckles, Sash, Blind, and Door Manufacturers. Samuel Goodman Stanley (1830–1909) was raised in Brooklyn before heading to California during the 1849 Gold Rush. Upon returning from California in the early 1850s, Stanley established a sash and blind building company, with two branches in Brooklyn and Washington D.C. He, along with John F. Unckles, were the proprietors of Stanley & Unckles, Sash, Blind, and Door Manufacturers. James B. Baldwin (1841–1925) was originally from Hamilton County, Indiana, where he was a public school teacher from 1865 to 1869. In 1873, he helped establish a public school system and a public library in Huntington. In 1884, he published a textbook on English literature and began working in the Education Department at Harper and Brothers in 1887. The author of more than fifty titles, he also edited the five-volume Harper's Readers and the three-volume Harper's School Speakers. From 1894 until 1924, he was an editor with the American Book Company. Charles E. Legg (1847–1924) was a member of the Boston Stock Exchange at the time O'Connor wrote this letter to Whitman. The address of 146 Devonshire Street was the location of "R. Gardner Chase & Co., Bankers and Brokers," of which Legg was a partner. Legg went on to open his own broker firm with his son Allen H. Legg. Rufus C. Hartranft was a publisher in Philadelphia. He was also an expert in handwriting, and assessed the authenticity of signatures on legal and banking records. Will Dircks of Newcastle upon Tyne had been friends with Rhys since the two attended school together. Dircks worked as a reader for Walter Scott Publishing. When Rhys, who held an editorial position at Walter Scott, created the Camelot Series and published Henry David Thoreau's Walden (1886), A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (1889), and Thoreau's Essays and Other Writings, Dircks wrote the introductions for these books. Frank G. Carpenter (1855–1924) was a journalist, travel writer, and photographer. He worked as a journalist for the Cleveland Leader before moving to Washington, D.C., and later becoming a correspondent for the American Press Association. He authored geography textbooks and, with his daughter Frances, spent more than a decade taking photographs in Alaska; their images are now part of holdings of the Library of Congress. Heyde is referring to the Aquila Rich Paint Company, which had an office at 84 William Street in New York. Little is known about Carl Falkenreck of Brooklyn. He was involved in Republican politics, published at least one poem in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and was a member of The Amerian Life Saving Society, that provided instruction and assistance on such topics as water and boat safety and first aid. Whitman enclosed a letter to Harry and Eva Stafford also dated May 28, 1890. In 1888, Whitman had put his brother Eddy in the Camden County Insane Asylum in Blackwood, New Jersey, about ten miles from Camden. It was built in 1878 and housed around 90 patients. Whitman's book Good-Bye My Fancy (1891) was his last miscellany, and it included both poetry and short prose works commenting on poetry, aging, and death, among other topics. Thirty-one poems from the book were later printed as "Good-Bye my Fancy" in Leaves of Grass (1891–1892), the last edition of Leaves of Grass published before Whitman's death in March 1892. For more information see, Donald Barlow Stauffer, "'Good-Bye my Fancy' (Second Annex) (1891)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, Esq., | Camden, | New Jersey. File's return address of "1285 Broadway, New York," is printed on the left side of the envelope's verso. The letter is postmarked: Kaaterskill | JUL | 16 | 1890 | N. Y.; Camden, N. J. | [illegible] | 18 | 6AM | 1890 | Rec'd. Franklin File (also "Fyles," 1847–1911), a writer and editor, was part of a newspaper syndicate including the Boston Herald and the Philadelphia Press. He was also the Dramatic Editor at the New York Sun from 1872 to 1903. He contributed short stories to magazines and newspapers, and is author of one book, The Theater and its People (1900), and several plays including Three Days (1876), The Girl I Left Behind Me (1892) and Cumberland. '61 (1897). In 1890, 1285 Broadway was the address for the uptown offices of the New York Sun. William Bradford Merrill (1861–1928) had a long career in journalism, beginning with the Philadelphia North American and the Philadelphia Press before moving to the New York Press in 1891. Five years later, Merrill became Managing Editor of the New York World and then of the New York American five years after that. In 1917, William Randolph Hearst named Merrill General Manager of all Hearst publications, a position he held until one year before his death. Rhys is likely referring to Percy Percival (1845–1912), who was his mother's brother and the son of Robert F. Percival (1801–1868) and Mary Stallibrass (1802–1851). Percy was a licensed victualler in Somerset, England, and he was the author of "Homing Pigeons: Their Racing Value," which was published in the June 1911 issue of Baily's Magazine of Sports and Pastimes. He was also the winner of numerous awards from the Royal Agricultural Society of England for his breeds of ducks and drakes. Percy lived with Ernest Rhys's family in Northumberland until 1875, when Percy married. Thirty-one poems from Whitman's book Good-Bye My Fancy (1891) were later printed as "Good-Bye my Fancy 2d Annex" to Leaves of Grass (1891–1892), the last edition of Leaves of Grass published before Whitman's death in March 1892. For more information see Donald Barlow Stauffer, "'Good-Bye my Fancy' (Second Annex) (1891)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Emory S. Foster (1839–1902), a strong believer in the Union cause, was a major in the 7th Missouri State Militia Cavalry during the Civil War. Wounded in battle, Foster survived because a young Confederate soldier saved his life. Later, Foster became an editor at the St. Louis Journal. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Micle Street | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Saint Louis | May 29 | 6PM | MO; Camden, N. J. | May 31 | 7am | 1890 | Rec'd. Foster has written his return address above that printed address information at the top of the envelope. Foster's poem quotes, echoes, and plays upon Whitman's epigraph poem for the 1876 and 1891–92 editions of Leaves of Grass, beginning "Come, said my soul." The name of "Henry Flad," the former president of the Board of Public Improvements, is cancelled with a stamp, and the name of the new president, Geo. Burnet, is stamped above it. Little is known about M. J. Cummings. Cummings may be the individual who wrote to Whitman on August 12, 1890, claiming to be "a confirmed and melancholy invalid" and sending Whitman some lines of verse. At the time, Cummings was in San Diego, California. Bucke is referring to Whitman's poem "The Voice of the Rain," in which Whitman writes: "I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain." Dr. Johnston had visited Whitman, John Burroughs, and Herbert Gilchrist during July 1890, but he returned to England without visiting Bucke. See Johnston and James William Wallace, Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1917), 31–86. The term "Home Rule" is a reference to the Irish Home Rule movement that advocated for self-government for Ireland within the United Kingdom. Charles Stewart Parnell (1846–1891) was an Irish Nationalist Politician, Leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, and a Member of Parliament. The First Home Rule Bill, to which Parnell reacted with a mix of support and critique, was defeated in the House of Commons in 1886. For more on Parnell, see Paul Bew, "Parnell, Charles Stewart, (1846–1891)," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford, England, UK: Oxford University Press, 2004). The Latin phrase "facilis decensus" means "easy descent," and is often used in the sense of "the way to ruin" or "a slippery slope." The "Parnell Crisis" refers to the public scandal that occurred when the Irish soldier and Member of Parliament Captain William O'Shea (1840–1905) named Charles Stewart Parnell, the Leader of Irish Parliamentary Party, as a co-respondent in divorce proceedings. Parnell had a long-lasting affair with O'Shea's his wife Katharine O'Shea, and there was considerable fear that the scandal would jeopardize support for Home Rule in Ireland. The "Parnell Rumpus" refers to the public scandal that occurred when the Irish soldier and member of Parliament Captain William O'Shea (1840–1905) named Charles Stewart Parnell, the leader of Irish Parliamentary Party, as a co-respondent in divorce proceedings. Parnell had a long-lasting affair with O'Shea's wife Katharine O'Shea, and there was considerable fear that the scandal would jeopardize support for Home Rule in Ireland. Throughout 1890, the U.S. government was concerned about the increasing influence of the Ghost Dance spiritual movement on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota; under the mistaken impression that the Sioux chief Sitting Bull was a Ghost Dancer, reservation police on December 15 attempted to arrest him and killed him in the process. This is the "raid" Whitman refers to here. Two weeks later, 250 Sioux were massacred near Wounded Knee Creek, ending the Ghost Dance movement. Costelloe is referring to Whitman's postal card of November 18, 1890. Lucy Lane Trautwine (1853–1925) was known for her participation in civic and charitable causes as a committee member for the Civic Club of Philadelphia. During World War I, Trautwine organized a collection of kidskin gloves to be re-purposed for the lining of soldiers' coats, and she served for twelve years as Chair of the Transit Conditions Committee that represented the interests of travelers and drivers during the rapid modernization of Philadelphia's public transit system. For more information, see Trautwine's obituary in the Red Bank Register, 48.13 (September 16, 1925), 14. John C. Trautwine, Jr. (1850–1924), an authority on water conservation, was the Chief Engineer for the Philadelphia Bureau of Water from 1895 to 1899. He was married to Lucy Lane Trautwine. He and his father, John C. Trautwine, wrote and/or revised books on civil engineering, including the Civil Engineer's Pocket Book, which went through several editions. Tracy Robinson (1833–1915) was an official with the Panama Railroad Company and a longtime resident of Panama. He was the author of a history of Panama entitled Panama: A Personal Record of Forty-six Years, 1861–1907 (New York: Star and Herald Company, 1907). He was also the author of Song of the Palm and Other Poems, Mostly Tropical (New York: Brentanos, 1888), which may have been the volume that he promised to send to Whitman. John Johnston's Notes of a Visit to Walt Whitman, etc. in July 1890 was published in Bolton by T. Brimelow & Co., Printers, &c. 1890. On September 11–12, 1890 James W. Wallace explained that he had requested by telegram a copy of the pocket-book edition which was to be a birthday present for a member of the County Borough of Bolton (England) Public Libraries circle, the Rev. F. R. C. Hutton, for which he was enclosing 22 shillings. He also reported that the Society was meeting on the following day "to hear Dr. J[ohnston]'s account of his visit to you." Johnston himself commented on this meeting on September 13, 1890: "Nearly all 'the boys' were present with two friends & the reading of my notes &c which took place in a green field beneath a tree, occupied nearly two hours & was much enjoyed by every one & by none more than myself for I seemed to be living over again the happy time I spent with you." Reverend Frederick Robert Chapman Hutton (1856–1926) was the Vicar of St. George's Church, Bolton, and St. Paul's, Astley Bridge. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Saint Paul, MN | JU 29 | 7AM | 90; Camden, N.J. | Jul | 13 | 9AM | 1890 | Rec'd. Whitman had written to Kennedy on June 30, 1890 and July 2, 1890. Johnston is referencing the following article: William R. Thayer, "The Trial, Opinions, and Death of Giordano Bruno," The Atlantic Monthly 65.389 (March 1890), 289–310. Whitman's friends gave him a birthday supper in honor of his 71st birthday on May 31, 1890, at Reisser's Restaurant in Philadelphia, at which the noted orator Col. Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–1899) gave a "grand speech, never to be forgotten by me" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Daniel Brinton (1837–1899), a professor of linguistics and archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania, presided, and other speakers included the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1902) and Silas Weir Mitchell (1829–1914), a writer and a physician specializing in nervous disorders. The Philadelphia Inquirer carried the story on the front page on the following day. The Camden Daily Post article "Ingersoll's Speech" of June 2, 1890, was written by Whitman himself and was reprinted in Good-Bye My Fancy (Prose Works, 1892, ed. Floyd Stovall, 2 vols. [New York: New York University Press: 1963–1964], 686–687). Later Traubel wrote "Walt Whitman's Birthday" for Unity (25 [August 28, 1890], 215). Alice Ellsworth Wroth (b. 1864) was Carrie's daughter. John Wright Wroth (1869–1901) was the younger son of James W. and Carrie E. Wroth. He had written to Whitman on December 18, 1889 from Chihauhau, Mexico. An envelope in Whitman's hand bears this address suggesting that Whitman had written to Wroth, but the letter does not seem to survive. Caroline "Carrie" Ellsworth Wright Wroth (1831–1909) of Philadelphia was the daughter of John Wright and Harriet Patterson Wright. She was the wife of the produce dealer and businessman James W. Wroth (ca.1815–1881) of Maryland. The Wroths had three children James H. ("Harry"), Alice, and John ("Johnny") Wroth. Whitman tooks his meals at the Wroths' residence (319 Stevens Street, Camden) for a period of time beginning in July 1881. Later, the Wroths moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Whitman kept in touch with them. When Carrie Wroth wrote this letter, she and her daughter were living in Maryland. This sentence has been written vertically in the left margin. Havelock Ellis (1859–1939), a physician and pioneer in the study of human sexuality, devoted a chapter of The New Spirit (1890) to Whitman. The first edition of the book was published in London by George Bell and Sons, 1890. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Belmont | Jun | 9 | 1890 | Mass.; Ca[illegible] N. J. | Jun | 10 | 9am | 1890 | Rec'd. Albert Johannsen (1871–1962) was a geologist and illustrator, and taught at the University of Chicago from 1909 until his retirement on 1937. Johannsen studied at the University of Illinois and the University of Utah and later received a PhD in petrography from Johns Hopkins University. While at Utah, Johannsen worked as an illustrator for the Salt Lake City Herald and a topographer for the Salt Lake City Engineering Department. He is the author of eight textbooks and over forty papers on mineralogy and geology. Johannsen was also a prolific collector of nickel and dime novels, with a collection of over 4,500, and is the author of The House of Beadle and Adams and Its Dime and Nickel Novels (1950) and Phiz: Illustrations from the Novels of Charles Dickens (1956) ("Geologist's Rites Today," The Tampa Tribune [January 13, 1962], 9; "Geologist Johannsen Dies at 90," The Orlando Sentinel [January 12, 1962], 30). Whitman has drawn a line, in ink, through Johannsen's autograph request. The Critic was a literary magazine published in New York from 1881 until 1906. Four of Whitman's poems were published in the magazine: "The Dead Tenor" (1884), "Yonnondio" (1887), "To the Year 1889" (1889), and "The Pallid Wreath" (1891). The Critic published its revised list of the "Forty Immortals" with its nine new members, in the July 19, 1890, issue (pp. 33–34). Whitman was on the original list published in 1884, with the twentieth highest number of votes, just below William Dwight Whitney and just above Asa Gray (Oliver Wendell Holmes came in first, closely followed by James Russell Lowell and John Greenleaf Whittier). The article prints the new "Forty Immortals" list, with the nine deceased members replaced by newly appointed authors and concludes by noting that only three of the immortals failed to vote: George Bancroft (because he "was in too feeble a condition"), Henry James (for "unaccounted" reasons), and Whitman ( "who is a disbeliever in 'close corporations')." Whitman's "Sun-Down Poem" was first published in the second edition of Leaves of Grass (1856). The poem was later titled "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry." Whitman sent two copies of his Complete Poems & Prose (1888) to the O'Connors. See Whitman's letter to William D. O'Connor of March 3, 1889. Whitman had written to William D. O'Connor on March 1 and on March 4, 1889. William Henry Rideing (1853–1918) was an American newspaper editor and author who began his career at the New York Tribune, and worked at various times for the New York Times, Newark News, Springfield Republican, and Boston Journal. From 1881 to his death, Rideing was the Associate Editor of The Youth's Companion and, in 1889, became an assistant editor at the North American Review. He is also author of several books, including A Little Upstart: A Novel (Boston: Cupples, Upham, and Co. 1885), The Captured Cunarder: An Episode of the Atlantic (Boston: Copeland and Day, 1896), and George Washington (New York: Macmillan, 1916). For more information, see his obituary, "William H. Rideing, Boston Editor, Dead" in The Boston Globe (August 23, 1918), 6. Emma Elizabeth Pugh ("E.E.P.") Holland (1842–1917) was an art collector in Concord, Massachusetts. Through her paternal grandmother, Holland was a cousin of novelist Louisa May Alcott, and was also a descendant of William Dawes Jr., an American Revolutionary War patriot. After her death, major pieces of her collection were acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Harvard University, and the Worcester Art Museum. The Holland Family Papers, including Emma Holland's scrapbooks and letters, are held in the Special Collections of the Concord Free Public Library in Concord, Massachusetts. Sarah Choate Sears (1858–1935) was an American artist, art collector, and patron, who trained in painting at the Cowles Art School and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Her award-winning watercolors and photographs were exhibited at major expositions, including the World's Columbian Exhibition, the Universal Exposition in Paris, and the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Through the influence of her friends, including the writer Gertrude Stein and the artist Mary Cassatt, Sears's collection included pieces from Impressionist and modernist artists, including Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, and Edouard Manet. For more information on Sears, see Erica E. Hirshler, A Studio of Her Own: Women Artists in Boston, 1870–1940 (Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 2001). Whitman has drawn a diagonal line, extending from the top left to the bottom right, of Sears's letter. This message from Kennedy to Whitman, which may be a postscript to a letter that has yet to be located, is written on the verso of an envelope addressed to Whitman. The verso of the envelope that includes the note is displayed first and has been rotated for easier reading of Kennedy's message. The following image is the recto of the envelope, and Kennedy has written the word "over" twice, at the top and bottom of the envelope. The letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Belmont | Jul 14 | Mass; Camden, N.J. | JL | 25 | 9am | 1889. William Blake (1757–1827), the English painter, printer, and Romantic-era poet, is known for his illuminated books, including his collection of poems Songs of Innocence and Experience (1789). He also illustrated numerous books, including works by the English writers Mary Wollstonecraft, Thomas Gray, and John Milton. Whitman likely based the design of his tomb in Harleigh Cemetery on an illustration by Blake called "Death's Door," an image often reprinted in the nineteenth century (and re-engraved by Whitman's friend W.J. Linton); see Gary Schmidgall, Containing Multitudes: Walt Whitman and the British Literary Tradition (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), 196–199. Harper's Fifth Reader (1889) reprinted Whitman's "O Captain! My Captain! (431–432), with a short biographical note (p. 509). Richard Maurice Bucke, a Canadian physician and one of Whitman's literary executors, wrote the date of this letter in red ink at the top of the page. Heyde provides the date of "Oct. 8" in the body of the letter. On October 3, 1890, William H. Rideing, the assistant editor of The North American Review, requested an article of about "4000 words" on "Recent aspects of American literature" for "the sum of Two hundred dollars" or on "some other subject on which you would be more willing to write." Whitman sent "Old Poets" to the magazine on October 9, returned proof on October 18, and received $75 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Johnston is referring to Robert Ingersoll's "Tolstoi and 'The Kreutzer Sonata,'" The North American Review 151 (September 1890), 289–299. The Kreutzer Sonata was a novella by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) published in 1889 and censored by Russian authorities. The novella follows the main character Pozdnyshev who kills his wife in a jealous rage. Johnston is referring to John Burroughs's article "Faith and Credulity," The North American Review, 151.407 (October 1890), 469–476. The article considers both religious faith and credulity in science. "The Carpenter" is a story about a Christ-like character based on Whitman, written by Whitman's friend and disciple William Douglas O'Connor; it was originally published in Putnam's Monthly Magazine in January 1868, and was included in O'Connor's posthumous Three Tales (1891), for which Whitman wrote a preface. Mary St. Leger Kingsley (1852–1931), who wrote under the pseudonym Lucas Malet, was the daughter of novelist and Church of England clergyman Charles Kingsley (1819–1875). She, too, was a well-known novelist during her lifetime and admired Whitman, calling him the "prince upon poets" (see Patricia Lorimer Lundberg, "Mary St. Leger Kinsgsley Harrison," in Jennifer Cognard-Black and Elizabeth MacLeod Walls, eds., Kindred Hands: Letters on Writing by British and American Women Authors [Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2006], 137). Miller published his poem "To the Czar" in the early 1890s, in honor of Sophia Perovskaya (1853–1881), who was executed for helping orchestrate the assassination of Czar Alexander II of Russia. For Whitman's seventy-first birthday, Horace Traubel and a group of Whitman's friends (including Richard Maurice Bucke, Thomas Harned, and Daniel Brinton) arranged for a dinner on May 31, 1890, at Reisser's restaurant in Philadelphia. Compared to the festive seventieth-birthday celebration, this one was a smaller affair with only thirty-one guests, four of them women. For the planning of the dinner, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, May 20, 1890. Traubel also offers a full description of the event, including the speakers and the lively conversation in his entry for Saturday, May 31, 1890. 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.). This telegram was printed, along with numerous other notes and addresses honoring Whitman on the occasion of his 70th birthday, in Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman: May 31, 1889: Notes, Addresses, Letters, Telegrams, ed. Horace L. Traubel (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: David McKay), 71. This letter was printed, along with numerous other notes and addresses honoring Whitman on the occasion of his 70th birthday, in Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman: May 31, 1889: Notes, Addresses, Letters, Telegrams, ed. Horace L. Traubel (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: David McKay), 67. The address "No. 7 North THIRD St." is stamped on the line provided for the location where the message was recorded. The stamp covers and may be intended to replace the number "627," which was written previously in ink on the same line. This telegram was printed, along with numerous other notes and addresses honoring Whitman on the occasion of his 70th birthday, in Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman: May 31, 1889: Notes, Addresses, Letters, Telegrams, ed. Horace L. Traubel (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: David McKay), 71. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: North Cambridge | Jan | 21 | 8am | MASS; [illegible] | Jan | 22 | 8am | [illegible] | REC'D. Margaret Mansfield, Baroness Sandhurst (1828–1892) was a prominent suffragist and spiritualist who was elected to the London County Council in January 1889, becoming one of the first women elected to a city council in the United Kingdom. The Conservative Beresford Hope petitioned against her election because she was a woman, and a few months later, Sandhurst's seat was given to him after the courts ruled against her. She continued to serve as a council member of the Women's Franchise League, a member of the executive committee of the Central National Society for Women's Suffrage, and, later, as the president of the Society for Promoting the Return of Women as County Councillors. John Burns (1858–1943) was an English politician, a socialist, and a trade unionist. He served as a member of Parliament for Battersea and held such positions as President of the Board of Trade during his career in goverment. Ellen O'Connor informed Whitman of the death of her husband and Whitman's longtime friend and defender, William Douglas O'Connor, in her letter of May 9, 1889. Mary A. Fisher (1839–1920) was the founder of the Home-Hotel Association, which was incorporated in 1888. The Association's aim was to assist needy authors, artists, professionals and other "brain-workers." Fisher is requesting Whitman to read at a benefit for this Association. The address of 71 Java Street was the Association's temporary address until the group moved to permanent rooms on St. Ann's Avenue in the Bronx. The Association quickly outgrew those rooms and relocated to Tenafly, New Jersey, in 1899. For more on Fisher and the Home-Hotel Association, see Fisher's book, The Story of the Mary A Fisher Home (New York: The Shakespeare Press, 1915). Little is known about Sarah Maria Persons Miller (b. ca. 1845). She and her husband Leslie William Miller (1848–1931) lived in Philadelphia. They had two children: Percy Chase Miller and Arthur P. Miller. Leslie William Miller (1848–1931) was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, and studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Massachusetts College of Art. From 1880 until his retirement in 1920, Miller was principal of the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art in Philadelphia. He was a friend of the Philadelphia painter Thomas Eakins, who painted his portrait in 1901. For more information, see his obituary, "Dr. Leslie W. Miller Dies in Massachusetts," The Philadelphia Inquirer (March 8, 1931), 23. Girard College is a private preparatory school located in Philadelphia and founded by French-born shipping magnate Stephen Girard (1750–1831). Sometimes called the "father of philanthropy," Girard was one of the wealthiest men in American history. The college was founded after his death and continues to provide full scholarships for students through his endowment. Its campus is roughly two miles from the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art, now known as University of the Arts. For more information, see George Wilson, Stephen Girard: The Life And Times Of America's First Tycoon (Conshohocken: Combined Books, 1995). Rosa Bonheur (1822–1899) was a French Realist painter and sculptor. Her work often features farm and barnyard animals, and Bonheur was well-known for wearing men's clothing, which she attributed to her research in stables. In 1865, Bonheur became the first woman to receive the Grand-croix of the French Légion d'honneur. Bonheur was openly involved in two romantic relationships with women. She and her first partner, Nathalie Micas (1824–1889), lived together for over forty years until Micas's death. Bonheur was then romantically involved with American painter Anna Elizabeth Klumpke (1856–1942). Bonheur, Micas, and Klumpke are buried side-by-side in Paris's Père Lachaise Cemetery. For more information, see Dore Asheton and Denise Browne Hare, Rosa Bonheur: A Life and a Legend (New York: Viking, 1981). Jean-Louis Ernest Meissonier (1815–1891) was a French painter and sculptor known chiefly for his depictions of military subjects on horseback. Meissonier intended to produce a five-painting cycle depicting the career of Napoleon, only two of which were completed, but they have become his most recognizable works: Campagne de France, 1814 (1864) and 1807, Friedland (1861–1875). For more information, see Marc J. Gotlieb, The Plight of Emulation: Ernest Meissonier and French Salon Painting (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1996). Richard Grant White (1822–1885) was a New York writer, journalist, and Shakespeare scholar. White served as an editor with various papers, including the New York Courier and Enquirer and the New York World. Interested in many fields, White published one novel, The Fate of Mansfield Humphries (1884), a philological textbook Words and their Uses (1870), and a travel guide England From Without and Within (1881). White also edited the anthology, Poetry, Lyrical, Narrative and Satirical, of the Civil War, that includes some of his parody and satire poems. For more information, see Lamb's Biographical Dictionary of the United States, Volume 7, ed. John Howard Brown (Boston, MA: Federal Book Company, 1903), 572. Richard Grant White's 1884 parody of Whitman was originally published in his Mr. Washington Adams in England (Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1884), where it is presented by a fictional character as "a piece . . . thet Walt Whitman's never published yet; but I kerry it raound to read sorter b'tween whiles" (140). It begins: "I happify myself. / I am considerable of a man. I am some. You are also some. We all are considerable; all are some" (141). The identity of the editor of The Doll's Dressmaker, who wrote under the name of "Jennie Wrenn," is currently unknown. A character known as Jennie Wren is referred to as the "doll's dressmaker" in Charles Dickens's 1864 novel, Our Mutual Friend, and an 1891 interview with the editor of the magazine The Doll's Dressmaker confirms that 'Jennie Wren' is a pseudonym. When the interviewer then suggests a popular rumor that her identity is Miriam Leslie, wife and successor of newspaper mogul Frank Leslie, the editor replies that she does not know Leslie, and that she "commenced the magazine because of a decreased income, and combined with the work an object, viz.: to help poor little girls." There is also a "Jennie Wren" listed in New York City directories in 1891, 1892, and 1894, living at the same East 77th Street address given for The Doll's Dressmaker, but Wren does not appear in the directory after the magazine ceased publication. For more information, see Grace Carew Sheldon, "New York Letter: A Buffalo Woman Among the Newspaper Men and Women," The Buffalo Courier, April 5, 1891, 10. 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. Bucke 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). Horace L. Traubel (1858–1919), an American essayist, poet, and magazine publisher, is best remembered as the literary executor and biographer of Walt Whitman. During the mid-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). Richard Maurice Bucke has provided the year for this letter. He has written "1890" in red ink in the top right corner of the letter. Richard Maurice Bucke has provided the date of October 25, 1890 for this letter; the date is written in red ink in the top right corner of the letter. Howells's "Editor's Study," a review of Whitman's November Boughs (1888), was published in the February 1889 issue of Harper's New Monthly Magazine. Cecil Reddie (1858–1935) was a progressive educational reformer and founder of the Abbotsholme School in Staffordshire, England, where he served as Headmaster from 1889 to 1927. Reddie is author of several books, including Abbotsholme 1889–1899, or Ten Year's Work in an Educational Laboratory (London: George Allen, 1900) and John Bull: His Origin of Character (London: George Allen, 1901). For more information on Reddie, see William A. C. Stewart, Progressives and Radicals in English Education 1750–1970 (London: The Macmillan Press, 1972). The full text of the Abbotsholme song, "The Love of Comrades," was published with commentary in an article by Clive Bemrose. See "A Whitman Poem and An 1890 English School's Song," Walt Whitman Review 22.4 (December 1976), 168–170). Henry C. Latchford attended Trinity College Dublin and was a member of the Undergraduate Philosophical Society alongside his friend and classmate Bram Stoker, who began corresponding with Walt Whitman in 1876 and later visited the poet at his Camden home (See Gay Wilson Allen The Solitary Singer [New York: Macmillan, 1995], 515–516). In With Walt Whitman in Camden, Horace Traubel describes Latchford's letter as written "in a wittily-facetious vein, which I could well understand would not appeal to [Whitman]" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, May 31, 1889). Latchford was the author of one book, The Wit and Wisdom of Parliament (London: Cassell, Peter, Galpin & Co., 1881), and several articles, including "A Meeting with Victor Hugo in 1878" (Time: A Monthly Miscellany of Interesting and Amusing Literature, 2 [December 1880], 292–299) and ("A Social Reformer" The Arena 10.54 [October 1894], 575–589). James Chisholm (1838–1903) was a Chicago newspaper reporter born in Aberdeen, Scotland. Chisholm immigrated to the U.S. in 1864 and worked at several papers throughout his career, including the Chicago Times, Chicago Tribune, and The Inter-Ocean (see Chisholm's obituary, Chicago Tribune, May 7, 1903, 5). Chisholm traveled throughout the United States, and his journal documenting a trip through Wyoming was published in 1960 as South Pass, 1868: James Chisholm's Journal of the Wyoming Gold Rush, edited by Lola M. Homsher (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press). Roughly six month prior to Latchford's letter to Whitman, The Inter-Ocean reported that Chisholm had been "suddenly struck with a slight attack of paralysis" while walking with Latchford, who took him to a nearby drug store to wait for a doctor (The Inter-Ocean [October 21, 1888], 10). Arthur Hugh Clough (1819–1861) was an English poet, perhaps best known as a secretarial assistant to Florence Nightingale and the subject of Matthew Arnold's elegiac poem, "Thyrsis." After graduating from Oxford University, Clough taught at Oriel College but resigned in 1848 when he grew dissatisfied with the Church of England and was unwilling to teach its doctrines. He later worked as an examiner in the British Education Office and Nightingale's assistant, to whom he was related by marriage. Clough's social circle included many literary figures, such as Matthew Arnold, Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlysle, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Clough died in Italy after contracting malaria and is buried in Florence's English Cemetery. The poem Latchford quotes in this letter appears in a posthumous collection of Clough's work and was written in 1852 when he was lecturing in Concord, Massachusetts, on invitation from Emerson (Poems [Cambridge: Macmillan & Co., 1862], 66). For more information, see Anthony Kenny, Arthur Hugh Clough: A Poet's Life (London: Continuum, 2005). Although Whitman notes that he sent a copy of his "big book" or Complete Poems and Prose (1888), Forsyth seems to have been requesting the limited pocket-book edition of Leaves of Grass that was printed in honor of Whitman's 70th birthday, on May 31, 1889, through special arrangement with Frederick Oldach. Only 300 copies were printed, and Whitman signed the title page of each one. The volume also included the annex Sands at Seventy and his essay A Backward Glance O'er Traveled Roads. See Whitman's May 16, 1889, letter to Oldach. For more information on the book see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). The rest of this letter has not been located. James William Wallace (1853–1926), of Bolton, England, was an architect and great admirer of Whitman. Along with John Johnston (1852–1927), a physician from Bolton, he 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). 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). Ezekiel Whitman (1776–1866) was a State Representative of both Massachusetts and Maine. For nearly thirty years, Ezekiel Whitman was a judge, ultimately serving as Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Court. Though there is not yet enough information on how Mrs. J. S. Harris is related to Walt Whitman, Ezekiel Whitman's relation to the poet is very distant, with a shared sixteenth century ancestor, Abijah Whitman (1560–1626), making him Walt's sixth cousin, once removed. For more information on Ezekiel Whitman, see "Whitman, Ezekial," Biographical Encyclopedia of Maine of the Nineteenth Century (Boston: Metropolitan Publishing & Engraving Company, 1885), 347–351. An avid genealogist, Ezekiel Whitman published Memoir of John Whitman and His Descendants in 1832, that traced his genealogy through Abijah Whitman's son John, who came to the American Colonies in 1635 and settled in Weymouth, Massachusetts. For Whitman's account of his ancestry, including Abijah and his sons, see Whitman's "Genealogy—Van Velsor and Whitman," Specimen Days and Collect (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1882), 9. Edmund John Baillie (1851–1897) was a Welsh horticulturalist specializing in fruit trees and a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London. In 1882, he published John Ruskin: Aspects of his Thought and Teachings (London: John Pearce). Baillie served as vice president of the Vegetarian Society and president of the John Ruskin Society in Liverpool. For more information, see "Mr. E. J. Baillie," The Manchester Guardian (October 19, 1897), 12. Whitman is almost certainly referring to O'Connor's letter of January 2, 1891. In his speech Areopagitica (1644), the English poet John Milton says that he visited the Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei while Galilei had been placed under house arrest by church authorities for his belief that the sun—rather than the Earth—was at the center of the universe. The etching Whitman references depicted this meeting. Bucke had injured himself in an accident that he described to Horace Traubel in his letter of December 25, 1890: "I had a fall last evening and dislocated my left shoulder (it was the right arm last time, three months ago)." This letter is held in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Whitman's poem "The Pallid Wreath" was published in The Critic on January 10, 1891. This may be the poem that Whitman sent to Baillie. This letter may be from the Wallace Wood (1858–1916) who was a scholar and scientific writer and who served as the Samuel F. Morse chair of art at New York University. Wood was the author of several books, including Twenty Styles of Architecture (1881) and A New Method in Brain Study(1899). In 1892, he edited Ideals of Life. Human Perfection. How to Attain It., an "anthropological and ethical symposium," that collected pieces by prominent artists, scientists, and celebrities. Wood's introduction to the symposium claims that many of the contributions have "appeared in the New York Herald" (6), and this 1891 letter to Whitman is soliciting his participation in this or a similar symposium. For more information, see Wood's obituary in the New York Herald, December 17, 1916, 8, and his introduction to Ideals of Life (New York: E. B. Treat, 1892), 5–10. Whitman had already received a letter from Wood regarding "the Herald's Symposium on the anthropological and ethical question of the 'Perfect Man.'" See Wood's letter to Whitman of February 2, 1891. Whitman had responded to Wood in a letter dated March 3, 1891. Along with his letter, Wood enclosed a series of questions for Whitman to answer. George Newell Lovejoy (1843–1915) was a poet and songwriter born in Riga, New York. He went to school in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and graduated from the University of Michigan law school in 1864. He wrote historic ballads and popular verse, and he published a number of songs; he also wrote articles for several major periodicals. Roger E. Ingpen (b. 1867) was born in London; he was the son of William Ingpen—an artist—and Emma Constance Ingpen. Roger was a contributor to publications such as The Gentleman's Magazine, and he worked first as a publisher's reader and, later, as a publisher and editor in his own right. He edited numerous books of writings by Percy Bysshe Shelley, Samuel Johnson, and Leigh Hunt. Frederick Shelley Ryman (1858–1930) was a Pennsylvania-born poet, book collector, and diarist. His poems frequently appeared in newspapers and magazines, and he was once lauded as "the Byron of America" and "Poet of the Catskills" (The Elmira Tidings 4.28 [May 17, 1885], 5). Ryman's forty-four volume diary, currently housed at the Massachusetts Historical Society, explicitly describes his intimacy with men and women between 1880 and 1929, and has been frequently referenced in studies on sexuality in the nineteenth century. John D'Emilio and Estelle B. Freedman write that Ryman "espoused free-love doctrines, passionately loved the poetry of Walt Whitman, and championed women's rights and equal employment" (Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America, Third edition [Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2012], 109). Marjorie Hempstead Cook Gelm (1877–1941) was born in Burlington, Iowa, to Henry Trevor Cook and Eliza C. Hempstead. Her mother's family was descended from Sir Robert Hempstead, the founder of Hempstead, Long Island, and Gelm was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution through her ancestor Stephen Hempstead (1752–1832), who fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Sometime in the 1880s, the Cook family moved to Chicago, where Marjorie met Captain George Gelm, whom she married in 1898. Upon George Gelm's retirement from the U.S. Navy in 1928, the couple moved to New York City. Marjorie Gelm died in Mt. Sinai Hospital, Manhattan, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. For more information, see her obituary, "Mrs. George E. Gelm Dies; of Pioneer L. I. Family" (Brooklyn Daily Eagle [April 29, 1941], 11). Sara Stewart McGee Forsyth (1861–1945) was the wife of Canadian composer Wesley Octavius Forsyth. In August 1889, Whitman records that McGee paid him five dollars for the "big book," which he sent to the Adams Hotel address (Daybooks and Notebooks, Volume 2: December 1881–1891, ed. William White [New York: New York University Press, 1978], 528. Whitman often referred to his Complete Poems & Prose (1888) as his "big book." Thomas Brown Phillips Stewart (1864–1892) was a Canadian law student and poet. In May, 1889, Whitman sent Stewart a copy of the pocket-book edition of Leaves of Grass, and Stewart visited Whitman two months later (see Daybooks and Notebooks, Volume 2: December 1881–1891, ed. William White [New York: New York University Press, 1978], 513–514). Stewart published Poems in 1887 and his work was later included in The Oxford Book of Canadian Verse (ed. William Wilfred Campbell [London: Oxford University Press, 1913]). He attended Toronto's Osgoode Hall Law School but died before graduating, leaving his estate to the school for the founding of a library named in his honor. For more information, see John Honsberger, Osgoode Hall: An Illustrated History (Toronto: The Dundurn Group, 2004), 204. Jahu Dewitt Miller (1857–1911) was a Methodist minister, educator, lecturer, and collector of rare books. In 1901, a special facility to house his large collection was built at National Park Seminary, a girl's school in Forest Glen, Maryland. The Miller Library was later auctioned off when the school closed, and the United States Army converted the campus into a medical facility. Syracuse University currently houses the Dewitt Miller Correspondence, a collection of thirty letters written between 1881 and 1907. For more information, see Leon H. Vincent, Dewitt Miller, A Biographical Sketch (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Riverside Press, 1912). For "Songs in Absence," see The Poems and Prose Remains of Arthur Hugh Clough edited by his wife, Volume 2: Poems (London: Macmillan and Co., 1869), 445–457. See Matthew Arnold's "Rugby Chapel: November, 1857": "Somewhere, surely afar, / In the sounding labour-house vast / Of being, is practiced that strength, / Zealous, beneficent, firm!" Charles Lawrence Hutchinson (18541924) was a well-known business figure in Chicago and a generous patron of the arts. He founded Chicago Packing & Provision Co., a leading meat processor, and later founded the Corn Exchange Bank and was a member of the Chicago Board of Trade. He was knowns as "Old Hutch" and "The Wheat King." He was a philanthropist and major art collector, and he was instrumental is the founding of the University of Chicago, for which he served as trustee and treasurer, and the Art Institute of Chicago, for which he served as president and to which he left much of his fortune and numerous paintings from his private collection. Clara (or Clare) Reynolds (1865–1937) was an educator from Clackmannanshire, Scotland. In 1888, she entered Cambridge University's Newnham College to read for the Medieval and Modern Languages Tripos—Cambridge's qualifying exam for a bachelor's degree—which she passed in 1891 with first class honors, the highest honors possible for takers of the exam. Though she was denied her degree due to Cambridge's policies on educating women, Reynolds's career in education spanned roughly thirty years and included a lecturing appointment at New Cross Training College. Mary Augusta Jordan (1855–1941) was an American educator and librarian. Jordan served as librarian at Vassar College for roughly three years after completing her undergraduate work in 1876, and was an undergraduate tutor at Vassar until relocating to Smith College in 1884. She remained in the English Department until 1921, the same year she received her Ph.D. in Pedagogy from Syracuse University. During her time at Smith, Jordan edited the works of Milton, Emerson, and Burke, and wrote Correct Writing and Speaking (New York: A. S. Barnes, 1904). For more information, see Jane Donawerth, Rhetorical Theory by Women Before 1900 (New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2002), 299–316, which includes a brief biography and excerpts from Jordan's Correct Writing and Speaking. Edward Jordan (1820–1899) was a lawyer and friend of Abraham Lincoln, serving in the Lincoln and Johnson administrations as Solicitor of the Treasury under Secretary Solomon P. Chase. In 1888, Jordan publicly withdrew from the Republican Party, stating, "The Republicans now are not in sympathy with the Republican party of Abraham Lincoln's time," criticizing the failure of Reconstruction and the Party's support of "class or sectional ideas." For more information, see "False to its Faith," The Wilmington Messenger (September 28, 1888), 1. Ludella L. Peck (1855–1913) was the head of the Department of Elocution and Dramatic Art at Smith College for over thirty years. Beginning about 1891, Peck maintained a lengthy correspondence with Whitman's friend, the naturalist John Burroughs, who expressed his joy that she was reading Whitman: "...so few women can master this poet and get at the real power and inspiration there is in him. So few men either, for that matter" (see The Life and Letters of John Burroughs, ed. Clara Barrus [Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1925], 1:315). At her funeral in 1913, Mary Jordan described Peck as "a woman who believed in high aspiration and personal relationship in her work; she was a woman of infinite patience and sympathy." For more information, see "With the Smith Girls: Service Held in Memory of Ludella L. Peck," The New York Times (April 20, 1913), 61. Colonel Edward T. Wood (ca. 1830–1898) was born in Steuben County, New York, and moved to Brooklyn in 1853. In 1856, he was one of three assemblymen to represent King's County in the New York State Legislature and the only assemblyman from Brooklyn elected as a member of the American Party, another name for the popular anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant, far-right "Know Nothing" movement. In 1858, Wood was appointed as Collector of Internal Revenue for Brooklyn's third district. After moving to Manhattan in 1874, Wood practiced law and was Corporation Counsel in 1885 for "Acting Mayor" William P. Kirk, a position he held for twelve hours. Wood's appointment was contested by Emile Henry Lacombe, who was named Corporation Counsel by outgoing mayor Franklin Edson before Kirk, as President of the Board of Aldermen, assumed the role of Acting Mayor before the installation of the incoming William Russell Grace. Arguing that the Acting Mayor does not have authority to grant political appointments, Mayor Grace overturned Kirk's appointment of Wood. For more information on Wood, see his obituary, "Death List of a Day," The New York Times (September 4, 1898), 7. For information on Wood's brief appointment as Corporation Counsel, see "Rival Claimants Heard: The Controversy as to Who is the City's Counsel," The New York Times (January 23, 1885), 8. Doctor Samuel Swift (1849–1896) was born in Brooklyn and studied philosophy at Yale. After one year in the medical department of Cambridge University, he began studying medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia College and completed his training in 1872. Swift was appointed attending physician at St. John's Riverside Hospital in Yonkers in 1874 and was elected Mayor of Yonkers in 1882. For more information, see Swift's obituary, "Dr. Samuel Swift" in The New York Times, (July 30, 1896), 5. Ethel Webling (1859–1929) was an English miniaturist and illustrator. She studied at the Slade School of Art and her work was exhibited for several years at the Royal Academy, including a miniature of author John Ruskin in 1888. Her illustration for the poem "Coast Gun L 33" by Martha Foote Crow was reproduced in the December 1893 issue of The Cosmopolitan, see (vol. 16 no 2, page 157). The collection of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust houses her detailed watercolor miniatures depicting an 1898 production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar at Her Majesty's Theatre. Ethel Webling's letter to Whitman is included in With Walt Whitman in Camden, November 27, 1891. Her sisters Rosalind, Peggy, and Josephine were dramatic actors, and the latter sister also wrote to Whitman in 1891. See the letter from Josephine Webling to Whitman of November 11, 1891. Ethel Webling's mother was Maria Webling (b. 1831), and her father was Robert James Webling (b. 1829), a silversmith and jeweller. Serelda Gilstrap Thomas (1855–1940) was an educator, editor, and a founding member of the Woodland Shakespeare Club. Thomas was a native of La Plata, Missouri, and, in 1877, received a Bachelor of Philosophic Didactics from the North Missouri Normal School (now Truman University) and was valedictorian of her class. She married Charles W. Thomas, a lawyer originally from Kentucky, in 1879, the same year he was admitted to the bar. A wedding announcement in a local newspaper describes her as "one of La Plata's most accomplished, intelligent, and refined ladies" (La Plata Home Press [May 10 1879], 4). She received a Master of Arts and of Philosophic Didactics from North Missouri Normal School the following year. The couple moved to Woodland, California, in 1885 and remained there for the rest of their lives. In an article on "The Function of the Reviewer" for the Woodland Democrat, Serelda Thomas writes, "to think over the great thoughts after great minds is to be well-read. It is also the province of the critic or reviewer to direct readers to these rich, immortal fields" (reprinted in The Critic no. 307 [November 16 1889], 247). For more information, see her obituary, "Mrs. S. G. Thomas Dies in Woodland," The Sacramento Bee (December 18, 1940), 9. Thompson is paraphrasing Whitman's poem "So Long!," in which Whitman writes, "Who touches this touches a man." Helen J. Holcombe was the author of at least one poetry collection, A Rose of Yesterday (privately printed, New York, 1894). Her poems were reprinted in newspapers and one of her poems, "Sunlight," was set to music by American composer Harriet Ware (1877–1962). A feature on Holcombe in the "General Gossip of Authors and Writers" column claims that she was the daughter of an Episcopal clergyman and taught herself to read at the age of four (Current Literature 17.2 [February 1895], 106–107). The feature also reveals that Holcombe graduated with highest honors from New York's Workingman's School, where she studied kindergarten education. She went on to be a private tutor and writer of children's stories. Joseph Goldsmith Heyn (b. 1868–after 1927) was a dry goods merchant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A line has been drawn through this autograph request. The writer of this letter was probably Byron Gordon Morrison (1835–1920). Morrison was a native of Warren County, Pennsylvania, who lived in New York in the early 1870s and worked as a dealer in real estate. According to the 1880 United States Federal Census, Morrison had moved back to Pennsylvania with his wife Phebe Tripp Sherman Morrison (1838–1912) and their four children. His occupation is listed as "oil operator." On April 21, 1876, Whitman wrote to Morrison, confirming that the books had been sent. Morrison had written to Whitman on April 14, 1876, requesting Whitman's complete works to date. Morrison had enclosed a money order in the amount of $10 to pay for the books. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 6 | 6 PM | 90; London | PM | AU 7 | [illegible]O | Canada. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | London | Asylum | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 1 | 6 AM | 90; N.Y. | 11–1–90 | 10 30 AM | [illegible]; London | AM | NO 3 | 9O | Canada. Whitman is likely referring to Bucke's letter of October 29, 1890. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Nov 1 | 6 PM | 90. See Whitman's letter of November 4, 1890. On November 2, 1890, Bucke wrote the kind of personal letter Whitman rarely composed. Harrison Morris published an article on Whitman and Robert Ingersoll in the American (October 25, 1890). For Whitman's and Horace Traubel's reaction, see With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, October 31, 1890. Bucke is referencing the Bible; see Philippians, Chapter 4, Verse 7. Bucke is paraphrasing a line from Section 50 of Whitman's "Song of Myself," in which the poet writes, "It is not chaos or death—it is form, union, plan—it is eternal life—it is Happiness." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey USA. It is postmarked: London | AM | NO 3 | 90 | Canada; Philadelphia | Nov | 4 | 130AM | 1890 | Transit; Received | Nov | 4 | 1030am | 1890; Camden, N.J. | Nov | 4 | 1PM | 1890 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Dr. Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 30 | 5 PM | 90. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 30 | 5PM | 90; London | PM | De 1 | 90 | Canada. It is uncertain which letter Whitman is referring to here, but he may mean the Bucke's letter of November 23, 1890. Whitman may be referring to the November 15, 1890, letter from the physician Dr. John Johnston and the November 18, 1890, letter from the architect James W. Wallace. Both Johnston and Wallace lived in Bolton Lancashire, England and were the co-founders of the "Bolton College" group of English admirers of Whitman. Whitman may be referring to the November 15, 1890, letter from Johnston and the November 18, 1890, letter from Wallace. This letter is endorsed: “Recd | Dec 2 | 90 JJ.”. It is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 25 | 4 30 PM | 90. This letter is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Ashland | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 17 | 6 AM | 91. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov. 2[illegible] | 4 30 PM | 90; London | AM | NO 27 | 90 | Canada; NY | 11–25–90 | 11 PM | 11. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of November 22, 1890. This letter is endorsed by Whitman on the verso: Personal to J M S. Little is known about these individuals (Ada, Ted, Louie, and the baby) save that they are likely relatives of Bernard O'Dowd's wife, Eva Fryer O'Dowd. They may include her sibling (or siblings) and their spouses and children. Little is known about these individuals (Ada, Ted, and Louie) save that they are likely relatives of Bernard O'Dowd's wife, Eva Fryer O'Dowd. They may include her sibling (or siblings) and their spouses. John William Lloyd (1857–1940) was an American utopian anarchist, founder of The Comradeship of Free Socialists and the group's magazine, The Free Comrade. A brief autobiographical note appears in Richard Maurice Bucke's seminal work, Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind (Philadelphia: Innes and Sons, 1905), describing his various careers—including "hygienic physician," homesteader, poultry farmer, and Florida orange-grower—as well as his wide exposure to world religions and political philosophies (284–285). Lloyd was the author of several books of poetry, including Wind–Harp Songs (Buffalo, New York: The Peter Paul Book Company, 1895), which contains the ode "Mount Walt Whitman," written on the occasion of Whitman's death in 1892. In this poem, Lloyd declares, "Ah, Walt, Walt, poet of Nature, comrade of free men, / Other poets have been Olympian, / But you are Olympus itself" (35). Lloyd was connected to other Whitman disciples, including Edward Carpenter, Horace Traubel, and John Johnston, of the Bolton Whitman Fellowship. Like Carpenter, Lloyd was interested in the study of sexology. Lloyd was also the author of a sex manual, The Karezza Method or Magnetation: The Art of Connubial Love (Privately Printed, 1931). For more information, see Terence S. Kissack, "Whitman and the Shifting Grounds of the Politics of Homosexuality," in Free Comrades: Anarchism and Homosexuality in the United States, 1895–1917 (Oakland: AK Press, 2008), 69–95. Josephine Emma Webling Watts (1862–1942) was an English-born actress and lecturer. She began her stage career at a young age, appearing in London theatricals together with her sisters, Peggy, Lucy, and Rosalind. The sisters performed for the Prince of Wales, future King Edward VII, and completed an American tour in the early 1890s. Around 1900, Josephine moved to the United States and married Alfred Allen Watts, a Canadian printer. For more information, see Watts's obituary, "Mrs. Jospehine Watts Services Conducted," in The Courier–News (Bridgewater, New Jersey [April 15, 1942], 4). Capt. Val (possibly Valerian) Stuart Redden (1844–1917) was a veteran of the Union Army who briefly worked as a clerk for the U.S. Treasury Department in the late 1860s. In 1869, he married Elizabeth "Bessie" Povall Reeve, and the couple moved to Louisianna and had one son, Stuart Reeve Redden. Redden worked as a stenographer for various companies in New Orleans and lived with his family in nearby Covington. An 1879 article in The Marshall Messenger reports that Redden "is the owner of an autograph album with a number of notable autographs therein," including those of "distinguished men living and dead, who have played conspicusous parts in American history" ("Interesting Autographs," [February 14 1879], 3). For more information, see Redden's obituary in the St. Tammany Farmer ("Capt. V. Stuart Redden," [June 9, 1917], 1). Laura Catherine Redden Searing (1839–1923) was an American journalist and poet. After losing her hearing and speech due to childhood spinal menengitis, Searing enrolled in the Missouri School for the Deaf and mastered sign language and the American Manual Alphabet. She then began contributing to various periodicals, including Harper's Magazine, Galaxy, and the American Annals of the Deaf. In 1861, the St. Louis Republican sent her to Washington, D.C., to cover the ongoing Civil War, and she was a European correspondent for The New York Times from 1865 to 1869. She is the author of several books of poetry, including Idyls of Battle and Poems of the Rebellion (New York: Hurd and Houghton, 1864), Sounds from Secret Chambers (Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1873), and Echoes of Other Days (San Francisco: Harr Wagner, 1921). For more information, see Judy Yaeger Jones and Jane E. Vallier, Sweet Bells Jangled: Laura Redden Searing, a Deaf Poet Restored (Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press, 2003). During the years Redden indicates, Whitman was employed as a clerk in the Attorney General's Office in Washington, D.C., where he was responsible for copying out drafts of letters and legal documents written by the Attorney General and his assistant. For more on Whitman's work during this period, see Rosemary Graham, "Attorney General's Office, United States," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is addressed: Walt. Whitman, Esq. | Camden, | N. J. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 14 | 8PM | 91 | Rec'd. A partial Louisiana postmark is visible on the recto of the envelope. Redden's return address is typed in the left corner of the recto of the envelope as follows: Val. Stuart Redden | No. 28 Bellecastle Str., N.O., La. Moses King (1853–1909) was an English-born travel and guidebook writer. King and his family immigrated to the United States when he was five years old. In 1881, he graduated from Harvard University and married Bertha Cloyes. The Moses King Corporation produced photobooks on various subjects, and King wrote guidebooks for major cities including Boston (1878), New York City (1893), and Philadelphia (1902). In 1891, King edited King's Handbook of the United States (Buffalo, NY: Moses King Corporation), a nearly one-thousand-page book with text by Moses Forster Sweetser and over two-thousand illustrations. Whitman is briefly mentioned: "Long Island includes three counties, with 800,000 inhabitants, and is 140 miles long, having (according to Walt Whitman) the form of a fish" (588). For more information, see King's obituary, "Moses King is Dead" (The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, [June 13, 1909], 9). Since Mary Davis became Whitman's housekeeper in 1885, this letter must have been written during or after that year. The young man Whitman refers to here could be William H. Duckett, William Harold Neidlinger (1863–1924) was a composer, vocal instructor, and organist. In the early 1890s, Neidlinger taught at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences before leaving in 1898 to study abroad in London and Paris. He is the compiler of two song collections for children, Small Songs for Small Singers (1896) and Songs of the Camp Fire Girls of America (1912). His 1920 composition, "Memories of Lincoln," set to music three Whitman poems: "Beat! Beat! Drums!"; "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd"; and "O Captain! My Captain!" For more information, see Victoria Etnier Villamil, A Singer's Guide to American Art Song 1870–1980 (Oxford: Scarecrow Press, 1993), 276. Harry R. Maginley (1872–1941) was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, and was an editor at the Norristown Times Herald. In 1900, he married Nellie E. McCall and had one child, Harry Creston Maginley. In the early 1890s, Maginley contributed poems to local newspapers, with pieces appearing in The Times (Philadelphia, PA, "Eddie's Explanation" [August 9, 1891], 15) and the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, PA, "Tommy's Excuse" [August 28, 1891], 7). Maginley won first prize for an editorial on "The Tariff Problem" published in The Times (Philadelphia, PA) on May 20, 1900. His poem "A Little Traveler" appears in Our Little Kings and Queens at Home and School (Chicago: Louis Benham and Company, 1891), a collection of poems, stories, and songs for kindergarteners edited by Lida Brooks Miller. According to census and local records, he lived in Norristown his entire life and is buried with his family in Norristown's Riverside Cemetery. Maginley is referring to the final line of Whitman's poem "Thanks in Old Age." This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | No. 328 Mickle St., | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Norristown | May | 3 | 1890 | 7AM | P.A.; Philadelphia, PA. | MAY | 6 | 1890 | Transit; Camden, N, J. | May | 6 [illegible]. Thaddeus Hyatt (1816–1901) was an abolitionist and industrialist. Born in New Jersey, Hyatt moved to Kansas in the 1850s with a plan to develop local industry, where he befriended abolitionist John Brown. Following Brown's execution in 1859, Hyatt raised funds to support Brown's widow and children and was brought to Washington, D.C., to testify before the U.S. Senate committee investigating the events at Harper's Ferry. After refusing to testify, he was jailed at Capitol Prison for three months. Upon release, he briefly served as American consul at La Rochelle, France, before building a home in London using his own patented concrete. There, he developed the translucent paving tiles that made him a small fortune. During the last years of his life, Hyatt divided his time between Brooklyn and the British Isles and died in 1901 while vacationing with his family on the Isle of Wight. He is the author of several books, including The Prayer of Thaddeus Hyatt to James Buchanan, President of the United States, in Behalf of Kansas (Washington: Henry Polkinhorn, 1860) and Love's Seasons, or Tides of the Heart (New York: Fowler and Wells, 1892). For more information, see Steven Lubet, John Brown's Spy: The Adventurous Life and Tragic Confession of John E. Cook (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012). Hyatt is referring to Samuel Roberts Wells (1820–1875) who was a phrenologist, author, and member of the New York publishing firm Fowler and Wells. For more information on Wells, see Madeline B. Stern, "Wells, Samuel Roberts (1820–1875)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Lorenzo Niles Fowler (1811–1896) and Orson Squire Fowler (1809–1887) were brothers from Cohocton, New York, and well-known phrenologists. They established a Phrenological Cabinet in Clinton Hall in New York City in 1842, where Whitman received a phrenological examination in 1849. The Fowlers' brother-in-law Samuel R. Wells also joined the firm, which later came to be known as Fowler and Wells. The firm published numerous books and magazines on phrenology, reform, and self-help topics, and anonymously published Whitman's second edition of Leaves of Grass in 1856. For more information, see Madeline B. Stern, "Fowler, Lorenzo Niles (1811–1896) and Orson Squire (1809–1887)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman's friends in Bolton, England, included Dr. John Johnston (1852–1927), a physician, and the architect James W. Wallace (1853–1926). Johnston and Wallace were the co-founders of the Bolton College, a group of English admirers of Whitman and his writings. For more information on Johnston and Wallace, 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) and "Wallace, James William (1853–1926)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Hyatt enclosed $25 in the letter. Whitman described Hyatt as a "Noble, noble man!" (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, November 10, 1891. Between 1877 and 1879, Young travelled with former president Ulysses S. Grant on a world tour and documented their travels in the two-volume work, Around the World with General Grant (New York: The American News Company, 1879). On November 3, 1891, Young sent the volumes to Whitman "as a souvenir of our pleasant meeting with [Sir Edwin] Arnold," an English poet and admirer of Whitman. Between 1877 and 1879, Young travelled with former president Ulysses S. Grant on a world tour and documented their travels in the two-volume work, Around the World with General Grant (New York: The American News Company, 1879). On November 3, 1891, Young sent the volumes to Whitman "as a souvenir of our pleasant meeting with [Sir Edwin] Arnold," an English poet and admirer of Whitman. The meeting had taken place on November 2, at Whitman's home in Camden. For Whitman's thoughts on the visit, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, November 2, 1891. In Men and Memories (New York: F. Tennyson Neely, 1901), John Russell Young describes arranging the meeting of Walt Whitman, celebrity manager James B. Pond, and English poet Sir Edwin Arnold at Whitman's Camden home on November 2, 1891: "Sir Edwin had a profound admiration for the poet, and was the bearer among other things of a message from [Alfred, Lord] Tennyson. . . . [Whitman] was pleased, but still and always in reserved sovereign fashion, to hear from Arnold of his growing fame in England" (see especially 90–96). Whitman related his thoughts on the visit to Traubel on Monday, November 2, 1891. Arthur Lynch (1861–1934) was a writer and politician who served twice in the UK House of Commons. Born in Australia to an Irish father and Scottish mother, Lynch was educated at the University of Melbourne and worked as a civil engineer before relocating to Galway, Ireland. During the Second Boer War, he raised an Irish brigade that fought against the Crown; as a result, he was convicted of treason, sentenced to death, and subsequently pardoned. Upon his release, Lynch attended St. Mary's Hospital Medical School and became a general practitioner. Lynch wrote prolifically in several genres, including fiction, poetry, and philosophy; the "little book" alluded to in this letter may refer to Lynch's Modern Authors: A Review and a Forecast (London: Ward and Downey, 1891). The book devotes much attention to Whitman, and Lynch writes that Whitman "has the true poet's largeness of soul" but "lacks a little the singing faculty, though the divine afflatus at his best carries him safely along" (41). For more information on Lynch, see Stephen Due, "Arthur Lynch: Parliamentarian, Physician and Author," Journal of Medical Biography 7.2 (May 1999), 93–99. Riley encloses a poem that he wrote at the top of this letter. The transcription of the poem appears following the letter. Robert Michael Sillard (ca. 1860–1908) was an Irish theatre historian, travel writer, and critic. Sillard lived and worked closely with his brother Peter, a fellow critic, in their native Dublin. In 1908, the brothers moved from Dublin to New York City where they hoped to pursue their literary careers; unfortunately, Robert caught pneumonia and died a few months after their arrival. Sillard is the author of Barry Sullivan and His Contemporaries: A Histrionic Record (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1901), and his essays appeared in numerous periodicals, including Donahoe's Magazine, The Westminster Review, and Fortnightly Review. For more information, see Sillard's obituary, "In Memoriam: Robert Michael Sillard," The Irish Monthly 37.428 (February 1909), 112–114. Sillard is referring to the poem "Resignation" by Matthew Arnold (1822–1888). Arnold was an English poet and cultural critic, who published poems and essays. He is well know for his poem "Dover Beach" and his book Culture and Anarchy (1869), a work of social criticism. George Edward Sears (1838–1916) was an American expatriate and book collector. Sears's father, Robert Sears Sr. (1810–1892), was co-founder of the New York printing-house of Sears and Cole, publishers of newspapers and illustrated books. George Sears collected books and pamphlets for over twenty years while living in New York City, and in 1893, sold his collection of works "technically and historically illustrative of the printing industry" to William Evarts Benjamin (1859–1940) for $25,000 (The American Bookmaker [June, 1893], 230). According to the report in The American Bookmaker, Sears had housed his "curious and instructive literary gleanings in one large apartment of a well-ventilated mansion, without any gas-light or artificial heat." Sears privately printed several catalogues from his collection, including A Collection of The Emblem Books of Andrea Alciati (1888) and A Collection of Works Illustrative of The Dance of Death (1889). In the 1890s, Sears relocated to Toronto, Ontario, and he is buried with his family in Kingston's Cataraqui Cemetery. Sears is paraphrasing a passage from the "Winter" section of James Thompson's "The Seasons" (1730): "The storms of Wintry Time will quickly pass, / And one unbounded Spring encircle all." Anne Montgomerie (1864–1954) married Horace Traubel in Whitman's Mickle Street house in Camden, New Jersey, in 1891. They had one daughter, Gertrude (1892–1983), and one son, Wallace (1893–1898). Anne was unimpressed with Whitman's work when she first read it, but later became enraptured by what she called its "pulsating, illumined life," and she joined Horace as associate editor of his Whitman-inspired periodical The Conservator. Anne edited a small collection of Whitman's writings, A Little Book of Nature Thoughts (Portland, Maine: Thomas B. Mosher, 1896). After Horace's death, both Anne and Gertrude edited his manuscripts of his conversations with Whitman during the final four years of the poet's life, which eventually became the nine-volume With Walt Whitman in Camden. Anne Montgomerie (1864–1954) married Horace Traubel in Whitman's Mickle Street house in Camden, New Jersey, in May 1891. After Whitman's birthday celebration on May 31, 1891, the couple traveled with the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke back to London, Ontario, where they stayed until returning to Camden, New Jersey, on June 14. The couple had one daughter, Gertrude (1892–1983), and one son, Wallace (1893–1898). Anne was unimpressed with Whitman's work when she first read it, but later became enraptured by what she called its "pulsating, illumined life," and she joined Horace as associate editor of his Whitman-inspired periodical The Conservator. Anne edited a small collection of Whitman's writings, A Little Book of Nature Thoughts (Portland, Maine: Thomas B. Mosher, 1896). After Horace's death, both Anne and Gertrude edited his manuscripts of his conversations with Whitman during the final four years of the poet's life, which eventually became the nine-volume With Walt Whitman in Camden. This letter is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Ashland | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | DEC 2 | 5 PM | 90. On the verso of this envelope, a series of mathematical calculations have been written in blue crayon. A note on the verso of this letter, in Whitman's hand, indicates that the letter was written to "A. P. Leech on May 4, 184[illegible]." Whitman may be making a reference to the Bible; see Acts, Chapter 2, verse 3, in which the Holy Spirit's presence is felt at Pentecost, and followers of Jesus see tongues of fire, symbols of the various langauges in which they were to preach the Gospel. The remainder of this letter has been torn away and has not been located. This letter is addressed: Dr. Johnston | 54 Manchester R'd | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct (?) | 8 PM | 91; Philadelphia (?) | Oct 16 | 11 PM | Paid. William John Bok (born Willem Joannes Bruno Eduard Hidde Bok, 1861–1928) was a journalist and newspaper columnist born at Den Helder in the Netherlands. The Bok family immigrated to the United States in 1870, where his father found work in New York as a linguist and translator. In 1886, Bok and his brother Edward(1863–1930)—later Editor of the Ladies' Home Journal—founded the Bok Syndicate Press that contributed to newspapers around the U.S. Horace G. H. Tarr (also G. Horace Tarr and Horace G. Tarr) (ca. 1844–1922), a native of Missouri, was the nephew of the Brooklyn engineer Moses Lane (1823–1882). Tarr served in the Civil War, enlisting with Company K 20th Regiment of the Connecticut Infantry Volunteers in 1862, when he was still a teenager. After Gettysburg, Tarr was promoted to first Lieutenant, and, during the Atlanta campaign, he became the Captain of Company F. After the Civil War, Tarr worked as an engineer and a business manager for two iron companies. He later married, and he and his wife were the parents of six children. Tarr was mentioned in the correspondence between Whitman and his brother, Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890) and seems to have been a longtime friend of Jeff Whitman. Whitman did write the obituary, which was published in The Engineering Record on December 13, 1890. Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price note that there were at least seven published obituaries of Jeff Whitman ( see Berthold and Price, eds., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman [Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984], 189). William Dobson Reeves (1825–1907) was a bookseller and publisher in London, England. In 1851, he formed a partnership with Osborne Turner (1825–1887), publishing and trading as "Reeves & Turner." Later, Turner's son John (1861–1894) was also involved in the business. Reeves and Turner had expressed interest in becoming the English publishers of Whitman's last miscellany Good-Bye My Fancy, and Bucke had spoken to Reeves about publishing Whitman's works while Bucke was traveling in England in the Summer 1891. Bucke had written to Horace Traubel about the matter (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, August 6, 1891). The firm had ordered 100 copies of the book (With Walt Whitman in Camden, August 28, 1891), but Whitman told Traubel that they must respect the interests of David McKay of Philadelphia, the volume's American Publisher (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, August 6, 1891). McKay preferred to have Alexander Gardner (1821–1882) of Paisley, Scotland, a publisher who reissued a number of books by and about Whitman, handling the publishing of Whitman's work abroad (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, August 31, 1891). In the end, Reeves and Turner did not publish an edition of Whitman's Good-Bye My Fancy. As yet we have no information about this correspondent, except that he must have been at least loosely affiliated with the "Bolton College" group of Whitman disciples in Bolton, England. While the Library of Congress catalogs this letter under "L. Morrell," it is unclear that the signature actually is "L. Morrell." This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St. | Camden | N. J. It is postmarked: Philadephia | Oct 31 | 1230PM | 90; Camden, N. J. | Oct 31 | 3PM | 90 | Rec'd. Little is known about Charles B. Campbell of Newark, New Jersey. He seems to have worked in or been the proprietor of an establishment offering fine stationery, artistic framing, and art pieces in several mediums. A line has been drawn through this letter in black ink. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | United States of America. It is postmarked: R[illegible] | 17 | 12-8[illegible] | 98 | ERRO[illegible]; NEW Y[illegible] | DEC | 28; D; [illegible] | A | ALL; CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC 29 | 6 AM | 91 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | N. Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: BIRMINGHAM | BE35 | DE 19 | 91 | 75; BIRMINGHAM | BE35 | DE 19 | 91 | 75; BIRMINGHAM | BE35 | DE 19 | 91 | 75; NEW YORK | DEC | 23; PAID | M | ALL; CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC 29 | 6AM | 91 | REC'D. Robert Franklin Muirhead (1860–1941) was a Scottish mathematician. At the University of Glasgow he earned the four-year George A. Clark Scholarship, then continued his studies at the University of Cambridge. In the early 1890s, he was a lecturer in Mathematics at Mason Science College (later Birmingham University), and in 1893 he married and settled in Glasgow, where he founded the Glasgow Tutorial College. He published numerous mathematical papers, but is best known for authorting Muirhead's Inequality Theory. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: WEST PARK, | DEC | 21 | 1891 | N. Y.; CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC 21 | 4 PM | REC'D; [illegible]. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Camden | New Jersey | (Immediate). It is postmarked: NEW YORK | DEC 21 | 8 PM | E; NY | 12-21-91 | 10 PM | [illegible]; CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC 22 | 6 AM | 91 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | America's Poet | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: RECEIVED | DEC | 26 | 730 PM | 1891 | PHILDELPHIA; PHILADELPHIA | DEC | 26 | 1891 | TRANSIT; PHILADELPHIA DEC | 26 | AM | TRANSIT | CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC 2[illegible]; BOSTON, MASS | DEC 26 | 4—AM | 1891. Frank Webb (1864–1944) and Ellen Pears Nind Webb (1864–1944) were born in England and emigrated to the United States around 1885. The couple married in 1887 and settled in the Boston area, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Their first child, Frank Webb Jr., was born in 1890. Walter Whitman Webb, their second child, arrived one year later but died in 1893, about one year before his brother Frank also died. The Webbs had two daughters who reached maturity, Winona E. Marshall (1894–1971) and Doris Hughes (1898–1974). Frank worked as a milk dealer at the time of their marriage and was later a baker for over thirty years. For more information, see Frank's obituary, "Frank Webb" in The Boston Globe (December 10, 1944), 36. Frances Clara Folsom Cleveland Preston (1864–1947), of Buffalo, New York, was the First Lady of the United States from 1886 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897, as the wife of President Grover Cleveland. The Clevelands first daughter Ruth was born in 1891, and it is her birth to which Frank and Ellen Webb are referring in this letter. The Webbs are referring to lines from Whitman's poem "Song of Myself." Walter Whitman Webb (1891–1893) died when he was two years old. This letter addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: HALIFAX | 32 | DE 15 | 91; 33; CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC 25 | 6 AM | 91 | REC'D; NEW YORK | DEC 24 | B | 91 | PAID | B | ALL. Holdsworth encloses in this letter two flyers and an essay by John Trevor, all promoting The Labour Church. J. E. Holdsworth may be the James Edward Holdsworth (ca. 1870–1936) who lived in Halifax, Yorkshire, Enagland, and was employed as a "Designer." Holdsworth was also affiliated with the Labour Church, an organization whose socialist politics and working-class ideals were often informed by Whitman's work. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC 12 | 8 PM | 91; PHILADELPHIA, P.A. | DEC | 12 | 930 PM | 91 | TRANSIT; LONDON | PM | DE 14 | 91 | CANADA. Whitman's return address is printed on the envelope as follows: WALT WHITMAN, | CAMDEN, | NEW JERSEY. Mounted on the right-hand side is a clipping from the Boston Evening Transcript of December 10, 1891, recounting the "sudden death" of Balestier in Germany. See the letter from Whitman to Dr. John Johnston of August 16–17, 1891, and the letter from Whitman to Bucke of January 23, 1892. Ellen Epps Gosse (1850–1929) was a Pre-Raphaelite painter and a writer for various publications. She and her husband Edmund were the parents of three children: Emily Teresa (b. 1877), Philip Henry George (1879–1959), and Laura Sylvia (1881–1968). Wolcott Balestier (1861–1891) was the son of Henry Wolcott Balestier (1840–1870) and Anna Smith Balestier (1838–1919). Balestier had two sisters, Caroline Starr Balestier Kipling (1862–1939) and Josephine Balestier (b. ca. 1870). Louise Imogen Guiney (1861–1920), of Roxbury, Massachusetts, was an essayist, poet, and editor. She held jobs ranging from postmistress to cataloging at the Boston Public Library. She moved to Oxford, England, in 1901, and she contributed to The Atlantic Monthly, Scribner's, and the Dublin Review, among other magazines. William Hazlitt (1778–1830) was well known as an English essayist. He was also a literary critic and a painter, and was considered to be one the finest art critics of his time. Whitman has written the following source information at the bottom of the newspaper clipping: "Bost Trans | Dec 10 '91." The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, the successor of Scribner's Monthly Magazine was first published in 1881 by the Century Company of New York City. Richard Watson Gilder served as the magazine's editor until his death in 1909. Five of Whitman's poems were first published in the magazine: "Twilight" (December 1887), "Old Age's Lamben Peaks" (September 1888), "My 71st Year," (November 1889), "Old Age's Ship and Crafty Death's" (February 1890), and "A Twilight Song"(May 1890). Baletsier's "A Common Story," was publshed by Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine in August 1891. The Naulahka: A Story of West and East was a novel set in the fictional state of "Rahore" in India by Rudyard Kipling and Wolcott Balestier. It was first published as a serial novel in Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine from November 1891 to July 1892. The politician Oliver Wolcott (1726–1791) signed the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Connecticut. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | near Delaware R[illegible] | New Jersey | America. The city, "Camden," has been added in red ink to complete the address. The numbers 2, 29 (or 27), and 40 have been written on the recto of the envelope; both the numbers 2 and 40 have been crossed out, and the 29 (or 27) has been circled. The envelope is postmarked: COLLECT | POSTAGE | 16 CENTS; DEFICIENCY | IN | ADDRESS | SUPPLIED | BY | N.Y.P.O. [illegible] DIV; [illegible]ON | [illegible]; NEW YO | DEC 20 | 12 [illegible] | 91; N.Y. | B | 12-24 91; [illegible] | PM | 91 REC'D. George Luther Munday (1857–1922) was a theatre director and charity organizer born in Bath, England. An aristocrat of independent means, Munday devoted his time to the formation of clubs that promoted the humanities, including London's Lyric Club, a dramatic group. It was through the Lyric Club that Munday met playwright Oscar Wilde, for which friendship he is perhaps best remembered. Munday and his wife Mabel (1853–1946) were avid cyclists and early members of the Christian Science church in London. For more information, see Munday's memoir, A Chronicle of Friendships (London: F. A. Stokes, 1912). Charles Hamilton Aïdé (1826–1906) was a poet, playwright, and novelist. He was born in Paris to a British mother and Armenian father. Aïdé studied at the University of Bonn in Germany and served in the British army. A lifelong bachelor, he lived with his mother until her death in 1875, when he moved to Queen Anne's Gate and became known for hosting salons attended by actors, literary figures, and members of the aristocracy. His novels include Rita: An Autobiography (1858), The Marstons (1868), and A Voyage of Discovery (1892). His poems were collected in several volumes, including Eleonore; And Other Poems (1856) and Songs Without Music (1882). For more information, see Jeffrey Richards, Sir Henry Irving: A Victorian Actor and his World (London: Hambledon and London, 2005), 167. Whitman is referring to Kennedy's letter of November 10, 1890. Harriet B. Parkerson Harned (1824–1890) was born in Norwich, England, the third of five sisters. She married Henry Shell Harned (1818–1906) in 1848. The couple had at least four sons: Henry Harned (1849–1934), Thomas Biggs Harned (1851–1921), Frank Harned (1855–after 1930), and John Frederick Harned (1856–1929). Harriet Harned is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Camden, New Jersey. Thomas B. Harned, one of Whitman's literary exectuors, said of his mother: "She was a great woman, with unusual mental qualities. In many respects she was the ablest woman I have ever known." For more information about her, see Memoirs of Thomas B. Harned, Walt Whitman's Friend and Literary Executor, ed. Peter Van Egmond (Hartford, CT: Transcendental Books, 1972). In his book Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (London: Alexander Gardener, 1896), Kennedy writes that on November 8, 1890, Whitman sent a brief memorandum to the Boston Transcript office for publication. Whitman's "'jotting'" commented on the election of 1890, which was held during Republican President Benjamin Harrison's term of office (Harrison served from 1889–1893). Republicans suffered major losses in the election, with Democrats taking control of the House of Representatives, but with Republicans hanging onto control of the Senate. Kennedy quoted Whitman's piece in full: "Walt Whitman likes the result of the late election, and wants more of it. Though an old Republican, he calls the party in power 'the banditti combine,' and says, if it were not for American elections as safety-valves, we should likely have a French Revolution here and Reign of Terror" (39). In this letter, Whitman is referring to the publication of this piece in the Boston Transcript. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDO[illegible] | PM | JA 3 | 91 | Canada; CAMDEN, N.J. | JAN | 5 | 1 PM | 1891 | REC'D. Bucke described this accident in a December 25, 1890, letter to Whitman's disciple and biographer Horace Traubel: "I had a fall last evening and dislocated my left shoulder (it was the right arm last time, three months ago)." This letter is held in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. It is reprinted in Traubel's With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, December 27, 1890. There are five titles in Alexandre Dumas's (1802–1870) Memoires d'un medecin, a series concerned with the beginnings of the French Revolution down to the death of Marie Antoinette: Joseph Balsamo (1846–48), Le Collier de la reine (1849–50), Ange Pitou (1852), La Comtesse de Charmy (1853–55), and Le Chevalier de Maison-Rouge (1846). Bucke was reading these romances in an edition published by Little, Brown & Company of Boston, according to Bucke's letter to Traubel of February 1891 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). This letter is addressed: Walt. Whitman Esq | Camden | N. J.. It is postmarked: [illegible]APA | DEC | 21 | 11 AM; CAMDEN,N.J. | DEC | 22 | 6 AM | 1890 | REC'D. Meier encloses in this letter a typescript of a memorial address for a Thomas Jefferson Whitman, "DIED Nov. 25th, 1890." Meier signs his name at the end of the typescript and writes the following note: "Read before the St. Louis Engineer's Club Dec 17/90 and ordered printed with the proceedings in the Journal of Associated Engineering Societies on motion of M. J. Holman [illegible] St. Louis. P.S. Holman is one of T.J.W.'s boys. Edward Daniel Meier (1841–1914) was a mechanical engineer and founder of the Heine Safety Boiler Company in Saint Louis. Meier's parents, Deidrich Adolphus Meier (1810–1888) and Anna Rebecca Rust (1809–1868), emmigrated from Bremen, Germany, in 1837 to Saint Louis, Missouri, where Meier founded a hardware importing company. The couple had four sons: Theodore (1836–1914), John (1839–1921), Edward, and Adolphus Gustavus (1845–1881). Edward Meier was educated at Washington University and later attended the Royal Polytechnic School in Hanover, Germany. During the Civil War, he served in the Thirty-second Pennsylvania Regiment and in the Army of the Potomac, and was made a colonel while in the First Regiment of Missouri's National Guard. In 1868 he married Clara Franzi Gieseke (1845–1870) who died shortly after the birth of their son, Edward Clarence (1870–1918). He married Nancy Anderson Runyon (1855–1911) in 1875 and they had five children. After working for various companies around the midwest, including the Kansas Pacific Railroad, he founded the Heine Safety Boiler Company, which installed the 10,000 horse-power boiler that supplied power to New York's Grand Central Terminal. Around 1905, Meier left Saint Louis for New York City to collaborate with another company in developing diesel engines. During his career, he was presient of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and of the Machinery and Metal Trades Association. For more information, see Meier's obituary in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, "Col. E. D. Meier Dies in New York City at Age of 73" (December 16, 1914). This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St. | Camden NJ. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR 3 | 10AM | 91. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey. | U.S. America. It is postmarked: [illegible]TON | R | MY27 | [illegible]; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUN | 6 | 6 AM | 1891 | REC[illegible]. A postscript from Dr. John Johnston appears on the back of Wallace's letter, dated "May 27th 1891." The postscript begins on the back of the second page of Wallace's letter, after his closing. See Johnston and Wallace's Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–1891 (London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1917). See also their accounts of these vists, taken from the book, which are available on the "Whitman Interviews & Reminiscences" section of The Walt Whitman Archive. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: BOLTON | 40 | JU17 | 91; NEW YORK | JUNE | 24; K | 91; PAID | J | ALL; CAMDEN, NJ. | JUN | 25 | 6AM | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: BOLTON | 47 | JU 24 | 91; NEW YORK | JUL | 3; C | 91; PAID | F | ALL; CAMDEN, N J. | JUL | 3 | 4 PM | 91 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey. | U.S. America. It is postmarked: BOLTON | 40 | JU27 | 91; 92; BOLTON | 40; 92; NEW YORK | JUL | 6; A | 91; Paid | B; CAMDEN, NJ. | JUL | 6 | 6 AM | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: BOLTON | 55 | DE19 | 91; NEW YORK | DEC | 22 | D | PAID | ALL; CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC 29 | 6 AM | 91 | REC'D. This postscript appears vertically along the left margin of the fourth and final page of the letter. Johnston is referring to Modern Authors: A Review and a Forecast (London: Ward and Downey, 1891) by the English writer and politician Arthur Lynch (1861–1934). The book devotes much attention to Whitman, and Lynch writes that Whitman "has the true poet's largeness of soul" but "lacks a little the singing faculty, though the divine afflatus at his best carries him safely along" (41). For more information on Lynch, see Stephen Due, "Arthur Lynch: Parliamentarian, Physician and Author," Journal of Medical Biography 7.2. (May 1999), 93–99. Wallace is referring to Modern Authors: A Review and a Forecast (London: Ward and Downey, 1891) by the English writer and politician Arthur Lynch (1861–1934). The book devotes much attention to Whitman, and Lynch writes that Whitman "has the true poet's largeness of soul" but "lacks a little the singing faculty, though the divine afflatus at his best carries him safely along" (41). For more information on Lynch, see Stephen Due, "Arthur Lynch: Parliamentarian, Physician and Author," Journal of Medical Biography 7.2 (May 1999), 93–99. Whitman is referring to Modern Authors: A Review and a Forecast (London: Ward and Downey, 1891) by the English writer and politician Arthur Lynch (1861–1934). The book devotes much attention to Whitman, and Lynch writes that Whitman "has the true poet's largeness of soul" but "lacks a little the singing faculty, though the divine afflatus at his best carries him safely along" (41). For more information on Lynch, see Stephen Due, "Arthur Lynch: Parliamentarian, Physician and Author," Journal of Medical Biography 7.2. (May 1999), 93–99. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey. | U.S. America. It is postmarked: BOLTON | 53 | [illegible] | 91; NEW YORK | JUL | 8 | B | 91 | PAID | A | ALL; CAMDEN[illegible] | [illegible] | 6 AM | 1891 | REC'D. This text appears as a postscript to the letter and is written in pencil beneath Wallace's signature. Reverend Samuel Thompson (b. 1835), originally from Canada, was the last resident minister of the Rivington Unitarian Chapel near Bolton, England; he served as the minister from 1881 to 1909. He hosted and provided entertainment for the Eagle Street College group (later known as the Bolton College and the Bolton Fellowship)—a literary society established by James W. Wallace and Dr. John Johnston, and dedicated to reading and discussing Whitman's work—when they celebrated Whitman's birthday each May 31st. Elizabeth Thompson (b. 1838[?]) was born in Scotland and later married Reverend Samuel Thompson (b. 1835), the minister of Rivington Unitarian Chapel. The couple had a daughter Maggie H. Thompson Pierce (ca. 1868–1910). As yet, we have no information on the couple's son. Wallace is referring to three unsigned reviews of the first edition of Leaves of Grass that were written by Whitman himself. "Walt Whitman and His Poems" was published in The United States Review in September 1855, "An English and American Poet" was published in the American Phrenological Journal in October 1855, and "Walt Whitman, a Brooklyn Boy," was published in The Brooklyn Daily Times on September 29, 1855. Wallace is referring to two unsigned reviews of the first edition of Leaves of Grass that were written by Whitman himself. "Walt Whitman and His Poems" was published in The United States Review in September 1855 and "An English and American Poet" was published in the American Phrenological Journal in October 1855. Wallace is referring to Whitman's postal card to Johnston dated June 18, 1891, in which the poet refers to two unidentified "dear little boys" who came to visit him and cheered him up with their "delicious chatter." Lippincott's Monthly Magazine did not publish Horace Traubel's "Walt Whitman's Birthday" and Whitman's preface to "Good-Bye My Fancy" (his second annex to Leaves of Grass) until their August issue. Jeannette Leonard Gilder (1849–1916) helped her brother, Richard Watson Gilder, edit Scribner's Monthly and then, with another brother, Joseph Benson Gilder, co-edited the Critic (which she co-founded in 1881). Gilder wrote under the pen name of "Brunswick" for the Boston Transcript, which Kennedy notes in his letter to Whitman of May 3, 1890. For more information, see Susan L. Roberson, "Gilder, Jeannette L. (1849–1916)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: BELMONT | AUG | 22 | 1891 | MASS; CAMDEN,N.J. | AUG | 24 | 6AM | [illegible] | REC'D. At this time, the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke was traveling abroad in England in an attempt to establish a foreign market for the gas and fluid meter he was developing with his brother-in-law William Gurd. During this trip, on August 10, 1891, Bucke sent Whitman a lengthy account of his meeting with the British Poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson. In an August 20, 1891, letter to Kennedy, Whitman had offered to send the letter to Kennedy to read, after which Whitman directed that it should be returned. At this time, the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke was traveling abroad in England in an attempt to establish a foreign market for the gas and fluid meter he was developing with his brother-in-law William Gurd. At this time, Bucke was traveling abroad in England in an attempt to establish a foreign market for the gas and fluid meter he was developing with his brother-in-law William Gurd. At this time, Bucke had just returned from traveling abroad in England in an attempt to establish a foreign market for the gas and fluid meter he was developing with his brother-in-law William Gurd. Wallace had returned with Bucke to visit Canada. During the months of July and August 1891, Bucke had traveled in England in an attempt to establish a foreign market for the gas and fluid meter he was developing with his brother-in-law William Gurd. In September 1891, Bucke returned to the United States. After arriving in New York, Bucke went to Camden to see Whitman. James W. Wallace, co-founder of the Bolton College of Whitman admirers, followed shortly behind Bucke, arriving in Philadelphia on September 8, 1891 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, September 8, 1891). After spending a few days with Whitman, Wallace returned with Bucke to London, Ontario, Canada, where he visited with Bucke's family and friends. During the months of July and August 1891, Bucke had traveled in England in an attempt to establish a foreign market for the gas and fluid meter he was developing with his brother-in-law William Gurd. At this time, the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke was traveling abroad in England in an attempt to establish a foreign market for the gas and fluid meter he was developing with his brother-in-law William Gurd. During this trip, on August 10, 1891, Bucke sent Whitman a lengthy account of his meeting with the British Poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson. In an August 20, 1891, letter to Kennedy, Whitman had offered to send the letter to Kennedy to read, after which Whitman directed that it should be returned. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: WASHINGTON, D.C. | AUG 27 | 10-30A | 1891; CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG | 27 | 5PM | [illegible] | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | United States of America. It is postmarked: [illegible]; CAMDEN | SEP 21 | 4 PM | 91 | REC'D. There are two additional postmarks, neither of which are legible; one contains the visible characters "NEWYO," while the other contains the visible characters "ALL." An unknown person, likely Whitman himself, has written what appear to be calculations for change, or some other sort of numerical transaction, on the verso of the envelope. The word "change" appears in the hand of the person who wrote the calculations. This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | Care Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Sep 14 | 8 PM | 91. Whitman is referring to the wife of Harry D. Bush. Harry Bush was one of the poet's pallbearers. See Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1931], 295 See also John Johnston and James W. Wallace, Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–1891 by Two Lancashire Friends (London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1918), 102. Conway published The Life of Thomas Paine in two volumes in 1892 and The Writings of Thomas Paine (1894–1896) in four volumes. The band is described in a letter from Bucke on September 11, 1891, and also one from Wallace on the same date. On September 11 Wallace had written: "You remind me so much of my dear mother. . . . You seem to me now as near & intimate as well as dear as my own Kith & Kin—Nay, dearer." On September 13 he observed that Bucke's "interesting" collection of Whitmaniana "affects my sleep." This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 15 | 8 PM | (?). This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester R'd | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 15 | 8 PM | 91. According to Dr. Johnston's postal card on September 5 the New Review for September contained an article on "'Literature in the United States' in wh your name occurs." This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 14 | 5 PM | 90; London | PM | De 15 | 90 | Canada. Bucke explained the matter in his letter of December 12: a man named Beers gave Johnston $10 for tickets on the day of the Robert Ingersoll Philadelphia lecture. The last great pandemic of the nineteenth century—the 1889–1890 flu pandemic (also referred to as the "Russian flu" or "Asiatic flu")—killed around a million people worldwide. There were recurrences of the illness in the spring and early summer of 1891 (March to June), and in the following winter, spring, and early summer (November 1891 to June 1892). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP 18 | 3 PM | '91 | REC'D; [illegible] | PM | SP 15 | 91 | CANADA. At the time of this letter, Wallace was on a trip to visit both Dr. Bucke and Whitman. Accounts of these visits can be found in Wallace and Dr. John Johnston's Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917). Edy Brothers was a London, Ontario, photographic studio; they took several photographs of Whitman while he was in London in 1881 visiting Dr. Bucke. Reverend George L. Richardson (b. 1834) was a London, Ontario, Methodist minister, who in 1881, when Whitman visited London, had talked with the poet about the role of religion and science in Leaves of Grass and about his views of the orator and agnostic Robert Ingersoll. Bucke describes these conversations in his biography of the poet (Walt Whitman [Philadelphia, PA: David McKay, 1883], 67). Wallace enclosed a a detailed program for the Fourth Annual Athletic Sports event at the Asylum for the Insane in London, Ontario. Images of the program appear after the images of the letter. Wallace is referring to Bucke's son, Edward Pardee Bucke (1875–1913), apparently named after Dr. Bucke's friend Timothy Blair Pardee. Traubel is referring to Bucke's son, Edward Pardee Bucke (1875–1913), apparently named after Dr. Bucke's friend Timothy Blair Pardee. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | AUG 4 | 630PM | D; 91; CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG | 5 | 6AM | 1891 | REC'D. Francis Granger (1792–1868) was a politician and political essayist who published numerous pamphlets. Granger served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 26th district and as the U.S. Postmaster General. In 1836, he was a Whig Party Vice Presidential nominee, but lost a contingent election for Vice President in the U.S. Senate. Granger was the son of the early American politician and lawyer Gideon Granger (1757–1822). The Misses Granger may be a reference to the granddaughters of the politician Francis Granger. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey. | U.S. America. It is postmarked: BOLTON | 34 | AU 1 | 91; [illegible]; PAID | [illegible] | ALL; CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG | 10 | 9AM | 1891 | REC'D. In his letter to Wallace of July 14, 1891, Whitman noted that he felt "badly depress'd" that day. Mheillea is the ancient Manx fall harvest celebration on the Isle of Man, involving a supper given by a farmer to his workers and neighbors who have helped bring in the harvest and a social gathering to thank the pagan gods for a bountiful year. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. It is postmarked: VICTORIA RAILWAY RFO | SOUTH | OC 5 | 91; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT 8 | 6 AM | 91 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden: | N. Jersey. It is postmarked: TORONTO | 11 PM | OCT10 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT 13 | 4 PM | [illegible]. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: N[illegible] | [illegible] | 4 PM | D; 9; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT 14 | 6 AM | 91 | REC'D. A series of editorial notes in Whitman's hand appear on both the recto and verso of this envelope. On the recto: "George and his laugh"; "our walk J. would be the gayest"; "have the credit of showing of the [illegible]." On the verso: "—somebody [illegible] [illegible] the greatness of his [illegible]"; "Why"; "Hurrah"; "&c. not owing to her but to her [illegible] when—the people who [illegible] her [illegible]"; "rewarded"; "O'C's book." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | DEC 14 | 9 PM | [illegible]; 91; CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC 15 | 6 AM | 91 | REC'D. Eva Amelia Parker Ingersoll (1841–1923) of Groveland, Illinois, was the daughter of Benjamin Weld Parker and his wife Harriet E. Lyon Parker. She married Robert G. Ingersoll in 1862, and they had two daughters, Eva Ingersoll Brown (1863–1928) and Maude Ingersoll Probasco (1864–1936). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey. | U.S. America. It is postmarked: CHORLEY | DEC 12; HIGHER A[illegible]GTON | B | DE 12 | 91; CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC 21 | 6 AM | 91 | [illegible]; [illegible] YOR[illegible]. Wallace visited Whitman in Camden, New Jersey, and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke at Bucke's home in London, Ontario, Canada, in the fall of 1891. He also spent time in New York during the trip. Accounts of Wallace's visit can be found in Dr. John Johnston and Wallace's Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917). Approximately one week after writing this letter, Wallace would return to Camden, New Jersey, on October 15th. Wallace visited Whitman in Camden, New Jersey, and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke at Bucke's home in London, Ontario, Canada, in the fall of 1891. He also spent time in New York during the trip. Accounts of Wallace's visit can be found in Dr. John Johnston and Wallace's Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | OCT 14 | 1130 AM | 91; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT 4 | 4 PM | 91 | REC'D. Wallace visited Whitman in Camden, New Jersey, and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke at Bucke's home in London, Ontario, Canada, in the fall of 1891. He also spent time in New York during the trip. Accounts of Wallace's visit can be found in Dr. John Johnston and Wallace's Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917). John H. Johnston (1837–1919), who was married first to Amelia Johnston and, later, to Alma Calder Johnston (1843–1917) had three sons: Albert Edward, Carroll Hugh, and Calder Johnston. The youngest brother may be Calder Johnston. Albert Edward Johnston and Calder Johnston were the sons of the jeweler John H. Johnston (1837–1919). Calder was the youngest of John H. Johnston's three sons. Mary Frances (May) Johnston (1862–1957) was the daughter of John H. Johnston (1837–1919) and his first wife Amelia Johnston. She was the younger sister of Bertha Johnston (1872–1953), who was involved in the suffrage movement. May later married Arthur Levi, of London, England ("Mrs. A. C. Johnston, Author, Dies at 72," The Brooklyn Daily Eagle [May 3, 1917], 3). H. D. Bush was an engineer involved in projects ranging from bridge construction to general contracting. He later served as the President of the American Society of Civil Engineers. A friend of Whitman's, Bush attended Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday celebration in Camden. Bush wrote to Whitman on January 12, 1892, to thank the poet for sending a copy of what has become known as the "deathbed edition" of Leaves of Grass (1891–1892). Werner Bruns (1856–1897) was a politician and lawyer from New York. According to Bruns's death certificate, his parents were born in Germany. In 1878, he married Anastasia "Anna" Kirby (1857–unknown), and the couple had six children. Bruns represented New York County's Fifteenth District in the New York State Assembly for the 1886 term (see Record of Assemblymen and Senators from the City of New York in the Legislature of 1886 by the City Reform Club [New York: Burgoyne's "Quick" Print], 37–39). Bruns also seems to have been president of at least two insurance companies, including the Columbian League (see Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York, [Albany: The Troy Press Company, 1889], 246–247) and The Income and Life Association of America (see Our Society Journal [March 1890], 16). He died at his home at 275 Milford Street in Brooklyn and is buried in Calvary cemetery. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: BROOKLYN, N.Y. | OCT 10 | 630 PM | 91; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT 11 | 4 PM | 91 | REC'D. Dr. John Johnston was from Annan, a town in Dumfries and Galloway, in southwest Scotland. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: G | PAID | B | 4[illegible]; [illegible] J. | DEC 5 | 5 AM | 91 | REC'D; BOLTON | [illegible] | DE 5 | 91. Pea Shore was an area north of Camden on the Delaware River that Whitman often enjoyed traveling to in his carriage. Sir Edwin Arnold's Seas and Lands (1891) includes a record of his visit to Whitman's Camden home in 1889. In the book, Arnold talks of meeting "a very handsome brown-faced boy of nineteen in shirt-sleeves," and Dr. Johnston believes this must refer to Warry, but in fact it refers to Whitman's former nurse Edward ("Ned") Wilkins. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: CAMDEN,N.J. | DEC15 | 9AM | 91 | REC'D; G | NEW YORK | DEC 14 | PAID | B | ALL | 91; BOLTON | 56 | DE [illegible] | 91. Wallace had recently returned to England after traveling in the United States and Canada. Wallace visited both Whitman and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke in the fall of 1891. Johnston visited Whitman in the summer of 1890. Accounts of these visits can be found in Johnston and Wallace's Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | DEC 8 | 6 30 PM; 91; CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC 9 | 6 AM | 91 | REC'D. The return address of the Editorial Department of the Century Magazine is stamped on the flap of the envelope. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey. | U.S. America. It is postmarked: CHORLEY | N | DE 9 | 91; NEW YORK | DEC | 19; PAID | K | ALL; AD[illegible]GTON | B | DE 9 | 91 | LANC; CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC 21 | 6 AM | 91 | [illegible]. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: BELMONT | OCT | 91 | 1891 | MASS.; CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV 2 | 6 AM | 91 | REC'D. Kennedy was at the time on the staff of the Boston Transcript. Kennedy is alluding to Whitman's line in the poem "Shut Not Your Doors": "The words of my book nothing, the drift of it every thing." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: DELAWARE | NOV | 6 | 11 AM | 1891 | OHIO; CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV 6 | 6 PM | 91 | REC'D. Horace Traubel notes that the Delaware postmaster enclosed Whitman's original query with his reply, observing that Hoefley "evidently did not appreciate the value of [Whitman's] autograph" (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, November 14, 1891). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman. | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: CHORLEY | N | NO 28 | 91; CHORLEY | N | NO 28 | 91; HIGHER ADLINGTON | B | NO 28 | 91; [illegible]LL; CAMDEN [illegible] | DEC 7 | 6 AM | 91 | REC'D. The enclosed poem does not survive. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: NEW-YORK | DEC 1 | 2 PM | D; CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC 2 | 6 AM | 91 | REC'D. Giuseppe Giacosa (1847–1906) was an Italian playwright, librettist, and poet. He wrote La signora di Callant (The Lady of Challand) for French actress Sarah Bernhardt, which was produced in New York in 1891. Giacosa, along with Luigi Illica, wrote librettos that were used by Giacomo Puccini in La bohème and Madama Butterfly. The French actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844–1923) starred in stage productions of popular French plays in the 19th and early 20th centuries. She had roles in plays by Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas and played males roles, including Shakespeare's Hamlet. She participated in international theater tours and went on to make sound recordings and to act in early motion pictures. Thomas wrote this letter to Whitman on the back of a typed form letter written on the letterhead of a Woodland, California, newspaper titled The Democrat. The form letter, signed by Thomas, is a general appeal to publishers, printers, and editors to send copies of recently published books and information about the histories of publishing houses. Heyde appears to have dated this letter "Oct 189." In another hand, likely that of Richard Maurice Bucke, the letter has been dated October 21, 1891. Bucke has added, in red ink, "21" before "Oct," and has written the numeral "1" over Heyde's apostrophe. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. It is postmarked: LONDON | [illegible] | SP 17 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP 19 | 12 [illegible]M | 91 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | United States of America. It is postmarked: ST. JOHNS WOOD | A 1 | OC20 | 91 | N.W; B; NEW YORK | OCT | 28; G | 91; PAID | H | ALL; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT 29 | 6 A.M. | 91 | REC'D. Whitman (understandably) did not comment on this exuberant passage in Kennedy's letter of December 28, 1890: "Do you suppose a thousand years fr now people will be celebrating the birth of Walt Whitman as they are now the birth of Christ. If they dont the more fools they. But I hope they won't mythologize you & idiotize themselves as they do over that poor Christ. Why the glorious mystic & genius wd have cut his throat if he had known what idiots people were to be over him." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. | It is postmarked: LONDO[N] | AM | JA 5 | 91 | CANADA; Camden, N.J. | Jan | 7 | 1 PM | 1891 | Rec'd. Bucke misdated this letter January 5, 1890. He (or some unknown person) corrected the date by writing 1891 in black ink above the dateline. On 2 January 1891, Mrs. O'Connor wrote Whitman that Houghton, Mifflin & Company would issue O'Connor's volume of short stories, with a preface by Whitman, 'next fall, as they say it is a Christmas book really' (Corr., V, 144n - 145n. Edmund Gosse published "Is Verse in Danger?" in The Forum (January 1891), 517–526. This letter is addressed: Critic weekly paper | 52 Lafayette Place | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 4 | 5 PM | 91. "The Pallid Wreath" appeared in The Critic on January 10. This note to the Gilders was written directly beneath the holograph. This letter is addressed: Mrs: O'Connor | 112 M Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 4 | 5 PM | 91. This letter is addressed to Walter Whitman | Brooklynn L. Island | New York. It is postmarked: Scio | Jun | 30 | NY. On January 2, 1891, Ellen O'Connor informed Whitman that Houghton, Mifflin & Company was planning to publish her late husband William D. O'Connor's story "The Brazen Android" in The Atlantic Monthly in April and May. They also planned to publish a collection that included three of O'Connor's stories and a preface by Whitman. Three Tales: The Ghost, The Brazen Android, The Carpenter was published the following year, in 1892. First written in 1862 but not published until 1891, William D. O'Connor's story "The Brazen Android" appeared in The Atlantic Monthly in two installments: Part 1, vol. 67, no. 402, April 1891, pp. 433–454; Part 2, vol. 67, no. 403, May 1891, pp. 577–599. The story also appeared in the collection Three Tales: The Ghost, The Brazen Android, The Carpenter (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1892), for which Whitman wrote the Preface (which he later included in Good-Bye My Fancy [Philadelphia: David McKay, 1891], 51–53). Whitman included this letter as an enclosure in his January 3, 1891, letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke: | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | JAN 7 | 6 AM | 91; LONDON | PM | JA 8 | 91 | ONTARIO. A corrected proof of "Old Age Echoes," which appeared in Lippincott's in March, is in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Whitman also returned the proof of "The Pallid Wreath" to The Critic. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | JA 12 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN,N.J. | JAN | 14 | 3 PM | 1891 | REC'D. Whitman had reported on his improved health and strength in his January 7, 1891, letter to Bucke. See WW 2415. With his letter of December 27, 1890, Dr. John Johnston had enclosed a typescript copy of Symonds's letter thanking him for sending Notes of a Visit to Walt Whitman (1890) (The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York UP, 1969], 5:148–149n11). For a complete transcription of the letter, see The Letters of John Addington Symonds, Volume 3: 1885–1893, ed. Herbert M. Schueller and Robert L. Peters [Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1969], 530–531. Bucke may be referring to Symonds's August 3, 1890, letter to Whitman. With this letter, Johnston enclosed a typescript copy of Symonds's letter thanking him for sending Notes of a Visit to Walt Whitman (1890) (The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York UP, 1969], 5:148–149n11). For a complete transcription of the letter, see The Letters of John Addington Symonds, Volume 3: 1885–1893, ed. Herbert M. Schueller and Robert L. Peters [Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1969], 530–531. Johnston is quoting from the Bible, 2 Samuel 1:20. Horace Tarr (ca.1844–1922), the nephew of the Brooklyn engineer Moses Lane (1823–1882) had asked Whitman to write an obituary notice for his brother Thomas Jefferson (Jeff) Whitman (1833–1890) that could be published in the engineering journals. See Tarr's letter to Whitman of December 1, 1890. Whitman's obituary of Jeff, "An Engineer's Obituary," was published in The Engineering Record on December 13, 1890. Johnston is quoting from Whitman's "Joy, Shipmate, Joy," from the Songs of Parting cluster of poems. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | London Asylum | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC 27 | 8 PM | 90; LONDON | PM | DE 29 | 9 | CANADA. A major flu pandemic in 1889–1890 killed around a million people worldwide; it hit U.S. cities in late December and January. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC 29 | 730 AM | 90; LONDON | PM | DE 30 | 90 | CANADA. Until the manuscript appears, it is impossible to arrive at a more precise date for this note. The text is probably from a post card which, when discovered, will identify the recipient and probably the exact date. This note was written on the verso of a heavily corrected proof of Whitman's poem "For Queen Victoria's Birthday." Henry Curtz was a printer/compositor at 104 S. Second St. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He occasionally visited Whitman at his Camden home, and Whitman often used him to set various pieces, to print stationery, envelopes, and shipping labels, and to run proofs and send the poet printed slips. Whitman told Horace Traubel: "Curtz—poor devil! I throw as much in his way as I can"(With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, November 25, 1890). Another time, he described Curtz this way: "Henry Curtz. You know him, Horace. He is rather an effete person—seems as if left over from a very remote past: his queer little office, the Washington press, the old faced letters, the wood type, Curtz himself: it's all odd and attractive to me. Be good to Curtz—he's the last of his race" (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, May 19, 1888). This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | Care Walter Scott | Publisher Warwick Lane | Paternoster Row | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | MAY 11 | 5 PM | 90; Philadelphia, P.A. | MAY 11 | 9 PM | [illegible] | London, E.C. | 7 | MY 23 | 90 | [illegible] Enclosed in this letter were printed slips of Whitman's poems "A Twilight Song" and "For Queen Victoria's Birthday." The latter was published in the following English journals: Pall Mall Gazette on May 24, The Observer (London), on May 25, The Star on May 27, and The Home News on May 30. On May 25, 1890, Rhys wrote to Harry Buxton Forman about the slips: "Not being a Royalist, I did not much relish having to make a midnight pilgrimage from here to Fleet St. on Friday night with the slips in question (for they only reached me that evening); but I felt compelled to honour the old fellow's wish. I enclose one of the slips, as it has its own autograph, & may fit in to your collection of odds & ends" (The Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, New York Public Library). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: BOSTON | MAY 25 | 6 PM; PHILADELPHIA, PA | MAY | 30 | 830 AM | 1890 | TRANSIT; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAY | 30 | 6 PM | 1890 | REC'D. Hezekiah Butterworth (1839–1905) was an American author, educator, and poet. From 1870 to 1894, he was on the staff of the Youth's Companion, a magazine he had frequently contributed to prior to his employment. He is the author of more than seventy books, including The Story of the Hymns (New York: American Tract Society, 1875), Young Folk's History of Boston (Boston: Estes and Lauriat, 1881), and the Zigzag Journeys, a series of seventeen travelogue adventures published by Estes and Lauriat. For more information, see Butterworth's obituary, "Hezekiah Butterworth Dead" in the Fall River Globe (September 6 1905), 2. Butterworth is paraphrasing Whitman's "Full of Life Now": "When you read these I that was visible am become invisible. . . ." This telegram is addressed to Walt Whitman. The envelope includes the following information: Form 116. | Western Union Telegraph Co. | Pay no Charges to Messenger unless written in Ink in Delivery Book. | No. 27 | Charges, Pd. In the upper right margin of the paper, just above this part of Payne's letter, Whitman has written a series of four numbers, beginning with "2" and increasing each subsequent number by seven up to "23." This page of Payne's letter is written on paper that includes the following printed banking information: "National Provincial Bank of England Limited." The name of the bank has a wavy line drawn through it in black ink. Little is known about William Payne, who was a manager of the National Provinicial Bank of England for Portsmouth. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey | U—S—A. It is postmarked: MAXWELL | AU 6 | 90 | ONT; CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG | [illegible] | 90 | REC'D. Louisa B. Sterling (1845–1932) of Grey County, Ontario, was the daughter of Irish-born parents, James and Margret (Dunning) Sterling, and the middle child of three sisters, Mary Jane and Elizabeth. According to Canadian census data from 1881, 1911, and 1921, Sterling was a member of the Methodist church. For the last sixteen years of her life, Sterling and her sister Elizabeth lived in Bradford, Ontario, where they are buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Horace Traubel records Whitman receiving this letter in With Walt Whitman in Camden, see the entry for August 7, 1890, where Whitman is recorded saying, "[H]ere is a woman who is afraid I am to be damned—bless her!" These verses were in large part borrowed from the hymn "Abundantly Able to Save," composed by the Ohio priest and religious songwriter Elisha Hoffman (1839–1929). Sterling repeats here the chorus and the third verse of the hymn, modifying the concluding two lines of the third verse slightly. This letter is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont | Mass:. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG 8 | 6P | 90; PHILADELPHIA, P.A. | TRANSIT | AUG | 8 | [illegible] | 1890; BELMONT, MASS. | REC'D. | 5 [illegible] | 19. In his August 6, 1890, letter Kennedy had mentioned his "curious distaste for writing—at present." He also said: "Dr. B[ucke] & I will bring out my book on you sometime, perhaps sooner than we any of us know. I wrote fr. London Canada to Fredk. Wilson, peremptorily ordering him to return my MS to me." This manuscript was the first of several drafts of what eventually became two books, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (London: Alexander Gardner, 1896) and The Fight of a Book for the World (West Yarmouth, Massachusetts: The Stonecroft Press, 1926). On August 12, Kennedy denied he was "a bit blue. Am perennially happy & contented." "Walt Whitman at Date." Whitman is referring to John Addington Symonds's Essays Speculative and Suggestive (London: Chapman and Hall, 1890). The chapter on "Democratic Art" (pp. 237–268) is mainly inspired by Whitman. Whitman commented on Symonds' chapter in "An Old Man's Rejoinder," which appeared in The Critic 17 (August 16, 1890), 85–86. Whitman's "Rejoinder" was also reprinted in Good-Bye My Fancy (Prose Works 1892, Volume 2: Collect and Other Prose, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1964], 655–658). In his August 20–22 letter, Bucke remarked: "The whole article is 'flat, stale and unprofitable'—a saw dust chewing business—dealing with the hull, the shell, the superfices, never for one line, one flash of insight penetrating to the heart of the business." On August 24, Whitman observed: "you are a little more severe on Symonds than I sh'd be." Whitman is referring to John Addington Symonds's Essays Speculative and Suggestive (London: Chapman and Hall, 1890). The chapter on "Democratic Art" (pp. 237–268) is mainly inspired by Whitman. Whitman commented on Symonds' chapter in "An Old Man's Rejoinder," which appeared in The Critic 17 (August 16, 1890), 85–86. Whitman's "Rejoinder" was also reprinted in Good-Bye My Fancy (Prose Works 1892, Volume 2: Collect and Other Prose, ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1964], 655–658). In his August 20–22 letter, the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke remarked: "The whole article is 'flat, stale and unprofitable'—a saw dust chewing business—dealing with the hull, the shell, the superfices, never for one line, one flash of insight penetrating to the heart of the business." On August 24, Whitman observed: "you are a little more severe on Symonds than I sh'd be." Alfred Carpenter (1847–1925) was a member of the Royal Navy and educated at Brighton College. Carpenter was part of a distinguished naval family, the son of Commander Charles Carpenter (d.1882) and father of Vice-Admiral Alfred Francis Carpenter (1881–1955). For his service with the Marine Survey of India during the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885, he became the first naval officer to receive England's Distinguished Service Order. For more information, see his obituary in the Journal of the British Astronomical Association 35 (1925), 241–242. Towards Democracy was a book-length poem expressing Carpenter's ideas about "spiritual democracy" and how to achieve a more just society. The work was influenced by Whitman's Leaves of Grass and the Bhagavad Gita, the work of Hindu scripture. England's Ideal: And other papers on Social Subjects was a collection of Socialist essays discussing such issues as labor, trade, and property. Towards Democracy was a book-length poem expressing Carpenter's ideas about "spiritual democracy" and how to achieve a more just society. The work was influenced by Whitman's Leaves of Grass and the Bhagavad Gita, the work of Hindu scripture. Edward Carpenter traveled to the United States to visit Whitman for several weeks in 1877 and again in 1884. Carpenter would later publish an account of his time with the poet in his book Days with Walt Whitman: with some notes on his life and work (1906). Edwin Haviland Miller suggests the date of August 12, 1890, for this letter in the calendar of letters written to Whitman that Miller includes in the fifth volume of his edition of Whitman's correspondence. This date is supported by Bucke's reference to Cummings's letter in his letter to Whitman of August 17, 1890. Bucke's letter indicates that Whitman had enclosed Cumming's letter, along with one from Ernest Rhys, in a letter to Bucke dated August 14, 1890, though Whitman makes no mention of the enclosures in the text of his letter to Bucke. Mary Isabella Purington Cummings (1838–1914), originally from Bowdoinham, Maine, was the daughter of Rachel Pennell and Isaac Purington. She married the Civil War veteran Amasa F. Cummings (1822–1898; also known as "Amos"), who was also a native of Maine, and the couple had two children, Leroy and Francis ("Frank"). The family moved to San Diego, California, around 1890 and lived on Kearney Avenue until 1910, according to city directories. The directories also indicate that Amasa Cummings was a joiner, while Leroy and Frank worked as printers. Mary and Amasa Cummings are buried in San Diego's Mount Hope Cemetery. Whitman forwarded this letter to Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke, according to Bucke's letter of August 17, 1890. Cummings is referencing the "Watchman" passage in the Bible, which is found in Isaiah 21:11–12. Cummings is paraphrasing Edgar Allan Poe's (1800–1849) poem "For Annie." The line Cummings references reads: "And the fever called 'Living' is conquered at last." Cummings is quoting selected lines from "Beyond the Smiling and the Weeping," a hymn-poem by Dr. Horatius Bonar (1808–1889). Cummings seems to be paraphrasing lines here from an unknown hymn or poem. It is unclear whether Cummings is referring to an illustration or image of the elderly Whitman here. "Walt Whitman's Art," with quotations from Whitman's brief essay "An Old Man's Rejoinder," appeared in the Boston Herald on August 20. Bucke is referring to the first book published by Havelock Ellis (1859–1939), The Criminal (London: Walter Scott, 1890). An overview of the field of criminal anthropology, this book helped Ellis establish his scientific reputation. The words "strong . . . bucke" are written in the top margin of the first page. Bucke is referring to Whitman's postal card of August 21, 1890. The date for this postal card is based on the postmark, which indicates that Whitman misdated it. For information on Whitman's maternal ancestors, see see Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985), 596. This letter is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 2 | 8 PM | 90. Whitman believed that his maternal great-grandmother was Jenny or Mary Kossabone. But genealogy records, specifically baptism records from the Dutch Reformed Church, suggest that Whitman's maternal great-grandmother may have been Margarita Pe[e]kke Ryder instead of Jenny or Mary Kossabone. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman— | 328 Mickle Street— | Camden— | New Jersey. It is postmarked: POUGHKEEPSIE | SEP 16 | 4 PM | 90 | NY; CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP | 17 | 6 AM | 1890 | REC'D. Jennette Barbour Perry Lee (1861–1951) was an American author and educator, and a graduate of Smith College. Lee taught at Vassar College between 1890 and 1893, Western Reserve University in Cleveland from 1893 to 1896, and later returned to Smith College as a faculty member in the English Department from 1901 to 1913, after her marriage to Gerald Stanley Lee in 1896. She retired from education in 1913 to focus on her writing career and is author of numerous titles, including A Pillar of Salt (New York: Houghton Mifflin and Company, 1901), The Woman in the Alcove (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1914), and The Other Susan (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1921). For more information, see Annie Russell Marble, A Study of the Modern Novel: British and American Since 1900 (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1928), 352. The Home, School and Nation was an illustrated montly magazine of "Knowledge, Education and Patriotism" for children and youth. First published in Chicago in 1890, the magazine was the organ for The American Society of Patriotic Knowledge and of The Young American Historical League, and it published material on national events and important historical and political figures. Bishop Samuel Fallows, D. D. (1835–1922), was the Editor-in Chief, and Martin L. Williston, A. M., was the Assistant Editor. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey | U. S. A. It is postmarked: CHESTER | M | SP 17 | 90; CHESTER | M | SP 17 | 90; NEW YORK | SEP | 24; H | 90; PAID | H | ALL; CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP | [illegible] | 6AM | 1890 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | Anderton near Chorley | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 30 | 8 PM | 90. Wallace on September 19 sent 22 shillings for Thomas Shorrock, a clerk in the Bolton police court. Thomas Shorrock was a clerk in the Bolton police court. Johnston is referring to Whitman's poem "Prayer of Columbus." Johnston included the "To Correspondents" section from the October 11, 1890, issue of The Family Herald as an enclosure. The Family Herald: A Domestic Magazine of Useful Information & Amusement (1843–1940) was a British weekly story paper begun by George Biggs, who served as the proprietor, and then re-launched with James Elishama Smith. When Biggs died in 1859, the paper continued with a new proprietor, William Stevens. Homer is the Ancient Greek poet and author of the epic poems The Odyssey and The Illiad. Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) was an American poet, fiction writer, and literary critic. Though born in Boston, he was shaped by an upbringing in the South. He is best known for his short tales, including detective fiction and stories of the macabre. Poe passed away a few days after he was found delirious and in need of medical assistance on the streets of Baltimore. Johnston recorded this bibliographical information for the article in black ink on the left side of the clipping. Johnston underlined the word "Whitman's" in the newspaper clipping in black ink. This letter is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 30 | 8 PM | 90. On October 6, 1890 Kennedy informed Whitman that the Boston Evening Transcript would bring out "Walt Whitman's Dutch Traits" "in time"; the editor "[Edward Henry] Clement is all right—a man—but very timid & slow in pushing the piece." Kennedy's "Dutch Traits of Walt Whitman" was eventually published in The Conservator 1 (February 1891), 90–91 and reprinted in In Re Walt Whitman, ed. Horace Traubel, et al. (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), 195–199. 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. Whitman is probably referring to Wallace's letter of September 19, 1890. Mrs. Davis had gone to visit relatives in Kansas; see Whitman's letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke of September 13, 1890. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camde(?) | Sep 20 | 6 PM | 90. See note 46 above. This letter is addressed: Elizabeth Porter Gould | 131 Chestnut Street | Chelsea, Mass:. Whitman is referring to Gould's letter of September 22, 1890. Only the envelope survives. Gould added a note: "Written to me concerning an autograph on one of the pictures of himself he sent me, which a friend thought might be an imprint. The picture now belongs to the Public Library, Boston." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 238 Mickle | Camden NJ. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT 6 | 6 AM | 90. Little is known of Albright, who is mentioned several times in Horace Traubel's With Walt Whitman in Camden; he was apparently associated with the Philadelphia Public Ledger. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq. | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: PHILADELPHIA, PA | OCT 11 | 7 PM | 90; 21. Little is known about the Reinhalter Brothers—likely Joseph E. and Peter Reinhalter, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania—beyond their work in designing and constructing granite monuments. Little is known about the Reinhalter Brothers—likely Joseph E. and Peter Reinhalter, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania—beyond their work in designing and constructing granite monuments. Their company, known as P. Reinhalter & Co. of Philadelphia, built Whitman's tomb—an elaborate granite tomb of the poet's design—in Harleigh Cemetery in Camden, New Jersey. The tomb cost $4,000. Whitman covered a portion of these costs with money that his Boston friends had raised so that the poet could purchase a summer cottage; the remaining balance was paid by Whitman's literary executor, Thomas Harned. For more information on the cemetery and Whitman's tomb, see See Geoffrey M. Still, "Harleigh Cemetery," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont | Mass:. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT 12 | 5 PM | 90. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT | 18 | 9 AM | 1890 | REC'D; BOSTON, MASS. | OCT 17 | 2-30 PM | 1890. O'Connor had written an article, "Who Wrote 'Rock Me to Sleep'?," on the authorship of Elizabeth Allen's (1832–1911) poem, "Rock Me to Sleep." In 1867, there was considerable controversy over the authorship of the poem when New Jersey legislator Alexander M. W. Ball (1818–1878) claimed to have written Allen's poem, which she had published under the pen name Florence Percy. O'Connor's work challenged Ball's claims, recognizing Allen's authorship. Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin (1842–1904) was a Russian realist artist who gained international fame. He traveled and lived in countries around the world and exhibited his paintings widely in Europe. Incineration as a method of waste disposal became controversial in the U.S. in the late 1880s after the first giant incinerator was build in New York City. This letter is addressed: David McKay | 23 S 9th St | Phila:. Whitman may be requesting one of McKay's printings of the sixth (1881) edition of Leaves of Grass, with the "annex" "Sands at Seventy." Judging from Kennedy's reply on [February] 18 to the now-lost complete text of his letter, Whitman must have referred in this note to the book The New Spirit (London: George Bell and Sons, 1890) by Havelock Ellis (1859–1939), a physician and pioneer in the study of human sexuality. Ellis devoted a chapter of the book to Whitman. Kennedy concluded his letter: "Love unlimited fr. yr constant lover & friend. | W.S.K." Whitman also mentioned the book in his February 16, 1891, letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke. I have not seen the account in the Times, but the Philadelphia Press on October 22 devoted two columns to Ingersoll's address. "Dr. B" is Whitman's abbreviation for Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke. "H" may be Horace Traubel, Thomas B. Harned, or Harry Stafford, probably the last named. Although Whitman was at work on his final edition in 1890, this letter may have been sent in the following year. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: BURLIN[illegible]T. | AP[illegible] | 1030 AM | 90; NY | 4-12-90 | 830 AM; CAMDEN, N.J. | APR 12 | [illegible] | [illegible]D. Joseph M. Stoddart (1845–1921) came to see Whitman on April 21, "inviting me to write for Lippincott's magazine" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman sent "Old Age Echoes" "(4 pieces, 'sounds of winter,' 'the unexpress'd,' 'to the sunset-breeze' and 'after the argument')." On April 28 he agreed to Stoddart's request that the poems be printed separately (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), and on the following day, April 29, the editor paid Whitman $60. "Old-Age Echoes" was published in March, 1891; "To the Sun-Set Breeze" was in the December, 1890 issue; apparently "After the Argument" was not printed. This letter is addressed: Mrs. Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | The Embankment | London | England. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV 19 | 6 AM | 90; 2. In her reply on November 28 Mrs. Costelloe lamented "Parnell's incredible meanness" and spoke of her interest in "the reform of existing social abuses, such as the overwork & underpay & the generally wretched conditions under which the poor live" (Feinberg). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N. J. | Apr 16 | 4 30 PM | 90; London | AM | AP 18 | 90 | Canada. There is one additional postmark, but it is largely illegible except for the the date of April 1890. In his Commonplace Book, Whitman described the evening of the Contemporary Club reception as follows: "[W]ent over in carriage (Mrs D[avis] and Warren with me) to Phila., to Art Gallery, Broad st. . . . all went well—this must be the 13th time & is probably the last" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The "Aldine" was a Cape May hotel at which Bucke was planning to stay a few weeks later. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of May 12, 1890. Whitman has written the word "democratic" in black ink to the left of the newspaper clipping. He has also added an insertion mark in black ink after the phrase "first great" and before the word "martyr" in the article. He is providing a correction to the reporter's account of his address. The quote should have indicated that Whitman called Lincoln the "first great democratic martyr of his race." This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N. J. | Apr 18 | 8 PM | 90; N. Y. | 4-18-90 | 1030AM; London | PM | AP 19 | 90 | Canada. On March 9, Maurice M. Minton, of The Illustrated American, requested a few lines of verse to accompany the photograph (Feinberg), which became the frontispiece of the issue. In a lost letter, on March 11 (CB), WW transcribed three lines from Section 16 of "Song of Myself," which appeared in facsimile. The magazine pronounced WW "The greatest figure—almost without question—in contemporary American literature" (203). Minton, on April 2, wanted WW to answer the question, "Why am I a bachelor?" (Feinberg). On April 4, 1890, Whitman noted in his Commonplace Book the "new togs (coat, vest, trousers) of the Canada gray cloth sent me by Dr B" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). An accurate summary of the letter dated April 15 (Feinberg). See the letter from Dodd, Mead & Company to Whitman of April 15, 1890. A sketch of Whitman based on this photograph of the poet taken by Sarony in 1878 became the frontispiece of the issue of The Illustrated American for the week ending on April 19, 1890. On March 9, 1890, Maurice M. Minton, of The Illustrated American, had requested a few lines of verse to accompany the photograph. In a lost letter, on March 11, Whitman transcribed three lines from Section 16 of "Song of Myself," which appeared in facsimile (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The magazine pronounced Whitman "The greatest figure—almost without question—in contemporary American literature" (203). Minton, on April 2, had also asked Whitman to answer the question, "Why am I a bachelor?." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esqr | Care of / Horace Traubel Esq | The Contemporary Club | Philadelphia | U S America. It is postmarked: SCHOOL GREEN | B | MY 14 | 91 | ISLE OF WIGHT; [illegible]A[illegible]; RECEIVED | May | 24 | 12 [illegible] | 12 | [illegible]; 2. This letter is addressed: To Walt Whitman | Thro. Horace L. Traubels | Kindness Morris enclosed this newspaper article for Whitman to read. He pasted it at the top of the first page of his letter. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esqr | Campden | New Jersey. | U. S. A. "Campden" has been corrected to "Camden NJ" in another hand. This letter is postmarked: LONDON | 167 | JU 10 | 89 | S.W.; DEFICIENCY | IN | ADDRESS | SUPPLIED | BY | N.Y.P.O.[illegible]DN; POMPTON | 20 | N. J.; [illegible]; NEW YORK | JUN | 22; B; PAID | ALL; POM[illegible]; CAMDEN | [illegible] | 26 | 6 AM | 1889 | REC'D.; N[illegible]K | JUN 25 | 3 AM | 89; 8. Elizabeth Ann Caulfeild Cottell (1826–1894) was the daughter of Rev. Edward Warren Caulfeild and Anne Pybus. In 1851, she married Maj. James William Cottell, whose service in the East India Company took the couple to India where they had four children, Arthur Bowditch, Reginald James Cope, Alfred Prybus, and Edward Caulfeild. After James Cottell's death in 1860, Elizabeth and her sons returned to England. Sometime around 1885, she moved into the former Chelsea home of writers Thomas and Jane Carlyle, and soon had a reputation for keeping a large number of cats and dogs. In 1892, Cottell was summoned to the Westminster Police Court for the hoard and in 1893 was sued by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (see "Mrs. Cottell's Eccentricities—Conviction for Cruelty" in the London Daily News (June 17, 1893), 3). After her death in 1894, the home was purchased by the Carlyle's House Memorial Trust and fully restored. For more information on Cottrell, see Debrett's Illustrated Peerage, Robert H. Mair ed. (London:Dean and Son, 1884), 141. Whitman wrote about Rush's visit in his Commonplace Book, noting, "Rush call'd—look'd well—was very thankful, eulogistic, full-hearted—is just out of prison, is just off to his parents in the country" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Miss Jessie Louisa Whitman | 2437 2d Carondelet Av: | Saint Louis | Missouri. It is postmarked: Camden, N(?) | Jan 1 | 10 AM | 91. Mary Elizabeth (Whitman) Van Nostrand (1821–1899) was the oldest daughter of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and Walt Whitman's younger sister. She married Ansel Van Nostrand, a shipwright, in 1840, and they subsequently moved to Greenport, Long Island. They raised five children: George, Fanny, Louisa, Ansel, Jr., and Mary Isadore "Minnie." See Jerome M. Loving, ed., "Introduction," Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975), 10–11. It is uncertain which letters Whitman is referring to here. He had written to his niece on November 30, 1890. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U. S. America. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP 17 | 6 AM | 91 | REC'D; BOLTON | 56 | SP 5 | 91. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Sep 16 | 8 PM | 91. Whitman is referring to The Literary World, 22 (September 22, 1891), 305. He is also referencing The Critic, which contained a flattering review of Good-bye My Fancy. Dr. George de Schweinitz (1858–1938) was an expert opthamologist and educator who served as the oculist to President Woodrow Wilson. When de Schweinitz passed away, a portion of his estate was used to establish a chair of opthamology at the University of Pennsylvania. For more on de Schweinitz, see his obituary, "Dr. De Schweinitz, Eye Expert, Dies," New York Times (August 23, 1938), 17. Dr. de Schweinitz's calling card is mounted in Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), and on September 14, Talcott Williams had suggested that Whitman have his eyes examined. The references are probably to one of Taylor's articles in 1876. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | London | Asylum | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | JAN 1 | 10 AM | 91; LONDON | PM | JA 2 | 91 | CANADA; [illegible]. This postal card is addressed: Miss Bertha Johnston | 305 E 17th street | New York City. It is postmarked: D | JA 3-91 | 6 A | N.Y.; CAMDEN, N.J. | JAN 2 | 6PM | 91. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: BELMONT | JAN | 9 | 1891 | MASS; CAMDEN, N.J. | JAN | 10 | 9AM | 1891 | REC'D. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: NY | 1-16-91 | 10 AM | 7; CAMDEN, N.J. | JAN 16 | 6 AM | 91. See Whitman's January 15, 1891, postal card to Bucke. Bucke may be referring to the letter Whitman had received from Joseph M. Stoddart on January 13, 1891. Bucke is referring to Whitman's letter of February 2, 1891. Frederick William Kittermaster (?–1904) was a lawyer in Sarnia, Ontario, and he was Mrs. Bucke's nephew. Whitman is referring to Bucke's letter of February 4, 1891. In March 1891, Lippincott's published "Old Age Echoes," a cycle of four poems including "Sounds of the Winter," "The Unexpress'd," "Sail Out for Good, Eidólon Yacht," and "After the Argument," accompanied by an extensive autobiographical note called "Some Personal and Old-Age Memoranda." Also appearing in that issue was a piece on Whitman by Horace Traubel. Whitman published an extensive autobiographical note in the March 1891 issue of Lippincott's Magazine entitled "Some Personal and Old-Age Memoranda." This may be the proof to which Bucke is referring. The main issue of the Canadian national election of 1891 was tariffs, with the Conservative Party, led by John A. Macdonald (1815–1891), wanting protective tariffs while the Liberal Party, led by Wilfred Laurier (1841–1919), wanted free trade with the U.S. The Conservatives won the election. At this point in the letter, Bucke runs out of space at the bottom right-hand corner of the first recto page and finishes in red ink along the page's upper margin. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of February 3, 1891. At a World Congress of Medicine in Berlin in 1890, Dr. Robert Koch (1843–1910)—a German physician and microbiologist—announced a substance known as "tuberculin" or "Koch's lymph" that he argued would provide a remedy for tuberculosis. It was later found to be more useful as a diagnostic tool for determining whether a person was infected with tuberculosis. Dr. Koch is known for his identification of the causative agents of tuberculosis, anthrax, and cholera, and he made key contributions to the improvement of laboratory techniques in microbiology and in the field of public health. He earned the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research on tuberculosis in 1905. Whitman is referring to Bucke's letter of February 8, 1891. Whitman is referring to Bucke's letter of February 12, 1891. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of April 7, 1891. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of April 8–9, 1891. Bucke requested a leave so that he could attend the poet's 71st birthday dinner at Reisser's restaurant in Philadelphia, where noted orator and agnostic Robert Ingersoll would speak. Bucke decided to request a leave from his work at the asylum so that he could attend the poet's 71st birthday dinner on May 31, 1890, at Reisser's restaurant in Philadelphia. William Ingram, a Quaker and a friend of Whitman's, kept a tea store–William Ingram and Son Tea Dealers–in Philadelphia. Ingram and his wife visited Bucke and his family in Canada in 1890. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: BOLTON | [illegible] | AP 11 | 91; PAID | C | ALL; NEWARK | APR [illegible] | [illegible]0; CAMDEN | AP[illegible] | 2[illegible] | 91. See Whitman's March 29, 1891, postal card to Dr. John Johnston. Wallace is referring to the "Bolton College," a group of English admirers of Whitman, that he and the English physician Dr. John Johnston co-founded. Whitman is referring to the "Bolton College," a group of English admirers of Whitman that was co-founded by Wallace and Johnston. Whitman is referring to the "Bolton College," a group of English admirers of Whitman that was co-founded by the architect James W. Wallace and Dr. John Johnston of Bolton, England. Gosse's "The Influence of Democracy on Literature" appeared in Contemporary Review 59 (April 1891), 523–536. Wallace's subsequent quotations in this letter confirm that he is referring to Whitman's postal card to Johnston dated June 18, 1891. Morris drew parallel vertical lines on both sides of the newspaper clipping near the quotation from Whitman beginning "I feel to say a word of grateful memory..." and ending near the close of the quotation. Laura Lyon White (1839–1916) was a writer, suffragist, and conservationist. Together with Clara Bradley Burdette, White founded the California Federation of Women's Clubs (CFWC) in 1900 to promote social and environmental activism. The CFWC was instrumental in the protection of California's redwood trees, as well as raising awareness of women's issues throughout the state. In her short story "The Colonel, at Home, in Sonoma County," appearing in the February 1891 issue of Overland Monthly, White's titular character reads from Whitman's "Song of Myself" to the displeasure of the narrator (vol. 17 no. 98 [February 1891], 200–208). White was a regular contributor to Overland Monthly. For more information, see Cameron Binkley, "A Cult of Beauty: The Public Life and Civic Work of Laura Lyon White" (California History 83.2 [January 2005], 40–61). Whitman has drawn a diagonal line in ink through the text of this letter. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: LEOMINSTER | MAR | 2 | 6 PM | 1891 | MASS.; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR | 3 | 12 M | 1891 | REC'D. Johnston may be referring to Whitman's postal card dated June 18, 1891. Johnston is looking for the article "Walt Whitman's Birthday, May 31, 1891," by Horace Traubel, which would be published the following month, in the August 1891 issue of the magazine. The article was a detailed account of Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday, which was celebrated with friends at the poet's home on Mickle Street. Johnston is quoting Whitman's poem "Out of the Rolling Ocean, the Crowd." Johnston is quoting from Whitman's poem "Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night." Johnston is referring to the article "Walt Whitman's Birthday, May 31, 1891," by Horace Traubel, which would be published in the August 1891 issue of the magazine. The article was a detailed account of Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday, which was celebrated with friends at the poet's home on Mickle Street. Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein (1872–1956) was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. She was the daughter of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (1831–1917) and Princess Helena of the United Kingdom (1846–1923). Princess Marie Louise was married to Prince Aribert Joseph Alexander of Anhalt (1866–1933) in 1891. The marriage was annulled in December 1900. Johnston visited Whitman in the summer of 1890. Accounts of Johnston's visits can be found in Johnston and James W. Wallace's Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917). Johnston is quoting William Cowper's 1785 poem "The Task" (Book IV, "The Winter Evening"): "These serve him with a hint / That Nature lives; that sight-refreshing green / Is still the livery she delights to wear. . . ." Mr. Dane was a patent lawyer who was responsible for handling matters related to Bucke and Gurd's gas and fluid meter. Wallace is referring to the "Sea-Drift" cluster, which consists of eleven poems including "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking" and "As I Ebb'd with the Ocean of Life." The cluster was first incorporated into Leaves of Grass in 1881. William Joseph Johnston (1863–1935), the younger brother of Dr. John Johnston, was a solicitor in Annan, Dumfriesshire, Scotland. Margaret Beddows Johnston (ca. 1854–1932?) of Bolton, England, was the daughter of Thomas Beddows—a wheelwright—and his wife Mary. Margaret was a millinery worker and a dressmaker; she married Dr. John Johnston in Bolton in 1878. The couple did not have any children. Little is known about Dr. John Johnston's mother Helen (sometimes listed as Ellen) Roxburgh (1821–1898). Helen married William Johnston (1824–1898), a builder in Annan, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, in 1847. The couple had three children. Little is known about Dr. John Johnston's father William Johnston (1824–1898), who was a builder in Annan, Dumfriesshire, Scotland. In 1847 William married Helen (sometimes listed as Ellen) Roxburgh (1821–1898). The couple had three children. Margaret (Maggie) Johnston (ca. 1855–1928?) was the sister of Dr. John Johnston. It is uncertain which of his nephews Johnston is referring to here. Johnston is referring to the article, "As to Walt Whitman," which was published on the front page of the Camden Post on September 1, 1891. The article responds to criticism of Whitman published in the N. Y. Advertiser, defending Whitman's place as a poet in American letters. Johnston seems to be referring to Whitman's letter of September 6–8, 1891, in which the poet confirmed Wallace's safe arrival in Philadelphia and visit to Camden. This postcard appeared at an auction in 2017, and the message side of the postcard appeared in the auction catalog. We checked Edwin Haviland Miller's transcription against the photograph but were unable to see the address side of the postcard, which is likely now in a private collection. See RR Fine Autographs & Artifacts (October 11, 2017), p. 146. Johnston may be alluding to the end of Whitman's "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking," where the "sea waves" whisper the word "Death" to the poet. "Tace" is Latin for "Be silent." Johnston is playfully telling art critic John Ruskin not to reprimand him for finding natural resonance in the mechanical noise. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | (POET) | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: [illegible]AM[illegible]TH | [illegible] | FE 23 | 91 | W.; [illegible]RSMITH | [illegible]; [illegible]; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR | 5 | 6AM | 1891 | REC'D; [illegible] This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | N.J. | U.S.A. | via Syndey & San Francisco. It is postmarked: Melbourne | 18 V | AU 31 | 91 | VICTORIA; NEW YORK | OCT | 7 | 91 | PAID | G | ALL; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT 8 | 6 A.M. | 91 | REC'D. Heyde may be referring to Whitman's letter to Hannah dated September 1, 1891. Forman refers here to Whitman's essay titled "A Backward Glance O'er Travel'd Roads." Forman refers to the following pieces by Whitman in this sentence: "Passage to India", "Democratic Vistas" (as published in the Complete Prose Works), "After All, Not to Create Only", and "As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free". Whitman may be referring here to Bucke's letter dated September 13, 1891. Whitman is likely referring to Bucke's letters dated September 11, 1891 and September 13, 1891. Whitman is likely referring to Wallace's letters dated September 11, 1891 and September 13, 1891. Wallace is referring here to Whitman's letter dated September 13–14, 1891. Johnston may be referring here to Whitman's letter dated October 6, 1891. It is uncertain what letter from Wallace to Whitman is being referred to here. Only a letter sent in September 1891 or earlier would have been received by the poet in time to post it along with his October 6, 1891, letter to Johnston. Wallace is referring to Whitman's poem "Crossing Brookyln Ferry." The carpenter and politician Francis B. Stryker (1811–1892) served as Mayor of Brooklyn in the mid-1840s before moving on to hold the offices of County Clerk and Superintendent of Sewers, a position he held until 1875. Johnston is referring to Whitman's postal card of October 3, 1891. Sui generis comes from Latin and means "unique" or "one-of-a-kind." Johnston was from Annan, a town in Dumfries and Galloway, in southwest Scotland. According to Dr. Johnston's letter to Whitman of July 10, 1891, Humphreys was a machine fitter and the "latest convert" to the Bolton College of Whitman admirers. Buxton Forman refers to the following pieces by Whitman in this sentence: the Complete Prose Works, Good-Bye My Fancy, "As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free", either of John Burroughs's two books on Whitman, "Democratic Vistas" (as published in the Complete Prose Works), and perhaps a German translation of Leaves of Grass. Buxton Forman may be referring here to Whitman's letter to Dr. John Johnston dated June 1, 1891, in which Whitman describes the events of his birthday on May 31, 1891. Minchen quotes several lines from Whitman's poem "To You." Marilla Jane Bean Minchen (1846–1941) was born in Rock Island, Illinois, the daughter of John Liberty Bean and Marilla J. Smith. In 1869, she married Davenport, Iowa, businessman William T. Minchen, and the couple had three children, John Paul, Abigail Louise, and Florence. The Minchen family lived in Carroll, Iowa. According to Minchen's obituary, she was "one of the first to advocate woman's suffrage" and "always intensely interested in all forward looking movements." The obituary also describes Minchen as "an extensive reader" and a member of the Clio Club, a group that founded the Carroll Public Library in 1894. She died at her daughter Florence's home in San Mateo, California, and is buried in Carroll City Cemetery in Carroll, Iowa. For more information, see her obituary, "Mrs. W. T. Minchen, 95, One of the Earliest Settlers Here, Dies in California," in the Carroll Daily Herald 72.11 (January 14, 1941), 7. Minchen is referring to Whitman's poem "To Him That was Crucified." Minchen refers in this sentence to the following works by Whitman: "All is Truth," "To Him That was Crucified," "This Compost!," "Passage to India," "Miracles," "To You," "A Song of the Rolling Earth," "To a Common Prostitute," and ""Eidólons." This letter is addressed: Walt. Whitman Esq. | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: PHILADELPHIA, PA | OCT 31 | 4 PM | 91; Camden, N.J. | OCT 31 | 4 PM | 91 | REC'D; CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV 1 | 4 PM | 91 | REC'D. The Reinhalters' return address is printed on the envelope as follows: P. Reinhalter & Co., | 18 So. Broad Street, | Philadelphia, PA. P. Reinhalter & Co. of Philadelphia built Whitman's tomb—an elaborate granite tomb of the poet's design— in Harleigh Cemetery in Camden, New Jersey. J. E. Reinhalter was a designer with P. Reinhalter & Co. Whitman's tomb cost $4,000, and he covered a portion of these costs with money that his Boston friends had raised so that the poet could purchase a summer cottage; the remaining balance was paid by Whitman's literary executor, Thomas Harned. For more information on the cemetery and Whitman's tomb, see See Geoffrey M. Still, "Harleigh Cemetery," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Johnston is referring to Whitman's letter of November 22, 1891. Wallace is referring to Whitman's November 22, 1891, letter to Dr. John Johnston. Wallace is referring to Whitman's postal card of November 15, 1891. Ingersoll is referring to Whitman's poem "The Mystic Trumpeter." In this sentence, Ingersoll refers to the following works by Whitman: the section of Leaves of Grass titled Sea-Drift, which includes the poem "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking" (the source of the lines "Two feather'd guests from Alabama, two together, / And their nest"), and When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd." "Mannahatta," meaning "land of many hills," is the Native American name Whitman uses for New York City in Leaves of Grass and elsewhere, including in a poem of that title published February 27, 1888 in the New York Herald. Wallace is likely referring to Whitman's postal card to Johnston dated December 1, 1891, in which Whitman complained of "bad & depressed physical condition night & day—no hour without suffering. . . ." Although Buxton Forman states that Balestier, of the publishing firm Heinemann and Balestier, died at 26, a clipping from a Boston newspaper that Whitman pasted into his December 12, 1891, letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke states that Balestier died "in his thirtieth year." For more on Whitman's reaction to the news of Balestier's death, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, January 6, 1892. The phrase "Linked sweetness long drawn out" comes from John Milton's (1608–1674) poem "L'Allegro." Maurice Buxton Forman, H. Buxton Forman's son, was a postal worker in England, a bibliographer, and an editor. He was posthumously implicated in his father's literary counterfeit enterprise. Sam Hodgkinson, a hosiery manufacturer, was a friend of the architect James W. Wallace and the physician Dr. John Johnston, both of Bolton, Lancashire, England (Johnston and Wallace, Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–1891 by Two Lancashire Friends [London : G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1918], 104). Sam Hodgkinson, a hosiery manufacturer, was a friend of both Johnston and the Bolton architect James W. Wallace. Hodgkinson had sent Whitman some underwear as a gift (John Johnston and James W. Wallace, Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–1891 by Two Lancashire Friends (1917), 104). Fred Nightingale was a clerk and a member of the Bolton Fellowship of Whitman admirers. As Whitman's most recent correspondence with Wallace directly, prior to December 19, 1891, is dated November 15, 1891, it seems likely that Wallace is referring to Whitman's letter to Dr. John Johnston dated December 1, 1891, in which Whitman stated that he was in "bad & depress'd physical condition night & day—no hour without suffering...." Whitman frequently addressed both Johnston and Wallace in his letters to either; see, for example, his postal card sent to Johnston dated December 10, 1891, in which he enclosed copies of "the new complete" Leaves of Grass for both men as Christmas presents. On May 10, 1883, Whitman sent three copies of Leaves of Grass and Specimen Days to William Thompson in Nottingham, England (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). As yet we have no information on Arthur or Ethel Thompson. Bucke is referring to to Whitman's postal card of January 13, 1891. Bucke is referring to Whitman's postal card of February 6, 1891. Whitman may be referring here either to Kennedy's letter dated February 1, 1891 or his letter dated February 10, 1891. Bucke is referring to Whitman's postal card dated February 10, 1891. Bucke is referring to Whitman's postal card dated February 11, 1891. In 1893, Traubel, Bucke, and Thomas B. Harned (Whitman's three literary executors) co-edited In Re Walt Whitman, a collection of essays that included work by Sarrazin, Knortz, Rolleston, Traubel, and others. Bucke is referring to Whitman's postal card of February 23, 1891. Whitman is referring to Bucke's letter dated February 25, 1891. Whitman is referring to Canada's upcoming national election. The main issue of the Canadian national election of 1891 was tariffs, with the Conservative Party, led by John A. Macdonald (1815–1891), wanting protective tariffs while the Liberal Party, led by Wilfred Laurier (1841–1919), wanted free trade with the U.S. The Conservatives won the election. Bucke is referring to Canada's upcoming national election. The main issue of the Canadian national election of 1891 was tariffs, with the Conservative Party, led by John A. Macdonald (1815–1891), wanting protective tariffs while the Liberal Party, led by Wilfred Laurier (1841–1919), wanted free trade with the U.S. The Conservatives won the election. See Whitman's postal card to Bucke of February 22, 1891. Bucke is referring to Whitmans's letter dated February 26, 1891. Bucke is referring to the group of thirty-one poems taken from Whitman's last miscellany Good-Bye My Fancy (1891) that were reprinted as the second annex to Leaves of Grass (1891–1892), the last edition of Leaves published in Whitman's lifetime. For more information on Good-Bye My Fancy, as a book and an annex, see Donald Barlow Stauffer, "Good-Bye my Fancy (Second Annex) (1891)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Bucke wrote the rest of this letter and the postscript at the top of the page in red ink. Sarnia is a city in Ontario, a hundred miles west of London. Wood, of the New York Herald, wrote to Walt Whitman on February 2, 1891 and again on March 15, 1891 (the latter may be misdated in view of the date of Whitman's reply), asking him to "say a word or two" for the Herald's Symposium on "the anthropological and ethical question of the 'Perfect Man'—or, What are the cardinal points to be insisted upon for the all around development of the coming American?" Apparently Whitman's reply did not appear in the Herald, but was included in Wood's Ideals of Life. Human Perfection. How to Attain It. A Symposium on the Coming Man (1892), 389–390. See William White's article in The American Book Collector, XI (May, 1961), 30–31, where Wood's second letter is reprinted. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: WASHINGTON, D.C. | MAR 6 | 1030 AM | 91; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR | 6 | 1891 | REC'D. Bucke is referring to to Whitmans's postal card of March 5, 1891. Sir Edwin Arnold (1832–1904) was a writer and editor best known for his The Light of Asia and over 6,000 leading articles for the Daily Telegraph (Mary Ellis Gibson, ed., "Sir Edwin Arnold," Anglophone Poetry in Colonial India, 1780–1913 [Athens: Ohio University Press, 2011], 259–260). While The Light of Asia recounted, in eight books of blank verse, the life of Gautama Buddha, Arnold's attempt to replicate the latter book's success with a narration of the life of Christ in The Light of the World, Or, The Great Consummation (1891) was apparently less successful with contemporary audiences. Bucke is referring to Whitmans's postal card of March 8, 1891. Sir John Alexander Macdonald (1815—1891), of Scotland, was a lawyer and the first prime minister of Canada. He was a Conservative and served as prime minister for a total of nearly twenty years. Sloane Kennedy refers here to Whitmans's poem "The Pallid Wreath," which was published in the Critic in January 1891. Sloane Kennedy refers here to the following works by Whitman: "The First Dandelion," "America," "After the Dazzle of Day," and "Twilight." Bucke may be referring here to Whitman's letter dated March 19, 1891. Bucke refers here to Whitman's poem "Death's Valley." Whitman chose not to include it in Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). Whitman's poem "Death's Valley" was published in Harper's Monthly Magazine in April 1892, a few days after the poet's death on March 26 of that year. Whitman chose not to include the poem in Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). In the version of "Death's Valley" that appeared in Harper's April 1892 issue, shortly after Whitman's death, the first pair of adjectives is reversed so that the line reads "God's beautiful eternal right hand." Bucke is referring to John Robertson's Walt Whitman, Poet and Democrat (Round Table Series, Edinburgh, 1884). Bucke is referring to Whitman's postal cards dated March 21, 1891 and March 22, 1891. Bucke is referring to Whitman's poem "Old Chants," published in Truth on March 19, 1891. Bucke is referring to Whitman's poem "Song of Myself" from Leaves of Grass. J. Alfred Stoddart's interview with Whitman, "A Talk with Walt Whitman," appeared in the March 19, 1891, issue of Truth. Bucke is referring to Whitman's letter dated March 27, 1891. Bucke is referring to "Sands at Seventy," a group of late poems that Whitman had included in November Boughs (1888) and then included as an "annex" to Leaves of Grass starting with the 1889 printing of the book. For more information, see Donald Barlow Stauffer, "'Sands at Seventy' (First Annex) (1888)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Wallace received a letter from Symonds dated March 7, 1891. He made a copy or copies of the letter and sent one to Whitman, who then sent the copy to Bucke. For a copy of Symonds's letter in Wallace's hand, see the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. The letter is located in Box 18; Reel 11, along with Wallace's letters to Whitman. Whitman is referring to John Addington Symonds's Essays Speculative and Suggestive (London: Chapman and Hall, 1890). The chapter on "Democratic Art" is mainly inspired by Whitman. Whitman appears to refer here to Bucke's letter dated March 27, 1891. In this letter Bucke alluded to a communication received directly from Longaker: "He finds nothing the matter with you that is threatening to life tho' much that would be absolutely destructive of all comfort unless looked sharp after" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). Whitman is referring to James W. Wallace (1853–1926) and Dr. John Johnston (1852–1927) of Bolton, England, the co-founders of the Bolton College of Whitman admirers. Robert Ingersoll gave his lecture on Shakespeare in the early 1890s in several places and published it in 1895 as Shakespeare: A Lecture. William Douglas O'Connor worked for the United States Lighthouse Board (eventually the Life Saving Service) for many years, becoming Assistant General Superintendent in 1878; his book of nonfiction about lighthouse keepers, Heroes of the Storm, was eventually published in 1904. Bucke here abbreviates two lines from Whitman's "Song of the Open Road": "Be not discouraged, keep on, there are divine things well envelop'd, / I swear to you there are divine things more beautiful than words can tell." The phrase "unsuspected author" comes from Whitman's poem "Shakespeare Bacon's Cipher" and the line "spiritual, godly, most of all known to my sense" comes from Whitman's poem "To The Sunset Breeze." Both poems were reprinted in Whitman's Good-Bye My Fancy (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1891). Bucke is referencing Whitman's "L. of G.'s Purport" from Good-Bye My Fancy (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1891). The two lines Bucke refers to are "Begun in ripen'd youth and steadily pursued" and "Never even for one brief hour abandoning my task" (18). In his book Sesame and Lilies (1865), in the lecture "Of Kings' Teasuries," Ruskin writes of "genius" and notes that "if the author is worth anything, . . . you will not get his meaning all at once. . . . Not that he does not say what he means, and in strong words too; but he cannot say it all; and what is more strange, will not, but in a hidden way and in parables, in order that he may be sure you want it." Whitman is referring to Bucke's letter of March 31, 1891. Bucke is referring to Whitman's letter dated March 30–31, 1891. Bucke is referring to Whitman's poem, "The Commonplace," which first appeared in Munyon's Magazine in March 1891. Bucke is referring to Whitman's poem, "Ship Ahoy!," which first appeared in the Youth's Companion on March 12, 1891. Whitman drew a vertical line in black ink through this letter. Williams refers here to Whitman's prose work "Democratic Vistas." This letter of introduction for Miss Belghannie, describing her as a devoted English admirer of Whitman's, preceded her Thursday, May 14, 1891, visit to Whitman's home on Mickle Street. According to Horace Traubel's account, Miss Belghannie was familiar with several of Whitman's friends in England, including the family of political activist Mary Whitall Costelloe Smith, the feminist writer Isabella Ford and her sister Elizabeth, and Edward Carpenter, a writer and Whitman disciple. Whitman "asked [Miss Belghannie] what she was to speak about down at the church? And she told him—the forming of wage-women in union. He did not appear to be greatly struck with the idea, yet would say, 'It is well to go fishing—to fish—to see if anything is to be caught.' This led to some considerable talk—she of 'the good time coming' and admonishing him not to go back on 'Leaves of Grass'—and he saying or asking, 'Don't you think all this inevitable?—that it is because it must be—that in the swinging orbital movement of planets, all that is becomes the right and the just,' etc." (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, May 14, 1891). At the behest of Ellen O'Connor, Houghton, Mifflin & Company published her late husband William D. O'Connor's story "The Brazen Android" (which Whitman misremembers here as "The Bronzoid Android") in The Atlantic Monthly in April and May of 1891. They also planned to publish a collection that included three of O'Connor's stories and a preface by Whitman. Three Tales: The Ghost, The Brazen Android, The Carpenter was published the following year, in 1892. Whitman may be referring here either to Wallace's letter dated April 3, 1891 or that dated March 27, 1891. According to his letter of April 19 Bucke was still confined to his room. Two days later when he wrote to Whitman's biographer and literary executor Horace Traubel, Bucke was back in his hospital office (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman may be referring to Bucke's letter of April 19, 1891. Traubel evidently lamented these excisions from his article in letters he sent to Bucke and James W. Wallace, co-founder of the Bolton group of English Whitman admirers; see Bucke's letters to Traubel on April 21 and 24 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) and Wallace's letter to Whitman on April 30, 1891 (typescript in Bolton). The article, unabridged, appears in Horace Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas B. Harned, ed., In Re Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), 109–147. On May 7 Bucke wrote to Traubel in its praise: "Its only fault is that it ends too soon—I should like a big Vol. of just such pages—I could read in it day and night. And by & by (thanks to you) we shall have such vols! Think how people today delight to read great volumes of [Samuel] Pepys and [John] Boswell—that being so, how much more will they rejoice in years to come to read similar volumes (as characteristic and as truthful) about this far greater man? My dear boy, you are in a great position. You have a big morgage on the future and don't you forget it!" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman is referring to Gosse's "The Influence of Democracy on Literature," The Contemporary Review, 59 (April, 1891), 523–536. Gosse failed to mention Whitman in the essay, although he considered the novelist and literary critic William Dean Howells "inspired by the democratic spirit" (535) of Whitman. Captain Edward Cuttle is a character in Charles Dickens's Dombey and Son. Whitman is referring to the proofs for his book Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). The book was his last miscellany, and it included both poetry and short prose works commenting on poetry, aging, and death, among other topics. Thirty-one poems from the book were later printed as "Good-Bye my Fancy 2d Annex" to Leaves of Grass (1891–1892), the last edition of Leaves of Grass published before Whitman's death in March 1892. For more information see, Donald Barlow Stauffer, "'Good-Bye my Fancy' (Second Annex) (1891)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) was a German astronomer and a mathematician. He is known for his laws of planetary motion, and his writings proved foundational for Isaac Newton's theory of universal gravitation. Wallace refers here to Whitman's poems "Passage to India" and "As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free." Wallace is quoting from Whitman's 1860 Calamus" 10 ("You bards of ages hence!"). Wallace is referencing Whitman's poem "Halcyon Days." Wallace is echoing Whitman's poem about his canary, "My Canary Bird." Wallace is alluding to Emerson's 1844 essay "The Poet," in which Emerson writes that the poet "says, with the old painter, 'By God, it is in me, and must go forth of me.'" Robert Pearsall Smith is likely referring to the letter Whitman addressed to his son, Logan Pearsall Smith (1865–1946), dated August 12, 1890. 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." This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | Camden N.J. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | OCT 27 | 630 PM | 90; PHILADELPHIA, P.A. | OCT 29 | 4 PM | 90; 1; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT | 28 | 6 PM | REC'D; RECEIVED [illegible] | OCT | 28 | 1230 AM | 1890. The letter was originally addressed to Whitman at "Lafayette Hotel | Philadelphia | Penn" and then crossed out, thus the New York postmark from October 27 and the one cent due stamp. Johnston is quoting, with minor alterations, from Whitman's poem "Soon Shall the Winter's Foil Be Here." Johnston is quoting, with minor alterations, from Whitman's poem "Song of Myself." Johnston's letter is undated, but it may have been written in 1890 or 1891 since Johnston refers to Whitman's "rolling chair" (his wheeled chair). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St. | Camden, N.J. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | United States of America. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar | 4PM | 92 | Rec'd; New York | 92; Paid | J | All. The Gentleman's Magazine was founded in London by the printer and editor Edward Cave (1691–1754), and the monthly periodical had an uninterrupted run of more than one hundred and ninety years from 1731 to 1922. The magazine published extracts from numerous publications as well as original works aimed at an educated readership. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328, Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U. S. A. It is postmarked: (?) | Fe27 | 92. The number "5" and the word "Cable" are written over the printed Western Union heading on the telegram, along with "5.14 p" above the printed "NORVIN GREEN, President." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: Philadelphia, P.A. | Dec 21 | 7PM | 91 | Camden, N.J. | DEC22 | 6 AM | 91 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey | U S America. It is postmarked: Bath | J 1 | DE 18 | 91; Camden, N.J. | Dec 29 | 6 AM | 91 | Rec'd.; New York | Dec | 28; D | 91; Paid | E | All. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328, Mickle St. | Camden, | New Jersey, | U. S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 56 | SP 30 | 91; New York | Oct | [illegible] | Paid | [illegible] | Camden, N. J. | Oct 10 | 6AM | 91 | Rec'd. Johnston has written his initials, "J.J," in the bottom left corner of the front of the envelope. As yet, we have no information about "Rollins, the best Catcher in the State," but it seems that Whitman has sent Johnston a photo of a baseball player. Logan is almost certainly referring to Frederick William MacMonnies, who sculpted the Columbian Fountain for the 1893 World's Exposition in Chicago. Frederick W. MacMonnies (1863–1937) was a Brooklyn-born sculptor, painter, and portraitist. He served as an apprentice under the French-Irish Scupltor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and also studied with the National Academy of Design and The Art Students League of New York. After moving to Paris to continue his training in sculpture at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, he opened a studio in Paris and began to create some of his most famous works. In 1891, he was awarded the commission for his sculpture, the Columbian Fountain, which became the focal point and centerpiece of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Norwegian playwright and director Henrik Johan Ibsen (1828–1906) was a founder of modernism in the theatre. He is considered one of the most influential playwrights of his time, and his major works include Peer Gynt, A Doll's House, and Hedda Gabler. Johnston is referring to Whitman's letter of September 15, 1891. See Whitman's letter to Johnston of September 18, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey | N.Y. | U.S.A. It is postmarked: Annan | 3 | OC 2 | 91 | [illegible]; Annan | 3 | OC 2 | 91 | [illegible]; Annan | 3 | OC 2 | 91 | [illegible]; New York | Oct; Camden, N.J. | Oct 12 | 4pm | 91. James W. Watt (1873–1948) was a Scottish stationer, bookseller, and minister, born in Annan in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. He was one of five children born to David Watt (1824–1903) and Margaret Wield (b. 1844). Watt began working at a young age as an assistant in his father's shop—selling books, stationary, and fancy goods—located at 68 High street in Annan. The shop became known as David Watt & Son around 1900 when Watt was made full partner in the business (see, for example, The International Directory of Booksellers, and Bibliophile's Manual, edited by James Clegg [London: Elliot Stock, 1903], 74). After his father's death, James Watt moved to Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, and in 1907 married Henrietta Brook. The couple had at least one son, Douglas Weild Watt (1910–2003). James Watt was ordained in 1929 by the United Free Church of Scotland and married his second wife, Marion Leonora Bray (1896–1980), in 1938. Watt is quoting here from Section 5 of Whitman's "Song of the Open Road." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Albany [illegible] | Oct | 9 | 91; Received | Oct | 9 | 11AM | 91 | Phila; Philadelphia [illegible] | Oct | 9 | 1130 AM | 91 | Transit; Camden, N.J. | Oct [illegible] | 1 PM | 91 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: To Walt Whitman Esqr | Mickle Street. | Camden. | New Jersey. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | NOV 16 | 11 AM | F; 91; CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV 17 | 6 AM | 91 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden N.J. | US America It is postmarked: Peel E | Au 3 | 91 | Isle of Man; Paid B All; A | 91; Camden, N.J. AUG | 14 | [illegible]AM; 1891; Rec'd. There are two New York postmarks that are illegible except for the city name. Whitman had written a postal card to Johnston on July 17, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden New Jersey | U.S. America It is postmarked: Bolton | AU 6 | 91; Paid | A | All; New York | [illegible]; Camden, N.J. | Aug | 16 | [illegible]M | Rec'd. Johnston has written his initials, "JJ," in the bottom left corner of the front of the envelope. See Whitman's postal card of July 24, 1891. See Whitman's postcal card of July 28, 1891. Johnston is referring to the group of English admirers of Whitman—also known as the Bolton College—that he and the architect James W. Wallace had co-founded in Bolton, England. Johnston is referring to Horace Traubel's article, "Over-Sea Greeting: Walt Whitman's Fame Abroad," which was published on the front page of the Camden Post on August 1, 1891. The article discusses the Bolton College of Whitman admirers and prints Johnston's letter of May 16, 1891, and Wallace's letter of May 14, 1891, both of which sent Whitman warm greetings in advance of his upcoming 72nd (and last) birthday on May 31, 1891. Both letters were read at Whitman's birthday celebration in Camden. Traubel also wrote about the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke's trip England in July and August of 1891, during which Bucke visited Johnston and Wallace in Bolton. The article even includes a song that the Bolton College sang in honor of Bucke's arrival: "The College Welcome to Dr. Bucke, 17th of July 1891." Johnston is referring to Whitman's poem "As I Ebb'd with the Ocean of Life." In the opening section, Whitman writes, "As I walk'd where the ripples continually wash you Paumanok, | Where they rustle up hoarse and sibilant, | Where the fierce old mother endlessly cries for her castaways." This refers to Whitman's poem "On the Beach at Night Alone." Whitman's opening lines read: "On the beach at night alone, | As the old mother sways her to and fro singing her husky song." Johnston quotes the phrase "milk-white combs careering" from Whitman's poem "Patroling Barnegat," which was first published in Harper's Monthly Magazine in April 1881. Whitman offers to send Humphries a copy of Leaves of Grass in a July 31, 1891, postal card to Johnston. Whitman offered to send "Humphries" a copy of Leaves of Grass in a July 31, 1891, postal card to Johnston. Johnston is referring to the New England Magazine. Horace Traubel's article, "Walt Whitman at Date," had been published in the May 1891 edition of the New England Magazine 4.3 (May 1891), 275–292, and it is likely that Traubel had sent Johnston a copy of this piece. The article is also reprinted in the first appendix of the eighth volume of Traubel's With Walt Whitman in Camden. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden N.J. | U. S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 57 | AU15 | 91; New York | Aug | 28; A | 91; Paid | J | All; Camden, N.J. | Aug 28 | 4pm | REC'D. Johnston wrote his initials, "JJ," in the bottom left corner of the front of the envelope. Johnston is likely referring to Whitman's August 2–3, 1891, postal card to Wallace. See Whitman's postal card to Johnston of August 6, 1891. Johnston is referring to his July 18, 1891, letter to Whitman. Little is known about Reverend J. W. Thompson, the Unitarian minister at the Rivington Parish Church and a member of the Bolton College of English Whitman admirers. Whitman's 72nd (and last) birthday was May 31, 1891. Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday was May 31, 1891. He celebrated the day with friends at his home on Mickle Street. Thomas Scott Baldwin (1854–1923), also known as Professor Baldwin, was a pioneering balloonist and the first American to descend from a balloon with a parachute. He toured England, performing as an aeronaut and entertaining crowds with his balloon and parachute stunts. He later became a major in the U.S. Army in World War I. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden N.J. | US America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 56 | AU29 | 91; A | 91; PAID | G | ALL; NEW YORK | SEP [illegible]; CAMDEN, N.J. | [illegible] | 6AM | 91 | REC'D. Johnston wrote his initials, "JJ," in the bottom left corner of the front of the envelope. See Whitman's postal card to Johnston of August 16–17, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden N.J. | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | O | SP16 | 91; Bolton | O | SP16 | 91; New York | Sep | 25; H | 91; Paid | F | All; Camden, N.J. | Sep 26 | 6AM | 91 | REC'D. Johnston wrote his initials, "JJ," in the bottom left corner of the front of the envelope. Johnston is likely combining the playful, invented Latin of "scriblerus idioticus" with the received Latin phrase "et hoc genus omne" ("and everything of this sort") to dismiss Whitman's detractors at the N.Y. Advertiser as well as those of their ilk. See Whitman's postal card to Johnston of September 3, 1891. See Whitman's letter to Johnston of September 4, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: New York | Sep | 2; D | 91; Paid C | All; Camden, N.J. | Sep 3 | 6AM | 1891 | REC'D. The part of the envelope that includes the Bolton postmark has been torn away. Johnston has written his intials "J.J." in the bottom left corner of the recto of the envelope. Little is known about Will Law, who was part of the Bolton College group of English Whitman admirers. Johnston describes Law as the group's "comic man" in a July 18, 1891, letter to Whitman. Little is known about Will Law, who was part of the Bolton College group of English Whitman admirers. Johnston describes Law as the group's "comic man" in a July 18, 1891, letter to Whitman. Johnston also notes that Law was among those who were in Liverpool to see James W. Wallace and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke before their departures for the United States in August of 1891. See Johnston's August 26, 1891, letter to Whitman. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America It is postmarked: Bolton | T | JY22 | 91; New York | [illegible]; 91; All; Camden, N.J. | JUL 31 | 4PM | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden NJ | U. S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | R | JY18 | 91; Bolton | R | JY18 | 91; Bolton | R | JY18 | 91; Paid | B | All; New York | JUL | 31; Camden, N.J. | Aug | 1 | [illegible] | 1891. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of July 18, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | US America. It is postmarked: BOLTON JU 10 | 91; PAID | H | ALL; Camden N.J. | JUN 20 | 6AM | REC'D. There is an additional postmark from June 19, but this date is the only part that is legible. Johnston has written his intials "J.J." in the bottom left corner of the recto of the envelope. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | US America It is postmarked: Camden N.J. | AUG 28 | 4P.M. | REC'D See Whitman's postal card to Wallace of August 11, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St, | Camden, | New Jersey, | U.S. America . It is postmarked: Bolton | 56 | SP 26 | 91; New York | OCT | 5; F | 91; Paid | H | All; Camden, N.J. | OCT 6 | 6AM | 91 | REC'D. Johnston has written his initials, "J.J," in the bottom left corner of the front of the envelope. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden N.J | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 55 | AU22 | 91; Paid | N | All; New York | AUG [illegible] | [illegible]; Camden, N.J. | AUG 30 | 9A.M. | [illegible] | REC'D. Johnston has written his initials, "JJ," in the bottom left corner of the front of the envelope. Johnston is referring to Traubel's article, "Walt Whitman Abroad," Camden Post (August 7, 1891), 1. Traubel's piece focuses on the warm reception Bucke received from Johnston, Wallace, and the members of the Bolton College, as well as the English admirers' reverence for Whitman. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 56 | MY 13 | 91; Bolton | 56 | MY 13 | 91; Bolton | 56 | MY 13 | 91; Bolton | 56 | MY 13 | 91; New York | May | 22, Paid | D | All; A | 91; Camden, N.J. May | 24 | 1891 | Rec'd. See Whitman's postal card of April 20, 1891. Johnston is quoting from the Bible and referring to "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding" (Philippians 4:7). Johnston is quoting Whitman's "A Song of Joys." Johnston is quoting Robert Burnn's poem "To a Mountain Daisy" (1786). Johnston is quoting William Cowper's long poem "The Task" (1785), Book IV ("The Winter Evening"). Annan, a town in southwestern Scotland, was Johnston's birthplace and family home. Johnston is quoting from the poem "Lochnivar" by Sir Walter Scott. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May | 28 | 6 AM | 1891 | Rec'd; New York | May 27 | 91; Paid | A | All; Bolton | [illegible] | MY 16 | 91. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America It is postmarked: BOLTON | MY 23 | 91; New York | June 1; PAID | C | ALL | Camden, N.J. | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: BOLTON | 56 | MY 30 | 91; Camden, N.J. | Jun | 7 | 4 PM | 1891 | Rec'd.; Paid | B | All; [illegible] York | Jun | 6. The Latin phrase "finis coronat opus" means "the end crowns the work." Johnston is referring to a statement attributed to the French philogist and founder of Egyptology, Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832). On his death bed, when Champillion revised the proof of his "Egyptian Grammar," he called the work his "carte visite to posterity." Whitman himself refers to Champillion's words in a footnote in his essay, "A Backward Glance O'er Travel'd Roads." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: BOLTON | 56 | JU 3 | 91; New York | Jun | 10; 91; Paid | D | All; Camden, N.J. | Jun | 11 | 6 AM | 1891 | Rec'd. Johnston has written his initials, "JJ," in the left corner of the recto of the envelope. Johnston is recalling his trip to visit Whitman in Camden, New Jersey, in the summer of 1890. Johnston's account of his time with Whitman was published—along with the Bolton architect James W. Wallace's account of his own visit with the poet in the fall of 1891—in their memoir, Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–1891 by Two Lancashire Friends (London: Allen and Unwin, 1917). Johnston has written this postscript on the left side of this page of the letter. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U S America. It is postmarked: BOLTON | 57 | JU27 | 91; B | 91; Paid | F | All; Camden, N. J. | Jul | 9 | 6AM | 1891 | Rec'd. The New York postmark is entirely illegible. Johnston has written his initials, "JJ" in the bottom left corner of the front of the envelope. See Whitman's postal card to Johnston of June 12, 1891. See Whitman's postal card to Wallace of June 16, 1891. See Whitman's letter to Johnston of June 1, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | [illegible] | JAN | [illegible]; New York | Feb | 2; A | 91; Camden, N.J. | Feb | 2 | 3 PM | 1891. The recto of the envelope is endorsed: "J.J." Johnston has written "U.S.A." to the left of the list of names that are to receive a copy of his "Notes," and included brackets that are intended to separate the American recipients from the international ones. Johnston is referring to photographs that he took on his July 1890 visit to Whitman in Camden. See The Walt Whitman Archive's Image Gallery, especially the three photographs of Walt Whitman and his nurse Warren Fritzinger (zzz.00117, zzz.00118, zzz.00119). Whitman acnknowledged his receipt of the photos in his September 8, 1890, postal card to Johnston. Whitman also mentions that he wants to use the photos for his "forthcoming little (2d) annex," which would become Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). In his January 9, 1891, postal card to Johnston, Whitman mentioned having received "curiously good & fine" impressions from a plate printer that had been working from Johnston's "celluloid negatives." See Whitman's postal card to Johnston of January 9, 1891. Gould's name and address are printed on the verso of her postal card as follows: Miss Gould. | 131 Chestnut St. Gould has also written in ink her full name and the city as follows: Elizabeth Porter Gould | Chelsea. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden. | New Jersey. It is postmarked: CHELSEA STA. MASS. | APR 16 | 5–PM | 1891; CAMDEN, N.J. | APR | 17 | [illegible] | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Washington D.C. | APR 22 | 11PM | 1891, Camden, N.J. | Apr | 23 | 6 AM | 1891 | Rec'd. The envelope includes the printed return address of Donaldson's hotel: The Belvedere | Cor. Penn. Ave. & 3rd St., N.W., Washington, D. C. Donaldson was the author of several government document publications on Native Americans including a report on the work of George Catlin, an artist who lived among Native Americans in the nineteenth-century and specialized in depicting Native Americans in the Old West. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman. | Mickle St., | Camden, | N.J. It is postmarked: New York | Apr [illegible] | 7PM | 91; CAMDEN, N.J. | APR | 28 | 6 AM | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 56 | MY20 | 91; Camden, N.J. | May | 23 | 6 AM | 1891 | Rec'd; New York | May 27 | 91; Paid | All. Johnston has written "JJ." in the lower lefthand corner of the recto. James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834–1903) was an American painter from Lowell, Massachusetts, who was active primarily in the United Kingdom during the American Gilded Age. He is famous for his painting Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1, which is usually referred to as Whistler's Mother. The Pictures of 1891 was an "Extra" (no. 55) published on May 4, 1891, by the Pall Mall Gazette, with contributions by the Royal Academy, the New Gallery, the New English Art Club, and others, and it included Whistler's portrait of Carlyle. The Gazette published such a gathering of pictures annually for a number of years. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U S. America. It is postmarked: [illegible]W YORK | [illegible] A | 91; PAID | H | ALL; CAMDEN, N. J. | SEP 14 | 6AM | 91 | REC'D. The Bolton postmark is entirely illegible. Johnston has written his initials, "JJ" in the bottom left corner of the front of the envelope. See Whitman's letter to Johnston of August 23–24, 1891. It is uncertain which of Kennedy's letters Whitman included as an enclosure with his August 23–24, 1891, letter to Johnston. Johnston wrote the following source information on the newspaper clipping, "From 'The Queen, the Lady's Newspaper, June 13.1891." Johnston is referring to "A Study of Analogy," by John Burroughs, which was published in The Atlantic Monthly 68 (September 1891), 340–347. Johnston is referencing Whitman's poem "Out of the Rolling Ocean, The Crowd." The Queen: The Ladies Newspaper and Court Chronicle (often referred to as The Queen) was formed in 1864 from the merger of two papers. The English lawyer and legal writer Edward William Cox (1809–1879) purchased both Samuel Orchart Beeton's (1830–1877) The Queen, as well as a rival paper called The Ladies Paper, merging them into a new publication. British journalist Elizabeth Lowe (1829–1897) became the editor of the The Queen for thirty years, enlarging the publication to include color plates, patterns, advertisements, and fiction. Johnston playfully uses an obsolete French term for "envies" here. This letter is addressed: W Whitman Esq | Camden | N J. There are no legible postmarks on the envelope. This letter is addressed: Walt. Whitman Esq. | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: SAINT PAUL, MINN | MAR 20 | 9 AM | 91; CAMDEN, N.J. | APR | 1 | 4 PM | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman. | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: San Francisco Cal. | May 26 | 4pm Deo Volente is Latin for "God willing." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America It is postmarked: BOLTON | 56 | AU12 | 91; New York | Aug 19 | A | 91; Paid | C | All; Camden, N.J. | Aug | 19 | 4PM | 1891 | Rec'd. Johnston has written his intials, "JJ," in the bottom left corner of the front of the envelope. See Whitman's postal card to Johnston of July 31, 1891. If a letter from Johnston to Whitman dated August 8, 1891 reached Whitman, it has not yet been located. Whitman offered to send a copy of Leaves of Grass to Humphries in his July 31, 1891, postal card to Johnston. In September 1891, Wallace traveled to the United States, arriving at Philadelphia on September 8, 1891 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, September 8, 1891). Wallace's arrival was shortly preceded by that of the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke, who had recently returned from two months of travel in Europe, where he had spent time with Johnston, Wallace, and the Bolton College group of English Whitman admirers. 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). In September 1891, Wallace traveled to the United States, arriving at Philadelphia on September 8, 1891 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, September 8, 1891). Wallace's arrival was shortly preceded by that of the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke, who had recently returned from two months of travel in Europe, where he had spent time with Johnston, Wallace, and the Bolton College group of English Whitman admirers. 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). Johnston wrote this postscript sideways in the left margin of this page of the letter. Johnston is referring to the article, "The Portraits of Walt Whitman" by Ernest Rhys (1859–1946), which was published in The Scottish Art Review (June 1889), 17–24. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | N.J | U S America. It is postmarked: Blackpool | C | SP 19 | 91; Blackpool | C | SP 19 | 91; Camden, N.J. | Sep 29 | 9 AM | 91 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle. St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America It is postmarked: Sheffield | 13 F | OC 10 | 91; New York | Oct | 1891; Paid | K | All; Camden, N.J. | Oct 20 | 6 AM | Rec'd. Forest is a community in Lambton Shores, Ontario, near Sarnia. Unidentified. See Whitman's postcard to Bucke of September 24, 1891. 'The Value of the Study of Medicine', Bucke's introductory lecture at the opening of the 59th session of the Medical Faculty of McGill University was delivered on 1 October 1891, and published in the Montreal Medical Journal, 20 (November 1891), 321–45. The text of the lecture was also issued as a pamphlet, The Value of the Studey of Medicine (London, Ontario: Advertiser Printing Company, 1891). '? Oct' by Walt Whitman above 'Sept'. Bucke has misdated the letter. Whitman wrote his letter of 6 October 1891 (WW 2647) on the verso of Bucke's letter (see Corr., V, 250n). Bucke's letter is on the printed stationary of 'The Windsor' hotel in Montreal. 'The Value of the Study of Medicine'. Harkness and Bucke were close friends. On 28 April 1881, Harkness had written Bucke: Although you do not hear from me often, it is not because I do not think of you. Our friendship seems to be with me an almost ever-present consciousness pervading my whole existence. Without you I do not feel I could fully appreciate Whitman. "What I heard at the Close of Day," I have often thought of your idea of our spending our days together leading a hermit-like life. It would not satisfy all the needs of our existence but for a part of each year the being with you is almost a necessity of my being (Weldon). 'When I Heard at the Close of the Day' (CRE, pp. 122–23). Whitman wrote his letter of 9–10 November 1891 (WW 2679) to Dr. Johnston on the verso of Bucke's letter of 6 November 1891. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of November 3, 1891, in which Whitman reports that he is "in good spirits & well & after a wonderfully happy visit, in wh' you & Canada have big part." 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." A few days earlier, on November 2, 1891, Arnold had paid a surprise visit to Whitman in Camden. 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." The interpolation 'fishy-fish enough' is in the hand of Whitman. The comment on Whitman's lack of physical strength to undertake lectures repeats the poet's own opinion as given in a letter to Bucke of November 3, 1891: "Major P wants to take me out on lecture platform but of course it is out of question—." 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. 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. 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. 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. The British Prince was the steamer that Wallace sailed on from Liverpool to Philadelphia when he visited the United States and Canada in 1891. In Whitman's letter of September 6–8, 1891, to Dr. John Johnston, he stated that Wallace had arrived on September 8. Richard Maurice Bucke traveled to Camden in September of 1891 to await the arrival of James W. Wallace. Wallace would then travel back to Canada with Bucke. Bucke had recently returned from traveling abroad in England. He then traveled to Camden, where he would await 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. Bucke was a passenger on the RMS Majestic, an ocean liner belonging to the White Star Line, traveling a route between Liverpool and New York. Whitman is referring to Johnston's letter of August 14–15, 1891. The second letter is either Johnston's letter of August 11, 1891 and August 19, 1891. See Bucke's letter to Whitman from August 16, 1891. James W. Wallace and Richard Maurice Bucke both traveled to Camden in the fall of 1891. Columbus Day, also referred to as "Discovery Day," is a holiday honoring Christopher Columbus's landing in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492. Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where both the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted. The Human Freedom League organization was charted on October 12, 1891, by the members of the Pan-Republic General Committee. Human Freedom League members favored peace over military force, equality among all regardless of race, reglion, or sex, equitable education, and liberty regulated by law. ("The Human Freedom League," Frederick Douglass Papers: Subject File, 1845–1939; Human Freedom League, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). William Osborne McDowell (1845–1927) was a New Jersey businessman who was involved in numerous business endeavours, including the mining industry, the railroads, and land speculation. McDowell was one of the founders of the Sons of the American Revolution and the Daughters of the American Revolution. He was deeply interested in International Affairs, especially conflict resolution, and went on to found the Pan Republic Congress, the Human Freedom League, and the League of Peace, which was a predecessor of the United Nations. McDowell was a Nobel Peace Prize nominee in 1913. The Pan-Republic General Committee's work was focused on establishing international customs regulations, standards for weights and measures, and international conflict resolution. The Academy of Music is a concert and opera house located in Philadelphia, Pennslyvania. See Wallace's letter to Whitman of July 10, 1891. Bucke gave a detailed account of a welcome reception held in his honor by architect James W. Wallace and the physician John Johnston, both of Bolton, England. See Bucke's July 18, 1891 letter to Whitman. Whitman confirms receiving a July 17, 1891, telegram from the Bolton physician John Johnston regarding Bucke's safe arrival in England. See Whitman's letter to Johnston of July 17, 1891. The telegram has not been located. Miller notes that his profile was photographed by Thomas Eakins. Eakins took several photographs of Whitman in 1891; however, only one of them displays Whitman's profile. See Walt Whitman by Thomas Eakins, 1891 for this photograph. On June 19, 1891, Bolton architect James W. Wallace sent to Whitman four watercolor sketches of Rivington by the English landscape artist Alfred Heaton Cooper (1863–1929). In a postscript he wrote "If Traubel fancies any of them I shall be glad to arrange with Cooper for a painting . . . I wanted to send T. something & can think of nothing better." This picture of the lakes at Rivington, near Bolton, was commissioned by the members of the Bolton Whitman Fellowship for presentation to Horace and Anne Traubel in 1892. Cooper, then residing in Bolton, was a friend of Wallace and Johnston. Cooper later gained fame for his Lakeland paintings and book illustrations. In 1948 Anne Traubel presented the picture to the Bolton Public Libraries as being of special interest to the Bolton Whitman Fellowship. See Bucke's cablegram to Whitman from the Britannic of July 8, 1891. As Whitman stated in this letter to Dr. John Johnston, Bucke confirms in his cablegram to Whitman: "I have this moment received a cablegram from Johnston & Wallace of Bolton to say that they will write me to Queenstown." See Wallace's letter to Whitman on June 23, 1891. Whitman is likely referencing the first National Australasian Convention, which was held in Sydney in March and April 1891. The Convention officially marked the start of the journey for six British colonies—New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania—towards nationhood. In a process that took several years, the colonies agreed upon a Constitution Bill, and the British Parliament passed The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act in 1900. Queen Victoria gave her royal assent to the legislation, which took effect on January 1, 1901. At the start of 1901, Australia's six colonies became a nominally independent nation, able to collectively govern as the unified Commonwealth of Australia. The first National Australasian Convention, which was held in Sydney in March and April 1891, officially marked the start of the journey for six British colonies—New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australian, Western Australia, and Tasmania—toward nationhood. In a process that took several years, the colonies agreed upon a Constitution Bill, and the British Parliament passed The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act in 1900. Queen Victoria gave her royal assent to the legislation, which took effect on January 1, 1901. At the start of 1901, Australia's six colonies became a nominally independent nation, able to collectively govern as the unified Commonwealth of Australia. Evangeline (Eva) Mina Fryer O'Dowd was the wife of Bernard O'Dowd. This postal card is addressed: JW Wallace | Anderton near Chorley | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 10 | 8 PM | 91. Wallace on February 20 was reassured that Whitman's health was not so precarious as newspaper reports had led him to believe. He quoted a passage from a book entitled Captain Lobe in which the hero, broken in health, goes to the village graveyard: "Long grass grew over the graves, such as Walt Whitman calls the hair of the dead." Whitman sent a letter to O'Dowd on December 26, 1890, with his Complete Poems & Prose and then again the following day on December 27. Whitman is likely referring to Bucke's biography, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883). Whitman is referring to the September 20 ,1890, letter written by an admirer from Nagasaki. Johnston's letter to Whitman of December 13, 1890 includes a reference to an enclosure of an issue of the Bolton Journal, which contained an account of a meeting of the Bolton Art Club. See Tarr's letter to Whitman of December 13, 1890. Walt Whitman's brother Thomas Jefferson Whitman died unexpectedly from typhoid pneumonia on November 25, 1890. In Tarr's letter to Whitman of December 1, 1890, Tarr had asked the poet to write an obituary for Jeff that could be published in the engineering journals. Whitman's obituary for his brother "Thomas Jefferson Whitman: An Engineer's Obituary" was published in the Engineering Review of December 13, 1890. Tarr had followed up with a letter dated that same day, December 13, 1890, to ask for a photograph of Jeff, and here, the poet is responding affirmatively to that request. In his December 13, 1890, letter, Tarr went on to inquire about Jeff's "probable financial condition" because, after having spoken with William E. Worthen (1819–1897), an engineer and old friend, Tarr thought that "a thousand of dollars or so could be cheerfully raised, or given" to support Jeff's family. Whitman sent a letter to Richard Maurice Bucke on December 3, 1889 in which he described The Illustrated London News portrait of himself as "not satisfactory." Edwin R. Stead of 2226 Jefferson Street, Philadelphia, was Whitman's driver (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). In the Gopsill Philadelphia City Directory for 1890, Stead was listed as a coppersmith. Whitman is likely referring here to his October 28, 1890, letter to Lezinsky. Kennedy is likely referring here to Garland's book of short stories titled Main-Travelled Roads, published in 1891. Kennedy is referring to Whitman's letter of May 27, 1891. Bradford Torrey was a writer and naturalist in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Torrey's expertise was in ornithology, and he frequently contributed to periodicals. Dr. Peter Pangloss was a character in the play The Heir at Law (1797) by George Colman (the Younger), and Bob Acres was a character in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The Rivals (1775). Both roles were played by the nineteenth-century actor Joseph Jefferson. Although Kennedy did not date this letter, it was likely sent just after the death of Whitman's brother, Thomas Jefferson Whitman, on November 25, 1890. According to Miller, this letter from Kennedy to Whitman was later used as the verso of Whitman's letter to William D. O'Connor and Bucke of November 23, 1887 and listed under letters received in The Correspondence IV with a date of November 18–22, 1887. Included in one of Miller's annotation from the November 23, 1887 letter is a reference to the New England Woman's Club meeting mentioned in this very letter from Kennedy, describing his impression upon the audience as follows: "I swept the audience away by my electric fire."(Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977], 4:431). In 1887, November 18 was a Friday. Gustav A. (Gus) Roedell operated a drugstore in Gallipolis, Ohio, from 1892 to 1926, and is listed in the 1880s and 1890s as a secretary and warden of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Gallipolis and a charter member and officer of the Gallipolis Elks Lodge No. 107. The letter from Whitman to Helen's mother, Abby H. Price, was written on October 11–15, 1863, and discusses Whitman's experiences volunteering in the Civil War Hospitals in Washington, DC. Whitman spent most of his time in Armory Square Hospital, and when he wrote this letter to Abby Price, he was visiting soldiers there (Richard Maurice Bucke, ed., Walt Whitman, [Philadelphia: David McKay, 23 South Ninth Street, 1883], 38–40). The manuscript for the letter is held at The Pierpont Morgan Library in New York, and the insertions appear to be in Whitman's hand. A draft of the letter is also held in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection at the Library of Congress. Thomas Melville Prentiss (1829–1901) was the son of John Prentiss (1818–1861) and his first wife, Amelia F. Kennedy, of Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1857). Thomas became a presbyterian minister in Cornwall-on-the-Hudson, New York. He was the older brother of Clifton Kennedy Prentiss (1835–1865) and William Scollay Prentiss (1839–1865), who fought on opposite sides during the American Civil War. Both of Thomas's brothers were wounded in the conflict and both died as a result of their injuries. Whitman met and cared for Clifton and William at Armory Square Hospital, where the poet was volunteering. Whitman described his experiences with the Prentiss brothers in "Two Brothers, One South, One North," which was published in Specimen Days & Collect (Philadelphia: Rees Welsh & Co., 1882: 74–75). Colonel Clifton Kennedy Prentiss (1835–1865) was the son of John Prentiss (1818–1861) and his first wife, Amelia F. Kennedy, of Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1857). Clifton (C. K.) Prentiss served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was fatally wounded when Union forces stormed the Confederate earthworks near Petersburg, Virginia. Prentiss, having been struck in the chest with a musket ball, was taken to a field hospital and then to Armory Square Hospital in Washington, D.C., where Whitman met him. Prentiss's brother William, a Confederate soldier who had been wounded in the same battle, was also in Armory Square. William Scollay Prentiss (1839–1865) was the son of John Prentiss (1818–1861) and his first wife, Amelia F. Kennedy, of Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1857). He enlisted at Richmond and served as a Confederate soldier during the American Civil War. He recevied what would prove to be a fatal leg wound while defending the Confederate earthworks near Petersburg, Virginia, against Union forces. Prentiss was taken to a field hospital and then to Armory Square Hospital in Washington, D.C., where Whitman met and cared for him. Prentiss's brother Clifton, who had been wounded in the same battle while fighting on the side of the Union, was also in Armory Square, and Whitman recalled finding Clifton in an adjoining ward when visiting William (Specimen Days & Collect [Philadelphia: Rees Welsh & Co., 1882], 74–75). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden N. J. It is postmarked: Woodside | Feb | 2 | 1890 | N. Y.; Camden, N. J. | Feb | 3 | 6AM | 1891 | Rec'd. There is a duplicate Camden postmark at the top of the verso of the envelope, but it is only partially visible. This letter continues first in the left margin and then at the top of the first page. Emily Price Law (1845–1920) was the daughter of Abby H. Price (1814–1878) and Edmund Price (1808–1882), and she was the sister of Helen Price (1841–1927). Emily married Edward M. Law (1842–1905), an engraver, and the couple were the parents of at least five children. The twin boys are Edward Law (b. 1875) and Charles Law (b. 1875), the sons of Emily Price Law (1845–1920) and her husband Edward Law (1842–1905). According to the 1900 Census, one of the twins, Charles, lived with his aunt, Helen Price (1841–1927), and worked as a Stenographer; his brother Edward was employed as a Civil Engineer. Abby A. Law (1872–1954) was the daughter of Emily Price Law (1845–1920) and Edward M. Law (1842–1905). By 1910, according to the census for that year, Abby was working as a music teacher, and she continued to work as an organist as late as 1940. Arthur Price Law (1870–1906) was the oldest son of Emily Price Law (1845–1920) and Edward M. Law (1842–1905). At the time of this letter, he was about twenty-one-years old and residing in Florida with his uncle, also named Arthur Price, who owned an orange grove. Arthur Price (b. 1840) was the son of Abby H. Price (1814–1878) and Edmund Price (1808–1882); he was Helen's brother. Arthur served in the Navy as the second assistant Engineer on the steamer Ossipee. After resigning from the Navy, he established an orange grove in Florida. In 1886 Price sent Whitman a box of oranges from his Florida plantation. (Edward F. Grier, ed., Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts, [New York: New York University Press, 1984], 2:832, note 42). Walter H. Law was (1879–1962) was the son of Emily Price Law and Edward Law. At the time of this letter, he was about eleven years old. By 1900 he became a Civil Engineer, and by 1920 he had moved to Rhode Island, where he continued his engineering pursuits, working in the Railroad industry. He married Frances S. Wilcox (1879–1955), and the couple did not have any children. Thomas Jefferson (Jeff) Whitman (1833–1890) and his wife Martha (Mattie) Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873) were the parents of two daughters. Manahatta ("Hattie") Whitman (1860–1886) and her younger sister Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957) were both favorites of their uncle Walt. When Jeff Whitman passed away in 1890, Jessie was his only surviving daughter. At the time, she was not married, and she would remain unmarried for the rest of her life. Price is referring to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke's 1883 biography Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883). Helen's reminiscences of Whitman were included in the book. Kennedy may have been alluding to the subject of his "snow study" piece, which had just been published in the Transcript, at the end of his letter to Whitman on January 19, 1891. In that letter, Kennedy states: "I do a good many editorial jottings & review Belmont theatricals always for Transcript. We have had a magic ice-spectacle here—trees all candied." Kennedy is likely referring to the Boston Athenaeum library. Kennedy is referring here to a letter received from Bucke's daughter, Jessie Clare Bucke (1870–1943), which Whitman had enclosed in his recent letter to Kennedy of February 3, 1891. See the poet's February 2, 1891 letter to Bucke, which begins with an expression of concern about Jessie Clare's letter. The German composer and pianist Ludwig van Beethoven (1779–1827) composed numerous symphonies and concertos, including his well known Third and Fifth Symphonies and his Violin Concerto. He was almost completely deaf by 1814, after which he ceased to perform or appear in public. He died in 1827, after an illness that lasted several months. His works remain among the most performed pieces of classical music. "Billy K." was Kennedy's nickname. According to Kennedy's letter to Whitman of February 25, 1889, "that's the way they called me out West." In Whitman's letter to Traubel of January 24, 1891, he reports warmly on the piece: "—have been deliberately reading this piece through. Thank you, Horace, dear boy. I like it all & well." It is difficult to discern but looks as though Kennedy has drawn an arrow to the word "well" from the below word "good", without crossing either out. Though this possible grammatical replacement doesn't change the meaning of the sentence here, the physical nature of it is indicative of Kennedy's style. Kate and William Fryer were O'Dowd's in-laws. O'Dowd finally responded to Whitman on August 31, 1891 and begins by explaining his rationale for the delay: "I have not wanted to bother you during your severe illness, hence my silence." Kennedy was a frequent contributor to The Boston Evening Transcript. Kennedy is referring to Whitman's Good-Bye My Fancy (1891), which the poet mentions as nearing publication in most of his correspondence from this period. Kennedy appears to be responding to a question Whitman posed in a previous letter, but the extant letters from the poet to Kennedy preceding this one do not include such a question. Kennedy might be referring to Whitman's five-line poem, "Ship Ahoy!," which appeared in The Youth's Companion (March 12, 1891): 152. At the time of this letter, Bucke was traveling abroad in England in an attempt to establish a foreign market for a fluid meter he was building with his brother-in-law William John Gurd (1845–1903). During this trip, he also visited several of Whitman's English friends, including the political activist and art historian Mary Whithall Smith Costelloe (1864–1945) and her first husband, the lawyer Benjamin Conn Costello (1854–1899). This letter was written on either 1 or 2 August 1891 from the Costelloes' home at 41 Grosvenor Road in London. In his letter to Whitman of July 31, 1891, Bucke notes that he has "received an invitation from Mary Costelloe to accompany her to the country (Hazelmere) next Sunday evening [i.e. August 2, 1891]." Apparently Bucke had been invited to spend a day or two with the Costelloes before leaving for Friday's Hill, the country house of Mary Costelloe's parents, the evangelical minister Robert Pearsall (1827–1898) and his wife Hannah Whitall Smith (1831–1911). This letter has not yet been located. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden N. J | U S. America. It is postmarked: BOLTON | 56 | MR 5 | 92; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR20 | 130PM | 92 | REC'D. This date is an assumption based off of the postage information, indicating that it departed from Bolton on March 5, 1892. This letter from Fred Wild on March 5, 1892 is not on the archive, but is available via the Library of Congress under "W" miscellany. (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919). Bucke is referring to the collection of critical pieces that was published as In Re Walt Whitman, ed. Horace L. Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas B. Harned (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893). See Bucke's letter to Whitman of February 14, 1891). The final sentence of the letter ("This I suppose . . .") and the complimentary close and Bucke's signature are all written in the top margin of the first page. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of February 28–March 1, 1891 for more information. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St. | Camden. | New Jersey. It is postmarked: PHILADELPHIA, P.A. | JUL 6 | 11PM | 90; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUL | 7 | 6AM | 1890 | REC'D. Kennedy is referring to his book manuscript "Walt Whitman, Poet of Humanity," which later became two books, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896) and The Fight of a Book for the World (1926). Alexander Gardner, a publisher from Paisley, Scotland, would ultimately publish Reminiscences of Walt Whitman in 1896 after a long and contentious battle with Kennedy over editing the book. In his April 8, 1889, letter to Whitman, Kennedy refers to Alexander Gardner—the publisher who reissued a number of books by and about Whitman—as a "poltroon" or coward. Gardner had accepted Kennedy's manuscript for Walt Whitman the Poet of Humanity, but wanted to cut out "the censor's list of objectionable passages." Kennedy writes, "I suppose his idea is that people will buy L. of G. more if they are not given the passages in question in my book. . . . I shall satisfy him." Alexander Gardner (1821–1882) was a publisher from Paisley, Scotland, who reissued a number of books by and about Whitman. Kennedy is referring to a letter he had received from Gardener, dated July 12, 1889, which expresses Gardner's increasing reluctance to publish Kennedy's book. Kennedy then sent this letter from Gardner as an enclosure for Whitman. Although Kennedy did not provide a date for this letter to Whitman, Kennedy must have written it after receiving Gardner's letter of July 12, 1889. Images of both Kennedy's letter to Whitman and the enclosed letter from Gardner to Kennedy are provided. The correspondent is referring to Whitman's poem "For You O Democracy" from the "Calamus" cluster of Leaves of Grass. Huntington Smith may, in fact, be the anonymous author of the review, "Whitman's November Boughs," which was published in The Literary World on December 8, 1888. The postscript included in Richard Maurice Bucke's letter to Whitman of December 16, 1888, notes this review: "I have the "Boston Literary World" of 8th inst. . . . Not a bad little review at all of 'November Boughs' Do you know who did it?" A Century of American Literature, Benjamin Franklin to James Russel Lowell; selections from a hundred authors (1889) is the volume being referenced here. Walt Whitman is listed 89th in the table of contents along with the following four poems: "Greatness in Poetry," "O Captain! My Captain!," "The Singer in the Prison," and "For You, O Democracy" (Huntington Smith, ed., A Century of American Literature, Benjamin Franklin to James Russel Lowell; selections from a hundred authors, [London: Trübner & Co., Ludgate Hill, 1889], 13). Smith is referring to A Century of American Literature, Benjamin Franklin to James Russel Lowell; selections from a hundred authors (1889). Walt Whitman is listed 89th in the table of contents along with the following four works: "Greatness in Poetry," "O Captain! My Captain!," "The Singer in the Prison," and "For You, O Democracy" (Huntington Smith, ed., A Century of American Literature, Benjamin Franklin to James Russel Lowell; selections from a hundred authors [London: Trübner & Co., Ludgate Hill, 1889], 13). Whitman's poem, "To the Year 1889" (1889), was published in The Critic on January 5, 1889. The remainder of this letter has been torn away and has not yet been located. The photograph referenced here was likely taken in 1888 by Frederick Gutekunst (1831–1917) and used as the frontispiece for November Boughs (1888) and the 1889 Leaves. Whitman labelled it "Walt Whitman in his 70th year." For more information, see Walt Whitman by Frederic Gutekunst?, ca. 1888. Henry Billstein was a printer in the Philadelphia firm of Billstein and Son. Billstein visited Whitman in February 1889; Whitman said of their meeting, "[W]e talked a little bit about printing—plate printing: he appeared to be an adept—know his business. I liked him" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, February 3, 1889). Billstein made the plates for the pocket-book 1889 Leaves of Grass. See the May 25, 1889, entry in Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 2:493 and footnotes 2738 and 2761. Although we have not located the previous correpondence referenced here, the "fragrant pinks" are indeed a reference to flowers recently sent by the sender, Charlotte Fiske Bates. Bates's response to Whitman of July 19, 1888 ascribes a deeper meaning to the sensory nature of the flowers: "I cannot tell you what joy your message has given me, both as proof of your improvement and your rememberance. I had feared that you were too ill to look at flowers or to identify." Whitman briefly mentioned Rice's request for an article in the North American Review in his letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke of January 23–24, 1889: "Rec'd a letter from Rice asking me to write for the N A Review." Whitman's hesitancy to oblige Rice's request as well as his general disinterest for the piece can be gleaned from With Walt Whitman in Camden: "I should acknowledge it in some way: but as to writing about novelists, novels, English, American, any other—God help me: I can't see my way to it . . . what he proposes is out of my line . . . Sure enough why shouldn't I write about novels too if I am of the mind to? though I hardly imagine that I shall do so in this instance" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, January 24, 1889). Tennyson sent this letter to Whitman through Herbert H. Gilchrist on behalf of his father, Alfred Lord Tennyson. Whitman's desire for Forman to assist in obtaining appropriate copyright negotiations for Complete Works and Leaves of Grass soon became at a standstill with publisher Wolcott Balestier, who died December 1891 of typhoid fever. See Forman's letter to Whitman of November 8, 1891 and November 26, 1891 for further information on the matter. Arthur Waugh (1866–1943) was an English publisher and biographer. He wrote the first biography of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, as well as a short biography of the Victorian poet Robert Browning. Waugh was the father of the British novelists Alec Waugh and Evelyn Waugh. Forman writes this postscript in the left margin of Arthur Waugh's letter. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Washington | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON W [illegible] | 12 | DE 9 | 67; [illegible] | DEC | 22; CARRIER | DEC | 23 | 7 P.M. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman. see notes Jan 5 1889 from Dr. Gillette on "Democracy"—no answer Whitman sent "Whispers of Heavenly Death" in February 1868 and received $50 in compensation, which he accepted in his February 19, 1868, letter to Routledge & Sons. The poem, however, did not appear in the Broadway Annual until October 1868. The Round Table was a New York opinions journal which published political, religious, and literary commentary. See also Frank Luther Mott, A History of American Magazines, 1865–1885, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press), 3:319–324. See Whitman's draft letter of December 30, 1867 to George Routledge & Sons. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esqr | Treasury Dept. | Washington | D.C. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | DEC | 29 | [illegible] see notes June 4 1888 from Messrs. Roultedge (ans. enclosed) ; CARRIER | DEC | [illegible] This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Washington City | D.C. from Mr. Alcott Ans. April 26 '68 ans herewith It is postmarked: CONCORD | JAN | [illegible] | 1868; CARRIER | JAN | [illegible] 6 | 2 DEL. During this time, William Michael Rossetti had been working out the details for a volume titled Poems by Walt Whitman (1868). This is in reference to the fourth—1867—edition of Leaves of Grass, which was actually published in November 1866. In his response of February 17, 1868, Whitman lays bare a deep-seated confidence in Conway over the particulars mentioned here: "Furthermore, to save trouble, I hereby fully empower you to decide & act for me in any matters or propositions relating to the book, in England, should any such arise—& what you agree to is agreed to by me." William Douglas O'Connor's stories The Ghost (1867) and The Carpenter (1868) would eventually be published along with The Brazen Android (1891) as Three Tales: The Ghost; The Brazen Android; The Carpenter, posthumously by his wife. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman, | Attorney General's Office | Washington D.C. | United States of America. see notes sept 7 & 8 1888 Conway It is postmarked: LONDON-S.W. | X | FE [illegible]1 | 68; NEW[illegible]ALL | [illegible] | 15 | [illegible]TRANSIT; 4; CARRIER | FEB | 16 | 1 DEL. Ellen Davis Dana (1833–1897), of Cincinatti, was a Unitarian, feminist, and abolitionist. She married Moncure D. Conway in 1858. The most recent letter the WWA has located as having been sent from Whitman to Wilson prior to this date is April 12, 1867. See letter from Henry Wilson to Walt Whitman of January 17, 1867, in which Henry Wilson writes about his time in the "Lunatic Asylum." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq. | Atty Gens Office. | Washington | D.C. B. H. Wilson—Feb 24 '68 ans. March 4 It is postmarked: SYRACUSE | FEB | 25 | N.Y.; CARRIER | FEB | 27 | 2 DEL. Under the direction of Messrs. Simpson & Co., The Agathynian Club was a publishing house at No. 60 Duane Street, New York, which produced periodicals and reprints of rare, curious and old American, English, French and Latin books (American Literary Gazette and Publishers Circular [Philadelphia: George W. Childs, Publisher, No. 600 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, July 1, 1867], 9:136). The Shakespeare Press was established in 1790 by printer William Bulmer (1757–1830). The Press was located at 3 Russell Court, Cleveland Row, St James's, London. Didot Press was established by printer Francois-Ambroise Didot (1730–1804). Descended from a family of successful French printers, punch-cutters, and publishers, Didot advanced the trade to new heights by becoming the first to print on vellum paper. In 1788, Didot was appointed printer to the clergy. Chiswick Press was established by Charles Whittingham I (1767–1840) and, later, managed by his nephew, Charles Whittingham II (1795–1876). The Press was known for its inexpensive editions of books. General John Burgoyne (1723–1792) was a British army general during the American Revolution who was best known for his defeat by American forces in the Saratoga campaian of 1777. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt. Whitman | Attorney generals office | Washington D.C. Henry Wilson— ans. (to Ben) April 11, '68 Atty Genl office It is postmarked: SYRACUSE | MAR | 31 | N.Y.; CARRIER | APR 1 | 7 P.M. This word likely reads "sewing," as in "sewing machines" within this sentence. In his letter of December 19, 1869, Wilson reported that he was selling sewing machines. In Benton H. Wilson's letter to Whitman of February 24, 1868, he reports that his father Henry, nearly two years out of the asylum at Utica, had been attempting to attain a patent (which is likely related to the "experiment" Henry discusses here): "When he left here he said he was going to New York as agent for a firm in this city & the next we hear of him he is in Washington trying to get some Patent which we would be very glad if he would come home & let it alone." Whitman included the following in his letter to Hine of May 9, 1868: the latest edition of Leaves of Grass (1867), Notes on Walt Whitman, As Poet and Person (1867), and an article written by Richard J. Hinton from the Rochester Evening Express. Whitman had recently mentioned Hinton's article—published in the Rochester Evening Express—in his April 28–May 4, 1868 letter to his mother Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Whitman's poem, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd." For more on the poem, see R. W. French, "'When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd' [1865]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). An elegy that mourns both personal and national loss, Walt Whitman's "When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom'd" was composed only weeks after President Abraham Lincoln's assassination in April 1865. The poem first appeared in the 1871–1872 edition of Leaves of Grass under its original title. For more on the poem, see R. W. French, "'When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd' [1865]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Washington, | D.C— Charles Hine 1868 It is postmarked: NEW YORK | JUN | 18; CARRIER | JUN | [illegible]. In his letter of October 6, 1868, Whitman acknowledged a letter from Doyle sent October 1, 1868, and mentioned Mr. Noyes' letters in the Washington Star, writing "I read Mr. Noyes' western letters with pleasure" (Richard Maurice Bucke, ed., Calamus: A Series of Letters Written During the years 1868–1880 by Walt Whitman to a Young Friend (Peter Doyle) [Norwood, Pa.: Norwood Editions, 1977], 40). In his letter to Lewis Wraymond (Pittsburgh) of October 2, 1868, Whitman mentions the Washington railroad man: "Tell Johnny Miller there is still a sprinkling of the old Broadway drivers left. Balky Bill, Fred Kelly, Charley McLaughlin, Tom Riley, Prodigal, Sandy, &c. &c. are still here. Frank McKinney & several other old drivers are with Adams Express." In his letter to Lewis Wraymond (sometimes known by the nickname Pittsburgh) of October 2, 1868, Whitman inquires about Sydnor: "I have heard that William Sydnor on 65, was laid up sick. I wish to hear about him, & whether he is well, & again at work. If you see him, tell him I have not forgot him, but send him my love, & will be back in Washington again." In his letter to Doyle on October 2, 1868, Whitman begins: "You say it is a pleasure to get my letters—well boy, it is a real pleasure to me to write to you" (Richard Maurice Bucke, ed., Calamus: A Series of Letters Written During the years 1868–1880 by Walt Whitman to a Young Friend (Peter Doyle) [Norwood, Pa.: Norwood Editions, 1977], 38). Doyle may be referring to Whitman's letter of October 9, 1868, in which the poet chronicles his observation of the sights, sounds, and people on Broadway street in New York: "it is a never-ending amusement & study & recreation for me to ride a couple of hours, of a pleasant afternoon, on a Broadway stage in this way. You see everything as you pass, a sort of living, endless panorama—shops, & splendid buildings, & great windows, & on the broad sidewalks crowds of women, richly-dressed, continually passing, altogether different, superior in style & looks from any to be seen any where else—in fact a perfect stream of people, men too dressed in high style, & plenty of foreigners—& then in the streets the thick crowd of carriages, stages, carts, hotel & private coaches, & in fact all sorts of vehicles & many first-class teams, mile after mile, & the splendor of such a great street & so many tall, ornamental, noble buildings, many of them of white marble, & the gayety & motion on every side—You will not wonder how much attraction all this is, on a fine day, to a great loafer like me, who enjoys so much seeing the busy world move by him, & exhibiting itself for his amusement, while he takes it easy & just looks on & observes." Henrietta Carwardine Burrows (1785–1875) was Anne Gilchrist's mother. She became a widow following her husband John Parker Gilchrist's horse riding accident when Anne was 11. The River Colne is a small river and tributary of the River Thames in England. It runs through Essex, England and passes through Colchester. Henrietta Carwardine Burrows was the daughter of the Reverend Thomas Carwardine (1734–1824). Thomas was the grandfather of Anne Gilchrist. Ellen Davis Dana (1833–1897) and Moncure Daniel Conway married at the First Unitarian Church of Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 1, 1858. A fellow Unitarian, feminist, and abolitionist, Ellen collaborated with her husband in the transportation of thirty-one enslaved people from Virginia to freedom in the North. Brittany is a peninsula in the west of modern France. In his letter of August 18, 1873, to Anne Gilchrist, Whitman intimated that his slow response rate to Anne was not indicative of any adverse feelings towards her: "Many times during the past year, especially during the past six months, have I thought of you & your children—Many times indeed have I been goign to write, but did not . . . Do not think hard of me for not writing oftener, especially the last seven months—If you could look into my spirit & emotions you would be entirely satisfied & at peace." Moreover, Whitman informed Anne at the beginning of that same letter of August 18 that the "clouds have darkened over me," then described that since January of that year he had lost his mother and sister, and had himself become paralyzed. Whitman enclosed in his letter to Anne Gilchrist of August 18, 1873, a ring: "The enclosed ring I have just taken from my finger & send you with my love." Although Whitman did not write again until 1875, he sent Gilchrist newspapers and magazines. On November 3, 1873, she wrote about her children; and on December 18, 1873, she said of his health: "Perhaps if my hand were in yours, dear Walt, you would get along faster. Dearer and sweeter that lot than even to have been your bride in the full flush & strength and glory of your youth. I turn my face to the westward sky and before I lie down to sleep, deep & steadfast within me the silent aspiration that every year, every month & week may help something to prepare and make fitter me and mine to be your comfort and joy." Marquis Road is located in London's northwest district of Camden.During this period, Burroughs had been preparing to build a home in the Catskill Mountains. Purchasing a nine-acre plot of land with a view of the Hudson River in September of 1873, the home would be known as "Riverby." In lieu of Whitman's advice to hire a carpenter, Riverby was imagined according to aesthetic principles of environmental harmony and constructed by Burroughs himself. Without water pumps in the home, Burroughs's wife Ursula was tasked with carrying heavy buckets of water up Riverby's narrow staircases.
At the opening of this letter to Burroughs, Whitman appears to be responding to Burroughs's questions regarding the plan to build Riverby with a hint of trepidation: "John the questions you ask cannot judiciously be answered, except as they involve the whole house, ground, purposes, materials, &c. &c."
In his letter to Whitman of May 14, 1873, Burroughs envisions Riverby as a place the friends can reunite after Walt's recovery: "I look forward to many delightful days with you yet, after I have built me another nest up here by the Hudson You will come and spend weeks & months with us & we will all be happy again." Whitman recounted his last of three total trips to Riverby in Specimen Days. For more information, see Riverby.
Burroughs had been preparing to build a home in the Catskill Mountains. He purchased a nine-acre plot of land with a view of the Hudson River in September of 1873. He constructed the home himself, and it came to be known as "Riverby." In a letter to Whitman of May 14, 1873, Burroughs envisioned Riverby as a place the friends could reunite after Whitman's health improved: "I look forward to many delightful days with you yet, after I have built me another nest up here by the Hudson You will come and spend weeks & months with us & we will all be happy again." For more information, see Carmen Sarracino, "Riverby," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). It is unclear which brother Whitman is referring to here, though it is likely to be George since the brothers had been living a couple of blocks away in Camden in 1873. This letter has no date in Whitman's hand. However,it is almost certain that this letter dates to 1873. Firstly, Whitman's paralytic stroke occured in 1873. Here in this letter Whitman listed his address as being 431 Stevens Street, Camden Jersey, the address he moved to from Washington D.C., following his stroke in January of 1873. Secondly, Whitman assigns himself as being "still here" (meaning Camden), as if the relocation was recent, further underscoring his uncertainties about his overall recovery. Lastly, October 2nd was a Thursday in 1873, and "Thursday" is the day Whitman penned at top of the letter. Since Alden's acceptance of this poem is unmistakably dated November 1, 1873 (Clifton Waller Barrett Collection, University of Virginia), either the date of Whitman's initial November 2, 1873, letter to Alden—in which he first offered to Harpers his poem, Song of the Redwood Tree—is incorrect, or this one is. "Song of the Redwood Tree" was first published in Harper's Monthly Magazine (February 1874): 366–367. This postal card is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: WASHINGTON | NOV | 29 | D. C. The Editor of Harper's Monthly has enclosed here a draft of Whitman's poem, "Prayer of Columbus," which was published in the March 1874 issue of the magazine. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens St | Camden | New Jersey. from Harpers accepts Prayer of Columbus It is postmarked: NEW YORK, NY | DEC | 3 | 6 P.M. Thomas Moore (1779–1852) was an Irish poet, satirist, composer, and political propagandist. The son of a Roman Catholic wine merchant, Moore graduated from Trinity College in 1799 and then studied law in London. At Trinity, he was introduced to members of the United Irish Society. Moore authored many long poems and volumes of poetry and prose, including Irish Melodies (1807–1834) and a biography of Lord Byron. William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863) was an English novelist most celebrated for his novels, Vanity Fair (1847–1848), a novel of the Napoleonic period in England, and The History of Henry Esmond (1852), which was set in the early 18th century. His father, Richard, was an administrator in the East India Company, and passed away when William was a young boy. William Wilfred Campbell (1860–1918) was a Canadian poet and a clergyman, who served as rector for several parishes in New Brunswick. He published numerous books of poetry and was considered an unofficial poet laureate of Canada by the end of the nineteenth century. Edmund Gosse (1849–1928) was an English poet, author, and critic. Born into a small Protestant sect called the Plymouth Brethren, Edmund lost his mother to breast cancer as a child. Eventually breaking away from his religious upbringings, Edmund later authored the book Father and Son (1907) about his childhood, which has been characterized as the first psychological biography. Beginning his career as assistant librarian of the British Museum, Edmund ended his career as librarian of the House of Lords Library, retiring in 1914. Here, Gosse is referencing the poem "Are you the new person drawn toward me," which first appeared in the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass as number 12 of the "Calamus" cluster. For more information about this poem, see Frederick J. Butler, "Are You the New Person Drawn toward Me? (1860)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens st. Cor. West. | Camden, N.J. Walter W. Storms Jan. 12, 1874 John Storms was the uncle of Walt Whitman Storms. John was almost certainly the son of Jacob Storms (1784–1867)and his wife Leah (b. 1787–1874) and the brother of Walt Whitman Storms's father, Herman (1822–1898). Leah Storms (b. 1787–1874) was the mother of Herman Storms (1822–1898) and the grandmother of Walter Whitman Storms (1858–1918). According to the U. S. Federal Census for 1870, Leah Storms was then living with her son and grandson in New Jersey. Here, Walt Whitman Storms is referring to his siblings. His brothers were Garret Storms (1861–1945), George Storms (1863–1888), and Richard Storms (1867–1939). He also had a sister, Mary Storms (1866–1905). Walter Whitman Storms and his siblings were the children of Herman Blauvelt Storms (1822–1898) and his wife Maria Eckerson Storms (1835–1914). This letter is addressed: Talcott Williams | Office Press newspaper | Chestnut Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Camden, (?) | Dec 2(?) | 8 PM | 90; Received | Dec | 2 | 9 30 PM | 1890 | Phila. Whitman may be referring to the Philadelphia Press "Whitman-Ingersoll-Death" article, which described the discussion that occurred between Whitman and Robert Ingersoll following Ingersoll's lecture at Horticultural Hall. This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | Care Walter Scott Pub'r | Warwick Lane | Paternoster row | London England This letter has been readdressed in another hand: Mr E. Rhys | 1 Mount Vernon | Hampstead. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 19 | 6 AM | 90; London E C | A | No 28 90 | A(?). This letter is addressed: Bernard O'Dowd | Supreme Court Library | Melbourne | Victoria | via San Francisco | & Sidney. It is postmarked: Camden, N.(?) | Oct 3 | 6 PM | 90. At one point in his letter of September 1 O'Dowd wrote: "The tension of an ecstacy, such as a Mohammedan would feel, if privileged to write to & to receive letters from his Prophet, is on me, while I write and therefore I can't write as I would wish to. I can hardly think it is not a dream that I am writing to Walt Whitman. Take our love, we have little more to give you, we can only try to spread to others the same great boon you have given to us" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; A. L. McLeod, ed., Walt Whitman in Australia and New Zealand (1964), 25). O'Dowd's letter of September 29 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; A. L. McLeod, ed., Walt Whitman in Australia and New Zealand (1964), 27–30) was accompanied by a clipping from Argus, "a sample of the only kind of notice you get in the 'feudal' circles." Whitman is referring to Thomas Biggs Harned (1851–1921), a lawyer in Philadelphia, and his wife, Augusta Anna Traubel Harned (1856–1914), who was Horace Traubel's sister. "To the Sun-Set Breeze." Stoddart on November 21 promised to send ten copies of the magazine (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). O'Dowd and his wife Evangeline (Eva) Mina Fryer had a two-month-old son. On January 9, 1890, O'Dowd reported the birth of a son, Montaigne Eric Whitman. See also A. L. McLeod, "Walt Whitman in Australia," Walt Whitman Review 7 (June 1961), 30n. Evangeline (Eva) Mina Fryer was the wife of Bernard O'Dowd. On September 1, 1890, O'Dowd reported the birth of a son, Montaigne Eric Whitman. See also A. L. McLeod, "Walt Whitman in Australia," Walt Whitman Review 7 (June 1961), 30n. Tarr on December 1 had requested that Walt Whitman write an obituary of Jeff. On December 13 he asked for a picture, and, after a conference with William E. Worthen, an engineer and old friend (see The Correspondence of Walt Whitman, ed. by Edwin Haviland Miller. In Collected Writings, I, 226, 228), inquired about Jeff's "probable financial condition." He thought that "a thousand of dollars or so could be cheerfully raised, or given." He concluded by asking the poet to sit for an unnamed sculptor (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). The reference is to the "foxy" picture in the Illustrated London News; see 2157. Dr. Johnston's account of his visit to America was privately printed in 1890; it was later included in John Johnston and J. W. Wallace, Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–1891 by Two Lancashire Friends (1918), 31–86. A partial facsimile of this letter appears in John Johnston and J. W. Wallace, Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–1891 by Two Lancashire Friends (1918), 22. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Dec 2 | 8 PM | 90. Good Words was a British monthly periodical founded in 1860 by Alexander Strahan (1833–1918), a Scottish publisher. The publication's first editor was Norman Macleod (1812–1872). It was published until 1910, but for the last four years of its run, it was merged with the Sunday Magazine. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Mickle street, | Camden, N.J.. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV | 21 | 6AM | 1889 | REC'D. There is a third postmark, but only the date of Nov 18 | 1889 is visible. This letter is addressed: David Lezinsky | p o box 211 | Berkeley Cal. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | NOV 30 | 5(?) PM | 90. This letter card is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden N.J. | U.S. America. It is postmarked: BOLTON | 56 | MR 12 | 92; BOLTON | 56 | MR 12 | 92; PAID | A | ALL; NEW YORK | MAR | 23; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR 24 | 6AM | 92 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey | 328 Mickle St. It is postmarked: BOSTON, MASS | FEB 8 | 3-30P | 1892; CAMDEN, NJ | FEB 9 | 9AM | 92 | REC'D. Gould wrote this letter to Whitman on a card that was printed with her name and address as follows: Miss Gould | 131 Chestnut St. Beneath her printed street number, Gould has completed her address by writing "Chelsea Mass."; she has also written "(over.)" to direct Whitman to the remainder of her message on the verso of the card. Drawing inspiration from the opening line of Whitman's poem "Song at Sunset," which also begins with "Splendor of ended day," Gould has included the four lines of verse that she had sent three years earlier as a response to Horace Traubel's invitation to Whitman's seventieth birthday dinner, which was held on May 31, 1889, in Camden. Gould had written to Whitman on December 30, 1889, to inquire whether the response to Traubel had been received and to express disappointment that her verses were not included among the notes and addresses from the birthday celebration that were gathered and published in Camden's Compliment, a volume edited by Traubel. "The Anglo-Saxon in the Southern Hemisphere. The Workingmen in Australia," Century, 41 (1891), 607–613. See Whitman's letter to O'Dowd of December 26, 1890. O'Dowd had written to Whitman on November 24, December 3, and December 23, 1890. This letter is addressed: Wm Hawley Smith. | Peoria, Illinois. Kennedy crossed out the final sentence of his letter, which reads as follows: "Look out for roses." This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton | Lancashire England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 20 | 6 AM | 90. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A.. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | SP 28 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP29 | 4PM | 91 | REC'D. Edward Wilkins wrote this partial letter to Whitman. Wilkins's September 26, 1891, letter to Whitman, which Wilkins signed, is written on the same stationery as this letter. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N. J. | Dec 20 | 6PM | 90; Philadelphia, P.A.| DEC | 20 | 730 PM | 1890 | Transit; Buffalo, N.Y. | DE | 21 | 11AM | 1890 | Transit; London | DE22 | 90 | Canada. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of December 16, 1890. Whitman records in his Commonplace Book that two books had been purchased by a "Mr. Sheppard," a family friend of Thomas Harned, Whitman's literary executor (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). In his December 8–9, 1890, letter to Bucke, Whitman noted that Talcott Williams of the Philadelphia Press had a stenographer present at Whitman's birthday celebration at Reisser's Restaurant in Philadelphia on May 31, 1889. The main speaker that evening was Col. Robert Ingersoll, who also had a conversation with Whitman on the subject of immortality—a conversation that the stenographer transcribed. Williams planned to type up the conversation and send copies to Whitman; however, in a December 16, 1890, letter to Williams, Whitman informed the editor that he had not yet received the typed conversation. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | DEC15 | 6PM | 90; London | PM | DE 1[illegible] | 90 | Canada. A line in black ink has been drawn through both pages of this letter. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | DEC [illegible] | 8PM | 90; LONDON | PM | DE 3 | 91) | CANADA. This postal card is addressed: Editor Critic | 52 Lafayette Place | New York City. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV 25 | 430PM | 90 A paragraph on Whitman's recent activities, including his writing a preface for O'Connor's book, appeared in The Critic (November 29, 1891), 282. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden N.J. | U.S.A.. It is postmarked: CHURTON ST 30| 6 12 | NO17 | 90 | S.W.; CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV | 29 | 6AM | 1890 | REC'D. Carpenter replied from Ceylon on December 11 and commented on Eastern mysticism (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). "An Old Man's Rejoinder," partly in answer to Symonds' chapter in Essays Speculative and Suggestive (see 2261, n.96), appeared in The Critic on August 16. Joseph B. Gilder sent $10 in payment on September 25 (The Commonplace-Book). This letter is addressed: Critic | weekly paper | 52 Lafayette Place | New York City. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG 4 | 1 30 PM | 90. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: BELMONT | JUL | 22 | 1890 | MASS; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUL | 23 | 9AM | 1890 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: H Buxton Forman | 46 Marllborough street | St: John's wood | London | NW | England. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT29 | (?)M | 91; LONDON, N.(?) | MZ | NO 7 | 91; PHILADELPH(?), P.A. | (?) | 11PM | PAID. This letter is addressed: H Buxton Forman | 46 Marllborough street | St: John's wood | London | NW | England. It is postmarked: (?) | (?) 18 | 8 PM | PAID; LONDON, N.W. | (?) | (?). This letter was possibly written by the Scottish poet W. Craibe Angus. The letterhead address matches the address of Angus as listed in the Burns Exhibition publication (Burns Exhibition, 1896. Memorial catalogue of the Burns exhibition held in the galleries of the Royal Glasgow institute of the fine arts ... from 15th July till 31st October 1896. Glasgow: W. Hodge & Co., and T. & R. Annan & Sons). This letter has been torn in half vertically. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Camden | N.J.—. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | DEC 1 | 230PM | 91; 1; CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC 2 | 6AM | 91 | REC'D. Due to the absence of a date on the letter's surface, this letter has been dated via postmark. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | N.J. | U. S. America. It is postmarked: HASL[illegible]| B | AP11 | 91; NEW YORK | APR | 20; PAID | G | ALL; B | 91; CAMDEN, N.J. | APR | 20 | 3PM | 1891 | REC'D. Léon Richeton (1854–1934) was a painter and etcher. He often etched landscapes, and he copied works by other artists, including the English painter Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769–1830) and the English portrait painter Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788). Richeton produced works for P. G. Hamerton's artistic periodical The Portfolio and produced etched portraits of Thomas Carlyle (1870) and Walt Whitman (ca. 1880). Horace Traubel notes in his With Walt Whitman in Camden that, after reading this letter, Whitman said: "Now as I grow old—useless, helpless—I seem to come in great demand." Traubel writes that Whitman "was in doubt what to respond" to Blathwayt (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, May 7, 1891). This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | JUN23 | 8PM | 91; PHILADELPH(?) P A. | PAID. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | Camden | N. J.; Call Truth Seekers On 28 Lafayette St N.J. | Please forward. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | JUL 6 | 630PM | D; NEW [illegible] | JUL 8 | [illegible] PM | 91 | N. J.; D | 7-9-91 | 4-1[illegible] | N Y.; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUL | 7 | 9AM | 1891 | REC'D. Townley's letter to Whitman consists entirely of references to various biblical passages, including references to Acts, Matthew, John, Joel, and Psalms. This telegram is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle. The following information is printed on the recto of the envelope: Form 116. | Western Union Telegraph Co. | Pay no Charges to Messenger unless written in Ink in Delivery Book. The telegram has been labeled "No. 12" and the "Charges" have been marked as "Pd." The verso of the envelope includes the following printed information: NIGHT MESSAGES AT REDUCED RATES. | MONEY ORDERS BY TELEGRAPH. This address has been added with a stamp. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester R'd | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 7 | 5 PM | 92. The advertisement expressed Whitman's final words on his books: "Walt Whitman wishes respectfully to notify the public that the book LEAVES OF GRASS, which he has been working on at great intervals and partially issued for the past thirty-five or forty years, is now completed, so to call it, and he would like this new 1892 edition to absolutely supersede all previous ones. Faulty as it is, he decides it as by far his special and entire self-chosen poetic utterance." James W. Wallace wrote faithfully several times a week. On March 15, 1892, he addressed "my dearest friend, my comrade & father, dearest of all to my soul." His last letter on March 25, 1892 ended, as did the one three days earlier: "And here is a Kiss for you in token of all. / X / Your loving / Wallace." Whitman is referring to Johnston, the Bolton architect James W. Wallace, and the members of the Bolton College of English admirers of the poet, which Johnston and Wallace had founded. The Bolton College 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). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC 5 | 8 PM | 91; PHILADELPHIA, P.A. | DEC | 5 | [illegible] PM | 1891 | TRANSIT; London | PM | DE 7 | 91 | CANADA. See Whitman's letters to Bucke of November 12–14, 1891 and November 22, 1891, for more on the payment arrangements for the tomb. The receipt from P. Reinhalter & Company, the builders of the poet's tomb, read: "Received from Walt Whitman tenth of July, 1891 One thousand dollars cash, for the tomb in Harleigh Cemetery—making, including the sum of five hundred dollars (paid May 12 last) altogether to date the sum of fifteen hundred dollars which is hereby receipted"; see the Detroit Public Library's publication, An Exhibition of the Works of Walt Whitman, (Detroit: February and March 1955), 41. See Whitman's letters to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke of November 12–14, 1891 and November 22, 1891, for more on the payment arrangements for the tomb. The receipt from P. Reinhalter & Company, the builders of the poet's tomb, read: "Received from Walt Whitman tenth of July, 1891 One thousand dollars cash, for the tomb in Harleigh Cemetery—making, including the sum of five hundred dollars (paid May 12 last) altogether to date the sum of fifteen hundred dollars which is hereby receipted"; see the Detroit Public Library's publication, An Exhibition of the Works of Walt Whitman, (Detroit: February and March 1955), 41. 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. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of December 8, 1891. 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. 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." 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. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton | Lancashire England. It is posmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 11 | 12 M | 91; Philadelphia, Pa. | (?) | 3 PM | (?)d. Whitman may be referring to Johnston's letter of November 28, 1891 and Wallace's letter of the same date. On December 12, 1891, Ingersoll thanked Walt Whitman for an inscribed copy of Leaves of Grass, and observed: "The only objection I have to the book is that it purports to be finished—with you, while there is life there will be song. . . . While a grain of sand remains within the glass of time, there's something left unsaid that we, your friends, would gladly hear." See Ingersoll's letter to Whitman of December 12, 1891. Here Whitman attributes the emergence of his paralysis to time spent as a volunteer in the Civil War hospitals of Washington, D.C. In a Reconstruction-era letter sent to his brother Thomas Jefferson Whitman on February 8, 1873, Walt Whitman describes his paralysis in the years following his hospital work, writing: "I have not now the use of my limbs to move from one room to the other." This invitation is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman. In 1891, December 1 was on a Tuesday. The event to which this invitation refers must have occurred on Tuesday, December 1, 1891, and the invitation was almost certainly sent in advance of the day of the dinner. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is posmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 1 | 6 PM | (?). Johnston's letter of November 18, 1891 provided a sixteen-page report of Wallace's arrival in Bolton following his trip to visit Whitman in Camden and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke in London, Ontario, Canada. Whitman also mentions having received a letter from Wallace; Wallace had written to the poet on November 14, 1891 and November 20, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | DEC 2 | 10 M | H; H; [illegible] 91 | REC'D; CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC 2 | 4PM | 91 | REC'D. J. Armoy Knox (1851–1906) was the head of the Universal Knowledge and Information Bureau of New York, as well as an accomplished journalist. Knox was known for his work on the weekly humor magazine Texas Siftings. Here Forman reports on a lack of response from Wolcott Balestier as relating to his initial interest regarding the American copyright of Whitman's completed Leaves of Grass, of which Forman had waited for instructions upon. See Forman's November 8, 1891 letter to Whitman and Whitman's October 18, 1891 letter to Forman. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | United States of America. It is posmarked: LONDON, B.C. | 3 | NO27 | 91 | D; NEW YORK | DEC | 6; PAID | P | ALL; 91; CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC 7 | 6AM | 91 | REC'D. Here, Roberts reminisces about a Camden Ferry ride with Whitman during the centennial year of 1876. Riding this ferry had become a frequent, beloved activity of Whitman's since his move to Camden in 1873. See Whitman's letter to Susan Stafford on September 10, 1882 in which Whitman describes the profound connection he had to riding the ferry: "I don't know what I should do without the ferry, & river, & crossing, day & night—I believe my best times are nights—sometimes appear to have the river & boat all to myself—." This letter is addressed to Mr. Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Chicago, Ill. | Nov 25 | 230PM | 91; 14; Camden, N.J. | Nov 27 | 6AM | 91 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | N.J.. It is posmarked: FRIENDSHIP | 25 | NOV | 1891 | N.Y.; CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV29 | 6AM | 91 | REC'D. Here, Harry recounts his recent discovery on the learning of Walt Whitman's deteriorating health from newspapers. This newspaper article from November 8, 1891 published in The World shortly before Dwight's letter to Walt, Day with Walt Whitman explores intimate details of Whitman's life. It is possible that Dwight would have had this very article in mind. Although the correspondent name is Henry, it is indictated by the letter-head and signature that he was commonly known as Harry. John Russell Young had written to Whitman in 1891 to request his presence at a dinner on Tuesday, December 1st. In this letter, it is possible that Whitman is declining the invitation from Young, but the recipient of Whitman's letter remains uncertain. Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" The Illustrated American publication was a weekly photographic news magazine published at the Bible House in New York. The editor, writer, and politician Maurice Meyer Minton (1859–1926) founded The Illustrated American in 1890 and was editor and owner until 1894; Whitman appeared on the cover of the magazine in the April 19, 1890, issue. Little is known about this unidentified visitor that Whitman describes here as a "phrenologist." Phrenology was a nineteenth-century pseudoscience that was based in the belief that a person's character and mental faculties are related to the shape of their head. Phrenologists often measured the bumps on a person's skull in order to predict and describe their character and mental traits. Whitman received a phrenological examination in 1849 from brothers Lorenzo Niles Fowler (1811–1896) and Orson Squire Fowler (1809–1887) from the then Phrenological Cabinet in Clinton Hall in New York City, which was later known as Fowler and Wells. For more information, see Madeline B. Stern, "Fowler, Lorenzo Niles (1811–1896) and Orson Squire(1809–1887)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Edward Carpenter first published his poetry collection Towards Democracy in 1883. Both Towards Democracy and Leaves of Grass were similarly invoked within discussions of the democratic ideal in the weekly British socialist newspaper Labour Leader (1888–1986). (See Kirsten Harris, "The 'Labour Prophet'?: Representations of Walt Whitman in the British Nineteenth-Century Socialist Press." Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 30 (2013), 115–137). Whitman had written to Carpenter on October 20, 1891, and Carpenter may be referring to this letter. Here, Whitman is responding to Bucke's November 14, 1891, letter in which Bucke mentioned comparing the writings of William Shakespeare and Francis Bacon and referenced the Baconian theory of Shakespere authorship. Additionally, Bucke described his longing to spend time discussing the subject with Whitman's friend and defender William D. O'Connor (1832–1889), who had authored the book Hamlet's Note-book (Boston: Houghton & Mifflin, 1886), which argued that Sir Francis Bacon had written the plays attributed to Shakespeare. In 1888, regarding Hamlet's Note-book, Whitman admitted to Horace L. Traubel, "I have never read it myself" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, July 15, 1888). This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N J | Nov 4 | 8 PM | 91; London | PM | NO 6 | 91 | Canada. We have no information on this person, but Whitman did tell Horace Traubel about her: "I had visitors today—Stoddart, with a girl. Oh! A fine girl, a girl out of the West—from San Francisco, I think—a quick, chipper girl—a delight to me" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, November 4, 1891). At the time Whitman wrote this letter, Wallace was traveling back to England after his two-month journey in the U.S. and Canada, where he visited Whitman and many of Whitman’s friends, including a long stay at Richard Maurice Bucke's home in Canada. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada; It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV8 | 5 PM | 91; PHILADELPHIA, P.A. | NOV | 3 | 630PM | 1891 | TRANSIT; BUFFALO, N.Y. | NOV 9 | [illegible]M | 91 | TRANTSIT; LONDON | PM | NOV 9 | 91 | [illegible] This letter is addressed: John Russell Young | Union League | Philadelpha. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 7 | 6 AM | (?); Received | Nov | 7 | 7 30 AM | Phila. Little is known about Henry Hopkins. He was the author and publisher of the culturally important work, Handy notes and queries. A manual of useful information of especial importance to dealers in hardware, stoves and tinware, gas fitters' and plumbers' materials, as well as the various workers in the useful metals .. (1883). For more information on the book, see Handy notes and queries. A manual of useful information of especial importance to dealers in hardware, stoves and tinware, gas fitters' and plumbers' materials, as well as the various workers in the useful metals .., ed. Henry Hopkins (New York: Library of Congress, 1883). See Bucke's letter to Whitman of October 27, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A.. It is postmarked: LONDON | OCT 29 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT30 | 4 PM | 91 | REC'D. See Bernard O'Dowd's letter of August 31, 1891 to Whitman. May's father, the New York jeweler John H. Johnston, had recently written a letter to Whitman in which Johnston stated: "Alma and I are both just recovering from a hard cold, otherwise, all well." See Johnston's letter of October 13, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | OCT29 | 5 PM | D; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT30 | 6 AM | 91 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Dr. Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked Camden, N.J. | Jan 24 | 5 PM | 92 (?); London | PM | Ja 25 | 92 | Canada. On January 30, 1892, Horace Traubel wrote to the Bolton architect James W. Wallace: "He [Whitman] is greatly pleased that the Morse bust has reached you safely. He has many kind words to say of that piece of work, and really thinks that 'Our dear, dear Sidney,' as he spoke of him the other day, comes nearer the 'critter,' and is more faithful to the truth as it is in Whitman, than any other man who has attempted to 'do' him; and he moreover declares the figor and breth of Morse's work, quick with the instinct and generic quality of life. This is his last word on that head" (Traubel, Bucke, and Thomas Harned, ed., In Re Walt Whitman [Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893], 420). In the last months of the poet's life, Traubel kept Johnston, Wallace, and the members of the Bolton College of English Whitman admirers informed and answered their letters to the poet. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | NOV 13 | 530PM | 91; CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV14 | 6AM | 91 | REC'D. Redden is referencing an approximate address in Washington where he and Whitman met; the location is near Armory Square Hospital, which was the Civil War hospital Whitman visited most frequently in Washington, D.C. Because of Armory Square's location near a steamboat landing and railroad, it received the bulk of serious casualties from Virginia battlefields. At the end of the war it recorded the highest number of deaths among Washington hospitals. For more information on Whitman's volunteer work at Armory Square, see Martin G. Murray, "Traveling with the Wounded: Walt Whitman and Washington's Civil War Hospitals." This letter is addressed: Walt. Whitman, Esq., | Camden, | N.J. It is postmarked: LA.; CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV14 | 8 PM | 91 | REC'D. James W. Wallace mentions seeing Whitman "for a short time tomorrow" in his October 14, 1891 letter. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: BURLINGTON, VT. | NOV 16 | 4PM | 91; 1; N Y. | 11-17-91 | 9 AM; CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV17 | 4PM | 91 | REC'D. Colloquially referred to by Whitman as "the big book", Complete Poems & Prose (1888) includes three books (Leaves of Grass, Specimen Days and Collect, and November Boughs). On the verso leaf of this envelope, Horace L. Traubel has erased and crossed out some of his own writing. Additionally, Traubel has written a note to Whitman on the verso of the letter itself, as well as on both sides of the envelope. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey, | U. S. America. It is posmarked: CHORLEY | N | NO 14 | 91; NEW YORK | NOV | 24; [illegible]TON | 10 | 91 | [illegible]ANC.; PAID; CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV [illegible] | 4 PM | 91 | REC'D. In a letter sent from Dr. John Johnston to Walt Whitman on November 14, 1891, the same date of this letter from Wallace, Johnston iterated to Whitman that Wallace had sent him a telegram upon his arrival to Liverpool, inquiring "How's your health?". This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is posmarked: LONDON | PM | NO 14 | 91 | CANADA; PHILADELPHIA, P.A. | NOV | 15 | 4 PM | 1891 | TRANSIT; CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV16 | 6 PM | 91 | REC'D. Bucke is referring to the publication of Whitman's 1891–1892 "deathbed" edition of Leaves of Grass. The 1891–1892 Leaves of Grass was copyrighted in 1891 and published by Philadelphia publisher David McKay in 1892. This volume, often referred to as the "deathbed" edition, 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, Deathbed Edition," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). When Bucke mentions comparing William Shakespeare and Francis Bacon here, he is referencing the Baconian theory—the idea that Shakespeare's plays had been written by Francis Bacon. Bucke also mentions his longing to discuss the subject with Whitman's friend and defender William D. O'Connor (1832–1889), a Baconian theorist, who authored Hamlet's Note-book, in which he argued that Bacon had authored the play (Houghton , Mifflin & Co., 1886). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J.; PHILADELPHIA, P.A. | NOV | 18 | 730 PM | 91 | TRANSIT; BUFFALO, N.Y. | NOV 19; [illegible] Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: BINGHAMVILLE | AUG | 7 | 1891 | V T.; | CH[illegible]R | AUG | 7 | 1891 | V T.; | CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG | 9 | 9AM | 1891 | REC'D.; | CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG | 9 | 9AM | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U. S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | [illegible]6 | OC [illegible] | 91; Camden, N.J. | Oct 2[illegible] | 6 AM | 91 | Rec'd.; Paid | G | All.; G | 91; [illegible] | Oct | 29. The recto of the envelope is endorsed: "J J." Whitman wrote to Johnston on October 3, 1891 and October 6, 1891. Johnston is almost certainly referring to one of these letters. The Strand Magazine was a British montly magazine founded by the editor and publisher George Newnes (1851–1910). The magazine's run began in January of 1891 and extended well into the twentieth century, through March 1950. The Strand published short fiction and fiction series, as well as general interest factual articles. A line has been drawn through this letter in ink. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | MAR 22 | 5 PM | 91;London | MR 23 | 91 | CANADA. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: ROCHESTER | MAY | 18 | 1891 | MICH; N. Y. | 3-18-91 | 10 PM | 8; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAY| 20 | 5AM | 1891 | REC'D. As Greene noted in this letter, he has included several pages that are "composed of selections from [Whitman's] work sandwiched with Col. Ingersoll's." At the end of this line, the first that he has taken from Leaves of Grass, Greene writes the following citation that includes his source text and the page number: "Ed.—1860–1" 455. Each of Greene's page references appear in the right margin near or immediately following the quoted lines. All of Green's references are poems published in the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass. Calvin Harlow Greene (ca. 1817–1898) was a farmer, the owner of a saw mill, and a painter in Michigan. Heed Esther Burbank in 1842. Greene corresponded with the transcendentalist writer Henry Davis Thoreau and expressed an appreciation of Walden; or, Life in the Woods. He would later visit Concord and meet Thoreau's family. After his death, Greene's personal library was significant in forming the Rochester Public Library collection (Libraries in Michigan: an Historical Sketch," Michigan Library Bulletin [July–August, Supplement to Vol. 17, 1926], 11). This postal card is addressed: Talcott Williams | Office Press newspaper | Phila:. It is postmarked: CAMDEN| DEC 16 | 6 PM | 90; RECEIVED | DEC 16 | 830 PM | PHILA. In his December 8–9, 1890, letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke, Whitman noted that Talcott Williams of the Philadelphia Press had a stenographer present at Whitman's birthday celebration at Reisser's Restaurant in Philadelphia on May 31, 1889. The main speaker that evening was Col. Robert Ingersoll, who also had a conversation with Whitman on the subject of immortality—a conversation that the stenographer transcribed. Williams planned to type up the conversation and send copies to Whitman. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 13 | 8 PM | 91; London | [illegible] PM | JA 15 | 9[illegible] | Canada. In the address line of this letter's closing salutation, the word "Redbank" has been added in red ink. Whitman is likely referring to his poem "Ship Ahoy!," which was published in the Youth's Companion on March 12, 1891. At this time, Wallace was returning to his home in Bolton, Lancashire, England, after spending several weeks traveling in the United States and Canada. During his trip, Wallace visited Whitman in Camden, and, after spending a few days with the poet, Wallace traveled with the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke to Bucke's home in London, Ontario, Canada, where he met Bucke's family and friends. Wallace's November 14, 1891, letter to Whitman tells of his arrival to Liverpool the previous day, November 13, 1891. 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). At the time of this letter, Wallace had only recently returned to his home in Bolton, Lancashire, England, after spending several weeks traveling in the United States and Canada. During his trip, Wallace visited Whitman in Camden, and, after spending a few days with the poet, Wallace traveled with the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke to Bucke's home in London, Ontario, Canada, where he met Bucke's family and friends. Wallace's November 14, 1891, letter to Whitman tells of Wallace's safe arrival at Liverpool the previous day, November 13, 1891. 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). Wallace is referring to Dr. John Johnston's letter to Whitman of November 18, 1891. Johnston and numerous members of the Bolton College group of English Whitman admirers had held a reception in Wallace's honor upon his return from traveling in the United States and Canada. Johnston provided a detailed account of the festivities in his letter to Whitman. Wallace is referencing a Scottish proverb that means, "there are no friends like old friends." In Wallace's account of the time he spent with Whitman at Camden, he wrote, "Coleridge once replied when some one said that his soup was cold: 'Well, whether it is or not, it is better than I deserve!'" See James W. Wallace and Dr. John Johnston, Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1917), 133. Wentworth Dixon and his wife Mira (sometimes spelled "Myra") Jane Gregory Gerrad (1857–1931) were the parents of at least four children: Myra Dixon, Nora Dixon, Wentworth Dixon, and Ellen Dixon. According to the 1891 England Cenus, the Dixons' oldest daugher was Myra Dixon, who was nine at the time. See Whitman's October 18, 1891, letter to Forman. Walter Whitman, Sr. (1789–1855), married Louisa Van Velsor in 1816. Together they had nine children, the second of whom was his namesake and future poet, Walt Jr. Well-connected and politically radical, Walter's personality was rigid and stern, a temperament that alienated his poet son. The close relationship between Walt and his mother Louisa contributed to his liberal view of gender representation and his sense of comradeship. For more information on Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, see "Whitman, Louisa Van Velsor (1795–1873)." For more on Walter Sr., see "Whitman, Walter, Sr. (1789–1855)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman pasted this enclosed newpspaper article in the bottom right corner of the letter. He wrote the source information "Phil: Record Nov. 13 '91" at the bottom of the clipping in black ink. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St. | Camden | New Jersey. | U.S. America. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV 22 | 4 PM | 91 | REC'D. Johnston has written his initials "JJ." in the lower left corner of the front of the envelope. This letter is addressed to: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St. | Camden | N.J. | U.S. America. It is postmarked: LIMPSFIELD | 22 NOV; RED-HILL | A | NO22 | P6 | STATION-OFFICE; PAID | F | ALL; NEW YORK | DEC; CAMDEN, N.J. | 91 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U. S. America. It is postmarked: Chorley | N | NO 21 | 91; Higher Adlington | B | NO 21 | 91; Camden, N.J. | [illegible] | 9 AM | 91 | Rec'd; New York | Nov | 29; G | 91 | Paid | G | All. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U. S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 56 | NO 21 | 91; New York | NOV | 29; G | 91; Paid | D | All; Camden, N.J. | NOV 30 | 6 AM | 91 | Rec'd. On November 2, 1891, Arnold had paid a surprise visit to Whitman in Camden. 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 Arnold's visit, which Whitman and Traubel deemed an "interesting incident." The Literary World, published by S. R. Crocker in Boston, was a magazine devoted primarily to literary criticism. The magazine's run began in 1870 and continued until 1904, when it was incorporated in The Critic. A London edition of The Literary World was also published, and Johnston is almost certainly referring to this edition. Founded by the scholar and entrepreneur Charles Appleton (1841–1879), The Academy was a literature review published monthly in London at its inception in 1869 and, later, published as a weekly until 1902, when it merged with another periodical, entitled Literature. The Penny Illustrated Paper was an inexpensive weekly illustrated newspaper published in London from 1861 to 1913. Each issue included London news, often covering political and military happenings. In a letter to Whitman of October 28, 1891, Johnston describes the "Bolton Literary Society," as "consisting mainly of the (so called) upper class & of wh: our F.R.C. Hutton is President." F. R. C. Hutton was Reverend Frederick Robert Chapman Hutton (1856–1926) who was also the Vicar of St. George's Church, Bolton, and St. Paul's, Astley Bridge. Johnston has misdated the second part of this letter. When he began the letter, he was writing on Friday, November 20, 1891; the second part should be dated Saturday, November 21, 1891. This postal card is addressed: Mr Walter Whitman | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | NOV 23 | 530PM; CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV24 | 6 AM | 91 | REC'D. In With Walt Whitman in Camden, Horace Traubel notes that he looked at that week's issue of The Illustrated American to see the piece to which this correspondent directed Whitman's attention. He reported to Whitman, "Nothing there but a paragraph." To which Whitman responded, "I would not get the paper for that. It is hardly worth while. I suppose it contained nothing? [. . .] I am not at all curious. My days will get me over the bridge if I never see it!" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, November 25, 1891). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U. S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 56 | NO 25 | 91; New York | Dec | 5; A | 91; Paid | B | All; Camden, N.J. | Dec 5 | 3 PM | 91 | Rec'd. This letter is unidentified. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: CHICAGO, ILL. | NOV 25 | 230PM | 91; 14; CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV27 | 6 AM | 91 | REC'D. Charles Humphrey Roberts (1847–1911) was an Ohio-born patent and estate attorney in Chicago, Illinois. The book Roberts sent Whitman was likely his only novel, Down the O-hi-o (Chicago: A. C. McClurg, 1891), centering on the Quakers of Southwestern Ohio and the underground railroad. According to a review in the Chicago Tribune, "the author has made a careful study of the Quaker and his ways" (vol. 60 no. 73 [March 14 1891], 12). Roberts was working as an editor at the Cairo Bulletin when he died in 1911. For more information, see "Charles H. Roberts Dead" in The Inter Ocean (December 1, 1911), 2. Celia Laighton Thaxter (1835–1894) was an American poet and short story writer. The daughter of a Maine lighthouse keeper and hotelier, Thaxter's stories are often set in the American northeast and feature the Atlantic Ocean. Her works include Among the Isles of Shoals (Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1873) and An Island Garden (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1894). For more information, see Joseph Flibbert's entry on Thaxter in Encylopedia of American Literature of the Sea and Great Lakes, ed. Jill B. Gidmark (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2001), 441–442. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 329 Mickle Street | Camden New Jersey | United States of America. It is postmarked: LONDON. N.W. | 7 | NO 9 | 91; N | 18; NEW YORK; A | 91; PAID | G | ALL; PAID | G | All. There are two additional postmarks that are entirely illegible. On the recto of the envelope, Forman writes: "By North German Lloyd Steamer." One of the letters Forman is referring to is Whitman's letter of October 18, 1891. The additional letters have not been located. See Whitman's letter to Forman of October 29, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden N.J | U.S. America. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV 16 | 8 PM | 91 | REC'D; NEW YORK | NOV | 16; PAID | H | All; BOLTON | O | NO 7 | 91. Three of William D. O'Connor's stories with a preface by Whitman were published in Three Tales: The Ghost, The Brazen Android, The Carpenter (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1892). Whitman's preface was also included in Good-Bye My Fancy (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1891), 51–53. The Christian Commonwealth was a weekly newspaper edited by the pastor, educator, and historian William Thomas (W. T.) Moore (1832–1926). He also edited The Christian Quarterly (1869–1876). John Stuart Blackie (1809–1895) of Glasgow, Scotland, was a scholar, intellectual, and translator. Following the publication of his translation of Aeschylus in 1850, Blackie was appointed to the professorship of Greek at Edinborough University, a position he held for thirty years. During America's centennial celebration in 1876, Whitman reissued the fifth edition of Leaves of Grass in the repackaged form of a "Centennial Edition" and "Author's Edition," with most copies personally signed by the poet. For more information, see Frances E. Keuling-Stout, "Leaves of Grass, 1876, Author's Edition," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). At this time, Wallace was returning to England after traveling in the United States and Canada. Wallace visited both Whitman and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke in the fall of 1891. Johnston visited Whitman in the summer of 1890. Accounts of these visits can be found in Johnston and Wallace's Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917). At this time, Wallace was preparing to return to England after traveling in the United States and Canada. Wallace visited both Whitman and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke in the fall of 1891. Wallace's friend Dr. John Johnston, also of Bolton, England, had visited Whitman in the summer of 1890. Accounts of these visits can be found in Johnston and Wallace's Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917). Whitman gave Johnston not only the 1876 Centennial Edition of Leaves of Grass, but also the companion volume Two Rivulets (1876). For more information, see Johnston's letter of November 18, 1891. Wallace had just arrived in England after traveling in the United States and Canada. Wallace visited both Whitman and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke in the fall of 1891. Johnston visited Whitman in the summer of 1890. Accounts of these visits can be found in Johnston and Wallace's Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Seattle | Jun | 29 | 8 PM | 1891 | Wash.; Camden, N.J. | Jul | 6 | 6 AM | 1891 | Rec'd. Woodbury has written his return address on the left side of the front of the envelope as follows: "from Charles J Woodbury 123 Cal. St. San Francisco Cal." A series of mathematical sums have been written on the verso of the envelope. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. | It is postmarked: NEWARK, N.J. | AUG 22 | 10 PM | 91; CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG | 23 | 9 AM | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U. S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | [illegible]7 | DE 23 | 91; New York | JAN | 6; [illegible] | 92; Paid | F | All; Camden, N.J. | Jan 8 | 3 PM | [illegible] | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey | It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC? | 6 AM | 91 | RECD. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U S America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 56 | DE 30 | 91; New York | JAN 9; [illegible] | 92; Paid | K | All; Camden, N.J. | Jan 11 | 6 AM | 92 | Rec'd. Little is known about Mrs. Teare, who seems to have been the prorpietor of a boarding house and farm near the town of Peel on the Isle of Man. The Johnston family, as well as the Bolton architect James W. Wallace had stayed at Mrs. Teare's house during their visits to the Isle. For a description of the location of the Teare property, see Wallace's letter to Whitman of July 31–August 1, 1891. On December 17, 1891, Whitman had come 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. This letter arrived in Camden a couple of weeks before Whitman died. On December 17, 1891, Whitman had come 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. On December 17, 1891, Whitman had come 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. 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. On December 17, 1891, Whitman had come 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. Whitman's nurse Warren Fritzinger read this letter to the poet on March 25, 1892, the day before Whitman died (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, March 25, 1892). Johnston wrote this letter to Whitman on the day of the poet's death, March 26, 1892. The letter arrived in Camden, several days later, on April 3, 1892. George Inness (1825–1894) was a well-known American landscape painter, considered by many nineteenth-century art critics to be one of America’s greatest artists. Little is known about Mrs. Teare, who seems to have been the prorpietor of a boarding house and farm near the town of Peel on the Isle of Man. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | Camden. | N.J. It is postmarked: WASHINGTON, D. C. | JAN 6 | 11 AM | 1892; CAMDEN, N.J. | JAN [illegible] | 6 [illegible] | 92 | REC'D. Asenath C. Benedict included a calling card as an enclosure with this letter. Her name and address were printed on the card as follows: "Mrs. Newton Benedict" and the address "1633 Q St. N. W." Harry E. Boutelle included pressed seaweed as an enclosure with this letter. This correspondent is possibly Harrison Earl Boutelle (1856–1897) who was the son of the self-taught artist De Witt Clinton Boutelle (1820–1881) and his wife Frances Amelia Hildreth Boutelle (1827–1897). Harry Boutelle was a clerk and salesman in Philadelphia. Whitman wrote a letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke on February 8, 1892, on the back of one of the pages of this letter. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman,|328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey. | U.S. America It is postmarked: BOLTON | 32 | JA30 | 92; NEW YORK | [illegible] | 92; A | 92; PAID | E | All; CAMDEN, N.J. | FEB8 | 4PM | 92 | REC'D. There is a second Camden, N.J. postmark that is almost entirely illegible. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: [illegible] | JAN 23 | 630 PM | 92; CAMDEN, N.J. | JAN29 | 6AM | 92 | REC'D. James Creelman (1859–1915) of Canada was a Canadian-American writer who earned a famous interview with Mexican president Porfirio Díaz in 1908. Creelman held numerous jobs in the printing and newspaper industries, moving from the print shops of New York newspapers to work as a New York Herald repoter by the late 1870s. He worked a stint at the Evening Telegram and later covered the Sino-Japanese War for Joseph Pulitzer's New York World. He died unexpectedly in Germany in 1915, where he intended to cover the first World War. Everett N. Blanke (1861–1922) wrote educational pieces for The Brooklyn Daily Eagle before going on to work with the Chicago Inter-Ocean and the New York Herald. He became the secretary and treasurer of the Bankers and Lawyers Advertising Company of Manhattan. He and his wife, Isabelle Cutler Blanke, had three children. For more information on Blanke, see his obituary: "Everett N. Blanke Dies," The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (December 18, 1922), 3. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman,| Camden, | N.J. It is postmarked: New York | FEB6 | 3PM | 92; Camden, N.J. | FE 7 | 130[illegible] | 92 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | FEB 9 | [illegible]PM | 92; NY | 2-9-92 | 11PM; CAMDEN, NJ | FEB10 | 6AM | 92 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America It is postmarked: BOLTON | 31 | FE [illegible] | 92; NEW YORK | FEB | 24; PAID | C | All; D | 92; CAMDEN, N.J. | FEB 4 | 4PM | 92 | REC'D. According to Dr. John Johnston's February 27, 1892, letter to Whitman, facsimiles of Whitman's February 6–7 1892, letter to Johnston were sent to seventy of the poet's friends. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America It is postmarked: BOLTON | 50 | FE 17 | 92; BOLTON | 50 | FE 17 | 92; NEW YORK | FE [illegible] | 92; PAID | L | All | 92; CADEN, N.J. | FEB 25 | 6AM | 92 | REC'D. Walt Whitman Fritzinger (1891–1967) was the son of Harry Fritzinger (ca. 1866–?) and Rebecca Heisler (ca. 1874–?). He was the nephew of the poet's nurse Warren Fritzinger (1867–1899). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq— | Camden | N Jersey. It is postmarked: PHILADELPHIA, PA | JAN 18 | 2 AM | 92; PHILADELPHIA, PA | JAN 18 | 2 AM | 92 CAMDEN, N.J. | JAN18 | 6AM | 92 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: BOLTON | 56 | FE20; NEW YORK | FEB | 26 | C | 92; PAID | E | All; CAMDEN, N.J. | FEB29 | 6AM | 92 | RECD. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | USA. It is postmarked: BOLTON | S | FE 24 | 8PM | 92; BOLTON | S | FE 24 | 8PM | 92; BOLTON | S | FE 24 | 8PM | 92; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR 4 | 8 PM | 92 | REC'D. Max A. Wright was the editor of the Bolton Star, a weekly newspaper published in Bolton, Lancashire, England, from June 1891 until June 1892 (Archibald Sparke, ed., Bibliographia Boltonienses (Manchester: University of Manchester Press, 1913), 180. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman. | 328 Mickle St | Camden N.J. It is postmarked: Brooklyn, NY | MAR 1 | 9PM | 92; Camden, N.J. | MAR 2 | 6AM | 92 | Rec'd. William and Margaretta's surname "Avery" has been written on the left side of the recto of the envelope above a stamped letter "A." The Averys are likely referring to the family of Lillie and Priscilla Townsend, who were cousins of Whitman's mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (1795–1873). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America It is postmarked: Bolton | 43 | MR 2 | 92; [illegible] | Mar | 9; Paid | M | All; Camden, N.J. | MAR10 | 6AM | 92 | Rec'd. This letter card is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | N.J. | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | O | MR 2 | 92; Bolton | O | MR 2 | 92; E | 92; New York | Mar | 9; Paid | J | All; Camden, N.J. | MAR10 | 6AM | 92 | Rec'd. This letter card is addressed: Walt whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden. N.J. | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 56 | March 5 | 92; | Bolton | 56 | March 5 | 92; | New York | MAR 19; P | 92; | Paid | K | All; | Camden | MAR20 | 130 PM | 92 | REC'D. Wild is quoting from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, Act 4, scene 1, when Antonio is dying and says "I am armed and well prepared." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey. | U.S. America It is postmarked: Bolton | 32 | MR 9 | 92; | New York | MAR | 19 | 92; B | 92; [illegible] | All; Camden | MAR 20 | 130PM | 92 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328 Mickle Street | Camden, | N.J. | U.S. America It is postmarked: Camden, ? | MAR 20 | 130PM | 92 | RECD. With this letter, Forman enclosed a November 26, 1891, letter he had received from Arthur Waugh. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | United States of America It is postmarked: Camden, NJ | DEC7 | 6AM | 91 | RECD. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esqr | Camden | N.J. | (North America) | United States It is postmarked: NEW YORK | APR7 | 1030AM | 92. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey. | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Chorley | [illegible] | March 12 | 92; | Chorley | MAR 12 | 92; Bolton | [illegible] | MR12 | 92 | Lanc.; New York | MAR | 20; 92; Paid | H | All; Camden | MAR 21 | 92. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, NJ | MAR16 | 6AM | 92 | RECD. This letter was originally dated in 1893; however, given contextual references within the letter itself and that Whitman died late March of 1892, we allege that the sender, Albert C. Hopkins, didn't intend on writing posthumously, and that the letter was written in 1892. Albert C. Hopkins (1844–1904) was born in Wisconsin and became a partner in a dry goods business. He was a soldier in the American Civil War, and he was wounded in both shoulders, injuries from which he never fully recovered. In the 1880s he caught from typhoid fever and began suffering from mental illness. Hopkins went to Pine Ridge in December of 1890 and claimed to be a messiah to the Native Americans. At this time, the U.S. government was concerned about the increasing influence of the Ghost Dance spiritual movement on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota; under the mistaken impression that the Sioux chief Sitting Bull was a Ghost Dancer, reservation police on December 15 attempted to arrest him and killed him in the process. Hopkins went to Washington in 1893, requesting authority to visit the Sioux reservations and preach to them the motto and teaching of the pansy, "Union, Culture, and Peace" (James Mooney, The ghost-dance religion and the Sioux outbreak of 1890 [Washington: Government Printing Office, 1896], 893). Hopkins later served a term in the penitentiary for circulating theories of love, sex, and marriage through the mail that were deemed to be obsence by the courts; in 1899 the courts judged him to be insane and he was transferred to a soldier's home ("Hokpkins Adjudged Insane," Dakota Farmers Leader [August 18, 1899], 8). In the early 1900s, he moved to South Dakota, where he spent the final years of his life. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey. | U.S. America It is postmarked: BOLTON | 38 | MR 16 | 92; PAID | L | ALL; 92; CAMDEN, N.J. MAR24 | 6AM | 92 | REC'D. Wallace is here quoting from the final line of Whitman's poem "Full of Life Now" from the "Calamus" cluster. This letter was first addressed incorrectly as follows: Walt. Whitman | New ark | New Jersey. A line has been drawn through "New wark," and the city of Camden has been added on the envelope. This correction has been indicated on the envelope by a deficient address postmark, which reads as follows: DEFICIENCY | IN | ADDRESSS | SUPPLIED | BY | NEWARK [illegible]. This letter is postmarked: SPOKANE, WASH. | MAR17 | 1130AM | 92; NEWARK, N.J. | MAR22 | 530PM | 92; NEWARK, N.J. | MAR22 | 230PM | 92 | REC'D; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR23 | 6AM | 92 | REC'D. This letter arrived three days before Whitman's death on March 26, 1892. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | N.J | U.S. America It is postmarked: BOLTON [illegible]; PAID | ALL; [illegible] | 92; NEW YORK | MAR | 23; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR24 | 9AM | 92 | REC'D. Horace Traubel and Mary O. Davis, Whitman's housekeeper, hired an additional housekeeper to free Mrs. Davis to devote her attentions to caring for Whitman. Johnston here means Elizabeth Leavitt Keller (1839–1928), who was hired by Dr. Richard M. Bucke and Horace Traubel to be Whitman's fulltime nurse during his final illness. She began work on December 28, 1891, and, because of previous engagements, left on March 8, 1892, just a couple of weeks before Whitman's death. She describes her experiences in her book about Whitman's final years, Walt Whitman in Mickle Street (1921). This letter is addressed: Walt: Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: BROOKLYN, N.Y. | MAR18 | 530PM | 92; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR19 | 6AM | 92 | REC'D. This letter arrived a week before Whitman's death on March 26, 1892. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman, | Camden | N. Jersey. It is postmarked: [illegible] | Mar | 21 | | 430PM | [illegible] | N. Y.; N. Y. | 3-22-92 | 930AM; Camden, N.J. | MAR22 | 4PM | 92 | Rec'd. The envelope is printed with the following return address: "CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR." | NEW YORK STATE CONFERENCE | FRANK BIGELOW, | DISTRICT SECRETARY | MALONE, N. Y. This letter arrived four days before Whitman's death on March 26, 1892. Blake Theophilus Bigelow (1861–1906), born in Franklin County, New York, was the son of Andrew Frank Bigelow (1824–1887), a minister, and his wife Marion Albina Purmort Bigelow, who was a frequent contributor to Christian and Church periodicals. Blake Bigelow became a physician, and he practiced medicine in his hometown of Buffalo, New York, and in Nicaragua as part of the medical staff for the Nicaragua Canal Construction Company (Bigelow, "Some Comments," The Medical Brief [July 1895], 806–807). In 1892, he also served as the President of the Medical Society of the County of Franklin, in New York (Transactions of the Medical Society of the State of New York for the Year 1892 [Published by the Society, 1892], 470–471). Bigelow is referring to Whitman's "Song of Myself." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Poet | Camden Town | New Jersey. It is postmarked: WASHINGTON, D. C. | MAR 22 | 4-PM | 1892; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR23 | 6AM | 92 | RECD. This letter arrived three days before Whitman's death on March 26, 1892. Hay wrote this return address information in the top left corner on the front side of the envelope. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America It is postmarked: BOLTON | 45 | MR23 | 92; NEW YORK | APR | 1; B | 92; PAID | G | All; CAMDEN, N.J. | APR2 | 6AM | 92 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | N.J. | U.S. America It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | APR2 | 6AM | 92 | RECD. Johnston wrote this postal card to Whitman three days before the poet's death on March 26, 1892. It did not arrive in Camden until several days later, on April 2, 1892. Johnston wrote this postscript sideways in the left margin of this postal card. Johnston wrote this postscript sideways in the right margin of this postal card. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman. | Camden, | N.J. It is postmarked: ? | MAR2? | 6AM | 92 This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America It is postmarked: ? | APR8 | ?PM | 92 | RECD. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | N.J | US America It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | APR3 | 130PM | 92 | RECD. On August 25, 1889, Henry Alden, the editor of Harper's New Monthly Magazine, requested a poem. Whitman sent "Death's Valley," and was paid $25 on September 1, 1889 ((Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). When the poem was published in the April 1892 issue of the magazine, it accompanied an engraving of George Inness' "The Valley of the Shadow of Death" (1867); see LeRoy Ireland, The Works of George Inness (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1965), 98–99. The frontispiece of the magazine that month was an engraving by William Kurtz (1833–1904) based on a photograph of John W. Alexander's portrait of Whitman, and above the poem appeared a more recent sketch of the poet by Alexander. A partial facsimile of the manuscript of this poem is published in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, May 30, 1889. See also "Death's Valley" (loc.00189) in the Integrated Catalog of Walt Whitman's Literary manuscripts. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U. S. A. It is postmarked: DORKING | C | SP26 | 91; 257; NEW YORK | OCT | 5; 91; PAID | B | ALL; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT 6 | 6 AM | 91 | REC'D. Accompanying this letter, Felix Volkhovsky has enclosed the September 1890 edition of the Free Russia newspaper. Felix Volkhovsky (1846–1914) was a Russian ex-patriate and journalist. In the 1860s, Volkhovsky became involved with revolutionary political movements and was later imprisoned in a Siberian prison camp for his anti-Tsarist activity. After escaping Siberia, Volkhovsky settled in England where he began translating revolutionary literature and contributing to various newspapers and journals. He was editor of the political magazine, Free Russia, and author of a collection of fairy tales, A China Cup and other Stories for Children (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1892). His papers are currently held at the Hoover Institution Archives at Stanford University. For more information on Volkhovsky, see Rebecca Beasley, Russomania: Russian Culture and the Creation of British Modernism, 1881–1922 (Oxford University Press, 2020), 46–63. Horace Traubel records Whitman receiving this letter in With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, October 6, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. It is postmarked: LONDON | SP 28 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP 29 | 4PM | 91 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT1 | 6PM | 91 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | US It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT 8 | 4PM | 91 | REC'D. Wallace has written the following in the bottom left corner of the recto of the envelope: From J W. Wallace | Fenelon Falls | Ontario | Canada. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: BELMONT | SEP | 21 | 1891 | MASS.; CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP2[illegible] | 9AM | 91 | RECD. Mary (Mayme) Kennedy Foote (1858–1933) was the daughter of Rev. William Sloane Kennedy and his wife Sarah Elizabeth (Woodruff) Kennedy, and she was the younger sister of Whitman's friend and defender William Sloane Kennedy (1850–1929). Mary Kennedy was married to DeVillo C. Foote (1854–1927), a salesman who sold weather strips. The couple lived in Ohio. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. It is postmarked: LONDON | [illegible] | SP 19 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP21 | 6 AM | 91 | REC'D. With this letter Wallace enclosed a newspaper article titled "A Brave Deed" that he had clipped from the September 12, 1890, issue, of the Manchester Weekly Times. He wrote the name and date of the newspaper from which he clipped the article at the bottom of the first page of the clipping in black ink. Alfred Thomas Gurd (1846–1919)—a relative of Bucke's wife Jessie Maria Gurd Bucke (1839–1926)—was a farmer, an independent oil producer, and a politician from Ontario. He represented the consitituency of Lambton West from 1894 to 1898, and he was a member of the anti-Catholic Protestant Protective Association. He also served as mayor of Petrolia, Ontario, in the early 1890s. Later, Gurd moved to Oklahoma, where he continued his work in the oil industry. Alfred Thomas Gurd married Dell Shaw in 1879. The couple were the parents of five children. Bucke claimed in 1872 that a reading of Leaves of Grass led him to experience "cosmic consciousness" and an overwhelming sense of epiphany. Later, in his book Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind (Philadelphia: Innes and Sons, 1905), Bucke discussed the profound awareness or state of "cosmic consciousness" that he believed was achieved by such persons as Buddha, Jesus, Dante, and Whitman, among others. For more on Bucke and his theories of consciousness, see Matthew Ignoffo, "Cosmic Consciousness," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey. | U.S. America It is postmarked: CAMD(?) | (?) | (?) | (?) | (?) This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | JUN | 7 | 4 PM | 1891 | REC'D; New York | Jun | 91; Paid | J | All.; Bolton | 56 | MY 30 | 91. Whitman's 72nd (and last) birthday was May 31, 1891. Wallace's closing and signature are written in the left margin of the fourth page of the letter This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | JUN1 | 6AM | 1891 | REC'D. There is a Washington, D. C. postmark on the postal card, but it is only partially visible. O'Connor wrote this postal card to send Whitman greetings and best wishes on the occasion of his seventy-second (and last) birthday on May 31, 1891. The day was celebrated with friends at Whitman's home on Mickle Street. See Whitman's letter to Wallace of May 23, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: (?)MDEN, N.J. | JUN4 | 6AM | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Harry L Stafford | Ashland | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | JUN 10 | 6AM | 91. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: BOLTON | 42 | JU 10 | 91; PAID | F | All; 91; NEW YORK | JUN 19; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUN | 20 | 6P M | 1891 | REC'D. See Whitman's letter to Wallace of May 28, 1891. See Dixon's letter to Whitman of June 13, 1891. Wallace is referring to Horatio, a character in William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. Horatio remains at court without an offical appointment and serves as a loyal friend to Hamlet. Horatio is the only main character that survives, and he is entrusted to tell Hamlet's story. Wallace is quoting from Section 47 of Whitman's "Song of Myself," in which the poet writes, "My words itch at your ears till you understand them." Wallace is quoting from Section 30 of Whitman's "Song of Myself," which includes the line "Logic and sermons never convince." Founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the third century BC, Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that emphasized ethics as the central focus of human knowledge. Among the teachings of Stoicism is the concept that one must overcome destructive emotions through self-control. Prominent Stoics included Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus. This postal card is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont | Mass. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | MAR25 | 8 PM | 91. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | U.S.A. | New Jersey. It is postmarked: CAMDEN (?) | JUN12 | 6PM | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: WASHINGTON, D.C. | JUN 15 | 7-AM | 1891; WASHINGTON, D.C. | JUN 15 | 7-AM | 1891; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUN | 15 | 3 PM | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St. | Camden N.J. | U. S. America. It is postmarked: HALSEMERE | AU 8 | 91; NEW YORK | Aug | 19 | [illegible] | All | 91; CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG | 20 | 6AM | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | SP 14 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP15 | 4PM | 91 | REC'D. Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" Whitman wrote this postscript in the top right corner of the letter. Whitman may be referring to Kennedy's letter of July 4, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC | 24 | 6PM | 1890 | Rec'd; GTWESTNRWYSTATN | PM | DE23 | 90 | LONDON, CAN. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of December 18–20, 1890. Bucke has written this postscript sideways in red ink in the top margin of the letter over the printed letterhead. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, NJ | JAN20 | 12PM | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | JA 19 | 91 | 91 | CANADA. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | JA 23 | 91 | C[ANA]DA. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | London Asylum | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, NJ | FEB19 | 6PM | 91. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | JAN | 30 | 12 M | 1891 | REC'D; LONDON | PM | JA [illegible]8 | 91 | CANADA. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | FEB | 4 | 4PM | 1891 | [illegible], LONDON | PM | FE 2 | 91 | CANADA; PHILADELPHIA | FEB | 4 | 230PM | 1681 | TRANSIT; RECIEVED | FEB | 4 | 1 PM | PHILA. There is one additional postmark on the front of the envelope, but only part of the word "RECEIVED" is legible. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | FE 5 | 91 | CANADA; N Y | 2-4-91 | 10 30AM; CAMDEN, N.J. | FEB 4 | 6 AM | 91. Wallace wrote Whitman on January 23, 1891; Whitman may be referring to this letter. Bucke is referring to Whitman's letter of January 17, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | FEB | 6 | 6AM | 1891 | REC'D; [illegible] | [illegible] | [illegible] | 91 | CANADA. Cook wrote Whitman a second letter, also requesting his autograph, a few months later. See Cook's letter of September 25, 1889. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | FE 6 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | FEB | 8 | 4PM | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | FEB9 | 6AM | 1891 | REC'D. Bucke enclosed a letter from John Addington Symonds to the Bolton physician Dr. John Johnston dated December 22, 1890. Bucke continues this letter in red ink at the top of the page. Carpenter had written to Whitman on December 11, 1890. This may be the letter Whitman had enclosed with his February 4, 1891, letter to Bucke. At this time, Bucke was certain that the manufacturing of the long-delayed meters was imminent, and his abbreviation "ms." refers to meters. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | FEB | 10 | 12 M | 1891 | REC'D, LONDON | AM | FE 9 | 91 | CANADA This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | FE 9 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | FEB 11 | 12M | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | N.J. | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | P[illegible] | FEB 14 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | FEB 16 | 12M | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | FEB | 23 | 6AM | 1891 | REC'(?), LON[illegible] | F[illegible] 21 | | CA[illegible]A. Erastus Wiman (1834–1904) was a Canadian journalist and businessman who moved to the U.S. and developed large parts of Staten Island. He was a vocal supporter of reciprocity (or free trade) between Canada and the U.S., and in 1887 he published his book Commercial Union Between the United States and Canada. Bucke agreed with Wiman's views. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | FEB | 24 | 1 PM | 1891 | REC'D, LONDON | AM | FE 23 | 91 | CANADA. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | FE 27 | 91 | CANADA; NY | 2-28-91 | 230 PM | 12; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR [illegible] | [illegible] PM | 1891 | REC'D; [illegible] | 12. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | MR 2 | 91 | CANADA; Camden, N.J. | [illegible] | [illegible] | 1PM | 1891 | REC'D. There are two additional illegible postmarks on the verso of the envelope. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | MR 3 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR | 5 [illegible] PM | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | MR | 9 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR | 10 | 1 PM | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | MR [illegible] | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR | [illegible] | 12 M | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | MR27 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR30 | 6AM | 1891 | REC'D. The Latin phrase "nil desperandum" means no need to despair. Bucke is referring to Whitman's postal card of March 23, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | MR 31 | 91 | CANADA; NY | 4-1-31 | 830 AM | 7; CAMDEN, N.J. | APR | 1 | 4 PM | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | AP 13 | 91 | CANADA.; CAMDEN, N.J. | APR | 15 | 1PM | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LOND(?) | P(?) | A(?)14 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | APR | 1(?) | (?)M | 1891 | REC'D. Bucke is referring to Whitman's postal card of April 11, 1891 and Whitman's letter of April 12, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | AP 17 | 91 | CANADA.; N Y | 4-18-91 | 8AM | [illegible]; CAMDEN, N.J. | APR | 1[illegible] | [illegible] | 91 | REC'D. Sir Henry Rider Haggard (1856–1925), often referred to as "H. Rider Haggard," was an English writer from Bradenham, Norfolk, England. Haggard is known as a writer of adventure fiction set primarily in Africa; he authored such notable works as King Solomon's Mines (1885) and She: A History of Adventure (1887). Haggard and the Scottish novelist and literary critic Andrew Lang (1844–1912) published a fantasy novel entitled The World's Desire in 1890. The novel continues the story of Odysseus, hero of Homer's ancient Greek epic poem The Odyssey, by detailing Odysseus' voyage to find Helen of Troy, who is described througout the novel as his "Heart's Desire." Educated at Eton College and Magdalen College, Oxford, Goldwin Smith (1823–1910), was a British historian and journalist. In the 1860s, he taught at Cornell University in New York. He was the author of numerous works on a wide range of subjects from the American Civil War and European political history to the life of the English novelist Jane Austen. Smith's book Canada and the Canadian Question was published in 1891, in which he discussed Canada in the nineteenth century and his belief that Canada and the United States could merge into a single country. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | AP 20 | 91 | CANADA.; CAMDEN, N.J. | APR | 21 | 12PM | 1891 | REC'D. See Whitman's postal card to Bucke of April 16, 1891. In his April 13, 1891, letter to Whitman, Bucke had also reported that his foot, which had been sore for a couple of weeks, had become inflamed. In his April 13, 1891, letter to Whitman, Bucke had reported that his foot, which had been sore for a couple of weeks, had become inflamed. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | AP 24 | 91 | CANADA.; CAMDEN, N.J. | APR | 27 | 6AM | 1891 | REC'D. In his April 13, 1891, letter to Whitman, Bucke writes that his foot, which had been sore for a couple of weeks, had become inflamed. He goes on to note that he was "confined" in his room while his foot was "mending." See Whitman's letter to Bucke of April 21, 1891. Whitman's essay "Old Actors, Singers, Shows, &c., in New York" appeared in Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). Whitman had proofs printed up for an early draft of the piece (and these are apparently what he has sent Bucke), but there is no record of its having been published before its appearance in Good-Bye. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | [illegible] | AP 30 | 91 | CANADA.; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAY | 2 | 1PM | 1891 | REC'D. Bucke experienced a series of accidents and bouts with illness in the winter of 1890 and spring of 1891. He dislocated his shoulder as the result of a fall in December 1890. See Bucke's letter of December 25, 1890, to Whitman's biographer and literary executor Horace Traubel, which is reprinted in With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, December 27, 1890. In his April 13, 1891, letter to Whitman, Bucke writes that his foot, which had been sore for a couple of weeks, had become inflamed. He goes on to note that he was "confined" in his room while his foot was "mending," and he also explains that the "grip" he had suffered in late January seemed to have lingering symptoms that he continued to experience. From June 3 to September 29, 1880, Bucke traveled with Whitman from the poet's home in Camden to Bucke's residence near London, Ontario, Canada. After spending the summer on the grounds of the Asylum for the Insane, the two went on an extended trip that included journeying by railroad to Toronto and taking a steamship on Lake Ontario before going to Chicoutimi, Quebec, on the Saguenay River. On the return journey, Bucke traveled with Whitman as far as Niagara, at which point the poet retuned to New Jersey on his own. Wallace means that he is staying in the same room as Whitman did when the poet was a guest at Bucke's home in 1880. From June 3 to September 29, 1880, Bucke traveled with Whitman from the poet's home in Camden to Bucke's residence near London, Ontario, Canada. After spending the summer on the grounds of the Asylum for the Insane, the two went on an extended trip that included journeying by railroad to Toronto and taking a steamship on Lake Ontario before going to Chicoutimi, Quebec, on the Saguenay River. On the return journey, Bucke traveled with Whitman as far as Niagara, at which point the poet retuned to New Jersey on his own. Bucke experienced a series of accidents and bouts with illness in the winter of 1890 and spring of 1891. He dislocated his shoulder as the result of a fall in December 1890. See Bucke's letter of December 25, 1890 to Whitman's biographer and literary executor Horace Traubel, which is reprinted in With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, December 27, 1890. In his April 13, 1891, letter to Whitman, Bucke also explains that the "grip" he had suffered in late January seemed to have lingering symptoms that he continued to experience. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | MY 4 | 91 | CANADA.; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAY | 5 | 1 PM | 1891 | REC'D. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of April 29, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM) | MY 5 | 91 | CANADA.; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAY | 6 | 4[illegible] | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | MY 7 | 91 | CANADA.; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAY | 9 | 1PM | 1891 | REC'D. Bucke meant that he was planning to visit Whitman on or around May 31, 1891—Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday. The occasion was celebrated with friends at Whitman's home on Mickle Street. Bucke wanted to visit Whitman on or around May, 31, 1891—Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday. The occasion was celebrated with friends at Whitman's home on Mickle Street. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | [illegible] | MY 11 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAY | 12 | 4 PM | 1891 | REC'D. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of May 7, 1891. In Bucke's May 7, 1891, letter to Whitman, Bucke mentioned having received the New England Magazine and having read Horace Traubel's article, "Walt Whitman at Date," published in the May 1891 issue of the magazine. For Traubel's article, see New England Magazine 4.3 (May 1891), 275–292. The article is also reprinted in the first appendix of the eighth volume of Traubel's With Walt Whitman in Camden. Whitman has sent the May issue of the New England Magazine, which contained Horace Traubel's article, "Walt Whitman at Date." For Traubel's article, see New England Magazine 4.3 (May 1891), 275–292. The article is also reprinted in the first appendix of the eighth volume of Traubel's With Walt Whitman in Camden. Kennedy is referring to the the May 1891 issue of the New England Magazine, which contained Horace Traubel's article, "Walt Whitman at Date." For Traubel's article, see New England Magazine 4.3 (May 1891), 275–292. The article is also reprinted in the first appendix of the eighth volume of Traubel's With Walt Whitman in Camden. Edwin Doak Mead (1849–1937) was an editor and author who edited the New England Magazine from 1889 to 1901; his work is credited with helping spark the Progressive Era. The New England Magazine was a monthly literary magazine published in Boston. The magazine was issued under the title of The Bay State Monthly from 1884 to 1886. Boston lecturer and writer Edwin Doak Mead (1849–1937) was the edtior of The New England Magazine from 1889 to 1901. Whitman is referring to the May 1891 issue of the New England Magazine, which contained Horace Traubel's article, "Walt Whitman at Date." For Traubel's article, see New England Magazine 4.3 (May 1891), 275–292. The article is also reprinted in the first appendix of the eighth volume of Traubel's With Walt Whitman in Camden. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of May 8, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | MY 18 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAY | 19 | 6PM | 1891 | REC'D. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of April 14, 1891. In his April 14, 1891, letter to Bucke, Whitman sent a letter he had received from Dr. John Johnston of Bolton, England to Bucke as an enclosure. The enclosure may have been Johnston's letter to Whitman of May 6, 1891. In Whitman's letter to Bucke of May 14, 1891, the poet writes that Horace Traubel has just sent Bucke "a full set (66p) 'Good-Bye' annex." Whitman's book Good-Bye My Fancy (1891) was his last miscellany, and it included both poetry and short prose works commenting on poetry, aging, and death, among other topics. Thirty-one poems from the book were later printed as "Good-Bye my Fancy 2d Annex" to Leaves of Grass (1891–1892), the last edition of Leaves of Grass published before Whitman's death in March 1892. For more information see, Donald Barlow Stauffer, "'Good-Bye my Fancy' (Second Annex) (1891)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman is referring to the proofs for his book Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). In his letter to Bucke of May 14, 1891, the poet writes that Horace Traubel has also just sent Bucke "a full set (66p) 'Good-Bye' annex." Good-Bye My Fancy (1891) was Whitman's last miscellany, and it included both poetry and short prose works commenting on poetry, aging, and death, among other topics. Thirty-one poems from the book were later printed as "Good-Bye my Fancy 2d Annex" to Leaves of Grass (1891–1892), the last edition of Leaves of Grass published before Whitman's death in March 1892. For more information see, Donald Barlow Stauffer, "'Good-Bye my Fancy' (Second Annex) (1891)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman is referring to the proofs for his book Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). In his letter to Bucke of April 14, 1891, the poet writes that Horace Traubel has just sent Bucke "a full set (66p) 'Good-Bye' annex." Good-Bye My Fancy (1891) was Whitman's last miscellany, and it included both poetry and short prose works commenting on poetry, aging, and death, among other topics. Thirty-one poems from the book were later printed as "Good-Bye my Fancy 2d Annex" to Leaves of Grass (1891–1892), the last edition of Leaves of Grass published before Whitman's death in March 1892. For more information see, Donald Barlow Stauffer, "'Good-Bye my Fancy' (Second Annex) (1891)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Arbutus are small trees or shrubs with red bark and edible red berries. In his April 13, 1891, letter to Whitman, Bucke writes that his foot, which had been sore for a couple of weeks, had become inflamed. Bucke's foot was still healing, and is the reason for his lameness. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | [illegible] | MY 20 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAY | 22 | 12 PM | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Belmont | MAY | 21 | 1891 | MASS; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAY | 22 | 9 AM | 1891 | REC'D. Kennedy is referring to the proofs for Whitman's book Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). Good-Bye My Fancy (1891) was Whitman's last miscellany, and it included both poetry and short prose works commenting on poetry, aging, and death, among other topics. Thirty-one poems from the book were later printed as "Good-Bye my Fancy 2d Annex" to Leaves of Grass (1891–1892), the last edition of Leaves of Grass published before Whitman's death in March 1892. For more information see, Donald Barlow Stauffer, "'Good-Bye my Fancy' (Second Annex) (1891)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Kennedy is referring to Whitman's poem, "To the Sunset Breeze," which was first published in Lippincott's in December 1890 and reprinted in Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: GTWESTNRWYSTAT | AM | MY25 | 91 | LONDON,CAN.; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAY | 27 | 12PM | 1891 | REC'D. Bucke is referring to his brother Philip Eustace Bucke (b. 1831), who would have been sixty years old in 1891. Bucke and his wife Jessie Maria Gurd Bucke (1839–1926) had eight children. The youngest was Robert Walpole Bucke (1881–1923). Bucke and his wife Jessie Maria Gurd Bucke (1839–1926) had eight children. Whitman's biographer and disciple Horace Traubel had recently sent Bucke a set of proofs—"a full set (66p) 'Good-Bye' annex." See Whitman's letter to Bucke of April 14, 1891. Whitman's book Good-Bye My Fancy (1891) was his last miscellany, and it included both poetry and short prose works commenting on poetry, aging, and death, among other topics. Thirty-one poems from the book were later printed as "Good-Bye my Fancy 2d Annex" to Leaves of Grass (1891–1892), the last edition of Leaves of Grass published before Whitman's death in March 1892. For more information see, Donald Barlow Stauffer, "'Good-Bye my Fancy' (Second Annex) (1891)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Traubel had recently sent Bucke a set of proofs—"a full set (66p) 'Good-Bye' annex." See Whitman's letter to Bucke of April 14, 1891. Whitman's book Good-Bye My Fancy (1891) was his last miscellany, and it included both poetry and short prose works commenting on poetry, aging, and death, among other topics. Thirty-one poems from the book were later printed as "Good-Bye my Fancy 2d Annex" to Leaves of Grass (1891–1892), the last edition of Leaves of Grass published before Whitman's death in March 1892. For more information see, Donald Barlow Stauffer, "'Good-Bye my Fancy' (Second Annex) (1891)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman would have Horace Traubel send Bucke a set of proofs—"a full set (66p) 'Good-Bye' annex" in May 1891. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of May 14, 1891. Bucke writes the final part of the letter in red ink at the top of the page. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: [illegible] | [illegible] | 26 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAY | 27 | [illegible]PM | 1891 | REC'D. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of May 23, 1891. Whitman wrote this note for Horace Traubel on the envelope in which Whitman received the letter. Traubel mentions the note in in his With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, May 27, 1891. Kennedy's criticism from the May 21, 1891, issue of the Boston Transcript is reprinted in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, May 23, 1891. This letter was misdated as "8 May 1891." The correct date is "8 June 1891." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | JU8 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUN | 10 | 6AM | 1891 | REC'D. Horace Traubel married Anne Montgomerie on May 28, 1891 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). After Whitman's birthday celebration on May 31, 1891, the couple traveled with Bucke back to London, Ontario, where they stayed until returning to Camden, New Jersey, on June 14. Horace Traubel married Anne Montgomerie on May 28, 1891 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). After Whitman's birthday celebration on May 31, 1891, the couple traveled with the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke back to London, Ontario, where they stayed until returning to Camden, New Jersey, on June 14. Horace Traubel married Anne Montgomerie on May 28, 1891 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). After Whitman's birthday celebration on May 31, 1891, Horace Traubel and his wife traveled with Bucke back to London, Ontario, where they stayed until returning to Camden, New Jersey, on June 14. P. E. (Percy) Bucke was one of Richard Maurice Bucke's brothers. P. E. Bucke had married Sarah Sidney Rothwell Bucke in January 1857. See Whitman's letters to Bucke of June 4, 1891 and June 5, 1891. At the time of this letter, Horace Traubel and his wife Anne Mongomerie, were visiting the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke at Bucke's home in London, Ontario, Canada. The couple returned to Camden, New Jersey, on June 14. See Whitman's postal card to Bucke of June 9, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | JU10 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUN | 12 | 1PM | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is from Horace Traubel and was written during his visit to Richard Maurice Bucke. Bucke is referring to Whitman's postal card of June 7, 1891. Horace Traubel's article "Walt Whitman's Birthday, May 31, 1891," was published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in August 1891. It offered a detailed account of Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday, which was celebrated with friends at the poet's home on Mickle Street. Traubel's article "Walt Whitman's Birthday, May 31, 1891," was published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in August 1891. It was a detailed account of Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday, which was celebrated with friends at the poet's home on Mickle Street. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | [illegible] | JU 11 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUN | 12 | 6PM | 1891 | REC'D. See Whitman's June 9, 1891, postal card to Bucke. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | JU 15 | [illegible] | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUN | 16 | 12PM | 1891 | REC'D. Horace Traubel and Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke were beginning to make plans for a collected volume of writings by and about Whitman. Bucke, Traubel, and Thomas Harned—Whitman's three literary executors—edited In Re Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), which included the three unsigned reviews of the first edition of Leaves of Grass that were written by Whitman himself, William Sloane Kennedy's article, "Dutch Traits of Walt Whitman," and Robert Ingersoll's lecture Liberty in Literature (delivered in honor of Whitman at Philadelphia's Horticultural Hall on October 21, 1890), as well as writings by the naturalist John Burroughs and by James W. Wallace, a co-founder of the Bolton Whitman Fellowship in Bolton, England. Horace Traubel and Bucke were beginning to make plans for a collected volume of writings by and about Whitman. Bucke, Traubel, and Thomas Harned—Whitman's three literary executors—edited In Re Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), which included the three unsigned reviews of the first edition of Leaves of Grass that were written by Whitman himself, William Sloane Kennedy's article, "Dutch Traits of Walt Whitman," and Robert Ingersoll's lecture Liberty in Literature (delivered in honor of Whitman at Philadelphia's Horticultural Hall on October 21, 1890), as well as writings by the naturalist John Burroughs and by James W. Wallace, a co-founder of the Bolton Whitman Fellowship in Bolton, England. Traubel and Bucke were beginning to make plans for a collected volume of writings by and about Whitman. Bucke, Traubel, and Thomas Harned—Whitman's three literary executors—edited In Re Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), which included the three unsigned reviews of the first edition of Leaves of Grass that were written by Whitman himself, William Sloane Kennedy's article, "Dutch Traits of Walt Whitman," and Robert Ingersoll's lecture Liberty in Literature (delivered in honor of Whitman at Philadelphia's Horticultural Hall on October 21, 1890), as well as writings by the naturalist John Burroughs and by James W. Wallace, a co-founder of the Bolton Whitman Fellowship in Bolton, England. Bucke is referring to the three unsigned reviews of the first edition of Leaves of Grass that were written by Whitman himself. "Walt Whitman and His Poems" was published in The United States Review in September 1855, "An English and American Poet" was published in the American Phrenological Journal in October 1855, and "Walt Whitman, a Brooklyn Boy," was published in The Brooklyn Daily Times on September 29, 1855. After Horace and Anne married on May 28, 1891, the couple then traveled to London, Ontario, Canada with Bucke (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). They returned to Camden on June 14. Horace Traubel's "Walt Whitman's Birthday, May 31, 1891," an account of Whitman's 72nd (and last) birthday, was published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in August 1891. The account was later published as "Round Table with Walt Whitman" in Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas B. Harned, ed., In Re Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), 297–328. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of June 11, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | [illegible] | JU 16 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUN | 18 | 6AM | 1891 | REC'D. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of June 13–14, 1891. "Walt Whitman's Last," an "explanation" of his book Good-Bye My Fancy (1891), was published in the August 1891 issue of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. Horace Traubel's article "Walt Whitman's Birthday, May 31, 1891"—a detailed account of the poet's seventy-second (and last) birthday—was also published in this issue. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | JU22 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUN | 23 | 12PM | 1891 | REC'D. See Whitman's postal card to Bucke of June 18, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | JU 23 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUN | 25 | 4PM | 1891 | REC'D. John Dane, Jr., was the lawyer Bucke retained to look after meter interests in the U.S.; his office was at 261 Broadway, New York City. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | [illegible] | JU 26 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUN | 29 | 6AM | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | JU 29 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUN | 30 | 12PM | 1891 | REC'D. Bucke incorrectly dated this letter "28 July 1891." The correct date is "28 June 1891," as Bucke notes that he leaves soon for England—on July 8, 1891—in his letter. Bucke is referring to Whitman's June 1, 1891, letter to Dr. John Johnston of Bolton, England, a co-founder of the Bolton College of Whitman admirers. The letter included Whitman's description of his birthday dinner. Whitman is referring to his June 1, 1891, letter to Johnston, which included Whitman's description of his seventy-second birthday dinner. Johnston had a facsimile of the letter made, and he distributed copies to many of Whitman's friends and admirers. See Johnston's letter to Whitman of June 11, 1891. Wallace is referring to Whitman's June 1, 1891, letter to the Bolton physician Dr. John Johnston, which included Whitman's description of his seventy-second birthday dinner. Johnston had a facsimile of the letter made, and he distributed copies to many of Whitman's friends and admirers. See Johnston's letter to Whitman of June 11, 1891. Johnston had a facsimile of the letter made, and he distributed copies to many of Whitman's friends and admirers. See Johnston's letter to Whitman of June 11, 1891. Whitman is referring to the May 31, 1891, telegram he received from Dr. John Johnston, the Bolton architect James W. Wallace, and other English Whitman admirers. Johnston is referring to Whitman's letter of June 1, 1891, which included the poet's description of his seventy-second birthday dinner. Johnston had a facsimile of the letter made, and he distributed copies to many of Whitman's friends and admirers. See Johnston's letter to Whitman of June 11, 1891. Johnston may be referring to Whitman's letter of June 1, 1891, which included the poet's description of his seventy-second birthday dinner. Johnston had a facsimile of the letter made, and he distributed copies to many of Whitman's friends and admirers. See Johnston's letter to Whitman of June 11, 1891. Johnston is referring to Whitman's "Straw-Color'd and Other Psyches," published in Specimen Days & Collect (Philadelphia: Rees Welsh & Co., 1882–'83), 121–122. Johnston is referencing Whitman's poem "Song of the Open Road," in which Whitman writes, "The efflux of the soul is happiness, here is happiness, / I think it pervades the open air, waiting at all times, / Now it flows unto us, we are rightly charged." See Whitman's letters to Bucke of June 24, 1891 and June 25, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | JU 29 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUL | 1 | 1PM | 1891 | REC'D. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of June 26, 1891. The manuscript letter of introduction that Whitman addressed to Tennyson and dated June 26, 1891, may not be extant. The only known copy of this letter is a transcription made by Bucke. Whitman enclosed the letter of introduction in his June 26, 1891, letter to Bucke. Whitman wrote a letter introducing Bucke to Tennyson. The manuscript letter, which Whitman addressed to Tennyson and dated June 26, 1891, may not be extant. The only known copy of this letter is a transcription made by Bucke. Whitman enclosed the letter of introduction in his June 26, 1891, letter to Bucke. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of July 26, 1891, where he reports that "something has gone wrong with the Smiths" and that they no longer consider themselves to be Whitman's friends. The manuscript letter of introduction that Whitman addressed to Tennyson and dated June 26, 1891, may not be extant. The only known copy of this letter is a transcription made by Bucke. Bucke had recently received a facsimile of Whitman's June 1, 1891, letter to Dr. John Johnston of Bolton, England, a co-founder with the architect James William Wallace, of the Bolton College of Whitman admirers. The letter included Whitman's description of his birthday dinner. Bucke notes the receipt of the facsimile from Wallace of in his June 28, 1891, letter to Whitman. Bucke would soon receive a facsimile of Whitman's June 1, 1891, letter to Dr. John Johnston of Bolton, England, a co-founder with the architect James William Wallace, of the Bolton College of Whitman admirers. The letter included Whitman's description of his seventy-second birthday dinner. Bucke notes the receipt of the facsimile from Wallace in his June 28, 1891, letter to Whitman. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | JU 30 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUL | 2 | 12PM | 1891 | REC'D. See Whitman's letter of Bucke of June 28, 1891. Bucke is referring to a proof of Horace Traubel's article "Walt Whitman's Birthday, May 31, 1891." The article was published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in August 1891. It was a detailed account of Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday, which was celebrated with friends at the poet's home on Mickle street. Whitman is referring to a proof of Horace Traubel's article "Walt Whitman's Birthday, May 31, 1891." The article was published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in August 1891. It was a detailed account of Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday, which was celebrated with friends at the poet's home on Mickle street. The manuscript letter of introduction that Whitman addressed to Tennyson and dated June 26, 1891, may not be extant. The only known copy of this letter is a transcription made by Bucke. Whitman enclosed the letter of introduction in his June 26, 1891, letter to Bucke. Bucke acknowledged receipt of Whitman's introduction on June 29, 1891. The SS Britannic was a transatlantic ocean liner that traveled the Liverpool-New York City route from 1874 to 1899. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | JY 1 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUL | 3 | 1PM | 1891 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | JUL | 8 | 230PM | P; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUL | 9 | 6AM | 1891 | REC'D. At this time, Bucke was departing for England in an attempt to establish a foreign market for the gas and fluid meter he was developing with his brother-in-law William Gurd. Bucke was a passenger on the SS Britannic, an ocean liner belonging to the White Star Line, traveling a New York to Liverpool route; it was known for many years as one of the fastest steamships traveling the Atlantic. It operated as a passenger vessel from 1874 to 1899, when it was converted to a Royal Navy troopship. The SS Britannic was a transatlantic ocean liner that traveled the Liverpool-New York City route from 1874 to 1899. It was known for many years as one of the fastest steamships traveling the Atlantic. Bucke was a passenger on the SS Britannic when he traveled to England in the summer of 1891. Queenstown, County Cork, Ireland, was in the late nineteenth century a hub for the transatlantic cable and for cable lines to the U.K. Because of its position close to transatlantic passenger routes, boats from Queenstown would gather messages from transatlantic passenger liners to send via cable to the U.S. and U.K., and the boats would distribute to passengers cables addressed to them. Wallace and Johnston had sent a cable to Queenstown to be given to Bucke when the Britannic passed by, letting him know they would be glad to meet him in Liverpool when he landed. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: BOLTON | 55 | JY18 | 91; BOLTON | 55 | JY18 | 91; NEW YORK | JUL | E; PAID; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUL | 28 | 6AM | 1891 | REC'D. The enclosed song appears to be written in the hand of Wallace. Bucke may be referring to Whitman's letter of July 5–6, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG | 2 | 9AM | 1891 | REC'D. Bucke is referring to the evangelical minister Robert Pearsall Smith (1827–1898). Bucke is referring to Hannah Whitall Smith (1831–1911), the wife of Robert Pearsall Smith. Bucke is referring to the Smiths' son-in-law, Benjamin Francis ("Frank") Conn Costelloe (1854–1899). See Whitman's postal card to Bucke of July 14, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America It is postmarked: KILBURN | C A | JY31 | 91 | N.W.; PAID | H | ALL | 91; CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG | 10 | 6AM | 1891 | REC'D. See Whitman's postal card to Bucke of July 21, 1891. 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. Bucke is referring to Rudolf Schmidt's "Walt Whitman, det amerikanske," which had been published in For Ide Og Virkelighed 1 (1872), 152–216. It was translated in part by R. M. Bain and Bucke for inclusion in Bucke, Horace Traubel, and Thomas Harned, eds., In Re Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), 231–248. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: LONDON [illegible] W | 8 [illegible] 6 | AU 4 | 91 | [illegible]; NEW YORK | AUG | 14; A | 91; PAID | D | ALL; CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG | 14 | 9AM | 1891 | REC'D. Bucke did in fact meet with Tennyson and described the meeting in detail in his August 10, 1891, letter to Whitman. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America It is postmarked: WEST KEN[illegible]; PAID | A | ALL; New YORK | AUG | 19; CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG | 20 | 6AM | 1891 | REC'D. See Whitman's postal cards to Bucke of July 24, 1891, July 26–27, 1891, and July 29–30, 1891. Emily Sarah Sellwood, Lady Tennyson (1813–1896), was born at Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England, and she was the eldest daughter of Henry (1782–1867) and Sarah Sellwood. Following her marriage to Alfred, Lord Tennyson, she served as a business manager and secretary for her husband, in addition to taking on the responsiblities of running large households. She was the mother of two sons, Hallam (1852–1928) and Lionel Tennyson (1854–1886). She also wrote hymns, set some of her husband's poetry to music, and assisted Hallam in writing a memoir of her husband. Jane Baillie Welsh Carlyle (1801–1866) of Haddington, East Lothain, Scotland, was known for her letter-writing abilities. She died suddenly in 1866 as the result of a stroke or heart attack. Audrey Georgiana Florence Boyle Tennyson (1854–1916) of Sussex, England, married Hallam Tennyson (1852–1928) in 1884. She moved to Adelaide, Australia, in 1899 after Hallam was made Governor of South Australia. She became known for her letter-writing and her efforts to advocate for better pay and working conditions for women employed the garment industry. She went on to found the first maternity hospital in South Australia. Sir William Christopher MacDonald (1831–1917) was born in Prince Edward Island and educated at Central Academy. He became a tobacco manufacturer and an education philanthropist, serving as the fourth Chancellor of McGill University from 1914 until 1917. The identify of this artist is uncertain. Bucke may be referring to the British painter Edward Matthew Ward (1816–1879). John Everett Millais (1829–1896) was an English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood of artists. Millais illustrated many of Tennyson's poems and painted a portrait of the poet as well. Karl Knortz (1841–1918) was a German translator who, with Thomas J. Rolleston, translated Leaves of Grass into German (Grashalme, 1889). Bucke is referring here to Knortz's long 1882 essay in German on Whitman, published as a monograph in the U.S. in 1886. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A It is postmarked: WEST KENSINGTON | [illegible]; NEW YORK | AUG | 28; A | 91; PAID | C | ALL; CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG | 28 | 4PM | 1891 | REC'D. See Whitman's postal card to Bucke of August 2–3, 1891. Bucke is referring to Horace Traubel's article "Over-Sea Greeting. Walt Whitman's Fame Abroad," which was published on the front page of the Camden Post on August 1, 1891. The article includes an account of Dr. John Johnston's visit to Whitman in the summer of 1890. Traubel reprints letters from Johnston and James W. Wallace—co-founders of the Bolton College of Whitman admireres—to Whitman and letters from Bucke to Whitman that describe Bucke's own time in England in July and August 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey It is postmarked: NEW YORK | SEP 2 | 1130AM | C; CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP | 3 | 6AM | 1891 | REC'D. At this time, Bucke was traveling back to the United States following two months abroad in England, where he had attempted to establish a foreign market for the gas and fluid meter he was building with his brother-in-law William Gurd. During this trip he also spent time with James W. Wallace and Dr. John Johnston, the co-founders of the Bolton College of Whitman admirers and visited the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson. At this time, Bucke was traveling abroad in England, where he attempted to establish a foreign market for the gas and fluid meter he was building with his brother-in-law William Gurd. During this trip he also spent time with James W. Wallace and Dr. John Johnston, the co-founders of the Bolton College of Whitman admirers, and visited the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson. At this time, Bucke was traveling to England, where he planned to establish a foreign market for the gas and fluid meter he was building with his brother-in-law William Gurd. Bucke was preparing to travel abroad to England, where he planned to establish a foreign market for the gas and fluid meter he was building with his brother-in-law William Gurd. During this trip he would also spend time with James W. Wallace and Dr. John Johnston, the co-founders of the Bolton College of Whitman admirers, and visited the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden—New Jersey. It is postmarked: New York | Sep 3 | 1130 PM | P; 91; Camden, N. J. | [illegible] | [illegible] | 6am | [illegible] | Rec'd. At this time, Bucke was arriving in New York, following two months in England, where he had attempted to establish a foreign market for the gas and fluid meter he was developing with his brother-in-law William Gurd. As this postal card indicates, he would then travel to Camden, New Jersey, to visit Whitman. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | SP 12 | 91 | CANADA.; CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP 14 | 6AM | 91 | REC'D. The year for this letter, "91," has been added to the dateline, probably by the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke. Heyde is referring to Whitman's letter to Hannah Whitman Heyde of July 7, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | SP 14 | 91 | CANADA.; CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP 15 | 12 M | 91 | REC'D. During the months of July and August, Bucke had traveled in England in an attempt to establish a foreign market for the gas and fluid meter he was developing with his brother-in-law William Gurd. Bucke returned to the United States in September 1891, arriving in New York and then traveling to Camden to see Whitman. Wallace traveled to the U.S. as well, 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. When Wallace wrote this letter, he was visiting the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke at Bucke's home in London, Ontario, Canada. Wallace had traveled to the United States from Bolton, 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 Canada, where he met Bucke's family and friends. Wallace's accounts of his travels were later published with the Bolton physcian John Johnston's account of his own visit with the poet in the summer of 1890 in their book Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1917). Wallace traveled to the U.S. in the fall of 1891, 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. Wallace's accounts of his travels were later published with Dr. John Johnston's account of his own visit with the poet in the summer of 1890 in Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1917). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | [illegible] | SP 17 | 91 | CANADA.; CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP 18 | 5PM | 91 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | SP 1[illegible] | 91 | CANADA.; CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP 21 | 8AM | 91 | REC'D. See Whitman's postal card to Bucke of September 15, 1891, and his letter to Bucke of September 16, 1891. Bucke is referring to the manuscript piece Whitman enclosed in his September 16, 1891, letter to Bucke. Of the enclosure, Whitman wrote "the MS bit appears to be an acknowledgment sent to me to Pall Mall Gaz[ette] nearly five y'rs ago." Bucke had published a biography of the poet several years ealier, see Bucke, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883). During the months of July and August 1891, Bucke had traveled in England in an attempt to establish a foreign market for the gas and fluid meter he was developing with his brother-in-law William Gurd. While in England, Bucke had visited Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and Bucke gave a detailed account of their meeting to Whitman in his letter to the poet of August 10, 1891. In his letter of September 16, 1891, Whitman had asked Bucke if he had seen The Critic of September 5, 1891; the issue included a review of Whitman's Good-Bye My Fancy. The Critic of September 5, 1891 included a review of Whitman's Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). Good-Bye My Fancy was Whitman's last miscellany, and it included both poetry and short prose works commenting on poetry, aging, and death, among other topics. Thirty-one poems from the book were later printed as "Good-Bye my Fancy 2d Annex" to Leaves of Grass (1891–1892), the last edition of Leaves of Grass published before Whitman's death in March 1892. For more information see, Donald Barlow Stauffer, "'Good-Bye my Fancy' (Second Annex) (1891)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Johnston describes the farewell wishes for and the departure of Bucke and Wallace for the United States in his August 26, 1891, letter to Whitman. In September 1891, following two months of travel in England, Bucke returned to the United States. After arriving in New York, Bucke went to Camden to see Whitman. James W. Wallace, co-founder of the Bolton College of Whitman admirers, followed shortly behind Bucke, arriving 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 returned with Bucke to London, Ontario, Canada, where he visited with Bucke's family and friends. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | SP 21 | 91 | CANADA.; CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP 22 | 12 M | 91 | REC'D. A review of Whitman's Good-Bye My Fancy was published in The Literary World on September 12, 1891. During the months of July and August 1891, Bucke had traveled in England in an attempt to establish a foreign market for the gas and fluid meter he was developing with his brother-in-law William Gurd. While in England, Bucke had visted James W. Wallace, Dr. John Johnston, and their fellow English Whitman admirers. During the months of July and August 1891, Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke traveled in England in an attempt to establish a foreign market for the gas and fluid meter he was developing with his brother-in-law William Gurd. While in England, Bucke spent time with Dr. John Johnston and James W. Wallace, the co-founders of the Bolton College of Whitman admirers, and visited the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Johnston may be referring to his July 18, 1891, letter to Whitman. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | OC 13 | 91 | Canada.; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT 15 | 1 PM | 91 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | OC 19 | 91 | CANADA.; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT 20 | 3 PM | 91 | REC'D.; Philadelphia, PA | Oct | 20 | 1230 PM | 1891 | Transit; [illegible] 3 | Oct | 2[illegible] | [illegible]M | [illegible] | [illegible]. See Whitman's postal card to Bucke of October 14, 1891. Francis Bacon's influential book History of the Reign of Henry VII (1622) considers the first Tudor King Henry VII, who had taken the throne from Richard III—the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenets—in 1485. This is Bacon's only completed work of history; he began writing an account of Henry VIII, but only finished an introduction to the intended work. Henry VIII is one of Shakespeare's history plays, based on the life of Henry VIII, who was the King of England from 1509 until his death in 1547. He is best remembered for his six marriages, first to Catherine of Aragon, then to Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and, finally, to Catherine Parr. Shakepeare's play was published in the First Folio of 1623. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: [illegible] | [illegible] | OC 22 | 91 | CANADA.; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT 2[illegible] | 4 PM | 91 | REC'D. Bucke may be referring to Margaret Alexandria Ross, an employee of the Asylum. See the postal cards of October 18, 1891 and October 20, 1891. Bucke is referring to one of the four plaster busts of Whitman that were sculpted by Sidney Morse. Bucke is referring to one of the four plaster busts of Whitman that were sculpted by Sidney Morse. See Whitman's October 20, 1891, letter to Bucke. The date of this letter is actually January 6, 1892. Johnston has misdated the letter, accidently writing "1891" rather than accounting for the new year. The date is confirmed by Whitman's conversation with the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke regarding the plaster bust. In his October 20, 1891, letter to Bucke, Whitman had asked Bucke to write to Johnston and send the bust to Bolton. Johnston is referring to one of the four plaster busts of Whitman that were sculpted by Sidney Morse. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U. S. America It is postmarked: BOLTON | OC24 | 91; PAID | D | ALL; New York | [illegible]; CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV 2 | 6 AM | 91 | REC'D. This letter was originally addressed incorrectly: Walt Whitman | Germantown | Philadelphia | Penn. The address was corrected on the envelope to read: Walt Whitman | by Mickle St | Camden N.J. It is postmarked: Haverstraw | Oct | 24 | 1 PM | 1891 | N.Y.; Philadelphia | Oct 26 | 9 AM | G | 91; G [illegible] | [illegible] | 4PM | 91; [illegible] | Oct | 24 | 1130PM | 1891 | Phila; Camden, N.J. | Oct 26 | 12PM | 91 | Rec'd. Little is known about Ralph E. Moore of Stony Point, New York. He may be the twenty-two-year-old laborer listed as "R. E. Moore" in the 1892 State Census of New York. At that time, he was living with E. H. Moore, probably a brother, who was eighteen. The Workingman's Times was a socialist and pro-trade union journal published in England and edited by Joseph Burgess. Founded by Edward Hulton (1838–1904), the Sunday Chronicle was an English newspaper that was published for seventy years, from 1885 to 1955. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens St. | Camden. | New Jersey. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | JAN16 | 6 AM | 92 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: (?) | JAN(?) | 230PM | (?) | (?); CAMDEN, N.J. | JAN22 | 6AM | 92 | R(?) This postal card is addressed: Miss Jessie Louisa Whitman | 2437 2d Carondelet Avenue | St Louis | Missouri. It is postmarked: ST. [illegible] MO. | DEC | 26 | 7AM | 1888 | R; CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC24 | 8AM | 88. There is a partial, but illegible postmark on the recto of the postal card. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq. | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: [illegible]OKLYN, N. Y. | SEP 23 | [illegible]AM | G; 11; CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP | 24 | 6PM | 1889 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman— | 328 Mickle St. | Camden: | N. Jersey. | U. S. It is postmarked: TORONTO | FEB 1 | 4 PM | 90; CAMDEN, N.J. | FEB | 2 | 6AM | 1890 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: (?) | (?) | O(?) 22 | 91 | CANADA.; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT 2(?) | 4 PM | 91 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St. | Camden. | N. J. It is postmarked: Brooklyn, [cut away] | Oct 26 | 10 30 AM | 91; Camden, N.J. | Oct 26 | 6 PM | 91 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: To | Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey. | U.S.A. It is postmarked: Notting Hill | 22 | OC 26 | 91 | W.; Notting Hill | 22 | OC 26 | 91 | W.; Notting Hill | 22 | OC 26 | 91 | W.; New York | Nov | 6; Paid | 5 | All; B | 91; Camden, N.J. | Nov 6 | 4 PM | 91 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 55 | OC 28 | 91; Camden, N.J. | NOV 6 | 4 PM | 91 | Rec'd; New York | [illegible] | [illegible]; Paid | [illegible] | All. Oliver Twist is the protagonist of Charles Dickens's novel Oliver Twist, or the Parish Boy's Progress. The novel tells the story of Oliver, a young orphan born in a workhouse, who was sold into an apprenticeship with an undertaker. Escaping to London, Oliver meets a gang of juvenile pickpockets, and is eventually adopted. The novel addresses such issues as child labor, domestic violence, and the treatment of orphans in nineteenth-century England. Johnston may be referring to Whitman's postal card of October [16], 1891. Benjamin Tillett (1860–1943) was a British trade union leader and a politician. In 1887 he formed the Tea Operatives and General Labourers Union, later renamed as the Dock, Wharf, Riverside, and General Labourers' Union, which became well known in 1889 during the London dock strike. Tillet was a member of the Fabian Society, and he joined the Social Democratic Federation. He later became a politician, serving as an alderman on the London Council before going on to become a member of Parliament from the Labour Party for Salford North from 1917 to 1924. Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) was an English statistician who managed and trained nurses during the Crimean War. She became known for her social reform work and her work in professionalizing nursing for women. She is recognized both as the founder of modern nursing and for her early and effective use of visual methods when presenting statistical data. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: BOLTON | 55 | OC31 | 91; CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV 8 | 4 PM | 91 | REC'D. Nature Notes was the name of the monthly magazine published by the Selborne Society, a British conservation organization that was formed in 1885. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey— It is postmarked: SHEPARD | NOV | 8 | 1891 ; CCAMDEN, N.J. | NOV 1[illegible] | 91 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 56 | NO18 | 91; | Bolton | 56 | NO18 | 91; New York | Nov 29 | 91; | G | 91; PAID | G | All; Camden, N. J. | Nov | 29 | 6AM | 91. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | [illegible] | NO 21 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV23 | 6 PM | 91 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: BOLTON | 56 | NO 26 | 91 | [illegible] | All; [illegible] | 91; Camden, N.J. | Dec 7 | 6 AM | 91 | Rec'd. As yet, we have no additional information about Bolton fireman Joe Wilkinson, beyond the details that Johnston provides in this letter. The Bolton Chronicle was a local newspaper founded in 1824 and published weekly in Bolton, Lancashire, England, until 1917. Whitman wrote this letter to Johnston on the verso of a letter from Bucke dated November 6, 1891, in which Bucke wrote of Wallace: "He is a splendid fellow and I trust I may often see him and the other good County Borough of Bolton (England) Public Libraries fellows before I finish my earthly pilgrimage—such chaps as they are make the world worth living in." Whitman is referring to the bust by Sidney Morse that he sent to the minister Robert Pearsall Smith in September, 1887; see Whitman's letter to Smith of September 12, 1887, and Whitman's letter to Richard Maurice Bucke of October 20, 1891. Dr. Johnston replied on August 29: "I would do much more than care for it—I would prize it very, very highly & would give it a place of honour in my home second to none of my possessions." Whitman is referring to the bust by Sidney Morse that he sent to the minister Robert Pearsall Smith in September, 1887; see Whitman's letter to Smith of September 12, 1887, and Whitman's letter to Richard Maurice Bucke of October 20, 1891. The Bolton physician John Johnston replied on August 29: "I would do much more than care for it—I would prize it very, very highly & would give it a place of honour in my home second to none of my possessions." Whitman is referring to the bust by Sidney Morse that he sent to the minister Robert Pearsall Smith in September, 1887; see Whitman's letter to Smith of September 12, 1887, and Whitman's letter to Richard Maurice Bucke of October 20, 1891. Whitman had asked the Bolton physician Dr. John Johnston if he or the Bolton architect James W. Wallace would like to have the bust in his August 16–17, 1891, letter to Johnston. Johnston replied on August 29: "I would do much more than care for it—I would prize it very, very highly & would give it a place of honour in my home second to none of my possessions." Interestingly, Whitman did not comment upon the coolness of the family of Robert Pearsall Smith (1827–1898), an evangelical minister, and his wife Hannah Whitall Smith (1831–1911), or that of the Costelloes, Benjamin Francis ("Frank") Conn Costelloe (1854–1899), an English barrister, and his wife, Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe (1864–1945), who was a political activist, art historian, and critic. For more on the "coolness" Bucke observes, see Bucke's letter to Whitman of July 26, 1891. Bucke was at this time visiting England and seeing many of Whitman's friends and admirers there. He had written to Whitman about a surprising chill he sensed whenever he mentioned the poet to the family of Robert Pearsall Smith (1827–1898), an evangelical minister, and his wife Hannah Whitall Smith (1831–1911), or that of the Costelloes, Benjamin Francis ("Frank") Conn Costelloe (1854–1899), an English barrister, and his wife, Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe (1864–1945), who was a political activist, art historian, and critic. For more on the "coolness" Bucke observed, see Bucke's letter to Whitman of July 26, 1891. According to Dr. Johnston's letter to Whitman of July 10, 1891, Humphreys was a machine fitter and the "latest convert" to the Bolton College of Whitman admirers. In a February 2, 1892, letter to Whitman, James Wallace described Humphreys as a socialist, the founder of "the Cooperative Commonwealth," and an inspiration to fellow workers. According to Dr. Johnston's letter on July 10, 1891, Humphreys, a machine fitter, was the "latest convert" to the Bolton College group of English admirers of Whitman. On February 2, 1892, Wallace termed Humphreys a socialist, the founder of "the Cooperative Commonwealth," and an inspiration to fellow workers. This may be a reference to William H. Taylor. Taylor was a former driver or the son of one and had written to Whitman on June 15, 1891. McKay ordered six copies of Complete Poems & Prose (Whitman's "big book") on July 21, 1891. On August 8 there were on hand 181 copies of the big book and 175 of the 300 copies of the pocket-book edition of Leaves of Grass that was printed in honor of Whitman's 70th birthday, on May 31, 1889, through special arrangement with Frederick Oldach (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman has written this postscript at the top of the page. Probably The Review of Reviews which Dr. Johnston sent regularly. On July 15, the anniversary of his meeting with the poet, Johnston wrote from his "woodland haunt" and concluded with what "a thrush pipes near me & seems to say:— 'Walt! Walt! Walt!' 'God bless him! God bless him! God bless him!' 'Good cheer! good cheer! good cheer!' 'Give him my love! Give him my love!' Yes little birdie; I will send him your loving message, along with my own" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | Anderton n'r Chorley | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 20 | 8 PM | 91. Dr. John Johnston mentioned the possibility of Wallace traveling to the United States in his July 3–4,1891, letter to Whitman. At the time, Wallace was "rather afraid of the excitement." Wallace would visit the U.S. in the fall of 1891, 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. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | care Mr Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor road | the Embankment | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 21 | 12 M | 91; Philadelphia, Pa. | Jul 21 | 3 PM | Paid. William Douglas O'Connor worked for the United States Lighthouse Board (eventually the Life Saving Service) for many years, becoming Assistant General Superintendent in 1878; his book of nonfiction about lighthouse keepers, Heroes of the Storm, was eventually published in 1904. William Douglas O'Connor (Ellen M. O'Connor's husband) had worked for the United States Lighthouse Board (eventually the Life Saving Service) for many years, becoming Assistant General Superintendent in 1878. His book of nonfiction about lighthouse keepers, Heroes of the Storm, was eventually published in 1904, fifteen years after his death. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | care Mr Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor road | the Embankment | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 24 | 6 PM | 91; Philadelphia, PA. | Jul 24 | 8 PM | Paid. Phillips Brooks (1835–1893) was an Episcopal clergyman who served as the rector of Boston's Trinity Church and, for a short time, as the Bishop of Massachusetts. Brooks also wrote the lyrics for "O Little Town of Bethlehem." This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton Lancashire | England | It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 24 | 8 PM | 91; Philadelphia, Pa. | Jul 24 | (?) | Paid. Murray's Magazine was a British monthly magazine published by its proprietor John Murray. In 1891, the editor of the magazine was William Leonard Courtney. The magazine published primarily instructive material such as articles on important social and political topics, science, and travel; a limited amount of fiction was also published in the journal. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | care Mr Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor road | the Embankment | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 27 | 3 PM | 91; Philadelphia, PA | Jul 27 | 6PM | Paid; 91; London [illegible] W | 7 P | AUG | 91. Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | care Mr Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor road | the Embankment | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 30 | 8 PM | 91; 91; Philadelphia, PA | Jul 30 | 11PM | Paid; London. S. W. | 7 P | Au 10 | 91. Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | OCT 10 | 8PM | 91; Philadelphia, PA. | OCT 18 | [illegible]M | 1891 | TRANSIT; London | PM | OC [illegible] | 91 | CANADA. Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" Whitman is likely referring to Bucke's letter of July 18, 1891. Whitman is keeping track of the number of letters he has sent to Bucke in England. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | care Mr Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor road | the Embankment | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N J | Aug 6 | 8 PM | 91; Philadelphia, PA. | Aug 6 | 11 PM | Paid. At this time, Bucke was traveling abroad in England in an attempt to establish a foreign market for the gas and fluid meter he was building with his brother-in-law William Gurd. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of July 26, 1891. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton Lancashire | England. | It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 6 | 8 PM | 91; Philadelphia, Pa. | Aug 6 | 11 PM | Paid. Johnston and his wife and brother had recently traveled to the Isle of Man. See Johnston's letter of August 6–7, 1891, for his description of their return to Bolton. Whitman may be referring to Dr. John Johnston's letter of July 22, 1891, James W. Wallace's letter of July 21, 1891, and Richard Maurice Bucke's letter of July 23, 1891. Whitman is probably referring to Wallace's letter of July 31–August 1, 1891. In the letter, Wallace describes Johnston's trip as follows: "Dr. Johnston & his brother (from Scotland) Mrs Johnston & a lady friend of hers, went off at noon to the Isle of Man. They are staying at a house Johnston & I have stayed at before—a house at once boarding-house & farm. This boarding house is the subject of Wallace's pen picture. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | care Mr Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor road | the Embankment | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 11 | 4 30 PM | 91. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton Lancashire | England | It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 11 | 4 30 PM | 91. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton Lancashire | England | It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 10 | 1 30 PM | (?). This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester R'd | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Nov 22 | 5 PM | (?). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 22 | 5 PM | 9(?). This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | Anderton n'r Chorley | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 16 | 6 AM | 91; Philadelphia, Pa. | Nov 16 | 9 AM | Paid. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton | Lancaster England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 17 | 12 M | 91. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 26 | 6 PM | 91, London | PM | JU 27 | 91 | Canada, Buffalo NY | Jun | [illegible] Philadelphia, P.A. | Jun | [illegible] | 1891 | Transit. Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" This letter is addressed: Dr. Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton | Lancashire England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 26 | 6 PM | 91; Philadelphia, Pa. | Jun 26 | 8 PM | Paid. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester r'd | Bolton | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Jun 27 | 6 PM | 91. The photos referred to are this 1863 (not 1864) picture and this photo, also taken in 1863, and sent to the author Anne Gilchrist through the English editor William M. Rossetti. See Whitman's letter to Rossetti of December 9, 1869. For the 1863 (not 1864) picture, see The Correspondence of Walt Whitman, Volume 1: 1842–1867 , ed. by Edwin Haviland Miller, and in Leaves of Grass: Comprehensive Reader's Edition (1965), ed. by Harold W. Blodgett and Sculley Bradley, see number 5 (the engraving from the photograph). For the second picture, see number 4 in Leaves of Grass: Comprehensive Reader's Edition (1965), also taken in 1863, and sent to the author Anne Gilchrist through the English editor William M. Rossetti. See Whitman's letter to Rossetti of December 9, 1869. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 28 | 5 PM | 91; Philadelphia | JUN | [illegible] | Buffalo, N.Y. | Jun | 29 | 91; London | PM | JU 29 | 91 | Canada. Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" Whitman enclosed a newspaper clipping "f'm a paper here June 27" with this letter. He pasted the article in the lower right-hand corner of the letter. The clipping reports on the English Poet Laureate Alfred, Lord Tennyson's verses written to honor Princess Louise of Schleswig-Holstein (1872–1956) on the occasion of her wedding. This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | Anderton n'r Chorley | Lancashire England It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 30 | 8 PM | 91. Wallace on July 10 looked forward to Richard Maurice Bucke's visit as "a consecration to the life you have lived—an apostolic visit to the small church planted here. May God's blessing rest upon his visit, & his Spirit be poured out upon us" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 30 | 8 PM | 91; [illegible] | [illegible] | 9PM | 1891 | Transit; London | PM | JY 2 | 91 | Canada. Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" Whitman is referring to a newspaper clipping from the Camden Post of June 24, 1891, which referenced an error in both the Philadelphia Public Ledger and Press in attributing Henri Murger's poem "The Midnight Visitor" to Walt Whitman: "Whitman is fond of reciting it, and in this way has established a personal connection with it, but has no more claim to its authorship than [the actor Junius] Booth to Hamlet." Whitman is referring to Bucke's letter of June 28, 1891, which Bucke incorrectly dated "28 July 1891." Whitman is referring to the June 25, 1891, letter her received from his brother-in-law (Hannah's husband), the landscape painter Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892). This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | Anderton n'r Chorley | Lancashire England It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | July 3 | 8 PM | 91. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | SS Britannic | New York City | (sent by Waren Fritzinger2). Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" Woodbury had spread the story that Emerson told him that he once met Whitman for dinner at the Astor House in New York, and that the poet showed up without a coat, as if to "dine in his shirtsleeves." Whitman denied the rumor. On June 27, 1891, Woodbury informed the poet that he was deleting his paragraph on Whitman from Talks with Ralph Waldo Emerson. In a reply for the poet, Horace Traubel asked whether Woodbury now admitted "the untruth of his remarks" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See 2590, n.51. See Dr. John Johnston's letter to Whitman of July 18, 1891. Bucke had written to Whitman on July 1, 1891. Whitman may be referring to this letter. Dr. Bucke's letters from England expressed concern that the Smith family had cooled toward Whitman; see, for example, Bucke's letter to Whitman of August 4, 1891. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton | Lancashire | England It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 9 | 8 PM | 91. The Eakins photograph. Whitman is referring to Johnston's copies of this profile portrait, which may have been taken by the sculptor and educator Samuel Murray (1869–1941) or his teacher and associate Thomas Eakins in 1891. Whitman may be referring to Wallace's letters of June 23, 1891 and June 26, 1891. Henri Murger (1822–1861) was a French novelist and poet whose Scènes de la vie de bohème (1851) was the basis of Puccini's opera La bohème (1896). On June 16–17, 1891, Wallace reported to Whitman that "an admirer of yours," the artist A. H. Cooper (1863–1929), was making sketches of the countryside about County Borough of Bolton (England) Public Libraries, and on June 19 he described in detail the four drawings. In this letter, on July 8, Richard Maurice Bucke noted that Warren Fritzinger had brought a copy of Leaves of Grass, "tho' of course I had a copy with me, would not think of going so far without one" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | care Mr Costelloe | 44 Grosvenor road | the Embankment | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | July 10 | 8 PM | 91. The receipt from P. Reinhalter & Company read: "Received from Walt Whitman tenth of July, 1891 One thousand dollars cash, for the tomb in Harleigh Cemetery—making, including the sum of five hundred dollars (paid May 12 last) altogether to date the sum of fifteen hundred dollars which is hereby receipted"; see the Detroit Public Library's publication, An Exhibition of the Works of Walt Whitman, (Detroit: February and March 1955), 41. Richard Maurice Bucke, Walt Whitman (1883) announced on July 26: "Something has gone wrong with the Smiths and I may as well tell you first as last. Neither they nor the Costelloes have asked me to visit them and when I dined at the Costelloes on Friday and gave Mrs C. your messages to her and the Smiths she never answered me and never asked a question about you." Later he related that according to H. Buxton Forman, with whom he was staying at the time, "Mrs S. and Mr Costelloe are responsible for the coolness." After going to the country with the Smiths, Richard Maurice Bucke, Walt Whitman (1883), on August 10, came to the conclusion that Mrs. Smith and Alys were "not at all" friendly (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). Richard Maurice Bucke, Walt Whitman (1883) never elaborated further in his letters. Logan Pearsall Smith wrote enthusiastically of Bucke's visit on August 8 and mentioned that hanging on the wall were "three of those N. Y. photographs of you framed together." He also noted that Mrs. Costelloe "has got tremendously interested in art—especially Italian art" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). Interestingly, she was soon to abandon Costelloe's socialism for the estheticism of Bernard Berenson, whom she married in 1900. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of July 8, 1891. President Benjamin Harrison spent the summer of 1891 in a cottage at Cape May Point at the southern tip of New Jersey; the cottage was a gift to Harrison's wife Caroline from the mercantilist John Wanamaker of Philadelphia. Harrison used the Congress Hotel in Cape May—a favorite vacation spot for former U.S. presidents—as the first "summer White House," since the actual White House was undergoing renovations involving the installation of electricity. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | care Mr Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor road | the Embankment | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 14 | 6 PM | 91; Philadelphia, Pa. | Jul 14 | 9 PM | Paid. This letter is addressed: John Phillips Street | New Brunswick | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden [illegible] | Jul 14 | 4 30 PM | 91; New Brunswick, N.J. | Jul | 16 | AM | 1891 | Rec'd. This note was written on an advertisement of Whitman's books. Street made the inquiry on July 13, and replied on July 16 that he was unable to purchase the volume. According to a note Whitman wrote at the top of Street's July 13, 1891, letter, Whitman sent Street a circular listing his books and their prices. Whitman also wrote Street on July 14, 1891, recommending Walt Whitman (1883), a biography of the poet by the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke. Whitman sent Street a circular; see note in Whitman's hand at the top of Street's July 13th letter. loc.04689 Whitman also wrote a note recommending Dr. bucke's biography, see loc.07989 John Phillips Street (1869–1938) earned a B.S. at Rutgers College in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1889 and worked at the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station; he wrote on agricultural science. This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | Anderton n'r Chorley | Lancashire England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 14 | 6 PM | 91. On June 30–July 1 Wallace inquired as to the authorship of the favorable reviews of Leaves of Grass in 1855. The author chose not to reply, but Richard Maurice Bucke answered the question when he was in Bolton; see Wallace's letter of July 28–29 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). 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. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 18 | 10 AM | 91(?); Philadelphia, Pa. | Jul 18 | 11 AM | Paid. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden [illegible] | Feb 4 | 8 PM | 91. In an undated letter probably written in 1890, Alma C. Johnston informed the poet that Grace, her step-daughter, was to marry an unnamed man who "has both children and money" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 6 | 6 AM | 91; N.Y. | 2-6-91 | 10 30AM | 8. Whitman may be referrring to the notice that appeared on November 10, 1881. See Whitman's letter to the Editor of The Springfield Republican of November 13, 1881. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | Feb 6 | 430 PM | 91; LONDON | AM | FE 9 | [illegible]1 | CANADA. In "The Colonel, at Home, in Sonoma County," (Overland, 17 [February, 1891], 200–208), Laura Lyon White has the Colonel recite to reluctant children some excerpts from "Song of Myself," until one of them cries: "Enough, enough, . . . I am now ready to acknowledge the truth of Emerson's assertion that 'Walt Whitman is a god with a grunt'" (202–203). On January 29 she wrote to Walt Whitman: "If there is a wounding word in the 'Overland' article . . . I trust it may be pardoned one who admiringly reads your writings, and who fancies she feels their spirit" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). In his postal card of February 6, 1891, Whitman had offered to send Bucke a copy of the Overland literary magazine containing an article that "alluded" to Whitman. In "The Colonel, at Home, in Sonoma County" (Overland, 17 [February, 1891], 200–208), Laura Lyon White has the Colonel recite to reluctant children some excerpts from "Song of Myself," until one of them cries: "Enough, enough, . . . I am now ready to acknowledge the truth of [Ralph Waldo] Emerson's assertion that 'Walt Whitman is a god with a grunt'" (202–203). On January 29 she wrote to Walt Whitman: "If there is a wounding word in the 'Overland' article . . . I trust it may be pardoned one who admiringly reads your writings, and who fancies she feels their spirit." Bucke is referring to Thomas Carlyle's three-volume history of the French Revolution, covering the years from 1789 to 1795. Carlyle's work, entitled The French Revolution: A History, was first published in 1837 and was printed in a revised edition in 1857. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 10 | 8 PM | 91. Of Kennedy's "Walt Whitman's Dutch Traits," Bucke observed on February 14: "It is first class, nothing more suggestive has ever been penned on the critter." This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | FE 13 | 91 | CANADA; PHILADELPHIA, P.A. | [illegible] | 930 PM | 1891 | TRANSIT; CAMDEN, N.J. | FEB 11 | 8 PM | 91. On February 8, 1891, Bucke wrote: "The Canadian House of Commons is dissolved—General election 5th next month—whole country in tremendous excitement." Whitman is likely referring to Bucke's letter of February 9, 1891. The transcription of this note in William Sloane Kennedy's book Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (London: Alexander Gardener, 1896) reads as follows: "Send you a couple of slips of the Dutch piece. I like it well. It is the best thing of its kind yet. I have added a few trivialities" (67). This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | FEB 14 | 6 PM | 91; 2. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 16 | 8 PM | 91. Ellis mailed the book on February 3: "It is a feeble attempt to express the help & delight that your work has given me." Bucke noted on February 22 that he had had Ellis's book for a year: "The 'W. W.' is mostly good—has some bad shots in it." William Sloane Kennedy, Whitman's friend and author of Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (London: Alexander Gardener, 1896), however, disliked Ellis' "wofully mistaken and beastly idea of the Calamus poems"; see William Sloane Kennedy, The Fight of a Book for the World (West Yarmouth, Massachusetts: The Stonecroft Press, 1926), 39. Walt Whitman's copy of The New Spirit is in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 17 | 1 30 PM | 91; Philadelphia, Pa. | Feb 17 | 8 PM | Paid. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 19 | 6 PM | 91. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Feb 19 | 6 PM | 91; Philadelphia, Pa. | Feb 19 | 11 PM | (?). Since this postscript in the actual letter appeared at the top of the page, there being no additional room at the bottom, the reference is to the statement about "immortality" above the signature. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 22 | 5 PM | 91; London | [illegible] | Fe 23 | 91 | Canada. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camde(?) | Feb 22 | 5 PM | 91; Philadelphia, Pa. | Feb 22 | 10 PM | Paid. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 23 | 8 PM | 91; London | PM | Fe 25 | 91 | Canada. On February 26, Richard Maurice Bucke, spoke as a doctor: "The enema business is all very well in its way but it will not do much for you—you want the upper bowel to act as well as the lower—if you would take a dose of Freidrickshall early in the morning and an enema after 3 or 4 hours to assist it (if necessary) that would be more like what is wanted and you might do this 2 or 3 times a week." This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | Anderton near Chorley | Lancashire England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 23 | 8 PM | 91. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 26 | 8 PM | 91; London | PM | Fe 28 | 91 | Canada. Perhaps Whitman is referring to Munyon's Illustrated World. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR 1 | 5 PM | 91; LONDON | PM | MR 2 | 91 | CANADA; PHILADELPH[illegible] | M[illegible] | F[illegible] | TRANSIT; BUFFALO, N.Y. | MAR | 2 | 2PM | 91 | TRANSIT. See Whitman's letter to Joseph M. Stoddart of February 4, 1891. On March 2 Whitman sent copies of Complete Poems & Prose to O. J. Bailey, in Peoria, Illinois, and to Alfred P. Burbank, at the Lotos Club in New York City, both of whom paid $12.80 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 5 | 8 PM | 91. In his letter dated March 3, 1891 Bucke referred to the forthcoming Canadian elections: "I am boiling over with suppressed excitement thank goodness only 2 more days." On March 10, 1891 Bucke commented: "It is good, first rate in fact—the language a little cranky and queer in places but the thought fresh and vigorous and true. I like it well." Whitman may be referring to Bucke's letter dated March 3, 1891. The International Copyright Act of 1891, also referred to as the Chace Act, was the first U.S. Congressional Act that extended some limited copyright protections to foreign copyright holders from select nations. It would be two years before The International Copyright Act of 1891, also referred to as the Chace Act, became the first U.S. Congressional Act to extend some limited copyright protections to foreign copyright holders from select nations. In 1885, the Bern Convention (previously, International Convention for Protection of Literary and Artistic Works) addressed an international system of copyright, and an international copyright agreement was adopted by the conference in 1886. However, the United States did not subscribe to the convention, and it would be years before The International Copyright Act of 1891, also referred to as the Chace Act, became the first U.S. Congressional Act to extend some limited copyright protections to foreign copyright holders from select nations. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 8 | 5 PM | 91; London | [illegible]M | Mr 9 | 91 | Canada. On receipt of this card, Bucke wrote on March 10, 1891: "Your condition still seems wretched—you do not seem to rally—that is bad—why do you not send for a good doctor? Surely something could be done to give you relief." This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 10 | 4 30 PM | 91; London | AM | MR 12 | 91 | Canada. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 22 | 5 PM | 91; London | AM | MR 23 | 91 | Canada. "Old Actors, Singers, Shows, &c., in New York." Whitman returned the proof of the essay on April 10 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See the letter from Whitman to Bucke of March 30–31, 1891. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | MAR 24 | 6 AM | 91; London | PM | MR 25 | 91 | Canada. Bucke alluded to Whitman's misspelling of Longaker's name on March 30: "But whatever you may call or miscall him he is certainly doing you good." 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). Robert Ingersoll gave a Lotus Club speech about Shakespeare at the Broadway Theatre in New York on March 22, 1891, that was reported on in many newspapers. Whitman was quite taken with the reports of the speech and told Horace Traubel that "Ingersoll's Sunday speech . . . showed a change of base—a greater willingness to grant the possibility of immortality" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, March 25, 1891). In that speech, Ingersoll said: "Suppose that when you die, that is the end. The last thing that you will know is that you are alive, and the last thing that will happen to you is the curtain, not falling, but the curtain rising on another thought, so that as far as your consciousness is concerned you will and must live forever. No man can remember when he commenced, and no man can remember when he ends. As far as we are concerned we live both eternities, the one past and the one to come, and it is a delight to me to feel satisfied, and to feel in my own heart, that I can never be certain that I have seen the faces I love for the last time. . . . And whether there is another world, nobody knows. Nobody can affirm it; nobody can deny it. . . . But if there is such a place, I hope that all good fellows will be welcome" (The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll [New York: Dresden, 1902), vol. 12). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 27 | 8 PM | 91; Philadelphia, PA. | Mar | 27 | [illegible] | [illegible]; London | AM | Mar 30 | Canada. On March 7 John Addington Symonds wrote to James W. Wallace of his health, of his fears for his family, of an autobiography ("which perhaps may yet be published; if its candour permits publication"), and of his affection for Walt Whitman: "What is beautiful in this sunset of a great strong soul, is the man's own cheerful & calm acceptance of the situation. 'It will be all right either way.' Ab eo disce vivere ac mori!" (Wallace's transcription: Charles E. Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) Wallace on March 13–14, 1891, delighted especially in Symonds' phrase "'sealed of the tribe of Walt.'" This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 30 | 6 AM | 91; London | PM | Mr 31 | 91 | Canada. Bucke commented to Whitman's biographer and literary executor Horace Traubel on April 1 on the gravity of the poet's condition: "The great trouble with W. is that his reflex nerve centres-cord &c. are in such bad shape —I am looking (week by week) for W. to break down badly" (The Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C). On February 14, Bucke protested Whitman's tentative decision to include critical pieces by others in an appendix to Good-bye My Fancy. Of Whitman's decision to exclude Sarrazin's essay, Bucke wrote to Traubel, on April 1: "By all means keep him in this mind" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). Meanwhile Traubel and Bucke were preparing a collection of critical (eulogistic) essays. Together, Whitman's three literary executors, Bucke, Traubel, and Thomas Harned, edited In Re Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893). Whitman is referring to the proofs for his book Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). In his letter to Bucke of April 14, 1891, the poet writes that Horace Traubel has also just sent Bucke "a full set (66p) 'Good-Bye' annex." This letter is addressed: J Addington Symonds | Davos Platz | Switzerland. It is postmarked: Camden | Mar 31 | 6 AM | 91; Davos— | 11 IV 91–6 | Platz. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 3 | 6 AM | 91; N.Y. | 4-3-91 | 10 30 AM | 91. Bucke, on March 31, 1891, wrote eloquently of Whitman's book Good-bye My Fancy (1891), quoting from "L. of G.'s Purport": "Well, the 'haughty song—before in ripened youth—never even for one brief hour abandon'd,' is finished, and the singer soon departs—and the present listeners soon depart. But the song remains and will do its work—that same song is the most virile, potent and live thing on this earth today—and the singer and the listeners they go the way provided for them but they will not get out of the range of this prophetic utterance." That Bucke was in part writing for posterity is evident from a passage in his April 5, 1891, letter to Horace Traubel, "If you see my letter to W. of 31st Mar kicking about save it or return it to me—W. refers to it in card of 2d inst. and I may want it later" (The Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C). This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 3 | 8 PM | 91; London | AM | Ap 6 | 91 | Canada. Whitman's visitors for the day included Dr. Longaker, the Philadelphia publisher David McKay, and William R. O'Donovan, the sculptor (1844–1920), who came with a letter of introduction from George W. Childs of the Philadelphia Public Ledger (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 8 | 6 AM | 91; N.Y. | 4-8-91 | 1030 AM | [illegible]. This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | Anderton near Chorley | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 8 | 6 AM | 91. Wallace responded soulfully to this brief card on April 21: "Your loving-kindness—inexhaustible, warm and ever-renewed—deeply impresses us, and the lowest deeps of our hearts and souls respond to it. Your words to me—'God's blessings on you and the Doctor and my love'—seem to me to carry their own fulfilment, for I feel, indeed, that in your love God has given me his authentic and dearest blessing, more sacred and precious to me than all besides, except the memories of my mother" (typescript: County Borough of Bolton [England] Public Libraries). This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 8 | 6 PM | 91. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 9 | 8 PM | 91; Philadelphia, PA. | APR | 9 | [illegible]PM | 1891 Transit; London | PM | AP 11 | 91 | Canada. Bucke's April 6, 1891, letter to Whitman has not yet been located. These postal cards from Ellen O'Connor to Whitman have not yet been located. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 12 | 5 PM | 91; London | AP 13 | 91 | Canada. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 12 | 5 PM | 91; London | PM | 91 | Canada.; Philadelphia, P[illegible] | Apr | 12 | 6 30 PM | 1891 | Transit; Buffalo, N.Y. | Apr | 16 | 9 AM | 1891 | Transit. Whitman may be referring to Wallace's letter of March 27, 1891, in which Wallace outlined a speech he was to deliver to the County Borough of Bolton (England) Public Libraries "college" on April 10. Bucke notes on April 14, 1891: "It is a noble production and raises Wallace even higher than ever in my regard—I know W. pretty well and between ourselves I think he is a very choice spirit—his spiritual insight is especially keen and fine—I guess there is no man understands L. of G. more profoundly." This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 16 | 6 AM | 91; London | PM | Ap 17 | 91 | Canada. An account, written by Walt Whitman, in the Camden Post on the following day omitted reference to the after-effects of the excursion; see Prose Works 1892, ed. by Floyd Stovall, 2 vols. (1963–1964). In Collected Writings, 706. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 15 | 8 PM | 91. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 16 | 6 PM | 91; London | AM | Ap 18 | 91 | Canada. Whitman is referring to Bucke's letter of April 14, 1891. Walt Whitman was probably referring to Richard Maurice Bucke's comment on Wallace; see 2514, n.96. Whitman's entry in his Commonplace Book on this date read: "weak as death—strange, depress'd day" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). President Harrison visited twenty-one states in the southern and western United States during a month-long train journey in the spring of 1891. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 18 | 6 PM | 91; [illegible] | PM | AP 20 | 1891 | Transit. Whitman has crossed out a typed address on the envelope and written Bucke's address at the top of the envelope. See Whitman's letter to Alexander of February 20, 1886. The son of John H. Johnston, the New York jeweler, and the poet's companion on a visit to Burroughs in 1878; see 868–869. See Whitman's letter to Richard Maurice Bucke of July 10, 1891. Apparently O'Donovan was again in Camden on April 24, when an entry in Whitman's Commonplace Book read, "the hand sculping" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) Whitman has written this note on the flap of the envelope. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, (?) | Apr 21 | 6 PM | 91; Philadelphia, Pa. | Apr 21 | (?) PM | Paid. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 2[illegible] | 8 PM | 91; Philadelphia, PA | Apr | 21 | 9 30 [illegible]M | 1891 | Transit. The postmark from London, Ontario is entirely illegible. Whitman has crossed out the name and address written on this envelope and written Bucke's name and address at the top. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 29 | 8 PM | 91. Julius Chambers extended the invitation on April 25 on behalf of the Quaint Club. He also noted that he had reprinted a paper Whitman had sent in the New York World on the preceding day. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Apr 29 | 8 PM | 91. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 5 | 8 PM | 91; London | PM | My 7 | 91 | Canada. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 5 | 8 PM | 91. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 8 | 3 PM | 91. 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). This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 8 | 5 PM | 91. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 9 | 3 PM | 91. Mounted at the lower left-hand corner, a newspaper clipping related that Dr. Osler planned to remain at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and not to accept a professorship at Jefferson College in Philadelphia. The handwriting in this letter reveals graphically the "deathly weakness": "action" and "sunshiny" were written over, and "nausea" resembled in its crudely formed letters the writing of his mother. Whitman is likely referring to a letter from either James W. Wallace or Dr. John Johnston, both from Bolton, England. But the date of the letter Whitman is referencing is uncertain. This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | Anderton near Chorley | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.(?) | May 10 | 5 PM | 91. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 11 | 6 AM | 91; N. Y. | 5-11-91 | 1030AM | 9; London | AM | MY 12 | 1 | Canada. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden | May 15 | 6 AM | 91; NY | 5-15-91 | [illegible] AM | [illegible]. London | PM | MY 16 | 91 | Canada. Whitman's return address in Camden is printed in the left corner of the front of the envelope. Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" On May 17, Whitman sent unbound copies of the new book to John Addington Symonds, Dr. John Johnston, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Gabriel Sarrazin, William Sloane Kennedy, and Melville Philips (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Johnston noted receipt on May 30, 1891, "of your 'Carte-de-visite to posterity.'" On May 12, 1891, Kennedy mentioned Traubel's article, noting, "[I]t's the best thing ever done here in Masschts. on W. W." On May 19, 1891, Philips asked whether Whitman had received $10 from the Philadelphia Press for an unidentified poem, and requested "a $10 bit" for Nugent Robinson, of Once a Week. According to his Commonplace Book, Whitman furnished, "On, on the Same, Ye Jocund Twain!" and "Unseen Buds." Philips sent the money on May 21 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See also Whitman's letter to the Editor of Once a Week of January 25, 1891. Peter Fenelon Collier (1849–1909) was an Irish-American publisher and the founder of the P. F. Collier publishing company; he began Once a Week magazine in 1888, which became Collier's Weekly in 1895. Whitman published two poems—"On, On the Same, Ye Jocund Twain" and "Unseen Buds"—in the July 1891 issue. For more information see Susan Belasco's "Once a Week. This letter is addressed: Ferguson | Printer | 15 North 7th Street | Philadelphia. This letter is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 22 | 8 PM | 91. Whitman is referring to Kennedy's postal card of May 21, 1891. Whitman wanted to have two poems from Good-Bye My Fancy (1891)—"On, on the Same, Ye Jocund Twain!" and "Unseen Buds"—appear in Once a Week before the book was released and reviewed. However, according to the next letter, Kennedy had already published his review. On the envelope of the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke's letter of May 26, Whitman wrote, presumably to Horace Traubel, "Send Dr the slip (if you have it) ¼ sheet Boston Transcript—his little criticism 'Good-Bye' of five days ago." Kennedy's criticism from the May 21, 1891, issue of the Boston Transcript is reprinted in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, May 23, 1891. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N. J. | May 23 | 8 PM | 91; Philadelphia | May | 9PM | 1891 | Transit; London | MY 25 | 91 | Canada. Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" He made the payment to Reinhalter & Company on May 12 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The firm had reported the work "over half done" on April 27, 1891. See Whitman's letters to Bucke of November 12–14, 1891 and November 22, 1891, for more on the payment arrangements for the tomb. The receipt from P. Reinhalter & Company, the builders of the poet's tomb, read: "Received from Walt Whitman tenth of July, 1891 One thousand dollars cash, for the tomb in Harleigh Cemetery—making, including the sum of five hundred dollars (paid May 12 last) altogether to date the sum of fifteen hundred dollars which is hereby receipted"; see the Detroit Public Library's publication, An Exhibition of the Works of Walt Whitman, (Detroit: February and March 1955), 41. Although Whitman writes here that he has fathered two children, both of whom are buried "down south," there is no evidence to substantiate this claim. This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | Anderton near Chorley | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 23 | 8 PM | 91. 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. The photograph is reproduced in this volume. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 27 | 8 PM | 91; London | PM | MY 29 | 91 | Canada. Whitman is referring to Bucke's letters of May 25, 1891 and May 26, 1891. Whitman is referring to a letter he received from the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, which was dated May 14, 1891. Tennyson wrote to wish Whitman a happy birthday; Whitman celebrated his seventy-second birthday on May 31, 1891. On April 17, 1891, Wallace sent Whitman 21 shillings for a copy of the pocket-book edition of Leaves of Grass, which was to be presented to Dixon on his birthday (typescript: County Borough of Bolton (England) Public Libraries). Dixon thanked the poet for the letter and the book on June 13, 1891. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton Lancashire | England | f'm Walt Whitman America. It is postmarked: Camden, (?) | Jun 1 | 8 PM | 91. This reversal of words was Whitman's. Dixon's two daughters were Mrs. H. M. Harrison and Miss Helen Dixon. Horace Traubel married Anne Montgomerie on May 28, 1891 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). After Whitman's birthday celebration on May 31, the couple went to Canada with Richard Maurice Bucke, physician at the Insane Asylum in London, Ontario, and returned to Camden on June 14, 1891. Whitman received the facsimiles on June 26. See Whitman's letter to Johnston of June 26, 1891. The letter from Whitman that Johnston references here may be lost. "Prof. Buckwalter" is Geoffrey Buckwalter (1849–1912), a Camden teacher and friend of Whitman's, who helped organize and fund the purchase of a wheeled chair for the poet, as well as arranging the poet's photo session at Frederick Gutekunst's Philadelphia studio in 1889. It is also possible that Johnston is referring to Whitman's letter of June 9, 1891, which Whitman wrote on a letter from "Prof. Brinton who wanted to read the Notes." "Prof. Brinton" is Daniel Garrison Brinton (1837–1899), a professor of linguistics and archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania. If this is the case, then Johnston has confused "Prof. Buckwalter" with "Prof. Brinton." This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 5 | 6 AM | 91; Philadelphia, PA | JUN | 5 |1030AM | 1891 | TRANSIT; NY | 6-6-91 | [illegible]; London | PM | JU 6 | 91 | Canada. Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" It is uncertain which of Bucke's letters Whitman is referring to here. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: London | AM | JU 8 | 91 | Canada; NY | 6-5-91 | 1130PM; Camden, N.J. | Jun 5 | 8 PM | 91. Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" Whitman is referring to the letter he wrote to Bucke on June 4, 1891. When Whitman's canary died, Warry (Whitman's nurse) and Mrs. Davis (Whitman's housekeeper) had it stuffed and placed on the mantle beneath a photograph. According to Dr. Johnston's letter on May 19–20, Warry had apparently suggested that the poet give it to the Bolton group. Bucke duly took it with him when he went to England, and on July 23 the co-founder of the Bolton group of Whitman admirers, James W. Wallace, thanked Whitman for "a very affecting & precious souvenir of you to me." On August 3 he wrote to Mrs. Davis: "I need not to tell you how deeply I prize it. It is a very precious & affecting souvenir of Mr. Whitman—of his lonely room, his thoughts & memories, & the cheer received from the canary's (also caged imprisoned) joyous warblings. It connects itself with memories of my mother's like condition—her only companion often a canary too." See the letter from Wallace to Mary Davis in the Papers of Walt Whitman (MSS 3829), Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature, Albert H. Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia. See also Johnston and Wallace's Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917), 60–61n. When Whitman's canary died, Warry (Whitman's nurse) and Mrs. Davis (Whitman's housekeeper) had it stuffed and placed on the mantle beneath a photograph. Warry had apparently suggested that the poet give it to the Bolton group. Bucke duly took it with him when he went to England, and on July 23 the architect and co-founder of the Bolton group of Whitman admirers, James W. Wallace thanked Whitman for "a very affecting & precious souvenir of you to me." On August 3 he wrote to Mrs. Davis: "I need not to tell you how deeply I prize it. It is a very precious & affecting souvenir of Mr. Whitman—of his lonely room, his thoughts & memories, & the cheer received from the canary's (also caged imprisoned) joyous warblings. It connects itself with memories of my mother's like condition—her only companion often a canary too." See the letter from Wallace to Mary Davis in the Papers of Walt Whitman (MSS 3829), Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature, Albert H. Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia. See also Johnston and Wallace's Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917), 60–61n. When Whitman's canary died, Warry (Whitman's nurse) and Mary Davis (Whitman's housekeeper) had it stuffed and placed on the mantle beneath a photograph. Warry had apparently suggested that the poet give it to the Bolton group. Bucke duly took it with him when he went to England. On August 3 Wallace wrote to Davis: "I need not to tell you how deeply I prize it. It is a very precious & affecting souvenir of Mr. Whitman—of his lonely room, his thoughts & memories, & the cheer received from the canary's (also caged imprisoned) joyous warblings. It connects itself with memories of my mother's like condition—her only companion often a canary too." See the letter from Wallace to Mary Davis in the Papers of Walt Whitman (MSS 3829), Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature, Albert H. Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia. See also Johnston and Wallace's Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917), 60–61n. This letter is addressed: Edward Carpenter | Millthorpe | near Chesterfield | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 5 | 3 PM | 91. Carpenter wrote on May 20, 1891 after his return to England from Ceylon and India; in addition to the monetary gift he enclosed "a bit of sweetbriar wh' grows by the door of this little house." Little is known about Ethel Thompson (ca. 1859), who was the "very dear cousin" of Joseph William Thompson. See the letter from Joseph W. Thompson to Whitman of January 20, 1880. Little is known about R. D. Roberts. According to Carpenter's letter to Whitman of May 17, 1886, Roberts had a master's degree from Cambridge. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 6 | 8 PM | 91; London | PM | Ju 8 | 91 | Canada. Whitman may be referring to letters from Dr. John Johnston and James W. Wallace, the co-founders of a group of Whitman admirers in Bolton, England. Wallace wrote to Whitman on May 22, 1891, and Dr. Johnston sent a letter on May 23, 1891. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton | Lancashire England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 6 | 8 PM | 91. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 8 | 6 AM | 91; N. Y. | 6-8-91 | 10 AM | [illegible] London | PM | JU 9 | 91 | Canada. Geoffrey Buckwalter, a Camden friend and one of the organizers of the seventieth birthday celebration. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 9 | 1 30PM | 91; LO[illegible] | PM | Ju 10 | 91 | Canada. This letter is addressed: J M Stoddart Editor Lippincotts Publishers Market Street Philadelphia. Although Stoddart said in the magazine that "it was only after considerable persuasion on the editor's part that Mr. Whitman consented to write the above," this note scarcely bears him out. However, for more details on the plans for publishing "Walt Whitman's Last," see Whitman's letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke of June 11, 1891. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 10 | 8 PM | 91; London | PM | JU 12 | 91 | Canada. Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" Whitman may be referring to Bucke's letter of June 8, 1891, which he had misdated May 8, 1891. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 11 | 8 PM | 91; Philadelphia, P.A. | Jun | 11 | 9PM | 1891 | Transit; London | PM | JU [illegible] | 91 | Canada. Whitman has crossed out the name and address written on this envelope and written Bucke's name and address at the top. He wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" O'Grady's article, "Walt Whitman: the Poet of Joy"; see 422, n.24. Both Richard Maurice Bucke, Walt Whitman (1883) and Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1964), 5 vols. wrote frequently about the book of essays which they planned to publish in the fall. On June 14 Richard Maurice Bucke, Walt Whitman (1883) requested permission to include two of the poet's early unsigned reviews of Leaves of Grass, a request which Walt Whitman seemingly ignored (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). What the two disciples proposed was realized in In Re (1893). Whitman is referring to "Walt Whitman: the Poet of Joy" by Standish O'Grady, a lawyer and celebrated Irish poet. See Standish O'Grady, "Walt Whitman: Poet of Joy," Selected Essays and Passages (Dublin: Talbot Press, 1918), 269–290. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 13 | 6 AM | 91. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 14 | 5 PM | 91; Buffalo, N. Y. | 10 AM 1891 | Transit; London | PM | JU 15 | 91 | Canada. Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" According to a note in Traubel's "Walt Whitman's Birthday, May 31, 1891," published in the August 1891 issue of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, "James Russell Lowell sent his 'felicitations and good wishes' in almost as brief phrase, and sweet also, but at an hour too late to pair with [Alfred, Lord] Tennyson's" (230). This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | Anderton near Chorley | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 16 | 8 PM | 91. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun (?) | 6 PM | 91; Philadelphia, Pa. | Jun 18 | 11 PM | Paid. After the wedding of Horace Traubel and Anne Montgomerie on May 28, 1891 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), the couple traveled to London, Ontario, Canada with Bucke. They had returned to Camden on June 14. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 18 | 6 PM | 91; London | [illegible]PM | Ju 19 | Canada. This letter is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont | Mass: It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 18 | 6 PM | 91. Whitman is likely referring to Bucke's letter of June 16, 1891. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 2[illegible] | 5 PM | 91. As Bucke's letters in May and June 1891 both to Whitman and Horace Traubel make clear, he was going abroad to establish a foreign market for his gas and fluid meter, a subject to which he referred constantly in his communications but which the poet studiously ignored. Whitman is likely referring to Bucke's letter of June 21, 1891. Whitman is referring to a financial scandal involving the City Treasurer of Philadelphia, John Bardsley. Bardsley was accused of misappropriating and embezzlement of city funds. He was eventually convicted of loaning, speculating, and receiving interest on public funds and was sentenced to a lengthy prison term in July 1891. Later (November 3, 1891) he wrote to the postmaster at Delaware, Ohio, to inquire about the money order, and received a negative reply on November 5. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton | Lancashire England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 25 | 1 30 PM | 91. The facsimile of 2547. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 25 | 8 PM | 91. Bucke not only followed Whitman's directions but also gave the letter to Dr. Johnston, whose endorsement to this effect appears on the letter. Only Bucke's transcription of this letter is extant (The Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Sarrazin had written to Whitman with news of his recovery and improved health on July 11, 1891. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 28 | 8 PM | 91; Philadelphia, Pa. | Jul 28 | 11 PM | Paid. See Bucke's July 18, 1891 letter to Whitman. This letter gives a detailed account of nineteenth-century sentimental camaraderie. In the middle of the reception in honor of Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke's visit to Bolton, the boys sang a song to the tune of "The March of the Men of Harlech," a Welsh national air. Wentworth Dixon, a lawyer's clerk and member of the Bolton College of Whitman admirers, composed the lyrics to the song, which welcomed Bucke to England and praised Whitman. In a postscript to the letter, Bucke observed: "If it were ever possible for you to come to England the fellows would go clean crazy about you." Horace Traubel sent reports of the event to the Camden Post on August 1 and 14. Traubel's article "Over-Sea Greeting. Walt Whitman's Fame Abroad" was published on the front page of the Camden Post on August 1, 1891. The article includes an account of Dr. John Johnston's visit to Whitman in the summer of 1890. Traubel reprints letters from Johnston and James W. Wallace—co-founders of the Bolton College of Whitman admireres—to Whitman and letters from Bucke to Whitman that describe Bucke's own time in England in July and August 1891. Traubel's article "Walt Whitman Abroad" was published in the Post on August 7, and describes the conclusion of Bucke's visit to Bolton. For Wallace's and Johnston's reactions to these pieces, see the letter from Wallace to Whitman on August 14, 1891 and from Johnston to Whitman of August 22, 1891. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester r'd | Bolton | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug. 24 | 3 PM | 91. Whitman is likely referring to Johnston's letter of August 11, 1891 and to Wallace's letter of August 11, 1891. Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892) succeeded William Wordsworth as poet laureate of Great Britain in 1850. The intense male friendship described in In Memoriam, which Tennyson wrote after the death of his friend Arthur Henry Hallam, possibly influenced Whitman's poetry. Tennyson began a correspondence with Whitman on July 12, 1871. Although Tennyson extended an invitation for Whitman to visit England, Whitman never acted on the offer. At the time Whitman wrote this letter, Bucke was traveling abroad in England in an attempt to establish a foreign market for the gas and fluid meter he was developing with his brother-in-law William Gurd. While in England, Richard Maurice Bucke visited Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and Bucke gave a detailed account of their meeting to Whitman in his letter to the poet of August 10, 1891. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester R'd | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 28 | 8 PM | 91; Philadelphia, Pa. | Aug 28 | 11 PM | Paid. Mrs. O'Connor informed Walt Whitman of the visit on August 26 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | Manchester R'd | Bolton | Lancashire England. It is postmarked: Camden, (?) | Sep 3 | 6 PM | 91. Bucke had just returned from two months of travel in England in an attempt to establish a foreign market for the gas and fluid meter he was developing with his brother-in-law William Gurd. After arriving in New York, Bucke went to Camden to see Whitman and to await the arrival of the Bolton architect James W. Wallace, who was then en route, traveling from England to the United States. Wallace arrived 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 Wallace met Bucke's famiy and friends. Whitman is referring to either Johnston's letter of August 19, 1891 or Johnston's letter of August 22, 1891. At the time Whitman wrote this letter, Bucke was visiting James W. Wallace and Dr. John Johnston of Bolton, England. This letter is addressed: Dr. Johnston | 54 Manchester R'd | Bolton Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 10 | 8 PM | 91. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester R'd | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 11 | 8 PM | 91. The underwear was a gift from Sam Hodgkinson, a hosiery manufacturer; see John Johnston and J. W. Wallace, Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–1891 by Two Lancashire Friends (1917), 104, and note 2650. In the 1892 Presidential election, former Democratic President Grover Cleveland (1837–1908) defeated the incumbent Republican President Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901). This election was a rematch of what had been a close presidential election in 1888. Dr. Johnston had taken several photos when he visited Camden, including photos of the inside of Whitman's house and photos of Whitman in his wheelchair on the Camden docks. They are reproduced in Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 by Two Lancashire Friends (1917). As Bucke's letters to Whitman and Horace Traubel in May and June 1891 make clear, he planned to travel abroad in order to establish a foreign market for his gas and water meter. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 18 | 3 PM | 91; N.Y. | 9-18-91 | 11 PM; London | SP | [illegible] | 91 | Canada. "The College Farewell to Dr Bucke and J. W. Wallace" summarized the speeches made on August 24 before the two men sailed. The main address by Bucke was a résumé of what he was later to express in Cosmic Consciousness (1905). Bucke sent his notes about the gathering to Horace Traubel on September 17 and asked that he edit them for inclusion in a projected volume of essays. Bucke and Traubel had already begun to make plans for a collected volume of writings by and about Whitman. The book, titled In Re Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), was edited by Bucke, Traubel, and Thomas Harned (Whitman's three literary executors) and would not be published until 1893. Bucke quoted Whitman's sentence of approval to Traubel on September 21, 1891 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester R'd | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 18 | 3 PM | 91. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 21 | 6 AM | 91; N.Y. | 9-21-91 | 1000AM | [illegible]; LONDON | AM | SP 22 | 91 | CANADA. Whitman wrote this letter on a proof of the title-page of the final edition of Leaves of Grass (1891–1892). Whitman is referring to Bucke's letter of September 18, 1891 and Wallace's letter of September 18, 1891. At this time, Wallace was visiting Bucke in London, Ontario, as part of his North American trip to visit Whitman and his friends. This note was written on the final page of the galley proofs of Traubel's article, "Walt Whitman: Poet and Philosopher and Man." Walt Whitman underscored in red ink one line in the essay: "His book was to get as close to nature as his reserves would permit." This letter is addressed: Editor | Once-a-Week | Warren st Paper | New York City. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | Jan 25 | 5 PM | 91; P.O.N.Y. | (?) 25-91 | 11-15 | 6 (?). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 27 | 6 AM | 91; NY | 1-27-91 | 10:30AM | [illegible]; London | PM | JA 2[illegible] | 91 | Canada. Once a Week was a New York magazine founded by Irish immigrant Peter Fenelon Collier (1849–1909) in 1888 and was printed under various names until its final issue in 1957. In 1891, the Editor was Boston-born Mayo Williamson Hazeltine (1841–1909), a graduate of Harvard University. He was a popular book critic whose reviews and articles appeared in The North American Review and Harper's Magazine, and Hazeltine was a long-time editorialist for the New York Sun. Some of his reviews for the Sun were collected in Chats about Books: Poets and Novelists (New York: Scribner's, 1883). Under new editor Julius Chambers in 1892, Once a Week published Whitman's poem "A Thought of Columbus" with comments from Horace Traubel (see "Walt Whitman's Last Poem." [July 16 1892], 3). For more information on Hazeltine, see his obituary in the Paterson, New Jersey, Morning Call (September 16 1909), 12. See the letter from Bucke to Whitman of January 24, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | JA 24 | 91 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Jan | 26 | PM | 1891 | Rec'd. Bucke is referring to Whitman's letter of January 21, 1891. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | Jan 31 | 3 PM | 91; LONDON | AM | FE 2 | 91 | CANADA. The verso of the envelope includes the faint outline of a third postmark, but it is entirely illegible. Dr. John Johnston of Bolton, England, came to visit Whitman in July 1890 and took several photographs of the poet in his wheel chair on Camden wharf. In two of the photos, Whitman is attended by his nurse Warren Fritzinger. See The Walt Whitman Archive's Image Gallery, which includes three photographs of Walt Whitman and his nurse Warren Fritzinger (Image 117, Image 118, Image 119). Bucke is referring to this photograph, which was taken by Frederick Gutekunst in Philadelphia in 1889. The date is in Richard Maurice Bucke's hand. The newspaper article pasted on the page at this point refers to a legal suit over an estate worth $13,000,000 and names Ingersoll as one of the lawyers involved in the case. In March 1891, Lippincott's published "Old Age Echoes," a cycle of four poems including "Sounds of the Winter," "The Unexpress'd," "Sail Out for Good, Eidólon Yacht," and "After the Argument," accompanied by an extensive autobiographical note called "Some Personal and Old-Age Memoranda." This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Mar 3 | 8 PM | 91; Philadelphia, Pa. | Mar 3 | 11 PM | Paid. This postal card is addressed: Herbert H Gilchrist | artist | Centreport | Suffolk Co: New York. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR 11 | 6 PM | 91; CENTREPORT | N. Y. | MAR [illegible] | SUFFOLK [illegible]. At the time of this letter, Herbert Gilchrist had settled on Long Island and was attempting unsuccessfully to support himself as an artist. As Harrison Smith Morris observes, "[H]is life was really a veiled tragedy. . . . In the end he snuffed out his career, like a comedian who hides his grief under a courageous smile" (Walt Whitman: A Brief Biography with Reminiscences [Cambridge, Massachussets: Harvard University Press, 1929], 83–84). Edwin Haviland Miller notes the "curious verbal repetitions here," seeing in this letter references to Whitman's poem "The Base of All Metaphysics" and a repetition of "the Mother of All" refrain from Whitman's "The Return of the Heroes." Herbert Gilchrist would relocate and settle along the shore of Centrepoint Cove on Long Island. There he attempted unsuccessfully to support himself as an artist. As Harrison Smith Morris observes, "[H]is life was really a veiled tragedy. . . . In the end he snuffed out his career, like a comedian who hides his grief under a courageous smile" (Walt Whitman: A Brief Biography with Reminiscences [Cambridge, Massachussets: Harvard University Press, 1929], 83–84). Tuke, a young Englishman, sent 25 shillings for a copy of Leaves of Grass on March 9, 1891: "I cannot tell you what a blessed thing it was to me when I found your poems, & I could say the same of several other young Englishmen I know." Whitman is referring to Tuke's letter of March 9, 1891. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 1 | 6 AM | 91; N. Y. | 4-1-91 | 10 30 AM | 7; London | [illegible] | 91 | Canada. Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" Whitman is referring to a review of Edmund Clarence Stedman (1833–1908) and Ellen MacKay Hutchinson's (1851–1933) A Library of American Literature, by William Sharp (1855–1905). Sharp was a Scottish poet and literary biographer, who sometimes wrote under the pseudonym Fiona Macleod. See The National Review 17 (1891), 56–71. Sharp visited Walt Whitman on January 23, 1892, with a letter of introduction from Arthur Stedman. Through Mrs. McKay (the wife of Philadelphia publisher David McKay), he obtained a copy of the final edition, in which he wrote the following: "'William Sharp, when you go back to England, tell those friends of whom we have been speaking and all others whom you may know though I do not, that words fail me to express my deep gratitude to them for sympathy and aid truly enough beyond acknowledgment. Good-bye to you and to them—the last greetings of a tired old poet.'" Said to me at the last, with difficulty and halting breath by Walt Whitman, when I took farewell of him to-day at his bedside. W.S. 23:1:'92" (Catalog of Alan G. Thomas, Bournemouth, England, 1963). The Atlantic Monthly, LXVII (April–May, 1891), 433–454, 577–600. At this point, Whitman mounted a clipping from the newspaper announcing the appearance of the tale. "Old Chants" appeared in Truth on March 19 (William Sloane Kennedy, The Fight of a Book for the World (1926), 272); it was "sent . . . by y'ng Mr [Joseph Alfred] Stoddart [the son of Joseph Marshall Stoddart, editor of Lippincott's Magazine]" on March 15, and Walt Whitman received $12 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On March 24, Whitman tells Horace Traubel that he is happy with how "Old Chants" was published and that he has already sent his essay, "Old Actors, Singers, Shows, &c., in New York" to Truth. Whitman noted that he had asked for $16 in payment for the essay and had indicated that he wanted the piece to appear in print the following week (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, March 24, 1891). After a delay of several weeks, Traubel recorded that a version of the piece had "at last appeared" in Truth, where it filled only a single column (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, April 30, 1891). Sumner I. Kimball was chief of the Life-Saving Service in the Treasury Department. On March 5, 1891, Ellen O'Connor sent a eulogy written by Kimball for the Life-Saving Report. Whitman's essay "Old Actors, Singers, Shows, &c., in New York" was published in Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). In both this letter and his letter to Bucke of March 30–31, 1891, Whitman claims to have sent the essay to Truth, a periodical in which his poem "Old Chants" was published on March 19, 1891. According to his Commonplace Book, Whitman sent the manuscript on March 22, 1891, and the essay was "intended for April 2d." But a second note reads "proof rec'd April 10 return'd" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Publication of the essay in Truth has not been confirmed. In his letter to Bucke of March 30–31, 1891, Whitman writes that he sent his essay "Old Actors, Singers, Shows, &c., in New York" to Truth, a periodical in which his poem "Old Chants" was published on March 19, 1891. Whitman told Horace Traubel that he had asked for $16 in payment for the essay and had indicated that he wanted the piece to appear in print the following week (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, March 24, 1891). After a delay of several weeks, Traubel recorded that a version of the piece had "at last appeared" in Truth, where it filled only a single column (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, April 30, 1891). Whitman seems to have sent Bucke a printed copy of the essay as it appeared in Truth. Truth began as a weekly magazine in New York in 1881. After a hiatus from 1884 to 1886, a new editor, Blakely Hall, revitalized the magazine with lavish illustrations, fiction, humor, poetry, and cartoons. For more information, see Susan Belasco's "Truth." The 1889–1890 viral influenza pandemic—one of the deadliest in history—had a recurrence in the U.S. starting in early March of 1891. Around a million died worldwide during the pandemic. Here, Whitman has agreed to sit for noted landscape painter George W. Waters. Whitman here is referring to his volume, Two Rivulets. Two Rivulets was published as a "companion volume" to the 1876 Author's edition of Leaves of Grass. Notable for its experimentations in form, typography, and printing convention, Whitman's two-volume set marks an important departure from previous publications of Leaves. The book, as one critic of the The New York Daily Tribune wrote, consisted of an "intertwining of the author's characteristic verse, alternated throughout with prose." For more information on Two Rivulets, see Frances E. Keuling-Stout, "Two Rivulets, Author's Edition [1876]" and " Preface to Two Rivulets [1876]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). According to the letter from Whitman to John H. Johnston of December 12, 1876, Whitman had agreed to sit for a portrait by noted landscape painter George W. Waters. The portrait appears as the frontispiece to the fifth volume of the Camden Edition. Waters' sketch also idealizes the poet (The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman, ed. Richard Bucke, Thomas Harned, Horace Traubel, Oscar Tiggs [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 1:202). He sketched Whitman at least once and gave the sketch to Mrs. Alma Calder Johnston, who frequently hosted both Waters and Whitman in her New York home. According to the letter from Whitman to John H. Johnston of December 12, 1876, Whitman had agreed to sit for a portrait by noted landscape painter George W. Waters. Whitman wrote the remainder of this postscript in pencil. Prior to technological advancements and refrigeration rendering them obsolete, a structure called the receiving vault was designed for the purpose of storing dead bodies during the frigid winter months until the ground thawed enough to dig permanent graves. Songs of the Sierras (1871) is a book of poetry on the Sierra Nevada mountain range written by American poet, author, and frontiersman, Joaquin Miller. "The American War" was published in The Examiner; see Whitman's letter to Rossetti of June 26, 1876. The poem (later retitled "To the Man-of-War-Bird") was published in The Athenaeum (April 1, 1876), 463, which paid Whitman £3.3 (CB). It was later published in Progress as "Thou who hast slept all night upon the storm"; see CHAL, II, 557. Whitman had recently sent a copy of his new edition of Leaves of Grass to the former Attorney General. See Whitman's letter to James Speed of October 13, 1866, in which Whitman requests three dollars for the book. In his recent letter to Speed, Whitman wrote of his fondness for their mutual aquaintence Charley: "Tell Charley that I have not forgotten him—I send him my love, & hope we may meet again one of these days. Refer to Whitman's letter to James Speed of October 13, 1866. During 1867, Whitman had been trying to secure a republication in England for his fourth, 1867 edition of Leaves of Grass. On April 30, 1867, Conway had informed William Douglas O'Connor of a conference, attended by Algernon Charles Swinburne, William Michael Rossetti, and John Camden Hotten, the publisher. At the meeting, it was decided that a complete edition of Leaves of Grass could not be published in England without "legal prosecution on any publisher" (Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library; Bliss Perry, Walt Whitman [Boston: Houghton Mifflin and Company, 1906], 185). This statement was later denied; see Conway's letter to Burroughs (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1931], 47). A volume of selections was eventually decided upon; see Whitman's November 1, 1867, letter to Moncure D. Conway. Since Whitman was determined to guide the London edition, he sent to Conway an "Introduction" that he had composed but had attributed to O'Connor, who was thus to introduce Whitman to English readers. A manuscript in Whitman's hand in the Pierpont Morgan Library, "Introduction to the London Edition," is dated August 1867, and was later corrected to read September, 1871; it is reprinted by Clifton Joseph Furness, Walt Whitman's Workshop (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1928), 150–154. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, Esq., | Attorney General's Office | Washington D.C. It is postmarked: [worn-away] | SEP | 2[illegible] | 1867 | MASS; CARRIER | SEP | 25 | 7 P.M. In fact, Whitman did receive the letter Wilson refers to here. See the letter from Wilson to Whitman of April 21, 1867. Whitman's note on the envelope suggests he replied to Wilson on September 23, 1867, but that letter has not been located. The next known letter from Whitman to Wilson is dated April 15, 1870. William Wise (1814–1903) was a jeweler for more than seventy years in Brooklyn. Alfred became a partner in his father's jewelry business in the 1850s, at which time the business was renamed William Wise & Son. William and Alfred Wise are listed in the Brooklyn Directory for 1866–1867 as living at 233 Fulton St., Brooklyn (Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts, ed. Edward F. Grier [New York: New York University Press, 1984], 2:837). Alcott is referring to Whitman's letter of April 26, 1868. On August 24, 1857, the New York branch of the Ohio Lfie Insurance and Trust Company failed which sparked a ricochet effect and led to the collapse of banks across the nation. With embezzlement in the mix, this event became the catalyst for the Panic of 1857, of which would be known as the most severe ecomnic crises in U.S. history. Years later, The Report of the Clearinghouse Committee articulated the following events of heightening concern: the British withdrew captial from U.S. banks, grain prices fell, Russian undersold U.S. coton on the open market, manufactured goods lay in surplus, railroads overbuilt and some defaulted on debts, land scheems and projects dependent on new rail routes failed. Magnifying the predicament, the SS Central America, lugging millions of dollars in gold from the new San Francisco Mint to create a reserve for eastern banks, was caught in a hurricane and sunk in September 1857 ("The Panic of 1857," Library of Congress). Nellie E. Gage (1841–1892), daughter of Ichabod Lewis Gage, married Benton H. Wilson in 1865 or 1866. She had two children from a previous marriage: Lewis and Eva Morrell, and she and Benton were the parents of five children. Wilson named his first child "Walter Whitman Wilson," after the poet; their other children were Austin, Irene, Georgie, and Kathleen Wilson. Walter Whitman Wilson ( See Hiram J. Ramsdell's letter to Whitman of July 17, 1867. Whitman is likely referring to Ramsdell's May 8, 1867, letter in which Ramsdell reports George A. Townsend's highly laudatory comments on Leaves of Grass. Whitman had not initiated any movement on the topic of W. H. Piper & Co. retailing his Leaves of Grass following this letter, in which Trowbridge declared W. H. Piper "a good man to retail the book." A few years later, in Whitman's September 24, 1870, letter to Trowbridge, Whitman announced that he had "engaged in electrotyping a new edition of my book." Then, Whitman inquired to his friend of the name of the Boston publisher who had been willing to sell his book: "You sent me word a year or more ago of some Boston publisher, or bookseller, who was willing (or perhaps wished) to sell my book—Who was it?—I should like to have some such man there—to sell the book on commission, & be agent, depositor, &c—." See Whitman's letter to Ramsdell of July 19, 1867. In his August 10, 1867 responding letter to Alden, Whitman encloses a copy, unbound, of Leaves of Grass with the following admission: As I have not at my control, at this moment, any bound copies of Leaves of Grass, would you allow me to send you a copy in paper I forward it by same mail with this." The writer of the Citzen article was likely Charles G. Halpine. Whitman alluded to this fact in his August 10, 1867, letter to William Livingston Alden when he noted to the sender "Accept—for yourself, the Citizen, & Gen. Halpine." Charles G. Halpine (1829–1868) was a journalist, soldier, and politician. He joined the 69th New York Regiment at the outbreak of the war and was brevetted brigadier general for gallantry. Known as a humorist and author, under the pseudonym Pvt. Miles O'Reilley, Halpine was also a well-known journalist who wrote for the New York Herald, and later became editor of The Leader. It would appear that, in 1867, Halpine was writing for the Citizen. In his letter to Whitman of August 9, 1867, W. L. Alden requested that Whitman send him a copy of Leaves of Grass. Whitman fulfilled Alden's request and, as if in haste, enclosed an unbound copy in his August 10, 1867 responding letter to Alden of Leaves of Grass with the following admission: As I have not at my control, at this moment, any bound copies of Leaves of Grass, would you allow me to send you a copy in paper I forward it by same mail with this." No copies of the Citizen are extant before July 10, 1869. However, Whitman's poem "A Carol of Harvest for 1867" was reprinted in the paper, according to the poet's 1867? letter to his friend and defender William D. O'Connor. Alden had written to Whitman on August 9, 1867, and would write again on November 18, 1867 to remind Whitman to send a poem for the Citizen. Whitman also corresponded with Alden on August 27, 1868, in reference to another piece. No copies of the Citizen are extant before July 10, 1869. However, Whitman's poem "A Carol of Harvest for 1867" was reprinted in the paper, according to the poet's 1867? letter to his friend and defender William D. O'Connor. Alden had written to Whitman on August 9, 1867, and had also asked Whitman for a poem for the Citizen in his August 19, 1867, letter to the poet. Whitman also corresponded with Alden on August 27, 1868, in reference to another piece. Little is known about Agnes McClure Alden. She was the daughter of Rev. Dr. McClure of Pennsylvania, and she married William Livingston Alden in 1865. Whitman's correspondences to William H. Millis Jr. are not extant in the Archive. However, there is some certainty that up until the evidenced recent exchange during February of 1874, the two had not been in touch in some time: "I was agreeable surprised to think that you had not forgotten me as I shall never forget you as long as I live," writes Millis. The New York Public Library's Berg Collection and Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book Room house the authentic, primary source letters Whitman received from William H. Millis Jr. Until this letter, the last one extant sent to Whitman was from January 20, 1868, six years prior. This letter is addressed: To Walt Whitman | Post Office | Washington D. C. | U.S. America. It is postmarked: CAMBRIDGE | JY 13 | 74.; JUL; WASHINGTON | JUL | 2[illegible] An unknown hand, likely a postal worker, crossed out "Washington D.C." on the envelope and wrote "Camden N.J." Whitman had moved from Washington D.C. to Camden. It is likely that Carpenter was unaware of the matter, as this would be his first impassioned letter to Whitman. After being wounded in Virginia, Wintersteen was taken to Armory Square Hospital in Washington, D. C. in September of 1863. According to jottings in Whitman's notebooks, Wintersteen occupied Ward C, bed 21 (Drum Beats: Walt Whitman's Civil War Boy Lovers, ed. Charley Shively [San Francisco: Gay Sunshine Press, 1989], 227). Whitman's letters to William H. Millis Jr. are not extant. Of what has survived of Millis, Jr.'s letters to Whitman, it is evidenced that the two corresponded off and on between the years of 1863 and 1875. Here, Millis, Jr. was eager to hear more routinely from Whitman: "I feel very anxious to hear from you...I have not forgotten you but often think of you." Added to that, in this letter, the sender announced his newborn son has been named after the poet himself. Making no note of a recently received communication from Whitman in this letter, it was reported in Millis, Jr.'s letter of February 25, 1875 that he had received a letter, picture, & paper from Whitman ahead of his response to the poet. Whitman's letters to William H. Millis Jr. are not extant. Based on the surviving letters of Millis Jr. to Whitman, it is evident that the two corresponded off and on between the years of 1863 and 1875. Although Millis Jr. made no note of any recently received communication from Whitman in this letter, he reported in his letter of February 25, 1875, that he had received a letter, picture, and paper from Whitman ahead of his response to the poet. Walt Whitman Millis was born in 1875; he passed away the following year, in 1876. He is buried in Dover, Delaware. In his April 4, 1875 letter to Whitman, William H. Millis, Jr. announced the birth of his son, who was named Walter Whitman "in honor to you for Love for you," remarked Millis, Jr. Walt Whitman Millis passed away the following year, in 1876. He is buried in Dover, Delaware. T. L. (Thomas Lamb) Phipson (1833–1908) was a British author who wrote wide ranging works on scientific theory and discovery. William Murray was a physician who wrote about the nervous system and treatment of aneurism. William Seller (1798–1869) was a physician from Edinburgh and a former editor of the Edinburgh Medical Journal. David Page (1814–1879) was a widely celebrated Scottish geologist and scientific author of the nineteenth century. President of the Edinburgh Geological Society, Page's pursuit for knowledge and academia in his field came about naturally, when after completing divinity school as a teen and in lieu of joining the ministry, he went to work in scientific lecturing and journalism. John Selby Watson (1804–1884) was a British classical translator and deacon; he later pleaded insanity for the murder of his wife, Anne Armstrong. Prior to his crime and life imprisonment, Watson was the headmaster of Stockwell Grammar School and garnered respect as a scholar and translator. Watson was also ordained as a deacon by the Bishop of Ely in 1839. He wrote biographies and religious works, in addition to the volume Reasoning Power in Animals (1867). Henry Stephens (1795–1874) was a Scottish farmer, meteorologist, and agricultural author. During his tour across continental Europe between 1818 and 1819, Stephens gathered intel of agricultural techniques among various plats of land, aiming to advance agricultural methods. In lieu of farming, during the latter part of his life Stephens devoted his time to writing and publishing materials centered on the advancement of farming practice and educating the general public on the basic principles of agricultural science. His book, The Book of the Farm (1841) was revolutionary in execution, lauded as a standard reference work and farming manual. Physiology at the Farm, in Aid of Rearing and Feeding the Live Stock (1867) was authored with William Sellers, M.D., and focused on animal nutrition. William Michael Rossetti's review of Whitman's poetry was significant for Whitman's European reputation ("Walt Whitman's Poems," London Chronicle, July 6, 1867, 362–363). Rossetti described Leaves of Grass as "incomparably the largest poetic work of our period" (see "Current Literature," New York Times, July 28, 1867, 2). For more information on Rossetti's criticism of Whitman's poems, see Rossetti, William Michael (1829–1915), Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter was Binckley's response to Whitman's letter of the same day, March 24, 1868, in which Whitman asserted his desire to remain in the role of Record Clerk rather than be considered for a post as pardon clerk. See Ferdinand Freiligrath's "Walt Whitman" in Walter Grünzweig's "Whitman in the German-Speaking Countries," which first appeared in Walt Whitman and the World, ed. Gay Wilson Allen and Ed Folsom, (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1995), 160–230. Whitman's letters to Will W. Wallace have not survived. The "pleasure trip" Wallace has referred to here is in reference to Whitman's vacation to Providence, RI. In Whitman's October 14, 1868 letter to William Douglas O'Connor—also resident of Providence at the time—he wrote that Paulina Davis, who had recently visited Whitman's New York lodgings, and her husband, Thomas, had arranged to have Whitman stay as their guest. "I shall come on to Providence, to-morrow, 15th—they to meet me at the depot, & take me home as their guest—from whence I shall report to you, & to Dr. & Mrs. Channing forthwith—& fulfil my promised visit to them also, before I return here—which will be about 21st or 22d." This line is from Whitman's poem, "By Blue Ontario's Shore." For more about the poem, see Kirsten Silva Gruesz, "By Blue Ontario's Shore (1856)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This line is from Whitman's poem "I Sing the Body Electric." For more about the poem, see Huck Gutman, "'I Sing the Body Electric' [1855]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This line is from Whitman's poem "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking." For more about the poem, see Mark Bauerlein, "'Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking' [1859]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). See Whitman's poem "A Word Out of the Sea." See Whitman's letter to Ralph Waldo Emerson of November 30, 1868. Whitman confirmed acceptance of the check for $100 in his letter to James T. Fields of December 8, 1868, as was it his payment in full for the piece "Proud Music of the Sea-Storm" (later called "Proud Music of the Storm"). In Whitman's letter to James T. Fields of December 8, 1868, he had requested proofs of his poem "Proud Music of the Sea-Storm" (later called "Proud Music of the Storm"). In his letter to John Morley of December 17, 1868, Whitman enclosed his poem "Thou vast Rondure, Swimming in Space" in hopes of it being printed in the March issue of Fortnightly Review. Whitman's poem was not printed in the magazine. The Fortnightly Review was an influential English monthly that published articles on politics, science, art, and literature. It was founded in 1865 by the English novelist Anthony Trollope (1815–1882), the historian Edward Spencer Beesly (1831–1915), and several additional investors. The magazine's first editor was George Henry Lewes (1871–1878), an English philsopher and literature critic. John Morley (1838–1923) was it's second edtior. Wilson's son was named Walt, in honor his friendship with the poet. Benton Wilson was married to Nellie Gage Morrell Wilson (ca. 1841–1892). Nellie had two children, Lewis and Eva Morrell, from a previous marriage, and she and Benton Wilson were the parents of five children. Wilson named his first child "Walter Whitman Wilson," after the poet; their other children were Austin, Irene, Georgie, and Kathleen Wilson. Brookfield is quoting from from Whitman's poem ultimately titled "Who Learns My Lesson Complete?," This poem first appeared as the penultimate untitled poem in Leaves of Grass (1855) and appeared again in the second edition of 1856 under the title "Lesson Poem." In 1860 and 1867, it appeared as "Leaves of Grass" No. 11 and No. 3, respectively. Given the circulation figures of the various editions, it is most likely that Brookfield quotes from the third edition of Leaves (1860), Autumn Rivulets (1881), Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Little is known about Meredith Reese Brookfield (1840?–1876) of Morristown, New Jersey. He was the son of Moses Brookfield (1801–1883), a gentleman, and Cathryn A. Brookfield (1802–1891). The Confessions of the Swiss philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) were published posthumously in 1782. In the final paragraphs of his letter to Whitman of February 3, 1867, Wilson expressed his desire to travel to South America: "I have been talking and thinking very strongly of going to South America next spring to be gone a year or two and see if I could not get into something there that would be of benefit to me financially." The signature on this letter has been cut away. Little is known about James Curphey, who was a cashier for First National Bank on Wall-Street in New York when it opened in 1863. He later became a broker and dealer in government securities at No. 1 Pine Street in the city. See Whitman's letter to Benton H. Wilson of April 12, 1867. In his last letter to Whitman of April 7, 1867, Benton H. Wilson reported that his wife had gone to New York City to stay with her sister during the latter's confinement. "Confinement" or "lying-in" is a traditional postpartum practice during which the mother and baby bond, and the mother heals from childbirth. Whitman had alluded in his April 12, 1867, response to Wilson's letter of April 7, 1867 that Wilson might have mixed feelings about his present situation: "contentment with one's situation in life does not depend half so much on what that situation is, as on the mood & spirit in which one accepts the situation & makes the best of it." That, and Whitman's statements regarding his desire to spend time with Wilson may have struck a nerve with the latter. This letter is addressed: Walt. Whitman. Esq. | Atty Gens Office. | Washington, | D.C. It is postmarked: SYRACUSE | APR | 22 | 67. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | Atty Gen. Office | Present. O'Connor is responding to a comment made by Whitman in his last letter of May 5, 1867, in which he had described O'Connor's popularity within the family: "They all talk of you here—as of the good person, the desired one, exhilarating, whose presence gives sun, & whose talk nourishes—(I think you must have laid yourself out that evening)." The "Cheerbyle Brothers" are German identical twin brothers and merchants with a zest for philanthropy. The brothers are characters in Charles Dickens's novel Nicholas Nickleby (1839). Thomas De Quincey (1785–1859) was an English writer, essayist, and literary critic, best known for his Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1821). Whitman had written to Abraham Simpson on May 20, 1867, and in that letter, the poet shared that his new book was not on a new subject, but was a "new & far more perfected edition of Leaves of Grass." With his letter, Simpson enclosed a circular advertising The Sayings of Dr. Bushwhacker, and other learned men by F. S. Cozzens. The circular announced the book's publisher, Messrs. A. Simpson & Co., and the volume's publication date, which was set for July 15, 1867. The circular is referring to a book by Frederic Swartwout (F. S.) Cozzens (1818–1869), a New York humorist and author of The Sayings of Dr. Bushwhacker, and Other Learned Men (sometimes spelled "Bushwacker"), an 1867 collection of essays, Prismatics (written under the pseudonym Richard Haywarde) and The Sparrowgrass Papers, a humorous account of a city man running a country home. Cozzens was also the editor of the Wine Press, a monthly periodical, until the start of the Civil War. See Conway's article "Walt Whitman" in The London Review and Weekly Journal of Politics, Society, Literature and Art of March 21, 1868. Slave Songs of the United States, ed. William Francis Allen; Ware, Charles Pickard; Garrison, Lucy McKim, (1867) was the earliest and most significant collection of African American music. William Francis Allen (1830–1889) was an American classical scholar and one of the editors of the first book of American slave songs, Slave Songs of the United States. During the Civil War, between 1863 and 1864, William and his wife Mary ran a school for newly emancipated slaves on the Sea Islands of South Carolina. Lucy McKim Garrison (1842–1877) was an American song collector and co-editor of Slave Songs of the United States. During the Civil War in 1862, Garrison traveled with her father to South Carolina, investigating conditions of recently freed slaves. Charles Pickard Ware (1849–1921) was an American educator and music transcriber. Ware was an abolitionist who worked as a civilian administrator in the Union Army, where he was a labor superintendent of freedmen on plantations at Port Royal, South Carolina during the Civil War. While on Seaside Plantation, he transcribed many slave songs with tunes and lyrics, which he later published in Slave Songs of the United States. See Whitman's letter to Byron Sutherland of September 20, 1868. Martha Mitchell Whitman wrote to Walt on February 27, 1870 and March 1, 1870 while she was in Brooklyn about her situation there, as well as her upcoming plans to visit and stay with Walt in Washington. In her letter to Walt of February 27, 1870, Martha reveals that her husband Jeff would be returning to St. Louis from their trip in Brooklyn earlier than expected. See Byron Sutherland's letter to Whitman of October 8, 1868. In Cyril Flower's letter to Whitman of April 23, 1871, he wrote that he had mailed the latter's books to Alfred, Lord Tennyson. See Whitman's letter to Frederick S. Ellis of August 12, 1871 in which he included an edition of Leaves of Grass. Joaquin Miller enclosed his calling card in his letter to Whitman. "Hennessy" may be a reference to the Irish-American artist William John Hennessy (1839–1917). The skilled wood engraver had notably been hired to illustrate the works of Tennyson, Longfellow, and Whittier. In a letter on July 20, 1867, John T. Trowbridge had said that William H. Piper and Co., booksellers in Boston, were willing to take 50 copies of the new edition of Leaves of Grass, and that he could personally recommend the firm. For some time, Whitman did not act on the suggestion that this firm could retail his Leaves of Grass. However, in his September 24, 1870, letter to Trowbridge, Whitman announced that he had "engaged in electrotyping a new edition of my book." Then, Whitman asked for the name of the Boston publisher who had been willing to sell his book: "You sent me word a year or more ago of some Boston publisher, or bookseller, who was willing (or perhaps wished) to sell my book—Who was it?—I should like to have some such man there—to sell the book on commission, & be agent, depositor, &c—." The firm was advertised as Whitman's Boston agent in books published in 1871 and 1872. Later Whitman authorized Asa K. Butts and Co. to collect the money Piper owed to him; see Whitman's December 29, 1873, and February 4, 1874, letters to Butts. For more on Trowbridge, see Whitman's December 27, 1863, letter. See Whitman's letter to W. H. Piper & Co. of December 8, 1871 in which he recalls the receipt from Nov. 3, 1870 for 25 copies each of Leaves of Grass, Passage to India, and Democratic Vistas. W.H. Piper & Co. was a Boston publisher located at Washington and Franklin streets. They also printed monthly literary bulletins spotlighting current literature. See Whitman's letter to Rudolf Schmidt of December 7, 1871. See Gilchrist's letter to Whitman of November 27, 1871. See Gilchrist's letter to Whitman of September 3–6, 1871. Conway is refering to R. H. Horne's The Great Peace-Maker: A Sub-marine Dialogue (London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, & Searle, 1872). This poetic account of the laying of the Atlantic cable has a foreword written by Forman. The Isle of Wight is an island located off the south coast of England. See Whitman's letter to Rudolf Schmidt of April 4, 1872. The Liberal Republican party was formed in 1870 as a split from the Republican party. The Liberal Republican Convention of 1872, the party's only national convention, took place in Cincinnati, Ohio, on May 1–3, 1872. Horace Greeley was the party's presidential nominee and Benjamin Gratz Brown was the party's vice-presidential nominee. "Democratic Souvenirs" (later "My Legacy") was included in Whitman's "Songs of Parting," which contained a cluster of poems that appeared first in the 1871–1872 edition of Leaves of Grass. Following his stroke of paralysis, Whitman's friends in Washington, D.C., helped to care for him: John Burroughs, Peter Doyle, and Ellen O'Connor. Whitman is referencing his brother's family. Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, his wife Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, and their two daughters lived in St. Louis, where Jeff had relocated in 1867 to assume the position of Superintendent of Water Works. For more on Jeff, see Randall Waldron, "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). For more on Mattie, see Randall H. Waldron, ed., Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 1–26. Gilchrist is referring to Whitman's poem "On the Beach at Night Alone." Whitman is likely referring to his letter from Burroughs of April 11, 1873. See Whitman's letter to John Burroughs of April 30, 1873. Burroughs had been preparing to build a home in the Catskill Mountains. Purchasing a nine-acre plot of land with a view of the Hudson River in September of 1873, the home would be known as "Riverby." See Whitman's letter to Ulysses S. Grant of February 27, 1874. Storms may be referring to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is located in Central Park at 1000 5th Avenue, New York City. See Whitman's letter to Rudolf Schmidt of March 4, 1874. This is likely in reference to Whitman's Memoranda During the War (1875). Six sections of this book first appeared as newspaper pieces in 1874, and then were collected and revised for the book publication in 1875. See Robert Leigh Davis, "Memoranda During the War [1875–1876]." See John Burroughs's letter to Whitman of May 17, 1874. Swinton is referring to the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass. See Whitman's letter to William Stansberry of May 20, 1874. William Stansberry (1837–1906), a native of West Virginia, was a Sergeant in Company A of the Third West Virginia Cavalry during the American Civil War. He later moved to Wright County, Minnesota, where he and his wife, Jane Drusilla Cochran Stansberry (1837–1920) settled on a farm. The couple had at least twelve children, and the family was living in Howard Lake, Minnesota, a few years before William's death. Whitman is referring to the engraving of Tennyson on page 482 of volume 38 of The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine (August 1889). Thomas Johnson (1843–1904) worked as an engraver in Brooklyn, New York. He did engravings of Walt Whitman, Abraham Lincoln, and the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ("Johnson, Thomas," Benezit Dictionary of Artists [Oxford: University of Oxford Press, 2011]). Olive Schreiner (1855–1920) was born in South Africa and became an author who was well known for her writings on gender, race, and class, as well as those opposed to British Imperialism in South Africa. Though she wrote a number of political works, she is now probably best known for her novel The Story of an African Farm and her feminist non-fiction tract Woman and Labour (Carolyn Burdett, "Introduction," Olive Schreiner [Tavistock:Northcote House Publishers, Ltd, 2013], 1–11). Whitman's letter was written on the verso of Bucke's of June 15, 1889. On June 12 Kennedy had informed the poet of a "condition" he had established with Alexander Gardner, who was to publish his Whitman study: "that my corrections on proofs shd be followed. I only surmised that he might be mean enough to go ahead without me. But I have no real ground to think so." This poem, Death's Valley, was published in the April 1892 issue of Harper's Monthly Magazine. "Going Somewhere" is also the title of a poem that Whitman wrote from fragments of Anne Gilchrest's letters, in honor of her death. Sojourner Truth (1797?–1883) was born into slavery sometime around 1797 as Isabelle. She traveled the Northeast debating her thoughts on God before, in 1850, setting out to testify against slavery and to sell her book, Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave. She served as a delegate from Massachusetts to the first national Woman's Rights Convention, and would continue to travel the Northeast and Midwest to speak and fight for the rights of women and African Americans for the duration of her life (see Jacqueline Bernard, Journey Toward Freedom: The Story of Sojourner Truth. [New York: The Feminist Press at The City University of New York, 1990]). The New York Herald (1835–1924), a daily newspaper, became one of the longest running newspapers. The Herald was founded by James Gordon Bennett, Sr., and his son, James Gordon Bennett, Jr. (1841–1918), was the editor and publisher of the Herald, during the time Whitman published poems and prose pieces in the paper. Whitman published his largest number of periodical poems in the Herald. For more information on the paper and Whitman's contributions, see Susan Belasco, "New York Herald." Edward Bertz (1853–1931), also spelled "Eduard," was a German writer and translator from Potsdam, who became involved with social democracy movements and signed a petition against the criminalization of homosexuality in Germany. Bertz, a novelist, philologist, and self-declared sexual researcher, also published an article in 1905 in the yearbook of the Wissenschaftlich-Humanitäre Komitee, positing that Whitman was a (sexually inactive) homosexual. For more about Bertz, see Walter Grünzweig, "Bertz, Eduard (1853–1931)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). William S. Granger served as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Richmond, Ohio and helped to establish a bank in Chicago (Journal of the House of Representatives of the State of Ohio, Volume 39 [Ohio: The State, 1840], 697–8). Judge Lewis B. Woodruff (1809–1875) served as the Circuit Judge of the Second Judicial Circuit of the United States (The American Law Review, Volume 10 [Little, Brown, and Company, 1876], 167–168). Here Eldridge is quoting "Dirge" by Ralph Waldo Emerson. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: San Francisco, Cal | Oct 8 | 11 AM | 89; Camden, NJ | Oct | 14 | 6[illegible] | 1889 | [illegible]. Bucke is referring to Hannah and Robert Pearsall Smith, the parents of Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe. Smith, his wife Hannah, and their children were all friends and supporters of Whitman. For more about Smith and his 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). Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velázques (1599–1660) was a greatly admired European painter best known for his portraits and his impact upon artists, particularly in the nineteenth century (Everett Fahy, "Velázquez (1599–1660)," Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History [New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003]). Aaron Burr (1756–1836) was the third elected vice president of the United States, serving under Jefferson. As Whitman states, he had quite a curious life, that included being the only recorded sitting vice president to shoot and kill someone while in office as well as being arrested on charges of treason in a conspiracy to capitalize on a possible war in Spain (Mark O. Hatfield, with the Senate Historical Office, "Aaron Burr, 3rd Vice President [1801–1805]." Vice Presidents of the United States, 1789–1993, [Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1997], 31–44). Robert Burns (1759–1796) is remembered best as the national bard of Scotland. His poetry and use of the Scots dialect made him the first poet in the English-speaking world to be treated as a national celebrity in his lifetime, and he is often viewed as the first of the English-speaking Romantic poets. His political and religious views were seen as controversial, and after his death he became a source of inspiration for liberalism and socialism (Robert Crawford, The Bard: Robert Burns, A Biography [Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2009]). Mary Stuart (1542–1587), also known as Mary, Queen of Scots and Mary I of Scotland, ruled over Scotland from 1542–1567 when she was imprisoned and forced to abdicate the throne to her one-year-old son. When she escaped to England to seek refuge, her Catholicism and potential claim to the English throne were viewed as threatening and caused her to be confined in various castles by her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England. After eighteen and a half years of confinement she was found guilty of involvement in a plot to assassinate the Queen and was executed (John Guy, Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart [New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004]). Whitman is referring to Bucke's letter of November 8, 1889. Bucke is referring to Whitman's letter of November 6, 1889. Whitman enclosed the November 5, 1889, letter he had received from Kennedy with this letter to Bucke. Bucke is referring to Kennedy's book manuscript "Walt Whitman, Poet of Humanity." Kennedy had reported in a letter to Whitman of January 2, 1888 that Frederick W. Wilson was willing to publish the study. But Kennedy wrote to Whitman on November 5, 1889: "Fred. Wilson writes me that if he publishes I must pay cost of production. I can't, so I write him to return the MS. to me. I must wait till I get able." Bucke planned to advance Kennedy the money for publication when the meter enterprise became profitable. Kennedy's manuscript eventually became two books, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896) and The Fight of a Book for the World (1926). Alexander Gardner (1821–1882) of Paisley, Scotland, a publisher who reissued a number of books by and about Whitman, ultimately published Reminiscences of Walt Whitman in 1896 after a long and contentious battle with Kennedy over editing the book. Charles-Edouard Brown-Sequard (1817–1894) was a physiologist and neurologist who identified the sensory pathways of the spinal cord, anticipating modern ideas on how the brain operates, as well as leading towards the development of modern hormone replacement therapy (Michael J. Aminoff, Brown–Sequard: An Improbable Genius Who Transformed Medicine [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011]). Ignatius Donnelly's The Great Cryptogram: Francis Bacon's Cipher in the So-Called Shakespeare Plays. was published by R.S. Peale & Company in 1888. Henry Harland was an American author who wrote under the pseudonym Sidney Luska (Josh Lambert, "As It Was Written: A Jewish Musician's Story [1885] by Sidney Luska, American Jewish Fiction, [Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 2009], 14–15). Rhys may be referring to his sister, Edith. Edwin Haviland Miller speculates that the "Edith" Whitman refers to in his June 26, 1887, letter to Rhys is Rhys's sister. See especially note 2. Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894), a Scottish-born author now mainly known for his works Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, was also an admirer of Whitman (Clare Harman, Robert Louis Stevenson: A Biography [London: Harper Collins Publishers, 2005]). Howard Helmick (1845–1907) was an American painter, engraver, and illustrator who who lived in London for many years, during which time he often visited Ireland to do paintings of Irish landscapes and life. Isaac Markens (1846–1928) was an American writer, journalist, and newspaper editor, and the author of The Hebrews in America (1888), one of the earliest works tracing American Jewish history. The Mail and Express was the publisher of the Evening Mail, a New York City daily newspaper that traced its origins to the 1836 founding of the New York Daily Express ("Mail & Express Company records 1904–1920," Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library). The Horse Fair is an oil painting made by Rosa Bonheur and gifted to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1887 by Cornelius Vanderbilt. An image of this painting is available at the Metropolitan Museum of Art website. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Aldine hotel Decatur Street | Cape May City | New Jersey. It is postmarked: [illegible] | May 14 | 5 PM | 90; Phila[illegible] | M[illegible] | 1[illegible] | 1890 | Transit; Cape May City | May | 15 | 12PM | 1890 | N. J. The driver on this excursion—"the longest 'outing' for two years nearly"—was Edwin R. Stead, of 2226 Jefferson Street, Philadelphia (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). In the Gopsill Philadelphia City Directory for 1890 Stead was listed as a coppersmith. His birthday dinner. Whitman is referring to Richard Maurice Bucke's son, Edward Pardee Bucke (1875–1913), apparently named after Dr. Bucke's friend, the politician Timothy Blair Pardee. Edward, often called "Pardee," was the fifth of eight children of Dr. Bucke and his wife Jessie. He would receive his M.D. from the Univeristy of Western Ontario in 1897 and practice otolaryngology in London, Ontario. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | the Aldine Decatur Street | Cape May City | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 16 | 6 AM | 90. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | the Aldine hotel Decatur Street | Cape May City | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Cape May City | May 19 | 12 Pm | 1890 | N. J.; Camden, N. J. | May 18 | 5PM | 90. David L. Lezinsky was an 1884 graduate of the University of California, who wrote poetry and visited Whitman on May 13, 1890, while setting out on a trip to California. Whitman wrote letters to him and sent him a copy of his Complete Poems & Prose, but there is minimal information about what his "proposition" to Whitman was, and he remains something of a mystery. Whitman related his impressions of Lezinsky to Horace Traubel, saying of Lezinsky, "The tone of the man—his startling propositions, all confound me. As I understand, he comes from California, must have money, has become possessed of ideas about Walt Whitman. Today he went off to Washington, to be back again in several days. Why, Horace, you have no idea of the exuberance of the man: he talks of buying all my books, of buying a share in the copyrights, paying me several thousand dollars, having me write no more but by consultation with him: a series of surprising stipulations" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, May 13, 1890). See Whitman's letters to Bucke of June 5, 1890 and to Lezinsky of October 28, 1890. David L. Lezinsky was an 1884 graduate of the University of California, who wrote poetry and visited Whitman on May 13, 1890, while setting out on a trip to California. Whitman wrote letters to him and sent him a copy of his Complete Poems & Prose, but Lezinsky remains something of a mystery. See Whitman's letters to Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke of June 5, 1890 and to Lezinsky of October 28, 1890. In his Commonplace Book, Whitman noted on May 17 "the imminent (dangerous) at Market st: wharf"—which may explain this sentence. However, William T. Stead took him for a "drive to Gloucester" on May 19 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). John Addington Symonds's An Introduction to the Study of Dante (London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1872) was reissued in May 1890. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of April 28, 1890. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of December 24, 1890. According Edwin Haviland Miller, Whitman is referring to Kennedy's letter to Bucke on May 15 and one page of a letter written about April, 1887, dealing with Thomas Wentworth Higginson's criticism of Walt Whitman in Harper's Bazar. See Whitman's letter to Kennedy, Bucke, and the naturalist John Burroughs of April 21, 1887, n1. See Whitman's letter of December 18, 1889. Whitman's letters to Bucke of December 20 and 21, 1889 may not be extant. Whitman was buried in Harleigh Cemetery in Camden, New Jersey, on March 30, 1892, in an elaborate granite tomb that he designed. Reinhalter and Company of Philadelphia built the tomb, at a cost of $4,000. Whitman covered a portion of these costs with money that his Boston friends had raised so that the poet could purchase a summer cottage; the remaining balance was paid by Whitman's literary executor, Thomas Harned. For more information on the cemetery and Whitman's tomb, see See Geoffrey M. Still, "Harleigh Cemetery," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman was making plans to be buried in Harleigh Cemetery, in Camden, New Jersey, in an elaborate granite tomb that he designed. Reinhalter and Company of Philadelphia built the tomb, at a cost of $4,000. Whitman covered a portion of these costs with money that his Boston friends had raised so that the poet could purchase a summer cottage; the remaining balance was paid by Whitman's literary executor, Thomas Harned. For more information on the cemetery and Whitman's tomb, see See Geoffrey M. Still, "Harleigh Cemetery," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Joseph Pennell (1857–1926) was an American illustrator, printmaker, and writer who took up residence in London and became part of a circle that included Robert Louis Stevenson and George Bernard Shaw (Alan M. Fern, "Pennell, Joseph," Benezit Dictionary of Artists [Oxford: University of Oxford Press, 2011]). The Fabian Society emerged in 1884 and was at the center of an upsurge in socialist activity in Britain in the 1880s. Fabians played a key role in founding the Labour party in 1990 and have a commitment to non-violent political change and social justice that continues today ("Our History," Retrieved from: fabians.org.uk/about-us/our-history/). This article was published on pages 17–24 of the Scottish Art Review Volume II for June-December of 1889. Benjamin Jowett (1817–1893) was elected master of Balliol College in 1870, which he turned into the leading college in Oxford. He fostered a network of friends that included Tennyson, Browning, Sir Robert Morier, and Florence Nightingale. He had a great interest in advancing young men's lives and reforming his university, and was remembered for his fond friendship and sometimes overbearing nature (Peter Hinchliff and John Prest, "Jowett, Benjamin," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography [2006]). Frederick York Powell (1859–1904) was a lecturer and tutor of Christ Church at Oxford and became the Regius Professor of Modern History. He focused on Icelandic scholarship, English history, modern French poetry, and helped to found the English Historical Review (Oliver Elton, Frederick York Powell: A Life and a Selection from His Letters and Occasional Writings [Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1906]). This letter is addressed: Etats Unis d'Amerique | Walt Whitman, | Middle Street, | Camden, | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: Paris 42 |[illegible] 7 | JANV | 89 | AV. FRIEDLAND; New York | Jan 20 | 89 | Paid | H | All; Camden N. J. | Jan 21 | 6 AM | 89 | Rec'd. Thérèse Blanc (1840–1907), under her psuedonym Thérèse Bentzon, was an author, translator, and literary critic who is specifically noted for her expertise on American literary works and her subsequent writings for the Revue de Deux Mondes (Karen Offen, Debating the Woman Question in the French Third Republic, 1870–1920 [Cambridge University Press, 2018], 189–190). This article was published in the June 1, 1872 issue, of the publication. In February of 1884, Quesnel declared that the Leaves are untranslatable and that Whitman was not enough of an artist to appeal to Quesnel's countrymen (P. Mansell Jones, The Background of Modern French Poetry [Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1951], 71). Francis Vielé (1864–1937) was born in America and moved to Paris with his mother when his parents divorced in 1870. He was a French symbolist poet and literary critic known for creating controversy; for example, a slighting remark he made about Catulle Mendès led to him being wounded in a duel in 1891 (Reinhard Clifford Kuhn, The Return to Reality a Study of Francis Vielé-Griffin [Geneva, Switzerland and Paris, France: Librairie E. Droz and Librairie Minard, 1962]). This translation can be found on pages 271–286 of Volume 9 of La Revue indépendante de littérature et d'art published in October of 1888. Jules Laforgue (1860–1887) was a Franco-Uruguayan poet who died of tuberculosis at twenty–seven shortly after his first published poetry, Les Complaintes appeared in Paris (Wallace Fowlie, "Jules Laforgue", Poetry [Poetry Foundation, 1951, 78:4], 216–222). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St. | Camden | New Jersey | United States. It is postmarked: Greystones | B | Ja 17 | 89; New York | Jan 20; Paid L All. Life of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing by Rolleston was published in London by Walter Scott Publishing Co. in 1889. During America's centennial celebration in 1876, Whitman, reissued the fifth edition of Leaves of Grass in the repackaged form of a "Centennial Edition" and "Author's Edition," with each copy personally signed by Whitman. Around the same time, Whitman also brought out, as part of the nation's centennial celebration, his Two Rivulets, an experiment in prose and poetry, with (in the first section of the book) poetry printed at the top of the page and separated by a wavy line from the stream of prose at the bottom of each page. For more information on these books, see Frances E. Keuling-Stout, "Leaves of Grass, 1876, Author's Edition" and "Two Rivulets, Author's Edition [1876]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). See Whitman's letter of 22 January 1889. See Richard Maurice Bucke's letter of January 26–27, 1889. See Whitman's letter to Bucke and William Sloane Kennedy of January 22, 1889. Gabriel Sarrazin's "Poetes modernes de l'Amerique, Walt Whitman," which appeared in La Nouvelle Revue, 52 (May 1, 1888), 164–184. Whitman had asked both William Sloane Kennedy and Richard Maurice Bucke to make an abstract in English of it (see Whitman's letter to Kennedy of January 22, 1889, and to Bucke of January 27, 1889). Sarrazin's piece is reprinted in an English translation by Harrison S. Morris in In Re (1893, pp. 159–94). Sarrazin (1853–1935) was a translator and poet from France, who commented positively not only on Whitman's work but also on Poe's. For more on Sarrazin, see Carmine Sarracino, "Sarrazin, Gabriel (1853–1935)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 609. In a letter to Richard Maurice Bucke of January 29, 1889, Whitman describes Sarrazin's article as "ardent & penetrative & eulogistic." Robert Browning (1812–1889) was one of the foremost Victorian poets and playwrights, and was married to the famous poet Elizabeth Barret Browning (G. K. Chesterton, Robert Browning [New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1908]. Nuova Antologia is an Italian quarterly journal devoted to science, letters, and the arts, founded in 1866 in Florence. Giuseppe Chiarini (1833–1908) was an Italian literary critic. See Ellen M. O'Connor's letter of 21 March 1889. Charles Brockden Brown (1771–1810) was a Philadelphian writer credited with inventing the American Gothic Novel. He was read by and inspired writers such as Percy Shelley, Mary Godwin, Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne (Peter Kafer, Charles Brockden Brown's Revolution and the Birth of the American Gothic [Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004]). Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836–1907) was an American poet, story-writer, and novelist who also served as the editor of the Atlantic Monthly (The Writings of Thomas Bailey Aldrich: Poems, Volume I [Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1907]). See Whitman's letter of March 23–24, 1889. Whitman is referring to Ellen M. O'Connor's letter of January 28, 1889. See Whitman's letter to Kennedy of February 11, 1889. See Symonds' letter to Whitman of January 29, 1889. A Library of Great American Literature: From the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time was an eleven-volume set compiled and edited by Stedman and Ellen MacKay Hutchinson and released from 1889–1890. See Ellen M. O'Connor's letter of March 29, 1889. John Keble (1792–1866) was an English churchman and poet, after whom Keble College, Oxford was named. His The Christian Year was published in 1827, quickly became popular and serves as the source of several hymns (Kirstie Blair, "Introduction," John Keble in Context [London: Anthem Press, 2004], 1–18; Marion Shaw, "In Memoriam and The Christian Year," John Keble in Context [London: Anthem Press, 2004], 159–174). William Morris (1834–1896) was a British poet, architect, and designer famous for his floral patterns and influence on the Arts and Crafts Movement. He founded a Socialist League in 1884 and the Kelmscott Press in 1891. His poem, "The Hill of Venus," is part of a larger epic poem titled The Earthly Paradise that was published between 1868 and 1870 (E. P. Thompson, William Morris: Romantic to Revolutionary [Oakland: PM Press, 2011]). Whitman is referring to Bucke's letters of April 4, 1889 and April 6, 1889. See Ellen M. O'Connor's letter of March 29, 1889. See Bucke's letter of March 20, 1889. See Ellen M. O'Connor's letter of March 21, 1889. Hensley is referring to Section 34 of the "Calamus" cluster of poems, which would later be entitled I Dreamed in a Dream. Geoffrey Chaucer (1343–1400) was an English poet and author, who is best known for The Canterbury Tales, a collection of 24 tales in Middle English, primarily written in verse, presented as stories that are told by pilgrims traveling together form London to Canterbury to visit Saint Thomas Becket's shrine. Chaucer was the author of numerous other works, including The Book of the Duchess and Troilus & Criseyde. Edmund Spenser (1552–1599) was an English poet and the author of the epic poem The Faerie Queene. William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was an English poet and playwright and is widely considered the world's greatest dramatist. He was the author of numerous plays, sonnets, and narrative poems. John Milton (1608–1674) was an English poet and civil servant best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost. John Dryden (1631–1700) was an English poet, dramatist, and literary critic who was named poet laureate of England in 1668 and inspired a so–called "Age of Dryden" in Restoration England. Alexander Pope (1688–1744) was an English poet best known for his satirical verse and his translation of Homer. Thomas Gray (1716–1771) was an English poet best known for his poem Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard (1751). Robbert Burns (1759–1796) is best remembered as the national bard of Scotland and for his use of the Scots dialect in his poetry. Some of his well-known works include "Auld Lang Syne" (1788) and "A Red, Red Rose" (1794). William Wordsworth (1770–1850) was an English poet who published Lyrical Ballads, including the well-known poem "Lines Composed A Few Miles above Tintern Abbey." Wordsworth, along with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, is credited with starting the Romantic age in English Literature. Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834) was an English poet who worked with William Wordsworth to found the Romantic Movement in England and is notable for his famous poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Lord Byron (1788–1824), born George Gordon Byron, was a British poet, politician, and leader of the Romantic Movement. He is best known for his poems Don Juan and Childe Harold's Pilgrimage The English Romantic poet and playwright Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) was the author of the well-known poems "Ozymandias" and "Ode to the West Wind." He was married first to Harriet Westbrook Shelley (1795–1816) and later to Mary Godwin Shelley (1797–1895), the author of the novel Frankenstein (1818). John Keats (1795–1821) was an English Romantic poet known for his poems "To Autumn," "Ode to a Nightingale," and "Ode on a Grecian Urn." William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878) was an American nature poet and journalist who served as the Editor-in-Chief of the New York Evening Post from 1828 to 1878. He is known for his poem "Thanatopsis," and his influence helped establish Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) was an American poet, essayist, and philospher who led the transcendentalist movement. John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892) was an American poet who is remembered as one of the most popular of the Fireside Poets and for his anti-slavery writings. He was the author of numerous collections of poetry, including Maud Muller (1860) and Snow-Bound (1866). Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) was an American poet whose poems, such as Paul Revere's Ride (1860) and The Song of Hiawatha (1855) earned him the honor of having a bust installed at the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. Charles E. Shepard, following in the footsteps of his father George H. Shepard, managed and edited the Long Islander newspaper, which Whitman had founded in 1838. Hiram A Baylis became publisher after Charles' death in 1927 (Paul Bailey ed., Long Island: A History of Two Great Counties Nassua and Suffolk [New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., Inc., 1949], 347). See Whitman's letter to William O'Connor of January 26, 1889. James Russell Lowell (1819–1891) was a poet, literary and social critic, abolitionist, editor, Harvard professor, and diplomat (Brendan A. Rapple, "James Russell Lowell", American Travel Writers, 1850–1915 [Detroit: Gale, 1998], 247–254). Joseph William Gleeson White (1851–1898) was an English critic and editor. He wrote extensively on the subjects of design, illustration, and book-binding. He also founded the periodical The Studio. He wrote English Illustration: The 1860s (1897), a study of Victorian book art, and he contributed to numerous periodicals and designed several book covers. Theodore Watts–Dunton (1832–1914) was a friend of Dante Gabriel Rossetti and the principal critic of poetry for the Athenaeum from 1875–1898. Whitman told Horace Traubel that he considered Watts a "cool, malignant enemy" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, October 14, 1891). Hannah Whitall Smith (1832–1911) was a Quaker preacher and writer born in Philadelphia. She is best remembered for her 1875 The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life and her 1903 The Unselfishness of God and How I Discovered it: A Spiritual Autobiography. She was married to Robert Pearsall Smith in 1851 and her surviving children were Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe (Berenson), Logan Pearsall Smith, and Alys Pearsall Smith (Debra Campbell, "Hannah Whitall Smith (1831–1911): Theology of the Mother–Hearted God," Signs [Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989, 15:1], 79–101). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: London S. W. | MR13 | 81l; Paid | K | All. There is also a New York postmark, but only the state name is legible. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden. | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Boston.Mass. | 1889 | Mar 25 | 3–PM. The Camden postmark is illegible. See Whitman's September 18, 1889, postal card to Bucke. Bucke is referring to this photograph, which was taken by Frederick Gutekunst in Philadelphia in 1889. See Whitman's February 15, 1889 letter to Bucke. Of the two enclosures from Whitman that Bucke mentions, only the postal card from Ellen O'Connor of February 13, 1890, seems to be extant. Ellen MacKay Hutchinson (1851–1933) was a pioneering woman journalist who worked for the New York Tribune for twenty–five years and coedited A Library of American Literature with Edmund Clarence Stedman (Karin L. Hooks, "Ellen MacKay Hutchinson ([1851]–1933)," Legacy: A Journal of American Women Writers 30:2 (2013), 369–381. The letterhead of pages 1, 5, and 9 of Stedman's letter is printed: "A Library of American Literature | Office of | Charles L. Webster & Co., Publishers | Editors | Edmund Clarence Stedman | Ellen Mackay Hutchinson | 3 East 14th Street. Whitman enclosed this letter from Stedman in his April 8, 1889, letter to William Sloane Kennedy, and instructed Kennedy to send the letters to Ellen O'Connor (wife of Whitman's friend and defender William D. O'Connor) after reading them. He also included a note that the O'Connors should then send the letters to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke. See Stedman's letter to Whitman of March 27, 1889. See also Whitman's April 8, 1889, letter to William Sloane Kennedy, William Douglas O'Connor, and Richard Maurice Bucke. Whitman sent Stedman's letter to Kennedy as an enclosure and instructions with this letter that directed Kennedy to send the letter and the enclosure to Ellen O'Connor (wife of William D. O'Connor), and then he asked the O'Connors to send the letters to Bucke. See Stedman's letter to Whitman of March 27, 1889. Penciled onto the envelope is "see note, 2/2/90." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun | 4 | 10 AM | 1889 | [illegible]; [illegible]mon[illegible]. "Wizard of the North" was a nickname of the Scottish statesman and writer Sir Walter Scott. Count Lev (Leo) Tolstoy (1828–1910) was a Russian novelist and moral philosopher best known for his novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina (Barry Jones, "Tolstoy, Lev [Leo] Nikolaievich, Graf [Count]," Dictionary of World Biography [Australia: ANU Press, 2017], 840–841). Arthur H. Stephenson (1855–1902) of Philadelphia was a yarn merchant, a vocal proponent of the Single Tax, and the chairman of the Delaware Single Tax campaign committee. See "Obituary: A. H. Stephenson," Wool and Cotton Reporter 16.41 (October 9, 1902), 1323. Abiel Abbot "A. A." Livermore (1811–1892?) served as pastor in several cities, including Cincinnati, Ohio, and Yonkers, New York. For more than twenty-years he was the President of the Meadville Theological School in Pennsylvania, an institution that trained and educated young men for the ministry (Henry H. Barber, Memorial of A. A. Livermore, D. D. Sermon preached at the Memorial Serivces in Meadville, by Rev. H. H. Barber. Addresses at the Funeral by Rev. J.T. Bixby and Rev. F. L. Phalen, and Tributes from Other Friends (Meadville, PA: Press of the Crawford Journal, 1893), 41. John Basil Barnhill (1864–1929) was a writer, lecturer, and active Anti-Socialist; he was the editor and publisher of The American Anti-Socialist, a monthly magazine published in Washington D.C. in 1912, as well as other journals, including the American Anti-Suffragist. Frederick Bourquin (1808–1897) was a Swiss-born lithographer and Whitman's neighbor on Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. Bourquin immigrated to the United States with his brother Charles in 1817 and became a citizen in 1834. In 1847, he was awarded a prize from the Franklin Institute for improvements to lithography, and two years later he introduced the zincographic printing process to America. Bourquin developed the anastatic printing process with John Jay Smith, father of Whitman's acquaintance, Robert Pearsall Smith. Described as a "Democrat of the Jacksonian type," Bourquin served on Camden's City Council and in the New Jersey Legislature ("Frederick Bourquin Dead," Philadelphia Inquirer [May 26, 1897], 2). For more information, see Paul W. Schopp, "Camden and Mickle Street: A Cultural History," Mickle Street Review no. 14 (Summer 2001). Walter B. Whitman (1872–1953) entered the United States Naval Academy as a cadet in 1889. His work in newspapers picked up in 1894 when he became editor and part owner of Rusk's Cherokee Blade, and he spent the rest of his life moving around Texas, and eventually New York, editing and publishing for several newspapers ("1915–16 Walter B. Whitman Holland's Magazine," Past Presidents of the Texas Press Association, Online publication of the Texas Press Association). Mertice J. Whitman (1845–after 1890) was born in Georgia, but later moved to Texas, where he volunteered for Confederate Service during the Civil War. Later he practiced law in Rusk, Texas, serving as county attorney and, later, as a judge. He and his first wife, Janie Bloomfield Whitman, had one son, Walter B. Whitman; he and his second wife, Judith Bloomfield Whitman, also had one son, Lee Whitman (Sid S. Johnson, "M. J. Whitman," Texans Who Wore The Gray [Texas, 1907], 195–197). This letter is addressed: To Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street, | Camden, | New Jersey, U.S.A.. It is postmarked: PENRHYN DEUDRAETH | B | AU14 | 89, CAMDEN N.J. | AUG | 2 A M | 1889 | Rec'd; Paid | A | [unclear]. These is one additional postmark, but it is illegible. Whitman included this letter as an enclosure in his April 24, 1889, letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke. See Whitman's April 23, 1889, postcard to Ernest Rhys. See Whitman's August 25, 1889, postcard to Ernest Rhys. See Stedman's March 27, 1889, letter to Whitman. This letter has a note in the top left corner that reads: "see notes Jul ? 1888. It is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: ? | Jun | 11 | 1880 | N.Y., NY | 6-11-88 | 5PM, Camden.N.J | JUN 12 | 6 AM | ? | REC'D. Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was an Irish poet and one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. He is known for such works as his novel The Portrait of Dorian Gray and the play The Importance of Being Earnest. Rhys wrote this postscript on the left side of the first page of the letter. Georges Ernest Boulanger (1837–1891) was a French General and Politician who served as the Minister of War and a Member of the French Assembly. He fled to Brussels and London after a warrant was issued in Paris for his arrest for conspiracy and treasonable activities in April 1889. His supporters lost the general election later that year in July 1889, and he committed suicide two years later. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | Camden | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania U.S.A. Edwin Arnold. It is postmarked: Washington. D.C. | SEP 12 | 430 PM | 89; RECEIVED 2 | SEP | 12 | 12PM | 1889 | PHILA.; Camden. N.J. | SEP | 13 | 6 AM | 1889 | Rec'd. Sir Edwin Arnold (1832–1904) was a writer and editor best known for his The Light of Asia and over 6,000 leading articles for the Daily Telegraph (Mary Ellis Gibson, ed., "Sir Edwin Arnold," Anglophone Poetry in Colonial India, 1780–1913 [Athens: Ohio University Press, 2011], 259–260). He visited Whitman in 1889 and in 1891. For an account of Arnold's 1889 visit, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, September 12, 1889 and Saturday, September 14, 1889: "My main objection to him, if objection at all, would be, that he is too eulogistic—too flattering." Arnold published his own version of the interview in Seas and Lands (1891). There are at least two additional accounts of this visit; "Arnold and Whitman" was published anonymously in The Times (Philadelphia, PA) on September 15, 1889, and a different article, also titled "Arnold and Whitman" was published anonymously in The Daily Picayune (New Orleans, LA) on September 26, 1889. He also 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. Sir Edwin Arnold (1832–1904) was a British writer and editor best known for his The Light of Asia and over 6,000 leading articles for the Daily Telegraph (Mary Ellis Gibson, ed., "Sir Edwin Arnold," Anglophone Poetry in Colonial India, 1780–1913 [Athens: Ohio University Press, 2011], 259–260). He visited Whitman in 1889 and in 1891. For an account of Arnold's 1889 visit, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, September 12, 1889 and Saturday, September 14, 1889. There are at least two additional accounts of this visit; "Arnold and Whitman" was published anonymously in The Times (Philadelphia, PA) on September 15, 1889, and a different article, also titled "Arnold and Whitman" was published anonymously in The Daily Picayune (New Orleans, LA) on September 26, 1889. Arnold also 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. This signature is written on the front of the envelope that Arnold addressed to Whitman. See Ernest Rhys' August 14, 1889 letter to Whitman. It is uncertain which of Bucke's letters Whitman is referring to here. The "Emily Reed" was an American sailing ship known as a "Downeaster"; it was launched in 1880, when it made a maiden voyage from New York to Calcutta. The year after this letter was written, the ship was badly damaged in a storm at sea and maneuvered into port in Rio de Janeiro before eventually continuing on to San Francisco. See Whitman's February 25, 1889, letter to Kennedy. Kennedy is referring to the five–volume Modern Painters (1843–1860), written by the Victorian art critic John Ruskin. Kennedy dated this letter February 27, 1889, but, beginning with this page, he wrote an additional letter sometime before March 2, 1890. This second letter has been encoded as an enclosure. Whitman may be referring to Ernest Rhys' December 12, 1888, letter to Whitman. Whitman is almost certainly referring to his poem "To the Year 1889," which would be published in the Critic on January 5, 1889. See Costelloe's January 25–26, 1889, letter to Whitman. This postal card is addressed: John Burroughs | Hobart New York. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | JUL 13 | 8 PM | 89. See Burroughs' July 12, 1889 letter to Whitman. Mary Jane Channing, born Tarr (1828–1897?) was the sister of Ellen M. O'Connor. The bookThe Great Cryptogram: Francis Bacon's Cipher in Shakespeare's Plays, authored by the politician and writer Ignatius Loyola Donnelly (1831–1901), was published in 1888. Donnelly was well known for his belief that Shakespeare's plays had been written by Francis Bacon, an idea he argued in his book. In his pamphlet Mr. Donnelly's Reviewers (Chicago: Belford, Clarke & Co., 1889), O'Connor had attempted to defend Donnelly's Baconian argument. William D. O'Connor generously "loaned" money to numerous friends, who seldom paid him back, thus leaving Nelly in dire financial trouble after he died. She wrote frequently to Whitman about her financial concerns. Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biography, a six-volume reference work, was published between 1887 and 1889, edited by James Grant Wilson and John Fiske. Volume 4, published in 1888, contained a short biography of William Douglas O'Connor. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: NANTUCKET | SEP | 27 | 12PM | 1889 | MASS; CAMDEN N.J. | SEP | 28 | 12 PM | 1889 | REC'D. Rossiter Johnson (1840–1931) was the author of a wide variety of books, such as Phaeton Rogers, the editor of several important encyclopedias, dictionaries, books, and was one of the first editors to publish "pocket" editions of the classics (Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester, "Collection Overview: Rossiter Johnson Papers"). William Henry Channing (1810–1884) was a Unitarian minister, writer, and philosopher, who oversaw the Unitarian church in Washington DC during the Civil War, when the O'Connors came to know him. His daughter Jennie Channing (d. 1889) was Sir Edwin Arnold's second wife. On September 15, 1889 Whitman sent the last picture William O'Connor gave him of himself in response to Nelly's letter of September 12, 1889 asking for advice on which picture of her husband she should submit to Appleton's Encyclopedia. In her September 26, 1889 letter to Whitman, Nelly writes "I have written to Tucker asking him to save six copies for me till I go to Boston, & can call or send for them." Alexandre Dumas (1802–1870) was a French author known best for his works The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo. Kennedy is referring to his September 5, 1889, postal card to Whitman. This letter is addressed: Walt. Whitman Esq | Camden | New Jersey. | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | [illegible] 20 | 88; NEW YORK | Jun | 29 | PAID | P | ALL | Camden, NJ | Jun | 30 | 8am | 1888 | Rec'd. Bell's Weekly Messenger & Farmer's Journal was a weekly newspaper published in London and laid claim to being the oldest newspaper for landowners and tenant farmers. It included significant agricultural content. Walter Darkin was the manager and proprietor of Bell's Weekly Messenger & Farmer's Journal, as well as other periodicals, including "Mark Lane Express." See Bucke's April 25, 1888 letter to Whitman. On June 16, 1889 Eduard Bertz (1853–1931) sent Whitman an article he had published in the Deutsche Presse of June 2 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, June 28, 1889). On July 2 Whitman sent Bertz Complete Poems & Prose, and on July 7 a copy of Bucke's book (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Bertz thanked the poet on July 20–22; he stated that he preferred Freiligrath's translations to those of Rolleston and Knortz, and called attention to his own book The French Prisoners (1884), "the story of a friendship between a German boy and a young French soldier," with a chapter motto from Leaves of Grass. In 1905 Bertz published Walt Whitman; ein Charakterbild, which candidly argued that Whitman was a (sexually inactive) homosexual; the work generated one of the earliest public debates about Whitman's sexuality. For more information on Bertz, see Grünzweig, Walter, "Bertz, Eduard (1853–1931)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). It is unclear what issue of Unity Whitman sent; Horace Traubel published an account of Whitman's seventieth birthday dinner in Unity, but it did not appear until August 1890. See Rhys's letter to Whitman of September 11, 1889. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of October 29, 1889. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: PHILADELPHIA | DEC16 | 7 PM | 89, CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC | 17 | 6AM | 1889 | REC'D. See Whitman's postcard to Costelloe of August 4, 1888. This letterhead is on all three pages of stationery. Whitman sent this letter as an enclosure in his June [8]–9 1889, letter to Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke. Milford C. Reed (1841–1893?) was a soldier in the First New York Artillery who also wrote Whitman on May 26, 1865 asking him to help keep his watch from being redeemed from a pawn shop by a theif who robbed him of the ticket. This quote is loosely taken from Keble's The Christian Year for the 24th Sunday after Trinity. See Whitman's postcard to Smith of September 8, 1889. Whitman sent this letter as an enclosure in his October 28–29, 1889, letter to the Canadian physcian and psychiatrist Richard Maurice Bucke. This postscript note appears in the left margin of the first page of the letter. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 11 | 8 PM | 88. See Whitman's letter to Hannah Whitman Heyde of December 13, 1889. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan | 8 | 6AM | 1890 | Rec'd. Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), youngest sister of Walt Whitman, married Charles Louis Heyde (1822–1890), a French-born landscape painter. For more, see Paula K. Garrett, "Whitman (Heyde), Hannah Louisa (d. 1908)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Bernard Patrick O'Dowd (1866–1953) was an Australian poet, lawyer, activist, and journalist. He and his wife, Evangeline Mina Fryer, began a weekly discussion club with secular and Whitmanesque inclinations called the Australeum. His letter of March 12, 1890, began a correspondence with Whitman that lasted until November 1, 1891, and assumed the character of a religious experience, always saluting Whitman with reverential appellations. For more, see Alan L. McLeod, "Whitman in Australia and New Zealand," J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, eds., Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Mr. and Mrs. Fryer were Bernard O'Dowd's in-laws. John Robbins Fryer (1826–1912) was a carpenter and conductor of the Melbourne Secular Lyceum. Jane Trump Fryer (1832–1917) was often considered a "political and religious radical," who was also a teacher in the Lyceum. For more on the Fryers, see Frank Bongiorno, "Fryer, Jane (1832–1917)," Australian Dictionary of Biography, Supplemental Volume, Online Version, 2006. Here, Whitman may be referring to O'Dowd's wife Eve and two of her siblings. Dana Estes (1840–1909) was a champion of international copyright who, with Charles Emelius Lauriat, established the publishing firm of Estes & Lauriat in August 1872. When Lauriat left the firm in 1898, he continued publishing under the name Dana Estes & Co. He also organized the International Copyright Association, was its first secretary, and won the series of "Chatter-box" International Trademark lawsuits (1884–1889), allowing foreigners to acquire copyright in certain U.S. books. A notice of his life and death is recorded in Volume 66 of The Independent. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman, | Camden, | N.J. Whitman's name and address are typed. The letter is postmarked: Boston.Mass. | Jan 14 | 7—45P | 1890 | Camden N.J. | Jan 1[illegible] | 1[illegible] | 18[illegible] | R[illegible]. Thomas Wentworth Higginson (1823–1911) became a colonol during the Civil War and was a powerful social activist both before and after. He supported the abolitionist cause, labor rights, rights for women, rights for Russian serfs, and temperance. He was also an important supporter of Emily Dickinson. Charles Carroll Everett (1829–1900) was an American philosopher and theologian who served for thirty–one years at the Harvard Divinity School. Benjamin Johnson Lang (1837–1909) was an American conductor, pianist, and composer who was responsible for introducing a great deal of European music to American audiences. Andrew Preston Peabody (1811–1893) was an American clergyman and author; he was both a preacher and professor at Harvard University, as well as acting president. Kennedy is referring to his work John G. Whittier, The Poet of Freedom, which was published by Funk & Wagnalls Company of New York as part of their American Reformers Series in 1892. The letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Registered | Boston, Mass. | Jan. 27, 1890 | No. 8359. Kennedy noted his address on the verso of the envelope. Danish author Knut Hamsun had published his lecture on Whitman, given in the Copenhagen Student Union in 1889, as Fra det moderne Amerikas Aandsliv. It was hardly "highly complimentary" but rather quite critical and dismissive of Whitman as a serious poet. See Edward Dowden's letter to Whitman of April 18, 1890. Joseph Marshall Stoddart (1845–1921) was the Editor of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine from 1886–1894 and later of the New Science Review. He, along with Oscar Wilde, met with Whitman in his home on January 18, 1882. The writer of the letter does not fill in the complete year, but this letter has been endorsed "1890" in an unknown hand. These four pieces were published under the title of "Old Age Echoes" in Lippincott's Magazine in March 1891. Mary Mulford Scovel (1831–1893) of Camden, New Jersey, was the daughter of Dr. Isaac Skillman Mulford and his wife Rachel Mickle Mulford. Mary was a member of the Society of Friends, and she married James Matlock Scovel in 1856. This may be referring to a letter from Whitman to Ernest Rhys of May 10, 1890. Mary Mulford Scovel and James Matlack Scovel had three children: Mary (Scovel) Kookejay Senor, Anna Dean (Scovel) Brooke, and Henry Sydney Scovel. Sarah ("Sallie") Scovel Shields (1837–1890) was James's older sister; she was the eldest girl and second child of Sylvester Scovel and his wife Hannah Cook Matlack Scovel. Sarah married Edward P. Shields in 1858, and together they had six children. Edward P. Shields (1833–1917) was married to Sarah Scovel Shields; he was the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. William R. Bates (1845–1921) began his career as a reporter in Michigan and Chicago, then later he undertook legal and governmental work, primarily in Michigan. He held a variety of positions in the United States Pension Bureau, the State Central Committee, and the Treasury Department, and later served as a United States Marshall. Senator James McMillan (1838–1902) was the president and founder of the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway, as well as a Republican Senator from Michigan. He also served as the chair of the Senate Park Improvement Commission of the District of Columbia (the McMillan Commission), and the Commission's recommendations continue to guide urban planning in and around Washington D.C. The Review of Reviews, a family of monthly journals that spanned three continents, was founded in 1890–1893 by the British reform Journalist William Thomas Stead. The journals were published in London, England; New York City, New York; and Melbourne, Australia. The Review of Reviews was a magazine begun by the reform journalist William Thomas Stead (1849–1912) in 1890 and published in Great Britain. It contained reviews and excerpts from other magazines and journals, as well as original pieces, many written by Stead himself. Stamped on the upper left corner of this letter is "1918 Bequest of E. J. Wendell." Elizabeth Clementine Dodge Stedman (1810–1889) was a writer and a contributor to magazines including the Knickerbocker and to Blackwood's. She was the daughter of David Low Dodge (1774–1852), one of the founders of the New York Bible Society and the New York Peace Society, and Sara Cleveland Dodge. Stedman spent fourteen years abroad publishing in Europe, where she became a friend of the English poets Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Stedman authored such works as Felicita (1855) and Bianco Capello, A Tragedy (1873). In the upper lefthand corner of the letter, Traubel has written "Copied: see Notes May 22, 1890." With this letter, Steadman sent a check for twenty-five dollars to be put towards the fund that covered Whitman's expenses. For more information, see Traubel's notes in With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, May 22, 1890. See Stedman's letter to Whitman of May 21, 1890. See Whitman's letter to Ernest Rhys of May 11, 1890. The Pall Mall Budget was a weekly digest of articles from the daily Pall Mall Gazette, published in London starting in 1868. Robert Davies Roberts (1851–1911) was a Welsh academic and pioneer in adult education. Walt Whitman met the 18-year-old Harry Lamb Stafford (1858–1918) in 1876, beginning a relationship which was almost entirely overlooked by early Whitman scholarship, in part because Stafford's name appears nowhere in the first six volumes of Horace Traubel's With Walt Whitman in Camden—though it does appear frequently in the last three volumes, which were published only in the 1990s. Whitman occasionally referred to Stafford as "My (adopted) son" (as in a December 13, 1876, letter to John H. Johnston), but the relationship between the two also had a romantic, erotic charge to it. For further discussion of Stafford, see Arnie Kantrowitz, "Stafford, Harry L. (b.1858)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Eva M. Westcott (1857–1939) was a teacher in New Jersey. She married Harry Lamb Stafford on June 25, 1883, and together they had three children. Bucke was visiting for Whitman's 71st birthday celebration that included a lecture by the famous orator and agnostic Robert Ingersoll (1833–1899) in Philadelphia. Eva M. Westcott (1857–1939) was a teacher in New Jersey. She married Harry Lamb Stafford on June 25, 1883, and together they had three children. Whitman wrote this postscript in the top right corner of the first page of the letter. Wallace is referencing Hamlet's "To be, or not to be" soliloquy in Act 3, Scene 1 of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. See Kennedy's letter to Whitman of June 8, 1890. Eva M. Westcott (1857–1939) was born in Michigan and later became a teacher in New Jersey. She married Harry Lamb Stafford, a close acquantaince of Whitman, on June 25, 1883. The couple had three children. Eva M. Westcott (1857–1939) was born in Michigan and later became a teacher in New Jersey. She married Harry Lamb Stafford, a close acquantaince of Whitman, on June 25, 1883. Whitman wrote in the upper right-hand corner of this letter "sent cvr's June 16." Whitman wrote in the upper right-hand corner of this letter "sent cvr's June 16." He occasionally had circulars printed to send out to potential buyers of his various books. He had circulars printed for his Complete Poems $ Prose (1888). Bucke is referring to the Provincial Inspector R. Christie, Esq. Charles A. Burkhardt (1857–?) helped to organize, and was a trustee of, the Booksellers and Stationers' Provident Association of the United States. He organized, and served as president of, the Booksellers' League of the United States. He was also chaplain and orator of Damon Council No. 1198. In 1877 he married Amelia Burkhardt and the two had eleven children (Lockwood, Howard, The American Stationer, Volume 42 [New York: American Stationer, 1897]). Half–Hours with the Best American Authors was published in four volumes by Charles Morris. Volume Two of this series, published in 1891, includes Whitman's "Song of the Redwood–Tree" and was preceded by a scathing review of Whitman which states, in part, "We can only say of Walt Whitman's poetry that it is never likely to become popular. Its lack of rhyme and rhythm reduces it to the form of prose, above which its poetical power seldom elevates it" (Charles Morris, Half–Hours with the Best American Authors. [Philadelphia: J. B. Lippencott Company, 1891], 489). On the upper left–hand corner of this letter is written "See notes August 8, '90." See Whitman's letter to Kennedy of August 4, 1890. In Whitman's letter of August 4, 1890, he mentions having "rec'd from Addington Symonds his two new vols: "Essays Speculative & Suggestive"—one of the essays "Democratic Art, with reference to WW." The Athenaeum (1828–1921) was a literary and scientific journal published in London. Norman MacColl (1843–1904) served as editor from 1871 to 1900. The Critic (1881–1906) was a literary magazine co-edited by Joseph Benson Gilder (1858–1936), with his sister Jeannette Leonard Gilder (1849–1916). Whitman's poems "The Pallid Wreath" (January 10, 1891) and "To The Year 1889" (January 5, 1889) were first published in The Critic, as was his essay, "An Old Man's Rejoinder" (August 16, 1890), responding to John Addington Symonds's chapter about Whitman in his Essays Speculative and Suggestive (1890). Open Court (1887–1936) was a monthly magazine that published articles on philosophy, religion, and science. Paul Carus (1852–1919), a German-American editor and theologian, edited the magazine from shortly after its founding in 1887 until his death in 1919. The Cambridge Tribune (1878–1966) was a weekly newspaper published in Cambridge, Massachussetts. The paper was founded by D. Gilbert Dexter (1833–1908) and was later sold to William Bailey Howland (1849–1917), the publisher of the weekly magazine The Independent (1848–1928) in New York. The New York Morning Journal was founded in 1882 by Albert Pulitzer (1851–1909), the younger brother of the newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer (1847–1911). Within a few years Pulitzer sold the paper to John R. McLean (1848–1916), and, later, it was transferred to the newspaper publisher and businessman William Randolph Hearst (1863–1951). See Whitman's letter to Bucke of August 14, 1890. In his letter to Kennedy of August 14, 1890, Whitman offers to send a "good acc't of the rebel veteran show at the Richmond Lee statue unveiling." In his May 24,1890, letter to Whitman, Ernest Rhys recounts his "notable night–excursion" to ensure the slips would be published. The Pall Mall Gazette was the only paper to conspicuously publish Whitman's verses along with his note on Queen Victoria, though three other British periodicals did print the poem. This letter may not survive. Whitman is referring to his poem "For Queen Victoria's Birthday," which was published in the May 24, 1890, issue of the Philadelphia Public Ledger. See Bucke's letter of July 20, 1890. Whitman wrote this postscript such that it appears upside down on the back of the envelope. On August 26, 1890, Whitman wrote Wallace to thank him for sending a cable message notifying him of Dr. Johnston's safe return. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U. S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | AU27 | 90; Paid | C | All; New York | Sep 5 | 90; Camden, N.J. | Sep | 6 | 6AM | 1890 | Rec'd. Johnston is quoting from Whitman's poem "Song of the Open Road." Johnston is quoting from Whitman's poem "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry." Johnston is quoting from Whitman's poem "Myself and Mine." This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: [illegible] | SEP 1 | 6AM | 90; N.Y. | 9–1–90 | 11 AM | 9; London | AM | SP 2 | Canada. Naomi [Amy] Williams (d. 1826) was the maternal grandmother of Walt Whitman. For more about Williams, see Amy M. Bawcom, "Van Velsor, Naomi [Amy] Williams [d. 1826]," Walt Whitman: An Enclycopedia, ed J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Cornelius Van Velsor (1768–1837), who was often called "The Major," was the maternal granfather of Walt Whitman. For more on Van Velsor, see see Amy M. Bawcom, "Van Velsor, Cornelius (1768–1837)," Walt Whitman: An Enclycopedia, ed J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). We have not been able to identify the enclosures that Whitman included with this letter. Kennedy published "Dutch Traits of Walt Whitman" in Horace Traubel's Conservator (February 1891); it was reprinted in Horace Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas B. Harned, ed., In Re Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), 195–199; the piece ends with Kennedy's speculation: "As for Whitman's imaginative genius, I have sometimes wondered, did it not come in, perchance, through a Welsh crevice? His maternal grandmother was a Williams, and almost all Williamses are Welsh." James Savage's (1784–1873) Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England (1860) was an important source of genealogical information about the first generations of European immigrants to North America. The Critic published Whitman's "An Old Man's Rejoinder," on August 16, 1890. The article is a response to John Addington Symonds's essay on "Democratic Art," which was inspired by Whitman. See Symonds, Essays Speculative and Suggestive (London: Chapman and Hall, 1890). See Whitman's postcard of August 15, 1890. Whitman also writes to Wallace on August 26, 1890 to thank him for sending the cable about their mutual friend Dr. John Johnston. See Whitman's postal card of August 26, 1890, asking if the portrait he sent with the Bolton physician John Johnston made it in "good order." Wallace is referring to Symonds's Essays Speculative and Suggestive (London: Chapman and Hall, 1890). The chapter on "Democratic Art" is mainly inspired by Whitman. Kennedy is referring to his article called "Dutch Traits of Walt Whitman," which he apparently unsuccessfully submitted to the Boston Transcript and then published in Horace Traubel's Conservator in February 1891. The piece was reprinted in Horace Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas B. Harned, eds., In Re Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), 195–199. Whitman had given Wallace a copy of his half-length photograph taken by Frederick Gutekunst in 1889. The Illustrated London News, founded by the British journalist and politician Herbert Ingram (1811–1860) was the first illustrated weekly news magazine. Ingram's sons William and Charles later served as the managing directors of the paper. The paper was published weekly until 1971 and continued publication, with less frequency, until 2003. A full-page engraved portrait of Whitman (based on a photograph by Napoleon Sarony) appeared in the Supplement to the Illustrated London News on November 30, 1889. The Illustrated London News, founded by the British journalist and politician Herbert Ingram (1811–1860) was the first illustrated weekly news magazine. Ingram's sons William and Charles later served as the managing directors of the paper. The paper was published weekly until 1971 and continued publication, with less frequency, until 2003. Wallace is quoting from Whitman's poem "Song of the Universal." Wallace is referencing the Bible; see the book of Isaiah, Chapter 53, Verses 3–5. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Belmont | Sep | 1 | 1890 | Mass.; Camden, N.J. | Sep | 2 | 9am | 1890 | Rec'd. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of September 2, 1890. See Wallace's letter to Whitman of September 5, 1890. See Sarrazin's letter of July 3, 1890. Whitman is referring to the family of his Philadelphia Quaker friend Robert Pearsall Smith (1827–1898), with whom and with whose children he had a close relationship; the family moved to England in 1888. For more information on Smith, 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). Bucke is referring to Whitman's Philadelphia Quaker friend Robert Pearsall Smith (1827–1898), an evangelical minister, and his wife Hannah Whitall Smith (1832–1911). Whitman had a close relationship with the Smiths and their children; the family moved to England in 1888. For more information on Smith, 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). Bucke has written this postscript on the first page of the letter, under the date. See Whitman's letter to Richard Maurice Bucke of September 11, 1890. See Whitman's letter to Dr. John Johnston of September 8, 1890. The French historian and critic Hippolyte Adolphe Taine (1828–1893) is considered to be the originator of literary historianism, and he is also known for applying the scientific method to the humanities and literature. Kennedy is referring to Taine's The Philosophy of Art. Art in the Netherlands. An English translation of the book, by J. Durand, was published by Leypoldt & Holt of New York in 1871. See Wallace's letter to Whitman of September 9, 1890. In response to Symonds' points over the "semi-sexual" implications of comradeship in his letter of August 3, Whitman wrote in a draft letter of August 19: "Ab't the questions on Calamus pieces &c: they quite daze me. L of G. is only to be rightly construed by and within its own atmosphere and essential character—all of its pages & pieces so coming strictly under that—that the calamus part has even allow'd the possibility of such construction as mention'd is terrible—I am fain to hope the pages themselves are not to be even mention'd for such gratuitous and quite at the time entirely undream'd & unreck'd possibility of morbid inferences—wh' are disavow'd by me & seem damnable."Symonds' reply on September 5 concealed his disappointment. As a disciple he thanked the poet for stating "so clearly & precisely what you feel about the question I raised." But his opinion remained unchanged: "It seems to me, I confess, still doubtful whether (human nature being what it is) we can expect wholly to eliminate some sensual alloy from any emotions which are raised to a very high pitch of passionate intensity." The same reservation appears in Studies in Sexual Inversion (1897): "No one who knows anything about Walt Whitman will for a moment doubt his candour and sincerity. Therefore the man who wrote 'Calamus,' and preached the gospel of comradeship, entertains feelings at least as hostile to sexual inversion as any law-abiding humdrum Anglo-Saxon could desire. It is obvious that he has not even taken the phenomena of abnormal instinct into account. Else he must have foreseen that, human nature being what it is, we cannot expect to eliminate all sexual alloy from emotions raised to a high pitch of passionate intensity, and that permanent elements within the midst of our society will emperil the absolute purity of the ideal he attempts to establish".
See Kennedy's postal cards of September 14 and September 15, 1890. See Symonds' letter of September 5, 1890. Charles F. Currie (1842–1913), a Union Army veteran of the United States Civil War, ran a grocery business in Camden, New Jersey, and also served on the Board of Education and as a member of the Board of Freeholders. In 1889, he was elected superindendent of the County Insane Asylum in Blackwood, New Jersey. The institution achieved such a high quality of care for its patients under Currie's management that other institutions implemented his methods and rules. Currie remained superintendent until his health forced him to resign his position in 1910. Barbara S. Lear Currie (1844–1929?) of Pennsylvania married Charles F. Currie in New Jersey in 1866. Following Charles Currie's election as superintendent of the County Insane Aslyum in Blackwood, New Jersey, in 1889, Barbara served as the matron of the asylum. In 1888, Whitman had put his brother Eddy in the Camden County Insane Asylum in Blackwood, New Jersey, about ten miles from Camden, where Eddy stayed until his death. The Smith family moved to England in 1888. See Whitman's postal card of September 8, 1890. In Whitman's letter of September 22, 1890, he tells Wallace that he has sent the pocket–book edition "three or four days since." See Wallace's letter to Whitman of September 11, 1890. Whitman is likely referring to the photographs taken in Camden by Dr. John Johnston of Bolton, England, in July 1890. See The Walt Whitman Archive's Image Gallery, which includes three photographs of Walt Whitman and his nurse Warren Fritzinger (Image 117, Image 118, Image 119). In a note on Whitman's September 20, 1890 letter to Johnston, Edwin Haviland Miller provides the following explanation: On October 3 Whitman "sent copies of the big book [Complete Poems & Prose (1888), Dr B[ucke]'s W[alt] W[hitman] and J[ohn] B[urroughs]'s Notes [on Walt Whitman] (with portraits W W in envelope) to Col: Ingersoll" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller (New York: New York University Press, 1961–69), 5:89n64. However, on September 23, Johnston says he received the items that Whitman refers to here, suggesting that the October 3 gift to Ingersoll refers to another matter. See Whitman's letter to Johnston of September 13, 1890. Maria L. Hutton was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia in 1856. She was married to Reverend Frederick R. C. Hutton and the two had three daughters. Johnston's letter ends here with no closing or signature; there are likley additional pages of his letter that have yet to be located. Bucke was planning to travel to England in order to establish a foreign market for the gas and fluid meter he was building with his brother-in-law William Gurd. Bucke would not make the trip until July and August 1891. On the trip, he spent time with Dr. John Johnston and James W. Wallace, the co-founders of the Bolton College of Whitman admirers, and visited the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson. During the months of July and August 1891, Bucke traveled in England in an attempt to establish a foreign market for the gas and fluid meter he was developing with his brother-in-law William Gurd. On the trip, he spent time with Dr. John Johnston and James W. Wallace, the co-founders of the Bolton College of Whitman admirers. Bucke also visited the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson. It is uncertain which letters Johnston is referring to here. Little is known about W. M. Law, one of the members of the "Bolton College" of Whitman admirers. This letter is addressed: Walt W Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked Washington. D.C. | Oct 5 | 7 PM | 1890, Camden, N. J. | Oct | 6 | 6 AM | 1890 | Rec'd. See Whitman's letter of September 29, 1890. Mary Jane "Jeannie" Tarr Channing (1828–1897). Ellen M. O'Connor's sister was Mary Jane "Jeannie" (Tarr) Channing (1828–1897). Walt Whitman visited often with Mary Jane and her husband Dr. William F. Channing during his October 1868 visit to Providence, Rhode Island. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked Belmont | OCT | 6 | 1890 | Mass., Camden, N.J. | OCT | 7 | 9 AM | 1890 | REC'D. In a letter to Whitman on August 29,1890, Kennedy suggests publishing a piece in The Critic, entitled "Walt Whitman's Dutch Traits." His "Dutch Traits of Walt Whitman" was published in The Conservator 1 (February 1891), 90–91 and reprinted in In Re Walt Whitman, ed. Horace Traubel, et al. (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), 195–199. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: Philadelphia, PA. | OCT 10 | 8 PM | 90; CAMDEN, N.J. | [illegible] | [illegible] | 6 AM | 1890 | Rec'd. There are two additional postmarks, but they are entirely illegible. The insignia for Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, Philadelphia, is printed on the envelope Edward Henry Clement (1843–1920) of Chelsea, Massachusetts, began his career as a journalist with the Savannah Daily News in the mid-1860s. He later became the editor of the Boston Transcript, a position that he held for twenty-five years. Whitman reused the envelope in which this letter arrived. He opened the envelope and used the blank inside to draft a poetry manuscript with the title "America to Old-World Books A reminiscence from reading Walter Scott." This envelope, along with five others, from around the same time are part of a draft of a poem that would be titled "Old Chants," when it was first published in the New York Truth on March 19, 1891. See William H. Rideing's telegram of October 9, 1890. The North American Review was the first literary magazine in the United States. The journalist Charles Allen Thorndike Rice (1851–1889) edited and published the magazine in New York from 1876 until his death. Whitman's friend James Redpath joined the North American Review as managing editor in 1886. After Rice's death, Lloyd Bryce (1852–1915) became owner and editor. At the time of this letter, William Rideing (1853–1918) was assistant editor of the magazine. Whitman sent "Old Poets" to the North American Review. He returned proof on October 18 and was paid $75 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The article appeared in the November 1890 issue. This letter is addressed: Walt. Whitman Esq | Camden | New Jersey | United States of America. It is postmarked: London S [illegible] | 3 | OC [illegible] | 90; Camden, N.J. | OCT | 27 | 6 AM | 1890 | REC'D. If this volume was ever published, it has not been identified. See Whitman's postcard of October 9, 1890. See Whitman's postcard to Wallace of September 30, 1890. On October 21, 1890, at Horticultural Hall in Philadelphia, Robert Ingersoll delivered a lecture in honor of Walt Whitman titled Liberty in Literature. Testimonial to Walt Whitman. Whitman recorded in his Commonplace Book that the lecture was "a noble, (very eulogistic to WW & L of G) eloquent speech, well responded to by the audience," and the speech itself was published in New York by the Truth Seeker Company in 1890 (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]). At this time, Whitman was planning to include an appendix to his Good-bye My Fancy that would include essays by the French poet and translator Gabriel Sarrazin, the Irish poet and journalist Thomas William Hazen Rolleston, and the orator Colonel Robert Ingersoll, but he later abandoned the appendix due to pressure from Bucke and Horace Traubel. See The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller [New York: New York UP, 1969], 5:122n24. See also the letter from Whitman to Bucke of June 11, 1891. Charles Bradlaugh (1833–1891) was a member of Parliament and a political activist. He founded the National Secular Society in 1866 and is remembered for his work to make artificial contraception available to all classes. August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767–1845) was a German poet, translator, and critic. He is considered to be one of the founders of the German Romantic Movement, and his translations of sixteen Shakespeare plays are credited with turning the works into German classics. This letter may not be extant. Ernestine L. Rose (1810–1892) is regarded as one of the earliest advocates of women's enfranchisement in America and is remembered as a suffragist, abolitionist, and feminist. Rose's comment to Whitman describing French revolutionists as being wood or stone is a line that Whitman uses in Leaves of Grass in his 1860 poem, "France, The 18th Year of These States." For more on Rose's relationship to Whitman, see Sherry Ceniza's Walt Whitman and 19th-Century Women Reformers (Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 1998). Whitman is referring to his essay "Have We a National Literature?," which was published in The North American Review 125 (March 1891), 332–338. See Bucke's letter of November 2, 1890. See Kennedy's letter of November 3, 1890. Joseph ("Joe") Jefferson III (1829–1905) was an American actor and one of the most famous American comedians of the nineteenth century. He was well known for his portrayal of Rip Van Winkle onstage. On October 23, 1891, the American journalist and diplomat John Russell Young (1840–1899) invited Whitman to an informal luncheon at the Union Club in Philadelphia in honor of Joseph Jefferson and William Jermyn Florence, stage name of Bernard Conlin, a dialect comedian. Whitman declined the invitation, according to his October 24, 1891, letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke. Joseph ("Joe") Jefferson III (1829–1905) was an American actor and one of the most famous American comedians of the nineteenth century. He was well known for his portrayal of Rip Van Winkle onstage. On October 23, 1891, the American journalist and diplomat John Russell Young (1840–1899) invited Whitman to an informal luncheon at the Union Club in Philadelphia in honor of Joseph Jefferson and William Jermyn Florence, stage name of Bernard Conlin, a dialect comedian. Whitman also mentioned that he had declined Russell's invitation in his October 24, 1891, letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke. Little is known about the "charming girls" that visited Whitman with Jeanette Gilder. In conversation with Horace Traubel, Whitman mentioned the visit: "'Jeannette Gilder—Jennie—was here today, with some beautiful girls. She is large, splendid, frank, manly—yes, she should have been a man.'" Whitman then added, "'I was glad to see her. She refreshed me—and the girls, they too'" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, October 24, 1891). The 1890 election was held during Republican President Benjamin Harrison's term of office (Harrison served from 1889–1893). Republicans suffered major losses in the election, with Democrats taking control of the House of Representatives, but with Republicans hanging onto control of the Senate. The Populist Party had some surprising successes, electing two U.S. Senators. In his November 8, 1890, letter to Richard Maurice Bucke, Whitman wrote that he was "tickled hugely with the election." Kennedy worked in various capacities for the Boston Evening Transcript and occasionally published articles there. The 1890 election was held during Republican President Benjamin Harrison's term of office (Harrison served from 1889–1893). Republicans suffered major losses in the election, with Democrats taking control of the House of Representatives, but with Republicans hanging onto control of the Senate. The Populist Party had some surprising successes, electing two U.S. Senators. In his November 8, 1890, letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke, Whitman wrote that he was "tickled hugely with the election." The 1890 election was held during Republican President Benjamin Harrison's term of office. Republicans suffered major losses, with Democrats taking control of the House of Representatives, but with Republicans hanging onto control of the Senate. The Populist Party had some surprising successes, electing two U.S. Senators. This postcard was written over a postcard addressed to S. P. Wharton concerning the cost of lectures by Mr. John Fiske. Isaac Newton Baker (1838–1923) was the private secretary and biographer of the orator Robert Green Ingersoll. See Johnston's letter of December 3, 1890. See Bucke's letter of December 7, 1890. A December 3, 1890, letter from Whitman to Bucke has yet to be located. Bucke may have intended to refer to Whitman's letter of December 4, 1890. There was no November 25, 1890, issue of The Critic; the November 27 issue (p. 282), however, did contain a paragraph about Whitman's forthcoming Good-Bye My Fancy, about his health, and about his preface to William D. O'Connor's forthcoming collection of stories. The remainder of this letter has not yet been located. Part of Bucke's letterhead that included the first words of his printed address at the London Asylum has been torn away. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 5 | 6 AM | 90; London | PM | De 6 | 90 | Canada. Whitman is referring to Cornellius Conway Felton's Greece, Ancient and Modern. Lectures Delivered Before the Lowell Institute (Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1867), 2 vols. Felton (1807–1862) was a regent of the Smithsonian Institution, president of Harvard University, and a professor of Greek literature. Whitman recalled that Stoddart had brought a young woman visitor with him. He never identifies her by name, but he tells Horace Traubel, "I thought her very bright—full of noble sweet woman's spirit. She attracted me. I judged from the briefness of the stay that they only came to see the bear—the lion—to dare a look into his den—no more" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, December 4, 1890). In his letter to Bucke of November 13, Whitman explains that Fox brought over a new pair of glasses, but they were not clear and strained his eyes. In his November 28, 1890 letter to Bucke, Whitman tells of the passing of his brother Jeff in St. Louis from typhoid pneumonia. The Engineering Record (New York) of December 13, 1890, contained an obituary of Thomas Jefferson Whitman, which Whitman wrote and reprinted in Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). See Bucke's letter of September 30, 1890. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden,[illegible] | OCT 13 | 8 PM | 90, Philadelphia, PA. | OCT | 15 | 9PM | 1890 | TRANSIT; London | PM | OC [illegible] | Canada. See Bucke's letter of October 12, 1890. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | London | Asylum | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N. J. | Oct 9 | 6PM | 90; London | PM | OC 10 | [illegible]0 | Canada. See Whitman's poem Ambition, which was published in the January 29, 1842, issue of Brother Jonathan. Sears is referring to Francis Mary "Fanny" Keats (1803–1889), later Mrs. Llanos. Sears is referring to "Walt Whitman Cheerful," which was published in The New York Times on January 26, 1890. Whitman has drawn two lines in black ink through this letter from Bucke. See the postal cards from Whitman to Bucke of April 8, 1890 and April 9, 1890. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: CAMD[illegible] [illegible]J. MAY 7 | 6 AM | 90, LONDON | AM | MY 8 | O | CANADA; N.Y. | 1890 | 1030 AM | 8. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: CA[illegible] | AUG 14 | 6 PM | 90;LONDON | AU [illegible] 5 | O | CANADA; PHILADELPHIA, PA. | 1890 | TRANSIT; BUFFALO, N.Y. | AUG | 15 | 11AM | 1890 | TRANSIT. Charles J. Woodbury published "Emerson's Talks with a College Boy" in the Century in February 1890 (621–627) and his book Talks with Ralph Waldo Emerson later in the same year. In the latter he averred that Emerson told him Whitman appeared coatless at a dinner party (128). The poet denied the accusation in an unsigned article in the Camden Post on August 12, which he reprinted, again anonymously, in Lippincott's in March, 1891; see Complete Poems & Prose (1888), 774–775. Bucke commented on the matter on August 17: "These foolish, would be visions, lies, & liars will one day come to an end—in the meantime I do not know but they do more good than harm—Keep things stirred up." Woodbury also praised Whitman both in the Century (625) and in his book (62–63). On February 21, 1866, Woodbury, then twenty-one years old, wrote an exuberant letter to Whitman in which he averred that "Emmerson did not say the best things." For his retraction, see Whitman's letter to Bucke of July 5–6, 1891, n.43. See Whitman's letter to Kennedy of June 18, 1890. Kennedy has written the word "Over" in the top right corner of the first page of the letter to indicate that he has included a postscript to Whitman on the verso. Francis Henry Jenks (1838–1894) was a nineteenth-century theater critic who served as the music and dramatic editor of the Boston Evening Transcript from 1881 to 1894. Kennedy is responding to Whitman's letter of June 18, 1890, in which Whitman expressed frustration following the rejection of his poem "On, On the Same, Ye Jocund Twain" by Richard Watson Gilder, editor of The Century. Whitman went on to write, "I have now been shut off by all the magazines here & the Nineteenth Century in England—& feel like closing house as poem writer—(you know a fellow doesn't make brooms or shoes if nobody will have 'em)." On the back of this letter is printed Department of Justice | Washington. __187. Harriet Parkerson Harned (1824–1890) was born in England, and she married Henry S. Harned (1819–1906) in 1848. The couple had at least four sons: Henry Harned (1849–1934), Thomas Biggs Harned (1851–1921), Frank Harned (1855–after 1930), and John Frederick Harned (1856–1929). See Bucke's letter of February 20, 1891. See Wallace's letter of February 20, 1891 and Johnston's letter of February 21, 1891. See Bucke's letter of February 22, 1891. See Bucke's letter of February 25, 1891. See Bucke's letter of February 14, 1891. See Johnston's letter of February 14, 1891. See Whitman's postal card to Bucke of February 16, 1891. See Whitman's postal card to Bucke of February 19, 1891. See Whitman's postal card to Hannah of October 19, 1991. See Whitman's letter of February 5, 1891. See Whitman's letter of January 30-31, 1891. See Whitman's letter of January 24, 1891. On January 23, 1891, Scribner's Monthly rejected four poems that Whitman had submitted ("Old Chants," "Grand Is the Seen," "Death dogs my steps," and "two lines"). The main issue of the Canadian national election of 1891 was tariffs, with the Conservative Party, led by John A. Macdonald (1815–1891), wanting protective tariffs while the Liberal Party, led by Wilfred Laurier (1841–1919), wanted free trade with the U.S. The Conservatives won the election. Bucke is referring to the Canadian national election of 1891. The main issue of the election was tariffs, with the Conservative Party, led by John A. Macdonald (1815–1891), wanting protective tariffs while the Liberal Party, led by Wilfred Laurier (1841–1919), wanted free trade with the U.S. The Conservatives won the election. "D.V." stands for "Deus Vult" or "God Willing." Chauncey M. Depew (1834–1928) was a United States Senator from 1899–1911 and served as the president of the New York Central Railroad System. The Quaint Club was a social club that met monthly at different hotels and luxury steamers around New York City from 1889 to about 1910. One observer writes that the Quaint Club is "composed of journalists and artists who make a feature of stated dinners which are enlivened with caricature and song" (Frederick G. Mather, "Club Life in New-York City," The Memorial History of the City of New-York, ed. James Grant Wilson [New York: New-York History Company, 1893], 4:255). A newspaper account of these dinners suggests that they were scenes of biting comedy, often at the guest of honor's expense: "Its habit is to secure the wittiest and most eloquent speakers in the country and guy the wit and eloquence out of them when they get on their feet. They are lucky if they survive one of its dinners. Few persons really like this, but the process has the same power as the candle flame exerts toward the moth" ("Fun for the Quaint Club," The Sun, [March 21, 1891], 9). Horace Trabuel notes that Whitman received this letter; see With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, April 29, 1891. Joel B. Erhardt (1838–1909) served as the police commissioner for the New York Police Department and was an American politician, civil servant, lawyer, and businessman. Russell B. Harrison (1854–1936) was the son of U.S. President Benjamin Harrison and Caroline Harrison as well as the great-grandson of U.S. President William Henry Harrison. He was a businessman, lawyer, diplomat, and politician. Little is known about Mr. Curtz, who was a compositor at 104 S. Second St. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hezekiah Butterworth (1839–1905) was an American author and poet who worked as an editor of the Youth's Companion. Along with this letter, Butterworth enclosed a selection of his poems, including "The Orange-Tree," "At Pasadena," "Champlain," "Two Conquerors," "The Clocks of Kenilworth," and "Liberators." This letter is addressed: Ed: Wilkins | 137 King St: London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 14 | 8 PM | 90, London | PM | My 16 | 0 | Canada. In the 1891 Canadian Census, there is a Louisa Sterling born in approximately 1846 who lived in the Township of Osprey in Grey County. She lived with her parents, Margaret and James Sterling, and her two sisters, Mary Jane and Elizabeth Sterling. Charles Cullis (1833–1892) was a Boston homeopathic physician. He became famous in 1864 when he established a Home for Consumptives in Boston, and was a leader in the faith-cure movement. Julia A. Jennings Perkins (1830–1916) was born in New York and, in 1851, married dentist and Civil War veteran William Wirt Perkins (1827–1907). According to federal and state census records from 1860 to 1910, the couple lived around the Syracuse area—in Lysander and Baldwinsville—and had two children: Harvey James (1853–1876) and Harriet "Hattie" J. (1856–1940). According to an entry in the December 21, 1882, issue of The Index, Julia A. J. Perkins of Baldwinsville was a member of the Free Religious Association (298). Her name also appears in a letter from her sister, Adele J. Grow, published in the Report of the Convention for Organization from the Woman's National Liberal Union (edited by Matilda Joslyn Gage [Syracuse: Masters and Stone, 1890], 14), requesting that copies of the Union's journal, The Liberal Thinker, be sent to Perkins in Baldwinsville. Perkins is buried with her family in Baldwinsville's Riverview Cemetery. This letter is written on the back of an envelope addressed to Whitman of June 14. Whitman is referring to Kennedy's letter of August 6, 1890. William Farrand Prosser (1834–1911) was an American soldier, statesman, and pioneer. He was a Union colonel commanding the seventh Tennessee cavalry during the Civil War and served as State Representative for Tennessee's fifth congressional district from 1869 to 1871. Later, he was appointed to the United States Department of the Interior by President Rutherford B. Hayes and relocated to Washington state, settling in the Yakima River valley where he founded the city of Prosser. He is a founding member of the Washington State Historical Society and the author of A History of the Puget Sound Country: Its Resources, Its Commerce and Its People (New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1903). For more information, see Prosser's obituary, "Founder of Prosser is Dead," in The Spokesman-Review (September 24 1911), 10. In his postal card of October 27, 1890, Whitman mentions that the businessman Harrison Morris brought "The American" from the 25th with a piece "Walt Wh: & Ingersoll." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | The Poet (2 u) | Camden, N—J. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | NOV 3 | 730 PM | 90; 16; CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV | 4 | 6 AM | REC'D. The writer of this letter may be Elizabeth Rebecca Coffin (1850–1930), who was a Brooklyn native, an artist, and an educator. She was the first person in the United States to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree. Known for her paintings of Nantucket, Massachusetts, she later opened a school in Nantucket that offered trade and craft courses for men and women. Coffin is quoting from Whitman's "In Cabin'd Ships at Sea," one of the poems in his Inscriptions series. Coffin is referring to Whitman's poem "Of That Blithe Throat of Thine." At the top of this letter, there is a drawing of Calvary (Golgotha), where Jesus was crucified, with three crosses on the landscape. Since there is no record of a "Luther Carlyle Jr." in New York in 1890, it is possible that the writer used a pseudonym, and the identity of this correspondent remains unknown. In Horace Traubel's entry in With Walt Whitman in Camden for July 2, 1891, Whitman refers to this correspondent and those of "the same tenor" as "howlers." In his calendar of letters included in Walt Whitman: The Correspondence, (New York: New York University Press, 1969), Edwin Haviland Miller refers to the writer as a "crank" (5:337). Truth Seeker was a radical free thought periodical founded in 1873 by DeRobigne Mortimer Bennett (1818—1882) and his wife Mary Wicks Bennett. There is an Edmund Mercer (b. 1865?) registered in the 1891 census who lived in Manchester with his parents and siblings, and worked as solicitor. Mercer is quoting from the final line of Whitman's poem, "Thanks in Old Age." Edmund Mercer (1865–1945) was from Manchester, England, one of five children born to Thomas Mercer (1836–1893)—a silk manufacturer—and Alice Holden (1837–1921). In 1899, he married Helena Harriet Tippins (1872–1939) and the couple had two children, Geoffrey Edmund (1901–1981) and Robert Osborn (1909–1995). English census data record Mercer as a solicitor living in Manchester. His sonnet "Blue and Gold" appeared in the August 24, 1889, issue of Chambers's Journal (544); he also regularly contributed essays to the Manchester Quarterly, published by the Manchester Literary Club, of which he was at one time a Council Member. When Mercer died in 1945, he was working for the firm of Maurice Rubin and Company, and his obituary in volume eleven of The Law Times claims that he was "reputed to be the oldest practicing solicitor in Manchester" (202). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq. | 328 Mickle Street. | Camden. | New Jersey. | U. S—America.. It is postmarked: MANCHESTER | 8 | NO28 | 90 | 5; MANCHESTER | 8 | NO28 | 90 | 5; MANCHESTER | 8 | NO28 | 90 | 5; PAID | K | All: NEW YORK | DEC 8; 90; CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC | 9 | 6AM | 1890 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U. S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | [illegible] | NO29 | 90; Bolton | [illegible] | NO29 | 90; 92, New YORK | DEC | 13; PAID | H | ALL: Camden, N.J. | Dec | 1[illegible] | 5 PM | 1890 | Rec'd. Johnston has written his initials "JJ" in the bottom left of the recto of the envelope. Scribner's Monthly was an illustrated literary magazine published monthly from 1870 until 1881 by Scribner & Company. Later, in 1881, after Charles Scribner (1854–1930) sold his share of the company, the magazine was relaunched as The Century Magazine. See Whitman's postcard to Johnston of November 18, 1890. Mercer wrote to Whitman on November 28, 1890. Edmund Mercer (1865–1945) was from Manchester, England, one of five children born to Thomas Mercer (1836–1893)—a silk manufacturer—and Alice Holden (1837–1921). In 1899, he married Helena Harriet Tippins (1872–1939) and the couple had two children, Geoffrey Edmund (1901–1981) and Robert Osborn (1909–1995). English census data record Mercer as a solicitor living in Manchester. His sonnet "Blue and Gold" appeared in the August 24, 1889, issue of Chambers's Journal (544); he also regularly contributed essays to the Manchester Quarterly, published by the Manchester Literary Club, of which he was at one time a Council Member. When Mercer died in 1945, he was working for the firm of Maurice Rubin and Company, and his obituary in volume eleven of The Law Times claims that he as "reputed to be the oldest practicing solicitor in Manchester" (202). This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 1 | 6PM | 90. On October 3, 1890, William H. Rideing, the assistant editor of the North American Review, requested an article of about "4000 words" on "Recent aspects of American literature" for "the sum of Two hundred dollars" or on "some other subject on which you would be more willing to write." Whitman sent "Old Poets" to the magazine on October 9, returned proof on October 18, and received $75 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This postcard is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden, New Jersey. It is postmarked: Washington | DEC 15 | 12 M | D.C.; Camden, N.J. | DEC | 16 | 6AM | 1890 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, NJ | JAN 3 | 130PM | 91, London | AM | JA 5 | 91 | Canada. See Whitman's letter of February 4, 1891. See Tuke's letter of March 9, 1891. Dr. Calvin B. Knerr (1847–1940) practiced homeopathy and wrote The Life of Hering, the biography of his teacher and father-in-law Dr. Constantine Herring. Calvin Brobst Knerr (1847–1940) was a Philadelphia-based homeopathic doctor. He was the former pupil and son-in-law of Dr. Constantine Hering (1800–1880), an advocate for and practitioner of homeopathic medicine. Whitman mentions the visit from Knerr to Horace Traubel. See With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, May 12, 1891. A line has been drawn through this letter in black ink. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Belmont | May | 13 | 1891 | M [illegible], Camden, N.J. | May | 14 | 9AM | 1891 | Rec'd. The letters Whitman is referring to here may be Johnston's letter of April 4, 1891 and Wallace's letter of April 3, 1891. The letter that Whitman is referring to here could be Bucke's letter of May 7, 1891. See Whitman's letter to Wallace of May 9-10, 1891. See Tennyson's letter to Whitman of May 14 1891. See Wallace and Johnston's letter to Whitman of May 26–27, 1891. See Wallace and Johnston's letter to Whitman of May 26–27, 1891. Wallace had also written to Whitman on May 22, 1891, and Johnston had sent a letter to Whitman the following day, May 23, 1891. See Edward Carpenter's letter to Whitman of May 20, 1891. Whitman wrote this letter on a previously printed sheet that reads, "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91. —The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case, is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" There is extant no letter or card to Dr. Johnston on this date, although there is an envelope held in the Library of Congress that bears the date of September 21. This is probably the letter referred to by Dr. Johnston on September 30 as written in the margin of the title-page of the last edition of Leaves of Grass (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Wallace had written to Whitman from London, Ontario, Canada, on September 17, 1891 and September 18, 1891. Whitman wrote this letter on the verso of Bucke's letter dated September 27, 1891, in which he spoke of his "catalogue raisonée" of the poet's writings. Wallace returned to Camden on October 15. See Johnston's letter to Whitman of September 26, 1891. In this letter, Johnston quoted an "old school fellow," Walter Hawkins: "He [Whitman] is a bulging figure in this age of ours & his greatness will grow with the years. There is such a boundless store of love in the man, such a wealth of wisdom & prophetic foreshadowing that I marvel men have not made him more welcome." As the postmarks indicate, Whitman was in error in dating this card October 15, 1891; see also Johnston and James W. Wallace's Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917), 150, where the error is noted but the dates are innaccurate. This letter could be Johnston's letter of October 14, 1891. Miller writes that he cannot identify this volume, unless it is an earlier version of Lyrics and Landscapes, a collection of poems by Morris that was published in 1908. See Bucke's letter of October 22, 1891. Whitman is referring to his reading of his See Johnston's letters of October 17, 1891 and October 24, 1891. See Whitman's letter of October 24, 1891. See Whitman's letter of October 31, 1891. Whitman has pasted a printed advertisement for O'Connor's book Three Tales: The Ghost, The Brazen Android, The Carpenter (1892) into this letter just below this sentence. Johnston's last letter sent to Whitman from Annan was dated September 23, 1891, with a postmark indicating it was received in Camden on October 2. See Whitman's letters to Bucke of October 18, 1891 and October 20, 1891. Benjamin Francis Conn ("Frank") Costelloe (1854–1899) was an English barrister and Liberal Party politician. He was the first husband of Mary Whitall Smith (1864–1945), a political activist, art historian, and critic, whom Whitman once called his "staunchest living woman friend." See Bucke's letter to Whitman of October 2, 1891. Wallace wrote: "Dear Walt, dearest of friends, it is not without some trepidation that I come to see you again…And I feel almost as though not only my friends are represented (unworthily) by me, but as though there were more between us than that. For when I was you, you reminded me strangely & strongly of my dear mother, & I almost felt as though she too were present, & that you were more her messenger & representative" (Feinberg). Dr. Bucke received his medical degree from McGill University in Montreal in 1862, and he returned there in 1891 at the request of the medical faculty in order to deliver the opening academic lecture, "The Value of the Study of Medicine." The lecture was published in the Montreal Medical Journal 20 (November 1891), 321–345. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of November 12, 1891. In Bucke's letter to Whitman of November 24, 1891, he encourages Whitman to sell the book and "let it be given to the world." See Whitman's letter of December 5, 1891. See Whitman's letter of December 6, 1891. See Whitman's letter of December 23, 1890. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of January 7, 1891. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of January 9–10, 1891. William Francis C. Wigston was the author of Francis Bacon, Poet, Prophet, Philosopher, Versus Phantam Captain Shakespeare The Rosicrucian Mask (1891), which Bucke was reading at the time. The book focuses on Francis Bacon (1561–1626), who was an English philosopher, scientist, statesman, and author. Bacon's personal notebooks and works came under scrutiny during the nineteenth-century because of suspicions that he had written plays under the pen-name William Shakespeare in order to protect his political office from material some might find objectionable. For more on the Baconian theory, see Henry William Smith, Was Lord Bacon The Author of Shakespeare's Plays?: A Letter to Lord Ellesmere (London: William Skeffington, 1856). Heinrich Schliemann (1822–1890) was a German businessman and multimillionaire who helped established the field of archaeology as we know it today. He is credited with the discovery of the site of ancient Troy, near Hisarlik hill in present-day Turkey. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Cam(?).J. | Nov 3 | 8 PM | 91, London | PM | NO 5 | 91 | Canada, Philadelphia, PA. | Nov | 3 | 9 PM | 1891 | Transit. Whitman's address is printed as follows in the lower left corner of the front of the envelope: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey, | U.S. America. Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" The SS City of Berlin was a British ocean liner which began transatlantic operation in 1875 and for a while was the fastest liner on the Atlantic; it stayed in passenger service until 1898. James W. Wallace arrived 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 to London, Ontario, Canada, where he visited with Dr. Bucke and his family and friends, and then continued his tour in New York and New Jersey before returning to England. John Russell Young (1840–1899) was a journalist and formerly minister to China; he was an admirer of Whitman's. This letter is addressed: Harrison S Morris | 224 South 4th Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked Camden, N.(?) | Oct 17 | 8 PM | (?), Received | Oct | 17 | 8 PM | 91 | Phila. See Miller's letter to Whitman of October 22, 1890. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of January 3, 1891. See Whitman's letters to Bucke of November 12–14, 1891 and November 22, 1891, for more on the payment arrangements for the tomb. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | NO 25 | 91 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Nov27 | 6 PM | 91 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 6 | 5 PM | [illegible]; Philadelphia, P.A. | Dec | 7 | PM | 91 | Transit; N.Y. | Dec | 7 | 11AM | 91 | Transit; London | De 7 | 91 | Canada. The recto of the envelope includes the following printed return address: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" This page has been torn on the left side, and, as a result, much of this printed text is missing. Whitman is referring to the lyrics to the song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again," written by composer Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore (1829–1892) during the U. S. Civil War. The song was published under Gilmore's pseudonym—Louis Lambert—in 1863. This letter is addressed:Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | De 21 | 91 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Dec22 | 4PM | 91 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: Newark | Dec 22 | 1 PM | 91 | N.J.; Camden, N.J. | Dec22 | 6 PM | 91 | Rec'd. This unidentified correspondent in Newark, New Jersey, wrote a letter to Whitman consisting only of citations for Biblical verses. The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 24, Verse 13 reads: "And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs." This verse refers to Cleopas and an unnamed traveler, both followers of Jesus of Nazareth, who left Jerusalem for Emmaus on the day of Jesus' resurrection. This correspondent also writes out Emmaus phonetically and adds "Hot springs," one possible definition of the Greek name for the village (Frederic W. Farrar, The Gospel According to St. Luke [Cambridge University Press, 1880], 350). This envelope is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle. It includes the following printed information: Form 116. | Western Union Telegraph [torn-away] | Pay no Charges to Messenger unless written in Ink in Delivery Boo[torn-away] | No. 10 | Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle | Charges, Pd. The verso of the envelope includes the following printed information: NIGHT MESSAGES AT REDUCED RATES. | MONEY ORDERS BY TELEGRAPH. Bucke is referring to his book Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind (Philadelphia: Innes and Sons, 1905). In this volume, Bucke discussed the profound awareness or state of "cosmic consciousness" that he believed was achieved by such persons as Buddha, Jesus, Dante, and Whitman, among others. 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. For more on Bucke and his theories of consciousness, see Matthew Ignoffo, "Cosmic Consciousness," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). John Elisha (J. E.) Row's The Mortal Moon; Or, Bacon and His Masks, was published in 1891. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of November 7, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U. S. A. It is postmarked: London | PM | NO 10 | 91 | Canada; Camden, N. J. | Nov 12 | 1 PM | 91 | Rec'd. See Johnston's letters of June 11 and June 17, 1891. See Whitman's letter to Johnston of June 6, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: [illegible]| Dec 29 | 7 PM | 91, Camden, N.J. | Dec 30 | 6 AM | 91 | Rec'd. Whitman is referring to the June 15, 1891, letter from William H. Taylor that he enclosed for Bucke. See Wallace's letter of June 11, 1891. See Whitman's letter to Johnston of June 1, 1891. See Wallace's letter to Whitman of June 2, 1891. Horace Traubel married Anne Montgomerie on May 28, 1891 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The couple then traveled with the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke to Bucke's home in London, Ontario, Canada. They returned to Camden on June 14. This postal card is addressed: H L Traubel | Care Dr Bucke asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | JUN10 | 8 PM | 91, London | PM | JU 12 | 91 | Canada. Horace Traubel married Anne Montgomerie on May 28, 1891. After Whitman's birthday celebration on May 31, 1891, the couple traveled with Bucke back to London, Ontario, where they stayed until returning to Camden, New Jersey, on June 14. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | OCT 4 | 5 PM | 91, London | PM | OC 5 | 91 | Canada. See Wallace's letter to Whitman of September 30, 1891. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | OCT14 | 6 PM | 91, London | PM | OC 16 | Canada. Wallace traveled from Bolton, England to the United States, arriving at Philadelphia on September 8, 1891 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, September 8, 1891). At the time of Whitman's letter, Wallace had just returned to the United States after visiting Bucke in Canada. 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). In a letter to Richard Maurice Bucke dated November 22, 1891, Whitman explained that "[William] Heineman, [Wolcott] Balestier, & [John] Lovell want to purchase the American copyright [to Leaves of Grass]—I do not care to sell it as at present minded." See also Harry Buxton Forman's letter to Whitman of November 8, 1891. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | OCT15 | 8 PM | 91; London | OC [illegible] | 91 | Canada. Andrew Rome, perhaps with the help of his brother Tom, printed Whitman's first edition of Leaves of Grass (1855) in a small shop at the intersection of Fulton and Cranberry in Brooklyn. It was likely the first book the firm ever printed. Wallace had contacted Rome while on his North American trip and arranged to have him travel to Camden to reunite with Whitman; see Wallace's account of the meeting in Dr. John Johnston and Wallace's (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917), 131–143. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Eq | Camden | N.J. | Cooper St. It is postmarked: PHILADELPHIA, PA | APR14 | 130PM | 90; CAMDEN, NJ | APR | 14 | 3PM | [illegible] | [illegible]. This letter has been struck through with a line in black ink that extends from the top right to the bottom left of the letter. Bucke is referring to Whitman's letter of April 10, 1890. Bucke is referring to Whitman's letter of April 11, 1890. Bucke published this article with the title of "'Leaves of Grass' and Modern Science." See The Conservator 1.3 (May 1890). See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, April 15, 1890. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: New York | Sep 25 | 4 PM | D; Camden, N.J. | SEP | 26 | 6AM | 1890 | [illegible]. The envelope has a printed return address: J. H. Johnston & Co., | Diamond Merchants and Jewelers, | 17 Union Square, New York. | Cor. Broadway & 15th St. Johnston is referring to the letter he wrote Whitman on September 22, 1890. Johnston enclosed the original envelope for the September 22 letter, on which he wrote an incorrect address for Whitman and crossed it out only to write a second incorrect address. Johnston is referring to the lecture event planned in Whitman's honor, which would take place on October 21 at Philadelphia's Horticultural Hall. Robert Ingersoll delivered the lecture. See Ingersoll's October 12, 1890 and October 20, 1890 letters to Whitman. In his letter of September 17, 1890 Bucke quoted a letter from Johnston: "This morning an hours talk with Ingersoll and I got his promise and authority to proceed and get up a lecture entertainment by him for Walt's benefit—in Phila I guess—Shall I put you on committee?" Johnston is responding to Whitman's discussion of his 71st birthday celebration in Philadelphia and the speech delievered by Robert Ingersoll (1833–1899) at the event. See Whitman's letter to Johnston of September 23, 1890. The writer is referring to Whitman's poem, "My 71st Year" which was first published in the Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine in November 1889. The writer is referencing the Bible; see John, Chapter 14, Verse 15. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: New York | Sep 22 | 7 PM | D; Camden, N.J. | Sep | 23 | 6AM | 1890 | [illegible]. The envelope has a printed return address: J. H. Johnston & Co., | Diamond Merchants and Jewelers, | 17 Union Square, New York. | Cor. Broadway & 15th St. Whitman wrote two letters to Johnston on September 20, 1890: one early in the day, and another after Whitman's biographer and disciple Horacel Traubel mentioned Johnston's idea to hold a lecture event for the poet that would include a lecture by Robert Ingersoll. Johnston is referring to the idea of holding a lecture event in Whitman's honor. The event took place on October 21 at Philadelphia's Horticultural Hall. Orator and agonostic Robert Ingersoll delivered the lecture, which was titled "Liberty in Literature. Testimonial to Walt Whitman." See Ingersoll's October 12, 1890, and October 20, 1890, letters to Whitman. Johnston is referring to Whitman's poem, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd." Whitman later recorded in his Commonplace Book his impressions of Ingersoll's October 21, 1890, speech: "Well the Ingersoll lecture came off last evn'g in Horticultural Hall, Broad st: Phila:—a noble, (very eulogistic to WW & L of G) eloquent speech, well responded to by the audience. There were 1600 to 2000 people, (choice persons,) one third women (Proceeds to me $869.45)—I went over, was wheeled on the stage in my ratan chair, and at the last spoke a very few words—A splendid success for Ingersoll, (& me too.) Ing. had it written, & read with considerable fire, but perfect ease" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The writer opens this letter with lines from Whitman's poem, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd." For more on the poem, see R. W. French, "'When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd' [1865]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Symonds is referring to Whitman's letter of August 19, 1890, a draft of which is extant. See Whitman's letter to Frederick Oldach on August 27, 1890, requesting the fifty sets be made up. Mary A. Fisher (1839–1920) was the founder of the Home-Hotel Association, incorporated in 1888 with the mission of providing aid to arists, writers, and other professional people in need. Fisher had previously written to Whitman on September 21, 1889, sending him their Annual Report and requesting him to read at a benefit for the Association. The address of 71 Java Street was the Association's temporary address until the Home-Hotel moved to permanent rooms on St. Ann's Avenue in the Bronx. The Association quickly outgrew those rooms and relocated to Tenafly, New Jersey, in 1899, where Fisher wrote her book The Story of the Mary Fisher Home (1915). Heyde refers to New York landscape painters Asher Brown Durand (1796–1886) and Thomas Cole (1801–1848). Durand painted Landscape—Scene from "Thanatopsis," inspired by Bryant's poem in 1850. In 1849, Durand had painted Kindred Spirits, a dramatic landscape painting that portrayed both Bryant and Cole standing on a rock outcropping. Whitman had visited Hannah and Charles Heyde in Burlington in June 1872, when he was invited to read a poem for the Dartmouth College graduation, an event that received a great deal of attention in the press. Heyde is probably referring to the money Whitman sent with his letter to his sister Hannah on April 20, 1891. Samuel Hollyer (1826–1919), an etcher and engraver, emigrated to the United States in 1851. His engraving of Whitman as a laborer appears in the first edition of Leaves of Grass. Whitman sent Hollyer the photograph called "Lear" (reproduced in The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller, vol. 4, following page 278, and in Specimen Days [1971], plate 180). Whitman referred favorably to the finished etching on August 4, 1888, in his letter to Richard Maurice Bucke, and in his Commonplace Book on the preceding day (see Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). For Whitman's reservations later, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, August 12, 1888 and Wednesday, August 15, 1888. Samuel Hollyer (1826–1919) was an etcher, engraver, and artist. Born February 24, 1846, at St. George, Bloomsbury, Camden, England, Hollyer was the son of Samuel Hollyer, a gentleman, and his wife Mary Ann. Hollyer emigrated to the United States in the early 1850s, but traveled to England to marry Madeline Charlotte Chevalier, the daughter of the artist William Chevalier, at St. Pancras Parish Chapel in October 1863. The couple returned to the United States, residing in New Jersey and, later, New York for the remainder of their lives. Hollyer's engraving of Whitman as a laborer appears in the first edition of Leaves of Grass, published in 1855. Hollyer wrote to Whitman to request permission to make the etching. On April 3, 1888, Whitman sent Hollyer a photograph taken ca. 1876 by Jacob Spieler at the Charles H. Spieler Studios in Philadelphia, which Whitman referred to as the "Lear" (reproduced in The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller, vol. 4, following page 278, and in Specimen Days [1971], plate 180). Whitman referred favorably to the finished etching on August 4, 1888, in his letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke, and in his Commonplace Book on the preceding day (see Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). For Whitman's reservations later, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, August 12, 1888 and Wednesday, August 15, 1888. Several of Sarony's photographs, taken in 1879, appear in Specimen Days (1971), plates 154 and 155. A search in the archives of Houghton Mifflin Company reveals that RLS #32 (in the extant 1913 revision) has the following title page: "The Gettysburg Speech | and Other Papers | by | Abraham Lincoln | Lowell's Essay on Lincoln | and | Whitman's O Captain! My Captain!" Since the poem is set in a smaller type than the preceeding texts, Whitman's suggested corrections may have been made. For this information I am indebted to Marie L. Edel of the editorial staff of Houghton Mifflin Company. See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, March 30, 1889 This letter is endorsed: "Send the letters & one | slip to Dr. B | Dr I want Ford's & O'C's | letters returned to me." See the letter from William D. O'Connor to Whitman of April 14, 1888. A letter from art critic Sheridan Ford on April 13, 1888 invited the poet to give a series of lectures in England and Scotland in the fall. See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, April 5, 1889. In Walt Whitman in Camden, Traubel records Whitman's comments about this letter. See the entry for Friday, April 5, 1889. This letter is addressed: Wm Sloane Kennedy | Belmont | Mass. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 23 | 8pm | 88. On May 16, 1888 O'Connor commented on Mrs. Moulton: "Her fault was in being too Araminta-Seraphina-Matilda." Whitman agreed: "I can't endure her effusiveness: I like, respect her: but her dear this and dear that and dear the other thing make me shudder" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, March 1, 1889). On April 15 Whitman had borrowed Boswell from Harned: "I have never so far read it" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, April 15,1888). The poet did not respond to Johnson's "ponderous arrogance" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, April 18, 1888), but continued to read the work "as a duty" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, April 26, 1888). He remained unimpressed when he finished the work on May 13 (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, May 13, 1888). This letter is addressed: Andrew Carnegie | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 2 | 6am | 88; | P.O. | 2-2-88 | 10-1A | N.Y. Whitman sent this postcard to "New York City"; someone added "5 West 51st St." Carnegie contributed $50 to the fund that paid for Whitman's nurse (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, March 27, 1889). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd May 16/88." It is addressed: Wm D. O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington | D.C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 25 | 4 30 PM | 88; Washington, Rec'd | Apr | 25 | 11 PM | 1888 | 5. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Dec. 10/88." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington D.C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 9 | 5 PM | (?). This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N. J., | Nov 20 | 8 PM | 88; Washington, Rec'd. | Nov 21 | 7AM | 88 | 3. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 9 | 8 PM | 88; Washington, Rec'd. | Nov 10 | 7 30 AM | 88 | 3. See O'Connor's letter to Whitman of November 1, 1888. Whitman was referring to the recent election of the Republican lawyer and politician Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901) as the 23rd President of the United States. Harrison defeated the Democratic incumbent Grover Cleveland in the 1888 election, and served as President from 1889 to 1893. See Whitman's letter to Richard Maurice Bucke of the November 5, 1888. On the back of the first page of this letter, part of Mrs. Stafford's address, ("Glendale"), and the date of July 24 has been written multiple times. This letter is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | July 23 | 8pm | 88. Whitman's name and address are printed on the envelope as follows: WALT WHITMAN, | CAMDEN, | NEW JERSEY. Whitman may be referring to the July 9–10, 1888, letter he received from Ernest Rhys. In his letter of July 21, 1888 to Richard Maurice Bucke, Whitman refers to a July 19, 1888, letter he had just received from Bucke, but Bucke's letter does not appear to be extant. Herbert Gilchrist had written to Whitman on July 8, 1888. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Jan 2 | 6 AM | 89. This is addressed: Dr Bucke Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 2 | 5pm | 89. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N. J. | Jun 5 | 8pm | 89; Philadelphia, PA | Jun | 5 | 9 PM | 1889 | Transit; London | JU 8 | 89 | Canada. Whitman is referring to the Johnstown flood. In his Commonplace Book he wrote on June 1, 1889; "The most pervading & dreadful news this m'ng is of the strange cataclysm at Johnstown & adjoining Cambria County, Penn: by wh' many thousands of people are overwhelm'd, kill'd by drowning in water, burnt by fire, &c: &c:—all our hearts, the papers & the public interest, are fill'd with it—the most signal & wide-spread horror of the kind ever known in this country—curious that at this very hour, we were having the dinner festivities &c—unaware" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). C. H. Browning, now the Philadelphia representative of the New York World, was instructed by Julius Chambers to ask Whitman for a "threnody on the Johnstown dead," which became "A Voice from Death" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, June 5, 1889). The poem was published in the New York World on June 7, 1889. Milford C. Reed wrote to the poet on June 1, 1889: "Do you remember the young man of the 5th U S Calvary who you used to visit in Armory Square Hospital and the many time you used to take me into a Restaurant and give me a good square meal. I suppose you done that to so many you would hardly remember me by that. for all Soldiers know[n] to you looked upon you as their friend, for you ever wore your heart on your sleeve to Old Soldier boys. You used to call me Cody then....In the years gone by I have often passed through Camden, and had I have known it was your home I should surely have stopped to see you, that I might once more have crasped you by the hand and looked into that kindly face and fought over our battles (once again) in Washington." Whitman's reply on June 9 is lost. Reed also wrote to the poet on May 26, 1865. See letter from James W. Wallace to Whitman of May 21, 1889. See also Whitman's reply on June 4, 1889. According to Bucke's letter on May 28, the annual ball at the asylum took place on May 30. On June 2 he observed: "There is nothing in God's world more absurd than these balls & parties at which one sits up all night pretending to have a good time and (without any pretence) has a very bad time for some days afterwards." See the letter from Bucke to Whitman of June 3, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 6 | 8 PM | 89. "A Voice from Death" was published on the first page of the New York World on June 7, 1889. Cambria County is where Johnstown, Pennsylvania is located, and where the catastrophic flood that killed over 2200 people took place on May 31, 1889. Whitman is likely referring to Bucke's letter of June 4, 1889; Bucke wrote in his letter of June 5, 1889 that he had received the papers from Whitman. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 9 | 5pm | 89; Philadelphia, PA | Jun | 9 | 6PM | 1889 | Transit; Buffalo, N.Y. | Jun | 10 | 12M | 1889 | Transit; London | AM | JU 11 | 89 | Canada. Whitman is likely referring to John Burroughs' letter of May 11, 1889 and Milford Reed's letter of June 1, 1889. Whitman Sent "My 71st Year" on June 9, 1889 to Richard Watson Gilder of the Century, where it appeared in November. He received $12 (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]). On June 11, 1889 he sent "Bravo, Paris Exposition!" to the New York Herald and requested $10. When it was returned he sent it, on June 13, 1889, to the New York World and asked $6 (Commonplace Book). It was finally published in Harper's Weekly; see the letter from Whitman to Bucke of September 25, 1889. Whitman is referring to Bucke's letters of June 4 and June 5, 1889. Whitman received a letter from Costelloe on May 10, 1889; he may be referring to this letter. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 16 | 5pm | 89; London | PM | JU 18 | 89 | Canada. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 23 | 5pm | 89. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 30 | 5pm | 89; London | AM | JY | 2 | 89 | Canada. Letters from Sarrazin and Rossetti appear in Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman (Philadelphia, PA: David McKay, 1889), 49–50. On June 16, 1889, German writer and translator Edward Bertz (1853–1931), also spelled "Eduard," sent Whitman an article that he had published in the Deutsche Presse of June 2, 1889 in honor of Whitman's seventieth birthday. See Amelia von Ende, "Whitman and the Germans of Today," The Conservator No. 4 [June 1907], 55–57. See also, Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, June 28, 1889. On July 2, 1889, Whitman sent Bertz Complete Poems & Prose, and on July 7 a copy of Richard Maurice Bucke's book (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]). Bertz thanked the poet on July 20–22; he stated that he preferred Ferdinand Freiligrath's translations to those of T. W. Rolleston and Karl Knortz, and called attention to his own book The French Prisoners (1884), "the story of a friendship between a German boy and a young French soldier," with a chapter motto from Leaves of Grass. In 1905 Bertz published Walt Whitman; ein Charakterbild. See Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, June 27, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 3 | 8 pm | 89. See 2066, n.49. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, (?) | Jul 7 | 5pm | 89; Philadelphia, PA | Jul | 7 | 6PM | [illegible]; London | AM | JY 9 | 89 | Canada. Whitman misdated this letter consistently for three days. July 7 fell on a Sunday, June 7 on a Friday. Mrs. O'Connor sent an eleven-page letter to Whitman on July 3, 1889 about which he expressed doubts to Traubel on July 6, 1889 as to sending it to Bucke (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, July 7, 1889). But he did include O'Connor's letter as an enclosure along with this letter to Bucke. For additional confirmation of the date, see Traubel's account of the poet's activities from July 5 to 7 (With Walt Whiman in Camden, Friday, July 5, 1889 and Saturday, July 6, 1889). Whitman rightly foresaw that Bucke would seize upon the following section in Mrs. O'Connor's letter: "I have had several most vivid dreams of you, so distinct that all the next day I felt as if I had been with you; & I wonder whether my 'astral body' went to you, or yours came to me. A day or two before William passed away he awoke from a nap & asked me 'if Walt had gone?' I said you had not been here, but he repeated the question, & then I said yes, you had gone." See also the letter from Whitman to Bucke of July 13, 1889. Whitman was likely referring to Bucke's letter of July 5, 1889. This letter does not seem to be extant; only discussion about it survives. See see Artem Loyzynsky, ed., The Letters of Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke to Walt Whitman (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1977), 134. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 10 | 8 PM | 89; London | AM | JY 12 | 89 | Canada. Traubel brought the poet a copy of Mrs. Ward's translation of Amiel's Journal: The Journal of Intime of Henri-Frederic Amiel (London, 1889) on July 7, 1889. (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, July 7, 1889). On July 26, Whitman commented: "It is very introspective—very full of sin—of looking sinwards—a depressing book in fact" (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, July 26, 1889). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, NJ | Jul 13 | 8PM | 89; NY | 7-014-89 | 11 AM | 9; London | A[illegible] | JY | 15 | 89 | Canada. Bucke's letter is not extant, but Whitman summarized its contents for Traubel: "Doctor's last letter was written in a terrible strain: he proposes to me that, Mrs. O'Connor having no place her own now—nothing to do—that we somehow set up a bargain—that she keep house for me—that we go into alliance, get spliced" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, July 13, 1889). Bucke's reasoning was not an illogical deduction from Mrs. O'Connor's letter of July 3, 1889. Whitman is referring to Burroughs' letter of July 12, 1889, which is included here as an enclosure. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 19 | 6 AM | 89; NY | 7-19-89 | 10:30AM | . Whitman is likely referring to Bucke's letters of July 12 and July 14, 1889. The letter Bucke wrote on July 12 does not seem to be extant. This letter is addressed: John Burroughs | Hobart | New York. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 19 | 8 PM | 89. On July 3, 1889, Mrs. O'Connor informed Whitman that she was sending him a copy of William's "last literary work," Mr. Donnelly's Reviewers. On August 27, Burroughs commented: "I read Williams pamphlet on Donnellys Reviewers with melancholy enjoyment. It is very brilliant & effective, quite equal to his best work I think. If he had only left out some of his mud-epithets, or if he had only not claimed Montaignes Essays & Burtons Melancholy for Bacon! How such a claim as that does discredit the whole business.... Wm was fated to slop over in just this way, & to steel his reader against him." This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 21 | 430 PM | 89. Dr. Bucke prescribed a tonic for Whitman that the poet came to believe did more harm than good. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 25 | 6 AM | 89; N.Y. | 7-25-89 | 1030 AM | 10. Whitman sent the book on July 23 to J. W. Wassall, of Chicago (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]), and Horace Traubel sold two copies to "the Lynchenheim boys" on July 16 (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, July 14, 1889 and Tuesday, July 16, 1889). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. Whitman has reused an envelope, marking through the previous addressee and the printed return address and writing in Dr. Bucke's name and address. The letter is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 25 | 8 PM | 89; London | AM | JY 27 | 89 | Canada. On July 24, 1889 Kennedy sent Gardner's letter of rejection—"the pultroon's letter"—and observed: "I guess we have to wait for the book & pub[lish] it here sometime . . . . I am going to let Fred [W] Wilson look at the MS again. He has never refused it, you know." Only the envelope, with the second quoted sentence written on it, is extant. On August 4, 1889, he commented "I kind o' hope Fred. Wilson will tackle in some way my Whitman." On September 5 he rationalized: Gardner "publishes highly respectable religious books (not our cosmic-pantheistic kind, of course)"—even though Gardner was the English publisher of November Boughs. Kennedy's books on Whitman would not be published until after the poet's death. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 26 | 8 PM | 89. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 28 | 5 PM | 89; Buffalo, NY | July 29 | 1030 AM | 89 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. There are no extant letters from Bucke to Whitman between July 14 and August 4. Garland had written two letters to Whitman, both dated June 1889. One letter included pages of notes that Garland indicated he wished to print; the other enclosed the photo Whitman mentions here. The frontispiece was an engraving by Thomas Johnson after a photograph by a Mrs. Carver. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N. J. | Aug 4 | 5 PM | 89; Philadelphia, PA | Aug 4 | 6PM | 1889 | Transit; Buffalo, NY | Aug 5 | 12AM | 1889 | Transit; London | AM | AU 6 | 89 | Canada. Kennedy on August 4, 1889 called Whitman's attention to Gosse's two-column article in the Boston Evening Transcript of the preceeding day entitled "Tennyson at Eighty." Bertz had written to Whitman on July 21, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 8 | 8 PM | 89. This inserted line appears at the top of the postal card under the place and date line. Les cloches de Corneville (1878, known in English as The Chimes of Normandy) was a comic opera by French composer Jean Robert Planquette (1848–1903); it was remarkably popular in Paris, London, and New York, where it was revived several times. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 14 | 8 PM | 89. At this time, Whitman was preparing a portfolio of self-portraits. He wanted to publish the portfolio, but the project was never completed. Whitman did include several photographs (or engravings of them) in the 1889 issue of Leaves of Grass. In 1889, physiologist Charles-Édouard Brown-Séquard (1817–1894) injected himself with an elixir of extracts from monkey testicles and reported rejuvenated sexual prowess. His elixir received a great deal of publicity and was used by thousands of men. In 1877, the former Union Civil War General Augustus James Pleasonton (1808–1894) started a health craze based on his notion that the color blue (like the blue sky) promoted growth in animals and plants, and he experimented by growing grapes and raising pigs under blue glass. Many dismissed his claims as quackery, but others took the claims seriously, and what Whitman called the "blue glass furore" lasted several years—with blue glass supposedly curing a range of maladies from back pain to baldness—before being fully debunked. Whitman sat for the photographer Frederick Gutekunst in Philadelphia on August 7, 1889, and requested "specimens" of what he called the "big half-length, sitting, no hat," a photograph that he and Bucke both admired. Whitman may be referring to Bucke's letter of July 31, 1891. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, NJ | Aug 18 | 5 PM | 89; Buffalo, NY | Aug | 19 | 10AM | 1889 | Transit; London | AM | AU 20 | 89 | Canada. There are no extant letters from Bucke between August 4 and 25. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 22 | 8 PM | 89. On the following day Whitman wrote: "Have had a bad week—one of the worst (tho't sometimes it might be the close)—but am a little easier to-day" (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 24 | 8 PM | 89; London | PM | AU 26 | 89 | CANADA; [illegible] | 8-25-89 | 11 AM | [illegible]. The envelope is printed with Whitman's return address: Walt Whitman, | Camden | New Jersey, | U. S. America. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, August 22, 1889. Whitman is likely referring to either Harry or Warren Fritzinger. The Fritzinger brothers were the children of a blind sea captain, Henry Whireman Fritzinger, for whom Whitman's housekeeper Mary Davis had previously served as a nurse. This letter is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Kirkwood (Glendale) New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 22 | 8 PM | 89. Whitman is referring to Stafford's letter of August 21, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 27 | 8 PM | 89. There is (curiously) no record in Traubel of a visit from Hartmann on August 26. Whitman mentions Dick Flynn in his October 14, 1880 letter to Thomas Nicholson. Like Nicholson, Flynn was an employee at Bucke's asylum. The poet met Flynn when he visited London, Ontario, in 1880 (see especially the fifth note for Whitman's letter to Nicholson of October 14, 1880; see also Whitman's letter to Nicholson of December 17, [1880]) and Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, August 27, 1889). Whitman is referring to Bucke's letter of August 25, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 29 | 8 PM | 89. Whitman paid a city tax of $25.28 on August 24 and a water tax bill for $8.40 on August 28. Of the former he wrote: "In Italy & Greece they have a dis-illegal banditti— here we have a regular legal one, & numerous & remorseless" (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]). Whitman received a letter from Burroughs on August 27, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Sep 1 | 5 PM | [illegible]; Philadelphia | Sep | 1 | 7PM | 1889; Buffalo, N.Y. | Sep | 2 | 1 PM | 1889 | Transit; London | AM | SP [illegible] | 89 | Canada. Whitman's poem "My 71st Year" was published in the November 1889 issue of Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine. Smith had written to Whitman on August 13 1889. It is uncertain whether Whitman enclosed this letter or a subsequent letter from Smith. Whitman was thinking of printing a select group of photos on uniform cards and arranging them in an envelope or album. At this time he even wrote up instructions to the printer specifying a run of 200 copies with gilt labeling and the title Pictures from life of WW. The project, like many others in Whitman's final years, was never completed, but in 1889 Whitman did put together a small group of six portraits in a ribbon-tied envelope, and that is what he sent to Bucke. Bucke informs Whitman that Flynn is "at home and at work" in his September 3, 1889, letter to the poet. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 2 | 8 PM | 89. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 4 | 8 PM | 89. Whitman is referring to Bucke's letter of September 3, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, NJ | Sept 8 | 5PM | 89; Philadelphia, PA | [illegible] | 6 PM | 1889 | Transit; Buffalo, NY | SEP | 9 | 11AM | 1889 | Transit; London | AM | SP 10 | 89 | Canada. Whitman may be referring to Edward Dowden's letter of June 26 1889, but it is also possible that he enclosed a different "old letter" from Dowden. Whitman is likely referring to Bucke's letter of September 5, 1889. Whitman is referring to Willam Sloane Kennedy's letter of September 5, 1889. Whitman is referring to Kennedy's postal card of September 5, 1889. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, NJ | Sep 7 | 10AM | 1889 | Rec'd. Whitman sent this postal card to Canadian physician and psychiatrist Richard Maurice Bucke, including it as an enclosure with his letter to Bucke of September 6–8 1889. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, NJ | Sep 7 | 10AM | 1889 | Rec'd. Whitman enclosed Kennedy's postal card with his September 6–8 letter to Richard Maurice Bucke. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | SEP 14 | 8 PM | 89; NY | 9-15-89 | [illegible] | [illegible]; London | PM | SP 18 | 89 | Canada. On September 12, 1889, Sir Edwin Arnold (1832–1904) wrote from Washington, D. C. requesting permission to visit Whitman. (The Boston Traveller on October 5, 1889, however reprinted a purported letter from Arnold to Whitman dated September 12, written from New York, in a flamboyant style not found in the actual letter.) For an account of Arnold's visit, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, September 12, 1889 and Saturday, September 14, 1889: "My main objection to him, if objection at all, would be, that he is too eulogistic—too flattering." Arnold published his own version of the interview in Seas and Lands (1891), in which he averred that the two read from Leaves of Grass, surrounded by Mrs. Davis, knitting, a handsome young man (Wilkins), and "a big setter." There are at least two additional accounts of Arnold's visit with Whitman; "Arnold and Whitman" was published anonymously in The Times (Philadelphia, PA) on September 15, 1889, and a different article, also titled "Arnold and Whitman" was published anonymously in The Daily Picayune (New Orleans, LA) on September 26, 1889. Arnold was best known for his long narrative poem, The Light of Asia (1879), which tells the life story and philosophy of Gautama Buddha and was largely responsible for introducing Buddhism to Western audiences. Whitman is referring to Ellen O'Connor's letter of September 12, 1889 and Bucke's letter of September 9, 1889. The actor, Whitman informed Traubel, was "a hearty fellow, too—Hanson, I think was his name" (Horace Traubel With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, September 13, 1889). The Bohemian Girl (1843) was a ballad opera by Irish composer Michael William Balfe (1808–1870) that enjoyed many revivals in Europe and the U.S. during the nineteenth century. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 18 | 8 PM | 89. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 22 | 5 PM | 89. Symond's tribute to Whitman, dated September 3, was included among the post-scripts in Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1889), 73. On September 21, 1889 the poet sent Complete Poems & Prose (1888) to Symonds (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 25 | 8 PM | 89; London | PM | SP 27 | 89 | Canada. The envelope also includes a Philadelphia postmark, but only the name of the city is legible. Whitman is referring to George Inness' "The Valley of the Shadow of Death" (see Whitman's letter of August 29, 1889 to the Editor of Harper's New Monthly Magazine and note 1. Whitman sent "Bravo, Paris Exposition!" to Harper's Weekly on September 18, 1889 (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]); on the following day editor John Foord (1862–1922) accepted the poem and enclosed $10 in payment in his letter of September 19, 1889. It appeared on September 28. See also Whitman's letter to Bucke of June 8–9, 1889. John Foord was the editor of Harper's Weekly from 1888 to 1892. Whitman's poem "Bravo, Paris Exposition!." was published in Harper's Weekly on September 28, 1889. See the letter from John Burroughs to Whitman of August 27, 1889. On September 20, 1889 Bucke confided to Whitman that he might resign his position if the meter proved successful. Of Whitman's health he wrote: "I have great hopes that you may have some comfort in your life yet—and beyond—beyond? Yes, we shall have good times yet—the old times were good but the new times shall be better." The poet, interestingly, never responded to Bucke's cosmic exuberance. Whitman's poem "Death's Valley" was published in Harper's Monthly Magazine 84 (April 1892): 707–709. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 28 | 8 PM | 89; Philadelphia, PA | Sep | 28 | 9 PM | 1889 | Transit; NY | 9-29-89 | 1030AM | 8; Lon[cutaway] PM | S[illegible] 30 | 8[illegible] | Canada. For Burroughs' account of his visit, see (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1931], 289). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, NJ | Oct 3 | 8 PM | 89. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, [illegible] | Oct 5 | 8 PM | 89. The New England Magazine was launched in September and included Sylvester Baxter's article on Bellamy's Looking Backward. The International Congress of American States opened in Washington on October 2; the delegates began a grand tour of the United States two days later. This postscript is written at the top of the page. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 8 | 8 PM | 89. Whitman is referring to his sister Hannah Whitman Heyde (1823–1908). The entry in Whitman's Commonplace Book for this date reads: "Letter f'm C L H[eyde]. Hannah very ill jaundice—next day letter, 'much better'—sent $6" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Oct[illegible] | 11Pm | 89; Camden, N.J. | Oct 10 | 8 PM | 89. Whitman is referring to Bucke's letter of October 8, 1889. Horace Traubel's article, "Walt Whitman at Date," was published in the May 1891 issue of the New England Magazine 4.3 (May 1891), 275–292. The article is also reprinted in the first appendix of the eighth volume of Traubel's With Walt Whitman in Camden. The Pan-American Conference of 1889, also known as the First International Conference of American States, established North, Central, and South America as a group of affiliated nations. Canada was generally excluded from the conference because the U.S. did not want a member of the British Commonwealth present at a Western hemispheric conference. The work was completed on October 19, 1889. Whitman paid $33.40 to the carpenter, William H. Johnson, whom he termed a "scamp & fraud" (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 12 | 8 PM | 89; Philadelphia, PA | Oct 13 | 930 PM | 1889 | Transit; London | PM OC 14 | 89 | Canada. There is a New York postmark and at least 2 other postmarks on the envelope, but these are illegible. Stafford visited the poet on October 9 (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]). The 24th Triennial Conclave of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the U.S. was held in Washington, D.C., on October 8, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 15 | 8 PM | 89; Philadelphia, PA | Oct | 15 | [illegible]M | 1889 | Transit; London | PM | OC 17 | 89 | Canada. The title of Carpenter's book was Civilization: Its Causes and Cure; and Other Essays (London: Swan Sonnenschein & Co., 1889). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Oct 17 | 6 AM | 89. Donaldson has a lengthy report of his conversation with Wilkins on this date. See Donaldson's Walt Whitman, the Man (New York: Francis P. Harper, 1896), 98–102. Wilkins took to Donaldson receipts for gifts from Henry Irving and Bram Stoker. Whitman's letter to Donaldson of June 9, 1889; see also note 43 for this letter. This letter does not seem to be extant. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, NJ | Oct 19 | 8 PM | [illegible]; Philadelphia, PA | Oct | 19 | 9 PM | 1889 | Transit; NY | 10-20-89 | 9 AM; London | PM | OC 21 | 89 | Canada. Whitman's poem "My 71st Year" was published in Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine in November 1889. Whitman is probably referring to either Harry (Henry) or Warren (Warry) Fritzinger. Prior to becoming Whitman's housekeeper, Mary Davis had worked for Henry Whireman Fritzinger, a former sea captain who later went blind. Following Henry, Sr.'s death in 1881, Mary served as a guardian for the Fritzinger boys. On October 18, 1889, Whitman sent a cluster of poems entitled "Old Age's Echoes" to Henry Mills Alden of Harper's New Monthly Magazine and asked $100 (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]). On October 24, Alden rejected the work: "It is too much of an improvisation for our use. I had it set up, hoping that, seeing it in type, I might come to a more favorable impression of its form. The thought is worthy of a more careful texture in its parts & of a more shapely embodiment as a whole. I am not critisizing. Criticism has no place in the poet's world. I am writing only as a Magazine editor with reference to Magazine requirements." Alden's letter cannot be located. On November 2, 1889, Whitman sent the piece, now called "Old Age Echoes," to Nineteenth Century and asked £20; the editor, James Knowles, returned the manuscript on February 21, 1890. The "3 or 4 sonnets poemets," as the poet characterized the work in his Commonplace Book, were eventually published in the March 1891 issue of Lippincott's Magazine. Here, the poem "Old-Age Echoes" consists of the "poemets" titled "Sounds of the Winter," "The Unexpress'd," "Sail out for Good, Eidólon Yacht!" and "After the Argument." "To the Sun-Set Breeze" appeared in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in December, 1890; Whitman received $60 (Commonplace Book). Sir Edwin Arnold (1832–1904), the British poet and journalist, had visited Whitman in Camden in September 1889 and wrote frequently about it. See for example, "Arnold and Whitman," which was published in the September 26, 1889, issue of The Daily Picayune. Whitman found the visitor interesting but too effusive: "My main objection to him, if objection at all, would be, that he is too eulogistic—too flattering" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, September 13, 1889). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 21 | 8 PM | 89. Whitman is referring to Charles Sterrit, a young man who was to visit the poet to discuss the possibility of becoming Whitman's nurse and helper after Ed Wilkins returned to Canada to pursue the study of Veterinary medicine. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of October 18–[19], 1889. In his letter to Whitman of October 30, 1889, Bucke reported that Wilkins visited him and brought the photographs the previous evening, October 29, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 22 | 8 PM | 89. Bucke specifically requested on October 18, 1889 the rare 1872 book and a copy of O'Connor's novel of 1860, Harrington. In his letter to Whitman of October 30, 1889, Bucke reported that Wilkins visited him on October 29, 1889 and brought him a package of photographs from Whitman. Sir Edwin Arnold (1832–1904), the British poet and journalist, had visited Whitman in Camden in September 1889 and wrote frequently about it. See for example, "Arnold and Whitman," which was published in the September 26, 1889, issue of The Daily Picayune. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 23 | 8PM; London | PM | OC 25 | 89 | Canada. "Throstle" was a parody of Tennyson by the English poet and author Edmund Gosse (1849–1928). Whitman also mentions "Throstle" in his letters to Bucke of October 27–28, 1889, and October 31, 1889. Whitman is referring to Bucke's son, apparently named after Bucke's friend Timothy Blair Pardee, who died in July. See the letter from Whitman to Bucke of July 26, 1889. The book was sent to Edmund B. Delebarre (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]). Whitman is referring to Bucke's letter of October 18, 1889. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 24 | 4 30 PM | 89; N Y | 10-24-89 | 11 PM | [illegible]. These question marks are transcribed as Whitman wrote them. This letter does not seem to be extant. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 27 | 5 PM | 89; Philadelphia, PA | Oct | 27 | 7PM | 1889 | Transit; Buffalo, N.Y. | Oct | 28 | [illegible]AM | 1889 | Transit; London | AM | OC 29 | 89 | Canada. An almost identical entry appeared in Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) on this date. Whitman is referring to "The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree" from the Bible, which is found in the book of Luke, Chapter 13, Verses 6–9, and the quote is from Verse 7. See the letter from Whitman to Bucke of October 18–[19], 1889. Walter Delaplaine Scull, a young English artist, sent $6 for the book on October 14, 1889. Yesterdays with Authors by James T. Fields was published in 1872 by James R. Osgood and Company of Boston, and it was reprinted in 1886. Whitman enclosed a reprint of "My 71st Year" with corrections (Feinberg). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 28 | 8 PM | 89. Maurice Andrews Bucke (1868–1899) was the oldest son of Richard Maurice Bucke and his wife Jessie Gurd Bucke. Maurice, named after his father, died in Montana in a carriage accident when he was thirty-one years old. Whitman is referring to a three-column review from the Philadelphia Press of Paul B. Du Chailu's The Viking Age; the reviewer was probably Melville Phillips. Whitman is referring to Bucke's letter of October 25, 1889. This letter does not appear to be extant. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 29 | 8 PM | 89. Whitman is referring to Robert Pearsall Smith's letter of October 13, 1889, whic was the most recent extant letter he had received from Smith. The enclosed letter is encoded below. On October 26, 1889, Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe told Whitman that she was going to Spain, since her health had not improved. On October 31, 1889, Whitman noted in his Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.): "Sister Han has had a bad spell illness— jaundice—is now easier." About this time he received a letter from Heyde about Hannah's indisposition and his (usual) economic problems. See the letter from Heyde to Whitman of October 1889. Whitman was probably referring to this letter when he wrote on November 8—"Snivelling letters continued (apparently endlessly) f'm the miserable whelp C L H[eyde] (he knows I can't help myself—I never answer them—I feel as if I could crush him out like an offensive bed-bug wh' he is)" (Whitman's Commonplace Book). The invective continued on November 18: "He is the worst nuisance & worriment of my illness —Keeps me back, (his damnable letters) ab't the worst factor of all time—always whining & squeezing me for more money—damn him—he ought to be crush'd out as you w'd a bed-bug" (Whitman's Commonplace Book). On December 19 Whitman sent $10 to Hannah "(5 for C)," and, apparently in response to two letters from Heyde in December, almost hysterical in their pleas for money, forwarded $2 on December 31 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). See the letters from Heyde to Whitman of December 1889 and December 27, 1889. Whitman had written to Costelloe on August 8, 1889 and October 15, 1889. Whitman enclosed this letter in his November 4, 1889, letter to the Canadian physician and pyschiatrist Richard Maurice Bucke. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 30 | 8 PM | 89. The clippings from the Evening Transcript, mounted on the letter, dealt with a proposed Goethe monument in New York's Central Park and the life of Emin Bey. Emin Bey or Mehmed Emin Pasha ([1840–1892]; born in Germany as Isaak Eduard Schnitzer) was a physician and naturalist who became governor of the Egyptian province of Equatoria. When the province was cut off from the outside world as the result of a revolt, he was the subject of a relief expedition led by the famous central African explorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley, who led a group up the Congo River in 1888. The Kennedy letter of October 27 was filled with an account of Mrs. Kennedy's visit: "She was finally converted to the impression made by your personal presence. Says she felt that strange thrill (caused by yr great magnetism) that so many others have felt" (Feinberg). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 31 | 8 PM | 89; Philadel[cut away] | Oct 31 | 9PM | 1889 | Transit; London | PM | NO 2 | 89 | Canada. Whitman was equally caustic in remarks to Horace Traubel: "Gosse is a type of the modern man of letters—much-knowing, sharp witted, critical, cold,—bitten with the notion that to be smart is to be deep" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, September 9, 1889); and "He is the cheapest of the present essay writers over there in England" (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, September 11, 1889). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, NJ | Nov 2 8PM | 89; Philadelphia | Nov 2 | 9 PM | 1889 | Transit. There is also a "Transit" postmark from New York and a London Ontario Canada postmark, but neither are fully legible beyond these locations. The frontispiece Whitman is referring to is "Head of Æsop, by Velázquez." Whitman is asking about the frontispiece of Traubel's Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman (1889). Whitman is referring to Bucke's letter of October 30, 1889. Whitman's poem "Old Age's Ship and Crafty Death's" was published in the Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine in February 1890. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 4 | 8 PM | 89; Philadelphia | Nov | 4 | 930 PM | 1889 | Transit; London | PM | No 6 | 89 | Canada. Her letter of October 26 (Feinberg). See the letter from Ernest Rhys to Whitman of October 23, 1889. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of October 18–[19], 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 6 | 8 PM | 89. On November 6, 1889, Bucke with his usual bluntness wrote: "I am exceedingly sorry for Mrs. Costelloe but the fact is the life she went in for (an attempt to carry all London on her back) was simply suicidal. Should she fully recover from this breakdown (as I trust and think she will) she will no doubt be wiser and do better in future." Bucke had written to Whitman on October 30, 1889 and on November 5, 1889; he may have also written additional letters during this period. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 9 | 8 PM | 89; London | AM | NO 11 | 89 | Canada. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, November 8, 1889 and Saturday, November 9, 1889. Whitman is referring to Edward Emerson's Emerson in Concord: A Memoir (1889). Emerson refers to Whitman in a note (228n.; reprinted in Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden), Saturday, May 11, 1889. See also the entry for Monday, May 13, 1889. Whitman means Franklin B. Sanborn. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV 12 | 8 PM | 89; [illegible]; 1; 1; LONDON | [illegible]M | NO 14 | 89 | CANADA; PHILADELPHIA PA | NOV | 12 | 9 PM | 1889 | TRANSIT. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman: | Camden, | New Jersey | United States, | America. It is postmarked: Chelsea | 3 | JY8 | 88 |[illegible]; New York | Jul | 18 ; Paid | F | ALL; Camden. N.J. | Jul | 19 | [illegible] PM | 88 | [illegible] 'D. Whitman has crossed out this letter he has received from Wolmershausen. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Belmont | Mar | 2 | Mass.; Camde[illegible] | Mar | 3 | 10 AM | Rec'd. Kennedy dated this letter February 27, but starting with the third page of this letter, he added the equivalent of another letter sometime before March 2, when the letter was postmarked. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Washington | FEB | 7 | 4PM | [illegible] | D.C.; CAMDEN | FEB | 8 | 6 AM | [illegible] | REC'D. This postal card is addressed: Charles W Eldridge | po box 1705 Lawyer | Los Angeles Cal:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 16 | 8 PM | 89. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey | United States. It is postmarked: CHRISTCHURCH | C | MR | 5 | 89; NEW YORK | MAR | 15 | A | PAID | K | ALL | 89 | Camden NJ | Mar | 16 | 3pm | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328, | Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | US. It is postmarked: London | SP 22 | 91 | CANADA; Camden N.J. | Sep 24 | 6AM | 91 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | US. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | SP 23 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP 25 | 6AM | 91 | REC'D. See Whitman's postal card to Wallace of September 20, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | US. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | SP 23 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP 25 | 6AM | 91 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: London | SP 24 | 91 | CANADA; Camden N.J. | Sep 26 | 4PM | 91 | REC'D. Emily Laing (ca. 1869–1954) was the sister of Mary Anne Laing Wilcox Beemer (1862–1927). Laing lived in Ontario with her mother, and later worked as a housekeeper. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: London | AM | SP 25 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP 28 | 6PM | 91 | REC'D. Wallace is referencing Whitman's "Calamus" cluster of poems. Whitman writes, "These I singing in spring collect for lovers, / (For who but I should understand lovers and all their sorrow and joy? / And who but I should be the poet of comrades?)." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: BOLTON | [illegible] | A[illegible]12 | 91; CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG | 19 | 4PM | REC'D; NEW YORK | [illegible]; PAID | C | ALL. Wallace has written his initials, "J.W.W," on the front of the envelope. Wallace is quoting here (and below) from Whitman's poem "As at Thy Portals Also Death." For more about the poem, see Susan Rieke, "As at Thy Portals Also Death," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Wallace is quoting from the Bible; see Psalm 107, Verse 31. Johnston published Notes of Visit to Walt Whitman, etc., in July, 1890 (Bolton: T. Brimelow & co., printers, &c.) in 1890. Johnston's notes about his visit to Whitman were later published with Wallace's own accounts of his Fall 1891 visits with Whitman and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke in Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917). According to Edwin Haviland Miller, Wentworth Dixon's daughters were Mrs. H. M. Harrison and Helen Dixon. See (The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977], 5:205, note 19). See Whitman's postal card to Wallace of August 2–3, 1891. Wallace is referring to Traubel's article, "Walt Whitman Abroad," Camden Post (August 7, 1891), 1. Traubel's piece focuses on the warm reception Bucke received from Wallace, Dr. John Johnston, and the members of the Bolton College, as well as the English admirers' reverence for Whitman. Wallace is referencing Whitman's poem, "To Him that Was Crucified." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | US.. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | SP 21 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | Sep 22 | 12 PM | 91 | REC'D. Wallace is referring to Bucke's son, William Augustus Bucke (1873–1933). "Pedro" is a trick-taking card game developed in Denver, Colorado, in the 1880s, very popular at the time. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | US.. Wallace has written his intials "J.W.W." in the bottom left corner of the recto of the envelope. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | SP 19 | 91 | CANADA; [illegible] | [illegible] 91 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. Amer[damage]. It is postmarked: BOLTON | OCT 10 | 91; NEW YORK | OCT | 19; PAID | H | ALL; CAMDEN, N.J. | Oct 20 | 6 AM | 91 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | N. J. It is postmarked: MOU[illegible] [illegible]NON | SEP | 16 | 7 PM | 1891 | N.Y.; CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP 17 | 6 AM | 91 | REC'D; NY | 9-16-91 | [illegible] We have not yet been able to fully identify this correspondent. One possibility is that the writer is Kenneth R. Crawford (ca. 1855–1936), a New York artist. His artwork was exhibited by the National Academy of Design, the Society of Artists, and the American Art Association, and was described as being of "a very choice variety, painted with much feeling and a nice freedom of touch" (The New York Times [March 25 1885], 14). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Mickle Street | Camden | N. J. It is postmarked: CAPE MAY | SEP | 17 | 7 PM | 1891 | N.J.; CAMDEN N.J. | SEP 19 | 10 AM | 91 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. Barnhill's return address is written on the envelope as follows: Barnhill | 5 De wolf | Cambridge | Mass. The letter is postmarked: Boston.Mass. | 9-30A | May 13 | 1889; Camden, N.J. | MAY | 14 |6 AM | 1888 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Washington D.C. | APR 27 | 730 PM | 90; Camden N.J. | APR | 28 | 6am | 1890 | REC'D. Hannah Louisa Whitman Heyde (1823–1908) was the fourth child of Walter and Louisa Whitman and Walt Whitman's youngest sister. Hannah was named for her paternal grandmother, Hannah Brush Whitman (1753–1834), and her mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (1795–1873). Although Walt Whitman had a close relationship with his younger brother Jeff Whitman, Hannah was his favorite, most beloved sibling. Until she married, Hannah lived at home with her parents and her brothers. Educated at the Hempstead Academy, Hannah taught school in rural Long Island. On March 23, 1852, Hannah married Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), a landscape painter. It is possible that Walt introduced Hannah to Charles. In August 1852 the Heydes departed for Vermont. The first decade of their marriage was marked by constant moving from boarding houses to hotels, mostly in rural Vermont, as Heyde sought out vantage points for his landscape paintings. In 1864 the Heydes settled in Burlington, purchasing a house on Pearl Street. After Hannah's marriage and relocation to Vermont, Mother Whitman became Hannah's faithful correspondent; Walt also kept in touch, sending letters and editions of Leaves of Grass after publication. Hannah faced several health crises during her marriage, partly due to the ongoing trauma of emotional, verbal, and physical intimate partner violence that she experienced. In the 1880s and 1890s Heyde increasingly had difficulty earning enough to cover household expenses; in addition, he may have become an alcoholic. He repeatedly asked Whitman for funds to cover their expenses. Whitman sent both Heyde and Hannah small amounts of money. After Heyde died in 1892, Hannah remained in Burlington, living in their house on Pearl Street until her death in 1908. For more information, see Paula K. Garrett, "Whitman (Heyde), Hannah Louisa (d. 1908)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter dates to September 1862. Hannah uses similar paper in a letter to Mother Whitman dated September 21, 1862, by Richard Maurice Bucke: on that letter the date "21 1862" is in Bucke's handwriting; "from sister Han," written on the back of page 2 of this letter, is also in Bucke's handwriting. Hannah's concerns about George are evident in both letters; probably Hannah wrote both letters on the same day, and may have enclosed her letter to her brother in the letter to Mother Whitman. Both letters have the same number of crease marks on them, indicating that they may have been placed in the same envelope. Her letter to Walt, however, does not have the jagged edge that her letter to Mother Whitman possesses; Hannah may have cut the edge off the letter to Walt. George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the seventh child of Walter and Louisa Whitman, and ten years younger than Walt. George learned to read and write as a pupil under his older brother Walt (who briefly served as a schoolteacher in Long Island) and worked as a carpenter prior to his military service during the Civil War. When the war ended, he became a pipe inspector for the City of Camden and the New York Metropolitan Water Board. See Martin G. Murray, "Whitman, George Washington (1829–1901)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998, 777–779). George initially enlisted in the Thirteenth New York State Militia soon after Fort Sumter in the spring of 1861, and was sent to Washington, D.C. When his three month enlistment was over, he reenlisted, this time with the Fifty-First New York Volunteers in the fall of 1861, Company D., as Hannah notes. Hannah's concern is justified: in less than a month George's regiment was involved in the Second Battle of Bull Run (August 28–30), the Battle of Chantilly (September 1), the Battle of South Mountain (September 14–15), and Antietam (September 17). Hannah is referring to Mother Whitman, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (1795–1873), who was living in Brooklyn with her son Jeff and his family, and her son Eddy. Born and raised in Long Island, Louisa married Walter Whitman Sr. in June 1816; together they had nine children, two girls and seven boys. Louisa's fifth child, a son, died at the age of six months; the rest of her children lived to adulthood. In 1823 the Whitmans moved to Brooklyn. See Sherry Ceniza, "Whitman, Louisa Van Velsor [1795–1873]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Charles Heyde took a painting tour to Ottawa, Canada (and vicinity), from August to November 1862. On this trip he painted the Ottawa River, Devil's Chute Canyon, and Fitzroy Harbor. It is not clear whether Heyde was commissioned to paint these scenes. See Barbara Knapp Hamblett, "Charles Louis Heyde, Painter of Vermont Scenery," (MA thesis, SUNY Oneonta, 1976), 39. Hannah wrote this postscript on the left side margin of the first page of the letter, perhaps to underscore her concern for George and her wish to hear any news about him as quickly as possible. The letter continues upside–down at the top of the page This letter dates to December 25, 1885. Hannah refers to "all the principal streets in Burlington being graded & flagged Pearl (our street) recently." According to the Twenty-First Annual Report of the City of Burlington, Vermont (1885), "The heaviest expense of the year has been caused by the extensive repairs on Pearl, Union and St. Paul streets. Pearl street has been brought to grade from the Ravine to Prospect street, and has been curbed and guttered from Church street to Prospect street, excepting one side of the street between Union and Willard street. With the exception of two blocks the flagging is five feet wide" (Twenty-First Annual Report of the City of Burlington, Vermont for the year ending December 31, 1885 [Burlington, VT: R.S. Styles, 1886], 61. Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," married Walt's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. They moved to Camden in 1872. Walt Whitman lived with them from 1873–1884. See Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman visited Burlington in June 1872, as an extension of a trip he took to Dartmouth College in New Hampshire to deliver the commencement poem. Whitman wrote "As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free" for the occasion, and the poem was first published in the New York Herald on June 26, 1872. See Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985), 442. This is Hannah's abbreviation for her husband, Charles (Heyde). Heyde followed the example set by the Art Unions in the mid-nineteenth century of holding a lottery to sell his paintings. The Art Union would charge subscribers to belong to its organization each year, and at the end of the year a drawing would be held. Winners would receive original works of art that the Art Union had purchased. More than likely Heyde charged a nominal fee for his lotteries. See William H. Gerdts, Jr., Painting and Sculpture in New Jersey (New Jersey: D. Van Nostrand, 1964), 84. The New York Herald, a daily newspaper, was established by James Gordon Bennett on May 16, 1835. The Herald (published from 1835 to 1924), was a "popular, cheap, mass circulation newspaper . . . the most successful and widely circulated newspaper in mid-nineteenth-century America." See James Crouthamel, Bennett's New York Herald and the Rise of the Popular Press (Syracuse, New York: Syracuse UP, 1989), 9. The Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke dated this letter 1889 in red ink at the top of the first page. Bucke's date is consonant with Hannah's reference to Walt's wheel chair, and to her comment about the death of Whitman's friend and defender William D. O'Connor on May 10, 1889. Tuesday fell on May 14 in 1889; so, this date is confirmed. In a letter to Richard Maurice Bucke dated May 11–12, 1889, Whitman mentions that he "went out in the wheel chair yesterday afternoon & was probably out an hour and a half—everything work'd well—the chair is a success & sits and goes easy." William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889) first met Whitman in 1860 while Whitman was in Boston correcting the proofs for the third edition of Leaves of Grass. O'Connor, a poet and short story writer, had been approached by the Boston publishers Thayer & Eldridge to write a novel. When Whitman came to Washington D.C. to find his brother George two years later, he stayed with the O'Connors and subsequently boarded with them for a few months. O'Connor became one of Whitman's good friends, and wrote The Good Gray Poet: A Vindication (1866) to defend Whitman when he was fired from his position as a clerk in the Indian Affairs Bureau because his supervisor found Leaves of Grass objectionable. See Jerome Loving, Walt Whitman's Champion: William Douglas O'Connor (College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press, 1978). For more on O'Connor, see O'Connor, William Douglas [1832–1889]. Whitman mentioned the idea of a wheelchair to Horace Traubel in April 1889: "'Isn't there a wheel-chair that you can work with a handle, so and so?'" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, April 5, 1889). Whitman received a wheelchair the following month. Traubel and Ed Wilkins, Whitman's nurse, went to Philadelphia to purchase "a strong suitable out-door chair" for the poet that would allow him to be "pull'd or push'd" outdoors. See Whitman's letter to William Sloane Kennedy of May 8, 1889. Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," married Walt's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. They moved to Camden in 1872. Walt Whitman lived with them from 1873–1884. For more information, see Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the seventh child of Walter and Louisa Whitman. George learned to read and write as a pupil under his older brother Walt (who briefly served as a schoolteacher) in Long Island, and worked as a carpenter prior to his military service during the Civil War. When the war ended, he became a pipe inspector for the City of Camden and the New York Metropolitan Water Board. For more on George's life, see Martin G. Murray, "Whitman, George Washington," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). The Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke wrote the year "1891" in red ink, completing the date at the top of the first page of this letter. Bucke's date is confirmed by Whitman's letter to Hannah dated September 14, 1891, in which he mentions troubles with his eyesight: "one of my greatest botherations is the dimming of eye sight—incipient blindness." It is likely that Hannah started writing this letter in the morning and finished it later in the afternoon, as she notes on page five. The exact nature of the injury to Hannah's left hand is not clear. The thumb on Hannah's left hand had been amputated in December 1868. Horace Traubel's article, "Walt Whitman at Date," was published in the New England Magazine 4.3 (May 1891): 275–292, with a frontispiece engraving of Whitman based on Frederick Gutekunst's 1889 photograph. Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1901), a Canadian physician and psychiatrist, was the Head of the Asylum for the Insane in Ontario, Canada, and a close friend of Whitman. Bucke had been visiting Whitman in Camden the first week of September. Bucke returned to Canada on September 10. See Whitman's letter to Hannah Heyde, September 8, 1891. Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," married Walt's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. They moved to Camden in 1872. Walt Whitman lived with them from 1873–1884. For more information, see Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the seventh child of Walter and Louisa Whitman. George learned to read and write as a pupil under his older brother Walt (who briefly served as a schoolteacher) in Long Island, and worked as a carpenter prior to his military service during the Civil War. When the war ended, he became a pipe inspector for the City of Camden and the New York Metropolitan Water Board. For more on George's life, see Martin G. Murray, "Whitman, George Washington (1829–1901)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998. Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), a landscape painter from Pennsylvania, was Hannah's husband. Heyde often claimed to have been born in France. For more information about Heyde, see Steven Schroeder, "Heyde, Charles Louis (1822–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), a landscape painter from Pennsylvania, married Hannah Louisa Whitman (1823–1908), Walt Whitman's sister, and they lived in Burlington, Vermont. Heyde often claimed to have been born in France. For more information about Heyde, see Steven Schroeder, "Heyde, Charles Louis (1822–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957) was the youngest daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. Jessie and her older sister Manahatta ("Hattie") (1860–1886) were both favorites of their uncle Walt. Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), "Jeff," was the eighth child of Walter and Louisa Whitman. Walt's favorite brother, Jeff played the piano and had a lively sense of humor. He married Mattie Emma Mitchell on February 23, 1859. Jeff and Mattie moved in with Mother Whitman shortly after their marriage, and remained with her until 1867, when Jeff accepted a position as chief engineer and superintendent of waterworks in St. Louis, Missouri. Jeff died unexpectedly from typhoid pneumonia on November 25, 1890. See Randall Waldron, "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Hannah is referring to Whitman's letter of September 14, 1891. This is Hannah's abbreviation for her husband, Charles (Heyde). In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," married Walt's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. They moved to Camden in 1872. Walt Whitman lived with them from 1873–1884. For more information, see Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman is referring to a group of thirty-one poems that he would publish as "Good-Bye my Fancy . . . 2nd Annex" as part of the 1891–1892 "deathbed" edition of Leaves of Grass. For more information see, Donald Barlow Stauffer, "'Good-Bye my Fancy' (Second Annex) (1891)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman may be referring to Louisa Orr Whitman's letter of July 22, 1880. Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," married Walt's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. They moved to Camden in 1872. Walt Whitman lived with them from 1873–1884. For more information, see Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This postal card is addressed: Mrs. H. L. Heyde | [illegible] | Burlington | U S A Vermont. Whitman wrote this letter while on his visit to Canada, a trip that extended from June 3 to September 29, 1880. The Canadian physician and psychiatrist Richard Maurice Bucke traveled with Whitman from the poet's home in Camden to Bucke's residence near London, Ontario. After spending the summer on the grounds of the Asylum for the Insane, where Bucke worked as director, the two went on an extended trip that included journeying by railroad to Toronto and taking a steamship on Lake Ontario before going to Chicoutimi, Quebec on the Saguenay River. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957) was the youngest daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. Jessie and her older sister Manahatta ("Hattie") (1860–1886) were both favorites of their uncle Walt. Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), "Jeff," was the eighth child of Walter and Louisa Whitman. Walt's favorite brother, Jeff played the piano and had a lively sense of humor. He married Mattie Emma Mitchell on February 23, 1859. Jeff and Mattie moved in with Mother Whitman shortly after their marriage, and remained with her until 1867, when Jeff accepted a position as chief engineer and superintendent of waterworks in St. Louis, Missouri. Jeff died unexpectedly from typhoid pneumonia on November 25, 1890. See Randall Waldron, "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman is referring to his letter to Thomas Jefferson ("Jeff") Whitman of April 13, 1887. The Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke dates this letter 1873, a date confirmed by the concerns that Hannah expresses about Whitman's health. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Whitman suffered a paralytic stroke on January 23, 1873. His friends in Washington, D.C. helped to care for him: John Burroughs, Peter Doyle, and Ellen O'Connor. See Whitman's letters to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated January 26, 27, 29, and 31, 1873, in which he describes his illness and gradual recovery. George Washington Whitman (29 November 1829–December 20, 1901) was the seventh child of Walter and Louisa Whitman, and ten years younger than Walt. George learned to read and write as a pupil under his older brother Walt (who briefly served as a schoolteacher in Long Island), and worked as a carpenter prior to his military service during the Civil War. When the war ended, he became a pipe inspector for the City of Camden and the New York Metropolitan Water Board. See Martin G. Murray, "Whitman, George Washington," in Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 777–779. Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), "Jeff," was the eighth child of Walter and Louisa Whitman. Walt's favorite brother, Jeff played the piano and had a lively sense of humor. He married Mattie Emma Mitchell on 23 February 1859. Jeff and Mattie moved in with Mother Whitman shortly after their marriage. In 1867 Jeff accepted a position as chief engineer and superintendent of waterworks in St. Louis, Missouri. See Randall Waldron, "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson," in Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 785–786 Mattie and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta ("Hattie"), born on 9 June 1860, and Jessie Louisa, born on 17 June 1863. The Adirondacks, a mountain range in northeast New York State, border Lake Champlain on its west side, and can be seen from Burlington looking southwest across the lake. Peter George Doyle (1843–1907), was Walt Whitman's companion and lover. Their relationship began in 1865 when Whitman met Doyle, a streetcar conductor, and continued until Whitman's death in 1892. Doyle was born in Limerick, Ireland, emigrated to the United States with his family at the age of eight, and served in the Confederate Army for eighteen months during the Civil War. See Martin G. Murray, "Doyle, Peter (1843–1907)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 187–189. The signature and the postscript of this letter appear upside-down at the top of the first page, above the date. The Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke dates this letter 1873, in red ink. June 7 fell on a Saturday in 1873, so the day of the week as indicated here by Hannah confirms Bucke's date. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman died on May 23, 1873, and Hannah's grief and her expression of consolation to her brother Walt in this letter further confirm the date. Eddy (Edward) Whitman (1835–1892), the youngest child of Louisa and Walter Whitman, was mentally and physically disabled. He lived with Mother Whitman until her death in 1873, then with his brother George Washington Whitman and his wife, Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman. Walt Whitman contributed to his support. Eddy was placed in an asylum in Blackwood, New Jersey, in 1888. See Randall Waldron, "Whitman, Edward" in Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 776–777. Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), "Jeff," was the eighth child of Walter and Louisa Whitman. Walt's favorite brother, Jeff played the piano and had a lively sense of humor. He married Mattie Emma Mitchell on February 23, 1859. Jeff and Mattie moved in with Mother Whitman shortly after their marriage, and remained with her until 1867, when Jeff accepted a position as chief engineer and superintendent of waterworks in St. Louis, Missouri. See Randall Waldron, "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson," in Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 785–786 Mattie and Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta ("Hattie"), born on June 9, 1860, and Jessie Louisa, born on June 17, 1863. The postscript of this letter appears at the top of page one, above the date, and is written upside down. The postscript of this letter appears upside-down at the top of the first page, above the date. Richard Maurice Bucke dates this letter 1873, written in red ink. The date is consonant with Whitman's health condition as described by Hannah in this letter. August 17 fell on Sunday in 1873, as Hannah notes. Whitman suffered a paralytic stroke on 23 January 1873 which affected his left side, particularly his leg. See his letters to Mother Whitman dated January–April 1873, in which he describes his suffering and gradual recovery (Walt Whitman Archive). Eddy (Edward) Whitman (1835–1892), the youngest child of Louisa and Walter Whitman, was mentally and physically disabled. He lived with Mother Whitman until her death in 1873, then with his brother George Washington Whitman and his wife Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman. Walt Whitman contributed to his support. Eddy was placed in an asylum in Blackwood, New Jersey, in 1888. See Randall Waldron, "Whitman, Edward" in Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 776–777. The Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke dated this letter 1889, written lightly in pencil as "89." The date matches information about Walt's health condition mentioned by Hannah in this letter and in his correspondence from this month. He suffered from a head cold in early April, and was feeling "quite miserable." See Whitman's letter to his friend and defender William D. O'Connor of April 2, 1889." Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," married Walt's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. They moved to Camden in 1872, and Walt Whitman lived with them 1873 to 1884. For more information, see Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the seventh child of Walter and Louisa Whitman, and ten years younger than Walt. George learned to read and write as a pupil under his older brother Walt (who briefly served as a schoolteacher in Long Island), and worked as a carpenter prior to his military service during the Civil War. When the war ended, he became a pipe inspector for the City of Camden and the New York Metropolitan Water Board. See Martin G. Murray, "Whitman, George Washington," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Eddy (Edward) Whitman (1835–1892), the youngest child of Louisa and Walter Whitman, was mentally and physically disabled. He lived with Mother Whitman until her death in 1873, then with his brother George Washington Whitman and his wife Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman. Walt Whitman contributed to his support. Eddy was placed in an asylum in Blackwood, New Jersey, in 1888. See Randall Waldron, "Whitman, Edward" in Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. On July 28, 1890, an editor of The New York Morning Journal requested "a short article on some such topic as 'Old Brooklyn Days'" which appeared on August 3, 1890. Mrs. Mary Oakes Davis (1837 or 1838–1908), Whitman's housekeeper, moved into Whitman's house on Mickle street on February 24, 1885, and lived in a small apartment in the rear of the house. She was a widow and had been married to a sea captain. For more information, 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). In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Whitman mentioned the idea of a wheelchair to Horace Traubel in April 1889: "'Isn't there a wheel-chair that you can work with a handle, so and so?'" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, April 5, 1889). Whitman received a wheelchair the following month. Traubel and Ed Wilkins, Whitman's nurse, went to Philadelphia to purchase "a strong suitable out-door chair" for the poet that would allow him to be "pull'd or push'd" outdoors. See Whitman's letter to William Sloane Kennedy of May 8, 1889. Hannah comments on Walt's wheelchair in her letter to him dated May 14, 1889. Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), a landscape painter from Pennsylvania, was Hannah's husband. Heyde often claimed to have been born in France. For more information about Heyde, see Steven Schroeder, "Heyde, Charles Louis (1822–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957) was the youngest daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. At the time of this letter, Jessie was in St. Louis. Her father Jeff, Whitman's favorite brother, had died unexpectedly from typhoid pneumonia on November 25, 1890. Whitman's use of the dash after the word "since" in this letter refers to Jeff's death the month before. For more information, see Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman (Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984), 34. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957) was the youngest daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. At the time of Whitman's letter, Jessie was in St. Louis. Her father Jeff, Whitman's favorite brother, had died unexpectedly from typhoid pneumonia on November 25, 1890. Jessie's letter to Whitman, referred to here, has not been located. By "Jessie is getting composed," Whitman is likely referring to Jessie's emotional composure after the loss of her father. For more information, see Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price, ed., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman (Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984), 34. Whitman may be referring to his poem, "The Pallid Wreath," published in The Critic 18 (January 10, 1891): 18. Whitman is likely referring to the photographs taken in Camden by Dr. John Johnston of Bolton, England, in July 1890. See The Walt Whitman Archive's Image Gallery, especially the three photographs of Walt Whitman and his nurse Warren Fritzinger (zzz.00117, zzz.00118, zzz.00119). Johnston is referring to the photographs he took in Camden, in July 1890. See The Walt Whitman Archive's Image Gallery, especially the three photographs of Whitman and his nurse Warren Fritzinger (zzz.00117, zzz.00118, zzz.00119). Whitman enclosed $2 in the letter (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]). Johnston is referring to the photographs he took in Camden in July 1890. See The Walt Whitman Archive's Image Gallery, especially the three photographs of Walt Whitman and his nurse Warren Fritzinger (zzz.00117, zzz.00118, zzz.00119). Johnston is referring to Whitman's letter to Wallace of May 23, 1891. Whitman wrote to Wallace on May 28, 1891. Johnston may be referring to receiving a facsimile of that letter. In May 1891, the sculptor and educator Samuel Murray (1869–1941) accompanied another sculptor, William O'Donovan (1844–1920) of New York, to Whitman's home in Camden, New Jersey. Murray photographed Whitman in a profile portrait, which Whitman referred to as "the most audacious thing in its line ever taken" in his May 23, 1891, letter to James W. Wallace. He again commented on the portrait's "audacity" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, May 19, 1891) and proudly described it as "an artist's picture in the best sense" (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, May 23, 1891). In May 1891, the sculptor and educator Samuel Murray (1869–1941) accompanied another sculptor, William O'Donovan (1844–1920) of New York, to Whitman's home in Camden, New Jersey. Murray photographed Whitman in a profile portrait, which Whitman referred to in this letter as "the most audacious thing in its line ever taken." He again commented on the portrait's "audacity" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, May 19, 1891) and proudly described it as "an artist's picture in the best sense" (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, May 23, 1891). In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. This is Whitman's last known extant letter. He wrote "June" at the top of this letter; then, he crossed it out and dated the letter "March." Whitman may be referring to Hannah's letter of March 15, 1892. This letter is addressed: Mrs. H. L. Heyde | 21 Pearl Street | Burlington | Vermont. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | FEB 24 | 230PM | 92; PHILADELPHIA, PA | FEB | 24 | 4PM | 92 | TRANSIT; BURLI[illegible] | [illegible] PM | 1892 | REC'D. In March 1884, Whitman had purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," married Walt's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. They moved to Camden in 1872, and Walt Whitman lived with them from 1873–1884. For more information, see Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957) was the youngest daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. In 1867 Jeff, Whitman's favorite brother, had accepted a position as Chief Engineer and Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis, Missouri. Jeff had died from typhoid pneumonia in November 1890. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the seventh child of Walter and Louisa Whitman. George learned to read and write as a pupil under his older brother Walt (who briefly served as a schoolteacher) in Long Island, and worked as a carpenter prior to his military service during the Civil War. When the war ended, he became a pipe inspector for the City of Camden and the New York Metropolitan Water Board. For more on George's life see Martin G. Murray, "Whitman, George Washington (1829–1901)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the seventh child of Walter and Louisa Whitman. George learned to read and write as a pupil under his older brother Walt (who briefly served as a schoolteacher) in Long Island, and worked as a carpenter prior to his military service during the Civil War. When the war ended, he became a pipe inspector for the City of Camden and the New York Metropolitan Water Board. For more on George's life, see Martin G. Murray, "Whitman, George Washington," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman is referring to the publication of the 1891–1892 "deathbed" edition of Leaves of Grass. See R.W. French, "Leaves of Grass, 1891–1892, Deathbed Edition," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). The 1891–1892 Leaves of Grass was copyrighted in 1891 and published by Phildelphia publisher David McKay in 1892. This volume, often referred to as the "deathbed" edition, 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, called "Sands at Seventy," consisted of sixty-five poems that had originally appeared in November Boughs (1888); 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, along with a prose "Preface Note to 2d Annex." Whitman concluded the 1891–92 volume with his prose essay "A Backward Glance o'er Travel'd Roads," which had originally appeared in November Boughs. For more information on this volume of Leaves, see R.W. French, "Leaves of Grass, 1891–1892, Deathbed Edition," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). 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. 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). Whitman is referring to the 1891–1892 "deathbed" edition of Leaves of Grass. See R.W. French, "Leaves of Grass, 1891–1892, Deathbed Edition," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Rolleston is referring to the 1891–1892 "deathbed" edition of Leaves of Grass. For more information, see R.W. French, "Leaves of Grass, 1891–1892, Deathbed Edition," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Mary Elizabeth Whitman Van Nostrand (1821–1899) was the third child of Walter Whitman and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Mary married Ansel Van Nostrand, a shipbuilder, in 1840 and moved to Greenport, Long Island, a whaling town. Hannah and Walt visited her there before Hannah's marriage to Heyde. Mary and Ansel had five children: George, Fanny, Louisa, Ansel, and Minnie. For more information, see Paula K. Garrett, "Whitman (Van Nostrand), Mary Elizabeth (b. 1821)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman is referring to Hannah's letter of January 24, 1892. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. The rest of this line at the end of Whitman's letter has been cut away, and some of his words are missing. This postal card does not seem to be extant. Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" This page has been torn on the left side, and, as a result, much of this printed text is missing. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957) was the youngest daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. Jessie and her older sister Manahatta ("Hattie") were both favorites of their uncle Walt. "The Flowers that Bloom in the Spring" is a song from the opera The Mikado; or, the Town of Titipu. Sir William Schwenck ("W. S.") Gilbert (1836–1911) wrote the lyrics, and Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) wrote the music. The opera was first performed in London in 1885. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," married Walt's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. They moved to Camden in 1872, and Walt Whitman lived with them from 1873–1884. For more information, see Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the seventh child of Walter and Louisa Whitman. George learned to read and write as a pupil under his older brother Walt (who briefly served as a schoolteacher) in Long Island, and worked as a carpenter prior to his military service during the Civil War. When the war ended, he became a pipe inspector for the City of Camden and the New York Metropolitan Water Board. For more on George's life, see Martin G. Murray, "Whitman, George Washington (1829–1901)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998. Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957) was the youngest daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. In 1867 Jeff, Whitman's favorite brother, accepted a position as Chief Engineer and Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis, Missouri. Jeff died from typhoid pneumonia in November 1890. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Amy Haslam Dowe (1874–1954) was Louisa Whitman's niece. She was the daughter of Emma Haslam Dowe (Louisa Haslam Whitman's sister) and Francis Eugene Dowe, who operated dry good stores in Norwich, Connecticut, from 1872 to 1918. Dowe studied English at Radcliffe College and later taught English and Literature at the Agnes Irwin School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the 1930s, Dowe wrote "A Child's Memories of the Whitmans," which was published by Edwin Haviland Miller in "Amy H. Dowe and Walt Whitman," Walt Whitman Review, 13 (September 1967), 73–79. George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the seventh child of Walter and Louisa Whitman. George learned to read and write as a pupil under his older brother Walt (who briefly served as a schoolteacher) in Long Island, and worked as a carpenter prior to his military service during the Civil War. When the war ended, he became a pipe inspector for the City of Camden and the New York Metropolitan Water Board. For more on George's life see Martin G. Murray, "Whitman, George Washington (1829–1901)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Mary Elizabeth Whitman Van Nostrand (1821–1899) was the third child of Walter Whitman and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Mary married Ansel Van Nostrand, a shipbuilder, in 1840 and moved to Greenport, Long Island, a whaling town. Hannah and Walt visited her there before Hannah's marriage to Heyde. Mary and Ansel had five children: George, Fanny, Louisa, Ansel, and Minnie. For more information, see Paula K. Garrett, "Whitman (Van Nostrand), Mary Elizabeth (b. 1821)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 786. Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," married Walt's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. They moved to Camden in 1872, and Walt Whitman lived with them from 1873–1884. For more information, see Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" This page has been torn, and, as a result, much of this printed text is missing. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1901), a Canadian physician and psychiatrist, was the Head of the Asylum for the Insane in Ontario, Canada, and a close friend of Whitman. In 1867, Bucke read Whitman's poetry for the first time and became a devoted follower; he visited Whitman in Camden in 1877. Bucke became the poet's first biographer with Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883). As Whitman notes, Bucke left for Europe on July 8, 1891, and returned in early September 1891. He served as one of Whitman's literary executors after Whitman's death in 1892. Bucke also provided a date (usually the year) for many of Hannah's letters to Whitman. For more information, see Howard Nelson, "Bucke, Richard Maurice (1837–1901)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Ellen "Nelly" O'Connor (1830–1913), wife of William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889), was a close friend of Walt Whitman's. During the ten years he spent in Washington D.C. Whitman often visited the O'Connor home for dinner and conversation. See Deshae E. Lott, "O'Connor (Calder), Ellen ('Nelly') M. Tarr O'Connor (1830–1913)" Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 475–476. Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. James William Wallace (1853–1926) visited Whitman in Camden in October 1891. An English architect, Wallace was an admirer of Whitman's writing. With his friend Dr. John Johnston, Wallace had helped to establish a club of Whitman enthusiasts in England called the Bolton "College." For more information, 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). Whitman is referring to Complete Poems & Prose (1888), a volume he often called the "big book." He would send the book to Dr. Leroy Bingham on November 3, 1891. Bingham thanked Whitman for the volume in his letter to the poet of November 16, 1891. Dr. Leroy Monroe Bingham (1845–1910) graduated from Bellevue Medical College in New York in 1870 and moved to Burlington, Vermont, in 1874. He became Hannah's physician after 1882. For more information, see William B. Atkinson, M.D., The Physicians and Surgeons of the United States (Philadelphia: Charles Robson, 1878), 375. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," married Walt's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. They moved to Camden in 1872, and Walt Whitman lived with them from 1873–1884. For more information, see Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Dr. Leroy Monroe Bingham (1845–1911) graduated from Bellevue Medical College in New York in 1870 and moved to Burlington, Vermont, in 1874. After the death of Dr. Samuel W. Thayer in 1882, Bingham became Hannah's doctor. According to the Vermont Medical Monthly, "From about 1878, for a period of 20 years, he was one of the most active and the best known surgeons in Vermont" (Volume 17, Issue 12 [December 15, 1911]), 306. For more information, see William B. Atkinson, M.D., The Physicians and Surgeons of the United States (Philadelphia: Charles Robson, 1878), 375. Dr. Leroy Monroe Bingham (1845–1911) graduated from Bellevue Medical College in New York in 1870 and moved to Burlington, Vermont, in 1874. After the death of Dr. Samuel W. Thayer in 1882, Bingham became Hannah's doctor. According to the Vermont Medical Monthly, "From about 1878, for a period of 20 years, he was one of the most active and the best known surgeons in Vermont" (Volume 17, Issue 12 [December 15, 1911]), 306. For more information, see William B. Atkinson, M.D., The Physicians and Surgeons of the United States (Philadelphia: Charles Robson, 1878), 375. Dr. Leroy Monroe Bingham (1845–1910) graduated from Bellevue Medical College in New York in 1870 and moved to Burlington, Vermont, in 1874. He became Hannah's physician after 1882. According to the Vermont Medical Monthly, "From about 1878, for a period of 20 years, he was one of the most active and the best known surgeons in Vermont" (Volume 17, Issue 12 [December 15, 1911], 306). For more information, see William B. Atkinson, M.D., The Physicians and Surgeons of the United States (Philadelphia: Charles Robson, 1878), 375. Whitman sent Complete Poems & Prose (1888) on November 3, 1891, and received an acknowledgement from Bingham on November 16, 1891 (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]). In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the seventh child of Walter and Louisa Whitman. George learned to read and write as a pupil under his older brother Walt (who briefly served as a schoolteacher) in Long Island, and worked as a carpenter prior to his military service during the Civil War. When the war ended, he became a pipe inspector for the City of Camden and the New York Metropolitan Water Board. For more on George's life, see Martin G. Murray, "Whitman, George Washington (1829–1901)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998. Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," married Walt's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. They moved to Camden in 1872. Walt Whitman lived with them from 1873–1884. For more information, see Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Eddy (Edward) Whitman (1835–1892), the youngest child of Louisa and Walter Whitman, was mentally and physically disabled. He lived with Mother Whitman until her death in 1873, then with his brother George Washington Whitman and his wife Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman. Walt Whitman contributed to his support. Eddy was placed in an asylum in Blackwood, New Jersey, in 1888. For more information, see Randall Waldron, "Whitman, Edward (1835–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This postal card is addressed: Mrs: H L Heyde | 21 Pearl Street | Burlington | Vermont. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 15 | 8PM | 89. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Charles Louis Heyde, Hannah's husband, at times opened Hannah's mail, read her letters, and extracted the funds that the Whitman family sent to her. Whitman was aware of Heyde's surveillance. Mrs. Mary Oakes Davis (1837 or 1838–1908), Whitman's housekeeper, moved into Whitman's house on Mickle street on February 24, 1885, and lived in a small apartment in the rear of the house. She was a widow and had been married to a Sea Captain. See Carol J. Singley, "Davis, Mary Oakes (1837 or 1838–1908)," in Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R.LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. In a March 19, 1891, letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke, Whitman writes that he is "very uneasy ab't my sister at Burlington Vermont—She is sick & old & nervous & in bad way." 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. Carol J. Singley reports that "Longaker enjoyed talking with Whitman about human nature and reflects that Whitman responded as well to their conversations as he did to medical remedies" ("Longaker, Dr. Daniel [1858–1949]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R.LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings [New York: Garland Publishing, 1998]). Whitman is referring to "Old Actors, Singers, Shows, & c.," published in Truth Weekly in early April 1891, and later included in Complete Prose Works (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1892), 511–515. The signature on this letter has been cut away. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," married Walt's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. They moved to Camden in 1872. Walt Whitman lived with them from 1873–1884. For more information, see Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957) was the youngest daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. Jessie and her older sister Manahatta ("Hattie") (1860–1886) were both favorites of their uncle Walt. 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. Carol J. Singley reports that "Longaker enjoyed talking with Whitman about human nature and reflects that Whitman responded as well to their conversations as he did to medical remedies" ("Longaker, Dr. Daniel [1858–1949]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R.LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings [New York: Garland Publishing, 1998]). Whitman was working on the proofs of "Good-Bye My Fancy," which he intended "to be bound in with 'November Boughs' & make it supplementary," as he notes in a letter to Dr. John Johnston dated March 30–31, 1891. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Whitman was working on the proofs of "Good-Bye My Fancy," which he intended "to be bound in with 'November Boughs' & make it supplementary," as he notes in his letter to Dr. John Johnston of March 30–31, 1891. Whitman was working on the proofs of "Good-Bye My Fancy." Whitman's visitors that day included the physician Daniel Longaker (1858–1949), Philadelphia publisher David McKay (1860–1918), and the sculptor William R. O'Donovan (1844–1920), who came with a letter of introduction from George W. Childs (1824–1894) of the Philadelphia Public Ledger. Whitman is referring to his March 31, 1891, letter to Hannah Whitman Heyde. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1901), a Canadian physician and psychiatrist, was the Head of the Asylum for the Insane in Ontario, Canada, and a close friend of Whitman. In 1867, Bucke read Whitman's poetry for the first time and became a devoted follower; he visited Whitman in Camden in 1877. Bucke became the poet's first biographer with Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883) and was one of Whitman's literary executors after Whitman's death in 1892. Bucke also provided a date (usually the year) for many of Hannah's letters to Whitman. For more information, see Howard Nelson, "Bucke, Richard Maurice (1837–1901)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Ellen "Nelly" O'Connor, wife of William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889), was a close friend of Walt Whitman's. During the ten years he spent in Washington D.C., Whitman often visited the O'Connor home for dinner and conversation. See Deshae E. Lott, "O'Connor (Calder), Ellen ("Nelly") M. Tarr O'Connor (1830–1913)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 475–476. Horace Traubel (1858–1919), Walt Whitman's literary biographer and author of With Walt Whitman in Camden (nine volumes), visited Whitman almost daily after 1885 and began transcribing their conversations beginning in 1888. After Whitman's death in 1892, he also served as one of Whitman's literary executors. For more information, 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). Whitman's tomb, located in Harleigh Cemetery, New Jersey, contains the remains of his mother and father, Whitman, Hannah, George and Louisa, and Edward. Gay Wilson Allen notes, "He [Whitman] knew that if Leaves of Grass lived – and he thought it might – his tomb would become a shrine, as it has"(The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman [Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985], 540). Whitman is referring to the letter he sent to Hannah on September 1, 1891. Horace Traubel was married to Anne Montgomerie Traubel (b. 1864–1954). In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. "Pea Shore" was one of Whitman's favorite jaunts from his Mickle Street home. Located about three miles from North Camden on the Delaware River, its flat, serene water appealed to Whitman. "Pea Shore" gets its name from Henry Wood (1603–1686), a Quaker who settled in the Camden, New Jersey area to "escape the persecution of the Puritans. . . . He called his estate 'Pea Shore' and there most of his descendants have lived and died," as S.R. Harlow and H.H. Boone note (Life Sketches of the State Officers, Senators, and Members of the Assembly of the State of New York in 1867 [Albany, New York: Weed, Parsons, 1867], 171). Whitman is likely referring to the letters he had recently received from Dr. John Johnston, who had visited Whitman in Camden in July 1890. With his friend James W. Wallace, Johnston helped to establish a club of Whitman enthusiasts in England called the Bolton "College," a group comprised mostly of working-class men. Johnston's most recent letters to Whitman were dated September 2, September 5, and September 8–9, 1891. 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). Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. In his letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke dated December 5, 1891, Whitman noted that he was suffering from "a great unmitigated mass of perturbation & belly–ache." The etching was based on a photograph of Walt Whitman taken by George C. Cox on April 15, 1887. Whitman referred to this photograph as "The Laughing Philosopher." William Carey, of the Century, sent the etchings on December 5, 1891 and was ready to act as Whitman's agent in the sale of them. The etching, by Thomas Johnson (1843–1904), is the frontispiece to Volume 7 of The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1902). The 1889–1890 flu pandemic killed around a million people worldwide; there was a deadly recurrence in late 1891 and early 1892. OnDecember 5, 1891, Cary had sent Whitman some prints of an etching of the poet and was ready to act as Whitman's agent in the sale of them. The etching by Thomas Johnson (1843–1904) became the frontispiece to Volume 7 of The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1902). It was based on a photograph of Walt Whitman taken by George C. Cox on April 15, 1887. Whitman referred to this photograph as "The Laughing Philosopher." The etching, by Thomas Johnson (1843–1904), became the frontispiece to Volume 7 of The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1902). It was based on a photograph of Walt Whitman taken by George C. Cox on April 15, 1887. Whitman referred to this photograph as "The Laughing Philosopher." In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. "La Sonnambula" (the sleepwalker) is an opera by Vincenzo Bellini (1801–1835) first performed in Milan in 1831, and in New York in 1835. Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Mrs. Mary Oakes Davis (1837 or 1838–1908), Whitman's housekeeper, moved into Whitman's house on Mickle street on February 24, 1885, and lived in a small apartment in the rear of the house. She was a widow and had been married to a sea captain. See Carol J. Singley, "Davis, Mary Oakes," in Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 163–164. In a letter to Richard Maurice Bucke dated November 22, 1891, Whitman noted that "Heineman, Balestier, & Lovell want to purchase the American copyright [to Leaves of Grass]—I do not care to sell it as at present minded." In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He lived in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957) was the youngest daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. Jessie and her older sister Manahatta ("Hattie") (1860–1886) were both favorites of their uncle Walt. A portion of this letter is missing, creating a large gap in the middle of the page. Some of Whitman's words are missing. Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," married Walt's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. They moved to Camden in 1872, and Walt Whitman lived with them from 1873–1884. For more information, see Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the seventh child of Walter and Louisa Whitman. George learned to read and write as a pupil under his older brother Walt (who briefly served as a schoolteacher) in Long Island, and worked as a carpenter prior to his military service during the Civil War. When the war ended, he became a pipe inspector for the City of Camden and the New York Metropolitan Water Board. For more on George's life, see Martin G. Murray, "Whitman, George Washington (1829–1901)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998. Whitman had sent a copy of Complete Poems & Prose (1888) on the preceding day to Charles E. Barrett, of Atchison, Kansas (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]). Whitman is probably referring to a friend of the Australian poet, lawyer, and activist, Bernard O'Dowd (1866–1953). The signature has been cut off and the text mutilated. With this letter, Whitman enclosed $2 (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]). In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He lived in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957) was the youngest daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. Jessie and her older sister Manahatta ("Hattie") (1860–1886) were both favorites of their uncle Walt. Eddy (Edward) Whitman (1835–1892), the youngest child of Louisa and Walter Whitman, was mentally and physically disabled. He lived with Mother Whitman until her death in 1873, then with his brother George Washington Whitman and his wife Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman. Walt Whitman contributed to his support. Eddy was placed in an asylum in Blackwood, New Jersey, in 1888. For more information, see Randall Waldron, "Whitman, Edward (1835–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Mary Elizabeth Whitman Van Nostrand (1821–1899) was the third child of Walter Whitman and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Mary married Ansel Van Nostrand, a shipbuilder, in 1840 and moved to Greenport, Long Island, a whaling town. Hannah and Walt visited her there before Hannah's marriage to Charles L. Heyde. Mary and Ansel had five children: George, Fanny, Louisa, Ansel, and Minnie. For more information, see Paula K. Garrett, "Whitman (Van Nostrand), Mary Elizabeth (b. 1821)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," married Walt's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. They moved to Camden in 1872. Walt Whitman lived with them from 1873–1884. For more information, see Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1901), a Canadian physician and psychiatrist, was the Head of the Asylum for the Insane in Ontario, Canada, and a close friend of Whitman. In 1867, Bucke read Whitman's poetry for the first time and became a devoted follower; he visited Whitman in Camden in 1877. Bucke became the poet's first biographer with Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883) and was one of Whitman's literary executors after Whitman's death in 1892. Bucke also provided a date (usually the year) for many of Hannah's letters to Whitman. For more information, see Howard Nelson, "Bucke, Richard Maurice (1837–1901)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Geographically, Camden was ideally suited for industrialization because of its proximity to Philadelphia and to the Delaware and Cooper Rivers. During the second half of the nineteenth century Camden experienced tremendous growth in factories, lumber firms, mills, and chemical plants. See George R. Prowell, Camden County, New Jersey (Philadelphia: L.J. Richards, 1886), for a description of the "Porcelain Tooth Manufactury, at No. 314 Mickle St." which employed fifteen laborers and produced 1500 "full sets of teeth each week" (530). Whitman listened for the factory whistles during the day and evening and marked the time of day by them, as his comment illustrates. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Eddy (Edward) Whitman (1835–1892), the youngest child of Louisa and Walter Whitman, was mentally and physically disabled. He lived with Mother Whitman until her death in 1873, then with his brother George Washington Whitman and his wife Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman. Walt Whitman contributed to his support. Eddy was placed in an asylum in Blackwood, New Jersey, in 1888. See Randall Waldron, "Whitman, Edward (1835–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman was working on the proofs of "Good-Bye My Fancy," which he intended "to be bound in with 'November Boughs' & make it supplementary," as he notes in a letter to Dr. John Johnston dated March 30–31, 1891 . In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Whitman published "Have We a National Literature?" in the March 1891 issue of The North American Review. Charles Heyde (1822–1892), Hannah's husband. Mrs. Mary Oakes Davis (1837 or 1838–1908), Whitman's housekeeper, moved into Whitman's house on Mickle street on February 24, 1885, and lived in a small apartment in the rear of the house. She was a widow and had been married to a Sea Captain. See Carol J. Singley, "Davis, Mary Oakes (1837 or 1838–1908)," in Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman was working on the proofs of "Good-Bye My Fancy," which he intended "to be bound in with 'November Boughs' & make it supplementary," as he notes in a letter to Dr. John Johnston dated March 30–31, 1891. Heyde wrote twice in March, if the dates assigned to the letters by the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke can be trusted—on March 18, 1891 and March 22, 1891—and reported in somewhat incoherent fashion on Hannah's condition and his own poverty. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Whitman had received a letter from Charles Heyde, Hannah's husband, dated June 2, 1891. Heyde writes, "Hannah has not be as well–fears that you are not so well. grieves that she cannot write to you with her own hand–appreciates you intensely." Johnston is referring to Whitman's letter of June 1, 1891. Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday was celebrated with friends at his home on Mickle Street. He described the celebration in his letter to Johnston of June 1, 1891: "We had our birth anniversary spree last evn'g —ab't 40 people, choice friends mostly—12 or so women—Tennyson sent a short and sweet letter over his own sign manual . . . lots of bits of speeches, with gems in them—we had a capital good supper." Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday was celebrated with friends at his home on Mickle Street. He described the celebration in his June 1, 1891, letter to Bolton physician John Johnston: "We had our birth anniversary spree last evn'g —ab't 40 people, choice friends mostly—12 or so women—[Alfred, Lord] Tennyson sent a short and sweet letter over his own sign manual . . . lots of bits of speeches, with gems in them—we had a capital good supper." Johnston is referring to Tennyson's letter to Whitman of May 14, 1891. Tennyson had written the letter to wish Whitman a happy birthday. In his letter of June 10, 1891, Johnston ordered six copies of Whitman's book Good-Bye My Fancy and a copy of "portraits from life." Whitman had planned to publish a group of photographs of himself, but it was never issued. He often discussed the project, which he considered calling "Portraits from life of Walt Whitman," with Horace Traubel; see, for example. Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, August 4, 1889. Whitman had planned to publish a group of photographs of himself, but it was never issued. He often discussed the project, which he considered calling "Portraits from life of Walt Whitman," with Horace Traubel; see, for example. Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, August 4, 1889. Both Johnston and Wallace had ordered copies of these portraits from Whitman. See Johnston's letter to Whitman of June 10, 1891. Whitman had planned to publish a group of photographs of himself, but it was never issued. He often discussed the project, which he considered calling "Portraits from life of Walt Whitman," with Horace Traubel; see, for example. Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, August 4, 1889. In a letter of June 10, 1891, Dr. John Johnston, the Bolton physician, increased Wallace's previous order of two copies Whitman's book Good-Bye My Fancy to six copies. Johnston and Wallace also each ordered copies of "portraits from life." Wallace is probably referring to Whitman's June 18, 1891, postal card to Johnston. Johnston is referring to one of the photographs he took in Camden in July 1890. See The Walt Whitman Archive's Image Gallery for the three photographs of Whitman and his nurse Warren Fritzinger (zzz.00117, zzz.00118, and zzz.00119). Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday, May 31, 1891, was celebrated with friends at his home on Mickle Street. He described the celebration in a letter to Dr. John Johnston of Bolton, England, dated June 1, 1891: "We had our birth anniversary spree last evn'g —ab't 40 people, choice friends mostly—12 or so women—Tennyson sent a short and sweet letter over his own sign manual . . . lots of bits of speeches, with gems in them—we had a capital good supper." Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday was celebrated with friends at his home on Mickle Street. He described the celebration in a letter to Dr. John Johnston, of Bolton, England, dated June 1, 1891: "We had our birth anniversary spree last evn'g —ab't 40 people, choice friends mostly—12 or so women—[Alfred, Lord] Tennyson sent a short and sweet letter over his own sign manual . . . lots of bits of speeches, with gems in them—we had a capital good supper." Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday was celebrated with friends at his home on Mickle Street. He described the celebration in a letter to Dr. John Johnston, of Bolton, England, dated June 1, 1891: "We had our birth anniversary spree last evn'g —ab't 40 people, choice friends mostly—12 or so women—[Alfred, Lord] Tennyson sent a short and sweet letter over his own sign manual . . . lots of bits of speeches, with gems in them—we had a capital good supper." According to Wesley Raabe, "Priscilla or Lillie (Mead) Townsend was probably Walt Whitman's second cousin, the daughter of Sally (Williams) Mead, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's aunt. Priscilla's husband James H. Townsend was a clerk in the New York 'Hall of Records.'" See the letter from Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to Walt Whitman of April 3, 1873. John W. Avery (1814–1891) was the son of Clara Williams Avery. Clara was the sister of Walt Whitman's maternal grandmother Naomi (Amy) Williams Van Velsor. John and his wife Sarah Banning Avery (1814–1886) lived in Brooklyn, where John worked as a grocer. During the American Civil War, Avery was a colonel of the Eighth Regiment of the New York State Militia, known as the Washington Grays. For more information, see his obituary, "Death of Colonel John W. Avery," Brooklyn Daily Eagle (March 26, 1891), 6. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1901), a Canadian physician and psychiatrist, was the Head of the Asylum for the Insane in Ontario, Canada, and a close friend of Whitman. In 1867, Bucke read Whitman's poetry for the first time and became a devoted follower; he visited Whitman in Camden in 1877. Bucke became the poet's first biographer with Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883) and was one of Whitman's literary executors after Whitman's death in 1892. Bucke also provided a date (usually the year) for many of Hannah's letters to Whitman. For more information, see Howard Nelson, "Bucke, Richard Maurice (1837–1901)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. According to Charles Heyde, Hannah's husband, Hannah had been diagnosed with jaundice. She was being treated, but was nevertheless "very weak." See Heyde's letter to Walt Whitman of June 25, 1891. Dr. Leroy Monroe Bingham (1845–1911) graduated from Bellevue Medical College in New York in 1870 and moved to Burlington, Vermont, in 1874. After the death of Dr. Samuel W. Thayer in 1882, Bingham became Hannah's doctor. According to the Vermont Medical Monthly, "From about 1878, for a period of 20 years, he was one of the most active and the best known surgeons in Vermont" (Volume 17, Issue 12 [December 15, 1911]), 306. For more information, see William B. Atkinson, M.D., The Physicians and Surgeons of the United States (Philadelphia: Charles Robson, 1878), 375. On July 9, 1891, Whitman "sent $50 to Dr Bingham, Burlington, 40 for Hannah" (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]). Bingham, who had been Hannah's physician for many years, noted receipt of the money on July 19(?), and told the poet to discount Heyde's unreliable reports about Hannah's condition. On August 6, 1891, Bingham wrote that Hannah's health was better, but "Mr Heyde is evidently drinking heavily and no reliance whatever to be placed upon him." In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Mary Elizabeth Whitman Van Nostrand (1821–1899) was the third child of Walter Whitman and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Mary married Ansel Van Nostrand, a shipbuilder, in 1840 and moved to Greenport, Long Island, a whaling town. Hannah and Walt visited her there before Hannah's marriage to Charles L. Heyde. Mary and Ansel had five children: George, Fanny, Louisa, Ansel, and Minnie. For more information, see Paula K. Garrett, "Whitman (Van Nostrand), Mary Elizabeth (b. 1821),"Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the seventh child of Walter and Louisa Whitman. George learned to read and write as a pupil under his older brother Walt (who briefly served as a schoolteacher) in Long Island, and worked as a carpenter prior to his military service during the Civil War. When the war ended, he became a pipe inspector for the City of Camden and the New York Metropolitan Water Board. For more on George's life see Martin G. Murray, "Whitman, George Washington (1829–1901)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998. James William Wallace (1853–1926) visited Whitman in Camden in October 1891. An English architect, Wallace was an admirer of Whitman's writing. With his friend Dr. John Johnston, Wallace helped to establish a club of Whitman enthusiasts in England called the Bolton "College." For more information, 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). The British ocean liner City of Berlin, built in 1874, was for years the fastest and largest passenger ship on the Atlantic. Wallace embarked for England on this ship on November 4, 1891. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," married Walt's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. They moved to Camden in 1872, and Walt Whitman lived with them from 1873–1884. For more information, see Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman is referring to Hannah's letter of September 22, 1891, in which she expresses her gratitude to Whitman for his emotional and financial support. Whitman is referring to Hannah's letter of September 22, 1891, which presented her version of events in the Heyde household. Dr. Leroy Monroe Bingham (1845–1911) graduated from Bellevue Medical College in New York in 1870 and moved to Burlington, Vermont, in 1874. After the death of Dr. Samuel W. Thayer in 1882, Bingham became Hannah's doctor. According to the Vermont Medical Monthly, "From about 1878, for a period of 20 years, he was one of the most active and the best known surgeons in Vermont" (Volume 17, Issue 12 [December 15, 1911]), 306. For more information, see William B. Atkinson, M.D., The Physicians and Surgeons of the United States (Philadelphia: Charles Robson, 1878), 375. Whitman sent a copy of his book Complete Poems & Prose (1888), a volume he often referred to as the "big book," to Dr. Bingham on November 3, 1891. Bingham thanked Whitman for the volume in his letter to the poet of November 16, 1891. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Charles Heyde, Hannah's husband, occasionally intercepted her mail and removed the funds that Whitman had sent to her. By using the phrase "every week," Whitman was checking to see if Hannah had received the letters he sent to her. James William Wallace (1853–1926) visited Whitman in Camden in October 1891. An English architect, Wallace was an admirer of Whitman's writing. With his friend Dr. John Johnston, Wallace had helped to establish a club of Whitman enthusiasts in England called the Bolton "College." For more infomration, 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). George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the seventh child of Walter and Louisa Whitman. George learned to read and write as a pupil under his older brother Walt (who briefly served as a schoolteacher) in Long Island, and worked as a carpenter prior to his military service during the Civil War. When the war ended, he became a pipe inspector for the City of Camden and the New York Metropolitan Water Board. For more on George's life see Martin G. Murray, "Whitman, George Washington (1829–1901)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998. Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," married Walt's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. They moved to Camden in 1872, and Walt Whitman lived with them from 1873–1884. For more information, see Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Eddy (Edward) Whitman (1835–1892), the youngest child of Louisa and Walter Whitman, was mentally and physically disabled. He lived with Mother Whitman until her death in 1873, then with his brother George Washington Whitman and his wife Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman. Walt Whitman contributed to his support. Eddy was placed in an asylum in Blackwood, New Jersey, in 1888. See Randall Waldron, "Whitman, Edward (1835–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Jessie Louisa Whitman (1863–1957) was the youngest daughter of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother and sister-in-law. In 1867 Jeff, Whitman's favorite brother, accepted a position as Chief Engineer and Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis, Missouri. Jeff died from typhoid pneumonia in November, 1890 Mrs. Mary Oakes Davis (1837 or 1838–1908), Whitman's housekeeper, moved into Whitman's house on Mickle street on February 24, 1885, and lived in a small apartment in the rear of the house. She was a widow and had been married to a Sea Captain. See Carol J. Singley, "Davis, Mary Oakes," in Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R.LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 163–164. Whitman is referring to his letter of November 26, 1891. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Mary Elizabeth Whitman Van Nostrand (1821–1899) was the third child of Walter Whitman and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. Mary married Ansel Van Nostrand, a shipbuilder, in 1840 and moved to Greenport, Long Island, a whaling town. Hannah and Walt visited her there before Hannah's marriage to Charles L. Heyde. Mary and Ansel had five children: George, Fanny, Louisa, Ansel, and Minnie. For more information, see Paula K. Garrett, "Whitman (Van Nostrand), Mary Elizabeth (b. 1821),"Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," married Walt's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. They moved to Camden in 1872, and Walt Whitman lived with them from 1873–1884. For more information, see Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). On December 17, 1891, Whitman had a serious relapse. Whitman's friend, the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke hurried to Camden from London, Ontario, the poet's niece Jessie Louisa Whitman came from St. Louis, and the writer and naturalist John Burroughs arrived from West Park, New York. For Burroughs' account of the crisis, see Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1931), 293. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. According to Whitman, "A Christmas Greeting" was rejected by Harper's Weekly but accepted by the "McClure Syndicate" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, December 9, 1889). In mid 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. Whitman told Traubel that the poem was "a sort of handshake and hug, to show them we were here, met them in the democratic spirit, warmed to something more than mere formality. It is a trifle, put together in that sense, no other" (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, November 21, 1889). A printer's copy exists in the The Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) with Whitman's pencilled corrections, yet no printed copy has been located. Whitman later told Traubel that the poem was not printed in the United States because of the line "More shining than the Cross, more than the Crown"—which, in Whitman's view, caused great "timidity" and ultimately "deterred the orthodox journalists" (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, January 29, 1890). This postal card is addressed: Mrs: H L Heyde | 21 Pearl Street | Burlington | Vermont. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | DEC 13 | 8PM | 89. Whitman was living in Washington, D.C., at the time that this letter was sent. He had arrived in mid-December 1862 in search of his brother, George Whitman, a Union soldier in the American Civil War who had been wounded in the Battle of Fredericksburg. Whitman would remain in Washington, D.C. for a decade, volunteering in the Civil War Hospitals and, later, performing clerical tasks for several government offices. For more information on Whitman's time in Washington, see Martin G. Murray, "Washington, D.C. (1863–1873)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Louisa Van Velsor Whitman [Mother Whitman] (1795–1873), was born and raised in Long Island. Louisa married Walter Whitman Sr. in June 1816; together they had nine children, two girls and seven boys. Louisa's fifth child, a son, died at the age of six months; the rest of her children lived to adulthood. In 1823 the Whitmans moved to Brooklyn. See Sherry Ceniza, "Whitman, Louisa Van Velsor [1795–1873]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the seventh child of Walter and Louisa Whitman. George learned to read and write as a pupil under his older brother Walt (who briefly served as a schoolteacher) in Long Island, and worked as a carpenter prior to his military service during the Civil War. When the war ended, he became a pipe inspector for the City of Camden and the New York Metropolitan Water Board. For more on George's life, see Martin G. Murray, "Whitman, George Washington," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Mary Elizabeth Whitman Van Nostrand (1821–1899), the third child of Walter Whitman and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, and Hannah's older (and only) sister. Mary married Ansel Van Nostrand, a shipbuilder, in 1840 and moved to Greenport, Long Island, a whaling town. Hannah and Walt visited her there before Hannah's marriage to Heyde. Mary and Ansel had five children: George, Fanny, Louisa, Ansel, and Minnie. For more information, see Paula K. Garrett, "Whitman (Van Nostrand), Mary Elizabeth (b. 1821)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman had noted in a letter to his mother that George had been in Kentucky but his regiment was moving to Murfreesboro, Tennessee. See Walt Whitman's letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman dated May 13, 1863. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. Whitman mentioned the idea of a wheelchair to Horace Traubel in April 1889: "'Isn't there a wheel-chair that you can work with a handle, so and so?'" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, April 5, 1889). Whitman received a wheelchair the following month. Traubel and Ed Wilkins, Whitman's nurse, went to Philadelphia to purchase "a strong suitable out-door chair" for the poet that would allow him to be "pull'd or push'd" outdoors. See Whitman's letter to William Sloane Kennedy of May 8, 1889. Hannah comments on Walt's wheelchair in her letter to him dated May 14, 1889. 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. Carol J. Singley reports that "Longaker enjoyed talking with Whitman about human nature and reflects that Whitman responded as well to their conversations as he did to medical remedies" ("Longaker, Dr. Daniel [1858–1949]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R.LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings [New York: Garland Publishing, 1998]). Louisa ("Lou") Whitman (Whitman's brother George's wife) had traveled to St. Louis to help Whitman's brother Jeff and his daughter Jessie after the death of Jeff's other daughter Mannahatta ("Hattie"). Thomas Donaldson (1843–1898) was a Philadelphia attorney whom Whitman met in 1882. Donaldson helped to facilitate meetings between Whitman and Bram Stoker in the 1880s, and raised money for the purchase of a horse and buggy for Whitman in 1885. He also wrote a biography of Whitman titled Walt Whitman: The Man (New York: Francis P. Harper, 1896). For more about Whitman's relationship with Donaldson, see Steven Schroeder, "Donaldson, Thomas (1843–1898)," in Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 185. George was Susan Stafford's husband; Ed was Edward Cattell, a hired hand at the Stafford farm who became close to Whitman. Whitman is likely referring to George Westcott Stafford (1890–1984). George was the son of Harry L. Stafford (1858–1918) and Eva Westcott Stafford (1856–1906); he was Susan Stafford's grandson. Whitman indicates at this point of the draft that he intended to transfer the following passage to the end of the letter when he wrote the actual letter that was sent. On the verso of this draft, Whitman was drafting a letter to Chatto & Windus, sent on November 18, 1886. Glendale, New Jersey, was where the Staffords had moved after leaving their farm at Timber Creek, where Whitman had often visited. He was particularly close to George and Susan Stafford's son Harry. Burroughs's Notes on Walt Whitman as Poet and Person was published in 1867. Sophia Wells Royce Williams (1850–1928) was a writer and frequent visitor (with her husband Talcott Williams) to Whitman's Camden, New Jersey, home. The word "Hamilton" is embossed at the top of the letter (perhaps as a letterhead, although it may be an archive stamp). Next to it is a piece of a postage stamp. This is perhaps Frank Butler, a first lieutenant in the Fifty-First Regiment, who was killed at Petersburg, Virginia, in 1864. O'Connor had attacked British essayist Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800–1859), calling him a "brilliant knave," for his "calumny" about Francis Bacon, one of O'Connor's idols. Macaulay's controversial essay about Bacon was published in the Edinburgh Review in 1837. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, July 1, 1889. In the 1884 U.S. presidential election, Henry Ward Beecher campaigned for Democrat Grover Cleveland and spoke out harshly against Cleveland's opponent, Republican James G. Blaine, calling him "the prince of liars." Scovel is alluding here to the best known campaign rallying cry against Republican presidential nominee James G. Blaine: "Blaine, Blaine, James G. Blaine, continental liar from the state of Maine!" A seaside borough in New Jersey, renamed North Wildwood in 1907, located in the southern part of the state. Mary Oakes Davis (1837 or 1838–1908) was Whitman's housekeeper. She had been married to a sea captain but was widowed when he was lost at sea. 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). Fenianism was the term used in the nineteenth century for the movement to establish an independent Irish Republic. William Frederick Smith Kingcombe Rean (1862–1932) was an English Socialist, newspaperman, and poet. He was born in Plymouth, England, one of four children to John Rean (1838–1886) and Mary Ann Kingcombe (1839–1919). The 1881 English census indicates that Rean was already working as a printer at age eighteen, and subsequent censuses show that he remained a typographer and compositor throughout his life. During his time as an editor at papers including the West Ham Citizen and the Western Morning News, he was active in socialist circles and wrote on various social causes. After his death, his poems that originally appeared in newspapers were collected in Selections from the Poems of W. F. K. Rean (London : Twentieth Century Press, 1932). Federal Census data for 1880 records nine women named "Ida Strauss" living in Brooklyn and Manhattan; the 1892 New York State Census lists three, all living in Brooklyn. Unfortunately, the 1890 census records were destroyed by fire in the 1920s. At present, we are unsure as to the identity of this correspondent or her cousin. Gertrude Van Dusen was a cataloguer at the Cornell University Library, as well as a musician and student of the classics (see Glen W. Herrick, "The Proposed Research Library," Cornell Daily Sun [April 29, 1959], 4; and "Library Notes," Library Bulletin of Cornell University 3 [November 1892], 1). The next poem by Whitman to appear in The Critic was "Yonnodio" in the November 1887 issue. Gridley privately published a pamphlet called Notes on America in 1884, describing his visit to Whitman just after he moved to his Mickle Street home and giving his impression of the poet's personality, appearance, opinions, and philosophy. After Harper's had rejected Whitman's "Some War Memoranda," Whitman submitted it to Redpath, and it appeared in the North American Review in January 1887. Whitman received $60 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). "Robert Buns as Poet and Person" appeared in the North American Review in November 1886. Alexander Black (1859–1940) was the editor of the Brooklyn Times. The image, reportedly showing Whitman's writing desk at the Brooklyn Times, was reproduced in Black's Time and Chance: Adventures With People and Print (New York: Farrar and Rinehart, 1937), 74. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: RICHMOND IND | JAN 31 | 830PM | 88; CAMDEN. N.J. | FEB | 2 | [illegible]. Whitman also liked the portrait of the quaker preacher Elias Hicks (by Henry Inman) that he included in November Boughs. To Horace Traubel he later said: "I can see defects; this forehead, for instance, is not quite as it should be; but my general notion of the portrait is a good one: as I often say, I congratulate myself that it's not so damned bad as it might be" (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, September 8th, 1888). This letter is addressed: U.S. America. | Mr. Walt Whitman | 325 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Charing Cross W. C. | [illegible] | [illegible] | 87. There is at least one additional postmark on the back of the envelope, but it is entirely illegible. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Pasadena | Jul | 7 | 1887 | Cal. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Richmond | Dec [illegible] | [illegible] | 87; Camden. N. J. | DEC | 27 | 7AM | [illegible] | Re[illegible]. The Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke dates this letter 1892, confirmed by Hannah's reference to the five dollars Whitman had sent her on December 15, 1891. On the line above this one, Hannah has written and crossed out the following: "Hope & pray you feel." The Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke dates this letter 1892, confirmed by Hannah's references to Walt's health. On February 8, 1892, Whitman had written that he was "probably growing weaker"; on February 24, 1892, "Still lingering along pretty low," but he nevertheless enclosed five dollars for his sister. His last letter to Hannah, and the last letter he wrote, was dated March 17, 1892. After Dr. Thayer died in 1882, Dr. Leroy Monroe Bingham (1845–1911) became Hannah's doctor. He studied medicine at the University of Vermont and at Bellevue College in New York, and moved to Burlington in 1874. According to the Vermont Medical Monthly, "From about 1878, for a period of 20 years, he was one of the most active and the best known surgeons in Vermont" (Volume 17, Issue 12, Dec. 15, 1911), 306. Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," married Walt's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. They moved to Camden in 1872, and Walt Whitman lived with them from 1873–1884. For more information, see Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This is Hannah's abbreviation for her husband, Charles (Heyde). The rest of this page of the letter has been cut away, and some of Hannah's words are missing. E. B. Elliott, appointed chief of the Bureau of Statistics in September 1869, was one of 40 clerks at the office. Epictetus (c. 55–135 AD) was a Greek stoic philosopher and former slave, whose works had a lasting impact on the politics of Marcus Aurelius (121–180 AD), the Roman Emperor. While the Greek philosopher Zeno of Citium (c. 334–262 BC) is generally considered to be the founder of the stoic school of philosophy, such a moniker fits the Roman politician and law scholar Quintus Mucius Scaevola (c. 159 - 88 BC) as well as the Greek theologian and philosopher Xenophanes of Colophon (c. 570 - c. 475 BC) less well. While the former was at least schooled in stoicism (by Panaetius of Rhodes), the latter's life predates the philosophical movement and he can at best be argued to anticipate stoic thought (although the fragmentary nature of Xenophanes' surviving works render such a judgement problematic). See Whitman's letter to Doyle of September 29, 1868. Both W. Dunning and S. S. Riker were presidents of the Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company that Doyle worked for. Crosby Stuart Noyes (1825–1908) was one of the leading reporters of the Evening Star in the 1850s and '60s before he bought the paper in 1867 and became its editor-in-chief. Both Hunt and "the Californian" are not identified. Probably a reference to Francis Preston Blair, Jr. (1821–1876), the former general and unsuccessful Democratic candidate for vice president in 1868. Perhaps a reference to Whitman's letter to Doyle of October 6, 1868, a Tuesday. It is unclear what rumors over an attempted assassination of President Johnson Doyle is referring to. This letter is apparently lost. Perhaps a reference to Whitman's letter to Price of March 13, 1867. Charlotte Brann St. Clair (1818–1889) lived in Maine her whole life. She was married to George W. Doore (1823-1851) and after Doore's death married Thomas R St. Clair (1821-1876). This could be a reference to Wiliam Henry Bascom (1855–1938), a Civil-War volunteer. Wilson contacted the poet on November 11, 1865. No other letters from or to Wilson are extant prior his letter of December 9th, 1866. Little is known about Charles String but he might have lived in Camden in the mid-1880s, as a local veteran's club (William B. Hatch Post No. 37 of the Grand Army of the Republic) lists a man by this name as one of its members in 1886. A reference to West Park, Ulster County, where Burroughs and his family maintained a small farm overlooking the Hudson River. Ellen M. O'Connor's sister, Mary Jane "Jeannie" (Tarr) Channing (1828–1897). Walt Whitman visited often with Mary Jane and her husband Dr. William Ellery Channing during his October 1868 visit to Providence, Rhode Island. This letter is apparently part of Whitman's futile negotiations over the publication of and article in The Galaxy. His poem "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867," on the other hand, was published in September of that year in the same periodical. Whitman's poem "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867" was finally published in September of that year in The Galaxy. Whitman confirmed the receipt of the books in his letter of June 30, 1870. Dr. John Todhunter (1839–1916) later held a chair in English literature at Alexandria College in Dublin and wrote Study of Shelley (1880), in which he termed Shelley, Hugo, and Walt Whitman the three poets of democracy. See Whitman's letter to Rossetti of December 3, 1867. See Whitman's letters to Schmidt of January 16, 1872 and. February 2, 1872 Hiram Sholes (1843–?) served as a private in the 26th Regiment, New York Infantry, and was apparently admitted into a home for disabled volunteer soldiers in 1867. See Whitman's letter to Sholes of May 30, 1867. Perhaps a reference to Lewis Brown, who Whitman in his letter to Sholes of May 30, 1867 describes as being well: "I see him often. He has a place here as Clerk, at $1200 a year. He is in the 4th Auditor's Office, Treasury Department, & that is his address." While Whitman eventually did contact Stoddard, it took the young admirerer quite some effort to convince Whitman, as his letter of December 3, 1869 indicates. See Stoddard's prior letter of February 8, 1867. See Stoddard's prior letter of March 2, 1869. See Whitman's letter of January 27, 1872. Vaughan sent an additional letter he had written to the poet as an enclosure. Vaughan could be referring to a letter he wrote in pencil that bears the date of August 11 on the verso. In January 1873, Whitman suffered a paralytic stroke while living in Washington, D.C. A few months later, his mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (1795–1873) passed away. After his mother's death, Whitman moved to Camden, New Jersey, where he lived with his brother George Whitman and George's family at 431 Stevens Street. Below Vaughan's closing and signature are a series of addresses and mathematical calculations that Vaughan has written and then crossed out. The notes bear the date of "Aug 11." Vaughan may have sent this letter as an enclosure in his August 11, 1874, letter to Whitman. Vaughan refers to drinking rum in his November 16, 1874, letter to Whitman, offering the following timeline to describe his experience, "Rum More trouble—More Rum—Estrangement from you. More Rum.—Good intentions, sobriety Misunderstanding and more Rum." Callicrates was an architect in ancient Greece, who lived in the fifth century B.C. and was involved in designing the Parthenon. Vaughan is referring to Leviness & Weeber. According to the Brooklyn City and Business Directory, Charles T. Leviness and John D. Weeber were in the tea business (The Brooklyn City and Business Directory 1874–1875 [Brooklyn: Lain & Company, 1874], 488 and 891). Originally launched as the Williamsburgh Daily Times, the newspaper became the Brooklyn Daily Times when the city of Williamsburg was annexed to the city of Brooklyn as an Eastern-District in 1855. The newspaper included reviews of Whitman's Leaves of Grass (see "From the Brooklyn Daily Times"). Whitman worked at the paper from 1857 to 1859. This letter is addressed: Camden, N. J. | Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens Str | Corner West Str. It is postmarked: [illegible] | Nov 17 | 12M | N. Y. Fred's father was Cornelius C. Vaughan (b. ca. 1803), a joiner, from New Brunswick, Saint John, Canada. Cornelius died in 1872. Richard Burpe Vaughan (ca. 1845) was Fred Vaughan's younger brother. Richard was a Civil War soldier, serving in Company L of the 13th New York Cavalry in 1864. He is sometimes listed as "Richard D." Vaughan in his military records. Richard was mustered out in 1865 in Washington, D.C. He died in January 1873. Fred Vaughan's mother was Catherine Day Vaughan (b. ca. 1811–1893). Fred B. "Freddie" Vaughan (1863–1922) was the oldest son of Fred B. Vaughan and his wife Frances Colvin Vaughan. Fred Vaughan was the second of his parents' five children. He had three sisters (Jane or Jeannie [ca. 1835–1899], Kate [ca. 1842–1897], and Emeline or Emmalyn Vaughan [ca. 1845–1909]) and one brother (Richard Burpee Vaughan [ca. 1845–1873]). Fred Vaughan married Frances Emma Colvin (ca. 1844–1903), the third of five children born to Jacob Colvin (1809–1858), a contractor, and his wife Louisa A. Johnson Colvin (1813–1874). Frances was between sixteen and eighteen years old when she married Fred in a small ceremony at her mother's home, and the following year they had their first child, Frederick B. Vaughan, Jr. (1863–1922). Frances and Fred were the parents of five children: four sons, and a daughter, but only the three oldest sons survived until adulthood and began their own families. In 1903, Frances died suddenly in Freeport, Nassau, New York, where her sister was living at the time, and she was buried in Vale Cemetery in Schenectady, New York. In the early 1860s and, possibly as late as the 1870s, Vaughan was employed in the express business. He worked for the Manhattan Express Company and, later, for Westcott's Express. Here, and later in this letter, Vaughan refers to his four sons: Fred B. Vaughan (ca.1863–1922), Frank C. Vaughan (1865–1920), Harry C. Vaughan (1869–1927), and Andrew J. Vaughan (1873–1880). Andrew passed away from Remittent Fever at the age of six in 1880. In 1879, Fred and Frances had their last child, a daughter, Maybelle Louise Vaughan (1879–1898). In the mid- to late-1850s, Vaughan lived with Whitman at the Whitman family's Classon Avenue home. Jesse Whitman (1818–1870) had suffered from mental illness that included threats of violence for several years before he was committed to an asylum, where he was placed in December 1864. Shortly after an outburst that followed his brother Andrew Jackson Whitman's death in December 1863—he threatened Martha Mitchell and Thomas Jefferson Whitman's daughter Manahatta—Jeff sought to "put him in some hospital or place where he would be doctored" (see Jeff's December 15, 1863 to Walt Whitman). Louisa resisted institutionalizing Jesse because, according to her December 25, 1863 letter, she "could not find it in my heart to put him there." On December 5, 1864, Walt committed Jesse to Kings County Lunatic Asylum on Flatbush Avenue. For a short biography of Jesse, see Robert Roper, "Jesse Whitman, Seafarer," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 26:1 (Summer 2008), 35–41. Charles Frederick Wingate (1848–1909) would soon being serving as a New York correspondent for the Republican of Springfield, Massachusetts. In the 1880s and 90s, he became Sanitary Engineer in New York City, delivering lectures and writing newspaper columns about the city's sanitation practices and problems. Alexander Gardner (1821–1882) was a Scottish-born American photographer, well-known for his depictions of the Civil War. Burroughs means "Hathorn Spring water"; the Hathorn springs were some of the numerous mineral springs in Saratoga Springs, New York, that drew guests like the Vanderbilts and J. P. Morgan, who traveled there for various water cures. A Biblical reference to the donation by a widow of two small coins ("mites"), which Jesus says are worth more than the much larger (but proportionately smaller) donations of the rich; see Mark 12:41-44 and Luke 21:1-4. "As One by One Withdraw the Lofty Actors" (later retitled "Death of General Grant") was first published in Harper's Weekly on May 16, 1885; "Washington's Monument, February, 1885" was first published in the Philadelphia Press on February 22, 1885, under the title "Ah, Not This Granite Dead and Cold." David Gordon was a bookbinder who was appointed the managing editor of The Walter Scott Publishing Company based in London and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Although he had little education, the Scottish editor soon became a driving force in the company's success, creating some of its most well-known editions, such as the Canterbury Poets Series, the Camelot Classics Series, the Great Writers Series, and the Contemporary Science Series. Whitman's 1886 English edition of Leaves of Grass was published by Scott and advertised by Rhys as Whitman's entry into the "Canterbury Poets" series. Frederick W. Wilson was a member of the Glasgow firm of Wilson & McCormick that published the 1883 British edition of Specimen Days and Collect. Miss R. E. Powell of Guildford, England, was apparently a friend of the Gilchrists. Louis Henry Sullivan (1856–1924) was an American modernist architect and later mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright. He is often called the "father of skyscrapers." See: Kevin Murphy "Walt Whitman and Louis Sullivan: The Aesthetics of Egalitarianism," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 6, no. 1 (1988), 1–15. Ellen Galusha Smith (1849–1922) was an American painter and poet. She was the wife of William Hawley Smith (1845–1943), a writer of early science-fiction stories. Apparently, the couple met Whitman late in his life—an event that William Hawley Smith recorded in his 1909 "A Visit To Walt Whitman" (reprinted in Whitman in His Own Time, ed. Joel Myerson [Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2000], 227). Annie Adams Fields (1834–1915) was a Bostonian writer. She was the wife of James Thomas Fields (of Ticknor & Fields) and had a literary salon at 148 Charles St. There is no indication Whitman ever replied. The event took place and was apparently a great success. James B. Pond recounts it as follows: "It was indeed a picturesque spectacle at Walt's last appearance in the Madison Square Theatre, on Lincoln's birthday. Just as he was about to recite 'My Captain,' a little girl, the granddaughter of Edmund Clarence Stedman, walked out upon the stage and presented him with a beautiful bouquet of roses" (Eccentricities of Genius, G. W. Dillingham Co: New York, 1900, 497). See Whitman's letter to Alma Calder Johnston of March 3, 1887. William Morton Fullerton (1865–1952) was an American journalist and is perhaps remembered mostly for his affair with author Edith Wharton (a fellow admirer of Whitman) in the early 20th century. James Burton Pond (1838–1903) was a famous lecture-manager and printer. He was also awarded the Medal of Honor for his services in the Civil War. In his 1900 autobiography Eccentricities of Genius (G. W. Dillingham Co: New York), he writes of Whitman: "Whitman gave a few readings under my management during his life. They were mostly testimonials from friends, and benefits given in the theatres of New York City"; Pond concludes with an anecdote about the poet's meeting with Sir Edwin Arnold (497–501). Samuel Longfellow (1819–1892) was Unitarian pastor and transcendentalist from New England. He was well-known for composing hymns. Alfred de Musset (1810–1857) was a French poet and novelist. Eduard Willem Gerard Cesar Hidde Bok (1863–1930), commonly known as Edward Bok, was a Dutch-American author and newspaperman, and he served as editor of the Ladies' Home Journal for thirty years. Like Whitman, Bok had also worked for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Beecher Memorial: Contemporaneous Tributes to the Memory of Henry Ward Beecher, edited by Bok, was published in 1887; Whitman did not contribute to the volume, and, if he ever replied to Bok, his letter is not extant. Andrew Lang (1844–1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, and critic, well-known for his fairy-tale collections. This note is written on the front of the envelope. Apparently O'Connor attempted to keep his stay with Dr. Kinnear a secret. The "Dr. Chapman" Ellen is referring to is likely Nathaniel Chapman (1780–1853), the founding president of the American Medical Association who argued that certain diseases could be caused by "augmented or diminished . . . animal heat" (Elements of Therapeutics and Materia Medica [Philadelphia: Carey and Lea, 1823], 124). Sumner Increase Kimball (1834–1923), the superintendent of the United States Life-Saving Service and employer of O'Connor. George Herbert Kersley was a poet, actor, and friend of Oscar Wilde. Apparently he visited Whitman alongside Silvanus Dauncey in late January of 1887 when both left their addresses in Whitman's daybook before taking the poet and his housekeeper Mary Davis to a play in which they performed as part of Wilson Barrett's Company. Whitman gave his Lincoln lecture at Madison Square Theatre in New York on April 14, 1887. James B. Pond recounts it as follows: "It was indeed a picturesque spectacle at Walt's last appearance in the Madison Square Theatre, on Lincoln's birthday. Just as he was about to recite 'My Captain,' a little girl, the granddaughter of Edmund Clarence Stedman, walked out upon the stage and presented him with a beautiful bouquet of roses" (Eccentricities of Genius [New York: G. W. Dillingham Co.], 497). Whitman left for New York less than a week later to deliver his lecture on Lincoln as well as sit for the photographer G. C. Cox and the portrait painter Dora Wheeler. Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919), the prominent industrialist and admirer of Whitman, had donated twice to the support of the aged poet. Whitman's essay "Have We a National Literature?" was published in The North American Review 125 (March 1891), 332–338. Whitman has drawn a line through this letter in black ink. Whitman's reply is not extant, but it appears he did not go to Boston that May. Frederick Abbot Stokes (1857–1939) was a famous baritone, writer and publisher. He co-founded White, Stokes, & Allen, a New York-based publishing house that printed highly ornamented books. See Whitman's letter to White, Stokes, & Allen of April 29, 1887. James B. Pond, Whitman's lecture manager, recounts the event as follows: "It was indeed a picturesque spectacle at Walt's last appearance in the Madison Square Theatre, on Lincoln's birthday. Just as he was about to recite 'My Captain,' a little girl, the granddaughter of Edmund Clarence Stedman, walked out upon the stage and presented him with a beautiful bouquet of roses" (Eccentricities of Genius, G. W. Dillingham Co: New York, 1900, 497). M. (Mary?) Ida Phares (1863–1910) was born in Bordentown, New Jersey, in 1863; she was the daughter of Henry T. and Christianna Peppler Phares. M. Ida Phares was a stenographer, and she was employed in the Adjutant General's Office in Trenton, New Jersey. She later married T. Harry Mason (1874–1974). Gabriel Sarrazin (1853–1935) was a translator and poet from France who commented positively not only on Whitman's work but also on Poe's. Whitman later corresponded with Sarrazin and apparently liked the critic's work on Leaves of Grass—Whitman even had Sarrazin's chapter on his book translated twice. For more on Sarrazin, see Carmine Sarracino, "Sarrazin, Gabriel (1853–1935)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). The full study appeared in 1890 and was apparently so successful that it spawned a supplement. Frederic George Kitton (1856–1904) was an English writer, etcher and journalist. He published extensively on Charles Dickens. Whitman apparently first agreed to the idea but later claimed he never liked it and argued that his poetry does not lend itself to "piecemeal quotation" (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, August 10, 1888). Work nevertheless went forward but it appears that the project never saw the light of day after several publishers had declined it. For more on the project, see Joann Krieg, "Grace Ellery Channing and the Whitman Calendar," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 12, no. 4 (1995), 252–256. "Mama" would be Mary Tarr Channing, Grace's mother. Williams & Everetts (1855–1907) was a Boston art dealership run by Henry Dudley Williams (1833–1907) and William Everett (1821–1899), two brothers-in-law, and their sons. On the April 15, 1887, Whitman had sat for the photographer G. C. Cox of New York. Kennedy's photo appears to be lost. A reference to Sidney Morse's 1887 clay bust of Whitman—apparently the poet's favorite depiction of himself at the time. A photo of it would later become the frontispiece of Horace Traubel's 1889 Camden's Compliments to Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay), one of the first print-collections of Whitman's letters, addresses and notes. Fulton Street was not only home to the landing of the Brooklyn ferry but also to the offices of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Her obituary in the Daily Eagle surprisingly only mentions two siblings as surviving relatives, suggesting that her children might have died before her. The installation of the newly elected officers of Winchester Post No. 179, G. A. R., took place in the Conservatory of Music on Fulton Street. Probably organist Rafael Navarro, the teacher of well-known Brooklyn hymnist John Hyatt Brewer (1856–1931). Anna M. Kerr (died 1920) was a Brooklyn-born church-worker and social activist from a prominent Quaker family. Throughout her life, Kerr was a member of numerous charitable, religious, and social organizations such as the Women's Club of Brooklyn as well as the local Junior Missionary Society or the Asylum Society. Her death was covered by the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, which remembered her as "artistic, musical and [with] a personality of winning charm" (5 January, 1920, 3). Nugent Robinson (1838–1904) was a journalist and editor from Dublin, Ireland. After graduating from Trinity College, he served an apprenticeship in London and worked as a correspondent for the Daily Chronicle during the Franco-German War. He moved to the United States in 1876, and he edited Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, Once a Week, and, later, Collier's Weekly. Robinson was apparently highly regarded among writers like Julian Hawthorne and James Whitcomb Riley, and he authored a number of books himself, including a farce and works on history. For more information, see "Nugent Robinson," Collier's 32.14 (January 9, 1904), 20. Whitman's answer is not extant, and it appears no work by Whitman appeared in the magazine until 1891. Cassius Marcellus Clay (1810–1903), often referred to as "Lion of the White Hall," was an abolitionist and a politician from Kentucky. In the early 1860s, he was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln to serve as the United States minister to Russia. Whitman had sent Clay the London editon of Specimen Days. What other book Clay is referring to is unclear. Whitman apparently declined to either participate or write a commemorative poem for the occasion. Perhaps Whitelaw Reid (1837–1912), the editor of the New York Tribune from 1872 to 1905 and later American ambassador to France (1889–1892) and England (1905–1912). He met Walt Whitman in the hospitals during the Civil War. Of his relations with the poet, Reid later observed: "No one could fail then [during the War] to admire his zeal and devotion, and I am afraid that at first my regard was for his character rather than his poetry. It was not till long after 'The Leaves of Grass' period that his great verses on the death of Lincoln conquered me completely." See Charles N. Elliot, Walt Whitman as Man, Poet and Friend (1915), 213, and Studies in Bibliography, VIII (1956), 242–249. Whitman, a year later, described the conflict to Traubel as follows: "If you have [a letter] sent to Camden address them plainly to Walt Whitman as well as to the street number. That catamount next door—down—has made his number 328—built some little house on six or seven feet of his lot and given it a full number, so throwing me out! . . . I wrote to the City Surveyor about it . . . and he said he would have it set right—but has not done so. '328' belongs to me, by every right of precedent recent and remote" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, October 5th, 1888). He is probably referring to the opinion-piece that was published in the column "Occasional Notes" on December 16, 1886. Whitman sent his poem "Twenty Years," which came out the next year accompanied by elaborate illustrations. Whitman's letter is written on the verso of a letter from Gilder of March 17, 1887, in which Gilder requested permission to mention the Tennyson letter of January 15, 1887. On March 26, under "Notes," The Critic printed Whitman's suggested paragraph almost verbatim. This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London, England. It is postmarked: Camden | Mar | 18 | 6 PM | 1887 | NJ. This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 29 | 6 PM | 87. In his Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) on March 25 Whitman mentioned his visit to the hospital where Harry's "throat trouble" was being treated by a Dr. Westcott. On March 28 and 29 the young man stayed with the poet. Joseph Browning (d. 1931) was married to Harry Stafford's sister Deborah. This postal card is addressed: Charles W Eldridge | P O box 1705 | Los Angeles | California. It is postmarked: [Cam]den, N.J. | Apr 6 | 6 PM | 87; P[hila]del[phi]a | (?)r | 6 | 8 PM | Transit. In his Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) on February 25 Whitman had observed: "Am collecting 'Elias Hicks' these days." Elias Hicks (1748–1830) was a Quaker from Long Island whose controversial teachings led to a split in the Religious Society of Friends in 1827, a division that was not resolved until 1955. Hicks had been a friend of Whitman's father and grandfather, and Whitman himself was a supporter and proponent of Hicks's teachings, writing about him in Specimen Days (see "Reminiscence of Elias Hicks") and November Boughs (see "Elias Hicks, Notes (such as they are)"). For more on Hicks and his influence on Whitman, see David S. Reynolds, Walt Whitman's America (New York: Knopf, 1995), 37–39. Whitman noted receipt of Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings on April 5 (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]). In his letter of March 31, 1887, Gilchrist had informed the poet of the book's success in England and of his intended visit in May (Feinberg). Montgomery, according to The Stafford Family, married Josephine Ruff on October 28, 1886. Charles Rowley (1839–1933), a British socialist, came to Whitman's house with an "introduction from Wm M Rossetti" (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Joseph Browning was married to Harry Stafford's sister Deborah Edwin Stafford (1856–1906), Van Doran Stafford (1864–1914), and Montgomery Stafford (1862–1926?) were brothers of Harry. This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 19 | 8 PM | 87. This postal card is addressed: John H. Johnston | Diamond Merchant | 150 Bowery cor: Broome St: | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 20 | 1 30 PM | 87. There is one additional postmark, but it is entirely illegible. Arthur D. Chandler, of the Christian Union in New York, sent $3 for the book (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See Whitman's postal card to Chandler of April 19, 1887. Harper's Weekly for this date contained a chatty column on WW's preference for Walter Scott's poetry ("The only poetry that had nourished him"), his daily reading of the Bible, and his fondness for children who loved "Uncle Walt." This postal card is addressed: Major James B Pond | Everett House | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 2[illegible] | 12 [illegible]M | 87; P.O. | 4–21–87 | 4–1P | N.Y.; D | 4–21–87 | 5 P | NY. This postal card is addressed: Miss Jeannette Gilder | Critic office | 743 Broadway | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 2[illegible] | 12 [illegible]M | 87; P.O. | 4–21–87 | 4 [illegible] P. | [illegible]; D | 4–21–87 | 5 [illegible] | N.Y. Apparently proofs of the pictures taken by photographer C.O. Cox on April 15 (see Whitman's postal card to William Sloane Kennedy of April 15, 1887, n2). Whitman sent a copy of Leaves of Grass to Edgar R. Tratts (?) in Dublin (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The diners included Thomas B. Harned, James Matlack Scovel, Judge Hugg, and William Duckett (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman had also gone to Thompson's at Gloucester, N.J., on April 24, 1886 (See Whitman's letter to Kennedy of April 27, 1886). Whitman has inadvertently written "Logan" here instead of "Lloyd." Lloyd Smith was Robert Pearsall Smith's brother and a librarian; Logan Smith was Robert's son. The paper included "The Good Gray Poet Is White Now," an account of Whitman's lecture entitled "The Death of Abraham Lincoln," delivered in New York City on Thursday, April 14, 1887. On May 23 Whitman noted in his Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) the "anniversary of dear mother's death—1873." Rev. Alexander H. Smith was the founder of the "Christian Kingdom Society," a society that apparently strove to unite members of various Christian denominations and understood itself as undogmatic and hence held neither meetings nor services. In the late 1880s, it had around 730 members. Not surprisingly, Whitman did not respond. This letter is addressed: John Burroughs | West Park | Ulster county | New York. It is postmarked: Cam[cut away] | A[cut away] | 48[cut away] | 88. The envelope includes Whitman's address, printed as follows: WALT. WHITMAN, Camden, | NEW JERSEY. Hamlin Garland (1860–1940) was an American novelist and autobiographer, known especially for his works about the hardships of farm life in the American West. For his relationship to Whitman, see Thomas K. Dean, "Garland, Hamlin," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). On April 19, 1888, Garland, who was a friend of Kennedy's, wrote to the poet for the first time. He was giving a series of lectures entitled "Literature of Democracy" in which he was "trying to analyze certain tendencies of American life somewhat in accordance with the principles you have taught." Garland did not share Kennedy's gloom about Whitman's reception: "I am often astonished at finding so many friends and sympathizers in your work and Cause. In my teaching and lecturing I find no difficulty in getting Converts to the new doctrine and find your poems mainly irresistible in effect. True they do not always agree that they are 'poems' though acknowledge their power and beauty. I do not care what they call them (I say to them) and receive their allegiance just the same." Charles Grant Garrison (1849–1924) was an American doctor, lawyer, and judge. Born in Swedesboro, New Jersey, to Joseph Fithian Garrison and Elizabeth Vanarsdale Grant, Garrison received his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1872 and practiced medicine until 1876, when he began studying law. He was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1878 and became Judge Advocate General of New Jersey in 1884. Four years later, he was nominated to the New Jersey Supreme Court and served as an associate justice until his retirement in 1920. Garrison was one of the speakers at Walt Whitman's 1889 birthday celebration and his address, "Law—Natural and Conventional," was included in Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1889; 34–36). Garrison died in Merchantville, New Jersey, and is buried in Colestown Cemetery beside his parents and siblings. For more information, see his obituary in the Camden Post-Telegram (April 24, 1924), 6. See the letter from Richard Maurice Bucke to Whitman of April 25, 1888. This letter is addressed: R Pearsall Smith | 507 S Broad Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked Camden, N.J. | May 7 | 430PM | 88; Received | May | 7 | 530PM | 1888 | Phila. The envelope is printed with Whitman's name and address as follows: WALT. WHITMAN, | Camden, | New Jersey. Lady Mount Temple sent the vest, and Whitman received a letter with a parcel ticket for the vest from Wolmershausen on April 18, 1888. On April 28, 1888, Whitman was notified of the arrival of the vest by O.G. Hempstead & Son, a customs brokerage house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The poet was somewhat annoyed: "By the time we get the thing in our hands we will have paid more than it is physically worth. . . . But we'll get the waistcoat if it takes our last cent" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, May 2, 1888). The finished version of the poem "Life" that Whitman drafts on the verso of this page was published in the New York Herald on April 15, 1888. Whitman drew up documents that provided for the following: McKay was to receive 950 copies of November Boughs for $313.50; Oldach was to give the books to McKay, who was to pay for the binding—"except for 100 copies wh. I will pay you"; and McKay was to pay Whitman $313.50 by January 10, 1889, and had the right to print additional copies of November Boughs for three years on the payment of "twelve (12) cents royalty a copy," and Whitman was to have fifty copies "of the present batch . . . free for editors' copies" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, October 22, 1888). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | NO 1 | 88 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | Nov | 3 | 6 AM | 1888 | REC'D. Bucke is referring to John Martin Crawford's The Kalevala: The Epic poem of Finland, into English [verse] by J.M. Crawford, 2 vols. (New York: J.B. Alden, 1888). This source has not yet been identified. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | DE 17 | 88 | Canada; Camden N.J. | DE [illegible] | 18 | 12 [illegible] | Rec'd. Bucke is referring to "Whitman's November Boughs," an anonymous review published in The Literary World on December 8, 1888. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | DE 24 | 88 | Canada; Camden [cut away] | Dec | 2[cut away] | 6 AM | [cut away] | Rec'd. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of December 20, 1888. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, December 26, 1888. See WW 1861. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | DE 24 | 88 | Canada; Camden [cut away] | Dec | 2[cut away] | 6 AM | [cut away] | Rec'd.Letters for December 24 and 26, 1888, are currently missing. From the surviving evidence it is possible to reconstruct the general nature of these letters.
On December 27, 1888, Whitman wrote Bucke: "have rec'd yours of 24th, & note carefully what you say of food, alcohol, &c, and of the effete wretchedness—all thoroughly judged & true, & shall charge myself practically with it—certainly so—& glad to get it."
The extant Bucke letter to Whitman of December 24 contains no mention of diet. It would appear that Bucke wrote two letters to Whitman that day—something which he did on occasion (e.g. November 28, 1888, and later that same evening). On December 29, 1888, Bucke wrote Traubel: "I have urged the warm bath, medicine, moderate diet (almost starvation diet is safest for him) he has answered my letter and says he will attend to what I say" (Feinberg). Bucke is referring to the letter Whitman wrote on December 27, 1888. Some further evidence of the content of this letter is provided by Traubel:
"Among the letters W. gave me yesterday [December 27, 1888] was one from Bucke very specific about W.'s diet. W. said to-night: 'It is—yes it is—a very good letter: I am conscious it should be obeyed. I know no one better able to say these things than Bucke.' Bucke had advised that the letter be shown to Walsh, who could give more direct instructions. W. has not done this: it is doubtful if he will, though he may" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, December 28, 1888).
It is more difficult to reconstruct the nature of Bucke's letter to Whitman of December 26, 1888.
On December 29, 1888, Whitman wrote Bucke: "y'rs of 26th came last evn'g—Yes, I shall mind—think I understand & accept the matter below it, & shall practically put it in action."
[Lozynsky goes on to argue that] Bucke's letter of December 26 was a follow-up to his letter of the 24th concerning diet. In his December 29 letter, Whitman may be reassuring Bucke that he intends to keep the promise made in his letter of the 27th. The fact that both these letters are missing suggests a link between them. They were put aside either for consultation about specific details or, as Traubel mentions, for presentation to Dr. Walsh. [Note copied from Artem Lozynsky, ed., The Letters of Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke to Walt Whitman (Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 1977), 98–99.]
See Whitman's letter to Bucke of December 21, 1888. See note 3 to Whitman's letter to Ellen O'Connor of December 19, 1888. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 20 | 8 PM | 88. Smith wrote a chatty letter to Whitman on November 30, 1888. Irish writer and politician Justin Huntly McCarthy (1859–1936) wrote to Whitman from Algiers on December 3, 1888, and noted the loss of his fianceé, an admirer of Whitman's poetry. In his grief he was reading Whitman's poems alone: "They are helping me, they are strengthening me & I wish to send you these few words of thanks & gratitude for the sake of my dead love & my living grief. Camerado, will you give me your hand across the sea." See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, December 19, 1888. This postal card is addressed: Mrs: O'Connor | 1015 O Street NW | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 21 | 8 PM | 88; Washington, Rec'd. | Dec 22 | 7 AM | 88 | 1. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 22 | 8 PM | 88. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of December 20, 1888. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden | Dec 24 | 8PM | 88. "To the Year 1889" (later titled "To the Pending Year") appeared in the Critic on January 5, 1889; Whitman received $6 for the piece (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.) This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | 11 Cowley Street | Westminster | London | S W | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 24 | 8 PM | 88; London S W | FO | Ja 3 | 89. Rhys's letter of December 12 was filled with vivid descriptions of his lectures and London scenes—as Whitman noted, a most delightful letter (Feinberg). This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Cam(?) | Dec 26 (?) | 1 30 PM | 88. Rathbone was the son of the writer, philanthropist, and English politician Phillip Henry Rathbone (1828–1895), whose essay on the "Undraped Figure in Art" Whitman quotes in "A Memorandum at a Venture" (in Floyd Stovall, Prose Works 1892, 495-496)." See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, December 24, 1888 and Tuesday, December 25, 1888. See John Burroughs's brief note to Whitman of December 23, 1888. This postal card is addressed: Miss Kittie Johnston | 305 E 17th Street | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec [cut away] | 1 30 PM | 88; D | 12-25-88 | 8 P | N.[cut away]. Whitman's name and address are printed on the envelope as follows: WALT WHITMAN, | Camden, | New Jersey. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden, N.J. See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, December 27, 1888. The names of the officers of the American Social Science Association are printed on the verso of this letter. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 27 | 8 PM | 88. Baxter thanked Whitman on December 25, 1888 for his copy of Complete Poetry & Prose and recommended that Whitman read Bellamy's Looking Backward, "a noble work, and delightful as well. It has made a profound impression and will do much towards realizing a grander future for our land." Whitman had printed a broadside entitled "An impromptu criticism on the 900 page Volume, The Complete Poems and Prose of Walt Whitman, first issued December, 1888" (reprinted in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, December 27, 1888). The broadside was from a letter Bucke had sent to Whitman, though Whitman acknowledged he "never asked Doctor if I might print it." Whitman excused his own failure to seek Bucke's permission since it was "a private affair, all in the family: only for the elect, the few," though he had "quite a number struck off." The article in the Post was a factual account of his recent illness written by the poet himself (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, December 27, 1888). Not surprisingly, he had obtained thirty copies of the article to send to friends. On December 25, 1888, Sanborn thanked Whitman, and noted that he had two copies of the first edition of Leaves of Grass, given to him by Emerson and Sophia Thoreau (Feinberg; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, December 27, 1888). Kennedy wrote enthusiastically on the same day about the new book, which he personally delivered to Sanborn, Sylvester Baxter, Hamlin Garland, and Elisabeth Fairchild (see December 25, 1888; Feinberg). See Bucke's letter to Whitman of December 24, 1888. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of December 25, 1888. Bucke seems to have written to Whitman twice on December 24, 1888. Since the only surviving letter from Bucke of that date does not mention food or alcohol, the letter that Whitman references here is lost. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Dec 29 | 8 PM | (?). The title of the review was "Walt Whitman Unbosoms Himself About Poetry." Whitman considered the notice "very good: a very generous one" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, December 28, 1888). In "An impromptu criticism," Bucke wrote: "It is a gigantic massive autobiography, the first of its kind. . . ." For Whitman's guarded reaction to Bucke's assertion, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, December 21, 1888. See William Sloane Kennedy's letter to Whitman of December 25, 1888. Since Bucke's letter of December 26 is missing, it is not possible to explain Whitman's allusion in the following paragraph. For speculation as to what Whitman may have been referring to, see Bucke's letter to Whitman of December 24, 1888, note 2. Whitman was referring to "An impromptu criticism." Bucke had written to Whitman on December 20, 1888, registering at length his enthusiasm for Whitman's just-published Complete Poems and Prose. Whitman decided to have Bucke's letter printed for distribution among his friends and disciples, and he titled it "An impromptu criticism on the 900 page Volume, 'The Complete Poems and Prose of Walt Whitman,' first issued December, 1888." The first printing had several typos, including the addition of an acute accent over the first "e" of "Goethe," so Whitman had the errors corrected in a second printing that was completed by January 2, 1889. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, December 27, 1888. According to Miller's tabulation, based upon his letters and his entries in the Commonplace Book, Whitman's income in 1888 amounted to at least $925.04: royalties, $177.01; sales of books, $107.66; payments for articles and poems, $277.00; gifts, $224.37; and miscellaneous, $139.00. (The figures on book sales are to some extent conjectural, since Miller had to assume Whitman charged uniform prices for his various books.) It is probably of relevance to note that, beginning in 1888, Whitman's friends contributed regularly to a nursing fund; hence he did not receive quite so many gifts as in previous years. It is also of significance that as his health deteriorated, recordings in Commonplace Book were less complete than hitherto. Thus there are very real discrepancies between amounts he deposited periodically in the bank and receipts of money from various sources. This letter is addressed: Mrs: O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Jan 2 | 6 AM | 89; Washington, Rec'd. | Jan 2 | 12 M | 89. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Jan 2 | 6 AM | 89. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of December 27, 1888. The card announced the child's birth on December 2, 1888 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See Bucke's letter to Whitman of December 31, 1888. Century published "Old Age's Ship & Crafty Death's" in February, 1890. Whitman was paid $12 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 3 | 8 PM | 89. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of January 1, 1889. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of December 27, 1888. Century published "Old Age's Ship & Crafty Death's" in February, 1890. Whitman was paid $12 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.). Baxter's review of Whitman's Complete Poems and Prose was titled "Whitman's Complete Works" and was published in the Boston Herald on January 3, 1889. The review was unsigned. See also Whitman's letter to Richard Maurice Bucke of January 5–6, 1889 and Whitman's letter to William Sloane Kennedy of January 5–6, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 6 | 8(?) PM | 89. On December 24, 1888, Bucke wrote: "O'C. has wonderful grit and will make a hard fight yet—We will continue to wish him God speed and ourselves hope for the best. Poor Mrs O'C. too, what noble courage and determination she has! She is as grand as he is, as grand as any." Whitman is referring to a lost letter from Bucke; see Bucke's letter of December 24, 1888, note 2. Whitman's Complete Poems & Prose (1888), a volume Whitman often referred to as the "big book," was published in December 1888. With the help of Horace Traubel, Whitman made the presswork and binding decisions for the volume. Frederick Oldach bound the book, which included a profile photo of the poet on the title page. For more information on the book, see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). Kennedy's notice in the Boston Evening Transcript on December 29, 1888, served as an (unpaid) advertisement for the book rather than a balanced review. Sylvester Baxter's review of Whitman's Complete Poems & Prose, entitled "Whitman's Complete Works," appeared in the Boston Herald on Thursday, January 3, 1889. Traubel and Rhys misdate this letter as "1888." The correct date is January 5, 1889. See Whitman's letter to Rhys of December 24, 1888. This letter is addressed: J W Tilton | Office John J. Winn | Attorney &c: | 60 Merrimack St. | Haverhill | Essex Co: Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Jan 7 | 8 PM | 89. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 7 | 8 PM | 89. This postal card is addressed: Moncure D Conway | care of G DeB Keim | 2009 De Lancey Place | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Camden | Mar 19 | 12 M | 1887 | N.J.; Received | Mar 19 1887 | 1 PM | Phila. Whitman noted the visit in his Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) on March 20 without comment. This letter is addressed: Dr Knortz | 540 East 155th Street | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 24 | 8 PM | 87; P.O. | 3-25-87 | 2 A | N.Y. March 31 fell on Thursday in 1887. This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J.| Mar (?)1 | 8 PM | 87. This note was written on the galley proof of the essay "Five Thousand Poems," which appeared in The Critic on April 16, 1887. This letter is addressed: W. Sloane Kennedy | Belmont, Mass. Whitman first delivered this lecture in New York in 1879 and would deliver it at least eight other times over the succeeding years, delivering it for the last time on April 15, 1890. He published a version of the lecture as "Death of Abraham Lincoln" in Specimen Days & Collect (1882–83). For more on the lecture, see Larry D. Griffin, "'Death of Abraham Lincoln,'" Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, ed., (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This is a reference to Whitman's lecture entitled "The Death of Abraham Lincoln." He first delivered this lecture in New York in 1879 and would deliver it at least eight other times over the succeeding years, delivering it for the last time on April 15, 1890. He published a version of the lecture as "Death of Abraham Lincoln" in Specimen Days and Collect (1882–83). For more on the lecture, see Larry D. Griffin, "'Death of Abraham Lincoln,'" Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, ed. (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman first delivered his lecture "The Death of Abraham Lincoln" in New York in 1879, and he would deliver it at least eight other times over the succeeding years, including the final time on April 15, 1890. He published a version of the lecture as "Death of Abraham Lincoln" in Specimen Days and Collect (1882–83). For more on the lecture, see Larry D. Griffin, "'Death of Abraham Lincoln,'" Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, ed. (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is endorsed by William Sloane Kennedy: "1887 | April 13." This postal card is addressed: John H Johnston | Diamond Merchant | 150 Bowery cor: Broome St | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 18 | 12 M | 87; P O | 4-18-87 | 5 [illegible] | N.Y.| 4–18–87 | 5 [illegible] | N.Y.; [illegible]| 4–18–87 | 5–1 |[illegible] This postal card is addressed: Major James B. Pond | Everett House | cor: 4th Av: & 17th Street | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden N.J. | Apr 18 | 12 M | 87; P O | 4–18–87 | 5–1p | N.Y.; P O | 4–18–87 | [illegible] | [illegible]. Whitman's November Boughs—a book of prose and poetry—was published in 1888 by David McKay. The book included a long prefatory essay, "A Backward Glance O'er Travel'd Roads," a collection of sixty short poems under the title "Sands at Seventy," and reprints of several articles already published elsewhere. For more information on November Boughs, see James E. Barcus Jr., "November Boughs [1888]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). The letter is not extant. Both the holding repository and Edwin Haviland Miller list this letter's recipient as John Burroughs. Whitman is referring to his lecture entitled "The Death of Abraham Lincoln," which he delivered in New York City on Thursday, April 14, 1887. He first delivered this lecture in New York in 1879 and would deliver it at least eight other times over the succeeding years, delivering it for the last time on April 15, 1890. He had published a version of the lecture as "Death of Abraham Lincoln" in Specimen Days (1882–83). For more on the lecture, see Larry D. Griffin, "'Death of Abraham Lincoln,'" Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, ed. (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 169–170. The Lincoln lecture was a tremendous success, and Whitman was so showered with adulation that he observed in his Commonplace Book, "If I had staid longer, I sh'd have been killed with kindness & compliments." The arrangements for the lecture were made by John H. Johnston; see his letter to Whitman on March 24. The poet stayed at the Westminster Hotel in a suite once occupied by the British novelist Charles Dickens. On April 13, Whitman was visited in the suite by friends, including Johnston, Burroughs, the writer Edmund Clarence Steadman, and the editor Richard Watson Gilder. At the Madison-Square Theatre on the following day, he was escorted on stage by Duckett and gave his lecture before an audience that included the poet James Russell Lowell, the statesman John Hay, the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and the industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. After his speech he received "two or more hundred friends" at the Hotel, appearing a "little fatigued," according to the New York Evening Sun. On the following day, he sat for G. C. Cox, the photographer, and Dora Wheeler, "portrait painter" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 264–265). A lengthy notice appeared in the New York Times on April 15. For this lecture, Whitman received $600, $250 from the sale of tickets and $350 from Carnegie. For more on Whitman's Lincoln lecture, see Larry D. Griffin, "'Death of Abraham Lincoln,'" Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, ed. (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 169–170. This reference is to Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist's (1857–1914) Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1887) about the life of his mother Anne, one of Whitman's staunchest supporters in Great Britain. For more information on Whitman's relationship with Gilchrist, see "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)." A year prior, Whitman noted in his Commonplace Book that he had a "planked shad & champagne dinner at Billy Thompson's" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Mrs. Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embarkment | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden | June 13 | 8 PM | 87. Whitman's name and address are printed on the envelope as follows: WALT WHITMAN, | CAMDEN, | NEW JERSEY, | U. S. AMERICA. This letter is addressed: Dr Karl Knortz | 540 East 155th Street | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 3 | 4:30 PM | 87; P.O. | 5–3–87 | 12(?) | N.Y. On April 25, 1887, Pond proposed to Whitman a reading in Boston on May 10. On May 2, Whitman sent "November Boughs" (a gathering of four poems) to James Knowles, editor of Nineteenth Century, and asked £22 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Knowles returned the poems on May 19. Thereupon Whitman sent them on May 31 to William Walsh of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, where they appeared in November. Whitman was paid $50 (Commonplace Book). This draft letter appears in a notebook at Yale with the following also in Whitman's hand: "Sir | Feeling that I am competent & determined to give satisfaction I hereby apply for an appointment under you on the road | W H Duckett | May 6 '87." Undoubtedly Duckett, Whitman's young Camden driver, was expected to make a copy of the letter. This postal card is addressed: R Pearsall Smith | 1307 Arch Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 16 | 6 AM | 87; Received | May | 16 | 7AM |[illegible]. Logan Pearsall Smith (1865–1946) was an essayist and literary critic. He was the son of Robert Pearsall Smith. For more information on Logan, see Christina Davey "Smith, Logan Pearsall (1865–1946)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N. J. | MAY 16 | 8 PM | 87. Herbert Gilchrist informed Whitman of his arrival in New York in his letter of May 27, 1887. Harry Stafford (1858–1918) was Susan's son and a close friend of Whitman's. Whitman's friend William Sloane Kennedy (see following note) had proposed the idea of building the poet a "summer 'shanty'" on the farm land owned by George and Susan Stafford (parents of Whitman's young friend Harry Stafford), a place Whitman often visited in the summer. Baxter took charge of raising funds for the project in and around Boston. See William Sloane Kennedy, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896), 10–11. Dr. C. A. Bartol was one of the contributors to the Cottage Fund; see Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1964), 5 vols., II, 299. The Critic on May 28 printed Gould's article "Walt Whitman Among the Soldiers," and on June 1 sent her a check for $8 along with Whitman's letter (Boston Public Library). For Whitman's opinion of Elizabeth Porter Gould, see With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, March 16, 1889. Only the recto of the envelope is extant. This letter is addressed: Talcott Williams | office Press newspaper | cor: 7th & Chestnut | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 31 | 10 AM | [illegible]. This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 1 | 1 30 PM | 87. On this date Whitman recorded the following in his Commonplace Book: "To day I begin my 69th year—almost altogether disabled in walking power & bodily movement—writing & composition power fair—hand-writing power pretty good—appetite fair—sleep fair to middling, not markedly bad, & not really good—weigh 200 over—. . . I sit in the big arm chair nearly all the time—read & (partially) write much or rather most of the time—Sidney Morse here sculping the full length sitting figure in rocking chair from life—seems to me I like it well—O'Connor in So: California, sick—frequent visitors & some dear friends call to see me—" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). A photograph of the sculpture is the frontispiece to Traubel's third volume of With Walt Whitman in Camden. This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun [illegible] | 4 30 PM | 87. Herbert Gilchrist went to see the Staffords on Sunday, June 5 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | care Walter Scott publishing | Co: 24 Warwick Lane Paternoster | row | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 9 | 6 AM | 87. Rhys informed Whitman on May 24, 1887 that the English edition of Specimen Days was now in the bookshops, and that literary critic and Whitman admirer John Addington Symonds, Mary Whitall Smith (see later note), and Gabriel Sarrazin, a young French critic, had been given copies. Probably Ancient Ballads and Songs of the North of Scotland (1875), collected and edited by Peter Buchan (1790-1854). Mary Whitall Smith (1864–1945) was a political activist, art historian, and critic, whom Whitman once called his "staunchest living woman friend." A scholar of Italian Renaissance art and a daughter of Robert Pearsall Smith, she would in 1885 marry B. F. C. "Frank" Costelloe. She had been in contact with many of Whitman's English friends and would travel to Britain in 1885 to visit many of them, including Anne Gilchrist shortly before her death. For more, 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). Rhys had become a fervent admirer of Mary Costelloe. See his letter to Whitman of March 29, 1887. This letter is endorsed by Kennedy: "['87]." This letter is addressed: Wm Sloane Kennedy | Belmont | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 14 | 6 PM | 87. The article is entitled "A Cottage for Walt Whitman." See Whitman's May 25, 1887 letter to Sylvester Baxter. On June 18 Baxter wrote: "Of course we shall be glad to have you take charge of the business for yourself, following your own inclinations in the way of location, plan, etc." (The Library of Congress). This postal card is addressed: Wm Sloane Kennedy | Belmont Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 1 | 8 PM | 87. This letter is addressed: Samuel E. Clemens | (Mark Twain) | Hartford | Conn:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 14 | 10 AM | 87. Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835–1910), better know by his pen name, Mark Twain, was an American humorist, novelist, lecturer, and publisher. Twain is best known for authoring such novels as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), and Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894). Twain attended Whitman's New York lecture on the death of Lincoln in April 1887. He also contributed to Thomas Donaldson's fund for the purchase of a horse and buggy for Whitman (see Whitman's September 22, 1885, letter to Herbert Gilcrist), as well as to the fund to build Whitman a private cottage (see Whitman's October 7, 1887, letter to Sylvester Baxter). Twain was reported in the Boston Herald of May 24, 1887 to have said: "What we want to do is to make the splendid old soul comfortable" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs: Comrades [New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 268). Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835–1910), better known by his pen name, Mark Twain, was an American humorist, novelist, lecturer, and publisher. Twain is best known for authoring such novels as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), and Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894). Twain had attended Whitman's New York lecture in April, 1887. He also contributed to Thomas Donaldson's fund for the purchase of a horse and buggy for Whitman (see Whitman's September 22, 1885 letter [note 4]). Twain was reported in the Boston Herald of May 24, 1887, to have said: "What we want to do is to make the splendid old soul comfortable" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs: Comrades [1931], 268). This letter is addressed: Mrs. Susan Stafford | Glendale New Jersey. There is no postmark. July 3 fell on Sunday in 1887. According to Whitman's Commonplace Book the "hot spell" lasted from June 29 to July 9 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On Sunday, July 10, Whitman "drove down to Glendale—better weather." The reference is to the English edition of Specimen Days, which he sent to many friends at this time. This postal card is addressed: Dr W F Channing | Pasadena | Los Angeles County | California. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 5 | 8 PM | 87. Channing noted receipt of the volumes in his letter of July 29, 1887. This letter is addressed: Wm Sloane Kennedy | Belmont | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 5 | 8 PM | 87. See Whitman's letter to William Sloane Kennedy of July 1, 1887. This letter is addressed: Mrs: Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London | S W | England. It is postmarked: Camden N.J. | Jul 8 | 12(?) M | 87; Philadelphia, Pa. | Jul | 8 | 1887 | Paid. This letter is endorsed, possibly by Kennedy: "'87." Whitman is referring to George Sand's romantic novel Consuelo (1842). See Esther Shephard's Walt Whitman's Pose (1938). O'Connor wrote on July 2 to Dr. Bucke and Kennedy (Charles E. Feinberg Collection, the Library of Congress). Whitman received a (lost) card from Mrs. O'Connor on July 12 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The poem appeared in the December issue. Carl Sadakichi Hartmann (1869–1944) was the son of a German father and a Japanese mother and author of books on religion, art, and poetry. On June 21, 1889, Baxter informed Whitman of a "call" from "your friend Hartmann, who is on his way back to Philadelphia from Europe." Hartmann published in the New York Herald on April 14, 1889, "Walt Whitman. Notes of a Conversation with the Good Gray Poet by a German Poet and Traveller." Whitman expressed his disapproval of the article in his letter to William Sloane Kennedy of May 4, 1889. Hartmann also tried to establish a Walt Whitman Society in Boston. Whitman would later credit Kennedy and Sylvester Baxter with putting an end to Hartmann's Whitman Club at the poet's request (Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, September 8, 1888). July 15 fell on Friday in 1887. In his letter to Susan Stafford of August 1, 1887, Whitman noted that George was recovering from his illness. William Morlow Fullerton's eulogistic two-column review apparently appeared in the Sunday Record and then was reprinted on July 20 in the Boston Advertizer (Charles E. Feinberg Collection, the Library of Congress). Fullerton thanked Whitman on August 1 for some photographs and pamphlets. The article by "Mrs. E." has not yet been identified, but it was probably written by Mrs. Elizabeth Fairchild. On July 5 the Boston Herald copied from the Providence Journal "The Whitman Craze," which mocked the Whitman clubs. Apparently Whitman had a lapse of memory; see Whitman's letter to William Sloane Kennedy of July 13, 1887. This letter is endorsed by Kennedy: "Quotation Fr. Joint letter to Bucke & WSK." The latest gift from the Ford sisters was enclosed in a (lost) letter from Edward Carpenter which Whitman received on July 11 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). William Sloane Kennedy noted on his transcription that Whitman wrote "on back of O'Connor's last letter fr California, as he was setting out to return to Washington." Baxter replied on August 2: "Oh! about Hartmann. He was altogether 'too previous' and hardly appreciated what he had undertaken. He did not know how to go to work and appointed officers of a society which had not been organized! We all had to sit down on him and the matter is in abeyance." According to Hartmann's Conversations with Walt Whitman (1895), the officers were to be Bucke as president, Kennedy as vice-president, and "Your humble servant" as director (36). For Walt Whitman's reaction, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, April 17, 1889. This letter is addressed: Mrs: E M O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 26 | 8 PM | 87; Washington, Rec'd. | Jul | 27 | 7 AM | 1887 | 1. Miller derived his transcription from Kennedy's transcript (Trent). This letter is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | [illegible] | 8 PM | 87. According to a notation in the Commonplace Book on July 24 George was ill with "lung hemorhages" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On August 4, when Whitman drove to Glendale, he found George "better." Apparently Dr. William P. Wesselhoeft contributed $50 to the fund, since Baxter enclosed Wesselhoeft's check for that sum in his letter to Whitman of August 2. This letter is addressed: Proprietor | Westminster Hotel | Irving Place | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 16 | 3 PM | 87. The book was inscribed "New York April 14th 1887" (See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, April 26, 1888). A two-and-one-half column review appeared in the Sunday Herald of April 17. Kennedy endorsed this letter as follows: "May 28 | ['87]." Elizabeth Fairchild (see Whitman's letter to Truman Howe Bartlett, October 14, 1883) was assisting in the Boston fundraising for Whitman's proposed (but never built) small cabin, to be built on land near Timber Creek, New Jersey, owned by Whitman's friends Susan and George Stafford. This letter is addressed: John Johnston M D | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 2(?) | 3 PM | 87. Johnston and James W. Wallace, two fervid admirers from Bolton, England, wrote to Walt Whitman for the first time May 18, 1887, and sent a birthday gift of £10 ($48.70) (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). "We, two friends chiefly united by our common love of you, wish to congratulate you on your birthday, and express to you personally our very best wishes and love. To you we owe not only affection but endless gratitude and reverence. One of us, a doctor, owes to you entirely his spiritual enfranchisement and deliverance from soul-be-numbing scepticism, into which—not without pain—he had gradually fallen. Your books are his constant companions, his spiritual nourishment, his continual study and delight. . . ." The other in many obstructions and difficulties is strengthened and comforted by your example and words. In past heavy bereavement (of a mother to whom he has often mentally applied the words you use of yours) your words have best tallied his deepest experiences and hopes . . ." (County Borough of Bolton (England) Public Libraries). This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | 14 Eagle Street | Bolton England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 2(?) | 3 PM | 87. Kennedy endorsed this letter as follows: "[87]." Kennedy endorsed this letter as follows: "87." Morse was from 1866 to 1872 editor of The Radical, in which appeared Anne Gilchrist's "A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman" (The Correspondence of Walt Whitman, ed. by Edwin Haviland Miller. In Collected Writings, II, 98-99n). Later Morse became a self-taught sculptor. From September 7 to 14, 1876, he was in Philadelphia making a bust of Whitman (The Commonplace Book). On February 16, 1879, the poet noted the "head rec'd—bad—wretchedly bad" (The Commonplace-Book). In 1882 Horace Traubel asked to become an apprentice, and on January 10 Morse replied: "I am only a dabbler" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection, the Library of Congress). At the time he was making cemetery monuments, Morse spent most of 1887 preparing busts of the poet; see Morse's "My Summer with Walt Whitman," in In Re Walt Whitman (1893), ed. by Horace L. Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas B. Harned, 367-391. This letter is endorsed (by Kennedy): "['87]." Whitman is referring to William Sloane Kennedy's idea of building the poet a summer cottage. Sylvester Baxter took charge of raising money for this Cottage Fund project in and around Boston. See William Sloane Kennedy, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896), 10–11. Kennedy probably sent on Rhys's letter of March 29, 1887, in which the latter spoke of writing to Symonds (see following note) for his assistance in publishing Kennedy's book, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896) (Trent Collection, Duke University). See also the letter from Whitman to Kennedy of April 11, 1887. This postal card is addressed: Dr. Karl Knortz | 540 East 155th Street | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 14 | 3 PM | 87; P.O. | 6-14-87 | 12P | N.Y. Whitman sent Anne Gilchrist to Knortz on October 24 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On June 25 Whitman sent McClure "The Dying Veteran," for which he received $25 (see letter from Whitman to S. S. McClure, June 25 1887). The poem appeared in McClure's Magazine in June, in the Springfield Daily Republican on July 11, and in the Pall Mall Gazette (London) on July 9. A review of the new (Walter Scott) edition of Specimen Days, by Walter Lewin, appeared in The Academy on June 4. Walt Whitman was not impressed: "It is scholarly and all that, but light weight" (Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, July 10, 1888). This appears to be a summary of Sylvester Baxter's letter of June 18, 1887. This letter is addressed: Mrs: Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 25 | 3 PM | 87; Philadelphia, Pa. | Jun | 25 | 1887 | Paid. These pieces were "November Boughs" and "The Dying Veteran." Alys Smith (1867–1951) was Mary Costelloe's sister. She would eventually marry the philosopher Bertrand Russell. Alys Smith (1867–1951) was Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe's sister. She would eventually marry the philosopher Bertrand Russell. This letter is addressed: Charles W Eldridge | p o box 1705 | Los Angeles | California. It is postmarked: Camden | Jun 2(?) | 12(?) M | 87; Philadelphia, Pa. | Jun | 21 | 1 PM | Transit. According to his Commonplace Book, Whitman sent copies on June 21 and July 5 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See also see the letter from Whitman to Dr. William F. Channing, July 4, 1887. This letter was written on the verso of a letter that reads: ". . . copyright in that country. | May I trouble you for an early reply? I am sorry that there is no way by which I can forward postage for your letter. | Yours truly | Sarah A. Tooley | Messrs Osgood & Co." Since Walt Whitman's letter is not clearly connected to the fragment of Sarah Tooley's, it is impossible to be certain that she was the recipient. Miller proposes this fragment of Tooley's letter was written in September or October 1881 when Whitman was discussing the copyright of the Osgood edition of Leaves of Grass (see Standish James O'Grady's letter to Whitman of October 5, 1881). There are at least two possible explanations: Whitman wrote a draft, an unusual procedure for such a trivial matter, or he wrote a reply on a piece of paper he found in the ever-present litter in his "den." This postal card is addressed: S S M'Clure | Tribune Building | New York City. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Jun | 25 | 4 PM | Transit; P.O. | 6-25-87 | 12 P | N.Y. See the letter from Whitman to the S. S. McClure Syndicate, June 14, 1887. This postal card is addressed: John Burroughs | Hobart | New York. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul (?) | 12 M | 8 (?); Hobart | Jul | 2 (?). With his usual directness Burroughs made the following comment on the artistic work of Gilchrist and Morse: "Herbert tried to paint Walt, but it was a failure. It gave none of Walt's power. Morse made a big, shaggy sort of Homeric bust of him that had power, but he overdid it. He didn't show the womanliness there was in Walt—there was something fine, delicate, womanly in him" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [1931], 265). The only extant letter from Richard Maurice Bucke to Walt Whitman at this time is one dated June 12. This postal card is addressed: Pearsall Smith | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London England | S W. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 24 | 5 PM | 87. The question mark is Whitman's. There is no extant letter from Smith at this time. This postal card is addressed: Harry Lamb Stafford | RR Station | Marlton | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 24 | 5 PM | 87; Marlton | Jul | 25 | N.J. This letter is addressed: Erastus Brainerd | office Daily News | newspaper | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 8 | 10 AM | 87; Received | Aug | 8 | 1130 AM | 1887 | Phila. See the letter from Whitman to Erastus Brainerd of August 1, 1887. This letter is addressed: Mrs E M O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 8 | 3 PM | 87; Washington, Rec'd | Aug | 9 | 10 PM | 1887. In a lengthy letter on August 2, 1887, Ellen M. O'Connor had informed Whitman that her husband had secretly gone to Maine in order to try the method of Dr. Kinnear for his illness. She sent "a package of letters belonging to you . . . the Rossetti correspondence, & as a part of history valuable." After Swinburne's intemperate repudiation of Walt Whitman appeared in the August issue of The Fortnightly Review, Symonds offered what he himself termed "a temperate reprimand" in the next issue. On August 21, in a letter to Kennedy, Symonds admitted that "it is enormously difficult to write on Whitman." He continued this apologetic vein in his letter of September 17; see William Sloane Kennedy, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896), viii. The poet termed Symonds' rebuttal "a milk and water affair" (See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, February 10, 1889. The story of Walt Whitman's reaction to Swinburne is well told by Harold Blodgett in Walt Whitman in England (1934), 112–121. Richard Maurice Bucke accompanied Walt Whitman to Glendale on September 11. Timothy Blair Pardee (see Whitman's letter to John H. Johnston of June 20, 1880) apparently joined Bucke at Camden on September 13 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Elizabeth Porter Gould (1848–1906) was a Massachusetts writer and reformer who edited the collection Gems from Walt Whitman (1889), a selection of poems from Leaves of Grass that she condensed to create short poetic "gems." Kennedy's letter appears to be lost. Whitman is referring to his book Specimen Days and Collect, first published in Philadelphia by Rees Welsh & Co. in 1882. Ellen M. "Nelly" O'Connor was the wife of William D. O'Connor (1832–1889), one of Whitman's staunchest defenders. Whitman dined with the O'Connors frequently during his Washington years, and he speaks often in his letters of their daughter Jean, by nickname "Jenny" or "Jeannie." Though Whitman and William O'Connor would break in late 1872 over Reconstruction policies with regard to emancipated black citizens, Ellen would remain friendly with Whitman. The correspondence between Whitman and Ellen is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence with William. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see also Dashae E. Lott, "William Douglas O'Connor," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, ed., (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Samuel Sidney McClure (1857–1949) was an investigative journalist who in 1884 established the first newspaper syndicate in the United States, which occasionally solicited and published work by Whitman; later, he co-founded McClure's Magazine, which published work by Whitman posthumously. This letter is addressed: S S McClure | Tribune Building | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug [illegible] | 8 PM | 87; P.O. | 8-6-87 | [illegible] | N.Y. Miller derived his transcription from a transcript (Colophon, n.s., II [1937], 207). Stead had printed passages from a "private letter" on May 6, which detailed the American supporters of Whitman: George W. Childs, Carnegie, Burroughs. The author—perhaps Moncure Conway—asserted that "a rich Philadelphian told me today that he had given himself, off and on, a thousand dollars," and concluded: "All this talk of the necessity of raising money by subscriptions abroad, with the idea that he won't be taken care of at home, is ridiculous"; see American Literature, 33 (1961), 70. See also Whitman's letter to Henry Norman of January 3, 1887. In 1887, Whitman's income amounted to at least $2,575.98: royalties, $131.91; lectures, $620.00; sales of books, $74.00 (See Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., Walt Whitman: The Correspondence [1886–1889], 4:138). This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | Care Walter Scott publisher | 24 Warwick Lane Paternoster | Row | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 20 | 3 PM | 87; London E.C. | M | AU 31 87 | AD. Burroughs was in Camden on August 18 and 19 and accompanied the poet to the Stafford farm on the 18th (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This postal card is addressed: Chas: W Eldridge | p o box 1705 | Los Angeles | California. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 3[illegible] | 3 P M | 87. In her July 7, 1887 letter to Whitman, Grace Ellery Channing requested permission "to bring out a Walt Whitman Calendar—of extracts from your Leaves of Grass." Although she begged for an immediate response, her father, William F. Channing wrote Whitman on July 29, 1887, reminding the poet that he had not replied. On August 3, 1888, in a letter to Stedman, O'Connor observed: "I worked hard to help her to select the gnomons for it—not such an easy matter with a poet like Walt" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Despite the aid of Stedman, nothing came of the Calendar. For more information on Channing and the Calendar, see Joann Krieg, "Grace Ellery Channing and the Whitman Calendar," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 12 (Spring 1995), 252–256. In the more "literary" days of nineteenth-century America the New York World on August 28 devoted its first two pages to Thomas Davidson's review of Ignatius Donnelly's The Great Cryptogram: Francis Bacon's Cipher in Shakespeare's Plays, which argued that Shakespeare's plays had been written by Francis Bacon. This letter is addressed: J H Johnston | Jeweler | 150 Bowery cor: Broome | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 1 | 6 PM | 87. As letters to Cox (September 15), the writer and editor William Carey (September 15), and Johnston (September 29) later in the month indicate, Whitman was needlessly concerned about the sale of his photographs with a forged signature. On September 3 he noted: "Johnston went to see Cox, photographer—J thinks 'it is all right.' "Although Johnston wrote on September 10 about a suspected forgery (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), Carey, who handled the financial arrangements (see the letter from Whitman to Johnston of September 29 1887), forwarded from Cox to Whitman $2 on October 3, $16.50 on November 2, and $15.50 on December 2 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). See also Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, June 19, 1889. The photographer George Cox (1851–1903) proposed selling signed copies of his photographs of Whitman. However, when the September 1887 issue of Century appeared with an advertisement, Whitman still had not seen proofs, much less signed the photographs. The disagreement Whitman describes here was quickly resolved, and he signed photographs for Cox and returned them. Cox had taken multiple photographs of Whitman in April, 1887, including the image known as "The Laughing Philosopher." The photographer George Cox (1851–1903) had taken multiple photographs of Whitman in April, 1887, including the image known as "The Laughing Philosopher." Johnston is referring to Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday on May 31, 1891. Johnston is referring to plans for James W. Wallace to travel to the U.S. to visit Whitman, a trip that would take place in September of 1891. After McClure refused "Shakspere-Bacon's Cipher," Whitman sent it on September 6 to Henry Alden, of Harper's New Monthly Magazine, who also rejected it. On September 13 it was submitted to The Cosmopolitan, which paid $20 and printed it in October (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Wm Ingram | Tea Dealer | 31 North 2d Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | S(?) | (?) | 87. "Shakspere-Bacon's Cipher"; see Whitman's September 3, 1887 letter to S. S. McClure, note 2. On behalf of the Constitutional Centennial Commission, Hampton L. Carson requested on August 3 that Walt Whitman write and read a "patriotic poem commemorative of the triumph of popular institutions." Whitman sent the book on September 29 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Author Carl Sadakichi Hartmann was trying to establish a Walt Whitman Society in Boston. Whitman would later credit Kennedy and Sylvester Baxter with putting an end to Hartmann's Whitman Club at the poet's request (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, September 8, 1888). Henry Mills Alden (1836–1919) was editor of Harper's New Monthly Magazine from 1869 until his death. This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 2[illegible] | [cut away] 1 | [illegible]. Whitman "drove to Glendale" on "Sunday afternoon" (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman sent a copy of the 1876 edition of Leaves of Grass to Robert Shiells at the "National Bank, Neenah, Wisconsin" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). McKay paid Whitman $76.91 on September 22; the exact amount of the city tax was $25.37 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Whitman had left Stedman's Poets of America at the Westminster Hotel (see Whitman's April 16, 1887, letter to the Proprietor, Westminster Hotel). This letter is endorsed by William Sloane Kennedy: "[Oct. 4, '87]." Undoubtedly Symonds's second letter of September 17 to William Sloane Kennedy (See also Whitman's September 7, 1887 letter to Kennedy). On the following day Baxter transmitted the names of the subscribers, who included William Dean Howells, Samuel Clemens, Charles Eliot Norton, and Edwin Booth (See Baxter's letter to Whitman of October 8, 1887). This postal card is addressed: Pearsall Smith | 1309 Arch Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 7 | 12 M | 87; Received | Oct | 7 | 1 PM | 1887 | Phila. Smith had just returned from England, where he had seen his new grandchild Rachel Costelloe. This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London | England. It is postmarked: [illegible]en, N.J. | [illegible] | [illegible] PM | 87. The "head" is in reference to Sidney Morse's sculpture of Whitman (see Whitman's letter to Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe of September 14, 1887). Emma Frances Brooke (1844–1926) was an novelist, poet, and socialist activist. George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) was a Nobel Prize-winning Irish writer, economist, and socialist activist. In the late 1880s, he apparently had an affair with Herbert Gilchrist's sister Grace. Charlotte M. Wilson (1854–1944) was an English Anarchist who edited the newspaper Freedom together with leading anarcho-syndicalist thinker Peter Kropotkin. She was married to Arthur Wilson, a stockbroker, and a member of the Fabian Society. Gilchrist's letter of October 10, 1887 was filled with comments on Whitman's portrait, including that of "Bernard Shawe, (a delightful Irishman who reviews books in the Pall Mall cleverly). . . . He thought there was a joyous spirited look about its execution." This portrait is now at the University of Pennsylvania. Horne was a British author and scholar, and a close friend of Ernest Rhys. See Ernest Rhys's letter to Walt Whitman of November 26, 1886. Leonard M. Brown (c. 1857–1928), a young English schoolteacher and friend of Herbert Gilchrist, came to America in May, 1887. On March 31, 1887, Gilchrist wrote to Whitman: "he is an uncommonly good fellow, quiet earnet serious soul and very practical, full of solid worth, whose knowledge and attainments are sure to be valued in America. His father is a clergyman, and this son of his reads Leaves of Grass silently & unobserved by the sect of his orthodox family." An entry in Whitman's Commonplace Book on August 29 reads: "Leonard Morgan Brown goes back to Croton-on-Hudson—has been here ab't a week" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See also Whitman's letter to Brown of November 19, 1887; his letter to Herbert Gilchrist of December 12, 1886, note 2; and his letter to Brown of February 7, 1890. Whitman's mare. Whitman is referring to The Critic of September 24, 1887. This letter is addressed: John Burroughs | West Park | Ulster County | New York. It is postmarked: Camden [illegible] | Oct 26 | 4 30 PM | 87; New York | Oct 26 | 11 PM | [cut away] | Transit. Whitman's name and city are printed on the envelope as follows: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. See Whitman's letter to William T. Stead of August 17, 1887. Whitman is referring to the poem "Shakspere-Bacon's Cipher" and the cluster of poems "November Boughs," published respectively in Cosmopolitan, 4 (October 1887), 142, and Lippincott's Magazine, 40 (November 1887), 722–723. (Note that the cluster of poems is distinct from the volume, also entitled November Boughs, published in 1888.) The year of 1887 appears to be a plausible date since November 7 fell on Monday in that year. This letter is addressed: R U Johnson | Century Office | Union Square | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 19 | 4 30 [illegible] | 87; [cut away] | 11–23–[illegible] | [illegible] | N.J. The recto of the envelope contains the following printed return address: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. See Whitman's letter to Robert Underwood Johnson of October 29, 1879. Undoubtedly Dora Wheeler (1856–1940), who in the 1880s painted portraits of numerous American authors, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mark Twain, William Dean Howells, as well as Whitman. The lecture was a tremendous success, and Whitman was so showered with adulation that he observed in the Commonplace Book: "If I had staid longer, I sh'd have been killed with kindness & compliments" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The arrangements for the lecture were made by John H. Johnston; see his letter to Walt Whitman on March 24, 1887. The poet stayed at the Westminster Hotel in a suite once occupied by Dickens, where on April 13 he was visited by such old friends as Johnston, Burroughs, Stedman, and Richard Watson Gilder. At the Madison-Square Theatre on the next day he was escorted on stage by William Duckett and gave his lecture before an audience that included James Russell Lowell, John Hay, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and Andrew Carnegie. After his speech he received "two or more hundred friends" at Westminster Hotel, appearing "little fatigued," according to the New York Evening Sun. On the following day he sat for C. O. Cox, the photographer, and Dora Wheeler, "portrait painter" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs — Comrades (1931), 264–265). A lengthy notice appeared in the New York Times on April 15. For this lecture Walt Whitman received $600, $250 from the sale of tickets and $350 from Carnegie. Miller's transcription contains the following: ENDORSED (by O'Connor): "Answ'd Nov. 25/87 | Sent Dr. Bucke. It is addressed: Wm D. O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 23 | 8 PM | 87; Washington, Rec'd. | Nov | 24 | 7 AM | 1887 | 6. Whitman's letter was written on the verso of one from William Sloane Kennedy, who described a meeting of the New England Woman's Club at which "I swept the audience away by my electric fire" (November 18–22, Charles E. Feinberg Collection, the Library of Congress). On November 25 O'Connor forwarded Whitman's letter to Richard Maurice Bucke. (Feinberg). See Alfred Lord Tennyson's letter to Walt Whitman of November 15, 1887. George C. Cox (1851–1903) was a well-known celebrity photographer who had taken multiple photographs of Whitman in April, 1887. The picture, entitled "The Laughing Philosopher," is reproduced in Specimen Days (1971), plate 174. George C. Cox (1851–1903) was a well-known celebrity photographer who had taken multiple photographs of Whitman in April, 1887, including the image known as "The Laughing Philosopher." Leonard Morgan Brown, a young English schoolteacher and friend of Gilchrist, came to America in May, 1887. On March 31, 1887, Gilchrist wrote to Whitman: "He is an uncommonly good fellow, quiet earnest serious soul and very practical, full of solid worth, whose knowledge and attainments are sure to be valued in America. His father is a clergyman, and this son of his reads Leaves of Grass silently & unobserved by the sect of his orthodox family" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection, the Library of Congress). An entry in Whitman's Commonplace Book on August 29 reads: "Leonard Morgan Brown goes back to Croton-on-Hudson—has been here ab't a week" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See also Whitman's letter to Herbert Gilchrist of December 12, 1886, n.2. On December 22, 1887, Whitman wrote in his Commonplace Book: "Thos. Eakins is here painting my portrait—it seems strong (I don't know but powerful) & realistic—very different from Herbert's—It is pretty well advanced & I think I like it—but we will see" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Hallam Tennyson (1852–1928) was the eldest son of the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Hallam was educated at Marlborough College and Trinity College, Cambridge. He served as the personal secretary and biographer of his father, and he was made the Governor of South Australia in 1899. Four years later, he began serving as the second Governor-General of Australia, a position he held until 1904. He spent the last years of his life in Farringford, serving as the deputy Governor of the Isle of Wight from 1913. See Tennyson's letter to Whitman of November 15, 1887. See Whitman's letter to Herbert Gilchrist of October 22, 1887. Eleanor Mary Bertha Locker (died 1915) was married to Lionel Tennyson (1854–1886), the poet's younger son. This letter is addressed: T B Harned | 568 Federal Street | Camden. There is no postmark. This letter is addressed: Talcott Williams | Press newspaper | 7th & Chestnut | Phila:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 2(?) | 6 PM | 87. Whitman's poem "Thanks in Old Age" appeared on this date. This postal card is addressed: Ernest Rhys | Care of Walter Scott | Publisher 24 Warwick Lane | London England | ec. It is postmarked [cut away] [cut away] | APR [illegible] | 6 PM | 87. This letter is endorsed by Kennedy: "Joint letter to Kennedy | Burroughs & Bucke." Whitman gave the lecture at Madison Square Theatre. James B. Pond recounts it as follows: "It was indeed a picturesque spectacle at Walt's last appearance in the Madison Square Theatre, on Lincoln's birthday. Just as he was about to recite 'My Captain,' a little girl, the granddaughter of Edmund Clarence Stedman, walked out upon the stage and presented him with a beautiful bouquet of roses" (Eccentricities of Genius [New York: G. W. Dillingham Co.], 497). This letter is addressed: Thos: J. Whitman | 2437 2d Carondelet Avenue | St Louis Missouri. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 13 | 8 PM | 87; Saint Louis(?)| Apr | 15 | 7 AM | 1887 | Rec'd. According to Edwin Haviland Miller, this sentence is missing from Whitman's actual letter based on this draft. According to William Sloane Kennedy, whose transcription, held in the Trent Collection of Whitmaniana at Duke University, is the only available text, the letter was written on the verso of one from Charles Eldridge to Whitman on April 14, 1887, discussing William D. O'Connor's illness and his indignation over Thomas Wentworth Higginson's articles in Harper's Bazar: "It is fortunate for Higginson that I am sick." On March 5 Higginson wrote about the "proposed pension for Mr. Whitman, the poet; although he is not wholly an instance in point, having been a man of conspicuously fine physique, but who deliberately preferred service in the hospitals rather than in the field." On March 26, in "Women and Men. The Victory of the Weak," Higginson supported Lanier's attack upon the "dandyism" in Whitman's depiction of the "roughs." Apparently Whitman did not sit for Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907), since the entry in his Commonplace Book on the following day made no reference to the sculptor, who had attended the New York lecture (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Edward Carpenter | Commonwealth Café | Scotland Street | Sheffield England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 3 | 12 M | 87. Carpenter's letter of April 20 had the awe-stricken and confessional tone characteristic of Whitman's youthful admirers: "Dear old Walt—I was right glad to get your card and find you hadn't forgotten me; and that you still keep going along, fairly cheerful." Carpenter went on to relate: "I have had a baddish time the last few days, and feel tired out & sick. A very dear friend of mine—we have been companions day & night for many months now—has taken to girl whom I can't say I much care for. . . . Just now I feel as if I had lost him, and am rather dumpy—tho' I don't know that it will be altogether bad in the end." Whitman received £25 from Carpenter on May 23 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | 59 Cheyne Walk | Chelsea | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden | Feb | 2 | 6 PM | 1887 | N.J.; Philadelphia | Feb | 2 | 1887 | Paid; London S.W. | 0 [illegible] | Fe 14 | 87. Whitman gave Rhys permission to print Specimen Days on October 13, 1886. The arrangements for English publications are documented in the notes accompanying both the aforementioned letter and Whitman's letter to Rhys of February 4, 1887. This postal card is addressed: J H Johnston | Jeweler | 150 Bowery Cor: Broome | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden | Feb | [illegible] | [illegible] | [illegible]; PO | 2-13-87 | 12PM; A | 2-14-87 | 5-[illegible] This letter is addressed: John Burroughs | West Park | Ulster County | New York. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | FEB | 17 | 3PM | 1887 | N.J.; NEW YORK | Feb 17 | 4 PM | 87 | TRANSIT. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Nov 25/87." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct (?) 8 | 4 30 PM | 87; Washington, Rec'd. | Oct | 28 | 10 PM | 1887 | 1. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Nov 25/87." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | Life Saving Service | Washington D C. It is postmarked:[indecipherable]. This letter is addressed: Mrs: Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London England. It is postmarked: Camden | Nov 1 | 8 PM | 87. This letter is addressed: Wm Carey | Century Office | Union Square | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N. J. | Nov 2 | 6 PM | 87; P.O. | 11-3-87 | 1-1(?) | N.Y. William Douglass O'Connor spent the afternoon and evening of October 18 in Camden—"went on to W[ashington] in the midnight train" (Whitman's Commonplace Book). In William Sloane Kennedy's manuscript of his projected book on Walt Whitman he recorded the following which "Whitman is said to have said" to C. Sadakichi Hartmann (1867–1944): "E. C. Stedman is after all nothing more than a sophistical dancing master. If Hercules or Apollo should make their appearance, he would look at them with the eye of a dancing master" (Trent Collection, Duke University). Hartmann attributed the remark to Whitman in the New York Herald on April 14, 1889. Whitman is referring to the poem "November Boughs," which was published in the November 1887 issue of Lippincott's. See the letter from Walt Whitman to William D. O'Connor and Richard Maurice Bucke of November 23, 1887. On November 12 Walt Whitman had a "visit from Moncure D. Conway with a carriage, to take me over to R P Smith's for a few days. (I do not go)" (Whitman's Commonplace Book; Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 5 | 8 PM | 87. Walt Whitman's greeting to Whittier ("As the Greek's Signal Flame") appeared in the New York Herald on December 15 and in Munyon's Illustrated World in January 1888. Whitman received $10 from the latter (Whitman's Commonplace Book; Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whittier wrote to Whitman on January 13, 1888 to thank him for the greeting. On December 5 William Sloane Kennedy, (Reminiscences of Walt Whitman, 1896) reported his reaction to Morse's bust ("a fine, nay a great, work"), and observed that although Baxter was trying to persuade the Boston Public Library to accept the work, he "preferred the Art Museum" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection, the Library of Congress). On December 29 the library declined "the proposed gift"; William Sloane Kennedy, (Reminiscences of Walt Whitman, 1896), noted, "They tho't it too sketchy, they said" (Trent Collection, Duke University). Walt Whitman informed Horace Traubel that "The Whitman Club in Boston has petered out"—a conclusion he approved of: "I seem to need to be studied by each man for himself, not by a club." For Whitman's recollections of the failure of the club, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, April 24, 1888. J. P. Loftus was an instructor at Riverview Academy in Poughkeepsie in 1887. He paid $5 for the volumes (Whitman's Commonplace Book; Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This postal card is addressed: J. P. Loftus | Poughkeepsie | New York. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 19 1887 | 4:30 PM. This letter is addressed: (not in Whitman's hand): L Logan Smith | 507 S. Broad St. | Phila. Pa. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 22 | 6 AM | 87. In his Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), Whitman noted on December 22 the arrival of Rhys, who had Christmas dinner with the poet, with the lawyer and Whitman's literary executor Thomas Harned (and his family), and with Whitman's biographer and literary executor Horace Traubel (and his family). The December issue of Time: A Monthly Magazine contained "Mr. Swinburne on Walt Whitman," by Roden Noel (see the letter from Whitman to William Michael Rossetti, September 10, 1876). This letter is addressed: Edward T Potter | 26 S 38th Street | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 2(?) | 6 PM | 87; F | 12-30-87 | 6 A | N.Y. Miller derives his transcription from a transcript held in The Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman at the Library of Congress. This letter appears to have been written in December 1887. Harry Stafford was having throat trouble at the time. Based upon Whitman's letters and the entries in Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), Whitman's income in 1887 amounted to at least $2,575.98, which includes: royalties, $131.91; lectures, $620.00; sales of books, $95.75; payments for articles and poems, $233.00; gifts, $1,421.32; and sale of photographs, $74.00. (As noted in the letter from Whitman to the Editor of The Critic, December (?), 1886, the figures for book sales are conjectural, since it is assumed he charged a uniform price.) Whitman is thinking here of the hymn sometimes called "Calvary," beginning "Come, O my heart," with the lines "There is no time so good as youth, / To travel this mountain you must see, / For when old ages comes on, with its great load of sin, / How then canst thou climb up Calvary." George Stafford was the father of Harry Stafford. This brief letter of transmittal is written across a proof sheet of "The Dead Tenor." At the foot of the sheet Whitman notes: "November 4 1884 | Brignoli was the Tenor." "The Dead Tenor" did, indeed, appear in The Critic on November 8, 1884, but Walt Whitman does not note in his daybook (Daybooks and Notebooks (1978), 3 vols., ed. by William White); when, or if, he received payment. On December 11, 1887, Julius Chambers of the New York Herald asked Walt Whitman to write a poem to commemorate John Greenleaf Whittier's eightieth birthday. The poet replied on December 12, and on December 14 (Whitman's Commonplace Book; Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) sent "As the Greek's Signal Flame [For Whittier's eightieth birthday, December 17, 1887]," which was printed in the Herald on the following day. Although Whitman asked twenty dollars, he was paid twenty-five (Whitman's Commomplace Book). This letter is addressed: Sylvester Baxter | Herald Office | 255 Washington St. | Boston Mass. It is postmarked: Camden, NJ | Nov 16 | 4:30 PM | 87. The "plaster head" is the second of Sidney H. Morse's two plaster busts of Walt Whitman. This postal card is addressed: J H Johnston | Diamond Merchant | 150 Bowery cor: Broome St:| New York City. This postal card is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 10 | 430 PM | 87. John H. Johnston, the New York Jeweler, visited Whitman on November 2, at which time the poet paid Sidney Morse, presumably for one of his busts, "30 & 10-$40" (Whitman's Commonplace Book; Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On November 15 Walt Whitman noted receipt of ten dollars from Johnston "(wh' I paid to M) (Whitman's Commonplace Book). On August 27, Whitman gave Morse $70 "to pay to caster for the 10 heads" (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Morse brought four of the heads on September 2, one of which was sent to Richard Maurice Bucke (Commonplace Book). On November 12, 1887, Conway proposed taking Whitman to visit Robert Pearsall Smith in Philadelphia for a few days, an invitation which he declined (Whitman's Commonplace Book). The Fujiyama porcelain decorating workshop in Boston was producing work around this time. Johnston may have given Whitman a vase. This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | Care Walter Scott Publisher | 24 Warwick Lane | Paternoster | row | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 2 | 5 PM | 87; Philadelphia, Pa | (?) | 2 | 1887 | Paid; London E.C. | A | Oc 14 87 | AB. Herbert Gilchrist sailed for England on September 21, 1887. "The Laughing Philosopher," one of the most famous photographs of Walt Whitman, was taken by G.C. Cox in 1887. Whitman provided Rhys with some new material to add to his volumes of Whitman's prose in the Camelot series. This letter is addressed: Mrs. Mary Whitall Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London s w | England. This postal card is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 14 | 1:30 PM | 87. The envelope contains print text in the lower left-hand corner of Walt Whitman's address: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey, | U.S. America. This letter is addressed: Pearsall Smith | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London s w | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N. J. | SEP 12 | 430 PM | 87; London S W | (?) | SP 23 | 87; (?) | (?) | SP 23 37| AB; New York | SEP 12 (?). Whitman's address is printed as follows in the lower left corner of the envelope: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey, | U.S. America. On August 27 Whitman gave Sydney Morse $70 "to pay to caster for the 10 heads." Morse brought four of the heads on September 2, one of which was sent to Richard Maurice Bucke (Whitman's Commonplace Book; Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). According to the tabulation in Whitman's Commonplace Book, the poet paid Morse $133 in the next few months, presumably for expenses incurred in casting. This postal card is addressed: Pearsall Smith | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London | S W | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 12 | 6 PM | 87; Philadel[missing] | SEP | 12 | 1887 | PAID. This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | Care of Walter Scott Publisher | 24 Warwick Lane Paternoster | row | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep. 8 | 8 PM | 87; Philadelphia, Pa. | (?) | 1887 | Paid; London E.C. | (?) | Sp 19 87 | AF. The new material for Democratic Vistas which Whitman enclosed was reprinted in November Boughs (1888), 95–96. Whitman enclosed the "little Preface" and provided detailed printing instructions in his letter to Ernest Rhys of September 11, 1887. This postal card is addressed: P J O'Shea | Attorney & Counselor | 163 Randolph Street | Chicago, Ill. This postal card is postmarked: (?) | 4 30 PM | (?) | N.J. Probably the "nice gift" was payment for the two-volume edition, consisting of Leaves of Grass and Two Rivulets (1876). O'Shea's check for $10 is with Whitman's letter, and images of the check are included along with those for the letter and envelope above. The plates of the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass, printed by Thayer & Eldridge, were sold to Richard Worthington, who for many years printed them without Walt Whitman's authorization. The plates were purchased after Walt Whitman's death by his literary executors, Richard Maurice Bucke, Thomas B. Harned, and Horace Traubel. John Hay (1838–1905), Abraham Lincoln's private secretary and biographer, as well as Theodore Roosevelt's Secretary of State, was an early admirer of Walt Whitman's poetry. The copy of "O Captain! My Captain!" is dated by Walt Whitman as March 9, 1887, as is a Gutekunst photograph. This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | Care of Walter Scott, Publisher | 24 Warwick Lane | London England | EC. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 11 | 12 M | 87; London | (?) | Ap 22 | AH. See also Rhys' letter of March 29, 1887. Walt Whitman's entry in his notebook (Daybooks and Notebooks [1978], 3 vols., ed. by William White) for November 17, 1876, reads: "commented furnishing Children's Home Matron with the pictures, (& selling some myself) for the benefit of the orphans" (48). Walt Whitman gave signed copies of the Pearsall photograph to the Camden Children's Home on Haddon Avenue to sell for $1.00 each. See "The Poet Aids an Orphanage," Walt Whitman Review 6 (September 1960), 58–59. This letter is addressed: Mrs: Debbie Browning | Care of Will Goldy | p o box 91 | Topeka Kansas. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | April 19 | 8 P M | 87. These are all members of Harry Stafford's family, which included his father George, his brother Edwin, his sister "Debbie," and her husband Joe Browning. Debbie was visiting her sister Ruth Goldy in Kansas. Walt Whitman presented his Lincoln lecture in New York on April 15, 1887, before a distinguished audience including Samuel Clemens, James Russell Lowell, John Hay, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and Andrew Carnegie, who contributed $350. This letter is addressed: White, Stokes & Allen | Publishers | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 29 | 12 M | 87; C | 4-29-87 | 6 P | N.Y. This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | Care Walter Scott, Publisher | 24 Warwick Lane | London EC England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 11 | 4 30 PM | 87. The Pall Mall Gazette on April 27, 1887 quoted from Walt Whitman's "Additional Note." David McKay (1860–1918) was a Philadelphia-based publisher, whose company, founded in 1882, printed a number of books by and about Walt Whitman in the 1880s and 1890s, such as the 1891/1892 editon of Leaves of Grass, Whitman's November Boughs, and Richard Maurice Bucke's 1883 biography of the poet. This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | Care Walter Scott, Publisher | 24 Warwick Lane Paternoster | row | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 11 | 5 PM | 87; London E C | (?) | Sp 23 87 | (?). This letter illustrates Walt Whitman's careful, almost obsessive, supervision of every detail of publication. Although he granted Rhys authority to make adjustments as needs arose, in actuality he restricted Rhys's freedom. Whitman is referring to his letter to Ernest Rhys of September 8, 1887. This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | 59 Cheyne Walk | Chelsea | London England. It is postmarked: (?) | Feb | 3 | (?); Philadelphia, Pa. | Feb | 3 | 4 PM | 1887 | Transit. This letter is addressed: Robert Collyer | New York City. Robert Collyer (1823–1912) was born in Yorkshire, England, and emigrated to the United States in 1837. He became a lay minister in the Methodist church but later converted to Unitarianism and preached at various churches in Chicago. Collyer took over the ministry of the Unitarian Church of the Messiah in New York in 1879. In 1888, Walt Whitman described to Horace Traubel an argument in which Collyer got the better of him, conceding "Collyer's not deep but he's damned cute" and summarized him as "a kind of reduced Beecher—a Beecher with much of the grace lopped off" (Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906-1964], Tuesday, May 8, 1888.). Walt Whitman records sending "L[eaves] of G[rass] to Robt Colyer NY" on May 11, 1887, in his daybook (Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 2:422) and later noted that the book had been acknowledged as received and paid for. This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | Care Walter Scott Co: | Publishers | 24 Warwick Lane-Paternoster | Row | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 25 | 6 PM | 87; London E (?) | A | Ju 6 87 | AG. On May 6, 1887, William T. Stead, editor of the Pall Mall Gazette, printed an excerpt from a private correspondent (probably Moncure D. Conway) alleging that Americans were not as generous as they should be in their gifts to Walt Whitman. Herbert Gilchrist, the son of Anne Gilchrist and an artist of sorts, arrived in New York on May 27, and appeared in Camden on June 3. For the next several months Gilchrist worked on the portrait now in the Rare Book Department of the University of Pennsylvania. It is reproduced in Harold W. Blodget and Sculley Bradley, eds., Comprehensive Reader's Edition (New York: New York University Press, 1965) and in Edwin Haviland Miller, The Artistic Legacy of Walt Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1970), figure 25. 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). This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | Care Walter Scott Publisher | 24 Warwick Lane Paternoster | Row | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden, (?) | Jun 28 | 10 am | 87; Philadelphia | Jun | 28 | 1887 | Paid; London E.C. | A | Jy 8 87 | AB. Edith and her companion are unidentified; perhaps Edith is Rhys's sister. This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | Care Walter Scott Publisher | 24 Warwick Lane Paternoster | Row | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden, (?) | Jun 28 | 10 AM | 87; Philadelphia | Jun | 28 | 1887 | Paid; London E.C. | A | Jy 8 87 | AB. Rhys's letter is apparently not extant. Kennedy's letter is now lost. Elizabeth Nelson Fairchild (1845–1924) published poetry in several periodicals. She married Charles Fairchild in 1868. Elizabeth Fairchild is first mentioned in Whitman's correspondence as early as 1883. Whitman met the Fairchilds during his 1881 trip to Boston where he was preparing the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass for publication. By 1887 Elizabeth Fairchild was assisting Kennedy with the Boston effort to raise funds to support Whitman. Whitman appears to have followed through on his promise to send the photographs; the next day, he wrote William Sloane Kennedy: "I suppose you rec'd the pictures I sent for Mrs. F[airchild]." See the letter from Whitman to Kennedy of May 28, 1887. This letter is currently lost. Sidney H. Morse (1832–1903), the sculptor and Unitarian minister, was at the time working on a bust of Walt Whitman, a photograph of which would become the frontispiece of Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman in 1889. For Morse's full account of the experience, see In Re Walt Whitman, ed. Horace Traubel and Thomas B. Harned (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), 367–391. This letter is addressed: Thos: J Whitman | 2437 2d Carondelet Av: | St. Louis Missouri. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | June | 8 PM | 87. Lippincott's Monthly Magazine paid Walt Whitman $50 for his poem "November Boughs" and published the cluster in November 1887. Boston friends were raising money to buy a summer cottage they hoped would improve Whitman's failing health. Whitman eventually used the money to build his extravagant mausoleum in Harleigh Cemetery—to the shock and dismay of those who had worked hardest to solicit money for the cottage. This letter is addressed: Mr Cox | photographer | cor: Broadway & 12th street | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, NJ | June 14 | 3 PM | 87. George Cox proposed selling signed copies of his photographs of Walt Whitman. However, when the September 1887 issue of Century appeared with an advertisement, Whitman still had not seen proofs, much less signed the photographs. He wrote John H. Johnston on September 1, 1887, "He advertises...to sell my photo, with autograph. The latter is forged, & the former illegal & unauthorized." The disagreement was quickly resolved, and Walt Whitman signed photographs for Cox and returned them September 15. This postal card is addressed: Mrs: H L Heyde | 21 Pearl Street | Burlington | Vermont. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 17 | 6 PM | 87; Burlington, N.J. | Aug | 18 | 9 AM | 1887 | REC'D; BEVE[cutaway] | AUG | [illegible]| [illegible]. This postal card was also marked as "Missent." This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. This postal card is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 8 | 1(?) M | 87. Margaret Goodenough took care of Whitman's mentally infirm youngest brother Ed, whose board cost $16 monthly, an expense which Walt Whitman shared with his brother George and his wife Lou, see Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White (New York: New York University Press, 1977), 2:510. When Hannah wrote to Whitman, he was in New York to deliver his lecture entitled "The Death of Abraham Lincoln." He gave the lecture on Thursday, April 14, 1887, and there was a reception the following day at the Westminster Hotel. This postal card is addressed: Wm Carey | Century office Union Square | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | JUN 17 | 8 PM | 89; P.O.N.L. | 6-18-89 | 2-IA | D | 6-18-89 | 8A | N.Y. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. This postal card is postmarked: Burlington | V.T. | JUN | 5 | 1886. On the verso side, the postal card is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | JUN | (?) | (?) AM; NEW YORK | TRANSIT | JUN 6 | 930 AM | 86. On the verso of this letter, Whitman has written a note indicating his deep dislike for Heyde, whom he calls a "whelp" with a "mean sneer & snarl." Walt Whitman sent Tennyson one of the photographs taken by George Collins "G. C." Cox (1851–1903), who was a well-known celebrity photographer. Cox had taken photographs of Whitman when the poet was in New York to give his Lincoln lecture in 1887. The text of this letter was published in the New York Tribune on November 22, apparently before Walt Whitman received it. See the November 23, 1887, letter to Whitman from William D. O'Connor and Richard Maurice Bucke. This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | Care Walter Scott Publishing Co: | 24 Warwick Lane Paternoster | row | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 3 | 9 PM | 87; London | A | (?) 87 | (?). Henry Irving, the actor, and others congratulated Walt Whitman on his 68th birthday on May 31. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. | 328 Mickle St | S H Morse. This postal card is postmarked: Philadelphia | SEP 12 | (?) AM | 87; Camden, N.J. | SEP | 12 | (?) PM | (?) | REC'. Walt Whitman's letter to Bucke of June 9, 1887, is lost. Herbert Gilchrist arrived in Camden on June 3, 1887. It does not appear that Gilchrist visited Bucke in the summer of 1887. The Lincoln lecture was a tremendous success, and Whitman was so showered with adulation that he observed in the Commonplace Book: "If I had staid longer, I sh'd have been killed with kindness & compliments" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The two Rhys-letters that Whitman is referring to are not extant. In his March 29, 1887 letter to Whitman, Rhys writes: "Your letter of the 15th with the 'Additional Note' was not long in following the other." This letter is addressed to three close acquaintances of Whitman: William Sloane Kennedy (1850–1929), the naturalist John Burroughs (1837–1921), and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1902). For more on these figures, see these entries from Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998): Katherine Reagan, "Kennedy, William Sloane (1850–1929)," Carmine Sarracino, "Burroughs, John (1837–1921) and Ursula (1836–1917)," and Howard Nelson, "Bucke, Richard Maurice (1837–1902). Albert Johnston was the son of John H. Johnston. This letter is addressed to three close acquaintances of Whitman: William Sloane Kennedy (1850–1929), William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889), and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1902). For more on these figures, see these entries from Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998): Katherine Reagan, "Kennedy, William Sloane (1850–1929)," Deshae E. Lott, "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)," and Howard Nelson, "Bucke, Richard Maurice (1837–1902). Edward Stratton Holloway (1859–1939) was a landscape painter and book illustrator from New York. He was apparently a shared acquaintance of Whitman and John H. Johnston, the New York Jeweler. On July 9, 1888, Kennedy had written, "Mrs. K will send some pinks soon." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | NO 29 | 88 | CANADA; [illegible] | 11-30-88 | 9AM | [illegible]; Camden, N.J.| NOV | 30 | [illegible]AM | [illegible] | REC'D. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, October 22, 1888. See also Floyd Stovall, ed., Walt Whitman: The Prose Works 2 vols. (New York: New York University Press, 1964), 2:676. Bucke is referring to the bust of Walt Whitman by Sidney Morse. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | DE 22 | 88 | CANADA; Cam[cut away] | DEC | 2[cut away] | 6 AM | [cut away] | REC'D; INSANE ASYLUM LONDON ONTARIO. Bucke is referring to the circular letter (see December 3–4, 1888) which was written on "a proof sheet of the title page of the Scottish edition of November Boughs" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977], 4:241). See Whitman's letter to Bucke of December 19, 1888. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | DE 20 | 88 | CANADA; Camden, N.J.| DEC | 21 | 4 PM | REC'D; INSANE ASYLUM LONDON ONTARIO. The Italian newspaper contained a review of Luigi Gamberale's Canti Scelti (1887). See Whitman's letter to Bucke of December 16–17, 1888. Bucke is referring to the translations of Francis Viélé-Griffin, an American expatriate (Gay Wilson Allen, Walt Whitman Handbook [Chicago: Packard, 1946], 490–91). According to Saunders (MS bibliography), some of Viélé-Griffin's translations appeared in the Revue Independente in November 1888. Bucke is referring to Whitman's letter of December 16–17, 1888. In a December 14, 1888, letter to Bucke, O'Connor wrote: "I send along this letter from Walt. Rather cheering on the whole. I have been very badly off, but am better. I have all your letters on the docket and will write as soon as I can. Don't think I have forsaken you!." O'Connor is referring to a circular letter sent by Whitman to William Sloane Kennedy, John Burroughs, William D. O'Connor, and Bucke on December 3–4, 1888. O'Connor's letter to Bucke is part of the Charles E. Feinberg Collection held at the Library of Congress. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | NO 29 | 88 | CANADA; NY | 11-29 88 | 2 PM; CAMDEN | NOV | 30 | 6 AM | 18[cut away] | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A.. It is postmarked: LEEDS | N59 | DE 30 | 88; 447; LEEDS | N59 | DE 30 | 88; 447; CAMDEN NJ | JAN | 14 | 6AM | [illegible] | REC'D. There are two additional postmarks, but only the city of New York and the year ("89") are visible. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St. | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: PHILADELPHIA | G | DEC 31 88 | [?] PM; Camden N J | DEC | 31 | 5 PM | [cut away] | REC'D. It is signed (on recto side): Sophia Kirk. This postal card is addressed: M H Spielmann | Magazine of Art | La Belle Sauvage Ludgate Hill | London | E C | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb (?) | 6 PM | 88. "Twenty Years" was published in the Pall Mall Gazette in July and in The Magazine of Art in August, with illustrations by Wal Paget that Whitman admired (See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, August 13, 1888). This postal card is addressed: M H Spielmann | Magazine of Art | La Belle Sauvage Ludgate Hill | London | E C | England. It is postmarked: Camden | Feb 1[illegible] | 8 PM | 88; London E.C. | [illegible]| FE 2[illegible] 88 | AC; Philadelphia | [illegible] | Paid. This letter is composed of a thinner material than Whitman normally writes on during this period. Thus, the ink on the recto seeps through to the verso side. This letter is addressed: Wm Ingram | Tea Store—31 north 2d St: | Phila:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 21 | 430 PM | 88. See also Whitman's letter to Ingram of September 9, 1887. This postal card is addressed: Herbert H. Gilchrist | 12 Well Road | Hampstead | London England. It is postmarked: Camden | MAR | 8 PM | 88; PHILADELPHIA | 1[illegible] | 1888 | Paid. In his letter of February 17, 1888, Herbert Gilchrist enclosed a financial contribution of 3 pounds from Rosamund Powell, a friend Gilchrist's friend, the English teacher Leonard M. Brown (c. 1857–1928). In his letter of March 7, 1888, Ernest Rhys reported the "very hearty reception" given to him by Harvard University students. This postal card is addressed: J H Johnston | Diamond Merchant | 150 Bowery cor: Broome St | New York City. This postal card is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 24 | 8 pm | 88; (?) | 4 25 88 | 5-1A | N.Y.; P. O. N (?) | 4-25-88 | 2 (?) | 88. Johnston had taken Whitman's four-volume edition of Pepys and the two-volume Forman edition of Shelley on January 20 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Elizabeth W. Rogers was buried on April 2 (Whitman's Commonplace Book; Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Whitall Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London | England. This postal card is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 8 | 5 PM | 88. Whitman writes his letter on the back of an advertisement clipping for men's suits and other clothing from the company, Wanamaker & Brown, Oak Hall, S.E. Cor. Sixth and Market Sts., Philadelphia. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 22 | 8 PM | 88; Lon(?) | Au 24 | 88 | Canada. Whitman was working on his book November Boughs at this time, and it was published in October 1888 by Philadelphia publisher David McKay. For more information on the book, see James E. Barcus Jr., "November Boughs [1888]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is addressed: Edward Potter | The Cedars | Newport | Rhode Island. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 12 | 6 PM | 88. This postal card is addressed: Mrs: H L Heyde | 21 Pearl Street | Burlington | Vermont. It is postmarked: Camden | APR 13 | 8PM | 87; Burlington | APR [illegible] | [illegible] PM | REC'D; New York | APR 14 | 130 AM | 87 | Transit. This letter is addressed: Mrs: O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 19 | 8 PM | (?); Washington, Rec'd. | Dec 20 | 7 AM | 88 | 3. On the following day, Ellen O'Connor wrote at length of her husband's physical and emotional state: "I am sorry that I have not better news to give you of William. He has failed very much in the last six weeks, indeed I date the marked change for the worse from the paralysis of the eye lid, & that was the last of Sept. but a very marked change for the worse since Nov. 23d. No one is as well aware of it as I am, for I see him at his worst, as well as his best. I am his sole & only nurse, & help to dress, undress & bathe him, & he is under no restraint to say how he does feel to me, tho' he always puts the best face on things to every one, & is always ready to joke about himself & often makes me laugh when I am ready to cry. . . . Until lately, too, he has had the most wonderful courage, & would not give up, but it is not so all the time now. Still, there is one thing in his favor, (if one so regards it) & that is that he is still determined to live. I never saw such clinging to this life, in any one; & he still feels that if the right Doctor could be found that he could be made entirely well. He counted up the other day, & found that he had had fifteen doctors. . . . But his deepest unhappiness now is that he has not yet been able to get his article published which he wrote in defense of Ignatius Loyola Donnelly [Mr. Donnelly's Reviewers]" (see O'Connor's letter to Whitman of December 20, 1888). O'Connor is referring to Whitman's postal card of December 19, 1888. This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | [new address inserted]. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 13 | 8 PM | 88; London, E.C. | A | 9 24 8 | 88(?). November Boughs was bound and ready to be sent to friends in October and Complete Poems & Prose was ready in December. This letter is apparently lost. Since Kennedy and Ernest Rhys failed to hit it off, the lost letter probably referred to the impending rift between them. See also the letter from Whitman to Herbert Gilchrist of March 12, 1888. Dr. Bucke was accompanied by Timothy Blair Pardee and Dr. William Osler (Whitman's Commonplace Book; Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 5 | 1 30 PM | 88; Philadelphia | Nov | 5 | 2 30 PM | 1888 | Transit. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 10 | 8 PM | 88; Philadelphia, Pa. | Nov | 10 | 9 30 PM | 1888 | Transit. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 8 | 8 PM | 88. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of November 6, 1888. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Dec 2(?) | 12 | (?). This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden | (?) | 5 PM | (?); 8 | AM De | 25. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 3(?)| 5 PM | (?). This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 2(?) | 8 PM | 88. Whitman is referring to his poem "To the Year 1889" (later titled "To the Pending Year") which appeared in The Critic on January 5, 1889 (see his letter to Bucke of December 24, 1888). He received $6 for the piece (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 9 | 5 PM | (?). A brief review of November Boughs appeared on this date. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 28 | 5 PM | 88. The 1888 presidential election was between Republican Benjamin Harrison and Democrat Grover Cleveland. Cleveland won the popular vote but lost the election in the Electoral College. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Aug 9 | 8 PM | 88. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun (?) | 5 PM | 88. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 18 | 8 PM | 88. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 19 | 8 PM | 88. The money was a payment for the English edition of Whitman's Democratic Vistas. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 2(?) | 6 | AM | 88; N.Y. | 6-22-88 | 2 30 PM | 1. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 22 | 8 PM | 88. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 9 | 8 PM | 88. Since there are no extant letters from Bucke between June 15 and July 9, it is not possible to explain Walt Whitman's cryptic reply to Bucke's question. Whitman is referring to the UK edition of Democratic Vistas, and Other Papers, which was published in London by Walter Scott in 1888. Whitman may be referring to the proofs of November Boughs, which was published later in 1888 by Philadelphia publisher David McKay. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 11 | 8 PM | 88. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 20 | 6 AM | 88; N.Y. | 7-20-88 | 11 30 AM | 1. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 21 | 8 PM | 88; Philadelphia | Jul | 21 | 9 PM | 1888 | Transit. Whitman described his nurse, W. A. Musgrove, as "kind active & considerate all through" (See the letter from Whitman to Bucke of November 3–4, 1888). On July 9–10 Rhys had informed Whitman of his arrival in England. On February 13 The New-York Times noted that Kennedy's "Walt Whitman, Poet of Humanity" was to be published by Frederick W. Wilson & Brother, and that subscribers were to write directly to the author. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | San Marco Hotel | St Augustine | Florida. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 23 | 8 PM | 88. The Great Cryptogram by Ignatius Donnelly (1831-1901), a book of almost one thousand pages in which William D. O'Connor is cited as one of the foremost Baconians (pp.923-926). On June 2, 1888, photographs of Walt Whitman and drawings of his birthplace, his Camden house, and his den were published on the first page of the New York Daily Graphic under the heading "Walt Whitman's Birthday." On a later page V.S.C. devoted a column to "The Good Gray Poet." About this time Kennedy asked for names of potential subscribers to his study of Walt Whitman. In the same letter he mentioned William Dean Howells' comment on Whitman in Harper's Monthly for February (478–479)—"some colorless & diplomatically drawing-roomish talk on you & Tolstoi. Pretty good though, & worthy yr reading. H. is never profound, methinks; but is graceful & happy." See the letter from Kennedy to Whitman of February 3, 1888. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | of Canada | St Augustine | Florida. It is postmarked: [Cam]den, N.J. | (?). This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Mar 15 | 8 PM | 8(?). The "treatment" to which Bucke refers is described in Ellen O'Connor's letter to Whitman of March 13, 1888, as well as a postscript letter that O'Connor sent to Whitman, also on March 13, 1888. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Washington | Mar 13 | 8PM | 88 | D.C.; Camden, N.J. | Mar 14 | 1PM | 1888 | Rec'd. Whitman had sent a postal card to O'Connor on March 10, 1888. "To Get the Real Lilt of Songs" was returned, but appeared in the New York Herald on April 16 as "The Final Lilt of Songs." The title in November Boughs (1888) was "To Get the Final Lilt of Songs." The "treatment" to which O'Connor refers is also mentioned in a second postal card, intended as a postscript to this one, that she also sent to Whitman on March 13, 1888. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked Washington | Mar 13 | 8PM | 88 | D.C.; Camden, N.J. | Mar | 14 | 1PM | 1888 | Rec'd. O'Connor sent Whitman two postal cards dated March 13, 1888. This, the second postal card, was intended as a postscript to the first. This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Mary Whitall Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 4 | 8 PM | 88; Ph[cut away] | Aug [illegible] | 11 P M | [illegible]. This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | Care Walter Scott Publisher | 24 Warwick Lane Paternoster | row | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 26 | 8 PM | 88; London. E.C. | (?) | (?) Au 88 | AB. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 30 | 8 PM | 88. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 2 | 8 PM | 88. Whitman was at this time reading proofs for November Boughs and asking friends to read them as well. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. This letter is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 11 | 8 PM | 88. William Sloane Kennedy wrote a joint letter to Whitman and Horace Traubel on September 17, 1888. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 14 | 8 PM | 88. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan (?) | 6 PM | 88. At nine o'clock on the same evening Whitman was not so optimistic in his Commonplace Book entry: ". . . Cold in the head keeps on—grows worse I think—any thing like easy bodily movement will soon be impossible—it is very nearly so now—trouble in head, kidney botheration pretty bad, joints all gone, locomotion & movement gone—mentality all right yet—& spirits far better than could be expected—appetite fair—sleep, minus to tolerable" (Whitman's Commonplace Book; Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Eakins resumed work on the portrait on January 14, 1888 (Commonplace Book; Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is endorsed (by Bucke?): "2 Feb 88." It is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | of Canada | St Augustine | Florida. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Feb 3 | 6 PM | 88. This letter is addresed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: (?) | May 24 | 430 (?) | 88. Whitman's Commonplace Book added a few details: "He will sell me the plates of Spec: Days for $150—he gives consent to my using the plates of Spec. Days for my complete works edition—500 or 600 copies." (Whitman's Commonplace Book; Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) When Rhys wrote to Whitman from New York on May 21, 1888, he was about to leave for Canada (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, June 9, 1888). Rhys was in Camden on May 27 (Whitman's Commonplace Book; Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), and on May 30 he sent birthday greetings and a poem from New York (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, July 24, 1888). He wrote again on June 7, just before he sailed to England (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, July 24, 1888). In New York, Rhys had been hobnobbing with Stedman and Colonel Ingersoll. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 29 | 8 PM | 88. For a reprinted copy of the will, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, June 12, 1888. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: (?) | Apr 1(?) | 4 30 PM | 88. See April 8, 1888 "Old Age's Lambent Peaks" appeared in the September issue of The Century Magazine. "A Carol Closing Sixty-Nine" was returned by Lippincott's Monthly Magazine; it appeared in the New York Herald on May 21. Whitman received $40 (Whitman's Commonplace Book; Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Mr Bennerman | Printing Office cor: 7th & | Cherry Streets | Philadelphia. Whitman's return address is printed on the envelope as follows: WALT WHITMAN, | CAMDEN, | NEW JERSEY. Whitman is referring to November Boughs. This letter is addressed: Mrs: Mary Whitall Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden | Jun 26 | 8 PM | 88; Philadelphia | Jun 26 | 11 PM | Paid. Mary's sister Alys Smith, en route to England, wrote to Whitman on June 20, 1888. Alys noted on the envelope: "Mr. Smith much better for the voyage." This letter is addressed: Mrs: Mary Whitall Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 13 | 8 PM | 88. There is one additional postmark from July 13 that is largely illegible. According to Herbert Gilchrist's letter of July 8, 1888, Mary Smith Costelloe showed him Whitman's letters during his illness (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Mrs: Mary W. Costelloe | Llwynbarried House | Rhayader | Wales | via London | England. It is postmarked: Camden | Sep 3 | 6 AM | 88. A second Camden postmark is illegible. Mary Smith Costelloe had written to Whitman from Wales on August 21, 1888. This letter is addressed: Miss Helen E. Price | Woodside | Queens county | New York. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Apr 12 | 4 30 PM | 88; Woodside | Apr | 13 | 188(?) | N.Y. Helen E. Price was the daughter of Abby H. Price, an old Brooklyn friend of Whitman's mother. The poet wrote to her brother Arthur on January 25, 1887, but there are no extant letters to her sister Emily, who apparently in 1869 married a man named Law, "an artist in the cheap picture line," according to Whitman's mother (Corr., II, 81n). Emily may have named one of her sons Walter Whitman; see Corr., III, 222n. This letter is addressed: Mrs: Mary Whitall Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London England. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Jul(?) | 8 PM | 88. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | Fe[illegible] 2[illegible] | 87 | Canada; [cut away] | [illegible] | 22 | 2 PM | 1887 | Rec'd. The verso to this envelope is stamped: Insane Asylum London Ontario. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman, | 328 Mickle St. | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: Philadelphia, Pa | Feb 28 | 2 PM | 87; Camden, N.J. | Feb | 28 | 4 PM | 1887 | Rec'd. The following return address is printed on the envelope: D. G. BRINTON, M. D., | Medical and Scientific Publications, | NO. 115 SO. 7th Street, | Philadelphia. This transcription is derived from Joel Myerson's facsimile reproduction of Whitman's original manuscript (Joel Myerson, The Walt Whitman Archive: A Facsimile of the Poet's Manuscripts, New York: Garland Publishing, 1993.) The letter is addressed: J. Christopher Starr | Port Williams | Kings County | Nova Scotia. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Mar 10 | 2AM | PA.; Camden | Mar | [illegible] | 5PM | N.J. There is one additional postmark, but it is entirely illegible. This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | 59 Cheyene Walk | Chelsea | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden | Mar 15 | 6 PM | 1887; Philadelphia, Pa. | Mar 15 | 1887 | Paid; London (?) | 7 T | Mr 2 (?) | 87. Included is an "Additional Note," which Whitman reprinted in November Boughs (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1888), 94–95. According to Whitman's Commonplace Book, he enclosed a receipt for "10 guineas," which he had received on the previous day. He made no mention of his health in the Commonplace Book on this date (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman sent the Preface with his letter to Rhys of March 8, 1887. This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | 59 Cheyne Walk | Chelsea | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden | Mar | 8 | 6 PM | 1887 | N.J.; London S.W. | [illegible] | Mr 18 [illegible] | 87. Included with this letter is the Preface, reprinted in November Boughs (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1888), 93–94. According to a letter dated May 23, 1889, Rhys offered Harry Buxton Forman a number of Whitman manuscripts including "'Specimen Days & Collect' with Whitman's corrections in ink-pencil"; the price was £2.2s. Whitman had sent the copy of Specimen Days on February 2, 1887 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On February 15, 1887 Rhys wrote: "I must not decide off-hand about the Specimen Days,—that is, whether to make two vols. as you suggest, or to try & get the whole into one. In the latter case, the book would be rather crowded. . . No! I would not think of putting the copy of Specimen Days with your corrections into the printers' hands and will get copies from Wilson of Glasgow, carefully following all your deletions & so on. It is one of the greatest prizes I possess, & someday a sense of its value will inspire me, I'm afraid, to beg you to send me a copy of Leaves of Grass too with your name in it, (& mine, as proof of ownership,) & some further inscription as well." On January 19, 1887 Rhys wrote at length about a kind of epiphany which he had experienced at the seashore; Whitman termed it "a wonderful letter." The address is written on the verso of this letter. The town name "Bolton" is linked to both Johnston's and Wallace's address via a bracket. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman. | Camden. | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Albuq[cut away] | [cut away] | 18[cut away] | 9[cut away] | N.[cut away]. In his reply on June 21, 1887, Baxter again agreed to give Whitman complete freedom in the expenditure of the funds, and enclosed a check for $373. This letter is addressed: Ernest Rhys | Care Walter Scott Publisher | 24 Warwick Lane Paternoster Row | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 2[illegible] | 4 30 PM | 87. Rhys helped publish Specimen Days in America in the British publisher Walter Scott's Camelot Series in 1886, and, in 1887, he would help published Whitman's Democratic Vistas, and Other Papers (1871) in the same series. Swinburne's essay "Whitmania," which tempered his earlier enthusiasm for Whitman and declared that Whitman was not a major poet, appeared in the Fortnightly Review, n.s. 42 (August 1, 1887), 170–176. Morse's bust of the poet is reproduced in Edwin Haviland Miller, The Correspondence, Vol. 4 (New York: New York University Press, 1969), following 278 and in Miller's The Artistic Legacy of Walt Whitman (New York: New York University Press, 1970), figure 24. The work of a sculptor with perhaps more enthusiasm than talent, it, like Herbert Gilchrist's portrait, was nonetheless admired by Whitman. In his letter to John H. Johnston of September 29, 1887, Whitman wrote that the second plaster head "is the best thing yet." Albert C. Hopkins (1844–1904) was born in Wisconsin and became a partner in a dry goods business. He was a soldier in the American Civil War, and he was wounded in both shoulders, injuries from which he never fully recovered. In the 1880s he caught typhoid fever and began suffering from mental illness. Hopkins went to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota in December 1890 and claimed to be a messiah to the Native Americans. At this time, the U.S. government was concerned about the increasing influence of the Ghost Dance spiritual movement at Pine Ridge. Under the mistaken impression that the Sioux chief Sitting Bull was a Ghost Dancer, reservation police on December 15 attempted to arrest him and killed him in the process. Hopkins persisted in his attempts to minister to Native Americans; he went to Washington in 1893, requesting authority to visit the Sioux reservations and preach to them the motto and teaching of the pansy, "Union, Culture, and Peace" (James Mooney, The ghost-dance religion and the Sioux outbreak of 1890 [Washington: Government Printing Office, 1896], 893). Hopkins later served a term in the penitentiary for circulating theories of love, sex, and marriage through the mail that were deemed to be obsence during legal proceedings; in 1899 the court judged him to be insane and he was transferred to a soldier's home ("Hokpkins Adjudged Insane," Dakota Farmers Leader [August 18, 1899], 8). In the early 1900s, he moved to South Dakota, where he spent the final years of his life. The "plaster head" is the second of Sidney H. Morse's four plaster busts of Whitman. Morse's bust of the poet is reproduced in Edwin Haviland Miller, The Correspondence, Vol. 4, following 278 and in The Artistic Legacy of Walt Whitman (1970), figure 24. Samuel Pepys (1633–1703) was the author of the well-known diary of a decade of his life (1660–1669), which remained unpublished until 1825; an expanded edition was published in 1875–1879. R. Brisbane was a French admirer of Whitman and apparently a collaborator on a planned translation of Leaves of Grass into French. Jules Laforgue (1860–1887) was a French free-verse poet born in Uruguay. Laforgue, whose work mixed symbolism with impressionism, became one of Whitman's most important supporters in France, and he translated thirty-four of Whitman's poems, published in La Vogue in 1886. Shortly after receiving Whitman's permission to translate Leaves of Grass as a whole in 1887, he died of tuberculosis. Horace Traubel asked Whitman about this project a few years later: "Did this scheme ever come to anything?" [Whitman] shook his head: "No: to nothing." Then he quietly chuckled: "But that's not surprising, not exceptional: my schemes never came to anything." "Then there were none of the pecuniary results Brisbane speaks of?" "Least of all, pecuniary results: does anything I do ever have pecuniary results? When I think of all the schemes—some of them mine, some of them from others—designed to establish for Leaves of Grass some plausible wordly estate, I am struck with amazement—almost consternation. George once said to me: 'Walt, hasn't the world made it plain to you that it'd rather not have your book?" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, March 3, 1889). See Rhys' letter to Whitman of January 19, 1887. Benjamin Francis Conn ("Frank") Costelloe (1854–1899), Mary Costelloe's first husband, was an English barrister and Liberal Party politician. Daniel Garrison Brinton (1837–1899) was a surgeon in the Union Army during the American Civil War and then practiced medicine in Pennsylvania. He went on to become a professor at the Academy of Natural Sciences, where he taught archaelogy and ethnology, and, later, he worked as a professor of linguistics and archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania. Whitman admired Brinton, who would speak at the poet's funeral. On February 22, 1887, Whitman read some of his poems (he recorded that they were "Word by the Sea"—probably "A Word Out of the Sea, " an earlier title of "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking"—and "Mystic Trumpeter") at the "Contemporary Club" in Philadelphia. Little is known about J. Christopher Starr (1846–1877) except that he was likely a botanist or a farmer from Nova Scotia (associated with the Nova Scotia Fruit Growers' Association) and that he was married to Anna Sophia Starr, née Chipman (1846–1877). The letter appears to be lost. See Whitman's letter of March 15, 1887. Count Eric Stanislaus Stenbock (1860–1895) was a Swedish-English author of decadent and macabre fiction and poetry. He lived in England most of his life. White, Stokes & Allen was a New York-based publishing house that put out highly ornamented books. Richard Jefferies (1848–1887) was a British nature writer, who frequently published in the Pall Mall Gazette. Rhys is referring to the Irish playwright and poet Oscar Wilde. Wilde had visited Whitman in Camden three years earlier, on January 22, 1882. An account of their meeting appeared on the following day in the Philadelphia Press. White, Stokes, & Allen was a New York-based publishing house that put out highly ornamented books. It was founded in 1883 by Joel Parker White (b. 1857), Frank Allen, and Frederick Abbot Stokes (1857–1939) and ran until 1887. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester R'd | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 5 | 3 PM | 91. As the postmark and the content indicate, this post card was written on November 5, 1891, not on "Nov: 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. This letter is addressed: John Russell Young | Care Union League | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Camd(?) | Oct 2(?) | 8 PM | 91. See Young's letter to Whitman of October 23, 1891. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Philadelphia, PA. | Oct 20 | 3 30 PM | 91; London | PM | OC 2[illegible] | 91 | Canada. Bucke replied on October 22, 1891: "Yes, I wrote Costelloe about a month ago re the morse head—asked him to have it sent to Dr Johnston, Bolton, unless it was in the hands of some one who cared for it—have not heard from him since." This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 27 | 6 PM | 91; London | PM | OC 28 | 91 | Canada. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N J. | Oct 28 | 6 PM | 91; London | PM | OC 30 | 91 | Canada. This postal card is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Philadelphia, Pa. | Oct 20 | 6 PM | Paid. See Whitman's letter to Stanley of October 13, 1891. See Whitman's postal cards to Johnston of October 15 and October 16, 1891. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 1 | 5 PM | 91; Philadelphia, PA. | Nov | 1 | [illegible] PM | 91 | [illegible]; Buffalo, N.Y. | Nov 2 | [illegible] AM | 91 | Transit.; London | PM | NO 2 | 91 | Canada. Agnes Repplier (1855–1950) was an essayist and biographer. She was a founding member of the Cosmopolitan Club of Philadelphia and the first female president of the Contemporary Club. Her essays were published in Atlantic Monthly, Catholic World, and Century Magazine, among many other periodicals. As her literary recognition increased, she traveled and accepted speaking engagements. For more on Repplier, see "Agnes Repplier Papers," MS. Coll. 18, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania. Whitman enclosed with this letter a lengthy review of C. Schuchhardt's Schliemann's Excavations, with the following annotation: "excavations &c. anent of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey—good essay—Phil Press Nov 1 '91." This enclosure has not yet been located. Harrison Smith Morris (1856–1948) was a businessman and man of letters. Horace Traubel published Morris's translation of French critic Gabriel Sarrazin's essay "Walt Whitman" in the tribute collection In Re Walt Whitman, eds. Horace Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas B. Harned [Philadelphia: McKay, 1893], 159–194. Morris also wrote a biography of the poet, Walt Whitman: A Brief Biography with Reminiscences (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1929). This postal card is addressed: Postmaster | Delaware | Ohio. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 3 | 8 PM | 91; Delaware, Ohio | Nov | 5 | 7 AM | 1891 | Rec'd. See Whitman's letter to the U.S. Postmaster of June 24, 1891. Whitman later received a negative reply on November 5, 1891. In 1891, the postmaster for Delaware, Ohio, was J. L. Hoefley. As yet, we have no additional information about this correspondent. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N J. | Dec 1 | 6 PM | 91; London | PM | DE 3 | 91 | Canada. Arthur Alfred Lynch (1861–1934) was an Irish Australian journalist, author, civil engineer, and physician. He served as a member of Parliament in the United Kingdom House of Commons in 1901 and 1902. He later practiced medicine in London, and he wrote a number of books on a variety of subjects. Whitman is referring to Lynch's Modern Authors: A Review and a Forecast (1891). In this book, Lynch claims that Whitman's "Emotional Calibre is second to none" (41–44), that he was "not cultured enough" but had an "eminently virile mind" (85–87), that he "is a new Columbus" (123–127) and a moral poet (171–172). He concludes: "The great pioneer is a vital Ausgangspunkt" (188). Lynch is quoted briefly in In Re Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), ed. Horace L. Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas B. Harned, 148. In 1877, Young was invited to accompany President Ulysses S. Grant on a world tour; in 1881, Young published Around the World with General Grant, a two-volume account of the tour. At the time Whitman wrote this letter, Wallace was traveling in the United States. Wallace had sailed from Bolton, England, landing at Philadelphia on September 8, 1891 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, September 8, 1891). According to Horace Traubel, Sir Edwin Arnold visted Whitman in This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N J | Sep 24 | 8 PM | 91; London | PM | SP 26 | 91 | Canada. Bucke wrote to Whitman on September 20, 1891. Wallace wrote to Whitman on September 20, September 21, and September 22, 1891. At this time, Wallace was visiting Bucke at Bucke's home in London, Ontario, Canada. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N J | Sep 21 | 8 PM | 91. See Bucke's letters to Whitman of September 16 and September 18, 1891. Wallace had written to Whitman on September 19, 1891 and September 20, 1891. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Oct 18 | 8 30 PM | 91; London | PM | OC 2[illegible] | 91 | Canada. Mary Elizabeth (Whitman) Van Nostrand (1821–1899) was the oldest daughter of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr., and Whitman's younger sister. Hannah Louisa Whitman Heyde (1823–1908) was the fourth child of Walter and Louisa Whitman and Whitman's youngest sister. See Stoddart's letter to Whitman of January 13, 1891. Joseph Marshall Stoddart married Isabella Herkness (1850–1900). The actor Francis Wilson accompanied Stoddart on the visit to Whitman. Wilson who wrote a letter to Whitman on January 16, 1891, after the visit, expressing his thanks. The letter arrived along with a bottle of Old Crow Whiskey. Whitman's remarks disturbed Bucke, who on January 17 wrote a "Private" letter to the poet's biographer Horace L. Traubel: "How do you account for such gloomy reports f'm W. to me when you see every thing 'coleur de rose'? My impression is that tho' putting (for most part) a good face on things W. is really in a pretty bad way and liable to collapse at any time." Again on February 10 in a letter for Traubel marked "For yourself only," Bucke expressed his concern about Whitman's health: "I look for a sudden end (when it comes) and I feel satisfied it may come any day" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Traubel and Bucke wrote to each other several times a week during the last fifteen months of Whitman's life. See Whitman's letter to the editor of The North American Review of November 4, 1890. Whitman's "Have We a National Literature?" was published in the March 1891 issue of the magazine. Whitman is referring to William Sloane Kennedy's "Walt Whitman's Quaker Traits" (but he probably meant the unprinted "Walt Whitman's Dutch Traits"), Richard Maurice Bucke's "Leaves of Grass and Modern Science," and Horace Traubel's biographical piece. As usual, Whitman was carefully supervising publication. See Stoddart's January 5, 1891 letter to Whitman for more information about Stoddart's intent to publish works by and about Whitman in the March 1891 issues of Lippincott's. This is the poet's response to Stoddart's plan for publication. According to Stead's letter of December 10, 1890, Whitman had sent him proof of "Old Poets" from which Stead extracted in the Christmas issue of The Review of Reviews. On February 16, 1891, Stead forwarded the February issue, in which Whitman's post card was reproduced in facsimile (3:163). The magazine printed excerpts from Whitman articles in Lippincott's in March (3:249), from The New England Magazine in June (3:570–71), and a portrait of the poet along with a review of Good-bye My Fancy in August (4:197). See Whitman's letter to O'Dowd of November 3, 1890. Whitman's poem, "To The Sun-Set Breeze." Adam Lindsay Gordon (1833–1870) was a British-born poet who emigrated to South Australia where he became a renowned horeseman and steeplechase rider. Shortly after the publication of his collection of poems, Bush Ballads and Galloping Rhymes (1870), Gordon committed suicide. Gordon's best-known poem, "The Sick Stockrider," was first published in Colonial Monthly in January of 1870. Gordon included it in his collection of poems, Bush Ballads and Galloping Rhymes (1870). Members of the Bolton college group of Whitman admirers. See Johnston's letter to Whitman of November 15, 1890. Members of the Bolton college group of Whitman admirers. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 23 | 6 PM | 90; [illegible]; London | PM | NO 24 | 90 | Canada; Philadelphia, P.A. | Nov | 23 | 6 30 PM | 1890 | Transit; Buffalo, N.Y. | Nov | 24 | 10 AM | 1890 | Transit. Whitman is probably referring to "The Perfect Human Voice." See Whitman's letter to Bucke of February 2–3, 1890. Whitman is referring to the threat of collapse faced by the House of Baring Brothers Bank in England, which invested in both North America and Argentina. Although the bank was saved by a consortium of national banks, by November 1890 the resulting financial panic bankrupted Decker, Howell, & Co., a brokerage firm in New York that was backed by the Bank of North America. The financier J. P. Morgan persuaded a consortium of New York banks to support the Bank of North America, averting the failure of the financial institution. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Oct 30 | 6 AM 90(?). See Bucke's letter to Whitman of October 26, 1891. In Bucke's letter to Whitman of October 26, he wrote: "Horace is quite struck with Pardee (your old favorite) and thinks him a splendid boy" (Feinberg). On October 27, Traubel himself wrote to Whitman of the "Grecian loveliness of expression & demeanor" of two of Bucke's children, Ina and Pardee (Feinberg). Whitman is referring to a poem called "The Midnight Visitor" by French writer Henri Murger (1822–1861). Whitman was known to have recited the poem to great effect. Thomas B. Harned notes in his Memoirs that, while Whitman "never recited his own poems at the table," he did have a "fine clear voice and was a good elocutionist. He had a version of 'The Midnight Visitor' by Berger [sic]" (Hartford: Transcendental Books, 1972, p. 34). Traubel confirms this as well, writing that Whitman recited the poem "with gusto" and "was much applauded" for his performance (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, October 21, 1890). In periodical reprints of the poem, Whitman was often cited as author, and in some cases as translator (for more, see especially Alejandro Omidsalar, Ashley Palmer, Stephanie M. Blalock, and Matt Cohen, "Walt Whitman's Poetry Reprints and the Study of Nineteenth-Century Literary Circulation," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review, 35, 2017, pp. 1–44). The Boston Evening Transcript, founded by Henry Dutton (1796–1869) and James Wentworth in 1830, was a daily evening newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts, published until 1941. In October of 1890, Col. Robert Ingersoll gave a talk to benefit Whitman in Philadelphia's Horticultural Hall and then afterwards attended a dinner for the poet at the Lafayette Hotel, where the two discussed religion and death, and where Whitman recited Murger's "The Midnight Visitor." The event was widely covered in newspapers; see, for example, this report in The World (October 26, 1890). King's Handbook of the United States (1891), a volume totaling more than 900 pages, was a reference book that considered each state individually, giving facts, statistics, and histories for each. The volume also included illustrations. Ferguson is identified as W. A. Ferguson in Johnston's letter to Whitman of November 4, 1891. Little is known about Ferguson, who was affiliated with the Little Hulton branch of the Bank of Bolton and was a member of the Bolton College group of admirers of Whitman in Bolton, Lancashire, England. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of October 10, 1891. The Averys enclosed a newspaper article titled "Murder and Arson Prevented" that was published in the September 16, 1891, issue of New York World. The article details how the lives of Treadwell Whitman and his sister—a couple living at Smithtown, Long Island—were saved when a Deputy Sheriff made arrests that foiled a plot to murder the couple and set fire to their home. Treadwell Whitman was related to Walt Whitman's father, Walter Whitman, Sr. (1789–1855). The date of his letter is Friday, May 29, 1891. Whitman's seventy-second and last birthday, which is mentioned in the letter, was on Sunday, May 31, 1891. The date of his letter is Saturday, May 29, 1891. Whitman's seventy-second and last birthday, which is mentioned in the letter, the following day, Sunday, May 31, 1891. Whitman explains how the image came to be known as "audacious" in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, May 23, 1891. Wallace is referring to a line from Whitman's poem, "Song of the Universal," which reads: "Love like the light silently wrapping all." Wallace is referring to Whitman's preface to the first edition of Leaves of Grass (1855). At this time, Whitman often wrote letters on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" Wallace is likely referring to this saying. See Whitman's letter to Johnston of May 8, 1891. See Traubel's article, "Walt Whitman At Date," The New England Magazine, vol. 4, no. 3, May 1891, pp. 275–292. See Whitman's letter to Johnston of May 5, 1891. See the Gallery of Images for photographs Whitman may have sent to Johnston. Johnston has written this postscript sideways in the left margin of the third page of the letter. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman: | 328 Mickle St: | Camden N.J. | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Kurunegal | DE 12 | 90 | PAID; Camden, N.J. | Jan | 11 | 4 PM | 1891 | Rec'd; Colombo | C | DE 13 | 90 | PAID. See Whitman's letter to Carpenter of November 2, 1890. Ponnambalam Arunachalam (1853–1924) of Sri Lanka was a Ceylon Tamil Civil Servant, author, and translator. He was educated at the Royal Academy, Colombo, before going on to attend Christ's College, Cambridge, where he met and became friends with Edward Carpenter, an English Writer and Whitman disciple. Because of Arunachalam, Carpenter became interested in Hindu philosophy and classical Indian texts. Arunachalam was later admitted to the bar and went on to serve as a Member of both the Executive Council and the Legislative Council of Ceylon (Robert Aldrich, Cultural Encounters and Homoeroticism in Sri Lanka: Sex and Serendipity (New York: Routledge, 2014), 34–35. He was knighted in 1914 and came to be considered one of the most significant early-twentieth-century political figures in his nation. For more on his role in Ceylon politics, see Gnanapala Welhengama and Nirmala Pillay, "The Ponnambalam brothers," The Rise of Tamil Separatism in Sri Lanka: From Communalism to Secession (New York, NY: Routledge, 2014), 85–113. The Vedas are a body of religious texts that originate in ancient India. They are composed in Vedic Sanskrit and are among the oldest works of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. The Upanishads are Vedic Sanskrit religious texts that include teachings that form the foundation of Hinduism. The Upanishads discuss meditation, philosophy, and spiritual and ontological knowledge. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey | America. It is postmarked: Clapham. S.W. | 3 | My20 | 89; New York | Jun | 1; Paid | K | All; [illegible]den | [illegible] | 1 PM | 1889 | Rec'd. O'Dowd is likely referring to the November 16, 1889 issue of The Illustrated London News (vol. 95, no. 2643). The image is captioned "From a Photograph by Sarony, Union-Square, New York," and is based on Sarony's 1978 portrait of Whitman. Ernest Percival Rhys (1859–1946) was a British author and editor who included a volume of Whitman's poems in the Canterbury Poets series and two volumes of Whitman's prose in the Camelot series for Walter Scott publishers. For more information about Rhys, see Joel Myerson, "Rhys, Ernest Percival (1859–1946)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 58 | DE 3 | 90; Camden, N.J. | Dec | 8 | 5 PM | Rec'd; New York | Dec | [illegible]; Paid | D | All. Johnston has written his initials "JJ" in the bottom left of the recto of the envelope. See Whitman's postal card to Johnston of November 25, 1890. Johnston is paraphrasing lines from Whitman's poem "A Carol Closing Sixty-Nine," which was first published in the New York Herald on May 21, 1888. Johnston sent a photo celluloid plate containing negatives of several photographs he had taken during his visit with Whitman in Camden in the summer of 1890. According to Whitman's November 25, 1890, letter to Johnston, the poet had granted permission to the New England Magazine to use reproductions of Johnston's photographs to accompany Horace Traubel's essay "Walt Whitman at Date," which would be published in the magazine in May 1891. Johnston is echoing a phrase from Whitman's Calamus poem "These I Singing in Spring" ("Plucking something for tokens"). This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: New York | DEC 2 | 7 PM | 90; Camden, N.J. | Dec | 6 AM | 1890 | Rec'd. Johnston is referring to Whitman's letters of June 27, 1891 and July 8–9, 1891. Little is known about the millwright and machine-fitter George Humphreys, who was a member of the Bolton College group of Whitman admirers. Little is known about the millwright and machine-fitter George Humphreys beyond the details provided by Wallace in this letter. Johnston is referring to a proof of Horace Traubel's "Walt Whitman's Birthday, May 31, 1891," an article that was published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in August 1891. Wallace is referring to a proof of Horace Traubel's "Walt Whitman's Birthday, May 31, 1891," an article that was published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in August 1891. Wallace is referring to an etching from a portrait of Whitman by James Wallace Black, of Black & Batchelder, in March 1860, when Whitman was in Boston to oversee the typesetting of his 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass. Lippincott's Monthly Magazine published Horace Traubel's "Walt Whitman's Birthday" and "Walt Whitman's Last" (a brief note on his last miscellany Good-Bye My Fancy [1891]) in their August 1891 issue. Lippincott's Monthly Magazine published in its August 1891 issue not a poem by Whitman but rather "Walt Whitman's Last" (a brief note on his last miscellany Good-Bye My Fancy [1891]). Whitman is referring to "Walt Whitman's Last" (a one-page piece on his last miscellany Good-Bye My Fancy [1891]), which was also published in the August 1891 issue of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. Whitman is referring to the manuscript for "Walt Whitman's Last" (a one-page piece on his last miscellany Good-Bye My Fancy [1891]), which was published in the August 1891 issue of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine along with "Walt Whitman's Birthday, May 31, 1891" by Horace Traubel. Traubel's article offered a detailed account of Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday, which was celebrated with friends at the poet's home on Mickle street. See Whitman's postal card to Johnston of June 23, 1891. Whitman is referring to a proof of Horace Traubel's "Walt Whitman's Birthday, May 31, 1891," an article that was published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in August 1891. It was a detailed account of Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday, which was celebrated with friends at the poet's home on Mickle street. Whitman is referring to a manuscript of Horace Traubel's "Walt Whitman's Birthday, May 31, 1891," an article that would be published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in August 1891. It was a detailed account of Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday, which was celebrated with friends at the poet's home on Mickle street. Whitman is referring to Horace Traubel's "Walt Whitman's Birthday, May 31, 1891," an article that would be published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in August 1891. It was a detailed account of Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday, which was celebrated with friends at the poet's home on Mickle street. Horace Traubel's article "Walt Whitman's Birthday, May 31, 1891," was published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in August 1891. It was a detailed account of Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday, which was celebrated with friends at the poet's home on Mickle Street. Forman is referring to the line from Whitman's "Song of Myself," that reads, in the 1855 version of the poem, "Walt Whitman, an American, one of the roughs, a kosmos." Johnston published (for private circulation) Notes of Visit to Walt Whitman, etc., in July, 1890. (Bolton: T. Brimelow & co., printers, &c.) in 1890. His notes were also published, along with a series of original photographs, as Diary Notes of A Visit to Walt Whitman and Some of His Friends, in 1890 (Manchester: The Labour Press Limited; London: The "Clarion" Office, 1898). Johnston's work was later published with James W. Wallace's accounts of Fall 1891 visits with Whitman and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke in Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1917). Johnston visited Whitman in Camden in the summer of 1890. He published (for private circulation) his account of the visit, titled Notes of Visit to Walt Whitman, etc., in July, 1890. (Bolton: T. Brimelow & co., printers, &c.) in 1890. His notes were also published, along with a series of original photographs, as Diary Notes of A Visit to Walt Whitman and Some of His Friends, in 1890 (Manchester: The Labour Press Limited; London: The "Clarion" Office, 1898). Johnston's work was later published with James W. Wallace's accounts of Fall 1891 visits with Whitman and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke in Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1917). Robert Davis Roberts (1851–1911) studied geology at University College, London, and later served as a lecturer in chemistry at University College, Aberystwyth before being appointed a lecturer in geology at Cambridge. He wanted to extend higher education to a wider public, and he took up university extension work, serving as the secretary to the London Society for the Extension of University Teaching, and he went on to become a registrar of the Extension Board at the University of London. Johnston is referring to Whitman's postal card of October 27, 1891. Wallace is referring to Whitman's poem, "By Blue Ontario's Shore." For more about the poem, see Kirsten Gruesz Silva, "By Blue Ontario's Shore (1856)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Wallace is referring to the plot of "Fortunatus," a German tale about a hero of the same name that was popular in Europe during the 15th and 16th Centuries. In the tale, Fortunatas journeys toward fortune and fame, encountering a Goddess of Fortune who gives him a purse that was continually replenished and a sultan at Cairo who gives him a hat that could transport the wearer to any destination. Wallace visited both Whitman and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke at his home in London, Ontario, Canada, in the fall of 1891. Dr. John Johnston, of Bolton, had visited Whitman in the summer of 1890. Accounts of these visits can be found in Johnston and Wallace's Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917). Wallace visited both Whitman and Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke in the fall of 1891. When this letter was written, Wallace was with Bucke at Bucke's home in London, Ontario, Canada. Wallace's friend and the co-founder of the Bolton College group of Whitman admirers, Dr. John Johnston, had visited Whitman in the summer of 1890. Accounts of these visits can be found in Johnston and Wallace's Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917). Wallace may be referring to the review of Good-Bye My Fancy that was published in The Literary World on September 12, 1891. See Whitman's postal card to Johnston of August 28, 1891. 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). Whitman is referring to the "Bolton College" 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). 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. Whitman is referring to the "Bolton College," a group of Whitman admirers located in Bolton, England. The group was co-founded by Dr. John Johnston and the architect James W. Wallace (1853–1926) of Bolton. This is a reference to the "Bolton College," a group of Whitman admirers located in Bolton, England. The group was co-founded by Johnston and the architect James W. Wallace (1853–1926). This is a reference to the "Bolton College," a group of Whitman admirers located in Bolton, England. The group was co-founded by Johnston and Wallace. The members of the Bolton College group corresponded with Whitman and Horace Traubel throughout the final years of the poet's life. See Whitman's postal cards to Wallace of June 16, 1891, and to Johnston of June 12, 1891. On the verso of the envelope, Whitman has calculated the following sum: 6.00 + 13.17 + 1.71 + 7.05 = 27.93. This, apparently the last message from the poet to Kennedy, was written in response to the latter's request on September 20, 1891: "Shd be glad of one of those little bulletin cards from you. I got used to them I feel desolate without them." In what was probably his last letter to Whitman, on October 30, 1891, Kennedy recalled "those divine days I spent in companionship of the noblest of books L. of G. & those happy letters back & forth between you and me." O'Connor may be referring to Whitman's letter of March 28, 1889. John W. Le Barnes was an abolitionist and one of the so-called "Secret Six" who gave money to and supported John Brown. When Horace Traubel reads this letter to Whitman and then asks "Who was Le Barnes?" Whitman answers, "I knew him: he knows me: he is a literary New Englander of considerable quality" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, March 30, 1889).. Wallace is referring to Whitman's collection of poems, "Good-Bye my Fancy" (1891). See the Gallery of Images for photographs Whitman may have sent to Wallace. See Whitman's postcard to Johnston of June 6, 1891, and his letter of June 9, 1891. See Wallace's letter to Whitman of June 16, 1891. Alfred Heaton Cooper (1863–1929) was an English landscape artist. On June 19, 1891, Wallace sent to Whitman four watercolor sketches of Rivington by Cooper. In a postscript he wrote "If Traubel fancies any of them I shall be glad to arrange with Cooper for a painting . . . I wanted to send T. something & can think of nothing better." This picture of the lakes at Rivington, near Bolton, was commissioned by the members of the Bolton Whitman Fellowship for presentation to Horace and Anne Traubel in 1892. Cooper, then resident in Bolton, was a friend of the English physician Dr. John Johnston and Wallace, and he later gained fame for his Lakeland paintings and book illustrations. In 1948 Anne Traubel presented it to the Bolton Public Libraries as being of special interest to the Bolton Whitman Fellowship. The author is referring to Whitman's poem "For You O Democracy" from the "Calamus" cluster of Leaves of Grass. Chants of Labour: A Song Book of the People, edited by Edward Carpenter, appeared in 1888 and was reissued in numerous editions into the 1920s. It was one of the earliest socialist songbooks. See Whitman's letter to Wallace of May 28, 1891 Vade mecum means a handbook or a guide. Wentworth Dixon (1855–1928) was a lawyer's clerk and a member of the Bolton Whitman Fellowship. Possibly Mira (or Myra) Jane G. Dixon (1857–1931), who married Wentworth Dixon in Bolton, England, in 1878. See Whitman's letter to Johnston of July 8–9, 1891. Johnston may be referring to Whitman's letter of July 8–9, 1891. Epictetus (55–135) was a Greek Stoic philosopher. Stoics believe that humans should not be controlled by fear, pain, and desire, but should contemplate them in the pursuit of self-discipline and the fair treatment of others. Stoicism is one of the fundamental components of Western ethics. See Whitman's postal card to Johnston of May 5, 1891. Wallace is quoting Thomas Carlyle's translation of a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832), entitled "Mason Lodge." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Camden | May | 28 | 6 AM | 1891 | Rec'd.; [illegible]AI[illegible] | A | ALL; [illegible] | May | 27 | 91; [illegible]ton | 56 | MY 16 | 91. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | N.J | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Sheffield | 14 6 | MY 14 | 91; PAID | K | [illegible]; New York | May | [illegible]; Camden, N.J. | May | 24 | [illegible]PM | 1891 | Rec'd. Brown is referring to Whitman's poems, "To The Sun-Set Breeze" and "A Twilight Song." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey | United States of America. It is postmarked: New York | May | 22; PA[illegible]; C[illegible]en, N.J. | M[illegible] | 22 | 4[illegible] | 1891 | Rec'd. Robert Browning (1812–1889) was an English poet and playwright. He was one of the most celebrated Victorian poets. "The Cenci" (1819) is a tragedy in five acts by the British romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. The play was given its first performance on May 7, 1886, in the Grand Theatre, Islington, London, by the Shelley Society. The Postal Union Congress is the primary meeting of the Universal postal union, where issues related to international postal services are discussed. Among the topics of the 1891 meeting were the rules governing mail carried by steamships. See William Douglas O'Connor's pamphlet, "The Good Gray Poet" (1866). Shore is referring to the poem "A Man's A Man For A' That," by Robert Burns. In his final years, Whitman designed an elaborate granite tomb, which P. Reinhalter & Co. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, built for the poet in Harleigh Cemetery in Camden, New Jersey. The tomb cost $4,000. Whitman covered a portion of these costs with money that his Boston friends had raised so that the poet could purchase a summer cottage; the remaining balance was paid by Whitman's literary executor, Thomas Harned. For more information on the cemetery and Whitman's tomb, see See Geoffrey M. Still, "Harleigh Cemetery," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). P. Reinhalter & Co. of Philadelphia built Whitman's tomb—an elaborate granite tomb of the poet's design— in Harleigh Cemetery in Camden, New Jersey. The tomb cost $4,000. Whitman covered a portion of these costs with money that his Boston friends had raised so that the poet could purchase a summer cottage; the remaining balance was paid by Whitman's literary executor, Thomas Harned. For more information on the cemetery and Whitman's tomb, see See Geoffrey M. Still, "Harleigh Cemetery," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Mr. Moore is likely Ralph Moore, who along with J. E. Reinhalter, a designer from P. Reinhalter & Co., had called on Whitman on July 11, 1890, to discuss Whitman's burial vault (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Washington | Apr 26 | 8PM | [illegible] | [illegible]C.; Camden, N[illegible] | Apr | 27 | 6AM | [illegible]. O'Connor is referring to the book Three Tales, which, at the time of this letter, was not yet published. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey. | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 40 | AP 15 | 91; Ca[cut away] N J. | [cut away] | 24 | 4PM | 1891 | Rec'd; PAID | F | ALL; New York | [cut away]pr | 24 | 91. See Whitman's March 30–31 letter to Johnston. Johnston is referring to Whitman's poem, "The Commonplace," which first appeared (in manuscript facsimile) Munyon's Magazine in March, 1891. Wallace is referring to the "Bolton College," a group of English admirers of Whitman, that he and Johnston co-founded. Johnston is referring to the "Bolton College," a group of English admirers of Whitman, that he and Wallace co-founded. Wallace is referring to the "Bolton College," a group of English admirers of Whitman, that he co-founded with the Bolton physcian Dr. John Johnston. Wallace is writing his postscript on the anniversary of Lincoln's assassination on April 14, 1865. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton; Camden, NJ | Apr | 13 | 6AM | 1891 | Rec'd; PAID | K | ALL; New [illegible]or[illegible] | Apr | 12. Johnston has written his initials "JJ," in the bottom left corner of the front side of this envelope. See Whitman's March 21, 1891, postal card to Johnston. Johnston is referring to Whitman's postal card of March 21, 1891. See Whitman's March 24, 1891, postal card to Johnston. Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898) was the first Imperial Chancellor of the German empire from 1871–1890. Joseph Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) was an English novelist, poet, and short-story writer. India, the country of his birth, inspired his most remembered literary works, such as The Jungle Book (1894) and Kim (1901). Kipling was just beginning his rise to international celebrity in the early 1890s. He married Carolina Starr Balestier (1862–1939) in 1892. First written in 1862 but not published until 1891, William D. O'Connor's story appeared in The Atlantic Monthly in two installments: Part 1, vol. 67, no. 402, April 1891, pp. 433–454; Part 2, vol. 67, no. 403, May 1891, pp. 577–599. The story also appeared in the collection Three Tales: The Ghost, The Brazen Android, The Carpenter (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1891), for which Whitman wrote the Preface (which he later included in Good-Bye My Fancy [Philadelphia: David McKay, 1891], 51–53). In it, he describes his relationship with O'Connor, writing that "he was a gallant, handsome, gay-hearted, fine-voiced, glowing-eyed man" (iii). Whitman goes on to praise O'Connor's abolitionism, his talents as a literary critic and writer of fiction, and his "special defenses" of controversial literary figures, among whom Whitman includes himself. Although not explicitly mentioned, Whitman no doubt had in mind O'Connor's "vindication" of him in "The Good Gray Poet" (1866). For more on O'Connor's story, see Brooks Landon, "Slipstream Then, Slipstream Now: The Curious Connections between William Douglas O'Connor's "The Brazen Android" and Michael Cunningham's Specimen Days," Science Fiction Studies, vol. 38, no. 1, March 2011, pp. 67–91. Johnston uses the French phrase "embarras de richesse," which means "embarrassment of riches." First written in 1862 but not published until 1891, William D. O'Connor's story "The Brazen Android" appeared in The Atlantic Monthly in two installments: Part 1, vol. 67, no. 402, April 1891, pp. 433–454; Part 2, vol. 67, no. 403, May 1891, pp. 577–599. The story also appeared in the collection Three Tales: The Ghost, The Brazen Android, The Carpenter (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1891), for which Whitman wrote the Preface (which he later included in Good-Bye My Fancy [Philadelphia: David McKay, 1891], 51–53). For more on O'Connor's story, see Brooks Landon, "Slipstream Then, Slipstream Now: The Curious Connections between William Douglas O'Connor's "The Brazen Android" and Michael Cunningham's Specimen Days," Science Fiction Studies 38.1 (March 2011), 67–91. The Black & White: A Weekly Illustrated Record and Review was an illustrated British weekly periodical founded by the English novelist and travelogue writer Charles Norris Williamson (1859–1920) in 1891. In 1912, the Black & White was incorporated with another periodical, The Sphere. The Young Man was an illustrated British monthly magazine edted by Frederick A. Atkins (1864–1929), an English author and editor of publications on moral and religious subjects. Whitman's first edition of Leaves of Grass (1855) was printed by the Rome brothers in a small shop at the intersection of Fulton and Cranberry in Brooklyn. For the cover, Whitman chose a dark green ribbed morocco cloth, and the volume included an engraving of a daguerreotype of Whitman, a full-body portrait, in working clothes and a hat. The book included a preface and twelve poems. For more information on the first edition of Leaves of Grass, see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey, | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 41 | AP 4 | 91; PAID | H | ALL; [illegible]W[illegible] | Apr | 12. See Whitman's March 23, 1891, postal card to Wallace. See Whitman's March 24, 1891, postal card to Dr. John Johnston. Wallace is referring to Whitman's March 24, 1891, postal card to Johnston. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 58 | Ap 1 | [illegible]; New York | Apr | 11; PAID | E | ALL; Camden, N.J. | Apr | 11 | 9 AM | 1891 | Rec'd. See Whitman's March 19, 1891, postal card to Johnston. See Whitman's letter to Johnston of March 24, 1891. When Johnston wrote this letter, it was about two months until Whitman's 72nd birthday, on May 31, 1891. Whitman did not live to see his 73rd birthday since he died on March 26, 1892. Johnston is referring to Whitman's poem "Joy Shipmate Joy!." The message is a reference to Whitman's poem "Joy, Shipmate, Joy!." This telegram was sent to Whitman by Wallace, Johnston, and the "Bolton College" of English admirers of the poet in honor of Whitman's seventy-second and last birthday on May 31, 1891. Two lines have been drawn in black ink from the top of the telegram, ending just below Whitman's address. A horizontal line has been drawn in black ink across the telegram beneath "Camden NJ," and in the signature of "Johnston Wallace friends," each word has a slanting line drawn through it in black ink. See Whitman's March 8 and March 10 postal cards to Johnston. Martha Louise Rayne (1836–1911) was an American journalist. See Whitman's "Have We a National Literature?," North American Review (March 1891): 332–339. Johnston is quoting from section 10 of Whitman's Calamus cluster, which would eventually become "Recorders Ages Hence." Whitman elsewhere comments on "foxy" pictures of himself. See, for example, Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, December 26, 1889. Johnston is referring to Whitman's poem "Sounds of the Winter." Johnston is referring to Whitman's poem "Great Are The Myths," which was (in its untitled form) the final poem in the 1855 (first) edition of Leaves of Grass. The World's Columbian Exposition was initiated by an Act of Congress in 1890, when Chicago was chosen as the site for the event celebrating the four hundredth anniversary of Christopher Columbus's "discovery" of America. Planners requested a commemorative poem from Alfred Lord Tennyson, who declined; the request angered many in the U.S., who felt that Whitman should be asked instead. Despite a number of attempts to get Whitman to write a poem for the event, Whitman declined, and he died seven months before the exposition finally opened (a year late) in May of 1893. It is possible that the poem Whitman was working on during the last months of his life–published posthumously as "A Thought of Columbus"–was an effort to write a commemorative poem. See Andrew Vogel, "Whitman's Columbia: The Commemoration of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in 'A Thought of Columbus,'" Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 29 (2011), 1–18. This letter is addressed: James Stewart Wroth | Care Dr. Harry Wroth | Albuquerque | New Mexico. It is postmarked: Philadelphia, Pa. | Jul 28 | (?) PM | 87. According to Miller, Wroth informed Whitman that he "was just under two years of age when this card was sent" (Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 4:112, note 7). The recipient's father, James Henry Wroth, was known as "Harry" to his intimate friends; he died in 1926. James Henry's brother John had written to Walt Whitman on June 2, 1887. This note apparently was sent about August 1 to Brainerd, and the item appeared in the Saturday edition of the Daily News, as indicated in Whitman's letter to Brainerd on August 8, 1887. The Whitman Society was widely discussed at this time by Whitman's friends and critics. There is no extant file of the Daily News for this period. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St. | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked Boston. Mass. | 7.45 P | Aug 2 | 1887; Camden. N[illegible] | Aug | 3 | 1887 | Rec'd. The recto of this envelope contains a stamp that reads "The Herald 255, Washington Street, Boston." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St. | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked Boston. Mass. | Oct 8 | 7–16 P. | 1887; Camden N.J. | Oct | 10 | [illegible] | [illegible]. Sara Chapman Thorp Bull (1850–1911) was an American writer, philantropist, musicologist, and religious activist of Vedanta. She was the wife of Ole Bull, a Norwegian violinist. Elizabeth "Lily" Nelson Fairchild (1845–1924) was a Boston socialite and writer, and the wife of Colonel Charles Fairchild. She assisted in the Boston fundraising for Whitman's proposed (but never built) small cabin. Susan Cornelia Clarke Warren (1825–1901) was an art collector and philantropist in Boston. She was married to paper manufacturer and merchant Samuel Dennis Warren. As yet we have no information about this person. James Jeffrey Roche was an author and editor, whose works included Story of the Filibusters (1891) and a biography of John Boyle O'Reilly (1901), among others. He was O'Reilly's associate editor on the Boston Pilot and became editor after O'Reilly's death in 1890 A. P. Brown was, perhaps, an inventor from Worcester, Massachusetts. James Read Chadwick (1844–1905) was a Boston gynecologist and founder of the Boston Medical Library. Hugh Cochrane was, presumably, a chemical manufacturer from Massachusetts. Thomas Russell Sullivan (1849–1916) was a novelist and dramatist and an active member of Boston society and literary community. Here, Baxter includes the name "L.N. Fairchild" for the second time on this list of subscribers. Mrs. S. A. Bigelow may be the Ella H. Bigelow who, along with Thomas Wentworth Higginson, compiled American Sonnets (1890), a volume that collected approximately 250 sonnets. She has been described as "a lady well-known in Boston society, a member of the 'Round Table' and the 'Browning Society.'" She also wrote several book notices for the Boston Transcript. See "News and Notes," The Writer 4.4 (April 1890), 93. This manuscript contains a draft of a poem first published in the New York Herald, March 12, 1888 entitled "The First Dandelion". A note on the bottom of the page states "sent to Herald March 11" indicating the draft was likely composed around the time of publication. On the verso appears a letter to Whitman from Witcraft dated August 3, 1888 (Catalog of the Walt Whitman Literary Manuscripts at the Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia). This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | (Author of "Leaves of Grass") | Camden | New Jersey. | N.J. | (Or please forward). It is postmarked: Camden N.J. | Mar | 21 | 5 P M | Rec'd; Point St-Char[illegible] | 2[illegible] | M[illegible] | 88 | [illegible]. The letter also has a New York postmark and an additional Camden postmark that are illegible. Westminster Hotel was located on the intersection of Irving Place and 16th Street in New York. It was sold and renamed in 1895. Whitman and his companion William Duckett stayed at the Westminster Hotel when the poet gave his Lincoln lecture in New York's Madison Square Theatre on April 14. A reception for Whitman was held at the hotel. John W. ("Johnny") Wroth was the younger son of Mrs. Caroline Wroth, who was the wife of a Philadelphia importer, at whose residence (319 Stevens Street, Camden) Whitman took his meals for a period of time beginning in July 1881. Johnny moved with his mother and his brother James Henry ("Harry") Wroth to Albuquerque, New Mexico, soon after, and Whitman kept in touch with them. Rachel Pearsall Conn Costelloe (1887–1940), known as Ray Strachey, was the first daughter of Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe. She would later become a feminist writer and politician. Equinunk is a village in northeastern Pennsylvania, where Alma Calder Johnston's family, for much of the nineteenth century, owned a home and large tract of land. Whitman has here misspelled the name of Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907), an Irish-born sculptor raised in New York who became well-known for his many monuments depicting Civil War figures, including his monument to Admiral Farragut in New York's Madison Square Park, the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial on Boston Common, and his "Standing Lincoln" in Chicago's Lincoln Park. His bust of Whitman unfortunately never made it beyond the early planning stages. John Keats, in a March 17, 1817, letter to John Hamilton Reynolds, wrote: "Banish money—Banish sofas—Banish Wine—Banish Music, but right Jack Health, honest Jack Health, true Jack Health—Banish health and banish all the world." (Keats, Letters of John Keats to His Family and Friends, ed. Sidney Colvin [London: Macmillan, 1925], 4). Edward R. Russell (1834–1920) was a journalist who edited the Islington Daily Gazette and was in 1865 appointed editor of the Liverpool Daily Post, a position he held for fifty years. A Liberal and strong supporter of William Gladstone, Russell was a Member of Parliament (Glasgow) from 1885 to 1887. He wrote frequently about literature and the arts and was an active member of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Liverpool. The Germanic was a steamer passenger ship built in 1874 by the White Star Line in Belfast; it made frequent trips between Liverpool, England, and New York City. When the ship arrived in New York on May 27, 1887, it was carrying 1070 passengers. "D.V." stands for "Deus Vult" or "God Willing." George C. Cox (1851–1903) was a well-known celebrity photographer who had taken Whitman's picture two months prior, when the poet was in New York to give his Lincoln lecture in April 1887. Mary E. Murphy (b. 1850), the wife of Irish nationalist John Boyle O'Reilly (1844–1890), was a journalist and and educator from Massachusetts. See Whitman's letter to Baxter of June 18, 1887. John Johnston (1852–1927) was an English physician and co-founder of the "Bolton College." 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). Erastus Brainerd (1855–1922) was an American journalist who wrote for and edited the New York World, the Atlanta Constitution, the Philadelphia Press, and the Seattle Press. Born in Connecticut, he moved to New York after some success as a lecture organizer abroad. He was involved with a number of professional organizations in the city before moving to Atlanta in 1882. Bugle Echoes was a collection of poems of the Civil War edited by Francis F. Browne and published by White, Stokes & Allen in 1886. The collection contained six poems by Whitman: "Beat! Beat! Drums!," "Come Up from the Fields Father," "Bivouac on a Mountain Side," "Ethiopia Saluting the Colors," "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," and "O Captain! My Captain!" Likely a reference to Jessie Gurd Bucke (1839–1926), Richard Maurice Bucke's wife. "Army Hospitals and Cases: Memoranda at the Time, 1863–66" was printed in The Century in October of 1888. It was later reprinted in Whitman's November Boughs. This is referring to Whitman's Lincoln lecture, which he would deliver in New York on April 15, 1887. The lecture was a tremendous success, and Whitman was so showered with adulation that he observed in the Commonplace Book: "If I had staid longer, I sh'd have been killed with kindness & compliments" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). John H. Johnston (1837–1919) was a New York jeweler and close friend of Whitman. Whitman had delivered his Lincoln lecture in Philadelphia at the Chestnut Street Opera House on April 15, 1886. Pfaff's was a well-known Manhattan beer cellar (located at 647 Broadway) that Whitman frequented in the late 1850s and the early 1860s. The bar was the preferred gathering place of New York Bohemia before the Civil War. William P. Wesselhoeft (1835–1909) was a homeopathic doctor from Pennsylvania and the son of the famous William Wilhelm Wesselhoeft, one of the most prominent proponents of Hahnemannian medicine in the United States. In the August issue of The Fortnightly Review, Swinburne repudiated his earlier praise of Whitman. Apparently, a reporter named Davis from the Philadelphia Press, of which Talcott Williams was the editor, questioned Whitman on his reactions. The interview appeared in the Press on August 3, 1887. Talcott Williams called on Whitman on August 3, 1887 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). George Collins "G. C." Cox (1851–1903) was a well-known celebrity photographer who had taken photographs of Whitman when the poet was in New York to give his lecture on Abraham Lincoln (his Lincoln lecture) in April 1887. "The Laughing Philosopher," one of the most famous photographs of Whitman, was taken by Cox in 1887. Samuel Sidney McClure (1857–1949) was the co-founder and editor of McClure's Magazine. Well-known for its investigative journalism, the illustrated monthly initially rejected Whitman's submissions and only posthumously published some of his poetry (in 1897). See Whitman's letter to Robert Pearsall Smith from earlier in the day on September 12, [1887]. See Whitman's follow-up letter, sent out a few hours later that day (September 12, [1887]). Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe (1864–1945), daughter of Hannah Whitall and Robert Pearsall Smith, was a political activist, art historian, and critic, whom Whitman once called his "staunchest living woman friend." For more information about Costelloe, 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). Morse created small Whitman medallions and made a small bust of Ralph Waldo Emerson; he gave copies to Whitman. This letter is addressed: G C Cox | Photographer | Broadway & 12th Street | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 15 | 8 PM | 8 PM | 87; P.O. | 9-16 87 | 2 A | N.Y. George Cox proposed selling signed copies of his photographs of Walt Whitman. However, when the September 1887 issue of Century appeared with an advertisement, Whitman still had not seen proofs, much less signed the photographs. He wrote John H. Johnston on September 1, 1887, "He advertises . . . to sell my photo, with autograph. The latter is forged, & the former illegal & unauthorized." The disagreement was quickly resolved, and Whitman signed photographs for Cox and returned them. The letter appears to be lost. Only this summary of the letter could be located. The well-known celebrity photographer George Cox (1851–1903) proposed selling signed copies of his photographs of Whitman. However, when the September 1887 issue of Century appeared with an advertisement, Whitman still had not seen proofs, much less signed the photographs. He wrote John H. Johnston on September 1, 1887, "He advertises . . . to sell my photo, with autograph. The latter is forged, & the former illegal & unauthorized." The disagreement was quickly resolved, and Whitman signed photographs for Cox and returned them. Cox had taken multiple photographs of Whitman in April, 1887, including the image known as "The Laughing Philosopher." George Cox (1851–1903) proposed selling signed copies of his photographs of Whitman. However, when the September 1887 issue of Century appeared with an advertisement, Whitman still had not seen proofs, much less signed the photographs. He wrote John H. Johnston on September 1, 1887, "He advertises . . . to sell my photo, with autograph. The latter is forged, & the former illegal & unauthorized." The disagreement was quickly resolved, and, as this letter indicates, Whitman signed photographs for Cox and returned them. Cox had taken multiple photographs of Whitman in April, 1887, including the image known as "The Laughing Philosopher." Herbert Gilchrist painted an oil portrait of Whitman in the summer of 1887; it was still unfinished when he returned to London in September. Gilchrist then painted a finished replica of the painting that he displayed at the Grosvenor Gallery in London (he brought this replica back to the U.S. the next year, and it is now in the University of Pennsylvania Annenberg Rare Book and Manuscript Library). See Ruth L. Bohan, Looking into Walt Whitman (University Park: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006), 97–105. William Carey (1858–1901) worked for the editorial department of The Century Magazine. The September 1887 issue of the monthly advertised signed photographs of Whitman (taken by George C. Cox earlier that summer). See also Whitman's letter to Cox of September 15, 1887. William Carey (1858–1901) worked for many years in a mission school for young men, and he was employed in the Editorial Department of The Century Magazine (William H. McElroy, "The Late William Carey," The New York Times [November 2, 1901], 27). Albert Johnston was the son of John H. Johnston. Mellen Chamberlain (1821–1900) was the librarian of the Boston Public Library as well as a lawyer and historian. Joseph Edgar Chamberlin (1851–1935) was an American journalist for the Boston Transcript and the Youth's Companion. He wrote "The Listener" column for the Boston Transcript for many years. He wrote about Whitman for this column, and the piece was republished in Nomads and Listeners of Joseph Edgar Chamberlin (Books for Libraries Press, 1937), 128–134. Kate Gannett Wells (1813–1911) was a philanthropist, writer, educational reformer, and anti-suffragist. She served on the Massachusetts State Board of Education, and she founded the New England Women's Club, the Women's Educational and Industrial Union, the Moral Education Association, and the Association for the Advancement of Women, but she did not believe women should have the right to vote and should devote themselves to moral reform, education, and domestic duties instead of to politics. Charles Sumner Gleed (1856–1920) was a Kansas businessman involved in a number of ventures such as railroads, mining, banking, and communications. He was also a newspaperman, lawyer and active member of the Republican Party. James Willis Gleed (1859–1926) was a lawyer and would later become the general attorney for the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company of St. Louis. He was the brother of Charles S. Gleed. Rev. Francis Tiffany (1810–1891) was a graduate of Harvard Divinity School and the pastor of the Unitarian church in Newton, Massachusetts. Henry Ripley Dorr (1858–1904) was a journalist and the Vice President of the Vermont Fish and Game League. He was the son of Vermont poet Julia Dorr. For more on Dorr, see Donald Wickman, "Henry Ripley Dorr in the Splendid Little War of 1898," Rutland Historical Society Quarterly (1998) 28, no. 3, 43–63. Arlo Bates (1850–1919) was an American author, literary critic, and newspaperman writing for the Boston Sunday Courier. Edward B. Haskell was the editor-in-chief of the Boston Herald, published by R. M. Pulsifer and Company. Charles Sprague Sargent (1841–1927) was an American botanist. Mariana Griswold Van Rensselaer (1851–1934) was an influential American architectural critic. Charles Eliot Norton (1827–1908) was an American professor of art and a literary critic. Norton authored one of the few (cautiously) positive reviews of Whitman's 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass. It was published in Putnam's Monthly. Mellen Chamberlain (1821–1900) was the librarian of the Boston Public Library as well as a lawyer and historian. Lawrence Barrett (1838–1891) was an American actor, noted for his Shakespearean roles. Laurence Hutton (1843–1904) was a literary critic, writing for Harper's Magazine. He also authored a biography of Edwin Booth. Linn Boyd Porter (1851–1916) was a literary critic from New York and a novelist writing under the pen name of Albert Ross. Whitman is referring to Reverend Elbert S. Porter, who was the editor of the Christian Intelligencer. Albert Augustus Pope (1843–1909) was a Union Army veteran and industrialist. Charles Levi Woodbury (1820-1898) was the District Attorney for Massachusetts and book collector. Daniel Sharp Ford (1822–1899) was the owner and editor of The Youth's Companion. George Fred Williams (1852–1932) was a member of the Democratic Party and a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts. He later became involved with the Walt Whitman Fellowship. Charles Levi Woodbury (1820–1898) was a District Attorney from Massachusetts and a book collector. Arthur Macy (1842–1904) was a patriotic poet and Civil War veteran from Nantucket, Massachusetts. Perhaps this is Benjamin Kimball (1833–1919), a railroad director from New Hampshire. "Yonnondio" was published in The Critic on November 26, 1887. Thomas Eakins (1844–1919) was an American painter. His relationship with Whitman was characterized by deep mutual respect, and he soon became a close friend of the poet. For more on Eakins, see Philip W. Leon, "Eakins, Thomas (1844–1916)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is addressed to two close acquaintances of Whitman: William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889) and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1902). For more on these figures, see these entries from Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998): Deshae E. Lott, "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)" and Howard Nelson, "Bucke, Richard Maurice (1837–1902)." Based on the information provided in this letter, it was written in 1888. Whitman had misdated it in the first days of the new year. James Gordon Bennett (1841–1918) was the editor and publisher of the New York Herald, founded by his father. For more on the paper and the many poems by Whitman that were published in it, see "The New York Herald." He is referring to Lidian Jackson Emerson (1802–1892), the second wife of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and two of their children: physician and writer Edward Waldo Emerson (1844–1930) as well as Ellen Emerson (1839–1909), named after Ralph Waldo Emerson's first wife. At this point of the letter, Morse has included a drawing of a teapot. The famous abolitionist John Brown (1800–1859) began pursuing a violent guerilla war against slavery in Kansas and Missouri in 1856. In October 1859, Brown stormed a federal armory at Harper's Ferry but was captured by marines under the command of Robert E. Lee. Brown's execution ten days later transformed him into a martyr for the abolitionist cause (see Robert McGlone, "John Brown," American National Biography Online). The Hemenway Southwestern Archaeological Expedition took place between 1886 and 1894 with the goal of unearthing Native American artifacts for a museum in Salem, Massachusetts. Sir Henry Norman (1858–1939) was an English liberal politician and on the editorial staff of the Pall Mall Gazette. In gathering funds to help Whitman, Norman was acting for the editor of the newspaper, William T. Stead (1849–1912); see American Literature, XXXIII (1961), 68–69, and the letter from Whitman to William T. Stead, August 17, 1887. See also Whitman's letter to Norman of January 3, 1887. Judah B. Voorhees (1828–1923) was the chief clerk of the Surrogate of Kings County (from 1856 to 1891), a Civil War veteran, and a columnist for local newspapers. Charles T. Sempers was a Harvard student and later became a Unitarian minister in Boston. William James (1842–1910), brother of the writer Henry James, was an American psychologist, anatomist, and philosopher, famous for coining the term "stream of consciousness." James's works contain frequent references to Whitman. Herbert Gilchrist had been raising fund in England to support Whitman. For more on this "free-will offering" see Anne Gilchrist's letter to Whitman of July 20, 1885 as well as W. M. Rossetti's letter of August 25, 1885. Leonard Morgan Brown was an English teacher from Croton-on-Hudson, New York, who had contributed to Whitman's funds in the past. The Mills Building was a 10-story business building named after San Francisco banker and owner of the structure D. O. Mills. See Rhys's letter to Walt Whitman of April 28, 1887. For more on their relationship, see see Vickie L. Taft "Dickens, Charles (1812–1870)" Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is addressed: "Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 1 | 8 PM | (?). See Bucke's letter to Whitman of November 28, 1888. He writes: "Remember me to Ed. Wilkins, tell him that every thing goes quietly along here since he left us." This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 4 | 8 PM | 88. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of December 2, 1888. Whitman is referring to Osler's friend, Dr. Wharton, whom Whitman mentions by name in his letter to Bucke of December 5, 1888. Dr. Wharton, a friend of Sir William Osler, was one of several physicians who served as medical advisors to Whitman in his final years. For more on this visit, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, December 5, 1888. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Aslyum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Cam(?) | Dec 5 | 8 P(?) | 88. Whitman enclosed "Shakspere-Bacon's Cipher," as Bucke noted on December 7, 1888 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, December 9, 1888). It was included in Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). See Whitman's letter to Kennedy, Burroughs, O'Connor, and Bucke of December 3-4, 1888. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Dec 6 (?) | 8 PM | 88. Carpenter lived with the farm worker and scythe-maker Albert Fearnehough and his wife and children, in a cottage near Sheffield, and then, after he built his house in Millthorpe in 1883, Carpenter invited Fearnehough and his family to live there with him. This letter is addressed: Edward Carpenter | Millthorpe | near Chesterfield | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 7 | 8 PM | 88. Carpenter replied at length on December 27, 1889 after receiving November Boughs, which he reviewed in the April 1889 issue of The Scottish Art Review. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 18 | 6 AM | 88. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of December 15, 1888. Perhaps a review of the translation Canti Scelti by Luigi Gamberale in 1887; see Gay Wilson Allen, Walt Whitman Abroad (1955), 187. On December 19, 1888, Bucke noted that the article in Revue Indèpendante contained eight pages of translations by Francis Vielé-Griffin (1863 or 1864–1907) and "no comment at all": "Translation not good (translator did not fully understand the English text)" (Feinberg). See also P. M. Jones, "Whitman in France," MLR, 10 (1915), 16-17. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 18 | 8 PM | 88. Vicomte Ferdinand Marie de Lesseps (1805–1894), promoter of the Suez Canal, was later president of the French company constructing the Panama Canal. The New York Tribune on December 18 noted the defeat of the Panama Canal bill in the French Chamber of Deputies. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of December 16, 1888. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 19 | 8 PM | 88. See Whitman's letter to William Sloane Kennedy, John Burroughs, William Douglas O'Connor, and Richard Maurice Bucke of December 3–4, 1888. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | DE | 20 | 88 | Canada; Camden [cut away] | Dec | 22 | 6 AM | [cut away] | Rec'd. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of December 18, 1888. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, December 18, 1888. Elisabeth Fairchild's letter was addressed to Kennedy (see Whitman's letter to Kennedy of January 5-6, 1889); Whitman was amused that she termed the book "sumptuous" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, December 28, 1888). This letter is addressed: Dr Karl Knortz | 540 East 155th Street | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Jan 8 (?) | 8(?) | 89. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of September 10, 1888 and his letter to Knortz of September 10, 1888. Anne Gilchrist: Her Life and Writings, edited by Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist, was published in 1887. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 10 | 8(?) | 88. This is an accurate summary of Rolleston's note to Whitman of September 1, 1888. Whitman is referring to James Anthony Froude's Thomas Carlyle; A History of the First Forty Years of His Life, 1795–1835 (1882) and Thomas Carlyle; A History of His Life in London, 1834–1881 (1884), and James Elliot Cabot's A Memoir of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1887). For Whitman's evaluation of Froude, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, September 3, 1888. On September 2, 1888, Richard Maurice Bucke inquired about Kennedy's projected book: "I fear publishers are not smiling upon him—fifty years from now they would be glad enough to get it" (Feinberg). Kennedy in his letter of September 4, 1888 (?) wrote that he was copying over his "Whitman MS. . . . I don't see much prospect of my book on you seeing the light soon" (Feinberg; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, September 5, 1888). This letter is addressed: Dr Knortz | 540 East 155th Street | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 10 | 8 PM | 88. Whitman is likely referring to the postal card he received from Rolleston on September 1, 1888. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | JA 9 | 89 | Canada; Camden N.J. | JAN | 11 | 6 AM | [cut away] | Rec'd. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of January 7, 1889. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of January 7, 1889. See Whitman's letters to Bucke of January 2, 1889 and January 11–13, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 13 | 3 PM | 89. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of January 9, 1889. Whitman's poem "My 71st Year" was published in Century Illustrated Magazine in November 1889. Dr. Alexander McAlister (1864–?) of Camden, along with the Philadelphia physician Daniel Longaker (1858–1949), attended and treated Whitman during his final illness. Later, after the city of Camden purchased Whitman's Mickle Street house, Dr. McAlister served as the chairman of the Walt Whitman Foundation, which was dedicated to administering and preserving the poet's final home. Whitman was still deciding on a "better binding of the big book," his Complete Poems and Prose, some copies of which had already been bound in cheaper bindings. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of January 8–9, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 15 | 8 PM | 89(?). This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Jan 18(?) | 8 PM | 89. Rhys's letter to Whitman of January 5, 1889, misdated 1888 by Rhys and by Traubel (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, January 1, 1889). The Springfield Daily Republican printed this unsigned review of the three poets on January 15, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 20 | 5 PM | 89; Buffalo, NY | Jan | 21 | 12PM | 1889 | Transit; London | AM | JA 22 | 89 | Canada. Poet-lore printed a notice of November Boughs in its March issue. The review, by W. Harrison, was titled "Walt Whitman's 'November Boughs,'" and it was the leading article in The Critic. Harrison concluded: "On the whole, all these 'boughs' together make a very rich bouquet, tied at every twig with a love-knot for the reader, and full of the unction and eloquence of a most sweet personality." Whitman observed to Traubel: "I am even inclined to rate it above all the other things so far said of the book." See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, January 24, 1889. Whitman may be referring to Carpenter's letter of December 27, 1888 or to Carpenter's letter of January 13, 1889. Howells, as the review testifies, had mellowed toward Whitman's poetry over the years, perhaps under the influence of Hamlin Garland and his own developing sense of realism. Whitman termed Howells' notice "so-so" but "friendly" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, January 24, 1888). On January 22, 1889, Richard Maurice Bucke noted receipt of Whitman's "good, heartily welcomed letter" and the various clippings. He also mentioned a "lovely" two-page review of November Boughs in The Century Guild Hobby Horse of January by Selwyn Image. The note "Ref to an entry | of Jan—24 | 1889 | G[ertrude] T[raubel]," appears in the upper right-hand corner of the first recto. The reference is to Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, January 24, 1889. Also on the first recto, written in an unidentified hand in the center of the top margin, is "To WW." See Whitman's letter to Bucke of January 19–20, 1889. See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, January 18, 1889, and Monday, February 18, 1889. Bart Bonsall described his visit of January 7 or 8, 1889, to Whitman in a paragraph in the Philadelphia Press (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, January 10, 1889). The San Francisco Chronicle [January 13, 1887], not the Bulletin contained a brief notice of November Boughs. Whitman commented: "—a notice hardly of moment . . ." (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, January 18, 1889). For more information on November Boughs, see James E. Barcus, Jr. November Boughs," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). A review of November Boughs appeared in Poet-Lore, 1 (March 1889), 145–47. This letter provides a good illustration of Whitman's and Traubel's tenacity and thoroughness in sending Bucke relevant material from periodicals. Eventually, Bucke had "over two thousand newspaper cuttings, [and] nearly four hundred magazine articles" in his Whitman collection (Letter from Richard Maurice Bucke to Charles N. Elliot of June 10, 1897: Charles E. Feinberg Collection in the Library of Congress). Selwyn Image's review of November Boughs appeared in The Century Guild Hobby Horse, 13 (January 1889), 37–39. A brief but favorable review of November Boughs appeared in the Springfield Daily Republican on December 25, 1888. Traubel sent Bucke a copy on January 7, 1889 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, January 7, 1889). Bucke is referring to Sanborn's [untitled] piece on Emerson and Whitman in the Springfield Daily Republican on January 1889 (See Henry S. Saunders, comp., "Complete Index to the Conservator: Published by Horace Traubel from March 1890 to June 1919," Manuscript held in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection in the Library of Congress). See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, January 24, 1889. In his letter of January 19–20, 1889, Whitman sent Bucke Carpenter's letter of January 13, 1889. The postscript is written in the top left-hand corner of the left recto. Horace Traubel's note, "See Notes, | Jan. 22d '89," appears in the upper left-hand corner of the first recto. The reference is to Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, January 22, 1889. This letter is not listed by Edwin Haviland Miller in Walt Whitman: The Correspondence, part of The Collected Writings of Walt Whitman. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of January 17, 1889. The book was never published. Portions of it were eventually used by Kennedy in his Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896) and The Fight of a Book for the World (1926); see Whitman's letter to Kennedy of June 20, 1886. Thomas William Rolleston and Karl Knortz, trans. Grashalme (Zurich: Schabelitz, 1889). Grashalme consists of twenty-nine selections from Leaves of Grass. Bucke is referring to an unsigned review in the Springfield Daily Republican of January 15, 1889. Whitman thought the author was Franklin B. Sanborn; see his letter to Bucke of January 17, 1889. The German newspapers had been sent to Whitman by Karl Knortz. They contain a brief note on Whitman in Germania (Steubenville, Ohio), which Traubel translated for Whitman (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, January 16, 1889); and Knortz's report of a Whitman lecture in Bhan Frei from September 18, 1886 (See the letter from Whitman to Knortz of June 19, 1883 and Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, January 15, 1889). Whitman is referring to Gabriel Sarrazin's "Poétes modernes de l'Amérique: Whitman," which was published in La Nouvelle Revue on May 1, 1888. Sarrazin himself, on January 6 1889, informed Whitman that his essay had been abridged in the journal, and that the excised portions would be restored when printed in La renaissance de la poésie anglaise. See also Roger Asselineau's article in Walt Whitman Review 5 (1959), 8–11. Whitman seems to have written a note to communicate with his visitors, who could neither hear nor speak. See Whitman's letter of January 22, 1889. Whitman asked William Sloane Kennedy and Richard Maurice Bucke to make an abstract in English of Sarrazin's essay (see Whitman's letter to Bucke of January 27, 1889). Sarrazin's piece is reprinted in an English translation by Harrison S. Morris in In Re Walt Whitman (1893, pp. 159–194). Whitman wrote this postscript at the top of the first page of the letter above the city and the date. Sarrazin is referring to his essay "Poétes modernes de l'Amérique: Whitman," which was published in La Nouvelle Revue 52 (May 1888), 164–84. Here, Sarrazin explains to Whitman that while the essay had been abridged in the journal, the excised portions would be restored when printed in La renaissance de la poésie anglaise. See Roger Asselineau's article in Walt Whitman Review 5 (1959), 8–11. After receiving Sarrazin's letter, Whitman then asked William Sloane Kennedy and Richard Maurice Bucke to make an abstract in English of Sarrazin's essay (see Whitman's letter to Kennedy of January 22, 1889, and to Bucke of January 27, 1889). Sarrazin's piece is reprinted in an English translation by Harrison S. Morris in In Re Walt Whitman (1893, pp. 159–194). On January 21, 1889 Kennedy wrote about his manuscript and Howells' article. He argued on January 29, 1889 with Whitman's speculation about Wilson. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan [illegible]3 | 8 PM | 89; London | AM | JA 25 | 89 | Canada. See Ellen O'Connor's postal card to Whitman of January 21, 1889. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 | O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 20 | 6 P M | 89; Washington, Rec'd | Jan 21 | 2 AM | 89 | 9. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 24 | 8 PM | 89; London | AM | JA 25 | 89 | Canada. In his letter to Whitman of January 26, 1889, Bucke was concerned that "$1.24 is a big slice off $6. The price of the book should have been more than $6. I would not have put it a cent below $10" (Syracuse; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, January 30, 1889). In his letter to Whitman of January 18, 1889, Charles Allen Thorndike Rice requested "an article of two thousand words, or less," on "The American Ideal in Fiction" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, January 24, 1889). Rice died on May 16, 1889; see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, May 16, 1889 and Friday, May 17, 1889. See William Dean Howells's "Editor's Study," Harper's New Monthly Magazine 78 (February 1889): 488–9. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of January 22, 1889. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of January 23, 1889. See the letter from Rice to Whitman of January 18, 1889. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of January 23, 1889. For a mention of this letter, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, January 26, 1889. Horace Traubel's note, "see | notes | 1/30/89," appears in the upper right-hand corner of the first recto. The reference is to Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, January 28, 1889. The note, "To WW," is written in an unidentified hand. Lozynsky was unable to identify these titles. The first appears to be a narrative in a newspaper, and the second may have been a parody of Whitman. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of January 23–24, 1889. See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, January 14, 1889. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, January 30, 1889. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, January 24, 1889. Bucke is referring to Walker Kennedy's "Walt Whitman," North American Review, 138 (June 1884), 591–601. This postal card is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | London Asylum | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 27 | 5 PM | 89. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: [illegible] | 8 PM | 89; London | AM | JA 31 | 89 | Canada. G. C. Macaulay's article "Walt Whitman" (see Whitman's postcard to Josiah Child of December 17, 1882). There is a diagonal line drawn through this letter in blue crayon. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 31 | 8 PM | 89; London | AM | FE 2 | 89 | Canada. This letter has not been identified. Bucke briefly mentions the fire in his letter to Whitman of January 26, 1889. Whitman was violently exercised about this "young scamp" and "young scoundrel" (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, February 1, 1889). However, on June 27, 1889, he sent Duckett $10 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; see also Traubel, Thursday, June 27, 1889). When Duckett asked for $10 or $15 on December 20, 1889, Whitman refused. Whitman is referring to Carpenter's review of November Boughs in The Scottish Art Review (see also the notes to Whitman's letter to Carpenter of January 16, 1889). This letter is addressed: Edward Carpenter | Millthorpe | near Chesterfield | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan (?) | 8 PM | 89. On January 13, 1889, Carpenter sent Whitman a copy of his review of November Boughs that appeared in the April issue of The Scottish Art Review, and enclosed a gift of 22s. 6d. from an anonymous Belfast friend. See Carpenter's letter to Whitman of January 13, 1889. See Whitman's letter to Carpenter of January 11, 1889, where he mistakenly informs Carpenter that he had not received the original money draft. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden | Feb 3 | 5 PM | 89; Philadelphia, PA | Feb | 3 | 6 PM | 1889 | Buffalo, NY | FB | 4 | 2PM | 1889 | Transit; London | AM | FE 5 | Canada. Davis received $140 after paying her attorney's fee of $50 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). One of the young men was Bilstein, a printer (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, February 3, 1889). Whitman may be referring to Carpenter's letter of January 27, 1889. Bucke's letters to Whitman of January 31, 1889 do not seem to be extant. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of January 31, 1889. Bucke is referring to Carpenter's review of November Boughs in The Scottish Art Review (see also notes to Whitman's letter to Carpenter of January 16, 1889. Whitman had asked both Kennedy and Bucke to make an abstract in English of Sarrazin's "Poétes moderns de l'amérique, Walt Whitman," La Nouvelle Revue, 52 (May 1888), 164–84 (see Whitman's letter to Kennedy of January 22, 1889, and to Bucke of January 27, 1889). Sarrazin's piece is reprinted in an English translation by Harrison S. Morris in In Re Walt Whitman (1893, pp. 159–194). The letter is discussed in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, February 5, 1889, and Saturday, February 9, 1889. A building had recently burned down on the London Asylum grounds. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of January 26, 1889. Whitman had asked both Kennedy and Bucke to make an abstract in English of Sarrazin's "Poétes moderns de l'amérique, Walt Whitman," La Nouvelle Revue, 52 (May 1888), 164–84 (see Whitman's letter to Kennedy of January 22, 1889, and to Bucke of January 27, 1889). Sarrazin's piece is reprinted in an English translation by Harrison S. Morris in In Re Walt Whitman (1893, pp. 159–194). This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb. 5 | 8 PM | 89. The first issue of this new journal had a lengthy notice (14–23), with a foreword by Bucke, Frank Fowler's etching, and a photograph. Whitman is referring to Gabriel Sarrazin's "Poetes modernes de l'Amerique, Walt Whitman," which appeared in La Nouvelle Revue, 52 (May 1, 1888), 164–184. Whitman had asked both William Sloane Kennedy and Richard Maurice Bucke to make an abstract in English of it (see Whitman's letter to Kennedy of January 22, 1889, and to Bucke of January 27, 1889). Sarrazin's piece is reprinted in an English translation by Harrison S. Morris in In Re (1893, pp. 159–194). Whitman is referring to Gabriel Sarrazin's "Poetes modernes de l'Amerique, Walt Whitman," which appeared in La Nouvelle Revue, 52 (May 1, 1888), 164–184. Whitman also asked William Sloane Kennedy to make an abstract in English of it (see Whitman's letter to Kennedy of January 22, 1889. Sarrazin's piece is reprinted in an English translation by Harrison S. Morris in In Re (1893, pp. 159–194). This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 6 | 8 PM | 89. See the letter from Mary Costelloe to Whitman of January 25–26, 1889. The date for this letter is provided by Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, February 9, 1889. "Buckwheat," in French is "sarrasin." This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Feb 8 | 12 M | 89. In her note of February 7, 1889, Ellen O'Connor requested that Whitman let Bucke know that William "is failing." This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 10 | 5 PM | 89. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of February 7, 1889. See Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe's letter to Whitman of January 25–26, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 12 | 8 PM | 89; [illegible] | Feb 12 | 8 P M | 89; London | AM | FE 14 | 89 | Canada. The Atlantic Monthly, 60 (1887), 275–281, contained a judicious review of Anne Gilchrist, but the writer took exception to her enthusiasm for Whitman's creed: "But we think she was wrong, fundamentally, in her philosophy; for materialism, however far it may be developed, never has accounted, and never can account, for the sons of God" (280). Whitman considered the review "malodorous" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, March 6, 1889). See Rolleston's letter to Whitman of February 2, 1889. On January 7, 1889, Rolleston informed the poet that he had just returned the proofs to the publisher and that he would send on thirty copies of the German translation. The notice appeared on February 9 and was written by Francis M. Larned (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, March 29, 1889). Whitman pronounced it "a noble piece indeed: that man knows, understands!" (Wednesday, February 20, 1889). Larned's review was euologistic, though, not especially perceptive—the response of an idolator who admired the person as much as the poet: "With 'November Boughs' the work of Walt Whitman may be considered finished. The age of the poet (he was born in 1819), his infirmity, the suggestive title of the volume, and the character of its contents all indicate that it is the final word, the last farewell, of one who awaits death with the tranquil mind and the clear vision of the prophet. . . . It is impossible to contemplate the life of this man, with a thorough knowledge of his work or even with an imperfect realization of it, without experiencing a feeling of profound and reverential respect. But we are too near him now to get other than an imperfect view of him: his personality is so great that it crowds the narrow field of our vision; to be adequately grasped and appreciated he must be seen in the perspective of at least one hundred years. His figure then will be sharply outlined against the background of history, and the future will see with unshaded eye and in a light softened and tempered by time that of which the present can get but a partial view." (Edwin Haviland Miller credits the Newberry Library for Larned's notice.) Whitman is referring to Symonds' letter of January 29, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 13 | 8 PM | 89. Ellen O'Connor's letter to Whitman of February 12, 1889, written while she was "nearly blind from loss of sleep," was filled with self-pity. Whitman's letter to Bucke was written on the verso of O'Connor's. On February 12, 1889, Gilder requested a piece for The Critic from Whitman to honor the seventieth birthday of Lowell on February 22, 1889. Whitman had received a brief note from Rolleston on February 2, 1889. The date for this letter is provided in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, February 17, 1889. On February 8, 1889, Whitman forwarded to the physician Richard Maurice Bucke, a February 7, 1889, card from Ellen O'Connor, in which she asked the poet to tell Bucke that William "is failing." Horace Traubel's note, "see | notes | Feb 19 | 1889," appears in the upper right-hand corner of the recto. The reference is to Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, February 19, 1889. The note "TO HT" is written in an unidentified hand.This letter has been misclassified as being from Bucke to Traubel. It is, in fact, from Bucke to Whitman. According to Loyzynsky, there is both internal and external evidence for his attribution; see Artem Loyzynsky, ed., The Letters of Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke to Walt Whitman (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1977), 108–109.
This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Feb 20 | 8 PM | 89. Rhys wrote from Wales on February 2, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 19 | 8 PM | 89. Whitman is referring to "The Gospel According to Walt Whitman," a review of November Boughs published in The Pall Mall Gazette on January 25, 1889. Oscar Wilde wrote the review, but it was unsigned in the original. Whitman sent Miss Eliza Langley, a bookdealer in Reading, England, Leaves of Grass and Specimen Days for "Mrs: General Faber" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), ordered by Langley on March 9, 1889. Horace Traubel's note, "see | notes | March 22 | 1889," appears in the upper right-hand corner of the recto. The reference is to Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, March 22, 1889. The note "TO WW?" is written in an unidentified hand. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Volume 4: 224–371. Bucke is referring to Charlotte Carmichael Stopes's The Bacon Shakespeare Question Answered, 2nd ed (London: Truber & Co., 1889). As Bucke states here, Stopes believed that Shakespeare had written the plays attributed to him. The title of her book, however, refers to arguments that Shakespeare's plays had been written by Francis Bacon. Horace Traubel's note, "see | notes | March 23 | & 24 1889," appears in the upper left-hand corner of the recto. The reference is to Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, March 23–24, 1889. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of March 19, 1889. Bucke is referring to Roden Noel's "A Study of Walt Whitman," The Dark Blue (2 Oct.–Nov. 1871), 241–53, 336–49; reprinted in Essays on Poetry and Poets (1886), 304–41. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, March 23, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 22 | [illegible] PM | 89. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of March 20, 1889. Horace Traubel's note, "see | notes | March 24 | 1889," appears in the upper left-hand corner of the recto. The reference is to Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, March 24, 1889. Bucke's own accounts of his wanderings were published as "Twenty-Five Years Ago," Overland Monthly, 1, second series (June 1883), 553–560 and as "On the Humboldt" in the London Advertiser on June 28, 1888; see also James H. Coyne, Richard Maurice Bucke: A Sketch (Toronto, Canada: Henry S. Saunders, 1923), 16–29. Whitman incorporated Bucke's poem in his article "Letter from Walt Whitman [on St. Lawrence River Trip]," which was published on August 26, 1880 in the London (Ontario) Advertiser, the Camden Daily Post, and the Philadelphia Press. The article contained ten paragraphs, and according to Whitman paragraphs 7–8 were by Bucke (Floyd Stovall, ed., Walt Whitman: Prose Works 1892, 2 vols. [New York: New York University Press, 1964], 1:346). This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden [illegible] | Mar 24 | 5 PM | 89. On March 27, 1889, Bucke observed bluntly: "the price of the book once established cannot well be changed and if McK paid $3.33 and $1.28 for binding = $4.61 he would have too little profit." Horace Traubel's note, "see | notes | March 26 | 1889," appears in the upper left-hand corner of the recto. The reference is to Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, March 26, 1889. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of March 21, 1889. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, March 26, 1889. This is likey an error in Artem Lozynsky's transcription. Bucke likely wrote "May" instead of "Mary." Artem Lozynsky points to the English translation of Sarrazin's essay to reveal Sarrazin's understanding of Whitman's thoughts on the philosopher Hegel: "Surely, I repeat, as regards thought this pantheism is not new, and we have but to examine it a little closer to recognize under the mystic tide of words the theory of the identity of contradictions announced by Hegel, the greatest of philosophers according to Walt Whitman, ('Specimen Days,' pp. 174–177)" (Gabriel Sarrazin, "Walt Whitman," translated by Harrison S. Morris, In Re Walt Whitman, ed. Horace Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas B. Harned [Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893], 163–164). In the essay, "Carlyle from American Points of View," Whitman explains that, when it comes to "the impalpable human mind and concrete Nature," Hegel's "fuller statement of the matter [the relation between the 'Me' and the 'Not me', according to Lozynsky] probably remains the last best word that has been said upon it, up to date" (Specimen Days [Glasgow: Wilson and McCormick, 1883], 175). See The Letters of Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke to Walt Whitman, ed. Artem Loyzynsky (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1977), 113n1. Yet, Whitman goes on to write in the same essay that although the philosophers' contributions (including Hegel's) are "indispensible to the erudition of America's future," "there seems to be . . . something lacking—something cold, a failure to satisfy the deepest emotions of the soul—a want of living glow, fondness, warmth, which the old exaltes and poets supply, and which the keenest modern philosophers so far do not" (Specimen Days [Glasgow: Wilson and McCormick, 1883], 177). See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, May 6, 1889. This letter continues at the top of the first page. Denis Diderot (1713–1784) was a French philosopher and writer who was the chief editor of the Encyclopédie (1751–1772). Charles-Joseph Panckoucke (1736–1798), a French writer and publisher, oversaw the publication of the Encyclopédie Méthodique (1792–1832), along with his son-in-law Henri Agasse (1752–1813); Thérèse-Charlotte Agasse—Panckoucke's daughter and Agasse's widow—completed the work. All of Bucke's research here was in the service of one line of Whitman's opening remarks in his November Boughs essay "Notes (such as they are) founded on Elias Hicks"; in a catalog of "the foremost actors and events from 1750 to 1830 both in Europe and America [that] were crowding each other on the world's stage," Whitman mentions how "the many quarto volumes of the Encyclopædia Française are being published at fits and intervals, by Diderot, in Paris." Horace Traubel's note, "see | notes | March 27 | 1889," appears in the upper left-hand corner of the recto. The reference is to Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, March 27, 1889. See Whitman's postal card to Bucke of March 22, 1889 and Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, March 26, 1889. Bucke owned the following manuscript of Whitman's "Song of the Redwood Tree": 'Autograph Manuscript Revision of the "Song of the Redwood-Tree." 4 pp. 12mo, with about 20 words in manuscript and many changes in publication' (AAA, #254, p. 102). The poem was first published in Harper's Monthly Magazine (February 1874): 366–367. In an animated conversation between Whitman and Harned a week later, Harned made clear that he found Dr. Bucke to be "no sort of business man: he's all right every other way, but as a promoter he's the deadliest failure I ever came up against. My people refused to put up the money without adequate protection." See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, April 3, 1889. This postal card is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 26 | 8 PM | 89. Bucke wrote candidly on March 23, 1889: "We must make up our minds to his death or worse—for should he live much longer his life would necessarily become a burden to himself and others." He enclosed a letter from Dr. T. B. Hood, O'Connor's physician, written on March 19 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, March 26, 1889). Horace Traubel's note, "see | notes | March 28 | 1889," appears in the upper left-hand corner of the recto. The reference is to Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, March 28, 1889. Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, March 28, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: (?) | Mar 27 | 8 PM | 89. Ellen O'Connor's card to Whitman of March 26, 1889 was terse and poignant: "It is most sad & pitiful, & I am glad you can't see him." Bucke forwarded the article to Whitman on March 22, 1889. John Bright (1811–1889) was an English statesman and admirer of Lincoln. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | AP 13 | 89 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | APR | 15 | 6 AM | 1889 | Rec'd. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of April 11, 1889. See Whitman's letter to William Sloane Kennedy, William D. O'Connor, and Richard Maurice Bucke of April 8, 1889. Whitman mentions having received this letter from Bucke in conversation with Horace Traubel. See Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, April 11, 1889. See Whitman's postal card to Bucke of April 7, 1889. Carpenter's review of November Boughs appeared in the Scottish Art Review (April 1889), 334–35. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, April 11, 1889. Artem Lozynsky, editor of The Letters of Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke to Walt Whitman, writes that he was "unable to identify 'the little bundle of papers'" (120). Horace Traubel's note, "see | notes | March 29 | 1889," appears in the upper left-hand corner of the recto. The reference is to Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, March 29, 1889. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of March 23–24, 1889. See Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, March 29, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 27 | 6 AM | 89; N. Y. | [illegible] | 1030 AM | 2; London | PM | MR 30 | 89 | Canada. The receipt and the financial statement appear in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, March 28, 1889. Whitman is likely referring to Bucke's letter of March 27, 1889. On March 17, 1889, Spaulding visited Whitman in Camden. When she returned to Boston, she wrote to thank him for the visit; on March 28, 1889, she sent Whitman flowers. Horace Traubel's note, "see | notes | March 30 | 1889," appears in the upper left-hand corner of the recto. The reference is to Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, March 30, 1889. See Whitman's postal card to Bucke of March 26, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Mar 29 | 8 PM | 89. See Whitman's letter to Stedman of March 31, 1889. William Sloane Kennedy wrote on March 28, 1889 about the account of Whitman in Appleton's New Dictionary of American Biography (Feinberg). Bucke had written to Whitman on March 26, 1889, March 27, 1889, and March 28, 1889. Horace Traubel's note, "see | notes | April 6 | 1889," appears in the upper left-hand corner of the recto. The reference is to Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, April 6, 1889. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of March 27, 1889. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of March 28, 1889. A review of November Boughs appeared in the Saturday Review on March 2, 1889. This postal card is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar (?) | 5 PM | 89; London | AM | Ap 2 | 89 | Canada. Horace Traubel's note, "see | notes | April 3 | 1889," appears in the upper left-hand corner of the recto. The reference is to Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, April 3, 1889. On March 29, 1889, Whitman wrote Bucke: "A long & good letter f'm Stedman & a present of the big vols: (all yet printed, 7) of his 'American Literature' in wh' I appear (with good wood-engraving portrait)" (see also Whitman's letter to Edmund Clarence Stedman of March 31, 1889). Whitman receives more space (and a full-page portrait) in Vol. VII of Stedman's A Library of American Literature: From the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time (1889), co-edited with Ellen Mackay Hutchinson, than any other poet. See Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, April 3, 1889. Horace Traubel's note, "see | notes | April 6 | 1889," appears in the upper left-hand corner of the recto. The reference is to Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, April 6, 1889. See Whitman's postal card to Bucke of March 31, 1889. Although Whitman celebrated "gasometers" in "Song of the Exposition"—in which the Muse is "Bluff'd not a bit by drain-pipe, gasometers, artificial fertilizers" (Leaves of Grass: Comprehensive Reader's Edition, Harold W. Blodgett and Sculley Bradley, eds. [New York: New York University Press, 1965], 198)—he had little faith in Gurd's new invention: "It's equally useless whether it's the one thing or the other [i.e. the gas and fluid meter or the gas meter]" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, April 6, 1889). Horace Traubel's note, "see | notes | April 5 | 1889 | [mutilation]," appears in the upper left-hand corner of the recto. The note refers to Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, April 5, 1889. Bucke is referring to Danbury, Connecticut. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, April 5, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 5 | 6 AM | 89; N.Y. | 4-5-89 | 10 30 AM | 2. The checks amounted to $196.64 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Horace Traubel's note, "see | notes | April 6 | 1889," appears in the upper left-hand corner of the recto. The reference is to Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, April 6, 1889. See Whitman's postal card to William D. O'Connor of April 2, 1889. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 2 | 8 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd. | Apr 3 | 7 AM | 89 | 7. This postal card is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden [illegible] | Apr 7 | 5 PM | 89. Mr. Moorhouse or Morehouse was a Unitarian minister in Camden (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, April 8, 1889, and Saturday, September 14, 1889). This postal card is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 8 | 8 PM | 89. This postal card is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Apr 11 | 8 PM | 89. This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 7 | 5 PM | 89. George W. Smalley(1833–1916), the London correspondent for the New York Tribune known for his reporting on the Battle of Antietam, celebrated Bright's life and political career in the March 28, 1889, issue of the paper. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington DC. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 21 | 6 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd. | Mar 22 | 7 AM | 89 | 7. This postal card is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington DC. It is postmarked: Camden [illegible] | Mar 22 | 8 PM | 89. According to Ellen's note of the preceding day (March 21, 1889), William's health remained unchanged. Of the article, Whitman commented: "It seems to me here is one of the best brief statements of us—if not the best—that has ever been made. It is true it is severely toned down, but then it is carefully put together: every word tells" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, March 26, 1889). (The account of Whitman appears in the Supplement to Encyclopedia Britannica [Ninth Edition]: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature, vol. 4 [New York: J. M. Stoddart, 1889], 772). This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Mar 20 | 8 PM | 89. Whitman is likely referring to the letter from Kennedy dated March 18, 1889. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: (Cam(?)) | Mar (?) | 8 PM | 89. The Saturday Review of Poetics, Literature, Science, and Art on March 2, 1889, was not nearly so intemperate as Whitman alleged; it would have none of the excesses of O'Connor and Bucke, but the final paragraph was not without point: "No; let us, if it be ours to lecture on poetry, hold up Walt Whitman as much as any one pleases for an awful example of the fate that waits, and justly waits, on those who think (idle souls!) that there is such a thing as progress in poetry, and that because you have steam-engines and other things which Solomon and Sappho had not, you may, nay must, neglect the lessons of Sappho and Solomon. But let us none the less confess that this strayed reveller, this dubiously well-bred truant in poetry, is a poet still, and one of the remarkably few poets that his own country has produced." An earlier notice of Whitman appeared in the journal on May 2, 1868 (see footnote 6 to Whitman's letter to John Camden Hotten of April 24–25, 1868. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 11 | 8 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd. | Apr 12 | 6 AM | 89 | 7. William M. Payne forwarded on April 7, 1889 his review of November Boughs in the Chicago Evening Journal of March 16 (Feinberg). This postal card is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | 16 Apr | 8 PM; Washington, Rec'd. | Apr 17 | 7 A M | 89 | 7. This postal card is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camde[illegible] | 17 Apr | 8 PM. He sent Bucke's biography Walt Whitman (1883) and two copies of November Boughs to Miss Langley (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Apr 2(?) | 8 P(?) | 89. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Apr 26 | 8 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd. | Apr 27 | 6 A M | 89 | 7. Whitman is likely referring to Ellen Connor's letter dated April 24, 1889. Jones's report can be found in Stedman, ed., The Library of American Literature 3 (New York: Charles L. Webster & Company, 1889), 380–387. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden [illegible] | Apr 28 | 5 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd. | Apr29 | 2 A M | 89 | 7. Whitman is referring to the three-day celebration of the centennial commemorating the inauguration of George Washington. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?)| May 3 | 8 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd. | May 4 | 7 A M | 89 | 7. According to her note on April 30 1889, there had been "a let up for nearly 48 hours, but the old trouble vomiting, in addition to all the others, has come on again." This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 5 | 5 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd. | May 6 | 2 AM | 89 | 7. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 6 | 8 PM | 89. This letter is addressed: Mrs: O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 01 | 6 AM | 89. This letter is addressed: Mrs: O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 12 | 5 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd. | May 13 | 2 AM | 89 | 7. This postal card is addressed: Mrs: O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Jul 2 | (?) PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd. | Jul 3 | 7 AM | 89 | 5. Liberty (September 7, 1889) carried Horace Traubel's brief obituary for O'Connor. The obituary is reprinted in Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, July 1, 1889. Traubel also wrote another obituary for Unity, 23 (June 29, 1889), 138. This letter is addressed: Mrs: O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 4 | 5 PM | 89; Wash. D.C. Forwarded. | Aug 5 | (?) 30 PM | 89. In his transcription of the Washington, DC postmark, Miller incorrectly records the year as "29." Since the year is clearly, 1889, the year of the postmark has been corrected to "89." Whitman praises Horace Traubel's article on William D. O'Connor in conversation with Traubel. See Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, September 7, 1889. This letter is addressed: Mrs: E M O'Connor | North Perry | Maine. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 27 | 8 PM | 89. Poet-lore printed a review of November Boughs in March 1889 (pg. 147) and an account of the birthday banquet in July 1889 (pg. 348). Ellen O'Connor on September 12 asked Whitman's advice as to which picture of her husband she should submit to Appleton's Encyclopedia. She also described her anxiety: "I dread, dear Walt, I can't tell any one how much I dread the going back home. I say home, but the sense of loneliness that overtakes me when I think of going is heart-sickening. And the uncertainty of all adds to it" (Feinberg). In her September 26, 1889, letter, Ellen O'Connor termed Traubel's note "noble and generous." This letter is addressed: Mrs: E M O'Connor | care Charles E Legg | 146 Devonshire Street | Boston Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 19 | 8 PM | 89; Boston | Sep 20 89 | 3 PM | 6. Horace L. Traubel's article, "W.D. O'Connor of Massachusetts," was published in Liberty 6 (September 7, 1889), 5. Whitman praises the article in conversation with Traubel. See Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, September 7, 1889. This letter is addressed: Mrs: E M O'Connor | care Chs: E Legg | 146 Devonshire Street | Boston Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 29 | 5 PM | 89; Boston | Sep [illegible] 89 | [illegible] AM | 6. Whitman is referring to O'Connor's letter of September 26, 1889. This letter is addressed: Mrs: E M O'Connor | care C E Legg 146 Devonshire St: | Boston Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Nov 7 | 8 PM | 89; Boston | Nov 8 89 | 2 PM | 4. In her letter to Whitman the following day, November 8, 1889, Ellen O'Connor reported that she hoped to see Whitman "next week." This letter is addressed: Mrs: E M O'Connor | 1015 O St N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Cam(?) | Nov 24 | 5 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd. | Nov 25 | 2 AM | 8(?) | 6. This letter is not known and may not be extant. Thomas Rolleston, an Irish poet and journalist, wrote to Whitman from Wiesbaden on November 10, 1889. In his letter, he enclosed a clipping from the Piccadilly of October 31, an account of the German acceptance of the Knortz-Rolleston translation. For more information on Rolleston, see Walter Grünzweig, "Rolleston, Thomas William Hazen (1857–1920)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is addressed: Mrs: E M O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N J. | Dec 18 | 6 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd. | Dec 19 | 11 AM | 89. See Burroughs letter to Whitman of December 17, 1889. Ellen O'Connor replied on December 21, 1889: she had visited William's grave and "plucked a few leaves [of ivy] for you." This letter is addressed: Mrs: O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N J. | Apr 30 | 8 PM | 90; Washington | May 1 | 11 30 AM | 90; [cut away] | 5 - 1 - [cut away] | 10 | N.Y.; Washington, D.C. | May 1 | 6 AM | 90. Ellen O'Connor, on April 27, 1890, described her low spirits in the year following her husband's death. This letter is addressed: Mrs: O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 9 | 6 PM | 90. This postal card is addressed: Mrs. O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | (?); Washington, Rec'd. | 6 AM | (?) 22 | (?). This letter is addressed: Mrs: O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Ca(?) | Sep(?) | 8 PM | 90; Washington, D C | Sep 26 | 7 AM | 1. This letter is addressed: Mrs: E M O'Connor | 112 M Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 2(?) | 8 PM | 90; Washington. Recd. | Sep 30 | 6 AM | 90. See Whitman's letter to Ellen O'Connor of September 21, 1890. Ellen replied on October 5, 1890: "Thank you again for the Preface. I am pleased with it, for I know you wrote what you felt to write. I know that you & I feel more & more a most tender & growing love for dear William, & all his noble and generous qualities show out to me by contrast, all the time." The enclosed Preface contains the following annotation: "Proof of W's Introduction to 'Three Tales.'" This letter is addressed: Mrs: O'Connor | 112 M Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | APR 8 | 8 PM | 91. See Whitman's letter to Richard Maurice Bucke of March 30–31, 1891. William D. O'Connor's "The Brazen Android" was published in two parts The Atlantic Monthly: Part 1, vol. 67, no. 402, April 1891, pp. 433–454; Part 2, vol. 67, no. 403, May 1891, pp. 577–599. In 1891, Ellen O'Connor left Washington DC to live in Providence, Rhode Island. This letter is addressed: Mrs: O'Connor | 34 Benefit St: | Providence | R I. It is postmarked: Camden, N J. | Nov 12 | (?) PM | 91. Ellen O'Connor replied to Whitman on November 14 and provided the poet an explanation of why she had cut some of Whitman's prefact to Three Tales. She wrote: "I cut out in your preface what was said of the children; it seemed to be, on the whole, better not to speak of the family, but only of William." For the excised passage of Whitman's preface, see Complete Prose Works (New York, D. Appleton, 1910), 690. Three Tales by William Douglas O'Connor, with a preface by Whitman, was issued in late 1891, even though the publication date was listed as 1892. This postal card is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 26 | 8 PM | 89. Kennedy requested permission on October 15, 1889 to quote Whitman's comments on Whittier; the poet wrote on Kennedy's letter: "don't know ab't this—wasn't indited for publication." Omer Fenimore Hershey (1867–?) was the son of Menno Frick and Malinda Reed (Matter) Hershey. He was a graduate of Harvard Law School and later practiced for many years as an attorney in Baltimore, Maryland. He married Sylvia Rhodora Shaffer in 1892, and the couple had two daughters, Helen (1894) and Louise (1895). See "Omer Fenimore Hershey ('91)," Record of the Class of 1892. Secretary's Report No. V. For the Twentieth Anniversary (Boston: The Fort Hill Press, 1912), 206. In 1895, Hershey described himself as "Practising law on a little oatmeal . . . Have done nothing to be proud of. Am taking life easy, and going in for happiness and contentment. Married life, 'a grand sweet song,' even though there aren't three babies" (Harvard College Class of 1891 Secretary's Report, No. 2 [Boston: Alfred Mudge & Son, Printers, 1895], 41). This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: C[cut away] | Jan 3[cut away] | 7 P [cut away]; Camden [illegible] | Jan | 4 | 12 [illegible] | [illegible]. The word "OVER" is written in the bottom right corner of this page. This letter is addressed: Walt. Whitman | Poet | Camden, N.J. It is postmarked Dalton | Sep 21 1888 | Mass; NY | 9-21-88 | 8PM; Camden, N.J. | Sep | 22 | 6AM | 88 ] Rec'd. On the left side of the front of the envelope, Haley has written: "If not called for in 10 days return to Mrs C.S. Haley—Dalton Mass." This postal card is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | 17 Apr | (?) PM. Whitman is referring to an article by C. Sadakichi Hartmann (1867–1944), "Walt Whitman. Notes of a Conversation with the Good Gray Poet by a German Poet and Traveller." It appeared in the New York Herald on April 14, 1889. For Whitman's reactions, see his April 17, 1889, letter to Bucke and his May 4, 1889, letter to William Sloane Kennedy. See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, April 16, 1889, and Wednesday, April 17, 1889. Bucke prepared a correction for the Herald which was not printed (Traubel, Monday, May 6, 1889). Heyde's extant letters from the month of October 1888 are dated the 19th and 27th. Given that he wrote the present letter on a Sunday, we can safely eliminate the Sundays (the 21st and 28th) falling closest to these two letters. The most likely date of composition is either the 7th or 14th of October, 1888. Apparently Whitman had forgotten the postcard O'Connor wrote on December 9th in which he said: "I have been very sick and feeble for a month past, but am a little better. My eye got open at last, but is still bleary and bad" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, December 12, 1888). This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman, | the American Poet, | 328. Mickle Street 328. | Camden, N.J. Etats Unis. It is postmarked: Paris | 6e [illegible] | J[illegible] | 88 | [illegible]; New York | [illegible]; [illegible] | Rec'd; 6 [illegible] | J[illegible] | 88 | R. De[illegible]; Paid | G | AL[illegible]. Regarding this postal card, Whitman said to Traubel: "I do not make light of such matters." See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, June 23, 1888; see also Whitman's June 24, 1888, letter to Richard Maurice Bucke. The letter continues at the top of the postal card. La Salette-Fallavaux is a village in southwestern France where, in 1846, two children saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary. There is now a Sanctuary of Our Lady of La Salette, built in the mountains near where the apparition appeared, and also shrines dedicated to Our Lady of La Salette in Portugal, the United States, and Mexico. Whitman explained the error at length (with many interpolations) in The Commonplace-Book: "A very bad (never so bad before) lapse of my own memory. Edw'd Carpenter sent me a bank draft $174:37, last part of May, '88, wh' by Lou or Mrs: D[avis] I deposited (I was very ill at the time bedfast) in Bank July 2. Then in Jan: '89, not hearing of the first draft & fearing it lost, E C sent me the same draft in duplicate, & I forgetting all ab't the first (I had not rec'd it & supposing it lost) deposited it & was credited in Bank. Of course on presenting it for payment (to J M Shoemaker & Co. bankers) they spoke of the paid original draft, & I gave the Camden bank my cheque $174:37" (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See Whitman's January 16, 1889, letter to Carpenter, and Carpenter's reply on January 27, 1889. See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, February 17, 1889. See Whitman's letter to Carpenter of December 6, 1888. On January 12, 1889, Whitman wrote to Richard Maurice Bucke indicating that he had just received a letter from Garland. Ellen Louise Chandler Moulton (1835–1908) was an American poet and critic who published several collections of verse and prose, in addition to making regular contributions to the New York Tribune and Boston Herald. Moulton corresponded with Whitman starting in 1876 and visited him in Camden on April 23, 1888; she wrote of their meeting in her article, "Three Very Famous People. Mrs. Cleveland, George W. Childs and Walt Whitman. Words of Washington and Philadelphia. Poet Who Wrote of the Birds on Paumanok's Shore" (Boston Sunday Herald, April 29, 1888, 20). Though she had words of praise for Whitman and his work, Whitman said of her, "I can't endure her effusiveness: I like, respect her: but her dear this and dear that and dear the other thing make me shudder" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, March 1, 1889). Baxter's review, "Whitman's Complete Works," appeared in the Boston Herald, January 3, 1889, p. 4. He was lavish in his praise for the volume, remarking that this edition is "monumental in our literature." For more on reviews of Whitman's Complete Works, see Kenneth M. Price and Janel Cayer, "'It might be us speaking instead of him!': Individuality, Collaboration, and the Networked Forces Contributing to 'Whitman," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review, vol. 33, no. 2, 2015, pp. 114–124. In Carpenter's July 1, 1880, letter to Whitman, he describes Roberts as a "Cambridge fellow lecturer . . . a Welshman." Francis "Frank" William Deas (1862–1951) was a Scottish architect and landscape designer. He was also an amateur landscape painter. It is unclear to whom Carpenter is referring; he could be misremembering Harry Stafford's first name, or Horace Traubel's, for that matter. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: New York | Aug | 18; Camden, N.J. | Aug | 18 | [illegible]M | [illegible] | R[illegible]; Zurich | ZVIIL90.—5 | BRF. [illegible]; Paid | A | ALL; DA[illegible] | ZVIIL90. IX— | PLATZ. For Symonds' essay, see his book, Essays Speculative and Suggestive, Volume 2 (London: Chapman and Hall, 1890), 30–77. Simmons is quoting from Whitman's poem "To You," the final section of "Messenger Leaves," which was published in the third edition of Leaves of Grass in 1860. Simmons has written "Mr. Walt Whitman" at the bottom of the first page of the letter. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, (?) | Mar (?) | 8 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd. | Mar 14 | 7 AM | 89 | 7. Ellen O'Connor reported on March 12, 1889, that "William has recovered his mental balance, & is once more rational" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, March 13, 1889). This postal card is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Mar 18 | 8 PM | 89; Washington, Rec'd | Mar 19 | 7 AM | 89 | 5. For details of the "collapse," see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, March 18, 1889; and Friday, March 22, 1889. Whitman may be referring to the March 13, 1889, letter he received from Ellen O'Connor. This letter is addressed: Saml G Stanley | Sash &c Manufacturer | Butler street n'r 3d avenue | Brooklyn New York. It is postmarked: Camden [illegible] | Mar 27 | 8 PM | 89. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street N W | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Mar 29 | 6 AM | 89. Ellen O'Connor's note on March 27, 1889 was encouraging: "Wm. has had the best day to-day of any since the attacks last Sat[urday]." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328 Mickle St | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: Westpark | Mar | [illegible] | 1889 | N.Y.; Camden N.J. | Mar | 29 | [illegible] PM | Rec'd. For more on Whitman's feelings toward Kennan and DeKay, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, August 22, 1889. Richard Watson Gilder was a close friend of Frances Folsom Cleveland (1886–1908), President Grover Cleveland's young wife, and often socialized with the President and his family. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Mar (?) | 6 (?) | 8(?); Philadelphia, Pa. | Mar | 21 | 7 30 PM | 1889. Ellen O'Connor's card to Whitman of March 20, 1889 noted no significant change in William's condition (Feinberg). A fib or a lapse of memory; see Whitman's letter to William Sloane Kennedy of March 20, 1889. Harned attempted to make the legal arrangements for the manufacture of Bucke's meter. This letter is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J | Jul 30 | 8 PM | 89; Kirkwood | Jul | 31 | 1889 | N.J. This postal card is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 2 | 8 PM | 89. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 24 | 8 PM | 91; [illegible]; Philadelphia, PA | OCT | 24 | 930PM | 1891 | Transit; London | PM. There are three partial postmarks from London, Ontario, Canada that are illegible except for the name of province and the country. Whitman's return address is printed in the left lower corner of the front of the envelope as follows: WALT WHITMAN, | CAMDEN, | NEW JERSEY. John Russell Young (1840–1899), a journalist and formerly minister to China, invited Whitman to an informal luncheon at the Union Club in Philadelphia in honor of Joseph Jefferson and William Jermyn Florence, stage name of Bernard Conlin, a dialect comedian, who, in Young's words, "have given the world much in the way of sunshine." He also wrote that Francis B. Carpenter (1830–1900), "who painted the Lincoln proclamation of Emancipation, told me in New York that he wanted to paint you" (Feinberg). Francis Bicknell Carpenter (1830–1900), the American painter best known for his portrait of Abraham Lincoln, First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln, met Whitman following one of the poet's Lincoln lectures (see "An Old Poet's Reception," The Sun (April 15, 1887). See Whitman's letter to Forman of October 18, 1891. This letter was written on the verso of Young's of October 23, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | 328 Mickle St NJ; New York | Jun 18 | 12 [illegible]M | D; NY | 6–18–89 | 1 PM | 2; Camden, N.J. | Jun | 19 | 6 AM | 1889 | Rec'd. Whitman's original title for the cluster of poems memorializing Lincoln's death was "President Lincoln's Burial Hymn." For more information see Bernard Hirschhorn, "''Memories of President Lincoln' (1881–1882)," ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | DE 31 | 8[illegible]; Camden N.J. | Jan | 2 | 1 PM | 188[illegible] | Rec'd. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of December 28, 1888. For a transcription and further context, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, January 22, 1889. Whitman sent Kennedy's letter of December 25, 1888, as an enclosure in his December 29, 1888, letter to Bucke. Artem Lozynsky, editor of The Letters of Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke to Walt Whitman, writes that he was unable to identify this source. Bucke enclosed a printed copy of "An impromptu criticism on the 900 page Volume, 'The Complete Poems and Prose of Walt Whitman,' first issued December, 1888," in which he praised Whitman's collection as "the bible of the future." See Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, December 27, 1888. The short titles Bucke lists here refer to Whitman's essay on Elias Hicks and his essay titled "A Backward Glance O'er Travel'd Roads," both of which were also published in November Boughs (1888). See Whitman's postal card to Bucke of December 30, 1888. Whitman has drawn three lines through Bucke's letter in ink; they extend from the top left to the bottom right of the page. Bucke may be referring to Louisa Helen Pardee (1865–1950), the daughter of the Canadian lawyer and politician Timothy Blair Pardee (1830–1889). She married Mrs. Bucke's nephew, the lawyer Frederick Kittermaster. He could also be referring Emma Kirby Pardee, the wife of Timothy Blair Pardee. Eliot's historical novel Romola, set in Florence during the Italian Renaissance, was published in 1863. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Washington, D.C. | Feb 13 | 1 PM | 90. William generously "loaned" money to numerous friends, who seldom paid him back, thus leaving Nelly in dire financial trouble after he died. This postal card is addressed: Miss Jessie Louisa Whitman | 2437 2d Carondelet Av: | Saint Louis Missouri. It is postmarked: Camden [illegible] | Jan 2 | 6 PM | 91. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton | Lancashire England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 5 | 8 PM | 91; Philadelphia, Pa. | Jan 5 | 11 PM | Paid. Dr. Johnston on December 20, 1891 forwarded the Christmas issue of The Review of Reviews, which reprinted "To the Sun-Set Breeze" and extracted from "Old Poets." The Christmas issue of The Review of Reviews reprinted Whitman's poem "To the Sun-Set Breeze" and extracts from his essay "Old Poets." The letter from Mr. Johnstone is not extant. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camd(?) | Jan 7 | 8 PM | 91. See Stoddart's January 5, 1891 letter to Whitman. In March 1891, Lippincott's Magazine published "Old Age Echoes," a cycle of four poems including "Sounds of the Winter," "The Unexpress'd," "Sail Out for Good, Eidólon Yacht," and "After the Argument," accompanied by an extensive autobiographical note called "Some Personal and Old-Age Memoranda." Also appearing in that issue was a piece on Whitman entitled, "Walt Whitman: Poet and Philosopher and Man" by Horace Traubel. Lippincott's Monthly Magazine was a literary magazine published in Philadelphia from 1868 to 1915. Joseph Marshall Stoddart was the editor of the magazine from 1886 to 1894, and he frequently published material by and about Whitman. For more information on Whitman's numerous publications here, see Susan Belasco, "Lippincott's Magazine." In March 1891, Lippincott's Magazine published "Old Age Echoes," a cycle of four poems including "Sounds of the Winter," "The Unexpress'd," "Sail Out for Good, Eidólon Yacht," and "After the Argument." Also appearing in that issue was an autobiographical prose essay by Whitman ("Some Personal and Old-Age Memoranda") and another piece on Whitman by the poet's biographer Horace Traubel. Above this sentence, Whitman has written in ink: "It is to be call'd autobiographic, but is not an auto-b." British writer and journalist Charles Norris Williamson founded Black and White: A Weekly Illustrated Record and Review in 1891. The weekly illustrated magazine published fiction by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930), Henry James(1843–1916), Bram Stoker (1847–1912), and H. G. Wells (1866–1946), as well as art and photography. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 10 | 12 M | 91; Philadelphia, Pa. | Jan 10 | 4 PM | Paid. See Johnston's December 27, 1890, letter to Whitman. Johnston included in his letter some of his verses, a copy of the Annandale Observer, and a typescript of Symonds' letter dated December 22, 1890, a tender and moving piece in which he wrote: "For a broken & ageing man of letters up here among the Alpine snows [in Davos Platz], these particulars . . . bring a film before the eyes, through which swims so much of life, of the irrecoverable past, of the unequal battle with circumstances, of spiritual forces wh' have sustained, & of the failures wh' have saddened. I do not know whether you have seen a short piece of writing by me, in which I said that Whitman's work had influenced me more than any thing in literature except the Bible & Plato. This expresses the mere fact, so far as I can read my inner self, though perhaps my own industry in life, on the lines of author mainly, may not seem to corroborate my statement." Johnston included in his December 27, 1890, letter some of his verses, a copy of the Annandale Observer, and a typescript of a letter he had received from Symonds dated December 22, 1890, a tender and moving piece in which Symonds wrote: "For a broken & ageing man of letters up here among the Alpine snows [in Davos Platz], these particulars . . . bring a film before the eyes, through which swims so much of life, of the irrecoverable past, of the unequal battle with circumstances, of spiritual forces wh' have sustained, & of the failures wh' have saddened. I do not know whether you have seen a short piece of writing by me, in which I said that Whitman's work had influenced me more than any thing in literature except the Bible & Plato. This expresses the mere fact, so far as I can read my inner self, though perhaps my own industry in life, on the lines of author mainly, may not seem to corroborate my statement." Whitman expresses his appreciation for the photographs in his September 8, 1890, postal card to Johnston. Whitman also mentions that he wants to use the photos for his "forthcoming little (2d) annex," which would become Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | JAN 17 | 8 PM | 91; London | PM | JA 19 | 91 | Canada. On December 17, Whitman sent four poems: "Old Chants," "Grand is the Seen," "Death dogs my steps," and "two lines." He requested $100, but the poems were rejected by Scribner's on January 23, 1891 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.).See Whitman's letters to Bucke of December 24, 1890 and January 24, 1891. On October 3, 1890, Whitman had accepted an invitation to write for The North American Review. He sent them "Old Poets," the first of a two-part prose contribution, on October 9. "Old Poets" was published in the November 1890 issue of the magazine, and Whitman's "Have We a National Literature?" was published in the March 1891 issue. Joseph Marshall Stoddart, editor of Lippincott's, wrote to Whitman regarding plans to feature a Whitman page in the magazine on October 10, 1890. The March issue of Lippincott's in 1891 (Volume 47, pages 376–389) contained Whitman's portrait as a frontispiece, "Old Age Echoes" (including "Sounds of Winter," "The Unexpress'd," "Sail Out for Good, Eidólon Yacht!" and "After the Argument"), Whitman's "Some Personal and Old-Age Memoranda," Horace Traubel's "Walt Whitman: The Poet and Philosopher of Man," and "The Old Man Himself. A Postscript." Bucke was looking forward to seeing a copy of the March issue of Lippincott's. The March issue of the magazine in 1891 (Volume 47, pages 376–389) contained Whitman's portrait as a frontispiece, "Old Age Echoes" (including "Sounds of Winter," "The Unexpress'd," "Sail Out for Good, Eidólon Yacht!" and "After the Argument"), Whitman's "Some Personal and Old-Age Memoranda," Horace Traubel's "Walt Whitman: The Poet and Philosopher of Man," and "The Old Man Himself. A Postscript." Bucke has written his closing and signature in red ink—sideways and across part of the letterhead—in the top margin of the letter. Bucke is referring to the March issue of Lippincott's, which published several pieces by and about Whitman. The March 1891 issue of the magazine (Volume 47, pages 376–389) contained Whitman's portrait as a frontispiece, "Old Age Echoes" (including "Sounds of Winter," "The Unexpress'd," "Sail Out for Good, Eidólon Yacht!" and "After the Argument"), Whitman's "Some Personal and Old-Age Memoranda," Horace Traubel's "Walt Whitman: The Poet and Philosopher of Man," and "The Old Man Himself. A Postscript." Stoddart is referring to plans for the March issue of Lippincott's in 1891 (Volume 47, pages 376–389). The issue contained Whitman's portrait as a frontispiece, "Old Age Echoes" (including "Sounds of Winter," "The Unexpress'd," "Sail Out for Good, Eidólon Yacht!" and "After the Argument"), Whitman's "Some Personal and Old-Age Memoranda," and Horace Traubel's "Walt Whitman: The Poet and Philosopher of Man," and "The Old Man Himself. A Postscript." Stoddart is referring to the March issue of Lippincott's in 1891 (Volume 47, pages 376–389). The issue contained Whitman's portrait as a frontispiece, "Old Age Echoes" (including "Sounds of Winter," "The Unexpress'd," "Sail Out for Good, Eidólon Yacht!" and "After the Argument"), Whitman's "Some Personal and Old-Age Memoranda," Horace Traubel's "Walt Whitman: The Poet and Philosopher of Man," and "The Old Man Himself. A Postscript." William Sloane Kennedy's "Walt Whitman's Dutch Traits" appeared in The Conservator, edited by Horace Traubel, in February, 1891. See Whitman's letter to Kennedy of January 20–21, 1891. See Whitman's letters to Bucke of December 24, 1890 and January 24, 1891. In a letter of January 14, the editors of The Youth's Companion accepted Whitman's "Ship Ahoy" for publication. They paid the poet $15. See also Whitman's response of January 19. Whitman is referring to his poem, "The Pallid Wreath," which was published in The Critic 18 (January 10, 1891): 18. This letter is addressed: Youth's Companion | Boston | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan 20 | 8 PM | 91; Boston, Mass. | Jan 21 | 1—PM | 1891. The editors sent $15 on January 14, 1891. "Ship Ahoy!" was published in the magazine on March 12, 1891. See Kennedy's January 19, 1891, letter to Whitman. On February 1, 1891, Kennedy accepted all of Whitman's "emendations" to his article: "We've together hammered out a bit of wrought-iron work of some value. . . . The thing grew upon both of us, as we went on." The question mark appears above the word "funny" in the manuscript. This letter was written on the verso of one from The North American Review dated January 10, which accompanied proofs of the article. On January 16, 18, and 22, 1891, Bucke wrote about a court action "for slander by a discharged employee (a young woman)" which had gone against him. The Canadian government decided to support Bucke in appealing the decision. Henry John (H. J.) Maywood (1855–1893) was born in Poplar, Middlesex, England; he was the fourth child of Samuel and Margaret Maywood. In April 1879, Henry married Fanny Emma Strutt. According to the 1891 England Census, the couple and their two children lived in Wandsworth, and Henry worked as a Civil Service clerk. Whitman is referring to Kennedy's wife. Kennedy married Adeline Ella Lincoln (d. 1923) of Cambridge, Massachusetts, on June 17, 1883. The couple's son Mortimer died in infancy. Whitman is referring to Kennedy's wife. Kennedy married Adeline Ella Lincoln (d. 1923) of Cambridge, Massachusetts, on June 17, 1883. This letter refers to the proof of Whitman's essay "Have We a National Literature?," which would be published in the March 1891 issue of the journal. See The North American Review 125 (March 1891), 332–338. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camd(?) | Jan 25 | 5 PM | 91. Apparently Eakins' portrait was in the sixty-first exhibition of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, which was announced in the Philadelphia Press on this date. This is a photograph taken by Frederick Gutekunst in Philadelphia in August of 1889, the last time Whitman sat for photographs in a photographer's studio. Whitman liked the photo a great deal; as he told Horace Traubel: "to a person who gets only one picture, this picture is in more ways than any other spiritually satisfactory and physically representative" (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, September 21, 1888. See Whitman's December 24, 1890, letter to Bucke. In a letter dated and postmarked January 24, 1891, Bucke acknowledges receiving a January 21, 1891, letter from Whitman, with which the poet enclosed a letter from Dr. John Johnston, which Artem Lozynsky dates January 17, as well as a letter to Bucke from J.W. Wallace of Bolton, which Bucke had enclosed with a previous letter to Whitman. The Bolton letter that Whitman says he has enclosed in this letter of January 24 therefore cannot be Johnston's letter of January 17. However, the only other Bolton letters extant between the 17 and 24 are a Johnston letter dated January 20–21 and a January 23 letter, neither of which could be the enclosed Whitman refers to in the letter at hand given the delays of transatlantic mail. See Bucke's January 22, 1891, letter to Whitman. This postscript is written at the top of the letter, above the date. Horace Traubel's "Walt Whitman: Poet and Philosopher and Man" appeared in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in March 1891. Bucke was sued for defamation of character by a former female employee of the London Asylum whom he had fired. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton | Lancashire England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | (?) | (?) | 91. See Wallace's January 16, 1891, letter to Whitman and Johnston's January 17, 1891, letter to Whitman. Johnston enclosed a copy of a letter from Symonds in his December 27, 1890, letter to Whitman, who thanked him for it on January 9, 1891. Whitman might have forgotten that he already thanked Johnston for the Symonds letter, or the poet could be referring to another Symonds letter enclosed with Johnston's January 17, 1891, letter. Wallace's character sketch of his boyhood "chum" Fred Wild on January 16, 1891 was iconic: "not 'literary' at all though he is not without appreciation of the best literature. He has an artist's eye for the beauties of Nature . . . but prefers Nature at first hand. . . . He has a wild native wit of his own, and is frank, outspoken, and free. . . . At the heart of him is a deep constant affectionateness, faithful and unswerving . . . . He has a wife and four children of whom he is fond." Fred Wild (d. 1935), a cotton waste merchant, was a member of the "Bolton College" of Whitman admirers and was also affiliated with the Labour Church, an organization whose socialist politics and working-class ideals were often informed by Whitman's work. A painter and scholar of Shakespeare, he was also a lively debater. With James W. Wallace and Dr. John Johnston, Wild formed the nucleus of the Bolton Whitman group. For more on Wild and Whitman's Bolton disciples, see Paul Salveson, "Loving Comrades: Lancashire's Links to Walt Whitman," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 14.2 (1996), 57–84. Fred Wild, a cotton waste merchant, was a member of the "Bolton College" of Whitman admirers, and was also affiliated with the Labour Church, an organization whose socialist politics and working-class ideals were often informed by Whitman's work. Wild had been a friend of the Bolton architect James W. Wallace since boyhood. Wallace described Wild in a January 16, 1891 letter to Whitman as follows: "[He is] not 'literary' at all though he is not without appreciation of the best literature. He has an artist's eye for the beauties of Nature . . . but prefers Nature at first hand. . . . He has a wild native wit of his own, and is frank, outspoken, and free. . . . At the heart of him is a deep constant affectionateness, faithful and unswerving . . . . He has a wife and four children of whom he is fond." Dr. Johnston noted receipt of the book on February 6, 1891: "He has left untouched what I regard as the main & vital element in L of G viz. the spirituality which permeates & animates every page, every line & is the inspiring element in your teaching." Ingersoll's Liberty in Literature. Testimonial to Walt Whitman, an address he delivered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 21, 1890, was published in New York by the Truth Seeker Company in 1890. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 2 | 6 PM | 91. Apparently Bucke's daughter, Jessie Clare Bucke (1870–1943), wrote about her father's illness in a missing letter. On February 4, 1891, Bucke minimized his indisposition: "You see I was not sick—just a little pain and bad cold." See Osler's "Open Letter," Century Magazine, 41 (February 1891), 635. Jessie Clare Bucke (1870–1943) was the daughter of the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke and his wife, Jessie Maria Gurd (1839–1926). Whitman is referring to a letter from Bucke's daughter, Jessie Clare Bucke (1870–1943), which is not extant. In that letter, she seems to have reported Bucke's illness. See the poet's February 2, 1891, letter to Bucke, which begins with an expression of concern about Jessie Clare's letter. Whitman is referring to proofs of Kennedy's article "Walt Whitman's Dutch Traits." Horace Traubel published the article in The Conservator 1 (February 1891): 90–91. It was reprinted in In Re Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), ed. Horace L. Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas B. Harned, 195–199. Whitman is referring to Kennedy's article "Walt Whitman's Dutch Traits." Horace Traubel published the article in The Conservator 1 (February 1891): 90–91. It was reprinted in In Re Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), ed. Horace L. Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas B. Harned, 195–199. Whitman wrote this postscript in the left margin. Whitman is referring to Bucke's letter of June 10, 1891. Arthur Stedman (1859–1908) was the son of the prominent critic, editor, and poet Edmund Clarence Stedman. Arthur was an editor at Mark Twain's publishing house, Charles L. Webster. In 1892, he brought out his own editions of Whitman's Selected Poems and a selection of prose writings entitled Autobiographia. Edmund Clarence Stedman lectured on "The Nature and Elements of Poetry" as part of his Percy Trumbull Memorial Lectureship of Poetry at Johns Hopkins University in 1891; Whitman is mentioned in the lectures several times. The lectures were later published by Houghton, Mifflin. Arthur Stedman was Edmund's son. In 1892, he brought out his own editions of Whitman's Selected Poems and a selection of Whitman's prose writings entitled Autobiographia. In March 1891, Lippincott's Magazine published "Old Age Echoes," a cycle of four poems including "Sounds of the Winter," "The Unexpress'd," "Sail Out for Good, Eidólon Yacht," and "After the Argument." Also appearing in that issue was an autobiographical prose essay by Whitman ("Some Personal and Old-Age Memoranda") and another piece on Whitman by Traubel. In his January 7, 1891, letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke, Whitman referred to the March issue of Lippincott's as "a Whitman number." See also Whitman's January 20–21, 1891, response to Kennedy. In March 1891, Lippincott's Magazine published "Old Age Echoes," a cycle of four poems including "Sounds of the Winter," "The Unexpress'd," "Sail Out for Good, Eidólon Yacht," and "After the Argument." Also appearing in that issue was an autobiographical prose essay by Whitman ("Some Personal and Old-Age Memoranda") and another piece on Whitman by Traubel. In his January 7, 1891, letter to Bucke, Whitman referred to the March issue of Lippincott's as "a Whitman number." See also Whitman's January 20–21, 1891, letter to William Sloane Kennedy. Kennedy was a contributor to the Boston Herald and the Boston Index, among other newspapers. Kennedy wrote this part of the letter sideways in the left margin. In the holograph, "his" appears to have been written just about "the." This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 8 | 5 PM | 91; Philadelphia, Pa. | Feb 8 | 1(?) PM | Paid. Wallace wrote at length on January 23, 1891 of the influence of the essayist and historian Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) and the art critic John Ruskin (1819–1900) upon his development. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Feb 14 | 6 PM | 91. The slip referred to is William Sloane Kennedy's "Quaker Traits of Walt Whitman," which originally appeared in The Conservator, a publication edited by Horace Traubel, in July 1890. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 26 | (?) PM | 91. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 8 | 5 PM | (?); Philadelphia, Pa. | Mar 8 | 9 PM | Paid. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton | Lancashire England. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Mar 10 | 4 30 PM | 91. Whitman is probably referring to Wallace's letter of February 20, 1891 and Johnston's letter of February 21, 1891. This postal card is addressed: J W Wallace | Anderton near Chorley | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Cam(?) | Mar 14 | 8 PM | 91. Wallace wrote on March 6, not March 3: "In the centuries to come, when your renown—'the renown of personal endearment'—is fully established, men will comfort themselves by the memory of the loving poet and saviour, who, in his prime, sang such a strong brave song of gladness and love an faith, and who, in the pain and weakness of declining age, 'kept up the lilt' of his previous song in unquestioning acceptance, unconquerable faith and tender love." See the letter from Wallace to Whitman of March 6, 1891. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 19 | 8 PM | 91. Daniel Longaker was Whitman's physician until his death. In making his quarterly payment of $9 to the fund which provided Whitman with nursing care, Richard Maurice Bucke observed to Traubel on April 1: "My idea is that the 'Fund' should pay Dr Longaker and I increase my subscription to meet this [by $5], I calculate that Dr L. should have $30.00 or $40.00 a mth. f'm now on (?)." See Bucke's March 15, 1891, letter to Whitman. Whitman is probably referring to James W. Wallace's letter of March 6. See Whitman's letter to Wallace of March 14, 1891, especially note 2. Morris's article "Mr. Stedman's Lectures on Poetry" appeared in The Conservator in April, 1892. Edmondo de Amicis (1846–1908), Holland and Its People (1885), translated by C. Tilton. Whitman is referring to John Robertson's Walt Whitman, Poet and Democrat (Round Table Series, Edinburgh, 1884). This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton | Lancashire England. It is postmarked: Camden, (?) | Mar 19 | 8 PM | 91. Whitman is referring to Edmondo de Amicis, Holland and Its People, translated by C. Tilton. The book was published in several editions. Whitman mentions the book in his March 19, 1891, letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke. Whitman is referring to Edmondo de Amicis, Holland and Its People, translated by C. Tilton. The book was published in several editions. Johnston is referring to the book Holland and Its People by Edmondo de Amicis and translated by C. Tilton. The book was published in several editions. Whitman does not refer to the doctor by name in his postal card to Johnston, but, in his March 19, 1891, letter to Richard Maurice Bucke, Whitman mentions that Dr. Daniel Longaker (1858–1949), who, along with Dr. Alexander McAlister, attended Whitman during his final illnesses, had been to see him on that day. Longaker was a Philadelphia physician who specialized in obstetrics. Carol J. Singley reports that "Longaker enjoyed talking with Whitman about human nature and reflects that Whitman responded as well to their conversations as he did to medical remedies," in "Longaker, Dr. Daniel (1858–1949)," in Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R.LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton | Lancashire England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 22 | 5 PM | 91. This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | Anderton near Chorley | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 24 | 6 AM | 91. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.(?) | Mar 24 | 4 30 PM | 91. Whitman is most likely referring to Johnston's letter of March 11 and Wallace's letter of March 13–14. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Mar 30 | 6 AM | 91. Whitman sent two copies of Complete Poems and Prose (1888) to Miss Clare Reynolds, "Newnham College Cambridge," for which he received $12.80 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Reynolds acknowledged that she had received the books in her April 13, 1891, letter to Whitman. Charles Mackay (1814–1889) was a Scottish poet and journalist. He published Songs and Poems (1834) and a three-volume work on history and crowd psychology, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (1841). He is best known for the latter work, which covered (and debunked) such topics as alchemy, fortune-telling, and relics. This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester road | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Apr 1 | 6 AM | 91. William Sharp (1855–1905) was a Scottish poet, literary biographer, and editor. Sharp visited the poet at his Mickle Street home two months before Whitman's death. For Whitman's reaction to the visit, see (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, January 23, 1891) Dr. Johnston was especially grateful for this long letter. When he replied on April 14–15, 1891, he recalled "the sound of your 'valved voice,' and I seem to live over again those two red letter—nay rather epoch-making—days of my life which I spent with you, my dear, old Camerado & Elder Brother." Whitman is referring to Bucke's letter of March 30, 1891. The British magazine The National Review was co-founded in 1883 by the English poets Alfred Austin (1835–1913) and William Courthope (1842–1917) in 1883. The magazine was an organ for the British Conservative Party's views. Austin was the sole editor from 1887 to 1896, when he was appointed the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom. This letter is addressed: Horace Traubel | Farmers' & Mechanics' Bank | 427 Chestnut St: | Phila:. Whitman's nurse Warren Fritzinger delivered this note to Traubel (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, March 31, 1891). On the same day Whitman sent McKay six books at $3.20 each—"owes me $19.20 for them"—and noted that Oldach had "ab't 190 big books complete in sheets" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman referred to his printing instructions as a "memorandum" (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, April 22, 1891). In Whitman's July 1888 letter to Myrick, he asked the printer to modify the placement of poems in relation to a note. The note reads, in its entirety, "The two songs on this page are eked out during an afternoon, June, 1888, in my seventieth year, at a critical spell of illness. Of course no reader and probably no human being at any time will ever have such phases of emotional and solemn action as these involve to me. I feel in them an end and close of all" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, June 19, 1888). Charles Myrick was the foreman in the Ferguson Brothers printing plant, which printed both November Boughs and the 1889 edition of Leaves of Grass. At the time Whitman wrote this note, he was preparing to publish Good-Bye My Fancy (1891); the book was Whitman's last miscellany, and it included both poetry and short prose works commenting on poetry, aging, and death, among other topics. Here, Whitman considers including in an appendix Gabriel Sarrazin's essay "Poetes modernes de l'Amerique, Walt Whitman," which appeared in La Nouvelle Revue, 52 (May 1, 1888), 164–184. This postal card is addressed: David McKay | publisher &c: | 23 south 9th street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 3 | 6 PM | 91; Received 5 | Apr | 3 | 730 PM | [illegible] | Phila. See Whitman's November 1, 1890, letter to David McKay. On the following day McKay paid Whitman $127.87—"pays up (does it?) to date everything (inc'ng the 6 sets above)" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See also Whitman's March 31, 1891 letter to Horace Traubel, as well as the poet's April 5 and April 6, 1891, letters to McKay. This letter is addressed: Courtlandt Palmer | 117 East 21st Street | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan. 14 | 8pm | 88; P.O. | 1-15-88 | 2–1A | N.Y. Palmer's invitation to Whitman has not yet been located. "A monument to outlast bronze," comes from the first line of Horace's Ode 3.30: My Monuument. Johann Baptist Obernetter (1840–1887) was a German chemist and photographic manufacturer. Havelock Ellis (1859–1939), a physician and pioneer in the study of human sexuality, devoted a chapter of The New Spirit (1890) to Whitman. Symonds' page references are consistent with the first edition published in London by George Bell and Sons, 1890. Symonds's sentence, translated from the German, reads "Dear one, honored master, I am missing something!" These and other photographic portraits of Whitman can be found in The Walt Whitman Archive's Image Gallery. Symonds could be referring to either of these two photographs: zzz.00118, zzz.00117. He mentions the portraits again in his December 22, 1890, letter to Dr. John Johnston, where he expresses a desire to see Johnston's photograph of Whitman and "Warry" (Warren Fritzinger 1867–1899), the poet's nurse since the beginning of October 1889 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, February 9, 1891). See also Whitman's August 19, 1890, letter to Symonds, in which the poet writes that he would "cheerfully endorse the Munich reproduction." Whitman mentions the "drift" of his poems in a conversation with Traubel. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, August 18, 1890. Whitman addresses Symonds' concerns over the "semi-sexual" implications of comradeship in his drafted August 19 letter: "Ab't the questions on Calamus pieces &c: they quite daze me. L of G. is only to be rightly construed by and within its own atmosphere and essential character—all of its pages & pieces so coming strictly under that—that the calamus part has even allow'd the possibility of such construction as mention'd is terrible—I am fain to hope the pages themselves are not to be even mention'd for such gratuitous and quite at the time entirely undream'd & unreck'd possibility of morbid inferences—wh' are disavow'd by me & seem damnable."Symonds' reply on September 5 concealed his disappointment. As a disciple he thanked the poet for stating "so clearly & precisely what you feel about the question I raised." But his opinion remained unchanged: "It seems to me, I confess, still doubtful whether (human nature being what it is) we can expect wholly to eliminate some sensual alloy from any emotions which are raised to a very high pitch of passionate intensity." The same reservation appears in A Problem in Modern Ethics (1896): "No one who knows anything about Walt Whitman will for a moment doubt his candour and sincerity. Therefore the man who wrote 'Calamus,' and preached the gospel of comradeship, entertains feelings at least as hostile to sexual inversion as any law-abiding humdrum Anglo-Saxon could desire. It is obvious that he has not even taken the phenomena of abnormal instinct into account. Else he must have foreseen that, human nature being what it is, we cannot expect to eliminate all sexual alloy from emotions raised to a high pitch of passionate intensity, and that permanent elements within the midst of our society will emperil the absolute purity of the ideal he attempts to establish" (Symonds, A Problem in Modern Ethics: Being an Inquiry into the Phenomenon of Sexual Inversion [London: 1896], 119).
Symonds is referring to Whitman's poem "Whoever You Are Holding Me Now In Hand" and "Earth My Likeness." Gilchrist is referring to Whitman's poem "Whoever You Are Holding Me Now In Hand." Whitman's poem "Earth, My Likeness." Henry Havelock Ellis (1859–1939) was an English physician and sexologist. He co-wrote Sexual Inversion (published in German 1896; English translation in 1897) with Whitman correspondent John Addington Symonds. His book The New Spirit, with a chapter on Whitman, appeared in 1890. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | N.J | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May | 26 | 9 AM | 1890 | Rec'd; New York | May | 25 | 90; Chesterfield | K | MY17 | 90. The conclusion of the letter is written sideways in the left margin, on the recto of the first page. R. D. Roberts had a master's degree from Cambridge. On May 10, 1883, Whitman sent three copies of Leaves of Grass and Specimen Days to William Thompson in Nottingham, England (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The Ford sisters had given Whitman £50 in 1885 (see the letter from Whitman to Carpenter of August 3, 1885). On this date Whitman noted receipt of $216.75 from Carpenter and $145.58 from William M. Rossetti (Whitman's Commonplace Book). See also Carpenter's letter of May 17, 1886. Isabella Ford's novel, Miss Blake of Monshalton, was published in book form later in 1890. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Boston | Mass. | Mar 31 90 | 10 30 AM; Camden, N.J. | Apr | 1 | 9 AM | 1890 | Rec'd. John Tyndall (1820–1893) was a British physicist, science teacher, public intellectual, and a pioneer mountain climber. For more on Whitman's response, as well as commentary on the poet's "bachelorhood," see Matt Cohen, "Walt Whitman, the Bachelor, and Sexual Politics," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review, 1999, pp. 145–152. Maurice Meyer Minton (1859–1926) was a writer, politician, and editor, working as sports and drama editor of the New York Telegram and managing editor of the New York Herald. He founded The Illustrated American in 1890 and was editor and owner until 1894; Whitman appeared on the cover of the magazine in the April 19, 1890, issue. The publication was a weekly photographic news magazine, published at the Bible House, the headquarters of the American Bible Society, devoted to printing and distributing millions of bibles. The Bible House was located in a large and iconic cast iron building at Astor Place and East Ninth Street in New York City, which housed several publishing businesses and was a center of intellectual and literary activity. Whitman sent Minton lines from section 16 of "Song of Myself": "One of the Nation of many nations, the smallest the same, and the largest the same: / A Southerner soon as a Northerner . . . Comrade of Californians: comrade of free North-Westerners: / Of every hue and caste am I—of every rank and religion." Whitman's portrait appears on the cover of the April 19, 1890, issue of The Illustrated American. The Sacramento Daily Union wrote that this image was "Probably the finest pen-and-ink drawing that has been published in this country," and attributed the illustration to Valerian Gribayédoff (vol. 39, no. 3, 1890). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq. | Care of Ferguson Bros. & Co. | Esqrs. | Philadelphia ; | Pennsylvania. It is postmarked: Philadelp[illegible] | Jan10 | 11AM | 91; Camden, N.J. | Jan | 10 | [illegible]M | [illegible]D; Received [illegible] | Jan | 3 | [illegible]PM | [illegible] | Phila. On the lower left Clay has written: "White Hall: | ky. | C. [illegible] Clay." The lines are from Robert Burns's "Epistle to J. Lapraik": "Yet crooning to a body's sel / Does weel eneugh." Whitman found Clay's note "pugnacious" and told Horace Traubel, after reading it, that "I am the target for missiles good and bad—numberless missiles, from friends and enemies" (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, April 1, 1891). Caleb Pink was a friend of Alma Calder Johnston, the wife of the New York jeweler John H. Johnston. Pink was a land and social reform activist in Brooklyn in the 1860s and 1870s. Pink was the author of the 1895 book The Angel of the Mental Orient. The Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke credited his conversations with Pink with helping Bucke to interpret the overwhelming sense of epiphany that he felt when he first read Leaves of Grass. Bucke wrote about this experience in his book Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind (Philadelphia: Innes and Sons, 1905), in which he writes of the importance of Pink ("C.P.") and Pink's book for his own work. See Steven Jay Marsden, "'Hot Little Prophets': Reading, Mysticism, and Walt Whitman's Disciples" (Dissertation, Texas A & M University, 2004), 156. See Whitman's December 23, 1890, postal card to Johnston. See Whitman's December 23, 1890, letter to James W. Wallace. "Caller" was an antiquated phrase of English countryside vernacular meaning fresh and invigorating, usually in reference to air and water. Johnston most likely placed the phrase between quotation marks because he came across it in the poetry of Robert Burns or Walter Scott. Johnston is making an allusion to William Douglas O'Connor's short story "The Carpenter: A Christmas Story," which was originally published in 1868 in Putnam's Monthly Magazine. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Boston | Mass | Jan 12 91 | 12 30 PM; Camden, N.J. | Jan | 13 | 9 AM | 1891 | Rec'd. William Sloane Kennedy's "Dutch Traits of Walt Whitman" was published in The Conservator 1 (February 1891), 90–91. It was reprinted in In Re Walt Whitman, ed. Horace Traubel, et al. (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), 195–199. Kennedy's "Dutch Traits of Walt Whitman" was published in The Conservator 1 (February 1891), 90–91. It was reprinted in In Re Walt Whitman, ed. Horace Traubel, et al. (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1893), 195–199. Benjamin Penhallow Shillaber (1814–1890) was an editor and humorist. He became famous for writing a series of articles as Mrs. Ruth Partington for the Boston Daily Post. Whitman reminisces about Shillaber in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, August 5, 1888. Henry Willard Austin (b. 1858), a Boston journalist, may have sent this letter to Whitman. Austin published Vagabond Verses (Boston: J. Stilman Smith & Co.) in 1890, which may be the work mentioned in this letter. Whitman is referring to an Epictetus saying. During his final years, the poet often wrote letters on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" Kennedy has written this postscript at the top of the postal card, near the date. He seems to be indicating that he will be traveling by train the following day. Francis Wilson (1854–1935) was an actor, playwright, and memoirist. He would go on to become the founding president of Actor's Equity. Julian Hawthorne (1846–1934), an American critic and journalist, was the son of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Sophia Peabody. He was a prolific writer in his own right, and he publicly frowned upon Whitman and his writings. Paul Belloni du Chaillu (1831–1903) was a French-American explorer, anthropologist, and zoologist. The date of this telegraph may be "Dec 22 1890," but the handwriting is too unclear to say with complete certainty. "Dec 22 1890" is a compelling reading of the holograph since the "Dated" section below it is inscribed with "San Fran Calif" ends with "21." William R. Hearst (1863–1951) was a businessman and newspaper publisher who developed Hearst Communications, which was the largest newspaper and media company in the United States. Hearst, a Democrat, was also twice elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. The rest of this letter has been cut away. This letter is from the office of The Critic, a journal edited from 1881 to 1906 by Jeannette Leonard Gilder (1849–1916) and her brother Joseph Benson Gilder (1858–1936). For more information on Jeannette Gilder, see Susan L. Roberson, "Gilder, Jeannette L. (1849–1916)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter may have been sent to the office of The Critic, a journal edited from 1881 to 1906 by Jeannette Leonard Gilder (1849–1916) and her brother Joseph Benson Gilder (1858–1936). For more information on Jeannette Gilder, see Susan L. Roberson, "Gilder, Jeannette L. (1849–1916)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman drew a diagonal line from the top left to the bottom right of this page of Southwick's letter. This is the last page of the letter; the previous page or pages may not survive. F. Townsend Southwick (1858–1903) of Rhode Island was trained as a musician, and he became an expert organist. Later, he studied elocution in Europe and the United States, and became an authority on the instruction of voice and speech. He published Action and Elocution, a text book on oratory, and he participated in the founding of the New York Teachers of Oratory of the New York City, the first society of teachers of elocution in the United States. See "In Memoriam: F. Townsend Southwick," Philharmonic: A Magazine Devoted to Literature Music Art (1903), 218. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Equinunk | Pa. The address has been struck through and to the left has been written: Try | 17 Union Square | New York. It is postmarked: Equinunk | Sep | 24 | M | 1890 | PA; New York | Sep 22 | 930 PM | [illegible]; [illegible] | 9-22-90; 11 PM | [illegible]; [illegible]. The envelope is printed with a return address: The Lotos Club | New York. Whitman wrote two letters to Johnston on September 20: one early in the day, and another after the writer and Whitman disciple Horace Traubel mentioned the Robert G. Ingersoll lecture plan to him. The letter at hand is the second of two replies that Johnston wrote to Whitman on the 22. The first reply expresses enthusiasm about the Ingersoll lecture without considering Whitman's objections to it. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: New York | Sep 24 | 7 PM | D; [illegible]Y | [illegible]-24-90 | 8 PM | 5; Camden, N.J. | Sep | 25 | 6 AM | 1890 | Rec'd. The envelope has a printed return address: J. H. Johnston & Co., | Diamond Merchants and Jewelers, | 17 Union Square, New York. | Cor. Broadway & 15th St. Johnston is referring to Whitman's postal card of September 23, 1890. Johnston's letter is also dated the 23rd, suggesting that he wrote his reply upon receiving the poet's card, and then posted his letter the next day. See the second of Whitman's two September 20, 1890, letters to Johnston. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | 328: Mickle Street | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: Boston. Mass | Jan 17 | 6– PM | 1891; [illegible] | MA[illegible] | 91 | MA2 | 1891 | [illegible]; [illegible] | 9AM | 1891 | Rec'd. The Youth's Companion, a weekly magazine for families and children, was founded by Nathaniel Willis in 1827. During its more than one-hundred-year run, the magazine published contributions by Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. For more on the Youth's Companion, see Susan Belasco, Youth's Companion. Whitman's poem "Ship Ahoy!" was published in the March 12, 1891, issue of the Youth's Companion. Gilder has written the date of this letter to the left of his signature. "The Pallid Wreath" was published in the Critic on January 10, 1891; the poem was also reprinted in Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). "The Pallid Wreath" was published in the Critic on January 10, 1891; the poem was also reprinted in Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St. | Camden | New Jersey. | U.S. America. It is postmarked: New Y[illegible] | Jan | 2[illegible]; [illegible]AID | A | ALL; Camden, N.J. | Jan | 27 | 6AM | 1891 | Rec'd; Bo[illegible] | 87 | JA17 | [illegible]. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle st. | Camden, | N.J. There is no postmark or stamp on the envelope. Francis Wilson (1854–1935) was an actor, playwright, and memoirist. He would go on to become the founding president of Actor's Equity. In his January 13, 1891 letter, to Whitman, Joseph M. Stoddart announced that he was going to visit the poet with a number of other people, including the actor Francis Wilson. As Whitman told Traubel the visit was brief but "brightening" (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, January 15, 1891). The next day Traubel reported that Whitman received the letter from Wilson (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, January 16, 1891). This letter was accompanied by a bottle of Old Crow Whiskey, which is the "kindling wood" Wilson refers to here. The Chestnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia had a long history; it was founded in 1791. After burning down twice (once in 1820, a second time in 1856), the theatre was rebuilt several blocks from its previous location, where it thrived until 1913, when it closed permanently. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | [illegible] | JA17 | 91; [illegible]aid | A | [illegible]; Camden, N.J. | Jan | 27 | 6AM | 1891 | Rec'd. Johnston has also written his initials, "JJ" in the bottom left corner of the recto of the envelope. See Whitman's January 5, 1891, postal card to Johnston. For more on the gift copy of Leaves of Grass to Fred Wild, see James W. Wallace's January 9 letter to Whitman. Thomas Sharrock (b. 1863) was a lower court clerk who lived in Pennington, Lancashire, and was associated with the "Bolton College" group of Whitmanites. Johnston is referring to Whitman's postal card of December 19, 1890. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | [illegible] | JA 3 |; Paid | B | All; [illegible] | JAN | 10 | 91; Camden, N. J. | Jan | 11 | 4PM | 1891 | Rec'd. Mary St. Leger Kingsley Harrison (1852–1931) of Eversley, Hampshire, England, was the daughter of Reverend Charles Kingsley (1819–1875) and his wife Frances Eliza Grenfell (1814–1891). Lucas Malet was Mary St. Leger Kingsley's pen name, and her most popular novels included The Wages of Sin (1891) and The History of Sir Richard Calmady (1901). In 1876, she married the Reverend William Harrison. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Boston | Mass. | Jan 19 91 | 7 45 P; Camden, N.[cut away] | Jan | 20 | 12[cut away]. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | US America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 58 | JA21 | 91; PAID | D | ALL; N[illegible] | Feb | 2; Camden, N.[illegible] | Fe[illegible] | 6AM | 1891 | [illegible]. Johnston has written his initials, "JJ," in the lower left corner of the front of the envelope. Johnston is quoting from Whitman's Democratic Vistas. For more information aboout the book, see Arthur Wrobel, "Democratic Vistas [1871]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Johnston is quoting from the New Testament of the Bible. See Matthew Chapter 12, Verse 34. The Strand Magazine was a monthly magazine founded by the English publisher and editor George Newnes (1851–1910). The magazine was published in the United Kingdom from 1891 until March 1950, and it included short fiction, series, and general interest articles. In the fall of 1891, Wallace visited Whitman in Camden and the physician Richard Maurice Bucke at Bucke's home in London, Ontario, Canada. Wallace began feeling ill on his return journey to Bolton, England, and he describes lingering cold symptoms in his letter to Whitman of December 5, 1891. William Waller Midgley (1843–1904) was the Curator of the Bolton Museum from 1883 until 1906. He expanded the museum's holdings by establishing collections of Egyptian antiquities and textile samples. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society and one of the founders of the Boltom Botanical Society. Midgley's son Thomas served as an Assistant at the Bolton Museum, aiding his father with curatorial duties before succeeding his father as Curator in 1906, a position that Thomas held until 1934 (Ray Desmond, with the assistance of Chirstine Ellwood, Dictionary of British & Irish Botanists and Horticulturalists, Including Plant Collectors, Flower Painters, and Garden Designers (London: Taylor & Francis and The Natural History Museum, 1994), 485. Wallace's letter to Whitman of January 23, 1891 discussed Ruskin and included a copy of the January 1891 issue of The Magazine of Art, which published portraits of Ruskin. Wallace's letter to Whitman of January 23, 1891 discussed the British art critic John Ruskin and included a copy of the January 1891 issue of The Magazine of Art, which published portraits of Ruskin. James Patrick Mahon (1800–1891), also known as The O'Gorman Mahon, was an Irish journalist, barrister, parliamentarian, and mercenary. See Whitman's January 9, 1891, postal card to Johnston. Once a Week was a British illustrated literary magazine published in London by Bradbury & Evans for more than twenty years, from 1859 to 1880. For more on Whitman's relation to the journal, see Susan Belasco, "Once a Week," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman's "An Indian Bureau Reminiscence" originally appeared in November Boughs (1888). Published in both London and New York City by Cassells, Petter, Galphin & Co., The Magazine of Art was Brtiish illustrated monthly journal that was published for more than twenty-five years, from May 1878 to July 1904. The magazine focused on the visual arts and included articles about artists, reviews of exhibits, poetry, and numerous wood engravings by leading artists of the time. In the fall of 1891, Wallace visited Whitman in Camden and the physician Richard Maurice Bucke at Bucke's home in London, Ontario, Canada. Wallace began feeling ill on his return journey to Bolton, England, and he described persistent cold symptoms from which he was still recovering in his letter to Whitman of December 5, 1891. Wallace is referencing the Bible. See Luke Chapter 7, Verse 35. Ruskin's Fors Clavigera (1871) was a series of letters to British workmen and laborers that were published in pamphlets. The title indicates the three powers of human destiny: Force, Fortitude, and Fortune. Wallace is referencing the Bible. See Isaiah Chapter 40, Verse 3 and John Chapter 1, Verse 23. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: New York | Feb 2 | 330PM | D; Camden, N.J. | Feb | 3 | 6AM | 1891 | Rec'd. As Alma Johnston (referred to below) was Bertha's step-mother, she seems to be referring to her deceased birth mother, Amelia Johnston, whose middle or maiden name might have been Frances, but that fact has not been confirmed. Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (1483–1520), known as Raphael, was an Italian Renaissance painter and an architect. He ran a large workshop and is well known for the frescoes in what came to be known as the Raphael Rooms of the Apostolic Palace, part of the Vatican Museums in Vatican City. Born in Thetford, England, Thomas Paine (1737–1809) emigrated to the British American colonies and became a well-known American political theorist and revolutionary. He was the author of Common Sense (1776) and The American Crisis, two pamphlets that significantly influenced the start of the American Revolution, inspiring patriots to call for independence from Great Britain in 1776. Franklin Allen Johnston (1880–1945) was the son of Grace's husband, William John Johnston, and his first wife Martha Armstrong Allen (1858–1888). Franklin Johnston became the president and publisher of the trade publication American Exporter and a member of the Foreign Trade Committee of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States. For more information, see his obituary, "Franklin Johnston, Trade publisher," in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (September 20, 1945), 11. George Frances Train (1829–1904) was an entrepreneur who organized the Union Pacific Railroad and Credit Mobilier in the United States during the Civil War to build the eastern section of the transcontinental railroad. Johnston is alluding to John Milton's Paradise Lost. Sir Henry Morton Stanley (1841–1904) was a journalist and explorer who assisted Beligum's King Leopold II in his land acquisitions in Africa. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: New York | Feb 2 | 11 PM | 91; Camden, N.J. | Feb | 3 | 6 AM | 1891 | Rec'd. Wallace Wood (1858–1916) was a scholar and scientific writer, who was the Samuel F. Morse chair of art at New York University. Wood was the author of several books, including Twenty Styles of Architecture (1881) and A New Method in Brain Study (1899). In 1892, he edited Ideals of Life. Human Perfection. How to Attain It., an "anthropological and ethical symposium," that collected pieces by prominent artists, scientists, and celebrities. Wood's introduction to the symposium claims that many of the contributions have "appeared in the New York Herald" (page 6), and he solicited the poet's participation in this symposium. Whitman's response, "The Civilized World Working Toward the Answer: The Democratic Poet," appeared in Ideals of Life, 389–390, followed by a biographical sketch, excerpts of his poetry, and excerpts of interviews with the poet (391–394). For more information, see Wood's obituary in the New York Herald (December 17, 1916), 8, and see also his introduction to Ideals of Life (New York: E. B. Treat, 1892), 5–10. For Whitman's response, see his letter to Wood of March 3, 1891. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328 Mickle St. | Camden. | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: Paddington.W | [illegible] 12 | FE 3 | 91; New York | Feb | 14; Paid | B | All; Camden, [illegible] | Feb | 16 | 7 AM | [illegible]. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 5B | FE 7 | 91; Paid | B | All; New York | Feb | 15; Camden, NJ | Feb | 16 | 7AM | [illegible] | [illegible]. Johnston has written his initials, JJ, in the left corner of the recto of the envelope. The "Address" refers to the lecture event in honor of Whitman, which took place October 21 at Philadelphia's Horticultural Hall. Robert Ingersoll delivered the lecture. See Ingersoll's October 12 and October 20 letters to Whitman. Johnston has written the citation information in ink on the right side of the enclosed newspaper clipping. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 58 | FE 7 | 91; PAID | B | ALL; New York | Feb | 15 | [illegible]; Camden, N.J. | Feb | 16 | 7AM | 1891 | [illegible]. John H. Johnston (of New York) and Richard Maurice Bucke planned a lecture event in Whitman's honor, which took place October 21 at Philadelphia's Horticultural Hall. Robert Ingersoll delivered the lecture. See Ingersoll's October 12, 1890 and October 20, 1890, letters to Whitman. Planning for the event had been underway for about a month. In his letter to Whitman of September 17, 1890, Bucke quoted a letter from Johnston: "This morning an hour talk with Ingersoll and I got his promise and authority to proceed and get up a lecture entertainment by him for Walt's benefit—in Phila I guess—Shall I put you on committee?" 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. Here and through the rest of the letter, Bucke uses the abbreviation "I." to refer to Ingersolll. The jeweler John H. Johnston of New York and Bucke were in the process of planning a lecture event in Whitman's honor, which was to take place October 21 at Philadelphia's Horticultural Hall. Robert Ingersoll was the speaker for the event and would deliver the lecture: "Liberty in Literature. Testimonial to Walt Whitman." See Ingersoll's October 12, 1890 and October 20, 1890, letters to Whitman. The jeweler John H. Johnston of New York and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke were in the process of planning a lecture event in Whitman's honor, which was to take place October 21 at Philadelphia's Horticultural Hall. Robert Ingersoll was the speaker for the event and would deliver the lecture: "Liberty in Literature. Testimonial to Walt Whitman." See Ingersoll's October 12, 1890 and October 20, 1890, letters to Whitman. This postal card is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Feb 6 | 430PM | 91. Whitman had sent "Old Chants" to Scribner's, which rejected the poem, after Arena had earlier rejected it; "Old Chants" was eventually published in Truth on March 19, 1891. See Whitman's daybook entry of January 24, 1891 in Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 2:585. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq. | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | Feb 7 | 7 PM | 91; Camden [illegible] | Feb | 8 | 4 PM | 1891 | Rec'd. See the letter from Whitman to Stoddart of February 4, 1891. Joseph Alfred Stoddart (1870–1932) was the oldest of the four children born to Joseph Marshall Stoddart (1845–1921) and his wife Isabella Herkness Stoddart (1850–1900). Usually referred to as "Alfred" or "J. Alfred," was a financier who spent forty years working for Drexel and Company. He was also "a writer for magazines on horses, hounds and fox hunting" (see "J. Alfred Stoddart," Philadelphia Inquirer [October 13, 1932], 23). See Whitman's January 27, 1891, postal card to Dr. John Johnston. Wallace is quoting from Whitman's January 27, 1891, postal card to Dr. John Johnston. Wallace is referring to an essay by Marion H. Spielmann. Spielmann would transform the essay into Chapter 14 of his book John Ruskin: A Sketch of His Life, His Work, and His Opinions, with Personal Reminiscences (1900). The address and date of composition appear at the end of the letter: Mr Walt Whitman | The Good Gray Poet | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Concord | 1 PM | Feb | 1[illegible] | Mass.; Camden, N.J. | Feb | 16 | 6 AM | 1891 | Rec'd. Holland has written "Please Forward" in the bottom left corner of the envelope. Alexander and Anne Gilchrist were the parents of four children: Beatrice Carwardine Gilchrist (1854–1881), Grace "Giddy" Gilchrist (1859–1947), Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist (1857–1914), and Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935). Holland is referring to Alexander Gilchrist's two-volume work Life of William Blake, 'Pictor Ignotus' With selections from his poems and other writings. The first volume was a biography of William Blake (1757–1827) the English poet and painter, and the second volume included Blake's prose, poetry, and artwork. Gilchrist died in 1861 before finishing the book, but the work was completed by his widow Anne Gilchrist with assistance from the writers Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882) and William Michael Rossetti (1829–1919). The volumes were first published in 1863, and another edition was published in 1880. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, Esq. | CAMDEN, | NEW JERSEY, | U.S.A. It is postmarked: Bedford St S. O. | 9[illegible] | FE 17 | 91 | [illegible]. C; Camden, N.J. | Mar | 3 | 6 AM | 1891 | [illegible]ec'd. The envelope bears the printed return address of the Review of Reviews. The February 1891 issue of The Review of Reviews included an illustration, drawn from a photograph of the poet by Napoleon Sarony taken in July 1878, and a facsimile of a manuscript postal card written and signed by Whitman. See The Review of Reviews: An International Magazine. American Edition 5 (1891), 11. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: West Park | Feb | 17 | 1891 | N.Y.; Camden, N.J. | Feb | 18 | 12 M | 1891 | [illegible]. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 45 | FE 18 | 91; New York | Mar | 2 | [illegible]; PAID | A | ALL; Cam[illegible] | Mar | 3 | 6 AM | 1891 | Rec[illegible]. The lecture event in honor of Whitman took place October 21, 1890, at Philadelphia's Horticultural Hall. Robert Ingersoll delivered the lecture. See Ingersoll's October 12, 1890 and October 20, 1890, letters to Whitman. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N[illegible] Jersey. It is postmarked: Boston, Mass | Feb 18 | 3 15 P[illegible] | 1891; Camden, N.J. | Feb | 19 | 9 AM | 1891 | Rec'd. Kennedy is quoting a line from Ralph Waldo Emerson's poem "Fragments on Nature and Life" ("The Garden"): "Solar insect on the wing / In the garden murmuring, / Soothing with thy summer horn / Swains by winter pinched and worn." Kennedy has written this postscript in the top margin of the postal card above the rest of his note to Whitman. See Whitman's February 10, 1891, postal card to Wallace. Wallace quotes from Psalms 8:2. The novel In Darkest London (1891) was written by Margaret Harkness (1854–1923) under the pseudonym John Law. It was originally published as Captain Lobe: a story of the Salvation Army (1889). Wallace's quotation refers to section 6 of Whitman's "Song of Myself," in which Whitman describes the grass as the "beautiful uncut hair of graves." Wallace is referring to Whitman's "Song of the Universal," which was first published in the New York Daily Graphic and The New York Evening Post on June 17, 1874. Here and in the next paragraph, Wallace is quoting from a note in Whitman's "Preface, 1876," included in his Specimen Days & Collect. See the first full paragraph of the note in Specimen Days & Collect (Philadelphia: Rees, Welsh, &Company, 1882–1883), 285. See Whitman's February 8 postal card to Johnston. Johnston is probably referring to Whitman's February 10 postal card to James W. Wallace. The only extant letter from Wallace on or after this date is his letter of March 6. The photo and facsimile postal card can be found in The Review of Reviews: An International Magazine. American Edition., 5 (1892): 11. See The Walt Whitman Archive's Image Gallery, especially the three photographs (zzz.00121, zzz.00120, zzz.00122) depicting the "litter of books, papers, magazines, thrown-down letters and circulars" that covered the poet's floors in Camden, New Jersey. Whitman has crossed out the text of this letter. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 57 | FE28 | 91; Camden, N.J. | Mar | 10 | 6AM | 1891 | Rec'd; New York | Mar | 9; Paid | F | All. Johnston initialed the envelope, "J.J." See Whitman's February 14 postal card to Dr. Johnston. The letter and postal card that Johnston refers to may be the postal card and the slip enclosed in one envelope. No correspondence from Whitman of letter length, dated on or around the 14th, is extant. The slip referred to is Kennedy's "Quaker Traits of Walt Whitman," which originally appeared in the Conservator of July 1890. This letter is postmarked: N Y | 3–9–91 | [illegible] PM | [illegible]; Camden, N.J. | Mar | 10 | 6 AM | 1891 | Rec'd. Rebecca was the wife of Issac, the Hebrew patriarch, and mother of the twins Esau and Jacob. The scene of her at the well in Nahor, where she was chosen by Abraham's servant as Isaac's future wife, was a common motif in the nineteenth century. See Genesis 24:1–67. John Cresson Trautwine, Jr., was a Philadelphia-based civil engineer, like his father. He and his father wrote books on civil engineering. Trautwine is referencing Whitman's poem "To You." In Whitman's "Some Personal and Old-Age Memoranda," he does include a footnote "from an English letter, summer of 1890, to J. C. T., jr., Philadelphia," and reprints a passage from that letter affirming that Tennyson and "Mr. Harrison" in England both admire Whitman's work; Whitman also quotes the writer of the letter as saying "There are many fine things in W. W.'s writings, but I cannot help wishing he had put them into prose, instead of into such rocky verse" (Lippincott's Monthly Magazine 47 [March 1891], 381). On March 10, Horace Traubel received a letter from Mr. Trautwine, which explains the confusion about his remarks that Whitman had quoted in his footnote to his Lippincott's article. Traubel also notes that the letter from Harrison that Mrs. Trautwine assumes Whitman received in fact never arrived. See Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, March 10, 1891. Traubel's March 11, 1891, entry indicates that Whitman valued Mrs. Trautwine's letter ("She writes in a warm, generous, friendly way: it is precious to me") and records Whitman's confirmation that he had never received Harrison's letter (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, March 11, 1891). On April 5, 1891, Traubel reports that Whitman had "cut out . . . Trautwine's note" in revising the Lippincott's piece for publication in Good-Bye My Fancy (1891): see With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, April 5, 1891. On August 23, 1891, Mr. Trautwine wrote to Traubel to report that he had found the misplaced Harrison letter, and he forwarded it to Traubel to show to Whitman; see With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, August 25, 1891. Clifford Harrison (1857–1903) was the son of William Harrison, a manager of the English Opera Company. He began acting as a teenager and quickly became a popular reciter of poetry and drama, often accompanying himself on the piano with atmospheric music. Among his repertoire was Walt Whitman's "Passage to India." Harrison was diagnosed with tuberculosis in the 1880s, and until his death he would spend most of the year in the Riviera and come to England for recitals only during the summer months. In his final years, he devoted himself to sketching and writing books of poetry–In Hours of Leisure (1887), On the Common Chords (1895), and Echoes (1900)–as well as compiling the two volume Stray Records: Or, Personal and Professional Notes (1892). In this latter volume, Harrison devotes several passages to Whitman. For Harrison's own account of his work, see Archibald Cromwell, "A Famous Reciter and His Art: A Conversation with Mr. Clifford Harrison," The Windsor Magazine 3 (1896): 648–651. Gleeson White, an Englishman Whitman described as a "middle-aged man very gentlemanly & pleasant," visited Whitman in Camden on November 4, 1890, and gave the poet a "strong acc't of L of G receptivity and popularity" in England See Daybooks & Notebooks, ed. William White (New York: New York University Press, 1978), 2:575. Henry Scott Tuke (1858–1929) was an English photographer and painter who specialized in male nudes and maritime themes. Among his acquaintances were Oscar Wilde and John Addington Symonds, who also corresponded with Whitman. Tuke moved to Swanpool in 1885 and painted from a fishing boat that he converted into a floating studio. For more on Tuke's artistic work, see C. Kains-Jackson, "H. S. Tuke, A.R.A.," The Magazine of Art 26 (1902): 337–343. William Hawley Smith (1845–1922) was an educator and the author of two science-fiction novels, The Evolution of "Dodd" (1884) and The Promoters (1904). He published a few articles in The Conservator, including "A Visit with Walt Whitman," no. 20 (November 1909), 136; and "Walt Whitman's Contribution," no. 6 (August 1918), 75. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U S America. It is postmarked: Bo[illegible]on | [illegible] | M[illegible] 11 | [illegible]1; PAID | G | [illegible]; New Yo[illegible] | Mar | 18; Camden, N.J. | Mar | 19 | 6 AM | 1891 | Rec'd. Johnston wrote his initials, "JJ," in the bottom left of the envelope. See Whitman's February 26 postal card to Johnston. Johnston seems to be referring to Stedman's co-editor, Ellen Mackay Hutchinson Cortissoz. Wentworth Dixon (1855–1928) was a lawyer's clerk and a member of the "Bolton College" of Whitman admirers. He was also affiliated with the Labour Church, an organization whose socialist politics and working-class ideals were often informed by Whitman's work. Dixon communicated directly with Whitman only a few times, but we can see in his letters a profound sense of care for the poet's failing health, as well as genuine gratitude for Whitman's continued correspondence with the "Eagle Street College." See Dixon's letters to Whitman of June 13, 1891 and February 24, 1892. For more on Dixon and Whitman's Bolton disciples, see Paul Salveson, "Loving Comrades: Lancashire's Links to Walt Whitman," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 14.2 (1996), 57–84. Richard Greenhalgh, a bank clerk and one of Whitman's Bolton admirers, frequently hosted annual celebrations of the poet's birthday. In his March 9, 1892, letter to Traubel, Greenhalgh wrote that "Walt has taught me 'the glory of my daily life and trade.' In all the departments of my life Walt entered with his loving personality & I am never alone" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, March 20, 1892). James Wallace described Greenhalgh as "undoubtedly a rich, royal, plain fellow, not given to ornate word or act" (Sunday, September 27, 1891). For more on Greenhalgh, see Paul Salveson, "Loving Comrades: Lancashire's Links to Walt Whitman," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 14.2 (1996), 57–84. "Song of the Universal," "Song of Prudence," and "To Think of Time." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | new Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: B[illegible]on | 58 | MR14 | 91; New York | Mar | [illegible]; PAID | L | ALL; Camden, N.J. | Mar | 24 | 6AM | 1891 | Rec'd. See Whitman's February 26, 1891, postal card to Johnston. Wallace is referring to a postal card that was addressed to Johnston. See Whitman's March 3, 1891, postal card to Johnston. Little is known about S. Nowell, the Captain of the SS British Prince. On October 8, 1890, Horace Traubel notes that Whitman received a letter from Captain Noell [sic] stating that Johnston and Wallace had given him a blanket of Bolton manufacture to deliver personally to the poet in Camden. Traubel notes a few days later on October 14: "W. said Captain Noell [sic] had been in with the blanket." See the letter from S. Nowell to Whitman of October 8, 1890. On March 7 John Addington Symonds wrote to Wallace of his health, of his fears for his family, of an autobiography ("which perhaps may yet be published; if its candour permits publication"), and of his affection for Walt Whitman: "What is beautiful in this sunset of a great strong soul, is the man's own cheerful & calm acceptance of the situation.'It will be all right either way.' Ab eo disce vivere ac mori!" (Wallace's transcription: Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C). Because the letter was incorrectly addressed, the envelope has been stamped "Forwarded," the city "Boston" has been crossed out in pencil, and "Camden, N.J." has been written in pencil. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq. | Poet | Boston | U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | MR.17.91 | E; Boston | Mar 28 91 | 2PM | D; Boston | Mass | Apr 11 91 | 2 45 PM; Camden, N.J. | Apr | 13 | 6 AM | 1891 | Rec'd. Black and White: A Weekly Illustrated Record and Review, founded in 1891, was a British weekly that published many well-known writers. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 58 | [illegible] | 91; New York | Mar | 28; PAID | P | ALL; Camden, N.J. | Mar | 30 | 6 AM | 1891 | Rec'd. Wallace initialed the envelope, "J.W.W." See Whitman's March 8, 1891, and March 10, 1891, postal cards to Dr. John Johnston. Wallace is quoting from the 1855 Preface to Leaves of Grass. The phrase originally reads as follows: "Is it [literature] for the evergrowing communes of brothers and lovers, large, well-united, proud beyond the old models, generous beyond all models?" The quote is from Whitman's "Prayer of Columbus." The lines originally read as follows: "A message from the Heavens whispering to me even in sleep" and "Thou knowest I have not once lost nor faith nor ecstasy in Thee." The fictional character Jennie Wren is the disabled child who makes doll dresses in Charles Dickens's Our Mutual Friend (1864). Jennie Wren is probably a pseudonym. See Whitman's March 14 postal card to Wallace. The letter is dated March 6th, not March 3rd. Whitman refers to it as a March 3rd letter in his March 14 postal card to Wallace. Only a typescript of Wallace's March 6 letter survives. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey. | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 54 | MR 28 | 91; Cam[cut away] | Ap[cut away] | 6AM | 1891 | Rec'd; Paid | [illegible] | [illegible]. See Whitman's March 14, 1891, postal card to Wallace. Wallace is quoting from Whitman's poem "You Lingering Sparse Leaves of Me," which was first published in Lippincott's Magazine in November 1887, as part of the "November Boughs" cluster of poems. The poem was later included as part of the "Sands at Seventy," first annex to Leaves of Grass, which was published as part of Whitman's November Boughs (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1888). In his famous letter to Walt Whitman of July 21, 1855, poet and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote of the first edition of Leaves of Grass, "I greet you at the beginning of a great career, which yet must have had a long foreground somewhere, for such a start." See "Letter to Walt Whitman." Henry Bacon Lovering (1841–1911) held several political positions at state and federal levels. Lovering represented Massachusetts' sixth district in the U.S. House of Representatives between 1883 and 1887, and was appointed as the United States Marshal for Massachusetts by President Grover Cleveland in 1888. He later served as the United States Pension Agent at Boston between 1894 and 1898. Lovering was involved in efforts to get Whitman a government pension in recognition of his Civil War hospital service. Arlo Bates (1850–1918) was an American author of several novels, poetry collections, and essays on literary criticism. He served as the editor for the Boston Sunday Courier between 1880 and 1893, and afterward was appointed as Professor of English at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Conrad Wesselhoeft (1834–1904) was a German physician and educator from Weimar. After studying medicine at Harvard, he established a homeopathic practice in Dorchester, Massachusetts, where he continued his father Robert's and uncle William's work on the "water cure." He later helped found New England's first homeopathic medical college at Boston University in 1873, as well as several professional organizations including the Massachusetts Homeopathic Medical Society and the American Institute of Homeopathy. Among Wesselhoeft's many notable patients was Louisa May Alcott, who dedicated her last novel, Jo's Boys, to him. For more on Wesselhoeft, see Thomas Lindsley Bradford, The Pioneers of Homeopathy (Philadelphia: Boericke & Tafel, 1897). William Quan Judge (1851–1896) was an Irish-born lawyer, occultist, and a founding member of the New York Theosophical Society in 1875. Judge was placed in charge of the Society's North American activities when co-founders Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and Henry Steele Olcott moved the organization's headquarters to present-day Chennai, India. In 1886, after a brief visit to India with Blavatsky and Olcott, Judge returned to New York and reorganized the Theosophical Society in America with himself as general secretary. He founded two periodicals, The Path and The Theosophical Forum, and authored numerous books and pamphlets, including An Epitome of Theosophy (South Shields, England: J. W. Brown, 1888) and The Ocean of Theosophy (New York: The Path [1893]). For more information, see Boris De Zirkoff, William Quan Judge, 1851–1896: The Life of a Theosophical Pioneer and Some of His Outstanding Articles (Wheaton, IL: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1969). Enrico Nencioni (1837–1896) was an Italian poet and literary critic. His essays (several of them on Whitman) and collaborations with literary magazines such as Fanfulia Sunday and Nuova Antologia significantly contributed to the popularization of English literature in Italy. For more on Nencioni, see Giuliana Pieri, "Enrico Nencioni: An Italian Victorian," Biographies and Autobiographies in Modern Italy, eds. Peter Hainsworth & Martin McLaughlin (Leeds, West Yorkshire: Modern Humanities Research Assiciation, 2007). O'Connor is likely referring to Cyrus Field Willard (1858–1942), an American journalist, political activist, and theosophist. In the December 1887 edition of The American Magazine, Willard dramatizes an interview he conducted with Whitman. Willard's depiction of Whitman is as a venerated but paralyzed man, whose speech is overwrought with contractions and elided syllables. Willard ends by appropriating Whitman's free verse and form in an improvised, perhaps satirical, poem entitled "America's Greeting to Walt." For the published interview, see Cyrus Willard, "A Chat With The Good Gray Poet." Whitman's poem "Yonnondio" was published in the Critic on November 26, 1887. Walter Savage Landor (1775–1864) was an English essayist and poet. Kennedy is likely referring to Landor's Citation and Examination of William Shakespeare (London: Saunders & Otley, 1837). Nuova Antologia was one of Italy's most respected literary and scientific journals, started in 1866 in Florence, then published in Rome begnning in 1878. This note is written on the front of the envelope that contained the letter. This note, which Kennedy may have intended as a continuation to his postscript, is written on the back of the envelope that contained the letter. James Augustus Cotter Morison (1832–1888) was an English essayist and historian. For more on Morison, see David Amigoni, Victorian Biography: Intellectuals and the Ordering of Discourse (New York: Routledge, 2014). Jean-François Millet (1814–1875) was a French realist painter and founder of the Barbizon School. He is noted for his depictions of peasant farmers. Bronson Howard (1842–1908) was an American journalist and dramatist, whose work earned him membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Stuart Robson (1836–1903) and William Henry Crane (1845–1928) were American comedic actors who formed a popular theatrical duo that lasted twelve years. Productions such as Our Bachelors (1878) and Sharps and Flats (1880) were so successful that Bronson Howard's The Henrietta (1887) was written specifically for them. For more on Robson & Crane, see Lewis C. Strang, Famous Actors of the Day in America (Boston: L.C. Page and Company, 1900). See Poems by Walt Whitman, ed. William Michael Rossetti (London: Chatto & Windus, 1886). Francis Vielé-Griffin (1864–1937) was an American-born French Symbolist poet. For more on Vielé-Griffin, see Reinhard Kuhn, The Return to Reality: A Study of Francis Vielé-Griffin (Paris: Librairie Minard, 1962). Jules Laforgue (1860–1887) was a French-Uruguayan Symbolist poet. For more on Laforgue, see Michael Collie, Jules Laforgue (London: Athlone Press, 1977). Francis Bacon (1561–1626) was an English philosopher, scientist, statesman, and author. Bacon's personal notebooks and works came under scrutiny during the nineteenth-century because of suspicions that he had written plays under the pen-name William Shakespeare in order to protect his political office from material some might find objectionable. For more on the Baconian theory, see Henry William Smith, Was Lord Bacon The Author of Shakespeare's Plays?: A Letter to Lord Ellesmere (London: William Skeffington, 1856). James Gordon Bennett Jr. (1841–1918) was the publisher of the New York Herald, which had been founded by his father in 1835. For more on the paper and the many poems by Whitman that were published in it, see Susan Belasco, "The New York Herald." Thomas Starr King (1824–1864) was an American Unitarian minister, Freemason, and orator based in California. During the Civil War, he advocated fervently for the Union and Abraham Lincoln. For more on King, see Charles W. Wendte, Thomas Starr King: Patriot and Preacher (Boston: The Beacon Press, 1921). Ellen Louise Chandler Moulton (1835–1908) was an American poet and critic who published several collections of verse and prose, as well as regular contributions to the New York Tribune and Boston Herald. Ellen Louise Chandler Moulton (1835–1908) was an American poet and critic who published several collections of verse and prose, as well as regular contributions to the New York Tribune and Boston Herald. She visited Whitman on April 23, 1888 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, April 24, 1888). John Jarvey Brown (b. 1859) was a chemist and druggist in Glasgow. According to the 1881 Scotland Census, Brown lived at 160 Cathcart Road; by the 1891 Census, he had moved to 285 Main Street in the parish of Barony. This letter likely dates to the 1880s. Brown writes this letter at the top of pages he seems to have taken from a printed book or journal that he likely intends as enclosures for Whitman. The letter appears at the top of part of an essay entitled "Existence." A poem titled "Things" is also enclosed. Brown writes his name at the bottom of each printed page and may be the author of these works. Elias Hicks (1748–1830) was a traveling Quaker preacher and anti-slavery activist from Long Island, New York. Whitman's essay on Hicks, "Notes (such as they are) founded on Elias Hicks," appeared in November Boughs (1888). For more on Hicks, see Henry Watson Wilbur, The Life and Labors of Elias Hicks (Philadelphia: Friends' General Conference Advancement Committee, 1910). Frank Baker (1841–1918) was an American anatomist from New York. Before his illustrious medical career, he served in the 37th New York Volunteers (1861–1863) and then transferred to Washington, D.C., for government service, where he became intimately familiar with Walt Whitman and John Burroughs. After receiving a medical degree from Columbia University, he served as professor of anatomy at Georgetown University, assistant superintendent of the United States Life Saving Service, and president of numerous biological and medical societies, among them the Anthropological Society of Washington. He also edited American Anthopologist and authored several medical monographs, including two papers on President Garfield's assassination and several articles on the history of medicine and anatomy. For more on Baker, see Howard Atwood Kelly and Walter L. Burrage, A Cyclopedia of American Medical Biography (Baltimore: The Norman Remington Company, 1920). 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). James G. Blaine (1830–1893) was an American statesman and Republican politician. He served in the House of Representatives (1863–1876), Senate (1876–1881), and twice as Secretary of State (1881, 1889–1892). Blaine was the Republican presidential nominee in 1884, when he was narrowly defeated by Democratic nominee Grover Cleveland. Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901) was the twenty-third U.S. president and grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison. Harrison was the Republican nominee who defeated Democratic incumbent Grover Cleveland in 1888. John Sherman (1823–1900) was an American politician and Republican representative and senator from Ohio. He is best known as the author of policies that addressed growing economic crises, including the Sherman Antitrust and Silver Purchase Acts of 1890. Grover Cleveland (1837–1908) was the twenty-second and twenty-fourth U.S. president. Cleveland was the leader of the "Bourbon Democrats," whose policies opposed high tariffs and subsidies to businesses. In 1888, he was the early favorite for the Republican presidential nomination but eventually lost out to Benjamin Harrison, whom he then endorsed. Edward Bellamy (1850–1898) was an American author, best known for his utopian science fiction novel, Looking Backward, 2000–1887. For more on Bellamy, see Arthur E. Morgan, Edward Bellamy (New York: Columbia University Press, 1944). Jessie Maria Gurd Bucke (1839–1926) grew up in Mooretown, Upper Canada. She was the daughter of William Gurd, an army officer from Ireland. Gurd married Richard Maurice Bucke in 1865. The couple had eight children. Timothy Blair Pardee (1830–1889) was a Canadian lawyer and politician, member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontaria, Canada, and Minister of the Crown. Pardee appointed Richard Maurice Bucke, with whom he was a close friend, as the Superintendent of the Asylum for the Insane in Hamilton at its founding in 1876, and then the next year as Superintendent of the Asylum for the Insane in London. For more on Pardee, see H. V. Nelles, "Pardee, Timothy Blair," Dictionary of Canadian Biography Vol. 11 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982). Marion Harry Alexander Spielmann (1858–1948) was an English editor, art critic, and scholar who edited both The Conoisseur and Magazine of Art (1887–1904). He was a major figure in British debates about developments in modern art. He also founded the weekly periodical Black and White in 1891. Black and White: A Weekly Illustrated Record and Review was a British weekly that published many well-known writers. Victor Hugo (1802–1885) was a French poet, novelist, and dramatist best known for Les Misérables (1862) and Notre-Dame de Paris (1833). Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832) was a Scottish statesman, historical novelist, playwright, and poet, best known for Ivanhoe (1820), The Lady of the Lake (1810), and Waverly (1814). For Whitman's view of Scott, see Vickie L. Taft, "Scott, Sir Walter (1771–1832)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). John "Jack" Harkness (1841–1916), Dr. Bucke's friend and colleague, attended McGill University's Medical School with Bucke, graduating 1862. At the time, Eliza Jane Poitevent Holbrook Nicholson (1843–1896), a Mississippi-born poet and journalist, owned the Picayune. Elizabeth Leavitt Keller describes Whitman's reaction as follows: "'He's coming to paint me,' said Mr. Whitman on reading the message; 'I had forgotten about him. We will put him over there somewhere; I don't see what I can do to stop it; he has come all the way from England—from England'" (Walt Whitman in Mickle Street [New York: J. J. Little and Evans, 1921], 76–77). James Gordon Bennett (1841–1918) was the editor and publisher of the New York Herald, a newspaper founded by his father. For Bennett's invitation, see his letter to Whitman of January 23, 1888. James Gordon Bennett (1841–1918) was the editor and publisher of the New York Herald, a newspaper founded by his father. Bennett also founded the entertainment and gossip paper The Evening Telegram under the guidance of his father. The paper later became the New York World-Telegram. The Contemporary Club was a Philadelphia literary circle established in 1886 by the essayist Agnes Repplier. In 1887, Whitman gave a reading of "The Mystic Trumpeter" and "A Voice from the Sea" at the club. The Contemporary Club was a Philadelphia literary circle established in 1886 by the essayist Agnes Repplier. In 1887, Whitman had given a reading of "The Mystic Trumpeter" and "A Voice from the Sea" at the club. Bucke had tried to place Leaves of Grass with the publishing house Lippincott's, which rejected it on March 6th. See Whitman's letter to O'Connor of April 12, 1888. Amélie Rives (1863–1945) was an American novelist, poet, and playwright, whose 1888 novel The Quick or the Dead sold 300,000 copies and created a scandal because of its erotic subject matter. Her personal life was also a sensation; she had an unhappy marriage to John Armstrong Chanler, the grandson of John Jacob Astor, and later to Prince Pierre Troubetzkoy of the well-known aristocratic Russian family. For more on Rives, see Francis Verzelius Newton Painter, Poets of Virginia (Richmond: B. F. Johnson Publishing Company, 1907). C. H. Browning worked in the Philadelphia office of the New York Herald, and he later worked in the same capacity for the New York World. Whitman described Browning as "a fine, dark-browed, vital, affectionate sort of a man—a newspaper man made of the real stuff" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, August 12, 1888). Browning convinced Whitman to write "A Voice from the Death," a poem on the Johnstown flood that was printed in the World on June 7, 1889. Philip Henry Sheridan (1831–1888) was a United States Army officer and general during the Civil War. Whitman published a poem in the New York Herald on August 12, 1888, about Sheridan's burial entitled "Over and Through the Burial Chant" (renamed "Interpolation Sounds" when incorporated into Leaves of Grass). See footnote 2595 in Walt Whitman: Daybooks and Notebooks Vol. 2, 1881–1891, ed. William White (New York: New York University Press, 1978). William S. Walsh (1854–1919) was an American author and editor of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. William John Gurd (1845–1903) was Richard Maurice Bucke's brother-in-law, with whom he was designing a gas and fluid meter to be patented in Canada and sold in England. Bucke believed the meter would be worth "millions of dollars," while Whitman remained skeptical, sometimes to Bucke's annoyance. In a March 18, 1888, letter to William D. O'Connor, Whitman wrote, "The practical outset of the meter enterprise collapsed at the last moment for the want of capital investors." For additional information, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, March 17, 1889, Monday, March 18, 1889, Friday, March 22, 1889, and Wednesday, April 3, 1889. Ezra Heywood (1829–1893) was an American abolitionist, women's rights advocate, and anarchist. For more on Heywood, see Martin Henry Blatt, Free Love & Anarchism: The Biography of Ezra Heywood (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1989). Anthony Comstock (1844–1915) was an American postal inspector and politician whose name became synonymous with censorship of cultural artifacts that were perceived as lascivious or immoral. In 1873, Comstock founded the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice and convinced Congress to pass the "Comstock Laws," which criminalized the "Trade in, and Circulation of Obscene Literature and Articles of Immoral Use" through the U.S. Postal Service. For more on Comstock, see Nicola Kay Beisel, Imperiled Innocents: Anthony Comstock and Family Reproduction in Victorian America (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1997). Rutherford B. Hayes (1822–1893) was the 19th President of United States (1877–1881), who oversaw the end of Reconstruction. Among his numerous civil service reforms, Hayes sought to disrupt the postal service's corrupt "star route" contract profiteering by denying new route contracts. He later indicted Second Assistant Postmaster-General Thomas J. Brady of conspiracy. For more on Hayes and the "Star Route Scandal," see Wayne E. Fuller, Morality and the Mail in Nineteenth-century America (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2003). DeRobigne Mortimer Bennett (1818–1882) was the founder and publisher of the Free Thought periodical Truth Seeker. Anthony Comstock had Bennett arrested in 1878 for mailing a copy of Ezra Heywood's free-love essay, "Cupid's Yokes." Edward Silas Tobey (1813–1891) was the Postmaster of the Boston Post Office between 1870 and 1880, and president of the Boston Board of Trade. Benjamin Ricketson Tucker (1854–1939) was an American activist and editor of the anarchist periodical Liberty, which ran from 1881 to 1908. Alice Ellen Terry (1847–1928) was the leading Shakespearean stage actress in London from the 1870s up through the early 1900s. Early in her career, she married the artist George Frederic Watts, who introduced her to prime ministers, photographers, and poets such as Robert Browning and Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Terry's connections with eminent artists and her remarkable stage presence made her something of a cultural fascination for poets and pre-Raphaelite artists. Terry's theatrical partner, Sir Henry Irving, was a lifelong friend to Irish author Bram Stoker, who placed her in contact with Whitman. For more on Terry, see Nina Auerbach, Ellen Terry: Player in Her Time (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987). Jean Paul (Johann Paul Friedrich) Richter (1763–1825) was a German Romantic author, best known for his humor and political satire. For more on Richter, see Paul Fleming, The Pleasures of Abandonment: Jean Paul and the Life of Humor (Würzburg, Germany: Königshausen & Neumann, 2005). Charles Robert Darwin (1809–1882) was an English naturalist and geologist, best known for his contributions to the theory of evolution and natural selection, first published in On The Origin of Species (1859). For more on Darwin, see Sandra Herbert, Charles Dawin, Geologist (New York: Cornell University Press, 2005). Lewis Fry (1832–1921) was a British lawyer and Liberal Unionist politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Bristol for three terms between 1878 and 1900. George Henry Borrow (1803–1881) was an English author, best known for The Zincali (1841), Lavengro: The scholar, the gypsy, the priest (1851), and The Romany Rye (1857), all of which are novels based on his experiences traveling across Europe. Borrow's writing is particularly fascinated with Romani life and culture. François-Marie Arouet (1694–1778), primarily known by his pen name Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Voltaire often used satire to criticize the Catholic Church and governmental censorship. Roger Williams (c.1603–1683) was an English Reformed theologian and founder of the colony of Providence Plantation in 1636. Williams was also an early abolitionist, and advocated for fair treatment of foreign and indigenous peoples in the British colonies. For more on Williams, see James P. Byrd Jr., The Challenges of Roger Williams: Religious Liberty, Violent Persecution, and the Bible (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2002). Robert Macaulay Stevenson (1854–1952) was a Scottish painter associated with the "Glasgow Boys," a collective of artists who sought to expand the canon of post-impressionist painting. The Irishman William Summers (1853–1893) was a member of the British Parliament, junior whip of the Liberal Party, and strong proponent of Irish home rule. He visited Whitman on September 26, 1888. His account of the visit was published in The Pall Mall Gazette on October 18, 1888. Whitman said of the visit that "Summers hit me hard. He made a grand show-up—had fine ways—was young, strong, optimistic" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, September 26, 1888). Mary Augusta Ward (1851–1920) was a British novelist who wrote under her married name, Mrs. Humphry Ward. Robert Elsmere was by far her most popular novel, and one that inspired discussions on the role of Christian beliefs in modern England. James Anthony Froude (1818–1894) was an English historian, biographer, and editor of Fraser's Magazine. Froude was also a close friend and literary executor to Scottish writer Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881), after whose death Froude published a biography entitled Life of Carlyle, which described Carlyle's intellectual accomplishments as well as his personal failings, in particular his unhappy relationship with his wife, Jane Welsh. Froude had previously published Jane's writings in Letters and Memorials of Jane Welsh Carlyle in 1883 to much protest from Carlyle's surviving family, and his biography of Carlyle emphasized his conflicted marriage for contemporary readers. For more on Froude, see Ciarán Brady, James Anthony Froude: An Intellectual Biography of a Victorian Prophet (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013). Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian, lecturer, and philosopher. For more on Carlyle, see John D. Rosenberg, Carlyle and the Burden of History (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1985). Sir William Osler (1849–1919) was a Canadian physician and one of the four founding staff members of Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he served as the first Chief of Medicine. Richard Maurice Bucke introduced Osler to Whitman in 1885 in order to care for the aging poet. Osler wrote a manuscript about his personal and professional relationship with Whitman in 1919; see Philip W. Leon, Walt Whitman and Sir William Osler: A Poet and His Physician [Toronto: ECW Press, 1995]). For more on Osler, see Philip W. Leon, "Osler, Dr. William (1849–1919)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). For more on the relationship of Osler and Whitman, see Michael Bliss, William Osler: A Life in Medicine (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999). Julius Chambers (1850–1920) was an American author, investigative journalist, and travel writer. After working as a reporter for the New York Tribune, he became the editor of the New York Herald and, later, the New York World. Henry Inman (1801–1846) was an American portrait and landscape painter from New York. Inman's portraits of Henry Rutgers, Martin Van Buren, and other notable figures earned him the task of copying over one hundred of Charles Bird King's paintings of Native American leaders for a printed volume entitled History of the Indian Tribes of North America (1836). For more on Inman and his work, see The Art of Henry Inman, Carrie Rebora Barratt & William H. Gerdts, Eds., (Washington, D.C.: National Portrait Gallery, 1987). Morse produced a statuette of President Grover Cleveland in 1887. The sculptor produced a plaster head of Emerson that was much admired by Emerson's friends and family. The Croma was a Monarch line steamer operating between England and the U.S. in the 1880s. The Boston Public Library turned down the offer of the bust. Sylvester Baxter (1850–1927) was on the staff of the Boston Herald. Apparently he met Whitman for the first time when the poet delivered his Lincoln address in Boston in April, 1881; see Rufus A. Coleman, "Whitman and Trowbridge," PMLA 63 (1948), 268. Baxter wrote many newspaper columns in praise of Whitman's writings, and in 1886 attempted to obtain a pension for the poet. For more, see Christopher O. Griffin, "Baxter, Sylvester [1850–1927]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). A bust of Whitman by Sidney H. Morse (1832–1903). For more on this, see Ruth L. Bohan, Looking into Walt Whitman: American Art, 1850–1920 (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2006), 57–84; and David Reynolds, Walt Whitman's America: A Cultural Biography (New York: Vintage Books, 1996), 546–590. Sidney H. Morse was a self-taught sculptor as well as a Unitarian minister and, from 1866 to 1872, editor of The Radical. He visited Whitman in Camden many times and made various busts of him. Whitman had commented on an early bust by Morse that it was "wretchedly bad." For more on this, see Ruth L. Bohan, Looking into Walt Whitman: American Art, 1850–1920 (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2006), 57–84. George Cox proposed selling signed copies of his photographs of Whitman. However, when the September 1887 issue of Century appeared with an advertisement, Whitman still had not seen proofs, much less signed the photographs. He wrote John H. Johnston on September 1, 1887, "He advertises...to sell my photo, with autograph. The latter is forged, & the former illegal & unauthorized." The disagreement was quickly resolved, and Whitman signed photographs for Cox and returned them. Specimen Days in America was published in Great Britain by Walter Scott in 1887. Ellen M. "Nelly" O'Connor was the wife of William D. O'Connor. Walt may have mentioned a potential visit by Nelly and her daughter during his May visit to Brooklyn, though whether a visit came near this time is not known from his or Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letters. Walt Whitman dined with the O'Connors frequently during his Washington years, and he spoke often in his letters of their daughter Jean (called "Jenny" or "Jeannie"). Though Whitman and William O'Connor would temporarily break off their friendship in late 1872 over a disagreement about Reconstruction policies and the role of emancipated slaves, Nelly would remain friendly with Whitman. Whitman wrote an essay, "New Orleans in 1848," that was published in the New Orleans Picayune on January 25, 1887. The early feminist and spiritual novelist Elizabeth Stuart Phelps (1844–1911) was the author of The Gates Ajar (1868); she published frequently in The Century, and her story "Jack the Fisherman" appeared in the June 1887 issue. British adventure writer H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines (1885), the first novel in English about "deepest" Africa, was a best seller. Whitman's short poem, "Shakspere-Bacon's Cipher," was published in The Cosmopolitan, October 1887. Francis Bacon (1561–1626) was the 1st Baron Verulam. Herbert Gilchrist carried the original of his painting of Whitman with him back to England, leaving behind a copy in the U.S. Samuel Pepys (1633–1703) was the author of the well-known diary of a decade of his life (1660–1669), which remained unpublished until 1825; an expanded edition was published in 1875–1879. George Henry Lewes (1817–1878) published his much-admired Life of Goethe in 1864. See See Whitman's letters to Rhys of March 8, 1887, and March 15, 1887. Ignatius Loyola Donnelly (1831–1901) was a politician and writer, well known for his notions of Atlantis as an antediluvian civilization and for his belief that Shakespeare's plays had been written by Francis Bacon, an idea he argued in his book The Great Cryptogram: Francis Bacon's Cipher in Shakespeare's Plays, published in 1888. The "programme" referred to here was probably an announcement of the publication of that book. Kennedy worked for many years on a book about Whitman and often sent Whitman sections to review; not until after Whitman's death, in 1896, was his Reminiscences of Walt Whitman published. Jessie Louisa Whitman was Jeff Whitman's daughter. Harry Stafford had a throat operation that required a large incision; see Whitman's letter to Edward Carpenter of May 3, 1887. Whitman often visited the family at their farm at Timber Creek in Laurel Springs, New Jersey; in the 1880s, the Staffords sold the farm and moved to nearby Glendale. Whitman often visited the Stafford family at their farm at Timber Creek in Laurel Springs, New Jersey; in the 1880s, they sold the farm and moved to nearby Glendale. Whitman met the 18-year-old Harry Lamb Stafford (b. 1858) in 1876, beginning a relationship which was almost entirely overlooked by early Whitman scholarship, in part because Stafford's name appears nowhere in the first six volumes of Horace Traubel's With Walt Whitman in Camden—though it does appear frequently in the last three volumes, which were published only in the 1990s. Whitman occasionally referred to Stafford as "My (adopted) son" (as in a December 13, 1876, letter to John H. Johnston), but the relationship between the two also had a romantic, erotic charge to it. For further discussion of Stafford, see Arnie Kantrowitz, "Stafford, Harry L. (b.1858)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman met the 18-year-old Harry Lamb Stafford (b. 1858) in 1876, beginning a relationship which was almost entirely overlooked by early Whitman scholarship, in part because Stafford's name appears nowhere in the first six volumes of Horace Traubel's With Walt Whitman in Camden—though it does appear frequently in the last three volumes, which were published only in the 1990s. Whitman occasionally referred to Stafford as "My (adopted) son" (as in this letter), but the relationship between the two also had a romantic, erotic charge to it. For further discussion of Stafford, see Arnie Kantrowitz, "Stafford, Harry L. (b.1858)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman had sent one of Sidney Morse's plaster busts of the poet to his friend Robert Pearsall Smith in England; see Whitman's letter to Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe of September 14, 1887. Whitman is referring to the Boston Transcript, copies of which Kennedy often sent him. James Stewart Roth was the son of Dr. James Henry ("Harry") Wroth and the nephew of Harry's brother John W. ("Johnny") Wroth. Johnny and Harry were sons of Caroline Wroth, who lived on Stevens Street in Camden, New Jersey, a few houses from Whitman's brother George and his wife Louisa, where Whitman roomed. Whitman took meals at the Wroths' house beginning in July 1881 and came to know the Wroth children there; he stayed in touch with them after Harry, Johnny, and their mother moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, soon after. See Wroth's letter to Whitman of June 2, 1887, Whitman's letter to Louisa Orr Whitman6 July [1881],and Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, May 15, 1889. This is a reference to the sculptor Sidney Morse's plaster bust of Whitman; see Whitman's letter to Sylvester Baxter of November 16, 1887. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Mar 3 | 4 30 PM | 88. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of April 8, 1888. Sheridan Ford (1860—1922) was an American journalist, politician, essayist, and art critic. He was known for his work on James McNeill Whistler. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd May 16/88." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | May 7 | 4 30 PM | 88. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd July 12/88." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun (?) | 5 PM | 88. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd July 12/88." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | (?) | (?) PM | 88. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd July 25/88." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Jul 20 | 6 AM | 88; Washington. Rec (?) | Jul 20 | 12 M | (?). To-day was a London periodical in which Reginald A. Beckett published "Walt Whitman as a Socialist Poet" in July 1888 (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, July 16, 1888). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd August 31/88." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Aug 6 | 8 PM | 88; Wash. D.C. Transit | Aug 7 | 7 AM | 88. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Oct. 5, 1888." It is addressed: Wm Douglas O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J.| Sep 19 | 8 PM | 88; Washington, Rec'd. | Sep 20 | 7 AM | 88 | 1. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Oct. 5, 1888." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington | D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J.| Oct 3 | 8 PM | (?)8; Washington, Rec'd. | Oct 4 | 7 30 AM | 88 | 6. Whitman's Complete Poems and Prose was mostly printed in October but not bound until December. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Oct. 9/88." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington DC. It is postmarked: (?) | Oct (?) | 5 PM | 88; Washington, Rec'd. | Oct 8 | 2 AM | 88 | 9. Edwin Haviland Miller, original editor of Whitman's correspondence, wrote of this letter: "I have accepted the authenticity of the note by the first owner (W.A.S.): David McKay gave this Autograph to me Oct. 11/88, the day on which it was written & recd" (Syracuse). W.A.S. also noted: "The 'plate' mentioned is Walt Whitman's portrait as printed in November Boughs. This order is to get the plate to use in the Xmas No. of Pubr Weekly of 1888." See Publisher's Weekly, xxxiv (November 17-24, 1888), 47. This letter is addressed: David McKay. This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Mary Whital Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 4 | 8 PM | 88; Philadelphia | Paid. This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Mary Whitall Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London | SW | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 2(?) | 8 PM | 88; Philadelphia | [illegible] | [illegible] PM | [illegible]. Whitman is referring to Mary Whitall Smith Costello's letter of October 1, 1888. This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Mary Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 22 | 8 PM | 88; Philadelphia, Pa. | Nov 22 | 8 PM | Paid. This might be Shakespeare scholar F. S. Ryman, who likely worked for the Boston Public Library. Ryman published, for instance, on Ignatius Loyola Donnelly's controversial book The Great Cryptogram: Francis Bacon's Cipher in Shakespeare's Plays (1888), which argued that Shakespeare's works were written by Francis Bacon. Whitman and his disciples took great interest in Donnelly's book. Whitman's "Army Hospitals and Cases: Memoranda at the Time, 1863–1866" appeared in The Century Magazine on October 6, 1888. The book appeared later that year, published by the Philadelphia printing house of David McKay. Perhaps this is Charles F. Sloane, owner of The Charles F. Sloane Company, a Bostonian cable company. For more, see "Chas. F. Sloane," The Journal of Electricity, Power and Gas (January, 1903), 99–100. Herbert Percy Horne (1864–1916) was an English poet, typographer, and designer who edited The Hobby Horse, a British periodical, for the Century Guild of Artists. William Dean Howells (1837–1920) was an American realist novelist and literary critic, serving the staff of the New York Nation and Harper's Magazine during the mid 1860s. During his tenure as editor-in-chief of The Atlantic Monthly from 1871 to 1880, he was one of the foremost critics in New York, and used his influence to support American authors like Hamlin Garland, Stephen Crane, and Emily Dickinson. He also brought attention to European authors like Henrik Ibsen, Giovanni Verga, and Leo Tolstoy in particular. Howells was highly skeptical of Whitman's poetry, however, and frequently questioned his literary merit. In an Ashtabula Sentinel review of the 1860 edition Leaves of Grass, Howells wrote, "If he is indeed 'the distinctive poet of America,' then the office of poet is one which must be left hereafter to the shameless and the friendless. for WALT WHITMAN is not a man whom you would like to know." In 1865, Howells would write the first important review of Drum-Taps in the Round Table, demonstrating early signs of his conflicted opinion about Whitman. For more information on Howells, see Susan Goodman and Carl Dawson, William Dean Howells: A Writer's Life (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005). Alexander Gardner (1821–1882) of Paisley, Scotland, was a publisher who reissued a number of books by and about Whitman; he ultimately published William Sloane Kennedy's Reminiscences of Walt Whitman in 1896 after a long and contentious battle with Kennedy over editing the book. Gardner published and co-edited the Scottish Review from 1882 to 1886. In 1886, the London publisher Chatto & Windus printed the second edition of William Michael Rossetti's Poems by Walt Whitman. Alexander Gardner (1821–1882), a publisher in Paisley, Scotland—who reissued a number of books by and about Whitman—ultimately published William Sloane Kennedy's Reminiscences of Walt Whitman in 1896 after a long and contentious battle with Kennedy over editing the book. Edward "Ned" Wilkins (1865–1936) was one of Whitman's nurses during his Camden years; he was sent to Camden from London, Ontario, by Dr. Richard M. Bucke, and he began caring for Whitman on November 5, 1888. He stayed for a year before returning to Canada to attend the Ontario Veterinary School. Wilkins graduated on March 24, 1893, and then he returned to the United States to commence his practice in Alexandria, Indiana. For more information, see Bert A. Thompson, "Edward Wilkins: Male Nurse to Walt Whitman," Walt Whitman Review 15 (September 1969), 194–195. On December 17, 1888, Katherine (Kitty) wrote to "My dear Uncle Walt": "We have once more made a nest but need one dear person to make the family complete; this person is a Grandpa; won't you come and be one to us? we would all be so happy if you came. There is a pretty park in front which is nice even in Winter; at night the electric lights are very pretty. Then in Summer you could walk in the park with us children as you used to do on 5th Ave. Do come, when ever it pleases you (but I want you very, very soon!)." "Kitty" and her brother Harold were photographed with the poet in 1879 (See Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., Walt Whitman: The Correspondence (New York: New York University Press, 1961–77), vol. 3, following page 202). Joseph Pennell (1857–1926) was an American lithographer, illustrator, and etcher whose work often depicted historic buildings and landmarks in Philadelphia and New York. Following his education in Philadelphia, he reclocated to London, where he taught at the Slade School of Fine Art. William Ewart Gladstone (1809–1898) was a British politician, serving as Prime Minister for four separate terms. The essay Macculloch mentions responds to Ingersoll's "Letter to Dr. Field," which appeared in the January 1888 issue. Near its conclusion, Ingersoll asserts his agnostic views, "Neither in the interest of truth, nor for the benefit of man, is it necessary to assert what we do not know. No cause is great enough to demand a sacrifice of candor. The mysteries of life and death, of good and evil, have never yet been solved." In response, Gladstone writes, "How good, how wise are these words! But coming at the close of the controversy, have they not some of the ineffectual features of a death-bed repentance?" Ingersoll's June letter furthered the debate then being promoted by The North American Review as the Ingersoll-Gladstone Controversy. Macculloch is referring to a collection of essays on Abraham Lincoln edited by Allen Thorndike Rice. Featured authors included Ulysses S. Grant, Frederick Douglass, Henry Ward Beecher, and various Congressmen, governors, and journalists. See Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln: by distinguished men of his time, Allen Thorndike Rice, ed. (New York: North American Publishing Company, 1886). Beyond the fact that Hugh B. Macculloch worked in advertising for the North American Review in New York City, we have no further information on this person. The dates June 15,1888 and June 28, 1888 are stamped in blue on the first page of the letter. This postcard is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 4 | (?) PM | 88. Hollyer wrote to Whitman about April 6 to request permission to make the etching. In Whitman's Commonplace Book, Whitman wrote of the etching on August 3: "I rather like it" (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C). But for more adverse opinions, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, August 12, 1888, and Wednesday, August 15, 1888. In his letter of August 30, 1888 Kennedy had complained that Traubel did not keep him informed of Whitman's helath: "It is cruel to keep a fellow ignorant" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feiberg Collection of Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, September 1, 1888). Whitman is likely referring to Kennedy's letter of August 30, 1888. Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901) was the twenty-third U.S. president and grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison. Harrison was the Republican nominee who defeated Democratic incumbent Grover Cleveland in 1888. Whitman had very negative views of Harrison, once calling him a "scalawag" and a "shit-ass": "I never had any faith in him, in his course!" See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, April 21, 1889. Whitman is referring to November Boughs and Complete Poems & Prose, both of which appeared in late 1888. Whitman was writing poems and prose for the New York Herald all through 1888 and was billing the newspaper and getting paid regularly. This is a line from Whitman's poem "So Long!" Whitman discusses this letter with Horace Traubel in With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, August 24, 1888. Whitman was preparing November Boughs for publication and had friends reading proofs for the book. For more on its publication and reception, see November Boughs [1888]. Elias Hicks (1748–1830) was a traveling Quaker preacher and anti-slavery activist from Long Island, New York. Whitman's essay on Hicks was the concluding piece in November Boughs. For more on Hicks, see Henry Watson Wilbur, The Life and Labors of Elias Hicks (Philadelphia: Friends' General Conference Advancement Committee, 1910). Whitman was having friends help him read proofs for November Boughs. For more on its publication and reception, see November Boughs [1888]. "The Ballad of Chevy Chase," a popular ancient oral ballad about a battle brought on by an English nobleman leading a large hunting party onto Scottish land in the Cheviot Hills, was praised by the English poet Philip Sidney (1554–1586). Philip Sidney (1554–1586) was an English poet. He authored the sonnet sequence Astrophel and Stella and the popular romance, the Arcadia. Writer and theater critic William Winter (1836–1917) knew Whitman at Pfaff's beer cellar, and over the years Whitman increasingly considered him an antagonist; late in his life, Whitman commented: "Some of my enemies are malignants—for instance, Littlebill Winter, as O'Connor calls him, . . . and others of that stripe—violently on the other side—Winter especially—Winter, who is a little man in all ways: little in body, little in soul, little in spirit—a dried-up cadaverous school-master who flourishes his nasty doctrines threateningly over the heads of the anointed." See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, August 5, 1888. O'Connor was a believer in the so-called "Baconian theory." Francis Bacon (1561–1626) was an English philosopher, scientist, statesman, and author. Bacon's personal notebooks and works came under scrutiny during the nineteenth-century because of suspicions that he had written plays under the pen-name William Shakespeare in order to protect his political office from material some might find objectionable. For more on the Baconian theory, see Henry William Smith, Was Lord Bacon The Author of Shakespeare's Plays?: A Letter to Lord Ellesmere (London: William Skeffington, 1856). Whitman was having friends help him read proofs for November Boughs; the last two pieces in the book were essays on the Quakers Elias Hicks (1748–1830) and George Fox (1624–1691). For more on its publication and reception, see November Boughs [1888]. Bucke is not aware that Whitman's "Last of the War Cases" was already a part of November Boughs, as he would discover when he received the rest of the page proofs. This essay was a revised version of "Army Hospitals and Cases: Memoranda at the Time, 1863–66," which appeared in Century Magazine in October 1888. Edward Constant Seguin (1843–1898) was a French-born and widely known New York neurologist, one of the first American professors of neurology and a founding member of the American Neurological Association. See Christopher G. Goetz and Charles H. Harter, "Treating Melancholia at Home: Theoretical Wisdom and Grim Reality in the Career of E. C. Seguin," Neurology 80 (April 30, 2013), 1710–1714. Whitman records in his Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) that he gave Ingram a copy of Specimen Days to take to George Rush, Jr., a prisoner in the Bucks County (Pennsylvania) Prison. Whitman was preparing November Boughs for publication and had friends reading proofs for the book. The final pages of the proofs contained Whitman's essay about Elias Hicks. For more on the publication and reception and reception of the book, see November Boughs [1888]. The short titles Bucke lists here are all parts of November Boughs— a collection of poems called "Sands at Seventy" and essays titled "Elias Hicks, Notes (such as they are)," "A Backward Glance O'er Travel'd Roads," and "Last of the War Cases." William J. "Billy" Thompson (1848–1911), known as "The Duke of Gloucester" and "The Statesman," was a friend of Whitman's who operated a hotel, race track, and amusement park on the beach overlooking the Delaware River at Gloucester, New Jersey. His shad and champagne dinners for Whitman were something of a tradition. See William Sloane Kennedy, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896), 15–16. Felix Adler (1851–1933) was a German American professor of political and social ethics. During his tenure at Cornell University and later Columbia, he founded the New York Society of Ethical Culture (1877) and the National Child Labor Committee (1904). His philosophy sought to unite theists, atheists, agnostics, and deists under the same moral social actions, and argued that morality should be considered independently from religion. For more on Adler, see Horace Friess, Felix Adler and Ethical Culture: Memories and Studies, ed. Fannia Weingartner (New York: Columbia University Press, 1981). See also Adler's and Whitman's conversation at a dinner on April 1, 1888, when Whitman told Adler that the poems in Leaves of Grass "are really only Millet in another form—they are the Millet that Walt Whitman has succeeded in putting into words" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, April 1, 1888). Louise Chandler Moulton's "Three Very Famous People. Mrs. Cleveland, George W. Childs and Walt Whitman. Words of Washington and Philadelphia. Poet Who Wrote of the Birds on Paumanok's Shore" appeared in the April 29, 1888, Boston Sunday Herald, recounting a visit to the poet. Whitman appeared frequently in the Boston Transcript, including in the March 6, 1888, issue, which contained an account of Ernest Rhys's lecture on "The New Poetry." Francis (Frank) Parkerson Harned (1849–1934) was Tom Harned's brother; he was a chemist and the founder of the Penn Chemical Works. George Fox (1624–1691), an English dissenter, was a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, a group that came to be known as Quakers. Leo Tolstoy's Sebastopol Sketches was published by Harper's in an English translation by Frank D. Millet in 1887. George H. Ellis ran a printing office in Boston and became the publisher of the Boston Daily Advertizer, then founded the Boston Evening Record as an organ of support for Democratic presidential candidate Grover Cleveland. Whitman enclosed this letter from Kennedy in his December 29, 1888, letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke. William Sloane Kennedy married Adeline Ella Lincoln of Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1883; they lived for forty years in a house they built in Belmont, Massachusetts. Whitman's brother George's wife was Louisa Orr Haslam (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou." This postscript appears at the top of the manuscript's first page. James G. Blaine (1830–1893) was the Republican nominee for U.S. President in 1884, losing to Grover Cleveland; he was the presumptive nominee again in 1888 but refused to run, instead supporting eventual nominee Benjamin Harrison. "Sands at Seventy" is a group of poems Whitman first published in November Boughs, then added as an "annex" to Leaves of Grass. Whitman was working on his small book of poetry and prose, November Boughs, published later in the year. Stanislaus Eric Stenbock (1860–1895) was the count of Bogesund. A poet and short story writer, he was a close friend of the Costelloe family in England. Henry Holmes (1839–1905) was a well-known English violinist; he also composed violin concertos, cantatas, and symphonies, and he taught at the Royal College of Music. This sentence is written on the manuscript's first page verso. The bust of Hicks was sculpted by Sidney Morse (1832–1903), a self-taught sculptor as well as a Unitarian minister and, from 1866 to 1872, editor of The Radical. He visited Whitman in Camden many times and made various busts of him. Bucke was writing a circular soliciting funds to pay for a live-in nurse for Whitman; Whitman strongly disapproved of this effort. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, June 18, 1888. Joseph Skipsey (1832—1903) was a poet and songwriter from England's north-east. Skipsey is best known for "The Hartley Calamity," a poem lamenting a mining disaster in Hartley, Northumberland, in which 204 miners died. He was also known as "The Pitman Poet." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey | It is postmarked: CAMDEN | NJ | OCT 11 | 6 AM | 1889 | REC'D. There is a Belmont postmark, but it is illegible. Baxter reviewed "Whitman's Complete Works" in the Boston Herald on January 3, 1889; no later 1889 Baxter piece on Whitman in the Herald is known. Horace Howard Furness (1833—1912) was a distinguished Shakespearean scholar whom Whitman met in 1879. See the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of March 27, 1879 and the letters from Whitman to Furness of April 8, 1880 and April 13, 1880; see also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, January 12, 1889, 520. This letter is addressed: John Burroughs | West Park | Ulster Co: New York. It is postmarked: West | N.Y. | APR 14 | 1890; Camden, N.J. | April 11 | 8PM | 90. This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | Anderton near Chorley | Lancashire England. It is postmarked: Philadelphia, Pa. | Jul 16 | 8 AM | Paid. Pearsall Smith refers here to the English vicar, poet, and leader of the Oxford Movement John Keble (1792–1866), whose poem "Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Trinity" has the lines, "Nor even the tenderest heart, and next our own, / Knows half the reasons why we smile and sigh?" (from Keble's very popular book of poems for the Sundays of the church year, The Christian Year [1827]). This publication has yet to be identified. The following authorial note appears in the left margin bracketing this paragraph: "a photo: the last taken half length like the one you have." There is no record of Whitman having written the requested piece on Washington. Henry Baerer (1837–1908) was an American sculptor born in Munich, Germany, who created numerous statues in New York City and Brooklyn. Whitman's first contribution to the New York Herald was a letter written from the poet's "loophole of retreat" and published on January 26, 1888, praising President Grover Cleveland "for his free trade message and for his jubilee gift to the Pope." Whitman is referring to Complete Poems & Prose, which contained three books (Leaves of Grass, Specimen Days and Collect, and November Boughs). Dr. D. A. Harrison had been assistant physician in charge of the St. Johnland Brach Asylum of the Kings County Lunatic Asylum. In 1887 he was made medical superintendent of the newly-opened Kings County Asylum, also know as Kings Park State Hospital. He resigned in 1889 over a dispute involving the management of the hospital and then became superintendent of the Asylum for the Insane in Newcastle County, Delaware. Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (1861–1930) was a Norwegian explorer and scientist, who led the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888. He won worldwide fame after reaching a then-record northern latitude in an expedition in the 1890s, a venture funded by a wealthy Copenhagen merchant named Augustin Gamel. Nansen later won the Nobel Price for his work in helping displaced victims of the First World War. E. C. Schellhous wrote "A Dream," published in the Utilitarian-Universalist publication The Gem of Science in 1844, that is about "an aged man" who meets a young man and tells him, "I was like thee, once gay, my son, — / Sweet pleasure filled my heart," but "conquering time / Hath bleached my locks so gray." This letter does not seem to be extant. Whitman told Horace Traubel that he did not have "the least idea" who Mary Ashley was, and yet he was quite taken with this letter: "What is there in her note to move me so? I confess it moved me. Was it something in the letter or something in me? I find myself emotionally much more readily stirred some times than others. These days I seem to need something: seem to be looking for something—feeling towards it: something my illness makes me crave: God knows what it is: something there seemed to be a hint of in the gentle Mary's letter." See Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, January 21, 1889. Hutchinson here quotes Whitman's "After the Dazzle of Day," first published in the New York Herald (February 3, 1888). See "After the Dazzle of Day". This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman, | Mickle Street, | Camden, | New Jersey, | United States. It is postmarked: Morpeth | I | DE20 | 90; Paid | K | All; A | 91; New York | Jan | 4; Camden, N. J. | Jan | 5 | 6am | 1891. Hutchinson is referring to Whitman's "After Trying a Certain Book." See Specimen Days & Collect (Philadelphia: Rees Welsh & Co., 1882–'83), 198–199. Halkett Lord was a linguist, bibliographer, and editor. He contributed thousands of quotations for the Oxford English Dictionary, and he was both a contributor to and the literary editor of a monthly magazine titled The Bookmart: A Monthly Magazine of Literary, Library, and Bibliographic Intelligence. David Swing (1830–1894) was a teacher and clergyman who was a controversial and extremely popular preacher in Chicago from the 1860s through the 1880s. Tried by the Presbyterian Church in 1874 on charges of heresy, Swing resigned his church ministry and began preaching in McVicker's Theatre and the Central Music Hall in Chicago. He founded the Central Church, where many of his former parishioners followed him. Morse is referring to Augustus Saint-Gaudens' 1887 bronze statue of a contemplative Lincoln standing in front of a chair. The statue is often called the "Standing Lincoln." It is installed in Lincoln Park in Chicago and is considered by many art critics to be the most important statue of Lincoln completed in the nineteenth century. Whitman is referring to British poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892), whose eightieth birthday was the next day, August 6. A wood engraving of Whitman by the German engraver Moritz Klinkicht (1845–?) was published as a supplement to the Illustrated London News for November 16, 1889. George Sand was the pen name of the French socialist and novelist Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin (1804–1876). She wore men's clothing and throughout her life tested gender boundaries in ways that many at the time saw as scandalous. Her novels were extremely popular, and Whitman particularly loved Consuelo and The Countess of Rudolstadt. Probably James Vila Blake (1842–1925), a Unitarian minister at the Third Unitarian Church in Chicago during the 1880s and 1890s. He was also a poet, hymn writer, and playwright. Ellen O'Connor wrote on May 9, 1889 to deliver the sad news of the death of her husband, William. The Supplement to Encyclopedia Britannica (Ninth Edition): A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature, vol. 4 (New York: J. M. Stoddart, 1889), 772, contained an entry on "Whitman, Walt, poet," ending this way: "He resides on Mickle Street, Camden, in a plain frame dwelling which has become a shrine where he receives the homage of numerous devoted admirers, not a few from foreign lands. He is a bachelor, and his real amiability and charm of character endear him to all who know him." The Johnstown, Pennsylvania flood occurred on May 31, 1889, as the result of the cataclysmic failure of the South Fork Dam; over 2200 people were killed. The poem Whitman mentions at the beginning of this letter dealt with that flood and its aftereffects. Milford C. Reed (1844–1894), also known as Cody M. Reed, was born in New York and moved to Michigan, eventually enlisting in the Company K of the Third Michigan Infantry. He transferred to the U.S. cavalry and served for 19 months from November 1862 until June 1864 in Company F of the Fifth Cavalry. He then served in the First New York Light Artillery in 1864–1865. He wrote to Whitman on May 26, 1865 to ask him for help with a watch he had pawned. For more on Reed, see Steve Soper, Men of the 3rd Michigan Infantry, "Cody M. Reed," oldthirdmichigan.org. The annotation, "from an old cavalry soldier," is in the hand of Walt Whitman. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: ADL[unclear]GTON | JY 11 | 91 See Whitman's postal card to Wallace of June 30, 1891. See Whitman's letter to Johnston of June 27, 1891. Whitman also discusses the specific pictures he sent in a letter to Dr. John Johnston of June 27, 1891. This postcard is addressed: Walt Whitman | Mickle Street | Camden, | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. REC'D. | JUL 23 | 6 AM | 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: WASHINGTON, D.C. | JUL 21 | 9–PM | 1891; CAMDEN | JUL 22 | 6 AM | 1891. | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman. | Poet. | Camden. | New Jersey | U.S.A.. It is postmarked: LEICESTER | JL' 21 | 91; LEICESTER | JL' 21 | 91; 449; 449. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 42 | JY22 | 91; New York | JUL | 31; Paid | E | All; Camden, N.J. | AUG | 1 | 6AM | 1891 | REC'D. For Bucke's account of his visit with Wallace and Johnston, see Bucke's July 18, 1891, letter to Whitman. For Johnston's impressions of Bucke's visit, see Johnston's letter to Whitman of July 18, 1891. See Wallace's letter to Whitman of July 23, 1891. James (Jim) Hartigan was a plasterer and member of the Australeum discussion club. See A. L. McLeod, "Walt Whitman in Australia," Walt Whitman Review 7 (June 1961), 28n. Fred Woods was a member of the Australeum discussion club and later wrote Heavenly Thoughts (1932), a volume of poetry. See A. L. McLeod, "Walt Whitman in Australia," Walt Whitman Review 7 (June 1961), 28n. Thomas Bury, penname "Tom Touchstone," was a columnist for the Ballarat Courier (Victoria). See A. L. McLeod, "Walt Whitman in Australia," Walt Whitman Review 7 (June 1961), 28n. See Whitman's postal card to Wallace of July 14, 1891. As yet, we have no information about Reverend Thompson's wife or his two children. For Bucke's account of his visit with Wallace and Johnston, see Bucke's July 18, 1891, letter to Whitman. Wallace is referring to Whitman's poems "Song of the Universal" and "Prayer of Columbus." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey. | U.S. America. It is postmarked: BOLTON | U | JY29 | 91; NEW YORK | AUG | 4; D | 91; PAID | H | ALL | CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG | 6 | 6AM | 1891 | REC'D. Wallace may be referring to Whitman's postal card of July 14, 1891. See Whitman's letter to Wallace of July 19–20, 1891. Whitman records in his Daybooks for December 1889 that he "sent morocco L. of G. to Harrison S Morris," referring to the 1889 special edition of Leaves of Grass that Whitman had printed to celebrate his seventieth birthday. Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 2:541). George Willis Cooke (1848–1923) was a Unitarian minister and writer, known for his history of Unitarianism and for his books on Transcendentalist writers, including his 1881 Ralph Waldo Emerson, in which he deals with Emerson's views of Whitman. Bucke is referring to his book Walt Whitman, published by McKay in 1883. Margaretta Avery was a cousin of Whitman's mother Louisa Van Velsor Whitman; she and her husband William lived in Brooklyn and visited Whitman when he was in Camden, at which time Whitman sold Margaretta a copy of Two Rivulets and gave her a copy of Memoranda During the War (See Walt Whitman: Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White [New York: New York University Press, 1978], 1:44n115). There was a great deal of competition among major U.S. cities, especially Chicago and New York, for a world's fair to be held in celebration of 400 years since Columbus's "discovery" of the New World. The U.S. Congress was tasked with making the decision and chose Chicago, where the World's Columbian Exposition finally opened a year late, in 1893. At this time, a world's fair was being planned in celebration of 400 years since Columbus's "discovery" of the New World. The U.S. Congress chose the city of Chicago to host the event, and the World's Columbian Exposition opened in 1893. Although Whitman passed away seven months prior to the dedication ceremonies for the Exhibition, Andrew Vogel has argued that Whitman's poem "A Thought of Columbus," was "dedicated to the spirit of the fair" ("Whitman's Columbia: The Commemoration of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in 'A Thought of Columbus,'" Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 29.1 [2011], 1–18). "A Thought of Columbus" was first published in the July 2, 1892, issue of Once a Week. Smith, Gray & Company of Williamsburg and Brooklyn was founded by Edward Smith, a tailor, in 1833, who partnered with his brother-in-law, Allen Gray, a patternmaker. They formed a company to make clothing for boys and children and opened a store together in Williamsburg in 1864. The company quickly grew and by late in the century was one of the largest manufacturers of boys' and men's clother in New York. John W. Avery (1814–1891) was the brother of Margaretta's husband William and son of Whitman's maternal grandmother's sister, Clara. John and his wife was Sarah Banning Avery (1814–1886) lived in Brooklyn, where he worked as a grocer. During the American Civil War, John Avery was a colonel of the Eighth Regiment of the New York State Militia, known as the Washington Grays. For more information, see his obituary, "Death of Colonel John W. Avery" in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (March 26, 1891), 6. The letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: BOLTON | 41 | AU5 | 91; NEW YORK | AUG | 14; A | 91; PAID | L | ALL; CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG 14 | 9AM | 1891 | REC'D. Whitman had written to Dr. John Johnston on July 17, 1891, and this may be the postal card to which Wallace is referring. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG 7 | 3PM | 1891 | REC'D. George Horton (1859–1942) was a New York-born journalist, writer, and diplomat. He was the author of eight novels, including Like Another Helen (Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1900) and Miss Schuyler's Alias (Boston: Richard G. Badger, 1913). His poems were often published in newspapers, and many were collected in Sons of the Lowly and Other Poems (Chicago: F. J. Schulte, 1892), including "Walt Whitman" and "To Walt Whitman (On receiving his book)." Horton began writing for the Chicago Herald about 1890 and first served as U.S. Consul in Athens, Greece, from 1893 to 1898, before returning to his position at the Herald. He was then editor at the Chicago American Literary Supplement until 1903, when he returned to Greece for a second term as U.S. Consul and married Catherine Sakopoulos. His daughter was the poet Nancy Horton (1912–2016). Beginning in 1911, Horton served as Consul in Smyrna, where in 1922 he witnessed the Great Fire of Smyrna and the Greek Genocide, which he describes in his book, The Blight of Asia (Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1926). Horton visited Whitman at his Camden home in November 1890 and later declared "there should be no doubt that Walt Whitman is a poet. . . . There is much music in Whitman, and it is the music of nature itself" (The Inter Ocean [March 13, 1892], 17). Whitman, in turn, described Horton as having "a professional look—lawyer-like, physician, artist, something—though he is only a newspaper man, has no further pretensions that I know of" (Thursday, January 8, 1891). Later, Whitman told Horace Traubel that Horton "manifested his friendliness in many ways" during his 1890 visit (see Thursday, August 27, 1891, where this letter is reproduced in full). Horton is buried in Washington D.C.'s Oak Hill Cemetery and his papers are housed at Georgetown University, including his inscribed copy of Leaves of Grass from Whitman. On August 16, 1891, Bucke informed Whitman that he expected to see Carpenter within a few days. Bucke took Carpenter to County Borough of Bolton (England) Public Libraries to meet the "boys"–the members of the Bolton college group of Whitman admirers–and the group's co-founders, Dr. John Johnston and James W. Wallace. See John Johnston and J. W. Wallace, Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–1891 by Two Lancashire Friends (London: Allen and Unwin, 1918), 26. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of July 23, 1891. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | care Mr Costelloe | 40 Grosvenor road | the Embankment | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 3 | 8 PM | 91.; Philadelphia, PA | 9PM | PD. This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | Anderton n'r Chorley | Lancashire England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 3 | 8 PM | 91. See Wallace's July 21, 1891, letter to Whitman. Whitman may be referring to Johnston's letters of July 18, 1891 and July 22, 1891. Whitman may be referring to this undated fragment. Bucke is believed to have sent this letter to Whitman on August 1 or 2, 1891, during his travels in England, from the home of political activist and art historian Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe and her husband Benjamin Conn Costellow (Artem Lozynsky, ed., The Letters of Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke to Walt Whitman [Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1977], 244. This letter is addressed: R Pearsall Smith | 44 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden [illegible] | May 10 | 8 PM | 90, London. S. W. | 26 | MY22 | 90, Philadelphia, PA | MAY10 | 11PM. On this date Walt Whitman received proofs of "For Queen Victoria's Birthday" and "On, on the Same, Ye Jocund Twain!" The former appeared in the Philadelphia Public Ledger on May 22 (see William Sloane Kennedy, The Fight of a Book for the World (1926), 271) and also in The Critic 16 (May 24, 1890): 262. It was printed in the Pall Mall Gazette on May 24, thanks to the labors of Rhys, which he recorded at somewhat precious length in his May 24, 1890, letter. Whitman sent the second poem to the Century; see May 12, 1890, letter to Richard Maurice Bucke. R. W. Gilder of The Century rejected the poem in his letter to the poet of May 14, 1890, and the poem was eventually published in the June 9, 1891, issue of Once a Week. This postcard is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont Mass:. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | MAY 28 | 90. This letter is addressed: E. C. Stedman | 137 West 78th Street | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | May 2(?) | 8 PM | 90. A reference to the author Carl Sadakichi (C.S.) Hartmann's remarks in the New York Herald on April 14, 1889. See Whitman's April 25, 1889 letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke. This letter is addressed: Edward Carpenter | Millthorpe | near Chesterfield | England. It is postmarked: Philadelphia, Pa. | May 26 | 8 PM | Paid. See Carpenter's letter to Whitman of May 17, 1890. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 10 | 8 PM | 90; London | PM | Ju 12 | 9 | Canada. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | Camden | NJ. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV 20 | 6AM | REC'D. Whitman is referring to the book Prose-Poems and Selections from the Writings and Sayings of Robert G. Ingersoll (New York: C. P. Farrell, 1888). See also John Johnston and J. W. Wallace, Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–1891 by Two Lancashire Friends (London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1918), 39. Mary and Blaine Donaldson (Thomas Donaldson's children) had given Walt Whitman a rocking chair as a Christmas gift in 1884; see Whitman's December 15, 1884, letter to Mary and Blaine Donaldson. Donaldson is referring to Whitman's letter of June 17, 1890. Whitman sent a copy of his poem "For Queen Victoria's Birthday" with the letter. Bucke's letter of this date is evidently lost; it was sent to William Sloane Kennedy, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896), as Walt Whitman's next letter reveals. See the letter from Whitman to Kennedy of June 18, 1890. Ingersoll wrote letters on June 5, 1890 and June 16, 1890. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: New York | Jun 16 | 7PM | 90; Camden, N. J. | Jun | 17 | 6am | 1890 | Rec'd. Ingersoll is referring to his book Prose-Poems and Selections from the Writings and Sayings of Robert G. Ingersoll (New York: C. P. Farrell, 1888). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 18 | 8 PM | 90 Whitman's poem "On, on the Same, Ye Jocund Twain!" was rejected by the Century (Whitman's Commonplace Book [Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]). See Whitman's letter to Bucke of June 5, 1890. See also Richard Watson Gilder's May 14 rejection letter to Whitman. The poem was eventually published in Once a Week, June 9, 1891. This letter is addressed:R Pearsall Smith | 44 Grosvenor Road | the Embankment | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 20 | 8 PM | 90; [illegible] | Jul 20 | 11 PM | [illegible]; London. S W | 29 | JU 30 | 90. Alys wrote to him from aboard ship on June 13, 1890 after her graduation from Bryn Mawr. Robert Pearsall Smith did not respond until November 14, 1890, when he observed: "I wish that you had a more attractive home than Mickle St Camden, which is a place as free from sentiment for a poets residence as could be found. But it is your choice & you are happy there as one of the uncounted millions whom your represent." The SS Eider was a German ocean liner built in 1884 and capable of carrying over 1200 passengers. It was lost in 1892 in a spectacular shipwreck off the Isle of Wight, England; all passengers and the entire crew were miraculously rescued. This postcard is addressed: John Addington Symonds | Davos Platz | Switzerland. It is postmarked: Davos | 1 Vil[illegible]—7 | Platz; Camden [illegible] | JUL | [illegible] | 6 AM | 90. This letter has not yet been located. See John Addington Symonds, Essays Speculative and Suggestive (London: Chapman and Hall, 1890), 242. In his first footnote in "Democratic Art," his essay on Whitman, Symonds wonders: "'Poetry of the Future' (North American Review, February, 1881—why not included in his 'November Boughs,' I know not)." "The Poetry of the Future," which first appeared in the North American Review 132.291 (February 1881): 195–210, was reprinted, in a slightly revised form, as "Poetry To-day in America—Shakspere—The Future" in Specimen Days & Collect (1882) (see Prose Works 2: 474–490). In a letter to Whitman of August 3, 1890, Symonds confessed that he had discovered this error and hoped to correct it in future editions. The change was never made (see The Letters of John Addington Symonds, Volume III: 1885–1893, ed. Herbert M. Schueller and Robert L. Peters [Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1969], 481–482, 484n). On April 22 Walt Whitman had written (truthfully) in his Commonplace Book: "Quite a number of offers f'm publishers, magazine editors, & heads of newspaper syndicates these times." Although he feigned equanimity about his critical reception, he did not accept rejections gracefully, even though he was now writing, as he admitted, "pot boilers" (see Whitman's February 2, 1890, letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke). No doubt Walt Whitman expected that friends like William Sloane Kennedy would attack the "enemy." But Kennedy in his reply on June 19, 1890, said: "Well what of it? You can afford to rest on yr glorious laurels. If only a stirring great occasion arouses you, I firmly believe in yr power to utter a blast of old time strength & race. The trouble is you are not deeply moved by anything in these peaceful days. Take yr time & write when the occasion serves, even if years hence." For Bucke's response, see Whitman's June 23, 1890 letter to Bucke. The editor of The Century, Richard Watson Gilder, rejected Whitman's poem "On, On the Same, Ye Jocund Twain." The poem was eventually published in Once a Week on June 9, 1891. See Gilder's letter to Whitman of May 14, 1890. Bucke's letter of this date is evidently lost. See the letters from Robert Ingersoll to Whitman of June 5 and June 16, 1890. The Nineteenth Century was a British literary magazine founded in 1877 by the architect James Thomas Knowles, Jr. (1831–1908). This monthly magazine served as a platform for debate between the period's leading intellectuals. This postcard is addressed: L A McMurray | Hamilton Co: National Bank | Webster City | Iowa. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 25 | 8 PM| 90. On June 12, 1884, Walt Whitman had sent a transcription of "O Captain! My Captain!" and portraits to Aldrich. L. A. McMurray was the President of Hamilton County National Bank in Webster City, Iowa. He was also a Treasurer and on the Board of Directors for the Crooked Creek Railroad and Coal Company, which ran between the Iowa towns of Lehigh and Webster City. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: London | PM | Ju 27 | 9 | Canada. The "Editor's Easy Chair" section in the July 1890 issue of Harper's New Monthly Magazine mentions "our good friend Walt Whitman" and poses the question Whitman mentions here (311). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, [illegible] | Jun 30 | 6 PM | 90; London | M | Jy 1 | 90 | Canada. The Ruins, or, Meditation on the Revolutions of Empires: and The Law of Nature by Constantin Franois Chasseboeuf, Comte de Volney (1757–1820), was reissued in 1890. See Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer (New York: NY: Macmillian, 1955), 8, 122. This letter is addressed: Ed: Wilkins | 137 King Street | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden N.J. | Jul 10 | 8 PM | 90; 3 | PM JY | 12; Philadelphia, PA | Jul | 10 | 90 | Transit; London | PM | JY [cutaway] | CA[cutaway]. This letter does not seem to be extant. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St— | Camden, New Jersey. It is postmarked: Chicago, Il. | SEP 21 | 1 PM. Morse continues this fourth page of the letter in the left margin of the page. Morse writes this postscript in the left margin of the first page of the letter. Alfred H. Champlin was a practicing physician, as well as a school politician in Cook County, Illinois. He was married to Mary M. Champlin, with whom he had adopted a daughter. Socrates (c. 470–399 BC) was a classic Greek philsopher, and he is known as a founder of Western thought and as the first moral philosopher. The most comprehensive account of Socrates is found in Plato's dialogues; Plato, also an Athenian philosopher, was a student of Socrates. Plato (c. 428/427 or 424/423–348/347 BCE) was an Athenian philosopher in Ancient Greece during the Classical Period. A student of Socrates, Plato founded the Academy, the first higher learning institution in the Western world, as well as the Platonist school of thought. He was also the teacher of the Greek philosopher Artistotle. Morse made numerous representations of Whitman, including two bas-reliefs. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 23(?) | 6 PM | 90, Buffalo, N.Y. | Jul | 2? | 9 AM | 1890 | Transit, Philadelphia, PA | Jul | 23 | ? PM | 1890 | Transit. Walt Whitman wrote on the verso of Kennedy's letter erroneously dated July 23 (actually written a day or two earlier), in which he commented exuberantly upon his recent trip to Canada. J. E. Reinhalter, the designer, and Ralph Moore called on July 11 to discuss the vault (The Commonplace Book). The letter was probably sent to Robert Adams, to whom Walt Whitman sent four books on October 28, 1890. Whitman had written to Robert Adams on July 27, 1890. Robert Adams (1816–1900) was born in Ayr, Scotland, and immigrated with his family to the United States as a small child. After working as a grocer for several years in Fall River, Massachusetts, Robert and his brother John opened a stationery shop and bookbindery. Prior to the abolition of slavery, Adams aided runaway slaves along the Underground Railroad between Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Adams's obituary includes a statement from Frederick Douglass in which he described Adams as "the first man to recognize me as a man." It also notes his friendships with John Greenleaf Whittier, William Lloyd Garrison, and other well-known abolitionists ("Deaths of Robert Adams and Ransom P. Baker,"Fall River Daily Evening News [April 3, 1900], 8). The Fall River Daily Evening News of November 1, 1890, also records that Adams visited Whitman at his home in Camden "a few days ago" and "arranged for the sale of copies of Whitman's works," adding that Adams found the poet "feeble and unable to hold a long conference" ("Personal" [November 1, 1890], 8). For more information on Adams and abolitionism, see Anti-Slavery Days in Fall River and the Operation of the Underground Railroad, written by his son, Edward Stowe Adams and published by the Fall River Historical Society in 2017. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 29 | 8 PM | 90; London | PM | Jy 31 | 9 | Canada. On July 28, 1890, the New York Morning Journal requested "a short article on some such topic as 'Old Brooklyn Days, " which appeared on August 3. Walt Whitman was in error. Bucke's letter was dated July 27, 1890; he asked again about the whereabouts of Symonds' letter. Symonds' Studies of the Greek Poets was reissued a number of times in the decades following its original publication in 1873. The bust of Elias Hicks was sculpted by Sidney Morse (1832–1903), a self-taught sculptor as well as a Unitarian minister and, from 1866 to 1872, editor of The Radical. He finally did send it to Whitman by April of 1888. See Whitman's April 18, 1888, letter to William Sloane Kennedy and Richard Maurice Bucke. Jesse Root Grant (1794–1873), Ulysses S. Grant's father, grew up in Ohio and Kentucky, apprenticed to a judge, became a tanner, a farmer, and a leather merchant, and married Hannah Simpson; their first child was the future U.S. president. This postcard is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 14 | 6 AM | 90. Kennedy described the Grand Army of the Republic (G. A. R.) convention in his letter to Whitman of August 12, 1890 and evidently sent a clipping from the Boston Herald. Apparently Whitman sent the letter to a Camden newspaper; see Kennedy's letter to Whitman on August 23, 1890. The poet did not comment on Kennedy's report of the death of Whitman's old friend John Boyle O'Reilly; however, it was noted in the Camden Morning News on August 15, 1890 (A. L. McLeod, ed., Walt Whitman in Australia and New Zealand 1964, 29). Whitman is referring to the May 29, 1890, unveiling of the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee (the Robert E. Lee Monument) in Richmond, Virginia. This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | Anderton near Chorley | Lancashire England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 15 | 8 PM | 90. Before this card reached him, Wallace, on August 18–19, 1890, wrote of Johnston's safe arrival. On August 28, 1890, he noted receipt of The Critic. Whitman's "An Old Man's Rejoinder" was published in The Critic 17 (August 16, 1890): 85–86. It was later reprinted in Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). Pearsall is referring to Whitman's book November Boughs (1889). No notice of November Boughs has been found in the Bulletin, but the San Francisco Chronicle carried an anonymous notice in its January 13, 1889, issue. Alys Smith (1867–1951) was a daughter of Robert Pearsall Smith and the sister of Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe. She eventually married the philosopher Bertrand Russell. On August 13, 1889, Robert Pearsall Smith wrote that Alys Smith would soon be visiting Whitman. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 21 | 6 PM | 90; London | PM | Au 23 | 9 | Canada. Bucke commented on August 17, 1890: "Mr & Mrs Ingram are still here—they will go I believe tomorrow—we all like them well and have enjoyed their visit with us." Whitman sent two copies of Complete Poems & Prose to Carpenter on August 19, 1890 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). For the books shipped to Logan Pearsall Smith, see Whitman's letter to Smith of August 12, [1890]. This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | Anderton near Chorley | Lancashire England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 26 | 6 PM | 90; Philadelphia, Pa. | Aug 26 | 8 AM | Paid. See Whitman's December 3, 1889, letter to Bucke. The Illustrated London News, founded by the British journalist and politician Herbert Ingram (1811–1860) was the first illustrated weekly news magazine. Ingram's sons William and Charles later served as the managing directors of the paper. The paper was published weekly until 1971 and continued publication, with less frequency, until 2003. The Illustrated London News, founded by the British journalist and politician Herbert Ingram (1811–1860) was the first illustrated weekly news magazine. Ingram's sons William and Charles later served as the managing directors of the paper. The paper was published weekly until 1971 and continued publication, with less frequency, until 2003. A full-page engraved portrait of Whitman (based on a photograph by Napoleon Sarony) appeared in the Supplement to the Illustrated London News on November 30, 1889. On August 19, 1890, McKay inquired the price of 50 copies of Complete Poems & Prose and was informed that it was $150 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See also Whitman's November 1, 1890 letter to David McKay. This letter is addressed:: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 8 | 6 AM | 90; London | PM | SP 9 | 90 | Can[illegible]; NY | 9-8-90 | 1130AM | 8. Walt Whitman had not received Robert Pearsall Smith's letter of August 28, 1890 from Haslemere, in which he observed: "When, oh, when! will there be a vista through the perplexing obstructing surroundings of life to show us the eternal verities. We are both near the disrobing—where & how will come 'the clothing upon' of eternity. Do you feel any nearer to the solution of this than when we last talked it all over?" See Whitman's August 27, 1890, letter to Frederick Oldach. See also Whitman's January 4, 1890, letter to Richard Maurice Bucke. "Old Poets" appeared in the North American Review in November. This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | Anderton near Chorley | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N. J. | Sep 8 | 6 PM | 90; Philadelphia, Pa. | Sep 8 | 9 PM | Paid. See Wallace's letter to Whitman of August 28, 1890. This letter is addressed:: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 11 | 8 PM | 90; Philadelphia ? | ? | 11 | 7 PM | 1890 | Transit; Buffalo, N.Y. | Sep | 12 | 3PM | 1890 | Transit; London | PM | SP 13 | 90 | Canada. According to the New York Tribune the tariff bill was passed by the United States Senate strictly on party lines, with Whitman's Republicans supporting a position which he considered intolerable. This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | Anderton near Chorley | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 11 | 6 PM | 90. On September 11–12, 1890 Wallace explained that he had requested by telegram a copy of the pocket-book edition which was to be a birthday present for a member of the County Borough of Bolton (England) Public Libraries circle, the Rev. F. R. C. Hutton, for which he was enclosing 22 shillings. He also reported that the Society was meeting on the following day "to hear Dr. J[ohnston]'s account of his visit to you." Johnston himself commented on this meeting on September 13, 1890: "Nearly all 'the boys' were present with two friends & the reading of my notes &c which took place in a green field beneath a tree, occupied nearly two hours & was much enjoyed by every one & by none more than myself for I seemed to be living over again the happy time I spent with you." This postcard is addressed: Mr Whitman | Camden. | N.J. It is postmarked: New York | SEP 15 | 430 PM | Camden, N.J. | SEP 16 | 6 AM | 1890 | REC'D. Jarrell writes his address upside down at the top of this postal card. Little is known about G. Jarrell. Upon seeing this postal card, Horace Traubel referred to Jarrell as a "New York fanatic" (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, September 16, 1890). This letter is addressed: Mrs: Mary O Davis | Downs | Osborne County | Kansas. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 16 | 12 M | 90. The envelope is endorsed: "The above is Walt Whitmans handwriting. | Presented to R[?] H Bell | May 13th 1903 by Mrs. Mary O Davis." The envelope is endorsed: "The above is Walt Whitmans handwriting. | Presented to R[?] H Bell | May 13th 1903 by Mrs. Mary O Davis." Mrs. Doughty and her daughter(?) Maggy took Mrs. Mary Davis' place while Davis traveled to Kansas for two weeks (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Harry Fritzinger, Mrs. Davis' adopted son. See Whitman's May 11–12, 1889, letter to Richard Maurice Bucke. He sent Mrs. Mapes $5 on July 8. According to a notation in his Commonplace Book, she later married M. E. Stanley of Atkinson, Kansas (Whitman's Commonplace Book). This letter is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 16 | 4 30 PM | 90. See Whitman's July 18, 1890, letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke. However, on September 14 Kennedy observed that Symonds on Walt Whitman "seems somehow comic—so inadequate is it & off. . . . S. lacks healthy contact with the live world." Jonathan Trumbull published "Walt Whitman's View of Shakspere" in Poet-lore, 2 (July 1890), 368–371. Whitman's reply, "Shakspere for America," appeared in Poet-lore 2 (October 1890), 492–493, and was reprinted in The Critic on September 27. This letter is addressed: J W Wallace | Anderton near Chorley | Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 22 | 8 PM | 90. Wallace enclosed a money order for 22 shillings. See the photograph in the Walt Whitman Archive's "Gallery of Images." Henry Hurt worked for the Washington Railroad Company. According to the Washington Chronicle of January 15, 1874, at that time he was the treasurer of the company. William Dean Howells (1837–1920) was the novelist and "Dean of American Letters" who wrote The Rise of Silas Lapham (1885) among other works. He described his first meeting with Whitman at Pfaff's in Literary Friends and Acquaintances (New York: Harper & Bros., 1900), 73–76. Whitman is alluding here to Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem about King George III, "England in 1819," which begins "An old, mad, blind, despised, and dying King." Robert Pearsall Smith's wife was Hannah Whitall Smith (1832–1911), an influential lay speaker in the evangelical Holiness Movement, author of The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life (1875), a suffragist, and a temperance reformer. Elizabeth Fairchild was the wife of Colonel Charles Fairchild, the president of a paper company, to whom Whitman sent the Centennial Edition on March 2, 1876 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). He mailed her husband a copy of Progress in April, 1881, shortly after his visit to Boston, where he probably met the Fairchilds for the first time (Commonplace Book). A single line is drawn through the center of Williamson's letter. Very little is known about John R. Witcraft (1858–1936). He lived in Philadelphia and Camden, and he compiled and published several family genealogies. Samuel Clemens (1835–1910), better know by his pen name, Mark Twain, had attended Whitman's New York lecture in April of 1887. He also contributed to Thomas Donaldson's fund for the purchase of a horse and buggy for Whitman (see Whitman's September 22, 1885 letter [note 4]), as well as to the fund to build Whitman a private cottage (see Whitman's October 7, 1887 letter to Sylvester Baxter). Twain was reported in the Boston Herald of May 24, 1887, to have said: "What we want to do is to make the splendid old soul comfortable" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs: Comrades [1931], 268). The verso of this manuscript contains a draft of a poem first published in the New York Herald, March 12, 1888, entitled "The First Dandelion." A note on the bottom of the page states "sent to Herald March 11" indicating the draft was likely composed around the time of publication. Very little is known about Thomas J. McKee, the New York lawyer who was looking into Whitman's claims against Richard Worthington for selling unauthorized editions of Leaves of Grass (1860). Whitman forwarded McKee's letter to Richard Maurice Bucke on April 11, 1888. The letter is apparently lost. He is referring to Whitman's November Boughs. The Papyrus Club was one of Boston's leading literary clubs. It was founded in 1872 and existed until ca. 1923. Manahatta, often called "Hattie," was the daughter of Whitman's brother Jeff and his wife Martha. Kennedy is referring to the 1888 election between Republican candidate Benjamin Harrison and Democratic President Grover Cleveland, running for reelection. Cleveland, a native New Yorker, lost even though he received the majority of the popular vote. This is likely a reference to the Sackville-West Affair, a political ploy by a Republican supporter that tricked Lionel Sackville-West, British minister to the United States, to endorse Cleveland—a fact quickly used by the Harrison campaign to slander the president as too pro-British. Henry Fuseli [Johann Heinrich Füssli] (1741–1825) was a Swiss painter who lived most of his life in England and whose many sketches were widely admired and influenced the younger generation of artists; his figures tended to be cast on a grand heroic scale. See the letter from Whitman to Kennedy of October 26, 1888. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman, | 328 Mickle Street, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Washington D.C. | Nov 1 | 8 PM | 88; Camden, N.J. | Nov | 2 | 6am | 1889 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | NO 5 | 88 | Canada; [illegible] | Nov | 6 | [illegible] | Rec'd. For Whitman's commentary on Bucke's letter, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, November 6, 1888. See The Collected Writings of Walt Whitman 1825 This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | No 6 | 88 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV | 8 | 12 PM | 1888 | REC'D. William Sloane Kennedy's notice of November Boughs appeared in the Boston Transcript on October 17, 1888. For a reprinted copy of the notice, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, October 20, 1888. A notice of November Boughs appeared in the Philadelphia Bulletin on October 30, 1888. It is discussed briefly in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, November 2, 1888. William Summers, an English M.P., had visited Whitman September 26, 1888 (See Whitman's letter to Bucke of September 25–26, 1888). His talk with Whitman is described in "A Visit to Walt Whitman," Pall Mall Gazette (October 18, 1888). Ed Wilkins arrived November 5, 1888 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, November 5, 1888). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: Lond[illegible] | PM | NO 8 | 88; Camden | Nov | 10 | 1 PM | 1888> | Rec'd. The clipping is mounted in the letter at this point. Whitman agreed with Bucke that he did not know any "Miss Whitman": "I fancy not, too: I know not" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, November 10, 1888). See Whitman's letter to Bucke of November 5, 1888. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, April 22, 1889. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | NO 10 | 88 | CANADA; [illegible], N.J. | NOV | 12 | 8 AM | [illegible] | REC'D. Bucke is referring to The Teaching of Epictetus: Being the "Encheiridion of Epictetus," with Selections from the "Dissertations" and "Fragments." Translated from the Greek, with Introduction and Notes, by T.W. Rolleston. 3d ed. rev. "The Camelot Series" (London: Walter Scott, n.d.). "The Camelot Series" was edited by Ernest Rhys. Both Timothy Blair Pardee and William Douglass O'Connor had been in poor health; both men died in 1889. For Whitman's reaction to the news of the death of O'Connor, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, May 10, 1889. For his thoughts upon learning of Pardee's death, see With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, July 25, 1889. For Whitman's reaction to the news of the death of O'Connor, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, May 10, 1889. Harold Channing was the brother of Grace Ellery Channing (1862–1937). Harold and Grace were the children of William F. Channing, and they were the nephew and niece, respectively, of William D. O'Connor. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | No 12 | 88 | Canada; Camden N.J. | Nov | 13 | 1 PM | [illegible] | Rec'd. Bucke is referring to Julia Ady's "Jean-Francois Millet," Nineteenth Century, No. 139 (September 1888), 419–438. Bucke is referencing Alfred Sensier's La Vie et l'oeuvre de J.F. Millet [Life and Work of J.F. Millet] (Paris, 1881). Bucke's quotation is a conflation of two sentences: "He [Millet] thought of Gréville, and painted 'Le Semeur,' which, exhibited at the Salon in 1850, was hailed by at least one critic as a fine and original conception. . . . Here [i.e. in 'Le Semeur'] the true Millet, le Grand Rustique, revealed himself for the first time" (Ady, p. 428). Bucke omits Ady's qualifying national adjective: "the French peasant had never been held a fit subject for art" (p. 429). Quite significantly, Bucke omits the last part of the quotation from Gautier: "'Here is a man,' said Gautier, 'who finds poetry in the fields, who loves the peasant, paints Georgics after Virgil'" (Ady, p. 432). Bucke is quoting from Whitman's "A Song of Occupations," ll. 2–3 (Leaves of Grass: Comprehensive Reader's Edition. The full quotation is: "'They wish to drive me into their drawing-room art,' he said; 'no, no, a peasant I was born and a peasant I will die; I will say what I feel and paint things as I see them'" (Ady, p. 433). Bucke is attempting to draw a parallel between Millet's statement and Whitman's To a Certain Civilian." In the poem, Whitman sets up a contrast between "[t]he drum-corps' rattle" (l. 6) and "the civilian's peaceful and languishing rhymes" (l. 2). As the poet of Drum-Taps, Whitman claims to "have been born of the same as the war was born" (l .5) and to "love well the marital dirge" (l. 6). Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier (1811–1872) was French poet, journalist, and literary critic. He published several collections of poetry, and a number of plays and novels. Bucke is referring to Whitman's postal card of November 11, 1888. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | NO 14 | 88 | CANADA; CAMDEN [cut away] | NOV | 16 | 6 AM | 18[illegible] | REC'D. Bucke is referring to the section on "How we should bear ourselves towards evil men" from Rolleston's Teaching of Epictetus: Being the "Encheiridion of Epictetus," with Selections from the "Dissertations" and "Fragments." Translated from the Greek, with Introduction and Notes, by T.W. Rolleston. 3d ed. rev. "The Camelot Series" (London: Walter Scott, n.d.), 78–80. "The Camelot Series" was edited by Ernest Rhys. No address or postmark date available for this letter. Whitman sent Bucke a set of galley proofs of John Burrough's "Walt Whitman and his Drum Taps," which appeared in The Galaxy (December 1, 1866), 606–615 (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, November 13, 1888). Bucke was helping Whitman read proofs for his new one-volume Complete Poems & Prose, which would appear later in December; the book contained Specimen Days and Collect. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | NO 22 | 88 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV | 24 | 10AM | [illegible] | REC'D. Garland's review of November Boughs appeared in the Boston Transcript on November 15, 1888. He spoke of his review in letters to Whitman dated November 9, 1888 and November 16, 1888. Whitman commented to Horace Traubel: "The Transcript piece has as a trifle a certain air almost of apology: but for that feature I like it. We are forcing the enemy to listen to us" (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, November 17, 1888). On March 1, 1882, Oliver Stevens, the District Attorney of Boston, notified Osgood and Co., the publishers of the seventh edition (1881–1882) of Leaves of Grass, that Whitman's book was officially classified as obscene and was to be suppressed. Stevens wrote: "We are of the opinion that this book is such a book as brings it within the provisions of the Public Statutes respecting obscene literature and suggest the propriety of withdrawing the same from circulation and suppressing the editions thereof" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., Walt Whitman: The Correspondence [1886–1889], 6 vols., 4:267 n16; see also Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer [1955], 498–500). O'Connor wrote a long letter condemning Stevens' ruling; the letter was published as "Suppressing Walt Whitman" in the New York Tribune (May 25, 1882). See "Monday, May 5, 1890," in Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906-1964), 5 vols., V, 389–390. This letter is continued at the top of the first page. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | Nov [illegible] | 88 | Canada; Camden N.J. | Nov | 2[cut away] | 4 PM | 18[cut away] | Rec'd. Bucke is referring to Whitman's response to the form letter sent to him by The Critic, posing the question: "Has America Produced a Poet?" This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | DE 3 | 88 | Canada; Camden [cut away] | DEC | [cut away] | [cut away] | [cut away] | [cut away]. Bucke is referring to Hon. Augustine Birrell, Obiter Dicta: Second Series (London: Elliot Stock, 1887). Bucke crossed out "copy" and wrote "proof" in red ink. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | DE 4 | 88 | Canada; Camden, N.J. | Dec | 5 | 4 PM | 1888 | Rec'd; NY | 12-6 88 | [cut away]AM. See The Collected Writings of Walt Whitman 1825. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | DE 6 | [illegible]8 | C[illegible]; Camden N.J. | Dec | 8 | 6 AM | 1888 | Rec'd. See The Collected Writings of Walt Whitman 1849. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | DE 7 | 88 | Canada; Camden N.J. | Dec | 9 | 1 PM | 1888 | Rec'd. The letters from Osler to Bucke, written both before and after the consultation, appear to be lost. Bucke does, however, quote from the one written after consultation. On December 8, 1888, he wrote Traubel: "It [Osler's letter] contains this passage 'His general condition is good and do not let them alarm you unnecessarily, it is only an old mans bladder and though troublesome need not be dangerous unless of course his kidneys should give up work'" (The Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). "Shakspeare-Bacon's Cipher" was first published in The Cosmopolitan (October, 1887) and later included Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | Dec 11 | 88 | Canada; Camden N.J. | Dec | 13 | 12 M | [cut away] | Rec'd. Bucke gives Parkman's books incorrect titles. La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West (1879)—originally published as The Discovery of the Great West (1869)—was the third volume in Francis Parkman's series France and England in North America (1865–1892). Robert S. Gurd (1838–1937) was a lawyer and businessman in Sarnia, Ontario, and the brother of William S. Gurd. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | PM | DE 15 | 88 | Canada; Camden N. J. | Dec | 17 | 6 AM | 1888 | Rec'd. Bucke's worries about Whitman's declining health led him to send a request to Horace Traubel on December 14, 1888, directing Traubel to contact him via telegram if Whitman's death seemed imminent. Bucke is referring to Whitman's letter of December 13, 1888, in which Whitman reports having had "another bad spell" and suffering from "extreme debility." See Whitman's letter to Bucke of December 13, 1888. The paste-on at the top of the page can be lifted up slightly; it obscures the top line of italicized letterhead which says "Cupples, Upham & Co." The pasted segment, which appears to be cut from the bottom of the letter, says: "to us either by mail or express with a memo. Often Cor G and we will . . ." The rest of the letter is cut off. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St. Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Jamaica Plain Sta'n | Nov | 9 | 2PM |Mass.; Camden, N. J. | Nov | 10 | 10AM | 1888 | Rec'd. Edward Henry Clement (1843–1920) of Chelsea, Massachusetts, began his career as a journalist with the Savannah Daily News in the mid-1860s. He later became the editor of the Boston Transcript, a position that he held for twenty-five years, from 1881 to 1906. Whitman drew a line, in ink, through this autograph request. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | No. 328 Mickle Street, | Camden, New Jersey. The rest of the letter is unreadable. Whitman attached the envelope to the bottom of the recto, and on the back wrote notes relating to criticism of "Leaves of Grass." Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809–1894) was a poet, physician, and well-known essayist. His son, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841–1935), was appointed a Supreme Court justice in 1902. Benjamin Conn "Frank" Costelloe was the husband of Mary "Mariechen" Smith, one of the daughters of Robert Pearsall Smith. She had married the Irish bartender in 1885. Charles Wells Moulton (1859–1913) was an American poet and the editor of the Magazine of Poetry and Literary Review. Alys Smith (1867–1951) was Logan's and Mary's sister. She would eventually marry the philosopher Bertrand Russell. "Mariechen" was Logan's pet name for his sister Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe. Costelloe (1864–1945) was a political activist, art historian, and critic, whom Whitman once called his "staunchest living woman friend." For more, 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). Moulton means Dr. Bucke (instead of Buckle). 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). The letter-head continues: "The "Van Ness House" has a Safety Hydraulic Passenger Elevator, Fire Escpaes, and the Grinnell Automatic Sprinkler. Fine Views of the Lakes and Mountains from all parts of the House. U. A. WOODBURY, Proprietor, L.S. DREW & H. N. CLARK, Managers." See Whitman's letter to Herbert Gilchrist from August 1, 1885, detailing the poet's attitude toward the "free will offering" of financial support from his admirers in Europe and the US. This letter is addressed: To Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden, New Jersey. Gilchrist has also written "Introducing Edward R. Pease of London" and "Herbert H. Gilchrist Dec 1st 1888" on the envelope. George Hukin was a razor-grinder, fellow political activist, and lover of Carpenter. Carpenter's closer continues on the first page of the letter. His signature appears there as well. This letter is addressed: John Burroughs | West Farms | Ulster County | New York. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jan [illegible] | 6 PM | 88; New York | [illegible] | 630 PM | 88; Philadelphia, PA | Jan | 7 | 7PM | 1888 | Transit | New York | Jan. 9 | 1 PM | 88 | Transit; PO. 1-8 38 | 2A | N. Y.; T | 1-9 88 | 7 1A | N. Y.; Camden, N.J. | Jan | 11 | 6AM | 1888 | Rec'd. The envelope includes Whitman's name and address, which are printed as follows: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. The envelope has been stamped to indicate that it was "Misdirected." Abigail was married to Hiram I. Corbin. Julian was Burroughs' son. This letter is addressed: R W Colles | 26 Oxford Road Ranelagh | Dublin | Ireland. It is postmarked: Camde[n] | Jan (?) 1 30 (?) M | 88; Phila[delphi]a, Pa. | Jan | 28 | 1888 | Paid. Colles replied on February 12, 1888. This is a draft letter. On March 2 Walt Whitman had sent a bill to the New York Herald for $100 for the pieces printed in January and February (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). And see the 15 March 1888 letter to Richard Maurice Bucke. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: (?) | Apr 8(?) | 5 PM | 88. On April 1, 1888, Whitman sent a bill for $40 to the Herald (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). According to a note of April 7 from Bennett there was a slight error in Whitman's bill. Bennett requested ten more poems for April. On March 24, 1888, Wilson informed William Sloane Kennedy, author of Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896), that he was most interested in obtaining subscribers to the projected publication. On March 29 Kennedy observed, "I have not much faith in the despatch of F. W. Wilson. . . . I have sent him 20 names." Rhys had written to Whitman from Boston on March 7, 1888. For Whitman's commentary on the letter, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, January 29, 1889. Rhys wrote again on April 3, 1888; for Whitman's thoughts on the letter, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, July, 24, 1888.. At this time relations between Rhys and William Sloane Kennedy were strained; on March 1 (?) Kennedy had written to Whitman: "Rhys continues his schemes on society's pocket-book, & demoralizes my nerves frightfully when I see him, somehow." Whitman observed to Traubel in May: "You couldn't get 'em to fit nohow. Kennedy will hardly fit anything but a chestnut burr" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, May 17, 1888; Monday, October 2, 1888.) A New York lawyer, Thomas J. McKee, wrote to Whitman on April 7, 1888: "I received your letter but had been looking into the matter for some days previously, Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke and Mr. Johnston having spoken to me about your claim against Worthington. The difficulty I find is this that R. Worthington failed some time since and is now unable to do business in his own name, and the business is now run by a corporation named the Worthington Co. of which Worthington's wife or some female relative is the President. The time within which to claim a forfeiture of the plates and books (two years) has run out and we are therefore limited to our action for an injunction and damages, I am therefore quietly trying to get all the facts I can as to what the 'Worthington Co.' has been doing with reference to your book. The Company is of some responsibility and undoubtedly have possession of the plates. As soon as I have facts sufficient to base a sure claim I will get the injunction and money. See also Whitman to Richard Watson Gilder, November 26, 1880, for an account of Whitman's dealings with Worthington. This letter is dated below the signature line: "February 16, 1888." This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd April 16/88." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington | DC. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 12 | (?) | 88. O'Connor responded on April 14, 1888, with characteristic fervor to Walt Whitman's last sentence: "What an idyl of your room you opened to me in your flash of description—you in the big chair, the window open to the sunset, the Easter lilies on the sill, and the little bird singing his furious carol! It was quite divine. How I wish you could get active and well!" For Whitman's reaction to the letter when he discussed it with Traubel a year later, see Horace Traubel,With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, April 4, 1889. For accounts of Whitman's other celebrations during the shad season at Thompson's, see his letters to William Sloane Kennedy on April 27, 1886 and April 29, [1887]. An account of the festivities in 1888 appears in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, April 29, 1888. This letter is addressed: George and Susan Stafford | Kirkwood (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 26 | 8 PM | 88; Kirkwood | Apr | 27 | 1888. Walt Whitman went to Glendale on Sunday, April 29, and dined with the Harneds in the evening (The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Joseph Browning was married to Susan Stafford's daughter Deborah. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 2 | 3 PM | 88. For an additional note on this letter, see Whitman's letter to Mary Smith Costelloe of June 26, 1888. This letter is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 11 | 8 PM | 88; Kirkwood | Jul | 12 | 1888 | N.J. Walt Whitman should have written "11"; note the postmark. This postal card is addressed: Herbert Gilchrist | 12 Well Road Hampstead | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul[illegible] | 6 AM | 88. Gilchrist had expressed his concern about Whitman's illness in a letter on July 8, 1888. This letter is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, (?) | Jul (?) | 8 PM | 88. Whitman's note was written on the verso of Herbert Gilchrist's letter of July 8. Rhys had mentioned in his letter of July 9-10 that Gilchrist was contemplating "another visit to America in the autumn" (Feinberg). This postal card is addressed: R Pearsall Smith | 44 Grosvenor Road | Westminster Embankment SW | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul[illegible] | [illegible] PM | 88. This letter is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N. J. | Aug 12 | 5 PM | 88; Kirkwood | Aug | 13 | 1888. This letter is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 22 | 8 PM | 88. There is a second postmark, but it is illegible. On August 1, 1888, Louisa Whitman and Jessie placed Edward, the youngest of Louisa's children, in the Insane Asylum at Blackwoodtown, New Jersey. The poet continued to pay his brother's expenses. On September 4, Mrs. Davis and Warren Fritzinger went to see Eddy: "He seems to be all right & as happy as is to be expected" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: John Burroughs | West Park Ulster Co: | New York. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 31 | 8 PM | 88; N.Y. | 9-1-88 | 7 AM. This letter is addressed: Mrs Susan M Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden | Sep | 10 | 7 AM | N.J. Susan "Susie" Browning was Susan Stafford's granddaughter. She was the daughter of Joseph and Deborah Stafford Browning. Eddy spent the day with Walt Whitman on July 31, 1888. For a description of Eddy's visit with Whitman, see Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, July 31, 1888. A photograph of the plaster model of this work serves as the frontispiece of Horace Traubel's third volume of With Walt Whitman in Camden (New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1914). This letter is addressed: John Burroughs | West Park | Ulster County | New York. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 6 | 8 PM | 88; Philadelphia, Pa | Oct 6 | 8PM | 1888 | [illegible] . Whitman's name and address are printed on the envelope as follows: Walt Whitman, | Camden, | New Jersey. Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1902), the Canadian physician and psychiatrist, noted receipt of O'Connor's letter in his October 11, 1888, letter to Whitman: "He [O'Connor] is a grand fellow that, the grandest of all your friends—a hero." O'Connor's letter, dated October 5, 1888, according to Bucke, is apparently lost, but the contents are summarized in Whitman's letter of October 7, 1888 to William Sloane Kennedy. On October 9, 1888, William Sloane Kennedy, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896), informed Walt Whitman that Sanborn had accepted the Morse bust for the Concord School but had neglected to call for it. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 14 | 5 PM | 88. According to his letter to Whitman of September 30, 1888, Richard Maurice Bucke explained that he had his picture taken because John H. Johnston had requested "a likeness of myself to be used in an article on 'Walt and his friends.'" He sent the portrait with his letter to Whitman of October 11, 1888. On October 9, 1888, O'Connor wrote: "My eye is now under battery treatment (assault-and-battery treatment, you would think to look at it!)." Whitman is referring to a letter he received from the wood-engraver William J. Linton on October 3, 1888. See also Whitman's September 13, 1888, letter to Linton. On August 3, 1889, Whitman wrote to Bucke about the possibility of printing a select group of photos on uniform cards and arranging them in "a good handsome fitting envelope (? perhaps album)." At this time he even wrote up instructions to the printer specifying a run of 200 copies with gilt labeling and the title Pictures from life of WW. The project, like many others in Whitman's final years, was never completed (though a smaller edition of six portraits in a ribbon-tied envelope did appear in 1889). Whitman was thinking of printing a select group of photos on uniform cards and arranging them, as he writes here, in "a good handsome fitting envelope (? perhaps album)." At this time he even wrote up instructions to the printer specifying a run of 200 copies with gilt labeling and the title Pictures from life of WW. The project, like many others in Whitman's final years, was never completed (though a smaller edition of six portraits in a ribbon-tied envelope did appear in 1889). See Costelloe's letter of October 1, 1888. Sarah Cope Whitall Nordhoff (1862–1951) was born in Pennsylvania and was Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe's cousin. Walter Nordhoff (1855–1937) was a European correspondent for the New York Herald before returning to the U.S. to manage 50,000 acres of his father's land in Baja California, an experience that led to his writing of the novel The Journey of the Flame (1933). At this point in the typed letter, there is a script insertion—"her baby girl"—in an unknown hand (perhaps Whitman's), identifying Ray as Mary's daughter. Ray Strachey (1887–1940; born Rachel Pearsall Conn Costelloe) became a prominent British suffragist, writer, and painter. Charles Bernard Nordhoff (1887–1947) became a novelist and was co-author (with James Norman Hall) of the Mutiny on the Bounty trilogy. At this time, Whitman was in discussions with his publisher David McKay about the preferred binding for November Boughs (1888) Whitman is referring to an article on Thackeray by Frederic R. Guernsey, who was on the staff of the Boston Herald. For Whitman's comments on the article, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, October 17, 1888. Charles William Dalmon (1862—1938) was a British poet and a contributor to The Yellow Book, an 1890s British literary magazine edited by Henry Harland. Dalmon also published in American magazines, including The Living Age. Whitman's November Boughs was published in October 1888 by Philadelphia publisher David McKay. For more information on the book, see James E. Barcus Jr., "November Boughs [1888]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Pearsall Smith is referring to Whitman's November Boughs, which was published in October 1888 by Philadelphia publisher David McKay. For more information on the book, see James E. Barcus Jr., "November Boughs [1888]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is addressed to three close acquaintances of Whitman: the New York naturalist John Burroughs (1837–1921), the poet's staunch public defender William Douglas O'Connor (1832–1889), and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1902). For more on these figures, see these entries from Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998): Carmine Sarracino, "Burroughs, John (1837–1921) and Ursula (1836–1917)," Deshae E. Lott, "O'Connor, William Douglas [1832–1889]," and Howard Nelson, "Bucke, Richard Maurice (1837–1902).". Walt Whitman's question mark. William Sloane Kennedy, Reminiscences of Walt Whitman (1896), wrote on October 18, 1888 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, October 19, 1888). This review of November Boughs (1888) appeared in the Boston Transcript on October 17, 1888 (reprinted in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, October 19, 1888), which also contained a long article by Whitman admirer C. Sadakichi Hartmann. Burroughs wrote from West Park, New York on October 16, 1888 after his return from the seashore (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, October 17, 1888). George Ellis' Specimens of Early English Metrical Romances first appeared in the Bohn edition in 1848. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, July 20, 1888. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Oct 21 | 5 PM | 88. According to Traubel, the review in the Press was written by Melville Philips. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, October 21, 1888. See Whitman's September 18–19, 1888, letter to Richard Maurice Bucke. In a form letter on October 19, 1888, J. L. and J. B. Gilder of The Critic asked for Walt Whitman's "answer to the question raised by Mr. Edmund Gosse in his paper in the October Forum, entitled 'Has America Produced a Poet?'—the question, namely, whether any American poet, not now living, deserves a place among the thirteen 'English inheritors of unassailed renown.'" Walt Whitman sent his reply on October 20, 1888, which J. B. Gilder acknowledged on November 17, 1888 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, November 18, 1888). Whitman's response was published in the November 24, 1888, Critic, along with responses by many other writers (including John Greenleaf Whittier, John Burroughs, Francis Parkman, and Julia Ward Howe). See also Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, October 22, 1888. In a form letter on October 19, 1888, Gilder and his sister Jeanette of The Critic asked for Walt Whitman's "answer to the question raised by Mr. Edmund Gosse in his paper in the October Forum, entitled 'Has America Produced a Poet?'—the question, namely, whether any American poet, not now living, deserves a place among the thirteen 'English inheritors of unassailed renown.'" Walt Whitman sent his reply on October 20, 1888, which J. B. Gilder acknowledges here (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, November 18, 1888). Whitman's response was published in the November 24, 1888, Critic, along with responses by many other writers (including John Greenleaf Whittier, John Burroughs, Francis Parkman, and Julia Ward Howe). See also Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, October 22, 1888. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. This letter is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 19 | 8 PM | 88. Hamlin Garland (1860–1940) was an American novelist and autobiographer, known especially for his works about the hardships of farm life in the American Midwest. For his relationship to Whitman, see Thomas K. Dean, "Garland, Hamlin," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman sometimes misspells or is inconsistent in his spellings of the names of William Osler, his doctor, and Hamlin Garland. He writes "Ostler" when he means "Osler" and refers to Garland as "Harland." Logan Smith wrote a letter from Wales on September 7, 1888. See Whitman's September 6, 1888, letter to the New York Herald. (See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, September 19, 1888). About this time Bennett himself dropped a line to the poet: "Herald wanted to do you a favor by early notice of your new book. Sorry you didn't get the idea." On September 23, in an article entitled "Walt Whitman's Words," a Herald reporter, probably John Habberton, quoted the following from his "notes of Whitman's opinions, which were revised by him": "I am an old bachelor who never had a love affair. Nature supplied the place of a bride, with suffering to be nursed and scenes[?] to be poetically clothed." Walt Whitman denied that he had revised the article (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, September 28, 1888 and Wednesday, October 3, 1888). Despite the inaccuracies, the poet found the piece "friendly"; (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, September 26, 1888, Thursday, September 27, 1888, Tuesday, October 9, 1888, and Friday, October 12, 1888). In his reply on September 21, 1888, Richard Maurice Bucke, Walt Whitman (1883), observed: "We are talking of having a copy made (or get a casting) of your (Sidney Morse) bust and putting it in our new (big) amusement room (new building)—and hope we shall be able to manage it. . . . (the plan was to put Shakespeare there but as we cannot be sure of his likeness and can be of yours we think of this change)." This letter is addressed: Jacob Klein | Attorney &c: | rooms 5, 6, &7— | 506 Olive Street | St. Louis | Missouri. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 17 | 8 PM | 88. It is clear from Klein's letter to William Sloane Kennedy on September 1, 1888, that he was troubled by Kennedy's letter to the editors, "Fraudulent 'Leaves of Grass,'" about the pirated 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass, in The Critic on June 2. (Papers of Walt Whitman [MSS 3829], Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature, Albert H. Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia). This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 22 | 8 PM | 88. Burroughs was in Camden on September 19 and 20. In his journal he wrote of their farewell: "He presses my hand long and tenderly; we kiss and part, probably for the last time. I think he has in his own mind given up the fight, and awaits the end" (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1931], 283). In his letter of September 20, 1888, Bucke, expressed great confidence in the gas and fluid meter he was developing—"we expect to astonish the Water Works people." This letter is addressed: Wm Sloane Kennedy | Belmont | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 4 | 8 PM | 88. Walt Whitman was "favorably impressed" with Garland's visit on September 26: "Garland has guts—the good kind: has voice, power, manliness—has chest-tones in his talk which attract me" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, September 26, 1888). This letter is addressed: Dr. R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Oct 6 | 8 PM | 88. For the negotiations with McKay, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, October 4, 1888, Friday, October 5, 1888, and Saturday, October 20, 1888. The publisher agreed finally to take "one thousand copies of N. B. at thirty-one and a quarter cents" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, October 20, 1888). In a September 26, 1888, letter, H. Buxton Forman informed Walt Whitman of George Eliot's change of mind about Leaves of Grass. After a discussion with Horace Traubel, Whitman concluded: "George Eliot was a great, gentle soul, lacking sunlight" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, October 5, 1888). Whitman is referring to Julia Pardoe's Louis the Fourteenth and the Court of France in the Seventeenth Century (1855). See Whitman's letter of September 25–26, 1888 to Richard Maurice Bucke. On page 63 of Walt Whitman (1883), Richard Maurice Bucke notes this as one of the poet's favorite anecdotes. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep | 26 | 8 PM | 88. Bucke replied on September 28, 1888: "I note all you say about my 'W. W.' Your wishes will be religiously respected. I did think of considerable changes (for I am certain the book will sell by & by) but was never set on them and less so lately. Yes, I shall leave it stand as it is and add under a later date what else I may have to say." Whitman may be referring to Morse's letter of September 2, 1888. William Summers came with a letter of introduction from Mrs. Costelloe dated September 1, 1888. See also Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, September 26, 1888, and Thursday, September 27, 1888. Of Summers' article in Pall Mall Gazette, "A Visit to Walt Whitman," on October 18, Walt Whitman observed: "It is good —pretty good: nothing to brag of, but passable" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, November 3, 1888. Julia Pardoe's Louis the Fourteenth and the Court of France in the Seventeenth Century (1855), 2 vols., are now in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection. Walt Whitman made the same point on September 28, 1888 to Traubel: "Here is another world—. . . opposite to the gloominess, irascibility, of Carlyle and his extreme dissatisfaction with the condition of the world" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, September 28, 1888). Carlyle's Reminiscences appeared in 1881. This letter is addressed: Dr. R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 26 | 8 PM | 88. On October 24, 1888, Bucke reported that he was sending Edward Wilkins as a replacement for Musgrove: "He is a real good, nice looking, young fellow. I have known him some years—he is as good as he looks" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, October 26, 1888). Wilkins (1865–1936) arrived in Camden on November 5, 1888 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). He stayed for a year, then returned to Canada to attend the Ontario Veterinary College in Toronto. After graduation in 1893 he moved to Alexandria, Indiana, where he married and spent the rest of his life. For this biographical information I am indebted to Bert A. Thompson, Director of Libraries at Kearney State College, Nebraska. On October 24, 1888, Bucke reported that he was sending Edward Wilkins as a replacement for Whitman's nurse, W. A. Musgrove: "He is a real good, nice looking, young fellow. I have known him some years—he is as good as he looks" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, October 26, 1888). Wilkins (1865–1936) arrived in Camden on November 5, 1888 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). He stayed for a year, then returned to Canada to attend the Ontario Veterinary College in Toronto. After graduation in 1893 he moved to Alexandria, Indiana, where he married and spent the rest of his life. For this biographical information I am indebted to Bert A. Thompson, Director of Libraries at Kearney State College, Nebraska. On October 25, 1888 Stedman wrote: "In many respects this collection (so strikingly and fittingly got up) is one of the most significant—as it is the most various—of your enduring works" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, October 26, 1888. The notice appeared on the editorial page on October 23, 1888. For Whitman's taste, "there's too much of the battered old veteran business" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, October 26, 1888). When William Ingram called on August 3, Walt Whitman gave Ingram a copy of Specimen Days for George Rush, Jr., who was in prison in Bucks Country, Pennsylvania (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Ingram's letter of August 10, 1888 reported how gratified Rush was to receive the gift and recounted in great detail the death and cremation of the "free thinker" William Cooper. Little is known about George Rush, Jr. When William Ingram called on August 3, Whitman gave Ingram a copy of Specimen Days for Rush, who was then in prison in Bucks Country, Pennsylvania (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Ingram's letter of August 10, 1888 reported how gratified Rush was to receive the gift. McKay had 950 copies to sell, 50 copies were distributed to reviewers, and Whitman retained 100 copies, some of which he sold but many of which he gave to friends. This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd Oct. 27/88." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 26 | 8 PM | 88. O'Connor replied at length on the following day, October 27, 1888: "The pleasing little malady of the eyelid which has inspired me to much eloquent, though silent, profanity, is called ptosis, . . . and consists in a paralysis of the first nerve of the eyelid." This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 4 | 5 PM | 88. See Whitman's September 25-26, 1888, letter to Bucke. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 31 | 8 PM | 88. Whitman wrote "than." This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 1 | 8 PM | 88. Whitman is referring to Charles Aldrich (1828–1908) (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, November 1, 1888). For more on Aldrich, see Ed Folsom, "The Mystical Ornithologist and the Iowa Tufthunter: Two Unpublished Whitman Letters and Some Identifications," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 1 (Summer 1983), 18–29. The "review" is probably Gabriel Sarrazin's essay which appeared May 1 in La Nouvelle Revue. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 7 | 1 30 PM | 88. Gurd, the coinventor of the meter, had gone to New York in order to obtain financial backing. On November 1, 1888, Bucke complained that Gurd had "only written one letter in 2½ weeks." On November 6 Bucke had heard from Gurd—"All is going fine with him and the meter." On November 9, 1888, Bucke commented: "I am real glad you seem pleased with Ed. W. I knew he would suit you or I would not have sent him so far—he was with me here a long time and I know him well—he is just what he looks, a good, simple minded, quiet, honest country boy—just the kind you like." On November 8, Whitman commented to Traubel: "I am coming to see that he is just the man I needed: he is my kind: he is young, strong" (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, November 8, 1888). Richard Maurice Bucke termed the review, on November 9, "a middling notice—it is surprising to me how little the average reviewer sees." Whitman may be referring to Bucke's letter of November 4, 1888. The presidential election of 1888 pitted incumbent Democratic president Grover Cleveland against Republican challenger Benjamin Harrison; Harrison lost the popular vote but won the electoral college and became the nation's twenty-third president. Tariffs were a major issue in the campaign, with Harrison on the side of industry (who wanted high tariffs) and Cleveland on the side of consumers (who benefited from low tariffs). This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Jul 6 (?) | 8 PM | 88. Nathan M. Baker was one of Whitman's caregivers. He would leave on July 15, 1888, to resume his medical training. Baker was replaced by W.A. Musgrove. For Whitman's comments on the transition, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, July 16, 1888. Walt Whitman began negotiations on May 25 with George Ferguson to set the type for November Boughs (1888). Ferguson agreed to charge $1.30 for each page in long primer (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, May 25, 1888). The first payment of $50 was made on July 3 (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, July 3,1888). George Ferguson was the printer who had set the type for Whitman's November Boughs (1888). This letter is endorsed: "Answ'd June 15/88." It is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington D C. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jun 14 | 6 PM | 88. Troubled by newspaper reports of the poet's illness, O'Connor wrote for information on June 13 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1953], 4: 499-500). The almost fatal illness during the early part of June is fully recorded in Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (Boston: Small, Maynard, 1906), 1: 259ff. Fortunately Richard Maurice Bucke, Walt Whitman (1883), had come to Camden on June 3 (1: 254), and Nathan M. Baker became the poet's nurse on June 10 (1: 298). At first Whitman resisted, but for the rest of his life he was not without male nurses. On August 10 Traubel noted: "I have started a Whitman fund—am trying to get a small monthly guarantee each from a group of people to pay for the nurse and the extras required by W.'s persistent illness" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1915], 2: 116). Among the contributors were Stedman (2: 141), Richard Watson Gilder (4: 390), Josephine Lazarus (4: 474), and Andrew Carnegie (4: 435). When Whitman learned of the fund on March 20, 1889, "he was greatly touched: the tears came into his eyes" (4: 390). This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 13 | 8 PM | 88. Bucke wrote enthusiastically on November 11, 1888 about an article by Julia Ady on "Jean-François Millet" in the September issue of The Nineteenth Century: "The parallelism in the lives of the two men (yourself & Millet) is wonderful." He proceeded to cite eleven parallels. Whitman, however, found Bucke's parallels "not convincing—no: only interesting" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, November 13, 1888 and Wednesday, November 14, 1888). For Whitman's discussion of the Galaxy article, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, November 13, 1888. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington | DC. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Nov (?) | 8 PM | 88; Washington, Rec'd. | Nov 14 | 7 AM | 88 | 1. The Open Court for November 8 (II, 1295-97) contained an article by Moncure D. Conway entitled "The Spiritualists' Confession." This letter is addressed: Mrs: Louisa Whitman | Burlington | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Nov 19 | 8 PM | 88. Alexander Gardner was the publisher (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, November 17, 1888). See also Whitman's December, 3–4, 1888, letter to William Sloane Kennedy, John Burroughs, William Douglas O'Connor, and Richard Maurice Bucke. Possibly Colonel John Gibson Wright, the commanding officer of George's regiment during the war. See footnote 4 in Whitman's September 11, 1864, letter to Ellen M. O'Connor. See also his May 25, 1865, letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. This letter is addressed: Josiah Child | Care Trübner & Co: | 57 Ludgate Hill | London England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 20 | 8 PM | 88. On October 20, 1888, Child sent "on behalf of Trübner & Co a draft for $14.43 for 39 copies of 'Democratic Vistas' which is all your commission stock they had left on hand." For a complete record of Whitman's dealings with Trübner see Whitman's October 1, 1878, letter to the company. This letter is addressed: Wm Sloane Kennedy | Belmost | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 4 | 8 PM | 88. The letter was written on a proof sheet of the title page of the Scottish edition of November Boughs (1888). Herbert Spencer Harned (1888–1969) was born on December 2, 1888. Unfortunately Stafford's letter is not known. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 22 | 8 PM | 88. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 24 | 8 PM | 88. The clipping was mounted in the letter to the right and just above these words. Whitman is referring to Frederic Henry Hedge's Prose Writers of Germany (1856). Bucke reported on November 22 that Pardee "is bad—very sick indeed—mind very feeble." Whitman is referring to James Boswell's (1740–1795) biography of his friend, the English writer Samuel Johnson. See Bucke's letter to Whitman of November 22, 1888. With a letter of introduction dated August 31, 1888 from Edward Dowden (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, November 12, 1888), Lewis Fry (1823–1921), a Liberal and Unionist Member of Parliament from Bristol, England, called on Whitman on November 20. Whitman was much impressed with this "good Liberal" (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, November 20, 1888). Dowden acknowledged receipt of November Boughs (1888) on June 26, 1889. Dowden is referring to the letter that he wrote regarding Whitman's birthday and the growth of his fame. The letter was printed, along with numerous other notes and addresses honoring Whitman on the occasion of his 70th birthday, in Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman: May 31, 1889: Notes, Addresses, Letters, Telegrams, ed. Horace L. Traubel (Philadelphia: David McKay), 51–52. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 27 | 8 PM | 88. The partridges were sent by William H. Blauvelt of Richfield Springs, New York. (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. and Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, November 27, 1888). See Whitman's October 21, 1888, letter to Bucke. Traubel transcribed this letter on the day it was written. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, November 27, 1888. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Dec 8 | 8 PM | 88; Philadelphia | Dec | 8 | 9 PM | 1888 | Transit; N.Y. | 12-9-1888 | 9 AM | 6; London | PM | DE 10 | 88 | Canada; London | PM | DE 10 | 88 | Canada. Whitman sent letters to Frederick Oldach on November 27, 1888 and December 4, 1888. In several letters Bucke insisted that Whitman should be seen daily by a young doctor since Osler was too busy to attend the poet every day (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, December 5, 1888). See the letter from Bucke to Whitman of December 6, 1888. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Boston, Mass | Dec 13, 1888. There is a Camden postmark from December 14, 1888, but it is almost entirely illegible. Arthur Sherburne Hardy (1847–1930) was a writer, diplomat, and engineer from Massachusetts. Donaldson's letter to Whitman does not seem to be extant, but this appears to be a reference to a book by George Catlin (1796–1872), an artist who focused on portraying Native Americans in the Old West. Whitman famously kept a portrait of Osceola by Catlin on his wall. The chapter "The Old Bowery" in November Boughs reminisces about the British actor Junius Brutus Booth (1796–1852), who rose to fame performing Shakespeare in New York. He was also the father of Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth (1838–1865). William Clarke (1852–1901) was a British socialist and journalist. After Whitman's death, he published an "appreciation" of the poet (Walt Whitman, London: Sonnenschein, 1892). Evelyn Hunter Nordhoff (1865–1898) was the first female bookbinder in the US. She had learned her trade in London and became aquainted with Costelloe there. Rhys wrote this postscript in the left margin of the first page of the letter. Kitty Johnston was one of the children of Whitman's friend John H. Johnston, a New York jeweler. Harold Johnston was one of Kitty's brothers. See William Dean Howells, "Editor's Study," Harper's New Monthly Magazine 78 (February 1889): 488–9. Felix Adler (1851–1933) was a German American professor of political and social ethics. During his tenure at Cornell University and later Columbia, he founded the New York Society of Ethical Culture (1877) and the National Child Labor Committee (1904). His philosophy sought to unite theists, atheists, agnostics, and deists under the same moral social actions, and argued that morality should be considered independently from religion. For more on Adler, see Horace Friess, Felix Adler and Ethical Culture: Memories and Studies, ed. Fannia Weingartner (New York: Columbia University Press, 1981). Kennedy sent a copy of The Christian Register with his postal card. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, May 2, 1891. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Belmont | May | 1 | 1891 | MA[unclear]; Camden, N.J. | May | 2 | 9AM | 1891 | Rec'd. Kennedy is referring to Horace Traubel's "Walt Whitman at Date," which was published in the New England Magazine 4 (May 1891): 275–292. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 8 | 8 PM | 88. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 11 | 8 PM | 88. "Over and Through the Burial Chant" (later "Interpolation Sounds") appeared in the New York Herald on August 12. On August 8 the newspaper printed Whitman's prose "Tribute to Sheridan." This passage originally read: "H. Saturday 11th (possibly 12th)." On the following day Whitman struck out everything except "12th." On August 8 Bucke noted a visit from Dr. Jack Harkness—"(you will recollect him at Kingston and down the St Lawrence and up the Saguenay?)." August 13 appears to be a plausible date. In his letter to Susan Stafford of August 12 Whitman wrote: "It is raining all day like fury"; and here: "Rain'd like fury yesterday." Two pieces, "Over and Through the Burial Chant" and a prose "tribute to Sheridan," had recently appeared in the New York Herald (see Whitman's letter of August 10-11 to Richard Maurice Bucke). Jessie, Thomas Jefferson ("Jeff") Whitman's daughter, was staying with Louisa in August: In his Commonplace Book Whitman noted that Louisa and Jessie placed Edward Whitman in the Insane Asylum at Blackwoodtown on August 1 (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). There is no extant letter, however, from Jeff, who wrote from Milwaukee on July 14. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Aug 15 | 6 AM | (?). This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 26 | 5 PM | 88. Whitman enclosed the frontispiece of November Boughs (1888). Whitman is referring to Horace Traubel's father, Maurice Traubel, a printer and lithographer born in Germany. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Aug 31 | 8 PM | 88. A "bittock" is Scots for "a little bit." Bucke and his brother-in-law William Gurd were attempting to perfect a gas and fluid meter. While Bucke pursued his million-dollar rainbow, Whitman remained skeptical, sometimes to Bucke's annoyance. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 2 | 5 PM | 88. William Douglas O'Connor wrote on August 31, 1888. Traubel reports that "W. was very much moved by O'Connor's letter" (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, September 1, 1888). On September 4, 1888 Bucke wrote that Whitman owed him nothing—"(the balance is the other way)"—and suggested that he sell the horse in Camden. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 3 | 8 PM | 88. The Philadelphia representative of the Herald was C. H. Browning (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, August 16, 1888). See Whitman's September 6, 1888, letter to the editor of the New York Herald. This letter was written on the verso of Mrs. Costelloe's of August 21. See Whitman's letter to Bucke of December 2, 1888. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 8 | (?) PM | 88. Whitman was paid $130 on September 7, 1888 by the Rev. J. Leonard Corning, a frequent visitor during the poet's illness (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). On September 10, 1888 Bucke wrote that he hoped to receive soon autographed copies of November Boughs (1888) and Complete Poems & Prose: "I shall look upon them as the crown and summit of all my W. W. Collection—a collection by the way which gives me a lot of worry sometimes to think what I am eventually to do with it. I regard it as so precious that no ordinary disposition of it will do." Whitman is referring to James Anthony Froude's Thomas Carlyle; A History of His Life in London, 1834–1881 (1884). This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 13 | 8 PM | 88. Bucke replied on September 15, 1888: "No I would not recommend Froude's Carlyle to a man who needed cheering up. I read it a few years ago and it nearly gave me an attack of melancholia. I look upon that same Carlyle as being (or having been?) one of the worst 'Cranks' that ever lived. . . . I shall like to know C. by & by to see what he is like in the next world but I never expect to care much about him!" On September 14, 1888, William Ingram wrote to Bucke that Whitman "looked bright & cheerful and in good spirits." Bucke continued in his letter of September 17, 1888: "Still it is grand to see you keep up as you do—never giving up to the last—I think it is immense, something for us all to be proud of and to take to heart—and the world will take all this to heart one day—and will be the better for it." Stedman sent the proofs to Traubel on September 8 (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, September 11, 1888). The article appeared in volume seven of A Library of American Literature, 501–513. This letter is addressed: W J Linton | p o box 489 | New Haven | Conn:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep 13 | 8 PM | 88; New Haven, Conn. | Sep | 14 | 8 (?)M | 188(?) | Recd. See Whitman's letter to Linton of March 22, 1872. Whitman was to use Linton's engraving in Complete Poems & Prose. By the time Linton received Whitman's letter, he had already sent instructions for the block to be forwarded to Arthur Stedman, an editor at Mark Twain's publishing house. See the letter from Linton to Whitman of October 3, 1888. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 9 | 8 PM | 88. Robert Ingersoll's "Rome, or Reason? A Reply to Cardinal Manning" appeared in the October issue of the journal (394–414). For Whitman's reaction see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, October 8th, 1888. The slip announced the resignation of Dr. William Osler from the University of Pennsylvania and his acceptance of a position at The Johns Hopkins University. Sir William Osler (1849–1919) was a Canadian physician and one of the four founding staff members of Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he served as the first Chief of Medicine. Richard Maurice Bucke introduced Osler to Whitman in 1885 in order to care for the aging poet. Osler wrote a manuscript about his personal and professional relationship with Whitman in 1919; see Walt Whitman and Sir William Osler: A Poet and his Physician [Toronto: ECW Press, 1995]). For more on Osler, see Philip W. Leon, "Osler, Dr. William (1849–1919)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). For more on the relationship of Osler and Whitman, see Michael Bliss, William Osler: A Life in Medicine (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999). Whitman is referring to the letter from Symonds of January 29, 1889, a truly "warm" one that was signed "your true respectful and loving disciple" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, February 10, 1889). The Sarrazin photo is visible in the background of an 1889 photo of Whitman taken by Kuebler Photography. This postal card is addressed: Logan Smith | Friday's Hill | Haslemere Surrey | England. It is postmarked: Camden, [unclear] | Aug 12 | 8PM | 90. The letter Whitman is responding to is not extant. Smith confirmed that he had the books at Haslemere in his letter of October 3, 1890. Robert Pearsall Smith sent the money to Whitman through A.L. Smith of Philadelphia (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). We have no information on this correspondent. Mount Lodge in St. Leonards-on-Sea is near Hastings in East Sussex, England. On August 1, 1888, Whitman's sister-in-law Louisa and his niece Jessie placed his youngest brother Edward in the Insane Asylum at Blackwoodtown, New Jersey. The poet continued to pay his brother's expenses. On September 4, Whitman's housekeeper Mary Davis and his nurse Warren Fritzinger went to see Eddy: "He seems to be all right & as happy as is to be expected" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Perhaps Dalmon was sending Whitman the manuscript of Minutiæ, his first book of poems, eventually published in 1892. The Theodore Thomas Orchestra, a popular touring ensemble conducted by the renowned conductor Theodore Thomas (1835–1905), played a concert in Philadelphia on February 16, 1888, performing Anton Rubenstein's Second Cello Concerto and the Fourth Symphony of Brahms (see the Philadelphia Times [February 16, 1888], 2). When Rhys wrote to Whitman from New York on May 21, 1888, he was about to leave for Canada (Horace Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, June 9, 1888). Rhys was in Camden on May 27 (Whitman's Commonplace Book; Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), and on May 30 he sent birthday greetings and a poem from New York (Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, July 24, 1888). He wrote again on June 7, just before he sailed to England (Traubel, ed., With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, July 24, 1888). Alma Calder Johnston (1843–1917) was an author and the second wife of John H. Johnston. Her family owned a home and property in Equinunk, Pennsylvania. For more on the Johnstons, see Susan L. Roberson, "Johnston, John H. (1837–1919) and Alma Calder" (Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). John W. Tilton was a lawyer and politician from Haverhill, Massachusetts. He was an active member of his local school board, and was elected to his state's House of Representatives by a very narrow margin in 1878. Edwin Costley Jellett (1860–1929) was a Philadelphia horticulturist, local historian, and columnist. He was also a member of Philadelphia's literary society "The Mermaid Club." It is unclear exactly which pamphlet Whitman is referring to, but it is likely one of the many Mermaid Club publications that Jellett composed. Among many "curios" the poet showed his disciple Horace Traubel that very month was a "Record of Mermaid Club, Germantowm," which may well be The Record of a Reading Club of 1888, written by Jellett (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, January 5, 1889). Herbert Harned (1888–1969), Harned's son, who later beamce a chemistry professor. Mary Ashley (c. 1843–1903) was a self-taught astronomer and a member of the Selenographical Society and the Liverpool Astronomical Society. She may have owned her own observatory and apparently garnered some international attention for her scientific drawings (A. J. Kinder, "Letter to the Editor: Another Victorian Lady Astronomer," Journal of the British Astronomical Association 108 [1998], 338). The piece Whitman refers to is likely a copy of Kennedy's translation of Gabriel Sarrazin's "Poetes modernes de l'Amerique, Walt Whitman," which had appeared in La Nouvelle Revue, 52 (May 1, 1888), 164–184. Whitman had asked both Kennedy and Richard Maurice Bucke to make an abstract in English of it (see Whitman's letter to Kennedy of January 22, 1889, and to Bucke of January 27, 1889). Sarrazin's piece is reprinted in an English translation by Harrison S. Morris in In Re (pp. 159–94). Sarrazin (1853–1935) was a translator and poet from France, who commented positively not only on Whitman's work but also on Poe's. For more on Sarrazin, see Carmine Sarracino, "Sarrazin, Gabriel (1853–1935)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 609. Whitman asked both Kennedy and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke to translate into English an abstract of Sarrazin's "Poétes moderns de l'amérique, Walt Whitman," La Nouvelle Revue, 52 (May 1888), 164–84 (see Whitman's letter to Kennedy of January 22, 1889, and to Bucke of January 27, 1889). Sarrazin's piece has been reprinted in an English translation by Harrison S. Morris in In Re (pp. 159–94). Thomas Harned and his wife Anna were the parents of three children, Anna, Tommy, and Herbert. The Open Court for November 8 contained an article by Moncure D. Conway entitled "The Spiritualists' Confession." For more on Conway, see Philip W. Leon, "Conway Moncure Daniel (1832–1907)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 148. This letter is addressed: Wm D O'Connor | 1015 O Street | Washington | D.C. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Nov (?) | 8 PM | 88; Washington, Rec'd. | Nov 14 | 7 AM | 88 | 1. Henry C. DeLong (1838–c. 1916) was a unitarian minister from Medford, MA. For more on DeLong, see George M. Butler, "An Appreciation," Medford Historical Register 19 (January 1916), 18–24. Chamberlin is referring to Whitman's disciple Horace Traubel (see Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, February 28, 1889.). Horace Traubel makes an error in transcribing Chamberlein's handwriting: the mountain is Moosilauke, in the White Mountains in New Hampshire. Joseph Edgar Chamberlin (1851–1935) was an American journalist for the Boston Transcript and the Youth's Companion. He wrote about Whitman for his column in the Transcript, which was republished in Nomads and Listeners of Joseph Edgar Chamberlin (Books for Libraries Press, 1937), 128–134. Kennedy replied on July 9 that the books were to be sent to "Chas. E. Hurd, literary editor" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection). "The Quaker Traits of Whitman" appeared in the July issue of The Conservator; reprinted in In Re, 213–214, and Kennedy, 86-87 In FBW Kennedy confirms the obvious: "The Data authenticated by W.W." (273). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | London Asylum | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N. J. | JUL 5 | 8 PM | 90; London | PM | Jy 7 | 9 | Canada. Whitman noted in his Commonplace Book on July 8 receipt of honey from C. H. Lüttgens of Hammonton, New Jersey (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This postscript is written at the top of the postal card. Bucke's letter of July 3, 1890 may not survive. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | London Asylum | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 8 | 8 PM | 90; London | PM | Jy 10 | 90 | Canada. See Bucke's July 6, 1890, letter to Whitman. This postal card is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 9 | 6 PM | 90; London | PM | Jy 11 | 9 | Canada. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, [illegible] | Jul 7 | 8 PM | 90; London | PM | JY 9 | 9[illegible] | Canada. The letter from Bucke that Whitman refers to here may not survive. Bucke's next letter, dated July 6, 1890, noted Kennedy's departure. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Dr Bucke | London Asylum | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 8 | 8 PM | 90; London | PM | Jy 11 | 9 | Canada. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 10 | 4 30 PM | 90. According to G. W. Allen's Walt Whitman Abroad, 187, 278, Nencioni published articles on WW in Fanfulla della Domenica in 1879 and 1883. CHAL lists articles in 1881, 1885, and 1891. On March 7, 1891, WW sent Nencioni a copy of Complete Poems & Prose as well as three portraits (CB). This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Jul 10 | 430 PM | 90; London | AM | JY 13 | 90 | Canada; [illegible] | 7-10-90 | 1030PM. According to Gay Wilson Allen's Walt Whitman Abroad (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1955), 187, 278, Nencioni published articles on Whitman in Fanfulla della Domenica in 1879 and 1883. The Cambridge History of American Literature lists articles in 1881, 1885, and 1891. On March 7, 1891, Whitman noted in his Commonplace Book that he sent Nencioni a copy of Complete Poems & Prose as well as the portraits (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The envelope for this letter bears the address: Ed: Wilkins | 137 King Street | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Jul 10 | 8 PM | 90; 3 | PM Jy | 12. According to Whitman's Commonplace Book, the poet wrote to O'Dowd on July 12 after receiving a letter on the preceding day. The location of the letter is not known, but the authors of Bernard O'Dowd (1954), Victor Kennedy and Nettie Palmer, claim to have seen a copy; see Walt Whitman Review 7 (1961), 28n. Adam Lindsay Gordon (1833–1870), a British-born poet who had emigrated to South Australia, and whose grave O'Dowd had recently visited according to O'Dowd's letter to Whitman of June 9 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; A. L. McLeod, ed., Walt Whitman in Australia and New Zealand: A Record of his Reception [Sydney: Wentworth, 1964], 21). Fred Woods later wrote Heavenly Thoughts (1932), a volume of poetry; James Hartigan was a plasterer; Ada, Kate and William Fryer, O'Dowd's in-laws; Eve Fryer O'Dowd, his wife; "Tom Touchstone," penname of Thomas Bury, was a columnist for the Ballarat (Victoria) Courier. See Walt Whitman Review, VII (1961), 28n. According to a typescript held by the County Bourough of Bolton England and Whitman's Commonplace Book, on May 10 Johnston and Wallace sent birthday greetings and a gift of £10 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; typescript: County Borough of Bolton (England) Public Libraries). Wallace wrote on June 27, 1890 to inform Walt Whitman that Johnston, who was not well, was coming to America to see the poet and to visit places on Long Island and in New York mentioned in Specimen Days. Wallace replied to Walt Whitman's card on August 1: "I have considered it one of the main privileges of my life (since my mother's death the main privilege of my life) to be able to communicate with you personally and to tender you my deep reverence and love" (typescript: County Borough of Bolton (England) Public Libraries). Bernard O'Dowd (1866–1953), a self-styled "poor clerk in an obscure library" in Melbourne, Australia, wrote for the first time to Walt Whitman on March 12, 1890, although there is extant an unsent draft letter written on August 6, 1889. From his confessions in various letters it is clear that O'Dowd, the son of an Irish policeman, had a lonely and loveless childhood, that he was reared a Roman Catholic only to become a freethinker, that he became a teacher at an early age but then drifted (not unlike Walt Whitman) from job to job, and that despite his marriage the year before in his own eyes he was "a failure" and "an enigma to myself." He saw Walt Whitman as an heroic father figure: "Had Carlyle added another chapter to his 'Hero Worship' the 'Hero as Nurse' with Walt Whitman as subject would have worthily capped his dome" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; A. L. McLeod, ed., Walt Whitman in Australia and New Zealand: A Record of his Reception [Sydney: Wentworth, 1964], 23). For discussions of O'Dowd, see A. L. McLeod's article in Walt Whitman Review 7 (June 1961), 23–35, and his Walt Whitman in Australia and New Zealand (1964). Bernard O'Dowd (1866–1953), a self-styled "poor clerk in an obscure library" in Melbourne, Australia, wrote for the first time to Walt Whitman on March 12, 1890, although there is extant an unsent draft letter written on August 6, 1889. From his confessions in various letters it is clear that O'Dowd, the son of an Irish policeman, had a lonely and loveless childhood, that he was reared a Roman Catholic only to become a freethinker, that he became a teacher at an early age but then drifted (not unlike Walt Whitman) from job to job, and that despite his marriage the year before in his own eyes he was "a failure" and "an enigma to myself." He saw Whitman as an heroic father figure: "Had Carlyle added another chapter to his 'Hero Worship' the 'Hero as Nurse' with Walt Whitman as subject would have worthily capped his dome" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Alan L. McLeod, ed., Walt Whitman in Australia and New Zealand: A Record of his Reception [Sydney: Wentworth, 1964], 23). For more information on O'Dowd, see Alan L. McLeod's "Walt Whitman in Australia," Walt Whitman Review 7 (1961): 23–35. See also Alan L. McLeod, "Australia and New Zealand, Whitman in," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). The Illustrated London News, founded by the British journalist and politician Herbert Ingram (1811–1860) was the first illustrated weekly news magazine. A full-page engraved portrait of Whitman (based on a photograph by Napoleon Sarony) appeared in the Supplement to the Illustrated London News on November 30, 1889. In a December 3, 1889, letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke, Whitman described The Illustrated London News portrait as "not satisfactory." This postal card is addressed: Sloane Kennedy | Belmont | Mass:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | JUL 21 | 8 AM | 90; NY. | 7-21-90 | 11 AM | [illegible]. The envelope for this letter bears the address: Walt Whitman | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Washington D.C. | NOV 20 | 12:30 PM | 89; Camden, N.J. | NOV 21 | 6 AM | 1889 | Rec'd. Horace Furness (1833–1912) was the distinguished editor of the Variorum Shakespeare. Furness met Whitman in 1879, and Furness was one of the honorary pallbearers at Whitman's funeral. In "Personal Recollections of Walt Whitman," William R. Thayer, in discussing Whitman's slyness in money matters, stated that for the last six or eight years of the poet's life George W. Childs and Furness subscribed "an annual sum," and paid a young man to act as his driver and valet (Scribner's Magazine 65 [1919], 685). This correspondence card apparently accompanied a transcription of "O Captain! My Captain!," which Whitman sent to Furness on April 27, 1890 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Furness and his father, Reverend Doctor William Henry Furness (1802–1896), a Unitarian minister in Philadelphia, visited the poet on April 10, 1890. See Whitman's letter to the Canadian physcian Richard Maurice Bucke of April 10, 1890. Nothing is known about W.H. Cranston at this time. Little is known about Alice Hicks Van Tassel. She was the great grandniece of Elias Hicks—a Quaker from Long Island whose controversial teachings led to a split in the Religious Society of Friends in 1827, a division that was not resolved until 1955. She was the daughter of Charles Toll Hicks (1825–1883) and Selina "Lena" Hardiker Hicks (d. 1887). Alice was married to William Van Tassal. Fred Whitman Van Tassal was Alice's son. Frances (Fanny) Taylor (1846–1907) was the daughter of Rufus J. Lackland, who served as the president of the Boatmen's Savings Institution (later, the Boatmen's National Bank of St. Louis). She was married to the civil engineer, Theodore Thompson Taylor (1833–1899). Whitman inscribed to her a copy of the Author's Edition of Leaves of Grass (1882); the volume is now part of the collection of the Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis. See Walter H. Eitner, "A Unique Copy of Leaves of Grass (1882)," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 1 (1983), 40–44. The final digit in the year in which this telegram was sent has not been filled in by the correspondent or the telegraph company. This telegram was printed, along with numerous other notes and addresses honoring Whitman on the occasion of his 70th birthday, in Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman: May 31, 1889: Notes, Addresses, Letters, Telegrams, ed. Horace L. Traubel (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: David McKay), 71. Nothing is known about the correspondent or correspondents other than that they are an Australian admirer or admirers of Whitman's poems. Brander Matthews (1852–1929) was a prolific American writer and critic who wrote novels, plays, short stories, biographies, an autobiography, and literary criticism. He was a professor of literature at Columbia University from 1892 to 1924 and a friend of many well-known writers, including Robert Louis Stevenson, Rudyard Kipling, Bret Harte, Mark Twain, and William Dean Howells. Probably Arthur Perceval Graves (1846–1931), an Anglo-Irish poet and father of British poet-critic Robert Graves; he was instrumental in the nineteenth-century revival of interest in Irish and Welsh literature. The full name of this play is Madansema, Slave of Love; re Tolstoi, a counter-song to anti-marriage, published in London in 1890. Probably Edward King (1848–1896), American journalist and author, whose The Great South: Record of Journeys in 1872–73 (1875), originally published in Scribner’s, was a controversial examination of the South filled with racist descriptions of freed blacks that was influential in undermining Reconstruction-era civil rights policies. The April 8, 1876, issue of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper contained a biographical sketch of Whitman along with an engraving of one of William Kurtz's photographs of the poet. This partial phrase appears on the verso of the last page of the letter. Cole may be referring to Harry H. Parmenter (1843–1911), a clerk in the War Department in Washington, D.C., whom he mentions later in the letter. "A Death-Sonnet for Custer" (later entitled "From Far Dakota's Cañons") appeared in the New York Daily Tribune on July 10, 1876. Forman is referring here to John Wanamaker (1838–1922), who served as U.S. Postmaster General from 1889 to 1893. William Potter (1852–1926) was appointed by President Benjamin Harrison to serve as a special commissioner to London, Paris, and Berlin on behalf of the Post Office Department, and he served as a delegate to the 1891 Vienna Postal Union Congress, which set protocols for the handling of transatlantic mail. He then served as ambassador to Italy and undertook important archaeological research in Rome. He was elected to the Board of Trustees of Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and served as the college's president from 1897 to 1926. Active in Philadelphia arts, business, and charitable organizations, he ran for mayor of the city in 1905. English writer and critic Edmund Gosse (1849–1928) was born into a small Protestant sect called the Plymouth Brethren. He later cut ties with that faith and authored the book Father and Son (1907) about his childhood, which has been characterized as the first psychological biography. After beginning his career as assistant librarian of the British Museum, Gosse ended his career as librarian of the House of Lords Library, retiring in 1914. Carl Rosenberg was a literary critic whose views on democracy accorded with Whitman's; however, as a Christian, he took issue with Whitman's pantheism. For more on Rosenberg's opinion of Whitman, see Carl Roos, "Walt Whitman's Letters to a Danish Friend," Orbis Litterarum, 7 (1949), 49n. "After All, Not to Create Only" (later revised and published as "Song of the Exposition") was published in 1871; see Whitman's August 5, 1871, letter to the American Institute's Committee on Invitations and his September 17, 1871, letter to the Roberts Brothers. "Song of the Exposition" first appeared in Two Rivulets (1876). Katharine Hillard (1839–1915) was the translator of Dante's Banquet (1889) and the editor of An Abridgment by Katharine Hillard of the Secret Doctrine: A Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1907). A Brooklyn resident, she was a friend of Abby Price (see Whitman's September 9, 1873, letter to Price); in fact, according to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letter to Helen Price on November 26, 1872, the Prices expected that Arthur Price and Katharine Hillard would marry (Pierpont Morgan Library). Whitman had known Hillard's writings since 1871 and mentioned her in his June 23, 1873, letter to Charles Eldridge. Hillard and Whitman first met in person on February 28, 1876, and Whitman sent her a copy of Leaves of Grass on July 27, 1876 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The Portuguese poet Luis de Camões (d. 1580), sometimes Anglicized as Camoens, is considered the most important poet of the Portuguese language. The publishing house of D. Appleton & Company, founded by Daniel Appleton in 1831, published books in literature and science well into the twentieth century. In 1948, the company merged with F. S. Crofts Co. to form Appleton-Century-Crofts. In October and November 1868, Hannah suffered a painful infection in her left thumb, and the thumb was amputated by Dr. Thayer in December of 1868. Ellen is a woman who was hired by the Heydes to assist Hannah; both Hannah and Charlie refer to her in letters up to November 1868. The parcels were sent to Whitman's old address in the Attorney General's Office in Washington before Schmidt knew of Whitman's declining health and his move to his brother George's home in Camden, New Jersey. The recipient of this letter was probably Byron Gordon Morrison (1835–1920). Morrison was a native of Warren County, Pennsylvania, who lived in New York in the early 1870s and worked as a dealer in real estate. According to the 1880 United States Federal Census, Morrison had moved back to Pennsylvania with his wife Phebe Tripp Sherman Morrison (1838–1912) and their four children. His occupation is listed as "oil operator." "Calamus" was first published in the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass. The poem cluster is known for its homoeroticism and celebration of "the manly love of comrades." Whitman was largely unimpressed with Symonds's "Democratic Arts." For his remarks on the essay, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, July 29, 1890. Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island is a former whaling town that, at the time of Wallace's visit, had become a resort town. Jayne's Hill is the highest point on Long Island, New York; Dix Hills is a hilly area in central Long Island that was used primarily for farming until after World War II. Wallace is quoting a line from "The Mason Lodge," a poem by German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832), as translated from the German by Scottish writer Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881). Warren Pike Velsor (1827–1905) worked on a farm in New York. He was married to Elizabeth Amelia Velsor (1831–1909) and the father of several children. Whitman wrote this note on an envelope, crossing out the original address, which reads in an unknown hand: "Wm C. Briggs. — | Lyman | Mass | 20 []ntham St." William Francis C. Wigston was the author of Francis Bacon, Poet, Prophet, Philosopher, Versus Phantam Captain Shakespeare The Rosicrucian Mask (London: K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1891). Wigston was a proponent of the Baconian theory. Uncle Pumblechook is a merchant in Charles Dickens's Great Expectations (1861) who arrogantly views himself as a benefactor to the protagonist Pip and Mrs. Joe, Pip's much older sister. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq. | Camden. | N. J. It is postmarked: Harrisburg, PA. | 930AM | OC128 | []; Camden, N.J. | O[] | 28 | 4PM | 1889 | Rec'd. Thomas W. Aston (b. 1859) was a law student in London, Ontario, Canada, according to the 1881 Census of Canada. The script of the letter is by a government calligrapher, but Luckey has signed his own name. Whitman showed this letter to Horace Traubel in 1888, and Traubel in With Walt Whitman in Camden offers a transcription. In that transcription, he dates the letter January 23, 1884. Swinton's handwriting is occasionally hard to decipher, and the date of the letter is unclear. Traubel’s dating is clearly wrong, however, since Whitman’s “Song of the Universal” was written in 1874 and was published in the New York Daily Graphic and Evening Post on June 17, the Springfield Republican on June 18, the New York World on June 19, and the Camden New Republic on June 20. The poem then appeared in the "Centennial Songs" section of Whitman's 1876 Two Rivulets. Swinton clearly wrote this letter soon after reading the poem in various newspapers. Whitman wrote several poems on the death of Lincoln, and it is not fully clear which one is referred to here, though the contrast with Longfellow's poetry suggests that it was likely "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd." Whitman responded to Schmidt's "national brag" for Denmark by saying "a note like that coming from Denmark is a little like a meteor challenging Jupiter: still, it's harmless" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, March 13, 1889). Probably Storms's spelling of "Pascack," referring to the region of the Pascack Valley and the Pascack River (or Brook) in northern New Jersey, near the border of New York. Haverstraw, New York, is a town about 20 miles north of the Pascack Valley. The poem (later retitled "To the Man-of-War-Bird") appeared in The Athenaeum (April 1, 1876), 463, which paid WW £3.3 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). It was then published in the Philadelphia Progress on November 16, 1878. The New York Star was a newspaper edited and published by Joseph Howard Jr. (1833–1908), one of the best-known journalists of his time; he oversaw the paper until 1875, and the paper continued to be published until 1891. Johnston here quotes from Whitman's Song of Myself.Johnston here quotes from Leaves of Grass:
Loafe with me on the grass . . . . loose the stop from your throat, Not words, not music or rhyme I want . . . . not custom or lecture, not even the best, Only the lull I like, the hum of your valved voice.
Milcho was a king of Dalaradia during the Middle Ages; Dalaradia occupied what is now County Antrim in modern Northern Ireland. Captain Robert Richard Randall (1750–1801) was a famous Revolutionary War captain who, in his will, left an endowment to create Sailor's Snug Harbor, a hospital to support former sailors. In 1976, the hospital was converted to a cultural center. John J. Crawford, Jr. (1853–1935) founded the Richmond County Advance in 1886 The Richmond County Advance was a newspaper in West New Brighton, New York, which circulated from 1886–1921; the newspaper was renamed the Daily Advance and later the Staten Island Advance, under which name it still circulates. Samuel Appleton (1625–1696) was a government official in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt. Whitman | Mickle Street, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: New Brighton | MAR | 13 | 8 PM | 1891; N.Y. | []13-91 | []PM | []2; Camden, N.J. | MAR | 14 | 6AM | 1891 | Rec'd. Helen Campbell Stuart (1839–1918) was an author, economist, and industrial and social reformer. Under the pen name Helen Weeks, she published works for children; later, under the name Helen Campbell, she published both fiction and nonfiction about wage disparities and social inequities, especially for women in poverty. Helen Gray Cone (1859–1934) was a writer and a professor of English at Hunter College. She satirized the 1882 meeting of Whitman and Oscar Wilde in "Narcissus in Camden," The Century Magazine, 25 (November 1882), 157–159. Annie Nathan Meyer (1867–1950) was born in New York City; she was descended from one of the oldest and most prominent families of Sephardic Jews in the United States. A lover of writing and music, she published music criticism and was a proponent of higher education for women. She founded Barnard College in New York and served on the board of trustees for the institution. Just days before her death, she finished writing her autobiography, a work entitled It's been Fun: An Autobiography (1951). The "Answerer" originated in an untitled section of the 1855 edition. of Leaves of Grass which, in the 1867 edition, became "Now List to My Morning Romanza." In the 1881 edition, Whitman combined this poem with "The Indications" to create "Song of the Answerer." Clara Jecks (1854–1951) was an English actress and singer who often played the roles of either young men or flirtatious female minor characters in opera and theatre performances. The Bride of Love was a romantic drama by Robert Buchanan (1841–1901) that featured the classical Greek characters Eros and Psyche. Laertes was Ophelia's brother in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Kenyon is likely referring to either the American actor Lawrence Barrett (1838–1891) or British actor and playwright Wilson Barrett (1846–1904). Born in London and educated in Boston, Fanny Davenport (1850–1898) was a stage actress. At the age of seven, she made her first appearance on the stage, and she eventually formed her own acting company. Emil Arctander, who was acting vice-consul for Denmark, translated for Whitman Rudolf Schmidt's 1872 contribution to For ide og virkelighed, "Walt Whitman, det Amerikanske Demokratis Digter," in late 1872. The translation, with scores of corrections in Walt Whitman's hand, is in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. The Westminster Review had been published in London at least since the 1820s. Whitman had been sent a favorable anonymous review in 1871, and Rossetti indicated that the reviewer was Edward Dowden. (For this review, see "The Poetry of Democracy: Walt Whitman.") Walt Whitman sent Two Rivulets directly to Simpson on April 23, 1876, and Leaves of Grass on June 12, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Tracy Robinson (1833–1915) was an official with the Panama Railroad Company and a longtime resident of Panama. He was the author of Panama: A Personal Record of Forty-six Years, 1861–1907 (New York: Star and Herald Company, 1907) and Song of the Palm and Other Poems, Mostly Tropical (New York: Brentanos, 1888). Norah Gilchrist, née Fitzmaurice, would later become the wife of Anne Gilchrist's son Percy Carlyle Gilchrist. Philip Hale (1854–1934), a music critic and program annotator for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, wrote to Walt Whitman for the first time on September 14, 1871. In his Commonplace Book, Whitman noted that he sent Two Rivulets to Hale on September 3, 1876 (39). Richard Monckton Milnes (1809–1885), Lord Houghton, was an intimate of Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892) and William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863), as well as a poet. He was a collector of famous people; in Dictionary of National Biography he is characterized as "eminently a dilettante" (New York: Macmillan and Co., 1894), 21. Houghton wrote to Joaquin Miller on September 1, 1875, from Chicago: "Please give my best regards to Mr Whitman." On September 5, 1875, Miller informed Whitman that he was trying to arrange a meeting with Lord Houghton. Houghton himself wrote to Whitman on September 27, 1875, and proposed a visit at the end of October or early in November. See In Re Walt Whitman (1893), ed. Horace L. Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas B. Harned, 36; and Harold Blodgett, Walt Whitman in England (1934), 141–143. Richard Monckton Milnes (1809–1885), Lord Houghton, was an intimate of Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892) and William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863), as well as a poet. He was a collector of famous people; in Dictionary of National Biography he is characterized as "eminently a dilettante." Houghton wrote to Joaquin Miller on September 1, 1875, from Chicago: "Please give my best regards to Mr Whitman." On September 5, 1875, Miller informed Whitman that he was trying to arrange a meeting with Lord Houghton. On November 3, 1875, Houghton himself wrote to Whitman to ask whether November 6 would be convenient for a meeting. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), Thursday, June 21, 1888, 364, and Wednesday, September 12th, 1888, 310; In Re Walt Whitman (1893), ed. Horace L. Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas B. Harned, 36; and Harold Blodgett, Walt Whitman in England (1934), 141–143. George D. Cole was a former train conductor and a friend of Whitman's close friend and lover Peter Doyle (1843–1907). Edwin Einstein (1842–1905) was a tobacconist and a friend of Walt Whitman's from the Pfaffian days of the 1850s. The Trow's New York City Directory of 1860 listed an Edwin Einstein as "clerk, h 167 W. 14th" (260), while in 1877, the Gouldings New York City Directory listed an Edwin Einstein as "tobacco, 87 Water" (402). Einstein was later elected to a brief stint in the House of Representatives as a New York Republican from 1879 to 1881. See Stoker's letter dated February 18, 1872. For Whitman's thoughts on the letter, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, February 19, 1889. Abraham ("Bram") Stoker (1847–1912) was the author of Dracula, secretary to Sir Henry Irving, and editor of Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving (1906). He visited Whitman in 1884 (Gay Wilson Allen, The Solitary Singer [1955], 516). Dowden has written and then crossed out a note at the top of the page: "My former draft (for 10 dollars) was on London. I hope it has not caused you inconvenience. I send one now on New York." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, Esq | Washington | D.C. | America. It is postmarked: London-W | 5 | SE13 | 71; [] | 71; Ne[] | 25 | Paid all; Carrier | Sep | 25 | 7PM. The three images displayed here include two views of the recto page, with the second image rotated to allow reading of the handwriting on the envelope. The verso is a manuscript headed "Living Old Fellows." Gilchrist refers to one of the six sections of Memoranda During the War (1875) that first appeared as newspaper pieces in 1874. See Robert Leigh Davis, "Memoranda During the War [1875–1876]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Charles P. Somerby was one of the book dealers whom Walt Whitman termed "embezzlers." In 1875, Somerby assumed the liabilities of Butts & Co.; see Whitman's February 4, 1874, letter to Asa K. Butts & Company. This proved to be a matter of embarrassment to Somerby, who, in reply to a lost letter on March 16, 1875, was unable "to remit the amount you name at present." On May 5, 1875, he wrote: "It is very mortifying to me not to be in a position to send you even a small portion of the balance your due." On April 19, 1876, Somerby reported that "I have been losing, instead of gaining." On May 6, 1876, he sent Walt Whitman a statement pertaining to some volumes; on May 12, 1876, he included a complete financial statement: in eighteen months he had made only one cash payment, and owed Walt Whitman $215.17. The firm was still unable to make a payment on September 28, 1876. In August 1877, Walt Whitman received a notice of bankruptcy dated August 8, 1877, from, in his own words, "assignee [Josiah Fletcher, an attorney] of the rascal Chas P. Somerby." These manuscripts are in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection, of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Charles P. Somerby was one of the book dealers whom Walt Whitman termed "embezzlers." In 1875, Somerby assumed the liabilities of Butts & Co.; see Whitman's February 4, 1874, letter to Asa K. Butts & Company. This proved to be a difficulty for Somerby, who, in reply to a lost letter on March 16, 1875, was unable "to remit the amount you name at present." On May 5, 1875, he wrote: "It is very mortifying to me not to be in a position to send you even a small portion of the balance your due." On April 19, 1876, Somerby reported that "I have been losing, instead of gaining." On May 6, 1876, he sent Walt Whitman a statement pertaining to some volumes; on May 12, 1876, he included a complete financial statement: in eighteen months he had made only one cash payment, and owed Whitman $215.17. The firm was still unable to make a payment on September 28, 1876. In August 1877, Whitman received a notice of bankruptcy dated August 8, 1877, from, in his own words, "assignee [Josiah Fletcher, an attorney] of the rascal Chas P. Somerby." These manuscripts are in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection, of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Richard Monckton Milnes (1809–1885), Lord Houghton, was an intimate of Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892) and William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863), as well as a poet. He was a collector of famous people; in Dictionary of National Biography he is characterized as "eminently a dilettante" (New York: Macmillan and Co., 1894), 21. Houghton wrote to Joaquin Miller on September 1, 1875, from Chicago: "Please give my best regards to Mr Whitman." On September 5, 1875, Miller informed Whitman that he was trying to arrange a meeting with Lord Houghton. On November 3, 1875, Houghton asked whether November 6 would be convenient for a visit. Richard Monckton Milnes (1809–1885), Lord Houghton, was an intimate of Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892) and William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863), as well as a poet. He was a collector of famous people; in Dictionary of National Biography he is characterized as "eminently a dilettante" (New York: Macmillan and Co., 1894), 21. Houghton wrote to Whitman on September 27, 1875, and proposed a visit at the end of October or early in November, and on November 3, 1875, he asked whether November 6 would be convenient. "After the lapse of over 8 years," William Stansberry, a former soldier whom Whitman had met in Armory Square Hospital, wrote on December 9, 1873, from Howard Lake, Minn., and recalled "the Blackbery Wine you gave me & all the kindness which you shown." After Whitman replied on April 27, 1874 (lost), Stansberry wrote again on May 12, 1874, about the hospital visits. On June 28, 1874, he thanked Whitman for his letter and "22 News Pappers." On July 15, 1874, his wife informed Whitman of her husband's failing health and poverty and inquired about the possibility of a pension. This letter of July 21, 1875, was evidently the last in the correspondence. Robert Burns wrote "A Man's a Man for A' That" in 1795. The song espouses Scottish republicanism and egalitarianism. "After the lapse of over 8 years," William Stansberry, a former soldier whom Whitman had met in Armory Square Hospital, wrote on December 9, 1873, from Howard Lake, Minn., and recalled "the Blackbery [Jam?] you gave me & all the kindness which you shown." After Whitman replied on April 27, 1874 (lost), Stansberry wrote again on May 12, 1874, about the hospital visits. On June 28, 1874, he thanked Whitman for his letter and "22 News Pappers ." Evidently in reply to another lost letter from Whitman, Stansberry asked on July 21, 1875, for "the Lone of 65$" in order to return to West Virginia, where he expected to find witnesses to support his application for a pension. This was evidently the last letter in the correspondence. See also The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 10 vols., 4:134. William H. Taylor was a former New York driver or a son of one. Little is known about the men Taylor mentions here except that they were former drivers in New York and friends of Whitman. Little is known about Thomas A. Wilson save that Whitman purchased Wilson's lot in Camden, New Jersey. Whitman wrote of the transaction in his July 10, 1874, letter to Peter Doyle. Björnstjerne Björnson (1832–1910), Norwegian poet, dramatist, and novelist, was co-editor of Rudolf Schmidt's journal. In his January 5, 1872, letter, Rudolf Schmidt observed: "Hans Christian Andersen would perhaps not make you very great joy, if you did know him personally. Björnson would be your man." Schmidt later altered his opinion of Björnson. Clemens Petersen (1834–1918), for ten years the critic of the Danish magazine Fædrelandet (Fatherland), left Denmark in 1869 amid police accusations of homosexuality. Petersen remained in the U. S. until 1904, when he returned to Denmark. Petersen and Norwegian poet Björnstjerne Björnson (1832–1910) engaged in a long correspondence, which hints at least at a close platonic friendship, but the accusations that Petersen was inappropriately involved with schoolchildren were never proven. See Who's Who in Gay & Lesbian History, vol. 2, ed. Robert Aldrich and Garry Wotherspoon (London: Psychology Press, 2000), 55, 343; see also Carl Roos, "Walt Whitman's Letters to a Danish Friend," Orbis Litterarum, 7 (1949), 43n. Carl Rosenberg was a friend of Rudolf Schmidt. See Orbis Litterarum, 7 (1949), 49n. Sarah Avery was one of Walt Whitman's cousins. Her husband John, a New York merchant, wrote to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman twice in 1872 about interest due her from the estate of Elizabeth Maybee. See the Walt Whitman Papers: Family papers; Whitman, Louisa Van Velsor (mother), 1872–1873, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus was a Roman consul and later dictator who famously (and perhaps apocryphally) abandoned his plow in a field to lead a successful Roman battle before returning to his farm 15 days later. Stoker is quoting from the preface to Leaves of Grass. William Godwin (1756–1836) was an English utilitarian/anarchist philosopher and bookshop owner. He was married to Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797), the early British feminist author who penned A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792, and his daughter was Mary Godwin (1797–1859), who, after her marriage to Percy Bysshe Shelley, gained fame as Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein (1818). According to Horace Traubel, when he read this letter aloud to Whitman in 1889, the poet remarked that Stoker "was a sassy youngster: as to burning the epistle up or not—it never occurred to me to do anything at all: what the hell did I care whether he was pertinent or impertinent? he was fresh, breezy, Irish: that was the price paid for admission—and enough: he was welcome!" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, February 19, 1889, 182) According to Horace Traubel (With Walt Whitman in Camden, "Thursday, February 7, 1889," 103–104), Whitman responded to this letter: "Later—indeed, from this time on—Schmidt became more and more intimately associated: I have always felt peculiarly appealed to by him: his Danish renderings are, I am told, done with rare genius. Schmidt has had a checkered career: domestically he's gone through the most agonizing experiences." Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875) was a Danish author best known for his work on fairy tales and children's stories, including "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," and "The Emperor's New Clothes." William A. Richardson (1821–1896) served as assistant secretary of the Treasury under Secretary George S. Boutwell. President Grant promoted him to secretary after Boutwell retired. Instigated by growing tensions between France and Prussia preceding a vacancy on the Spanish throne, the Franco-Prussian War (July 1870–May 1871) ended in complete Prussian victory and facilitated the unification of Germany, whose previously unaffiliated states had allied with Prussia. In the New York Evening Mail on October 27, 1870, the Washington correspondent reported: "At the commencement of the present war in Europe [Walt Whitman] was strongly German, but is now the ardent friend of the French, and enthusiastically supports them and their Republic" (Charles I. Glicksberg, Walt Whitman and the Civil War [1933], 116n). Cyril Flower (1843–1907) was an English barrister and a friend of Alfred, Lord Tennyson; see Harold Blodgett, Walt Whitman in England (1934), 128–129. According to the February 20, 1886 Solicitor's Journal, Flower was appointed a Lord of the Treasury (275). Flower served as a member of Parliament from 1880 to 1892, when he was given the title Baron Battersea (see the London Gazette (6 September 1892), 5090). According to Flower's April 23, 1871 letter, he met Whitman in Washington in December, 1870. He had later delivered some of Whitman's books to Tennyson, who "was much touched by your memory of him, and I told him of your deep regard for him." On July 16, 1871, Flower informed Whitman that Tennyson was sending a letter by the same mail (Tennyson's letter was dated July 12, 1871). Burroughs traveled a great deal due to his job as a bank examiner. He wrote effusively to Whitman from London on October 3–4, 1871, after he had visited St. Paul's: "I saw for the first time what power & imagination could be put in form & design—I felt for a moment what great genius was in this field.…I had to leave there & sit down.…My brain is too sensitive. I am not strong enough to confront these things all at once…It is like the grandest organ music put into form." Cyril Flower (1843–1907) was an English barrister and a friend of Alfred, Lord Tennyson; see Harold Blodgett, Walt Whitman in England (1934), 128–129. According to the February 20, 1886 Solicitor's Journal, Flower was appointed a Lord of the Treasury (275). Flower served as a member of Parliament from 1880 to 1892, when he was given the title Baron Battersea (see the London Gazette (6 September 1892), 5090). According to Flower's April 23, 1871 letter, he met Whitman in Washington in December, 1870. He had later delivered some of Whitman's books to Tennyson, who "was much touched by your memory of him, and I told him of your deep regard for him." Flower wrote again on October 20, 1871: "When I read you or think of you . . . I feel that I hold in my hand clasped strong & tight & for security the great hand of a friend, a simple good fellow, a man who loves me & who is beautiful because he loves, & with the Consciousness of that I feel never alone—never sad." Cyril Flower (1843–1907) was an English barrister and a friend of Alfred, Lord Tennyson; see Harold Blodgett, Walt Whitman in England (1934), 128–129. According to the February 20, 1886 Solicitor's Journal, Flower was appointed a Lord of the Treasury (275). Flower served as a member of Parliament from 1880 to 1892, when he was given the title Baron Battersea (see the London Gazette, 6 September 1892, 5090). Flower wrote to Whitman on October 20, 1871: "When I read you or think of you . . . I feel that I hold in my hand clasped strong & tight & for eternity the great hand of a friend a simple good fellow a man who loves me & who is beautiful because he loves, & with the Consciousness of that I feel never alone—never sad." Matthew F. Pleasants was chief clerk in Walt Whitman's office (mentioned in Walt Whitman's August 25, 1866 letter to Andrew Kerr). Pleasants resigned as chief clerk in the Pardons Office in 1871; Whitman named him as "late Chief Clerk" in his January 9, 1871 letter to Amos Tappan Akerman. According to Charles W. Eldridge's letter to John Burroughs on June 26, 1902, Pleasants was "now, as he has been for many years," clerk of the United States Circuit Court at Richmond, Virginia (Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature). The following two pages are enclosed sheet music for the songs "Poor Rosy," "I'm Gwine to Alabamy (Mississippi River Boat Song)," "Little Children, Then Won't You Be Glad? (Arkansas)," and "Bell Da Ring." Information about the provenance of the letter appears in an unknown hand on the verso of the manuscript. Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807–1882) was one of the heroes of Italian unification, who formed the red-shirted Italian Legion in 1843. When Traubel in 1888 asked how Walt Whitman reacted to the newspaper article Clapp enclosed in this letter, Whitman replied: "I can see some of the features—yes. . .As to being any way associated with Garibaldi—that is the crowning tribute. Garibaldi belongs to the divine eleven!" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, "Tuesday, June 5, 1888," 270). The Greek lyric poet Anacreon was famous for his drinking songs and erotic poems. The British writer and science educator Arabella Burton Buckley (1840–1929) was known for advocating for Darwinian evolution with a focus on the mind and morals. Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) is considered one of the most notable writers in English history. See Anne Gilchrist's letter to Whitman of October 13–21, 1883. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens Street | Camden, New Jersey | United States America. It is postmarked: Hampstead | []ZZ | OC22 | 83 | N.W.; Camden, N.J. | NOV | 3 | 7AM | Recd. This letter is addressed: Mrs: Susan M Stafford | Kirkwood (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden[] | [] | 7AM | N.J. Whitman had recently mentioned Hinton's article in his April 28–May 4, 1868, letter to his mother Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. In Walden; or, Life in the Woods (1854) and Civil Disobedience (1849), Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) displayed great depth and independence of thought and thus appealed to Alcott. For more on Whitman's relationship with Thoreau, see Susan L. Roberson, "Thoreau, Henry David [1817–1862]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). No copies of the Citizen prior to 1869 have survived, but Whitman appears to have read and enjoyed the article. Ulysses Simpson Grant (1822–1885), commonly known as U.S. Grant, led the Union army to victory in Civil War. He generally supported Radical Republican efforts while he continued to oversee the army during the Presidency of Andrew Johnson, 1865–1868. Grant usually sided with Radical Republicans during his own two consecutive terms as president, starting in 1868 and 1872. For example, he signed the Civil Rights Act of 1871 into law, and he worked aggressively to beat back the rise of paramilitary groups, including the Ku Klux Klan. Michael C. Hart was listed as a printer in the Washington Directory of 1869. Whitman sent Hart publicity puffs for insertion in the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle. On August 1, 1867, William Conant Church, from the office of the Galaxy, wrote to William Douglas O'Connor: "It seems to me that this glorious harvest of 1867, sown & reaped by the returned soldiers, ought to be sung in verse . . . . Walt Whitman is the man to chaunt the song. Will you not ask him to do it for The Galaxy?" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). In response, Whitman submitted "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867" to William Conant and Francis Pharcellus Church on August 7, 1867. The Church brothers regarded this poem (later titled "The Return of the Heroes") as one of Whitman's best. Whitman, in his later letter of August 11, 1867, reserved the right to publish the poem in an edition of Leaves of Grass no sooner than six months after the poem's publication in the Galaxy. Whitman acknowledged receipt of $60 as compensation for "A Carol of Harvest, for 1867" in his September 7, 1867, letter to the editors. The poem was published in the September 1867, issue of the magazine. Whitman also submitted a second poem, "Ethiopia Commenting," which was never published in the magazine. Here and previously Sullivan quotes from Whitman's "Song of Myself." See the letter from J. W. Wallace and Dr. John Johnston to Whitman of May 18, 1887. Whitman is quoting a line from Shakespeare's Hamlet: "For this relief much thanks; 'tis bitter cold / And I am sick at heart." Snowdon is quoting lines from Whitman's "A Song of the Rolling Earth." This postal card is addressed: J H Johnston | Diamond Merchant | 150 Bowery cor: Broome St: | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 10 | 430 PM | 87. Lizzie H. Hider married Wesley Stafford, Harry's cousin in 1881 (see the letter from Whitman to Susan Stafford of February 6, 1881). Stopford Brooke (1832–1916) was an Irish writer and churchman. He served as Queen Victoria's royal chaplain from 1875 to 1880. Mark Haskell Newman (1806–1851) was the New York book agent for the Merriam brothers. In addition to selling books, Newman was also a publisher. His publishing house dealt primarily with school textbooks. His office at 199 Broadway was designated as the place for the Merriams to send the copy of their new Webster's to Whitman. See Whitman's postal card to Costelloe of January 3, 1887. Benjamin Francis Conn Costelloe (1854–1899), Mary's future husband, called on Whitman with her on September 11, 1884 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Costelloe was an English barrister and Liberal Party politician. See Kennedy's letter to Whitman of August 8, 1885. Horace G. H. Tarr (b. 1844) was a private and later a sergeant major of Company K in the United States Civil War. See Gilchrist's letter to Whitman of September 5, 1885. William of Wykeham (1320–1404) was a Catholic bishop and chancellor of England. He founded New College in Oxford, the New College School, and Winchester College. Herbert Gilchrist informed Whitman in his letter of November 18, 1885, that Anne Gilchrist was dying. She died on November 29, 1885; Herbert wrote on December 2, 1885, to tell Whitman of her death. Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) was a German philosopher whose work heavily influenced Western philosophy. See O'Connor's letter to Whitman of January 21, 1886. Whitman appears to be referring to several British politicians: colonial administrator Warren Hastings (1732–1818); essayist and politician Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800–1859); Prime Minister George Canning (1770–1827); and satirist Richard Brinsley (1751–1816) or his grandson, also named Richard Brinsley (1806–1888). John White Alexander (1856–1915) was a painter and illustrator. The CSS Alabama and the USS Kearsarge were ships which engaged against each other in an 1864 battle off the coast of Cherbourg, France, in what became known as the Battle of Cherbourg. The battle ended when the Alabama began to sink and the Confederate captain surrendered. William Turner (1775–1851) was an English painter and printmaker. R. D. Roberts had a master's degree from Cambridge. On May 10, 1883, Whitman sent three copies of Leaves of Grass and Specimen Days to William Thompson in Nottingham, England (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See Whitman's letter to Kennedy of July 8, 1886. In his letter to Whitman of May 25, 1886, O'Connor included a packet of liquorice powder, a remedy for constipation. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797–1851) was an English author who wrote the Gothic novel Frankenstein, establishing herself as a pioneer in the genre of science fiction. She was married to Percy Bysshe Shelley, the poet. Johnson is referencing the Bible; see Jeremiah, Chapter 13, Verse 23. Johnson is paraphrasing a passage from the Bible; see Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9, Verse 5. Johnson here quotes from Whitman's poem "All is Truth." This is a reference to Whitman's "Poem of Joys." Johnson is quoting from Whitman's "Song of Myself." See Gilchrist's letter to Whitman of July 21, 1885. See Whitman's letter to O'Connor of June 11, 1885. O'Connor had referred to the possibility of losing his governmental post in the Cleveland administration on February 1, 1885. Wat Tyler (1341–1381) led the 1381 Peasant's Revolt in England. Jack Cade was the leader of a 1450 popular revolt against the English government. Sir Thomas Lucy (1532–1600) was an English politician but is best known for his antagonistic relationship with William Shakespeare. Robert Devereux (1565–1601) was the second earl of Essex. In 1601, he led a failed coup against Queen Elizabeth I, who had him executed. In his January 13 letter to Harry Stafford, Whitman wrote that he had heard that "Debbie had had a baby, & that it was buried last Sunday." This is likely a reference to George H. Baker's Francesca da Rimini, which toured in the early 1880s. Francesca da Rimini (b. 1255) was an Italian noblewoman whose husband murdered her for having an affair with his brother. She was immortalized as a character in Dante's Divine Comedy. "The Man-of-War Bird") appeared in the Athenaeum (April 1, 1876), 463, which paid Whitman £3.3 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). It was later published in Progress as "Thou who hast slept all night upon the storm"; see The Cambridge History of American Literature, Volume 2: 1820–1865 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), 557. George and Louisa Whitman, with whom Walt Whitman had lived for years, had recently moved to Burlington, Vermont. Whitman chose not to go with them and therefore had to find new lodgings. Anne Gilchrist had previously asked Louisa Orr Whitman for an old suit of Whitman's which would be of use to her son for a painting entitled "The Poet's Tea Party," in which appeared Whitman, Anne, Grace, and Herbert; see Amy Haslam Dowe, "A Child's Memories of the Whitmans" (unpublished). On February 12, 1884, Whitman sent Herbert a piece of cloth in lieu of a coat. Niccolo Machiavelli (1469–1527) was an Italian author and diplomat best known for The Prince, a controversial political treatise. William Shakespeare's tragedy Coriolanus was about the historical Roman leader Caius Marcius Coriolanus. Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641) was a Flemish painter. David Lowe Huntington (1834–1899) worked in the Surgeon General's office from 1880 to 1887. Red Jacket (c. 1750–1830) was a Seneca orator and chief who negotiated with the newly-formed United States after the American Revolutionary War. Henry Purcell (1659–1695) was an English composer whose style was considered distinctly English. John Blow (1649–1708) was an English composer and organist. In 1685, he became a private musician in the court of King James II. John Winthrop (c. 1587–1649) led one of the first groups of colonists from England to America in 1630 and became the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Anne Gilchrist's son Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935), his wife Norah Fitzmaurice Gilchrist, and their son. In 1885, the earl of Dunraven was Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin (1841–1926), a journalist and Conservative politician. In his career as a journalist, he worked primarily as an international war correspondent. O'Connor is referencing a line from William Shakespeare's Richard III. Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher (1768–1834) was a Polish-German philosopher and theologian. The Ausable Chasm is a canyon in the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York. Dr. T. F. MacDonald (c. 1863–1911) was a Scottish doctor and surgeon specializing in tropical diseases. In his work as a doctor, he traveled widely, including to Australia, New Zealand, Egypt, Italy, and America. He was also a poet and published North Sea Lyrics in 1909. For more, see The British Medical Jouranl (14 January, 1911), 117. MacDonald is quoting Shelley's essay "A Defence of Poetry," which was published posthumously in 1840. This postal card is addressed: Mannahatta and Jessie L Whitman | 2511 Second Carondelet avenue | St Louis | Missouri. It is postmarked: Philadelphia | PA | Dec 18 83 | 7 PM; [] Recd. This letter is addressed: Miss Mary W Smith | 4653 Germantown Avenue | Germantown | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Camden | Dec | 30 | 5PM; Philadelphia | Dec | 30 | 5PM | Recd; Rec'd [] | G | Dec 31 83 | 7[] The Wilmot Proviso was an unsuccessful attempt in 1846 to prohibit slavery in the territories gained in the Mexican-American War. It is likely that "daubed" was intended and that a letter was inverted or otherwise misread. Whitman almost certainly meant "notions." Whitman is alluding to Hamlet's "To be or not to be" speech from William Shakespeare's Hamlet: ". . . makes us rather bear those ills we have / Than fly to others that we know not of?" "Eastern" must have been intended. The Mysteries of Udolpho is a Gothic novel by British author Ann Radcliffe, first published in 1794. Emma Lazarus (1849–1887) and her sister Annie. Emma Lazarus was a writer and editor best known for "The New Colossus," a sonnet that appears on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. A two-volume collection of her poems was published in 1888, titled The Poems of Emma Lazarus (Boston; New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888). Lazarus also advocated on behalf of Jewish refugees in New York. See Esther Schor, Emma Lazarus (New York: Schocken Books, 2006). Dalton Dorr (d. 1901) worked at the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art (later the Philadelphia Museum of Art) as secretary, curator, and director from 1880 until his death. Mary Lamb (1764–1847) was an English writer who, with her brother Charles, wrote Tales of Shakespeare (1807), in which they adapted a number of Shakespeare's plays for children. See Whitman's letter to O'Connor of October 7, 1882. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens St. | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Poughkeepsie | Aug 18 | 10 AM | 83; New York | Aug 18 | 530 AM | 83 | Transit; Camden | Aug | 19 | 5PM | Recd. Adolf Strodtmann (1829–1879) was a German historian, writer, and translator. He was best known for his biography of German poet Heinrich Heine. See Whitman's postal card to O'Connor of September 17, [1883]. William Hand Browne (1828–1912) was an author and English professor at Johns Hopkins University. See Whitman's letter to O'Connor of [September 19, 1883]. Edwin L. Godkin (1831–1902) was the founder of the Nation; he had recently rejected the article to which O'Connor refers. "Diavolo" is Italian for "devil." Johnson uses the abbreviation "F. F. V." to refer to the First Families of Virginia. Sarah Evergreen Parker Johnson (1846–1907), Johnson's second wife. Johnson is referring to Sarah Evergreen Parker Johnson (1846–1907), his second wife. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens Street | Cor West. | Camden: New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: REGISTERED | B | 16FE76 | SUNDERLAND; NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE | H | FE16 | 76; D2 | LIVERPOOL | 17 FE | 76; NEW YORK | MAR | 3 | REGIST[]. The publication Whitman refers to is "Sea Captains, Young or Old" (later called "Song for All Seas, All Ships"). Dr. Bielby is likely Porteus P. Bielby (1846–1880). On May 2, 1868, the Medical and Surgical Reporter printed that Porteus P. Bielby had been appointed Assistant Surgeon in the Medical Corps of the United States Navy during the week ending April 25, 1868. An obituary for Porteus P. Bielby was printed in the Churchman on August 21, 1880. The New York Daily Graphic published a number of Walt Whitman's poems and prose pieces in 1873 and 1874. In 1873 it printed "Nay, Tell Me Not To-day the Publish'd Shame" (March 5, 1873), "With All the Gifts, America" (March 6, 1873), "The Singing Thrush" (March 15, 1873, later called "Wandering at Morn"), "Spain" (March 24, 1873), "Sea Captains, Young or Old" (April 4, 1873, later called "Song for All Seas, All Ships"), "Warble for Lilac-Time" (May 12, 1873), "Halls of Gold and Lilac" (November 24, 1873), and "Silver and Salmon-Tint" (November 29, 1873). In 1874, the Daily Graphic printed "A Kiss to the Bride" (May 21, 1874), "Song of the Universal" (June 17, 1874), and "An Old Man's Thought of School" (November 3, 1874). On November 25, 1873, a picture of Whitman and a review of his work occupied an entire page of the paper (as Whitman alludes to in his November 28, 1873, letter to Peter Doyle). An editorial in the same issue added biographical details, probably supplied by Whitman himself, and announced the forthcoming publication of the sixth edition of Leaves of Grass. For more on Whitman's relationship with the Daily Graphic, see "The New York Daily Graphic." Whitman had forwarded to Alcott a copy of "Personalism" (Galaxy [May 1868], 540–547). Whitman had informed his mother of Alcott's appreciation for the essay in his letter to her of April 28–May 4, 1868. The enthusiastic response to Whitman by Ralph Waldo Emerson following the publication of Leaves of Grass led Alcott and Henry David Thoreau to visit the Whitman home in Brooklyn on November 9, 1856. Whitman was not home at thetime. In his journal, Alcott described Whitman's mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, as "a stately sensible matron believing in Walter absolutely and telling us how good he was and wise as a boy" (Odell Shepard, ed., The Journals of Bronson Alcott [Boston: Little, Brown, 1938], 289). On May 20, 1867, Whitman informed Abraham Simpson that his next publication would not be on a new subject but instead would be a "new & far more perfected edition of Leaves of Grass." There appears to be a missing page here, as the letter skips straight to the postscript. This letter of introduction from Swinton and its envelope were included as enclosures along with Annie Tolman Smith's letter to Whitman of September 24, 1877. Smith enclosed John Swinton's September 24, 1877, letter, intended to introduce her to Whitman, with this letter. William Douglas O'Connor's The Good Gray Poet was published by Bunce & Huntington, 459 Broome Street, New York, in 1866 and was reprinted by Richard Maurice Bucke in his 1883 biography of Walt Whitman. The 46-page pamphlet opposed Whitman's critics while praising those who held the poet in high regard. The nickname "Good Gray Poet" originated here and remained with Whitman throughout his life. The correspondence between the publishers and O'Connor is in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection. It is widely understood that Whitman helped O'Connor write the pamphlet. For more about O'Connor and The Good Gray Poet, see Jerome Loving, Walt Whitman's Champion (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1978); Florence B. Freedman, William Douglas O'Connor: Walt Whitman's Chosen Knight (Athens: Ohio University Press, 1985); and Deshae E. Lott, "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). A digital version of the pamphlet is available at "The Good Gray Poet: A Vindication." A reply from Ingram has not been located. Jefferson Davis (1808–1889) served as president of the Confederacy from 1861–1865. Before the Civil War, he served in the United States Congress for the state of Mississippi. Johnson may be referring to Albert Sidney Johnston (1803–1862) or to Joseph Eggleston Johnston (1807–1891), both of whom were generals in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. See "Song of the Banner at Day-Break" as it appeared in the 1871 edition of Leaves of Grass. Richard Bentley & Son were London publishers. See Whitman's letter to Ward of April 12, 1876. See Whitman's postal card to Rossetti of March 23, 1876. See Whitman's letter to Rossetti of March 17, 1876. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walter Whitman | []. See Whitman's letters to Rossetti of January 26, 1876, and February 11, 1876. See Bram Stoker's letter to Whitman of February 14, 1876. Theresa Dyer (1842–1882), pen name Minnie Myrtle Miller, was an American writer. She wrote extensively for newspapers, and may have contributed poems to her husband Joaquin Miller's books. Dyer and Miller divorced in 1870. The Brazos is a river that stretches from Blackwater Draw, New Mexico, through Texas, to the Gulf of Mexico. The Modocs are an Indigenous American tribe who originally lived in the northwestern United States. In the 1850s, Joaquin Miller lived with a Modoc tribe in northern California. He published his book Life Amongst the Modocs in 1873. Edwin Haviland Miller includes this postscript, which may have been written on the verso of this letter (Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller, 6 vols. [New York: New York University Press, 1961–69], 3:23). Mason Locke Weems (1759–1825) was an American minister and writer. His biography The Life of Washington relayed several apocryphal stories about George Washington and was meant to be a moralist tract for young readers. Dr. Francis Orrey Ticknor (1822–1874) was born in Georgia and studied medicine in New York and Philadelphia. He then returned to Columbus, Georgia, where he and his family lived on a farm. Ticknor was a poet and a successful horticulturist, as well as a musician and draftsman. A collection of his poems was published in 1879 (Southern Writers: Selections in Prose and Verse, ed. W. P. Trent, [London: Macmillan & Co., 1914], 343). Johnson is likely referring to Philosophy of Moral Feelings, a book by Scottish physician and philosopher John Abercrombie (1780–1844). The book was published in many editions in the U.S. and England after its first appearance in 1833, including editions explicitly for schoolroom use. Dowden may be referring to Browning's "Aristophanes' Apology" (1875), "The Inn Album" (1875), or a poem from Pacchiarotto, and How He Worked in Distemper (1876). Joaquin Miller was the pen name of Cincinnatus Heine Miller (1837–1913), an American poet nicknamed "Byron of the Rockies" and "Poet of the Sierras." In 1871, the Westminster Review described Miller as "leaving out the coarseness which marked Walt Whitman's poetry." Miller had visited Whitman in June, 1875; see the letter from Whitman to William James Linton of June 9, 1875. A large hole has been cut into the middle of this page. The recipient of this letter is confirmed by Gilder's response to Whitman of January 2, 1876. Johnson is quoting a line from Whitman's poem "Song of Myself." Johnson has written a postscript at the top of the first page of this letter. Only the first word, "Send," is legible. William Tinsley (1831-1902) and Edward Tinsley (1835-1866) founded their publishing company, Tinsley Brothers, in 1854. They are best known for publishing Mary Elizabeth Braddon's novel Lady Audley's Secret (1862). William continued as head of the business after Edward's death in 1866. For more information on William Tinsley and the Tinsley Brothers, see Peter Newbolt, William Tinsley (1831-1902):"Speculative Publisher" (Burlington, V.T.: Ashgate Publishing, 2001). William Etty (1787–1849) was an English painter renowned for his historical paintings of nude figures. See Whitman's letter to Rossetti of October 19, 1875. The Free Religious Association was a group of abolitionists who opposed organized religion and instead supported evolutionary science. Operating from 1867 to 1914, its members included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Frederick Douglass, and Moncure D. Conway. Johnson is referring to his letter of July 18, 1875. A letter dated August 14, 1875 has not yet been located. This may be a reference to Whitman's note to Farwell of April 21, 1875. See "Song at Sunset" as it appeared in the 1872 edition of Leaves of Grass. See Johnson's letter to Whitman of May 10, 1875. An unknown hand has bracketed the final two paragraphs through Symonds' signature and written "Reproduce" as a note. Little is known about Will Williams, who was the literary editor of the Pictorial World and an English correspondent for Appleton's Journal. In 1875, he began conducting a monthly magazine titled, The London Magazine, which had a four-year run. The postscript for this letter is written on the top of the front side of the second page of this letter. See Johnson's letter to Whitman of April 3, 1875. Johnson wrote this postscript at the top of the first page of the letter. Johnson wrote this postscript in the top margin, beginning on the second page of the letter, and concluding on the fourth page. Johnson is referring to his older brother Bartley C. Johnson (1830–1862), also a farmer in Marshall County, Alabama. Johnson is referring to his older brother Bartley C. Johnson (1830–1862), also a farmer in Marshall County, Alabama. According to county marriage records, Bartley married Elizabeth L. Ditto (1832–1910) in 1849. Johnson is referring to his father, Joshua Johnson (1773–1841), who was born and raised in Maryland. Johnson is referring to his paternal grandfather, who may have been Philip Johnson (ca. 1737). Johnson is referring to the family of his maternal grandmother, Amy Motley Carter (1770–1853). Mary Carter Johnson (1803–1832)—the mother of John Newton Johnson—was the daughter of Amy Motley Carter and James Carter (1774–1845), of Virginia. Amy's sister—John Newton Johnson's great-aunt—was Obedience Motley Morehead (1768–1863). Obedience was married to John Morehead (1760–1832), and they were the parents of John Motley Morehead (1796–1866), who served as the twenty-ninth governor of North Carolina. Johnson is, therefore, explaining his mother's connection to the well-known Morehead family in North Carolina. Edward John Trelawny (1792–1881) was a British writer and adventurer. He published Recollections of the Last Days of Shelley and Byron in 1858. Francis Hueffer (1845–1889) was a German-English librettist and music critic. He was married to Catherine Madox Brown. After the death of Oliver Madox Brown (1855–1874), the son of Ford Madox Brown, William M. Rossetti and Hueffer edited a posthumous collection of young Brown's stories. Catherine Madox Brown Hueffer (1850–1927) was an artist and model. She married music critic Francis Hueffer. A stamp of Charles P. Somerby's name has been superimposed over the original company name on this stationery. The stationery was formerly for Asa K. Butts & Co. In the mid-1870s, Butts tried to help Whitman procure legal counsel during the poet's difficulties with book agents who allegedly embezzled from him. In 1875, Somerby assumed the liabilities of Butts & Co.; see Whitman's February 4, 1874, letter to Asa K. Butts & Company. Maria Smith is referring to her daughter, Sally Ann Smith Allen (b. 1849), and her daughter's husband (Maria's son-in-law), Harvey Allen (b. 1848), who was a boatman. Little is known about Halsey Smith, who seems to be one of Maria Smith's sons and a brother of Bethuel Smith (1841–1893). Maria Smith's daughter Mary, and her husband, David H. Deen. Gilchrist is quoting from Whitman's poem "Song at Sunset." Philip James Bailey (1816–1902) was an English poet and well-known for his book of verse titled Festus (1839). Whitman often enclosed a self-addressed envelope in his outgoing letters to friends. The envelope in which Vaughan mailed this letter appears to be one such envelope pre-addressed by Whitman. Johnson is likely referring to his son Allen Johnson. According to the 1880 U. S. Census, five years after the date of this letter, Allen was living in Dallas, Texas, and operating a fruit stand. Johnson is referring to Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, a Roman stateman and military leader in the early Roman Republic. Cincinnatus was later known for his devotion to the republic and his civic virtue. John Newton Johnson was the son of Joshua Johnson (1773–1841) and Mary Carter Johnson (1803–1832). John Newton Johnson was the son of Mary Carter Johnson (1803–1832) and Joshua Johnson (1773–1841). Mary Carter Johnson (1803–1832)—the mother of John Newton Johnson—was the daughter of Amy Motley Carter (1770–1853) and James Carter (1774–1845) of Virginia. Johnson wrote this postscript at the top of the first page of the letter, above the date. Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax (1800–1885) was a British statesman who served in Parliament and in many positions in the British government, including as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal, Secretary of State for India, First Lord of the Admiralty, and Chancellor of the Exchequer. Johnson is likely referring to British historian and politician Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800–1859), who from 1839–1841 served as Secretary at War of Great Britain and from 1846–1848 served as Paymaster General of the United Kingdom. Macaulay was well known for his book The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, first published in two volumes in 1848. This postscript is written upside down at the top of the third page; it continues at the top of the second page. See Johnson's letter to Whitman of August 13, 1874. By the end of January 1872, Whitman had been transferred from his position in the Attorney General's Office to the Solicitor of the Treasurer's Office (a division of the U.S. Justice Department), where he worked as a clerk. The following year, Whitman had a paralytic stroke and was forced to take a leave of absence to recover. He returned to his position briefly, but moved to Camden, New Jersey a few months later, and petitioned for a friend to subtitute in his place. Whitman was discharged from government employment in 1874 despite his appear to President Ulysses S. Grant. For more information, see Jonathan Gill, "Treasurer's Office, Solicitor of the," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Johnson was a Confederate soldier in the U. S. Civil War. He enlisted in Alabama in 1862 as a Private in Company H of the 4th Militia Infantry. The American Polaris expedition of 1871–1873, initially led by Charles Francis Hall (c. 1821–1871). The failed Arctic expedition was beset by numerous tragedies, including the possible murder of Hall in 1871. After a collision with an iceberg in October 1872, a number of the crew were stranded on a chunk of ice that floated away; the crew, sustained by several Inuit hunters among their complement, drifted for six months before being rescued close to Newfoundland. The crew remaining on the ship were rescued by the Etah Inuit of Greenland and eventually returned to America via Scotland. The Samoan Islands are a large archipelago in the South Pacific. The French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville (1729–1811) visited the islands in 1768 and dubbed them the Navigator Islands, a name which fell out of use in the 1870s. Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) was an Italian composer. He is best known for his operas, including Aida, Rigoletto, and La traviata. Aftenbladet was a daily Norwegian newspaper. Its final issue was published in 1881. See Schmidt's letter to Whitman of March 20, 1874. "Song of the Universal" appeared in the New York Daily Graphic on June 17, 1874; in the New York Evening Post on June 17, 1874; in the Springfield Republican on June 18, 1874; in the New York World on June 19, 1874; and in the Camden New Republic on June 20, 1874. For digital images of the poem as it appeared in the New York Daily Graphic, see "Song of the Universal"; for digital images of the poem as it appeared in the New York Evening Post, see "The Song of the Universal." Folkets Avis was a Danish newspaper. Dagbladet is a Norwegian newspaper; it was founded in 1869 by Gunnar Larsen. See Schmidt's letter to Whitman of February 28, 1874. Richard and Mary Storms, Walter's younger brother and sister. George Storms, one of Walter's younger brothers. Garrie Storms, one of Walter's younger brothers. Walter had two additional brothers: George Storms (1863–1888), and Richard Storms (1867–1939). He also had a sister, Mary Storms (1866–1905). In her letter of November 3, 1873, Anne Gilchrist requested that when Whitman next sent her a newspaper, he "put a dash under the word London" as a way of letting her know that his health was improving. See Edward Dowden's letter to Whitman of April 12, 1873. Gilchrist is quoting a line from this poem, which would eventually be titled "On the Beach at Night Alone." Grace B. Haight was the daughter of Elijah Bruce (b. 1808) and Ruth Bruce (b. 1812), who were neighbors near Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's residence in Brooklyn, New York. Caroline P. Woodman Hine (1833–1903) was the wife of Charles Hine (1827–1871). Henry Wilson was the father of Benton H. Wilson. Henry Wilson "was insane at times" and had written to Walt Whitman on January 17, 1867, and on March 30, 1868 It is uncertain who Mrs. Whitman is, and it is unclear whether she was related to Walt Whitman. She may have been Lavinia F. Whitman (1818–1900), who wrote several letters to Whitman beginning in 1886. See Whitman's letter to O'Connor of September 27, 1868. See Whitman's letter to O'Connor of October 4, 1868. Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–1669), usually known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch visual artist. He is known primarily for his paintings and etchings. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: NEW-YORK | JUL 20 | 7 PM | 83. This postal card is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman, | 431 Stevens Street | Camden, New Jersey. It is postmarked: WASHINGTON | JUL 20 | 5PM | 83 | D.C. "Bluebeard" is a French folktale in which a wealthy man repeatedly murders his wives. Henry VIII (1491–1547) was king of England from 1509 to 1547. He created the Church of England so he could divorce his first wife, and he was infamous for his six marriages, two of which ended in divorce, and two of which ended when he ordered his wife to be executed. His daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, was one of the most famous English monarchs. Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) was a highly influential Spanish writer. His novel Don Quixote is often considered one of the greatest works of world literature. Juan Antonio Llorente (1756–1823) was a Spanish historian who wrote the first history of the Spanish Inquisition using primary sources from the archives. This may be a reference to Stephen Wallace Dorsey (1842–1916), a Republican senator for Arkansas. Dorsey was involved in the famous Star Route scandal; President James A. Garfield launched an investigation into the scandal in 1881. Whitman's friend Robert Ingersoll, the famed orator and lawyer, defended Dorsey successfully in his 1883 trial. The Ossian cycle of epic poems was "translated" by James Macpherson (1736–1796). Macpherson claimed to have discovered an ancient epic written by a Gaelic bard named Ossian; he published his supposed translation of the work in 1761 and faced immediate backlash from Irish historians who refuted the veracity of Macpherson's claims and argued that he had actually written the work himself. "Walt Whitman in Russia" was published in the Critic on Jun 16, 1883. The article was allegedly written by Dr. P. Popoff. In the margin of a copy, however, Whitman wrote: "my guess (at random) is that John Swinton is the writer of this article" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress, Washington D.C.). See O'Connor's letter to Whitman of June 15, 1883. See Whitman's letter to O'Connor of June 13, 1883. Grover Cleveland (1837–1908) was the twenty-second (1885–1889) and twenty-fourth (1893–1897) U.S. president. Cleveland was the leader of the "Bourbon Democrats," whose policies opposed high tariffs and subsidies to businesses. From 1883 to 1885, he was the governor of New York. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | JUN 13 | 5 PM | A | 83. CAMDEN, N.J. | JUN | 14 | 7AM | RECD. In 1883, Whitman arranged with David McKay, his Philadelphia publisher, to print Bucke's Walt Whitman (1883). The poet personally supervised publication, including proofreading. The typesetting of Bucke's biography was completed on March 31 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Bucke generated some of the text, but Whitman controlled every detail, altering the proofs at will. On March 20, Bucke wrote: "I open and read these parcels of proof in fear and trembling (you must go as easy as you can, you are the terrible surgeon with the knife & saw and saw the patient). You left out my remarks on 'Children of Adam', I believe they were good but I acquiesce—your additions are excellent as they have been all through." Despite Bucke's positive remarks in this letter of May 28, Bucke may not have been quite so pleased with Whitman's high-handed treatment of his book as his letters to the poet indicate; in a letter on August 19 to William D. O'Connor, a collaborator on the book, Bucke wrote: "I do not care to go into these matters by letter but when you come [to Canada] I will make every thing clear to your comprehension" (Library of Congress). O'Connor is quoting Transcendentalist poet William Ellery Channing (1817–1901). Herbert Gilchrist designed the frontispiece for Richard Maurice Bucke's biography of Whitman, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883). The photo intaglio-process is an early form of producing photographic artworks by drawing or etching them onto a translucent film before exposing it onto a photographic plate. Euripides was an ancient Greek playwright of tragedies. The Tempest (1611) is a play by English playwright William Shakespeare. John Aubrey (1626–1697) was an English writer and antiquarian. His book Brief Lives contains biographies of intellectual and political leaders, including Sir Francis Bacon. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens St | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: PHILADELPHIA | PA | MAR 24 83 | 1 PM. CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR | 24 | 4PM | RECD. This is a reference to the nine Muses of Greek mythology. See Whitman's postal card to O'Connor of March 18, 1883. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1603) is a tragic play by English playwright William Shakespeare. Cassius Longinus (213–273 CE) was a Syrian rhetorician and philosopher. Titus Lucretius Carus (c. 99 BCE–?) was a Roman poet and philosopher. Paul Louis Courier (1772–1825) was a French political writer and Hellenist. See Whitman's letter to O'Connor of March 14, 1883. Phidias (d. 430 BCE) was a Greek sculptor and artist whose Statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. In Richard Maurice Bucke's book Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), he reprinted The Good Gray Poet and included a reference to Richard Henry Stoddard's review of the pamphlet in The Round Table on January 20, 1866, and printed a letter written to the magazine by Charles Lanman and O'Connor's reply (130–132). Charles Lanman (1819–1895) was an American author, government official, artist, librarian, and explorer. See Whitman's letter to O'Connor of February 19, 1883. It is likely that Macaulay sent this letter to Josiah Child, Whitman's former agent with Trübner & Co., as Whitman had previously communicated with Macaulay through Child. The "J.C." in the note at the top of the first page is undoubtedly Josiah Child. Charles George Oates (b. 1844) was a close friend of Edward Carpenter. The two met while studying at Cambridge University and then, as Carpenter recounted in his autobiography (My Days and Deams, Being Autobiographical Notes [1916], Chapter 5), he "resumed acquaintance, to deepen into intimacy, with C. G. Oates" when Carpenter was lecturing at Leeds University in the 1870s and Oates was living at his family's estate at Meanwood in Leeds. They carried on an extensive correspondence from 1869 to 1901, now preserved in the "The Papers of Edward Carpenter, 1844–1929," in the Sheffield, England, City Libraries. George Campbell Macaulay (1852–1915) was an influential English classical scholar. His review of Leaves of Grass appeared in The Nineteenth Century, 12 (December 1882), 903–918. Despite some reservations, Macaulay's was a fair and judicious essay. On December 17, 1882, Whitman sent a copy of Specimen Days and Collect (1882) to Macaulay, care of Josiah Child. This is likely George Edgar Montgomery, who also reviewed Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke's 1883 biography of Whitman. In Whitman's letter to O'Connor of July 20, 1883, Whitman remarked that if Montgomery "keeps on this way he will soon be among the avowed – emphatic advocates of L. of G." This postal card is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens Street, | Camden, New Jersey. It is postmarked: WASHINGTON | DEC | 19 | 1230PM | 1882 | D.C. CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC | 20 | 7AM | RECD. See Whitman's letter to O'Connor of December 17, 1882. This postal card is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens Street, | Camden, N.J. It is postmarked: WASHINGTON | DEC | 18 | 530PM | 1882 | D.C. CAMDEN, N.J. | DEC | 19 | 7AM | RECD. George Campbell Macaulay (1852–1915) was an influential English classical scholar. John Bull is a character in political cartoons; created by John Arbuthnot in 1712, he is a personification of England and originally stood for English rights and liberty without revolutionary action. See Whitman's letter to William D. O'Connor of December 14, 1882. David Bogue was a London based publisher. Bogue took over the distribution of the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass after Trübner & Co stopped working with Whitman. In Harned's transcription, Bogue is misspelled as "Bogne." Joseph Joachim (1831–1907) was a Hungarian violinist; he is considered one of the most important violinists of the 19th century. See Herbert Gilchrist's letter to Whitman of October 20, 1882. See Heywood's letter to Whitman of November 5, 1882. See White's letter to Whitman of October 23, 1882. Whitman sent a "Gilt top" Specimen Days (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Pan-Slavism was a 19th-century movement that sought to unite the various Slavic peoples of Europe for the advancement of Slavic culture and political goals. Whitman suffered from a liver disorder from October 17 to 28, 1882 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). His physician was Dr. Dowling Benjamin. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, March 11, 1889. See Whitman's postal card to O'Connor of October 25, 1882. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt. Whitman, | No. 431 Stevent Street, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: TREASURY DEPARTMENT | OCT | 26 | 4PM | 1882. WASHINGTON | OCT | 26 | 6PM | 1882 | D.C. CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT | 27 | 7AM | RECD. This postal card is addressed: Rudolf Schmidt | Baggesen's Gate 3 | Copenhagen | Denmark. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | [] | 13 | 7PM | N.J. [] | OMB. 4 | 28 10 82. KOBENHAVN N.B. | []. Michel Eyquem, Lord of Montaigne (1533–1592), was a French philosopher who popularized the essay as a literary genre. O'Connor is quoting a line from "Adonais: An Elegy on the Death of John Keats" by English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822). Horace Mann (1796–1859) was an American educational reformer and a staunch abolitionist. He served on the Massachusetts State Board of Education before his election to the United States House of Representatives. See Whitman's postal cards to O'Connor of September 3 and September 17, 1882. Teufelsdröckh is the main character of Sartor Resartus (1833–1834) by Scottish writer Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881); the book is a comic novel purporting to detail the life of a German philosopher named Diogenes Teufelsdröckh. See Whitman's postal card to O'Connor of August 27, 1882. In 1882, Alexander III (1845–1894) was the czar of Russia. He reigned from 1881 until his death in 1894. John Burroughs and his family had just returned from a trip of several months in England. Herman Grimm (1828–1901) was a German scholar and writer. His father Wilhelm Grimm and his uncle Jakob Grimm were the famous Brothers Grimm of Grimm's Fairy Tales. O'Connor is quoting from "Battle of Fontenoy, 1745," a poem by the Irish writer Thomas Davis (1814–1845). Davis was a founding editor of The Nation, a periodical that helped organize the Young Ireland movement. The Battle of Fontenoy happened on May 11, 1745, during the War of the Austrian Succession. A group of Irish exiles, called the Irish Brigade, fought as part of the French army. See Whitman's letter to O'Connor of June 28, 1882. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens Street, Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: WASHINGTON | JUN | 29 | 7PM | 1882 | D.C. CAMDEN, N.J. | JUN | 30 | 7AM | RECD. See Whitman's draft of a letter to Rees Welsh & Co. of June 20, 1882. Count Adam Gurowski (1805–1866) was a Polish author who helped organize the Polish November uprising of 1830. He immigrated to the United States in 1849. From 1862 to 1866, while living in Washington, D.C., he published an eccentric three-volume Diary, a day-by-day account of the American Civil War written with a marked partiality toward extreme abolitionists. The Count was a colorful figure: he covered his lost eye with a "green blinder," and "he had a Roman head...a powerful topknot, in and out: people always stopped to look at him" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, November 11, 1888, 79, and Wednesday, November 14, 1888, 96). William D. O'Connor, who apparently translated Gurowski's manuscripts into English (see the letter from Gurowski to O'Connor in The Charles E. Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.), reported to Whitman on August 13, 1864, that "he is a madman with lucid intervals." Whitman maintained to Traubel in 1888 that "he was truly a remarkable, almost phenomenal, man" (Sunday, November 11, 1888, 79). Professor Elias Loomis (1811–1889) was an astronomer and Yale professor; in 1882, he was in the Nautical Almanac Office of the Navy Department in Washington (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See Whitman's letter to O'Connor of June 18, 1882. Rees Welsh & Co. was a Philadelphia-based publishing and bookselling company. After a fallout with Whitman's prior publisher, James Osgood & Co., Rees Welsh & Co. took over the printing of Whitman's new edition of Leaves of Grass in 1882. The company also printed the first edition of Specimen Days and Collect (1882–1883). Under the Ancien Régime of France in the late 18th century, the sans-culottes were the people of the lower classes; many sans-culottes became radical and militant during the French Revolution. Little is known about the Melancholy Club. It appears that the Melancholy Club also acted as a publishing house of sorts, putting out a volume of poetry by member Leonard Wheeler titled Erothanatos and Sonnets in 1882. Poet John Grosvenor Wilson may also have been a member. Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (1622–1673), known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright who was renowned for his comedies and farces. John Selden (1584–1654) was an English scholar and jurist; he was an expert on ancient English law and Jewish law. O'Connor is quoting from a poem by William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878) called "The Battle-Field." See Whitman's letters to O'Connor of May 28, 1882, and May 30, 1882. See O'Connor's letter to Whitman of May 29, 1882. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman, | 431 Stevens Street, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: TREASURY DEPARTMENT | MAY | 29 | 4PM | 1882. WASHINGTON | MAY | 29 | 6PM | 1882 | D.C. CAMDEN, N.J. | MAY | 30 | 7AM | RECD. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens St | Camden | N Jersey. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | MAY 29 | 8AM | F. CAMDEN, N.J. | MAY | 29 | 4PM | RECD. See O'Connor's letter to Whitman of May 20, 1882. Seneca (4 BCE–65 CE) was a Roman statesman, philosopher, and dramatist. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman, | 431 Stevens Street, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: TREASURY DEPARTMENT | [] | 20 | 3PM | 1882. WASHINGTON | MAY | 20 | 6PM | 1882 | D.C. CAMDEN, N.J. | MAY | 21 | 7PM | RECD. George Marston (1821–1883) was the Massachusetts Attorney General from 1879 to 1883. In 1882, he instructed District Attorney of Boston Oliver Stevens to write to James R. Osgood & Co., publisher of the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass, in order to suppress the book as obscene literature. Anne Gilchrist's oldest son, Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851–1935) and his wife, Norah Fitzmaurice Gilchrist. Percy was a chemist and metallurgist. See James R. Osgood & Co.'s letter to Whitman of March 29, 1882. See James R. Osgood & Co.'s letter to Whitman of April 13, 1882. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, Esq. | 431 Stevens St. | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: BOSTON | MAY 4 | 6 PM | 82 | MASS. CAMDEN; N.J. | MAY | 5 | 9AM | RECD. See Whitman's letter to Burroughs of April 28, 1882. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens St | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: []ERO[]. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) had died on April 27, 1882. Emerson was an American poet and essayist who began the Transcendentalist movement with his 1836 essay Nature. For more on Emerson, see Jerome Loving, "Emerson, Ralph Waldo [1809–1882]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, Esq. | 431 Stevens St. | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: BOSTON | APR 13 | 5 PM | 82 | MASS. CAMDEN; N.J. | APR | 14 | 9AM | RECD. See Whitman's letter to James R. Osgood & Co. of March 23, 1882. See the letters from Whitman to James R. Osgood & Co. of March 7 (not 8), 1882, and March 19, 1882. See the letter from James R. Osgood & Co. to Whitman of March 20, 1882. Oliver Stevens (1825–1905) served as District Attorney for Suffolk County, Massachusetts, from 1875 to 1905. In 1882, under the instruction of State Attorney General George Marston, he wrote to James R. Osgood & Co., publisher of the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass, in order to suppress the book as obscene literature. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | 431 Stevens St. | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: BOSTON | MAR | 4 | 8PM | 1882 | MASS. CAMDEN; N.J. | MAR | 6 | 7AM | RECD. This letter is addressed: To, | Walt Whitman | Camden city | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: CHICAGO | MAR 1 | 11AM | ILL. PHILADELPHIA | MAR | 2 | 7PM | RECD. CAMDEN | MAR | 8 | 9AM | RECD. This may be a reference to the titular character of George Sand's Consuelo (1842–1843), a book about a young Spanish singer. Little is known about J. E. Wainer, except that he was an associate of Joseph M. Stoddart. See Anne Gilchrist's letter to Whitman of December 14, 1881. See Schmidt's letter to Whitman of November 27, 1881. See the letter from James R. Osgood & Co. to Whitman of December 13, 1881. See Whitman's letter to James R. Osgood & Co. December 10, 1881. See Whitman's letter to James R. Osgood & Co. of December 8, 1881. The Girondins were members of the French moderate republican political faction that was in power during the French Revolution. They opposed the monarchy but also resisted the Revolution; the Girondins were executed in 1793, beginning the Reign of Terror. A digital image of this poem from the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass can be found at "To him that was crucified." Digital images of these poems from the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass can be found at "Spirit that form'd this scene," "A riddle song," and "The dalliance of the eagles." This is a reference to Whitman's poem "Proto-Leaf," later reworked as "Starting From Paumanok." Alcibiades (450 BCE–404 BCE) was a statesman, orator, and general in Athens, Greece. Josiah Gilbert Holland (1819–1881), who sometimes wrote pseudonymously as Timothy Titcomb, was an editor of the Springfield Republican from 1850 to 1862 and was the author of Titcomb's Letters to Young People, Simple and Married (1858) and several novels. It is unclear whether this reference is to Richard Henry Dana, Sr. (1787–1879), who was a poet, critic, and lawyer, or his son, Richard Henry Dana, Jr. (1815–1882), author of Two Years Before the Mast and United States attorney for the district of Massachusetts from 1861 to 1866. Charles G. Halpine (1829–1868) was a journalist, soldier, and politician. He joined the 69th New York Regiment at the outbreak of the war and was brevetted brigadier general for gallantry. Known as a humorist and author, under the pseudonym Pvt. Miles O'Reilley, Halpine was also a well-known journalist who wrote for the New York Herald, and later became editor of The Leader. Rudolf Doehn (1821–1895) was a German writer and journalist who fought as a volunteer for the Union Army during the American Civil War. The printing company Rand & Avery printed both the 1860 and 1881 editions of Leaves of Grass. When the Boston district attorney demanded some poems and passages of the 1881 edition be removed, Rand & Avery evidently refused to continue printing the edition because of fears of legal action. The firm is still in business as Rand Avery–Gordon Taylor, Inc. This postal card is addressed: John Burroughs | Roxbury | Delaware County | New York. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | AUG 3 | 930PM | 81. Frederic Henry Hedge wrote Prose Writers of Germany (1856). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, Esq. | 431 Stevens St | Camden. | N.J. It is postmarked: BOSTON | JUL | 18 | 8PM | MASS. CAMDEN, N.J. | JUL | 19 | 2PM | RECD. Whitman is likely referring to the Victoria steamboat disaster, in which the Canadian passenger steamboat SS Victoria capsized and sank in the Thames River of London, Ontario, on May 24, 1881. Between 182 and 198 deaths are estimated. London, Ontario, was home to Whitman's friend Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke, as well as many other friends who he met while visiting Bucke in 1880. Little is known about Mrs. Marvin except that she was the wife of Joseph B. Marvin, a friend and an admirer of Whitman's poetry. On May 3, 1881, Whitman sent "Bumble-Bees and Bird Music" to W. R. Balch of The American (Philadelphia), for which he received $20 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). It appeared on May 14, and was later included in Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall (New York: New York University Press, 1963), 263. This postal card is addressed: John Fraser | 10 Lord Nelson Street | Liverpool | England. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | JUN | 16 | 2 PM | N.J. PHILADELPHIA | JUN 17. PAID | LIVERPOOL | U.S. PACKET | 29 JU 81 | 3[]. This postal card is addressed: John Fraser | 10 Lord Nelson Street | Liverpool | England. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | JUN | 11 | 5PM | N.J. PHILADELPHIA | JUN | 11. PAID | LIVERPOOL | US PACKET | 23 JU 81 | []. See Whitman's letter to James R. Osgood & Co. of June 7, 1881. Cú Chulainn is a figure in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology and in Scottish and Manx folklore. A great hero, warrior, and demigod who turns into a monster in battle, he later became an icon for Irish nationalists. Rolleston is paraphrasing a line from section 6 of Whitman's "Song of the Open Road." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: BAD-ELSTER | 6/6 | 81 | 2-3[]. NEW YORK | JUN | 22. CAMDEN N.J. | JUN | 23 | 7AM | RECD. Whitman was in Boston to deliver his lecture entitled "The Death of Abraham Lincoln." He first delivered this lecture in New York in 1879 and would deliver it at least eight other times over the succeeding years, delivering it for the last time on April 15, 1890. He published a version of the lecture as "Death of Abraham Lincoln" in Specimen Days and Collect (1882–83). For more on the lecture, see Larry D. Griffin, "'Death of Abraham Lincoln,'" Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, ed., (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Burroughs's article "Nature and the Poets" appeared in Pepacton (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1881). It had been previously printed in Scribner's Monthly, 19 (December 1879), 285–295. See Whitman's letter to Anne Gilchrist of March 20, 1881. In all likelihood, "L. Logan Smith" is Logan Pearsall Smith (1865–1946), an essayist and literary critic. He was the son of Robert Pearsall Smith, a minister and writer who befriended Whitman, and he was the brother of Mary Whitall Smith Costelloe, one of Whitman's most avid followers. For more information on Logan, see Christina Davey, "Smith, Logan Pearsall (1865–1946)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is crossed out with two red lines. The Booths were an illustrious nineteenth-century English American acting family. Among the best-known Booths were actor Junius Brutus Booth (1796–1852) and his actor-sons Edwin Thomas Booth (1833–1893), Junius Brutus Booth, Jr. (1821–1883), and John Wilkes Booth (1838–1865), Abraham Lincoln's assassin. In addition to acting, the Booths also managed and owned theaters, including Booth's Theatre in New York City. The Boston Museum, built in 1841, was a theatre and museum (of art and natural history) designed by architect Hammatt Billings (1818–1874). For the full quotation by Carlyle, made in a letter to John Carlyle on March 23, 1873, see James Anthony Froude, Thomas Carlyle: A History of His Life in London, 1834–1881 (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1884), vol. 2, p. 423, where Carlyle calls Gladstone "one of the contemptiblest men I ever looked on." Whitman's poem "To the Sunset Breeze" first appeared in Lippincott’s Magazine (December 1890) and was reprinted in Good-Bye My Fancy (1891). The poem was also published in the Boston Transcript in 1890 (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, May 23, 1891). William Strumberg Stokley (1823–1902), a Republican, was the mayor of Philadelphia from 1872 to 1881; his administration was marked by charges of major corruption in the way contracts were issued for the construction of a new city hall, including Stokley's acquisition of a new home courtesy of the building contractors. Many Republicans stopped supporting him, and he lost the 1881 election to Democrat Samuel G. King. Rush, alias "Buck Taylor," was arrested on March 22, 1881, by Philadelphia police officer Albert R. Jones for burglary at Charles Foley's establishment on North Seventh Street. Jones had been appointed to the police department by Mayor William Stokley (see Howard O. Sprogle, The Philadelphia Police, Past and Present [Philadelphia, 1887], 357). The page containing Maginley's poem "Midnight" has a stamp attached at the top of the page; on the verso, Maginley began to copy his poem "Midnight" but crossed out the title and opening line. Whitman wrote a poem called "Life and Death" that was first published in the New York Herald on May 23, 1888. The paper is folded at the bottom and obscures what appears to be Maginley's name. Whitman wrote a poem called "A Clear Midnight," first published in the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass. This is the final page of the letter from Harrison; the other page or pages of the letter are lost. Hattie Cooper is alluding to Whitman's poem "A Christmas Greeting," which had been published in Good-Bye My Fancy (1891) and in the final "Deathbed" edition of Leaves of Grass (1891–1892). Her allusion indicates this letter was written in December 1891. "The Poetry of the Future" was published in The North American Review 132 (February 1881), 195–210. Richard "Dick" Flynn was a longtime assistant to Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke at the London, Ontario, Asylum for the Insane, doing odd jobs. Whitman met Flynn and admired his gardening work when he visited Bucke in 1880; he mentions Flynn in his October 14, 1880, letter to Thomas Nicholson. While on a tour of the U.S. in 1889, Flynn apparently stopped by Whitman's Mickle Street home and carried a copy of the 1889 Gutekunst photograph back to London with him. Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm (1834–1890) was an Austrian-British sculptor. His "Jubilee head" of Queen Victoria was featured on British coinage from 1887 to 1893. See Whitman's postal card to Herbert Gilchrist of October 10, 1880. J. Hubley Ashton (1836–1907) was the assistant Attorney General during Whitman's time in Washington; after Whitman was fired from the Department of the Interior, Ashton obtained a position for Whitman in his office. Burroughs is likely referring to Whitman's friend James Matlack Scovel (1833–1904), who began to practice law in Camden in 1856. Porter & Coates was a publishing and bookselling company located on the corner of 9th and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia. Richard Worthington was a New York printer who published and sold unauwthorized editions of Whitman's Leaves of Grass, printed from the plates of the 1860 edition. For more on Worthington and the piracy controversy, see Jerome Loving, Walt Whitman: The Song of Himself (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000), 401, and Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005).Whitman's later account of his dealings with Richard Worthington ("Holy Dick" was the poet's epithet later), is somewhat garbled. His version in 1888 was filled with inaccuracies; see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, May 23, 1888, 195–196, and Saturday, June 2, 1888, 250–251.
In December 1880, James Scovel went to New York and compelled Worthington to pay a royalty of $50. Apparently, despite the poet's later observations, the settlement permitted Worthington to continue his sales so long as he paid a royalty. On August 11, 1881, Whitman "call'd on R Worthington . . . I told him emphatically he must not print and publish another copy of L. of G. from the '60–'61 plates—if so it would be at his peril—he offered $50 down if I would warrant his printing a new edition of 500 from said plates, which I peremptorily declined. . . . R. W. paid me $25 due me on back sales—I shall not trouble him for any thing past—but shall hold him to strict account for what is done after this date" (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Apparently Whitman again must have consented to Worthington's selling bound copies, for on July 25, 1882, the publisher wrote to the poet, enclosing $44.50.
Worthington continued to print the book, and in 1885, Whitman, again disturbed about the publisher's activities, wrote about the piracy in a lost letter to Eldridge, who advised him on August 17 to write to a firm in New York which made "a specialty of copyright cases." Evidently Whitman did not write to the firm, but again sent Scovel. About November 5 he noted "from R Worthington $24: through J M S" (Whitman's Commonplace Book). Despite his continued frustration with Worthington, Whitman declined to take action: "I am averse to going to law about it: going to law is like going to hell: it's too much like trouble even if we win" (Traubel, Wednesday, May 23, 1888, 195).
Worthington continued to use the plates until they were purchased by the literary executors after Whitman's death (The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 8:280).
See Richard Worthington's letter to Whitman of September 29, 1879. See Whitman's letter to Richard Worthington of August 21, 1880. See John Burroughs' letter to Whitman of November 2, 1880. Likely American critic, poet, and editor James Russell Lowell (1819–1891), who was an ambassador to Great Britain from 1880 to 1885. See Whitman's postal card to Locker-Lampson of September 28, 1880. Leggett is referring to Napoleon Sarony's dramatic July 1878 photograph of Whitman. The Anglo-Zulu War was fought between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom in 1879. The British invaded the Zulu Kingdom in an effort to colonize the region. Despite early victories by the Zulu, the British won the war. Zululand was annexed as a British colony in 1884. Earlier in 1880, Beatrice Gilchrist had decided to give up her medical studies (see Anne Gilchrist's letter to Whitman of March 28, 1880), believing she was intellectually incapable of becoming an ideal physician. See Richard Worthington's letter to Whitman of September 29, 1879. See Harry Stafford's postal card to Whitman of July 17, 1880. See Deborah Stafford Browning's letter to Whitman of July 18, 1880. See Susan Stafford's letter to Whitman of July 16, 1880. The envelope for this letter is incomplete. It is addressed: Montgomery Stafford | Kirkwood [] | New Jersey | USA. In a letter to George and Susan Stafford of July 13, 1880, Whitman wrote that he was "laid up here quick sick." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: HADDONFIELD | JUL | 22 | N.J. LONDON-ONTARIO | PM | JY 23 | 80 | CANADA. Whitman addressed this envelope himself and enclosed it with a previous letter. Montgomery Stafford (1862–1925) was one of Susan's sons. See Whitman's letter to George and Susan Stafford of July 13, 1880. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: KIRKWOOD | JUL | 17 | N.J. NEW YORK | JUL 17 | 12 PM | 80 | TRANSIT. LONDON-ONTARIO | PM | JY 19 | 80 | CANADA. Whitman addressed this envelope himself and included it with a previous letter to the Staffords. This letter is addressed: George and Susan Stafford | Kirkwood (Glendale | New Jersey | U S A. It is postmarked: LONDON | PM | JY 13 | 80 | ONT[]. NEW YORK | JUL 15 | 830AM | 80 | TRANSIT. J.B. Lippincott & Co. was the Philadelphia-based publisher of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esqr | c/o Dr Bucke | Asylum for the Insane | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: LONDON [] | 5 | JY 10 | 80. HAMILTON | JY 21 | 80 | CANADA. LONDON-ONTARIO | PM | JY 21 | 80 | CANADA. "Havelocks" were a style of hat invented by Sir Henry Havelock. The hat fit over a soldier's cap and had a long covering down the back to prevent sunburn on the neck. They were used by both Union and Confederate troops. Elliott is referring to the engraving of Wlliam Kurtz's photograph of Whitman. The engraving appeared in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper on April 8, 1876. James Garfield (1831–1881) was the 20th president of the United States. On July 2, 1881, only four months into his presidency, he was shot by Charles J. Guiteau; Garfield died of resulting infections two months later on September 19. He was succeeded by his Vice President, Chester A. Arthur. Winfield Scott Hancock (1824–1886) was the Democratic nominee for president in 1880. He served as a U.S. Army officer in the Mexican-American War and was a Union general in the Civil War. His campaign for president was unsuccessful; Republican nominee James Garfield won the presidency. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman, | London, | Ontario, | Canada. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | JUL | 5 | N.J. LONDON-ONTARIO | AM | JY 6 | 80 | CANADA. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esqre | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: LONDON SW | 6 | JY 3 | 80. NEW YORK | JUL | 13. CAMDEN | JUL | 14 | 7AM | N.J. LONDON-ONTARIO | PM | JY 15 | 80 | CANADA. The letter was originally addressed to Camden | New Jersey | United States of America and was forwarded to London, Ontario. Whitman was spending the summer in Canada with his friend Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke. The article and photograph appeared in the February 12, 1892, issue of The Photographic Times (vol. 22, no. 543), with the biographical sketch appearing on p. 77; the photograph, by Frederick Gutekunst, appeared as the frontispiece of the issue. Even though Whitman told Horace Traubel that he was not capable of any longer producing a viable signature, a facsimile of Whitman's signature did in fact appear beneath the photo (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, January 11, 1892). As the letterhead indicates, S. W. Cowles was a dealer in farm loans, real estate, and insurance in Hartford, Connecticut. Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810–1876) was a German poet and translator and friend of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In his January 16, 1872 letter to Rudolf Schmidt, Whitman wrote that Freiligrath "translates & commends my poems." His review in the Augsburg Allgemeinen Zeitung on April 24, 1868 (reprinted in his Gesammelte Dichtungen [Stuttgart: G. J. Göschen, 1871], 4:86–89), was among the first notices of Whitman's poetry on the continent. A translation of the article appeared in the New Eclectic Magazine, 2 (July 1868), 325–329; see also Gay Wilson Allen, Walt Whitman Abroad (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1955), 3–7. A digital version is available in Walter Grünzweig's "Whitman in the German-Speaking Countries," which collects numerous examples of German reception of Whitman's poetry. The Australasian Secular Association was founded in Melbourne in 1882 during a time of intense debates about religion. The Association fought for secular reforms like the opening of public libraries and art galleries on Sundays, and its members believed that the newly emerging Australian colonies could become one of the first truly secular societies. Sumner Increase Kimball (1834–1923) was a lawyer who became the chief of the Marine Division in the Treasury Department in 1871. In 1875, Kimball became W. D. O'Connor’s supervisor when O'Connor was appointed Assistant General Superintendent of the newly formed Life-Saving Service in the Treasury Department; Kimball became General Superintendent and served in that capacity during the entire existence of the Life-Saving Service, until 1915 when it was merged into the U.S. Coast Guard. Kimball admired O'Connor and supported him throughout his career; after O'Connor's death, he arranged for Nelly O'Connor to work in the Census Service. Wallace is alluding to Whitman's "Song of Myself," Section 49: "O grass of graves—O perpetual transfers and promotions. . . ." Thomas Eakins' famous oil painting of Whitman was completed in 1888 and is now housed at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Whitman's poem "Good-By My Fancy!" was the concluding poem in the poetry section of Good-Bye My Fancy (1891), and when those poems were added as an annex to the 1891–92 final edition of Leaves of Grass, it became the concluding poem of the volume. Coues enclosed a pamphlet he wrote called A Woman in the Case: An Address Delivered at the Annual Commencement of the National Medical College in the Congregational Church of Washington, March 16, 1887. Whitman described the work to Horace Traubel as "women's rights—an argument." Traubel and Whitman both misread Coues's signature on the letter and thought the correspondent's name was "Elliott Cones." See Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, July 27, 1891. "Summer Days in Canada" appeared in the Camden Daily Post in June 1880. Whitman sent the piece to numerous papers, but only the Camden Daily Post and the Philadelphia Press printed it (Edwin Haviland Miller, Walt Whitman: The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 181). It later was included in Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall (New York: New York University Press, 1963), 236–241, 345–346. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | London, Ontario, | Canada. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | JUN | 26 | N.J. NEW YORK | JUN 26 | 7 PM | 80 | TRANSIT. LONDON | AM | JUN 28 | 80 | CANADA. There is no evidence that Whitman responded to Lathrop's request. O'Dowd and his wife Evangeline (Eva) Mina Fryer had an infant son. On January 9, 1890, O'Dowd reported the birth of Montaigne Eric Whitman. See A. L. McLeod, "Walt Whitman in Australia," Walt Whitman Review 7 (1961), 28n. There is an indecipherable light pencil note on the envelope in an undetermined hand. On Wednesday, October 8, 1890, Horace Traubel notes that Whitman received a letter from Captain Noell [sic] stating that Johnston and Wallace had given him a blanket of Bolton manufacture to deliver personally to the poet in Camden. Traubel notes a few days later on October 14: "W. said Captain Noell [sic] had been in with the blanket" (With Walt Whitman in Camden). The North American Review was the first literary magazine in the United States. The journalist Charles Allen Thorndike Rice (1851–1889) edited and published the magazine in New York from 1876 until his death. After Rice's death, Lloyd Bryce became owner and editor, and he held these positions at the time of Jackson's letter. Little is known of William F. Jackson, except that he joined the South Park Presbyterian Church of Newark, New Jersey, in September 1880 (where he served as maintenance supervisor); in 1890, he became a charter member of the Essex Troop of Light Cavalry (eventually absorbed into the New Jersey National Guard). As Kennedy's letter to Whitman of August 18, 1886, explains, Kennedy had offered Chatto & Windus publishers sole rights to his planned book on Whitman (then called "Walt Whitman, the Poet of Humanity") so that they could sell it in Britain for three years before he would make it available in the United States. Chatto & Windus had an interest in Whitman and published the second edition of William Michael Rossetti's Poems by Walt Whitman in 1886. The Women's Dress Reform movement had overtaken the famous Chautauqua social reform meetings in Chautauqua, New York, in the summer of 1891, as reformers did away with "high collars, low-necked dresses, corsets, garters of all kinds, in fact everything that would mar or disfigure the female form" (see "Reform in Woman's Dress," New York Times [July 26, 1891], 8). Apparently Whitman enclosed the menu and program for his 71st birthday dinner, held in Philadelphia on May 31, 1890, with a number of distinguished guests, including the famous orator Robert G. Ingersoll. Edward Smith Willard (1853–1915) was an English actor, specializing in Shakespeare, and became famous in the 1880s for his roles in Sir Charles Young's Jim the Penman and Henry Arthur Jones's The Middleman. He acted for the first time in the U.S. in 1890–1891. (See Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, September 23, 1891, where he says that "Talcott William . . . to be over with Willard, the English actor." Whitman had been thinking of printing a select group of photos on uniform cards and arranging them in a handsome envelope or album; he even wrote up instructions to a printer specifying a run of 200 copies, but the project was never completed. Forman here is referring to a much smaller edition of six portraits in an envelope tied with a ribbon, which appeared in 1889. The frontispiece for Good-Bye My Fancy is a striking profile photograph of Whitman taken by Samuel Murray for use by the sculptor William O'Donovan. Whitman called the photo "an artist's picture in the best sense." See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, May 23, 1891. As yet, we have no information about this correspondent beyond the information in the letterhead. Henry Hopkins & Co. in New York did engraving, lithographing, printing, and electrotyping, as well as publishing Handy Notes and Queries, each issue of which contained advertising for metal products and charts of useful information, mainly about metals. One quarter of this letter is cut out and has not been located. Lavinia Whitman is quoting Sir Edwin Arnold's comment that he made on his 1891 visit to Whitman; see Horace Traubel's account in With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, November 3, 1891. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: WOODSTOWN | [] | 10 | N.J. CAMDEN | JUN 10 | 2PM | N.J. The Greenback Party was an American political party that was founded in 1874 and dissolved in 1889. The party espoused an anti-monopoly ideology and ran presidential candidates in the elections of 1876, 1880, and 1884. This is a quotation from Canto III:XXI of "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage" by the Romantic poet George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788–1824). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: SAN FRANCISCO | J[] | 15 | 12M | CALI. CAMDEN | JUN | 23 | 11AM | N.J. []LOM[] | [] | JU 25 | 80. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esquire | London | Ontario | Can. It is postmarked: LONDON. W | 1 | JU15 | 80. LONDON | AM | JU 18 | 80 | CA[]. NEW [] | JU | 25. CAMDEN | JUN |25 | 7AM | N.J. Whitman sent "Summer Days in Canada," as the letter indicates, to many newspapers; see Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller (New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977), 3:181–182. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | London Ontario | Canada—. It is postmarked: DETROIT | JUN 18 | 4 PM | 80 | MICH. LONDON-ONT[] | AM | JU 21 | []. See Macdonald's previous letter to Whitman of June 5, 1880. See Locker-Lampson's letter to Whitman of April 7, 1880. Beatrice Carwardine Gilchrist (1854–1881) was the second child (and first daughter) of Alexander and Anne Gilchrist. She attended the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia and then held a position as a physician in Berne, Switzerland. In 1880, she decided to give up her medical studies (see Anne Gilchrist's letter to Whitman of March 28, 1880), believing she was intellectually incapable of becoming an ideal physician. George Stafford, Jr. (1869–1924), one of Harry Stafford's brothers. This is a quotation from the poem Bensel cited (Section 24 of the Thayer & Eldridge edition of Leaves of Grass [1860]). To view the poem in its entirety, see here. Pre-Adamism is the theological belief that, prior to the Abrahamic God's creation of Adam, humans already existed. Bensel quotes, almost in entirety, from "To You," a couplet in Leaves of Grass. To see the poem as it was printed in the 1860 edition of the book, click here. At this time, Richard Maurice Bucke was gathering materials for his biography of Whitman, Walt Whitman, which was published in 1883 by David McKay in Philadelphia; Whitman himself wrote long passages for the book and heavily revised others. See Whitman's letter to Fanny Raymond Ritter of February 7, 1880. This letter is addressed: C H Sholes | Glenwood | Mills Co: Iowa. It is postmarked: Philadelphia PA | Mar | 12 | 5 PM. The review of Whitman's Two Rivulets enclosed in this letter, titled "The Genius of Walt Whitman," appeared in The Secular Review on March 20, 1880. William Hale White (1831–1913) was a British writer and civil servant who sometimes published under the pen name Mark Rutherford. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens St | Camden | New Jersey | U. S. America. It is postmarked: LONDON N.[] | 7 | MR 29 | 80. NEW YORK | APR | 11. CAMDEN | APR | 12 | 7AM | N.J. Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881), first Earl of Beaconsfield, served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He was also a novelist, and he continued publishing during his tenure as prime minister. Ingersoll sent on March 25, 1880, what Whitman termed a "cordial, flattering, affectionate letter" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). With his letter, Ingersoll also sent three books. Richard Maurice Bucke was Whitman's first biographer. Walt Whitman was published in 1883 by David McKay in Philadelphia; Whitman himself wrote long passages for the book and heavily revised others. There is a squiggly line in what appears to be the same ink as in the Gilders' signature next to the typed text beginning "--i.e,. not quoted" and ending with "we remain." This phrase alludes to Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, Act 5, Scene 1, where the Duke of Vienna, disguised as a Friar, claims that he is but “a looker-on here in Vienna.” Whitman has written "Sands—20 Good Bye 20 Backward Glance 18," estimating the number of pages for his annexes and final essay in the 1891–91 “deathbed” edition of Leaves of Grass, on the verso of this letter. Linton J. Usher was probably the brother of Judge John P. Usher (1816–1889). John P. Usher, Jr., was the son of Judge John P. Usher (1816–1889), who was Secretary of the Interior in Lincoln's administration and, in 1879, mayor of Lawrence, Kansas. Whitman had stayed with the Ushers while visiting Kansas for the Old Settlers' Quarter Centennial Celebration in 1879. See the letter from Whitman to Anne Gilchrist of November 10, 1879. It is unclear which article is being referred to here. "Walt Whitman's Dying Hours" was published in the February 13, 1892, issue of The Evening Telegram. Dr. George de Schweinitz (1858–1938) was an expert opthamologist and educator who served as the oculist to President Woodrow Wilson. When de Schweinitz passed away, a portion of his estate was used to establish a chair of opthalmology at the University of Pennsylvania. For more on de Schweinitz, see his obituary, "Dr. De Schweinitz, Eye Expert, Dies," New York Times (August 23, 1938), 17. Dr. de Schweinitz's calling card is mounted in Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Ingersoll delivered a lecture in tribute to Whitman at Horticultural Hall in Philadelphia on October 21, 1890, but there is no record of Ingersoll speaking in Philadelphia in the fall of 1891. Romeike had sent the same letter to Whitman on August 1, 1891. Romeike sent the same letter to Whitman again on September 10, 1891. Nicholas Paine Gilman (1849–1912), a Unitarian minister and professor of sociology at Antioch College, became the editor of the Boston Literary World in 1888. He was a prolific author of early sociology texts and edited several journals. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) was a German philosopher. Hegel undoubtedly influenced Whitman, though there are varying opinions as to whether Hegel was a source for many of Whitman's ideas or whether Whitman simply paralleled his expressions of thought. In any event, such Whitman concepts as cosmic evolution, pantheistic "unity," and the synthesis of Good in which the antithesis, Evil, merges and disappears are part of the Hegelian philosophy. See Anne Gilchrist's postal card to Whitman of October 1879. Procrustes, in Greek mythology, was the son of Poseidon, and was known for torturing people by mutilating their legs or stretching their bodies to fit a specific, arbitrary form. Lucien Bonaparte (1775–1840) was the younger brother of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821). His political views were quite revolutionary, and at times, he clashed with his brother. On September 10, 1879, Whitman departed from Camden on a western jaunt to participate in the Old Settlers' Quarter Centennial Celebration near Lawrence, Kansas. He travelled in the company of the Philadelphia publisher John W. Forney and newspapermen J. M. W. Geist, E. K. Martin, and W. W. Reitzel. By September 12, the group had reached St. Louis, where Whitman's brother Jeff (1833–1890) guided them on a tour of the city. After his one-day stop in St. Louis, Whitman travelled as far west as the Rockies and then returned to St. Louis, tired and ill, on September 27. He recuperated during a three-month visit with Jeff and Jeff's daughters, Manahatta "Hattie" (1860–1886) and Jessie Louisa (1863–1957). See Whitman's letter to Burroughs of August 20, 1879. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. | 328 Mickle St. It is postmarked: PHILADELPHIA | SEP12 | 11 30AM | 87. CAMDEN. N.J. | SEP | 12 | 1PM | 8[] | REC'D. This may be a reference to Major George Luther Stearns (1809–1867), an American businessman and abolitionist who, during the Civil War, recuited Black soldiers for the Union Army. William Black (1841–1898) was a Scottish novelist and journalist. Charles Dickens (1812–1870) was an English writer and social critic. He published his novels serially, pioneering a new style of narrative fiction which came to dominate Victorian publishing. His works include Oliver Twist (1837–1839), A Christmas Carol (1843), David Copperfield (1849–1850), Bleak House (1852–1853), A Tale of Two Cities (1859), and Great Expectations (1860–1861). Charles Reade (1814–1884) was an English novelist and dramatist. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781) was a German writer and philosopher. See Whitman's letter to Fraser of Jun 16, 1879. Ruth Stafford (1866–1939) was one of the sisters of Harry Stafford (1858–1918), who, in 1876, became a close friend of Whitman while working at the printing office of the Camden New Republic. Whitman regularly visited the Staffords at their family farm near Kirkwood, New Jersey, and was close with the entire family. See Whitman's letter to Bloor of May 24, 1879. Clara Hamilton Harris (1834–1883) was an American socialite and the daughter of New York Senator Ira Harris. She was in President Lincoln's theatre box, accompanied by her fiance Major Henry Rathbone, when the president was fatally shot by John Wilkes Booth in 1865. Harris and Rathbone were hounded by the press for years after the assassination, provoking severe mental instability in Rathbone. In 1883, Rathbone, then the U.S. consul to Hanover, Germany, murdered Harris. "These May Afternoons" appeared in the Tribune on May 24, 1879. It discussed a visit to Central Park and to the "U.S. Minnesota," a ship. Much of the material later appeared in Specimen Days, ed. Floyd Stovall (New York: New York University Press, 1963), 196–202, 341–342. "Three Young Men's Deaths," which appeared in the April issue (2, 318–319) of Cope's Tobacco Plant. Whitman sent the article on November 27, 1878, to John Fraser, the editor of the magazine. He received $15.30 for it on June 15 (Whitman's Commonplace Book). See the letter from Whitman to John Fraser of June 16, 1879. T. D. Westness was an uneducated English admirer; see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, January 19, 1889, 571–573. Walters may be the Frank W. Walters mentioned in William Sloane Kennedy's The Fight of a Book for the World (West Yarmouth, MA: The Stonecroft Press, 1926), 41. On September 29, 1878, John Burroughs wrote to Whitman about Charles Caswell, who was the brother of Burroughs' hired hand Smith Caswell. Whitman copied verbatim Burroughs's sketch of the young man in "Three Young Men's Deaths," printed in Cope's Tobacco Plant and later in Specimen Days (157–158). Whitman sent the article to John Fraser, the editor of Cope's Tobacco Plant, on November 27, through Josiah Child (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Harry L Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | Camden County | New Jersey. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | MAY 13 | 6 PM | 79. At this time, Whitman was preparing his famous lecture on the death of Abraham Lincoln, with friends John H. Johnston and John Burroughs organizing the event itself. Whitman first delivered this lecture in New York in 1879 and would deliver it at least eight other times over the succeeding years, delivering it for the last time on April 15, 1890. He published a version of the lecture as "Death of Abraham Lincoln" in Specimen Days & Collect (1882–83). For more on the lecture, see Larry D. Griffin, "'Death of Abraham Lincoln,'" Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, ed., (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). See Anne Gilchrist's letter to Whitman of March 26, 1879. See William Harrison Riley's letter to Whitman of March 5, 1879. This letter is addressed: Wm Harrison Riley | Townsend Harbor | Mass:. It is postmarked: [] 7AM. William Harrison Riley (1835–1907) of Mancester was a British socialist. He published Yankee Letters to British Workmen in 1871, and in 1872 began editing the British journal, the International Herald. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden. N.J. It is postmarked: CAMDEN N.J. | MAR | 5 | 6AM | 1631 | [] "Watchman, Tell Us of the Night" is an 1825 hymn text, written by Sir John Bowring (1792–1872). John Dunbar Hylton (1837–1893) was the author of The Bride of Gettysburg (1878) and other historical novels and books of poetry. See Burroughs's letter to Whitman of January 13, 1879, in which he briefly mentions an attack of neuralgia in his arm. In Herbert Gilchrist's letter to Whitman of February 2, 1879, he notes that Burroughs had seen a doctor and had "morphia injected in his wrist." Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) was a French playwright and novelist. This postal card is addressed: Mr Waltar Whitman | Camden City | New Jersey. It is postmarked: BROOKLYN | JAN | 23 | 12PM | N.Y. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden City | Camden C'ty | N.J. It is postmarked: HADDONFIELD | 15 | JAN | N.J. CAMDEN | JAN | 15 | 5PM | N.J. This may be Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman's Aunt Libby, who has not been identified but was probably named Elizabeth. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman described her daughter-in-law's aunt as English and wrote that she was not fond of the aunt's company: "i wouldent be very sorry if aunty wasent here" (see her April 21–May 3?, 1873 letter to Walt Whitman). Here, Johnson lists a selection of poems from Leaves of Grass. See Alfred, Lord Tennyson's letter to Whitman of August 24, 1878. George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) and Edward Whitman (1835–1892), called "Eddy" or "Edd." Walt Whitman at the time lived with his brother George and sister-in-law Louisa, as well as his youngest brother Eddy, who required lifelong assistance for significant physical and mental disabilities and was under the care of George and Louisa. See John Burroughs's letter to Whitman of September 29, 1878, in which he describes a young farmhand who had recently died. See Alfred, Lord Tennyson's letter to Whitman of August 24, 1878. Whitman had shared the letter with Gilchrist. John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) was the sixth president of the United States. John Hancock (1737–1793) was the first and third governor of Massachusetts. He is well-known for his elaborate signature on the Declaration of Independence. John Adams (1735–1826) was the second president of the United States from 1797–1801. See Alfred, Lord Tennyson's letter to Whitman of August 24, 1878; it is uncertain which letter from Burroughs Whitman is referring to here. See Beatrice Gilchrist's letter to Whitman of August 12, 1878. "Gathering the Corn" appeared in the New York Tribune on October 24, 1878. It was later reprinted in Good-bye My Fancy (The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman, [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902], 7:14–17). See the letters from Whitman to Whitelaw Reid of September 30, 1878, and November 27, 1878. Whitman sent a copy of Passage to India (1871), in which "O Captain! My Captain!" appears, to Reid on July 12, 1878. On July 12, 1878, Whitman wrote to Reid inquiring after the payment for "A Poet's Recreation," which had appeared in the New York Tribune on July 4. On July 19, Whitman noted receipt of the payment in his commonplace book. See Whitman's letters to Burroughs of June 26, 1878, in which he enclosed a proof slip of "A Poet's Recreation," and July 5, 1878. Whitman went to New York to attend the funeral of William Cullen Bryant on June 14, 1878, and stayed with John H. Johnston, a jeweler and old friend. Afterward, he paid a visit to John Burroughs before he returned to New York, where he remained until July 10. See Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller (New York: New York University Press, 1964), 3:120–128. See Whitman's letter to Burroughs of June 26, 1878. Little is known about Sarah Elizabeth Burroughs Bownes (c. 1836–1902). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden City, | Camden Co, | N.J. It is postmarked: KIRKWOOD | JUN | 5 | N.J. CAMDEN | 6PM | N.J. See Whitman's letter to Anne Gilchrist of May 10, 1878. The Radical Review was an anarchist periodical edited by Benjamin Ricketson Tucker (1854–1939) and published by Tucker out of New Bedford, Massachusetts. The journal produced four issues before closing. For a discussion of this letter between Whitman and Horace Traubel, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, May 25, 1888. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden City, | Camden Co. It is postmarked: KIRKWOOD | APR 5 | N.J. CAMDEN | 7PM | N.J. Sarah "Sally" Williams Mead (c. 1783–1878) was Whitman's maternal grandmother's sister and the aunt of Whitman's mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (1795–1873). James H. Townsend was married to Priscilla Townsend, a cousin of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. James H. Townsend was a clerk in the New York "Hall of Records." The authorship of this letter is confirmed in Whitman's letter to Louisa Orr Whitman on April 13–14, 1878. Johnson has printed on the postcard passages from Whitman's poetry, including "By Blue Ontario’s Shore" (Sections 8 and 9), "For You O Democracy," and "I Dream'd in a Dream." This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | MAR16 | 8PM | 91. LONDON | PM | MR 18 | 91 | CANADA. This letter is addressed: John Burroughs | Esopus-on-Hudson | New York. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | MAR | 21 | N.J. "Before Genius" is an essay by John Burroughs; it was published in the April issue of the Galaxy, 421–426. In it, he observes: "If we except 'Leaves of Grass' and Emerson's works, there is little as yet in American literature that shows much advance beyond the merely conventional and scholastic." The poem "Come Up from the Fields Father" was first published in Drum-Taps (1865) and was included in all subsequent editions of Leaves of Grass. For more, see William G. Lulloff, "Come Up from the Fields Father" (1865), Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). "The Wound-Dresser" was first published in Drum-Taps (1865) as "The Dresser" and received its present title upon its inclusion in the 1876 edition of Leaves of Grass. The poem describes Whitman's time volunteering in army hospitals during the Civil War. For more, see Harold Aspiz, "Wound-Dresser, The" (1865), Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). "Carol of Occupations" is a poem cluster in Leaves of Grass. "Fall behind me States!" is the first line of the fourteenth poem in Whitman's "By Blue Ontario's Shore" poem cluster. "The Singer in the Prison" is a poem from Leaves of Grass. According to Gay Wilson Allen, (Walt Whitman Handbook [Chicago, Packard and Company, 1946], 195), the poem describes English soprano Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa's (1836–1876) concert in Sing Sing Prison. Johnson is quoting Whitman's "Song of Myself." Johnson is likely referring to his letter of February 8, 1878. Whitman is referencing the poem "How Doth the Little Busy Bee" (1715) by English hymnwriter and theologian Isaac Watts (1674–1748); the poem praises the bee as a tireless worker, cautioning the reader against idleness. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens St | Camden | N.J. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens St. | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: HYDE PARK | FEB | 26 | N.Y. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: BOSTON | JAN | 31 | 4PM | MASS. CAMDEN | 11AM | N.J. Little is known about Charles B. Whitman except that in 1878, he was a student in Boston. It is unclear whether Harry Stafford refers to "O Captain! My Captain!" or "When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom'd," both of which are about the death of Abraham Lincoln. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq., | Camden City, | N.J. It is postmarked: []L.&AT.CITY | [] This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens St | Camden. | NJ. It is postmarked: KIRKWOOD || JAN | 26 | N.J. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens St | Camden NJ. During the centennial celebration of the U.S. in 1876, Whitman reissued the fifth edition of Leaves of Grass in the repackaged form of a "Centennial Edition" and "Author's Edition," with most copies personally signed by the poet. Two Rivulets was published as a companion volume to the book. Notable for its experimentations in form, typography, and printing convention, Whitman's two-volume set marks an important departure from previous publications of Leaves of Grass. For more information, see Frances E. Keuling-Stout, " Leaves of Grass, 1876, Author's Edition," "Two Rivulets, Author's Edition [1876]," and "Preface to Two Rivulets [1876]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens St. | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON. WC. | 6 | DE17 | 77 | S.M.P. NEW YORK | DEC | 26. CAMDEN | 8AM | N.J. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Camden City | N.J. It is postmarked: KIRKWOOD | NOV | 27 | N.J. This is a reference to the Stafford family's farm in Glendale, New Jersey, where Whitman spent a great deal of time in the late 1870s. He used various names to refer to the farm, including White Horse, Timber Creek, and Kirkwood. Spencerian script was developed by Platt Rogers Spencer (1800–1864); it was based on Latin script and was the predominant style of penmanship in America from about 1850 until 1925. Harry Stafford is likely referring to a Spencerian penmanship copybook, which was designed to teach the method of writing. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Camden City | N.J. It is postmarked: KIRKWOOD | NOV | 21 | N.J. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Camden City | New Jersey. It is postmarked: KIRKWOOD | NO | 17 | N.J. Little is known about Edward D. Bellows (c. 1847–?) except that he was a clerk at a bookstore. Jacob Horner Stafford (1850–1890) was the son of Montgomery Stafford and Mary Horner Stafford. He was the cousin of Harry Stafford (1858–1918), who was a close friend of Whitman's. This Montgomery Stafford is a brother of George Stafford (1827–1892) and not his son Montgomery Stafford (1862–1925). Despite the family's fears, George Stafford did not die until 1892, shortly before Whitman himself died. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden City | New Jersey. It is postmarked: KIRKWOOD | NOV | 14 | N.J. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: KIRKWOOD | NOV | 7 | N.J. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden City | N.J. It is postmarked: KIRKWOOD | OCT | 24 | N.J. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden City, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: KIRKWOOD | OCT | 17. Herbert Gilchrist had been staying with naturalist John Burroughs in Esopus, New York, from September 24 to October 5, 1877 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden City, | N. J. It is postmarked: KIRKWOOD | OCT 5 | [] Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman's Aunt Libby has not been identified but was probably named Elizabeth. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman described her daughter-in-law's aunt as English and wrote that she was not fond of the aunt's company: "i wouldent be very sorry if aunty wasent here" (see her April 21–May 3?, 1873, letter to Walt Whitman). Earlier in 1877, Anne Gilchrist had, as she wrote to one of her English friends on December 23, "a somewhat severe operation (under ether) to cure an injury received at the birth of one of my children which has always troubled me" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Her daughter Beatrice, a student at the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia, supervised her care following the surgery. Whitman noted receipt of $50.12 for book orders from Carpenter on this date (The Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See also Whitman's letter to Carpenter of October 5, 1877). Whitman received a letter from Carpenter on September 17, 1877 and a postal card on September 20, 1877, placing book orders for his friends. Whitman's nieces, Mannahatta and Jessie, had come for a two-week visit. They stayed in Camden with George, Louisa, and Walt, and also stayed with the Gilchrists in Philadelphia for five days. They arrived on September 10 and departed on September 24 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Not much is know about the Rev. H. R. Haweis, other than that he was a popular London preacher. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Stevens St | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: EFFINGHAM | SEP | 2[] | ILL. According to Baldwin's August 11, 1877, letter to Whitman, the year's harvest had been ruined by a drought, deeply impacting Baldwin's income. In his letter of September 11, 1877, Baldwin wrote that he had been ill and appealed to Whitman for money. Evidently, Whitman loaned him some money. Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers (1797–1877) was the second elected president of France. He died several weeks before this letter was written. Smith quotes, almost in entirety, from Whitman's poem "To You." This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden City, | N.J. It is postmarked: KIRKWOOD | SEP | 25. Harold "Harry" Johnston, John H. Johnston's last child with Amelia F. Johnston. During one of Whitman's long visits with the family in March of 1877, Amelia died giving birth to Harry. The River Dysynni (Afon Dysynni) originates in the Tal-y-llyn Lake and flows into the Irish Sea. An eisteddfod is a Welsh festival celebrating poetry and music, featuring competitions in various subjects. David Griffith (1800–1894) was a Welsh poet and presided over the Gorsedd (an organization responsible for promoting poetry, music, and literary scholarship) from 1888 until his death. His bardic name was Clwydfardd, and his official title was Archdruid of Gorsedd Beirdd Ynys Prydain (The Throne of Bards of the Isle of Britain). He was the fisrt bard to bear this distinctive title. Taliesin (c. 6th century CE) was an ancient Welsh poet whose work may have survived in The Book of Taliesin. Rasmus Björn Anderson (1846–1936) was a Norwegian-American editor, writer, translator, diplomat, and founder and professor of Scandinavian language studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. From 1885 to 1889, he was the U.S. minister to Denmark. He was a noted translator of Norse mythology and Scandinavian literature, including the Icelandic Sagas, for which he was gifted a commemorative silver drinking horn by the Danish government in 1888 (Life story of Rasmus B. Anderson (1915), Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Anderson visited Whitman on February 5, 1878, accompanied by a Miss Woodward (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Edward Carpenter traveled to the United States to visit Whitman for several weeks in 1877, arriving in late April and returning to England late in June (see Whitman's letter to John Burroughs on June 22, 1877). He visited Whitman again in 1884, and would later publish an account of his time with the poet in his book Days with Walt Whitman: with some notes on his life and work (1906). Whitman's nieces Manahatta "Hattie" (1860–1886) and Jessie Louisa "Sis" Whitman (1863–1957), the daughters of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman, were to come for a two-week visit and were to stay with the Gilchrists in Philadelphia for five days. They arrived on September 10 and departed on September 24 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: Walter Whitman Esq. | 431 Stevens St. Cor. West. | Camden N. Jersey. Gabriel Arthur Madox Rossetti (1877–1932) was the second child of William Michael Rossetti and Lucy Madox Brown. He became a scientist and married Dora Lewis. Olivia Rossetti Agresti (1875–1960) was the first child of William Michael Rossetti and Lucy Madox Brown. She was an interpreter, activist, and writer, and is best known for her anarchist political leanings. This is a reference to "The Flight of the Eagle" in Birds and Poets. This chapter is devoted to Whitman, who provided comments and corrections for the chapter and the entire book. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden City | New Jersey. It is postmarked: KIRKWOOD | JUL | 9 | N.J. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: CLIFTON | A8 | JY12 | 77 | BRISTOL. NEW YORK | JUL | 25. Whitman sent the two-volume set of Leaves of Grass and Two Rivulets to Symonds on April 1, 1877 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Emma Dowe was Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman's sister. Her husband Francis E. Dowe operated dry goods stores in Norwich, Connecticut, from 1872 to 1918. In his July 12, 1877, letter to Whitman, John Addington Symonds writes that he gave his nephew, St. Loe Strachey, a copy of Leaves of Grass in 1874, and that Strachey had memorized part of the book. Manahatta "Hattie" (1860–1886) and Jessie Louisa "Sis" Whitman (1863–1957), the daughters of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. Hattie and Jessie were both favorites of their uncle Walt. The second edition of Leaves of Grass was published in 1856, not 1857. The third edition of Leaves of Grass (1860) was published by Thayer and Eldridge, a Boston publishing firm. For more on Whitman's relationship with Thayer and Eldridge, see David Donlan Breckenridge, "Thayer, William Wilde [1829–1896] and Charles W. Eldridge [1837–1903]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). For this edition, Whitman abandoned the green binding used for the 1855 and 1856 editions and instead used several different bindings including yellowish brown, reddish orange, and purple. For a discussion of the significance of this color change, see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). The fourth edition of Leaves of Grass (1867) was issued by the New York printer William E. Chapin. Often called the "workshop" edition, the volume consisted of four separately paginated books stitched together (an edited version of the 1860 Leaves of Grass, reissues of Drum-Taps and Sequel to Drum-Taps, and a coda called Songs Before Parting) between two covers. For more on the fourth edition, see Luke Mancuso, "Leaves of Grass, 1867 edition," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). The fourth edition of Leaves of Grass was not published, as Whitman writes, in 1865, but in November of 1866, with a formal publishing date of 1867. The 1881–1882 edition of Leaves of Grass was published in November 1881, by Boston publishers James R. Osgood and Company. Oliver Stevens, the District Attorney of Boston, notified Osgood and Co. on March 1, 1882, that the book was officially classified as obscene and was to be suppressed. Osgood withdrew the book, and Whitman arranged for printing to resume with Philadelphia publishers Rees Welsh and later David McKay. For more on this edition, see Dennis K. Renner, " Leaves of Grass, 1881–82 edition," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Memoranda During the War (1875) chronicles Whitman's time as a hospital volunteer during the American Civil War. Whitman began planning the book in 1863; see his letter to publisher James Redpath of October 21, 1863, in which he describes his intended book. For more about the completed volume, see Robert Leigh Davis, "Memoranda During the War [1875–1876]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Evans is quoting lines from Whitman's poem "So Long!" from Leaves of Grass. In Stafford's letter to Whitman of August 6, 1877, he complains that he has written three letters to Whitman without receiving an answer. Anne Gilchrist's daughters were Beatrice (1854–1881) and Grace (1859–1947). The year is conjectural, although entries in The Commonplace Book warrant the elimination of the next five years (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Rebecca Freeman Johnston was the wife of Colonel John R. Johnston. Whitman frequently visited the Johnstons' home when he lived in Camden. John R. "Jack" Johnston, Jr., was the son of Walt Whitman's close friends in Camden, Col. John R. and Rebecca Freeman Johnston. Whitman sent the 1876 book set, consisting of the Author's edition of Leaves of Grass and Two Rivulets to Lady Hardy, wife of Baron Cozens-Hardy, in London on October 24, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This letter is addressed: John R. Johnston | at A R McCowan & Co's | 623 Market Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: PHILADELPHIA | JUN | 20 | [illegible] | 9A. This letter is addressed: John Burroughs | Esopus-on-Hudson | New York. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | FEB | 13 | N.J. NEW YORK | FEB | 14 | 8AM. Whitman is referring to the Stafford family's farm in Glendale, New Jersey, where he spent a great deal of time in the late 1870s. He used various names to refer to the farm, including White Horse, Timber Creek, and Kirkwood. See Johnston's postal card to Whitman of August 5, 1876. See Johnston's letter to Whitman of December 20, 1876. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens St | Camden | Co[illegible] | New Jersey. This letter is addressed: To Walt Whitman | 112 E. 10th St | New York | N.Y. | U.S. America. it is postmarked: YORK | C | MR 2 | 77. NEW YORK | MAR | 15. NEW YORK | MR16 | 8AM | REC'D. CAMDEN | MAR | 1[cutaway] | N. J. This letter is addressed: Miss Kate Hillard | 186 Remsen Street | Brooklyn | N York. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | MAR | 8 | 2PM | CITY DELIVERY. NEW YORK | MAR | 8 | 4PM | REC'D. Amelia F. Many Johnston (1839–1877) was New York jeweler John H. Johnston's first wife. The couple had five children. Amelia died the evening of March 26, 1877, while giving birth to Harold Johnston. Whitman, who had been visiting the family, returned to Camden the next day. Harold Johnston was the son of the jeweler John H. Johnston and his first wife Amelia F. Many Johnston (1839–1877). Amelia died the evening of March 26, 1877, while giving birth to Harold. Baldwin is likely referring to the last Russo-Turkish war, which began in the early spring of 1877, and ended in 1878. The war involved several major European countries. Walt Whitman's increasing dissatisfaction with life in his brother George's home (see Walt Whitman's letter to Mannahatta and Jessie Louisa Whitman on December 20, 1876) is apparent in the frequency of his absences. He divided his time mainly between the Stafford family's farm in Glendale, New Jersey, and Anne Gilchrist's home in Philadelphia, often staying for long periods of time. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | Kirkwood Po | Camden Co | New Jersey. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | MAY | 22 | N. J. This postal card is addressed: W Hale White | Admiralty | Whitehall | London | England. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | MAY | 25 | N. J. [illegible] | MAY | 25 | PAID ALL.Whitman wrote this message on a pre-printed postal card and crossed out the original text in red pen. The original text reads:
CAMDEN, New Jersey, —1876. Your subscription for my Book is received—for which hearty thanks. Excuse delay, should there be any—the small first edition being exhausted, and another now in press. Your Volume will be sent W. W.
Walt Whitman had two nieces: Manahatta "Hattie" (1860–1886) and Jessie Louisa "Sis" Whitman (1863–1957), the daughters of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman (1833–1890) and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman (1836–1873). Hattie and Jessie were both favorites of their uncle Walt. Grace Gilchrist Frend (1859–1947) was the youngest of Anne Gilchrist's four children. Walt Whitman often referred to her as "Giddy" when she was a child. She became a contralto and was the author of "Walt Whitman as I Remember Him" (Bookman 72 [July 1927], 203–205). Daniel M. Zimmerman was the secretary and treasurer for the Camden & Atlantic Railroad Company. According to census records, he lived in Philadelphia from 1877–1881. In an 1884 report from the New Jersey Comptroller of the Treasury, Zimmerman gave an account of all company railroad accidents for the year 1883 (Annual Statements of the Railroad and Canal Companies [Newton, N.J.: Thomas G. Bennell, 1884], 22). This letter is addressed: Please forward to Walt Whitman. | Camden | N.J. | Stati Uniti d'America. It is postmarked: ROMA | 1 | 1-78 | 98 | [cutaway]BOVIA. BOSTON | MAR | 26 | 6PM | MA88. This letter is addressed: To Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey | United States of America. It is postmarked: LONDON. N.W | C1 | JA 9 | 77. In 1876, Anne Gilchrist (1828–1885), Whitman's friend and the author of "A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman," one of the first significant pieces of criticism on Leaves of Grass, moved with three of her children (Herbert, Beatrice, and Grace) from England to Philadelphia. The family lived in Philadelphia from 1876 to 1878; Whitman visited their home almost daily and even had his own room. From April 1878, to 1879, the Gilchrists lived in Concord, Boston, and New York, before returning to England. Anne's son Herbert (1857–1914) remained in America and lived in Philadelphia, maintaining a close relationship with Whitman; after Whitman's death in 1892, he returned to England. For more on Whitman and the Gilchrists, see Marion Walker Alcaro, "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Francis Pharcellus Church (1839–1906) or William Conant Church (1836–1917). The Church brothers established the Galaxy in 1866; financial control of the Galaxy passed to Sheldon & Company in 1868, and it was absorbed by the Atlantic Monthly in 1878. Whitman published several poems in the Galaxy; for more information about Whitman's relationship with the Churches and the periodical, see Susan Belasco, The Galaxy. This is a draft letter. The final version has not been located. This is the address of Anne Gilchrist's Philadelphia home. In 1876, Gilchrist (1828–1885), Whitman's friend and the author of "A Woman's Estimate of Walt Whitman," one of the first significant pieces of criticism on Leaves of Grass, moved with three of her children from England to Philadelphia, where the family lived from 1876 to 1878; Whitman visited their home almost daily and even had his own room. For more on Whitman and the Gilchrists, see Marion Walker Alcaro, "Gilchrist, Anne Burrows (1828–1885)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | 431 Stevens St | Camden NJ. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | [illegible] | N. J. Whitman is referring to the recent death of his favorite brother Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), known as "Jeff.” Whitman discussed the photograph with Horace Traubel on August 6, 1888. See Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, August 6, 1888. Whitman eventually did furnish Aldrich with a manuscript copy of "O Captain!," for which Aldrich sent the poet $5. Whitman signed the manuscript copy "with best wishes prayers & love for the people of Iowa." The manuscript is still on display at the State Historical Building in Des Moines. See Ed Folsom, "The Mystical Ornithologist and the Iowa Tufthunter: Two Unpublished Whitman Letters and Some Identifications," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 1 (1983), 18–29. Little is known about Henry Dearden except that he was one of the members of the Bolton College of Whitman admirers. Wallace writes in his Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–1891 about asking Whitman to inscribe a copy of Good-Bye My Fancy for "Henry and S. J. Dearden," and he says he gave Whitman an "account of Deardens, whom I said he would like." Little is known about Henry Dearden's wife Esther. Bush is echoing the second line of "O Captain! My Captain!": "The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won." H. D. Bush was an engineer and inventor, specializing in bridge construction. He was associated with the Dominion Bridge Company and served as manager of the Baltimore Bridge Company. He worked on bridges in the American Northwest and then in New England, where he supervised structural engineering projects in Springfield, Massachusetts, then in Montreal. He served as the President of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He was a friend of Horace Traubel's and a great admirer of Whitman and his work. He attended Whitman's final birthday dinner on May 31, 1891. He is mentioned numerous times in Traubel's With Walt Whitman in Camden, and Whitman greatly admired Bush, calling him a "noble fellow" and finding him one of "our men . . . the scientific men—men having a basis in sublime common sense" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Monday, December 23, 1889). "Autumn Rivulets" is a poem cluster in Leaves of Grass. For an analysis of the cluster, see Jack Field, "Autumn Rivulets" (1881), Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). English Traits (1856) is a book by Ralph Waldo Emerson about his two visits to England, during which he met various famous writers and discerned the origins of many American customs. "John's Hero" is a short story published in the July 1876 issue of Blackwood's Magazine (120:729, 43–52). London Lyrics (1857) is a book of poetry by the English poet Frederick Locker-Lampson (1821–1895). September Days (1878) is a landscape painting by the English painter Herbert Gilchrist (1857–1914), painted during Gilchrist's time visiting Timber Creek, New Jersey, with Whitman in the fall of 1878 (Bohan, R. L., Looking into Walt Whitman [Penn State Press: 2006], 68). Edwin H. Woodruff (1863–1941), a member of the staff of the Cornell University Library, was introduced to Whitman by Hiram Corson in a letter of March 26, 1886. Two days later he was in Camden (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Earlier, on June 4, 1882, Woodruff had sent Whitman a poem written under his influence and printed in the Cornell Era. Later Woodruff became a professor of law and was dean of the Cornell Law School from 1916 to 1921. See Cornell University, Faculty. Necrology of the Faculty, 1941–1942, 5–7. Benton H. Wilson (1843–1914?) was the son of Henry Wilson (1805–1870)—a harness and trunk maker—and Ann S. Williams Wilson (1809–1887). Benton Wilson was a U. S. Civil War soldier recovering in Armory Square Hospital in Washington, D.C., when he met Whitman. Later, Wilson was employed selling melodeons and sewing machines. He also sold life insurance and may have worked as a pawnbroker. He married Nellie Gage Morrell Wilson (ca. 1841–1892). Nellie had two children, Lewis and Eva Morrell, from a previous marriage, and she and Benton were the parents of five children. Wilson named his first child "Walter Whitman Wilson," after the poet; their other children were Austin, Irene, Georgie, and Kathleen Wilson. Benton Wilson's correspondence with Whitman spanned a decade, lasting from 1865 to 1875. Cyrus Field Willard (1858–1942) was an American journalist, political activist, and theosophist. In the December 1887 edition of The American Magazine, Willard dramatizes an interview he conducted with Whitman. Willard's depiction of Whitman is as a venerated but paralyzed man, whose speech is overwrought with contractions and elided syllables. Willard ends by appropriating Whitman's free verse and form in an improvised, perhaps satirical, poem entitled "America's Greeting to Walt." For the published interview, see Cyrus Willard, "A Chat With The Good Gray Poet." Clement Templeton was a concert manager in London. Taylor is implying that his son is named Walter Whitman Taylor, after the poet. John Russell Young (1841–1899) was a noted journalist in Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, D.C. A Pennsylvania native, he began writing at the Philadelphia Press at age seventeen and was named a managing editor in 1862. After serving as a war journalist during the Civil War, he moved to New York in 1865 to work at the New York Tribune, which he edited from 1866 to 1868. In 1870 he established his own newspaper, the New York Standard. In 1877, he was invited to accompany President Ulysses S. Grant on a world tour; Young published Around the World with General Grant, a two-volume account of the tour, in 1879. Young's knowledge of the Chinese language earned him the position of the American ambassador to China from 1882 to 1885. He became the seventh Librarian of Congress in 1897 and served until his death. In Men and Memories (New York, F. Tennyson Neely, 1901), a posthumous collection of Young's personal reminiscences, his editor and wife, May Dow Russell Young writes: "A deep and genuine affection existed between Walt Whitman and John Russell Young, the result of many years' acquaintance and profound admiration" (76). The collection includes Young's account of reading the first edition of Leaves of Grass and later meeting Whitman in Washington, D.C. (76–109). For more information, see John C. Broderick, "John Russell Young: The Internationalist as Librarian," Quarterly Journal of the Library of Congress 33 (April 1976), 116–149. Calvin Harlow Greene (1817–1898) was born in Covington, New York, and moved to Rochester, Michigan, as a child. He taught school at Rochester's Avon Lyceum in 1856 and served as principal there the next year. He owned and operated a saw and cider mill in Rochester. A lover of literature, he particularly admired Henry David Thoreau and, after reading Walden, he wrote to Thoreau in 1856 to ask how he could get a copy of A Week on the Concord and Merrimack; this initiated a sustained four-year correspondence between Greene and Thoreau. After Thoreau's death in 1862, Greene stayed in touch with Thoreau's mother and sister and visited the family in Concord, Massachusetts, where he also developed friendships with Ralph Waldo Emerson and Bronson Alcott. Pope Clement VIII invited Tasso to Rome to receive the crown of laurels as the king of poets in a ceremony on the Capitoline Hill in April 595; Tasso died just days before the honor was to be bestowed. Henry Festing Jones (1851–1928) was the author of Samuel Butler (1919) and the editor of many of Butler's manuscripts. The Literary World, published by S. R. Crocker in Boston, was a magazine devoted primarily to literary criticism. The magazine operated from 1870 until 1904, when it was incorporated into The Critic. A London edition of The Literary World was also published. Albert D. Shaw (1857–1947) was the United States consul in Manchester, England; see Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White (New York: New York University Press, 1978), 1:237. He was the founder and editor of the American Review of Reviews from 1891 to 1937, and author of Abraham Lincoln (1929). Brander Matthews (1852–1929) was a professor of English literature at Columbia University from 1892 to 1924. He printed "O Captain, my Captain" in Poems of American Patriotism (1882), 268–269. Charles de Kay (1848–1935) was the literary and art editor of the New York Times from 1876 to 1894. Charles Frederick Wingate (1848–1909) was a New York correspondent for the Republican of Springfield, Massachusetts. In the 1880s and 90s, he became a sanitary engineer in New York City, delivering lectures and writing newspaper columns about the city's sanitation practices and problems. Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was an Irish poet, novelist, and playwright, best known for his plays, including The Importance of Being Earnest, and his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. In 1895, Wilde was convicted for homosexual acts and was sentenced to imprisonment and hard labor from 1895–1897. On January 18, 1882, during a trip to America, Wilde met Whitman at the poet's Camden home; the meeting is described in Lloyd Lewis and Henry J. Smith's Oscar Wilde Discovers America, 1882 (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1936), 73–77. John Addington Symonds wrote Studies of the Greek Poets (London: Smith, Elder, & Co., 1873–1876), in which he lauded Whitman as "more thoroughly Greek than any man of modern times." The book was reissued a number of times in the decades following its original publication in 1873. Sir Edward Strachey was a baronet in Somersetshire, England. His wife, Mary Isabella Symonds, was the sister of John Addington Symonds. Traubel notes in his Lippincott's article that his account of Whitman's final birthday dinner "is made up from the direct work and a stenographer and liberal notes kept by the writer." The identity of the stenographer that Traubel hired is unknown, as is the reason for the stenographer's delay in getting his work to Traubel. George William Curtis (1824–1892), author and editor of Harper's Magazine, was a New England writer and orator who had been a neighbor of Ralph Waldo Emerson for some time in the 1840s. In his Lippincott's article on Whitman's final birthday dinner, Traubel does include a short quotation from Curtis's letter about Whitman. Traubel's piece in Lippincott's records many of the comments made at Whitman's last birthday dinner, but Traubel notes on the first page of his article that "for lack of space much that is valuable must be omitted," and, while he records the reading of some of the letters that were sent for Whitman's birthday, including John Addington Symonds's letter, he omits others, including William Sloane Kennedy's. It is unclear what Whitman means by "T's paper." He may be referring to Traubel's "Walt Whitman: Poet and Philosopher and Man" in Lippincott's Magazine of March 1891. Whitman could also mean the February issue of "T's paper" The Conservator, the periodical Traubel founded, edited, and published. John Scott and J. P. Williams were New York printers who took over the printing business of William E. Chapin & Co., the printer who had printed the 1867 edition of Leaves of Grass (actually published in November 1866). Hiram J. Ramsdell (1839–1887) was a clerk in Washington; in a hospital notebook (Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, California), Walt Whitman called him "chief clerk." Ramsdell was the Washington correspondent for the New York Tribune and the Cincinnati Commercial. Porter & Coates was a publishing and bookselling company located on the corner of 9th and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia. While visiting the store on November 22, 1880, Whitman found copies of an unauthorized edition of Leaves of Grass, thus launching Whitman's dispute with printer Richard Worthington. For Whitman's account of the piracy affair, see his letter to Richard Watson Gilder of November 26, 1880. R. J. Morrell was a manufacturer of rattan furniture in Newfield, New Jersey. John Morley (1838–1923), a statesman as well as a man of letters, was editor of the London magazine the Fortnightly Review from 1867 to 1882. He visited Whitman in February 1868; see Morley's Recollections (1917), II, 105. Morley wrote on January 5, 1869 that he could not print Whitman's poem "Thou vast Rondure, Swimming in Space" until April 1869: "If that be not too late for you, and if you can make suitable arrangements for publication in the United States so as not to interfere with us in point of time, I shall be very glad." Unaccountably, the poem did not appear in print. John Morley (1838–1923), a statesman as well as a man of letters, was editor of The Fortnightly Review, an English monthly magazine, from 1867 to 1882. He visited Whitman in February 1868; see Morley's Recollections (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1917), 2:105. In 1883, Morley was elected as a Member of Parliament for the Liberal Party; he held several political offices, including serving as Chief Secretary for Ireland and Secretary of State for India. He also wrote a biography of William Gladstone (1809–1898), a Liberal politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during four non-consecutive terms. Ellen Louise Chandler Moulton (1835–1908) was an American poet and critic who published several collections of verse and prose, as well as regular contributions to the New York Tribune and Boston Herald. Moulton corresponded with Whitman starting in 1876, and visited him in Camden on April 23, 1888; she wrote of their meeting in "Three Very Famous People. Mrs. Cleveland, George W. Childs and Walt Whitman. Words of Washington and Philadelphia. Poet Who Wrote of the Birds on Paumanok's Shore," Boston Sunday Herald, April 29, 1888, p. 20. Though she had words of praise for Whitman and his work, Whitman said of her, "I can't endure her effusiveness: I like, respect her: but her dear this and dear that and dear the other thing make me shudder" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, March 1, 1889). Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke and his brother-in-law William John Gurd were designing a gas and fluid meter to be patented in Canada and sold in England. Bucke believed the meter would be worth "millions of dollars," while Whitman remained skeptical, sometimes to Bucke's annoyance. In a March 18, 1888, letter to William D. O'Connor, Whitman wrote, "The practical outset of the meter enterprise collapsed at the last moment for the want of capital investors." For additional information, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, March 17, 1889, Monday, March 18, 1889, Friday, March 22, 1889, and Wednesday, April 3, 1889. Thomas J. McKee was a New York lawyer who, in 1888, was looking into Whitman's claims against Richard Worthington for, in 1880, selling unauthorized editions of Leaves of Grass (1860). It is unclear just what "program" Whitman has in mind here, but Dr. Richard M. Bucke’s journey to England to meet with Wallace and Johnston was imminent, so that may be what Whitman is referring to. In 1879, the auction house George A. Leavitt & Co. auctioned off the plates of the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass as published by then defunct Thayer and Eldridge. Concerned about unathorized printings, Whitman, as the sole owner of the copyright, requested that the plates not be sold. Leavitt went ahead with the auction, and the plates were purchased by Richard Worthington, a New York publisher. Whitman refused Worthington's request to print the book, again citing his status as the sole copyright holder. In late 1880, Whitman learned that Worthington had been printing and selling unauthorized copies of the book for nearly a year. The controversy did not resolve to Whitman's satisfaction: instead of receiving the royalties he felt he was owed, Worthington paid him a small royalty. For a detailed account of the affair, see Whitman's letter to Richard Watson Gilder of November 26, 1880. In 1879, George A. Leavitt & Co. auctioned off the plates of the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass as published by Thayer and Eldridge. The sale would lead to Whitman's piracy conflict with New York publisher Richard Worthington. Caroline "Carrie" Burnham Kilgore (1838–1909) was the first woman to graduate with a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Burnham attempted to vote in Philadelphia on October 10, 1871, later arguing that she fit the legal definition of "freemen." Her claim was denied by Judge George Sharswood on December 30, 1871; Sharswood's opinion was later upheld by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on April 5, 1873 (Information courtesy of Kilgore's granddaughter, Florence A. Hoadley). In 1876, she married liberal Philadelphia lawyer Damon Young Kilgore (1827–1888). 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. Jack Johnston was a friend of Whitman. In 1878, he worked at A. R. McCown & Co., a hosiery store in Philadelphia; later he worked at Ziegler & Swearingen, sellers of notions in Philadelphia. In Jack's autograph book, Whitman wrote in 1875: "In memory of the good times, Sunday evenings, in Penn street, 1875, '4, & '3." On January 18, 1880, he wrote again: "Good times, Sunday Evenings, continued, '76, '77, '78, '79, &c. W W" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Edward Pardee Bucke (1875–1913) was the son of the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1902) and his wife, Jessie Maria Gurd (1839–1926). He would receive his M.D. from the Univeristy of Western Ontario in 1897 and practice otolaryngology in London, Ontario. Bartram Bonsall was coeditor of the Camden Daily Post, which was founded by his father, Henry Lummis Bonsall. His brother, Harry Bonsall, lived in the same asylum as Whitman's brother Eddy. In August 1878, Whitman asked Bonsall about the possibility of work for his young friend Harry Stafford. In January 1889, Bonsall visited Whitman and described it in a paragraph in the Philadelphia Press (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, January 10, 1889). Julius Bing was a social reformer appointed as clerk of the Joint Select Committee on Retrenchment in early 1867. Bing wrote more than twenty articles on the civil service, which were published in the North American Review and Putnam's Magazine. Gustave Percival Wiksell was a dentist. He was a friend and frequent correspondent of Horace Traubel, and he was a member of the Walt Whitman Fellowship (Gustave Percival Wiksell papers, 1855–1939, Library of Congress). Richard Josiah Hinton (1830–1901) was a radical abolitionist, activist, writer, and printer. He was born in London and came to the U.S. in 1851, moving to Kansas in 1856 to join the abolitionist John Brown. Hinton served in the Union Army from 1861 to 1865, and saw Whitman while lying wounded in a hospital, a scene which he described in the Cincinnati Commercial on August 26, 1871. With fellow abolitionist James Redpath, he wrote Hand-book to Kansas Territory and the Rocky Mountains' Gold Region (1859). Later, he wrote Rebel Invasion of Missouri and Kansas (1865) and John Brown and His Men (1894). After the war, he wrote for many newspapers. Lizzie H. Hider married Wesley Stafford, Harry Stafford's cousin (see the letter from Whitman to Susan Stafford of February 6, 1881). They occupied the former home of Susan and George Stafford (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Perhaps Craige Lippincott (1846–1911), son of J. B. Lippincott, the founder of and president of J. B. Lippincott Co., a major Philadelphia publishing house. Craige became president of the company upon the elder Lippincott’s death in 1886 and ran the company until his suicide in Philadelphia in 1911. Mary Whitman Van Nostrand (1821–1899) was the first daughter and third child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and Walter Whitman, Sr. She was Walt Whitman's younger sister. She married Ansel Van Nostrand, a shipwright, in 1840, and they lived in Greenport, Long Island. Mary and Ansel had five children: George, Minnie, Fanny, Louisa, and Ansel, Jr. See Clarence Gohdes and Rollo G. Silver, ed., Faint Clews & Indirections: Manuscripts of Walt Whitman and His Family (Durham: North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1949), 208, 207. For more information on Whitman Van Nostrand, see Paula K. Garrett, "Whitman (Van Nostrand), Mary Elizabeth (b. 1821)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). See Dr. Channing's letter to Whitman of September 24, 1868. We have not been able to find a picture of Whitman in Good Words. "The Best Five Books of the Decade" article appeared in the December 27, 1890, issue of The Critic, with responses from authors George W. Cable, Kate Field, Alice French, Lucy Larcom, Brander Mattews, Francis Parkman, Celia Thaxter, and others, but with no response from Whitman. When Horace Traubel found this letter, he asked Whitman if he had answered, but Whitman "evaded questions cursorily" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Saturday, December 20, 1890). Traubel's article was accompanied by several illustrations, both photographs and engravings based on photos, but it is unclear if any of these was based on the photographic plate Dr. Johnston had sent to Whitman. The letter Whitman references was actually written on July 12, 1883. In it, O'Connor provides corrections and suggestions for a second printing of Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke's biography of Whitman. First appearing in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass (1871), the bandersnatch is a fictional creature. Carroll describes the bandersnatch as fierce, quick, and generally unpleasant. Based on the rest of this letter, it is likely the "Bandersnatch" mentioned by the writer is a man who is courting Lurella and of whom the writer does not approve. Henry D. Stover owned numerous mechanical companies, including the Stover Machine Company and the New York Steam Enginge Company. He held numerous mechanical patents. The New York Steam Engine Works was a part of the Stover Machine Company. The company produced mechanical parts, steam engines, and machinery for working metal. In 1866, the American Institute awarded the company a gold medal for "best portable engine and boiler" (Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York [Albany: O. Wendell, 1866; 8:198], 41). The Tullahoma and Maumee were war steamers. The United States Government contracted the Stover Machine Company to build the engines for the ships. For more information, see John Leander Bishop, A History of American Manufactures from 1608 to 1860 (Philadelphia: Edward Young & Co., 1868, 3:207–208). Henry D. Stover established the Stover Machine Company in New York in 1859. The company initially made tools and machines before branching out into marine and stationary engines (John Leander Bishop, A History of American Manufactures from 1608 to 1860 (Philadelphia: Edward Young & Co., 1868), 3:207–208. See Whitman's letter to Rhys of March 20, 1886. Whitman wrote this letter on the verso of Department of Justice stationery. Asa K. Butts was a New York bookseller who went bankrupt in 1874. In the mid-1870s, Butts tried to help Whitman procure legal counsel during Whitman's difficulties with book agents who allegedly embezzled from him. Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) was a prominent industrialist and admirer of Whitman; in Whitman's later years, Carnegie donated twice to the support of the aging poet. Francis Bicknell Carpenter (1830–1900) was an American painter, best known for his portrait of Abraham Lincoln, First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln. William F. Channing (1820–1901) was by training a doctor but devoted most of his life to scientific experiments. With Moses G. Farmer, he perfected the first fire-alarm system. He was the author of Notes on the Medical Applications of Electricity (Boston: Daniel Davis, Jr., and Joseph M. Wightman, 1849). Whitman stayed at his home in October, 1868. Josiah Child was the agent for Trübner & Company who handled dealings with Whitman. John Keble (1792–1866) was an English vicar, poet, and leader of the Oxford Movement. Herbert Hardy, first Baron Cozens-Hardy (1838–1920), was an English judge. Alfred Seelye Roe (1844–1917) taught at Worcester High School in Worcester, Massachusetts, and was the principal from 1880–1890. From 1891–1898, he was a Massachusetts state legislator. A former Union soldier, he was known as an orator, writer, and historian. Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke's first book on his theory of evolving consciousness, Man's Moral Nature (1879), was published in New York by G.P. Putnam's Sons. He dedicated the book to Whitman. "The Midnight Visitor" is a poem by French writer Henri Murger (1822–1861). Whitman was known to have recited the poem to great effect. Thomas B. Harned notes in his Memoirs that, while Whitman "never recited his own poems at the table," he did have a "fine clear voice and was a good elocutionist. He had a version of 'The Midnight Visitor' by Berger [sic]" (Hartford: Transcendental Books, 1972, p. 34). Traubel confirms this as well, writing that Whitman recited the poem "with gusto" and "was much applauded" for his performance (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, October 21, 1890). In periodical reprints of the poem, Whitman was often cited as author, and in some cases as translator (for more, see especially Alejandro Omidsalar, Ashley Palmer, Stephanie M. Blalock, and Matt Cohen, "Walt Whitman's Poetry Reprints and the Study of Nineteenth-Century Literary Circulation," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review, 35, 2017, pp. 1–44). David Goodman Croly (1829-1889) was the editor of the New York Daily Graphic and, earlier, the New York World. Rew is referencing the preface of Leaves of Grass. Brown is quoting from section 45 of Whitman's "Song of Myself". Rew pasted part of a newspaper clipping onto this letter for Whitman to read. The clipping includes several positive blurbs about Rew and his writing. Brown is referencing Whitman's poem "Year of Meteors. (1859–60.)". A vertical line has been drawn through this letter in blue crayon. Whitman wrote this message, which he knew would be his last, and asked Horace Traubel and Thomas Harned to have it lithographed with the facsimiles sent to his close friends, including Dr. Richard Bucke, William Sloane Kennedy, John Burroughs, and the Bolton College group. This particular one was to Dr. Johnston. Johnston is referring to Whitman's 1882 autobiography Specimen Days. Johnston is perhaps referring to Whitman's poem "From Pent-Up Aching Rivers". Donnelly argued in his book The Great Cryptogram: Francis Bacon's Cipher in Shakespeare's Plays (1888) that Shakespeare's plays had been written by Francis Bacon. In his pamphlet Mr. Donnelly's Reviewers (Chicago: Belford, Clarke & Co., 1889), O'Connor had attempted to defend Donnelly's Baconian argument. Scovel is referring to a poem called "The Midnight Visitor" by French writer Henri Murger (1822–1861). Whitman was known to have recited the poem to great effect. Thomas B. Harned notes in his Memoirs that, while Whitman "never recited his own poems at the table," he did have a "fine clear voice and was a good elocutionist. He had a version of 'The Midnight Visitor' by Berger [sic]" (Hartford: Transcendental Books, 1972, 34). Traubel confirms this as well, writing that Whitman recited the poem "with gusto" and "was much applauded" for his performance (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, October 21, 1890, 225). In periodical reprints of the poem, Whitman was often cited as author, and in some cases as translator (for more, see Alejandro Omidsalar, Ashley Palmer, Stephanie M. Blalock, and Matt Cohen, "Walt Whitman's Poetry Reprints and the Study of Nineteenth-Century Literary Circulation," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review, 35, 2017, pp. 1–44). A diagonal line has been drawn through this letter. Ignatius Loyola Donnelly (1831–1901) was a politician and writer, well known for his notions of Atlantis as an antediluvian civilization and for his belief that Shakespeare's plays had been written by Francis Bacon, an idea he argued in his book The Great Cryptogram: Francis Bacon's Cipher in Shakespeare's Plays, published in 1888. King James II and VII (1633–1701, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland) was deposed. This enclosure is transcribed at the end of the letter. The SS City of Berlin was a British ocean liner which began transatlantic operation in 1875 and for a while was the fastest liner on the Atlantic; it stayed in passenger service until 1898. Robert Peel Blatchford (1851–1943) was an English journalist, socialist campaigner, and author, who often wrote under the pseudonym of "Nunquam." He published The Nunquam Papers from the Sunday Chronicle in 1891, and The Nunquam Papers from The Clarion in 1895. Blatchford began writing for the Workman’s Times in October 1891 but quickly left to start The Clarion, where he pushed for the formation of an Independent Labour Party. Johnston is referring to Proverbs 30:15: "The horseleech hath two daughters, crying, Give, give." Johnston is referencing the famous scene in Oliver Twist where Oliver, living in a parish workhouse, is delegated by the other boys living there to ask the master for a second bowl of gruel: "Please, sir, I want some more." This is the poem that Symonds sent to Whitman in an 1871 letter that introduced himself to the poet, noting that "you may perchance detect some echo, faint and feeble, of your Calamus." See Symonds' letter to Whitman of October 7, 1871, and Whitman’s response of January 27, 1872. Bucke had five brothers, three of whom became doctors, but it is not clear which brother Wallace is referring to here. Scovel is quoting a line from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Autobiography of Goethe, in which Goethe notes that "as true fellows of the Upper Rhine, we had no bounds, either to our liking or disliking" (John Oxenford, Esq., trans. Autobiography of Goethe. Truth and Fiction: Relating to my Life [New York: John D. Williams, 1882], 1:219). Scovel's mention here of Thorne and the Globe provides information about when this letter was written. The first issue of the Globe was published in October 1889, so this letter must have been written after the publication of either the April 1890 issue or the April 1891 issue of the journal. Thorne had also "devote[d] a foul paragraph to denunciation of 'Leaves of Grass' as bestial beyond excuse and relief, etc." in the September 1890 issue (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, September 24, 1890). The July 1890 issue of Lippincott's did feature a "Round-Robin Talk" (with Thomas Nelson Page, J. M. Stoddart, Moses P. Handy, and others). The July 1891 issue did not contain a "Round-Robin Talk," so it is safe to assume that this letter was written in 1890. The rest of this letter has been torn away. A line has been drawn through this letter in black ink. Whitman responded on the verso of this letter, giving permission for The Critic to mention the letter from Tennyson, and included prose to use for the notice. On March 26, under "Notes," The Critic printed Whitman's suggested paragraph almost verbatim. See Tennyson's letter to Whitman of January 15, 1887. Heyde is referring to Whitman's youngest brother, Thomas Jefferson Whitman. Whitman is referring to Henry Morse, Sidney Morse's sixteen-year-old nephew; see Sidney Morse's letter to Whitman of January 31, 1888. In March 1888, Morse sent Whitman a plaster cast of his bust of Elias Hicks (1748–1830), the Quaker preacher and abolitionist, about whom Whitman was then writing an essay. See Morse's letters of January 31, 1888, and March 14, 1888. Whitman's essay on Hicks was published that same year in November Boughs (see "Elias Hicks, Notes (such as they are)"). In the early 1880s, Whitman had also written about Hicks for his book Specimen Days (see "Reminiscence of Elias Hicks"). For more on Hicks and his influence on Whitman, see David S. Reynolds, Walt Whitman's America (New York: Knopf, 1995), 37–39. This is a slight misquoting of the first line of the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley's sonnet "England in 1819." The opening line of the poem reads: "An old, mad, blind, despised, and dying King." See Morse's letter of February 22, 1888. Whitman may be referring to Bucke's letter of July 31, 1891. Reverend Samuel Thompson (b. 1835), originally from Canada, was the last resident minister of the Rivington Unitarian Chapel; he served as the minister from 1881 to 1909. He hosted and provided entertainment for the Eagle Street College group (later known as the Bolton College and the Bolton Fellowship)—a literary society established by James W. Wallace and Dr. John Johnston, dedicated to reading and discussing Whitman's work—when they celebrated Whitman's birthday each May 31st. For details of Bucke's visit to Tennyson, see his letter of August 10, 1891, to Whitman. Wallace is referring to an engraving of a portrait of Whitman by William James Linton (1812–1897). The engraving is based on an early 1870s photograph by George C. Potter. Linton's engraving of Walt Whitman appeared in the 1876 edition of Leaves of Grass, in Complete Poems & Prose (1888–1889), and in The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman (1902), 10 vols., II, 156. It inspired Whitman's poem "Out from Behind This Mask." See Harold Blodgett, "Whitman and the Linton Portrait," Walt Whitman Newsletter, 4 (1958), 90–92. Wallace is quoting Alfred, Lord Tennyson here. Whitman had planned to publish a group of photographs of himself, but it was never issued. He often discussed the project, which he considered calling "Portraits from life of Walt Whitman," with Horace Traubel. See, for example, Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, August 4, 1889. Both Johnston and Wallace had ordered copies of these portraits from Whitman. See Johnston's letter to Whitman of June 10, 1891. Whitman apparently sent instead some of the photos he had been thinking about using in the never-realized "Portraits from Life." Whitman was very close to the family of George and Susan M. Stafford of Laurel Springs, New Jersey. For more on this relationship, see David G. Miller, "Stafford, George and Susan M.," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). In his January 13, 1891 letter, to Whitman, Joseph M. Stoddart announced that he was going to visit the poet with a number of other people, including the actor Francis Wilson, the daughter of Julian Hawthorne, and possibly Paul Belloni Du Chaillu (1835–1903), the African explorer and author. On the letter, Whitman wrote: "ans'd | told them to come." On January 16 Wilson wrote to Whitman and sent a gift of a bottle of Old Crow Whiskey. As Whitman told Traubel, the visit was brief but "brightening" (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, January 15, 1891). Whitman mailed four copies of his Complete Poems & Prose (1888) to O'Dowd on December 26, 1890. In that letter, he expressed concern about whether or not the package would arrive. William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was an English poet and playwright and is widely considered the world's greatest dramatist. He was the author of numerous plays (including Richard III and Henry VIII), sonnets, and narrative poems. On his 1890 visit to Whitman in Camden, New Jersey, Dr. Johnston met Annie Dent, whom he described as "a little coloured girl," who cleaned what she called "Mr. Whitman's wheeled chair." See J. Johnston and J. W. Wallace, Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–1891 (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1917), 42. Probably Mrs. H. M. Harrison, daughter of Wentworth Dixon (1855–1928), a member of the "Bolton College" of Whitman admirers. This letter is addressed: Bernard O'Dowd | Supreme Court Library | Melbourne | Victoria | (via San Francisco & Sidney or otherwise). It is postmarked: CAMDEN NJ | NOV 4 | 10AM | 90. Ada, Kate, and William Fryer, O'Dowd's in-laws, and Eve Fryer O'Dowd, his wife. See O'Dowd's letter to Whitman of September 29, 1890. Dr. S. (Silas) Weir Mitchell (1829–1914) was a specialist in nervous disorders as well as a poet and a novelist. On April 18, 1878, Whitman had his second interview with Dr. Mitchell, who attributed his earlier paralysis to a small rupture of a blood vessel in the brain but termed Whitman's heart "normal and healthy." Whitman also noted that "the bad spells [Mitchell] tho't recurrences by habit (? sort of automatic)" (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Mitchell was the first physician to theorize the psychosomatic nature of many of Whitman's ailments: Whitman's 1879 lecture on the death of Lincoln might have unconsciously brought back the emotional involvements of his hospital experiences with comrades whom he had come to love only to be separated from them. Walt Whitman's brother Thomas Jefferson Whitman died unexpectedly from typhoid pneumonia on November 25, 1890. Thomas Bury, penname "Tom Touchstone," was a columnist for the Ballarat (Victoria) Courier. See O'Dowd's letter to Whitman of November 24, 1890. Fred Woods was a member of the Australeum discussion club and later wrote Heavenly Thoughts (1932), a volume of poetry. James Hartigan was a plasterer and member of the Australeum discussion club. Toynbee Hall was a settlement house established by young Oxford fellows and named for Arnold Toynbee. It was described in a letter from Charles Eldridge to William D. O'Connor on August 10, 1885: "It is a sort of priesthood, but of course the vows are self imposed—Walt is their great exemplar and teacher and they speak of him reverently as Master" (Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library). See also R. A. Parker, The Transatlantic Smiths (1959), 59. Wallace visited Whitman in Camden, New Jersey, and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke at Bucke's home in London, Ontario, Canada, in the fall of 1891. He also spent time in New York during the trip. Accounts of Wallace's visit can be found in Dr. John Johnston and Wallace's Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917). Whitman is playfully using a common humorous dialect phrasing of “Good heavens!” The phrase was used by Petroleum V. Nasby, the outrageous character created by the humorist David Ross Locke (1833–1888), in his various collections of Nasby writings. Whitman had visited Dr. Bucke's home in London, Ontario, in the summer and fall of 1880. William Gardner Barton (1851–1890) was a writer and naturalist whose writings were featured in the collection Songs and Saunterings (Salem, MA: The Salem Press Publishing & Printing Co., 1892). Eldridge has enclosed a newspaper clipping containing literary news, including a mention of Robert Buchanan's "Socrates in Camden." For Whitman's seventieth birthday, Horace Traubel and a large committee planned a local celebration for the poet in Morgan's Hall in Camden, New Jersey. The committee included Henry (Harry) L. Bonsall, Geoffrey Buckwalter, and Thomas B. Harned. See Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, May 7, 1889. The day was celebrated with a testimonial dinner. Numerous authors and friends of the poet prepared and delivered addresses to mark the occasion. Whitman, who did not feel well at the time, arrived after the dinner to listen to the remarks and give a speech. The notes and addresses, as well as Whitman's speech, were collected and edited by Horace Traubel. The volume was titled Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman, and it included a photo of Sidney Morse's 1887 clay bust of Whitman as the frontispiece. The book was published in 1889 by Philadelphia publisher David McKay. Instead of sending a poem, Whitman sent a letter expounding on the influences of Spanish colonization on the American identity. A copy of the letter was also sent to the Philadelphia Press for publication; the article was run on August 5, 1883. Whitman's letter appears in November Boughs (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1888) as "The Spanish Element in Our Nationality," 50–51. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | Camden. | N.J. It is postmarked: NEW-YORK | SEP 29 | 6 PM. In his letter to Dowden of March 4, 1871, Whitman remarked that he was "deeply pleased" with O'Grady's article, "Walt Whitman: the Poet of Joy," and wished to send him a photograph. Dowden refers here to two poems from Leaves of Grass. The "Answerer" originated in an untitled section of the 1855 edition, which in the 1867 edition became "Now List to My Morning Romanza." Dowden's second quotation is from "The Indications" (1867), formerly "Poem of the Singers and the Words of Poems" (1856). In the 1881 edition, Whitman combined the two poems to create "Song of the Answerer." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Camden | N. Jersey. | U. S. America. It is postmarked: DUBLIN | I3 | OC 4 | 76; NEW YORK | []. See Whitman's letter to Rossetti of January 30, 1872. Whitman's letter substantiates the date-year of this letter as 1872, as Rossetti quotes from and references Whitman's January 30 letter. In With Walt Whitman in Camden, Horace Traubel offers 1872 as the date-year for this letter. Albert G. Knapp (1893–1905) was a Union soldier in the American Civil War. He met Whitman in the winter of 1862 when he was a patient at Judiciary Square Hospital, where he remained until sometime in 1863. Knapp reconnected with Whitman in 1864 when he was being treated at Armory Square Hospital for a bullet wound through his lungs. In 1883, Knapp was principal of Public School No. 13 in Rochester, New York. He would later work as a government employee in Washington, D. C. The wounds he sustained during the Civil War eventually caused his death ("Albert G. Knapp," Democrat and Chronicle [Feburary 23, 1905], 13). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Attorney General's Office | Washington | D.C. It is postmarked: WALWORTH | OCT | 2 | N.Y.; CARRIER | OCT | 5 | 1 DEL. Hawley is quoting from Whitman's most famous poem, ultimately titled "Song of Myself" (section 24 of the final version of Leaves of Grass). Whitman used the blank side of this letter to draft lines for "Song of the Exposition." After Godey replaced Whitman at the Solicitor's office, Whitman sent a monthly payment for Godey's service. Whitman used the blank versos of this letter to record notes about his health. John H. Johnston was a New York jeweler who befriended Whitman and housed him for long stays in New York during the late 1870s. His children, Harry, Albert, and Bertha, called Whitman "Uncle Walt." It is unclear which of the Johnston children wrote this letter fragment. The "girls" are Manahatta "Hattie" (1860–1886) and Jessie Louisa "Sis" Whitman (1863–1957), the daughters of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman and Martha Mitchell "Mattie" Whitman. Hattie and Jessie were both favorites of their uncle Walt. The "84" of "1884" is written in red ink, perhaps in another hand. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: CAMDEN, N.J. | MAY | 11 | 8AM | Rec'd. Johnson has written his address and the date on the verso of the postal card, above Whitman's address. This postal card is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman, | Camden, | N.J. It is postmarked: NEW-YORK | SEP 23 | 130 PM. This postal card is addressed: J H Ingram | Howard House | Stoke Newington | London N England. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | SEP | 7 | N.J. Philadelphia PA. | SEP | 8 | [illegible] | London | CA | [illegible] 76 | Paid. This postal card is addressed: John Burroughs | Esopus-on-Hudson | New York. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | AUG | 1 | N.J. See Schmidt's letter to Whitman of April 18, 1876. The fifth edition of Leaves of Grass was published by J. S. Redfield in 1871. For more information on this edition, see Luke Mancuso, "Leaves of Grass, 1871–72 Edition," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). The second edition of Leaves of Grass was anonymously published by the New York firm Fowler and Wells in 1856. For more information, see Madeline B. Stern, "Fowler, Lorenzo Niles (1811–1896) and Orson Squire (1809–1887)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J. R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Whitman's relationships with his publishers and distributors in the 1870s were extremely fraught, and as a result, a large number of his unsold books changed hands several times. In 1873, Whitman entrusted his books to Asa K. Butts & Co., which went into bankruptcy in the following year. Thomas O'Kane, a New York book dealer, assumed possession of the books from Butts, as well as a number of books from Michael Doolady, a New York bookseller and publisher. Though Walt Whitman wrote cordially to O'Kane on April 22, 1874, he later became hostile. Citing only the initials, Richard Maurice Bucke, in Walt Whitman (1883), his "official" biography, averred that O'Kane and Somerby, Butts's successor, "took advantage of [Walt Whitman's] helplessness to embezzle the amounts due—(they calculated that death would soon settle the score and rub it out)" (46). After his difficulties with publishers and agents, in 1875, Whitman decided to self-publish and -distribute Leaves of Grass and Two Rivulets in 1876. In Whitman's December 30, 1875, letter to Jeannette Gilder, Whitman justified his decision, writing that "No established publisher in the country will print my books, & during the last three years of my illness & helplessness every one of the three successive book agents I have had in N.Y. has embezzled the proceeds." This letter is addressed: To: Walt Whitman | Camden | Philadelphia | U.S. America. "Philadelphia" has been crossed out in pencil. It is postmarked: BRIGHTON | E1 | JA4 | 76. Forman is referring to the second edition of Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1856). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Corner of Stevens & West Street | Camden | Near Philadelphia | U.S.A. It is postmarked: A.P | LONDON | ? | 76. Johnson is referring to his letter to Whitman of February 7, 1876 (not February 1). During the American Civil War, Camp Douglas—founded in 1861—was a Union camp in Chicago. It initially served as a location for training and staging, and was converted into a prison for Confederate soldiers in 1862. The camp was located on the property of Senator Stephen A. Douglas, for whom it was also named. This part of Johnson's letter is written sideways in the left margin of the fourth page of the letter. Johnson wrote this postscript at the top of the first page of the letter. This postscript is written upside down at the top of the fourth page of the letter. Johnson started this postscript at the top of page three of the letter and continued on page two. The postscript is written upside down at the top of both pages. Reid is referring to the impeachment trial of Secretary of War William Belknap. Belknap was acquitted on August 1, 1876. See Whitman's letter to Reid of July 7, 1876. This letter is addressed: S. Hollyer | artist | Guttenberg | New Jersey. It is postmarked: (?) | 8PM | 88; (?) | Au5 | (?). Samuel Hollyer (1826–1919) engraved the frontispiece portrait of Whitman as a laborer that appeared in the first edition of Leaves of Grass. On January 17, 1888, Whitman sent Hollyer the photograph of the so-called "Lear" portrait—by Jacob Spieler at the Charles H. Spieler Studio (ca. 1876) in Philadelphia—and asked him to make an engraving based on it; see Whitman's letter to of Hollyer of April 3, 1888 and his letter to Richard Maurice Bucke of August 4, 1888. In a notebook (see (Walt Whitman: Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White [New York: New York University Press, 1978], 2:467), Whitman declared, "I rather like it," but on August 12 he observed to Traubel (WWWC 2:131), "I do not think it good enough to be good—this is especially true of the eyes—they are too glaring: I have a dull not a glaring eye" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Sunday, August 12, 1888). Gilder included a short notice titled "Literary Chit-Chat" that she wrote for the New York Herald, in which she details the upcoming publication of Whitman's Leaves of Grass and Two Rivulets in 1876. The notice quotes heavily from Whitman's December 30, 1875, letter to Gilder. See Whitman's letter to Gilder of December 30, 1875. Elizabeth (Bessie) Ford was the sister of Isabella Ford (1855–1924). Isabella was an English feminist, socialist, and writer. Both sisters were introduced to Whitman's writings by Edward Carpenter, and they quickly became admirers of the poet. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 431 Stevens St. (cor. West), | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | MAR | 5 | 6 PM. Marvin refers to Longfellow's poem "Cadenabbia," which appeared in the December, 1874, issue of the Atlantic. Samuel H. Morse was the printer of the monthly Boston Radical (1865–1872). A complimentary notice appeared in the issue of December 26, 1874; In his January 7, 1875 letter to Ellen O'Connor, Whitman referred to this notice as "the most flourishing puff yet given me—& from them!" This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | 431 Stevens St | Corner West | Camden, N.J. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | DEC24 | 130 PM. In her letter to Whitman of December 9, 1874, Gilchrist asked, "whether you have recovered the use of the left side so far as to get about pretty freely, and to have as much open air life as you need & like; and also whether you have quite ceased to suffer distressing sensations in the head. If you can say yes to the first question, will you in sign of it put a dash under the word London, & if yes to the second under England when you next send me a paper?" This is likely a reference to the December 24, 1874, Shipton-on-Cherwell train crash in Oxfordshire, England, in which 34 people were killed. The Cospatrick, a ship of British emigrants that sailed from London for Auckland, New Zealand, in September 1874. Two months into the journey, the ship burned at sea, killing 465 people (New York Times [December 28, 1874], 1). Francis Bret Harte (1836–1902) was an American author who wrote on California pioneering efforts. From 1868 to 1871, Harte was editor of the literary magazine The Overland Monthly, for whom he penned his 1870 elegiac "Dickens in Camp," a poetic obituary for Charles Dickens. Johann Christoph Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) was a German philosopher, poet, and playwright. King Christian IX (1818–1906; reigned 1863–1906) of Denmark and his son, Crown Prince Frederick VIII (1843–1912; reigned 1906–1912). See Whitman's letter to Schmidt of July 31, 1875. This letter is addressed: Mr Walter Whitman | Washington | D.C. It is postmarked: FARMER VILLAGE | N.Y.; CARRIER | FEB | 10 | 8AM. Rogers may be referring to his letter to Whitman of February 27, 1871. This letter is addressed in Whitman's hand: Walt Whitman | Attorney General's Office | Washington | D.C. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | APR | 6 | 10 PM; [illegible]ER | APR | 7 [illegible]. In his letter to Whitman of April 6, 1871, Rogers explained that he was as "well now as can be expected after geting off of a sick bed of four weeks with a fever" and that he had "lost a great deal of fleash" during his illness. This letter is addressed in Whitman's hand as follows: Walt Whitman | Attorney Generals' Office. | Washington | D.C. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | APR 11 | 1.30 P.M.; CARRIER | APR | 1[illegible] | [illegible] AM. Whitman often enclosed a self-addressed envelope in his outgoing letters to friends. The envelope in which Rogers mailed this letter appears to be one such envelope pre-addressed by Whitman. Gilchrist paraphrases lines from Whitman's poem "So Long!" from Leaves of Grass. The original lines read: "Camerado, this is no book, / Who touches this touches a man." See "So Long!" as it appeared in the 1867 edition of Leaves of Grass. See Whitman's letter to Gilchrist of March 20, 1872. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | Attorney Generals Office | Washington | D.C. It is postmarked:BROOKLYN | DEC. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq— | Washington | D.C— It is postmarked: NEW YORK | JAN | 15 | 6 PM; CARRIER | JAN | 16 | 8AM. Whitman is referring to King Lear, the titular character of William Shakespeare's play King Lear (1606). In the play, Lear abdicates his throne and loses his former glory, becoming insane and impoverished. Whitman pasted this letter fragment to another piece of paper; on the back, he drafted lines of poetry. On January 24, 1872, Gilchrist sent photographs of her "eldest and youngest children," noting that she "wish[ed] [she] had some worth sending of the other two." She also sent a recent photograph and a copy of an 1850 daguerrotype of herself. See Gilchrist's letters to Whitman of January 24, 1872, June 3, 1872, January 31, 1873, and May 20, 1873. At the time of this letter, Gilchrist had also written on April 12, 1872, July 14, 1872 (not July 11, as Whitman writes), and November 12, 1872. This letter is addressed: Earls Colne | Halstead Essex | Mrs. Anne Gilchrist. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | AUG | 18 | N.J.; LONDON-N.W. | ZX | SP 1 | 73; [worn-away] | SP 2 | 73; LONDON-N.W. | [illegible] | PAID | SP [illegible]; [illegible]PAID[illegible]; EARLS-COLNE | A | SP 3 | 73. By this time, the fifth (1871–72) edition of Leaves of Grass was available for purchase in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington (Mancuso). For more on this edition, see Luke Mancuso, "Leaves of Grass, 1871–72 Edition." The fourth edition of Leaves of Grass was published in 1867. This is the first letter Bucke ever sent to Whitman and marks the beginning of their correspondence, which would continue until Whitman's death in 1892. Whitman is likely referring to his poem "A Warble for Lilac-Time," which appeared in the Galaxy, 9 (May 1870), 686. Eyster quotes "Perfections" from Leaves of Grass. Abraham, the ancient Hebrew patriarch of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This letter is addressed: To Walt Whitman. | The Good Grey Poet. | Washington City. | D.C. It is postmarked: [illegible] | JUN | 14 | [illegible]0; CARRIER | JUN | 14 | 7 PM. McKesson & Robbins (now the McKesson Corporation) was founded in 1833 by John McKesson and Charles Olcott as a wholesale pharmaceutical importer and distributer in New York. Daniel Robbins started working for the company as an apprentice and, later, became a partner. The company then became known as McKesson and Robbins. See Whitman's letter to Wilson of April 15, 1870. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Attorney Generals Office | Washington | D.C. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | APR | 26; CARRIER | [illegible]. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Attorney Gens. Office | Whashington D.C. It is postmarked: JAMESTOWN | 1[illegible]. CARRIER | APR | 15 | [illegible]. See Whitman's letter to Sutherland of April 4, 1870. Walt Whitman began his correspondence with soldier Byron Sutherland on August 26, 1865. On September 20, 1868, he wrote to Sutherland: "I retain just the same friendship I formed for you the short time we were together, (but intimate,) in 1865" (Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection, New York Public Library; Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 2:44–45). In April 1870, Sutherland was teaching in Jamestown, N. Y. This letter is addressed: Hon Walt Whitman | Atty Genls Office, | Washington City, | D.C. It is postmarked: INDIANAPOLIS | NOV | 2 | IND.; CARRIER | NOV | 4 | 2 DEL. This letter is addressed: Walter Whitman Esquire | World Office. Joseph Knight (1829–1907) was an English theatre historian, writer, and editor. In addition to serving as a drama critic at the London Sunday Times, he contributed to The Gentleman's Magazine, writing for more than twenty years under the pen name of "Sylvanus Urban." Rossetti is likely referring to "Walt Whitman's Works," which was published in the London Sunday Times on March 3, 1867. See Emerson's letter to Whitman of July 21, 1855. Burroughs may be referring to Joseph Addison (1672–1719), English politician, essayist, and poet. Addison co-founded The Spectator magazine, which was known for its combination of wit and morality. This letter is addressed: W Whitman Esq. See Alden's letter to Whitman of August 19, 1867. The London Saturday Review did ridicule Leaves of Grass on March 15, 1856, saying, "If the Leaves of Grass should come into anybody's possession, our advice is to throw them instantly into the fire." It later described the 1860 Leaves of Grass as "a book evidently intended to lie on the tables of the wealthy," and quipped that "No poor man could afford it, and it is too bulky for its possessor to get it into his pocket or to hide it away in a corner" (Saturday Review 10 [ July 7, 1860], 19). However, on September 21, 1867, the Review published a review of American poets, "Some American Verse," which exempts Whitman from the otherwise "feeble, commonplace, and pretty" school of American poetry (Saturday Review 24 [September 21, 1867], 383). "Calamus" was first published in the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass. The poem cluster is known for its homoeroticism and celebration of "the manly love of comrades." See also John Addington Symonds's letter to Whitman of August 3, 1890, in which he asks Whitman for clarification of the poems, and Whitman's drafted response of August 19, 1890, in which he is cagey and tries to distance himself from homoerotic meanings in the poems. In his Commonplace Book, Whitman wrote: "June 2 sent big book to Dr Fletcher Army Medical Museum / Wash'n D C. by express" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) Dr. Robert Fletcher sent this letter from the Army Medical Museum in Washington, D.C. Dr. Robert Fletcher (1823–1912), a native of Bristol, England, was the son of the attorney Robert Fletcher and Esther Wall Fletcher. He studied law at his father's office, then was educated at Bristol Medical School and continued at London Hospital. He came to the United States to Ohio in 1847 and practiced medicine; during the Civil War he was in the field as a surgeon in Ohio and later was responsible for a military hopsital in Nashville. In 1876 he was appointed Acting Assistant Surgeon, U.S.A., and prepared the Index Catalogue for the Library of the Surgeon General's Office. He was a member of numerous socities, was honored with a gold medal from the Royal College of Surgeons, and a portrait of him was placed the Library of the Surgeon General's Office in the Army Medical Museum Building. See D. S. Lamb, "Robert Fletcher," American Anthropologist n.s. vol. 14.4 [October–December 1912], 687–690). Enclosed in this letter is a return envelope addressed to the Agathynian Club at 18 Beekman Street, New York. Galileo Galilei (1564–1642), Italian astronomer and physicist. Polydore Vergil or simply Virgil (?–1555), an Italian priest and scholar. Dr. William A. Hammond (1828–1900), one of the founders of the Agathynian Club. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Washington | DC. It is postmarked: Carrier | AUG | 19 | 7 P.M. In his letter to Whitman of August 9, 1867, W. L. Alden requested that Whitman send him a copy of Leaves of Grass. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Washington | D.C. It is postmarked: NEW-YORK | AUG | 19; CARRIER | AUG | 20 | 1867. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Washington, | D.C. It is postmarked: NEW-YORK | AUG | 9; CARRIER | AUG | 10 | 1867. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | Attorney General's Office | Washington D.C. It is postmarked: NEW-YORK | 8 | AUG; CARRIER [illegible]. This letter is postmarked: NEW CASTLE | PA. | JUL | 22; CARRIER | JUL | 24 | [illegible] This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Attorney General's Office | Washington | D.C. It is postmarked: ARLINGTON | JUL | 22 | MASS.; CARRIER | JUL | 23 | 7 P.M. W.H. Piper & Co. was a Boston publisher located at Washington and Franklin streets. They also printed monthly literary bulletins spotlighting current literature. The firm was advertised as Whitman's Boston agent in books published in 1871 and 1872. Edward Dexter Holbrook (1836–1870), a congressional delegate from Idaho Territory. Edward D. "Ned" Holbrook (1836–1870), a prominent attorney who became Idaho Territory's delegate in 1864, confronted Judge Milton Kelly in a courtroom in 1863. There were no courts in the early years of the territory and many cases were delayed. Judge Kelly arrived to judge civil cases, many of which stood upon demurrer. According to the story, after the attorneys, of which Ned Holbrook was one, argued the demurrers, Judge Kelly alternated overruling and sustaining the demurrers without explanation. When confronted by Holbrook, Kelly replied, "Mr. Holbrook, if you think a man can be appointed from one of the eastern states, come out here and serve as a judge in Idaho on a salary of $3,000 a year, payable in greenbacks worth forty cents on the dollar, and give reasons for everything he does, you are mightly mistaken" (James H. Hawley, "The Judiciary and the Bar," History of Idaho, A Narrative Account of Its Historical Progress, Its People, and Its Principal Interest, 3 vols., ed. H. T. French [Chicago: 1914], 1:510–511). Holbrook was later murdered after a dispute within the Boise County Democratic Party. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | Atty Generals Office | Washington | DC. It is postmarked: NEW CASTLE | JUL | 17 | PA. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Washington | D.C. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | MAY | 31; CARRIER | JUN | 1 | 1 Del. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Washington | D.C. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | MAY | 10; CARRIER | MAY | 11 | 1 Del. This enclosure is not extant. Whitman replied on May 20, 1867, and he informed Simpson that he was not then writing a new book. Instead, Whitman noted that he was working on a "new & far more perfected edition of Leaves of Grass." The promised card has not as yet been discovered, but based on Whitman's reply, Simpson may not have sent it. Hiram Ramsdell was married to Emily Garretson Ramsdell (1839–1916), the daughter of William Garretson (1801–1872), a lawyer and conductor on the Underground Railroad. The Ramsdells had at least two children; Whitman is referring to Hiram's oldest daughter Etta (b. 1867). Hiram Ramsdell was married to Emily Garretson Ramsdell (1839–1916), the daughter of William Garretson (1801–1872), a lawyer and conductor on the Underground Railroad. At this time, the Ramsdells had one daughter, Etta (b. 1867). Their son Morton was born in 1869. Abraham Simpson, while working for J. M. Bradstreet & Son, had supervised the binding of Drum-Taps (see Whitman's May 2, 1865, letter to Peter Eckler). Despite Simpson's seeming desire to publish a book by Whitman, Simpson changed his mind two months later and was not willing to publish Whitman's next edition of Leaves of Grass (1867). On May 31, 1867, Simpson informed Whitman that "we have established a Ptg & Publishing House." But, in his July 3, 1867, letter, he advised Whitman that after consultation "with several eminent literary men, . . . though we are favorably impressed, . . . we deem it injudicious to commit ourselves to its publication at the present time." O'Connor refers here to the New York publisher, George Carleton. In 1867 Carleton would pass on an opportunity to publish a new edition of Leaves of Grass. Within about a month, Carleton "had the distinction of turning down both Leaves of Grass and Mark Twain's first book"; Carleton later dubbed himself "the prize ass of the nineteenth century." See Justin Kaplan, Walt Whitman: A Life (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1980), 320. Seth Pecksniff is a villain from Charles Dickens' novel Martin Chuzzlewit whose name became synonymous with hypocrisy. Henry Stanley Allen (1830–1904) was a publisher who partnered with New York publisher George W. Carleton in 1867; the 1867 Directory listed them at the same business address. In 1864 O'Connor had suggested Carleton as the publisher of Drum-Taps; see Trowbridge's February 12, 1864, letter to Walt Whitman. In 1865, O'Connor proposed to George William Curtis (1824–1892), the editor of Harper's Weekly, that he write to Carleton about the publication of The Good Gray Poet; see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906–1996), 1:86. Since O'Connor was not successful in either attempt, it is surprising that he once again sought to interest Carleton in publication schemes. See also the introduction to Drum-Taps, ed. Frederick DeWolfe Miller (Gainesville, FL: Scholars' Facsimiles & Reprints, 1959), 25. See Whitman's letter to O'Connor of May 5, 1867. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, Esq | Box 218. | Brooklyn. N.Y. It is postmarked: Washington D.C. | MAY | 9. Blood's reference to Mrs. Benedict potentially dates this letter from 1867–1871, during which time Whitman lived at the Benedicts' boarding house. Whitman wrote prose on the verso of this letter. "Confinement" or "lying-in" is a traditional postpartum practice during which the mother and baby bond, and the mother heals from childbirth. This letter is addressed: Walt. Whitman. Esq. | Atty. Gens. Offic. | Washington | D.C. It is postmarked: SYRACUSE | APR | 8; CARRIER | APR | 10 | 1 Del. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | Attorney Generals Office | Washington D.C. It is postmarked: Bowling Green | [illegible] | 26 | 68 | KY. John LaRue Helm (1802–1867) was governor of Kentucky from September 6, 1848–July 31, 1850, as a member of the Whig Party. He was re-elected for a nonconsecutive second term in 1867 as a member of the Democratic Party. Helm served only five days in of his second term, (September 3–September 8), before succumbing to his illness. This postscript is written upside down at the top of the fourth page of the letter. Wilson is referring to William D. O'Connor's "The Good Gray Poet," which was a "vindication" of Whitman. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Atty Gens Office | Washington | D.C.. It is postmarked: SYRACUSE | FEB | 4 | 67.; CARRIER | FEB | 6 | 2 Del. See Henry Wilson's letter to Walt Whitman of January 17, 1867. Gage, Sloans & Dater was listed as a drygoods store in Trow's New York City Directory (1856/1857), with locations at 83 Chambers and 65 Reade. The store went out of business in the Panic of 1857. Wilson may be referring to Dr. William A. Hawley (1820–1891), a homeopathic physician in Syracuse, New York. An October 24, 1888, letter from Whitman, with which Whitman sent Hawley one of his books, has not been located; neither has a letter that Whitman sent on February 6, 1890, according to his notebooks. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq. | "Atty" Gens Office | Washington | D.C. It is postmarked: SYRACUSE | JAN | 28 | 67; CARRIER | JAN | 29 | 1867 | 7 P.M. "E pur si muove" is an Italian phrase meaning "And yet it moves" or Although it does move." Often attributed to the Italian physicist and mathematician Galileo Galilei (1564”1642), the phrase means that, although Galilei was forced to recant his claims that the Earth moved around the Sun, the Earth continues to do so regardless of any contrary claims by the Church, for example. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Washington | DC. It is postmarked: New-York | JAN | 23; CARRIER | JAN | 24 | 2 Del. Published in 1867 by A. Simpson & Company of New York, Slave Songs of the United States was the earliest collection of African American music; the volume included 136 songs. The three editors—William Francis Allen (1830–1889), Charles Pickard Ware (1840–1921), and Lucy McKim Garrison (1842–1877)—were Northern abolitionists who collected the songs—many of which were spirituals—while they worked in the Sea Islands of South Carolina during the Civil War. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | Atorny Generals Office | Washington | Dis Clom. It is postmarked: SYRACUSE | JAN | 18 | 67; CARRIER | JAN | 20 | 1867 | 7 P.M. See Benton H. Wilson's February 24, 1868, letter to Whitman, in which Wilson writes about his father's time at the Utica Asylum. Whitman mentions this package in his January 8, 1867, letter to his mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. The package contained a stereoscope with images of Vermont. Wilson is referring to his sons Charles F. Wilson (1847–1918) and Joseph C. Wilson (1851–1930). Charles and Joseph are the brothers of Benton H. Wilson (1843–1914?). Like Benton, Charles was also a Union soldier in the U. S. Civil War. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Attorney General's Office | Treasury Building | Washington D.C.; It is postmarked: CARRIER | JAN| 2 |1867 | 2 DEL. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Atty gnral's office | Washington— It is postmarked: LOUISVILLE | OCT | 17 | [illegible] | KY.; DUE | 3; CARRIER | OCT | 19 | 7 P.M. Whitman began working in the Attorney General's office at the beginning of July 1865, during James Speed's time as Attorney General. At the time of writing this letter, Speed had already resigned his position in protest of President Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction politics. Whitman remained at the Attorney General's office until 1872. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walter Whitman | Washington. | D.C. It is postmarked: Warwick | FEB | 21 | N.Y.; CARRIER | FEB | 22 | 1 P.M. Carpenter replied on December 11, 1890, and confirmed he had received the books. Whitman is likely referring to one of the Ford sisters. Isabella Ford (1855–1924) was an English feminist, socialist, and writer. Elizabeth (Bessie) Ford was her sister. Both were introduced to Whitman's writings by Edward Carpenter and they quickly became admirers of the aged poet. For more about Whitman's series of rejections, see his June 5, 1890, letter to Dr. Bucke, in which he describes his rejection by the Century as "a sort of douche of very cold water right in the face, wh' somehow I don't get over"; Whitman's October 26–27, 1889, letter to Dr. Bucke, in which he notes that Harper's Monthly rejected his poem for being "too much an improvasition"; and his query to the editor of the Cosmopolitan of April 9, 1888, in which he submitted "To Get the Real Lilt of Songs" for publication. Though the Cosmopolitan returned the piece, it was published shortly after in the New York Herald as "The Final Lilt of Songs" and eventually appeared in November Boughs as "To Get the Final Lilt of Songs." In his July 30, 1890, letter, Baxter informed Whitman that Hartmann "has sent me a MS. for [Boston] Herald called 'A Lunch with Walt Whitman,' worse than the N. Y. Herald yarn of two years ago, or so, in its mischief–making potency. It consists of cheap tattle, with malicious and ill–natured flings at prominent men." Baxter is comparing Hartmann's new piece with his article "Walt Whitman. Notes of a Conversation with the Good Gray Poet by a German Poet and Traveller," which had been published in the New York Herald on April 14, 1889. Whitman expressed his disapproval of Hartmann's 1889 article in his letter to William Sloane Kennedy of May 4, 1889. Horace Traubel endorsed this letter "10 Nov. 90." This letter is addressed: Dr Johnston | 54 Manchester Road | Bolton Lancashire | England. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Nov 19 | 6 AM | 90. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden | Nov 29 | 8AM | 90; N.Y. | 11–29–90 | 1030AM | 90; London | AM | DE 1 | 90 | Canada. Reverend Thomas Boston Johnstone (1847–1902), originally from Scotland, was a Presbyterian Minister living in Bolton, England. According to Whitman's Commonplace Book, the poet mailed a copy of the pocket-book edition of Leaves of Grass to Johnstone on this date (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Whitman had a limited pocket-book edition of Leaves of Grass printed in honor of his 70th birthday, on May 31, 1889, through special arrangement with Frederick Oldach. Only 300 copies were printed, and Whitman signed the title page of each one. For more information on the book see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). Whitman is referring to the death of his younger brother, Thomas Jefferson ("Jeff") Whitman (1833–1890), a civil engineer who lived in St. Louis, Missouri. Jeff Whitman, the father of Jessie Louisa Whitman, died unexpectedly of typhoid pneumonia on November 25, 1890. This letter is addressed: Miss Jessie L. Whitman | 2437 2d Carondelet Av | St Louis | Missouri. It is postmarked: Camden (?) | Nov 30 | (?) PM | 90. Whitman wrote this letter beneath a letter he had received from David McKay dated April 6, 1891. Whitman wrote his April 30, 1891, letter to William Sloane Kennedy on the verso of this letter. See Whitman's letter of June 27, 1891, to Dr. John Johnston. See Bucke's July 18, 1891, letter to Whitman. See Johnston's July 22, 1891, letter to Whitman. On the verso of this letter, Whitman has written the following editorial notes for Leaves of Grass: p 287—wrong accented e or else cut off the accent | p 376 wrong accent on e 9th line f'm top p 388 take the i out "freshier" | p 390 bad s | p 313 8th f'm top take out i f'm lustrious | p 70 apartDown page | p 206 286 bad parentheses m'k 2/3 d down page | p 185 change o to u suns | p 4 erase hyphen | p 37e in female sh'd be e | p 79 a point . down page | p 114 a | 127 four lines f'm bottom bad b | 15 ? "it" sh'd be deleted Wallace is referring to Whitman's essay "Sunday with the Insane" from Specimen Days and Collect, which details a church service Whitman attended during his time visiting Dr. Bucke's Asylum for the Insane in London, Ontario, Canada, in 1880. The first issue of Specimen Days was published by the Philadelphia firm of Rees Welsh and Company in 1882, and the second issue by David McKay. Many of the autobiographical notes, sketches, and essays from the volume that focus on the poet's life during and beyond the Civil War had been previously published in periodicals or in Memoranda During the War (1875–1876). For more information on Specimen Days, see George Hutchinson and David Drews "Specimen Days [1882]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Calder Johnston was John H. Johnston's youngest son. Williams is referring to Dr. G. E. de Schweinitz, of Philadelphia, whose calling card is mounted in Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). According to the auction record, a receipt for $16, for the four books mentioned in Whitman's letter to Adams of October 28, 1890, preceded the personal note. Wallace is referencing the poem "The Church-Porch" by George Herbert (1593–1633), a poet and priest of the Church of England. Herbert writes "Scorn no man's love, though of a mean degree; / Love is a present for a mighty king" (The Temple: Sacred Poems and Private Ejaculations [London: Pickering, 1835], 13). Wallace is quoting from Whitman's "Song of Myself." A letter from Elmina Slenker is mentioned in Horace Traubel's With Walt Whitman in Camden. See the entry for Sunday, August 5, 1888. It may be this letter. With this letter, Elmina Slenker enclosed a circular letter advertising her children's book Science in Story. She also enclosed two newspaper clippings in which she quotes from Leaves of Grass: "'Rosa, the Educating Mother' by Prof. H. M. Cottinger, A. M." and "Little Lessons for Little Folks." Elmina Drake Slenker (1827–1908) was born in New York; she was the daughter of Thomas Drake (1800–1865) and his wife Eliza (1800–1884). She was an author, an early sex reformer, and a proponent of Free Thought. In 1887, she spent six months in jail for violating the Comstock Act, which prohibited the delivery of materials with sexually explicit content via the U. S. Postal Service. Elmina married Isaac Slenker in 1856, and they later lived in Virgina. She served as an assistant editor of the New York Physiologist and Famiy Physician in the early 1880s and was in charge of the "Children's Corner" column in the Boston Investigator for several years. She also wrote the books Studying the Bible (1870) and The Darwins: A Domestic Radical Romance (1879), among others. For more information on Slenker, see her biographical sketch in Appletons' Cyclopedia of American Biography, 1600–1889, ed. James Grant Wilson and John Fiske (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1888), 5:549. The correspondent may be the George Wagner (1873–1954) who was born in 1873 in Minnesota. He was the son of Carl Wagner (1830–1911)—a dealer in furniture—and Ernestine Fenske Wagner (1839–1915); the family lived in New Ulm, Minnesota. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden N.J | US America. It is postmarked: Bolton 56 | Mr 26 | 92; New York | Apr 2 | 92 | Paid | M | All; Camden N.J. | Apr 3 | 130PM | 92 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328, Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 32 | Mr 26 | 92; | New York | Apr 2 | G | 92; Camden, N.J. | Apr 3 | 130 PM | 92 | Rec'd. Wallace wrote this letter to Whitman the day before the poet died. The letter did not arrive in Camden until several days later, on April 3, 1892. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden, | N.J. It is postmarked: New York | Mar 24 | 730 PM | 92; Camden, N. J. | Mar 25 | 6AM | 92. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden N.J. | US America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 56 | Mr 23 | 92; Bolton | 56 | Mr 23 | 92; New York | Apr 1 | 92; B | 92; Pa[illegible] Camden N.J. | Apr 2 | 6AM |92 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 45 | Mr23 | 92; New York | Apr 1 | 92; Camden | Apr 2 | 6AM | 92 | R?. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: New York | Mar 21 | 4PM | 92; Camden N.J. | Mar22 | 6AM | 92 | Rec'd. This letter arrived four days before Whitman's death on March 26, 1892. Cyrus Chace Miller (1866–1956) of Claverack, New York, was a lawyer and a lacrosse player. Miller attended Columbia University law school, graduating in 1891. He worked for most of his life at the law firm established by his father, Jacob F. Miller. Cyrus Miller also played college lacrosse and later played for amateur athletic clubs, as well as serving as a coach for the Columbia University team. From 1910 until the end of 1913, he served as the Third Borough President of the Bronx; he became a member of the Real Estate Board, and, later, he was appointed as the Bronx Borough Historian, a position he held until 1953. Wallace wrote this letter to Whitman four days before the poet's death on March 26, 1892. The letter arrived in Camden several days later, on April 1, 1892. Johnston jokingly likens James W. Wallace to Sir Hubert von Herkomer (1849–1914), a Bavarian painter who resided in England and was professor of Fine Arts at Oxford from 1885 to 1894. Little is known about the millwright and machine–fitter George Humphreys, who was a member of the Bolton College group of Whitman admirers. In a February 27, 1892, letter to Whitman, James W. Wallace described Humphreys as a socialist, the founder of "the Cooperative Commonwealth," and an inspiration to fellow workers. Wright is likely referring to Whitman's letter of February 6–7, 1892, in which he details for Dr. John Johnston some of his ailments and notes that it "may be [his] last" letter as his "right arm [is] giving out." Johnston had a facsimile of this letter produced, which he distributed to Whitman's English friends. Johnston is referring to Whitman's letter of February 6–7, 1892, in which he details some of his ailments and notes that it "may be [his] last" letter as his "right arm [is] giving out." Johnston had a facsimile of this letter produced, which he distributed to Whitman's English friends. Dixon is referring to Whitman's letter of February 6–7, 1892, in which he details for Dr. John Johnston some of his ailments and notes that it "may be [his] last" letter as his "right arm [is] giving out." Johnston had a facsimile of this letter produced, which he distributed to Whitman's English friends. Mira (sometimes spelled "Myra") Jane Gregory Gerrad (1857–1931) married Wentworth Dixon in 1878. The couple were the parents of at least four children: Myra Dixon, Nora Dixon, Wentworth Dixon, and Ellen Dixon. Wallace is referring to Whitman's letter of February 6–7, 1892, in which he details for Dr. John Johnston some of his ailments and notes that it "may be [his] last" letter as his "right arm [is] giving out." Johnston had a facsimile of this letter produced, which he distributed to Whitman's friends. Johnston is referring to Whitman's letter of February 6–7, 1892, in which Whitman details some of his ailments and explains that it "may be [his] last" letter as his "right arm [is] giving out." Johnston is referring to Whitman's letter of February 6–7, 1892, in which Whitman details some of his ailments and explains that it "may be [his] last" letter as his "right arm [is] giving out." Johnston had this and other Whitman letters lithographed and sent the facsimiles to the poet's friends and followers in England and Europe. John Ward Hunter (1807–1900) began his career as a clerk in a grocery store and worked in banking before being elected as a United States Representative of New York so that he could complete the term of James Humphrey (1811–1866). Hunter served in Congress from 1866 until 1867 and was not nominated for reelection. He was later elected to serve as the mayor of Brooklyn in 1875 and 1876, and he became the first President of the Society of Old Brooklynites. Little is known about Samuel A. Haynes beyond his work as the Secretary for the Society of Old Brooklynites. From 1867–1871, Walt Whitman lived at Mr. and Mrs. Newton Benedict's boarding house at 472 M Street in Washington, D.C. Johnston is referring to Whitman's letter of October 12, 1891. Whitman founded the Long Islander newspaper in 1838. He published his poem, "Our Future Lot," in the paper. During the summer of 1839, he sold the newspaper and moved to New York City. No copies of The Long-Islander edited by Whitman are known to exist. For more information on the newspaper, see Karen Karbeiner, "Long Islander, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Turkish baths sprang up across England in the nineteenth-century. Offering scrubbing, washing, and massage, they became spaces for relaxation and social connection. They were also considered therapeutic for various ailments, and, therefore, were of particular interest to physicians and medical professions. This letter is addressed: Edward Carpenter | Millthorpe, Holmesfield, | near Sheffield | England. It is postmarked: Philadelphia, Pa. | Oct 20 | 6 PM | Paid. On August 4 1881, Whitman published "A Week at West Hills" in the New York Tribune (see the letter from Whitman to the editor of the New York Tribune of August 3, 1881). Charles Stewart Parnell (1846–1891) was an Irish Nationalist politician, leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, and a member of Parliament. Parnell reacted to the First Home Rule Bill, a move toward self-government for Ireland within the United Kingdom, with a mix of support and critique. The bill was defeated in the House of Commons in 1886. For more on Parnell, see Paul Bew, "Parnell, Charles Stewart, (1846–1891)," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford, England, UK: Oxford University Press, 2004). Since Good–bye My Fancy was widely reviewed at this time, it is almost impossible to determine which publication WW referred to. See Wilkins's letter to Whitman of September 26, 1891. Warren's brother, whose wife was to have a son named Walt Whitman Fritzinger. Wilkins, as his letter indicates, was studying to be a veterinarian (Feinberg). Mrs. Doughty and her daughter(?) Maggie took Mrs. Mary Davis' place while Davis traveled to Kansas for two weeks in 1890 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). See Whitman's August 13, 1891, letter to Sylvester Baxter, in which he briefly eulogizes James Russell Lowell. Kennedy is referring to works related to James Russell Lowell (1819–1891), an American critic, poet, and editor of The Atlantic who had died a month prior to this letter. One of Whitman's famous poetic contemporaries, Lowell was committed to conventional poetic form, which was clearly at odds with Whitman's more experimental form. Still, as editor of the Atlantic Monthly, he published Whitman's "Bardic Symbols," probably at Ralph Waldo Emerson's suggestion. Lowell later wrote a tribute to Abraham Lincoln titled "Commemoration Ode," which has often, since its publication, been contrasted with Whitman's own tribute, "O Captain! My Captain!" For further information on Whitman's views of Lowell, see William A. Pannapacker, "Lowell, James Russell (1819–1891)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Kennedy is referring to the naturalist John Burroughs (1837–1921), who met Whitman on the streets of Washington, D.C., in 1864. After returning to Brooklyn in 1864, Whitman commenced what was to become a lifelong 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). Wallace is quoting from Whitman's poem "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry." Whitman is likely referring to Cyrus Field Willard (1858–1942), an American journalist, political activist, and theosophist. In the December 1887 edition of The American Magazine, Willard dramatizes an interview he conducted with Whitman. Willard's depiction of Whitman is as a venerated but paralyzed man, whose speech is overwrought with contractions and elided syllables. Willard ends by appropriating Whitman's free verse and form in an improvised, perhaps satirical, poem entitled "America's Greeting to Walt." For the published interview, see Cyrus Williard, "A Chat With The Good Gray Poet." This postal card is addressed: Talcott Williams | 1833 Spruce Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: Camden | Sep 22 | 8PM | 91; Received | Sep | 22 | 1891 | Phila. Wallace received one letter and two postal cards (see September 13–14, 1891, September 20, 1891, and September 25, 1891) from Whitman during his time with Dr. Bucke in London, Ontario, Canada, all of which were sent to him care of Dr. Bucke. It is unclear to which postal card Wallace refers. This postal card is addressed: H Buxton Forman | 46 Marlborough Hill | St John's Wood | London England | NW. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Sep28 | 12 PM | 91; Philadelphia, P.A. | Sep28 | 3PM | 91 | [illegible]. In Forman's letter of September 8, 1891, he sent "about 15 dollars" for "'Good bye, my Fancy!' [...] in cloth as issued, with your name & mine written in it if the old indulgent mood holds, and two copies of the untrimmed sheets not bound. Then I want, if it is to be had, six copies of 'A Backward Glance' as printed on thin paper to be annexed to L. of G. (pocket book edition)—they need not be stitched or done up any way, but on one I should like your name & mine on the title–leaf. There are several minor works, or rather separate works, which I fancy you still have, & of which one copy each similarly inscribed would be very welcome: These are 'Passage to India,' 'Democratic Vistas,' 'After All &c.,' & 'As a Strong Bird.'" He also requested "the big book—Complete Poems and Prose" for his youngest son, Maurice Buxton Forman, who was about to embark upon international travels. This letter card is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden, N.J., | U.S.A America. It is postmarked: Bolton | 55 | MR9 | 92; Bolton | 55 | [illegible]; Camden | Mar20 | 130PM | 92 | Rec'd. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Mickle St. | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: New York | Jan 13 | 930 AM | E; | 92; | Camden | Jan 13 | 4PM | 92 | Rec'd. H. D. Bush was an engineer involved in projects ranging from bridge construction to general contracting. He later served as the President of the American Society of Civil Engineers. A friend of Whitman's, Bush attended Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday celebration in Camden. Bush wrote to Whitman on January 12, 1892, to thank the poet for sending a copy of what has become known as the "deathbed edition" of Leaves of Grass (1891–1892). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: New York | Jan 9 | 430PM | A; | Camden N.J. | Jan 10 | 130 PM | 92 | REC'D. This envelope includes a printed return address for The Photographic Times, as well as subscription information for the publication. Washington Irving Lincoln Adams (1832–1896) worked in the photgraphic department of the Scovill Company, and later became editor of The Photographic Times (1871–1915). The Photographic Times (1871–1915) was a well-known and widely circulating photographic journal that documented photography and its history during the years of the journal's publication. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Chorley | [illegible] | Washington | B | Jan 2 | 92; New York | Jan | 9; D | 92; Paid | H | All; Camden, N.J. | Jan 11 | 6 AM | 92 | Rec'd. "Embarras de richesses" is a French phrase meaning "Embarrassment of Riches." See Whitman's letter of November 5, 1891. See Whitman's postal card to Johnston of November 5, 1891. "Revenons à nos moutons" is a French expression that means "Let's get back to the subject at hand." Bucke was Whitman's first biographer. Bucke's book, Walt Whitman, was published by the Philadelphia Publisher David McKay in 1883. The Mayor of Bolton at the time was William Nicholson (1825–1915), a silk mercer and draper. First elected in May 1891, Nicholson served until 1894 and then again in 1898-1899. He twice acted as caretaker mayor of Bolton, serving as a stand-in for Benjamin Alfred Dobson in 1898 and for John Edwin Scowcroft in 1901 (Information for this note provided by the Bolton Historical Society). Dr. Leroy Monroe Bingham (1845–1911) graduated from Bellevue Medical College in New York in 1870 and moved to Burlington, Vermont, in 1874. After the death of Dr. Samuel W. Thayer in 1882, Bingham began treating Whitman's sister, Hanna Louisa Whitman Heyde. According to the Vermont Medical Monthly, "From about 1878, for a period of 20 years, he was one of the most active and the best known surgeons in Vermont" (Volume 17, Issue 12 [December 15, 1911]), 306. For more information, see William B. Atkinson, M.D., The Physicians and Surgeons of the United States (Philadelphia: Charles Robson, 1878), 375. Whitman sent a copy of his book, Complete Poems & Prose (1888), a volume he often referred to as the "big book," to Dr. Bingham on November 3, 1891. Bingham thanked Whitman for the volume in his letter to the poet of November 16, 1891. John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892) was an American poet who is remembered as one of the most popular of the Fireside Poets and for his anti-slavery writings. He was the author of numerous collections of poetry, including Maud Muller (1860) and Snow-Bound (1866). As a poet, he employed traditional forms and meters, and, not surprisingly, he was not an admirer of Whitman's unconventional prosody. For Whitman's view of Whittier, see the poet's numerous comments throughout the nine volumes of Horace Traubel's With Walt Whitman in Camden (various publishers: 1906–1996) and Whitman's "My Tribute to Four Poets," in Specimen Days (Philadelphia: Rees Welsh & Co., 1882–'83), 180–181. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America It is postmarked: BOLTON | S | JY 4 | 91; BOLTON | S | JY 4 | 91; BOLTON | S | JY 4 | 91; NEW YORK | JUl | 3; A | 91; PAID | C | ALL; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUL | 14 | 6AM | 1891 | REC'D. This is Whitman's reply to Ingram's letter of September 12, 1888. When discussing this letter with Horace Traubel, the poet pronounced Ingram "the best salt of the earth: he is the finest sample of the democrat—of the plain self-sufficient comrade: a real man among real men" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, "Friday, September 14, 1888." Little is known about George Rush Jr.'s life. In his Commonplace Book, Whitman records giving William Ingram a copy of Specimen Days to take to George Rush, Jr., a prisoner in the Bucks County (Pennsylvania) Prison. Ingram reported back to Whitman in his letter from August 10, 1888. Rush later wrote to Whitman on Febuary 13, 1890, addressing him and Ingram with great warmth. Ingersoll Lockwood (1841–1918) was an American lawyer and writer. He is particularly well-known for his Baron Trump children's novels. He also wrote non-fiction under the pseudonym Irwin Longman. In 1862, Abraham Lincoln appointed Lockwood as Consul to the Kingdom of Hanover. He served in the position for four years. Lockwood was the brother of publisher Howard Lockwood. The American Bookmaker began in July 1885 as a monthly publication for printing and bookmaking professionals. It was published in New York by Howard Lockwood & Co. The publication underwent numerous name changes and at least one merger. When the serial ceased publication in 2011, it was known as The American Printer. Frank Fowler (1852–1910) was an American figure and portrait painter. Originally from Brooklyn, Fowler trained in Florence and Paris before returning to the United States. He was a member of the National Academy of Design, the Society of American Artists, and the American Fine Arts Society. Fowler's portait, along with a facsimile of Whitman's note was published in the August 1888 issue. See "Frank Fowler. Specimen of Pen and Ink Portraiture (Walt Whitman)," The American Bookmaker 7.2 (August 1888), 28. Abraham Paul Leech (1815–1886) was the son of Obadiah Paul Leech (1792–1881), an auctioneer, and his wife, Susan Holland Leech. One of three children, Leech would go on to become a bookkeeper and friend of Walt Whitman. Leech also served as secretary pro tem of The Jamaica Lyceum in the 1840s in Jamaica, New York. He and his wife, Phebe Kissam Duryea Leech (1823–1885) had two children: Abraham Duryea Leech (1851–1876) and John Leech (1860–?). In 1848, a few months after Whitman returned to Brooklyn, he became the editor of a political newspaper called the Brooklyn Freeman. Although Whitman's association with the free-soil paper lasted only a year, his editorship of the Freeman is notable because it includes some of his most passionate antislavery journalism. Published initially with the financial backing of Whitman's friend, Judge Samuel V. Johnson, the Freeman commenced publication as a weekly newspaper on September 9, 1848. It became a daily paper in 1849 under the new title of the Brooklyn Daily Freeman. Only two issues of the paper are known to have survived. Despite the Free-Soilers' defeat in the 1848 presidential election and again in the spring of 1849, Whitman continued to publish the Freeman. Following a failed attempt to back Senator Thomas Hart Benton’s run for presidency, Whitman published his resignation from the Brooklyn Freeman on September 11, 1849. For more information see Jon Panish, ""Brooklyn Freeman," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). George (1803–1880) and Charles Merriam (1806–1887) were booksellers in Springfield, Massachusetts. They established a publishing company called G & C Merriam, Co. in Springfield in or about 1831 (some sources cite 1833). Following the death of the lexicographer Noah Webster (1758–1843), they acquired the rights to Webster's An American Dictionary of the English Language from J. S. and C. Adams. They proceeded to release revised and updated versions (as well as quarto and university editions) throughout the next four decades. Merriam's younger brother Homer would later join them in this effort. Today, the Merriam brothers' company exists as Merriam-Webster and continues to publish editions of Merriam-Webster's Dictionary. For more imformation on the Merriams and their company, see G & C Merriam Co. records and correspondence, Connecticut Historical Society and G. & C. Merriam Company Collection, Amherst College Archives and Special Collections. Mark Haskell Newman (1806–1851) was the New York book agent for the Merriam brothers. In addition to selling books, Newman was also a publisher. His publishing house dealt primarily with school textbooks. His office at 199 Broadway was designated as the place for the Merriams to send the copy of their new Webster's to Whitman. ("A Newly Discovered 1849 Whitman Letter to the 'Messrs. Merriam,'" Walt Whitman Quarterly Review, 38.2 [Fall 2020], 118–125). The dictionary finally procured from the Merriam brothers (with its fine, dark Russia leather binding) became Whitman’s preferred dictionary when he was writing the poems for the first three editions of Leaves of Grass. To read more about Whitman’s lifelong fascination with dictionaries, see Ed Folsom, "Dictionaries," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Henry Onderdonk (1804–1886) was an educator and historian, a collector of Long Island antiquities, and an author of many works based on his findings among local records. He was principal of Union Hall Academy at Jamaica from 1832 to 1865, after which he devoted himself to literary pursuits. He was also a director of the Long Island Bible Society. Later, he became a founder (1863) and councilor (1868–1886) of the Long Island Historical Society (now the Brooklyn Historical Society), and a contributor to the Society's library and manuscript collections upon their formation. He is perhaps most notable as a collector, compiler, and preservationist of official and military papers, diaries, old newspapers, oral histories, and many early records of Long Island towns and churches. Onderdonk died at Jamaica on June 22, 1886. He is buried in Monfort Cemetery in Port Washington, NY. (Guide to the Henry Onderdonk Papers ARC.045, Brooklyn Historical Society, Brooklyn Public Library). Aaron Smith (b. 1816), a shoemaker by trade, founded the Williamsburgh Times in 1848 along with George C. Bennett (1842–1885) and Egbert Guernsey (1823–1904). This newspaper later became the Brooklyn Daily Times, a paper that Whitman both contributed to and edited in the late 1850s. For more information on Whitman's work at the Times, see Karen Karbiener, "Reconstructing Whitman's Desk At The Brooklyn Daily Times," Walt Whitman Quarterly Review, 33.1 [Summer 2015], 21–50. This letter is addressed: Walter Whitman, Esq. | Brooklyn, L. I. It is postmarked: Brooklyn | APR | [illegible]. Tyndale may be referring to James Arnold, a Philadelphia bookbinder. Alfred Porter Putnam (1827–1906) was a reverend in the First Congregational Unitarian Society (The Church of the Saviour) in Brooklyn. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Care Fowlers & Wells | New York City. It is postmarked: BALTIMORE | DEC. | 5 | MD. George Storms (1829–1886) was a New York driver and the uncle of Walt Whitman Storms, with whom Whitman corresponded in the 1870s. "Fanny Fern" was the pen name of the poet and novelist Sara Payson Willis Parton (1811–1872). Willis was a professional journalist who wrote a weekly column for the New York Ledger, where she published a favorable review of Leaves of Grass in 1856. She was married to James Parton (1822–1891), a journalist and biographer. Despite Sara Payson Willis Parton's early praise of Whitman's writing, the Partons had a falling out with the poet in 1857 over a two-hundred dollar loan James Parton gave Whitman for the purpose of pursuing a literary project—a debt that Whitman believed to be settled, but according to the Partons, was never repaid (Oral S. Coad, "Whitman vs. Parton," Journal of the Rutgers University Library, 4 (December 1940). For more on Sara Payson Willis Parton, see Susan Belasco Smith, "Parton, Sara Payson Willis (Fanny Fern) (1811–1872)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). James Parton (1822–1891) was a journalist and, according to the Dictionary of American Biography, "the most successful biographer of his generation." Shortly before Walt Whitman had borrowed money, Parton had published his first bestseller, The Life of Horace Greeley (1855). When the issue of payment was in dispute, Parton sent attorney Oliver Dyer to collect from Whitman. (Oral S. Coad, "Whitman vs. Parton," Journal of the Rutgers University Library, 4 (December 1940). This letter is addressed: Walter Whitman. See Fern's review of the 1855 Leaves of Grass in the May 10, 1856, issue of the New York Ledger. "Mr. Bellows" may be a reference to Henry Whitman Bellows (1814–1882). A clergyman by profession, Bellows was the planner and president of the United States Sanitary Commission during the Civil War. Teunis G. Bergen (1806–1881) was a Brooklyn official acquainted with Whitman. Bergen was a member of the 241st regiment of the New York State militia, where he achieved the rank of Colonel. Trained as a surveyor, Bergen enjoyed a succesful career in the field before turning to politics. He served on the Kings County Board of Supervisors as the Supervisor of New Utrecht for twenty-three years (1836–1859). In 1864, Bergen was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat. He held this office until 1867. In one of his "Paragraph Sketches of Brooklynites," published in the Brooklyn Daily Advertiser on June 1, 1850, Whitman characterized Bergen as "the Nestor of the Board of Supervisors," and noted that he had been "a very Cerberus in his watch over the Treasury" (Edwin Haviland Miller, ed., The Correspondence [New York: New York University Press, 1961–77], 1:37, n1). Teunis G. Bergen (1806–1881) was a Brooklyn official acquainted with Whitman. Bergen was a member of the 241st regiment of the New York State militia, where he achieved the rank of Colonel. Trained as a surveyor, Bergen enjoyed a succesful career in the field before turning to politics. He served on the Kings County Board of Supervisors as the Supervisor of New Utrecht for twenty-three years (1836–1859). In 1864, Bergen was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat. He held this office until 1867. Eliza Reynolds (b. 1828?) was the wife of the car driver Henry Reynolds (b. 1827–before 1880) and the mother of a boy named after Whitman. Walter Whitman Reynolds wrote to Whitman on February 9, 1870, April 26, 1870, and May 13, 1872. In this last letter, Reynolds begged Whitman, "friend Walt I want to know if you will be kind enough loan me twenty dollars as I want to get a pair of pants and a coat." If Whitman replied, his letters are not extant. According to Whitman's daybook, his namesake Reynolds visited him on September 1, 1889. Walter Whitman Reynolds (b. 1854), named after the poet, was the son of Henry Reynolds (b. 1827–before 1880), a car driver, and Eliza Reynolds (b. 1828?). Walter's mother Eliza Reynolds, wrote to Whitman on October 16, 1868, imploring Whitman to get to know his namesake. She described Walter as "a nice boy, between 13 and 14 years old" and told the poet: "i thought perhaps you might take an interest in him." Walter Whitman Reynolds wrote to Whitman on February 9, 1870, April 26, 1870, and May 13, 1872. In his May 1872 letter, Reynolds begged Whitman, "friend Walt I want to know if you will be kind enough loan me twenty dollars as I want to get a pair of pants and a coat." If Whitman replied, his letters are not extant. According to Whitman's daybook, his namesake Reynolds visited him on September 1, 1889. Walter Whitman Reynolds (b. 1854), named after the poet, was the son of Henry Reynolds (b. 1827–before 1880), a car driver, and Eliza Reynolds (b. 1828?). Walter's mother Eliza Reynolds, wrote to Whitman on October 16, 1868, imploring Whitman to get to know his namesake. She described Walter as "a nice boy, between 13 and 14 years old" and told the poet: "i thought perhaps you might take an interest in him." Reynolds is referring to his sister Josephine Reynolds Crum (b. 1851–1898). Josephine had married John R. Crum (b. 1848), a shirt cutter, in 1869. Based on Walter Whitman Reynolds's mention of the Christmas holiday and on U. S. Census records, John R. Crum, Jr. was almost certainly born in December 1869. Crum died of Diptheria in 1876, at the age of six. According to the 1860 U. S. Census, Henry Reynolds (b. 1827–before 1880) was a "car driver" in New York. Daniel Robbins started working as an apprentice for John McKesson and Charles Olcott, who were in wholesale drug and import business. He later became a partner in the business, which was renamed McKesson & Robbins. See Whitman's letter to Rossetti of January 30, 1872. Whitman writes: "Often of full-moonlight nights I have a habit of going on long jaunts with some companion six, eight miles away into Virginia or Maryland over these roads." Moses H. Grinnell (1803–1877) was a New York congressman who served for one term between 1839–1841. Grinnell's primary focus was his business career, and he, along with his brothers, owned a shipping company called Grinnell, Minturn & Co. Grinnell also later served as president of the New York Chamber of Commerce and as a Commissioner of New York City's Central Park. Colonel Dennis F. Burke (1840–1893) served in the 88th New York Infantry (also known as the "Irish Brigade") during the U. S. Civil War. Schmidt refers to Whitman's letter from January 25, 1874. Whitman had written to Schmidt about his health and inquired after Björnstjerne Björnson’s plans to come to America. He also asked Schmidt for a copy of the Danish translation of Democratic Vistas. Perhaps Schmidt is thinking of his letter of April 4, 1873, in which he wrote: "I wonder, that Clemens Petersen who is an infinitely greater talent has got no entrance into this periodical [The North American Review]." It is unclear which letter Schmidt is referring to here. Attila the Hun (406–453) was a tribal emperor in Central and Eastern Europe. He is considered one of the most powerful rulers in world history. Attila was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in 453. This quote is from Whitman's poem, "Starting From Paumanok," first published in the 1867 edition of Leaves of Grass. Ambrose Everett Burnside (1824–1881) was a Union soldier, industrialist, and politician from Rhode Island. He served as the Governor of Rhode Island from 1866 to 1869, and as a United States Senator for Rhode Island from 1875 until his death. As a Union general in the Civil War, he conducted successful campaigns in North Carolina and East Tennessee, but suffered disastrous defeats at the Battle of Fredericksburg and the Battle of the Crater. His distinctive style of facial hair became known as sideburns, derived from his last name. George Brinton McClellan (1826–1885) was a Union general in the Civil War. He served as Commanding General of the Union Army fron November 1861 to March 1862. After the war, McClellan served as the 24th governor of New Jersey from 1878–1881. It seems like Schmidt is referring to Whitman's change of address in 1874. Whitman had been employed as a clerk in the Attorney General's Office in Washington at the time. However, he soon had to forfeit the position due to his ill health. He moved in with his brother, George Washington Whitman, in Camden, New Jersey. Schmidt is inquiring about whether or not the parcels sent to Whitman had reached him in his new address, or whether they had been sent to his former employer in Washington. For more information, see Ed Folsom and Kenneth M. Price, "Walt Whitman". Eliza Sullivan (Ticknor) Dexter (1833–1880) was the wife of William Sohier Dexter, a US lawyer. The couple had four children: Alice, George, Rose, and Phillip. Not much is known about Eliza Dexter's life. George Ticknor (1791–1871) was an academic who specialized in Spanish literature. The book Gilchrist is referring to is probably History of Spanish Literature, Ticknor's best-known work. Northampton State Hospital was a historic psychiatric hospital outside of Northampton, Massachusetts. The hospital building was constructed in 1856. It operated until 1993, and the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. Dr. Pliny Earle (1809–1892) was an American physician and psychiatrist. Earle was appointed as the superintendent and physician-in-chief of Northampton State Hospital in 1864. Earle was also a founding member of the American Medical Association, the New York Academy of Medicine, and the New England Psychological Society. The Belles Lettres Literary Society (est. 1786) is the oldest student organization at Dickinson College and one of the oldest literary societies in the country. Belles Lettres is the parent organization of Dickinson's literary magazine, The Dickinson Review. James Monroe Green (b. 1851), a native of New Jersey, entered Dickinson College but left before graduation to accept a position at a Long Branch high school as a principal. He later became President of the National Educational Association and the principal of state schools in Trenton. For more information, see "Green, James, Monroe," The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography (New York: James T. White & Company, 1906), 13:516. According to Donaldson, this letter is postmarked: Haslemere, July 8, 1874 (Walt Whitman The Man, ed. Thomas Donaldson [New York: Francis P. Harper, 1896], 227–228). Whitman's prose work Democratic Vistas was published in an eighty-four-page pamphlet in 1871. It is comprised of three essays Whitman had planned to publish in the Galaxy magazine. Two of these essays appeared in the Galaxy: "Democracy" was published in the December 1867 issue and "Personalism" in the May 1868 issue. Whitman submitted the third essay, "Orbic Literature," to the Galaxy, but it was not published in the magazine. For more information on this work, see Arthur Wrobel, "Democratic Vistas [1871]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Dr. Ferdinand Seeger (1848–1923) was a homeopathic physician from New York City and the founder of Hahnemann Hospital. He once refused the Democratic nomination for mayor in order to focus on his medical practice. He was known for his efforts to treat both wealthy and destitute patients ("Ferdinand Seeger, M.D.," Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy 15 (April 1923), 956). See also the obituary for Seeger as printed in the March 10, 1923, issue of Time magazine). Seeger sent an additional check for $5 on April 18, 1876, and Walt Whitman forwarded two volumes on April 21, 1876 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). The Port Chester (1876–1911) was an independent weekly newspaper based in Westchester County, New York. Its motto was "With malice toward none: With charity for all." See Whitman's letter to Schmidt of January 27, 1876. Charles P. Somerby was one of the book dealers whom Walt Whitman termed "embezzlers." In 1875 Somerby assumed the liabilities of Butts & Co.; see Whitman's February 4, 1874, letter to Asa K. Butts & Company. This proved to be a matter of embarrassment to Somerby, who, in reply to a lost letter on March 16, 1875, was unable "to remit the amount you name at present." On May 5, 1875, he wrote: "It is very mortifying to me not to be in a position to send you even a small portion of the balance your due." On October 4, 1875, Somerby sent $10—his only cash payment: "Have made every exertion to raise the $200 you require, and find it utterly impossible to get it. . . . We had hoped that you would accept our offer to get out your new book, and thus more than discharge our indebtedness to you." On May 6, 1876, Somerby sent Walt Whitman a statement pertaining to the volumes mentioned in this letter. On May 12, 1876, he included a complete financial statement: in eighteen months he had made only one cash payment, and owed Walt Whitman $215.17. The firm was still unable to make a payment on September 28, 1876. In August 1877, Whitman received a notice of bankruptcy dated August 8, 1877, from, in his own words, "assignee [Josiah Fletcher, an attorney] of the rascal Chas P. Somerby." These manuscripts are in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection, of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Little is known about Nicholas (Nick) Speer. According to the Paterson, New Jersey City Directory (1876), Speer was a driver with a home at 48 Pearl St. in the city. Charles P. Somerby was one of the book dealers whom Walt Whitman termed "embezzlers." In 1875 Somerby assumed the liabilities of Butts & Co.; see Whitman's February 4, 1874, letter to Asa K. Butts & Company. This proved to be a matter of embarrassment to Somerby, who, in reply to a lost letter on March 16, 1875, was unable "to remit the amount you name at present." On May 5, 1875, he wrote: "It is very mortifying to me not to be in a position to send you even a small portion of the balance your due." On October 4, 1875, Somerby sent $10—his only cash payment: "Have made every exertion to raise the $200 you require, and find it utterly impossible to get it. . . . We had hoped that you would accept our offer to get out your new book, and thus more than discharge our indebtedness to you." On April 19, 1876, Somerby reported that "I have been losing, instead of gaining." On May 6, 1876, he sent Walt Whitman a statement pertaining to the volumes mentioned in this letter. The firm was still unable to make a payment on September 28, 1876. In August 1877, Walt Whitman received a notice of bankruptcy dated August 8, 1877, from, in his own words, "assignee [Josiah Fletcher, an attorney] of the rascal Chas P. Somerby." These manuscripts are in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection, of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. John Quincy Adams Ward (1830–1910) was, according to Dictionary of American Biography, "the first native sculptor to create, without benefit of foreign training, an impressive body of good work." Ward ordered five sets of the new edition of Leaves of Grass on June 1, 1876 (Charles E. Feinberg Collection; Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [1906–1996], 2:278). Walt Whitman noted receipt of $50 from Ward on June 6, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). A. L. Bancroft & Co. was a publishing and printing company established in 1856. Their offices were at 721 Market Street, San Francisco. Franklin S. Richards (1849–1934), a leading figure in the Church of Latter-day Saints. Richards was the general counsel for the LDS church and a member of the Council of Fifty. He moved to Ogden, Utah, in 1869 and remained there until 1877. Charles P. Somerby was one of the book dealers whom Walt Whitman termed "embezzlers." In 1875 Somerby assumed the liabilities of Butts & Co.; see Whitman's February 4, 1874, letter to Asa K. Butts & Company. This proved to be a matter of embarrassment to Somerby, who, in reply to a lost letter on March 16, 1875, was unable "to remit the amount you name at present." On May 5, 1875, he wrote: "It is very mortifying to me not to be in a position to send you even a small portion of the balance your due." On October 4, 1875, Somerby sent $10—his only cash payment: "Have made every exertion to raise the $200 you require, and find it utterly impossible to get it. . . . We had hoped that you would accept our offer to get out your new book, and thus more than discharge our indebtedness to you." On April 19, 1876, Somerby reported that "I have been losing, instead of gaining." On May 12, 1876, he included a complete financial statement: in eighteen months he had made only one cash payment, and owed Walt Whitman $215.17. The firm was still unable to make a payment on September 28, 1876. In August 1877, Walt Whitman received a notice of bankruptcy dated August 8, 1877, from, in his own words, "assignee [Josiah Fletcher, an attorney] of the rascal Chas P. Somerby." These manuscripts are in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection, of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Andrew Jackson Davis (1826–1910) was an American Spiritualist. He described himself as "the Poughkeepsie Seer" and published approximately 30 books in his lifetime. Mary Fenn Robinson (1824–1886) was an American Spiritualist and the second wife of Andrew Jackson Davis. The couple founded the Herald of Progress, a Spiritualist newspaper, in 1860. Robinson also wrote and lectured on such subjects as Harmonial Philosophy, temperance, and women's rights. "A Death-Sonnet for Custer" (later entitled "From Far Dakota's Cañons") appeared in the New York Daily Tribune on July 10, 1876. John Hay (1838–1905), who was Lincoln's private secretary and an historian as well as Secretary of State under Theodore Roosevelt, praised this poem on July 25, 1876. Whitman sent the 1876 edition to Hay on August 1, 1876 (Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Charles P. Somerby was one of the book dealers whom Walt Whitman termed "embezzlers." In 1875 Somerby assumed the liabilities of Butts & Co.; see Whitman's February 4, 1874, letter to Asa K. Butts & Company. This proved to be a matter of embarrassment to Somerby, who, in reply to a lost letter on March 16, 1875, was unable "to remit the amount you name at present." On May 5, 1875, he wrote: "It is very mortifying to me not to be in a position to send you even a small portion of the balance your due." On October 4, 1875, Somerby sent $10—his only cash payment: "Have made every exertion to raise the $200 you require, and find it utterly impossible to get it. . . . We had hoped that you would accept our offer to get out your new book, and thus more than discharge our indebtedness to you." On April 19, 1876, Somerby reported that "I have been losing, instead of gaining." On May 6, 1876, he sent Walt Whitman a statement pertaining to the volumes mentioned in this letter. On May 12, 1876, he included a complete financial statement: in eighteen months he had made only one cash payment, and owed Walt Whitman $215.17. In August 1877, Walt Whitman received a notice of bankruptcy dated August 8, 1877, from, in his own words, "assignee [Josiah Fletcher, an attorney] of the rascal Chas P. Somerby." These manuscripts are in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection, of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Kennedy enclosed a letter from Alexander Gardener dated 12 July 1889. This letter is addressed: Wm Ingram | Telford | Bucks Co: | Penn:. It is postmarked: (?)den, N.J. | Sep 13 | 8 PM | 88. Samuel Roberts Wells (1820–1875) was a phrenologist, author, and member of the New York publishing firm Fowler and Wells that distributed the 1856 edition of Leaves of Grass. George Storms was a New York driver, and the uncle of Walt Whitman Storms, with whom Whitman corresponded in the 1870s. Martha "Mattie" Griffith Browne (d. 1906) was a white abolitionist and suffragist who wrote poetry and anti-slavery fiction. She was the author of Autobiography of a Female Slave, which was first published in 1857. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq. | Atty Genls Office. | Washington D.C. It is postmarked: SYRACUSE | SEP | 16 | 67.; CARRIER | SEP | 17 | 7 P.M. | DEL. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Atty General's Office | Washington, | D.C. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | Oct | 3; CARRIER | OCT | 4 | 1867 This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Washington City | D.C. It Is postmarked: CONCORD | APR | 28 | MASS.; CARRIER | APR | 330 | 1868. This letter is addressed: Walt. Whitman | Atty. Gen. Office | Washington D.C. It is postmarked: SYRACUSE | MAY | 4 | N.Y. In a letter to Whitman dated March 30, 1868, Henry Wilson—the father of Benton Wilson—wrote to Whitman, noting that Benton had taken a job involving mowing machines. This is likely how Benton injured his thumb. This letter is addressed: Walt. Whitman | Attorney Gen. Office | Washington D.C. It is postmarked: EDINBORO | SEP | 15 | P. A.; CARRIER | SEP | 16 | 2 DEL. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Washington | D.C. It is postmarked: Washington | Dec 10 | D.C. This letter is addressed: Walt. Whitman | Attorney Gen. Office | Washington D.C. It is postmarked: EDINBORO | OCT | 9 | P A.; CARRIER | OCT | [illegible] | 2 Del. This letter is addressed: Mr Whitman. | Attorney General's Office. This letter is addressed: Walter. Whitman. | Washington | D.C. | Attorney Gen Office. It is postmarked: Brooklyn | Nov 29 | N.Y.; Carrier | Nov | 30 | 7 AM. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq. | Atty. Gens. Office. | Washington | D.C. It is postmarked: Syracuse | JAN | 24 | N.Y.; CARRIER | JAN | 26 | 7 PM. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Atty Gens Office | Washington | DC. It is postmarked: GREENE | DEC 20 | N.Y.; CARRIER | DEC | 22 | 4 PM This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Attorney Generals Office | Washington | D.C. It is postmarked: Walworth | Oct 2 | N.Y. This letter is addressed: Walt. Whitman. | Attorny Generals Office | Washington | D.C. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman (Poet) | Washington | State Department | D.C. | private. It is postmarked: New York | Feb [illegible] | Carrier | Feb | 21 | 7 PM. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Attorney Gen's Office | Washington D.C. It is postmarked: Jamestown | Mar 31; CARRIER | APR | 4 | [illegible]. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | Washington. D.C | U.S.A. It is postmarked: London-E. O | AP 2[illegible] | 71; [illegible] | MAY | 1; CARRIER | MAY | 8 | 8 AM. This letter is addressed in Whitman's hand as follows: Mr. Walt Whitman | Atorney General Office | Treasure Building | Washington. | D.C. It is postmarked: New York | JUN | 1; CARRIER | JUN | 2 | 8AM. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Washington, D.C. | U.S.A. It is postmarked: London W[worn-away] | 1 | JY 10 | 71; CARRIER | JUL | 24 | 7 PM. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | Washington | D.C. | America. It is postmarked: London SW | 5 | JY 19 | 71; INSUFFICIENTLY PREPAID; CARRIER | JUL | 31 | 7 PM. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Washington | D.C. It is postmarked: EASTON | OCT | 2 | P A.; CARRIER | OCT | 3 | 8AM. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Washington—D.C. | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON-W | 7 | OC 9 | 71; NEW YORK CITY | OCT | 22 | PAID; CARRIER | OCT | 23 | 8AM. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Atty Gens Office | Washington | D.C. It is postmarked: New York | MAY | 14 | 10:30 AM; CARRIER | 15 [6] | CARRIER | 15 [6] | [illegible]. This letter is addressed: John Burroughs, | Examiner Waukill Bank. | Middletown | New York. It is postmarked: WASHINGTON | APR | 29 | [illegible]. This letter is addressed: John Burroughs, | Esopus, | Ulster co. | New York. It is postmarked: Camden | May 21 | N.J. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq., | Camden, N.J., It is postmarked: WASHINGTON | 30 | JUN | D.C.; John Carwardine (1829–1889) was honorably discharged from military service on March 21, 1863. This letter is addressed: Mr. W. Whitman | 431. Stevens St | Camden | N J. It is postmarked: Washington | [illegible]. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | 3 | AP14 | 75. NEW YORK | [illegible] This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: New York | Sep 26 | 4:30PM. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens St | Cor: 7 West St | Camden | NJ. It is postmarked: New Haven | MAY 19 | CT. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq. | Care of—Gardner Esq. | Photographer, | Washington, | U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | 6 | MY31 | 75. The back of the envelope that accompanied this letter has been used to record a series of calculations. This letter is addressed: Amérique | Walt Whitman | Camden | N: Jersey | U.S. It is postmarked: Gais | 13VI75; [illegible] | Jun 26 | NEW YORK. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman. Esq | No 431 Steven S Cor West | Camden | N Jersey. It is postmarked: New Britain | Jun 14 | Conn. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | No 431 Stevens St | Cor West | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: New Britain | Jul 24 | Conn. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. It is postmarked: New York | SEP 26 | 4:30 P.M. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 431 Stevens St., | (Cor West), | Camden, | N.J. It is postmarked: New York | Oct 5 | [illegible]AM. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens St. | —corner West. | Camden | N. Jersey. It is postmarked: Philad'a | Nov 4 | W | PA. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Care of Col Whitman | Stevens Street | Camden—New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: Sunderland | D | DE 19 | 75. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | 431. Stevens St. | Cor West, | Camden N. Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | MAR | 8 | PAID ALL. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens St | Cor West | Camden | New Jersey. The return address is: Meltonsville Alabama | February 8 1876. This letter is addressed: Miss Kate Hillard, | 186 Remsen street, | Brooklyn, | New York. It is postmarked: Camden | Feb 15 | N.J. | Brooklyn | FEB | 16 | [illegible] AM | REC'D. Ellsworth's letter is partially obscured by a square of newspaper that has been attached to the paper. The letter is struck through, and Whitman used the back of this letter to write a draft of what would become his March 6, 1876, letter to Bram Stoker. Emory A. Ellsworth (1853–1915) was an 1871 graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, who went on to work as a civil engineer and architect. He assisted with the construction of the Holyoke Water Works and served as the architect for what was at the time, the campus's Veterinary Lab. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens St. | Cor West | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON | FE 28 | [illegible]; NEW YORK | [illegible]. This postcared is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens St. | Cor West | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | N.W. | F 7 | MR31 | 76; NEW YORK | APR | 12 | PAID ALL. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N. Jersey. It is postmarked: New York | Apr 19 | 7 AM. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens St., | Camden, | N.J. It is postmarked: New York | Apr 20 | [illegible]. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Washington | AP 24 | [illegible]. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens St | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: New York | Apr 24 | 9 AM. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | 431 Stevens St., cor. West | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: London—W | 4 | AP24 | 76; New York | May 7 | PAID ALL. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walter Whitman | No 431 Stevens St. | Camden N.J. It is postmarked: Kirkwood | MAY 1 | N J. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden, | N. J. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | Camden. | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Washington | SEP 25 | 4 PM | D.C. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Washington | D.C. It is postmarked: Boston | Oct 26 | MASS; [] | OCT | 27 | []. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Porttand Ave | near Myrtle Ave | Brooklyn. Vaughan may have sent this letter as an enclosure in his August 11, 1874, letter to Whitman. This partial letter has a line drawn through it in blue crayon. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Media | DEC 29 | 1884 | PA.; Philadelphia, PA | Dec | 29 | 4PM | Transit; Camden, N.J. | Dec | 29 | 6PM | 1884 | Rec'd. John B. Robinson (1846–1933) was a Republican politician from Pennsylvania. Educated at the Unviersity of Pittsburgh and at Amherst College, Robinson served in the Navy before going on to become a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1884–1888), a Pennsylvania State Senator (1889–1892), and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1891–1897). In the early 1880s, Robinson also the edited the Delaware County Gazette newspaper and owned the Media Ledger. The Delaware County Institute of Science (DCIS) was founded in 1833. The Institute's mission was to support the learning of the public by establishing a lending library and a natural history museum. The DCIS continues to maintain the museum and library located at the corners of Jasper Street and Veteran's Square in Media, Pennsylvania. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden, N.J. It is postmarked: New York | MAR 31 | 4 PM | G; Camden, N.J. | Apr [illegible] | 1885 | Rec'd. Lathrop is likely referring to Charles Dudley Warner (1829–1900), who was an essayist and novelist, as well as a friend of the American humorist, Mark Twain. Warner co-authored the novel The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873) with Twain. Edward Eggleston (1837–1902), an Indiana native, was an American author and historian who was known for his "Hoosier" series of writings. Frank R. Stockton (1834–1902), of Philadelphia, was an American author and humorist best known for writing children's literature. He was the author of "The Lady, or the Tiger?" (1882) and numerous other fables and fairy tales that were very popular in the late nineteenth century. This part of the page has been marked up and underlined in a red pen by an unknown source. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: New York | SEP 11 | 6 AM | R; Camden N.J. | SEP 11 | 4 PM | 1885 | REC'D. In his letter of January 25, Gilchrist requested permission to quote from Whitman's letters to his mother. See Whitman's letter to Susan Stafford from January 9–10, 1886. On December 31, 1885, Burroughs had asked Whitman to forward the Emerson volumes, which Whitman had borrowed during the Washington years. Burroughs noted receiving the volumes on April 3. See Whitman's letter to James Redpath from December 15, 1885. See Whitman's letter to Robert Underwood Johnson August 4, 1884. In his Commonplace Book on March 12 Whitman recorded "bad spell sickness—stomach & head—in bed all day—(better & up next day)." He had bad spells on March 16 to 18 and 20 to 23. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: Camden N.J. | May 25 | 7 AM | (?)86. This letter is addressed: To Walt Whitman, | 328 Mickle Street | Camden, | New Jersey | United States of America. It is postmarked: Chelsea. S.W. | 4 6 | MY25 | 86; New York | JUN 4 | PAID | G | ALL; Camden (?) | JUN (?) | 7AM | REC'D. Plutarch was a Greek philosopher, historian, and essayist, and he is best known for writing Parallel Lives. Whitman is referring to to William Douglas O'Connor's letter of August 17, 1886. In that letter, O'Connor sent a clipping from The Nation of August 12 containing "a cheering review" of a book by Hutcheson Macaulay Posnett entitled Comparative Literature (1886), in which Whitman was referred to; see also O'Connor's letter to Whitman of December 10, 1886. Whitman looked over the manuscript, provided comments and suggestions, and sent it back to Kennedy via Adams' Express. See Whitman's letter to Kennedy of August 13, 1886. Whitman sent another note to Kennedy to let him know he had added "comments & suggestions" to the manuscript; see Whitman's letter to Kennedy of August 13, 1886. See Kennedy's letter to Whitman of August 18, 1886. Harper & Brothers sent the new Fifth Reader to Whitman on September 25, 1889. This letter is addressed: Bernard O'Dowd | Supreme Court Library | Melbourne | Victoria | via San Francisco or otherwise. It is postmarked: Camden N.J. | JAN 14 | 1 30 PM | 91; San Francisco, CAL. | JAN 19 | 1891 | F.D.; Melbourne | [illegible]S | MR 19 | 91. Probably Whitman referred to O'Dowd's lengthy confession on June 9, when he wrote: "Love episode of a strange nature; as usual, with bad luck to me. 'Shouldered Bluey' with Ted [Machefer, "a scapegrace, a swagman, but a true mate"] & went through 5 months strange experiences in Australia wilds. Hard times, starvation, annihilation of soul almost, degradation everywhere, I touched with it as much as any I suppose. Staunch mates almost to death" (see A. L. McLeod, ed., Walt Whitman in Australia and New Zealand [Sydney: Wentworth Press, 1964], 21). On January 13 Stoddart asked permission to bring over a number of guests including Francis Wilson, the actor, the daughter of Julian Hawthorne, and possibly Paul Belloni Du Chaillu, the African explorer and author (1835–1903). On the letter Whitman wrote: "ans'd | told them to come." On January 16 Wilson asked the poet to accept a gift. Whitman recycled a wedding invitation to write this letter. He struck through the invitation and wrote on the verso side. This letter is addressed: Bernard O'Dowd | Supreme Court Library | Melbourne | Victoria | via San Francisco | or otherwise. It is postmarked: Camden N.J. | DEC 2(?) | 1 30 PM | 90; Camden, N.J. | DEC 27 | 130 PM | 90; Camden, N.J. | DEC 27 | 130 PM | 90 | Philadelphia, P.A. | DEC 27 | 9 PM; San Francisco, Cal. | Jan 2 | 1891 | F. D. | Melbourne | 91. Whitman was uncertain about the delivery of the parcel. He expressed his concern about whether it and the letter had been delivered in his January 1–2, 1891, letter to O'Dowd. This letter is addressed: Bernard O'Dowd | Supreme Court Library | Melbourne | Victoria | via San Francisco | or otherwise. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | JAN 2 | 6 PM | 91; Philadelphia P.A. | JAN 2 | 9 PM | [illegible]; San Francisco, Cal. | JAN 7 | 1891 | F.D. This letter is addressed: Bernard O'Dowd | Supreme Court Library | Melbourne | Victoria | via San Francisco or otherwise. It is postmarked: Camden N.J. | FEB 21 | 6 AM | 91; San Francisco CAL. | FEB 26 | 1891 | F.D.; Melbourne | (?) | AP 2 | 91. This letter is addressed: Bernard O'Dowd | Supreme Court Library | Melbourne | Victoria | via San Francisco | or otherwise. It is postmarked: Camden N.J. | MAR 16 | 8 PM | 91; Philadelphia, PA. | MAR 16 | 11PM | F.D.; San Francisco [illegible] | MAR 22 | 1891 | F.D.; Melbourne | [illegible]L | AP 29 | 91. This letter is addressed: Bernard O'Dowd | Supreme Court Library | Melbourne Victoria | via San Francisco. It is postmarked: Camden N.J. | MAY 21 | 6 AM | 91; New York | MAY 21 | 10 30 AM | 91; San Francisco | CAL | MAY 26 | 1891 | F.D.; Melbourne | 17 O | JA 23 |91. The envelope is printed with Whitman's return address: Walt Whitman, | Camden | New Jersey, | U. S. America. Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" Whitman has written the first sentence of the postscript in the top left corner of the letter, and he has written the second sentence in the top right corner. A full-page engraved portrait of Whitman (based on a photograph by Napoleon Sarony) appeared in the Supplement to the Illustrated London News on November 30, 1889. In a December 3, 1889, letter to the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke, Whitman described The Illustrated London News portrait as "not satisfactory." Whitman elsewhere comments on the Illustrated London News engraving as a "foxy" image of himself. See, for example, Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Thursday, December 26, 1889. This letter is addressed: Bernard O'Dowd | Supreme Court Library | Melbourne | Victoria | via San Francisco | or otherwise. It is postmarked: Camden N.J. | NOV 1 | 5 PM | 91; Philadelphia, PA | NOV 1 | 10 AM | F.D. | 91; San Francisco | NOV 6 | | 1891 | F.D.; Melbourne | 13 Y | DE 9 | 91. See O'Dowd's August 31, 1891, letter to Whitman. This letter is addressed: Bernard O'Dowd | Supreme Court Library | Melbourne | Victoria | via San Francisco. It is postmarked: Camden N.J. | JUL12 | 8 PM | 90; [illegible] | JUL12 | 8 PM | 90; Philadelphia, PA. | JUL12 | 9 PM | F.D.; San Francisco [illegible] | JUL 17; Melbourne | [illegible] | AU23 | 90. This letter is addressed: Bernard O'Dowd | Supreme Court Library | Melbourne | Victoria | via San Francisco. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | JUL 23 | 6 PM | 90; Philadelphia, PA. | JUL 23 | 10 PM | F.D. | 90; San Francisco, CA | JUL 28 | [illegible]. See Kennedy's letter to Whitman of July 21, 1890. Thomas Bury (1838–1900), penname "Tom Touchstone," was a journalist who worked for the Ballarat Courier in Victoria, Australia. The phrase "Most beloved of friends." has been struck through. The word "weaker" has been struck through and replaced with "colder." The words "address" and "words" have been struck through and replaced with "a salutation." The words "and love" have been struck through. The word "heavy" has been struck through and replaced by "past heavy." The sentence "(two years ago of a mother whom he would describe as you described yours in "As at thy portals")" has been struck through. The word "which" has been struck through and replaced with "that." The word "remember" has been struck through and replaced with "know." A note at the bottom of the page says "(add health & strength &c." The word "respectfully" has been struck through. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, Esq, | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: London (?)N | 2 | JU13 | 87; JU 13 | L | 18 87; Hew York | JUN | 24 | PAID | (?) | ALL; Camden, N.J. | JUN 25 | 6 AM | REC'D. This postal card is addressed: William Carey | Century Office Union Square | New York City. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | SEP 15 | 8 PM | 87; II | 9 16 87 | 6 A | (?); P.O. | 9–18 87 | 2 A | N.Y. Frederick Wedmore (1844–1921) was an art critic, short story writer, novelist, and scholar from England. He was also a friend and neighbor of Whitman's admirer and close friend Anne Gilchrist (1828–1885) in Hempstead, England. Likely Arathena Bianca Drake (1829–1916), a homeopathic physician in South Boston who wrote for periodicals about medical and literary topics. She also conducted lectures for the Walt Whitman Fellowship and was a reverent fan of his works until her death. Likely referring to Mary Whitall Smith, who visited Cambridge with her family the previous November. Possibly a reference to the gifts, totalling $686.61, which Whitman had received from his English friends. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | 328 Mickle St. | Camden | New jersey. It is postmarked: Belmont | JUL 12 | 1886 | MASS.; Camden, NJ. | JUL 13 | 10 AM | 1886 | REC'D. "Father Taylor and Oratory" did not appear in November as Whitman hoped; instead it was published in February 1887. Little is known about P. J. O'Shea, who was an attorney in Chicago, Illinois. This letter is addressed: P H O'Shea | Attorney & Counselor | 163 Randolph Street | Chicago Ill:. It is postmarked: Camden | Dec | 13 | 430PM | 1886 | N.J; Philadelphia, PA. | Dec | 13 | 1886 | Transit; Chicago, Ill. Rec'd | Dec | 14 | 9PM | 1886 | 6. Translates to: "It's stronger than me." Whitman's "A Word about Tennyson" was published in The Critic on January 1, 1887. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St | Camden | N. Jersey. It is postmarked: Los Angeles | SEP 6 | 6 30PM | 1887 | CAL.; Camden N.J. | SEP 13 | 6 AM | 1887 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | N.J. | 328 Mickle St. It is postmarked: Philadelphia, PA. | SEP 12 | 1130AM | 87; Camden, N.J. | SEP 12 | (?) PM | 87 | REC'D. Likely Augustus Wight Bomberger (1864–1916), son of the Reverend John Henry Augustus Bomberger—a theologian and the first president of Ursinus College, in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. A. W. Bomberger graduated from Ursinus College in 1882. He was the author of A Book on Birds (1912) and a collection of poetry, New Songs of Nature (1915). Likely William Preston Harrison (1869–1940), son of Carter Henry Harrison who was mayor of Chicago from 1879 until 1887 and later assassinated in 1893. William Preston Harrison worked in real estate and served as the editor and publisher of the Chicago Times from 1891 to 1895. He later moved to Los Angeles and donated paintings to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "Voices of Ebb-Tide" was a trial title for Whitman's poem "Fancies at Navesink," which was first published in The Nineteenth Century (August 1885). This letter likely dates to 1885. Charles Lotin Hildreth (1853–1896) contributed poetry to Lippincott's Monthly Magazine and also wrote science fiction. He is best known for such works as The Mysterious City of OO: Adventures in Orbello and "The Legend of Edward Mordake." This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: New York | MAR 19 | 1030PM; New York | MAR 19 | 1030PM; E. The writer of this letter may have been Robert Rooke Morgan (1866–1930), who was a reverend in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The rest of this letter has not yet been located. The thematic relationship between Morgan's last phrase and the 1891 poem Whitman wrote on the back suggests the letter was probably received during that year. Charles McIlvaine (1840–1909) was a Civil War veteran who became an author and mycologist. He wrote under the pseudonym "Tobe Hodge" for many of his periodical works. He is best known for his book One Thousand American Fungi. Roughly translates to: "speech". It is not certain which letter Scovel is referring to; however, McIlvaine wrote a letter addressed to Whitman that may date to 1890. According to the 1890 Veteran Schedules of the U.S. Federal Census, McIlvaine was living in Haddonfield, New Jersey, the city that he writes after his signature on his letter to Whitman. This suggests that the letter may date to 1890, and it may be the letter Scovel enclosed with his own. McIlvaine continued to live in Haddonfield until 1895. William Henry Thorne (1839–1907) was editor and proprietor of The Globe Quarterly Review in New York. He was born in England and came to America as a Protestant clergyman. He later converted to Catholicism and founded The Globe in 1889. John Wesley Wescott (1849–1927) practiced law in Camden County. In 1884, he was appointed Presiding Judge of the Common Pleas for the county. In 1914, he was appointed Attorney General of the State. "Voceberun" "shout out". Samuel Bowles (1826–1878), the editor of the Springfield Republican. Anne Gilchrist's "A Confession of Faith" appeared in To-Day in June 1885, 269-284. See the letter from Williams to Whitman of April 15, 1886. The correspondent of this letter is likely Horace Traubel, who had written to Whitman on the morning of January 23, 1891, to ask for photographs of the poet. Traubel planned to travel to New York and wanted to bring photos to give to the poet's New York friends. Traubel notes that Whitman had, "slipped a card under the string, along with a memorandum–which [Traubel] immediately took as warrant to write to Somerby an order of 40 copies" (With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, January 23, 1891). This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle St. | Camden. | New Jersey. Walter M. Rew was a physician and a graduate of the University of New York. In addition to his medical practice, he wrote several literary works, including Dion, A Tragedy: and Poems (1877) and Maud Vivian: A Drama, and Poems (1873). In 1893, Rew was accused and convicted of illegally conducting a so-called medical prepatory college at the 99 Macdougal Street address that appears on this letter. Rew issued false medical diplomas for a fee to individuals who studied with him for a couple of weeks; the "diplomas" supposedly certified the recipients to practice in the Western States ("Made M.D.'s in Two Weeks," The Evening World [July 25, 1893], 3). He served three months in prison for the diploma scandal, and three years later, he was arrested again on charges of bigamy as he had married at least five women and swindled some of them out of their savings ("Had Five Wives," Boston Post [October 29, 1896], 5). The phrase "Tui Moriamus te salutamus" means "We who are about to die, salute you" in Latin. William Louis DeLacey (1845–1908) was a sixteen-year-old soldier in the Civil War who later became a prominent pension lawyer and a printer. He also edited the Amenia Times newspaper in Amenia, New York. He married Weltha A. Wiley in 1868, and together they had three sons, George W. DeLacey, Charles DeLacey, and William Louis DeLacey. After Weltha died in 1898, DeLacey married Anna J. Hull in 1899. Whitman called this letter "the most impertinent autograph request yet." He also said of DeLacey: "Why, the fellow absolutely makes a business of it—probably gets the sheets printed by the hundreds." (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, July 1, 1891). Harry Garren (1838–) worked at an oyster and cigar shop in Camden. He was married to Mary A. Garren. This note was within a copy of Two Rivulets that Whitman gifted to Garren. Benjamin Rush (1746–1813) was a civic leader in Philadelphia, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He signed the Declaration of Independence and was a Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress. He was a physician, politician, and educator who taught Eliza Seaman Leggett's father Valentine Seaman at the University of Pennsylvania. Charles S. Myrick was the foreman in Ferguson Brothers printing plant, which printed both November Boughs and the 1889 edition of Leaves of Grass. In a note at the foot of page 37 of November Boughs, Whitman claims that both "Now Precedent Songs Farewell" and "An Evening Lull" were "eked out" one afternoon in June 1888. He read proof on November Boughs between July 18 and July 25, making changes such as those requested in this letter. For more on the context, see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, July 17, 1888, and Whitman's letter to Richard Maurice Bucke of July 25, 1888. On July 31, he wrote John Burroughs that he had "finished (sent all copy) my little Nov: Boughs." The estimated date of this letter is based on Whitman's completion of the proofs of November Boughs. This instruction asked Myrick to move "As the Greek's Signal Flame" to the bottom of page 36 and "The Dismantled Ship" to the top of page 37. Whitman here is referring to "An Evening Lull." Whitman is referring to his poem "Now Precedent Songs, Farewell." The note reads, in its entirety, "The two songs on this page are eked out during an afternoon, June, 1888, in my seventieth year, at a critical spell of illness. Of course no reader and probably no human being at any time will ever have such phases of emotional and solemn action as these involve to me. I feel in them an end and close of all" (Leaves of Grass: Comprehensive Reader's Edition, ed. Harold W. Blodgett and Sculley Bradley [New York: New York University Press, 1965], 535). This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | JAN 2 | 6AM | 89; London | AM | JA 4 | 89 | CANADA. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | JAN 6 | 3PM | 89; Philadelphia, PA. | JAN 6 | 6PM | 1889 | TRANSIT; Buffalo, N.Y. | JAN 7 | 11AM | 1889 | TRANSIT; London | AM | JA 8 | 89 | CANADA. See Bucke's letter to Whitman from December 24, 1888. This letter is addressed: Samuel G Stanley | 323 Macon street | Brooklyn | New York. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | OCT 13 | 8PM | 91; Brooklyn, N.Y. | OCT 14 | 530AM | B; Brooklyn, N.Y. | OCT 14 | 8AM | 91. The 8 has been struck through and replaced with a 9. Whitman used the top of the second page to make calculations. Whitman struck through this letter fragment and used the verso side to draft "Death of Thomas Carlyle." Whitman struck through this letter fragment and used the verso side to write notes about his 72nd birthday. Because Whitman wrote notes about his birthday—May 31, 1891—on the back of this autograph request, the letter was likely received earlier that year. Although this letter has yet to be located, the Stover case is discussed briefly in one of the scribal documents produced by Whitman while he was working as a clerk in the Attorney General's Office in Washington, D. C. in 1869. See the May 14, 1869, letter from Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar to A. E. Borie, transcribed by Whitman. Léon Paul Blouet (1847–1903) wrote under the pseudonym Max O'Rell and was a French teacher, journalist, and author. In 1883, he published John Bull et son île which was wildly popular in France and was later translated to English with great success in England and the United States. Whitman struck through this letter fragment and used the verso side to make a note for Bucke's book. See Emerson's letter to Chase of January 10, 1863. Whitman struck through this letter fragment and drafted an autobiographical note on the verso side. William Brough may have written this letter to Whitman. In a November 1, 1880 entry in his Commonplace Book, Whitman writes that he has sent books to "William Brough Franklin Penna" (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This location matches the city in the return address of this letter. This is a partial draft of Whitman's letter to O'Connor of July 20, 1883. He struck through the letter draft to draft prose on the verso side. Whitman struck through this letter and used the verso side to write notes and edits for his proofs of "Good-Bye My Fancy." Whitman used a blue crayon to indicate the edition of Leaves of Grass advertised on the page. The verso side has an autobiographical note of Whitman's life. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | JAN 13 | 5PM | 89; Philadelphia, PA. | JAN (?) | 7 PM | 1889; Buffalo, N.Y. | JAN 14 | 11AM | 1889 | TRANSIT; London | AM | JA 15 | 89 | CANADA. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | JAN 15 | 8PM | 89; Philadelphia, PA. | JAN 15 | 9 PM | 1889 | TRANSIT; London | AM | JA 17 | 89 | CANADA. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | JAN 17 | 8PM | 89; Philadelphia, PA. | JAN 17 | 9 PM | 1889 | TRANSIT; London | AM | JA 19 | 89 | CANADA. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | FEB 5 | 8PM | 89; Philadelphia, PA. | FEB 5 | 9 PM | 1889 | TRANSIT; London | AM | FE 7 | 89 | CANADA. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | FEB 6 | 8PM | 89; Philadelphia, PA. | FEB 6 | 9 PM | 1889 | TRANSIT; London | AM | FE 8 | 89 | CANADA. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | FEB 8 | 12PM | 89; (?) | 2–8–89 | 530PM; London | AM | FE 11 | 89 | CANADA. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | FEB 10 | 5PM | 89; Buffalo, N.Y. | FEB 11 | 11AM | 1889 | TRANSIT; London | AM | FE 12 | 89 | CANADA. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | FEB 20 | 8PM | 89; Philadelphia, PA. | FEB 20 | 9 PM | 1889 | TRANSIT; London | AM | FE 22 | 89 | CANADA. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | MAR (?) | 6 PM | 89; Philadelphia, PA. | MAR 21 | 730PM | 1889 | TRANSIT; London | AM | MR 23 | 89 | CANADA. Seemingly in a lost letter to Reid, Whitman had protested what he considered a slurring reference to his health in a news item in the Tribune, which had likely been hostile chiefly because of the influence of Bayard Taylor (1825–1878). William Sloane Kennedy lists Taylor among Whitman's "Bitter and Relentless Foes and Villifiers"; see The Fight of a Book for the World (West Yarmouth, Massachusetts: The Stonecroft Press, 1926), 288. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | Corner of Stevens & West Street | Camden | Near Philadelphia | U.S.A. It is postmarked: A P | LONDON | 1 FE | 76; A P | LONDON | 1 FE | 76; New York | FEB [illegible] | PAID ALL. Nancy Maria Donaldson Johnson (1794–1890) was a missionary for the American Missionary Society. Nancy, along with her sister Mary, taught freed slaves in South Carolina in 1862 as part of the Port Royal Experiment, which aimed to create hospitals and schools for former slaves. Johnson was also an inventor and created and patented a hand-cranked ice cream freezer. She was the wife of Walter R. Johnson, a professor of chemistry and physics at Pennsylvania College at Gettysburg. Whitman is likely referring to this photo taken by William Kurtz. See Whitman's letter to Rossetti from November 22, 1867. See Whitman's letter to Moncure D. Conway from November 1, 1867. See Rossetti's letter to Whitman from November 17, 1867. This postal card is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | 17 APR | 8PM. This postal card is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | APR 22 | 8PM | 89; London | AM | AP 24 | 89 | CANADA. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | APR 25 | 8PM | 89; Philadelphia (?) | APR 2(?) | 9 PM | 1889 | TRANSIT; London | AM | AP 27 | 89 | CANADA. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | MAY 3 | 6AM | 89; N Y | 5–3–89 | 10AM | (?); London | PM | MY 4 | 89 | CANADA. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt. Whitman | Atorney generals office | Washington D.C. It is postmarked: Syracuse | MAR | 31 | N.Y.; CARRIER | APR 1 | 7 P.M. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, | Washington, | D.C—. It is postmarked: New York | JUN | 18; CARRIER | JUN | 19 | 2 P.M. See Whitman's letter to Hurt from October 2, 1868. Whitman struck through this letter and used the verso side to make notes for Army Reminiscences. Whitman referenced the progression of his health in his September 2, 1873, letter to Burroughs, stating: "I still live in hopes—& expect to be helped by the fall weather, & even by the winter." This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens St | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: New York, N Y | DEC | 3 | 6 P.M. Widely known as a writer of hymns, James Montgomery (1771–1854), of Ayrshire, Scotland, was a poet and editor. He later moved to Sheffield, England, where he worked as the assistant to the publisher of the Sheffield Register. He went on to edit the paper for more than thirty years, after changing its name to the Sheffield Iris. Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803–1873) was an English writer and politician, who served as the Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1858 to 1859. He wrote poetry and historical fiction, and he coined the phrase "The pen is mightier than the sword" in his play Richelieu (1839). August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue (1761–1819) was a German author who wrote sentimental plays and a diplomat, who served as a consul in both Russia and Germany. Pierre-Jean de Béranger (1780–1857) was a French lyric poet, as well as a prolific and influential songwriter. Alphonse de Lamartine (1790–1869) was a French Romantic poet and statesman. He is best known for his book of poetry titled Méditations poétiques (1820) and for his role in the Revolution of 1848, when he briefly served as the leader of the Second Republic following the revolts that ended the rule of King Louis-Philippe of France. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt. Whitman | 431 Stevens st. Cor. West. | Camden, N.J. It is postmarked: Paskack | JAN [illegible]. Only the month of the postmark is legible. The date "15" has been added to the postmark in ink. See Whitman's letter to Schmidt from March 19, 1874. Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig (1783–1872) was a Danish minister, author, and philosopher who is credited with founding the folk high school concept of popular education, as well as influencing modern understandings of the church and state in Denmark. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | MAY 5 | 5PM | 89; Philadelphia, PA | May 5 | 6 PM | 1889 | TRANSIT; Buffalo, N.Y. | MAY 6 | 11AM | 1889 | TRANSIT; London | AM | MY 7 | 89 | CANADA. See Whitman's letter to Bucke from April 25, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | MAY 8 | 8PM | 89; London | AM | MY 10 | 89 | CANADA. Whitman is likely referring to Ellen O'Connor's postcard from April 30, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | MAY12 | 5PM | 89; Buffalo, N.Y. | MAY 13 | 11AM | 1889 | TRANSIT; London | AM | MY 14 | 89 | CANADA. See Ellen O'Connor's letter to Whitman from May 9, 1889. Whitman is referring to his letter to Bucke from April 25, 1889. Whitman asked Bucke to increase the calomel dose for his regular prescription. It seems he did not receive Bucke's initial response to this request, however Bucke eventually confirmed updating the prescription in his letter from May 15, 1889. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | OCT18 | 8PM | 91; Philadelphia, PA. | OCT 18 | (?)M | 1891 | TRANSIT; London | PM | OC (?) | 91 | CANADA. This letter is addressed: Dr Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | SEP13 | 3PM | 90; (?) | 9–13–90 | 1130PM; London | (?) | SP 1(?) | 90 | CANADA. Charles Hine's portrait of Whitman served as the basis for Stephen Alonzo Schoff's engraving of the poet for Leaves of Grass (1860). For a discussion of Hine's portrait and its relation to Schoff's engraving see Ruth L. Bohan, Looking into Walt Whitman (University Park, PA: Penn State Press, 2006), 38–42; for Schoff's frontispiece see Stephen Alonzo Schoff after an oil portrait by Charles W. Hine. This postal card is addressed: Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario Canada. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | JAN14 | 8 PM | 88; New York | JAN15 | 11 AM | 88 | TRANSIT. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, Esq. | Camden, | N.J. It is postmarked: New York | AUG 1 | 230PM | C | 91; Camden, N.J. | AUG | 2 | 8 AM | 1891 | REC'D. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Mickle Street, | Camden, | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: Paris, 20 | 8E|11 | JUIL | 91 | 195, Bo ST GERMAIN; Camden, N.J. | JUL | 23 | 6 AM | 1891 | REC'D. See Whitman's letter to Forman from September 27, 1891. Ada Fryer was the sister of Eva Fryer O'Dowd, Bernard O'Dowd's wife. Francis William Lauderdale Adams (1862–1893) was born in Malta and later moved to Australia in 1884. He wrote a large volume of work before he died, and William Michael Rossetti was an admirer of this works. Adams suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis at the end of his life and committed suicide during a hemorrhage. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A. It is postmarked: London | AM | AP 6 | 85 | CANADA; Camden, N.J. | APR | 8 | 8 AM | 1885 | REC'D. This letter is addressed: P J O'Shea | Attorney & Counselor | 163 Randolph Street | Chicago Ill:. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | DEC | 13 | 430PM | 1886 | N.J.; PHILADELPHIA, PA. | DEC | 13 | 6 PM | 1886 | TRANSIT; CHICAGO, ILL, REC'D | DEC | 14 | 9 PM | 1886 | (?). Pauline Elisabeth Ottilie Luise of Wied (1843–1916) became princess consort of Romania after her marriage to Prince Carol in 1869. She became the first queen of Romania when it became a kingdom in 1881, and she was crowned with her husband that same year. She wrote prolifically in German, Rumanian, French, and English under the pseudonym "Carmen Sylva." John Jones (1766–1821) wrote under the pseudonym "Jac Glan-y-gors." He was a Welsh-language satirical poet and social reformer who produced some of the earliest Welsh political writings. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq. | London | Ontario | Canada | North America. It is postmarked: Camden | JUL | 10 | 9 AM | N.J. It appears a postal worker crossed out Whitman's Camden address to forward it to Canada where Whitman was visiting Richard Maurice Bucke. The Neckar river is a major tributary of the Rhine and runs through southwest Germany. Heidelberg is just South of the Neckar. The Black Forest is a large forested mountain range in Germany. It is the source of the Neckar river. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | London | Ontario. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | JUN 26 | 230 PM | A | 80; LONDON-ONT | AM | JU 28 | 80 | CANADA. See Whitman's post card from 20 June, 1880. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | London | Ontario. It is postmarked: SARNIA | JU 30 | 80 | ONT; LONDON-ONT | AM | JU 30 | 80 | CANADA. Canada was declared a self-depended dominion in 1857. Now called Canada Day, it is celebrated on July 1. Earlier in the year, before Whitman's visit, Bucke delivered a lecture to the local Teachers Association where he implied that Leaves of Grass was similar to the New Testament of the Bible as a moral guide. This argument was controversial and many locals pushed back against this implication. Whitman's "Emerson's Books, (the Shadows of them)," appeared May 22, 1880, in The Literary World (see the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of May 9, 1880). It was reprinted in the New York Tribune on May 15, 1882, and later appeared in Specimen Days & Collect. On June 25, a fire broke out at a stable which adjoined a lumber yard, which then spread to the nearby planing mill. Wind spread the fire further to nearby houses. The fire was allegedly started by children playing with matches. This letter is addressed: Mr Walt Whitman | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: HADDONFIELD | JUL | 21 | N.J.; LONDON-ONT | PM | JY 22 | 80 | CANADA. Father Louis Hennepin (1626–1704) was a Belgian Catholic priest and missionary, best known for his exploration of the interior of North America. He was ordered by his provincial superior to accompany La Salle on an expedition to explore the territory of New France. René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (1643–1687) was a French explorer and fur trader in North America, best known for his exploration of the Great Lakes region, the Mississippi River, and the Gulf of Mexico. He died while searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River to establish a French colony on the Gulf of Mexico. The St. Lawrence River originates from Lake Ontario and flows northeast into the North Atlantic Ocean. It forms the primary drainage outflow of the Great Lakes Basin. The Quebec Mercury was a weekly newspaper published in Quebec City from 1805 to 1863. It was founded by Thomas Cary and generally represented the economic and political interests of English merchants. William Hamilton Merritt (1793–1862) was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada and the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada. After the War of 1812, Merritt helped found the First Welland Canal, which was meant to eventually connect Lake Ontario to Lake Erie. Today, little remains of the original iteration of the Welland Canal. The Mohawk River is the largest tributary of the Hudson River, flowing into the Hudson in Cohoes, New York. The Seneca River flows through the Finger Lakes Region of Upstate New York. It is the main tributary of the Oswego River. The Oswego River is the second largest river flowing into Lake Ontario. Now called Trois-Rivières, this city is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and St. Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. John Young (1811–1878) was a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada and a member of Canada's House of Commons. He fought for the development of canal systems, construction of the Victoria Bridge, and creation of numerous railway lines. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | care of | Dr. Bucke, | Medical Superintendent | Asylum for Insane | London | Ont. It is postmarked: TORONTO | PM | AU 4 | 80 | ONT; LONDON | AU 5 | 80 | CANADA. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Steevens Street | Camden | New Jersey | United States. It is postmarked: DRESDEN ALTSTADT | 3. | 11 11 | 80 | 8–12N.; CAMDEN | DEC | 2 | 7 AM | N.J. Rolleston misspelled Stevens Street here and on the envelopes of several of his other letters to Whitman. See Whitman's letter to Richard Watson Gilder from November 17. Rodman de Kay Gilder (1877–1953) was the son of Helena de Kay and Richard Watson Gilder. He graduated Harvard in 1899 and fought in World War 1. He was appointed to membership in the Municipal Art Commission of New York by Mayor La Guardia. The only clue to the identification of the correspondent is a reference in Whitman's Commonplace Book to the fact that Whitman sent his two-volume edition to John P. Woodbury of Boston on this date (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This is a draft letter. This letter is addressed: 431 Stevens Street | Camden | New Jersey. Gilchrist is likely referring to the articles for The Critic (see the letter from Whitman to Jeannette L. Gilder of December 31, 1880) Whitman said he wished to send her in his letter from January 1, 1881. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: GARFIELD | FEB 21 1881 | N.Y. This letter is addressed: Mrs Susan M Stafford | Kirkwood (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | FEB | 23 | 7AM | N.J. This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden—New Jersey | United States of America. It is postmarked: ROMA | 26 | 2-81 | 9 S | (?)VIA; NEW YORK | MAR 11 | PAID ALL | C; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAR | 12 | 7AM | RECD. Whitman is likely referring to his letter from February 24. No letter from Whitman to Harry Stafford from February 25 appears extant. See Whitman's letter to Harry Stafford from February 28, 1881. See Anne Gilchrist's letter from February 16, 1881. This letter is addressed: G Wm Harris | Assistant Librarian Cornell | University Ithaca | New York. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | MAR 31 | 4PM | N.J.; NEW YORK | MAR 31 | 830PM | (?); ITHACA, N.Y. | APR 1 | 5PM | RECD. The last letter Whitman sent to Harry Stafford was from March 7, 1881. However, Whitman spent the month of March regularly visiting the rest of the Stafford family in Glendale. Whitman received a letter from Lathrop on March 23 (lost) inviting him to come to Boston to give his lecture on Lincoln (Whitman's Commonplace Book). According to Kennedy, Lathrop was in Philadelphia on March 8 in order to arrange for Whitman's lecture (Reminiscences of Walt Whitman [London: Alexander Gardner, 1896], 3). Lathrop wrote to the poet for the first time on April 20, 1878. On March 31, 1885, he urged Whitman to give a reading from his own poetry in order to raise funds in aid of international copyright laws (Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). Sappho was an Anchient Greek poet from the island of Lesbos. She is known for her lyric poetry, however, most of her works are now lost. Charlotte Brontë (1816–1855) was an English novelist and poet. She was the oldest of the Brontë sisters and best known for her novel Jane Eyre. François-Joseph Talma (1763–1826) was a French actor who tutored Napoleon in oratory skills. Talma and Napoleon became close friends, and Napoleon attended many of Talma's plays. It is unclear if the pages of this letter are out of order or the final pages are missing. Rachel Mary Cox Brockett (1845–1919) was born in Pennsylvania. Her family moved to New Haven, Connecticut, when she was still in her teens, and she would remain there for the rest of her life. She was employed in a rubber factory and later married Fredrick Brockett (1855–1921), a widower and farmer. John Quincy Adams Ward (1830–1910) was an American sculptor who trained for seven years in Brooklyn, New York, with the sculptor Henry Kirke Brown (1814–1886). He would later create portrait busts of public figures in Washington before opening his own Studio in New York City. He is known for his work on the statue of George Washington at the Federal Hall National Memorial in Manhattan. Rudolf Schmidt was married to Emilie Amalie Lasson Schmidt. See Whitman's letter to the Staffords from April 15 to 17, 1881. See Anne Gilchrist's letter to Whitman from April 18, 1881. George Stafford's sister, who married Captain Vandoren Townsend. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq | 431 Stevens St | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: BOSTON | MAY 12 | 5PM | 1881 | MASS; CAMDEN, N.J. | MAY 13 | 9AM | RECD. See Osgood's letter to Whitman from May 23, 1881. In his letter, Osgood asked Whitman to "send the copy this week, as I sail for Europe in a fortnight." Whitman likely sent a copy of this photograph. However, the enclosed photo has not been located. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman, Esq., | 431, Stevens St., | Camden, N.J. It is postmarked: BOSTON | JUN 25 | 7PM | MASS.; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUN 27 | 7AM | RECD. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431, Stevens Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. America. It is postmarked: SHEFFIELD | T 2 | JY 1 | 81; CENTIMES | 25; NEW YORK | JUL 14 | DUE 10 CENTS; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUL (?). Henry H. Clark was the superintendent of Rand, Avery & Co., the printing office. Whitman called Clark "very kind & thoughtful." This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman Esq, | 431, Stevens St, | Camden, N.J. It is postmarked: BOSTON | NOV 14 | 8PM | 1881 | MASS.; CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV 15 | 2PM | RECD. Schmidt is likely referring to Farlige Folk, which was first released in 1881. Otto Herman Delbanco (1821–1890) was a Danish music publisher, bookseller, and editor. Inspired by the The Illustrated London News, Delbanco co-founded Illustreret Tidende in 1859 with Carl Christian Lose. Delbanco acted as editor until 1880. See Johnston's letter to Whitman from January 25, 1882. In Johnston's January 25 letter, he told Whitman of The Times article which is generally a very positive one, noting Whitman's "honesty" as a poet and praising specifically "Pioneers, Oh Pioneers" as well as "Birds of Passage" while objecting to the "monstrous excesses" contained in "Children of Adam." The three-part piece quotes from "Song of Occupations," "So Long!" as well as "Song of Myself" and ends in a lengthy quote from one of Whitman's essays that would become part of Specimen Days under the title "Poetry To-Day in America &c" (G. E. M.. "Whitman, Poet and Seer." The New York Times [22 January 1882], 4). In John H. Johnston's January 25 letter to Whitman, he relayed the sales statistics the publisher, James R. Osgood, described of the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass, quoting from Osgood: "It has had a fair success so far, we have printed three editions, 2000 copies in all and it is selling steadily. It is not a "boom" nor can it be regarded as likely to produce any very large results to author or publisher, at the same time it seems likely to be the source of a steady though moderate income." Johnston also told Whitman of a favorable review from The New York Times, "Whitman, Poet and Seer." (22 January 1882). This letter is addressed: Edwin Stafford | Indiana | Indianna county | Pennsylvania. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | FEB 3 | 2PM | N.J. Richard Wagner (1813–1883) was a German composer, best known for his operas. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens Street | Camden (N.J) | U.S. America. It is postmarked: SHEFFIELD | 9 U | MR16 | 82; ABBEY DALE | B | MR 16 | 82; NEW YORK | MAR 30 | A | PAID | B | (?); CAMDEN, N.J. | (?) | 4PM | RECD. Carpenter enclosed a letter from a friend named Sharp(?), who termed Leaves of Grass "a barbaric work" and Whitman "the poet of anarchy, confusion, lawlessness, disorder, 'anomia,' chaos," who was not even "cosmopolitan" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [Boston: Small, Maynard, 1906], 1:252–253). Whitman was amused and impressed: "I kind o' take to the man: he tumbles me clear over as a matter of conscience—I respect him for it" (Traubel, 1:253). See Whitman's letter to Osgood from March 7, 1882. See Whitman's letter to Osgood from March 19, 1882. This postal card is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens Street, | Camden, New Jersey. It is postmarked: WASHINGTON | JUN 15 | 1PM | 1882 | D.C.; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUN 16 | 7AM | RECD. Whitman sent the volume on June 20 to Professor Elias Loomis (1811–1889), the astronomer and Yale professor, who at the time was in the Nautical Almanac Office of the Navy Department in Washington (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). According to O'Connor's letter of June 19, Loomis knew that Emerson had never qualified his praise of Leaves of Grass (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [Boston: Small, Maynard, 1906], 1:313). This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens St | Camden, | N.J. | U.S.A. It is postmarked: LONDON-E,C | HZ | JU16 | 82; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUN 28 | 9AM | RECD. See Whitman's postal to O'Connor from June 22, 1882. See O'Connor's letter to Whitman from June 24, 1882. On June 24 O'Connor reported that the Boston postmaster had halted a lecture by George Chainey on Leaves of Grass (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden [New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1914], 3:349). Obviously he meant the sending of the printed lecture through the mail. See the letter from Rees Welsh & Company to Walt Whitman from June 21, 1882. See Whitman's postal to O'Connor from July 11, 1882. This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman, | 431 Stevens Street, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: WASHINGTON | JUL 20 | 1PM | 1882 | D.C.; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUL 21 | 7AM | RECD. See Whitman's postal to O'Connor from July 19, 1882. The Philadelphia Press vigorously supported the poet against the Boston censorship both in its news columns and in its editorials. A front-page story on July 15 quoted at length the defense of Leaves of Grass offered by the Reverend James Morrow, "a prominent Methodist. Douglas William Jerrold (1803–1857) was an English dramatist and writer. Best known for his wit in conversation, his dramas were popular during his life. A game that involves making puns or a play on words. Charles Knight (1791–1873) was an English publisher, editor, and author. He spent much of his career editing and publishing encyclopedias. He also wrote A Popular History of England, an eight volume history published in 1856. Anne Gilchrist wrote on May 8 and again on June 18. In the earlier letter she objected to Whitman's rearrangement of his poems and to the new titles in the 1882 edition. In the latter she praised "A Memorandum at a Venture": "It is as clear as daylight to me that you speak truth—invigorating ennobling truth, full of hope & promise & impetus for the race. I have never for a moment wavered in my belief in this truth since it burst upon me a veritable sunrise in reading your poems in 1869" (University of Pennsylvania). On July 28 Gilchrist in a letter to Burroughs offered her defense of Whitman, which she was willing to have submitted to the New York Tribune (Clara Barrus, Whitman and Burroughs—Comrades [Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931], 220–221). The newspaper, however, declined to publish it (Barrus, 242). This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | (Author of "Leaves of Grass") | Camden, N.J. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | JUL 26 | 2 PM | D | 82; CAMDEN, N.J. | JUL 27 | 7AM | RECD. See Whitman's letter to Chainey from June 26, 1882. Probably a reference to Anne Gilchrist's letter of June 18 (University of Pennsylvania). The 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass published in Boston was banned by the Society for the Suppression of Vice. In May 1882, Osgood ceased publication of the edition, and Rees Welsh and Company reprinted it the same year. In addtion to Leaves of Grass, Rees Welsh and Company published Specimen Days and Collect (Philadelphia, 1882–83). This letter is addressed: Mr. Walt Whitman | 431 Stevens Street, | Camden, | New Jersey. It is postmarked: WASHINGTON | AUG 19 | 7PM | 1882 | D.C.; CAMDEN, N.J. | AUG 20 | 7PM | RECD. See Whitman's postal to O'Connor from August 6, 1882. Joseph Allen Galbraith (1818–1890) was an Irish mathematician and textbook author. He was Erasmus Smith's Professor od Natural and Experimental Philosophy at Trinity College Dublin from 1854 to 1870. He was elected Senior Fellow in 1880. Burroughs is likely referring to his "Notes of a Walker," which appeared in Scribner's Monthly, 20 (1880), 47–64, 97–102. See Whitman's postal to O'Connor from October 25, 1882. Charles Pierre Baudelaire (1821–1867) was a French poet, essayist, and art critic. His most famous work was Les Fleurs du Mal (1857), a collection of his poetry written throughout his life. Herbert Gilchrist wrote to Whitman October 20, informing the poet that he and his mother had recieved the books. Whitman wrote on October 30 in his Commonplace Book: "Am slowly getting better." On November 6 he observed: "to-day, well as usual, before sickness." The Camden Daily Post on November 1 noted the poet's "reappearance on the street," and "Walt Whitman's Illness" appeared in the Progress on November 9 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). This postal card is addressed: Walt Whitman | 431 Steven's Street | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: KJØBENHAVN | 3 | 11 | 4-5E; KJØBENHAVN | 5 | 11 | 4-5E; 6 | 11 | L | 18 | 82; CAMDEN, N.J. | NOV 1(?) | 6PM | RECD. Paul Bins, Compte de Saint-Victor (1827–1881), was a French author and critic. His best known work is the collection of his articles, called Hommes et Dieux (1867). On October 13, Whitman wrote to Schmidt that he and Richard Maurice Bucke received their copies of Buster og Masker. Whitman also sent Specimen Days. Charles de Kay might be referring to the Century Club, an exclusive club in New York City devoted to the promotion of arts and literature. See Whitman's note to Rolleston from December 10, 1882. Frederick II (1712–1786) was King of Prussia from 1772 until his death. His military successes and expansion of Prussian rule during his reign earned him the title "Frederick the Great." See Whitman's letter to Harry Stafford from January 30, 1883. See John Burroughs's letter to Whitman from February 25, 1883. This letter is addressed: J M Stoddart | 1018 Chestnut Street | Philadelphia. It is postmarked: CAMDEN | MAR 6 | 5PM | N.J.; PHILADELPHIA, PA | MAR 6 | 7PM | RECD. See Whitman's postal to O'Connor from March 9, 1883. Horace Traubel claimed that "A Thought of Columbus" (1892) was the last poem Whitman wrote. Traubel noted that Whitman gave him a manuscript on March 16, 1892, ten days before the poet's death on March 26, 1892. Whitman likely received this letter in 1891 and used the verso to draft lines that contributed to the manuscript of "A Thought of Columbus," that he completed in 1892. For more information on the poem, see Ned Stuckey-French, "Thought of Columbus, A (1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Dr. William M. Reeder was a Philadelphia physician and an admirer of Whitman. In May of 1891, he took "flash pictures in front and back bedrooms" of Whitman’s Camden home. He also took photos of the poet's tomb at Camden's Harleigh Cemetery. Though Reeder was an amateur photographer, Whitman appreciated his talent, telling Traubel that Reeder was "quite an artist," and that he possessed "taste" and a "good eye!" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, July 8, 1891). The date of this postal card is March 5, 1892; the same date as the note from Fred Wild to Whitman. See Fred Wild's March 5, 1892, postal card to Whitman. In the summer of 1840, Whitman taught for three months in the agrarian town of Woodbury, New York. Based on the letters he wrote to his friend Abraham Paul Leech from "Purgatory Fields" and "Devil's Den," he did not enjoy his time there. Walt Whitman Elementary School now stands a stone's throw away from the site of the one-room schoolhouse Whitman knew. James J. Brenton was the founder of the Long Island Democrat (Jamaica, Long Island, New York). Brenton hired Whitman as a typesetter in August 1839, and Whitman boarded with Brenton and his wife in the summer and fall of 1839. Whitman would continue to write for the paper through 1841. Brenton was also one of the early publishers of Whitman's poetry, as well as Whitman's series of journalistic pieces titled "Sun Down Papers." Brenton later reprinted Whitman's short story, "The Tomb-Blossoms," in an edited collection titled Voices from the Press; A Collection of Sketches, Essays, and Poems by Practical Printers in 1850. In 1840, Edwin L. Abel lived in Jamaica, New York. Later census data lists him as a bookkeeper or a clerk. He is also mentioned in Whitman's letter to Leech from September 9, 1840. Possibly Abel C. Willmarth, an attorney and copyright clerk of the U.S. District Court, who Whitman may have consulted about the copyright deposit for the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass. Caleb Weeks owned a hotel and menagerie in Jamaica, NY. He is credited with inducing James J. Brenton to move to Jamaica to found the Long Island Democrat, which published and later employed Whitman (The Inland Printer, 1883). Frank M. O'Brien claims Weeks was the first to inform Sir John Herschel of the Sun's Great Moon Hoax of 1835 while on a trip to South Africa to buy giraffes for his menagerie (The Story of the Sun, 1918). Quoted from Proverbs 20:1 Likely a reference to Elba, the Mediterranean island where Napoleon spent his brief exile from 1814–1815. Quoted from Acts 24:26. In 1840, Edwin L. Abel lived in Jamaica, New York. Later census data lists him as a bookkeeper or a clerk. He is also mentioned in Whitman's letter to Leech from June 27, 1840. The British Statesman and diplomat Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (1694–1773), wrote over 400 letters to his illegitimate son on a variety of topics, including history, literature, politics, and general advice. These letters were compiled and published in 1774 as Letters to His Son on the Art of Becomming a Man of the World and a Gentleman. The text was used as a handbook for gentlemanly manners and etiquette. Switchel, or haymaker's punch, was a drink enjoyed by nineteenth-century farmers in the northeastern U.S. during the hay harvest, although it dates back to the colonial period. Whitman was correct about the ingredients, though variations often contained ginger or substituted molasses, honey, or maple syrup for brown sugar. A buss is a kiss. Whitman wrote Leech's address on the back of the final page of this letter. Whitman wrote Leech's name on the back of the final page of the letter. The ornate, unclear character may be a capital "J." Ted Genoways notes that Arthur Golden has speculated that this letter may have been hand-delivered to Leech by a friend or that the "J" would have been enough to for a postal service delivery in the early 1840s (Walt Whitman: The Correspondence, ed. Ted Genoways [Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Press, 2004], 7:12). Whitman may be referring to Judge Thomas Shepard Strong (1765—1840) of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York. Judge Strong and his wife Hannah Brewster Strong (1770–1836) were the parents of Selah B. Strong (1792–1872), who served as the District Attorney of Suffolk County for twenty-six years, from 1821 to 1847, and also went on to become a judge. Whitman wrote the word "over" at the bottom of this page of the letter. See Whitman's letter to Leech of July 30, [1840]. Clarissa Lyvere (b. 1825) was an assistant teacher during Whitman's time at Whitestone School in Long Island. According to census records, she would have been about sixteen years old at the time of this letter. Little is known about Whitman's time at Whitestone; in a letter to Abraham Paul Leech—written just five days prior to this recommendation on March 25, 1841—Whitman says "I am quite happy here." His happiness contrasts sharply with the letters he wrote during his tenure at Woodbury. Doggett's New York City Directory, for 1850–1851 lists William H. Twombly (1822–1899) as a printer residing at 221 Grand Street, a short distance from the letter's return address. Later, Twombly published a workingman's newspaper titled the Daily Voice, and he went on to become the editor of the Reading Chronicle in Pennsylvania. In 1899, at the time of Twombly's death from neuralgia, he had spent 64 years as a printer and a newspaper man ("Death of William H. Twombly," The Boston Globe, April 17, 1899, 4). Whig candidate William Henry Harrison defeated incumbant Democratic President Martin Van Buren in the 1840 election to become the ninth President. Harrison died 31 days after his inauguration and was succeeded by his Vice President John Tyler. William Henry Harrison led a military force against Tecumseh in the Battle of Tippecanoe, earning him the nickname "Old Tippecanoe." When he ran for President with running mate John Tyler in 1840, they used the campaign slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too." "Hard cider" was a potent campaign symbol for the Whig candidate William Henry Harrison in the 1840 United States presidential election. Democrats who supported incumbent president Martin Van Buren accused Harrison of being a "granny" who would rather sit in a log cabin and drink hard cider. Whigs quickly began promoting Harrison as the "log cabin and hard cider candidate" to establish his image as man of the people and painting Van Buren as snobbish and out of touch. In reality, Van Buren was the son of a tavern keeper, while Harrison was born into a wealthy, slaveholding family in Virginia. Harrison went on to win the election and became the ninth president of the United States. The Anglo-Chinese War or First Opium War lasted from September 4, 1839—August 29, 1842. Whigs who supported William Henry Harrison in the 1840 presidential election referred to then president Martin Van Buren as "Little Matty" or "Little Van" in campaign songs, alluding to his small stature. Van Buren was 5 feet 6 inches tall. In the 1830s and 1840s, the Locofocos were a faction of the Democratic Party in the United States. The Locofocos originated in New York as a response to Tammany Hall. Known as the Equal Rights Party, the Locofocos supported free trade and opposed state banks. The party largely disbanded after the passage of the Independent Treasury Act (1840) separated the management of the United States federal government money supply from the national financial system. In the election of 1840, between Whig candidate William Henry Harrison and Democratic incumbent Martin Van Buren, Whigs derisively referred to all Democrats as Locofocos. A founder of the Democratic Party, Martin Van Buren (1782–1862) was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. Whig candidate William Henry Harrison defeated the incumbant Van Buren in the 1840 election to become the ninth president of the United States. Van Buren was also the Free Soil candidate for president in the 1848 election; the Whig Candidate Zachary Taylor (1784–1850) won the election and served as the twelfth president of the United States, from 1849 until his death in 1850. Queen Victoria (1819–1901), daughter of Prince Edward (1767–1829) and Princess Victoria (1786–1861), served as the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland for more than sixty-three years, from 1837 to her death in 1901. Queen Victoria married her cousin, Prince Albert (1819–1861), in 1840. Queen Victoria's reign was marked by the expansion of the British Empire, which earned her the title of Empress of India from the British Parliament in 1876. Zachary Taylor (1784–1850), a Southern slaveholder and a well-known American miltary leader in the Mexican-American War, was the Whig Candidate for president in the 1848 United States Presidential Election. Taylor won the election and went on to serve as the twelfth president of the United States, from 1849 until his death in 1850. Dysentery is an infection and inflammation of the intestines. It causes abdominal pain and severe diarrhea with blood. Dysentery can be the result of a bacterial or a parasitic infection, and it is spread as a result of poor sanitation and hygiene. Consumption, more commonly known now as tuberculosis, is a bacterial infection that affects the lungs, resulting in coughing, sweating, fatigue, and weight loss. Whitman is quoting a line from the second canto of Lord Byron's Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, see The Works of Lord Byron, ed. Thomas Moore (New York: George Dearborn, Publisher, 1837), 3:63. Whitman is referring to the meeting of stage drivers that took place on Sunday, August 6, 1848, at Constitution Hall on Broadway. For a more detailed account of the meeting and the resolutions passed by the drivers, see "Indignation Meeting of the Omnibus Drivers," The New York Herald (August 7, 1848), 2. For an account of a meeting of the omnibus drivers—including their grievances and the resolutions they discussed—see "Indigination Meeting of the Omnibus Drivers," The New York Herald (August 7, 1848), 2. John Russell, 1st Earl Russell (1792–1878) was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1846 to 1852. Charles A. Bertrand was the master of the ship Alhambra, which left New Orleans for Antwerp on August 29, 1848. A few days later Bertrand gave the order for the second mate to flog a sailor named Alfred Davoy (he was also referred to as David Cooper and Albert Burgess in newspapers of the period) for not performing his duties to the Captain's satisfaction (see "Law Intelligence," New York Daily Herald, September 22, 1848, 4). Davoy died as a result of his injuries, and Bertrand was tried for Davoy's murder in New York in August of 1848. According to a November 18, 1848, article, Bertrand was not convicted of the crime (see [In the Case of Captain Charles A. Bertrand], Alexandria Gazette, November 18, 1848, 2). Henry Watson was the second mate on the ship Alhambra. Little is known about Edward Murphy, who was an Irish sailor, and member of the crew of the Alhambra. He testified at the trial of Charles A. Bertrand and Henry Watson for the murder by flogging of the sailor Alfred Davoy. Albert Burgess, as Whitman calls him here, was also known as Alfred Davoy and David Cooper in 1848 newspapers. He is described as a Scottish sailor on the Alhambra, who was flogged so severely that he died as a result of his injuries. Alexander Slidell Mackenzie (1803–1867) was an officer in the United States Navy, where he served for more than thirty years. He served as Captain of the USS Somers, and his crew on at least some voyages was made up primariliy of naval apprentices. He was captaining the Somers in 1842, when a mutiny occurred, and Mackenzie ordered the three suspected mutineers executed. Although Mackenzie was later exonerated from any wrongdoing, the controversial incident would shape the remainder of his career. General William J. Worth (1794–1849) was an officer in the United States Army for more than thirty-five years. He served during the War of 1812 and during the Mexican-American War. Born in Virginia, Nicholas Trist (1800–1874) studied law and went on to become an attorney and a businessman. He served in a diplomatic position as a negotiator with the government of Mexico; although he was dismissed from this role by President James K. Polk (1795–1849). Despite his dismissal, Trist negotiated the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, which ended the Mexican-American War. Julia Anne Turnbull (1822–1887) was a dancer and actress who was part of the stock company at the Park Theatre in New York. She studied ballet under the French dancer Eugènie Lecomte (1811–after 1843), and later went on to become a ballerina of national renown. Turnbull danced at the Bowery Theatre and went on a solo tour in 1847. For more on Turnbull, see "Turnbull, Julia Anne," Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia, Anne Commire and Deborah Klezmer, eds. (Waterford, CT: Yorkin Publications, 2002), 15:653. For the most recent account of the news from Ireland, see "State of Ireland," The New Orleans Crescent, (August 25, 1848), 2. See "Address to the Friends of Ireland," The New Orleans Crescent (August 25, 1848), 2. Giovanna Ciocca (b. 1825?) was an Italian ballet dancer who traveled to New York and performed at the Park and Bowery Theatres. The term "Taylorites" refers to the political supporters of Zachary Taylor (1784–1850). A Southern slaveholder and a well-known American miltary leader in the Mexican-American War, Taylor was the successful Whig Candidate for president in 1848, becoming the twelfth president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. The term "Clayites" refers to political supporters of Henry Clay (1777–1852). Clay was an attorney who went on to serve in the House of Representatives and as United States Senator from Kentucky. Clay ran for president in the elections of 1824, 1832, and 1844, and, although he was unsuccesful in his bids for the presidency, he was one of the founders of the Whig Party and of the National Republican Party. Henry Clay (1777–1852) was an attorney who went on to serve as a United States Representative and a United States Senator from Kentucky. Clay ran for president in the elections of 1824, 1832, and 1844, and, although he was unsuccesful in his bids for the presidency, he was one of the founders of the Whig Party and of the National Republican Party. Whitman is referring to the Revolutionary Era leaders, early Presidents, and Founding Fathers of the United States: George Washington (1723–1799), John Adams (1735–1826), and Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826). William L. Marcy (1786–1857) was a lawyer and a judge. He served as the United States Secretary of War from 1845 to 1849, during the adminsitration of President James K. Polk. He also sereved as the United States Secretary of State, and he was responsible for negotiating the Gadsden Purchase of land in southern Arizona and New Mexico. Whitman is referring to Mrs. Behm (ca. 1827?–1848) and her husband John Behm (1815–1887). According to the 1855 United States Federal Census, John was a grocer in Brooklyn, New York. Whitman is referring to the first National Free Soil Convention that was held in Buffalo in August 1848. The Free Soil Party opposed the expansion of slavery into the territories of the western United States. At the convention, attendees endorsed Martin Van Buren (1782–1862) as the Free Soil presidential candidate and nominated Charles F. Adams (1807–1886) for Vice President. Charles F. Adams (1807–1886) was the son of John Quincy Adams (1767–1848), the sixth President of the United States. Charles studied law and served as a member of the Massachusetts legislature. He was the Free-Soil Vice Presidential nominee in the 1848 election, alongside his running mate, Free Soil Presidential candidate Martin Van Buren (1782–1862). Adams served as a U.S. Diplomat during the American Civil War. Whitman is referring to the Revolutions of 1848. The year of 1848 was a time of political rebellions and civil unrest across Europe. Most of the movements were dedicated to removing older monarchies and replacing them with independent nation-states. The revolutions took place in and/or affected France, Italy, and the Netherlands, among other nations. A majority of the rebellions did not last long as they were quickly suppressed and ended by October 1849. Alexander Turney Stewart (1803–1876) was an Irish-born entrepeneur who moved to New York and opened what became the most extensive dry goods store in the world. He made his fortune by expanding his dry goods business, from New York real estate, and from the factories and mills he owned. Seaman & Muir's was a dry goods house and Stewart's chief competitor. The Whigs were a political party in the antebellum United States; the Whig and the Democratic Parties were the two major political parties in the United States as part of the two-party system. The Whigs were critical of the nation's expansion into Texas and of the Mexican-American War and favored a national bank. They preferred that Congress take the lead in lawmaking and opposed strong presidential power. Their supporters were primarily professionals and social reformers; they received much less support from farmers and laborers. The Democratic Party in this period opposed a national bank, and they advocated for strong presidential power, and the interests of slave states. Frederick Louis Korth, a native of Germany, came to the United States in the 1830s. He worked in several jobs, including in a chair factory and in private homes as a house-servant and porter. Korth was convicted of two counts of assault with the intent to kill John Behm (1815–1887) and his wife. Korth was sentenced to two consecutive prison terms, totalling eighteen years ("Sentence of Korth," Brooklyn Evening Star, October 27, 1848, 2; "Frederick Louis Korth," Brooklyn Evening Star, August 10, 1848, 2). Hannibal (247 BC–183–181 BC) was a statesman and military commander who lead Carthage forces in the Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) against the Roman Republic. Roman troops defeated Hannibal after his invasion of Italy. From 1845 to 1849, James K. Polk (1795–1849) served as the eleventh President of the United States. He had previously held the office of the Governor of Tennessee, serving from 1839 to 1841. The "Buffalo Hunt" was a name given to a scheme in which men who had served in the Mexican-American War and some military officers would gather on the pretense of a hunting excursion but, through violence, would take possession of Mexican territory west of the Rio Grande. The conquered territory would be called the Republic of Sierra Madre ("Incidental Results of the Mexican-American War," Advocate of Peace 7.22–23 [October and November 1848], 282–285). Gaius Julius Caesar (July 100 BC–44 BC) was a statesman and a Roman general. Caesar led the Roman armies during the Gallic Wars and defeated his political rival Pompey (106 BC–46 BC) in a civil war, after which Caesar assumed control of the goverment of Rome, ruling from 49 BC until he was assassinated on the Ides of March (March 15) in 44 BC. Edmund Simpson (1784–1848) was an English actor and theatre manager. He worked alongside Stephen Price (1782–1840) who leased the Park Theatre in New York, and, after Price's death, Simpson became the sole manager. Simpson held the position until 1848, when he retired; he died later that year. Mrs. Edward Knight (Mary Ann Povey; 1804–1861), a native of Birmingham, England, was a vocalist and an actress. When she arrived in the United States, she became affiliated with the Park Theatre, and she performed in numerous comic operas. William T. Thompson captained The Falcon, a paddle steamer. Thompson made voyages between New Orleans and such destinations as Cuba, Charleston, and New York on the steamer between 1848 and 1849. George F. Cooke (1756–1812) was an English Romantic actor. First apprenticed to a printer, Cooke left the print shop in favor of the stage, and after appearing in numerous roles in London, he undertook an American tour. The start of the War of 1812 saw Cooke stranded in New York City, where he passed away as a result of liver disease. Born in Virginia and educated in Tennessee, Edmund Pendeleton Gaines (1777–1849) became a United States Army officer. He served for nearly fifty years and was a veteran of the War of 1812 and of the Mexican-American War, which had officially ended in early February 1848, with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. John McLean (1785–1861) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio and later served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. McLean was not chosen as the Free Soil Vice Presidential nominee in the 1848 election. Instead, Charles F. Adams (1807–1886) became the running mate of Free Soil Presidential candidate Martin Van Buren (1782–1862). James Lawrence (1781–1813), a Naval Officer, was the commander of the USS Chesapeake during the War of 1812. Lawrence was mortally wounded and was buried in Nova Scotia; he was later re-interred at Trinity Church. The Hunker state convention was held in Syracuse, New York. Their nominee for Governor of New York was Reuben H. Walworth (1788–1867). A month later, Hamilton Fish (1808–1893), the Whig candidate, won the 1848 election and became the sixteenth Governor of New York. The Barnburner state convention was held in Utica, New York, and resulted in the nomination of John Adams Dix (1798–1879) as the Free Soil candidate for governor. William S. Harney (1800–1889), a native of Tennessee, was an officer in the United States Army, serving in the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War, among other wars and battles. Ogden Hoffman (1794–1856) served in the Navy during the War of 1812. He went on to serve as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York and as the Attorney General of New York. David Paul Brown (1795–1872) of Philadelphia was an orator, a lawyer, and a playwright. Samuel Lover was a poet, painter, actor, and a musician. He was known for his Irish character sketches and for illustrating Irish habits and customs in his entertainment George Bancroft (1800–1891) was a historian and politician. He served as United States Secretary of the Navy, establishing the United States Naval Academy. He also wrote the series History of the United States from the Discovery of the American Continent (1855–1860). William H. Prescott (1796–1859) was a historian specializing in Renaissance Spain and the early Spanish Empire. He is credited with being the first American scientific historian. Washington Irving (1783–1859) was a biographer, historian, and short story writer. His best known works include "Rip Van Winkle (1819) and "The Legend of Sleey Hollow." Friedrich Franz Kark Hecker (1811–1881), a native of Baden, attempted to lead an armed uprising to overthrow the monarchy and establish Baden as a Republic. After the move failed, Hecker fled to Switzerland and then emigrated to the United States, where he would later serve as a Colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Nathaniel Bowdich Blunt (1804–1854) was a lawyer and politician from the state of New York. Elected in 1850 and 1854 on the Whig ticket, Blunt served as the District Attorney of New York County for three years, until his death in 1854. Whitman may be referring to Leslie Combs (1793–1881), a Kentucky native, who served in the War of 1812 and then held the offices of Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives and the Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives. John S. Austin was President of the political organization known as the Empire Club, which engaged in voter intimidation on behalf of Tammany Hall and was credited with helping to secure the election of James K. Polk (1795–1849) as President by delivering New York votes for Polk. Austin got into a fight with Timothy Shea, owner of a groggery Austin visited. After Austin sustained a head injury, he fired shots from the street into Shea's establishment, killing Shea ("Correspondence of the Examiner and Herald," Lancaster Examiner, October 4, 1848, 2. See also Whitman's letter of September 29, 1848. Elijah F. Purdy was a Surveyor of Customs for the Port of New York and an Alderman. Cornelius S. Bogardus was a businessman who had previously served in the Revenue Department and as Assistant Collector for the Port of New York ("Appointment," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 2, 1848, 2). Maurice Strakosch (1825–1887), a native of Czechia, was a pianist, composer, and impresario. Robert Emmett was part of the Treasury, overseeing the finances of the Irish Directory in New York. The Irish Directory was organized in New York for the purpose of assisting revolutionary movements in Ireland that aimed for Irish independence. John McKeon, a friend of Lewis Cass (1782–1866), was the head of the Irish Directory in New York. Little is known about Charles O'Connor, T. Hayes, and J. W. White, who were members of the Irish Directory in New York. Robert J. Walker (1801–1869) was Secretary of the Treasury; he was appointed by President James K. Polk (1795–1849). The term "VanBurenites" refers to supporters of Free Soil Presidential Candidate Martin Van Buren (1782–1862). Van Buren had been elected as the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. Whig candidate William Henry Harrison defeated the incumbant Van Buren in the 1840 election to become the ninth president of the United States. Van Buren later became an anti-slavery leader and was the Free Soil candidate for president in the 1848 election; the Whig Candidate Zachary Taylor (1784–1850) defeated Van Buren and went on to serve as the twelfth president of the United States. David Wilmot (1814–1868) was a judge and a United States Representative and Senator from Pennsylvania. He sponosored the Wilmot Proviso, which was a failed 1846 proposal to stop the expansion of slavery into the territory that the United States acquired from Mexico in the Mexican-American War. George G. Foster (d. 1856) was a city reporter, writer, and man about town. He was the author of New York in Slices by an Experienced Carver (1849) and New York by Gas-Light and Other Urban Sketches (1850) William Leonard was a sailor on board the ship Thomas H. Perkins. During a voyage, Captain Baker put Leonard in irons. Later, when Leonard went to receive his pay, he and Baker argued, and Baker fired a pistol at him (and missed), then assaulted Leonard with a cutlass. For an account of the incident, see "Affray on Board Ship in New York," New Orleans Delta (October 9, 1848), 8. John Minor Botts (1802–1869) was a politician, planter, and lawyer from the state of Virginia. He represented Virginia in the United States House of Representatives and also served as Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs. Erina balls were events sponsored by the Erina Benevolent Societies; the proceeds from admission prices were often donated to homes for orphans or similar institutions. Silas Wright (1795–1847) of Massachusetts studied law and set up a practice in New York before entering politics. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York, as a Senator from New York, and as the state's fourteenth governor, from 1845 to 1846. Maria Malibran (1808–1836) was a well-known Spanish operatic soprano who sang in a choir in Grace Church, where crowds gathered to watch her. Frank S. Chanfrau (1824–1884) was an actor and theatre manager who, in 1848, played the part of the Bowery b'hoy Mose in Benjamin Baker's (1818–1890) hit play A Glance at New York in 1848. Chanfrau would continue in this role for much of his career. David Graham, Jr. (d. 1852) was a prominent attorney in New York. He was appointed as the Corporation Attorney of New York in 1842 and became responsible for handling the city's legal affairs. For more information, see William B. Ellison, History of the Office of the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York (New York: Martin B. Brown Company, 1907). A graduate of Columbia College, Benjamin Tredwell Onderdonk (1791–1861) was the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York for over thirty years. His career was marked by controversy, including allegations of misconduct. During Onderdonk's tenure as Bishop, multiple affidavits were filed by women alleging that he had made unwelcome advances toward them and engaged in inappropriate touching. Oderdonk was brought to trial before the House of Bishops, and he was suspended, meaning that he remained the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese in New York, but that he could no longer perform his duties. Anna Bulan was a dancer and a member of the Monplaisir ballet troupe in the summer of 1848 (T. Allston Brown, A History of the New York Stage from 1732 to 1901 [New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1903], 1:377). Mr. Corby was a member of the Monplaisir ballet troupe. He performed comic dances and danced roles that involved the humorous and grotesque (Joseph N. Ireland, Records of the New York Stage from 1750 to 1860 [New York: T. H. Morrell, 1867], 2:495; "Music and the Fine Arts," The Anglo American [November 6, 1847], 68). Mary Taylor was a singer and actress. She was a popular perfomer at the Olympic Theatre and the Bowery. Whitman heard Taylor sing at the Olympic in 1847 (Susan M. Meyer, "Theatres and Opera Houses," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings [New York: Garland Publishing, 1998]). John Collins (1811–1874) was an Irish comedian and singer ("American," Theatrical Times, October 28, 1848, 6.). Jonathan H. Green (1813–1887) wa skilled card player and gambler. After retiring from gambling he led reform efforts against illegal gambling, becoming an agent for the New York Association for the Suppression of Gambling. He also published several memoirs of his gambling years and reform efforts. Hamilton Fish (1808–1893), the Whig candidate for Governor of New York in 1848, won the election to become the sixteenth governor of the state, serving from 1849 to 1850. He was later elected a United States Senator from New York and served as the United States Secretary of State during the administration of President Ulysses S. Grant. Reuben H. Walworth (1788–1867) was a lawyer and politician. He served in the War of 1812, and was elected a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York in the early 1820s. He also served as the Chancellor of New York—the highest judicial officer of the state at the time—for nineteen years. John A. Dix (1798–1879) was a military officer and a politician who lead Union forces as a Major General during the American Civil War. He held the offices of United States Senator from New York and United States Minister to France. Although he was not elected to the office of Governor of New York in 1848, he went on to become the states twenty-fourth Governor, serving from 1873 to 1874. Reverend William Berrian (1787–1862) was a rector of New York's Trinity Church and the author of the book An Historical Sketch of Trinity Church (New York: Standford and Swords, 1847). Claude Melnotte is a character in the play The Lady of Lyons; or, Love and Pride, which was written by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1838. The play was first performed in London's Convent Garden Theatre in the late-1830s, and it became the basis of several operas. Justin McCarthy (1830–1912) was an Irish nationalist, journalist, and novelist. He served as a member of Parliament from 1879 to 1900, and he was the father of Justin Huntly McCarthy (1859–1936). Matthew C. Perry (1794–1858) was a commodore in the United States Navy. He commanded ships in the War of 1812 and in the Mexican-American War, and he became an advocate of modernizing U. S. naval forces after the advent of the steam engine. George W. Matsell (1811–1877) spent several years as a sailor before opening a bookstore in New York in which he sold works on such topics as atheism, spiritualism, and Free Thought. He became a police magistrate in 1840, and was later named the chief of the New York City Municipal Police and the city's first Police Commisioner. Little is known about J. W. Green, who seems to have been a physician who attended Captain Charles H. Pearson during Pearson's final illness. Little is known about Robert H. Pearson. Robert was the brother of Captain Charles H. Pearson of Brooklyn, and after Charles died in 1847, Robert served as administrator of his brother's estate. Captain Charles H. Pearson of Brooklyn, a member of the New York Regiment of Volunteers, was killed in Mexico—likely in the Mexican-American War—in 1847. William Frederick Havemeyer (1804–1874) was a businessman, who was elected and served as Major of New York City for three non-consecutive terms in the nineteenth century. He was re-elected in 1848. This line comes from the hymn "From Greenland's Icy Mountains," which was written by Reginald Heber (1783–1826), an English Anglican Bishop. John Van Buren (1810–1866) was a lawyer, politician, and advisor to his father, Martin Van Buren (1782–1862), the eighth president of the United States. Abijah Ingraham was a newspaper editor who retired from The New York Globe in 1848 and then began editing a radical weekly titled The American Statesman. Marietta Smith was a young schoolteacher at the Normal School on Grand Street in New York. Smith made headlines after she went missing; her parents feared she had been abducted. However, she was later found in Boston, where she visited friends and had been learning dressmaking ("Miss Marietta Smith," Buffalo Weekly Republic, December 19, 1848, 3). Paul Delaroche (1797–1856) was a French painter who was known for his art depicting historical scenes. Bonaparte Crossing the Alps is an oil painting by French painter Paul Delaroche. The painting depicts Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1825), the military leader who, after the French Revolution, became the first Emperor of France—Napoleon I—from 1804 to 1815. Edward P. Fry was an impresario and the manager and Director of the Italian Opera Company. Sarah Childress Polk (1803–1891) was the wife of the eleventh President of the United States, James K. Polk (1795–1849). She was the first lady of the United States from 1845 to 1849. Whitman is likely referring to Free Soil presidential candidate Martin Van Buren (1782–1862) and his son John Van Buren (1810–1866). Josef Gung'l (1809–1889) was a Hungarian musician, bandmaster, and conductor. Little is known about Tenschow, whom Whitman describes here as a German composer. James Brooks (1807–1873) was the editor of the New York Express, a newspaper that began publication in 1836. He was also a lawyer and a politican who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. In 1848, James W. Marshall was employed by John A. Sutter to build a sawmill in what is today Coloma, California. Marshall found several pieces of gold, and the news of Marshall's discovery was the beginning of the California Gold Rush (1848–1855). The Gold Rush brought hundreds of thousands of people to California in search of gold. As a result of the rapid growth, California was able to enter the Union as a free state as part of the Compromise of 1850, while Native Californians and indigenous societies were attacked and pushed off their lands by those seeking their fortunes in gold. Winfield Scott (1786–1866) was a military officer and politician. He served as a general in the Army for more than forty-five years, and he served in the Mexican-American War and in the United States Civil War. Little is known about Desire Ikelheimer, who was a violinist from Germany. The Steyermarkers were an Austrian musical group that performed in the United States. They gave a concert in New Orleans in 1848. Dr. Morrill was an aeronaut who made ascensions and journeys in his balloon. Inflating the balloon required hyrdrogen gas, sulphuric acid, iron, and water ("The Balloon Ascension," The Evening Post, October 11, 1848, 2). R. G. Berford was a literary agent with an extensive establishment offering books and periodicals for sale in Philadelphia. He founded several newspapers, including the Pittsburgh Evening Chronicle in addition to publishing books under his own imprint. Martin Van Buren (1782–1862) was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. Whig candidate William Henry Harrison defeated the incumbent Van Buren in the 1840 election to become the ninth president of the United States. Van Buren later became an anti-slavery leader and was the Free Soil candidate for president in the 1848 election; the Whig Candidate Zachary Taylor (1784–1850) defeated Van Buren and went on to serve as the twelfth president of the United States. Millard Fillmore (1800–1874), a member of the Whig Party, was elected Vice President of the United States in the 1848 election. He later became the thirteenth president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853. Cholera is a bacterial infection of the small intestine that is spread through contaminated water. Cholera causes severe dehydration and diarrhea. Maria Kloster was the only survivor of a violent attack in New York City. Kloster left her relationship with Frank Geiger and began a new one with Frederick W. Marks, moving into Marks's home and ignoring Geiger's entreaties asking her to return to him. Geiger went to Marks's house and attacked Marks and Kloster. Marks was fatally wounded, and Geiger, thinking he had killed both Marks and Kloster, also killed himself. Kloster, however, recovered from her stab wounds. For more information, see "The New York Tragedy," Boston Evening Transcript, December 27, 1848, 4. Located at the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway in Lower Manhattan, Trinity Church is a historic church in the Episcopal Diocese of New York. The current church building was constructed between 1839 and 1846, and it is adjacent to the Trinity Churchyard burial ground. William Henry Seward (1801–1872) was the Governor of New York from 1839 to 1842, and he served as a United States Senator from New York from 1849 to 1861. He went on to serve as United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869 under Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. These lines are attributed to the sixteenth-century English poet and farmer Thomas Tusser (c.1524–1580). They are from his instructional poem, "A Hundred Points of Good Husbandry" (1557). Whitman is quoting a line from the character of Jacques (the "All the world's a stage" speech) in William Shakespeare's As You Like It (1623). On Saturday, September 9, 1848, at night, a fire broke out in a furniture store on Fulton Street in New York. The fire spread quickly to the wooden buildings nearby, all of which were dry as the result of a long drought. It was six hours before the fire could be stopped. During that time, the fire burned approximately eight city blocks and destroyed about two hundred buildings in the densely populated area in the vicinity of Fulton and Nassau Streets ("The Doings of a Night," The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 11, 1848, 2). Also known as ipecac; a preparation of this root is used as an emetic or purgative. A tartar emetic dissolved in sherry wine that can be used for purgative purposes. Epsom salt is crystallized magnesium sulfate that can be used as a laxative. Whitman is quoting from the Bible; he is referring to Titus 1:15. Jacob Overacre lived in Jamaica, Long Island, New York in 1840, and he started "The Children's Retreat" for Home Education. An advertisement for Overacre's educational program appeared in the April 13, 1841, issue of The New York Tribune, and indicated that Overacre would receive a limited number of boys under twelve years of age into his family, to "effect a thorough training of the faculties; a seasonable and harmonious development of the moral, physical, and intellectual powers." The ad also indicated that Overacre's "mode of discipline [was] strictly parental," and that the Bible would be the primary source of "religious principle and moral duty" ("Home Education," The New York Tribune [April 13, 1841], 3). Given that Overacre's "Children's Retreat" is advertised in mid-April 1841 and Whitman mentions having seen papers that printed news about the school, this letter almost certainly dates to May 4, 1841. Later, Jacob Overacre is listed as a teacher at the Mechanics' Institute School in the 1851 Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York and, according to the state census, still resided in Brooklyn as a schoolteacher in 1865. Nathan Hale, Jr. (1818–1871) served as the editor of the Boston Miscellany from 1842–1843. He was the son of journalist and newspaper publisher Nathan Hale. Whitman wrote Hale twice in an effort to sell the story "The Angel of Tears," but Hale declined to publish it. The Boston Miscellany of Literature and Fashion was a monthly magazine that ran from 1842–1843. Nathan Hale Jr. served as editor in 1842 and resigned the position to Henry Tuckerman at the end of the year. The magazine printed literary contributions from writers like James Russell Lowell, Edgar Allan Poe, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. The magazine also printed fashion plates and music (Frank L. Mott, A History of American Magazines, 1741–1930 [Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1958], 1: 718–720). The United States Magazine and Democratic Review (October 1837–December 1851), a monthly magazine designed to promote the liberal politics of the Democratic party, as well as to provide a forum for contemporary American literature, was jointly edited by John L. O'Sullivan and Samuel D. Langree. Often called simply the Democratic Review, it was published under that title from January-December 1852, then as the United States Review (January 1853-January 1856), and later as the United States Democratic Review (February 1856–October 1859). See here for the full encyclopedia entry. This tale is Whitman's earliest known short story and the first of nine stories by Whitman that were published for the first time in The United States Magazine and Democratic Review. When Whitman reprinted this story in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1847, while he was editor of that paper, he shortened the title to "Death in the school room." Whitman included a poem just before the story titled "Christmas Hymn." He later reprinted the tale as "Death in the School-Room. (A Fact.)" in the "Pieces in Early Youth" section of Specimen Days & Collect (Philadelphia: Rees Welsh & Co., 1882), 340–344. "Pieces in Early Youth" was also reprinted in Whitman's Complete Prose Works (1892): see Death in the School-Room. (A Fact.)" For a complete list of revisions to the language of the story made or authorized by Whitman for publication in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle and Specimen Days & Collect, see Thomas L. Brasher, ed., The Collected Writings of Walt Whitman: The Early Poems and the Fiction (New York: New York University Press, 1963), 55–60. For the publication history and reception of "Death in the School-Room," see About 'Death in the School-Room.'" This address is written on the verso of the letter. Whitman previously wrote Hale to inquire if the Boston Miscellany would publish "The Angel of Tears" on June 1, 1842. Whitman wrote Hale again on June 14, 1842, to inquire if the Boston Miscellany would publish "The Angel of Tears." William M. Muchmore was on the Board of Supervisors of Kings County in New York in the 1850s and 1860s. He would later become Superintendent of the Kings County Lunatic Asylum. John Parker Hale (1806–1873) was a lawyer and politician from New Hampshire. He served in the United States House of Representatives and in the United States Senate, representing the state of New Hampshire. Early in his political career Hale was a Democrat; later he aided in the founding of the Free Soil Party before becoming a member of the Republican Party. Abraham Lincoln appointed Hale an ambassador to Spain, and Hale served in this role from 1865 until 1869. Although the Free Soil party had been badly beaten in the 1848 election, Whitman persuaded John Parker Hale of New Hampshire to accept the nomination in 1852. For more on Whitman’s engagement with politics, see Bernard Hirschhorn's "Political Views.," J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, eds., Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). Although the Free Soil party had been badly beaten in the 1848 election, Whitman helped persuade Hale to accept the nomination in 1852. For more on Whitman’s engagement with politics, see Bernard Hirschhorn's "Political Views.," J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, eds., Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). In response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, Democrats, Whigs, and Free Soilers, including Hale, joined the newly formed Republican Party. When Hale returned to the Senate it 1855, it was as a Republican. The Congressional Directory of 1867 lists George F. Edmunds' Washington residence as "419 N.Y. ave,. bet. Thirteenth and Fourteenth," what is today the 1400 block of New York Ave., NW. The 1867 edition of Boyd's Directory of Washington & Georgetown lists this same address as a part of Columbian College's National Medical College. This postscript is written upside–down in the top margin of the page Trowbridge is likely refering to O'Connor's review of John Burroughs's Notes on Walt Whitman published in the "Current Literature" insert of the June 30, 1867, issue of the New York Times. Sir Edwin Ray Lankester (1847–1929) was a British zoologist. He was the third Director of the Natural History Museum, London. Edward S. Dunster (1837–1888) became a Professor of Obstetrics at the University of Michigan. George P. Philes (1828–1913) was a linguist and bibliographer from New York. The Marquis Emilio Pallavicini di Priola (1823–1901) was an Italian general and politician. He had a long career in the Italian Royal Army and is most well known for stopping Garibaldi at the Battle of Aspromonte on August 29, 1862. Auguste Villemot (1811–1870) was a French journalist. Jeanne D'Arc: Joan of Arc. Eugène Rouher (1814–1884) was a statesman of the Second French Empire. John Henry "Harry" Schuller Jr. (1871–1937) was one of three children born to John Henry Schuller (1844–1905) and Amelia Jane Watts (1847–1918). The family lived in Brooklyn at 191 Keap Street from about 1890 to 1907, according to New York City Directories. Both Schuller and his father were salesmen involed in dry goods, and according to Trow's New York City Directory published in 1893, 83 Worth Street in New York was the site of Coverse, Stanton, and Cullen dry goods store (269). In 1897, Schuller married Margaret Hay (1872–1937) and the couple had one son, Robert Duncan Schuller (1903–1995). Schuller and his wife lived in New York until about 1930, when they moved to Palisades Park, New Jersey, near their son. According to The Record (Hackensack, NJ), Schuller suffered a stroke on July 7, 1937 (15), and The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported that he died about a week later at Robert Schuller's home (July 17, 1937, 7). He is buried beside his wife and parents in New York's Cyprus Hill Cemetery. This may be a reference to Mary Nichols, who was a matron at the Insane Asylum at Blackwood, New Jersey as of 1886 (George Reeser Prowell, The History of Camden County, New Jersey [Philadelphia, PA: L. J. Richards & Co., 1886], 185). "The Good Gray Poet" first appeared as a free-standing pamphlet, written by Whitman's friend and disciple William Douglas O'Connor; It later was reprinted as part of Richard Maurice Bucke's biography of Whitman, Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), 90-130. Barnburners and Hunkers were terms used to describe opposing sides of the fracturing Democratic party in New York during the mid-nineteenth century. The Barnburners held radical anti-slavery views and were willing to destroy banks and corporations to end corruption and abuses. The Hunkers were pro-government; they favored state banks and minimized the issue of slavery. The divisions between these factions in New York reflected the national divisions that would lead to the American Civil War (1861–1865). These lines are from William Cullen Bryant's poem "The Crowded Street," which first appeared in Graham's Magazine in March 1843. Whitman may be referring to the wife of David Hale, who had edited the Journal of Commerce. She kept a boarding house called "Mrs. Hale's." Sir Henry Clinton (1730–1795) was the British Commander-in-Chief in North America. He served as a General in the American War for Independence. Andrew H. Mickle (1805–1863) was the Mayor of New York City from 1846 to 1847. Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin (1807–1874) was one of the leaders of the French Revolution of 1848. Louis Jean Joseph Charles Blanc (1811–1882) was a French politician who encouraged the development of socialism in France. Whitman may be referring to the trial of Marvin Mcnulty who stood accused of embezzling money from New York merchants. Anna Bishop (1810–1884) was a London-born operatic soprano who traveled and perfomed extensively, touring in the United States, Europe, and Australia. Francis Lister Hawkes (1798–1866) was an Episcopal priest who preached in New York, New Orleans, and numerous other cities. He was also known as a writer and a historian. Edwin Williams was a member of the American Institute; serving for several years as Recording Secretary, Williams prepared numerous reports for the Institute. The English novelist and social critic Charles Dickens (1812–1870) was the author of such popular works as The Pickwick Papers (1836), Oliver Twist (1838), and A Christmas Carol (1843). Marie-Joseph "Eugène" Sue (1804–1857) was a French novelist and the author of the popular serial newspaper novel The Mysteries of Paris (1842–1843). Frederika Bremer (1801–1865) was a Swedish writer known for her realist fiction. Her work Sketches of Everyday Life (1844) was popular in Britain and the United States. Horace Greeley (1811–1872) was editor of the New York Tribune and a prominent advocate of social and political reform. Greeley generally supported the Whig Party in his early years, though he helped found the Republican Party in 1854. He ran for president as Liberal Republican in the election of 1872. For more information on Greeley, see Robert C. Williams, Horace Greeley: Champion of American Freedom (New York: New York University Press, 2006). Lewis Cass (1782–1866) was a statesman, politician, and military officer. He served as a Senator representing the state of Michigan, as the Secretary of War under President Andrew Jackson, and as Secretary of State under James Buchanan. In 1848 he was the Democratic candidate for president. Cass was a proponent of the Doctrine of Popular Sovereignty, which held that each territory should choose whether to permit slavery. Cass was also crucial in the implementation of Andrew Jackson's policy of Indian Removal. For more information on Cass, see The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774–2005 (United States Government Printing Office, 2005), 797. Frederick Jerome was a resident of New York and a sailor aboard the New World, when he saw the Ocean Monarch burning. He swam to the ship and helped left passengers into a rescue boat. He later received awards for his bravery from Queen Victoria and the Common Council of New York. John Banvard (1815–1891) was a New York born and educated panoramist and portrait painter. He is considered a pioneer of panoramic painting and is best known for his panoramic paintings of the Mississippi River Valley. He toured the nation, displaying the panoramic views to packed houses, and he even presented a private showing for Queen Victoria. William Creighton (1793–1865) was born in New York City and studied theology at Columbia, graduating in 1812. After his ordination to the priesthood, Creighton became rector of St. Mark's in New York City, where he served from 1816 until 1836. He was elected as provisional bishop of New York during Bishop Onderdonk's suspension, but declined the position. For more information on Creighton, see "Rev. William Creighton, D.D.," Memorial of St. Mark's Church in the Bowery New York: Thomas Whittaker, 1899), 78–84. Benjamin I. Haight (1809–1879) was born in New York and was an Episcopalian priest, author, and seminary professor at the General Theologic Seminary from 1837–1855. Michael Hoffman (1787–1848) was a New York born lawyer and politician. He served as a naval officer, a judge, a canal commissioner for New York, and as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. Hoffman's political ideology centered upon imposing strict constitutional limits on the powers of State governments. For more information on Hoffman, see James A. Henretta, "Michael Hoffman and the New York Constitution of 1846," New York History 77.2 (April 1996), 151–176). William Orlando Butler (1791–1880) was a United States Army Major General, having served in the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War, as well as a politician. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Kentucky. In 1848, Butler was the Vice Presidential nominee for the Democratic party. He and Presidential nominee Lewis Cass (1782–1866) lost the election to Whig Candidate Zachary Taylor (1784–1850), who went on to serve as the twelfth president of the United States, from 1849 until his death in 1850. Whitman is referring to the 1848 Democratic National Convention, which was held in Baltimore, Maryland, from May 22 to May 26, 1848. The purpose of the convention was to nominate the Democratic Party's candidates for President and Vice President in the 1848 election. The nominees were Lewis Cass (1782–1866) for President and William O. Butler (1791–1880) for Vice President. Thomas Souness Hamblin (1800–1853) was a Shakespearean actor, businessman, and theatre manager. Under his management, New York City's Bowery Theatre became a successful venue for American working-class theatre. Hamblin occasionally booked opera and ballet events, but primarily produced melodramas, romances, farces, and circus acts that appealed to the working class Bowery B'hoy audiences of the Bowery district. In 1848, Hamblin bought the lease to the Park Theatre, which he renovated and reopened; however, the theatre was destroyed by fire a few months later. Whitman is referencing a rivalry between two factions in Italy in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The Guelphs, largely from wealthy families, were supporters of the Pope, while the Ghibellines were primarily associated with agricultural estates and supported the Holy Roman Emperor. See "Military Order," The New Orleans Crescent (September 5, 1848), 2. "Yellow Jack" is a reference to Yellow Fever, a viral disease that can be spread by the bite of infected mosquitoes. In the nineteenth-century, Yellow fever epidemics occurred in the late summer months in the Southern United States, particularly under humid conditions and in densely populated cities. Yellow fever outbreaks occurred on an annual basis in New Orleans and resulted in thousands of deaths each year. Yellow Fever is a viral disease that can be spread by the bite of infected mosquitoes. In the nineteenth-century, Yellow fever epidemics occurred in the late summer months in the Southern United States, particularly under humid conditions and in densely populated cities. Yellow fever outbreaks occurred on an annual basis in New Orleans and resulted in thousands of deaths each year. Butlerites were political supporters of William Orlando Butler (1791–1880). Butler was a United States Army Major General, having served in the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War, as well as a politician. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Kentucky. In 1848, Butler was the Vice Presidential nominee for the Democratic party. He and Presidential nominee Lewis Cass (1782–1866) lost the election to Whig Candidate Zachary Taylor (1784–1850), who went on to serve as the twelfth president of the United States, from 1849 until his death in 1850. Martin Grover (1811–1875) studied and practiced law before representing New York for a term in the United States House of Representatives. He was a Democrat and served from 1845 to 1847. He was later elected to the New York Supreme Court and to the New York Court of Appeals. Francis Preston Blair, Sr. (1791–1876) was a journalist and editor-in-chief of the Washington Globe, an organ of the Democratic Party. Blair edited the paper until the mid-1840s, and he had also served as an advisor to Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States. Blair and his wife Eliza Violet Gist were the parents of five children. Thomas Francis Meagher (1823–1867) was an Irish nationalist, and a leader of the Young Irelanders, who supported Irish independence. After taking part in a failed Young Irelanders Rebellion in 1848, Meagher was convicted of sedition and transported to Tasmania in Australia; he later escaped and moved to New York City. He went on to lead the Irish Brigade, consisting of mostly Irish Americans fighting on the side of the Union during the American Civil War, and he later served as the acting territorial Governor of Montana. Whitman is referring to the first National Free Soil Convention that was held in Buffalo in August 1848. At the convention, attendees endorsed Martin Van Buren (1782–1862) as the Free Soil presidential candidate and nominated Charles F. Adams (1807–1886) for Vice President. Formed during the 1848 election, the Free Soil Party opposed the expansion of slavery into the territories of the western United States, which included the territory that Mexico had ceded to the United States in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo following the Mexican-American War. When neither the Democratic nor the Whig party presidential nominees would rule out the expansion of slavery into these territories, the Free Soil Party was formed in response. The Free Soil Party was active for six years, from 1848 to 1854. Formed during the 1848 election, the Free Soil Party opposed the expansion of slavery into the territories of the western United States, which included the territory that Mexico had ceded to the United States in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo following the Mexican-American War. When neither the Democratic nor the Republican party presidential nominees would rule out the expansion of slavery into these territories, the Free Soil Party was formed in response. The Free Soil Party was active for six years, from 1848 to 1854. Formed during the 1848 election, the Free Soil Party opposed the expansion of slavery into the territories of the western United States. The Party held its national conventions in Utica and Buffalo, New York in 1848. The Free Soil Party was active for six years, from 1848 to 1854, and then it merged with the Republican Party. Whitman is referring to Solomon Kipp and Abraham Brown, business partners and proprietors of Kipp & Brown's stages, as well as volunteer firemen. In May 1848, a fire in the stables belonging to Kipp & Brown destroyed twenty-seven of their stages and one hundred and thirty of their horses (George W. Sheldon, The Story of the Volunteer Fire Department of the City of New York [New York: Harper & Brothers, 1882], 227; 403). Whitman is referring to the fire at the stables of Messrs. J. & M. Murphy, which resulted in the death of more than one hundred horses and destroyed twenty-five omnibuses and several nearby houses ("Destructive Fires," The Evening Post, November 20, 1848, 2). Hippolyte Monplaisir (1821–1877) was a French choreographer and a dancer, who performed with his wife, Adèle Bartholomin, a French ballerina. Rosine Henriette Bediez Laborde (also known as Rosine Villaume; 1824–1907) was born in Paris and educated at the Paris Conservatory. She was a well-known soprano opera singer and, later, a voice teacher. She and her husband, the tenor Jean-Auguste Dur-Laborde, performed in New York in 1848 and in Boston in 1849 (Programme Volumes 1910–1911 [Boston: Boston Symphony Orchestra, 1910], 818). Ramsdell echoes famous lines in the poem now known as "Song of Myself." In the 1860 version of this poem, then called "Walt Whitman," the poet reflects on the grass: "Or I guess it is the handkerchief of the Lord, / A scented gift and remembrancer, designedly dropped, / Bearing the owner's name someway in the corners, that we may see and remark, and say Whose?"
![[A North Star]](https://whitmanarchive.org/manuscripts/figures/loc.00008.001.jpg){kind=link}
