Camden1
noon
Jan: 2 '89
Every thing keeps on with even way. A slight head ache, or muddled condition. Y'r
"impromptu criticism" letter corrected has been furnished me
by the printer after all, & I will send you 15 copies2—The cards in the little envelope are my dear friend Mrs: Harned3 & the new baby boy's, Herbert
Spencer H[arned]4—both are flourishing
tip-top. Tom H.5 comes every day—my brother
George6 also—my sister Lou7 has
just visited me this mn'g—Y'r letter came this mn'g—The Boston Trans[script] (Kennedy)8 has a ¶ (Dec: 29) merely narrating that the big Vol. is
printed & out—I have taken up & find myself curious enough, perhaps
interested, to probably go thro' Tolstoi's9 "Confessions"10—a strange product of
our time, from Russia there—it is natural certainly, but morbific—a sort
of Jack the Ripper treatment applied to himself—it is autobiographic of
course—pathologic—
It grows cloudy & cooler—have had my ice cream & milk—your good
letter of Dec: 31 comes11—yes "hurrah for
89!"—letter rec'd from J H Johnston12—his new store
Christmas sales reach'd $45000—I have just scribbled a little 10-line poemet I
think I'll sent to Century13—Am sitting here alone
by the wood fire—
Walt Whitman
Correspondent:
Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1902) was a
Canadian physician and psychiatrist who grew close to Whitman after reading Leaves of Grass in 1867 (and later memorizing it) and
meeting the poet in Camden a decade later. Even before meeting Whitman, Bucke
claimed in 1872 that a reading of Leaves of Grass led him
to experience "cosmic consciousness" and an overwhelming sense of epiphany.
Bucke became the poet's first biographer with Walt
Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), and he later served as one
of his medical advisors and literary executors. For more on the relationship of
Bucke and Whitman, see Howard Nelson, "Bucke, Richard Maurice," Walt Whitman: An
Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York:
Garland Publishing, 1998).
Notes
- 1. This letter is addressed:
Dr R M Bucke | Asylum | London | Ontario | Canada. It is postmarked: Camden (?)
| Jan 2 | 6 AM | 89. [back]
- 2. See Whitman's letter to
Bucke of December 27, 1888. [back]
- 3. 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. [back]
- 4. 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.). [back]
- 5. Thomas Biggs Harned
(1851–1921) was one of Whitman's literary executors. Harned was a lawyer
in Philadelphia and, having married Augusta Anna Traubel, was Horace Traubel's
brother-in-law. For more on him, see Dena Mattausch, "Harned, Thomas Biggs (1851–1921)," Walt
Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New
York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 6. 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). As a
Civil War correspondent, Walt wrote warmly about George's service, such as in
"Our Brooklyn Boys in the War" (January 5,
1863); "A Brooklyn Soldier, and a Noble One"
(January 19, 1865); "Return of a Brooklyn Veteran"
(March 12, 1865); and "Our Veterans Mustering Out"
(August 5, 1865). After the war, George returned to Brooklyn and began building
houses on speculation, with partner Mr. Smith and later a mason named French.
George also took a position as inspector of pipes in Brooklyn and Camden. Walt
and George lived together for over a decade in Camden, but when Walt decided not
to move with George and his wife Louisa in 1884, a rift occurred that was
ultimately not mended before Walt's 1892 death. For more information on George
Washington Whitman, see Martin G. Murray, "Whitman, George Washington," Walt Whitman: An
Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York:
Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 7. Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called
"Loo" or "Lou," married Whitman's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. Their
son, Walter Orr Whitman, was born in 1875 but died the following year. A second
son was stillborn. Whitman lived in Camden, New Jersey, with George and Louisa from
1873 until 1884, when George and Louisa moved to a farm outside of Camden and
Whitman decided to stay in the city. Louisa and Whitman had a warm relationship
during the poet's final decades. For more, 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). [back]
- 8. 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). [back]
- 9. Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy
(1828–1910) was a Russian realist writer of novels, plays, short stories
and novellas. [back]
- 10. Tolstoy's A
Confession is a short autobiographical treatise with a focus on
religious and philosophical issues. It was first published in 1882. [back]
- 11. See Bucke's letter to
Whitman of December 31, 1888. [back]
- 12. John H. Johnston (1837–1919) was a New York
jeweler and close friend of Whitman. Johnston was also a friend of Joaquin
Miller (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Tuesday, August 14, 1888). Whitman visited the Johnstons for the
first time early in 1877. In 1888 he observed to Horace Traubel: "I count
[Johnston] as in our inner circle, among the chosen few" (Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, October 3, 1888). See also Johnston's letter about
Whitman, printed in Charles N. Elliot, Walt Whitman as Man,
Poet and Friend (Boston: Richard G. Badger, 1915), 149–174. For
more on Johnston, 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). [back]
- 13. 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.). [back]