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Camden New Jersey U S America
Dec: 27 '90—
Dear Friend B O'D,
The books, in a bundle, (four complete works)1 have just gone in
Adams's Express, Wells, Fargo & Co: f'm San Fr, a bundle in brown envelope, (16
inches square, 4 inches thick, y'r address on) to Melbourne, I have pay'd the
expressage throughout—Look out for them in due time & if worth while
inquire there at the main Adams Wells, Fargo & Co Express office—of course
I sh'l be a little anxious till I hear they have arrived for certain—nothing
perhaps notable or new ab't self—I sent papers with report of Ingersoll's2 address3 here (in Phila) wh' I hope
have reached you before this time—It was a fine success—big hall filled
full—$869.45 clear'd above expenses & paid to me—(I will send
you the printed speech in little book now being printed in N Y)4—I keep fairly—appetite fair—a quite
hearty breakfast at 9 to-day, a meat chop, some oatmeal & cup of tea—the
grip on me yet and bladder trouble—am writing a little—spirits
easy—heavy snow storm & cold these days all over hereabout—but I
keep a stout oakwood fire—& read & write & while away the time
imprisoned here in my room—hope you get the papers I send—often think of
you there more than you know—(my favorite notion is to entwine the working
folk of right sort all round the globe, all lands—that is the foundation of L
of G, they are banded together in spirit and interest essentially all the earth) My
respects & love to you & wife5 & Fred6 & Jim7 &
Ada8 &
Ted9 & Mr & Mrs Fryer10 & others
unspecified—as I finish I hear f'm the express office—the bundle is paid thro' [illegible] to you & I sh'll want to
hear f'm it
Walt Whitman
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Correspondent:
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).
Notes
- 1. 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). [back]
- 2. Robert "Bob" Green Ingersoll
(1833–1899) was a Civil War veteran and an orator of the post-Civil War
era, known for his support of agnosticism. Ingersoll was a friend of Whitman,
who considered Ingersoll the greatest orator of his time. Whitman said to Horace
Traubel, "It should not be surprising that I am drawn to Ingersoll, for he is
Leaves of Grass. He lives, embodies, the
individuality I preach. I see in Bob the noblest
specimen—American-flavored—pure out of the soil, spreading, giving,
demanding light" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden,
Wednesday, March 25, 1891). The feeling was mutual. Upon Whitman's
death in 1892, Ingersoll delivered the eulogy at the poet's funeral. The eulogy
was published to great acclaim and is considered a classic panegyric (see
Phyllis Theroux, The Book of Eulogies [New York: Simon
& Schuster, 1997], 30). [back]
- 3. 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. [back]
- 4. 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. [back]
- 5. 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. [back]
- 6. 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. [back]
- 7. 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. [back]
- 8. Ada Fryer was the sister of
Eva Fryer O'Dowd, Bernard O'Dowd's wife. [back]
- 9. As yet we have no information about
this person. [back]
- 10. 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. [back]