Yours of 27th to hand this morning by mornings mail.2 So it took from 8 P.M. 27th to 10 A.M. 30th (2 days & 14 hours) to travel from Phila to the asylum, much to long—the postal service is not at all what it should be on this continent—not half what it is in England [/] (I do not know how it is on the Continent of Europe). [—] Yours of 283 also to hand by this afternoon mail (it seems to have done better, I judge it made the trip in just about two days—letters never come in less time than that—they ought to come in a little over a day. I have seen nothing about Tennyson's4 illness, too bad such men must grow old and die—he is a grad fellow, ought to be immortal (will be, I hope). I get the O'C. cards and glad to get them. O'C.5 seems rallying finely again and if the fits would only keep off he might have a long pretty good spell—but I fear much they will not keep off for long—seems as if they had come to stay. Am greatly pleased to see that you are going in strong on the massage. [/] I hope for the best results from it. I send you my list of misprints—guess you have them all already—have found no new ones lately—not looking for any—no time. The "Saturday" came from O'C. yesterday, read it and was much amused.6 These polished [mutilation] litterateurs are as blind (half of them) as if they had been born without eyes. Then when others see something they cry out "nonsense, you only think you see something [/] it is all a delusion there is nothing at all there to see!" I have written to McK.7 as follows: "Please let Mr W. have any copies he wants of my W. W.8 in sheet or otherwise free of copy right"
Au revoir and Love to you R M BuckeCorrespondent:
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).