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task of deciding whether something was or wasn't a nineteenth-century interview, alternative criteria were

In addition to the newspaper accounts that were published immediately following a visit, I have included

Most were published long after the meetings they describe.

The interviews were transcribed from a variety of source formats.

; photocopies and digital images of originals were used in other cases.

His shoulders were broad, and neither age nor infirmity had broken down the original robustness of his

The broad brim of his soft, gray, felt hat shaded his eyes so that you were not sure whether they were

His eyes were dimmer now, but his heart kept its old zest.

Walt had, in fact, read most of the American poets who were his contemporaries.

The Greeks howled when they were hurt and bawled with rage when they were angry.

WHITMAN AND HIS FRIENDS IN 1890 IN CAMDEN O N Tuesday, July 15, 1890 , I landed at Philadelphia—"the city

I did so, and his next words were, "And how are you?"

Cuthbertson, of Annan, has), and that we were anxious to possess it. "Why?" he asked.

people were "very evanescent."

"My sympathies," he said, "were aroused to their utmost pitch, and I found that mine were equaled by

Bucke amongst the crowd on the wharf waiting the arrival of the ship, and with him were Horace Traubel

We were joined immediately by Mrs.

"Horace read it to me as we were waiting for Wallace. I guess Symonds is in a bad way—dying.

Then, if he found that things were not so bad, he was relieved and pleased.) W. W.

The new moon was shining, and the lights on the river as we crossed it were very beautiful.

We were very cordially welcomed by Mrs.

"Ed. said they were brought by negroes."

Americans.

"A typical American or typical American character hardly exists.

Judges, lawyers, doctors, etc., were there, and they were all said to be men of more or less note; but

, and were attended with increasing regularity and in larger numbers.

, ideas and training, who were united only in a common friendship.

We were all about the same age and belonged to nearly the same social stratum.

When we were met together, however, we were conscious of a composite character and of a certain emotional

Religious in the ordinary sense of the word, however, they certainly were not.

black-barred bees hummed as they flitted from the nectar-laden chalices; flies, moths and "bugs" of all kinds were

there in almost countless numbers; and the katydids were loudly whispering their self-contradictory

"He was a tall, straight man, but not so tall as his father and his uncle, who were about 6½ feet high

however, in the extraordinary effect which Whitman's personality had at times on those whose natures were

These are the real burdens of his book, and they were the chief factors in his personal influence.

His surroundings were those of the average citizen he represented, and he lived in a plain, old-fashioned

His accent and articulation were of a purity and clearness entirely free from any local peculiarity or

And when he was feeling better his smiling cheer and geniality were like the sunshine.

There were three parcels: one for Dr.

And I thought that you were more frail than you are.

In the city I met Mrs.

While we were at lunch Mrs.

I thought that Americans were generally better speakers than the English. "They are, are they?

We were just "anybody".

of the room, and put in our brief wait in looking at the thousand-and-one things of interest that were

We turned, and there stood Walt, "framed", as it were, by the door-casings.

We moved forward and shook hands with him, and told him who we were and where we came from.

He was as genuinely interested in us as if we were old friends.

She looked weary, and her eyes were red with weeping.

The ceiling was hung with cages, in two of which were turtle doves; in the others were a robin and a

Many were presentation copies—among them one by Longfellow, and one by Tennyson.

In this confused pile were rolls of manuscript written on different colored bits of paper; many were

As a rule visitors were admitted in the afternoon or early evening.

We were then living in Washington.

O'Connor had already made his acquaintance in Boston in 1860, when Thayer and Eldridge were printing

the regular, constant group, there were many others who were with us more or less.

Then, too, certain stock subjects were always at hand. We were somewhat divided in our pet beliefs.

were attracted to him.

Like other Americans, his sympathies lay with Russia.

we were before long quite besieged.

But for the most part his words were few.

I said something about American literature and "Leaves of Grass". "Oh!

were words which somehow his presence often suggested.

The man was Whitman, and the proofs were those of his new edition.

of magnificent distances" also a city of astonishing architectural contrasts.

These were his war pieces, the Drum Taps, then nearly ready for publication.

Whitman and Chase were the two men I saw most of, at that time, in Washington.

There were two of these, and they were especially interesting to me, as I knew something of the disturbed

attributed to him, invited me to accompany him on a little visit to Walt Whitman who was then in the city

Miller— We had a square you-tell-me-and-I'll-tell-you talk about American poets and we agree tremendously

[At this point tears were visible in the speaker's eyes]. Do you think he meant it all?

Upon another occasion we were talking about various studies to which a writer should devote himself.

No one in our limited galaxy of great poets has been more characteristically American than Walt Whitman

Thomas Proctor of this city, giving some personal recollections of Walt Whitman.

Proctor resided in the same house with Whitman, and their relations were somewhat intimate.

But the city was not so large then, nor so cosmopolitan as now.

These two houses were pleasant to look upon.

Two of the leaders of this company were then next door neighbors of Mr.

Our lives were deepened. A MORE INTIMATE ACQUAINTANCE.

In the course of our walk there were long intervals of silence between us, and altogether his words were

His beard and hair were snow-white, his complexion a fine colour, and unwrinkled.

He had in extreme the American trait of sympathy and of deference to the young.

It is a curse that all our American boys and girls are taught so much.

He had a belief that Shakespeare's sonnets were theological discussions.

The letters were written in the summer of 1877 and the winter of 1878.

Yet there were grim and repellant traits in Walt Whitman.

Stedman and his family were seated in the opposite box. Others present were Samuel L. Clemens, H.

His attitude and that of Lincoln were identical.

In the war "my sympathies were aroused to their utmost pitch, and I found that mine were equaled by the

Afterwards a few visitors were admitted to see him.

It seemed to me a spiritually deepened image of contemporary Americans: an ideal laborer, as the Americans

He had a smack of Americanism, American individuality, smack of outdoor life, the wash of the sea, the

W HITMAN : "Americans are allowed to be different.

These men were really worthy of his friendship.

These were the last words Walt Whitman spoke to me.

The dingy little two-storied domicile is so disappointingly different from what we were expecting to

was the dearest of the friendships lost to him by the publication of "Leaves of Grass;" "but there were

"Yes, it made an old man of me; but I would like to do it all again if there were need."

which we have been secretly coveting, he says, "You know I have never been the fashion; publishers were

Wolfe, Literary Shrines: The Haunts of Some Famous American Authors (Philadelphia: J. B.

Wolfe, Literary Shrines: The Haunts of Some Famous American Authors (Philadelphia: J. B.

His insertions were circumspect and left no jar on the ear.

The "Note at Beginning" and "Note at End," in the big volume, and the title page, were new, and were

Both notes were quite impromptu.

Burns Weston were present.

Subtle inquiries were advanced and passed.

When the guests were assembled Whitman himself came down-stairs and opened the proceedings as indicated

He was in bad physical condition—had spent a bad day—and we were almost compelled to carry him from his

Whitman . [ Laughing ]— Next to Camden, Chicago is the luckiest city on the planet to-night!

Whitman .— I see—Rosetti speaks of the Doctor's American reports.

Whitman .— I did not know you were such a speechmaker, Harry! So you object to Bucke's argument?

Whitman's relations with Boston were of quite another kind.

But these visits were notable occasions in his life.

cities so far as the native social element, that which distinguishes them as American, was concerned

"Whereupon we went and had a good dinner at the American House."

The passionate toll and clang—city to city, join- ing, sounding, passing Those heart-beats of a Nation

Warmth and sunshine were outside, shadow and coolness within, with perfect Sabbath quiet.

too much neglected; that between an attention to material and extraneous interests, on the other, we were

driving the physical to the wall; as if life, this wonderful, mysterious life, were not primarily a

to the great elements of life, of seeing the world as a new world, and recreating it in words that were

He spoke of the pleasure of finding in Bryant allusions to those common objects of American landscapes

Had the present city directory of the town been in existence, I could have found it authoritatively stated

The decorations of the room were insignificant, with the exception of two portraits, one of his father

All writers, whether classic or modern, were in his phrase "fellows," —a word of which he was very fond

In the matter of the accuracy with which these productions were printed he was scrupulously exact.

Some of the parts of this manuscript were written on bits of brown straw paper, others on manilla paper

"One day in the summer we were riding in the horsecars about Washington, and General Garfield came in

The Delaware, broader than the East River, flows between the two cities.

know that in England and abroad you are regarded as one of the greatest, if not most true of all American

This was the last public appearance of Walt Whitman, and there were thirty-three persons present, the

Donaldson— If I understand what you have done, it is to make a plea for America and the Americans—it

some years in Washington, and have visited, and partially lived, in most of the Western and Eastern cities

Then, like all good Americans, he became convinced that his mission was something else than a perpetual

The lad was to be the first of the American authors who was at once thoroughly national and yet not provincial

These were the years when he laid in his vast store of impressions and pictures, his true graduation

He was "rewarded" with a clerkship in a Government office, and while thousands were receiving indemnities

His fellow authors, among whom were Oliver Wendell Holmes, Bret Harte, Mark Twain, Edmund Clarence Stedman

We were a long time coming to this recognition.

There were potions to be mixed, and wrappings to be released and bound again.

I saw, as Emerson wrote, that in his book were incomparable things incomparably said.

And even the improprieties which barred it from the bazaars, the leaves, which were not fig leaves, were

Other editions were among the current literature of the railway stall and the shop.

Morris's then celebrated and fashionable "Mirror," of New York city.

I next went to the "Aurora" daily in New York city—a sort of free lance.

happen'd between the acts one night in the lobby of the old Broadway theatre near Pearl street, New York city

The Pennsylvania line traverses twelve of the American States, and has upwards of 7,500 miles of railway

cared for and well paid, and I was told that most of them own their houses, which I saw afterwards were

But when the school-days were over, and the necessities of poverty compelled him, young as he was, to

Whitman, thus encouraged, printed a further enlarged edition in 1860, and was considering the form which

suggestion of one of the secretaries, he was dismissed the service, on the ground that his writings were

There were four pilgrims—two little girls, a young lady and myself.

One would as soon expect to find a bard in Long Island City.

The only things that relieved its prosaic aspect were a violin and a music-stand wit ha few sheets of

The first door at the end of the hall, front, was the one we were to pass through.

The blinds were closed and there were no curtains at the windows, and it was no easy matter to pick one's

Heaped round the chair, in some places knee-deep, were masses of old letters, papers, manuscript, the

On another table, just behind the chair, were heaps of dust-sprinkled papers and a package of letters

The three windows were all on the same side, each to each. The blinds were closed.

White curtains were drawn part way down.

Sir Edwin Arnold's visit to the aged bard flooded the American's soul with joy.

The Englishman Surprises the American Poet at His Home.

The floor was littered with books and papers almost blocking the approach to the great American singer

The American poet had lots to tell, and so had Sir Edwin, and the two indulged in a literary feast.

The two sat alongside of each other and began talking about American and English poetry.

Then the pair had a literary treat by talking of Emerson, Longfellow and other American poets.

Our conversation turned to modern education, upon which his views were frequently radical.

His friends and admirers, however, were not so philosophical as he; they did not hesitate to condemn

sufficiently intimate to hail cheerily, when their doings were, or were not, to our liking, and who

On the occasion of his visits, there were usually other guests in the house, mostly young folks, who

In his later publication, I find many passages that were displayed to me in embryo.

Above all I am an American, and my love has always been with this great republic of ours and its people

But apart from the host who criticized my work and called me bad names, there were many friends who thought

The two volumes, 'Leaves of Grass,' and 'Two Rivulets,' published in '76, were sold mainly on the other

Seas and Lands, Chapter VI: Men and Cities CHAPTER VI: MEN AND CITIES.

low-lying farmsteads around Baltimore and northward—so that many fields of maize, tomato, and melon were

the American Republic.

In a very few minutes, I may venture to say, we were like old friends.

I., "Men and Cities," in Seas and Lands (New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1891), 72–83.

I., "Men and Cities," in Seas and Lands (New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1891), 72–83.

The clock struck midnight while they were talking. It was Tuesday night, after Col.

There was a pause, as if he were trying to make a connection between death and what he was about to say

Tears were in the eyes of some as they watched the poet utter his feeble good-by good-bye .

We were always on the best of terms, and I well remember his kindly but earnest invitation to come to

Boyle O'Reilly and Joaquin Miller, the poet of the Sienas Sierras , were present."

I can't keep up with the sinuosities of American politics. Nor do I want to.

He is versatile, brilliant, statesmanlike in all his views, and I am only sorry that the American people

shocked amazement, the dear people all the while forgetful of the fact that in reading Whitman they were

It is all in strange contrast to the bustle of the great Quaker City across the river.

We were ushered into a little sitting-room, and were greeted by a lady and gentleman seated opposite

We walked up two half flights of narrow wooden stairs and were at the chamber of the poet.

His lower limbs were covered by some kind of cloth, stertched loosely over his knees.

The walls were bare.

Copyright, 1890, by American Press Association.]

"Give my regards to all the boys in New York city, and don't forget it."

Engraving of Whitman, apparently based on photograph #60, taken by Napoleon Sarony in 1878 in New York City

at the dingy windows; but more than all it needs condemnation and destruction at the hands of the city

depreciation; a simple proud humility in the acknowledgment of pleasure that his printed thoughts were

Pratt, the American Consul at Belfast."

deliver my essay or lecture or whatever you may be pleased to call it on Abraham Lincoln in New-York City

He it was who wrote the first article in any American magazine about me.

Picturesque Old Man and He Also Has the Strongest Confidence in His Own Merits—An English Fad Throws Quaker City

Walt lives across the river in a quiet old town, just opposite this city.

The others at table were Mrs. George W.

The heads at the windows were drawn in and the group of little ones parted and went their way.

A table in front of him was covered with books and papers, papers and books were strewn at his feet,

Arnold and Whitman: The Author of "Light of Asia" Visits the American Poet ARNOLD AND WHITMAN THE AUTHOR

OF "LIGHT OF ASIA" VISITS THE AMERICAN POET.

My second wife, you know, was an American lady, and that gives me a claim on your people.

I told him my children bore American names and that it pleased me to think and speak of Americans as

There were tears in the eyes of the English poet.

Two long tables were arranged the whole length of the big room on the second floor, and covers were spread

Samuel, of this city, and Benjamin F.

Boyle and other Philadelphians who were present. Francis B.

Then somebody proposed "Three cheers for Walt Whitman," which were given with a will.

He is a genuine continental American."

His limbs and feet were wrapped in heavy gray blankets.

And then we kissed him farewell, and were out in the soft, almost sping-like air, feeling as if it were

were the words I wrote next day in my diary.

The grand head and serene face were to dawn upon me in a few moments.

The feet were well proportioned and clad in broad-toed, easy shoes.