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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.

Hearing of the arrival of "the good Gray Poet" in the city, on a short week's visit, a T RIBUNE man was

At the American House, where Mr.

"I have lived in or visited all the great cities on the Atlantic third of the Republic—Boston, Brooklyn

this very Denver, if it might be so, I should like to cast my lot, above all other spots, all other cities

Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University; gaps were filled by reference to a digital

Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University; gaps were filled by reference to a digital

already begun to wear the grizzled beard and silvering locks that have become almost the badge of American

been a confirmed invalid, he has assumed more entirely the grayness that was ascribed to him, and were

It was in April, 1860, when I had been seized at night by the Untied States marshal, under an unlawful

Whitman, who is inspector of gas-pipes in the city of Camden.

Thoreau was also a writer for the Democratic Review in those days before the flood,—so were Hawthorne

It is inexplicable that they cannot be exposed like the doors after which they were modeled upon the

The city of Dayton divides with Cleveland the reputation of being the most beautiful city in Ohio.

Mobs were frequent, news papers were torn out, Vallandigham's door was beaten in with muskets, his friends

went armed and people were shot dead.

Breakfast brought florid faced cockneys; at dinner there were Americans—ladies and men—making haste to

not quite suited for the expression of American democracy and American manhood.

The man, the American man, the laborer, boatman, and mechanic.

The great painters were as willing to paint a blacksmith as a lord.

How monotonous it would become—how tired the ears would get of it—if it were regular.

(Query—Why only American?) Bryant he likes.

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

to his old habit, the poet spent an hour or more on the ferry, swinging pendulum-like between this city

The publishers were capital fellows.

I like the city itself exceedingly, and I think it will in a short time become a cosmopolitan city such

Don't ask me to class Philadelphia with Boston, New York, or the wide-awake Western cities.

I cannot class it with other cities, and you must not compel me to talk about it.

T HERE is as yet nothing distinctive in American literature except its tendency.

discovered an American poet.

probably had in his pockets whilst we were talking.

These were all inarticulate poets, and he interpreted them.

soldiers who were in the hospitals.

Two Visitors TWO VISITORS, Each Widely Known, Stopping Briefly in the City. Col.

Forney of Philadelphia and Walt Whitman, the poet, arrived in the city yesterday and with their party

The train arrived three hours late, but as the party only intended to stop one day in the city, they

"What a superb city St. Louis is!" exclaimed he.

It's a great city." "Quite a town, isn't it?" "Yes, indeed.

The car jogs up Market street, the principal thoroughfare of the city.

The bright energy which marks the growing Western city is absent.

Camden is monotonous and for a city of its age and opportunities unlovely.

The walls were adorned with a number of portraits, engravings, and photographs.

HIS VIEWS OF AMERICAN BARDS. "The old poets are dropping off," said Mr.

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.

The publishers were capital fellows.

I like the city itself exceedingly, and I think it will in a short time become a cosmopolitan city such

I cannot class it with other cities, and you must not compel me to talk about it.

No copies w orth me ntioning were sold of any issue.

"You have eliminated, then, none of the lines which were deemed objectionable?"

A cable dispatch printed yesterday in an evening paper announced that Walt Whitman, the American poet

"If we were not in the midst of the holiday trade," he said, "I would jump on the next train for Philadelphia

An autograph letter of Walt's was sold in this city last Spring for $80 to my knowledge."

reporter regarding the paragraph which appeared in this morning's papers, stating that subscriptions were

not suited for the expression of American democracy and American manhood.

The great painters were as willing to paint a blacksmith as a lord.

How monotonous it would become, how tired the ear would get of it, if it were regular!

"That any American woman should say, 'Ah, me!

It pleased him very much, yet the tears were in his eyes. He asked me if I enjoyed religion.

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?

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

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

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."

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

Whitman, to a party of ladies who were very much charmed with it." "Ah! what one was that?"

City is a Woman who detained me There for the Love of Me.

"Yes," said I, "they were highly pleased with it."

at the idea of having so many disciples in the City of Isms.

And is there anything in the American language that comes close to this?

moderation, has been all the past month visiting, riding, receiving, and jaunting in and about the city

audience to the most cultured and elegant society of New York, including most of the artists of the city

been thrown open on two special occasions for informal public receptions in compliment to him, which were

Whitman has explored the city and neighborhood, often as near possible after the fashion of old times

spirits, believes thoroughly not only in the future world, but the present, and especially in our American

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

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

Camden is reached by a ferry crossing the Delaware River from this city, and, but for being in a different

No American publisher will issue his works: the booksellers seem to regard him as a fair victim for fraud

magazine will accept his MSS., and the orthodox compendia of poetry contain none of his notably American

These notes were pencilled down sometimes on battlefields, and are often very thrilling.

Near by were a pile of corrected proof-sheets bearing the heading "Leaves of Grass."

His ruddy features were almost concealed by his white hair and beard.

making the book is to give A Recognition of All Elements compacted in one— e pluribus unum , as it were

I have also accepted as a theme the modern business life, the streets of cities, trade, expresses, the

"Of the American poets," he said, "I would place Emerson first, then Bryant, Longfellow and Whittier.

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.

The handsome third (1860-61) Boston edition, published by Thayer & Eldridge, commenced well and paid

Whitman's darkest times were from 1873 to 1876.

Whitman had made a good fight, but the fates were adverse.

Lists of purchasers of the $10 edition were sent over to Whitman, accompanied by the money.

Among the names were those of G. H. Lewes, Vernon and Godfrey Lushington, Dante G. and William M.

On first acquaintance, or perhaps even on second and third acquaintance, the unprepossessing city of

Camden on the banks of the Delaware,—a city which serves as an over the river suburb of cheap homes for

"They cost me their weight when they were printed."

"They were just setting up in business and they were very anxious to get the work," he continued.

Many of them were returned to me with insulting letters."

Walt Whitman: His Ideas About the Future of American Literature WALT WHITMAN.

His Ideas About the Future of Amer- ican American Literature.

"What will be the character of the American literature when it does form?"

They are appearing in the Eastern cities and in the West.

They are very American. Emerson is our first man. He is in every way what he should be.

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.

How he Commenced to Write and the Way his Works were Received.

"How did you know we were aboard the train?"

You may say, in fact, that with true American instinct I feel like lecturing.

"Thought you were throwing away your life, did they?" asked the doctor.

Legally, however, the blacks were slaves.

While in the market, the other day, with a party of us, we were all weighed; his weight was 200 pounds

Next the very finely gotten up Boston edition of 1860, in ordinary 12mo., which size has been adhered

All stood up, ready, as it were, to fall into the ranks for him.

It first commenced with a letter from the English laureate, full of courtesy to his American brother,

I rubbed my eyes a little to see if this sunbeam were no illusion; but the solid sense of the book is

—Whenever I reach this city I always cross the ferry to Camden, for a visit to Philadelphia without seeing

The fourth and fifth editions of the war period were likewise failures.

The Osgoods owed Whitman $500 when his poems were suppressed.

and other great imaginative results will be produced in the United States as becoming to them, as were

Like a font of type, poetry must be set up over again consistent with American, modern and democratic

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.

Several ladies called, and a number of "outsiders," and all were received with due empressment empressement

There were over three hundred visitors in the course of the evening, some from England.

gave some times of his printer life, as a young man (1838 to 1850), and his working in different cities

In the course of the evening various little speeches were made, and Mr.

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.

"And those conditions were?"

"Better than twenty years ago, when you were in Boston getting some book printed?"

I think American boys are very companionable, the friendliest in the world.

As I have noted in my poem, I think American youths, more than any other, are possessed of that high

The furniture was of the plainest old-fashioned type; there were the old wooden rocking chairs, with

Piles of papers and magazines were stacked in chairs, on the floors, and several oil paintings were pendant

"My opinion of other American poets?

For a long period I placed Emerson at the head of American poetic literature, but of late I consider

Cleveland seems to me like a huge wall, great on his impedimenta, as it were.

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

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.

The profits on 'Leaves of Grass' were only $20 for the same time.

When I read my poem on Lincoln in Philadelphia the other day, the profits were $700.

Poetry is a font of type, to be set up again consistently with American democratic institutions."

"How were these changes made?" "Structures grew and were made by use and lost by disuse.

Such study shows clearly how structures developed or were lost.

In that city they have had a Philosophical society for some years, and now Griggs & Co, the principal

The papers in the volume were chiefly written in Canada since Mr Smith has lived there, and several of

They were collected into a book in Canada, but subsequently taken by the publishing house of Macmillan

The American features are not all that the æsthetic fancy craves, but they are not so hopelessly lost

If it were possible to see the genius of a great people throwing itself now into this form, now into

have been olive-colored when put on in the silurian age, and the window sills, bordered with white, were

The furniture was of the plainest old-fashioned type; there were the old wooden rocking-chairs, with

Piles of papers and magazines were stacked in chairs, on the floors and stands.

"My opinion of other American poets?

Cleveland seems to me like a huge wall, great on his impediments, as it were.

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?

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.

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

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

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.

said the "Good Grey Poet" to a North American reporter.

"If it were not for the new President I don't know what the papers would do for something to talk about

Walt was a newspaper man when most of the newspaper men of the present day were boys, and he preserves

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