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While answering freely, Walt wound up this part of the conversation by saying that those were problems

As for American poets, Mr.

The others present were Mrs.

Philadelphia Press About six weeks ago the children on Mickle street, below Fifth street, in Camden, were

morning after breakfast his housekeeper asks him with as much regularity and solemnity as though she were

writing pad was on his knee and numerous photographs of Elias Hicks, of whom the poet was writing, 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."

The editors of the North American Review had sent him three dispatches, urgently requesting an article

The poet's sleeves were rolled above the elbows, exposing a pair of arms white as a woman's, but symmetrical

GRANT, A TYPICAL AMERICAN.

"Washington and all those noble early Virginians were, strictly speaking, English gentlemen of the royal

era of Hampden, Pym and Milton, and such it was best that they were for their day and purposes.

, irrefragable proof of radical Democratic institutions—that it is possible for any good average American

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

He answered with as much sincerity as geniality, that it would indeed be strange if there were no music

at the heart of his poems, for more of these were actually inspired by music than he himself could remember

We struck a paragraph, yesterday, about Walt Whitman, and thought to wrench a joke out of it, but were

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?"

—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

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

Two handsome cats were purring contentedly about the ankles of the benign old man, and did not seem to

cablegram containing a reference to his needy condition and the circular alleged to be circulating England were

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

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

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

In a little house, narrow and low, facing Mickle street, in the city of Camden, N.

On the floor were strewn, with the genuine abandon of carelessness books, magazines, newspaper clippings

Thrown here and there loosely were the skins of animals; one on the chair which is claimed as the "poet's

The coal-black eyes of the housekeeper were cast upon him. He seemed to wilt.

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.

"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

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.

The poet's face was just as ruddy as the bright face above him, and his eyes were as bright and his smile

he would accept such a position, but still I would like only too well to put a feather in his cap were

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.

The floor around it, and one or two chairs near it, were strewn with scrawled half-sheets of note-paper

His tone and manner were perfectly cheerful, and went far to explain the affectionate interest he is

You were explaining the plan of your work?"

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

The American nation is not much at present, but will be some day the most glorious one on earth.

I always remember that my ancestors were Dutch .

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

But he is too melancholy for a great representative of American poetry.

"Leaves of Grass" are the reflections of American life and ideas which reflect again.

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.

I looked at him closely; his hands were strong and clean, his nails cared for.

subjects—make all except inspirations and intentions; must mould mold and carve and sing the ideal American

I wanted to know what the surroundings of this man were.

I always had an idea that poets were fed on finer food than falls to the lot of ordinary mortals, but

They were especially interested in the old Whitman burial hill and cemetery, containing the poet's ancestors

The house, barn, and other buildings were all gone and the ground ploughed over.

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

Pratt, the American Consul at Belfast."

He is in love with Denver City, and speaks admiringly of Missouri and Indiana.

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

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.

poets, however conservative they may be, tend to the same democratic humanitarianism as our great Americans

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.

prevented from growing tedious—was the marked absence from the spot of every popular poet and author, 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.

In the recesses on either side of the chimney were portraits of the poet's father and mother.

some of them were on the floor.

Of books there were many, and, like the pictures, they were scattered everywhere around the room; on

They were young ladies just ready to bloom into early womanhood—pupils from Bryn Mawr College.

Pretty soon the writer made an incidental remark about the growth of the new Philadelphia City Hall,

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 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.

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

And the good women—God bless them—who were the first at the sepulchre and the last at the cross—how kind

his oral opinion that I might drink some light wine once a day till the returns in South Carolina were

host of English friends whose words of praise, warm and earnest, have kindled up the great poet's American

admirers, till Longfellow himself begins to appreciate the poet of American manhood, whose large utterances

On the floor at his feet was a "paper file," containing a small sheet on which some memoranda were written

, and on a larger table, in the centre of the room, were several letters bearing English postage stamps

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

, 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.