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I will depute you, Horace, or Anne here, or Warrie, to take my place."

And when I told him my own preferences, "All simple tastes! All excellent simple tastes!"

I have written Walt giving account of my reception here; you will see that letter and I need not repeat

I may say however that if nothing comes of my trip but what has already come of it here I shall consider

My reception here has been such that I am absolutely dumbfounded.

Called my attention to a postal he had written Johnston (I mailed it on my way up).Referred to O'Donovan

Longaker and Reeder to my house late in evening—photoed Morse bust by flash light.

which says, the August number of Lippincott's is to contain a poem by Walt Whitman called 'Good-Bye My

It is like the arbor business on my birthday. Have you Doctor's letter with you? Yes?"

Had he seen how Tucker in Liberty had taken up my debate with Trumbull?

—"to rest and let the billows brush over him"—he said, "You have hit the secret there—that has been my

So I insisted on my refusal. Till then he would not start.

living and writing and sleeping place (has been likened to some big old cabin for a kinky sailor-captain

I am disposed more and more to keep to my room—not to go out. Which I see—count—to be a bad sign."

Warrie came in for tray, and W. said, "Tell Mary I tried my best to make away with the whole thing, but

There was my column and a half.

of the letters I gave you last night he says—it is dated the 22nd—'I will now take up the thread of my

That is the question that always comes first in my mind when I look at pictures of Walt Whitman!

Sunday, August 2, 1891Did not see W. today—but on my way to Philadelphia stopped at Post Office where

Either he stepped behind his wife or she ran between us, for, by the time I had my pistol in my hand,

Our right arms crossed and I felt the muzzle of his pistol against my coat when I fired."

I felt that my revolver had missed fire and that I was wounded.

With the idea that my gun was no good, I dropped it and grabbed Baker's wrist.

Then, "My friends must understand that: it is one of the bottom principles of 'Leaves of Grass.'"

On the table was the appendix to "Good-Bye My Fancy." I picked it up and examined.

I replied, "I am only glancing at it—my impression is a good one: I always like your personal chit-chat

To my assent proceeding, "And yet there are some who would doubt all that—doubt it utterly.

"I gave him my sweetest and best. What better can I do?" Asked, "Have you seen Youth's Companion?

He was very ready to listen to some of my objections, and deferred to them.

Spoke of my trip to New York.

Traubel:I am glad you called my attention to the Contemporary Club bill.

He was so new in every way and I shocked my wife by saying—"He reminds me of Jesus in some way."

My impression was of a new force introduced into life, and because it killed a lot of sacred prejudices

My judgement has and will confirm.He is deep in life and I love life.

The whole thing surpassed my best hopes.

I shall soon send in my name as a subscriber (and another address).

tones, afterwards, W. continued, "Now, boy, I have a message for the Colonel: first of all, give him my

But the first-class men have it, and it always excites my admiration.

My dear HoraceI have had your long and interesting letter of 12th a couple of days.

s condition will improve—still, I must confess to you, Horace, my hopes are not any too strong—the physical

Give them my love—tell them all the good things you can of ways here—all that."

Scrawled my name on a postal I had with me and insisted that he take it upstairs, which he did, Miss

And this launched us, my own talk, I suppose, verging on enthusiasm; he interjecting many questions.

Intensely interested in all I told him of the Ingersolls—firing at me question after question to enlarge my

W. said, "My young man here is good—none could be better.

No, no, they may not want it, of course—that is one of my risks.

But the words he puts into my mouth, the so-called actual phrase, touch—oh! they are very funny.

been at a meter meeting—all the principal stockholders present—got home about 6 P.M. and found it on my

I cannot understand you leaving it out—to my mind it is an admirable piece—most valuable.

Perhaps he will not pay that, but that is my price." Gave me last number of Review of Reviews.

Some of your late prose has not been to my mind up to your standard—but your verse has not fallen off

excursion but I doubt if it comes to anything—I really have no plans at present—think perhaps it may end in my

But tell me when you want to come and I will keep that in my head in making plans.As far as I myself

That was my impression. It has left a pain with me: I can hardly shake it off. But the letter—oh!

He seemed to doubt, "I do not think I can hardly admit that, but the doctor—his general knowledge of my

He wished he could have seen my letter.

remove from the head—who is friendly (just as I have on the Weekly), but the men at the top are not my

It seems I had not told him of the hanging of my father's watercolor of W. at the Watercolor Exhibition

He left it in my hands, he said. Saturday, March 28, 1891

Late (my mother says after she had gone to bed) Warren rang bell.

Wallace Warren was very frank to tell my mother his conviction that W.

And I told you what his vague answer was—that my four lines had appeared—that I came out there in company

with all my friends—Chamberlain, Boyle O'Reilly—naming others.

I send money to some poor friends—relatives, some of them—my sister, others—but, as I have told you,

I hate the whole thing more and more: the older I get, the fuller my conviction.

W. every day asks me about my copy of the Atlantic.

W. says, "The remembrance of the thing flashed across my mind, while I was in bed last night."

In the prose discussing Tennyson's "Crossing the Bar," he added, at my suggestion, several new lines,

Some of my simplest pieces have created the most noise.

to my purposes, determinations.

"There are things in there to interest you—discussing my prose and poems.

My plans at present are to be in Washington (at Med. Supt.

spiritual, godly, most of all known to my sense."

The worst thing lately has been the clutch of my old monster—the grip.

And it fatally—almost fatally—affects my hearing.

If I talk myself, or listen to others talk, a while, I seem to lose my hearing utterly."

McKay wondered if W. expected him to publish "Good-Bye My Fancy."

Seeing bundle under my arm he asked me at once, "What have you got there?"

—which, upon my opening, he examined with pleasure and relish.

have had a sculptor visitor—his name is O'Donovan—he is from New York—he has come on proposing to take my

Then I told him what S. had detailed and he laughed, "Well, I put my foot in it there, to be sure—for

He called my thoughts in another direction.

W. said, "The thing appears to have been in today's Press—I sent my copy to Bucke.

If you can get occasion, I wish you would thank Walsh for me—tell him of my gratitude.

W. remarked, "It arouses all my dormant desires. What a treat to go over!

I expressed to W. my doubts about naming the magazines which had rejected him (in a note entitled "Two

Laughingly: "I even dictated to the Truth fellows the date on which to print my piece, but they took

The public has little to do with my acts, deeds, words.

I long ago saw that if I was to do anything at all I must disregard the howling throng—must go my own

W. at once responded, "I like that a good deal—it is exactly my idea—and now I can make myself clear.

follows: While I stand in reverence before the fact of Humanity, the People, I will confess, in writing my

More and more he grows in my favor. He has solid virtues—is wise—knows his trade.

He joked about it and said, "That only shows that in the future I must set my price to a higher key."

I made some comparison of "Good-Bye My Fancy" and "Sands at Seventy."

Of my good words for the former W. exclaimed, "Is it so? Is that the feeling?"

Dick Stoddard, my first guess—I would be willing to swear to it—or one like him.

Longaker says about Walt just about what I wrote you and I do not understand [if] it is in reply to my

If you see my letter to W. of 31st Mar kicking about save it or return it to me—W. refers to it in card

My brother from Ottawa is to be here this week to stay—he has taken a house in London.So long!R. M.

We shook hands—he spoke of [my] article (Lippincott's).

Bucke had written me that Bob was wrong about Bacon: "take my word for it, Shakespeare never wrote those

In my early days, Julius was always the name and there was a hilarious common joy and wit about the whole

My brother thinks so much of Mr.

I suppose I might have been more suspicious but for my dislike for one of our liveliest American qualities—suspicion

For my own satisfaction I went deliberately through 'Leaves of Grass' several times, but no sign!

Said to me, "I am looking about the room, trying to collect everything that bears my marks together,

Alluded to the "courtesy" of Youth's Companion editors.As to Truth piece had this to say, "My additions

I have enjoyed some for my dinner." I espied a fat letter to Bucke on the table.

Longaker not over, but "things about the same," though afterwards said, "This is one of my mean days,

On my way from Philadelphia and stopped in for 15 minutes.

Explained to him substance of my letter to Truth—that they should let me write about new book—review

Then, "I suppose my article should be in Thursday's issue. I wish you would look out for it.

My changes were very few—and anyhow, the real speech is the speech we entirely lost."

Yet we want very little from him—very—simply a copy, in which my corrections are duly made.

My idea is, to ballot for Brinton, science, liberty—against the minister." How did he feel?

"Well, it is all I can do to hold my head up.

I am so faint, weak, merely to keep straight, to be on my feet at all, is a victory.

Adding to my "no"—"Well, I suppose after all that is provided for in the nature of things.

streets, among people again—the blare, everything—I was totally blinded, almost—everything obfuscated—my

head swam, my hearing dulled—all my senses seemed to desert me.

I could not stand it—my brain whirled—was in a ferment.

And it was a revelation to me of two things: my sight is going—going markedly—and I am weak—very weak—my

W. afterwards, "I wore my new hat today. It made a great dash."

I have spent a fearfully depressed day—one of my worst—everything heavy, uncertain, whirling.

But my idea is, that Shakespeare, Browning, unexpressibly grand as their work has been, are democrats

Bonsall may be mistaken—but my guess now would be that it's a good sample of the damned sneaking editorial

And then, "Yesterday—if I had not felt my pulse—known by its regular beat that all was right there, I

These visits are in some ways my damnation! These strangers—who make me deaf and blind!

And my sister, George's wife."

I never lose my respect for the printer boys, however they aggravate me at times."

My experience has been that they have left me honestly alone, always to say my say as I wished to say

s on my way home from West Philadelphia. Found him industriously reading proofs of book.

And, "I feel as if this was my last pull of shad!"

He is opposed to my making any plans for the birthday. "Who knows? I may not be above ground then!"

Had read the papers—written "some notes"—that was the "beginning and end of my day."

My dear Mr. Traubel:I have yours of the 15th.

I always feel even with my own books, which are entirely in my hands, that I never get them just as I

My letters are too full of bowels—the ups and downs of the physical critter, prisoned here, suffering

And further, "If I could only get my hand on it, I could show him!

My only ambition has been to not contradict—break—in 'Good-Bye' any of the great foundation laid in the

has been in stress and strain for several days over the serious illness of Warren's grandfather, Captain

As to "formalistic literariness," as W. terms it (in reply to my remark, "It has not all died out yet

After further talk W. said, "The sculptor was here today—took a cast of my hand." Which one?

No word from Bucke, but, "Every couple of days I have something from my Lancashire friends—some letter

I want a couple for my sisters, one for my niece, a couple for Lancashire, one for Symonds.

for a week past felt like the devil, Doctor: no relief—none at all—except when I sleep—and curiously my

He said again, "I seem to get no relief—except as I come here—rest stretched out on my back.

He told Longaker, "Doctor, somehow or other I took the notion—it is another of my evil whims I suppose—that

I received the following from Ingersoll this morning: 400 Fifth AvenueApr 25th 1891.My dear Traubel:I

yet—consequently I add nothing to the "Spirituality", and I think of correcting nothing, except a word.Accept my

Whitman my sincerest regards—or I might say, love.I hope that as the sunshine comes, he will grow better

"Well, give him my love—love for what he writes, love for him in his sickness!"

He stirred on my entrance—opened his eyes, "Oh, Horace—it is Horace!"

"This has been one of my damnedest days," he said. "One of the very damnedest.

It has taken all my courage, energy, simply to keep afloat—simply to hold my head above water."

But I don't know—I have my doubts." Yesterday had been downstairs in the front room for an hour.

I send you my love for your loving words—same to the great poet.

Morris would note my collation of [O'Connor's] reports in a Literary World letter.

And again, at my explanation of a letter I wrote Mrs.

The idea reflects my own exactly, in spirit and letter."

He mentioned the eccentric Count Joannes, in my boyhood already daft.

This has not been one of my best days, nor one of my worst, either.

I talked freely and calmly to him, then gave him Longaker's and my Philadelphia addresses—telling him

Now new samples of paper, out of which he readily settled upon the one I had told Ferguson was my own

two books bound together—mainly for my own use.

"Yes, I think I have—my name certainly gets about more—but what does it amount to?"

"No rally seems possible—it is my last run of fish." Had been down in the parlor today.