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Suddenly there was a great noise of whistles about the city. "That's six o'clock," he said.

Not more than half the leaves of the book were cut.

The leaves cut were not consecutive—they jumped all over.

There were papers and there was some music.

They were at it all the evening.

The North American ReviewNew York, July 14, 1885.

I do not think the notes were copious though there must have been fifty or more different entries."

W. said there were two other things he would like to include in the volume.

W. had written on the outside of the envelope: "Henry Clapp (Garibaldi) quite good read again." 18 City

If I were to permit myself to make a comparison between these two very great men, I should not hesitate

of Ibsen:"We experience a pleasant piquancy in literatures that were only born yesterday;... work that

Stayed at Cataract House (American side).

The new poems were, Now Precedent Songs, Farewell, and An Evening Lull.

"The Greeks were very free, frank—not afraid of pain: to suffer, to hatchel each other—but going off

the atmosphere, the haze, that bathed the water, the city across there, the sky!"

paragraph—perhaps not a credited paragraph—perhaps without authenticity—which reported him as saying: 'Were

Tom read it and demurred somewhat, saying the legal conditions were not all observed.

be paid to my executrix or executor as before specifiedI give to Al Johnston, Jeweler, of New York City

this time.Thoreau, he said, was equally or nearly equally, strong in favor of Leaves of Grass, and so were

It would be a real calamity if you were not able to do so.

"He takes you to task a bit about your strictures on the American poets."

himself in the universe, saying "Here at least, in the spirit, I have freedom and empire inalienable," were

some time intended to write to you when that would happen.I saw in the Academy a paragraph saying you were

To say the truth, I never could quite accept your utter condemnation of all American authors, expressed

And do not Americans do this also to a certain extent?

Dear Walt:I hear through Kennedy that you are ill or were so last Monday.

I like him much.How I wish you were here, or somewhere else in the country where all these sweet influences

read the message from you to the boys here (in your letter of early July) yesterday evening—the boys were

If it were ever possible for you to come to England the fellows would go clean crazy about you.

I said, 'No—none of a decided sort that I knew: I knew you were a free trader but that was all.'"

Such tall, wholesome looking fellows are rare among American youngsters."

are typical—these are all out of what you would call our lower orders, vagabonds, the rift of our population

average life, grow conventional; but here they are now, for what you can make of them, typical of our population

They were boys for whom water, air, sun had for several years done their best.

I can, but he can hardly at the best expect much help from me in that," adding that bibliographies were

anyhow not according to my ambitions," that he could not "enter into them," and that though others were

We were thrown much together—very much—in Washington: were like chips off the same block—members of a

We were both silent for awhile.

These poems were written when he was in his very worst recent condition. Several bad breaks.

It seems to me any American, anyhow, would value in Ingersoll his apparent genius—his vital, manly gigantesque

"That," continued W., "is the bane of the Philadelphia fellows in The American—the style, the dress,

he is violating all the laws, the customs, of soldiering we were taught in the schools!'

My objection that The Vicar of Wakefield and Consuelo were books not to be compared, "not to be classed

Transcript containing a letter (Paris) from Marchioness de San Carlos, of the Nouvelle Revue, discussing American

rendering things in the German: he stands high: I feel as if I was in good hands: as if Rolleston, Knortz, were

"That is true: I know all about that: I was there—realized all that it signified: the Southerners were

good at destroying: especially railroads, locomotive: while our boys would put them up again—were rather

Destruction is easy: the Rebels were easy destroying: a few minutes, an hour, would rake up a whole line—miles

The other was the original notes ("some of them": he said: "I think there were more") of the To the Year

The question raised by some of his friends that he should spend his last years in other cities—Washington

volume ("which," he repeated, "you know comes from Symonds himself") that the larger middle folds were

The very words in which he spoke of the poems—the drag—all that—were unnecessary, an offense."

I sent two poemets to the Nineteenth Century and both were returned.

The intellect, the memory, the humor that we knew were gone: everything extrinsic had dropped away, but

mail yesterday morning but nothing came from you—no mail yesterday afternoon—in this morning's mail were

After all it looks as if Walt and O'C. were nipping and tucking it towards the grave.

Were they still bothering him? "Oh!

"No: nor do I—nor did I ever: and John the same: we were a no-smoking crowd."

You have no doubt got their invitation to lecture by this time—which I told you sometime ago they were

However, they seemed to be pleased, and two of them who were not too cultured to look charming came up

As to Bush's impatience with New York city life: "I do not know—that would not be my view of it.

Still, it would hardly be a puzzle to solve by moving from one city to another."

—pointing to the floor near the table where three or four copies were piled one on the other.

Directed me where they were to be found.

There were 125 in all. He remarked, "I expected a hundred—asked for them.

These "scraps," he informed me, were "Whitmanesque bits of which" he "made up a little package and sent

I tried several magazines, but they were already made up for their May numbers.

He asked particularly to know if "the American is dead"—Barker's old sheet.

Talked of other Lives in American Men of Letters series.

The Gilchrists—were they hurt by marriage? W.: "No—why so? how could they have been? No!"

My folks were always worried about me—my mother especially: some of them regarded it as a crazy whim:

"No: George and I—well, we were never quite so near: not that I have anything against George or that

From the way you speak of your Washington job there your enemies would say you were sojering on it!"

There were three bundles." Asked again, "How is Anne? How is the dear girl?"

The ice cream had not helped hiccoughings, which now were returned in thorough vigor.

The flowers were put away for tomorrow.The fourth time at W.'

Said all were "oh so good." That his ideal for a nurse was a man. They—Dr. McAlister and Mr. W.

Has not slept much today. 2:30 Some roses were given to him yesterday by Mr. Dutch.

He had "read the letters over with avidity": had found himself "wishing there were more."

He had "been on the qui vive for the American steamers here—the Pennsylvania, the Ohio (Ohio is right

Were we to have free love? He asked me: "What do you call free love?

I was beginning to fear lest you were not so well again.

If Jesus were in London to-daytoday would he be in those churches?"

seriously after my return, and developed into a bad attack of erysipelas, with which my head and face were

If I were well, I would certainly attempt it, but so far as I am concerned, the opportunity must be lost

derive his power for mischief from the status his official rank gives him.I hear that the North American

For only those who in sad cities dwell,Are of the green fields fully sensible."

A writer calls it "the great American language." I took it to W.

The American literary fellow—the American himself—is too smart, cute, sensible, to be totally entrapped

I shouldn't wonder but the magazines were all now printed—the whole business."

"If you have to be either I'd rather you were poor."

But when we were out on the street alone afterwards Bucke said to me: "Did you ever hear anything so

It was fine to get back into the quiet of that dear room again after the rush of the city and tiresome

and I rambled off once right round by Snowdon to Carnarvon, where the remnant of the Cymric races were

For my own sake, as well as yours, I wish it were!

—"Not least of things there were great art-products sent from abroad—fabulous in material value—great

Glad to hear too that you were to get to work on W.'s vol. so soon. The pub[licatio]n of this vol.

This city was comparatively small then, and Walt Whitman was as conspicuous a citizen as any—knew everybody

Summer his all the year round convenience and comfort, and the broad collar was turned over a silk American

thereafter every photographer in town displayed colored pictures of Walt, especially to show his American

There were omnibuses in those days—"stages" they called them—and every driver knew Walt Whitman; and

"It must have been from 1860 to 1865."

While we were talking, Mrs. Davis brought in his dinner.

There were two Stoker letters and the draft of a letter from W. acknowledging them.

But I am glad to say that I have been the means of making your work known to many who were scoffers at

If I were before your face I would like to shake hands with you, for I feel that I would like you.

If you were the same as the mass I would not write at all.

The poems were called Cherries from a Young Tree. W. said: "The letter is better than the poems."

, God's image; but he who destroys a good book, kills reason itself, kills the image of God, as it were

25 years ago or more—I forget who was President then—Marcy absolutely directed that our ministers were

Ministers were "remnants of our older era—survive because they had been known for a thousand years and

Spoke of Johnston as "still a youth, though grey: a characteristic American of the sort that never grow

They were greatly moved. W. admired printing.

And what American poets will posterity rate the highest?""

getting the lecture (Ingersoll), the April Lincoln affair, the dinner May 31st woefully mixed—and there were

—W. joining the laugh and adding—"I told him the day of ministers was gone, that they were superfluous

Had discovered in Illustrated American, December, a reproduction of portrait of W. used in one of the

I thought you were over to the Club." I was on the way now. Read him Illustrated American.

—I send 100 autograph sheets—(50 were sent before.) I send 100 labels—(50 were sent before.)

"The Ledger, for instance, practised the system years ago—does it still: there were years—five or six

"I don't think so: maybe: hardly: there were other elements in the story—venom, jealousies, opacities

Dear William O'Connor:As you were interested in Mr.

O'Connor, Light House Board, Treasury Dept, Washington City."

We do not seem to realize, even at this late day, how many loyal men there were at the South—were too

Developed some talk of adulteration, W. saying: "If there's anything that will destroy our American people

That is one side of our life—a side that makes American boasts farcical.

Yet G. came of "just such hard conditions": his movements were "a puzzle to his friends abroad": "loudly

Spoke of himself as "leaning towards gain": said his books were "off" his "hands, so to speak"—"done,

The hot days were the trying ones.

the outset of our party, he would grow still and cloudy and up and unaccountably depart—but these were

Walt's eyes were full of tears. He wiped the tears away with the sleeve of his coat.

Asked me if I thought Morris knew that his Sarrazin piece in The American was partly quoted in The Critic

Returned me The American. Several Christmas presents have been sent in to him.

"There were not many to make—hardly any. Only a word to add in several places."

your communications regarding the proof of "Liberty in Literature" being sent to Whitman—or Traubel—were

Do not be down-hearted about your work, I am as sure of the exceeding great importance of it as I am

He asked about the bundle of books downstairs: how were they brought? &c.

Pictured imaginatively the city streets, the weather and the near Christmas.

There were some minutes of silence.

s letter and Johnston's were unenclosed. I said good night to W.

He used to say: "I don't believe I can die," when his sufferings were so great.

But that is lost forever—except to the few of us who were there—the speech, perhaps unparalleled—certainly