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Called my attention to several matters, and as I sat down and read he pored over the papers—patiently

him what I had heard, but that as he was flitting all along the road I should be compelled to take my

If it has come into use, it has come lately—for in my time there was no exaggerated emphasis.

Adding after my assent: "That is my conviction too. Here was Leaves of Grass in gestation.

"It is better," he said to my assurance, "better beyond a doubt.

1 O TAKE my hand Walt Whitman! Such gliding wonders! such sights and sounds!

change of the light and shade, I see distant lands, as real and near to the inhabitants of them as my

see Hermes, unsuspected, dying, well-belov'd, saying to the people Do not weep for me, This is not my

race, I see the results of the perseverance and industry of my race, I see ranks, colors, barbarisms

side.) 13 My spirit has pass'd in compassion and determination around the whole earth, I have look'd

1 O TAKE my hand Walt Whitman! Such gliding wonders! such sights and sounds!

change of the light and shade, I see distant lands, as real and near to the inhabitants of them as my

see Hermes, unsuspected, dying, well-belov'd, saying to the people Do not weep for me, This is not my

race, I see the results of the perseverance and industry of my race, I see ranks, colors, barbarisms

side.) 13 My spirit has pass'd in compassion and determination around the whole earth, I have look'd

Spoke of this before he had answered my questions about his health.

"I am not well yet by any means, but then a man in my condition counts little things."

The worst of it is I am very unsteady on my feet and some day shall have a fall—trip."

Sent up by me to my father a picture of Dr. Bucke for him to see.

He had written on the back of it: "My friend Dr. R. M. Bucke came Oct: 15 '88".

In reply to my question he said: "I'm not violently afflicted, as I was the other day, but I am feeling

He called my attention to the dent in the hat.

O'Connor was the earliest of my friends—the first of his race.

I like Scovel's wife, his daughters—spent some of my happiest hours there—at dinners, suppers, about

Hotten.I thank you for the copy of my poems sent by you. It has just reached me.

My letters from Bucke and J.W.W. only outlines.

I won't attempt to convey my impressions of the Falls.

My heart goes out to you more than ever now that I have seen you.

For one thing you remind me so much of my dear mother.

Davis & Warry, & feel that they are more my friends than ever.

I make no rule for myself about reading: I read what comes to my hand— what pleases my mood.

—rich with ore: finer even than the French to English renderings of my French friend in Washington years

My objection to them all would be that they take up verses centuries old, debate them by rule and measure

Perhaps to be around in case of my serious sickness—to watch, to care for, me: but that is provided for

W. called my attention to this in Bucke's note of the 14th."

"This," he said to me, "is one of my weaknesses: a weakness of long standing."

paper in view—only to relieve my fullness."

Remarked: "I see from my post at the window that it is so—that the bustle is being discarded.

And he added: "It was towards evening—I had already had my dinner. Oh! the day was grand!

My good wishes with you!" Saturday, May 11, 1889

"That is from my Marlton friend, who was also here today."

the noon mail—delivered about 2—and I was sitting here—felt particularly in the mood—had a pencil in my

"I am sure I haven't the least idea—that was not in my mind at all—not till you mention it now."

I don't know whether this would be my elaborate opinion, made up of malice prepense for print, but it

I do not see my idea spoken of at all: yet it seems to me the first necessity of judgment."

After we had shaken hands, I said immediately, handing them out, "I have kept my part of the bargain:

W.: "Good, good—that would be my gospel, too, and this will help him to see America.

"Do so, do so—I will give you a copy of my book to take him. It will help you to open up."

My Annual Report is finished and sent off. I begin lectures to students Monday.

Wallace says, "I feel that my mission is about done. I might go home now, as well as later."

He opened it, my hand dropping to its clasp, which was weak."Morning.""

I am on my way to work—to the busy desk over there in the big town.""Luck!""I tire of it at times.""

Telegram here from Ingersoll, evidently in response to my letter: "We all send words of love and hope

Remarked as to Stedman's criticism on my Poet-Lore piece, "Stick to it—it's the only way."

He pressed my hand, "Well, bless you, you are always good to me." "No, only as one having love."

It will be the whole expression of the design which I had in my mind When I Began to Write.

Now, that is the way it has been with my book. It has been twenty-five years building.

"My poetry," continued Mr.

But I have accepted it all as a part of my work.

Many of my friends have no patience with my opinion on this matter.

But if the weather continues as it is now, I must take another hour for my outings—a noon hour or thereabouts

As to my own copies, he advised: "Take one now—take it along with you": and then jokingly: "It will arm

And finally: "When you write him, send along my love: such a word as that deserves something!"

shall require a closed carriage—but still I will be there: nothing in the ordinary way can now move my

It justifies my faith—gladdens us both. Walt sat there and regarded me happily as I read it.

list of letters that must be written, and this morning I rec'd yours of the 18th ult. again enforcing my

I have been working very hard in the past year and, in addition to my work in Lachine, have had 2 patents

(in which I am only part inventor) on my mind, with much writing and drawing to do in all my spare moments

This, as much as any one thing, is why my time has been broken into and why I have not written sooner

Yes, I remembered that my payments were only up to Nov. 1st (through Oct.) and as I had expected to start

I went into next room to look for my mail.

I had scribbled all this down on my knee—standing in doorway.

"I will do my best to read it today. It ought to strike a true note—it is in John's field."

Telegram from Ingersoll, received at Bank: "Give my love to Whitman and to it add my hope that he may

My old journalistic friend remembers him here thirty-five years ago, when he first put out his "Leaves

My subject is in prosperous circumstances, and is one of the few men of that class who have become prominent

So far the good qualities of my subject in public life.

My subject is sometimes too fast. His energy sometimes goes ahead of his prudence.

In truth there is too much progression about him to always suit my conservative ideas.

Some time ago my subject was inducted into a post of considerable political importance in another part

have not had a word from George yet—Mother, I have had quite an attack of sore throat & distress in my

a great effect upon him, & although I told the truth this time it did not have as good a result as my

The equipage is rather shabby, horses indeed almost what my friends the Broadway drivers would call old

here, sat in his carriage while Stanton came out & had a 15 minutes interview with him (I can see from my

sixteen, (about ten bugles, the rest cymbals & drums)—I tell you, mother, it made every thing ring—made my

New Orleans, San Francisco, The departing ships when the sailors heave at the capstan; Evening—me in my

room—the setting sun, The setting summer sun shining in my open window, showing the swarm of flies,

freedom, futurity, In space the sporades, the scatter'd islands, the stars—on the firm earth, the lands, my

thereof—and no less in myself than the whole of the Mannahatta in itself, Singing the song of These, my

ever-united lands—my body no more inevitably united, part to part, and made out of a thousand diverse

New Orleans, San Francisco, The departing ships when the sailors heave at the capstan; Evening—me in my

room—the setting sun, The setting summer sun shining in my open window, showing the swarm of flies,

freedom, futurity, In space the sporades, the scatter'd islands, the stars—on the firm earth, the lands, my

thereof—and no less in myself than the whole of the Mannahatta in itself, Singing the song of These, my

ever-united lands—my body no more inevitably united, part to part, and made out of a thousand diverse

Candidly and dispassionately reviewing all my intentions, I feel that they were creditable—and I accept

Or rather, to be quite exact, a desire that had been flitting through my previous life, or hovering on

feeling or ambition to articulate and faithfully express in literary or poetic form and uncompromisingly my

in a few lines, I shall only say the espousing principle of those lines so gives breath of life to my

Difficult as it will be it has become, in my opinion, imperative to achieve a shifted attitude from superior

It now takes all my energy merely to get to the chair and back to the bed again.

"I knew the habitats of Hicks so well—my grand-parents knew him personally so well—the shore up there

What all this comes to is, that just that sort of a debate is going on in my mind now, whether to condemn

For thirty years I have had it in my plans to write a book about Hicks.

the procrastinations, stranded, with nothing but a few runaway thoughts on the subject to show for my

Dear as the principle of free trade is to me—near as it is to my heart—fully as I am convinced that in

And when I said: "Walt Whitman at 70" was one of my suggestions of a title, he said: "Yes, that is very

I asked if he wished a set of sheets of my own little book. "Oh yes! and then I can write Dr.

"I have told you I knew Stedman at Washington—he had my position before me.

When the Secretary of the Interior cut my head off—I went over to the Attorney General's office—took

Eminently cordial—spoke up instantly on my entrance: "I have had a call today from Tom and Mrs.

though somewhat irregularly, for it was nearly dark) endorsed it; sending it, as he put it there, "With my

At my mention deprecatively of "The Mystic Trumpeter," he explained: "I do not mean that—that is exceptional—that

Book in my hands (a present from Clifford; Gilman on Profit-sharing).

today, considering generosity and breadth of purport and spirit.Weather thereupon—the beauty of the day—my

"I forgot all about his name," he exclaimed, "my usual habit—nowadays!"

In my old days I take on the usual privilege of years—to go slow, to be less vehement, to trust more

means democracy, says democracy—seems to take easy hold of what I hope is ever and ever the point of my

It is to be my treat.

Asked me if Castle was "any good" any more—and upon my negative, "Well I supposed not, as a singer—but

As to his good health—"Well—here I am—I can still answer to my name."

"I doubt whether the old fellow can: with my taste, appetite, gusto, I do not come away entirely satisfied

By and bye, noting I drew near the fire to wind my watch, he turned his chair about—got up and fixed

"I'll strike a light"—and refusing Morris' offer of help—"I act just the same when my friends are here

Morris assented and W. thereupon swinging about in his chair to the center table said: "I take pride in my

W. reading the Century—and after cordially extending his own and grasping my hand—spoke freely of the

On the other hand the Emerson picture—much spoken of—is a failure—at least, that would be my opinion.

"My first impression was that the Republican position was right—but since I have seen various signs of

I am not inclined to change from my old position.

"I have always had a suspicion they were not related, but my suspicion never rose to a certainty."

you into one of Whistler's nocturnes," etc. and he laughed, "Well, I was going to quote a saying of my

To my inquiries saying, "I did not know him personally—that is, to speak to him, but I have seen him.

I am ever to say has been said in the old channels—in 'Specimen Days'—in 'November Boughs'—and yet my

"From my very first days up I have brushed myself—had a flesh brush: it has been a source of refreshment—not

I like your idea much better—much: it more exactly reflects me, my mission."

Called out "Horace" with great cordiality—took and held my hand—said, "I had wondered what had become

And I explained my absence—he assenting, "I know—it was all right—I am not disposed to question it.

Said he had no word from Talcott Williams yet anent Reisser colloquy—"my type-written copy" he called

In my pocket a copy of [Harper's] Young People—beautiful double-page engraving by Baude of "The Divine

When you get in town, somewhere within handling of a copy of the Century Dictionary, look up my word,

My first glimpse of him by sunlight this week. Face pale, eyes bad—a generally haggard aspect.

W. again: "I for my part accept the cheap cover just as it is: it has a meaning."

My dear Mr.

have read was a mere newspaper exaggeration, and in sending you this wish I send the assurances of my

Shall let my Rossetti questions hold over.

more foolish than the rest of the volume:— "I too am not a bit tamed—I too am untranslatable, I sound my

The last scud of day holds back for me, It flings my likeness, after the rest, and true as any, on the

I depart as air—I shake my white locks at the run-away sun, I effuse my flesh in eddies, and drift it

"He shan't squeeze my girl.'"

Asks from my sister a letter of introduction to the Strykers.

I quoted a review of Florian's Montaigne: " 'Myselfe am the groundworke of my booke': such were the Whitmanesque

"I always object," he explained, "to putting my name in a book about myself.

"But," he added, "after all, the big book is the book, in my estimation: has a quality not imparted by

My effort has always been to pack, condense, solidify—to get my material into the smallest space compatible

When the big publishers—Harpers, the Century folks—issue a book, they use as many as my whole edition

s on my way home (5.10) to leave one set of proofs of my piece for the book.

should not spread things out—I should keep both letters and speeches well together"—which was precisely my

I referred to McKay—my reference to him in the introduction—that some thought Dave's act in espousal

I went straight in and W. knew me and called out my name—I then going direct to the bed and shaking hands

I excused my interruption.

My specification of Bucke's constant letters caused him to exclaim ardently, "Dear, dear—ever dear—Doctor

You will tell him all needful things, facts, about my condition.

And remarked, "The nights drag wearily through," replying to my questions to say, "I have spent a bad

Advised me as I left, "Arrange everything with Dave: you know my whims, notions—I trust to you."

he had said, "I have passed a lifeless, useless, helpless day—have not read, written—hardly opened my

W.: "This part of the back of my belly to the left is the great trouble—sore and hurts and swells."

enjoying the prospect, I think, and all that comes in its train.Spoke about questioners: "They are my

W. in trying to remember something to tell me, suddenly exclaimed, "My memory is very bad and becoming

He admitted, "Yes, they may be true, but my memory is bad, always has been bad.

Adding, "My memory is more a memory of impressions than of facts.

My dear Traubel:To begin where I left off yesterday: the excitement you have raised is phenomenal.

—that the whole testimonial is for his sole benefit—etc. etc.Now give my best regards to your own good

I hope to see you both some time next week—when the pot begins to boil—as I may be able to put in my

I can never do that: I am always held back till the fact is right in my fist—till a slip is no longer

I still said "yes"—adding—"The day I get it I will leave it on my way home and call later for it again

And, "I want a proof of my little piece, too—should have it. Can you tell Stoddart?"

Wallace writes me June 5th [requesting copies of "Good-Bye My Fancy"].

was curious—I jumped all bounds—probably the more for feeling that the fellows had come, in a way, to my

it, are very serious about it—Mother, it is serious times—I do not feel to fret or whimper, but in my

—& how the dear little girls—Jeff, I believe the devil is in it about my writing you, I have laid out

Mother, I have just had my breakfast, I had it in my room, some hard biscuits warmed on stove, & a first

He did not even ask about your health, or any other human thing, & made me feel that my call upon him

I had resolved, for reasons of my own, not to call upon any of those fellows, & I feel like throttling

Herbert for making me depart from my resolution.

If you have a copy of my "Notes" to spare, send it to O'Connor. I have but one.

My dear Walt you think strange of my not writing befor e and it is strange i have not but i have wrote

laid out in A black frock coat of Georges and vest and shirt looked as if he was asleep i never in all my

have him buried in greenwood i paid little attention to her fault finding but done what i thought was my

Leaves of Grass, Whitman confidently anticipated that in a "few years . . . the average annual call for my

necessitated a level of pride equal to the enormous task of an American poetry: "I know perfectly well my

own egotism," he admits, "[k]now my omnivorous lines and must not write any less."

avowedly chant 'the great pride of man in himself,' and permit it to be more or less a motif of nearly all my

The only object which my predecessor could have had in referring the subject to the U. S.

Attorney, and to give that officer the instructions contained in my letter to him.

Of course whatever may be my interest as a citizen in the politics of the South generally, and of Alabama

I am unable at this distance, and with my limited information to determine whether the transactions in

I have marked in my note book 'rec'd'"—spelling it out—"and no doubt for good reason."

I have told you about my Chihuahua experience.

"I keep my troubles on a field I can control," he said, jokingly, "remembering the doctor who, called

s late work lacked in the poetic, "So does it all, that was one of the hardest jobs in my early life—to

Clean er shaved and more grammatical folks I call Mister, and lay the tips of my fingers inside their

headline in the morning papers, and pass the time as comfortably as the law allows.— But for the others, my

boiling lobster, and wrote as follows to one of his daughters: "The sun-stroke is a staggerer; yet my

Were it not for others, would that my horn had been sounded—so easy, so delightful I may say, was the

Louis, July 31st 188 5 My dear Walt— I enclose a check for ten dollars payable to your order—the money

say the heat was greater on the street level than it has been since 1838—it was 102 in the shade at my

"Liberty" (Tucker's paper) for a very good little memoriam of Wm O'Connor, by my young friend Traubel

address)— I hear from Dr Bucke often—he is well & busy at his Institution, London, Canada—I hear f'm my