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  My Dear Walt Whitman,

Most heartily do I thank you for yr kindness in sending me the p.c of June 12th which I received on June 25th—the same day upon which Wallace recd yours of the 16th. This looks like another of the "faults of the p.o." of which you complain & thro' which I fear several of your communications have gone   astray.

Yes, I recd your letter of June 1st & I trust that by this time you have read the two lots of the facsimile copies which I sent to you.

I note that on June 12th you were "much the same" & that on June 16th you were standing the oppressively hot weather "pretty well, so far."

This is welcome news for us but we hope to receive better before long.

We too, have had a spell of hot weather   here lately. The glorious, sunshiney days of the beginning of the week were followed by severe storms of thunder & lightning with heavy rain—the lightning display being exceptionally brilliant & prolonged—

Bolton is now having a respite from the Influenza scourge & I take every opportunity of escaping from the hot & noisy town into the refreshing Country for an hour with nature, alone. One of these sweet hours I am now enjoying in   Raikes Wood—the nearest bit of natural wood to my house & one of my favourite haunts—where I draft this letter, sitting upon a fallen tree trunk.

As I write the birds are singing blithely upon the sycamores, oaks and ash trees all around me—a blackbird & a thrush being especially vociferous with their melody; a bonnie wee bird is preening its feathers while another is cheeping plaintively beside it; a corncrake is crake crake-ing in the meadow across the brook   which, inky black tho' it alas! is, mirrors the blue sky & its own green tree-fringed banks, where a lot of sparrows are jabbering noisily, a butterfly (a "straw-coloured psyche") has just fluttered past me & a tiny ladybird is creeping along the tree trunk on which I am seated.

The wood is carpeted with long slender grass—whose blades are now all diamonded with glistening rain drops—horsetails & wild rhubarb through which I have had   to wade knee deep to get to my sylvan throne. Here & there occur blue wreaths of wild hyacinths intermingled with the pretty, pink flowers of the "ragged robin."

There is no sun & hardly any wind to move the lovely arboreal screen which hides me & the air is fragrant with woodland scents so refreshing to a town dweller—

Here I spent a sacredly happy hour—"happiness pervades the open air"—until a sudden shower of rain   came pattering on the leaves, temporarily silencing the birds & sending me home.

I send you a little souvenir of that visit to my wood.

I also send you two copies of my facsimile of your mask photograph, which I hope you will like; as well as two papers in which your name occurs.

Many thanks to you for telling us about the "fuller report of the Birthday Spree" that is to appear in   Lippincott, which we shall read with great interest, & for your kindness in promising me the half dozen copies of "Good Bye," the price of which I expect you will let me know.

June 27th 1891

This morning I met with what might have been a serious accident. While driving in the phaeton one of the shafts became loose frightening the horse into running away & upsetting the coachman & me on to the pavement.

Fortunately beyond a severe shaking for us both   a cut arm & bruised shoulder for him & a bruised hip & leg for me we did not sustain any serious injury. The trap was damaged but the horse escaped unhurt & I am thankful things are no worse with us.

I sincerely trust that the next news we hear of you will be favourable

God bless you now and always!

With kindest regards to all your household & with best heart love to yourself

I remain Yours affectionately J Johnston

PS I return H.L.T's letter, omitted from my last to you—

 

PPS. Please convey my kindest remembrances to H.L.T. when you see him

JJ

Lord Tennyson and Princess Christian.

Yesterday afternoon, at Buckingham Palace, representatives of the matrons, sisters and nurses of the United Kingdom presented Princess Louise of Schleswig-Holstein with a diamond crescent and a set of the Poet Laureate's poems as wedding gifts. Lord Tennyson has written these lines in the first volume of his works:—

Take, lady, what your loyal nurses give, Their full "God bless you," with this book of song, And may the life which heart in heart you live With h im you love, be cloudless and be long.
  see notes July 31 1891