Whitman's review begins: "Herewith are presented, in advance of
their publication, sufficiently copious extracts from Walt
Whitman's new volume of poems, 'Two Rivulets,' to give a fair and
pretty full summary of it. The book is an intertwining of the
author's characteristic verse, alternated throughout with prose;
and hence the name." In the article, Whitman, with considerable
journalistic skill, excerpts significant passages from Two
Rivulets. First he quotes from the Preface two paragraphs (pp.
5-6)[4] which explain his purpose in
this miscellaneous collection of prose and poetry. Then he reprints
his title poem "Two Rivulets" (p. 15) and the second poem "Or from
that Sea of Time" (p. 16).[5] Next
appear two more paragraphs from the Preface (pp. 12-13), with the
deletion of a quotation from his poem "Eidólons" (pp. 17-20),
which he reprints in entirety in the newspaper. Without comment he
reprints a prose
section entitled "Thoughts for the Centennial" (pp. 16-17),
probably because of the topical interest in the Centennial
exposition in Philadelphia later in the year. Then, abruptly
returning to the biographical, he includes the first stanza of "Out
from Behind this Mask" (p. 24). Once again rapidly changing subject
matter, but always alternating prose and poetry, Whitman includes
a prose section on "Freedom" (pp. 31-32), the poem "To a Locomotive
in Winter" (pp. 25-26), and the prose "New Poetry —Prose Grander
than Verse" (pp. 28-30, here entitled "New Poetry").
At this point in his review Whitman introduces descriptive
material concerning his volume which the ordinary critic probably
would have placed at the beginning:
The volume, in its 350 pages, comprises, besides the "Two
Rivulets," from which the foregoing extracts are taken, the prose
essay, "Democratic Vistas," and the poetical pieces already
published under the name of "Passage to India." Quite a large part
of the book is occupied with Whitman's "Memoranda During the War,"
in the army hospitals, or down at the front, being given verbatim
from the original notes of the time, "blotch'd here and there with
more than one blood stain, hurriedly written, sometimes at the
clinique, not seldom amid the excitement of uncertainty or defeat
or of action, or of getting ready for it, or a march." He says, as
he introduces these little note-book mementoes of the war. . . .
Thereupon he quotes three paragraphs from "Memoranda during the
War" (pp. 4-5). Then, turning to his 1876 edition of
Leaves of
Grass, Whitman writes: "We also add a few hitherto unpublished
forthcoming pieces from 'Leaves of Grass.' On the new title page of
the volume appears the following verse, signed by Whitman's
autograph. . . ." He reprints "Come, said my Soul" from the
titlepage, "After an Interval" (p. 369), "When the Full-Grown Poet
Came" (p. 359), and "The Beauty of the Ship" (p. 247).
[6] He concludes his article by quoting
again from
Two Rivulets: "A Song by the Potomac," which
is
called "By Broad Potomac's Shore" (p. 16) in the printed book, and
"Ship of Democracy," which is the third section of "As a Strong
Bird on Pinions Free" (p. 3), also the title of part four of
Two
Rivulets.
The works quoted in Whitman's article mark first appearances in
print which, I believe, have not been previously noted.
The third letter to Reid refers to the publication of Whitman's
"A Death-Sonnet for Custer" (later entitled "From Far Dakota's
Cañons"), in the Tribune on July 10, 1876.[7]
