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Show JOHN BURROUGHS Tells How Soldiers Broke Ranks to Kiss Walt Whitman A. ? JOHN BURROUGHS, BUR-ROUGHS, the naturalist and friend of many of America's biggest and busiest men, strikingly resembles resem-bles Walt Whitman, Whit-man, the poet. He has the same rugged, pioneer countenance, the same cloud of white hair, the N same patriarchal beard. Burroughs was a warm friend of Whitman's and the two men so alike in originality orig-inality of thought and love of. nature took long trips together on many occasions. The naturalist tells the vivid and graphic story of the first time he ever saw WThit-man WThit-man : It was, Burroughs says, in the year 1864, in the evening of a spring day. He had come to Washington on business and was standing on the street watching the famous Ninth Corps of General Burnside marching out to do battle with Lee in the deadly Wilderness. With him was a friend who recognized among the onlookers a certain man whom he Introduced to Burroughs as "Mr. Whitman." Burroughs, so spellbound in watching the blue ranks go by, wave on wave, paid little heed to his new acquaintance until suddenly the ordered ranks broke and a half-dozen men dashed up to Whitman, calling call-ing him "Walt" and lavishing upon him the utmost affection. They threw their arms about his neck and pleaded with him to march with them a little way. . This Whitman did, joining in the row of marching men, his long arms spread out on the blue shoulders on either side. After a block or two had been traversed he tore himself away. At this the soldiers wrung his hand, and one or two younger and more impulsive than the rest kissed him. They all wept and waved good-by as long as they could see him. He returned to where Burroughs was standing only in time to have several more soldiers rush and embrace him. Off he went with them. For two hours he was forced to do this again and again. Later he explained to Burroughs that he was a nurse in the war hospital and that the men who broke ranks were those whom he had cared for and brought back to health. It is Burroughs' opinion that tiiere was no better nurse than Walt Whitman, whose magnetism put new life in soldiers' veins. Upon the point of character Burroughs does not point any similarity between himself him-self and Whitman, but the prominent men of affairs in America who find refreshing ' sanity and clarity of vision in talking with the good gray naturalist might well remember remem-ber the soldiers in blue who gave Whitman the tribute of their grateful love. |