Letter from Oliver Johnson, New York, [N.Y.], to William Lloyd Garrison, April 1, 1871

Oliver Johnson, following a lenghty absence in correspondance, writes William Lloyd Garrison immediately upon having received the news of Helen Garrison's "severe and dangerous illness" which has left her life in "immediate and imminent peril" to offer Garrison his full sympathies and hopes for Helen's survival. Johnson details his new duties at the Tribune, stating that they are indeed vastly different from those at his post at the Independent, and states that he is responsible for the editing of the weekly and semi-weekly editions. Johnson states that he has high hopes that Tilton's new paper, the "Golden Age", will be a grand success, and informs Garrison that Tilton would gladly "number [Garrison] among his contributors" once Helen has recovered and Garrison is ready to work again. Johnson, commenting on their achieving old age, and being near the end of his life, reflects that his life has been a happy one, and that while he is in no rush for it to end, neither does he dread its termination, stating that his life in the service of the abolitionist cause, and his fortune to see its fulfillment, has been enough to "satisfy any ordinary ambition".
Courtesy of Boston Public Library