Your manuscript entitled "Abraham Lincoln" has been received. You will be notified, at the earliest opportunity, whether it is available for the North America Review.1
It has not yet been read.
Should your paper be returned it is proper to state, now, that the refusal of an article does not imply any want of appreciation of its intrinsic value. As I am accustomed to invite articles long in advance of their possible publication, the Review is ordinarily supplied with as much material as can be used for several coming numbers.
As a general rule, therefore, volunteer contributions, to ensure acceptance, must deal with topics of important and timely interest not previously provided for editorially.
Very truly yours, ALLEN THORNDIKE RICE. Walt Whitman, Esq. loc.02914.002_large.jpgCorrespondent:
Charles Allen Thorndike
Rice (1851–1889) purchased The North American
Review in 1876. See also the letter from Whitman to John Burroughs of
February 1, 1881.