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William D. O'Connor to Walt Whitman, 24 June 1882

About This Item

  • Title: William D. O'Connor to Walt Whitman, 24 June 1882
  • Date: June 24, 1882
  • Creator(s): William D. O'Connor
  • Whitman Archive ID: loc.03047
  • Source: The Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Transcribed from digital images or a microfilm reproduction of the original item. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the correspondence, see our statement of editorial policy.

    Notes for this letter were created by Whitman Archive staff and/or were derived from Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller, 6 vols. (New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977), and supplemented or updated by Whitman Archive staff.
  • Contributors to digital file: Stefan Schoeberlein Nima Najafi Kianfar Eder Jaramillo Nicole Gray
  • Cite this page: O'Connor, William D.. "William D. O'Connor to Walt Whitman, 24 June 1882." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 27 February 2025. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: loc.03047.xml (TEI)
 loc.03047.001_large.jpg see notes Dec 21st 1888 Washington, D.C. June 24, 1882. Dear Walt:

I have your postal of the 22nd, together with the Press notice. Beautiful! Who is the lady?

After much cogitation, I have judged it prudent to withhold any reply to "Sigma," at any rate until next week. We will see whether  loc.03047.002_large.jpg the Sunday Tribune has anything from anybody.

My aim is to attack Marston, terribly, and I don't want to be led off into a side show by an anonymunculus, like "Sigma," if I can help it. I am trying to accumulate materials for the next assault, and have written in  loc.03047.003_large.jpg several directions, among others to George Chainey. Do you see what the scoundrel postmaster at Boston, Tobey, has done to him—stopped his lecture on you and your book!1 After stopping the book, they will stop discussion! Here is a text. It will go hard if I cannot  loc.03047.004_large.jpg make such a cloud belch thunder.

I have written to Chainey for full particulars.

Don't forget to tell me the price of your book when you write next. Did you send one to Professor Loomis?

Goodbye Faithfully W. D. O'Connor. Mr. Walt Whitman.

Notes

  • 1. O'Connor meant the sending of the printed lecture through the mail (see the letter from Whitman to George Chainey of June 26, 1882). [back]
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