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Walt Whitman to Walbridge A. Field, 11 May 1870

About This Item

  • Title: Walt Whitman to Walbridge A. Field, 11 May 1870
  • Date: May 11, 1870
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: nar.03604
  • Source: National Archives & Records Administration. The transcription presented here is derived from Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller (New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977), 98. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the correspondence, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "Walt Whitman to Walbridge A. Field, 11 May 1870." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 04 December 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: nar.03604.xml (TEI)
Brooklyn May 11, 18701 Sir:2

The hurt on my hand has not healed.3 Allow me to take permission till Saturday next. I shall try to report at the office on Monday next.

Respectfully Walt Whitman By A. H. P.4

Notes

  • 1. The letter, now in the National Archives, is docketed: "Walt Whitman | Brooklyn, N. Y. | May 11. Recd May 12, 1870 | Asks extension of his leave | of absence— | May 12. Answered unofficially." [back]
  • 2. Walbridge A. Field (1833–1899) was the Assistant Attorney General from 1869 to 1870. Later he was Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court. [back]
  • 3. Late in April or early May 1870, Walt Whitman cut his thumb, which became infected, and he returned to Brooklyn for about two weeks. [back]
  • 4. Abby H. Price wrote both this letter and Walt Whitman's May 11, 1870 letter to William D. O'Connor. [back]
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