Walt Whitman to Peter Doyle, 31 July [1874]

About This Item

Title: Walt Whitman to Peter Doyle, 31 July [1874]
Date: July 31, 1874
Creator(s): Walt Whitman
Whitman Archive ID: nyp.00350
Source: The Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, New York Public Library. The transcription presented here is derived from Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller (New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977), 310. 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 Peter Doyle, 31 July [1874]." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 04 December 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
Source File: nyp.00350.xml (TEI)

431 Stevens st.
Camden,
N. Jersey July 31.1

Though some bad spells still, things decidedly more favorable in my condition. I shall get up yet.

1.
This postcard bears the address, "Pete Doyle, | M street South bet 4½ & 6th | Washington, D.C." It is postmarked: "Philadelphia | Jul | 31(?)| 12 M | Pa.; Carrier | Aug | 1 | 8 AM."

The dating of this postcard as well as the notes and letters to Doyle on August 7, 14, 21, and 28, 1874, depends in part on Whitman's habit of writing on Fridays. However, as evidenced in Whitman's August 5, 1874 letter to Ellen O'Connor and his August 18, 1874 letter to John and Ursula Burroughs, both of which were conclusively written in 1874, Whitman's "alternations" were especially marked during the summer of this year, and despite his "natural buoyancy" he was frequently depressed by the inability of his once healthy body to triumph over his ailments.
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