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Walt Whitman to Peter Doyle, 31 July [1874]

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

W

Notes

  • 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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