Walt Whitman to Anne Gilchrist, 1 January 1881

About This Item

Title: Walt Whitman to Anne Gilchrist, 1 January 1881
Date: January 1, 1881
Creator(s): Walt Whitman
Whitman Archive ID: pml.00048
Source: The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York. The transcription presented here is derived from Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller (New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977), 203. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the correspondence, see our statement of editorial policy.
Contributors to digital file: Grace Thomas Nima Najafi Kianfar Stefan Schoeberlein Nicole Gray
Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "Walt Whitman to Anne Gilchrist, 1 January 1881." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 21 November 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
Source File: pml.00048.xml (TEI)

431 Stevens Street1 Camden New Jersey U S A— Jan: 1 '81

Was sorry—extremely sorry—to hear of your illness—trust you are well again by this time, (as fore-indicated by H[erbert]'s last)2—all H's books for Mrs S[tafford] came safely3—also letters & p.o. order—rec'd the good, long, fine letter from B[eatrice]4—The S's are all well as usual—I am getting along capitally for me this winter so far—have been & am writing quite a deal to order (astonishing, isn't it?)5—will surely send you when in print—I wish you would send the Cedar-Plums like6 to Rossetti—(I suppose you rec'd it)—what silly fictitious items appear about me in some of the English papers—(about as bad as here)—trust you all had merry Christmas & New Year's—Cold & deep snow here—

Notes

1. This letter bears the address: Mrs Gilchrist | Keats corner 12 Well Road | Hampstead | London | England. It is postmarked: Camden | Jan | 2 | N.J.; (?) N.W. | E | Paid 20 Ja 81. [back]
2. Herbert Gilchrist informed Whitman about his mother's health on December 13, 1880. On February 16, Anne Gilchrist wrote about her "bronchitis & cardiac asthma" (University of Pennsylvania). [back]
3. See the letter from Whitman to Susan Stafford of January 30, 1881. [back]
4. Apparently this letter is lost. [back]
5. A reference to the articles for The Critic (see the letter from Whitman to Jeannette L. Gilder of December 31, 1880). [back]
6. "Cedar-Plums Like" probably appeared late in 1880 in the Philadelphia Press. It was included in Specimen Days (ed. Floyd Stovall [New York: New York University Press, 1963], 245–248). On February 16, Mrs. Gilchrist referred to the notes in The Critic and "Cedar-Plums Like": they "are especially precious to me & I doubt not will be so to all friends & lovers of yours." [back]