Washington, D.C.,10 August 1867.
W. L. Alden.
My dear Sir:
Your note has been received.1—Accept—for
yourself, the Citizen, & Gen. Halpine2—My sincere thanks for your kindness. I fully appreciate
it.
As I have not at my control, at this moment, any bound copies of Leaves of Grass, would you allow me to send you a copy in paper
I forward it by same mail with this.3
I send best remembrances to the General.
Walt Whitman
Correspondent:
William Livingston Alden
(1837–1908) was associate editor of the New York Citizen.
Notes
- 1. Alden wrote Whitman on
August 9, 1867, to inform him that "Rosetti's
article" would appear in the Citizen the following day
(Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden,
Thursday, December 6, 1888). No copies of the Citizen prior to 1869 have survived, but Whitman appears to have read
and enjoyed the article. [back]
- 2. Charles G. Halpine
(1829–1868) was a journalist, soldier, and politician. He joined the 69th
New York Regiment at the outbreak of the war and was brevetted brigadier general
for gallantry. Known as a humorist and author, under the pseudonym Pvt. Miles
O'Reilley, Halpine was also a well-known journalist who wrote for the New York
Herald, and later became editor of The Leader. It would appear that, in 1867, Halpine was writing for the
Citizen. [back]
- 3. This is in response to
Alden's request for "a copy of your book—a thing which I don't
possess." [back]