Content:
Written in ink on a proof of "The Dalliance of the Eagles,"
"Ah, little knows the
Laborer,"
"Hast never come to thee an
hour?," and "My
Picture-Gallery," are 14 words of notations in Whitman's
hand. The proof has been pasted to a heavy piece of paper, on the verso
of which is "A Riddle
Song," part of "Italian Music in Dakota," and a clipped headline reading
"The Society Articles Save Labor. Lighten the Labor for Mother."
Whitman Archive Title: Hast never come to thee an hour
Content:
This manuscript contains two drafts of the poem "Hast Never Come to Thee an Hour," the first draft
having been deleted with two horizontal and two diagonal pencil lines. The partly
erased word "Interp[ellation?]" appears in the lower left corner. After further
revision the poem appeared for the first time in the 1881
Leaves of Grass
, in the cluster
"By the Roadside."
