The Walt Whitman Archive
Life & Letters
Correspondence
About this Item
Title: Charles L. Heyde to Walt Whitman, 22 April 189[0]
Date: April 22, 189[0]
Whitman Archive ID: duk.00445
Source: Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University. Transcribed from digital images or a microfilm reproduction of the original item. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the correspondence, see our statement of editorial policy.
Contributors to digital file: Andrew David King, Cristin Noonan, Breanna Himschoot, and Stephanie Blalock
 image 1 |
Van Ness House
L. S. Drew & H. N. Clark
Managers
U. A. Woodbury, Proprietor.
Burlington, Vt.
18901
April 22d
Bro Walt.
Very chilly morning—
Han2 not so well—Concernd about yourself—Thinks that the exertion3 of the occasion may have weakend you—
She cannot write—She is very poorly—
Gratefully Yours—
You will remember us—
Charlie
Correspondent:
Charles Louis Heyde (ca.
1820–1892), a French-born landscape painter, married Hannah Louisa Whitman
(1823–1908), Walt Whitman's sister, and they lived in Burlington, Vermont.
Charles Heyde was infamous among the Whitmans for his offensive letters and poor
treatment of Hannah. For more information about Heyde, see Steven Schroeder,
"Heyde, Charles Louis (1822–1892)," Walt
Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New
York: Garland Publishing, 1998).
Notes:
1. The "0" in the year of 1890, intended to complete the date of the letter, appears in red ink in an unknown hand. Richard Maurice Bucke may have dated this letter. [back]
2. Hannah Louisa (Whitman) Heyde (1823–1908), youngest sister of Walt Whitman, married Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), a Pennsylvania-born landscape painter. Charles Heyde was infamous among the Whitmans for his offensive letters and poor treatment of Hannah. Hannah and Charles Heyde lived in Burlington, Vermont. For more, see Paula K. Garrett, "Whitman (Heyde), Hannah Louisa (d. 1908)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
3. Heyde is probably referring to Whitman's presentation of his Lincoln lecture at the Contemporary Club in Philadelphia on April 15, 1890, an event that received a great deal of publicity. [back]