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William H. Ballou to Walt Whitman, 18 June 1888

About This Item

  • Title: William H. Ballou to Walt Whitman, 18 June 1888
  • Date: June 18, 1888
  • Creator(s): William H. Ballou
  • Whitman Archive ID: loc.01089
  • Source: The Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 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: Jeannette Schollaert Ian Faith Stefan Schöberlein Stephanie Blalock
  • Cite this page: Ballou, William H.. "William H. Ballou to Walt Whitman, 18 June 1888." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 26 April 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: loc.01089.xml (TEI)
 loc.01089.001_large.jpg New Management I New Buildings II Newly Furnished III FRENCH•LICK• SPRINGS ORANGE COUNTY, IND. June 18 1888 My dear Mr. Whitman:—

I read with sorrow of your severe illness and beg to offer my sympathy. I have written to the President recommending a special pension for you and propose to demand it of Congress through the press. I am also preparing an article of reminiscences which will soon be published. With hopes for your complete recovery, love, and veneration, I am

Yours most sincerely Wm Hosen Ballou  loc.01089.002_large.jpg

Correspondent:
William H. Ballou (1857–1937) was a journalist and natural scientist who falsely reported in the Cleveland Leader and Herald in 1885 that Whitman was about to go to England to visit Tennyson; he conducted two interviews with the poet in 1885 and 1886. See Ballou's interview with Whitman of June 28, 1885 for the Leader and Herald and his interview with Whitman of June 12, 1886 for the Chicago Daily Tribune.

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