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It is splendid here this forenoon—bright and cool. I was out early taking a
short walk by the river—only two squares from where I live. I received your
letter of last MondayStar same
date—& glad enough to hear from you—the oftener the better. Every
word is good—I sent you a letter, on the 6th, which I suppose you rec'd next
day. Tell Henry Hurt I received his letter of Oct. 5 all right, & that it was
welcome. Political meetings here every night. The coming Pennsylvania & Ohio
elections cause much talk & excitement. The fall is upon us. Overcoats are in
demand. I already begin to think about my return to Washington. A month has nearly
passed away. I have received an invitation from a gentleman & his wife, friends
of mine, at Providence, R. I.
I am grateful to these young men on the RR. for their love & remembrance to
me—Dave,
Every day I find I have plenty to do—every hour is occupied with something.
Shall I tell you about it, or part of it, just to fill up? I generally spend the
forenoon in my room, writing &c., then take a bath, fix up & go out about
12, & loafe somewhere, or call on some one down town, or on business, or perhaps
if it is very pleasant & I feel like it, ride a trip with some driver-friend on
Broadway from 23d street to Bowling Green, three miles each way. You know it is a
never-ending amusement & study & recreation for me to ride a couple of
hours, of a pleasant afternoon, on a Broadway stage in this way. You see everything
as you pass, a sort of living, endless panorama—shops, & splendid
buildings, & great windows, & on the broad sidewalks crowds of women,
richly-dressed, continually passing, altogether different, superior in style &
looks from any to be seen any where else—in fact a perfect stream of people,
men too dressed in high style, & plenty of foreigners—& then in the
streets the thick crowd of carriages, stages, carts, hotel & private coaches,
& in fact all sorts of vehicles & many first-class teams, mile after mile,
& the splendor of such a great street & so many tall, ornamental, noble
buildings, many of them of white marble, & the gayety & motion on every
side—You will not wonder how much attraction all this is, on a fine day, to a
great loafer like me, who enjoys so much seeing the busy world move by him, &
exhibiting itself for his amusement, while he takes it easy & just looks on
& observes.
I am having finished about 225 copies of Leaves of Grass bound up, to supply orders.
Those copies form all that is left of the old editions. Then there will be no more
in the market till I have my new & improved edition set up & stereotyped,
which it is my present plan to do the ensuing winter at my leisure in
Washington.
Mother is well, I take either dinner or supper with her every day. Remember me to
David Stevens & John Towers.so long for the present. Yours for life, dear Pete,
(& death the same).