Walt Whitman to Susan Stafford, 27 January 1888
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Camden P M
Jan. 27 '88
Quite froze up here, but ab't as usual, tho' a trifle less well than common this winter—a bad obstinate cold in the head among the rest—I don't get out at all—I am writing a little to order—got up late to-day—had chocolate & buckwheat cakes with quince jelly for my breakfast—am sitting here by a good fire—How are you all?—I wish Ed1 or Jo2 would stop & tell me—
W WCorrespondent:
Susan M. Lamb Stafford
(1833–1910) was the mother of Harry Stafford (1858–1918), who, in
1876, became a close friend of Whitman while working at the printing office of
the Camden New Republic. Whitman regularly visited the
Staffords at their family farm near Kirkwood, New Jersey. Whitman enjoyed the
atmosphere and tranquility that the farm provided and would often stay for weeks
at a time (see David G. Miller, "Stafford, George and Susan M.," Walt Whitman: An
Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings [New York:
Garland Publishing, 1998], 685).