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21 Pearl St
Dec 24 1890
Our noble good brother Walt Your generous gift of 10 dollars, (divided)
was duly recd—Gratefull for my share, which added to 10 I received for a painting,
enabled me to pay my interest, now overdue to the Winooski Bank—Have
also recd a box from Lou,1 but very little money—yet it contained a fine sugar
cured ham, corked coffee, tea, and wearing apparel for herself—
We have kind contributions occasionally of necessaries for home
consumptions—[illegible]ing good will—Han2—Shall write—
Charlie3
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Dec 26 '90 Camden This is the only decent (or nearly decent) letter f'm
the whelp I have rec'd for two years—(but there is a mean sneer & snarl even in this)
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. Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called
"Loo" or "Lou," married Whitman's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. Their
son, Walter Orr Whitman, was born in 1875 but died the following year. A second
son was stillborn. Whitman lived in Camden, New Jersey, with George and Louisa from
1873 until 1884, when George and Louisa moved to a farm outside of Camden and
Whitman decided to stay in the city. Louisa and Whitman had a warm relationship
during the poet's final decades. For more, see Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and
Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [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. On the verso of this letter,
Whitman has written a note indicating his deep dislike for Heyde, whom he calls
a "whelp" with a "mean sneer & snarl." [back]