Han1 is much better today—Is in the kitchen now after her repast. Mentions your name ever—declares that she will endeavour to write a postal of thanks to you—with mine for your last donation.2
I have bought numerous delacacies with it for her—And now I am expecting ½ ton of coal, adding a dollar myself—regretting that I could not pay for all—of it—
But the weather must soon change from this freezing damp—and the bulbs come up and out. Han had a visit from our pleasant neighbour yesterday—
Gratefully Walt ever Yours— CharlieCorrespondent:
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).