Only write a line my dear darling brother thinking maybe to day you feel a little better can only hope & hope you may. I think of you morning noon & night, would
like to write every day to you but are going to wait till you get better. well enough dear dear brother to sit up, in your
chair again & that will be such good news to hear loc_tb.00215.jpgyour letters & the money you send all
comes safely.—but your writing to me now—there is no words to say & I wont try. you are the only one in the whole world, would be, so good to me.—
What does me good or what is a comfort to me is nothing, you, are the one I care for my darling.
very many ask after you. Dr Bingham2 says no one has as many friends, &
said he wished he was where he could loc_tb.00216.jpg do something for you although he knew you had everything.
It seems as if I could not help writing to day kept thinking of you last night & this morning but I must not tire you if I could only do a bit of good—
want to send much much love, & I do feel for you my dear dear brother.3—[cut-away]
Lou4 has been kind about writing—C.5 yesterday sold (without frame) picture for $15. may sell more if takes price offered—sold one before some weeks ago., same price
I thank you brother dear for sending me so much money—you are wonderful good to me.
I pray you may be gaining a little by now,—love always HanCorrespondent:
Hannah Louisa Whitman Heyde
(1823–1908) was the fourth child of Walter and Louisa Whitman and Walt
Whitman's youngest sister. Hannah was named for her paternal grandmother, Hannah
Brush Whitman (1753–1834), and her mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman
(1795–1873). Although Walt Whitman had a close relationship with his
younger brother Jeff Whitman, Hannah was his favorite, most beloved sibling.
Until she married, Hannah lived at home with her parents and her brothers.
Educated at the Hempstead Academy, Hannah taught school in rural Long Island. On
March 23, 1852, Hannah married Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), a
landscape painter. It is possible that Walt introduced Hannah to Charles. In
August 1852 the Heydes departed for Vermont. The first decade of their marriage
was marked by constant moving from boarding houses to hotels, mostly in rural
Vermont, as Heyde sought out vantage points for his landscape paintings. In 1864
the Heydes settled in Burlington, purchasing a house on Pearl Street. After
Hannah's marriage and relocation to Vermont, Mother Whitman became Hannah's
faithful correspondent; Walt also kept in touch, sending letters and editions of
Leaves of Grass after publication. Hannah faced
several health crises during her marriage, partly due to the ongoing trauma of
emotional, verbal, and physical intimate partner violence that she experienced.
In the 1880s and 1890s Heyde increasingly had difficulty earning enough to cover
household expenses; in addition, he may have become an alcoholic. He repeatedly
asked Whitman for funds to cover their expenses. Whitman sent both Heyde and
Hannah small amounts of money. After Heyde died in 1892, Hannah remained in
Burlington, living in their house on Pearl Street until her death in 1908. For
more information, 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).