I am going away to-day—first to Buffalo—then Cleveland—then Chicago—Cincinnati—and Indianapolis. Hope to be back by the 22 D inst—
Of course Traubel2
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will keep me informed as to your condition.3
I think of you hundreds of times a day and you are in my heart always.
I have not given up hope by any means—You have a
wonderful constitution—amazing
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recuperative powers—
But there is one thing that ought to give you great comfort. You have done great good—You have delivered your message to the world. You have helped to emancipate the world. This is enough. The Republic will hold your memory dear—
Yours with hope & love R G IngersollAll the family unite with me and they all send hope & love
Correspondent:
Robert "Bob" Green Ingersoll
(1833–1899) was a Civil War veteran and an orator of the post-Civil War
era, known for his support of agnosticism. Ingersoll was a friend of Whitman,
who considered Ingersoll the greatest orator of his time. Whitman said to Horace
Traubel, "It should not be surprising that I am drawn to Ingersoll, for he is
Leaves of Grass. He lives, embodies, the
individuality I preach. I see in Bob the noblest
specimen—American-flavored—pure out of the soil, spreading, giving,
demanding light" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden,
Wednesday, March 25, 1891). The feeling was mutual. Upon Whitman's
death in 1892, Ingersoll delivered the eulogy at the poet's funeral. The eulogy
was published to great acclaim and is considered a classic panegyric (see
Phyllis Theroux, The Book of Eulogies [New York: Simon
& Schuster, 1997], 30).