William is on his way to Bar Harbor, Maine, care Dr. Kinnear, Wall's cottage. Wm. was disposed to try Dr. K. as soon as he heard of his method, which is Dr.
Chapman's, with which Wm. was familiar, applications loc.02947.002_large.jpg of heat & cold to the
spine.1 Probably Wm. wrote you, he said he should, when he read your letter to me. The Ashtons
were very anxious to have him try Dr. Kinnear, & William feels that he ought—to
try any one who gives him reasonable assurance of help. He says he wants "either his
legs, or wings," as locomotion of some
loc.02947.003_large.jpg sort is
desirable.
I write at this moment to ask you to please not tell any one
where Wm. is, I mean not any one who will speak of it, he asked me to
caution all the friends; above all he says don't let it get
into the papers, for already some vile creatures are grumbling at his
vacation; so you loc.02947.004_large.jpg
will kindly bear it in mind. Mr. Kimball2 thought he
better not let it be known. He (W.) said he should make Dr. K. tell him at once
whether he could help him. He shows a deal of energy in starting off as he does,
& as to his courage it is simply sublime, & he
puts all my theoretical trust to shame by his practical
application
loc.02947.005_large.jpg of
it. A friend here offered to go all the way to Bar Harbor with him, but he said it
was all "nonsense", that he found plenty of people ready to jump to help him, his
crutch is very appealing, & now he uses that & his cane both. At any rate, he is out of this awful heat & sultriness. I hope
you keep up under it. To-day it is
loc.02947.006_large.jpg raining here, for the first time.
Dear Walt, the other day I found a package of letters belonging to you carefully put away, the Rossetti3 correspondence, & as a part of history valuable, & I return them to you to-day by this mail, but in another & large envelope.
Let me hear from you soon if you get them loc.02947.007_large.jpg safely. I send all but had to
separate the bundle, as it was too thick for my envelope.
Correspondent:
Ellen M. "Nelly" O'Connor
was the wife of William D. O'Connor (1832–1889), one of Walt Whitman's
staunchest defenders. Walt may have mentioned a potential visit by Nelly and her
daughter during his May visit to Brooklyn, though whether a visit came near this
time is not known from his or Louisa Van Velsor Whitman's letters. Walt Whitman
dined with the O'Connors frequently during his Washington years, and he spoke
often in his letters of their daughter Jean (called "Jenny" or "Jeannie").
Though Whitman and William O'Connor would break off their friendship in late
1872 over a disagreement about Reconstruction policies and the role of
emancipated slaves, Nelly would remain friendly with Whitman. For more on
Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see "O'Connor, William Douglas (1832–1889)."