I suppose Herb2 must have sail'd from N Y this morning—he was here early yesterday & took his picture & I have seen or heard nothing of him since—Mrs Davis3 is sick, laid up, bad—A lady friend is here, helping us—I expect to be down Sunday by 12½4—Am sitting here by the window in the big chair & have been all day—Weather rather pleasant.
Walt WhitmanCorrespondent:
Susan M. Lamb Stafford
(1833–1910) was the mother of Harry Stafford (1858–1918), who, in
1876, became a close friend of Whitman while working at the printing office of
the Camden New Republic. Whitman regularly visited the
Staffords at their family farm near Kirkwood, New Jersey. Whitman enjoyed the
atmosphere and tranquility that the farm provided and would often stay for weeks
at a time (see David G. Miller, "Stafford, George and Susan M.," Walt Whitman: An
Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings [New York:
Garland Publishing, 1998], 685).