[8.13(?).1888]1
I am about the same—Strangely somehow I don't get any more power in my body or
legs—I feel pretty well—have written one or two pieces for the Herald2—& they have printed as before—I have
not left the room up stairs yet (now nine weeks)—the Doctor thinks it not best
yet—
My little booklet November Boughs3 is ab't done—concludes
with quite a long but very hurried & scratchy paper on "Elias Hicks"4—done
mostly when I was sickest all, & thought it best to hurry it done right
off—But at present I am much as of late years, except my legs & getting
around even the room—wh' I sometimes fancy is not even coming back.
Love to Jess.5 I have got a few lines from Jeff6 (in St Louis)—I am now sitting in the big
chair—Spend most of the day here—had my dinner a little ago—now
5½—cool & clear & pleasant to-day—I am quite
comfortable—Hope this will find you feeling well—Rain'd like fury nearly
all yesterday—Mrs. D[avis]7 intended going
yesterday—I was favorable to her going—
Walt Whitman
Correspondent:
Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called
"Loo" or "Lou," married Whitman's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. Their
son, Walter Orr Whitman, was born in 1875 but died the following year. A second
son was stillborn. Whitman lived in Camden, New Jersey, with George and Louisa from
1873 until 1884, when George and Louisa moved to a farm outside of Camden and
Whitman decided to stay in the city. Louisa and Whitman had a warm relationship
during the poet's final decades. For more, see Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and
Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998).
Notes
- 1. August 13 appears to be a
plausible date. In his letter to Susan Stafford of August 12 Whitman wrote: "It is raining all day like fury"; and here:
"Rain'd like fury yesterday." Two pieces, "Over and Through the Burial Chant"
and a prose "tribute to Sheridan," had recently appeared in the New York Herald (see Whitman's letter of August 10-11 to Richard Maurice Bucke). Jessie, Thomas Jefferson
("Jeff") Whitman's daughter, was staying with Louisa in August: In his Commonplace Book Whitman noted that Louisa and Jessie
placed Edward Whitman in the Insane Asylum at Blackwoodtown on August 1 (The Commonplace-Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of
the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.).
There is no extant letter, however, from Jeff, who wrote from Milwaukee on July
14. [back]
- 2. Whitman contributed a series of
poems and prose pieces to the New York Herald at the
invitation of the editor, James Gordon Bennett, Jr. From December 1887 through
August 1888, 33 of Whitman's poems were published in the paper. [back]
- 3. Whitman's November Boughs was published in October 1888 by Philadelphia
publisher David McKay. For more information on the book, see James E. Barcus
Jr., "November Boughs [1888]," Walt Whitman: An
Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York:
Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 4. Elias Hicks (1748–1830) was a
Quaker from Long Island whose controversial teachings led to a split in the
Religious Society of Friends in 1827, a division that was not resolved until
1955. Hicks had been a friend of Whitman's father and grandfather, and Whitman
himself was a supporter and proponent of Hicks's teachings, writing about him in
Specimen Days (see "Reminiscence of Elias Hicks") and November
Boughs (see "Elias Hicks, Notes (such as they are)"). For more on Hicks and his
influence on Whitman, see David S. Reynolds, Walt Whitman's
America (New York: Knopf, 1995), 37–39. [back]
- 5. Jessie Louisa Whitman
(1863–1957) was the second and youngest daughter of Whitman's brother
Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman (1833–1890) and Jeff's wife Martha
Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873). [back]
- 6. Thomas Jefferson Whitman
(1833–1890), known as "Jeff," was Walt Whitman's favorite brother. As a
civil engineer, Jeff eventually became Superintendent of Water Works in St.
Louis and a nationally recognized figure. For more on Jeff, see Randall Waldron,
"Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)," Walt
Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New
York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 7. Mary Oakes Davis (1837 or
1838–1908) was Whitman's housekeeper. For more, see Carol J. Singley,
"Davis, Mary Oakes (1837 or 1838–1908)," Walt
Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New
York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]