The days slip away, & ones sorrow—though it does not cease—seems to mellow & spread with the lapse of time.1
—I continue ab't as usual in health—but it is very monotonous & lonesome, as I can hardly get around at all—often remain in the house all day, most of my time in the big chair by the window—afternoons are the worst & most tedious—happily my spirits keep pretty good, & I write some, though nothing but "pot-boilers"2 [cut away]
mhs.00024.002_large.jpgCorrespondents:
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).
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).