Am getting along pretty fairly. Nothing very new or marked—Ups & downs—the trend steadily the latter way as of course is to be expected. I believe I sent you "Poet-Lore" with the notice,2 & I suppose you have rec'd it before this—send me word when you next write—also what if anything I can do, or get & send—don't be afraid to request me—I hear f'm Dr B[ucke]3 often—he is well & busy—Ch's Eldridge4 is in St Francisco, no d[oub]'t as U S Revenue Ag't—I suppose you get the papers all right—the weather changes here cooler to-day—
Walt WhitmanCorrespondent:
Ellen M. "Nelly" O'Connor (1830–1913) was the
wife of William D. O'Connor (1832–1889), one of Whitman's staunchest
defenders. Before marrying William, Ellen Tarr was active in the antislavery and
women's rights movements as a contributor to the Liberator and to a women's rights newspaper Una. Whitman dined with the O'Connors frequently during his Washington
years. Though Whitman and William O'Connor would temporarily break off their
friendship in late 1872 over Reconstruction policies with regard to emancipated
African Americans, Ellen would remain friendly with Whitman. The correspondence
between Whitman and Ellen is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence
with William. Three years after William O'Connor's death, Ellen married the
Providence businessman Albert Calder. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see Dashae
E. Lott, "O'Connor, William Douglas [1832–1889]" and Lott's "O'Connor (Calder),
Ellen ('Nelly') M. Tarr (1830–1913)," Walt
Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New
York: Garland Publishing, 1998).