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Little Hope Left!

About This Item

  • Title: Little Hope Left!
  • Date: 10 July 1858
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: per.01263
  • Source: Brooklyn Daily Times, 10 July 1858: 2. Our transcription is based on a digital image of a microfilm scan of the original issue. Microfilm of original issue held at Pennsylvania State University Libraries. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the journalism, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Editorial note: This piece is unsigned, as was the case for most of Whitman's journalism. However, this editorial is part of a series of texts that deal with a coherent theme that has been identified by the Whitman Archive journalism team as likely authored by Whitman. This decision is based on a combination of historical and (auto)biographical accounts, similarity to contemporary Whitman writings, a history of scholarly attribution, extant clippings retained by Whitman, computational stylometric analysis, and, in some cases, manuscript evidence in Whitman’s hand.
  • Contributors to digital file: Kaylen Michaelis Brandi Faulkner Stefan Schöberlein Karie Cobb
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "Little Hope Left!." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 16 July 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: per.01263.xml (TEI)
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LITTLE HOPE LEFT!

We expressed, at the time of the sailing of the Telegraphic Fleet, our very slight hopes that this gigantic enterprise would be successfully accomplished. The difficulties which surrounded the attempt from its inception, and which were too formidable to be entirely explained away by any process of scientific reasoning on the part of hopeful savans—the doubtful result of the trial trip—the unpropitious weather which the fleet has had to encounter, and which has been totally unlike what we had hoped and expected in the month of June—and the non-arrival of the Niagara at her point of destination, all lead us to believe that another failure will be the result of this wonderful undertaking.

Must it be so? Must two continents give up this grand hope of eternal union, the fruition of which was to accomplish such vast things for humanity—which was to be a peace-maker and a world's benefactor—which was to enlarge the circle of knowledge by annihilating time and space until man should become, indeed, but little lower than the angels?

Well, if it is not to be, we have, at all events, made the attempt. We attempt things on a Titanic scale, and if we do not succeed the first time, we "try again." Anything not absolutely, by the invincible laws of Nature impracticable we are bound to accomplish. So if the present attempt and future essays which may be made in our day and generation should prove unsuccessful, our children or our children's child may yet see the great problem solved and rejoice in the benefits it will confer.

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