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weeks have elapsed since the commission of an outrage, to which I have not till now been able to give my

Nothing deepens my respect for the beautiful intellect of the scholar Alcott, like the bold sentence

Adventures of this kind are frequent, and "I took a fancy to you," or "You look like one of my style,

I weigh my words and have considered well.

He is of my own party; and my politics have been from my youth essentially the same as his own.

Tell Charley that I have not forgotten him—I send him my love, & hope we may meet again one these days

fight—I carry an umbrella, and if the sun gets to fall on me good & strong, any of the real hot days, my

hear from Han, but I suppose she is getting along in the same old way—As I am writing this letter at my

how funny the world is governed—& lots of queer doings that outsiders never dream of— Well, mother, my

I have been absent on leave the past summer two months—went to New York—spent most of the time with my

Well, I keep about as stout as ever, and my face red & great beard just the same as when I used to see

you—I eat my rations every time, too—I am writing this in the office by a big window with a splendid

view of the Potomac & Arlington Heights—Well I find I must close—I send my love to you, darling boy,

Dear Hinton, The bearer, my friend, Mr.

You will make the same disposition of these arms as was indicated to you, in a former case, in my letter

Sir: My attention has been called by the Secretary of the Treasury to the probable fact of the custody

Leese's recommendations for the office of Marshal. 4th; My acceptance of Mr.

I have now to say that your resignation is accepted,—& I feel bound to add that my confidence in your

of your friend Hatcher to the notice of the President to-day, & that he gave a favorable response to my

My dear friend, Your contribution of $20 for the soldiers in hospital, sick or wounded, has been received

I wish you health, my friend, in body & in spirit. Farewell.

Jenks, My dear Sir, I have rec'd your note of 30th Nov. with $3.

Please accept my special acknowledgments.

But as I am not willing you should be the loser, in such a manner, I send you my book, by same mail with

If I hadn't got your letter of 23d, I should likely have written to you very soon, of my own accord,

I have been home in Brooklyn the last two months, to see my mother, & pay a visit to New York, &c. and

It is now a year ago since you sent it—you spoke in that letter of your parents—You must give my love

But I wonder whether we shall ever come together again, you & I, my loving soldier boy.

I send you my love, & must now bid you farewell for present, dear soldier boy.

I keep stout as ever, my face red and a great beard just the same.

I send my love to you, darling boy. Walt Whitman to a Soldier, early 1866

My dear Mr.

Wood, I write to solicit from you $2, for helping my soldier boys to some festivities these holiday &

Dwight, | My dear Sir, Your letter has come to hand, & I have to say in reply, that a new edition of

I hope your parents are well—I wish you to give them my love—tho' I don't know them, I hope to one of

I am writing this by my window in the office—the breeze is blowing moderate, and the view down the river

Well, my dear comrade, I believe I have told you all the news—of Eicholtz, the German sergeant with the

that as the sentence, on that comparatively mild 7th count, was a cruel & heavy one—& that, waiving my

My hospitals are dwindled down to a small force—but there are plenty of cases to occupy me a couple of

yet—Jeff, I wish I could now & then be home & see you all, even if was only a couple of hours— Give my

Lane, and the Doctor —I send my love to Mat & the little girls.

O'Connor related in a letter on November 24, 1863, that the Count had said to her recently: "My Gott,

Mason, who "used to be in my party on the Water Works."

According to his letter to Jeff on January 30, 1865, Whitman wrote to "Captain" Mason the same day; on

be careful of yourselves—it is very healthy here this summer—I havn't been troubled by the heat yet—my

have half a dozen—so you see I am coming out—had quite a clearing out the other day, collected all my

duds & socks, & boots & slippers &c &c. into a great heap—and when Sally, our black girl, brought up my

em all off home—there was nothing but what was all give out, though— There is nothing new with me in my

much—I think he would find it pleasant to come here for a few days, even this season—Well, dear mother, my

Then I feel sure it tells the meaning better than any of the former editions—My enemies, & those who

agents before I return—I shall probably return about the 12th of September— When I arrived here, I found my

I doubt whether the article will be accepted in the Galaxy —don't know who edits it—I send my love to

same to Charles Eldridge —I hope to be able to write to Nelly —I wish you when you write to say I send my

And now for a while, my dear friend, Farewell. Walt. Walt Whitman to William D.

Every thing here with me remains the same—I am free from the distress in my head—Mrs.

Grayson is very sick—she sent my old washerwoman, old Aunt Kitty, around this morning to see if I had

any of "that bread my mother used to send me"—I suppose she meant the sweet Dyer bread—I gave her a

The reason is that my book, which is a little more than half done, does not get along as fast as the

Andy, dear boy, I hope my delay of a few days will not put you out—Write to me, & tell me about the office

, & my friends there.

Don't forward any letters that come after Friday next, but put them in my drawer.

Once more—I send my love to you & all. Walt Walt Whitman to Andrew Kerr, 10 September 1866

good of them all —I have not had any trouble myself, worth mentioning—the dinner has been got up at my

The puppy thought I suppose that he could get his letter printed, & injure me & my book.

My dear Mr. Taylor, I have received your letter of the 12th.

The friendly pages thereof have given me pleasure, & I wish to proffer you my friendship in response.

I am having good times here, rather quiet—My book is being printed—gets along rather slowly.

almost every afternoon—then sometimes a sail on the river or bay—so you see I am enjoying myself in my

way—with three or four hours work every day reading my proofs, &c— Andy, I suppose you are all getting

along as usual—I enclose a line to Mat, which please give him—I send my love to you, Frank, Mat & Lewis

[My ambition is] to give something to our literature which will be our own; with neither foreign spirit

Upon a careful consideration of this opinion, I adhere to the position expressed in my letter to you

course by which it can be set at rest, & this is, by instituting prosecution, as I have advised in my

Wednesday—I am better than I was last week—not as well as I would like to be, but well enough to keep on with my

It is beautiful weather here to-day—I have got my new trowsers—$20!!—only think of that!

—it is lucky I wear my clothes a long while— Walt.

For the last two days I have felt a good deal better—My head is much better, & I feel more like myself

I send my love to Jeff & George & Mat & all. Walt.

Dearest mother, I suppose you got two letters from me last week, Wednesday & Saturday—My cold still troubles

neuralgia—but I guess I shall get over it—I have good meals, I do not cook for myself, at present—but get my

forming on one of his eyes, & will have to undergo a surgical operation—Mother, I told you all about my

One of my fellow clerks has taken a seat for me, & made me a present of it—the play is "Queen Elisabeth

I am writing this by my big window, where I can look out on the water—the sun is shining bright as silver

Dearest Mother, I have grown better the last four or five days, & don't have that pain in my head now

It has got pretty cold here the last two days—I wear my big old overcoat.

Y. or Brooklyn, so as not to incommode my folks at home—taking my meals at the restaurants, & home &c—leaving

my time free for my work &c—Now have you such a room for me , at a fair price?

would be very agreeable—Your going off for a week or two would not make any difference—as a lodging is my

main object—write immediately & let me know, as my leave of absence will probably date from Monday next

I have an agreeable situation here—labor moderate—& plenty of leisure—My principal work is to make (from

My dear friend, Yours of the 8th has just come.

For a month or so, I have not been very well—my trouble takes the form, sometimes, of neuralgia—but is

I send my love to Helen and Emmy & all—I have rec'd a letter from mother to-day—she seems to be about

Give my respects to Mr. Arnold —also to Mr.

Parker's family —I am writing this by my window in the office—it is a fine view, ten miles of river,

Price, & all My dear friends, I sent you a telegram, ten minutes ago, telling you that I have just succeeded

In the office, & my work, every thing goes on as usual.

Helen & Emmy, my dear friends, I send you my best love—Go over & see my mother when you can—Best remembrance

My dear friend, I write mainly to see whether I have got the right address—to find whether this reaches

My health has been good—& I have got through the hot weather all right—It is a long while since I have

My dear friend, My book has been delayed among the printers,—but I shall stay till it is all printed—it

fellows & willing enough—but it seems impossible to prevent them making lots of ridiculous errors—it is my

My mother is pretty well for an old woman of 72—John, I hope this will find you, & the wife too in good

I send you both my love.

I was appointed last Wednesday, my new grade & pay commence on Nov. 1st—I haven't got a letter from home

has gone to New York—he is badly afflicted with sore eyes, & has gone there to see the best oculists— My

top of a hill, this house was difficult to heat, but as Louisa Van Velsor Whitman noted, "Jeffy makes my

Here it is copied from [the] volume before us:— O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN! O Captain! my Captain!

Leave you not the little spot, Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead. O Captain!

my Captain!

My captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still, My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse

But I with mournful tread Walk the spot my Captain lies, Compare with this, for poetic or pathetic feeling

Phantoms welcome, divine and tender, Invisible to the rest, henceforth become my companions; Follow me

Perfume therefore my chant, O Love! immortal Love!

For that we live, my brethren—that is the mission of Poets.

the sisters Death and Might, incessantly softly wash again, and ever again, this soil'd world. … For my

where he lies, white-faced and still in the coffin—I draw near; I bend down and touch lightly with my

My other item relates to one of whose merits as an author opinions differ widely.

"My days I sing, and the lands, with interstice I knew of hapless war.

It is as follows:— "O captain! my captain!

Leave you not the little spot, Where on the deck my captain lies, Fallen cold and dead. "O captain!

my captain!

"My captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still; My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse

But I with silent tread, Walk the spot my captain lies, Fallen cold and dead."

children is extremely well mat has has very much to doo do she is going to have a girl to work give my