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Letter from Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, 11 February 1873
St. Louis,
Feb 11th /73
Dear Mother
Mattie is about the same—she has not failed so much within the last few days—indeed I do not know but that she feels a little better—but she is weaker—yet does not suffer so much If the weather should prove good I hope she may still gain again—yet the Dr gives no hope—if she can keep up till Walt gets well enough to come to see her I should rejoice
I received your letter this morning dear Mother—I knew you would all feel badly—but as Mattie was failing so very rapidly I then thought she would not live even a day—I cannot say that Mattie worries much about the children—the fact is that she has been sick so long and suffered so much that I do not think she appreciates how near the end is
If there is any change I will write immediately. Love to all
affectionately Jeff
About the Text
The text presented here is derived from Dennis Berthold and Kenneth Price, eds., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman (Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984). For a detailed description of discrepancies between this electronic edition and the print source, see our statement of editorial policy .
The manuscript of this letter, dated February 11, 1873, is held in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839-1919, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
For more information on the letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman, see Dennis Berthold and Kenneth Price's introduction to the print edition.
Whitman Archive ID
loc.00464