
So glad to hear from you once more—and that you keep going, not withstanding
all the buffets of time & fortune. Very wearisome sometimes I fear, these long
spells of illness: so complicated, never-ended. Just now I am giving every day to
see an old friend, 72 yrs. of age—who is very badly down with heart disease—an old
harpist —plays at country fairs, &c, a reader & admirer of your Leaves of G. , communist, and dreamer of social ideals—he keeps saying "this disease of mine has no end, no sides, and no middle"
I fear you must feel like that! Dear Walt—how strange it is that we are bound
so & entangled in this thing we call the body, without being able to get at the connections. I got yr. November Boughs too for which many thanks. I like the book ever so much,
both
outside &
in. Have just written a review of it for the Scottish Art
Review—wh. I will send you when it comes out. I like the color & shape of the
book—good strong sewing too. Title is a good one. Old Salt Kossabone is fine,
& Red Jacket, and many others. Yonnondio I like very much. The whole book is full of
yourself Walt, and the great invisible wind sweeping thro' the boughs—has a quality of its own too I sh' say, wh. is a worthy addition to L of G
&
Specimen Days.
Glad to hear Herbert G. is doing well. Enclosed draft is only a duplicate of one we sent you in May—wh. probably you got all right—but not having heard I thought I wd. send you this instead of destroying it. You can destroy it.
Everything going well with me just now—I have George Hukin & his wife up here for Christmas—friends I mentioned to you a year or more ago. He & I are still close friends. The Rain is beating upon the windows—& he is reading Bucke's book about you.
With love to you as ever Edwd Carpenter