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  My dear Walt Whitman,

Your most kind letter of May 9th & 10th to hand. It affects me profoundly that you should have written at all under such circumstances of "deadly lassitude & weakness"—& I thank you with a heart full of gratitude & love.

I cherish the hope that your long spell of weakness may be partly due to the season, & that as the year  advances your strength may in some measure return, & "the waters come in again." Our loving hopes & prayers are with you.

Copies of the "N E Magazine" have come from Traubel; & last night I had the long looked for pleasure of reading his article.—I am delighted with it—even beyond anticipation mainly, of course, because of its new information about you, but also because of its admirable workmanship, & its covert glimpses & unconscious portraiture (in part) of Traubel himself. Every  lover of yours owes him a debt of gratitude for his long devotion to you, & every thing goes to shew that in himself he merits our warm affection & regard, & to heighten them. And they are especially due from us, to whom he has shown such cordial & genereous comradeship.

Our Bolton holidays at Whitsuntide (for 3 days) begin this morning, & thousands have gone away by excursion trains to different parts of the country. The weather, however, has been very unfavourable  all week—changeable, very cold at times, & showery. I have decided to spend the holiday quietly at home, & Sam Hodgkinson, one of the friends, who is just recovering from "la grippe" is coming here to stay with me (Expect him in a few minutes). Doubtless Johnston, too, will run over when his professional practice permits.

The sun is breaking through the clouds & I am hoping for a fine day.—

With continual thoughts of you, & a heart full of loving wishes

Yours affectionately J.W. Wallace

P.S. S.H. joins me in love to you.