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Merry Christmas, dear Friend, & a happy New Year!—from frau and me.

She is sending Xmas presents, & receiving 'em. I send you a little box of confections by Adams Exp. with my love. Besides her, you are the only one I have remembered. Sent mine home 2 months ago.

Feel pretty poor this winter; we are scrimping & pinching to try to save a little. Expenses are so great. Tell me what you hd for Xmas. I got an umbrella 3$, nice one. People in Boston were [illegible] over Xmas. Never seen the streets so full of happy folks   Our huge snow-storm has congealed into crust & ice this morning. I have been down with a pertinacious cold (bronchial) for 3 weeks. It is too bad you have so many troubles (with the "old shack"). I wish I could bear some of yr pain. I wd. gladly do it.

Do you suppose a thousand years fr now people will be celebrating the birth of Walt Whitman as they are now the birth of Christ? If they don't the more fools they.  But I hope they won't mythologize you & idiotize themselves as they do over that poor Christ. Why the glorious mystic & genius wd have cut his throat if he had known what idiots people were to be over him. However he has been an enormous influence for good.

"Peace on Earth good will to men."

By the way have you noticed the curious wing-bone-like things the only real angels we know of are wearing on their shoulders? What fragments the average man & the average woman are! The complete homo wd combine them both in perfect musical harmony.

I see in Critic (Nov 29 I think) accounts of yr forthcoming book. It pleases me much.

affec W. S. Kennedy.   WaltWhitman | see notes Jan 5, 1891