
—Been in the room here of course all day—y'rs rec'd—of Ed's safe arrival—& call on you—is the packet of prints in good order? I have sent letter & some prints to R P Smith, Eng:—send you papers & letters quite freely but not much in either—Have been looking over Nov. Century—lots of poetry! in it—a good wood eng: (T Johnson) of Esop, f'm photo of pt'g by Velasquez (Spain)—wonderfully good, I look'd at it, frontispiece, for ten minutes—By what the fellows (experts) tell me who have travel'd in Spain I guess there is no portrait-painting existing any better than V's—
Nov. 2 toward noon—cloudy & dark & rain looking—buckwheat cakes & honey for breakfast—bowel action—Herbert G[ilchrist] here last evn'g rec'd from Century (& sent back) proof of my little 8 line poemet "Old Age's Ship & Crafty Death's"—Have you rec'd the dinner books? How does that print of Morse's bust seem to you?
1/2 past 2—still dark & raining—had a good pummeling an hour ago—& shall have another at 9 evening—My sailor boy is first rate at it—he gives me the best curryings of all—goes into it (as the great painter Corot demanded his pupils to go to work) with conscience—Am sitting here the same—weather temperature mild—(I am half sweating a good deal of the time)—
God bless you all—
Walt Whitman
