The Rambler, Numb. 12. Saturday, April 28, 1750. The entire column given over to a touching letter signed “Zosima,” detailing the ill treatment received by the writer, a thoughtful, well-to-do woman fallen on hard times, when seeking work as a maid. The letter ends with thanks to an unnamed gentle woman who treated her with kindness and generosity, though she no longer had a position to fill.
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From Walt Whitman: His Final Thoughts on Life, Writing, Spirituality, and the Promise of America, as told to Horace Traubel, published by The Library of America:
We ought to invite the world through an open door — all men — yes, even the criminals — giving to everyone a chance — a new outlook. My God! are men always to go on clawing each other — always to go on taxing, stealing, warring, having a class to exclude and a class excluded — always to go on having favorite races, favorite castes — a few people with money here and there — all the rest without anything everywhere?
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I haven’t felt much like writing today. Instead, I took a walk and raked some leaves. Then came the rain, and the trees were pleased.
October 13, 2023.
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[ 1896 ]
Categories: If It Had A Name
Tags: Generosity, Horace Traubel, Journals, Kindness, Leaves, Library of America, Rain, Reading, Samuel Johnson, The Rambler, Trees, Walking, Walt Whitman, Writing, Zosima
William Michaelian 