Sentence:  Whatever be the fate of Walt Whitman as a poet or democratic philosopher, this little book assures his place as a true philanthropist, a benefactor of his suffering brethren in the first degree, bestowing on them not the productions of his singular genius, not the alleviations which wealth may procure (these he had not to give), but his great heart, his measureless sympathy, his solicitude and unwearying patience, and the soothing charm of his tranquil presence, Sweet, unaggressive, tolerant, most humane, as he ministered by day and night to the torn wrecks of men left stranded, by brutal fratricidal war, on the battlefield as on the shoals and shores of a sea of blood — ministered at the <WSD>aftercost</WSD> of long years of shattered health. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A subsequent burden or loss resulting from an endeavor.