* Different Generations and Literary Styles: Hardy (1840-1928) was a Victorian novelist and poet. Whitman (1819-1892) was an American poet from the Romantic and Transcendentalist era. They were from different generations and had very distinct writing styles.
* Lack of Public Interaction: There's no evidence of the two ever meeting or publicly commenting on each other's work.
* Hardy's Critical Focus: Hardy was primarily interested in the English literary scene. He was a prolific writer and critic, but his focus was mainly on Victorian literature and his own works.
It's possible that Hardy read Whitman's works, as they were gaining recognition during his lifetime. However, without any recorded comments, we can't say for sure what he thought.