"whether of" this or that

July 27th.—We have had the pleasure of marching to-day 22 miles over a baked white clay surface, accompanied under the broiling sun by a breeze which very gently enveloped us, as in a secondary atmosphere—with dust which gave to all a semblance, not strictly defined, whether of millers or hodmen.  --August 1853 Scenes Beyond the Western Border; and Scenes and Adventures in the Army

Photo Credit: Claudia's Page

...he addressed them in unusual terms, whether of condescension or in terrorem.... --Moby-Dick

 So, through long previous generations, whether of births or thoughts, Fate strikes the present man.  --Pierre

... the lasting bar to real amelioration, whether of individuals or of the world.  --The Confidence-Man