Creator

John Muir

Recipient

Miss [Louie] Strentzel

Preview

image preview

Transcription

920 Valencia St, San Francisco, Apr 24th 1879.Alack Alack! Miss Strentzel the big bouquet is dying, dying, dying, & so are the roses. We all do fade as a leaf, fade as a bouquet on a batchelors table. But in the midst of these withered & withering images it is cheering to know that the memory of gifts so pure & good endureth forever. On the evening of its arrival I carried all the bloom- en mass along the hall to the parlor to show it to the family, & all the way was strewn with the rosy [snowy?] petals. These Mary the maid swept away like snow when it’s thaw. The minor sheaves of apple & cherry I gave to Clara, Mary, & Mrs Upham, but the roses & the Mastadon around the pole I kept for my own table. Gradually the bloom fell or withered, showing more & more of the stamens & green leaves. Now the stamens too have withered, though the leaves are still fresh. The roses too are leaning down over the rim of the goblet they are in, wasting rapidly, spiraea & all, save a couple of buds & the glossy trifoliate leaves Yet I’m loathe to cast them away. All [tranquil?] in the Upham circle. Helen & her father hope to be with you in two weeks from now.[in margin: With lasting memories of the vanishing bloom, I am cordially yours, John Muir.]

Location

920 Valencia Street San Francisco, [Calif]

Date Original

1879 Apr 24

Source

Original letter dimensions: 31.5 x 21.5 cm.

Resource Identifier

muir03_1048-let.tif

File Identifier

Reel 03, Image 1048

Copyright Statement

The unpublished works of John Muir are copyrighted by the Muir-Hanna Trust. To purchase copies of images and/or obtain permission to publish or exhibit them, see http://www.pacific.edu/Library/Find/Holt-Atherton-Special-Collections/Fees-and-Forms-.html

Owning Institution

University of the Pacific Library Holt-Atherton Special Collections. Please contact this institution directly to obtain copies of the images or permission to publish or use them beyond educational purposes.

Copyright Holder

Muir-Hanna Trust

Copyright Date

1984

Page Number

Page 1

Keywords

John Muir, correspondence, letters, author, writing, naturalist, California, correspondent, mail, message, post, exchange of letters, missive, notes, epistle

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