Creator
John Muir
Recipient
Miss [Louie] Strentzel
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 Status
Copyrighted
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The unpublished works of John Muir are copyrighted by the Muir-Hanna Trust.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
