Creator
S. Hall Young
Recipient
[John Muir]
Preview
Transcription
2you the past five years.My life has been a hard struggle in some respects, pleasant & successful in others. I have had work always requiring very close attention, and filling my life with toil & care. I have been successful in my lectures, preaching and pastoral labors, having large congregations & constant encouraging additions to my churches. I have learned much, inproved much (I hope) in preaching power, and enjoyed much. Have been successful in everything but in making money. During the last two or three years the "horror of proverty" as Marion Crawford says has "smitten me in the face". It has been a losing fight against debt and want. To owe money and not be able to pay it--that seems to me to be the very climax of human misery. And the added an-3guish of it that swells the heart to bursting is that others suffer in the same way. For I would not be in debt at all if I could collect what others owe me--but they cannot pay, & thus have added the bitter drops of broken promises, made in good faith, to my cup.I don't know why I have told you this. I have never written it before to a soul. Perhaps in a vague feeling of self-justification for my long stupor of almost despair. The feeling has been so strong at times that only family ties have prevented me from breaking entirely away & fleeing back to my "beautiful, fruitful wilderness"--burying my body in the forest shades--laying my tired head on Mother Nature's breast. But I have strong ties, strong love for my own, am much beloved by them, and am, in a sense, happy. I certainly have had in good meas-02227
Location
Wooster, Ohio
Date Original
1897-01-26T00:00:00
Source
Original letter dimensions: 23 x 14 cm.
Resource Identifier
muir09_0653-let.tif
File Identifier
Reel 09, Image 0653
Copyright Status
Copyright status unknown
Copyright Statement
Some letters written to John Muir may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
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.
Page Number
Page 2
Keywords
John Muir, correspondence, letters, author, writing, naturalist, California, correspondent, mail, message, post, exchange of letters, missive, notes, epistle
