Creator
John Muir
Recipient
Louie [Strentzel Muir]
Transcription
[4]
[town?]. They were very cordial & are determined to get me away from the hotel I spent the evening there talking family affairs, [auld lang syne?] glaciers wild gardens adventures etc till after 11, then returned to the hotel. Here are a few flowers that I picked on the Castle Hill on my walk with Douglas for Helen & Wanda. I pray Heaven in the midst of my pleasure that you are all well Edinburgh is apart from its glorious historical associations far the most beautiful town I ever saw I can not conceive how it could be more beautiful. In the very heart of it rises the great castle hills glacial sculptured & wild like a bit of Alaska in the midst of the most beautiful architecture to be found in the world. I wish you could see it, & you will when the babies grow up. I think you had better send your letters hereafter to the care of the London, Paris, & American Bank Limited London, England, & I shall have them forwarded from there.
[in margin: Love to all. Hello Midge, How do you feel,[illegible] Wanda. Goodbye. J.M.]
[1]
Dunbar Scotland
July 6, 1893.
Dear Louie I left Liverpool Monday morning, reached Edinburgh early the same day, went to a hotel, & then went to the old book publisher David Douglas to whom Johnson had given me a letter. He is a very solemn looking dignified old Scotchman of the old school, an intimate friend & crony of John Brown who wrote "Rab & his friends", knew Hugh Millar Walter Scot & indeed all the literary men was the publisher of Dean Ramsays R[illegible] of Scothst life & character etc, He had heard of me through my writings & after he knew who I was burst forth into the warmest cordiality & became a perfect gushing fountain of fun, humor, & stories of the old Scotch writers, Tuesday morning he took me in hand, & led me over Edinburgh, took me to all the famous places celebrated in Scots novels went around the [Cotton?] Hill & the castle, into the old churches so full of
[in margin: 696]
01699
[2]
[illegible], to Queen Marys palace museum & I dont know how many other places. In the evening I dined with him, & had a glorious time He showed me his literary treasures & curiosities, told endless [illegible] of John Brown Walter [Scot?[ & Hugh Millar etc, while I of course told my icy tales until very late or early. The most wonderful night as far as humanity is concerned I ever had in the world. Yesterday forenoon he took me out for another walk & filled me with more wonders. His kindness & warmth of heart once his confidence is gained is boundless. From feeling lonely & a stranger in my own native land he brought me back into quick & living contact with it & now I am a Scotchman & at home again In the afternoon I took the train for Dunbar & in an hour was in my own old town. There was no carriage from the Lorne Hotel that used to be our home so I took the
[3]
one from the St George that I remember well as Cossars Inn that I passed every day on my way to school. But Im going to the Lorne, if for nothing else to take a look at that dormer window I climbed in my night gown to see what kind of an adventure it really was. I sauntered down the street & went into a store on which I saw the sign Melville & soon found that the proprietor was an old playmate of mine & he was of course delighted to see me. He had been reading my articles & said he had taken great pride in tracing my progress through the far off wildernesses etc Then I went to William Comb mothers old friend, who was greatly surprised no doubt to see that I had changed in forty years. "And this is Johnie Muir! Bless me when I saw ye last ye were [nothing?] but a small mischievous lad. He is very deaf unfortunately, & was very busy I am to see him again today. Next I went in search of Mrs [Lunim?] my cousin & found her & her daughter in a very pretty home half a mile from
Location
Dunbar, Scotland
Date Original
1893 Jul 6
Source
Original letter dimensions: 18 x 23 cm.
Recommended Citation
Muir, John, "Letter from John Muir to Louie [Strentzel Muir], 1893 Jul 6." (1893). John Muir Correspondence (PDFs). 952.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/muir-correspondence/952
Resource Identifier
muir07_1182-let.tif
File Identifier
Reel 07, Image 1182
Collection Identifier
Online finding aid for the microform version of the John Muir Correspondence http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt0w1031nc
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, click here to view the Holt-Atherton Special Collections policies.
Owning Institution
Holt-Atherton Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library. 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
Pages
2 pages
Keywords
Environmentalist, naturalist, travel, conservation, national parks, John Muir, Yosemite, California, history, correspondence, letters
