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Sierra Club Bulletin 



thing not only to be loved, but to be respected and revered. I 

 well remember his intense indignation over the proposal by his 

 friend Charles S. Sargent to substitute the name Magnolia foe- 

 tida for Magnolia grandiUora on the grounds of priority. He 

 quoted Sargent as saying, "After all, 'what's in a name?"' and 

 himself as replying, 'There is everything in the name ; why in- 

 flict upon a beautiful and defenceless plant for all time the stig- 

 ma of such a name as Magnolia foetidaf You yourself would 

 not like to have your own name changed from Charles S. Sar- 

 gent to 'the malodorous Sargent.' " 



John Muir's incomparable literary style did not come to him 

 easily, but as the result of the most intense effort. I observed his 

 methods of writing in connection with two of his books upon 

 which he was engaged during the years 191 1 and 1912. He 

 came to our home on the Hudson in June, 191 1, after the Yale 

 Commencement, where he had received the degree of LL.D. on 

 June 21. He brought with him his new silken hood, in which 

 he said he had looked very grand in the Commencement parade. 

 On Friday, June 21, he was established in Woodsome Lodge,* 

 a log cabin on a secluded mountain height, to complete his vol- 

 ume on the Yosemite. Daily he rose at 4 130 o'clock, and after a 

 simple cup of coffee labored incessantly on his two books, The 

 Yosemite and Boyhood and Youth. It was very interesting to 

 watch how difficult it was for him. In my diary of the time I 

 find the following notes : "Knowing his beautiful and easy style 

 it is very interesting to learn how difficult it is for him; he 

 groans over his labors, he writes and rewrites and interpolates. 

 He loves the simplest English language and admires most of all 

 Carlyle, Emerson and Thoreau. He is a very firm believer in 

 Thoreau and starts my reading deeply of this author. He also 

 loves his Bible and is constantly quoting it, as well as Milton 

 and Burns. In his attitude toward nature, as well as in his spe- 

 cial gifts and abilities, Muir shares many qualities with Thoreau. 

 First among these is his mechanical ability, his fondness for 

 the handling of tools; second, his close identification with na- 

 ture ; third, his interpretation of the religious spirit of nature ; 

 fourth, his happiness in solitude with nature; fifth, his lack of 



* The name is now changed to John Muir Lodge. 



