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Show 562. things" could probably be explained if men only understood the natural forces which created them, in any case, he was attracted to Butler as if the man was a magnet and their meeting became a significant part of the plot of First Summer. When he met the professor and his travelling companion, a General Alvord, he pitied the men, bound by clocks, almanacs, orders, duties, etc., and compelled to dwell with lowland care and dust and din, where Nature is covered and her voice smothered, while the poor, insignificant wanderer enjoys the freedom and glory of God's wilderness. He was glad that he was not great enough to be missed in the busy world, and as he observed other tourists in the Valley he was disappointed to see that they were "little influenced by its novel grandeur, as if their eyes were bandaged and their ears stopped." Just as he had with Delaney, he criticized Butler by implication. When the professor gave Muir a book Muir gave him a sketch for his son. He remembered Butler's six year old son, before the Civil War, making patriotic speeches from a tall stool, and his memory suggests his implicit understanding of his own role. Though he wouldn't be as selfish as Billy, neither would he commit himself to a blind obedience toward civilization. He could no more be a son to Butler than he could to Delaney. Yet one must remember also that Butler taught Muir how to read literature, and encouraged him to keep a journal. The young Muir of First, Summer didn't know he would be a writer, but the older Muir recognized his debt to men like Butler who gave him books and also made |