Letter from Daniel Muir to John Muir, 1866 Feb 24

[1] Town of Buffalo 24 Feby 1866 Dear John I have been longer of answering your letter about the Discription of Canady & the account of your Contract for rake making then I thought I would. I wished to see that god had led me to the best place when he brought to Wisconsin I suppose you will be well through with your rake concern by this time what are you going to do nixt, are you going to continue at that kind of business or what. And how is your Soul thriving in so much confusion, see that it is not like the wheat amongst the thorns for if so, there will be nothing but straw when the harvest comes, you know religion ought to be the first thing in home for if it is not, your worldly things will be without a blessing & profitless, for what will it profit a man if he should gain the whole world if he lose his own soul & what can a man give in exchange for his soul. Gods words are all true & therefore cannot fail. If the kingdom of heaven is the first thing as reguards importance why should you not think most about the things above & I fear you do not. It appears to me that you think more on the things of this world, now if you knew just how long you were going to live in this world you might divide your time so as to give the two worlds what portion you might judge best, that is if your judgement would answer, But when you know that man cannot will nor do, So as to pleas god of himself, it is consequently best to do at all times according to gods judgement, & let him work in us the will & to do, at all times, accordin to his good pleasure, for I hope you have learned before this that man naturally is productive of nothing but evil, & is in darkness & knows not his distance from god is not convinced of their awefull po[illegible] in the Sight of god, and dose not know that it is of the mercy of god that they are not in hell, nor do the know the judgement of god reguarding them & think not that the axe is laid at the trees root that in case it doth not bring forth fruit after another years grace, the executioner may behttps://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/jmcl/42802/thumbnail.jp