Letter from Walter H. Page to John Muir, 1898 Jul 6.

we are heartily at your service, not only anxious to put you in book form as soon as you are ready, but very eager to do so, but not willing to spoil so good a pudding by hasty cooking.Best of all the good news that your letter brings is the hope that it gives that we may have the pleasure of seeing you here soon. Please let me know some time beforehand, so that I may be sure to be here.Hoping that the Yosemite paper will come along at your very earliest convenience, and with all good wishes. believe meVery gratefully yours,[illegible]Mr. John Muir.EDITORIAL OFFICE OFThe Atlantic Monthly,BOSTON,July 6, 1898.Dear Mr. Muir,It was a very great pleasure yesterday to receive your letter of June 27th and to hear that you are pegging away at the article about the Yosemite Park.About the collection of papers for a book, you must understand that our first wish, chief wish, only wish, dearest wish, is not to carry out any plan that we may form with regard to them, but to meet your wishes and to serve you best. If, therefore, the Alaska papers and the California papers do not properly go into the same volume, do not let us put them into one volume, but wait till you have enough matter ready op Alaska to make one book and enough matter ready on the other subjects to make another book. The public can afford to wait for such good things a long time---so can the publishers. Pray remember, then, that0244