"
"Stickeen," Mr. Muir's incomparable dog story, came out in book form
while we were in Pasadena. I sent a copy to my brother, who wrote
later asking me to inquire of Mr. Muir why he did not keep Stickeen
after their perilous adventures together. So I put the question to
him one day. "Keep him!" he ejaculated, as he straightened his
back, and the derisive wrinkles appeared on one side of his nose;
"keep him! he wasn't mine--I'm Scotch, I never steal." Then he
explained that Stickeen's real master was attached to him; that he
could not take him from him; and besides, the dog was accustomed
to a cold climate, and would have been very unhappy in California.
"Oh, no, I couldn't keep Stickeen," he said wistfully, but one felt
that he /had/ kept Stickeen, the best part of him, by immortalizing
him in that story.
While we were housekeeping in Pasadena, Mr. Burroughs began writing
on the Grand Canon. One morning, after having disposed of several
untimely callers, he had finally settled down to work. We sat
around the big table writing or reading. Mr. Burroughs was there in
the body, but in spirit we could see he was at the "Divine Abyss,"
as he called the Canon. Once he read us a few sentences which were
so good that I resolved we must try harder to prevent interruptions,
that he might keep all his writing up to that standard.
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