favorable. The public at least was interested and, in two years, the publishers sold two thousand copies. Comment upon these books must be reserved for a later chapter. Though "Walden" was never a work to catch popular fancy, in the fleeting sense of the term, it gained a sure and increasing hold upon the reading-public of the higher grades and established Thoreau's reputation as an author, naturalist and philosopher. The words which he used in general application in his journal for November 20, 1857, are especially pertinent for "Walden";—"It is not the book of him who has traveled farthest on the surface of the globe, but of him who has lived the deepest and been the most at home."
As Thoreau's life neared its close and his reputation became established, national affairs approached a climax, destined to further increase public interest in this man and evidence his strong, lofty character. Like nearly all the radical thinkers of his day, he had long censured the lax and corrupt politics of his time, for history repeats itself in such conditions in every generation. In Thoreau's case this opposition had a definite cause and was given a bold, defiant expression. Among the scattering incidents, always associated with his memory, is the fact that, while at Walden, he had been arrested
