Dani’s Reviews > Henry David Thoreau: A Life > Status Update

Long after his cellmate went to bed, Henry lingered at the cell’s double-barred windows, watching the bustle in the tavern’s kitchen, listening to dishes rattling, the town clock tolling, and the voices in the street. Legend has it Emerson saw Thoreau at the bars and exclaimed, “Henry, why are you here!” to which Thoreau replied, “Mr. Emerson, why are you not here?”