In the year 1862 I read his "Succession of Forest Trees;" that article overcame a certain prejudice I had against him, and led to the reading of his "Excursions" as they appeared in the "Atlantic Monthly" and finally to the reading of "Walden." I had long been a walker, and had even thought of making a book full of homely things. In 1864 I sat down to write an account of a visit to the Regicides' Cave, when I was suddenly struck by a strong wave of influence which made the product of my pen quite different from anything I had ever written before. That was the beginning of "Foot Notes."