was in Boston, and his professional work in the Harvard Medical College, almost all his days. He travelled in Europe, in the later years of his life, and recorded the experiences of the journey in a delightful volume called "Our Hundred Days in Europe." He was conservative in his political and social views; and never joined the antislavery movement. But he was radical in his religious opinions; and his work is sometimes marred by the undue prominence of theological controversy. In an interesting letter to James Russell Lowell, in the early years of his manhood, he defends himself for not taking part in the political and social efforts in which his friends were so much engaged; and he held quite consistently to the principles of this letter throughout his career. According to the testimony of his friends, he was a man of the most genial, lovable, and likeable personal characteristics. Mr. T. W. Higginson says that of all men he ever knew, Holmes was most like a fountain; constantly bubbling over with sweet feeling and bright thought.

His literary career was long, beginning with the publication of "Poetical Illustrations of the Athenæum Gallery of Paintings," in 1827, and ending with the issue of "Over the Teacups," in 1890. Sixty-three years of continuous production is a rare record. In the latter years of his life he occupied a unique position; the last of the great group of writers to which he belonged, a peculiar reverence was felt for him. His genial, accessible disposition

made the public feel nearer to him than it often does
to men of his fame and powers.
His intellect ap-
peared to retain its freshness unimpaired; so that
the public never ceased to expect something charm-
ing and helpful from his pen.

The work referred to above as his first publication was prepared in connection with two other writers, J. O. Sargent and Park Benjamin. His first volume of poems appeared in 1836. Editions, with poems written later, were published in 1846, 1849, 1850, 1862. The "Autocrat" series began with the first issue of "The Atlantic Monthly," November, 1857. Elsie Venner," his first novel, and "Songs in Many Keys" were issued in 1861. "Humorous Poems," 1865; "The Guardian Angel," a novel, 1867; "Songs of Many Seasons," 1874; "A Mortal Antipathy," a novel, 1885; "Before the Curfew," 1888, are among the more important publications that followed.

66

For special study, in the poetry of Holmes, take, as our first selection, one of his earliest poems, which yet bids fair to hold its freshness of interest with the public as long as anything he has written.

The charm of this poem is in its blending of humor and pathos. We see the grotesqueness of the figure, and at the same time we feel the sadness of it. The charm is elusive; but we may call attention to some of the elements which help to secure it. One point easily seen is the art with which the vanished youth of the old man is kept before the imagination. Through the present picture, which is simply quaint and queer, we see always the shadow of the gallant youth, strong, erect, handsome, loved, and loving, of years gone by. Another notable quality is the delicacy of the humor. The ludicrous aspects of the figure are clearly indicated; but the manner is never unsympathetic. In the fifth and sixth stanzas, the humor comes nearest to being broad; but the pathetic contrast between the two saves it from any trace of coarseness. In the third stanza the interpretation given to the palsied shake of the old man's head is a beautiful example of the art with which all through the poem we are kept on the trembling line between smiles and tears. At line 19 is a fine example of a well-selected adjective. The epithet "mossy' suggests in one word the many years during which the old man's life has been a lonely one. It suggests also the picture of the old-fashioned "God's acre,"

with all its sacred, sad, and peaceful associations. And at the same time, it alliterates with the word "marbles," and thus helps to make a smooth musical line. The closing stanza fixes the pathetic impression as the strongest in the poem by reminding us how to each of us it may be appointed to become "The last leaf upon the tree."

The kind of verse called "occasional," has been described as presenting peculiar difficulties to the poet. Holmes showed unusual facility in this sort of poetry. He was always in great demand for public gatherings of all sorts; and never failed to produce something which expressed the spirit of the occasion in musical verse, often with genuine wit, and not seldom with true poetic beauty. The Harvard class of '29 was peculiarly favored among college classes, in having Dr. Holmes for the poet of its frequent reunions. With the great multiplication of courses of study, and the general use of the elective system, the old-fashioned college class is becoming a part of ancient history. When forty or fifty men entered college together, all took the same studies, recited together three times daily for four years, and together received the same degree, there was a closeness of association which led to the formation of very tender ties. This was the normal condition of college life for the first seventy-five years of the present century. It is "gone like tenants that quit without warning, down the back entry of time." But Holmes has preserved a very precious part of the spirit of that life, in his delightful series of lyrics prepared for the re