"And personally," remarked an intimate friend, "Doctor Holmes was as delightful a character as he is in his books. His best thoughts came full flood, as it were, from a richly stocked mind. His most characteristic traits were his extreme kindliness and his animation. The mirth and vivacity which bubble forth from his books was the same which came spontaneously from his lips in conversation. He was a delightful companion, and a true friend to those who were so fortunate as to know him and be known by him."
Oliver Wendell Holmes taught that life is good and sweet, and worth the living. There is not in all his writings a single morbid note. The world is brighter and happier and better for the rare gift of such a life.
His wit has been the solvent of bigotry. He has done for the religious thought of the century what Whittier did for the political; and his bright optimism has pierced many an old-time error with the potency of the sunbeam.
"It is clearly seen in the perspective," says Charles Dudley Warner, "that Doctor Holmes' life gives us the kind of reputation that is of value to one's native land, and shows us that, after all the parade of official station and the notoriety of politics and money, those names only endure in honor and love which are borne by men of high intellectual and moral qualities. When we sum up all our sources and achievements, it is to him and his few compeers that we must point for our distinction."
FOOTNOTES:
[1] From notes furnished the writer by Dr. Holmes.
[2] In the Harvard College Library may be seen a copy of Anne Bradstreet's poems, which passed through eight editions. The extraordinary title of her world-renowned book reads as follows: "Several poems compiled with great variety of wit and learning, full of delight, wherein especially is contained a complete discourse and description of the four elements, constitutions, ages of man, seasons of the year, together with an exact epitome of the three first monarchies, viz., the Assyrian, Persian, Grecian, and beginning of the Roman Commonweal to the end of their last king: with diverse other pleasant and serious poems. By a gentlewoman in New England." This talented lady was the ancestress not only of Oliver Wendell Holmes, but also of the Channings, Danas and Phillipses.
[3] From notes furnished by Doctor Holmes.
[4] From notes furnished by Doctor Holmes.