The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1885-05-21
DIR. Holmes on His Poems.

| Women's Educational and Industrial
| Ution DR.. Holmes was greeted with
perfect ovation by his audience. The
| first selection was ..OId lronsides," !"
| that piece dear to the heart of every
| school-boy orator and almost as fami-
| liar as household word. 1t is one of
Dr. Holmes earliest productions, but
| from the manner in which it was rem
dered it was evident that the fire and
spIrl. which originally inspired the
writer were not yet extinguished. The
next piece l will read" said the doe
tor, twas composed at a time when
physicians were not so much given to
teetotalism as at present. 1t was
written for gathering at the residence
of DR.. Reynolds when l loaned him my
silver punch bowl" DR.. Holmes then
read his poem, ION Lending a Punch
Bowl" The following lines, read with
thai unctuous humor characteristic OF
DR.. Holmes, caused great merriment:
That night affrighted from his nest the
screaming eagle flew;
He heard the Pequot's ringing whoop the
soldiers wild halloo;
And there the sachem learned the rule he
taught to kith and kin;
| kun from the white nan when you find he
smells of Holland GIN.
The next selection was the we'll
known poem entitled "Contentment."
John Quincy Adams" said DR..
| Holmes, ''wrote a poem somewhat
similar to this, though many years
previous to my production. Like my
self, he borrowed a line from Oliver
Goldsmith, but we arrived at rather
different results" The audience laugh
ed heartily on the reading of this poem,
and the modest requirements of the
man who wished to be contented.
Bill and Jo'' was then read. This
poem," the doctor said, twas a partic-
ular favorite of John G.. Whittier" 1t
was followed by Brother JOnathan's
| Lament for Sister Caroline" This
poem," said DR.. Holmes, Il am very
| fond of, for even among his own writ
ings 4 person has preference. 1t was
written before the war, when South
Carolina first seeded, and | received a
number of letters from gentlemen re-
siding in that State which showed that
even during the war there was some
kindly feeling towards the Northern
ers." That exceedingly comical poem,
"A Farewell TO Agassiz, " written when
the professor started on his trip of in
vestigation to the Andes Mou gtains,
was next read. followed by The Sep
tember Gale and s'An Old Mans
Dreams" This last poem" said the
doctor, "was written in 1854. when /
considered myself very old man,
much older than | do now" BY spe-
cial request, DR.. Holmes read his we'll
known poem, dorothy O." He gave
brief description of the portrait on
which the piece was written, and stated
that the picture had undergone repairs
which would tend to preserve it for
long time. The original canvas had
been removed from the back and new
cloth had been applied. 1t was at
present, he said, in his library, where
he would be happy to show it to
any who might desire to see it. The
familiar lines gathered fresh beauty
from the lips of the author, particularly
the oft-quoted verse:
Soft is the breath of maiden's Yes.
Not the light gossamer strs with less,
But never cable that holds so fast
Through all the battles of wave and blast
And never an echo of speech or song
That lives i'll the babbling air so long.
The last selection was 1.-The Cham
bered Nautilus" which, DR.. Holmes
said, was the most carefully
of all his poems.
At the close of the readings the doc
tor was thanked by Mrs. Gordon in
behalf of the ladies. Mrs. Isabel
Hooker then stated that she wished to
say a word before the assembly dis
persed. She said that she remembered
one morning when she met Dr. Holmes,
and ne was not in the genial frame of
mind that he was at present. She
asked him what was the trouble, and
he replied that three Ii 5 annoyed
him. First, he had consy..cd to write
for the atlantic Monthly once more;
second, that he had so much CORE
spondence on hand, and third, that
people would still persist in coming to
him fer advice. 81 told him. said
Mrs. Hooker, ''that he should give up
writing for the Atlantic. He had fur
nished its columns with The Autocrat
of the Breakfast Table and that was
quite enough. His correspondence
contained nothing but flattery, and he
had had enough of that, and lastly
that having passed all his life in killing
people, he should not give any more
pills or advice. l think that he ought
to devote the rest of his existence to
reading his excellent poems to delighted
listeners. We all sincerely hope that
he can favor us again