Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1901-04-20

or to withhold or exaggerate. or mis-color
what he did believe.
ihe accuracy and propriety which have
been imputed to h.m in the form of sub
stance of his writings extend to the NOR
al element in them. He was extremely
careful to say with precision that which
he truly thought. The result was that
in all the thirteen volumes of his COL
lected work there is probably not il line
which he would wish to expunge. He
was an entirely clearly writer Thirty
years ago this would have been assumed
rather than mentioned, but the sudden
dart toward the pig-sty. which las
been made by so many writer's lately
makes it desirable to declare that DR..
Holmes was not of this herd. He had
too much respect for himself for his fell
low men and women and for literature
which he loved to write grossly.
English and American writer's declare
their prominent books to be discussions
of social problems and Frenchmen
might allege that all nastiness is reality
and all reality is nastness. The doctor
was not to be deceived. He rarely re-
ferred to this style of book. but when he
did it was with curt condemnation.
In point of fact DR.. Holmes person.
ality poured through his books like a
stream in flood time through meadows.
soaking and saturatng them. He was
never far or long away in his novels. He
lurked in the stanzas of a large portion
of the lyrics. He did not work like an
ant. by manipulation, acquisition and
dealing with outside materials, but he
spun his books oue of himself as spider
spins his web from his vitals. The man
who can do this thing we'll can do the
most popular writing in literature. He
must be an egotist. but he must be pre-
cisely the right kind of egotist for if he
is not so the sensitive taste of readers
who are very fastidious upon this point
will reject him. DR.. Holmes certainly
was an egotist. not however in an Of
fensive sense of the word. Alongside of
III his kindness, his philantruphy, there
ran ever the deep strong current of his
own purpose.
In writing DR.. Holmes rarely adopted
the suggestion of another person. but
has done such a thing. and sometimes
been sorry and sometimes glad. Ed
ward Everett corrected as he thought.
line for him and he accepted the alter
alton. Forty years afterwards he re-
stored the original reading. AS for re-
peating himself that was a different mat
ter-objectiOnabe but entirely honest.
He did it sometimes. What he once said
IN the subject was happily put. You
don't suppose that my remarks are like
SO many postage stamps do you, each to
be only once uttered. If you do you are
mistaken. I shall never repeat con-
versation. but an idea often"
To Miss Bobns. a friend of his daugh-
ter he vigorously said one day when he
was over seventy-five years old, that
he should like to live another life. mot
this same life over again, but another
life) of equal length and in it to do the
things which he had not done in this
one. Among these things he especially
spoke of travel Il don't want to leave
the world" he said "bs fore l have seen
it," 1t was somewhere near the time
that he wrote If in a future state there
shall be vacations in which we may have
liberty to revisit our old home l think
one of the first places l should go to af-
ter my birthplace-the old gable rooted
house--the place where in it stood moth
, err would be that mighty awe-inspiring
river. The Nile
1t happened that after DR.. Holmes had
succeeded in OUTLYING the ollottel term
of human existence, Harvard university
became aware that he was man OF
somewhat more than average note; the
consequence Of this discovery had been
| that in 1880 he was able to write to James
| Russell Lowell. Il bought me- Il new silk
| gown and went to commencement. and
! they made me an l.. l.. d. doctor OF
| law. During his stay in England the
British seats of learning seized the op-
/ portunity to do likewise. Cambridge
made him doctor of letters Edin.
| burg made him another l.. l.. d. and Ok
| ford made him D. l.. c. doctor of civil
| law. He was naturally gratified with
! these honors and was not at all annoyed
! when the Cambridge under graduate
| burst into an uproariOus song o.
| Holmes. Sweet Holne.,."
! Oliver Wendell Holmes died Oct. Z, 1S9
at the age of 50 years, l month and
DAYS.
as
Mrs. G. H. Martius read her valedic
tory in the following interesting paper
/ which is given in full: