Holmes

then, was a humorist, and no study of American humor can omit his name. His fun was that of the fine gentleman and appealed equally to the head and the heart. He had wit, that intellectual quality which sees incongruities and expresses them in such apt terms of language that a keen mental delight follows; but quite as truly, he had that atmospheric quality of humor which rests upon kindliness, exhibits temperament, and is so close akin to pathos that often the two blend, as does an April day of sun and shower. . . . Dr. Holmes's greatest ambition was to be a poet; yet his achievements in prose, on the whole, outweigh what he did in verse. Familiar and well loved as are certain of his lyrics, he will be longest remembered as an essayist.--Richard Burton.