198 ARTISTS AND AUTHORS overshadowed the early poems, but there is ample evidence of genius in these first- fruits. None of them are meant to be thrilling or profound, but they all have some characteristic grace, some unexpected stroke of wit, some fascinating mel- ody. I do not know any poems of a similar class which afford such unfailing delight. It is true they are mundane and their wit has often a satiric, " know- ing " air ; but the pleasantry is never mocking or malevolent ; and the exuber- ance of spirit is contagious. Such a poem as "Terpsichore" (1843) ' s inimitable in its suggestions. The lines have a springing movement, an elastic pose. To appreciate it the reader must " wait till he comes to forty year." " Urania " has also many fine passages, grave as well as gay ; many of its hints were developed later with brilliant effect in the " Autocrat." This " rhymed lesson " touches with felicity the prevailing vulgarities and solecisms in manners, dress, and pronuncia tion, and suggests, by anticipation, the jovial reign of a monarch who at his break- fast-table lays aside his robes of majesty and sometimes plays the r61e of his servi- tor, the merry philosopher in motley. Naturally our author's reputation and his well-known brilliancy in conversa- tion made him a great favorite in society. For many years he was virtually the laureate of Boston and Cambridge, and produced a great number of odes and hymns for public occasions. He of all men seemed to have the invention, the dash, and the native grace which give to occasional verse its natural and sponta- neous air. This facility is surely not a cause for reproach. Such verse may seem easy, but it is easy only for a genius. In the lightest of his odes there is stuff and workmanship far removed from the negligent ease of vers de socie'te'. A reputation for wit may be as injurious to a poet as to a would-be bishop. People could hardly be persuaded to take Sydney Smith seriously, and the world has been slow in recognizing the solid qualities, the keen insight, the imagination, and poetic feeling of Holmes. It is only one of the facets of his brilliant mind. At the dinner where the twelve original contributors of the Atlantic Monthly met, the part which Holmes was to take was a matter of lively anticipation. The magazine had been projected for the purpose of uniting the literary forces of the North in favor of universal freedom ; but Holmes had no part in its direction. Lowell prophesied at the time that the doctor would carry off the honors. In the first number there was an article by Motley, a fine poem by Longfellow, one by Whittier, a piece of charming classic comedy by Lowell, a group of four strik- ing poems by Emerson, some short stories, articles on art and finance, and the " Autocrat of the Breakfast Table." What would not modern philosophers give for a similar combination to-day ! Still, the enterprise might have failed but for the immediate interest awakened by the original thought and style of Holmes. The sensation was new, like that of a sixth sense. The newspapers quoted from the " Autocrat ; " it was everywhere talked about, and in a short time its fame went through the nation. The " Autocrat " was succeeded by the " Professor " and the " Poet." The talk of the " Professor " was somewhat more abstruse, though equally interesting to cultivated readers. The " Poet " attacked the dogma of the endless duration
