HON. MARSHALL P. WILDER. lOI 



Letter of Oliver Wendell Holmes, M. D. 



Beverly Farms, Mass., Sept. 14, 1883. 



My dear Sir, — I am sorry that it will not be in 

 my power to be present at the dinner to be given 

 on the 2 2d, to celebrate the eighty-fifth birthday of 

 the Hon. Marshall P. Wilder. 



As to the " few lines " you are pleased to suggest, I 

 must remind you that I consider myself an Emeritus 

 in that line of business, as well as an Emeritus Pro- 

 fessor; not for the merit of any lines I may have 

 written, but for the number of them. But my heart 

 is always on duty, and it prompts me to send my 

 best and warmest wishes to the venerable and ven- 

 erated friend who has outlived the fruits of four- 

 score seasons, and is still ripening as if his life were 

 all summer. 



Believe me, dear sir, very truly yours, 



O. W. Holmes. 



Charles H. B. Breck, Esq. 



Letter of the Hon. Martin P. Kennard, Assistant Treasurer 

 of the United States at Boston. 



Brookline, Sept. 21, 1883. 



Dear Sir, — I seriously regret that an imperative 

 claim upon me elsewhere will deprive me of the plea- 

 sure of joining in your graceful compliment to the 



