Leisure Intervals Author:William Carew Hazlitt General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1897 Original Publisher: George Redway Subjects: History / General Literary Criticism / Poetry Poetry / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you b... more »uy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: MY NEIGHBOUR Though what he is, I scarce can tell, I love my next-door neighbour well; And so I ought -- a. He has a dog which seems a pet: One son just come home from Thibet, And one plain daughter. My housemaid says she hears he made A fortune in the blacking trade -- The postman told her. I laugh'd at the idea somehow, And then I could not knit my brow, Poor girl, and scold her! He has no turn for those few things Which I affect. His daughter sings : He plays the fiddle. He does not care for coins or sticks, Books, china, prints, or politics -- He's quite a riddle. He is a good man in his way, He goes to Church three times a-day -- I mean, on Sunday. But, O that fiddle ! O my woes ! I feel so sorry that he goes There only one day ! A warmer Royalist than me This gent'man is; and, dear soul! he Views with dismay My doctrine, when I put it thus -- That governments exist for us, Not t'other way. This theory, I freely own, Was common; but it long has grown Absurd and hateful. No doubt, to have kings ne'er so bad, We ought to feel not only glad, But even grateful! Of Cleopatra's Needle once He spoke, and said, " A horrid dunce I fear you'll call me. But, looking at her needle's size, The lady -- -this is my surprise -- Would rather tall be !" I fear I shook his faith a bit -- - At least, he did not see the wit: For which I'm sorry -- When I said Balaam and the Ass In my sincere opinion was An Ass's story. Th...« less