75
The Critic's Speech.
"Just the book to review!" the critic cried,
The Chase of the Snark to wit,
While his audience pressed round him on every side,
To hear his opinion of it.
The Chase of the Snark to wit,
While his audience pressed round him on every side,
To hear his opinion of it.
"They read it with glasses, they read it with care,
They peruse it again and again,
They ruin their health beyond repair,
And they give themselves Snark on the brain.
They peruse it again and again,
They ruin their health beyond repair,
And they give themselves Snark on the brain.
"But what are the charms of this curious tale,
Which attract such a numerous band,
Or why it obtains so extensive a sale,
I could never at all understand.
Which attract such a numerous band,
Or why it obtains so extensive a sale,
I could never at all understand.
"The reader who looks through his various books
Five characteristics will mark,
Which always belong, both in prose and in song.
To the author of 'Hunting the Snark.'
Five characteristics will mark,
Which always belong, both in prose and in song.
To the author of 'Hunting the Snark.'
"The first is the binding: especially that
Of the book we presume to review,
On which is depicted a watery flat
Of a sickly cadaverous hue.
Of the book we presume to review,
On which is depicted a watery flat
Of a sickly cadaverous hue.
