I've often wished that I had clear,
For life, six hundred pounds a year,
A handsome house read more

I've often wished that I had clear,
For life, six hundred pounds a year,
A handsome house to lodge a friend,
A river at my garden's end,
A terrace walk, and half a rood
Of land, set out to plant a wood.

Pull the string, and it will follow wherever you wish. Push it, and it will go nowhere at all.

Pull the string, and it will follow wherever you wish. Push it, and it will go nowhere at all.

I wish they would only take me as I am.

I wish they would only take me as I am.

With all thy sober charms possest,
Whose wishes never learnt to stray.

With all thy sober charms possest,
Whose wishes never learnt to stray.

What folly can be ranker. Like our shadows,
Our wishes lengthen as our sun declines.

What folly can be ranker. Like our shadows,
Our wishes lengthen as our sun declines.

He calls his wish, it comes; he sends it back,
And says he called another; that arrives,
read more

He calls his wish, it comes; he sends it back,
And says he called another; that arrives,
Meets the same welcome; yet he still calls on;
Till one calls him, who varies not his call,
But holds him fast, in chains of darkness bound,
Till Nature dies, and judgment sets him free;
A freedom far less welcome than this chain.

He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely read more

He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife.

Thy wish was father, Harry, to that thought.

Thy wish was father, Harry, to that thought.

Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can read more

Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained