The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1869-03-25
NEXT-DOOR NEIGHBORS.
BY JULIA KAvANAGH.


Next-door neighbors have ever been
fast friends or bitter enemies. They
have either fought and died for each
Other-in very barbarous times, of
course--or they have cut each others
throats; and the one thing, it is sad to
say, they have done much oftener than
the other. Strong hate seems as a
matter of course, to spring from close
vicinity in these old times, The Cap
ulets and the Montagues must have
been next-door neighbors, though
Shakespeare does not say SO. Super
fetal people may think that Romeo
and Juliet more than made up the
feud but deep thinkers will rather
consider these gentle Veronese lovers
as illustrious exceptions, than prece-
dents at oil affecting the two great
laws oflove and hate, which rule next
door neighborships Besides, it is all
very we'll to talk of the Romeo who
takes poison, and dies at his Juliet's
feet. Old people of the world shake
their heads and sighj they know that
these sort of things take place at GER
tain time OF life, and at that time only.
You see no Italian chronicler, no
Shakespeare, no lovely old legend has
said a word about the youthful Romeo
of twelve, who, maybe, tied an old
saucepan to the tail of Juliet's grey
hound, when that careless housemaid
let it out; or who, young hardened
sinner, threw Cabbage-stalks at Juliet
herself over the garden wall AS for
the bachelor Romeo of forty, who did
his best against the unwedded Juliet OF
thirty-fve, who worried her by raising
up turret with numerous windows,
whence his prying eyes invaded her
privacy, who went three times to law
with her about the partition wall, and
who made her exclaim twenty times a
day, "That dreadful man will be the
death of me !" that Romeo, we say,
has been ignored altogether.
With the progress of time and good
breeding, next-door neighbors have
grown to be civilly affectionats Or po-
litely rancorous, and now, as a rule
the kissing, or the pickering, as the
case may be, is carried out on the most
moderate scale. When next-dool
neighbOrs meet, they bow to, or stare
at, or cut each other as distantly al
they can well do these things, and they
generally walk d through life as they
mostly 60 to heaven, by roads, thai
having once met at right angles, are
never by any means to meet again, but
90 on widening and widening away til
they flow into the great reConciling
sea of death. h..t t''.A
But still we meet every now ant
then, chiefly in small, or out-of-the'
way places, with instances of crue
hate or tender love, Of bitter animOsitJ
or kind and brotherly Offices, which
bring back the old relation in its vivid
aspect before us--modifed, indeed, BY
change of manners, but still the same
at heart, Such instances must b.
known to many; two will illustrate
our meaning.
Two workmen were next-door neigh
bors in one of the London suburbs. -
They lived at peace for whole year
then the dog of one having flown al
the child of the other, war was declar'
ed. Still, though embittered on botf
sides by wives and children, the con-
test was carried on languidly. But
hate was there, passive and phlegmatit
in one man, keen and active in the
other, and unluckily strong in both. =
These men drank freely, and used tC
meet and quarrel at the same public
house. 1t was inevitable that they mus
come to blows, and at length they did
The phlegmatic man, being much tn
stronger Of the two, had no trouble il
defeating his enemy. The worstet
one was bent upon revenge, and lucI
or his own ingenuity, gave him wha
he wanted. He came one evening +
. A. ,,o,,al hount hia faoa rtill haarin,