Context: Hazlitt was a harsh and bitter man, badly maladjusted socially, and he quarreled with both enemies and friends; there were many of the former, few of the latter. It appears that he disliked nearly everyone and that the sentiment was repaid in kind. In spite of his social handicap he had a keen mind, was a brilliant essayist, and had a deep appreciation of beauty. He tried first to become a painter, studying in France, and this background made him one of the first aesthetic critics. He was a sensitive man; his reactions to the objects of his literary and dramatic criticism were usually sound and just. Although he later became somewhat estranged from the poets, he was at one time very close to them. His essay, "My First Acquaintance with Poets," reveals the deep respect, even reverence, with which he regarded those he admired. In it he describes his meeting with Coleridge and Wordsworth. The vivid picture he gives of these two great poets at the beginning of their fame is of considerable value in gaining an understanding of them. Hazlitt tells us that he walked ten miles through freezing mud in January, 1798, to hear Coleridge preach, and that he was transfixed by the power of the man's imagination and imagery; so impressed was he that he arranged a meeting and a visit at the poet's home. He recounts their conversations and his subsequent introduction to Wordsworth. It is evident that these days with Coleridge are unforgettable and that they have furnished an inspiration for the literary life Hazlitt is to undertake.