Lewis Carroll in Wonderland and at Home

parish church of Daresbury, England, where he was born, on January 27, 1832. A little out-of-the-way village w

umerous family," and the officiating clergyman was the proud papa. The name of Charles had been bestowed upon the eldest son for generations of

e hear of, and he held a living in Yorkshire. In those days, a clergyman was dependent upon some noble patron for his living, a living meaning the parish of which he had charge and the salary he received for his work, and so when the Rev. Christopher's eldest

he doors were rarely closed against the winds that howled around them. The good clergyman was firmly convinced that the end of the world would come by frost instead of fire. Even when safely in bed, he never felt quite comfortable un

harles, had four children; Elizabeth Anne, the only daughter, married a certain Charles Lutwidge of Holmrook in Cumberland. There were two sons who died quite young, and Charles, the eldest, entered the army and rose to the rank of captain in th

nd in 1832 we find him baptizing another little Charles, in the parish c

d of great charity, beloved by rich and poor. Though of somewhat sober nature, in moments of recreation he could throw off his cares like a boy, delighting his friends by his wit and humor, and the rare g

mothers are; then we can imagine this one, so kind and gentle that never a harsh word was known to pass her lips, and may be able to trac

responsibility this really is. You mustn't do "so and so" for fear one of the younger ones might do likewise! If his parents had not been very remarkable people, this same Charles might have developed into a virtuous little prig. "Good Brother Charles who never does wrong" might have grown into a terrible bugbear to the other small Do

ittle saints, with ramrods down their backs, sitting sedately of a Sunday in the family pew-perhaps it took two family pews to hold them-with folded hands and pious expressions. We can't believe these Dodgson

farm 'mid s

wand'ring br

pot where I

rs after, when "Alice in Won

panions among his intimate friends. His small hands burrowing in the soft, damp earth, brought up squirming, wriggling things-earthworms, snails, and the like. He made pets of them, studying their habits in his "small boy" way, and having long, serious talks with them, lying on the ground beside them as they crawled around him. An ant-hill was to him a tiny town, and many a long hour the child must have spent busying himself in their sm

e fluently, so that in later years when eager children clustered about him, and with wide eyes and peals of laughter listened to his nonsense verses, full of the queerest words they ever heard, they could still understand from the very tones

re children to be found of their own size and age, but Daresbury itself was very lonely. A canal ran through the far end of the parish, and here bargemen used t

describing how it could be done for a hundred pounds, well knowing, clever man, that he was talking to a most interested listener; for a few weeks later he rece

adventure. There was one never-to-be-forgotten occasion when the family went off on a holiday jaunt to Beaumaris. Railroads

ng holiday with fine summer weather to look forward to. But in winter, in those days, traveling was a serious matter; only a favored few could squeeze into the body of the coach; the others still sat ato

by the hour, filling his head with all those quaint fancies which he has since given to the world. He was a clever little fellow, eager to learn, and from the first his father superintended his education, being himself a

e was put to the study of Latin and Greek, and Charles, besides, developed a passion for mathematics. It is told that when a ve

ficult subject," he replied; "a few years l

st is not recorded, but we rather believe that explanations were set aside for the time. Certain it is, they were demanded again and

received a letter from his mother in which he took much pride, his one idea being to keep it out of the clutches of his little sisters, whose hands were always ready for mischief. He wrote upon the back of the note, forbidding them to touch his property, explaining cunningly that

little imagination to picture the important air with which he carried

tte which was the way people had their "pictures taken" in those days. It was always a profile picture, and little Charles's finely shaped head, with its slight

fortable salary. Mr. Dodgson was sorry to leave his old parishioners and the little parsonage where he had seen so much quiet happiness, but he was glad at the same time, to get away from the dullness and monotony of Daresbury. With a growing family of children it was absolutely necessary to come more into contact with

naby, Dalton and Stapleton, so he was a pretty busy man going from one to the other, and the little

and midway on it is a stone which marks the boundary line. It was an old custom for certain landholders to stand on this bridge at the coming of

the tiny streams which intersect them. Two or three heavy rainfalls will swell the waters, sending them rushing over the country with enormous for

river, wi

oweth to

s doubtless weathered more than one o

lls were covered with luxuriant fruit trees, and everybody knows that English "wall fruit" is the most delicious kind. The trees are planted very close to the wall, and the spreading boughs, when they are heavy with the ripening fruit, are not bent with the weight of it, but are

e of the principal diversions was a toy railroad with "stations" built at various sections of the garden, usually very pretty and rustic looking, planned and built by Charles himsel

le supply of tricks. He also made some quaint-looking marionettes, and a theater for them to act in, even writing

geometrical designs, very puzzling to the unwary person who got lost in them, unable to discover a way out, until by some happy accident the right path was

snow-covered lawn all the more remarkable, for the love of tha

ng line of Dodgsons, saying with a choke in his voice: "I must leave you and

or that reason Charles Lutwidge Dodgson buried his regrets beneath a smiling face, bade farewell to his household, and at the mature age of twelve, armed with enough Gree