Lewis Carroll in Wonderland and at Home

est, when asked which of the "Alices" she preferred, answered at once that she thought "Through the Looking-Glass" w

poor nonsense can be stupid or silly. Good nonsense is exceedingly clever; it takes clever people to write it and only clever people can understand and appreciate it, so when the

selected, one with some deformity being preferred, whereat the courtiers might laugh; one with sharp tongue and ready wit, to make the time fly. He was clothed in "motley"-that is, his dres

, though a sword could not thrust with keener malice, and historic moments have often hung upon a fool's jest. The history of the Court Fool is the history of medi?val England, France, Spain, and Italy, of a time when a quick figure of

court customs, but the nonsense that was "writ in books" lived after them,

swaggering outwardly, trembled inwardly, as he sent his barbed shaft of wit against some lordly breast. Th

not command so large an audience, for children turn to healthy nonsense as sunflowers to the sun, and Lewis Carroll gave them all they wanted. "Grown-ups," too,

t many would say "I like any part," and really with such a fascinating book how can one choose? The very opening is enough to cure any little girl of drowsiness on a summer day, and the picture of the pompous lit

ings happen in the simplest way. There is a story, for instance, of one little girl, who, after a nice warm bath, was carried to bed and tucked in up to her rosy chin. Her heavy eyes shut immediately and lo! in half a minute she was back in the big porcelain tub, splashing about like a little mermaid; then nurse pulled the stopper ou

e shortest notice was very puzzling and amusing. How like real people was this dream-child; how many everyday folks find themselves too small for great places, and too great for the small ones, and how many experiments th

he bottle that tasted of "cherry tart, custard, pineapple, roast turkey, toffy, and hot buttered toast," and found herself growing smaller and smaller, she cried, because she was only ten inches high

he remembered trying to box her own ears for having cheated herself in a game of croquet she was playing against herself, for this curious child was very fond of prete

ate it something different might happen, for otherwise she would go out like a candle if she grew any smaller. O

her feet they seemed to be almost out of sight, they were getting so far off.) 'Oh, my poor little feet! I wonder who will put on your shoes and stockings for you now, dears? I'm sure I shan't be able! I shall be a great deal too fa

must go by the carrier,' she thought; 'and how funny it'll seem, sen

Right Fo

rth

the F

Alice'

at nonsense

e idea of Alice being nine feet high was too ridiculous, but the poor

go on crying in this way! Stop this moment I tell you!' But she went on all the same, shedding gallons of

the verses which had been familiar to her from babyhood. She tried to say "How doth the little busy bee," but t

the little

his shin

he waters

y golde

ully he see

y spreads

es little

tly smil

s the child who speaks English who does not know

h children, the translator, M. Henri Bué, had to substitute something else which they could understan

wo feet high and the water was up to her chin. It was so salty, being tear-water, that she thought she had fallen into the sea, and in this sly fashion

all fallen into the water and were eagerly swimming toward the shore. They gained it at last and sat there, "the birds with draggled feathers, the animals with t

ument with the Lory in particular about how to get dry. But the Lory "turned sulky and would only say: 'I am older than you and must know better,' and

e thought of popping it into "Wonderland." "This creature," he writes, "is, we believe, a species of parrot. Southey informs us that it is a bird of gorgeous pl

probably, to judge from the color of the bird, one of those magnificent Easter eggs which our r

onfusing description

a great deal we don't know on this i

tain age quite as a matter of course, as, indeed, sh

d the Mouse, who had undertaken to make them dry. "Ahem!" said the Mouse, with an important air, "are you all ready? This is the driest thing I kn

as satisfied, and in the distribution of prizes no one was forgotten. Alice herself received her own thimble, which she fished out of her pocket, and which

ough she was left at home dozing in the sun; Alice mortally offended the Mouse, and fright

s Carroll's; we lose ourselves in the mazes of Wonderland, and even as we grow ol

and she was continually meeting new-well, not exactly people, but experiences. Her talk with a caterpillar during one of those

u?' said the

hyly: 'I-I hardly know, sir, just at present: at least I know who I was when I

?' said the Caterpillar st

afraid, sir,' said Alice, 'bec

e,' said the

y politely, 'for I can't understand it myself to begin with,

' said the

e to turn into a chrysalis-you will some day, you know-and then after that

,' said the

different,' said Alice; 'all I know

y, 'Who are you?' Which brought them back a

to recite "You are old, Father Will

ther William," t

ir has becom

cessantly stan

at your age

ather William re

might injur

'm perfectly s

it again a

d the youth, "as I

own most un

back somersault

is the reas

the sage, as he sh

l my limbs

is ointment-one

o sell you

the youth, "and yo

ng tougher

he goose, with the

id you mana

id his father, "I

each case w

strength which

the rest

d the youth; "one

e was as ste

an eel on the e

ou so awful

hree questions, an

r; "don't give

an listen all da

'll kick you

, but for the life of her the old words refused to come. It seemed that with her power to grow large or sm

tle girl has had similar experience when it came to eating and drinking. "Eat so and so," says a "grown-up," "and you will be tall and strong

ok sprinkling pepper lavishly into the soup she was stirring, and out of it for the matter of that, so that everybody was sneezing. The Cat was the sole exception; it sat on the hearth and grinned

rd with such sudden violence that Alice quite jumped; but she saw in another moment t

ats always grinned-in fact I di

aid the Duchess, '

Alice, very politely, feeling quite p

h,' said the Duchess

ark and thought it would be well to intr

wing beautiful lullaby, which she emphasized by a violent shake at the end of every line. Considering

ly to your

him when

does it

he know

or

Cook and the

wow

everely t

m when he

n thoroug

r when he

or

wow

with this wonderful gift of nonsense, and in conversation he was equally clever. He gave the Duchess quite the air of a learned lady, even though she did not know that mustard was a vegetable. When Alice suggested that it was a mineral, she was quite ready to agree. "'There's a large mu

like to put it more simply, "Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that wha

d Alice, very politely, 'if I had it written do

ld say if I chose,'" the Duche

uninvited guest, are too well-known to quote. Many a time the Mad Tea Party has been the theme of some nursery play or school entertainment. The Mad Hatter and the

tter wouldn't s

utter,' the March H

s well,' the Hatter grumbled; 'you should

t into his cup of tea and looked at it again; but he could think of nothin

tween the March Hare and the Hatter, contributed his share to the fun, while the Hatter's songs, whic

twinkle,

der what

the world

a tray in

le, t

familiar pages? What is it in the mysterious depths of childhood which Lewis Carroll has caught in his golden web? Perhaps, it is not all mere childhood; we are ourselves but "children of a larger growth," and deep down within us at some time or other fancy runs riot and imagination do

, and above all he possesses that indescribable thing called charm. It lurks in the quaint conversations, in the fluent measure of the songs,

Alice met on her journey. The Mock Turtle, the Gryphon, the Lory, the Dodo, the Cheshire Cat, the Fish and Frog footmen-how could we imagine them without the Tenniel "guidebook"? The numberless transformations of Alice could hardly be understood without photographs of

id a visit to the Mock Turtle, who, by way of entertaining his guests, gave the follow

introduced to a lobster-' (Alice began to say 'I once tasted-' but she checked herself hastily,

d Alice. 'What sor

, 'you first form into a

turtles, salmon, and so on; then when you'v

kes some time,' int

dvance

ter as a partner!'

Turtle said; 'advance t

retire in same order,'

he Mock Turtle went

ted the Gryphon with

ut to sea

them!' scream

sea!' cried the Mock Turt

!' yelled the Gryphon a

enly dropping his voice, and the two creatures who had been jumping about like mad

on and all the rest of it. If anyone begins to hunt for the reasons why we like "Alice in Wonderland" that person is either very, very sleepy, or

performed for the little girl, and who

ttle faster!" said

ose behind us, and he'

lobsters and the t

he shingle-will you c

ill you, won't you, wi

ill you, won't you, wo

ve no notion how d

nd throw us, with the

"Too far, too far!" a

iting kindly, but he w

ould not, could not, wo

ould not, could not, co

w far we go?" his s

shore, you know, u

rom England the n

eloved snail, but com

ill you, won't you, wi

ill you, won't you, wo

the Sluggard," but she was so full of the Lo

the lobster, I h

e too brown, I mu

its eyelids, so

his buttons, and

never met anything in the shape of a little boy, except the infant son of the Duchess, who after all turned out to be a pig a

rtle, she left it sobbing of course, and singin

LE S

oup, so ric

in a hot

dainties wo

evening, bea

evening, bea

tiful S

tiful S

f the e-e

l, beaut

oup! Who ca

r any o

ot give all

only of bea

tiful S

tiful S

f the e-e

, beauti-

fellow stole some tarts upon a summer's day, and that he was brought in chains before the King and Queen, to fac

d yet so comically unlike, a real court. We forget, as Alice did, that all these royalties are but a pack of cards, and follow all the evidence with t

e you had b

ioned me

me a good

I could

em word I

it to b

ld push the

ld becom

one, they g

us thre

turned from

ey were m

e should c

in this

o you to se

y as w

was that y

she had

le that c

ourselves

know she lik

s must

ept from al

yourself

the theft, that the poor knave is but the tool of her Majesty, whose fondness for tarts led her into temptation. Lewis Carroll had a keen eye f

Nobody moved. 'Who cares for you?' said Alice (she had grown to h

ht, half of anger, and tried to beat them off and found herself lying on the bank, with her head in the lap of he

back the elf-locks, and la

she told her sister of the queer things she had seen and heard, and long after

shared their never-ending meal, and the shrill voice of the Queen ordering off her unfortunate guests to execution. Once more the pig-baby was sneezing on the Duchess's knee, while plates and dishes crashed ar

ing teacups would change to tinkling sheep bells and the Queen's shrill cries to the voice of the shepherd boy, and the sneeze of the baby, the shriek of the Gryphon, and all the o

t time till now, when Lewis Carroll looks

-night-there may b