Lewis Carroll in Wonderland and at Home

is much difference of opinion. As a rule the "grown-ups" prefer it. They like the clever situations and the quaint

for them, and to whisk down into a rabbit-hole on a summer's day was a much easier process than squeezing through a looking-g

children. Then again there was a certain staidness in the prim little girl who pushed her way through the Looking-Glass. And there were no wonderful cakes marked "eat me," and bottles marked "drink me," which kept the Wonderland Alice in a perpetual state of growing or shrinking; so the fact that nothing happened to Alice at all during this second journey lessened its interest somewhat for the young ones to whom const

essman over the giant board, and the Red and the White Queen often speak like automatic toys. We miss the savage "off with his head" of the Queen of

d that was saying a good deal. It was as easy for him to write verses at sixty as at thirty, and that is saying even more. From the time he could hold a pencil he could make a rhyme, and his earlier editorial ventur

en by him and signed by his newly borrowed name of Lewis Carroll, but they are very

y, smiling sedately over the literary antics of Lewis Carroll, for the Rev. Charles was a sober, over-serious bachelor, whose one aim and object at that time was the proper treatment of Euclid, for during those five years he wrote the following pamphl

een interest in the University life, and his influence was felt in many spicy articles and apt rhymes, usually brought forth as timely skits. Notes

t yielded by the two "Alices," and planning more books for hi

ards a part of "Sylvie and Bruno." Many of the chapters of this book had been published as separate stories in Aunt Judy's Magazine and other periodicals, and, as such, they were very sweet and dainty as well as amusing. It

a new effort in "nonsense" verse-making, which stands side by

, was his greatest aid, and the poem which he called "An Agony in Eight Fits" depends entirely upon the person who reads it for the cleverness of its meaning. To children it is one big fairy tale where the more ridiculous the situations, the more true to the rules of f

was Gertrude Chataway, and the ve

oyish garb fo

s her spade: ye

iendly knee,

he love

f the seethin

her pure and

st, such hours

f all d

maid, and res

y wiser talk

who owns that

t-love o

ghts, and vex m

wakeful night

memories of th

my dream

the proud possessor of an acrostic poem written by him-either on the title-page of so

ence to a country walk, when the last ver

f the word he w

of his laug

and suddenly

k was a Booj

roll attempted some sort of an explanation, which

ense was ever brought against the author of this brief but inst

got mixed with the

such a deed; I will not (as I might) point to the strong moral purpose of the poem itself, to the arithmetical principles so cautiously

eal to the Bellman about it-he would only refer to his Naval Code and read out in pathetic tones Admiralty Instructions which none of them had ever been able to understand, so it generally ended in its being fastened on anyhow across the rudder. The Helmsman used to stand by with tears in his eyes; he knew it was all wrong, but, ala

nonsense? But we know from experience that Lewis Carroll's nonsense was not stupidity, and

ell why we understand such and such a thing, but we do understand it, and that is enough-quite according to Lewis Carroll's ideas, for he always appeals to our imagination and that is never guided by rules. The higher it soars, the more fantastic the region over which it hove

nings are in the book, I shall be glad to accept as the meaning of the book. The best that I've seen is by a lady (she published it in a letter to a newspaper) that the whole book is an allegory on the search after happiness. I think t

asy to explain Fit the First, better named The Landing,

three times was "dead sure." And the Bellman being a person of some authority, ought to have known. The crew consisted of a Boots, a Maker of Bonnets and Hoods, a Barrister, a Broker, a Billia

o was famed for a

hen he ente

s watch, all his

s he had broug

wo boxes, all c

e painted cl

omitted to men

left behind

clothes hardly

n coats on

of boots-but the

ly forgotte

r to 'Hi!' or t

me!' or 'Fr

-call-um!' or 'W

ally 'Thin

who preferred a

erent names

iends called hi

mies 'Toast

ungainly, his

man would of

is perfect! and

hat one needs

ith hyenas, retu

udent wag o

a walk, paw-in-

up its spiri

aker: but owned

the poor Bell

e Bride-cake, for

als were

unmarried, a fact shown by the Baker not being able to make a bride-cake as there are no materials on hand. All these creatures, while hunting for happiness, came to prey upon each other. The Butcher only killed Beavers, the Barrister

e Bellman and why he had su

elf they all pra

e, such ease,

too! One could

one looked

large map repr

least vest

much pleased when

could all

f Mercator's North

es, and Meri

uld cry: and the

rely convent

h shapes, with thei

our brave Ca

protest), "that he'

and absolu

h the latitude and longitude carefully written out on the margin. They found

notion for cro

s to tingle

ew to steer starboard and larboard a

mixed with the

as the Bell

ly happens in

is, so to spea

hip would not travel toward the west, but it seems that with all his

was past-they ha

xes, portmant

the crew were not p

ted of chasm

f the Snark, the Bellman proceeded t

s slowness in taking a jest, its fondness for bathing machines, and, fifth and lastly, its ambition." He further informed th

ommon Snarks do

l it my d

-' The Bellman b

ker had fa

rd was the

ith muffins, they

im with musta

with jam and j

m conundrum

hat a dear uncle, after whom he was named, gave him some wholesome advice abou

with thimbles, and

it with for

n its life with

it with smil

y the method,'

y parenth

the way I have

e of Snarks sho

ish nephew, bew

rk be a Boo

ly and sudden

be met wit

d called in courtesy the Baker, had grown to be a great favorite with the crew; but they had no time to wast

thimbles, to se

t with fork

s life with a

with smile

a peculiar crea

in a commo

know, and try al

must be was

pecial way, just as we would do now in our hunt for

urses wisely on arithmetic and natural history, two subjects

confessed, with

ent even t

ten minutes far

ught it in se

Sixth, and here our poet's keen wit gav

d and tossed about until he completely lost his senses. Some bankers are that way in the pursuit of fortune, which means happiness to them; but fortune may turn, like the Bandersnatch, and

Jubjub bir

ous Bande

d hunted in vain, but just at the close of the day they heard a shout in the distance and beheld their Baker "erect and sublime" on top of

the sound that firs

lmost too go

torrent of lau

nous words,

Some fancied the

and wand

ke 'jum!' but t

a breeze t

l darkness came

n, or feath

d tell that they s

er had met wi

f the word he w

of his laug

and suddenly

k was a Booj

oo close to the chasm. Lewis Carroll, always so particular about proper endings, refuses any explanation. The fact that this special Snark was a "B

e we are talking, and does the quaint poem really teach us nothing? Anything which brings a picture to the mind must surely have some merit, and there is much

gs-there's a lot of the human in them after all-and see if new ideas and new meanings do not pop into your head with each reading, whil

nking impressively at exciting moments, and his clear explanation of each "portmanteau" word helping along wonderfully. We can fancy the gleam of fun in the blue eyes, the sweep of his hand across his hair, the sudden sweet smile with which he

edition was finely illustrated by Henry Holiday, whose clever drawings show how we

ey are supposed to haunt; a whimsical idea, carried out in Lewis Carroll's whimsical way, with lots of fun and a goo

was a lit

y time

on his fav

d chawed the

e us for

is in prin

y it's no

well as Brad

t uneasil

y though

Nursery Rh

t think

le Ghostess

es," you kn

ttered to

ashore, she having rescued his hat from the antics of a playful breeze by pinning it down on the sands with her umbrella, right through the ce

ost its shap

cost him fo

s going o

he sneered i

thy being

a radiance

t 'radiance

id nutrim

Dinner: Te

so? Yet whe

t knowledge

Men, and Gees

this severe lady, but he could see n

e shrieked, i

wines all fo

r at a t

desire or

ed manners

h gross mat

ed men," he

unwilling

well withou

corched him

she said, "

no horror

live: they ta

earth and

ss them here

hem-there i

f semihu

of the ma

ice, and the Voice of the Sea. He tried

s but a Thou

, unfatho

Notion-

fell her

unresis

hundredwei

nd Great mu

ess and ab

to perpet

smokes-that re

o Christmas

le of an

s loved a "womanly woman." As he grew older he became somewhat precise and old-fashioned in his opinions-that is perhaps the reason why he was so lovable. His ideals of womanhood and little girlhood were fixed and beautiful dreams, untouc

le poem dedicated to

E OF

s, of five, four

earthrug, full o

s, in years fr

lessons-no more

irls, from fif

anguages, and foo

irls, from twe

calls I say, "Now te

irls, the youn

oposes, what is

irls-but thi

ngaging, but they s

irls, of thir

hy young men they sn

s. Their age? W

ther, like the re

eless bachelor" begi

ancient problem "

onsense, but all had their charm. No style nor meter daunted him; no poet was too great for his clever pen to parody; no ode was too heroic for a little

lass world it wa

in hand, I've a

Glass creatures,

the Red Queen, the

e glasses as qu

e table with bu

e coffee, and

n Alice with thi

creatures," quoth

to see me, a

ge high to hav

d Queen, the Whit

e glasses with

se that is ple

e cider, and woo

en Alice with n

oughts were kept for them. Many a grown woman has carefully hoarded among her treasures some bit of verse from Lewis Carroll, which her happy chi

e pure, unc

ing eyes

be fleet, an

a life

smile will

ift of a f

seen thy

thy silver

of me shall

ng life's

now thou w

to my fa

gun in ot

r suns wer

ime, that s

hm of ou

es live in

s years would

then, ere vo

ter tidi

mon to un

ncholy

older chi

find our b

frost, the

wind's moo

firelight'

od's nest o

rds shall ho

ot heed the

the shado

e through

summer da

shed sum

touch, with b

nce of our

its early spirit and freshness; the added years but added grace and lightness to his touch, for in the "

e grave mathematical lecturer of Christ Church seemed just a trifle older and graver than of yore. He was very reserved, very shy, and kept somewhat aloof from his fellow "dons"; but let a little girl tap ever