Part 28 (1/2)

One cannot read this little volu that the shadow of some disappointment lay over Lewis Carroll's life Such I believe to have been the case, and it was this that gave him his wonderful sympathy with all who suffered But those who loved him would not wish to lift the veil from these dead sanctities, nor would any purpose be served by so doing The proper use of sympathy is not to weep over sorrows that are over, and whose very memory is perhaps obliterated for hiher faculties

Before leaving the subject of this book, I should like to draw attention to a few lines on ”woman'sone of Tennyson's ”Idylls of the King”:--

In the darkest path of man's despair, Where War and Terror shake the troubled earth, Lies woh scenes of horror and affright Where s are sanctified, for all are good

Nothing so reat, but she may bear her part

No life is vain: each hath his place assigned: Do thou thy task, and leave the rest to God

Of the unpublished works which Mr Dodgson left behind hiic, Part ii,” and a portion of a mathematical book, the proofs of which are now in the hands of the Controller of the Oxford University Press

I will conclude this chapter with a poeht after Lewis Carroll's death It expresses, with all the grace and insight of the true poet, what I have tried, so feebly and ineffectually, to say:--

LEWIS CARROLL

_Born_ 1832 _Died January_ 14, 1898

Lover of children! Fellow-heir with those Of who now your spirit knows The unilass our faces look To read ourselves, if so we ht; You, like the ht!

The heart you wore beneath your pedant's cloak Only to children's hearts you gave away; Yet unaware in half the world you woke The slu charm of childhood's day

We older children, too, our loss la well How he, our comrade, with his pencil lent Your fancy's speech a firmer spell

Master of rare woodcraft, by syleams, And made your fame, the dreamer's, one with his

The wise interpreter of dreams

Farewell! But near our hearts we have you yet, Holding our heritage with loving hand, Who may not follohere your feet are set Upon the ways of Wonderland[025]

[Illustration: Lorina and Alice Liddell _Froraph by Lewis Carroll_]

CHAPTER X

CHILD FRIENDS

Mr Dodgson's fondness for children--Miss Isabel Standen--Puzzles--”Me and Myself”--A double acrostic--”Father Willia healths--Kisses by post--Tired in the face--The unripe plu on _well_”

This chapter, and the next will deal with Mr Dodgson's friendshi+ps with children It would have been iical sequence in the earlier part of this book, and the fact that they exhibit a very important and distinct side of his nature see them a special and individual position

For the contents of these two chapters, both ratitude to those child-friends of his, without whose ever-ready help this book could never have been written

Froe that beautiful side of Lewis Carroll's character which afterwards was to be, next to his fame as an author, the one for which he was best known--his attitude towards children, and the strong attraction they had for him I shall attempt to point out the various influences which led him in this direction; but if I were asked for one coh to explain this tendency of his nature, I would answer unhesitatingly--Love My readers will reh it is, I cannot forbear to quote it--

Say, whose is the skill that paints valley and hill, Like a picture so fair to the sight?