New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-02-15
"LEWIS CARROLL"
THE MAN WHO WROTE "ALICE'S AID
VENTURES
From The hondonl Boolaman.

9send Knit though Sac MAY in one sense belong
Inc children raa % a g b iSs o twenty year. or 50
ago follow ed the pages OF her adventures "hie YET
the SONGS OF the Warus ana the Ca.penier.' OF the
White Knight, Of llumpy Dumpy, anu all ihe othrr
duties Which, add 80 mach TO the charm OF me mar
iatiOn have become as classic as their schOCIVohl-
learned speeches fron oLaAcsp are plays ana aoCv;
all, is those who we're children an oxford at tlat
particular period WHO may justly claim me mohopoy
of Alice For they were not only iervent admirers
NJ like Their les favored contemporaries. bat also
ie y ~erq It WAS ia tS mdst nat tie af,cnures
OF Alice were actually conceived ana written, ~
them that the picsentado copies were gwen
dedication OF "Aiee' was Addressed: ~.
Twenty years ago the Rev: charles Lui"idgc Do9s
was, IA ut the present day. a fellow ana naine
NAUTICAL tutor Of tr,. Caurch Coleee and the dangn,
group OF litue srA. cuped prominent p"fr among
~ ms , Sa hleaT i'1 rs T are "" dedlcaied
but tradition commonly points " Mrs Reginald liar
ment in favor Of hi, view. Some, hoy nov.
s sssr an'T to n e ' HcOi'D cr E whose
untimoly death, sixteen ago. the eve of hr
marriage with MIR. Harcourt, OF Newnain fdrk, was
the OF very deep gI and regret to all VINO Knew
her. Apart from the tragedy OF her death at such
moment she was universally b:loved Tor her own sake
and gifted as she was In every way charming:
"Alice Through the LookiiIg'lass is very OBVIOUSLY
INTENDED for one only Of his hilc friends That at the
the close OF the oinSela> adv ntGre'. would seem
to be rather addressed TO three of the sisters together
easily that the first idea of this fantastic dream
tale had lifted the authors brain upon certain
the oxford River. while the thrce little girls pulled
manfully Mt the ana at he same time begged for
Any on who reads the adventures Alice in later
will sa's The @arYsons bnowsdss Of child ID
started with large share of that most ndcnabie Gift
for understanding and sympathizing with the Young
but though he has himself always remained bachelor
lbs experience of children has the less
tr.mely Wide in oxford atne, among his university
a
children, and particularly little girls. which he did
not Ireeueh,' ana werT warm Welcome waI no ot
odd hours and favored with that u children delight
books 10 be discarded and for general rush 10 the
drawing room, with happy disregard of unbrlshed
we'll that this visitor came to them, and that they
scOuiesced in the arrangement Mr. D0dgsn WAS
aiWavs admitted 10 e unlilc other pcop and his pop
ularity with the children insured him perfect liberty
TO pursue the unconventioDality of his lie had
seldom been in the house three minutes before with
pencil and paper. he had embarked the elder Of his
STum Mbe o %o Of an and Weird fairy tales
reserved for the little who clustered around
him. One Of the creates treats that tie children could
have 10 90 to tea with Mr.. Dodgson In his quaint
in the Tom Quad at Christ Church. where games
and entertainments without number We're always ready
for them, and where the hours passed only too
Quickly Better still perhaps. 10 be matched from the
borne of. regardless of rcmonsirance the part OF
these worh to the mysero1' gloom not Of ao half ,an.
very fond Of taking portraits al time when amateur
]
and many little groups of boys and girls. faded now
almost ont Of RECOGNITION. still preserved as me-
Apart from Mr. Dodgson's intimate and faithful
knowledge Of children # is his peculiar gift for blend
Ing fact and fancy which constitutes in great measure
the charm Of his writings. lie possesses moreover to
tho highest degree the art # employing Such eN.
mpossbiiities thai every child comes to feel for in.
stance that she might quite well have dreamed what
Alc did though it &c ain hat no Child ever dreamed
TO meet q White rabbit carving gloves and, fan
hoo omit 1T of VI 10 ~
ordinary lima gnaion only lo to JON the March Hare
and lIatterS lea -pirty without ,lcPPin; to criticize
thing which Mr.. DoGgson writes an exceptional vein
OF Imaginative humor. which converts the common
place into the fantastic, and provides his readers with
something 70 think about beyond the actual story as
for example the really elaborate arrnseemS' OIL me-
DodgsOn usually expresses himself In the form OF
dreams as giving larger scope particular Of
imagination and occasionally the dreams are unlike
nightmares. Those stories Osensiblv cmbOdyng mathe-
NAUTICAL problems which twist through another in
the volume he has rightly entitled Tangewood Tales.'
might have haunted the sick-hcd OF senior Wranslcr
"AIceH has probably enjoyed the greatest popularity
tas;ic hnmor Which in his earlier work invented an
expensive vocabulary for The famous Iabberw1ck Lay
author, for some queer reason Of Ms own has divided
ondeavored TO prove that the Hunting OF the Snarl'
wa written With on Object and that The shark itself
represented some abstract concrete thing III" exact
Mr.. Dodgson has absolutely denied the imputailon.
otherwise he would most certainly have been called
else bN.iies And after an why should man write
II he likes? Especially IL it be such first rate
nonsense that OF the Beman who
Without sT The least aStSS vcst a Of land
and his light hearted companions who
m ,s1 s6d T1 "adtls s found 1t to be
But in spite of the nonsense Mr.. Dodgson Is very
clever at all times in introducing touches Of human
peculiarites even in the strange SHIPS company
The d,ed IN ye no oo' r,et m Mr.
Dodgson INTRODUCED TOPICAL university and other
for expressing his fantastic, ana difficult
whether ne Is most delightful III that or IN prose.
tics and puzzles, dedicated to two gpnddaughters OF
the famous Dr.. Arnold, who have cn!oyrd N, lrcnd-
ford. And must not omit to mention tlie dchgnt-
fl us'ralo, PROVIDED cG , J3nn or M, oS
Of The ships crew in me snark by snry liV a
Furniss's usual grace and charm In this last work,
which has proceeded within recent Years from Mr:
rather waning. \ certain amount OF refreshing non
sense is still to be found but distinctly inferior TO
The fairy land portion of sylvc and Bruno woven
IN in The form OF dreams a, charming as I my,
this latest story is never likely TO be as popular win
time it must be remembered that sylvc and Bruno
Is serious undertaking. and written with
before attempted The real interest o; the book. IN
deed lies In the fact that It Is the work OF his later
50 little is now known In the long preface he gives YES
always possible nearne>s OF death, and this story Is
Throughout largely Influenced by the deep religious
feeling which has always been one OF Mr.. Dodg,on's
strongest characteristics. and which Is so beautifully
expressed the Easter Greeting at the end OF Alice
through the Looking Glass 1t Is not unnatural that
those who Of all and at different times have read
and loved Alice should ask what the author is
doing now and whether he Is still the guide, phioso
pher and friend OF the oxford children. And this
brings us TO curious and rather melancholy side OF
Mr. Dodgsons character, melancholy AT least TO many
OF its external results.
Even In former years. as his little friends grew
older, he seemed TO cease TO care TO see them
When the children went TO school, his visits to their
homes almost invariably ceased. No reason was
Owen except that II the children were not there.
he did not TO come. and the parents were
Obliged to acquesce in this sudden neglect
~ consented his aCluAin tnnCe