New-York tribune., 1899-02-11
LEWIS CARROLL.
THE AUTHOR OF TWO FAMOUS BOOKS.

This book is a testimony TO the folly OF the
new fashion Of unduly hurrying biography INTO
print It is no doubt, a busnesslike proceeding
TO skim the cream Of the market" to make nay
while the sun shines"-in other words, TO write
and sell a book before the grass grows long over
the grave Of its subject and men cease 10 reel
keen interest IN his character and lie. But lhe
business view OF the matter cannot well pe thae
OF the literary artist. and the biography written
in haste is always an unsatisfactory perform
ance We have seldom seen so disjointed ana
nl-dirested a memoir as this one put together
bv the nephew Of Lewis Carroll; and its unde-
niable interest Is due not TO any merit III It's
writer. but 10 the compelling charm OF the
rentle quaint and winning character 70 whom
;ts neges are devoted. Here is fascinating
subject Indeed for one who knows how to treat
II. let us hope that day such an author
viii arise 70 use with art the abundant raw ma
terial which We are glad to say Mr. Collingwood
has provided.
It was with much astonishment that many
wears ago the readers OF the Alice books-two
OF the most delightful classics Of the child
uorld-learned that their author was an Oxford
Don DISTINGUISHED in mathematics. q logician or
talent and a clergyman. He was being OF
many sides-a shy recuse who. unlike most
hermits was continually doing unselflsh Kind
nesses: q lover Of humor and Of the theatre yet
a man Of the deepest and humbest piety; a ten
der er-hearted poet and lecturer on the dryest
and knottiest problems In any and every phase
he was one Of the most lovable souls that Eng
land has produced The descendant OF a line Oh
good men high in the English Church he was
born into an atmosphere Of moral excellence
and If intellectual culture. His childhood was
spent IN the ouietest Of country parsonages
whore he made pets Of odd and unlikely animals
manufactured a troupe OF marionettes ana
theatre with the ad ~ the village carpenter
and wrote all the plays for this little company
himself-the most popular being, we are toid'
"Tho TRAGEDY of King John" AS a schoolboy
he distinguished himself at hsticuffs In defence
OF his weaker fellows. and In his holidays
amused hmeelf by writing fiction and poetry
end making pictures for manuscript maga-
zines edited for the benefit Of his sisters and
brothers The Rectory Umbrella" the most
ambitious and the last Of these contained verses
ard sketches which show something Of the vein
of hlmor afterward developed in Alice in Won
oerland." When he eighteen years old the
hov was r1atriculatod al Christ Church. oxford.
taking III his residence in the venerable pile
which was to he his home for the rest Of his life
His own period Of study ended. he became mas
te- tutor and lecturer. entering upon scholarly
existence peculiarly suited 10 his nature HIS
COLLEGE work gave him leisure for writing, and
he became q contributor chiefly Of verse TO
various periodicals il was when writing for
"Trhe Train" edited by Edmund Yates, that he
first felt the need cf a pseudonyme; and It was
Yates who chose from among those he suggested
the variant forms Of his two Christian names
Charles Lutwidge," by which he has ever since
been known in literature. lie early won the
friendship Of the leading authors and artists OF
his tirna and used Of his pet hobbies. photog-
raphy. in making some Of the most characters-
tic portraits existent Of these celebrities Many
Of these portraits appear in this volume not as
well reproduced could wish. portrait in
words OF the Tennyson Of 1888 Is to be found IN
Dodgson's diary OF that year:
4 strange shaggy looking man. his hair mus
tache and beard looked wild and neglected; these
very much hid the character of the face. He
was dressed in loosely fitting morning-coat.
common gray flannel waistcoat and trousers
and a carelessly tied black silk neckerchief'
His hair is black; think the eyes too; they are
ana broad-hoth face and head are fine and
manly. His manner was kind and friendly from
the first; there is a dry. lurking humor IN MS
style Of talking
1t was in 1862 that Lewis Carroll wrote his
inimitable story OF "Alice's Adventures in Won
dorls nd" One July day he made expedition
UP the river with Dean Lidiells three little
daughters. LORNA. Alice and Edith; they had
tea together on the river bank. and the kind
mathematical master, whose fairy stories were
always greatly in demand. invented the dream
Alice on the spot. ard so bewitched "Secunda.'
the real Alice. that he obliged to promise
that he would write it out for her. When he
gave this promise he had no idea Of publish
ing the story; but his friend George Macdonald
saw the manuscript and persuaded him 10 show
n he no until
1S65-it was exactly three years from the day
he began the story on the river bank under
hayrick that he gave the first presentation copy
20 pretty young Alice Liddell. The authors
fastidious taste was shown in the fate or the
first edition. which consisted Of two thousand
copies. The pictures did not come out well. ana
all purchasers were asked TO return their copies
which were replaced by the perfect copies OF
new edition. The unsatisfactory copies were
eventually given away 70 various homes and
hospitals. The author. Mr.. Coingwood tells
US was much surprised at the success OF the
book he had not thought that more than two
thousand copies would be sold, and had antici-
pated a considerable loss. So far from meaning
a loss the book brought him in a goodly In
come for the rest Of his life. and Lewis Carroll.
the writer became as dear to children through
out the reading world as Charles Dodgson, the
man was to all the little people who knew him
Two or three years after the publication Of the
first Alice" book he began the second
Through the Looking -Glass"-and he again
captured Tenniel illustrator. No detail. II is
said. was too small for his criticism. Don't
give Alice too much crinoline." he would write
20 the artist; or THE White Knight must not
have whiskers; he must not be made to look
old" sOne question which exercised him very
much says his biographer. was Whether the
picture OF the Jabberwock would do as a front
ispiece or whether It would be too frightening
for little children? On this point he sought the
advice Of about thirty Of his married lady
friends whose experiences with their own chill
dren would make them trustworthy advisers