May, 1888.
PUCK LOST AND FOUND.
Puck has fled the haunts of men:
Ridicule has made him wary:
In the woods, and down the glen,
No one meets a Fairy!
“Cream!” the greedy Goblin cries—
Empties the deserted dairy—
Steals the spoons, and off he flies.
Still we seek our Fairy!
Ah! What form is entering?
Lovelit eyes and laughter airy!
Is not this a better thing,
Child, whose visit thus I sing,
Even than a Fairy?
Nov. 22, 1891.
Puck has ventured back agen:
Ridicule no more affrights him:
In the very haunts of men
Newer sport delights him.
Capering lightly to and fro,
Ever frolicking and funning—
“Crack!” the mimic pistols go!
Hark! The noise is stunning!
All too soon will Childhood gay
Realise Life’s sober sadness.
Let’s be merry while we may,
Innocent and happy Fay!
Elves were made for gladness!
Nov. 25, 1891.
A SONG OF LOVE.
Say, what is the spell, when her fledgelings are cheeping,
That lures the bird home to her nest?
Or wakes the tired mother, whose infant is weeping,
To cuddle and croon it to rest?
What the magic that charms the glad babe in her arms,
Till it cooes with the voice of the dove?
’Tis a secret, and so let us whisper it low—
And the name of the secret is Love!
For I think it is Love,
For I feel it is Love,
For I’m sure it is nothing but Love!
Say, whence is the voice that, when anger is burning,
Bids the whirl of the tempest to cease?
That stirs the vexed soul with an aching—a yearning
For the brotherly hand-grip of peace?
Whence the music that fills all our being—that thrills
Around us, beneath, and above?
’Tis a secret: none knows how it comes, how it goes—
But the name of the secret is Love!
For I think it is Love,
For I feel it is Love,
For I’m sure it is nothing but Love!
Say, whose is the skill that paints valley and hill,
Like a picture so fair to the sight?
That flecks the green meadow with sunshine and shadow,
Till the little lambs leap with delight?
’Tis a secret untold to hearts cruel and cold,
Though ’tis sung, by the angels above,
In notes that ring clear for the ears that can hear—
And the name of the secret is Love!
For I think it is Love,
For I feel it is Love,
For I’m sure it is nothing but Love!
Oct., 1886.
PUZZLES FROM WONDERLAND
I
[Dreaming of apples on a wall]
Dreaming of apples on a wall,
And dreaming often, dear,
I dreamed that, if I counted all,
—How many would appear?
II
[A stick I found that weighed two pound]
A stick I found that weighed two pound:
I sawed it up one day
In pieces eight of equal weight!
How much did each piece weigh?
(Everybody says “a quarter of a pound,” which is wrong.)
III
[John gave his brother James a box]
John gave his brother James a box:
About it there were many locks.
James woke and said it gave him pain;
So gave it back to John again.
The box was not with lid supplied,
Yet caused two lids to open wide:
And all these locks had never a key—
What kind of a box, then, could it be?
IV
[What is most like a bee in May?]
What is most like a bee in May?
“Well, let me think: perhaps—” you say.
Bravo! You're guessing well to-day!
V
[Three sisters at breakfast were feeding the cat]
Three sisters at breakfast were feeding the cat,
The first gave it sole—Puss was grateful for that:
The next gave it salmon—which Puss thought a treat:
The third gave it herring—which Puss wouldn't eat.
(Explain the conduct of the cat.)
VI
[Said the Moon to the Sun]
Said the Moon to the Sun,
“Is the daylight begun?”
Said the Sun to the Moon,
“Not a minute too soon.”
“You're a Full Moon,” said he.
She replied with a frown,
“Well! I never did see
So uncivil a clown!”
(Query. Why was the moon so angry?)
VII
[“Seven blind of both eyes]
When the King found that his money was nearly all gone, and that he really must live more economically, he decided on sending away most of his Wise Men. There were some hundreds of them—very fine old men, and magnificently dressed in green velvet gowns with gold buttons: if they had a fault, it was that they always contradicted one another when he asked for their advice—and they certainly ate and drank enormously. So, on the whole, he was rather glad to get rid of them. But there was an old law, which he did not dare to disobey, which said that there must always be
“Seven blind of both eyes:
Two blind of one eye:
Four that see with both eyes:
Nine that see with one eye.”
(Query. How many did he keep?)
SOLUTIONS TO PUZZLES FROM WONDERLAND
I
Ten.
II
In Shylock's bargain for the flesh was found
No mention of the blood that flowed around:
So when the stick was sawed in eight,
The sawdust lost diminished from the weight.
III
As curly-headed Jemmy was sleeping in bed,
His brother John gave him a blow on the head;
James opened his eyelids, and spying his brother,
Doubled his fist, and gave him another.
This kind of box then is not so rare;
The lids are the eyelids, the locks are the hair,
And so every schoolboy can tell to his cost,
The key to the tangles is constantly lost.
IV
'Twixt “Perhaps” and “May be”
Little difference we see:
Let the question go round,
The answer is found.
V
That salmon and sole Puss should think very grand
Is no such remarkable thing.
For more of these dainties Puss took up her stand;
But when the third sister stretched out her fair hand
Pray why should Puss swallow her ring?
VI
“In these degenerate days,” we oft hear said,
“Manners are lost and chivalry is dead!”
No wonder, since in high exalted spheres
The same degeneracy, in fact, appears.
The Moon, in social matters interfering,
Scolded the Sun, when early in appearing;
And the rude Sun, her gentle sex ignoring,
Called her a fool, thus her pretensions flooring.
VII
Five seeing, and seven blind
Give us twelve, in all, we find;
But all of these, 'tis very plain,
Come into account again.
For take notice, it may be true,
That those blind of one e
ye are blind for two;
And consider contrariwise,
That to see with your eye you may have your eyes;
So setting one against the other—
For a mathematician no great bother—
And working the sum, you will understand
That sixteen wise men still trouble the land.
ACROSTICS, INSCRIPTIONS AND OTHER VERSES
CONTENTS
ACROSTIC
TO THREE PUZZLED LITTLE GIRLS, FROM THE AUTHOR
DOUBLE ACROSTIC
THREE LITTLE MAIDS
PUZZLE
THREE CHILDREN
TWO THIEVES
TWO ACROSTICS
DOUBLE ACROSTIC
ACROSTIC
ACROSTIC
ACROSTIC
TO M. A. B.
ACROSTIC
MADRIGAL
LOVE AMONG THE ROSES - ACROSTIC
TWO POEMS TO RACHEL DANIEL
FOR “THE GARLAND OF RACHEL” (1881)
THE LYCEUM
ACROSTIC
DREAMLAND
TO MY CHILD-FRIEND
A RIDDLE
A LIMERICK
RHYME? AND REASON?
A NURSERY DARLING
MAGGIE'S VISIT TO OXFORD (June 9th to 13th, 1889)
MAGGIE B—-
INSCRIBED TO A DEAR CHILD
FIVE FATHOM SQUARE THE BELFRY FROWNS
THE WANDERING BURGESS
A BACCHANALIAN ODE
ALAS! SHE WOULD NOT HEAR MY PRAYER!
WELL! SO MY OFFER WAS NO GO!
FIREBRANDS AND DAGGERS! HOPE HATH FLED!
ACROSTIC
Little maidens, when you look
On this little story-book,
Reading with attentive eye
Its enticing history,
Never think that hours of play
Are your only HOLIDAY,
And that in a HOUSE of joy
Lessons serve but to annoy:
If in any HOUSE you find
Children of a gentle mind,
Each the others pleasing ever—
Each the others vexing never—
Daily work and pastime daily
In their order taking gaily—
Then be very sure that they
Have a life of HOLIDAY.
Christmas 1861.
TO THREE PUZZLED LITTLE GIRLS, FROM THE AUTHOR
(To the three Misses Drury.)
Three little maidens weary of the rail,
Three pairs of little ears listening to a tale,
Three little hands held out in readiness,
For three little puzzles very hard to guess.
Three pairs of little eyes, open wonder-wide,
At three little scissors lying side by side.
Three little mouths that thanked an unknown Friend,
For one little book, he undertook to send.
Though whether they'll remember a friend, or book, or day—
In three little weeks is very hard to say.
August 1869.
DOUBLE ACROSTIC
(To Miss E. M. Argles.)
The first and last letters of captions form the double acrostic.
I sing a place wherein agree
All things on land that fairest be,
All that is sweetest of the sea.
Nor can I break the silken knot
That binds my memory to the spot
And friends too dear to be forgot.
BlufF
On rocky brow we loved to stand
And watch in silence, hand in hand,
The shadows veiling sea and land.
AnchoR
Then dropped the breeze; no vessel passed:
So silent stood each taper mast,
You would have deemed it chained and fast.
BroccolI
Above the blue and fleecy sky:
Below, the waves that quivering lie,
Like crispèd curls of greenery.
BarquE
“A sail!” resounds from every lip.
Mizen, no, square-sail—ah, you trip!
Edith, it cannot be a ship!
AppreciatioN
So home again from sea and beach,
One nameless feeling thrilling each.
A sense of beauty, passing speech.
ChilD
Let lens and tripod be unslung!
“Dolly!” 's the word on every tongue;
Dolly must sit, for she is young!
OdiouS
Photography shall change her face,
Distort it with uncouth grimace—
Make her bloodthirsty, fierce, and base.
MontH
I end my song while scarce begun;
For I should want, ere all was done,
Four weeks to tell the tale of one:
BelzonI
And I should need as large a hand,
To paint a scene so wild and grand,
As he who traversed Egypt's land.
EditorshiP
What say you, Edith? Will it suit ye?
Reject it, if it fails in beauty:
You know your literary duty!
On the rail between Torquay and Guildford, Sep. 28, 1869.
THREE LITTLE MAIDS
(To the three Misses Drury.)
Three little maids, one winter day,
While others went to feed,
To sing, to laugh, to dance, to play,
More wisely went to—Reed.
Others, when lesson-time's begun,
Go, half inclined to cry,
Some in a walk, some in a run;
But these went in a—Fly.
I give to other little maids
A smile, a kiss, a look,
Presents whose memory quickly fades;
I give to these—a Book.
Happy Arcadia may blind,
While all abroad, their eyes;
At home, this book (I trust) they'll find
A very catching prize.
PUZZLE
(To Mary, Ina, and Harriet or “Hartie” Watson.)
When . a . y and I . a told . a .. ie they'd seen a
Small .. ea . u . e with . i ..., dressed in crimson and blue,
. a .. ie cried “'Twas a . ai . y! Why, I . a and . a .y,
I should have been happy if I had been you!”
Said . a . y “You wouldn't.” Said I . a “You shouldn't—
Since you can't be us, and we couldn't be you.
You are one, my dear . a .. ie, but we are a . a .. y,
And a . i ... e . i . tells us that one isn't two.”
THREE CHILDREN
(To Miss Mary Watson.)
Three children (their names were so fearful
You'll excuse me for leaving them out)
Sat silent, with faces all tearful—
What was it about?
They were sewing, but needles are prickly,
And fingers were cold as could be—
So they didn't get on very quickly,
And they wept, silly Three!
“O Mother!” said they, “Guildford's not a
Nice place for the winter, that's flat.
If you know any country that's hotter,
Please take us to that!”
“Cease crying,” said she, “little daughter!
And when summer comes back with the flowers,
You shall roam by the edge of the water,
In sunshiny hours.”
“And in summer,” said sorrowful Mary,
“We shall hear the shrill scream of the train
That will bring that dear writer of fairy-
tales hither again.”
(Now the person she meant to allude to
Was—well! it is best to forget.
It was some one she always was rude to,
Whenever they met.)
“It's my duty,” their Mother continued,
“To fill with things useful and right
Your small minds: if I put nothing in, you'd
Be ignorant quite.
“But enough now of lessons and thinking:
Your meal is quite ready, I see—
So attend to your eating and drinking,
You thirsty young Three!”
Apr. 10, 1871.
TWO THIEVES
(To the Misses Drury.)
Two thieves went out to steal one day
Thinking that no one knew it:
Three little maids, I grieve to say,
Encouraged them to do it.
'Tis sad that little children should
Encourage men in stealing!
But these, I've always understood,
Have got no proper feeling.
An aged friend, who chanced to pass
Exactly at the minute,
Said “Children! Take this Looking-glass,
And see your badness in it.”
Jan. 11, 1872.
TWO ACROSTICS
(To Miss Ruth Dymes.)
Round the wondrous globe I wander wild,
Up and down-hill—Age succeeds to youth—
Toiling all in vain to find a child
Half so loving, half so dear as Ruth.
(To Miss Margaret Dymes.)
Maidens, if a maid you meet
Always free from pout and pet,
Ready smile and temper sweet,
Greet my little Margaret.
And if loved by all she be
Rightly, not a pampered pet,
Easily you then may see
'Tis my little Margaret.
DOUBLE ACROSTIC
The first and last letters of captions form the double acrostic.
Two little girls near London dwell,
More naughty than I like to tell.
TurF
Upon the lawn the hoops are seen:
The balls are rolling on the green.
RiveR
The Thames is running deep and wide:
And boats are rowing on the tide.
IcE
In winter-time, all in a row,
The happy skaters come and go.
NoD
“Papa!” they cry, “Do let us stay!”
He does not speak, but says they may.
AfricA
“There is a land,” he says, “my dear,
Complete Works of Lewis Carroll Page 96
