Complete Works of Lewis Carroll (134 page)
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Authors: Lewis Carroll
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 eye 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
TO THREE PUZZLED LITTLE GIRLS, FROM THE AUTHOR
LOVE AMONG THE ROSES - ACROSTIC
FOR “THE GARLAND OF RACHEL” (1881)
MAGGIE'S VISIT TO OXFORD (June 9th to 13th, 1889)
FIVE FATHOM SQUARE THE BELFRY FROWNS
ALAS!
SHE WOULD NOT HEAR MY PRAYER!
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.