Read Complete Works of Lewis Carroll Online
Authors: Lewis Carroll
Complete Works of Lewis Carroll (61 page)
"Fading, with the Night, the memory of a dead love, and the withered leaves of a blighted hope, and the sickly repinings and moody regrets thatnumb the best energies of the soul: and rising, broadening, rolling upward like a living flood, the manly resolve, and the dauntless will, and the heavenward gaze of faith—the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen!
"Look Eastward!
Aye, look Eastward!"
SYLVIE AND BRUNO CONCLUDED
Published in 1893, this second volume to
Sylvie and Bruno
was also illustrated by Harry Furniss. It was Carroll’s last novel to be published in his lifetime.
The frontispiece of the novel
CONTENTS
PREFACE
I MUST begin with the same announcement as in the previous Volume (which I shall henceforward refer to as "Vol.
I.," calling the present Volume "Vol.
II."), viz.
that the Locket, at p.
405, was drawn by ' Miss Alice Havers.'
And my reason, for not stating this on the title-page that it seems only due, to the artist of these wonderful pictures, that his name should stand there alone has, I think, even greater weight in Vol.
II.
than it had in Vol.
I.
Let me call especial attention to the three “Little Birds" borders, at pp.
365, 371, 377.
The way, in which he has managed to introduce the most minute details of the stanzas to be illustrated, seems to me a triumph of artistic ingenuity.
Let me here express my sincere gratitude to the many Reviewers who have noticed, whether favourably or unfavourably, the previous Volume.
Their unfavourable remarks were, most probably, well-deserved; the favourable ones less probably so.
Both kinds have no doubt served to make the book known, and have helped the reading Public to form their opinions of it.
Let me also here assure them that it is not from any want of respect for their criticisms, that I have carefully forborne from reading any of them.
I am strongly of opinion that an author had far better not read any reviews of his books : the unfavourable ones are almost certain to make him cross, and the favourable ones conceited ; and neither of these results is desirable.
Criticisms have, however, reached me from private sources, to some of which I propose to offer a reply.
One such critic complains that Arthur's strictures, on sermons and on choristers, are too severe.
Let me say, in reply, that I do not hold myself responsible for any of the opinions expressed by the characters in my book.
They are simply opinions which, it seemed to me, might probably be held by the persons into whose mouths I put them, and which were worth consideration.
Other critics have objected to certain innovations in spelling, such as " ca'n't," " wo'n't," " traveler."
In reply, I can only plead my firm conviction that the popular usage is wrong.
As to "ca'n't," it will not be disputed that, in all other words ending in " n't," these letters are an abbreviation of " not" ; and it is surely absurd to suppose that, in this solitary instance, "not" is represented by "'t"!
In fact "can't" is the proper abbreviation for "can it," just as "is't" is for " is it."
Again, in " wo'n't," the first apostrophe is needed, because the word " would " is here abridged into "wo": but I hold it proper to spell "don't" with only one apostrophe, because the word " do " is here complete.
As to such words as " traveler," I hold the correct principle to be, to doiible the consonant when the accent falls on that syllable ; otherwise to leave it single.
This rule is observed in most cases (e.g.
we double the " r" in " preferred," but leave it single in "offered"), so that I am only extending, to other cases, an existing rule.
I admit, however, that I do not spell " parallel," as the rule would have it; but here we are constrained, by the etymology, to insert the double " 1".
In the Preface to Vol.
I.
were two puzzles, on which my readers might exercise their ingenuity.
One was, to detect the 3 lines of " padding," which I had found it necessary to supply in the passage extending from the top of p.
35 to the middle of p.
38.
They are the 14th, 15 th, and 16th lines of p.
37.
The other puzzle was, to determine which (if any) of the 8 stanzas of the Gardener's Song (see pp.
65, 78, 83, 90, 106, 116, 164, 168) were adapted to the context, and which (if any) had the context adapted to them.
The last of them is the only one that was adapted to the context, the " Garden-Door that opened with a key" having been substituted for some creature (a Cormorant, I think) "that nestled in a tree."
At pp.
78, 106, and 164, the context was adapted to the stanza.
At p.
90, neither stanza nor context was altered : the connection between them was simply a piece of good luck.
In the Preface to Vol.
I., at pp.
ix., x., I gave an account of the making-up of the story of " Sylvie and Bruno."
A few more details may perhaps be acceptable to my Readers.
It was in 1873, as I now believe, that the idea first occurred to me that a little fairy-tale (written, in 1867, for " Aunt Judy's Magazine," under the title " Bruno's Revenge ") might serve as the nucleus of a longer story.
This I surmise, from having found the original draft of the last paragraph of Vol.
II., dated 1873.
So that this paragraph has been waiting 20
years for its chance of emerging into printmore than twice the period so cautiously recommended by Horace for ' repressing' one's literary efforts!
It was in February, 1885, that I entered into negotiations, with Mr.
Harry Furniss, for illustrating the book.
Most of the substance of both Volumes was then in existence in manuscript: and my original intention was to publish the whole story at once.
In September, 1885, I received from Mr.
Furniss the first set of drawingsthe four which illustrate "Peter and Paul" (see I.
pp.
144, 147, 150, 154): in November, 1886, I received the second setthe three which illustrate the Professor's song about the "little man" who had "a little gun" (Vol.
II.
pp.
265, 266, 267): and in January, 1887, I received the third setthe four which illustrate the " Pig-Tale."
So we went on, illustrating first one bit of the story, and then another, without any idea of sequence.
And it was not till March, 1889, that, having calculated the number of pages the story would occupy, I decided on dividing it into two portions, and publishing it half at a time.
This necessitated the writing of a sort of conclusion for the first Volume : and most of my Readers, I fancy, regarded this as the actual conclusion, when that Volume appeared in December, 1889.
At any rate, among all the letters I received about it, there was only one which expressed any suspicion that it was not a final conclusion.
This letter was from a child.
She wrote " we were so glad, when we came to the end of the book, to find that there was no ending-up, for that shows us that you are going to write a sequel."
It may interest some of my Readers to know the theory on which this story is constructed.
It is an attempt to show what might possibly happen, supposing that Fairies really existed; and that they were sometimes visible to us, and we to them ; and that they were sometimes able to assume human form : and supposing, also, that human beings might sometimes become conscious of what goes on in the Fairy- world——by actual transference of their immaterial essence, such as we meet with in ' Esoteric Buddhism.'
I have supposed a Human being to be capable of various psychical states, with varying degrees of consciousness, as follows :—
(a) the ordinary state, with no consciousness of the presence of Fairies ; (b) the ' eerie' state, in which, while conscious of actual surroundings, he is also conscious of the presence of Fairies ; (c) a form of trance, in which, while unconscious of actual surroundings, and apparently asleep, he (i.e.
his immaterial essence) migrates to other scenes, in the actual world, or in Fairyland, and is conscious of the presence of Fairies.
I have also supposed a Fairy to be capable of migrating from Fairyland into the actual world, and of assuming, at pleasure, a Human form ; and also to be capable of various psychical states, viz.
(a)the ordinary state, with no consciousness of the presence of Human beings ; (b)a sort of 'eerie' state, in which he is conscious, if in the actual world, of the presence of actual Human beings ; if in Fairyland, of the presence of the immaterial essences of Human beings.
I will here tabulate the passages, in both Volumes, where abnormal states occur.
In the Preface to Vol.
I., at p.
x., I gave an account of the origination of some of the ideas embodied in the book.
A few more such details may perhaps interest my Readers :
I.
p.
203.
The very peculiar use, here made of a dead mouse, comes from real life.
I once found two very small boys, in a garden, playing a microscopic game of ' Single-Wicket/ The bat was, I think, about the size of a table-spoon ; and the utmost distance attained by the ball, in its most daring flights, was some 4 or 5 yards.
The exact length was of course a matter of supreme importance; and it was always carefully measured out (the batsman and the bowler amicably sharing the toil) with a dead mouse!
I.p.
259.
The two quasi-mathematical Axioms, quoted by Arthur at p.
259 of Vol.
I., (" Things that are greater than the same are greater than one another/' and " All angles are equal ") were actually enunciated, in all seriousness, by undergraduates at a University situated not 100 miles from Ely.
II.p.
10.
Bruno's remark (" I can, if I like, &c.") was actually made by a little boy.
II.
p.
12.
So also was his remark ("I know what it doesnt spell.") And his remark (" I just twiddled my eyes, &c.") I heard from the lips of a little girl, who had just solved a puzzle I had set her.
II.
p.
55.
Bruno's soliloquy ("For its father, &c.") was actually spoken by a little girl, looking out of the window of a railway-carriage.
II.
p.
138.
The remark, made by a guest at the dinner-party, when asking for a dish of fruit (" I've been wishing for them, &c."') I heard made by the great Poet-Laureate, whose loss the whole reading- world has so lately had to deplore.
II.
p.
163.
Bruno's speech, on the subject of the age of ' Mein Herr,' embodies the reply of a little girl to the question " Is your grandmother an old lady?"
" I don't know if she's an old lady," said this cautious young person ; " she's eighty-three."
II.
p.
203.
The speech about 'Obstruction' is no mere creature of my imagination!
It is copied verbatim from the columns of the Standard, and was spoken by Sir William Harcourt, who was, at the time, a member of the ' Opposition,' at the ' National Liberal Club,' on July the 16th, 1890.
II.
p.
329.
The Professor's remark, about a dog's tail, that " it doesn't bite at that end," was actually made by a child, when warned of the danger he was incurring by pulling the dog's tail.
II.
p.
374.
The dialogue between Sylvie and Bruno, which occupies lines 6 to 15, is a verbatim report (merely substituting "cake" for "penny"; of a dialogue overheard between two children.
One story in this Volume' Bruno's Picnic '
I can vouch for as suitable for telling to children, having tested it again and again ; and, whether my audience has been a dozen little girls in a village- school, or some thirty or forty in a London drawing- room, or a hundred in a High School, I have always found them earnestly attentive, and keenly appreciative of such fun as the story supplied.
May I take this opportunity of calling attention to what I flatter myself was a successful piece of name- coining, at p.
42 of Vol.
I.
Does not the name 'Sibimet' fairly embody the character of the Sub- Warden?
The gentle Reader has no doubt observed what a singularly useless article in a house a brazen trumpet is, if you simply leave it lying about, and never blow it!
Readers of the first Volume, who have amused themselves by trying to solve the two puzzles propounded at pp.
xi., xii.
of the Preface, may perhaps like to exercise their ingenuity in discovering which (if any) of the following parallelisms were intentional, and which (if any) accidental.