, Ch. Ch_.

The word "Belfry" is derived from the French _bel_, "beautiful,
becoming, meet," and from the German _frei_, "free unfettered,
secure, safe." Thus, the word is strictly equivalent to "meat-safe,"
to which the new Belfry bears a resemblance so perfect as almost to
amount to coincidence.

Sec.4. _On the chief architectural merit of the new Belfry, Ch. Ch_.

Its chief merit is its simplicity--a simplicity so pure, so
profound, in a word, so _simple_, that no other word will fitly
describe it. The meagre outline, and baldness of detail, of the
present Chapter, are adopted in humble imitation of this great
feature.

Sec.5. _On the other architectural merits of the new Belfry, Ch. Ch_.

The Belfry has no other architectural merits.

"The Vision of the Three T's" followed. It also was an attack on
architectural changes in Christ Church; the general style was a parody
of the "Compleat Angler." Last of all came "The Blank Cheque, a
Fable," in reference to the building of the New Schools, for the
expenses of which it was actually proposed (in 1874), to sign a blank
cheque before any estimate had been made, or any plan laid before the
University, and even before a committee had been elected to appoint an
architect for the work.

At the end of 1874 Mr. Dodgson was again at Hatfield, where he told
the children the story of Prince Uggug, which was afterwards made a
part of "Sylvie and Bruno," though at that time it seems to have been
a separate tale. But "Sylvie and Bruno," in this respect entirely
unlike "Alice in Wonderland," was the result of notes taken during
many years; for while he was thinking out the book he never neglected
any amusing scraps of childish conversation or funny anecdotes about
children which came to his notice. It is this fact which gives such
verisimilitude to the prattle of Bruno; childish talk is a thing which
a grown-up person cannot possibly _invent_. He can only listen to
the actual things the children say, and then combine what he has heard
into a connected narrative.

During 1875 Mr. Dodgson wrote an article on "Some Popular Fallacies
about Vivisection," which was refused by the _Pall Mall Gazette_,
the editor saying that he had never heard of most of them; on which
Mr. Dodgson plaintively notes in his Diary that seven out of the
thirteen fallacies dealt with in his essay had appeared in the columns
of the _Pall Mall Gazette_. Ul