ugh their cheaper and commoner qualities,
their real audience is the most cultivated and keen-minded part of the
mature world; to whom indeed he speaks almost exclusively in such
passages as the Rabelaisian satire of the jury trial in 'Alice in
Wonderland,' or the mob in 'Sylvie and Bruno' yelling "Less bread!
More taxes!" before the Lord Chancellor's house, or the infinitely
touching pathos of the Outlandish Watch.

'Alice in Wonderland' appeared in 1865; it received universal
admiration at once, and was translated into many languages. By the
rarest of good fortune, it was illustrated by an artist (John Tenniel)
who entered into its spirit so thoroughly that the characters in
popular memory are as much identified with his pictures as with Lewis
Carroll's text, and no other representation of them would be endured.
'Through the Looking-Glass' followed in 1871; its prose matter was
almost equal to that of its predecessor,--the chapter of the White
Knight is fully equal to the best of the other,--and its verse is
superior. Part of the first book was based on the game of cards; the
whole setting of the second is based on chess moves, and Alice's
progress to queenship along the board. He has published several books
of humorous prose and verse since; some of the verse equal to the best
of his two best books, but the prose generally spoiled by conscious
didacticism, as in 'Sylvie and Bruno,' which however contains some of
his happiest nonsense verse. 'The Hunting of the Snark' is a nonsense
tale in verse, but oddly the best things in it are his prose tags.
'Rhyme and Reason' is a collection of verse, some of it of high merit
in its kind: 'The Three Voices' is spun out and ill-ended, but has
some passages which deserve to be classic.

Lewis Carroll is in fact the Rev. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who
(disliking publicity) lives in retirement at Oxford, and the world
knows little of him. He was born in 1833 and received his degree in
Christ Church, Oxford, with high honors in mathematics. In 1861 he
took orders in the Church of England. From 1855 to 1881 he was
mathematical lecturer at Christ Church, Oxford. He has published
several works on mathematics, including 'Euclid and His Modern
Rivals,' and 'Mathematica Curiosa,' a very valuable work. 'A Tangled
Tale,' 'Pillow Problems,' and a 'Game of Logic' are scientific and
humorous, but are only appreciated by experts in mathematics and
logic. Delighted with 'Alice in Wonderland' on