ch I must
frankly confess rather alarmed me:

[Illustration: SPECIMEN OF LEWIS CARROLL'S DRAWING AND WRITING.]

"As to the dresses of these children in their fairy state (we shall
sometimes have them mixing in Society, and supposed to be real children;
and for _that_ they must, I suppose, be dressed as in ordinary life, but
_eccentrically_, so as to make a little distinction). I _wish_ I dared
dispense with _all_ costume; naked children are so perfectly pure and
lovely, but Mrs. Grundy would be furious--it would never do. Then the
question is, how little dress will content her? Bare legs and feet we
_must_ have, at any rate. I so entirely detest that monstrous fashion
_high heels_ (and in fact have planned an attack on it in this very
book), that I cannot possibly allow my sweet little heroine to be
victimised by it."

Another monstrous fashion he condemns refers to a picture of his
grown-up heroine in London Society:

"Could you cut off those high shoulders from her sleeves? Why should we
pay any deference to a hideous fashion that will be extinct a year
hence? Next to the unapproachable ugliness of 'crinoline,' I think these
high-shouldered sleeves are the worst things invented for ladies in our
time. Imagine how horrified they would be if one of their daughters were
_really_ shaped like that!"

I did make a note of a horrified mother with a nineteenth century
malformation, but I did not send it to the author, as it struck me, when
re-reading his letter, he was possibly serious. Still we had Sylvie's
dress, Mrs. Grundy, crinolines, and high heels to discuss:

[Illustration: ORIGINAL SKETCH BY LEWIS CARROLL OF HIS CHARMING HERO AND
HEROINE.]

"As to your Sylvie I am charmed with your idea of dressing her in
_white_; it exactly fits my own idea of her; I want her to be a sort of
embodiment of Purity. So I think that, in Society, she should be wholly
in white--white frock ('clinging' certainly; I _hate_ crinoline
fashion): also I _think_ we might venture on making her _fairy_ dress
transparent. Don't you think we might face Mrs. Grundy to _that_ extent?
In fact I think Mrs. G. would be fairly content at finding her
_dressed_, and would not mind whether the material was silk, or muslin,
or even gauze. One thing more. _Please_ don't give Sylvie high heels!
They are an abomination to me."

Then for months we corresponded about the face of the Heroine alone. My