in
a carriage with a lady and her little daughter, both complete
strangers to him. The child was reading "Alice in Wonderland," and
when she put her book down, he began talking to her about it. The
mother soon joined in the conversation, of course without the least
idea who the stranger was with whom she was talking. "Isn't it sad,"
she said, "about poor Mr. Lewis Carroll? He's gone mad, you know."
"Indeed," replied Mr. Dodgson, "I had never heard that." "Oh, I assure
you it is quite true," the lady answered. "I have it on the best
authority." Before Mr. Dodgson parted with her, he obtained her leave
to send a present to the little girl, and a few days afterwards she
received a copy of "Through the Looking-Glass," inscribed with her
name, and "From the Author, in memory of a pleasant journey."

When he gave books to children, he very often wrote acrostics on their
names on the fly-leaf. One of the prettiest was inscribed in a copy of
Miss Yonge's "Little Lucy's Wonderful Globe," which he gave to Miss
Ruth Dymes:--

R ound the wondrous globe I wander wild,
U p and down-hill--Age succeeds to youth--
T oiling all in vain to find a child
H alf so loving, half so dear as Ruth.

In another book, given to her sister Margaret, he
wrote:--

M aidens, if a maid you meet
A lways free from pout and pet,
R eady smile and temper sweet,
G reet my little Margaret.
A nd if loved by all she be
R ightly, not a pampered pet,
E asily you then may see
'Tis my little Margaret.

Here are two letters to children, the one interesting as a specimen of
pure nonsense of the sort which children always like, the other as
showing his dislike of being praised. The first was written to Miss
Gertrude Atkinson, daughter of an old College friend, but otherwise
unknown to Lewis Carroll except by her photograph:--

My dear Gertrude,--So many things have happened since we met
last, really I don't know _which_ to begin talking
about! For instance, England has been conquered by William
the Conqueror. We haven't met since _that_ happened,
you know. How did you like it? Were you frightened?

And one more thing has happened: I have got your
photograph. Thank you very much for it. I like it "awfully."
Do they let you say "awfully"? or do they say, "No, my dear;
little girls mustn't say 'awfully'; they should say 'very