_FOREWORD_
This present collection of writings by Lewis Carroll--the King of
“Nonsense Literature”--is particularly opportune. Most, if not all, the
matter in it will be new to the present generation; some of it, indeed,
has never appeared in print before.
Apart from other material, more than one hundred and fifty letters
have been examined. Lewis Carroll was a prolific correspondent, and
his letters, especially to his child friends, reflected his joyous
personality and characteristic humour in no uncommon degree. In
this connection, and for some of the biographical details in his
introduction, the editor wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to Mr.
Stuart Dodgson Collingwood’s “Life and Letters of Lewis Carroll” (a
fascinating book long out of print), and to Miss Vera Beringer, Mrs.
Barclay, Mrs. Spens, and Mrs. Morton (formerly the three little Miss
Bowmans), four ladies who, when children, were among the most intimate
of Lewis Carroll’s juvenile comrades. The courtesy of the proprietors
of “The Whitby Gazette” in giving permission for the inclusion of “The
Lady of the Ladle” and “Wilhelm von Schmitz” must be acknowledged.