Through the Looking-Glass
Child of the pure unclouded brow
And dreaming eyes of wonder!
Though time be fleet, and I and thou
Are half a life asunder,
Thy loving smile will surely hail
The love-gift of a fairy-tale.
I have not seen thy sunny face,
Nor heard thy silver laughter:
No thought of me shall find a place
In thy young life's hereafter--
Enough that now thou wilt not fail
To listen to my fairy-tale.A tale begun in other days,
When summer suns were glowing--
A simple chime, that served to time
The rhythm of our rowing--
Whose echoes live in memory yet,
Though envious years would say `forget'.Come, hearken then, ere voice of dread,
With bitter tidings laden,
Shall summon to unwelcome bed
A melancholy maiden!
We are but older children, dear,
Who fret to find our bedtime near.Without, the frost, the blinding snow,
The storm-wind's moody madness--
Within, the firelight's ruddy glow,
And childhood's nest of gladness.
The magic words shall hold thee fast:
Thou shalt not heed the raving blast.And, though the shadow of a sigh
May tremble through the story,
For `happy summer days' gone by,
And vanish'd summer glory--
It shall not touch with breath of bale,
The pleasance of our fairy-tale.
| 1. | Alice meets R.Q. | 132 | 1. R.Q. to K.R's 4th | 137 |
| 2. | Alice through Q's 3d (by railway) to Q's 4th | 139 | 2. W.Q. to Q.B's 4th (after shawl) | 160 |
| (Tweedledum and Tweedledee) | 141 | |||
| 3. | Alice meets W.Q. (with shawl) | 160 | 3. W.Q. to Q. B's 5th (becomes sheep) | 164 |
| 4. | Alice to Q's 5th (shop, river, shop) | 164 | 4. W.Q. to K. B's 8th (leaves egg on shelf) | 168 |
| 5. | Alice to Q's 6th (Humpty Dumpty) | 168 | 5. W.Q. to Q.B's 8th (flying from R. Kt.) | 185 |
| 6. | Alice to Q's 7th (forest) | 180 | 6. R. Kt. to K's 2nd (ch.) | 189 |
| 7. | W. Kt. takes R. Kt. | 191 | 7. W. Kt. to K. B's 5th | 200 |
| 8. | Alice to Q's 8th (coronation) | 201 | 8. R. Q. to K's sq. (examination) | 202 |
| 9. | Alice becomes Queen | 201 | 9. Queens castle | 207 |
| 10. | Alice castles (feast) | 210 | 10. W.Q. to Q. R's 6th (soup) | 213 |
| 11. | Alice takes R. Q. & wins | 215 |
DARMATIS PERSONÆ
(as arranged before commencement of game)
WHITE RED
| PIECES | PAWNS | PAWNS | PIECES |
| Tweedledee | Daisy | Daisy | Humpty Dumpty |
| Unicorn | Haigha | Messenger | Carpenter |
| Sheep | Oyster | Oyster | Walrus |
| W. Queen | Lily | Tiger-lily | R. Queen |
| W. King | Fawn | Rose | R. King |
| Aged man | Oyster | Oyster | Crow |
| W. Knight | Hatta | Frog | R. Knight |
| Tweedledum | Daisy | Daisy | Lion |
PREFACE
As the chess-problem, given on the previous page, has puzzled some of my readers, it may be well to
explain that it is correctly worked out, so far as the moves are concerned. The alternation of Red and
White is perhaps not so strictly observed as it might be, and the castling
of the three Queens is merely
a way of saying that they entered the palace; but the
check
of the White King at move 6, the capture of
the Red Knight at move 7, and the final
checkmate
of the Red King, will be found, by any one who will
take the trouble to set the pieces and play the moves as directed, to be strictly in accordance with the
laws of the game.
The new words, in the poem Jabberwocky
(see p. 126), have given rise to some difference of opinion
as to their pronunciation: so it may be well to give instructions on that point also. Pronounce
slithy
as if
it were the two words
sly, the
: make the
g
hard in
gyre
and
gimble
: and pronounce
rath
to rhyme with
bath
.
CHAPTER ONE
LOOKING-GLASS HOUSE
ONE thing was certain, that the white kitten had had nothing to do with it--it was the black kitten's fault
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