The
Vanishing+
79
* * * * *
FIT I.
* * * * *
FIT I.
Lewis Carroll
" Make up your
mind that you will say both words, but leave it unsettled which you will
say first. Now open your mouth and speak. If your thoughts incline ever
so little towards "fuming," you will say "fuming-furious;" if they
turn, by even a hair's breadth, towards "furious," you will say
"furious-fuming;" but if you have that rarest of gifts, a perfectly
balanced mind, you will say "frumious. "
Supposing that, when Pistol uttered the well-known words--
"Under which king, Bezonian? Speak or die! "
Justice Shallow had felt certain that it was either William or Richard,
but had not been able to settle which, so that he could not possibly say
either name before the other, can it be doubted that, rather than die,
he would have gasped out "Rilchiam! "
+Contents. +
Page
+Fit the First. The Landing+ 3
+Fit the Second. The Bellman's Speech+ 15
+Fit the Third. The Baker's Tale+ 27
+Fit the Fourth. The Hunting+ 37
+Fit the Fifth. The Beaver's Lesson+ 47
+Fit the Sixth. The Barrister's Dream+ 61
+Fit the Seventh. The Banker's Fate+ 71
+Fit the Eighth.
The Vanishing+ 79
* * * * *
FIT I. --THE LANDING.
* * * * *
+Fit the First. +
_THE LANDING. _
"Just the place for a Snark! " the Bellman cried,
As he landed his crew with care;
Supporting each man on the top of the tide
By a finger entwined in his hair.
"Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice:
That alone should encourage the crew.
Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice:
What I tell you three times is true. "
The crew was complete: it included a Boots--
A maker of Bonnets and Hoods--
A Barrister, brought to arrange their disputes--
And a Broker, to value their goods.
A Billiard-marker, whose skill was immense,
Might perhaps have won more than his share--
But a Banker, engaged at enormous expense,
Had the whole of their cash in his care.
There was also a Beaver, that paced on the deck,
Or would sit making lace in the bow:
And had often (the Bellman said) saved them from wreck,
Though none of the sailors knew how.
[Illustration]
There was one who was famed for the number of things
He forgot when he entered the ship:
His umbrella, his watch, all his jewels and rings,
And the clothes he had bought for the trip.
He had forty-two boxes, all carefully packed,
With his name painted clearly on each:
But, since he omitted to mention the fact,
They were all left behind on the beach.
The loss of his clothes hardly mattered, because
He had seven coats on when he came,
With three pair of boots--but the worst of it was,
He had wholly forgotten his name.
mind that you will say both words, but leave it unsettled which you will
say first. Now open your mouth and speak. If your thoughts incline ever
so little towards "fuming," you will say "fuming-furious;" if they
turn, by even a hair's breadth, towards "furious," you will say
"furious-fuming;" but if you have that rarest of gifts, a perfectly
balanced mind, you will say "frumious. "
Supposing that, when Pistol uttered the well-known words--
"Under which king, Bezonian? Speak or die! "
Justice Shallow had felt certain that it was either William or Richard,
but had not been able to settle which, so that he could not possibly say
either name before the other, can it be doubted that, rather than die,
he would have gasped out "Rilchiam! "
+Contents. +
Page
+Fit the First. The Landing+ 3
+Fit the Second. The Bellman's Speech+ 15
+Fit the Third. The Baker's Tale+ 27
+Fit the Fourth. The Hunting+ 37
+Fit the Fifth. The Beaver's Lesson+ 47
+Fit the Sixth. The Barrister's Dream+ 61
+Fit the Seventh. The Banker's Fate+ 71
+Fit the Eighth.
The Vanishing+ 79
* * * * *
FIT I. --THE LANDING.
* * * * *
+Fit the First. +
_THE LANDING. _
"Just the place for a Snark! " the Bellman cried,
As he landed his crew with care;
Supporting each man on the top of the tide
By a finger entwined in his hair.
"Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice:
That alone should encourage the crew.
Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice:
What I tell you three times is true. "
The crew was complete: it included a Boots--
A maker of Bonnets and Hoods--
A Barrister, brought to arrange their disputes--
And a Broker, to value their goods.
A Billiard-marker, whose skill was immense,
Might perhaps have won more than his share--
But a Banker, engaged at enormous expense,
Had the whole of their cash in his care.
There was also a Beaver, that paced on the deck,
Or would sit making lace in the bow:
And had often (the Bellman said) saved them from wreck,
Though none of the sailors knew how.
[Illustration]
There was one who was famed for the number of things
He forgot when he entered the ship:
His umbrella, his watch, all his jewels and rings,
And the clothes he had bought for the trip.
He had forty-two boxes, all carefully packed,
With his name painted clearly on each:
But, since he omitted to mention the fact,
They were all left behind on the beach.
The loss of his clothes hardly mattered, because
He had seven coats on when he came,
With three pair of boots--but the worst of it was,
He had wholly forgotten his name.
