Page:Carroll - Rhyme and Reason.djvu/165

Rh "My father and mother were honest, though poor—
 * "Skip all that!" cried the Bellman in haste.

"If it once becomes dark, there's no chance of a Snark—
 * We have hardly a minute to waste!"

"I skip forty years," said the Baker, in tears,
 * "And proceed without further remark

To the day when you took me aboard of your ship
 * To help you in hunting the Snark.


 * "A dear uncle of mine (after whom I was named)

Remarked, when I bade him farewell—"
 * "Oh, skip your dear uncle!" the Bellman exclaimed,

As he angrily tingled his bell.

"He remarked to me then," said that mildest of men,
 * If your Snark be a Snark, that is right:

Fetch it home by all means—you may serve it with greens
 * And it's handy for striking a light.

You may seek it with thimbles—and seek it with care;
 * You may hunt it with forks and hope;

You may threaten its life with a railway-share;
 * You may charm it with smiles and soap—