Page:Collingwood - Life and Letters of Lewis Carroll.djvu/91



I own that I could wish her
 * A somewhat lighter touch;

And if you were to ask me how
 * Her charms might be improved,

I would not have them added to,
 * But just a few removed!

She has the bear's ethereal grace,
 * The bland hyena's laugh,

The footstep of the elephant,
 * The neck of the giraffe;

I love her still, believe me,
 * Though my heart its passion hids;

"She is all my fancy painted her,"
 * But oh! how much besides!

It was when writing for The Train that he first felt the need of a pseudonym. He suggested "Dares" (the first syllable of his birthplace) to Edmund Yates, but, as this did not meet with his editor's approval, he wrote again, giving a choice of four names, (1) Edgar Cuthwellis, (2) Edgar U. C. Westhall, (3) Louis Carroll, and (4) Lewis Carroll. The first two were formed from the letters of his two Christian names, Charles Lutwidge; the others are merely variant forms of those names—Lewis = Ludovicus = Lutwidge; Carroll = Carolus = Charles. Mr. Yates chose the last, and thenceforward it became Mr. Dodgson's ordinary nom de plume. The first