Christmas Greetings
(From a Fairy to a Child.)
Lady dear, if Fairies may
For a moment lay aside
Cunning tricks and elfish play,
’Tis at happy Christmas-tide.
We have heard the children say—
Gentle children, whom we love—
Long ago, on Christmas Day,
Came a message from above.
Still, as Christmas-tide comes round,
They remember it again—
Echo still the joyful sound
“Peace on earth, good-will to men!”
Yet the hearts must childlike be
Where such heavenly guests abide:
Unto children, in their glee,
All the year is Christmas-tide!
Thus, forgetting tricks and play
For a moment, Lady dear,
We would wish you, if we may,
Merry Christmas, glad New Year!
LEWIS CARROLL
THE NURSERY “ALICE.” Containing Twenty Coloured Enlargements from Tenniel’s Illustrations to “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” With Text adapted to Nursery Readers by Lewis Carroll. The Cover designed and coloured by E. Gertrude Thomson. (First published in 1889.) 4to, boards, price 3s.
N.B.—In selling Mr. Lewis Carroll’s books to the Trade, Messrs. Macmillan & Co. will abate 2d. in the shilling (no odd copies), and allow 5 per cent. discount for payment within six months, and 10 per cent. for cash. In selling them to the Public (for cash only) they will allow 10 per cent. discount.
Mr. Lewis Carroll, having been requested to allow “An Easter Greeting” (a leaflet, addressed to children, first published in 1876, and frequently given with his books) to be sold separately, has arranged with Messrs. Harrison, of 59, Pall Mall, who will supply a single copy for 1d., or 12 for 9d., or 100 for 5s.
CAUTIONS TO READERS.
On August 1st, 1881, a story appeared in Aunt Judy’s Magazine No. 184, entitled “The Land of Idleness, by Lewis Carroll.” This story was really written by a lady, Fräulein Ida Lackowitz. Acting on her behalf, Mr. Carroll forwarded it to the Editor: and this led to the mistake of naming him as its author.
In October, 1887, the writer of an article on “Literature for the Little ones,” in The Nineteenth Century, stated that, in 1864, “Tom Hood was delighting the world with such works as From Nowhere to the North Pole. Between Tom Hood and Mr. Lewis Carroll there is more than a suspicion of resemblance in some particulars. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland narrowly escapes challenging a comparison with From Nowhere to the North Pole. The idea of both is so similar that Mr. Carroll can hardly have been surprised if some people have believed he was inspired by Hood.” The date 1864 is a mistake. From Nowhere to the North Pole was first published in 1874.