LEWIS CARROLL (CHARLES LUTWIDGE DODGSON)
THE HUNTING OF THE SNARK


Carroll 1876: Original Text Reference.
 Composition Date: 1874-75. Publication Date: 1876.
Ed. (text): Ian Lancashire; (e-text): I. Lancashire.





THE HUNTING

OF THE SNARK

an Agony,
in Eight Fits.

BY

LEWIS CARROLL



AUTHOR OF "ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND," AND "THROUGH THE
LOOKING-GLASS."

WITH NINE ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
HENRY HOLIDAY

London:
MACMILLAN AND CO.
1876.

[The Right of Translation and Reproduction is Reserved.]





LONDON:
R. CLAY, SONS, AND TAYLOR, PRINTERS,
BREAD STREET HILL.






Inscribed to a dear Child:
in memory of golden summer hours
and whispers of a summer sea.




Girt with a boyish garb for boyish task,
  Eager she wields her spade; yet loves as well
Rest on a friendly knee, intent to ask
  The tale he loves to tell.

Rude spirits of the seething outer strife,
  Unmeet to read her pure and simple spright,
Deem, if you list, such hours a waste of life,
  Empty of all delight!

Chat on, sweet Maid, and rescue from annoy
  Hearts that by wiser talk are unbeguiled.
Ah, happy he who owns that tenderest joy,
  The heart-love of a child!

Away, fond thoughts, and vex my soul no more!
  Work claims my wakeful nights, my busy days--
Albeit bright memories of that sunlit shore
  Yet haunt my dreaming gaze!





PREFACE







If--and the thing is wildly possible--the charge of
writing nonsense were ever brought against the author
of this brief but instructive poem, it would be based,
I feel convinced, on the line (in p.18)

"Then the bowsprit got mixed with the rudder sometimes."

In view of this painful possibility, I will not (as I
might) appeal indignantly to my other writings as a
proof that I am incapable of such a deed: I will not
(as I might) point to the strong moral purpose of this
poem itself, to the arithmetical principles so cautiously
inculcated in it, or to its noble teachings in Natural
History--I will take the more prosaic course of
simply explaining how it happened.



The Bellman, who was almost morbidly sensitive about
appearances, used to have the bowsprit unshipped once or
twice a week to be revarnished, and it more than once
happened, when the time came for replacing it, that no
one on board could remember which end of the ship it
belonged to. They knew it was not of the slightest use
to appeal to the Bellman about it--he would only
refer to his Naval Code, and read out in pathetic tones
Admiralty Instructions which none of them had ever
been able to understand--so it generally ended in
its being fastened on, anyhow, across the rudder. The
helmsman* used to stand by with tears in his eyes; he

*This office was usually undertaken by the Boots, who found in it
a refuge from the Baker's constant complaints about the insufficient
blacking of his three pair of boots.

knew it was all wrong, but alas! Rule 42 of the Code,
"No one shall speak to the Man at the Helm," had been
completed by the Bellman himself with the words "and
the Man at the Helm shall speak to no one." So remon{\-}
strance was impossible, and no steering could be done
till the next varnishing day. During these bewildering
intervals the ship usually sailed backwards.



As this poem is to some extent connected with the
lay of the Jabberwock, let me take this opportunity
of answering a question that has often been asked me,
how to pronounce "slithy toves." The "i" in "slithy"
is long, as in "writhe"; and "toves" is pronounced so
as to rhyme with "groves." Again, the first "o" in
"borogoves" is pronounced like the "o" in "borrow."
I have heard people try to give it the sound of the
"o" in "worry." Such is Human Perversity.



This also seems a fitting occasion to notice the other
hard works in that poem. Humpty-Dumpty's theory,
of two meanings packed into one word like a port{\-}
manteau, seems to me the right explanation for all.



For instance, take the two words "fuming" and
"furious." 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.

1   "Just the place for a Snark!" the Bellman cried,
2     As he landed his crew with care;
3   Supporting each man on the top of the tide
4     By a finger entwined in his hair.

5   "Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice:
6     That alone should encourage the crew.
7   Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice:
8     What I tell you three times is true."

9   The crew was complete: it included a Boots--
10   A maker of Bonnets and Hoods--
11 A Barrister, brought to arrange their disputes--
12   And a Broker, to value their goods.

13 A Billiard-marker, whose skill was immense,
14   Might perhaps have won more than his share--
15 But a Banker, engaged at enormous expense,
16   Had the whole of their cash in his care.

17 There was also a Beaver, that paced on the deck,
18   Or would sit making lace in the bow:
19 And had often (the Bellman said) saved them from wreck,
20   Though none of the sailors knew how.

21 There was one who was famed for the number of things
22   He forgot when he entered the ship:
23 His umbrella, his watch, all his jewels and rings,
24   And the clothes he had bought for the trip.

25 He had forty-two boxes, all carefully packed,
26   With his name painted clearly on each:
27 But, since he omitted to mention the fact,
28   They were all left behind on the beach.

29 The loss of his clothes hardly mattered, because
30   He had seven coats on when he came,
31 With three pair of boots--but the worst of it was,
32   He had wholly forgotten his name.

33 He would answer to "Hi!" or to any loud cry,
34   Such as "Fry me!" or "Fritter my wig!"
35 To "What-you-may-call-um!" or "What-was-his-name!"
36   But especially "Thing-um-a-jig!"

37 While, for those who preferred a more forcible word,
38   He had different names from these:
39 His intimate friends called him "Candle-ends,"
40   And his enemies "Toasted-cheese."

41 "His form in ungainly--his intellect small--"
42   (So the Bellman would often remark)
43 "But his courage is perfect! And that, after all,
44   Is the thing that one needs with a Snark."

45 He would joke with hy{ae}nas, returning their stare
46   With an impudent wag of the head:
47 And he once went a walk, paw-in-paw, with a bear,
48   "Just to keep up its spirits," he said.

49 He came as a Baker: but owned, when too late--
50   And it drove the poor Bellman half-mad--
51 He could only bake Bridecake--for which, I may state,
52   No materials were to be had.

53 The last of the crew needs especial remark,
54   Though he looked an incredible dunce:
55 He had just one idea--but, that one being "Snark,"
56   The good Bellman engaged him at once.

57 He came as a Butcher: but gravely declared,
58   When the ship had been sailing a week,
59 He could only kill Beavers. The Bellman looked scared,
60   And was almost too frightened to speak:

61 But at length he explained, in a tremulous tone,
62   There was only one Beaver on board;
63 And that was a tame one he had of his own,
64   Whose death would be deeply deplored.

65 The Beaver, who happened to hear the remark,
66   Protested, with tears in its eyes,
67 That not even the rapture of hunting the Snark
68   Could atone for that dismal surprise!

69 It strongly advised that the Butcher should be
70   Conveyed in a separate ship:
71 But the Bellman declared that would never agree
72   With the plans he had made for the trip:

73 Navigation was always a difficult art,
74   Though with only one ship and one bell:
75 And he feared he must really decline, for his part,
76   Undertaking another as well.

77 The Beaver's best course was, no doubt, to procure
78   A second-hand dagger-proof coat--
79 So the Baker advised it-- and next, to insure
80   Its life in some Office of note:

81 This the Banker suggested, and offered for hire
82   (On moderate terms), or for sale,
83 Two excellent Policies, one Against Fire,
84   And one Against Damage From Hail.

85 Yet still, ever after that sorrowful day,
86   Whenever the Butcher was by,
87 The Beaver kept looking the opposite way,
88   And appeared unaccountably shy.





FIT II.--THE BELLMAN'S SPEECH.

Fit the Second.

THE BELLMAN'S SPEECH.



89 The Bellman himself they all praised to the skies--
90   Such a carriage, such ease and such grace!
91 Such solemnity, too! One could see he was wise,
92   The moment one looked in his face!

93 He had bought a large map representing the sea,
94   Without the least vestige of land:
95 And the crew were much pleased when they found it to be
96   A map they could all understand.

97 "What's the good of Mercator's North Poles and Equators,
98   Tropics, Zones, and Meridian Lines?"
99 So the Bellman would cry: and the crew would reply
100   "They are merely conventional signs!

101 "Other maps are such shapes, with their islands and capes!
102   But we've got our brave Captain to thank
103 (So the crew would protest) "that he's bought us the best--
104   A perfect and absolute blank!"

105 This was charming, no doubt; but they shortly found out
106   That the Captain they trusted so well
107 Had only one notion for crossing the ocean,
108   And that was to tingle his bell.

109 He was thoughtful and grave--but the orders he gave
110   Were enough to bewilder a crew.
111 When he cried "Steer to starboard, but keep her head larboard!"
112   What on earth was the helmsman to do?

113 Then the bowsprit got mixed with the rudder sometimes:
114   A thing, as the Bellman remarked,
115 That frequently happens in tropical climes,
116   When a vessel is, so to speak, "snarked."

117 But the principal failing occurred in the sailing,
118   And the Bellman, perplexed and distressed,
119 Said he had hoped, at least, when the wind blew due East,
120   That the ship would not travel due West!

121 But the danger was past--they had landed at last,
122   With their boxes, portmanteaus, and bags:
123 Yet at first sight the crew were not pleased with the view,
124   Which consisted to chasms and crags.

125 The Bellman perceived that their spirits were low,
126   And repeated in musical tone
127 Some jokes he had kept for a season of woe--
128   But the crew would do nothing but groan.

129 He served out some grog with a liberal hand,
130   And bade them sit down on the beach:
131 And they could not but own that their Captain looked grand,
132   As he stood and delivered his speech.

133 "Friends, Romans, and countrymen, lend me your ears!"
134   (They were all of them fond of quotations:
135 So they drank to his health, and they gave him three cheers,
136   While he served out additional rations).

137 "We have sailed many months, we have sailed many weeks,
138   (Four weeks to the month you may mark),
139 But never as yet ('tis your Captain who speaks)
140   Have we caught the least glimpse of a Snark!

141 "We have sailed many weeks, we have sailed many days,
142   (Seven days to the week I allow),
143 But a Snark, on the which we might lovingly gaze,
144   We have never beheld till now!

145 "Come, listen, my men, while I tell you again
146   The five unmistakable marks
147 By which you may know, wheresoever you go,
148   The warranted genuine Snarks.

149 "Let us take them in order. The first is the taste,
150   Which is meagre and hollow, but crisp:
151 Like a coat that is rather too tight in the waist,
152   With a flavour of Will-o-the-wisp.

153 "Its habit of getting up late you'll agree
154   That it carries too far, when I say
155 That it frequently breakfasts at five-o'clock tea,
156   And dines on the following day.

157 "The third is its slowness in taking a jest.
158   Should you happen to venture on one,
159 It will sigh like a thing that is deeply distressed:
160   And it always looks grave at a pun.

161 "The fourth is its fondness for bathing-machines,
162   Which is constantly carries about,
163 And believes that they add to the beauty of scenes--
164   A sentiment open to doubt.

165 "The fifth is ambition. It next will be right
166   To describe each particular batch:
167 Distinguishing those that have feathers, and bite,
168   From those that have whiskers, and scratch.

169 "For, although common Snarks do no manner of harm,
170   Yet, I feel it my duty to say,
171 Some are Boojums--" The Bellman broke off in alarm,
172   For the Baker had fainted away.





FIT III.--THE BAKER'S TALE.

Fit the Third.

THE BAKER'S TALE.



173 They roused him with muffins--they roused him with ice--
174   They roused him with mustard and cress--
175 They roused him with jam and judicious advice--
176   They set him conundrums to guess.

177 When at length he sat up and was able to speak,
178   His sad story he offered to tell;
179 And the Bellman cried "Silence! Not even a shriek!"
180   And excitedly tingled his bell.

181 There was silence supreme! Not a shriek, not a scream,
182   Scarcely even a howl or a groan,
183 As the man they called "Ho!" told his story of woe
184   In an antediluvian tone.

185 "My father and mother were honest, though poor--"
186   "Skip all that!" cried the Bellman in haste.
187 "If it once becomes dark, there's no chance of a Snark--
188   We have hardly a minute to waste!"

189 "I skip forty years," said the Baker, in tears,
190   "And proceed without further remark
191 To the day when you took me aboard of your ship
192   To help you in hunting the Snark.

193 "A dear uncle of mine (after whom I was named)
194   Remarked, when I bade him farewell--"
195 "Oh, skip your dear uncle!" the Bellman exclaimed,
196   As he angrily tingled his bell.

197 "He remarked to me then," said that mildest of men,
198   " 'If your Snark be a Snark, that is right:
199 Fetch it home by all means--you may serve it with greens,
200   And it's handy for striking a light.

201 " 'You may seek it with thimbles--and seek it with care;
202   You may hunt it with forks and hope;
203 You may threaten its life with a railway-share;
204   You may charm it with smiles and soap--' "

205 ("That's exactly the method," the Bellman bold
206   In a hasty parenthesis cried,
207 "That's exactly the way I have always been told
208   That the capture of Snarks should be tried!")

209 " 'But oh, beamish nephew, beware of the day,
210   If your Snark be a Boojum! For then
211 You will softly and suddenly vanish away,
212   And never be met with again!'

213 "It is this, it is this that oppresses my soul,
214   When I think of my uncle's last words:
215 And my heart is like nothing so much as a bowl
216   Brimming over with quivering curds!

217 "It is this, it is this--" "We have had that before!"
218   The Bellman indignantly said.
219 And the Baker replied "Let me say it once more.
220   It is this, it is this that I dread!

221 "I engage with the Snark--every night after dark--
222   In a dreamy delirious fight:
223 I serve it with greens in those shadowy scenes,
224   And I use it for striking a light:

225 "But if ever I meet with a Boojum, that day,
226   In a moment (of this I am sure),
227 I shall softly and suddenly vanish away--
228   And the notion I cannot endure!"





FIT IV.--THE HUNTING.

Fit the fourth.

THE HUNTING.



229 The Bellman looked uffish, and wrinkled his brow.
230   "If only you'd spoken before!
231 It's excessively awkward to mention it now,
232   With the Snark, so to speak, at the door!

233 "We should all of us grieve, as you well may believe,
234   If you never were met with again--
235 But surely, my man, when the voyage began,
236   You might have suggested it then?

237 "It's excessively awkward to mention it now--
238   As I think I've already remarked."
239 And the man they called "Hi!" replied, with a sigh,
240   "I informed you the day we embarked.

241 "You may charge me with murder--or want of sense--
242   (We are all of us weak at times):
243 But the slightest approach to a false pretence
244   Was never among my crimes!

245 "I said it in Hebrew--I said it in Dutch--
246   I said it in German and Greek:
247 But I wholly forgot (and it vexes me much)
248   That English is what you speak!"

249 "'Tis a pitiful tale," said the Bellman, whose face
250   Had grown longer at every word:
251 "But, now that you've stated the whole of your case,
252   More debate would be simply absurd.

253 "The rest of my speech" (he explained to his men)
254   "You shall hear when I've leisure to speak it.
255 But the Snark is at hand, let me tell you again!
256   'Tis your glorious duty to seek it!

257 "To seek it with thimbles, to seek it with care;
258   To pursue it with forks and hope;
259 To threaten its life with a railway-share;
260   To charm it with smiles and soap!

261 "For the Snark's a peculiar creature, that won't
262   Be caught in a commonplace way.
263 Do all that you know, and try all that you don't:
264   Not a chance must be wasted to-day!

265 "For England expects--I forbear to proceed:
266   'Tis a maxim tremendous, but trite:
267 And you'd best be unpacking the things that you need
268   To rig yourselves out for the fight."

269 Then the Banker endorsed a blank check (which he crossed),
270   And changed his loose silver for notes.
271 The Baker with care combed his whiskers and hair,
272   And shook the dust out of his coats.

273 The Boots and the Broker were sharpening a spade--
274   Each working the grindstone in turn:
275 But the Beaver went on making lace, and displayed
276   No interest in the concern:

277 Though the Barrister tried to appeal to its pride,
278   And vainly proceeded to cite
279 A number of cases, in which making laces
280   Had been proved an infringement of right.

281 The maker of Bonnets ferociously planned
282   A novel arrangement of bows:
283 While the Billiard-marker with quivering hand
284   Was chalking the tip of his nose.

285 But the Butcher turned nervous, and dressed himself fine,
286   With yellow kid gloves and a ruff--
287 Said he felt it exactly like going to dine,
288   Which the Bellman declared was all "stuff."

289 "Introduce me, now there's a good fellow," he said,
290   "If we happen to meet it together!"
291 And the Bellman, sagaciously nodding his head,
292   Said "That must depend on the weather."

293 The Beaver went simply galumphing about,
294   At seeing the Butcher so shy:
295 And even the Baker, though stupid and stout,
296   Made an effort to wink with one eye.

297 "Be a man!" said the Bellman in wrath, as he heard
298   The Butcher beginning to sob.
299 "Should we meet with a Jubjub, that desperate bird,
300   We shall need all our strength for the job!"





FIT V.--THE BEAVER'S LESSON.

Fit the Fifth.

THE BEAVER'S LESSON.



301 They sought it with thimbles, they sought it with care;
302   They pursued it with forks and hope;
303 They threatened its life with a railway-share;
304   They charmed it with smiles and soap.

305 Then the Butcher contrived an ingenious plan
306   For making a separate sally;
307 And had fixed on a spot unfrequented by man,
308   A dismal and desolate valley.

309 But the very same plan to the Beaver occurred:
310   It had chosen the very same place:
311 Yet neither betrayed, by a sign or a word,
312   The disgust that appeared in his face.

313 Each thought he was thinking of nothing but "Snark"
314   And the glorious work of the day;
315 And each tried to pretend that he did not remark
316   That the other was going that way.

317 But the valley grew narrow and narrower still,
318   And the evening got darker and colder,
319 Till (merely from nervousness, not from goodwill)
320   They marched along shoulder to shoulder.

321 Then a scream, shrill and high, rent the shuddering sky,
322   And they knew that some danger was near:
323 The Beaver turned pale to the tip of its tail,
324   And even the Butcher felt queer.

325 He thought of his childhood, left far far behind--
326   That blissful and innocent state--
327 The sound so exactly recalled to his mind
328   A pencil that squeaks on a slate!

329 "'Tis the voice of the Jubjub!" he suddenly cried.
330   (This man, that they used to call "Dunce.")
331 "As the Bellman would tell you," he added with pride,
332   "I have uttered that sentiment once.

333 "'Tis the note of the Jubjub! Keep count, I entreat;
334   You will find I have told it you twice.
335 Tis the song of the Jubjub! The proof is complete,
336   If only I've stated it thrice."

337 The Beaver had counted with scrupulous care,
338   Attending to every word:
339 But it fairly lost heart, and outgrabe in despair,
340   When the third repetition occurred.

341 It felt that, in spite of all possible pains,
342   It had somehow contrived to lose count,
343 And the only thing now was to rack its poor brains
344   By reckoning up the amount.

345 "Two added to one--if that could but be done,"
346   It said, "with one's fingers and thumbs!"
347 Recollecting with tears how, in earlier years,
348   It had taken no pains with its sums.

349 "The thing can be done," said the Butcher, "I think.
350   The thing must be done, I am sure.
351 The thing shall be done! Bring me paper and ink,
352   The best there is time to procure."

353 The Beaver brought paper, portfolio, pens,
354   And ink in unfailing supplies:
355 While strange creepy creatures came out of their dens,
356   And watched them with wondering eyes.

357 So engrossed was the Butcher, he heeded them not,
358   As he wrote with a pen in each hand,
359 And explained all the while in a popular style
360   Which the Beaver could well understand.

361 "Taking Three as the subject to reason about--
362   A convenient number to state--
363 We add Seven, and Ten, and then multiply out
364   By One Thousand diminished by Eight.

365 "The result we proceed to divide, as you see,
366   By Nine Hundred and Ninety and Two:
367 Then subtract Seventeen, and the answer must be
368   Exactly and perfectly true.

369 "The method employed I would gladly explain,
370   While I have it so clear in my head,
371 If I had but the time and you had but the brain--
372   But much yet remains to be said.

373 "In one moment I've seen what has hitherto been
374   Enveloped in absolute mystery,
375 And without extra charge I will give you at large
376   A Lesson in Natural History."

377 In his genial way he proceeded to say
378   (Forgetting all laws of propriety,
379 And that giving instruction, without introduction,
380   Would have caused quite a thrill in Society),

381 "As to temper the Jubjub's a desperate bird,
382   Since it lives in perpetual passion:
383 Its taste in costume is entirely absurd--
384   It is ages ahead of the fashion:

385 "But it knows any friend it has met once before:
386   It never will look at a bride:
387 And in charity-meetings it stands at the door,
388   And collects--though it does not subscribe.

389 "Its flavour when cooked is more exquisite far
390   Than mutton, or oysters, or eggs:
391 (Some think it keeps best in an ivory jar,
392   And some, in mahogany kegs:)

393 "You boil it in sawdust: you salt it in glue:
394   You condense it with locusts and tape:
395 Still keeping one principal object in view--
396   To preserve its symmetrical shape."

397 The Butcher would gladly have talked till next day,
398   But he felt that the Lesson must end,
399 And he wept with delight in attempting to say
400   He considered the Beaver his friend.

401 While the Beaver confessed, with affectionate looks
402   More eloquent even than tears,
403 It had learned in ten minutes far more than all books
404   Would have taught it in seventy years.

405 They returned hand-in-hand, and the Bellman, unmanned
406   (For a moment) with noble emotion,
407 Said "This amply repays all the wearisome days
408   We have spent on the billowy ocean!"

409 Such friends, as the Beaver and Butcher became,
410   Have seldom if ever been known;
411 In winter or summer, 'twas always the same--
412   You could never meet either alone.

413 And when quarrels arose--as one frequently finds
414   Quarrels will, spite of every endeavour--
415 The song of the Jubjub recurred to their minds,
416   And cemented their friendship for ever!





FIT VI.--THE BARRISTER'S DREAM.

Fit the Sixth.

THE BARRISTER'S DREAM.



417 They sought it with thimbles, they sought it with care;
418   They pursued it with forks and hope;
419 They threatened its life with a railway-share;
420   They charmed it with smiles and soap.

421 But the Barrister, weary of proving in vain
422   That the Beaver's lace-making was wrong,
423 Fell asleep, and in dreams saw the creature quite plain
424   That his fancy had dwelt on so long.

425 He dreamed that he stood in a shadowy Court,
426   Where the Snark, with a glass in its eye,
427 Dressed in gown, bands, and wig, was defending a pig
428   On the charge of deserting its sty.

429 The Witnesses proved, without error or flaw,
430   That the sty was deserted when found:
431 And the Judge kept explaining the state of the law
432   In a soft under-current of sound.

433 The indictment had never been clearly expressed,
434   And it seemed that the Snark had begun,
435 And had spoken three hours, before any one guessed
436   What the pig was supposed to have done.

437 The Jury had each formed a different view
438   (Long before the indictment was read),
439 And they all spoke at once, so that none of them knew
440   One word that the others had said.

441 "You must know ---" said the Judge: but the Snark exclaimed "Fudge!"
442   That statute is obsolete quite!
443 Let me tell you, my friends, the whole question depends
444   On an ancient manorial right.

445 "In the matter of Treason the pig would appear
446   To have aided, but scarcely abetted:
447 While the charge of Insolvency fails, it is clear,
448   If you grant the plea 'never indebted.'

449 "The fact of Desertion I will not dispute;
450   But its guilt, as I trust, is removed
451 (So far as relates to the costs of this suit)
452   By the Alibi which has been proved.

453 "My poor client's fate now depends on your votes."
454   Here the speaker sat down in his place,
455 And directed the Judge to refer to his notes
456   And briefly to sum up the case.

457 But the Judge said he never had summed up before;
458   So the Snark undertook it instead,
459 And summed it so well that it came to far more
460   Than the Witnesses ever had said!

461 When the verdict was called for, the Jury declined,
462   As the word was so puzzling to spell;
463 But they ventured to hope that the Snark wouldn't mind
464   Undertaking that duty as well.

465 So the Snark found the verdict, although, as it owned,
466   It was spent with the toils of the day:
467 When it said the word "GUILTY!" the Jury all groaned,
468   And some of them fainted away.

469 Then the Snark pronounced sentence, the Judge being quite
470   Too nervous to utter a word:
471 When it rose to its feet, there was silence like night,
472   And the fall of a pin might be heard.

473 "Transportation for life" was the sentence it gave,
474   "And then to be fined forty pound."
475 The Jury all cheered, though the Judge said he feared
476   That the phrase was not legally sound.

477 But their wild exultation was suddenly checked
478   When the jailer informed them, with tears,
479 Such a sentence would have not the slightest effect,
480   As the pig had been dead for some years.

481 The Judge left the Court, looking deeply disgusted:
482   But the Snark, though a little aghast,
483 As the lawyer to whom the defence was intrusted,
484   Went bellowing on to the last.

485 Thus the Barrister dreamed, while the bellowing seemed
486   To grow every moment more clear:
487 Till he woke to the knell of a furious bell,
488   Which the Bellman rang close at his ear.





FIT VII.--THE BANKER'S FATE.

Fit the Seventh.

THE BANKER'S FATE.



489 They sought it with thimbles, they sought it with care;
490   They pursued it with forks and hope;
491 They threatened its life with a railway-share;
492   They charmed it with smiles and soap.

493 And the Banker, inspired with a courage so new
494   It was matter for general remark,
495 Rushed madly ahead and was lost to their view
496   In his zeal to discover the Snark

497 But while he was seeking with thimbles and care,
498   A Bandersnatch swiftly drew nigh
499 And grabbed at the Banker, who shrieked in despair,
500   For he knew it was useless to fly.

501 He offered large discount--he offered a cheque
502   (Drawn "to bearer") for seven-pounds-ten:
503 But the Bandersnatch merely extended its neck
504   And grabbed at the Banker again.

505 Without rest or pause--while those frumious jaws
506   Went savagely snapping around--
507 He skipped and he hopped, and he floundered and flopped,
508   Till fainting he fell to the ground.

509 The Bandersnatch fled as the others appeared
510   Led on by that fear-stricken yell:
511 And the Bellman remarked "It is just as I feared!"
512   And solemnly tolled on his bell.

513 He was black in the face, and they scarcely could trace
514   The least likeness to what he had been:
515 While so great was his fright that his waistcoat turned white--
516   A wonderful thing to be seen!

517 To the horror of all who were present that day,
518   He uprose in full evening dress,
519 And with senseless grimaces endeavoured to say
520   What his tongue could no longer express.

521 Down he sank in a chair--ran his hands through his hair--
522   And chanted in mimsiest tones
523 Words whose utter inanity proved his insanity,
524   While he rattled a couple of bones.

525 "Leave him here to his fate--it is getting so late!"
526   The Bellman exclaimed in a fright.
527 "We have lost half the day. Any further delay,
528   And we sha'nt catch a Snark before night!"





FIT VIII.--THE VANISHING.

Fit the Eighth.

THE VANISHING.



529 They sought it with thimbles, they sought it with care;
530   They pursued it with forks and hope;
531 They threatened its life with a railway-share;
532   They charmed it with smiles and soap.

533 They shuddered to think that the chase might fail,
534   And the Beaver, excited at last,
535 Went bounding along on the tip of its tail,
536   For the daylight was nearly past.

537 "There is Thingumbob shouting!" the Bellman said,
538   "He is shouting like mad, only hark!
539 He is waving his hands, he is wagging his head,
540   He has certainly found a Snark!"

541 They gazed in delight, while the Butcher exclaimed
542   "He was always a desperate wag!"
543 They beheld him--their Baker--their hero unnamed--
544   On the top of a neighbouring crag,

545 Erect and sublime, for one moment of time
546   In the next, that wild figure they saw
547 (As if stung by a spasm) plunge into a chasm,
548   While they waited and listened in awe.

549 "It's a Snark!" was the sound that first came to their ears,
550   And seemed almost too good to be true.
551 Then followed a torrent of laughter and cheers:
552   Then the ominous words "It's a Boo-"

553 Then, silence. Some fancied they heard in the air
554   A weary and wandering sigh
555 Then sounded like "-jum!" but the others declare
556   It was only a breeze that went by.

557 They hunted till darkness came on, but they found
558   Not a button, or feather, or mark,
559 By which they could tell that they stood on the ground
560   Where the Baker had met with the Snark.

561 In the midst of the word he was trying to say,
562   In the midst of his laughter and glee,
563 He had softly and suddenly vanished away---
564   For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.




THE END.


LONDON:
R. CLAY, SONS, AND TAYLOR, PRINTERS,
BREAD STREET HILL.