I have reason to believe that “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” has been read by some hundreds of English Children, aged1 from Five to Fifteen: also by Children, aged from Fifteen to Twenty-five: yet again by Children, aged from Twenty-five to Thirty-five: and even by Children—for there are such—Children in whom no waning2 of health and strength, no weariness of the solemn mockery, and the gaudy3 glitter, and the hopeless misery4, of Life has availed to parch5 the pure fountain of joy that wells up in all child-like hearts—Children of a “certain” age, whose tale of years must be left untold6, and buried in respectful silence.
And my ambition now is (is it a vain one?) to be read by Children aged from Nought7 to Five. To be read? Nay8, not so! Say rather to be thumbed, to be cooed over, to be dogs’-eared, to be rumpled9, to be kissed, by the illiterate10, ungrammatical, dimpled Darlings, that fill your Nursery with merry uproar11, and your inmost heart of hearts with a restful gladness!
Such, for instance, as a child I once knew, who—having been carefully instructed that one of any earthly thing was enough for any little girl; and that to ask for two buns, two oranges, two of anything, would certainly bring upon her the awful charge of being “greedy”—was found one morning sitting up in bed, solemnly regarding her two little naked feet, and murmuring to herself, softly and penitently12, “deedy!”
Eastertide, 1889.
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1 aged | |
adj.年老的,陈年的 | |
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2 waning | |
adj.(月亮)渐亏的,逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 );(月)亏;变小;变暗淡 | |
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3 gaudy | |
adj.华而不实的;俗丽的 | |
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4 misery | |
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦 | |
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5 parch | |
v.烤干,焦干 | |
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6 untold | |
adj.数不清的,无数的 | |
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7 nought | |
n./adj.无,零 | |
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8 nay | |
adv.不;n.反对票,投反对票者 | |
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9 rumpled | |
v.弄皱,使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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10 illiterate | |
adj.文盲的;无知的;n.文盲 | |
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11 uproar | |
n.骚动,喧嚣,鼎沸 | |
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12 penitently | |
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