-
- Is all our Life, then but a dream
- Seen faintly in the golden gleam
- Athwart Time’s dark resistless stream?
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- Bowed to the earth with bitter woe
- Or laughing at some raree-show
- We flutter idly to and fro.
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- Man’s little Day in haste we spend,
- And, from its merry noontide, send
- No glance to meet the silent end.
- Sylvie and Bruno preface
- It was in 1874, I believe, that the idea first occurred to me of making it the nucleus of a longer story. As the years went on, I jotted down, at odd moments, all sorts of odd ideas, and fragments of dialogue, that occurred to me—who knows how?—with a transitory suddenness that left me no choice but either to record them then and there, or to abandon them to oblivion.
- Less Bread! More Taxes!
- —and then all the people cheered again, and one man, who was more excited than the rest, flung his hat high into the air, and shouted (as well as I could make out) “Who roar for the Sub-Warden?” Everybody roared, but whether it was for the Sub-Warden, or not, did not clearly appear: some were shouting “Bread!” and some “Taxes!”, but no one seemed to know what it was they really wanted.
- L’Amie Inconnue
- As we entered the breakfast-saloon, the Professor was saying “—and he had breakfast by himself, early: so he begged you wouldn’t wait for him, my Lady. This way, my Lady,” he added, “this way!” And then, with (as it seemed to me) most superfluous politeness, he flung open the door of my compartment, and ushered in “—a young and lovely lady!” I muttered to myself with some bitterness.…
- Birthday-Presents
- “It’s my brother!” the Sub-warden exclaimed, in a warning whisper. “Speak out, and be quick about it!”
- A Cunning Conspiracy
- The Warden entered at this moment: and close behind him came the Lord Chancellor, a little flushed and out of breath, and adjusting his wig, which appeared to have been dragged partly off his head.
- A Beggar’s Palace
- That I had said something, in the act of waking, I felt sure: the hoarse stifled cry was still ringing in my ears, even if the startled look of my fellow-traveler had not been evidence enough: but what could I possibly say by way of apology?
- The Magic Locket
- “Where are we, father?” Sylvie whispered, with her arms twined closely around the old man’s neck, and with her rosy cheek lovingly pressed to his.
- The Baron’s Embassy
- I was following the Vice-Warden, but, on second thoughts, went after my Lady, being curious to see how she would manage to keep the children out of sight.
- A Ride on a Lion
- The next day glided away, pleasantly enough, partly in settling myself in my new quarters, and partly in strolling round the neighbourhood, under Arthur’s guidance, and trying to form a general idea of Elveston and its inhabitants. When five o’clock arrived, Arthur proposed without any embarrassment this time—to take me with him up to ‘the Hall,’ in order that I might make acquaintance with the Earl of Ainslie, who…
- A Jester and a Bear
- Yes, we were in the garden once more: and, to escape that horrid discordant voice, we hurried indoors, and found ourselves in the library—Uggug blubbering, the Professor standing by with a bewildered air, and my Lady, with her arms clasped round her son’s neck, repeating, over and over again, “and did they give him nasty lessons to learn? My own pretty pet!”
- The Other Professor
- “We were looking for you!” cried Sylvie, in a tone of great relief. “We do want you so much, you ca’n’t think!”
- Peter and Paul
- “As I was saying,” the Other Professor resumed, “if you’ll just think over any Poem, that contains the words—such as
- A Musical Gardener
- The Other Professor regarded him with some anxiety. “The smaller animal ought to go to bed at once,” he said with an air of authority.
- A Visit to Dogland
- “There’s a house, away there to the left,” said Sylvie, after we had walked what seemed to me about fifty miles. “Let’s go and ask for a night’s lodging.”
- Faery-Sylvie
- For a full month the business, for which I had returned to London, detained me there: and even then it was only the urgent advice of my physician that induced me to leave it unfinished and pay another visit to Elveston.
- Bruno’s Revenge
- After that we had a few minutes of silence, while I sorted out the pebbles, and amused myself with watching Bruno’s plan of gardening. It was quite a new plan to me: he always measured each bed before he weeded it, as if he was afraid the weeding would make it shrink; and once, when it came out longer than he wished, he set to work to thump the mouse with his little fist, crying out “There now! It’s all gone wrong again! Why…
- A Changed Crocodile
- The Marvellous—the Mysterious—had quite passed out of my life for the moment: and the Common-place reigned supreme. I turned in the direction of the Earl’s house, as it was now ‘the witching hour’ of five, and I knew I should find them ready for a cup of tea and a quiet chat.
- The Three Badgers
- Still more dreamily I found myself following this imperious voice into a room where the Earl, his daughter, and Arthur, were seated. “So you’re come at last!” said Lady Muriel, in a tone of playful reproach.
- Queer Street, Number Forty
- Lady Muriel was the speaker. And, for the moment, that was the only fact I could clearly realise. But how she came to be there and how I came to be there—and how the glass of champagne came to be there—all these were questions which I felt it better to think out in silence, and not commit myself to any statement till I understood things a little more clearly.
- How to Make a Phlizz
- The week passed without any further communication with the ‘Hall,’ as Arthur was evidently fearful that we might ‘wear out our welcome’; but when, on Sunday morning, we were setting out for church, I gladly agreed to his proposal to go round and enquire after the Earl, who was said to be unwell.
- Light Come, Light Go
- Lady Muriel’s smile of welcome could not quite conceal the look of surprise with which she regarded my new companions.
- Through the Ivory Door
- “I don’t know,” said Sylvie. “Hush! I must think. I could go to him, by myself, well enough. But I want you to come too.”
- Crossing the Line
- “Let us lapse back again,” said Lady Muriel. “Take another cup of tea? I hope that’s sound common sense?”
- An Outlandish Watch
- As I entered the little town, I came upon two of the fishermen’s wives interchanging that last word “which never was the last”: and it occurred to me, as an experiment with the Magic Watch, to wait till the little scene was over, and then to ‘encore’ it.
- The Frogs’ Birthday-treat
- And so it came to pass that, just a week after the day when my Fairy-friends first appeared as Children, I found myself taking a farewell-stroll through the wood, in the hope of meeting them once more. I had but to stretch myself on the smooth turf, and the ‘eerie’ feeling was on me in a moment.
- Looking Eastward
- “It’s just a week,” I said, three days later, to Arthur, “since we heard of Lady Muriel’s engagement. I think I ought to call, at any rate, and offer my congratulations. Won’t you come with me?”
More Information
- Sylvie and Bruno• (paperback)
- Ignore the editorial review on Amazon; as usual, modern reviewers assume that because it has faeries and nonsense, it’s for children; ignoring the discussion of then-modern politics and market science. Note that as far as I can tell, this contains only the first book, not both of them. (Lewis Carroll)
Related Pages
- Sylvie and Bruno
- Preface
- Less Bread! More Taxes!
- L’Amie Inconnue
- Birthday-Presents
- A Cunning Conspiracy
- A Beggar’s Palace
- The Magic Locket
- The Baron’s Embassy
- A Ride on a Lion
- A Jester and a Bear
- The Other Professor
- Peter and Paul
- A Musical Gardener
- A Visit to Dogland
- Faery-Sylvie
- Bruno’s Revenge
- A Changed Crocodile
- The Three Badgers
- Queer Street, Number Forty
- How to Make a Phlizz
- Light Come, Light Go
- Through the Ivory Door
- Crossing the Line
- An Outlandish Watch
- The Frogs’ Birthday-treat
- Looking Eastward
- Sylvie and Bruno Concluded
- The Gardener’s Song
Original HTML conversion by Eric Hutton, offered freely, modified further by Jerry Stratton in the same spirit.
“Isn’t he wise?” Sylvie asked in an awe-struck whisper. “If I was as wise as that, I should have a headache all day long, I know I should!