_The Vanishing._

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE END.

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

[TURN OVER.

* * * * * * * * *

WORKS BY LEWIS CARROLL.

Forty-ninth Thousand.

ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND. With Forty-two Illustrations by TENNIEL. Crown 8vo. cloth, gilt edges, price 6_s._

"An excellent piece of nonsense." --_Times_.

"That most delightful of children's stories." --_Saturday Review_.

"Elegant and delicious nonsense." --_Guardian_.

GERMAN, FRENCH, AND ITALIAN TRANSLATIONS of the same, with TENNIEL'S Illustrations. Crown 8vo. cloth, gilt edges, price 6_s._ each.

The _Spectator_ in speaking of the German and French translations says: "On the whole, the turn of the original has been followed with surprising fidelity, and it is curious to see what slight verbal alterations have often sufficed to preserve the humour of the English."

Thirty-eighth Thousand.

THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS, AND WHAT ALICE FOUND THERE. With Fifty Illustrations by TENNIEL. Crown 8vo. cloth, gilt edges, 6_s._

"Will fairly rank with the tale of her previous experiences." --_Daily Telegraph_.

"Many of Mr. Tenniel's designs are masterpieces of wise absurdity." --_Athenæum_.

"Whether as regarding author or illustrator, this book is a jewel rarely to be found now a days." --_Echo_.

"Not a whit inferior to its predecessor in grand extravagance of imagination, and delicious allegorical nonsense." --_British Quarterly Review_.