|
| 1 | +CHAPTER XII. Alice's Evidence |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | + |
| 4 | +'Here!' cried Alice, quite forgetting in the flurry of the moment how |
| 5 | +large she had grown in the last few minutes, and she jumped up in such |
| 6 | +a hurry that she tipped over the jury-box with the edge of her skirt, |
| 7 | +upsetting all the jurymen on to the heads of the crowd below, and there |
| 8 | +they lay sprawling about, reminding her very much of a globe of goldfish |
| 9 | +she had accidentally upset the week before. |
| 10 | + |
| 11 | +'Oh, I BEG your pardon!' she exclaimed in a tone of great dismay, and |
| 12 | +began picking them up again as quickly as she could, for the accident of |
| 13 | +the goldfish kept running in her head, and she had a vague sort of idea |
| 14 | +that they must be collected at once and put back into the jury-box, or |
| 15 | +they would die. |
| 16 | + |
| 17 | +'The trial cannot proceed,' said the King in a very grave voice, 'until |
| 18 | +all the jurymen are back in their proper places--ALL,' he repeated with |
| 19 | +great emphasis, looking hard at Alice as he said do. |
| 20 | + |
| 21 | +Alice looked at the jury-box, and saw that, in her haste, she had put |
| 22 | +the Lizard in head downwards, and the poor little thing was waving its |
| 23 | +tail about in a melancholy way, being quite unable to move. She soon got |
| 24 | +it out again, and put it right; 'not that it signifies much,' she said |
| 25 | +to herself; 'I should think it would be QUITE as much use in the trial |
| 26 | +one way up as the other.' |
| 27 | + |
| 28 | +As soon as the jury had a little recovered from the shock of being |
| 29 | +upset, and their slates and pencils had been found and handed back to |
| 30 | +them, they set to work very diligently to write out a history of the |
| 31 | +accident, all except the Lizard, who seemed too much overcome to do |
| 32 | +anything but sit with its mouth open, gazing up into the roof of the |
| 33 | +court. |
| 34 | + |
| 35 | +'What do you know about this business?' the King said to Alice. |
| 36 | + |
| 37 | +'Nothing,' said Alice. |
| 38 | + |
| 39 | +'Nothing WHATEVER?' persisted the King. |
| 40 | + |
| 41 | +'Nothing whatever,' said Alice. |
| 42 | + |
| 43 | +'That's very important,' the King said, turning to the jury. They were |
| 44 | +just beginning to write this down on their slates, when the White Rabbit |
| 45 | +interrupted: 'UNimportant, your Majesty means, of course,' he said in a |
| 46 | +very respectful tone, but frowning and making faces at him as he spoke. |
| 47 | + |
| 48 | +'UNimportant, of course, I meant,' the King hastily said, and went on |
| 49 | +to himself in an undertone, |
| 50 | + |
| 51 | +'important--unimportant--unimportant--important--' as if he were trying |
| 52 | +which word sounded best. |
| 53 | + |
| 54 | +Some of the jury wrote it down 'important,' and some 'unimportant.' |
| 55 | +Alice could see this, as she was near enough to look over their slates; |
| 56 | +'but it doesn't matter a bit,' she thought to herself. |
| 57 | + |
| 58 | +At this moment the King, who had been for some time busily writing in |
| 59 | +his note-book, cackled out 'Silence!' and read out from his book, 'Rule |
| 60 | +Forty-two. ALL PERSONS MORE THAN A MILE HIGH TO LEAVE THE COURT.' |
| 61 | + |
| 62 | +Everybody looked at Alice. |
| 63 | + |
| 64 | +'I'M not a mile high,' said Alice. |
| 65 | + |
| 66 | +'You are,' said the King. |
| 67 | + |
| 68 | +'Nearly two miles high,' added the Queen. |
| 69 | + |
| 70 | +'Well, I shan't go, at any rate,' said Alice: 'besides, that's not a |
| 71 | +regular rule: you invented it just now.' |
| 72 | + |
| 73 | +'It's the oldest rule in the book,' said the King. |
| 74 | + |
| 75 | +'Then it ought to be Number One,' said Alice. |
| 76 | + |
| 77 | +The King turned pale, and shut his note-book hastily. 'Consider your |
| 78 | +verdict,' he said to the jury, in a low, trembling voice. |
| 79 | + |
| 80 | +'There's more evidence to come yet, please your Majesty,' said the White |
| 81 | +Rabbit, jumping up in a great hurry; 'this paper has just been picked |
| 82 | +up.' |
| 83 | + |
| 84 | +'What's in it?' said the Queen. |
| 85 | + |
| 86 | +'I haven't opened it yet,' said the White Rabbit, 'but it seems to be a |
| 87 | +letter, written by the prisoner to--to somebody.' |
| 88 | + |
| 89 | +'It must have been that,' said the King, 'unless it was written to |
| 90 | +nobody, which isn't usual, you know.' |
| 91 | + |
| 92 | +'Who is it directed to?' said one of the jurymen. |
| 93 | + |
| 94 | +'It isn't directed at all,' said the White Rabbit; 'in fact, there's |
| 95 | +nothing written on the OUTSIDE.' He unfolded the paper as he spoke, and |
| 96 | +added 'It isn't a letter, after all: it's a set of verses.' |
| 97 | + |
| 98 | +'Are they in the prisoner's handwriting?' asked another of the jurymen. |
| 99 | + |
| 100 | +'No, they're not,' said the White Rabbit, 'and that's the queerest thing |
| 101 | +about it.' (The jury all looked puzzled.) |
| 102 | + |
| 103 | +'He must have imitated somebody else's hand,' said the King. (The jury |
| 104 | +all brightened up again.) |
| 105 | + |
| 106 | +'Please your Majesty,' said the Knave, 'I didn't write it, and they |
| 107 | +can't prove I did: there's no name signed at the end.' |
| 108 | + |
| 109 | +'If you didn't sign it,' said the King, 'that only makes the matter |
| 110 | +worse. You MUST have meant some mischief, or else you'd have signed your |
| 111 | +name like an honest man.' |
| 112 | + |
| 113 | +There was a general clapping of hands at this: it was the first really |
| 114 | +clever thing the King had said that day. |
| 115 | + |
| 116 | +'That PROVES his guilt,' said the Queen. |
| 117 | + |
| 118 | +'It proves nothing of the sort!' said Alice. 'Why, you don't even know |
| 119 | +what they're about!' |
| 120 | + |
| 121 | +'Read them,' said the King. |
| 122 | + |
| 123 | +The White Rabbit put on his spectacles. 'Where shall I begin, please |
| 124 | +your Majesty?' he asked. |
| 125 | + |
| 126 | +'Begin at the beginning,' the King said gravely, 'and go on till you |
| 127 | +come to the end: then stop.' |
| 128 | + |
| 129 | +These were the verses the White Rabbit read:-- |
| 130 | + |
| 131 | + 'They told me you had been to her, |
| 132 | + And mentioned me to him: |
| 133 | + She gave me a good character, |
| 134 | + But said I could not swim. |
| 135 | + |
| 136 | + He sent them word I had not gone |
| 137 | + (We know it to be true): |
| 138 | + If she should push the matter on, |
| 139 | + What would become of you? |
| 140 | + |
| 141 | + I gave her one, they gave him two, |
| 142 | + You gave us three or more; |
| 143 | + They all returned from him to you, |
| 144 | + Though they were mine before. |
| 145 | + |
| 146 | + If I or she should chance to be |
| 147 | + Involved in this affair, |
| 148 | + He trusts to you to set them free, |
| 149 | + Exactly as we were. |
| 150 | + |
| 151 | + My notion was that you had been |
| 152 | + (Before she had this fit) |
| 153 | + An obstacle that came between |
| 154 | + Him, and ourselves, and it. |
| 155 | + |
| 156 | + Don't let him know she liked them best, |
| 157 | + For this must ever be |
| 158 | + A secret, kept from all the rest, |
| 159 | + Between yourself and me.' |
| 160 | + |
| 161 | +'That's the most important piece of evidence we've heard yet,' said the |
| 162 | +King, rubbing his hands; 'so now let the jury--' |
| 163 | + |
| 164 | +'If any one of them can explain it,' said Alice, (she had grown so large |
| 165 | +in the last few minutes that she wasn't a bit afraid of interrupting |
| 166 | +him,) 'I'll give him sixpence. _I_ don't believe there's an atom of |
| 167 | +meaning in it.' |
| 168 | + |
| 169 | +The jury all wrote down on their slates, 'SHE doesn't believe there's an |
| 170 | +atom of meaning in it,' but none of them attempted to explain the paper. |
| 171 | + |
| 172 | +'If there's no meaning in it,' said the King, 'that saves a world of |
| 173 | +trouble, you know, as we needn't try to find any. And yet I don't know,' |
| 174 | +he went on, spreading out the verses on his knee, and looking at them |
| 175 | +with one eye; 'I seem to see some meaning in them, after all. "--SAID |
| 176 | +I COULD NOT SWIM--" you can't swim, can you?' he added, turning to the |
| 177 | +Knave. |
| 178 | + |
| 179 | +The Knave shook his head sadly. 'Do I look like it?' he said. (Which he |
| 180 | +certainly did NOT, being made entirely of cardboard.) |
| 181 | + |
| 182 | +'All right, so far,' said the King, and he went on muttering over |
| 183 | +the verses to himself: '"WE KNOW IT TO BE TRUE--" that's the jury, of |
| 184 | +course--"I GAVE HER ONE, THEY GAVE HIM TWO--" why, that must be what he |
| 185 | +did with the tarts, you know--' |
| 186 | + |
| 187 | +'But, it goes on "THEY ALL RETURNED FROM HIM TO YOU,"' said Alice. |
| 188 | + |
| 189 | +'Why, there they are!' said the King triumphantly, pointing to the tarts |
| 190 | +on the table. 'Nothing can be clearer than THAT. Then again--"BEFORE SHE |
| 191 | +HAD THIS FIT--" you never had fits, my dear, I think?' he said to the |
| 192 | +Queen. |
| 193 | + |
| 194 | +'Never!' said the Queen furiously, throwing an inkstand at the Lizard |
| 195 | +as she spoke. (The unfortunate little Bill had left off writing on his |
| 196 | +slate with one finger, as he found it made no mark; but he now hastily |
| 197 | +began again, using the ink, that was trickling down his face, as long as |
| 198 | +it lasted.) |
| 199 | + |
| 200 | +'Then the words don't FIT you,' said the King, looking round the court |
| 201 | +with a smile. There was a dead silence. |
| 202 | + |
| 203 | +'It's a pun!' the King added in an offended tone, and everybody laughed, |
| 204 | +'Let the jury consider their verdict,' the King said, for about the |
| 205 | +twentieth time that day. |
| 206 | + |
| 207 | +'No, no!' said the Queen. 'Sentence first--verdict afterwards.' |
| 208 | + |
| 209 | +'Stuff and nonsense!' said Alice loudly. 'The idea of having the |
| 210 | +sentence first!' |
| 211 | + |
| 212 | +'Hold your tongue!' said the Queen, turning purple. |
| 213 | + |
| 214 | +'I won't!' said Alice. |
| 215 | + |
| 216 | +'Off with her head!' the Queen shouted at the top of her voice. Nobody |
| 217 | +moved. |
| 218 | + |
| 219 | +'Who cares for you?' said Alice, (she had grown to her full size by this |
| 220 | +time.) 'You're nothing but a pack of cards!' |
| 221 | + |
| 222 | +At this the whole pack rose up into the air, and came flying down upon |
| 223 | +her: she gave a little scream, half of fright and half of anger, and |
| 224 | +tried to beat them off, and found herself lying on the bank, with her |
| 225 | +head in the lap of her sister, who was gently brushing away some dead |
| 226 | +leaves that had fluttered down from the trees upon her face. |
| 227 | + |
| 228 | +'Wake up, Alice dear!' said her sister; 'Why, what a long sleep you've |
| 229 | +had!' |
| 230 | + |
| 231 | +'Oh, I've had such a curious dream!' said Alice, and she told her |
| 232 | +sister, as well as she could remember them, all these strange Adventures |
| 233 | +of hers that you have just been reading about; and when she had |
| 234 | +finished, her sister kissed her, and said, 'It WAS a curious dream, |
| 235 | +dear, certainly: but now run in to your tea; it's getting late.' So |
| 236 | +Alice got up and ran off, thinking while she ran, as well she might, |
| 237 | +what a wonderful dream it had been. |
| 238 | + |
| 239 | +But her sister sat still just as she left her, leaning her head on her |
| 240 | +hand, watching the setting sun, and thinking of little Alice and all her |
| 241 | +wonderful Adventures, till she too began dreaming after a fashion, and |
| 242 | +this was her dream:-- |
| 243 | + |
| 244 | +First, she dreamed of little Alice herself, and once again the tiny |
| 245 | +hands were clasped upon her knee, and the bright eager eyes were looking |
| 246 | +up into hers--she could hear the very tones of her voice, and see that |
| 247 | +queer little toss of her head to keep back the wandering hair that |
| 248 | +WOULD always get into her eyes--and still as she listened, or seemed to |
| 249 | +listen, the whole place around her became alive with the strange creatures |
| 250 | +of her little sister's dream. |
| 251 | + |
| 252 | +The long grass rustled at her feet as the White Rabbit hurried by--the |
| 253 | +frightened Mouse splashed his way through the neighbouring pool--she |
| 254 | +could hear the rattle of the teacups as the March Hare and his friends |
| 255 | +shared their never-ending meal, and the shrill voice of the Queen |
| 256 | +ordering off her unfortunate guests to execution--once more the pig-baby |
| 257 | +was sneezing on the Duchess's knee, while plates and dishes crashed |
| 258 | +around it--once more the shriek of the Gryphon, the squeaking of the |
| 259 | +Lizard's slate-pencil, and the choking of the suppressed guinea-pigs, |
| 260 | +filled the air, mixed up with the distant sobs of the miserable Mock |
| 261 | +Turtle. |
| 262 | + |
| 263 | +So she sat on, with closed eyes, and half believed herself in |
| 264 | +Wonderland, though she knew she had but to open them again, and all |
| 265 | +would change to dull reality--the grass would be only rustling in the |
| 266 | +wind, and the pool rippling to the waving of the reeds--the rattling |
| 267 | +teacups would change to tinkling sheep-bells, and the Queen's shrill |
| 268 | +cries to the voice of the shepherd boy--and the sneeze of the baby, the |
| 269 | +shriek of the Gryphon, and all the other queer noises, would change (she |
| 270 | +knew) to the confused clamour of the busy farm-yard--while the lowing |
| 271 | +of the cattle in the distance would take the place of the Mock Turtle's |
| 272 | +heavy sobs. |
| 273 | + |
| 274 | +Lastly, she pictured to herself how this same little sister of hers |
| 275 | +would, in the after-time, be herself a grown woman; and how she would |
| 276 | +keep, through all her riper years, the simple and loving heart of her |
| 277 | +childhood: and how she would gather about her other little children, and |
| 278 | +make THEIR eyes bright and eager with many a strange tale, perhaps even |
| 279 | +with the dream of Wonderland of long ago: and how she would feel with |
| 280 | +all their simple sorrows, and find a pleasure in all their simple joys, |
| 281 | +remembering her own child-life, and the happy summer days. |
| 282 | + |
| 283 | + THE END |
0 commit comments