Alice Liddell

Alice age 7, picture taken by Lewis Carroll.
Alice age 7, picture taken by Lewis Carroll.

Alice and her sisters Edith and Lorina.
Alice as a young woman, picture taken by Julia Margaret Cameron.

This is Alice who as a young child inspired Lewis Carroll to write down "Alice in Wonderland". He also wrote this poem for her, spelling out her full name with the first letter of each line:

A boat beneath a sunny sky,
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July--

Children three that nestle near,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Pleased a simple tale to hear--

Long has paled that sunny sky:
Echoes fade and memories die.
Autumn frosts have slain July.

Still she haunts me, phantomwise,
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.

Children yet, the tale to hear,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.

In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:

Ever drifting down the stream--
Lingering in the golden gleam--
Life, what is it but a dream?