siding on the question with the Tractarians, though his views on some
other points of Church doctrine were less advanced than those of the
leaders of the Oxford movement. He was a man of deep piety and of a
somewhat reserved and grave disposition, which, however, was tempered
by the most generous charity, so that he was universally loved by the
poor. In moments of relaxation his wit and humour were the delight of
his clerical friends, for he had the rare power of telling anecdotes
effectively. His reverence for sacred things was so great that he was
never known to relate a story which included a jest upon words from
the Bible.

In 1830 he married his cousin, Frances Jane Lutwidge, by whom he had
eleven children, all of whom, except Lewis Carroll, survive. His wife,
in the words of one who had the best possible opportunities for
observing her character, was "one of the sweetest and gentlest women
that ever lived, whom to know was to love. The earnestness of her
simple faith and love shone forth in all she did and said; she seemed
to live always in the conscious presence of God. It has been said by
her children that they never in all their lives remember to have heard
an impatient or harsh word from her lips." It is easy to trace in
Lewis Carroll's character the influence of that most gentle of
mothers; though dead she still speaks to us in some of the most
beautiful and touching passages of his works. Not so long ago I had a
conversation with an old friend of his; one of the first things she
said to me was, "Tell me about his mother." I complied with her
request as well as I was able, and, when I had finished my account of
Mrs. Dodgson's beautiful character, she said, "Ah, I knew it must have
been so; I felt sure he must have had a good mother."

On January 27, 1832, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was born at Daresbury,