Charles Edward Carryl

Charles Edward Carryl Poems

Charles Edward Carryl Biography

Charles Edward Carryl was an American children's literature author. Biography Born in New York, his father was a prosperous businessman. Carryl became a successful businessman and stockbroker, and for 34 years from 1874 he held a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1869 he married Mary Wetmore, and had two children, the eldest of whom was poet and humorist Guy Wetmore Carryl. In 1882 he published his first work: Stock Exchange Primer. In 1884 he published the children’s fantasy Davy and the Goblin; or, What Followed Reading "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", serialized in the magazine St Nicholas. His work includes the children’s nonsense poem “The Walloping Window Blind”, published in 1885, in a verse style similar to Lewis Carroll's: A capital ship for an ocean trip/Was the Walloping Window-Blind;/No wind that blew dismayed her crew/Or troubled the captain’s mind. A second novel, The Admiral's Caravan, also serialized in St Nicholas beginning in December 1891, was dedicated to his daughter Constance. His poems "The Sleepy Giant" and "The Walloping Window Blind" are featured on Natalie Merchant's 2010 concept album Leave Your Sleep.)

The Best Poem Of Charles Edward Carryl

Robinson Crusoe's Story

THE night was thick and hazy
When the 'Piccadilly Daisy'
Carried down the crew and captain in the sea;
And I think the water drowned 'em;
For they never, never found 'em,
And I know they didn't come ashore with me.



Oh! 'twas very sad and lonely
When I found myself the only
Population on this cultivated shore;
But I've made a little tavern
In a rocky little cavern,
And I sit and watch for people at the door.



I spent no time in looking
For a girl to do my cooking,
As I'm quite a clever hand at making stews;
But I had that fellow Friday,
Just to keep the tavern tidy,
And to put a Sunday polish on my shoes.



I have a little garden
That I'm cultivating lard in,
As the things I eat are rather tough and dry;
For I live on toasted lizards,
Prickly pears, and parrot gizzards,
And I'm really very fond of beetle-pie.



The clothes I had were furry,
And it made me fret and worry
When I found the moths were eating off the hair;
And I had to scrape and sand 'em,
And I boiled 'em and I tanned 'em,
Till I got the fine morocco suit I wear.



I sometimes seek diversion
In a family excursion
With the few domestic animals you see;
And we take along a carrot
As refreshment for the parrot,
And a little can of jungleberry tea.



Then we gather as we travel,
Bits of moss and dirty gravel,
And we chip off little specimens of stone;
And we carry home as prizes
Funny bugs, of handy sizes,
Just to give the day a scientific tone.



If the roads are wet and muddy
We remain at home and study,—
For the Goat is very clever at a sum,—
And the Dog, instead of fighting,
Studies ornamental writing,
While the Cat is taking lessons on the drum.



We retire at eleven,
And we rise again at seven;
And I wish to call attention, as I close,
To the fact that all the scholars
Are correct about their collars,
And particular in turning out their toes.

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