The train carriage from Through the Looking-Glass

The train carriage from Through the Looking-Glass, an illustration by JVL 

in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, Artists' Choice Editions, 2011.

The text:

'Tickets, please!' said the Guard, putting his head in at the window.

In a moment everybody was holding out a ticket: they were about

the same size as the people, and quite seemed to fill the carriage.

'Now then! Show your ticket, child!' the Guard went on, looking

angrily at Alice. And a great many voices all said together ('like the

chorus of a song,' thought Alice), 'Don't keep him waiting, child!

Why, his time is worth a thousand pounds a minute!'

 'I'm afraid I haven't got one,' Alice said in a frightened tone: 'there

wasn't a ticket-office where I came from.' And again the chorus of

voices went on. 'There wasn't room for one where she came from.

The land there is worth a thousand pounds an inch!'

'Don't make excuses,' said the Guard: 'you should have bought one

 from the engine-driver.' And once more the chorus of voices went

on with 'The man that drives the engine. Why, the smoke alone is

worth a thousand pounds a puff!'

Alice thought to herself, 'Then there's no use in speaking.' The

voices didn't join in this time, as she hadn't spoken, but to her great

surprise, they all THOUGHT in chorus (I hope you understand what

THINKING IN CHORUS means -- for I must confess that _I_ don't),

'Better say nothing at all. Language is worth a thousand pounds a

word!'

 'I shall dream about a thousand pounds tonight, I know I shall!'

thought Alice.

All this time the Guard was looking at her, first through a telescope,

 then through a microscope, and then through an opera- glass. At

last he said, 'You're travelling the wrong way,' and shut up the

window and went away.

'So young a child,' said the gentleman sitting opposite to her (he was

dressed in white paper), 'ought to know which way she's going,

even if she doesn't know her own name!'

A Goat, that was sitting next to the gentleman in white, shut his

eyes and said in a loud voice, 'She ought to know her way to the

ticket-office, even if she doesn't know her alphabet!'

There was a Beetle sitting next to the Goat (it was a very queer

carriage-full of passengers altogether), and, as the rule seemed to

be that they should all speak in turn, HE went on with 'She'll have

to go back from here as luggage!'

Alice couldn't see who was sitting beyond the Beetle, but a hoarse

voice spoke next. 'Change engines -- ' it said, and was obliged to

leave off.

 'It sounds like a horse,' Alice thought to herself. And an extremely

small voice, close to her ear, said, 'You might make a joke on that --

 something about "horse" and "hoarse," you know.'