Portrait of a Friendship: Henry Liddon and Lewis Carroll

Liddon was an ardent High Churchman and a leading member of the Oxford Movement. He wished to visit Russia to strengthen ties between the Church of England and the Russian Orthodox Church and travelled with letters of introduction to several Russian prelates as well as senior members of the Ministry of Education which controlled the Church. However, the trip was arranged swiftly. On 11 July, Carroll records in his diary: “Liddon has informed me that he can go abroad with me, and we have decided on Moscow! Ambitious for one who has never yet left England.” They departed the same day.

The diaries of both men survive for the period of their holiday, and they form both a moving portrait of their friendship and also highlight their very contrasting characters. This is evident from the very beginning. Carroll’s arrival in London en route to Dover coincided with that of the Ottoman Emperor Abdulaziz who was on a state tour of Europe. Liddon’s description is strictly factual:

“After lunch while crossing the Suspension Bridge, saw the Sultan enter London in the Royal Carriage. On his reaching the Station at Charing Cross, the band struck up and there was great shouting.”

Carroll’s account has more brio:

“The Sultan & I arrived in London almost at the same time, but in different quarter – my point of entry was Paddington, and his was Charing Cross: I must admit that the crowd was greatest at the latter place.”

Liddon’s diary entries are brief and often terse. They note churches visited and services attended. The temperature is faithfully recorded every day until his thermometer meets with an unfortunate accident in St Petersburg. He also records several long arguments with his friend about religion.

The trip made a strong impression on Carroll – Liddon records him “…overcome by the beauty of Cologne Cathedral. I found him leaning against the rails of the Choir and sobbing like a child. When the verger came to show us over the chapels…he got out of the way: he said he could not bear the harsh voice of the man in the presence of so much beauty.”

This is reflected in the colourful entries of Carroll’s journal: there are vivid accounts of religious services, he shows a boundless enthusiasm for people met along the way (the same people often described with some irritation by Liddon) and narrates events with comic flair as when he describes ferociously bartering with a cab driver in broken Russian. Notably, though, at no point does he even allude to the disputes Liddon mentions and even in Liddon’s account there is no lingering rancour between the two friends.

The morning of the 30th (a Friday) found them comfortably ensconced in the Golden Goose Hotel (Goldene Gans), which Lewis describes as “if not a layer of golden eggs, certainly worthy of ‘golden opinions from all sorts of men.’” He notes it was a day of “…clear sunlight & delicious balmy air…” They visit churches, “…chiefly notable for their beautiful proportions, the great height giving to their brick towers & buttresses & the slender windows a beauty quite independent of all ornament.”

The morning culminated in an ascent of the tower of the Lutheran church of St Elizabeth, described by Liddon as a “splendid building.” He goes on: “We went up and enjoyed a magnificent view of the town.”

However, following these exertions Carroll was taken ill at lunch, and his friend only got him back to the hotel “with some difficulty”. Left to his own devices, Liddon wandered the town visiting more churches including the Cathedral where he presumably acquired the card we still possess.

The evening brought the pair back together: “we drove to the ‘winter-garden’ & listened for a short while to the indispensable open-air concert which the German people love so well…”, writes Carroll.

“Then…”, continues Liddon in his account, “…home to bed: I was fairly tired out. The day has been cloudless, and we both think Breslau has been worth the day we have given it.”

Although they never travelled together again, Liddon and Carroll remained friends until Liddon died in 1890. We hold another book of his which was a gift from Carroll, given three years before, a copy of Carroll’s Game of Logic inscribed: “H. P. Liddon with the author’s affectionate regards Mar. /87.”