The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-07-20
THE BIG DRUNK DRAF'
An Indian Sketch by the Latest English
Literary Lion, Rudyard Kipling.

tales and sketches he has poured out since going
there has made him the lion of the hour. The
book stalls groan beneath his volumes and his
name is on everybody's lips His style is
'fetching' his sketches of Irish character are
capital, and his dialect wellnigh perfect The
following story will give good idea of the sort
of work he does :
We're goin' 'ome, we're goin 'ome-
Our ship Is at the shore,
An you mus pack your aversack
For we won't come back no more.
Ho. don't you grieye for me,
My lovely Mary Ann,
For I'll marry you yet on q tourp ny Olt,
-BdirdcE-room Ballad.
An awful thing has happened My friend,
Private Mulvaney, who went home in the Scraps,
timeexpired not very long ago, has come back
to India a civilian? 1twas all Dinah Shadd's
fault. She could not stand the poiy little
lodgings, and she missed her servant Abdullah
more than words can tell The fact was that
the Mulvaneys had been out here too long, and
had lost touch of England.
Mulvaney knew o contractor on one Of the
new Central India lines, and wrote to him for
some sort of work The contractor said that if
Mulvaney could pay the passage he would give
him command of gang of coolies for old sake's
sake. The pay was So rupees a month, and
Dinah Shadd said that if Terence did not accept
Therefore the Mulvaneys came out as 'civil-
ians,n which was a great and terrible fall though
Mulvaney tried to disguise it by saying that he
was "ker'nel on the railway line an conse-
Quinshal man.
He wrote me an invitation, on q toolindent
form, to visit him. and | came down to the
funny little construction bungalow at the
side of the line. Dinah Shadd had planted peas
in and about, and nature had spread all manner
of green stuff round the place. There was no
change in Mulvaney except the change of raj
ment, which was deplorable, but could not be
helped. He was standing upon his trolly, ha-
ranguing a hangman, and his shoulders were
we'll drilled and his big, thick chin was as clean
shaven as ever
''I'm civilian now,'' said Mulvaney. 'Cud
you tell that was iver martial man? Don't
answer, sorr, av you're strainn' betune COM
plimint an lie. There's no moulding Dinah
Shadd now she's got a house av her own. Go
inside an dhrink tay out ay chiny in the drrraw-
in'-room, an thin We'll dhrink like Christians
undher the tree here. Scutt, We naygur-folk
There's Sahib come to call on me, an that's
more than he'll iver do for you unless you run
Get out, an go on pilin' up the earth, quick, till
sundOwn."
When we three were comfortably settled un-
der the big sisham in front of the bungalow, and
the first rush of questions and answers about
Privates Ortheris AID Learoyd and old times
and places had died away, Mulvaney said reflect
lively: "Glory, be there's no p'rade tomorrow,
an no bunheaded Corp'ril-b'koy to give you
his lip. An yit don't know. 'Tis hard to be
somethin' ye niver were an nver meant to be,
an all the Ould days shut up along wild your
papers. Evah Pm growin' rusty, am tits the
will aV God that man mustn't serve his Duane
for time an all.''
He helped himself to a fresh peg and sighed
furiOusly.
''Let your beard grow, Mulvaney," said l,
"and then you won't be troubled with those
notions. You'll be q real civilian
Dnah Shadd had confded to me in the draw
ing-rOom her desire to coax Mulvaney into let
said poor Dinah, who hated her husband han
kering for his old life.
''Dinah Shadd, you're a disgrace to an honest,
clane-scraped mann' said Mulyaney, without
replying TO me. 'Grow q beard your own
chin, dallint, and lave my raZors alone They're
all that stand betune me and dis-ris-spect-abili-
ty. AY didn't shave wud be terminated wild
an outrajs thurst, for there's nOthin' so dhryin'
TO the throat q big bily-goat beard Vaughn
undher the chin. Ye wudn't have me dhrinl;
always, Dinah Shadd? By the same token,
you're kapin' me crool dhry now Let me look
at that whisky"
The whisky was lent and returned, but D!nah
Shadd, who had been just as eager as her hus-
band in asking after old friends rent me with:
Il take shame for you, sorr, comm down
here-though the saints know you're as wei
kim as the daylight when you do come-an' up
settin' Terence head with you nonsense about
about fwhat's much better forgotten. He bein'
civilian now, am you niVer was aught else.
Can you not let the army rest? 'Iis not good
lot lcGeuCe
took refuge by Mulvaney, for Dinah Shadd
haG a temper of her own.
LET be-let be-" said Mulyaney. "'Tis
only wanst in way can talk about the ould
DAYS" Then to me- ''Ye say Dhrumsticks is
well, an his lady, too? ! never knew how |
liked the gray garron till | was shut aV him an
Asia" "Dhrumsticks' was the nickname of
the colonel commanding Mulyaneys old regi-
ment. "Will you be seein' him again You
will? Thin tell him''-Mulyaney' eyes began
to twinkle-"tell him wild Priyt-.n
''Mister, Terence interrupted Dinah Shadd
"Now tho diyil an all his angels an the
armament av hiyin fly away wild the Mister,
an the sin aV maxim me swear be on your con
fesson, Dinah Shadd Privit, tell ye. Wild
Pryit Mulyaney's best obedience, that but foI
me the last time expired wud be sill pullin hail
on their way to the sea-"
He threw himself back in the chair, chuckled
and was silent.
"Irs Mulyaney," said /, ''please take up the
whisky and don't let him have it until he has
told the story"
Dinah shadd dexterously whipped the bottle
away. saying at the same time: "'Tis nOthiu
TO be proud ay, and thus captured by the en-.
emy, Mulyauey Epake:
"'Iwas ON Chuesday week. ! was behade-
rim round wld the gangs on the 'baukmiut-I'yC
taught the Aoppels how to kape step an stoL
schreechn -Whln head-gang-man comes VI
TO me, wild about two inches a shirt-tai haugin'
round his neck an a disthressful light in his OF.
'Sahib, sez he there's rgmint am a half ay
soldiers up at the Junction. EuOckiu' red Gin
ders out aY Everything and Everybody The,
thried TO hang me in my CLOTH sez he AN
there viii be murder an ruin am rape in the
place before nightfall They say they'r,
comm down here 10 wake US up. What will
We do wild our women fOllE?
" llKrg I.