The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-08-14
SOME EARTHQUAKES"
BY
Rudyard KipIing.


trouble with his constituents. and they
have sent him priceless letter OF re-
proof. Among other things they point out
that politician should not DO " a water weed
which wobbles hither and thitler according to
The motion Of the stream" Nor should he
like ghost without legs DRIFT along before
tho wind" Your conduct" they say, has
been that OF both water weed and ghost
and wo purpose in little time to give you
proof Of our true Japanese spirit" That men,
bsr will very probably be mobbed In his
'rickshaw and prodded to Inconvenience with
sword-sticks. for the constituencies are most
enlightened But how In tho world can o man
under these skies behave except as a water weed
and shost2 1t Is In the air-the wobble and
the legless drift An energetic tourist would
have gone to Hakodate. seen Amos ut Sap
poro. ridden across the northern island under
the gigantic thistles. caught salmon. looked
In at Vladivostok. and done half hundred
things in tho time that one lazy loater has
wasted watching the barley turn from green
to gold. the azalea blossom and burn out. and
the spring give way to the warm rains OF sum-
msr. Now the iris has takon up the blazonry
Of tho year. the tide Of tourists obbs westward.
The permanent residents are beginning to
talk Of hill places to 60 to for the hot weather.
and oil the available houses in the resorts are
let In little while the men from China will
be coming over for their holidays. bat Just ut
present We are In the thick of tho ten season.
and there is no time to waste on frivolities.
" Packing" Is a valid excuse for anything.
from forgetting q dinner to declining tennis
party. and the tempers Of husbands are judged
leniently. All along the sen face is an inspirit
Ing smell Of the finest new-mown hay. and
canals arc full OF boats loaded up with the
boxes jostlng down to the harbor. At
the club men say rude things about the ar
rivals Of the mail. There mover was a Post
Onoe yet that did not rejolce in knocking
mana Sabbath into flinders. A fair Office
days work may begin at and end at Is. or. IL
the mail comes in. ut midnight There is no
overtime or eight hours baby talk in tea.
Yonder are the ships; here is the stun. and
behind all Is the American market. Tia rest
is your own affair.
The narrow streets are blocked with the
wains bringing down. in boxes Of overy shape
and size. the up-oountry rough leaf. Some
one must take delivery OF these things. find
room for them In the packed warehouse. and
sample them before they are blended and 60
to the firing.
More than half tho elaborate processes are
"'lost work" so for as the quality Of the stun
goes: but the markets insist q cookbook
ing leaf. with polish. face. and carl to it. and
In this. as in other businesses. the ca OF the
market Is the law. The factory lloors arc made
slippery with the tread OF barefooted coolies
who shout as the tea whirls through its trans
Horu, ipna la n IN oil n
uncannY thing. too is tho soft rustla-down
OF the tea itself. s:acHed in heaps. car
ried In baskets. dumped through chutes
rising and falling In tac long trou2hs where
It Is polished. AMI lisa. pc rim. at last into
the heart OF tn hraI "a &c inc always this
insistent whisper %. iao"iug deal leaves
Steam sieve, SIT i. int, --;,'ins with Earrings
and thmmpin: ~ that mas" ths floors CULVER.
and the tHia l.r - stem gear IS always ut its
heels; bat j. cu;inu-S I" mrtt,r nnabasLed
till 1t is ri iil.L down INT, tls d.. foil-lined
boxes and lies at peace.
A few days ago the industry suffered a check
which. lasting not raore than two minutes. lost
several hundred pounds Of haad-!ired tea 1t
was something after this wa?: Into the still
ness OF hot. Stuhy morning, came an I'M
pleasant noise rs OF batteries o! artillery
charging up all tho roads tos ether, and at least
one bewiidered sleeper. waking. saw his empty
boots whers they sat and played toccntas
stately ut the clayicord." It was the wash
handstand really. but tho effect was awful.
Then clock fell and wall crack cd. and heavy
hands cnught the house by the roof pole and
shook it furiously. To preserve an equal
mind when things arc hard il good.
but he who has not fumbled des-
perately at boted jalousies that will
not open while whole room is being tossed in
. blanket does not know how hard it is to find
any sort OF mind at all The end Of the terror
was inadeluate-a rush into the still. heavy
outside air only to find the servants in the
garden gigging tho Japanese would giGgle
through tho day of Judgment. and to learn
that the earthquake was over. Then came the
news. swift borne from the business quarters
below the hill. that the coolies Of certain fac
tories had fed shrieking at the first shock. and
that all the tea In the pans was burned to a
crisp. That. certainly. was some con-
ISOLATION for undignifod panic: and there
remained the hope that a few tall CHM
nsys up the line ut Toxic would have
collapsed. They stood firm. however. and the
local papers. used to this kind Of thing. Nero
ly spoke OF the shock as severe Earth
quakes are demoralizing. but they bring out
all the weaknesses OF human nature. First Is
downright dread. the stage OF "ony let ma
get into tho open and I'll reform" then the
shock Of modern times flying east and west
among the cables. ibid not your own hair
stand straight on end. and. therefore. must
not everybody else's have done likewise y
Last as fallen humanity picks itself together.
comes the cry OF the mean little soul: What!
Was that all / wasn't frightened from the
beginning"
1t Is wholesome and tonic to realize the
powerlessness Of man In the face Of these
little accidents. The heir Of all the ages the
annlhilator OF time and space. who politely
doubts tho existence OF his Maker. hears tho
roof beams crack and strain above him and
scuttles about like q rabbit in n stoppered
warron. II the shock eniures for twenty
minutes. the Hnnihilator OF time and
space must camp out under the blue and
hunt for hi, dad beneath rubbish.
Given u violent convulsion tonly Just
such slipping OF strata rs care
lessly piled volumes will accomplish In book
caseh and behold tn, heir OF all the ages Is