St. Paul daily globe., 1892-06-17
KIPLING'S SUCCESS.
How the Young Writer'S Stories
! First Gained Attention.

When Kipling left India with his col
lection of StOries-in whose possibilities
he had infinite faith, although, so his
friends said, the editors of the Indian
newspapers in which he published a
number of them thought but slightingly
of them and begrudged them the space
they filled-his first idea was to publish
them in America. SO he made his way
to New York with letter OF introduce
tiOn in his pocket to prominent pub
fishing house. BY some curious affinity
in lack of insight this house thought no
more of the stories than did the unap-
preciative editors in India.
Kiplng, in his disgust, made no fur
ther attempt to dispose of his stories OH
this side of the Atlantic. He tried his
luck III London with ubetter success, so
far as finding publisher is concerned.
His stories were brought out. but.
strange as it may appear in view or
their subsequent popularity, they fell
perfectly fiat.
His stock of money was giving out.
His lodgings and board were of the most
economical. 1t looked as if he were i'll
tended to gain his living by some less
agreeable occupation than story
writing.
One evening, SO XII pling's friend re-
! lates, Edmund Yates sat down to din
ner at his club, wondering what would
make good, stirring article for his
paper, the LoudOn World. He asked a
! ffiend at an adjoining table If he did
not know Of something that was going
on. Replied the friend:
why on earth don't you print an in
! tervew with Rudyard Kipling?"
| ssGhn fbuOIar iS Rud ward in
ling" asked Yates.
The friend, who was acquainted with
| India and with Kipling's career there,
explained that he was very brilliant
young fellow. who knew India as few
men know it, for he had a remarkable
| faculty of observation; that he had just
come nome. bringing with him volume
i of stories, which he had published; that
| he must ahave with him also a large
stock of interesting memorabilia; that
in his (the triend's) opinion Kipling was
! the coming man in story telling: that 1t
| would be greatly to the credit of Yates
| paper to anticipate the public in diScOv-
( ering him; that he would, at any rate,
have much to say that was fresh and in
| tereSting.
The idea struck Mr.. Yates as a good
one, and he detailed one of his report
CID lulLICuldlCly W IHlClNlOW
The reporter had some difficulty in find
ing Kipling, for his lodgings were OBJ
scure, and his disgusted publishers had
not kept close tracks of his address.
! But found he was at last, and, when
| found, he had all the hauteur of conf
| dent genius when most prosperous in
/ being on the whole lather unwilling to
submit to the un-English advertisement
! of an interview. The reporter prevailed
upon him 10 do the favor. (Kipling' s
; friend said that he understood as well
! as any one tine help t le publicity would
/ be to him, and vas simply playing a
| game of bluff.)
So the interview appeared, some two
| columns. in much-read paper. 1t Gre
ated no little talk. Among others who
read 1t with interest was the book re-
viewer of the London Times. He re-
| membered in an indiStinct way that
! Kipling's stories had come to his desk,
! and that he had let them lie there. He
hunted them up, and in the light OF
what we now know about the man, was
! greatly impressed by them. He gave
| them half column review or more, and
that with great many Englishmen was
/ enough. TO find Kipling indorsed in
| the Times Immediately set them to
reading him. His stories no longer lay,
! dust covered,on the publishers shelves.
! The stock on hand was not sufficient to
meet the sudden demand.