The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1896-05-15
THE GREAT KIPLING CASE
THAT HAS AGAIN Conferred ALL
EYES on BRATLLEBORO.

The Great Novelist Has His Brother-in
law Arrested for Assault md Threat
to i<ilI-The LATTER Held Under Bond
"A Painful Family TrOubie-But tn
Recital Frightened with Many Witt
and Interesting Things.
The local sensation of the week, on
with which the leading newspaper
of the country have been filled and on
that had somc graphic and amusing
textures. with more that were palnfu
and unfortunate, was the prosecution
on complaint of Rudyard kipling o
his brother-in law, Beatty S. Balestic
for assault, with opprobrious and indie
cent epithets and threatening to kill. ,
The affair for which this complaint II
the courts was made by States At
torney Fits. occurred last weel
Wednesday afternoon, in the woods
called "Tne Pines' between this vii
lage and the homes of the two men
According to Kipling's story, which
was not contradicted in the evidence,
he WAS walking along by his bicycle
from which he had just fallen, when
Balestier drove by and hauled up, say.
ing, "See here, want to speak to you. y
Kipling replied IF you have anything
to say. say it to my lawyers. y When
Balestier rejoincd by this is no
dcrstand that you have got to retract
those Cd lies you've been telling
about me. ioa'ye got TO do il inside IA
week or III punch Tor kick the q -
d soul out of you. Kipling said he
observed, Let us get this straight.
Do you mean personal violence:"
Ives, III give you a week, and if
you don't do it I'll blow out your G.
d brains. ~
Il then said. l." Kipling continued,
you will have only yourself to blame
for the consequences. In the course
of this conversation he also called me
a liar, cheat and coward. Then
he drove on to where the road forks,
about 40 yards beyond and turned and
and went back. y
The conversation lasted not over
three or four minutes. Balestier
seemed not in his right senses
crazy waving his hands about-shout-
ing loudly-his check bones blue wilh
passion. " II honestly think he will
r. II lllc llt lbSCS MS ituo
again, Kipling testified
Balestier's side of the story~-if there
is anyways not told, but the cross en-
by his counsel, indicated
that his claim was that the threat
was simply one of Il thrashing and
that the provocation was stories which
he believed Kipling to have set IN
that Balestier was or had
been living on his bounty. Not par
ticle of evidence of this was produced
except Kipling's admission on cross
examination that when spoken to
about it by Baestier's creditors and
others he had said that he had dome
he could to help the boy,
md it was no use. Neither of the
witnesses mentioned in the cross eN.
as having got such an i'm
PRESTON of charitable dependence from
aIks with kipling, was produced, lear-
ng the presumption that he had never
it and that it was entirely
3alestier's morbid imagining. Kipling
himself sworc that he didn't know
What Balestier alluded to in his de- |
nand for retraction, and supposed 1t /
vas offers he had made. through others
" in connection with others, TO help |
3alester out of his money troubles, If
lie would stop drinking and would
20 to work. II came here for this
purpose to help that boy what |
ould'n he said feelingly. It's what
lave staid here for the last three years
the reason | settled here in pref
renee TO anywhere else in America.
Mr.. Kipling's appearance on the I
tand was one TO reveal the qualities
hat SO attract people that come into
lose relation with him, while mere
' superficial acquaintance is apt TO
epe. There were not only flashes and
parKles of brightness from that great
zine of genius of his, but there were
limpses of the depth and tenderness Of
ceiling that contribute to his power.