The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-11-27
sADAM-ZAD TO KIPLING.

In Response to The Truce Of the Bear
At the Pass called Muttianee above the
huntsman's Vale,
You heard cid bandaged Matun humble his
oft-told tale;
And you gave him the dole he asked for, and
he let you look at the place
Where fifty Summers ago, 1t seems, he had,
e. like yourself, face.
He told how he lost his visage-how I, Bear
Adam-Zad
Whom he hunted for sheep-fold thieving, and
similar dolngs bad,
Had touched his heart with pity and baked
his vengeful plan
By rearing up ard pleading for Truce In the
form of man;
And how, when he lowered his musket. I
came. with lettering gait
Thl-w1th. a lightning stroke Of my paw
y stated my treacherous hate
And left him writing faceIess-I do not say
it's lie,
My memorys dim-perhaps Matun remem-
bers it better than I?
Twas dastardly thing Cf 1 did it-Im free
to admit that much
Tho doubt if the annals of Bruin record
a cleverer touch
But what l wanted to mention is your luck
less choice of time
For telling this tale of Matun'5 good Kip
ling. In a rhyme.
you certainly DO,
Seeing I've given up evil and now am re-
formed and true
But that's not what | complain of when
say that your POEMS unfair,
It's not that l am old Adam-Zad, but that
l am a Bear.
My fear is lest your verses should be wrong
ly read afar
And should pass FOR an alegory to the hurt
of the Good White Gear;
For the sign of the Russian Empire IN a
Bear, as you ought to know,
And the reading public Is stupid and get
things muddled sol
Yesl the time was unluokily chosen, for Just
at this moment, alas!
1t happens the Car of Russia is saying a
holy mass;
He's proposing a Truce; he is pleading with
hands appraised in prayer,
And you come along with this story and Jig
ger the whole AFFAIR."
IT'S thousand pities, Kipling for you're
read ali over the earth
And this coincidence Is sure to call forth
hooking mirth;
OF course you never meant it. but It's most
This tale should read like fable with the
Car as Adam-Zadi
No doubt you simply wrote it as you wrote
your Soldiers Three"
Or any of your fctions, for fame and the
usual fe6t
But the time was 20 ilI-chosen that 1 fear
twill be now In vain
For you TO write to the papers and, so to
speak, explain.
Yet, better late than never-it may do some
slight good
Since the poem is morally certain to be mis-
understood
So write and warn all readers to thought
fully beware
And not mistake old Matun for the victim OF
the Gear.
GUS Bears advance
With paws like hands In prayer upheld you
= couldn't, by any chance,
Have meant to hint at recent moves and pro-
jects in the East,
Or at the sly diplomacy Of Russia-not the
least.
In view of recent doinss, on the distant
Chinese shores
The parallel is Bruin-like-it goes upon all
fours-
A most unfortunate affair, for which you're
not TO blame,
But which misleads the readers Of your poem,
all the same.
Indeed, I've heard It mooted that the soraed
50 lightly penned
Has brought the Peace proposal to an I'M
timely end;
And that since It was published the Gar in
vain has spent
His efforts to revive his scheme yclept Dis
armament.
So write at once, dear Rudyard, write quick
ly to the press,
And notify the critics that they've strangely
missed their guess;
That they're all astray IN thinking that your
recent verses had
reference 10 any one except old
u. w. Bengough IN the New York Times.