The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-12-11
KIPL|NG'S LAST WORK
Great Success of His Battleship
Articles.
INCIDENT ON MAJESTIC
AUTHOR GIVEN A VERY UN-
USUAL HONOR.
The Two Robert Bridges-Happy Au-
thor Who Doesn't Want to Pub
ish-Cable's News Travel.
Especial Correspondence

writes, in a letter to a friend, that he
was moved to undertake the series OF
articles on life aboard British battle
ship, which have lately been appear
ing in the London Morning Post, by a
desire to stir the English mind INTO
g. greater interest and pride IN tue
navy, and into a stronger urgency Tor
its proper maintenance and develop
ment. # this was his aim, he is get
ting it carried out to his hearts full
desire. His most enduring MASTER
piece has stirred less enthusiasm than
these articles. The English papers fair
" gloat over their immense power and
brilliancy of description, and can
scarcely find words in which to express
what they regard as their significance,
political as well as literary. And, GER
tainIy, the articles are rare achleVe-
ment. 1t IS journalism carried TO the
highest plane of literature. But even
finer than the articles, it seems to me,
was that incident that befeI Mr.. AIp-
ling when he was gathering his mater
ial for them. It was on the Majestic,
the flagship of the channel squadron
at a grand banquet. Mr.. kipl1ng, pc
ing yociferously called upon, reclted
Soldier and Sailor, Too" and being
still further called upon, followed 1t
with 1.-THE Flag of England and then,
before he could say Scat or JACK
Robinson" or any of those soirit-lay-
ing words, he was lifted bodily upon
the shoulders of a company of sturdy
subalterns, and, while the bands played
Hes a. Jolly Good Fellow" and the
assembled officers sang it. was carried
triumphantly about the ship. Lltera-
ture never had another tribute like
that. The like of it has befallen poll
ticians and boxers often enough to have
lost somewhat of its distinction, but for
ND Sirrr0le If &c r.
fectly unique honor.
Mr.. Kipling, [ understand, is now re-
vising his articles for book publlca-
ton: and the book win be issued as
soon as possible. both here and In
England.
There is quite an opportunity for
confusion among people who follow
literary affairs currently, but still not
closely, over the name Robert Bridges.
1t is borne by the present assistant
editor of Scribner's Magazine, a man
known to his personal friends, of whom
the circle is large, as Of exceptionally
refined, frank and kindly nature. and
to the reading public as the author of
a series of felicitous literary judgments
first published in Life, and then collect
ed into two volumes, entitled, resDec-
lively, " Overheard In Already" and
Suppressed Chapters" This Robert
countrynan. He was born in Pennsyi-
vania, graduated, think, at Princeton,
but of that I am not quite sure; took
UP newspaper work, following it for a
time at Albany. n. L, and then in this
city, on the Evening Post, and, finally,
some years age, became connected with
Scribner's. He is a tall, broad-shoul-
dered, dark man, with something the
aspect of an artist or poet, is a devoted
Wheelman. and also a rather devoted
golfer. He lives in pleasant bachelor
apartments in the heart of the city,
surrounded by books, and, in his odd
hours, he writes those genial criticisms
On modern novelists by which he is
especially known. think he has some
times written and published poetry,
also. but Just here is the point where
special precautions are to be taken
against a misconcaption- The Robert
Bridges whose nam&is most associated
with poetry is quite another man. He
IS an Englishman, and good deal of
a prophet in his own land: but a poet
Of poets rather than Of the people, and
not much known, I should say, over
here. He is now about "a years Of age,
an Oxford man, and, by profession,
physician, but he retired from practice
ten or twelve years ago. They are
just now discussing in the English re-
views with great fullness and the usual
coGtrariety of opinion, a new complete
edition Of his pOetical works.
It is quite mistake-the idea of
many young authors that publication
Of his works is essential to the au-
thor's happiness. The happiest author
I ever knew had written about twenty
books and had published only two. For
forty or fifty years he went serenely on
producing, and 1 doubt if in the last
twenty OF thirty years of that term he
He betrayed, and / am sure felt, no
sourness against publishers or the pub
lie; indeed, he had but one interest in
life. and that was to write. He lived in
a pleasant old farmhouse-the family
homestead. the house in which he was
born--and from the time he finished
school, at about 20. until his death, at
near 20. he was rarely from home, and
he die little else than write. He wrote
epics and poetic dramas having for his
especial models Milton, Thompson and
Bailey's ''Festus." Of his two publish
ed books the first was THE Closing
SceSe," being twelve books Of a Mil
\ tonic poem composed in twenty -four,
land putting to the public, in good bold
type at the end, the unique question:
Does the world want the other twelve
books?" It was before the shrewd
fashion arose of enclosing postal cards
for replies, and the world gave the
question no direct answer, and once
when I visited the author, near the
end of his life, he showed me 'the other
twelve books" in manuscript, all neatly
tied up and carefully preserved against
any sudden call that might be sounded
for them later. Yet the published twelve
did not pass wholly unremarked. About
the time they came out the author
made a visit OF England, and when his
second book came out 1t contained, as
a. sort of appendix, an aSsemblage of
opinions of the first, a number of them
from eminent Englishmen. Thomas
Noon Talford and Samuel Rogers
remember, were among those who had
found a good word to say for 1.-The
Closing Scene" The title Of this second
book was wrinkles Gathered From
the Brow Of Experience" and the au-
thor always referred to it as My
Wrinkles" When I last saw him his
special occupation was a blank verse
poem on the seasons, ito beat Thomp-
son." as he told me, and, to demon
strate that he was beating Thompson,
he had me take book in hand and fol-
low certain passages in Thompson as
he read out to me corresponding ones
from his manuscript. 1 could not de-
tect but that he was in all things con-
tent. and he is about the only literary
man, and about the only man of any
sort. that [ haveSever known who was.
He delighted in production; he had no
rnisgivings as to the worth of what
he produced. and the attitude of the
world toward him did not touch him.
have just been allowed to read in
manuscript three connected short sto-