The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-07-24
MADE FAMOUS BY KTPLING.
LUCK or SolrE SCTOOL8oY EDITORS
VINO YfCRLED MN.

WIZ flfhLED HIMs
He Admired Their cheek, Said So, and
Wrote Them II Lcticr which IL Making
Them Roll In wcolth-A Deluge OF
Letters to Authors Now Threatened
Horsmondcn School, In Kent, England. Is the
scene Of wild festivities nowadays. The little
old woman who sells gingerbread, nuts and
tafry Is growing rich. and the popping OK
ginger bccr corks is heard in the land. 1t all
came about through Uudyard Kipling; and
from this time. ut Horsmonden. his name viii
be inserted on the hoad roll of saints.
The schoulboys, IL seems, were in the habN
Of editing a small magazine called the BUDGET
which was full Of school jokes and comments.
It's motto was "the pom is mightier than the
cane and the boys thought It a periodical OF
great force and brilljancy: but its fame did NOT
spread beyond school walls until, after twelve
numbers had been published, the editors con-
ccivcd the idea of consulting Mr.. Kipling upon
n certain subject. Evidently the British youth
is n stranger To fear. An older editor would
have known that the genial Anglo-Indian
In his moments Of scclusion Is not 70 be
approached. and that an interview with him 10
q desperate and dangerous undertaking for
any one not n pachyderm. With the reckless
confidence Of youth the boy editors rushed in
where angels and newspaper men fear to tread.
They wrote to Mr.. KiplinE. offering him 2
shillings n thousand for his words upon the
subject Of schoolboy etiquette. They quoted
the writer's own lines:
The song / sing for the good red gold.
The same ! sing for the white money!
But the best l sing for a clout o. meal
That simple people give me,
and intimated that IL he failed to live up to hi1
principles it would be the painful duty OF the
publisher OF the Budget to brand him as false
and insincere. Possibly tho threat terrified
Mr.. Kipling. Possibly the nerve Of tho boys
reused admiration in his soul. At any rate he
responded in the following words:
"CAPETowN, Easter Monday. 1893.
ITO the Editors School BndDct.
GENTLEMEN: 1 am in receipt OF your letter
ofno date. together with II copy Of the School
budget, Feb. II, and you seem to be in possess
| sion of all the cheek that is in the least likelyto
do you any good in this world or the next. And.
furthermore, you have omitted to specify where
your journal is printed. and in what county Of
England Horsmondcn is situated.
But. on the other hand. and notwithstands
ing, l very much approve OF your Hints on
Schoolboy Etiquette and send you a few moro
as follows:
Il. If you have any doubts about a quantity.
cough. In three cases out Of five this will save
you being asked to say it again.
80. The two most useful boys in a form are
ta) the masters faVnrito pro tenn, (b) his pet
aversion. With a little judicious management,
(al can keep him talking through the first half
of the construe: and tbl can take up the run
ming for the rest of the time. \. B. A syndi-
cate should agree to do tb,s) imposts in return
for this service.
-. A confirmed gucsscr Is worth his weight
in gold on a Monday morning.
~. Never shirk a master outof bounds. Pass
him with an distracted eye. and at the same
time pull out a letter and study it earnestly.
He may think it is n commission.
80 uI,. .,-a,a l. tlA No4sy.n farrnnN
always take to the nearest ploughed land. Men
stick in burrows that boys can run over.
80. If it is Necessary to take other peoples
apples. do it on Sunday. You can then put
them inside your topper. which is better than
trying to button them into a tight Eton.
You will find this advice worth enormous
sums of money; but l shall be Obliged with q
check or postal order for s%iXpence. ut your
earliest convenience. Faithfully yours.
"RUDYARD KILLING"
This was better luck than the editors had
dared to hope for: and. naturally. there was
great excitement in Horsmonden literary cir
cles over it. No. II Of the Budget contained Mr..
Kipling's letter. and. as tho boys all bought
extra copies to send home, the first edition was
soon exhausted. The editors were all prlmmed
mp with majestick pride" and. whenever q
leisure hour came, adjourned TO a secluded
spot and counted the profits on the num-
her Of copies. sold at = penny a copy:
to be- thrust upon them; hut in Che course Of =
few days letters began coming in from kipltng
enthusiasts. who made. a Toint of collecting
everything written ny him. and had heard Of
the Jolly letter TO tho Biiget. The youthful
editors were surprised but the business posi-
hilitics of tho situation We're not lost upon
them and they agreed to CRAFTY Mr.. kipling'9
admirers, at a slight advance upon the usual
price of ,he periodical.
Now No. IL Of the Ispigoi is selling for seven
shiIlings s]ixpcuce, instead Of n penny. The
: with prodignl generosity. Their pictures have
bccn published in several OF the English maga-
zines, and their Bplgpi is famous throughout
r the length and breadth Of the land. Az. Lewis
; Carroll's Humpty DUMMY would s2yi "There'S
Z glory for YOU Moreover. Gr ktpling,s ex-
ample has made other men chnrtahlo- No. IA
of the Budgct contained a c9ricnturc of kipling
by Man Brerhohm. and an interview with Max
PCmLcrton which was very amusing reading.
One shuGlcrs to think of the delnge Of Letters
from various SCHOOL publications. which will
descend upon English authors az a result OF
Rudyard Kipling's generous impnise; but one
can't help being glad that he wrote the letter.