The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1899-04-04

jill ou4st " ~ ust1 " NA4 IA 44lC
lea, Honolulu, Japan, China, and SO to
Lahore, writing letters for publication.
The offer vas accepted.
When he returned to Lahore, he en-
tered the Office of The Pioneer and took
a subordinate position in order to learn
everything in the publishing line. The
work was not congenial to him, and he
a anxious to turn his attention to
something else. 1t happened that the
Duke of C%onnaught, then military COM
mander of the northwestern district of
India. would occasionally pay a visit to
the Kiplings and spend an evening at
their house. When he met Rudyard, he
became greatly interested in him and,
in the course of conversation, remarked.
"What are you going to do. Mr.. Kip
ling, nov that you are in India again?'
"Well, sir, I have an ambition be-
yond the drudgery of working in the
Office of The Pioneer"
"What would you like to do. then.
Mr.. Kipling?"
II would like. sir. to live with the
army for a time and go to the frontier
to write up Tommy Atkins" The duke
considered the matter and finally gave
him carte blanche to do whatever he
liked, go to any military station in his
command and, if he wished, go to the
frontier and live with officers or men,
and if at any time he required an escort
he could have one. Rudyard availed
himself of the dukes offer and went off
to make acquaintance with Tommy
Atkins. At the same time he became a
great student of nature and the life and
character of the people.
Thus began a career in literature
which has given Mr.. Kipling wide and
enduring fame.
Mr.. Kipling was married Jan. 10,
1892, in London. to Miss Balestier, sister
Of the young American novelist, Wolcott
Balestier. who died in Dresden in 1881,
and with whom Kipling c%ollaborated
in the story called 1.-The Naulahka."
1t was through this brother that she be-
came acquainted with Mr.. Kipling.
Her father. Joseph Navarro Balestier.
was a very successful real estate man
and lawyer of New York city. He
bought very extensively property in and
around Brattleboro, VT, and today the
Balestier estate there includes many
hundreds of acres.
1t was thus that Mr.. Kipling settled
in Brattleboro shortly after his mar
riage. He and Mrs. Kipling lived in
the town until their new home was fin
ished just outside the Brattleboro line.
1t is fashioned after the. plan Of an In
dian bungalow. in which one long COR
ridor from end to end of the building
divides all the apartments, as in a no.
tel, and is built on the side of a hill. 1t
is a long. curious looking structure.
without an entrance on the side that
faces the roadway and with but one
door in the house. that on the hillside.
The property slopes down from the
hillside to the roadway, and at the base
of the hill. although there are no fences
or distractions. are scattered signs
reading .sTrespassing on These Premises
Is Forbidden"
Here Mr.. and Mrs. Kipling lived fol
some time the year round, and many
stories are told in Brattleboro of his
life there. Strangers who saw him fol
the first time thought a cowboy had
come to town, and his boots, his
greatcoat and his sombrero, whenever
the weather permitted him to go with.
out a thick cap. were familiar to all the
town folk.
There are few personalities more in
teresting than that of Rudyard Kip
ling, and there is no man of letter!
about whom there has been so much in
quiry. yet he is very little known. HI
has what is sometimes called the British
insular prejudice against inquiry int
his private life and habits.
A good many hundreds of people who
have come in contact with him hav,
called him all the names that one may
use in polite society. The explanation
thereof is simple enough. Mr.. Kiplint
did not care to know them and resented
their attempts to know him. To thes'
Kipling is inclined to be eXceedingl,
short, not to say rude. He believes tina
he gives the best he has to the publ,
in his writings and that it has no RICH
to bother about his private life.
To those to whom he gives his friend
ship he is as genial, as kindly. as warn
hearted. as any one could ask. He is tn
most delightful of companions.
Personally Kipling is as complex an
remarkable as his writings. His affec
ton for his wife and children amount
to worship.
Everything in connection with hi
life in this country shows how desirou
is the young mar to avoid people VIII
bother him. He absolutely refuses to b
lionized.l and the thought of seeing il
> print what he ate for dinner draw
from him language as picturesque an
as vivid as his poems. bat not SO print
able.
While Kipling has steadfastly refuse
to tell the reporters much about him
self. his personality is quite fully re
vealed in his works. He may have ha
Scudery's idea, II know better tina:
any other writer how to tell anecdote
about myself" AS a newspaper ma
!, Kipling is described by himself. In hi
, ....l T.. kz.-x "a SSTI-- No. WI,