The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-05-18
KIPLING'S WIFE
THE UNPREPOSSESSING YOUNG WO-
MAN WHO USED TO VISIT CORNELL.
Her Devotion to Her Brother, Who
Was Rudyard KiplinE's Bosom
Friend-Her Extreme Dress and
Absent Mindedness-Always Car
rieh Book.

Mrs. Caroline Balestier Kipling, wife of
Kudyard Kipling, was emerging from girl
hood into young womanhood when her
brother. Walcott Balestier was my college
mate at Cornell.
The Balestiers are all interesting and un-
common people. An artistic talent is
born in them. There were three in the
present generation of Balestiers-Wolcott,
Jr!, Carolyn and Beatty. Carolyn and Beat
ty alone survive. Wolcott died In Dresden,
Germany. on the threshold of literary
London and Boston believed then that he
had an even more promising literary career
than his bosom friend and co-laborer, Rud
yard Kipling had.
Wolcott Balestier Gather Of Mrs Kpling
and her two brothers) was a delicate, stud
1ouS man, who inherited a fortune OF over
$4,000 and married young lady with treble
that sum. He made his home at Brattle-
boro, VT. where he inherited land posses
sions from his father He contributed sew
eral notable articles to the North American
Review on current topics, practiced some
law, read books and travelled He died
about 1879.
Mrs. Wolcott Balester, Sr., went to To-
hio with her little son. Wolcott, for year
or two, and when the judge and his daugh
ter and grand child landed at San Francisco.
in 1874 there were tons of brio a-brac and
costly souvenirs that the Mikado and Jap
anese mobiles had given them.
Upon the death of her husband, Mrs. Bal
estier and her three children went from
Brattleboro to live in the quaint old Smith
mansion in Rochester, N. Y. The home
there was broken up. in 1889, when the fam
lily went to Europe. Wolcott, Jr was then
rising in the literary world, and New York
publishing house sent him abroad to con-
tract for manuscript from rising literary
people. Henry James, the novelist. made
py.l, I'D yty1tv yy@1o Dol ctt
quainted. Each had admired the others
work and the two soon became devoted
friends. That was in the fall of 1889. Kip
1ings star was fast rising. His plain Tales
From The Hills" and his ballads were in de-
mand in England. Balestier had written
strong short stories of Colorado mining
camp life. No less a person than William
d. Howells had predicted in Harper's Mag
azine proud future for Wolcott Balistier
when the latter was but "a.
Throughout 1890 Kipling and Balestier
roomed near each other and travelled about
England together, while they mapped out
joint career in literature. They were per
fectly adapted to each other. They collab-
GRATED the Colorado and East Indian story,
The Naulahka." When that was finished
Kipling and Balestier turned to Their lit
erary labor. and throughout the summer
and fall they worked like Trojans In Oc-
tober 1891, the frail constitution of VOL
colt Balestier began to weaken. A trip
among the Alps was decided on. Mrs. Ba-
lester and her daughter went along to be
near Wolcott. The young mans case grew
worse in Germany, and at Dresden he took
his bed With typhoid fever.
Mr.. Kipling fastened from London, and
was with his friends in the last weeks. 1t
is said that Miss Balestier and Mr. Kip
ling had been engaged to be married for
some time, and that Walcott expressed
wish shortly before he became unconscious
that the marriage might soon take place.
On Dec. s. 1891. Wolcott Balestier died. Mr..
Kipling and Miss Baester were quietly
married in London on Jan. IS. 1892. Wal
colt Balestier lies buried in the American
cemetery at Dresden.
| knew Wolcott Balestier we'll at Cornell
university, at Ithaca. n Y, in 1SSO-S1, and
a part of 1882. Mrs kiplng and her mother
came there several times for few weeks
at visit from Rochester. and l became
well acquainted with the mother and
daughter. Miss Balestier not re-
markably prepossessing young woman. In
repose her face assumed a peculiarly set
expressiCn and she had no heed care for
exercising the most elementary principles
of tact. She and her brother were much
alike, but she had a zeal then to go and do
some famous and glorious things in the
spots of darkest Africa, whence Henry NJ.
Stanley had returned from his second tour
a year or two before. She was of medium
height about > feet inches Of slight build
and had dak brown hair. She had dark
blue eyes and a pale complexion. Her seri-
Gus expression and her absent minded ways
told at first acquaintance how part of the
time she had lived in another world from
those who were about her
Like her brother she adopted extremes in
fashion. 1t was the spring of large straw
hats among women. and hers was a mon
ster Bangles were popular among young
ladies then. Miss Balestier carried
Of hpr
wrists. Broad stripes were fashionable,
and she wore skirts with stripes an inch
broad. She a graceful dancer and she
came frcm Rochester once or twice pur
posely TO attend some college social func-
ton with her brother, but it cannot be
truthfully said she was ever belle Of the
Cornell balls. She painted well in water
colors. and her sketches of scenes in the
slens and gorges about Ithaca We're praised
by the college journal.
MISS BALESTIER'S POEMS.
Her ideal man at one time vas Henry NJ.
Stanley, but at another she thought that
the Russian Tolstoi-whO was then coming
into world wide fame-was quite the great
est man alive. l remember that when the
great English historian, Edward Freeman,
came to Cornell to deliver a course of lee
lures on the English constitution less than
one student there out of 20 went near one
of his lectures Miss Balester came pur-
posely from Rochester to hear the course.
the historian and his wife, and the young
Baestiers and the aged Freemans used to
ramble over the hills of Ithaca together The
old Cornell Era files must have had poem
of some 10 stanzas that Miss Balester wrote
on lone Who Reads His Story Well" mean
ing Edward Freeman. who had read the an
nails of England well. At another time
poem on Cornells bell chime from the pen
of Miss Balestier appeared anonymously in
the Cornell review, and although it was in
deed very mertorious piece of work, it's
failure to attract attention certainly chilled
the feelings Of Walcott Balestier, and pos
sibly of his sister as we'll
Miss Balestier was seldom without book
in her hand. whether at home on the
street She and her brother Wolcott used
to go across the college campus out to the
little grove of maple trees along Mill creek
and there read to each other for hours.
During the hours of recitations at the uni
versity Miss Balestier was generally in the
great library connected with the institution.
l remember her now, as she used to appear
seated at one of the long. narrow green-cov
cred tables there, with heap of books about
her. She was for a time an omniverous
seeker after information about Africa
Throughout one Of her visits to her brother
Wolcott at Cornell in the winter Of 1882
she read for hours six days in the week. in
the Cornell library on the subjects con-
nected with the African exploration
The next time she came to visit Cornell
she was deeDly interested in no burn;ro