El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-05-17

deep into the ink pot, and as all his
movements were abrupt, almost Jerky,
the ink used to fly. When ne darted
into my room. as he used to do about
one thing o, another in connection
with the contents of the paper dozen
times in the morning, l had to shout to
him to stand off. otherwise. as l knew
by experience, the abrupt halt he would
make and the flourish with which he
placed the proof in his hand before me
would send the penful of ink-he al
ways had full pen in his hand-fying
all over me. Driving or sometimes
walking home to breakfast in his light
attire. plentifully besprinkled with ink.
his specialized face peeping out under
an enormous, mushroom shaped pith
hat, Kipling was a quaint looking OBJ
ject. When l knew Kipling in
India, he was bubbling over with poet
ry, which his hard days office work
gave him no time to write. The efforts
of the native police band in the public
gardens at Lahore to discourse English
music to sparse gathering of native
nurses and infants would awaken as
we passed some rhythm with accom-
panying words in his mind. and he
would be obviously i'll at ease because
he could not get within reach of pen
and ink. Whether Kipling would ever
have been much of a musician I cannot
say, but know that all the poems he
wrote during the years we worked to-
gether-many of the Departmental
Ditties, for instance-were written
not only to music, but as music. 1
have before me now one of Kipling's
poems of the 'Departn entail Ditty' or
der which was never published. One of
midas little wars was in progress,
and our special correspondent had tele
graphed that on account of our newspa
per's comments on the composition of
the generals staff he had been hoy cotted
by the generals orders Here, said I,
handing the telegram to Kipling, is a
subject for nice little set of verses
''Kipling read the telegram, thought
a moment, then said: L have it. How
would this do-'Rum tiddy um ii tum
ii tum; ira la la ii tum ii tum?' or
words to that effect hummed in notes
that suggested a solo on the bugle.
was quite accustomed to having verses
in their inceptional stage submitted in
this shape for editorial approval, so I
said that the poem sounded excellent
and returned to my work. In 20 min
utes Kipling came to me with the
verses. which began:
General Sir Arthur Victorious Jones,
Great is vermilion splashed with gold"
DR.. Theodore F, Wolfe, in his recent
book called Literary Haunts and
describes Kipling's house at
Brattleboro- house known as Nau-
III nd fo1l ~
thor's daily life. He says:
His study - whence some of his
books have been removed to England
is pleasant apartment at the south
end of the mansion, with that animat-
ing landscape in view from its windows,
and here, denying himself to all corners,
he worked carefully and methodically
for some hours of each morning record
ing his inventions and fancies in char
clear and diminutive chi
ography-revising extensively and de-
stroying SO much that friend says
his waste basket sometimes contains
more manuscript than his desk after
labor. Here he produced
much of the virile and imprisoned
master verse of The Seven Seas that
marked him as major poet, many of
The Incompatible stories of the Jungle
Books and the whole of that delight |
July vivid and vigorous tale of the |
fisher folk, Captains Coura- |
yeous. Although he had not yet reach |
I'd the dollar a word period of his au- |
;horship, his neighbors considered that |
his was the most profitable industry in |
The town
''The later hours of the day were de- |
voted to Notwithstanding a daily ex- |
,ursion to the postoffice-and to recrea- |
ions which show him to be thoroughly |
n love with life, Notwithstanding the |
nexorable fatalism of some of his tales. /
His aversion to horses disinclining him |
or driving, he at first walked much 1
,ver the surrounding hills and through |!
Ill the near countryside. Later he pre- |
erred bicycling, and was often met in !
he rural roads and lanes mounted upon |
lis wheel, and not infrequently accom-
panied by his wife. In these afternoon
his short, sturdy, broad |
houldered figure was usually clad in a |
'lain suit of gray; his round, swarthy !
ace was shaded by broad brimmed |
oft hat; his gray blue eyes always look
d through glasses worn to correct as
igmatism. He rode rapidly and well, |
md had a ready salutation for every
'assing acquaintance. Occasionally he
ound recreation in cultivating his gar
len or in winter shoveling aside the
lewly fallen snow, in going abroad upon
or gleefully coasting over
he glittering crust upon his own hill
ide. Some time-not too much-he
ave to social functions. in which he
bowed himself to be an unassuming
nd courteous guest and the most devot-
d and hospitable of hosts. Among 9TH
r visitors he entertained the gifted