New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-04-08

united Kipling since I have known him. has
had a flow Of language when he was sure he
was in sympathetic company. The moment an
uncongenial spirit entered upon the scene he
became pnrsonifed guinness | can see him
now telling a group Of eager boyish listeners In
the hallway under the gymnasium at North
Devon a story of East Indian fakirs penances.
perhaps and of a sudden. becoming as silent
and grave as a Sphinx the moment some I'M
congenial boy came in. He would clasp his
hands in front OF him. shut his lips tight. and
beam upon US through his glasses. He had a
trick OF rubbing his chin when the narrative OF
his stories tagged Another trick in mis- youth
was that Of gesturing with his first finger extend
ed like bayonet. When he introduced the Hin
dustani dialect in his stories (and he had very
good ear FOR dialects and brogucs). he would
gestIculatc violently with his forefnger.'
Kipling was not 1t appears, distinguished as
a student. He ranked low in scientific studies.
and he had no liking for any mathematical
studies. He was once plucked on trigonometry.
I remember that in history he ranked well.
II is surprising as I review those days at coll
lege that the foremost literary man Of the
day should have been so little a reader A
score Of boys there were more Jealous readers
than he was don't recall that Rudyard lived
lights show them to have done. | remember
that like all Of us, Rudyard had read Dick
ems Thackeray, and had devoured Captain Mar
ryat's stories He had several OF Charles
Reade's novels in his room but neither they
nor any other books ever kept him from full
participation in all the college larks from going
on long tramps along the coast and from exc
cutting any scheme TO make life a WEAKNESS TO
the simple horny handed peasantry who lived
in the country round about North Devon"
Mr. G. White the other school fellow. tells in
The Independent" this story:
AS an illustration of Kiplng's behavior in
| class, there was q certain geography master
| who greatly favored the drawing OF sections
| Of the earths surface. showing the mountain
ranges rivers. lakes. seas strata etc. and
| which were generally executed by his pupils on
| sheets of fOOlsCap.
| AT first the master was contented with quite
| ordinary distances between two given points
| as from London to Edinburgh, Paris to Berlin
and so forth: but gradually he cume to 'lengthe
| them out to an alarming extent-Chicago 10
| TimbuctoO. Nladvostok to Goa Cape Town to
Moscow which. while IL embarrassed the rest Of
| the boys suggested a humorous idea to k!pling.
From somewhere or other he procured several
| rolls Of wall paper and then day and night with
| pens and brushes ne labored diligently on gi
| gantic section. inserting men, birds beasts and
| fishes trees-in fact. anything ne could think Of
which being at length completed TO his sat.sfac-
| ton. Kpng calmly awaited the result or his
| Joke.
| When at last the geographical master called
| for that particular section, to his surprise and
| the amusement Of Kipngs classmates. Kiplng
| unwound his gigantic roll on the floor. At first
II was evident that the master mentally debated
| the question as to whether IL d de-
| mandng public rebuke by the instant Of
| the cane or commendation in its highest form
| by full marks. when Kiplng's absolutely inno-
cent expression OF countenance decided him to
| adopt the latter course.
| At the end ~ his college career kpng left
| Westward Ho In the ordinary manner, and not
| as has been recently stated as runaway
| truant." having gained. in spite Of his pranks
and peculiar humors the regard OF his masters
and schoolfellows. the general opinion being that
he awfully clever chap-was Gigs
The amusing papers on Irish Life and Char
! acter' which Mr. Michael MacDonagh has lately
been contributing 20 magazines are n be pub
lished Immediately in volume by Mr.. Thomas
Whitaker.
letter which Bismarck wrote from Reims to
bfe oher has t,st