The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-06-25
KIPL1NG AT RoTTINGDEAN.

All the Village Boys Are His Chums
 Rudyard Kiping is very English in his love of home. He castle Is The Elms" one of the least pretentlous houses in a village remarkable Tor neither glory of architecture nor the ambitious proportions of Its dwelling places. To the residence Of so noted man a certain halo of distinction at- taches In spite of this, however the visitor to Nottingham is irreslstlply bound to laugh at the sight or Ihe Elms." Solidly, unromantically com fortable, without a pretence to beauty or picturesqueness, modest Tn SlZe' "The Elms'' stand tight, defiantly un- lovely nclosed by high, stout wall or typically rural fashioning The Films" would not win a second glance from a mildly successful tallow chand- Ter A double barreled gateway, solid and high as the walls, guards the way to the front entrance, and the little electric bell looks quaintly incongruous inset in so much of ancient solidity. tiny trap-door in the gateway, Just large enough for one to squeeze ms card through, is governed from the 1n- side, and the inmates of "The Films
 are secure from intrusion once they sport their oak
 So far as living interest is concerned the Kiplings are Nottingham for the outside world. It has associations
 however apart from this family. The ancient vicarage, just across the way is a far more important establishment than "The Elms," and was anclently famous as a school. Cardinal Man ming, the great Duke of Wellington, and Bulwer Lytton were among the | scholars of the old-time vicars. Rot | tingdean is a strange admixture Of the | medieval and the modern. Some or It's tortuous, struggling highways of cor 1 duroy pattern, bordered by quaint, old world cottages and gardens, carry one far back into history, and make them forget the clater of excursion parties | in brakes, cabs, traps and motor cars | from the too, to adjacent Brighton. And then a turn brings one back to the main thoroughfare, where are up-to- date little shops and the electric light. | Your driver brisks up his steed and
 whirls you rapidly past 'The Films,
 up the hillside by the house, pulls up at a corner some distance along the
 white steep road, and, mute and ex-
 pectant invites by gesture your adni- ration and appreciation of the most ad- vanced outpost of civilization. 1t IS an l electric lamp set in the corner Of the 1 lane, with a background of hayricks l and barns, and looking as strangely
 placed as a steam plough in the garden | of Eden But, incongruous or not, the 1 illuminant is there, and the k1pllngs
 are not the least considerable consum-
 CTS of it. Comfort and convenience form the key to the domestic policy of
 "The Elms.'' MT. Kipling used to pos sess motor car and make his journeys
 to and from Brighton in it. But the
 machine proved fractious, so the l Brighton cabmen reasserted their title
 to serve him. They all know the mas-
 ter of "The Elms," and count him the
 finest of patriots in dscarding his road engine.
 Ali the boys in the village are the
 personal chums of the owner of The
 Elms." He knows them all by name,
 and is familiar with the history and
 characteristics of each There is little wood and iron erection standing 1 close by the house ana the ponu. u l is the gymnasium which Mr. Kipling
 has built for the rising hopes of Rot
 tingdean. When work pals in the ! evening he takes himself and his pipe l across to the, gymnasium, and has a
 gossip with his young friends, in wohse exercises he takes great delight. When
 the boys have finished they cluster
 around their patron and beg him to tell ] them something about India or the army. Many fascinating word picture
 of the jungle and it's denizens he will
 draw for them. The world adnires Kipling as a genius; the boys who
 know him at home worship him as
 sort of glorifed elder brother. He Is
 keenly interested in military exercises
 for youths, and will take the most
 promising of the youthful friends down to the beach shooting. He has organ
 ized s rifle club for the encouragement