The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-07-13
LddiCrOdS Errors of Famous Writers.

Eminent novelists and authors con-
tinue as they have ever done to make
glaring and amusing errors concern
ing matters of everyday knowledge
and the technicalities of science, the
professions, arts and trades.
One of the most amusing blunders
ever made was contained in Tenny-
sons last beautiful poem, Crossing
the bar" The last lines of one stanza
read:
And shall meet my pilot face to face
When have crossed the bar"
The idea of a pilot who did not put
in an appearance until the ship had
crossed the bar filled sailors ali over
the world with unholy glee..
Even Rudyard Kipling who is sup
posed to know everything technical,
has made some glazing mistakes. He
has made them, too, about the British
army, which he is supposed to know
from top to bottom, In that brilliant
story, THE Drums of the Fore and
Aft" than which no more exquisite
idyl exists in the English language,
almost at the beginning occurs the
sentence: And gave orders that the
bandmaster should keep the drums in
better discipline" In the words once
used by a querulous Tommy on read
ing this passage, "Wot's the band
master got to do with the drums?''
Of course it should be the drum ma
Jor; or, strictly speaking, the sergeant
drummer, since drum majors have
been abolished (officially) these ten
or twelve years past. A little later on,
in the same story, he makes the Gurk-
has come pouring over the heights at
the double to the regimental quick
step, feat which would puzzle those
Wiry little warriors.
Then, again, there is the famous
passage in "The Counting of -Dinah
Shad:" "Your-your blooming cheek"
SEE she, duckin' her little head down
on my SASH was on duty for the day
an Whimperin' like a sorrowfuI an
gel''
To quote the critical Tommy again:
'Wot's lancecopril doin' with a sash
on, dooty or no dooty''
Also he speaks of recruits-while re-
cruits-at squad drill in India, where
only trained soldiers are; uses the
terms lay low and LAY high in rela-
ton to rifle practice. although they, Of
course, are applied to gunnery only; and
makes many other equally ridiculous
slips, which soldier would detect.
Nevertheless, it is among soldiers that
Mr.. Kipling finds his most devoted ad-
mirerS, realizing as they do that it
were quite impossible to overestimate
his services to them and to the army.
Naval men are said to read novels
dealing with life on men-of- war in
place OF comic papers when they de-
sire good hearty laugh. And no
wonder, if the following example err
rors, collected from a single book of
this description, are at all typical of
those perpetrated by this class of writ
ers in general
What course?" asked the officer Of
the watch to the man at the wheel
East by north, SIR replied the
worthy tar briskly, as he shifted his
quid from one side to the other of his
capacious leathery jaws. This on a
first-class cruiser! AS the officers fix
the course and the officer of the watch
must above all know it and the helms
man only mechanically obeys instruc-
tons, this question would be like
man in a cart asking the horse where
he was going.
In another place the author de-
scribes two destroyers as carrying on
photographic conversation with one
another under the very nose of the
flagship without rebuke And a few
pages further on a sub" while on the
bridge at dead of night Station keep
ing" sits down to read novel. One