Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1903-05-08
THE INSPIRATION OF "DR. CON-"
Tho Boston Herald Tells How He Suggested
Captains CoursgsouSs to Rudyard xiplins
Mary Wilkins' Pembroke"

49, .
Captains Coursgsous'. to Rudyard xipling
Mary wilkins' Pembroke"
The Boston Herald recently de-
voted page to gossip and pictures
about stories that are not all fictions OF
the brain and to the people and events
that have inspired them. Among them
is one OF the late DR.. James Conland
of Brattleboro, who suggested to kud-
yard Kipling the writing OF captain
Courageous" and one of Mary p. Will
kins, also we'll known in Brattleboro,
where she once lived. The pictures in
clude view of Naulahka, kipling's
former home in Brattleboro where
"Captains Courageous was written,
and one of Miss wilkins home in Ran
dolph, Mass. where Pembroke" was
written. In regard to Mr.. Kipling' s
story the Herald says:
"No unusual stimulus is needed TO
arouse Rudyard Kipling's Imagination.
the accommodating experiences OF ordi
nary life afford material plenty
Nothing eludes him, and thing once
observed is a possession forever. 80
keen is his reportorial faculty that mere
observation is made to read as ii drawn
from vivid personal experience. A trip
or two on a locomotive, at the Cape OF
Good Hope, few incisive questions,
sufficed for the writing of his famous
OO7 story. Yet so pungent is its tech
nical atmosphere, one is almost per-
suaded to believe it the work OF vet
eran engineer.
Captains Courageous sprang from
the suggestion of DR.. James Conland
of Brattleboro, the warmest friend Kip
ling made during his Vermont resi-
dence. Born on Cape Cod, and in early
life follower of the sea, DR.. Con.
as he is familiarly known, has that pas
sionate love for the water which with
many is so deep and abiding
"The fact of Kipling's having never
written a tale OF the sea was once com
mented upon by the doctor, and Kip
ling, ever alert for ideas, accepted the
hint with alacrity. DR.. Con. took him
to the cape, introduced him to the old
time tars and salts, Kipling sailed back
and forth once or twice between Glou-
cester and Boston on fishing smack,
dwelt for a time at Gloucester, absorb
ing like a sponge the life experienc es
of those who make living by the sea,
and, as all know, secured the true salty
flavor. =,
ellis Just So stories were originally
spun for entertainment of his two little
daughters while at Brattleboro, the lit
tie tots insisting each time that he
should tell them just So"
OF Miss wilkins Pembroke" 1t
said: :,
pembroke" started in her mind
from the stern character and typical
New England will of young man who
formerly dwelt in Randolph. To this
Young fellows way of thinking re-
trenchment, after once committed to
given course, constituted the most de-
plorable weakness. So firmly was he
grounded in obstinacy that even after
becoming engaged, building a house,
and various other preparations, he
broke with his fiancee. much as is de-
picted in the opening chapter of Penn.
broke" simply because of few heated
words, spoken in argument, by her
father The girl, in no way Implicated
sought a reconciliation, but, unlike
Barnabas Thayer, this fellow remained
obdurate, and died few years later
unreconciled.
"Though but girl, this episode
made an impression upon Miss Wilkins
which was destined to yield a rich
fruitage."
While imagination shapes the major
portion of Miss wilkins stories, the
Herald says, yet some one in everyday
life invariably supplies the first vague
outline