Evening star., 1928-11-02
KIPLING IS CHUMMY
WITH ROAD MEMBER.
Poets Attentions, However,
% Not FIatter Him-TaIk
About Cattle.

BURWASH, England (R.-Rudyard
Kipling eludes publicity but he can't
elude Mr.. Lavender. Perhaps it is. be-
cause Mr.. Lavender is 81 years old, and
deaf and not at all fond of converSa-
ton, that Mr.. Kipling doesn't try to.
For Mr.. Lavender is the poets new
confidant and pal" and folk around
here say he hears" all the great mans
secrets
Mr.. Lavender-Wmlam is his first
name-is by profession q road mender.
He has been mending roads around this
district for very long time, and some
how the job never seems to get finished.
Mr.. Kipling lives about a mile down
the road and takes a stroll in Mr..
Lavender'S direction every morning.
There is q convenient stile near Mr..
Lavender's bit of road, upon which Mr..
Kipling perches and quietly watches his
old friend work until the "cricks" in
Mr.. Lavender'S back call halt. Then
Mr.. Kipling opens the conversation III
a loud voice. Let Mr.. Lavender, un-
abashed by the society Of the great,
tell the rest of the story:
Acquainted for 20 Years.
"Oh, yes. / have known Mr. Kipling
and Caroline for 90 years now," he
drawls casually. Caroline" by the
way, is the only name the old man will
use for Mrs. Kipling.
They usually come along just when
I'm in the middle of me work. Then
they sit on the stile and Mr.. Kipling
hollers, Come and sit down along Of
me. Lavender
often do, and often 1 don't, but
when do I just says, yes and mo- and
That's right For between ourselves
for the last five years I have hardly
heard word he has said. We talks a
lot about cattle, or leastwayj think we
do, and he says all he's got to say and
I listens. Then I gets up and rays,
Well, sir, I've got to get on with me
work, and Mr.. Kipling tries to get me
back on the Stile, but says, No, sir,
no. Works work, and I've got no time
for chattering.'
Calls Him Nice Gentleman.
"But he's a nice gentleman with
lot Of education and only wish I could
hear what he is saying"
Asked in thunderous tones whether
he was not flattered at the attention Of
the famous poet, he replied, shouting,
81 don't know what I exactly enjoy it,
but don't mind it."
Mr.. Lavender has q fellow road
mender, one Mr.. StoneStreet. to whom
Mr.. Kipling also talks. But Mr.. Stone
street has quick ears and so he isn't
told any secrets. The conversation is
usually about local topics, and 1t often
terminates in discussion concerning
the action of the local district council
in ordering a small trench to be cut on
the border of Mr. Kiplings land to
carry of the water from the roadway
The poet feels very strongly about this,
according to Lavender & Co., as the
water thereby floods his land.
Talks Much About Cattle.
Sometimes he says to me-" supple
ments StoneStreet, not to be outdone
by Mr.. Lavender, why can't you leave
my land a1one?" But when he is not
talking about his land he goes on for
hours about Sussex and cattle and
crops. He seems to know a lot about
cattle, too, and he's a regular history
book about Sussex
But if he were to see an American"
concluded Mr.. Stonestreet, with q warn
ing look, "he would run mile. He
Cnly talks to Mr.. Lavender and me-" :.