Evening star., 1941-01-19
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star

HdI century has passed since Rud-
yard KiplIng wrote for The Star his
impressions Of America The
hiPi'h9 S famous British novelist and
Views poet contributed no less
than three long columns of
small type to the edition of SATURDAY.,
January II, 1891, from which the fol-
lowing representative passage is quoted:
Sweet and Comely are the maidens
OF DeVonShlre; delicate and of gracious
seeming those who live in the pleasant
places OF London; fascinating for all
their occurrences the damsels of France,
cllnglng closely to their mothers and
With large eyes wondering at the wicked
world; excellent in her own place and
to those who understand her is the
Anglo-1ndlan spin in her second sea-
son; but the girls of America are above
and beyond them all They are clever.
they can talk-yea, it is said that they
think. Certainly, they have an appesr-
ance of SO doing which is delightfIIlv
deceptive. They are original and re-
gard you between the brows with M
aoaShed eyes. as sister might look
at her brother. They are instructed
100 IN the folly and vanity of the male
mlnd' Tor they have associated with
the boys from babyhood. I.
When you ask them what makes
them so charming. they say. IT
IS because We are better educated than
your girls, and-and We are more sensi-
Bile rpOnrI N
tAneS all around, but We aren't taught
10 regard every man as a possible hus-
oand. Nor is he expected to marry
the hrSt girl he calls on regularly"
Mr.. kipling also sketched his observa-
tlons at formal entertainment in San
FRANCISCO. They bore me to a bannuet
IN honor of brave lieutenant Carlin
OF the Vandalia," he wrote. ON that
occaslon-tWaS at the Bohemian C1ub
L heard oratory with the ro,1ndest o,s
and deVoured dinner the memory of
Which will descend with me into the
hungry grave. There were about forty
speeches delivered and not one of them
was average or ordinary. 1t was nv first
introduction to the American eagle,
screaming for all it was worth, The
Heutenant's heroism served as a neg
from which the silver-tongued ones
turned themselves loose and kicked
They ransacked the clouds of sunset,
the thunderbolts of heaven, the deems
OF hell and the splendor of the res,1r-
rectlon for trophies and metaphors and
hurled the result at the head of the
guest of the evening.
Then, according to rule. they pro-
duced their dead and across the SNOWY
tablecloths dragged the corpse of everv
man slain in the Civil War and hurled
defiance at our natural enemy Eng
land, so please you) with her chain of
fortreSseS across the world Thereafter
they glorified their nation afresh. from
the beginning. in case any detail should
have been overlooked and that made me
uncomfortable for their sakes. How in the
world can a white man. sahib of our
blood, stand up and plaster praise on
his own country? He can think as
highly as he likes, but this OPEN
mouthed vehemance of alteration struck
me almost as indelicate. Ny hosts
talked for rather more than three hours
and at the end seemed ready for three
hours more"
'The prince among merchants" Mr.
Kipling continued, "bade me take no
heed to the warlike sentiments of some
of the old generals. The skyrockets
are thrown in for effect quothe he.
And whenever we get on our hind legs
we always express a desire to chaw up
England. Its sort of family affair
France has Germany, we have Rus
sia; for Italy Austria is provided and
the humblest Pathan possesses an an
cestral enemy. Only America stands out
of the racket and therefore to be in
fashion makes a sand bag of the
Mother Country and bangs her when
occasion requires"