KIPLING, MOTORIST

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 138, 6 March 1936, Page 15

KIPLING, MOTORIST

His Octopod Becomes Famous The late Rudyard Kipling was among the greatest of writing men. In fact, in his way, he was supreme in our time. Which, indeed, is not seriously in dispute, save among the “brittle intellectuals” whom he occasionally flayed, and those unable to stomach the robustness of his. imperialism. However, Kipling's place in literature is not the point here and now; we are concerned merely with some of his associations and writings about motoring, says “The Motor.” Those who know “Traffics and Dis-

coveries” will remember a story in that volume called “Steam Tactics,” in which a car named the Octopod appears. The Octopod was actually a 12 h.p. Lanchester which Kipling purchased In 1902. Originally an air-cool-ed model, it was converted later to water cooling and was used by the famous author continually until 1912. The Octopod is still in commission and has been driven from London to Brighton in the veteran car run for rhe past two years by Mr. George Lanchester, who was a personal friend of Kipling, and it is now used for display purposes in various parts of the country. Kipling not only provided motorists with enjoyable reading about their own hobby, but lie gave very powerful aid to the-presentation of the motorists’ case to the general public. What is more, many people must have been brought to appreciate what we call “touring motoring” through reading Kipling; largely because he could so effectively describe the charm of the shifting scene.