A NEW POEM BY RUDYARD KIPLING.

Otago Witness, Issue 1994, 12 May 1892, Page 32

A NEW POEM BY RUDYARD KIPLING.

The National Observer of January 23 published a poem entitled-" Tomlinson,". signed by Rudyard Kipling. The following extracts will give an idea of the work ;— Now, Tomlinson' gave up the ghost in his house in Berkeley square,! „.',., , . ... And a spirit came to his bedside and gripped him by the hair — '> ■ - ' A spirit gripped him,by the hair and carried him Till' he heard as the roar of a rain-fed ford the roar of the Milky Way; . . Till he heard the roar of the Milky Way die down and drone and cease, ' And they came to the gate within the wall whero Peter holds the keys. " Stand up, stand up now, Tomlmaon, and answer loud and high' ' . . , The good that ye did for the sake of men or ever ye came to die— ' . The good that yadid for the sake of men in httlo Earth so lone 1 " And the naked soul of Tpmlinson grew white as a rain-washed bone, • , „,,., . " O, I have a friend onEartb," he said, " that was my priest and guide, ' And wefi would he'answer all for me if he were by my side." ... , .. v« v " For that ye strove in neighbour-love it shall be written fair, - . But now ye wait at Heaven s Uate, and not in Berkeley square. Though we called your friend from his bed this night, he could not speak for you, ' For the race is run by one and one, and never by two and two." ' Then Tomlinson looked "up and down, and little gain was there, - • For the naked stars grinned overhead, and he saw that his soul was bare. -" ' „..•,. The wind that blows between the worlds, it cut him like a knife, And Tomlinson took up his tale and spoke of his good in life. ' .... "This I have read in a book," he said, and that Andthis I have thought that another man thought of a prince in Muscovy." . The good souls flocked like homing doves and bade him clear the path, And Peter twirled the jangling keys in weariness and wrath. ' ' , , „ " Ye have read, ye have heard, ye have thought, he said, " and the tale is yet to run : . By the worth of the body that once ye had, give answer— what ha' ye dope?' .... Then Tomlinson looked back and forth, and little For the 1 Darkness stayed at his shoulder-blade and Heaven's Gate before : "O this I have felt, and this I have guessed, and this I have heard men say, . And this they wrote that another man wrote of a carl in Norroway:" . , , j "Ye have read, ye have felt, ye have guessed, good lack ! Ye have hampered Heaven s Gate ; There's little room between the stars in idleness to prate ! ■ , „, O none may reach by "hired speech of neighbour, priest, and kin, „,... Through borrowed deed to God s good meed that lies so fair within ! „„ ' . Get hence, get hence, to the Lord of Wrong, for the doom has yet to run, And . . . the faith that ye share with Berkeley square uphold you, Tomlinson ! " The reasons why the' Lord of Wrong will have nought to do with Tomlinson are set forth at length in language, always vigorous and not always refined. , Finally, the Lord of Wrong says:— . - , "Ye are neither spirit nor spirk," he said; "ye are neither book nor brulje— .... . , Go, get ye back to the flesh again ior the sake of Man's repute. • ■ , „ . _ , „ I'm, all o'er-sib to Adam's breed that I should mock your pain, ' But look that ye win £o worthier sin ere ye come Get hence, the hearse is at your door— the grim black stallions wait— \ They bear your clay to place to-day, bpeed, lest ye come too late ! - ■ , Go back to earth with a lip unsealed— go back with an open eye, " . And carry iny'word to. the sons of men or ever ye That the sin they do by two and two they must And y .° r .°. the God that you took^from a. printed book be with you, Tomlinson ! A coat containing papers bearing the name of Johann Baldewein was found on the Petone beach, and has been identified as that worn by Johann George Baldewein, a German, aged 31 years, Tvbo arrived at Wellington afew weeks ago from Germany via Australia, and who was a fellow passenger of Deeming in the Kaiser Wilhelm to Australia. He was in search of employment here, and having been in a despondent mood, it is feared that he committed suicide. n The Auckland branch of the Educational Institute has passed a motion recommending a uniform scale of salaries for teachers in publw schools throughout the colony.