I have found an earlier use of this phrase by RJK in
"Only a Subaltern", collected in "Wee Willie Winkie"
for MacMillan, but originally in "Under the Deodars"
which I think was published in 1888 in the Indian
Railway edition.
In approximately the eighth paragraph, Kipling
describes the Tail-Twisters "...in all respects most
desirable regiment within the compass of the Seven
Seas."
This doesn't affect the provenance of the Fitzgerald
source, but I hope it will be of interest.
With best regards,
David Page
Harrow
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