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Here are the quotations for the coming week, June 27th to July 3rd:

1. .The three closed round the monkey, hanging on his every motion with an earnestness almost equal to ours. The great judge's head - seamed and vertical forehead, iron mouth, and pike-like under-jaw, all set on that thick neck rising out of the white flanneled collar - was thrown against the puckered green silk of the organ front as it might have been a cameo of Titus... 

2. ..The train had lost patience at last, and was coming into the station directly beneath me to see what was the matter. Happy voices sang and heads were thrust out all along the compartments, but none answered their songs or greetings. She halted, and the people began to get out. Then they began to get in again, as their friends in the waiting-rooms advised. 

3. ...I saw both Front Benches bend forward, some with their foreheads on their despatch boxes, the rest with their faces in their hands; and their moving shoulders jolted the house out of its last rag of decency. Only the Speaker remained unmoved. The entire press of Great Britain bore witness next day that he had not even bowed his head.

The sources of last week's extracts (June 20th to 26th) are as follows:

1. (...' all orders after eight bells was to be executed in inverse ration to the cube o' the velocity....')   This is from "The Bonds of Discipline" in Traffics and Discoveries. 

2.  (...'Get out of this and conduct your own damned manoeuvres in your own damned tinker fashion...')  This is from "Their Lawful Occasions" in Traffics and Discoveries.

3.  (...'What's her speed ?' he demanded of the engineer.
'Twenty-five', said that loyal man...)  This is from "Steam Tactics" in Traffics and Discoveries.

Good wishes to all, John R

PS1  People who are following the New Readers' Guide may like to note that We have just published notes by Alastair Wilson on ".007" and John McGivering on "The Strange Ride of Morrowbie Jukes, and by Roberta Baldi on two further Departmental Ditties, "The Post that Fitted", and "Public Waste", together with the text of the poems. We have also put up the last sections of Gillian Sheehan's massive articel on "Kipling and Medicine".

PS2  I now have copies of David Stewart's excellent "Kipling's America". These are available at a cost of £16.95 (Amazon have been charging £35.00). If you want a copy please drop me a line with a cheque for that amount. I will be also bringing some to the AGM.