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I have two queries relating to Kipling and shell-shock in his stories. Any information would be gratefully received. 1. In the First World War the Oxford don H.F.B. Brett-Smith was employed by military hospitals to advise on reading matter for the war wounded. Apparently, his job was to grade novels and poetry according to the Fever- Chart and that for the severely shell-shocked he selected the novels of Jane Austen. The immediate source for this information is a letter from Father Martin Jarrett- Kerr printed in The Times Literary Supplement (3 February 1984, p.111). Unfortunately, Fr Jarrett-Kerr did not give any more details than this and is no longer alive to be asked. Was RK aware of this Jane Austen treatment ? If so, it could explain the importance of JA in 'The Janeites'. 2. The setting for several of RK's post-war stories is a masonic lodge to which come veterans suffering from shell-shock. Is this account of lodges as being welcome places of refuge and restorative purely fictional, thought up by RK or did this actually occur? I put this question to the United Grand Lodge, the masonic hq in London, but they were unable to provide an answer. Brian Southam [log in to unmask]