Following up my message informing the Mailbase about the New Reader’s Guide team’s intentions for the ‘Carrington Extracts, here is the first query.  (I did say, 'You have been warned.'

In July 1892, Carrie and RK set sail from Yokohama for Vancouver, having had their honeymoon voyage curtailed by the failure of his bank, the New Oriental Banking Corporation.  From Vancouver they made their way east by CPR to Montreal, having a break at Banff  (‘Extracts’:  “10-13 July.  Banff   RK fishing”.  They reached Montreal:  “19-20  Montreal.  Van Horne gives them passage to Quebec”.

This is the only mention about Van Horne in the ‘Extracts’.  But, in his biography of RK, Carrington says (p. 203) ,“He crossed Canada as the guest of William Van Horne, the Chairman of the C.P.R.”  And Lycett (p. 151) says, “. . .reluctantly returned to Vancouver, where William Van Horne, sensing an advertisement opportunity, provided free passage across Canada” (with a footnote to the effect that “Kipling had already written appreciatively of the Canadian Pacific Railway on his outward journey, as recorded in ‘Across a Continent’ first published on 7 May 1892” – later collected in Letters of Travel 1892-1913).  Birkenhead, in his biography, makes no mention of Van Horne’s part in their return journey at all: nor does RK himself, in his autobiographical memoir, Something of Myself,  nor is there any reference in any of the published correspondence for the period (Pinney, Letters, vol. 2).

My question is, can anyone give chapter and verse for Van Horne’s franking them for the trip home across Canada?  Is it not strange that Carrie (as witness the ‘Extracts’) merely mentions that he paid for the Montreal-Quebec leg, and makes no mention of the far more expensive transcontinental trip?  One point to note is that the CPR transcontinental trains, at this date (7 years after opening across the prairies to Vancouver) began and ended their journey at Montreal, so the Montreal-Quebec leg would probably have been a separately ticketed leg, anyway.

Carrington also remarks, in the same paragraph as that cited above, “Lack of ready cash was no great obstacle to a man who could always sell his wares, and always command   hospitality.”  (In the language of the 20^th century Royal Navy, he was adept at ‘baron-strangling’ – “taking advantage of a well off civvy individual or organisation”.)  So yes, indeed, Van Horne might have offered, and Kipling might have accepted, the price of two (first-class) tickets:  but would Van Horne have made the offer unprompted?  Lycett speaks of “an advertisement opportunity”, but what are the chances of Van Horne (or his secretary), picking up on the Kipling’s movements (the Empress of China’s passenger list could have been in the Vancouver papers), and making the offer (by wire) unprompted.  Kipling would not have received such an offer before arrival at Vancouver (no wireless), nor could he have asked Van Horne for help (also by wire), once the Empress of China had left Japan.  He could have asked Van Horne for a complimentary ride from Japan by wire, between the 10^th July, when they decided to go directly to Brattleboro’ and 27^th July when they left Yokohama.  But would  he?  He wasn’t totally penniless – Cook (Thomas Cook and Co., the travel agents)   had “handsomely refunded them the value of their cancelled reservations” (Carrington, also p. 203).  Kipling knew that his agent would have monies for him in the following weeks (Carrington lists the payments), so would it not have been obtaining money under false pretences to seek help from a stranger, even if he could “always command hospitality”?

I don’t know, but, failing someone providing chapter and verse I wonder (only wonder) if Carrington didn’t conflate the Montreal-Quebec leg into the whole journey from Vancouver – to repeat my point, I think it unlikely that Carrie would not have mentioned such generosity, and that Carrington would not have picked up the mention to be included in the ‘Extracts’.

Alastair Wilson