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In a Book of Words there is Kipling's address to the officer cadets of the
Household Brigade, given before his son's death, but printed after. I
raised the question in the Journal a few year's ago of what the
illustration might be that he employed.

David Alan Richards, the noted collector and bibliographer of Kipling (who
will be giving the adress at the annual lunch next year) drew my attention
to the Colt Kipling collection in the Library of Congress, Washington that
contained the original manuscript. I visited in September in the hope of
finding the illustration.

Alas, not there. The ms is that typed in Kipling's office in Bateman's and
sent to the HOBOCOB editor (household brigade officer cadet battalion) with
an interesting cover letter that requires identification of the author - to
prevent copyright piracy in the US) but no mention of son John's detah.
There is no sketch in this ms nor in the issue of the magazine, also in the
Colt collection.

However, this is not the original ms in the sense of a typed or autograph
version of the talk as actually given. If anyone knows of the existence of
this I would be interested. The only other possibilties I can think of are:
that a cadet (who survived) may have been present at the original lecture
(and left perhaps some note in family records) or that the illustration was
standard drill practice known therefore more widely.  Any suggestions?
Jeffery Lewins

from Jeffery Lewins
Magdalene College &
Engineering Department
Cambridge
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