Chapter 1
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THE YEARS BETWEEN
by
RUDYARD KIPLING
Methuen and Co. Ltd. 36 Essex Street W.C. London First Published in 1919
DEDICATION
TO THE SEVEN WATCHMEN
_Seven Watchmen sitting in a tower, Watching what had come upon mankind, Showed the Man the Glory and the Power, And bade him shape the Kingdom to his mind. 'All things on Earth your will shall win you' ('Twas so their counsel ran) 'But the Kingdom--the Kingdom is within you,' Said the Man's own mind to the Man. For time, and some time-- As it was in the bitter years before, So it shall be in the over-sweetened hour-- That a man's mind is wont to tell him more Than Seven Watchmen sitting in a tower._
CONTENTS
PAGE BENEFACTORS, THE 96 CHOICE, THE 35 'CITY OF BRASS, THE' 148 COVENANT, THE 13 CRAFTSMAN, THE 91 DEAD KING, THE 100 DEATH-BED, A 106 DECLARATION OF LONDON, THE 6 DEDICATION v EN-DOR 55 EPITAPHS 135 FEMALE OF THE SPECIES, THE 128 'FOR ALL WE HAVE AND ARE' 21 FRANCE 15 GEHAZI 109 GETHSEMANE 85 HOLY-WAR, THE 38 HOUSES, THE 42 HYÆNAS, THE 68 JUSTICE 156 IRISH GUARDS, THE 48 LORD ROBERTS 31 MARY'S SON 80 MESOPOTAMIA 65 MY BOY JACK 61 NATIVITY, A 52 NATURAL THEOLOGY 121 OLDEST SONG, THE 119 OUTLAWS, THE 27 PILGRIM'S WAY, A 114 PRO-CONSULS, THE 87 QUESTION, THE 33 RECANTATION, A 58 ROWERS, THE 1 RUSSIA TO THE PACIFISTS 44 SONG AT COCK-CROW, A 125 SONG IN STORM, A 24 SONG OF THE LATHES, THE 81 SONS OF MARTHA, THE 75 SPIES' MARCH, THE 70 THINGS AND THE MAN 93 ULSTER 9 VERDICTS, THE 63 VETERANS, THE 5 VIRGINITY, THE 112 ZION 29
INDEX TO FIRST LINES
PAGE _Across a world where all men grieve,_ 156 _A._ 'I was a "have"' _B._ 'I was a "have-not,"' 135 After the burial-parties leave, 68 _Ah! What avails the classic bent,_ 96 _A tinker out of Bedford,_ 38
Be well assured that on our side, 24 Brethren, how shall it fare with me, 33 _Broke to every known mischance, lifted over all,_ 15
For all we have and are, 21
God rest you, peaceful gentlemen, let nothing you dismay, 44
'Have you news of my boy Jack?' 61 He passed in the very battle-smoke, 31
I ate my fill of a whale that died, 121 I do not look for holy saints to guide me on my way, 114 If you stop to find out what your wages will be, 80 _In a land that the sand overlays--the ways to her gates are untrod,_ 148
Not in the thick of the fight, 63
Oh ye who hold the written clue, 93 Once, after long-drawn revel at The Mermaid, 91
_Seven Watchmen sitting in a tower,_ v
_The Babe was laid in the Manger,_ 52 The banked oars fell an hundred strong, 1 The dark eleventh hour, 9 The Doorkeepers of Zion, 29 The fans and the beltings they roar round me, 81 The first time that Peter denied his Lord, 125 The Garden called Gethsemane, 85 _The overfaithful sword returns the user,_ 87 There are no leaders to lead us to honour, and yet without leaders we sally, 70 The road to En-dor is easy to tread, 55 These were never your true love's eyes, 119 The Sons of Mary seldom bother, for they have inherited that good part, 75 They shall not return to us, the resolute, the young, 65 'This is the State above the Law, 106 To-day, across our fathers' graves, 5 _To the Judge of Right and Wrong,_ 35 Through learned and laborious years, 27 Try as he will, no man breaks wholly loose, 112 'Twixt my house and thy house the pathway is broad, 42
We're not so old in the Army List, 48 We thought we ranked above the chance of ill, 13 We were all one heart and one race, 6 What boots it on the Gods to call? 58 'Whence comest thou, Gehazi, 109 When the Himalayan peasant meets the he-bear in his pride, 128 _Who in the Realm to-day lays down dear life for the sake of a land more dear?_ 100
THE ROWERS
1902
(When Germany proposed that England should help her in a naval demonstration to collect debts from Venezuela.)
The banked oars fell an hundred strong, And backed and threshed and ground, But bitter was the rowers' song As they brought the war-boat round.
They had no heart for the rally and roar That makes the whale-bath smoke-- When the great blades cleave and hold and leave As one on the racing stroke.
They sang:--'What reckoning do you keep, And steer her by what star, If we come unscathed from the Southern deep To be wrecked on a Baltic bar?
'Last night you swore our voyage was done, But seaward still we go, And you tell us now of a secret vow You have made with an open foe!
'That we must lie off a lightless coast And haul and back and veer, At the will of the breed that have wronged us most For a year and a year and a year!
'There was never a shame in Christendie They laid not to our door-- And you say we must take the winter sea And sail with them once more?
'Look South! The gale is scarce o'erpast That stripped and laid us down, When we stood forth but they stood fast And prayed to see us drown
'Our dead they mocked are scarcely cold, Our wounds are bleeding yet-- And you tell us now that our strength is sold To help them press for a debt'
''Neath all the flags of all mankind That use upon the seas, Was there no other fleet to find That you strike hands with these?
'Of evil times that men can choose On evil fate to fall, What brooding Judgment let you loose To pick the worst of all?
'In sight of peace--from the Narrow Seas O'er half the world to run-- With a cheated crew, to league anew With the Goth and the shameless Hun!'
THE VETERANS
[Written for the gathering of survivors of the Indian Mutiny, Albert Hall, 1907.]
To-day, across our fathers' graves, The astonished years reveal The remnant of that desperate host Which cleansed our East with steel.
Hail and farewell! We greet you here, With tears that none will scorn-- O Keepers of the House of old, Or ever we were born!
One service more we dare to ask-- Pray for us, heroes, pray, That when Fate lays on us our task We do not shame the Day!
THE DECLARATION OF LONDON
JUNE 29, 1911
('On the re-assembling of Parliament after the Coronation, the Government have no intention of allowing their followers to vote according to their convictions on the Declaration of London, but insist on a strictly party vote'--_Daily Papers_.)
We were all one heart and one race When the Abbey trumpets blew. For a moment's breathing-space We had forgotten you Now you return to your honoured place Panting to shame us anew.
We have walked with the Ages dead-- With our Past alive and ablaze, And you bid us pawn our honour for bread; This day of all the days! And you cannot wait till our guests are sped, Or last week's wreath decays?
The light is still in our eyes Of Faith and Gentlehood, Of Service and Sacrifice, And it does not match our mood, To turn so soon to your treacheries That starve our land of her food.
Our ears still carry the sound Of our once Imperial seas, Exultant after our King was crowned, Beneath the sun and the breeze. It is too early to have them bound Or sold at your decrees.
Wait till the memory goes, Wait till the visions fade, We may betray in time, God knows, But we would not have it said, When you make report to our scornful foes, That we kissed as we betrayed!
ULSTER
1912
('Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works; their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.'--_Isaiah lix 6_)
The dark eleventh hour Draws on and sees us sold To every evil power We fought against of old. Rebellion, rapine, hate, Oppression, wrong and greed Are loosed to rule our fate, By England's act and deed.
The Faith in which we stand, The laws we made and guard, Our honour, lives, and land Are given for reward To Murder done by night, To Treason taught by day, To folly, sloth, and spite, And we are thrust away.
The blood our fathers spilt, Our love, our toils, our pains, Are counted us for guilt, And only bind our chains. Before an Empire's eyes The traitor claims his price. What need of further lies? We are the sacrifice.
We asked no more than leave To reap where we had sown, Through good and ill to cleave To our own flag and throne. Now England's shot and steel Beneath that flag must show How loyal hearts should kneel To England's oldest foe.
We know the war prepared On every peaceful home, We know the hells declared For such as serve not Rome-- The terror, threats, and dread In market, hearth, and field-- We know, when all is said, We perish if we yield.
Believe, we dare not boast, Believe, we do not fear-- We stand to pay the cost In all that men hold dear. What answer from the North? One Law, one Land, one Throne. If England drive us forth We shall not fall alone.
THE COVENANT
1914
We thought we ranked above the chance of ill. Others might fall, not we, for we were wise-- Merchants in freedom. So, of our free-will We let our servants drug our strength with lies. The pleasure and the poison had its way On us as on the meanest, till we learned That he who lies will steal, who steals will slay. Neither God's judgment nor man's heart was turned.
Yet there remains His Mercy--to be sought Through wrath and peril till we cleanse the wrong By that last right which our forefathers claimed When their Law failed them and its stewards were bought. This is our cause. God help us, and make strong Our wills to meet Him later, unashamed!
FRANCE
1913
_Broke to every known mischance, lifted over all By the light sane joy of life, the buckler of the Gaul; Furious in luxury, merciless in toil, Terrible with strength that draws from her tireless soil; Strictest judge of her own worth, gentlest of man's mind, First to follow Truth and last to leave old Truths behind-- France, beloved of every soul that loves its fellow-kind!_
Ere our birth (rememberest thou?) side by side we lay Fretting in the womb of Rome to begin our fray. Ere men knew our tongues apart, our one task was known-- Each must mould the other's fate as he wrought his own To this end we stirred mankind till all Earth was ours, Till our world-end strifes begat wayside thrones and powers-- Puppets that we made or broke to bar the other's path-- Necessary, outpost folk, hirelings of our wrath To this end we stormed the seas, tack for tack, and burst Through the doorways of new worlds, doubtful which was first, Hand on hilt (rememberest thou?) ready for the blow-- Sure, whatever else we met, we should meet our foe. Spurred or balked at every stride by the other's strength, So we rode the ages down and every ocean's length!
Where did you refrain from us or we refrain from you? Ask the wave that has not watched war between us two! Others held us for a while, but with weaker charms, These we quitted at the call for each other's arms. Eager toward the known delight, equally we strove-- Each the other's mystery, terror, need, and love To each other's open court with our proofs we came. Where could we find honour else, or men to test our claim? From each other's throat we wrenched--valour's last reward-- That extorted word of praise gasped 'twixt lunge and guard. In each other's cup we poured mingled blood and tears, Brutal joys, unmeasured hopes, intolerable fears-- All that soiled or salted life for a thousand years. Proved beyond the need of proof, matched in every clime, O companion, we have lived greatly through all time!
Yoked in knowledge and remorse, now we come to rest, Laughing at old villainies that Time has turned to jest, Pardoning old necessities no pardon can efface-- That undying sin we shared in Rouen marketplace. Now we watch the new years shape, wondering if they hold Fiercer lightnings in their heart than we launched of old. Now we hear new voices rise, question, boast or gird, As we raged (rememberest thou?) when our crowds were stirred, Now we count new keels afloat, and new hosts on land, Massed like ours (rememberest thou?) when our strokes were planned. We were schooled for dear life's sake, to know each other's blade What can blood and iron make more than we have made? We have learned by keenest use to know each other's mind. What shall blood and iron loose that we cannot bind? We who swept each other's coast, sacked each other's home, Since the sword of Brennus clashed on the scales at Rome, Listen, count and close again, wheeling girth to girth, In the linked and steadfast guard set for peace on earth!
Broke to every known mischance, lifted over all By the light sane joy of life, the buckler of the Gaul; Furious in luxury, merciless in toil, Terrible with strength renewed from a tireless soil; Strictest judge of her own worth, gentlest of man's mind, First to face the Truth and last to leave old Truths behind-- France, beloved of every soul that loves or serves its kind!
'FOR ALL WE HAVE AND ARE'
1914.
For all we have and are, For all our children's fate, Stand up and take the war, The Hun is at the gate! Our world has passed away, In wantonness o'erthrown. There is nothing left to-day But steel and fire and stone! Though all we knew depart, The old Commandments stand:-- 'In courage keep your heart, In strength lift up your hand.'
Once more we hear the word That sickened earth of old:-- 'No law except the Sword Unsheathed and uncontrolled.' Once more it knits mankind, Once more the nations go To meet and break and bind A crazed and driven foe.
Comfort, content, delight, The ages' slow-bought gain, They shrivelled in a night. Only ourselves remain To face the naked days In silent fortitude, Through perils and dismays Renewed and re-renewed. Though all we made depart, The old Commandments stand;-- 'In patience keep your heart, In strength lift up your hand.'
No easy hope or lies Shall bring us to our goal, But iron sacrifice Of body, will, and soul. There is but one task for all-- One life for each to give Who stands if Freedom fall? Who dies if England live?
A SONG IN STORM
Be well assured that on our side The abiding oceans fight, Though headlong wind and heaping tide Make us their sport to-night. By force of weather not of war In jeopardy we steer, Then welcome Fate's discourtesy Whereby it shall appear, How in all time of our distress, And our deliverance too, The game is more than the player of the game, And the ship is more than the crew.
Out of the mist into the mirk The glimmering combers roll. Almost these mindless waters work As though they had a soul-- Almost as though they leagued to whelm Our flag beneath their green Then welcome Fate's discourtesy Whereby it shall be seen, etc.
Be well assured, though wave and wind Have weightier blows in store, That we who keep the watch assigned Must stand to it the more; And as our streaming bows rebuke Each billow's baulked career, Sing, welcome Fate's discourtesy Whereby it is made clear, etc.
No matter though our deck be swept And masts and timber crack-- We can make good all loss except The loss of turning back. So, 'twixt these Devils and our deep Let courteous trumpets sound, To welcome Fate's discourtesy Whereby it will be found, etc.
Be well assured, though in our power Is nothing left to give But chance and place to meet the hour, And leave to strive to live, Till these dissolve our Order holds, Our Service binds us here. Then welcome Fate's discourtesy Whereby it is made clear, How in all time of our distress, And in our triumph too, The game is more than the player of the game, And the ship is more than the crew!
THE OUTLAWS
1914
Through learned and laborious years They set themselves to find Fresh terrors and undreamed-of fears To heap upon mankind.
All that they drew from Heaven above Or digged from earth beneath, They laid into their treasure-trove And arsenals of death:
While, for well-weighed advantage sake, Ruler and ruled alike Built up the faith they meant to break When the fit hour should strike.
They traded with the careless earth, And good return it gave; They plotted by their neighbour's hearth The means to make him slave.
When all was ready to their hand They loosed their hidden sword, And utterly laid waste a land Their oath was pledged to guard.
Coldly they went about to raise To life and make more dread Abominations of old days, That men believed were dead.
They paid the price to reach their goal Across a world in flame; But their own hate slew their own soul Before that victory came.
ZION
The Doorkeepers of Zion, They do not always stand In helmet and whole armour, With halberds in their hand, But, being sure of Zion, And all her mysteries, They rest awhile in Zion, Sit down and smile in Zion; Ay, even jest in Zion; In Zion, at their ease.
The Gatekeepers of Baal, They dare not sit or lean, But fume and fret and posture And foam and curse between; For being bound to Baal, Whose sacrifice is vain. Their rest is scant with Baal, They glare and pant for Baal, They mouth and rant for Baal, For Baal in their pain!
But we will go to Zion, By choice and not through dread, With these our present comrades And those our present dead; And, being free of Zion In both her fellowships, Sit down and sup in Zion-- Stand up and drink in Zion Whatever cup in Zion Is offered to our lips!
LORD ROBERTS
1914
He passed in the very battle-smoke Of the war that he had descried. Three hundred mile of cannon spoke When the Master-Gunner died.
He passed to the very sound of the guns; But, before his eye grew dim, He had seen the faces of the sons Whose sires had served with him.
He had touched their sword-hilts and greeted each With the old sure word of praise; And there was virtue in touch and speech As it had been in old days.
So he dismissed them and took his rest, And the steadfast spirit went forth Between the adoring East and West And the tireless guns of the North.
Clean, simple, valiant, well-beloved, Flawless in faith and fame, Whom neither ease nor honours moved An hair's-breadth from his aim.
Never again the war-wise face, The weighed and urgent word That pleaded in the market-place-- Pleaded and was not heard!
Yet from his life a new life springs Through all the hosts to come, And Glory is the least of things That follow this man home.
THE QUESTION
1916
Brethren, how shall it fare with me When the war is laid aside, If it be proven that I am he For whom a world has died?
If it be proven that all my good, And the greater good I will make, Were purchased me by a multitude Who suffered for my sake?
That I was delivered by mere mankind Vowed to one sacrifice, And not, as I hold them, battle-blind, But dying with open eyes?
That they did not ask me to draw the sword When they stood to endure their lot-- That they only looked to me for a word, And I answered I knew them not?
If it be found, when the battle clears, Their death has set me free, Then how shall I live with myself through the years Which they have bought for me?
Brethren, how must it fare with me, Or how am I justified, If it be proven that I am he For whom mankind has died, If it be proven that I am he Who being questioned denied?
THE CHOICE
1917
(THE AMERICAN SPIRIT SPEAKS)
_To the Judge of Right and Wrong With Whom fulfilment lies Our purpose and our power belong, Our faith and sacrifice._
Let Freedom's Land rejoice! Our ancient bonds are riven; Once more to us the eternal choice Of Good or Ill is given.
Not at a little cost, Hardly by prayer or tears, Shall we recover the road we lost In the drugged and doubting years.
But, after the fires and the wrath, But, after searching and pain, His Mercy opens us a path To live with ourselves again.