I'd put their own colonels and
commissioners
at the
door to turn them away.
door to turn them away.
Kipling - Poems
Have Civilians Culchaw?
I never studied the breed
deeply. "
"Don't make fun of Jack's service. Yes. They're like the teapots in the
Lakka Bazar--good material but not polished. They can't help themselves,
poor dears. A Civilian only begins to be tolerable after he has knocked
about the world for fifteen years. "
"And a military man? "
"When he has had the same amount of service. The young of both species
are horrible. You would have scores of them in your salon. "
"I would not! " said Mrs. Hauksbee, fiercely. "I would tell the bearer to
darwaza band them.
I'd put their own colonels and commissioners at the
door to turn them away. I'd give them to the Topsham girl to play with. "
"The Topsham girl would be grateful for the gift. But to go back to the
salon. Allowing that you had gathered all your men and women together,
what would you do with them? Make them talk? They would all with one
accord begin to flirt. Your salon would become a glorified Peliti's--a
'Scandal Point' by lamplight. "
"There's a certain amount of wisdom in that view. "
"There's all the wisdom in the world in it. Surely, twelve Simla seasons
ought to have taught you that you can't focus anything in India; and
a salon, to be any good at all, must be permanent. In two seasons your
roomful would be scattered all over Asia. We are only little bits of
dirt on the hillsides--here one day and blown down the khud the next.
We have lost the art of talking--at least our men have. We have no
cohesion"--
"George Eliot in the flesh," interpolated Mrs. Hauksbee, wickedly.
deeply. "
"Don't make fun of Jack's service. Yes. They're like the teapots in the
Lakka Bazar--good material but not polished. They can't help themselves,
poor dears. A Civilian only begins to be tolerable after he has knocked
about the world for fifteen years. "
"And a military man? "
"When he has had the same amount of service. The young of both species
are horrible. You would have scores of them in your salon. "
"I would not! " said Mrs. Hauksbee, fiercely. "I would tell the bearer to
darwaza band them.
I'd put their own colonels and commissioners at the
door to turn them away. I'd give them to the Topsham girl to play with. "
"The Topsham girl would be grateful for the gift. But to go back to the
salon. Allowing that you had gathered all your men and women together,
what would you do with them? Make them talk? They would all with one
accord begin to flirt. Your salon would become a glorified Peliti's--a
'Scandal Point' by lamplight. "
"There's a certain amount of wisdom in that view. "
"There's all the wisdom in the world in it. Surely, twelve Simla seasons
ought to have taught you that you can't focus anything in India; and
a salon, to be any good at all, must be permanent. In two seasons your
roomful would be scattered all over Asia. We are only little bits of
dirt on the hillsides--here one day and blown down the khud the next.
We have lost the art of talking--at least our men have. We have no
cohesion"--
"George Eliot in the flesh," interpolated Mrs. Hauksbee, wickedly.
