| Popis: |
On the day of the great earthquake at Messina1 I met Kipling at Engelberg on the Lake of Lucerne and helped him to take his very first steps on the ice. In the following winter I had nice warm wash-leather gloves made for him and he acknowledged receipt in the following words: ‘All the rink is prostrated with envy at my beautiful lemon-coloured hands; they are certainly good gloves and impart a fine tone to my edges.’ He mistrusted bob-sleighing and tobogganing, made only one or two feeble attempts at ski-ing, but was interested in curling and spent hours assiduously handling the broom with verve. It was my ambition to steer a bob-team, but I never attained much skill at bobbing and generally upset my team. After one of these feats of mine Kipling sent me the following verse: There was a Professor who led The deuce of a life in a sled. Miss Knapp and Miss Hall Now represent all His live ballast which isn’t quite dead. |
