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.
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
- CONTENTS vii
- INDEX TO FIRST LINES xi
- 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.
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.
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?
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!
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!
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?
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
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'
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?
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?
On evil fate to fall,
What brooding Judgment let you loose
To pick the worst of all?
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.
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!
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!
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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.'
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.
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.'
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.'
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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