Lyndhurst, New Forest.
1909
Aug.19-23
(No 3)
 Rudyard Kipling. 
  In his intercourse with me Mr. Kipling was, from
the very first, genial & friendly and in the best sense of the
word, even familiar. Indeed he met me with such
an entire absence of stiffness and reserve and on apparently
such equal terms as to put me quite at my ease with
him. Thus we chatted and joked and laughed and smoked
our pipes together as if we had known each other for
years. Once when I left my tobacco pouch in my room
I filled my pipe from his pouch. On another occasion,
when I was sitting alone in the smoking room, he
approached me singing some army song in a rather
unmelodious voice beating time to it with both arms,
and cutting "pigeon wings" with his feet. He seemed at
all times overflowing with fun & with animal spirits.
We talked about all manner of things but largely of
birds and beasts. He knows something of them at first
and very much at second, hand and his shrewd &
for the most part correct, insight into the general
principles of evolution, the balance of nature etc.
But first & foremost in his make up is his deep
interest in & sympathy with, humanity & even especially
with the humbler classes of it. In certain ways he is
a very practical man taking great interest in such matters
as modern methods of heating, plumbing & drainage, in
machinery, in farming especially. With the beautiful
in nature (and, I suspect, in art also) he seems to
concern himself very little. The gift of terse, vigorous,
picturesque description so conspicuous in his writings is
scarcely less so in his conversation. Indeed he talks
almost as well as he writes yet is never in the least didactic.
He is a courteous, attentive listener but
somewhat impatient of all manner of details.