st with a marvellous memory。 I have heard him tell story after story without stopping； till at length I began to hope that the stock was running low。 Sir Redvers was always very kind to me； but he was not a man to cross in argument。 Once； at his own table； I heard him differ from the late Lord Justice Bowen in a way that made me glad that I was not Lord Justice Bowen。 What struck me was the extraordinary patience with which the Judge submitted to the scolding。 He must have had a very sweet nature； indeed I always thought that this was so。
It was about this time that I first made the acquaintance of Mr。 Rudyard Kipling； who had recently arrived in England； I suppose from India。 He was then a young fellow about five…and…twenty； and in appearance and manner very much what he is today。 I cannot recall under what circumstance we first met。 Perhaps it was at a dinner…party I gave at my house； 24 Redcliffe Square； to some literary friends。 I remember that Kipling arrived late and explained the reason by pointing to a cut upon his temple。 Whilst he was driving towards my house his hansom collided with a van in Piccadilly； and there was a smash in which he had a narrow escape。 From that time forward we have always liked each other； perhaps because on many； though not on all； matters we find no point of difference。
Another man very well known in his day with whom I was acquainted was the great and acplished doctor； Sir Henry Thompson； by birth an East Anglian like mys