Ah, Rudyard Kipling. I'd forgotten how deeply misogynist you were, but "The Vampire" reminded me. It's a beautiful slim volume, and the second I've encountered recently bound in kidskin and with the title in gold leaf. This volume is in far better condition than my Holmes, but it will still (of course) be stored in the glass bookcase.

I will now have the music of the Recessional in my head for the next day or so.

God of our fathers, known of old --
Lord of our far-flung battle line --
Beneath whose awful hand we hold
Dominion over palm and pine --
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget -- lest we forget!

I love that old beast.

Here's my favorite Kipling:

The Himalayan peasant
Meets the He-Bear in his stride.
He will shout to scare the monster,
Who will often turn aside.

But the She-Bear thus accosted
Rends the peasant, tooth and nail!
For the female of the species
Is more deadly than the male.

Pity that one's not in here, but there's wealth enough.

(I note that there are other copies of this book, with the same title, but they seem to be a different book. I may separate them out, later.) ( )