(Durand).

A further hint might refer to the above mentioned semantic thread of ‘old age’ as Ahasuerus is also present in the legend about Christ’s last hours: “Another legend is that Jesus, pressed down with the weight of His cross, stopped to rest at the door of one Ahasue’rus, a cobbler. The craftsman pushed him away, saying, “Get off! Away with you, away!?Our Lord replied, “Truly I go away, and that quickly, but tarry thou till I come.? Schubert has a poem entitled Ahasuer (the Wandering Jew). (Paul von Eitzen; 1547.)? (http://www.bartleby.com/81/17261.html, April 22nd, 2003).

[Line 5] JenkinsThis family name has a very ancient Welsh origin which could in turn be meaningful for the characterization of the protagonist: rather interestingly, in fact, for the above mentioned semantic thread of ‘old age’, the genealogical entry related to a “Henry Jenkins, (d. 1670)? states that he “was often called the "Modern Methuselah"? as he “claimed to have been born in 1501. In 1743 an obelisk was erected to his memory, recording that he lived to the "amazing age of 169".?

[Line 6] SantleyThis may refer to Sir Charles Santley (1834-1922), English vocalist (baritone), who had regular connections with Italian and English operatic stages in particular.

[Line 9] He clubbed his wretched companyDurand explains that “he drilled his company so badly that it became entangled and could not be put straight by any recognised word of command. To restore order the men would have to ‘fall out’ or scatter and re-form again?.

[Line 13] SimlaAs Durand explains, Simla was a cool, healthy and beautiful town, built on the spur of the lower Himalayas which, during the summer months, hosted the Viceroy’s headquarters, the seat of the Supreme Government of India and of the Punjab Government, becoming the centre of Indian society during the summer. Kipling spent time in Simla, too, in particular in 1883, 1885 and 1886 (see, for details, Kipling and his First Publisher.by Thomas Pinney and David Richards)

[Line 14] deodars“A tall cedar (Cedrus deodara) native to the Himalaya Mountains and having drooping branches and dark bluish-green leaves, often with white, light green, or yellow new growth in cultivars. It is an important timber tree in India. Hindi deodar, from the Sanskrit devad ru, deva-meaning 'divine'. (see the The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company, latest access March 19th 2003).

I have quoted the description in full because the reference to this tree confirms and reinforces the Indian setting of the poem, and will, furthermore, surface again in Kipling’s works, notably in the title of his 1890 collection of stories, Wee Willie Winkie: Under the Deodars.

[Line 15] warbled“To sing (a note or song, for example) with trills, runs, or other melodic embellishments? (The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language)

[Line 15] bul-bulThe glossary annexed to the English edition of Departmental Dittiestranslates it as “the Persian nightingale?.

[Line 16] CorneliaHistorically this could hint at Cornelia Gracchus (b. ca. 190 BC), the daughter of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus and mother of Tiberius and Caius, who is credited with inspiring her children towards civic duty – they sacrificed indeed their lives fighting for the rights of common people in an age of political turmoil in Rome.

As it seems, Kipling took advantage of the clash between a fictional heroine embedded in a corrupt and deranged social environment and the evocation of her more ancient, highly revered Roman counterpart, to ironically emphasize the current degeneration of costumes.

[Line 16] AgrippinaHistorically this could hint at either Agrippina the Elder (14 BC - AD 33), daughter of Agrippa and granddaughter of Augustus, or her daughter, Agrippina the Younger (16 AD – 59 AD).

In both cases, such a reference seems again to be highly ironical on Kipling’s side: while historically they serve to remind one of the increasing involvement of women in the political and social sphere of the Roman Empire and of their bitter fate, the Agrippina of the poem is revealed to be a highly successful puppeteer.

A further original hint provided by such nominal choice could be the cross-reference to opera and Italy following the Santley echo, and reinforcing the semantical focus of ‘music’ not only in the poem but in the whole of Departmental Ditties. Georg Friedrich Haendel did indeed compose an Agrippina(1709) for the sophisticated opera audience of Venice at the end of his stay in Italy.


[R.B.]

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the poem "Army Headquarters" (notes by Roberta Baldi) [June 5 2004] Publication This poem appeared in the Civil and Military Gazette, February 9th, 1886. It was collected in Departmental Ditties and Other Verses, 1886, E.V., 1900; I.V., 1919; D.V., 1940; Sussex Edition, Vol. 32, page 5; Burwash Edition, Vol. 25 (ORG entry: nr. 166, page 5109). The ORG specifies that “The heading verse is Kipling’s, for in Indices of First Lines both “Old is the song that I sing? and “Ahasuerus Jenkins of the ‘Operatic Own’? are mentioned." Notes on the Text (The lines refer to the whole poem, heading lines included.) [Line 3] kitmugars The glossary annexed to the English edition of Departmental Ditties translates it as “waiters?. [Line 4] dak-bungalows Lt.-Col. J.K. Stanford describes them as “the equivalent all over India of the hotel for travellers? (see the whole article for further details, “Dak Bungalows?, Kipling Journal, September 1958: 20-21). [Line 4] old as the Hills This expression might recall Job (15,7): “Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills??, reinforcing the semantic thread of ‘old age’ that recurs in the heading lines. [Line 5] Ahasuerus The name may recall a biblical king about whom identification studies report three main references: the father of Darius the Mede (Dan. 9,1) probably Cyaxares I king of Media and conqueror of Nineveh; the king, son and successor of Cyrus (B.C. 529), who is possibly Cambyses in secular history (Ezra 4,6); the son of Darius (esp. Books of Esther 1-10), probably the historical Xerxes, reigning for twenty-one years (B.C. 486-465) (in the LXX. version of the Book of Esther the name Artaxerxes occurs for Ahasuerus).