Стихи Киплинга о Джейн Остен
1."Jane lies in Winchester -- blessed be her shade!
Praise the Lord for making her, and her for all she made!
And while the stones of Winchester, or Milsom Street, remain,
Glory, love, and honor unto England's Jane! "
2.
Сентиментальные стихи о том, как на небесах Джейн Остен вышла замуж за того, кого любила при жизни. Добрый Киплинг устроил-таки их судьбу.
Jane's Marriage
"JANE went to Paradise:
That was only fair.
Good Sir Walter met her first,
And led her up the stair.
Henry and Tobias,
And Miguel of Spain,
Stood with Shakespeare at the top
To welcome Jane
Then the Three Archangels
Offered out of hand,
Anything in Heaven's gift
That she might command.
Azrael's eyes upon her,
Raphael's wings above,
Michael's sword against her heart,
Jane said: "Love."
Instantly the under-
standing Seraphim
Laid their fingers on their lips
And went to look for him.
Stole across the Zodiac,
Harnessed Charles's Wain,
And whispered round the Nebulae
"Who loved Jane?"
In a private limbo
Where none had thought to look,
Sat a Hampshire gentleman
Reading of a book.
It was called Persuasion,
And it told the plain
Story of the love between
Him and Jane.
He heard the question
Circle Heaven through --
Closed the book and answered:
"I did -- and do!"
Quietly but speedily
(As Captain Wentworth moved)
Entered into Paradise
The man Jane loved! "
Rudyard Kipling
Отсюда. Там же можно почитать, что о Джейн Остен писали Честертон, Оден (из "Письма лорду Байрону: "But tell Jane Austen, that is if you dare,/How much her novels are beloved down here./She wrote them for posterity, she said;/'Twas rash, but by posterity she's read"), Э.М.Форстер ( "She is my favourite author! I read and reread, the mouth open and the mind closed") и другие.Марк Твен ее не любил, даже терпеть не мог, но мало ли кто кого не взлюбит?
читать дальше Так же точно Толстой не любил Шекспира. (Величия Шекспира это не умаляет, величия Толстого тоже.)