|
Late Addendum
Just been reading some of Kipling's short stories, & came across one called The Lost Legion. This concerns a British Army regiment of Indian troops who join the Indian Mutiny ('betraying' their oath of service) & are killed by Afghan rebels. Many years later a British contingent are sent to capture an Afghan warlord. The contingent is ordered to go in at night & capture the warlord & his men without using violence. They approach the camp, making a deal of noise, but the Afghan guards in the watchtowers fail to raise any alarm, & the British cannot understand why no warning is given to those in the camp. It turned out that the watchers were terrified to raise any alarm because of the ghosts of the slain Indian troops were marching around the watchtowers, hence saving the British troops & allowing them to achieve their mission.
Now, one can argue with the 'politics' of the story, but one wonders if Tolkien had read it - we know he had read & enjoyed some of Kipling's other work - like Puck of Pook's Hill. Given Kipling's incredible popularity in Tolkien's youth its entirely possible that this went into the 'leaf mould of the mind'...
|