Watches of the Night
Encyclopedia
Watches of the Night is a short story by Rudyard Kipling
. It was first published in the Civil and Military Gazette
on March 25, 1887; in book form, first in the first Indian edition of Plain Tales from the Hills
in 1888; and in the many subsequent editions of that collection. It is one of the "Tales" which deals with the tense, enclosed society of the British in India, and the levels of gossip and malice that could be engendered therein.
' Watches of the Night' , like many of Kipling's works, has a punning, allusive title. The phrase 'watches of the night' has been used since at least the Book of Common Prayer (1662), and dates back further: "the watches of the night: the night-time; watch originally each of the three or four periods of time, during which a watch or guard was kept, into which the night was divided by the Jews and Romans ("watches" A Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, ed Elizabeth Knowles, Oxford University Press, 2006. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. University of Hull. 19 September 2008 at http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t214.e7611). The phrase occurs in the King James Bible (Psalms), and has also been used in several works of literature as a cliché for what is also called 'the wee small hours', or 'the early morning', often with connotations of blackness (both of night and of the spirits) and depression (e. g. Longfellow wrote in The Cross of Snow (1879) "In the long, sleepless watches of the night"). Kipling uses this, along with a pun on the word 'watches': the story turns on two identical timepieces.
Both the Colonel, commanding the regiment, and a Subaltern in the Regiment, Platte, a poor man, own Waterbury watches. (These are fob or Pocket watch
es, not wrist watches: Each usually hangs from a chain.) The Waterbury (from the town of Waterbury, Connecticut
is a mass-produced and not especially prestigious make. The Colonel, who affects to be "a horsey man" (but is not) wears his watch, not on a chain, but on a leather strap made from the lip-strap of a horse's harness; Platte wears his from a leather guard, presumably because he can afford no better. One night the two men change - in a hurry - at the Club, and, not unnaturally, take each other's watch. They go on their separate ways. Later that night, as Platte returns home, his horse rears and upsets his cart, throwing him to the ground outside Mrs Larkyn's house, where his watch falls loose. The Colonel loses his watch, which slips on to the floor - where a native bearer finds it (and keeps it). Going home in a hired carriage, the Colonel finds the driver drunk, and returns late. His wife, who is religious (and, we have been told "manufactured the Station
scandal"), is disinclined to believe him.
In the morning, Mrs Larkyn, who has been a victim of the Colonel's wife scandal-mongering, finds the watch that Platte has dropped, and shows it to him. He affects to believe it is "...disgusting! Shocking old man!". They send the Colonel's watch (which is the one Platte had been wearing) to the Colonel's wife. She attacks the Colonel, being wholly convinced of Original Sin
- and begins to realise the harm and pain that unfounded suspicion can cause - and has caused her victims.
That is really the moral of the story. "The mistrust and the tragedy of it," says Kipling, "are killing the Colonel's Wife, and are making the Colonel wretched.
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
. It was first published in the Civil and Military Gazette
Civil and Military Gazette
The Civil and Military Gazette was a daily English language newspaper founded in 1872 in British India. It was published from Lahore, Simla and Karachi, some times simultaneously, until its closure in 1963.-History:...
on March 25, 1887; in book form, first in the first Indian edition of Plain Tales from the Hills
Plain Tales from the Hills
Plain Tales from the Hills is the first collection of short stories by Rudyard Kipling. Out of its 40 stories, "eight-and-twenty", according to Kipling's Preface, were initially published in the Civil and Military Gazette in Lahore, Punjab, British India, between November 1886 and June 1887...
in 1888; and in the many subsequent editions of that collection. It is one of the "Tales" which deals with the tense, enclosed society of the British in India, and the levels of gossip and malice that could be engendered therein.
Both the Colonel, commanding the regiment, and a Subaltern in the Regiment, Platte, a poor man, own Waterbury watches. (These are fob or Pocket watch
Pocket watch
A pocket watch is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed to a wristwatch, which is strapped to the wrist. They were the most common type of watch from their development in the 16th century until wristwatches became popular after World War I during which a transitional design,...
es, not wrist watches: Each usually hangs from a chain.) The Waterbury (from the town of Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City...
is a mass-produced and not especially prestigious make. The Colonel, who affects to be "a horsey man" (but is not) wears his watch, not on a chain, but on a leather strap made from the lip-strap of a horse's harness; Platte wears his from a leather guard, presumably because he can afford no better. One night the two men change - in a hurry - at the Club, and, not unnaturally, take each other's watch. They go on their separate ways. Later that night, as Platte returns home, his horse rears and upsets his cart, throwing him to the ground outside Mrs Larkyn's house, where his watch falls loose. The Colonel loses his watch, which slips on to the floor - where a native bearer finds it (and keeps it). Going home in a hired carriage, the Colonel finds the driver drunk, and returns late. His wife, who is religious (and, we have been told "manufactured the Station
Hill station
A hill station is a town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The term was used mostly in colonial Asia , but also in Africa , for towns founded by European colonial rulers as refuges from the summer heat, up where temperatures are cooler...
scandal"), is disinclined to believe him.
In the morning, Mrs Larkyn, who has been a victim of the Colonel's wife scandal-mongering, finds the watch that Platte has dropped, and shows it to him. He affects to believe it is "...disgusting! Shocking old man!". They send the Colonel's watch (which is the one Platte had been wearing) to the Colonel's wife. She attacks the Colonel, being wholly convinced of Original Sin
Original sin
Original sin is, according to a Christian theological doctrine, humanity's state of sin resulting from the Fall of Man. This condition has been characterized in many ways, ranging from something as insignificant as a slight deficiency, or a tendency toward sin yet without collective guilt, referred...
- and begins to realise the harm and pain that unfounded suspicion can cause - and has caused her victims.
That is really the moral of the story. "The mistrust and the tragedy of it," says Kipling, "are killing the Colonel's Wife, and are making the Colonel wretched.
- All quotations in this article have been taken from the Uniform Edition of Plain Tales from the HillsPlain Tales from the HillsPlain Tales from the Hills is the first collection of short stories by Rudyard Kipling. Out of its 40 stories, "eight-and-twenty", according to Kipling's Preface, were initially published in the Civil and Military Gazette in Lahore, Punjab, British India, between November 1886 and June 1887...
published by Macmillan & Co., Limited in London in 1899. The text is that of the third edition (1890), and the author of the article has used his own copy of the 1923 reprint. Further comment, including page-by-page notes, can be found on the Kipling Society's website, at http://www.kipling.org.uk/rg_watches1.htm.