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This is a rare and interesting piece, that would be perfect for a home library or office wall hanging. It is inscribed (engraved) in black lettering on a shiny brass plaque. The verse featured is from a poem by Rudyard Kipling called The Naulahka, of the last 5 lines of the third paragraph. The wording has been changed to read, \"It is not good for the Christian health to hustle the Asian brown for the Christian riles and the Asian smiles and he weareth the Christian down And the end of the fight is a tombstone white with the name of the late deceased and the epitaph drear a fool lies here who tried to hurry the East\"
The original reads \"Now it is not good for the Christian\'s health to hustle the Aryan brown, For the Christian riles, and the Aryan smiles and he weareth the Christian down; And the end of the fight is a tombstone white with the name of the late deceased, And the epitaph drear: \"A Fool lies here who tried to hustle the East.\"
So the difference is in the first sentence it says Christian, not Christian\'s. And says Asian and not Aryan. The last line says hurry instead of hustle.
A couple of small differences, that lead me to believe this was a custom-made piece. It is quite old. Measures 11.75 x 7.5 x .5 inches in size. Weighs 1.5 pounds, before packaging. Has a stained black wood backing and an attached chain on upper top edge for hanging. There are some swirl marks left from previous polishing, that are noticeable from certain angles, but I would not consider them to be damage, but imperfections or flaws. The swirls may come out, but I\'m not positive. It\'s a great piece, especially for anyone who loves poetry and verse or is a Kipling \"fan\" or enthusiast.
