Of particular interest in this collection is Kipling's tone of mordant satire, coupled with his typically adept characterization. "In the Matter of a Private" shows Kipling depicting the mutiny of a British soldier who, driven crazy by monotony and alcohol, shoots and kills a fellow soldier. "At the Pit's Mouth" describes an adulterous woman's affair, cut short when her lover and his mare unceremoniously fall off a cliff. This perennially popular author displays a dark commitment to realism and an unforgiving, almost brutal, portrayal of human nature.