Baghdad Ap. 15 Darling - that was a remarkably interesting letter of yours dated Ap. 2, and Sir G. Gibbs's paper was very interesting also. Yes, of course I think that there is a rationalizing spirit abroad in the East just as much as in the West, and do you know I think it will go much quicker here than it did with us, partly, no doubt, because we have broken down the barriers and set the example which they will be eager to follow. It is already going quickly. Of the men who are running affairs, the men between 40 and 50, there's scarcely one, except Ja'far, who is a Bellieving or even a practising Moslem. As for the Khalifate, it's dead; the Turks have killed it, and the more Khalifs they set up the deader it will be. That was a delightful interview with you. So glad to learn that you have taken to riding in the Park - I expect from the contest, that you'll soon be riding backwards and forwards to Rounton in 50 mile stages. Bless you, darling old thing - why shouldn't you? The waters in the tea cup have been rather agitated this week. Last Thursday, as soon as I had got the mail off, I went to the Assembly - they don't meet till 11, it being Ramadhan and they sit at the outside 2 hours, often less. They don't seem to think there's any need to hurry - they just loafer along. But they weren't loafering on Thursday, they were quarrelling like anything. It all rose out of a most silly business. A lot of scallywag young lawyers of Baghdad had asked permission to give a political party to the Assembly with the express object of delivering speeches against the Treaty. The Mutasarrif of Baghdad, who has never been known to refuse any request made by an extremist, so deeply does he dread the criticism of himself, eagerly gave the necessary license but when the Interior heard of it, the Minister put his foot down and forbade it, on the ground that it would lay the Assembly open to the accusation that it was under outside influences. Then the lawyers took the advantage which the Mutasarrif had given them and wrote to some of their deputy friends apologizing for not being able to give the party in their honour because, inexplicably, the Govt etc etc. Hence the quarrel. Yasin, always willing to make mischief, sent up a resolution in protest against the Govt. It was entirely out of order for the Assembly is not a Parliament - it has been summoned explicitly for 3 purposes: to ratify the Treaty and pass the Organic and Electoral Laws. Nuri Pasha rose to a point of order, but Muhsin Beg, the President, who personally dislikes Nuri, rather rudely stopped him and allowed the debate to go on. Finally when Nuri was permitted to speak, he had grown very angry. He stalked into the rostrum with his head in [the] air, looking, I must say very gay and young and gallant, siezed the Standing Orders from the President's table and said scornfully "I should like to see the article which {permits} authorizes the House to {speak} debate this subject." Now of course Muhsin was wrong to have accepted the resolution, but Nuri was wrong too to lose his temper. He made the House angry and Naji Suwaidi, who had at first supported him, got up and made a ranting speech about freedom of meeting and speaking and writing and other wholely [sic] irrelevant matters. Finally Muhsin put the resolution and suggested that the House should entrust him with the enquiries they wished to make of Govt. This was agreed to and they rose, but in the lobby Naji and Ja'far nearly came to fisticuffs. They had got to the point where Naji had said he didn't intend to sign the Treaty and Ja'far had told him to go to the Devil with it, when Sabih Beg separated them - he told me about it, for I met him at lunch at Mr Keeley's afterwards, and then I went round to Ken's house and told him. I'm coming back to this subject but first I must describe to you the evening I spent. I had all the Griffiths crowd to dinner, Sir John and Lady Norton Griffiths, Sir George Hamilton and Col. Gabriel, and to meet them Col. Slater, Ken and Sabih Beg. Now Sir John is the worst sort of bounder - the kind you select to play Bridge with on board ship, you know what I mean! Moreover[?] he wasn't sober when he arrived and he grew less and less so, at least his voice became thicker and thicker, he told worse and worse stories (one so awful that I blush to think of it) and he laid his hand more and more often on my arm. One of the stories I will tell you - I laughed at it too. "How would you punctuate this sentence - Mary ran out into the garden naked?" Ken said: "With a full stop, I hope." "No" said Sir John "a dash after Mary." Well after dinner Sir George insisted on seeing Marie, (not naked you understand!) who had been so obliging as to remember him. It was very nice of Sir George and Marie was delighted. "You arre fatterr than you werre" she observed, bridling and mincing. "Oh, am I" said Sir George, drawing up what really is a very nice figure, and Marie improved matters by adding "You werre verry sleem." When we came back to the drawing room, we found Lady Norty (that's what they call her, she's rather a nice woman, of the kind she is) engrossed with Colonels Slater and Gabriel, and Ken talking to Sabih Beg, so the other two sat down on a sofa with me and I spent twenty minutes trying to avoid the drunken caresses of Sir John while he maundered on about Mosul [Mawsil, Al]. Finally I couldn't bear it any more and I summoned up Ken and Sabih to listen. The gist of it was that I ought to go home and persuade the House of Commons (sic) not to give up Mosul. I said that Ken was going on leave and would do just as well if he bought a new suit and looked his best. "No, no, my dear lady. He's a very fine man, one of the finest men I've ever seen" mumbled Sir John "6 ft 4 at least, I should say, but you etc etc." At 10.30 they went away and we four sat on for an hour talking about them and their schemes. Next morning I went to the office feeling rather shattered and in half an hour the Prime Minister and Nuri tumbled in, in tearing passions. They were going to dissolve the Assembly, have another general election, carry the Treaty by a plebiscite and I don't know what else. And would I send for Muhsin Beg and tell him what I thought of him? So I said there, there! and presently I brought in Nigel Davidson who is the most soothing of people, and finally I suggested that they should go round to Ken and ask him to speak to Muhsin. They trotted off, quite pleased. I had two other agitating interviews, with people who had signed Yasin's resolution. One was Majid Beg Shawi (who was Mayor of Baghdad when you were here.) He entirely disarmed me by saying that he had regretted the part he took ever since and was going to tell Muhsin Beg. The other was Rauf Chadirji, who is a perfect worm. I shook him and left him for dead. Esme Dobbs and I were going to play Mah Jongg, with Lady Norty but she was suddenly taken in, so I got onto a horse and rode up to the hospital to see Professor Sayce. I found him on the high road to recovery and as cheerful as a cricket. And by the evening I felt as if I had gone through all I could bear to go through for one day. Next morning, Saturday the 13th, as usual, as soon as I got to the office I glanced through the vernacular papers and found in one of them an interview with Nuri Pasha in which he explained exactly why he had said what he had said in the Assembly. It was honest and straightforward and very much to the point; I imparted the gist of it to Bernard and we rejoiced over it. Presently Ken telephoned to say that it would have the worst possible political effect, that it would permanently set the Assembly against the Cabinet and that the King had "gone off the deep end" and had ordered Nuri to send in his resignation. I protested that politic or impolitic, for once I had seen an 'Iraqi stand up and honestly defend his opinion against a hostile majority and that I thought it lamentable that he should suffer for it. Upon that I was swamped with Deputies explaining their views and asking advice and after lunching with Esme (Sir Henry has gone off on tour to Mosul) I thankfully came home, mounted a horse and went off to see the Arab polo and to visit Iltyd Clayton in hospital on my way back. The J.M. Wilsons came in to say goodbye - I shall miss them dreadfully - and then Ken to review the events of the last 24 hours. On Sunday morning I went to my museum where I had various visitors including Ken. It really is fun showing people over the museum; there are such wonderful things to be seen in it. Mr Drower (Adviser to Justice) came to lunch and a profitable talk, after which Ken and I, dressed in our best, went to the races. We were ushered straight into the King's box where we found H.M. woefully bored - I don't wonder; there's nothing so boring as races. I engaged him in conversation and presently Esme arrived and with her Victor Cazalet, just come back from Persia, whom I summoned into the King's box to tell the enthralling tale of Riza Khan which I translated. We stayed for three events, after which the King presented his cup and left, Ken and I slinking away in his wake. I had a dinner and Bridge party - the A.V.M. (oh dear, he is small change for Sir John) Ken and Major Eadie whom you remember at Cairo. On Monday at Ja'far's request, I interviewed Naji Suwaidi and tried to knock a little sense into him. You can't get any further with Naji, he agrees to all you say - and then goes and does something else. However nothing happened at the 7th meeting of the Assembly, to which I went. On an interrogation from Yasin, the President replied that the Govt had no objection to the lawyers' party (it won't, I think, take place) and after a half hour of irrelevant chat the House rose. There isn't, in fact, anything for them to do until the Committee appointed to examine the Treaty presents its report. I spent the late afternoon watching brilliant tennis at the Residency, Ken and Victor Cazalet the centres of interest. Do you know, Father, I so very much love Esme Dobbs; when she is in London will you and Mother be very nice to her? She's intangible, she's a sprite, a fairy godmother, and adorable. On Tuesday I heard, to my despair, that Bernard, who hadn't been well the previous day, was down with paratyphoid. Sir Henry is still away and except me, there is nothing but dead bones in the office. So I have been carrying, tant bien que mal, the weight of the 'Iraq on my shoulders. The Amir Zaid came to dinner - I had a charming party to meet him, Esme, Victor Cazalet and Ken. He brought one of his ADCs, Sabih Beg who will presently be lunching with you, for he is going on a course of instruction to England as soon as the Treaty is ratified. And today, dearest, after working from 8 to 3 in the office, I went to see Iltyd and Prof. Sayce in hospital. And Prof. Sayce read out to us Hittite tablets about things that happened 4000 years ago while Iltyd and I listened with breathless interest. I came home to disbud carnations and to hear from Ken, before dinner, the latest report on what the Deputies here thinking. Ap. 17. [17 April 1924] You know the Master of Baliol is dead - why of course you do. Poor Lionel is very sad. I've never had so many roses in my garden before - it blushes with them. And lovely carnations, stock, larkspur and things as well. Ever your very affectionate daughter Gertrude. I've just heard from Violet that Bernard is much better. They are due to go on leave in three weeks so I'm afraid he won't be in the office again. It's very dull without him. Victor Cazalet is gone - I expect he will come to see you in London. We had an absurd discussion at lunch about the discretion of archangels - it began by my saying that I was as discreet as the angel Gabriel, if he was the discreetest of them. "Oh no" said Victor "I don't think he was. He was always making unexpected announcements."