Baghdad Jan 7. Oh Father darling, I've had such a week with the Queen and her court, culminating in her first reception today. On Saturday morning I went up to talk to her about it and on Saturday afternoon I took Esme to see her. On Tuesday afternoon the King called me up to settle where the tea tables were to be - it was the first time I had seen him in the bosom of his family. The girls were on very good terms with him but the Queen was mute in his presence. And today we had all the chief English and Arab women to tea. Imagine my feelings when I arrived half an hour beforehand to find a noble Arab family, of whom I had invited one member, not thinking she would come, sitting there to the number of 11, women and children included! I thought if they all do that where shall we be? But they didn't fortunately. That particular family, the Jamil Zadah (you have the photograph of the head of it, Fakhri) has never been known to let its women come out of the house - they don't come to me ever. It also surprised me very much to see the wife of a Shi'ah ex-Minister - the Shi'ahs never go out. Her husband is a great friend of mine and I think it was very right of him to let his wife come. The Prime Minister's wife didn't turn up, I shall have to ask why. She had announced that she was coming at 5.30, having been asked at 4, and I having arrived at 3.30 and having also a violent cold in the head, didn't think I need wait for her and left at 5.20. The Mistress of the Ceremonies whom I had suggested, Mme Jaudat made the Arab introductions beautifully. She certainly is a great lady and most suitable for the post. But the worst of it is that the Arab ladies sit round and scarcely utter and the English ladies sit round in silence also because there are scarcely any of them who can talk a word of Arabic. The Queen is far too shy to initiate a general conversation, though she behaved with a very pretty politeness to the ladies I plumped down in turn by her. So there I was having to debiter platitudes from time to time to a listening universe, only part of which, I'm happy to reflect, understood them, and that the least critical part. The Queen and the two princesses were abominably dressed. I shall have to take their clothes in hand and not leave them to the mercy of the French nuns. The clothes weren't badly made, but such awful colours, and stuffs such as are patronized by all the rich Jewesses of Baghdad and by no one else in the world. I may note that I didn't have a great success with the Jewesses, for the only one I invited turned out to be long since dead! These contretemps will occur.
Next week we shall have to have another reception of Class B ladies. And after that I think I can leave it to them to arrange. I hope so.

What with this and with preparing reports for the League of Nations delegation, I've been busy. But I did have a holiday last Friday - the only one of the season. We all went out shooting, Ba'quba [Ba'qubah] way - Bernard and Ken and I, Col. Joyce and Major Maclean. We started at 6.30 in freezing bitter cold and when we got out into the country it was still colder - the whole world white with hoarefrost [sic] and all the waters frozen. But we enjoyed it tremendously - it looked so lovely, the green palm gardens against the white frost. We ran to the beats to keep ourselves warm and we returned 12 hours later with a bag of 150, geese, duck and snipe.

On New Year's Day, in the intervals of receiving the visits of Ministers, I made a little account of the year's expenditure. It is the kind of thing you do and I think the items will interest you. I have spent in all some £560 over and above my salary. Of this £230 (in round figures) is the cost of living here above my salary and another £79 is foods from England - also cost of living therefore. £90 for books, papers, seeds bulbs for my garden and various little odds and ends of that sort, and £160 for clothes - that is to say, gloves, shoes, hats, silks or stuffs for Marie to make up, for I have had no new clothes from home. On the whole I don't think it has been an extravagant year - do you? and I hope my pass book will look the better.

In the afternoon Iltyd Clayton and I went to call on two Syrian families, friends of his, one Christian and one Moslem but they all live together. It is very interesting, the group of Syrians here. They are almost all in Govt employment, like Husain Afnan - a good many of them are teachers in the schools. They are making a little social revolution of their own, for the women, even if they are Moslems, are educated and behave as far as they can like European women. It is the thin edge of the wedge and I need not say that I am all in its favour.

I expect Zaid is with this week [sic]. His career in England is rather a problem. David Hogarth wrote to me about it and consequently I have been in conference with the King and the High Commissioner and Lionel Smith - which has also taken some time. The King wants him to fit himself to be either a soldier or a politician. Zaid flatly declines to be the first, rightly declaring that there has been too much fighting in his country - where hasn't there? And he hates politics which to his mind is nothing but another word for intrigue and self-serving. What he wants to settle down quietly and learn agriculture, but whether anything he can learn in England will be of much use to him here is the question. Anyhow, Lionel is writing to the Master of Balliol and I am writing to David Hogarth and attempting to reconcile several irreconcilables.

And I feel at this moment that I have the fortunes of two very difficult people on my hands and am a little tempted of discouragement, as the monk said of St Francis.

Goodbye darling. I shall love to hear about your Xmas party which was just assembling when you wrote. Your very affectionate daughter Gertrude.

It is still dreadfully cold and freezing at nights. My office is icy and I sit and work in a fur coat, which doesn't keep my feet warm.