Baghdad Oct 18 Darling Father I must send you a word to thank you for your delightful enclosures, especially the letter from the Phipps baby!
The two pages of your Economist article are excellent and I'm deeply obliged to you for puffing Mesop. That's just the kind of thing that needs saying, needs it badly. I'm afraid the well informed will suspect us of collaboration but the G.P. doesn't know you have a special correspondent here.

Dearest Belloved Father you wrote me such a darling letter. You know your friendship is more to me than anything. What a thing it is to be able to talk of friendship with one's parents. Those who haven't got it don't know what it means.

I'm much better. Even after my racketty morning in Baghdad I don't feel a bit tired, and I've been writing letters all this afternoon. I've written at length to Sir R. Wingate who wrote to me most charmingly. I look forward some day to making his acquaintance.

You know I'm treated like a Lt. General when I'm ill and a better doctor than Wilcox [i.e. Willcox] you couldn't find anywhere.

But oh I do long to be back at work! However I'll be patient this time and take the Samarra time to get really well in. Your ever devoted daughter Gertrude