March 24 Darling. I must begin for there is always so much to say. I have just reread your very interesting Lyons letter. Why has the franc suddenly improved? I suppose one ought to be glad. And today came your letter of March 12 about Paris - and Hugh Pattinson, now Selig, poor dear. Well, my doings are not without moment. First Kish. J.M. [Wilson] and I motored down, getting there about 1. We found an atmosphere of electric gloom and learnt afterwards that they had expected to find us such that in the first half hour Prof. Langdon would close down the excavations and Mr Mackay would find himself without a job. So I, unknowing, while eating a scrap of lunch, explained that my object was to leave, as far as possible, the tablets to them (they have found a library) for they should be at the deposition of students. On the other hand, they would have to make up by parting with some other fine objects. "Who decides" said the Professor, "if we disagree." I replied that I did but he needn't be afraid for he would find me eager to oblige. At this he puffed, was this the law? had it been shown to him? and so forth. And I said "Come on, Professor" you'll see how it works out. So we went to his tent where all the tablets were exposed. There was one unique object, a stone tablet inscribed with what is probably the oldest known human script. The Professor, positively pressed it on me; he said he had copied it and read it (he hasn't, as I'll tell you later) and didn't mind what happened. So I took it. Then we went to a little room where all the other objects were and began on the beads and jewels. There was a lovely gold pomegranate bud earring, found in the grave of a girl, time of Nebuchadnezzar, and he set against it a wonderful copper stag, early Babylonian and falling into dust. It was obvious that we here could not preserve the latter, as I explained. I took the pomegranate bud and he was pleased. So we turned to the necklaces; we spun a coin for the first pick; he won it and we picked, turn and turn about. And thus with all the rest. We put the things into groups, spun for first choice and picked. The Professor grew more and more excited - he loved it and he was as pleased as Punch. It is very amusing to do, I must say. And isn't it fantastic to be selecting pots and things four to six thousand years old! I got a marvellous stone inlay of a Sumerian King leading captives and not being at all nice to them, and a mother of pearl inlay of a king and his wives - inscribed with his name. The Professor got, what he longed for, a mother of pearl inlay representing a milking scene - you see I have my milking scene in the great plaque from Ur. We worked from 1.30 to 10.30, with brief intervals for tea and dinner, choosing and packing, till I felt absolutely broken with fatigue - so tired that I couldn't sleep and when I slept dreamt restlessly. I was up at 7 and out to see the zigurrat [sic] where I met J.M. We began work again at 8 and went on till 11, by which time all was finished and packed except 3 huge Hamurabi pots which J.M. and I carried home on our knees. We went out, before we left, to see the palace - amazing! a niched and columned court (it's 4000 BC or thereabouts) with a stair leading up to an audience hall, unexcavated as yet. We got off soon after 12 and were at once bogged, the Arabs having, thoughtlessly, flooded the road in flooding their fields. I thought we should never get the car out, but we did at last, with the help of a man on a mare and his plough which we used as a lever. So back to Baghdad by 5.30. Ken came in before dinner to tell me the news and I dropped into bed after dinner. Friday was a rush of work - two days' accumulations. (Oh dear, I've just seen the first mosquito of the season!) The deputies are all pouring in and most of them pour through my office. I got home late, had Sabih Beg to tea, a talk with Ken about affairs and to bed soon after dinner. On Saturday Ken and I went out in the afternoon to see Haji Naji M.P. and had a very consoling and soothing talk with him, dear old man. He's a fund of loyal good sense. And Father, he wants another pair of pruning scissors. Will you get one for me? not too big. Like that which you first gave him. Oh, but the really important thing I forgot - in the morning J.M. telephoned to me that Professor Sayce was loafering about the museum and would I come at once. So I rushed up in a launch and there he was, looking exactly the same as when I lunched with him in Edinburgh 10/½ years ago. He had arrived from Damascus [Dimashq (Esh Sham, Damas)] the day before by car and he is 80. But he is not nearly as young as you physically though for wits he is bad to beat. I fell into his arms and showed him our treasures with which he was unspeakably thrilled. Above all by the very old inscription. "I doubt however" he said "whether I can read it." "I can" I observed and proceeded to give him Prof. Langdon's version of the first few signs. They are like this [four hieroglyphs] one basket dates presented, i.e. to the temple [each hieroglyph repeated with its English translation]. "It may be" said Professor Sayer that ["one" character] means 10; and that head above the basket must mean that it's of importance, a principal basket; then I doubt whether ["dates" character] is dates. A date is round not oblong. And the foot may indicate standing firm as well as presented. A large basket of dates placed in a store house. That might be it." I left it at that, for the moment, and returned to the office. That night I had a dinner party to play Mah Jongg - the Afnans, Capt Cazalet, who is still with H.E., and Squadron Leader Peck. We were deep in our game about 11 p.m. when up the garden path in the moonlight wandered a clerical figure. It was Prof. Sayce who was looking for Lionel Smith's house where he is staying and had lost his way. Everyone rushed out to be introduced to him and I put him in charge of S.L. Peck who shepharded him home. On Sunday morning we all met in the Museum where under Prof. Sayce delighted eyes J.M. and I unpacked the things from Kish. Capt. Cazalet turned up and egged on the Prof to read the oldest inscription. Nothing loathe he began again and this time he converted the basket of dates into a principal male - male, not mail. You never realized, did you, how easily you might be mistaken for a basket of dates. After lunch I took Capt Cazalet to Ctesiphon where we met Sayce. It was extraordinarily interesting showing him that wonderful thing. Unfortunately Capt Cazalet and I had with us a Bellgian chargi d'affairs called - well, I forget what he is called - who is going up to Tehran [(Teheran)]. The most self-satisfied creature I ever came across, sleek and small and round. And on the way home did he proceed to {tell} instruct me about the East in general and Syria in particular - he had been in Asia exactly 4 days - and he talked such infernal nonsense that I ended by getting into a royal passion and telling him what I thought of him. So angry I was that at the last I refused to let him come into my house. Dear Capt. Cazalet was rather entertained than otherwise, but when I had calmed down a little I began to feel somewhat ashamed and telephoned to Sir Henry to ask him not to dismiss me. "Oh yes" said Sir Henry cheerfully; "Isn't he a horrid little man?" And he added "I shall enjoy hearing Cazalet's version of the story." With that the incident closed, in laughter. Isn't Sir Henry a dear! I had a dinner party for Prof. Sayce. Hospitably but mistakenly I had also invited the two other people who had come across with him, an elderly party called Mrs Traquair - she is the most famous fresco painter of the age, you didn't know that, did you? - and a wall-eyed Major, namens Green, who is suffering from shellshock - still! All the others - Lionel, the Air Marshal and Ken - were so delightful that it didn't really matter but Major Green was the sort of man who, when we were hanging on Prof. Sayce's words, would say heavily into the ears of his neighbour: "Do you have much tennis here?" Such tales Prof. Sayce told us about Mr Carter - he has been spending the winter in Egypt. He thinks both sides equally in the wrong. Mr Carter was in the hands of a newspaper syndicate and dragged out the work to suit them. It ought to have been finished long ago. But he enjoyed seeing himself day by day in the press. Moreover it was being so carelessly done that when Lacan reopened the tomb he found in it a live electric wire! After they had all gone, the A.M., Ken and I sat on for a long time talking about the 'Iraq, to our great satisfaction. I am so very sorry that the A.M. is going. I haven't mentioned that I met his successor, Air Vice Marshal Higgins. It was last Friday afternoon at a polo match to which Lady Dobbs insisted on taking me. I had tea with A.V.M. Higgins who had just arrived. He is very unprepossessing to look at but I'll tell you one salient merit he has. I happened in the course of conversation to quote Herbert and he mentioned that in all the three services there was no one whose opinion he valued so highly. When I said that he was coming here next autumn, AVM Higgins was transported. That was nice, wasn't it. March 26. [26 March 1924] I'm writing in the middle of the night, being unable to sleep. On Monday Sayce came to {dinner} lunch at the Residency where Sir Henry and Lady Dobbs made him very happy. Afterwards Mr Cooke and I took him to see some of the old things in the town. There was a dinner party at the Palace, H.E. and Lady Dobbs, Ken and I, Bernard and his wife, Col. Slater, Ja'far and the court. I sat by H.M. and found him radiant. He has been doing excellent spade work with the deputies and that very day they had all sworn allegiance to him and to the 'Iraq. We played Vingt et un afterwards but I was tired and glad when the evening was over. Today or rather yesterday, for it's 2 a.m., has been less full of events, though not much less full. I had quantities of deputies in the morning, the principal subject of discussion being who should be elected President of the Assembly. It's essential that they should elect the late P.M., Muhsin Beg, and all our efforts and those of the King are in that direction. At 1 o'clock Ken came in with Ja'far to announce that all the subsidiary agreements to the treaty had just been signed by Ja'far and H.E. So that's over. I rode out to Mu'adhdham [Azamiyah, Al] this afternoon to tell a friend of mine how to grow asparagus. He grows nothing but cabbages at present. March 26. Now I can write no more. Tomorrow the Assembly opens at 10 a.m. and I shall not be back in time to add anything. We have had a day of alarums and excursions over the question of the Presidency. If they don't elect Muhsin Beg it will not be good, but Ja'far changes his mind every quarter of an hour and influences the King. Anyhow, I've told everyone that they should elect Muhsin and the rest is in the knees of the Gods. After agitated telephonings I went to see Ken about it at 2.30, found him at lunch and just going to H.M. for a final talk, the result of which I don't know. If Yasin slips in between a divided vote it will be very bad. It is like setting up ninepins. You occupy yourself with one end of the row and when you turn round the other end has tumbled down. Still, there's this to be said: life is not dull. You must forgive me for being so preoccupied with our affairs. They are preoccupying. Ever your devoted daughter Gertrude.