Baghdad. April 28 Dearest Father. Your letters of March 29 and April 10 reached me together so you see you were right in doubting the efficiency of Italian posts. Your tour to Perugia and back by Siene [Siena] sounds enchanting. As you say, that 300 years or so of Italian art is one of the most astonishing things in the world, if it isn't more astonishing still that they seem to have forgotten the trick of it so completely. I've seen most of the places you have been to Sangimignano I went to with Mary Talbot; but I was never with you at Perugia - I wish I had been. I hope Venice [Venezia] will be as nice as all the rest. By the way, I loved Orvieto, didn't you? What you say about arranging museums chronologically strikes a chord. That is how I'm going to try and arrange mine, as far as may be. I hoped to begin on the big room of the Babylonian stone things this Sunday, but I fear I shall have to go off to Ur on Saturday night. The King has gone to Basrah [Basrah, Al (Basra)] to open a new waterway and has intimated his intention of visiting Ur on the way back. As he can't make head or tail of the excavations unless they are explained to him, and as there is no one to do that but I, Bernard, I regret to say, agrees that I should go down and meet him there, coming back with him. 18 hours' journey down somewhat oppresses me! Meantime there is a very important telegram about the Angora [Ankara (Ancyra)] negotiations and it is just possible that he may decide to come straight back, which would let me off. We expect Sir Henry tomorrow. I look forward to seeing him. But how I wish that Esme were coming too. We have been having a visit from a nice little Mr Thomson who was here in Finance and went back to India 2 years ago or more. Iltyd and I were very fond of him. He is passing through on his way home on leave. We three rode together on Saturday to look at the floods and yesterday, with Lionel, drove out to tea at Mu'adhdham [Azamiyah, Al], with a cheerful Saiyid. It had rained like anything in the night - the heaviest rain I have ever seen in April, I think - and what with that and with the places in the road over which the flood had swept we were nearly bogged. However, we arrived and sat on the Saiyid's balcony over the Tigris, drinking tea and eating cheese and oranges, while our host chatted gaily, ever so pleased to see us. It was very lovely, the full river and the world looking wonderfully green and fresh after the rain. There is a bridge now between Mu'adhdham and Kadhimain [(Al Kazmiyah)] so we wisely crossed over and came back by a dry road, at least a road that hadn't been flooded. I spent the whole of Sunday morning in the museum teaching my clerk - a very good boy called Salim - to write laBells. He writes a beautiful hand in English and is going to be most useful. Ken and I drove out to walk in Karradah after tea and we had our usual bridge party, Ken and Iltyd and Mr Clarke (banker) the fourth. It is very nice to have Iltyd and Lionel back. Lionel has been for a fortnight in the Kurdish mountains where he says the flowers are amazing, tulips and irises and all sorts. Pity it is not to see them. On Monday we had to go to a benefit performance at the cinema for the flooded out people. Ken and Bernard and I went together. I dislike cinemas very much. Tonight and tomorrow I'm going to farewell dinner parties to the Sinbads who are off on leave. They are going by Japan - very enterprizing of them. I shall miss them, nice people. The four priests formerly mentioned have turned up again. I took them to the museum this morning and am now sending [them] off to Mosul [Mawsil, Al]. There was also a Miss Ackland, a second cousin of Frances, who is passing through on her way home from India. She came to the museum too. I feel dreadfully anxious about the coal settlement and I've no doubt that you do too. You will be just back and in the thick of it, I fear. Mother says that the men are not out for peace which does not sound hopeful. What a horrid world we live in, don't we. It is peaceful enough here, but one feels it all hanging over one. Has the commercial treaty between Russia and Germany anything to do with your talk with Willie, Paish etc? and do you think it satisfactory? From what you wrote to me, I should say it was. The Russians are much disturbed by the success of Riza Shah in Persia, which they attribute entirely to us, though it is due almost entirely to himself. It is certainly our interest to see a well organized and prosperous Persia and it isn't that of Russia, the Soviet policy there differing not at all from the old Imperial policy. Russian intrigue in Persia and here is all directed against us, but they haven't made much head way that I can see. Darling what a dull letter! Ever your very affectionate daughter Gertrude.