[6 July 1917] July 6 Dearest step-mother and father. I have no letters from you as yet by this mail but oh my parents everything is blotted out by the fact that I have 2 muslin gowns from the L.S.C! Now isn't that great! I was beginning to wonder what I should do - whether I should ask the nuns to make me some clothes and one really hasn't energy to bother about such things now, for it's damned hot, I won't conceal it from you. I'll try not to repeat that observation - you may take it as a marginal note passim on my letters for the next two months. I've been very unsociable this week for I've been writing - and have written - my 5th article on Turkey after dinner. I can't well get the time by day for these things in the press of other work. For I've been arranging and getting out the mass of tribal stuff collected since I've been here and have now got all the tribes to the N. and N.E. of us alphabetically tabled and beautifully typed in many copies for ourselves and all generals with whom I'm friends. It's really a great work and most useful - to judge by the use we make of it in our office - and I'm busy with the huge confusion of the Euphrates tribes which I hope to have reduced to a similar order by the end of next week. I've seen every shaikh when he has come in to pay his respects to Sir Percy and got all the information about this tribe direct from him, so that the body of stuf which I have is not a bad beginning. 1st Corps, where Richard is B.G.G.S. has got a copy and General Cobbe is full of gratitude. It pleases me immensely to wipe the eye of the Intell. Dept. in this fashion.
I don't know whether it's a scientific truth, but it's undoubtedly in accordance with facts that full moon nights are much the hottest and the stillest. Two nights ago I was completely defeated. I tried to work, sitting outside in my garden after dinner, but after half an hour the few clothes I was wearing were wringing wet and I so much exhausted after a day similarly spent, that I went to bed helplessly and fell asleep at once on my roof. I hadn't been asleep long when I woke up to find the Great Bear staring me in the face - I lie looking N. It was very strange to see the Great Bear shining so brilliantly in the full moon of Ramadhan and while I wondered, half awake what had happened, I realized that the whole world was dark, and turning round saw the last limb of the moon disappearing in a total eclipse. So I lay watching it - a wonderful sight, the disc just visible, a dull and angry copper colour. In the bazaar, a few hundred yards away, everyone was drumming with sticks on anything that lay handy, to scare away the devil which eat the moon, and indeed they ultimately succeeded, for after a long long time the upper limb of the moon reappeared and the devil drew slowly downwards, angry still, with deep red tongues and wreaths projecting from his copper coloured body, and before I had time to sleep again the Ramadhan moon had once more extinguished the shining of the Bear.

But as for people who read of these things in their almanacs and know to a minute when to expect them, I think nothing of them and their educated sensations.

My dear Major Munro, from Bait Na'mah, is up here on a week's jaunt. He came to tea today and we went out in the launch and paid a series of calls on matrons of hospitals and on generals - most entertaining. I've arranged a dinner party with Sir Percy on Monday, Major Munro and Richard, which should be a very pleasant party.

We got our treaty settled with my friend Fahad Beg of the 'Anazeh and as soon as he has provided himself with a set of false teeth (which he's busy doing) he sets out to guard the whole of the western desert for us. It's a great haul, one of the most important things we've done, and the Turks and Germans are gnashing their teeth, I know. While Fahad has been here waiting for his treaty to be completed, they have sent down 2 parties of Turkish and German officers, to our certain knowledge with bags of gold to buy his tribesmen in his absence. We've beaten them. Fahad stopped a Syrian caravan last week by writing to his son in the desert - at my special request. And now we ought to hold all the frontier. Good, isn't it. Your very affectionate Gertrude