October 6 [1913]
Monastir
My dear Gertrude.

Up to now we have had 2 meetings of this show – and on the whole they have gone very well – the antagonism between the Italians & Austrians as against French & German has not yet resulted in any impossible situation – And I have some faint hopes of a workable position. To facilitate this I have proposed to leave the Vlacks till the Spring – they have all gone down to the plains for pastorage – I can’t explain without a map but the position is roughly that the Roumanian proposals have been incorporated in the Austrian – the Roumanians do not really much care (I think from Jonesen) even if the Vlack country be given to Greece – They have already all the guarantees they require – To lop off the Vlacks reduces the Austrian line to more reasonable proportions – though even so there is a very wide divergence – By leaving it over on the grounds of its unworkableness at this time of the year, we get to the debateable land between Greek & Turk. If a compromise acceptable to both is ever found, the Vlacks will have to go to Greece – And this gives it time to simmer –

We have settled where to begin, & various other matters – including my presidency – In general we shall work from Colonia finding or not finding Greek nationality as we draw south – if we find it we shall have to go north again –

Italy & Austria declare they can abandon nothing without seeing it – and we have no time to visit every village etc – The French proposition was to agree on some rough partition of the debated ground & follow in detail the line of division – which is the usual fashion of frontier making. But in this case we cannot do that by preliminary agreement, and it will be only the result of our commission & not the base of it. At least I hope it will the result for that is what is really required.

The maps are hopeless. We are asking for topographers & really must have them. How can a frontier be described exactly except by a map?

But don’t lets talk of this job for the moment – I want to know all about you, & the book, & whether you have begun on the Reeves & when above all you start – I want to see you – but that of course can’t be – until God pleases – my dear I wish you the best of luck on your adventure, & may all run easy for you – and castles rise glorious on every horizon! Go on and prosper.

Someday perhaps we will do a trek together inshallah –

Well I must go & buy horses – bless you.

Yrs
Dick.