T. E. Lawrence Correspondence – Page 419

To Hogarth Baron's Hotel Alep, Syrie June 23 (1912) 11e° in the writing room. I couldn't remember Leeds' address:- or at least I wasn't supposed to, but he had given it to me most carefully in Oxford, and I had noted it down, and written it up at home in a book that I use ex- clusively for addresses - and the matter ended there. This is incoherent, but you will understand the ghastly morning that nineteen or twenty packing cases of Hittite pottery and squeezes turn up addressed to "... Leeds 70 ... Giles Oxford, and eighteen pence four shillings and two pence half-penny to pay: I have a lurking fear that Mrs. Hogarth may not wish to pay for Leeds' extravaganzas, or may not think the pottery worth it, and so reship them: in which case the finest modern or ancient collec- tion of Hittite pottery and squeezes will be lost to the world: It (sic) fact it will be dispersed in the Q.E.R. quarterly sale: I think as a stop-pot and I am sick of it in eight hours, with still all the world to buy and eight cases of pottery to pack! Today I got a Damascus tile - quite nice - for 12F ft. It is probably less good than the Persian plate, but I am more than proud. Kekitianf's man has been carried off by the cholera which is really raging very hotly in Alep & just now: this makes a bed short, bet of rose leaves a fortnight (sic) rare fruit, and exquititely (sic) delicious. It also removes, since Marcopoli left, the last seri- ous buyer in Alep.o. I'm going out to look at Tell-Halaf this summer if all goes well. I hear that Opp. has found very little after all: but it may have all gone Berlining. Perhaps has given me leave to do much as I like this summer. (live at Yerabius etc.), since he found out much of his informa- tion about the present state of (Turkey, deleted) Syria was rot. As a matter of fact Ain.o is one of the few possible roomy places, and to flee to the shelter of a consulate protected by Tager and the fat cavass would be ludicrously ineffective: he is always in Songious himself. Catoni sends salasms unto you: please give Bell my love .L. ---- --