T. E. Lawrence Correspondence – Page 129

made straight the tangle, finding solutions which fulfilled (I think) our promises in letter and spirit, so far as was humanly possible, without sacrificing any interest of ours, or any interest of the peoples concerned. We were out of the war-time tangle: an adventure, with clean hands, but 5 years too late. You will not agree: but Winston gave me a nearly free hand in 1921: and so far as my wits went I did all that was possible to get a peaceful settlement which should allow a chance of progressive modification either towards self-government, or there, or towards administration by us, as things went ill or well. I need hardly tell you (who have read the book) that I never dreamed of a hegemony for old Hussein, or of an Arab confed- eration as practical politics: though some headship would accrue either to Bagdad or Damascus, if either made a real job of governing itself. We put Feisal into Irak as interim head. Under Arnold Wilson no native government could have arisen. He was too thick a jingo. Poor F. is a wraith, and will not stunt any local growth. If the Arabs are worth anything, they now have their chance. My opinion is that all that is best in their character is opposed to organized government. But that may be prejudice. I'm a nihilist, philosophically ! I needn't warn you against the mushy "Prince of Mecca" class of writing. I don't think I ever did a thing during the cam- paign which of sheer swank or love of it. A critic (and I'm a critic incarnate) can't act without some plausible reason. God help us ! What a scrawl to send a man who is good enough to tell me, before he does it, that he is going to write something upon the Hejaz affair. Don't, unless you really wish it, send me your arti- cles. I seldom read the papers, and am not likely even to come across them. The fates (beneficent this time) have put me into Cranwell, a quiet station. Fifteen of us are responsible for the good order of six aeroplanes, on which cadets learn to fly. A peaceful, busy exist- ence. It is comfortable, because so unfettered by to earn a living once. With one's hands ... If the weather was always warm and I was sometimes with my ... alone, life would be perfect. The R.A.F. is a very good thing. When you have finished the volume would you stick it into a large envelope and post it to