T. E. Lawrence Correspondence – Page 188

To: Dr. C. M. Doughty. 30. 7. 20¢ All Souls¢ Oxford. Dear Mr. Doughty, I have been very much at fault lately: but I wanted to get things settled a little before I wrote to you. I have no doubt that "..though" you will have written to you about the Mediol Edition of Arabia Deserta. I hope you will accept it, for it is very difficult to get any "..." out "...-....." Your share is miserable: and the price is very high: but the original now stands over £30 and this is at least an improvement on that. Also I feel that the great thing is to get it set up. "..." is only a kind of winding of BOO copies: but it was been designed to cover its expenses, and the book will always be in hand to re- print when the 500 are sold. I think that those later "reprints can be sold cheaper, and so the book may at last reach a full public. There are just two difficulties. To catch the collector, an edition. this should be a little different from the old. Nothing can be changed in it as it stands, so I suggested that you might be persuaded to write an additional preface. It-would have that paper, you would just put down on paper, easily, the "why" you went to Arabia. I don't mean Medain Salih, but to write something: and it would be exceedingly interesting if you would do this. You wrote it as a Bed "..ion between the voice you took and the "..ched book: and how you were able to take such notes without being stopped. These are only suggestions --but I hope you will do something, because it would help to clear the 500 off, and all the ... Leo Warner is risking a good deal of money. The other difficulty is worse. They have asked me to write a note introducing it. I feel this as absurd as it would be to introduce Shakespeare. However they urged that I had an advertisement value, especially in America which has "..ther hardly "..n you, and which ought to buy nearly half the 500 --and so I said that I would do it, if you would allow it to be done. I'm afraid you will feel it rather an outrage on the book: and I shall be delighted if you do. The only risk is of ... (contd.)