T. E. Lawrence Correspondence – Page 550

COFT (AM 91/3/84) Xdal-71 B.C. Shaw Room : S.S.S 1.16 Pembroke Febgh Rhad Kaprvlil. 22/11/27. Dear Ishma, Your letter is, I think, took the windest thing I've ever had. I cannot imagine how you get through life. It lets your principle to have a hero in every traitor: Now we can admit, perhaps, that these belligerent rats were not very graceful ones. Here I'm answering your letter, and in the Foreign Office were it would, I trust, in nice five hours; and I'm quite exhausted as this is the only paper the staff not distantly obtain Government issue the time use of the ari- stocracy a it will not carry no - someone - not having a Secretary, I find it an easier matter to write my letters. Also I don't type well. I cannot take your offer of a job, of course. It would not do me in any friendly terms. To be first with what I am I can make a ...... bird, my writing is better than the staff turned out by the peaceful. Retired army officers, so many of them, are in England, put off boredom by making work resort about "the pleasure of Composition": Let it ask not the smallest pretensions to literature - after all, listen; so, like life. Even I am not ashamed to say that I have never yet seem or read a line of any of Boswell's books; would have read them, but I met one in a friend's room, and reading it my greatest occupation, air, sarfrilly, mork has run out for the time. And if you ask good persons to send me Russell's books, I'11 enjoy it; he must have been a pretty good writer, judging by the way the proper people speak of in. You are, as far the Pacific papers, very lucky in the away you carried off from Manilla. I hope it is as good as they way. You tell of having ten years work on it which is a universal thing to face. My ambition as you know is to get back to England, and the sooner the better after the seas shipped up by Jervis in the distant has settled down. I had to sollem the little duild, as it was my will; regular visit, and it is also after much thought during the repercussions I had to come out here, away from every shading of an enterprising Press. "Iserelit" has done its bit quite decently. My debts have melted right away. That diary state being assured, my trustees, who cam its copyrights, base withdrawn the English edition (from which my idea is that this will make things diet down sooner in England). A book not on sale will be a book will on the way to forgottf..ed In U.S.A., of course its sale will continue; I did not put any jinxing clause in my literary contract, so far as I can see I never imagined (till your letter came) by living in the States. But America, though it comes as a surprise to me, is imagined as half plain with my wap reputation. However, as will not tell much of it. Another "Life" of me is to appear this winter - by George Greves, a young poet of my acquaintance, who had his allowance to ask my versation before he signed his contract. I suppose his tome is fairly accurate; he preferred several visits of it to me in draft. The big trouble I believe lies to trust, so far as concerns myself. Still, his book will out last long. At times one would be wise for a few weeks or months, like "Isorelit"; set times, a year or so-after, I view fad comes. Probably in April, 1930. 593