Page 164 - Gertrude Bell (H.V.F.Winstone)

144 GERTRUDE BELL
the Amir s chief adviser whom she did not see, and his repre­
sentative in Hail who received her (both cousins of die Amir’s
mother), have been murdered ... Miss Bell has kindly promised
to furnish you with a detailed account of her travels, the
results of which will be of great interest and value, as no
European has visited Hail for more than fifteen years ... As
she was desirous of meeting Talaat Bey and I thought that
there would be no harm in his Excellency hearing some first
hand information respecting the present situation as regards
Ibn Rashid and Ibn Saud’s prospects and influence, I invited
him to meet her at dinner. His Excellency was more impressed
with Miss Bell’s knowledge than she with his. He told her that
he proposed to appoint Ibn Saud Vali of Nejd giving him
practical independence but placing a small Turkish garrison in
Ojair and El Katif and that the frontier between Ibn Rashid
and Ibn Saud would be demarcated. Miss Bell told Talaat Bey
that she thought that this latter proposal was quite impractic­
able, which indeed it seemed to be.

When she finally reached London Gertrude was in a tormented
state of mind. The emotional tie with Doughty-Wylie, far from
diminishing as the result of her Arabian journey, had intensified.
In April, before leaving Baghdad she had told Chirol: T expect I
shall be in Damascus by the end of the month, and the middle of
May will probably see me in C’ple—if Sir Louis is there. If not,
I should perhaps come back via Athens. I don’t mind much either
way, indeed I am profoundly indifferent. But I don’t care to be in
London much, and if there is no reason for hurrying, I shall not
hurry ... You will find me a savage, for I have seen and heard
strange things, and they colour the mind. You must try to civilise
me a little, beloved Domnul. I think I am not altered for you, and
I know that you will bear with me. But whether I can bear with
England ... I come back ... with a mind permanently altered. I
have gained much and I will never forget it. This letter is only for
you —don’t hand it on to anyone, or tell anyone that the me they
knew will not come back in the me that returns. Perhaps they
will not find out.’
The England she eventually returned to was changed perhaps
as much as she. In that sultry summer political tempers were
frayed on all sides and ominous threats of war, civil and inter­
national, threw dark shadows over the country. The Irish