Page 108 - Life of Gertrude Bell

11

Asia Minor

Early in 1901, before she set out for the Delhi Durbar with Hugo,
Gertrude had engaged the sendees of a maid, Marie Delaere, at an
annual remuneration of £iz plus washing (‘I think you always
give washing?’). She had also found an opportunity to join forces
again with Janet Courtney, and she enjoyed a ‘wild afternoon’
walking through the slums of East London with Hugo: ‘It really
is most extraordinary to see the edges of London.’ After her
return from the world voyage she divided most of her time
between Redcar and London, much of it in the company of her
young cousin Sylvia Stanley, the daughter of Lyulph and aunt
Maisie, and her brother Edward. In 1903 Edward Stanley joined
the British Civil Commission in Nigeria, and so another spate of
correspondence ensued between Gertrude and one of her many
friends and relatives in government service. She wrote to him
soon after his arrival in Nigeria:
Yes, Marcus Aurelius is a good counsellor, if one can follow
his advice. I mostly find myself rebelling against it, with an
uncanny sense of being too hopelessly involved in the mortal
coil to profit by it. What is the use of bending all one’s energies
to the uncongenial thing? One is likely to do little enough
anyway, but if half one’s time is taken up persuading oneself
one likes it or at least conquering distaste there is very litde
left to achieve success with.
Even in her most personal letters, Gertrude usually wagged an
admonitory finger. She reported most of her activities to Edward
Stanley during 1903; being at home she had little cause to write to
her parents and one of the few substantial gaps in their lifelong
corr espondence occurs at this time. ‘Last night I went to a ball at