Page 179 - Life of Gertrude Bell

THE ARAB BUREAU i6i
from which that cosmic castle of Britain’s Arab policy was
constructed. We know that if Kitchener was its architect, Sir
Mark Sykes, that ‘bundle of prejudices’, the enfant terrible of
Gertrude’s far-off and carefree journeys in Syria and the Levant,
was its mason. They had, incidentally, repaired their relationship
following meetings in Constantinople and England at the time of
the Balkan War of 1912.
In November 1915 Gertrude wrote to her father: ‘Captain Hall
[Director of Naval Intelligence] sent for me this morning and told
me that Cairo had cabled that they would like me to come out.
Further moves depend on them, but at least, he says, I shall be on
the spot and ready to go. I’m taking all my kit; he quite agrees
that it is as well to be prepared. You will be up, won’t you, before
I go? I know mother is coming on Tuesday. They pay my
travelling expenses and give me my billeting allowance. I think
I’m justified in accepting that, don’t you?’ A few days later, she
was on die P & O ship Arabia off Marseilles. ‘Dearest Father, I
spent some hours ... hanging about the quay —hours not very
much cushioned by making the acquaintance of the Bishop of
Jerusalem and his wife ... The ship is crowded—innumerable
women and babies. If I had babies I don’t think I would take
them travelling about at this juncture.’
1 The events of the past year had not left her without scars, but
here was a new and absorbing task to occupy her and she grabbed
at it. Her concern now was for Maurice, who had been in France
with his Territorial unit almost since the start of hosdlides. On
November 30th she arrived in Cairo where she was met by
Hogarth and Captain Lawrence and taken to the Grand Con­
tinental Hotel where they were all three billeted. On the day of
her arrival she wrote: ‘Dearest Mother, I telegraphed you this
morning after my arrival and asked you to send out by Lady B.
another gown and shirt. It looks as if I might be kept here some
time ... I have not yet been to see the McMahons but I must
leave a card on them today. For the moment I am helping Mr
Hogarth to fill in the intelb'gence files with information as to the
tribes and shaikhs. It’s great fun and delightful to be working
with him. Our chief is Colonel Clayton whom I like very much.
This week Mark Sykes passed through and I have seen a good
deal of him ... We reached Port Said after dark on Thursday
night. Captain Hall, the brother of our Captain Hall (he is head
of the Railway here) made every possible arrangement for my