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T. E. Lawrence to E.M. Forster
Miranshah
12.12.28.
We
have had an idyllic two and a half months here, under the best and
kindest C.O. of my experience. Now he is on the point of going. We hope
the new C.O. will be easy on our comfort-loving souls. When Miranshah is
good, it is very good. In August and September it was horrible.
The
last sentence of your letter wants me to ask you to return the 'Oxford'
Seven Pillars to Wilson. Why should you, except to rid yourself
of an incubus? It is large, and, I fear ugly: and very hard to read: but
curious, too: don't forget it's what's called a 'collector's piece'.
Some swine would call your Blake a collector's piece: but they are
wrong. I wish I could sit under your small (or big) trees and read a
song or two songs of innocence, tomorrow.
Probably it's icy cold, and you are sitting near the fire, feeding the
cat on buttered toast - if cats eat buttered toast. Cats are wiser than
dogs. Yes, I assure you, it is cold here. Our ring of mountains has 4000
feet of snow on it: but we have tons of wood, and I have a fire all to
myself in the office, where I do everything but sleep. Life is good.
Did I
tell you I'm making the 25th (rotten) translation of the Odyssey
into English? They offered me £800 to do it all*, and I fell for the
cash, and do not yet regret it, though it is an impossible job to do
well, and a heart-breaking job to botch. However botched it certainly
is.
I
think the Odyssey is mock-heroic: a sort of Selfridge-Epic: more
like Sigurd the Volung than Marmion. It's awfully well
written: clever as seven devils: and very hard to put into clear
English. It's Wardour Street, itself, in Greek and all rings false. But
gorgeous. I wish I had written the Odyssey and not the Seven
Pillars. I say, the S.P. won't be easy to translate!
I
read The Well of Loneliness: and was just a little bored. Much
ado about nothing.
As
you say, happiness doesn't 'write' well. I don't know any entirely happy
book: - unless it's The Private papers of Henry Rycroft.
Can
you give me Posh's address? I must write to the little sinner.
Middleton I did write to, lately.
Your
T.E.
Shaw
*
anonymously!
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