T. E. Lawrence to Ernest Thurtle

6.iii.35

Dear E.T.,

My Dorset 'fastness' is beset, they tell me, by pressmen: so I wander about London in a queer unrest, wondering if my mainspring will ever have a tension in it again.

So I'm not cheerful, actually; but sad at losing my R.A.F. existence. It was good, and I felt useful: also it was noticeably peaceful. I expect there is a good deal to be said for the comfortable shadow of a 'bombing plane' - now a term of abuse, but the only democratic weapon!

Thank you for the book. I look forward to reading it when I get home... which is after the ink-slingers go to their homes. Theodore Powys, the brother of Llewellyn, is a rare person.

We must meet some day. In fact, I will again attempt Johnson's Court!

Yours

T E Shaw