378 Churchill on the Tripoli Raid [ J 9 12 



those are strictly neutral.' His private sympathies are clearly not 

 Italian. ' The Italians,' he said, remind me of the story of the giant 

 who went to cleave an oak in two with his sword, and who caught his 

 hand in the cleft and was held by it, till he was eaten alive by the wild 

 beasts in the forest. They cannot get further, and they cannot get 

 away. They are spending a quarter of a million daily, and will be 

 ruined before they have done. As to the Turks, it is their own fault 

 if they come to grief. They ought to have made friends with us in- 

 stead of running after Germany, which will not help them. I said, 

 ' They could not afford to quarrel with Germany which could have 

 destroyed them in Roumelia, also you wanted too much.' He. ' They 

 ought to have let us reorganize the police with English officers over 

 them, all we wanted of them was our commercial share in the Bagdad 

 railway.' /. ' Yes, and to stay on in Egypt.' He. ' We shall never 

 clear out of that till the Empire breaks up.'' As he seemed inclined to 

 listen, I propounded my alternative scheme of policy, to make alliance 

 with Turkey against Italy and Russia. Italy could easily be dealt with 

 by the Fleet, while Turkey would willingly help to turn the Russians 

 out of Persia. ' I thought,' he said, ' The Turks had made friends 

 with Russia about it.' Returning to Egypt I gave h : m my solution 

 there, the English garrison to be replaced by a regiment of Turks at 

 Cairo, and another at Alexandria, to keep order, things otherwise to go 

 on just the same. On this basis an alliance with Turkey could be 

 arranged. It is clear, however, from his talk that he is bitten with 

 Grey's anti-German policy. He said of the Germans, ' I never could 

 learn their beastly language, nor will I till the Emperor William comes 

 over here with his army.' Nevertheless Winston strikes me as being 

 open to conversion on all these matters. Clementine talked about an 

 act of rudeness shown to her and Winston the other day by Cambon, 

 the French Ambassador, a trifle of no importance, except as showing 

 that Winston also, like Grey, does not know French. We talked also 

 about the Belfast meeting as to which I advised Clementine not to go 

 with her husband, though the chief danger is over now as the meeting 

 is no longer to be held in the Ulster Hall, but under a marquee in a 

 meadow, which it would be difficult to blow up. Talking about Italy, 

 Winston said chuckling, ' The Italians tell us now that if Turkey won't 

 make peace, they will have to declare war again.' 



" Browne came and gave me an account of the dinner given to 

 Schuster yesterday, in which he had explained his doings in Persia. 

 He has the highest opinion of Schuster, who made an admirable speech. 

 Poor Browne is in terrible despair at it all. 



" ist Feb. — Meynell dined with me, and I have read him Margaret 

 Sackville's ' Wooing of Dionysos,' which he agreed with me in pro- 

 nouncing a very first-rate poem. We also had a great discussion about 



