Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-02-24

OIshLllLcu the AThDS III q TeVC
ried out daring guerrilla
campaigns in which valor
and tactical brilliance COM
bined to create the figure Of
a war hero-one of the most
magnificent in the history Of
warfare.
1t was therefore not diff
cult for Shaw to reply to the
young writer, whom he had
met once, that The Seven
Pillars of Wisdom" did not
have to be read to be recog-
nized as an assured CONNER
cial success. Lawrence never
theless sent him a copy Of
the book, and then. resign
ing his position as an adviser
on Arab affairs in the Brit
ish Colonial Office, he as
sumed the name Of Ross, and
enlisted in the Raj.
y
This is the scene that is
set for Stanley Weintraub's
book Private Shaw and
Public Shaw" (the double
epithet is GBS's. and the
name is Lawrence's next
pseudonym. as will be re-
lated. 1t is a fascinating
study of two men who be-
came intimate and lifelong
friends-one q brilliant ex-
trovert, witty. urbane. easily
articulate. the other in
everything a contradiction
a genuine seeker of obscurity
whose every act made pub
licity, q natural leader of
men who lived in fear of
himself, q man Of blazing
action who in his study could
write Seven Pillars" explor-
ing the mind no less sensi-
lively than telling the ad-
venture, an ascetic with a
zest for life.
j. H. Ross did not want an
important position in the
British government. Win
ston Churchill, who thought
he was one of the greatest
men of his time, and many
other friends even more in
nuential, would have been
glad to get him any job
within his competence, and
not q few of them were of the
opinion that he could do
anything he set out to
achieve. Ross, when he en-
tered the recruiting office
after finishing his book,
suffered from an illness Of
extreme establishment,
brought on perhaps by his
disappointment over the
aftermath of the war and Of
the Paris Peace Conference,
or perhaps by psychic dis
turbances more subtle, COM
pick, and deep-rooted. What
was in fact the heart of
Lawrence's mystery is the
secret of the appeal of Mr..
Weintraub's book. The
author never plucks it out,
and the reader rejoices in his
opportunity for speculation
and for wonder. Fiction
based on the life Of Ross has
suggested latent homoSexu-
atty, but there is nothing
overt in his life story to
sustain the 4mputation.
The Raj was in immediate
difficulty. Ross was a model
private doing the mental jobs
assigned him competently
and thoroughly, but the sit
uation could have been paral-
leled only by Napoleon in
the rank of common soldier
taking orders from a French
corporal. Ross identity soon
beanie known, the public and
the press started a great
clamor of why? What's go
ing on here?" and soon
demands were made in Com
mons to put Lawrence in a
position BETTING his back
ground. Ross. however, In
sisted that he was doing
what he wanted. With
regret, the Raj released him,
and with the help of much
wire-pulling at the highest
governmental level. Ross. or
T. E. Shaw, as he now called
himself. was accepted into
the army as a private, hat
ing this branch Of the serv-
ice, but hoping that his stint
in 1t would be In the nature
OF a. probationary period
leading to his reinstatement
In the Raj.
- &E
Meanwhile, GBS, immersed
In "St. JOAN" did not have
time to read the long Seven
Pillars" thoroughly, but his
wife did read the book and
thought II a masterpiece.
Shaw himself became wildly
enthusiastic about II as he
read further into II. and
recommended 1t highly to