so much for your interesting letter. I think you are
right every time about Gosse and Claudel; or rather about Claudel and
Gosse. For though I think Gosse a very valuable old Victorian in his
way, I do not think he is on the same scale as the things that have
lately been happening in the world; and Claudel is one of them. He
has happened like a great gun going off; and I think I saw a line of
his on the subject of such a discharge of artillery in the war. It
ran, "And that which goes forth is France; terrible as the Holy
Ghost." I doubt if Gosse has ever seen that France even in a flash
and a bang; I don't see how he could. Remember the religion in which
he grew up, by his own very graphic account of it; a man is not
entirely emancipated from such very positive Puritanism by anything
so negative as Agnosticism. Nothing but a religion can cast out a
religion. Being so sensitive on behalf of Renan is simply not
understanding the great historical passions about a heresiarch. It
means that famous intellectuals must not hate each other; because
they all belong to the Saville Club. Please do not think I mean
merely that Gosse is a snob; I think he is a jolly old gentleman and
a good critic of French poetry; but not of _Gesta Dei per Francos_.
Your points against him are quite logical; I suppose the controversy
will not be conducted in public, or I should feel inclined to join in
it. Anyhow, I wish it could be continued between us as a conversation
in private, for I have long wanted to talk to you about serious
things.

Meanwhile, as not wholly unconnected with the serious things, could
you possibly do me a great favour? It is very far from being the
first great favour you have done me; and I should fear that anyone
less magnanimous would fancy I only wrote to you about such things.
But the situation is this. An excellent offer has been made to me to
write a book about Jerusalem, not political but romantic and
religious, so to speak; I conceive it as mostly about pilgrimages and
crusades, in poetical prose, and working up to Allenby's great
entrance. The offer includes money to go to Jerusalem but cannot
include all the political or military permissions necessary to go
there. I have another motive for wanting to go there, which is much
stronger than the desire to write the book though I do think I could
do it in the rig