Series 03: John Brady Nash letters, January 1914-December 1915 - Page 221
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[Page 221]
25-3-15. Another batch of Australian letters have arrived not one for me. Do I like that? No. Many nurses have letters dated Sydney 20-2-15. Two newspapers, Table Talk & The Sydney Mail, from Mrs Knowles are the last packages to hand for me. Suppose must be content. Of course with mine one source of delay is, Coghlan's office in London passes the correspondence to some body of Colonials, to do the forwarding. It is just like Coghlan and his officials. Instead of employing a few skilled men to deal with the letters at once in his office, he gets rid of them by wasting time and throwing the responsibility on to others.
At Shepheards hotel while waiting for a few minutes I wrote and posted a letter to you. It may show that midst the crowds and bustle in Cairo's centre my mind had moments of thought for you & home.
Every locale has mongst its people special aptitude for some kind of work. 'Mongst such in Cairo is brass work. You may have seen at Farmers brass work, in the form of finger bowls, flower vases, hall stands, etc. In the native quarter, off the Mushki, – The chief Egyptian business street in the city –, there is a special section where most of the workmen are occupied with chisel and hammer in tracing the various designs along the polished surface of the brass. The hues are made with much expedition, the sharp edge is applied to the polished surface, sharp gentle tapping with a hammer applies the weight. The grooves give the variety. In further progress into the grooves is hammered silver or gold wire. The thickness (weight) of the brass, the artistic quality of the figures, the weight and quality of the wire give to the finished article its value. Some of them are certainly very attractive to the eye, & had there been money in my pocket to spend some of it had passed from me to them that you may be the recipients of samples.
The inlaying of wood with ivory and Mother-of-pearl also attracted my attention. A suit of Mahogany wood couch, sideboard, & chairs, was treated in bold and beautiful with polish and Mother of pearl. An expansive & grand room would be required for its lodgement; in such it would be very impressive. I was told that the time for making was two years and the price asked £700. A writing desk made of good wood, heavy, firmly & closely hinged, drawers sliding evenly & without noise, artistic in design, inlaid on every visible side with pearl in various arrangement, would draw the money from any pocket, the possessor of which had idea