Tolstoy, In the Footsteps of T.E.Lawrence

I enjoyed a splendid walk today, starting at Moreton in Dorset, heading towards Clouds Hill and over Throop Heath, where there were military exercises involving tanks and rifle target practice near Bovington Camp, not far from our path through the woods and over the heath.

"The district is good for walking" (T.E.Lawrence letter to H.S.Ede, from Cloud's Hill, Moreton, Dorset, 5.iv.1935.

I was reminded of a passage in Tolstoy's short story, The Raid:

"Only very occasionally did one hear the clang of a heavy gun, the ring of bayonets clashing, restrained voices, or the snorting of a horse.

Nature seemed to breathe nothing but pacifying beauty and power.

Could it be that there was not room for all men to live in this wonderful world, under this fathomless starry sky? Was it really possible that in the midst of such natural splendour, feelings of hatred and vengeance, or the passion to destroy one's fellows, could reside in the hearts of men? All that is evil in man should- one would think- disappear on contact with nature, the most direct expression of beauty and goodness."

T E Lawrence, the motorcycle accident

Lawrence was on his way back to Cloud's Hill from Bovington Camp on his Brough motor-cycle when he had his fatal accident.

The film version

Clouds Hill cottage