Word: ned
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...fell to Brother Ned (T. E.) to perform the deeds that brought fame to the family name. Ned was fond of literature, music and machinery, but his chief passion was archaeology-a bent that led him slowly but steadily through the ruined castles and abbeys of Britain and France to the "diggings" of Mesopotamia and the Arabian desert...
...Anglo-Stoic. Like his brothers, Ned was a dedicated ascetic. He never smoked, never touched liquor ("People are asses to drink such stuff"). Even of eating, he said: "To escape the humiliation of loading in food would bring one very near the angels." When Brother Frank was killed, Ned rebuked his parents for feeling the "need ... to go into mourning. I cannot see any cause at all- in any case to die for one's country is a sort of privilege." He even reproached his mother for expecting her sons to tell her how much they loved...
...just this Anglo-Stoic reticence which makes Ned's letters read more like those of an ardent, puttering professor than an inspired leader of men. Hundreds of his early letters contain nothing more exciting than the measurements, in feet and inches, of innumerable loopholes, embrasures and arches, plus detailed information about the price of milk and bread and the state of his bicycle ("34 punctures to date ... in 1,400 miles"). If Ned's letters were the only clue to his identity, readers would think that all he did in World War I was collect stamps...
After war's end, Ned joined the R.A.F. as "Aircraftsman Shaw," was posted to stations in India. Thousands of pounds poured in from his bestselling Revolt in the Desert, but Ned sent most of the profits straight to charity. Ned's chief financial problem was how to answer his fan mail when he could only "afford two rupees [about 70?] for stamps every week." He noted, with a touch of malicious pleasure, that his modesty made him a thorn in the flesh of his superiors. "The officers steer clear of me, because I make them uncomfortable...
substitute first baseman Ned Felton smashed a rousing single to center, scoring Noyes, and putting the tying run on second. Don Butters smacked one apparently through the box, but Ready moved with remarkable quickness, grabbing the "base hit," and the Crimson had to settle for a game...