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ot ae AL a Vicious His antl-Ametican remark ew more and more vicious | diplomatic parties he an elinca tended to stand asid ffam the guests, With them, but already somehow not quite of them, Some people believe that Communtst agents worked on elinda’s own divided loyalties paring thts vehappy time. when her band picked quarrels ever more recklessly, when sometimes it seemed that the only bond between them was their son, A second son was born, again by Caesarian, in July, 1946. and named Donald Marling. It seemed that their marrispe might have yet another chance when, two years later, Maclean was appointed Head ‘of Chan- cery al the British Embassy in Cairo, Prom a fiat in they now moved to a thr te- aioreyed house in Gezireh, a suburb of Cairo, surrounded by a large. walled garden. Four Servants ran the house: the Macleans aiso had a governess and gardeners, In Washington Melinda had seemed incapable af controfling what daily help she eould find, More than once her mother had flown from New York to dismiss an obviously unsatisfactory nurse. because neither Donald nor Melinda seemed capable of doing 80. In Cairo their Servants soon summed up the couple. They grew jazy and slack and sometimes rude, Hostess The Macleans had exchange ie sOCial round for another hore formal and more morcitess| phe Catherine wheel of Cair Sock tail barties blazed on end- essiy. ‘nce they entertained Prince Phitip who’ was staving at the British Embassy. Melinda was hostess to a dozen people who Came to dinner to meet him. Afterwards others arrived to join in such adolescent games as)" Murder." Donald's opinion af his Wife Showed in coniemptuous re- marks he made tc her and About her in condescending explanations of poiiiical matters which she could hot imme- diately grasp, He, meantime, was drinkin More and more. He wouid arrive drunk at diplomatic cock- tail parties; sometimes he did not arrive at all, and Melinda would deputise for him, Mte a servant found him dead drunk with his shoes off gn & bench in the Esbekief Gardens. ‘Then came an Incident that wed to a wider audience his latent hatred of Melinda, and perhaps of himself, his life, and what he had become. psa s sister Harriet wag staying with them. and to make an outing they took a party of {frlends in a hired ealling barge miles up the Nile. They intended to dine with other friends at their destination, ko they brough, ttle to eat for the voyage, but lots to drink. Then the wind fell and the trip tcoReTETTy hours instead_sz-sye ; expected two, — Washington: Xu i i 1 at niet ye my ee r * Ot ate a em Met eae PA Sen ar 1 we e, we) be tm, - * oe tcp ae omy ae ore : By the time they arrived Maclean was paralytically drunk, He setzed Melinda by the tnroat, holding her hard “up against the mast as though he would strangle her. Other men in the Patty dragged him away. There Was a lot of shouting. Melinda held her head in her hands. In the shambles, with the barge nudging the river bank, an Egyptian watchman, fearing thieves, raised his rifle and This Macitean took as a direct insult, He leaped on the old Man, seized his riffe and waved it around his head. threatening everyone. Lees Mayall, a First Secretary in the , challenged them. restrain him. They fell down topether, but only Maclean Lood , broken was teens Mavall bad ' Disgust The evening enced in chaos but Maclean's career did not suffer—although his pocket did. Melinda's mother was so dis. gusted with his she cut daughter. behaviour that ber allowance to her hoping that this Would make ber son-in-law sober up, Tt didn, although Melinda's rémarks about her Jack of funds Increased. She always appeared ‘ of money. sometimes blaming this on Donald's drink- ing habits The Macleans. moved house, Their old landiord Protested to the embassy that windows hed been broken, furniture smashed, and electric fittings tern from the walls. Maclean went of to Alexandria. and became 36 drunk that he was atresied ang thrown into a Jail usually teserved {or drunken sailors, One Sunday afternoon, Major A. W, Sansom, in charge of security at the British ¥, Was Dlaving bowls at the Gezira Sporting Cub when Interrupted him, She was fn tears and holding back hysterics, Her husband had disappeared on Friday: ashe UT ae embassy, | ‘Jumped on Maclean's back io - iff WA Fl Mohr Bishop re Casper Callahan Conrad Felt Gale Rosen Sullivan WW Tavel ww Trotter Tele. Room Holmes Gandy The Washington Post Times Herald The Washington Daily News The Evening Star (Washington) The Sunday Star (Washington) Daily News (New York) Sunday News (New York) New York Post ee The New York Times The Sun (Baltimore) oe The Daily Wotld The New Leader ee The Wall Street Journa} The National Observer —__ People’s World Examiner (Washington) THE SUNDAY EXPRESS LONDON, ENGLAND Date _Vanuary 12, 1969 -