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29 Dec 55 Peter on board 'Alipore' Mother 1, Hyde Park Place ______________________________________________________________________________________________

Sunday Evening

29 December 1855

My dear Mother

We are now some 20 or 30 Miles from Malta & as we expect to be in Harbour tomorrow morning by Daylight, I take this opportunity of writing in order to see, in the short time we expect to be there, all I can on shore.

We left Buyuh-Dere on the 18th but the wind being foul we only got about a mile and a half further down & had to cast anchor after all. But running into the cardboard houses on each side of the channel next morning we got into a jolly mess as you will have seen by a letter I wrote to my Father & had to get a tugboat to get us off after a night of suspense.

A fair wind carried us across the Sea of Marmara & some way down the Dardanelles but here the breeze being light we again cast anchor & for no earthly reason remained a day or two. Here in a place that no one has ever heard of before we found another of Mr L’s ships at anchor – the ‘Mirzapore’ – bound for Balaclava and presently were hailed by a party in a boat who proved to be some of the officers of the ‘Barrackpore’ – another of Mr L’s vessels which was wrecked on the Isle of Marmara. The same day we lost our anchor & cable & were so nearly ashore in the Bosphorus. She [Barrackpore] was driven against a rock in the evening & next morning there was not a vestige of her to be seen. They all had time to escape however & carry off a few clothes.

The Greeks so ill-used them that they have made complaint to the Consul & one of the Pashas was going down with a number of Captains who had been wrecked there to bring off a number of the offenders and make examples of them.

They did everything to prevent them getting either food or shelter. Their excessive avarice inducing them to sell their things at about 500 per cent. I understand 63 vessels of all sizes were wrecked that same day & we ourselves had a near touch of it.

You can imagine what a sea there must have been to have broken a chain cable like that which a vessel of this kind requires. We counted about a dozen vessels ashore in the Sea of Marmara. Near us we could plainly see a tent which the crew had most likely rigged up. On the Isle there were several vessels wrecked the same day.

The Talavria, one of Dunbar’s ships went down like a shot off a rock but most of the crew were saved. The Barrackpore was I believe only about half insured. It is a bad job for the men and officers as they have to manage for themselves and at their own expense besides losing all their things and a good ship.

We have six of their crew aboard; four apprentices, boatswain & carpenter, but expect the two latter will leave at Malta as they have not signed Articles & do not seem to approve of their treatment on board the Alipore where the Cabin is better found than the forecastle and where they being sort of half officers are treated the same as the crew.

We had a beautiful run through the Archipelago but [when we] arrived in the open Mediterranean, the wind vanished & we lay becalmed having at times a slight breeze to move us on a little.

The weather now is nearly, if not quite, as hot as in Summer. A pleasant Christmas to have, tho’ I would rather it were the other way. For the sudden change which we shall have after Gibraltar will not be pleasant after such beautiful weather.

If I can I shall have a look at the Opera at Malta & St John’s Church which as I dare say you know is one of the oldest in Christendom. I do not know whether St Paul preached there when he was wrecked at Malta, but I daresay they say he did.

If we stay at Malta more than a couple of days I will write again but if we leave at once you will not hear again from me till I arrive in Old England or unless we are detained by contrary winds at Gibraltar which is very possible and would be very annoying. Love to all & all that sort of thing.

& Believe me ever

Your affect Son

Peter Laurie

Tell Julius I tried very hard to get a Turkish wooden leg for him at Constantinople as he might cut a better figure in something novel of that sort, than an old British cork leg. But I forget – his leg was found next day on the field & put on again – mirabile dictu.*

* mirabile dictu – Wonderful to relate