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31 Dec 57 Julius Cairo Mother ______________________________________________________________________________________________

Shepeards Hotel, Cairo

31st Decbr. 1857

My dear Mother

I think I told you I would write by the next mail, so now to commence.

We have been living here since the 19th owing to the breaking down of the ‘Alma’, this being a larger & supposed to be a better place than either Alexandria or Suez, the only towns in our route.

Little did I ever expect to spend a Christmas day in Egypt. I suppose this is only a beginning of adventures. There is no apparent reason why I should not have a life full of them.

It was a most unlooked for occurrence, thus being detained & of course everybody was as equally unprepared for it as I was. However I shall be delighted at getting away, but do not think I shall ever regret my stay here. It has been taken up with all sorts of pleasant & interesting excursions to all the places of note in the neighbourhood.

We have seen (& what is more, climbed up) the Pyramids which is considerably more than a great number of people can boast of. They are about 8 miles from Cairo & are certainly immense constructions – masses of stone lifted on the top of each other beginning very broad & tapering smaller & smaller until at last (on the one I went up) the summit would scarcely contain 150 men packed close together, or about the size of the library, while I think the base stands in 14 acres.

There are two very large ones & several smaller ones in several directions. These are built on the edge of the great desert. It took us about ¼ of an hour to get up. The stones are about 4 feet high & you have to mount with an Arab at each arm & one behind to give you a heave. I do not think I ever felt so thoroughly helpless as when, about half way up, I stopped to rest & found myself in company with these three wild Arabs. No one else near, one of whom could in a second have sent me down the immense height.

I must own that I was disappointed with them as they are exactly like the things in red* on the label of Basses bottled beer.

We went the other day to see the gardens of one of the Pascha, all full of orange trees covered with ripe fruit. In the midst of this was a summer house with a large square in the centre with fountains & a nice piece of water which, in this country, where it never rains, is in itself a wonder. To say nothing of everything being constructed of marble. The whole house was built of it. The steps up from the garden, all the walls – in fact everything – was marble. At the four corners were four rooms most magnificently fitted up. There was the Smoking room all cushioned, the billiard room, of course all the cues were studded with gold &c. The drawing room which was indeed magnificent, a most wonderful candelabra hung in the centre, a present from the Emperor of Russia. At the sides of the room were candlesticks of fine silver & the floor was of polished mahogany. The furniture as all covered over, but I uncovered a chair which seemed to be a mass of gold & crimson.

There was of course a bath room which was also splendidly fitted up. Some of the rooms were beautifully painted on the sides, blinds &c. It struck me that it was all very gorgeous, but that there was not much taste displayed. Of course we have done the Mosque which was likewise all marble, & ceiling gold.

In fact, everything within reach of Cairo has been visited, the wonderful Heliopolis* which is represented by a large block of granite, four sided with all sorts of figures &c. like you see in the British Museum. This obelisk is supposed to represent & to be the last vestige of a large town & has been standing about 4,000 years. I was with a party of ladies. We lunched under the identical tent that Joseph & Mary rested under in their flight into Egypt. The other things that we have been shown are of smaller importance & as I know one very soon gets tired of hearing of anybody else’s experiences, I will shut up.

The Passengers that were to have gone to Calcutta & Madras by the Alma have of course done all sorts of things with more or less sense in them. The first was to draw up a letter to the Times stating our wrongs & exposing the P&O Company but I rather expect the Editor will refrain from publishing it, since that there have been meetings & committees & resolutions & divisions – to say nothing of the speechifying. The upshot of all the whole has been that a civil letter has been sent to the P&O Directors requesting them to pay us our Hotel expenses which I don’t doubt they will do, but if they do not, the Committee is to decide whether we shall bring an action against them. Of course after taking advice on the subject, this letter has I think been signed by the whole of the passengers. Besides that, another letter is to be forwarded on the part of those who are losing their Indian salaries or pay, explaining that if common forethought had been used, & a vessel placed at any port nearer than the Indian ones, we should not have been subject to such delay. That this is not the first time the thing has happened & that although they warn us that they are not accountable for any extraordinary delay, this one might have been avoided & therefore we consider ourselves justified in asking them to make up our losses.

I do not think that it will have the effect. I have signed the letter but I shall not join in taking legal measures to make them.

The natives of this place are of course quite oriental. They are most of light copper color, large made. The women are covered as in Turkey. I have not seen any pretty eyes yet, but they say there are some beautiful women. My informants are some of the ladies who went over a Harem belonging to the cousin of the Viceroy. The men wear light clothing – something like a nightshirt, but blue – a fez or a turban & the dress is complete. The gentry wear shoes &c. The correct way of getting about is on donkey back. The beasts are smaller than our English ones but they are wonderfully strong. At first I got all sorts of tumbles as I used to sit as I would on horseback. The correct way is on the hind quarters where all their strength lies.

I rode one 30 miles the other day on a shooting excursion. We got awfully wet in the course of the day but we managed to bag our 10 brace of snipe & 3 duck. So you see that even on the borders of the desert, Englishmen can get some sport. Would very much have liked going up the Nile but it would have taken too long.

4^th January /58. –

I must commence by wishing you all a happy new year. I did not send this by the mail leaving today as I was not sure where we were to start. The Southampton & Marseilles passengers arrived last night & went on to Suez this morning to the Nubia which is to convey them to Calcutta & Madras &c. Since they started we have received information that we are to go in the same vessel. There will be a nice crowd but anything is better than staying here. There will be the full complement of two vessels on board one. However if we do not receive the accommodation of 1st Class Passengers I shall make the Company return me the difference in the fare between 1st & 2nd Class tickets.

The mail from India arrived here the evening before last. There were some unfortunate widows & children* on board. The news is bad. Poor General Havelock* is dead, but of course you will have heard all, ages before this reaches you, as it does not go for another fortnight.

My Regt. has not made much of a beginning, losing its tents but thank goodness it was not their fault. It will be nearly a month before I get to Calcutta & I suppose about another before I get up to the Regt. What a horrid nuisance this delay is. I wish my Father could manage to call & see what the P&O Company are going to do for us.

I have just drawn £13 on Cox to pay the Hotel bill. I did not know any other way of doing it. We have been 18 days at 10/-. It is dreadful the way these people have got you in their power, you must pay what they ask or you can get nothing as there are no shops as in England for buying necessities. 2/- a bottle for beer. 2/- for cold bath. It is really awful. However we hope to get £1 a day allowed us by the P&O Company.

I do not often & don’t think I shall again write such a letter as this; 3 sheets. I wonder whether anyone will read it through or as I do, ‘take it for granted’.

I saw a Capt. Laurie was killed in India. I found that he belonged to the 21st Bengal Native Infantry. I hope it is not an unfortunate name out there.

I will write again from Aden if there shall happen to be sitting room on board the Nubia, which I think is doubtful as there will be about 250 Passengers on board as well as 180 soldiers. However anything to get on. It is too late to wish a merry Xmas, but I hope it may be a merry new year as well as a happy one.

With love to all, I remain,

Yr. affect. Son

J D Laurie

* things in red – The Bass & Co. Pale Ale label at that time featured a solid red equilateral triangle; not actually a pyramid, but similar

* Heliopolis – One of the most ancient cities of Egypt, its name now also refers to an unrelated modern suburb of Cairo. The 20m high stone described is the earliest temple obelisk still in its original position

* widows & children – Survivors of the mutiny

* General Havelock – Henry Havelock (1795-1857) served in the Light Infantry, taking part in the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824/6), First Afghan War (1839) and the Sikh Wars (1842/9) and by 1857 was Adjutant-General of the British Army in India, in time for the Mutiny.

In July 1857 he recaptured Cawnpore, but not in time to save the British population from massacre. He advanced towards Lucknow, defeating rebel forces in his path but twice failed to penetrate the rebel force laying siege. Its relief was only achieved on 25th September when Sir James Outram arrived with reinforcements.

However a second rebel force also arrived and this time Havelock and his troops were caught inside the blockade. Finally Sir Colin Campbell arrived in mid-November to relieve Lucknow for a second time. Within days, Henry Havelock was dead, from exhaustion and dysentery. He lived long enough to learn that he had been made a Baron, but died before hearing that he had also been promoted to Major-General