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16 Jun 58 Peter Hong Kong Mother ______________________________________________________________________________________________

East Point, Hong Kong

16 June 1858

My dear Mother

I seem to have made a most unaccountable mistake when I told you I had no time for writing nor indeed anything to write about, but the fact is simply this – that I seize every opportunity of scribbling a few lines to you – which will account for the first; & to account for the second I can only tell you that it is a matter of astonishment to every one how I can find any thing to write about, much more to write such lengthy epistles as I am wont to do & never miss a mail.

I am sorry to say that as usual the brief interval since I last wrote has not passed without unfolding its tale. It is the same miserable thing again – that of single individuals set upon by lawless Chinese in the open face of day.

A Captain belonging to one of our vessels who, unlike most sailors, is a most quiet, harmless and inoffensive creature, was out walking the day before yesterday when he was suddenly set upon by five Chinamen & his pistol unfortunately missing fire, he was soon knocked down, stripped of everything & left for dead upon the road. Before leaving him they hammered his head well with stones. The only wonder is that they did not (as they usually do) chop off his fingers for the sake of his rings.

For my own part I now never carry a thing of any value about me. Money in China on account of our arrangements, which I think I have before explained, we have no occasion to carry, & my watch, my ring, my everything, has long since been consigned to my desk. By the bye, I must remark while I think of it – if ever you want to send me out any little present, never send me anything by way of jewelry.

But I have another most unjustifiable attempt to relate on one as harmless (more so, if possible) than that just mentioned. It appears that poor Mr Gray the clergyman, whom I have before mentioned, was lately set upon en masse in Canton & severely maltreated. Poor man, I am very sorry for him. He was one of the best, most kind hearted & really good men I have ever known.

It is curious that these inoffensive parties should have been their victims. A short time ago a gentleman was strongly recommended not to walk, as he was in the habit of doing, along the Queen’s Road – a road thronged by passengers & with uninterrupted houses on either side, besides being tolerably interspersed with police. ‘My dear Sir’ was his reply, ‘I am known to be a most harmless person – they will never attack me’. The very next day he was knocked down, robbed in open daylight in the chief street in Hong Kong before every one & what is more, the Chinamen, as they always manage to do, escaped down some bye-way

I send you in this letter a duplicate Bill of Lading for the box by the ‘Florence Nightingale’ in case the former one, tho’ it is not likely, should mis-carry.

I gave you the particulars in one of my last letters but I have now to give you the particulars of another Box which I have given in charge of Capt Jackson of the ‘Ireland’, one of Mr L’s steamers & of which I also enclose a small document with is certainly not necessary but which you had better retain until you get the Box all right. It is usual here just to send such a slip of paper with anything to be signed & returned by the person who receives it.

Even in sending letters from one house to another the same practice is observed, at least with everyone except Messrs. Jardine M. & Co who never do anything anyone else does. I once asked the question why J.M. & Co did not do so – as everyone else seemed to. ‘That is the very reason why they do not’ was the reply.

But to return to the ‘Ireland’, I also enclose a list of the contents of the Box which, being lined with tin, will have to be opened by some skilled person or will stand in imminent peril of having its contents considerably damaged.

In the first place then, there is a very handsome set of Indian Chessmen which were a present to me from Mrs S at Calcutta. She had two or three sets, something of this description & I could not help passing the remark of how handsome they were for just common use, for we constantly played with them.

She immediately insisted upon my taking one of the sets (there were 3) & altho’ I of course I could not think of accepting them, she sent them to an ivory man who was to make them just like new. I entered my protest but it was no good. I was obliged to accept them.

Here, they are no good. My servants would only knock them down & break them but you may find them ornamental in the drawing room. There will be a heavy duty on them I am afraid but that I think might be reduced by declaring them to be old & long in use.

I should tell you that the White are of Ivory & the black of Tortoiseshell, a thing very rarely to meet with as the latter are usually made of Ivory painted Black or Red.

There are 4 Folk Pictures illustrative of native festivals & ceremonies. The one represents ‘Burning the Widow’ or ‘Suttee’* a very agreeable proceeding & but very lately put down by the East India Coy. Another the ‘Doorzah Poojah’, the feast I witnessed in Calcutta – exclusively Hindoo & very interesting in its way, a third ‘Rat poofale’ or some such name also Hindoo, the particulars of which I do not know & the last, the ‘Mohurrum’ or great Mahommedan festival, usually a very dangerous time for ‘John Company’.

There is a lot of Chicken Work* as it is called in Calcutta, worked by native women. Of course I am not much of a judge of these things but there it is. You can give Mary & any of my especial friends whom I think I need not name, any thing that you want do not want yourself, of course reserving whatever may take your fancy.

There are some Chinese paintbrushes or rather ‘pens’ I should remember to say, for as such they really are used & there are two pieces of Indian Ink as it is inappropriately called – as it is neither used in, nor has its origin or anything else to do with, India. It is in every sense of the word Chinese Ink. These latter things may amuse Alfred & Frankie.

I also send you just for fun a quantity of Chinese money. In days of yore I use to treasure up one solitary coin as the greatest of curiosities. What should I then have thought had I then received, as you will do by the ‘Ireland’, upwards of 300. In fact exactly 310 & they of the value of -----. I recollect going to a Chinese Exhibition once & buying one for sixpence. What would have been my astonishment then at learning that it required 310 to make up a shilling !!!

You will also discover a small image which doubtless had little charm or beauty. It was in fact my Bearer or Servant’s Backsheesh (present) to me when I left Calcutta. It cost him perhaps a halfpenny but it gained him an extra rupee – you see Ns have wisdom.

There is a costume which perhaps you will not exactly recognise. It is that of an Indio-Chinese Bathing Suit as I call it. When I was in Calcutta, little thinking that I should ever see China, I had this suit made à la Chinois, but of a truly Indian pattern. In China I find they are generally worn in undress about one’s room & indeed they are generally in use as night-clothes. Our long night gowns are quite unknown here. But the Indian Pattern quite alarmed Chinese & I have now, in exactly the same fashion, a regular set of them made of plain linen.

I do not know who would appreciate the ‘Indio-Chinese Bathing Suit’. They will be no use to you. I thought of sending it to John but his legs would be too long. I think if you give them to Robert, he might in some leisure moment astonish the natives.

Lastly I could not fail to include some curious device for little Helen. You will therefore discover amid the recesses of this Box two strange fish of most unnatural proportions & of peculiarly Chinese physiognomy. Like all fish, they are made to swim in water & like fish do not remain alive out of it. I have however my doubts as to whether they will preserve the lively hues with which they have been adorned should they be too aquatic & therefore would recommend that to a certain extent they should still remain as ‘fishes out of water’.

A Captain of a vessel at present here asked me the other day if I had any relations of the name of Collett ‘because’ he said he ‘about 20 years ago, I was midshipman in a vessel with one of the wildest young scamps I ever knew who was the very image of you’. It turned out to be Dick – only he went by the name of Tom. He said he had been several times at Fulham & told me about his being nearly drowned. He says he was the life of the whole ship & danced the hornpipe better than any one he ever knew.

The last two days have been the great ‘Feast of Dragons’ – the name is however far more imposing than the festival for all I could see was a lot of ordinary boats with a bright coloured flag & a great quantity of coloured paper spread all about, impelled with paddles by about a dozen half naked Chinamen. But there were also on this peculiar occasion innumerable small nondescript vessels of various sizes such as we see small boys sailing at home, only that these were made of coloured paper instead of wood & were kept floating by a bundle sticks affixed to the bottom. In these they place rice & other such things as offerings to ‘Joss’.

As I was coming from town yesterday there was a very nice little China girl pulling in the boat – for I believe I have before explained that the women here all do these sorts of things. I happened to observe some of this Joss-pigeon (affair – derived from business) & just for fun steered the boat towards it & made pretence to hook it with my stick. To see the state they were all immediately in was most ridiculous & the little Chinese girl assured me in the most solemn voice that if I were to touch that, Joss would strike me dead.

I believe in Canton the Feast of the Dragons is more interesting. There they have large boats symbolised of the dragon &c. It has occurred to me that I forgot to mention a small Chinese painting on silk which I have also sent & which I omitted at the time to put down on the list. The chief interest in it (or at any rate additional interest) is that it was bought at Shanghai in the artist’s studio while in the course of painting. Of course it is nothing like finished.

We have just had a great row here at the Club in which some Madras officers have got themselves into a most delightful mess. These Madras fellows are very much disliked here as they give themselves great airs & are always doing some stupid thing like this.

It appears that some tipsy Frenchman went into the Club & made a great to do & would not go out when ordered. After about an hour’s ineffectual attempting to persuade him that it was no public restaurant or café & after he had got quite uproarious, it was found necessary to call in the police & turn him out, when suddenly a lot of Madras officers got up & declared he should remain in spite of his drunkenness, in spite of his not being a member of the Club & in spite of the police.

Of course they came to blows. The Frenchman was soon forgotten & the fight continued between the Madrassees & the police. The former actually using threats that they would call their men to their assistance & such insane & childish remarks. It ended in their being well thrashed, collared, locked up, heavily fined, kicked out of the Club & henceforth excluded from all society.

Two Captains were at the head of it – one making use of such abusive language in Court that when a policemen who was giving his evidence happened to forget himself, he was told by the Inspector that ‘if an officer holding the Queen’s Commission did not know how to behave himself as a gentlemen, it was no reason why he should follow his example.’

There certainly was not the remotest excuse for their conduct from beginning to end & they still persist in carrying it on, challenging certain civil members of the Club who have in consequence had them bound over to keep the peace & now walking about with huge sticks & threatening to take their revenge.

On the whole, they have acted in a manner which proves they are not gentlemen either in behaviour or discrimination or feeling & I am happy to say that I made a mistake when I called them Madrassees. Both Teddy & Arthur (I presume) are saved the disgrace of calling them comrades for they are Bengal troops – the mutinous ones, not the Madras or faithful ones.

I am sorry to say that Cholera is breaking out here & has been very bad in Macao. Several people suddenly died one morning & it was feared had been poisoned by the Chinese, but it is now allowed to be Cholera. One of our stablemen – a N – was taken ill yesterday morning & died in a few hours & two more are now ill. Life here seems beset on every side. The Climate ruins the health of three fourths at least & disease & patriotic & piratical Chinamen do their best to get rid of the rest.

At Canton the other day, independent of course of lots of similar cases, 3 men were kidnapped in a boat in the open river & altho’ a gunboat was dispatched as soon as possible in pursuit, it was but little use. The poor men probably had their heads chopped off in a jiffy – for there is at this moment a large reward for the heads of all Barbarians rising as high as Drs.1,500 for any one high in authority & allowing Drs.100 for an ineffectual attempt & an independence for both wife & family in case of death.

These handbills (in Chinese) were actually being distributed in Canton at the gate of the Yamun or palace (of Yeh) where the Commissioners live & were discovered by Dr Dickson whom I have before mentioned & who understands Chinese.

Really, the impudence of these people has no limit. Even with our ‘boys’ or servants, however cringing and submissive they may be when you get them alone, just let them get together & they laugh in your face. If they want to take a holiday they never think of asking – off they go & you may stop dollars from their wages or do what you will, you will never get them to ask permission. If you say much they’ll be off altogether & leave wages & everything behind them.

20 June 1858

The mail arrived last night by which I had calculated I was to receive letters from you all & so I did – & far beyond my expectations for every one has sent two.

There were two from you, two from my Father, two in Lylie’s hand writing, one enclosing wedding cards & one from Mary. I am glad to see that you are all so delighted with my good luck & I only hope your expectations may some day be realised.

It is very sudden news to hear that Lylie Sawer is married when I had not so much as heard of the engagement. The extent however of the description of the Bridegroom seems to be that he is 6 feet high & wears a moustache which latter Arthur has underlined. Is he amiable or noisy, or quiet, or how does he behave himself? You know that Lylie & I were great friends & I therefore feel an interest in her choice.

I hope all the whooping cough (hooping cough as Mary writes it) has vanished by this time – poor little Helen. Arthur I am glad to hear has passed. He is very young to go out to India & to tell you the truth I am very sorry he has gone to India. I think my Father will find himself mistaken if he thinks he is going to live on his pay.* However, nous verrons.

I must see about Mr G Turner – as to his being fast, or having been – that is not considered a failing here. Every one here is expected to be fast.

You must not for a moment imagine that business men here are anything like business men at home, for they are as different as they possibly can be. We at East Point however are so far away from the community that we strike out in a course of our own.

And so Julius is at Lucknow – to use the pun attributed to Sir Colin – I hope he may also be in Luck now – I have not received the letter you mention nor have I received a single letter since the first week in Nov: except the one telling me to go to the Mauritius which after all was a wild goose chase I believe. I do not expect I ever shall receive them now.

Tell me, when you next write, what have become of the Masseys &c. &c. & all my old friends. Are the two Miss Hoopers married. What became of Ernest Lloyd &c. & all that sort of thing as I am sadly out of news of this description.

I am glad you like the new house. I think it is a good move. Take care of the Sebastopol relics & Mrs Heath. The latter though must be pretty nearly ‘old enough to take care of herself’.

You will perceive by the manner in which I have touched upon the various topics, that I have your letter before me as I write. I don’t know whether you adopt this plan but I think it is recommendable as then you do not forget to reply to queries & all that sort of thing as you are otherwise apt to do.

I have written to Sir Peter by this mail & now as I am desirous of writing to my Father & have managed to draw this epistle to an unusual length, I think I will conclude by sending my love to all & a kiss to Helen.

from your affect'ate Son

Peter G. Laurie

* Suttee – Properly known as sati, (the Indian custom of a widow burning herself to death on her husband's funeral pyre) was officially banned by the British in 1829 but proved difficult to eradicate completely

* Chicken Work – A form of needle work similar to shadow work. Closed herring bone stitches are done on the wrong side of the fabric with white cotton rough thread

* live on his pay – As it turned out, prophetic words