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9 Dec 60 Julius Fyzabad Mother ______________________________________________________________________________________________
Fyzabad
9 – 12 – 60
My dear Mother
Today must not pass without my thanking you all heartily for the kind wishes & congratulations on my obtaining the mature age of One & Twenty, which were contained in your letters received a few days back. I have written to my Father expressing, but feebly I am afraid, my views of his handsome present. It was so thoughtful in him putting it in the form he did, the very form in which to me a present would be most useful, as I have long been wishing to mount myself better and now certainly, thanks to my Father’s liberality it will not be the want of funds that will keep me from getting a
really good horse. I hope you will approve of the way I am going to turn my present to Account.
We all have our Hobbies & I am not ashamed to own that mine are Horses & Dogs. I might have bought a handsome watch & ring which would be perhaps a more substantial sort of present, but I have a most excellent watch, given me by you shortly before I left England (by the way, just at present I can’t get it to go right, & there are no watchmakers resident in Fyzabad) and as for a ring, I do not own such a thing & have never felt the want of one. So to follow my taste & inclination I will, when I can find one, provide myself with a suitable horse & hope that in doing what pleases me most, I shall please my Father & you best.
I am glad indeed to learn that my Father is progressing favourably. Thank John for me please, for his letter. I must answer it when I can. For the next month I shall be full of occupation though. I hope he may continue to get an extension of leave. Six months is but a poor allowance for England & he has been on Foreign Service now a longish time. There are several of our people knocking about London whom he may come across. Of course I cannot help envying him his Xmas at home, but I think he has earned it, and I hope may enjoy it. We have a great Masonic night here on St John’s Day for which great preparations are being made in our Lodge.
The Commander-in-Chief * comes here tomorrow when, no doubt, some of us will catch it, as his questions are nearly always studied in order to puzzle people. If he confines his attentions with me to my own particular work I am prepared, I think, to resist his attacks. Of course, every body is in a great state of funk (commonly called excitement) about his coming. Little Sir Richard is very bad. By the way, talking of Sir R.D.K. KCB – I think he is rather fond of me. He troubles me little, and always does anything I ask him with a better grace than he shows to most of his Officers. The fact is, he tried to interfere with me once & he, knowing nothing whatever about my duties, was put to confusion easily enough by me.
Do you know I begin to feel my age (?). There are I think but 5 older officers than myself in Mess here.
I am beginning to write shop which, for my birthday, will not do. So with very many thanks for all you kind wishes & love to all
I am yr affect son
JD Laurie
* Commander-in-Chief – Lieutenant General Sir Richard Denis Kelly, Commanding Officer of the 34th Regiment.