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30 Apr 61 Peter Hong Kong Mother 10, Hyde Park Terrace ______________________________________________________________________________________________

Hong Kong. 30 April 1861

My dear Mother

Here I am again, having been to Canton & returned again. The fact is our great superior, Mr P. does not know his mind for two minutes. He told me I was to go to Canton in a few days, so I was put to immense inconvenience to get rid of my horses & furniture &c. &c. in a great hurry. Observing however that the few days seemed a long time coming, I attacked him upon the subject when he quietly said he had changed his mind now & should send some one else.

I was rather annoyed at having been put to so much inconvenience although I did not care about going to Canton. So in utter disgust I asked for a fortnight’s leave. After a few days seeing he could not get out of this after 3 years hard work, he said I might have leave for a short time but on reconsideration he thought I had better go up to Canton & see if I could be of any assistance as the new man was not quite up to his work.

I was naturally doubly disgusted at this & after all started for Canton where I found there was no earthly occasion for my presence & so returned in a few days.

I am to go up to Shanghai now very shortly, I believe, this Canton business having been a good break to relieve me of my present post, but I know very well I am not wanted at Shanghai now any more than I was at Canton.

I hope however that this changing & chopping about may lead to something definite in time & I think it is a good thing for me as being stuck down at a miserable desk is heartrending work out here without some little liveliment now & then.

I called upon ‘Dowb’* in Canton. He is in the 99th Regt, now Major, & one of the Allied Commissioners to boot. So much for being a War Minister’s Nephew & being ‘taken care of’. I told him that John was looking after a Majority at which he said he was a nice boy. Why, how many year’s service had he seen? I thought that was rather good coming from ‘Dowb’.

Mr Cateley’s son is still in the North & there is every prospect of his remaining there for some time. All his letters (to him) pass through my hands & I always forward them. Whenever you see his friends you can give them any news of him or of things Chinese as I expect it is precious little they ever hear from him, there being little communication as yet with the North.

I hear that the box of shoes has at length arrived but has been sent up during my absence to Canton. Although you mention it some two months since in your letters I first received information of its despatch by the proper parties this mail. I am very much disappointed at finding you have after all gone to some second rate man after what I said in my letters, especially as you mentioned in one of your letters that you had ordered them at some first rate man in Regent Street.

My Father says that he is one of his tenants but I really do not care about benefiting tenants at my own expense. I am quite certain that a man who cannot write out a decent Bill & who only charges 21/- for button boots cannot be a good man to deal with. I never heard of decent boots under 30/- & if these turn out worthless as I am afraid they will, I shall have no recourse but to return them.

I did really lay so much stress upon the matter that I thought you would have carried out my wishes. As it is no joke to be bootless in a place where you cannot get such a thing for love or money. Do not think me grumbling, but it is very hard in a place like this where the feet suffer so much to be without good boots.

I wish you would send me out a list of all the birthdays. I think I know them all but perhaps a little black & white might refresh me where flagging.

I do not know whether I mentioned it before, but it has just occurred to me that I sent some 3 boxes of Tea home in the ‘Chevy Chase’, which vessel is sailing home. This tea is Foochow foo tea & should be No. 1. I should explain that No. 1. is a favourite expression here among the Chinese to which I have consequently become habituated, just as I became habituated to ‘So’ in Germany & to ‘bono Johnny’ in the Crimea.

We have just started a billiard table in the house here & it is a great resource, being so completely shut out as we here are from all society. We had been wanting one long, but nobody would take the thing in hand. However I was persuaded to do so before leaving & I thought it would be a good legacy to leave behind. The heads of the house never would allow it & it was indeed an audacious thing for me to go in upon the subject, but I determined not only to do so but to carry my point & I did too – although it has been over & over again refused to others.

I hope you are not under the impression there is anything wrong in billiards, as this would be a horrid fallacy. It can of course be turned to gambling purpose & sometimes is, but that is nothing to do with the mere billiards itself, which is a simple game, the same as bagatelle is. Playing at cards is infinitely worse, for you play for money nearly always, however small the stakes, whereas billiards is nothing more than the mere game for amusement, the credit of winning being under ordinary circumstances quite sufficient recompense.

Adieu. With love to all & my usual kiss to Helen

Yr. affect. Son

Peter G. Laurie

* ‘Dowb’ – Maj. Montagu Hamilton Dowbiggin. 99th (Lanarkshire) Regt

The 1861 census shows that on 7th April (about the time of this letter), John and Eliza Laurie occupied 10, Hyde Park Terrace, London, with their sons John, Arthur, Alfred and Francis, daughter Helen, and nine servants. The servants’ occupations are shown as nurse, lady’s maid, cook, housemaid, kitchen maid, butler, housekeeper and footman