[George Thorp, Naval Officer; Smyrna; HMS Victory] Substantial Autograph Letter Signed "Geo Thorp" to his brother, Robert, discussing his activities whilke in Smyrna (Turkey)

Four pages, 4to, inc. address (p.4), bifolium. IMAGE on application. Addressed on reverse of second leaf, with two postmarks and a manuscript note by forwarding agents the Frères Smitmer of Vienna, to 'Robert Thorp Esqr | Alnwick | Northumberland | For George Thorp's Letters to his family, see Note B. below. Text: He starts by congratulating his brother on his wedding, admitting that sailors are "bad hands at Complements" but expresses pleasure at contact from his sister. He then goes into his activities in Smyrna: We have been paying our respects to the Captain Pacha, the great man in this Empire & brother of the Grand Seignior [sic] his power is unlimited all [?] jurisdiction ceasing on his arrival. [H]e came on board us twice & we got under weigh he expressed himself much pleased with the Ship & look a great deal of [?] alterations made in his own Ship (from ours he smoaked out of a Golden pipe set in diamonds. [H]is ring was a diamond about the size of [O -large ring/nought drawn] not less from its brightness some of the officers concluded it worth 7 or 8 thousand Pounds, the first dress[?] I saw him in was blue velvet set full of various stones his turban a Camels hair [Shall?] the last magnificent part about him[.] His next dress a rich blue velvet covered with diamonds of great value o0o & pearls about the same size again in a yellow satin full of various sized diamonds, I never saw such a Collection of riches in my life[.] I suppose he carried on his [back?] Pistols ring & sabre from 50 to 100 Thousand pounds each time - which I do not expect you to believe till you have seen the Nillions of oppressed wretches who furnish them - if you should in this Country get worth 10000 your head is gone & the Grand Signior or his Officers your heir.' The Pacha has given 'other Ships from 1500 Piastres he presented the Officers with Turkish stuffs my present is a piece of Blue Silk worked with Gold & all the Officers nearly the same. he presented Capt Hood [later Vice-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood (1762-1814)] with a Gold Box set with diamonds a quantity of muslins & various rich things we are not judges of diamonds but all agree the Captain to be worth near a thousand pounds'. The Pacha '[see Note C.] wished to make a Second present to all the Offiers & Crew but the Capt. very properly would not allow it - He is gone with his Fleet to collect the tribute of the Empire.' Notes: A. HMS Aigle "When Captain Hood transferred from the Juno to the bigger frigate HMS Aigle (38 guns) in March 1794 he took with him a contingent of officers and men that included Midshipman Thorp. Corsica: Between April and August 1795, Aigle took part in the blockade of Corsica and the capture of Calvi. Smyrna: Aigle spent six months from May to October 1795 blockading French warships in the Turkish port of Smyrna (now Izmir) a very unpopular operation because of its lack of opportunity for prizes and its unhealthy climate, with frequent outbreaks of the plague; B. "Letters to his family Thorp wrote numerous letters to his parents and siblings throughout his career, except for his time on Thisbe in Nova Scotia during his first year of service and his subsequent time on Magnificent. These were deposited in the National Maritime Museum in 1968 in the form of two letterbooks. Regrettably, no record of persons inspecting these letterbooks seems to have been kept by the National Maritime Museum but anyone studying them in detail who is familiar with the AubreyMaturin series of novels of Patrick O'Brian may find a remarkable coincidence between some of the descriptions in Thorp's letters and events or characters in O'Brian's novels, inviting speculation whether O'Brian may have read the letters and been inspired by their content. Thorp's letters describing the escape from Toulon, the attack on the Mortella Tower and the siege of Saint-Florent, the blockade of Corsica, the capture of Calvi and the cutting out of the Principe Fernando are particularly noteworthy. Dean. …