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[Page 55]
We brought across from Batun Russia, Prince & Princess -- & maid. Their Castle having been burnt & completely destroyed also their furniture by the Russian Boselvesks. The Prince being a Russian Georgian the Princess a Italian Cinoma artist formally. They told me that their former estates were large & the income large & that his castle contained 60 servants. Now his property is conviscated & also his title & all rights to eane in Russia. But like the rest of the high officials he has money invested in other countries. He is on his way to Florence, Italy. Sad & gloomy his pride like many more a thing of the past & treated as a ordinary passenger. Yet very gentle in their way. This day we discharged the mails & sent out a odd tin trunk which was sent aboard in Batun. I discharged the mails & Trunk, the lot went ashore in the Patrol boat in charge of a Sargeant & Corporal & obtained signatures on way bills. An hour afterwards the O.C. of troops Colonial Forbes approaches me & asked me what I had done with the specie. I told him I knew nothing of any specie. It appears this Tin trunk had been sent aboard with the mails at Batun as a ordinary trunk & contained one million Pounds of notes. So a guard was sent ashore after it & Colonel Forbes cleared me as they at Batun should have notifered us & then it would have been locked up in the ship's strong room & not put amongst the mails. "All's well so that ends well". The Cash reached its destination like we won the war. Blunders. At 9 p.m. we left Constantinople for Port Said. No troops & no cargo.