Note 26 — 1779-1782.

Blyth served fifteen years in the 2nd Foot, and joined the company 14th June, 1773. He was promoted to be sergeant on the 18th April, 1781, in succession to sergeant Brown who died at Fez, and whose widow became the Sultana of Morocco. By his industry and frugality he amassed considerable property, and expended about 20,000 dollars in buildings at the fortress. He was well known as a zealous freemason, and erected a wine-house at the corner of the Eleventh, since called South Parade, in which the meetings or lodges of the fraternity were held free of expense. He was much respected by the inhabitants, and became very popular among them. On the 31st January, 1800, he was discharged from the corps, after a service of nearly forty-two years, and died at the Rock about 1804, Blyth had a nephew in the Tripoline navy, of whom a few particulars may not be uninteresting. His name was Peter Lisle. When quite a youth, Peter was wrecked at Zoara, on the coast of Tripoli. He was one of three only who escaped. For a time he endured great hardships, but at length succeeded in getting on board a British merchantman. In 1792 he was at Gibraltar, on board the ‘Embden’ letter of marque, Lynch and Ross, owners. This vessel afterwards went to Tripoli with two consuls on board; and Lisle, then chief mate, was placed in charge of the cargo, some of which was corn. On arriving at Tripoli, the barrels containing the corn were found to have been plundered, and Lisle was called upon to account for the deficiency. This he could not do; a quarrel ensued between the captain and himself, and resigning his situation, he landed, and entered the service of the Bashaw. Having been chief mate of an English vessel was a strong recommendation in his favour, and he was at once appointed gunner of the castle. Associated with a strange people, he readily conformed to their manners and customs, embraced Mahommedan tenets—at least in appearance—and assumed the name of Mourad Reis. About 1794 he was nominated captain of a xebeck mounting eighteen guns; and in the course of time, by his naval skill and abilities, became the High Admiral of the Tripoline Fleet and Minister of Marine. He married one of the daughters of the Bashaw, Sidi Yusuf, had a fine family, and enjoyed an ample income. Besides a house in the city, he had a villa and gardens in the Meshiah among the date-groves, which exhibited evidence of great taste and care, and were enriched with many trees of various species brought by him from different places at which he touched in Europe. He was a prudent and sagacious counsellor, gave excellent advice to the Bashaw, which was always based on good common sense—a quality not superabundant in the Divan—and was of great service to Lord Exmouth during his Algerine expedition. His appearance was venerable, he dressed richly, commanded much respect, and when addressing British officers—whom he always treated with great courtesy and hospitality—spoke with a broad Scotch accent, and sometimes entertained them with a relation of his own stirring adventures. He was unpopular at times, as great politicians sometimes are. Blaquiere says (1813), “Poor Peter was no longer an object of consideration with any party.” During the stay of Captain Lyon at Tripoli in 1818, Peter was in banishment, but the consul and chief people gave him an excellent character. Later, however, he again rose into confidence, for when Captain Beechey was there in 1821, Mourad Reis was much considered by his Highness, and acted as interpreter on the occasion of the Captain’s audience with his Highness the Bashaw. He also proved of great service to Captain W. H. Smyth, R.N. On the fall of the Bashaw—Yusuf Karamanli—he retreated to Sfax in Tunis, since which his fate is uncertain. When in the zenith of his power and greatness he paid occasional visits to Gibraltar. On entering the bay, he always fired a salute of four guns in honour of his uncle, serjeant Blyth, whom he treated with marked respect. This practice, however, he at length discontinued, owing to a shot, fired by mistake from one of his guns, having struck the wall of a ramp just above Hargrave’s Parade whilst he was paying his relative the usual affectionate compliment.