that the officer with whom I had been conversing was not the commander-in-chief of the fortress, and therefore could decide nothing on this point. He, how ever, invited me to go into the castle with him, in order to make the necessary arrangements with the Governor myself. This I declined, on the pretence that I had already spent too much time with him, and that were I to comply with his desire, a suspicion would probably be excited on board of the sloop, which might give rise to hostilities. I offered at the same time to follow him into the fortress, provided that some persons of distinction among them went on board the sloop in my boat, as that would satisfy the officers with respect to my safety.

The proposal was no sooner made, than one of the Japanese left us, as if for the purpose of obtaining the Governor's consent. The answer was a refusal, accompanied with an assurance that the Governor would immediately come out to us; but soon after a messenger announced that he was gone to dinner and could not yet come. I declined to wait any longer, but promised to bring the ship nearer the shore, and to visit the castle. The Lieutenant-Governor made no objection to my going, but on parting presented me with a flask of sagi and some fresh fish, expressing regret that he had not more of the latter to give. He, however, pointed to a large net which had been thrown, and requested that a boat might be sent on shore before the evening set in, as the whole draught should be given to us. He accepted from me a burning-glass

་

and a bottle of brandy, but would not permit the Kuriles to take any tobacco from us. As a mark of friendship, he gave me a white fan, with which he said we were to beckon when we came on shore, as a signal of our being peaceably disposed. During the interpretation of the Japanese officer's speech, Alexei talked frequently to me of the cross,' but in so obscure and unintelligible a manner, that I could not comprehend him. It was not until we were again in the boat, and felt ourselves quite free, that he sufficiently collected himself to explain what he really meant. It was well known to the Japanese, he observed, that the Russians entertain the greatest veneration for the cross, and on that account he had wished me to cross myself, and signify that I made that sign in confirmation of our friendly disposition towards them. On hearing this I was exceedingly vexed that I had not been able to understand him before we left the shore.

Towards evening we stood in within gun-shot of the castle, and brought the sioop to anchor. It was now too late for me to think of entering on any conference, but I ordered midshipman Jakuschkin to go ashore with an armed boat, to deliver the letter we had brought from the Isle of Eetooroop, and to bring on board the fish which had been promised us. I further directed him to row to the place I had landed at, and not to leave the boat a single moment. He executed- my orders with the greatest punctuality, and returned at twilight. The Japanese received him with much kindness, and sent us more than a hun

a hundred large fish on board. When they were informed that they might expect me in the morning, they expressed their hope that I would not fail, and their wish to see some of my officers along with me. I must confess that this invitation ought to have excited some degree of suspicion, but I was led into the error of disbelieving Jakuschkin. As an officer, this midshipman was zealous in the performance of his duty, but his curiosity was insatiable; he wished to be every where, and to see every thing with his own eyes. I, therefore, conjectured that it was not agree able to him to see me go ashore by myself, and that he had invented this invitation, in order that I might be induced to take him with me next day. What confirmed me in this notion was, that at the same moment he asked leave to make one of the party; this I was, however, under the necessity of refusing, as I had previously promised to take midshipman Moor and Mr. Chlebnikoff, the pilot.

Next morning, July 11th, at eight o'clock, I landed with the above-named officers, the Kurile Alexei, and four seamen. I was so fully persuaded that we stood on a friendly footing with the Japanese, that I had not ordered the seamen to arm themselves. The officers, three in number, including myself, had each a sword, in addition to which Mr. Chlebnikoff brought with him a pocket pistol, more for the purpose of making a signal in the case of a fog, than for defence. On passing the cask which we had sent on shore, we looked into it, and found all the things we

had placed there unremoved. I again recollected what had happened to Laxman, and ascribed this circumstance to the Japanese practice of accepting no presents while a negotiation was pending. At last we landed close to the fortress. The Oyagoda, and two officers whom I had seen the day before, came out to meet us, and begged that we would wait a little until every thing was prepared for our reception in the castle. Wishing by my confidence in the Japanese to extinguish any suspicion they might yet entertain, I ordered the boat to be hauled up on the shore until it was half out of the water, and left one sailor with it. The other seamen I directed to follow us, carrying seats, and the presents which I destined for the Japanese. We walked from ten to fifteen minutes on the shore, during which time I conversed with the Oyagoda. I made inquiries respecting the coast of Matsmai, of which we had a view, and the trade between their island and the peninsula of Niphon. I remarked, however, that he answered my questions with reluctance. Finally, we proceeded to the castle.

On entering the castle gate, I was astonished at the number of men I saw assembled there. Of soldiers alone, I observed from three to four hundred, armed with muskets, bows and arrows, and spears, sitting in a circle, in an open space to the right of the gate on the left a countless multitude of Kuriles surrounded a tent of striped cotton cloth, erected about thirty paces from the gate. I never could have supposed this small insignificant place capable of containing so

many

many men, and concluded that they must have been collected from all the neighbouring garri sons since we appeared in the harbour.

We were soon introduced into the tent, on a seat opposite to the entrance of which the Governor had placed himself. He wore a rich silk dress, with a complete suit of armour, and had two sabres under his girdle. A long cord of white silk passed over his shoulder; at one end of this cord was a tassel of the same material, and at the other a steel baton which he held in his hand, and which was doubtless the symbol of his authority. His armourbearers, one holding a spear, another a musket, and a third his helmet, sat behind him on the floor. The helmet resembled that of the second in command, with this difference that instead of the figure of the moon, it bore the image of the sun. This officer now sat on the left of the Governor, on a seat somewhat lower than that of his superior; he too had his armour-bearers behind him. Four officers were sitting cross legged on the floor on each side of the tent; they wore black armour, and had each two sabres. On our entrance, the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor both rose up; we saluted them in our own manner, and they returned the compliment. They invited us to sit down on a bench which was placed directly opposite to themselves, but we chose to use the seats we had brought with us. Our sailors seated themselves on the bench behind us. the introductory civilities were concluded, they entertained us with tea without sugar, in cups

After

which, according to the Japanese fashion, were only half filled; the cups had no saucers, but were handed to us on small trays made of varnished wood. Before they gave us the tea they asked whether we would prefer any thing else. Pipes and tobacco were afterwards brought to us, and the conference commenced. They desired to know our names and rank, the name of our ship, whence we came, whither we were bound, why we had visited them, what had induced Russian ships to attack their villages, and further, whether we knew Resanoff and where he now was? Our answers to these questions were conformable to the statements we had previously made, and were written down by the LieutenantGovernor. We were next told that to enable them to prepare the proper quantity of provisions we wanted, it was necessary they should know the exact number of our crew. Ridiculous as this question was, they had an object in putting it. On our part we thought it advisable to make our force appear more considerable than it was, and therefore doubled it, calling it 102 men. Alexei could neither understand nor express this number; and I was obliged to make an equal number of marks with a black-lead pencil on paper, which the Japanese counted off. We were further asked whether we had any other ships of the size of the Diana in their seas? We answered that we had many in Okotzk, Kamtschatka and America. Among their questions were several of a very insignificant nature relative to our dress, customs, &c. They

also

also carefully examined the presents I had brought for the Governor, among which were maps of the globe, ivory-handled knives, burning-glasses and piastres, with which I intended to pay the Japanese for a supply of provisions, as soon as I could ascertain the number they required.

While the conference was going on, Mr. Moor observed, that naked sabres had been distributed among the soldiers who were sitting in the open space. He immediately mentioned this to me, but I supposed that a sabre or two might have been accidentally out of their sheaths; and I asked him with a smile whether he had not made a mistake, as the Japanese always carry swords, and could at present have no reason for drawing them. This remark appeared to satisfy him; but circumstances soon occurred which roused all our suspicion, and convinced us that some mischief was intended against us. The Lieutenant-Governor having withdrawn for a short time, as if to make some arrangement, returned and whispered to the Governor, who immediately rose up to go away. We got up also to take our leave; and I repeated my question respecting the price of provisions, and also asked whether he intended to supply us with any? On hearing this he sat down, invited us to do the same, and, though it was early in the day, ordered dinner to be served up.

We accepted his invitation, and waited with impatience to see what would next occur, as it now appeared we were caught in a snare from which it would be difficult to escape. But the kind

behaviour of the Japanese and their assurances that we had nothing to fear, again tranquillized us, and induced us to abandon our suspicions of their treachery. They entertained us with rice, fish in a green sauce and other savory dishes, the ingredients composing which we did not know. They also gave us sagi. After we had dined, the Governor was again about to withdraw. I now declared that we could wait no longer, but must return immediately on board. On hearing this he once more sat down, and having intimated that he could not supply us with any thing without an order from the Governor of Matsmai, under whose jurisdiction he was, proposed that one of us should remain in the castle as a hostage, until a decision should be returned by that commander on the report he was about to transmit to him. The Japanese began now to throw off the mask. I desired to be informed what time would be occupied in sending the report to Matsmai and obtaining an answer; he replied a fortnight. I felt, however, that it would be dishonourable to leave an officer behind me as a hostage. There was, besides, no knowing when such an affair would be brought to a conclusion with a people like the Japanese. It was probable that when the report reached Matsmai the commander of that island would say he could do nothing without the authority of the general government; thus I should, perhaps, have to wait until winter for a decisive answer. I therefore stated that I could not wait so long without consult,

he

ing the officers who remained on board the Diana, and that I would leave no officer as a hostage: upon which we rose to go away. The Governor, who had hitherto conversed in a soft and gentle voice, now altered his tone, spoke loud and with warmth; frequently mentioned Resanoto (Resanoff) and Nicola-Sandrejetsch (Nicolai Alexandroivitsch, meaning Chwostoff, the captain of the company's ship) and struck several times on his sabre. In this manner he made a long speech, of which the terrified Alexei interpreted to us only the following sentence: "The Governor says that if he let a single one of us out of the castle, his own bowels will be ript up." This was brief and decisive! We instantly made all the haste we could to escape. The Japanese did not venture to close upon us, but set up a loud cry, and threw oars, and large pieces of wood at us, to knock us down. On our reaching the gate, they fired several times on us, but without effect, though one of their balls whistled past the head of Mr. Chlebnikoff. We now found that they had succeeded in detaining Mr. Moor, the sailor Makaroff and our Kurile Alexei in the castle. We ran, however, to our landing place; but on arriving there, perceived with horror that the tide had ebbed about five fathoms and left the strand quite dry. As the Japanese saw that it was impossible for us to get the boat afloat, and had previously ascertained that it contained no arms, they became confident, advanced against us with drawn sabres, which they held in both hands, muskets and spears, and surrounded us beside the boat.

I cast a look upon the boat, and said to myself;-It must be so; our last refuge is lost; our fate is unavoidable!-I surrendered. The Japanese seized me by the arms and conducted me to the castle, into which my unfortunate companions were also conveyed. On the way thither a soldier struck me several times on the shoulder with a small iron bar, but one of the officers said something to him, accompanied with a look of displeasure, and he immediately discontinued.

From the incommodious place in which they were first confined, the captives were transferred to the considerable town of Matsmai, in which the principal officer bore the name of the Bunyo. Their treatment here became gradually improved; but the despair of regaining their liberty, at length so far overpowered the spirits of Captain Golownin and his associates, that they made a desperate attempt to set themselves free. This was near the end of April 1812, and it is related in the following narrative:

About half an hour before midnight, Simanoff and Schkajeff stole into the yard, and concealed themselves under the steps. When 12 o'clock struck, and the Sangar soldiers had gone their rounds, they began to make a hole under the fence through which we all (Mr. Moor and Alexei excepted) crept one after another. I stumbled in going out, slipped down and struck my knee against a stake which was sunk in the ground close to the opening. The blow was extremely violent, but the pain soon diminished.

We found ourselves on a very

narrow