188 EXPEDITION TO JAPAN. 



The reason assigned was, that the queen dowager was sick, and had been for a year, in conse- 

 quence of the shosk received on the visit of a British naval officer, who persisted in entering 

 the royal residenc}, to present a letter from Lord Palmerston to the Lew Chew government; 

 and it was intimated that a repetition of such desecration of the palace would add to the malady 

 of the queen, if, indeed, it did not jjroduce a fatal termination. 



The Commodore, who did not believe one word of the queen dowager's illness, and who was 

 quite convinced also that all this manoeuvring and trickery were designed merely to satisfy the 

 spies kept about the Lew Chewans by the Japanese government, replied to this affecting appeal, 

 that it was his duty to go where an officer of the Queen of England had been before him to have 

 an audience ; and that, if the queen dowager did not see fit to remove to the palace of her son 

 during his intended visit, he thought that the pageantry, music, &c., attending it (purely 

 peaceful) might divert her mind, and tend rather to amuse her ; while, if she wished, his learned 

 physicians, who would accompany him, would be most happy to exercise their skill for her bene- 

 fit, and assist in restoring her to health. 



At last, all devices having utterly failed to move the Commodore from liis purpose, the day 

 came which he had designated for his visit to the regent. It was matter of policy to make a 

 show of it, and hence some extra pains were taken to offer an imposing spectacle. The day 

 opened cloudily with a brisk wind stirring, and did not at first seem to promise a propitious 

 season ; but after a morning shower the sky came out bright and blue, and until evening the 

 aspect of nature was as fresh and beautiful as could have been desired. 



The hour of departure had been fixed at 9 o'clock. Presently the signal was made from the 

 flag-ship, and all the boats of the other ships pushed off at the same time, and as they pulled to 

 the land presented a very lively appearance. The point selected for landing was the little village 

 of Tumai, about two miles from the palace of Shui. After all the other boats had gone^ the 

 Commodore set out in his barge, and on his arrival the marines were found, under arms, and in 

 line, under a grove of trees by the road-side, near the landing. Groups of officers in uniform 

 were gathered in little knots under the shade of the trees; the boats' crews rested on their oars, 

 looking with interest on the proceedings, while the natives to the number of hundreds (many of 

 them of the better class) stood around, evidently not a little moved and excited by the scene 

 before them. 



The Commodore, with the captain of the fleet and Commanders Buchanan, Lee, and Walker, 

 then passed down the line of the marines and artillerymen, when the procession was immediately 

 formed. First came two field-pieces, under the command of Lieutenant Bent, each having above 

 it the American ensign, and immediately preceded by the master of the Susquehanna, (Mr. 

 Bennett,) with Mr. Williams and Dr. Bettelheim, the interpreters. Next followed the band of 

 the Mississippi with a company of marines, under command of Major Zeilin. The Commodore 

 followed then in a sedan chair, which had been manufactured for the nonce, by the carpenter on 

 board the ship. It was emphatically a dignified vehicle, as became the occasion, large and 

 stately, deeply indebted to paint and putty, not quite as polished as a turnout from Newark or 

 Longacre, but, on the whole, decidedly a feature in the procession, though its hangings of red 

 and blue were not of the finest. At all events, it was the most imposing sedan the Lew Chewans 

 ever saw. It was borne by eight Chinese coolies, four relieving each other alternately. On each 

 side of it marched a marine as body guard, while a handsome boy had been selected as a page, 

 who, with a Chinese steward, were the immediate personal attendants. 



