ENTERTAINMENT ON BOARD THE FLAG-SHIP. 375 



commissioners, with their numerous attendants, left for the Powhatan, the Macedonian firing a 

 salvo in their honor, as they took their departure. On arriving on hoard the flag-ship, they 

 were first conducted through the different departments of the steamer, and examined with 

 minute interest the guns and the machinery. A boat was lowered, with a howitzer in its bows, 

 and this was repeatedly discharged, much to their amusement ; for, although not a very warlike 

 people, (at least in their modern history,) the Japanese evidently had a great fondness for 

 martial exercise and display. The engines were next put in motion, and they evinced the usual 

 intelligence of the higher class of Japanese in their inquiries and remarks. After satisfying 

 "their curiosity, dinner was announced, and the five commissioners were conducted to the Com- 

 modore's cabin, where a very handsome banquet awaited them. The subordinate officials, 

 amounting to about sixty, were provided for under the awning on the quarter-deck, where a 

 large table had been spread with an abundant supply. 



The Commodore had invited the four captains of the squadron, his interpreter, Mr. Williams, 

 and his secretary, to join the commissioners at his table. Yenoske, the Japanese interpreter, 

 was allowed the privilege, as a special condescension on the part of his superiors, to sit at a side- 

 table in the cabin, where his humble position did not seem to disturb either his equanimity or 

 his appetite. Hayashi, who always preserved his grave and dignified bearing, ate and drank 

 sparingly, but tasted of every dish, and sipped of every kind of wine. The others proved them- 

 selves famous trencher-men, and entered more heartily than their chief into the conviviality of 

 the occasion. Matsusaki was the soul of the party, and showed at once a very decided appreci- 

 ation of American fare, and a special fondness for the champaigne, with no marked aversion, 

 however, to the other wines and beverages. The liqueurs, particularly the maraschino, seemed 

 to suit the tastes of the Japanese exactly, and they drank unnumbered glasses of it. Matsusaki, 

 who was a jovial fellow, soon showed the eff"ects of his copious libations, and became very parti- 

 cularly happy. Hayashi, the grave prince, was the only one, in fact, whose sobriety was proof 

 against the unrestrained conviviality which prevailed among his bacchanalian coadjutors. 



The Japanese party upon deck, who were entertained by a large body of officers from the 

 various ships, became quite uproarious under the influence of overflowing supplies of cham- 

 paigne, Madeira, and punch, which they seemed greatly to relish. The Japanese took the lead 

 in proposing healths and toasts, and were by no means the most backward in drinking them. 

 They kept shouting at the top of their voices, and were heard far above the music of the bands 

 that enlivened the entertainment by a succession of brisk and cheerful tunes. It was, in short, 

 a scene of noisy conviviality, and of very evident enjoyment on the part of the guests. The 

 eating was no less palatable to them than the drinking, and the rapid disappearance of the large 

 quantity and variety of the viands profusely heaped upon the table was quite a marvel, even to 

 the heartiest feeders among the Americans. In the eagerness of the Japanese appetite, there 

 was but little discrimination in the choice of dishes and in the order of courses, and the most 

 startling heterodoxy was exhibited in the confused commingling of fish, flesh, and fowl, soups 

 and syrups, fi-uits and fricassees, roast and boiled, pickles and preserves. As a most generous 

 supply had been provided, there were still some remnants of the feast left, after the guests had 

 satisfied their voracity, and most of these, the Japanese, in accordance with their usual custom, 

 stowed away about their persons to carry off' with them. The Japanese always have an 

 abundant supply of paper within the left bosom of their loose robes in a capacious pocket. This 

 is used for various purposes ; one species, as soft as our cotton cloth, and withal exceedingly 

 tough, is used for a pocket handkerchief ; another furnishes the material for taking notes, or for 



