PAST AND PKESBNT. 205 



for all the Japanese guns. To make matters worse, 

 it was blowing half a typhoon at the time; and to 

 keep our own ship off the mud, and at the same 

 time to lay out hawsers and get hold of our friend in 

 need, besides keeping a steady fire up with our 100- 

 pound Armstrong gun, was no easy matter. It was 

 done, however, and off came the Racehorse. Next day 

 we one and all expected to go in again and finish up 

 the other half mile of batteries ; but the powers that 

 guided us decided to return to Yokohama. We 

 steamed out accordingly without firing a gun. The 

 Japanese forts, particularly some situated on the very 

 top of an island, and which looked down on our decks, 

 blazed away as hard as they could. During the action 

 on the previous day, every shell that passed over the 

 earthen breast-works went rushing and crashing into 

 the unfortunate city. This was perfectly unavoidable. 

 The consequence was most disastrous to the inhabitants, 

 for the place burnt for four nights and days at least. 

 This one of our ships saw, having remained about the 

 entrance of the gulf to watch what happened after the 

 squadron's departure. The morning of the day on 

 which we fought the action we had taken three 

 steamers, which had been anchored further up the gulf, 

 as hostages, or as an inducement to make the Prince of 

 Satsuma accede to our demands. It had, however, the 



