Chap. VI. PROCESSION OF THE OFFICERS. 101 
here, strange to say, there was no system — no 
passing the buckets from hand to hand ; every 
man was doing what was right in his own eyes ; 
all were giving orders, and each one was making 
all the noise he could. Luckily the fire had been 
discovered early, and was easily extinguished, as 
the night was calm. Had it only got a little 
ahead before the discovery, or had a smart breeze 
been blowing at the time, the British Legation in 
Yedo, with the surrounding temples, would, in all 
probability, have been burned to the ground. 
The fire was at last extinguished, but, ere this 
was accomplished, a considerable amount of damage 
had been done to the buildings. The rooms, 
papered in Japanese style, and divided from each 
other by moving panels, were strewed with charred 
wood, broken tiles, and deluged with water ; the 
pretty garden was covered with rubbish, and 
several valuable plants hopelessly ruined. But in 
the midst of this we were all thankful that the 
flames had been subdued, and that we had still 
ample room in other quarters of the Legation. 
And now the last scene of all took place, and a 
very sensible one it was. The high officers who 
had been superintending the fire brigade formed a 
kind of procession, and, with lanterns, marched up 
the ladders and over the roof, to judge for them- 
selves and make sure that the flames were really 
extinguished. When everything was found in a 
satisfactory condition, orders were given for the 
people to leave, and in a few minutes the crowd 
