WE ARRIVE AT SI-MO-DA. 
197 
of US, which our glasses proved to be the Vinceniies, 
We had expected to arrive some days before her, but the 
‘^old John” had had to contend against headwinds, and 
had, as usual, drifted to leeward. Poor “old John”! 
The Vincennes anchored in the mouth of the unpro- 
tected harbour; and, as we passed her at the astonishing 
rate of six knots, and answered the hail of Commander 
Rodgers as to the health of the ship, &c., we noticed a 
Whitehall row-boat towing at her stern, and several 
strangers in European costume mixed among the officers 
and assisting them to admire (?) the graceful outlines and 
killing pace of our poor old tub of a steamer. 
As we rounded to and let go our anchor well in with 
the shore, we wondered what that clean-looking White- 
hall boat was doing in Japan, and who those admiring 
strangers could be; and in regard to these two wonders 
our minds were soon set at rest. 
Scarcely was the anchor down than they came along- , 
side in the Vincennes’ gig, and, a barge-load of Japanese 
officials boarding us at the same time, our hands were 
filled so far as entertaining was concerned. We imme- 
diately took the combined party down into the ward-room 
and began to find out who the former were, while the 
latter, with their usual prying policy, began to try to 
ascertain why we had visited their unfrequented shores. 
Our “admiring strangers” proved to be Americans of 
the nomadic stamp, who had lately arrived from the 
Sandwich Islands with an assorted cargo destined to 
meet the wants of whaling-vessels, and who, upon the 
discharging of their vessel, were to have reloaded her 
with Japanese goods and sent her to San Francisco, 
