occupied. When the Lew Chewans found that the Commodore did not
attend, they were determined that he should not, at any rate, lose the feast
that had been prepared for him, and accordingly sent off to the ship
numerous dishes of the intended banquet. These, as a matter of courtesy,
were allowed to come on board, and very soon the quarter-deck exhibited
various preparations of poultry, fish, vegetables, and fruits. The Commodore,
however, from considerations of policy, thought it best to be invisible.
The next device was to appeal to the humanity of the Commodore, and
the request was preferred that he would make his visit to the palace of the
Prince instead of at the royal residence. The reason assigned was, that the
queen dowager was sick, and had been for a year, in consequence of the
shock received on the visit of a British naval officer, who persisted in
entering the royal residence, 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 produce 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 benefit, and assist in restoring her to health.
At last, all devices having utterly failed to move the Commodore from
his purpose, the day came which he had designated for his visit to the
regent. I t was matter of policy to make a show o f'it, and hence some
extra pains were taken to offer an imposing spectacle. The day opened
oloudily 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. Eirst 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. Bennet,) 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. I t 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 Longaere, 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. I t 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.
Captain Adams, Lieutenant Contee, and Mr. Perry, followed the sedan.
Next appeared six coolies bearing the presents designed for the prince and
queen dowager, and guarded by a file of marines. Then came the officers
of the expedition, headed by Captains Buchanan, Lee, and Sinclair, followed
by their servants. Next were the band of the Susquehanna, and a company
of marines closed the procession, which in numbers amounted to some two
hundred or more.
The whole procession was well arranged and picturesque in effect; while
the beauty of the day, the verdure of the hills and fields, and the cheerful
music of the bands, gave life and spirit to the occasion. The natives clustered
thickly on the sides of the road to gaze on the glittering novelty,
while crowds of them hung in the rear of the cortege. They did not manifest
the smallest apprehension, notwithstanding the presence of the marines
under arms, and evidently were pleasantly excited by the spectacle before
them. When the procession passed through any narrow lane the natives
nearest to them knelt, the rank behind stooped down, and the rear remained
ereot, that all might have an opportunity of seeing. Very soon the procession
emerged from the village, and came out upon the open undulating
country south of Shui. The picture here was perfect. The fields of
upland rice were graoefully bending like waves before the wind; the groves
and hill-sides were dark with the deep-green foliage, so suggestive of cool