Japan and the Japanese

482 JAPAN. A. D. 1811 1813.
Kachi's ab.duction had thrown his family into great distress. A
celebrated priest, or spirit-medium, at Hakodade, to the question
whether he ever would return, had answered, " Kachi will return
the ensuing summer, with two of his companions ; the remaining
two have perished in a foreign land." This answer was communi-
cated to Golownin, who laughed at it ; but when, on Kachi's return,
it appeared that two of his Japanese attendants had actually died,
the Japanese believers were greatly edified, and highly indignant
at Golownin's persistence in maintaining that there was more of
luck than foresight in the prophecy. Kachi's wife, another prob-
ably than the young female with whom we are already acquainted,
in her grief made a vow to go on a pilgrimage through the whole
of Japan ; and Kachi assured Captain Rikord that scarcely had
she returned from her pilgrimage, when she received his letter from
Kunashir, announcing his return.
Kachi had a bosom friend, who, on learning his fate, divided his
large property among the poor, and took up his residence in the mountains,
as a hermit. As appeared on various occasions, Kachi was a
strict disciplinarian, and very punctilious. He had a daughter, whom,
owing to some misconduct, he had discarded. She was dead to him.
so he said ; and to Rikord, to whom he had told the story, and who
had taken an interest in the girl, he had insisted that a reconciliation
would be inconsistent with his honor. Yet,
to show his hermit
friend that in the way of self-sacrifice he was not to be outdone,
he made up his mind to the great effort of calling his daughter
into life, and forgiving her. His friend would, he said, when this
communication was made to him, at once understand it.
During Kachi's absence his mercantile affairs had prospered,
and before Rikord's departure he brought on board the Diana, with
all the evidence of paternal pride, his son, who seemed, indeed, to
be a promising youth. He was very liberal in his distribution of
silk and cotton wadded dresses to the crew, to all of whom he gave
one or more, to his favorites the best ones, taking especial care
to remember the cook. He then begged to be allowed to treat them.
"Sailors, captain," so he said to Rikord, "are all alike, whether
under feigned pretences, and on many occasions an affected ignorance of
what everybody knows. The Japanese have a particular term (neboen) tc
express this way of doing things.