Japan and the Japanese

514 JAPAN. A. D. 18171854.
ever, declined to see him in person, and turned him over to Mr
Coulee, the flag lieutenant, who, assisted by the two interpreters
one for Dutch, the other for Chinese* had a long interview with
him and his interpreter in the cabin. He was told that the object
of the expedition was to deliver a letter from the President of the
United States to the Emperor, and that some high officer must be
sent on boa id to receive it ; also, that the squadron would not sub-
mit to be watched and guarded, after the Japanese fashion, but
that all the guard-boats must withdraw. The officer, as usual, was
very inquisitive. He wanted to know whether the vessels came from
Boston, New York, or Washington, how many men they had, dec.,
&c. ; but these questions he was given to understand were regarded
as impertinent.
Seeing the determination evinced, the Japanese officer, by name
Tabroske, returned on shore, taking back his official notifications in
French, Dutch and English, addressed to ships arriving on the coast
(like those given p. .>0l), which the lieutenant refused to receive. He
was followed by the boats, which, after that, kept at a respectful
distance. He came back in about an hour to excuse his superior from
receiving the letter addressed to the emperor. He spoke of Nagasaki
as the proper place for foreign ships to touch at, and doubted if the let-
ter would be answered; but all this was cut short by the assurance
that if his superior did not send for the letter, the ships would proceed
still higher up the bay to deliver it themselves ; uj>on which
information, much agitated, he stipulated lor permission to return in
the morning. As he departed, looking at the long gun in the cabin,
he exclaimed, with an interrogative look, " Paixhan ? "
showing
that the Japanese were not ignorant of the modern improvements
in gunnery any more than of American geography.
It was noticed that, towards night, the boatmen put on their Jap-
anese gowns, most of them blue/with white stripes on the sleeves,
meeting angular-wise on the shoulders, and with a symbol or
badge on the back. Others wore gowns of red and white stripes,
* The squadron had, as Chinese interpreter, Mr. S. W. Williams, an Ameri-
can, long resident at M icao, one of the editors of the Chinese Repository, and
one of the p irtjr of the Morrison, to carry buck the shipwrecked Japanese,
from whom he had obtained some knowledge of that language.