we engaged a sampan, bade Kusumoto and the ship's officers
farewell, and landed in the English "hatoba," which is a sort of
floating basin, the shore end of which consists of landing-steps
alongside which a whole fleet of boats can be accommodated at once. A
word from Nakamura caused our baggage to be at once passed through the
Customs with only the merest pretence at examination, and then, engaging
rickshas, or "kurumas," as the Japanese call them, we wended our way to
the railway station, and took train for Tokio.

The journey of eighteen miles was performed in an hour, in an
exceedingly comfortable first-class carriage, upholstered in red
morocco; and I noticed that the guard and engine-driver of the train
were Englishmen--another good sign for me, I thought. Although the
speed of the train was nothing to boast of, I found the journey
interesting, for the scenery, with its little grey villages of thatched,
wooden houses, and the temples with their quaintly shaped roofs on the
one hand, and the sea on the other, with its islands, wooded gardens,
and hundreds of fishing-boats, with Fujisan always dominating everything
else, were all novelties to me.

The railway does not run right into the city of Tokio, but has its
terminus at the village of Shimbashi, on the outskirts; here, therefore,
we left the train and, engaging kurumas for ourselves and our baggage,
drove to the Imperial Hotel, where Nakamura advised me to take up my
quarters _pro tem_, and where he also intended to stay, that night. It
was then six o'clock in the evening, and too late to transact our
business, so, after a wash and brush-up, we sallied forth to see
something of the city.

On the following morning, at ten o'clock, I presented myself before
Vice-Admiral Baron Yamamoto, the Minister of the Navy, and handed him my
credentials. He received me with great politeness, read a private
letter from Viscount Hayashi, of which I was the bearer, asked me a good
many questions as to the length and nature of my service in the British
Navy, and my experiences therein, and finally handed me my commission as
Lieutenant, together with a letter to Admiral Togo, which I was to
deliver to him at Sasebo, without delay.

Now, Sasebo is situated on the north-western extremity of the island of
Kiushiu, and is nearer seven than six hundred miles from Tokio;
moreover, I found that during my voyage out to Japan, events had been
progressing by leaps and bounds--so fa