rived the Admiral's
cabin was full of men, as many of them as could find room being seated
round the table, while the rest were accommodated with chairs. All were
talking indiscriminately together, for the council had not yet begun;
but it was characteristic of Togo that he saw me the instant I entered
the cabin, and rose to shake hands with me, exclaiming, "Ah! here comes
our young British giant." Then, pointing to a chair near himself, he
motioned me to be seated, saying as he did so with a humorous smile:

"Well, Mr Swinburne, I hope you find the _Kasanumi_ a nice, steady,
comfortable ship. Is there room enough in her for you to stretch
yourself, or shall we have to lengthen her a few feet?"

"She is a splendid little craft, sir," I said heartily, "far better than
the British boat in which I saw some service. She is a magnificent sea
boat, and came through the wild weather of yesterday and last night
without turning a hair. True, she is a bit cramped between the beams,
and I have already raised a few bumps on my head while trying to stand
upright in my cabin; but I'm ready to go anywhere and attempt anything
in her."

"That's right," remarked Togo; "you show the true Nelson spirit, sir--
the spirit which we expect to find in every Briton; the spirit which we
so greatly admire, and which we are humbly striving to imbue our
Japanese seamen with. So you are `ready to go anywhere and attempt
anything,' eh? Excellent! I hope to afford you the opportunity to show
us what you can do before you are many hours older."

Then, turning to where Captain Ijichi stood near the cabin door, he
said, in Japanese:

"Are all present, Ijichi?"

Some half a dozen officers had followed close upon my heels, and I
noticed that, as each entered, the _Mikasa's_ skipper had ticked off
something on a list which he held in his hand.

"All present, sir," answered Ijichi, referring to his list.

"Good!" remarked the Admiral. "Then, be so good as to tell the sentry
that we are on no account to be interrupted. Then close the door and
find a seat for yourself."

With the closing of the cabin door the general conversation that had
been proceeding came to an abrupt termination and a tense silence
ensued. Togo looked round the cabin, as though taking stock of us all;
then in a few terse words he communicated to us the information which he
had just learned from Hang-won, who, by the way, was still in the cabin,
ready to answer any qu