engaging them. From China to Japan, from Japan to Corea, and away in
Siberian waters, it was all the same; the Russians were perfectly
successful in out manoeuvring their enemy. At length the squadron was
again sighted, and their capture seemed a dead certainty, when suddenly
it disappeared into a small inlet, apparently in the iron-bound coast of
Kamtschatka. Without charts, or the remotest knowledge of the locality,
it would be madness to follow. The British, indeed, did manage to find
their way into Petropoloski, and succeeded, I believe, in setting fire
to one old hulk. It was a most inglorious business throughout, and so
worked on the exciteable temperament of the French commanding officer,
that he decided to die by his own hand rather than survive such a
questionable victory.

On entering the harbour we observed the "Pegasus" at anchor, seemingly
in a wilderness of fir trees. This is the first time we have seen this
smart little sloop, as she is a recent addition to our fleet.

There is an abundance of wild fruits here; the raspberries, in
particular, being specially fine in size, and delicious in flavour.
These and sloes were the only two we recognised, and we took especial
care to go in for none of the others; wisely deciding that it was better
to confine ourselves to the known. After traversing a virgin
forest--soft, mossy, and velvety to the naked feet--and now and again
wading muddy streams, studded with artificial islets, composed of roots
and other _debris_--in fact floating islands--we at length came out into
a clearing, in which was a collection of huts, and a number of women
engaged in the preparation of fish, but for what purpose I am to this
day ignorant. The manner in which they set about their work is most
revolting. Unpleasant though I know it will look in print, nevertheless
it must be described. Each woman is armed with a sharp, crescent-shaped
blade--seemingly of steel--with which she makes an incision in the back
of the neck of the fish, sufficiently deep to penetrate the skin; then
taking the animal in both her hands, and applying her teeth to the
wound, she tears a long strip off towards the tail, which disappears
down her throat with the rapidity and movements of an eel, or of
macaroni "down the neck" of a Neapolitan beggar. This, I presume, is
called the tit-bit, for the remainder is thrown on one side into a pit,
amongst a heap of putrid, festering fish, to undergo the rotting
process, n