s, whenever the guards visited us, broke
through the deep silence of night, and added to the discomforts of our
situation. It was out of our power to enjoy a calm refreshing sleep,
for besides the noise, frightful phantoms of every kind drove it
away.

The shed, cages, guard-houses, and hedges, by which they were
surrounded, were all quite new, and had so lately been finished, that
the chips and shavings had not yet been carried away. The building,
which was large, and made of beautiful wood, must have cost the
Japanese government no trifling sum; greater indeed, we imagined, than
they would have devoted to such an object, had their intention been
soon to set us free. For a sojourn of two or three years, they might
easily have found some suitable building already constructed, and the
security and arrangements of this place, seemed to denote that it was
to be our abode for a long while, perhaps during life. These
reflections tormented us fearfully. For a long while we sat silently
gazing at each other, considering ourselves as victims to our own
imprudence. On the fourth day after our arrival at Matsmai, the
Japanese took us out of our cages, in order, as they told us, to
present us to the governor. We went bound in the old way, with
soldiers holding the ropes. The road to the fort was through a dirty
street, which they had covered with boards, and as it commenced
raining, they held umbrellas over our heads. We were led into a roomy
court-yard within the fort, which was covered with pebbles, and were
placed in a row on a bench which stood within a small building. After
we had remained here about an hour, a door was opened, and we were
taken through a second court into a third, where the soldiers who
accompanied us, laid aside their sabres, daggers, and the straw
sandals which they wore instead of shoes, and at the same time, pulled
off our boots. We were now taken into an immense hall, the floor of
which was covered with magnificently worked carpets. The doors and
windows were made of beautiful wood elaborately carved. On the
curtains which according to the Japanese custom, formed the partition
walls between the rooms, and could be removed at pleasure, were
paintings set in golden frames, and ornaments representing beasts and
birds. On both sides of the room were seated Japanese officers, armed
with swords and daggers. They laughed and joked among themselves until
a noise was heard, and a voice cried, "Hush!" when a dee