About noon we arrived at the village of Kanasawa, situated on the edge of a circular and nearly land-locked bay of the same name. At one of the clean and comfortable tea-houses we found ready a most excellent luncheon, sent early and provided by the messman of the 9th, to which ample justice was done by twelve hungry men: a siesta afterwards and a ride home in the cool of the evening. A few short years have wrought a wonderful revolution in the political state of the Japanese and their feelings towards foreigners. We appear to be welcomed everywhere by smiles and good temper, especially by the lower orders. The Daimios, who would a few years ago have put their Shogoon to death for entertaining the idea of permitting foreigners to trade, are now quarrelling among themselves as to whose port shall be the first opened to trade. These feudal chiefs are tenacious of their independence, and no longer live with a portion of their family within the precincts of the castle and moat at Yedo, but excuse themselves by stating that troublous times oblige them to keep their retainers with them and ready. They seem to be ignorant of the fact that nothing will tend more to sap and explode the whole feudal system than the introduction of the foreigner with our free notions, although differing materially from one another in our ideas of freedom, yet all tending to undermine a system similar to our ancient feudalism. The United States, with their prohibitive restrictions on commerce and despotic governments, are the loudest in their call for Free Trade, and were the first to compel the Japanese to open their ports to the foreigner. France, that “grand nation,” governed by force of arms, will allow herself to be second to none in free intercourse with the Japanese. Holland no longer eats dirt to be allowed to monopolise the whole trade; and, unable to compete with other nations in free notions of commerce, is fast retiring from the Japanese waters. Imperial Russia seems afraid of contamination with any traders. England, I believe, while she feels the hardship of enforcing our trade on these primitive and would-be exclusive people, is obliged to go with the stream, and as yet enjoys two-thirds of the whole commerce. Certain ports are open, and carrying on a thriving trade, and others are to be opened in January 1868.