was tied,—much as described in Golownin’s narrative,—put into a sort of stocks, and repeatedly examined under suspicion of being a spy. Thence he was taken to the common prison and confined by himself for three weeks; but, on threatening to starve himself, and refusing to eat for three days, he was restored to his companions, it would seem, through the intercession of the Dutch director, who endeavored to persuade the men to wait patiently, and not to quarrel among themselves. After a month’s longer detention, a new escape was planned, but only McCoy and two others succeeded in getting out. Being retaken they were tied, put in the stocks, and finally all were sent to the common prison, where they had very hard usage. It was stated, and no doubt truly enough, in the Dutch memorandum, respecting their treatment, handed in by the Japanese, that they gave so much trouble that the authorities hardly knew what to do with them. One of the Americans died, and one of the Sandwich-Islanders hung himself. McCoy, who had learned considerable Japanese, was secretly informed of the arrival of the “Preble” by one of the guards with whom he had established an intimacy. At the same time with these men another seaman from an American whaler was delivered up, who had landed a month or two later on some still more northerly Japanese island. As this man, named McDonald, and who described himself as twenty-four years old, and born at Astoria, in Oregon, had made no attempt at escaping, he had no occasion to complain of severity. In fact, he lived in clover, the Japanese having put him to use as a teacher of English. The very interpreter who boarded the “Preble” had been one of his scholars. All these men stated that they had been required to trample on the crucifix as a proof that they were not Portuguese, that reason being suggested to them when they showed some reluctance to do it. McCoy mentioned, and others confirmed it, that when he threatened the Japanese guards with vengeance from some American ship of war, they told him that they had no fears of that, as the year before, at the city of Yedo, a common soldier had knocked down an American commander, and no notice had been taken of it. McCoy and the others strenuously denied having ever heard this story (evidently referring to the occurrence described in a preceding page) before it was thus mentioned to them by the Japanese. McDonald, before his release, was requested by the Japanese to describe the relative rank of the commander of the “Preble,” by counting down in the order of succession from the highest chief in the United States. Like a true republican, he began with the people; but the Japanese, he says, could make nothing of that. He then enumerated the grades of president, secretary of the navy, commodore, post captain, and commander, which latter rank, being that of the officer in question, seemed so elevated as rather to excite the surprise of his auditors.