the mountains, and they succeeded in reaching the castle town to which they were bound without being delayed on the road. But they found the baron Mori entirely averse to the proposition that he should withdraw his standing order to the forts to fire on strangers, and on the other hand, though their reception had not been unkindly, they were ordered to return with a message of defiance to the squadron they had left in the Inland Sea. Three days in all had elapsed when they rejoined the British man-of-war _Barrosa_ and communicated the purport of their lord’s reply. One course only remained open to the British and other commanders, and the vessels steamed to a selected position in the straits, just out of the strong current, and early the next morning prepared for the assault. Not without warning, however, for due notice was given of the intention, failing surrender. The Choshiu batteries were eight in number, beginning at Chofu, three miles east of the town of Shimonoseki,—and now the first railway station on the Sanyo line towards Kobé,—and extending thence to the hill, opposite Moji Point, where the main street of Bakan—another name for Shimonoseki, and in general use—begins. Seventy-four guns were mounted in the eight batteries, and the instant that the guns of the squadron opened fire, on the expiration of the allotted time, the most vigorous response was made by the Japanese gunners. The most powerful of Choshiu’s ordnance was mounted at Maita-mura, a village midway between Bakan and Chofu. After some severe fighting, in the course of which the town of Bakan took fire and burned fiercely, the batteries were silenced, and the British ship _Barrosa_ landed a party of bluejackets and marines to aid in extinguishing the conflagration. During the engagement one man on board a foreign ship was killed by an arrow, the Choshiu men having fallen back on archery to help them in the defence of their positions. On the surrender of the forts a document was drawn up for the baron’s signature, agreeing to certain conditions for the withdrawal of the attacking squadron, and Ito and Inouye were once more despatched at the request of the local government to represent the utter impossibility of holding out against superior force. The envoys returned two days later with the agreement sealed, and seventy-two guns, then supposed to be the total number in use, were taken on board the allied vessels. Two guns were unwittingly left in position on the hillside, commanding the straits, for the writer found them there when surveying the locality ten years afterwards, all but hidden in the dense undergrowth. The Choshiu samurai were not a little proud of the resistance which they had been able to offer to the foreign ships’ attack, and the townspeople never forgot the magnanimous behaviour of the victors in going ashore to quench the flames that the battle had originated. [Illustration: COUNT INOUYE KAORU]