We, however, had become surfeited of being a raree show at Ōsaka and elsewhere, and we were conscious that in our shabby travelling clothes we should present anything but a dignified appearance, so we tucked ourselves up in our palanquins with the modesty of brides. Hordes of spectators lined the streets, and even a lotus pond which commanded a good view of a very pretty resting-place which had been prepared for us was full of paddlers. The sightseers were of all ages, sorts and conditions in life, and amongst them we noticed a great number of comely maidens, for the ladies of Kaga are good to look upon. A tortuous course brought us to our inn, where we were received with the most dignified courtesy and all the hospitable politeness of which Japan is such a pattern. Our sitting-room had been strewed with a huge velvet pile carpet, and red lacquer chairs had been brought out of a temple for our use, our hosts not realizing that long custom had inured us to the native fashion of squatting on the mats. Soon an envoy arrived from the Prince, expressing anxiety for our healths on account of the great heat and regretting that he himself was not well enough to receive us; I answered, swearing eternal friendship with Japan and especially with Kaga, on behalf of Sir Harry Parkes. A feast was brought in at which the envoy presided, and soon the very smart but very uncomfortable chairs were discarded and we were hobnobbing with the _saké_ cups according to true Japanese etiquette. Presently the Prince’s doctors arrived offering medical attendance, pills and potions, in case we should need them. At that time, be it remembered, the medical profession was still under the Chinese influence, and we should hardly have been prepared to subscribe to its methods, among which acupuncture and the burning with moxa held a high but painful place. So we expressed our gratitude, pleading excellent health as an excuse for not submitting to a consultation. A political conversation followed, which was supposed to be absolutely confidential, though as it was carried on in the presence of apparently anybody who chose to come in and listen, the maintenance of its deadly secrecy was not much to be relied upon.