During this visit the people appeared rather more friendly than usual. We took our walks as formerly to the castellated and beautiful Sheudi. The vernacular had been slightly acquired by the juveniles; a small boy in a school counted twelve for me in English quite plainly, while others desiring to display the activity peculiar to juvenility, when scrambling for coppers, would say as you passed, “American—how do you do?” On the 3d of February, the commodore with a suite and military escort similar to the one of June 6th preceding, paid another official visit to the palace at Sheudi: a proceeding anything else than devoutly wished for by the prince-regent. The palace-gates were opened and we were ushered into the former hall of audience. On this occasion a number of American gold and silver coin were left with them, for which they were informed, that on the return of the squadron, they were to give an equivalent in similar metals of their currency. They would gladly have avoided this, but they felt themselves the victims of a gently-forcible suasion, that there was no getting around. A banquet was spread as before, and as each guest left the building, an attendant functionary at the door handed him a red slip of paper written on in the mandarin character, which proved to be kind of hospitality shares, and on their presentation at the city of Napa, entitled the holder to a “cumshaw” of a pipe and pouch, and bundle of paper. On the 7th of February the three steamers left Loo-Choo for Japan. On getting outside of the harbor a sail hove in sight, which proved to be the sloop-of-war Saratoga from Shanghae. We lay to for an hour and a half, getting from her in boats, bullocks and provisions that she had brought. At five in the evening we were off the northern part of Loo-Choo island—“Mellville,” which had been surveyed by Captain Beechy, R. N., and resurveyed by boats from our squadron. We got, after leaving Loo-Choo, what the sailors call a good “slant” of wind, and ran free under canvass as well as steam. On the night of the 11th it came on thick and chilly, and found us groping our way among the chain of islands just southward of Ohosima. One steamer was unable to discern the lights of another, and the midnight navigation was not rendered any more pleasurable by the corybantic sea, or the reflection that during the day we had discovered dangerous rocks poking their points above the water, not laid down upon the charts, which would punch a hole in the bottom of a ship with no compunction. But it is remarkable what indifference or philosophy takes possession of those, who are accustomed to plough the great deep, upon such occasions. They may know the peril of the locality in which they are sailing, yet they turn in as usual; sleep and snore, and reck not of what may come.