It is very remarkable that they had not seen the ship the preceding day, when we came to anchor in the bay, nor indeed this morning till our boats were pretty near the ice. The panic with which the discovery had struck them we found had been very considerable. The garrison was immediately put under arms. Two small field-pieces were placed at the entrance of the commander’s house, and pointed toward our boats, and shot, powder, and lighted matches were all ready at hand. The officer in whose house we were at present entertained was a serjeant, and the commander of the _ostrog_. Nothing could exceed the kindness and hospitality of his behaviour, after he had recovered from the alarm occasioned by our arrival. We found the house insufferably hot, but exceedingly neat and clean. After I had changed my clothes, which the serjeant’s civility enabled me to do by furnishing me with a complete suit of his own, we were invited to sit down to dinner, which I have no doubt was the best he could procure, and considering the shortness of time he had to provide it, was managed with some ingenuity. As there was not time to prepare soup and _bouilli_, we had in their stead some cold beef sliced, with hot water poured over it. We had next a large bird roasted, of a species with which I was unacquainted, but of a very excellent taste. After having eaten a part of this it was taken off, and we were served with fish dressed two different ways, and soon after the bird again made its appearance, in savoury and sweet _pâtés_. Our liquor, of which I shall have to speak hereafter, was of the kind called by the Russians _quass_, and was much the worse part of the entertainment. The serjeant’s wife brought in several of the dishes herself, and was not permitted to sit down at table. Having finished our repast, during which it is hardly necessary to remark that our conversation was confined to a few bows, and other signs of mutual respect, we endeavoured to open to our host the cause and objects of our visit to this port. As Ismyloff had probably written to them on the same subject in the letters we had before delivered, he appeared very readily to conceive our meaning; but as there was unfortunately no one in the place that could talk any other language except Russian or Kamtschatdale, we found the utmost difficulty in comprehending the information he meant to convey to us. After some time spent in these endeavours to understand one another, we conceived the sum of the intelligence we had procured to be, that though no supply either of provisions or naval stores were to be had at this place, yet that these articles were in great plenty at Bolcheretsk. That the commander would most probably be very willing to give us what we wanted; but that till the serjeant had received orders from him, neither he nor his people, nor the natives, could even venture to go on board the ship.