After the play was over we drew round the little tables, and the _saké_ cup passed freely from hand to hand; Awa no Kami vowed that the Admiral was his father, and Sir Harry his elder brother, while Awaji no Kami expressed himself to me in a similarly affectionate manner. It was arranged that we should have a review of the troops on the following day, and about midnight the wind and rain having moderated we took our leave, getting back to our lodging at one in the morning. I found that even our servants had not been forgotten, presents having been sent to each one of them; not a single person was passed over. This was truly princely hospitality. I forgot to mention that before we started for the castle, a polite message of welcome was brought to Sir Harry from the prince, accompanied by a box three feet long, one deep and one wide, full of eggs, another of the same size full of vermicelli and a basket of fish. The trouble that had been taken to make us comfortable was very great, even after they had heard of the increased number they would have to entertain; they had gone to work to make bedsteads and tables, and even to build bathrooms.
The morning turned out finer than could have been reasonably hoped for after the storm of the preceding day, and after breakfast we started for the parade ground. Our way lay through the castle, and over a considerable stream which washed one side of the fortress. It was a very good ground, though rather small, but the prince explained that he could not enlarge it without pulling down some Buddhist temples, which would shock the religious feeling of the townspeople. Some five hundred men, divided into five bodies of varying strength, were put through their drill. Their uniform was in imitation of European style, black trousers with red stripes down the side, and black coats; happy the soldier who could muster a pair of boots, the rest had only straw sandals. On their heads they had hats of papier-maché, either conical or of dish-cover shape, with two horizontal red bands. They used the English infantry drill, with the quaint addition of a shout to indicate the discharge of their firearms. In the opinion of those who were competent to judge, they acquitted themselves very creditably. We viewed the evolutions from a sort of grand stand, with tables before us piled up with various delicacies. _Saké_ of course formed part of the entertainment, and Hewett was singled out by the prince as assuredly the best toper of us all, on account of his jolly red face. Everyone this morning had remarked what a capital liquor is _saké_, it leaves no bad effects behind, from which it may be inferred that we had returned home on the previous night in a happy frame of mind and body.