The 28th, I Received Two Letters From Our General, Dated The 19th And
20th Of The Month, As Also Two
Others from Mr Peacock and Mr Wickham,
which were brought me by the governor of Shimonoseke.[30] This
governor did
Not land at Firando, but delivered these letters on board
our ship to the master, proceeding directly for Nangasaki, and promising
to return hither shortly. I also carried a letter for the old king
Foyne, which was brought by the same governor, being accompanied on
the occasion by Mr Melsham and Hernando. Foyne at this visit made a
present of a cattan or Japanese sword to Mr Melsham, and another with
a Spanish dagger to Hernando, giving likewise both to them and me
several bunches of garlic. He also gave us leave to dry our gunpowder on
the top of the fortress, offering some of his own people to help ours,
if we had need of them. This day I brought on shore to our house
twenty-two bars of lead, together with 125 culverin shot, round and
langridge. When we were about to sit down to supper, the old king came
to visit us, and being very merry he sat down to supper with us, and
took such fare as we had in good part.
[Footnote 30: Simonosequi is a town on the north side of the straits
between the island of Kiusiua and the north-western end of Niphon. - E.]
The 1st September, the old king and all his nobles made a masquerade,
and went next night to visit the young king his grandson, accompanied by
music, as formerly mentioned, all the streets being hung with lanterns.
As I was told he meant to visit our house on his return, I made ready
for him and waited till after midnight; but he passed by with all his
company without coming in. I reckoned he had more than 3000 persons in
his train, for which, as I think, he passed by, not wishing to trouble
us with so great a multitude. On the 2d Semidono and others who were
appointed by the king, measured all the houses in the street, ours among
the rest; which I understood was for the purpose of a general taxation,
to be levied by appointment of the emperor, for the construction of
fortresses. I entertained them to their satisfaction. The 4th we had
news that the queen of Spain was dead, and that the king was a suitor
for the princess Elizabeth of England. The 6th, a nobleman came to visit
our English house, and brought me a present of two great bottles of wine
and a basket of pears. I entertained him as well as I could, and he went
away contented.
We had much rain in the morning of the 7th September, accompanied by
wind, which increased in force all day, varying between the east and
south. In the night between the 7th and 8th, the wind rose to a
tuffoon or storm of such extreme violence as I had never witnessed,
neither had the like been experienced in this country during the memory
of man. It overturned above an hundred houses in Firando, and unroofed
many others, among which was the house of old king Foyne. An extensive
wall surrounding the house of the young king was blown down, and the
boughs and branches of trees were broken off and tossed about with
wonderful violence. The sea raged with such fury, that it undermined a
great wharf or quay at the Dutch factory, broke down the stone wall,
carried away the landing stairs, sunk and broke to pieces two barks
belonging to the Dutch, and forty or fifty other barks, then in the
roads, were broken and sunk. At our house, the newly built wall of our
kitchen was broken down by the sea, which likewise flowed into and threw
down our oven. The tiles likewise were blown off from the roofs of our
house and kitchen, both of which were partly unroofed. Our house rocked
as if shaken by an earthquake, and we spent the night in extreme fear,
either of being buried under the ruins of our factory, or of perishing
along with it by fire; for all night long, the barbarous unruly common
people ran up and down the streets with lighted firebrands, while the
wind carried large pieces of burning wood quite over the tops of the
houses, as it whirled up the burning timbers of the several houses
previously thrown down, hurling fire through the air in great flakes,
very fearful to behold, and threatening an entire conflagration of the
town; and I verily believe, if it had not been for the extreme quantity
of rain, contrary to the usual nature of tuffoons, that the whole town
had been consumed. This terrible wind and prodigious rain were
accompanied the whole night by incessant flashes of lightning and
tremendous peals of thunder. Our ship rode out the gale in the roads,
having out five cables and anchors, of which one old cable gave way,
but, thanks be to God, no other injury was sustained, except that our
long boat and skiff both broke adrift, but were both afterwards
recovered. We afterwards learnt that this tuffoon did more damage at
Nangasaki than here at Firando; for it destroyed above twenty Chinese
junks, together with the Spanish ship which brought the ambassador from
Manilla.
On the 12th, two merchants from Miaco came to our English house, to whom
I shewed all our commodities. They laid aside two pieces of broad cloth,
one black and the other stammel, the best they could find, for which
they offered seven tayes the yard. They also offered for out Priaman
gold eleven tayes of silver for one of gold. But they went away without
concluding any bargain. This day, one of our men named Francis Williams,
being drunk ashore, struck one of the servants of king Foyne with a
cudgel, although the man had given him no offence, and had not even
spoken to him.
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