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.
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