But That Which We Most Noted Was Their
Play Or Comedy, In Which The Two Kings, With Their Greatest Nobles And
Princes, Were The Actors.
The subject was a representation of the
valiant deeds of their ancestors, from the commencement of their kingdom
or commonwealth to the present time, which was mixed with much mirth to
please the common people.
The audience was very numerous, as every house
in the town of Firando, and every village, place, or hamlet in their
dominions brought a present, and all their subjects were spectators. The
kings themselves took especial care that every one, both high and low,
should eat and drink before they departed. Their acting, music, singing,
and poetry, were very harsh to our ears, yet the natives kept time to
it, both with hands and feet. Their musical instruments were small drums
or tabors, wide at both ends and small in the middle, resembling an
hour-glass, on one end of which they beat with one hand, while with the
other they strained the cords which surround it, making it to sound soft
or loud at their pleasure, and tuning their voices to its sound, while
others played on a fife or flute; but all was harsh and unpleasant to
our ears. I never saw a play of which I took such notice, as it was
wonderfully well represented, yet quite different from ours in
Christendom, which are only dumb-shews, while this was as truth itself,
and acted by the kings themselves, to preserve a continual remembrance
of their affairs.
On this occasion, the king did not invite the Dutch, which made our
being present seem the greater compliment. When I returned to our house,
I found three or four of the Dutchmen there, one of whom was in a
Japanese habit, and came from a place called Cushma,[37] which is
within sight of Corea. I understood they had sold pepper there and other
goods, and suspect they have some secret trade thence with Corea, or are
likely soon to have, and I trust if they do well that we shall not miss,
as Mr Adams was the man who put them upon this trade, and I have no
doubt he will be as diligent for the good of his own countrymen as he
has been for strangers. Hernando Ximenes was with Captain Brower when
the two men came from Cushma, and asked them whence they came, at which
Brower was very angry, telling him he should have no account of that
matter.
[Footnote 37: Key-sima, an island considerably to the N.E. of Firando,
and nearly midway between Niphon and Corea, from which it may be about
forty miles distant. - E.]
Towards night, I was informed that two Spaniards were arrived from
Nangasaki, and were lodged with Zanzibar. They sent for our jurebasso
to come to them, but I did not allow him, on which they and Zanzibar
came to our house. One of them was Andres Bulgaryn, a Genoese, who had
passed Firando only a few days before, and the other Benito de Palais,
pilot-major of the Spanish ship lately cast away on the coast of Japan,
the same person who came here formerly from Nangasaki to visit Captain
Adams.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 48 of 474
Words from 24759 to 25303
of 247546
