The 18th, Foyne Sent Me Word He Would Visit Me, And Meant To Bring The
Dancing Girls Of The Country Along With Him, Which He Did Soon After,
Accompanied By Three Courtezans, And Two Or Three Men, Who All Danced
And Made Music After Their Fashion, Though Harsh To Our Ears.
The 19th,
the Chinese captain, and George Duras, a Portuguese, came to visit me,
requesting me to send to
Semidono to procure pardon for two poor
fellows who were like to lose their lives for bidding a poor knave flee
who had stolen a bit of lead not worth three halfpence; and though the
malefactor was taken and executed, these men were in danger of the same
punishment, had I not sent Mr Cockes to Semidono with my ring, to
desire their pardon for my sake, which he engaged to procure, and did in
effect.
The 20th, Samedon, king of Crats,[41] sent me word he meant to go on
board our ship, so I went there to meet him, and he came along with both
the kings of Firando, when we saluted them with five pieces of ordnance;
and we afterwards fired three with bullets at a mark, at the request of
Samedon, who gave me two Japanese pikes, having cattans or sables on
their ends. At their departure we again saluted them with seven guns,
one being shotted and fired at the mark. The 22d I sent a present to the
king of Crats, which was delivered to him at the house of Tomesanes
the young king, where he was at breakfast. Samedon accepted it very
kindly, sending me word by Mr Cockes that he was doubly obliged to me
for his kind entertainment aboard, and for now sending him so handsome a
present of such things as his country did not produce, all without any
desert on his part, and the only recompence in his power was, if ever
any of the English nation came into his dominions, he would give them a
hearty welcome, and do them all the service in his power.
[Footnote 41: This personage must have been governor of one of the
provinces, islands, or towns of Japan; but no place in that eastern
empire bears a name in modern geography which in the smallest degree
resembles Crats. - E]
The 25th, the purser and Mr Hownsell came ashore, and told me that
Andrew Palmer, the steward, had died the night before, Thomas Warner,
our surgeon, affirming that he owed his death to his own obstinacy, his
wound being curable if he would have been ruled. I desired that he might
be buried on an island as secretly as possible, as we were about to get
some Japanese into our ship, who might be unwilling to embark if they
heard of any one having died. On the 28th a Japanese was put to death,
who some said was a thief, and others an incendiary. He was led by the
executioner to the place of punishment, a person going before him
carrying a board, on which the crime for which he was to be punished was
written, and the same was exhibited on a paper flag carried over his
head.
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