A Spanish Friar Or Jesuit Came In
The Boat Along With The Ambassador's Servant, And Asked To See Our Ship,
Which the master allowed him at my request, and used him kindly; for the
old saw has it, That it
Is sometimes good to hold a candle to the devil.
This day Mr Eaton, Hernando, and I dined with Unagense, and were kindly
entertained.
About ten o'clock of the 6th November, 1613, our general and all his
attendants arrived at Firando from the emperor's court, accompanied by
Mr Adams. Immediately after his arrival, he sent me, with John Japan,
our jurebasso, to visit both the kings, and to thank them for their
kindness, for having so well accommodated him with a barge or galley,
and for the care they had taken of the ship and every thing else during
his absence. They took this message in good part, saying they would be
glad to see our general at their houses. At this time certain merchants
of Miaco came from Nangasaki to our house to look at our commodities,
and among the rest took liking to ten pieces of cassedy nill, for
which they agreed to give three tayes each. As had been done by other
merchants, I sent the goods to their lodging, expecting to receive the
money as usual; but they only sent me a paper, consigning me to receive
payment from Semidono, who was newly gone from Firando on a voyage,
and was met by our general. I sent back word to the merchants that I
must either have payment or the goods returned, to which they answered,
I should have neither one nor the other; and as the person with whom
they lodged refused to pass his word for payment, I was forced to apply
to both the kings for justice; but I first sent word aboard our ship, if
the boat of Miaco weighed anchor to go away, that they should send the
skiff to make her stay, which they did, and made her come to anchor
again. In the mean time I went to the kings. The younger king said that
Semidono was able enough to pay me; but when I asked him if Semidono
refused to pay, whether he would, he answered no. While we were talking
about the matter, the old king came in, and told me he would take order
that I should be satisfied; so in the end the person with whom the
merchants lodged passed his word for payment of the thirty tayes; yet
the orders of old Foyne Same had come too late, if our skiff had not
stopt the Miaco merchants. This day Captain Brower and all the
merchants of the Dutch factory came to visit our general, and
Nobisone sent him a young porker as a present, with a message saying
he would come to visit him in a day or two.
Sec.11. Occurrences at Firando after the Return of Captain Saris.[40]
The 7th of November, 1613, I sent in the first place some presents to
the two kings of Firando, and afterwards went to visit them. On the 8th,
Andrew Palmer, the ship's steward, and William Marnell, gunner's mate,
having been ashore all night and quarrelled in their cups, went out this
morning into the fields and fought. Both are so grievously wounded, that
it is thought Palmer will hardly escape with his life, and that Marnell
will be lame of his hands for life. The 9th I went aboard ship early,
and called the master and all the officers into my cabin, making known
to them how much I was grieved at the misconduct of some of them,
particularly of Palmer and Marnell, who had gone ashore without leave,
and had so sore wounded each other, that one was in danger of his life,
and the other of being lamed for ever; and besides, that the survivor
ran a risk of being hanged if the other died, which would necessarily
occasion me much vexation. I also said, I was informed that Francis
Williams and Simon Colphax were in the boat going ashore to have fought,
and that John Dench and John Winston had appointed to do the like. John
Dench confessed it was true, and that he had seen Palmer and Marnell
fighting, and had parted them, otherwise one or both had died on the
field. I told them these matters were exceedingly distressing to me, and
I trusted would now be remedied, otherwise the ship would be unmanned,
to the overthrow of our voyage, and the vast injury of the honourable
company which had entrusted us. After much contestation, they all
engaged to amend what was amiss, and not to offend any more, which I
pray God may be the case. I told them also, that old king Foyne had
complained to me, threatening, if any more of them went ashore to fight
and shed blood, contrary to the laws of Japan, he would order them to be
cut in pieces, as he was determined strangers should have no more
licence to infringe the laws than his own subjects.
[Footnote 40: We here resume the narrative of Captain Saris. Purch.
Pilgr. I. 378. The observations of Mr Cockes, contained in the three
preceding sub-sections, break off abruptly in the Pilgrims, as
above. - E.]
At my return ashore, old Foyne Same came to visit me at the English
house, and told me that the piece of Poldavy, and the sash I gave him,
were consumed when his house was burnt down. This was in effect begging
to have two others, which I promised to give him. I likewise got him to
send some of his people aboard, along with John Japan, our jurebasso, to
intimate to our men that if any of them went ashore to fight, he had
given strict orders to have them cut in pieces. This I did in hopes of
restraining them in future from any more drunken combats.
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