I L L 1 A M 
DAMS. 
fo incom prehennble, that he had no Faith to beftow upon 
it ; yet lince Mr. Adams affirmed it, and he could not con- 
fute him, he entertained it as a Man does all Points of pure 
Myftery, with filent Admiration, and humble Submiffion 
of their Reafon to the Difficulty, though cramped and tor- 
tured with it at the fame time. Though his Underftanding 
was affronted by it, yet his good Nature was not, and he 
was very good Friends with Mr. Adams afterwards, as ap- 
peared by his holding him in talk till Midnight : He had fe- 
veral other Conferences with the Emperor after this, but 
was for a confiderable Time notwithstanding,- kept in 
Prifon, though he had all Neceffaries allowed him, and 
nothing like a Puniffiment, but a large Confinement. The 
Portugueze made all the Intereft at Court they could pof- 
fibly agarnft him, and, by their Agents, were continually 
infufing fome fcandalous Reports of him and his Country m 
the Emperor’s Ears ; but all, would not do, and the Prince 
was fo juft and generous as to tell them, that the Englijb , 
having done him no Mifchief, it would not be fair for him 
to fee them fuffer from any in his Country, and that it 
would be contrary to all the Laws of Juftice and Reafon, 
for him to fuffer an innocent Man to be executed, merely 
becaufe his Country and theirs were at War. 
8. Mr:. Adams’s Circumftances now began to mend, and 
o-rew more favourable; his Enemies were quite dilheart- 
ened, and the Emperor expreffed every Day more and 
more good liking to him. In the firft place, he freed him 
from his Imprifonment, and gave him leave to fee his old 
Ship’s Company, who were furprized with no fmall Joy at 
this, having heard (’tis probable from th t Portugueze, who 
intended it fhould be fo) that he had been executed fome 
time before : But here he found the Ship abfolutely plun- 
dered, and all his Goods and Inftruments gone, and ail the 
reft had loft what they had as well as he •, lor being all Pick 
and weak afhore, the Goods lay ready for a Prey to thofe 
that could be unjuft enough to feize them. 
When this came to the Emperor’s Ear, a Search was 
made, in order to the Recovery of them ; but being gone 
too far out of Reach, he commanded fifty thoufand Rials 
of Eio-ht to be given them in part of Satisfaction ; and to 
make°lure that this Money fhould not be either fraudulently 
detained by his Treafurers, or converted to any other Ufe, 
he faw the Payment of it himfelf into the Hands of one 
who was appointed to have the Management of their Af- 
fairs, and to give it out to them in Parcels as they wanted. 
After this the Court removed to Eddo , about a hundred and 
twenty-two Leagues from Ofacca. 
The Emperor ordered Mr. Adams to move thitherwards 
with his Ship, and here they took the Liberty to petition 
him, that they might be perfectly free, and purfue the Defign 
of their Voyage, in going to trade in fome other Parts ; 
but this would not take, and the Emperor was not difpofed 
to part with; them yet ; fo they got the Money into their 
own Hands, and divided it amongft themfelves, every Man 
his Share, and then they difperfed themfelves about the 
Country, chufing thofe Places to fettle in that belt pleafed 
their Fancies ; but the Emperor ordered them, befides an 
Allowance of Rice, two Pound a Day for every Man, and 
over and above, fo much yearly as came to eleven or twelve 
Ducats : There was no Diftinbtion made between Captains, 
Pilots, and common Sailors ; but they all fared alike. 
9. Thus four or five Years went over their Heads, and 
they followed every Man his Bufinefs in the Country for a 
Livelihood, fince ’twas determined that there they muff 
live and die ; but when the Term of Years was expired, 
the Emperor fent for Mr. Adams to Court, and the Bufinefs 
was to make him a Ship. This was not his Trade, as he 
told the Emperor, and though he knew how to guide a 
Ship at Sea, yet he was not uled to the making of them ; 
but he was fo very urgent and preffing to have it done, 
that Mr. Adams undertook the Work, and built him a 
Ship of about eighty Tun. 
When he came aboard it he expreffed a wonderful deal 
of Pleafure in it, and ’twas a Piece of Service he valued 
fo much, that the Maker of it rofe mightily in his Favour, 
by this very Means •, befides feverai very good Prefents, his 
Penfton was encreafed too, being made fuch as came to 70 
Ducats -per Annum, over and above the former Allowance 
of Rice , ; and. thefe well managed, were a tolerable Liveli- 
hood for a fingle Perfon in the Country : But that which 
recommended him moft effectually to the Emperor sEfteem 
was, his Skill in Mathematical Learning; Mr. Adams had 
a good Share of Knowledge in the practical Parts, and was 
now honoured with having fo great a Prince for his Schoiar. 
He inftrucfted him in feverai Points of thefe ufeful Arts, 
and made him capable of folving to himfelf that myfterious 
Problem of failing to Japan- by the Magellanick S freights* 
Pie could pleafe him at any time with defcribing Geome- 
trical Figures. 
The Emperor was plunged in the Study, charmed and, 
conjured within the Circles Mr. Adams drew him. This latter 
ufed his Geometry to fuch good Purpofe, that he difcover- 
ed the true Method of managing his Royal Pupil by it, and 
got, as he fays, the exaft Length of his Foot. His Word 
was all in all in any Point of Difpute and Controverfy, and ' 
which Side foever Mr. Adams took, the Emperor was always 
of the fame. He had fo great a Stroke now at Court, that 
even the Jefuits themfelves were willing to make ufe of his 
Intereft there, and courted him to be their Patron ; and 
he declares, that by his means both Spaniards and Portu- 
guezs received feverai Favours from the Emperor, which 
they were otherwile in no likely Way or obtaining. Being 
in thofe Circumftances, he thought it not impoffibie to win 
upon the Emperor, fo far as to return into his own Coun- 
try, and for that Purpofe renewed his old Requeft, pro- 
mifing to do his utmoft for the bringing both an Englijb 
and a Dutch Trade to Japan , if he might be buffered to 
go home. 
But the Emperor was too much pleafed with his Com- 
pany to hearken to any Propofal about the lofing of it. 
Mr. Adams ffiould have concealed his Skill in Mathema- 
ticks, kept his Geometry and Navigation to himfelf, ii he 
had intended to have feen his own Country again ; he was . 
too ufeful a Man to be parted with, and there was no Hopes 
of his Liberty, till he had quite loft the Knowledge of all 
thofe Arts that had fo charmed the Emperor. In ffiort, 
there was no going from him, and his Wife and Children 
muft be contented without him ; yet he procured Leave for 
the Captain of the Dutch Ship he came in to go, and, to 
make his Life as eafy and pleafant as might be, the Em- 
peror fettled a Lordfhip upon him, in which he had a Com- 
pafs of Land to manage, and a Parcel of Slaves, to the 
Number of eighty or ninety, appointed to do his Country 
Work ; and this was the Courfe of our Englijhman’ s For- 
tune in that Part of the World, as he himfelf has defcribed 
them. . 
10. As to the State of the Country, and its Affairs, he 
does not tell us much ; he commends the Japanefe^ largely 
for their Courtefy and good Humour, Valour in War, 
Juftice in their civil Concerns, and the happy Conftitution 
of the Government. He believes no People to be Mafters 
of better Politicks than they in their civil Government, nor 
have more Superftition in their Religion. They have va- 
rious Sebis and Opinions amongft them, and fome of them 
had embraced Chriftianity at the Time the Friars and Je- 
fuits were very diligently at work to propagate it in feverai 
Parts of the Eland. So far they had gone in Mr. Adams’ s 
Time, as to have fome Churches, and Profpeft of a con- 
fiderable Number of Convents. 
The Chara&er he gives of Trade is, that Silks and Cloths 
are very vendable Commodities, and that for ready Mo- 
ney ; and, according to his Relation, the J apanefe have 
wherewithal to be very good Pay-mafters, and can afford to 
give the beft Rates for a Commodity, having Gold and 
Silver enough in their own Country, a very happy People 
lurely, in the common Acceptation of Things, fince they 
live in a pleafant Country, enjoy the Benefit of a rich Soil, 
and have befides Mines, which yield them vaft Quantities 
of Gold and Silver. If any thing could have contented this 
Man out of the Limits of his own Country, and without 
the Enjoyment of the Converfation of his Family and 
Friends, he might affuredly have met with it in Japan , 
where the King of Surunga , whom- he called Emperor, 
treated him with extraordinary Kindnefs, and rewarded the 
Pains taken in his Service with a Magnificence truly royal 
He employed Mr. Adams to fail in the Veffei he had built 
for him as far as Eddo, which our Author tells us was as 
faj 1 as from London to the Lizard , or Land’s End. As he 
fucceeded 
