What at last struck the deepest horror to the souls of the few surviving Jesuits, and was greatly improved in Europe to the damage of the Company, by its enemies, was the apostasy of Father Christopher Ferreyra, a Portuguese, an old missionary, the provincial of the order, and the administrator of the bishopric. He was taken in 1633 at Nagasaki, and being suspended in the fosse, after five hours he gave the fatal signal of renunciation. After having been kept some time in prison, and given what information he could for the detection of those of his late brethren still concealed in Japan, he was set at liberty; and, having assumed the Japanese dress and a Japanese name, he lived for several years at Nagasaki. He had been compelled to marry a Japanese woman, who was very rich, being the widow of a Chinese goldsmith, who had been executed for some offence; but the Jesuits comforted themselves with the idea that the marriage was never consummated; and they even got up a report that in his old age this renegade brother recovered his courage, and having, on his death-bed, confessed himself a Christian, was immediately hurried off to perish a martyr by that very torment of the fosse, the terror of which had first made and had so long kept him an apostate. But for this fine story there seems to have been no foundation except the wishes and hopes of those who circulated it. As a further security against the surreptitious introduction of missionaries, the policy was adopted, in 1635, of confining the Portuguese sailors and merchants to the little artificial island of Deshima, in the harbor of Nagasaki, a spot but just large enough to hold the necessary residences and warehouses. Shortly after the issue of this edict, the people of the kingdom of Arima, all of them still Catholic except the king and the nobility, seeing no other hope, broke out into open revolt. They were headed by a descendant of their ancient kings, and mustering, it is said, to the number of thirty-seven thousand, took possession of the fortress of Shimabara, situated about due east from Nagasaki, on the gulf of the same name. Here they were besieged; and the place being taken in 1638, those who held it were cut off to a man. The Portuguese were accused of having encouraged this revolt; in consequence of which an edict was issued, in 1638, not only banishing all the Portuguese, but forbidding also any Japanese to go out of the country. That edict, as given by Kämpfer, was as follows: “No Japanese ship or boat whatever, nor any native of Japan, shall presume to go out of the country: who acts contrary to this shall die, and the ship with the crew and goods aboard shall be sequestered till further order. “All Japanese who return from abroad shall be put to death. “Whoever discovers a priest shall have a reward of 400 to 500 _shuets_ of silver, and for every Christian in proportion[114].