asked us whence our junk came; and being answered that it came from China, with merchandise to trade there, if permission should be obtained, one of the six said to us that the Nantaquim (?), the lord of that island, which was called Tanegashima, would willingly permit us to trade if we would pay the duties customarily paid in Japan; ‘which,’said he, ‘is that great island which you see there over against us.’” Whereupon the ship was piloted into a good harbor, on which was situated a considerable town, and was soon surrounded with boats bringing provisions to sell. In a short time they were visited by the Nantaquim (?) himself, accompanied by many gentlemen and merchants, with chests of silver. As he approached the ship, the first persons who attracted his attention were Pinto and his companions. Perceiving how different they were in complexion, features, and beard from the others, he eagerly inquired who they were. “The corsair captain made answer to him,” says Pinto, “that we were from a land called Malacca, to which many years before we had gone from another very distant country, called Portugal; at which the prince, greatly astonished, turning to those about him, said, ‘May I die, if these be not the Chenchicogins,[15] of whom it is written in our ancient books, that, flying on the tops of the waves, they will subdue all the lands about them until they become masters of all the countries in which God has placed the riches of the world! Wherefore we should esteem it a great piece of good fortune if they come to us with offers of friendship and good will.’[16]” And then calling in the aid of a woman of Lew Chew, whom he employed as interpreter, he proceeded to make very particular inquiries of the captain as to where he had found these men, and why he had brought them thither. “To whom,” says Pinto, “our captain replied, that without doubt we were merchants and trusty people, whom, having found shipwrecked on the island of Lampacau, he had received on board his junk, as it was his custom to do by all whom he found in such case, having himself been saved in the same way from the like disaster, to which all were liable who ventured their lives and property against the impetuous fury of the waves.” Satisfied with this answer, the prince came on board; not with his whole retinue, though they were all eager for it, but with only a select few. After examining the ship very curiously, he seated himself under an awning, and asked the Portuguese many questions about their country, and what they had seen in their travels. Highly delighted with their answers and the new information they were able to give him, he invited them to visit him on shore the next day, assuring them that this curious information was the merchandise he most wished for, and of which he never could have enough. The next morning he sent to the junk a large boat loaded with grapes, pears, melons, and a great variety of vegetables, for which the captain returned a present of