The new king of Arima being brought, by the labors of the visitor, to a better disposition, was baptized, and became one of the most zealous of the converts. Both the emperor Nobunaga and his three sons still continued very well disposed to the missionaries, allowing Father Gnecchi, who was a favorite with him, to establish a house, a church, and a seminary at Azuchiyama, his local capital, which he had greatly beautified, and between which and Miyako he had caused a highway to be built, at great expense and with immense labor. His evident design to make his authority absolute had indeed led to a league against him, which, however, proved of no avail, this attempt at resistance resulting in the subjection of all the kings of the western half of Nippon, except Mōri of Nagato. The good service which the missionaries rendered, in persuading the Christian princes, and the Christian vassals of the unconverted ones, to submit to the emperor, as their superior lord, caused Valignani to be very graciously received, both at Miyako and also at Azuchiyama. On the visitor’s return to Shimo, the converted kings of Bungo and Arima, and the prince of Ōmura, determined to send ambassadors to be the bearers of their submission to the Pope. For this purpose two young nobles were selected, scarcely sixteen years of age: one, prince of Hyūga, the son of a niece of the king of Bungo, the other, prince of Arima, cousin of the king of Arima, and nephew of the prince of Ōmura. They were attended by two counsellors somewhat older than themselves, by Father Diego de Mesquita, as their preceptor, and interpreter, and by a Japanese Jesuit, named George Loyola, and, in company with Father Valignani, they sailed from Nagasaki February 20, 1582, in a Portuguese ship bound for Macao, now the headquarters of the Portuguese trade to Japan. They arrived at Macao after a very stormy and dangerous passage of seventeen days; but the season of sailing for Malacca being past, they had to wait there six months. When at length they did sail, they encountered very violent storms; but at last, after twenty-nine days’ passage (January 27, 1583), they reached Malacca, passing, as they entered the harbor, the wreck of another richly laden Portuguese vessel, which had sailed from Macao in their company. After resting at Malacca eight days, they embarked for Goa, which third voyage proved not less trying than the two others. Delayed by calms, they ran short of provisions and water, and by the ignorance of the pilot were near being run ashore on the island of Ceylon. They disembarked at length at Travancore, at the southeastern extremity of the peninsula of India, whence they proceeded by land to the neighboring port of Cochin. Here, owing to the unfavorable monsoon, they had to wait six months before they could sail for Goa, at which capital of Portuguese India they arrived in September. The viceroy of the Indies received them with