The Grave Of Will Adams.

which wound gently round the hill for nearly a mile , having on either hand a thick pine forest , into whose depths on our left we could look clown through a labyrinth of deephrown trunks , and now and again catch patches of green and gold in the valley far helow . A flight of roughly-hewn steps at the last brings us to the summit of the hill on which stands the monument that marks the resting-place of Will Adams ancl his Japanese wife . A first glance shews us that several of the trees have been cut clown ,

thus altering slightly , though in no way materially , the very good view which appeared some time since ( November 1873 , 1 think ) in the Illustrated London Neivs . Ascending the seven steps , we pass through a small gate on to a platform , where stand the jealously-guarded Japanese memorials of the first Englishman who trade their soil . The larger monument on the left is sacred to the memory of Anjin-sama , the name given by the natives to Adamsthat on the riht is in memory of his Japanese wife .

; g In front of each pillar is a smah hollow , in which the pious pilgrims who pass this way may deposit offerings , which no doubt are collected by the priests of the neighbouring temple , who look after both the grave ancl relies of Adams . The stones bear native inscriptions , but our guide did not possess enough knowledge of English to translate them . A frequent iteration of the name Anjin-sama , with a reverent genuflection towards the monumentsserved to show that the memory of Adams is still kept

, green around the neighbourhood in which he lived ancl died . One can readily imagine that the Japanese are lovers of the picturesque , for the view from the spot whereon we stand is most magnificent—hill ancl dale , with ever-changing beauties succeeding each other to the water's edge , where the coast-line may be traced in its very irregular windings , forming here and there very pretty capes , bays , ancl peninsulas , with miniature islands dotting the silvery surface of the sea in wild profusion . But the shades of

evening are already deepening around , so we retrace our road , discussing by the ivay the Fates that led Will Adams to be buried where he lay . Considering that we had no Pocket Encyclopaedic Biography , our facts may not be , " like Ctesar's wife , above suspicion . " Nevertheless , I give them without alteration .

Imprimis . Who was Will Adams ? The first Englishman that set foot in this sunny land—born somewhere in Kent , near Rochester , ancl was a pilot in the days of good Queen Bess . What brought him out here ? His duty as a pilot , having undertaken to conduct a squadron of merchant-ships , seeking a profitable market for their merchandise , to this part of the world . Out of five ships , Faith , Hope , Charity , Fidelity , and Good Neivs , one only , the Charity , reached Japan , and that after great hardships and severe sufferings on the part of the crew .

And is this the spot where they landed ? Oh , no . Further down the coast , on the western island of Eiu-Siu , somewhere Hear the town of Nagasaki , Avhere the Portuguese Jesuits had already established a settlement . _ _ Of course the Portuguese were highly indignant at the audacity of our countryman in introducing John Bull to the scenes of THEIR labours ?

Tes ; said they were pirates , on which they were seized and taken in galleys through the beautiful inland sea to Osalri , some two hundred and fifty miles nearer to this place , Tokoska ; thrown into prison , but treated kindly , till , after several interviews with the Emperor , in which they managed to convince him that the English were THE peojile of the future , and not the Portuguese , they were set at liberty . Adams found the shi plundered and taken to of these bays round here—perhaps this

p one very Tokoska . Be that as it may , " his occupation was gone , " and nothing remained for him but to set up a new trade . " Whichhe did ? As a shipbuilder , gaining so much favour that in a few years he became a personage or great influence at the court of the Emperor , and greatly assisted the Dutch in forming trade relations with Japan .