Page:The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803 (Volume 08).djvu/261

 same proportions, excellently painted, varnished, and polished in black, with some medium-sized gilded iron rings and some large cords of red silk. Within this box was another one painted in various colors—yellow and gold—with its large iron rings and cords of white and violet silk, both covered with damask. In this third box, wrapped in a stout, wide paper, painted and gilded, was the letter, written with Chinese characters in the Japanese language, on stout paper, illumined and gilded with great neatness. The letter is even larger than the sealed bulls from Rroma, on parchment, and is sealed with two painted seals stamped in red. I am not sending the originals, because you have no one who can translate them there; while they will be needed here, perchance, for what must be done to affirm the embassy, and even for objects and matters of importance that we might be able to discuss, by virtue of these letters, with the king of China. Therefore I enclose only one copy of the letter, in accordance with the best and most exact translation that could be made here; and another copy made for me by the emperor himself, by means of an interpreter. Although these two copies differ somewhat, they agree in their essential point, namely, the demand for recognition and obedience, made with the arrogance and barbaric haughtiness that your Majesty will find in them. They also brought, resting in small boxes, a letter from the king's chamberlain (one of the grandees of that kingdom), another from their captain-general and another from the king of Firando; and at other times letters have been written to the governors here. I am also sending the translated copies of these letters, from which your Majesty will see the determination and