The island of Desima was infested with Japanese spies, whom the Dutch
were required to employ and pay as secretaries and servants, while knowing
their real office, If a Dutch resident aspired to occasional egress from
his prison, it was necessary to petition the governor of Nagasaki for the
privilege. As a general thing, the application was granted, but with such
conditions as to destroy all possibility of enjoyment; for, upon appearing
in Nagasaki, the unfortunate Dutchman was set upon by a band of spies and
policemen, who accompanied him wherever he turned and who were always
pleasantly inviting themselves to be entertained at his expense,--a
proposition which he was not at liberty to decline. These spies gradually
got into the habit of taking with them as many of their acquaintances as
they could gather together, until the cost of a stroll about Nagasaki
became too heavy to be endured. But there was no remedy; he must either pay
or stay at home; and even upon these extravagant terms, he was not allowed
to enter any Japanese house, or to remain within the city after sunset. For
the rare favor of visiting the residence of a native Nagasakian, a special
petition was needed, and if granted, the number of spies on such an
occasion was multiplied at a most appalling rate. The Dutch were, moreover,
forbidden the companionship of their own countrywomen, and only the most
degraded female class of Nagasaki were allowed to visit them. In every way
they were forced to acknowledge their inferiority and undergo deprivations
and mortifications, for which, let us hope, they succeeded in finding some
compensation in the scant privileges of their trade.
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