Compare 1577 edition: 1 About this season there grew a great hartburning and malicious grudge amongst the Englishmen of the citie of London against strangers; and namelie the artificers found themselues sore grieued, for that such numbers of strangers were permitted to resort hither with their wares, and to exercise handie crafts to the great hinderance and impouerishing of the kings liege people. Besides that, they set nought by the rulers of the citie, & bare themselues too too bold of the kings fauor, wherof they would insolentlie boast; vpon presumption therof, & they offred manie an in|iurious abuse to his liege people, insomuch that a|mong other accidents which were manifest, it fortu|ned that as a carpenter in London called William|son had bought two stockdooues in Cheape, Hall in H. 8. fol. lix. and was about to pay for them, a Frenchman tooke them out of his hand, and said they were not meate for a carpenter.

Well said the Englishman I haue bought them and now paid for them,The insolent sawcinesse of the French|men against the English. and therefore I will haue them. Naie said the Frenchman I will haue them for my lord the ambassadour. And so for better or woorsse, the Frenchman called the Englishman knaue, and went awaie with the stockdooues. The strangers came to the French ambassador, and sur|mised a complaint against the poore carpenter. And the ambassador came to the lord maior, and said so much, that the carpenter was sent to prison: and yet not contented with this, so complained to the kings councell, that the kings commandement was laid on him.The diuelish malice of the Frenchmen. And when sir Iohn Baker knight and other worshipfull persons sued to the ambassador for him, he answered by the bodie of God that the English knaue should lose his life, for he said no Englishman should denie that the Frenchmen required, and other answer had they none.

There was also a Frenchman that had slaine a man, and should abiure the realme, and had a crosse in his hand. Then suddenlie came a great sort of Frenchmen about him, and one of them said to the constable that led him; Sir is this crosse the price to kill an Englishman. The constable was somewhat astonied & answered not. Then said another French|man, On that price we should be banished all by the masse. This saieng was noted to be spoken spiteful|lie. Howbeit, the Frenchmen were not alonelie op|pressors of the Englishmen. For a Lombard called Francis de Bard, entised a mans wife in Lombard stréet to come to his chamber with hir husbands plate, which thing she did. After, when hir husband knew it, he demanded his wife, but answer was made he should not haue hir:Stranger [...] outlace E [...]g [...]lishm [...] all honesti [...], equitie, [...] conscience then he demanded his plate, and in like maner answer was made that he should neither haue plate nor wife. And when he had sued an action against the stranger in the Guildhall, the stranger so faced the Englishman, that he fain|ted in his sute. Then the Lombard arrested the poore man for his wiues boord, while he kept hir from hir husband in his chamber.