Northern Europe - The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques And Discoveries Of The English Nation - Volume 1 - Collected By Richard Hakluyt
- Page 56 of 125 - First - Home
Of The Commodities Of Pruce, And High Dutch Men, And Easterlings.
The fifth
Chapitle.
Nowe goe foorth to the commodities,
That commeth from Pruce in two maner degrees.
For two maner people haue such vse,
That is to say, High Duch men of Pruse,
And Esterlings, which might not be forborne,
Out of Flanders, but it were verely lorne.
For they bring in the substance of the Beere,
That they drinken feele too good chepe, not dere.
Yee haue heard that two Flemings togider
Will vndertake or they goe any whither,
Or they rise once to drinke a Ferkin full,
Of good Beerekin: so sore they hall and pull.
Vnder the board they pissen as they sit:
This commeth of couenant of a worthie wit.
Without Caleis in their Butter they cakked
When they fled home, and when they leysure lacked
To holde their siege, they went like as a Doe:
Well was that Fleming that might trusse, and goe.
For feare they turned backe and hyed fast,
My Lord of Glocester made hem so agast
With his commimg, and sought hem in her land,
And brent and slowe as he had take on hand:
So that our enemies durst not bide, nor stere,
They fled to mewe, they durst no more appeare,
Rebuked sore for euer so shamefully,
Vnto her vtter euerlasting villany.
Nowe Beere and Bakon bene fro Pruse ybrought
Into Flanders, as loued and farre ysought:
Osmond, Copper, Bow-staues, Steele, and Wexe,
Peltreware and grey Pitch, Terre, Board, and flexe,
And Colleyne threed, Fustian and Canuas,
Card, Bukeram: of olde time thus it was.
But the Flemings among these things dere,
In common louen best Bakon and Beere.
Also Pruse men maken her aduenture
Of Plate of siluer of wedges good and sure
In great plentie which they bring and bye,
Out of the lands of Beame and Hungarie:
Which is increase full great vnto their land,
And they bene laden, I vnderstand,
With wollen cloth all maner of colours
By dyers crafted full diuers, that ben ours.
And they aduenture full greatly vnto the Bay,
for salt that is needefull withouten nay.
Thus if they would not our friends bee,
We might lightly stoppe hem in the see:
They should not passe our streemes withouten leue,
It would not be, but if we should hem greue.
Of the commodities of the Genuoys and her great Caracks. Chap. 6.
The Genuois comen in sundry wies
Into this land with diuers marchandises
In great Caracks, arrayed withouten lacke
With cloth of gold, silke, and pepper blacke
They bring with them, and of crood [6] great plentee,
Woll Oyle, Woad ashen, by vessel in the see,
Cotton, Rochalum, and good gold of Genne.
And then be charged with wolle againe I wenne,
And wollen cloth of ours of colours all.
And they aduenture, as ofte it doth befall,
Into Flanders with such things as they bye,
That is their chefe staple sekerly:
And if they would be our full enemies,
They should not passe our stremes with merchandise.
[Footnote 6: Woad.]
The comodities and nicetees of the Venetians and Florentines, with their
Gallees. Chap. 7.
The great Galees of Venice and Florence
Be well laden with things of complacence,
All spicery and of grossers ware:
With sweete wines all maner of chaffare,
Apes, and Iapes, and marmusets tayled,
Nifles and trifles that little haue auayled:
And things with which they fetely blere our eye:
With things not induring that we bye.
For much of this chaffare that is wastable
Might be forborne for dere and deceiuable.
And that I wene as for infirmities
In our England are such commodities
Withouten helpe of any other lond
Which by witte and practise both yfound:
That all humors might be voyded sure,
With that we gleder with our English cure:
That we should haue no neede of Scamonie,
Turbit, enforbe, correct Diagredie,
Rubarbe, Sene, and yet they ben to needefull,
But I know things al so speedefull,
That growen here, as those things sayd.
Let of this matter no man be dismayde;
But that a man may voyde infirmitie
Without degrees fet fro beyond the sea.
And yet they should except be any thing
It were but sugre, trust to my saying:
He that trusteth not to my saying and sentence,
Let him better search experience.
In this matter I will not ferther prease,
Who so not beleeueth, let him leaue and cease.
Thus these galeys for this licking ware,
And eating ware, bare hence out best chaffare.
Cloth, woll, and tinne, which as I sayd before,
Out of this lond worst might be forbore,
For ech other land of necessitie
Haue great neede to buy some of them three:
And we receiue of hem into this coste
Ware and chaffare that lightly wilbe loste.
And would Iesus, that our Lord is wold
Consider this well both yong and old:
Namely old that haue experience,
That might the yong exhorte to prudence;
What harme, what hurt, and what hinderance
Is done to vs, vnto our great grieuance,
Of such lands, and of such nations:
As experte men know by probations,
By writings as discouered our counsailes,
And false colour alwaies the countertailes
Of our enimies: that doth vs hindering
Vnto our goods, our Relme, and to the king:
As wise men haue shewed well at eye;
And all this is couloured by marchandye.
An example of deceite
Also they bere the gold out of this land,
And sucke the thrift away out of our hand:
As the Waspe souketh honie fro the bee,
So minisheth our commoditee.
Nor wol ye here how they in Cotteswold
Were wont to borrow or they shold be sold
Her woll good as for yere and yere.
Of cloth and tinne they did in like manere:
And in her galies ship this marchandie:
Then soone at Venice of them men woll it bye.
Then vtterne there the chaffare by the peise,
And lightly als there they make her reise.
And when the goods beene at Venice sold,
Then to carie her change they this money haue,
They will it profer, their subtiltie to saue,
To English marchants to yeue it out by eschange
To be payed againe they make not strange,
At the receiuing and sight of a letter,
Here in England, seeming for the better,
by foure pence lesse in the noble round:
That is twelue pence in the golden pound.
And if wee wol haue of payment
A full moneth, than must him needes assent
To eight pence losse, that is shillings twaine
In the English pound:
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 56 of 125
Words from 56630 to 57732
of 127955
