The English are serious, like the Germans; lovers of show, liking to
be followed wherever they go by whole troops of servants, who wear
their masters' arms in silver, fastened to their left arms, a
ridicule they deservedly lie under. They excel in dancing and
music, for they are active and lively, though of a thicker make than
the French; they cut their hair close on the middle of the head,
letting it grow on either side; they are good sailors, and better
pirates, cunning, treacherous and thievish; above three hundred are
said to be hanged annually at London; beheading with them is less
infamous than hanging; they give the wall as the place of honour;
hawking is the general sport of the gentry; they are more polite in
eating than the French, devouring less bread, but more meat, which
they roast in perfection; they put a great deal of sugar in their
drink; their beds are covered with tapestry, even those of farmers;
they are often molested with the scurvy, said to have first crept
into England with the Norman Conquest; their houses are commonly of
two storeys, except in London, where they are of three and four,
though but seldom of four; they are built of wood, those of the
richer sort with bricks; their roofs are low, and, where the owner
has money, covered with lead.
They are powerful in the field, successful against their enemies,
impatient of anything like slavery; vastly fond of great noises that
fill the ear, such as the firing of cannon, drums, and the ringing
of bells, so that it is common for a number of them, that have got a
glass in their heads, to go up into the belfry, and ring the bells
for hours together for the sake of exercise.
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