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. If they see a foreigner very well made, or
particularly handsome, they will say, “It is a pity he is not an
Englishman!”