ommonwealth cannot be said to nourish where
these abuses reign, but is rather oppressed by unreasonable exactions
made upon rich farmers, and of poor tenants, wherewith to maintain
the same. Neither was it ever merrier with England than when an
Englishman was known abroad by his own cloth, and contented himself
at home with his fine carsey hosen, and a mean slop; his coat, gown,
and cloak of brown, blue, or puke, with some pretty furniture of
velvet or fur, and a doublet of sad tawny, or black velvet, or other
comely silk, without such cuts and garish colours as are worn in
these days, and never brought in but by the consent of the French,
who think themselves the gayest men when they have most diversities
of jags and change of colours about them. Certes of all estates our
merchants do least alter their attire, and therefore are most to be
commended; for albeit that which they wear be very fine and costly,
yet in form and colour it representeth a great piece of the ancient
gravity appertaining to citizens and burgesses, albeit the younger
sort of their wives, both in attire and costly housekeeping, cannot
tell when and how to make an end, as being women indeed in whom all
kind of curiosity is to be found and seen, and in far greater measure
than in women of higher calling. I might here name a sort of hues
devised for the nonce, wherewith to please fantastical heads, as
goose-turd green, peas-porridge tawny, popingay blue, lusty gallant,
the devil-in-the-head (I should say the hedge), and such like; but I
pass them over, thinking it sufficient to have said thus much of
apparel generally, when nothing can particularly be spoken of any
constancy thereof.

CHAPTER VIII

OF THE MANNER OF BUILDING AND FURNITURE OF OUR HOUSES

[1577, Book II., Chapter 10; 1587, Book II., Chapter 12.]

The greatest part of our building in the cities and good towns of
England consisteth only of timber, for as yet few of the houses of
the communalty (except here and there in the West-country towns) are
made of stone, although they may (in my opinion) in divers other
places be builded so good cheap of the one as of the other. In old
time the houses of the Britons were slightly set up with a few posts
and many raddles, with stable and all offices under one roof, the
like whereof almost is to be seen in the fenny countries and northern
parts unto this day, where for lack of wood they are enforced to
continue this ancient manner of build