man or woman will sit here; but rather keep the
place for you."

Catherine. "Gramercy! that is manners. France for me!"

Denys rose and placed his hand gracefully to his breastplate.

"Natheless, they say things in sport which are not courteous, but
shocking. 'Le diable t'emporte!' 'Allez au diable!' and so forth. But
I trow they mean not such dreadful wishes: custom belike. Moderate in
drinking, and mix water with their wine, and sing and dance over their
cups, and are then enchanting company. They are curious not to drink
in another man's cup. In war the English gain the better of them in the
field; but the French are their masters in attack and defence of cities;
witness Orleans, where they besieged their besiegers and hashed them
sore with their double and treble culverines; and many other sieges in
this our century. More than all nations they flatter their women, and
despise them. No. She may be their sovereign ruler. Also they often hang
their female malefactors, instead of drowning them decently, as other
nations use. The furniture in their inns is walnut, in Germany only
deal. French windows are ill. The lower half is of wood, and opens; the
upper half is of glass, but fixed; so that the servant cannot come at
it to clean it. The German windows are all glass, and movable, and shine
far and near like diamonds. In France many mean houses are not glazed
at all. Once I saw a Frenchman pass a church without unbonneting. This
I ne'er witnessed in Holland, Germany, or Italy. At many inns they show
the traveller his sheets, to give him assurance they are clean, and warm
them at the fire before him; a laudable custom. They receive him kindly
and like a guest; they mostly cheat him, and whiles cut his throat.
They plead in excuse hard and tyrannous laws. And true it is their law
thrusteth its nose into every platter, and its finger into every pie.
In France worshipful men wear their hats and their furs indoors, and
go abroad lighter clad. In Germany they don hat and furred cloak to go
abroad; but sit bareheaded and light clad round the stove.

"The French intermix not the men and women folk in assemblies, as we
Hollanders use. Round their preachers the women sit on their heels in
rows, and the men stand behind them. Their harvests are rye, and flax,
and wine. Three mules shall you see to one horse, and whole flocks of
sheep as black as coal.

"In Germany the snails be red. I lie not. The French buy minstrelsy,
but br