ir wants serued all the yeere and that as yet
they sawe not any appearance of their intended matter, which was the
discouerie of the passage, and yet imagining by the signes, wherewith the
willing people endeuoured to declare their knowledge in that poynt, that
some good matter might bee had from them, if they might haue beene well
vnderstoode, they resolued with themselues to take some of the
sufficientest men of that countrey home into France, and there to keepe
them so long, as that hauing once atchieued the French tongue, they might
declare more substantially their minde, and knowledge in the sayde
passage, concluding this to be the meane of least charge, of least
trauaile, and of least hazard.

And when they came to bethinke themselues, who might bee meetest for it,
they determined to take the King, as the person who might bee best
infourmed of such partes as were somewhat remote from his owne Countrey,
as also that for the respect of him, the people would bee alwayes readie,
and content to doe them any further seruice, when it should happen them to
returne thither againe about the discouerie.

Thus the poore king of the Countrey, with two or three others of his
chiefe companions comming aboorde the French shippes, being required
thither to a banquet, was traiterously caryed away into France, where hee
liued foure yeeres, and then dyed a Christian there, as Theuet the French
Kings Cosmographer doeth make mention. (M41) This outrage and iniurious
dealing did put the whole Countrey people into such dislike with the
French, as neuer since they would admit any conuersation or familiaritie
with them, vntill of late yeeres, the olde matter beginning to grow out of
minde, and being the rather drawen on by gifts of many trifling things,
which were of great value with them, they are as (I sayde) within these
two or three yeeres content againe to admit a traffique, which two yeeres
since was begunne with a small barke of thirtie tunnes, whose returne was
found so profitable, as the next yeere following, being the last yeere, by
those Marchants, who meant to haue kept the trade secret vnto themselves,
from any others of their owne Countrey men, there was hired a shippe of
fourescore tunnes out of the Isle of Iersey, but not any one Mariner of
that place, sauing a shipboy. This shippe made her returne in such sorte,
as that this yeere they haue multiplyed three shippes, to wit, one of nine
score tunnes, another of an hundreth