[81] Chambord.

I cannot forget one passage that behappened me heir:  bechance to supper I demanded give he could give me a pullet, he promises me it.  My pullet comes up, and wt it instead of its hinder legs the hinder legs of a good fat poddock.  I know them weill enough because I had sien and eaten of them at Orleans.  I consedering the cheat called up my host and wt the French I had, demanded him, taking up the leg, what part of the pullet that might be, he wt a deal of oaths and execrations would have made me believe it was the legs of a pullet, but his face bewrayed his cause; then I eated civilly the rest of my pullet and left the legs to him:  such damned cheats be all the French.

Having bein a day at Blois I took boat for Tours in new company againe, of some Frenchmen, a Almand and a Dutchman; wt whom I had again to do vindicating my prince as the most just prince in the world in all his procedures wt the Hollandez.  The fellow behaved himselfe wery proudly.  Betuixt Blois and Tours we saw Amboise, which is in estime especially by reason of its casle.  As we was wtin halfe a league of Tours by the carelesnese of the matelots and a litle pir of wind that rose we fell upon a fixt mill in the river, so that the boat ran a hazard of being broken to peices, but we wan of, only 3 or 4 dales in hir covert was torn of.

Arriving at Tours about 3 a cloack we all tooke another boat to carry us about a league from the city to sie a convent of the Benedictines (Marmoustier) a very stupendious peice give ended.  It hath also a very beautifull church, many of the pillars of it being of marble, others of alabastre, and that of sundry coleurs, some red, some white, etc.:  whence on the entry theirs a prohibition hung up interdicting all from engraving their name or any other thing on the pillars, least of deforming them.  One of the fathers of the order came and did let us sy the relicts of the church which ware the first relicts I saw neir at hand:  I having sien some at a distance carried in processions at Orleans.  Their we saw the heart of Benedictus, the founder of their order, enclosed in a crystall and besett wt diamonds most curiously.  We of our company, being 6, ware all of the Religion, whence we had no great respects for the relict; but their ware som others their that ware papists; who forsooth bit[82] to sit doune on their knees and kist.  At which I could not contein my selfe from laughing.

    [82] Were obliged.

Their saw we also a great number of old relicts of one St. Martin.  They had his scull enclosed (give his scull and not of some theife it may be) in a bowll of beaten silver.  In a selver[83] besyde was shank bones, finger bones and such like wery religiously keipt.  He showed us among others also a very massy silver crosse watered over wt gold very ancient, which he said was gifted them by a Englishman.  I on that enquired whow they might call him.  He could not tell til he cost up his book of memorials of that church; and then he found that they called him Bruce, on which I assured him that that was a Scots name indeed of a wery honorable family.