Tho the French are knowen and celebrated throwghout the world for the civility, especially to strangers, yet I thought wonderfull to perceive the inbreed antipathy they carry against the Spaniard.  That I have heard it many a tyme, not only from Mr. Daille, but from persons of more refined judgements then his, yea even from religious persones, that they had not no civility for a Spaniard, that not one of a 1000 of them is welcoome.  I pressing whence this might come to passe that they so courteously receaving all sortes of strangers, be they Scots, English, Germans, Hollanders, or Italians, and that they had none of this courtoisie to spare for a Spaniard, they replied that it came to pass from the contrariety of their humeurs; that the French ware franck (whence they would derive the name of their nation), galliard, pleasant, and pliable to all company; the Spaniard quite contrary retired, austere, rigid, proud.  And indeed their are something of truth in it; for who knows not the pride of the Castilian:  if a Castilian then a Demigod.  He thinks himselfe ex meliore luto natus then the rest of the world is.

Its a fine drollery to sie a Frenchman conterfit the Castilian as he marches on his streets of Castile wt his castilian bever cockt, his hand in his syde, his march and paw[124] speaking pride it selfe.  Who knows not also that mortell feud that the Castilian carries to the Portugueze and the Portuegueze reciprocally to them, and whence this I beseich you if not from the conceit they have of themselfe.  This minds me of a pretty story I have heard them tell of a Castilian who at Lisbon came into a widows chop to buy something.  She was sitting wt her daughter; the lass observing his habit crys to her mother, do not sell him nothing, mother, hees a Castilian, the mother chiding her daughter replied, whow dare you call the honest man a Castilian; on that tenet they hold that a Castilian cannot be a honest man.  I leive you to ghesse whether the daughters wipe or the mothers was tartest.

    [124] paw = pas.

Howell (as I remember) in a letter (its in the first volume, letter 43) he writes from Lyons, he findes the 2 rivers on which that brave city (for its situation yeelding to none in Europe, not to London tho’ on lovely Thames) standes on, to wit the Rhosne and the Sosne, to be a pretty embleme of the diversity thats betuixt the humeurs of thess 2 mighty nations (France and Spain), who deservedly may be termed the 2 axletrees or poles on which the Microcosme of Europe turnes.  Its theirfor wery much in the concernement of the rest of Europe to hold their 2 poles at a even balance, lest the one chancing at lenth to wieght doune the other there be no resisting of him, and we find ourselfes wise behind the hand.