[135] wants = have not.

The French, notwtstanding all their civility, are horridly and furiously addicted to the cheating of strangers.  If they know a man to be a stranger or they cause him not pay the double of what they sell it to others for, theyl rather not sell it at all, which whither it comes from a malitious humour or a greedy I cannot determine, yet I’m sure they play the fooll in it, for tho they think a stranger wil readily give them all they demand, or if he mint to go away that he’el come again; yet they are whiles mistaken.  Many instances we could give of it in our oune experience, al whilk we sall bury at this tyme, mentioning only one of Patrick Humes, who the vinter he was at Poictiers, chancing to get the cold, went to buy some sugar candy.  Demanding what they sold the unce of it for, they demanded 18 souse, at last came to 15, vould not bat a bottle;[136] wheirupon thinking it over dear he would have none of it, but coming back to Mr. Alex’rs he sent furth his man, directing him to that same wery chop, who brought him in that for 3 souse which they would not give him under 15.  That story may pass in the company of one that understandes French, of the daughter who was sitting wt her mother at the fire, wt a great sigh cried, ’O que je foutcrois. The mother spearing what sayes thou, she replied readily, O que je souperois.

    [136] Bate a bodle.

On September 12 arrived heir 2 Englishmen from Orleans, who brought us large commendations from Mr. Ogilvie their, who desiring to sy the toune, I took them first up to the steeple of the place, which being both situat on a eminence and also hy of it selfe gave us a clear survey of the whole toune.  We discovered a great heap of wacuities filled up wt gardens and wines, and the city seimed to us like a round hill, the top of it and all the sydes being filled wt houses.  And to our wiew it seimed not to have many mo houses then what we had discovered at Orleans, for their we thought we saw heir one and their one dispersed.  At Orleans we would think they lay all in a heap (lump).[137] From thence, not desiring but that they sould find the Scots as civil and obligding as any, we was at the paines to take them first to the church of Nostre Dame la grande, on the wall of which that regardes the place standes the statue of the Empereur Constantine, a cheval, wt a sword in his hand.  From thence to Ste. Radegondes, wheir we showed them hir tombeau; from that to St. Croix, wheir we showed them the empressa of Christs foot, of which we spake already; and from that to St. Peters, which we looked all on as a very large church, being 50 paces broad.

    [137] Interlined.

In the afternoon we went to the Church of St. Hilaire, wheir at a distance we discovered the Scots walk; so called because when the Englishes ware beseiging the toune a Regiment of Scotsmen who ware aiding the French got that syde of the toune to garde and defend, who on some onset behaving themselfes gallantly the Captain got that great plot of ground which goes now under that name gifted him by the toune, who after mortified to a nunnery neir hand, who at present are in possession of it.  The church we fand to smell every way of antiquity.