herein, notwithstanding that we do not often hear of horrible,
merciless, and wilful murders (such I mean as are not seldom seen in the
countries of the main), yet now and then some manslaughter and bloody
robberies are perpetrated and committed, contrary to the laws, which be
severely punished, and in such wise as I have before reported. Certes
there is no greater mischief done in England than by robberies, the first
by young shifting gentlemen, which oftentimes do bear more port than they
are able to maintain. Secondly by serving-men,[232] whose wages cannot
suffice so much as to find them breeches; wherefore they are now and then
constrained either to keep highways, and break into the wealthy men's
houses with the first sort, or else to walk up and down in gentlemen's and
rich farmer's pastures, there to see and view which horses feed best,
whereby they many times get something, although with hard adventure: it
hath been known by their confession at the gallows that some one such
chapman hath had forty, fifty, or sixty stolen horses at pasture here and
there abroad in the country at a time, which they have sold at fairs and
markets far off, they themselves in the mean season being taken about home
for honest yeomen, and very wealthy drovers, till their dealings have been
betrayed. It is not long since one of this company was apprehended, who
was before time reputed for a very honest and wealthy townsman; he uttered
also more horses than any of his trade, because he sold a reasonable
pennyworth and was a fair-spoken man. It was his custom likewise to say,
if any man hucked hard with him about the price of a gelding, "So God help
me, gentlemen (or sir), either he did cost me so much, or else, by Jesus,
I stole him!" Which talk was plain enough; and yet such was his estimation
that each believed the first part of his tale, and made no account of the
latter, which was truer indeed.

Our third annoyers of the commonwealth are rogues, which do very great
mischief in all places where they become. For, whereas the rich only
suffer injury by the first two, these spare neither rich nor poor; but,
whether it be great gain or small, all is fish that cometh to net with
them. And yet, I say, both they and the rest are trussed up apace. For
there is not one year commonly wherein three hundred or four hundred of
them are not devoured and eaten up by the gallows in one place and other.
It appeareth by Cardan (who writeth it upon the re