History of the Company. 47 



excellent men, William More, Mayor, and the Alder- 

 men of the City aforesaid, urgently entreating that, for 

 the reasons before mentioned, they would deign to send 

 for Gilbert Dustone, William Gylowe, John Clay, John 

 Hiltone, William Berigge, and Nicholas Mason, the then 

 governors of the serving-men aforesaid, to appear before 

 them on the 12th day of July then next ensuing. 



"And thereupon, on the same loth day of July 

 precept was given to John Parker, Serjeant of the 

 Chamber, to give notice to the said persons to be here 

 on the said 12th day of July, &c. Which governors of 

 the serving-men appeared, and, being interrogated as to 

 the matters aforesaid, they said that time out of mind 

 the serving-men of the said trade had had a certain 

 Fraternity among themselves, and had been wont to 

 array themselves all in like suit once in the year, and 

 after meeting together at Stratford, on the Feast of the 

 Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary [15 August] 

 to come from thence to the Church of St. Vedast, in 

 London, there to hear Mass on the same day, in honour 

 of the said glorious Virgin. 



" But the said masters of the trade asserted to the 

 contrary of all this, and said that the Fraternity, and 

 the being so arrayed in like suit, among the serving- 

 men, dated from only thirteen years back, and even then 

 had been discontinued of late years ; and that under 

 a certain feigned colour of sanctity, many of the serving- 

 men in the trade had influenced the journeymen among 

 them, and had formed covins thereon, with the object 

 of raising their wages greatly in excess ; to such an 

 extent, namely, that whereas a master in the said 

 trade could before have had a serving-man or journey- 

 man for 40 shillings or 5 marks yearly, and his board, 

 now such a man would not agree with his master for 

 less than 10 or 12 niarks or even 10 pounds yearly ; to 

 the great deterioration of the trade. 



