The English amuse themselves sadly as is the custom of their country

They [the English] amuse themselves sadly as is the custom of their country.
[Ils s’amusaient tristement selon la coutume de leur pays.]
Attributed to Froissart. Not found in his works. Same in Duc de Sully’s Memoirs (1630). (“l’usage” instead of “coutume.”) See Emerson—English Traits, Chapter VIII. Hazlitt—Sketches and Essays. Merry England. (“se rejouissoient” instead of “s’amusaient.”).