Another example from the Durham depositions
By comparing several accounts of the same quarrel (between John Rosse and Ralph Ogle) it becomes clear that the witnesses present the incident in different ways. Ogle denies that the following quarrel ended with him drawing his dagger on Rosse. The first two accounts are quite similar; the pronoun forms which are used are the same:
first version:
John Rosse: "Father, come away: what doo you stand their, and they brabling with you?"
Ralph Ogle [to John Rosse] "What saith you, slave?"
John Rosse [to Ralph Ogle]: "How be [by] yourselfe?" [ie. modern You and whose army?]
second version:
John Rosse: "Father, what doo ye, sitting here and se them brag you as they do?"
Ralph Ogle [to John Rosse]: "What saith you, slave?"
John Rosse [to Ralph Ogle]: "Sr what by yourself?"
The third account is the one made by John Rosse himself. According to him, Ogle did not use you but thou in his last question ("what is that thou saith?"):
John Rosse: "Come away, for their words and brawling ys known well enough"
Ralph Ogle: "What, slave, what is that thou saith?"
John Rosse: "What, man, by your self?"
Hope explains that Rosse changed the pronoun in order to "make Ogle appear more rude, angry and hot-heated, more likely to have drawn his dagger" (Hope, 146).