Sir Henry Killigrew, after Ambassades and messages, and many other employments of peace and warre, in his Princes seruice, to the good of his Countrey, hath made choyce of a retyred estate, and reuerently regarded by all sorts, placeth his principall contentment in himselfe, which, to a life so well acted, can no way bee wanting.
Master George Carew, in his yonger yeeres gathered such fruit, as the Vniuersitie, the Innes of Court, and forrayne trauell could yeeld him: vpon his returne, he was first called to the Barre; then supplyed the place of Secretarie to the Lord Chauncellour Hatton; and after his decease, performed the like office to his two successours, by speciall recommendation from her Maiestie, who also gaue him the Prothonotaryship of the Chauncery, and in anno, 1598. sent him Ambassadour [62] to the King of Poland, and other Nothern Potentates' where, through vnexpected accidents, he vnderwent extraordinary perils, but God freed him from them, & he performed his duty in acceptable maner, and at this present the common wealth vseth his seruice, as a Master of the Chauncery.
Cornwall, no doubt, hath affoorded a far larger proportion of well deseruing and employed members, to the good of their Prince and Countrey, albeit they fall not within the compasse of my knowledge, &. it is likely that the succeeding age wil much encrease the number, by meanes of her Highnes bounty, who to that end hath established seed-plots of free Schooles, with competent pentions out of her owne cofers, for the teachers at Saltash, Launceston, and Perin, three market townes of the County.
In descending to martiall men, Arthur claimeth the first mention, a Cornishman by birth, a King of Britaine by succession, & the second of the three Christian worthies by desert: whom (if you so please) that Captayne of Armes and Venery, Sir Tristram, shall accompany. From them, I must make a great leap (which conuinceth me an vnworthy associat of the antiquary Colledge) to Sir Iohn Naphant who (if I mistake not) was by country a Cornish man, though by inhabitance a Calisian, where H. 7. vsed his seruice in great trust; and Cardinal Wolsey owned him for his first master. More assured I am, that Sir Iohn Arundell of Trerne, vpon a long fight at sea, took prisoner one Duncane Camel, a hardy Scottish Pirate, and presented him to K. H. the 8: for our Chronicles report it. Towards the end of that Kings raine, Sir Wil. Godolphin also demeaned himselfe very valiantly in a charge which hee bare beyond the seas, as appeared by the skarres hee brought home, no lesse to the beautifying of his fame, then the disfiguring of his face: Whose Nephew, of the same name and dignity, hath so inriched himselfe with sufficiency for matters of policy, by his long trauell, & for martial affaires, by his present valiant cariage in Ireland, that it is better knowne, how far he outgoeth most others in both, then easily to be discerned for which he deserueth principall commendation himselfe. So did Sir Rich. Greinuile the elder enterlace his home Magistracy, with martiall employments abroad: whereof the K. testifyed his good liking by his liberality. Which domestical example, encouraged his sonne Roger the more hardily to hazard, & the more willingly to resign his life in the vnfortunate Mary Rose. A disposition & successe equally fatall to that house: for his sonne againe, the second Sir Ric. after his trauell and following the warres vnder the Emperour Maximilian, against the great Turke, for which his name is recorded by sundry forrain writers and his vndertaking to people Virginia and Ireland, made so glorious a conclusion in her Maiesties ship the Reuenge (of which he had charge, as Captaine, & of the whole fleet as Vice-admirall) that it seemed thereby, when he found none other to compare withall in his life, he striued through a vertuous enuy to exceed it in his death. A victorious losse for the realme; and of which the Spaniard may say with Pirrhus, that many such conquests would beget his vtter ouerthrow. Lastly, his son Iohn took hold of euery martiall occasion that was ministred him, vntill, in seruice against her Highnesse enemies, vnder the command of Sir Walter Ralegh, the Ocean became his bedde of honour. Neither may I without wrong passe ouer Captaine George Wray in silence, who (by a rare temperature of vertues) breathed courage into his soldiers, purchased loue amongst his acquaintance, and bred dismay in his enemies. Or captaine Hender, the absolutest man of war for precise obseruing martiall rules which his dayes afforded, besides his commendable sufficiencie of head and hand for inuention and execution. I will end with master William Lower, late captaine of Sir Frauncis Veres companie in Netherland, who hath opened the war schoole vnto a great many Cornish young gentlemen, that vnder his conduct sought to conforme themselues to his patterne, euerie way accomplished, with all the due parts of honour.
For Mechanical sciences the old Veale of Bodmyn might iustly expostulate with my silence, if I should not spare him a roome in his Suruey, while hee so well deserues it. This man hath beene so beholden to Mercuryes predominant strength in his natiuitie, that without a teacher hee is become very skilfull in welneere all manner of handy-crafts: a Carpenter, a Ioyner, a Milwright, a free-Mason, a Clockmaker, a Caruer, mettall founder, Architect, & quid non? yea a Surgeon, Phisicion, Alchumist, &c. So as that which Gorgias of Leontium vaunted of the liberall sciences, he may professe of the mechanicall, viz. to be ignorant in none.
The Cornish minds thus qualified, are the better enabled to expresse the same by the strong, actiue, &c healthfull constitution of their bodies; touching each whereof a little in particular, though we shall haue a fitter generall occasion to discourse therof, where we handle their passetimes. For strength, one Iohn Bray (well knowne to me as my tenant) carried vpon his backe, at one time, by the space welneere of a Butte length, sixe bushels of wheaten meale, reckoning fifteen gallons to the bushel, and the Miller a lubber of foure and twenty yeres age, vpon the whole.
Iohn Romane, a short clownish grub, would beare the whole carkase of an Oxe, and yet neuer tugged with him, like that so famous Milo, when hee was a Calfe.
For activity, one Kiltor, committed to Launceston Gayle for the last Cornish commotion, laying there in the castle-greene vpon his back, threw a stone of some pounds wayght, ouer that Towres top, which leadeth into the parke.
For health, 80. & 90. yeres age, is ordinary in euery place, and in most persons, accompanied with an able vse of the body & his sences. One Polzew, lately liuing, reached vnto 130, a kinsman of his, to 112. one Beauchamp to 106. yea Brawne the begger, a Cornishman by wandring (for I cannot say, by inhabitance) though Irish by birth, out-scoreth a hundred winters, by I wote not how many reuolutions. And in the parish where God hath seated my poore dwelling, I remember the decease of foure, within 14. weekes space, whose yeres added together, made vp the summe of 340.
Now to the degrees of their seuerall callings, wherein as I will poast ouer the Dukes to another place, so for Noblemen, I may deliuer in a word, that Cornwall at this present enioyeth the residence of none at al. The occasion whereof groweth, partly, because their issue female haue caried away the Inhabitance, together with the Inheritance, to Gentlemen of the Easterne parts: and partly, for that their issue male, little affecting [64] so remote a corner, liked better to transplant their possessions neerer to the heart of the Realme. Elder times were not so barraine: for besides the Lord Tregoyes in Wil. Conquerours dayes, Bottraux Castle vaunted his Baron of that title; both now descended to the Earles of Huntingdon: the last deceased of which, retayning the honour, departed with the land to my kinde friend master Iohn Hender, a Gentleman for his good parts, employed by her Maiestie amongst others, in the peace gouernment of the shire.