Page:The Cornwall coast.djvu/87

 CHAPTER V FALMOUTH AND TRURO About a century since Lord Byron was at Fal- mouth, waiting a favourable wind that would enable the sailing of the Lisbon packet. He seems to have been detained here about a week, during which time he made characteristic observa- tions and embodied them in a letter to his friend Hodgson. With some sportive malice there was evidently a spice of truth in his remarks. He tells his friend that Falmouth " is defended on the sea side by two castles, St. Maws and Pendennis, extremely well calculated for annoying every- body except an enemy. St. Maws is garrisoned by an able-bodied person of fourscore, a widower. He has the whole command and sole management of six most unmanageable pieces of ordnance, admirably adapted for the destruction of Pen- dennis, a like tower of strength on the opposite side of the channel. We have seen St. Maws, but Pendennis they will not let us behold, because Hobhouse and I are suspected of having already taken St. Maws by a coup-de-main. The town contains many quakers and salt fish — the oysters have a taste of copper, owing to the soil of a mining country ; the women (blessed be the Cor- poration therefor !) are flogged at the cart's tail SI