Prev | Current Page 205 | Next

Carew, Richard, 1555-1620

"The Survey of Cornwall And an epistle concerning the excellencies of the English tongue"

later ordinarily treble
the certaine reuennue of their rents) enable them with their few
scores, to equall the expences of those Easterne dwellers, who reckon
by the hundreds: besides, they finde meanes by a suruey, to defray any
extraordinarie charge of building, marriage, lawing, or such like.
Yet I cannot denie, but that some, in gaping for dead mens shooes,
find their improuident couetous humour punished with going barefoot.
This angle which so shutteth them in, hath wrought many
interchangeable matches with eche others stock, and giuen beginning
to the prouerbe, that all Cornish gentlemen are cousins; which endeth
in an injurious consequence, that the king hath there no cousins.
They keepe liberall, but not costly builded or furnished houses,
giue kind entertainement to strangers, make euen at the yeeres end
with the profits of their liuing, are reuerenced and beloued of their
neighbours, liue void of factions amongst themselues (at leastwise
such as breake out into anie daungerous excesse) and delight not in
brauerie of apparrell: yet the women would be verie loth to come
behind the fashion, in [65] newfanglednes of the maner, if not in
costlynes of the matter, which may perhaps ouer-empty their husbands
purses.


Pages:
193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217