Page:Cornwall (Salmon).djvu/125

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FALMOUTH during the Protectorate the Killigrews obtained some favours for their young town; and in the time of Charles II. (1660) it was at last ordained that " Smithike, alias Penny-come-quiclc," should for ever after be known as Falmouth; and in the following year Falmouth became a corporate town, distinct from Truro. From i688 till 1850 it was the station for the departure of mail packets, and it was this long service rendered to the Post Office that rendered the town truly prosperous. Some of its prosperity and consequence it still retains as a port of call for outward-bound sailing ships; and both are likely to increase when the British public come to realise how lovely a spot Falmouth is, and how easily it can be reached from London or elsewhere. Unhappily, the 1901 census reveals a considerable decrease of population in the Falmouth borough, and this can only be owing to the long-continued exodus of miners. The close of the war in South Africa will probably renew that exodus. The mother parish of Falmouth is St. Budock, its dedication being seemingly to the Breton Budoc. Budockvean, some miles distant, means Little Budock. To reach the church is a charming walk of about 2 miles ; it contains good Killigrew brasses. The present church of Falmouth is a rather poor building, dedi- cated in 1663 to King Charles the Martyr — who, with all his faults, may perhaps have been as good a saint as many that figure in Roman or Celtic calendars. Around the older