Galle

“ Galle or Point de Galle (33) , fortified seaport town, prettily situated on a rocky promontory in the SW. of Ceylon; there is a good harbour, but the shipping, which at one time was extensive, has declined since the rise of Colombo. ”

“ Pointe de Galle is charmingly situated: in the fore-ground are some fine groups of rock, and in the back-ground, immediately adjoining the little town, which is protected by fortifications, rise magnificent forests of palms. The houses present a neat appearance; they are low, and shaded by trees, which, in the better streets, are planted so as to form alleys. ”

“ Galle is, from its position, as also from its configuration, indisputably the best and most important harbour in the south and west of the island, as Colombo can only be regarded as an open, insecure roadstead. Founded in the sixteenth century by the Portuguese, conquered at a later period by the Dutch, and finally, at the peace of Amiens, transferred to the English, Galle displays singularly few traces of its different masters. The streets are narrow, but cleanly ”

“ In Colombo we got rickshaws and drove out to the Galle Face Hotel, a beautiful place with the surf thundering on the beach outside. If I were rich I would always ride in a rickshaw. It is a delightful way of getting about, and as we were trotted along a fine broad road, small brown boys ran alongside and pelted us with big waxy, sweet-smelling blossoms. We did enjoy it so. At the Galle Face, in a cool and lofty dining-hall, we had an excellent and varied breakfast, and ate real proper Eastern curry for the first time. ”

“ Like most European settlements in India, the Cape, and China, Galle possesses a fort in which, at an earlier period, the European colonists dwelt with their wives and families apart from the natives, and has also a "Pettah," or Black Town, a sort of Cingalese Ghetto, exclusively inhabited by the black population. ”

“ Laterite or "Cabook."—A peculiarity, which is one of the first to strike a stranger who lands at Galle or Colombo, is the bright red colour of the streets and roads, contrasting vividly with the verdure of the trees, and the ubiquity of the fine red dust which penetrates every crevice and imparts its own tint to every neglected article. Natives resident in these localities are easily recognisable elsewhere, by the general hue of their dress. ”

“ Hornell's work since, in the little marine laboratory we established at Galle.
Although Galle is at the opposite end of the island from the pearl banks of Manaar, it is clearly the best locality in Ceylon for a marine laboratory—both for general zoology and also for working at pearl oyster problems. Little can be done on the sandy exposed shores of Manaar island or the Bight of Condatchy—the coasts opposite the pearl banks. The fisheries take place far out at sea, from ten to twenty miles off shore ”

“ During late years many fetters have been knocked off which347 formerly impeded the more active development of agriculture and commerce. The harbour of Point de Galle (also called only Galle for shortness) has become a central station for the steam-boat trade with the East Indies, the Burmese Archipelago, China, and Australia. A telegraphic wire will ere long stretch from Ceylon to England, such as even now unites the island with the Coromandel Coast and India ”

“ Galingale, sb. a plant from the root of which a spice was prepared, Cath. (s.v. galynga) , ND, HD; galyngale, Alph., C3, Prompt.; galangale, ND.—OF. galingal, the root of the rush called cypress (cp. Low Lat. gallingar) , from galangue; cp. Low Lat. galanga (Alph.) .
Galiote, sb. large galley, S2.—It. galeótta, a good handsome big galley (Florio) . See Galeye.
Galle, sb. the gall, bitterness, anger, S, Prompt., Voc., C2, C3, PP; bitter drink, S2.—AS. gealla (Voc.) .
Galle, sb. sore in man or beast, Prompt.; gale, S3.—OF. galle, scab, itch; cp. Low Lat. galla (Ducange) . ”

“ Galle directed his telescope to the heavens. The instrument was pointed in accordance with Le Verrier's instructions. The field of view showed a multitude of stars, as does every part of the heavens. One of these was really the planet. The new chart was unrolled, and, star by star, the heavens were compared with it. As the identification of the stars went on, one object after another was found to lie in the heavens as it was engraved on the chart, and was of course rejected. At length a star of the eighth magnitude—a brilliant object—was brought into review. ”

“ Even the old sailing master is obliged to confess that the two 'heathen Chinee' keep the mess rooms, ships' officers' and servants' berths much cleaner and more comfortable than his own sailors ever succeeded in doing. At Galle we shipped three black firemen, two from Bombay and one from Mozambique, a regular nigger, with his black woolly hair clipped into the shape of Prince of Wales feathers. Their names are Mahomet, Abraham, and Tom Dollar. They live in a little tent we have had pitched for them on deck, cook their own food, and do their work in the engine-room exceedingly well. ”

“ They all understand a few words of Gallegan, which they have acquired from the mountaineers, who occasionally assist them in cutting the harvest, and as Gallegan is the only foreign language they know, they deem it but polite to address a foreigner in that tongue. ”

“ A star remains fixed, but a planet is in motion. No doubt when a planet lies at the distance at which this new planet was believed to be situated, its apparent motion would be so slow that it would not be easy to detect any change in the course of a single night's observation. Dr. Galle, however, addressed himself with much skill to the examination of the place of the new body. Even in the course of the night he thought he detected slight movements, and he awaited with much anxiety the renewal of his observations on the subsequent evenings. ”

“ Travelling hard all night, we found ourselves next morning past the plain; but the road we were in was not more commodious, the points of the rocks pierced our feet; to increase our perplexities we were alarmed with the approach of an armed troop, which our fear immediately suggested to be the Galles, who chiefly beset these passes of the mountains; we put ourselves on the defensive, and expected them, whom, upon a more exact examination, we found to be only a caravan of merchants come as usual to fetch salt.
CHAPTER VIII
They lose their way, are in continual apprehensions of the Galles. ”

“ Whatever boldness and force they may possess, or whatever principles they may embody, they are mere appropriations of Italian models spoiled in translation or adaptation. Their technical execution reveals a rapid hand, but none of the lustre of bright colouring; and Floris owed much of his repute to the cleverness with which his works were transferred to copper by Jerome Cock and Theodore de Galle. Whilst Floris was engaged on a Crucifixion of 27 ft., and a Resurrection of equal size, for the grand prior of Spain, he was seized with illness, and died on the 1st of October 1570 at Antwerp. ”

“ We made the eastern side of the island at daylight, and coasted along its palm-fringed shores all day. I had been very unwell for some days past, but this delightful indication of our near approach to the land seemed to do me good at once. If only the interior is as beautiful as what we can see from the deck of the yacht, my expectations will be fully realised, brilliant as they are.
As the sun set, the beauty of the scene from the deck of the yacht seemed to increase. We proceeded slowly, and at about nine o'clock were in the roads of Galle and could see the ships at anchor. ”

“ On a large galley, besides 270 rowers, there was a mixed crew of about 75 men, together with 50 or 60 soldiers; so that the whole equipment of a fighting-galley must have reached about 400 men. A galleas originally was a large, heavy galley, but later it became a sailing ship, as was the galleon of the Spaniards. ”

“ The term gallica, at first denoting the native Celtic language of Gaul, is found applied to its supplanter before the end of the 9th century, and survives in the Breton gallek, the regular term for “French.” After the Franks in Gaul had abandoned their native Teutonic language, the term francisca, by which this was denoted, came to be applied to the Romanic one they adopted, and, under the form française, remains its native name to this day ”

“ The treatise containing this important invention was made public by Baron von Zach under the title Ueber die leichteste und bequemste Methode die Bahn eines Cometen zu berechnen (Weimar, 1797) . A table of eighty-seven calculated orbits was appended, enlarged by Encke in the second edition (1847) to 178, and by Galle in the third (1864) to 242. ”

“ Gall′antry, bravery: intrepidity: attention or devotion to ladies, often in a bad sense, amorous intrigue: (Shak.) gallants collectively. [Fr. galant—O. Fr. gale, a merrymaking; prob. Teut.]
Galleass, gal′e-as, n. (Shak.) a vessel of the same construction as a galley, but larger and heavier.—Also Gall′iass. [O. Fr. galeace—It. galeaza, augmented from, galea, galley.]
Galleon, gal′i-un, n. a large Spanish vessel with lofty stem and stern, mostly used formerly for carrying treasure. [Sp. galeon. Cf. Galley.] ”

“ The Galles in time past contemned the Romans (saith Cæsar) bicause of the smalnesse of their stature: howbeit, for all their greatnesse (saith he) and at the first brunt in the warres, they shew themselues to be but féeble, neither is their courage of any force to stand in great calamities. Certes in accusing our wisedome in this sort, he dooth (in mine opinion) increase our commendation. ”

“ For the Arabians, being mostly engaged in traffic and commerce, are not a very warlike people even on land, much less so at sea. Gallus, notwithstanding, built not less than eighty biremes and triremes and galleys (phaseli) at Cleopatris,783 near the old canal which leads from the Nile. When he discovered his mistake, he constructed a hundred and thirty vessels of burden, in which he embarked with about ten thousand infantry, collected from Egypt, consisting of Romans and allies, among whom were five hundred Jews and [Pg 211] a thousand Nabatæans, under the command of Syllæus. ”

“ A paper embodying the same results, and containing, as Challis said, 'the earliest evidence of the complete solution of an inverse problem of perturbations,' was deposited by Adams at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, on 21 Oct. 1845, after two fruitless attempts to obtain an interview with Airy. Seven months later, the French astronomer Leverrier announced a conclusion similar to Adams's, and in consequence a search for the missing planet was begun by Challis on 29 July 1840. The new planet, which was christened 'Neptune,' was however, discovered at Berlin by the astronomer Galle on 23 Sept. ”

“ Out of the sea will rise Behemoth and Leviathan, and sail round the high-pooped galleys, as they do on the delightful maps of those ages when books on geography were actually readable. Dragons will wander about the waste places, and the phoenix will soar from her nest of fire into the air. We shall lay our hands upon the basilisk, and see the jewel in the toad’s head. ”

“ My galley charged with forgetfulness
Thorough sharp seas, in winter nights doth pass
'Tween rock and rock; and eke mine enemy, alas,
That is my lord, steereth with cruelness;
And every oar a thought in readiness,
As though that death were light in such a case.
An endless wind doth tear the sail apace
Of forced sighs and trusty fearfulness.
A rain of tears, a cloud of dark disdain,
Hath done the wearied cords great hinderance;
Wreathed with error and eke with ignorance.
The stars be hid that led me to this pain.
Drowned is reason that should me consort,
And I remain despairing of the port. ”

“ Cantering over the tiny plain—a scanty level of an hundred yards—the wild Galla enters the scene of confusion, his long tresses streaming in the wind, and his garment blue with the grease of ages. A jar of honey, or a basket of butter, is lashed to the crupper of his high-peaked saddle; the steed is lean and shaggy as the rider, and the snort and the start from either proclaim undefined terror and amazement at the strange sights, and the rugged rocks and precipices, unknown to the boundless meadows of their own green land. ”

“ The Galla are a very numerous race of shepherds living to the south and west of Abyssinia, and also in parts of the interior of that country. As their land is high, and the rains screen it for a considerable time from the sun, the general complexion of these people is brown; though some who inhabit the valley of the lower country are perfectly black, with long hair of the same colour. They are divided into tribes, for every seven of which a king or chief is elected. ”

“ The Portuguese gave the town for crest a cock (Gallo) , a legitimate pun. The serious derivations of the name are numerous. Pridham says that it is Galla, 'a Rock,' which is probable. But Chitty says it means 'a Pound,' and was so called according to the Malabars (i.e. Tamil people) from "... this part of the country having been anciently set aside by Ravana for the breeding of his cattle" (Ceylon Gazetteer, 1832, p. 92) . Tennent again says it was called after a tribe, the Gallas, inhabiting the neighbouring district (see ii. 105, &c.) ”