Gallows

“ Much nearer was the Gallows Hill, where in the bad old times many a poor wretch, dragged from his dark and dismal dungeon, caught his last sight of loch and mountain and heath, doomed to death by the laird. Only thirty-three years before our travellers' visit a man was hanged there by the grandfather of their host. He was a Macdonald who had murdered his father, and escaped into Macleod's country. ”

“ Galloway, gal′o-wā, n. a small strong horse, 13-15 hands high, originally from Galloway in Scotland: a breed of large black hornless cattle.
Gallows, gal′us, n. a wooden frame on which criminals are executed by hanging—a pl. used as a sing., and having (Shak.) the double pl. 'gallowses' (used also coll. originally for a pair of braces for supporting the trousers) : (Shak.) a wretch who deserves the gallows: any contrivance with posts and cross-beam for suspending objects: a rest for the tympan of a hand printing-press: the main frame of a beam-engine.—ns. ”

“ They had three Quarters of an Hour allowed under the Gallows, which was spent by them in singing of Psalms, and some Exhortations to their old Consorts, and the other Spectators, who got as near to the Foot of the Gallows as the Marshal’s Guard would suffer them. ”

“ Even in regard to the way of mere hanging, the problem presented difficulties. In France, a rigid etiquette guarded the method of hanging. A franchise might give the right to hang upon trees only. [19] Some gallows had two pillars, some three, four, six, eight, according to the rank of the person erecting the gallows. ”

“ In old times the process was far less merciful; sometimes the condemned man stood in a cart, which was drawn away from under him; sometimes he had to mount a ladder, from which he was thrust by the hangman. Until 1832 malefactors in England were sometimes hanged by being drawn up from the platform by a heavy weight at the other end of the rope. Death in these cases was by strangulation. At the present time executions in the United Kingdom are private, the gallows being erected in a chamber or enclosed space set apart for the purpose inside the gaol. ”

“ It is a very modern custom to have the place of execution within a city—formerly they were always without—their position being still noted by the name 'Gallow Knowe,' the knoll or mound of the gallows ”

“ Loose again, as one not yet gallows-ripe.
Gallus.—See Gallows.
Gally-foist.—See Galley-foist.
Gallyslopes, subs. (Old Cant) .—Breeches. For synonyms, see Kicks.
Galoot (also galloot and geeloot) , subs. (general) .—A man (sometimes in contempt) ; also (in America) a worthless fellow (or thing, see quot. 1888) ; a rowdy; a cad (q.v.) .
1835. Marryat, Jacob Faithful, ch. xxxiv. Four greater galloots were never picked up, but never mind that.
1869. S. L. Clemens (Mark Twain) Innocents at Home, p. 22. He could lam any galoot of his inches in America. ”

“ But in the old days men had been hanged from that bar—pirates, smugglers, murderers; and then their bodies had swung in chains until the flesh dropped off on the surf-swept rocks beneath. Hence the local name of the spit of sand and group of rocks—Gallowstree Point. ”

“ But each man's heart beat thick and quick, Like a madman on a drum! With sudden shock the prison-clock Smote on the shivering air, And from all the gaol rose up a wail Of impotent despair, Like the sound the frightened marshes hear From some leper in his lair. And as one sees most fearful things In the crystal of a dream, We saw the greasy hempen rope Hooked to the blackened beam, And heard the prayer the hangman's snare Strangled into a scream. ”

“ After having traced the Gaul for so long in the field, we love to follow him into his cabin—to observe his appearance, his pursuits, his habits—to mark the manly figure, the fair complexion, the flowing yellow locks, the glittering helmet surmounted with the antlers of the stag, the buckler covered with all the colours of the rainbow, the polished cuirass flashing back the rays of the morning sun, the heavy sabre hanging from the gold-bespangled belt, the precious necklace, the rich armlets, the bright and variegated hues of the martial sagum or mantle, of the noble Gaulish warrior. ”

“ In one place a knot of women with children gathered about them, in another a number of men in their shirt-sleeves sprawling in many postures, and, forward, glimpses of Jack could be caught at work at some job in the waist, or on the forecastle, or in the shadow of the break of his big parlour, or popping his head through the scuttle with a sooty inverted pipe between his teeth to have a look around him, or enjoying a wash-down, stripped to the hips, in a bucket of salt water, screened from the passengers’ eyes by the galley ”

“ The other night I took an opportunity of letting one of these interesting creatures—Garnett’s Galago—have his liberty in my room, and I assure you I was well repaid by his performance. Judge my utter astonishment to see him on the floor, jumping about upright like a Kangaroo, only with much greater speed and intelligence. The little one sprang from the ground on to the legs of tables, arms of chairs, and indeed on to any piece of furniture in the room; in fact, he was more like a sprite than the best pantomimist I ever saw. ”

“ I judged that this galley, which was under sail when first sighted, had come out from Cartagena in search of us, and from the fact that she did not at once bear down upon us, but hung persistently to windward, I conjectured that she was not alone, that she had one or more consorts somewhere to windward, and that, upon fully identifying the galleon, she would lower her sails, out sweeps, and be off to windward for help to tackle us. ”

“ We clear the broad meadows. Our very horses, with ears erect, gather speed with every bound, and seem ready to cry ha! ha! We are the fabled centaurs of old.
See! see!—the heavy morning mist, rising in huge volumes, reluctantly bares the forest on the mountain side,—it curls and breaks in vast masses,—it slowly rolls off to the eastward. Aye! there he stands—there stands old Holyoke, with his cragged coronal of rocks, a gigantic Titan, bidding defiance to time and tempest. Gallop—gallop! we are within two hundred feet of the summit. ”

“ I have seen thousands hurried out of life since then; and though even now I should find an execution ugly and repellant, I recall with some astonishment the agony of horror which this commission cost me. I had an introduction to the sub-sheriff and another to the governor of the gaol; and I presented these at the gaol itself on a night of rainy misery which was in complete accord with my own feelings. I went hoping with all my heart that the permission to attend the awful ceremony of the next morning would be refused. It was accorded, and I left the gaol in a sick whirl of pity and horror. ”

“ Let one picture to himself about one hundred and thirty Moorish, Turk, or Christian galley-slaves, dressed in red jackets and brown woollen hooded mantles, on this black galley, in cold, gloomy weather.
These miserable creatures shivered under the icy blast of the tempest and under the rain, which deluged them notwithstanding the awning.
To warm themselves a little they would press close to each other on the narrow benches, to which they were chained, five and five. ”

“ Fig. 10.—Representation of the Horse at a Walking-Pace.
The gallop comprises all those paces in which irregular impacts of the feet upon the ground recur at regular intervals. Most writers distinguish three kinds of gallop by the rhythm of the impacts, and name them, according to this rhythm, gallop in two, three, and four time. The most common kind is the gallop in three-time, from which the tracings in Fig. 11 have been obtained. At the commencement of the figure the animal is suspended above the ground; then comes the impact P G, which announces that the left hind-foot touches the ground. ”

“ Thus, when this pace is united and true, the feet mark a regular, sharp, and quick time of one, two, three, four. The perfection of the gallop consists in the suppleness of the limbs, the union of the horse, the justness of the action, and the regularity of the time.
The gallop is of three kinds—that of the racer, that of the hunter, and that of the pleasure horse, commonly called the canter. The last of these is by far the most difficult, as it requires skill to fore-shorten and throw the horse on his haunches. In the gallop, as in the trot, there is a leading foot. ”

“ I even go so far as to say that the gallop on three legs is a source of danger both in the case of a beginner and of a master who is training an animal for some one else to ride. For if the rider of a horse trained to the gallop on three legs is not a thoroughly competent esquire, he will not always use exactly the correct means to obtain the change of lead at the gallop, the change of direction, or the stop. ”

“ Nay, far from being under apprehension, they are certain of their game; since their galleots are so extremely light and nimble, and in such excellent order, as they always are [63] ; whereas, on the contrary, the Christian galleys [Pg 223] are so heavy, so embarrassed, and in such bad order and confusion, that it is utterly in vain to think of giving them chase, or of preventing them from going and coming, and doing just as they their selves please. ”

“ They worked, ate and slept soberly and as silently as was possible, seldom speaking except in answer to an order or to utter their one form of greeting or assent: “Aye, Sandy,” or “Angus,” or “Weelum,” according to the man spoken to. There were five of them in the forecastle,—Gallegher made the sixth,—and besides the three mentioned above we had Tammas and Robert.
Though I worked in the galley, I slept in the forecastle, and came into intimate contact with them. ”

“ If at the run, gallop, or canter the two legs on, let us say, the right side, gain more ground than the other two, the horse is said to run, gallop, or canter to the right, or, more simply, to lead to the right ”

“ When my confinement is done at home, I will not stay;
As I have a good offer, I will go away:
Heaven pity poor Britons under the Corn-Law,
For I hope I’ll be free (illegible text) , when in Gallowa’.
My brothers have fought for their country’s weal,
With undaunted courage and hearts true as steel;
Tho’ William was wounded they never did sa’,
So I’ll drink a health to them, when in Gallowa’.
Altho’ that the mountains between us be-high,
Where nothing but muirfowls and plevers do fly,
I’ll still pity Scotland under the Corn-Law,
When I’m making Whisky in fair Gallowa’. ”

“ Gallop, mare, gallop—there, there! So! We shall do it yet. I am lighter than old Basili! One more stretch! There he is! Gallop, mare, gallop, for I shall catch him on the hill!'
One hand grasped the sheet like a bridle, the other patted it encouragingly. Corona stared and listened breathlessly, half in horror, half in expectation. She did not hear the door open, as someone came in. The dying man raved on.
'What? Down? He has killed his horse? It shied at the woman in black! He will try the church door—on, mare, gallop! ”

“ Night had overshadowed that part of the earth over which the prince then was for almost half an hour, when he found out and turned the small peg; and, as the horse descended, he lost sight of the sun by degrees, till it grew quite dark, insomuch that, instead of choosing what place he would go to, he was forced to let the bridle lie upon the horse's neck and wait patiently till he alighted, though not without dread lest it should be in the desert, a river, or the sea. ”

“ The history of each of us is so full of extraordinary adventures that a large volume would not contain them. But we must explain ourselves no further.'
When the gentlemen had ended, I wrapt myself in the sheep's skin, and held fast the knife which was given me; and after the young gentlemen had taken the trouble to sew the skin about me, they retired into the hall, and left me on the spot. The roc they spoke of was not long in coming; he fell upon me, took me in his talons like a sheep, and carried me up to the top of the mountain. ”

“ At early dawn the bites of dogs woke up the sluggards—aye, and those selfsame keepers with sharp fangs, and trained for their office by the Franks, accompanied the slaves when they were led to their work, hastened their heavy steps when they returned at night bending under their heavy loads, and, if ever driven by despair, the Gaul assayed flight, the intelligent mastiff quickly drove him with its teeth back to the human flock, just as the butcher's dog drives back to the fold a recalcitrant ox or ram. ”

“ He visited Gaul in his youth, about 880, and he writes:—"When I was a young man in Gaul, I may have seen the Attacotti, a British people who live upon human flesh; and when they find herds of pigs, droves of cattle, or flocks of sheep in the woods, they cut off the haunches of the men and the breasts of the women, and these they regard as great dainties;" in other words they prefer the shepherd to his flock. ”

“ The hand gallop is an intermediate gait between the canter and the flying gallop. Its motion, though rather rapid, is smooth, easy, and very agreeable for both rider and steed. Nearly all horses, especially spirited ones, prefer this movement to any other; the bronchos on the plains of the far West will keep up this long, easy lope or hand gallop for miles, without changing their gait, or requiring their riders to draw rein, and without any apparent fatigue. ”

“ He continues at full gallop when other horses are dragging their feet in the dust for weariness.
A boy would be blown from his back, and even the strong rider loses his garments.
Fast is my steed as a top when a child has spun it well.
He has the flanks of a buck, the legs of an ostrich, and the gallop of a wolf. ”