THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 3553, 30 August 1879, Page 3

THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD.

The busiest functionary in England during tho 17th and 18th centurioß was undoubtedly the common hangman. His life would have been sufficiently unenviable if his duties had been then, a 9 they nro now, confined exclusively to cases in which, death was the penalty ; but when, in addition to tho far too frequent sentences of capital punishment, tho executioner was required to superintend the burnings in tho hand, the brandings on the cheek, and the whippings which were ordered for the most trivial offences, it must bo admitted that his whole existence would be littlo else than ono vast horror. Groups of wretches, for ono ordeal or the other, were constantly being paraded before him, and the operations upon them kept the offioial machinery in perfect order. On all such carnivals, vast masses of the people assembled to gloat over the finest exhibitions of pluck or to cheer on tho weak-hearted. Occasionally they were indulged with something even more terrible. For clipping the king's coin — a pastime in which parsons and baronets, bankers and beggars, are said to have been equal adepts — some poor woman would have to be burned at tho stake, and then tho concourse would be so enormous that the great moral lesson could hardly fail to carry its intended weight. But 200 years ago, as in our own _ day, public exhibitions of tho law's retaliation somehow managed to miss their mark. Instead of death and torture proving salutary warnings, they wore regarded as opportunities fcr hero-worship on the part of the public, and for impudent swagger, indecency and blasphemy on tho parb of tho condemnod. This "was especially the enso in those too frequent tableaux wherein the hangman and the highwayman played , such prominent part?. ' The knight of the road seemed to glory in his profession. Ho was seldom apprehended at his work and never betrayed until his misdeeds had caused a price to be placed on his head. In this way he became well-known; his grandeur of dress was admirod ; his most daring accomplishments were applauded j and his gambling and gallantry were the talk of the town. When he had played his part, and tho arrest followed —as it inevitably did— his trial partook eomewhat of the character of a triumph, and was indeed " one of tho proudest momonts of his life." Ho would nod familiarly to some distinguished member of the clubs ; would smile sweetly on some fair acquaintance-! would show the greatest indifference to the judge's strictures, and would, perhaps, as in the caso of a culprit named Paynes; knock down the attendant gaoler or ordinary for the edification of tho spectators.' Even in his last Tide along Holborn, the' culprit's vanity was flattered at every step. It was a proifsion of honor instead of disgrace. Flower* would be given by some frail beauty, drinks would be passed round at the old tavern in St. Giles' ; obnoxious toasts would be honored amid jocular cheers, and then on the last stand of all, there would bo the heroic address from tho ladder, the refusal of clerical aid, and the removal of boots to disprove the old prediction that the rogue would bo sure to die

in them. After the demonstration closed, the loading phases were discussed, the lessons were forgotten, and thieving and lawlessness went on even more briskly- than before, Sach incidents as we have briefly sketched irere far too common in IGQQ; andj despite all judicial terrors, they went on increasing till near the dawn of the nineteenth century. Jack Ketoh was deposed for insulting She sheriff in 1685, and his pest at the gall wvs conferred on a butcher named Rose. So uncertain waß earthly advancement at to% period, however, that Ketch had to hereinstatedin less than a year to hang the maai who had supplanted him. So the game wen* on all through the period under notice. Thevalue of .the executioner's effice led to endles* squabbles for its honours and emoluments y and, as we have shown,' the desire for glory and prestige among the condemned gave rise to incpßgent work. ■ • ■■■■

HoiLoyAT'a Oikthbnt axd Pills. — Rheumatism or Neuralgic Affections. — No diseases are more frequent, painful, or difficult to cure than these. .From, their attack no tissue of the human body is exempt,; no age, sex, or calling secure. It is- a blessing, however, to know that all these sufferings may be completely and expeditiously subdued by Hollo way's remedies., The Pills, much assist in banishing the tendency .to rheumatism and 6imilar painful disorders ; whilst the Ointment cures tho. local ailments, . the Pills remove the constitutionoi disturbance and regulate the impaired functions of every organ ; throughout the human body. The cure is neither temporary nor superficial, but permanent and complete, and the disease rarely rseure, so perfect has been the purification, performed by these searching oreuarations. — Advt.l :