Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/346

* BOORDE. 806 BOOTH. guage; the Dyctary (c.l542) ; Breuyary of Health (1547); Book of Beards (lost): and Itinerary of England (1735). He also issued prognostications, or almanacs. He was known as a wit and merry fellow, and for this reason he had fathered upon him the famous Scogins Jests. Consult ed. Furnivall (for Early English Text Society), The Introduction, and Dyetary (Lon- don. 1870). BOO'SA. See Bussang. BOOSTEB. See Dynamo Electric Ma- Cm.NEBY. BOOT. A lengthened variety of shoe, which is among the most ancient articles of attire. Shoes, extending a certain height up the leg, laced, ornamented, and of fanciful colors, were in use by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. A description of these and other varie- ties of shoes, as well as an account of the trade and manufacture of shoes and boots generally, will be found in the article Shoes, and below will he given a few historical particulars re- specting what properly are called boots, meaning by the term leather coverings for both the legs and feet. Different kinds of half-boots were worn By the Anglo-Saxons and Anglo-Normans; and in the reign of Edward IV., if not earlier, the boot proper, with tops and spurs, was es- tablished as an article of knightly dress. In the reign of Charles I., a species of boot, ex- ceedingly wide at the top, made of Spanish leather, came into use: and with Charles II. the highly decorated French boot was introduced as an article of Court attire. ^Meanwhile, the jack-boot, as it is called, had become indispens- able in the costume of cavalry soldiers and horse- men generally: and it was regularly adopted in England by William III. and his followers. Strongly made, the jack-boot extended in length above the knee, was wide at the top, had a very liigh heel, and around the ankle had a flat leather band, by which a powerful spur was atta<'hed. The jack-boot, a form of wliieh is still used in the British Horse Guards and other European cavalry regiments, is almost entitled to be called the parent of the top-boot and other more or less similar styles. IJoots with tops of yellow were so commonly worn by English gentlemen in the Eighteenth Century as to become a peculiari- ty in the national costume. When Philip. Duke of Orleans, and other revolutionists of note af- fected to Imitate English sentiments and man- ners, they ostentatiously wore top-boots. Early in the Nineteenth Century English gentlemen habitually wore top-boots; but at the present time they characterize the apparel of coachmen, grooms, jockew. and fox-hunters. The introduc- tion of the Hessian boot fls an article of walking- dress tended to break up the general use of top- boots, and. worn over tight trousers, it had an attractive and ornamental appearance. Boots of this shape, as may be seen from engravings, were worn by English genera! olhcers in the early part of the Napoleonic wars and somewhat later. At length they were superseded by the well-known Wellington boot, which, as its name signifies, was introduced by the great Duke to be worn un- der the loose military trousers. This species of boot has, in its turn, been iilmiist entirely aban- doned in consequence of the universal use of short ankle-boots or shoes. Boots are worn by cavalrv and horsemen generally, and also are Often to be seen in the rural districts of America and Europe. They may be made of rubber and cloth, and in .such form are used extensively by men working in water or damp places. The word 'boot' is also used to indicate a leather llap fastened to the fnmt or dashboard of a carriage to be drawn up over the lap of the rider as a protection from the rain. BOOT, BOOTS, or BOOTIKIN. A Scottish instrument of judicial torture, formerly used to force confessions from persons accused of crimes, or answers from unwilling or suspected witnesses. Bishop Burnet, in the Uistoni of His Own Time, and Sir Walter Scott, in his Old Mortality, speak of the boot as made of iron; but the Rev. Thomas ilorcr, in his .Short Account of Scotland, written from personal ob- servation of the country at a time when the boot was still in use, describes it as "made of four pieces of narrow boards nailed together, of a competent lengtli for the leg, not unlike those short cases we use to guard young trees from the rabbits." One or both legs of the person to be tortured having been placed in this case, WTdges were inserted between the limb and the sides of the case, and these wedges were driven down by the executioner with a mall or hannner, questions being at intervals put to the sufferer, until either he gave the desired information, or fainted away, or showed such endurance as sat- isned the judges that no answer could be extorted from him. 'J he wedges were commonly placed against the calf of the leg, but Bishop Burnet says he had heard that they were sometimes placed against the shin-bone! When the boot was first used is imknown. After 1030 it is .said to have fallen into disuse for about 30 years. It was .revived after the insurrection of the West- land Covenanters in 1006, and continued to be usiid throughout the reigns of Charles II., James II., and during the first years of William III. In 1000 Neville Payne, an English gentleman who was su]>posed to have entered Scotland on a trea- sonable mission, was put to this torture under a warrant superscribed by King William, and still shown in the Register House in Edinburgh. This is believed to be tbe last time that the boot was used. Its further use was prohibited by act of Parliament. Under the name of 'Spanish boots,' a similar instrument was used in (iermany. Iron boots, which were heated to an unbearable de- gree, are shown in some museums. Consult Bing- ham, Bastille (London, 1888), for the boot in France. BOOTAN, boo'tan. See Biuitan. BOOTES, b6-o'tf-z (Gk. /Soiir^s, ox-driver). A constellation near the (ireat Bear, also called by the ancients Arcturus, although this name is usually applied to the brightest star in it. Bootes is the driver of the Wagon (another name for the Bear), and was said to be the translated Icarus of Attica. As Arcturus, the constella- tion is regarded as the watcher of the Bear, and the son of Zeiis and Callisto (q.v.), who, with his mother, was transferred to the stars. BOOTH (Icel. biij, MHG. buodc, Ger. Bude, AS. huan. to dwell). An iniprelentious or teni- l)orarv structure, either a dwelling or hut of boughs or canvas, or a tent. The Uiime came to be used especially of the stalls or tent-s at fairs for the installation and sale of wares, for shows, or refreshments. Tbrnugbout Europe, in mediieval and later times, trade was carried on