THE BOOT

the boot, boots or bootikin was an instrument of torture formerly in use to extort confessions from suspected persons, or obtain evidence from unwilling witnesses. it originated in scotland, but the date of its first use is unknown. it was certainly frequently employed there in the latter years of the 16th century. in a case of forgery in 1579 two witnesses, a clergyman and an attorney, were so tortured. in a letter dated 1583 at the record office in london, walsingham instructs the english ambassador at edinburgh to have father holt, an english jesuit, "put to the boots." it seems to have fallen into disuse after 1630, but was revived in 1666 on the occasion of the covenanters' rebellion, and was employed during the reigns of charles ii. and james ii. upon the accession of william iii. the scottish convention denounced "the use of torture, without evidence and in ordinary crimes, as contrary to law." however, a year or so later, one neville payne, an englishman suspected of treasonable motives for visiting scotland, was put to the torture under the authority of a warrant signed by the king. this is the last recorded case of its use, torture being finally abolished in scotland in 1709. it was not used in england after 1640. the boot was made of iron or wood and iron fastened on the leg, between which and the boot wedges were driven by blows from a mallet. after each blow a question was put to the victim, and the ordeal was continued until he gave the information or fainted. the wedges were usually placed against the calf of the leg, but bishop burnet says that they were sometimes put against the shin-bone. a similar instrument, called "spanish boots," was used in germany. there were also iron boots which were heated on the victim's foot. a less cruel form was a boot or buskin made wet and drawn upon the legs and then dried with fire. bootes (gr. [greek: bootaes], a ploughman, from [greek: bous], an ox), a constellation of the northern hemisphere, mentioned by eudoxus (4th century b.c.) and aratus (3rd century b.c.), and perhaps alluded to in the book of job (see arcturus), and by homer and hesiod. the ancient greeks symbolized it as a man walking, with his right hand grasping a club, and his left extending upwards and holding the leash of two dogs, which are apparently barking at the great bear. ptolemy catalogues twenty-three stars, tycho brahe twenty-eight, hevelius fifty-two. in addition to arcturus, the brightest in the group, the most interesting stars of this constellation are: _[epsilon] bootis_, a beautiful double star composed of a yellow star of magnitude 3, and a blue star of magnitude 6-1/2; _[xi] bootis_, a double star composed of a yellow star, magnitude 4-1/2, and a purple star, magnitude 6-1/2; and _w. bootis_, an irregularly variable star. this constellation has been known by many other names--arcas, arctophylax, arcturus minor, bubuleus, bubulus, canis latrans, clamator, icarus, lycaon, philometus, plaustri custos, plorans, thegnis, vociferator; the arabs termed it aramech or archamech; hesychius named it orion; jules schiller, st sylvester; schickard, nimrod; and weigelius, the three swedish crowns.