A Wanderer's Notes - v. 2 Author:William Beatty-Kingston Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Of Kcw York. CHAPTER III. BERLIN ANTIQUITIES — THE TYPICAL GALLOWS-BIRD - A HISTORICAL OUTING - THE GERMAN MEDIAEVAL DRAMA — A MYSTERY REVIVAL. A Little... more » more than six centuries ago, during the decade of 1265-75 — German antiquaries have not succeeded in fixing the exact date to a year — a building of considerable importance was erected in the town of Berlin. The administration of justice, even at that period of rough-and-ready penal codes, required a local habitation ; and a Gerichtslaube, or law-court, of considerable architectural pretensions — quite a grand affair, considering the period of its construction and the poverty of the city to which it belonged — was built in a central spot of the old Markish capital, close to the site of.the present town-hall, or Rathhaus. The exterior was ornamented with fantastic sculptures, having grim reference to the punishments destined to be inflicted upon those whom evil doing or bad luck should subject to trial and sentence within its walls. One can fancy what a cheering effect the contemplation of these works of art must have produced upon the spirits of the prisoners, guilty or innocent, awaiting their turn for admission to the ungentle tribunal, and strongly guarded outside the door of the Gerichtslaube. Until a peculiarly THE GALLOWS-BIRD. 73 dismal stone figure was pointed out to me one day by a learned member of the Berlin Historical Society, who explained to me its signification, I had believed that the word "gallows-bird" admitted but of two interpretations or rather applications—the one metaphorical, used to designate a rather bad fellow; the other personal, having reference to carrion crows, ravens, and other ugsome fowls, reputed to entertain a decided predilection for human meat that has been well hung—or hanged, ...« less