Thursday, August 11, 2011

A Gallows on the Shore: A Civilised Country

John Sparrow, former Warden of All Souls College Oxford, told a story on the radio about twenty years ago. I cannot remember its provenance.

Two eighteenth century shipwrecked sailors in an open boat are approaching an unknown shore. The sharper-eyed, spotting a gallows with a body hanging from it, exclaims:

"Thank God! A civilised country!"

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