GABBRO 



enemy against the 3rd Brigade in 

 particular were beaten back. Dur- 

 ing the nights of the 25th and 

 26th the Turks delivered repeated 

 assaults, but the Anzac line 

 held firm. Meanwhile the position 

 was entrenched, and ammunition, 

 water, and supplies were brought 

 up. On April 28 and 29 four bat- 

 talions of the Royal Naval Divi- 

 sion reinforced the Anzacs. See 

 Gallipoli, Campaign in. 



Gabbro. Rock, somewhat simi- 

 lar in texture to granite, with a 

 speckled or mottled appearance. 

 Gabbro consists usually of plagio- 

 clase felspar, augite (q.v. ), and often 

 olivine (q.v.), while many common 

 varieties have varying proportions 

 of iron and magnesium compounds. 

 In the Inner Hebrides, Sweden, 

 Norway, and Canada these rocks 

 are common. 



Gabelhorner. Cluster of mt. 

 peaks, Switzerland, forming part 

 of the Matte rhorn group. The 

 Ober-Gabelhorn, to the E. of the 

 Grand Cosnier, rises 13,365 ft. The 

 Unter-Gabelhorn, near Zermatt, 

 has an alt. of 11,150 ft., and like 

 the Ober-Gabelhorn, is difficult of 

 ascent. See Alps. 



Gabelle. French word for an 

 indirect tax, in ordinary use con- 

 fined to the tax on salt. Salt was a 

 state monopoly, and almost from 

 its imposition before 1300 to the 

 Revolution the tax on it was most 

 oppressive, every family being 

 compelled to purchase a weekly 

 minimum of salt. Its incidence 

 varied from province to province ; 

 one or two were exempt from the 

 burden. In the others the price of 

 salt was fixed by royal officials. At 

 one period the prisons of Nor- 

 mandy were filled with persons 

 unable to pay this imposition. 

 One of the grievances which con- 

 tributed to the Revolution, it was 

 abolished in 1790. 



GaberdineoK GABARDINE (Span. 

 gabardina, smock, coarse frock). 

 Loose garment, usually of rough, 

 dark material, reaching to the 



ankles and girt 



with a cord. It 

 was worn in the 

 Middle Ages by 

 pilgrims and 

 mendicants, in 

 which con- 

 nexion the 

 Scots word 

 gaberlunzie, a 

 beggar, is note- 

 worthy, and 

 came to be 

 iden t if ie d 

 chiefly with 

 the Jews, who 

 wore flowing 

 robes of this 

 by Jews type. The 



3390 



Gabion. Interior slope of parapet 

 showing brushwood gabions and 

 fascines. Below, single gabions of, 

 left, brushwood ; right, iron bands 



gaberdine was probably never a 

 compulsory dress for the Jews. 



Gabes OR CABES (anc. Syrtis 

 minor). Gulf of Tunisia. On the 

 S.E. coast, it extends between the 

 Kerkenna Islands on the N., the 

 Circinae Islands of the Romans 

 where Hannibal and Marius took 

 refuge, and Jerba (Djerba) Island 

 on the S. The latter has a pop. of 

 about 60,000 of Berber origin, and 

 contains numerous ruins, notably 

 of El-Kantara, the ancient Meninx. 

 Sponge-fishing is carried on in the 

 gulf. The chief towns on its shores 

 are Sfax and Gabes, the former 

 tha outlet for the phosphate de- 

 posits at Gafsa. 



Gabes. Port and military sta- 

 tion of Tunisia. On the Gulf of 

 Gabes, it is the ancient Tacape. It 

 is 205 m. by rly. S. of Tunis and 90 

 m. by rly. S.S.W. of Sfax. An ex- 

 tension of the line to Medenine is 

 under consideration. The sur- 

 rounding country is semi-desert. 

 W. of Gabes are salt lakes or 

 shats, extending for nearly 250 m. 

 to within 50 m. of Biskra. There is 

 trade in dates, oil, hides, and henna. 

 Pop. about 20,000. 



Gabinius, AULUS (d. c. 47 B.C.). 

 Roman politician. As tribune in 

 67 B.C. he was the author of a law 

 conferring upon Pompey supreme 

 powers for three years to deal with 

 the pirates of the E. Mediterranean. 

 As governor of Syria, in accord- 

 ance with the desire of the tri- 

 umvirs, but contrary to an express 

 decree of the senate, in 65 he re- 

 stored Ptolemy Auletes to the 

 throne of Egypt. On his return to 

 Rome he was tried for extortion 

 during his administration of Syria 

 and for high treason in the matter 

 of Ptolemy. Defended by Cicero, he 

 was acquitted on the latter count, 

 but was condemned on the former 

 and sent into exile. Allowed to 

 return to Rome by Caesar in 49, 

 and sent on a mission to Illyricum, 

 he was defeated by the Dalmatians 

 near Salonae, where he died. 



GABLE 



Gabion. Cylinder with an open 

 end which was widely used for 

 strengthening military trenches and 

 preventing the walls giving way 

 in wet weather. Gabions may be 

 constructed of almost any material 

 capable of being bent or woven 

 into cylindrical shape, brushwood, 

 canvas, and wire netting being fre- 

 quently employed. In the organ- 

 ized trench warfare which became 

 such a feature of the Great War, 

 the use of gabions of this nature 

 was to a large extent superseded 

 by wire netting. 



Gable (old Fr., fork). Pointed 

 or nearly pointed termination of a 

 roof in the Gothic style. In classi- 

 cal architecture the gable is known 

 as a pediment. The simplest form 

 of gable is the triangular. This 

 came into vogue in the Middle 

 Ages, as a result of the high- 

 pitched roof, and, indirectly, of the 

 vault which required such a roof. 



Gable. Top, example from an old 

 house in Salisbury, c. 1360 ; below, 

 from Eltham Palace, Kent, c. 1490 



As Gothic tended towards luxuri- 

 ance in detail, the severe triangular 

 gable was enriched with ornaments 

 such as crockets (q.v.) and finials 

 (q.v.), and in the 16th century, the 

 transition period of British archi- 

 tecture, the sides were formed in a 

 succession of short curves. The 

 latter form was adopted in the 

 Netherlands, and is popularly 

 known as the Dutch gable. The 

 main fa$ade of Holland House, 

 Kensington, built early in the 1 7th 

 century, is surmounted by a suc- 

 cession of these gables, consisting 

 of two curves divided by a rect- 

 angular step on each side. 



In another variety the sides are 

 formed by a sequence of rectangu- 

 lar steps. When, as in the timber, 

 or half timber, buildings of the 

 16th century, the gable projected 

 some distance over the wall, the 



