The Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1822-1829, 1826-06-05
From the london Magazine.
ON rnE DISADVANTAGES OF BEING
lAII-

Mr.. I DIToR--A wrctched be-.
ing. y hom The winds of Heaven
have not visited by daN, for these
three months, save through the win
dow of his attic. whom the finger
Of man poinle, al as a monster n.
moue Gods creatures. whom III.
worlds m 'cks and Iecrs aud idiot
laughter pursued wherever he went
~ II the stamp II Cain had been i'm
pressed upon his forehead. npw adj
dresses YOU Il in the abs nee Of all
other friends. makes y'u the conf
dant nf his SORROWS. FROM what |
have said yen will doubtless infer.
tn, some moral FEELING. some con
Scieutious motive. artuated my per-
seCutors il tormcntlng me that
some presumptive, If not positive,
proof Of guilt attached 10 nv or
that some iUlury d,ne To ny fellow
creatures made me the object of
male,olcucc hut no VIII nathing
% tbs KIND haye.they been tblc to
reproaCh me, followed the straight
forward path Of honesty in all my
dealings aud intercourse With them.
This should have insured me- respect.
was FREE even from the impnlation
Of crime this should have protect
ed me from insult. was con
scioGs OF having committed no lutcn-
tional wrong against any lNi ing be-
ing j.; This should have saved ne from
the tauuts of ridiculc. But. alas,
from a circumstance oNcr which
had no confront, u for Which there
fore. ] ought not 10 have been mndc
amrnabie from mere Whin nf M
tnre ; freak Of fate, | Was doomed
IN suffer these miscries aud humll-
itatlons from nine tenths of those
whom chance thew IN nv way.
And, for what !! | was--sEvEN
FEET high
" The very head aud front of my offending
Hath this extent no more"
" Would you credit il, sir For this ]
have been followed like some strange
animal unseen before among men /:
for this have borne anguish aud
wounded pride aud unhoserted dis.
grace; for this have bcen gazrd
al ~ "A huge libel on the human
form j.: ~ y creature which had lii
tie in common with the sssi Of man.
kind, aud for which mankind
entertained no sympathirs i; as
an indcIiblc blot on the fair page Of
llie--a curse prrsonIiied---
A tear o. nature unver,n smile.
The world ~ generally very pro-
fuse Of such savings as =. manners
make the man" The person ~ no
thing politcnrss. learning, moral
ity, are the qualifications that peo-
pie lud &c from ~ estimating the mer-
il of indi, lduaIs." But the great
erporilon of men bclle their hearts.
They do not cundcscend 10 search
cfTrctaaIly. They are satisfied With
extcrnals Their liking and anti
palhies are but skin deep. In fact,
being possessed ot natures FAR pro-
portl ma, however limited his ntcl
lectual graces may BIZ. i, ia their
estimation, a MANA reasonable
creature one ot them. sN hist he
tn whom Providence has given an
unusually gigantic form aud sta
t0re, although he may inherit n
soul prnportoned TO the body that
contains il, Is deemed little more
than "A monster--a barbarlan---uuin.
! itiated in the councils Of humanity.
A guilty man provided he be Of or.
binary dimensions. shall walk the
streets unuoiiCed by the million.
without insult and without dcri-ion !;
whereas An innocent Gpg--a guile
! less Colossns--an unoilruding Poly
phcmus-shall he annoyed by the
half suppressed laughter, the point
ing of the finger, and the cbnckIing
whisper. Chose demoniac attributes
OF unworthy mani ofeyery fool and
knavc and scoundrel who has tue
en,ied privilege of being neither
more nor less than five feet eight
inches high. Oh ! Mr.. Editor am
sick at heart Weary of existence /!
Disguised with my fellow creatures !
| have been forced to bury myself
in the solitude OF my own chamber !.
| am dead to all that is in the world!
And why is this ! Because my
feelings are too sensitive to bear the
idle eazc. and nnprOyoked attac Ks