Connecticut western news., 1878-07-11
The Jersey Giant.

This story is not going to begin by swing, 'sonce upon time." Whyw pople always say, "Once upon 8 time,"" and make the story seem ever so old Jst as ], you and I and all the other children did not know that there are gints nowadays in the woods, and little faies keeping house in the beds of vio- let, and good spirits Ii ying in the bright plces where the sun shines, and bad spirits shut up in the dark holes in the tres, 80 that they can't get out at the ctldren Dear me We are not so yang as they take us to be, are we :? B. when I tell you that this giant lived irNew Jersey, not 8 hundred miles from Nv York, and that what I am going to ta you happened only last summer, you aIl I know that it might easily be so, ad we shall notmind the wise looks of thse older people who think it is all folishness. Let me say another thing that this story is told for boys and l gls, and I have no time to write it so tat grown people can easily understand l 1 If they find any long words of which icy do not know the meaning, why, they e ask the children to explain them.
 he boy who saw this giant was little Tomy Bento, who will tell you all aht it if you ever meet hlm. He lives inNew York, in @ four-story brown stte house near Fifth avenue, and goes tor. Syntax's school, on the corner of Thgemmie street and Wautdyukalt auue. So if you want to know from hiown lips whether this story is true, twill be easy for you to find hlm. Tmy and his mother were staying at u seaside, and he was having a good tie, can tell you. He was eight years o, and there were other boys there it of his age.I never knew boys just sht years old to fail to have a ,o ood he. They were staying in handsome fel on the Jersey shore, a long way How Long Branch, where they could ook right out of their windows over the scean and see the stately white sails moving to and fro, and the hawks dart. l ing at the waves for fisi,, and could hear, day and night, the roar of the surf on the beach,. There were four great pleas. ures in.this' life for Tommy Bento and his little friends-eating, sleeping, bath. ing, and playing on the beach. And the greatest of these was eating, for the appetite of an eight-year-old boy in his vacation and ct the seaside is one of the wonders of the world.
 One day, after dinner, Tommy tool his shovel and his little pail, and wen down to the beach to dig in the sand 1The little pail had "A Good Boy painted on it, but of course that cid no mean that the pail was good boy; tha would be nonsense. It meant that Tom my was.) The other boys asked Tom ny to sit down in the sand, rest his bacl against an old piece of ships mast tha was lying there, and let them make sand man of him. Making sand mal of anybody, was to shovel sand on hin until he, was pretty nearly covered They usually stopped before they go the sand heaped up to his neck. don believe anybody but boys would eve play such game; but they played il and liked it. So Tommy sat down, an they began to shovel the sand on his fa little legs. sara e, sz.g4.s as,ss a5ass=
 After while he thought 1t was tlm to go back to the hotel, but somehow
 seemed . long way off, and the farthe