The comet. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1877-1882, 1879-03-29
THE SORROWS OF A GIANT.
TROUBLE BREWING AMONG THE BowERf
CURIosITIEs,

ing at giants, ana uWarIs, anu AN I.,
thin and fat men and women, anu o'noi
such entertaining natural curlositleS was
walking down the Bowery one coIu IlShl
last week walking pretty briskly 10 Keep
warm. and looking with some lnterest al
tbe art treasures hung up in front of the
museums-when he heard deep bass voice,
evidently coming out OF the gutter, saying
Il won't 90 there any more. There's no
use saving another word about it. tell
Won won't do it. I've lost 10 good pounds
now. and another week of it would take off
10 more, and ruin me. | won't do it, and
think its a shame to ask me. But Two
been imposed on ard run over ever since
I've been with you, Shameless.
It was O'Clock in the morning, and the
streets were almost empty. The speaker
was sitting on the curbstone talking to a
gentleman III long ulster and silk hat.
He was the giant from the museum directly
in front of which he sat- and when he
spoke his whole 400 pounds shook with
emotion.
With a chivalrous spirit that rebelled at
seeing the strong impose upon the weak,
the person took the liberty of asking the
gentleman in the ulster what was the
trouble.
ever lived said the manager. He ought
to live in a fifth avenue hotel, he ought.
Nov. Tony, said the giant i'll whim-
perinp voice that sounded like u chllds,
you're not doing me fair you know you re
not. All 1 ask is enough to keep me ealthy.
But I've boarded over in that place till it's
beginning to tell on me. 1t don't do for
me to lose flesh flesh is money; and for
me to be continually on oatmeal and dried
peach pies will soon take the bread out Of
my mouth. Get me place where Ill
have enough to eat, and Ill 60; otherwise,
I'll stay here till you find policeman big
enough 70 pick me up.
The person was moved with sympathy
for the sutferings of the giant, and before
leaving him to his uncertain fate made an
amendment to meet him next afternoon
the Museum, and possibly give him some
good advice. The giant was found the fol
lowing afternoon surrounded by crowd
of admirers, each of whom insisted upon
pinchiug his legs, to make sure he was LuN
man. In q lull in the proceedings the
the giant gave the person this little insight
into the private affairs of living curiositles:
Now, I'm not like a dwarf, said the
giant (Which was very true, his height
being trde over eight feet)-''a dwarf can
90 without eating long time, and rather
improve his appearance. But L must eat,
Feed giant, and starve dwarf-thatS
the idee. In the Bowery, here, theirs more
than hundred people that the public has
to pay to get sight of. Of course, its
pleasant to be distinguished, and to be
courted by the people, and all that, but
then such life has its little troubles, too.
You see. it wouldn't do for US to make our
selves too common i'll the streets. If giants
and dwarfs should once be common in the
streets the business would be done for; SO
we have to be boarded near to the cxhi-
billions. There's a place two blocks up
from here, on the other side of the street.
where they board nearly all of us, and we
90 up in wagons, late at night; yes, that's
the reason you never see us in public
There's the Australian children board there,
and the Circassian lady, and the Tiny
Tins, and the fat girl, and the living skele-
ton, and the tattooed man, and two or three
dozen more. Well, they send us two meals
q day from there, and then when we go
home at night we have another meal
That makes us three meals . day. The
boarding house keeper says he loses money
every week, and guess he does; but that's
no reason why l should lose flesh every
week. and l can't afford it, and won't stand
it. You see, if giant weighs 400 pounds
he's worth so much week-a sum not at
all equal to his Bize-l can tell you But if
he lets himself run down. so that he only
weighs $50 pounds, why, he's not worth
more than half as much. I've seen the
time when 1 weighed nearer GOD, but that
was when we were on the road, and chick
ems didn't roost SO high.
If you'll promise never to give it away,
said the giant STOPPING down two or three
feet, and whispering, Til tell you some
thing. But l wouldn't like any of the
others to know that told it, though they
all know it's true. It's the living skeleton
that's Imade all this fuss, though he didn't
know himself, and he's nice noble hearted
gentleman, the skeleton is. But when the
manger first talked with the landlord about
boarding US, the landlord he kind of
checked US off in his mind l know how it
was. He said to himself, here's two giants,
and three dwarfs, and two bearded women,
and the living skeleton-but we won't count
him, he can't eat anything. Bless your
soul, there was where he made a mistake.
1t was very natural mistake, of course.
To look at the skeleton any enc would think
peanut would give him indigestion for a
month; but cat why the poor, ignorant
landlord had 10 idea of it. He'd eat a
butchers shop dry in one afternoon When
he sits down to that table at night, and
rests one of those elbow-bones Of his on
each side of tho plate, then look out for
famine and desolation. Mebbe you'll not
believe me. Sir, but he eats more than me
and the fat woman both together; he does
indeed. He eats everything he can get
1 i. Al 81 H.
thinner he gets; that's the beauty Of HIM;
that's what makes that man 50 valuable.
This, you see. is what makes the landlord
keep us on such short allowance. He mis-
figured about the skeleton, and he's losing
money on the run. That's what makes it
SO bad for me.
Did you settle it about where YOU should
sleep last night? asked the person.
yes, replied the giant in a sorrowful tone:
it could only end one way; 1 had to give
in. I'm a poor, lonely. homeless depends
ent creature, with nothing to live on but
my shape, and my shape a-leaving me
every day. I'll never grow thin enough to
he a skeleton, and I'll Just go the dogs; I
know l shall Don't you never grow to be
a giant if you care anything about your
self.
Just at this minute the music struck up
again, and the stage manager, very small
and slight man, seeing the giant in CONVEX
sation with the person, spraug Iercely at
him, saying:
Come, now, is this the way You attend
to your business, talking with strangers:
And its not the first time I've had to speak
to you about it to-day, either. Get back
to your place, will you and don't let it
happen again, or I'll attend to your case, 1
will.
The giant stepped meekly and silently up
10 his place.
A stranger with a weak back walked into
drug store the other day, and said he
wanted the strongest kind Of a mustard
plaster. With iendish grin, the clerk /
built mp terrible mixture and passed It
out. That might tie inmates Of the hotel
were startled from their slumbers by loud
cries IN room 81. When the door was