Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-05-22
SOME MODERN GIANTS.
German and English MOnarchs Who
Had Fancy for individuals of
Great Size.
Persons of WOndrous Height Who
Have Been Exhibited During
the Last Two Centuries,

the Last Two Centuries.
At all times and in all centuries kings
and mobiles had fancy for including among
their retalners, either a giant or dwarf.
sometimes both. saws the Irish Times.
Frederick the Great had his force of gil
gantlc gre1adiers, and in the Tower of
London may be seen a lance and some en-
ormous armor of the sixteenth century
work which doubtless belonged to some
giant, knight or trooper of the kings body
guard. James |. mad attached to his per
son porter named Walter Parsons, COM
monty called the Staffordshire giant, a
handsome, brave and strong young man,
who had begun life as a farrier. His
height was seven feet seven inches, and
his portrait exists. engraved by Glover
Parsons lived on into the reign of Charles
l.. and was succeeded in his office bv an
other giant, William Evans, who was two
inches taller than his predecessor.
1t is curious fact that the population OF
France has rarely produced a giant; Great
Britain. Germany, Poland and Switzerland
carry off the palm; and this may perhaps
be attributed to the prevalence in France
: of a vegetarian diet, which does not tend
to develop to so great an extent the growth
of muscle as does the stronger diet of meat
The eighteenth century, to judge by con-
temporary letters and newspapers, seems
to have been more than usually prolific in
giants and giantesses.
Horace Wal pole mentions a giant and
glantess who were on view respectively at
Spring gardens and Half Moon court. Lud-
gate hill. They We're both, it seems, hand
some and well-proportioned persons, and
without the usual ungainliness peculiar to
their kind: At this time also appeared a
young Italian giantess, feet in height,
who was the admiration said the hand
bllls-''of the emperor of Germany, of
eight kings of Europe, and of the grand
car of Moscow himself Her appearance
seems to have been followed, in 1742, by
that of Cajanus, the famous Swedish
giant, commonly called the Giving Colos-
sus, who came over to England and es-
tabllshed himself at house opposite the
Mansion house. He was the son of a pas
tor of little village in Finland, and stood
s feet inches in his socks.
In 1855 London was visited by another
Italian giant, named Bernardo Giglt, or
Gill, who measured 8 feet in height, and
seems to have created an immense sensation
by the colossal proportion of his limbs.
But no giant ever created such a furore as
did Charles Byrne. the Irish giant, who was
s feet 8 inches In height, and possessed of
enormous strength He was clever and
shrewd, and full of natural wit of his
mother country; but unfortunately the
large fortune he rapidly gained by his
exhibition led him into habits of gluttony
and lntemperance, and he died at the
early age of u, leaving instructions that
his body was to be buried at sea, but the
college OF surgeons in some way obtained
his corpse for the sum of $500, according
to certain reports, and the skeleton was
''set up in~their museum by William
Hunter, the famous anatomist.
Shortly after Byrne's death another
Irish giant exhibited himself in London
by the name of Patrick Cotter, alias
. Brlen. He was so attenuated that, tall
as he was, he appeared even taller. His
height was s feet inches. Feeble and
debilitated in health he could only walk
by supporting himself on the shoulders of
two tall men walking in front of him,
resting hand upon the shoulder of each.
Many amusing stories are reported of him.
One evening at a Masonic dinner, he
took out of his pocket the celebrated
dwarf, Count Borulauski, and set him
upon the table, to the establishment of ell
the guests Some time after, whilst
staying at Bath, he nearly terrified a
night Waterman out of his wits by taking
off the top of street lamp and lighting
his pipe with the fame. He was of an
amiable and gentle disposition, but not
remarkable for any intellectual capacity
Since his day to the present time London
has only seen four giants of any abnormal
height or size; namely, James Tolees, s
feet inches in height, in 1919; Scott,
Chang, and Herr Wickelmeir, the Bavari-
an giant.
Of Gsantesses Miss Scott and Pauline
Marie Elizabeth Wende are the only colos-
sal ladies who have astonished the eyes of
the sightseeing world. The latter, called
the queen of the Amazons, was born at
Ben-Rendorf, in Thurigia, the 31st of jan
uary, 1866, and introduced to the London
public at the Alhambra in piece entitled
''Babil and Biiou." she was gaod looking
and of handsome -proportioned fig
ure, and and measured about eight feet
four inches in height. Of her subsequent
history and career we have not been able
tour in France after she had exhibited her
self in this country. It is a curisus fact
that giants rarely exceed the age of 40 or
IS, and few amongst them ever show
signs of much intellectual capacity. They
are. as a rule, good-tempered indolent,
AMI placid opposite extremes, the
dwarfts, being irritable, active, clever,
and ill-tempered.