Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1915-02-25
CHAPTER ]
CHILDREN IN THE GIANTS
CASTLE.

SNSA IN lASS l. Il
The Giants Castle Not because it
was inhabited by a creature of unusual
stature or one of prodigious strength,
but because childish fancy is SO prone
TO identify visible aspects with those
inspired by the imagination. The house,
profoundly lnslstent in its dominance
of the youthful vision. was not far re-
moved from that which their tender
intellects We're pleased to consider a
fitting abode for certain stupendous
personages, whose acquaintance they
had made, as nave all other children
whose education has not been stunted
by cross and unfeeling parents
through the medium of fairy books and
weary nurse maids tales. Thei small
but vivid inlaginations seized upon the
prim and unusually peaceful abode as
a perfect Illustration Of what an ogre's
castle ought to be, and no amount Of
persuasion III the shape of realism
could dull that impression until they
outgrew the delights and fears of nur-
sery literature.
The fact that two very small chill
dren lived in THE Giants Castle"
quite without fear of being devoured by
the master thereof. initiated not a
whit against the juvenile fancy of
Corintl-by-the-Sea, notwithstanding,
liberal playground and Sunday school as
ISOLATION.
The real occupants of the house were
not taken into account If they had
been. there would have been no excuse
for the name. 1t pleased the very young
to imagine that there We're other and
more horrific creatures lurking behind
the grey, weatherstained walls; it
pleased them to believe that each of the
square little windows in the cupola
represented a peephole through which
a ferocious giant peered in quest of the
well known "Englishmun." And so.
1haN lived IN a 1alirin,tc IraaI ~ %Lo
ogre and yet romped with the W.
small deniZens about the yard and
through the rooms-(when opportunity,
IN the shape Of an invitation to come
up and play presented itself. All Of
which goes to prove that nursery tales
are terrifying only when one has gone
to bed and is left alone in the dark.
AS a matter of fact, the people who
lived in the big grey house, from mas
ter to servant. We're as mortal as NOR
tai could be. To be quite precise, the
master himself vas a very superior
sort of mortal. in that he set himself
up AS an example for all other men
to be patterned after. That so few Of
his gender succeeded in coming quite
up to the standard was not so much q
disappointment to him as 1t was a sat
isfaction to them.
Mr.. Blagden was a most exemplary
man. AS to virtue and morality he was
a giant. Yet, While he was respected,
he was not feared. No one fears a
truly good man. If the town in which
Mr.. Blagden lived had been a trifle
larger h 1t actually was in the mat.
ter of population it is quite likely he
would not nave been respected. But it
was a small town. and the good are al
ways respected in small towns. The
paths are narrow there. and they are
very straight. 1t is a simple process.
you might say. to be moral and upright
when the paths are so narrow that one
is obliged to pursue a straight course
or suffer the consequences Of a bump
against his neighbours wall, which in
variably is built close up to the path
n has many eyes as well as ears.
When I say hat everyone in Corinth-
by-the-Sea respected Mr.. Blagden, my
assertion should be taken with a grain
of salt. Respect has its degrees, and
Corinth had it's analysts. Down along
the water front there We're drinking
PAGES, and in them We're profane phil
osophers who maintained that Mr..
Blagden was no better than other men
If one could get beneath his skin. I'm
expectedly, OF course. But. If you got
beyond the drinking places. adjacent
TO which the paths We're necessarily
crooked and not all restricted, you
speedily would be set straight again as
TO Mr.. Blagden's real standing In the
community. The doubts were confined
&CA vi Viii cSeLiCao ! liz d'h'
sailors. n everyone knows that a
sailor sees nothing good in a landsman,
He never has, and he never WiN. we
may. therefore. take 1t for granted,
despite the windy opinions of those
vituperative seadogs. that Mr.. Blagder
deserved the high esteem in which he
was held by the people of Corinth.
Besides. what is more to the point
the sailorInen were not citizens OF Cor
NTH, but Inhabitants Of the Seamen's
Home situated III the nearby village o!
Todville.
Todville was what you might describe
as a suburb Of Corinth. It pleased thu
Corinthians to speak of 1t as a suburb
when abroad in the land. At home, ir
the bosom of the municipality, they
failed to regard Todville in the sam
charitable light. Among themselves
they looked upon the village with con
siderable scorn and a great deal %
aversion. IT was like q growth upor
the smooth, placid c~ountenance of Cor
inth.
There may have been very excellen'
reason for this uncharitahle attitude
on the part of the SNUG citizens OF Cor
NTH. Todville was in the path of eN
pansion. / do not mean to say thai the
village. which chung like a barnacle
to the side of it's big sister, was In an!
sense a restriction to the commercls
or material growth OF Corinth. Not a
CAL. IL SlOOO - IlS NNy Va
principally because it occupied tht
most picturesque spot of ground to DC
found anywhere along the coast fol
miles around. Inasmuch as it was with
in 10 minutes walk Of the most fash'
ionable and exclusive residence distr'c,
OF Corinth. and because it was In ltsel
a mean and humble witness to tn
progress of the splendor it halted. Iod
Vile was a despised spot. though GOV
eted. With Todville and Its half u
dred shanties out OF the way. Corlntf
would nave been able to spread lS
gathered plumes, and fly out from III
crowded nest to settle down upon .
new and coveted stretch of earth, there
to prink and pout with all the arrog:
ance Of a peacock. while the worlo
passed by and envied.
But mean little Todville stood in the
way. The charmed point that ran ou'
into the sea, lofty and ironic. with its
magnificent view up and down IN
coast, from whose heights one coule
stare in pity across and beyond th'
very submits of naughty Corinth-th
point, I say, was quite beyond tns
grasp of those who most desired lt'
beauty. 1t belonged to a very clos