THE GIANT. WILLY WATKINS CHAPTER I. SEARCHES FOR A GOLD MINE IN THE WITCH'S GLEN, AND GETS INTO THE WITCH'S FOREST. It was on a winter's evening, the 3rd of January, 18-, when Uncle Peter related the following marvellous history to a party of children, his nephews and nieces, who were spending the Christmas holidays at his house, and who asked him to tell them a story. Anyone who reads it carefully will easily learn what were the circumstances which induced him to divulge to them these facts, which have never before been made known to the public. But to prevent any misunderstanding, it may be said, without any breach of confidence, that the great subject of conversation that evening had been the comfort and blessing of having plenty of money, and knowing how to gain and to use it. Added to which, there arose the question, not a little important at the present moment, as all persons and all parties must willingly allow, how it happens that in England where so many people are enormously rich, so many other people are enormously poor; and what is likely to be the consequence if something or other is not done to remedy this strange and serious inconvenience. Upon this question Uncle Peter had, like many other people, a fancy of his own, and doubtless he intended to communicate this fancy to his nephews and nieces, as the conscientious confectioner endeavoured to smuggle the book of Proverbs into the minds of his customers, by wrapping the Proverbs up with bonbons. But as Uncle Peter was a very odd man, and full of crotchets, with which he could not make other persons agree, it is needless to dwell on this point, or delay his story-which he thus commenced. Once upon a time there lived a little boy of the name of Willy Watkins. He was, in the year when the won Jerful events occurred to him which I am about to record, just thirteen years old, and the son of Mr. Thomas Watkins; or I believe I ought to say, seeing that Mr. Thomas Watkins had made a large fortune, Thomas Watkins, Esquire. And according to the proper laws of biography, I should devote two or three introductory chapters to a proof that at some remote period some member or possible member of the family, or some one with a similar name, had been Justice of the Peace for the County of Blank, or was mentioned, either honourably or dishonourably, in some yellow worm-eaten parchment. All Also, I should be able to inform you that the said ancestor married into the illustrious family of the Smiths or Browns, and thus to account for certain strange heraldic animals in the family arms. this doubtless throws light on the character of the person of whom we propose to give a portrait, and is very interesting to the individual himself who writes, and to the people who are written about. But I confess I always open a biography at about the fiftieth page, and fling away the doubtlessly very useful, but not very ornamental, envelopment of superfluous paper in which the facts that I am looking for are packed and wrapped; I sup |