Ah,' she said; there were plenty of people that could tell those stories once. I used to hear them telling them over the fire at night; but people is so changed with pride now, that they care for nothing."" 046464 LONDON: JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN, PICCADILLY. CAMPBELL. DEAR MR. HOTTEN, April 18th, 1865. I have received your note, in which you express a doubt as to whether some portion of the public will understand my representation of the Giant "Bolster." To all such persons, I would beg of them to reflect that if a Giant could stride 6 miles across a country he must be 12 miles in height, according to the proportions of the human figure. In order to get a sight of the head of such a Giant, the spectator must be distant a mile or two from the figure. This would, by adding half the "stride" and above II miles perpendicular, place the spectator about 15 miles distant from the Giant's head, which head, in proportion to the other parts of the body, would be about three-quarters of a mile, measuring from the chin to the crown of the head. Now let any one calculate, according to the laws of perspective, what size such a head would be at such a distance. To give a little insight into the matter of perspective, let any one imagine that they are looking down a street, 15 miles long, of large houses, and then calculate what size the last house would be at the further end of the street; and it must therefore be recollected that every part of such a huge body must lessen in the same waybody and limbs-smaller by degrees, if not beautifully less. I selected this subject from my friend Robert Hunt's work as one of the numerous proofs, which are shown in both the volumes, of the horrible dark ignorance of the Early Ages-a large amount of which ignorance and darkness, I am sorry to find, still remains. I hope that these few lines will explain satisfactorily why Giant "Bolster" has been thus displayed by, Yours truly, GEORGE CRUIKSHANK. P.S.-The first time that I put a very large figure in perspective was about 40 years back, in illustrating that part of "Paradise Lost" where Milton describes Satan as "Prone on the flood, extended long and large, Lay floating many a rood." This I never published, but possibly I may do so one of these days. |