

doubtful whether such a bulk is, under an; 

 cumstances, compatible with the agility, the de- 

 licacy of touch, and various other physical pro- 

 perties of man. 



But suppose such a being as is here spoken of 

 to exist, and all things around to remain as at 

 present, how helpless and pitiable a mortal he 

 would be ! The tallest trees would be to him 

 but as shrubs ; the grass and herbs as microsco- 

 pic plants ; the few bullocks in a country would 

 scarcely suffice him for a season ; and, all other 

 animals of less size would be to him insignifi- 

 cant. 



Suppose, on the other hand, man was of pigmy 

 stature a few inches only in height, how limited 

 would be his efforts ; how narrowed and circum- 

 cribed would even the greatest intellects be with 

 such deficient physical powers. A small brook 

 would be to him an impassable barrier ; rivers 

 and seas would interrupt for ever the tide of 

 commerce and the spread of knowledge ; wild 

 beasts would be dreaded as the greatest terrors ; 

 and, in every insignificant animal he would find 

 a formidable foe. 



That dwarfs occasionally exist there is no 

 doubt ; but their existence is always to be re- 

 garded as a monstrosity. Such was the case 

 with the celebrated Jeffrey Hudson, the dwarf of 

 the Queen of Charles the First, who, when an 

 adult, was only eighteen inches high, and was 

 served up to table in a cold pie ! as also with 

 the dwarf named Lolkes, who was exhibited at 



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