AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 
107 
moral exigency, and also of reasoning and intellectual exi- 
gency; so much of moral and intellectual motive adapted 
to the circumstances and moral requirement of the case, 
that if the cause principal be referred to any power within 
the consciousness of the creature, we must inevitably pro- 
nounce it to be a moral and intellectual being. But surely 
we shall not assert this from the mere appearance of the 
thing, and without reference to the general quality of the 
animal’s nature as a whole , which clearly, and for the 
reasons I have already dwelt upon, marks its limit, and de- 
signates it to be neither moral nor intellectual as to its pro- 
per consciousness ; — thus not at all so in itself, but only 
apparently so, by being acted upon by some power or 
agency above the stream of its consciousness; and which 
agency must unquestionably be of a moral and intellectual 
character, or it never could impel the animal to the exercise 
of those powers of which it is conscious, in the perform- 
ance of actions possessing the strongest possible moral cha- 
racteristics. ( To be Continued.) 
DWARFS. 
Among the varieties of nature in the human species, we 
may reckon Dwarfs and Giants. Deceived by some optical 
illusion, the ancient historians gravely mention whole na- 
tions of pigmies as existing in remote quarters of the world. 
The more accurate observations of the moderns, however, 
convince us that these accounts are entirely fabulous. 
The existence, therefore, of a pigmy race of mankind, 
being founded in error or in fable, we can expect to find 
men of diminutive stature only by accident, among men of 
the ordinary size. Of these accidental dwarfs, every coun- 
try, and almost every village can produce numerous in- 
stances. There was a time when these unfavourable chil- 
dren of Nature were the peculiar favourites of the great, 
and no prince, or nobleman, thought himself completely 
attended, unless he had a dwarf among the number of his 
domestics. These poor little men were kept to be laughed 
at, or to raise the barbarous pleasure of their masters, by 
their contrasted inferiority. Even in England, as late as 
the time of King James the First, the court was at one time 
furnished with a dwarf, a giant, and a jester. These the 
king often took a pleasure in opposing to each other, and 
often fomented quarrels among them, in order to be a con- 
cealed spectator of their animosity. 
It was in the sam^e spirit that Peter of Russia, in the 
year 1710, celebrated a marriage of dwarfs. This monarch, 
though raised by his native genius far above a barbarian, 
was, nevertheless, still many degrees removed from actual 
refinement. His pleasures, therefore, were of the vulgar 
kind; and this was among the number. Upon a certain 
day, which he had ordered to be proclaimed several months 
before, he invited the whole body of his courtiers, and all 
the foreign ambassadors, to be present at the marriage of a 
pigmy man and woman. The preparations for this wedding 
were not only very grand, but executed in a style of bar- 
barous ridicule. He ordered, that all the dwarf men and 
women, within two hundred miles, should repair to the 
capital; and also insisted, that they should be present at the 
ceremony. For this purpose, he supplied them with proper 
vehicles; but so contrived it, that one horse was seen car- 
rying a dozen of them into the city at once, while the mob 
followed shouting and laughing from behind. Some of 
them were at first unwilling to obey an order, which they 
knew was calculated to turn them into ridicule, and did not 
come; but he soon obliged them to obey; and, as a punish- 
ment, enjoined that they should wait upon the rest at din- 
ner. The whole company of dwarfs amounted to seventy, 
beside the bride and bridegroom, who were richly adorned, 
and in the extremity of the fashion. For this company in 
miniature, every thing was suitably provided; a low table, 
small plates, little glasses, and, in short, every thing was 
so fitted, as if all things had been dwindled to their own 
standard. It was his great pleasure to see their gravity 
and their pride; the contention of the women for places, 
and the men for superiority. This point he attempted to 
adjust, by ordering that the most diminutive should take 
the lead; but this bred disputes, for none would then con- 
sent to sit foremost. All this, however, being at last set- 
tled, dancing followed the dinner, and the ball was opened 
with a minuet by the bridegroom, who measured exactly 
three feet two inches high. In the end matters were so 
contrived, that this little company, who met together in 
gloomy pride, and unwilling to be pleased, being at last fa- 
miliarized to laughter, joined in the diversion, and became, 
as the journalist tells us, extremely sprightly and entertain- 
ing. 
But the most complete history of a dwarf is preserved 
by M. Daubenton, in his Natural History. This dwarf, 
whose name was Baby, was well known, having spent the 
greatest part of his life at Luneville, in the palace of Stan- 
islaus, the titular king of Poland. He was born in the vil- 
lage of Plaisne, in France, in the year 1741. His father 
and mother were peasants, both of good constitutions, and 
inured to a life of husbandry and labour. Baby, when born, 
weighed but a pound and a quarter. We are not informed 
of the dimensions of his body at that time, but we may 
conjecture they were very small, as he was presented on a 
plate to be baptized, and for a long time lay in a slipper. 
His mouth, although proportioned to the rest of his body, 
