The Pedestrian's Record

34 the pedestrian's record. of Cruelty to Animals did not interfere. In the past no doubt giants did exist. Goliath of Gath, so powerful and large was he in appearance, that he dismayed the Israelites. "He defiedthem," and no man could be found to fight him with the weapons then generally used in war. But a small man with a weapon of precision which will operate at a distance can destroy savage animals and others, against which at close quarters he would have no chance. David first illustrated this fact. That a race of giants did exist in past days, and these human monsters preyed upon their smaller brethren, who retaliated with pro­ jectile arms, arrows, stones, &c.,ultimately succeeding in ridding the land of their oppressors, is a fact that history has established. The nursery story of Jack the Giant Killer is to our mind an outcome of actual observation, and being a tale handed down to us from the Norman period, it may be concluded that giants existed in the land at the Conquest, or were brought over by the Conqueror, who was him­ self said to have been over eight feet high. In the days of the tournament, although we know that they were not giants, their feats of strength have been detailed, and the Augean tasks they performed could not be accomplished by men of our time. No one now can draw the bow like the English archers who fought at Cressy. The bow they used can be tried by any of our present archers, and they will be found wanting: the hand and arm to-day is not so strong as it was then. It seems to us that the