they came. They took possession of a ruined
castle that had stood unchanged and unoccupied within the memory of any
of the country people. The vaults of this castle had remained uninjured
by time, and these, I presume, they made use of at first. They were
rarely seen, and never offered the least injury to any one; so that they
were regarded in the neighbourhood as at least perfectly harmless, if
not rather benevolent beings. But it began to be observed, that the old
castle had assumed somehow or other, no one knew when or how, a somewhat
different look from what it used to have. Not only were several breaches
in the lower part of the walls built up, but actually some of the
battlements which yet stood, had been repaired, apparently to prevent
them from falling into worse decay, while the more important parts were
being restored. Of course, every one supposed the giants must have a
hand in the work, but no one ever saw them engaged in it. The peasants
became yet more uneasy, after one, who had concealed himself, and
watched all night, in the neighbourhood of the castle, reported that he
had seen, in full moonlight, the three huge giants working with might
and main, all night long, restoring to their former position some
massive stones, formerly steps of a grand turnpike stair, a great
portion of which had long since fallen, along with part of the wall
of the round tower in which it had been built. This wall they were
completing, foot by foot, along with the stair. But the people said
they had no just pretext for interfering: although the real reason for
letting the giants alone was, that everybody was far too much afraid of
them to interrupt them.

"At length, with the help of a neighbouring quarry, the whole of the
external wall of the castle was finished. And now the country folks were
in greater fear than before. But for several years the giants remained
very peaceful. The reason of this was afterwards supposed to be the
fact, that they were distantly related to several good people in the
country; for, as long as these lived, they remained quiet; but as soon
as they were all dead the real nature of the giants broke out. Having
completed the outside of their castle, they proceeded, by spoiling the
country houses around them, to make a quiet luxurious provision for
their comfort within. Affairs reached such a pass, that the news of
their robberies came to my father's ears; but he, alas! was so crippled
in his resources,