"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, by a war he was carrying on with a neighbouring
prince, that he could only spare a very few men, to attempt the capture
of their stronghold. Upon these the giants issued in the night, and slew
every man of them. And now, grown bolder by success and impunity, they
no longer confined their depredations to property, but began to seize
the persons of their distinguished neighbours, knights and ladies, and
hold them in durance, the misery of which was heightened by all
manner of indignity, until they were redeemed by their friends, at an
exorbitant ransom. Many knights have adventured their overthrow, but to
their own instead; for they have all been slain, or captured, or forced
to make a hasty retreat. To crown their enormities, if any man now
attempts their destruction, they, immediately upon his defeat, put one
or more of their captives to a shameful death, on a turret in sight of
all passers-by; so that they have been much less molested of late;
and we, although we have burned, for years, to attack these demons
and destroy them, dared not, for the sake of their captives, risk the
adventure, before we should have reached at least our earliest manhood.
Now, however, we are preparing for the attempt; and the grounds of
this preparation are these. Having only the resolution, and not the
experience necessary for the undertaking, we went and consulted a lonely
woman of wisdom, who lives not very far from here, in the direction of
the quarter from which you have come. She received us most kindly, and
gave us what seems to us the best of advice. She first inquired what
experience we had had in arms. We told her we had been well exercised
from our boyhood, and for some years had kept ourselves in constant
practice, with a view to this necessity.