Phantastes, A Faerie Romance

"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.