Paul, as he had promised, closed up his business at twelve o'clock and came home. At half-past one the three were on their way to the museum. The distance was but short, and a very few minutes found them in the museum. Jimmy's eyes opened wide as they took in the crowded exhibition room, and he hardly knew what to look at first, until the approach of a giant eight feet high irresistibly attracted him. It is a remarkable circumstance that Barnum's giants were always eight feet high _on the bill,_ though not always by measure. Sometimes the great showman lavishly provided two or three of these Titans. Where they came from nobody knew. It has been conjectured by some that they were got up to order; but upon this point I cannot speak with certainty. As a general thing they are good-natured and harmless, in spite of their formidable proportions, and ready to have a joke at their own expense. "Oh, see that big man!" exclaimed Jimmy, struck with awe, as he surveyed the formidable proportions of the giant. "He's bigger than you will ever be, Jimmy," said Paul. "I wouldn't like to be so tall," said the little boy. "Why not? You could whip all the fellows that tried to tease you." "They don't tease me much, Paul." "Do they tease you at all?" asked his brother quickly. "Not very often. Sometimes they call me Limpy, because I am lame." "I'd like to catch any boy doing it," said Paul energetically. "I'd make him see stars." "I don't mind, Paul." "But I do. Just let me catch the next fellow that calls you Limpy, and he won't do it again." By this time a group had gathered round the giant. Paul and Jimmy joined it. "Was you always so large?" asked a boy at Paul's side. "I was rather smaller when I was a baby," said the giant, laughing. "How much do you weigh?" "Two hundred and seventy-five pounds." "That beats you, Jimmy," said Paul. "Were you big when you were a boy?" "I was over seven feet high on my fifteenth birthday," said the giant. "Did the teacher lick you often?" asked one of the boys shyly. "Not very often. He couldn't take me over his knee very well." "What an awful lot of cloth you must take for your clothes!" said the last boy. "That's so, my lad. I keep a manufactory running all the time to keep me supplied." "Do you think that's true, Paul?" asked Jimmy, doubtfully. "Not quite," answered Paul, smiling. "Don't you need to eat a good deal?" was the next question. "Oh, no, not much. Half a dozen chickens and a couple of turkeys are about all I generally eat for dinner. Perhaps I could eat more if I tried. If any of you boys will invite me to dinner I'll do my best." "I'm glad you ain't my son," said one of the boys. "I shouldn't like to keep you in food and clothes." "Well, now, I shouldn't mind having you for a father," said the giant, humorously looking down upon his questioner, a boy of twelve, and rather small of his age, with a humorous twinkle in his eye. "You wouldn't whip me very often, would you?"