some friends in Cambridge, "who is the biggest woman in Cambridge, and
I'll hold a wager they'll say Mrs. ----. She broke down two benches in
Trinity Gardens,--one on the confines of St. John's, which occasioned a
litigation between the societies as to repairing it. In warm weather she
retires into an ice-cellar, (literally,) and dates from a hot Thursday
some twenty years back. She sits in a room with opposite doors and
windows, to let in a thorough draft, which gives her slenderer friends
toothaches. She is to be seen in the market every morning at ten,
cheapening fowls, which I observe the Cambridge poulterers are not
sufficiently careful to stump."

On the person thus briefly sketched Elia wrote an article for the
"London Magazine." As it is not to be found in the standard editions of
its author's works, we herewith present it to our readers. They will
find it to be a clever specimen of Lamb's peculiar and delightful humor.
In truth, it is one of the very best things he ever conjured up. We
observe he has changed the locality of the stout woman, and places her
in Oxford, instead of Cambridge.

* * * * *

"THE GENTLE GIANTESS.

"The widow Blacket, of Oxford, is the largest female I ever had the
pleasure of beholding. There may be her parallel upon the earth, but
surely I never saw it. I take her to be lineally descended from the
maid's aunt of Brainford, who caused Master Ford such uneasiness. She
hath Atlantean shoulders; and as she stoopeth in her gait,--with as few
offences to answer for in her own particular as any of Eve's
daughters,--her back seems broad enough to bear the blame of all the