Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1874-12-11

! W nat becomes OF ali the TOYS Their
fate seems to be as great a mystery as that
Of the pins. The doll can boast respect
able antiquity, for it was not unknown to
the children Of Pompeii, vet it is doubtful
whether there exists a specimen of this toy
more than a century old In several of Gil
rays caricatures We find representations Of
dolls. there Is one, also. in picture by
ll0Carth; but, a. rule. artists seldom cared
20 Introduce the toy into their works. al
though it Is indelihly associated with
thoughts Of infancy and girlhool 4 collec-
tion Of these toys would form a microsco,m
OF fashion. miniature review Of the various
eccentrlcltes Of dress. from the days of
powdered hair and satin slippers to the time
OF gigantic chignons and high-heeled boots
Most Of oar old-ia,hione1 dolls were of Eng
llSh manufacture. aS were the bows dolls.
called " B)nies," from their being rude
rcsemblances Of the famous COrsican. whose
name had become the terror Of Elrope
These B)nies were the Aunt Slllies Of
their period, being used as targets for the
missiles Of their p0sses~ors by war, we sup
pose. OF expressing the national feeling to-
ward the dreaded emperor. In the arrange
ment and furnishing Of dolls houses the
ness. the furniture invariably being tiny
mutations of that in general use. Some Of
these miniature residences We're made on 4
rather large scale-thGt i, considering their
, uses In one Of the houses which for 80
many years impaired such desolated aspect
to the Blackfriars-rlad end of stanford street
was large dolls house. about five feet in
height, fitted up in most complete manner.
with entrance ball, waiting. sitting, draw
M. and bedrooms, parlorS. etc. Ii was
present from kind old uncle to his little
niece, but NJ thanks were offered in return
for the gift. On the contrary, the little
| girl refused 10 kiss him, or even shake his
hand, and ran up stairs to her room. where
She locked herself in, refusing to come out
until her uncle had gone away That child
afterwards became the eccentric old lady
| who allowed her London house property to
remain untenantei and fail into a state Of
ruin, and boQueated all her property to the
/ Brompton hospital for consumption. The
dolls house was purchased by London pub
/ lican, and now forms one Of the attractions
of his establishment.
But with little girls, next t, doll the
/ cradle was the iay0rite toy, and in many
country mansions the old-iashioned doll
| cradle, are yet to be found. sometimes doiag
4 duty as work-baskets or as receptaclcs for
| odds and ends. They were strongly made,
and would stand much ill-uSagc, a circum-
/ stance II which their preservation J., main
| ly attributable. Whether the modern doll
/ bas-inette. with it, amplitude Of muslin and
lace. Will be equally fortunate remains to be
seen. No dolls cradle was regarded as COM
| p.cte without it. little patchwork quilt,
often made by the nimble fingers of the child
posse>>ors. Many an English woman learn
ed the Use OF the needle from having. when
a girl, been prompted by the desire to make
patchwork quilt for her doll. In those
days some TOYS had practical uses. The
/ boys of the last century possessed a les
variety of toys than the lads of the present
generat1n. Boxes OF tly->oldiers were com
mon, but the construction of these was ex-
tremely rude. Most Of these TOYS came
from Germany, the makers evidently enter
tanning most extraordinary notions respecting
our tastes. Some Of these toy-soldicrs
measured q foot in height. while Others scarce
ly exceeded an inch The beautifully mo-
delled and colored leaden soldiers now in
general use were unknown. although leaden
| toys We're largely manufactured in this coun-
| try. In like manner the NOahs arks were
Of the most primitive construction, the birds
and animals resembling nothing that ever
existed, either in shape or color. For all
| this, however, they were popular with the
| little ones and few presents were more readi-
| Is welcomed than that of Noah : ark. The
/ principal TOYS in favor with boys were those
used in connection with indoor and outdoor
/ games. Among these, hoops. bats, shuttle
cocks, hall-trapS and the ike have always
held foremost place, their manufacture
giving employment to large numbers Of peo-
pie. In old times the making Of wooden
hoops formed not improbable industry but
the introduction Of iron hoops has led to itS
| decline. The manufacture OF bats and wood
en- shuttlecocks has scarcely undergone any
change during the last one hundred years
and II l. said that in some parts of London
| there are bat-makers whose grandtathers
and great-grandiathers followed the same
occupation.
But the Germans have always been the
rivals of the English toy-makers, even in the
making of bats and battedores, and large
numbers of these toys are annually imported.
| 1t is the same with the Jack in-the-boxes, a
toy rapidly going out of fashion. Germany
and Switzerland are the cheapest toy manu-
featuring countries in the world The prin-
cipal difference between modern and old
fashioned TOYS consists in the realistic
character of the former. A little girl is not
now content with grotesquely-shaped and
cOlored miniature tea-service she must have
an earthen ware imitation of the real thing
And so with the boys. The wooden swords,
with their tin ornaments, Of the past have
/
or steel while the tin guns of the last gene
ration have given way to regularly construct
ed rifles capable of being fired by percussion
caps. Scientific toys were scarcely known
to boys of past generation, "Prince Ru-
pert's Drops being regarded by them as
the GROWING wonder of science as applied
to toys. Electrical apparatus, aquariums,
chymical cabinets, fossil collections, and the
like, were among the amusements of the
future even drawing was scarcely practised,
save by means of transparent states, which
since the teaching of drawing in our elemen-
tary schools, are rapidly falling into disuse.
Skipping ropes, however, display little
change, those used at the present time DIFF
fering little from those in favor hundred
years ago. In musical toys the difference
between past and present is very striking
Toy drums and iiddles are less popular than
formerly even the whistle has fallen into
dislayor. Possibly this may be the result of
improved musical education but, whatever
be the cause, those with sensitive ears will
regard it as change for the better Bat
what toys have taken their place? If we
may believe some of our toy manufacturers,
the toy trade is not extending with the in
crease of population. Instead of buying
toys our boys and girls invest their pence
and shillings in the purchase of books, or
in the payment for admission to places of
amusement. Is this a healthy sign? Time
will show.
TRFLING WITH 4 CoRoNER.-Recently an
excited individual, with his hat standing on
two hairs and his eyes projecting from his
head like the horns of snail, rushed into
the Office Of Coroner Holmes. The coroner