New-York tribune., 1875-12-23

no mouth to open. Miss, when she puts hei
waxen and kid baby to bed, knows that IL u
not a baby like mammals new one up stairs
But il il all the same. She does MT know yet
that shams are sad. He is too young yet to be
doubling Thomas Carlyle. He accepts sem
blances and is happy. lie will be foolisher by
and by He will accept them, and be sad
will be unable to live without them, and yet
will despise them; will know that the doll
which he loves is painted, aud yet Will love 1t
still.
II is instructive to find the child, even IN
his playthings, hankering for reality PicturcS
are well enough, but he values them mostly as
they help to tell the story and the more ha'-
ualistic they are the better he likes them.
He carries this feeling to the criticism OF his
toys-he prefers a bear which will growl and
omen his mouth the motion OF rocking
horse charms him so that he never thinks
of its never taking him anywhere (;
the walking doll is an improvement, ior IL
does actually go across the room; while guns
which will ego off," ltile drums which make
almost as much noise as big ones, penny
trumpets of one note, barking dogs, mewlng
cats, and dancing nggers, seem possession
forever until the works stop, which they DO
about the 9Th of January. SO he takes kindly
70 all automatOns. So we all do. We are such
automat0ns ourselves.
Color too, child likes in his toy. The dolls
must have pink cheeks as well as real blonde
hair. The Swiss wooden COWS and horses,
prettily carved as they are, do not satisfy for
who ever saw wooden-coored cow or horseY
The native hue may be much exaggerated, but
at any rate it must be suggested. Only a
mewling infant will accept green COW or
scarlet cat. Rag babies must have some
bit of pretty blue or yellow about them
The houses in the "village" are not con-
sidered eligible tenements without red roofs
and brick -colored walls and green blinds, and
fine white spires for the places of worship and
education. A glance at a shop window will
show what quantities Of paint and gold fol-
and dye-stuffs the toymakers use. The little
eyes are not to be put off with sheer black and
white.
There are those who from motives OF economy
select for children toys Of extraordinary stout
ness-good, serviceable objects not to be easily
broken. Against this we protest. half the
pleasure Of childhood is in breaking its fine
things, including, indeed, its own head. That
present can be fractured is part of its
pleasing reality. If a cat can be killed, why
not IT'S paper-mache mOdelf The tOymakers,
considering that they have direct pecuniary
interest in the fragiity Of their work,
are uncommonly faithful in doing it. Besides,
it is well that these baubles should pass away
with the tender age which they are intended
TO amuse. Who wants to see the rag-baby
which delighted her girlhOod-the petticOats
which he wore at three years old? Since then
he has adopted and discarded dozen differ
ent sets of playthings, and, III WEAKNESS of
soul, may be looking for something new this
very day. The rattles which please us are
larger and the straws more ticklish now. We
do not care to see the old apparatus of play,
yet as we get out of bed on New Years
morning, full of new projects, which are our
toys now, mournful experience tells us that
they too may be smashed without, alas! being
forgotten. Let us be cheerfully pleased with
them while they last, as the children are with
theirs