The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-01-10

~--e~9- tic uCbdlA has D9el nOEtce1
very often IN the wall paintings Of Hercu-
laneum and Pompeii The dressing of the
half Is described by Festus: There were
three locks or curls on eacn side of the
forehead "a characteristic arrangement
SHOWN oy many portrait statues and busts
Let US now turn to the beautiful doll
human nature, Notwithstanding the
changes which the difference Of time, Of
manners, and Of education have brought
about, has always been the same since the
beginning Of the world. The same passions
nave never CEASED to stir and to govern
mankind, with the same alterations of
good and evil, Of joys and sorrows, of in
Iantlle simplicity and maturity of older
age. Then we no longer wonder on finding
that the chlldren of bygone ages had TOYS
and games absolutely identical with those
OF the present day. These playthings have
mostly been found in tonlbs, pagan as well
as christian, and consist chiefly of
dolls ana marionettes, Of crepundid
ANY kind Of rafting Instrument.
money boxes, little silver bells, used
against the Jettdturd or evil eve, ivory
masks, Medusa's heads, little carts aud
boats, caricatures of men and beasts, and
sometimes pigs with children on their backs.
The origin of these last objects can be
traced in the ancient Spartan custom of
sacrificing Young rigs to Diana on the occa-
1900 - - AtSfbtNNVttNs bL4e AcdSb uhE DI Wet
nurses. There ara also articulated sorponts
with which children used to brighten each
other. such is evidently the serpent rep
resented In bAs-relief now in the Villa
Celimontana of Baron Won Hoffman,,
which shows the graceful fignre of a boy
concealed behind large scenic mask,
through the open mouth of which he flour
lshes snake, VITA the intention of fright
enlng a playmate who stands before the
mask.
In the excavations of the Roman came
teries on the Esquiline Hill have found
many curious objects in lead, which must
be classed among toys. Such are, for in
stance, wheels for little carts, the spokes Of
which represent figures of charioteers;
frames for diminutive mirrors; pqsse-
pdrtOuts for portraits or medallicns, and
limitations of domestic utensils The early
explorers of the Catacombs speak of an
infinite variety of playthings discovered in
chlldrens tOcutt, and especially of ivory
blocks with letters in alto-relievo, used to
learn the alphabet, as described by Quin-
lillian and st. Jerome, who called them
instructive amusemenUS for child
hood" The manufacture and the
use of toys aresnot peculiar to the Greco
Roman times and lands. In Egyptian
tombs contemporary with the earliest dy-
nasties many have been found and dis
%
Europe, such as small mummies and
mummy cases, miniature boats manned
by miniature sailors, and even little
crocodiles whose jaws can be opened or shut
as you like. Among our own finds" we
must mention little clay vases, with a ball
inside, which, on being shaken, sound Ikea
StStrum. They were used, together with
the SiStTG, by nurses to amuse and quiet
their young charges accompanying the
ftiircr will their oil 81
nous singing, the kutd-ban-EdleSis Of tire
Greek, the menjae Of the Latins, the
the ntT1lG-nan1ld Of the Italians. Many
of these objects have been discovered in
POmpeian nurseries, whereas the brass
sistrd abound especially in the bed of the
Tiber. Why they should be found in such
quantities in the bed of the Tiber is one of
the many mysteries connected with the
history and nature of that remarkable
river.
1t was customary among the ancients
tn load the newborn child with gifts of
every description. Mothers, friends, and
even old family servants congregated
around the cradle, admiring, caressing, and
embracing the baby, while the venerable
grandmother blessed and Amounted him,
wishing that roses and lilies might spring
up along his path, and that rich domains
might become his portion.
serted, the cTepu9ldiG were either hung to
his neck or were put in basket by his side,
q practice which signifed that the poor
lonely infant was put under the care of
Bacchus, who had shared the same fate, and
that, like this little god, it was hoped that
he would be tended and cared for. In the
Plo-Clementlno section Of the vatican mu-
scum there is graceful statuette Of child,
with many crepundjG around his neck, by
wa 1f y1yt,5a a l..
identified in progress of time. In scene
fourth, act fourth, of the "Rudens,n Plau-
5us describes infinitely the objects concealed
PdIeStrd'S basket, which help the father to
identify the long-lost daughter. Aristoph-
anes and Terentius are very fond of con-
structing their plays on this plot of exposed
infants, recognized in due time by their
parents with the help Of 9noriSmatG.
The custom of modelling or molding little
figures IN wax or clay was also a great
diversion for Greek and Roman children.
Lucianus refers to this practice both in
"Alkyon" and in Dream" comparing most
happily the innumerabls changes which
nature undergoes by the hands of God to
the thousand forms which bit of wax or
clay receives in the hands of children.
Artists of great value have condescanded
sometimes to model excessively small works,
elegant and costly "R0things,n to be COM
pared to our hT6ncn OBOetOtS. HIlny speaks
of Kalhstratos having carved in ivory ants
and other insects so tiny and minute that it
was almost impo ssible to discover and ap-
preciate their exact shape and proportions.
MyrmekideS is said to have cut first in
ivory, and then IN marble, a chariot drawn
by four horses, which could be screened and
concealed under the wings of a fly; and
also a man-of-war, or quddriTenlis, not
larger than bee.
figures which l have discovered is only
nine-tenths of an inch high. 1t represents
lady attending to her toilet, with a mir
ror in the right hand. 1t is exhibited in the
new museum Of the Orto Botanico, near the
Coliseum.
To come back, however, to the special sub
ject of dolls: The fact that they have been
constantly found in Greece as we'll as in
Italy, in pagan as well as in christian
tombs, shows how generally and constantly
they must have been used. These dolls are
of every kind and description, Of wood, of
clay, of ivory, of wax, and mostly articu-
lated. Varro compares the fascination
which dolls exert on children to the fasci-
nation Of flowers, Of gems, of money, of
cakes. Plutarch, in writing affectionate
words of comfort to his wife for the loss of
their sweet Timossena, dwells upon the
charming disposition OF the child, and re-
lates. among other traits, how she begged
the nurse to give her milk, not only TO other
children, but also to her doll.
The ancient custom of placing childrens
TOYS either inside or above tOmbS is too