The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-12-25
Big Peoples Toys.


A big toy-maker in London received
some time back an order from the late
Car of Russia. 1t is common talk that
this homely man was the biggest of all
the children who annually gather under
the family roof of Fredensborg. Few peo-
pie know however, how strong was his
love for a plaything He had in his col
lection some of the prettiest models of
ironclads imaginable. one of them cost
over 900 pounds There is another in sol
i'd silver; and superb wooden model
of a full-rigged ship which would be a
dream of delight to the dullest boy. His
last purchase was the model of an At
lantic steamer. 1t is a great piece of
work, the ship being a yard long, and
perfect in all details. The precise cost
of this model was H,l00.
OF all the toys at Windsor Castle-and
they are many-it is said that the queen
is most fond of beautiful working model
of the heavens This ingenious piece of
mechanism shows the whole of our sys-
tenn, with the celestial poles and the sun.
There is a tiny model of the moon. which
revolves about the earth; and all the
planets, with their satellites, are prop
erly represented. For a study of astron-
omy and a right understanding of the
celestial globe, there could be nothing
finer than this model. Ii shows our earth
turning upon it's own axis and moving
of the relative positions of the primary
planets, and it is worked by a clockwork
arrangement which is the perfection of
ingenuity.
The Duke of York is yet boyish enough
to collect stamps, and has perhaps the
best collection owned by any amateur
in the kingdom. He has recently spent
some hundreds of pounds adding to this,
but IL is not his only weakness He has
also developed a great taste for scuIling
about in a toy boat on the lake by the
cottage of Sandringham
In Munich they show you now with
a special pride the lake upon which the
King of Bavaria used to be drawn about
in boat towed by swans. Dressed cap
apt as LOhengrin, this-in some WAYS
remarkable man spent many hours Of the
day aping the knight of the swan, and
really deluded himself into the belief
that he was a person of heroic virtue
When this vagary wearied him, and the
winter days were long and dull he would
get him into the country and there flash
through the hills in a sledge of gold all
lit up with electric lamps, and SO curiously
fashioned that the peasants who saw it
believed that a heavily apparition had
been vouchsafed to them. This impression
the mailman loved to magnify choosing
always the hour Of midnight for this ex-
ercise, and rarely returning before or
4 O'Clock in the morning.
In Vienna there is at this moment
minister. standing high in the confidence
of the Kaiser Francis Joseph who de-
votes the whole of his spare time to a room
full of toy theaters. Many Of these were
made in London, and especially sent over
for this excentric old fellow. who has had
enough mimic stages to supply an orphan
age. 1t is said that whenever a new piece
is produced at any of the theaters In the
city the minister Immediately puts IL on
one Of his little stages, and has a set Of
characters cut out Of paper with which to
play il. He works the whole things him
self, and being admirable mimic he is
the source Of large amusement to his
friends who know that on every other
point he is one of the sanest men in the
empire.
The German Emperor's toys are almost
as numerous as his uniforms He pos
sesses a beautiful working model of a
railway with engine, cars, points. sig
rs, and stations. This he works osten-
sibly for the amusement of his children
in reality for his own amusement. He has
also purchased for his nursery one of the !
finest collection of toy soldiers in the world /
So well are his sons supplied with tin !