The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-03-15
JOYS OF THE GREAT.
Csars, Kaisers and Kings All Fond OF Ex.
pensIye Paintings.

pensIve Piaythings.
A big toy -malter 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 I'M
der the family roof at Eredensborg.
Few people know, however. how strong
was his love for plaything. He had
in his collection some of the prettiest
models of ironclads Imaginable. One
OF them cost over a thousand pounds.
There is another in solid silver, and
superb wooden model of full-rigged
ship which would be a dream of delight
to the dullest boy. His last purchase
was the model of an Atlantic steamer.
1t is great piece OF work, the ship
beaing yard long and perfect in ali
details. The precise cost of this model
was eleven hundred pounds.
OF all the toys at Windsor Castle
and there are many-it is said that the
queen is most fond of a beautiful work
ing model of tho heavens. This in
genius piece of mechanism shows the
whole of our system, with the celestial
d
model of the moon, which revolves
about the earth; and all the planets,
with their satellites, are properly rep
resented. For a study OF astronomy
and for a right understanding of the
celestial globe. there could be nothing
finer than this model. It shows ouc
earth turning upon its own axis and
Il.aG =
feet idea of the relative positions of
the primary planets. and it is worked
by clockwork arrangement which Is
the perfection of ingenuity.
The duke of York is yet boyish
enough to collect stamps, and has per-
haps the finest collection of any anna
teur in the kingdom. He has recently
spent some hundreds of pounds adding
TO inis. but it is not mis- only weakness.
He has alse developed great taste for
sculling about in toy boat on the
lake by rhe cottage at Sandringham.
In Munich they show you now with
an especial pride the lake upon which
the late king of Bavaria used 20 be
drawn about in boa: towed by swans.
Dressed cap-a-pie as Lohengrin, this
an some ways-remarkabl man spent
many hours OF the day aping the
knights OF the swan; and really delud-
ed 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, ne would get
him into the country. and there fash
through the hills in a sledPe of gold,
all lit up with electric lamps, and so
cur:ously fashioned that the peasants
who saw il believed that heavenly
apparation had been vouchsafed TO
them. This impression the mailman
loved 10 magnify, choosing always the
hour of midnight for this exercise, and
rarely returning before three or four
o'clock in the morning.
In Vienna there is at this moment
minister, standing high in the conf
dence of the Kaiser Francis Joseph,
who devotes the whole of mis- spare
time to room full OF toy theaters.
Many OF these were made in London
and especially sent over for this eccen-
trio old fellow, who has enough mimic
stages 10 supply an orphanage. 1t is
said that whether new piece is pro-
duced at any Of the theaters IN the city
the minister Immediately puts it on one
OF his little stages, and has set CO
characters cut out Of paper with which
to play it. He works the whole thing
himself. and being an admirable MINI
ic, he is The source of large amusement.
to his friends, who know that on every
other point he = one Of the sanest men
in the empire.
The German emDeror's TOYS are a.
most as numerous Is his uniforms He
possesses beautiful working model OF
q railway. with engine. cars, points,
SIGNALS and stations This he works
ostensibly for the amusement of his
children, in reality for MS own amuse-
men-. lie has also purchased for his
nursery one Of the finest collections Of
toy soldiers IN the world SO well ara
his sons supplied with tn troops, with
cannon, artillery, ammunition wagons,
tents and fortresses, that the whole
floor Of the great room OF the palace
~ Berlin can be covered with them.
and mimic battle fought on Euro
pean scale. But perhaps the emperor's
favorite TOYS are his little steam
launches. OF which &c possesses = sur
p-ising NUN Der. He has recently given
En- order 70 Thames builder 20 MAKE
him & little electric launch winch
when finished viii be ss pretty a. sny
toy n the kingdom i Is scarcely tns
: ze % skin vet i 70 be shaped Ike
regular steamer. and 70 Dc 50 arranged
that MS majesty. sitting in the stern.
car be MS Own skipper and ste--sG-aa-
-SasseilS Journal
txiue Of srnss-