The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1902-01-03
CHRISTMAS IN PARIS.
An Exposition OF Toys One of the
Unique Features OF the
Season.

Paris. Dec. 7.--Christmas is coming.
In each of the numerous little shops
where rosaries and ivory carvings and
such religious ''furnitures" are sold, the
show window is ornamented with from
one to five ''creches Or nests Of
straw, with a bisque or waxen image Of
The Child therein. Some, more e.aoo-
rate, show the whole thing-a hut Of
straw, the Mother kneeIing beside the
cradle, st. Joseph and the ais in the
background, always irreyerently grouped
together, the wise men at one side, and a
tin star, bespangled with vari-colored
brilliants, over the apex of the hut. The
Chud, being the most important of the
figures, is also the largest, far exceeding
Ills mother, father and worshipers in
size, and the whole thing has the naiyete
of a chlld's play, the illogical interest OF
chiid's makeup story
These people of Paris are like children
IN thousand traits of character, and,
being childlike, they sympathize with
children, play with them and spoi. them,
beyond any other nation on earth. Talk
about the American spoiled child! He is
not, at his worst, to be compared to the
French one. Talk about American in
dullgence! l saw little girl deliberately
roll her hoop into large, fat gentleman
IN the Luxembourg the other day ana
tangle him up in it to such an extent
that ne danced about for full two min
Mtes before he could disengage himself.
DO you think he kicked that hoop into
the middle Of the garden, boxed the
chllds ears and swore picturesquely and
earnestly. as an American would have
done under the circumstances? Not q
bit Of it. He handed the somewhat dam
aged hoop to the little girl, who had been
an apprehensive but amused spectator of
TINS comedy, Of her own creation patted
her Oh the head and-begged her pardon
for stopping her play!
A Toy Exposition.
1es' they love children; and 50, along
from time immemorial they have
thought of something new this year-a
roy exposltion-instituted by one NJ. Le-
pine.
The exposition is held on the island, op-
Poslte Il the Palais de Justice, in the Til
Dunal de Commene. On one side of the
stairway leading to the toy exposition
you are confronted by a tablet telling
that this place was built by order of ma
poleon ILL.,, Emperor of the: French:' on
the other by a tablet commemorative his
first visit to it, in company with the En-
press; over the door is the old, unfulfilled
yearn1ng OF the people, ':Libertie, Egali-
49, o.eA AAlAe, anu tueSe plavIllnSS
and number Of uniformed gems d'arms,
lead, appropriately to the room full of
smaller toys which form the real expo
sition. >e0
Only toys costing from 1 to go cents
are admitted. But, between these values
long range Of wonders is displayed. One
sees few toy kitchens, or doll houses, or
carpenter boxes. Instead are toy toilet
sets, with little mirrors and powder puffs,
for the embryo cOuuet1t. soldier su;ts
a,plenty and gems d'arms uniforms, and,
above all, mechanical toys. A butcher
who' being wound up, chops the meat on
the block before him into hamburger
steak' a gems darms who holds up his
club, as if to STOP line Of carriages; an
floor, wheeling her handcart before her:
"bonne," with long-streamered con on
her head and baby in her arms; the
whole population of Paris in miniature:
in short, all Of whom will act in a he.
| coming and Partisan fashion. if Won will
turn the keys in their backs.
Farther on are toy flying machines. a
Ia Santos Dumont, with their balloons
ana tnelr clgar-shaped passenger cars.
Wind them up and the tiny rudder sends
them around in a circle like the real
| thing.
A Miniature Ocean.
There is a clever little aquarium made
like a picture Of the ocean bed with
wrecks and seaweed on the sand. It Is
framed and hung against the wall, but
| the tsh in this marine painting ne
alive, and swim about in real water. 5ss
line main interest If .fhp oyroasfi