The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1907-08-29
CHILDREN TWO
THOUSAND
YEARS AGO


tion belong only to the nursery, and
that is to an age which can never be
| later than yesterday There is. for
instance, only one date to which can
be assigned the leaden chariot with
Its two prancing horses, possibly an
inch and half high, and the leaden
horseman cut out of a thin sheet of
metal like biscuit stamped from
pastry. Both of them belong to the
same period as the Little Tin Sol
der who went sailing down the gut
ter in the paper boat of the German
fairy tale, and the Grenadier whom
Stevenson child buried and ex-
humed, lamenting nevertheless that
after "all that's gone and come, I
shall find my soldier dumb" Nor
are they worse made; nor is the tiny
chair more clumsy which, belonging
also to the lead age, would have
brought sudden happiness to the
owner of Roman dolls house. The
date, indeed, now and then only an
antiquarian. and an ANTIQUARIAN who
knew something about soldiers and
furniture, could easily determine,
Here, for instance, is a sofa made of
brown glazed ware. It is strong
and solid, measures some three or
four inches in length, has a back and
arms OF an imitation rolled pattern,
would seat two or three dolls, and
Is OF an extremely satisfactory ma
ture. 1t might have been made last
week at the Doulton ware factory.
IL you can get sofas in Doulton ware.
Here again is a model of a woman
kneading a cake or a roll She has
no legs, for legs would destroy the
balance of the model and prevent it
being easily set upon the floor or
the table. But she is cleverly pinned
by the top of her skirts to her pastry
board. her arms are jointed, and she
would move her rolling pin (unfor-
tunately LOST up and down the board
as ingeniously and industriously as
any saving bear carved at Brienz in
the darkness of last winter. The
Swiss and the Roman wood carver
know their business, and combine
simplicity, regularity of movement
and imitation of the doings of
grown-ups" the essentials of a
proper mechanical toy.
In this market, whatever the SUM-
ply may be, the demand does not
vary. The first necessity, or nearly
the first. is toy capable of provid.
ing a satisfying noise Such a de.
sire is met in the collection exhibited
by two or three different specimens
OF mixture between an owl and an
amphora, which would probably do
nicely for girl; another, heavier and
more masculine, modelled into a hol.
low pig. AT little later period
comes a demand for mugs to hold
milk and water, and these, of course.
are painted with figures of children,
generally crawling for an apple or
an orange on the floor. and in one
case, perhaps designed for twins. with
picture of boy and a girl teach
ing a neat looking dog to iump
through hoop. In year or so comes
the parting of the ways. when the
nursery demand is divided. II was
supplied 1000 years ago as it Is sun.
piled now, by models of animals and
by dolls. In the one division you get
donkeys carrying panniers of loaves.
negroes riding mules, a leaden Po.
meranian dog apparently once paint.
ed white, fox terrier collared call
proper" with fine long uncut tail
and an inquisitive nose. monkey
eating bun, and a handsome sol.
dier with a round red shield riding a
charger with a really good hogged
name. For the dogs there would
naturally be required a whistle.
which modern civilization has for.
gotten how to model out of mud. as
1t used to be modelled. and for an
even later period there was To he re.
served the noble joy Of fishing with
real hooks. There is not much more
than a lirtle rust to differentiate the
best of the Roman fish hooks from
the modern product of Limerick.
30 much for the masculine demand
and supply, unaltered througbout
Time But the feminine-the dollsq
nave they altered? Prehaps. for
some children, little Most of the
dolls shown at Bloomsbury must bavo
III WUlc0 ID0K do nni
dlnerent from many dolls of to-day.
IKE modern dolls, too, they had bear.
tiluily 1ointed legs and arms Rut
the particular specimens exhibited
nave been little used leach once be.
ionsed, 1t is an unhappy thing TO re-.
member, to its proper urn). and thew
would not, to a modern eye. hold ont
strong attractions to child. some
OF them are carved already dressed
ana some possibly were meant 10 he
dressed or wrapped up by their own.
ers. But they are all of them models
OF grownup girls and women. and r.
is not easy to see why a child shonld
nave been supposed to want to nurse
them. 1t is difficult to be certain
about these dolls--except one. That
is rag doll, faded and, yellow. The
others are elegant things to hold or
to be brought out to show to visitors
on grand occasions. But this one wss
some little child's baby