Present-day India is mainly a fusion of two peoples;—the light-skinned of Persian origin, and the dark-skinned aborigines. With the general exception of South India, where the conquerors from the Asiatic mainland did not so freely intermingle, the higher castes are, as a rule, lighter in complexion than the low castes. This difference is carried over into the manufacture of dolls. A beautiful toy of Indian make shows a fair rajah seated in a gorgeous houdah on the back of an elephant, but. the ma hut who sits back of the elephant's ears is almost black. Another illustration of the colour convention is found among negro children, who naturally love best the pickanniny doll, and look upon a white doll as a freak of nature.
Wibether we consider the crude flint doll from the Congo or the wonderful phonograph doll which Edison invented, we find in this ubiquitous toy not only a history of children's play, but a true reflexion of the conventions of the The child's instinct for ing with dolls is not curious—it is a natural trait. As long as human nature is human dolldom will be a flourishing kingdom in the heart of the child.
The same method of representing hair is exhibited by Abyssinian dolls even to-day, although these latter are more elaborate. often having moveable joints worked by strings, after the manner.of a Punch-and-Judy show. Many are of modelled bronze, or earthenware, and clearly show a Greek influence similar to that seen in Egyptian pottery and portraits on mummy cases.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.