h skin, stretched
over the two ends, and a long handle attached. On the sides are two
stout strings with beads on the ends, which, when the rattle is turned
in the hand, strike on the drum heads. These rattles of brass or tin as
well as bamboo, are in imitation of those carried by street hawkers.

We said to Mr. Hsin, "Foreigners say the Chinese do not have dolls, how
is that?"

"They have lots of them," he answered in the stereotyped way.

"Then to-morrow buy samples of all the dolls you can find."

"All?" he asked with some surprise.

"Yes, all. We want to know just what kind of dolls they have."

The next evening Mr. Hsin came in with an immense load of dolls. He had
large, small, and middle sized rag dolls, on which the nose was sewed,
the ears pasted, and the eyes and other features painted. They were
rude, but as interesting to children as other more natural and more
expensive ones, as we discovered by giving one of them to our little
girl. In not a few instances Western children have become much more
firmly attached to their Chinese cloth dolls than any that can be found
for them in America or Europe.

He had a number of others both large and small with paper mache heads,
leather bodies, and clay arms and legs. The body was like a bellows in
which a reed whistle was placed, that enabled the baby to cry in the
same tone as the toy dog barks or the cock crows. They had "real hair"
in spots on their head similar to those on the child, and they were
dressed in the same kind of clothing as that used on the baby in
summer-time, viz., a chest-protector and a pair of shoes or trousers.

Mr. Hsin then took out a small package in which was wrapped a
half-dozen or more "little people," as they are called, by the Chinese,
with paper heads, hands and feet, exquisitely painted, and their
clothing of the finest silk. Attached to the head of each was a silk
string by which the "little people" are hung upon the wall as a
decoration.

"But what are these, Mr. Hsin?" we asked. "These are not dolls."

"No," he answered, "these are cloth animals. The children play with
these at the same time they play with dolls."

He had gone beyond our instructions. He had brought us a large
collection of camels made of cloth the color of the camel's skin, with
little bunches of hair on the head, neck, hump and the joints of the
legs, similar to those on the camel when it is shedding its coat in the
springtime. He had elephants made of