RAG DOLLS AND ANIMALS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 55, 28 November 1907, Page 3

RAG DOLLS AND ANIMALS.

; .. The most incongruous and strangely shaped dolls-and beasties, roughly if ingeniously con;c'octed.of pieces of,Auif, still appear to have : a'.greater-"fascination for little folks than the creations'of the leading couturiercs of'this 1 Liliputian realm. To foster this.iiv ' fantilp infatuation for the humble rag toys, modellers put alltlioir skill in bringing out examples which' gradually bccome larger every day.] Bears.and monkeys take the lead in . .opposition to-.the black American doll, smartened up with', a flaring rod gown, a white,.infant s cap'in muslin, prettily embroidered aiid-edged Valenciennes. White Union buttons, with a jet one glittering in the cplitre, stand for the hugo eyes, whilo rows of red wqol accentuate the t'eoth. Apropos, wno • remembers that a Mack doll .was ~Once.- in England the sign of shops wno cither dealt with rags and refuse or with mucins and silks mado by the Indians? The [latest and most refined innovation in the soffc.f.Wed nicustry is the most accurate modeling of s.ucli animals as the camel and dromedary} 'With long neck, shaped to form very attrpctivo tea .cosies in' velveteen; the head and neck stand for thq loop and upper part of the cosy, whilst .the body and legs fashion tlie-sides, painted and embroidered in imitation of the animal aiid of the desert properly chosen-as background.' l . THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE HAT. , its Psychological aspects forms H rrni e °- ? c , arefu . st "d.V by Professor Gross in a book, noticed in the "British Medical Journal on' criminal psychology re-cently-published at Leipzig, ife has made a : number..of observations on-tbe way of wearing- the-hat' in' its-relation to character', and has formed conclusions of the accuracy of which he has satisfied himself by a long experience..- He-holds that a hat worn exactly perpendicular to the vertical axis of the head is. a ; Bign- that a man is.upright, but a pedant .and'a bore. The wearing of the hat very much on one;sido is said to be a mark of in'i solenco'and swagger; while wearing the hat on' tho back of the head may he taken' as a proof of ; recklessness. and "being im debtthe: .further back it is, the nearer to bankruptcy is'the .wearer. ■ This may be a useful piece of information to members of the Stock .Exchange. If tlie hat is Ivorn over the foreit indicates a man of difficult and sulky temper. - •'•JDjr. Gross seems to have omitted the style of .the 1 hat itself, which our medical contemporary . thinks is also an index of the me.ntal constitution of the wearer. Unless oiio is known' to bo wealthy,' the mere fact of wearing a bad hat is a proof of strength of character.. . It would be interesting, to. know whether Professor Gross ever ventured to try to tell the character of a woman by her hat. Judged by-.the -same standard as man it would seem that last year all womon were of difficult and sulky temper, and that this year most of them are reckless and in debt. .* Carpenters are the natural onomies of wonioii, according to'"Harper's Bazaar." "No hqusebiiildor helps a woman in her ceaseless battle-against dust. Panelled and lined wainscots, mouldings, scroll work, and knobs all receive and retain it. Hooks in wardrobes and shelves in cupboards are hardly, ever within reach of the ordinary woman. The carpontor. is not born who can divorce his mind from , the belief that there are giants in these days. "Talk of the need of physical culture for women! The woman in a home climbs mountains—whole ranges—before life ends her struggle with her shelves,"