ROYAL CHILDREN.

Lake County Press, Issue 1068, 11 June 1903, Page 2

ROYAL CHILDREN.

HOW THEY AMUSE THEMSELVES. The bright August issue of tho " Royal Magazino " contains many pictures and a great Yaiioiy of readable items. Charles Winter discourses of " The Medals Our Geneials Wear "; Kcank Foulsham of " A Dog's Toilet Club "; and "How an Army Crosses a River "is (oil h> diaries Kay. There ii also the usual complement of clever fiction, including " The Bed Owl," a story of Kichelicu, duels, and tlic Bastille, by llafacl Sabatini, and a very funny tale called " The Lady Navigators," by Kdward Noble. But the dish of the menu is an aiticle by F. Novil Jnekson. entitled, '" Royal children and their Toys." The, children of the principal European roigning families are dealt with, and natuially our own 150y.il babes come in for the lion's share of attention. IN THE BATTENBEIiC NUKSBRY, Mr, Jackson says: " Perhaps of all tho branches of the English Uoyal Family, the Batteuberg is tho most unassuming in its manners, and the simplest in its way of living, The children of very many com mcuers' families are brought up with infinitely more state than the Batten bergs, and in luxury that, would open the eyes of these princes and princesses. Bare and valuable toys were never seen in the Batten berg nursery ; the children have to content themselves with plain story-books scrap-books, garden ing utensils, cheap dolls, and such toys as all of u.< played with when we were young. CHRISTMAS AT CLABBMONT. The Duchess of Albany has always had the strictest ideas with regard to toys for her children, and has especially directed their minds towards the animal world in choosing their playthings and playfellows. Christmas was a bus,-time at Claremont, as doubtless it will be in their new home. The pleasure in the toys given away to the children on tlie estate was always much enhanced by the fact that they were presented by the Duchess of Albany or by the young Duke. Strange to say, the lattel's sister takes more pleasure in her pony than she ever did in her dolls. A TOY GRENADIER. 4 " A ' very amusing photograph is that of Prince Arthur of (,'onuaught in the toy uniform of a grenadier. It was thus he appeared at Piincesi Beatrice's wedding. The solemn, almost stern, expression on his fat little face is delightful. He fully appreciates the dignity his uniform imparts." HOLIDAYS AT OSBORNE. In another part of tho article we are told an interesting fact about the Christmas aud New Year holidays at Osborne. " The old toys which belonged to tho Queen's children are brought down from those top shelves to which they were relo gated long ago, and for as long as the holidays last the children of the younger generaration are allowed to play with them. This is an anxious time for the nurses, for they are held responsible for the safety of the relics, and extreme care is taken in order to preserve the old toys ; for the Queen is veiy fond of them, remembers each one, and asks for any which may not happen to appear. There is a fortress, which was an especial favourite with the Prince of "Wales ; it has been played with during the Christmas holidays many a time by the late Duke of Clarence and the Duke of York when they were boys, and is now looked at with intense interest by the baby blue eyes of the Duke of York's children. " Tho little brass guns of this fortress were mounted in their present position by the late Duke of Saxe-Coburg. wdiose clever, eager lingers were always apt at delicate work, from the driving of a screw to the wielding of a violin bow. Some of the mechanical animals, which were much rarer toys in the fifties than they are now. can still be made to work, and the little fut hands aie clapped with joy in the Osborne nursery to-day when a woolly dog ambles along the floor with ungainly leaps, and the skin elephant moves histiunk up and down, while the mouth opens and shuts. These give as keen a sense of delight to the third or fourth generations as they did to the little ones in the Windsor nursery long ago. There is a ceitain bagatelle board which the Queen's sons played with; it is often brought out for the children in the Christmas holidays." THE CHILD DAYS OF THIS CZAR The child days of the present Czar of Russia are thus allud-d to: " Very curious is our photo of that other lord of great armies, the Czar of All the Rusfcias, when a little boy. His costume is that of a sailor, but observe the drum in the background No l»ss than the Kaiser's children, those of the Russian Imperial family undergo a military education, and are from eailiest years familiarised, through the medium of toys and picture book?, with the working of guns, the uniforms of various regiments, and the military history of I heir country. The little Czar does not look very happy; one is almost tempted to think that even at the early age when the photogiaph was taken he felt a secret disgust of things military—vague foreshadowings. perhaps, of hi* famous disarmament project." Needless to say. the toys of the German Imperial family are military in character, and their taste is shared by the little King of Spain. A LITTLE QUEEN'S GARDEN. Mr. Jackson gees on: "Thee favourite toys of the little Queen of Holland svere always the dainty j.aidening implements with which she worked for an hour every day when at Het Loo, her simple home near The Hague. The love of things horticultural is almost a natural instinct with the Dutch, the nation of gaidoners, and the tiny beds in the piece of ground set apart as the miniature real garden were raked, hoed aud planted by little Queen Wilhelmina herself, unassisted except in tho work of digging."