There horses stood for boys to ride;
Here boats were waiting for the tide,
While ships of war, with every sail
Unfurled, were anchored to a nail;
There soldiers stood in warlike bands;
And naked dolls held out their hands,
As though to urge the passers-by
To take them from the public eye.
This way and that, the Brownies ran;
To try the toys they soon began.
The Jack-in-box, so quick and strong,
With staring eyes and whiskers long,
Now o'er and o'er was set and sprung
Until the scalp was from it flung
And then they crammed him in his case, With wig and night-cap in their place, To give some customer a start When next the jumper flew apart. The trumpets, drums, and weapons bright Soon filled them all with great delight. Like troops preparing for their foes, In single ranks and double rows, |
They learned the arts of war, as told
By printed books and veterans old;
With swords of tin and guns of wood,
They wheeled about, and marched or stood,
| And went through skirmish drill and all, From room to room by bugle-call; There Marathon and Waterloo And Bunker Hill were fought anew; And most of those in war array At last went limping from the fray. The music-box poured forth an air That charmed the dullest spirits there, |
Till, yielding to the pleasing sound,
They danced with dolls a lively round.
There fish were working tail and fin
In seas confined by wood and tin;
The canvas shark and rubber whale
Seemed ill content in dish or pail,
And leaping all obstructions o'er
Performed their antics on the floor.
Some found at marbles greatest fun,
And still they played, and still they won,
Until they claimed as winners, all
The shop could furnish, large and small.