12 THE HISTORY OF A NUT-CRACKER.

kled as a golden rennet that has withered and fallen from
the tree. Being blind of the right eye, he wore a black
atch; and, being entirely bald, he wore a shining and
Frizzled wig, which he had made himself with spun glass,
such as you may have seen the glass-blowers spin at the
Adelaide Gallery or Polytechnic Institution. He was, how-
ever, compelled, for fear of damaging this ingenious con-
trivance, to carry his hat under his arm. His remaining eye
was sparkling and bright, and seemed not only to perform its
own duty, but that of its absent companion, so rapidly did it
eae round any room which Godfather Drosselmayer was
esirous to scrutinize in all points, or fix itself upon any
person whose secret thoughts he wished to read.
Now, Godfather Drosselmayer, who was a learned doctor,
did not follow the example of those physicians who allow
their patients to die, but occupied his time in giving
life to dead things: I mean that, by studying the formation
of men and animals, he had gained so deep a knowledge of
the manner in which they are made, that he was able to
manufacture men who could walk, bow to each other, and go
through their exercise with a musket. He also made ladies
who danced, and played upon the harpsichord, the harp, and
the viol; dogs that ran, carried, and barked ; birds that flew,
hopped, and sang; and fish that swam, and ate crumbs of
bread. He had even succeeded in making puppets and
ws ui images of Punch utter a few
: i) words—not many, it is true,
a Fi but such as “papa,” ‘mam-
? ma,” &c. The tones were
‘ i certainly harsh, and always
. the same in sound ; because
ui, you can very well understand
( ieee’ that all this was done merely
SSS “Y ‘by means of machinery con-~
cealed inside the toys; and no machinery can ever perform
the same wonders as the beings which God has created. #*