The _Emigrant_ was at one time quite as much in vogue, and it deserved it, on account of its singular mechanism, which though very simple causes it to remount of itself the whole length of the cord from which it descends. The _Emigrant_ is a double disk, made of ebony or ivory; the two parts of this disk are united in the centre by a ball, which is of the same shape, and which forms a single piece; the ball is pierced with a hole, through which a cord is passed, the cord is knotted at the extremity in the same manner as the string of a cup-and-ball. You wind this cord round the ball, and then raising it by one end, you let the toy drop, retaining only the end of the cord; the toy falls, but it has acquired a force of rotation, which obliges it to roll itself round the cord in an opposite direction, and it thus winds itself up almost to the very end of the cord. It would in fact return of itself into your hand, only that a part of its impulse is destroyed by the friction and the resistance of the air; you are therefore obliged to second its motion by the alternate play of the hand. The _Emigrant_ descends and ascends without ceasing, unless it gets deranged by the string getting out of the rut, which is formed by the middle of the ball.
You may play with the _Emigrant_ not only by giving it a vertical motion, but also a horizontal one; and you may make it go, if you choose, like a censer, but this last method is not free from inconvenience, for if the string should chance to break, the disk may hurt the people who are near the player, or it may smash the looking-glasses or china.
The _Devil_ is a toy still more dangerous to furniture; it is indeed so much so, that one cannot without imprudence play with it in a room. Most people remember this noisy plaything, for it was much in vogue a few years ago. It is in some respects, the reverse of the _Emigrant_; but it is moved by the same principle. It consists of two hollow balls, which are cut out of the same piece of wood, and united by a common stalk. Sometimes instead of wood, the toy is composed of tin, pewter, or even crystal; it is hardly necessary to observe that the _Devils_ of this last substance are the most expensive and the most fragile. Each ball is pierced with a hole into which the air enters, and from which it escapes with impetuosity as the instrument turns round; a continual noise results from this, similar to that made by a German top. The rotation of the Devil is kept up by the alternate play of a small cord, suspended between two sticks placed in each hand of the player. You may throw this plaything very high, even to the distance of fifteen or twenty feet, and yet retain it upon the string; but this cannot be done without exposing the poor _Devil_ to the chance of falling every instant; and it does not long survive repeated falls.