One of the most famous (and sought after by the Plangonologists — the curious term doll-collectors have given themselves) was the Autoperipatetikos patented in America in 1863, a chinaheaded doll worked by clockwork which performed a stepping motion on her own feet and not on wheels as in some earlier models.

The guard made sure all the latches were secure.

She was neither learned nor intelligent, but she contrived to dress both herself and her daughter out of a meagre jointure, supplying with her clever fingers what her purse could not buy;[…].

In the latrines they predicted the 1209th would go to Osaka, Japan, where the bearded clam ran crosswise...