TIPPOO'S TIGER >From THE PENNY MAGAZINE, Aug. 15, 1835 ----- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Nagpur, India **** THE engraving at the end of this article is an accurate representation of a strange toy or plaything, supposed to have been constructed for the amusement of Tippoo Sultan, sovereign of the Mysore, by some European artist at his court. It was found in the palace at Seringapatam after Tippoo's defeat and death, in 1799, in an apartment appropriated to the reception of musical instruments, and was presented to the museum of the East India Company by the army. It represents a tiger in the act of tearing to pieces a prostrate soldier,--intended for an Englishman. The tusks of the animal have just penetrated the collar-bone of the soldier, who is lying on his back, stiff as a Dutch doll, with the tiger standing upon him; the fore-paws resting on his chest, and the hind-paws on his thighs. The representation is altogether of the most primitive description, as the engraving will testify. The attitude of the tiger is perhaps not so bad, but that of the man is very ludicrous: the left hand is placed on his mouth,--the right arm, in soldierly attitude, straight down by his side;--the legs are stiff, and the feet, with well-blacked shoes and painted-yellow buckles, are turned out as though upon drill. The dress of this figure is equally droll with his attitude. He has a round black hat, with a low crown, and broad brim. His coat is scarlet, adorned with large roses, and two gilded epaulettes;--his breeches are green, and his stocking yellow. But the great object for which this group was constructed, and the part which is said to have given the greatest delight to its royal owner, was the machinery which it contained. **** [snip]