44 SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATIONS [Cha 



earliest stages, nevertheless became, under the seasoning in- 

 fluence of time, like strong monumental columns in the 

 commonwealth. E. 



A Test for Character. 



A solid is buoyant in a liquid in proportion as it is light and 

 the liquid heavy. Thus the same solid is more buoyant in 

 quicksilver than in water, and in the same liquid cork is more 

 buoyant than lead. A solid which will float in one liquid will 

 sink in another : thus glass sinks in water, but floats in quick- 

 silver ; ebony sinks in spirits of wine, but floats in water ; ash 

 and beech float in water, but sink in ether. All these effects 

 are explained by the fact that in each case the solid sinks or 

 rises according as it is heavier or lighter, bulk for bulk, than 

 the liquid. The character of man, as he is found in modern 

 society, may be tested upon a somewhat similar principle. 

 Find out what sort of society the man has been able to float in, 

 and you will ascertain something concerning his moral and 

 intellectual weight. The society which will buoy up one man 

 will have no sustaining power for another. A man of solid 

 worth cannot float in giggle. A charlatan has no moral weight, 

 and therefore can always, and in all societies, keep up with the 

 scum, HA. 



The Distinction between Character and Reputation. 



The size of the pholas and the sharpness of its markings vary 

 in inverse ratio to the hardness of the rock in which it burrows. 

 From the softest sea-beds are taken the largest and most perfect 

 shells, while those specimens which are obtained from the hard 

 limestone rocks are comparatively small, and the surfaces are 

 rubbed nearly smooth. The very worst examples, however, 

 are those which are found in gritty rocks, interspersed with 

 pebbles. The shells that have burrowed into such substances 

 are dwarfed, abraded, and often misshapen, and are regarded as 

 valueless except to the physiologist. To him, of course, the 

 pholas which they contain is just as good as any other pholas, 

 for it is in all essentials the same sort of creature, though by 

 reason of its shell an inexperienced amateur might judge other- 



