m 
MOORE’S BUBAL NEW-YORKER 
artous 
BLOWING BUBBLES. 
One of the most harmless and pleasing pastimes 
of childhood is tin* blowiijg of soap bubbles, ns 
herewith presented in the Leant (till picture We 
give this week. Every child who can procure r 
C lay pipe and a dish of soapsuds is familiar with 
the beautiful creations produced by his breath 
and the thin film of water which assumes the 
form of a perfect sphere. The curve is said to 
be the true line of beauty. The outline of a 
soap pubblo is a perfect curve; iL is, therefore, 
perfectly beautiful. Besides being the aggre¬ 
gate of perfection in form, it takes on all the 
brilliant and glowing - colors of the rainbow the 
gold of the buttercup, the green of the emerald, 
the red of five sunset, the purple of the violet 
and the blue of heaven! No jewel worn by an 
emperor or a king is half so handsome. But, 
alas! like many beautiful tilings, the bubble is 
only for a moment—it perishes before it has an 
ago long enough to reckon: it is as frail as fair, 
and the first adverse breath crumbles its crystal 
shell into drops of water. So the bubble has be¬ 
come a figure of speech, denoting anything or 
scheme which is short-lived, puffed up or vis¬ 
ionary. Many hubbies rn our day have sudden¬ 
ly collapsed, whelming thousands in financial 
ruin. The htUfint'x* of blowing bubbles for a liv¬ 
ing is decidedly unstable and unprofitable. 
Many golden bubbles are blown in IVall street; 
many farmers before now have been humbugged 
by new-fangled agricultural bubbles. Just now 
the politicians arc blowing a vast number of 
bubbles, many of which will be pricked with 
ballots next November. 
An “ improved Boap-bubblo '* is made by add¬ 
ing a little glycerine to the water. This gives 
them longer life, which is the end sought, in 
tlie picture both of the “coming men” are 
absorbed in the attempt to successfully float a 
new bubble. 
-♦♦♦- 
PERSONAL MAGNETISM. 
Wb often hear this phrase, but do not often 
see it defined, and many are apl to suppose it to 
bean occult power, with which some are espe¬ 
cially endowed. Now, there is nothing mysteri¬ 
ous in this mailer. Every one, in degree corre¬ 
sponding to Ills intellectual vigor, impresses 
those lie comes in conflict with, and draws from 
t hem a display of qualities such us ho Iwaexhib¬ 
ited. One man meets every ono with an open, 
smiling face, u h«nrt y grasp of the hand, a friend¬ 
ly interest in all tlial interests the one he meets 
to him the world seems mostly made up of 
friends, and he really has more friends than 
others. Another meets the world with the idea 
plainly expressed in his whole, deportment— 
“ I care for nobody, no, not t, 
And nobody cures for me. 
And lie draws that feeling to the surface, and 
nobody does Cure for him. A third goes through 
life, gloomy and doubtful of everybody, as if 
all the world were Intent on cheating him. It is 
astonishing, the number of rogues that man ac¬ 
tually dors meet. II any doubt that this view of 
the case is correct, let them try the experiment. 
Take some day, when you are healthy and hap¬ 
py, and endeavor to impress your state on all 
you meet; see if nearly all will not seem to lie 
happier for havlrnr met you ; see if you cannot 
get accommodations, sendees, good wishes that 
yon could not have hud, had you not caused 
them to reflect t he light of your countenance— 
made them fool the love you showed. On anoth¬ 
er day, when you foci Blok, or have a “ raging 
tooth," or a loss in business, as before, make 
everyone understand you an- uncomfortable or 
angry, and see how friends get away from you 
as quickly as possible, how they “cannot ac¬ 
commodate," how everything Seems uncomfort¬ 
able and hateful. Try the two modes on the 
same men, and see how much personal magnet¬ 
ism you have, and what opposite qualities you 
will develop. Everybody has this magnetism 
that has vigor of mind and will, but it. may at¬ 
tract good or evil to the surface; so every one 
may develope love or hate at pleasure. “He that 
hath friends must show himself friendly" or he 
will soon have no friends. “As in water face 
answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.” 
Do not misunderstand here. It Is not neces¬ 
sary nor rigid that you should give up or fail 
to assert any principle; it is not needed that yon 
smile on sin as On virtue; it is not necessary to be 
unable to say “ No." On the contrary, “speak¬ 
ing the truth inlnm" develops the most, power¬ 
ful form of personal magnetism, for men desire 1 
to respect those they like, and will not long ac¬ 
cept the influence of one too feeble or too 
wicked to be trusted. 
If. then, you feel disposed to complain that 
your acquaintances are cold or unfriendly, look < 
within yourself; it is certain the fault is there, i 
Watch your moods, beware of inflicting your i 
sorrow on every one you meet; especially avoid t 
feeling or showing indifference to the annoy- t 
ances of others. If you watch only yotirseif, s 
yourself is your world, and instead of reflecting t 
the genial light that beams from friendly eyes. t. 
you see only the darkness within. No one can c 
Ijc always genial; but one that steadily tries to i 
be will surely he recognized as a prince among c 
his fellows, and men will speak admiringly of n 
his “personal magnetism." o 
ANCIENT^ MUSIC. 
The Egyptian flute was only a cow's horn with 
three or four holes in it. and their harp or lyre 
had only three strings; the Grecian lyrelmd on¬ 
ly seven strings, and was very small, being held 
in one hand ; the Jewish trumpets that made the 
walls of Jericho fall down, were only ram’s 
horns; they had no other instrumental music 
but by percussion, of which the greatest hoast 
however, bo pure, ns chicory possesses no de¬ 
odorizing power. 
-- 
THE JOURNALISTIC QUARTETTE. 
I r is but a few years since Clay, Calhoun, Web¬ 
ster and Benton wore looked upon as the four 
great National Statesmen, 'they are gone. Since 
then, Bennett, Bryant, Greeley and Raymond 
were the four acknowledged Journalists of the 
TUiOWTlsrcf BTTHJiT.IUS. 
made was the psaltery, a small triangular harp or 
lyre with wire string, and struck with an iron 
nee lie or stick ; their saebut was something like 
a bagpipe; the timbrel was a tambourine: and 
the dulcimer was a horizontal harp, with wire 
st i-I ngs, and struck with a stick like the psaltery; 
they had no written music; and had scarcely a 
vow el in their language; and yet (according to 
Jos-jphus) had two hundred thousand musicians 
(during at the dedication Of the temple of Solo¬ 
mon. 
-- 
GOING OUT OF CHURCH. 
An exchange says:— If instead of the closing 
anthem, some of the ministers should, at the 
close of the service, give the orders; “Atten¬ 
tion, worshipers! For hats, dive ! For overcoats, 
go! Jerk, twist, plunge! Make yourselves ri¬ 
diculous, all!" The effect would hardly be a 
variation ri-om the present style of going out of 
church. The singing of the doxology seems to 
be a signal for a general putting on and adjust¬ 
ment, and when the benediction is about to be 
pronounced the ruffled congregation look more 
like Jumping out of the windows or uniting in a 
crushing and crowding race for the doors than 
listening to the solemn words of thegood pastor. 
At one of our well tilled churches on Sunday 
evening. It was observed that every third mail 
was going through these ridiculous motions 
while the service was closing, although the ser¬ 
mon had been excellent. Why do not people 
wait until the proper time to do these things? 
There is a time for everything, but the time does 
not always occur during church service. 
- ♦♦♦ - 
A POWERFUL DISINFECTANT. 
If a cause be good, the most violent attacks of 
its enemies will not injure it so much as an in¬ 
judicious defense of it by its friends. 
According to the Poona Observer, recent 
experiments made in India have proved that 
roa-tod coffee is one of the most powerful dis¬ 
infectants, not only rendering animal and vege¬ 
table effluvia Innoxious, but actually destroying 
them. A room in which meat in an advanced 
state of decomposition had been kept for some 
time was instantly deprived of all smell on an 
open coffee-roaster being carried through it 
containing a pound of newly masted coffee. In 
another room the effluvium occasioned by I he 
clearing out of a cesspool was completely re¬ 
moved within a half minute by the use of three- 
ounces of fresh coffee. The way coffee is used 
as a disinfectant fs by drying the ra w bean, then 
pounding it. in a mortar, and afterwards roasting 
the powder upon a moderately heated iron plate 
until it assumes a dark hue. The coffee must. 
Republic. And now this quartette has boon sad 
ly broken iri upon by the sudden death of Ray¬ 
mond, some time since, his career half finished, 
and Bennett, of the Herald, whoso remains lie in 
Greenwood Cemetery. Greeley, too, is tempor¬ 
arily out of journalism, by what may be termed 
the exigency of polities. The poet of Rosiyn, 
William Cullen Bryant, alone remains at the 
Post.. Itich In years, experience, poetry and pol¬ 
itics, he still frequents his old haunts, the only 
remaining one of the lour whoso ready pens daily 
shook the world of thought, and made and un¬ 
made men and policies at will. 
- ♦♦♦ - 
A BEAUTIFUL SPRING. 
A correspondent of the Savannah /frpuWi- 
c.an writes as follows of the wonderful Wakulla 
Spring in Florida:- “ One of the greatest natural 
curiosities in the South is the Wakulla Spring, 
which is the source of a beautiful river of the 
same name. The Spring is between four and live 
hundred feet m diameter, ami on a bright and 
cal in day, to pass over it in a boat, you feel as 
though you were suspended in mid-air. the wa¬ 
ter being so limpid and transparent, At the depth 
of one hundred and sixty feet, a dime can be 
distinctly seen as though it wore at your feet. 
On gazing into the depths of this wonderful 
spring it shows all the prismatic huesof the rain¬ 
bow, and near Its bottom can he seen fish of dif¬ 
ferent. varieties, crabs, terrapins, ami now and 
then an alligator." 
-- — 
A STRING OF PEARLS. 
Say less than you think, rather than think on¬ 
ly half what you say. 
The modest man will not parade his own ex¬ 
cellence lest he should offend. 
A SECRET has been defined “asanything made 
known to every body in a whisper.” 
Most of the shadows that cross our path 
through life are caused by standing in our own 
light. 
Value the friendship of him who stands by 
you in the. storm; swarms of insects will sur¬ 
round you in the sunshine. 
A Wit once asked a peasant what part he per¬ 
formed in the great drama of life. “ I mind my 
own business,” was the reply. 
One of the saddest things about human nature 
is, that a man may guide others in the path of 
life without walking in it himself; that, he may 
he a pilot, and yet a easl-a-wny. 
THE LESSON OF THE GRASS. 
HY MARIK S. LA HO. 
“ O green, iind fresh, and ever cheerful grass, 
That lines the path 1 pass- 
boss cheorrul I, alas - 
Why Should you look so bright?” 
One to lao said, who, looking through a glass, 
Saw not the world aright. 
“ The Place the Got* of nature gnvo, t till 
According to Ills will, 
Reside till* babbling rill 
Where you so often sigh. 
In valley low, or on the rounded hill," 
I slowly made reply. 
“ I creep along the winding river’s bank 
The steep mid dangerous hank 
Where never tloeks have drank : 
Yet I, In safety, go.— 
Down the rough cliff, and on the margin dank. 
All silently I grow ; 
“ And on the highest peak, whore man ne’or trod, 
From out the ley sod. 
Where dwarf shrubs o’er me nod, 
I shoot my hardy spears,— 
On trackless wastes, forever known to Gor*, 
At times my leaf appears; 
" Yet when his stern and biting frosts are sent 
t wither tn content— 
My glory being spent— 
For summer sun and dew. 
Warm winds and floods, all in their season sent. 
That glory will renew; 
And yet, behold, a higher life than mine, 
O weary one, Is thine ! 
Why should yon so repine 
At fortune’s brooding face— 
Formed in the image of the One Divine, 
And favored by Ills grace !” 
I know not how tny silent speech he know, 
But to the distant blue 
Ills eyes from ran ho drew, 
Sustained his earnest look— 
" i will undaunted still the right pursue," 
Then left the rippling brook. 
©Ill’ J5»t01’»-<$ql%. 
THE ENGINEERS STORY. 
BY DE FORREST P. GDMMKRSON. 
“ I never wfts much at story-telling, stranger 
—never had any sort of gift that way—but see¬ 
ing ns how you’ve asked mo, right plump out, 
if I’ve ever met with any accidents or narrow 
escapes on this ’ere cngiij*, I’ll tell yo hoxv near 
I come to one once, and just escaped by the 
skin of my teeth.” 
The engineer was a brawny, muscular looking 
man, the perfect picture of health. I had 
noticed that his engine had an uncommon clean 
look, and had spent nearly an hour that after¬ 
noon tn admiring its fine points and plying him 
with questions. At lost; I asked him “right 
plump out,” as he said, “if he had ever met 
tvitli any accidents;*' mid he made me (ho reply 
with which our story opens. 
“ Ye see, stranger," be went on, “it's mighty 
skeery business to run one of these 'ere things, 
'specially when one does night-work. ’Twont 
do to only keep ono eye open then; you need 
both, and '(wouldn't be bad if you lmd another 
one or two at the same business. I’ve most 
always run on this road, and I think I know 
every crook and curve there is in it. Yes; I be¬ 
lieve I almost know how many crooked ties, and 
tics with knots in, there are. There’s a good 
many dangmorw places along its line; some 
that. I know of that 'ud make most any man's 
hair stat*l on end, unless he'd got used to them." 
'* I always liked railroadin' just, because it was 
kind o' risky; and I made up my mind that I'd 
follow that for a living or nothin'. So the first 
chance I got. I went on as fireman, and I stayed 
at that awhile and then I got to be engineer, and 
there I stuck. 
“ Well, about that ere narrow escape. Why, 
yea; I wits kind o’wanderin’ off from the main 
track—always do when the switch is left open!” 
with a laugh. “ It was a sort of gala-day, that 
was. The Sunday-schools in the place had made 
up their minds to have a pie-nic somewhere 
along the line, about half a-miiofroin the road 
—‘.Moms Grove' I think thoy called it. Well, 
we got everything in readiness the night before, 
so as to be ready to start on time. I romembor 
i didn’t go home until after twelve, because I 
wanted to have my engine shine like a spick- 
span new one. 
"Gracious! if you'd a-seon the crowd of 
youngsters that came down to go on the pic-nic 
the next morning. Why, 1 declare! I didn't 
know there wus so many in the world until 
then. Wasn’t married, you see, and didn’t have 
none o’ my own; so didn’t notice others so much 
as I do now." 
“Then you have a family,” I ventured to re¬ 
mark, 
“My! I should say so—but you just wait- 
that’s a part of my story! Well, it took a deal 
more time than wo thought it would to get the 
youngsters aboard, so that it was more than an 
hour after the time that we should have started 
before we were really off. I Intended to make 
the best part of the hour good though, by 
putting on all the speed I could. I knew that 
the road tvas clear, and if any extra train had 
started out, that I had the right of way. I blew 
the whistle for all aboard, and then the fireman 
rang the hell as I pulled the throttle, and with 
one or two great snorts we moved away. 
