The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1900-10-11
PARIS LETTER.
o,r Reoular Correspondent.

,,s ssIr attracts all who like glitter
Sd a. snarkle. The interior of the hall
,.Ots au like a perpetual exhibition of
,s'oworks. flashes radiating from all
.hs % cut edges Of the glass, reproduced |
~ y a thousand reflections, and appear
IN iue in fugitive rainbows on every
There is strong emulation between
.,. class workers of every country,
snd the artistic genius of the various
s,ces is shown in the divers forms and
,be details of ornamentation of all this
rectal work, in which color itself often
anpears Especially charming are the
rntblets. carafes, and bottles of all Sorts
Some of the objects are blown to de-
mensions truly colossal, and one
wonders from what human lungs could
have issued the breath that initiate
them. As a matter OF facY, the pieces
are now blown mechanically, by means
of compressed air. One sphere is
nearly five feet in diameter; from this
enormous bubble, three thousand
watch glasses could be cut.
Here we see glass thread, as fine
as silk, from which dresses are made.
They are not for everyday wear, it is
true, but quantities of the glass thread
are used by ladies for different purpo-
ses, notably for making aigretts for the
hair or for hats. There are also specl-
mems OF glass cotton and woolen,
which is used for purposes of insula-
ton, or to prevent the passage of
heat.
A novel employment ofglass thread
in Germany is the fabrication of in
desructible burners for lamps; the in
ventors clam that they are incompar-
able for allowing the regular passage
of the liquid where petroleum or alco,
hol is used These burners have not
yet come into general use, however.
Glass is also utilized by the manu-.
iacturers of artificial flowers. Crushed
in a special manner, it takes the form
Of very fine powder, resembling dia-
mond dust. 1t is supposed to give the
effect of dew on the flowers, thus in
creasing the na,uralness of their ap.
pearance.
In one corner you fancy you have
stumbled into mythology, and have
encountered Argus himself. AlIaround
are eyes that stare at you fxedly; eyes
tha, have disturbing air of vitality,
eyes Of all colors, eyes to suit all
tastes, eyes more beautiful than many
in nature. You wonder involuntarily
how so many false eyes can be "con-
sumed'', to use the word in the com
mercial sense. Certainly, il is not yet
the fashion to have false eyes fitted in,
as one would false teeth. The man
IN charge courteously explained that
there are many more people with only
one eye than the world in general i'm
agines. Artificial eyes are so well
made that the inhrmi!y passes almost
unnoticed. But the greatest demand
comes from doll makers and from
na,uralists who stuff animals. Doll
eyes, especially, must be very carefully
prepared, and must not be the least
crossed; the youthful purchasers of
this line of goods are very particular
on this point.
One of the curious things in this
curious exhibit is what specialists call
"glass dough-. Imagine glass, real
glass, that one can knead and mould,
and into which one can drive nails as
into lead, without chipping or crack
ing it. This way Of preparing glass,
1t seems, was known to the ancients.
They modelled it like clay and made
all sorts of objects that could be
thrown on the ground or ever al
somebody's head, without breaking
them. Ii is recounted that an artisan
who discovered an especially excelien,
formula for making glass dough had
the unfortunate idea of showing samp-
les, with an explanation of their mer
Its, to the Emperor Tiberius. The
Emperor examined them and listened
with condescending interest, and i'm
medlately had the inventors head GU
of. Historians assign as the reason
tor this imperial decision, that Tlber
lus saw something unnatural in the
discovery, and in order to avoid th'
trouble ofinvestigating the unpatenteC
invention, he suppressed it in the per
son of its author.
Among the other interesting object
In this section are the beads, the paste
the pearls, and above all, the stained