The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1870-10-21

10 m0therl we are going to the bog4v-
But the forty little ants never dreamed they
lust to make a dairty dinner for the frogs.
now THEY MAKE PiorO6RlPus.
Now, it is queer what a way moth
ers haye Of making boys forget how
tired they are! 1t almost makes some
of us grown folks, whose mothers lie 90
still and cold, their soft hands folded,
never again to smooth the pillow and
cool the hot temples-it almost makes
us cry. to think of those days, so long
ago, and that=may be-we were MT
always Just as patient as we ought to
have been.
After Mrs. Goodwin had given John
ME the orange, and the flowers his
she keld up thin, paper parcel. 81
bought my boy a little present." she
said. He reached eagerly for it. He
he would undo it himself He looked
ct it a minute or so, his eyes fairly
dancing with joy, and then, Is 1t says
in Pilgrims Progress, the water stood
in them. Now, what do you think it
was? Well, IN tell you. A beautiful
photograph Of his precious mother. o,
how he did enjoy that present! 1t
seemed as though he could never look
at it long enough. After long time,
he said (" / do wish, mother, I knew
how they make photographs. Itseems
so queer to sit down and hold still
minute or two. looking right at little
spot on the wall, and the man pulling
II Icxx al snor <x,xf of
running off into the closet with II, and
then, in day or two, you get your pic
trlre all finished up, and just like. You
know how they do it, mother?"
al know something about it I; but
III tell you, johnnie, how, guess,
you'd better do. I'll get you the Cy-
cloppdia, and some other books out of
the library that will tell all about il.
You know father always likes to have
you find, out things for yourself What
you don't understand, I'll try and ex-
plain to you" sEl t IrT
"Please, mother" said Johnnie the
next afternoon, as she seated herself
near his bed, "can't you tell me now
about how they make photographs
I've read all those things you showed
me, but there are so many big words,
can't see through it after all 80
"Well, Johnnie, PH do my best, hut
it is pretty hard to make it plain.
You'll have to wait till you study
chemistry, to understand how they
make their chemicals, as they call
them. You will have to get a better
knowledge of optics, before you can
see through the working of the camera
ObScura."
"Camera obseura,n y replied Johnnie.
"That'S what you call that machine
on legs, that the man aims at you, il il ?'
"Yes," said the mother, "it,s dark
box, that has only one place for the
light to get into it, and that is through
the tube that he points toward the
thing that he wants to take a picture Of
The word photograph Is made Of two
Greek ones; phOs, which means light,
it is photos in the gentive, and graphic
to write-phOtos prdpho.n
"That's a nice notion, insn't it,
mother? The light writes on the pa
per how we look" fr,,-.,
"Yes. The first thing is to get neg
ative picture of you; that is, one that
is dark where it ought to lie light, and
light where you want it dark ~
~ remember" 7" said Johnnie, what
a little goose was, the first time Mr..
Smith took my picture. He held that
dirty little piece of glass down for me
to see how / likedit was so proyok-
ed, / could hardly keep from telling
him my father'd never pay for such
looking thing as that. Why, the face
was every bit as black as negro's. But
was glad enough didn't say any
thing, because it came out all right, as
lots of things do, that--we can't see
through, i'm the time of; breaking our
legs, for instance" said Johnnie, laugh
ing, with his eyes little moist.
"To get negative, the photo-man
covers piece of crown-glass with q
thin coating of what he calls collodion.
1t is made of gun-cotton, and ether
and alcohol; besides, there is an iodide
in it. Then it is dripped in nitrate of
silver. You remember my bringing
your handkerchiefs into your room the
other day, so that you could see me
mark them ?"
ayes, and you told me the ink was
made of nitrate of silver. Ii har1ily
showed at all on the cloth, till the sun
shone on it, and then it turned just rs
black as it could be. I see through it
now, mother; the nitrate Of silver
sticks to the coating of-what did you
call it?n
"Collodion.n dli- n .'t =
, '.Yes, and where the light comes on
it, it turns black. But then, the trick
is to get it shaped just like you. After
all, should think it would get black
all over before they could get the right
thing on it. .,..~'-
"Why, you see il is prepared In u
dark closet, and brought out wood
en- frame, that keeps the light away
from it, till the artist slips it in the car
meEa. You know he keeps q black
cloth over that, till the very minute he
begins TO take your picture. There
can't any light get at the glass till he
uncovers it. Then the rays, reflected
from your face, and hands, and dress,
go into the tube, and make q change In
the chemicals. Where your white col
lar is, the light is strongest, and there
the picture grows darkest. The rays,
thrown off from your face and form,
make shades in almost. exact prop(f-
ton. When the little pencils of light
have worked at the chemicals on the
glass just long enough, tthey will over
do the thing, and spoil it all, il they
are let alone) the, artist shuts them out
of the camera by putting the black
cloth over the tube. Then he sIips the
slide before the glass, and takes it out
in the wooden case, and runs off into
the closet with it again. y Ie
III think I understand II pretty well,
SO far" said Johnnie "Can you see
the picture ss soon as he uneoysrs the
e"O no not tilf he pouurs aliothef pre-
paration over it, that brings it outcde-
yelops it, as he would say. Then he
pOurs something else over 1t, except
where the light had a chance to work
at it, while it was in the camera.n
But mother how do they get pic
lures on the Bristol-board?n
"Pil tell you, dear. They vanish
this glass negative, to protect it, while
they print pictures on paper from 1t.
They take the best linen paper, anddip
it in salt water, and dry It. Then they
soak it in nitrate of silver, and dry It
in Q dark place, to keep it from turning
all black. Then they put the. glass
negative on it, and fasten it and layit
in the sun little while. Every place
on the glass, where 1t was dark, Keeps
the light away from the paper, and ii
stays white, while the white places let
the sunshine through, and make the
paper black. When it Is lust dark
enough, they put in some more chemi-
Gals, that take the silver all out Of the
places that the sun didn't change. If
they didn't it would turn ali black as
socD ao rho livIf IN -, = :, ~ I'm. -, kI.cxx