The Potter journal and news item. [volume] (Coudersport, Pa.) 1872-1874, 1873-07-30
Sitting for a Photograph.

Having photograph taken is one
Of the great events in a mans life.
The chief desire is to look the very
best, and on the success of the pic
ture hinges in many cases the most
important epoch in life. To work up
a proper appearance time enough is
used which, if devoted to catching
feas for their PHOSPHORUS, would
cancel the entire national debt and
and establish a New York daily pa
per. When you have completed
your toilet you 60 to the gallery and
force yourself into a nonchalance of
expression that is too absurd for any
thing. Then you take the chair,
spread your legs gracefully, appro-
pirate a calm and Indifferent look
and commence to perspire. An at
tenuated man with pale face, long
hair and a sOiled nose now comes out
of a cavern and adjusts the camera.
Then he gets back Of you and tells
you to sit back as far as you can in
the chair, and that it is a remark
ably backward spring. After getting
you back till your spine interferes
with the chair itself, he shoves your
head into a pair of ice tongs and
dashes at the camera again. Here,
with a piece Of discolored velvet over
his head, he bombards you in this
manner: Your chin out a little
please" The chin is protruded.
"That's nicely; now little more"
The chin advances again and the po-
made commences to melt and start
for freedom. Then he comes back to
you and slaps one of your hands on
your leg in such a position as to give
you the appearance of trying to lift
it over your head. The other is
turned under itself and has become
so sweaty that you begin to fear that
it will stick there permanently. A
new stream of pomade finds its way
out and goes downward. Then he
shakes your head in the tongs till it
settles right and says it looks like
rain, and puts your chin out again
and punches out your chest and says
he dosn't know what the poor are to
do next winter unless there is a radi-
cal change in affairs. and then takes
the top Of your head in one hand and
your chin in the other and gives
your neck a wrench which would
earn any other man prominent po-
sition in a new hospital. Then runs
his hand through your hair and
scratches your scalp and steps back
to the camera and the injured velvet
for another look. BY this time new
sweat and pomade have started out.
The whites of your eyes show un-
pleasantly, and your whole body
feels as if it had been visited by an
enormous cramp and another and
much larger one was Immediately
expected. Then he points at some
thing for you to look at; tells you
look cheerful and composed, and
snatches away the velvet and pulls
out his watch. When he gets tired
and you feel as if there was but very
little left in this world to live for, he
restores the velvet, says it is an un-
favorable day for picture, but he
hopes for the best and Immediately
disappears in his den. Then you get
up and scratch yourself, slap on your
hat and Immediately sneak home,
feeling mean, humbled and altogether
too wretched for description. The
first friend who sees the picture says
he can see enough resemblance to
make certain that it is you, but you
have tried to look too formal to
be natural and graeeful.-Ddnbury
NeuS.