Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1886-03-13
THE TALE OF A DRY PLATE.
BY W. S, GILBERT.

tiles had occurred in our Singapore
branch, and | was dispatched by the
firm to investigate them, and to place
matters on more satisfactory foot
ing. Ineed not go into detail on this
point, as they are irrelevant to my
story.
/ sailed by the Kaiser-i-hind from
Tilbury, accompanied by my valet.
At the Liverpool Street terminus, an
elderly lady in widows mourning
asked me some questions as to the
conveyance of luggage from the Til
bury station to the ship. She should
have sent her luggage to the dock,
but had omitted to do so. AS | re-
piled to her questions, / saw that she
was accompanied by very beautiful
girl of Is. There is no need to beat
about the bush--I fell in love with
her, there and then. 1t is a COM
monplace way of putting it, but l
don't know that / could make mat
tiers clearer by more elaborate meth
Cd of expression. AS they and !
travelled to Tilbury in the same COM
partment, we entered into converse
ton, as people will readily do who
know that they are about to travel
many thousand miles together. |
learned that the lady was a Mrs. Sell
by, widow of a Colonel Selby, who
had died about six months since.
Broken in health, and weakened by
long weeping, she had been advised
to take sea voyage, in the belief
that change of scene and beneficent
sea air would do much to restore her
to health, if not to happiness. AS |
happened to have met Col. Selby on
two occasions-once in London and
oncein country house-my acquaint-
ance with his widow and his daugh-
ter rapidly ripened into friendship,
We sailed on n fine October afternoon,
and, by the time we were off the
"Start," / had almost established
myself on the footing of an old
friend.
Pass over the voyage. 1t lasted
five weeks, but it seemed like five
days. / lived but in Clara's presence.
scarcely spoke to anyone on board
except to Clara and her mother. PEG.
pie see more of each other, if they
care to do so, in few weeks voyage
than in a lifetime on shore, and be.
fore we reached Colombo | had. de,
clared my love to Clara, and she had
accepted it. If there is unalloyed
happiness on earth, it was given to US
as we neared Ceylon.
Unalloyed, save by the thought
that we were about to part for time;
for Clara was to go on to Calcutta
where her late fathers brother was
quartered, whereas / was to remain
in Singapore for three months. We
were to return to England at about
the same date, and it was arranged
that as soon as possible after our ar
rival we were to be married.
l have some little skill in photogra
ply, and / had brought with me {
camera and some dry plates, intend
ing to photograph any striking scene.
that l might come across during TIT
Journey. BY the aid Of dry plates
photography, and especially travel
ing photography, is much simplifed
The traveller can take photograph
shut the plate in light-tight box
and develop it twelve months after
ward ifh pleases. There is no neec
to cucumber ones self with chemi
Gals; all the messy portion of the pro
cess can be done at home, in the Sc
clusion of ones own dark room.
had not intended to take my photo
graphs on the voyage, for dry plate
are extraordinarily sensitive to tn
action of the faintest ray of light, an,
it was practically impossibly to max
my cabin dark enough to allow c
my transferring plates from the darl
box to the slides without absolutel,
spelling them. But l happened t
have left two plates in one of tn
slides, and before we reached our DIES
tination / devoted one of these t
Clara, and one to Mrs. Selby.
We parted tearfully, but not III
happily. We were to meet in thre
months time, and our lives wer
then to be passed together. | believ
we were too full Of happiness in tn
prospect to grieve very much owe
our parting. AS the Kaiser steame
away for Penang, kept the happ
ness of our next meeting steadily bt
fore me, and it served me in goo
stead.