The Louisiana populist., 1897-03-26
IN THE DARKROOM

"Wnen you go into your darkroom to
develop plates, always lock the door be.
hind you to avoid Interruptions" 80
saith the learned writer Of "Instruc-
tions to Amateur Photographers" and
1t Is rule that has saved many mega
tiyes.
Of course 1t never occurred to the In.
strucfor of amateurs to add: "And al
ways take good look about you before
shutting the door and sitting down In
front OF your ruby light" That ad-
monition would be looked upon as OUT
side the book, and no amateur would
see in it sense or relevancy. Yet
never so into my darkroom now with.
out letting in o flood of light that
searches out every corner.
When bought my camera and began
to turn out foggy negatives, from which
sickly, spectral prints came off, had
no decently appointed darkroom, using
small closet in my house for the pur.
pose. Now, not being a socialist or a
shoemaker, | like good air, and to sit IN
that stuffy hole in the wall for the bet.
ter part Of an hour at time had the
result of eating up some of my enthu-
siasm for dabbling in solutions of eiko-
nogen, carbonate Of soda and stinking
ether. My ill-smelling lamp seemed to
exhaust as much oxygen as my good
pair of lungs, and sometimes bore my
negative out of the closet with such a
pale face that, in spite Of my triumph
ant air in exhibiting 1t to my wife, she
declared l was surely i'll and that she
had always heard that photographers
were short-lived. She did not like the
smell Of my chemicals, either, and de.
clared they were nuisance of the first
order.
That was why had my new and
carefully ventilated darkroom built for
me. 1t was house all by itself and
stood down in q little hollow, a good
stones throw from our dwelling. We
We're living in the country then, In a
very pretty bit Of woodland that had
wilderness Of brown plain all about it.
My new darkroom was quite spa
cious affair, and ! glorled in its com.
pleteness Of detail and hardness of the
appointments. | used'to spend good
zeal OF time in there, and, as l learned
now much bromide to use and to hit up-
on the happy moment Of taking a plate
out OF the developing bath, my progress
was swift and sweet.
1t so happened in the autumn that we
went to the city for month to live,
leaving our country place shut ND. /
took my camera to town and exposed a
dozen or so dry plates on a lot of mar.
BILE stat,lary. Whenever, at odd times,
thought Of these, became feyerish
to know whether Ariadne had ever
overturned or whether Venus had been
llght-struck.
My wife smiled when told her in.
tended to run down to "the ranch" TO
look after things bit.
1t was too diaphanOus. When she
saw me packing my plates she laughed.
But she was indulgent and said good
by With her own little pleasantly about
my not being so very deep after all.
Walking up to the house frem the sta.
ton saw that the autumn winds had
been making very free with the trees
while We had been away, and the brown
leaves strewed tie gravel walk and
were scurrylng along on their thin
edges like little hoops driven by chill
dren. A smoky haze lay over the wood
and along the plain. and the hills be-
yond were deep in it.. The low-lying
sun was blood-red, and sent a sickly
yellow slow over the place. Driving
rather keenly, the wind set me a-shiv-
erlng. had never known ''the ranch"
when It showed so bleak and forbidding
face. Not caring to enter the vacant
house, | strobe quickly down the path
into the hollow which lay darkly In the
shadow, and. hurrying on to nay little
studio. Ipnllad ses lap keys before the