The Minneapolis journal., 1901-11-15
Copyright, 1901, by David H. Talmadge

Copyright, 1901, by David H. Talmadge.
In the first place. Mrs. Boxley struggled
with herself prayerfully for upward of a
week, and finally, as frail mortals usually
DO, crushed her better Judgment and arose
triumphant. In the second place-and this
had been boarding for the purpose of buying
christmas presents for her husband and fam
lily and purchased with it a camera After
ward she soothed her conscience by the utter
ance OF vows internal.
She told herself seriously that she would
give none but Photographic gifts to her
friends. She would make booklet for the
glrls-her intimate associates before Mr. Box
ley had appeared with his little proposal
Some Of them were married now, as she
was; but others, poor things, were not, and
she conceived the idea Of sending to these
unfortunates a collection of pictures taken
In her own modest home, exhibiting Mr. Box
ley, IN slippers and smoking jacket; with the
paoy, sans vestment, Juggling cake Of soap;
the dln1ng-room, with her cut class and silver
upon the board, and the baby in his high
cnalr shaking a spoon at his smiling father;
the kitchen, with its glistening range. and the
baby sitting up beside it warming his tiny
feet, and her own bedchamber-a dream in
White-with the baby kicking and growing
upon the bed. If these offerings caused the
recipients to turn green with envy, so much
the better. Most of them had expressed senti-
ments derogatory to marriage, as unmarried
women without prospects often do.
AS for the married ones, she would photo
graph their several dwellings secretly and
label the collection "Auld Lang Syne'' in
gold ink And to the relatives she would send
dainty likenesses Of the baby writing upon
each 1Ennnaa ho
Robert Greening Boxley, age II months,
weight 221a pounds"
These things, 1 say, she purposed doing
but none of them did she do precisely as
she purposed. The truth is that Mrs Box
ley was possessed of the artistic sense-a re-
markable quality born with people and dis
covered sooner or later by chance.
Possessing the artistic sensE, she could nor
have been expected to map out a plan and
follow it rigidly Mrs. Boxley made pictures
with her camera which attracted attention
gllmpses here and there into picturesque cor
ners of the town, artistic little dabs at in
artlstlc dwellings, happy groupings of ungus-
pecting people. beautiful presentments Of
single objects-like the old elm on the GoIdby
lawn that had been snubbed for fifty years
| before 1t was not altogether intentional on
her part to produce artistic effects; she simply
saw things from the artistic point Of view
there was no special strain upon her eyes
Thus 1t came to pass that her friends
| bent, most of them, the object of getting
! something at a price far below the market
! Iavlshed praise upon her and limited with
mealy mouths at the qualification they would
| experience were she to run over some day and
| Just take snap at their houses or their
| babies or this. that and the other: which
hints she understood perfectly and proceeded
to turn to practical account. She gathered
| from the Cabling of these friends that what
| each OF them most desired was n photograph
| to send to some one at Christmas time; a
photograph, or a collection Of photographs
II the price We're not too high, which would
| give Maud or Minnie or Marion an idea of the
/ lovely village in which they lived
| Then it was that Mrs. Boxley perceiving
| the demand, set herself to work upon the
| task of supplying it. Her idea was to cater
to all the hints at one fell swoop. And the
result was the famous BLUE Book" colIec-
| ton OF twenty photographs in blue print.
mounted upon excellent paper, bound in fancy
| blue covers and tied with blue satin ribbon.
| These books she sold, actually sold, at 81. %
| for each copy. The call for them was such
that she was unable to prepare gifts for her
| own absent friends. She worked like a toy
| steam engine (Mr Boxley's somewhat
satirical simile) to the very day before Christ
mas, and then she cast up accounts.