Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-04-04
SPOILED HIS TEMPER

Il got real peevish, SO I did. the other
afternoon. and I'm afraid 1 have lost
good customer through 1t, but I am not
sacrificing any sleep over it. at that-there
are some things that even a photographer
can't stand" said well-known Washing
ton camera artist, whose place OF business
is on the avenue. recently.
"A few mornings ago my reception room
young woman summoned me to the tele-
phone. saying that Mrs. s.. lady whose
portraits have been making for number
of years, wanted toqconverse with me over
the wire. rfa
Can't you bring your apparatus up to
my house to take teeny little ones pic
ture this afternoon she asked me through
the phone.
Yes'm.' said I. How old is the little
one?'
"'Oh. he's only six months old. and he's
ever SO teeny, said Mrs. s., pleasantly
well. wouldn't it be better for you to
fetch him down here?-the light is so much
better in the studio, you know.
NO, was the lady's reply. I couldn't
think of taking him out now-he has such
p cold, and he has been sneezing and
wheeling dreadfully for several days.
Well, has his cold made him-er-frac-
tlous any" l asked her. If SO. perhaps 1t
might be better to postpone having his
picture taken until he is better.
No. she replied, L want him taken to-
day. am going away next week and take
him with me, and want the pictures be-
fore start
Very well. ma'am.' I said. agreeably.
you can fix the little one out in his clothes
now and I'll be up inside of an hour:
II thought I heard suppressed litter at
the other end Of the wire. but 1 couldn't
make sure of it.
oh, I'm not going to have him taken In
any clothes-just as he-er-w1thout any
thing on him. you know she said.
to have tho room in which the picture is
taken well heated IL he Is to be taken that
way. I'll be UP presently
Il knew that Mrs. 8. was getting along
toward middle life and concluded that the
nieces and neDhews.
Il gathered together my paraphernalia,
including rattles little birds that sing when
squeezed and other contraptions used by
photographers to gain the attention Of
babies when they are disposed to cut
up when the camera is pointed at them,
and. taking cab. was at Mrs. SIS home
within an hour after she had called me UP.
The maid ushered me into the library,
where found Mrs. 8. with number of
decidedly amused young women sitting
around her. On her lap Mrs. s. held about
as small and boredIooking a japanese
spaniel as ever I clapped an eye upon The
mutt began to bark and snap at me as soon
as I made my appearance in the room.
Well said Mrs. s., holding the spaniel
up before me, this is the little one. Mr..
X, isn't he cute?'
We'll, I didn't particularly like that. but
didn't show any annoyance, comforting
myself with the inward determination that
I'd tack on an item or SO to my bill for the
Job. l don't mind photographing dogs, but
I don't make a practice of hustlng into
cabs and visiting peoples houses for that
kind Of work, and 1 felt chagrined to think
OF how carefully 1 had gathered the things
n q INN ~, hob h.
fore starting out
We'll, put back the library curtains and
pushed UP the shades and prepared to snap
shot the mutt. The spaniel. however,
couldn't see the business of sitting back in
big leather chair at all, and, besides, he
plainly didn't like the cut of my jib, for he
kept up his swapping and barking at me,
and every time his mistress planted him in
ominous dives for the lower sections Of my
trousers. l didn't know whether the little
devil I'D bite or not, but he looked as If
his teeth might be pretty sharp, and I did
whole lot of fumbfing with my tools be-
fore got the camera set up.
Il tried for a straight half hour to keep
that dog still enough to get view Of him.
and was seconded in my efforts by the
NUTS mistress and all of the young
ladies In the room. who talked baby talk
to the thing. calling him angel darling and
'booful thing and spitty pet and all that
So u OF fGt' Dua Yves go. The span
iCi "ouAui AeIldllf~ the leather chair
under any circumstances. The whole OBJ
1ect and aim of his existence seemed to be
to get good clutch on one of the legs of
my trousers. and he finally won out on
that. His mistress was trying to hold him
in the chair, and / had thrown the camera
cloth over my head to get focus on the
beast. While I was thus blindfolded, tho
miserable little pampered f1end wriggled
out of his mistress grasp. raced over to
me, and planted his needle like teeth In
my left ankle. gave kick that sent him
flying, and Immediately Mrs. s. and thu
young women with her froze up on me-
IT have decided said Mrs. 8. loftily,
while the mutt was still yelping-not be-
cause he was hurt, but because he was so
surprised that any mere human would have
the gall to give him good lift have de-
cided not to have Cutey photographed to-
day. You seem not to have brought the
appliances with you necessary to enchaln
the little ones attention. and she picked
the brute UP and began to comfort him.
There's one thing, maam.' 1 said
then-that was when I began to get real
peevish-'that did not bring along that
might have quieted the dog
And what is that?' inquired Mrs s.
"'Chloroform, ma am-about four ounces
of it, said /, and then I picked I'D my
tackle and took my leave. amid a frigid
silence.
Mrs 8. won't be along to my place for
her portraits any more, / fear, but as I
say, there are some things that even an on
pressed and downtrodden PHOTOGRAPHERS
can't stand for, and one Of them Is to have
measley little chocolate-fed JAPANESE
spaniel gnaw on his ankle-bone while he is
expected to keep quiet and amiabie under
the torture"