The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1918-12-06
a PHOTO PROPOSAL :.

BY e. coLsoN.

I
Copyright, 1918. Western Newspaper Cpion.J
Old Mr.. Brewer believed himself to
be acting in manner more broad and
| liberal-minded indeed when he told
Philip Maintenon that he might call on
his daughter Gertrude as often as he
liked, provided he spoke or wrote no
word of love TO the young woman.
This embargo was to last until Ger
trude, who had just passed her eight
eenth birthday. vas twenty.
1t was delightful to see Gertrude as
often as he liked, certainly. especially
after the long weeks In which he had
wondered how much longer he would
be considered a welcome guest at the
Brewer mansion. but he soon found
that the permission to see her often
meant far less than 1t had appeared to
do at first sight. He was not the only
young man who saw her frequently, to
begin with. Gertrude was pretty
girl. bright and popular In the bargain
Philip began to live In u chronic state
Of fear lest some other fellow, wise
enough to speak to the girl first and
then the father afterwnrd, should step
In ahead Of him. The girl herself did
not seem, to his excited fancy, to take
nearly so much interest In his atten-
tons as she had done heretofore.
Sometimes he was on the point of
throwing up the whole thing for a
year or two and going West. All of
which was precisely what Mrs. Brew
er had counted upon when she had con-
suited her husband to make terms.
After a time, however, Philip be-
came so deadly tired Of waiting that
he gave up the idea Of going West and
decided to change his tactics entirely.
He had promised to write or speak no
word Of love to Gertrude, certainly
but proposing had never been men
toned. Surely 1t was possible to make
proposal Of marriage without utter
Ing love-sick speeches Yes, he would
certainly propose, and that as soon as
the opportunity offered.
But the opportunity was long In COM
Ing. Mrs. Brewer had q "nose for
news" which would have made the for
tune of a metropolitan newspaper re-
porter. and while she did net exactly
suspect Philip Of endeavoring to break
his compact, so she gave her husband
to understand. still she meant him to
have no temptation of thnt order. New
err moment alone with Gertrude
could he find or obtain. Even when
they went upon photographing expedi-
lions together-both being enthusiasts
tice Photographic amatcurs-they were
invariably accompanied by Gertrude's
brother Benjamin, spoiled youth Of
fourteen, his mothers darling, .tund
also badly afflicted with the picture.
taking craze. And yet II was through
Photographic process thnts Philip
finally carried out his win in regard to
his inamorata and circumvented her
mothers care.
The bright idea occurred to him one
Sunday afternoon, as he worked over
! his newest lens, and he lost no time In
! trying 1t. Carefully printing certain
legend upon transparent white pa
per, he pinned the paper up against
! the windowpane and went over II
| again more boldly and on the wrong
/ side, with charcoal crayon. Then he
attached the paper, still wrong side
| outward, to the wall and phato
graphed the legend--backward This
he did because characters Of this kline
i photographed In the ordinary way, are
| always reversed In the negative. 1t I,
! only In the printing that matters be
/ come straight again, and It was II
the negative that Philip was particu
4 larly Interested.
He carried 1t with him when h,
1 called upon Gertrude the following
1 evening. Gertrude ran upstairs to he
own little darkroom to develop thu
plate Immediately. Philip had OK
planned that he thought she would un
derstand the new experiment ne want
cd to share with her more clearly l
she developed the negative.
1 "Metrol-hydrol I suggest us devel
oper." Philip had told her as she raj
upstairs with the plate-holder contain
Ing the experimental" negative. an,
this agent she had accordingly pre-
pared. She rocked the little tray hacl
and forth for two or three minutes
then exposed II to the rays of the re,
. lamp. And this was the message:
. .My dearest girl: WIN you MARI.
: mer Philip Maintenon."
:: The girl grew white and pink as sh
read II. Then she laughed merrily an
sat down to consider. Ten minute
. later she went down to the parlor an
explained that she had broken the pre-
cious negative.
Philip colored holly, and Mrs. Brew
err. plying his fancied disappointment
over the lost negative. took Gertrud
gently to task.
~ don't see how you could be s
careless. my daughter" she remonstra'
cd. "Nohody knows how much troubl