Northern Weekly Gazette. — 1906-08-25 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

OVER = DEVELOPED.  NORTHERN WEEKLY  "P.S.—We trust to receive shortly your application for the pcSition." It was disconcerting to be unable to ascertain how' he had liked the work. I tried again, and asked for the akkireas -of' his predecessor in cflice. To My.: surprise I learned that this gentleman was.at present in charge of his medical attendant at a private asylum:. - A .pcsleript informed me that S. S. and S. would await my application.- before coming to a decision. is the arm were .meeting me more than half way I did not wish to appear too exacting, and accordingly accepted the post.  e _ My arrival created somewhat of a seneati,on. The interest I excited wan dietinetly flattering to a modest man. Some of the clerks weaned to regard rue in a strange manner, and I could have vowed there was a look almost akin to pity in the eyes of the lady typist. The manager 'was the exception; he beamed cordially, and even asked in •an anxious voice if I had any family. He appeared gently relieved at my negative reply. Had the firm been manufactu.rers of lyd,dite he could not have been more ealicitous. I began with a batch of a dozen plates, which the sender, by his letter; declared to be or exceptional interest. The first six plates watt!. mitativere, bnt nea in- the generally acpepted sense of the word. By no stretch of imagination could the eye of fait -detect the slightest trace of any picture, and mopping my brew I wondered whether the photographer had despatched me a box of =expos:id plates. Number seven was like its peedec :agora and so was the next and next. The mistake was obvious. The man had sent me a dceen .new plates in error. A few minefies would suffice to finish off the remainder. A shock awaited me with the last of all. Gazing darkly into the developing dish, signs of great distress were quickly manifest in the film. I (Imbed it into clean water. Proceeding cautiously with a weak solution a faint image of St. Paul's Cathedral became apparent, considerably obscured by the masts 'of ships, and flanked with the two towers of the Crystal Palace. Reads; of perspiration kept my ierehead owl as farther incougruities became evident.. A phantom chariot and six horses suggreted Lord Mayor's 'Day. atnd an indescribable jumble of British Museum, the Tower Bridge, and Neleon's monument darkened the whole. It was, indeed, an inte.resting set of pictures, marred by the fact that all had been taken on one and the same negative. The operator had diligently "pulled the trigger" a dozen times, but had not theht it necessary to change the plate. I tried a new lot, but with no better result. Amateur photographer e evidently believe the age I of miracles has not paesed. They will hold a camera in an impassible position before an object, and with sinrple faith leek forward to a perfect photograph. You ean't get a wally distinct and detailed picture of the Mediterranean squadron off Gibraltar, including the Rock, on a plate the kis() Of a lady's visiting card, azul family portraits taken in a badly lighted roorn. instantaneously, at a, distance of a, foot and a Ihalf from the sitter are not flattering. During the third and fourth days I tackled *balsa& grimily detsainalbecita bear *up and (alga  29  my " liberal salary." Pemonar feelings should not be allowed to intrude into one businesi occupations, I argued. The instructions from the respective Genders of the plates I read with avidity. Each fresh letter 'was like the arrival in the prison cell of a warder—welccme., erven if accompanied by a task. Saturday dawned, and catching sight of my face in the mirror while shaving, I started at my haggard look. How I had aged! An indomitable Bpirit, however, urged me to go to the "studio," and I ignored the anxious faces of the staff. I felt ready to ferfeit a week's salary if only one of the plates showed signs of developing inte some The tension was not relieved when I found a note a month old, left by my predeoeeeor in officie, intimating his intention of committing suicide. The cheery manager shook my hand each day, surreptitiously feeling my pulse the while. The, hope that springs eternally in the human breast, received a slight enoouragemesta a few days later. Slowly developing before my eyes, and distinctly visible was a. scene of a busy quay—a steamer, gangways,' amid troops hurrying on board. It was a beautiful little neve tieceend while I laid it aside to soak I acknowledged-hembly to myself a small thing may perchance preserve the -balanee of an intellect. Other pictures followed, all good in their way. My excitement knew no bounds, for the relief was great. Instead of filling up one of Messrs Snap, Schott, and Shutter's usual farms, "We regret to inform you that there have been— failures in the parcel of plates forwarded to us for the development," I wrote a special note congratulating the photographer. . Two days afterwards the prints were returned with a letter worded in stronger terms than the circumstances seemed to warrant. It was f.mm the Chairman of the " Anti-Friction-Peaoastany Price Conciliation Committee," to whom I had in error sent the proofs. He demanded his proper negatives (whatever they were, they were'failUre),- and insisted that I had sent him the war pictures to annoy him, and with malice aforethought. It was merely a slip an my part, and one quite excusable when my excitable feel-ings were taken into account. But Fate waeevidently against me. A gentleroase named 13Qhjalsofa . had „obtained. an .excellent snapshat. _of , a prize porker at the Agricultural Rail, and another amateur photographer of the same name had also sent plates to be developed. Will it he believed, a similar mistake occurred again, and the picture of the qthadruped with the :rotu.ndity of a balloon came into the possession of Air Robinson, the well-known vegetarian adearate? The latter, when pointing out my mistake, took the opportunity of enclesing a couple of tracts on the viciousness of carnivorous diet versus the spirituality of bean-feasts.  The manager must have noticed my altered appearance, for he would look the other way if I approached him. He assured me I need not be alarmed at the whiteness of my hair, it was merely the. effect of thek dark-room. He added that it would go off after a time. It did—kin fact, it dropped off. •---There is no need to linger over the remain*ig brief period during which I staved in the employ of Messrs Snap, Schott, and shutter. In three months I had aged to second childhood, and my bald head confirmed the idea. The teasicai had undermined my constitution. The doctors thought that my oomplaitnt might pessibly be amenable to the open-air treatment. After com3ultatian, the firm were good enough to equip me with a. second-hand itinerant photogr.apher's kit mounted on a perambulator. My business.card explains my pmeent whecrea,bouto-