Year: 1865

thought i, and concluded | would find out.
Looking about me with my little corner,
observed small dark room, with only yell
low glass to let in little light; in it were
two men stalking around like demons, one
with little lamp in his hand lighting the
other while he cleaned a piece of glass
with something from bottle labeled "Rot-
tcn-stone." heard them say they were
making the negative. The room seemed to
be very clean and nice, and in perfect or
der. Bottles and brushes and tunnels, and
other articles, were there in abundance


and all properly labeled, and in a special
place where they cond be found when
wanted, without trouble This enabled me
to find out and tell you more than should
otherwise be able to do. After cleaning
the plate and carefully brushing it over
with a wide camel's-hair blender, the shin
ing glass was seized by one of these gen
tlcmen and a coating of very odoriterous
creamy substance poured over it, and al
lowed to flow evenly over the surface, and
the surplus run off at one corner into a bot
tie labeled "Colodion," After the glass
was thus coated, it was quickly placed up
on long forked arrangement, and lowered
into deep, narrow, black box, which was
labeled Silver bath" When the glass
was removed from the hath, it was quickly
placed in another black looking affair
smaller than the bath, and having little
door, which was shut so suddenly that |
could not discover the glass looked after
the treatment it had received. The opera
torso l am told such persons are called
seemed in great excitement, and ran out
of the room with the whole affair. Then |
heard the rumbling of wheels, the crying
of children ringing of bells, blowing of
whistles, and occasional "NOw !" Look
look look look look look |" the whist
! ling of birds, and several other strange
noises, that quite overpowered me, and |
began to fear something dreadful had hap
| pened, until the operator returned to the
dark room with a smile on his face. He
opened the little door Of the black box, and
therefrom took my old friend the glass. 1t
presented a most beautiful white and frost
like appearance, and was quite changed in
its nature. From a bottle labeled Deyel-
oper" the operator poured q solution over
the plate, and it Immediately grew darker;
presently faint lines could be discovered
now the plaid III a little dress, and immedi-


ately little hands and feet and faces and,


as if coming up from mist, three beauti-
full children appeared seated close beside
each other. After pouring this fluid on the
negative, as it was called, it was well
washed with water, and then the men held
it up to the light, put their heads together,
rubbed their hands over the back of it,
looked through it, and finally concluded
that it was hardly strong enough, and that
they would have to re-develop it. So they
! took two bottles down from a Shelf and
! ty4n
called re developer over the negative, NOV
ing it from side to side until they said suf-
! fcient intensity was obtained. Then the
poor negative was put through another
washing. | hoped they would get the poor
thing fixed presently when, sure enough,
down come another bottle, nicely labeled
Fixing solution" which was poured over
the negative, after which it was again
washed, thoroughly dried and another bot
| tie labeled "Varnish taken down, and it's
contents poured over the negative, when it
was placed in a drying-rack, and saw the
man prepare to repeat the experiment on
another glass plate At this moment felt
quite relieved within myself, caused by
seeing, as | supposed, that poor glass re-
ceive a little rest but such, alasl! was
not the case Great excitement seemed to
pervade overhead, and | saw my kindred
| sheets dragged away from me, while | was
seized by my unfortunate corner, and hur-
ried up flight or two of stairs into very
warm, dark room, and laid down upon a
table, where sat a pearl ly-white pan, full of
very pretty colorless fluid, which was
called Silvering Solution. This was prec-
pitated, and one-fifth was re-dissolved with
liq. ammonia, mixed with the other four
fifths, and the sediment dissolved with nj
tric acid. Presently was taken up gently
and carefully foated upon the surface of
this beautiful solution for about a minute,
which was more pleasant to bear, but more
alarming in its results, than that offensive
albumen. | was then removed, and hung
lengthwise upon two terribly sharp needles
until the waste solution had dripped from
my almost strangled self | was then
placed in fearfully-close box, held tightly
by two unyelding clips over dozens of tiny
gas Jets, that winked wickedly at, and tried
in vain to reach me with their fiery tongues,
while | curled myself up to escape their
torment and persecution. When dried per-
fectly, | was removed and hurried through
another dark, mysterious passage, placed
in a box, seized by another twain Of vora-
| ciOus clips, and there allowed to hang for
| five or ten minutes over a saucer of ammo
MIA, which would have been a relief to my
nervous system had it not been so strong
as to suffocate me, and deprive me of my
sense to such an extent that | knew moth
ing until found myself out in fresh air
and sunlight, pressed closely to, and face
to face with, my old friend the negative of
the trio of tiny children A coarse, ugly
man would occasionally separate us in
part, and then quickly press US together
again. Finally we were parted entirely,
and purple and black with rage and heat


was thrown into dark drawer, only to be
taken away in few moments by man
with very black fingers He carried me
down stairs again, and plunged me into a
deep tank of water, vowing he would wash
away some of my ugly self, and then fix
me so | wouldn't get away soon. After
coming out of this generous bath obser-
we'd the image of the three children upon
my surface precisely like that upon the
negative, which must leave you to ac-
count for. After this / was put through
what the black-fngered gent called tom
ing solution, then washed again, and fixed
III the same manner that the moor NEGATIVE