Various - Golden Days for Boys and Girls, Vol. XII, Jan. 3, 1891
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Various >> Golden Days for Boys and Girls, Vol. XII, Jan. 3, 1891
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"The fates are against us to-night," he muttered. "We can never make
Wood's Hollow in time to escape the down express. That is always on
time."
Just then the little gong over his head sounded, in response to the
conductor's pull upon the cord.
Jockey quickly answered this with a blast from the whistle, which the
other would understand to mean that the engine was already crowded to
her utmost.
The old engineer was losing his temper by this time, and with his hand
still on the lever he leaned forward to peer into the gloom, parting
before the dull rays of the headlight, as if to let them pass.
A drizzling rain was yet falling, but he did not notice this, for at his
first glance a cry of horror left his lips, and he staggered back,
exclaiming:
"It is coming! Someone has blundered!"
Rock started forward with surprise, and he uttered a cry of terror as he
saw the gleam of a headlight and the shadowy outlines of an engine and
train, less than a rod in front of them.
[TO BE CONTINUED.]
THE ORIGIN OF DOLLS.
It is a safe assertion to make that every girl has at some time or other
played with dolls; in fact, it is almost impossible to imagine a girl
without a doll. Of course, the older ones have outgrown their dolls, and
only keep the old favorites as souvenirs of childish days and pretty
playthings, and it is quite likely that they would be puzzled to explain
why they call the little image a "doll," and not, as the French do, a
"puppet," or, with the Italians, a "bambino," or baby.
What is the meaning of the word "doll?" To explain, it is necessary to
go back to the Middle Ages, when it was the fashion all over the
Christian world for mothers to give their little children the name of a
patron saint. Some saints were more popular than others, and St.
Dorothea was at one period more popular than all.
Dorothea, or Dorothy, as the English have it, means a "gift from God."
But Dorothea or Dorothy is much too long a name for a little, toddling
baby, and so it was shortened to Dolly and Doll, and from giving the
babies a nickname it was an easy step to give the name to the little
images of which the babies were so fond.
ANECDOTES THAT AMUSE.
In this age of enlightenment it is not often that one meets with an
adult who cannot read and write, and the encounter is generally as
amusing as it is amazing. In one of the interior towns of Pennsylvania
there lives a farmer who brings butter, eggs and produce to market, and,
being illiterate, also brings with him his son to do the "figuring." The
other day the son was ill, and the old man had to venture alone. For
awhile he got along very well by letting his customers do the figuring;
but presently he sold two rolls of butter to a woman who could not
figure any better than he. The farmer was much puzzled, but, being
resolved that she should not know that his early education had been
neglected, he took a scrap of paper from his pocket and began. He put
down a lot of marks on the paper, and then said, "Let's see; dot's a
dot, figure's a figure, two from one and none remains, with three to
carry--$1.50, madam, please." She paid over the $1.50, took the butter
home, had it weighed and "figured up" by her daughter, who discovered
that the price should have been $2.10 instead of $1.50.
A small Detroit boy was given a drum for a Christmas present, and was
beating it vociferously on the sidewalk, when a nervous neighbor
appeared, and asked, "How much did your father pay for that drum, my
little man?" "Twenty-five cents, sir," was the reply. "Will you take a
dollar for it?" "Oh, yes, sir," said the boy, eagerly. "Ma said she
hoped I'd sell it for ten cents." The exchange was made, and the drum
put where it wouldn't make any more noise, and the nervous man chuckled
over his stratagem. But, to his horror, when he got home that night
there were four drums beating in front of his house, and as he made his
appearance, the leader stepped up and said, cheerfully, "These are my
cousins, sir. I took that dollar and bought four new drums. Do you want
to give us four dollars for them?" The nervous neighbor rushed into the
house in despair, and the drum corps is doubtless beating yet in front
of his house.
Photography is an art that looks to be easier than it is, but some
beginners add to their difficulties by inexcusable carelessness. A young
lady bought a Kodak at a dealer's before she went on her summer
vacation, and was so confident of her own ability that she took only the
book of directions and went off. She took seventy or eighty shots in
picturesque places, and promised copies to all her friends. When she
came home, she left the camera to have the film developed and printed.
The artist developed on and on, but found none but blanks. In great
surprise, he sent for the amateur photographer, and when she came he
asked, "How did you operate this camera?" "Operate it? Why, I pulled the
string as the book says, and touched the button." "But what did you do
with this little black cap here?" "Why, I didn't do anything with it,"
she replied. And then the artist roared with laughter. She had never
once removed the cap that covered the lens, and had, of course, taken
not a single picture, and when she found what she had done, or rather
not done, she wept bitter tears.
One of the most amusing accidents imaginable happened recently to an old
gentleman in one of our large Eastern cities. He was asked to buy a
ticket to a fireman's ball and good-naturedly complied. The next
question was what to do with it. He had two servants, either one of whom
would be glad to use it, but he did not wish to show favoritism. Then it
occurred to him that he might buy another ticket and give both his
servants a pleasure. Not knowing where the tickets were sold, he
inquired of a policeman, and the officer suggested that he go to the
engine house. So the old gentleman went to the engine house that
evening, but there was no one in sight. He had never been in such a
place before, and stood for a moment or so uncertain how to make his
presence known. Presently he saw an electric button on the side of the
room, and he put his thumb on it. The effect was electrical in every
sense of the word. Through the ceiling, down the stairs and from every
other direction firemen came running and falling, the horses rushed out
of their stalls, and, in short, all the machinery of a modern engine
house was instantly in motion. Amid all this uproar stood the innocent
old gentleman, who did not suspect that he had touched the fire-alarm
until the men clamored around him for information as to the locality of
the fire. Then he said, mildly, "I should like to buy another ticket for
the ball, if you please." The situation was so ludicrous that there was
a general shout of laughter, and the old gentleman bought his ticket and
the engine house resumed its former state of quiet.
A HAPPY NEW YEAR.
by MARY ROWLES.
A Happy New Year, and a new beginning
For hands that have wavered and steps that fall;
New time for toil and new space for winning
The guerdon of happiness free to all.
Now hope for the souls long clouded over
With possible sorrows and actual pain;
New joys for comrade, and friend and lover,
The year is bringing them all again!
New days and hours for the patient building
Of noble character, pure and true;
For faith and love, with their radiant gliding,
To make the temple of life anew.
A Happy New Year, and a truce to sadness,
Its every moment by God is planned;
Whatever may come, whether grief or gladness,
Must come aright from a Father's hand.
He blessed the old in its dawning--thenceforth
His love was true to us all the way,
And now in the hitherto shines the henceforth,
And out of the yesterdays smiles to-day.
We would have power In this year to brighten
Each lot less blessed and fair than ours;
The woe to heal, and the load to lighten,
The waste soul-garden to plant with flowers.
May every day be a royal possession
To high-born purpose and steadfast aim,
And every hour in its swift progression
Make life more worthy than when it came.
PRACTICAL PHOTOGRAPHY.
by DORCAS.
PART II.
If you simply desire to get a picture from your negative in the easiest
and quickest way, without going through the necessary processes which
are involved in toning, you can use cyanotype paper, which requires but
one process for the completion of the picture and that process simply a
bath in clean water.
Prints made upon this cyanotype paper have a beautiful blue tone, and
are so simple and easily made that they are very popular. This cyanotype
paper is sold in any desired quantity and size, and it is never worth
while for the amateur to prepare his own paper, as it is a tedious and
uncertain process.
When you are sure the negative is thoroughly dry, place it in the
printing frame with the film side uppermost, and upon it lay a sheet of
the cyanotype paper cut the right size, with the prepared side next to
the film of the negative.
The frame should then be put where the sun's rays will fall upon the
glass, and allowed to remain there till the cyanotype paper has turned
to a dull bronze in the shadows.
It will be necessary to look at the print from time to time to see when
this point is reached. If the paper is not allowed to print long enough,
the result will be that the picture will wash off the paper when it is
put in water.
When you think it is done, place it in running water, or in several
changes of water, and wash it thoroughly. It should be washed till the
water that drips from it is no longer discolored, but is perfectly
clear. The picture then should stand out in blue tones on a clear white
ground.
If you prefer to use the ready sensitized paper, there is a preliminary
process through which the paper must pass before you print it. This
process is called "fuming," and consists in exposing the paper to the
fumes of ammonia for a short time.
A fuming-box is needful, but one can easily be constructed, without the
expense of purchasing this convenience. Take a wooden box about two feet
cube, and, with hinges, make a door of the cover. Close all the cracks
with strips of cloth so that the box will be both light and air tight,
and fasten corresponding strips around the edges of the door so that no
light will make its way in there.
Stretch two or three strings across the box near the top, on which to
hang the paper that is to be fumed, and put a small flat dish in the
bottom of the box.
When you are ready to fume your paper, pin two sheets together, back to
back, and hang them on one of the strings. Several sheets can be fumed
at once in this manner. Fill the dish with ammonia, and closing the door
tightly, let the paper absorb the fumes for fifteen or twenty minutes.
After fuming, the paper should be given a short time to dry before it is
used for printing. It should then be put in the printing frame in the
same way as the cyanotype paper and exposed to the sun.
If your negative is a thin one, a diffused light is better for printing
than the direct rays of the sun. Diffused light is a strong light that
is not sunlight.
If the negative is exceedingly thin, the light indoors, away from the
window, will be sufficient. Satisfactory results cannot of course be
achieved with too thin a negative, but this diffused light will give the
best print that you can obtain.
In examining the print from time to time be sure that you do not open
both sides of the printing frame at once, for if you should do this, you
will find it impossible to replace the print in exactly the same
position, and so it will be spoiled by being printed with double lines.
No exact rule can be given for the length of time which should be
allowed for the printing of a negative. It should, however, be allowed
to become twice as dark as it ought to be after the picture is toned and
mounted. The after processes of toning bleach the print very much, as
the amateur will discover for himself.
If a negative is very dense or thick, as over-development will sometimes
cause it to become, the time for printing will be considerably extended.
While in a good light, with a negative of the right density, five
minutes or less is sufficient to print a negative, three or four hours
will sometimes be required.
When the print has become dark enough, it should be removed from the
printing frame and put at once in a dark place where the light cannot
reach it. It is what is known as a proof at this stage, and the light
will turn it black.
About twenty prints can be toned at once, and, as it is a long process,
it is better to wait until several have accumulated than to go through
the various operations with only one or two prints.
They should first be trimmed to the required size. Some amateurs leave
the trimming until after they have finished the toning process, but this
is not advisable for several reasons. In the first place, it is easier
to trim them beforehand, because they lie flat and are not curled up, as
they generally are after toning. None of the toning solution is wasted
in toning the parts that are of no use, and if the accumulated clippings
are saved, they are of some value on account of the silver in them.
The trimming cannot be satisfactorily done with a pair of scissors,
as it is impossible to cut perfectly straight. A thick piece of glass
called a cutting mould is used, and a convenient little instrument
called Robinson's trimmer. If you do not wish to go to the expense of
these articles, however, you can manage very well by using a sharp
pen-knife to cut with and any piece of glass with straight edges to
trim by.
You should have a firm, hard substance to cut on (glass is preferable),
and on this should be put a piece of paper. Upon this paper the print
should be laid face downward, and after you have decided how much of it
you are going to cut away, draw your knife firmly along by the edge of
the glass, pressing down well, and the strips will be cut off leaving a
smooth, straight edge.
After the prints have been trimmed, they should be soaked in water for
fifteen minutes. If you have not running water in which to place them,
the water should be changed several times. This preliminary washing must
be very thorough, or the toning will not be satisfactory.
To prepare your toning bath, make up first a stock solution of fifteen
ounces of water and fifteen grains of chloride of gold and sodium. The
chloride of gold and sodium can be obtained in small bottles which come
for the convenience of the amateur prepared in just the desired
quantity.
For a toning bath for twenty prints, take ten ounces of water, three
grains of sodic bicarbonate, six grains of sodic chloride (common salt),
and three ounces of your stock solution of gold. Add to this bath three
ounces of the stock solution of gold that has had three drops of
saturated solution of bicarbonate of soda added to it. This bath should
be alkaline, and you can test it with red litmus paper. If it turns the
paper slightly blue, it is ready for use. Put this bath in a flat tray
(porcelain preferably), and then lay the prints in it face down. Move
them all the time, to insure evenness of tone and to prevent spots. It
is a good plan to keep drawing out the undermost one, and putting it on
the top.
The prints are of a reddish-brown color when they are put into the
toning bath, and in about fifteen or twenty minutes they begin to turn
to a rich purplish black. Experience will teach the amateur at what
point the prints should be removed from this bath. They should lie long
enough to have every tinge of red entirely removed, and yet not long
enough to turn the prints to a dull gray.
When the prints have been sufficiently toned, they should be thoroughly
washed and then put into the fixing bath. This bath is made of one
gallon of water, one pound of sodic hyposulphite, one tablespoonful
sodic bicarbonate, and one tablespoonful common salt.
These ingredients should be thoroughly dissolved, and then a portion put
in a tray. This tray must be kept for the fixing bath and not be used
for any other purpose. The prints are put in the tray in the same manner
as in the toning bath, and moved continually until they are fixed.
This process should take fifteen minutes, or, if the bath is rather
cool, the time may be extended to twenty minutes.
After the prints have been removed from the fixing bath they are put in
a strong solution of salt and water, to prevent their blistering. After
they have been in this solution for about five minutes they are then
ready for their final washing. The prints should be left in running
water for some hours, and there is very little danger of washing them
too long or too thoroughly.
After every trace of the fixing bath has been removed, the prints may be
taken from the water and dried between sheets of chemically-pure
blotting paper. They will not curl up when dried in this way, as they do
when simply exposed to the air.
The prints are now ready to mount. This is by no means the least
difficult nor the least important of the many processes necessary to
secure a successful picture. Even if care has been exercised in all the
other processes, yet if the prints are carelessly mounted they will not
look well.
The prints should be wet in clean water and laid in a pile upon each
other, with their faces down. It is necessary to have a very adhesive
paste to make the prints stick well to the mounts. There are some pastes
that are manufactured for this purpose, but it is very easy to make one
which will work equally well.
Boiled laundry starch, with the addition of a little white glue, is
perhaps the best; it can be easily made, and with the addition of a few
drops of carbolic acid will keep well. It is made in the proportion of
one and three-quarter ounces of starch, mixed with one ounce of water,
till it is a smooth paste, as thin as cream, and eighty grains of glue
added with fourteen ounces of water. The whole should be well boiled and
six drops of carbolic acid added. This can be put in a bottle and will
keep a long time.
After the water is pressed from the wet prints a bristle brush is dipped
in the paste and drawn back and forth over the print, till it is
thoroughly covered.
The position on the mount should have been previously marked with a
pencil or with pin-pricks, and when the print is well covered with paste
it should be carefully lifted and put in place. With a piece of paper
laid over it and a flat paper-cutter, all the unnecessary paste and any
bubbles of air may be pressed out from between the print and the mount.
With a soft cloth wipe away the paste that is pressed out around the
edges of the print and then put it under a weight to dry.
If it is desired to mount prints in an album, a piece of cardboard, an
eighth of an inch smaller than the print, should be placed upon the back
of the print and the exposed edge covered with paste. Put on just as
little as possible and lift it in place at once, before the paste has
time to dry. Pass a soft cloth over it to press it into place and then
close the album. In less than an hour it will be dry, and if properly
mounted will be firmly adhering to the page.
The one important factor for success in photography is care. Without it,
you can accomplish nothing, no matter how complete and costly your
outfit may be. With care and patience you may achieve results that will
be a pleasure to your friends as well as yourself, and will give
permanent existence to pleasant scenes and occasions that otherwise must
be only memory pictures.
[THE END.]
FEATHER BOOKS.
Elizabeth Brightwen describes, in "Nature Notes," her method of
collecting birds' feathers, by grouping them artistically in the page of
a large album.
"The book," she says, "should be a blank album of about fifty pages,
eleven inches wide by sixteen, so as to make an upright page, which will
take in long tail feathers. Cartridge paper of various pale tints is
best, as one can choose the ground that will best set off the colors of
the feathers. Every other page may be white, and about three black
sheets will be useful for swan, albatross and other white-plumaged
birds.
"The only working tools required are sharp scissors and a razor, some
very thick, strong gum arabic, a little water and a duster, in case of
fingers becoming sticky.
"Each page is to receive the feathers of only one bird; then they are
sure to harmonize, however you may combine them.
"A common wood-pigeon is an easy bird to begin with, and readily
obtained at any poulterer's. Draw out the tail feathers and place them
quite flat in some paper till required. Do the same with the right wing
and the left, keeping each separate and putting a mark on the papers
that you may know which each contains.
"The back, the breast, the fluffy feathers beneath, all should be neatly
folded in paper and marked; and this can be done in the evening or at
odd times, but placing the feathers on the pages ought to be daylight
work, that the colors may be studied. Now open the tail-feather packet,
and with the razor carefully pare away the quill at the back of each
feather.
"This requires much practice, but at last it is quickly done, and only
the soft web is left, which will be perfectly flat when gummed upon the
page. When all the packets are thus prepared (it is only the quill
feathers that require the razor) then we may begin.
"I will describe a specimen page, but the arrangement can be varied
endlessly, and therein lies one of the charms of the work. One never
does two pages alike--there is such scope for taste and ingenuity--and
it becomes at last a most fascinating occupation.
"Toward the top of the page, place a thin streak of gum, lay upon it a
tail feather (the quill end downward), and put one on either side. The
best feathers of one wing may be put down, one after the other, till one
has sufficiently covered the page; then the other wing feathers may be
placed down the other side; the centre may be filled in with the fluffy
feathers, and the bottom can be finished off with some breast feathers
neatly placed so as to cover all quill ends.
"When one works with small plumage, a wreath looks very pretty, or a
curved spray beginning at the top with the very smallest feathers and
gradually increasing in size to the bottom of the page.
"Butterflies or moths made of tiny feathers add much to the effect, and
they are made thus. It is best, I find, to fill a wide-mouthed bottle
with dry gum, and just cover the gum with the water, allow it to melt,
keep stirring and adding a few drops of water till just right--no bought
liquid gum equals one's own preparation.
"To make the book complete, there should be a careful water-color study
of the bird on the opposite page, its Latin and English name, and a
drawing of the egg. It may interest some to know how I obtained the
ninety-one birds which fill my books. Some were the dried skins of
foreign birds, either given me by kind friends or purchased at
bird-stuffers'. The woodpecker and nut-hatch were picked up dead in the
garden. The dove and budgerigars were moulted feathers saved up until
there were sufficient to make a page.
"Years after the death of our favorite parrot, I found that his wings
had been preserved; so they appear as a memento of an old friend who
lived as a cheery presence in my childhood's home for thirty years. It
is a pleasure to me to be able to say no bird was ever killed to enrich
my books."
LILIAN'S NEW YEAR'S CALLS.
by Mrs. CLARA DOTY BATES.
"Oh, what a lonesome day it will be!" sighed Lilian, looking wistfully
out across the snow-bright prairie.
"Not unless you make it so," responded her mother, cheerily.
"Make it so!" rejoined Lilian. "How can I make it anything else? It is
always lonesome here, and to-day will be the worst of all. Only think of
the fun the girls will be having in dear old Deerfield, while I am off
out here in this--"
She stopped short, fearing she might say too much. What she had been
about to say was "this horrid, desolate Kansas ranch."
"Perhaps the boys can take you for a drive, dear; and you know we're
invited to Uncle Abner's for the evening."
"A drive!" replied Lilian, scornfully. "I hate driving, all alone, along
these endless roads. Nothing but snow, snow, until I am nearly blind."
"You have your books, Lilian; and your father likes perfect lessons."
"Yes, I can have books any day. But think of the girls at home--what
they are having. They are getting their tables ready, this very minute.
They will darken the parlors and have gas-light, and pretty dresses and
lots of callers."
Here Lilian broke down and sobbed. Her mother came to her side and
stroked her hair.
"Be brave, daughter," she whispered. "I know it is a great change. But I
have often told you we must bear in mind why we left the East, and why
we are here. Father would not have been alive but for this change of
climate and open-air life. You know he is getting well, and is so happy
in that. We ought not to mind anything if he can be well again."
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