Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, Vol. I.Stephens, John L.
History
Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, Vol. I.
Stephens, John L.
Yucatán (Mexico : State) -- Description and travel
little suggestions we considered necessary to prevent too great a
disappointment in case of failure; and perhaps our fair visiters were
somewhat surprised at our audacity in undertaking at all such a
doubtful experiment, and using them as instruments. The result,
however, was enough to induce us never again to adopt prudential
measures, for the young lady's image was stamped upon the plate, and
made a picture which enchanted her and satisfied the critical judgment
of her friends and admirers.
Our experiments upon the other ladies were equally successful, and the
morning glided away in this pleasant occupation.
We continued practising a few days longer; and as all our good results
were extensively shown, and the poor ones we took care to keep out of
sight, our reputation increased, and we had abundance of applications.
In this state of things we requested some friends to whom we were under
many obligations, to be permitted to wait upon them at their houses. On
receiving their assent, the next morning at nine o'clock Mr. C. in a
caleza, with all the complicated apparatus packed around him, drove up
to their door. I followed on foot. It was our intention to go through
the whole family, uncles, aunts, grandchildren, down to Indian
servants, as many as would sit; but man is born to disappointment. I
spare the reader the recital of our misfortunes that day. It would be
too distressing. Suffice it to say that we tried plate after plate,
sitting after sitting, varying light, time, and other points of the
process; but it was all in vain. The stubborn instrument seemed bent
upon confounding us; and, covering our confusion as well as we could,
we gathered up our Daguerreotype and carried ourselves off. What was
the cause of our complete discomfiture we never ascertained, but we
resolved to give up business as ladies' Daguerreotype portrait takers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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