SHADOW-PICTURES.
LOUIS DUNCAN and his sisters were on a visit to their grandmother's, in the country. It was a large old house, and on rainy days the children liked nothing better than to climb to the roomy garret, and " keep house " with the old furniture, which was piled away there. And when they were tired of that, there were the swallows' nests up against the rafters. A pane of glass was broken from the little window in the gable, and the swallows could go in and out as they pleased. Grandma said that since she did not need the room, she did not see why the swallows mightn't as well have it.
But all the days were not rainy; no, most of them were bright and sunny. Then the children played out of doors; and plenty of nice places they had to go,—to the barn, to the garden, and to the fields and woods. In the back garden was a little old house, which had been built for a man to live in-who once helped to work the farm. But now grandpa's youngest boy had grown up to be a farmer, and took care of the place, so grandpa used the little house for a shop. He had learned the cooper's trade when he was young; and now he liked to Andre pails, buckets, and barrels for himself and neighbors, who all thought grandpa's things lasted twice as long as those they bought at the store. The children spent many happy hours in the little shop, watching grandpa at his work, and playing with the long curly shavings, which he made.
One day they were playing outside the shop, when Effie, who was sitting on the grass, cried out, "See Ada's shadow on the shop; `isn't it plain?"
"Hold still a minute, Ada," said Louis, "and
I'll take your picture." So he got a piece of red chalk from grandpa in the shop, and began to draw.
He traced the chalk around the outside of her shadow on the wall, and when it was done, had, a very good outline picture of her.
Just then Mrs. Duncan came out to see what the children were about, and to bring them some lunch.
"O mamma," cried they, "do see Ada's picture!"
"Yes," said she, "it is very good; how did you get such a natural outline?"
As the children were eating their lunch on the grass, their mother said, "Your shadow-picture reminds me of the way they used to take pictures many years ago. They did not then know how to make nice photographs such as are now so common. First they used to make what were called profile pictures. They took on white paper a small shadow of the person whose picture they wished to make, and by marking-around it, as you did, had a profile, or shadow-picture. The center of this was carefully cut out of the paper, and a piece of black cloth put under in its place. So they had a rude picture, which was, they thought, better than none.
"Afterward they learned to print these profiles on white paper with black ink, which was a little better than the other way. Your grandma has some of these odd black pictures of herself and grandpa; and when we go in, you may ask her to show them to you. It is only about forty years since people could have any pictures that really looked like them, except large oil paintings, which cost a great deal of money,—so much that few people could afford to have them."
"Why," said Louis, "how many, many people must have lived and died without ever having their pictures taken!"
"Yes, indeed," said Mrs. Duncan; "when I was a little girl, children did not have their pictures' taken as they do now. I never had mine taken till after I was married to your father."
On their way to the house to see grandma's pictures, Ada said, "I'm so glad you drew my shadow, Louis; for now we have learned ever so much about picture-making."