Page:Leah Reed--Brenda's summer at Rockley.djvu/109

Rh the pictures that I took of the girls at school on the last day, at Miss Crawdon’s, by exposing them again down  here at Rockley, when I wanted some views around our  grounds.”

“How did you find it out?” asked Julia. “When did it all happen?”

“Oh, it was while you were away. I sent the film up to town to be developed; and when mamma, to oblige me,  called for the negatives, the photographer told her that  the roll had been exposed twice, so that there was n’t a  single decent negative in the whole lot.”

“That was really too bad!” Julia’s sympathy was evidently sincere.

“Oh, well, accidents will happen. It is n’t to be expected that all one’s pictures will be perfect,” said Brenda, with unusual philosophy.

“Ah, but you ought to neglect no effort to make them perfect,” said Mr. Barlow. “Photography can be made a very valuable form of training in habits of accuracy and  neatness—if one only puts her mind on it—”

“Or his mind, papa,” interposed Brenda.

“I was thinking,” replied Mr. Barlow, “of girls, chiefly, for the reason that it is a girl’s bill for photographic supplies which my pocket-book has to pay for. I would n’t begrudge the money, if the result were more satisfactory;  but you must admit that you have n’t had much to show  me thus far, Brenda.”

“Just wait; just wait. For one thing, I’m going to take a lot of views to-day, and I can assure you that you