Page:The Diothas, or, A far look ahead (IA diothasorfarlook01macn).pdf/182

 ments in the curious instrument beside which she stood. Presently she produced for my inspection an extensive collection of sun-pictures, and, while I was occupied with these, went on with her preparations, as I thought, for taking my portrait, to obtain which was one object of my visit.

"It is an undoubted success," were the words by which she drew my attention.

"A success,—in what?" said I, looking up from the collection of views, which certainly were worthy of my complete absorption in them.

"Look here," she replied, pointing to the table before her.

On approaching, I found the entire table covered with a number of portraits of myself. How they had been taken, I could not at first imagine; for I had not, to my knowledge, been "posing," in any sense of the term. A closer examination somewhat explained the seeming mystery. I had been "taken" on the wing, as it were. Each portrait showed a slight change of position from that shown in the preceding one of the series.

In all this, however, there was nothing specially wonderful. I had seen something similar effected in regard to horses, though with infinitely more trouble, and far less nicety of result. It was not till a few hours after that I discovered the full scope of the invention.


 * You will be better able to judge of the result," said Ialma, when you see them in the lizeo."

I had not the slightest notion, at the moment, as to what was referred to by this new term,—whether a locality, or a piece of apparatus. According to my wont in such