ent down to the office and
asked Miss S. for it. 'Oh! yes,' she replied, 'and here are a few
more equally urgent, you may take them as well.' I said, 'That
cannot be, as I have only two or three frames at liberty' (she had
about twenty negatives in her hand, holding them out to me); 'give
me Thompson's first, and let me get my mind at rest about it.' To
which she answered, 'His is amongst this lot, I will have to pick it
out.' (Each negative was in a paper bag.)

"I offered to help her, and she commenced at one end of the batch
and I at the other; and before we got halfway through I came across
one which I knew was very urgent, and turned away to look up the
date of taking it, when crash! went part of the negatives on the
floor. This accident seemed so serious that I was almost afraid to
pick up the fallen negatives, but on doing so, one by one, I was
greatly relieved to find _only one_ was broken; but, judge of
my horror to find that that one was Thompson's!

"I muttered something (not loud, but deep), and would fain have
relieved my feelings, but the presence of ladies restrained me (this
accident being witnessed also by my head printer, Miss L.).

"I could not honestly blame Miss Simon for this--each thought the
other was holding the lot, and between us we let them drop.

"The negative was broken in two, right across the forehead of
figure. I put the pieces carefully away, and taking out a memo.
form, wrote to Mr. Thompson, asking him to kindly give another
sitting, and offering to recoup him for his trouble and loss of
time. This letter was posted five minutes after the negative was
broken, and the affair was forgotten by me for the time.

"However, on Friday, January 9th, I was in the printing-room
upstairs, when I was signalled by the whistle which communicates
with the office, and Miss Simon asked if I could go down, as the
gentleman had called about the negative. I asked 'What negative?'
'Well,' she replied, 'the one we broke.'

"'Mr. Thompson's,' I answered. 'I am very busy and cannot come down,
but you know the terms I offered him; send him up to be taken at
once.'

"'But he is _dead_!' said Miss Simon.

"'Dead!' I exclaimed, and without another word I hastened down the
stairs to my office. Here I saw an elderly gentleman, who seemed in
great trouble.