iking characteristics of the individual.

A _carte de visite_ is a more agreeable likeness than a larger one,
because it is taken with the middle of the lens, where it is truest;
hence it is never out of drawing. Also, it hides rather than
exaggerates any roughness of the face; and, again, it is so moderate
in price that we can afford to distribute the pictures generously.

Photographs have a bad name for durability, and when we look over our
albums and see those that were once strong and expressive now pale and
faded, we are forced to admit that their beauty is evanescent. But
this disadvantage is very much the fault of the artist. There is
nothing in the chemical constitution of photographs--formed as they
are by the combination of the precious metals--to make them
evanescent. The trouble lies in the last process through which they
pass. This process leaves them impregnated with a destructive
chemical, and the removal of all traces of it is a difficult and
tedious thing. To be finished effectually, the pictures ought to be
bathed for a day in a good body of water constantly agitated and
changed. Artists who are jealous of their art and of their personal
reputation insist on this process being thoroughly attended to, but
with inferior photographers the temptation to neglect it is very
great, especially as in many cases the vicious chemical adds to the
present brilliancy of the picture. They are further tempted by the
impatience of sitters, who are often importunate for an immediate
finish of their pictures. But if a durable portrait is wanted, ladies
must allow the artist time for the proper cleansing of their
photograph.

To the large majority of people the first interview with their
photographic portrait is a heavy disappointment. They express
themselves by an eloquent silence, turn it this way and that, hold it
near and far off. After a little while they become used to it in its
velvet frame, though they never in their heart acknowledge its
truthfulness. Again, there are others to whom photography is very
favorable, and they show to more advantage in their pictures than
ever they did in reality. These last are people whose features
are well balanced and proportioned, but who are not generally
considered beautiful. Faces dependent for beauty on their mobility
and expression suffer most, and are indeed, in their finer moods,
almost untranslatable by this process.

Still, setting aside all artistic considerations,