The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1889-09-27
SELLING REAL BIRDS NESTS
The Odd Industry q French Woman Has
Built Up I'm New York.


Built Up i'm New York.
when the Robins Nest Again"
seems likely to have future bearing
upon trade. In conversation with a
pretty little French woman the other
hay, World reporter discovered that
the largest part of her living was
made by the sale of natural and arti-
fetal birds nests, containing from
three to five tiny eggs and mounted or
not, as the purchaser desired. Her
story is that in Paris, where she had
been employed as an artificial flower
maker, her wages were SO low that
to exist was possible, but to lay up a
cent for rainy day was not. An
American lady, who had given
her some orders and been at
tracted by her pretty face, offered to
pay her expenses to this city and as
sist her in a small way until she could
swim the sea Of life alone She dis
liked, as all foreigners do. to leave
Paris. This was not because she had
been SO happy there. for hers was a
hard lot, rising early in the morning
and working away into the night in
order to make the few francs per week
which she required to keep body and
soul together. Then there was the
long walk from the little back street,
where she lived. to the great shop
where she daily disposed Of the deli
cate flowers her def fingers had ere
ated.
But to make long story short,
Steamer Day, as Americans call it,
arrived, and what little of this worlds
goods the little French flower maker
had were easily packed and ample
space left all around them in small
box not two feet square.
A brilliant idea came to her one day
when she visited toy shop in Four
teenth street. She there saw a birds
nest made by human hands and in it
were glued little eggs about the size of
an ordinary pill Eurekal Her day
had come and a means of livelihood
mad dawned upon her anxious brain.
In her enthusiasm she almost leaped
through the streets to 60 and lay her
scheme before her benefactress. Not
long after this an advertisement APP
peared in one of the morning daily pa
pers in which an offer of fifteen cents
was made for natural birds nest without
eggs and twenty-five cents with them.
1t had its cruel side, to be sure, but it
was responded to in double battalions,
and for days afterward she had no
time on her hands. The small bow
occasionally brought in a trophy, but
iler purchases were mostly made of
farmers, who bring in the precious
burden with their produce for the
markets, and go away with satisfied
:lluckle, thinking the fools were not ali
dead and that them ere eggs represent
ed a few encroachers which the scare
crow would take no part in frighten
ing away from his fruit orchards.
The enterprising little tradeswoman
lives, moves and has her being in
contented way, giving no signs of ner
vousness through being haunted by
visitants from the world of the depart
ed spirits of birdlings. Carriages of
wealthy women roll up to the small
shop where her merchandise is, and,
without hesitation, leave the So which
is her price for her nest with eggs,
and, being tastefully mounted on a
pile OF stones or rustic branches in the
shape of corner piece. they make a
unique decoration for a home. In
this greed for gain on one hand and
desire to have beautiful, if forbidden,
fruit on the other no notice is taken of
the robins song, which has changed
from merriment to woe. No one
thinks of her as she reaches the home
tree and finds her nest gone and her
hopes blasted. -New York World.