Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1890-03-08
SELLING BIRDS. NESTS.
h Odd Industry . French Woman Has
W. Built Up in Now York.

wv Built Up in Now York.
when the Robins Nest Again"
seems likely to have a future bearing
upon trade In conversation with a
pretty little French woman the other
day, a reporter discovered that the
largest partsof her living was made by
the sale o Unnatural and artificial birds
nests, containing from three to five
tiny eggs and mounted OF not, a the
purchaser desired. Her story is that
in Paris, where she had been en-
ployed as. an artificial flower maker.
her wages were so low that to exist
was possible. but to lay up a penny for
a rainy day was not. An American
lady, who had given her some orders
and been attracted by her pretty face,
offered to pay her expenses to this city
and assist her In a small way until
such time as che could swim the sea
Of life alone. She disliked. 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
delicate flowers her deft fingers had
created.
But to make a long story short,
Steamer Day." as Americans call it,
arrived, and what little of this worlds
goods the little French iower-maker
had were easily packed and ample
space left all around them in a small
box not two feet square.
A brilliant idea came to her one day
when she visited q toy-shop in Four
teenth street. She there saw a birds
nest made by human hands and in il
were glued little eggs about the size
of an ordinary pill. Eureka! Her
day had come and a means of liveli-
hood had dawned upon her anxious
brain. In her enthusiasm she almost
leaped through the streets to go and
lay her scheme before her benefac.
tress. Net long after this an adver.
tisement appeared in Il of the morn
ing daily papers in which an offer o
fifteen cents was made for natura
birds nests without eggs and twenty
five cents with them. 1t had its crue'
side, to be sure, but it was responded
to in double battalions, and fol-
days after she had no. time
on her hands. The small boy occa
sionally brought in a trophy but he
purchases were mostly made of farm
ers, who would bring in the preciou.
burden. with their produce for tn,
markets, and go away with a Statistic,
chuckle, thinking the fools were no
all dead and that them ere eggs rep
resented a few encroachers which tn
scarecrow would take no part in fright
ening away from his fruit orchards.
The enterprising little tradeswoma'
lives, moves and has her being in
contented way, giving no signs G
nervousness through being haunted b
visitants from the world of the depart
5 ed spirits OF birdlings. Carriages o
: wealthy people roll up to the small
| shop where her merchandise is, and
without hesitation, leave the three dol
lars which is her price for her mes
with eggs, and, being tastefully mount
ed on a pile of stones or rustic branche
; in the shape of q corner piece, the
make a unique decoration for a home
and bid fair to be one Of the most POI
a ular articles for sale in the fall. |
r this greed for gain on n hand and
o desire TO have beautiful, if forbidden
n fruit on the other no notice is take
of the robins song, which has change
from merriment to Woe. No one think
of her as she reaches the home tire
/ and finds her nest gone and her hop,
0 blasted.-N. Y. World.