The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1891-12-26
FOR THE YOUNG PEOPLE.
A DEPARTMENT DEVOTED TO
THE BOYS AND GIRLS.
A Boys Essay on Girls - Curious
Callings "a Neat Little Nut
Trick - She Had Heard
(; So--The Play Cor
ner.
Curious Calungs.

Curious Callings.
Paris, like all capitals, has itspecul-
lar types of character unknown tothe
ordinary visitor who, having "done"
the Boulevards and the Champs
Elysees, thinks he has seen everything.
That this is a mistake need hardly be
said. Paris is full of human curios-
tiles. One is the ramasseur des bouts
de cigars, who may be seen at work at
all hours OF the day and night. He
begins at two o'clock in the morning,
after the closing of the fashionable
cafes and b%rasseries and before the
street sweepers arrive. At noon after
luncheon he makes another tour
round the drinking and smoking es-
Establishments. He now reposes him
self, and Sits his cigarette and cigar
ends. His third and last tour is made
ut nine O'Clock round the doors of the
restaurants and theatres, where
he reaps his best harvest. On
IN average he picks IN half a pound
Of ends yer day, which, after sitting,
drying, and cutting up, he sells to the
rag pickers and other smokers who
cannot afford to have their tobacco
first hand. His earnings range from
franc to two francs q day, according
to the weather, When it is wet he
does not gain more than half q franc.
Attentive observers must have seen
him darling in and out under the cafe
tables on the pavements picking up
the remnants thrown away by the
smokers. Legally speaking, his little
commerce is prohibited, but the po-
licemen kindly shut their eyes, and in
terfere with him only when he shows
too much zeal and annoys the custom
ers. He is generally q youth or an
old man, too lazy or too feeble to do
other work. 1t is estimated that
100000 cigars and cigarettes are
smoked daily IN Paris, one-third OF
which finds its way into the little sack
of the ramasseur.
Next there is the reveilleur. This is
invariably an old man who has work.
ed long, but who, like too many
toilers, has reached the last days OF
his life without having saved o penny.
He corresponds to the "knocker up"
in Lancaster towns. His occupation
is simplicity itself. The reveilleur
rises at two in the morn ing, whatever
be the aso or weather, and pro-
ceeds to patrol the working quarters.
His duty Is to wake up the workmen.
lest they should ovelsleep themselves
and thereby arrive at the shops too
lateto be admitted without atine. He
has a book in which al! thenames and
addresses of his clients are written
: down. He follows his Itinerary with
the punctuality of q pos;man, raises
a cry before each house and does not
move on until he sees the
window open and has re-
ceived an answer. For every
every workman thus woke up he gets
a halfpenny per day; most of the
workmen, however, pay him by the
week or month. His best season is,
OF course, the winter, when the nights
are long and his services most re-
quired. Taking the year round, he
manages to earn a fraLc daily, which
keeps him from starving or the work
house.
Our next type is also a ramasseur,
task consists in collecting all the
broken bread he can find. 1t must
not be thought that he gathers the
crusts and crumbs for his own con-
sumption. His principles that moth
ing should be lost; and moreover. he
knows that o piece of stale bread,
no wever dirty. added to another piece,
helps to fill a sack which, when replen-
ished, he can sell to the rearer of
rabbits for a franc.
A Boys Essay On Girls.