Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1891-12-19
A BOOK AGENTS STORY.
A Young Woman Relates Her Dis
agreeable Experiences.
The Door Oftcn Shut in an Agents Faces
Experience Meetings Of the womcn
"A Premium on lmpudcnce
and y Smooth Tongue.

why don't ! take up bOoE-canvaSS-
ing? tried that once. and let me tell
you would be n scrubwornan rather
than 4 book agent"
She was bright, capable girl, anx-
ious to get honest employment. Some
one ventured the canvassing suggestion
and this was her reply.
Let me tell you something OF my
experiences" she continued, land per-
haps you will not wonder at my asser-
ton. Seriously, would go into a
kitchen before I would again under
take canvassiag. was n book agert for
three months. At the end Of that time
was, to be sure, richer in experience,
but in very little else. had covered
my expenses and had about fifty dol
lars besides. But the humiliation, the
fatigue had undergone, the rebuffs,
good-natured contempt and insults
had received were something beyond
calculation.
81 signed q contract to canvass for a
book which sold for two dollars and a
half and which absolutely was not
worth five cents. 1t was the history
of n mans life from the cradle to the
grave. How he was chased by a bull
when boy; how he fought, bled and
died in the ebellion-unmitigate
rubbish that nobody wanted to buy,
and my business was to talk people
tired until they would buy to be rid
of me.
Il was only to visit offices, banks.
manufactures, etc. never private
houscs-for there l would encounter
women, and you know that if there is
any creature on earth that woman
has no mercy on it's a woman book
agent. I'll tell you some thing about
that presently.
ut was the author of this great lite
rary effort who engaged me to canvass.
He and his wife were the shrewdcst of
shrewd people. They had a system all
their own. They mapped out their ter
ritory and divided it up into sections
and sent a knot of agents here and
there, and then kept al espionage over
them that was worse than the police
system.
II was required to start out every
morning al eight o'clock, rain or shine,
wind or snow. l was given five Offices
and must spend those four hours in
FIVE offices. No matter if was told
again and again that my book was not
wanted must keep on talking, talk ing,
unless l was shown the door, as hap
pencd once or twice.
After dinner ! started out again,
and if did not get ten orders day
was met with considerable coolncss and
sarcasm when / reported once week
to my employer.
at was his custom to hold weekly
experience meetings, at which each
agent was required to rise and state
her experience, her ways and means of
getting ORDERS her worst struggle for
name and other odds and ends of in
formation. The girls who had received
the greatest number of orders got
prizes, gold watches, diamond earrings
and money. The others were reproved
and cxhorted into greater activity.
Each one had her own particular
story to tell. ! was educating little
cousin whose parents had adopted me
when / was an orphan. Now they bad
lost their money and I was trying to
return their kindness. One of tile girls
was supporting her aged grandparents,
another wished to finish her musical
education, and so on. 1t taxed our in
gcnuity sometimes to get up enough
stories to go round. Nice business,
isn't it, that teaches young girls to get
money under false prctenscs?
II can't begin to tell you the expert
ence ! had. ! was perseveriDG and
glib talilcr and generally brought
down my game. One man shut his
door in my face and ! didn't blame
him. In many places book agents arc
not allowed to enter | used to hide
my book under my wrap or muff and
slip in. Once | found myself in n long
row of offices separated by steel rail-
inGs and communicating by gates
-, 1,,,-
when the man rose and without one
word opened the gate. passed into
the next. where the same performance
was gone through and so on until
reached the last gate. | give you my
word that left that building shaking
with laughter at the swift and silent
means of disposing of an annoying
book agent
Almost every man would say to me:
Why VAIN iift9n's name .'flolla5s aunua
eometsNia luariclIy ii advance a. aoo