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OSTRICH FEATHERS. 
60° was found to contaia a partially developed live bird. When the 
Bushmen come upon a nest, they are cautious not to touch the eggs, or 
to leave in their immediate vicinity any marks of human feet. They 
go "up the wind " to the locale of the coveted booty, and remove some 
of the eggs with a long stick. In this way the suspicions of the hen 
are not awakened, and she will keep on laying for months. Contrary 
to the assertion of some travellers, Livingstone, whose authority is 
unimpeachable, declares that the eggs have a strong flavour, and that 
it requires the keen appetite engendered by the desert to render them 
tolerable to a European. The Hottentots, he says, turn their trousers 
into a bag for carrying home the twenty or twenty-five eggs usually 
found in a nest. " It has happened that an Englishman, imitating 
this knowing dodge, has reached the waggons with blistered legs ; and, 
after great toil, found all the eggs uneatable from having been some 
time sat upon." 
Osti'ich plumes, as everybody knows, wave on the armorial shield 
of the Prince of Wales ; having been adopted by Edward the Black 
Prince in commemoration of the victory of Cressy (1306), and the 
death of Jean of Luxemburg, king of Bohemia, who had worn the 
ostrich plumes as his crest, with the famous motto of " Ich Dien." As 
an emblem of royal dignity and an ornament of womanly beauty, the 
snow-white feathers have always been highly valued. It is said they 
were held in honour by the ancient Egyptians; and certain it is 
that of old they always formed part of the tribute imposed upon the 
inhabitants of conquered countries where the bird abounded. The 
ostrich feather, says an authority, was a symbol of the Goddess of 
Truth or Justice. It was interwoven, also, in the head-dress of lo ; 
was adopted by Hermes Trismegistus ; and on great religious festivals 
was worn by the priests and soldiery. In Turkey, the janissary who 
distinguished himself by his valour was privileged to carry it in his 
turban ; and in Congo, the feathers, mixed with those of the peacock, 
were employed as the ensign of war and victory. 
The white wing-feathers of the ostrich — the black are used chiefly 
for mourning — form an important commercial staple, their price varpng 
