Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1829-09-30
THE EDITOR IN HIS SLIPPERS;
Or, A Peep behind The Scenes


THE EDITOR IN HIS SLIPPERS;
Or, A Peep behind the Scenes
stulta, jocosa canenda. dulentia, seria, sacra;
En- posita ante oculos, Lector anice tuos;
Quisquis es, hic aliqud quod deleciabit habebis;
Trisitor an levior, selige quicquid amis"
We have pair OF old slippers-so old that,
as Wordsworth says, i, is difie vi, to rell whe-
Their they were ever young considerable
part of the sole Of one Of them is worn away;
and three or four Of our Toes may be distinctly
seen peeping gu, FROM the other. They 90 moi
cover our feet; they are mere apologies for
slippers; merely typical and shadowy represen-
| ta,ious. They were not slippers originally
! they were a pair OF dress shoes In the far
vista Of the past, We can almost remember the
time when they used 10 be as bright as mir
ror, and chirped at every step we took across a
drawing room. We are not sure that We have
not danced in them in our youth, and We dare
say they divided the admiration which was, al
that remote period, universally bestowed upon
| our rxquisilely turned feet and ankles. But
gradually they fell down in the heels; and, as II
by natural disposition, seemed to be trans
fo-ming themselves into slippers. They telt
| that old age was coming on; but they had got
attached 10 us, and were determined to die in
| our service. And die they shall; or rather,
hey and their master shall live and die toge.
ther. We never had, and never will have, ano
Their pair of slippers. We should as soon think
of marrying a second wife. We confess thai
they have lost their form and comeliness-nay,
that they initiate humanity most ab0minably,
and that some Of our best and dearest friends
have even venured 10 point agsins, them The
shaft Of a too poignant rdicule. But, never
theless, We remain mistaken in our altac hment
IA noble example Of The irtsger uitS scee.
risque puris." They have accommodated them
selves 40 all the ou'goings anc mornings Of our
feel; there is not curve or sinuosi,y,-a rise
or faIl,-from our insrep TO our heel-from
our ankle 10 The farthcs. point OF our most elon
gated toe with which they are not fsmiliarly
acquainted. They Have known US from our
YOUTH they have Seen US in all our moods;
they have been The genie dumb Companions Of
many happy day and many melancholy
hour: and who, therefore, shall! blame our affpc
ton for our slipper,?- peculiar, perhaps, but
not the most tender and las ing.
We canno, help thinking that they have an
expression essentially their own, and unlike
that oil all other slippers Indeed we have al
ways bern OF opinions that, OF all he articles OF
dress, none convey so accurate an idea Of he
character OF the wearer as pair at empty shoes
or slippers. They are domestic aud eRdear-
ing obJec'; they stand before the fire warming
Tor you against your return nome. They have
probably been placed dherr by some fond and
faithful friend-yonr vic or daughter They
tell long story of family comlort and house
hold harmony If a death takes place, what
object more melancholy than the vacant slip
pers oil The decs ascd? They look as if they
anx'ously waited his raurn, and are wondering
why ne has deserted them. Thar shall never
be The tate OF our slippers; they shall be buried
with US.
When we put on our slippers, we cease to be
any thing 10 the wide world without. Shoes,
and more especially boots, are associated with
all the hustle and toll Of active life; but around
slippers there fingers calm repose; refined
seinshness; careless independence. They
imply no exerlion; on the contrary, they are full
oil soothing consciousness; a mellowed recol
non OF the duties that have been performed. -
There is in slippers that abandon de sol mems
That dreamy ls1euor-tha, mild tranquility,
before which all more irritable feelings give
way, and even critics become benevolent. Not
Two beings can be more dissimilar, than the
man whose tight boots pinch his corns, and
txacerba,e all The tenderness of his toes, and
the man whose free and easy slipper hangs
gently upon his foot-genlly as maiden Of ff.
teen upon The arm OF her earliest lover. When |
The boot is on, the world is Stern reality, full |
OIL the rubs and whips Of fortune; but when the
slipper succeeds, the face of nature is changed;
reality is bugbesr that fades into Infinite dis
lance; and there is bliss unfathomed in The re.
cess OF an elbow chair, or in the soft siesta Of
sofa.
We never can believe ourselves the Editor of
one ef the mos, SUI cessful periodical publica-
ions OF the present day, after we have put on
'ur slippers. The quantity Of labor we nave
o go through, both physical and intellectual,
eems indissoiubly connected with the spiingy
OF shoes, or the manly called Wei
lng'on boots 10 our slipper moments, we are
dem Ell alter. Were we 10 review book with
ur slippers on, the suthor would be as safe as