The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1892-04-23
DECLINE OF THE ROOTJACK.
1T Tells Dream OF Peace and Con.
tentment Now Faded.

tNh'hAOht NOW AhhVN'
rhe decline Of the bOotjack is a
song that has never yet been sung.
81 went into one of your swell
New York hotels the other day."
said the oldtimer to a Recorder re-
porter, "and after | had wandered
aimlessly around the lobby for a
while | gazed on the splendors Of
the ivory and gold frescoings, on
the paintings and the 5tatuary and
all the rest of it; and then l let my
eye range over the Office help, all
sitting up like soldiers wearing uni
forms, diamonds and carrying
handkerchiefs that eXhalcd per-
fume-it was IL sight that instinct
ively raised in my mind its con.
trast, way back in the days of ~,
when l used to keep tavern on
the Albany turnpike, and all we
had was Il good, square old room, a
big blazing CRATE fire, couple of
negroes for help and two or three
black bottles for the bar. Then l
thought of the old coaches, and how
they would drive up with Il hurrah
and yell, bringing the old-time
guest, with his simplicity of man
ners, his quaint baggage, and his
royal welcome to the best in the
house, that merry inn on the pub
lic highwayp
eyes 2"
ait made me feel that l had out
lived my time. All this spIendor,
all this dazzle, what good was it?
Then l went to my room. Stranger,
if l ever did feel homesivk it was
when | sat down in that splendid
blue and gold room, on the silken
chair, and just reached down to
pull off my boots, looking in the
corner for the bootjack of my
youth"
"And the hootjack?" ?"
"Ah, the bootjack was gone. I
searched under the bed, in the clos
ct, beside the hearth, but all in
vain. The bootiack Of the other days
had vanished"
He did not speak again for a
moment or two. He seemed wrap
ped in deep thought. BY and by
he was saying, slowly:
"The decline Of the booGack tells
all the oldtimers, like myself, that
we have about outlived our gen
Grafton. When we were young
everybody wore boots. There were
the cowhdes Of the worker, the
polished boots of the gentleman
the royal, spangled boots of the Of
ficer, the top boots of the horseman
and the glittering boots of the swell
of fashion. Every man wore his
boots and owned his hootjack.
There was no rush or hurry in those
days. There was time then for the
interchange Of those graceful com
monplaces of life that made ex-
istence charm and a joy. Yes
those We're the days in which we
lived. With the decline of the boot
jack, newer and a different race
of people has come to us. With
them all is splendor, all is show, all
is hurry, hustle, business, energy,
ceaseless and deathless ambition
to he rich. The men of today do
not even seem to have time to pull
off their boots, for in the mad rush
the friend of my youth has been en-
tirely overthrown. 1t seems to me
that the time Of my own flight is
not far distant"
"Yes," said the nearer, slowly,
"that is true: the decline of the
bootjack marks an epoch IN our
history"
at does, indeed. 1t has been said
and rightly, too, that Americans
know the price Of everything and
the value of nothing. That is the
reason why they have suffered
themselves 10 be allured by the mad
ambitions that have i'm the end des-
troyed all vestiges of the old-time
spirit Of ease and contentment, as
found in the inn, when AS yet every
gentleman wore boots and owned
his own booGack. The glass is near
ly run, and the old men of that
simple generation will soon be
arnnn % IlAnA.-n, II......II