San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-12-27
BOOT HEELS.

The boot heel, like its critic, is born
to he trodden under foot of men, yet
to be utterly oblivious of that fact,
priding itself on the elevation of the hui
man to which it is attached as though
that elevation was a crown of glory
to the boot heel itself. In this. the
boot heel and the wearer of it are at
one, the wearer in his vanity mag
lining that his brains are so much far
Their removed from the common level,
as his boot heels are higher than
theirs. Napoleon, great as he really
was, was not above the vanity of de-
string to be thought taller than he act
ually was. and his boot heels We're ac-
cordingly built to add to his stature.
Since that day the world of men and
women has been full of his imitators,
and as consequence society every
where is burdened with the mental
and social cripples, made so by at
tempting to add to their stature by
having their boot heels built up to the
point of deformity. Such fools We
mortals be-
Who has not seen the young men
or women whom circumstances and
cheek and personal impudence have
pushed into conditions and positions
for which they are lily furnished in
fbo ,,vpar ctarp t,vipU RI ala ont thait
shortness of mental and business stat
ure by putting an under story to their
understandings, adding to the length
of their boot heels. These are the men
and women who in other walks Of life,
in other circumstances, might achieve
honorable notice, but who in the false
positions into which they have been
elevated by the boot heel builders,
are only laughing stock to those
who take close observation of their
fellows. These are the people so no
ticeable for their inability to preserve
their balance, perched upon the apex
of a boot heel that was not intended
for walking purposes, but to add stat
ure to vanity.
A mans boot heel is like his self-re-
spect, a necessary thing within lin
its. When self-respect, however, de-
generates into self-conceit, and the
lions skin is thrown over the ass
body to hide the long ears, then the
mistake of life time is made. Just
SO the boot heel is necessary to pre-
serve the proper relation Of the foot
to the ground, but when it is built
above that proportion and is made to
raise the wearer above his natural
height. then his mistake is made. his
natural shortness is only the more APP
parent by the efforts made to hide it
and he becomes the sport of all level
headed and low-heeled people. Thus
it is that in a measure the boot heel
becomes sign and symbol of the
wearer, and as the shape and fashion
of these are seen so is opinion formed
as to his person and his character. his
real abilities end his pitiful preten-
sions to an ability that he does not
POSSESS.
There are broad bOOt-heels and fat
boot-heels. and narrow and high boot
heels. and these in no small degree
represent character, That man Yho
goes Wonder, little careless in hisap-
pearance. vet not so much so as to at
tract attention. solid in his makeup
and square toed in his walk, quiet
firmness written over every move
ment of his body, presenting general
whole of solidity and trustworthiness
is a man who never wore high-heeled
boots. There Is about such a man In
l;o;t hi ha
of person and appearance, that which
is so at variance with the pretentious
ness of the high-heel boot that the!
never come within speaking distance
Of each other. The high boot-heel |:
the symbol and sign of the dandy, ant
the man who is given to wearing high
heeled boots on his mind is the intel
lectual dandy. With him all is sac
rificed to appearance, sense is at
discount. and the high heel, the ALTA
upon which all is sacrificed.
. Behold the man with high heels on hi
understanding! There is more hops
of a fool than of him. He is the mai
who gives the lie to scripture and b.
taking thought adds an inch to hi
stature. in his mind. He poses TO
being taller, in his mind, than he real
ly is. and vainly imagines that he Il
taller. He looks over the heads o
,tl,ose who are his own height, iron
the temporary vantage ground of hi
high heels and condemns them accord
ingly. He measures himself witt
those who are taller than himself ant
upon the added pedestal Of his high
heeled boots, esteems himself thei
equal, in his mind. Nature intende,
him for a mental healer, for every
thing connected with himself is purel
in his mind. There is nothing tina
he does not reach to the level of, 10
seeing himself below what he meas
ures himself with, he instantly add
another welt to his high boot-heel an
presto, he is as high as they are.
These bigh-heel young men hav
crowded ont their betters in ever
walk Of life, in every strata of soci,
ty. Their boos-heels may be made {
family connection or Of ready easl
or OF subserviency to their superior