The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1897-12-04
4 PHILOSOPHER on Sticks.


Il can generally tell the nature of .
man by the cane he carries" said q
walking-stick dealer on Chestnut street.
"There is more character in sticks,
hats, and boots than in any other por-
ton of a mans attire. Now, just you
stand and watch o minute. See, here
comes an eminent lawyer. He's got a
strong, sound malacca cane, with 8
bone or ivory handle. Notice how his
carries it. DO you see, he grasps it
firmly about three inches below the
handle and holds it before him, giving
it a little downward jerk every now and
then. It is Just as he employs his hand
when laying down the law. He doesn't
want that zane to walk with; lie is up
right and strong. He just carries it to
emphasize his thoughts with, and he
would feel quite lost without it. Now
observe this dudish fellow coming
along, with q useless bit of a cane with
q fancy head. Isn't it exactly a coun-
terpart OF himself? Thin, but without
pith; plenty of varnish, but no back
bone. Look at its fancy handle. Isn't
that like his head? Now take a look
at this big fellow walking along, with
his head up, poised well on his broad
shoulders. swinging an ugly looking
club that appears to have seen service.
He looks as if he'd knocked about a bit,
too, and I'll bet that old stick he car
ries has seen him through many a
trouble"
How came you to observe these
things so closely?"
"Oh, / don't know. I've been in the
walkjng-stick business for a long while,
and | s'pose / kind O. notice who buys
certain sticks. | can tell you one thing,
that I can generally pick out the kind
of stick a customer is going to pur-
chase. A doctor or a lawyer will choose
a strong, straight cane, with q we'll
shaped hondle, q clergyman will prob
ably buy o thick and heavy natural
stick, with which to enforce his J,sn-
trines, if he belong to the muscular
Christian order, or q d~ark-colored,
characterless, manufactured stick, if he
is of the meek and unopinionated sort.
A young student q a tsick, straight
stick, with a heavy ferule, snd he EAR
rles it as though lie were g9ting to fight
his way through q crowd with it. Ii a
man comes to me and picks up the first
stick he sees and buys it, ! put him
down as a scientific man. He only
carries q stick fer something to employ
his hands; if he didn't he'd probably
bite his nails. Some mel want strange
~ shaped sticks Of natural wood, OF
canes made from cid materials; these
as q rule are men Of weak natures but
original thought. Their weakness
shows itself in some eccentric piece OF
costume, IS often rs not il the choice
of a cane. / sell more light, fancy canes
than anything else, because a swell OF
dude, or whatever you like to call him,
is always changing his style, and SC
needs a change Of stick. Now, the man
who buys a strong, flexible cane is gen.
orally of a cruel nature. As he goes
along the street you may notice him
making feints at everything he meets,
and, wherever he can striking things.
He likes to see his can cling round q
post. he likes to hear it whanging
through the air. IF he is ont in the
country he will cut off numberless
fower-heads or blades of grass, and il
he owns a dog or > horse he will be
averlastingly trying the strength of his
cane upon it,"