Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1900-10-04
BOOTS CHANGED Ills CAREER
Il saa.Ierner Whose Success in E>ife Hingct
On Ills Substantial Tootgear.

Talk about your two good suits Of
clotnes,' said the son Of well-known
Confederate army officer. IN nv
young days shoes. one pair. was the
badge of the pIUtocTat. l came Of
large family, eight sons, and when
things were going particularly well
one Of us had a pair Of shoes. was
the youngest, so that 1t never was /.
Now, you would be surprised to know
the effect. mental, moral and physical,
that shoes have on a man. | consider
that my career, aye, and my chaTac-
ter. hinge upon the possession Of d
pair. When l went to school in Eir-
ginia thirty years ago, Of course l was
barefooted. I was 4 quiet youth,
strong for my age, but phlegmatic
and would put up with lot rather
than get into a fight.
My particular enemy In the school
was an impude1t End cOnceited boy.
somewhat older than myself He was
the son Of our family doctor, an only
son, and the proud possessor of a pair
of shoes. shoes Of the old country
type, with thick soles adorned with
plenty Of steeI You see we were not
utterly poverty stricken. We had
a family doctor. You couldn't expect
Southern gentleman to be able to
stand for a family doctor and shoes
for his family at one and the same
time. My enemy was forever tor
menting me, but l endured it
silently for a long time. At last one
day my patience would endure it no
longer. l fell upon him and q sangui
nary conflict ensued. We fought for
an hour or more. We fought like
WindmillS in a hurricane It is true
we did not often hit one another. We
were usually too close or too far eff.
but we smOte everything ii sight,
trees, walls and particularly the air
| Tweedledum and Tweedledee were not
a marker to US. We managed to
blacken each others eyes and bleed
each others noses, chiefly through the
| contact of our heads.
FINALLY. however, my enemy be-
| thought him of his superior arma-
ment. He drew back and delivered up
on my unfortunate bare shanks a kick
of cruel force and precision. | can
| feel to-day the impact Of that mass OF
| leather and steel. 1t was agony. L
surrendered uncOnditiOna!ly Now
| began a period Of the most heartrend-
| ing humiliation and misery. Wherev-
er l went that wretched shod youth
| followed I was his slave. | ran his
errands. He thWarted me in all my
undertakings. He stood on his steel
| and leather between NE and the small
est taste Of enjoyment.
"There was a girl, sweet little
! blue-eyed thing of twelve summers.
my first love who was to me as all
| the world, including the village candy
store. With her / would commune I'M
| der the trees near the village school.
| With her I would wax gallant ana
eloquent Yankees I would STAY ty
the score, rather than that hair or
her head should be disturbed. I wish
I'd her to believe me Paul Jones ana
4 Stonewall Jackson in embryo, only
with a spice of wickedness.
81 believe should have succeeded
| but for that horrid boy with his shoes.
| One day when l was holding forth to
nv lady love in an especially lofty
| strain, the wretch came sauntering
! past, AS he took in the situation, his
Eyes lighted up with malicious JOY
he made straight for me.
"'Get out he said in tones of per-
emptory conteptm. I want to talk to
Della
For a moment, as the spirit OF
| jackson and Jones burnt bright in my
| breast, I was for giving battle. But he
| merely raised his foot and | saw the
fash of steel beneath the leather The
ire Of my valOr was quenched. turn
I'd one last despairing glance On Della,
who was laughing and skunk away,
| The horror Of those shoes was upon
me and my knees knocked together
| But I swOre vengeance, and ali
| things come to the man who knows
| how to wait That winter my father
| carried through successfully plecl
| IF business. Result, the whO;e Candy
was shod. Ny own fOOtgear was es-
| pecially magnificent. No shoes, mind
YOU. but boots, with stout leather
reaching even unto the knee. Homer
was all right when he made the Well
| grieyed Achaeans the ViCtOrS. Mine
enemy and l met. He was yanIuishe1
from the start. | think he turned
pale when his eye fell upon my leath,
er-Clad snanks. He would have dc.
| cIned combat. But burning with the
wrongs [ had suffered l fell upon HIN
without giving him time to retreat
The battle was short and fierce.
scorned to use my feet, but was nov
proof against his mulish onslaught.
took his kicks without feeling them
and smote him with my fists. Finally
[ got him down and chOked him unit
/ was weary. But as he arose, hum
BILE, bruised and trembling, I deliber
ately landed my armed feet on eacI
Of mis- shins, and with a howl of agony
be turned to fee. l delivered one
more kick, the most satisfactory o
all, on Natures appointed kickin:
| place.
My fame reached Delia's ears. ant
she was all smiles when she receive,
me. She had understood. she said, al
along and her heart had bled for ne
had my doubts, but the heart O
youth is as wax in maiden's hands
Shortly after my enemy approached
called to him sweetIy and he cam
tremblingly.
why don't you tell me to get cut.
| asked pleasantly, swinging my foo
the while, and the litter of Della sen
the hot blood Of pride and joy coUrsin
through my veins. What became o
j. Della l don't remember. But upo1
those boots turned my career. NJ
shyness and phlegm left me. I becam
energetic and confident. | succeade
in study and sport; l afterward be
came captain Of my college football
| ~