Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1900-07-24
a NEW il AIR OF 30 MS
THEY TURNED THE TIDE 81 AFFAIRS.
M 4. FOR ONE LusTY YOUTH.

they TURNED THE TIDE OF AFFAIRS
4. .5s FOR ONE LusTY YOUTH. s ~
with the Ownership OF the G1bsSa-
thai FootEear Came the OppoRta-
nifty For Summary Revenge o. Tie |
huIly who Had Enslaved Hil,a
Il '''Talk about your two good suits of
clothes," said the son Of q well known
Confederate army officer. SIN my young |
days shoes, one pair, was the badge OF
the plutocrat. 1 came of large family,
eight sons, and when things were going
particularly well one Of us had q pair ~
shoes. l was the youngest, SO that Il
never was I. y Now, you would be sur
prised to know the effect, mental, moral
and physical, that shoes have on q man.
I consider that my career, aye, and my
character, hinge upon the possession Of q
pair. When went to school il svir-
ginia, just after the civil war, of course
I was barefoOted. was quiet youth,
strong Tor my age, but phlegmatic. and
would put up with a lot rather than yet
into fight. Y, -. 4. Nh
my particular enemy in the school
was an impudent and conceited boy
the son Of our family doctor. an only son,
shoes shoes Of the old country type, with
thick soles adorned with plenty Of steel. 4
You see, we were not utterly poverty
stricken. We had family doctor. You
couldn't expect southern gentleman to
be able to stand for family doctor and
shoes for his family at one and the same
time My enemy was forever tormenting
me, but endured it silently for a long
time. At last one day my patience would
endure it no longer. ! fell upon him, and
sanguinary 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 off, but we
smote everything in sight. trees, walls
and particularly the air. Tweedledum
and Tweedledee were not marker to us.
We managed to blacken each others eyes
and bleed each others nose chiefly
through the contact of our heads.
FINALLY, however, my enemy be.
thought him of his superior armament.
He drew back and delivered upon my I'M
fortunate bare shanks kick of cruel
force and precision. can feel today the
impact of that mass of leather and steel.
1t was agony. l surrendered uncondi-
tionally. Now began period Of the
most heartrending humiliation and mis-
cry. Wherever I went that wretched
shod youth followed. was his slave. /
ran his crrands. He thwarted me In all
my undertakings. He stood on his steel
and leather between me and the smallest
taste of enjoyment.
"There was girl, sweet little blue
~ frct
who was to me as all the world, includ-
Ing the village candy store. With her,I
would commune under the trees near the
village school. With her l would wax
gallant and eloquent. Yankees / would
STAY by the score rather than that hair
Of her head should be disturbed. i wish
ed her to believe me a. Paul Jones and q
StOnewall Jackson in embryo. only with
a spice of Wickedness. %EsfE4S{R#
Il believe should have succeeded but
for that horrid boy with his shoes. One
day when I was holding forth to my
ladylove 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. -. 55,l~-s... +,
"'Get OUT he said in tones of peremp
tory contempt. Il want to talk to Della.
"For o moment, as the spirit Of jack
son and Jones burned bright In my
breast, I was for giving battle. But he
merely raised his foot, and saw the
flash Of steel beneath the leather. The
! fire Of my valor was quenched. turned
one last despairing glance on Della, who
was Laughing, and skunk away. The hor-
| ror Of those shoes was upon me, and my
knees knocked together.
"But l swore vengeance, and all things
| come to the man who knows how to wait.
That winter my father, carried through
successfully piece Of business. Result,
the whole family was shod. My own
footgear was especially magnificent. No
shoes, mind you, but boots, with stout
leather reaching even unto the knee.
Homer was all right when he made the
well grieved ArchRans the victors. Mine
enemy and I met. He was. vanquished
from the start. think he turned pale
! shanks. He would have declined COM
bat, but burning with the wrongs I had
suffered fell upon him without giving
him time to retreat. The battle was
short and fierce. l scorned to use my
feet, but was now proof against his
mulish onslaught. took his kicks with
out feeling them and smote him with my
fists. Finally L got him down and choked
him until was weary. But as he arose.,
humble, bruised and trembling, deliber-
! ately landed my armed feet on each Of
his shins, and with a howl Of agony he
turned to flee. delivered one more kick,
the most satisfactory Of all, on natures
appointed kicking place. n
my fame reached Delia's ears, and
she was all smiles when she received me.
I She had understood, she said, all along,
and her heart had bled for me. I had
MP doubts, but the heart Of youth is %
WAX In a maiden's hands. Shortly after
MY enemy approached I called to him
sweetly, and he came tremblingly.r "a
"'Why don't you tell me ia. get outT !
asked pleasantly, swinging my foot the
while, and the litter Of Della sent the
hot blood OF pride and 10y, coursins
through ny veins. What became Of De.
Id I don't remember. But upon those
boots turned my career. My shyness and
bhlesm left me. Il became energetic and
confident. succeeded in. study and
snort: afterWard became captain OF my