HIS OLD SHOES WERE LUCKY.

North Otago Times, 6 August 1903, Page 1 (Supplement)

HIS OLD SHOES WERE LUCKY.

Last week tlio young man invested in an entire new outfit'of wearing iippiirol, from shoes to hat. The investment was made at that particular timo been use the young man intended to call on a certain fair one up tlio state last Sunday, and hoped—well he hoped that he wouldn't have to return to Philadelphia with "I can only be a sister to yon," ringing in his ears. Sunday morning after breakfast the young man repaired to his room tt> dress, Everything went all right until ho started to put on bis shoes. The latter were a trifle too short and a triflo too narrow.

" It'd be all right if I wore going to stay hero ii|. Philadelphia, and coald rua lionfe and take themoff if they got to hurting too' much," soliloquised the young mau, " but something's got to be dono with them before I'll risk wearing them up to Blankville." Some members of the family told him to pour water in tho .shoes and lot them stand for awhile, adding that the. water would soften tho leather and wlieu he put the Bhnes on they would stretch. As he had a coiiple of lioure to spare, ho did as advised, and then linishod dressing. After sitting around for perhaps ah hour and a half, he poured tlio water out of his ■ - Bhocs and 1 then tried to pull thorn on. Naturally, being wet inside and out, they refused to. go on, no matter how their owner pulled and tugged. - At last, with but* twenty odd minutoa'iri* which to catch the train before him, the young man decided to flry his footwear in the.oven of tho kitelion range, Suiting h.is action to the thought,' he soon had the shoes inside tho oven andthe door shut. Ten minutes later, when he went to get the shoes, he found that they had dried,' Also that tho soles had curled up so they resembled' ut pair of ofd-fashionod " rocker" skates, Moro thanthat, tho leather .was as springy as a bit of steel, and nothing he could do would restore the soles to their original state of flatness, 'V ': If.; ; :•

" I bad but one pair of shoeß in the world just then," tho young, man declared afterward, Jn telling the incident to a confidential friend, " and they were so shabby almost any eelf-respectinghobo. wond have turned them down. 'Bt it was either that pair or stay at homo, so I got into them,' Say, you should havo .seon the contrast between thoso old shoes and the remainder of my brand now outfit. It would bavo' made a horse langh," ■'- !•'•' ■;■ :" What did your girl say ?" 11 She—oh, well.l didn't bring the ring l i l-; that I took out to her homo with ihe,'