OUR OLD BOOTS AND SHOES

Western Star, Issue 1353, 11 May 1889, Page 1 (Supplement)

OUR OLD BOOTS AND SHOES

What makes a more untidy cupboardshelf or lumber closet than a lot of old boots and shoes thrown together anyhow ? Little boots|out at thejjtoes, big boots the heels, boots with the elastics worn out, and boots which—like the famous " one horse shay"—seem to hare broken down at all parts at once and for ever. Here are shoes that have been patched and cobbled again and again, and others where the uppers have given way, leaving the latest mended part as yet quite respectable-looking* At our cleaning periods it gives us a certain soreness of heart to remember that such dark corners must be turned over and looked into—ay, and scrubbed and thoroughly refreshed with a liberal supply of warm water and good soap—and the question that arises is, " What shall we do with the old boots and shoes ? It's iust rubbish," we say; and when a vendor of cheap crockery comes to the door and offers a large, substantial, yellow and-brown ware basin (just the very size for mixing our puddings, cakes, and dough for scones!) in exchange for our dusty collection we hail his offer with delight —inwardly pleased whether our faces show it or no —and think we are well off to have got quit of so much lumber. Have you never wondered what those men-at-the-door do with such goods ? or thought how they dispose of them so as to make anything out of their seemingly profitless bargain ? Of course we know that in many cases the boots and shoes which are not utterly " done" are repaired, patched, and cobbled, and then sold second-hand, going to furnish the foot-gear afterwards of the dwellers in the back streets and lands of our large cities, but many of the number which those men-at-the-door carry away are quite useless for such a purpose: what becomes, think you, of them? Think of it: those nice combs which we can purchase for a few pence; those buttons to be bought so cheapl y in any little country shop; the strong handles of which our boys' pocket-knives and some of our table-knives are made—those are the outcome of our sc -called " lumber !" How is it done ? The old boots and shoes are cut into small pieces, and for a period of two days those pieces are put into chloride of sulphur; this makes the leather hard and brittle. Next the material is washed off with water, dried, and after being ground to powder is mixed with some Bubstance as shellac, glue, or solution of gum to make the particles adhere together. After that, it is pressed into moulds and shaped into such articles of use and ornameat as have been mentioned So you see, our boots and shoes pass through many experiences, and even when they are down at the heel, laughing at the toes, and have ventdation gaps on each side, we cannot pitch them aside with the belief that they are " good for nothing rubbish."

It has been eaid that oar character may be guessed at by seeing at which places and after what fashion we have worn out our boots; but we put them to a more curious use still than that of character-telling, when at weddings we throw an old shoe after the newlymarried pair for luck! A strange custom, surely, yet there is a meaning hidden in it, apparently foolish though it is. The custom has been supposed by one writer to have arisen from the Eastern way of carrying a slipper before the new-wedded pair, to signify the bride's subjection to her groom, and the original use of the slioper at marriages was to show the dominion of the man and ' the subjection of the woman. How the custom came 1 to be changed into that at present in vojue, or how the one merged into the other, who can say? In some places, after the shoe has been thrown, there is a race amongst the young damsels for .tB possession; the lucky finder—to whom the omen signifies a speedy marriage—throws it amongst the men, and the one who chances to be struck by it is supposed to be the next to be married In far-away Turkey the bridegroom, after his marriage, is cbased by his quests and pelted with their shoes by way of farewell; but that is a custom confined to Turkey, and it is well that it should remain so! Aunt Kate.