Black The Heels Of Your Boots

( Originally Published 1885 )

ONE day, when I was in college, I heard a young lady say, "I don't think much of college fellows."

To my query as to the grounds of so singular an opinion, she replied, —

" They do not black the heels of their boots."

When I protested that that charge could not be true of them all, she responded, —

" Oh, no, I suppose not ; but the exception proves the rule. I have noticed that most of them only black the front part of their boots ; and they like reversible collars and cuffs."

I went away absorbed in a brown study.

The philosophy of these reflections seemed to adjust itself in the form of two queries :

1. Is the statement true ?

2. If so, what of it?

The second query appeared to be of the greater importance. What if a man does not black the heels of his boots ? What does it indicate? I have never ceased to moralize upon this question. What sort of a man is he who does not black the heels of his boots? What is the moral influence of "reversible cuffs and collars "? I was reminded of the old story that the Greeks, in building a temple for worship, took as great pains to finish neatly and completely all those parts of the temple which were concealed from human eyes as those plainly in sight of all men. The reason assigned was, "The gods see everywhere."

Indeed ! is that true ? Do the gods see everywhere? Then what is the opinion of the gods concerning " putty" and " varnish"? Do these hide a multitude of sins from them; or really have they the power of seeing behind the "putty " and " varnish " ? Can God see a boy playing ball in a back yard on Sunday, in spite of the high fence? Does He see the letters that a merchant writes in his office on Sunday afternoon, with the curtains down and the blinds closed ? Does He see where stolen goods are secreted ?

"Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." What does this mean? What is the extent of its significance ? What is the limit of it ? How much would there be left of this world if all the putty and varnish were taken out of it? Veneering is a wonderful art ; but then it is a modern art.

A statesman, on being told that the Empress Eugenie wore paste diamonds, replied, " That is consistent with the character of the reign of her husband, Napoleon III." Was that true ? Is this an age of shoddy? Who invented flocks, as used under the fifth meaning of the word in Webster's dictionary, viz., " The refuse of cotton and wool "? How rapidly the use of the word "shoddy" has in-creased within twenty years !

What is the meaning of Attleboro jewelry, gold wash, gold plate, fire gilt, nickel silver, single plate, double plate, triple plate, sugar-coated, wooden hams, wooden shoe-pegs, and wooden oats, straw paper, wood paper? Imitations, shams, pretence, appearances, deceptions ! Split peas for coffee, turnips for horse-radish, sand in sugar, glucose in molasses, powdered limestone in flour, cotton sold for linen and for silk ! What inventions ! What sagacity in man 1 How our vocabulary, even, has of late been enriched ! Is not this the age of shoddy ; the period of putty, varnish, and veneering?

If Diogones needed a candle in his time to aid him in his search for an honest man, surely in these days he would want to carry about with him the most powerful electric light and a microscope. But does it pay? Does it pay to be false ? " An honest man is the noblest work of God." "Honesty is the best policy " ; not because it is policy, but because it is honesty. " Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom."

All who have made human life a study, know full well that truth, honesty, thoroughness, the solid gold of conduct, pay infinitely better than sham, shoddy, and simulation. It is very plain that broadcloth is more durable than satinet, and that hickory makes a better mallet than soft pine or poplar.

My young friends, habits, when once put on and worn till they fit, are difficult to shake off. When cheating, veneering, exaggeration, varnishing, pretence, and simulation have once acquired common usage, it is exceedingly difficult to cultivate the hardier virtues of honesty, solidity, and downright truthfulness. Beware of the beginnings of evil. The first lie is like the small break in the dike. Be honest through and through. Form no partnership with secret sins. Avoid cant and make-believe. Be ingenuous and wholly honest. "Black the heels of your boots."