very straight. In 1843, the period of which I write, it was the
fashion for gentlemen to wear straps upon their pantaloons; and
accordingly Master Simon Sneed wore straps on his pantaloons,
though, it is true, the boys in the street used to laugh and hoot
at him for doing so; but they were very ill-mannered boys, and
could not appreciate the dignity of him they insulted.

Master Sneed's garments were not of the finest materials, but
though he was a juvenile dandy, it was evident that it required a
great deal of personal labor to make him such.

Clearly those straps were sewed on by himself, and clearly those
cowhide shoes had been thus elaborately polished by no other
hands than his own. In a word, the appearance of his clothes,
coarse as was their texture, and unfashionable as was their cut,
indicated the most scrupulous care. It was plain that he had a
fondness for dress, which his circumstances did not permit him to
indulge to any very great extent.

Master Simon Sneed was a great man in his own estimation; and, as
he had read a great many exciting novels, and had a good command
of language, he talked and acted like a great man. He could hold
his own in conversation with older and wiser persons than
himself. He could astonish almost any person of moderate
pretensions by the largeness of his ideas; and, of late years,
his father had not pretended to hold an argument with him, for
Simon always overwhelmed him by the force and elegance of his
rhetoric. He spoke familiarly of great men and great events.

His business relations--for Master Sneed was a business man--were