. Nor would it matter to me in the least that I should have to walk through the bitter cold without an overcoat or boots⁠—I could bear it, I could well endure it, for I am a simple man in my requirements; but the point is⁠—what would people say, what would every envious and hostile tongue exclaim, when I was seen without an overcoat? It is for other folk that one wears an overcoat and boots. In any case, therefore, I should have needed boots to maintain my name and reputation; to both of which my ragged footgear would otherwise have spelled ruin. Yes, it is so, my beloved, and you may believe an old man who has had many years of experience, and knows both the world and mankind, rather than a set of scribblers and daubers.