54 THE COUNTRY BOY 



left in the box. I took it out and held it up 

 against me, and the crowd laughed, while I 

 saw nothing to laugh at. I could see that the 

 man who cut it didn't especially have me in 

 mind, so to pacify the mob I stepped into the 

 trousers, and I think I took one or two more 

 steps before either pants leg moved. This 

 suit they had left for me was cut to fit a man 

 five feet six, that weighed two hundred pounds 

 at least, and who didn't carry much of his 

 weight in broad shoulders. I stood six feet 

 one, and weighed one hundred and thirty-five. 

 I put on the coat, and John Wolfard yelled 

 from the crowd and asked if the epaulettes 

 didn't go on my shoulders. I told him on horn 

 players they did, but on drummers they always 

 folded just across his bosom. The coat tails 

 struck the calves of my legs. Fortunately 

 there was a big fold at the bottom of the 

 trousers, and much gray cloth that could be 

 taken out of the back of the coat, and with 

 these remedies it got to fit pretty well. All of 

 the pants had to be made over anyway, as they 

 were not spring bottom, which was all the rage 

 then, so we had them cut that way. Of course, 

 our popularity grew quickly wdth these clothes, 



