28 
WALDEN. 
cannot be removed without girdling and so destroying 
the man. I believe that all races at some seasons wear 
something equivalent to the shirt. It is desirable that a 
man be clad so simply that he can lay his hands on him¬ 
self in the dark, and that he live in all respects so com¬ 
pactly and preparedly, that, if an enemy take the town, 
he can, like the old philosopher, walk out the gate empty- 
handed without anxiety. While one thick garment is, 
for most purposes, as good as three thin ones, and cheap 
clothing can be obtained at prices really to suit custom¬ 
ers ; while a thick coat can be bought for five dollars, 
which will last as many years, thick pantaloons for two 
dollars, cowhide boots for a dollar and a half a pair, a 
summer hat for a quarter of a dollar, and a winter cap 
for sixty-two and a half cents, or a better be made at 
home at a nominal cost, where is he so poor that, clad 
in such a suit, of his own earning , there will not be 
found wise men to do him reverence ? 
When I ask for a garment of a particular form, my 
tailoress tells me gravely, “ They do not make them so 
now,” not emphasizing the “ They” at all, as if she quoted 
an authority as impersonal as the Fates, and I find it dif¬ 
ficult to get made what I want, simply because she cannot 
believe that I mean what I say, that I am so rash. When 
I hear this oracular sentence, I am for a moment ab¬ 
sorbed in thought, emphasizing to myself each word 
separately that I may come at the meaning of it, that I 
may find out by what degree of consanguinity They 
are related to me , and what authority they may have 
in an affair which affects me so nearly; and, finally, 
I am inclined to answer her with equal mystery, and 
without any more emphasis of the “ they,” — “ It is 
true, they did not make them so recently, but they do 
