AN ACCOUNT OF THE HOUSE-SANDAL. 25 
shod in the ordinary mode ; at the same time let me observe, that, 
if there be any one point more than another concerning* which I 
am apprehensive people may run into a mistake in reg*ard 
to the uses or purposes for which the sandal is either fitted or 
designed, it is, lest any body should imagine that it is intended 
for general or ordinary use , or in anywise to supersede the com¬ 
mon (and hitherto unsurpassed) nailed-shoe. No such an 
achievement was ever contemplated ! From the very first it was 
framed simply as a substitute for a nailed shoe, and that only in 
situations where the latter could not be procured; in a word, 
the sandal was constructed to accompany the fox-hunter in his 
chase, in order to be ready in case he should “ lose a shoe, 1 ’ to 
supply the place of that shoe, and enable him to continue his 
chase ; and, if it answers this end , it has fulfilled the design and 
purpose of its invention. 
On such occasions as the present the inventor is commonly 
told by some “ good-natured friend,” that his production is 
“ not newf that “ similar inventions have preceded it,” and, 
without giving* the poor thing a single trial, that “ it is quite im¬ 
possible it can answer.” Such cavilling, because it ever pro¬ 
ceeds rather from envy than argument, in truth, deserves neither 
reply nor notice ; still, what I am about to observe may serve 
the end of a reply, or, at all events, may be taken as my answer 
(herewith given beforehand) to all who may feel disposed to set 
their faces ag*ainst my invention upon such frivolous and unwar¬ 
rantable grounds. 
Whether a thing be new or old , I apprehend that its real and 
intrinsic merits must remain unaltered and unaffected. And I 
never in my life heard any rational person detract from the credit 
of another who had introduced some useful invention, merely be¬ 
cause he was the reviver or the restorer in place of the inventor 
of it: for my own part, of the two, I should feel inclined to yield 
more praise to that person who had saved some serviceable in¬ 
vention from oblivion, than to the original inventor, who had 
failed in establishing its merits. How r ever, be this as it may, I 
contend, that, of the present production, I am not merely a re¬ 
viver or restorer, but “ an original inventorsince this is the 
first thing of its kind which has appeared before the public with 
any chance of success. 
It certainly becomes the duty, and the interest as well, of 
every one who brings any new invention forward, to point out 
its nature, and particularise the uses for which it is designed; 
but, in my mind, it admits of considerable doubt (in certain 
cases at least, among which the present forms one), how far it is 
VOL. IV. E 
