A Story of a Pair of Boot Trees.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 20 December 1890, Page 3

A Story of a Pair of Boot Trees.

A good story used to he told in the early days of the Baliarat diggings, about a pair of bcot u-.es having siVid the life of a polit; officer. He was very i 1 with an ab ce.-.s on his liver and the doct' rs had all given him up. A police ll agistrate had shown him great atten ion both day and night during hi - i Ines., and when the dying mai» had abandoned all hope of recovery, he said to his friend, " My dear fellow, you have been very good to me during my illness and twant to leaveyou something I believe! am the ouly person in camp that has a pair of boot tiees, and when I die yon may have them." The P.M. was very grateful. Next day became into the sick room, thinking his friend was dead or dying. He picked up the boot trees and was in the act of taking them away, when the suppose^ defunct, who had been watching him, _v.de a sudden start; up, and called out, " i ome. come, Mr P.M., you just leave those trees alone. lam not dead yet." The sudden start burst the ab. ess on his livei , and he recovered. Years afterwards the boot trees used to be shown as the " life preservers."