I think he felt he “had to” because the accusation was delivered to the theatre and seen by others. If it had been delivered to his home, I wonder if the whole thing would have gone down differently. Strategic move by Queensbury, no doubt. And all ego, as you point out. For sure, he rattled the wrong cage and boy, did it cost him dearly. Too much, really. For me, the real tragedy is wondering what else he could have accomplished. You know?

I hadn’t noticed that with the shoes. Strange. I wonder if it had anything to do with the Victorian trend of taking costume inspired photos? Not sure, but there was a trend of wearing “beggar” costumes in photo shoots during that era. Maybe he just didn’t like breaking in new shoes? lol