Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1858-02-05
CHINESE WOMEN

HOW THEY SECURE SMALL FEET.
There are small-looted ladies at Hong
Kong who gain very fair livelihood by ex-
hbiting their pedal extremities to sea cap
tains and other curious Europeans at a dollar
head but so superficial an examination
of this national popularity did not satisfv me,
| had recourse to some of my good friends a
mong the missionaries By their aid | OBJ
tanned that some poor Chinese women should
bring me complete gamut of little girls from
the missionary schools. Many of these fe-
male children probably owed their lives to
the persuasion (aided by opportune donations
ofrice) Of my missionary friend and his lady,
but their influence had been powerless to pre-
vent the torture of their feet. On the APP
pointed day they were all seated in a row in
my friends library, and their feet, which l
suspect had undergone preparatory washing,
were unbound by their mammas. The first
was a child of two years old Her penance
had just commenced. When the bandage of
blue cotton was taken off | found that the
groat toe had been left untouched, but the
other four had been forced down under the
ball of the foot, and closely bound in that po-
sition. The child, therefore, walked upon
the knuckle joints of her four toes The toes
were red and inAamed, and the ligatdre caus-
(all of ages advancing at small intervals) the
preparation was only to the same extent; it
was confined to the four toes gradually Y,
however, these four toes, ceding to the con-
tinual pressure, lost their articulations and
their identity as limbs, and became amalga-
mated with the sole of the foot In the eld-
est of the four the redness and inflammation
had entirely disappeared, the foot was cool
a,I Al, Al. r.
toes had been cut off by knife. The foot
was now somewhat the shape of trowel.
In the fifth girl | saw the commencement
of the second operation torture under
which siclSly children frequently die The
sole of the foot was now curved into the
shape of a bow; the great toe and heel being
brought together as near as possible. Take
juiube and double it till two points Of the
lozenge nearly meet, and you will see what
mean. This is done very gradually. The
bandage is never slackened--month by month
it is drawn tighter-the foot inAames and
swells, but the tender mamma perseveres-as
the bones and tcndons accommodate them
selves to the position constrained by the
bandage, so it is drawn tighter. At last the
ball of the natural foot fits into the hollow of
the sole, the root of the great toe is brought
iNo tohtANt WIN tut Httls nc lopb II u
shapeless lump. The instep is where the an
kle was, and all that is left to go into the
slipper and to tread the ground is the ball of
the great toe and the heel. This is the small
foot of the Chinese woman-a bit of toe and
a bit Of heel, with a mark like a citatrice left
after huge cut, running up between them
Two of the girls were yet suffering great
pain, and their feet were hot and inhamed,
but in the eldest the operation was complete.
She had attained to the position of a small
footed woman, and her feet were quite cool,
had no corns and were not tender to the
touch. One of the mammas, influenced, per-
haps, by little liberality in the article of
rioe-mOney, intrusted me with Chinese mys-
tere de toilette. Sometimes, it seems, when
a woman is expected to have to do hard word,
her toe and heel are not drawn so tightly to-
gether as TO produce the true small foot
To disguise this imperfection upon her mar
riage day, she has recourse to art. A piece
of cork, shaped like an inyoi led sugar loaf, is
strapped on to her foot, and the small part
goes into her slipper and passes for her foot,
Correspondence London Times.
BALL-RooM TALK.--A good story is told
of a Bostonians first appearance in polite So
oiety in Arkansas. The company were en-
gagged in dancing, but the loveliest female
present occupied a chair at the window, with
out partner Stepping up to the lady, with
palpitating heart, his mind greatly excited
for fear Of refusal, he exclaimed-"Will you