The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1864-11-23

Beauty of the Foot. g..@ 6Es
I am aware that touch delicate thems.
It were better, perhaps, that should sing
Of il, rather than discourse in prose, only
that am not blessed with the git of song.
I shall speak in very rambling way, not
by rote, but by impulse; for IL is subject
that could not talk of philosophically. OF
course it is the lady's foot of which have
taken measure with my fancy. And
verify, l think it ought to compensate The.
most dreary shoemaker in the world for
bis labor, to be able to measure the tiny
things with hands OF flesh and blood. An,
the rapture that these dull fellows who
deal in leather nurse in their secret bosoms!
The idea Of poetry in great gawky
mans foot IS preposterous. The only rex,
son that his feet can bc even tolerated a.
part of his body is that he can't get along
50 well without them. But, If he Is . man
Of modesty, he takes particular care to
down in the parlor. 1t is sign Of the
degeneracy Of the age that men should
cross their knees for the purpose of getting
their hideous boots into the air. In1
But, in speaking of the lady's foot, ah!
how many tender thoughts run to the
mind and make flutter in the heart =
Dull and cold indeed must be the bosom
that can resist the coquetry Of pretty
foot. All men l believe to be susceptible
on this subject some are monomaniacs.
knew . man once who always kept his
eyes towards the ground, and some thought
him meditativc in his tendencies; but they
changed their minds when they saw the
delight he experienced when he discover
ed a graceful ankle. The foot he said, was
the index 0: the woman. He never peeped
under . lady's bonnet until his curiosity
bad been aroused by the foot. He did not
care for the beauty of the face. 1t was
cheat and delusion; it was countcrfcitcd
by cosmetics. 1t served as the mask for
pride and hypocrisy. But the foot was
always true to its beauty-true if the heart
was joyous. He assured me, solemnly, that
he would never marry q woman who had
not beautiful foot and ankle. As to the.
face he was not particular; though upon
the whole, he would, perhaps, prefer an
intelligent homely face. Well, could
hardly fail to share, in some degree, his
He was man of culture,
refinement and poetic feeling. He was
delighted with rainy, muddy, and slashy
weather, and always promenaded Regent
street on such occasions. As he walked
along, he would catch me by the arm in
scstacy, saying, "for heavens sake look.
Sweetest ankle ever saw in my life!'
In the "Pickwick papers" you remem-
Der the passage where Mr.. Pickwick was
oking with the young ladies, ''who would
not come over the style while he looked;
Ind those who, having pretty feet and
ankles, preferred standing
IN the top rail for 6ve minutes declaring
hat they were too frightened to move"
The chief characteristic Of pretty Arabella
s, that she wore "very nice little pair Of
boots with fur round the tops"
Of the shape and size of the foot, Zach
re says: "a foot should be arched, fairly
and its length proportioned to
he height of the individual. 1t should
have q delicate spring to it, as if it did not
belong to the earth, and touched it dain-
lily, il not disdainfully. The ankles sho'd
express tenderness; should be round and
irm, but not too small. II have hurt the
wrist Of my foot" said beautiful child;
Who never misplaced a phrase, because
words were given him only as he stood in
reed Of them. Now this pretty phrase,
WlISt VI NY lOOGs CVuVSyS tuc tIuo iOcA
# an ankle. It should have the fle2ibili-
y of the wrist, to which it corresponds"
Bossi says: I'VE would not omit men.
Joining the erroneous impression of those
Who esteem the feet of females beautiful
n proportion to their smallness. The
,eauty Of the feet consists in the hand
omeness and neatness Of their shape, not
n being short, extremely small. Were it
otherwise, the feet Of the Chinese or
Japanese women would be beautiful, and
hose of the V-nusde Medici frightful."
suppose that the beauty of the foot
les in its elasticity, its grace Of curve and
outline, and its correct proportion to the
est of the body. Says Winkelman, "the
DOT, which among the ancients, was used
IS standard of measures of every magni-
given measure of fluids was
lso called by this name-was very useful
o sculptors in fixing the proportion Of the
,ody, and With reason. for the foot was
more determinate measure than that of the
lead or face, of which moderns make use.
The ancient artists regulated the size of
heir statues by the length of the feet,
making them six times the length Of the
oot." -
RAcuEIORs can fell an old bach.