Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1871-11-11

uon mas ever peen issued In their favor. They
run about patiently all day long, they carry hun
drods Of pounds avolrdupois they endure intol-
tTalle stockings and blistering boots they shiyer
in the snow, and plunge through the mud, while
the patr1cian hands, incased I'm sDft kid, lie at
ease in fur-lined muffs and cnjoy themselves
When the head and the hands were exem pted
frcm the law OF bandages, consistency required
that the other extremitics, the feet, should have
been included also; the unfortunate members
would be far better of freed from the thralldom
of leather, and allowed to repose on cushions and
mats " hle within the house, protected from the
weather, when in the open air, by soft covering
Of silk or wool and loose castings of rubber.
There Is no reason why the feet should not be
rs beautiful as the hands; and If custom left
ths IN bare their ov ners would take better care
OF them, and see that they were smooth, white
and well-kept, whereas now they are too fire.
quentiy distorted out OF shape, inflamed by the
pr ssure OF the shoe, and yarously afflicted with
ailments which have called into existence that
well patroniZed artist, the chiropodst. Strip off
the boots and shoes, apply gentle cosmetics, and
TINS mans occupation will ION be gone, and the
feet Will become what nature intended them TO
be, beautiful, shapely members such as are now
only seen Oh canvas or in marble.
Custom having decreed that the feet should
be clothed, we can not study their peculiarities
and meaning as We can those OF the hands, and
our observations are limited to the boots and
shoes which cover them, with the exception of
such general characteristics as length, breadth,
and the height ef the instep. The Greek scIlp
tons laid down the length of the foot one-sixth
OF the height of the body, and most antique stat
ues are moulded after this rule. Look at the
old bass relief designs, and notice the length of
the feet. So spirited are the attitudes of the
draper figures, and so superb the contours of
the forms, that we never think OF finding fault
with the proportions, but fancy we see tn EN-
walking lfghtly on their open sandals through the
streets Of Rome, or, farther still, through the
classic cities of Greece. But step out Of this
legendary atmosphere, and bring our modern
ideas to bear upon the forms before us, and the
question Immediately arises, which is correct,
the ancient or the modern taste? Does any one
suppose that If the Venus de Medici should come
to the next ball, arrayed in the style of the
period, she would be esteemed beauty? Some
one would be sure to remark upon tie size of her
waist, the breadth of her hands, but especially
with the step of goddess, light and elastic as
air, or her shapely white feet; but If she had
been obliged to wear a pair of nineteenth-cen-
fury French-heeled boots of the fashionable
length for woman Of her height, fear she
would have remained forever seated in her
chariot, and her doves been in danger of over
work.
The natural breadth of the foot can be traced
under the boot, although the stiff leather does
its best to diguise il, and the height of the in
step also can neither be hidden by a clumsy shoe
nor initiated by the best shoemaker in the land
unless the natural arch is underneath. The old
idea that high instep betokens aristocratic de-
scent arises from the fact that i'm the days of
chivalry walking was considered plebian, and
the nobility were always mounted; being con-
stantly on horseback, their arms and chests ex-
banded and grew strong, but their feet re-
manned inactive, and consequently small. On
the other hand, the peasantry labored In the
fields, and their feet, from hard labor and heavy
burdens, grew broad and fiat. Life on the South
ern plantations before the war presented in MANY
respects the same features as the times of feuda-
Ism; personal labor was considered a degrade
ton, Incidence was aristocratc, and, like the
knights Of old, the young men were constantly
on horseback, with similar physique. The
southern foot is small and high arched, and
Southern bellies were wont to boast that water
would run under their insteps. The experiment
was often tried in boarding-school dormitories
to the discontinue of Yankee madens, who re-
white forheads, with the sneering remark fiat
they were not in the habits of carving their
brains in their heels! The difference in size be-
tween the Northern and Southern foot is, how
ever, only noticeable when comparing extreme
specimens, such as Boston and New Orleans.
Omaha and Charleston; the Middle-St cities.
such as Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington,
and New York, show the two varieties blended
into q common medium.
The boot or shoe Of the present day has one
radical fault; tits elegant, strong, and enduring
but, as rule, 1t Is too short. Let a person Law
his foot down on a sheet of paper and mark its
length; then let him allow a full inch for the
forward pressure caused by the high heel, and
order his boots made according to the measure.
That is what Nature demands. But Fashion
first puts on stocking 50 short that the toes are
curled up in the soft web, then comes a boot,
broad enough, perhaps, but 30 deficient In length
that it presses against the end of the foot; and
what is the result? Enlarged, cramped suffer
ing joints, and q mncing gait, where each stem
Is calculated, and elasticity impossible foot
can endure a narrow boot far better than a short
one, for the additional length at the end gives
room for expansion in the proper direction; and.
to cultivated eye, a long, slender foot Is far
more beautiful than a short broad one tn q
high heels now 80 much worn by ladies absolutely
require an extra length in the boot They are
coquettish appendages, belonging to the era of
powdered hair, black patches, and hoped skirts.
But, besides being dangerous, they necessitate
more or less Of that painful attitude the Greciau
bend, which IL nothing more than Nature effort
to preserve an equilibrium. Although the French
heel Ia not seen among the sterner sex, their
boots have fault quite as important; the soles
are too narrow. In a short walk no ficulty ia
experienced, but several hours exercise Is sure
to bring discomfort In the early hours of the
rebellion, when the gallant Seventh Regiment.
OF New York city, volunteered for the defence
OF the capital, q days march found them com
pletely exhausted. Their courage was urfinch-
ing, their ardOr glowing, their strength and
health perfect; but-the sOles Of their boots were
too narrow, and each step became q torment.
They lay along the roadside; they captured a
locomotive, and loaded themselves on to the
platform cars; they marched barefoot and thew
made raids into the neighboring villages and
carried of the largest brogans they could find.
The difficulty was soon remedied, but there were
about q thousand pairs of city boots lying along
the road that day, mementOes Of the gallant
journey which has since been so often described
both in prose and verse, the March Of the sew
enth.-Hdrper's Bazar.
NEW KIND OF WALL.-A new kind of wall