The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1880-03-03
The Coming Leg.
New York Times.l

The leg Is undoubtedly one OF the most
difficult paris OF tho human body, for per-
feet leg is among the rerest works of nature.
OF course. this remark is limited 10 the
visible legs of the male sex, since il is OBJ
viously impossible TO obtain any data con-
cerning that large class of esoteric legs the
very existence of which is ventionslly
ignored and can only be limited at by the
conscientious anatomist, when the interests
OF science demand such sacrifice OF per-
sonal feeling. Neture can turn out head,
faces, bodies and arms Of admirable work
msnship, but legs require more care than
she is usually disposed 20 give them. We
are SO accustomed 10 imperfect legs that we
seldom notice the Deficiencies OF TIE average
leg, but artists and anatomists are fully
aware that the ideal leg is as rare as an
ideally-clean New York street.
In spite of it's imperfection, the modern
leg is useful and By no means ugly, unless
closely scrutinized In most cases il is suffi-
GENTLY straight for all practical purposes,
and, when clothed by a competent tailor,
presents almost an attractive appearance.
Our legs might be great deal worse than
they are, and If the gloomy prophesies OF
Baltimore anat0mist are worthy OF credit,
our grandchildren viii speak of shs present
day as the haloyon period of legs, and will
wish that they could exchange their best
legs for the very worst of those now in COM
mon use.
Inc man assures Us that the
human leg is about to undergo startling aud
painful changes. The next generation will
be knock-kneed. and its children will add to
this peculiarly that of bow leggedness. The
leg of the future will thus be shaped like tie
familiar typographical sign known ss a
brace" The upper and lover leg will
each haye bold curve outward, and the
knees will De in close promimity. A more
varied and Objectionable style of leg has
never been plecsd befo. e the public and we
can not look forward to il without dismay
The cause which is thus to blight the lel
of our innocent descendants is the pres ?
fashion of a female dress. The BsltimLI
person asserts that the extremely narrow
skirJs now in use bring the knees of the
woman into Close proximity and produce
the deformiiy popularly known as knock
knee" What with the narrow skirt wesrers
OF this generation 10 an acquired deformity
will be cougeuial deformisy in the next
generation. The vaat majority of children
born since the Introduction of narrow skirts
knock their wrs tched little knees together
since the day OF their birth, and a compare
lively straight-legged child under three
years of age is, our Baltimore authority ss-
sures Us, very rarely seen.
Now, the next generation will try to cure
this defect by endeayoring TO bring the feet
close together. This is the uniform, though
ignorant impulse of all knock-kneed per-
deformlty by bowling the lower leg, while it
has no beneficial effect upon the knees. The
attempt of our children TO strengthen their
legs will entail bow-leggedness upon our
grandchildren, who will be born with the
"brace" shaped legs already described.
A diagram published in the Sun some
years ago, and purporting to be diagram of
the legs OF a certain Deacon Smith, gives an
excellent idea of the general design of the
coming leg
This is an alarming picture, and it deserves
our serious attention. If the Baltimore an
atomist s premises are right, his conclusions
must be admitted, and we must recognize
the fact that the legs Of the, future are in
imminent peril. But is il absolutely certain
that his premises are trusiwOrty? His whole
argument rests upon the alleged fact that
class of legs of which the average man
neither knows nor can know anything are
so confined by the narrowness
of the modern skirt that their
assumed knees arc kept in close contact.
Now, it is, to say the least, highly improb-
able that the Baltimore man is an expert in
this matter. and that be has been able to
collect data which have hitherto been be-
yond the reach of scientific men. His
assertion in regard to the unknown
knees of which he speaks 50 coolly and
confidently, is directly contradicted by
Institute, who, in his able paper entitled
"a New Theory of the Narrow Skirt"' main
tains, with much plausibIlity, that the effect
OF the skirt is TO force one knee Immediately
behind the other. so that the hypothetical
legs are placed, so to speak, in column IN
stead of line. Although the professor ex-
pr ssly admits that his theory is a coDjec-
tural one, lacking proper data for its found.
alton, il is apparently entitled to quite as
muce credit as that OF the Baltimore ansto-
mist, unless the latter hes really accumu-
lated data of which he makes no mention.
There is, then, no sufficient reason to de-
spair OF the legs of the fnture. They will
probably be much the same in plan and
detail as the legs of thisgeperatiop. Indeed,
they may be even better. Most things, ex-
cept the Democratic party, improve as the
time goes on, and it is quite possible that
the coming leg may be vast improvement
upon the legs, visible or ooDjectural, of the
present century.
A partial failure of the crane crop will