Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1882-10-27

Rude drawings are seen on the walls of
Thebes On. c. 1850 of sEoennkers per-
forming their tasks, showing tlre trade to
be extremely ancient rs well Ms eminent
ly respectable and we read in Homer of
princes manufacturing their own shoes.
They have been made of yhrious materi-
als-hides, FAX, silk, cloth, wood, iron,
silver, and gold-and in great variety of
shape, plain and ornamental. Among
the Jews they were made of leather,
linen, and wood. Soldiers wore them of
brass and iron, tied with thongs. To put
off the shoes was an act of veneration.
The Asiatics and Egyptians wore shoes
made of the bark of the papyrus. Among
the Greeks the shoe generally reached to
the mid-lcg like what wei now call
"boots."
Ladies as mark of distinction, wore
sandals-a sort of loose shoe, something
like modern Slipper. Xenophon relates
that the ten thousand Greeks who fol-
lowed young Cyrus, wanting shoes i'll
their retreat, covered their feet with raw
hides, which occasioned them great iniu-
ry. The Roman shoes were of two
kinds-the cdiccUs, which covered the
whole foot, and the Soicd, which covered
only the sole, and was fastened with
thongs. Ladies of rank wore white and
sometimes red shoes; other women wore
black. The shoes Of some of the Roman
emperors were enriched with precious
stones. 1t was generally regarded as a
mark of etfeminacy for men to wear
shoes. Cato and other noble Romans
had no covering for their feet when they
appeared in public. In the ninth and
tenth centuries the greatest princes of
Europe wore wooden shoes, or wooden
soles fastened with leather thongs. In
the eleventh century the upper part of
the shoe was made of leather and the sole
of wood The Saxons wore shoes, or
socks, with thongs.
In the year 1890, i'll the reign of Will
liam Rufus, the great dandy Robert was
called "the horned because he wore
shoes with long points. stuffed. turned
mp, and twisted like horns. Shoes of
this kind became fashionable, and tine
toes continued to increase m length until,
in the time of Richard H., in 1890, they
had attained such an enormous extent rs
to be fastened to the garter by chain of
silver OF gold. The clergy declaimed
vehemently against this extravaganza
but the fashion continued, even for sew
eral centuries. In the year 1463, the
Parliament of England passed an act
prohibiting shoes with pixies more than
two inches in length, under penalties to
maker and wearer, and those who would
not comply We're declared excommuni-
Gated. Even at late period shoes were
twice the length Of the foot, or SO long MS
"to prevent kneeling in devotion at Gods
house
In the year 1915 a company OF cord
wainers was incorporated in old Boston,
England. By their charter it was ordered
"that no person shall set up within the
said borough as cordwainsrs until such a
time as they can sufficiently cut and make
a boot or shoe, to be adjudged by the
warders. ... .Alat if any foreigner,
or person who did not serve his apprcn-
ficeship i'll the said borough shall be
admitted to his freedom, he shall then
pay to the wardons E3 IS. Sd. .......
And that 10 fellow of this corporation,
his iourneyman or servant, shall work on
the Sabbath day, either i'll town or coun-
try" Shoes in their present form came
into use in the year 1888, n short time
after the first settlement of this coun-
try