National Republican., 1883-12-01
A CHAT ON CORNS.
Men Have Handsomer Feet Than Women,
and Less Trouble With BuniOns.
The Lady with the Prettiest Foot in
Washington.

well, TO begin WITH as charity hides
multitude of sins, so y wcll-madc shoe covers
very frequently host of deformities and ugIi-
nesses."
"How often ?"
About two thirds of tho feet that walk
our streets are more or less deformed and
crippled with corns, bunions, sunken arches,
ingrowing nails, and othor unsightly, un-
natural features. 1t is as rare TO find hand
somo foot rs n perfect hand-even rarer-for
the foot has to bear tho weight of tho body,
and tho style of shoe generally worn is much
moro Objectionable than that of tho glove,
Strange as it may appear at first glance, there
are more men with we'll. l.shaped, natural feet
than women"
What is the reason thereof?"
II think 1t arises chiefly from tho exces-
slve, but nearly always ignorant, solicitude
mothers show about the feet of their daugh-
ters whom the latter are young. The custom
OF buying ready made shoes, especially for
children, is fatal one to the beauty and
the health of the feet. The average man and
woman arc as incapable Of picking out
proper reqdy-made shoe as they are of select
ing pair of spectacles suitable to the re-
quirements of their eyes without calling in
the aid of the occulist. For example, the
shoe should be two sizes longer than tho foot.
A mother, buying pair of shoes for her
child, will have the child's foot incased in one
of proper length, and then, feeling around
the toe, will say, 20, this shoe is entirely too
long" on goes the shoe, and the lit
tie ones tender feet are pressed in
pair no longer than the foot. Tho
feet of a child grow rapidly, and any cx-
cessive pressure, even if the nerves do not
complain, acts iujuriously. Then the ready
made shoe, being built on general measure,
cannot be adapted to the requirements of
each individual foot except at the expense of
the foot. There is great difference in the
size of the same persons feet, one OF tho
other being longer, broader, with higher
instep, larger heel, SC. The ready made shoe
is handy, is much cheaper than those made
to order; but you cannot fit your feet in
them any more than you can get perfect
fit in ready-made clothes--not so well. even,
for all the prominent ready-mado clothing
houses have special tailors whose business it
is to adapt the garments to the Deculiaritics
Of the purchaser. But shoe once made
cannot be tinkered until it is SO far worn out
as TO need reconstruction"
Which foot is the larger, generally; right
or left?'
Generally the right, in two out of three
cases. But a third part of men and women
have the left foot larger and longer. The
difference between the same mans foot is
sometimes very great. | have made shoes
for persons whose left foot had high instep
while the right was as fiat as q Maryland ash
cake Then again | have customers who
wear a number seven in length ON the right
and an eight on the left foot These people
could not get fitting shoe ready made. They
could not wear them without pain and posi-
tive injury to the feet. But many people SO
constituted do wear them, suffering misery
and spelling their feet all the while"
by men" !" y
"I'rom to g. Tons are not uncommon,
and even larger. No. for man of me-
dium size is small. The average size of
weyan's shoes is-well, 3's and as. But u
VI ,number of women wear shoes much
larger than those numbers. And l have
fitted ladies whose feet rivaled Cinderella's
for smallness and shape. Not long since l
made pair of buttoned CATERS for young
lady, resident of this city, whose feet,
though not the smallest, were the most per-
feet l ever saw. The ablest sculptor that
ever lived could not have chiseled out of
marble pair of more perfect feet"
"What was the size?'
"dnes!"
"ones" repeated the reporter. "Isn't
thatla very small size?"
every small, not more than one grown
woman in 10000 having SO small foot. But
there are ladies whose feet are even smaller
than that. l have never seen, however, 30
L
shods to order for twenty-three years in this
citySn,,
"What is her nameW
".lh that l cannot tell. 1t would be
breach of confidence between merchant and
customer. 1 don't mind telling you, however,
that, she is employed in the bureau of en-
craving and printing
Perhaps she is a dwarf, hence the small
ness of her feet" suggested the reporter.
NO, she is of medium size, slender, de-
cideslly pretty, with hazel eyes, and brown
haiI She is very unwise, however, to wear
buttoned CATERS. Nothing so soon spoils the
arch of the foot and beats down the instep,
making the foot fiat as buttoned CATERS.
You observe" continued the shoe dealer,
that the flesh around the instep is unu-
sualy tender, and has but little support. The
bones of the foot are not calculated to stand a
continuous pressure such rs n buttoned gaiter
gives on top Well, the effect Of wearing
them is to cause the flesh to spread out and
fatten aid the bones to yield until finally a
we'll shaped, handsome foot is made ugly. A
gaiter that laces up the front is bad, very
badfo the feet, but not so Objectionable as
the buttoned. A shoe that laces up the side
is far better, and, as ladies generally will not
wear boots, is the best shoe to preserve the
health and beauty Of the foot"
"Why do you say boots p"
"l}ecause boots are the only kind of foot
covering that answers all requirements of
health, comfort, and good looks. A boot we'll
made--and, of course mean properly made,
in hll cases-braces up the foot and ankle,
and rests the extremity instead of fatiguing.
Such evils, as pointed toes and narrow soles,
should mover even be thought of, much less
worm" But they are"
YES and will be. Men ought not to get
drunk or, in fact, lead lives other than of
thehighest purity, but they do, and will con
tinpe to do so. And hence they are always
snning aud always repenting. Nature, how
ever, has given one remedy for corns and
bunons, and the same agent will 80 far to the
restoring of deforlned feet TO their original
shape"
''rell me that, by all means"
"rho use OF hot water and soap. No matter
how badly his pedal extremities have been
abused il man will soak his feet every night
in hot water for about fifteen minutes, and
use soap on them freely, he will get cured OF
corns, &c. q sunkon iustep will be restored,
aud the parts OF tho feet will assume theiI
normal proportions. He must continue the
practice, sometimes for many months, but II
is never failing OF course, he must wear
properly made shoes all the while.
Y. M. q. A. Meetings.
A special feature of the Young Meni
Christian association work is the young men'
Bible class on Sunday at 4;30, conducted by
Mr. II. A. Harding, secretary of the associa
tion. The class meets in the parlors, and the
Iayann 10 fouuht In a nvaraa tinnal tnannar