The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1890-03-22

xhs department of public works. Not
only was the royal toe bruised, but the
royal temper was irritated. Summonlng
tho grand vizier to him, the commander
Of the faithful issued an edict that within
twsnty-four hours the whole earth was
70 be covered with leather, in order to
preclude the possibility of the recurrence
of a second catastrophe like that from
which the lord of the harem was now
suffering. Should the royal mandate not
be obeyed, off with the heads OF all the
chief officers OF the court!
For while great CONSERVATION reigned
in ministerial circles Leather was scarce,
even had the timo not failed to do much
with it in the line Of covering the earth.
Yet the sultan was man of his word
when executions were in order.
Finally, some one-probably the court
Jester, if there was one-had brilliant
idea. As the result of this the great
potentate was waited upon at the ex-
piration of the appointed time by a
bowling and scraping committee, who,
with all due respect, presented to his
royal highness pair-the first pair-of
shoes. Behold, the edict obeved! the
entire earth was now covered with leather
beneath the feet Of the son of the sun!
All the world knows the pretty tale OF
Cinderella, the charming little creature
imposed upon by ugly elder sisters who
were envious of her fresher charms.
Few children are there who have not
mourned over the way in which the poor
little maids beauty was obscured by her
coarse attire until it was only seen "as
shines the moon in clouded skies" and
who have not sorrowed at the thought OF
the soft hands, blackened and rough
ened by inard work; of the shapely feet,
disguised in heavy, ugly shoes.
And among the incidents of the trans
migration Of this grimy grub into =
gorgeous butterfly is there anything more
attractive than the episode of the tiny
crystal slipper? We all remember how
it fell of AS she fled from the ballroom,
and we used to opine largely that even
this fairy covering must have been too
large for the graceful foot it incased.
But yet, we read further on, that after
the ugly sisters had done all they could
to squeeze one of their i'll shaped feet
into the little glass slipper, when Gin
derella tried it on, sit fitted her per-
fectlyr'
We were forced then to the conclusion
that the loss of the wee shoe was bit OF
fairy trickery, rather than an accident,
for how could the prince ever have found
his true love without this clew to guide
him? How the little dear's heart must
when she heard the cryer going through
the streets seeking the owner of the tru-
ant shoe? And with what ill concealed
scorn and amusement she must have
seen her sisters do their best to prove
their right to her property, while she
stood by, longing, yet not daring, to
speak
From that day to this, the shoe has
been favorite subject for romance. No
one can forget Goody Two Shoes. nor the
German tale of the golden slippers that
danced so indefatigably all night. And
t1tIt were ttIt tIutl Iiot HUN
too, in which the unkind sister was con-
demned to waltz until she dropped dead ;
a story recalled by many martyr to
corns and high heeled dancing pumps,
as she whirled through ballroom, en-
during her misery with a smiling face.
Coming from the realm of fairy fiction
to modern story telling, we read the
pathetic tale of Bebees little sabots, we
listen to the ballad of the wooden shoe
and find many other contes in which a
shoe or aslipperplays conspicuous part,
as, for instance, in "The Second Wife,"
where a certain high heeled satin slipper
figures prominently among the proper
ties.
Remembering all this, it is not cause
for surprise that the modern maiden be-
slows so much attention upon this por-
ton of her attire. If she is ultra-fashion-
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