The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-08-10
CARE OF THE FEET.
THE CRAMPEp AND TORTURED FOOT
NO LONGER THE IDEAL.

Views of n Celebrated Anatonist-Thc I'M
portanco of Wearing the Right Kind of
shocs-Something About Corns and How
to Treat Them.
Very few seem to realize the impor-
lance Of giving the feet proper attention
i'll order to secure better health us we'll
as general comfort. 1t is almost incon-
ceivable that i'll our civilized nation in
the modern age there are still SO many
otherwise sensible women who are will
ing to MAIN and cripple their feet and
suffer tortures for tho sake of wearing
| shoes just u little too small, or which
are, as they imagine falsely, pretty or
| more fashionable. We see the folly of
the cramping process upon the feet of
the Chinese women, but how much more
inexcusable it is for women of this en-
hghtened country.
In former times it has been the fash
| ion for shoes to be made with high
heels, narrow, pointed toes and all sorts
of extravagant shapes contrary to ease
and comfort, and as too many people
have felt it incumbent upon them to
bow to the demands of the tyrunt fash
| ion, no matter how unreasonable her
| demands, the result has been for suc-
ceedlng generations untold suffering in
| tho form of corns. bunions and other
deformities, until now it is comparative
| ~ rare TO see, except among savage ma
tons perfect, we'll shaped foot But
j moro sensible fashion allows the wear
ing of various styles of sensible shoes
that arc adapted to the ease and COM
| fort of the wearer, with thick soles,
wide, low heels and plenty of room for
| FREQ expansion of tho toes and muscles,
and the numerous corns, which are not
| only exceedingly painful, but often seri-
Gus affairs, are gradually disappearing
| from the feet of the sensible ones and
| the ideal foot is no longer the cramped
| and tortured foot.
Tho celebrated anatomist, Professor
Hyrti of Vienna university, opened one
| of his lectures to his class with the sin
| gular question, (Which is the most beau
| tiful foot, considered from the anatom-
ical standpoint and then continued:
ut is remarkable that there are so many
| divergent opinions on this subject.
| While tho sons of men look upon q
| small, slender and graceful foot, lady's
foot, Us IN ideal one, the anatomist ut
terly rejects it Us beautiful, and only
the large, long and broad foot is the
| ideal one III his eyes. Even the greatest
classic writers of antiquity, Horace, ca
tallus, and others, who had great apDre.
| citation of the feminine beauty. never
mentioned in the descriptions Of their
| beloved-and, rs is we'll known, they
had many-their small feet.
1.-The people belonging to tho Celtic
race have small feet; the Hindoos es-
| peclally have such feet and hands that
they may be envicd by many European
countesses. The native troops of tho
English army i'll India possess in Eng
land their own armOry where peculiar
Kinds OF weapons are constructed for
them, and the sword hits made for
them arc much too small for us to grasp
with ease. The greatest beauties Of Eu-
rope, the Italians, have really long and
broad feet -
But even if we DO not care to be con-
WINGED that the ideal foot is the foot
that is long and broad. we can certainly
| realize the Importance of care in select
ing shoes Of the proper size for comfort
rs we'll us beauty. The foot never looks
| pretty III shoe too small for it, and
such shoes soon become unshapely from
undue pressure, giving anything bat q
pretty appearance
On the other hand, we should not fall
into the error of buying shoes too large.
These are quite as apt to cause corns as
small ones by rubbing certain parts of
the foot If any one has the misfortune
to fall into this mistake, it can be RENE
died to great extent by inserting soft
wad Of cotton batting in the toe of the
shoe or in the part that rubs against
the foot.
The same care is necessary in buying
shoes as in buying gloves. They will
last much longer and have q better ap-
pearance when made of new, good skins
Old leather or kid is not soft and elastic
and does not easily shape itself to the
foot or the hand. This is not only O
matter of comfort, but of economy. In
this, as i'll many other things, 1.-The best
is the cheapest, and rs few women, or
men either, for that matter, are good
judges of leather it will be wise to buy
| unly Oh honest, experienced dealers, in
whom we can confide, for we cannot
afford risks i'll II matter where SO much
is involved An uncomfortable shoe is
really very serious matter when we
take into consideration the pain and
discomfort, the probable deformities in
| the way of COINS and bnuions, the wear
on the nervous system and the unpleas-
! ant consequences of our irritable tenn
pers because of personal discomfort