Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-04-12
CHARACTER IN FEET.
IN SPITE OF DlSToRTING SHOES THEY
CONTINUE TO TELL TALES.

menUal lrAlJs SHOWN In Jne FORMATION OF
Toes and Insteps-The Big Toe Said to
Signify a Great Deal-The Foot of Abra.
ham Lincoln.
There is character in feet. In spite of
shoes that compress and distort and boots
which cause bunions to rise like mountain
chains there is still enough of the aborig-
inal human foot left for the anatomist to
read disposition and the temperament in
every line of it, Everybody knows that
from the outline of the hand, in nine cases
out of ten, trained observer can tell what
manner of man bears it. The foot is the
lower hand. 1t conforms in its structure
with that Of the hand. The toes are short
ened digits Tapering fingers and grace
fully modelled hand show good breeding
and innate refinement. The hand of a
man of artistic temperament is slender,
and the fingers are long and tapering.
Feet inCased in patent feathers, with
Picadilly toes, do not get much of chance
to show anything about the character of
their owner. After they have been kept
in such unyielding, enameied collins for a
few years there isn't really flesh and
blood foot there any mure. There's cal
lousod, bumpy, gnarled and warped sort
of a thing there which shows no charao-
teristics except perhaps lack of common
sense in the owner. But there are men
and women whose feet have the semblanCe
Of the shape they had when they romped
around the nurseries before the days Of
narrow toes and French heels.
AL the character cannot be obliterated
bo ,F ~,
these degenerate days
Modern feet are not pretty as a general
thing Most of them are positively ugly
Did you ever see an uglier member than
that represented in drawing of Abra-
ham LincOlns foot which is exhibited by
a Broadway shoe dealerH From the pic
ture you would think that you were look
ing at the gnarled and distorted taproot
of an oak. The most noticeable thing
about that foot is the broad, firm big toe
Such a toe shows strength of character,
firmness and executive ability. A weak
big toe would point inward This toe was
planted firmly and squarely. 1t curled up
a little toward the end too. These re-
tTOusse toes show independence and deter
mination There are persons who have
noses formed that way, too, and you know
what kind of dispositions they have.
Some anatomists say that every toe
should be in direct line with the foot.
1t hard to Judge foot in that plumb
line and spirit level way.
The man who toes well out as he walks
and steps squarely upon the ball of his
foot has, as general thing, those assertive
big toes.
There's self assertion and go in the big
toe. 1t ought to be strong and broad. 1t
does more work than the rest. 1t has
more character.
Some persons have short, square toes, all
about the same length, and an assertiye
big toe that looks as though it was anx-
ious to get cut and look the world square
ly in the face. They are the practical men
and women They look at everything
from the standpoint of hard, common
sense. Their insreps are low. Their heels
are broad, and they set them down in a
way which gives the impression that the
owners know exactly what they are talk
ing about They are the men and women
who make up their minds to have thing
and invariably get it. Those are the feet
which are oftenest stamped, and the
stamping, If the foot belongs to woman,
is accompanied by a toss of the head. It's
foolish man who does not recognize the
coming down of such a foot
There's poetry, Imagination and roman
ticism in feet Men and women of artis-
tic temperament have long, slender toes
and high, arched insteps. The second toe
of a person of artistic temperament is
longer than the other toes The owners
of such toes almost always have inclina
ton to music, art and poetry. The long
second toe is the sign of the artist, tho
sculptor and the poet, 1t shows senti-
mentalism and romance Such a toe, it
may be said, is the index of an artistic
sense 1T is well if such member has in
the great toe a strong firm neighbor, The
long second toe means dreaminess and
idealism The firm big toe means practi-
cal sense, 1t is well to have both.
In the perfect foot the little toe curves a
tritle inward. You will see that in classic
sculpture. If the small toe has an upward
arch, 1t shows a warm, sunshiny, passion
ate nature. Those with the short stubby
toes and the feet which they stamp so de-
cisively at times often have that upward
curve to the little toe. Artists and stu
dents of pedagology say that this peculiar
ity is particularly noticeable in the feet of
women in southern climes.
One of the surest signs of refinement
and good breeding is the high, arched in
step ltshows a long line of cultured an
cestors, 1t is patrician. 1t marked the
feet of sandaled and Roman mobiles. 1t has
been seen in the courts of Europe for CEN
50, In, Nauy NprIr
rooms today.
1t is no wonder that women have for
centuries sought to increase the natural
arch of the foot It's more than vanity
which induces a woman to wear French
heels. Still there is not much use in try
ing to affect high instep, The raising of
the arch by means of the French heel is
too transparent a ruse.-New York Her
aid