The Lambertville record., 1896-11-04
AN ESSAY ON CORNs.
IT CONTAINS THE EXPERIENCE OF AN
lNoUlRlNG SUFFERER.
the Reply of a Chiropodist Started an In
vestigation - Those Who Walk Suffer
Most From Corns-How Sidewalks Exer-
else an Important Influence.

tne heply OF ChtrOpodtSu started an In
vestigation - Those Who Walk Suffer
Most From Corns-How Sidewalks Exer-
else an Important Influence.
what makes cornsP"
''If people would not walk, they would
not have oorns, replied the chiropodist
emphatioally.
The reply was satisfactory as far as 1t
went, but it didn't go far enough, and
therefore the sufferer, not being able to
rid himself Of the pain by riding al
ways, walked and pondered.
He began to notice, when he walked
in one direction ON one side Of street,
that one foot was affected and when
he walked in the opposite direction that
the other foot was affected. The distress
was in the foot that was toward the curb.
He could not walk ahead awhile and
then walk backward to relieve the pain,
because he thought that he might be
looked upon as Drank and that such
behavior in public street would be alb
surd anyway. Then he examined his
shoes and observed that the most Of the
wear was on the outer edges Of the soles
and heels and that the upper leather
had begun to bulge slightly over the
worn parts Of the soles When he put
his shoes on again, he observed that the
leather where it bulged pressed on the
painful area Of each little toe.
With the results of the observations
in mind, the sufferer proceeded. step by
step, somewhat painfully at times, to
ascertain the cause of the effect on his
shoes. He would not acknowledge that
he might be bowlegged and unable to
wear evenly the soles of his shoes, and
nobody who met him could observe any
unusual DETECTION from the ordinary
lines Of legs. He trod carefully, and,
without making himself conspicuous
tried to walk ON q level, so that the
pressure would be equal on the whole
surface Of each sole. His toeing was
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. too much outward
nor too much inward-and at times he
succeeded in walking as hismind di-
rected, but usually the. distress that he
WINGED from indicated that something
was wrong somewhere. The foot ON the
curb side of the walk was generally dis
tressed more than the other The fit Of
his shoes was fair, and for awhile the
suffering Investigator could not deter
mine the reasons for the tendency to
bulge on the sides. He defied any one to
prove that the bottled waters that he
drank could have an effect ON his sys-
tenn that would tend to make him edge
toward the gutter. Such an idea ought
not to be thought Of.
Going somewhat deeper into'the SUBJ
| ject, beneath the shoes and the painful
areas, the Investigator gave some atten-
tion to the surfaces ON which he walked,
and slowed away in his memory the
characteristics of localities i'll which he
believed he had experiences that were
| painful, more painful, and most pain
| full. or almost painless. He noticed, for
instance, when he walked across an as
| phalt pavement from one sidewalk to
another in certain localities, that his
| tread was even and that he had little
pain. The experience suggested that he
could generally have relief by walking
ON asphalt pavement, but he'remember-
ed the arrest Of an eccentric pedestrian
who insisted on having the privilege Of
walking in the middle of the street and
decided that he would not risk himself
In that direction, Notwithstanding the
relief that might be obtained. He no.
ticed also that the distress was less in
some localities than in others and that
all sidewalks were not alike. He tried to
confine his walks to the localities in
which he felt the least Distress but he
had to go such roundabout way to ar
rive at any particular place, especially
his place of business, that the plan had
to be abandoned. Besides, he never trod
q perfect route-a route that throughout
its length had surface that could be
paced without pain. At one point or an
other the patient Investigator felt
twinges that were almost unbearable.
Lining up the subject on the best
route he could find, he devoted his at
tention to the spot or block where he
had the most severe twinges. That sent
him to the sidewalk, describing the ac-
tion fguratively. He did not drop on
his knees, although he had the impulse
to do that and to howl also, but he
stopped at the curb and thought awhile.
He inferred that his sufferings were
greater in that particular block because
some popularity or influence presented
itself there. At first the tentaoles Of
thought grasped nothing definitely, but
as the pain departed from the affected
foot, the powers of vision took hold and
the result was q revelation.
As i'll many great discoveries and rev.
Citations, the cause of the effect was very
simple--the sidewalk had been graded
from the house line to the curb for good
drainage, and as the incline was a few
degrees moro there than in many places
it was natural that any one walking
there should tend slightly toward the
curb. The friction of the soles Of the
shoes ON the sidewalk being greater
than the friction of the feet on the in
ner soles Of the shoes, the weight Of the
body caused the feet to slide sidewise
in the shoes. The effects ON tho feet
were different, and the painful effect in
one foot and then the other depended
ON the direction in which the sufferer
walked. When tho right foot was
toward the curb, its small toe was
pressed against the leather and tortured,
while the left foot by maintaining
level, the worn edge of the left shoe be-
ing about equal to the degree Of the in
cline, had very light pressure on either
side. Guided by the revelation, the suf-
ferer trod carefully thereafter and kept
clear of sIanting sidewalks as frequent
| ly as possible, but in time he was COM
PEELED to acknowledge that the periods
of relief from pain were far apart, be-
cause the rule is that sidewalks should
slant toward the gutter, and the rule is
followed generally, and he realized that
the chiropodist's reply was accurate. -
New York Times.
The Glamour of Distance.
1t is laughable how the consuls OF the
different nations in Africa, Asia and