The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1897-02-02
AN ESSAY ON CORNs.
1T CONTAINS THE EXPERIENCE OF AN
lNQulRlNG SUFFERER.

else an Important Influence.
What makes corns?'
If people would not walk, they would
not have corns, replied the chiropodist
omphatically.
The reply was satisfactory rs far as it
went, but it didn't so far enough, and
therefore tho 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 OH one side of a street.
that one foot was affected and when
he walked IN the opposite direction that
the other foot was affected. The distress
was Ill the foot that was toward the curb.
tic could not walk ahead awhile and
then walk backward to relieve the pain,
because he thought that he might be
looked upon as n crank and that such
behavior in public street would be abb
surd anyway. Then he examined his
shoes and observed that the most of tho
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 solcs. When he put
his shoes on again, he observed that tho
leather where it bulged pressed on tho
painful area of each little toe
With the results of the observations
III mind, the sufferer proceeded, step by
step, somewhat painfully at times, to
ascertain tho cause of the effect OH his
shoes. He would not acknowledge that
he might be bowleggcd and unable to
wear evenly the soles of his shoes, and
nobody who met him could observe any
unusual DETECTION from tho ordinary
lines OF legs. He trod carefully, and.
without making himself conspicuous
tried to walk on level, so that tho
pressure would be equal Oil the whole
surface Of each sole His toeing was
Notwithstanding too much outward
nor too much inward and ut times he
succeeded i'll walking us his mind di-
rected, bus 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 tho other The lit of
his shoes was fair, and for awhile the
suffering Investigator could not deter
minc the reasons for the tendency to
bulge on the sides. He delied any one to
prove that the bottled waters that he
drank could have an effect on his sys-
TEN that would tend to make him edge
toward the gutter. Such All IDEA ought
not to be thought Of
Going somewhat deeper into the sub
Jcct, beneath the shoes and the painful
areas, the investigator gave some attcn-
ton 20 the surfaces on which he walked.
md slowed away in his memory tho
characteristics of localities in which he
believed he had experiences that were
painful, moro painful, and most pain
full, or almost painless He noticed for
instance, when he walked across an as
phalt pavemenG from one sidewalk to
another i'll cettain 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 M eccentric pedestrian
who insisted OH having the privilege Of
walking in the middle of the street and
decided that he would not risk himself
III that direction, Notwithstanding the
rellef that might be obtained. He no.
tlccd also that the distress WAS less in
some localities than i'll others and that
all sidewalks were not alike. He tried to
confine his walks TO the localities i'll
which he felt tho least distress, but he
had to go such Il 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
perfect route-a route that throughout
Its length had n surface that could be
paced without pain. AT one point or an
other tho patient Investigator felt
twinges that were almost unbearable.
Lining up the subject on tho best
route he could find, he devoted his at
tention to the spot or block where ho
had tho most severe twinges. That sent
him to the sidewalk, describing the ac-
ton 1igurativcly. He did not drop OH
his knees, although he had the impulse
TO do that and to howl also, but ne
stopped at the curb and thought awhile
He inferred that his sutferngs were
greater i'll that particular block because
some popularity or influence presented
itself there AT first the tcntaclcs of
thought grasped nothing definitely, but
as tho pain departed from the affected
foot, the powers of vision took hold and
the result was revelation.
AS III many great discoveries and rev.
Citations, the cause of the effect was very
simple-tho sidewalk had been graded
from tho house line to the curb for good
drainage, and as the incline was few
degrees more thcro than i'll many places
1t was natural that any one walking
there should tond slightly toward tho
curb. The friction Of the soles of tho
shoes on the sidewalk being greater
than the friction of the feet on tho in
llnr S0inS of tho shnns tho 1uni orht of ti,a