Evening star., 1901-02-04
c U RING jflck FEET
SHOE STRINGS EED CUTTING, NOT
STAY LACEs, NOWADAYS.
- z,
Spinal Neuralgia. and All the Other
Woes Causs1 by Narrow
stSes.


High heels and narrow toes ought to be
legisated againstSS Said the foot surgeon
and masseuse. as she, rested and rocked and
waited, watch in hand, for her next pa
tient. Tie the feet of healthy woman
into pair of tight. narrow, thin-soled Ok
ford ties, stilted up on spool-shaped heels
be hind, and the result of their steady wear
will be almost any disease that feminine
flesh is heir to.
Fifty years ago." she continued, "it used
to be the fashion to cut fainting woman S
stay lace, but only last week l discovered
that when the twentieth century girl
threatens to swoon, the shortest cut to her
restoration is by severing her shoestrlnSs'
1t was during the shopping hours that a
pretty creature came staggering In mere
pale as ghost and begging drink OF wa
ter. She dropped down on my red Vel|e
sofa and while | sent my assistant hustling
to the cooler in the back room, L TOOK tne
case in at a glance. Before the sufferer
could protest had whipped out my knife
and ripped open her little, hard. gothc-
heeled shoes. Furthermore, l pulled them
and her stockings off completely, and. tax
ing her bruised, ice-cold eXtrem1tles INTO
my lap as l sat on the floor. maSsaged
the blood back into her torpid heels and
tees The poor child simply sat up and
cried with relief. When the faint feeling
vas over and her spirits in measure re,
stored gave her generous ple-Snapeo
piece of my mind.
Il threatened her with nervous collapse
chronic dyspepsia, spinal neuralgia or con-
sumption if she did not cease wearing those
abcmnable little shoes. and l can assure
you | was not talking nonsense, for II Is my
business not only to straighten out and
beautify feminine feet, but to aid at the
same time the feminine nerves and diges-
ton. The aforementioned Ills are caused
by trffies just slight as pinching toe,
lofty heel or a shoe worn so close that 1t
interf es with the circulation In the ex-
tremit.cs and Injuries the stomach and
heart action.
Scientific Treatment.
'The fainting stranger took my words In
their literal, sense and let me first give her
feet a. strong rock salt bath. slip on them
pair of very thin but pure wool stockings,
and then fit her to a pair Of soft, warm,
broad invalid shoes. That Is my first stage
in the restoration process, for to strafghten
shoe -marred feet Is the special branch of
my business. In the next stage l put the
injured feet into stockings that are woven
with pockets into which the great toes
slip. This is the first effort make toward
drawing these toes back into place, and If
can take foot in charge in time I can.
first by digitated stockings, and then by
the use Of shoes that have separate COM
partments into which the great toes slip,
rectify the irregular shape Of the foot en-
tirely.
Perhaps you did not know" the special
ist added, "how, widely digitate hose Of
silk. lisle wool, are worn by women now
adays for the special purpose Of restoring
the prehensile faculties to their badly
treated toes, and thus adding grace and
strength to the feet. But besides the digi-
tate stocking l give wY patients feet scien-
tific massage twice a week, and then a
course of toe and heel exercise to practice
every morning.
COmmon-Sense Views.
after the bath, little rubbing and use
of the manicure night and morning 1
struct all under my'.treatment to sit in
a low chair before d bath rug and vigor-
ously push about under the soles of their
feet long. crash-covered wooden rolling
pin. or couple of hard rubber balls. In
Europe at one of theIcures they send their
patients out barefOoted to tramp up and
down in wet white sand, and having hand
ed this idea over to-some of my patrons
they find the most extraordinarily fine eX-
ercise can be got out of long, shallow.
znc-lined box full of damp, white sand, IN
which they tread up and down, pressing
the moist mass between the toes until
every inch of the feet has been thoroughly
exercised. This is the most practical means
for stirring the blood in the extremities,
and, what is equally important, it hardens
the skin of the feet that is rendered almost
painfully tender by the protection from
childhood of stockings and shoes.
When at last l have put a pair of feet
into a thoroughly healthy state, L insist on
prescribing just the shape. size and ma
terials of the hose and shoes that are to be
worn For a foot that is tender and af-
ficted with callous spots insist on the use
of fine pliable wool hose and shoes Of suede.
Patent leather is, as you probably know.
sort Of superior corn cutivator, and in
winter, when worn with silk or Isle stock
ings, it is the cause of a great number of
colds. A patent leather wearer nearly al
ways suffers acutely from cold feet. because
of the rapid flow of moisture the heavy ma
terial brings out on the foot, and then the
sharp change occasioned in the foot's tenn
perature when the air-tight patent leather
Governing is taken off.
Happy for Ever After.
"Out Of her patent leather ties 1 take
patient suffering with corns, poultice and
salve and then prunc the growth with ster-
ilized instruments; take her round to the
shoemaker and obllge him to measure the
width of her foot while the stockinged
member, supporting her whole weight. rests
fiat on the floor, and order the shoes made
of black Ooze leather on good, pliable quar-
ter-inch-thick SoleS.
THE result is an enlargement Of her feet
by a fourth of an inch everywhere, but
after a few weeks the corns have almost
the red and swollen joints look
white and normal. the nails are clear and
bright, and the owner would not blush to
expose them, minus stockings, on any bath
ing beach next summer, for that,
hear, at the queter watering places, is
to be the fashion, and 1t is with that end in
view that so many young ladies have placed
themselves under my care this winter"
80
The Meaning of John Marshall Day.
To the Editor Of The Evening Star:
May 1 ask leave to call your attention to
an error in your paper of Friday In the
Of the article describing John
he oernta ninln