Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1902-02-13
fHg GHgRIClH GI8L's BIG PEET.
Another Tsaaerly Cherished Iiiusisr
Destroyed Sy Taets.
Bu q SpeciaI Caatrihnter.

=
white haired shoemaker, this woman
who was obliged 70 wear . No. 4
shoe always whispered the fact in
my ear after swearing me toseerecy,
and either ordertd the objee .ionabls
numelal obliiera' ed from the shoe
lining, or had one that Indicated a
much smaller siz, put in it, place.
Thirty-five years ago we sod what
we called here in the saop Lrgea ld
small thFees, because then rs now,
there existed pleasant and care
fully cherished belief that tbs Ameri-
can woman possessed an extrems ly
small and slender foot To day 81
stead of those threes We sell fours,
fives and skies, in Place IF las q.
made in the A, = and c wild hs, we
sell G. ID and e. Though the pride
in the Arabian delicacy OF the Ameri-
can woman s foot is as much mat
ter Of national boast as ever. thefact
remains that, all things considered,
Uncle Sans handsome daughters
have uncomrnonly big feet, and the
worst phase OF the condition is that
their feet are steadily growing blg-
ger
Since time immemorial, the shoe
man continued. ''our women have
smiled in gentle pity over the size Of
the English woman S foot, and tend
erly commiserated her onthe owner
ship of awlswardly-exten ex-
tremities. but the American shoe
manufacturer who exports ties, slip
pers, and laced boots. can readily
testify that the demand from the
English importers is for Q shoe from
one TO two sizes shorter and one tC
two letters narrower than thatasked
for by the domestic market. These,
of course, are cruel facts, but facts
they are, and here in my shop,
where on an average seventy-tive
pairs of shoes are tried ON every
day, the woman who boasts the
longest line OF American born an
cestors requires nearly always the
largest make OF footgpar.
Among my customers are several
whose progenitors were signers OF
the Declaration of Independence,
and though the question OF actual
size and letter is never discussed
between US, all the clerks in NY
place know that nothing less than a
No. 8 of Z width viii fit either
mother or daughter. Those, OF
course, are rather exceptional cases
but to prove my assertion as to the
size of the average foot, you would
need only run over the stock stacked
ON the shelves of my shop from floor
to ceiling. For every ten pairs Of
twos, threes and three and half,
find it absolutely necessary to order
and keep on hand twenty-five to
sixty pairs of fives, skies and skies
and half. running in width from {
toe.
"An honest No. 6 is what the aver
age woman wears in a walking shoe,
whether it is tie or high laced
boot, while in slipper she win Us,
ually purchase FIVE and a half, ii
she is going to use it for dancing
and walking Should she be sensi-
tive about her feet and eager to mini
mize their size, she will buy her call
ing and shopping shoes with high
heels aud, il the weather is decent,
she will wear big backled walking
slippers on the street. Such slip.
pers are of course not practical. nor
in the least hygienie; the weight is
thrown on the ankle, and on the
delicate joints at the root OF the toes,
with the inevitable result cfincreast
ing bulk and breadth at both these
points; when, however, has woman
ever listened to reason if fashion or
vanity got her ear first, and, what's
very lamentable from the standpoint
OF comfort and common sense, is the
increasing demand for a shoe and
slipper with a narrowing toe.
Happily, though, there is saw
ing remnant of our American women
who insist first of all on wearing
stout and easy shoes, and who this
winter refuse to endure the heatand
weight ofrubberoyershoes. Among
the very smart women, who walk
and golf good deal, the overshoe is
regarded as an evidence OF a feeble
intellect or pitifully inadquate con
stitution and 10 meet the require
ments of the robust class the shoe
makers have brought out raila-proof
blucher walking boots. Tue soles
OF these are quarter Of an inch in
thickness and full extension: the
yamps are made OF the best Ameri-
can calf and tue tops Of grained
English leather. All day long over
sodden fields or streaming streets. q
woman can tramp in these without
knowing damp stocking, and Il.
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