Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-10-15
The Girl With
The Dainty Foot
BY MARGARET E. SANGSTER.
Copyright, 1908, by Joseph B. Bowles.)

I suppose, dear child. that in common
with half the girls in the world, you fancy
a little foot to be the very perfection of
beauty. In China this idea has for ages
been carried to such an extreme that aris-
tocratic mothers go lettering about on tiny
deformed feet, and when their little girls
have reached the age of three or four a
painful process of foot-binding occurs,
which efrectually prevents the growth of
/ those little members. The toes are bent
In under the foot. and sort of club effect
is produced, which Chinese fashion regards
elegant 1t is really a hideous distor-
ton.
Here in America we do not bind our feet.
but many school girls do something al
most as foolish in the effort to Squeeze
them into shoes too short or too narrow,
or in some way ill-fitting. One of our early
English poets, writing about village belle,
said:
''Her feet beneath her petticoat
Like little mice stole In and out"
And another who belonged to the period
stanza about the little feet of court lady:
When she stood up for dancing
Her steps complete
The music almost killed itself
To listen to her feet"
Other poets have written about feet so
light that they scarcely bent the bluebelis
. in the field or left mark on the velvet
sod all sprinkled over with yiolets in the
spring. But l have never seen such feet.
Most of the girls 1 know have substantial
feet of their own. as they ought to have,
and flowers would be trampled upon II
they were in the path the feet trod.
Neither do 1 admire a foot just because 1t
Is small. nor think 1t an honor to wear
small shoe.
The foot to desire Is one like yours.
Dorothy, just In proportion to your size. A
tn rvfr1 ShonId have a r.
row foot, rather than short, plump one.
A schoolgirl well rounded and of good
weight must have a foot that can carry
her comfortably along the ways of life. 1
have sometimes felt very sorry for young
girls whose diminutive feet were out OF
proportion to the bodies they supported.
precisely as / feel sorry for girls whose feet
are uncommonly large. There Is little
comfort in the latter, however. in the re-
Election that large feet need not be clumsy,
and that large-footed people are credited
with being keen-witted and clever, the
large foot balancing the large brain at the
other end of the body. Great geniuses have
been seen before now with very generous
feet.
As a rule, American girls have dainty
feet, and are very particular about the style
and fit of their shoes. A shoe should fit
perfectly over the instep, and should well
support the arch of the foot. 1t should be
q wee bit longer than the foot, because,
when you stand, the weight of the body is
thrown forward on the great toe. 1t should
be neither too loose nor too tight. A shoe
which slips about on the foot like boat is
as likely to produce corns and bunions as
a shoe which presses uneomfortabiy upon
any part, like wise For walking, running.
going to school, and for the uses of every
day. wear a shoe with broad sole and low
heel Narrow. pointed toes and high heels
are perilous to safety. as We'll as Injurious
to the foot In these days OF polished floors
and rugs. even sure-footed girl may make
q slip and receive injury from an uniucky
tumble. IL the heel be too high. Shall I re-
mind you that no girl can make good APP
pearance or be tidy and trim who wears
shoes run down at the heel. careIessiy tied.
to keep shoes wen mended and to give