Newport daily independent., 1905-11-20
FEET AND INTELLECT.
People with Small Pedal Extremitie& Are Not Always Possessed of su-
 perior Mental Acquire ments.

' Small feet are considered by many tc be mark of aristocracy, but they cer- { sainly do not indicate superiority of intellect, for many women of supreme intelligence have had very large feet, George Eliot, for instance, who re- sorted to all kinds of devices to make her big, broad. flat feet appear less enormous. Mime. De Stael, tne most bril- ! liant woman intellectually of her day, had such immense and ungainly feet that she was made miserable by the consciousness of their undue propor- tions, and knew that she was the sub- ject of many q joke on their account. Her face was not beautiful, but her figure was handsome and statuesque, and she once yentured to assume the role of Greek statue in some tableaux vivants which were given before an au- dieuce composed of clever and distin- i guished people, among whom was the witty Talleyrand. Mime. De Stael was grieyously offended at hearing that her brilliant friend had invented bon mot at her expense by remarking that he had recognized the impersonator of the Greek character at once by the pied i de Stael.'
 The Germans and Scotch are credited with having the largest feet in Europe, and Spanish women, particularly An dalusians, the smallest. Tke queen re- gent, who is Austrian and of as aristo- cratic a descent as the most fastidious could desire, is not blessed with small 1 feet; they are large and broad, and al- though, of course, she has the best of chausseurs that money can procure, they never look neat. This is one of i the grievances that the Spaniards have against her, for they have horror of 1 big feet on woman, and look upon such a defect akin to crime.
 I know a Spanish lady who went to 1 Berlin, and few days after her arrival, on dressing for ball she discovered that her maid had forgotten to pack the case containing her evening shoes. She sent out for pair, giving one of her walking shoes as a sample, and after prolonged absence the messenger re- turned saying that no shoemaker had anything so small on his premises ex. cept for very young children. The whole city was searched, with the same result, and she was obliged to wear her walking shoes until some could be made for her. The shoemaker did not have last small enough, and special one had to be made, which fact gives elo- qucnt if not altogether fattering proof concerning the truth of what we hear anent the size of the German ladies feet. Such a size and shape as would, think, not be found in any oth CT country, yet it is commonly asked for here. English women are great walkers, and wear wide, comfortable boots for their long rambles through muddy country lanes-they scorn rub bers-and in consequence their feet have become broad, but compared to those of their Scotch sisters they are fairylike.
 French women have short, thick feet and their shoes made rather to increase this appearance than otherwise. They wear their high heels almost in the mid dle of the foot, the instep is padded to arch it, and she whose foot is long and narrow will use every art to take of about half its length, the result be- ing that as she gets older she is so troubled with corns and bunions that a pair of good old felt slippers-her husbands preferably-are the only things she can endure with comfort, and in these she will shuttle about the house, an eyesore to everyone who sees her, donning the high heels, however, for outdoor wear religiously, for true French woman will suffer the tortures of the inquisition every day of her life with all the fortitude of saint rather than wear a sensible, low-heeled shoe that would give any idea of the real shape of her foot.-N. Y. Telegram.