bining health, comfort, and elegance, forbid the exhibition of
the unclothed foot; but the exquisite sculptures of Greece and
Rome sufficiently attest the accuracy of our assertion. We see
there the finely-proportioned feet only protected by the simple
sandal; the arched and muscular instep; the dimpled joints,
and stright, slender toes falling equally to the ground. As we
look upon them we feel at once their perfect adaption to the
purpose of graceful exercise, their peculiar beauty of forma-
tion and finish in themselves, and their capability of support-
ing the superstruction of which they form so elegant a part.
Yet a small foot, meaning a narrow, shapeless one, is now so
generally admired — and such excessive pains are taken to ob-
tain it by restricting the growth of the foot in early life by the
use of small and unyielding shoes — that in the upper and mid-
dle classes of society a really handsome foot is rarelv found to
accompany figures of even faultless proportions otherwise.
This absurd prejudice exists chiefly among ladies, who, heed-
""ess of medical advice to the contrary, continue to wear shoes
smaller in size than the dimensions of their feet actually re-
quire, and Jo, in many instances, cheerfully submit to the most
cruel self-imposed restraint rather than the world should say
that nature had given them feet properly proportioned to the
development of their persons. Now, the truth is, that feet
larger than they really require to be for the size and weight of
the rest of the body very rarely occur, and, when they do, are
by no means more inelegant in appearance than such as are
disproportionately small; and were these self-doomed sufferers
to reflect that a foot can only be handsome so long as it is
suitable for the performance of its natural functions, and that
such as approach to the Chinese idea of beauty must ensure a
most ungraceful carriage, they would certainly cease their en-
deavors to attain an end so closely approaching to deformity.
Besides, in attempting to reduce the feet to an unnatural nar-
row compass, the confinement to which they are subjected
necessarily leads to their ultimate distortion; crooked and un-
even toes, projecting joints, irritable corns and bunions, and
crippled motions, are the results of the endeavors to cramp the
feet into fashionable neatness ! And yet all the squeezing and
compressing which can be brought to bear upon a foot by
9
66 ETIQUETTE.
shoes of ordinary materials will tend but little to lessen it in
size, one quarter of an inch being, we may safely state, the ut-
most extent of the diminution that can for any time be borne.
Reflection, too, will show how slight the change can be which
if effected in this way upon the appearance of an ordinary
sole, and, also, how little the advantages keep pace with the
annoyances undergone.
Page 44
Presented as published in 1883. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
bining health, comfort, and elegance, forbid the exhibition of the unclothed foot; but the exquisite sculptures of Greece and Rome sufficiently attest the accuracy of our assertion. We see there the finely-proportioned feet only protected by the simple sandal; the arched and muscular instep; the dimpled joints, and straight, slender toes falling equally to the ground. As we look upon them we feel at once their perfect adaption to the purpose of graceful exercise, their peculiar beauty of formation and finish in themselves, and their capability of supporting the superstruction of which they form so elegant a part. Yet a small foot, meaning a narrow, shapeless one, is now so generally admired — and such excessive pains are taken to obtain it by restricting the growth of the foot in early life by the use of small and unyielding shoes — that in the upper and middle classes of society a really handsome foot is rarely found to accompany figures of even faultless proportions otherwise. This absurd prejudice exists chiefly among ladies, who, heedless of medical advice to the contrary, continue to wear shoes smaller in size than the dimensions of their feet actually require, and so, in many instances, cheerfully submit to the most cruel self-imposed restraint rather than the world should say that nature had given them feet properly proportioned to the development of their persons. Now, the truth is, that feet larger than they really require to be for the size and weight of the rest of the body very rarely occur, and, when they do, are by no means more inelegant in appearance than such as are disproportionately small; and were these self-doomed sufferers to reflect that a foot can only be handsome so long as it is suitable for the performance of its natural functions, and that such as approach to the Chinese idea of beauty must ensure a most ungraceful carriage, they would certainly cease their endeavors to attain an end so closely approaching to deformity. Besides, in attempting to reduce the feet to an unnatural narrow compass, the confinement to which they are subjected necessarily leads to their ultimate distortion; crooked and uneven toes, projecting joints, irritable corns and bunions, and crippled motions, are the results of the endeavors to cramp the feet into fashionable neatness ! And yet all the squeezing and compressing which can be brought to bear upon a foot by
shoes of ordinary materials will tend but little to lessen it in size, one quarter of an inch being, we may safely state, the utmost extent of the diminution that can for any time be borne. Reflection, too, will show how slight the change can be which if effected in this way upon the appearance of an ordinary sole, and, also, how little the advantages keep pace with the annoyances undergone.