FASHION AND DEFORMITY IN THE FEET. 653 



Narrow-toed shoes aggravate the abnormal position of the great- 

 toe, and cramp the other toes closely together, stopping all their free 

 and healthful motion. 



Narrow soles cramp the whole foot ; calluses, corns, stiff and in- 

 elastic joints, and wasted muscles follow. The distress endured by a 

 fleshy foot in a narrow shoe must be felt to be appreciated. If shoes 

 are not cut " rights and lefts," they do not conform to the shape of the 

 foot, and keep it in a continuous strain, exercising also a tendency to 

 break down the supporting arch. The foot, thrown out of position, 

 falls too far to one side or the other, and we have " running down at 

 the heels," and vicious inversions of the foot in walking. 



Tight shoes impede the circulation, deprive the feet of the warmth 

 they need, and ultimately cause waste of the tissues. A friend of 

 the writer, a strong, vigorous man, in splendid health, nearly lost his 

 life from congestion induced by an hour's wearing of a pair of tight 

 boots. Of shoes too stiff at the waist or middle, Dowie says, " Rigidity 

 of this portion of the foot-covering is particularly destructive of the 

 muscles of the foot and leg, for it interferes almost entirely with the 

 free play of the whole foot." * 



" Wedge-toed " shoes call for some preliminary remark. If one 

 examines the ends of the fingers, it will be seen that they have a 

 fleshy protuberance ; the toes have this in common with the fingers, 

 and its office in both is to make a soft, cushion-like protection for the 

 bones. A wedge-toed shoe, such as is seen in Fig. 14, forces the toes 

 immovably into a close envelope that crowds this cushion away from 

 the bones, and wastes it to such an extent that the bones, lacking its 

 protection, become diseased often to a degree requiring surgical treat- 

 ment. The dotted lines in Fig. 14 indicate how the evil might be 

 mitigated by giving a fullness in the upper leather. 

 Take a round and narrow wedge-toed shoe, and 

 let it be short as one may generally see them, 

 worn, and you have an instrument of torture that 

 is little short of the famous iron boot of the past 

 ages. 



"Box-toes" possessed the virtues of giving Fig. ll. Exostosis or the 



room for the extension of the foot, and saved 



their wearers from the torments of " wedge-toes," but they had other 



defects, and are now almost out of use. 



High heels augment all the injuries and miseries we have enumer- 

 ated. The foot on heels is in the position it occupies in going down-hill, 

 or down the roof of a house, a most insecure and unstable one. The 

 weight of the body is thus thrown forward, the center of gravity 



* This is a prolific cause of the homely spindle-shank, which he says marks the Eng- 

 lish laborer in his wooden solid shoe. Dowie cites the Irish laborer, who goes barefoot, 

 and has a splendid muscle in his calf, as a sample of what free play of the foot will do 

 for the improvement of the leg. 



