472 lewis' AMERICAN SPOETSMAN. 



toe against another. Those formed bj the latter cause are 

 usually the most painful, and difficult to be treated, as they are 

 situated between the toes; and it requires a deal of management 

 to relieve the pressure sufficiently long to effect a cure, so long 

 as the sufferer is obliged to incase his foot in a boot. 



These formations on the feet are called corns, from the cir- 

 cumstance that a piece can be picked out very like a corn of 

 barley, which fact no doubt many of our readers who are 

 troubled in this way have observed. The curing of corns, in 

 these modern days of improvement and charlatanism, has been 

 promoted into a science by some few pretending worthies who 

 have sprung into existence from the Lord knows where ! and 

 taken to themselves the high-sounding title of Chiropodist to 

 his or her Majesty's big toe, we suppose ! These fellows vaunt 

 themselves much upon their skill in the treatment of these 

 deformities, and even produce certificates from respectable 

 sources in commend^ition of their great success, which certi- 

 ficates are oftentimes obtained from the various parties without 

 proper consideration, or the lapse of sufiicient time after the 

 operation to judge of its real efficacy. The public, however, is 

 perhaps better able to judge of the merits of these scientific 

 operations than we are ; nevertheless, as far as our experience 

 teaches us, these ignoramuses, with their high-toned titles and 

 great pretensions, are a set of bunglers, and the most of them 

 entirely unworthy of confidence. Some of them even go so far 

 in their charlatanism as to succeed in gulling their victims into 

 the belief that there is some great secret attached to the opera- 

 tion o^ extracting a corn, as they term it, and make a great ado in 

 the matter, as it were to confuse the looker-on and involve 

 their clumsy operation in a certain degree of mystery. All we 

 have to say, as to these impudent humbugs is, that "the less 

 our readers have to do with them the better." 



If, my i-eader, you have been foolish enough, or rather vain 

 enough, to wear a tight boot to exhibit the beautiful proportions 

 of your foot, and consequently have thug produced corns, and 

 brought upon yourself a good deal of suffering, the first thing 

 to be done towards relieving yourself of these little tormentors 

 is to call on an active disciple of Saint Crispin, and order forth- 

 with a pair of easy, non-pinching boots. 



