Chap. XII. HOW FORMED, AND THE RESULTS. 



251 



" The most serious inconvenience to wliich 

 women with small feet are exposed," he observes, 

 " is that they so frequently fall and injure them- 

 selves. During the past year, several cases of this 

 kind have presented themselves. Among them 

 was one of an old woman, seventy years of age, 

 who was coming down a pair of stairs and fell, 

 breaking both her legs ; she was in a very dan- 

 gerous state for some time, on account of threat- 

 ened mortification of one leg, but the unfavourable 

 symptoms passed off, and finally the bones of both 

 legs united, and she is able to walk again. 



" Another case was also that of an elderly 

 woman, who was superintending the spring cut- 

 ting of bamboo shoots in her field, when she fell 

 over some bamboos, owing to her crippled feet 

 slipping among the roots ; a compound fracture of 

 one leg was the consequence, and the upper frag- 

 ment of the bone stuck in the ground ; the soft 

 parts of the leg were so much injured, that ampu- 

 tation was recommended, but her friends would 

 not hear of it, and she soon afterwards died from 

 mortification of the ]imb. 



" The third case was that of a woman, who also 

 fell down stairs and had compound fracture of the 

 leg ; this case is still under treatment, and is likely 

 to do well, as there was not very much injury done 

 to the soft parts in the first instance." 



About eight o'clock I returned to the town, and 

 took the principal temple on my way. The sight 

 which presented itself here was a curious and 



