CHARACTER IN FEET.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1904, 28 July 1888, Page 3

CHARACTER IN FEET.

A writer who discusses this nu v j-?ot m the March number of "Oassel's Mag»zlne" very properly points out that, t bough there is oharaoter m the B'za and shape of feet, there is still more m the i aoi to which they are pnt —In the v-doue methods of standing, walking, and disposing of the 'pedal appendages 'when a* rest All this, noirever, has as much to do with the general carriage of the body a» with the feet alone, and m i>ff-ct It wo drslre too see character thoroughly well indicated, we shall think much less of the feet themselves than of the boots whloh enoaie them, It 1b In that direotion that different persons exhibit different Idiosyncrasies. There is much of oonrae, In the contour of the foot, but more ilgntficanoe attaches to Us covering. There is,, m the first plaoe, the oholoe of the boots, and, In the teoond, the treatment accorded to them. In the former we dWoarn a man or woman's t&ste (or lack of it), m the latter we note his or her habits of disposition. The shape of hla foot is out of any man's control, unlen he goes m d3llberalely for pinching ala chinoise ; but m most cases, he can deoide what sort of boot he will put it into- And there he reveals himself. Mr Harry Furnlss onoe drew a sketch of the Treasury Bench ( we forget the reign of what party), aud it consisted almost wholly of the oocupant's boots, by which they were immediately recognised. As a man is •hod, so In general does he think and act. Yet not invariably. Tnose who are careful of appearanoes are careful above all of their chaussure, and a neat, aristooratio boot may be worn, with intention, by one who is d either tidy nor patrician. * What profit?, ' says the Laureate, a dapper boot if half the little soul is dirt 1 ' Moreover, there are auoh things as olronmstances whioh vitiate the significance of feet gear. A man often wears what he can, not what he would like ; and juat as oftan he is too absorbed m other, pursuits to be much concerned as to the species of boot or shoe he patronfies.