WESTON ON WALKING.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2510, 22 January 1877, Page 2

WESTON ON WALKING.

The great; American pedestrian, Edward Payson Weston, recently delivered a lecture on walking at Liverpool. The following summary will be interesting :— The idea of a man training for a pedes-. trian was., he said, simply absurd. He should always be in training. Let him be a man and an honest citizen, and be careful of what he eats and when he eats it, and he can dispense with the nuisance of a trainer and the "rubbing down and thumping and rolling in bandages, and crackers steeped in wine or brandy. The' only difference he made from ordinary life was that he avoided eating pastry and preserves; and as to a trainer, he never had one,- with the exception of a servant to take care of his wardrobe and tie his shoes, and that for this simple reason that he was too lazy to do it himself. He had -been asked to show the boots which, he wore when walking, and to describe the manner in which he took care of himself. He exhibited the boots, to the audience, remarking that the boots did the walking—his feet simply guiding the boots. The boots only fitted across the instep, and were three size% larger than the shoes he usually "wore when walking in the streets. The sole was composed of two thicknesses of leather running from the toe to the heel. That prevented it from giving, and the foot struck the ground flat. You hardly used the feefc except to preserve yonr equilibrium —the hip guided the foot Iv order that the feet should not become sore, before he started walking in a morning he placed them in a bath of salt and water, composed of a cupful of Tidman's sea salt and about a gallon of water. The salt must; be dissolved in hot water, and then allowed to cool, and the feet be placed in it for from three to five minutes, and then thoroughly wipjd, care being taken to ; wipe dry between the toes and under the knee joint. After that, in order to harden them,:bathe them with Balmoral or Irish whisky; and after the boots are placed on the feet, pour about a gill of whisky to the bottom of the feet Jby means of a funnel made for tho purpose. This would keep the feet cold during the day. Knitted,

woollen socks must be worn, as they keep the feet from blistering. Should any blisters rise on the feet, he pushes a needle through them, and if done, before the feet were put in salt and wafer they would see nothing more of the blister. He also exhibited a belt, about 2in in width, which he said he had worn during 20,000 miles of walking. It must not be fastened on too tightly, but so that it would support the waist; and in case you were tired with walking you could put your hands behind and rest your loins, and injury to the spine was thus avoided. He has often been asked whether he was stiff in a morning. He held in his hand a bottle containing a preparation composed of two parts of olive oil and one part of ammonia ; this he rubbed into his limbs, from the thigh down to the ankle. It must be rubbed simply downwards. After that, put on red flannel, which prevented stiffness. If this preparation was rubbed about the knee joints it prevented you taking cold or having rheumatic pains. Mr Weston spoke strongly against the use of stimulants taken internally, and advocated walking exercise as a means of ensuring health.