THE SPOKANE PEESS, SUNDAY, JANUARY 9

THE beautiful foot is that of the baby.It is beautiful because it is natural, un-marred by ill-fitting, cramping, distort-

waa. 4ng shoes. "Just in so far as tho foot has depnrtecr-from

its original shape- and habit is it less thanperfect. It is hard, indeed, to find a beautifulfoot. The story is told of a New York sculp-tor, who, Marching' for a perfect f00t,., d-isr-missed three thousand models who were ap-plirwwts for the honor, declaring that""there'was not one beautiful foot among them.

By the established modern standard, tbefoot should be neither small nor large, though

it is preferable that it be small lather thanlarge. The tiny foot of a large woman is ab-surd. It suggests deformity. Bo does' IMFshrfff "foot on the tall woman. The footshuttle seem to belong to the woman, not tohave been loaned to her for the occasion. LikehcrTFiand, it should seem to be In perfect har-mony with the rest of her body. If theowner be plump, the foot should not be thin.If she be thin, the foot should not be plump.

It should be neither bony nor too fat. Thebones should be well covered, but their out-line should be plain enough to give a certain'ffftittnetlnn cllod "character- to t! foot. Thetoes should spread comfortably apart, yet

there should not be unseemly spaces betweenthem. The spaces should be slight and even,like those between regular and well-keptteeth. The skin should be smooth and pinkywhite. The nails should be strong butsmooth and semi-transparent and delicatelypink. Above all, there should be no blemish,no disfiguring corn on ttie small toes, no en-largement of the joints, nor bunions, no cal-loused spot upon tbe sole. Tiie high-bredfoot lies, according to existing standards, notflat upon the ground, but rests upon t.ie heeland front part of the sole, so that a rill ofwater may easily run under it. To corre-spond with tills natural bridge, there mustalso be an arched instep.

This is the standard.

Now how to achieve it. First, wear shoesthat are large enough, and let them be of soft,

pliable leather. Large enough, I said, but not

too large. The foot that slips about in large

shoes Is as likely to get callous disfigure-ments as the one that is pinched. Heavyleather and thick soles have no place on awoman's delicate feet. The gtiff, unyieldingboot may be all right upon the masculinefoot, and it may keep more perfect upon theluch-tbtck sole, but the skin of a woman'sfoot is too tender for tliis. Tiie leather shouldbe close but fine, the soles of medium thick-ness. But I cannot lay too much emphasisupon the need of a straight, oven heel on thoshoe. The heel Is to the siioe what the cor-nerstone is to the house. It is quite as nec-essary that it be well luid, straight and se-cure. The crooked he< 1 threatens the healthas the insecure crncstoue disturbs the se-curity of the bouse.

The run-down htMl disturbs the \u25a0 djustmontof the internal organs. It pushes BOOM ofthem close upon each other, draws othersaway from their natural support. It destroysthe balance of tho foot, pausing blisters nndcallous spots. It throws the weight whereIt should not be, doing violei.. c to tiie centerof gray Itjr.

Wntrh your h»els as closely as you shouldthe running time of your watch. When thebottoms of the heels disclose an inclinedplane at the back or the sides, you will finda corresponding blister of newly formed eal-Jnus spot on the sole. Your ounce of preven-tion Is sanding the shoes to a cobbler themoment you see the hint of crookedness Intho heels. They can ba planed or built upto their former evenness very Blight ex-pense. Tho money spent thus is much lessthan the ft* of a chiropodist that you willSUV*.

Having formed the habit of wearing com-fortable shoes ?snd let be say here thatAmerican ah an urn the best and that I al-wuys wear them?see that tiie feet are re-ItuHod often from their prison. Kvcn thebest pair of shoes Is *>

prison. In your own

"Thrust cottcn beneath the cornerof the nail to cure an ingrow-

ing nail."

room wear tbe Japanese sandals that protecttbe delicate soles from the floor, but leavethe toes free to lie loosely apart, though theyare secured by strong cross bands. 'fuse?stive the muscle* of the fee; a chance to relax.They are much better for this purpose thanthe felt slipper or Shoe, which is too vlos- ly

woven to permit proper ventilation.The feet, like that other extreme of ihe

body, the hair, need sunlight. Think howlittle the poor, Imprison id feet get. Theyneed air. How little of that they get.

Well-shaped feet are so mvi h rarer todaythan they were In the days of tlie Romansand Greeks, ,aalaly because we Imprison themin unVentlintel, sun-forbidding ihoes Insteadof wearing the x until of the ancients, whichgave the feet the light and air they need.

It is unfortunate that the arbiters of fash-inns have not seen fit to condemn modernshoes in favor of the ancient sandal. Moreharm is done to the feet by the presenUdayfootwear, than is done to the hiir by rats andpuffs or to the vital organs by tight titling

corsets.Some years ago it dit become the fashion

for children to wear sandals, but their eiderswere not wise enough to follow their example.But if you cannot wear sandals yourselves,there is no reason why you shouldn't haveyour children wear them, for it Is even moreimportant that the child's feet be properlytaken care of than the adult*.

In early life tiie hones are naturally softand may be readily forced out of their inrmalshapes by any considerable exterior pressure,It Is obvious that to maintain the proper con-tour of the child's feet, the sandal is muchmore satisfactory than the shoe. The formeipermits ihe feet to be flat on tiie ground andspreads the toes, the latter crowds the toesand empresses the whole foot.

And adults can Improve the condition oftheir feet by wearing snndals in the house,

even if prevailing fashion does not permit oftheir wearing them out of doors.

To be healthy, the feet must bo kept scru-pulously clean. So much are they exposedto the dust of the streets, especially by those

who wear low shoos, that they need more thanthe perfunctory share of the morning plunglor shower. They should be bathed every night

in a foot-tub containing warm water. If thefeet be tender, the water should containborax in the proportion of an ounce to agallon.

Warm salt water Is also very easeful fortired feet, especially useful for reducing thecongestion in swollen feet. This powder,

sprinkled into the warm bathwater, affordsgreat relief?use one teaspoonful to a gallon

of water:

Borax (powdered), 1 02.

Eea salt, 1 os.Alum, 12 oz.

l"or tired, swollen feet, toman juice, sprin-

kled freely Into the water, Is S means of ulle-viation. An easier way to apply it Is to cut

a lemon in half ami rub the soles of the feetwith it.

Colli used spots may be removed from thesole by planing off the rough surfaces withpumice stone.

ii.igiisii women give case to lluir feet after Ia long walk by Mstblng them M an infusion ofIrosemary IeftVOX Ste. n the rosomary leaves, ja half pound to a gallon of water. When 'cool, bathe the feet for 20 minutes in the 1mixture, adding warm water now and tiien,

M the water iv the foot-tub cools.For feet Inclining to excessive perspiration,

a powder made of these ingri dictate shouldbe used in tiie footbath:

Tannin, 80 grains.Alum a drams.XiycopotUnm, C drama.

?kin, usually appearing upon the top of thetoes. Bach speaks loudly of pressure byshoes. No Indian ever had a corn until hebegan wearing* the white man's boots. Cornsand bunions are the record of the fact that theShoe, as many wear It, is an instrument o'

torture. If the corns be new and not deep

seated, they can be removed by se.f-treatblent.

Soak the feet from fifteen to twenty min-utes In warm water, softened by k few dropsof vlolel animoniii, or of benzoin. Bind aslice of lemon on tbe toes, tying it securelyWilli a bandage of white muslin. If the cornrespond! naturally to the treatment it shouldbe so loose after three or four applicationsthat you can push it out by gentle frictionwitli a towel Never use your finger nails Inextracting a corn, no matter bow loose ItSeems. Blood poisoning might result.

If the case is more obstinate, this, appliedwith a small camel's-halr brush s.iouhi bequickly efficacious:

Collodion, 4 grams.Ether (65 par cc.it), a grams.Alcohol (95 per cent), 1 gram.Tincture of Cannabis Icdica, 1-4 gram.SaJycilic acid, 1-2 gram.

Bess expensive Is this:Collodion, 1 oz.8.-rate of sodium, 1 dram.Fluid extract of Canpadis Indies, 1 f^fi

If the corns in the -.-.off variety tintgrow between the toes, absorbent cotton oms>dered with tannin or alum may he insSßtjß

between them. 11 plasters to protect tinecorn from further irritation by the shoe havetheir friends and locs. 1 think It much wiserto remove the press ,re pemunently by aban-doning the shoes thai caused It.

Bui ms or enlarged and inflamed Joints,are tie greatest SffTictlon to w Icn suffering

foot can be subjected. A new broad pair ofsiloes wiih low heels is the best remedy. Toai sist this remedy, the joints nay lie paintedthree times adr with this simple but strong

bunion lotion:

'Ilnctnre o! iodine, a drama.Carbolic acid, a drama.Glycerin, a drama.

Copyright. 1000, by American-Examiner. Great Britain Rights Reserved 1.

Tills yet simpler powder is much used forperspiring feet:

Powdered orris root, 1 oz.Powdered alum, 1-2 02.Kice powder, 3 ozs.

The nails should lie cut square across, ox-.l when the formation of the toes, acquired

! v close pressure of the toes upon each other.. . tnds that the nail he cut round to adapt

"The nails should be strong butsmooth and transparent

and delicately pink."

itself to the shape of tho toes, when it maybe necessary to round them.

At the first sign of an Ingrowing toe naileach id' two simple remedies may be used.The corner of the nail at the side whore thetoe is Inflamed may be gently lifted and cot-

ton thrust beneath It to relieve the pressure.Also at the middle of the upper edge of tbenail a tiny » may be cut. Nature In extra

'efforts to iieai this breach the neal with-draws lor forces from the irritation of tbe

'side of the toe.

I Light massage by a skilful masseusee Isgreatly beneficial to tired foot. Dancers,

Ipedestrians and female cyclists have used

Mme. Cavalieri's Feet, Artists Say,Are Among the Loveliest

in the World.

the foot is to sit with the feet scarcely reach-ing the floor, and press the fore part of thesole upon the floor, This ulso strengthens

weak ankles.

FROMChicago comes n letter from a H-

year-oUI miss, who complains I lint herbust is too small, and asks liow shemay develop it., My dear girl, la America, where the devel-

opment of womanhood is slower than in theSouthern countries, it is remarkable that at18 you have a bust, He patient and permitnature to develop It. If you are tilln andanaemic, exercise freely in the open air, eatnourishing food, as milk, meat, cheese, beets,spinach and other vegetables containing iron.

\u25a0 Take plenty of sleep and let nature developyou by her own slow process.

To have the sear made by a burn removedI would recommend that my North Carolinacorrespondent call upon the best physician itis convenient for her to consult.

From Middletown, N. 1,, comes a requestfo| a good face powder that will tad s'.iowtoo much. The best Is often the Simplest,Qive a thorough trial to a good rice powder.Perhaps you use too much powder. Dustedvery lightly over tic face, an application ofIt should give tiie face a more refined lookand not be too obvious.

A girl writes me from the Fust Side InNew York and asks me what she may do to

"For tired, swollen feet, rubthe soles with half a

lemon."

freckles from the backs of her hand*. Iwould suggest an application every night of:

Lemon juice, 9 ounces.Almond oil, 10 drops.

Rub It thoroughly Into tho Akin on theback oC the hands and wear large, loosegloves, preferably rubber ones, for a fewnights.

"The toes should spread reasonablyapart, but there should be no

unseemly space be-tween them."