On page 13 we have two shoes from Africa, Figs. 21 and 22. The first, of yellow leather, is quite simple in design, but the latter is more elaborate in decoration. Fig. 24 shows an Indian shoe, while Fig. 23 is a Persian boot, whose pointed front is supposed to have been designed for the purpose of preventing the wearer from kicking up the dust, so unpleasant in hot countries. * * * * * In France the clothing of the foot has always been a subject of special consideration, and many have been the styles that have emanated from there. Among the first was the long pointed shoe, called the _poulaine_ (Fig. 25), in England named _crakowes_. (This name, _poulaine_, seems to indicate that the fashion came from Poland, though the pointed shoe is supposed to be of Eastern origin.) These shoes grew both in favor and length, for a number of years, until the _poulaine_ had reached such proportions that it was necessary to fasten it to the knee by means of a chain of gold or silver, while in order to keep it in shape it had to be stuffed with hay, straw, or fine moss. The length of the _poulaine_ was determined in the same manner as the height of the _chapineys_, by the rank of the wearer, and it was no uncommon sight to find a nobleman with his _poulaine_ some twelve inches or more in extent, while the upper part of his shoes would be cut out to imitate the windows of a church. [Illustration: _Fig. 31._ _Fig. 32._ _Fig. 33._] When the crusading army was before Nicopolis, these _poulaines_ astonished the Turks very much, who probably wondered how fighting was to be done in them. When it came to decisive action, however, it was found that the _poulaines_ impeded the movements of the knights so much that an order was given to cut them off. There was also made, at this time, in order to avoid trailing the _poulaines_ in the mud of the narrow streets, a kind of wooden clog (Fig. 27), with cross-bars edged with iron; this was fastened to the foot by an embroidered leather strap. By means of this contrivance the _poulaines_ were kept from contact with the ground. This fashion flourished for a long time despite the anathemas of the bishops, who stigmatized them as immoral, and the denunciations of officials. By an act of Parliament, in 1463 shoemakers were prohibited from making, for the lower classes, shoes with points more than two inches long; and afterwards excommunication was pronounced on any person found wearing them; so they were forced to retire, after a vigorous reign of almost three centuries. From the _poulaine_, fashion ran into the opposite extreme, and in the sixteenth century people wore shoes with square toes as broad, and sometimes broader, than they were long (Fig. 26). They had no straps, and were only held on the foot by the narrow piece rising above the heel. It was shoes of this kind that were worn by Francis I. of France, and Henry VIII. of England. [Illustration: _Fig. 34._ _Fig. 35._