There is here, also, a question of the comparative taste and elegance of wide and narrow soles, which needs a little discussion. It is the practice with many persons to wear as narrow a boot or shoe as they can, thinking we suppose, that if they have not a narrow foot, they _ought to have_, and that by putting it into a narrow boot they prevent it from spreading. As such a boot is and will be _narrow at the toe, the effect is just the opposite of that intended_ as in the case of _short_ ones. _The toes are drawn together, and the ball pushed out wider than before._ Then besides this tendency to _make_ it wider, the foot _looks_ wider in a shoe that is too narrow for it, because it treads the upper over, _and the narrow toe makes it appear all the wider by contrast_. A _foot_ that is narrow may wear a narrow-soled shoe with propriety; for a _wide_ one to attempt to do so is foolish. We have seen a lady’s boot trodden over so far that a hole had been worn through the upper on each side of the sole by its contact with the ground. The wearer doubtless thought it was necessary for her to wear a narrow sole to prevent her foot from spreading, and keep it in an elegant shape. She did not know that she was taking the most direct way to defeat her object, and that her true policy would have been to wear the widest-soled shoe she could get. This case was extreme, but it is quite common to see the upper worn through on _one_ side from the same cause. The right kind of shoe for a wide foot is one so wide on the sole that the upper will project over it on the sides but slightly, and _with as great a width of the toe, in proportion to the ball, as there would be in a narrow one. Such a shoe will make the foot appear narrower, by contrast, than it really is_, and the greater the width of the toe, the more this effect is produced. Besides, the shoe or boot _keeps its proper shape_ much better and longer when not too narrow or too short. If the _foot_ be _short_ proportionately, as well as wide, the covering should be of good _length_—at least a full size to spare at the toe, after being worn a few days and fitted, or broken in. These doctrines may not be readily accepted, but let any one who doubts give them a trial, and we are willing to be judged by the opinion formed afterward.