The second shoe, deeper in hue, is said to have belonged to Mrs. Grahame; and its central tongue, with two overlapping flaps, which call for a necessary buckle of paste or silver, would place its date in the early part of the century. The silver embroidery in thread, tiny sequins, beads, and lace is in admirable taste; and the whole workmanship of the shoe, which is in excellent preservation, is of the best order. The last shoe is of plain blue satin, with handsome decoration of gold tinsel embroidery, studded with oval turquoises, and supplemented with the brightness of crystal beads, being similar to the trimming of the dress. [Illustration: PLATE VII.] Plate VIII. This shoe--Figure 1--bears the print of its French origin in its essential smartness, combined with neatness and uniformity of colouring--namely, a deep, rich purple satin, the bow being of velvet in similar shade. It was worn by a member of the Rothschild family at the time of the Queen’s first Jubilee, and the maker, Meier of Paris, not only has a great monopoly in the clothing and adorning of fashionable feet, but is also much in request in successfully fulfilling stage taste and requirements in shoes. The second shoe on the page is of very small size, and is of English make, though owned and worn by the French Duchesse de Beauprémont. It is of bright blue silk, with large rosette and peculiarly shaped heel, being much elongated underneath towards the side seam. The next, pale blue silk shoe, is made simply to match a gown, and probably out of the same fabric. [Illustration: PLATE VIII.] Plate IX. The first shoe of this plate would be remarkable for neatness, though it might be thought somewhat spoilt by a squareness of toe, but it will be noticed the idea of squareness appears carried out otherwise in the cut of the shoe. The space between the principal strap and the three small ones crossing the foot makes an uncommon variety. The little bows of twilled silk (of which the shoe also is constructed) give a chic, if somewhat formal finish, to each band. The heel is a Louis shape. Figure 2 belonged to an Edinburgh belle of the season of 1872, and is of tiny dimensions, though the old fashion of ornamenting with a large bow deprived the wearers of these small sizes of some of the credit. The third and most elegant shoe possesses one of the highest Louis heels worn off the stage, and belonged to an American lady who, like several others, came to this country and acquired for herself the right to the motto first adopted by Alexander the Great--namely, “Veni, Vidi, Vici.” [Illustration: PLATE IX.] Plate X. This shoe of white silk has the novel decoration of small netted buttons. These buttons rest on simulated straps, the silk being merely cut away to show spaces of the blue lining between. The shoe has altogether a perfection of style which its distinguished owner, an autocrat in dress, always demands.