Travellers find these boots great comforts, they take up very little room in the portmanteau, are soon cleaned, and are on and off in an instant; if made of patent leather, they need only a wipe with an old silk handkerchief. No boothooks are ever required, the best hooks being nature’s own, the fingers, and the only bootjack ever wanted, is the toe of one boot applied to the heel of the other. _Dress Pumps_ are almost the only shoes now worn; they are generally made of patent leather, and should be cut to sit well at the quarters. The _Oxonian Shoe_ is, however, a very useful article, and if properly made, is the best shoe for walking and for wear. It laces up in front with three or four holes, and sits snug about the quarters and heel; the vamp comes well above the joint, and never hurts, by seams or pressure, the little toes: if it were not for the seam across the instep, girding and making it difficult to get the shoe on, and the frequent breaking at that part from the strain it undergoes, no shoe could be better. I have, however, effected a great improvement in it, which remedies the evil at once, gives great freedom in putting on, and entirely prevents the breaking of the seam and vamp; this improvement would, however, be hardly intelligible from description, and must therefore be seen to be understood properly. For shooting, and strong wear, it will be found extremely suitable, and it is perhaps the best of all shoes for young gentlemen. STOCKINGS, WASHING THE FEET, &C.--Much more of comfort to the feet depends on the stockings than people are aware of; nothing can be worse than a stocking too large or too small, the more common case is its largeness, and when I see a cotton or thread stocking tucked under at the toe, and by the perspiration of the foot and the tread, become quite hard and compact, a hard ridge of a seam pressing on the toes, which show the marks produced by the pressure all over the surface, I wonder how persons _can_ expect comfort. The best stockings for general wear, are those made of lamb’s wool, vigonia, and Shetland knit. The pedestrian well knows the difference on a long day’s walk, between a cotton or linen stocking and one of wool; he knows that the former soon becomes hard, damp, and chilly, with the moisture of the foot, whereas the latter enables him to bear fatigue, defends his foot from the friction of the shoe, secures it from blisters, and in every way ministers to his comfort. Persons, however, who do not use much exercise may indulge in a silk stocking; ladies will not only find this the most elegant of all coverings for the feet, but at the same time far more comfortable than either cotton or linen. If the best silk is considered too expensive, then a thick spun silk is a good substitute.