1.While the head is sheltered by the hair，the feet are naturally bare and unprotected.Therefore，in the early ages of the world‘s history，people seem to have felt the need of coverings for their feet，long before they ever dreamed of hats，helmets，or bonnets.
2.The feet were first protected by sandals or shoes roughly made of the skins of animals.Sandals aremerely rudely-shaped soles of wood，leather，bark，plaitedgrass，or straw，fastened to the feet by strapsor thongs.This simple kind of protection is still incommon use in Eastern lands.In our climate moreprotection for the feet is necessary，and the Saxons wore shoes made of leather，sometimes with wooden soles.Sandals were，however，worn by the clergy.
3.Besides sandals，shoes covering the whole foot，which were tied above with latchet，lace，or string，were worn by the more wealthy Romans.Those of the women were white，the men’s were black，while red ones were worn only by people of the highest rank.Long boots or buskins，which covered part of the leg，were also worn by hunters.
4.About the year 1100A.D.，a French nobleman，who had badly-shaped feet，ordered his shoemaker to make him long，pointed shoes.Others followed his example，and shoes with long points were worn by the upper classesboth of Franceand of England.Inthe time of Richard the Second of England，the points were made so long that，in order to walk，gentlemen were forced to fasten them to their kneeswith gold or silver chains.Often，too，the peaked toes were twisted like corkscrews.At last a law was passed forbidding any person below the rank of lord to wearshoes with peaks beyond a certainlength.Not long afterwards the fashion changed，andshoes were worn with toes as absurdlyhad before been absurdly long.
5.Boots are merely shoes extended so as to give better protection to the ankle and leg.Two centuries ago，boots were worn much longerthan they are now.One of the longest kinds was the jack-boot，commonly worn by horsemen.It reached above the knee，was wide atthe top，and had high heels.Round the ankle was a flat leather band with a powerful spur.A neater form of thejack-boot is still worn by the Horse Guards .
6.By-and-by a lighter form of the jack-boot wasadopted，suited for walking as well as for riding.
This reached only to the knee，and fitted more closely to the leg.It was known as the Hessian boot.Next，a still lighter and shorter boot was adopted，which was worn inside the trousers，and was named after the Dukeof Wellington，by whom it was brought into use.It isinteresting to notice that an early form of ankle-boot was named after his friend Blücher.It is only during the present century that ankle-boots have come into common use.
7.A kind of shoe，called a sabot，is in commonuse among the peasantry of France and Belgium.Itis made of wood，and is hollowed out of one piece，like the canoes of our savage ancestors.Wood is also used for the soles of a kind of coarse boots or shoes，called clogs，which are in use in some parts of this country.Pattens are worn in various places to raise the foot above the mud.They consist of a wooden sole，supported on high blocks of wood or rings of iron，and，like sandals，they are fastened to the foot by straps.At the present time，india-rubber is much used for making over-shoes for protecting leather boots in snowy or wet weather.Rubber soles are also used for light shoes of various kinds.
8.Boots and shoes are sometimes worn too tight.This injures the health by checking the circulation of the blood，and it also causes much suffering byproducing cornsand bunionsand ingrowing toe-nails.High heels should also be avoided，as they throw the weight of the body too much on the fore part of the foot，thus straining the muscles of the leg，and causing an awkward and ungraceful walk，such as is common in our towns at the present day.
