Distinctions of character are not seen, really, in the feet
themselves, but in what the owner does with them. Sometimes it
is significant that their owner does not know what to do with
them. He is vulgarly, defiantly self-sufficient and despises
ceremony, so when he smokes a cigar he puts his feet on the
mantel-piece, out of the way. Or he is a country-bumpkin,
painfully self-conscious, so he stands on one foot and then on
the other, and shifts them about, perplexed what to do with
them, as ill-bred folks, when they sit idle and sociable, are
perplexed by possessing a pair of hands. On the contrary, the
fop--whose feet are clad without spot or speck, and regardless
of expense--knows very well what to do with them; they are part
of the exhibition which is his constant care. In general, it is
a sign of vanity to thrust forward habitually a neat foot when
one is at rest. A conceited man nurses a leg and admires a foot,
which he twitches and twirls beneath his delighted eyes--quite
unconsciously, and in a different manner from the fop; for
the vain man thinks of the effect produced upon other people,
but the conceited man is satisfied with himself, without any
regard to the ordinary mortals who may chance to be observing
him. Very different is the generous mind of the philanthropist,
who thinks constantly of the rest of the world, and not of
himself. There is nothing cramped about any of his ideas or of
his possessions. He forgets such small matters as fashion and
details of appearance. Except on state occasions, he considers
neatness to be a hindrance; everything about him is large, from
his benevolent schemes down to his well-worn shoes. His stand
is not alert, but patient, well set on the ground; he is ready
and steady; he waits to give what he can, and to do what he
can, and while he thinks of weighty matters, personal details
are forgotten. He may walk flat-footed in old shoes; insteps
and heels are infinitely beneath his consideration, so his foot
is not the type that the dancing-master believes to be the one
thing necessary for a gentleman; but he has already flattened
injustice under his feet, and the horror of the dancing-master
shall never reach his ears.--_Cassell’s Family Magazine._
(346)
=Character, Springs of=--See SPRINGS OF CHARACTER.