"The soles of girls' boots and shoes should be thick. They are not
always to remain upon carpets, but they must go out doors and walk
on the ground.
"Some people seem, somehow, to suppose that girls do not really step
on the ground, but that, in some sort of spiritual way, they pass
along just above the damp, unclean earth. But, as a matter of fact,
girls do step on the ground just like boys. I have frequently walked
behind them to test this point, and have noticed that when the
ground is soft, they make tracks, and thus demonstrate the existence
of an actual, material body.
"Now, while this is the case, and while it is indispensable to their
health that they go much in the open air, they must have thick
soles. Let these be made of the hardest and most impervious leather.
It is well, in addition, during eight months of the year, to have
the bottoms of the soles covered either with a sheet of rubber, or
simply covered with a spreading of some of the liquid rubber, which
will remain two or three weeks, and protect the sole from dampness.