Boot

“ The modern hat and dress are mingled with the mantilla and the coloured shawl, and the high-heeled boot adds to that chorus of sound the chief feature of which is the clank of the wooden shoe, with the softer accompaniment which comes from the thud of bare feet. ”

“ Fortunately they are very distinctive—the right boot is a badly worn one, and a small tag of leather, where the soul is damaged, is doubled over and trodden into the soft earth. Nothing could be luckier. ”

“ For positive use, the boot ought to come up fully to, or above, the knee, in order to stand the wear and pressure of the saddle; but for ornament, it may well be allowed to rise only partially up the leg, and to be, in short, the beautiful Hessian or Hungarian boot—far the most graceful covering ever put on the leg of a modern European. That such a truly elegant boot, so gentlemanlike, so dressy, and yet so thoroughly serviceable, should ever have gone out of fashion, is to us a melancholy, though not a needed, proof of the sheer caprice by which men's fancies are commonly swayed. ”

“ Parents get impatient at having to buy so many boots for children who wear them out so easily, and often can't show anything done.
But when a shoe is worn out by hard service, that old boot is quite an honourable object.
The worn-out shoes of the dear boys who fought over no man's land, or marched through the enemy's barrage, or stood for us in the blood and water stained trenches, are relics of honour. ”

“ Indeed, they were so wide at times, as to oblige the wearer to stride much in walking, a habit that was much ridiculed by the satirists of the day. There was a print published during this reign of a dandy in the height of fashion whose legs are “incased in boot-hose tops tied about the middle of the calf, as long as a pair of shirt-sleeves, double at the end like a ruff-band: the top of his boots very large, fringed with lace, and turned down as low as his spurs, which jingled like the bells of a morris-dancer as he walked.” ”

“ The army pattern boot or shoe, the native sandal, worn by aborigines of some countries, the shooting boot, and the light buck-skin shoe, all leave their well-marked and distinctive tracks. The particular manner in which a boot or shoe sole has been nailed or repaired will enable an experienced tracker to follow its print unerringly amongst fifty others; large or small, narrow or wide, the track will in almost all cases retain its individuality, except when cunning Europeans put on other men’s boots for the purpose of crime. ”

“ More, perhaps, depends on fitting the work, than the workmanship; a union, therefore, of skill, in these two points, constitutes a good boot-binder. The leg is next passed on to the closer, who, with the awl, instead of the needle, closes the seams of the golosh; and then, having lasted the boot, attaches the leather by means of a neat row of stabbing round the edge, thoroughly through the leg and its lining. ”

“ Of the amplitude of its tops, the woodcut will give{50} an idea, it is copied from one worn by a courtier of Charles’s train, in the engravings illustrative of his coronation. The boot is decorated with lace all round the upper part, and that portion of the leg which the boot encases, seems fitted easily with pliant leather: over the instep is a broad band of the same material, beneath which the spur was fastened; and the heel is high, and toe broad, of all the boots and shoes then fashionable. ”

“ The inner boot of the women, unlike that of the men, is loose round the leg, coming as high as the knee-joint behind, and in front carried up, by a long pointed flap, nearly to the waist, and there fastened to the breeches. The upper boot, with the hair as usual outside, corresponds with the other in shape, except that it is much more full, especially on the outer side, where it bulges out so preposterously as to give the women the most awkward, bow-legged appearance imaginable. ”

“ A broad sole throughout materially stiffens the boot and gives a welcome sense of security when standing in ice-steps. The boot should fit closely at the heel and around the instep but entire freedom in all directions must be provided for the toes. If the toes are cramped they will freeze very easily. ”

“ A very good type of serviceable boot for rough country wear, is one which laces over the instep and ankle, and, in its general cut, resembles the field boot or shooting boot. As these can be loosened over the instep, they do not bind the foot or bring discomfort after a long day’s wear, and they are much more comfortable for walking. ”

“ Every gentleman wears high top boots outside of his trousers, which are very loose and hang over his boot tops like the knickerbockers of an English school-boy. Sometimes the boots are embroidered in colours over the shin and down the calf of the leg. ”

“ Many were the nudges, and many the 'look at this chap's trousers,' that were given by ambitious men emulous of his appearance as he passed along, and many were the turnings round to examine their faultless fall upon his radiant boot. The boots, perhaps, might come in for a little of the glory, for they were beautifully soft and cool-looking to the foot, easy without being loose, and he preserved the lustre of their polish, even up to the last moment of his walk. There never was a better man for getting through dirt, either on foot or horseback, than our friend. ”

“ I hadn't nails in my boots, either, which made climbing all the more difficult.
'Hold up, old chap; you can't afford to slip,' Gerald said, clutching me as I stumbled, a few minutes after we had started, 'it's a long way to the bottom.'
I told him about my boots.
'Boots are a nuisance,' he answered; 'those little chaps of mine looted an army boot-store yesterday; they think boots make them look more like real soldiers. They've never worn boots before, and will be footsore in an hour, but they will wear them. ”

“ Then there is the chafe that comes when that inner lining of the boot rucks up—very like the chafe it is that poor people are always getting from over-darned and hastily-darned socks. And then there is the chafe that comes from ready-made boots one has got a trifle too large or long, in order to avoid the pinch and corns. After a little while, there comes a transverse crease across the loose-fitting forepart; and, when the boot stiffens from wet or any cause, it chafes across the base of the toes. They have you all ways. ”

“ Hill, who was already busily sweeping the verandah, put down his broom, and after a short colloquy, which I did not quite catch, seized on a boot and brush, and began shining away with an artistic stroke worthy of one of the Shoeblack Brigade at the London Bridge Station. The native looked on for a minute, and then slowly unclasped his hands. Presently he picked up a boot and looked round it dubiously. I now took a hand myself. If there was one art which I learned to perfection at school, and still pride myself on, it is shining a boot. ”

“ Did women but know how much these slender lines of riband add to their appearance, how well the contrast sets off the anatomical beauties of their feet, they would never put on a shoe without such an appendage. In the same way, the nicely fitted boot, displaying the exact form of the arching foot, and deliciously-contrasted in colour with the robe or stocking, gives a prestige to a lady's foot, which can only be compared to the effect produced by the Hessian boot upon their lords and masters. ”

“ A boot was worn by civilians, less rigid than the one last described, the leg taking more of the natural shape, and the tops being smaller, of a more pliant kind, and sometimes slightly ornamented round the edges. ”

“ The sole does not hit a road with monotonous regularity upon the same dry spot of blistering skin.
I find that in the mountains a boot of rather lighter sole is preferable, with either brads or Phillips rubbers. One must nevertheless beware of shoddy. After the second scramble amid rocks I have seen the whole sole of a boot part company with the upper. I have seen the heel come off. Well established lines of workingmen’s boots are safer than fair-seeming boots for clerks. On the other hand, boots whose nails come through are a nuisance, digging holes in the soles of one’s feet. ”

“ It was only then I recalled having noticed that he had not changed to his varnished boots, having still on his feet the doggish and battered pair he most favoured. It was a trick of his to evade me with them. I did for them each day all that human boot-cream could do, but they were things no sensitive gentleman would endure with evening dress. ”

“ They always put your other boots into inaccessible places. They chiefly enjoy depositing them as far under the bed as the wall will permit. It is because this compels you to get down in an undignified attitude and make wild sweeps for them in the dark with the boot jack, and swear. ”

“ Each of the different kinds of boots has certain peculiar advantages which, in addition to its being fashionable, contribute to make it popular. The side-spring boot, that has been a favourite so long, seldom slips at the heel, and this is a decidedly good point; it also, by fitting closely at the ankles, gives a feeling of snugness and security which is comfortable, [Pg 140] while it admits of perfect freedom in all movements of the ankle in walking. ”

“ Boot′less, without boots: referring also, as in Tennyson's metaphorical use, 'wedded to a bootless calf,' to the ancient custom at a marriage by proxy of the quasi bridegroom putting one unbooted leg into the bride's bed.—n. Boots, the servant at an inn who cleans the boots, runs messages, &c.—in combination, as Lazyboots, Slyboots.—Boot and saddle (a corr. of Fr. bouteselle, place saddle) , the signal to cavalry to mount.—Like old boots (slang) , vigorously, heartily.—Six feet in his boots, quite six feet high.—To die in his boots, to be cut off in the midst of health, as by the rope ”

“ Boots, if not made by one’s own boot maker, should be a size larger than those ordinarily worn, as boots tight in the foot, particularly of the stiff-legged kind, are, at the end of a long day, instruments of torture, and I have known of many cases where they have had to be cut off because of the feet having swollen. ”

“ The simultaneous but severe application of the boot to the blindfolded victim takes complete but exclusive possession of the final common path and the hair is painlessly plucked as a result of the triumph of the boot stimulus over the pull on the hair in the struggle for the final common path. ”

“ The dog-boot is simply a fingerless glove drawn on over the toes and foot, and tied by a running string of leather round the wrist or ankle of the animal; the boot itself is either made of leather or strong white cloth. ”

“ Boots must always be made to fit, by good makers, and of the expensive material I have described—what is called glove-kid, and each child ought to have two pairs, which should be worn on alternate days, in order to prevent that moulding of the foot to any peculiarity in the shape of the boot, which may happen if it is worn constantly. ”

“ In later years I often wore similar boots myself. We navvies call them "subs." and they can be bought very [Pg 100] cheaply in rag-stores and second-hand clothes-shops. One boot has always the knack of wearing better than its fellow. The odd good boot is usually picked up by a rag-picker, and in course of time it finds its way into a rag-store, where it is thrown amongst hundreds of others, which are always ready for further use at their old trade. A pair of odd boots may be got for a shilling or less, and most navvies wear them. ”

“ It is an untradesman-like and an unusual thing to decline an order; and if your Majesty asked for my heart’s blood, I am ready to shed it, not to speak of anything in the line of my business—namely, boot and shoe making. ”

“ The “boot” of a coach has the same derivation. It was originally applied to the fixed outside step, the French botte, then to the uncovered spaces on or beside the step on which the attendants sat facing sideways. Both senses are now obsolete, the term now being applied to the covered receptacles under the seats of the guard and coachman.
The Boot, Boots or Bootikin was an instrument of torture formerly in use to extort confessions from suspected persons, or obtain evidence from unwilling witnesses. ”

“ It may, certainly, be worn on the place intended for the instep, when that ornamental rise in the outline of the foot is totally absent. Lines of white stitching on the boot make it look larger than it really is. The best boot for a large foot is one in which the toe-cap comes well up on the foot. ”

“ Talking of fields and mile-stones reminds me that I want to say, in all seriousness, a few words about women’s boots. The women of these islands all wear boots too big for them. They can never get a boot to fit. The bootmakers do not keep sizes small enough. ”

“ The sole of a boot is no doubt suitable, but not when it contains nails, which was the case with those worn by the lads. The rail of a gate is harmless, while a smooth piece of slate makes a moderately good enough soft hone. ”

“ It may be feared that a tongued boot—patent leather or Napoleon—may be more difficult to draw on the foot if made upon a last of this style. We believe that it can make but very little difference, probably not any after the boot is bent in the shank, while it will do much to prevent slipping at the heel when cut with a large ankle, as is usually the case. The pitch of the leg will be very nearly the same when on the last as when the boot is worn. ”

“ A boot or shoe consists principally of two parts: the sole, made of thick, tough, strong leather, and the uppers, made of a softer, more pliable leather. By the old process the boot or the shoe was made throughout by a single person. ”

“ His feet are thrust into a pair of botas de potro, or colt's-foot boots, manufactured from the hide of a colt's fore-leg, which he strips off whole, chafes in his hand until it becomes pliable and soft, sews up at the lower extremity,—and puts on, the best riding-boot that the habitable world can show. ”