The Goose-Step.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1842, 26 April 1884, Page 6 (Supplement)

The Goose-Step.

It is to be greatly lamented that " The GooseStep" does not occupy a more prominent position in elementary education. It may be safely affirmed that scarcely one person in ten thousand has been taught to walk. Most people seem to think that it comes naturally as whooping does to owls ; but if so, the result is certainly not creditable to nature, since it is quite exceptional to see either children or adults who walk the Btreets or drawing. rooms do so with firmness, dignity, and grace. If we watch the crowds on promenades, we cannot fail to notice that the majority plant down their heels with a thud as if their toes were lamed either by shoes or corns, or perhaps by both. Some tread on the outsides of the

feet with the toes turned inwards ; some on the inside with their toe 3 turned outwards. Some turn one foot inwards aud the other out. In a vast number the toes are deprived of their natural elasticity and ficcdom, and the lit raoad ingenuity is displayed in ihedloil t n ' progioss without them. Nor in this a'to gether the fault of the shoemakeis. No log as people are born of low fctafciue and with i sboit heels, it is only to bo expected i'uiA these deficiencies will be mads up in lealVi. Tne arch o[ the instep forms one of the be? l features of the foot, and it is übsnrd to decry the vanity which shows it to the best advantage ; indeed, a very little observation will sullies to prove that the high boot heels are not the chief cause of defective walking. Nor is the inability due to any congenial defect which cannot be remedied by proper training. The number of infants born with deformities of the feet is infinitely small, and we have yet to see a native bunion. No doubt peculiarities of progression are often hereditary, and a pigeon-toed parent may have pigeon-toed cbildien. But it i 3 exactly such peculiarities which are overcome by proper education. Is it not the same with speech? Very few children speak properly of their own accord. The lispings of childhood are often unintelligible, and the very first business of the educator is to correct defects so easily acquired, and to substitute the proper pronunciation of the letters; and surely it should be conBideied quite as necessary to correct the false methods of using the limbs, whether native or acquired, at a period when alone they can be dealt with easily. But many of the defects in walking aie due to injudicious training when the art of walking is first acquired. Children are allowed to toddle before the limbs have acquired sufficient strength to bear the body firmly. Nurses drag the infant by - one arm, thus making the weight unequal, and the toe of one foot to turn outwards and the other in. The importance of the art of walking has always been acknowledged by military nations, and is the foundation of military diill. It is assumed that the recruit is as ignorant of the principle of walking as he is of the practice. He is therefore initiated into the mysteries of the " goose-step." He is taught to stand on his two feet squarely, firmly, and with equal pressure on the soles and toes. Then fee is taught to do the same on one foot, raising the other to the front, with the toe pointing to the ground. Without advancing, the weight is changed successively from right to left until firmness and precision are acquired. After a time the act of progression is completed by putting down the advanced foot smoothly and equally, toe and heel together, that there may be no shock, no distuibance of the equilibrium. The effect of the " goosestep " is to restore the natural form and action of the foot. The great toe, instead of bending outwards or inwards, seeks a straight line with the bones of the instep. The toes come firmly down and give the forward impulse. The pressure is then equally distributed, and corns and bunions disappear or become harmless. It is true, though not gallant to say, that the gentlemen walk better than the ladies. This is mainly due to the training they receive. Men have greater need to stand firmly than women, and consequently are obliged to bear the weight equally on the feet— heel and toes. Thousands aro also subject to military drill. But the defects of ladies, not lessened by the pride which bears a pinch, increase as the years go by. If, therefore, the " goosestep " were more generally taught, we should have fewer deformities, and the art of the shoemaker would be made more simple. Ladies would find that the large size of a foot is condoned if the shape be good, and that a tight and pretty boot is a poor substitute for free and graceful movement.