many parallels could elsewhere be found.

The Chinese custom of foot-binding is a curious instance of
self-mutilation. In a paper quoted in the Philadelphia Medical Times,
January 31, 1880, a most minute account of the modus operandi, the
duration, and the suffering attendant on this process are given.
Strapping of the foot by means of tight bandages requires a period of
two or three years' continuance before the desired effect is produced.
There is a varying degree of pain, which is most severe during the
first year and gradually diminishes after the binding of all the joints
is completed. During the binding the girl at night lies across the
bed, putting her legs on the edge of the bed-stead in such a manner as
to make pressure under the knees, thus benumbing the parts below and
avoiding the major degree of pain. In this position, swinging their
legs backward and forward, the poor Chinese girls pass many a weary
night. During this period the feet are unbound once a month only. The
operation is begun by placing the end of a long, narrow bandage on the
inside of the instep and carrying it over the four smaller toes,
securing them under the foot. After several turns the bandage is
reversed so as to compress the foot longitudinally. The young girl is
then left for a month, and when the bandage is removed the foot is
often found gangrenous and ulcerated, one or two toes not infrequently
being lost. If the foot is thus bound for two years it becomes
virtually dead and painless. By this time the calf disappears from lack
of exercise, the bones are attenuated, and all the parts are dry and
shrivelled. In after-life the leg frequently regains its muscles and
adipose tissue, but the foot always remains small. The binding process
is said to exert a markedly depressing influence upon the emotional
character of the subject, which lasts through life, and is very
characteristic.

To show how minute some of the feet of the Chinese women are, Figure I
of the accompanying plate, taken from a paper by Kenthughes on the
"Feet of Chinese Ladies" is from a photograph of a shoe that measured
only 3 1/4 inches anteroposteriorly. The foot which it was intended to
fill must have been smaller still, for the bandage would take up a
certain amount of space. Figure II is a reproduction of a photograph of
a foot measuring 5 1/2 inches anteroposteriorly, the wrinkled
appearance of the skin being due to prolonged immersion in spirit. This
photogra