Day Nine: In Which She Ponders the Cult of the One Red Toe-Nail

Dearest Jane —



I believe I have, e'er now, mentioned some of the peculiarities of summer footwear but lately my attention has been drawn to the most rare and diverting sight. T'is the preponderance of One Red Toe thrusting out from a gap in the toe of many ladies' shoes.

'Pon my first encounter with this phenomenon, I naturally assumed the poor woman's toe simply could not be enduced to stay inside the shoe, and attributed it to misplaced vanity in regard to the largeness of her foot. And I did wonder if she were so vain as to wear such tiny shoes, if 'twas quite so wise to paint the offending digit with such a bright red shade of varnish?

Yet then I saw another, and yet another. So I began asking myself, to what could this be attributed? Could so many women be so convinced of the tininess of their feet? And why the extremely red paint was so desirable? I fear my imagination leapt quite away (as it sometimes does) and I dreampt up a Secret Society of Women who identify themselves to each other through expos'ng said toe to the world. The very redness of the toe would signify ... what? T'was then I realised the flaw in my reasoning. It could hardly be a Secret since it is so immediately noticeable (or in the parlance of the Young today "in yer face"), it must be ... alas ... merely a passing fashion.

Or p'haps toes have just got larger and shoes shorter? I fear I shall never know;

with love from your sister,