SHIP SHOES. 81 



body shaking, and knees stiffened, it was carried 

 downwards against its will, until, the fore and hind 

 feet slipping in the same direction, it came down 

 upon its left side with a crash. The thought of 

 what that poor beast must have suffered, even before 

 it fell, has haunted me ever since.' 



The waggon in question seems to have been un- 

 provided with a brake, but Mr. Douglas is of opinion 

 that if the horse had been allowed to possess its frogs 

 in their natural state, it could even have controlled 

 the pressure from behind. 



I never realised the value of the frog on a smooth, 

 wet, sloping wooden surface until my second voyage 

 across the Atlantic. 



On the outward voyage I had been greatly incon- 

 venienced, not to say endangered, by the slipperiness 

 of the deck and the soles of my boots. ' Sea-legs ' 

 are very useful in their w r ay, but when the vessel 

 rolls, sea-legs are quite useless in preventing the 

 voyager from sliding down the deck if he be above, 

 or down the saloon floor if he be below, and in all 

 probability damaging himself seriously by being flung 

 against the gunwale or the saloon furniture. 



So, just before the return voyage, I had a slight 

 layer of vulcanised indiarubber, not thicker than an 

 ordinary playing card, affixed to the soles of the 

 boots, shoes, and slippers which I meant to wear on 



G 



