82 HORSE AND MAN. 



board. The effect was almost magical. We had a 

 very rough passage, but even when a promenade on 

 deck looked like walking on the wet slates of a 

 house-roof, the indiarubber clung to the smooth 

 boards of the deck above, or to the carpet of the 

 saloon below, and I never once had a fall. 



This experience enabled me to understand practi- 

 cally what is the worth of the frog to the horse, and 

 how the working power of the animal is diminished 

 by removing the frog, and throwing the weight of 

 the horse upon the flat, smooth surface of the iron 

 hoof. 



As to the calkins which are so persistently em- 

 ployed as preventives of slipping, I shall soon have 

 something more to say of them. 



It may seem almost incredible that the hoof of 

 the horse can be strong enough to resist the hardest 

 or the stoniest road, and yet be so wonderfully con- 

 stituted as to be an organ of touch. Yet, as will be 

 seen from the following narrative, such is really the 

 case. 



Some five years ago I had the pleasure of making 

 the acquaintance of Mr. John Bellows, of Glouces- 

 ter, the author of the celebrated French dictionary. 

 He is a member of the Society of Friends, and one of 

 the few who retain the phraseology of George Fox's 

 day. Like most members of the society, he has a 



