126 HORSE AND MAN. 



even stand upright, still less walk upright, nor can 

 she even stand still. 



The body being thrown forwards, the knee must 

 be bent forwards, the thigh backwards, and the spine 

 forwards again, while the free, natural walk which 

 constitutes one of the chief beauties of woman is 

 degraded into a tottering hobble. A walk of a mile 

 in such boots is almost impossible, and if it were 

 accomplished, would fatigue the wearer more than 

 ten miles in boots or shoes which were made in 

 accordance with the structure of the foot. 



The muscles of the legs have their work com- 

 pletely changed, and so they become wearied, while 

 the tendons are strained and the joints swollen. 



Now for the battle of the shoes. 



Begun no one knows when, the date of its final 

 settlement seems equally obscure. Putting aside the 

 Japanese straw shoe, and the American Indians' 

 6 parfleche ' shoe, we come to the shoe of iron, 

 attached to the hoof by nails. The most curious point 

 in this warfare is, that the more carefully the differ- 

 ent inventors study the structure of the hoof, the 

 more ingeniously do they contrive to inflict damage 

 where they are really desirous of doing good. 



I again ask the reader to disabuse his mind of 



