4 THE CONDITION OF HUNTERS 



supporting it again in its descent with vastly in- 

 creased force. 



All bodies, animate or inanimate, derive their beauty, 

 more or less, from their aptitude to the uses for which 

 they were intended ; though among the former some 

 may be said to derive it from circumstances inde- 

 pendent of this aptitude. Birds, for instance, appear 

 conscious and proud of their ornamental plumes, and 

 take no small pains to clean and preserve them. What 

 enamel, however, can be much finer than the lustre of 

 some horses' skins ? In the latter — the inanimate 

 world — variety, regularity, and just proportions of 

 their different parts constitute their principal beauty ; 

 for what would become of the wreathed and fluted 

 column under a pile disproportionate to its strength ? 

 If, therefore, symmetry and proportion are necessary 

 to form a perfect figure, where are they more frequently 

 met with than in the horse ? That elegance of form 

 in which there is no unnecessary weight to oppress 

 the muscles is particularly conspicuous in the better 

 sorts of our English horses, when brought into con- 

 dition for hunting or racing. The regularity and just 

 proportion of their limbs confer a peculiar grace and 

 beauty on the body to which they belong ; and when 

 we consider the good qualities they possess — the fire 

 and spirit of their temperament, yet general docility 

 — the agility of their movements, which we call action 

 — their courage, their accomplishments, passive for- 



po-vrer of exerting. In 1821 Mr Mytton's horse, " the Hero," 

 clezired timber seven feet in height, with a very short run to it, 

 in Mr JelUco's grounds in Shropshire, with Mr M. on his back. 



