328 NORWEGIAN LAPLAND, 



the reindeer, should rival any of them in 

 swiftness of foot. 



3. Freedom from hard labour is another 

 cause. All laborious employments, such 

 as directing the plough, threshing, cutting 

 and hewing of wood, &c. render the blood 

 thick, and the limbs stiff. Hence the flesh 

 of a peasant is hard and tough, that of a 

 young damsel soft and tender ; nor can a 

 peasant move with the lightness and flexi- 

 bility of limbs that ^ve see in a girl. How 

 delicate are the nmscles of children com- 

 pared with those of an aged person ! The 

 L'lplanders appear to be more nimble and 

 active, in all their movements, because they 

 undergo no hard or Herculean labours. 



4. Habitual exercise of the muscles. A 

 rope-dancer trains his pupils to the con- 

 tinual contraction and dilatation of their 

 muscles, that they may acquire the more 

 pliability. A dancer is at first taught by 

 violence to turn out his toes ; but by 

 custom that position becomes easy, for use 

 is second nature. So the Laplanders are 



