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more alert and agreeable in their going, we 

 fhall be able to prevent the crowd of accidents 

 mentioned ; and it is from its fimplicity, and 

 the great cafe of performing it, that all its ad- 

 vantages arife. 



I cannot but wonder others have never 

 thought of it before, and I have, indeed, fome 

 difficulty to perfuade myfelf, that I am the in- 

 ventor ; and I am more ready to believe, that it 

 is no more than copying that which was prac- 

 tifed by the firft arufl, who thought of fetting 

 Ihoes on horfes. 



If I am right in my fufpicion, its having 

 been forgotten, proves nothing againft its per- 

 fedlion •, becaufe neither a good nor bad method 

 has any more right the one than the other, to 

 fix our inclination from varying. We grow 

 weary of every thing; and one, in order to im- 

 prove upon the other, has invented flioes of 

 different forms, lengths, and thicknelTes, to 

 w^hich he has been fure to attribute many ufe- 

 ful properties. The world, more credulous 

 than well inflrudted, are eafily convinced, and 

 from hence fprung the ufe of fome long fhoes, 

 others thick, others with cramps, at length 

 others with thick flrong heels, and in fine, 

 others with thin ones. It is not unlikely that 

 if the poor animals themfelves were able to give 

 their opinions, nothing of all this would be 

 put in execution •, they would be kept to their 

 antient method of being fhod, which being in- 

 vented 



