INTRODUCTION. 37 



hold of the ground, and also gives him the advantage 

 of the whole power of the foot and leg ; but when he 

 alights it is upon the padding at the heel, by means of 

 which the violence of the fall, which if received on the 

 tip of the hoof, and with the bones in one extended 

 line, would sprain the foot, and probably split the hoof, 

 is prevented, and the strain is thrown upon all the 

 joints of the foot. The human body, being composed 

 of matter, as well as the bodies of other animals, has 

 its motions regulated by the same laws. Those who 

 walk well, raise their feet upon the toes, by which 

 means the foot as well as the leg is brought into action ; 

 but if one were to alight upon the toes after a leap, a 

 sprain would be the consequence ; when alighting, the 

 flexor muscles that draw up the foot, are contracted, 

 and the extensors and tendons in the hind part of the 

 leg made tight by the projection of the heel ; and thus 

 the body falls, as it were, upon a spring, which gra- 

 dually relaxes till the toes touch the ground ; and as 

 the heel is more padded than any other part of the 

 foot, the fall is rendered much less violent. So strong 

 is this natural tendency to plant the foot upon the heel, 

 that the majority of people do it even while walking 

 slow, when it fatigues rather than assists ; and accord- 

 ingly one of the hardest lessons that military men have 

 in teaching a recruit to march gracefully, is getting 

 him to "point his toes." The clownish motion of rising 

 much upon the toes at every step, and dodging down 

 upon the heel, besides being ungraceful, is fatiguing, 

 as there is twice as much motion in the joints of the 

 feet, and twice as much raising and letting down of the 

 body, as there is any occasion for. 

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