BREAKING FENCES AND BREAKING SCULLS. 41 



that, as a fighter, if he was 13st., he would be a still 

 greater nonpareil. In fact I should say, no man 

 living that we know of could then be a match for 

 him. Thus I say of horses ; take a good one of 15 

 hands, proportionably made, make him sixteen or 

 even more, and let his proportions increase, like 

 weight in a give-and-take plate, by the inch, and he 

 would be better still. My predilection for large- 

 sized horses in no way must be considered as thinking 

 they can carry more weight than lesser ones : quite 

 the contrary; for if I rode 18st. I should choose low 

 ones, upon the principle that a stick two feet long 

 can bear more weight than one of four, unless the 

 diameter of the longer was even more than propor- 

 tionably increased. But there is a commanding feel 

 in the sweep of a large- sized horse that gives me 

 confidence in him ; and though I do not want him, 

 in accordance with Nimrod's principle, to break 

 do'wn fences by physical force, the ease with which he 

 compasses them is quite delightful to one who wants 

 nerve to put the strength of his horse in competition 

 with that of stiff rails. I cannot help being a coward : 

 my nag may jump as wide with me as the Thames if 

 he likes, or as high as he pleases (provided he lands 

 again in time for dinner) ; but pray let him jump, 

 for really I do not understand making battering rams 

 of my horse's knees, nor do I think he would hold 

 them as having been made for that purpose more 

 than the elephant thought his scull was intended as 

 an anvil for his driver to crack cocoa nuts upon. 

 He returned the compliment by trying the experiment 

 on Mr. Driver's head, who, I believe, found the 

 retaliation very hard, and his scull very soft ; so, I 

 apprehend, Ave should find our legs if we used them 



