48 Scats and Saddles. 



back by lying too far forward, nor on his neck by being 

 too far back in the cart — in fact he makes the centres 

 of motion and gravity to correspond as nearly as possi- 

 ble, knowing from experience that his horse draws the 

 cart with greater ease, and can turn corners, etc., more 

 readily, when the load is thus adjusted than in any 

 other manner. For special purposes, as going up hill, 

 he shifts the weight forward, but he is cautious in turn- 

 ing the horse when the load is on the back : there is 

 always danger of falling. Sometimes, when his object 

 is to turn the cart round sharply on its own ground, he 

 shifts the weight to the rear, the Jiorse having then per- 

 fect liberty to circle round in the required direction ; but 

 he never adopts this for a journey, be it ever so short. 



Again, in a ship or boat of any kind, people that 

 have experienced sea-sickness soon find out where the 

 centre of motion lies, and nestle round it ; and the mas- 

 ter who sails her knows well that his cargo or load, 

 whatever it may be, must be so stowed away that the 

 centre of gravity of the whole coincides with the centre 

 of motion of the vessel. This is what is called " trim," 

 as we all know ; and the yachtsman knows well the 

 effect of sending a man or two into the bows, when run- 

 ning before the wind, and the use of keeping his hands 

 aft when in stays ; but he will be chary of altering the 

 builder's trim, which makes these two centres coincide 

 mathematically ; he may never find it again, as has 

 happened in some remarkable instances. Now the 

 horse under a rider must have the trim that suits the 

 objects of the latter ; and for general purposes the 

 ship-builder's trim or the carter's trim will be found the 

 most advantageous. The bringing the rider's body, from 

 the hips upward, slightly forward or backward, will 

 answer exactly the same purposes as the shifting the 

 hands in a yacht or the sacks in a cart. It can answer 

 no good purpose to alter the regular trim. To persist 



