of the oar on the water,
which is a foreign fulcrum. But if he takes hold of the chain at the
head of the boat, his whole strength will not accelerate or impede the
motion of the boat, because there is neither foreign force nor foreign
fulcrum. His whole strength is employed within the boat, and as much as
he pulls backward with his hands, he pushes forward with his feet. The
baker can lift his basket, but not when he is himself in it.

[Sidenote: Bearing-rein.]

All the arguments which I have heard adduced against the doctrine here
laid down would also go to prove that a horse cannot fall which has a
bearing-rein and a crupper, that is, whose head is tied to his tail. Sir
Francis Head's observations on bearing-reins, in the "Bubbles of the
Brunnen," are quite philosophical. They should only be used for purposes
of parade, or to acquire greater power over a difficult _team_, or
_loosely_ to keep cart-horses "out of mischief." Sir Francis's
observations are also true of the harness used by the peasantry of
Nassau which he describes, but this arises from the poverty, not the
philosophy of the peasants; those among them, who have money enough to
buy smart harness have the most elaborate bearing-reins that I have ever
seen. One, a chain, from the lower part of the collar, which binds the
horse's chin to his breast, and another over the upper part of the
collar, along and above the back to the tail, independent of the
terret-pad and crupper. This is tying the horse's head to his tail with
a vengeance.[54-*] To be consistent, the opponents of the theory which
I have laid down should act on this principle--though I have never known
them go quite so far. Sed quis custodes custodiet ipsos? What is to
prevent the tail from falling forward with the body? They indeed argue,
"Surely if you throw back the weight of the shoulders over the croupe of
the horse, you relieve his fore-hand, and diminish the chance of his
falling." This is rather to propose a new method of preventing a horse
from falling, than to prove the advantage of pulling at the mouth while
he is falling; for if it is of any advantage to throw your weight back,
then the less you pull at the mouth the better, for the more you pull,
the less you are at liberty to throw the weight back. But, in truth, it
is of no advantage to throw the weight back when the stumble is made. If
a position is previously taken up on the croupe of the horse, the
pressure will be less on the