British Manly Exercises

THE QUICK PACE. 1 1 In the grandest form of themarch, the toes, as we have seen, are, in the posteriorfoot, thoughbut for a moment, even thrown backwards; in themoderatepace, they have an intermediate direction, forming nearly half a right angle with the line of walk; and in the quick pace, they are thrownmore directlyforward.—(See the6 Figures of Plate I.) It is this directionof the toes, and still more the nearer andstronger points of support and action, namely the heel and sole of the foot, which areessential to the quick pace so universally practised, but which, being ridicu­ lously transferred to the moderate pace, make unfortu­ natepeople look so awkward, as we shall now explain. The time of the moderatepace is as it were filled up by themorecomplicated processof the step—by the gra­ dual and easy breaking of the descent of the foot on its outeredge or the ball of thelittle toe, by the deliberate positing of thefoot, by its equally gradualand easy pro­ jection from its inner edge or the ball of thegreat toe.— The quick pace, if its time be lengthened, has no such filling up : theman stumps at once down on his heel, and could riseinstantly from his sole, but finds that, to fill up his time, he must pause an instant; he feels he shoulddo something,and does not know what; his hands sufferthe same momentary paralysis as his feet; he gra­ dually becomes confusedand embarrassed: deeply sen­ sible of this, he at last exhibitsit externally; a smile or a