Lap

“ In a minute I was in the midst of the herd, and then saw that a Lap youth and Lap girl were engaged in driving them to the encampment. The youth had very bright, playful, hazel eyes, rather sunken, and small regular features of an interesting cast. His hands, like those of all Laps, are as small and finely shaped as those of any aristocrat. The simple reason for this is, that the Laps, from generation to generation, never perform any manual labor, and the very trifling work they necessarily do is of the lightest kind. ”

“ It is always correct, under any circumstances, to carry a lap robe, and while in the show ring it may remain on the seat on the left side of the driver. For other occasions it is better to spread it over the knees to keep off the dust. ”

“ Thee, at the ferry, Oxford riders blithe,
Returning home on summer nights, have met
Crossing the stripling Thames at Bablock-hithe,
Trailing in the cool stream thy fingers wet,
As the slow punt swings round:
And leaning backwards in a pensive dream,
And fostering in thy lap a heap of flowers
Pluck'd in shy fields and distant Wychwood bowers,
And thine eyes resting on the moonlit stream:
And then they land, and thou art seen no more. ”

“ "I want to pull my hair back tight and smooth and make a big knot at the back that I can feel," she said. "I want to have a kitty to sit on my lap and purr when I stroke her." ”

“ I am now writing, throw off their shoes when they intend to run, as the heels with which these shoes are made, deprive them of half the natural control of the muscles in the soles of their feet. Those muscles, by means of high heels, and consequently less use or exercise, become more and more stiff, and a man with a wooden foot or leg cannot but move heavily.
2. These people are accustomed to running from their infancy. As soon as a Lapland boy can go alone, he is taught to run and put a halter round the reindeer's neck. ”

“ Then like a flash, dropping her brush and laying back her ears and stretching her nose straight out, she would speed away with that quick, nervous, low-lying action which marks the rush of racers, when side by side and nose to nose lapping each other, with the roar of cheers on either hand and along the seats above them, they come straining up the home stretch. ”

“ Their limbs are crooked and out of proportion to their bodies; one looks in vain for a well-shaped or perfect figure among them, and indeed it may be safely doubted whether a straight-limbed Lapp exists. ”

“ The flying leap.—In the flying leap, the seat is to be preserved, as in the standing leap, but the horse’s posture being more horizontal, the lady need not lean forward as he raises; she must approach the leap in such a manner, as neither to hurry or flurry the horse, but so as to allow him a full view of the place he has to go over. ”

“ And with his perfect stride note how he works his feet to advantage: the right foot comes to the ground heel first, and as the left leg is swung in front of the right, the ball of the right comes down; [58] then, as the right foot rises to the toe position, the heel of the left strikes the ground and in turn takes the weight of the body. Notice how one foot is on the ground all the time; there is no possibility of a lift. A good test, to judge whether a walker is ‘lifting’ or not, is to note whether his head moves in a straight line; for, when one lifts, the head moves up and down. ”

“ Lorry, the passenger, shaking himself out of it in chains of straw, a tangle of shaggy wrapper, flapping hat, and muddy legs, was rather like a larger sort of dog. ”

“ Leg, or BLACKLEG, a disreputable sporting character and racecourse habitué; that is, one who is disreputable among sporting men.
Leg-and-leg, the state of a game when each player has won a LEG. In Ireland a LEG is termed a horse, LEG-AND-LEG being there termed “horse-and-horse.”
Leg bail, the bail or security given by absence. To give LEG BAIL is to run away.
Leg it, to run; “to give a LEG,” to assist, as when one mounts a horse; “making a LEG,” a countryman’s bow,—projecting the LEG from behind as a balance to the head bent forward.—Shakspeare. ”

“ In the standing leap, or leap over a height from a standing position; the horse raises himself on his hind feet, and springs from his hind legs, throwing himself over the object. The flying leap, is taken from any pace, it differs from the standing leap, principally in agility, and in the horse being more extended in his movements. ”

“ In the long leap, a person ought to be able to clear with a run, three times the length of his body.
The high leap, the deep leap, and the long leap, may be all practised with the pole. For the high leap, the pole should be taken with the right hand, about the height of the head, and with the left hand, about the height of the hips; when put to the ground, the leaper should spring with the right foot, and pass by the left of the pole, and swing round as he alights, so as to face the place he leaped from. ”

“ The extending of the arm, which was bent, removes the weight of the figure upon the foot which bears the weight of the whole body: as is observable in rope-dancers, who dance upon the rope with their arms open, without any pole. ”

“ She likes to accompany me into the garden and to run after a ball, and when younger, frequently brought it to me in her mouth. She is in the habit of putting her paws on my shoulders, licking my face, and nibbling at my nose,—a strange trick which I discourage,—and is very partial to my shoulder as a seat. ”

“ The relative time intervals of the foot-fallings vary greatly with many species of animals, and even with the same animal under different conditions.
Selecting the horse for the purpose of illustration we find that during the walk—his slowest progressive movement—he has always two, and for a varying period of time, or distance, three feet on the ground at once, while during a very slow walk the support will devolve alternately upon three feet and upon four feet. ”

“ Direct Flexion.—Direct flexion is the concession the head and lower jaw of the horse make in the vertical plane of the axis, of the horse when the action of the reins arrests the extension of the neck. The giving of the neck is confined to the upper portions; the front line of the face is made to approach a vertical line and the head is made to make in an almost imperceptible manner a movement analogous to a nod. ”

“ To overcome the sinking of the knees, which impedes standing, the swinging chair may be used. The seat must reach nearly to the child's feet and the knees are tied to the seat. The child's foot, as he swings, strike against a board. This exercise prepares the lower joints to hold themselves in position when resting on a plane surface. ”

“ In a rapid walk of a horse a phase of movement that is apprehended by the eye is the lifting of a forefoot and then the immediate impact of the hind limb of the same side as it nearly falls into the impression left by the fore foot. ”

“ Each rib was formed of countless crystal plates like the plates of a paddle-wheel, and each tiny plate was incessantly vibrating up and down, carrying the restless little creature hither and thither as it pleased, and making it flash with their ceaseless movement like a balloon of sunbeams ”

“ Every hundred yards or so on the road comes the cry, "Fan keo!"—"Change shoulders!"—followed by a momentary stop to shift the pole. And you always cross a town to the tune of "Pei-a, pei-a, pei-a!"—"Mind your back, mind your back, mind your back!" And if a man does not mind, he is likely to get a poke in the back from the chair pole. ”

“ My toes within my shoes begin to bend, as if they would clutch the ground-a cramp-like motion runs through my fingers. I bite my lips, and I hasten to leave the company I am in, and throw myself down in the presence of the majesty of nature on the first seat however inconvenient. ”

“ At that instant a great clap of thunder burst overhead that shook the earth and for the instant silenced the uneasy clatter of tongues. Then silence once more, a silence in which no musket shot broke, in which the besiegers themselves seemed stricken to inaction and fear. ”

“ If they be trodden on one side, loose on the foot, or run down at the heel, it is a very bad sign; and as to going slipshod, though at coming down in the morning, and even before daylight, make up your mind to a rope, rather than live with a slipshod woman. ”

“ As to gait, that progression which advances, unmodified by any lateral movement of the body, or any perpendicular rising of the head, and which belongs exclusively to the locomotive system—or that soft lateral rolling of the body, which belongs exclusively to the vital system—or that perpendicular rising or falling of the head at every impulse to step, which belongs exclusively to the mental system—these reciprocally indicate a corresponding locomotive, or vital, or mental character, which will be found also indicated by the features of the face. ”

“ If leading with the near fore leg, the off hind, remains further back than the near one, he is said to be disunited; if leading with the proper fore leg, the off hind remains further back than the left, the pace must be rectified. The lady should learn to ascertain by the motion of the horse, if his canter be false or true, and she should acquire the means, of making him rectify his action. ”

“ The racer is generally distinguished by his beautiful Arabian head;—his fine and finely-set-on-neck;—his oblique, lengthened shoulders;—well-bent hinder legs;—his ample, muscular quarters—his flat legs, rather short from the knee downward, although not always so deep as they should be;—and his long and elastic pastern. ”

“ The gait resembles the gallop in respect to its leaving the horse entirely unsupported for a varying period of time, and in the fact that the spring into the air is always effected from a fore foot, and the landing upon the diagonal hind foot ”

“ The movements of the arms and feet are complementary; the right foot and left arm advance together, and vice versa. This begets a diagonal movement which produces oscillation or twisting of the trunk, which is excessive in awkward walkers. ”

“ The retrograde movement of the limb is best seen in slow walking. In fast walking the pendulum movement is somewhat interrupted from the limb being made to touch the ground when it attains a vertical position, and therefore before it has completed its oscillation.38 The swinging forward of the body may be said to inaugurate the movement of walking. The body is slightly bent and inclined forwards at the beginning of each step. ”

“ The bearing of the head, the backward throw of the shoulders, and the curve at the waist, are exactly like those assumed by a finished waltzer, and if the reader is herself a dancer, or will notice the carriage of a good dancer gliding around the ball-room, she can readily understand the attitude required for a correct seat in the saddle. ”

“ Let us suppose a double ride—seven mounted men on either side of a school or manége. They are going large round the place, and the instructor gives the word "Right and left turn." If each man of the fourteen were to turn his horse by pressure of the reins against the neck, instead of by the aid of leg and hand, the result would be that in place of making a square turn at right angles with the boards, each horse would describe a segment of a circle, more or less large, according to the susceptibility of his neck, and the stiffness or otherwise of his ribs. ”

“ Four or five feet away from him stands another student—watchful, alert, cat-like, for the spring. At his own pleasure the man with the pole lowers it swiftly so that it rests against his legs. His opponent, at the first realisation of the pole's descending, must leap forward and seize it before it has touched the other's legs. ”

“ Legs.—Where a sliding seat is used the object is to combine the use of the arms and legs in making the sweep of the oar longer, at full reach the body being doubled up with the knees under the chin, the stroke consisting of catching the water with the back and forcing it through to the finish by combined action of back and legs. When the finish is reached the legs are straight, the hands and oar are against the chest, and the body slightly back of the perpendicular. ”

“ The man who runs it gives the rope a pull, on the ground floor, then leaves the car, walks up the stairs, getting up to the second or third flight in ample time to give the rope another pull and to let the passengers out. ”

“ Your seat is not less awkward and difficult; for the skin of the ox, unlike that of the horse, is loose, and, notwithstanding your saddle may be tightly girthed, you keep rocking to and fro like a child in a cradle. ”

“ The exercise of the muscles of the foot has the effect of increasing the power of those of the calf of the leg; and the thinner the sole, and the more pliant the materials of which the shoe is made, the more the power is developed. ”

“ Her neck and arms—soft and fair and round as a little child's—are shining in the lamplight, and beneath them the exquisite lace petticoat she wears gives her the air of one who is just going to a fancy ball. It is short enough to show the perfect little feet and the slender ankles beneath it. ”

“ The four toes are doubled under the foot, and the large toe folded on the top. When bound together a sort of club-foot or hoof results, but the women manage to walk in spite of their deformity. To a western eye, the movement resembles a waddle rather than a walk. ”

“ The loins should be slack, to give plenty of freedom to the hips, and the leg perfectly straight, thrown out from the hip boldly, directly in front of the body, and allowed to reach the ground with the heel being decidedly the first portion of the foot to meet it. ”