“That will be a good pace.”
“I could have embarked you on the canal, but the devil take rowers and boat-horses! The first are like tortoises; the second like snails; and when a man is able to put a good horse between his knees, that horse is better than rowers or any other means.”
“You are right; you above all, Porthos, who always look magnificent on horseback.”
“Rather heavy, my friend; I was weighed the other day.”
“And what do you weigh?”
“Three hundred-weight!” said Porthos, proudly.
“Bravo!”
“So that you must perceive, I am forced to choose horses whose loins are straight and wide, otherwise I break them down in two hours.”