This requires not only a perfect freedom of motion, but also a firmness
of step, or constant steady bearing of the centre of gravity over the
base. It is usually possessed by those who live in the country, and
according to nature, as it is called, and who take much and varied
exercise. What a contrast is there between the gait of the active
mountaineer, rejoicing in the consciousness of perfect nature, and of
the mechanic or shopkeeper, whose life is spent in the cell of his
trade, and whose body soon receives a shape and air that correspond to
this!--and in the softer sex, what a contrast is there, between her who
recalls to us the fabled Diana of old, and that other, who has scarcely
trodden but on smooth pavements or carpets, and who, under any new
circumstances, carries her person as awkwardly as something to the
management of which she is not accustomed.
_Arnott's Elements of Physics._