“Tell me, then, succinctly, how many feet there are in the length, breadth, and depth of the elements.”
“Launcelot,” said the soldier to his servant, “give the horse to a groom, and lie down on the ground.”
The servant obeyed his master’s orders, and the soldier carefully measured his length, his breadth, and the thickness of his body.
“My lord,” said the soldier, as soon as the measuring was complete, “the length of the elements is scarcely seven feet, the breadth is nearly three, and the depth does not exceed one.”
“How mean you, sir; what has this to do with the elements?”
“My lord,” rejoined the soldier, “man is made of the four elements; I have given you the measure of man, and therefore of those parts of which he is composed.”
“You have answered well, sir soldier; now resolve this difficulty—how can the north wind be changed?”
“Launcelot, bring up Niger.”
The servant brought up the horse at his master’s command, and the soldier placed it with its head to the north; after a few minutes he administered to it a potion, and at the same moment turned its head to the east; the horse that before had breathed fiercely now became quiet, and its breathing was soft and quiet.
“See, my lord, the wind is changed.”