7,V THE RIDING-SCHOOL. 151 



He looks capable of giving her Hector, Irish 

 Hector, who is wilful as the wind, but in reward 

 for your goodness he bestows a little warning 

 about your whips upon Nell, who has a fancy 

 for carrying hers slantwise across her body, so 

 that both ends show from the back, and the 

 whole whip is quite useless as far as the horse 

 is concerned, although picturesque enough with 

 its loop of bright ribbon. 



11 It makes one think of a circus picture," he 

 says ; " and, Miss Esmeralda, don't hold your 

 whip with the lash pointing outward, to tickle 

 Miss Nell's horse, and to make you look like an 

 American Mr. Briggs 'going to take a run with 

 the Myopias, don't you know.' Isn't this a 

 pretty horse ? " 



" Well, I don't know," you say frankly ; " I'm 

 no judge. I don't know anything about a horse." 



For once your master loses his self-posses- 

 sion, and stares unreservedly. " Child," he 

 says, " I never, never before saw anybody in 

 this ring who didn't know all about a horse." 



" Well, but I really don't, you know." 



"No, but nobody ever says so. Now just 

 hear this new pupil instruct me." 



