W THE RIDING-SCHOOL. 189 



the saddle, the left side of the skirt hangs per- 

 fectly straight, concealing the right side, and 

 leaving the horse's body visible below it. When 

 your skirt is finished, no matter if it be made 

 by the very best of tailors, wear it once in the 

 school before you appear on the road in it, and, 

 looking in the mirror, view it " with a cricket's 

 eye," as the little boy said when he appeared on 

 the school platform as an example of the advan- 

 tages of the wonderful merits of oral instruc- 

 tion. 



An elastic strap about a quarter of a yard 

 long should be sewed half way between the 

 curved knee seam and the hem, and should be 

 slipped over the right toe before mounting, and 

 a second strap, for the left heel, should be sewed 

 on the last seam on the under side of the habit, 

 to be adjusted after the foot is placed in the 

 stirrup. The result of this cutting and arrange- 

 ment is the straight, simple, modern habit 

 which is so great a change from the riding dress 

 of half a century ago, with its full skirt which 

 nearly swept the ground. The short skirt first 

 appears in the English novel in " Guy Living- 

 stone," and is worn by the severe and upright 



