The Coming of the Countess of Yar borough 



I may mention for the benefit of the present generation of 

 ladies who follow hounds, that to jump fences in this kind of 

 saddle not only required an amazing amount of courage, but 

 would have been an impossibility unless the rider had held on 

 to something. Nothing, however, daunted Lady Worsley. In 

 her determination to be with the hounds, she held on with her 

 left hand to the saddle behind, the right only being at liberty 

 to steer her horse, and hold him to his fences. And no fence 

 that could be negotiated by anybody else was too high, no 

 ditch too broad, for her to attempt. She might fall sometimes, 

 horse and all, in which case she was up again like a flash, 

 and away after the hounds. 



Naturally her extraordinary pluck, combined with her irre- 

 sistibly charming manner, had won all hearts, and I am prepared 

 to swear that there was not one man, woman, or child, including 

 Maunsell, then thirteen years old, who would not have willingly 

 died in her service. There is no doubt, indeed, that the erst- 

 while somewhat cold-hearted population of North Lincolnshire 

 were stirred to the greatest enthusiasm their natures were 

 capable of expressing when Lady Worsley came amongst them, 

 and by her unaffected manner taught them that to have a title 

 of nobility may also mean real nobility in every particular. 



There is a peculiar arrogance of childhood difficult to define, 

 but I must confess I found rather a delightful satisfaction in 

 the fact that I could negotiate all my fences without holding 

 on to my saddle behind, while Lady Worsley had to use this 

 means of keeping her seat over fences. Naturally in my 

 conceit I thought it was my own superior horsemanship, 

 whereas it was my new saddle which in reality should have 

 had the credit of it. For I was riding on a saddle which 

 possessed one of the first three crutches, or leaping heads as 

 they were called in those days, ever invented for ladies' saddles. 



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