174 LADIES' RIDING. 



friends for the following remarks on this very important 

 subject. 



A lady's riding dress should be as plain as possible, 

 without any floating ends, flyaway ribbons, curls or 

 feathers, and, above all things, no jewellery. If a watch 

 be necessary, it may be attached by a black cord, 

 and hidden away in a watch-pocket at the waistband. 

 The colour of the habit is a matter of choice, though 

 dark shades of blue or of green, or black itself, are 

 considered to be in the best taste. It should, for 

 hunting and work, be of stout rough Melton cloth, so 

 that it may not be torn in the event of charging through 

 a "hairy" gap, or riding fast through a narrow path 

 in covert. In India, and in other hot climates, some 

 suitably thin material may be used. The habit should 

 have no extra cloth, always supposing that the rider 

 is not very stout. Though fitting closely, it should 

 have no feeling or appearance of constraint or stiffness, 

 which would destroy all the graceful look the figure 

 possesses. The skirt should, when the rider is 

 mounted, be only just long enough to hide the 

 stirrup and boot, and should have its lower edge 

 in as nearly a horizontal line as possible. If properly 

 made, it will hang without requiring the dangerous 



