COMING HOME. 347 



out all day to ride second horses, it is equally important 

 that the one-horse lady should know when her mount 

 has had enough. It is always a safe plan for her to 

 retire at the "change of horses"; for there is no 

 pleasure in continuing to hunt on a tired animal, and 

 there is certainly danger in so doing. Old-time 

 sportsmen were content with one horse a day. 

 " Scrutator " tells us that in the time of Mr. Meynell 

 " it was not the fashion to have second horses in 

 the field." If I may express an opinion, I think 

 that many ladies are inclined to regard horses as 

 machines, and expect too much from them. This is 

 probably due to that unfortunate saying "as strong 

 as a horse," estimating the standard of mechanical 

 power as "horse power," and so forth. I have no 

 doubt that our domestic cat would dislike the person 

 who said that cats have nine lives. A horse is, in 

 reality, by no means as strong as many of us imagine, 

 and his legs are a continual source of anxiety. Ladies 

 who hunt should get a veterinary book, preferably 

 Veterinary Notes for Horse-owners, and when they 

 have read it through, they will not be likely to overtax 

 the powers of their hunters. I once saw in an old 

 Graphic a picture of Lady Somebody's mare which 

 that worthy dame had ridden to death. The animal 

 had, it was explained, gone brilliantly with her ladyship 

 that day and had fallen dead while passing through a 

 village. The artist had drawn the poor mare stretched 

 out, surrounded by an inquisitive field, and the owner 

 posed as the heroine of a great achievement, instead of 



