LADIES IN THE HUNTING-FIELD 285 



Now fox-hunting is not merely an idle amusement: 

 it is an outlet for man's natural instincts ; a healthy 

 way of making him active and training his character. 

 I mentioned this in somewhat similar words to a 

 lady. Her reply was, " What's sauce for the gander 

 is sauce for the goose." It was an awkward position, 

 for if I agreed I practically called her a goose (which 

 she certainly was not), and if I disagreed I should 

 not get another invitation for a pleasant Friday to 

 Monday visit in the country; so I replied that if 

 geese and ganders could both swim, then ladies and 

 men could both hunt. Still, the problem is a difficult 

 one to solve. 



The side saddle for ladies is said to have been 

 introduced by Anne, Queen of Richard II., towards 

 the close of the fourteenth century ; but according to 

 the sketches which I have seen it was a very clumsy 

 contrivance, and continued to be so until the be- 

 ginning of this century. The truth appears to be 

 that, though ladies in the olden days were often 

 compelled to make long journeys on horseback, they 

 seldom took part in the chase, unless under the 

 term of " the chase " hawking is included. There 

 were notable exceptions, such as the Marchioness 

 of Salisbury, who kept a pack of hounds at Hatfield 

 and hunted them herself, while Sir Walter Scott 

 would not have created Diana Vernon, unless such 

 a character were to be met with in real life. But 

 if at the beginning of the century ladies attended 

 the meets, it was seldom that they jumped or 



