A MANDARIN'S RIDING EQUIPMENTS 



453 



yellow brocade, as he sits in the saddle, hangs like the 

 very best pattern of the divided skirt so vainly longed 

 for by our fair equestriennes. Over this goes a loose but 

 stiff silk shirt -like garment of more modest hue, which 

 hangs down only to the pony's back, and his cork-soled 

 shoes are thrust into gilt stirrups, with his knees much 

 bent but his lower leg nearly perpendicular. If he goes 





CHINESE MANDARIN 



out of a walk, however, he will cling with all the legs and 

 heels he can command. His omnipresent fan he has mo- 

 mentarily exchanged for a lash- whip, and his general air 

 of uneasiness is in keeping with the ill-kempt condition of 

 his pony, who seems utterly indifferent as to whether he 

 bears a Mandarin or a cooly. Barring a necklace of big 

 beads, or sometimes sleigh-bells, and a thick saddle-cloth 

 of gaudy color, the pony is meanly equipped ; and he is 



