CHAPTER VI. 



SEAT. 



SOME people tell you they ride by " balance," others by 

 " grip- " I think a man might as well say he played the 

 fiddle by " finger," or by ear. Surely in either case a 

 combination of both is required to sustain the perform- 

 ance with harmony and success. The grip preserves the 

 balance, which in turn prevents the grip becoming 

 irksome. To depend on the one alone is to come home 

 very often with a dirty coat, to cling wholly by the other 

 is to court as much fatigue in a day as ought to serve 

 for a week. I have more than once compared riding to 

 swimming, it seems to require the same buoyancy of 

 spirits, the same venture of body, the same happy 

 combination of confidence, strength, and skill. 



The seat a man finds easiest to himself, says the in- 

 imitable Mr. Jorrocks, " will in all humane probability 



