SEAT. IOI 



men who, allowing their loins to play freely, yielding 

 more or less to every motion of the figure, did not trust 

 exclusively for firmness of seat to the clasp of their knees 

 and thighs. The mere balance rider had not a chance, 

 the athlete who stuck on by main force found himself 

 hurled into the air, with a violence proportioned to his 

 own stubborn resistance ; but the artist who judiciously 

 combined strength with skill, giving a little here that he 

 might get a stronger purchase there, swaying his body 

 loosely to meet and accompany every motion, while he 

 kept his legs pressed hard against the saddle, with- 

 stood trick after trick, and shock after shock credit- 

 ably enough, till a hint muttered in German that it was 

 time to displace him, put such mechanism in motion as 

 settled the matter forthwith. 



There was one detail, however, to be observed in the 

 equipment of the mechanical horse that brings us to a 

 question I have heard discussed amongst the best riders 

 with very decided opinions on either side. 



Formerly every saddle used to be made with padding 

 about half an inch deep, sewn in the front rim of the 

 flap against which a rider rests his knee, for the purpose, 

 as it would seem, of affording him a stronger seat with 

 its resistance and support. 



Thirty or forty years ago a few noted sportsmen, 



