SAUMUR RIDING 201 



hours or less, at half the cost, and in what luxury ! How 

 distinctly we lead in travelling, despite the occasional su- 

 perciliousness of the Pullman nigger ! 



" Where'er I roam, whatever lands I see, 

 My heart, untravelled, fondly turns to thee," 



and I might add, my body does too, if travelling is to be 

 synonymous with comfort. 



But let us come to the Frenchman. It used to be said 

 that there were many C'hurch people who would not sub- 

 scribe to the Thirty-nine Articles, but who had an implicit 

 faith in the Forty Thieves ; and it is a sort of fortieth 

 article to every dweller in the bright little, tight little 

 island that Johnny Crapaud cannot ride. But he can. 

 In some respects, such as fine training and school-riding, 

 he is vastly the Briton's superior. And now that he has 

 taken a bad form of the international disease yclept Anglo- 

 mania, and has begun to do some rough-and-tumble riding, 

 he may prove still more of a rival to his neighbor across 

 La Manche. The French military man rides well. At 

 Saumur the equestrian education is good. I have seen a 

 number of Saumur cadets riding over a decentish obstacle. 

 They all showed excellent skill, though no one can judge 

 from drill-ground or manege riding how a man might ride 

 to hounds— if the latter is to be made the ultimate test, as 

 it should not be. For the purpose for which the Saumur 

 training is intended there is a sufficiency of leaping. 

 There are otlier things in cavalry drill, or in the prepara- 

 tion of an officer for staff service, besides jumping obsta- 

 cles, though it is hard to convince a Briton of it. 



They have recently been taking riding photographs at 

 Saumur, which are published in a series, a la Muybridge, 

 but on a very limited scale. I was shown photographs of 

 a horse in the successive positions of the trot and canter 



