A MANDARIN'S RIDING EQUIPMENTS 



453 



3'^ello\v brocade, as he sits in the saddle, hangs Hke 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 



