48 HUNTING AND SPORTING NOTES. 



of those habiliments by the ladies saves an immensity 

 of trouble to the male sex, true delicacy is quite in- 

 compatible with the exhibitions of them. 



" I cannot but hope that these lines may occasionally 

 meet the eye of the wives and daughters of those gentlemen, 

 whom we boast to be our chief support, the sportsmen of 

 England. I apologise most sincerely if I hurt the feelings 

 of such persons. My criticism is not directed against 

 them. To a lady equipped and mounted, in w^hom the 

 mise en scene presents the perfection of horse, of hand, 

 and of appearance, I can only say, as my favourite poet,, 



Pictoribus atque poetis 

 Quidlibct audendi semper fuit requa potestas 



I do not love this universal passion for the chase, which 

 has extended itself amongst all classes of w^omen. Half 

 of them know little or nothing about real horsemanship, 

 they are deficient in judgment and powder, and have 

 nothing to offer in exchange but a courage the offspring 

 of excitement and ignorance. I know few things so 

 painful to my nature as to see a badly-mounied, bitted, 

 or habited lady in the hunting-field. It is difdcult to 

 know whether most to pity the man to whom she is^ 

 attached, or herself. If she be good-looking, so much 

 the worse — one regrets the more the incongruity. She 

 cannot escape observation except by doing what, 

 unfortunately, so few will do, trotting about the lanes, 

 and returning home as soon as the business of the day 

 begins. If ladies w^ho were meant for pony chairs or 

 four-wheelers w^ill insist upon riding, let it be as modestly 

 as possible. But this will not do ; as w^e remarked 

 before, Tom has his two or three hunters, and dear Bella 

 her palfrey — Bella horrida Bella. Then Bella must go to 

 see the hounds just to look at them ; and Tom's friend 

 will look after Tom's sister as there is no groom ; or he 

 has to clean the plate or wait at table in a scratch 

 establishment. Then Bella gets enamoured of the riding, 

 ventures into the fields, has a little jump, then another ; 

 and seeing Lady Dina, who has about six-thousand 

 a-year, and a perfect horse, saddle, groom, and hatchet, 

 with every necessary appurtenance for destroying property, 

 Bella naturally thinks how easy it is to do the same- 



