192 RIDING FOR LADIES. 



down upon me such a vortex of letters — some of inquiry, 

 others upon the extravagance of my ideas — that I fairly 

 sat down under the shower in a state of bewilderment, 

 and felt that the only way in which I could reply to 

 such a multitude, or at all hope to satisfy them, was to 

 select the first opportunity of writing a disquisition on 

 economy — the present venture being the result. 



I have, as stated, been repeatedly and anxiously pressed 

 to say what I thought the price of sundry articles of 

 riding-gear ought to be, and as the subject was a difficult 

 one to propound, have thought it best to give the 

 amount usually paid for goods of first-class description, 

 leaving it, of course, to the intelligence of the reader 

 to surmise (even when not plainly stated) that prices 

 vary according to quality, and acknowledging that it is 

 quite possible for a lady to furnish herself with a com- 

 plete hunting outfit at a very much lower scale of 

 charges than that which I cited in my last. It is just 

 a question of how long she expects her things to wear, 

 and how well she expects them to look when the first 

 gloss (always an arrant deceiver) has worn off them. 

 Low-priced articles never stand the test ; they may look 

 fairly well to the eye when first put on, but time and 

 weather place a stamp upon them with which the owner 

 cannot but feel disappointed. Take a few examples. It 

 seems to many a great extravagance to give a seemingly 

 high price for a riding-hat, when at half the shops in 

 town a fairly good-looking one can be bought for half 

 the money. Quite true. But place the two hats side by 



