Hat and Gloves. 323 



of these days for the most part buy their tresses ready made, it would not be wise to inter- 

 fere with the special province of the coiffeur. Good thick kid or calf-skin gloves are more 

 suitable for riding than dog-skin ; the reins can be felt through them. Dog-skin are too hard 

 and too soon dirty. In winter, mits of silk or woollen, long in the wrist, with a hole for the 

 thumb and no fingers, go well over kid gloves ; but in wet weather woollen gloves are more 

 comfortable than leather, and a pair should always be carried in the pocket of the side saddle 

 in wet weather or hunting. 



Attention should be paid and some pains devoted to holding the habit gracefully when 

 walking. " To hold the habit properly, the skirt should first be taken at each side, as far 

 down as the arms will reach without stooping, drawn out evenly to its full extent, and 

 gathered up until sufficiently short for walking. The hands should then be brought forward, 

 with one rather higher than the other, so as not to appear stiff" or formal. If the skirt is 

 made in two breadths, it should be gathered up from the seam at each side, otherwise it will 

 drag on the ground behind. When a lady is accompanied by a gentleman, she should hold 

 the habit on the side on which he is walking, so far down only as to enable her to take 

 his arm and clear the skirt from the ground, turning a bit of it over her thumb, to prevent its 

 slipping from the hand." These actions should be practised at home, and before a glass. 



The following e.xtracts from letters which appeared in The Times and in The Field, in 

 consequence of a letter from Captain Lovell describing how his daughter was hung by her 

 habit and stirrup, give very useful hints : — ■ 



" One who hunts, and is accitstoined to ride over a rough country, where one must often get 

 falls," says : " I am quite sure that the shorter and tighter ladies' habit skirts are the safer they 

 are ; also there should be two straps of elastic — one for the right foot and the other to go on the 

 heel of the left foot. By these means, if the habit be well cut, there is no possibility of the skirt 

 getting caught on the leaping-head. Another safety is to have the leaping-head quite close up 

 to the pommel round which the right leg is put. Saddle-makers are very fond of putting it low 

 down and making it long and curved, which prevents ladies being kicked or bucked off", but 

 which keeps them fixed like a vice, so that if their horse comes down they cannot get away 

 from him. If the pommel is small, high up, and close to the other, it ought to be quite sufficient 

 for a good rider, and at the same time if the horse falls it leaves you free to get away from him." 



Another lady writes me : " A loop on the heel of the left foot is dangerous in hunting ; it 

 prevents the lady from getting her foot out of the stirrup if she has a fall." 



Another lady writes : — " I think I may venture to speak with some authority on the 

 subject, as my sister and I have been hunting for some years in a country in which falls must 

 necessarily be somewhat frequent, even with the best-trained hunters. Yet I cannot recall any 

 instance of our ever having been, even momentarily, suspended in the manner your correspondent 

 describes. We attribute our escape to the following simple precautions : i. Our habits are made 

 of thick cloth — thin material being sure to catch round the pommels ; the skirts are short, and 

 very narrow at the back, which prevents them clinging round the leaping-head. A skirt without 

 hem, as suggested by your correspondent, would soon be pulled out of shape, and go to pieces 

 with hard wear. 2. We use a man's plain stirrup, as large as is possible. There is no danger of 

 the foot slipping through. We ride with as long a leather as can be ; thus the foot usually 

 jerks out at the first shake of the horse falling, and it is very easily replaced if the animal 

 eventually recovers himself." 



[A lady's seat has less use for the stirrup than a man's.] 



" By the use of a stirrup either with a simple joint on each side, or with that of Mr. Davis 



