CHAPTER XVI 



DRESS 



"The queer things we say, 

 And the queer things we do 

 Are English, you know, 

 Quite English, you know." 



—Old Song. 



In giving rather an iron-clad list of what is proper 

 in the way of riding clothes, I may possibly be laying 

 myself open to the accusation of being a slave to fash- 

 ion. On the contrary, both in theory and in practice, 

 I am much more apt altogether to disregard "the 

 thing," and in dress, as well as in everything else, am 

 inclined to be an excellent Episcopalian, inasmuch as 

 I have always left undone those things which I ought 

 to have done and have done those things which I ought 

 not to have done! Herbert Spencer says, originality 

 of nature is sure to show itself in more ways than one, 

 and the worth-while people who divert from the beaten 

 track in large things, frequently do so in the small 

 things — clothes for example. 



One need not, however, be a slave to any fashion 

 which is neither practical nor useful, but one should 

 cling to those styles which ar both beautiful and suit- 

 able and have, moreover, been hallowed by tradition. 

 These should not be changed for any passing fad of 

 the day ! 



It is for this reason, I suppose, that I am so adverse 

 to departing from the old and wisely established fash- 

 ions in riding clothes; for those particularly adapted 

 to hunting, polo, and coaching have traditions cling- 



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