The Seat. 17 



absurdly so, is the less dangerous of the two. 

 You cannot crouch with your back and cling 

 with your heels, without becoming conscious 

 at once that you are thoroughly at your horse's 

 mercy. But the oblique seat, though ne- 

 cessarily always imperfect, is quite consistent 

 with a considerable degree of ease and firm- 

 ness in the saddle, and is therefore retained, if 

 not recommended, by many horsemen whose 

 experience ought to have taught them better. 

 Some of our equestrian artists are in these 

 particulars sad misguiders of youth. They 

 appear to think that a good horseman keeps 

 his seat over a large fence by embracing his 

 horse's barrel with the calves of his legs drawn 

 backwards until they slant from the saddle- 

 girths to the stifle-joints. No equestrian figures 

 can for instance, as a general rule, be more 

 elegant than those of Mr. Hablot Browne; 

 but he cannot free himself from this inveterate 

 delusion. Look at his illustrations of Mr. 

 Lever's popular tale, c The O'Donoghue.' 

 How admirably poised in his saddle is the 

 horseman who is forcing his rearing steed into 

 the surf; and what a contrast does he present 

 to the tailor who, with legs gathered up and 

 c 



