34 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES. 



a gift of nature, both to men and women. A certain cast 

 of features carries with it a knowing, sporting look, 

 while a round or broad face can hardly be made to look 

 sporting, even when all the accessories of costume are 

 perfect. And in the matter of hat wearing something 

 very similar exists. Some people are natural hat 

 wearers, and look well in any hat they may choose, 

 while others, their heads being differently shaped, 

 can seldom find a hat to suit them. So, then, it comes 

 to this, that no hat should be chosen until it has been 

 approved by someone else, and in the matter of shape 

 the novice should never be tempted to buy anything 

 that is unusual and likely to be conspicuous in the field. 

 The question of riding astride seems also to be matter 

 for anxious debate. A little girl of about eleven once 

 informed me that, though she liked riding astride, 

 she could sit her pony best at a jump when in a side 

 saddle. Another declared that she did not like the 

 man's seat so much as the side saddle, though she 

 added, " When I ride sideways mother will not let me 

 use spurs." I am afraid that mother was too easy- 

 going, for spurs should on no account be used by children 

 of either sex. A boy's seat is always more or less loose 

 for some time after he has begun to jump fences, and 

 if he puts on spurs before he has learnt to sit quite 

 tight, he is extremely apt to spur his pony in the shoulder 

 as it lands over the jump. I have seen this happen, 

 and the pony has instantly bolted and rushed through 

 another fence which was close at hand before its rider 

 could pull it up. Boys should not wear spurs until 

 they have ridden for some years, and have had at least 

 three or four spells of Christmas holiday hunting. 



