io6 RIDING DRESS. 



amply repaid ; because it soon became known that the 

 old man would not allow an imperfect garment to leave 

 his shop. 



For hunting, it is best to have a coat which w411 

 afford us protection from cold and wet, and therefore 

 its fronts should be made to cover the right knee, 

 the buttons being concealed under the ''skirt" of the 

 coat. This shape is in every way good, because there 

 are no floppy fronts to trouble us by blowing back 

 on windy days, and when the rain drips from the hat, 

 the coat-covering helps to keep our right knee dry. 

 In the old-fashioned habits, great care w^as taken that 

 nothing could become displaced, to spoil the effect, 

 as an old lady friend puts it, of ''the beautiful gliding 

 motion of a ship in full sail." I fear now-a-days we 

 allow our sails to flop about far too much, and destroy 

 that "beautiful gliding motion." What could be more 

 ugly than a coat with tails which reach nearly to a 

 horse's hocks, and no front covering whatever to pro- 

 tect the knee in bad w^eather ? Wind, which is no 

 respecter of persons, seizes these long tails and hurls 

 them over the back of the rider's head, as she stands 

 in a wild blast at the covert side looking very " tailly " 

 and cold. Besides covering the right knee, the coat 

 should have a collar that will turn up and fasten at 

 the throat with a button and strap, to keep out wet, 

 and cuffs that w^ill turn down over the hands. 



Clad in a sensible garment of this kind, which 

 should be smart and w^ell-fitting, we can defy the 

 elements without running any undue risks. Fig. 59 



