HUNTING IN SOUTH AFRICA. 391 



a list of more than a dozen of the nicest horses, which 

 I intended to keep for my own hacking. As most of 

 them had been accustomed to the barbarous Mameluke 

 bit, which is used in Egypt, they took very kindly to 

 my snaffle. The desert is a grand place for trying- 

 experiments with horses ; for in it there is nothing to 

 frighten or distract their attention from their work, 

 and if one does happen to get a spill, the falling is very 

 soft. As soon as the news of my doings became 

 noised abroad in Suez, the riding men mustered in 

 great force and borrowed several of the horses I had 

 passed as quiet. It was amusing to see some of the 

 horsemen sending all over the place to borrow a saddle, 

 and in a couple of days we all met for a ride. One of 

 the ladies rode very well, but she would not try any of 

 the remounts, as she had her own Arab. There was 

 seldom such excitement in Suez before, the lawn tennis 

 ground became quite deserted, and everyone seemed 

 to have gone riding mad. 



Coursing steinbok with greyhounds used to be a 

 popular sport in South Africa, but when my husband 

 and I were in Kimberley in 1892, Mr. Fenn was 

 establishing a pack of foxhounds. I fear the Jame- 

 son Raid and its dire results have sadly disturbed the 

 harmony of that sporting community. 



I cannot help thinking that the Germans are more 

 devoted to riding than any other Continental nation. 

 I have not hunted in Germany, as I was there only 

 during the summer ; but I sold a good hunter to a 

 German Count who was a fine horseman and a Master 



