LEABNING. 



heads. First, the acquirement of the eques- 

 trian art; second, road and park riding; third, 

 hunting; with a few hints upon the costume, 

 &c. required for each, and a sHght sprinkHng 

 of anecdote here and there to enliven the 

 whole. 



I shall commence by saying that it is a 

 mistake to imagine that riding, in order to be 

 properly learnt, must be begun in youth : that 

 nobody can excel as a horsewoman who has 

 not accustomed herself to the saddle from a 

 mere child. On the contrary some of the 

 finest equestriennes the world has ever produced 

 have known little or nothing of the art until 

 the spring-time of their Hfe was past. Her 

 Imperial Majesty the Empress of Austria, and 

 Hkewise her sister the ex-Queen of Naples, 

 cared nothing about riding until comparatively 

 late in life. I know little, except through 

 hearsay, of the last-named lady's proficiency 

 in the saddle, but having frequently v^itnessed 

 that of the former, and having also been 

 favoured with a personal introduction at the 

 gracious request of the Empress, I can 

 imhesitatingly say that anything more superb 



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