64 LADIES ON HORSEBACK. 



vice. My only fear was lest she should lose 

 her footing and fall, for the roadway was 

 covered from edge to edge with new shingle. 

 On she went in her mad career, amidst the 

 shrieks of thousands, for the day was Easter 

 Monday, and the park was crowded. Soldiers, 

 civilians, lines of policemen strove to form a 

 barrier for her arrest. In vain ! She knocked 

 down some, fled past others, and continued 

 her headlong course. 



All this time I was sitting as if glued to my 

 saddle. At the mare's first starting I had 

 endeavoured to pull her up, but finding that 

 this was hopeless, I left the rein loose upon 

 her neck. Having then no support for her 

 head, she soon tired, and the instant I felt 

 her speed relaxing I took up my whip and 

 punished her within an inch of her life. I 

 made her go when she wanted to stop, and 

 only suffered her to pull up just within the 

 gates, where she stood covered with foam and 

 trembling in every limb. 



Her owner subsequently told me that during 

 the three years which she afterwards kept her 

 she never rode so biddable a mare. 



