190 LADIES ON HOESEBACK. 



and stumble at almost every stride, — not 

 tmfrequently hurling their riders headlong 

 down some dangerous ravine. 



Those who have enjoyed the very doubtful 

 pleasure of hunting at the Cape, know some- 

 thing of the perils of the Mimosa tree, which 

 grows there in such deadly luxuriance. A 

 similar danger-trap exists in the stag-hunting 

 districts of America, the long sharp thorns 

 proving terribly destructive to the flesh of man 

 and beast. 



It is almost impossible to escape these trees. 

 They grow singly and in groups, with long, 

 light, swaying branches, treacherously out- 

 stretched ; and if an excited steed, or an 

 unwary rider comes too near to one of them, 

 no close-set company of razors could do more 

 cruel injury, nor make greater havoc of 

 saddlery and clothing. 



When we come to regard the question of 

 district hunting in a comparative light, few 

 will hesitate to admit that in spite of all the 

 drawbacks consequent upon wire-fencing, fox- 

 trapping, and hound-poisoning, there are worse 

 countries to hunt in than dear old England ; 



