CORRESPONDENCE. 251 



the most easy to attach or remove, and there 

 is no chance of a strap being cut in walking 

 or otherwise, or of an over-tight buckle 

 hurting the foot. Their principal advantage, 

 however, is not one of mere convenience, but 

 of safety ; the absence of strap and buckle 

 removes one element in a great danger — that 

 of the foot sticking in the stirrup in a fall. 

 Captain Why te- Melville speaks from observa- 

 tion of the risk of the buckle catching in the 

 angle of the stirrup-iron, and says he has 

 never seen a spurless boot so entangled. He 

 is arguing against the wearing of spurs at all ; 

 but the risk is avoided if box spurs be worn. 

 Since I became convinced that the strap and 

 buckle were a quite possible, though perhaps 

 unhkely, source of danger, I have altogether 

 discarded them, and have felt my feet more 

 free in the stirrups in consequence. Box 

 spurs are certainly not fashionable in the 

 hunting-field, and I have often seen people 

 looking askance at them ; I suppose a par- 

 ticular man misses the finish that the strap 

 gives to the boot. But I don't think that 

 matters much, and to ladies it would not 



