CORRESPONDENCE. 258 



of *' Hersilie/' wliicli appeared in last week's 

 issue, it struck me, from two of her observa- 

 tions, that persons might suppose I had said 

 something to advocate the style of riding of 

 which she approves. Permit me to say, 

 emphatically, that I have never done so, and 

 that I fervently hope, in the interests of my 

 sex, that such a practice may never be intro- 

 duced. Modesty is, in my opinion, a woman's 

 most exquisite attribute ; once this, or the 

 semblance of it, is lost, her fairest charm is 

 gone. Nothing could be more ungraceful or 

 more unwomanly than for women to ride like 

 men; and for short women or '* little girls," 

 it would be most objectionable. I maintain 

 that a lady who knows how to sit has a far 

 safer and surer seat on a side-saddle than a 

 man can ever have, and that her grip of the 

 pommels affords her infinitely greater security 

 than a man's '' grip of the knees." '' Hersihe" 

 is correct in saying that short-skirted hunting- 

 habits frequently ride up, but she might just 

 as well say that hunting-hats frequently fall 

 off, and that ladies' back hair frequently comes 

 down - giving these facts as a reason for 



