CORRESPONDENCE. 317 



have plenty more for the catching. Come 

 along!" My experience of ladies on horse- 

 back as a rule is that they are more severe 

 than men ; perhaps it is thoughtlessness, but 

 certainly for hard riding and severe spurring I 

 have never seen any to surpass a Mexican 

 senora, whose favourite pace is a stretching 

 gallop without cessation, until her steed is 

 perfectly pumped out, and as horsellesh is of no 

 value whatever, and no Society for the Preven- 

 tion of Cruelty to Animals exists, I am afraid 

 I must record a verdict of cruelty against some 

 of the most charming women I ever met. 

 To their fellow mortals all kindness and good- 

 ness, but when mounted on their mustang 

 they seem to forget that he can feel either 

 fatigue or pain. Certainly the temptation is 

 great. A horse is of no value ; you seldom 

 mount the same twice on a journey, and across 

 the beautiful prairies a wild gallop is the pace. 

 But I should be sorry to see an English lady 

 dismount from her steed, leaving him utterly 

 exhausted and pumped out, and his flanks 

 streaming with blood from deep spur-strokes. 

 This I have too often seen in South America. 



