Introduction. 21 



on either side of her horse. That a second 

 crutch was used about the middle of the last cen- 

 tury (we are unable to state how much earlier,) in 

 France, at least, is evident from a plate of the 

 lady's hunting saddle, at that period, given by 

 Garsault ; in which, it is curious, a sort of hold- 

 fast is provided for the fair equestrian's right 

 hand. But, even so recently as Garsault's time, 

 the saddle in ordinary use, by French women, was, 

 we learn from his work on equitation, still, a kind 

 of pillion, on which the rider sate, diagonally, with 

 both feet resting on a broad suspended ledge or 

 stirrup. The pillion in this country has not yet 



become obsolete ; being still, frequently, to be seen, 

 on the backs of donkeys and hack poneys, at 

 watering places. During the early part of the 

 present century, its employment continued to be 



