THROWN OUT. 123 



not much matter, as driving is not the business of the 

 day. 



Soon we begin to pass horsemen jogging along the 

 road, some of them servants with led horses ; and 

 rounding the next turning we see a group of horsemen 

 in blue coats relieved by buff, in black, in tweed, and 

 two or three in red to brighten the picture ; while several 

 horsewomen in picturesque habits add charming variety 

 to the scene. 



" That's yours — the chestnut mare before the next 

 carriage there," says my host's son, as I laboriously 

 unload myself and doff the protecting great-coat. " I'm 

 sure you will like her," he continues, as the chestnut 

 mare is led up, and I notice that with the thoughtful 

 kindness which my friend inherits he has remembered 

 my preference for a padded saddle, and substituted one 

 for the plain flaps almost invariably used in the stables 

 here. 



Poor Whyte-Melville was eloquent in favour of plain 

 flaps, and they are doubtless most comfortable and 

 convenient to those accustomed to them ; but to men 

 who are used to padded saddles, the substitution of the 

 unpadded flaps makes the rider wonder where he is 

 going to on the other side of even a moderate jump. 



On the chestnut mare's easy saddle I am soon seated, 

 and gladly accept the suggestion of a gallop round a 

 big grass-field to set the blood in brisk circulation. 

 Eagerly the mare springs forward, and I at once 

 experience the delights of a perfect mount. The free 



