LEARNING TO RIDE. 289 



lice. When, at length, she is able to bridle and saddle 

 him, her seat may be somewhat faulty, and her use of the 

 reins awkward, but these faults are easily remedied, and 

 are certainly atoned for by her freedom and fearlessness. 

 Besides, no one can fully enjoy riding who does not both 

 love and admire the noble animal which she rides ; and the 

 quick intelligence of the horse yields ready obedience to 

 the hand and voice of a woman who has learned lovingly 

 to control him. His affectionate nature yields to her the 

 mastery, oflen more readily than to a stronger power. 



Well mounted on a strong, spirited horse — with a wide 

 country before her — on a clear, cool day — with a love for 

 all the beauty around her, of the noble animal beneath her, 

 and glowing with the bounding life within her, a lady 

 capable of enjoyment is certainly prepared for it then. 

 The first gentle pace of the horse starts the warm blood 

 in her veins, and as both become excited, the glow tingles 

 to the very finger-tips. The close-clinging to the horse, 

 the slight reliance upon stirrup and bit, and the generally 

 light proportion of rider to steed, give a feeling of being 

 possessed of the powers of a new life, of riding upon the 

 whirlwind, and yet controlling it with a word. 



This combination of a sense of weakness and of power, 

 as every woman knows, is her greatest delight, and is the 

 secret of many an enjoyment which she attributes to other 

 causes If a quieter mood possess the rider, there is no 

 Buch pleasant manner of strolling over a wide extent of 

 country, otherwise inaccessible. The discovery of new 

 paths and openings in woods and hilly country, where 

 momently changes are succeeding each other in the pano- 

 rama, affords delights which are not attainable in any 

 other way. Even hundreds of miles of travel are more 

 pleasantly accomplished in the saddle than in any other 

 manner, even by ladies; provided always that they be 

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