'NOT THE WOMAN'S PLACE' 231 



of the past.) If a woman's horse fell, she was prob- 

 ably more hurt than a man would be ; in any case, 

 her horse had to be caught, and some one had to 

 mount her, which gave almost as much trouble as 

 if she had been killed (I was going to have said 

 without the attendant compensation, but refrain). 

 Those early pictures set forth unsparingly the various 

 feminine foibles. The lady who talks the fox back 

 into covert, who holds up the hunt while she fumbles 

 at a gate, whose horse invariably kicks hounds, or 

 anything else that is near enough ; even that unfor- 

 tunate lady to whom a man has to devote his coat 

 because her horse and habit skirt have followed the 

 hounds without her. Improvement in these matters 

 was gradual, but it came. The modern side-saddle 

 did much ; the introduction of safety-aprons did 

 more, riding astride will probably do most of all. 

 Di Vernon was, no doubt, seated on a species of 

 howdah with a well-like centre, her right leg enclosed 

 by two in-curving crutches, her left foot resting in 

 a contrivance like a fossilised bedroom slipper. Miss 

 Lucy Glitters and Kate Coventry wore habits that 

 might, at a pinch, have enclosed a crinoline. 



The safety-apron has possibly seen its most brilliant 

 days, and the ride-astride outfit is fast superseding 

 all others. Many, and beyond telling, are its advan- 

 tages, yet, at the risk of incurring the contempt of 

 those whose opinion counts for most, and is least 

 worth having (I allude to the rising generation), I 

 would like to say that the basis of good hands is a 

 firm seat, and this, in conjunction with a ride-astride 

 outfit, is unusual. 



My own earliest recollection of hunting belongs to 

 those pre-historic times when Man went forth to 

 the chase, and AVoman, at best, palpitated over her 

 lord's prowess from the vantage-point of the family 



