RIDING RECOLLECTIONS 



he go smooth, / am,'' ^ said a Frenchman, to 

 whom a friend of mine offered a mount ; " if he 

 go rough, I shall not remain ! " and doubtless the 

 primary object of getting into a saddle, is to stay 

 there at our own convenience, so long as circum- 

 stances permit. 



But what a number of different attitudes do 

 men adopt, in order to insure this permanent 

 settlement. There is no position from the tongs 

 in the fender, to the tailor on his shop-board, into 

 which the equestrian has not forced his unaccus- 

 tomed limbs, to avoid involuntary separation 

 from his beast. The dragoon of fifty years ago 

 was drilled to ride with a straight leg, and his 

 foot barely resting on the stirrup, whereas the 

 Oriental cavalry soldier, no mean proficient in the 

 management of horse and weapon, tucks his knees 

 up nearly to his chin, so that when he rises in the 

 saddle, he towers above his little Arab as if he 

 were standing rather than sitting on its back. 

 The position, he argues, gives him a longer reach, 

 and a stronger purchase for the use of sword and 

 spear. If we are to judge by illuminated copies 

 of Froissart, and other contemporary chronicles, 

 it would seem that the armour-clad knight of the 

 olden time, trusting in the depth and security of 

 his saddle, rode so long as to derive no assistance 

 whatever from his stirrups, sitting down on his 



'yy suis. 

 90 



