RIDING RECOLLECTIONS 



how to rise the hill with least labour, and descend 

 it with greatest dispatch, how to thread glen, 

 combe, or dale, wind in and out of the rugged 

 ravine, plunge through a morass, and make his 

 way home at night across trackless moor, or open 

 storm-swept down. By the time he has acquired 

 these accomplishments, the horsemanship will 

 have come of itself. He will know how to bore 

 where he cannot jump, to creep where he must 

 not fly, and so manage his horse that the animal 

 seems to share the intentions and intelligence of 

 its rider. 



If he can afford it, and likes to spend a season 

 or two in the shires for the last superlative 

 polish, let him go and welcome ! He will be 

 taught to get clear of a crowd, to leap timber 

 at short notice, to put on his boots and breeches, 

 and that is about all there is left for him to 

 learn ! 



In the British army, though more than a hundred 

 regiments constitute the line, each cherishes its 

 own particular title, while applying that general 

 application indiscriminately to the rest. 



I imagine the same illusion affects the provinces, 

 and I should offend an incalculable number of 

 good fellows and good sportsmen, were I to 

 describe as provincial establishments, the variety 

 of hunts, north, south, east, and west, with which 

 I have enjoyed so much good company and good 



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