100 



HOESEMANSHIP FOE WOMEN. 



haunches towards any one with whom 3^011 may be talk- 

 ing or from whom you are to take leave. To be able 

 to do this easily and gracefully you must have him well 

 "collected" and "light in hand." 



ON WHICH SIDE TO EIDE. 



The next question that arises is on which side of her 

 escort a lady should ride. This point, so much discussed 

 and disputed in this country, is scarcely raised in Eng- 

 land, where the universal habit of turning to the left 

 makes it, under almost all circumstances, safer for her 

 to be on his left, in which position he finds himself al- 

 ways interposed between his charge and any passing 

 vehicle, whether it come from before or from behind. 

 In this country, however, we have adopted — nobody 

 knows why, unless it is because the French do so — the 

 rule of keeping to the right, and yet without changing 

 our manner of riding and driving, so that the result is 

 often awkward and even dangerous. The teamster who 

 used to walk on the left of his horses, so as to lead them 

 out of the way when occasion required, still walks on 

 the left, which now puts him in the middle of the road ; 

 the coachman still sits on the right, though the proba- 

 bility of contact has changed over to the other side ; the 

 lady's seat is still on the left side of the horse, which 

 obliges her to choose between the danger of being 

 caught by passing wheels or crushed by the horse of 

 her escort. As there is no reason in the world, whether 



