We enter now upon a new and important phase of our pupil's education in the saddle. Before doing so, however, I feel bound to observe that from time to time a vast amount of "twaddle" is ventilated on the question of the propriety of ladies riding with hounds. All sorts of absurd objections have been brought forward against the practice; as, for instance, that hunting as regards ladies is a mere excuse for display and flirtation, and that it is both unfeminine and dangerous. I believe that these objections, made by people who never knew the glorious exhilaration of hunting, may be very briefly disposed of. I reside where the very cream of the midland hunting is carried on, and I perceive that year after year the number of ladies of high rank and social position who grace the field with their presence is on the increase; while to the best of my belief no female equestrians who are not ladies have been seen with hounds in Leicestershire or its vicinity for some years. So much for the stamp of woman that hunts nowadays.

As regards flirtation and display, I am at a loss to understand why anti-foxhunting cynics should have selected the covert side, or the road to it, for their diatribes; for there can be no time for flirting when hounds are once away. It must be manifest to every man who has the most remote notion of what manner of people our aristocracy and gentry are, that they will only know at the covert side precisely the same stamp of person they meet elsewhere in society. In that society there are dinner parties, flower shows, balls, the opera, all affording equal or better opportunities for flirtation than the hunting field. As to hunting being unfeminine, it is difficult, I submit, to pronounce it any more so than riding in Rotten-row. And finally, as regards danger, I propose to show how it can be rendered all but impossible if due care and forethought are exercised by the male friends or relatives of the hunting lady. Let us now, therefore, having traced out the course of instruction in the riding school, on the road, and in the park, consider how safety is best ensured to the beginner.

As regards the stamp of horse the fair dÉbutante of the chase should ride, I have already endeavoured to give my idea. I have only to add that he should be very fit for his work, the pink of condition, without being above himself; and, finally, that no temptation as to fine action or clever fencing should ever induce a lady to ride a hunter that has a particle of vice about him. With the best of piloting it is impossible always to keep her out of a crowd, where she is in a woeful dilemma if mounted on a horse that kicks at others. I have seen this more than once, and have heard expressions from the suffering riders that must have been far from pleasing to refined feminine ears. I must, however, record a special instance of politeness under difficulties which I witnessed during the past season. Hounds were running with a breast-high scent, the pace very fast, when the leading division had their extended front diminished to single file by a big bullfincher, practicable only in one place. Among those waiting their turn to jump was a lady who always rides very forward. She was mounted on a rare-shaped, blood-like animal, that looked all over like seeing the end of a long day, but exhibited considerable impatience at the check. In some cases, as all hunting people know, the difficulty is always increased to those who are compelled to wait by a ruck of riders crowding up from the rear. The case I allude to was no exception to this rule, and among others came a welter middle-aged gentleman, riding a horse quite up to his weight—a grand hunting looking animal, that appeared intent upon clearing every obstacle in his path, not excepting the impatient ones who were doing the gap in Indian file. The veteran, however, who was a capital horseman, managed to pull up his too-eager steed just in rear of the lady's horse, and was forthwith accommodated with a most vicious kick with his near hind leg. Fortunately, the distance was too great to admit of the stout gentleman receiving the full benefit of the intended favour, which nevertheless made his boot-top rattle, and materially altered the genial expression of his rubicund visage. Turning gracefully in her saddle, the fair votary of the chase expressed her deep regret at the bad behaviour of her horse. "I am very sorry—awfully sorry; I hope you are not hurt," she said, in a tone which ought to have consoled any middle-aged sportsman for a broken shin. "I never knew him to do it before," continued the lady. "Pray don't say a word, Miss," replied the old gentleman, taking off his hat with a genuine thoroughbred air; "don't say a word; they are only dangerous when they do it behind." Whether they do it "behind" or "before," kick in a crowd at other horses, or hit at hounds with their fore feet (as some thoroughbreds will do when excited), they are equally disqualified for ladies' hunters, however gaily they may sail over the turf or clear the obstacles in their way.

To proceed with our lessons. Before venturing to take our aspirant for the honours of the chase to a regular meet of foxhounds—where she is apt to become excited, and possibly unnerved by the imposing array of "pink," gallant horsemen, and aristocratic ladies riding steeds of fabulous price, dashing equipages, and thrusting foot people, always ready to embarrass a beginner—it is best to seek out a quiet line nearly all arable land, where the fences will be small, where there are few ditches to be met with, and where the going on the stubble or fallow will be good enough when the crops are off the ground. The pupil should wear a "hunting skirt" properly so called—that is, one not too redundant, made of strong cloth, and booted with leather about eight or ten inches wide round the bottom. This is a very necessary precaution, because it prevents the skirt from hanging up in the fences and getting torn. Hunting boots also should be worn, back-strapped, tongued in at the foot, and reaching nearly to the knee, the upper part made of thick but very flexible leather—buckskin is the best. It is soft, and at the same time thick enough to save the leg from a blow from a strong binder, which occasionally hits very hard in its rebound, having been previously bent forward by somebody who has just jumped the fence.

A "Latchford" spur of the sort before described is also requisite, and the question of the arrangement of skirt necessary to enable the rider to use the spur effectively has caused considerable diversity of opinion among cognoscenti on hunting matters. Some ladies have an opening made in the skirt, through which the shank of the spur passes; and in order to keep the latter in its place, it is usual to have a couple of strings strongly stitched on to the inside of the skirt. These are tied round the ankle, and prevent the skirt to a great extent from getting foul of the spur. But this method decidedly involves a certain amount of risk, because, in case of the horse making a blunder and falling, the lady has not the free use of her leg. Again, there is a method of letting the spur shank through a small opening similar to a large eyelet hole, made of strong elastic, and let into the skirt, the point of insertion having been previously measured when the rider is in the saddle and her left leg and foot are properly placed as regards the third crutch and stirrup. But a still better way is that which I have seen adopted lately by several ladies who go very straight with hounds. It is as follows. After the skirt has been carefully measured and marked (the lady up), an opening is made perpendicularly, large enough to admit of the lady's foot passing through it. This opening should be made about six or eight inches above the place where the ankle will touch the skirt, when the left leg is fairly stretched down, the knee bent, and the heel sunk. When the instructor has assisted his pupil into the saddle, he should put her foot in the stirrup, and wait until she has carefully arranged her habit; he should then take her foot out again, and the lady should lift it high enough to enable her attendant to pass it through the opening. The foot can then be replaced in the stirrup, and the spur buckled on. The upper leather (by the way) should be broad and slightly padded. By these means the left foot and the leg from six to eight inches above the ankle will be entirely clear of the skirt, which will give the rider perfect freedom of action, while the opening is not sufficiently wide to admit of the skirt being blown clear of the leg. This, moreover, is prevented by the leather booting; in fact, in a well-made hunting skirt there should be no slack cloth for the winds to play with at all.

The kind of whip to be used is the crop (without the thong) of a hunting whip; a Malacca crop is the best for a lady, because the lightest. It should have a good crook to it, well roughened on the outside, and be furnished, moreover, with a roughened nail head, in order to prevent the crop slipping when the rider attempts to open a gate. Gauntlet gloves with strong leather tops are best, because they prevent the possibility of the rider's hands being scratched or injured in jumping a ragged fence; but if the lady dislikes gauntlets, the sleeve of the jacket should be made to fasten with three buttons close to the wrist, because the sleeves now so much in fashion, being very wide at the wrist, are apt in taking a fence to catch and get torn, in addition to the risk of the rider being pulled off her horse. These casualties, which of course cannot occur with the clean-made jump taken in the riding school, are likely enough to happen in the field, and should be carefully guarded against.

As regards the shape and make of the jacket I have already said so much, that I must leave it to the taste and figure of the rider, always assuming that while she allows herself plenty of freedom of movement, she does not wear anything too loose, or any steel supports about her, as for hunting these are highly dangerous.

As regards headgear, the same style of thing that sufficed for the riding school may not be considered sufficiently effective for the hunting field; and, without venturing upon ground so delicate as an opinion or even knowledge of ladies' "coiffure," I may say that at Melton and other fashionable hunting centres there has for some time existed an artful combination between the ladies' hat makers and the hairdressers, by means of which that very elegant affair the "Melton hat" is deftly fitted with an arrangement of hair behind which is immovable, no matter where the wearer jumps in hunting. The hairdresser's services are first called into requisition; possibly he imparts the "arcana" of his craft to the lady's maid; but one or other succeeds in making such an arrangement of the hair as renders it at once secure in riding and becoming to the style of the lady herself. The hat with the hair attached behind is then placed on the head, and secured by an invisible elastic band. Should any of my readers desire information on these matters, so important to a lady's comfort in the hunting field, I can furnish them with the names of the people in Melton and elsewhere who can give them every detail.

Having our pupil accoutred as before described, and taken her to a quiet farm, the instructor should pick out a line, start at a walk in front of his charge, pop his horse quietly over the fences, and see that his pupil does them with equal coolness and without rush or hurry. When she can do this well, the pace should be increased to a steady canter; and the master riding beside her should be careful that she steadies her horse three or four lengths before he takes off, always riding him well into the bridle.

This kind of practice should be continued for some days, until the pupil is quite at home at her work, and the master should then proceed to instruct her as to the mode in which to make her horse "crawl" through gaps and crooked, cramped places, and do "on and off" jumps and doubles. The animal best adapted for this sort of practice is one that is clever rather than fast. An Irish horse, out of a ditch and bank country, is preferable. But the instructor should take special care, by first doing these "on and off" jumps himself, to ascertain that the banks are sound; otherwise there is danger of just the worst kind of fall a woman can have. We have lately had a lamentable instance of this in the case of a noble lady, one of the most brilliant horsewomen in England.

For my own part, I am entirely against a lady jumping her horse in the field at any place where there can be the slightest doubt as to good foothold, unless she is preceded by a man to pilot her. If the latter gets down, he can always (assuming him to be a good workman) get clear of his steed, whereas at these rotten places a lady and her horse are likely to fall "all of a heap," and injury greater or less is a certainty to the rider.

Not long since I saw a little girl, about ten years old, riding with hounds on a mite of a pony which was as clever as a monkey. The little heroine took a line of her own (no doubt she knew the country well), and kept her place among the foremost for some time; presently she disappeared, and we found her impounded, pony and all, up to the back of the latter in a piece of rotten ground which had let them in like a "jack in the box." Neither the pony nor his plucky little rider were hurt, but (as they say in Ireland) that was more by good luck than good guiding.

I maintain that children at that age should never be left in the hunting field to their own devices, however well they may ride, and that, either in their case or that of young ladies of riper age, they should never be allowed to go with hounds, unless accompanied by a man who is not only a thorough horseman and judge of hunting, but is also well acquainted with the country he is riding over, and accustomed to pilot ladies.

After the pupil has learned to make her horse "creep" in the manner above described—to insure success in which, however, the closest watching is necessary on the part of the instructor, and directions requisite in each individual case, utterly impossible in written general instructions—she should be carefully taught to open gates for herself, because it is nearly sure hereafter to occur that she may have to ride at a pinch in a country place where her route lies through a line of bridle gates, and the attendance of a man to open them for her may not be available. Nothing is easier than for a lady to open a well-hung and well-latched gate, the hinges of which are on the off side. Bridle gates occur most frequently in great grazing countries, such as Leicestershire, Warwickshire, or Northamptonshire, by reason of the necessity of confining cattle within certain limits. The gates are generally heavy, well poised on their hinges, and opening either with wooden latching or iron spring ones, easily reached at the top.

If the gate is hung on the off side, all the lady has to do is to ride her horse with his head in an oblique direction between the gatepost and the gate, so that when she has the latter open she can continue moving on in the same slanting direction. She should first press the end of her crop down upon the latch, if it is a wooden one, keeping herself perfectly upright in the saddle, and steadily seated in it. Directly the latch lifts she should press firmly against it with the rough crook, push the gate open, and press her horse onwards in the same oblique direction, by which the animal's croup clears the gate sooner, and all risk of its closing on him is avoided. If there is a long iron spring latch to the gate, it must first be pulled open with the crop, so that the latch rests against the hasp, and a steady purchase must then be taken against the upper bar with the crop, and the gate thus quietly pushed forward: this if it opens from the rider. If the reverse, the horse's head should be kept perfectly square close to the gate post, until the latch is lifted and rested on the hasp. The gate should then be pulled open, and the horse's head inclined just the reverse way to that adopted when the gate opens from the rider. But in no case should she lean forward, or put herself out of her balance, in order to get hold of the latch or the gate itself, and she should be particularly careful that the reins do not catch against the long iron hasps so common to the gates I speak of.

Only last year, I met a lady who rides a good deal unattended, and, seeing her about to open a gate I knew to be rather an awkward one, I trotted on to assist her; but (possibly desiring to show me that she could do it unassisted) she leant forward to give the gate a lift, and in doing so she dropped the reins upon her horse's neck, when the animal immediately hooked the headstall of a single curb bridle upon a long iron hasp, and, finding himself fast to it, drew back suddenly and broke the headstall, the bit fell out of his mouth, and the lady (utterly helpless) had no alternative but to slip off as quickly as possible. Fortunately, the animal was a very quiet one, or the consequences might have been serious; as it was, we managed to change bridles, and, having spliced the broken one, went on our separate ways. But, I repeat, one cannot be too careful or methodical in opening gates. When one opens from the near side, the reins must be passed into the right hand, the crop into the left, and the greatest care taken, if the gate opens to the rider, to push it well back behind the horse's quarters before she moves on, riding with her horse's head towards the hinges. When a near-side hung gate opens from the rider, there is less difficulty, it being only necessary after lifting the latch to push against the gate with the crop, sitting quite upright, and giving swing enough to the gate to enable the rider to get clear of it. But in either case, to or from, with a gate hung on the near side the latch should first be lifted, by using the crop in the right hand, resting the latch if possible against the hasp, and then changing hands with the crop and reins as before mentioned. If this is not done, and the rider attempts to lift the latch with her left hand, she must change the direction of her horse's head when the gate is open, at the great risk of bringing it on his quarters.

These directions, like others I have ventured upon, may appear too minute; but it should be remembered that, whereas, carefully followed out, a lady on a steady horse accustomed to gates can open them with safety, any carelessness may result in a bad accident, because the steadiest horse, if "hung up" in a gate, will become furious if he cannot instantly get clear of it. When, therefore, the pupil is well practiced at this sort of work, and has learned to feel her way in cramped places as well as to do her fences at a steady canter, a fair half-speed gallop may be ventured on, the pupil setting her horse going, and pressing him if necessary with the spur, to take his fences in his stride, the spur being used, however, some distance from the fence. The master should ride beside his pupil in this lesson, carefully watching the pace of the horse and the action of the rider. A nice easy line of about a couple of miles should be taken, and the pace maintained throughout. A month of this kind of practice will form a capital introductory step to hunting: and when, in the mild misty mornings of russet-brown October, foxhounds begin to beat up the quarters of the vulpine juveniles, abjuring her "beauty sleep," the lady may with advantage, before the "early village cock proclaims the dawn," don her hunting habiliments, and, under the careful tutelage of her "pilot," trot off to covert and see the "beauties" knock the cubs about.

This is by far the best way to begin hunting in reality. There are very few people about at that early hour, and those only who are thorough enthusiasts about the sport; consequently there is more time for the new votary of Diana to get accustomed to the alteration in her horse's form of demeaning himself. For be it known to the uninitiated that even an old horse, that requires kicking and hammering along a road when ridden alone, is quite a different animal and mover the instant he sees the hounds, and will show an amount of vivacity perhaps very little expected by his rider; while a well-bred young one requires a great deal of riding on such occasions.

The short bursts sometimes obtained in "cub hunting" are capital practice for a lady; while occasionally a veteran fox, some wily old purloiner of poultry, affords a good twenty or five-and-twenty minutes, even when the fences are blind. I recommend our pilot, however, to keep his charge out of these latter matters, for blind jumping is always bad for a lady.

As regards taking a beginner out with harriers, I am against it. It is very well for invalids or corpulent gentlemen who are "doing a constitutional;" but it teaches a young lady nothing of what is really meant by hunting—which, however, she is in a first-rate position to learn with the cubs.

Staghunting with a deer turned out from a cart and caught with a whipthong, is equally inefficacious, because the hunting as a rule only commences when the run is over. Moreover, there is always a crowd of people who come out for riding only, and care nothing about hunting, and these are the most likely to get into a lady's way, and bring her to grief.

The same may be said of drag hunting, which I hold to be no place for a lady, any more than steeplechasing.

Let us then, legitimately to inaugurate our pupil into the usages and forms of hunting proper, stick to cub hunting until November opens the fences and gives her a chance to prove the value of her previous instruction.

Before closing this article, I cannot refrain from citing an instance of the great value of a lady learning to cross the country well, irrespective of the sport of foxhunting and its health-giving and exhilarating effects. Within ten miles of where I write this resides a lady, young, wealthy, and beautiful, who, although not a religious recluse, is as thorough and sincere a devotee of religion as any cloistered nun. Her whole time is spent in acts of charity, and ministering to the spiritual and bodily welfare of the poor for miles round her residence. No weather is too inclement, no night too dark, to stop her on her errands of mercy and charity. If summoned even at the dead of night to attend the bedside of a sick or dying person, as frequently happens, she will dress herself quickly in rough habiliments suitable to it—maybe in tempestuous weather—saddle and bridle a horse herself if her people are not quick enough for her, and, provided with cordials, a prayer book, and a long hunting crop, she will gallop off the nearest way to her destination, taking the fences, if they lie in the road, as they come; and one bright moonlight night I saw her do two or three places that would stop half the men that ride to hounds hereabouts. This lady, who may fairly and without exaggeration be called the "ministering angel" of the district, does not, it is true, hunt now; but it was in riding to hounds that she acquired her wonderful facility of getting over the country.

The above is no sensational story. The lady, her brilliant riding, her true religion, and her charities, are well known, and can be vouched for by hundreds of people in this part of the world. Who shall say after this that hunting is unfeminine?

I have a word more to add, according to promise, as regards the fitting of the circular bit.

This bit, which can always be procured at Messrs. Davis's, saddler, 14, Strand, is fitted in the horse's mouth above the mouthpiece of a snaffle or Pelham bridle. It has a separate headstall, and is put on before the ordinary bridle. It requires no reins, is secured by a standing martingale to a breastplate, and is a certain remedy for horses flirting or rearing when too fresh (which, however, I repeat, for a lady's riding should never be allowed).

The strap between the breastplate and the ring bit should be just long enough to enable the horse to move freely forward, without liberty enough to admit of his rearing.

In the next chapter I will endeavour to describe what regular hunting for a lady means; point out the readiest way of getting to our most fashionable packs of hounds; and how ladies residing even in the metropolis may enjoy a day or two of good sport on this fine grass country at the least necessary expense, may witness and enjoy hunting in its perfection, and, if requisite, may breakfast in Mayfair or Belgravia, have a glorious gallop over the Midland pastures, and return to a late dinner. Of course I am aware that neither of the above-named localities is likely to hold many hunting ladies in November. But the fashionable quarters of London are not deserted in February, and spring hunting is perhaps after all the most enjoyable.