N this country riding and driving are elegant and healthful forms of exercise, not confined to a limited class, and the etiquette of the road must be laid down with consummate precision. Walking and riding have varying laws in different countries, as for instance

there is an old English verse which claims the law of locomotion as a paradox, on the ground that “If you go left, you are sure to go right; and if you go right, you go wrong.” In this country the rule of driving and riding is to keep to the right always. It matters little what law is followed, so that the custom is uniform, and you can calculate the course that will be pursued by the stranger horseman whom you are approaching. Any doubt on

that point might be productive of disaster. To ride and drive are elegant accomplishments, conducive to health, as well as comfort, giving vigor to the frame, and grace to the carriage of both sexes. There is no better exercise, if we except good walking.

To excel in these practices demands much exercise, commenced in early days, when the fibers of brain and body are young and tractable. Many ladies, as well as gentlemen, attain proficiency in both arts; there is no sight more beautiful than a lady in the saddle, when the fair equestrienne is perfectly at home and easy in her elevation.

There is a certain phraseology proper to horsemanship, which must not be lightly varied from, nor forgotten. You are about to mount, and any blunder in the act may expose you to ridicule, so we will review that operation. You take your place on the near side of the horse, that is, where your left foot can be placed in the stirrup, and the corresponding hand on the saddle; now all is ready, and a manly spring places you on the back of your steed, your right foot finds the stirrup on the off side, and you sit firmly.

No book learning can make you a rider, and you had better place yourself in the hands of an efficient trainer,

although you may have no wish to rival Young Harry, “and witch the world with noble horsemanship.”¹

You must not ride in public until you have been assured by your friends that your management of the horse is presentable, and by many trials that it is safe. You will need many months of steady practice, at such times as you can spare from daily avocations—for this book is not written for people who are exempt from the cares of money-making— before you can, with due regard to her safety, not to mention your own, invite a lady to be your companion on the traveled road. We will consider your term of probation over, and proceed to the next stage in your accomplishment.

You are not probably the owner of two horses, and the horse you ride is not used to the motion of the riding skirt; so when you ask a lady to accompany you, your first care will be to find a horse habituated to side-saddle and skirt Take some man fully posted in such matters into your confidence, so that your judgment may be reinforced in the choice to be made and in the perfect equipment of the animal, as the simplest inattention to detail may cost a life. There are some men in whom the temptation to cheat in a horse trade is so strongly reinforced by inherent vice, that even though deacons, in full communion, they must needs fall; but the worst specimen of congenital depravity would hesitate to gratify his darling predilection at the risk of a lady's life. Again, you may be supposed to know something of manhood, and it would be stretching the point unduly to assume that you must select one of the worst of your sex as your counsellor.

Having used every precaution to procure the best horse, under proper conditions, for the safety of the lady, and having seen that every item of its furniture is fit to be trusted with a king's ransom, you may permit the horse to be sent to its destination.

Send the groom to the horse's head, and yourself attend the lady, who will place herself on the left or near side of the horse, her face toward the head of the animal, the habit skirt grasped in her left hand, her right on the pommel of the saddle. You are at the horse's shoulder, facing the lady, stooping sufficiently to bring your left hand where it can hold

her raised foot. Your power of muscle will not be very severely tried, as the lady will spring toward the saddle, and you will firmly second her movements. The lady is in the saddle; you will place the stirrup in position to receive her foot, arranging the flowing robe to her satisfaction. Be sure she is firm in the seat, and has every appointment just as could be wished, then your next solicitude must be that she shall not be kept waiting. You cannot too soon employ your acquired dexterity, by springing into your own saddle.

We assume that the lady is perfect mistress of her steed, and that you have an enjoyable ride in prospect. You are not required to remain rigidly in one position by the lady's side, but may fall behind whenever by so doing you can consult her advantage, remembering always that your place is to the lady's right, unless the direction of the wind, or any other circumstances, make it advantageous for the lady that you should ride on the left or near side. Your duty would be more arduous if the lady were an unaccustomed rider, and when there are many ladies in your party some of them are sure to be nervous, or affected, so that you may have to quit your assigned position on the off side, and take your post wherever you may be wanted.

You will not touch the horse ridden by the lady, any more than you would interfere with the "mount" of a gentleman friend, unless in case of danger, or upon being so requested. You will not attempt any display of your powers as a horseman, however accomplished you may be, as the lady governs, and you will accommodate yourself to her pace during the ride. While acting as cavalier servente ² you will have no thoughts outside your self-imposed duty, and etiquette would not justify another person in challenging your attention. When you are attending a lady on the promenade, you should not quit her side, except in her service, and with her sanction; that law is still more binding on the attendant, during equestrian exercise. Thousands of instances on record, many within our own knowledge, attest the great risks that attend on horseback riding when an incompetent or careless groom waits on the fair equestrienne. It is needless to say another word on this suggestive theme, your paramount duty is to avoid or avert mishap to the lady.

Should you, when riding alone, receive an intimation from a lady that she would speak to you, you are bound to dismount and give the lady your respectful attention, until the close of the interview by the lady bowing your congé ³ and giving you your dismissal. Such interviews are seldom accorded save in cases of urgency.

Precisely the same attentions that would be given to a lady on the promenade are due from the gentleman, under the altered circumstances of the ride; he must guard her from annoyance, inconvenience and danger, and a like obligation rests upon young persons riding with the aged.

But it is time to bring the excursion to an end, so we have returned to the point of departure. The lady has cleared herself from the pommel of the saddle, gives her hand, the left this time, to the right of the gentleman, places her foot in his left hand, and quits the saddle without springing, being gently lowered to the ground.

Driving is almost a fme art, and etiquette determines every point with inflexible rigor, as comfort, safety, even life itself, may depend on the observance of fixed rules.

The seat facing the horses is reserved for ladies, the guest, or an elderly gentleman, if any such are to honor the occasion, and when a lady is present, no gentleman, unless her husband or near relative, will sit beside her uninvited. The seat with the back to the horses is assigned to gentlemen or attendants. When a coachman holds the reins, the seat on the right facing the horses is the lady's privilege. Any inattention to such points will militate against your repute.

Enter the carriage without haste or awkwardness, and avoid turning after you have entered. When there are ladies present, be sure that their dresses and wraps are out of danger of being crushed or trodden on before you advance, or having entered, before the door is closed.

Gentlemen must enter the carriage after the ladies are seated, and precede them in leaving, as their convenience must be considered in every movement When assisting ladies to alight, guard their apparel from being soiled by dust or mud on the carriage wheels or guards, or you will neutralize the pleasure of a drive. Attendants, when any are present, will open carriage doors and lower steps, but handing out the ladies is exclusively the privilege of the escort. It might seem unnecessary to insist so strongly on this point, as every gentleman will certainly know his right in this particular, and not allow his pleasant duty to be usurped; but there are others that may peruse this volume, anxious to ascertain the proper rule of action in each emergency, and in their interest we cannot be too explicit in defining the actions to be avoided, as well as the duty to be done, by men who seek to be efficient helpers. Education among hired grooms is making great advances in our age.

During the drive gentlemen consult the lady or ladies as to the course to be taken, but orders to coachmen are not given by ladies when gentlemen are in attendance. Coachmen well versed in their duties know to whom they are to look for orders, and how to drive at the start and on the return.

Drive close to the sidewalk, then turn the horses toward the road center, which leaves room between the wheels for ladies to be handed in conveniently. When the ladies are seated, cover their dresses with a lap robe, and see that they are provided with all requisites for their comfort. After attending to every detail, take your seat opposite the ladies, unless you drive. When you drive take the right hand seat, that your right arm may be untrammeled, and that you may have a clear view of the road. When you dismount away from home, secure an attendant, or otherwise hitch your team, to avoid a possible runaway and destruction. Continue that precaution until the ladies have resumed their seats, and you are in your place with the reins in hand.

Ladies sometimes hysterically grasp the reins, that is a breach of etiquette which intensifies danger. Never interfere with the driver, unless consulted, and then state your desire. If he is not capable shorten your excursion, but do not grasp the reins, if you value your safety and repute for lady-like serenity.

1. The quotation is from Shakespeare's King Henry IV, Part I, and “Young Harry” is the Prince of Wales and son of Henry IV. In Act IV, scene i, Sir Richard Vernon says, “I saw young Harry, with his beaver on,/ His cushes on his thighs, gallantly arm’d,/ Rise from the ground like feather’d Mercury,/ And vaulted with such ease into his seat,/ As if an angel dropp’d down from the clouds,/ To turn and wind a fiery Pegasus/ And witch the world with noble horsemanship.”

2. Cavalier servente: "cavalier servant" (Italian); here meaning a riding escort.

3. Congé: "leave, permission" (French).