But I must again enter my protest against ladies running such risks, however accomplished they may be as horsewomen. Let them accept the respectful advice of a veteran, and avoid vicious horses. Brutes that run back, plunge, rear, or kick from sheer vice (and there are many that do) are fit only for the riding of the rougher sex, and only of such of them as have the ill fortune to be compelled to get their living by riding. The so-called plunging lessons above alluded to, however, will give a lady a thorough insight into the form in which to ride in case of emergency. CHAPTER XV. THE HUNTING FIELD. 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.