ardigan in his scarlet coat,
looking twice as thick in the waist, sailing away in the first flight,
sitting down on the part intended by nature for a seat, with his knees
well bent, and his calves employed in distributing his weight over the
horse's back and sides. In the one case the Earl is a real, in the other
a show, horseman.

Therefore, when a riding-master tells you that you must ride by balance,
"with your body upright, knee drawn back, and the feet in a
perpendicular line with the shoulder, and your legs from the knee
downward brought away to prevent what is called _clinging_," listen to
him, learn all you can--do not argue, that would be useless--and then
take the first opportunity of studying those who are noted for combining
an easy, natural seat with grace--that is, if you are built for
gracefulness--some people are not. In Nolan's words, "Let a man have a
roomy saddle, and sit close to the horse's back; let the leg be
supported by the stirrup in a natural position, without being so short
as to throw back the thigh, and the nearer the whole leg is brought to
the horse the better, so long as the foot is not bent below the
ankle-joint."

Soon after the battle of Waterloo, by influence of the Prince Regent,
who fancied he knew something about cavalry, a Prussian was introduced
to teach our cavalry a new style of equitation, which consisted in
entirely abandoning the use of that part of the person in which his
Royal Highness was so highly gifted, and riding on the fork like a pair
of compasses on a rolling pin, with perfectly straight legs. For a
considerable period this ridiculous drill, which deprived the soldiers
of all power over their horses, was carried on in the fields where
Belgrave Square now stands, and was not abandoned until the number of
men who suffered by it was the cause of a serious remonstrance from
commanding officers. It is a pity that the reverse system has never been
tried, and a regiment of cavalry taught riding on English fox-hunting
principles, using the snaffle on the road, and rising in the trot. But
it must be admitted that since the war there has been a great
improvement in this respect, and there will probably be more as the
martinets of the old school die off.

It was not for want of examples of a better style that the continental
military style was forced upon our cavalry. Mr. Nathaniel Gould relates
in his little book as an instance of what determined hunting-men can
do, tha