Katie.—Not worth denying. It is one of those worthless untruths which I have long since learned to treat with contempt.
Liverpudlian.—Your suggestion is so good that I shall certainly adopt it. Nothing could be better adapted for riding in than a warm jersey, buttoned in front. Being elastic it would allow full play for the arms and shoulders, and would also display a good figure to advantage. If you, or some other, would only get up a sufficient amount of courage to turn a deaf ear to the hateful and oft-recurring "What will be said?" we might have many useful and elegant innovations of which at present we know nothing.
Young Wife.—There can be no impropriety in what you say. "Honi soit qui mal y pense?" So long as you have a good conscience and your husband's approval you need care little for what the world says.
X. Y. Z., Dashaway, and Countryman.—I cannot reply to your letters.
Thanking you, Sir, for your kindness in granting me so much of your valuable space,
I am, &c.
Nannie Power O'Donoghue.
October 25.
Sir,—The "recently-invented lady's spur," mentioned in your last issue by "Mabel Florence Kayne," was patented towards the close of the last century, and illustrations of it, and of other spurs on the same principle, can be seen at the Patent Office. I quite concur in the recommendation that a lady should always wear a spur, and it will be seen from the last article by Mrs. Power O'Donoghue that a spur forms part of her hunting equipment; but I strongly advise ladies to wear a spur with a rowel having only five points, which should be long and sharp. The spur with one point and a spring sheath is commonly sold by saddlers for ladies' use, but is liable to break or get out of order, and is always discarded in favour of the one with a five-pointed rowel by ladies who have tried the latter. Mrs. Power O'Donoghue is doing good service to ladies by protesting against the stirrups facetiously so-called "safety." I always advise a lady to use a perfectly plain steel stirrup, but a tolerably heavy one. Why cannot the stirrup be attached to a lady's saddle in the same manner as to a gentleman's? Then, in case of accident, the stirrup and leather would come away together. An excellent bit for a lady's horse is a curb-bit, suspended in the horse's mouth by two large rings, to which the snaffle-reins are also attached. This bit is very light or very severe, at the rider's wish.