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PREFACE

Appendix A. Golf Rules and Glossary.

Appendix B. Croquet Rules.

PREFACE

The object we have placed before us, is to give women the information and help they are not likely to find in those books, which are written chiefly from a man's point of view, and we have therefore avoided, as far as possible, trenching on ground that has been already adequately covered by those who, to sportsmen and sportswomen alike, are the best authorities on the various subjects. If, therefore, our writings sometimes seem to be wanting in completeness, it is, I venture to think, to be attributed to this cause.

I must also acknowledge the help so readily given by Mr. Charles Lancaster, and Messrs. Holland and Holland, on the sport with which their names are so closely connected, and I must thank those photographers who have exercised their skill on our behalf, viz.: Messrs. Lombardi and Co., who, from the first, have helped us largely; Messrs. Lambert Weston, J. Weston and Son, Stuart, Becken, and A. Debenham.

Lastly, I must discharge the debt of gratitude I owe Messrs. A. Constable and Co., for the unfailing courtesy I have met with at their hands, and for the hearty way in which they have thrown themselves into the interests of the book.

Whether we have all succeeded in our object, viz., to give clear, practical directions to women in the several out-door recreations of which we have written, it is for our readers to determine, and on their verdict will depend the extension of our plan to other branches of sports and pastimes.

To the great body of sportsmen, who so far have held almost undisputed sway in the realm of sporting literature, I would plead:

"Softly, my Masters! Do me this right--hear me with patience."

The Editor.

Beeding, March 31st, 1898.

ENGLISHWOMEN AND SPORT.

In all ages of the world's history, women have taken part in the out-door recreations in which men have ever delighted, the extent to which they have joined in these health-giving exercises being regulated, by the amount of freedom and independence allowed to the sex, by the unwritten laws of the spirit of the age. In a consideration of the subject that is rather suggestive than attempting to deal with the matter in any final sense, we can perhaps trace in the easiest way the position held by women in the world of sport, at different epochs of our history, by seeing how the subject was regarded by the authors of the period.

In the romances of the middle ages--to go no further back in our researches--sport for all divisions of the upper classes of society was regarded with a favourable eye. The nobles, the superior clergy, and the dames of high degree had their deeds of prowess in the field extolled by the literary lights of the time. For a noble not to care for hunting was considered nothing less than a disgrace, while the clergy were expected to require the relaxation of the chase, and to them was given the right to hunt in their own parks and enclosures. Of this privilege they seem to have availed themselves to some purpose, as at the time of the Reformation the see of Norwich is said to have possessed no less than thirteen deer parks. The wives of the nobles and those who ruled over the religious houses for women, seem to have had an almost equal amount of liberty in sharing in these recreations, and in organising hunts for themselves. The doings of these gay dames--for the religious habit seems to have made but little difference--are extolled by the poets, and if the feats recorded of them are true, they must not only have been accomplished horsewomen but very keen and determined huntresses. On many occasions, we are told, they organised hunting parties, "winding the horn, rousing the game and pursuing it by themselves." Nor, in spite of what it is the fashion of the present time to say of that period of our history, do the stay-at-home embroidery-loving dames come in for the same share of praise at the hands of the old writers.

In hawking especially women were proficient, and one scribe even tells us that they excelled their husbands and brothers in the knowledge and exercise of the art of falconry, from which, however, he deduces the ungallant conclusion that the pastime was to be regarded as "frivolous and effeminate."

At the time of the great revival of letters, the art of falconry was at the height of its popularity, and both in England and in other countries of Europe it was the rule for women of noble birth to train, handle, and fly their own hawks. It was the seventeenth century which saw the decay of this sport as a royal and aristocratic amusement, for though in the early years of the age it was still the most popular form of recreation in the field, by the time the following century had dawned it was all but extinct.

After this, during the eighteenth century, there is no doubt that the prowess of women in the field suffered an eclipse, and the few bold spirits who from time to time broke through the trammels that restrained their less enterprising sisters, were regarded with a certain amount of suspicion and distrust. To come to the days when the writings of Sir Walter Scott opened up a new field of enchantment to his readers, we know that his creation of Di Vernon needed excuse at the hands of the author for her sport-loving tastes, as the presumption was against her being a true specimen of the "womanly" woman, in the best sense of the word.

It is during the last ten years that women have come to be reckoned as a power in the land, in the matter of sport, and it is now a matter of course for the novelists of the day to make their leading women-characters of almost all classes, join in some one or more form of out-door recreation. Vivid pictures of the hunting-field, the banks of the salmon river, the croquet lawn and the golf links, show the love of the nineteenth century maid and matron for the healthy out-door exercise, which has given to the younger generation a physique that would have been regarded with wondering awe, not unmixed with disapproval, by their gentle and delicate great-grandmothers.

In a bird's-eye view, too, of the course of our history, we may note that at the time of the absence of the great body of the nobles in the Holy Land in the days of the Crusades, the women, so many of whom had been left in charge of the castles and lands of their lords, came very prominently forward in the domain of sport, as well as in the social life of the period. On the return of the warriors, this liberty seems in some degree to have been curtailed, and whether this is to be attributed to any undue exercise of freedom during their time of independence, or to the fact of the minds of their lords and masters having been effected by the Oriental ideas as to the conduct of women, does not seem very clear.

The restraint however was but temporary, and when the highest place in the land was filled by a woman, and "Queen Bess" ruled her subjects with a judicious determination none could gainsay, her humbler sisters shared in the reflected glory of her fame. Elizabeth herself, as we all know, was an ardent sportswoman, and took the keenest delight in a run with hounds, or a trial of skill with the cross-bow, long after she had passed the age, at which even modern Dianas are wont to retire from an active share in the fatigues of the hunting-field.

The reign of Queen Anne on the other hand, although the Sovereign herself and the members of her court were lovers of the chase, seems to have had a distinctly depressing effect on the independent position of women. It was not till the present century, when our beloved Queen by her conduct on the throne, and in her private life, gave such a stimulus to the position of her sex, that women came forward to take their share in the sports, as well as in the more serious duties of our national life, in a way that was new in the world's history.

That the young Queen whose every act was eagerly copied by her girl subjects, could have ridden after hounds as she did in the early years of her reign, without having many followers, is not to be supposed. Thus indirectly--for Victoria's early succession to the duties of a sovereign left her but little time for the enjoyment of the lighter side of life--Her Majesty's example has probably had not a little to do with the increased love of sport among the women of the present day.

In the history of sport, therefore, as in other departments of our life as a nation, the name of Victoria will be remembered as the great benefactor of women, by having given them larger, truer conceptions of life, and by opening to them spheres of usefulness and pleasure which the deadening influence of the eighteenth century, seemed to have closed to them for ever.

The Editor.

FOX HUNTING.

These last have generally been "bred to it," as a man would say, and have the love of hunting born in them, and so they are able to enjoy themselves when others do not. For even though the scent be bad, and they "cannot run a yard," these few will take a pleasure in watching hounds really hunt, and will hug themselves with delight as they distinguish old Rhapsody feather up a furrow away from the rest till she can assure herself that it is right, and then with a note like a bell bring all the others flying to her cry, till one after another they pick up the line and proclaim that it is good.

Part of the charm of hunting is the beauty of its surroundings. I know nothing prettier than the different scenes of a hunt. To watch the hounds put into covert, to stand at a corner and see down the ride the huntsman's red coat and all the hounds round him, among the brown leaves on the ground and the dark trees in the background is simply a picture, and time after time in each hunting day such pictures appear, and delight the eye. Then the joy of listening to the cry, and not only the cry, for it does one good to hear the huntsman cheering the hounds in covert, especially if he has a good voice and can blow a good note on his horn.

Even the smell of the dank leaves turned over as the hounds rustle through them is delightful, and like all loved scents it brings back more than anything else the days of long ago.

I never go out cub-hunting now without that scent bringing back to me the old days at Brigstock, when my father hunted the Pytchley hounds. In Spring and early Autumn we always went to the Woodlands, for the Woodland Pytchley had not then become a separate pack, and I once more seem to see him, long of leg and lithe of limb on the raking chestnut mare, and hear his cheery voice drawing those great woods. And as I listen to his view halloa I feel a thrill run through me, and in fancy I see them striding down the broad grass ride, while the hounds fly to him from every side, and with an "over, over, over, over," which simply make one shiver, he cheers them over the ride, while they swing to the right and crash into the covert with a glorious burst of music like a chime of silver bells. It is odd how these things remain in one's heart.

"Wire and silence" will be the end of hunting, so he says; he being my father whom on all things venatic I firmly believe.

I suppose hardly one "hunting" woman out of every hundred who go out, ever know how many couple of hounds there are out, or think of counting them while the Master sits outside the covert blowing them to him. Yet this is interesting in itself, and if you know the hounds personally all the more so, as you watch them come tumbling through the fence by ones and twos and go smiling up to their huntsman's side, with a satisfied expression as if they were saying "here I am anyhow."

Of course the country in the shires makes up for almost anything, and to stride away over the pasture lands of Leicestershire or Pytchleydom, is truly the realisation of the "Happy Hunting Grounds." After you have once learned to find your way over a cramped country, intersected with lime and mortar walls and barbed wire, in Scotland, or after you have scaled the heights and fathomed the depths of the banks and drains in Ireland, then to go down for a hunt in the shires is a holiday worthy of the name. "Call this a ditch?" you exclaim inwardly as you flick over an English fence, after encountering those gruesome dykes in Meath. True, I only hunted in Meath one season, but my private verdict at the end of the time was, "a splendid education, but an awful experience as far as the fences are concerned." But then I do not like a ditch I cannot see the bottom of, especially when it has sheer cut-out sides which every person in front of you makes bigger and bigger. I also have a vivid recollection of seeing several top hats wandering up and down on the level of the ground, as other brave souls went at those ditches and cleared them and their contents, human, equine and all. This was on a pleasant spot in Meath, known as the "Bush Farm," and I don't mind saying that for appalling fences I have never met its equal, and devoutly trust I may never come in contact with its superior, unless I am mounted either on a bird or a balloon. But for sport it was undefeated, and the beautiful old turf was a pleasure to ride on. A great blessing too it is having no ridge and furrow, for really sometimes in England, the Bay of Biscay "is jokes" compared to the ground you ride over. The continued galloping up and down is so hard on horses, and though of course one knows the dodge of taking them slantways, still it is not half such fun as swinging away over smooth grass.

To use your own judgment, to have a quick eye to hounds, and as they turn and swing to cut off the corners, to save your horse by choosing the weak places in the fences and the best going in the fields, this is the science of riding to hounds. Yet very few know how to do it, and fewer still have the gift of being able to make a horse gallop. In a crowded country where everything depends on your getting a start much also depends on this.

How women long ago could possibly ride across country without a third pommel is a mystery to me. Yet we are told they went well. I cannot credit their having been able to ride anything but patent safety horses, for one needs all the strength the third pommel gives to steer an awkward horse along, though of course one's knee should hang below it in the ordinary way of riding. I believe the great tip in women's riding is to ride off the right leg. So much strength is to be got out of pressing the leg against the saddle flap, and it is noticeable what a much prettier seat those have who rise in trotting off the right thigh than others who laboriously rise out of the stirrup.

Women out hunting should take their chance with the rest, and never trade on the chivalry of the opposite sex, for this is what makes them unpopular in the hunting field.

If you hunt, be ready to help other people, "and do unto all men as you would they should do unto you."

Women are more generally accused of riding jealous than men, but real good sportsmen of either sex will never think of such a thing. Of course being "alone with the hounds" is a pleasure that cannot be denied, and there is an uncontrollable feeling of joy when one happens to be among the favoured few who get well away. But that is more because it gives you a better chance of being with hounds, and more room to ride, than when you are surrounded by hundreds of people hustling and bustling all over the place. Live and let live, is just as sound a maxim out hunting as elsewhere.

Always make way for the huntsman at a gate, over a gap, or wherever it may be. Let him pass, for it is his proper place to be with his hounds. Always too, wait for dismounted men. If anyone has to get off to open a gate or break down an impracticable place, cut a wire, or for whatever cause it may be, pull up and wait till he is on again. For remember no horse will stand still to be mounted while others are galloping past him, though strange to say few people seem to think of that. It is rather hard on a man after letting you through a gap or gate to see you gallop away, leaving him to struggle with his impatient horse which assuredly will give him little chance of getting on again in a hurry. Possibly you might be able to help him by holding his horse's head till he is up. There are so many little things like this that can be done quietly, by a woman being quick to see what is wanted, and just being helpful without being officious.

If you arrive first at a gate, open it, and swing it back for the others, that is to say, if you are sure you won't make a mess of it, and only keep the whole crowd waiting while you fumble helplessly between your whip and the latch. If you think you cannot open it, do not try, but pull back and let somebody else do it for you, and so save time. No one will thank you for it if you get in the way, and then only fumble.

It always distresses me to hear men saying, as alas, they often do, and very often I fear with every excuse, "a woman of course," or, "a lady as usual," when a hound has been kicked or a man jumped on. It is so unnecessary, for why should not a woman use her brains as much as anyone else out hunting.

I remember once hearing of a lady, who had not much experience, and was mounted on a kicking horse. She stood among the crowd in a gateway with her horse kicking viciously at everybody near, till at last an exasperated man could bear it no longer, and remonstrated, saying, "Really, Mrs. Smith, do you know your horse is kicking most dangerously?" "Oh, yes," she replied with an innocent smile, "I know, but I assure you I don't mind." Such innocence is sweet, but out hunting it is as well to remember to turn your horse's heels to the hedge, and his head to the hounds when they are coming past you, and if your horse kicks to keep out of the crowd. For the sake of all other women who hunt, do not risk their reputation by doing a stupid thing, or not doing a kindly action whenever you get the chance, and try never to give anyone an excuse for wishing that women should not come out hunting. That warning shout of "seeds," or "young grass," in an agonised tone from the Master himself, is too often unheeded by the hard riding woman who has not taken in the fact, that in her anxiety to "show them all the way," she is careering alone across a newly-sown field, while the rest of the people have gone round on purpose to avoid doing damage to the land. It is extraordinary how few people take such a state of things in, but it is as well to know young grass or sown wheat when you see it, and having seen, to avoid riding over it as much as possible, also to shut the gates behind you if you can, and in all ways to try to keep friendly with the farmers, for on them depends the continuance of hunting.

I believe myself in Champion and Wilton's safety stirrup, and dislike hunting on a saddle without it, though some people "crab" them, and say they come off at the wrong moment. If indeed this does happen, the stirrups must require mending, or else the movement of the rider has caused the leather flap which protects the bar to rise, which of course will set the stirrup leather free. But this is obviously not the stirrup's fault. I also like the arrangement on the off flap, so that you can tighten your own girths, for it is nonsense to say that women's girths should "never need tightening." They need it far more than men's as a rule, and if you can pull them up a hole or two after a gallop, yourself, it is a great convenience, and much better than making some unfortunate man, or his groom, fumble about at a buckle covered with mud below the horse's body, as on other saddles.

As for the safety habits, I believe in the apron skirt, for in that you must fall clear. I have tried several so-called safety habits, and have been hung up both on the near and the off side, but since I took to the apron I have had no more danglings. Of course the drawback to the apron is its appearance off the saddle, when it is certainly too scanty to be becoming. I have, however, overcome that difficulty by having an extra "modesty," made of the very thinnest serge, which I always carry under the near flap of my saddle, so that it does not show, and yet when I get off to ease my horse's back, I can put it on and feel quite independent and happy. I therefore commend this plan to others, as being far handier than buttoning the extra covering inside their habit skirt, and much nicer than going without altogether.

Women, as a rule, are not particular enough about the way they put their boots on. Though they would be very much surprised if they saw a man out hunting with the tags of his boots sticking out, they seem to forget that anything wrong in the way they are put together, is sure to be noticed, and that it is only when our clothes are right that they attract no attention. One should always study, therefore, to be neat and clean-looking beyond everything.

I know many men assert that no woman should ever wear a spur. Of course they are chivalrous enough to add, because women should never ride a horse that needs one. Such a state of things would indeed be delightful, but as there are some in the world still, who would rather go out on anything than not go out at all, and that "anything" is as often as not a refusing brute of a hireling, as cunning as a monkey, I cannot agree with the opinion. In saying this, however, please note I do not mean by a spur, that horrible sort of a dagger which works with a spring, and is commonly sold as a "lady's spur," for of all the dangerous and cruel inventions, that is about the worst. I mean the ordinary small man's spur, with the rowels blunted, and of course this should only be worn by those who know how to use it, never by a beginner, or indeed by any but a really fine horsewoman, for if the foot is not carried in the right position you are sure to touch your horse with it unwittingly, and if you make a mistake you will probably have to pay for it. If your horse is very hot and eager, too, you will be better without it.

One of the most useful things for a woman to learn, is to be able to get on her horse off the ground by herself. If you cannot do this, you are so utterly dependent on the kindness of the long-suffering man. It is very easy to learn, if you have any spring in your body. You simply put your left foot in the stirrup, catch hold of the cantle of your saddle with your left hand, and the pommel and reins in your right, and up you go. Be careful, however, not to knock up the flap over the stirrup bar, if it be a safety, in doing this, or out it will come, and down you will flop again. Of course the main thing is, that your horse should stand still and allow you to mount. A horse is generally so tactless about this, he will fidget and dance and never give you a chance, but, by taking the off reins up short in your left hand, you have at least so much control over his curvetting, that by pulling his head away, you make him turn his body and saddle towards you. But mind in doing this he does not trample on your toes, which he is very likely to do.

Of course you should always try to get your horse on lower ground than yourself, and if he is still too high, you must let down the stirrup until you can reach it. Always try and sandwich your horse between yourself and a fence or house, so that he cannot revolve round and round, as they are so fond of doing at the critical moment. Try, also, not to tickle or kick him with your toe, after it is in the stirrup, as that will probably induce him to kick you off before you are safely on.

Of course a woman has not half the strength on a phlegmatic horse that a man has to "gar them gang," as we say in the North. A man can squeeze a half-hearted one over a fence, where a woman would be simply powerless to do anything, and I think the worst sort of a horse a woman can ride is a refuser. It is bad for her in every way, for body, temper, and nerve. One can forgive a horse everything if he will but try, but a sulky or funking brute, who grows more and more slack as he nears each fence until he collapses at the brink, is too high a trial, especially when the fight which must come generally ends in rearing, which is of all things most dangerous for a woman.

Riding a refuser does I think teach one to be strong on a horse; but is it worth it? You can always acquire strength to a certain degree by riding different horses, which is a far more agreeable form of education, and much more interesting than always sticking to two or three of your own. For a beginner, of course, it is necessary she should above all things have confidence in her horse that he will carry her safely, so that when she finds one she had better stick to him. A made hunter in the prime of life with nice manners, easy paces, and good temper is the horse for her, for he will carry her safely without fatigue, and for that there is nothing like the action of a thoroughbred, whose low, slinking stride hardly makes one rise. A woman should not ride too big a horse for her size, as a great stride is very tiring, especially when hacking on the roads. One of the greatest luxuries is a smooth hack, and if you wish to keep warm on your way to the meet, then, instead of driving, to canter along the grassy sides of our English roads on a thoroughbred polo pony, is one of the most delightful sensations in life.

The ideal hunter would be neither too young nor too old. For the young one will be too brave, if he is bold by nature and ridden by a keen beginner, he will with his rider probably come to grief through want of discrimination. The old hunter will fall short, in the sense of being too cunning to jump one inch bigger than he need; moreover when he falls he will not pick himself up as quickly as he might. Therefore if, when riding him he falls, you do not happen to be "top side" your peril will be prolonged, though mercifully horses are mostly kind and really try not to tread on one or hurt one if they can avoid it.

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