I now turn to the pleasant subject of riding and hunting abroad, with special reference to India, where almost all our fellow countrymen and women ride and own horses. Even in lonely up-country stations which contain only a few white residents, gymkhanas are often got up by officers who train and ride their own horses and ponies. Nothing seems to give these good sportsmen greater pleasure than lending their equine favourites to their lady friends. Therefore, a visitor who is fond of riding, need never be at a loss for a mount, as I found during my four years' residence in that hospitable land. I can truly say that I did not understand what real hospitality is, until I went to India, and shall always remember the great kindnesses my husband and I received from Native Princes. For instance, the late Maharajah of Vizianagram, who was devoted to horses, invited us to visit him, placed a furnished house, servants, horses, carriages, food, wines and every other comfort at our disposal, and considered our month's stay much too short. Ladies in India who ride, obtain so much practice as a rule on various kinds of animals, that they soon become expert horsewomen. It is the custom there to ride twice a day: In the early morning after _choti haziri_ (little breakfast), which usually consists of a cup of tea, a boiled egg, bread and butter; and in the evening. There is no law of trespass in India, and it is delightful to canter for miles while sharing the freedom of the Son of the Desert who is carrying you. There is nothing like these lonely scampers as a cure for petty worries, for you can put them so far behind you, that on your return you have forgotten their existence. Calcutta is an ideal riding city, with its beautiful _maidan_ (plain), where there are miles of springy turf for galloping, a large race-course with well-kept training and hacking tracks, and hurdles for those who desire jumping practice. There is also a Red Road, which is the Rotten Row of the place, for afternoon hacking among the beauty and fashion, so what more could the heart of man or woman desire? During the misnamed "cold weather," women who are fond of cross country work, can ride once a week over made fences in the paperchases. The course is usually about three miles long, well supplied with fences, chiefly hurdles and stiff mud walls from three feet six to four feet six high. As the start takes place at about seven in the morning, and as the meets are some distance from the town, the devotees of sport have to be up at about five o'clock, dress by lamplight, send on their chasers, and drive or hack to the trysting place. Two "hares" carry the paper in bags slung across their shoulders and receive a quarter of an hour's grace in which to plant their burden, where they know the coloured slips will take some finding. The hares ride over the fences, and by distributing their landmarks sparsely and in places where their pursuers can follow only in single file, they often make it difficult for the leading division to keep the line. Those who over-run the paper, of course imperil their chance of being among the first six, which is the number of "placed horses" in these paperchase records. A writer in _Ladies in the Field_, while discussing this form of sport, says: "Any old screw, country-bred pony or short-shouldered Arab may be brought out on these occasions." That author evidently had no experience of Calcutta paperchasing, because a horse for this work must not only be a fast galloper and clever jumper, but also must have a good mouth and temper, and be fit and well. In fact, the ideal paperchaser is a cross between a steeplechaser and a hunter, for he has to possess the speed and quick jumping qualities of the former, and the amiability and brains of the latter. Unless a lady has such a mount, it will be almost impossible for her to secure a coveted place among the first half dozen. Also, there are so many horses, say, forty or more, all galloping at the same fences, which are not broad enough for a quarter of that number to take abreast. Consequently, those behind have to see that the coast is clear, before they can proceed. Falls frequently occur, but serious accidents are happily rare. It is true that two men have been killed in these chases; but although ladies have taken part in them since the early days when that fine horsewoman, Mrs. "Jim" Cook, set the example, I have not heard of any woman getting badly hurt. Mrs. Cook, who was known in India as the "Mem Sahib," holds the record of being the only woman who has won the Paperchase Cup when competing against men. She won in 1881, was the only lady in about twenty starters, and her mount was appropriately named Champion.