LADIES’ DRIVING.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5267, 9 February 1878, Page 5 (Supplement)

LADIES’ DRIVING.

(From the Queen.) Driving lias of late years become such a favorite amusement with ladies that we think a few words on the subject may not be unacceptable to our readers. Whenever it is possible, the first attempts should be made in the country, for driving requires practice as w ell as other things, and a solitary road is a more convenient place for exhibiting preliminary awkwardness than Hyde Park. If, however, the country is unattainable, the tyro shou.d take her lessons at au early hour m some secluded place. Ladies who ride, and are therefore accustomed to handle the reins and to understand the peculiarities of a horse s mouth aud temper, will require less instruction than those to whom the habits of the animal are strange ; yet even they wid be none the worse for a few words of advice from a competent instructor. They will find that it is not the same thing to feel a horse’s mouth when seated in a carriage as it is when in the saddle, noting his every movement, and forming, as it were, part of the quadruped. Horses for ladies’ driving should always be perfectly broken and free from vice ; and though there may be ladies who are as capable as their male relatives of breaking and taming unruly steeds, and who enjoy the consequent excitement aud danger, they are in the minority. A pony carriage is the proper vehicle for a lady; and though in the country such a thing

is sometimes seen as a lady driving a mail phaeton or a dogcart, it is only done by those who do not care for, or are not aware of, the hienseance of society. The carriage should be as light as is cousistent with strength, and not too low on the ground, as there is less command over the steed. There should always bo a seat behind for a servant, as a lady should never be suffered to drive without one. There is always the chance that something may go wrong with the harness, the horse get a stone in fcis foot, or some similar accident may take place ; and a lady without an attendant is quite helpless. We once knew a gentleman who would not permit his daughters to drive until they were able themselves to harness and unharness their ponies without assistance ; but such precautions are seldom taken, and when an accident, however slight, occurs, a lady unattended is in a very unpleasant predicament. Some ladies, regardless of convenances , allow a groom to sit beside them—a thing which should never be permitted. Until a lady can drive sufficiently well to dispense with anyone at her side, the gentleman or lady who may be instructing her should accompany her. A technical essay ou driving would be out of place, but a few points of general utility and appearance may be noted. Leaning far back when driving i- ' Jectionable, and does not look well. The 1... .y should sit upright, but not leaning forward. Above all things, she should avoid holding her hands out too far; nothing looks so awkward and unworkmanlike. She should bold tbe reins firmly, and be able to feel the horse’s mouth without pulling unduly. According to the animal’s mouth and temper, the reins may be buckled in tbe cheek, middle, or lower bar—the latter being the most severe, and adapted for horses inclined to fall. As in riding, thereins are held in the left hand, the loop formed by the end of them being turned over to the righthand side; the right hand holding the whip resting close to the left one upon the reins, ready if required. One of the first lessons a driver must learn is the “ rule of the road." The left-hand side is in England the correct side of the road for each vehicle to keep; thus, in meeting another carriage, each keeps to the left, leaving each a clear space ou the right hand. In passing a carriage going in the same direction, the carriage passing draws to the right, leaving the carriage passed on the left. These rules are extremely simple, but quite essential to remember when driving in London or any other crowded locality. In passing or meeting led horses, tbe driver should always avoid the side of the loose horse, and pass on that of the ridden one. Another necessity is to have the horses “well in band,” which means that tbe driver should be able to pull up at any moment. Ladies are apt to have a delusion that it “looks smart,” aud shows their skill, to drive at a great pace. This is a fallacy anywhere, generally showing they are mere tyros, and not yet fit to be trusted with valuable horses ; but in London tbe practice is fraught with incalculable danger. Ladies are mistaken in imagining, as they too often seem to do, that -when they drive in the streets every other vehicle should give way to them. They should endeavor to realise that they drive for pleasure, and that time to them is of little consequence, whereas it is of the greatest importance to those to whom driving is a business and not a pastime, and whom they yet expect to wait for them. The lady driving, of course, sits on the right-hand side of the carriage, and her seat is raised above those beside it. On first seating herself she should arrange her dress, and any wraps she may require, before taking the reins in her hand, aud until she has done so the groom should remain at the horses’ heads. When the reins are safely iu her hands, he should come and assist in fastening the rug over the knees of herself and anyone who may accompany her. If a lady is wise, she will never put on a pair of very tight-fitting gloves for driviug in. In winter they check circulation, and make the hands painfully cold ; and if the horses pull at all, tightlycompressed hands have great difficulty iu holding them. For winter driving nothing is more comfortable than the thick gloves which slip on loosely and have the backs covered with sealskin. For summer it is wiser to wear something thicker than simple kid, which the friction of the reins is apt to cut, and sometimes to chafe the skin. Muffatees, or fur cuffs, are very requisite in winter ; and some arrangements of lace, or gauntlets, to protect the wrists from sunburn in summer. Warm wraps aro very requisite iu a pony carriage, and anythiug worn should always have sleeves, so as to leave the arms at liberty. A waterproof is most necessary, for it is impossible, of course, to hold up an umbrella when driving, and one held over the driver by her companion is seldom of much use. In summer a hat should, before any other consideration, be chosen for its power of shading the eyes ; in winter tbe principal desideratum is that it should fit closely and defy the wind. Those who wear veils—and few ladies care to brave wintry winds without one—will find it a great advantage to fasten the veil on the head, and put the hat on over it, thus obviating the danger of its coming unfastened or blowing up. Tasteful but simple dress is in better taste than any gorgeous toilette. A hat is, of course, dc rigueuT, a bonnet not only looking absurd, but affording none of tbe requisite shade to the eyes. It is only ou very exceptional days that a wrapper over the knees can be dispensed with, for wind disarranges the dress, and dust spoils.it. A carriage rug of dark cloth, lined with white cashmere, is what is in most general use ; it should be carefully tucked in at the sides—not allowed to hang loose.