120 LISKI 



officers' club, where I was very kindly given a room and 

 bed. The club or mess consisted of a bar, a dining-room, 

 a writing-room, a reception-room, a bedroom or two, and 

 a kitchen downstairs. Although there was no attempt at 

 luxury, there was plenty of comfort and lots to eat and drink. 

 The officers made me their mess guest and did their best 

 to render my stay with them agreeable. They were nice 

 pleasant fellows and appeared easily satisfied. The Reserve 

 officers are not as a rule as smart or as well off as regimental 



o 



officers. Living in a permanent station and having no 

 mounted duties, they usually marry and settle down to a very 

 humdrum mode of existence. Such a life at these brigades, 

 which are situated in out-of-the-way parts of the country, 

 would be terribly dull for men who wanted other distractions 

 than vint and small talk. The number of horses owned by 

 the officers of a brigade, generally consists of three or four 

 carriage animals belonging to the general and colonels. 

 During the two months I was at the brigades, I saw only 

 two officers on the outside of a horse. I must not forget 

 to say that some of the Liski officers go down to the bridge 

 and fish off it. When I thought of the sport English 

 officers have in various parts of the world at hunting, 

 racing, chasing, pig-sticking, shooting, polo, gymkhanahs 

 and paper-chasing, I felt sorry for my Liski friends, who 

 no doubt would "join the glad throng," if they were only 

 shown the way. A general like Locke Elliot or a colonel 

 like Bobby Kekewich, to mention two out of hundreds, 

 would do that for them. 



I was shown the year's batch of over eight hundred young 

 horses which had been received from the remount agents a 

 few days before my arrival and which were then stabled for 

 the first time. Figs. 25, 26, 27 and 28 are good examples 

 of freshly caught remounts ; and Fig. 29 represents a 

 typical well-bred Donsky remount which had been stabled 



