CHAPTER XIV 



THE CAVALRY OFFICERS' RIDING SCHOOL 



" Crabbing" Making a Refuser jump An Old Lady's Horse Passive Resistance 

 Officers won't learn Hunting a la Russe General Avscharof and Fillis. 



ON arriving at St. Petersburg I called on General Avscha- 

 rof, as he was in charge of the Cavalry Officers' School, 

 which I had to attend for the next four months ; but was not 

 able to see him. On the following day I called on General 

 Strukof, who said nothing one way or the other respecting 

 my tour through the brigades. I had expected some civil 

 words about the hard and dangerous work I had gone throuo-h, 



o o o ' 



but did not receive them, although of course he had had reports 

 of all my doings. His reticence did not however prevent him 

 from telling me with great satisfaction that the Grand Duke 

 Nicholas had sold the grey gelding he had bought from me. 

 I made no reply to this piece of news ; for I felt that had I 

 done so, I might not have been able to have refrained from 

 saying something uncomplimentary about people who don't 

 know when they have got a good horse. I subsequently 

 learned all about this matter from Fillis, to whom the Grand 

 Duke had given the grey to superintend and exercise after 

 Liipke had received his dismissal. Fillis told me that the 

 grey came to him in a dreadful state of neglect, and so weak 

 that the animal could hardly keep on his legs when ridden. 

 Under the good management of his new trainer he soon 

 recovered, and was ridden by the Grand Duke on several 



176 



