COL. ANSTRUTHER THOMSON 49 



designation should be " Fife Light Horse," and that 

 they should be armed with breech-loading carbines. 

 This alteration was confirmed by the War office. 



The 13th were quartered at Edinburgh this year. 

 Colonel Jenyns and Valentine Baker had just made 

 up the " Non-Pivot Drill ". Jenyns invited me to 

 bring over some Fife Mounted Volunteers. I took 

 over about twelve non-commissioned officers. He 

 gave us lunch at Piershill, mounted us on troop 

 horses, and had a field-day for our instruction. I 

 adopted this drill at once two years before it was 

 introduced as cavalry drill. 



The inspection took place at Cupar on the 8th 

 July ; and Mr. Swan, the Provost of Kirkcaldy, lent 

 me Springfield House. Colonel Jenyns and Stanley 

 Clarke and their wives came to stay with us, and 

 they lent us the band of the 13 th for the week. 

 The inspection took place on the racecourse ; 

 Colonel Bulwer the inspecting officer. We had a 

 capital ball and a concert under the leadership of 

 Lieutenant H. Lindenberg. 



On 20th July I judged the horses at the 

 Highland Society's Show at Dumfries, and there was 

 a committee on horse-shoeing, of which I was the 

 president. M. Charlier gave a lecture, in French, 

 on his system of shoeing, which was translated to 

 us by Professor Williams. I practised Charlier's 

 shoeing for many years, and found it of great service 

 with horses with hard feet and narrow heels. 



Lord Craven was very kind to us, and allowed 

 me during cub-hunting to send all the horses to his 



VOL. II. 4 



