LETTER XXVIII 



Cavalry Manoeuvres (1890) Swimming the River Cow swimming 

 the River Woodcut of Bewick's described Cats swimming 

 Cold Weather Pasque Flowers Winter Coats of Animals 

 Seedling Teasels. 



22nd February 1892. 



DEAR MARCO In the autumn of 1890 

 we saw a good deal of the cavalry manoeuvres 

 which took place on the downs near here. 

 Amongst other things, the soldiers were to 

 practise fording the river on horseback. We 

 went down on several days to Little Stoke 

 Ferry to see this operation, which was rather 

 a failure, as only a few men and one or two 

 officers went across on one day, and even 

 that we missed seeing ; but I saw a young 

 farmer cross the river several times mounted 

 on a gray horse. He rode his horse down to 

 the river ; the animal walked deliberately in, 



