OUR CAVALRY. 85 



commanding officer to be sufficiently strict, 

 while this duty is very easy of performance to 

 the inspector- general of such force. When 

 this person calls on a junior officer to put 

 his regiment through some movements, these 

 should be named by him, as little instruction 

 would be obtained by these officers putting 

 their regiments through movements before a 

 reviewing or inspecting general which they 

 had been previously practising for the occasion. 



The same principle should be extended to 

 every inspection of a regiment, whoever may 

 be in the command of it ; for after a cavalry 

 regiment has been properly instructed, first in 

 the riding- school, and afterwards in troop 

 drills, it ought to be able to perform well any 

 movements that could be required from it 

 without a previous preparation. 



When an officer at the head of a regiment 

 of cavalry cannot act rapidly, or on the spur of 

 the moment, before an enemy, he may wholly 

 lose a fine opportunity for striking an important 

 blow. 



It is then injurious to allow the officers who 

 command our cavalry regiments to prepare 

 themselves for a reviewing, or inspecting 



