2 FIRST STEPS AT POLO. [Chap. 1. 



" Nearly all fashionable London journeyed from 

 town to Hounslow on Tuesday, to witness a new 

 game called ' Hockey on Horseback ' between the 

 officers of the 9th Lancers and loth Hussars. The 

 loth are quartered at Hounslow Barracks, and the 

 9th came on from Aldershot for the match. 



''The game took place on Hounslow Heath, and 

 the various equipages quite surrounded the space 

 allotted to the players. 



" Four upright posts some twenty feet apart, 

 marked the goals through which the ball (a small 

 sphere of white bone) had to be driven by the players 

 before either side could claim any advantage. The 

 sticks used were like those for hockey, of ash and 

 crooked at the end, and with these the ball was often 

 struck a considerable distance. The distance between 

 the goals was a little under 200 yards, and the players 

 having taken up their position in front of their re- 

 spective goals, the ball was thrown into the centre of 

 the ground by a Sergeant Major of the loth Hussars, 

 who then galloped off, when each side immediately 

 galloped for the ball at the best pace of their ponies. 

 The loth appeared in blue and yellow jerseys and the 

 9th in parti-coloured shirts of blue and red, and both 

 sides wore mob caps with different coloured tassels 

 attached. The game, which has been imported from 

 India, and which has for a long time been in vogue 

 among the Munipoories, one of the Frontier tribes, 

 was watched with the keenest interest by the numerous 

 and aristocratic company present. The game lasted for 

 an hour and a half with an interval of ten minutes, 

 when half time had been played. The players 

 numbered eight on each side, and were mounted on 



