COL. ANSTRUTHER THOMSON 41 



times rather handy with them. The infantry also 

 wore their bayonets, and stabbing was not uncom- 

 mon. The men were very smart and good riders, 

 and the regiment was celebrated for trotting in line. 



The horses were not so well broke as they are 

 now, and were very vicious in the stable : no stranger 

 dare go up to them. It was not an uncommon thing 

 for a troop horse to run away after a charge, and in 

 turning out for mounted orderly, there was often a 

 turn of buck-jumping before the horse could be got 

 up to the guard parade. 



The men were a wildish lot, and very often late 

 for watch-setting, but as long as the duty was well 

 done not much notice was taken. When the orderly 

 sergeant reported men absent at watch-setting, "Give 

 them half an hour," was the usual answer. 



I was one month under eighteen years when I 

 joined, 6 ft. 2^ in. high, and weighed 12 st. 8 Ib. 

 Before I joined I got two horses from John Elmore 

 in London. General Wemyss, who then lived at the 

 Stud House at Hampton Court, and had charge of 

 the Royal Farm at Windsor, was good enough to go 

 with me. I got a very good-looking bay mare, about 

 1 6 '2 hands, and a coarse bay horse. They cost me 

 ^70 and ^50 respectively. At that time many of 

 the horses suffered from diabetes caused by kiln- 

 dried oats, and my two suffered severely. I bought 

 a very good brown horse, " John," from George 

 Inglis in Edinburgh for ^145, and had him for 

 eleven seasons. I rode him cub-hunting in the 

 Atherstone country in 1847. 



