THE MILITAEY SEAT. 103 



saddle is greatly, enhanced, and with it the chances of 

 deranging the latter and causing it to turn round, 

 which leads to overtight girthing. The Austrian 

 "hulan," shown on the same Plate, is taken from a 

 coloured penny picture, the only thing we can for the 

 moment procure, and is, consequently, not so correct as 

 the hussar, who was photographed from life ; still it 

 serves to show what can be done in making the pack 

 flat, and adapting it closely to the horse's body. The 

 white cloak, it will be observed, is folded flat and 

 placed above the sheepskin, where it can be got at 

 without opening the whole pack, and the valise is also 

 flat. Why these articles were ever rolled up into long 

 cylinders, the most intractable and inconvenient form 

 that can be devised, is utterly unaccountable, except on 

 the supposition of cavalry officers having been peculiarly 

 subject to softening of the brain, in consequence, no 

 doubt, of the solidity of the shakos and helmets worn in 

 those days. Thirdly, a mountain of pack in front of the 

 rider renders it utterly impossible to adopt a proper 

 system of bitting, or to make the pull on the reins act 

 in the proper direction ; even with the greatest care and 

 management, the bridle-hand of the cavalry soldier must 

 be necessarily placed at a greater distance from the 

 horse's withers than that of the civilian : we shall, 

 however, have more to say on this point in the second 

 part of this little work. 



The old heavy cavalry leather saddle is gradually 

 disappearing in almost all services, because it can 

 neither be adapted to each individual horse nor rider. 

 There is only one seat possible with it, the chair-seat, 

 which throws the weight all to one end, and produces 

 sore backs much more frequently than a well-arranged 



