DECEMBER 231 



of that. Simply, as he had to sit through a long 

 performance, he chose to do so in clothes that enabled 

 him to sit in comfort. 



Much praiseworthy attention is now given to the 

 equipment and clothing of British troops serving in 

 hot climates ; but it was otherwise through much of 

 the nineteenth century, and the amount of suffering, 

 disease, and death entailed by the neglect of proper 

 provision is not to be calculated. When Colonel Luard 

 was preparing his book in 1850-52 he received letters 

 from many officers calling his attention to this grave 

 matter. One of these writes : 



1 1 shall be very glad if you dedicate a portion of your 

 work to the dress of our soldiers in the Colonies. ... I 

 have myself seen the Spanish, French, and Dutch troops in 

 the West Indies much more healthy than our own, from 

 great attention to their comfort in their dress. . . . The 

 whole body of civilians in the tropics appear in loose white 

 jackets and trousers and a skull cap, . . . the shakoes and 

 red coats of our troops were not altered in our West India 

 colonies,' 



A cavalry officer remarks : * I hope you will dwell on 

 the madness of our soldiers wearing leather caps under 

 a tropical sun ' ; while another observes that ' a brass 

 helmet was not found serviceable in Africa by the 7th 

 Dragoon Guards when that regiment was at the Cape.' 



Our troops suffered horribly during the first Kaffir 

 War, 1846-48, from being clothed exactly as they had 

 been at home leather stocks, tight coatees, heavy 

 shakoes, and all the rest of it. Some consideration 

 was shown for the soldier in the second Kaffir War, 

 1851-52. Captain King, of the 74th Highlanders, 



