butterlly spreads its wings to the sunshine
Its motions are like those of a living thing
of quiet habits. Like? Is it not alive?

REGULARS AND IRREGULARS.

ABOUT five miles from Poona, is situated
the cantonment of Kirkee, where an English
dragoon regiment is always stationed. During
the time I lived at Poona, the corps
quartered in Kirkee, was the Tenth Hussars; and,
one of my greatest pleasures when taking
my constitutional ride in the morning, was to
go across country to the vast plain, where I
could see this magnificent regiment—
numbering some seven hundred horses and men
either out at exercise, in "watering order," as
they called it, or going through their various
drill manœuvres, under their energetic little
colonel. As a boy, I had lived many years
in the neighbourhood of the Regent's Park,
and had always been a great admirer of the
Life Guards, stationed in the Albany Street
barracks, as well as a regular attendant
at all their parades. Finding myself, many
years afterwards, living near an English
dragoon regiment in Western India, and
having, as a sick man, much time on my
hands, I felt all my former curiosity and
boyish admiration for the cavalry service
revive, and I began soon to take an interest
in all that concerned the gallant Tenth
Hussars, which I now smile at when I recollect.
By degrees I began to know some of
the officers and regiment; and, from both
them and the men, I gained no little
information regarding the manner in which the
English dragoons, serving in India, are armed,
mounted, equipped, and dressed.

All ranks were mounted on horses—of
mares there were none in the corps, and but
very few geldings. For the non-commissioned
officers and men, they were provided by the
Bombay Government, and were mostly
purchased from Arab dealers, who brought them
down from the Persian Gulf. Their average
height was only fourteen hands and three
inches, or nearly two hands under the average
height of ordinary English carriage horses.
The average height of the men of the
regiment was about five feet eight inches;
and, when in full marching order, carrying
everything as on a campaign, the average
weight which each man rode was upwards
of twenty-one stone, or very nearly as much
as if each horse carried three Newmarket
jockeys—saddles and all—on his back. In
the marching equipment of the Hussars,
three things struck me as peculiarly suitable
for cavalry soldiers going on service, and
which I am sure the whole regiment must
find the benefit of in the Crimea, where the
Tenth now are. The first of these was a
small compact copper cooking pot, with cover,
just large enough to cook the dinner of one
individual, and well calculated to make him
perfectly independent on a campaign. This
fitted on the valise, or saddle-bags, carried
behind, and was strapped on in such a
manner that it could not move. The next
peculiarity which I observed in the regiment,
was one which every Indian cavalry
soldier carries when on the line of march—
namely, head and heel ropes, or the means of
securing the horses effectually in the open
plains, or wherever the regiment may be
halted. I should mention that the horses of
the Tenth Hussars are never, at any time,
under cover. There are no stables of any
kind—except for the sick horses—in the
cavalry cantonment at Kirkee. The eight
troops of the regiment are picketted out in
the open air, front and rear rank horses of each
troop facing each other, in eight double lines.
In the third place, I remarked, as very sensible
and appropriate for a hot country, that the
chakos were covered with neat, white cotton
cloth, padded, so as to guard the head against
the effects of the sun. With this last exception,
the uniform of the Hussars was, when
on mounted duty, exactly the same as if they
had been quartered in England. They wore
tight leather stocks, tightly buttoned cloth
jackets, and hanging ''pelisses" over the right
arm. No allowance seemed to be made for
the great heat of India. When on guard, or
other dismounted duty, during the heat of the
day, they wore a dress consisting of a white
cotton jacket, buttoned up in military fashion,
and trousers of the same material. The arms
of the regiment appeared to be singularly
inappropriate, They consisted of a cut-and-
thrust sword which, from continual rubbing
against the steel scabbard, was too blunt to
cut. Even had an edge been put to it, the
friction of continual drawing and returning of
swords would have soon destroyed it. The
officers of the corps, told me that their men
were armed with the identical pattern of both
sword and carbine, which are carried by the
cavalry of the Household brigade, and indeed
by all dragoon regiments throughout the
service. This struck me as very remarkable; for
the troopers of the Tenth are nearly four
inches shorter than those of the Life Guards,
and the horses of the former are mere ponies,
when compared to the big black horses which
carry the latter. The carbines of the Tenth
appeared to be the most heavy unwieldy fire-
arms for men on horseback that it was
possible to conceive. They were too heavy to be
used effectively with one arm, and every one
knows that on horseback, one of the rider's
hands must always be fully occupied with
the management of his bridle. Their belts
were heavy and cumbersome, giving the
beholder a notion of their being fashioned
in the early part of the last century. I was
told that the cost of each soldier of the regiment,
as he stood mounted at Kirkee, including
all the expenses incidental upon enlisting
liim, training him in England, bringing him
out to India, and finishing his training there.
was calculated at one hundred and fifty