ing with a falcon's speed and glance upon his quarry, however it may seek to elude his blow; such should be the hussar."

The great reproach against hussars at all times has been their fond indulgence in extravagant finery. Even in the days of Gustavus Adolphus, the imperial hussars were most sump

tuously equipped. Not only the head gear of their horses, their pistols, sabre, and tasche, but also the buttons on their pelisses and jackets, were of solid silver, and these were but a part of their expensive decorations; herons' feathers adorned their caps. The Polish hussars, also, in the reign of Charles XII, appear to have been equally ambitious of display. "They

march," says Voltaire, " attended by several valets, who lead their horses, caparisoned with bridles plaited with silver and silver nails, embroidered saddles, whose bows and stirrups are either gilt or made of massive silver, with large housings trailing in the Turkish fashion." Something similar yet appears in the Emperor of Austria's body guard, whose splendid equipment and purely parade duty have obtained for them the sobriquet of silk hussars. But nothing can equal the glaring gaudiness of some English hussars, whose toggery and tawdry dress have drawn forth the following sensible remarks from one of their own countrymen: "It seems decreed that the hussar is ever to be a popinjay, a show of foreign fooleries, so laced and looped and braided, that the uninitiated bystander wonders how he can either get into his uniform, or come out of it. A woman's muff upon his head, with something like a red jelly bag at the top, has been substituted for the warrior's helm; and the plume, so unlike the waving horsehair of the Roman casque, would seem better fitted for the trappings of the undertaker than the horseman's brow. The first time I ever saw a hussar was at Ghent in Flanders, then an Austrian town; and when I beheld a richly decorated pelisse, waving empty sleeves and all, from his shoulders, I never doubted that the poor man must have been recently shot through the arm; a glance, however, upon a tightly braided sleeve underneath, made it still more unaccountable; and why he should not have had an additional pair of richly ornamented breeches dangling at his waist, as well as a jacket from his shoulder, has, I confess, puzzled me from that time to the present, it being the first rule of health to keep the upper portion of the body cool and the lower as warm as possible. Surely a horseman's waterproof cloak, made to cover from head to foot the rider and his saddle, with his arms and ammunition, to be his protection against the pouring deluge, his screen and cover in the night bivouac, is the only

equipment of the kind the country should be called upon to furnish or to suffer. Man millinery in any shape is an abuse and prostitution of the English character. Borrow and copy from foreigners whatever may be truly valuable in arms—it is right and fitting to do so; but let us dress ourselves in serviceable garb, that fears no stain, nor needs a host of furbishers to keep it in order." (W. Fergusson, "Notes and Recollections of a Professional Life.")

This vanity of dress and overweighting of light cavalry horses in England is thus severely censured by General Sir Charles Napier: "The hardships of war are by our dressers of cavalry thought too little for the animal's strength; they add a bag with the Frenchified name of valise, containing an epitome of a Jew's old-clothes shop-notably so, if the regiment be hussars, a name given to Hungarian light horsemen, remarkable for activity, and carrying no other baggage than a small axe and a teakettle to every dozen men. Our hussars' oldclothes bag contains jackets, breeches of all dimensions, drawers, snuff boxes, stockings, pink boots, yellow boots, eau-de-Cologne, Windsor soap, brandy, satin waistcoats, cigars, kid gloves, tooth brushes, hair brushes, dancing spurs; and thus a light cavalry horse carries twenty-one stone. Hussars our men are not; a real hussar, including his twelfth part of a kettle, does not weigh twelve stone-before he begins plundering. The heavy cavalry horse, strange to say, carries less than the light cavalry, only twenty stone!! A British regiment of cavalry on parade is a beautiful sight: give it six months' hard work in the field, and while the horses fail, the men lose confidence; the vanity of dress supersedes efficiency."

Another kind of light horse greatly esteemed in France is the chasseurs à cheval. The earliest mention made of chasseurs is in 1742, in the Fisher legion, which greatly distinguished itself in the Seven Years' war; but their name does not

officially occur until 1760, when some of them, armed with superior weapons, were attached to each regiment of hussars. In 1776, when the number of dragoon regiments was increased to twenty-four, each received an additional squadron to serve as scouts and skirmishers. In 1779, these twenty-four squadrons were withdrawn from the dragoons and formed into six regiments of chasseurs by themselves. In 1786 the number was increased to twelve; and in 1796, in consequence of their bravery and good conduct, to twenty. Napoleon had a special liking for them; and in 1813, the French army counted

one squadron per regiment was equipped with lances; but this diversity of armament in the same regiment causing great inconvenience, six of the regiments were converted into lancers in 1832. They compose a body of smart, strong, nimble, active, and intelligent men, and are uniformed somewhat in the fashion of hussars, but with much greater simplicity.

The French recount with pride the daring exploits of these troops in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Germany; and their veterans still exult in the name of Shee, who was one of the powerful colonels of the Empire. It was he who, in 1812, at Casares, at the peril of his life, extricated General Foy when surrounded by two English regiments. At Peneranda, also, and at Truxillo, he covered himself with glory, and at Nava del Rey he captured the famous guerilla chief Don Julian and his whole band. In 1814, near Bar-sur-Aube, at the head of his chasseurs, he saved part of the army, turned by masses of the enemy's infantry and cavalry. In this affair one of his captains captured and brought in eight pieces of cannon. In reading the history of the Peninsular wars, our admiration is enkindled by the splendid portraits of the heroes of so many conflicts, limned by the vivid pen of Foy; prominent among them is that of a gallant and noble-hearted Irishman; this Irishman is Colonel Shee. Always foremost in battle, and skilful in planning an enterprise, he held the first place in council, as by his daring and dauntless courage he was the first soldier of his regiment. The chasseurs à cheval have illustrated their valor on a thousand battle fields: in America, for liberty; in Europe, for honor and the independence of their country; in Africa, for glory and the preservation of their conquests.

After the subjugation of Algeria the French had to provide, against the fleet and numerous Bedouins, a cavalry equally light, powerful, and swift. In 1831, they organized for this service some squadrons of mounted zouaves and chasseurs