We must therefore infer that his “subsistence” could not be stopped for his “necessaries” (as the various items enumerated above are termed); but none the less twopence out of the daily stipend was stopped for his food, while His Majesty the King deducted for his royal use a shilling in the pound from the pay of every soul in the army. Small wonder that heavy bounty-money was needed to persuade men to enlist.
What manner of instruction the recruit received on his first appearance it is a little difficult to state positively, though it is still possible to form a dim conception thereof. The first thing that he was taught, apparently, was the manual and firing exercise, of which we are fortunately able to speak with some confidence. As it contains some eighty-eight words of command, we may safely infer that by the time a recruit had mastered it he must have been pretty well disciplined. The minuteness of the exercise and the extraordinary number of the motions sufficiently show that it counted for a great deal. “The first motion of every word of command is to be performed immediately after it is given; but before you proceed to any of the other motions you must tell one, two, pretty slow, by making a stop between the words, and in pronouncing the word two, the motion is to be performed.” In those days the word “smart” was just coming into use, but “brisk” is the more common substitute. Let us picture the squad of recruits with their carbines, in their stable frocks, white breeches, and short black gaiters, and listen to the instructions which the corporal is giving them:—
“Now on the word Shut your pans, let fall the primer and take hold of the steel with your right hand, placing the thumb in the upper part, and the two forefingers on the lower. Tell one, two, and shut the pan; tell one, two, and seize the carbine behind the lock with the right hand; then tell one, two, and bring your carbine briskly to the recover. Wait for the word. Shut your—pans, one—two, one—two, one—two.”
There is no need to go further through the weary iteration of “Join your right hand to your carbine,” “Poise your carbine,” “Join your left hand to your carbine,” whereby the recruit learned the difference between his right hand and his left. Suffice it that the manual and firing exercise contain the only detailed instruction for the original Light Dragoon that is now discoverable. “Setting-up” drill there was apparently none, sword exercise there was none, riding-school, as we now understand it, there was none, though there was a riding-master. A “ride” appears to have comprised at most twelve men, who moved in a circle round the riding-master and received his teaching as best they could. But it must not be inferred on that account that the men could not ride; on the contrary the Light Dragoons seem to have particularly excelled in horsemanship. Passaging, reining back, and other movements which call for careful training of man and horse, were far more extensively used for purposes of manœuvre than at present. Moreover, every man was taught to fire from on horseback, even at the gallop; and as the Light Dragoons received an extra allowance of ammunition for ball practice, it is reasonable to conclude that they spent a good deal of their time at the butts, both mounted and dismounted.
As to the ordinary routine life of the cavalry barrack, it is only possible to obtain a slight glimpse thereof from scattered notices. Each troop was divided into three squads with a corporal and a sergeant at the head of each. Each squad formed a mess; and it is laid down as the duty of the sergeants and corporals to see that the men “boil the pot every day and feed wholesome and clean.” The barrack-rooms and billets must have been pretty well filled, for every scrap of a man’s equipment, including his saddle and saddle-furniture, was hung up therein according to the position of his bed. As every bed contained at least two men, there must have been some tight packing. It is a relief to find that the men could obtain a clean pair of sheets every thirty days, provided that they returned the foul pair and paid three halfpence for the washing.
The fixed hours laid down in the standing orders of the Light Dragoons of 14th May 1760 are as follows:—
The drum beat for—
| Réveille from | Ladyday to | Michaelmas | 5.30 A.M. | Rest of year | 6.30 |
| Morning stables | „ | „ | 8 A.M. | „ | 9.0 |
| Evening stables | „ | „ | 4 P.M. | „ | 3.0 |
| “Rack up” | „ | „ | 8 P.M. | ||
| Tattoo[1] | „ | „ | 9 P.M. | „ | 8.0 |
If there was an order for a mounted parade the drum beat—
1st drum—“To horse.” The men turned out, under the eye of the quartermaster and fell in before the stable door in rank entire. Officers then inspected their troops; and each troop was told off in three divisions.