[3] They were said, when thus docked, to have “hunter’s tails”; hence, perhaps, the popular identification of the Light Dragoon officer with the sportsman.
[4] Denotes one of the six original trumpet-calls.
[5] The calls were first authorised by regulation (so far as is known) in 1799.
[6] These are fragments of some of the inspection reports:—1770, “A very good regiment.” 1771, “A very fine regiment, and appears perfectly fit for service. Must have had great care taken of it.” 1772, “In every respect a fine regiment and fit for service.” 1773, “This regiment is an extreme pretty one and in good order.” 1774, “This regiment is in great order and fit for service.”
[7] This Colonel Washington must not be confounded with his namesake the famous George.
[8] Froude, English in Ireland, iii. 105, 106.
[9] This officer was not of the Seventeenth.
[10] This year 1802 also witnessed the introduction of the chevron on the sleeves of non-commissioned officers.
[11] This animal proved to be Cheettoo’s death. His hoofs were so extraordinarily large that his tracks were always recognisable, and hence exposed his rider to the certainty of continued pursuit. Cheettoo having been driven thus into the jungle was finally killed by a tiger.
[12] It is perhaps worth noting that the poleaxe was a favourite weapon with Royalist cavalry officers in the civil war.