hin the first two minutes of a charge. In heavy
cavalry nothing but the helmet, richly plumed and crested, should be
allowed; constructed either of leather or metal, yellow brass or silvery
steel, and adorned sometimes with skins, sometimes with graven plates.
The handsomest helmet worn by any regiment in Europe, is that of the old
_gardes du corps_ of Charles X., the same as that now worn by the
_gardes municipaux a cheval_ in Paris; a metal helm with leopard-skin
visir; a lofty crest, with a horse-tail streaming down the back, and a
high red and white feather rising from the left side. Beauty of natural
form, the sharp contrast of flowing lines between the feather and the
tailed crest, and the general brilliancy of colour, render this by far
the most effective head-dress for cavalry which we have ever seen. Our
helmets in England, for the dragoon guards, are too heavy, too
theatrical; there is no life and spirit in them.

In light cavalry of all kinds, except lancers, the fur cap, lately
re-introduced into the British army, is the most useful and most
suitable covering; it is at once comfortable and becoming; its form is
warlike and harmonious; its colour rich; and it admits of as much or as
little ornament as you please to put upon it. Without a feather it is
good, with one it is better; guard-bands add to its appearance without
troubling the wearer; and it has the merit of lasting to look well
longer than any other kind of cap whatever. In the lancers they should
always preserve that national cap which tells us of the origin of this
arm, and which is an ingenious and elegant adaptation of the strength of
the helmet to the lightness of the shako; it is beautiful and graceful
as the lance itself; we have nothing to say of it but what is in its
favour.

Heavy cavalry, in our opinion, ought to wear the cuirass; this is the
only relic of ancient defence which we are advocates for keeping up, and
we do so upon the score of utility. It is rather heavy for the men, but
only so because they are not accustomed to wear it in a judicious
manner; it is of real service to the arm in question, and is the
greatest ornament that a soldier can put on. It is true that our heavy
cavalry did all their gallant deeds without it, and may do so over
again; still it can do no harm, and may be of much use to a brigade of
decidedly heavy cavalry; the helmet and the cuirass should always go
together, neither without the other, as we see it oft