run up the steepest hills in
the vicinity, under the wholesome discipline of sharp spurs, until the
evil has been sweated out of them. We find, however, that the trouble is
not only with the horses, but frequently with the men, many of whom have
never bridled a horse nor touched a saddle. And then, too, these curbed
bits in the mouths of animals that had been trained with the common
bridle, produced a most rebellious temper, causing many of them to rear
up in the air as though they had suddenly been transformed into
monstrous kangaroos, while the riders showed signs of having taken
lessons in somersets. Some of the scenes are more than ludicrous. Horses
and men are acting very awkwardly, also, with the guiding of the animal
by the rein against the neck, and not by the bit, as we were accustomed
to do at home.

We do not wonder much that the chivalrous Black Horse gentry have
expressed their contempt of Northern "mudsills and greasy mechanics,"
and have made their brags that we could never match them. But then it is
said that these Southrons were born in a saddle, and were always trained
in horsemanship. They generally perform their pleasure excursions, go on
their business journeys, and even to church, on horseback. They were
therefore prepared for the cavalry service, before we had so much as
_thought_ of it. But let them beware of what they think or say, for _we
can learn_, and it does frequently occur that somewhere in the
experience of contending parties, "the first is last, and the last
first."

We are improving rapidly. There is so much exhilaration in the shrill
bugle-notes which order the movements of the drill, and so much life in
its swift evolutions, that the men and horses seem to dance rather than
walk on their way to the drill grounds, and both are readily learning
the certain sounds of the trumpet, and becoming masters of motions and
dispositions required of them. Like all other apprentices, of course, we
occasionally indulge in the reveries of imagination, and we think we are
laying the foundation of a career which is destined to be important and
glorious. Be this as it may, we do not mean to be outstripped by any one
in our knowledge and practice of cavalry tactics, and of the general
manoeuvrings of war.

[Illustration: CAVALRY COLUMN ON THE MARCH.]

CHAPTER III.

PREPARATIONS FOR ACTIVE SERVICE.

1861.--First Advance.--"Contrabands," their Hopes and Treatment.--Union
Ranks Filling U