The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1885-04-26
BRAVE RRrroNs.
The Magnificent Men OF Her Mnjesty's sertioe-The
Pa Hnue al a. .r.y. 80 Gee pstt

The Magnificent Men OF Her Majesty's sertiee--The
Pet Household Cavalry OF Great Britain.
Comparatively little Ia known here about this dis
tneuished corps, which for Its services in Egypt was
Cavalry consists Of three regiments zoo men each,
the Flrat and Second Regiments OF Life Guards
and the Royal Horse Guards, (bueJ so-called ac-
from the scarlet coats OF the FIRST two regiments.
Until recently these three regiments we're nicknamed
during the ChaIst r so i,a the Tonsebed Cavalry
were frequently called out to suppress sedtion,
and during one memorable occasion, upon
deaths by sabre wounds, they earned for themselves
the uneyiable sobriquet OF "The Piccadlly
TSsskerev snn osy ng , 10 sn nny ,or many ny eh c
Guardsman familiar TO their readers by many q
clever skit upon the awe and wondcrmen he inspired
armed cap.a-pie and mounted upon his ponderous
black charger In front OF the oficer Of the Horse
po he neasquaGes SI ns s hsn army n
mirallon. Indeed, It would be difficult to ind
guard Of the Emperor Napoleon III, the famous Cent
.,at'.es, corps which, since the establishment OF
second regiments OF Lac Guards were % organized
shortly after the accession Of william ", the occa.
sion being celebrated by q git from the sovereign
In the possession OF the regiment, also the set OF
reglmen,al colors, which consists OF the royal
HuUuHTU, phnOratclN emDfOlUefCu IN hcavY gold
lace upon scarlet silkcn ground Until the recent
Egyptian campaign the Life Guards had not seen
active service IN the held since Waterloo,
word "Peninsulan upon their colors. Their first
commander was the famous Marquis OF Anglesey.
Ihe Horse Guards, hnc,l or. as they were originally
first colonel. the Earl of oxford. The late Col.
Bnrnahy belonged TO this regiment. The proves
the admiration of their adversaries ana Victor Hugo
bears generous testimony to their courage. The
who is supposed to have Killed six Frenehmep witt,
Ms own hand, and who was the best boxer OF his
Jay, still lives During the Crmean war the regi.
active SERVICE hut owing red tanesm their request
was denied the alleged reason being that under the
a OF the
the. whole OF the Household cavalry were sent
regiment having been sent into the field The his
tory OF the Household Cavalry is mainly monoto-
mating between Regents PARK and Hyde Faik Bar.
racks, London, and cavalry barracks at Windsor
hut the details connected with the internal discipline
Courtsmartal arc seldom heard Of in this corps.
while It's morale Is exceedingly high, probably on
account of the higher status Of intelligence of It's
members. Enlistments In the Household Cavalry
are not merely matters OF form. The applicant must
have two written recommendations OF good char.
education. The period Of service was originally
twenty-one years. II is now twelve years The
writer, who Is the son Of a Life Glardsman, Knows
that regiment whose fathers, grandfathers, and
great grandfathers were also members. Good
schools are provided for the education of the fam
lilies OF married men, Their sons, upon attaining
the age of fourteen. are awarded the sum OF 600 II
they deserve it and their parents desire them to be
music they Join the reglmenal band and receive
thorough musical training, with n reasonable pocket
age when they receive the regular pay of bandman.
The daughters of soldiers are also well cared for In
found s Worthy it. The onsenol cavalry is the
only corps In the British army In which colonel.
or more properly speaking. q lieutenant colonel,
who unusually performs the functions OF his su.
perlorJ can discharge man for cause without a
coutt-maftial. The man, however. II he feels az,
grieveh, can demand trial by court-martalu upon an
nature came before the civil courts years ago.
In which private Of the Second Life Guards brought
tanned by wrongful dismissal. The case excited
much attention at the time, although II has now
probably passed from recollection, but the courts
silver medals for good conduct are granted privates
who have served eighteen years more, and medals
of gold are given to non-commssoned officers. The
latter are also granted the privilege of wearing c
zen's clothing on furlough. There are no sergeants
in the Household Cavalry. The non-commlssioned
grades are lance corporal, corporal corporal major,
troop corporal major, equivalent TO first sergeant.
and reglmental maior) Corporals major are dlstn-
worn on the left arm. The mess-seryice of the
non commissioned officers of the regiments OF the
household cavalry Is fully equal in quality and
value to that of many of the officers of "mafching
regiment while 1t is superior to some. In this
particular the commissioned officers have
separate cuisine, with caterers, cooks and canteen
of their own. The mess service OF the commissioned
officers for special occasions is of solid gold. The
sovereign is not unmindfu of the services and CON-
fort OF her body guard as numerous pictures,
stauettes and books contributed by her TO the regi
mental reading-room, testify. Each regiment has
lis fencing-room gymnasium cricket club, and Its
regular holiday recreatiOns. on "boX night" the
day after Christmas day, each troop commander
treats his men to the theatre, while on New
Years Eve the commissioned officers hold then
annual ball at St. James Hall, Piccadilly. The mini
mum heighth of recruit, whoimust he "growing
lad" is 8 feet lO1G inches. The maximum height IL
feet inches. The Household Cavalry is mainly
recruited from the counties Of Yorkshire Lancashire
the lake district, and from beyond the Tweed.
Very little recruiting s done in London. 1t is by no
means rare TO find men of good family, with
incomes of their own, serving IN the ranks
The poet Coleridge in his youth enlisted in
the Life Guards. He, however, did not remain in
the regiment very long, his personality having been
discovered by an officer, who. upon seeing Latin
quotation Inscribed underneath sadde-tree in the
stables, ascertaned that written by Coleridge,
whose discharge from the regiment was shortly pnr-
charged troopers seldom ind any difficulty In oh
tanning good situations of responsibility MOI unfre-
quently non-commissioned officers leaving their
regiments obtain positions az deputy wardens of
prisons, the permanent adiutancy OF yeomanry or
volunteer regiment. Considering the Inducements
to good conduct and the numerous advantages en-.
joyed by the men composing the Life Guards and
' Blue the lot Of a Household Cavalryman is far
from being an unhappy one.