nd; and the man who turns a second time can only trust to the
speed of his horse--he has given up the fight.

Such duels are rare indeed; in most engagements the man fights between
crowds of his own comrades and the other side, in wild confusion,
under clouds of dust. He must attack at one moment to the right, at
the next to the left, and guard himself. The essential here is not so
much the skilful use of the lance, as complete command over the horse,
and the determination to _kill_, which must rise to the height of
_fanaticism_. He who can twist and turn his horse by his weight alone,
without dragging at its mouth, whose arm does not tire, and who can
make sure of striking what he aims at, even at speed, and with the
energy born of hatred, thinking only of destroying his enemy, never on
retreating--he alone can hope to remain the conqueror; but such a one
very soon learns all that is practical in the use of sword or lance.

The exercises in single combats, therefore, must be based mainly on
preparatory practice, intended to strengthen the arm, give command of
the weapon, heighten the man's energy, and, above all, aim at securing
the most perfect harmony between man and horse by constant exercise in
those forms of individual riding which are really needed in the fight:
the rapid turning about of the horse; serpentining between, and
cutting and thrusting at, different objects in varying directions, as
far as possible without reins, and never according to a prescribed
formula.

The actual combats between squads should follow only when considerable
excellence in these preliminary exercises has been attained--_i.e._,
for recruits--about the end of the summer, before the manoeuvres; and
they should always be kept down to the lowest limits, and then only
carried out in thoroughly practical form--_i.e._, between squads, and
not larger detachments. I believe that in this way a far higher
standard will be reached, and with less damage to the horses than is
possible under existing conditions, in which one generally begins with
single combats, man against man, at the very commencement of the drill
season. In any case, we shall at least obtain this advantage--that the
work to be done in the latter will be materially reduced if the
exercises I have suggested are begun already in the winter months.

The more the men have learnt to ride with a light hand on the bit, the
greater command they possess over their lances--thanks to more