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the land, a declivity plunges down to the stony bed where, at the melting of the snows in far off mountains, the great river whirls a muddy torrent. The sides are precipitous, irregular, curved, and bitten fantastically by the swirling torrent, now reduced to a mere thread through the pools deep down in the shadows of the chasm. The advanced line moves to its right, feeling along the rim for a practicable descent: the channel turns and twists about, for the course meanders as if the Maker of things had marked it out carelessly when he was planning this forgotten

corner.

At last a halt. We have turned a curve. We look along the valley, and all is explained.

The scene is full of smokea curtain stretches across the valley, rent here and there as an idle eddy of wind turns it aside: beyond is a glowing

inferno of hot embers from which a tongue of flame darts up now and again. The trestles must have caught and burnt up like a box of matches,-a few more solid timbers stick up drunkenly out of the heap, rails are looped in festoons with some hard-wood sleepers hanging on to them, a steel tie or two projects like a black thread from the sea of glowing embers.

We have reached the bridge, but the enemy have been too swift for us.

The race is over. The raiders have done their task, and done it well, for the big bridge is down, and a gap sunders the Army from its Base.

The Commander-in-Chief will be pretty savage, but he knows that it is only one point in the match which has been scored to the other side.

And Milray? Milray will laugh.

POLO.

BY COLONEL T. A. ST QUINTIN.

THE defeat of the English representatives of Polo by the Americans this year has given much food for thought among polo players, and though there have been many reasons given and excuses made, the fact remains. That we have the finest material for polo in the world is beyond question, men, ponies, and money to back it, -but it does not follow from this that we necessarily play the best polo. The opinion of an "old stager" like myself is generally looked upon by the exponents of what is considered a later and more up-to-date game, whatever the game may be, as obsolete, useless, and presumptuous, and it may be so; but having been asked, by both English and American players, as one of the oldest stagers of the polo world, to give a few of my views, I will endeavour to do so for what they are worth, in the hopes that they may lead to some discussion among the present players, and possibly give a hint to the polo enthusiasts of the day which may enable them to improve the present game.

I do not propose or desire to enter into any lengthy detail as to the origin of polo, or a minute discussion as to the difference between the Indian and English games, which are played under different conditions of ground and climate,

and to my mind are, or were, very dissimilar in their play, though the same rules practically obtain now in both countries. But I think I may be excused if I make a few remarks as to my own opinion with regard to them-an opinion which has been formed from a long and practical experience of both. Any one who chooses to take up the Badminton Library will find there a very excellent history of the game, as far as it is possible to obtain it, from its first inception by the ancients to the present day, and full descriptions as to what it was and is. It may be of interest, however, to some to know from how small a beginning, and from what a different style of play, the present game of polo first emerged from its obscurity and grew into the world-wide, well-known game it deservedly is to-day.

It is ancient history now that one day in 1869, when the 10th Hussars were under canvas at Aldershot for the summer drills, Chicken Hartopp, lying back in a chair after luncheon reading 'The Field,' exclaimed, "By Jove! this must be a good game,' and read us a description of "hockey on horseback in India. Some five or six of us who were in the tent then and there sent for our chargers, and routed up some

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old heavy walking-sticks and cricket ball, and began to try to knock the ball about a somewhat difficult thing to do properly, as may be imagined, on a tall horse with a short stick, as, of course, we could not reach the ball. However, it appealed much to us, and resulted in our improvising a sort of long-handled mallet and having some wooden balls turned about the size of a cricket-ball. We then deputed Billy Chaine to go over to Ireland and get us some ponies, impressing upon him that they must be very quiet and handy, and under 14 hands, and that we did not mind their being a bit slow, for nobody at that time had any idea that you would be able "to go the pace" at the game. He returned with about seventeen ponies, and we set to work to try to fashion out a suitable ball and sticks and to play the game.

That started polo. The 9th Lancers were quartered at Aldershot, and we got them to come and try the game, and they promised to get ponies and play us a match later on, We returned to Hounslow, where we were quartered, and marked out a bit of ground on Hounslow Heath as a polo ground, and got a heavy roller and made it as level and as good as we could. I wonder what the polo player of the present day would say about that ground now? Anyway, we were very pleased, and sent off a challenge to the 9th Lancers, who had got together

some ponies and been working at the game at Aldershot, and it was agreed that we should play a match at Hounslow. We played eight a-side, without any rules-just think of it! and try to imagine what the game must have been like. We tried to put some sort of organisation into the game, which we rather based on that of a football team, placing four men in the bully, with two half-backs and a back and a goalkeeper; but, as you may imagine, in about two minutes the two sides were mingled up anyhow, all jammed together, ramming into each other, generally at a walk, with little idea as to where the ball was, like a football scrimmage, and the only two people remaining in their places were the two goalkeepers, sticking religiously between their respective posts. However, we had grand fun, and a very cheery, good game, though one of the papers of the day said it was more remarkable for the strength of the language used during it than the brilliancy of the play. We were, I think, rather a bigger and heavier lot of men than they were, and I suppose it was the force and weight of ourselves and ponies, or possibly the language, which succeeded in gaining us a scrambling victory.

The only other game that I have seen to compete with it was one that I once played with the Tartars at Leh in Ladak, said to be one of the earliest homes of the game.

most curious, and well worth seeing.

After our match at Hounslow we got the Blues and 1st Life Guards, both of which regiments were great pals

of

ours, to take up the game, and the following year we and the 9th combined played them a match-Heavy v. Light Cavalry. We played six a-side, and had drawn up some few rules which we tried to adhere to. The game took place in Richmond Park: we had a most cheery game, and all London came to see it. At a big dinner of the four regiments at the "Star and Garter" that night, polo was fully discussed, voted the best of games and a grand training for cavalry officers (as indeed it is for any man), took deep root, and has never looked back since.

It was on the occasion of a grand tamacha there, and all the tribes round were gathered together for it. We played in the High Street (in fact, the only street), which was 180 yards long and about 30 yards wide, with a narrow watercourse running down one side of the street, which consisted of low flat-roofed houses, on the top of which were gathered the spectators-men and women in their quaint multicoloured garments, with a band composed of tomtoms, horns, and various other ear-breaking, hideous instruments. The players themselves, with their picturesque dress, on diminutive ponies with enormous saddles and large wooden stirrups, were worth looking at. When mounted, my feet almost touched the ground, my hardy little Tat was SO small. There were thirty-two At the end of 1872 the 10th of us sixteen a-side. Hussars went to Muttra, in the there appeared to be only a North-West Provinces of India, very few who thought about and there they set to work at the ball, hard wooden ones; polo in earnest, the Household the rest shouted and jostled Cavalry and the 9th Lancers and brandished their sticks, doing the same in England. which were about three feet The game at that time in long, with heavy, curved, India was played on 12.2 hard-wood heads. The popu- ponies, and there was, of lace yelled in chorus, drowning course, a difficulty in getting even the unearthly music (?) them strong enough and good of the bands. It was a enough to carry much weight, real pandemonium. After the and we therefore made our game and the excitement standard of height 13.2. Calwere over we had 8 par- cutta had at that time got a ade of mummers, dancing in club, the height being 12.2, quaint robes and masks repre- also the planters in Behar, senting the heads of different and one or two regiments up beasts, and a supper and in the north of India had ball in the castle at night. clubs also. All these were The whole entertainment was much averse to the idea of

But

raising the height of the competing teams must be ponies, averring that it would mounted on ponies of the spoil the game. The 54th same height, whatever that Regiment had a wonderfully agreed height may be. good team, with which they had beaten beaten all opponents. They were were marching down from the north of India, and, passing near Muttra, challenged us to play them at Agra. There were no definite rules, but we agreed amongst ourselves to a certain few to prevent danger-such as crossing, &c. When they arrived on the ground, I remarked to the captain of their team that it was hardly fair for us to play against their small ponies, 12.2, on our big ones, 13.2, for such ours were then considered, though in these days they would be called

rats.

Their captain said to me afterwards, "You were quite right-our small ponies cannot play with your big ones; but I would never have believed it, for I always thought that if we four got hold of the ball, no team in the world could prevent us getting through them, and I expected we should have beaten you very easily." The news of our easy victory soon went abroad, and by degrees the whole of the north of India took to the 13-2 ponies; but Calcutta and Southern India were very obstinate, and even when I went down there ten years afterwards they were still playing and sticking to the 12-2 ponies, and it took me some little time before I could persuade them to alter the height.

He laughed rather sarcastically, and said, "Oh, we shall see: a big pony cannot turn as quickly as a small one." We played for about half an hour, and I don't think that they The 9th Lancers arrived in got inside our half of the India the following year and ground, or that our back had went to Sialkot. We met to hit the ball more than two them at Toondla, where they or three times, for we could stopped en route up country, of course gallop round them and, badly bitten like ourand ride them off as we selves with the game, they liked, and we scored some- joined us in a lengthy disthing like twenty goals. They cussion as to rules, and as to were much astonished and how we could manage to infuse disgusted, and chucked it up, some organisation into the and we then mixed the two game, for at that time there teams and had some good were only one or two simple rallies. This result showed rules, or rather agreements, how impossible it is for for as to crossing, &c., in order, team on a small height as far as possible, to avoid of pony to compete with danger. In 1875 all the cavone mounted on bigger and alry regiments met at the stronger ones, and that the Durbar held by the Prince of

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