No demi volte, nor demi air;
No high curvett, nor terre-a-terre;
No hand to guide the gay croupade.
Nor heel to aid the balotade;
No capriole his skill to shew;
He these disdained, with pas et saut.
It must be truly gratifying to yeomanry officers, and those who have not
had the advantages of an equestrian education, that, in works of fancy,
they may be at once amused and instructed with valuable hints on
horsemanship; and believing, as we do, that those who have feasted on
the pages of Marmion are now enabled to take a leading part in a meslee
or fight, we shall proceed to forward them in their pursuits, by
recommending to their attention Astley’s explanation of the Croupade.
The Tailor too of Brentford will be enjoyed with greater glee, when the
spectators do not curb their mirth by a fellow-feeling for the Cockney
equestrian.
“CROUPADE.
“The horse leaps into the air with all his feet off the ground at
one and the same time, and without stretching out those behind: by
an attention to this action, much good might result to the cavalry;
and here I will relate a manœuvre, to which I often had recourse in
1761, and at other periods of the seven years war. I instructed my
horse to strike an object, or objects, at the will of the rider,
within a given distance, before, behind, or together; and necessity
furnished me with the idea.
“In patroling, a soldier sometimes wants a guide, and gentle means
often prove ineffectual to induce a peasant to quit his bed, at
the dead of the night, for the accommodation of others,--to
dismount for the purpose of procuring admittance into a house, at
such a time, barred and bolted within, and perhaps in an enemy’s
country, would be dangerous. I knew my duty, and, ere this, my
horse knew his. On approaching the door, I caused him to strike it
with his fore-feet; and if this did not answer my purpose, (for it
would sometimes fail), I faced him about, when, with his croup, he
would break the door in pieces: this he would accomplish in a few
moments, to the surprise and terror of the inhabitants: on the
other hand, when upon the defensive, no person could approach me
without danger; and when on the offensive, and animated at my
pleasure, to the highest pitch, he would strike in every direction,
and clear his way!