Save for the patrol last night, they were the first of the
famous soldiers of Napoleon whom I had ever seen, and it was with
admiration and curiosity that I looked upon men who had won a world-wide
reputation for their discipline and their gallantry. Their appearance
was by no means gorgeous, and their dress and equipment was much more
modest than that of the East Kent Yeomanry, which rode every Saturday
through Ashford; but the stained tunics, the worn leathers, and the
rough hardy horses gave them a very workmanlike appearance. They were
small, light, brown-faced fellows, heavily whiskered and moustached,
many of them wearing ear-rings in their ears. It surprised me that even
the youngest and most boyish-looking of them should be so bristling with
hair, until, upon a second look, I perceived that his whiskers were
formed of lumps of black wax stuck on to the sides of his face. The
tall young lieutenant noticed the astonishment with which I gazed at his
boyish trooper.
'Yes, yes,' said he, 'they are artificial, sure enough; but what can you
expect from a lad of seventeen? On the other hand, we cannot spoil the
appearance of the regiment upon parade by having a girl's cheeks in the
ranks.
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