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we had several men and horses killed or wounded. The horses were kept in the King’s stables; and he who could not dress, arm himself, saddle his horse, mount, and fall into his rank in eight minutes, was put under arrest for a fortnight.
The trumpet frequently sounded before we had scarcely got into bed, by way of giving the young men a habit of vigilance. The Life Guards lost more men and horses in a time of profound peace, than they would have done in two battles.
I had been scarcely three weeks Cadet, where one day, after the parade, the King took me aside, examined me for near half an hour, on a variety of subjects, and ordered me to wait on him to-morrow. He was desirous of seeing whether the favourable accounts he had heard of me were well founded; and to ascertain their truth, gave me the names of fifty soldiers to learn by heart, which I did in five minutes. He then gave me the subjects of two letters, and I composed them immediately in French and Latin, writing one and dictating the other. He afterwards desired me to draw the plan of a piece of ground, by the eye, and with all the dispatch possible; which I did with the same success. He then appointed me Cornet in the Life Guards. He spoke to me like a King and a father; and from that moment became my tutor and friend.
I was a Cadet only three weeks. When thus made an officer, the King gave me two horses from his own stables, and a thousand crowns to assist in purchasing my arms, uniform, &c. I was highly satisfied to find myself a courtier and an officer, in the handsomest, bravest, and best disciplined corps in Europe. My military fortune seemed to have no bounds.
