On landing in England the Seventeenth was distributed into quarters at Nottingham, Leicester, Trowbridge, Bath, and Bristol. The regiment was reduced to a mere skeleton. Four hundred recruits and a draft from the 18th Light Dragoons, however, soon filled up the gaps and restored it to its strength. All ranks had something new to learn. In 1796 a new drill-book, far more ambitious than any that had yet appeared, was provided for the cavalry; and for the first time (so far as I have been able to discover) a properly authorised system of sword exercise. The drill shows little that is new, except that the system of telling off by threes now came into general use, and with it the practice of executing all movements to the rear by means of “Threes about.” The interval of “six inches from knee to knee” in the ranks also makes its appearance as the normal formation. A further change is the reversion to the old practice of posting troop leaders on the flanks of troops, dressing with the men, and covered by a corporal in the rear rank. As regards sword exercise we must content ourselves with observing that we encounter for the first time the once famous “six cuts.” The recruit was posted in front of a wall on which was drawn a circle; and he was then taught that each of the six cuts required of him should intersect at the centre of the circle, and divide it into six equal segments. I do not mean that the unhappy man was tortured by any such abstruse terms as these, but that this was the principle on which the six cuts were based. [Sidenote: 1797.] In addition, there was a seventh cut, directed vertically, so to speak, from heaven to earth, and called by the high-sounding name of St. George. These seven cuts are still familiar to hundreds of living men. The whole of the sword exercise was comprehended in no fewer than six divisions, each containing from seven to ten words of command, and must therefore have consumed considerable time. It may be remarked that, when cutting the sword exercise on foot, the men were not required to extend their legs as at present, though they kept the bridle hand in the bridle position. The swords themselves were perhaps the most defective part of the whole concern, and caused great complaint among the Light Dragoons in the Peninsula. The pattern was bad, and the material was bad; and common sense was so absolutely ignored in the design that the hilt was not even provided with a guard. Before quitting the question of drill, it is well to remind readers that dismounted drill still occupies a prominent place in the training of the Light Dragoons; and the words “Form battalion” and “Fix bayonets” are still in full use. [Sidenote: 1798.]