4. A quartette of guidons of the 23rd Light Dragoons, circa 1803-15, believed to have led the regiment in its celebrated charge at Talavera in 1809. The regiment was in Anson's brigade, which was ordered by Sir Arthur Wellesley to attack Villatte's Division, and the 23rd, starting at a canter and increasing their speed as they advanced, rode headlong against the enemy, but in a few minutes came upon the brink of a hollow cleft, which was not perceptible at a distance. The regiment plunged down without a check, men and horses rolling over each other in dreadful confusion. The survivors mounted the opposite bank, by twos and threes, and rallying passed through the midst of Villatte's columns, which poured in a fire from each side, and fell upon a brigade of French chasseurs in the rear. The combat was fierce, but short; for fresh troops came up when the 23rd, already overmatched, could scarcely hold up against the chasseurs. The regiment lost two hundred and seven men and officers, or about half the number that went into action. The facings of the regiment being crimson the first guidon was, as usual, of that hue. For distinction's sake, though hardly in accordance with the regulations, the other guidons were blue. It is impossible to decide with exact certainty the date when they were made, but probably soon after the regiment was renumbered, in 1803.[32] [32] The description of these colours are those given with the exhibits. =Odds and Ends of Dress Equipment.=--Of curios coming within this class the collector should be able to gather quite an abundance of valuable material, ranging from, say, Royalist powder-flasks to the sashes worn by celebrated soldiers on historic occasions. The Royal United Service Museum, that treasure-house of military curios, has the following interesting exhibits worthy of mention under this head:-- 1. The dress worn by Tippoo Sahib, Sultan of Mysore, during the Siege of Seringapatam, in 1799. It is thickly padded with leather, and the head-dress, which has the appearance of green velvet, is in reality a very effective helmet. 2. A cavalry cloak which belonged to Captain Nolan, 15th Hussars, who fell in the charge at Balaklava. Captain Nolan was A.D.C. to the Quartermaster-General, when he conveyed to Brigadier-General the Earl of Cardigan the famous order for the Charge of the Light Brigade. 3. An officer's silk sash used in supporting Sir John Moore when carried in a blanket from the battlefield of Coruña to the Citadel after he was mortally wounded on January 16, 1809. 4. A civilian's hat worn by Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton, who commanded the Third Division at the Battle of Vittoria, June 21, 1813, when the French army was totally defeated by the allied armies. He wore the civilian head-dress owing to inflammation of the eyes. 5. A saddle used by Field-Marshal Prince Blücher von Wahlstadt at the Battle of Waterloo.