uncertain whether you will stumble on the enemy, your duty is to rest
your squadrons in turn; since it will go hard with you, if the enemy
come to close quarters when the whole force is dismounted.[2] Or,
again, suppose the roads are narrow, or you have to cross a defile,
you will pass, by word of mouth, the command to diminish the front;[3]
or given, again, you are debouching on broad roads, again the word of
command will pass by word of mouth, to every squadron, "to increase
their front"; or lastly, supposing you have reached flat country, "to
form squadron in order of battle." If only for the sake of practice,
it is well to go through evolutions of the sort;[4] besides which it
adds pleasure to the march thus to diversify the line of route with
cavalry mavouvres.

[2] See "Hell." V. iv. 40 for a case in point.

[3] Or, "advance by column of route." See "Hell." VII. iv. 23.

[4] Or, "it is a pleasant method of beguiling the road." Cf. Plat.
"Laws," i. 625 B.

Supposing, however, you are off roads altogether and moving fast over
difficult ground, no matter whether you are in hostile or in friendly
territory, it will be useful if the scouts attached to squadrons[5]
rode on in advance, their duty being, in case of encountering pathless
clefts or gullies, to work round on to practicable ground, and to
discover at what point the troopers may effect a passage, so that
whole ranks may not go blindly roaming.[6]

[5] {ton upereton} = "ground scouts," al. "orderlies." Ordonnances,
trabans (Courier). See Rustow and Kochly, p. 140. "Cyrop." II. i.