Thomas Seaton was a Victorian soldier in the Indian Army, and a veteran of the Indian Mutiny. His autobiography, From Cadet to Colonel, is available online.
I do not, however, consider hunting and shooting as waste of time, but, on the contrary, beneficial to the soldier, inasmuch as such active and manly pursuits prepare men for service in the field. The men wanted to fill commissions in the army are not bookworms, whose strength lies only in their brains, but men with good constitutions, hardy and bold, with a fine hand and a good seat on horseback; a quick eye for the country, fertile in expedients, and well-endowed with common sense. I would back such a man to conduct an expedition, settle and govern any country better than ninety-nine out of the hundred of “competition wallahs.” – Major-General Sir Thomas Seaton, K.C.B., Cadet to Colonel, Vol I, 1866
Courtesy of The Regimental Rogue.