he failed to secure a congregation, and was obliged to discontinue his services at the convent. Another person who attended to our spiritual wants was Mr. Weavind, the Wesleyan minister, who was deservedly liked, even by those who did not care to listen to him in his ministerial capacity, on account of his straightforwardness and bonhomie. Working strenuously all the week through as a sanitary inspector, from his duties as which he would only steal away to comfort the wounded and dying in the hospital, he was on Sunday always ready to address to us a few words of encouragement-few and short as beseemed the time, and sometimes accompanied by the roar of cannon. The priests at the convent also ministered to the Roman Catholics, and one of them, Father Mayer, went out at personal risk and inconvenience to visit. the wounded and dying at Bronkhurst Spruit.

A small paper

We were not without literature. was brought out under the joint editorship of Mr. Deecker, a former editor of the Transvaal Argus, and Mr. Du Val, a versatile Irishman who was travelling through South Africa with a character-entertainment, and who was caught in Pretoria by the Boers. The News of the Camp, as the paper was called, gave very little news, its opportunities for acquiring information being circumscribed, but it gave us the chaff and gossip of the camp, and its jokes, though often poor and ancient, were received as a relief from the monotony of camp life. After things had settled down into routine, time dragged very heavily, and any new topic of conversation was welcomed. At the mess-table and in the tents the doings of our officers were criticized with a freedom which would have disconcerted a soldier of the old school, and their

blunders were freely commented upon. Many of the volunteers were old fighters, and competent to criticize; and, though allowance must be made for the jealousy which always exists between regulars and volunteers, the ill-success which attended the military expeditions around Pretoria invited criticism. On one occasion, after the sortie at Elandsfontein, when Captain Gildea attempted to lay the blame of the retreat on a volunteer officer, the whole of the Carbineers threatened to resign in a body; and nothing but a sense of the peril of our position restrained them from doing so. An order, which gave rise to a great deal of ill-feeling among the civilians, was one which was issued by the authorities, commanding all volunteers to salute the officers. To the last, many of the men in our laager declined to do so, and their disobedience had to be winked at. The men said they were there to fight, and not to be made soldiers of; and the cowardly behaviour of the military at the last great sortie (which will be narrated in the next chapter) created a sort of disgust for the red-coat, which worked under the surface and showed itself in various little ways.

The one absording topic, however, in the laager was the future of the Transvaal. It was assumed that the rebellion of the Boers would compel the British to establish an effectual government in the country. No one for a moment dreamed that the Transvaal would be given up to the Boers, but there were many speculations as to what would be done with them. Public feeling ran high against Dr. Jorissen. who was looked upon as the principal fomenter of the rebellion; and some of the more violent openly expressed a wish that he might have a short shrift

and a speedy exit. The general feeling was that the Boers would get a good beating, and then settle down quietly; and that all agitation being at an end, the natural resources of the country would be developed. Many persons professed not to regret the war, on the ground that it would lead to an enduring peace-but the peace they contemplated was not the shameful and degrading surrender which actually ensued, and if they had known what was going to happen they would have modified their opinion considerably.

CHAPTER XI.

THE FIGHTING AROUND PRETORIA.

The Boers, though maintaining a state of siege, usually not the attacking party-The skirmish on the 28th of December-The Boer account-Volunteer opinions of the officers-The first Red House sortie-Captain D'Arcy wounded-The Zwart Kopije affair- The Carbineers severely handled-Firing on a flag of truce-Capture of the Kopije-Column attacked on the way home-Behaviour of the women-The prisoners-The Elandsfontein sortie-Colonel Gildea blames Captain Sanctuary for not guarding the flank-Indignation among the Carbineers. The Boer account of the fight-The Red House Kraal sortie -Captain Sanctuary shot-Flank attack of the Boers-Colonel Gildea wounded-Cowardice of the regulars-Failure of the sortie Incidents of the retreat-Boers firing on an ambulance waggon-Riot in camp-Release of prisoners-Reconnaissances -Meant for despatches, but of no real use-End of the siege.

ALTHOUGH the Boers maintained a strict state of siege, they never ventured to attack us. They confined their efforts to stray skirmishes, and attempts to carry off our cattle, or to intercept our patrols. The fights which took place were generally due to our initiative, and, as will be seen from the sequel, we did not by any means issue gloriously from them. The first brush with the enemy at which blood was drawn was on the 28th of December. Lieutenant O'Grady, of the 94th, was sent out in the direction of Erasmus's laager, to the south of Pretoria, with some mounted

infantry and volunteers, on a scouting expedition. Sergeant-Major (afterwards Lieutenant) Williams, of the Carbineers, was told off with four men as an advance-guard, and Captain Sampson was sent with a detachment of Nourse's Horse in another direction. The advance-guard, finding themselves not properly supported by the regulars-who had dismountedretired on the main body, and refused to act further in that capacity. After some wrangling, another advance-guard of the Carbineers was formed, which came up with Captain Sampson, and in his company crossed the Six Mile Spruit, a stream which afterwards became the scene of other fighting. The main body was split into two detachments, one of which, consisting of the Carbineers, advanced parallel with Captain Sampson's troop, and reached the farmhouse of Erasmus, which they began to denude of poultry and forage. The regulars, under Lieutenant O'Grady, meantime advanced over a hill between the troops. While the Carbineers were engaged in looting the farmhouse shots were fired, and on emerging from the house it was discovered that Captain Sampson was attacked by a patrol of the enemy, numbering about thirty or forty, which formed the advance-guard of a much larger party. Two of the volunteers were wounded, and Sampson fell back on his friends, who had left the farmhouse. The mounted infantry, on hearing the shots, retired precipitately over the hill. In the despatches the lieutenant in command says he retired to prevent a party of the enemy outflanking the troops, but the volunteers were unable to perceive any Boers in the direction indicated by him. The volunteers, having joined their forces, retreated slowly up the hill, carrying their wounded with them, and