rising couple were busy developing some mining claims which had
been acquired on their behalf by some relatives during the war. In spite
of having been deserted at Cape Town by all the servants they had
brought from Paris, this clever lady, nothing daunted, had replaced them
by blacks, and one night she and her husband offered us, at the small
tin-roofed house where they were residing, a sumptuous dinner which was
worthy of the best traditions of Parisian hospitality. Notwithstanding
the fact of her having no maid, and that she had herself superintended
most of the cooking of the dinner, our hostess was charmingly attired in
the latest Paris fashion, with elaborately dressed hair, and the
pleasant company she had collected, combined with an excellent cuisine,
helped to make the entertainment quite one of the pleasantest we enjoyed
during our stay. Among the guests was General "Bully" Oliphant, who had
just been recalled to England to take up an important appointment, much
to the regret of his Johannesburg friends, with whom he had made himself
exceedingly popular; and the witty conversation of this gentleman kept
the whole dinner-table convulsed with laughing, to such an extent that
his colleague-in-arms, our quondam Mafeking commander, General
Baden-Powell, who was also of the party, was reduced to mere silent
appreciation. This impromptu feast, given under difficulties which
almost amounted to siege conditions, was again an evidence of the
versatility and inherent hospitality of the French nation, and the
memory of that pleasant evening lingers vividly in my recollections.

The duration of our two months' holiday was rapidly approaching its
close. My sister was recalled to England by social and other duties, and
was so much better in health that we were deluded into thinking the
wonderful air and bracing climate had effected a complete cure. After a
short but very interesting visit to the Natal battle-fields, whither we
were escorted by General Burn-Murdoch and Captain Henry Guest, we
journeyed to Cape Town, and, regretfully turning our backs on warmth and
sunshine, we landed once more in England on a dreary December day.

FOOTNOTES:

[42] Lieutenant the Hon. C.W.H. Cavendish, 17th Lancers, was killed at
Diamond Hill, June 11, 1900.

[43] Peace had been declared in the previous June.

CHAPTER XVIII

FOURTH VOYAGE TO THE CAPE--THE VICTORIA FALLS AND SIX WEEKS
NORTH OF THE ZAMBESI[44]

"We p