To have
the chief command, and at such a time as this! But I had to make the
best of it.

I began by concentrating my commandos, to the best of my ability, at
Modderrivierpoort (Poplar Grove), ten miles east of the scene of
Cronje's surrender. I had plenty of time to effect this, for Lord
Roberts remained inactive from the 24th of February to the 7th of March,
in order to rest a little after the gigantic task he had performed in
capturing Cronje's laager. His thoughts must have been busy during that
period with even more serious matters than the care of his weary troops;
for, if we had had two hundred killed and wounded, he must have lost as
many thousands.

Those few days during which our enemy rested were also of advantage to
me in enabling me to dispose of the reinforcements, which I was now
receiving every day, and from almost every quarter.

While I was thus engaged, I heard that General Buller had relieved
Ladysmith on the 1st of March, that General Gatacre had taken Stormberg
on the 5th, and that General Brabant was driving the Boers before him.

These were the first results of General Cronje's surrender.

But that fatal surrender was not only the undoing of our burghers; it
also reinforced the enemy, and gave him new courage. This was evident
from the reply which Lord Salisbury made to the peace proposals made by
our two Presidents on March 5th. But more of this anon.

Our last day at Poplar Grove was signalized by a visit paid to us by
President Kruger, the venerable chief of the South African Republic. He
had travelled by rail from Pretoria to Bloemfontein; the remaining
ninety-six miles of the journey had been accomplished in a
horse-waggon--he, whom we all honoured so greatly, had been ready to
undergo even this hardship in order to visit us.

The President's arrival was, however, at an unfortunate moment. It was
March the 7th, and Lord Roberts was approaching. His force, extending
over ten miles of ground, was now preparing to attack my burghers, whom
I had posted at various points along some twelve miles of the bank of
the Modder River. It did not seem possible for the old President even to
outspan, for I had received information that the enemy's right wing was
already threatening Petrusburg. But as the waggon had travelled that
morning over twelve miles of a heavy rain-soaked road, it was absolutely
necessary that the horses should be outspanned for rest. But hardly had
the harness been taken off