at
Waterloo. The pace was fast and the distance short. Yet before it was
half covered the whole aspect of the affair changed. A deep crease in
the ground--a dry watercourse, a _khor_--appeared where all had seemed
smooth, level plain; and from it there sprang, with the suddenness of a
pantomime effect and a high-pitched yell, a dense white mass of men
nearly as long as our front and about twelve deep. A score of horsemen
and a dozen bright flags rose as if by magic from the earth. The
Lancers acknowledged the apparition only by an increase of pace."

In such a melee as then followed, that trooper was lucky indeed who
escaped without a scratch.

As a result of his bravery at Atbara and Khartoum, Haig's name was
mentioned in the official despatches. He returned to England wearing
the Khedive's medal and the honorary title of Major.

It is probable, however, that little more would have been heard of him,
had not the South African War broken out, soon after. It is the lot of
military men to vegetate in days of peace. They live upon action.
Haig was no exception to this rule. He welcomed new fields. He went
to South Africa as aide and right-hand man to Sir John French--the
general whom he was to succeed in later years on the battlefields of
France.

In this war, Haig is not credited with many personal exploits. His was
essentially a thinking part. Yet he served as chief of staff in a
series of minor but important operations about Colesburg, which
prepared the way for Roberts's advance. As usual Haig pinned his faith
upon the cavalry. All his life he had made a close study of this arm
of the service, and was of opinion that it was not utilized in modern
warfare nearly so much as it should be. He was a warm admirer of the
American officer, J. E. B. Stuart, the Confederate General whose
dashing tactics turned the scale in so many encounters.

Now he tried the same strategy in the operations around Colesburg--and
paved the way for later victory.

Haig somewhat resembled another Southern leader, Stonewall Jackson, in
his piety. It was not ostentatious, but simply part and parcel of the
man, due to his Presbyterian training. Haig did not swear or gamble or
dance all night. He was more apt to be found in his tent, when off
duty, either reading or writing.

They tell of him that, one day at the officers' mess, after a
particularly lively brush with the Boers, the quartermaster asked him
if he had lost anyt