ful claim to
that independence for which they fought so gallantly and so desperately,
and for which they offered, ah! so much--their homes, their beloved
families, their possessions and their lives?

Shall any still that stood afar off and watched the struggle, maybe
sympathetically, or with cold indifference--shall they blame us for
having surrendered? Verily not; for it cannot rationally be expected
that a handful of farmers could offer resistance indefinitely, without
any assistance, to a rich and mighty empire. The leaking vessel may ride
to and fro for a while on the stormy billows, but eventually she is
bound to sink; the shipwrecked mariner may struggle and swim, but,
exhausted and powerless, he too goes down to find his last rest in the
bosom of the deep. This was the case of the Republics. On the stormy
billows of the ocean of war they were tossed hither and thither for
nearly three years. Time and again they cried and signalled for relief,
but no life-boats were sent to their rescue. None heeded their cry, or
had compassion on them. The nations stood and looked on, sympathised and
pitied, but did not help. And so, after all their strength was spent in
trying to save the vessel of their independence, the gallant crew, with
ship and all, sank beneath the waves of conquest.

CHAPTER IX.

THE BOER AS SEEN IN THE LIGHT OF THE WAR.

People tell
Of an old savage.

_Omar Khayyam_.

'E 'asn't got no papers of his own,
'E 'asn't got no medals nor rewards,
So we must certify the skill 'e's shown.

_Rudyard Kipling._

It is with reluctance we approach a subject on which in past years so
much has been written, often falsely. Besides, it is certainly a most
delicate matter to expatiate on the character of any individual or
nation.

We are aware that some of our readers will read the remarks on this
subject--Boer character--with considerable suspicion and distrust. They
may argue that the writers, being of Dutch extraction themselves, are
not likely to give an accurate and dispassionate estimate of the
character of their own people. They may even fear that our national
sentiments might influence and predominate over our judgment, and switch
us off the track of strict impartiality. If there be such, we can only
assure them that we have no intention whatsoever of eulogising and
extolling the race with which we are connected by blood.

[Illustrat