who stood to the last day, never
recovered from the effects of that shock. They fought bravely, and did
their duty towards their country, but hope for an ultimate victory was
dead within them.

And those who surrendered, what lessons they had to learn! Even to-day,
a year after the close of the war, some of them have not reached their
homes, but are on lonely islands, and in distant India, while many have
passed away to the unseen world on those foreign shores. Those that came
back, what did they find? A country strewn with ruins, their homes
destroyed and burnt, and their sheep and cattle stabbed and shot lying
in heaps upon the ground. What a sad sight did greet their eyes! How
many of their beloved families were missing, having died in the
Concentration Camps. But when they reflect on the past the saddest
thought should be their vanished freedom.

The next ordeal through which the Republicans had to pass began with the
denudation of the two States. As arms alone could not subdue the Boers,
some other expedient had to be tried--the starvation process was
resorted to; all food-stuff had to be destroyed or removed, so that the
burghers should not obtain sustenance. The country had to be cleared of
cattle and sheep--in fact, of everything which could keep the Boers
alive. This was considered the most feasible way of defeating the
so-called _marauding_ bands of armed Boers.

But what about the women-folk, if the country is to be cleared? Well,
these must go to Concentration Camps, from which so many never returned.
We do not wish to dwell on the sufferings of Boer women and children;
but what we are proud to note is that when military operations were
conducted against the weak and defenceless, the burgher was touched to
the centre of his heart. Call a Boer by what name you please, but of
this be assured--he is a man who, above all, loves his family, and has
pride and pleasure in his home, be it never so humble. When, therefore,
a destructive policy was adopted, who shall realise fully what passed
through the minds of these as they stood watching the lurid flames of
their burning homes, and heard how in the camps their families were
dying in scores? Cronje's capture, Prinsloo's surrender, and all the
hard fighting they had to do, seemed but trifles as compared to this, by
far the saddest, phase of the South African War.

Another dark day, and the curtain drops. We refer to that day when the
documents were signed and p