was the clatter of steel, the moment of suspense,
and then the 'Cease fire' sounded. Again and again it sounded,
but the Irish Fusiliers were loth to accept the call, and
continued firing for many minutes. Then it was unconditional
surrender and the men laid down their arms."

[Illustration: GENERAL JOUBERT.

Photo by Elliott & Fry, London.]

An officer of the Gloucestershire Regiment described the affair thus:--

"HOSPITAL, WYNBERG, 9/11/1899.

"We were ordered out with six companies of Royal Irish
Fusiliers and No. 10 Mountain Battery, Royal Artillery, to make
a night march through the Boer lines and hold a hill behind
their right flank till the rest of the troops took us off,
which they expected to do about 11 A.M. As it turned out, they
were not able to do this, but they did keep the Boer guns
employed, luckily for us. We started off at 8.30 P.M., and got
to the foot of our hill about 2 A.M. The Royal Irish Fusiliers
were in front, then the battery and S.A.A. mules, and last
ourselves. The Royal Irish Fusiliers had got part way up the
hill--a very steep one--when three mounted Boers galloped down
amid clouds of dust, rolling stones, &c. They started off the
battery and S.A.A. mules, the Boers firing as they passed. The
mules cut right through the regiment, and all was chaos for a
time.

"It was pitch dark, and the noise of the mules and the loads
and the stores falling about was enough to put any one off.
Several men were hurt, some got in next day, some are
missing.--Part of Stayner's, Fyffe's, and my company were cut
off from the rest altogether, and when we got them in some sort
of order, we had quite lost the rest of the column. The orders
were to push on, no matter what happened, and every one left to
look out for himself. After some time trying to find the
path, we came across a straggler, who told us which way the
regiment had gone, and eventually we found them on the top of a
hill. We were ordered, as soon as we got on the hill, to put up
sangars, which we worked at by the light of a very small moon
till daylight. Then the Boers began on us all round, not very
many, till about half-past eight. From then till 2.30 the fire
was hot, and hottest at 2.30, when our ammunition being almost
down and