nd among the public
at home. It always came back to Lord Methuen's own complaint about the
absence of cavalry and of horse artillery. Many very unjust charges have
been hurled against our War Office--a department which in some matters
has done extraordinarily and unexpectedly well--but in this question of
the delay in the despatch of our cavalry and artillery, knowing as we
did the extreme mobility of our enemy, there is certainly ground for an
inquiry.

The Boers who had fought these two actions had been drawn mainly from
the Jacobsdal and Fauresmith commandoes, with some of the burghers from
Boshof. The famous Cronje, however, had been descending from Mafeking
with his old guard of Transvaalers, and keen disappointment was
expressed by the prisoners at Belmont and at Enslin that he had not
arrived in time to take command of them. There were evidences, however,
at this latter action, that reinforcements for the enemy were coming up
and that the labours of the Kimberley relief force were by no means at
an end. In the height of the engagement the Lancer patrols thrown out
upon our right flank reported the approach of a considerable body of
Boer horsemen, who took up a position upon a hill on our right rear.
Their position there was distinctly menacing, and Colonel Willoughby
Verner was despatched by Lord Methuen to order up the brigade of Guards.
The gallant officer had the misfortune in his return to injure himself
seriously through a blunder of his horse. His mission, however,
succeeded in its effect, for the Guards moving across the plain
intervened in such a way that the reinforcements, without an open
attack, which would have been opposed to all Boer traditions, could not
help the defenders, and were compelled to witness their defeat. This
body of horsemen returned north next day and were no doubt among those
whom we encountered at the following action of the Modder River.

The march from Orange River had begun on the Wednesday. On Thursday was
fought the action of Belmont, on Saturday that of Enslin. There was no
protection against the sun by day nor against the cold at night. Water
was not plentiful, and the quality of it was occasionally vile. The
troops were in need of a rest, so on Saturday night and Sunday they
remained at Enslin. On the Monday morning (November 27th) the weary
march to Kimberley was resumed.

On Monday, November 27th, at early dawn, the little British army, a
dust-coloured column upon the