perty because he bought it at a
time when the region was dubbed a "desert." Now it is a garden spot.

Irene has various distinct advantages. For one thing it is his permanent
home. _Groote Schuur_ is the property of the Government and he owes his
tenancy of it entirely to the fortunes of politics. At Irene is planted
his hearthstone and around it is mobilized his considerable family.
There are six little Smutses. Smuts married the sweetheart of his youth
who is a rarely congenial helpmate. It was once said of her that she
"went about the house with a baby under one arm and a Greek dictionary
under the other."

Most people do not realize that the Union of South Africa has two
capitals. Capetown with the House of Parliament is the center of
legislation, while Pretoria, the ancient Kruger stronghold, with its
magnificent new Union buildings atop a commanding eminence, is the
fountain-head of administration. With Irene only ten miles away it is
easy for Smuts to live with his family after the adjournment of
Parliament, and go in to his office at Pretoria every day.

I have already given you a hint of the Smuts personal appearance. Let us
now take a good look at him. His forehead is lofty, his nose arched, his
mouth large. You know that his blonde beard veils a strong jaw. The eyes
are reminiscent of those marvelous orbs of Marshal Foch only they are
blue, haunting and at times inexorable. Yet they can light up with humor
and glow with friendliness.

Smuts is essentially an out-of-doors person and his body is wiry and
rangy. He has the stride of a man seasoned to the long march and who is
equally at home in the saddle. He speaks with vigour and at times not
without emotion. The Boer is not a particularly demonstrative person and
Smuts has some of the racial reserve. His personality betokens potential
strength,--a suggestion of the unplumbed reserve that keeps people
guessing. This applies to his mental as well as his physical capacity.
Frankly cordial, he resents familiarity. You would never think of
slapping him on the shoulder and saying, "Hello, Jan." More than one
blithe and buoyant person has been frozen into respectful silence in
such a foolhardy undertaking.

His middle name is Christian and it does not belie a strong phase of his
character. Without carrying his religious convictions on his
coat-sleeve, he has nevertheless a fine spiritual strain in his make-up.
He is an all-round dependable person, with an adapt