otect
themselves. The trenches, about a mile long, in the plain to the right
of Colenso are very deep and are sandbagged; parts of them are full of
straw; many shelters are erected in them; and holes are burrowed out
and strewn with chips of cartridges and pieces of shell, bottles, and
every imaginable article. Being somewhat curious as to the effect of
our shelling which had gone on from the 10th December to the 12th
January at this line of trenches, I rode along them and came to the
conclusion that not one of our shells had actually hit these splendid
defences, although no doubt our fire annoyed and delayed the workers
in them. I picked up many curios here.

_Friday, 2nd March._--Not a Boer to be seen within miles. Very hot and
odoriferous here, and I feel queer and tired out although fortunately
able to lie down all day. In the middle of the night had a sudden and
alarming attack of colic and was in great agony. I really thought I
was done for, but my men gave me hot tea and mustard and water which
did me good.

_Saturday, 3rd March._--Woke up feeling weak and ill, but as luckily
there was no work on hand I was able to lay still under an ammunition
wagon and was much revived with some champagne which my best
bluejacket named House got for me from my friend Major Brazier Creagh
of the Hospital train. The doctor from the Middlesex lines who came to
see me in the evening told me he had been into Ladysmith and had found
the garrison looking very feeble; the Cavalry were hardly able to
crawl and could not therefore pursue the Boers; the rations had been
reduced to one and a half biscuits per day per man in addition to
sausages and soup called Chevril, made from horseflesh. It seems that
Ladysmith could have held out for another month, but the garrison had,
after our failure at Spion Kop, given up all hope of our relieving
them. Poor chaps! they have had an awful time of it. We learn that the
Boers had left a huge unfinished dam of sandbags across the Klip River
so as to flood out our shelter near the banks of the town; another
week would have seen this really marvellous work completed; but
luckily, as it was, our friends had to decamp in a hurry, leaving
tents, wagons and ammunition strewn all over the neighbourhood; I wish
I could add guns, but none were found, and I fear that the retreat
took place for one reason only, viz., Kruger's fear of being cut off
by Lord Roberts at Laing's Nek. Except for this I doubt whether