before the war, when the British public and the British Government
also had every confidence that the solution would be found in peace,
every burgher had been provided with his rifle, his ammunition, and his
instructions as to the part which he was to play in that war which they
looked upon as certain. A huge conspiracy as to the future, which might
be verbally discussed but which must not be written, seems to have
prevailed among the farmers. Curious evidence of it came into my own
hands in this fashion. After a small action at which I was present I
entered a deserted Boer farmhouse which had been part of the enemy's
position, and, desiring to carry away some souvenir which should be of
no value, I took some papers which appeared to be children's
writing-exercises. They were so, but among them were one or two letters,
one of which I append in all its frankness and simplicity. The date is
some fourteen weeks _before_ the declaration of war, when the British
were anxious for and confident in a peaceful solution:

'Paradys, June 25, 1899.

'MY DEAR HENRY,--I taking my pen up to write you these few lines. That
we all are in good health, hoping to hear the same from you all. And the
letter of the 18th is handed to me. And I feel very much obliged that I
hear you are all in good health.... Here by us are the fields very dry,
and the dams just by dry also. _Dear Henry, the war are by us very much.
How is it there by you. News is very scarce to write, but much to speak
by ourselves._ I must now close with my letter because I see that you
will be tired out to read it. With best love to you and your family so I
remain your faithfully friend,

'PIETER WIESE.'

Here is, in itself, as it seems to me, evidence of that great
conspiracy, not of ambitions (for there was no reason why they should
not be openly discussed), but of weapons and of dates for using them,
which was going on all the time behind that cloud of suspicious
negotiations with which the Boer Governments veiled their resolution to
attack the British. A small straw, no doubt, but the result has shown
how deep and dangerous was the current which it indicates. Here is a
letter from one of the Snymans to his brother at a later period, but
still a month before the war. He is talking of Kruger:

'The old chap was nearly raving about it, and said that the burghers
wanted t